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Fantasy The Real Heroes Are The Friends You Made Along The Way

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Sensei Fox

Eater of Goldfish Crackers
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Welcome to Ceria, a world in turmoil. Though it may not look like it to most of the people living in it, this world is standing on the edge of falling into darkness. On the surface, the world is quite beautiful. Tall trees cover much of the landscape as well as large rolling hills and clear breezy fields. Large glaciers nestled into the northern mountains supply crystal clear rivers and streams through the land. Most of the land is wild outside of major cities, with smaller towns and outposts dotting the landscape. The larger towns look like paintings of fairy tales. High walls protect the people inside with castles and keeps overlooking, providing safe and prosperous living away from the monsters of the world. Kingdoms fly their banners and celebrate their cultures proudly, sometimes to the dismay of their neighbors. Even despite the civil war between the two halves of what once was a great empire, the land is beautiful.

Recently, in the terms of the last few hundred years, a new class has risen in the land. With soldiers being called to defend borders and fight in long empire building wars, the profession of the adventurer has risen to prominence. Young star-eyed children with dreams and grandeur, older grizzled veterans that know nothing else but to fight, and anyone in-between could become an adventurer. By setting foot into the wilds and seeking to help those outside the great walls of the big cities, they make names for themselves by slaying monsters, averting catastrophe, and coming to the aid of those in need. Some adventurers have created guilds to better provide those seeking work with a means to do so. Outside of major cities, these adventurers are an essential part of life in Ceria.

All aspire to be great. Whether through their physical strength, aptitude for magic, or a long long lasting legacy; an adventurer seeks to leave their mark on the world. Unfortunately, the adventurers of Ceria may have their greatness thrust upon them. As the civil war between the empires of Mihandia and Drandera, both claiming to have the one true emperor, begins to boil over they each seek the upper hand over their opponent. Some parts of the empires would even go as far as trying to enlist dark otherworldly forces. Tales of demons and monsters sweeping through battlefields wearing imperial banners have started to spread. Moreso, rumors that some of these summoned terrors broke free of their masters and roam the countrysides feely have chilled adventuring guilds and kingdoms alike. With more and more evidence that darkness is landing footholds and soon may be unstoppable, the world of Ceria looks for a hero.

In this land, not everyone can be a hero. Fortunately, almost anyone can summon one.

Summoned heroes have long been regarded as powerful tools and weapons, able to turn the tides of wars and shape history with their extraordinary powers. Historically, these heroes have been called upon to defeat foes like dragons or evil wizards. typically they were summoned by first finding a certain type of star in the nights sky. Royal astronomers and wizards poured over the void, searching for these rare glints that would grant them a gateway to another world and the ability to call forth a hero from it. Court wizards and councils poured countless hours and vast sums of magical power into calling rituals for heroes from these other worlds. However, this was not the only pathway for heroes to arrive in Ceria.

On occasion, one would seemingly drop from the heavens. For reasons unknown to even the hero, they were snatched from their world and deposited somewhere in Ceria. Sometimes these heroes accept their destiny, embracing their title and applying their talents for the good of the world. Others become powerful and dangerous opponents to the residents of Ceria. Without a clear purpose, these beings sometimes just wander and fade from the world on a single minded quest to return home.

On other occasions, Heroes appear as an answer to the prayers of an individual or town in Ceria. Seemingly as a gift from the angels, a hero will appear and deliver the town from catastrophe. Whether they truly are a form of divine intervention or just an example of everything being in the right place at the right time, its undeniable that a hero can be born from almost any circumstance.

As the civil war between the Dranderan and Mihandian empires threatens to embroil the surrounding nations and rumors that their desperation has spawned occult creatures to once again roam the land, heroes have become more and more common. Guilds are quickly filling their ranks with these powerful, otherworldly beings to fill the most dangerous contracts on offer. Those that slip through the guilds fingers are sometimes drafted into the employ of the nations of Ceria, the Dranderan Empire notably hunting and recruiting these individuals with an unusual interest.

The Grand Duchy of Britestalia and their new duchess, Firela, has sent an open invitation to all heroes and adventurers that would answer her call. The urgency and rarity over the message has caught the attention of Ceria as a whole. Sending for a specific hero or a small group is not out of the norm for a royal court, but such a widespread invitation to the closely guarded lands of Britestalia is not to be turned down. Gathering so many adventurers and heroes in one place is surely the beginning to a tale that will change the history of Ceria forever.
 
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A cool sea breeze swept over the capital city of Britestalia, Storm. The streets and shops were full, even at the early hours just past sunrise. The city streets being full of life was no rare sight, but today in particular was special. Adventurers from across Ceria had gathered in the capital city to answer a call from the newly crowned Duchess. Her wide reaching call had certainly been effective. Some adventurers had already formed small parties while making their way to the elven castle. Other long standing groups from the guilds made their way through town, stopping to converse with locals regale their previous adventures. With the sun nearly fully separating from the horizon and rising ever higher, the time drew near and the castle courtyard filled quickly.

The castle was purely elven architecture at its core, contrasting the mixed forms of building leading up to it and even the outer walls. The outside walls were built high with heavy stones, supporting large squared towers and defensible sections. Some sections were reinforced with the huge logs cut from the forest's trees and lent a natural color and warmth as well as sprouting green vines and other flora along the stone. The inside was more elegantly constructed. Smooth polished stone with gold and green trims dominated the motif. The towers and pillars were rounded and the grounds featured well kept gardens to either side of a wide, straight path. Hanging lamps cast small rays of illumination as their magic white flames waned in the early morning hours. The path ultimately led to the grand stairway to the castle proper, which was currently guarded by a front line of Elven royal guard. Their armor matched the architecture, polished white metals with gold and green trims. Behind the elves, a more motley crew of veteran looking individuals from different races milled behind the well disciplined guard. At their helm, a Dwarf stood with arms crossed in front of a stern looking elf with especially gilded armor. Their conversation appeared somewhat heated, although one of the elves to their right appeared to be casting a spell of silence around the situation.

Adventurers spilled into the courtyard, milling around the path and the sectioned gardens. A few stood toward the castle proper, gazing upward at a balcony decorated with purple and white banners. As the sun rose higher, eventually cresting the castle walls, an elven guard unit took up position at the balcony. They tapped their spearrs they carried against the flagstones of the balcony once, echoing loudly throughout the courtyard. The guards at the steps of the castle did the same, sending a reverberating thunk of metal against stone and the odd melodic tone of vibrating metal through the crowd. Quiet soon followed. The elven guard parted at the balcony, standing at attention. Their armor glowed a dull golden tone, quickly being overshadowed by a shining silver radiance as an elven woman slowly approached the balcony edge.

The elf wore a silver and white dress, flowing like silk as she moved gracefully forward. She kept her hands clasped in front of her, her chin tilted upwards, and her eyes set forward to the horizon as she stopped. Gently, she parted her hands, resting them on the raised border of the balcony. Her gaze slowly fell downward into the courtyard, her white and silver hair gently waving and bending in the sea breeze despite being pulled up and pinned under her crown. Her beauty was immediately striking, as close to that of an angel as any adventurer had seen. Her features were slender and her complexion flawless. Her very being was the definition of gentle grace. Her lips parted, her eyes briefly glancing to the horizon again before falling again to her audience.
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"Greetings, adventurers," Her voice carried on the breeze like a song. It reached the farthest corners of the courtyard, ethereal and gentle as her appearance as if she were speaking face to face with everyone present. "As Grand Duchess of Britestalia, I am indebted to you all for answering my call. Thank you." Her head bowed slightly, and her eyes fluttered closed. As her head rose, her voice filled the air again. "The late king Osglold, my father, long regarded adventurers and heroes to be the greatest assets to peace and the wellbeing of Ceria. With his wise counsel, I have decided to call upon you for just that purpose, to bring peace to Ceria and save her people." She paused, her head tilting forward and gazing out at the city of Storm beyond the walls. "Our ears have not been deaf to the tales of demons walking our lands in the wake of war between the fractured Dranderan Empire. My court has brought sufficient evidence to my attention to require action. These tales are true. Demons and dark forces have gained footholds in our land and they may be receiving support from other kingdoms to fight in their wars. These being are other worldly, they are powerful, and they seek nothing but destruction for our world. My guard as well as the volunteer garrison have pledged to defend our borders, but they are unable to journey past them to find these demons or their source. This is why I desperately call upon your talents, heroes and adventurers. Before all of Ceria is ravaged and razed, please, go out and find the source of these dark intruders. For all people of Ceria, chase away the darkness." With a short pause, the duchess bowed, turning away from the balcony and casting a glance over her shoulder as she stepped back into the castles walls.

The gruff voice of a dwarf filled the void nearly immediately, the same dwarf that had been arguing with the elf before the Duchess spoke. "Alright, any of you willing to take the job, step forward into the castle. We'll be dividing you into parties if you haven't brought one yourself." The dwarf motioned his thumb over his shoulder as the line of elves parted to allow access to the castle interior. "And I'll repeat the words of her grace if anyone missed it. You're hunting demons. I don't have to tell you how deadly this job could be."

The elf the dwarf had argued with stepped forward, standing at the dwarves side. "Once your parties have been formed, a representative or guide will be with you shortly to explain in more detail where your party will be going. Again, I will thank all of you on behalf of her grace for answering our call." The elf bowed similarly to the duchess, but much more rigid and sharply.

As the two stepped to the side, adventurers stepped forward to the castle interior. Some groups exited the courtyard entirely. those that stayed were processed into groups by the volunteer garrison members. After gathering basic information, Each adventurer was directed to a room in the expansive castle. Inside, a single circular table of green marble and several chairs of white stone and wood waited. A window looked out at the city of Storm, the view extending out to the horizon at sea. Attendants and servants shuffled along the halls outside directing the visitors to their meeting rooms and bringing refreshments as requested.
 
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Leon Ransom
Entering the courtyard a hooded figure looked around at the assembled adventures and sighed, even in the centre of a haven for demi-humans and among the misfits types who took up adventuring he still stood out with his thick tail sticking out from under his heavy poncho and to make matters worse all the nice spots to discreetly loiter had already been claimed by the edgy brooding types. Hearing the guards pound their spears he huffed making the air in front of him shimmer for a moment from the heat, continuing to wander about would just attract more attention so he stopped where he was to listen.

Watching the duchess speak Leon almost whistled at the sight, even from a distance she was quite something to look at and whatever she was doing to make her voice carry like that was enough for him to almost pay attention. He didn't really know the difference between a demon or the more 'normal' monsters he'd seen around the Mihandian Empire but he couldn't deny the place was kind of a mess even though he had steered clear of their war as much as possible.

Once the speech wrapped up he reluctantly made his way inside, Leon wasn't sure how being in a group would go for him and he liked the idea of being randomly shuffled into one even less. Entering the assigned meeting room he was slightly surprised to find he was the first to arrive. After briefly considering bailing out of the window he instead leaned on the ledge and admired the view as he filled his pipe, lighting the packed leaves with a spit of flame he slouched down in one of the stone chairs and pushed back his hood letting the fragrant smoke calm his nerves.
 
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| Cora Blakesley the Beast Tamer |

Cora had arrived alone to the capital, save for her griffin which was posted up not too far from the main entrance. Irine was with Bri for the day since even the impulsive Cora knew having Bri in a large crowd would be a pain, especially is she was gonna be up at the castle which was usually swarming with guards, most of the guard were a hassle to with; being more impulsive than her. As she walked through the city she let out a sad sigh, she already missed Irine and Bri. You'd think she'd yearn for her old life with the same sorrow but she had already become accustomed to this life which was at least more exciting than her last. Not to say she didn't miss her old friends from time to time.
As she was reaching the courtyard she spotted many people had already arrived. She pushed through the crowd without ever even muttering a 'excuse me' till she reached a spot she felt comfortable in. She was around the one of the sides closer to the front when the guards all tapped their spears. She looked as the Grand Duchess stepped into view; she was captivating. Cora was even a bit jealous of her beauty. She wasn't even listening to the words she was saying, simply taken in by her tone. The moment of calm was interrupted as the dwarf spoke up, causing Cora's ears to flatten against her head in protest to the voice.
Job? Demons? Her took a moment to think over what she had just heard and clearly missed. She wasn't sure if this was something she really wanted to do, demon's weren't really something she wanted to deal with. As she looked around she saw many people leaving but many staying as well. With a shrug she decided to head in. Certainly, something like this would be paying well.
After being processed she made her way to the meeting room, making sure to get a drink just before she entered. As she entered the room she spotted an interesting looking 'demi human'. She had never seen someone like them in her time. Without any thought she jumped up onto the table, crouching in front of him. Her eyes were narrowed slightly as she looked him over. As she stared him down the smoke caused her node to crunch up but she didn't budge. After another moment her eyes widened in realization. She had heard tales of a dragon like demi human that rescues travellers.
"Are you Redwing?" she asked with a hint of excitement in her voice.
 
Bonnie Ferrari
Upon reaching the capital of Britestalia Bonnie had already found herself sighing at what she had been roped into doing. She was perfectly fine with her 'boring' life in Lihamland but nooo. Everyone insisted that she at least come and see what this whole gathering was about. Bonnie has never even seen herself as one of these heroes and she barely traveled around enough to be considered an adventure. Apparently, people thought otherwise. So here she was. Already in a sour mood, as she entered the courtyard, she looked around at the huge crowd of people and couldn't help but sigh knowing she was going to have and transverse through it somehow. Shaking her head she decided to get it over with then stand in the way like a fool. With her goal in mind, she began making her way through the crowd. Using her smaller stature to her advantage for once, allowing her to easily slip through the gaps between the many heroes and adventures cluttered in this space.

Once she found a doable spot for her to stand at, which was towards the sides of the courtyard away from others, her attention was caught by the voice of Grand Duchess. Glancing up at the direction of the voice she yawned slightly as the woman kept talking. Bonnie was beyond uninterested in whatever was happening but listened intently to what was being said. When the mention of demons came up, it couldn't help but pique her interest. She honestly was a bit curious about them. More than she'd ever admitted to anyone else. She had heard tales about those creatures but never seen one in person. Or ever met anyone who actually has. So until right now, those creatures have always just been tales to her. When the woman came to a finish and the dwarf man started barking some instructions out. She could only roll her eyes.

Bonnie didn't move from her spot for a few minutes. Content with just watching who was going and who was staying. Bonnie, herself, didn't know what she wanted to do. Part of her didn't even want to be bothered yet another part of her was curious about the whole thing. Plus she'd never hear the end of it if she showed up and then chose not to participate. So, as annoying as it was she made her way inside. Happily taking any snacks she was offered. After going through that whole process Bonnie was led into a room with two other people in there. They were demi-humans. One was some dragon looking guy and the other some cat or fox looking girl. Bonnie barely batted an eye at the two. Her only thought being, why one of them was standing on the table. Deciding it would be best to not get involved she took a seat in one of the chairs and bit into the apple she had in her left hand while tossing a small pocket knife up and down in her right. Just something she liked to do to keep her hands busy. She didn't know how long she'd be stuck in this room after all.
 
Leon Ransom
Feeling more relaxed Leon had his head leaned back with his eyes closed when he heard the door open, exhaling a lungful of smoke he opened his eyes lazily to see his new companion squatting on the table right in front of him. "Huh...hey there." Giving her a slow look up and down he could see she was obviously a more conventional demi-human than what he sometimes claimed to be, taking in her ears and tail his free hand twitched at the fluffiness.

Being called out as Redwing finally made Leon sit up a little straighter, he hadn't expected what he thought was only modest fame to have spread this far but was at least relieved it wasn't his other reputation. Smirking he extended an arm out to the side showing off the red markings. "Well I could be...what have you heard?" Part of the reason he had shown up here was as a 'pr stunt' to try and drive home the point that he wasn't preparing to burn the infidels to as many people as possible. "What do they call you then?" He asked nonchalantly.

Leaning back again he winced as one of his horns scraped loudly against the high back of the chair, grumbling in irritation he took a look at their other companion who had entered the room and followed the motion of the flipping knife with his eyes. "How about you? Just here for the catering?"
 
Viole was late to arrive so he had to stand at the back of the gathering while listening to the speech given by the Grand Duchess.
Viole didn't hear much of her speech being taken in by her looks and the constant yelling of the departed fae’s “Get a hold of yourself! You’re here for a job.“.
Viole came to his mind when the dwarf said something, to be honest, he didn't care much how hard the job was since it was a chance to temper his skills.
Because Viole was at the very back of the gathering it took a while for him to get to the doors especially since he waited for most of the people to leave.
Before he came inside he took a deep breath and entered the castle walls. After the tedious process, he was led towards the room where his soon to be comrades are currently waiting.
He then slowly opened the door and went inside, he then took a quick glance at who was in the room with him and said under his breath ”I see a few familiar faces here. But I don't recognize him.“.
He then walked up to the winged man in the chair and said. ”Ciao! I mean hello my name is Viole Grace Emrys nice to meet ya ‘ala rosa’.“.
 
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| Cora Blakesley the Beast Tamer |

As Bonnie entered the room Cora looked up briefly as the door opened. Seeing the familiar face she turned her attention back to Leon. As he responded to her she pulled back a little bit so she wasn't so in his face; as well as to be able to look at his arm he extended more clearly. "I heard tales of a dragon like demi human rescuing travelers in the Mihandian Empire when I was on a mission there once." Cora responded before Viole entered the room. Her ear twitching at the sound of the door opening. She pouted a bit as he interrupted to introduce himself. Clearing her throat she stood up to strike a gallant pose, still on the table.
"Well I am known as Cora, Master of Beasts, The Chimera Whisperer," she boasted before crouching back down and lowering her voice a bit, "Cora the wolf... the Vicious." She narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth at Leon as she finished announcing he many names and titles. The smile then returned to her face and she hopped of the table. "But since we'll be working together, you can just call me 'Cor' if you would like." She finished with a small bow, ending her theatrics.
"And what about you? I assume you have a name other than 'Redwing'," Cora asked after taking a few breaths. She then slid into the nearest chair. At this point, even in the chair, her tail was wagging excitedly.
 
Bonnie mostly kept in her own head as the others chatted around her. To her, she didn't really recognize anyone in this room. Even the people who are within' the same guild as her. If she thought hard enough she might have been able to recall a moment where she's seen them around before- but that was something she wasn't going to try and do. All seemed to be going well until she caught the eyes of the dragon man staring at her. Or more so the knife that she had been idly playing with. "I wish the only thing I came here to do was get food." She spoke in response to the remark before pausing her tossing and slipped the knife back in her bag, her expression never shifting from the blank one she's held onto since she stepped into the room.

As yet another person entered she gave them a quick glance before returning her attention to the apple in her hand. Chomping away at what was on it before placing the core on the table in front of her. Once names started popping out it would only be a matter of time before it would be her turn to introduce herself. She internally cringed at the nickname Viole had given the there guy. The slowly raised a brow at the several names she was given when Cora introduced herself. With the quick pause between the other's introductions, she decided to say her's before she could be interrupted by anyone. "Bonnie Ferrari." She stated as she leaned back in her chair. "I'm sorry to say that I don't got hundreds of nicknames to choose for you all to choose from. Hopefully, you're all able to live with that." The tone of her voice was a bit tired sounding with a slight edge that could mean anything but also nothing. She soon gave a small yawn as she glanced over to the only person who hasn't said their name yet.
 
"And next," an irritable dwarf said "Come along now, we don't have all day."

After the duchess finished her speech, the garrison members broke up the crowd into groups. One of the groups was handled by a dwarf dressed in fine clothes. He didn't seem to belong among the other volunteers as he looked less like a soldier and more like a librarian, or perhaps a bookkeeper.

"You," he pointed a crooked finger towards an adventurer without lifting his eyes away from the parchment. "State your name and guild."

"Excuse me," an unexpected voice startled him. There was a boy already standing in front of him, "I was waiting here for some time but you just kept asking for the other adventurers, so umm..."

"Well then you should have bloody said something!" The dwarf touched his glasses, embarrassed at a momentary loss of composure.

"Then... Daichi. Scout. No guild yet," the boy said.

The dwarf took a long look at Daichi. He seemed short for a human. It wasn't uncommon for village boys to venture out into the world after their heads had been sufficiently filled up with all kinds of foolish nonsense. Hunting bloodthirsty demons was not generally considered an acceptable experience for them. Then again, looking closely, the boy was wearing some unusual clothes. Nobility? Nah, too tattered. A summoned hero? It seemed unlikely, but possible.

The bookkeeper wrote down the adventurers name. "This way," he gestured towards the one of the castle entrances. "And don't get yourself killed, boy!"

"I - I'll think about it!" Daichi hurried in that direction.

The dwarf sighed.

---

It had already been a few weeks and Daichi still couldn't believe what happened to him. Another world? Magic? Monsters? What? He looked around in amazement as he walked past the stone pillars that lined the corridors of the elven palace.

When he entered the room he saw that a group of adventurers was already there. Fantasy clothes, combat gear, they all looked like the real deal.

Clearing her throat she stood up to strike a gallant pose, still on the table.
"Well I am known as Cora, Master of Beasts, The Chimera Whisperer,"

Why is that girl standing on top of the table, he thought. Wait are those cat ears on her head?! Wait no, don't stare you'll look like a moron. This is a fantasy world. No big deal. And others don't look surprised so maybe the table thing is just how they roll out here.

He stepped back to check this was the right place. It seemed like it was. He entered the room and produced a quiet "Hey" directed towards the general area of conversation before quickly retreating towards an empty seat. Back on Earth, his classmates called it a stealth greeting.

As he spent some time observing others his eyes naturally landed on an intimidating lizard man. Next to him there was a young man in dark clothes. No less intimidating but in a different, more controlled way. That made Daichi wonder if he was in over is head. Life is not a videogame, it's not easy to fight. And these people are used to it... Perhaps even used to taking lives.

Ah, stop overthinking things, he chased away the thought and turned towards the view out of the window.
 
As heroes gathered in their meeting spaces and mingled with one another, the low hum of conversation and light thrumming of footsteps filled the empty spaces between beings. Occasionally the spirited shout of excitement and revelry between comrades would break the monotony of white noise, still muffled by the walls dividing. However, those with acute ears could pick out a small disturbance in the air. At first the dull but jarring thump of force exerted on an object would come as an echo. The second would come louder as well as closer. The third was accompanied by the surprised gasps of the being inside the room which doors had just suddenly flown open. The fourth, and this time closest, would echo into the next room. The astonished gasps this time were much clearer as well as a hushed, almost mumbling tone in the hall. "Nope, wrong again." A short silence had filled the space between each thump, only finally now being replaced with the footsteps of a confident stride. The steps halted outside the door that contained five young adventurers that had only just met moments before. With a breath exhaled from the hall, the doors suddenly flew open.

1d4df21508a7a4ccf4a8d71dd2cde0ca.jpg A man stood in the doorway as the doors flew open. He slowly bent his knee and set his foot back on the ground. His dress denoted a royal standing despite his human appearance. He wore his coat as more of a cape, seemingly defying gravity itself and asking for a force of nature to take it off his shoulders. His shirt, typically what a royal would be wearing as their night shirt or under their actual garments, was cut low over his chest and framed a dark jeweled necklace prominently. A black sash blended into his pants of the same color which lead down to a pair of well worn brown boots that would appear to have scorched marks on them. He stood confidently, posture perfect, but with a lightness to his feet and movements that suggested he could take flight if he desired. Even his golden hair seemed to move lightly in the breeze created from the door rushing open. He leaned forward, scratching his chin with his thumb and pointer finger while scanning the room quickly. He mumbled, making a half turn. "Nope, not--wait," He stopped, turning back to the room before taking a step inside and dropping his hand to his side, a slow creeping smile beaming across his face. "Oh no, this is the one."

"Bardin! I'm taking this one!" The man called over his shoulder confidently. The returning echo of a gruff and disgruntled sounding dwarf somewhere in the hall echoed back incoherently. The mans gaze scanned the room once more, this time carefully making eye contact with everyone in the room as he approached the table. "My apologies for the sudden intrusion. You wouldn't believe how many halls I had to walk through to get here. However, I think you four are--" He stopped mid sentence, cutting his gaze to the oddly dressed boy and then back to the center of the room. "You five are just what I'm looking for." He placed his hands on the table, leaning his weight on it. His aloof movement followed the pattern of his voice, but never wavering in confidence. "I am Calcifer, pleasure to meet all of you." He nodded his head slightly forward in an informal bow before bringing his eyes back up to attention.
 
Leon Ransom
Leon smiled and nodded in approval as the demi-human perfectly relayed his positive story back to him, apparently his annoying 'paragon' side was paying off at last. "Well that sounds about right to me." Hearing the door open he leaned sideways to look around her seeing a far more conventional looking human enter though he did seem to be dressed like one of the edgy types. "Ala-what? Whatever good to meet ya too." He wasn't sure if 'ala rosa' was something in the local language but he was pretty sure 'ciao' was Spanish or Italian meaning Viole was likely someone else who had been dragged over.

Watching Cora make her bombastic introduction he clapped a few times, she was fairly endearing but Leon expected that her high energy might get exhausting. "Well you've already brought up the only title I care to answer to so that just leaves the one my mother gave me, name's Leon." Even with the massive swarm of adventurers that had descended on the city someone wandering around with a chimera in tow stood out even more than he did, nodding to Bonnie as she introduced herself his attention returned to Cora. "Did you have to tame each of that chimera's heads one at a time or just all at once?"

Hearing a commotion from the next room Leon frowned in the direction of the sound. "What was that?" He asked no one in particular, automatically going to take another draw on his pipe he inhaled more sharply than intended when the doors burst inward leaving him coughing loudly. "What the hell blondie?" He wheezed irritably, he was winding up to question the guy further when he registered that five not four people had been mentioned and finally took notice of the boy who looked to have just stumbled out of a classroom and maybe a couple of hedges. "When did he get here?"
 
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| Cora Blakesley the Beast Tamer |

Cora had been busy introducing herself she hadn't even heard the door open when Daichi had entered. But she did manage to catch the quiet hello. From her seat she eyed the unassuming male as he move into a seat. He seemed to be wearing a uniform which had certainly seen better days. So he must be from back on earth.... I wonder what his story is. If he noticed her gaze on him it would seem to have the same intensity as a predator observing its prey; while that wasn't her intention she couldn't help the intensity in her gaze that naturally came.
Her attention was quickly brought back to Leon as he addressed her. She chuckled a bit at his question. She let out a "hmm" as she thought about the answer, placing a finger on her lips while she thought back on when she met Irine. "I guess all at once. While they have separate minds they trust each other and act as one so. So just like they trust their other head they both had to trust me at once. Just as I've put my trust in them." She answered with a warm smile.
Her tail stopped wagging as she heard a series of thuds approaching from down the hall. Her ears were pointed toward the door as she listened wearily. A moment later the door flew open causing Cora to straighten up feeling her fight or flight response momentarily kick in before she had a moment to take in who had entered. Seeing his aloof behaviour her shoulders dropped as she relaxed back into the chair. She looked the man over briefly as he leaned on the table. "Hello," she responded, her voice more serious than it had been before. Feeling a bit irritated by the more aggressive entrance.
 
Bonnie Ferrari
As the other's kept chatting about Bonnie brought her attention to the rest of the room. There definitely wasn't anything too fancy about this room. Just the chairs, the table, and the people sitting at it. So she then turned her attention to outside the window. She couldn't see much except the sky but it was still a pretty nice view in her opinion. Being content with this view, she continued to stare idly outside the window. The voices of the two talking around her just kinda acting as background noise.

What did pull her attention away from the calming view of the sky was the sound of the door opening. Glancing back at it she noticed a schoolboy? She blinked at the sight of something so normal that it was weird. She honestly was not expecting to see a school uniform ever again. But alas, here someone was. She half wondered if she might've known him from before. Doubt it but it was just a thought. When the boy took a seat Bonnie slid down her chair and held onto her hat as she allowed her head to droop back so she could stare at the ceiling. She was only able to sit in that semi-comfortable pose for about a second as the doors flew open once again.

An unimpressed look spread on her face as a small sigh manage to escape her lips as she stared at the blond stranger. Her head still drooping over the backside of her chair. At the introduction, Bonnie simply nodded. "So. Are you our leader or something?" She suddenly asked, finally sitting up and regaining an actual posture before looking up at the blondie expectantly. She didn't expect they would be lead by someone but at the same time, she doesn't know why she was surprised. She doubted anyone here knew where they were supposed to go so it only made sense that there was someone who did know to lead the group.
 
Daichi heard a muffled thud from the corridor. Then another one, closer. His body tensed up. Others seemed to have noticed it too.

Maybe this was a test. A surprise attack to see how the adventurers respond. The delay between each thud was pretty short, meaning if the elves were doing something it must have been something quick. Daichi imagined a team of knights kicking the doors open and tossing smoke bombs inside. They would clank their heavy armor and scream for everyone to get down. Funny.

The doors flew open but instead of a swat team of knights a blond man entered and introduced himself as Calcifier. He looked like the type to rescue princesses in between of drinking wine and spending money. Or maybe Daichi was just biased against attractive people.

"When did he get here?" Leon asked after catching his breath.

Daichi's absentmindedly shifted his eyes from the lizard man towards Calcifier.

He stayed like that for a few seconds before the right neurons connected. "Eh... me? I've been here for a whole month now... No, no, sorry, I mean I got here just now."

He bit his lip. Did that sound rude? He hadn't meant to sound rude. He opened his mouth and promptly closed it. No, two apologies in a row would make a terrible first impression. He should play it cool, like he had meant it. Daichi removed all emotion from his face and stared back at the lizard man.
 
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1d4df21508a7a4ccf4a8d71dd2cde0ca.jpg Calcifer moved his hands in front of his face, directing his movements at the scaly one like a conductor as he drew out his syllables. "Cal-Ci-Fer. Sound it out, we all believe in you." He turned away from the table sharply, folding his hands behind his back and mocking a half-hearted goose step as he paced around the table. "I wouldn't call myself a leader, no. Well, that's not to say I'm not still very much in charge of you." He paused with his foot hanging in the air, turning his head briefly to the group and then quickly back. "I very much am." His step continued, eventually carrying him to the large window facing out toward Storm. He paused for a moment looking out at the horizon. "I won't be accompanying you. I wouldn't be much of a court wizard if I abandoned my court, would I? No." He took in a deep breath, heel turning back to the group at the end of his exhale, this time wearing a more serious and focused expression. The man raised his hand to the door and it fell shut with the lock falling in to place. A keen eye would catch a light shimmering on the door and a small sigil over the handle, a similar silencing aura to that being cast around the dwarf and elf in the argument earlier in the day. His voice returned and matched his new demeanor, speaking very to the point. "Our Lady Firela has taken great risk in calling this meeting and chosen the words of her speech very carefully. By now, she's more than likely being mocked as the frightened young duchess, jumping at shadows and throwing her father's wealth around. She has accepted this burden so that you might carry out your mission before we are all consumed in darkness."

Calcifer approached the table again, waving his hand and producing an illusory map. "These demons Our Lady spoke of are very real. We have yet to be affected but it's only a question of time before we are. Britestalia's armies can only defend that which is within her territory. Reaching past those borders would be a declaration of war. You, as heroes and adventurers, have near impunity to traverse borders and fight our enemy." As he spoke, Calcifer's necklace appeared weightless, drifting slowly upward or falling slightly as he moved. His eyes closed for a moment, his finger tracing over the map and stopping over a northeast portion of Lihamland. The most recent demon attack we have knowledge of was here no less than two weeks ago, a small mining town that was called Ironwood. They are no longer with us." His eyes opened slowly, staring down at where his finger had landed. His eyes were seemingly filled with faint flickers of magic formed into tendrils like that of a flame. His voice dropped to a monotone. "What I'm about to show you will be jarring, but necessary. Please brace yourselves."

Calcifer drew a long breath, his necklace rising with it as well as the edges of his coat being lifted by an unseen wind. He exhaled, the tendrils of multi-colored flames leaving his nostrils and the edges of his lips. With another breath, the winds and flames possessing his body intensified. Small coils of flame fell and writhed against the marble tabletop and shimmered as they twisted their colors. With a third long breath being drawn, he brought his hands to his mouth, forming his fingers together into a cylinder before exhaling and flooding the room in colorful flame. The colors danced and twisted together almost violently. Despite their appearance, the flames felt cold. Eventually their colors settled and formed into canvases, then into shapes, and finally taking form in scenery.

The table remained in view, as well as the chairs. However, the room was now gone. Instead, it was replaced with the remnants of a rocky hillside town. A single, wide mineshaft cut into the side of a hill with a workyard just outside. The rails for the mine tracks looked to have been ripped up and mangled with great force. Sections were torn off their wooden spacers and thrown into wrecked warehouses and other work equipment. Minecarts and loose rock were strewn over the area, a few of the carts bearing what would appear to be deep cut marks from some clawed beast. The rest of the village stood behind the work yard, a single path leading a few tracks along the walkways into the residential area. Even from a distance, the town looked a wreck. Buildings were collapsed and burned out. Those that still had standing walls bore marks and sigils of smoldering embers and blackened blood as well as the huge claw markings. The pathway showed the footprints on humanoids, and experienced tracker would pick up on the marks in the loose dust and ash indicating some form of robes being worn. Peculiarly no tracks indicated any large beast had been present, contradicting the claw marks on several buildings. In the same vein, there were no bodies to be seen anywhere in the rubble of this freshly razed village. Not even a smear of blood aside from that burned into the sigils.

Calcifer lowered his hands slowly, taking in and letting out a very slow, much calmer breath. He looked around and nodded, half turning away from the table. His garments settled at his side except for his necklace, which still lazil floated in front of his chest. "Welcome to Ironwood."
 
Leon Ransom
Rolling his eyes at Calcifer's poncing and prancing about Leon directed his attention at the schoolkid while he waited for Blondie to get to the point. "Only a month eh? That makes you a summoned...hero?" Leon was well aware that he was far from the only person to have been summoned from another world and he suspected Viole was one too, taking a look at his two other companions he wonder if they were in the same boat with a touch of envy that they still looked human with the exception of Cora but even she was a long way from his own level of transformation.

Hearing the words 'court wizard' and the noticing some manner of enchantment being placed on the door Leon realised Blondie was done with his performance and getting down to business. "You worried about interruptions?" He asked waving a hand at the door while leaning forward over the map, he had been under the impression that this part of the continent was fairly peaceful compared to the empires. "I imagine there'll be plenty who see employing adventures in such numbers and sending them to other nations as a prelude to war anyway."

As the multicoloured flames swirled around Leon calmly sat and watched entirely unperturbed as they licked at him from all sides, he remembered that once any open flame bigger than a candle would have had him backing away hastily and scoffed a little to himself. Once the scene was in place he clapped sarcastically and blew out an experimental puff of smoke watching it drift in the unseen breeze from the window until the illusion obscured it. Examining the scene from where he sat Leon's eyes narrowed at the claw marks and lack of beastly tracks, even a flying creature ought to have landed and left some mark on the ground at some point. "No bodies anywhere? What about livestock?"
 
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| Cora Blakesley the Beast Tamer |

Her attention returned to the boy in the school uniform. So he's only been here a month. And her certainly is a summoned hero as well. No wonder he looks so unprepared. Maybe we'll have time to fix that.
She scowled a bit as the man declared he was in charge of them. While he didn't seem overly threatening at the moment his attitude was saw annoying her. Her eyes narrowed slightly as he stated he was the court wizard. As she looked him over again she was sizing him up. She found it hard to believe some one of his demeanor was a court wizard.
"So we're chasing after something we don't have proof of yet," She said as more of a statement than a question.
She scanned the map as it was displayed over the table. She wasn't particularly thrilled by the idea of having to go to Lihamland on this mission, just one of those places she's gotten a lot of flak just for existing. Her face shifted into one of shock as the flames encompassed the room and shifted into a scene of a thoroughly wrecked mineshaft. Her eyes scanned the area with great curiosity. She hopped out of the chair and crouched in front of one of the carts, taking in the markings before moving to look at the tracks on the ground. She took in a deep breath through her nose, wondering if this magic would allow her the scents of this scene.
 
Bonnie Ferrari
Bonnie took her attention away from the blonde man for a moment so she could turn to look at the schoolboy. She didn't expect someone to accept such a mission if they've only been here for a month. And if they're coming from where she thinks...could someone adjust quick enough to fight properly in an entirely new environment? She hadn't the closest clue. Recalling her first few months being here she barely encountered any dangerous beast as bad as demons. She was thinking if the kid was brave or just being reckless. Brushing some of her hair to the side she looked back to Calcifer as he explained his purpose for being here and what they are to do. Hearing the mention of these demons made her think. She had no doubts that they were as dangerous as everyone makes them out to be but just how strong is that? And if there are demons aren't there like angels to even it out? Or is this a 'this is your problem deal with it' situation to the angels? If they even existed.

Bonnie didn't have anything to add and simply nodded along at the request. When the colourful flames began surrounding them Bonnie was a bit alarmed at what was happening. She looked from side to side as nothing but the table and chairs were visible she pulled her hat over her eyes. Deciding that she rather just see the end result than the process to avoid too many unnecessary questions filling her head. Nothing but a strange coldness brushing over her till nothing. Were they there? She slightly lifted up her hat and they were, indeed, in another place.

Standing up from her seat, Bonnie was quick to start walking around the table and looking at the current condition of this place along with anything that was destroyed or left behind by whatever attacked this place. She glanced down to see the footprints leading into the town and soon walked closer to them to get a better look. There wasn't really anything she could get from it. It could have been left by anything. She shook her head and looked to the rest of the village would they even be able to find anything there? It barely looked like any buildings were actually standing. Also not a body insight? Did the demons kidnap everyone? Or did everyone simply burn alive in the village leaving nobody behind to be found? Honestly is the perfect way to hide and, most likely, get away with a murder crime. "Are any of the nearby villages or towns fine? If they're close enough, and still standing, do you think someone might have been able to escape there?" She voiced out loud with her arms crossed. She didn't know the geography of this place too well so whether someplace was even within walking distance was beyond here.
 

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