Fantasy Guild of Heroes: Revival

[Cosmo]

The Lusty Mare

Ingvarr twirled the dirty, now woefully empty, glass in his hand as he eyed the card table. The low light that managed to sneak in from the fire and candles, since the heavy clouds had all but blocked out the sun, glinted off the small stack of coins tantalizingly. Granted, the vast majority of it was just aquila with a few legates here and there... save for the one denar that a rather chubby fellow had and used as his 'trump' card, playing it to scare the others into folding. Most of them were farmers or day labors, if Ingvarr had to guess, a denar was just too much to risk for most of their blood least their wives take their balls when they come home... assuming they hadn't already in the wonder that was marital bliss, not that he had ever had the 'pleasure'.

Most of them weren't the best players, save for the chubby fellow and a heavily muscled beast of a man who probably carried tree trunks under his arm, crushed children's heads in his hand and couldn't count to seven. Either way, he liked his odds. Ingvarr rose up from his stool, tucking his great helm in the crook of his arm and moved over to the table, pausing only to grab a vacant chair from a nearby table and bring it over to an open spot on the table, "Looks fun lads," Ingvarr said, flashing a smile to the other men, "Nothing I like better then donating other's money to the holy and righteous cause of my coin purse," he goaded setting the helm down and dropping into the chair with a heavy thud.

"Private game, sod off," The chubby fellow said, his eyes glancing to the muscled brute, and Ingvarr raised his hands, "Now, gents, lets not be hasty, would hate for anyone to get hurt, especially myself," he replied easily, and was rewarded with a few chuckles from the other players, which was a start.

Reaching down to his waist, he hefted his starving coin purse and dropped it on the wooden surface with a clink, "Plus, I got good coin. Ain't no man worth his salt going to turn down proper coin, right? I mean, less he is some kind of cowardly hobbe," Ingvarr baited hoping to wound the man's pride and force him to relent if only to 'show him what for' in front of his friends and brutish, troll spawned, lacky. Sure enough, just like he betted, the man's chubby face turned a rather interesting shade of beet red and he raved his hands, "Well come on then, I ain't turning down good coin from a smell fool."

Ingvarr nodded, "Ain't going to deny that one chubby, every man's a fool, and I do stink to hell and back, I'd say," He took the time to lean over and pretend to smell his arm pit and grimace, "Put hair on a demon's balls right there," he finished earning him a few more chuckles, nothing like earning a bit of good will before one took someone's coin, after all men tended to get violent when drunk and coin deprived and he had no desire to let the muscled brute rearrange his face, he wasn't very pretty as it was.

With practiced ease, Ingvarr undid the knot holding the purse closed and coined out the coins, eleven aquila, six legates and a gold denar. He had yet to be paid for the minotaur job, but he was only getting five denar for that since the tight fisted merchant knew damn well that he was the only one offering a job worth doing and had set his price 'accordingly', "Well lads, lets get to it, eh?"
​

 

[Birdsie]

Mephistopheles
Location: Fort Black - Main Hall
Although most of the plaza was empty, anyone who entered the main hall would witness it in a destroyed state. In the middle, there was an elevated platform with the same shape from the Seals of Membership they had.

Spoiler: The Shape

On the other side of the entrance were the large stairs you'd expect from a mansion, splitting out to the left and right and leading towards the upper floor. The wall that the split-up stairs were adjacent to had the paintings of all Guildmasters over the Guild's history, with there being 11 paintings overall (the last Guildmaster did not have a portrait, due to the incredibly short span of his leadership.) The first portrait represented William Black. Covered in spider web, and one's eyes could barely see it; however, the man on it had short black hair and bright blue eyes, a thick and sharp jawline and an equally determined expression - he looked like a youthful military officer, full of discipline, but his eyes were beyond simplistic order and they also had a spark of altruistic idealism in them. The last portrait represented a youthful wood elf in white clothes that had a pink accent and a large top hat. His hair was a darker shade of purple and he had a goatee, accompanied by the dumb, smug expression stretched all across his face in the form of a joyful grin.

The same man then appeared in a flash of pink dust and light on the stairs before the group, standing in the middle of the stairs. "Excuse my lack of preservation of these grounds. Should I have known that I had to invite so many guests so soon, I would have cleaned up. Speaking of good manners;" The man bowed deeply in the way proper and fitting of an Imperial noble; his left leg was pushed backward and he leaned his body weight on the other, facing the ground and moving his hands in an inviting way. "Mephisto Pheles, the last-but-not-really Guildmaster of the Guild of Heroes. A pleasure to meet all of you, but we have no time for small talk and banter, as I am led to believe by the fact that the very material realm we reside in is danger. One could say it is an apocalypse we have stumbled upon," but Mephisto's facial expression did not falter despite his words; no, in fact, it grew even wider, into a happy grin. "Get it? Apocalypse! Like a pandemic! A world-ending event! Something that will kill everyone!" He spoke or rather yelled with the excitement of such quantity that his voice trembled spontaneously.

"Oh, excuse me." Mephisto realized what he was talking about. "It's just that I have been waiting four-hundred years for a chance. A single, little, itsy bitsy chance. Some great evil to appear that needs to be beaten!" Mephisto leaned his back on the railing of the stairs, dramatically staring into the ceiling with his hand on his forehead and his eyes closed. They opened very suddenly, as he continued to speak: "And that chance came right now!" He turned to the fellow people in the room.

"I have called you here so we can take the bull by its horns and save the world... and then recreate the Guild! You may, or may not know it, but the Seals of Membership that you called you here. I had them crafted and given to all Guild members four-hundred years ago and passed down onto worthy successors, in a form of tradition; so that one day when the time was nigh; they could be called back! Is the discovery of your legacy exciting?" He held both of his hands out to the group, expressing his extreme, uncontained enthusiasm. The enthusiasm that he dearly hoped the people before him shared. The Guild of Heroes' Golden Age was long past, after William Black died; things only got worse and worse, slowly, but surely. Mephisto still remembered the times when the Guild was one of, if not the most powerful group in Gael, if not the whole planet, spanning a worldwide force. By 400 years ago, it was reduced to a small cell of idealists and mercenaries until it was nothing. Mephisto's dream was for the Guild to be reborn, thus he knew no other emotion at the moment than happiness and excitement of tremendous size.

Swire @Alteras Captain Gabriel HighSanguinaryPriest SP3CT3R Captain Spooks Gabe Ms. Sparrow

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Peterova
Location: Fort Black
​

The vampire listened to Mephisto, she folded her arms across her chest and smirked smugly to herself, she couldn't help but feel amused as he mentioned the legacy, a legacy she had stole off a dead body, but in all fairness, she was given a contract, a contract who just happened to be wearing a very nice amuket, and was now being asked to save the world, now she didn't care who died, she had no remorse, but she did care if SHE died. However, Azalea had the slightest hint that this man was way out over his head.

"Don't mean to to kill your buzz, uh, Mr. Sunshine and Rainbows," Azalea began with a smug smirk and arched an eyebrow from under her hood, "But, are you crazy?! That was four hundred years ago! Wake up dude! The world has moved on! The Lollipop Guild is gone, poof, ashes to ashes."

Swire Alteras Captain Gabriel HighSanguinaryPriest SP3CT3R Captain Spooks Gabe Birdsie

 

[Captain Gabriel]

Artoria Adamant

Location: Fort Black

Mood: Anxious

With: Everyone

The blond-haired knight stared at the first painting. William Black, the Founder of the Guild of Heroes. She turned her head to her little brother and then back at the painting. She took a deep breath and as the pink figure appeared in the room she turned her head towards him, her expression shifting into a puzzled one. As she heard him speak out his name, her hand instinctively moved almost mechanically towards her sword's grip. She studied the Guild's history and she knew he was dead. She gripped on it, keeping her ears open. At the end of his speech, Artoria was more puzzled than at the start. How could he know about an imminent apocalypse? She was suspicious, but still curious. She raised her left hand, the one not holding the grip, "And what are we supposed to do, exactly?" She spoke with an inquisitive tone squinting her eyes at the pink-clothed mage. When and if she received her answer, she turns her head to Lulu and lowers her head to whisper to him. "He is supposed to be dead. Try to use your magic and see if he is actively using any kind of disguise magic." She advises, turning her head back at Mephisto, an inquisitive and suspicious expression stamped on her visage. Her nerves were tense. What if he was an undead? What if this was all a trap? Could she be able to help everyone?

 

[Gabe]

Nymkos Telena
Location: Castle Black

As he entered the hall, his hopes of having information about his condition went away. The decrepit place was a clear indication that the place had nothing but the man that claims the title of guildmaster. He studied the frame of the painting, making sure to check out for any arachnids. They probably left already. Even the spiders don't want anything to do here. He looked at the place and the people ahead of him. They were wary as well, and a young knight talked to a boy near her about a disguise. After that, a pale woman stepped up, claiming the "Lolipop guild had died." He sighed and stepped forward. "We've come this far, just to part ways again? I believe this... thing," He said while holding the Seal in front of him, "Had at least a hint of significance, since it was everywhere and successfully brought us all here. Let's listen to him and then decide if it's worth our time."

 

[Alteras]

Évelyne de Blanche
Location - Fort Black Main hall

Évelyne was standing with the group wondering the same questions. While she was initially surprised that the former guildmaster was still alive, she wasn't particularly concerned like the knights were. All the rumors and legends surrounding the final moments of the Blanche-Fairfax Resistance over 300 years ago also alluded to the demon's survival. Of course most of it was passed off as hatred to the family, something that has long since departed and only held by the immortals of this realm. In anycase, she was about to voice the same questions of concern that the others had but stopped when the drider spoke. And while she agreed with his call to at least listen to him, she was skeptical herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, Évelyne noticed Artoria tense up and whisper to Lulu. In support of whatever that knight was planning, she slowly opened her side pouch, pulled out a high caliber bullet, and began infusing it was mana behind her back. She mouthed out the word 'Glacé,' feeling the bullet glaze over with ice. She was ready.

 

[Birdsie]

Location: Fort Black - Main Hall

Lulu "Darkness" Adamant
Lulu heard his sister's question but mostly stood quietly for some time. After a few seconds of trying to penetrate Mephisto's physical form with clairvoyance, he failed. "I can't," he whispered back. "His magic is too good," he added shortly after with a mixture of being impressed and fearful, his eyes peeking out at his sister. Darkness was not sure what was going to happen, what if the man before them was indeed a liar just trying to make himself elevated by fooling a few people into working for him? It was a possibility, but then his thinking was interrupted by the big, half-spider, half-elf from what it seemed. The young boy had mixed emotions about the creature, being both shaken by it as was in human nature, but also fascinated by it. He wondered if it was some rare race, or perhaps a curse, or even a mutation developed by volatile magic. Anything was plausible. After Nymkos spoke, Darkness supported his claim saying. "Yes. We should hear him out. These Seals... I've studied them." He took out his, showing it to the group. "They are not just any novice craftwork. The power inside them is delicate, intrinsic and complex. Whoever made it had enough attention to detail to put safety mechanisms, wards, and signatures that can be used as a tracking device, or for telepathy of some sort. It even has a teleporter in it, but I don't know how it works. I was too weak to crack it open."

Mephisto Pheles
The man turned his attention to the skeptical vampiric woman, smiling as she spoke. "Mr. Sunshine and Rainbows. What a delightfully artful way to put it. I'll make sure to add you to the retinue of alias-makers should you ever be hired by me," he replied, giggling shortly and walked down the stairs. "I suppose that makes you Miss Cynical? Or do you prefer Madame? Lady? Lady Cynical! Has a nice ring to it. One way or another, I suppose, the Lollipop Guild is required. Unless you're telling me you can stop the imminent demise that's encroaching on this realm, hmmm?" He was almost a meter away from her, leaning down forward with a smug smile. He moved his pointing finger, adjusting his top hat to reveal his forehead a little bit, showing his eyebrows that had taken a peculiar shape; one of them laid normally above his eye, the other was tilted several degrees up. He literally rose an eyebrow.

Mephisto redirected his attention to the half-spider that started speaking. He seems to have considered Nymkos' words by himself. Mephisto's grin turned into the face of a thinker, then he neutrally affirmed: "Hmmm... Yes, indeed. You should all listen to that poor cursed elves' words. He seems smart enough to understand what is at stake here." Due to being a demon from birth, Mephisto had a large, almost internal knowledge of gods and celestials of different forms and he knew that the poor drow he was looking at had been unfortunate enough to have a first-degree meeting with a cult of Lolth. Mephisto pitied him, being capable of somewhat relating to his feelings and problems. Hero, or not, Mephisto was always a demon which made the more radical believers of different faiths... distrustful, to say the least.

Mephisto once again stood in a more open position, then started explaining the status quo. "As I speak to you, a Cult of Turenval is raiding the small society of Ubbin Falls. It is but a small village east of here. They are looking for inherent mages, people with powerful souls in general, but they also perform mass genocide and death to all who refuse to join them. They want to convert their souls and use them as a powerplant for their ritual to summon Turenval himself. That would mean the end of the world as we know it. The cheeky Cult died out a thousand years ago after the Guild destroyed it, but... you know how that song goes: Evil guy needs help, yadda, yadda, yadda, evil god offers help, yadda, yadda, yadda, a new cult, yadda... yadda, yadda. Let's get to the good part, and that is:..." Mephisto paused for several seconds, unable to get any word from his mouth. He abruptly spoke: "There is no good part. No matter what the military would think to do, they won't stop them and it would've been far too late, and we would all serve Turenval or die under his boot. That is why I decided it is the sound time to recall all members of the Guild and restart our activity. It is a time where we can hope to aspire to greater things, not out of selfish greed, or lust; but out of altruism. The time is nigh to fight the forces of evil that have grown decadent over these past four hundred years."

Mephisto turned his gaze to Azalea, starting what seemed to be a speech. His tone turned into a gritty, serious one, he was speaking from the heart: "I am afraid that is impossible if someone lost the sight of their ideals, having no such desire to help others." And then his gaze turned once again, looking from Nymkos to Xavier, to Artoria, and through the rest. "But I know there are people who will do the right thing no matter what, and that is what I find so beautiful about this world. That's why me; an infernal adversary, a demon from the depths of the netherworld," Mephisto started to reveal his identity as a demon, "A monster, a blasphemer, and a heretic... who would once spread sin; now wishes to stop it from spreading. I have found my ideals long ago and have never lost track of them. Now, whoever wishes to show the people of this world, that there is still good in it. And who wants to sacrifice their own future to live a life of adventure, glory, wealth and most importantly; benevolence for the sake of others... They will follow me." He turned to Azalea one last time. "And those who prefer to laugh at people like me, and their 'petty,' and 'pathetic,' ideals can get out of here. This is a place where Heroes tread, so show it some respect, would you?"

Swire @Alteras Captain Gabriel HighSanguinaryPriest SP3CT3R Captain Spooks Gabe Ms. Sparrow

 

[The Fluffiest Floof]

Two days of running had finally showed their reward. The bandits they had chased stood now front to them, a few hundred meters away, shields up in a closed formation. It were about 150 enemies. Johanna stood a little in front of her troops. The enemy did not have archers or any other kind of ranged weapons, so she did not have to worry. She turned to her troops. 100 of her best men. She could not see most of the faces, covered by helmets, but she was sure, they were eager to fight and bring down the enemy of the emperor.

Two days ago, they had reached the fort the bandits had lived in a pretty decent time. However, the fort was empty, most important things and most bounty had been taken. It was frustrating, they were hunting this group for quite a while and now that. But Johanna had skilled scouts and they told her, the bandits were gone just a few hours, maybe a day. Johanna immediatly decided. She left about 150 men at the fort, taking another hundred with her on the chase. Her scouts kept her updated to where the bandits where, as she sent multiple ones in different distances, that carried the messages. The trained and eager soldiers had heavy armors and weapons with them and two days of almost constant running were hard. But Johanna had them go through hell each training and it payed off right now, they kept gaining on their target. The bandits did realize that and decided it was no use to run anymore. They decided to stand and fight against the smaller force of knights.

Now, the knights had assembled a few hundred meters from their enemy and awaited orders. Johanna looked at them. And they all looked at her. She put down her shield, it stood on the ground. Her morning star in her hand, the chain restrained by her hand, she pointed at the bandits. She shouted loud enough for all knights and bandits to hear. "Over there are the scum and traitors, the criminals and law breakers that spit on our emperor! And today, we are here to pay them back." The commander spit to the ground, earning laughter from her men. "These men and women are cowards. Traitors. Not worth the flesh they are made off. Are you willing to free the flesh of those corrupted souls?" Her men yelled in agreement and bashed their weapons against the ground or shields. "They chose to stand in the way´s of the 13th. And what happens to those that do so?" Her men, like one voice, shouted "NO SUPERSTES!" Johanna picked up her shield and raised her weapon-weilding arm. "AD MORTEM, INIMICUS!", she shouted, starting to walk, then jog, then run towards the enemy. Her men repeated after her and followed, forming a cone with Johanna at the front. It was an intimidating sight for the enemy. But they held their positions.

Spoiler: Battle Music

The first row of the bandits really had a hard time just standing there and watching. Johanna front and the rest behind her ran towards the enemy. "HOLD YOUR LINES!", the bandit leader commanded, but he knew it wouldn´t be that easy. "DO NOT BREAK THE FORMATION!" His men were loyal and eager, they did their best to hold as they were.

But Johanna and the 13th did not slow down. A last row of "Ad mortem!" shouts and then the opponents clashed together, all up front Johanna, who knocked down a bandit with the sheer force of her shield smashing into his. Her morning star needed no time to find the stunned target. Then, she went into a defensive stance, her morning star swinging behind her, ready to deliver a forceful blow on her next target.
Said target soon came, as a second row fighter with a huge barbaric axe came forth, immediatly wildly swinging, almost hitting an ally in the process.

Johanna blocked the move with her shield, it wasnt that hard, his strike was slow and predicatble. After she staggered her opponent that way, she swung her morning star with the momentum of the swinging before. She swung the morning star for his head and found little resistance, the man wore no helmet. She found herself able to swing further, the beheaded body sinking to the ground slowly. She swung further and managed to wrap the chain around the neck of the surprised neighbour, in one swift motion pulling it towards her and off. The signature crack of a spine breaking was heard.

Johanna had no direct opponent anymore and looked to her right. She saw a knight next to her, she knew him but she couldn´t remember his name, with a halberd. He fought a man with shield and a spear, but it looked good for the night. He managed to get the end of his halberd below the shield, even behind the legs of his opponent and with one strong lift, he threw the bandit over his shoulder, making the poor soul land on the ground behind him. Then, the knight turned around and brought the axe-part of the halberd down into his victims chest, before turning to face the fight, looking for the next victim of his deadly weapon.

Johanna then looked to the left, where a knight with a bastardsword was fighting a bandit with arms similar to the one she just saw at the right. The knight however managed to rip away the shield for a second with his left hand and before the bandit could use that to attack or readjust his shield, the knight dashed forward, smashing his shoulder into the enemies face. Johanna saw and heard the jaw break and the bandit was slightly stunned. The knight used that and his momentum to swing his sword around, grabbing the blade with his armored hand and smacking the bandit to the face with the heavy handle of the weapon, making him break to the ground. Then, the knight took his sword in both hands, and stabbed the fallen bandits stomach, looking for his next opponent.

It was not long that Johanna could look around for her men, as she spotted the leader of the bandits. She pointed the handle of her morning star at the man, who could as well see her. "Te affligat!", she shouted and broke into a sprint again. Several men blocked her way, enemies. Normally, they would have stopped even someone of her strength. But not Johanna. She suddenly started burning and those bandits, that did not give way out of fear, simply got overrun and smashed by the shield and heavy boots of the commander. Like that, she brought chaos into the rows, a fact her men quickly used to get between the formation of their enemies, the fight now spreading further and less compact. Johanna however was on a small stone plateau with the bandit leader, who had two axes in his hands. "You will end here, woman.", the man said and charged at her. Johanna brought up her shield, blocking the attack, before ramming it into her opponents stomach. "Te occidat!", she shouted. He fell to the ground from her force, but quickly tumbled backwards and got up, not giving an opportunity for a strike with Johanna´s slow and heavy weapon. But he saw, like that would not be the way to win this fight. He had to get rid of her shield or get behind her. The man charged yet again and this time, as she brought up her shield, he jumped on it and used it to jump behind her. He immediatly spun and aimed for her head with his axe. Johanna reacted just as quick. Her movements were fast enough, as she brought her armored arm between the axe and her face. The axe struck into her armor and into her arm as well, but it got stuck and Johanna ripped it forward, the axe getting free and flying into the nothingness. The bandit leader was surprised at the sudden movements and her seemingly uncaring nature towards the pain and could not react fast enough as the shield hit his face, bringing him to his knees and making the other weapon slip out of his hand. Johanna towered over him for a second, looking at the man, his nose broken and bleeding. "Miserum...", she spat out and brought the heavy weapon to his head.

The battle was basically won and the few bandits that lived, around 6, dropped their weapons. "We concede.", they shouted. Johanna turned around on her stone and overlooked the battlefield. She had lost one man. Her warriors were clearly the superior ones in equipment and skill, that making up for the number. The bandits knelt, hoping to be brought to the city as caught criminals. But Johanna had other plans. Her mind was full of blood thirst. She knew no mercy. "No superstes.", she said. Her knights ended it quickly.


That was a week ago. Johanna had brought the knights back to the fort after the battle and used that as new camp for the next time. She was now in the capital, currently making her way towards the hall of the emperor. She would inform him of her victory in the task he had given her. She was wearing her festival armor, which was more clothing than armor. At her side rested a beautifully ornated sword, a weapon only for show, even though in the case it was needed, it was sharpened and able to be used to fight.

Spoiler: Outfit and Weapon

Of course the female inside this is not the same as on the picture

Her outfit made the big wound on her wrist revealed to the bare eye. She had worn a bandage for a few days, but after it had stopped bleeding, she had taken it off. It was no nice sight, but it was a wound she held with pride. Soon it would be a scar earned in a honorable battle and a reminder of a great victory.

Johanna soon turned around a corner for the last time, to see Victoria, guardian of the royals, front to her. "Greetings, Victoria. I wish to see the emperor, a mission was fulfilled in his name." Johanna was not a new guest here and she had often enough shown the people in the castle that the 13th was not a horde of barbarians by the polite and noble way she was behaving and speaking.

@ Alteras @ Birdsie

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Peterova
Location: Fort Black
​

Azalea's glowing eyes followed Mephisto around the room, she too, wondered why he was living, she could detect he wasn't a vampire, but he was somehow walking. She put a finger to her chin, curiouser and curious. She was intrigued to say the least, smirking when he mentioned ideals. She didn't have ideals. Azalea wasn't good, she didn't do the right things, she was the bad one, the selfish one that kills people for her own selfish gain. It clicked when he mentioned he was a demon, she couldn't help but find it ironic that a demon literally wanted to save the world.

She scowled as he made a point of saying this place was for heroes. "Don't look at me with those judgy little eyes," she said with a hint of irritation, "If I were to hop on the 'Optimistic Mephisto Wagon' for a moment, what exactly is your plan, other than rebuilding your Lollipop Guild?" Azalea asked, arching an eyebrow curiously, a hint of an smug smirk playing at her lips, but the question was a serious one, her skepticism only increased as she noticed Lulu, just a teenager at that. She sincerely hoped these people wasn't his great heroic plan to save the world.

Birdsie Swire Alteras Captain Gabriel HighSanguinaryPriest SP3CT3R Captain Spooks Gabe

 

[SP3CT3R]

As the spider creature stepped forward, Kazareth jumped backwards and fell to the floor, shattering the remains of his poorly-constructed façade of power. He stood back up, and tried to look dignified as he listened to the demon's speech. Kazareth imagined being one of the heroes to stop such an evil, and his return home being heralded by stories of his deeds. It lit a fire in Kazareth's heart, and made him feel like he had the power of at true dragon... For a few seconds, anyways. Then he remembered that he was nowhere near the kind of person to pull that off. Hell, Kazareth couldn't produce any elemental breath his kind was known for.
"I don't think I'm cut out for this," the Dragonborn sighed as he turned around and headed for the door, leaving his Seal of Membership on a table conveniently placed by the entryway. "I only have this because somebody threw it at me in the market. There's no way I could be up for such a task."

Swire Alteras Captain Gabriel HighSanguinaryPriest Captain Spooks Gabe Ms. Sparrow Birdsie

 

[Birdsie]

Emperor Vrillian (NPC)
Location: Imperial Palace
The Emperor was residing in a luxurious, inner throne room. Drinking wine from a cup, he continued to write on the documents before his throne, that laid on a small, wooden table. Due to not being ceremonial, or for public view; this throne room was much less flashy than the one where people may come for an audience with the Emperor, to present their pleas and petitions to him. He heard the sounds from outside of the room and ordered; "Come in, Commander Flammenfels. Report at once, I don't have time to waste," he said while still writing.

The Fluffiest Floof

Mephisto Pheles
Location: Fort Black
Mephisto smiled, briefly closing his eyes and taking some time to think. Just from her reaction, he knew there had to be the scarcest intention of wanting to help them inside the vampire girl because she had even considered it and asked him about it.

"Very well, first of all. Allow me to reactivate your Seals of Membership," He took his own Seal, then laid his pointing finger on it. The device began to float in place and it opened up a blue, arcane imagery that changed according to the user's hand movement (typical sci-fi holographic image, but now in Fantasy form.) Mephisto performed several changes and everyone's Seals started to glow. "It works like this: You hold it close to your face and think about talking, this sends feedback to the Seal, telling it you want to get a message across to other people that have their own seal. You say what you want to say, and the rest of us hear it. It works from any range. As for the task at hand, its simple: I will use sorcery to teleport all of us to the village. Our first, major goal is to free the hostages. The second, is to escort any and all mages to safe range. And the third, most exciting is to remove the damned corse-worshippers from the premises; lethally if they choose the hard way - and they probably will." Mephisto stopped for a moment, holding up his Seal in his hand, throwing it and catching it with the same hand. "See, the reason I unlocked communication with these babies is because I don't have enough mana to get us all in one, exact position, so we'll all be thinly spread over all of the village and will need to communicate."

Soon after Mephisto was done speaking, he saw the Dragonborn trying to leave. Mephisto argued; "You what?" nearly surprised. He approached the Dragonborn, taking the Seal he left behind in his hands and walked very close to him, then told him the following: "First of all, that was probably me. I like to get drunk, and I remember more than one time I lost my seal and had to get a new one. Second of all, even if both of those things are true; neither of them is true." He handed the Seal back to the Dragonborn, re-affirming him: "Even though you might think that way; you have come here, did you not? Does that not mean you have at least the willpower to at least try?" Mephisto smiled and tried his last attempt at convincing him to stay: "My old friend, and the founder of the Guild; William Black once told me this, and I quote:" Mephisto made the classic 'Ahem,' sound and continued in a very gruff tone that was meant to be a poor imitation of William Black's voice; "You know? I don't get what these simpletons are saying. Not everyone can become a hero, but everyone can try. And if there's a chance at it, isn't it worth a try? I think so, but we should keep killing these goblins before they-- Oh, nevermind, there goes our caravan. Curse you, philosophical monologue!" Mephisto returned to his normal voice and said. "... Well, it wasn't EXACTLY like that, but you get the idea. Overall the idea is that a lot of Heroes have humble beginnings. For all I know, in three years you might be a buff warrior wielding a greatsword and killing armies of undead skeletons. One way or another; the choice is yours, I am not forcing you to choose this path of life if you don't want to."
Swire Alteras Captain Gabriel HighSanguinaryPriest SP3CT3R Captain Spooks Gabe Ms. Sparrow

 

[Captain Spooks]

Xavier Colfield
Location: Fort Black, Main Hall

Xavier stayed silent as the others talked. He wasn't a quiet person by nature, but it felt like everyone was hogging the conversation. Especially the girl who looked around his own age, who mocked the man as the two bantered back and forth for a bit. Though that didn't really bothered Xavier as he had him mind on the cult. They are looking for powerful souls... and Xavier wondered if being half god would affect his own soul. Xavier turned his attention back to the group when the Dragon-born began to leave and Mephisto began to persuade him back with a quote from William Black. Then he gave the choice for everyone to either leave or stay...

"I'll go," Xavier said, stepping twords Mephisto. It was his first real introduction to the group as he hasn't really said anything yet. He was nervous to jump so quickly into a battle, and he had no reason to trust this man, but if this whole cult thing was true then there's nothing to sip them from attacking Xavier's home village.
Birdsie SP3CT3R Swire Alteras Captain Gabriel HighSanguinaryPriest Gabe Ms. Sparrow

 

[HighSanguinaryPriest]

Speaking up for the first time since Mephisto entered the scene, Vetr Spoke with the utmost conviction. "The Oracle of Snowspire foretold of this day. And I will be damned to see my Ancestors disgraced. I, Vetr Snorrison, Pledge My life to the reformation of this guild, by the gods of the north, and the peoples of Gael. Like my Forefathers, I shall spill the blood of Evil, ore die trying..." The Frost proclaimed, the temperature in the room dropping from the sheer weight of his oath. The Frost didn't seem to notice, despite the others breath leaving clouds with each exhalation. Turning towards the "Guild Master", he spoke in a gruff tone that meant no room for argument. "Bring me one hundred and fifty pounds of steel ingots, and twenty great oak 4"x8". The gate needs to be repaired among other things. And get the Forge running... If there is one..."

Swire Alteras Captain Gabriel @SP3CT3R Captain Spooks Gabe Ms. Sparrow Birdsie

 

[Alteras]

Évelyne de Blanche
Location - Fort Black Main Hall
Upon hearing what Mephisto said regarding the village, Évelyne immediately looked at the siblings once more, then watched two of the group agree to aid. With a sigh, she said, "If you left this seal with my ancestor, and hoped that the descendant would hop along to this crazy adventure, you won the lottery. I'm in." She said with a smile looking for blood.
@all them ppl

Victoria Weissmann
Location - Imperial Palace
As Johanna came into view, Victoria became more relaxed. It was rare for her to do that, especially with those not of the royal family, but the 13th legion is so ever so trusted by the emperor that it relieves her when in their presence. Just as she opened her mouth to return a warm greeting (something that is also rare for her), the emperor's voice came through the walls. As such, she simply nodded her head and said, "Welcome back Johanna." With that, she lifted her broadsword and opened the door for her.
The Fluffiest Floof Birdsie

 

[Birdsie]

Lulu "Darkness" Adamant
The young boy was afraid to speak out. He was surrounded by people with much more experience and power, each person was like a tale of their own. He felt... overwhelmed, but sensing a chill on his back and seeing that the demon was getting a lot of support, he stepped out shortly after Xavier and Vetr. "I... I'll help too. I'm not useful for much, but I'm studying magic if that helps. Well, not really studying, I'm mostly self-taught. But I can surely be useful to you in some way. Maybe I can help clean up the Fort!?"

Mephisto Pheles
Location: Fort Black - Main Hall
Seeing the newfound determination of his new Guild Members, Mephisto smiled, being truly glad. He felt warmth in his heart, despite the chilly wind that ran through the room when Vetr vowed to him, speaking of which; Mephisto gave directions to the Frost: "You will find the Forge outside, on the right from the Gate. It is a large, stone building with orange roof tiles, however, vines now grow on its walls. You will find materials to begin your work inside, there should be around a fourth of what you need. You can find more in the storage room in the basement, the way to which you will find on the exact opposite side of the plaza from the Forge. The wood is Ironwood, so it must have held up despite so many years passing, and the steel is only the finest. Remnants of our days of glory. This Fort was built and maintained by the finest engineers of the Old Kingdom. It nearly held off an attack from the might of the Albionian army under Elucifer. You can use some of the same wood to start a fire in the Forge too, as it is still functional. This Fort may lay in ruin, but its soul, implements, and walls will never yield to any force."

He turned to Xavier and Evelyne and said. "Since you two have such interest, you will help me free Ubbin Falls from the Cult, and you, boy," he turned to Darkness. "Help Vetr with his work if you can. Physical labor will be an invaluable exercise for someone of your age, but do not rise unnecessary hopes; you're still a little too young to fight. I've joined the Guild myself when I was your age, in fact. But it still not your time."

"As for the rest of you, I trust whoever wishes to participate in this endeavor will help me in Ubbin Falls? It is necessary that we act with all haste. Each soul sacrificed by the Cult is not only another innocent dead but also one, little step closer to the end of the very world we all live in. A moment of laxity too long may condemn us all. If no one has anything to add, I will cast the teleportation spell now."

(I just wanted to say; Vetr is badass, just how I felt he would be.)
Swire Alteras Captain Gabriel HighSanguinaryPriest SP3CT3R Captain Spooks Gabe Ms. Sparrow

 

[Gabe]

Nymkos Telena
Location: Castle Black

Nymkos scowled at Mephisto when he said 'cursed drow'. He didn't like this label, cursed. It reminded him of the horrible torment that befell him at the Lolth Tablet. he shook those feelings. There was no time to be sorrowful about one's own past. He stood tall when the dragonborn stumbled backwards, a smirk coloring his face. Sometimes this form is useful after all. He bowed to Mephisto, or tried to, but he couldn't get lower than the man. "My bow is yours, guildmaster. I only ask of you to help me in my... condition. This form is useful, but I miss the times I could walk into a city without the guards rounding me, thinking I was a stray monster." He said, the looked at the dragonborn. "If you're so scared, I don't mind in keeping a safe distance. I don't want you leaving only because of me." He handed his Seal to Mephisto, to be 'activated', or whatever this was. He then turned at Vetr. "I believe my silk might be useful for you. If you want it, of course."
Birdsie SP3CT3R HighSanguinaryPriest

 

[HighSanguinaryPriest]

"If you want to help, get me the Ironwood planks, and bring them to the gate" Vetr replied to the Drider before turning to the boy, giving a simple grunt before gesturing to follow him. Silently, he led the boy to towards the forge, upon arrival, the Frost spoke up once more. "Alright, you little Milksop, time to make make you into... Well, not this..." He said gesturing towards the whole of the 15 year old. "I want you to go find the store room, and bring me back any and all ingots down there. Now hop to it! Or I'll have you moving rocks... Either way, you'll be less of a girly boy by the time i'm through with you..." He growled before making his way into the forge. They had a long day ahead of them.

Stepping into the forge, his jaw dropped in utter disgust. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" he roared looking at the mess before him. Grumbling, Vetr set to work cleaning the once was forge. He had steel to shape, and a boy to make swole. And Already, the prospects were not looking good.


Swire Alteras Captain Gabriel SP3CT3R Captain Spooks Gabe Ms. Sparrow Birdsie

 

[Gabe]

Nymkos Telena
Location: Castle Black

"Fair enough. Mind if I do it my own way?" Without waiting an answer, he started searching where the storage was. Taking his sweet time to appreciate the atmosphere, he pondered the things that happened. Before the events at the temple, He would've left as soon as he learned that Mephisto is a demon, but now, he knows better than to judge someone by their looks. He couldn't give himself the luxury of doubting people like that anymore. These people probably are the only hope he has. He took a deep breath, and opened the door of the storage, where the planks were set. The place wasn't exactly clean, in fact, it was a complete mess. He had to throw stuff around to make way of the planks, then hauled them outside. Looking at the size and width of the planks, he started weaving his silk. Stitching and crossing, with his own hands and legs, he made a sizable net, which he placed it atop of the storage and the front gate. He then grabbed a single plank, and climbing on the side of the storage, he placed the plank on the net. The ironwood plank slid easily, making his way alone to the gate. He climbed down and took another plank, repeating the process. Looking at Lulu, he waved, atop of the storage. "Hey, Do you want some help? I'll be done by these quicker than expected, then I'll help you haul the ingots. What do you think?" He said, as he crawled down to get another plank.
HighSanguinaryPriest Birdsie

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Peterova
Location: Fort Black
​

Azalea rolled her eyes as The Lollipop Guild began to commit to joining the demon. She turned to Mephisto as people began to set to work, killing people? No problem, friends, allies and being a hero, big problem. For once, she was somewhat serious when she spoke to him, she pulled down the hood shadowing her face as she did so, her long lilac hair freed from its prison.

"Listen Judgy. I am not a hero, I'm not a good guy, in the selfish one. I take what I want, I do what I want, I lie to my siblings, I kill my uncle. I don't do the right thing. But when I kill people, there supposed to stay dead." Azalea finished exasperated, before adding "So work your magic ju-ju, and magic us into the land of Rainbows, and let's go kill some cultists." Azalea said sarcastically, but her face was completely serious, her gaze flicked to the rest of the group, watching them with calculating eyes.

Birdsie Swire Alteras Captain Gabriel SP3CT3R Captain Spooks Gabe

 

[YungJazz]

Shun Kantar
Location: Road to Fort Black​

Feeling: Frustrated, Curious, Eerily Violent​

​

​

"H-he's a monster!"

"Someone help!"

"He's too strong!"

"MY LEG DOESN'T BEND THAT WAAAAAAAGH!"

Cries of pain, groans of discontent, and hilarious bursts of violent yells permeated the surrounding area. Bodies laid unconscious on ground, some lying in smoking craters, others flattened against broken trees. And some of the (un)lucky few, were currently being beaten down by the central cause of this outbreak of rampaging destruction.

Sitting on top of a pile of beaten grunts, was Shun Kantar. The Beast of Kantar glanced around at the mob of bandits and rival gangsters strewn about, not a single one provided a challenge. Shun let out a frustrated sigh as he slowly calmed himself, gathering his thoughts while simultaneously standing up and walking down from his thrown of bodies.

Shun scratched his chin out of habit as he glanced down to the amulet in his hand. The main reason he was on the road to Fort Black was said amulet lighting up the previous night, while he was in a meeting with Lord Haken, discussing possible solutions for the empire's police force snooping around their operations. As Shun suggested his solution, action of the most extreme prejudice, the amulet passed on its ethereal message, shocking Shun and gaining the intrigue of Lord Haken.

Shun let out another exasperated sigh at his Lord's sudden curiosity and interest. Apparently Lord Haken was an avid fan of the old tales of Heroes, and wanted Shun to be a part of the sudden salvation of the world. Plus, his Lord wanted a monopoly on the Hero business and decided that any evil guy acting on his turf needed to be dealt with, and that's where Shun came in.

With a quickness that was border divine, Haken had servants pack Shun's belongings and sent him on his way. A while later and Shun had found himself in this situation, with the local bandits trying to rob him and a rival gang following him to try and get the jump on him. Too bad they didn't know who they were dealing with. With a last sigh, Shun glanced down the road, seeing Fort Black in the distance, "Well, at least it's not much further. Should make it by-"

Shun was interrupted by a sudden crack against his head, as a surviving minion decided it would be a good idea to hit him upside his head with a rather large branch. As the thug stepped back to nervously admire his handiwork, he was quickly shocked to see that not only was Shun perfectly fine and staring at him with the most 'done with' look ever seen, but said branch was broken right where he had struck Shun.

"You know, that probably wasn't your best idea." And with that said, Shun sped over to the thug, slamming a vicious palm thrust into his stomach, thus launching the thug into the distance, disappearing from view with a resound boom. Placing his hand back to his side, Shun turned back around and went along his way to Fort Black.

"I wonder if Yakuza can even be heroes!" With that thought, Shun shrugged his shoulders and disappeared in a burst of speed, bursting to the entrance of Fort Black with gusto, reducing a trip that could take hours, into seconds. A Beast was on its way to the Guild of Heroes, and the timing couldn't be better.

"Really hope they have good ale, been a minute since I had a good drink."

(I didn't exactly know how to enter, so I just put Shun near Fort Black. He will be at the entrance of it if someone doesn't mind interacting with him. Or just sense the wild beast heading towards the Fort at an extreme pace.....that works too.)

 

[The Fluffiest Floof]

Spoiler: Quotes

Évelyne de Blanche
Location - Fort Black Main Hall
Upon hearing what Mephisto said regarding the village, Évelyne immediately looked at the siblings once more, then watched two of the group agree to aid. With a sigh, she said, "If you left this seal with my ancestor, and hoped that the descendant would hop along to this crazy adventure, you won the lottery. I'm in." She said with a smile looking for blood.
@all them ppl

Victoria Weissmann
Location - Imperial Palace
As Johanna came into view, Victoria became more relaxed. It was rare for her to do that, especially with those not of the royal family, but the 13th legion is so ever so trusted by the emperor that it relieves her when in their presence. Just as she opened her mouth to return a warm greeting (something that is also rare for her), the emperor's voice came through the walls. As such, she simply nodded her head and said, "Welcome back Johanna." With that, she lifted her broadsword and opened the door for her.
The Fluffiest Floof

Emperor Vrillian (NPC)
Location: Imperial Palace
The Emperor was residing in a luxurious, inner throne room. Drinking wine from a cup, he continued to write on the documents before his throne, that laid on a small, wooden table. Due to not being ceremonial, or for public view; this throne room was much less flashy than the one where people may come for an audience with the Emperor, to present their pleas and petitions to him. He heard the sounds from outside of the room and ordered; "Come in, Commander Flammenfels. Report at once, I don't have time to waste," he said while still writing.

The Fluffiest Floof

Mephisto Pheles
Location: Fort Black
Mephisto smiled, briefly closing his eyes and taking some time to think. Just from her reaction, he knew there had to be the scarcest intention of wanting to help them inside the vampire girl because she had even considered it and asked him about it.

"Very well, first of all. Allow me to reactivate your Seals of Membership," He took his own Seal, then laid his pointing finger on it. The device began to float in place and it opened up a blue, arcane imagery that changed according to the user's hand movement (typical sci-fi holographic image, but now in Fantasy form.) Mephisto performed several changes and everyone's Seals started to glow. "It works like this: You hold it close to your face and think about talking, this sends feedback to the Seal, telling it you want to get a message across to other people that have their own seal. You say what you want to say, and the rest of us hear it. It works from any range. As for the task at hand, its simple: I will use sorcery to teleport all of us to the village. Our first, major goal is to free the hostages. The second, is to escort any and all mages to safe range. And the third, most exciting is to remove the damned corse-worshippers from the premises; lethally if they choose the hard way - and they probably will." Mephisto stopped for a moment, holding up his Seal in his hand, throwing it and catching it with the same hand. "See, the reason I unlocked communication with these babies is because I don't have enough mana to get us all in one, exact position, so we'll all be thinly spread over all of the village and will need to communicate."

Soon after Mephisto was done speaking, he saw the Dragonborn trying to leave. Mephisto argued; "You what?" nearly surprised. He approached the Dragonborn, taking the Seal he left behind in his hands and walked very close to him, then told him the following: "First of all, that was probably me. I like to get drunk, and I remember more than one time I lost my seal and had to get a new one. Second of all, even if both of those things are true; neither of them is true." He handed the Seal back to the Dragonborn, re-affirming him: "Even though you might think that way; you have come here, did you not? Does that not mean you have at least the willpower to at least try?" Mephisto smiled and tried his last attempt at convincing him to stay: "My old friend, and the founder of the Guild; William Black once told me this, and I quote:" Mephisto made the classic 'Ahem,' sound and continued in a very gruff tone that was meant to be a poor imitation of William Black's voice; "You know? I don't get what these simpletons are saying. Not everyone can become a hero, but everyone can try. And if there's a chance at it, isn't it worth a try? I think so, but we should keep killing these goblins before they-- Oh, nevermind, there goes our caravan. Curse you, philosophical monologue!" Mephisto returned to his normal voice and said. "... Well, it wasn't EXACTLY like that, but you get the idea. Overall the idea is that a lot of Heroes have humble beginnings. For all I know, in three years you might be a buff warrior wielding a greatsword and killing armies of undead skeletons. One way or another; the choice is yours, I am not forcing you to choose this path of life if you don't want to."
Swire Alteras Captain Gabriel HighSanguinaryPriest SP3CT3R Captain Spooks Gabe Ms. Sparrow Birdsie

Johanna heard the emperor call her in and she nodded her head towards Victoria, then entering the throne room. As she saw the emperor, she bowed politely, which showed the ugly and open injury on her soft silken skin. "Mei imperatori...", she said and rose again after a suitable amount of time. "Your order has been fulfilled, all 150 delinquents of the gang are dead. Losses on our side are one. The bounty of them has been brought to the treasure rooms, after subtracting the percentage that belongs to us, like always. Everything went flawlessly, my emperor." She smiled gently. "Nun erant? What now? Do you have new orders or are we free for a few days? The men with families would surely be happy to visit them, if there is no threat for us to attend to." Her smile faded to a dutyful and respectful expression. "Of course... the empire comes first and then men will take a new mission without mourning."

 

[FireMaiden]

Nirvana Montilyet​

He was choking, and she didn't care. She looked above him, slowly adding even more pressure to his throat, while threatening to pull his arm out of socket. She was tired, and not up for any bullshit, and he had to go and try to flirt with her. And when it didn't work, tried forcing his hand in her pants. So for that, she grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground, and that's where they were now.

Nirvana was glaring down at him with a calm rage, the kind you witness when someone is truly angry. The man weakly gripped at her ankle, in an attempt to her off, but it was no use. She would have killed him if not for the sharp cough that made her look up at her surroundings. The other men in the small taveen she found herself in were on their feet and ready to strike. Nirvana, while glaring each of them down, slowly removed her foot.

"The ale was horse piss angway," She muttered grabbing her rucksack, before leaving the run down tavern. Outside was a lush forest. Large trees with bright green leaves, the sun light pouring through them, giving a wonderfully pleasant light. To bad she wasn't there to enjoy the scenery. She was in fact on her way to Castle Black. Her amulet, and present she got from her father on her tenth birthday had done something weird. Given her a message. The woman also assumed she wouldn't be the only one there, of on be way at least. She wasn't to far, maybe another two miles.

It was still a long walk however, maybe she should invest in a horse, it would make all the traveling she did such faster. If she had thought about it a few hours ago, she could have stolen one from the stables she had slept in. Not everyone had enough money for an inn, of was willing to spend it at least. Besides, maybe Nirvana didn't feel like dealing with all the lovely sounds of a drunken inn.

It didn't take her long to reach the old fort. She had walked quickly, then hitched a sneaky little ride on a carriage about a half a mile in, and ride it until it decided to turn down a path she wasn't going. Surprisingly, the bandits out there didn't give her much trouble, mostly left her alone. Well, anyway, standing around outside the fort was a guy of some sort. She took a small breath, before putting on a little smirk. "Hey! This is the place for that guild thingy yeah?" YungJazz

 

[Birdsie]

Emperor Vrillian
Location: Imperial Palace
The Emperor rose his hand as the Commander spoke, still writing down important documents and new edicts to propose to the Imperial Senate. The sign of the rising hand meant one thing; 'Quiet down and wait.' The Emperor left a stamp on an edict paper and moved it aside to the other, finished reports and certificates. He looked directly at Johanna, his gaze was piercing and powerful. His voice was commanding and calm, somewhat charismatic but also had a tint of arrogance. "I am not interested in losses, nor the whole situation. A small gang is nothing to be proud of, Commander. You did a work about as outstanding as an old worker who set up the single wall of a building. Because we are not in war, I am assigning you petty tasks that simply could not have been given to anyone else. Speaking of which; You and your men will have five days of leave in the capital. Report to the Administratum Office* once that period is over and ask for your next charge. They will give you a full report in detail from me - And I want you to perform a routine inspection of your troops and obviously; replace that unlucky loss." The Emperor moved his hand dismissively to the back, "Now, you may go - I have matters to attend to." The Emperor got up from his Throne and headed for a distant exit between two columns on the far left of Johanna's vision, "Oh, and..." the Emperor briefly turned. The old man gave a half-hearted smile and said: "Have fun at the festival." He left.

*Administratum: Branch Department of the Government that deals in sending messages and fluctuating information through the Empire. They dispense tasks to major figures via letters from the Senate written by either a High Lord or the Emperor.

The Fluffiest Floof
Lulu "Darkness" Adamant
Location: Fort Black
The boy nodded to his new teacher of 'manliness,' and ran towards the storage room, or at least where Mephisto said it'd be. The boy, on his way, saw the half-spider elf. He was slightly well, not exactly terrified; but petrified. He stood and watched him walk down, in a mixture of what seemed to be sparse fright, but also temperate fascination. Only after a few seconds did the boy answer, "Uh, yeah! That'd be great! Thank you." The young boy made his way down to the basement, but everything was dark. He laid his hand on what seemed to be a torch made out of ironwood; it was long put out. The boy collected some mana within his body and cast a minor, primitive 'ray of fire' on its tip with his finger, rekindling the flame once more. He used it to fire all other torches in the basement and then started packing the ingots into a cart. After he had a fair amount of them loaded, he started to push the cart forward, but his frail, weak body did not allow him to do so with haste. He found another problem once he encountered the stairs. Although there was a form of ramp between them so that a cart could be pushed up, Darkness' muscles hardly had the power to defy the laws of gravity and weight in this situation. "Alright, here's an idea."

Lulu walked a step back from the cart and started using 'Mana Burst,' as his body enveloped itself in a blue aura that emanated with sheer, mystic power of blue color. It was similar to flames and clearly had supernatural properties; making the boy's hair float in every direction as if he was in space, but he was still attached to the ground and stood on it normally. The youth gave the cart a steady thrust forward. With the help of magic, he was capable of getting it up the ramp and to the plaza, where he saw a weird figure standing, or more precisely; a Yakuza. Beside him, was some other woman He stopped using Mana Burst, as his body returned to normal. He pushed the cart without the help of magic, and although it was hard; it was possible. The boy looked at the entity and stopped by them, politely saying: "Hello! You're a bit late, the rest of the guild is already in Ubbin Falls. If you're curious in joining, I suppose you'll have to wait."

Darkness continued pushing the cart until it was in the Forge. He looked inside, only to witness Vetr cleaning the horrible mess up.

YungJazz FireMaiden

Mephisto Pheles
Mephisto looked at the vampiric woman, then showed her a 'Thumbs Up' with the both of his thumbs, saying: "FANTASTIC! THAT'S THE SPIRIT! WOOHOO!" Mephisto rose his hand, and it gave creation to two magical balls that left behind a trace of pink smoke and glitter as they moved. The two balls started to circle around Mephisto's hand in the same direction, then started moving outwards as they turned into a spiral. Then they spread over the range of several meters and continued to speed up, creating a circle of pure pink dust and glitter around the members of the group that wished to be teleported to liberate Ubbin Falls from cultists. The distinct smell of sugar powder filled the air due to the smoke spreading and then... the smoke started to spread inside the circle until it imploded, completely covering all space and field of vision of everyone in the large hall and dissipate a minute after, to reveal no one was there.

Location: Ubbin Falls
As a huge ball, similar to a meteorite hit the village plaza, where poor peasants were praying to Turenval, watched over by vile, undead knights-revenants. Some of saild villagers' bodies were lying around, decapitated with looks of terror on their faces. The ball that hit the plaza was made from; you guessed it! Pink smoke and glitter. And after five seconds, the smoke fell down, revealing everyone Mephisto teleported standing side to side. The demon looked at his hands and clenched them. "I had enough mana to do this? Huh. There has to be a reason, but I won't question it." Mephisto smiled, his eyes revealing more excitement, as he got to see some action after over four hundred years of doing nearly nothing.

The Knight-Revenants (NPCs): One of the undead pointed their sword at the newfound guild members, then threatened them. His voice was pale, raspy and rough, exactly what you'd expect from someone who's vocal cords rotted long ago and was now speaking with black magic: "You there, boy with white hair, and you; weirdo in fancy clothes." The Revenant said, referring to Xavier and Mephisto respectively. "Surrender, and we will set the villagers free. Your friends may go free too," the undead lied. There were five of such knights in total including the one that spoke, formed in a wedge position facing the guild members.

Mephisto laughed, then said: "One, my thesis was correct: You ARE looking for powerful souls. Two, you don't have the authority to make that call, so you are lying," with a smug grin on his face. Mephisto moved his hands behind his back, only for the guild members to see. His sleeve released several snake-like constructs of energy. His other hand was presenting a symbol commonly used in the military to communicate without speaking; this in particular, saying: 'Hold.' He was hoping at least some of them would understand it.

The constructs continued to move, sticking to the ground and using villagers as a form of cover, to shield their presence from the eyes of the Revenants. The same Knight that spoke before held his massive greatsword over the head of a peasant, about to behead him. The elderly man had tears in his eyes, praying to Turenval as the undead commanded. "If you take a single step forward, I will cut his head off. People die when they are killed."

"Funny, coming from you," Mephisto answered, the same smug grin on his face. "NOW!" He yelled, exhausted of mana and relying on his new Guildmates on the offensive. As he yelled, the snake constructions from concentrated mana jumped towards the Revenant-Knights viciously, tying themselves to their legs like tightly tied ropes. Their movement and combat stance was thwarted and thus; they would be easy to take out. This was going to be child's play, despite them being considered the veterans of the undead forces.

Swire Alteras Captain Gabriel HighSanguinaryPriest SP3CT3R Captain Spooks Gabe Ms. Sparrow

 

[Captain Gabriel]

Artoria Adamant

Location: Ubbin Falls

Mood: Adrenalinic, worried.

With: Everyone

Artoria closed her eyes for a short moment and then sighed, following Mephisto quite reluctantly. When Mephisto teleported her, she felt dizzy for a second or two. But it didn't last long, as she immediately unsheathed her sword and held it up in both hands, her stance wide and her body lowered. She looked at the bodies of the citizens in horror, covering her mouth with one of her hands, but soon put herself back together and listened to Mephisto do his small introductive speech. As Mephisto attacked, she pointed her sword upwards and then slashed it forward, "Attack!" She shouted loudly, charging at the wedge of undead knights, slashing her sword through one of the undead's necks, cleaning it cut off. One of the knights near the other one rushed at her with his sword ready to hit. She parried his blow with her own sword and, as the un-dead was unbalanced, she strook, stabbing the knight in the chest with her sword. Then, she took out the sword and hopped backwards four times, now staying on the defensive. One thought was stuck in her mind...Was Lulu okay?

 

[Cosmo]

The Lusty Mare

Ingvarr's small, neat piles of coins had not really changed much since his entrance into the game and this was on purpose. Every aquila he lost, he would win back in the next hand or the hand after that. It was on purpose, to set up that he was just 'one of the guys', someone who had moderate skills whilst giving the illusion that he could be beaten with decent enough luck or skill. But he was after bigger fish, the grand pot, as it were, and in order to do that, he had to 'set it up'. Bide his time, learn the tells of those around him, and most importantly, set up his own tell.

Every time he bluffed, he would take his glass, once more filled with the liver destroying black gold, and turn it around in his hands nervously.. something the other players, especially Sir Chubster, was starting to pick up on. Just as he hoped. To keep anyone from noticing, on the off chance that could happen, Ingvarr distracted them with various stories of his 'heroic' and 'legendary' past actions... And his stories were gaining some level of amusement from the other patrons, many had turned their chairs around to watch his theatrics and those that didn't were too busy being manly by pretending they weren't listening or interested... but they were.

"So there we were," Ingvarr said, his deep voice setting up the scene, his hand waving in front of him as if gesturing to this 'place', "Me and the group of shinnies about to enter the Minotaur's den, the big ugly beastie just waiting inside, only thing worse then the fear was the smell," he said purposely leaning down to smell himself before faking a shudder and earning a few laughs from those around him.

"Now, I warned those shinnies to be careful. Minotaurs are damnable tough and strong. Too damn tough really, their dumb brains don't understand they are dead half the time and ain't no use running from one of them. Their sense of smell will put a bloodhound to shame and they will follow you until they catch up to you, flay you alive and feast on your still warm corpse.. or whats left of it," which was true. That same insane sense of smell was where the numerous 'maze' myths had come from concerning the Minotaur.

"But what do I know?" Ingvarr said giving a little shrug, "Just an old worn merc, the young shinnies were full of hope and heads filled with being like the heroes of old, you know, those con artist that did the same shite I do but romanticized. If I can learn anything from them is how to improve my public image..." He flashed a small smile to some of the disapproving frowns from the nearby patrons, the heroes of old were fairy tales really, even more romanticized now then they had been then, one would be hard pressed to not find someone who wanted to be a hero at least once in their lives even if it was when they were very, very young, but the truth was the truth no matter how distasteful it was, in the end, the heroes were nothing but mercenaries. Killing, defending, saving.. but doing it all for gold or fame.


"So, anyways, we enter this cave, you know the drill, bones here and there, they get ahead of themselves and advance to far, and boom, there it is. Dropped from the ceiling like a rock, its large hooves crushing the rock. Its big meaty hand striked out like a viper, damned fast for something so big its unbalanced, its massive fingers gripped around one of the shinnies, the metal of their armor groaning under the strain before," Ingvarr paused, lifting up a cracker and crushing it in his hands for dramatic effect, "Gods, shoulda seen her eyes, bugged out like some kind of child's toy."

Ingvarr tossed in two more aquila into the growing pot on the table, "Anyways, the 'leader' of the shinnies charges forth, all fire and zeal! Anddddd gets cut clean in half," he said shaking his head, thinking back on the scene, the amount of blood that came out was.. inspiring really.

"The last of the shinnies, gods, couldn't have been very far into manhood, tries to run, almost passed me when the Minotaur was on us, swinging his big ol' axe across, guts the boy and I barely manage to dodge... then I fell down as if it had gotten me," Ingvarr said, "Lay still, unmoving," he said faking a grimace as the chubby fellow took the current pot and started to reshuffle.

"Minotaurs, great sense of smell, can't see worth shite," he clarified, "And predictable, it started its blood frenzy," he said.. when the others looked at him.. expectantly, Ingvarr shrugged and explained, "When they smell blood.. they go into a feeding frenzy. Started with the girl first."

"Too busy eating, he didn't notice me crawling over to the boy and dragging his body over mine, hence the shite," Ingvarr said motioning to his body, "Then it came for me and the boy after around an hour... could have been less.. certainly felt like a long time listening to it munch and crunch of dead bodies and being trapped under a corpse.. I waited though, until it was bending down, its mouth open, all its big, razor sharp teeth in my face before I moved."

Ingvarr patted the messer at his hip, "Thrusted her into his mouth, out the soft tissue in the back of its mouth and through its spine. Dead before it realized what happened. Hindsight, wish I had done it a bit earlier, damn thing fell on me. Took forever to get out from under the boy and the beast."

Yeah, it wasn't the best of his stories. He didn't beat the the beast with brawn but with brains.. and he purposely sacrificed the group of youngsters to do it. "Could you have beaten him without... without getting them killed?" A soft voice said, Ingvarr glanced around and his eyes fell on the comely tavern wench..

Could he have? Ingvarr hadn't considered it. Not that he planned to feed them, but the idea of saving them had never once crossed his mind during the battle. He saw a way to greatly improve his chances of winning, all but guaranteeing it really, and took it without a second thought or hesitation. The lives of the shinnies weren't important... But.. could he have? Ingvarr closed his eyes and imagined it. Yes.. yes, he could have. He knew its movements, it was fast but predictable. He would have severed its tendons in its left leg and slowly took it apart rather then go for some heroic killing blow.. He likely would have won. Not a guaranteed thing, shite happens in battles, could tripped on a loose stone, but, failing that.. yes. He would have won.

"Aye... I could have," Ingvarr admitted looking at his new cards,
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