Graded [Frontier] The Queen, The Tank, The Sword and their Weapon Transport

[lXlGamemaster]

Dark Witch (Alexandria Kingston)

​

Dark Witch smiled in at the newcomer, honestly grateful that her suspicion was falsified. With her instrument in her hands already the witch began to play an acoustic version of Hotel California. As her fingers moved across the neck of the guitar subtle changes began happening to the group with the wagon, particularly Regula. While it didn't look like she was helping, Dark Witch was boosting her companions strength in order to aid in bringing the cart back onto the road.

Spoiler: song and ability

Song of Power - Magic E, Music Affinity F, Spell Range F, Spell Duration F, Bolster F - increase target's Strength by 1 increment for 1 minute from up to 10 ft. away - Grade E - 1 Post Cooldown

With the cart restored Alex finished her solo and waved goodbye to the woman, shaking the apple on her shirt before taking a bite out of it. "That was pretty nice of you to help that lady out." She said between bites. "That's pretty admirable". The witch was having a hart time pinning down Regula's game: she was making weapons by hand to give to some count in thanks for helping her, but didn't seem to care about moving without stopping. In fact, since they started traveling, Regula seemed to care about everyone a lot more than any noble feasibly should have. Alex scratched her head. "I can't really say that I'm an expert on nobles myself... since she's the first one I've come across in this world."

When Regula asked Dark Witch about her title her face became slightly serious. "I did have a name, but I've cast that and my past life behind me." She remembered how controlled her life was living with her foster parents, being forced to take classical music lessons and learn about business, never once being asked what she wanted to do with her life. Putting her feelings aside she smiled and said: "If the name is too hard to say you can call me by my nickname: Alex. My mother... my real mother, is a powerful witch that protects her home from demons. Becoming the Dark Witch is my way of carrying on her legacy, and hopefully setting me up for greatness"

Upon arriving at the next inn Dark Witch payed for her room and retired for the night. Her witch hat hang on the bedpost closest to her head, watching over her as she slept.

 

[RavenSong]

Aria tilted her head slightly at the woman when she didn’t flee or shriek at the sound of their companions' voice. Perhaps there were much more freakishly different things in this world. She wondered, but wouldn’t inquire. After Regula decided what would be best to do however, Aria followed after her.

“Yes m’lady..” she agreed as she held onto the handles of the cart. She listened intently for the queue before she mustered her strength to push the cart forward. However, a most familiar tune traveled the sky above her when Alex began to play. It sort of.. put her in the mood to work. It was a fairly easy task, especially for what they would get in return. Arias' solemn expression quickly illuminated with a little smile. “Oh.. please, do forgive me miss, I almost thought you were hiding some kind of weaponry in your cart.” She bowed in silent shame then quickly rose when the apple lady handed her the fruit. She glanced at the others then to the apple before taking a bite. At this point it would have been rude to ask for forgiveness only to suspect once more. “..Oh my..” she gasped at the crisp, juicy and sweet piece of apple now delightedly chewing on.

Once she was done, she turned to look at Regula who had also finished her apple. She chuckled to herself when Regula asked for the other apple. “Y-yes Pierre.. Regulas right, you don’t eat apples.. give us this one, and I’ll walk with you to the creek. Deal?”

As they continued on their way to the next destination, Aria pondered deeply on the witches' references to demons. Witches? Defending themselves against demons? Don’t they usually work together in some cases? She wondered, before opening her mouth to speak. “Hm, well.. if these demons are anything like what I faced in Highgrove, I surely sympathize with your mother.” She remarked sympathetically.

Once in the inn, they retired early, the only sound that echoed through the wood and stone structure was the crackling wood of the fireplace.

Once in bed, she looked up at the old spider webs swaying with the wind of the open window. After drifting off, sometime in the night the nightmare would resume.

Spoiler: Aria's second dream

Thunder. Rain. Endless rain.

Aria would open her eyes, as a fiery red meteorite crashed into the ground about two hundred feet from where she stood. She would shield her face from the inferno as the silhouette of numerous imp like creatures rushed in a mindless frenzy towards her. Aria would teleport, repeatedly striking at shadowy enemies in strobe like flashes, leaving the agonizing demons to shriek in agony in her wake.

After slaying a wave of them, she panted heavily as she looked at her surroundings. Many more meteorites would be falling from the sky, the infernal rain mixing with the watery downpour as she beheld the battlefield before her. Angels fought valiantly with beams of light radiating from their eyes, burning the fiends in their presence along with their ethereal swords. While battalions of knights and guards with archers marched forward into the waves of enemies before them, roaring fiercely into the face of death with every step.

Just then, a winged devil's talons would connect onto the General's shoulders as she fell to the ground violently. It screeched in victory as it stood on top of her. All went dark, then opening her eyes again she beheld someone she should know. Her body ached, she could barely move her head.

“Who.. wh.. who are you?” She said weakly.

“Heh, don’t you remember me? I’m your brother.”

Aria would wake with a loud gasp sitting up immediately, once again drenched in sweat, eyes wide with a look of terror. Aria looked around in the dark, a bit disoriented before laying back down holding up the covers to her neck. She laid there for a while wondering who this character in her dream was, she’d seen him before, but not this vividly.

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Spoiler: Rossle's Forge

Mentions: Aria RavenSong | Pierre Volkie | Dark Witch lXlGamemaster
Day: Second-third day of travel
Time: Somewhere in the middle of the night
Weather: Very dark outside
Relevant dice rolls: 2 (BeetleBuggo) – Thief at night

As Aria woke up from her nightmare, her eyes took a moment to adjust. For some reason, it was surprisingly bright within the room. Didn't they turn off the lantern before going to sleep last night? Then where did that light come from? Had someone lit the lantern up to go to the bathroom...? From the sound of it, Regula was still sleeping soundly and by the looks of it, Alex didn't seem to be awake either. It was only the three of them in the room, right? So....

It wouldn't take Aria long before she 'd see an odd shape in the corner of the room. It also wouldn't take her long to see two feint purple-ish lights? Were they lights...? They didn't look like lights... they looked more like irises. Just as Aria was realising what or who she was seeing, the figure slowly stood up.

Catgirl Thief

​

Spoiler: Catgirl Thief

(Ignore the bells.)

The girl, now more clearly visible, silently brought a finger to her lips, as if to usher Aria to remain as silent as possible. She then, very slowly and steadily, reached out to a nearby pack, as if wanting to show Aria something. Her slow and steady movements suggested that whatever was going on was urgent and that silence had to be met at all times... Whatever was going on probably was very important and urgent and... and then she booked it. She ran off with the speed and agility that only a [beast] with cat reflexes could and with a suddenness that'd spook even a ghost.

 

[RavenSong]

As she laid there trying to go back to sleep, Aria opened her eyes for an instant when she noticed that the lights were on. Or were they lights?

She quickly sat up and rubbed her eyes before noticing the feline girl. Holding her breath Aria leaned forward slowly, nearly hearing its feline purr through the silence of the room.

As the little thief inched slowly towards the pack she was suspiciously reaching for, Aria began to crawl towards the end of the bed towards the cat lady. An emotionless expression drew across the war maidens face, her red orbs fixed on the cat girls frame with extreme focus. But before she knew it, the feline lady suddenly jolted into a full sprint out of the building.

Aria gasped softly at the catgirls sudden speed, surely she wasn’t human to have the tenacity and sudden reflexes she displayed. But she had to try, what did she take from them, anyway? Aria wouldn’t hesitate to jump towards the door, disappearing and reappearing at the other side. [Teleport F - 10ft ]

Aria would sprint down the hallway after her in nothing but her undergarments dashing towards the thief. Once at the stairs she wouldn’t hesitate to jump, her hands reaching for her. Aria would attempt to catch anything, the cat's arm, leg or tail. And land with a crash onto the wooden boards below. Bruised and panting she’d attempt to subdue the thief. A near emotionless tone in her voice in spite of the hard fall down the stairs “You’ve chosen the wrong mark thief. Now, return what you stole!”

 

[lXlGamemaster]

Dark Witch (Alexandria Kingston)

​

In her dream Alex lay in a field of oddly shaped red flowers, her eyes closed as a hand gently runs though her hair. She didn't need to open her eyes to know who the hand belonged to, her mother humming a melody while she stroked. There was supreme bliss in this moment, and Alex didn't want it to end, but something felt off. While she lay there with her eyes closed another hand appeared, touching hers and giving it a squeeze. When she tried to think of who the hand belonged to her mother stopped humming, and she fell into darkness, the field of flowers swallowing her whole.

Dark Witch woke with a start and looked around, just in time to see Aria run from her bed and disappear with sword in hand. She wiped the sweat from her brow and looked in the direction of where the second hand had grabbed her, only to find her witch's hat waiting on the bedpost. With a smirk she placed the hat on her head and grabbed her guitar. She didn't know what was going on, but in a second just about everyone in the inn would be made aware of it. Holding her guitar in her hands and raising her guitar pick to the heavens, Dark Witch's eyes began to glow with energy that started out purple, only to turn blood red with sparks of red lightning. She brought down the pick, like a hammer to a forge, and shook the entire room with her song.

Spoiler: Current Song Playing

The whole building began to shake and dust began to fall from the rafters, but her glowing eyes continued to pierce through the veil. Walking towards the window she took a step on the window sill and took a step, seemingly into thin air, but a force of red energy caught her halfway down, acting as a platform for her to hop safely down to the ground floor outside of the tavern. As the song paused she waited for something to happen: any sign of intruder or monster prowling the premises, her red eyes scanning like some demonic hawk.

Spoiler: Ability Used

Arcane Wall - Magic E, Barrier Affinity F, Spell Range F, Spell Duration F, - a thin block of violet energy appears, preventing passage in a 5 ft. area and can be used as a potential platform for 1 minute - Grade E - 1 Post Cooldown

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Spoiler: Rossle's Forge

Mentions: Aria RavenSong | Pierre Volkie | Dark Witch lXlGamemaster
Day: Second-third day of travel
Time: Somewhere in the middle of the night
Weather: Very dark outside
Relevant dice rolls: 2 (BeetleBuggo) – Thief at night

Regula was sleeping soundly and peacefully. She was dreaming your average dream. She'd made it to queendom, sitting in a bathhouse that due to dream-logic also was her throne room. However, all of a sudden, Aria came running in. “There's not enough bathhouses! The people are turning into horned rabbits!” Horned rabbits. Regula remembered those. So that's where they came from, a lack of bathhouses. It all made perfect sense. “We've got to go stop them!” She said, as she was suddenly in full armour and ready to start shooting a giant invasion of horned rabbits. However, she suddenly saw hands wrapped around her waist and turned around to see Michael. “You can't shoot them until we've arranged our vows in wedlock, my honey-bun.” He said, as he went on to try and put a mithril ring around her finger. However, before he could finish it, Pierre crashed down from the skies and yelled “She's mine!” before landing hard enough into the ground to cause an kingdom-wide earthquake. The noise from it was surprisingly loud. And realistic... and …

Regula would up, shooting up to sit up straight in her bed. “What the where's the rabbits what?” She incoherently yelled at the very rough awakening. She could make out Alex as she was playing her extremely loud lute for some reason. “What in the world are you...” She started asking, only to see Alex jump out of the window. For a second, she stared in surprise, then she pinched herself. Surely she was still dreaming, right? Right...?

Catgirl Thief

​

Spoiler: Catgirl Thief

(Ignore the bells.)

Meanwhile, Aria had successfully given chase to the catgirl. Thanks to teleporting, she managed to keep up with the initial take-off, but she wasn't quick enough to catch the girl before the latter reached the stairs. Her jump down the stairs did get her to grab onto something, namely the tail of the catgirl, but it was only followed by a pained ”mrrrouww” sound and Aria holding a handful of cat hairs. Her grip hadn't been quick or strong enough to hold the girl there, as her fall had prevented her from keeping a good grip on the running catgirl.

However, as the catgirl was about to sprint out of the inn, she would spot Dark Witch outside for just long enough to be confused and hesitate, which would allow Aria to catch up. “Stole? It's ehh...” She tried to make up an excuse, but the evidence in her hand was a bit too obvious. Considering there wasn't a single light in the inn at the moment, it was too dark to see what she was holding. If anything, it was too dark to see the girl herself. Only her eyes, which seemed to reflect even the tiny bit of moonlight that came through the windows, had a bit of a shine to them. Perhaps she herself had some type of Darkvision, as the girl was clearly looking for a way out with a lot less hindrance from being in the dark. “It's for my little brother, he's sick and we can't pay the bills.” She suddenly said. It sounded oddly convincing, so there might be some truth to it. Or she was just very good at making up lies on the spot.

Dark Witch would've likely heard this conversation inside and would be able to stand in the door-way to block the girl's way out, whilst a thoroughly confused Regula walked down the stairs with a lantern and her gun. “What in the world is going on..?” She said, as she was still trying to get the sleep out and make sense of this.

 

[RavenSong]

Aria would quickly return to her feet, rubbing her head as she winced with an eye closed. The floor boards felt cold as she rose to her feet, the disorientation of the fall had left her wondering if the thief had escaped. Reaching for the door knob her hand grasped onto Dark Witches dress fabric. She didn’t move so her hand reached up to touch her face before letting out a gasp.

“Dark Witch!? S-sorry..” Aria then quickly turned to face the much deeper darkness. Peering into the first floor, she would fairly quickly adjust and make out two green orbs looking back at her. Aria would scoff.

“Hmph! Said like a true thief.” Aria would start towards the eyes, she was barefoot so her steps would be a bit less noticeable, if it made a difference at all. As she stepped towards the cat girl, Aria would nearly stop at mention of her sick little brother. Considering she just had a dream about her own potential brother herself, Aria couldn’t help but let her heart strings get tangled at the cat girls mention. “Wh-..are-” she flailed for words but continued towards the thief.

“What did you take anyway?” Aria finally managed. But not before the war maidens attention was ripped away at Regula coming down the stairs. She couldn’t falter now, but she called out without losing sight of her prey now so close within her reach.

“She’s a thief m’lady.. I caught her stealing from our sleeping quarters.”

Without any further hesitation Aria would appear by the cat thief, [Teleport F - 10ft] once again in an attempt to subdue her. Aiming to wrap an arm around the thief’s neck and another holding her arm behind her back firmly.

 

[lXlGamemaster]

Dark Witch (Alexandria Kingston)

​

On the ground floor outside, everyone except for the tank was around the thief, who turned out to be some cat-girl. Dark Witch could see her through the light shedding off of her summoned platform, and her red eyes glowed with a purpose: to take out the intruder. She raised her pick to the heavens again, sparks flying from her fingers, but something stopped her from bringing it down. She turned to see that her arm was being stopped by another hand, one only she could see, belonging to herself. The figment looked into her glowing eyes with worry and determination, and Dark Witch realized that she had almost lost herself to the demon song.

In the Land of Metal different song genres are so powerful that entire continents are formed from them, shaping not only the people but the land and animals. Dark Witch came from the Metal tribe, but crossing genres is a taboo that can corrupt a person down to their core. In her haste to play a song she had committed that taboo and almost lost herself to its influence. With a breath she calmed down, ending her concentration on the demon song and returning to her natural form before she was corrupted any further. Around that time Aria bumped into Alex, causing her to let out a small squeak.

Now brought back into the present, Dark Witch focused her gaze on the cat-girl and played a simple guitar riff, tickling her fingers along the neck of the guitar, and a force of purple energy engulfed both the thief and Aria as she teleported to her. The force field finished forming as a globe of energy enveloping both of the girls, preventing anyone from escaping until Dark Witch ended her concentration. "If I were you I would give up this chase and just tell us what you want, or who sent you."

Spoiler: Ability Used

Arcane Dome - Magic E, Barrier Affinity F, Spell AOE F, Spell Duration F, - a force of violet energy encases everyone within 10 ft., preventing anyone from entering or leaving for the next minute - Grade E - 1 Post Cooldown

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Spoiler: Rossle's Forge

Mentions: Aria RavenSong | Pierre Volkie | Dark Witch lXlGamemaster
Day: Second-third day of travel
Time: Somewhere in the middle of the night
Weather: Very dark outside
Relevant dice rolls: 2 (BeetleBuggo) – Thief at night
2 (RavenSong) – Thief at night

Catgirl Thief

​

Spoiler: Catgirl Thief

(Ignore the bells.)

The catgirl shrugged at the question of what she took. “I thought it was a coin pouch, but it was too oddly shaped, so I turned on the lantern to figure out what these are, but you inter.... eh, you caught me first.” She said, as she revealed Regula's ammunition bag. It was easy to see how, with only greyscale Darkvision, it could be mistaken for a very hefty coin pouch. The girl was getting a bit more relaxed when it seemed like her victims weren't bloodthirsty, but that changed when Aria suddenly teleported in and Dark Witch interrupted. Dark Witch's magic, however, would fail (Grade E spells are still on cool-down for this post after the previous round used one as well).

Dark Witch's words would reach the girl, who was now being held by Aria. “Okay, okay, okay, I give up, I just needed the money, really! Nobody sent me, this place is just easy to sneak in and out off...” All of a sudden, a hint of actual fear became audible in her voice. “You're... not going to hand me to the guards... right? They do bad stuff to folks like us... eh, me.”

Regula
​

Regula, now a bit more awake, was able to make some sense of the situation, but there was one thing that stood out the most. “Aria, could you throw me my ammunition bag? I've got a feeling I should check upstairs...” She really hoped she was just paranoid.

However, just as she said it, the cat-girl suddenly started to struggle to get free from Aria. She was a fair bit weaker than Aria, but she pulled a few tricks left and right, such as using slamming her tail in Aria's face to distract her whilst wriggling around with a high level of agility. Even with her strength, Aria would realise she couldn't do as Regula asked and also hold this girl steady. That, however, was probably exactly the goal of her sudden struggle. In fact, once Regula moved in to get the bag herself, the catgirl suddenly jumped with all her might to try and throw Aria to the ground...

 

[Volkie]

Pierre Rothel - RavenSong Elvario lXlGamemaster
-- Dream a War-Bound Dream of Me...

In the carriage house of this Inn, Pierre stayed stationary, his Turret only turning the slightest bits of left or right..

“..ng-..fh..gh..” Small grunts occasionally came out quietly, although enough for the horses to hear..

The.. Memory…

It was morning, and the light of the outside sun peaked through the windows of a room, to the left of the window rested a man on a bed, covered in a relatively thin comforter..

The man himself had slightly darker skin, shortened black hair to that of a military cut with his sideburns shortened. Facial hair consisted of his thick eyebrows and mustache that connects with the short hair from the sideburns..

In the background, a soothing band track was echoing gently throughout the room, as the man however, was slightly tossing and turning in bed, eyebrows occasionally scrunching or teeth gritting.. A woman’s hand gently pat over the man’s covered chest, trying to comfort him..

Hazelnut eyes shot open, as the landscape around him changed fully..

« Lève-toi, lève-toi Pierre! Il faut bouger !

Another Frenchman pulled him up from the ground that was once his resting area, now donning military attire with a rifle in his hands looking in every direction..


The other man had continued charging on, as Pierre could see others running up as explosions rocked the earth surface..

Just nearby, he was witnessing men fighting brutally with others to the death, one getting his skull caved in by a swing from a trench mace, another picking up a large rock from the wet muddy ground and effectively crushing his enemy’s neck as it swung across his face..

Others had cleaved into their victims with a calvary saber, their own rifles as bats, bludgeoning one another with stones or even going at it hand to hand..


Alarmed by incoming yelling, he turned quickly enough to spot and sidestep a soldier who was charging at him with his bayonet attached to the firearm, taking the opportunity of the sidestep, he clamored for his own bayonet, striking the charger’s stomach with the butt of his rifle before stabbing into the attackers back, downing and killing hin..

He looked back at his surroundings and saw an American shoving a German onto the ground, and started mercilessly pounding on the soldier’s face with his bare fists..

In the clouded sky he was hearing the all too familiar buzzes of aircraft and bombers turning, zooming, and dancing over the battlefield;

He was brought back to his surroundings at the distant fountains of amber and black, flametroopers were near..

Shakily breathing stabilized into angry huffs, looking ahead towards a German about to stab into an 18 y/o British man’s heart.. An aggressive music surging his ears (Alexandria’s music) as he found strength in his legs surging, and found himself attaching the bayonet to the end of his rifle,

And charging the German with a roar of French fury.

Time slowed as the bayonet’s sharp metal punctured into clothing and flesh, followed by a brief scream of agony from the German as he fell to the surface, downed.

Pierre brought his hand forward to help up the young brit, when suddenly,

“ARTILLERY! GET DOWN!”

An ally hollered as the whistling of incoming explosives fron the sky rained down..

He saw the area in front of him explode in blackness of the kicked up ground.. before all went black..

Dream sequence end.—

Pierre jolted awake, his breathing ragged as he looked around alarmed in the darkness, which only made it worse as the vast black surroundings remained silent..

His breathing would remain unstable.. as he was all alone with no one to help him.

 

[RavenSong]

Aria squinted in suspicion at the cat thief’s responses now holding her in place, the war maiden would pull her head towards herself, within whispering distance. A deadpan expression upon Arias tone and features. “I ask the questions here, feline..” pulling up on the cat girl's arm behind her back to get the point across, it wouldn’t hurt her but would add pressure to her shoulder making it very difficult for her to try anything. “..I’m not turning you in, feline. I just want what you’ve stolen. It’s imperative it be returned to lady Regula, at once.”

The thief would reveal the pouch, but then Regula requested it to be passed to her to which the cat thief began to try to wrestle her way out of Aria's grip. “Agh! Keep still!” She exclaimed as the cat girl struggled, elbowing Aria in the gut with little effect. It seemed they were at a bit of a stalemate. Aria would grab her by the tail, where the cat girl would push on Aria's face. Neither one seemed to be able to get the best of the other however.

“What in the hells are you hiding, thief! Come clean!” Aria said accusingly.

Once Regula knew the predicament Aria found herself in and shortly after coming up to them to retrieve her request the cat girl would attempt a mighty leap. Aria would hold onto the catgirls waist not letting go, and reach for the cat's arms to subdue her once again.

 

[lXlGamemaster]

Dark Witch (Alexandria Kingston)

​

The plan was for a force field to envelop both the cat girl and Aria, but obviously that didn't happen. She could see the outline of the bubble on the ground, but only for an instant before it fizzled out. Alex looked down at her guitar with worry, wondering what went wrong and whether she still had her powers. It didn't take her long to realize what the issue was: the song that she had played to summon the dome didn't come from the heart: she was still so flustered from almost being corrupted that she didn't have enough music energy to fuel the force field. With a grin she looked to the two struggling in front of her and raised her guitar pick to the heavens, fueling herself with energy from the World Tree before bringing it down.

Spoiler: Current Song

Lavender lightning began to spark around Aria, wrapping around her arms and fueling her with strength. The song she was playing was a song of heroes: one of determination and the desire to protect the innocent. Alex could also feel a faint sense of fish, but it was probably just her.

Spoiler: Ability Used

Song of Power - Magic E, Music Affinity F, Spell Range F, Spell Duration F, Bolster F - increase target's Strength by 1 incriment for 1 minute from up to 10 ft. away - Grade E - 1 Post Cooldown

 

[Elvario]

Regula
​

Spoiler: Rossle's Forge

Mentions: Aria RavenSong | Pierre Volkie | Dark Witch lXlGamemaster
Day: Second-third day of travel
Time: Somewhere in the middle of the night
Weather: Very dark outside
Relevant dice rolls: 2 (BeetleBuggo) – Thief at night
2 (RavenSong) – Thief at night

Catgirl Thief

​

Spoiler: Catgirl Thief

(Ignore the bells.)

Worming and squiggling and bending as she much as she could, the catgirl actually seemed to be succeeding in getting out of Aria's grasp more and more. The might leap would've been the final stretch towards freedom for her. However, when Dark Witch's song kicked in, Aria got the upper hand again and managed to keep the bouncing feline in her grasp. “I'm hiding nyaothing.” The girl said, sound a bit odd on the 'nothing' part as that was when she realised her tail had been grabbed. “Pervert!” She yelled, trying to wriggle free even more, without success.

Regula, meanwhile, had managed to grab her ammunition bag and had already loaded up her gun. “Well done, keep her here for a bit.” She said, as she was already turning around and rushing back up onto the stairs. The moment she entered the room, she realised her suspicion was grounded. When the catgirl said 'us', she meant her companion thief.

Kenku Thief

​

Spoiler: Kenku Thief

(Ignore the weapon.)

She spotted the odd bird rummaging through their baggage in a hurry, clearly trying to make use of the time his cat-companion was buying him.

“Stop it right there!” Regula shouted, but rather than stopping, the bird shoved one final item in a pack and jumped out the window, which had already been conveniently opened up.

Regula clicked her tongue and rushed at the window, before warning shot into the air. She made sure on holding back some power and didn't even use any silencing magic, so it was weak yet loud. Hopefully it would get the point across.

Oddly enough, it did, as the bird froze in place after having glided onto the ground, fearfully looking at the window. There was one slight issue. If Regula would leave the window, she'd lose line of sight and the bird thief would be able to make a run for it. She didn't wish to take her chances jumping down either, but Aria and Dark Witch were busy... “Pierre, are you awake?!? I need you to keep an eye on someone!” She shouted, hoping to wake him up and get him to help out by watching this bird.

Oddly enough, nobody else from the guests or staff at the inn had stepped in yet. Surely, their noise had awoken just about everyone, but it seemed like there wasn't a single person willing to intervene in what they were up too. Either they were scared or they simply didn't care in the slightest. Or perhaps there was another motive for them to abstain from acting.

Downstairs, the catgirl had heard the shot as well and was clearly panicking. “We didn't mean it badly, I swear! We'll surrender, please let us go! I can ehh... I can give you some money! I stole it while people were watching you perform, so you can have half... thirty percent of it!” She addressed the latter to Dark Witch in particular.

E Grade Cooldowns (0/1)

• Combustion Gun – Magic Affinity E, Combustion Affinity E, gun-type weapon. - Character uses combustion magic to fire a bullet from their gun. - Grade E – 1 Post Cooldown.

 

[lXlGamemaster]

Dark Witch (Alexandria Kingston)

​

Spoiler: Current Song

Continuing to play her song in case the cat girl decided to get any ideas, Dark Witch shook her head. "That money doesn't belong to me, but the people you stole it from. I didn't earn it, so I have no right to any of it. Unlike a certain flea bag and...... bird? Is that a bird person?" Alex was still a rookie to the whole "new world" scenario, and she could get her head around a part cat person, but the bird man through her through a loop. Thinking about it, she hadn't even seen what the demons of her home world looked like. Would they be tame like the cat burglar, or even worse than bird man? Probably worse, if the stories about them were anything to go off of.

Circling Aria and the burglar she positioned herself between the and the barn with Pierre resting in it, making sure not to break eye contact and concentration on her spell. Once she was within talking distance of the tank she could hear his labored breathing and worried that the thieves had done something to him. "Hey, Pierre, are you ok? They didn't sabotage you did they? Do you need some help?" She didn't know the first thing about cars, let alone a tank, but she wanted to offer her aid regardless.

 

[Volkie]

Pierre Rothel - lXlGamemaster Elvario RavenSong
- Mentally Present, Emotionally in Past..

By now, Pierre's breathing began to slowly calm down, as recollected memories of current events were fading back into his mind. He was in a Carriage house, which was also occupied by a few high-class looking horses as his human friends were in an inn. Yesterday, a singer who also happened to be a witch joined them on their expedition to the Light County, they helped a lady with getting an apple cart out of the mud, which then later led to this.

When he heard the familiar bang of Regula's Gun, followed by her and the Dark witch checking in on him, he took a moment before answering them.

Unfortunately however, seems he wasn't fully in the present yet.

« ..Oui.. Je suis debout maintenant, Dark Witch, Regula.. Quelqu’un a l’esprit d’ouvrir la porte ..? »
Giving his engine a big rev, he moved subtly to the door, waiting for someone to open it up.
("Yes.. I'm up now, Dark Witch, Regula.. Someone mind opening the door..?")

 

[RavenSong]

Aria had rarely encountered half cat kin, but it didn’t matter. However, this cat's response to her accusation almost made her tilt her head in confusion. Nyothing? Is that even a word? Perhaps it was a different accent in this part of the world.

“Eek! Wh- what did you call me?!” Arias voice raised in pitch as she grasped onto this feline thief’s tail. Was this.. pervy? Aria found herself blushing at the thought, letting go of her tail and wrestling to get both of her arms behind her back and keep her still to the ground with a knee on the thief’s back. However she felt her face grow hot.

By the time Regula suggested the thief be kept still, Aria's voice cracked with embarrassment but kept things focused and on task. “Y-yes m’lady.” She said with a nod, as Regulas steps could be heard on the creaky inns stair boards.

Soon, gunfire from Regulas custom made weaponry echoed throughout the inn, and outside as well. Aria gasped softly, but not soon after having to keep her strength and attention fixed firmly upon the thief. She would continue to attempt to break free, but Aria did not falter in the thief’s submission.

“Such a shame you chose a life of thievery cat burglar..” Aria would speak softly as she managed to regain her composure. “..but don’t be afraid, we’re not the killing type.”

Aria would look towards the door, noticing Dark Witch channeling her spell, Aria was impressed with her versatile abilities. It seemed she had a counter to varied situations. Aria looked at her as she spoke back to the thief.

“However, since we're here until whatever outside is resolved and considering you owe me for interrupting my lovely dreams as I slept. How about you tell me what this is all about? And please.. no bribing.”

Aria's attention would wane as it sounded like the others were calling out to Pierre, but wouldn’t let up on her grip of the cat thief. She knew at some point they would have to let her go, it’s not like she killed or maimed anyone. But still, robbery wasn’t exactly a ‘kind’ thing to do either. Surely stealing to make a living wasn’t any better but Aria had a soft spot for starving rogues. They were the result of a much deeper issue in this world.

 

[Elvario]

Mentions: Aria RavenSong | Pierre Volkie | Dark Witch lXlGamemaster
Day: Second-third day of travel
Time: Somewhere in the middle of the night
Weather: Very dark outside
Relevant dice rolls: 2 (BeetleBuggo) – Thief at night
2 (RavenSong) – Thief at night

Catgirl Thief

​

Spoiler: Catgirl Thief

(Ignore the bells.)

The catgirl was holding surprisingly still in Aria's grip. Had she really given up? Had she tired herself out? Or was she just waiting her next chance to break free. She was difficult to read. However, she got surprisingly upset by one statement Aria made. “Hey, I didn't chose this!” She did seem a little comforted by the fact she wasn't about to get killed. There was, however, a bit of a mischievous glint in her eyes when Aria acknowledged she was an advocate of pacifism.

For now, however, the girl seemed to be playing along. “I can tell you what it's all about, but not for free. Having your tail grabbed and its hairs pulled out balances out the disturbed dream, wait, no, you should owe me!” She said, as she didn't really seem to be taking this very seriously, now that she felt confident that Aria wouldn't do anything too bad to her. “I'll tell you if you pay me three... no, five, five silver pieces!” After noticing that Dark Witch had no interest in the crowd's stolen money and Aria didn't want her to bride them, she was smart enough to remain silent about that part. After all, they didn't tell her to return it either, so that was a neat few coppers she'd get to keep. As Dark Witch walked outside, Aria would feel her strength reduce again, now that she was no longer in the effective range of the song.

Kenku Thief

​

Spoiler: Kenku Thief

(Ignore the weapon.)

Meanwhile, outside, the bird-boy had a tougher time. The noise from Regula's gun had clearly freaked him out and the odd Witch coming outside didn't exactly calm his nerves down. From up-close and in the moon-light, he looked surprisingly young, for that matter. When Dark Witch passed him by to go towards Pierre, however, he very slowly took a step back. Then another. And another...

Regula
​

Regula gritted her teeth as she saw the bird moving. Another warning shot wouldn't work, as such a thing lost its power if it wasn't followed up by taking action. However, she wasn't going to just shoot the thief either, she wasn't that heartless. She vaguely heard some muffled sounds from the carriage house, but she was too far off to make sense of them. At least Pierre was awake, that was something. That's when she realised she'd need a dirty tactic if she wanted to prevent this bird from running off with their stuff. “You'd best stop moving, if you don't want us to hand over your friend to the guards!” She called out to the bird. That seemed to work surprisingly well. It was a bit of a bluff, as she wasn't sure how close they were, but it had paid off. “You'd better still be there when I come down, if you want a chance at having your friend be allowed to go free.” Hoping he'd stay still, Regula made her way down once more.

 

[lXlGamemaster]

Dark Witch (Alexandria Kingston)

​

Alex stopped her song outside of the barn listening intently to what the tank was saying, but the words didn't reach her in a way that made sense. She knew Pierre had spoken to her, but she clearly didn't understand it. Was she ok? Did she develop some sort of audio dyslexia all of a sudden? It took her a whole three seconds to realize that he was speaking in another language and that she was still very tired. She smacked the palm of her hand on her head and began opening the door.

While she couldn't understand him she understood that he couldn't do anything while shut in the barn, and from the tone of voice he wasn't in any danger. After pulling back the second barn door she looked to the bird man and held her hands out in an open way. "Woah woah, we don't want any trouble. I actually like Mrs. Kitty's idea of sitting down and telling our story. Perhaps some midnight ale will loosen some lips and we can all laugh about this until we fall back alseep.... *yawn*"

 

[RavenSong]

Arias hair would fall over her face as she looked down at the back of the cat woman’s head. She could vaguely make out her twitching ears, as she turned her head from side to side as she tried to look at her. Aria found her intriguing, but would never admit to it as the war maiden attempted to match her wit.
“Oh is that so? Hm.. then you must be either someone’s slave, or you’ve been convinced by whoever was upstairs..” she feigned a sarcastic sigh. “..what a waste of potential.” She’d click her tongue a few times with obviously fake disappointment.

“Hmph.. you’re really pushing my kindness little
kitty.” A colorless expression upon Aria's face “..I might have taken a few hairs off your fancy tail but you ruined my really cute undershirt.” Aria said as she glanced at the four slashes below her chest. Superficial cuts however, but it proved her point.

Aria would disregard the thief’s request for payment, it seemed absurd she was demanding money in exchange for information, considering she was in no place to do so was a bold move. Although somewhat expected of feline tricksters. “Hm, how typical.” She remarked before hearing voices coming from outside of the inn.

When the commotion outside seemed to be escalating Aria considered If she would be of better assistance outside of the inn. However, there was the matter of the thief.

As Aria felt her strength wane, she started to have to think about her next move. It was risky to make any big movements as far as moving her. And considering the thief was as shrewd as she was quick she called upon her [Luck F 1/2] as she quickly raised her fist to knock her unconscious.

Should it work, Aria would carry the thief outside behind Regula. Coincidentally it might have helped her convince the thief to turn himself in.

 

[Volkie]

Pierre Rothel - RavenSong Elvario lXlGamemaster

It took a few more moments, but after that, Pierre was fully back to current events. Seeing the door now opened, he nodded his turret in thanks to Alexandria. “Thanks, Madam.”

He said to her before his engine let out an eager rev, bringing his treads to a roll as the tank made way.

Dark witch’s proposal to solve things over a drink cause Pierre to mentally roll his eyes.

“If only I had a digestive system..” he quipped.

Speaking of which, what exactly was happening? Was there an attack? Looking over to the bird man, who was practically frozen in place with some sort of bag he could make out in the dark, Pierre put two and two together and concluded there was a thief.

Stopping right in front of the Kenku, he gazed down on him with his barrel..

“So, tonight’s not in your favor eh?”

 

[Elvario]

Mentions: Aria RavenSong | Pierre Volkie | Dark Witch lXlGamemaster
Day: Fourth day of travel
Time: Very early in the morning
Weather: Moon is setting, sun might be rising soon
Relevant dice rolls: 2 (BeetleBuggo) – Thief at night
2 (RavenSong) – Thief at night

Catgirl Thief

​

Spoiler: Catgirl Thief

(Ignore the bells.)

The girl toned down a bit when Aria seemed slightly less gullible than she first thought the war maiden to be, but not by a lot. “Those wouldn't have gotten there if you weren't trying to wrestle and grab me to begin with!” She replied to the accusation of ruining an underskirt. As she was talking, she was already plotting the next opportunity to break free. What she wasn't expecting in the slightest was a straight punch to the temple. The lights went out before she even noticed what was about to happen, a rather [lucky] outcome for Aria.

Kenku Thief

​

Spoiler: Kenku Thief

(Ignore the weapon.)

The bird kid clearly didn't really trust Dark Witch's words all that much, as he kept a very weary eye on her every movement. Being offered some 'midnight' ale only sounded like a trap to him, especially after he saw Aria walk out of the inn with his knocked out companion casually hanging over her shoulder. He instantly assumed the worst. “Mu...murder!” He yelled, as he was clearly terrified. The final straw was the opening of the carriage house and the appearance of a large, talking metal monster that drove straight towards him. They'd chosen the wrong people to steal from, these were some metal-monster-feeding cultist murderers... he'd die here!

His feet finally managed to do more than tremble, as he quickly dropped everything he'd stolen and even some of his own things to set out on one last desperate sprint away from these terrifying freaks. He mumbled a heart-broken “Sorry Eva...” as he set off for the sprint of his life, hoping to escape these terrifying people.

Regula
​

Regula arrived downstairs in time to see the bird kid run off, but seeing how she didn't want to shoot him and knew another warning shot wouldn't help, she wasn't sure how to stop him. Perhaps Aria, with her teleportation, or Pierre, with being [fast], would be able to catch up to him if they were to attempt it. Luckily enough, she noticed he'd at least left their items behind, so perhaps they could also just let him go. It also looked like Aria had taken out the catgirl, although upon further notice, she was just unconscious. That was probably for the better, as Regula didn't wish to be needlessly violent.

There was one thing that Regula liked to voice. “I'm pretty sure the owners of this place are in on it. Otherwise somebody would've interfered by now, after all the noise. Perhaps they take a share from them in return for telling them were to go and not getting involved, or perhaps they even make them do it, but I'd like to leave this place behind sooner rather than later.” She had a feeling it was getting too late into the night, if not early in the morning, to still get any worthwhile hours of sleep anyway.

 

[lXlGamemaster]

Dark Witch (Alexandria Kingston)

​

Despite her hands out in the open and a (slightly tired) smile on her face, the kenku didn't seem all that interested in her proposal. In hindsight it might have been odd to spend money drinking with people you were going to rob a few seconds ago. She kept forgetting that booze cost money in this world... In her world liquor literally grew on trees, which is why it took a lot of alcohol for her people to feel its effects. The final straw seemed to be seeing Pierre emerge from the barn (which I mean, fair) and the bird man dropped everything to run away, apologizing to his partner on the way. "So her name is Eva..."

Listening to Regula's theory it made sense: loud metal music in the middle of the night was really hard to ignore, so these people must have been in cahoots with the bandits. If that was the case, were these the only two bandits? Was there a secret mafia going on with this (or more) taverns that we just didn't know about? The thought was distressing, but Alex yawned it off. She wasn't the kind of gal to have more than she could carry, so as long as she had her hat and her guitar she was golden. She moved to Aria and the body of the cat-burglar. "I don't think calling the guards will do anything if that's the case. Should we leave her tied up so her bird friend can come back for her?"

 

[RavenSong]

“Murder?” She repeated innocently. “Oh.. this?” She said as she lifted up the unconscious cat thief’s pretty little face. “She isn’t dead. She’s sleeping.”

She could see where her entering the scene outside could have caused the bird boy to tremble with fear. Aria would raise her free hand and wave at him. “H-hey where are you going..” she exclaimed. “What about your friend?!”

Aria let out a deep sigh, she was tired of having to exert herself everyday on top of having to walk for miles. Not to mention she wasn’t getting very much sleep these days. At this point it didn’t seem like Aria was really in the mood to give chase. Besides they had this, Eva in their custody now. Maybe she would have more to say, or perhaps Regula has her own methods to get a thief to speak.

After Regula mentioned the bit about the inn being in league with the thieves, Aria tilted her head lightly. Then looked over her shoulder into the inn “Now that I think of it you’re right m’lady.. in spite of so many others here not one soul thought to even peek through their window or door..” She chuckled. “..we must look [wealthy] or perhaps it’s our fancy clothes..” She said as she pinched at her slashed undershirt. “..anyway, what shall we do with this one?” Aria grunted a bit as she balanced the cat girl's weight on her shoulder.

Aria would yawn after the Dark witch, yawns we’re contagious especially with how tired she was by now. As she approached Aria, covered her mouth as she did so. “Yeah.. let’s tie her up and go to bed.” She said as she rubbed her left eye. “If we leave now though, I’ll fight anyone to sleep on Pierre for part of the way.”

 

[Volkie]

Pierre Rothel - RavenSong Elvario lXlGamemaster

--Eh, why not?


"Huh, Am I really that scary?" Pierre deadpanned as he looked on at the fleeing thief, before looking over to Aria with a tied down catgirl thief.

"I agree, we should just leave her here and get out of this area. I still have plenty left to move and anyone who's still tired can rest on my front hatch or hull, depends on who calls dibs."

With a small yawn, he gave another rev before reversing next to the other three.

"Ready whenever you are, Madams."

 

[Elvario]

Mentions: Aria RavenSong | Pierre Volkie | Dark Witch lXlGamemaster
Day: Fourth day of travel - seventh day of travel
Time: Very early in the morning – around noon
Weather: Sun is rising - cloudy, but no rain yet
Relevant dice rolls: 2 (BeetleBuggo) – Thief at night
2 (RavenSong) – Thief at night
3 (lXlGamemaster) – Inaccessible road

Regula
​

Regula was carefully considering Dark Witch's suggestion. Handing the kid thieves to the guards felt a bit overkill, even if it would solve some things. They couldn't exactly bring her along either... although, on that note, seeing how Aria was 'handling' the catgirl, Regula couldn't help abstain from teasing the girl for a bit. “I'm not sure if Aria would be willing to part with her, as it seems like she's picked her up as a new pet.”

Regula didn't take long to take on a more serious tone. “In all seriousness, I don't even think we should waste any rope on tying her up. By the time she'll wake, we'll be long gone. Just put her in the stables for now.” She grimaced. “I guess one good thing about not ruling these lands as of yet means that I don't have to sent in people to investigate what this inn is up too, working with child thieves. Perhaps I'll put a notice of it on the adventurer's guild's board at some point, but for now I say we'll leave it be.”

She then turned to Pierre. “Scary? Nah, the bird kid is just a coward. You're the loveliest metal carriage I've ever seen.” She nodded upon his suggestion to leave. “I wouldn't be able to rest much more anyhow, not with the idea that there's people trying to steal me running the very inn I'm sleeping in. Let's quickly go through our belongings and leave afterwards.” Regula said, as she check her own gear, as well as the crates from Pierre. She wasn't missing anything, although she realised that, among other things, her weapon maintenance gear was among what the bird kid had dropped. She also saw some odd tools she couldn't quite place (guitar tuning kid). “Is this yours?” She asked Dark Witch holding it up. Other than that, the bird hadn't taken much from them.

She did smirk a bit at Aria's claim to fight for the right to sleep atop Pierre. “Do you want me to detain your for insubordination?” She said, teasingly. That said, she was generous enough to give Aria first dips on figuring out how to sit/sleep atop the tank. From there, after having confirmed all their belongings were there, it was time to head off.

The next three days went by without too much going on. However, they'd entered a small patch of forest that turned out to be a lot more troublesome than Regula had anticipated. More often than not, the path ended up leading between trees too close to each-other for Pierre to pass between them, forcing them to find their way around the thickets, or to try brute-forcing their way through. A few times, they even had to backtrack considerable parts. As a result, they were also forced to sleep outdoors for three nights in a row. As for Pierre, the three women had been going through the forest to find puddles and even had to dig down for ground water once, in order to bring him water to stay fuelled, as there wasn't a single stream or pond in sight within these woods. All things considered, Regula was growing a little tired of being stuck in what felt like an endless sea of trees.

When then ran into yet another narrow passage, she lost her patience. “As much as I like forests, I'm drop dead tired of trying to traverse through them...” She quickly realised she shouldn't demoralise her own allies. “I'm sure we're almost out of the woods though. According the map, it should've taken two days at most, so even with all the detours, I bet we're almost there.”

She was really hoping that her words had actual truth to them. That said, she could use a bit of distraction. “Say, Alex, where did you learn that particular style of music of yours?”