Multiple Settings Of Dead Stars: Worlds Collide [MAIN]

[Solirus]

Midnight City

Location: Felicity Downs, The Slums


​

Far at the western edge of the city and down at the decrepit underbelly, a squadron of policemen lie stationed led by First Captain of the police force Marv. Police cars are lined blocking the path towards an intersection, and a truck lies close to the center, it's back carriage used as a temporary headquarters. The shine of the vehicles and the policemen contrast with the corroded and neglected buildings. At the epicenter of it all lies a Rift in reality, it's edges shining brightly yet the center of it remaining as dark as the night sky. One could hear the gentle hum of the Rift as you got closer, not that anyone in their right mind wanted to, for a few weeks prior some had entered, and only few returned, collapsing to the ground as they took their last step back home.

As such the police force had been deployed to prevent any more unnecessary loss. Even if the police force has blocked off the entrances, it has not stopped the interest and paranoia of people from investigating. Tents are spread out near the rooftops of buildings and the streets, all so they could catch the slightest glimpse of the Rift or potentially break through and feed their desire for the unknown. With the constant 24/7 coverage of the Rift in the news and the constant discussion of it in the city, interest grows by the day and it is a matter of time before something drastic takes place.

Location: The Flow Casino


​

Once the most prestigious casino in all of Midnight city and now an abandoned relic at the appearance of a Rift within the establishment. Kept as a secret to the majority of the city, but a common talking point between the higher class. Scientists have entered the premises, trying to collect as much data as possible on the rift, desperately attempting to understand the phenomena Infront of them. Many organizations and corporations have decided to assist in the further understanding of the Rift and to send willing individuals to discover what lies beyond. To some it is the next step into understanding the secrets of the universe and to others it is a chance to gain the advantage in the ruthless war at the summit of the city.

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

Realms of Legend

Location: Edosal Garrison, Edosal Kingdom

​

In the prospering kingdom of Edosal, one that in but only half a decade was suffering from a bloody century long war, a Rift deigned to appear upon the roads of a city of commerce, near the premises of the cities' Garrison. At first believed to be the work of some mage, a small team was sent through to investigate only for a single one to return dead. The Rift emanated no magic yet it's mere presence could not be ignored. Sealing spells, dispelling spells, dimensional spells, all were used and none had effect. It appeared that the Rift was not only not of the world, but it was not from any Realm, it was something further and mysterious. The Garrison has formed an encampment around the Rift itself, allowing only few from entering the encampment and none to approach the Rift itself. The High King however, hearing of the commotion occurring within his kingdom has announced he shall personally witness and investigate the Rift, bringing alongside him the Royal guards. Thus the garrison wait for the arrival of the king before deciding upon any further actions.

Location: Farmlands, Krena Theocracy

​

Near the border of the Edosal kingdom, a Rift appeared inside the farmlands of the Krena Theocracy. A nation devoted to a pantheon of deities whom had previously survived the unforeseen chaos of the Centuries long war in Edosal and now prospered alongside the newly united kingdom. However upon the arrival of the Rift, many quickly jumped to the conclusion, that it be a gate to the Gods themselves. Only after it was found the individuals who traversed through said Rift died, the Rift itself was declared by the masses a portal to the hells by an evil entity. However the sects of the theocracy have decided to open an investigation, hiring individuals from neighboring nations to investigate it, from wizards of the Meridian academy to monks of Elrion. Nothing has been concluded and any attempts to close the Rift have been futile and as such have instead directed their attention to learning more about it, to understand what was being dealt with.

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


Sea of Sapphires

Locations: The Red Den


​

In a day like any other, the red den was filled with the stench of slain beasts, hung to large hooks and cut to pieces. The paths leading around the place sticky with residues from the bodies over the years and the sound of chatter and triumphant laughs could be heard constantly. That is until a new sound was heard, the roaring and crackling sound of a Rift, at first there was curiosity but swift as the wind came the dares: to jump into the the Rift with nothing but a rope attached. Thus did they jump in, only to have their bodies dragged out, lifeless and cold. From that day, it was agreed upon in the den that whatever that Rift was, was clearly bad news and should be ignored. Thus with the help of some merchants, a fence was placed around the rift with a sign that read: "Walk thru if yer a fish brain." Thus, in the weeks it has been there, business has moved along just fine.

Location: The Glimmering City, Deep in the Seas


​

Deep in the seas, there lie cities mostly unknown and unseen by those above. Amongst those cities, there lies the Glimmering city, a large city with a merciful patron, whom across the years has selected few members of the populace to rule the city in a council. In one of the entrances from the city to the ocean, a Rift appeared, almost immediately was it admonished by the council within the city. None would be allowed to approach the rift and thus the rift was but ignored, however this has not stopped certain individuals from sneaking through into it, never returning to the city and the appearance of the rift has also spread amongst other cities, making the usually isolated cities more keen on each other.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

"Come on! We got enough stuff from here, Bo! Move your ass!" A seeker next to the door called out. The seeker that previously spoke was looking up at the clouds as if he was expecting acid rain to come down at any minute.

"You sure raiders won't come out here?" Another seeker asked.

"Doubt it... I haven't seen that many raiders out in this area before... I guess we'll find out if any come" Bo commented. Bo was too busy looking through scrap metal, picking and choosing good from the bad and tossing it in his bag. Chunking the bad in a second pile.

"We should be reporting back to base soon!" A worker called out.

By this point Bo had gotten to the second floor and he was rushing around picking up a few last minute grabs, he didn't get when he was previously up there. He stuck his head out a window and slid down one of the pipes that hadn't corroded away yet. *Thunk!* Some dust floated around after he hit the ground.

"Alright alright... Let's get going!" Bo said cheerfully as he got in the shotgun seat of a small four door car covered in makeshift armor. All sorts of wires and screens dotted the inside of the car. The two seekers jumped in the back seats and the Worker drove the car. They began driving away into the wasteland. The place they had left was slowly fading away into the scenery.

~Que the player theme...~

"I don't mean to brag boys, but I did pretty good today... Maybe in a year or two, I'll be a Watcher!" Watcher(2) said.
"Maybe in a minute or two, you'll shut the fuck up and focus on getting back to the crawler?" Seeker(1) commented.
"Here we go agaaain" Bo complained.
"I will turn this car arou- No wait... That doesn't work here. I'd slam the breaks to shut you all up but I'm scared, this thing won't start driving again if I do. So all of you hush!" The worker added.
"And if it does stop working, you'll get out and fix it! While we sit here and wait!" Seeker(1) commented.
"Yeah very funny" The worker said.
"And true. We'll sit here on our lazy asses and wait" Seeker(1) commented again.
"Grow up, Bill!" The worker complained.
"You guys argue like a goddamn married couple!" Bo complained.
"I do declare the... Wife! and wife!" Seeker(2) said sarcastically.
"Haha... Very funny Mark" The worker grunted.

This banter continued for another 17 minutes before they eventually caught up with the Crawler. The salvage they got was decent. Not great, but slightly better than their average trip. Bo ate lunch with the two seekers from earlier. As they ate, Bill had been eyeing this one Favored Common. A young woman in charge of maintaining the Vagabond Lettuce production aboard the walker. She hadn't noticed Bill's goofy grin, but the Mark had, and he hounded the poor boy for it. Even dared him to ask her out. She eventually left and the Bo, Bill and Mark continued eating. Silently. They eventually were given another assignment.

This was was involving them going to one of the rifts. The leaders of the Vagabonds had no clue what was beyond the rifts, but if there was any plundering or salvage to be made, the vagabonds would be there to claim their slice of the pie.

The next day, Bo and his two seekers from earlier alongside a different worker. A woman named Lin. The Walker made their way to the megacity, just close enough for Bo and crew to take a car out and drive the last few miles to the city. They drove to outskirts of town. They knew which streets to avoid and where they could safely drive without getting any unnecessary attention of authorities. Lin stayed with the car and would act as a getaway driver if they needed a quick escape. Bo, Bill and Mark snuck through alleyways. Hid behind dumpsters. Eventually they would reach their destination. There were lights and BOOM! Portal. They saw officers and quickly went to hide. If they saw the officers, there was a pretty good chance, the officers saw them too, which meant they had to come up with a plan quick to either go in the portal or head back.

"Shit! What do we do now?" Mark asked.
"We came all this way to go through, let's at least give it a shot! Maybe we can rush them and get inside" Bo said.
"Yeah, screw that..." Bill said.
"Got any other plans, or do you wanna head back and say we got scarred off?" Bo said.
"No, but anything is better than this! Didn't the first group of people that go in die horribly...?" Bill said.
"I'm going in that portal. We're gonna be fast as fuck! Plus I got some protective gear so I think I'll be fine" Bo said.
"Come on Bill! You said you were gonna be a watcher one day? So reach down, find your manhood and let's go!" Mark said.
"We should space out so they can't take us all at once" Bill said.
"We don't have time! Let's go and worry about it once we start moving" Bo said.

 

[Goonfire]

Nightfall approached in Edosal, the golden light fading into a dull blue that washed over the garrison. The road closure left a once-bustling trade route desolate...

But as that last ray of sunlight vanished on the horizon, a solid black figure abruptly replaced it. It traveled up the road at a walking pace, cloak billowing in the breeze. The curved blade of a lumbering polearm pointed straight upwards. Closer it crept until more details were visible—black plate armor, a gladius worn on the hip, two glowing points of light behind the visor. The apparition moved quietly with zero hesitation, only stopping to gaze upon the physical barriers and the guards who no doubt demanded it halt. Its head slowly swiveled from side to side; perhaps the sight piqued its interest.

As the being stood there motionless, the sensation of one's hair standing on end likely crept over the guards present. The uneasy feeling permeated the evening air.

 

[Juju]

Xiu

╭─────╮
Location: Edosal Garrison, Edosal Kingdom
Interaction: N/A || Mention: Goonfire
╰─────╯​

In all of Huye’s history, the number of instances when all spirit summoners gathered together could be counted on a single hand. Not even Xiu’s masters, or the masters before them had lived in such a time. Yet as auspicious as it was for Xiu to see the empress’ golden bird spirit before her, she knew its message could only mean one thing.

Huye, and perhaps the rest of the world, was in great peril.

Xiu had been briefed along with the rest, though the news was not entirely unexpected. She had witnessed the rise of evil energy across the land and listened to the old spirits grow restless, sensing a darkness far beyond the Kinyan mountains. Although the foreign lands were widely known as barbarish and full of evil, what the great spirits sensed was beyond the rise and fall of mortal powers. What it was, none could say for certain.

Up until recently, the years of peace had led to the shrinking of the spirit soother’s ranks, who now struggled to keep up with the rising threat of evil spirits. There was hardly enough to protect the lands as it was, let alone amass an investigation into the forbidden lands outside of Huye.

Xiu was younger than most, and had not suffered the same distaste for the outside kingdoms as many who lived a long life might have. The superstitions reinforced by Huye’s society had hardly left a mark on her rural upbringing. Tradition held that those who left Huye were never to return, yet standing idly by would do little. It was to this end that she volunteered to venture out in search of this disturbance.

The empress smiled at her, and gave Xiu’s journey her blessing.

The journey through the mountains was easier than she had expected, mostly thanks to Baoyu who came to question why she was passing through his territory. When she told him of the mission she had been entrusted with he was harshly unimpressed at her traveling speed and insisted she allow him to carry her across the peaks. Even when they had crossed into the forbidden lands, the proud mountain spirit continued to flank her steps out of concern she would “become helplessly lost as would an infant”.

Indeed, the wilds she found herself in were outlandish and foreign, lacking any of the natural guides she was accustomed to. All she had were the tea-foxes guidance, and the words of a single farmer she crossed paths with. Thankfully, he had mentioned a trade route that had been closed because of some “curse” or “witch” or “portal” (he changed the story every time and made it difficult to follow). After this the old man began to talk of the poor weather or his elderly aches and troubles. Xiu stayed to help him with his garden, fetch water, fix some baskets, and shared a meal while listening to his wealth of life stories. By the time it was done, the sun had sunk into the sky.

Naturally, the old man offered for her to stay but Xiu declined the kind offer. Evil spirits and dark energies rose at nightfall. The trail would be at its strongest now.

Antisocial as ever, Baoyu had left her long before she saw the old man. She did not expect him to return without reason, but once again the spirit stubbornly insisted he escort her to the garrison, though no further. Before she could object any further, Xiu found herself in the shadow of the garrison.

Already, Xiu could sense an ominous presence in the air, and a haze of dark energy further within the stone walls. She stared up at them in awe as Baoyu bowed his head to let her step off onto the ground. She could see guards stationed near the gate, talking to a dark figure draped in a cloak.

Baoyu took one glance at them and let out a snort, mountain mist billowing from his nostrils, “Hmph. A deathmonger, here? This one cares little for lingering near stained spirits and shall make oneself scarce.”

In a puff of wind and mist, the spirit was gone. Xiu sighed, and kept her careful gaze on the interaction between the mortals and the spirit. There were many names given to psychopomps – some more polite than others, as Baoyu promptly demonstrated – but Xui knew they all were manifestations of the same being. They were soul guides, similar to Yeonghon, and yet hardly welcome in Huye. She did not know much about the reasoning behind it, but long ago after an ancient battle the spirits of Huye no longer welcomed the creatures on their soil. It had been for the same reason why the rest of the world was shunned. Imbalances of dark energy, sleeping gods, and old corruptions.

For now Xiu stood in the light of a torch, watching and waiting.

 

[jmann]

Sharktooth JackI’m sorry, I know this post is entirely too long so I’ve split it up. The first two parts are entirely unnecessary but it just shows Jack doing his thing and coming out of retirement. The third part is the only part that would effect other players.

• Can't Run
• Can't Hide
• Can't Fight

• 
  A desolate ship drifts beneath a red sky. A single young man stood high on the mast overlooking a sea of blood and ash, watching a gargantuan shape moving through the waters. The shape had nudged corpses up to the surface, surrounding the boat with the bodies of the damned. It was showing off, teasing him with its kills, toying with its meal. A single flash of lightning and it was in front of him, its ancient serpentine body stretching out of the water in the blink on an eye. Three glowing red eyed stared into his as they stood off. The man's heart pounded like a beast slamming against his ribs with every beat.
  
  The monster came down upon him, its cavernous maw engulfing half the rigging in a single bite until the man slammed into not flesh, but wood. The door of a tavern slammed open and the man, now a mere boy, was running for his life down a dark cobble road. Oil lanterns illuminated his bloodied knuckles as men with bruised faces twice his age ran after. They pulled knives from their jackets as the kid turned down a pitch black alley. The gang turned as well, bringing a lantern to illuminate the boy trapped in a dead-end with nothing but his fists and his fear. Again, he was trapped. Again, he was helpless.
  
  One man lunged with a grisly dagger, the boy parried with his own cutlass, now an older man in his 40's wielding a sword and pistol and standing on a blood-soaked beach. A burning warship sunk slowly in the harbour as the man stands on the beach with only his sister by his side. The man fought for as long as he was able, taking bullets and blades and anything it took to protect the woman beside him. But slowly, bit by bit, she took more slashes and cuts, each one making the man fight with more ferocity than he thought possible. By the end, he had turned into a rabid animal, fiercely protecting its own. The man whipped around to hear the crack of cannonfire as the woman’s arm was ripped from her body, her entire shoulder torn to sinew and bone. The man let out a scream and fell to his knees, clutching the mangled body as it melted into salty brine. Another shot of cannonfire as the man, now wretched, watched the cannonball hurl towards him at breakneck speeds. He turned and ran as fast as he could before he slipped on something unseen, sending him toppling over and slamming into the dirt floor of a makeshift wooden shack.
  
  Jack didn’t know if he was awake or still in a delirium, though the glimmer of blue light on the horizon told him he had made it through another night. Jack pulled himself onto the bed and massaged the stub beneath his knee. He pulled something from under the bed and attached the rusting metal prosthetic. It was hardly comfortable, but at the very least having a missing leg stopped him from sprinting in his sleep. His chest still ached from the dream, he had really done a number on himself with that night terror. It was nothing he wasn’t used to. Every night was filled with the same primal fear, ever since he was paralysed by the Dream Stalker’s touch. He found himself running his fingers along the scar tissue wrapping around his other leg, and promptly scolded himself and stood up. His spine ached, as did his knees. Getting old was a bitch.
  Chubi was waiting on the windowsill, having killed and brought back a vole.
  
  “Ayaboy?” “How are you, boy?” Jack grumbled, pushing his way out the door. His cabin resided in a rocky grotto overlooking a vast jungle. Without a single building in sight Jack had rarely spoken more than a sentence in a decade. Yet it was far from peaceful. The body of a jaguar hung half-harvested by a campfire. The island was so predatory and territorial that nary a fly had wandered where it didn’t belong and the meat was still fresh.
  
  Jack felt the change ever since it happened. He wasn’t sure what had happened or even if it was on the island, but there was a shift in the natural order. Birds didn’t sing as loud and the winds didn’t feel quite right on his face. Typically he had a knack for the uncanny, but now it felt like the whole world had turned upside down.
  
  
• 
  Jack spent the rest of the morning patrolling the beaches. He wore little more than trousers and bandaged shoes those days, anything else was too filthy or bloodied for him to care. Every now and again a good piece of timber would wash up among the countless rotting ships that had been dashed against the rocks and reefs. That morning, however, there was a new ship. Jack sighed to himself and picked up a firm piece of driftwood, it was heavy but it had a good grip.
  
  He swam out against the vicious waves until he could haul himself on board. He saw the name plaque on the back of the ship, the Chariot. It flew no colours he recognised, though it felt like there were more flags now than ever. New names and new allegiances always bore their own flag and Jack was long beyond caring about the politics of the day. The sight on board was nothing new. The storm took most of them and drowning took the rest. Bloated bodies were picked apart by condors that took to the skies the moment he stood on deck. Jack made his way into the captain’s office, perusing the empty rum bottles and loaded pistols hidden in drawers and under furniture. Jack pondered how such a prepared captain could find themselves smashed to bits on the rocks outside the balcony.
  
  Jack raised his club and smashed the desk, tearing apart the table leg and revealing a hollow interior. A classic merchant hiding spot. Jack pulled out a completely dry map from inside and unfurled it on the table. It had it’s entire route mapped out from the shady port of Gullgut past the Ivory Port, all the way down to… Dead Man’s Anchor. The island wasn’t even mapped, just a dot to pass before heading back. What by thunder did they want on the island?
  
  Jack left the map and headed down into the hold. The food hadn’t spoiled yet, so his dinner was sorted for him, and a lot of the rope barely had any water damage. Until,
  
  “Hello?”
  Jack tightened his grip. He hadn’t been expecting survivors. A young man with frizzy red hair dragged himself out from behind a pile of barrels, whether he was injured or hiding from the storm, Jack didn’t much care. The man was dragging himself forward, digging into his pocket for something. Jack also approached, step by step, not letting his face give anything away.
  
  “I’m so glad someone’s alive on the love-forsaken island. My name’s—”
  
  Wood met skull and brain met wall before the words left his lips. Jack dropped the bloody club and pried a small lockbox from the stranger’s grip. Something like this was used to protect important documents. The only reason this man would have them is if he was a stowaway or a mutineer. Either way, the documents were Jack’s now. Jack pried open the flimsy lock and pulled out a single neatly folded letter addressed to James Thorne. He already knew who had scent it by the unmistakable smell of roses and blood. The Duchess had found him. How long had she known? Fuck.
  
  The Duchess was the opposite of Jack. Calm and poised, but just as deadly. She was both his oldest living ally and his most dangerous enemy. She had no talons or giant teeth but her words cut sharper than any razor and her wit twice so. If the Duchess wanted something, it got done, no matter how many bodies it would take. She was already buying out half the monsters and their hunters when Jack retired. Hushed voices called her the Bitch-Queen of Hunters. If she knew he was here it was only a matter of time until one of the her mangy pups would show up to remind him of his options.
  
  Jack tore open the stamp and skimmed the contents. A dangerous monster or devastation thereof, some words he didn’t know the meaning of, and an address somewhere known as the ‘Red Den’. Jack had never heard of it, though the name left little to guesswork. Jack went back upstairs to the map and found the Red Den in a secluded anchorage off any known shipping lane. He knew the location, but when he was active it was no more than a circle of ships over a blood-covered skerry buying and selling poached fish and monster organs. Ship name plaques were covered up for privacy, and its typical patrons were no strangers to fake names. Jack knew what had to happen. He had to leave. If the Bitch-Queen of Hunters could find him where brave men went to die, she could find him anywhere.
  
  Jack packed with a nervous excitement he scolded himself for having. He hadn’t considered anything off the island in years, part of him wanted to see how everything had progressed without him there to bugger it all up.
  
  “Come, boy, we’re off,” he called to Chubi, who had been sleeping in the remains of the vole.
  
  With his guns, sword, and carving tools, Jack was ready. He had a boat waiting in a small cove protected from the harsh waves packed with what little else he needed: more guns and food. He had taken some of the produce from the Chariot and strapped it down on his own sloop. The ropes felt alien in his hand. He had always feared needing to sail again. Armed with the Chariot’s map and his own knowledge of the worldly winds, Jack loosed his sail and made northwards, towards the closest shipping lane to take him to the Red Den, just an old man and his New Tricks.
  
  
• 
  Jack slowly pulled into the Red Den with no less than a foot of water on the deck. The journey solo had been rough and his boat was far from properly equipped to handle the storms surrounding Dead Man’s Anchor. He let loose the anchor and stood tall on the jetty wearing his most repaired shirt and cleanest trousers. He even wore an old pair of boots much fancier than himself. The Red Den had come far in the twenty-odd years since Jack had been there last. The rocky center had been expanded on by a series of floating platforms and proper docks. Large monster corpses were hung hundreds of feet in the air to dry as auctions sold off the best portions. Many ships here flew Safe Harbour, a concept for cowards he assumed would have died out by that point.
  
  Jack picked up the cannon off the front of his ship and used the loose cable to connect a line from his chest to the cannon. Wherever he walked the cannon, hoisted on a set of wheels, would follow. Jack wandered through the small town, nicking an apple or slice of meat here and there. Going unrecognised in public was new though it was far from unwelcome. He hated the amount of noise in these marketplaces. Chubi looked to be hating it just as much. A parasite like Chubi gained nothing from dead monsters, it all would've looked like spoiled food to them.
  
  Following the address from memory, Jack found himself in front of a makeshift fence.
  'Walk thru if yer a fish brain'
  Where had the famed pirate courage gone? Had the Duchess bought all the heroes and left nothing but crown-loving hunters and privateers behind? The thought disgusted him. Jack kicked down the fence and marched through. A quarantine flag hung off the back of the fence. The denizens of the Red Den must have feared the disease. Jack could understand that at least, he’d seen many people lost to pox and plague in his time.
  
  Jack removed a small obsidian knife and carefully cut off his right sleeve, tying it around his mouth and nose before continuing. A one-sleeved sailor was an alive sailor, or at least that’s what Bartholomew taught him. Jack turned a corner in the abandoned alleyway. That’s where he saw it.
  
  It was blacker than the greatest ocean depths and shimmered with starlight. How it was both bright and darker than dark boggled the mind. It had no shape, but leaked into the world like a blotch of ink on a canvas. It wasn’t simply black, no, it was hollow, like a door into midnight. Jack pulled a pistol from his chest holster and let loose a shot directly into the gateway. The bang rang out into the Red Den, but he couldn’t hear the bullet once it past beyond.
  
  Jack reloaded the pistol and put it back in the holster. The rift was beyond anything he had seen before. It seemed to defy dimension, Jack could never get an exact sense of its height or width, and it’s depth seemed shallow from outside but looking into it appeared near-infinite.
  
  Jack couldn’t see another route or method of explanation. Perhaps a wiser man would wait for a team to study it. Jack couldn’t see time to speak to the locals like he normally would, it was a time for action. Jack checked the rope on the cannon and that all his valuables were in place. Chubi was nustled safely in the wrapped sleeve. Then, he walked.
  
  To his surprise, Jack went straight through into the realm beyond. It was completely devoid of light, and he could see nothing but a glimmer of light in the distance and the world behind him. He couldn’t hear his own breath. The ringing in his ears was gone too. The crooked wheel on his cannon was completely silent, and he could barely see it enter the rift. Jack made his way towards one of the other points of light, each step getting colder and colder. This was the land between life and death, nothing existed and there were no signs to guide him through. If a benevolent being watched from above, the In-Between, as Jack would call it, was its blind spot.
  
  Eventually he did reach the other side, however. Closer to the rift was warmer than the reaches on the In-Between. Stepping out of the other rift was an explosion of light and sound. Massive structures of stone blotted the land before him and hundreds of people raced atop walls and filled the air with conversation and commands. It dwarfed the naval forts he'd ransacked in his younger years, the sheer scale and power of the structure would've made even the Duchess blush. Yet for a moment, Jack felt unnoticed.
  
  That was, until he fired a pistol shot directly into the air.
  
  

Juju Solirus Goonfire

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Pudica
Location: Farmland, Krena Theocracy -> Midnight City Slum

Pudica had seen a lot of things from her adventures. She had seen a piece of gigantic rock that grows legs and started walking, she had seen five-stories abomination created from hundreds of mangled corpses, she rode a flying whale over the freezing rainbow and explored the ruin of a cursed ancient city buried under the sand. Still, the rift in front of her was truly something new for her. Visually, the closest thing she could compare it with would be the magic portals created by the wizards, but even they said this thing was not the same. The catfolk was definitely excited to see what lies beyond the supposedly deadly fungal traps. The fact that there's such trap mean there's life ahead, this rift wasn't connected to the burning hell like some of the sect members said but to something different, possibly a jungle with many unrecorded species.

"OK. Listen closely to what I will do." Pudica said as she looked over the guards stationed aroud the rift. When she first approached them they were rather hesitant to let her handle things her way but after she showed them that she's a veteran adventurer and an experienced druid they became really helpful in her preparation to investigate the rift.

"First, the rope. This will be literally my lifeline so pay a lot of attention to it." Pudica raised the thick rope that tied to a pole in one end and to her body on another end. "Pull it out after 10 minutes have passed OR when I pulled the rope three times consecutively. If you pull out my dead body then we're all failed. If you pull the cage then my body suit method is a success and if you pull nothing but the rope has a flower on it then the canary is a succes. Whatever the result would be, tell the head priest about it. We already discusses some stuffs before so he should know what to do."

"Oh, one more thing. If you don't pull me out no need to send a rescue team for me. I will return by myself just fine."

After making sure the guards know what they should do, Pudica started her final preparation. She tied the rope around her waist and donned the beaked mask handed by the head priest, it was supposedly an instruments some priests use to fight poisonous miasma and Pudica had tested its capability with some regular spores so it should be fine. Last thing, she casted a spell on her own robe, prompting it to grows larger until it covers her entire body. Her right hand was holding the cage with the canary inside it while her left hand was holding her trusty staff. Overall she looks like a walking pile of leafs but she felts much safer. Though, despite her displayed confidence and genuine excitement, she would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. There's a chance that something more dangerous would ends her life there, but she's not a scaredy cat that would run at the first sight of danger!

"I'm going in." Taking the first step into rift, Pudica subconsciously closed her eyes and braced herself for whatever was coming. Then she slowly opened her eyes, and found nothing.

Nothing at all. Nothing. Darkness all around, even though she shoud be able to see in the dark just fine. The only other thing she could see beside herself was what seemingly another rift some distance away. Her steps feel heavy but Pudica forced her way over to the other rift. As she walks she wondered why she hadn't heard anything from the canary, other than the possibility to find a safe path, it was also supposed to alert her when she entered the danger zone, but a glance into the cage told her the bird was dead soon after they passed the rift. It's a shame but on the bright side, this means her full body suit was working as intended. Just like she planned, Pudica untied the rope from her waist and tied it on the cage. She just left the cage on the floor while she continued her way towards the other rift. It was so silent that she could hear her heart pounding hard as she took her first step over the rift. She definitely didn't expect the weird neon light, the towering skyscrapers on the distance or the fully armored men surrounding the rift on the other side.

"M-meow??" She's at a lost for words here.

 

[Solirus]

Location: Felicity Down, The slums​

The Police officers stationed near the easter wing stood attentively, weapons in hand. As Bo's group came into sight one of the officers quickly moved one of his hands to his ear piece, "We've got a couple on the eastern wing, don't know what they're up to?" The officer commented transmitting his message to the temporary head quarters.

"Maintain your position" A cold voice immediately responded.

The officer let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes captain." The officer removed his hand from the ear piece and grabbed his gun again. "Why can't people just leave this fucking place alone. Then we wouldn't have to stand here all bloody day and night" the officer complained. "Hey at least we don't have to worry about all the tents and people on the other sides" the other officer responded, "Oh yeah and instead we have to deal with the nastiest people around, we had to detain several drug addicts here, that's why no one is setting up camp on the eastern wing" The two officers continued chatting, releasing their grievances and distracting themselves.

Only then did an alarm go off, an alarm originally meant for anyone who entered the proximity of the rift was set off. Several of the officers turned their heads and many of the people from the tents popped their heads out quickly gathering a crowd to see a small and unknown figure standing at the exit of the rift. The crowd got louder and more active. "I see something! There's something in the Rift!" One person cried out

"What I can't see it!"
"Move let me see!"
More and more people began stacking on the southern road even pushing back the police cars.

"Reinforce the southern road, I'll investigate the unknown individual." First Captain Marv Ordered across the radio. Officers began moving towards the souther area and immediately used tear gas to halt the advancement and from the truck Marv walked out like a hulking beast of metal.

​

Marv made his way towards the rift deactivating the alarm before getting a closer look at the unknown. It was small and odd, it appeared to be a cat but there was an uncanny feeling to it. It didn't help that it's first words were that of a person imitating a cat. Marv knelt down to get a better look at Pudica. Even feared first captain was lost for words until eventually he thought of something to say.

"Did you come out of the Rift?"

ThAtGuY101 Spoiled Bread

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------​

Locastion: Edosal Garrison, Edosal​

The arrival of the shadowy figure worried the guard, he was clearly shivering but with a job to do he held his ground, "Sorry... sir? But you may not pass through here." The Guard muttered out as he started taking deep breaths.

The awkward silence was broken by the sound of a small explosion. Several of the guards turned to see what appeared to be a ragged bandit standing next to the Rift. The captain of the encampment took out his spear and shield, "Surround that man!" The guards quickly moved surrounding the man yet keeping their stance. They were not sure if this bandit had slipped through the defenses of the encampment or if they came out the Rift. "From whence you hail" The captain questioned, tightly gripping his spear.

Yet amidst the standoff the overwhelming sound of a horn from the skies was heard. The soldiers faces went pale as their heart skipped a beat. That horn could only mean that the King was soon to arrive. From the skies did silver gryphons descend, each one mounted with an armored knight whom quickly jumped out of their gryphon and drew their weapons swiftly surveying the area. Finally did a golden brown Gryphon descend inside the encampment itself with two figures mounted on it. One a tall and armored woman and the other a shorter man with ornate clothing and a sword on his sheathed sword. The guard jumped down from the gryphon before offering her hand to help the ornate man down.

​

After helping the man down the gryphon she gave out a loud whistle, commanding all gryphons back into the sky, as the rest of the knights outside the encampment entered the encampment walking past the guards like they didn't exist and positioning themselves relatively near the ornate man.

The guard captain moved towards the ornate man quickly putting his weapon away and bowing down to his knees, "It is good to see you in good health your Grace, I was told of your visit, I did not forsee your swift arrival however." the captain said maintaining his bow.

"Pah, don't stress it" the king responded with a grin in his face, so tell me, what's this all about? "...Did that fellow over there walk out of the rift?" the king asked.

"We don't know your majesty, we're wondering that as well." The captain responded still on his knees.

"Ah well... you may rise" the king awkwardly commanded not wanting the captain to stay on their knees forever. "Oi, did you just walk out that rift?" The king questioned looking directly at Jack.

jmann Goonfire Juju

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

Location: The Red den​

As Jack ventured into the unknown, only few had noticed the man traverse through, mostly shrugging it off as an old man looking to die.

Yet the red den grew silent as many heard the screeching sound of a metallic chair scraping across the ground. Many turned to look at the source and just as many quickly held their tongue and looked away.

He was a monster among men, towering over all in the red den. On his back lied a sheathed sword the size of a man and a rifle more akin to a cannon. He wore an outfit resembling that of an inquisitor with a cloak made of a beast and a hat fashioned for his own personal taste. Nicklas was his name, the dog of the duchess and the abomination of man.

​

Finally arriving close enough to the rift, Nicklas placed down the chair, cracking the floor as he did and taking a seat on it, crossing his arms and seemingly falling asleep with an overpowering snore.

Soon after Nicklas had planted himself next to the Rift, another man, masked and hooded, slowly limped towards the rift with a fancy cane, observing his surroundings and trying not to bring attention. Slowly the man walked past Nicklas and into the Rift.

​

jmann ​

 

[Goonfire]

How admirable, for a guard to be loyal enough to stand his ground versus one of the infamous shrouded specters. No matter; he did not harm the living for merely barring him entrance. "I am here on a mission into the rift. I require passage now," the latter stressed in a gravelly male voice that rang eerily clear for someone wearing a helmet. "Do what you must to allow—" He paused as the thunderous crack disturbed the silence. Having never heard anything quite like that, he shifted to peer through the gate.

Things grew stranger by the minute as a Spirit Soother from Huye approached. He was indifferent towards their kind, despite past tensions between the Necropolis and other lands' priestly figures. He had little time for pleasantries and to address grievances if she had any. The least said was the easiest mended, so he followed that old wisdom and acknowledged her only with a passing glance before turning his attention to someone much more threatening.

An overwhelming aura washed over the psychopomp, causing the steadfast entity to turn his gaze from the initial standoff. The sickening radiance of the sun threatened to penetrate the gaps in his armor and sear him away, yet not a single ray of light emanated from the newest arrival—the king. That very man possessed power far beyond the threshold of any mortal and totally distinct from that of a cleric. The question echoed in the dark being's mind, 'What is this man, if not a demigod?'

Solirus jmann Juju

 

[ThAtGuY101]

The cops knew they were there. He heard them talk. At any moment the soldiers would likely begin to approach them so they couldn't stay hidden long. Eventually Bo looked. "go go go" Bo whispered seeing how there was a distraction. First Mark came out of cover, then Bo and then a reluctant Bill. They started off at a fast walking speed, but also trying to make as little noise as possible. Since they weren't trained for stealth, it was only a matter of time before they'd be spotted. These guys were not people they wanted to screw around with even if the rewards were worth it.

The portal was right up ahead. Police were there. Marv was there, and the portal. It was like nothing Bo ever seen. It looked mysterious. it looked ominous. Why was it here, what was it doing and how did it get here? Those were very good questions that never crossed Bo' mind. One or two of those did come across Mark and Bill's mind, but they didn't know either.

Bo: Guys, look at that fat ass rat!
Bill: Where?
Mark: that's a cat, you fucking dumbass!
Bo: How am I supposed to know that?!?! When was the last time you saw a cat in Midnight City in 2149?!
Bill: They're pictures in books! On the internet!
Mark: How have you never seen a cat, got damn your dumb. How did you even become a Seeker?
Bo: Did the cats on the internet look like that?
Bill: Well no...
Mark: It sure as hell doesn't look like a rat! Between Bill's whining and Bo's idiot moments, this is why I do drugs
Police: Put your hands in the air!
Bill: Shit!
Bo: RUUUUNN!!!!!
The three began booking it. it was a free for all. It was every man for himself in that brief moment. Mark ran to the left. Bill ran head long and Bo ran to the right. All three were headed to the portal. At the angle Bill was going at, he would need to make a big turn if he wanted to avoid running straight into Marv. Bo was right behind Bill. As Bill attempted to run past Marv, Bo ran past Bill. His gas mask was around his neck ,and It was now or never. he leaped for the portal. He spun as he lept to see if Bill and Mark were behind him, but didn't see the two. In his last moments in Midnight City he had a terrified look on his face.

He managed to get a good look at Marv and Pudica, forcing a grin on his face before covering his face with his mask. He pulled his hood over his hair and landed on his back somewhere. He didn't know where he was. It was too dark to see where he was. All sound was gone. It was truly ominous. Did he die? No. He wasn't dead because he was conscious and he could feel his hands touch. Surely the others were behind him. They were not, but Bo had no way of finding out otherwise.

One foot in front of the other, he began walking. He wasn't sure how long he was gonna be walking, but he wasn't gonna turn around and ask Pudica or Marv for directions. Bo actually felt kinda bad for the cat. Bo and crew done riled up the police officers. Bo had half the nerve to grab it and give it a belly rub but he didn't think of that while he was still in Midnight City. Eventually he'd make it to the other side. He stood dumbfounded in a world he didn't really know or understand. The only question he had now was, what was he gonna bring back? Also where are Bill and Mark? He looked around somewhat confused and in a daze. Was it safe to take his mask off...? He did so, but immediately began holding his breath like that would do something. Eventually gasping for air.

 

[seasonedcat]

Atwen​

location: Edosal Garrison, Edosal Kingdom
interactions: Jack, King Greymoore, Xiu, Paxon, guard assomble
the all too familiar stench of death, salt, and "hints" of sweat burned Atwen's nose like a cheap bottle of overused perfume. A dark black rag hung over his shoulders like a cloak, resting over his head in a dull and overused pattern; the back of it tainted with dirt as it barely dragged from the poor measurements. Atwen was among many forgettable presences in the crowd as he lurked in some shit open-air tavern. Nurturing another swing of piss-poor ale that tasted so poor his body couldn't make it worse.

the unnoteworthy bar had become very popular recently, not for its service, but because it sat with an excellent view of the new rifts. The original excitement had begun to wear off, the poor quality goods being unable to maintain business as the hype and idiots willing to go in the rifts died down. All these factors made it easy for Atwen to get one of the 'best' seats in the house, easily making eye contact with the rift.

however, when he lifted the wooden mug to his lips this time, he froze, eyes following a determined figure approaching the rifts. The person walked with a sureness you only see from experience and old age, something many fake but little create. Atwen found himself raising an eyebrow, lowering his mug from his lips as he watched the person tear off a sleeve, tying it around his face. Atwen's eyes followed him like many others had begun to do, watching as, without hesitation, the man stepped into the rift and vanished.

"𝔞 𝔰𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔦𝔰, 𝔪𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔪𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢." the painfully familiar voice croaked from the only seat across from him. Within an instant, Atwen found himself coughing aggressively into his hands; the sound drowned out by the now loudly talking crowd as black sludge splashed onto his hand. When the attack settled, Atwen sat heaving in desperate gulps of air as he recovered, not bothering to glance at the other.

"is there something you want, or did you just come here to be a shit company like usual?" Atwen hissed, cleaning his mouth and hand off on the questionably dirty napkin. The creature laughed at this, its bony finger coming forward and twirling a strand of Atwen's hair playfully. Atwen's eyes slammed shut as the hand approached, tensing up as he fell silent.

"𝔫𝔬𝔴, 𝔫𝔬𝔴. 𝔇𝔬𝔫'𝔱 𝔟𝔢 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱; 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔨 𝔬𝔣 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔣𝔲𝔫 𝔴𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔬𝔤𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯." the being hummed playfully as it drank in the shiver that ran through Atwen,"𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔶𝔢𝔰, 𝔰𝔞𝔡𝔩𝔶, 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔳𝔦𝔰𝔦𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔟𝔲𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔯𝔢𝔩𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔡." while saying that the creature let its hand fall. With the lack of contact, Atwen's form visibly relaxed as he let his gaze turn to the morbid figure before him."𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔰𝔢𝔢, ℑ 𝔱𝔦𝔯𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔴𝔞𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔰𝔢𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔦𝔣𝔱𝔰 𝔪𝔶𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣. ℑ 𝔰𝔞𝔶 𝔴𝔢 𝔰𝔢𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢, 𝔫𝔬?"

"In case you forgot, everyone and thing that has gone in that damned thing has died." Atwen spat out at the other. The other answered first with a loud cackle before its guttural voice spoke yet again,

"ℑ 𝔞𝔩𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔶 𝔱𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲, 𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢 𝔬𝔫𝔢, 𝔞𝔰 𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔰 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔡𝔬 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 ℑ 𝔱𝔢𝔩𝔩 𝔶𝔬𝔲, 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔫𝔬 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥." the figure responded, lifting up Atwen's chin with its long, sickly fingers, so their eyes met. Atwen's eyes fell instantly, staring at the table intensely,

"you know that's not reassuring when everyone who even-" his snarky remark was cut off by a loud screeching noise that caught Atwen's attention. The second his gaze shifted, the figure was gone, his chin dropping as Atwen mumbled out swears as he looked for the sound of the screeching. His gaze was brought to the infamous Mutt of the Duchess, dragging a chair up to the rift before promptly falling asleep before it.

the silence continued for a few moments afterward before people returned to talking. The tavern began to fill up again, people coming to see what was happening today, and gossip spreading like fire. Dropping a few coins on the table, Atwen slipped out of his table and slithered into the crowd, hovering outside the bar as he wearily gazed at the sleeping form. Thankfully, it appeared the Mutt wasn't heard to stop entrance as another figure slipped inside shortly after his nap started.

sighing in clear annoyance, Atwen's boney figure exited the crowd, jumping over the fence without looking at the sign. People no doubt noticed his form, no longer concealed in a crowd but now approaching the rift. "This better not fucking kill me." Atwen hissed out to the air before he stepped through without another ounce of hesitation. Atwen's eyes were met instantly with pure darkness, not even time letting his eyes adjust to it as he began to walk towards the one set of "light" he could see.

it only took a few breaths of the air before Atwen found his throat constricting painfully as if shards of glass had rooted themselves in every one of his alveoli. Atwen began to hack up his black sludge of blood painfully as he continued forward, hand clasped over his mouth. Stumbling along, Atwen reached the light, cringing hard as he was met with a new burst of light.

of course, he was a little distracted, with one hand trying to shield his eyes from the light and the other catching the blood from his throat. This led to him slamming directly into the wall of muscles standing just on the other side of the rifts. He instantly recognized this person as one who had entered the rift before him. Atwen was surprised for a moment at this; the bastard really did make it. This surprise was replaced pretty quickly when he noticed the gun cocked in the man's hand.

"fuck me." Atwen muttered through his hand as he quickly took out one of his handkerchiefs(more just a scrap piece of fabric) and wiped his mouth, "do I even want to know?" he prompted as his hunched form peeked from behind the man at the many guards and some sort of rich man. Atwen was going to ring his 'master's' neck the next time he saw it for sure after this.
Juju Goonfire Solirus jmann

 

[Juju]

Xiu

╭─────╮
Location: Edosal Garrison, Edosal Kingdom
Interaction: Solirus Goonfire || Mention: jmann seasonedcat
╰─────╯​

Xiu furrowed her brow at the guard’s shaky command towards the psychopomp. Sometimes it was easy to forget how the presence of dark spirits shook the common-folk to their core. Through training, she had developed a tolerance to the ominous aura these spirits produced, yet even she could feel the intensity in the air. It would be best to calm the guards before they attracted lesser evil-spirits. The forbidden lands were said to be filled with bloodshed and hatred, and would no doubt be plagued with them.

As if to reinforce her concerns, a sound like a firework, echoed from within the garrison. The time for action had come.

Xiu strode towards the guards, her steps light on the path. Upon her approach she could hear the brief exchange of words, and felt an unearthly chill in her bones as she stood near the psychopomp.

“Please be at ease, you are in no danger.” She said calmly to the terrified guards. Of course, from tales she knew the dark beings were tainted and capable of violence, but also knew they concerned themselves with death. Even in the worst case scenario that the reaper turned hostile, she would do all in her power to protect these people, and hoped she could convey this through words alone.

“Xiu, at your service.” She bowed respectfully to the psycopomp, and then once more to the guards. Baoyu would seethe at such an action, but seeing as he had decided to leave, Xiu would do things her way. Tainted or not, respect was to be shown to all spirits.

The arrival of the king and his guard also drew Xiu’s attention heavenward, though not for the same reason. Xiu looked up in awe at the gryphons' descent and felt the shift in the air with every beat of their silvery wings. It was too dark to see the finer details, but she noticed what appeared to be people riding atop their backs like horsemen. Were these the so-called “knights” she had heard of? They disappeared beyond the walls, towards where Xiu could sense the seed of negative energy.

She looked back to the guards, her eyes steady with purpose, “I must insist on passage. I too have come here to investigate the source of unrest, bid by the empress Yonai herself.”

To prove the truth of her words, Xiu produced the royal sigil from her bag. It was a jade talisman carved in the likeliness of a magnificent bird. Such a symbol would be recognized by all in Huye. As for the forbidden lands, well, that remained to be seen.

"Though I may be a stranger to this land, I come to you aid. We spirit soothers are trained in the arts of quelling dark energies."

Somehow, after talking with the guards, she sensed a sharp increase in the malicious energy. In her experience it usually meant one thing; the activity of an evil spirit.

 

[Solirus]

Location: Felicity down, The Slums​

Marv's attention was focused on Pudica, yet he jerked his head to the side when he heard the shout of one of the officers as he saw three individuals running as fast as they could towards the portal. Marv left his kneeling position, his stature becoming ever more apparent now. They moved and acted with a simple plan.

Bill's attempt to dash through failed as Marv swung his arm, catching the man's throat, only for a second did he see Bo sprint past him, seemingly having used the other as a cover and slipped into the portal. He had not expected such a strategy, but the internal thoughts would have to wait. Bill struggled to break free from Marv's grasp, wailing and kicking, not a word could come out of his mouth as he struggled to breathe. Marv would not allow anyone else to go through. With a calculated swing Marv tossed Bill directly at Mark who attempted to jump into the Portal, thrown off course by the mass of his friend hurtling towards him. From the impact of the collision, both of them crashed into the wall, dazed and confused.

A Whirring noise was heard as from Marv as from his own arm metallic clamps shot out, attaching itself to Bill and Mark's arms. With a second shot a large nail was attached to the wall of a building. The large nail lit up with a blue color and the clamps followed soon as each clamp flung towards the nails, dragging both men up and hanging their arms far up enough where their feet didn't make contact with the ground. "One suspect has entered the rift, the rest have been neutralized, take them away for questioning." Marv commanded through the comms before as two cops made their way to extract Bill and Mark from their hanging positions.

Marv then turned back to face Pudica kneeling back down hoping to receive any sort of answer.

Spoiled Bread ThAtGuY101

 

[jmann]

Sharktooth Jack
Jack stood mesmerised by the gargantuan birds and their riders. Men flying with the eagles? Such a thought was barely fiction back home but wherever he was had brought it into reality. For a moment he believed himself in an imperial fortress, perhaps a Sapphire-infused palace befit only for the royal family and their countless guards. Now he knew otherwise; it was a world entirely separate from his own. Jack had grown up with stories of people tripping through gateways into worlds unknown, yet unlike his more creative siblings he never believed it would happen to him. Jack preferred the practical stories: farmers poisoning their own crop to remove dangerous pests, builders banding together to rally for safer work. Those were the stories that made sense to him.

Jack holstered his pistol and listened to the shorter man in all his fineries. He spoke like a soldier and dressed like fake royalty. He had been helped down by a much taller and better armed woman. He may have been the face of the operation but Jack immediately recognised the woman as the one in charge. Jack mused his question, pointing back to the rift barely two steps behind him, the skin up to his wrist passing through and tingling slightly.

Jack went to speak and found only blood filling his throat. He pulled down his mask, turned his head, and cleared his throat violently, spitting a glob of blood onto the stone floor.
“Aye, that I did,” the words left his mouth like sandpaper, grinding against his throat and filling his mouth with fresh crimson. Whatever the In-Between was, it was not welcoming to natural life. Even a short walk through was eroding his insides like great waves against soft cliffs.

Jack turned to the rift just in time to see a scrawny whelp walk straight into his back. He barely looked like a child, wearing a rocky dagger on one side and nothing else to his name, not even a mask. Jack didn’t bother questioning it for the time being, there were other matters he would rather devote attention to. The situation had grown much more difficult with someone else behind him.

Jack was often described in many colourful ways but ‘delicate’ was never in the same sentence. A man of action like himself rarely needed to be delicate, typically preferring his scars and bloodied fists do the talking for him. In his time at Hightide, he had learned something akin to diplomacy. As his sister had put it, the illusion of power can be as great, if not greater, than its demonstration. Jack understood the meaning, even if the words were mostly lost on him.

Jack filled his lungs with the fresh salt-less air, and spoke:
“My name is Jack Thorne. I have come on an expedition by order of Duchess Marjorie Baudelaire to discuss diplomacy and the matter of the rifts. As a gift of peace, I give you the hat off my head.” Jack bowed slightly, taking the tricorne hat off his head and holding it in both hands, “It belonged to a man I respected greatly before he died unseating a tyrant. I present it to you as a token of respect as a man of the people. May we speak more inside?”

---

Solirus seasonedcat

 

[Simon Strut]

Fira​

Location: The Red Den → Edosal Garrison

Mentions: ​

jmann ​

Solirus ​

seasonedcat

Setting includes:
Juju
Goonfire


Fira had thought all captains were the same. The few she had met before included her former master, along with the ones who had purchased her fellow slaves all those years ago. It had felt like a lifetime had passed since then. And the captain aboard this ship, well, he was different altogether. He wore a blue coat that rivalled the sky with its brilliance, with accents of red and gold, and a ruffled white shirt that had no business being as clean as it was on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

Captain Mac Pharthaláin, he had introduced himself with a tip of his silly, three cornered hat, when Fira first approached. He had docked on the coast of the Plains of Gold, then went on to state that he didn't want any trouble, that he and his crew had only stopped to make some repairs. They had hoped to find materials on the island but, after noticing it was barren, were preparing to leave.

"Let me aboard." Fira had said.

The crew shared glances and whispers. She had seen that look in their eyes before, that glassy look of fear, in the slaves aboard that old captain's ship. The crew were all terrified of her... All, but the Captain Mac Pharthaláin and his right hand man. Perhaps they had sailed the seas long enough to know that people like Fira, though rare, were not a threat unless they were forced to be.

The captain raised an eyebrow. His right hand man snorted, spat over the taffrail, then glared down at her.

"We ain't a charity here, girlie," He said. "Why'd we let a monster such as you onboard? Doubt you've even got any coppers on you."

Fira stared back up at him, fists clenched. She could tear his mind apart with a scream, and bash his skull wide open before he had a chance to recover. But, no. Violence wouldn't be the answer here. After all, she couldn't sail a ship on her own; she needed this captain and his crew. And the right hand was correct, there wasn't much she had to offer in return. But she would not fail Mother.

Find the old man—she had told Fira, before she left Mother's Hold— the old man whose scars tell a story. The one who knows the seas better than any other. The one with the blood-eating beast upon his shoulder. A new power has risen, and the old man will help you navigate the seas to find answers. Find him, on the island you were once to be sold. Do this for vengeance, my dear child... Do this for me.

So Fira did not break eye contact with the captain's right hand. She would do anything for the Mother.

"Shoot me." Fira said.

"... What?!"

Fira grit her teeth. "Shoot me!"

The right hand shared a quizzical smile with the captain, then shook his head, but the captain didn't miss a beat. In one fluid motion, he slipped his gun from its holster, cocked back the hammer, and fired. Fira heard the ping of metal against stone, and her shoulder jolted backwards. There was a small chip in her skin—golden light shone through the wound for but a moment before dying—but nothing more.

There was a moment of silence as Fira stood there defiantly. She knew they hadn't raised anchor yet, but she would simply let herself aboard if they did. By any means necessary.

"Let her on," the captain barked.

"... What?!" His right hand man threw his arms up, incredulous. "But that doesn't prove anything!"

"It proves she can take a bullet, Remus. I'm not going to turn down free muscle, especially with how dangerous the seas have been lately." He turned to the rest of his crew. "Didn't you hear me? Let her on!"

The crew scrambled to push out the walkway and Fira came aboard, giving each of them a nod of gratitude in turn. They didn't meet her eyes.

"Raise anchor! Sails! Men, you know the drill." The captain rested his hands on the wheel, more relaxed than Fira had ever seen a man. Now that she was closer, she glimpsed several medals hanging from his breast pocket. His right hand man—Remus—had very different souvenirs, a set of scars criss-crossed over his face as if someone was plotting the route to tresure, and mangled his ear on the way. Was this the man Mother had told her to find? No, he wasn't old, nor was there a 'blood-eating beast' in sight. Remus gave her a sour look, then vanished below deck.

"What's your name, lass?" asked captain Mac Pharthaláin.

"Fira."

"That's a strange one. What's your surname?"

"Surname?" Fira had never heard of such a word.

"Yes. Surname. Your family name." He paused at her quizzical expression. "Well, what's your father's name?"

What was her father's name. Fira couldn't remember.

"Where do you hail from, at least?"

"The Mother's Hold."

Mac Pharthaláin sighed. "'Fira Hold' it is. Welcome aboard. Now, where did you say you were going?"

"I know not its name..." Fira thought back to her time on the island, trying to picture it as best as she could. "I wish to go to an island where slaves and many manner of beasts are sold. An island draped in red flags, where the filth of men gather."

There was a spark of recognition in Mac Pharthaláin's eyes before Fira had even finished. "The Red Den. They outlawed slave trade there a few years back. Drew too many eyes, from what I've gathered." He swung the wheel, slowly turning the boat away from the Plains of Gold.

Fira watched as they started to pull away from the Plains. Her home. Everything that she understood about love lay beneath that island. She never thought she'd ever leave. She'd never thought she'd see the blue sky and blue sea again. And, truly, she never wanted to. It felt as if her happiness was slipping away the further she went from the island. A lump formed in her throat.

"Your right hand man was correct, captain," she said, turning up her empty palms. "I have no money to offer you for this journey."

Mac Pharthaláin shook his head. "Don't mind Remus. I was being serious, you just took a bullet. Having you onboard is payment enough. The terrors of the sea may just have a second thought before attacking, if they know we've got our own monster aboard." He winked, then paused, looking at her palms. Fira quickly closed them. He must have noticed her slave-brand, which was now a visible etching on her stone skin.

That old slave-trading captain had told her that anyone who saw that mark would kill her on sight. It was the mark of a mutinous slave, given to those who were sent to the Plains of Gold as a precautionary measure, should they manage to escape. But Mac Pharthaláin didn't seem fazed by it. He simply tutted and shook his head, as if trying to forget he had even saw it.

"We were planning on stopping at the Red Den anyway," he said, "so it seems the stars have aligned in your favour. Now, watch out for a giant turtle on our way, I've already lost two ships from my fleet to that bastard."

---

The journey was not long. After two days, they arrived at the docks of the Red Den.

On the first night at sea, Remus had started to take a liking to her. When the sun had set, and the cracks in Fira's skin blazed with golden light, he was too awestruck to speak. Then, when he finally regained his composure, he offered her some smoked fish. Fira politely declined, then went back to watching the ocean. She hadn't had 'real' food in years. She had forgotten what any of it had tasted like. And the idea of swallowing something solid didn't seem to appeal to her. Drinking the seawater was a difficult habit to unlearn, it would prove, as the first time Fira eagerly took a swig from a bucket, expecting the sweet nectar that made up the Mother's ocean and instead tasting bitter saltwater, was jarring to say the least. The crew laughed when she coughed it all back up.

The second day at sea, Fira accepted Remus's offer of food. The smoked fish was... Nice. It was easy to eat and had layers interesting flavours that danced on her taste buds. It was easy to swallow too. She was quite sure she had never tasted anything like it before and, even if it paled in comparison to the water she'd drink at Mother's Hold, she added it to the list of foods she'd have to keep in her satchel. Though, she supposed, it wasn't much of a list if it only consisted of one item so far.

She spent most of the day teaching a handful of the men, including Remus, a new skill. Knitting. By the late afternoon, they could each knit a rather lumpy looking hat. Mac Pharthaláin didn't seem too bothered by his crew's lack of work. He must have noticed that, despite their earlier reservations, many of them had grown fond of Fira. She was motherly, constantly asking if they were all fed and rested and was doing the brunt of the cleaning work. But she also heard them whispering that she reminded them of their own daughters. It must be nice, Fira thought, putting herself in their shoes, to have a woman aboard who wasn't a whore or something else of the sort, but instead someone that they might consider a friend, given enough time.

The sun was becoming a crimson hearth when they arrived at the Red Den, the flags adorning the island looked as if they were ablaze in the light. Fira said her goodbyes swiftly, shaking her head when Mac Pharthaláin offered her the pistol he had shot her with, and accepting a handshake instead. Remus gave her a hug, then slipped a parcel in her hand that was no doubt packed full of smoked fish. She gave him a grin before she left.

The men and women leered at her as she made her way down the many paths. 'What manner of beast is she?' she overheard one of them whisper. Fira wasn't sure which direction to go in, so she decided she'd explore as much of the island as she could. She kept Mother's Wrath in her hand though, as a reminder for the strangers to keep their distance, lest they wanted to feel its kiss.

And then the stench hit her.

She had never smelled it before but she knew instantly, as if on instinct, exactly what it was. The same way a dog can sense danger. It was filth.

Fira's hand grew tighter around Mother's Wrath. Her heart pounded: the drumbeat of a battle. There was one nearby who had contracted with a different Eldritch Being. She cared not who this person was, nor who they had contracted with. All she wanted to do was find them. Find them and mete out justice.

All thoughts of the scarred old man with the blood-eating beast fled from her mind. The other Eldritch Beings were responsible for Mother's exile. For the death of her beautiful child. Even if they weren't the culprit, they didn't intervene either. So this person, whoever they were, needed to die.

Fira's blood boiled as she followed the putrid scent, picking up her pace. She didn't care for her surroundings, didn't care if anyone stood in her way, she barrelled right through any obstacle. And then, there, there he was. Fira caught the glimpse of a boy before he disappeared.

The stench was gone.

Fira blinked, shook her head, and looked around the room. The most obvious thing she missed when she first entered was the swirling circle of colour, and... Non-colour in the very centre. The boy had entered it, and all traces of his Eldritch marking had gone with him. The ground was littered with bodies, all in various stages of decomposition. Fira scrunched her nose. To her side, a beast of a man sat in a chair, silent as a hunter. Fira didn't pay him any mind, nor did he her. Good, he wouldn't interfere. It did not matter what this... Thing in the centre of the room was. What mattered was following the boy.

With a deep breath to gather her resolve, Fira stepped through.

Everything was black. It was as if the night had become whole, swallowing the stars and the moon, then had gone on to devour the very land itself. Fira could not see herself, the golden glow, which had just started to shine moments earlier, could not pierce this darkness. For an instant, she stood still, then she took one step forward, then another. Then she lurched over, falling to her knees and dropping her weapon. Her throat and chest burned. She felt as if she was coughing, but couldn't hear the sound. There was something in the air here, something she shouldn't be breathing in.

But she would not fail. Not here. Not this soon. Mother had put her faith in her, she had taken her in and loved her when no one else would. This excruciating pain was nothing compared to what Mother had gone through.

So Fira picked up Mother's Wrath, clawed her way back on to her feet. And ran.

With a hand over her mouth and nose, she ran until her lungs felt as though they would burst. And then... There was light!

Fira squinted, covering her eyes with the arm that held Mother's Wrath. She stumbled forward, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the light, then she must have tripped because she felt her knees hit something hard. The ground. Before her stood a man with grey hair and his own silly three-cornered hat. A captain?. He seemed to be mid-conversation with a man and woman in resplendent armour. Behind them stood lions with... Wings? Fira furrowed her brow. What was she doing here? Where even was here?

Then the stench hit again.

The boy... There he was! Standing right in front of her. She raised Mother's Wrath to point at him, her arm shaking.

"You!" she rasped, the word barely scraping its way out her throat. "Draw your weapon."

 

[Solirus]

Location: Edosal Encampment

Juju Goonfire jmann seasonedcat Simon Strut ​

The guard that remained still at the entrance stood his ground even when his skin appeared to lose color. Before he could get another word out of his frail voice, he felt a hand placed on his shoulder. The guard was shook at the sudden hand and turned their head around to find the sight of a Royal guard.

"I shall take this post now." The Royal guard spoke, their voice calm but serious. The guard didn't respond, simply nodded and returned to the encampment disappearing into one of the tents. The royal guard turned to face the Psychopomp "Passage to you shall be granted upon the High King's commands." without elaborating any further the Royal guard moved their gaze to face Xiu seeing her display the royal sigil of Empress Yonai. The royal guard outstretched one of their arms with their palm facing up. "I cannot confirm the legitimacy of the sigil, thus I must ask you to hand it over. It will be returned to you soon." Xiu eventually handed over the sigil pacing it on the royal guards palm. In an orderly manner the Royal guard moved towards the king before stopping at a respectable distance. Serith the Head Royal guard without a word moved towards the nearby Royal guard who simply offered the Sigil for inspection. Quickly taking it Serith inspected the sigil and returned it to a guard with nothing but a nod.

Eventually the Royal guard returned handing over the sigil back to Xiu, "You may pass" the Royal guard spoke, moving slightly to the side.

Jack's coughing was not a pleasant sight, as the formation of guards slowly backed off. "You alright there bud?" The king asked as he saw Jack cough up blood. "Soldiers, return to your original stations. The royal unit has the situation under control." With a slight second of hesitation the guards backed away and returned to their original positions, granting a large room to breathe and move.

"Jack you say? Well it's a pleasure to meet you." The king approached Jack as he offered up the tricorne hat as a symbol of peace, "I'm sure the owner of this hat was a great man, oh and as a courtesy, I am High King Greymoore, but you may Edward if you like." The king grabbed the tricorne hat with one hand. Jack could feel a certain warmness from simply being near the king and even more so when his hand was close to the hat. His palms upon closer inspection were rough, even if they were clean there was the clear signs of hands worn out from years of labour. "Say, are those two also part of your expedition?" the king questioned as he noticed the two new individuals.

The king did not flinch or even seem bothered as brawl brewed, however the tension of the royal guards spiked, their eyes piercing at the hammer wielding girl.

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

Location: Krena Theocracy

ThAtGuY101
​

Bo was met with a smell of clear and fresh air. The first thing he saw was a large and abundant pasture of wheat, illuminated by the setting sun. Around him, Bo could see several individuals, all with faces of bewilderment and shock. The first one to break from this was a man with white and yellow robes, pulling out his staff and facing Bo. "Halt you who comes from the Rift, what is your name and your purpose here?!" The robed figure loudly questioned as everyone else remained silent.

​

 

[Goonfire]

"Paxon, Knight of the Necropolis," the psychopomp responded simply, a small courtesy for the girl showing respect and the royal guard who now also barred his advance, much to his chagrin. To corroborate his claim, he brushed aside his shroud. At his side was a gladius, its pommel beautifully decorated with the etching of a skull. The skull's open mouth acted as the socket for a black crystal. This looked to be both his sidearm and his proof of fealty to the Necropolis—a place shrouded in myth, never gazed upon by any surface dweller, but nonetheless real.

"Lost souls have already entered that rift with no guard even knowing. Did you sense it, spirit soother?" Paxon then revealed, keeping no secret. He, too, sensed a dangerous spike in the foreign energy, his eyes shifting back towards the growing powwow mere feet from the rift. Its signature was not that of a spirit or even a demon. "Something aberrant is here..."

Interactions: Solirus Juju
Mentions: seasonedcat jmann Simon Strut

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Bo...~

As Bo looked around, he saw crystal clear air. He reached out like he was gonna grab it, but knew he couldn't. He wasn't that stupid. But the sky looked different. The fields looked different. Plants growing like wildfire. It was all somewhat too much. Like paradise.

"Maybe I really did die and go to heaven... Does that mean Mark and Bill went to hell...?" Bo wondered. He couldn't quit staring at the wheat. That looked like something he should take.

Dear journal, first entry day one, it's me Bo. I'm writing my journal again. I didn't wanna say this in front of Mark cause. He makes fun of me when I write in you and Bill's kinda supportive but he corrects my handwriting too much and calls it chicken scratch but my handwriting is beautiful! Anyways. I came to this place and I think I'm dead. I'm probably gonna steal those plants over there and the sky looks

Bo began stopped typing as he heard a voice.

"Who said that?" Bo asked turning his head until he eventually exchanged gazes with a yellow robed man and nervously took a single step back.

"Halt what? Your not talking to me, are you...?" Bo said looking around to nobody else in the field. Okay so obviously he was talking to Bo.

"Clearly I'm Bo! Bo Lake!" Bo said as if this man were supposed to know who he was. He began looking this man up and down.

"As far as why I'm here, I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to say why I'm here. I also never seen a man wear... whatever that is" Bo said gesturing to the yellow robe. His eyes lit up when he saw the man's staff. Bo began looking at the robed figure's staff. staring at the details.

"If you can keep a secret I'm here to get some useful stuff or whatever. Looking around, I don't really see anything the clan could need but maybe theres something here good. We're awful good at trade and stuff or whatever. Got any generators that don't run properly? Maybe a car that isn't running no more. I know you got something that's busted" Bo said. He looked back at his staff. As a fighter of staff weapons, Bo appreciated and seeing other staff users. Eventually Bo got the idea to compare staffs.

"Hey that thing you got there, that staff! I gots one too! The others don't like staffs that much. They say they'd rather use a sword or an axe or a rifle but I like staffs! Wanna see mine? It's cool too!" Bo said pulling out a piece of metal. It was roughly the size of a knife, but he activated it causing both ends to extend into a full six ft staff. Bo had a tight grip of it, but held it out casually so not to look threatening or violent. He retracted it.

"Okay, what does your staff do?" Bo asked.

 

[jmann]

Sharktooth Jack
King? No shit. Jack had met many faces of noble blood, but royalty was a first for him. What made less sense was the grit in his hands and drawl in his voice. Wherever Jack had ended up, kings worked like any other. He was beginning to like this land.

“You honour me with your presence,” Jack neglected to bow, instead turning to the now two strangers behind him with a fiery glare.

Their childish bickering would get him killed. If the king found out there was nothing more to them than vagabonds and nomads, he would surely have them killed. The only way Jack knew to preserve his own life was to become a necessity. Only those the king viewed as important enough to keep around would be spared. Jack didn't know much about royalty, but he did know that.

Jack glared at each of the children individually. The tall one really was just a kid. His face was gaunt and dangerously thin, as if he hadn't had a good meal in months. But, if he was going to follow Jack through the In-Between he would need to be just as strong. Though perhaps he was useful in other ways, he had a moderately sharp tongue and managed to survive the In-Between with both sleeves, so perhaps the runt was a survivor.

He moved his glare to the dark skinned woman, her skinned was cracked and glowing, surely the foul work of contracts with monsters. She reeked of weak will. Few who hear the call of the deep and promises of riches actually answer and all who do come back worse than before, tricked into a deal for the rest of their lives. Jack thought all of this for a brief moment before he noticed the brand of a slave. Then he understood. He had worked hard to abolish the trade in Hightide but he didn’t nearly have the power to bring change across the Sea. Jack could understand a slave’s desperation for power over their life. Jack had beaten men for the same feeling in his youth.

His anger subsided for the most part and he turned back to the boy, grabbing him by the back of the neck, half guiding him away and half lifting him off his feet. Jack shifted the boy to the right, slotting himself between him and the slave girl. Jack rested a hand on her shoulder, cutting himself slightly on the sharp stone-like skin.
“Aye,” he said to the king, “my companions here seek answers, same as I, as to why you have built these rifts.“

---

Solirus seasonedcat Simon Strut

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Pudica
Location: Midnight City Slum

"M-myahaha." Pudica let out a nervous laugh as things went really hectic. People started gathering around her like they never see a catfolk before in their life and the big man was quite intimidating while handling a bunch of people who tried to enter the rift. She really didn't expect this kind of civilization on the other side of the rift so she was caught off guard by it, but she must gather her composure and handle things as best as she could for now.

"That's an impressive display, chief." Pudica unmask herself and pulled down her hood, revealing her cat features in full display. Anyone who kneels when talking to a catfolk usually don't mean harm and based on his more elaborate armor he seemed to be the leader of the guards here so she decided to trust him for now.

"I am Pudica of Feyrune, an adventurer hired by Krena Theocracy. May I ask which kingdom am I currently in?"

Solirus

 

[Juju]

XiuInteraction: Goonfire
mention: jmann Solirus seasonedcat Simon Strut

Xiu gave the priceless trinket to the guards and waited patiently for their return. So a king lived here? It would explain the fanfare that followed the bird-creatures. The fortress looked to be military in nature, but perhaps it could be considered a palace to a nation that prized warfare?

Her red eyes followed after the guard, watching them greet two figures of importance with Yonai’s seal in hand. Was the king the one holding a hat or was it the woman whom the guard held the seal out towards? Then again, wouldn’t she be called a queen?

With these questions left unanswered for now, Xiu could only wait with the psychopomp. Slowly, she was growing used to the unearthly energy he emitted, and smiled when he offered his name.

“It is an honor, Paxton.” Xiu said graciously and glanced down at the gladius with its eerie pommel.

Although spirit soothers were better trained at suppressing primitive fears, even she was not immune to the death chill she felt upon seeing the weapon. A response surely shared by all mortals.

So he had come here for lost souls. She had suspected as much, and yet the news was just as grim.

The spirit soother inclined her head at his question, composer back in full. She spoke in a mild voice, though it held a certain graveness to it. “Indeed, I have sensed it too. As if the world itself bears an open wound, yet what spills from it is not something I or the spirits have sensed before. It is neither spirit nor demon, but something else...something malicious and outside of the balance. It hangs over those three like a malaise, as if possessed.”

She turned her gaze back at the trio as she spoke and caught one drawing her weapon. Such violence was common to those possessed, and Xiu feared for a moment that she would have to rush over to help. Thankfully, the elder among them managed to wrangle the youth. Unlike those possessed by evil spirits, it seemed these people were capable of thoughts and reason.

When the guard returned, Xiu took back Yonai’s seal and placed it carefully into her bag. To her disbelief the guards had allowed her to pass, yet still barred the entrance of Paxton. Such a thing was unthinkable in Huye, and Xiu found herself stunned with shock. A mortal being granted access over a spirit? By now they should have understood what Paxton was? She was not the guard, and yet she felt deeply shameful in their stead.

Staying where she was, Xiu searched the guard’s eyes. Was it ignorance or something else? She placed a hand over her chest in a gesture of sincerity, “If it is all the same to you, this one would walk with me. If the necropolis holds little sway here, then allow my right as an envoy of Empress Yonai. I would take full responsibility for any harm done to your people, and submit willingly to your justice.”

After she spoke this there was a pause as the royal guard stared down at her through the shadow of their visor. Their expression was obscured, and Xiu soon began to worry that perhaps her words had fallen on deaf ears. Finally, the guard gave a stiff nod and moved aside for both to pass. [[Soli approved to save posts!]]

Xiu walked past the guards and into the encampment, only stopping to glance back at Paxton to see if he was following. She dearly hoped the spirit would not be offended by her words implying some sort of authority over him. It was overstepping, but she could think of no other peaceful resolution to the guard’s refusal of entry.

 

[seasonedcat]

Atwen​

location: Edosal Garrison, Edosal Kingdom
interactions: Jack, King Greymoore, Xiu, Paxon, Fira, guard assomble
thankfully for Atwen, the man double his size didn't hold a grudge about him running into him, choosing to continue his conversation with the supposed king. Atwen watched the two converse, understanding little of the gestures they offered each other. He hadn't heard the type of talk Edward was using in many years, the memory of it causing the blood inside him to grow frigid. Rich folks were always about pleasantries until they realize they are dying; pointless, kind gestures withering compared to their willingness to thrive.

Jack's gesture was not one he had seen often, definitely not one he saw this close. He never really understood the whole hat thing, though the fact he hardly was on good terms with pirates was most likely to blame. What could a hat show of loyalty? The same as eating the bread of a host, Atwen had seen the "promise" shattered without a flinch too many times to know that, in the end, it was always just a show. No one ever really cared for anyone but themself.

Atwen's attention was quickly grabbed by a new person stepping through the portal, their weapon quickly being pointed towards them, or rather towards Atwen. Atwen raised his hands in surrender, "Woah there. Whoever you are confusing me with, I can ensure that you have the wrong person. I have never seen you before in my life-!" his sentence raised a pitch at his last word as he was lifted, surprise coating his features.

letting out a small 'oof' as he stumbled from Jack placing him down, the other's strength being too much for his stick limbs, "hey I am not even the one with the weapon," he grumbled to the large man as he offered a nod towards Edward, "Yah, what the big guy said." he offered with a flash of his teeth before he let it fall. His hood had tumbled down when he was picked up like a kitten, his sickly complexion now on full view as he focused primarily on the girl in case she tried to strike him again. With how she looked, it was not hard to see she was another person in a contract; this sent a wave of tenseness through him. The last thing he needed was for people to know of his contract; it would make it impossible for him to do his job. For now, though, he could hide behind his large friend, Jack.
jmann Simon Strut Solirus Goonfire Juju

 

[Necromantic Chef]

Location- Midnight City Slums​

"Don't forget-"
"Slum local-only stores."
"As long-"
"As long as it's not Claris's. I know, dad, you have told me this stuff since I was a kid."
Asa's dad gave them a weary smile as he ruffled their hair, "They grow up so fast," he mused.
"Dad, you have been saying that since I first breathed."
"Not like you stopped growing since then." Asa rolled their eyes at this as they waved their dad goodbye as they mounted their rusty motorcycle, if you could even call the old recycled thing that. They walked deeper into the slum streets, weaving through people and other small vehicles. The streets weren't large enough for anything major, but small transportation could still fit.
Asa parked the bike outside the marketplace, tapping their hand on the touchscreen, activating the lock, and transferring money with a tap. Asa then began to make their way, though instead of turning into the street filled with stores, they turned into a nearby alleyway. Thankfully people in the slums had long since destroyed the cameras near here, so Asa could easily tap to unleash their mask once they were safe from prying eyes. They then swiftly ascended the side of the building, the familiar rusty fire escape making it simple for them.
Asa began to make their way over to the police activity from the roof, planting themself on a fire escape not far from the whole mess. Reaching their hand over, they touched one of the undamaged cameras, watching the connection process before they planted themself in a sitting position, "Let's see what the metal pigs are up to now.~" they hummed as the camera was forfeited to them, the screen on their arm displaying the view. They began to zoom in on the action, though sadly, there was no audio.
"Is that a...cat?" they mumbled to themself as they watched the strange being from their seat, waiting to see how the action would unfold.
mentions: Solirus Spoiled Bread

 

[Goonfire]

Paxon

It seemed the spirit soother possessed diplomatic prowess, as well. Paxon nodded in approval at Xiu's successful negotiation. He didn't hesitate to brush past the guard and follow Xiu deeper into the garrison. "I have no direct business with the living, and Galane will not tolerate unwarranted aggression," he affirmed. Otherwise, he seemed to take no offense to her words.

As they strode closer to the king and Xiu described the outsiders' aberrant aura, the discomfort intensified. Paxon felt the burn of a sunny morning, even without there being actual sunlight. He pulled his shroud tighter in an attempt to alleviate his suffering. "Indeed... They should leave as soon as their business concludes—not a second later."

A feeling then washed over Paxon, as though another set of eyes gazed upon him. The others may have experienced the same sensation as someone studied each key person present. The faint signatures of arcane energy indicated it was some kind of divination, likely scrying by a party involved in this gathering.

Interactions: Juju Solirus
Mentions: seasonedcat jmann Simon Strut

 

[Simon Strut]

Fira
Location: Edosal Garrison
Interactions: Solirus jmann seasonedcat
Setting includes: Goonfire Juju
​

The sun was setting and, with it, Fira's skin and eyes began to glow.

The pain in her lungs was starting to subside, or perhaps Fira's anger was doing a better job of masking it. Either way, she managed to focus on something other than the boy's putrid aura. Somehow, the old man had managed to get in between them. He was almost a head taller than Fira, but that wouldn't stop her. This boy was going to die, today, and it would be by Fira's hand. Servants of the other Eldritch Beings must be taught of the filth they represent, they must bleed, and watch the world fade around them.

And it was blood, in fact, that snapped her out of her rage. Not the boy's, unfortunately. The old man had pricked himself, ever so slightly, when he placed his hand on Fira's shoulder. She furrowed her brow and looked up at him. Why did he defend this person? Did he not know what he was, what that meant? No, of course not—the old man had never known Mother's embrace, her love. She stared up at him, indignant. His eyes, polished pearls of ocean-blue, were stern, but his face was warm. The scars told stories. Of pain, of torment, of suffering. He had the creases and wrinkles of a man that had watched life beat him down, then had gotten back up to look life in the face and ask 'is that all you've got?'.
This was the man, the guide, that Mother had spoken of. There was no doubt in Fira's mind about it. Her own petty quest for vengeance in the Mother's name paled in comparison to enacting her will. Find the old man... Do this for me, Mother had said. So be it. If this man was to be her guide, and he wanted to defend the filth behind him, she wouldn't lay a finger on him. For now, at least.

When the old man addressed the other in armour, the one with the crown, Fira realised her mistake. It was clear to her now, that he had been in the midst of a peaceful discussion with him, and Fira's rather violent arrival threatened to undo all that work. She'd been a fool. She should have analysed the situation before making such a rash decision, even though the fury was hard to control.

Fira gave a slight nod, then raised Mother's Wrath. The guards surrounding them tensed at the action, but she stowed the weapon over her shoulder, the notches in her stone skin holding it firmly in place. She made sure to keep the boy in her peripheral vision though. She wouldn't let him out of her sight for a second.

"What do you mean by 'rifts'?" she asked. "In fact, where are we? I've never seen creatures such as these—" she looked the king up and down "—or men such as you. The Gilded Mother sent me to find the 'old man with the blood-eating beast'. I have no further intentions here."

 

[Solirus]

Location: Felicity downs, the slums

Spoiled Bread Necromantic Chef ​

As Pudica suddenly spoke in a clearer tone and with properly articulated words, Marv couldn't help but stare in awe. That awe however was broken by the greater commotion that was breaking out, shouts and screams of the masses trying to catch a glimpse of Pudica. "Let us move somewhere more quiet." Marv said to Pudica as he stood fully back up. Unexpectedly however, his head snapped at the hijacked camera. "We have an unwelcome looker, find where it's coming from." Marv ordered to one of the nearby officers.

The officer holstered their weapon and pulled out a tablet. In but a few moments Asa received an alert that something was attempting to track their location.

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

Location: Krena Theocracy

ThAtGuY101 ​

Revealing his name and explaining his purpose here, the robed man did not drop his alerted posture. The robed man could not be sure of the intentions of this Bo, forces of evil were not above deceit yet sometimes did an air of arrogance and confidence slip through them. As Bo pulled out his staff and extended it, the robed man took a quick backstep and lifted his staff above his head.

The man spun his staff around channeling a light within his body as it traveled to a tip of the staff. The spinning ended as the man slammed shining end of the staff into the ground. The very earth swallowed the light as it dissipated into the ground and in but an instant the ground beneath Bo violently cracked into a 5 meter deep hole in which Bo fell. The man quickly rushed to the edge of the hole pointing his staff directly at Bo. "Speak plainly stranger and do not think about drawing your weapon again."

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

Location: Edosal Encampment

Juju jmann seasonedcat Goonfire Simon Strut ​

The king looked bewildered at Jack's question, "The rifts? We didn't build them, if we did, don't you think we'd place them somewhere a little bit better?" the king explained as he looked down at the section of road he was standing on. His gaze turned towards Atwen seemingly confirming his companionship with Jack yet the words of Fira puzzled him. "Well, it's hard to miss the rifts and if you're wondering you're in the kingdom of Edosal which happens to be my domain if that makes sense." the king explained. It was clear the king was very curious yet something didn't seem to make sense, "Jack, you say these two are your companions, yet only one seems to confirm this. Care to explain?" The king questioned, but before being able to get another words off, Serith approached from behind.

"Your grace, we have two visitors, one is a spirit soother who has been personally sent from Huye by the Empress herself and the other is a Psychopomp coming from the Nekropolis, they appear to be interested in the Rift. Additionally, it appears there is a scrying spell not of our own." Serith explained briefly and concisely.

"Ok ok... try and figure out from whom the scrying spell is coming from first of all. Secondly, it's getting a bit dark for my liking so let's all move into the big tent in the encampment, there we'll discuss further the arrival of the guests and the visits of the other two... Also you said it's a psychopomp? Are you sure?"

"Without a doubt."

"Alright." the king turned around giving out a loud whistle, "Prepare the largest tent for a meeting, guests from the rift and new arrivals please meet me inside!" the king loudly exclaimed as he put on the tricorne hat and made his way into the largest tent. The royal guards remained outside however observing the guests on whether they would follow or not.