Fantasy Guild of Heroes: Recall Protocol

[Noble Scion]

Sienna Fei

Spoiler: Appearance

"The deal is settled, then, though if my time limit is thirty minutes they'll have to be dead, not that it matters much considering you intend to eat them." she answered, taking the potions and downing them both, one after the other, before heading back they way she had come.

The potion effects were immediate as she felt refreshed and rejuvenated, a slight spring now in her step as she hopped out the door, coming face to face with her fellow void-touched.

"If you are willing to wait thirty minutes, I need to fulfil my end of the bargain and get my coin back. Then we may discuss this saving the world party, deal?" she chirped to the woman, before disappearing into the forest with a cheerful "hoot".

Sienna hadn't gone hunting in ages, or at least what felt like ages. The forest under her feet as she flew past trees, eyes sharp and searching for prey. It all brought a level of instinctual satisfaction as she pinned a rabbit alongside the other forest critters she'd found, the process only taking about twenty minutes to find and catch the selection. Nothing large like a deer, but a couple of rabbits, a squirrel, a fox, and some kind of lizard would probably suffice, at least she hoped.

Collecting her quarry, the owl returned, gave the shop's door a knock, and entered after giving the young woman a polite nod. She'd need to find a river or something to wash the blood from her talons, but that was for something after getting her coin back.
June Verles LostHaven

 

[June Verles]

Sasha Korneev

Some girls pace back and forwards when they need to wait and they're flustered others may bite their fingernails off. Sasha, just like any other normal person was dealing with the anxiety of having to wait for the owl lady to come out of the store by meditating and imagining herself fighting 10 trained assassins that kept respawning over and over again as she brutally and mercilessly eliminated them.

"So," Eik asks from a spectator stand, munching on some popcorn before extending the bowl to Fuchsalot. "Are these guys just randoms she comes up with?"

"Well from what I can tell as an ex-adventurer's guild trainer this mental technique was faceless enemies, so the user can work past their need to hesitate alongside maintaining their reactions."

"That's actually pretty metal, but those guys distinctly look like people." Fuchsalot points out.

Without skipping a beat Mr. Noone with a dossier in his hand adds. "Those are people she has a grudge against for whatever reason, there's a nebuladollar barista who never got her name wrong and she was too awkward to correct, her highschool advisor who didn't let her pick Russian as an elective because she was fluent and Mark and before you ask I don't know, it's redacted." He showed the crossed out dossier, with the black ink covering the generic dude's profile.

"I get hating teachers, I got kicked out of the magical college because of their lack of understanding." He made zombie squirrels with parasite plants that could turn their innards into High Def pictures and gave them to his younger brother so he could be a perv.


Back in the real world, as soon as Sienna came out all Sasha could do was stare blankly and nod at her comment as the owl beastman just sped off into the forest. After a few more moments of mental fireworks celebrating her success much to the dismay of her mental tenants she would take the time to drop the wood clone and return to her body which she hid with her horse in the forest.

Again, with the gods of fate beaming their good fortune down on her, the area in which she hid her real body and Midnight the mare was hidden only mere feet away from where Sienna mercilessly killed a forest animal, much to Sasha's admiration and happiness at such a cool display of murderous capability.

She and her horse quickly sneaked away and made their way to the front of the store, waiting for Sienna dutifully.

Noble Scion Birdsie LostHaven

 

[Alteras]

Averza Reyes

LOCATION Woods - Camp

INTERACTIONS Cyrus, Ellis, Claire, Sophia, Jaunt

CS

Averza gave a thumbs up towards Claire as Cyrus gave an implicit approval. Another ally is always great, and with a knight being "squired" as a new member of the guild, they could expect some help on the combat front of things.

"Haha! I can only imagine more of your kind hulking around in metal armor. Maybe like a massive Iron Golem? What a scary thought." she said in response to Jaunt's comments on armor, if only to help lighten the mood. For her part, she's had her fair share of iron golems in the past to be sick of it. Her attacks would always bounce off of their bodies, and even after destroying the joints with a hundred slashes, the damn thing would just keep lumbering along. She once tried to fight one by creating a tornado of debris, but it just turned into a hellish storm of flying shrapnel that was more lethal than the golem itself. Averza shivered at the thought of having to fight an army of armored spiders with more intelligence than a golem core.

In any case, she returned to her station, helping the party keep guard as they advanced towards the border.

some time later
As the party began to make camp, Averza helped with the fire, clearing the ground of any flammable objects, as well as flattening the campsite via a bit of stomping. Seeing Ellis successfully start the fire, she walked towards it, and stretched her hand forward, fingertips pointed toward the flame. She slow lifted her hand to the sky, as a wind started blew into the fire from the base and went upwards, intensifying the flame and carrying the smoke away with it.

After hearing Ellis's offer and Sophia's request, Averza found herself rubbing her stomach. "I'll be fine without the bedroll. Rather, I can take first watch. But before that, dinner..." She looked at the state of everyone. Usually a light hunt after making camp is well within the ability of any adventurer, but after being pursued, fighting vampires, tending to wounds, and marching a long and cautious walk through less traveled ground, it would probably be a bit troubling. "I don't suppose you have any food? Otherwise dinner is gonna have to be whatever we can kill, and with the sun setting, I doubt it's gonna be a nice deer." She wasn't adverse to the thought of hunting, but the hunters are undoubtedly gonna be a fraction of the group, and already worn out.

Birdsie lil_kreen Hanarei Silver Wolf

FontsFonts Coded by Alteras

 

[lil_kreen]

Jaunt Nemesis
Location: woods to badlands camp
Nearby/Mentioned: Silver Wolf Birdsie Hanarei Alteras

---

Head torqued about as they prepared for their long miles, he kept an eye on the false Matriarch but felt satisfied after a while that she wasn't going to immediately fall off. He carried everything he needed with them though had a small pouch behind his ammo supply and squirreled the potions away there. The dagger hadn't caused enough damage and with Ellis' healing could tell that the impact pad hadn't immediately gone turgid as blood exposed to it. That few inches of subdermal sac would soften as the wound healed and panoplymph reset.

The transceiver replied to Averza once they'd gone underway, "I did look at the metal armors here but I think I could not wear a helmet! Unable to hear peers or maybe even a brooding Matriarch. Unless you can write large signs very quickly I would be deaf and broadcasting Quietus into a silent echo bucket. I prefer to hear your voices more than just my own."

Jaunt ate his way along the path as they went quietly along when time permitted. Especially the forest paths and intermittent farmlands where he ate from fallen seeds, plants, and fruits that the others couldn't ingest. A Xenobotanist was a hard creature to starve. It replenished his personal oil sacs if quite slowly. Someone his size took a great deal of food as an obligate herbivore especially one thinly fed before the void. Though pickings got quite thin as they reached the badlands. Little was spared or littered as the crunching and gnashing of leaves went on below. Though now gave off a faint grassy petrichor from the saps as he raked his ridged jaws and cleaned them.

Once they finally made camp he sat flat to the ground to help the injured false Matriarch dismount though clearly still injured was better. He busied with removing his armor clamps on the underside as they built the fire. It could serve another purpose and the elements were one of them. A pair of large rocks on each side of Sophia's pile of dirt and leaves as the hinge from both halves of his armor creaked to wedge it in an A-frame above them. The cruor-colored spider matched somewhat well with the badlands much the same as his home though now stripped of his mineral-wool armor the flexing nubs of his leathery abdomen showed it not chitinous. The equipment of his underside was held by a different set of straps with a backpack stuffed with tablets, two potions, and really whatever he could grab in passing that was recognizable and not poisonous or otherwise toxic.

Close by those at the fire, his transceiver spoke for him as he loosely braided the three leg sleeves to serve as flaps for the ends some distance away, "Three would be cramped but I can help with the cold, false Matriarchs. I can re-equip my armor quickly enough if we are attacked."

The rifle and hammer lay on the backside of the armor's outside where he himself would sleep on the dirt. Though a heated sap breath would likely emerge from under the rear flap until the coldest hours due to the Vulcan organ regulating his temperature. The loss of so many works of other false Matriarchs weighed on his mind but he was to serve. The threat of being hunted helped keep his mind focused on his duties. If those things attacked all he would need to do is surge forward to cover them.

He joined them at the fire though the transceiver hadn't moved at all, "I have hardtack for water to make pancakes but you cannot eat it safely. Some of the plants and seeds I harvested on the way are edible for you but bitter. Cyrus or Ellis would recognize them I think. Or I can help hunt without the weight of my armor but my legs are growing stiff from long travel."

 

[Birdsie]

Cyrus of Trostenvald + Elsimore 'Ellis' Bellathriel

"I have a few leftover Guild-issue dry rations, uhm, human-type," Ellis said, glancing at Jaunt apologetically. He waved his hand and, laid out on top of a blanket, produced seven copies of the same meal: a loaf of flatbread, a handful of blackberries and cherries, a short loop of super-dried beef sausage, a few chopped radishes stacked on top of each other, and three honeyed candies in wrappers of plastic foil. Altogether, it would've made for a satisfactory lunch for a single human. "As Sophia needs to eat more to get back her strength, we'll give two over to her, and then we'll divide the rest equally between us to maintain strength. What parts of this can your physiology accommodate, Jaunt?"

"I'll abstain from dinner for now. I would've been more tempted if you had bean soup," Cyrus said, coming over and sitting down close to them. The wizard put down his staff wearily and breathed out, seeming tired, maybe outright fatigued after such a long day of marching. He closed his eyes. "I'll meditate and sustain myself with a mana technique I know. I'll also try to repair my knapsacks. If I manage to complete said repairs, food will no longer be a concern for us as I will become able to provide an effectively transfinite quantity of cooked stew. Although, frankly, given we'll reach Laurellia by noon tomorrow, it's unlikely to be an issue at any rate."

He drew in a single, mighty pull of his wooden pipe and held in the smoke, releasing it over a few seconds in a short puff. After that, he drew in twice or thrice more, before stopping all movement entirely, sitting like a block of unmelting ice.

"Suit yourself," Ellis muttered, so quiet the wizard likely couldn't hear. He reached out and grabbed one of the flatbread loaves instead, ripping it apart and biting into the smaller piece.

Silver Wolf Hanarei Alteras lil_kreen

 

[lil_kreen]

Jaunt Nemesis
Location: badlands campsite
Nearby/Mentioned: Silver Wolf Hanarei Alteras Birdsie

---

Done setting up the makeshift tent the armorless Jaunt carried a mild scent of dry resinous rust in lacking the ability to sweat as other species. He walked up to the fire where his transceiver sat to press it into the holder on his lower harness. The backpack on his belly emptied a few things onto the blanket from what he'd harvested while passing through the greener lands though many were more herb in nature rather than food. Being only a few feet from the ground meant he didn't have to stop moving to pluck plant life. Though he'd avoided fungi knowing the line between deadly and food was too wide to mix with things for humans to eat.

He pointed at a smaller group made mostly of leafy greens, wild carrots, and palm-sized red apples with a fiddle of the transceiver for normal volumes, "Thank you. I can contribute back what I take from the Matriarchy. I ate the other rainberries you wouldn't find palatable but do not eat the seeds. The lion's tooth leaves may be bitter to your taste but better with the fruit you have. The ostrich fern heads should be fully cooked before eating. I took flora for the rest that I remember used by herbalists but the canvases for what they do are too sodden from the Void to remember anymore."

The long hands from under his cephalothorax made a sandwich of the flatbread, fruit, and a few radish slices and pointed at the meat then looked to the Ellis, "Though I cannot eat the dried body parts flatbread should be fine It does not have much milk or butter. If cherry seeds cannot be eaten then I will eat them."

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Solomon of Abyrdshire
Location: Badlands Campsite
Nearby: lil_kreen Silver Wolf Hanarei Alteras Birdsie

It had been a long journey for Sol', since he'd left his village. He'd seen a lot of interesting things on his travels, but now he came upon something truly odd. Three female warriors, what seemed to be two wizards, and... was that a giant spider? It seemed... friendly enough, and it could talk, so Solomon figured it probably wasn't a threat. The young man emerges into the camp confidently, waving a little at the people therein.

"Ah, hello! Do you mind if I camp with you guys? My name's Solomon of Abyrdshire, just a new adventurer."

Those capable of it could sense the mana around Sol swirling and churning as it's sucked into his body, like a ravenous maw that simply would not stop eating. And those knowledgeable about star-bourne races would immediately recognize the white hair and yellow eyes as distinctive of a very particular race, the Iliosians. This one, however, was a far cry from the beings that had been feared throughout the stars, instead looking like... just a village boy with a backpack and a sword.

 

[Swire]

Black Ops Captains

LOCATION Campsite

INTERACTIONS Birdsie lil_kreen Silver Wolf Hanarei Alteras ThatWhichShouldBe

Beautiful shades of colors are vacuumed by the horizon, as a shadow falls on the land. Little did our heroes know, that their long-desired rest would be cut short. On the edge of the field, three constructs of beasts stood. Having long hunted their prey, these constructs need not sleep, water or food. They exist only to hunt.

Rune Dogs

Spoiler

Created by Kyro in the short time when he knew the Guild would return. Prisoners' souls are placed inside of rune bodies. Designed to hunt and chase down their prey, they are skilled at tracking and need only their target's scent. They are not strong but possess a high-powered cannon that sends a pillar of fire toward their enemies. Requires them to stand still and charge, and exposes their weak core. Only three of these monsters were created.

-----------------------------​

Black Ops Captains
Each a leader of their own squad. They are skilled at a unique style of magic or fighting type.
Agron Tether

Spoiler

Leader of the entire black ops, a muscular beast of a man. His weapon of choice is a large sword bigger than most men. He is both a leader and a front liner. Shouting orders beside his soldiers he is sometimes too excited to fight, this led to losing one of his squad members in the past. Skilled in elemental magic.

Baron Igor

Spoiler

Even larger than Agron, this man stands as a behemoth, towering any and all people before him, even most monsters. He has been nicknamed "The Shield" as it is the only weapon he ever uses. He is a very kind person when you are on his side, loving of a good drink and laugh, he is devastated by the loss of any team member. Skilled in protection and countermagic.

Inir Shell

Spoiler

The sniper of the group. Skilled in enchanted bullets that have a variety of uses, from antimagic to increased range. He has done quite a bit of enhancement to his body through magic to increase his eyes and accuracy. The rifle he uses is also been handcrafted as requested by Lord Script.

Syi

Spoiler

His actual name is unknown. He is the mobility of the group. Can create portals that teleport himself and others medium distances. He cannot teleport them infinite distances. He carries their supplies, despite being the smallest and youngest of the group.

-----------------------------​

The rune dogs on the horizon burst forward running at full speed. Cyrus's alarm wards triggered as the dogs came within range of the camp. By the time Cyrus could alert the other members, the dogs would be just outside the camp.

The lifeless constructs rooted themselves in the ground for a time, just observing. Each camp member would see them clearly. Three singular beams of light shined from the center of their heads to the camp like spotlights.

They stood a fair distance away from each other, after a moment their chest opened up, exposing their weakness. Within it burned an unstable core, waves of heat emanated from the core, the grass beneath them caught fire simply from the raw energy build-up. After a short time of charging, the dogs opened their mouths and three pillars of blue fire erupted towards the camp.

The field was illuminated by the carnage, catching everything in its path. Each dog closed its mouths and their chests returned to their original state. Again the dogs dashed toward the camp to engage the guild members.


On the distant edge of the field, the Black Ops Captains stood in a circle. "Thanks to the dogs' tracking ability, and your teleportation, we are fully rested and the guild members are weak and tired," Agron claimed to his team.

"Sir, the dogs have begun their assault. We should join them." Inir said watching the camp go up in flames. Agron nodded, "One final time, Inir provides support fire. Baron and I are on the frontlines, and Syi is assisting in between. We lose no one, understand? Good, let's go."

Syi closed his hands and focused to a point in front of them. Beneath them opened a portal leading to the center of the camp, Agron and Baron jump into the portal.

On the other side, smoke ascended into the air. It was so thick that Agron and Baron had difficulty breathing. The three dogs ran past them attacking anything they could find. "Kill anyone you see and destroy their supplies! The smoke should make it difficult for them to group." Agron shouted.

​

​

 

[June Verles]

Dr. Lenin D. Arwin

---

Location: Campsite Interactions: Birdsie Swire ThatWhichShouldBe Alteras Hanarei Silver Wolf lil_kreen

---

Amongst the black ops, dressed in their battle gear and armed to the teeth was someone who particularly stood out not because they were more outrageous in their armaments, rather because they were visibly lacking much in terms of weaponry. The person in question was one of the many scientists hired by the Albian Overlord for his expertise in many a facets but even amongst that special group he stood out due to his blasé attitude. He was rarely seen researching and yet he performed in the higher echelons of the kingdom's scientific division for which he was allowed many privileges that didn't really have anything to do with the research he was hired to do.

Such as simply tagging along with the operatives by showing up to their barracks and telling them that Script authorised him to. Of course that was a lie, he hadn't even spoke with the man for 3 weeks, he just assumed that the division would decide that his word was trustful enough to not deny him, since they couldn't simply to check if he lied due to the time concerns and the fact that the overlord had went on another one of his impromptu dates with his demonic lover.

"Yes, yes. Let's do this as you people of your profession say, "Quick and clean". I've got a very important appointment in the morning that I just can't miss." Said important appointment being breakfast at the capital's most expensive restaurant, where they barely let you in if you were a duke and all the ingredients they use are on the brink of extinction. This was not because of natural causes but rather because they went out of their way to eliminate every other instance of it except for the ones in their possession, for the ultimate exclusivity. Dr. Lenin really enjoyed their eggs and bacon.

Of course, the doctor had no need to eat or sleep, he was purely doing it out of enjoyment. Just like this mission, he heard of the prodigious achievements of the guild before his treatment and now he wanted to see what they were capable of.

Staring in the direction of the assault by the dogs, the photoreceptors in his eyes changing to adapt to every photon of light entering to give him the best possible ocular fidelity, leaving him completely unfazed by the flashing lights.

Reaching into his lab coat he would pull out a magitech 500 caliber revolver, walking towards the camp in disarray at a calm pace whistling, reloading the gun one bullet at a time as he realised he had forgotten to until now.

 

[lil_kreen]

Jaunt Nemesis
Location: Campsite
Nearby/Mentioned: June Verles Swire ThatWhichShouldBe Birdsie Alteras Hanarei

---

Cyrus and Ellis benefited from a false Matriarch recognizing them as allies. The new male unnamed by Matriarch, however, most certainly did not. As a creature of the Matriarch of war his mind dropped gears hard enough that one could hear the square wave grinding through the transceiver as he dropped out of eigengrau. Though he resisted the urge to raise blade arms in a threatening gesture until the false Matriarchs made a determination. It's what little passed for politeness in the lineage of wrath what with the present so full of threats that the Will symbiote constantly boiled just below a rage.

Rather than cause an incident opted to cram the sandwich in his mouthparts to have something to crush and busied with readiness in spite of the intruder's proximity. A disaffected shake that shook free a plume of resinous dust on the way over to the 'tent' he'd made the weapons still attached. There had not even been time to dislodge them to prepare for rest. The loose leg armor slipped free of the others with a rake between them so each leg could slip into the straps that held it on.

As a blade arm reached back for his hammer his hands grabbed at loose cables to clamp into his underharness ever ready for defense. Hastily jamming the belts in their place spotlights came from beyond the camp's perimeter far behind the tent then into his field of view. A blur of instinct from legs flood from blood sacs to put a huge metal column in the path of one in blue flame. One blade arm helps to shield his head and brace the block as the mineral wool of his armor suffers fire gladly. Though he felt the resinous top layer of his skin start to evaporate in the heat saw the color bleed through the totem as the gout split its cohesion around him. The tremors of incoming creatures soon behind them a heavy metal cadence at speed well transmitted its location along the scorched earth.

After the gout passed the glowing metal of his hammer backswept as one wrathful creature readied to return the other to their masters. Two charges of metal in the deep smoke one implement of destruction intent to meet the other headlong.

 

[Hanarei]

Claire Motoye

Claire looked on observing the group quietly as it seemed she wasn't the only one willing to forgo a bedroll. A rather unfortunate thing all things considered how nice and comfy it would be. They seemed to have suffered for some time though, and while she hadn't the most luxurious accommodations with the little money she had it seemed to be far better then whatever this void place thing they were talking was. She couldn't help but feel a bit out of place truth be told.

Upon the mentioning of food the young knight's head perked up. The excitement suddenly causing her to become a bit embarrassed blushing lightly in response. She shook her head focusing on not looking so desperate. She brushed her locks to the side glancing over attempting to not look to eager to see the rations seeing quickly it wasn't very... exquisite. Not as glamerous as she expected given all the prestige though truth be told it wasn't far from what she had as far as food goes for some time. She rarely managed to lock out and get something more elaborate to eat on her journey.

She had turned looking to see someone seeming to pass through asking to join them. Before anything could be said though she had turned to see someone approach as Jaunt quickly jumped to action. The girl blinking as she stared dumbfounded at what was going on, suddenly shifting a bit as she became alert reaching to draw her sword on a whim looking on uncertain if this was suppose to be another ambush.

lil_kreen Alteras Silver Wolf Captain Gabriel Birdsie June Verles ThatWhichShouldBe

 

[Alteras]

Averza Reyes

LOCATION Campsite

INTERACTIONS Claire, Cyrus, Ellis, Jaunt, Sophia, Solomon, Assailants

CS

As discussions of dinner continued, Averza's sense of wariness started to slack. As the talk moved to what rations they had, she decided that maybe going hunting for the odd bird might be better. A wild rabbit might even be possible, if she extended her mana into more active wind searching. But before she could act on her thoughts, the sudden appearance of a young man startled her.

As the greeting passed through her ears, she jumped up and reached for her blade. Every sense of her body screamed that this person was a threat. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS MANA?!?! WHO THE HELL IS THIS PERSON?!?!? I haven't seen this much mana since fighting Aquilo!! Her mind screamed as she stood in a half formed stance ready to pounce or run for her life. The only thing that kept her from pulling out her sword was the person's uncharacteristically benign appearance and the greeting that barely entered her conscious.

Averza was very much confused and alarmed. Not even powerful mages just "churn" mana idly for all to see, and yet this "adventurer" just stood there doing that. She held more suspicion than a Rivannian Inquisitor. And as if to confirm her suspicion, lights started flooding the camp.

She instinctively flung herself behind Jaunt, seeing as the spider was taking action. Hearing the sound of fire and metal strike metal, Averza recollected herself and swung her left hand. A large force of wind blew through the camp, tossing dirt and soil into the air as it pushed the smoke away to momentarily give vision for her party.

Round 2!!! Averza gritted her teeth as she lifted her sword, ready to fight whatever was assailing them.

Swire lil_kreen Hanarei Birdsie Silver Wolf June Verles ThatWhichShouldBe

FontsFonts Coded by Alteras

 

[Birdsie]

Swire lil_kreen Hanarei Silver Wolf June Verles ThatWhichShouldBe

CYRUS TROSTENVALD // ELSIMORE BELLATHRIEL

As the Ilosian came into camp, the immediate reaction of Cyrus was to raise a hand and stop the others from assaulting him. "Hold. My wards did not trigger. I do not believe he bears any hostile intent towards us. It is, however, rather suspicious that he'd appear here moments before the enemy."

Cyrus, and then Ellis, both looked towards the edge of the camp where a number of advanced constructs in the shape of hounds approached in a steady jog. The wizard's staff flew into his hand, as he started to chant. A few heartbeats before the dogs could fire their magical attacks, Cyrus cast his spell, erecting a blazing orange forcefield to protect the heroes.

As soon as Baron and Agron appeared in their midst - prompting a triggering of the wards that alerted everyone present to their appearance - Cyrus started to cast divinatory spells, at the same time as Ellis fended off a pair of rune dogs, using his staff to blow them back and to slow them down with immense forces to offer his teammates a better shot.

"Elementalist; metamage," Cyrus said, marking Agron and Baron in that order. "Follow SOP." He cast his staff up into the air and sent a barrage of magical bolts at the assassins.

The Guild's standard operating procedure was to handle mages capable of area combat or environment control - such as elementalists or telekines, first - as well as mages capable of gathering data such as diviners, or mages capable of controlling minds such as mentalists. All other categories of foe, including healers, defenders, metamages, or direct physical attackers were to be handled last if possible. As such, in those few words, Cyrus had given out the order to target primarily Agron, should it be possible. It was commonly known that SOP was to be ignored should circumstances in combat permit a particular 'opportunity' to strike down an opponent of another category, however, and everyone aware of it would understand that.

 

[Silver Wolf]

Sophia Gertrude

Location: Campsite
Interactions/Mentions: Birdsie lil_kreen Hanarei Alteras Swire June Verles ThatWhichShouldBe


​

Opting mostly for meat to replenish the lost blood, Sophia went along with the others...until a celestial being casually wandered into camp. Whiel she didn't sense any hostile intent, and even if there was she wouldn't be able to do much, she did admit the sequence of events was rare. It didn't last long as vitality suddenly returned to her as fresh blood seemed to flood into her body, face no longer pale. While Cyrus had thwarted the rune dogs' attacks, she hastily prepared herself for a battle.

"Today certainly isn't my day," she grumbled, thinking about how she would likely pass out for a day or few after this. With smoke creating a screen and Cyrus' divining, SOP was declared and she was homing in onto Agron. She swiftly activated Aegisblood and charged the leader of the attackers. Her first strike was a wide sweeping one extended with blood arts, and she held her shield out and took a stance. Surely that had to have gotten his attention.

"Even if it costs all the blood in my body, I will not permit you to take any more comrades from me!"

Somehow, her motivation triggered something deep inside her. A pulse of mana emanated from her and she felt herself gain more strength. Her brow furrowed further and she held her sword up, ready to strike and counter strike if necessary. A defender always let the enemy move first.

​

 

[Swire]

Black Ops Captains

LOCATION Campsite

INTERACTIONS Birdsie lil_kreen Silver Wolf Hanarei Alteras ThatWhichShouldBe June Verles

Across the vast space, a click followed by a light and loud disruption of sound that echoed across the field. Just beside Elsimore and Cyrus a glowing rune shot would pass them but only find the ground.

"Miss..." Inir said, altering the position of his gun slightly. He muttered inaudible numbers and calculations to himself. After a moments time, he fired again, this time directed toward Elsimore.

Inir's job was to pin down Elsimore and Cyrus, but his position is important. For this reason, he was using long-range rune bullets. The extra range is their only effect, so they are weak compared to his other options, however, they kept him as far away from his enemy as possible.

To compliment him, he had Syi assisting him. "Let's go," Inir commanded Syi. Regardless of the outcome of the last shot, Inir and Syi teleported to a slightly different location, still within sight range of Cyrus and Elsimore. Before setting up again.


In the center of the camp, Agron took in a deep breath as the smoke cleared from Averza's wind spell. What little cover it provided was gone, but it did not matter. Agron took a moment to check on the rune dog's positions.

Two of the dogs had been thrown back. They were not particularly strong and weren't going to win against Elsimore. With a loud command, Agron called the dogs toward himself. They were weakened quite a bit, but still had some fight left.


"Let us begin!" Without the need to yell, his very presence alone combined with his abyssal voice would rope the attention of all around him. Baron slammed his shield to the ground in the center of the camp. It reverberated for moments before the echoes of sound became a visible barrier of magic catching Cyrus's bolts and dividing the camp in half.

Baron had prioritized placing both Cyrus and Elsimore on one side to divide them from others, but it was not going to be perfect. Some members may end up on either side.

Agron stayed on one side, while Baron walked through the other side to meet Cyrus and Elsimore, picking up his shield as he crossed. The barrier that divided the camp was fairly strong and took much of Baron's mana, but should Cyrus or Elsimore step carelessly to destroy it, they would find a bullet from Inir.

Baron stood a short distance away, intending on fighting but also protecting the barrier. "Cyrus of Trostenvald, it is an honor to meet you and your colleges. I only wish it was in more favorable conditions." He said sadly, lifting his shield to defend himself.


As Sophia's blade swept toward Agron, he met her headfirst parrying her blade and holding her in a clash for a few moments before pushing her back to release the force.

"I wonder.." He said, "Will those comrades be able to stop me from taking your life?" Agron leaped forward toward Sophia aiming for her shield, normally an unfavorable decision to make. Right before he would clash with her, Agron shouted. "ICE!"

Frost encapsulated both of them, making neither able to move. From the distance one of the dog's cores opened up. It intended on firing at Sophia and Agron. "I am no stranger to flames, but will you survive?." Agron said insuring that Sophia would not be able to avoid this. She would need the aid of her allies.

The other two dogs played crowd control. One had already met Jaunt. It circled him. Charging him would result in death, so the dog tried to use its speed to run circles around him waiting for an opening, before leaping in to attack. The third and final dog stood near Agron, it would engage anyone that tried to get close.

​

​

 

[LostHaven]

Faust Windfallow (＆Co.)

The Raven's Arcana |"Quick, give her the thing, goddammit!"​

"I see, good luck," Said the girl as she watched the owl dash out of the door. She had her doubts whether or not Sienna would even make it out the door without being instantaneously and painfully deconstructed at a molecular level for leaving without pay, but it seemed as though the overly-complex and excessive security system the damned lich had set up had registered the coin as 'substantial payment', or at least a passable bond. Emily sighed a little as she removed the mask from her face, and massaged her temple. Horrid, humid thing, that mask was. Emily really had no clue why she was the only one who had to wear the 'uniform'.

A violent buzzing in her pocket caused Emily to let out a longer sigh. She reached into her pocket as slowly as possible, taking her sweet time to retrieve the communication device, and took even longer to answer. And justifyingly so - the moment she answered the handheld radio, a familiar, obnoxious voice would boom through the other end. "Damn it Emily, I fucking forgot-"

"My apologies, I'll make sure it won't happen next time," replied Emily in a cold, robotic tone as if she had answered on autopilot. Hopefully, this would shut the impotent skeleton up so she could go on with her day. "I shall consult you next time before agreeing to a transaction outside of currency."

"What? No! I don't give a flying fuck about those potions! Alexiel's piss has more restorative power than that bland shit! The owl! Give her the thing. You know, the thingie!" screeched the lich in response.

"Are you perhaps referring to the membership card?" asked Emily, completely unfazed by the constant earrape.

"Yeah! That!"

"I understand. No, no I don't, but I'll do it if that's your instruction."

"I don't expect you to understand! Just do it, or do you need me to explain for you to do it?"

"Spare me the explanation."

"Then just fucking do it! Actually, you know what, fuck it, I'll do it! You're off shift for the day!"

That was certainly an unexpected development. Unexpected, but not unwelcome. Most people who were right in the head would probably commit vehicular manslaughter to get off shift early, and so Emily had no objection. "Alright. I will be leaving then. I had plans with Xylzrilyn to go to the tavern anyway, perhaps we have extra time for a Taco-Bell run beforehand."

Upon returning to the store, Sienna would find that Emily was long gone, and instead, lone at the counter, was the tall shady man in a less than flattering bird mask. The coin was on the front desk, which Faust slid toward Sienna with a gloved hand upon noticing her approach. "Thank you for your patronage," said the lich, "I do hope we can make more transactions in the future. To that end..." Whilst he spoke, Faust had been rummaging his pockets with his free hand, and produced a small, rectangular 'card' about the measurements of standard playing card. It gave off a dirty, green metallic lustre, suggesting an adamantine composition. Etchings were carved onto the card, depicting a raven, with azure mana flowing through the etched lines. "Please, before you leave, do take this with you. I insist. Should you find that you are in need of our services, pour but a droplet of your mana into this. You will find that the Raven's Arcana offers far more than just general wares. I look forward to your future patronage."

Noble Scion

 

[Noble Scion]

Sienna Fei

Spoiler: Appearance

Sienna gave the strange man an inquisitive tilt of the head as she took back her coin and the card as well. It was certainly appealing aesthetically, though she wondered if her raven brethren would take kindly to having their image used as a marketing tactic. Either way, it was nothing but a boon to have as far as she could tell.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to use it when I have more readily available payments next time. As for the second part of the payment, I'm.. Just going to leave these here." she answered, leaving the small collection of dead critters on the ground in a corner of the room.

"Apologies for the mess." she chirped, before shuffling hurriedly out the door, retreating to who she presumed was to be her new travelling companion.

The most time she'd spent with another was with her teacher, who had been an aged man and had largely refused her efforts to become his apprentice for the better part of a year, until he eventually cracked from her incessant begging. This was going to be a new experience for her, with them being acquaintances as opposed to a teacher-student relationship.

Flicking whatever remnants of gore she had on her talons onto the ground, she would look at the woman with a smile. "Sienna Fei, magician of elemental proficiency and member of the Guild of heroes, pleasure to meet you. I would offer to shake your hand but.. This will have to do." she said, before giving them a regal bow, practiced and precise enough that would fool even the most high-ranking of nobles of her lowly origins.

"I also believe that once my presence is known, some loose ends of mine will come looking for me once they figure out I'm back, so leaving Espania should be our first plan of action." she warned as she rose up again, before frowning as she remembered that she was a magician, and simply flicked her hand, causing a small cloud of water to start raining down before her, allowing her to rinse her hands.

"You are..?"

LostHaven June Verles

 

[ThatWhichShouldBe]

Solomon of Abyrdshire
Location: Badlands Campsite
Nearby: lil_kreen Silver Wolf Hanarei Alteras Birdsie Swire

Solomon had absolutely no idea what was going on. All he knew was that his new friends were suddenly attacked, by strange adventurers and robotic dogs. What else could he do but fight? His movements were unpracticed, unpolished, but what carried him forward was raw spirit and his impressive physical ability, as he dashes over the field. That robotic dog.... he didn't know what was going on with it, but he was sure it was up to no good! As one of the cores opens up, Solomon jumps on it, plunging his sword into the open core with all his force.

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT COULD WE TALK THIS OUT?!?"

 

[June Verles]

Sasha Korneev

The Russian woman would be seen waiting outside the mobile shop with her imposing mare, Midnight the killer of 100 men, who she was feeding with branches and leaves growing from her artificial wooden arm, idly moving her head from side to side in a strangely joyous and relaxed manner. Something her mental tenants quickly took note of;

"Is she really not noticing that this mare who is only mere inches and 4 legs away from matching Slepneir? It has eaten her up to the forearm! Like I get the tiny branches, but it's just eating actual wood at this point." Eik as he did point out the obvious, much to the dismay of Mr No one who was the information dump guy in their group. Not cool Eik, keep to your character archetype.

"Your scraggly old ass wouldn't get it. Wood has the same calories as 4 mashed potatoes. How do you think is so yolked up? You gotta get your food in if you want to grow." He said, as he flexed his biceps, the 3 inch steel armour barely keeping in his chadness.

"It's fine." Chris shrugged at the horse feasting on the wooden arm, much to the confusion of everyone else at the exact same time. "It's gonna die and recycle more biomass into fungal and plant growth." A sigh of relief around the board, Chris would be way too normal if he wasn't a dendrophile.


As Sienna came out out of the store Sasha would turn around, her inner world shaking with excitement to make a magnitude 8 earthquake look like a mall artificial wave pool. She hadn't had friends or acquaintances of her own age that were not figments of her mind for actual years, since the great war back on her world. If it wasn't for this excitement she would have been way too anxious though for the tenants of her mind they already knew the two emotions were more similar than what you would want for her.

"Wwwaaaait... why is it fluctuating now?" Adventurer 1 asked as the shaking got better and worse for a split moment as Sasha was entranced by Sienna.

Mr. No One, casually sipping from a cup of tea as he was floating due to his status as a mana ghost, responded calmly as he was reading what looked like Sienna's dossier in Sasha's vast data logs. "Mhmm, because at first she was sad she didn't get to shake her bloody hand, which she likes because it apparently displayed passion, but then rebounded when she realised that this meant that she cared how she presented herself to her. That and she's currently building an in depth counter measure plan if she ever goes AWOL at the same time." He says frowning as he leans in closer to the file. "Damn, how is she not a bad guy?" he asked as he continued to read just as engrossed in her screwed up perception of the world. It was like a telenovela.

Sasha needed to rely on her reflexes response when she was asked who she was, as she puffed her chest out, put her head behind back and faced forward. "NATO call sign Sienna Kilo, Legal name redacted." At which point she realised her old call sign was the same as her actual name, it must've been fate but that display of fortune was what she needed to pause and give a better presentation.

"But you can call me Sasha, I used to be a hero for a different organisation. Similarly like you I've got covert ops experience" She said, accidentally betraying that she figured it out from when she saw her in the forest but she just continued hoping for that slip up to be ignored along with the rest. "I mainly use flora magic but my skill set is highly adaptable. I'm not to set on where we need to go, so if you want get out of Espanian territory we can." She then took a deep breath and looked up at her with upmost seriousness and due diligence.

"It's best if we ride Midnight together, don't worry she won't kick you off and crush your skull because you're also a girl."

Birdsie Noble Scion LostHaven

 

[June Verles]

Dr. Lenin D. Arwin

---

Location: Campsite Interactions: Birdsie Swire ThatWhichShouldBe Alteras Hanarei Silver Wolf lil_kreen

---

Spoiler: Appearance

Walking down the field turned battlefield very suddenly the doctor would reach into his inner coat pocket and pull out his limited edition, gold dragon scale magi-music player and attach them to his latest edition siren vocal chords (it has the best sound fidelity) ear buds. This wasn't his actual job, so he decided that he could take it easy and listen to some banger tunes.

Spoiler: The tunes

Just like a 30 year old man with no dancing pedigree the doctor would grove his way the couple of dozen feet nodding his head to the left and right and shimmying his hands in a barely rhythmic manner since he was only doing it for the vibe anyways. Just like that vibing he would walk past the robot dogs blasting magical beams, groovily dodge the magic barrier created by Baron and simply did the snake dance past the tension filled duel between Agron and Sophia until he had made it to the orange barrier elected by Cyrus.

Only taking one earbud out the man would lean in closer and analyse it, just as he shouted towards the arch mage; "Wow you're as good as they say! This is a pretty good reactionary barrier to put up in time, you must be like a 3rd or 4th circle magus right? Good for you!" He complimented him cheerly with a fist bump in the air. Just as he then put his put his clasped hands together against the barrier, penetrating it, the heroes on the other side visibly seeing as his hands turned a dark purple, those with magical aptitude being able to figure out that his hands immediately coated themselves in the perfect counteractive magical energies to bypass the barrier.

So just like that, Lenin made about a foot wide circular hole in the barrier. "Now please just stand still, I'm not a marksman or anything hahaha." He chuckled, as he pulled out his magitech revolver, making sure to hold it carefully with bot hands, taking off the safety and taking an amateurish long enough time to point it at the Arch-Magus's centre mass before firing.

 

[Noble Scion]

Sienna Fei

Spoiler: Appearance

Sienna smiled at the novel coincidence surrounded by foreign expressions. It certainly sounded like military, though nothing she was familiar with, so presumed to not be from Espania was all that she could really gather. "Sienna as well, huh? I'm glad you have a nickname unlike me, but I guess you can just call me Fei to make things less confusing." the owl giggled as she flicked her claws against the wind, shaking free the beads of water that remained.

Yet her expression shifted as soon as her covert lifestyle was mentioned. First, she glared fiercely at the woman with steely concern, calculating and almost fearful, then, a moment later, it was gone. Replaced with a distressed grimace. "Aha.. So you figured it out. I guess all the pieces are there. Please do not mention it in the future, it's.. Something I've tried very long and very hard to put behind me, and I'd like people to.. Not be wary." Sienna explained.

Awkward, very awkward.

"... But uh.. Yes. West would be best, to Albion. I have some contacts there and am familiar with the direction. It's how I left Espania the first time. Not the greatest journey, quite dangerous really, but the roads are good enough." she spoke, attempting to alleviate the tension as she made her way to the horse, nodding her agreement at the mention of riding the horse together, but once again giving her a curious head tilt at the strange temperament of the creature.

"A misandrist horse?" The woman asked, before breaking into a cawing chuckle. "Can't say I've heard that one before. Well, I guess that's one thing I'm fortunate for then. Let's be off, I may be nocturnal but despite its name, I doubt your horse is."

June Verles Birdsie​

 

[lil_kreen]

Jaunt Nemesis
Location:campsite
Nearby/Mentioned: Swire Hanarei Alteras Birdsie ThatWhichShouldBe June Verles

---

Jaunt's march toward canine percussion aborted through evasion of the meeting of metal destructors. It was faster at a tireless dead run around him than Jaunt could brace for the lunge to hit it with the heavy hammer. Then he felt the brush of an oncoming thunderhead behind him as they prepared a horizon of wind; the will symbiote immediately knew who it was.

As a defensive action, contact shaped that large cleansing wind under the influence of a magical thermal that was Jaunt himself. A single moment flashed too-vibrant in mind as a stained glass wall rebuilt within Jaunt's drowned mental cathedral. A piece of art on his side of the looking glass well-worth a thousand magical words. Tillers as polypsion were eternal vigilance to allies even if Averza couldn't cast his will through that new glass to strengthen her own without a tithe.

The nova of wind cleared his sense of surroundings enough to formulate and call a course of action for them both through the speaker, "Averza, pincer!"

A free blade arm clamped its sharpness close and straightened for two wide sweeps at the robot dog's fast orbit. Rocky shrapnel, drops of white turning to sticky fuzz, and a dust cloud sprays twice across the battlefield. The intent was to obscure his own move to the creature's tail thinking Averza was fast enough to catch and hold it still long enough for him to circle a hammer blow into its shadow.

 

[Captain Gabriel]

Tamah Babbit
Location: Baryon Manor
With: Captain Gabriel

Tamah scratched at her head as she thought about this. She hadn’t ever really put too much stock in her patrons, they were only ever meant to represent a force of evil. Either as a tool to be used for good, or a villain to be behind her actions when she did evil. She didn’t even bother remembering most of them, in fact she didn’t know if she could name more than one or two. Everything… just became a blur, in a way. They took a lot on their way out.

“I… don’t k-know if I really need a patron. I sort of generate my own arcane energy now, using the leftovers from my old patrons. If it’ll help me be a more useful minion, though, I don’t m-mind a new one.”

Lord Gabriel Baryon
Location: Baryon Manor > Baryon Manor's Dungeons
With: Churl

The ancient vampire sighed, shaking his head sternly. He raised a hand and wagged a finger at her.

"Leftovers won't do in the long run, child," he said gently, as his other hand moved smoothly in the air, making crimson runes appear in front of them. The many symbols condensed and seemed to solidify, before exploding outwards and forming a swirling circle which in turn became a portal, which led into a dark, dingy-looking stone hallway. "The very fact you're doing that is probably the reason the eldritch beings of the nearby planes are so... off-put by you."

The two walked through the portal as he kept talking, walking towards his laboratory-slash-workshop. Their steps echoed throughout the empty dungeon, as a few bats were disturbed from their sleeping spots and flew away, adding their wings' flapping to the atmosphere. "Most patrons want a clean slate to work with. A clean slate to corrupt. Some are willing to overlook the touch of one, maybe two of their... colleagues. But you've been touched by dozens. Do you understand the problem, young Tamah?"

Baryon opened a door with a wave of his hand and led Tamah inside of his personal working space: it was a large room filled with bookshelves, drawers, wooden cupboards, alchemical supplies, corpses of various magical creatures, and several arcane implements that Tamah couldn't certainly name with a glance. "Today, I'll be giving you a gift that's twicefold."

The vampire opened his arms theatrically, with a bit of flair, gesturing at his laboratory. "I'll cleanse you without touching any of your powers, and make you my warlock, Tamah."

 

[Churl]

Lord Gabriel Baryon
Location: Baryon Manor > Baryon Manor's Dungeons
With: Churl

The ancient vampire sighed, shaking his head sternly. He raised a hand and wagged a finger at her.

"Leftovers won't do in the long run, child," he said gently, as his other hand moved smoothly in the air, making crimson runes appear in front of them. The many symbols condensed and seemed to solidify, before exploding outwards and forming a swirling circle which in turn became a portal, which led into a dark, dingy-looking stone hallway. "The very fact you're doing that is probably the reason the eldritch beings of the nearby planes are so... off-put by you."

The two walked through the portal as he kept talking, walking towards his laboratory-slash-workshop. Their steps echoed throughout the empty dungeon, as a few bats were disturbed from their sleeping spots and flew away, adding their wings' flapping to the atmosphere. "Most patrons want a clean slate to work with. A clean slate to corrupt. Some are willing to overlook the touch of one, maybe two of their... colleagues. But you've been touched by dozens. Do you understand the problem, young Tamah?"

Baryon opened a door with a wave of his hand and led Tamah inside of his personal working space: it was a large room filled with bookshelves, drawers, wooden cupboards, alchemical supplies, corpses of various magical creatures, and several arcane implements that Tamah couldn't certainly name with a glance. "Today, I'll be giving you a gift that's twicefold."

The vampire opened his arms theatrically, with a bit of flair, gesturing at his laboratory. "I'll cleanse you without touching any of your powers, and make you my warlock, Tamah."

Tamah Babbit
Location: Baryon Manor Dungeons
With: Captain Gabriel

“I figured that was probably why I couldn’t get any new ones…” she admitted at his explanation. “If you’re w-willing, though… I’ll accept. Er, Master. I guess.”

Truthfully, the fact she was still this lucid after multiple patrons was a sort of blasphemous miracle. Most of the time, even two patrons was enough to leave a person irreparably broken in the aftermath. In Baryon’s examination, her mind and soul had looked like they had been torn apart and patched back up over and over again before she was left too corrupted. Some of that repair was obviously from each consecutive patron, but even that could not explain the state he had observed. Her personal will seemed the answer. Without knowing it, she had somehow held herself together and stolen a bit of power from each patron, achieving symbiosis.

A perfect cleanse would require magic from sources not currently… aligned with his interests. He could, however, ‘sanitize’ her enough to safely enter himself and perhaps mold her mutant energy into his own.

Even better, it would ensure she would never be capable of accepting another patron.

 

[Birdsie]

Baron stood a short distance away, intending on fighting but also protecting the barrier. "Cyrus of Trostenvald, it is an honor to meet you and your colleges. I only wish it was in more favorable conditions." He said sadly, lifting his shield to defend himself.

Cyrus of Trostenvald + Elsimore Bellathriel

"Likewise," the wizard replied cordially.

After observing Baron for a short moment, his eyes flashed silver, drawing upon the remnants of a spark long gone, passed onto another. Beside him, Elsimore shuffled uncomfortably on his feet, light-headed.

"I believe, given how outnumbered we are, that I have no choice but to show you why I am the Wizard of Forces and Winds."

As gently as one might dip a crumpet into tea, the old man pulled his pipe out of his mouth and breathed on it, putting it out. He placed it within his robe, and then cleared his throat, looking up at Baron.

And then it started, and in the initial influx of spellcraft, in that first second, Baron saw a glimpse of the Wizard-That-Was, a man whose hand-wave could shatter castles and force armies of invaders from other realms to rout like chickens before a dragon; he spoke and chanted, not in Albionian, but in languages ancient and impossible, five words per second, in ten voices at the same time, using not his tongue to speak, but his spirit - every word a sheer, burning emanation rippling through reality and forcing its understanding on the universe, which could do nothing but simply bow its head in abeyance. A pillar of liminal blue runes, sparking with silver lightning, rose into the air around him, the shockwave force sending Elsimore flying several meters and forcing him to raise up a hand to cover his eyes from the sand blowing into them; a hurricane gale in the midst of the camp. All in one second.

After a moment of hesitation and looking at Baron with widened eyes, Elsimore whispered a cantrip's words, and disappeared from sight, only leaving behind a blurry translucence as he moved out of the potential spell radius.

And then Cyrus raised his hand, and slammed his staff against the earth. It rippled; an earthquake shooting through the landscape like an arrow, forcing Inir to adjust his footing, let alone the people standing nearby. The barrier separating the camp shattered. The pillar of runes thickened, and redoubled in height.

He raised his hand, and slammed his staff against the earth. It rippled; the heavens above screamed with tearing winds, a conflux of cirrus clouds forcibly gathering into an eye of cyclone, as if an invisible titan had spooled them up with a whisk. The pillar of runes that surrounded Cyrus once more thickened, and redoubled in height, now as tall as a tower might be in central Albion - its silver glow reached a feverish pitch, blinding and dazzling to the eye, the winds swimming through the air threatening to uproot the nearby bushes, and flinging boulders and rocks past Baron and his fellows, but always seemingly nudging themselves to the side before they could fly close to one of Cyrus' allies.

And his staff went down, one final time, and released the runes, each one popping and exploding with unutterable power, a shockwave like subatomic burst, releasing a cloud of silver flakes in every direction that sped like a galloping pack of elephants. It flung Baron across the camp and smashed the Rune Dogs into ash, and had the consequence of freeing Sophia and Agron from their ice prison; it washed over the heroes without eliciting even a wince, filling out their bodies with incredible vigor and power, shining from their hearts with the color of pale, halcyon sunlight, enough for each of them to crumble stone and resist attacks doing the same.

As soon as his spell was cast, Cyrus dropped to one knee, no longer able to move. In that moment, Elsimore took over, running in Baron's direction and reappearing, swinging his blade and then his staff in a combo of attacks.

Swire Alteras lil_kreen ThatWhichShouldBe June Verles Hanarei