Fantasy Classic Fantasy: Gathered Misfits

[Crumbli]

Elise springs up from her seated position on the caravan's tray and takes a few paces back. She had never seen a being of undead origin before apart from the lich. The faces of her brother and father, their bodies held together by some evil magic. She's taken into shock by this sight. She opens her mouth to speak to the lich however only air manages to pass her quivering lips. Her breathing becomes irregular and she stumbles back. Her hands hit the tray of the caravan and she quickly pulls herself backwards as to allow her more distance. She reaches the end of the tray with great haste and falls from it into the muddied earth. She wipes her eyes of the mud and lets out a quiet scream.


Gregory turns around from where he was getting dressed. The moment he saw Elise on the ground in the mud he imagined only the worst. Her quiet scream did all but dismiss his fears. He rushes over to Elise, who was now silently screaming into her hands, and wraps his arms tight around her. He rests his chin on her head as to comfort her and survey the area of the threat. His gazes sets upon the two 'unholy' beasts that had been conjured by the lich.


"Demon.. Be gone your manifestations of terror" says Gregory. For once he was acting like a paladin. His arms swoop up Elise and hold her close to his body as to show his care and protective nature over her.


~Lich speaks


"Save your lies. These are simply figments of your own summoning. Begone with them before I smite them down. I fear not you nor any of your creatures" Gregory tightens his grip on Elise, preparing to run and set her down in the apothecary tent where he knew she'd be safe.

 

[Karcen]

Nasanru just laughed at the boy and the three revenants become enraged, so that was who they were after the new story fell into place and Nasanru felt it actually made sense and was far more interesting that the story the girl had woven.


" I have done nothing elf, I only called upon her family I did not make them revenants. That was your doing when you killed them and gave their souls a grudge against you, you have robbed them of the piece of death elf and you have done that with everyone you have every killed. Yes I know you kill often I can see death on you it is as much a part of you as it is a part of me. I shall do just as you ask though and release what I have done, you may want to put the girl down though" he said as he snapped and the Revenants didn't vanish but the barrier that kept them bound did freeing the spirits to take their vengeance after all the only thing he had made was the barrier.

 

[TheMaskedMurderess]

Roxas watched with interest at the enchanter, hands splayed on the arms of the chair, she finally stood up after he fixed the hole in the wall, and strode towards him. "look, when I say I suggest poison, I suggest it because I don't think it's a cowards tool, poison, if used correctly" Roxas paused and set her hand on the enchanters bicep. "It can be used for torture, see as a nymph, and a traveler of the south and east, and others, I've learned that poison can be a valuable tool. You can use it to make someone die, or you can draw out their pain as long as you want to with certain types of poison." Roxas whispered, her hand squeezed his arm once, and she gave him a smile. "Now I'm with you when you say this is our fight, but you're right, and it is our fight, and the beasts of the south should help, it is our right to magic, and our world was peaceful, we got along, we should protect ourselves which is why I suggested going to the beasts of the south. I mean it can't hurt, it could help, not to mention there are incredible creatures that could help. Humans don't seem to understand that we can all coexist peacefully." The nymph spoke softly, her eyes hooded, she may be exhausted but she could fee her strength gaining, Halks dedication and passion was contagious. And honestly she was glad she stumbled upon them today. It had been a while since she'd had excitement in her life. "If I can help" a smirk once again curved her lips. "In any way you can think of." She gave Halk a wink, before walking back to his chair. "Just ask."

 

[Crumbli]

Gregory spits at the lich, holding Elise tight in his arms. He begins his mad dash through the mud and rain towards the apothecary's tent. He was making a fair distance from these tortured souls which was truly a blessing. Gregory crashes in through the tent entrance and almost tosses Elise to the apothecary woman. The apothecary manages to catch Elise yet falls over from the weight and being caught off guard. "What's this for?" asks the apothecary. Her eyes wide yet her eye brows furrowed in rage.


"Just keep it safe, I'll be right back!" Gregory calls as he makes his way back out into the rain. He was wearing no more than pants and boots which he believes should be more than enough protection against these sorts of things. Gregory makes a beeline straight for the caravan in hopes he'd make it to his weapon before the revenants set upon him. Only a few strides from the caravan, a revenant manages to slash phantom like claws across his back.


Under any other circumstances he would stop and try to fight the attacker but he could tell there was no hope against something conjured. He continues to run with blood pouring down his back and rain slapping against the open wound. Gregory pulls himself up onto the tray of the caravan, gritting his teeth in pain as the muscles on his back tensed. Gregory's feet push him up off the ground and give him the ability to wriggle forth inside the canvas roofed area where he can grab his sword.


Gregory takes his sword by the hilt, unsheathing it and giving a ridiculously fast prayer to Heid'Zuu. He never really prays when killing something unless he believes that thing is likely to claim his life and send his soul to the holy mistress. One of the revenants seep in through the canvas roof of the caravan heading straight for him. It's mouth was twisted and its lips defined in four sections. This was clearly the soul of the old man who owned the caravan. His eyes judged soundlessly with the embers of dying rage still burning. The old man swipes for Gregory and luckily completely misses. Gregory uses this chance to strike the entity with a thrust to the forehead.


The old man's eyes glow a bright white before he screams out in agony. The very essence of his soul shatters to a thousand pieces. It illuminates and sparkles all around the interior of the caravan. Gregory wastes no time in running out the back of the caravan. He knows that there is a higher chance of victory if he can fight all of his targets in the open. He makes a roll off the end of the tray, allowing him to hit the ground without feeling any real shock. He springs up, lashing his sword in the direction of the nearest revenant. "Lich, call off your summoned companions before I smite the rest of them down. This is your last warning"

 

[Karcen]

" They are not my companions I long ago outgrew the need to bind souls to this plane to kill bodies moving, I prefer to let the spirits move on and animate their bodies with magic while it is a bit more intensive and makes them lack a few skills I have found with a little clever manipulation I can make them regain any needed skill though manipulation of the brain. " Nasanru said as if giving a lesson but he knew that the lesson was something the elf apparently wouldn't get it was some very dark magic.


" Either way I made a promise to that girl that I would not bind the souls of her family so they do not obey me in the least how they act now is of their own volition to take revenge on the one that killed them. This is true of any revenant now you are confusing them with specters which are similarly gruesome but they are generally more passive and under control of a summoned. The difference is in the eyes really Revenants have that glowing coal eyes it really is beneficial to know the difference. " He said still giving a lecture more than anything.


" now if you wish for me to bind them I might be willing to do so, I mean I am not that evil I am more than willing to make a deal ooh say a discount on all your caravan's goods for the camp so they are normal priced or perhaps the real story of the caravan and how you came to be it's proprietor." Nasanru said raising his staff and holding two revenants in the air that had been about to swoop down upon the elf. " so what will it be want to test your skill or will you make a deal?"

 

[Crumbli]

Gregory readies his sword, this was his time to defeat the revenants. While the creatures were confined by the magical powers of the lich. Gregory swings his blade above his head, around his body and thrusts it into on the imprisoned revenants. That revenant too screamed in agony before shattering into many pieces of bright and sparkling light. "I detest your deal. I make no wagers with those who serve or represent death itself"


Assuming the lich drops the revenant,


Gregory turns to face the other revenant. His sword outstretched and almost ready to behead the revenant for approaching him. This soul was of the eight year old child he'd sliced in two before taking the caravan as his own. Gregory holds the blade around the neck region as the revenant comes closer. He shouts out loudly, likely loud enough for most of the encampment to hear "I do not deal with heretics! Take your business elsewhere!" With this his blade slices through the revenant's neck. Leaving its head to shatter as it falls to the ground. The head screams out in agony barely centimetres from the ground.


Gregory turns his attention to the lich with his sword drawn. His eyes scan him up and down before the blade becomes sheathed and attached properly to his hip. He spits on the ground before the lich, blood and mud across his other wise flawless chest. "If you however wish to make a transaction. After this attack you will have to face a fine of fifty gold pieces. You'd best consider yourself lucky I don't make the fine your hide"


Gregory makes his way off to the apothecary tent where Elise and the apothecary are huddled together on one of the stretchers. The apothecary is running her fingers through Elise's hair and singing a quiet lullaby. Gregory recognises the lullaby to be of elvish origin though he doubts this apothecary to have come from the west or to be of elvish decent. The apothecary looks up from Elise and spies Gregory. She makes a movement with her head to signal for him to come over.


Gregory makes his way over to the apothecary. The adrenaline from his fight practically rendering his body immune to the pain. Gregory sits down beside the apothecary. Her pale white skin seemed even paler now with the occasional sparkle of a destroyed soul phasing in through the tent's walls.


"You have to keep it down. The poor thing's so scared she fell asleep" whispers the apothecary. She wastes no time in returning to her lullaby.


"I'm not going to speak as softly as I can" says Gregory. His voice almost silent. It was rather eerie after what he'd just been through.


"You seem hurt.. I hope you don't get this shape after every battle. Next time you should get me ready to help you" whispers the apothecary. Her voice still soft as velvet.


"I don't plan to make a habit of being attacked by ghosts. But I'll keep you up to speed next time" Gregory's adrenaline begins to fade out, the gash in his back stinging painfully so. He grits his teeth and tries to hold it in but the look on his face told the apothecary everything she needed to know.


"Let me go tuck in your daughter here and I'll get right on it. Say, was her mother a human? She doesn't seem to have your ears" the apothecary asks, slowly standing up from the stretcher they had been sitting on and moving over to a pile of pillows that she seemed to sleep on.


"Well she's not my daughter. So it stands to reason she looks nothing like me"

 

[Javax]

(@Cookie the Brave


I'm gonna try to employ your idea.)


It had been a long, tiresome day; week, more like. Roxii had not had a chance to rest and relax in what seems like forever. It was always constant contracts, fighting, assassinating, waiting. There was never a chance to be able to sit down and think. Or not think; whatever felt best at the moment.


Until now.


After Roxii had left the group back at the camp, she had gone straight to her hideout, being met with many contracts to fulfill and contacts to meet. She went straight to work: an arrow to the forehead, a swift slice to the throat, the occasional escaping from town guards who had somehow seen her, an altercation here and there. All of it had tired her out, and she was now covered in sweat and blood.


Being an assassin was difficult work, and most people didn't understand that. In a way, she had begun to regret taking up this profession, especially on her own and by herself. The constant demands of such selfish, needy people around every corner every day had grown to be bothersome. However, Roxii could never let this life go; the thrill of being powerful and holding so many people's fates in her hands... It was exhilerating. To see the shock, anger, pain, sadness, and the occasional joy in her targets' eyes before their soul left their body was always comforting. Their emotions were being relayed through one simple means. She didn't quite know why it refreshed her so; perhaps it's because she has concluded that she cannot do the same as them, to convey such emotion and feeling. It seems probable. Over the years, she trained herself to become this emotionless creature, unable to convey or feel anything. She had forgotten what sadness felt like, anger, joy, fear, surprise. All of it was simply a far-gone memory to never be experienced again.


Even love.


Love. It was a horrid word, in Roxii's opinion. There was no such thing as love. There never has been. It is simply a concept created by the weak-minded and -spirited whom cannot depend on themselves. They are dependent upon others, unable to take responsibility. In this, they become infatuated with another and believe in this feeling called "love" that will simply end in either heartbreak, betrayal, or death. Or, perhaps, all or some of the above.


Having finished her work, Roxii realized that, after constant days of fulfilling wishes and demands and deals, she finally had a chance to relax. The most refreshing thing she could think of doing in her current free time was to go to the nearby spring and wash all of the sweat, blood, and dirt off of her which had accumlated over the past few days. Luckily, the recent rainwater had kept her, for the most part, presentable in a way, but it certainly wasn't enough to keep her satisfied. To put it simply, she felt like shit.


There was a spring near Roxii's hideout, which could also be considered her "place of residence". The spring was partially hidden within a crevice of a rocky mound. It was a fairly secretive place, and Roxii never had problems with people around it. Since the small body of water is also covered by an overhang of rock, it was sheltered from any type of precipitation.


Roxii made her way to the spring, sliding down into the crevice and settling onto a space at the shore. Drawing a small amount of power from the stone, she whispered the word for "fire", conjuring a small flame then ordered it to spread amongst the area and illuminate the place by saying "Ventilabo". Once she could see, she began undressing, casting her armor and belongings off to the side. When finished, she stepped into the spring, allowing the warm water to cleanse her body and rejuvenate her senses.


Her reflection in the water caught her eye. She paused and stared at it, specifically gazing at the scar across her face and her damaged eye. The memory that accompanied that mark was one she would never forget...


Roxii had been back and forth between doing small assassination jobs and working as an elite guard of a town she had been staying in. She had grown a life for herself, even at such a young age, becoming a commander of a small army and rolling in extra money on the side. She thought her life was perfect until she met him.


Cain Mallory was the newcomer in town. Physically fit, charming, intelligent. The whores of the town immediately went to work, but the male refused to defile himself with "the used". Roxii, against her will, had grown quite fond of the man. And he began to show signs of falling for her as well. They had similar interests and were, ironically, involved in the same line of work: assassinations. Maybe this was when Roxii should've known not to trust him.


The two had gotten together and seemed to be happy. Well, Roxii was. It all came crashing down whenever she was drugged by Mallory, being taken captive by the betrayer and thrown onto a wagon towards some noble's manor. Fortunately, Roxii awoke on the way there and found out that Cain was simply fulfilling a contract. A well-known noble family had put a bounty on Roxii's head for 30,000 gold coins, and Mallory was the one they called for to carry out that job. Roxii felt heartbroken and betrayed; she had actually grown to like the man, perhaps even love him. She thought that she would have someone by her side through thick and thin, like it's told in the storybooks. But she learned the hard way that there is no such thing as a happy ending.


She easily broke out of her bindings, escaping the wagon and disappearing into the surrounding forest. Cain, however, was persistent and was either going to receive his reward or die trying. Roxii was finally forced to fight her love in order to stay alive. The battle was brutal as Roxii and Cain alike received grim reminders of this battle. Mallory, at some point, had caught Roxii's face with his sword which blinded her left eye and would become the prominent scar on her face in current day. After what seemed like hours of useless begging and deal-making, Roxii was forced to stab the knife through his throat, suffocating him and killing him almost instantly. She was wounded in what felt like everywhere, but her heart hurt the most.


Snapping herself out of her daze, she forced herself to suppress the memory once more, continuing on with her washing. She won't succumb now. Not after so long...

 

[Karcen]

" Your ignorance is stunning I hope you know that. " Nasanur said keeping the revenant up in the air. " A lich serves only one themselves, a lich represents a twisting of the natural laws of the world death is the very last thing we represent." Nasanru said " If you are going to play the part of the paladin, you should try being a better person than the child killer you are. " He said with cold distain for the man.


Nasanru looked up at the last revenant , it was the child who had been sliced in half. Nasaru made a few hand gestures and the boy was seemingly draw into Nasanur's staff, for safe keeping of course or blackmail it depends on how one sees demanding talks at the threat of destroying a loved one's soul as blackmail. The elf really didn't care about them and Nasanru had his doubts about the girl .


" Well I have gotten my story though I still have a few blanks to fill in, if you would kindly tell that girl I have her little brother's souls, who you killed , and I would love to talk to her again about helping it move past her being your…. I'll go with lover rather than the void you have sent her other family members to. " he said his tone rather dismissive of the elf treating him like a messenger boy.

 

[Crumbli]

Gregory looks to the lich filled with disgust. He spits at the ground before stating something he had assumed was obvious. "I am no paladin. I am nothing more than a merchant who wishes to keep this orphaned girl safe from harm" Gregory makes his way off to the apothecary tent where Elise and the apothecary are stationed together. The apothecary has her lips pressed tight to the forehead of Elise. Gregory's steps make quiet squelching noises as the press against the mostly dry dirt of the the tent's flooring. The apothecary lifts her lips from Elise's forehead and whispers with a voice as soft as the finest silk "Good night, sweety"


The apothecary turns around to see Gregory who had managed to go undetected over to her. Her heart skips a beat when she spots him. She goes to slap him but decides not to as it might wake up Elise.


"You have to keep it down. The poor thing's so scared she fell asleep. At first I thought she fainted but it seems she's just exhausted" whispers the apothecary. She motions her hands to show that Gregory and her were to move away from the area.


"I can agree to this condition" says Gregory. His voice almost silent. It was rather eerie after what he'd just been through.


"You seem hurt.. I hope you don't get this shape after every battle. Next time you should get me ready to help you" whispers the apothecary. Her voice still soft as velvet. She smiles sweetly at Gregory, looking at the mud spots and blood streaks on his chest.


"I don't plan to make a habit of being attacked by ghosts. But I'll keep you up to speed next time" Gregory's adrenaline begins to fade out, the gash in his back stinging painfully so. He grits his teeth and tries to hold it in but the look on his face told the apothecary everything she needed to know.


"Can I ask why you broke tradition to have your daughter? She doesn't seem to have your ears and she looks far more human than she does elvish" the apothecary asks, she gently rubs her hand up and down his chest.


"Well she's not my daughter. So it stands to reason she looks nothing like me" replies Gregory. His left arm moves up the rub the back of his neck as his right goes out to grab the apothecary's shoulder.


"You know.. If you plan to stay her as often as you do, you might as well share your name. Mine's Sibel. Some call me by my house name though. So if you're one of those uptight people you can call me Lady Renstad" says the apothecary. Her eyes hand still rubbing against Gregory's chest.


"I'm Gregory.. Or as some may know me in the south, Ser Steelhilt. Either way I'm at your service" Sibel, the apothecary, raises her mouth attire and mouths his name to him as if it were something special or to be taken dearly. Sibel lets go of her mouth piece and reaches over his shoulder. Gregory smiles, he thinks she's being seductive when in actuality she was trying to get a feel for how deep his wounds were without drawing his attention to the wounds.

 

[Alstromeria]

Halk felt Roxas hand on his bicep, which was well toned and hardened from his constant work at the forge. He shook his head at Roxas. "You are something you know that?" a slight smirk came to cross his lips. He flexed his hand one more time, admiring his work, then he took the gauntlets off and wrapped them in a rag. Halk always had rags. Not the cleanest things, but he had lerned they were the most useful. He wrote 'Kelvin' on the package in big messy handwriting and put it outside. Kelvin would come to pick it up eventually. Some people would be worried about stealing, but Magickind weren't theives like the humans were. They didn't have locks on their doors, they never had to check their pocket to see if their wallet was still there. Halk hated the humans for wanting this gone.


Roxas was right, having some of the beasts of the south would be benificial. However, Halk was much too proud to admit it. And they would always ask something in return, they always did. Until the humans decided to burn and raize their lands, they would do nothing until asked. Everything came with a damning catch, and Halk hated catches. The sun was setting now, and the heavy rain had turned to a light drizzle. Halk began working on the crossbow he was planning to trade gregory for some quicksilver. Did merchants use enchantments? This one didn't seem to. He shrugged and began working with the wood. He tossed a sideways glance at Roxas. "Still here?" He said, raising an eyebrow, his body making the jerking motions when one used a saw, "I thought you needed to get to bed."

 

[TheMaskedMurderess]

Roxas rolled her eyes at Halk and curled up in his chair once more, her eyes closed for a second and she yawned. "Last time I checked my kin folk would gladly help, I shall ask them for their help in the morning" she opened her eyes once more and finally said "come with me, you could ask some beasts to join us, it would help." She said, setting her head on the arm of the chair and grabbing the thin blanket at the top of the chair and covering herself, curling her legs under her and Fallon asleep.

 

[Alstromeria]

Halk was affixing a metal crossbeam to the piece of wood he cut and glanced in Roxas' direction again. "Hmm." he chuckled softly, "She stole mah chair." Halk strung the crossbow, singing softly to himself. It was a song he'd known since childhood.


"From the plains, the spring of life had birthed,


And when since did, the earth's story I will tell,


The beasts of wild, the beasts of myth,


The men of toil, and men of spell


The beasts of wild, to the north they fled,


The beasts of myth, the south they took as claim,


The men of toil, in the west they bread,


The men of spell crafted rune and flame


The men of spell spent time preparing


Their art and methods not sharing


And with good cause, for they had seen


The future in which their skills would need"


Halk finished his crossbow and glanced one more time at Roxas. She was fast asleep. He smiled warmly and stepped outside. The men were back.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The first thing Kelvin did was check in on Halk, and was surprised to find him already at the door. Halk picked up a bundle from him and pressed it to his chest. "These is yours," Halk said quietly. Kelvin took the bundle, but was confused. "Why are you talking so quiet sir?" Then he saw past Halk into the workshop where the Nymph was sleeping in Halk's chair. Kelvins eyebrows raised in acknowledgement. "Dude," He exclaimed quietly. Halk looked at Roxas and shook his head. "It's not what it looks like. She just crashed there." Kelvin punched his shoulder playfully. "Sure she did." Halk crossed his arms and nodded to the package. "If you don't find a use for those, I will, because there's plenty more men that would kill for a piece of my work." Kelvin clapped Halk on the shoulder. "I'm just kidding man, just kidding." He unwraped them, and put the gauntlets on. "Cool," Kelvin said, admiring the purple streaks in the white metal, "What do they do?" Halk grined wolfishly. "Smack someone over the head and you'll see." Kelvin knew all things Halk made were extremely cool, but also extremely dangerous, so he decided not to smack somebody he cared about too much over the head. "Thanks sir." He was practically glowing. Halk clapped him on the shoulder. "Anyways. Looks like I'll be sleeping in my tent tonight, tell Gerld I'm there if he needs me." Halk strode off towards his tent, and Kelvin his. They both needed a good nights rest.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Halk settled down in his tent, the new crossbow he'd made propped up against the outside. He'd enchanted the string to never break, and the croshair to always shoot with deadly acuracy. Both enchantments were not noticable, he figured the merchant would be offended if he knew Halk had used magic on his ware, but Halk couldn't help himself. He remembered the last line of the song he sang, 'The future in which their skills would need.' Well, it definitely was the future from when that song was wrote. And his skills definetely were needed. He sighed, there would be war. But it was a sigh of exhilaration. Halk had decided he was fine with fighting for his kinsmen. With that thought, he fell asleep.

 

[TheMaskedMurderess]

*time skip!*


Roxas flew across the plains, feet pounding on the grass, this was no forest, this was blood and war, every were she turned there was death. The trees and plants and animals protested and horror and screamed their pain to her. A soundless cry for help. Nymphs were slaves to the wild, they could live for centuries and all they had to do was tend to the wilderness and make sure Mother Nature stayed happy. Roxas's breath caught in her throat as he stopped on the edge of a cliff, body raw and swaying in exhaustion. Her eyes scanned the area for refuge, somewhere safe. Humans, humans did this, they ruined everything, they always ruined things. Every precious part of nature, all the beauty in the world. Roxas turned in time to see sea foam green eyes as a strong hand pushed her off the edge, screams tore from her throat as she fell.


-------------------------


Roxas woke with a gasp, body coated in sweat, the sun about to rise. Nightmare she thought tiredly, dragging herself to her feet and wincing when she felt the wound in her leg protest the activity. She stretched though, letting her muscles get the stretch they wanted. She padded outside of the forge she was in. Aw the enchanters forge. Roxas spied his tent and shook her head, heading for the forest back towards her home. It was reflex, she traveled and then bounced back looking for home. She paused, looking back, leaving wasn't really fun, especially when she'd found excitement. But her homeland called her body home. Demanding her return. Maybe she could just go home for a little while, get a few things and come back. Get a new outfit, one that was more snug. One that was probably going to show a lot more skin but be better if she had to moe quickly. Dresses seemed to hamper, but going naked was out of the question.


Roxas nodded and with that, she began to dart through the trees. Phasing closer and closer to her how land with every bush and bramble. As she neared closer, she felt the familiar current flow along her limbs, rejuvenate her senses. She paused outside of a small lake and cave, almost hidden behind a fortress of trees and tall shrubs. She phased through and was instantly greeted by a gaggle of giggling, tall and slender and short and curvy girls greeted her. Nine sisters, her parents had been busy and usually they dumped them off here. Of course roxas took them in willingly not wanting them to deal with what she had to go through. The oldest was sixteen, the youngest five, as of this year. "Roxas is home!" Willow, the oldest called. These nymphs were like roxas, since they were raised by her. All wore clothes, although willow was starting to branch out. "Willow, I need you to hold down the fort, keep everyone in line, and make sure you spread it down the vine, the humans are calling for war." Roxas said and willows eyes snapped open, and she nodded, sixteen years old and she was already holding her own. Roxas walked through her cave, it's tunnel system was a home and hidden well in the Deep South forests. They would be safe, willow was good at weaving her magic, calling vines to tighten up the fortress. Roxas made sure to say goodbye to all her sisters and then headed for her room.


Undressing, Roxas looked in the broken mirror on her wall, it was given to her by a gypsy from a village in the west. Dark and angry red scars like hand prints on her hips, the scars pinkened along her ribs, ending in white lines just under her breasts, all she could think of were sea foam green eyes. Finally Roxas dressed, trousers, that were cut off as mid thigh, and a mans billowy white shirt. Open collar, and cuffed at the wrists, gave her room to move and breathe and didn't restrict any where. She put her gold dagger in a holster wrapped around her right thigh.


Roxas made her way from her home, the sun rising in the sky as she made her way back to Halk's forge and slipping into the door, she settled on his chair.

 

[Alstromeria]

Halk awoke to Gerld tapping him on the head. He groaned and rolled over on his back. Halk always slept on his stomach when he wasn't in his chair. "Get moving soldier, everyone's rising with the sun now. Even you." Halk was infamous for sleeping late, waking up just in time for lunch. He sat up, rubbing his neck. "Yea yea, I got it Gerld." Gerld nodded. "I'm having the guard doubled. I'm going to need you to add progectile protection enchantments or whatever to all the standard issue armor." Halk nodded, in reality Gerld didn't have the authority to give him more work, but Halk enjoyed enchanting, it was what he did. "I figured. I made some nifty shit for Kelvin..." His voice trailed off, his head swam a bit. "But yea, I get the gist of it." Just like that, Gerld was off.


@Cookie the Brave


In about ten minutes (Halk was NOT a morning person) Halk had moved out of his tent and towards the caravan. He saw the girl at the makeshift counter. He forgot her name. "Gregory ordered this. Imma need three liters of quicksilver." Halk banged the crossbow bodily on the counter, his voice slurred a bit, still groggy from sleep. "The respectable merchants usually carry around five, so don't give me any shit about not having that much. They know this is where I craft," He said gruffly.

 

[Crumbli]

Elise, who had previously been asleep at the counter, awakes with a start. The loud 'bang' of the crossbow against the wooden tray was enough to scare her pale. She looks up at Halk with wide eyes as if what he was saying didn't make any sense what so ever. She herself is still mostly asleep so that only words she heard were "respectable", "five", "shit" and "craft" Elise rubs her eyes before asking Halk in a clear voice.


"Sorry, can you repeat the sentence? I was asleep"


~


Gregory begins to stir in the apothecary's tent. He had large bandages bound tightly around his chest. The last thing he remembers doing was embracing the apothecary 'Sibel'. His head throbs and his eyes have a mild sting to them. He goes to stand but finds himself unable to, his hands and feet roped to the stretcher.


"Sibel... What's the meaning of this?" asks Gregory, still half asleep but somewhat coherent in his words.


"Morning, I just wanted to make sure you didn't fall to the floor during the night. Your back's not healed yet and it's for the best you stay resting here, on the bed.. With me" Sibel explains, making her way over to one of the injured soldiers who looks much better than the day he had arrived.


"So I'm a prisoner?" asks Gregory, tugging on the ropes to see how tight the knots were.


"More like... A captive audience" says Sibel. She giggles quietly to herself. Gregory feels something off about this scenario. Something really wrong.

 

[Alstromeria]

Halk sighed and shook his head, a small grin crossing his lips. The little girl was growing of corse, she did need her sleep. "I'm sorry. I just woke up too." He said, running a hand through his hair. "Gregory needs this. I need three liters of quicksilver. He said to stop by, so I did." His low, graty morning voice softened a bit. "Tell ya what, just get him for me and you can go back to sleep. Tell me what you want made for you and I'll do it." He liked this girl, Halk liked kids. Being an only child, he grew up playing by himself, leading him down the path to be an enchanter. He knew how it felt to have nobody there to play with, so he was generally kind to all of the younger folk.

 

[Crumbli]

Elise nods her head slowly, thinking of the last place she saw Gregory. She saw him sometime during the middle of the night when she was heading back to the caravan and he was laying down with that apothecary lady. Elise goes to cook up some sort of long winded lie but in her tired state she simply gives him the truth. "Gregory's in the apothecary tent on th- Awhh the east side of the camp. It's the blue one over there"


Elise rubs her eyes once more before curling back up into a ball and dozing off to sleep. She isn't a fan of being awake. Especially this early in the morning.

 

[Alstromeria]

Kelvin was on watch. He leaned against a tree, facing the camp. This way, no one could sneak up on him, and he was covered from fire. He decided to try out the gift Halk had given him. He rubed his thumb against the small intricate knot on the palmside of the gauntlets. He smirked, and tapped it against the tree. Nothing happened. His eyebrows drew together in a confused frown. "Hmm." He mused. He decided to do it a little harder. Again, nothing happened. He was even more confused now, perhaps frustrated. He thrust his open palm against the tree, and was blown from his relaxed, slightly unbalanced position. He flew ten feet away and rolled on the ground. "What the fu-" his voice trailed off. The tree had been blown clear off its roots, bouncing over the gorge and coming to rest, rolling back and forth. Kelvin looked at his palm, then at the tree, a wild grin spreading across his face. With this he wouldn't need a sword anymore. What was he saying, yes he did. Halk had just given him the ability to dual weild. And it all was made of so little metal. "Thanks Halk," he chuckled to himself, a bit of white smoke wisping out of the knot of metal.

 

[Crumbli]

Gregory lays tied to the stretcher in the apothecary's tent. Nothing he could really do but survey the area and talk to Sibel. Gregory's wrists are a little sore but what annoys him most is the horrible itch her has located on his inner thigh. Of all the times to have an itch in a place like that, it had to be now. Gregory tries to rub his legs together in hopes that the fabric of his pants would satisfy the scratching sensation. The only problem was, he wasn't wearing pants any more.


Gregory starts to try and piece things together. He assumes that the apothecary was keeping him in bed against his will for her own satisfaction but that idea was obviously flawed. Though, with what has happened and that his only real idea, he decides to just go with it.


"Sibel.. Can you do me a favour?" asks Gregory, trying to sound as relaxed as possible.


"I'm a little busy at the moment, can it wait?" replies Sibel, her hands quite literally full of bottles and bandages.


"It can but I may end up gnawing my own arm off to try and handle it" says Gregory, tugging against the ropes with his right arm.


"You have an itchy arm?" replies Sibel. Her focus still on a different patient.


"No.. My inner thigh itches. Care to lend a hand?" Sibel stops, petting the forehead of the injured soldier to check his temperature.


"Give me some time so I can handle the other patients first"

 

[Javax]

Roxii snapped her eyes open to the sound of voices. They were demanding and loud, located on the other side of the wall of her hideout. Dangerously close, but still muffled by the rock that separated them. Sitting up on the bed roll and brandishing her lone ebony dagger in a defensive position, she began slowly getting up and trying to get closer towards the voices. Who was outside her home? Why were they here? What were they doing? What did they hope to accomplish? Were they searching for her?


The voices went quiet and a crackling noise started, becoming louder and more ferocious with every passing moment. She furrowed her brow in confusion. What is...? Her eyes went wide in realization. Magic. Roxii threw herself away from the wall as far as she possibly could before the wall exploded, the mage's explosive having blown the wall to pieces. Remnants of rock pelted Roxii's back and shoulders as she continued to cower there on the ground with her hands protecting the back of her head, not nearly far enough away from the explosion than she had wished.


Without hesitation, the intruders rushed into the dust cloud inside her home, looking around for her. She noted a single male mage and two mercenaries, one female and one male. The mage was the stereotypical robe-wearer, wielding a steel dagger in one hand and black and dark orange sparks snaking around his other hand. In one of his pockets was a folded note, an emblem barely visible in the corner—she bet it was a bounty note. The male mercenary was dual-wielding pinutí swords, and the female was wielding a steel broadsword with small throwing knives lined along her thighs.


Luckily, the dust cloud provided cover long enough for Roxii to take cover behind her valuables chest. She cursed silently to herself at the situation. There were three strangers armed to the teeth searching for her, no doubt to either kill her or take her to someone in exchange for a reward, and Roxii, having had taken the time to relax yesterday, her armor was put away in the wardrobe across the room and her bow was lying on the table in the middle of the room, directly in the line of sight of the intruders. The assassin was only clad in cloth and leather under-armor that she wore under her regular armor—black cloth leggings with a leather belt and leather lacings traveling down the side of the legs and a black cloth tank top—, that of which would provide hardly any protection in this battle, especially against those weapons.


As the dust began to settle, the mage gestured to the mercenaries to search the area with quick head movements; he seemed to be the one in charge. The male was the one who was coming Roxii's way as the female went the opposite way, heading towards the wardrobe. The mage inspected her bow and other items on the table, flipping through her log of finished contracts. Drumming her fingers along the handle of her dagger, she thought quickly and waited for the male mercenary to get close enough. Once he was within arm's distance, she jumped up out of her hiding place and kicked his knee in, the crack of his leg breaking almost as loud as his cry as he stumbled to the ground. She grabbed him before he fell and stuck the dagger into his throat, silencing him.


The other two averted their attention to the issue and converged on her quickly. She sheathed her dagger and grabbed the male's pinutí swords, blocking an attack from the female. The mage cast balls of black and orange towards Roxii, attempting to catch her off-guard. She blocked each attack with one sword, attacking the female with the other sword. Unfortunately, it was too much for the assassin as the mercenary's broadsword sliced Roxii's left thigh. She hissed at the pain but continued on. She feinted to the left out of the way and allowed the sword to cut straight through the female's leg, completely severing the lower half of her leg away from the rest of her body. She screamed in pain until Roxii came back and stabbed the sword into her skull.


She let go of the sword and got up, turning towards the mage. Wounded and upset, Roxii wanted to escape as quickly as possible. Ignoring the searing pain in her leg, she rushed forward and attempted to slash at him, but he avoided it easily. Thinking of the next best thing, she brought the hilt back towards the mage, bashing him in the head. He was dazed and that allowed Roxii time to stagger out of her ruined home and get as far away as she could before the mage could track her down. Along the way, she dropped the other pinutí and headed towards the military camp. If there was anyone whom she could consider an acquaintance—possibly even close to an ally—, it was Halk and the group.

 

[TheMaskedMurderess]

Roxas yawned loudly, she'd made her way around the enchanters forge and unintentionally began growing things, first flowers around the edge of the forge and then larger plants, large shrubs around the forge, making a tiny forest like world for herself, knowing this probably wouldn't go over well for her and the enchanter. She decided to grow honey suckle plants and then went with coaxing a large rose to make a bush of its self and grow. Finally Roxas stopped about lunch time and wandered around the camp, barefoot of course, her leg looked all healed up, just a tiny white scar. That was the beauty of being in the company of her sisters, one of them was part fae and could heal her simply by being close to her. Roxas' hair tumbled down her back and thick waves, blowing in the breeze as she explored around the forge. The camp was here but she didn't really explore much, truth she was waiting for Halk to come back and do something, maybe give her something to do. Or maybe that Roxii girl would come back and the nymph could talk to her.


Like magic, Roxii appeared, at the edge of the camps wounded it would seem. Roxas dashed over and wrapped an arm around her, under her arms to help her walk. "You've had a rough morning." She said, leading her deeper into the camp.

 

[Javax]

Roxii arrived at the edge of the camp only to be immediately met by the nymph. Roxas, she thought her name was. She noticed that she was making a move to help her and, to her own surprise, accepted the gesture. She allowed the nymph to help her walk. "It would seem so," she replied softly, keep her face more towards the ground to hide the scar traveling along half of her face. It wasn't something she was proud of—it was more so an insecurity—, so she tried to keep it as out of sight as possible, which was basically impossible given that she didn't have a mask or a hood to shroud her head and face.

 

[Alstromeria]

Halk smiled as Elsie went back to sleep. "She's trying to grow up too fast..." He mused. Oh well, the young would not, could not be sheltered for too long, especially in a world like this one. Halk hoped Gregory wasn't putting that curse on this little girl. With a yawn and a stretch, Halk teetered off to the healers tent.


Halk opened the flap to see Sibel with her hands full. He'd known her for a little bit, but never thought to ask her for anything, she had done work for their camp before. She was exceptionally good at her job. He wasn't sure she knew him, Halk not being someone to get hurt, but she definetely knew who he was, and what role he played around the camp. Halk's eyes alighted on the far corner where gregory appeared to be... Roped to a cot? Halk wiped at his eyes with one hand. Yep, Gregory was roped to a cot. Naked too. Halk sighed. "Sibel, I need that." Halk pointed at Gregory, lapsing into his habit of refering to people as objects when they were right in front of him, "The little one is fast asleep. That needs to help me for a moment."

 

[TheMaskedMurderess]

Roxas noted the girl hanging her head and lifted her free hand and opened her palm, a vine with large bell like flowers appeared, and Roxas twisted it with her fingers securing it around Roxii's head, covering part of her face. She lifted the other girls head and said "I recognize why you hide your face, but perhaps hanging your head after being injured isn't your best idea." She told the other woman as she made her way to the middle of the camp. She stopped and looked around. "I don't suppose you mind being close to people?" She asked roxii, the two were just far enough away to keep them covered, but close enough that if Roxii wanted help, she could take her there. "I ask only because some people can have panic attacks if they have too many touching them even if they are trying to help and I don't know if you have panic attacks from people, you know." Roxas said peering around the camp, wishing Halk would show up. He'd know what to do. Of course the girl had wanted to kill him just two nights ago, so maybe he wasn't the best. Roxas shifted her weight, noting the two girls were about the same height and then looked around the camp and saw what she was looking for. The place where Halk dumped roxii off to be helped last time. It was close, so if she wanted to be healed by the healer or whatever that man did roxii could get help.

 

[Javax]

Roxii considered Roxas' words of concern. The assassin wasn't necessarily comfortable around others, and too many people around could make her especially nervous and anxious. However, the pain shooting up and down her leg was more important than simple fears at the moment. "I'll be fine," she answered. She never really had many people be concerned about what she preferred or not. Not many others seemed to care about the assassin nowadays, so the questions came as a bit of a shock at the beginning, but she appreciated the nymph's eagerness of sought foreknowledge. Roxii continued, barely audible, "Thank you."