Fantasy Forging the Legends of Ravinia

[Paint The Wind]

Rose nodded and tucked the wolfsbane away into her trenchcoat pocket. She patted her horse’s neck, trying to make sure he still felt safe. “I’m glad too. We’re strong, but there are so many of them that we’d sustain major injuries, if not die,” she said with a sigh. She took off her hat, ran her hand through her hair, and then put the hat back on. She reached over and took Eliana’s hand, since their horses were right next to each other. “We really need to get moving. The longer we wait, the more dangerous this mission becomes.” Rose squeezed her hand and looked over at her. She looked absolutely angelic. She blushed a little and looked back ahead.

Kylesar1

 

[Bakuyoshi]

"That's the nicest way of saying I'm an idiot yet. I would feel insulted usually but hey, nothing wrong with a useful idiot. And by the way names Cross. I've been a hire for your kind once or twice but never got to know werewolves as a whole. I mean no offense but my knowledge only comes from my wife and her Lycanthrope research. Actually it's more so the Lycanthropy that makes you guys that she studies. But I hope I didn't offend you." Cross said his face a slight red from embarassment.

Kylesar1

 

[Scarlett-Wulf]

Silas O'Vera​

"Poor word choice, baseless assumptions, not knowing that the average werewolf hunter team is of 4, 5 if you have no medic..........You're definitely a blade for hire," Silas said, still being focused on Joseph. Cross seemed to ramble on a lot and didn't know just how deadly Pure Silver was to them. This wasn't a case of processed silver or silver that was used in coordination with other metals to make Joseph's blade. This was 100% pure unprocessed silver. That was almost as bad as the wolfsbane. "However, your ignorance about both werewolves and werewolf hunters has prevented bloodshed." There was so much wrong with what Cross said that there was no way he was hired on to hunt werewolves. Silas sheathed his sword. "Put the Silver and the Wolfsbane away. You will be escorted out in the direction you desire. I am Silas O'Vera, Alpha of the Crimson Moon pack." Named after Silas's ability to summon the Blood Moon (due to his werewolf awakening happening on a blood moon night)

"Revert.........." Joseph's sword turned back to its normal steel look. He then sheathed it. "Sir Joseph Watson, The Old Dawn General of Ravinian Special Forces. I heard of the Crimson Moon Pack. You were pretty vital to our night operations in Kains." Joseph was a squad leader of the Special Forces during that time, knighted and then trained in secrecy by Leon's best, then became one of his best.
"The Old Dawn General, eh? You're the Elder Knight who pulled a William Sherman on 3 cities after a unit was destroyed by a rush of suicide bombers." So they seemed to know each other, or at least recognize where each other came from in their past and seemed to respect what each other's unit/pack did in the war against Kains. The War against Kains was long before Silas became the Alpha. Kains was almost 80 years ago, so Joseph was a lot older than one would think, then though he was ALREADY old. "As for you, blade for hire, I'm always up for a friendly bout. With either of you."

Joseph turned to Luna when she mentioned the Black Rook of the North. "An elder Vampire, eh? The Black Rook of the North." He simply gave off a haughty laugh, one of those social ones as if he had been drinking. He knew the name from research in having to take down vampire targets, but if he has arisen then that was an entirely different can of worms, not that Joseph couldn't take one on. He has taken on 2 already. Crafty crafty "I'm sure that, like any other Vampire or Werewolf, I wouldn't want to fight one, but I know how to take one on if circumstances align." Vampires were also weak to Pure Silver as well as Fire. That meant a silver blade or solid thermite as well as firebombs would do some serious damage. "If this Elder Vampire ever wants to take on an Elder Knight, well...........I'm always up for a good battle. These old bones need constant motion, you know?"
Bakuyoshi
Scarlett-Wulf

Eliana moved towards Rose. They were in the back of the group in the clearing, staying off the entire discussion. "I think this is a peaceful resolution. No need for the wolfsbane," she said with a sigh of relief. It seemed typical. The guys all wanted friendly battles to establish respect and the woman all wanted peaceful resolutions. "I'm glad things didn't devolve." She was still on guard from the werewolves behind them, but for the most part, she could finally relax.
P Paint The Wind

“My little bat, don’t you know not to use my name as a threat....or warning...I am retired from war...” a voice coming from baumets mouth as the small dragon looked to Joseph “I would gladly fight you as a warrior, I know personally I would much rather die in battle than in my sleep”

Luna looked down, acting a bit like a child who just got scolded “sorry father.....I didn’t mean to embarrass you....” turning around she slowly walked back to Silas, holding onto his arm she stood silently. Leaning up to his ear “We need to get the humans away from me....safely of course but I haven’t fed today and I’m feeding two so....please” baumets talons digging into Luna’s shoulders to keep her in check.
Kylesar1

 

[Birdsie]

Valac
Redvale, Jailhouse

The spirit felt a flare of anger in his chest, "No way." Hard lines of rodent rage drew on his face, combined with cringing, as Caius let the whole 'stealth' part of 'stealth operation' fall to the ground, literally. This wasn't what he anticipated. This went against the plan. Valac felt the urge to yell and call him an idiot from across the hallway, but it would compromise his facade of a nice person.

His mind calculated. This would attract the attention of the other guards. At least ten seconds until they would arrive. What to do? Valac was a betting man. Sometimes, manipulation isn't all about just safety. People are unpredictable, but sometimes that can be helpful. They were compromised, but this could be turned around into profit.

"I got this," he said. Valac leaped off of Lair's shoulder, in the direction of the fallen guard. He stood on the guard's body and focused. A bright flash of light occurred above the rat, as a humanoid shape of light formed, then followed by the light crystallizing into the form of the unconscious guard who disappeared from the ground. An illusion, but so real it might as well be. Heru and the guard's body were replaced by the illusion.

The group would hear Valac's voice speak to them. "I'll throw the guards off and catch up with you later." Valac prayed to himself that this worked to gain their trust. He didn't worry about the guards at all. Mortals without second sight won't see through what he wants them to see.

Worst case scenario, Valac would utilize the illusion as a weapon. People tend to underestimate illusion magic as a nonlethal way to end conflicts, but they are wrong. Illusions can be just as deadly as the real thing. After all, what of it if the dagger is an illusion if you are convinced that you're dead? If you convince your brain you died, then it will order the heart to stop beating since it shouldn't be. The illusory fire burns and stings and makes your mind bleed, while the illusory strength makes you think that you're invincible. Convincing someone who is alive that they died is just another way to kill.

Archemis Arvios Lincs BackSet animegirl20 revior

 

[Silver Wolf]

Alex Gremor & Zak Schrodinger
Location: Redvale
Interactions: Open for Interaction (If the following need someone to interact with, feel free because I lost track of your posts: The Fabulous Emerald , FireMaiden , Kallo , Bakuyoshi , Captain Spooks )
​

With a rainy day came some rather bad things to happen. Alx had managed to get his wagon into the city, and his draft horses were sitting in the stables for now. He was sitting outside in the rain under his wagon's cover and made a good long sigh to himself. Zak was over at a bar somewhere likely, but that was quickly denounced when the cat man came back saying that a murder had taken place in a tavern and they had closed up for the day. For such an occasion where Zak wasn't drinking and risking himself getting into fights in a tavern, Alex pulled up a bottle of white wine he had been saving.

"Come on Gremor, why can't you have something cheaper. You aren't going to dock this from my pay, right?" Zak asked with a sarcastic smirk. After that he took a hefty sip of the wine and gave a happy sigh. Alex smiled at this gesture, and Zak placed his arms around his employer with a smirk. Alex looked at Zak with a platonic face, he was no stranger to Zak's homosexual tendencies. Zak did so because he was raised around mostly men, so he didn't have a lot of female interaction during puberty. Alex didn't know this fact, but Zak didn't really care whether he knew or not. After a few minutes, Zak retracted his arm from Alex and they continued to drink in peace.

"So...what are your plans after this job? Now that we're in a city, I could pay you and we could go on our merry ways. It was an interesting change of pace having to deal with you the pat few weeks."

"Eh...it's a trade city, so I could find a job easily, but I'm bored...maybe I'll go to ome poor sods who actually need me. Your trip was a relatively safe one, so I'm itching for a damn fight. Not a brawl either. It's no fun when my life isn't on the line."

Zak was definitely an adrenaline junky in plenty of ways. Alex wasn't going to leave for a little bit. Redvale was a trade city, so he ought to visit some people. Make connections and visit past customers and suppliers. The iron nails weren't selling well as nails, so Alex was thinking of heading over to someone who would buy them for the iron. Zak would be useless in this setting, so it might be time to make the payment after the storm was over.

The two had only arrived in the city today, so they weren't about to part ways yet. Once the bottle was gone, more than half being drunk by Zac, Alex began opening up his shop by moving his other stock out and waiting. It was mostly some of his common supplies and oddities. Nothing magical really, but still things that could pique others' interest.



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

Lawrence "Raven" Vlax
Location: Forests Outside Redvale
In Area: Tobias ( Kylesar1 )
​

Lawrence was out in the forests collecting a bounty on some creatures in the area. Some trophy items were asked to be brought back as proof. Two Dire Wolves, a Goliath Spider, and five Giant Puss Toads. The last one being one of the more challenging ones since the toads held a collection of sappy poison on their warts that was prone to bursting. Between Dire Wolves and a giant hunting spider, Raven knew that Puss Toads were damningly dangerous. Some species had sap that was acidic, skin absorbing paralysis poison, or other strange concoctions. A Goliath Spider was a little easier because it only had its fangs to administer venom and no webbing. A dire wolf pair would be easiest though. Dire wolves were dangerous in packs, but a law of nature was that they didn't have poison or venom to incapacitate him and leave him for dead. The toads were large enough to eat him whole, so the possibility of encountering the toads was a damningly dangerous one.

Lawrence was on the search for the dire wolves first. He didn't want to be overcome by poison or venom while dealing with them. He heard a distant howling, and assumed it to be the dire wolves, so Lawrence began making his way towards their location. All the while his gauntlet was in "Talon" form which would allow swift retaliation in the case of the unexpected ambush. The last thing he wanted was to be ambushed by a spider or another person. It was dangerous coming to these secluded forests alone. Enchanted creatures were a danger, but they weren't impossible to avoid. This meant that poachers could also be a problem should he run into any. It was a city bounty Lawrence was going after, so he should be fine killing a few animals.

 

[Kylesar1]

Sir Joseph Watson, Silas, Eliana McKenzie, and Maverick
​

"If things are all settled then, we really need to be getting going. We have a slave that we freed and she has belongings that she needs to get back from those who were her slave masters."
Silas scoffed. He found himself immediately pissed. "Her dignity? Her humanity?"
"A sacred Oracle Key and a Pegasus Unicorn."
Silas shook his head. "We will escort you out. Eye for an eye is the way of the Wolf." Silas took the lead and they started to follow, Joseph sitting on top of the carriage and the other werewolves taking the flank

Maverick was one of those in the flank. She walked beside Eliana and Rose. "It would be a shame to let subhuman trash walk," she said, crunching branches under her feet as she walked. "If you got saved, I hope you're using your newly gained life to at least save those captured by that slave driver. I say kill him." Maverick was even less pleased with the concept of slave driving.
Eliana squeezed Rose's hand. She wasn't really the killing type, but . "We will make sure he feels what he's made me and a lot of others feel," Eliana said
Bakuyoshi P Paint The Wind Scarlett-Wulf

Tobias Cabral
​

Toby walked about the forest, blood soaking his armor. He'd had to kill about 5 hostile creatures already. "Jesus fuck," he said, keeping his crossbow out and armed. He heard some rustling in the bushes and took to a predatory mindset, moving slowly, an Aether Arrow in the crossbow to blind whoever he hit. He found those far more effective against the hostile creatures than his other 3 options. He creeped up slowly and saw a man in the forest, who seemed to have killed a few creatures himself. This forest wasn't exactly a good place to be for the public, so he could be one of the people who knows something about the missing children, if not the culprit. He aimed his crossbow at Lawrence. "Oi," he called out to the guy. "Do you know anything about children coming up missing here?"
Silver Wolf

 

[Scarlett-Wulf]

Luna stayed by silas’s Side, her eyes starting to glow red as she stared at the humans, seeing their very blood pump through their veins. Blushing at the thought of their blood trickling down her throat. “Maybe just one of them.....the slave has to be...no...now isn’t the time” gripping silas’s Arm to try and keep herself calm and from going into a blood rage. Biting her lip she looked up at silas’s Neck, starting to lick her lips all the while contemplating on feeding and staying safe.
Kylesar1

 

[Arvios]

Lair Aelnor
Location: Ravinia, city of Redvale
Jailhouse (Breakout)


Lair follows suit, albeit a bit late, joining the majority of everyone down the flight of stairs. Everyone had put on their metaphorical stealth boots as they descended to the first floor. But just as he passes through the door, he hears the sound of minor conflict, and then rattling armor falling prey to gravity. Lair's eyes instinctively clenched at the alarming sound, his arms raised inwards as if to protect him from the sound. This would without a doubt attract the guards, and they only had seconds before they were discovered. He feels a minor push on his shoulder as Valac takes the lead, creating what looked to be an illusion of the man. After hearing his words, Lair simply steps over the last known location of the downed guard, not being sure how the illusion magic worked.

Lair stays behind the line of escapists, with Nyrea and Foster taking the lead as the eyes of the group. He felt like they were missing someone, but he pushed the thought to the side as they needed to focus on not being discovered. He stayed ready to follow the group, concentrating on any possible direction they might take while doing what he could from the rear.


BackSet , Archemis , revior animegirl20 Lincs Birdsie

 

[Bakuyoshi]

Saia
Redvale

(Open for interaction)

Saia had been beating herself mentally as she had gotten herself dressed into her normal wear. "Good job me that's a way to make friends. Burn them out for their passion. I swear humans are so complicated. Maybe a short life can change how you view life and time. And I can't seem to understand that. I'll just go to the stables. The horses are the only ones I haven't scared away aside from kids." Saia said as she walked to the stables. The man who ran the stables knew her and was grateful due to the one time she stopped two horses that got free. So she was always welcomed to hang around the horses. But today she noticed some extra horses. "Heh Merchant horses. Wondering what sort of stories you could tell me... And I'm talking to horses again... great." Saia said obviously frustrated. Not only did she screw up with making a new friend but she found that man to be... attractive. And she had no idea what or how to feel."

 

[Scarlett-Wulf]

“Tending to the horses again I see, I guess those who are unique are always feared the most...whether it is power, race, or what you look like” Raven Ran a hand over one of the horses manes, smiling as he set a brush down “much better, always having bed head aren’t we?” He asked the horse before stepping into the light where Saia could see him. “Interesting creatures aren’t they?” Looking her over l, his face as calm as stone and his silver hair hidden by the hood, only strands peaking out freely.
Bakuyoshi

 

[Paint The Wind]

Sir Joseph Watson, Silas, Eliana McKenzie, and Maverick
​

"If things are all settled then, we really need to be getting going. We have a slave that we freed and she has belongings that she needs to get back from those who were her slave masters."
Silas scoffed. He found himself immediately pissed. "Her dignity? Her humanity?"
"A sacred Oracle Key and a Pegasus Unicorn."
Silas shook his head. "We will escort you out. Eye for an eye is the way of the Wolf." Silas took the lead and they started to follow, Joseph sitting on top of the carriage and the other werewolves taking the flank

Maverick was one of those in the flank. She walked beside Eliana and Rose. "It would be a shame to let subhuman trash walk," she said, crunching branches under her feet as she walked. "If you got saved, I hope you're using your newly gained life to at least save those captured by that slave driver. I say kill him." Maverick was even less pleased with the concept of slave driving.
Eliana squeezed Rose's hand. She wasn't really the killing type, but . "We will make sure he feels what he's made me and a lot of others feel," Eliana said
Bakuyoshi P Paint The Wind Scarlett-Wulf

Tobias Cabral
​

Toby walked about the forest, blood soaking his armor. He'd had to kill about 5 hostile creatures already. "Jesus fuck," he said, keeping his crossbow out and armed. He heard some rustling in the bushes and took to a predatory mindset, moving slowly, an Aether Arrow in the crossbow to blind whoever he hit. He found those far more effective against the hostile creatures than his other 3 options. He creeped up slowly and saw a man in the forest, who seemed to have killed a few creatures himself. This forest wasn't exactly a good place to be for the public, so he could be one of the people who knows something about the missing children, if not the culprit. He aimed his crossbow at Lawrence. "Oi," he called out to the guy. "Do you know anything about children coming up missing here?"
Silver Wolf

Rose smiled softly at Eliana and nodded at Maverick. “The slave drivers rarely escape unscathed, though we prefer to just have them arrested rather than killing them ourselves. Less explaining, and then it’s easier to gain credibility with the government forces,” she said.

 

[Silver Wolf]

Lawrence "Raven" Vlax
Location: Forests Outside Redvale
Interactions: Tobias ( Kylesar1 )
​

Lawrence swiftly turned around at the sound of a voice and managed to put two and two together before deciding whether or not to attack. The man who had greeted him had called attention to himself. For that, Lawrence had less caution, but kept a careful eye on the crossbow. As he did, the mystery man asked about missing children. Lawrence had heard a few rumors, but what a damningly sad question. In his mind, with bounties set out on Spiders with heads as large as a man, giant toads with poison sacks capable of swallowing them whole, and a pair of dire wolves his first thoughts were "Of course there are missing children. The forests isn't exactly a damn playground." But this was just a thought. As he sized up the man he wondered what he was doing here. He did remember a few...odd rumors about missing children, but nothing more that could be dismissed to him as superstitious or obvious nonsense as the forrest had enchanted creatures like the Puss Toads. If there were five, gods forbid anyone let their children come here.

"Don't know," Lawrence replied lifting his shoulders up. He would've left it at that, but if this man knew a child that had gone missing the least Lawrence could do was help him. "Look, lower that weapon. We can talk this out like civilized people. I'm just a mercenary, name's Raven, I'm just here to pick up a bounty on some creatures. Two dire wolves, one Goliath Spider, and five gods forsaken Giant Puss Toads. I wouldn't think it would be a surprise for children to go missing if the city placed out THOSE bounties. However...if you help me, I could help you find these children...or possibly what's left of them. I'd say the Spider or the Toads got them. I'll even split the pay, fifty fifty depending on how well you perform."

The last thing Lawrence, or Raven in this case wanted to do was look suspicious, so he just kept his gauntlet out in case the stranger did shoot. It wasn't like Lawrence was a stranger to being threatened by someone thinking him suspicious. An all black dressed man with a few facial scars and a taloned gauntlet was definitely suspicious. Lawrence had killed a few random creatures, so a little blood was on his weapons. If he was attacked though, he wouldn't go down without a fight.

 

[Archemis]

Nyrea
Location: City of Redvale
Jailhouse

Nyrea watched has Oahu and Foster made their way to her. She smiled a little, opening her mouth to greet them when a loud clang cut her off and her reaction was immediate. A facepalm followed by an unrestrained sigh while shaking her head side to side. "This was why I kept insisting on going alone but no don't listen to the thief, what do I know anyway" she thought. To others her reaction could have been almost comical if it wasn't for the situation that now everyone was in.

She looked back to the now rat's illusion, she narrowed her eyes in its direction oh yeah it's lying to them for sure, there's no way a rat would pull that trick, filling that information in her mind for later she focused on the mission. Go for the most pressing problem first, she remembered the words Vido kept telling her during their training sessions. There was two possible outcomes from that, she reasoned, one: more soldiers come out of one of the rooms and they are f*cked, second: nothing happens to them, because of the illusion or because there's no other guards. She liked the second one a lot more but giving her luck today she didn't expect it. She didn't like to advance while having the real possibility of being stabbed in the back (quite literally in this case). But the situation in from of her was what she needed to deal immediately. If someone else came from the back the others could do something about them right? Right. Probably. She hoped.

With no time to waste with talk she used her air magic to close the door behind the guards as quietly as possible and rotate the key to close it. It seemed that the noise wasn't loud enough for them to hear across the courtyard, probably because they were talking to each other. The only thing she knew was that they needed to keep moving. There was nowhere to hide in the hallway and they couldn't risk being detected this early. She looked to the others. She didn't like this but she saw no alternative.

"Guess we're moving, follow me" she gesture to the group, keeping her voice a very low whisper "Where's flower girl?" she looked back to the corridor but she couldn't see her anywhere. Maybe it was best if she stayed behind either way. Nyrea grabbed a pebble and threw it to a place near the guards but the opposite side. Without waiting she moved behind some barrels next to the wall to her right, moving up to the farther corner, slowly to make sure everyone kept following and was close, making small distractions every time there was need.

Arvios BackSet animegirl20 revior Lincs

 

[animegirl20]

Odette was still in the same spot waiting for the others. She wondered how long it would be. “I wonder if any of them are coming back this way.” She said to herself referring to the window escape she used. Well at the moment she was fine. She was enjoying the rain as it fell. The only way that would make this less enjoyable would be if it was thundering and lighting which always scared her. As she was standing there waiting she heard foot steps. Quickly climbed back up the wall and then sat in the window watching the to see who was coming. Looked like a guard. She waited until he passed and she came back down. She sighed, “I do hope they hurry up.” Then suddenly there was a big boom and a lighting. Odette jumped and had her back against the wall. She then slid down to the ground and huggedj her knees. And there was another boom! Looked like there was going to be a bad storm tonight. “I’m not scared. I’m not scard ah!” There was another loud boom. “Oh I wanna go home!” Yelled out. The winds were now starting to pick up.
BackSet
Arvios
revior
Archemis
Lincs
Birdsie

 

[Bakuyoshi]

"Any creature can be interesting sir. Wheather it be a turtle or Swamp strider. The only issue is they cannot talk. Imagine what we could learn if some of the most ancient creatures could talk to us. They could tell us of a time when magic may have been Taboo... That and I came here to talk with the only creatures who aren't difficult to talk to. Everyone else just seems so odd. Or maybe I'm the odd one." Saia said as she continued petting the horses. She seemed to be lost in thought and mildly upset.

Scarlett-Wulf

 

[Scarlett-Wulf]

"Any creature can be interesting sir. Wheather it be a turtle or Swamp strider. The only issue is they cannot talk. Imagine what we could learn if some of the most ancient creatures could talk to us. They could tell us of a time when magic may have been Taboo... That and I came here to talk with the only creatures who aren't difficult to talk to. Everyone else just seems so odd. Or maybe I'm the odd one." Saia said as she continued petting the horses. She seemed to be lost in thought and mildly upset.

Scarlett-Wulf

Raven chuckled at what she said “there may be some truth to what you say child....I will agree with you at one point Magic was considered rare and dangerous at that, taboo as you say, vampires and werewolves were more farell. if you enjoy reading I have many old books on all sorts of subjects....” pausing he walked over looking at the horse then to Saia “is something on your mind dear?” He asked before placing a hand on her shoulder.
Bakuyoshi

 

[Ushi]

Country: Ravinia
City: Redvale
Location: The Market
-Open for interaction-​

Ushi looked down at the surrounding crowd watching her. They were scared, people had their firearms out and will aim and fire if the shadow does anything like a threating stare. Ushi worried, walked faster along the stone pavement, she just wanted to be out of attention. A fierce tall guard looked at her with no mercy, he stood tall with a priceless set of armor.
"We never asked you to rush, Lass!?"
The joyous man giggled and held her head making her look at him in the eyes.
"Disgusting mishaps don't deserve to be on this pavement- you're just getting this pavement even more filthy. If I were you, I would of harvest my own food-"

Ushi grew furious but she hesitated to take out a weapon. The poor girl grew stiff, she was a doll. Ushi then noticed flesh revealing from the knight's neck.
"You truly think a girl like you could fight!? You have no tribe, kingdom, empire to back you up- JUST RUN!"
The tempted knight rushed at Ushi with sword and shield in hand. Little Ushi was shocked yet, she stood in place. Ushi took out her kusarigama and swang it as high and fast as she could. Out of the blue, ushi tied it up to his arm the chains pierced his arm.

He groans and grasps his arm.
"Look what she did to me? she's a monster from Satan himself!"
He growled as the crowd yelled the lines of 'Kill the lass'.
The knight went for a jab but Ushi moved to the side ending with a blow to his neck. The knight in pain collapse while the crowd gasps. Ushi ran off and rushed to a nearby ladder where she climbed and ran across roofs. Ushi is not the type to kill anyone but if they try to land a blow, she isn't letting that stay still.

Country: Ravinia
City: Redvale​

 

[Lincs]

Foster
​

Foster winced as he stepped around the corner and noted the guard at the bottom of the stairs. His wince turned into a full-body cringe as Caius took the guard down, causing the sound to thunder around the building. Not the greatest of starts.

He felt immediate, flooding relief as Her... Helun... the rat king came to the rescue with his illusion. The feelings of trust and goodwill towards the creature still held his mind captive. Something deep inside him still squirmed wildly, panicking at the very thought, the touch, but he could not feel it. He pressed on close behind Nyrea, content to let her apply her 'final details' to their path forward for the time being. Anticipation welled up inside; the confiscated gear should be somewhere close, shouldn't it?

Somewhere in the distance, thunder boomed; the timbers up high creaked and rattled as things began to escalate.
____________
Archemis
Arvios
animegirl20
Birdsie
BackSet
revior

 

[BackSet]

Theseus Balder
Huh. There's a fight going on. And it's a big one.
​

Theo was flying once again but the storm winds were not being pleasent. If he didn't land soon he would be blown away. Theo stopped in midair, fighting to actually stay aloft. There! He thought, spotting a building with an awning on top. Theo was unaware such a thing existed in this world, but it was a welcome sight. He swooped down, nearly loosing control in the process, and landed gracefully under the awning. He then took his time to look out over the city. Looking directly below, Theo noticed that a fight had broken out. It seemed like a good quarter of the city was going up against one girl. Theo wasn't sure what was going on but he didn't want to get involved as he risked doing the wrong thing.

Ushi

 

[revior]

Caius Grants
Redvale: Jailhouse
​

The moment the guard crashed into the ground- No, even before that, Caius knew, he screwed up. Will he have to fight? Will he have to kill? It took but an instant for him to steel himself for it, to take down every single guard that comes his way in abandon. However, as luck would have it, the situation did not come to that. Outside, the pleasant rain had turned into a thunderstorm, the sound of rain and thunder had muffled the ruckus he had caused. Then, the rat king came and casted an illusion over the unconscious guard, turning him invisible, and rather than the trick of the mind, this illusion seemed optical in nature. The rat is beginning to seem more dangerous by the second.

"Thanks for the assist. You're more helpful than I ever thought a rat could be." Of course, it was naught but lip-service, as Caius expects that whatever the rat does for them here, it'll demand the favor back eventually.

"Sorry about that, my hand slipped." he said as he regrouped with the others. His voice was calm as he apologized, but he was rather shaken on the inside. Caius was a bit of a perfectionist and tends to find it hard to swallow slip ups and mistakes. This was why it was difficult for him to master smithing as he would quickly lose focus over the smallest fumbles. Nowadays, he's better at keeping that side of him in check, but he cold never shake the feelings that gnaw away at him whenever he performs poorly.

He has no complaints when it comes to letting Nyrea lead. Having the Blue Raven take the helm of the sneaking was reassuring and he wasn't against the notion to keep moving either, he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. However, there was one problem, well, perhaps not so much of a problem and more of a concern. Odette wasn't with them. Caius only noticed after Nyrea pointed it out. He thought back when he had last seen her and recalled that she had went out of the window. She should be fine, thought Caius, more importantly, he needs to get his things back. But then, he notice a little something wrapped around his hands, makeshift bandages torn from a dress. It's raining hard, and there's lightning and thunder as well, kids don't tend to enjoy thunder very much, Caius himself never liked them as a kid, don't even like them now as a grown man.

"You guys go ahead while I go take a look. I'll meet you at the exit if nothing goes wrong."

Caius went off without waiting, he didn't think that anyone would stop him. As for the retrieval of his stuff, he decided that he'll leave it to the others, hopefully they could remember what was taken off him before he was tossed into the cell. Besides, they'll probably do better without him, he wasn't exactly the stealth type anyways.

...

From above, Caius fell onto the wet ground below with a slash. The vines were not strong enough to support him. At least he managed to fall without screaming, and the heavy rain would have likely muffled his fall. He laid on the ground, wet and miserable and groaning in pain. Though in spite of that, he slowly turned towards Odette who was curling up against the wall.

"If you're already out here, should you be escaping? What are you waiting around here for? Was it the frying pan? Are you waiting to get that back?"

He knew of course that it couldn't possibly be the frying pan. It was because she said that she had a place to hide and they could all go there. She's a good kid that keeps her word. Either that or perhaps it was the frying pan after all, maybe it's magic, maybe with ohko enchantment.

Arvios BackSet Archemis Lincs Birdsie animegirl20

 

[BlackDusk]

Coming back after a day long hunting for red deers, Gesar passed by the market place on his usual route to the fur dealer's location to monetize his catch. Realizing that the district is in complete lull, Gesar dismounted from his horse and paused in the middle of the cart rendezvous paying attention to the ambience around him.

"Could this be...?" He uttered underneath his breath. Upon inspecting the liquor store near him he came to a definite conclusion that it wasn't his formal raiding party which he first suspected that ransacked this city during his absence. Everything was intact; roofs that should've been burned down over the collapsed houses, brutally butchered corpse of the ones who made a futile resistance and destroyed ornaments didn't simply exist as if the entire population spontaneously vanished.

Then came the clanking sounds of the metal armors together with the clamoring of multiple people from the distance, but Gesar quickly got distracted by the silhouette which romped from roof to roof as if was trying to escape from something.

As a hunter, Gesar began building up the urge to chase after the literal mysterious shadow.

"Haita! Haita!" He commanded his loyal steed as he jumped on top; to go after the fleeing figure.

Ushi

 

[Kylesar1]

Luna stayed by silas’s Side, her eyes starting to glow red as she stared at the humans, seeing their very blood pump through their veins. Blushing at the thought of their blood trickling down her throat. “Maybe just one of them.....the slave has to be...no...now isn’t the time” gripping silas’s Arm to try and keep herself calm and from going into a blood rage. Biting her lip she looked up at silas’s Neck, starting to lick her lips all the while contemplating on feeding and staying safe.
Kylesar1

Rose smiled softly at Eliana and nodded at Maverick. “The slave drivers rarely escape unscathed, though we prefer to just have them arrested rather than killing them ourselves. Less explaining, and then it’s easier to gain credibility with the government forces,” she said.

Maverick​

Maverick nodded but sighed, shaking her head. "I suppose you humans have your version of the wolf hierarchy and Wolf Code," she said, them reaching the end of the line of the forest. She sat down at the end. Flashing white, she turned back into a human. She dug into her bag and unsheathed a short sword. "We're overstocked. Take it and destroy him," Maverick said, her eyes hard and flashing red. She couldn't rage transform, but she still had indicators of someone who could. That included the red flashing eyes.
Eliana took the blade, surprised at Maverick's sudden kindness. The blade was the lightest weapon she's had since being freed. Her spear would be most useful on horseback, but a shortsword was good to get in close, though that wasn't her strong suit. She bowed as best she could on horseback. "Thank you........er.........."
"............Maverick is my name." She said, answering the unasked question.
P Paint The Wind

Silas​

Silas held his arm out for Luna. "Arm for now," he said in a whisper. "After this, either bite my neck or go to Maverick." He kept talking to Joseph and Cross as if nothing was happening. "Cross, how long have you been doing blade for hire work?" Silas was curious as to the approximate age of both Joseph and Cross, but curious about their abilities far more than their age. He could SEE Joseph's experience by the way he retained Pure Silver on his sword. He must've been using the spells for quite some time. They reached the end of the forest, the escort over.
Scarlett-Wulf Bakuyoshi

 

[animegirl20]

Odette turned as something fell next to her. Oh it was Caius! But...she didn't see the others with him. Guess they were still getting their weapons and things. Though from the looks of it he didn't have his either so why did he come back? "Huh?' She realized he was talking to her. "Oh haha no they don't even have the frying pan its at the tavern. It wasn't mines anyway I was just borrowing it." The thunder roared again and there was a lighting strike. She jumped slightly and closed her eyes for a second and continued talking. "I was waiting for you guys remember? My home is hidden everyone can hide out until things calm down a bit." She looked at him realizing he was totally wet. Humans and animals could get sick in rain like this. Since it wasn't cold or anything she would be fine. She took her cloak off and held it out to him. "You want my cloak? The rain won't make me sick. By the way where are you weapons? Did you not get them?"
BackSet
Arvios
revior
Archemis
Lincs
Birdsie

 

[Birdsie]

Valac
Redvale, Jailhouse

Valac heard Caius' thanks. He overlooked it at first.

After a long second has passed, like a hammer hitting a bookstack, the realization struck Valac. He felt his cogs turning, processing the sentence. His pupils dilated into wells.

Valac looked down, only holding onto the illusion with a sliver of his mind and keeping it up barely. He laughed just quietly enough for absolutely no one to hear; it was a sort of shallow snickering, filled with fulfillment in every 'ha' and 'he' sound. Hearing those thankful words from Caius was like a balm to his depleted and wounded mind.

Naturally, Valac couldn't explain to anyone why, but it felt great to hear it. The thing that Valac loved particularly was the choice of words. Caius said 'helpful,' not 'useful.' Helpful, like a person. Not useful, like a tool.

He recomposed his simple breathing, while his pupils compressed. Valac looked up. Rats couldn't display emotion well enough, but if there was anything that the rat's expression came close to, it would have been a smug grin.

***​

Spoiler: Backstory Snippet (Unrelated to the story, read if you want)

"Hey, kiddo." The horned demon was ignored by the child, who studiously read a book on writing magical books; ironic. The boy flipped to the next page with his index finger, keeping up his center.

The demon wasn't a brute; his body was slim and he was of moderate height. He wore simple robes, black, with some red, purple, and gold tint that meant an allegiance to Amos. His dry, blue skin and serpent-like eyes suggested he wasn't from a brood of fighters.

"Kid," he repeated the call. Ignored once again.

"Nerd boy," he said, getting irritated. The boy paid him absolutely no heed.

The demon growled finally. "Hey, child that is so unloved no one bothered to name it, I'm talking to you!"

Slowly, the boy looked up. His eyes had glowing, orange irises, like wells of ancient, evil power. He had long, white hair and wore an alabaster armor with golden accents and decorative symbols on it. The idea of a child wearing armor was perplexing. The boy had a slim, beautiful face and long, elven ears.

He groaned and clutched his head. "Go away. Also, my name is Valac."

The devil kept bothering him. "Why did you take the form of a kid?"

"Lord Amos said it suits my age," he answered, not looking up from his book, "It makes me recognizable as someone inexperienced, as children are widely known to be naive and gullible." He flipped a page forward, his face becoming weary as he realized the devil was still in the library.

The demon leaned forward. "Are you naive and gullible?" he asked.

"Maybe," Valac admitted with a bitter honesty. He closed his book with a loud bang, then took another one, having finished it. The devil watched this action with great interest. Valac spared him a single glance. "But don't count on getting my soul. I'm not that dumb," he warned, smiled coldly, then opened the next tome.

The demon smirked. "Books, huh? In moderation, they're pretty useful. In excess," The demon flipped the table, sheets of paper fluttering cadaverously in the humid air, "A mediocre path to power. You can’t have that, right?"

Valac's fists tightened. Anger flared in his chest and he felt a blood-stirring thirst for vengeance. He looked up at the demon. "Who do you think you are?" he asked, as he did not want to kill someone important by complete accident.

"Adramalech," the devil bowed curtly, waving his hand in circles for show. "Duke of the Seventh Layer of the Abyss, but I'm contesting in several others. At your service."

Eyes wide, Valac confronted the wretch. "And what do you want?"

"Come here and I’ll tell you," Adramalech gestured, a solemn expression overtaking his features.

Valac reluctantly leaned in. He heard Adramalech's whisper, "The important question is: what do you want?"

"To serve Amos," he said without hesitation. Valac leaned back, feeling the whole exchange was a waste of time. Valac folded his arms and stared at the duke oppressively, expecting him to leave in peace.

"No, no," Adramalech denied, as if he had known Valac better than he knew himself. Adramalech then smiled. "That's what he wants. For you to serve him. What do you, Valac, the spirit of Ayla, want? A pony? The lollipop I stole from you when you were three? Or perhaps... a true path to power?"

"Power?" Valac asked, intrigued.

Adramalech broke away, walking a semicircle around Valac. "Of course, of course. But you’re spoiled enough, I can’t just give it to you. What do you think the true path to power is, kid?"

Valac coughed. Magic was the obvious one, but would Adramalech renounce it as obviously incorrect? Or was the simple answer the right one? Impossible to know, he’d just gamble. What was Adramalech good at? Valac heard Adramalech obtained his position by winning against the previous demon who held the title in a board game gamble. "The true path... does it have something to do with board games?"

"What?" Adramalech recoiled. "Board, board games? What the fuck have you been reading, kid? No, it’s got nothing to do with board games."

"Okay, is the true path... being a lazy bum?"

Adramalech chuckled. "What makes us more than we are? What unlocks our potential, destroys our enemies, and builds our society?"

“Intelligence,” Valac replied.

The demon blinked. “Well, yeah. I was gonna say magic, but intelligence works too. And who works magic; who has the mana that demons and spirits feed off of? Who is intelligent? Don't think specifically; think broadly.”

Valac thought broadly. "...People."

"Yes." Adramalech pointed at the child’s chest. “You are a person. You can work magic. You have intelligence, tragically stunted it may be by naivety, gullibility and other boyhood traumas. I’m a person too - can you believe it? Your current boss, your servants, even your god-mommy - all people. In this civilized world of ours, people are power. If you only grow your own strength, you’ll only control one person. But control the people around you, and you are the master of your world."

Valac pouted. "People can’t just be controlled so easily," he complained.

"Of course not, did you think the path of true power was easy?" The demon scoffed. “Listen up kid, if they do what you want, it doesn’t matter whether you coerced them or convinced them. Convincing’s usually better, even."

Adramalech sat down on a nearby chair. "Think about it this way. When your superiors; like Amos, give you gifts and magical materials, what are they doing?"

"They’re investing in the next generation."

"Whoa, kiddo, tone it down with the party line. But yeah, they’re trying to control you with an investment. Shape the future when they’re dead. And if you know anything about investors, it’s this: they are stingy fucks. They’re thinking about rate of return, so they want to give as little as they can to get everything out of you."

Valac nodded. He hadn’t really thought about it that way.

"Instead, try this scam: pretend to be a crappy old man," Adramalech produced a makeup kit and a scroll that contained an illusion spell that made it seem as if though it was the Royal Seal of Ravinia, "Go to some place and bump into some hothead who’s a little less important than you. Spill all his crap on the road, pretend to be drunk if you need to, just be an obnoxious fuck. Get him really incensed. And when he threatens to kill you and your whole family - BAM! You whip out the Royal Seal." Adramalech flashed him with the illusory scroll.

"Everyone on the public street just saw him threaten a scion of royalty. He’ll beg you to fleece him if you’ll please just spare his life. Now, you can take the easy route and take all his stuff. Or you can take the more interesting route and take all his stuff while forcing him to disclose all his secrets and sell himself into slavery to you. More on enforcing that later. Point is, while demons that serve Amos had to work their asses off to get turned into investments, I had forty times as much, and all I had to learn was how to look like a crappy old man."

"Is that how you conquered Kains?" Valac had perked up, this was pretty interesting.

"If you spend your life playing their game, you’ll end up in the box they want to put you. Play your own game, and you might have a shot at ending up where you want to be. And about that scam: later on, I overplayed it. The others caught wise, it almost went public. Would have been egg on your boss' face and ugly for me. Luckily I had my slaves cover it up. A lot of them died that day. Moral of the story: some people are okay to scam."

Valac nodded enthusiastically.

"But if you want a longer relationship, don’t hoodwink them too much, even if they’re an easy mark. Give ‘em a deal you can convince them is fair, so they’ll keep coming back. And never go into a scheme whose consequences you can’t recover from, but work as close to that line as you can, or one day you’ll find you’ve stopped learning."

"I see..." Valac mused, then paused for a brief moment. He looked at Adramalech and smirked smugly. “So I shouldn’t tell Amos all those things you said, and in exchange, you'll do whatever I ask for?"

Adramalech threw his head back and laughed. "Damn, nice try kid, but it's not that easy. Amos knows better than to sack one of his greatest generals. Homework for today: come up with a scam that doesn’t rely on the power of Hell."

The stars were right.

***​

The sounds of clanking metal rang furiously, as a pair of guards armed with stun rods ran upstairs. Valac maintained the illusion and looked at the two guards. A short conversation later, they were convinced that the sound actually came from the basement. The guards went downstairs to investigate and Valac threw the guards off of his temporary allies' route. Once the guards were gone, he dispelled his illusion and ran back up.

He followed the path that the rest of the group -- sans Caius and Odette -- took. In half a minute or so, he was with them again and reported. "I managed to somehow convince the guards that the noise was from the basement. I was almost sure it was a bust," he lied believably. Valac didn't want to say that it was a trifle, as it would point to him being a manipulator. "They'll find the body sooner or later since I abandoned post, though. We should hurry up."

The rat sought his favorite person so far, Lair. The avian was slightly more welcoming than the rest of the group, and Valac felt that he had a good heart. Valac stood close, expecting to be picked up and taken into the hood again. To speak crudely, using Lair as a mount was a much faster mode of locomotion than using his own body's little, unwieldy rat limbs. Gosh, Valac couldn't wait to abandon this form; it left so much to be desired.

He supposed it was prudent, however, that he started out with a body that didn't eat up much power. He needed to be conservant. At least the last stunt with an illusion should have improved the group's trust toward him a little. They are now aware that he is ready to back up his words when he said he'd help them.

Arvios BackSet Archemis Lincs revior animegirl20

 

[Bakuyoshi]

"Let me count. Let's see started at 25 and have been doing it since. I'd wager 150 years. I worked for Werewolves, Vampires, Fae, humans. Yeah I've been around in tye business. But I only know basics of every species I've mentioned. The thing about being a hired blade is your never that trusted. We can be bought out just like that. Or we agree more with another client. But hey it's how I lived my life." Cross was laying on the back of the cart as he recounted his experience. "But then I got hired by the original Ravinian crusaders. Eventually they counted me as one of them. My god those were big checks."

Kylesar1