Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

[EmperorsChosen]

Katsushiro Hoshi | Southwestern Montenegro
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"Shocker," The man replied with heavy disinterest in the revelation that the mercenaries were goners. "Seriously, did we think the mercs would actually do shit or did ya' send their asses over there to make some statues for us to pick up?"

The insinuation was clear as day, though while accusatory it wasn't aggressive. Really, if the vagabonds weren't sent to be turned to stone, sending them at all was just stupid and a waste of time. That, or hoping they'd be able to relay some information from scouting before they keeled over. Nonetheless, the Hoshi shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"So a shopping trip, more or less," He added, reaching a hand to take the protein bar as nonchalantly as it was offered and biting into it.

He wasn't all that worried about the gasses. If the Surgeon said their mutation would protect them, he trusted her judgment. Still, while the prospect of all manners of beasts being on the island intrigued him, the aspect of being unable to kill was annoying. Not to mention, fighting an animal wasn't nearly as appetizing as fighting a man. To the established assassin, this was an errand run. As was usual, he would give lip, but ultimately was loyal.

"Meh, if Lizzie says it's fine, it's fine," Katsushiro stated offhandedly, smirking as he took another bite and giving a side eye to the other two. "I'm sure wolfy can sniff out the bodies pretty quick."

Sir Les Paul Merciless Medic

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Yutu Tatigat​

"Astor"​

Species Meister (Werewolf)
Location Southwestern Montenegro, Bay of Kotor, Repurposed Mage Tower
Mission An Ancient Quarry


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Tags: Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen

"I don't sniff," Astor replied quickly, cleaving into the last sentence Shiro uttered as if it were the edge of his blade into that nasty little tongue of his--as much as he hated to describe him as such--ally.

"Even if I was some mongrel from the Vena Clan, I doubt I could make out a damn thing with that body spray you use, dye-job," he added on, proving his tongue and wit were as sharp as the blades he did so love to dance with.

Astor stood with his arms crossed, blades at his side, body language closed off and cold to those around him. This was his typical smug attitude and stature. Yet, for a time, before the majesty of the view was ruined by the words the men around him spoke, he did enjoy the site before him. He couldn't deny the beauty of the area. He had seen many places in his life, yearned for vistas exactly like this one, and the warm atmosphere was something he took great delight in if only because of how it so greatly differed from his youth in the frozen North. No matter how much the sun kissed his face, however, it never did darken his complexion; a fact he was always sullen about, if only because it made him resemble his father that much more.

He knew both of them. There were some agents, like themselves, that often worked in missions like these. Group-oriented, slightly lower on the totem pole. It meant that by word of mouth, they knew at least a little about each other. Of course, there were others that worked alone, on those higher priority missions, or even with Antivu himself. Astor wasn't exactly envious. He preferred the type of work that sent him places and provided him a vast array of sites and experiences. Working with Antivu was always fast-paced and on-edge, even worse, it was often more social than truly exciting. It rarely provided a chance to stop and smell the roses, and Astor was fond of those beautiful, red petals...

"If you dared think before you speak, you'd recall we can--in fact--create masks that filter out any fumes too noxious for our bodies," Astor commented, not allowing Alek of the hook. Of the two, he knew the least about Alek. Weird wavelength, hit hard, used his White Blood in some odd way. Nothing really special. Nothing outstanding that he knew about. Likely another philistine. So many of these comrades he found himself paired with were brutes. Either fiending after the Surgeon or blind loyalists to Antivu. In truth, of their five great leaders, only Shihan had any amount of taste. Orb Weaver might have if he wasn't so grotesque, but Shihan was experienced in the world. She knew the finer things. Their conversations were always a delight.

Unlike this swill of a conversation.

"I'd bet a Yamato Katana that they sent a bunch gun-toting idiots out there thinking their new-age weapons could fell the beasts of the island," Astor added, providing more of his less-than-positive commentary. "Probably had them loaded up with tasers, nets, and tranquilizers since they proved they knew which end of the barrel went where only to find out they lacked any amount of common sense when it came to actual survival," he continued on, doubling down, and continuing on with his slaughter of these supposed mercenaries, "Aegis didn't clarify if the gas petrified via inhalation or skin contact, but either way, I'm sure we'll find unworn masks on their persons."

He let out a gentle, disappointed sigh. "I guess it's no less senseless than sending an assassin on a no-kill mission..." he said, rounding out his critique of the situation.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - Valaam Island, Russia

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With glaring anger, Nadia stomped towards him and glared, she never said such and while tempting, she would have not demanded such. Once he was knocked down and did little to them it was time to call him back, a screwdriver cannot knock down a door. It was then that she turned her head to face Eva. She was blue, so he was not speaking falsehoods. Bit by bit the rest added in their own voices as well, causing Nadia to unclench her fist.

"To be clear, if there is a need, I expect us to pay with blood, but I will not just throw you away suicidally. If you cannot stand before a threat in a way in which I assume you cannot escape mostly intact, I won't ask you to do it. Much less tell you. My orders at the first run in with the bears was telling you to switch with me and to keep Irina at the center. At a point we are expendable, but that does not mean I run a meat grinder. When I seemingly told you to get up and attack again, to be a distraction, while it is nice you would just follow my orders..." Shaking her head, there were other things to address.

"A Leshy." She said in tired tune to correct Dani. "And close, I dare say he now has me figured for the leader. We must set up our purposes, like Sara deciding to be better suited to distraction. For now we need orders that cannot be taken to be something else later on, preferably maybe hand signals or physical touch code, as I doubt Eva's light will do much about that from earlier. It ifs targeted you'll constantly have to check around us, so we make up signals or movements may be bast to match with what we say... But allas.

And yes he can do that with sound, and he likely did feel the pain with Adrian's wavelength, likely the first time or one of the few, like I said their actual forms are more like man meets nature than nature alone. They can bleed. When I said the forest was his Kingdom, I never said the kingdom had men. So a hivemind is likely used, and he's observing us, or was, likely ran off to lick his wounds. He'll be back if we wait too long."

Looking at Irina she shrugs. "So we all need to figure out whoe is best to use for what tasks, as orders short of writing can't be trusted. That goes for you as well Adrian."

Interactions: Sir Les Paul Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen Mook-LandStrider

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thorn of the Solomon Islands​

"Aegis"​

Species Weapon
Location Southwestern Montenegro, Bay of Kotor, Repurposed Mage Tower
Mission An Ancient Quarry


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Tags: Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen

1015 Saturday - January 15th, 2067​

"Alright boys, cool yer jets," Aegis chimed in, quickly cutting into the conversation after Astor decided to derail it with his harsh, albeit accurate critiques.

"You oughta know that werewolves don' like the dog-talk. I expect you three to uh... work half-decen' tegether. So, Astor, yer gunna forget teh sniff-remark, drop that blue blood act'a yers, an' see how this plays out. Alek, Shiro--you two jus' try not tah-be dicks for the first, let's say... few hours, yeah?" Aegis told them, instructions really. Aegis might have been cold, but he did have some ability to level with them. He didn't bark orders, but he was stern. He was also the most well-versed with White Blood, and each one of the three knew from their training he could win most serious fights against them. Shiro was a stand-out here in that he could blitz the man; Aegis had adapted to that strategy, and often turned it on the Hoshi with his own spiked shield. Astor was well-aware none of his swords could break through the shield. Alek knew firsthand that even his most powerful punch barely made the man budge.

In regards to combat ability and experience, Aegis commanded more than his fair share of respect. He was no Shihan, but there was something to be said about an impenetrable shield that could fight back.

"I won' lie and tell you Astor is wrong, but our mercs would've got the job done had they known 'bout the gas. Surgeon says it works on contact. I figure yer all gonna need to use your cloaks when you reach it," Aegis explained, shifting the conversation back to the more important details of their upcoming mission. "I doubt anythin' on the island will be big threat ta you three, but the tricky part is that mythology isn't uh... accurate. We sent twelve mercs, only seven made it to-the Gorgons. Basically, you can't trust what you might'a read in books or seen on T.V. about these beasties. We couldn't dig up an accurate report of them, either. I imagine the DWMA has one. We considered stealin' it, but honestly, I'm pretty sure you boys can wing it and be fine. Didn' wanna tip off the DWMA anyway," he went on, mostly informing them of how little they knew about the island specifically. Assumptions would be dangerous.

"That said, you did remin' me of somethin' else impor'ant. Antivu called for any bodies to be burnt, and for any magitech to be destroyed. We're only recovering the stone. Aside from that, all traces of our activity needs ta be purged. It's a bit of'a waste, but it's th'cost a doin' business," he informed them, making sure they were extremely clear on the mission parameters.

"Unless you boys got any questions an' I happen to have good answers, that covers it. We got transport for ya from Kotor to Konoba, then you'll head out on-a boat from there, and once ya get near the coordinates, we have an inflatable you'll take the rest of the way to the island an' burn when you're finished," Aegis told them. Instructions were. It was quite often that these missions had routes planned out. It was almost necessary to stay under the radar. Between the Big Brother network of satellites and presence of the DWMA, a normal agent would have no hope of staying hidden long. It required methodical planning. "Extraction will be on the same aircraft teh final load a statues is on. No idea what you'll be doin' after an' when, but you know how that works. You get yer payment, blow it on hookers and coke," Aegis added, again with his dry attempt at humor, "enjoy the boat ride. I splurged a bit to keep Astor at bay. Should be uh... luxurious, I think."

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Rand Mabason​

"Soundwave Sorcerer"​

Species Witch
Partner N/A
Rank Two Star

Location Nevada, Mojave Desert
Mission A Last-Minute Rescue
Status Focused

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Tags: RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic The Regal Rper

April 12th, 2067​

The range increase from the Magic Circle Rand created was nothing short of astounding. Not only that, it completely changed the shape of the seismic sense. It was shallower, but much broader. It sent out thin waves of mana for what felt like miles. It would have been far too much to take in, but there was a key note made by Rand when he made the circles. It was only a search for cave entrances and tunnels. In the area, only a few showed up, and only one of them had any type of depth to it at all. Scouting a little further showed that the smaller, shallow ones only held a few scorpions, but no agents. That effectively narrowed the search down to the single lone cave entrance off to the East. It was too deep to search from here with the Seismic Sense, but it was the only logical one the agents could have fled to.

"Dozens... hundreds, maybe," Rand said, answering the question that Raph asked in a quick, clear tone. "They typically only eat each others when they're young. In their adulthood, some even hunt in packs. All social adaptations to survive being hunted," he added, providing some simplistic facts about the creatures. They were one of the most highly-studied creatures in the entire DWMA, if only due to their proximity and tendency to survive any attempt at total eradication. If nuclear bombs fell, all that would survive are cockroaches and rad scorpions.

Rand quickly led the now-readied group to the entrance of the cave. It immediately looked like a sandy death-trap. Caves in this area were narrow, low to the ground, and fairly unstable due to the nature of the ground they were on. Not only that, it was a hellmouth that scorpions were obviously using as a den, evidenced by the stabbing tracks in the sand around it. It was at least large enough that Maria with all her dolls could fit. Had she brought the largest ones with her, chances were, this hole wouldn't let them in without some disassembly or damage. More so, in a confined space like this, smaller, more agile dolls would have made for better combatants anyway.

Rand was the first one to slide in. He couldn't sense any life at the immediate entrance of the cave, but did in fact confirm that it was a sandy pitfall. If the agents came down through here, there was a good chance they couldn't have climbed back up. When it came time for their exit, Ark would be best suited to make some type of stairs or surface to escape. "It's a slippery slide down," Rand told them, "I suggest you lower in her dolls, if they're coming, with chains."

While the rest of the group made their way into the treacherous entrance, Rand used his Mabian Eye to scout throughout the tunnels. Ark with his Seismic Sense could have likely accomplished the same thing, but Rand was the least busy and he only needed to if there were any life forms. That much, he could do. "It's total cave darkness down here," he told them, "Magelights active at all times.

Rand did in fact find some active forms of life down there, but the cave system muddied even his vision. Magelights only helped their normal eyes see, not his magical sight. He had Ark switch over to scouring the cave with his ability to map it out and search for movement and human activity as they headed in the direction he felt surges of life. Problem was, as they went in deeper, more and more life forces began popping up. They were walking right into the dens of these creatures. At the very least, the inside of the cave was significantly cooler than the outside. It didn't quite constitute being chilly, but it most certainly was a reprieve from the laughing sun and blistering winds. It was also notably more humid; moisture hid in caves like this from the desert above.

It wasn't long until they did in fact encounter their first set of scorpions. After several twists and turns, heading in a direction vaguely from where they came from albeit underground, they entered a large chamber with holes littering its walls and a significantly higher humidity. There was even a temperature difference in the room by a few degrees of warmth. The moment the magelights hit it, the room came to life as scorpions emerged from the walls. This sub-species proved to be considerably smaller than the massive ones in the Western half of the desert. Some grew to colossal sizes that dwarfed two story houses. These were at best each the size of a German Shepard. The light disturbed them.

They would need to fight. The first wave of them was incoming, and between the vicious claws and venomous stingers, there was plenty of reason to keep distance. Rand stomped his foot down, in doing so creating a pressure wave that knocked back the first wave, but also shook the walls of the cave, releasing loose dirt, rocks, and sand, causing shifts around them that would left no room for security. "Alright, none of that, then," Rand said, referencing his wind spell. "Avoid using spells that cause a lot of collateral damage. Also, Ark, no fire or lava. If you burn through the air in here and I don't catch it, we suffocate," he instructed, making sure that the group and most specifically Ark knew to restrain himself.

Ark went from being the most useful utility on the team to a significant liability, but such was the nature of volatile magic like his.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Irina​

"The Research Witch"​

Species Witch
Location Russia, Republic of Karelia, Valaam, Northeast Forest line
Mission The Waking Forest


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Tags: Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun Mook-LandStrider

Once the final treants had been dispatched, the lynx reappeared to fulfill her promise to guide the group. She had little explanation to offer them about what had happened outside of having never seen it before. Of course, it seemed no one that had ever opposed the King of the Forest lived to tell the tale, so even if something similar had occurred, there was no way of truly knowing. Whatever plans that needed to be made would fill the short gap between then they left and when they arrived. In truth, they weren't far from their destination.

The Weeping Woods.

There existed a very clear border between the forest they were just in and the woodlands they were in present. Not only were trees tall, thick, and arranged in a nearly perfectly spaced pattern, but it was deathly quiet. No wind, no animals, and even foliage thinned out until even grass became patchy through these woods. This is where the lynx told them she would go no further, and in fact left. It made sense. The atmosphere that muddied their perception earlier was at its thickest here, but that only half-described it. These woods felt alive. A spiritual fog surrounded them, permeating each of the Meisters and Demon Weapons that were sensitive to it. Moans, and cries, agony echoed through the woods. A symphony of voices cried out, all in a dull, constant pain.

This was unique. Only a few select Meisters could utilize their Soul Perception so well that it acted as empathy. A few in each generation were even gifted with Perception so clear that they could tell a lie from a truth. These woods did not require such skills. Nadia, Dani, Adrian, Sara, and Eva were as open to the emotions and dread of this land as even Fredrick Stein with all of his gifts would be. This was a forest of pain. There was no question as to why it was named the Weeping Woods. It was undoubtedly a rare anomaly within the world, though not unheard of in general. Even Irina with her complete lack of sensitivity to the spiritual would could feel a lesser presence of dread in the area. It was, without a doubt, unmistakable.

More notable was what any of them might see if they used their Soul Perception. The fog was thick and impossible to see through, true, but there was one new feature. One seemingly impossible feature. Each tree within this ongoing forest had its own soul. Some pure, some corrupted, some a faint pink as if somewhere in-between. This was something only read about in books from Soul Studies classes. Theory, not practice. Plants with souls, either naturally or embedded, and this faint pink that existed as some middle ground between pure and corrupt. Everything about this mission was off even before this, but what they saw and felt in front of them now took it to an entirely different level.

"I wonder..." Irina mentioned, barely audible. She peered at the forest, placed her hand on the tree and only then could she feel the same pain and agony that the group could from their distance. "It couldn't be..." she continued to mutter, unsure of herself. Despite the feelings that flowed through her, she was stoic in her reactions. Curiosity was what ran through her veins. She couldn't be sure. She couldn't sense souls like the others. But, there were so very few things in this world that could do this.

 

[The Regal Rper]

• Gauss & Co.
• Midori/Elly

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  Ileana & Alvilda| Hiking Trails, Romania

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  The idea of Midori splitting off with Elly, wasn’t a bad idea, but in her opinion- it wasn’t the wisest idea either. Splitting up in this kind of situation wasn't ideal. She couldn’t provide anymore information on the Enforcer however, more than she already had but if the Weapon and his partner felt they were better off alone for their search, then she had no reason to question it. If they intended on splitting off, then the easiest method of doing so was either heading to the cell tower she knew of, or following the invitation.
  
  
  The lack of response from the others was sign enough the group was in agreement or consensus to the idea of going after the hostages at least.
  
  " If the hostages are what you ordain for then let's get going immediately En route there, if you change your minds there is another tower around the path to Calimani that we could liberate.." Vilda took that as her cue and moved towards the exit, arm no longer transformed into its Weapon state.
  
  With no objections the group made their exit out of the Shwn Inn.
  
  The halls were empty but that might have been more to the fact not many were presently checked in. As they exited, the employee that had initially checked them, was nowhere to be seen, replaced by another worker, who as the group made their way out, she picked up the list of papers she was looking through and without saying a farewell moved to the backroom behind the check-in desk.
  
  Outside, as Elly and the rest by extension could note, the Priest and the gathered small band of Vampires were gone. Not even Elly with her large of some 300ft range could detect them in the present moment, just a variety of average citizenry going about their day. The hustle and bustle of when they had come in had died down somewhat. There were cars moving along the roads and a few people walking around.
  
  The Priest had barged in like they owned the place. A group of bloodsuckers had been standing around here moments before ready to do something malicious against them, and just as quickly as those variables had appeared they had disappeared returning everything to normal.
  
  What made it surreal was that most of the people in this village were somewhat aware of it, and they still went about their day, acting as if nothing had happened at all. Not even the clerk at the check in just now had appeared scared as far as Elly could detect. Overtly cautious and wary as the group had left but fear, it was the lesser feeling the Irishman might have picked up.
  
  As long as they didn't upset their overlord they had nothing to fear.
  
  Ileana had noticed it too but she didn't comment. She didn't speak at all really now, not because she had nothing to say but because she didn't much feel like it at the moment. There were things revealed here in a few minutes she hadn't known and now it played on her mind as she reassessed if there was anything she had missed that might help the group onwards. Though even as the blond thought about it, she couldn't drum up any information. And neither could her partner. No stone unturned and yet information had been well kept. It was impressive, and disturbing at how good of a hold Alina had been able to tighten the flow of information.
  
  The group garnered two taxis from the inn after a short walk. Where a group of parked Uber drivers smoked or drank before noticing the approaching potential customers. None one of which were enthralled, bloodsuckers or to Elly or anyone's eyes held hidden malicious intent.
  
  One of them, an older man with a graying fuzz of whiskers and slicked back black hair however did say something in Romania to a younger looking male, probably Midori's age, who smiled.
  
  Ileana approached, and as she did the two drivers called out something in a question. She replied back with what could be said, "yes", and spoke to them quickly in Romanian. The only clear thing understood was that she stated that the group was going somewhere.
  
  The older man laughed while the younger glanced at the others. "Tourists," he sighed in heavily accented English. And the tone he said it with sounded thick with annoyance.
  
  Should the group be unwilling to trust a local set of drivers to go up the hill, then the option to buy a vehicle or two was still present to them.
  
  While Ileana exchanged words with the two drivers, it was possible to infer that she was either negotiating or bickering with them on a deal. The older man laughed again as she said something and Alvilda, the redhead light brown partner of the investigator frowned. She only knew some Romanian but it was clear they were taking pokes at the others here. It provided a window for the group to decide at least for only a couple seconds before the blond investigator spoke up to them.
  
  " He says they can't take us the full route to our destination, but he can take us halfway. None of the drivers here will bother to take any of us the full way if we insist. There is a hiking path we can use though," she turned her head to ask a question to the two drivers.
  
  One yelled something at the other drivers conversing behind them further out. Someone replied. The young male driver parroted it.
  
  " It will take us fifteen to thirty minutes by foot depending on our experience hiking if we go halfway with them and then go the rest of the way on trail. Not long if you ask me since we will cut the trip in half. The normal hike is a bit over an hour or so from what the older man said. It is up to you how we proceed though."
  
  Whether the group went with the drivers or decided to spend money to drive themselves, something Alvilda and Ileana would advise against but would not stop if the group insisted, in short order the team would be on the road shortly.
  
  

  ---

  
  Whether driven or driving, a Road Blocked sign barred the path.. The drivers, according to Ileana before they got into their respective vehicles, had warned in either case they decided to leave Deda, that some roads were blocked- others were not good to travel on. Whether that was because of threat of violence or because of just terrible road paths given these hill terrains, it ultimately did not matter.
  
  The group split, Gauss and others going a different path from Elly and Midori.
  
  The sun laughed, its smile shining down as relentless as the passing chilly windy breeze.
  
  Ileana, Alvilda, Gauss, Noah, Arkaysis, and Annika, facing this barred path, were either pointed in the direction of the trail through signs nearby, or were driven by the drivers themselves to a close route that took them into the trail that would get them into Calimani.
  
  The path here was guided by a wall of what appeared to be rock that made up some of the hiking trail. The group moved up the trail, like a circular staircase, curving around this wall before they reached somewhat level ground. Vegetation here stuck out like a sore thumb along the gravel and occasional large rock that marked paths here and there. Yet at the same time, distant buildings sat far away, eastwards, for hikers to view past thin trees that sprouted along the area and faded the higher they went. Farmlands sat alone with trails that disappeared over slopes, leading possibly into these paths. Old abandoned churches, weathered by time; a headless statue of a striking female or male figure, chipped and broken.
  
  An old statue of a hunched over figure, with only one word that Ileana could read that translated to Witch, the rest unreadable from time.
  
  Wolves sat a distance away watching the group pass, something Alvilda noticed, but the pack leader of the five wolves didn’t bother coming down from his higher ground to bother the Agents. A minute of walking later they came across a map at checkpoints in the trail detailing where they were, and it was through that they moved through the path on steps up over a minor slope towards Calimani’s guaranteed route.
  
  As they moved back down into the path and crossed the gravel trail, the distant image of a castle ahead made it to their eyes, sitting further up on the mountain. A sign, as they moved closer, said: Calimani, straight ahead on this path- as Ileana translated.
  
  They kept moving, a good twelve minutes on foot so far and making progress. Without Elly here there was no way to tell if enemies lingered about further out, but Ileana had already said priorly that Calimani was said to be the most tightlocked. It was likely there would be enemies everywhere, whether they knew it or not.
  
  Then, Alvilda stopped abruptly.
  
  Her golden eyes narrowed, red buns bouncing as she turned her head sharply looking around. Her partner paused.
  
  “ What?”
  
  The hiking trail had been silent for most of the time. Aside from the stray bird that would scream out or call to its flock, aside from the occasional wild life, a badger or other animal moving about.
  
  From behind a massive slab of stone, a Roe deer jumped out and took off diagonally to the group a distance away at a rapid dash.
  
  Ileana chuckled. Patting her partner gently on the shoulder. She said something in German and her friend rolled her eyes.
  
  “ False alarm.”
  
  And so they kept going. That was until, eight minutes of walking, just as they made it into a curving path that would reunite them with one of the main entry points into Calimani village itself, the castle ahead now much closer, Alvilda stopped abruptly.
  
  “ Do you hear that?” She asked.
  
  Everyone went silent.
  
  They heard nothing. There was nothing happening. Was it nerves or had the talk with Lord Death shaken her up somewhat given the pregnant pause after Midori had made that note about their less than great methods.
  
  They stood on the steps of a slope that led into another gravelly dirt path, where along the right and left sides, slanted walls of rock, trees, and shrubs crafted the curving road they would take to make it into Calimani.
  
  It seemed for a moment that Alvilda was just hearing things, like how she’d mistaken the deer for something else.
  
  Then her eyes locked onto something- and she yanked on Ileana’s arm, saying one word: “Run!”
  
  There was a loud crash from above, as a boulder came hurtling down, dislodging dirt, trees and branches, it crashed several feet away from the group and rolled slowly towards them.
  
  It was not the only thing that came crashing down.
  
  Branches, dirt, pebbles, stone, they followed on either side of the group, coming directly down in the center of their path, rolling or bouncing to block their route or rolling and bouncing towards them.
  
  Alvilda transformed, suddenly, and Ileana grabbed her partner, aimed the Weapon at a tree that had been ripped from its roots by a passing boulder, hurtling towards them, and fired.
  
  There was a hiss of air and ozone- and the barrel of the Weapon Gun opened fire in three successive shots, releasing three concentrated balls of electricity. They struck the tree- and vaporized it into ash.
  
  The rockslide however wasn’t perturbed. It did not care if one tree out of the few it uprooted were vaporized. The rocks and stones, dirt and logs, branches and twigs, rained- pushed along by passing chilly wind.
  
  All while the smiling sun laughed, mockingly, at the Agents as they now ran for their lives.
  
  

  
  
  Mentions: n/a
  
  Interactions:: Merciless Medic Sir Les Paul EmperorsChosen Peckinou
  
  
  
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  Enforcer | Forest, Trail Outskirts, Romania

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  The Priest was good.
  
  He’d listened to everything he had reported silently after he’d been summoned per the necessary steps he had informed the Princess, or Baroness as she chose to stick to. A good distance far out of Elly’s immediate reach, within another building and most of the talking had been done by the Priest. His Perception out of the few they had gathered that had a proclivity to the spiritual nature of the world, was well honed. Most that didn’t go into DWMA, follow a path of developing a business with the added asset of their ‘extraordinary’ feats, did not bother training that capability. There were a lot of humans around the world really, that had the potential to be a Meister or Weapon, who simply chose not to. Not a significant quantity as a whole, but a definite boost to DWMA’s own numbers.
  
  He couldn’t blame them though. This wasn’t the life for everyone.
  
  The Priest had taken the time to cultivate this skill, and even though he didn’t know him before all of this began- he had to say, the Baroness was smart for keeping him and positioning him above her servants.
  
  Just as she was smart for making him an ally rather than an enemy. Especially with how he’d been greeted upon visiting a place that brought back happier memories.
  
  She was smart in a lot of ways, just not the largest ways it counted. Another life, another time, different Bloodsucker…he might have tried harder- but she was beyond that point.
  
  Yet he could not doubt her skill. If she had the power and the backup, he was sure that systematically taking over an actual city could have been possible for her. It was an old technique used a long time ago. She was skilled- and though she mentioned very few of her alliance, they sorely seemed to gloss over that facet. Taking over villages like this was impressive, just not compared to conquering a whole major city.
  
  He’d asked her why she stopped here, and her reply made sense.
  
  She wouldn’t push her luck too far without certainty.
  
  And he believed the certainty involved him. Or perhaps it involved the DWMA.
  
  He watched from above, seeing hundreds of moving people as he floated like smoke over the Deda Commune, searching aimlessly. The people here relied on the channels here for fish, but this area was beyond his domain. He wasn’t their god, even if a small few in one village or another said the Enforcer would keep the worst of what their new master might have in store for them at bay. It was misfortune and chance he happened to come across the worst of what had been happening here in these villages as it had been happening and what little empathy he still had, had decided to make him feel indebted to an old friend long gone, that he’d once known used to roam the grassy plains here more than a few years ago.
  
  Ruminating over what he had learned, Zulal considered his next moves.
  
  The group had divided. Splintering off with just two while the rest took the trails. It was in all honesty, quite idiotic, when he’d been told it initially. Confusion had settled for a brief moment. Then as he’d left the Priest’ side he began thinking about all he’d been told.
  
  Elly had what the Priest called an ‘Imperceptible Soul’. It was distorted, scrambled, and the wavelength though stable, not like the one case of more volatile wavelengths he’d seen in his time. From what he understood based on how the Priest explained it, her soul was hard to read- which if it did that through clear Perception face-to-face, then that meant his Demon Tool glasses would be useless. He wasn’t a Perceptionist, couldn’t get that sixth sense for Spiritual presence unless it manifested with enough force like a flare or flashbang.
  
  Elly and Midori were clearly paired partners. It wasn’t hard to figure out. Their group had come to some kind of agreement. Comms were down, so communication was not guaranteed. There was a plan here.
  
  Unlike the servants and unlike the Baroness, his experience with the DWMA had not started with him on the opposite side. That was long before Kidd had taken over though.
  
  Whatever the plan the group had, the Enforcer did not believe for a minute that Elly or Midori had fled. He’d found it odd they chose to split off, but now that he had considered the fact of the entire group having specialized souls and wavelengths he pondered what it might mean for Elly and Midori.
  
  Going alone meant getting found easily. A long fight was not what they wanted, they’d be killed.
  
  And since he already knew that Elly’s odd soul would make it difficult to perceive, even with Midori’s spiritual description given, he knew now that there was only one real way to see if they were still present. If they all had odd souls and wavelengths, then they all must possess unique abilities.
  
  He’d wait five minutes. And if they didn’t show up, he’d return to Calimani.
  
  Like smoke carried by the breeze, he positioned himself in the forest not far from the hiking trails itself, a greater distance away from where he knew Gauss and company would be moving through.
  
  For a moment he vanished into the water of a river and then once he re-emerged, dripping wet and stepped back onto solid ground, in his hand he carried two vials. He took a seat on a protruding smooth stone from the ground and looked down at the two cylindrical vials in his wet hands.
  
  The vials glowed a pale yellow, and the pale blue souls off the unfortunate innocent inside, thumped- pulsing. “ Don’t worry you two. Your time is almost up.” He said softly to the souls of the dead. The souls pulsed again, and this time, they released a burst of bottled up energy with the containment spell undone.
  
  Those souls should have struck Elly like a slap. Sudden and sharp. Midori might have sensed it partially, but it would have escaped him far faster than it would Elly.
  
  
  The location drew them to the woods away from the trails.
  
  
  

  
  
  Mentions: n/a
  
  Interactions: Sir Les Paul EmperorsChosen
  
  
  
  

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Arkayis Misonuka
Rank Fate Agent

Location Romania, Hiking Trails, wherever tf Regal took us
Mission A Bloody Investigation
Status Focused

​

Tags: RedArmyShogun The Regal Rper Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen Mook-LandStrider

Where did they go to school? The Prometheus school of running away from things? They were DWMA Agents, not hikers. One boulder and a few pebbles was hardly a threat. The only justification he could think of for that reaction was her obvious position as a Gun Meister. She must have grown complacent in her own strength, only confident in what she could vaporize with those electrified blasts.

"Transform," Gauss said, his tone calm and his nerves steeled. He saw a much simpler solution to this problem. With both Noah and Arkayis in his hands, Gauss shot his wavelength through both of them and in turn amplified himself to the best of what he could muster in such a short time. It wasn't resonance, but he didn't think it needed to be. Not for what he had in mind.

Gauss did not run away from the rockslide, but instead ran into it, leaping through the debris and specifically targeting the largest boulder that bounced down at them. The one that caused it all. 'Arkayis, heat your blade,' he instructed his scythe partner. With Arkayis' blade end now red-hot, Gauss timed his next jump as the boulder made contact with the ground and slammed the Arkayis into it. As a result, Arkayis burned his way into the boulder, embedding himself into it, and now Gauss used every ounce of combined strength he had to halt the boulder in place, ending both its momentum and keeping it in place. It was no small feat given the sheer heft of the boulder and its momentum, but he had a plan that would make use of his weapons. With Arkayis embedded into the boulder, he slammed the butt end of the scythe into the ground, then leaned onto him, standing on Arkayis like a lever and using Noah to pressed against the boulder horizontally for more grip without smashing his fingers. As a result, he remained in contact with all of his weapons, and in turn the three continued to compliment the strength of each other.

With the boulder successfully lodged in place, Gauss glanced over to the girls behind him. "Hide behind the boulder," he shouted at them. Of course, he didn't just do this to show off. He felt something unnatural about this occurrence. A random boulder out of nowhere? While hiking? In this area? It felt like a trap. As if they were being herded to somewhere or in some direction. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he didn't intend on letting the group become lambs to the slaughter.

Instead, once this rockslide passed and the debris finished their course, he intended to follow their path and scout out the area, searching for traps or an ambush, and hopefully getting the drop on whoever or whatever might have been laying in wait.

Gauss wasn't a follower. He was going to make this harder for everyone involved.

'Sidenote: Noah, see if you can get the gun-chick to teach you that vaporizing thing before we leave,' he mentioned internally, only half-joking when he made the comment. He wasn't sure if that was a ranged weapon ability, but he thought it was cool as hell.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Eloise Keegan - Romania
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

So it was decided upon. One team would proceed forward and Elly and Midori would veer off to feign a retreat in order to keep watch for the Enforcer. While one may think it was less advantageous, as Noah had, Midori was right. They, soul-wise, and in Midori's case in every other regard as well, the stealthiest. Plus, there was no sneaking up on them. If anyone or anything approached them, it would be obvious.

Honestly, Elly felt safer this way than trouncing about through through the territory.

"So, now that you have me all to yourself, any clue what a frog man is?" She asked, already training her eyes on their surroundings. Elly watched as the familiar spirits of her allies grew further and further from them before focusing her sights elsewhere.

However, while enjoying her moment of respite, it was unfortunately short-lived. It may have been more subtle to others, but to Elly it was akin to a firecracker or a flare being shot. Her eyes tuned in, her posture straightened, and her mouth dipped to a small frown. Two human souls appeared as if from nowhere, and now that Elly had zoned in on that spot, there was something else there as well.

"That can't be a coincidence..." Elly mused with a sigh. They knew of her abilities, so the sudden appearance of this immediately struck her as a lure. "Two human souls and... magic.... of some kind. Perhaps frog man was meant in a rather literal sense... Are there magic frogs like their are magic cats?"

Elly didn't quite like the idea of trudging into the woods after a "frog man". Truthfully, she didn't even know this was him. However, it was that or another thrall, magician, or bloodsucker, and since that direction was in a contradictory direction to the she-bloodsucker's estate, it made more sense that it was the independent enforcer. Surely the woman would keep all her thralls focused on tackling the main assault party and defending her.

"Bow, if you would," She requested before making her way toward the direction of the magical area.

The Regal Rper Sir Les Paul

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - Valaam Island, Russia

​

As the cat led them to the location, Nadia upheld her end of the deal, or rather made no attempt to neither stop nor harm the likely monster cat as she left. Hopefully when they met again it would not be as enemies. She doubted they would see one another again, as did the cat more likely than not. Though for very different reasons.

This forest put her on edge much like it had the rest... What had happened here? "Watch your surroundings. Keep together." With Dani still in hand Nadia took in the landscape before them, the fog, the sudden changes, and dipped into Soul Perception. An enemy could be anywhere and everywhere in this situation, and what she seen, it did not make it all better. Not at all. While her soul perception was not remotely great as Elly's she was no slouch herself in that right. Clenching her jaw a bit, this was a theoretical exercise, something that could be possilbe.

"Souls are in the trees... If they are born of this cursed forest or if they were taken from others, that I cannot say." She says aloud, chiefly for Irina, with another word that was unmistakably aimed at her. "Hands off for right now, they might bite..." To the rest she continued.

"We've made a grave or great discovery, depending on how you wish to see it. In fact it could be a threat we are hard pressed to deal with. But at the same time, it unsettles me and says, should we leave here and now, something far graver will be here for the next team. We must push onwards till we have firm answers or can... normalize this area to some extent." While she didn't wish to voice it here or now, Nadia was wondering if the old tales of the Fae were true and that the doorway was partially held open. Dealing with the Leshy was now a priority, till the enemy proved too great, then it would be a challenge. Reaching into one of her pockets, Nadia pulled out a book and started to mark letters and keywords, scratching under them with her nail, while it would damage the book, it was of importance that record be kept of what they found, using one hand for this was awkward, but she wasn't about to let go of Dani.

It also occurred to her to do one other thing. "See if we can communicate with the DWMA or at least the Island airfield. Report what we have found, though I would hazard it will not work, such is the nature of these things." Hopefully nothing would muddle her words, if they did she would just need to physically yank them.

Interactions: Sir Les Paul Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen Mook-LandStrider

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Midori☆Hoshi​

"Dark Star"​

Species Death Golem
Partner Eloise Keegan
Rank Two-Star

Location Romania, Deda Commune, The Shwn Inn
Mission A Bloody Investigation
Status Frustrated

​

Tags: RedArmyShogun The Regal Rper EmperorsChosen

There was a serious juxtaposition in how Midori approached the mission once he separated from the main group. In fact, it occurred before they even left. When Midori expressed his desire to transition to a more covert mission, he hadn't quite outlined to what extent he meant that, even to Elly. It might have been a slight flaw in that he had never taught her the basics of what it meant for him to be in deep cover, but she would learn fairly quick. It all started before they even left the inn. Midori scouted out the rooms and other patrons to find a suitable donor for a change of clothes. As beautiful as he would admit Elly was, she stood out. Her clothing, her demeanor, her hair--unfortunately. He wanted her to blend in.

Not that Romanian clothes were strictly traditional, but there definitely was a flair to their style. What he found was an embellished, loose-fitting, long-sleeve white top, a small black vest that went over it, longer skirt, and oversized black headwrap adorned with plastic-looking fake flowers. The entire theme was a type of sewn-in floral look patterned in red and gold, particularly on the skirt and vest, that all blended together fairly seamlessly. It wasn't as flashy as some of the nicer ones they had seen on the streets, but it didn't need to be. It was more than enough to blend into the street crowd.

Problem is, it didn't have any sufficient spot to hide his short sword form. He would have preferred to transform and hide on her person, but such wasn't an option. Luckily, thieving another outfit wasn't difficult. His new wardrobe included a black hat with a leather band around it, mostly round and traditional. He didn't know the word to describe its style, nor did he care. He didn't precisely like the look of the outfit on him either. Mostly stained whites with an over-sized tan vest and a much simpler pattern. Elly definitely pulled off her new look better than he.

Though, why wouldn't she?

Granted, he wouldn't mind pulling it off her, but after the deadly mission--he had more sense than that idiot Thales.

"I've hunted many things. A deadly salamander, on the list of amphibians, but never a frog-man..." Midori answered her. He too was scanning the environment, looking out for threats and assessing the locals he was now trying to emulate, working to adjust his gait and body language to match what was around him as best he could. In truth, it was an awkward setup he couldn't wait to ditch. Not only that, his Asian features would give away his ethnicity in a heartbeat.

Midori was not nearly as sensitive as Elly. He could barely make out the spiritual presence of the souls that were released. Instead, what drew his attention was the flare of magic that seemed to come from it. Something was up. Elly only confirmed it for him later.

"Mm, maybe," Midori explained, "Monster Cats aren't exactly a unique species. Kirin, Kitsune, Tanuki--even the Yatagarasu are all species of Magical Creatures from Japan, each of which can have a human form, too... it's not a long-stretch to think this may be some type of Magical Creature either transformed or humanoid in nature."

"There are plenty of species I know nothing about, and we're right in the part of Europe that I'm less familiar with. Chances are, it'll have some odd-but-limited magical abilities and be stronger than a regular human, probably even the weaker Bloodsuckers... better question is what the Hell is it doing with the Bloodsuckers," Midori commented, adding some more of his insights into the mix. Truth was, this part of the world wasn't his specialty. The ice queen would have been better suited for that.

The direction was opposite to their allies. He doubted that was a coincidence. Once they started in their way, he was quick to comply with Elly, but not so quick to stop giving some advice.

'We're out radio range without the satellite uplink. Since we can't tell the others where we are, we'll want to proceed with more caution. Can you stick to the trees out of sight? Quietly, hopefully,' he asked her. Serious, but nonetheless, an annoying backseat driver of a weapon. He did more than make up for it with his raw skill in wavelength regulation, however. His ability to suppress her soul from within her all but made her as undetectable as he naturally was, and what little glimmer was present was only further obscured by her own soul type. Had she layered her own suppression on top of it, she would in fact be as difficult to detect as Midori himself. Beyond that, though, having a weapon so skilled with regulating the wavelength of its Meister provided Elly a myriad of benefits that only Sara was privy to up to this point, including the natural boost to her base abilities. That perception she used so effortlessly now extended even further in range with minimal effort. Until she used her other abilities, just how useful Midori was wouldn't be entirely clear, but the pros hopefully outweighed the cons of his constant input.

 

[Mook-LandStrider]

Annika
Romania, Hiking Trails
RedArmyShogun Peckinou Sir Les Paul Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen The Regal Rper
​

The argument was definitely something she could do without. She didn’t have a whole lot of input to give and thought it was somewhat pointless. Tuning much of it out she turned instead to her outfit and her equipment. She hadn’t expected to run into vampires and as such didn’t have a kit designed around countering them. She had items, she had quite a few specifically fire based items but much of that was back in death city.

Still, what all she had on her needed configuring and preparing. It seemed with the confirmation of the woman's identity and following information that they would be fighting after all. With the back and forth more or less finished Annika began to take inventory. Taking items from her bag she began to slip them into hidden pockets and containers built into her outfit.

The final piece of kit slipped onto her hands, the surface of the entire glove coated with hundreds of shiny black objects. Finishing up her equipment check she looked to the others “Liberate, that's a cute way of putting it.” Annika spoke up. Moving towards the exit she slid the covers over her weapons and reset their position on her back. Fabric shifting they camouflage themselves once more.

On their way out Annika locked eyes with the woman behind the counter. The change of individuals made her unsettled. Biting her lip she kept herself from saying anything as the woman disappeared into the back. “Like an old western movie. The plebs scatter as the duelists come out to face death.” She finally spoke up as they came outside.

Looking around Annika had a hand on one of her grenades, her thumb resting on the pressed down activation rune. Following the rest of her group she traveled with them for some time towards their object. Eventually stopping they continued on foot. The hike was something she actually enjoyed. Being out and away from ‘normal’ society was somewhat refreshing. She hadn’t had an opportunity in quite awhile.

The peace was shattered suddenly, the noise of a landslide followed by the arrival of the material made the whole situation go tits up immediately. Watching the other two react quickly Annika seemed focused on them and didn't have the time to draw on the object heading her way. Reacting on instinct she chopped at the air in a sort of panic response. As unexpected as it was, the gloves did the job they needed to. Pushing her wavelength into the gloves her hand passed through the stump causing it to break apart. The smaller part of the stump ended up hitting her in the side but the pain was relatively small compared to what could have hit her.

Hearing Gauss’s voice she quickly made her way into cover behind the boulder, having to duck and weave her way through. Ending up behind the boulder she let out a slight sigh “Always something.” She commented as it passed. Looking to Gauss she raised an eye brow "Wow, pretty impressive." Annika said giving Gauss a playful nudge.

With the landslide now behind them Annika emerged from behind the boulder and pulled her hood up. “I can scout ahead if need be. My outfit is combat ready, the nightclub proved the concept is a viable one.” She voiced.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

~~~Mountain Path to Calimani~~~
​

As the grouping made its way up the mountain trail to Calimani Village and defended against the landslide, a laugh echoed from up ahead, joined in by a few others. Figures unveiled themselves. Upon moving from the boulder and looking at the source if the team knew it or not, were five of the Mercenaries. Turned into thralls, as well as seven lesser thralls coming up at the flanks, they were armed with firearms of various sorts and were starting to take aim as a few token undead, two lesser vampires and what seemed to be a number of zombies bringing themselves up from the distance behind them. More than a couple of these undead in police uniforms, the Priest at the head of them all with a battle axe resting upon his right shoulder, matching hand on the handle speaks out to the group, wearing tactical material.

"You came too early. We've been requested to play with you all for now. I'm afraid we can't put on as good of a show as before, but we have a job to do. Though wish you came in closer."

And with that the pairs to his side a single member of each shifted form, one into a crossbow, the other into a morning star. They could not be taken lightly, but they should not pose too much of a problem, it was the gunners moving even now to the flanks that were the main cause of concern as the Preist fortified his own body and engaged his own wavelength, it seemed his own was heat based as his axe, thankfully a normal one, buried itself into the boulder as he zipped in and caused it to fragment and burst in short order, showering the area in fragments.

To the left the Crossbowman aimed for the Agent and the morning star rushed in and snap swung the spiked ball aimed for Annika and the axe wielding priest continued his strike, aiming to bring the axe across where Gauss's head was. Even if the man knew he could not win, he was bound by contract and pact to obey these commands, and he would do his best. Fortunately the Mercenary Survivors efforts also bought time as the gun armed lesser thralls take aim to the sides, waiting for a clear shot...

Merciless Medic Sir Les Paul Mook-LandStrider Peckinou

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer - Scorpion Cavern​

With all the talk of sliding down, care for the dolls and aid in lowering them, she smiled thinly and told Raph; "Do not worry, this is not the first time I've met the scorpions. Though we didn't stay long so much one of us fell in..." With that she ran a command line to her medium doll and gave it instructions, having it grab the two smaller ones and the trio slid down the tunnel. "Is this very wise?" She called down as she joined them soon there after. Dusting her dress at the back, she soon former her own magelight, the improved version. A short walk later and somewhat amused Maria took note of the newcomers, they seemed less than pleased and Rand was quick to give orders, some of which she remarked on;

"Hmm... Scorpions do breathe through their exoskeleton if I'm not right, if we brought air masks and tanks we could just kill them all so easily... But ah, that would kill the agents... We would fail if we did that, unfortunate..."

Eying up a segment of the tunnels leading to them on the right, Maria deploys her creations as the two lancers dive into the fray, stabbing and tearing through the first few in her path as another got close, with one motion she twirled away and intwined the spare wires around the pincers on the right side as her medium doll came through with a crashing BOOM as it shoulder checked the beast and ran it through with its twin blades.

"Ah, a little too close, but my hands are full. I shall watch the Right, but someone please watch the rest. Should my smaller dear dolls fall, then I will dance with blades of my own, but that is later, here is now! Ahahaha!" With a look of glee across her face Maria seemed to enjoy watching her creations ripping through what narrow portion of the swarm she could direct them at. Tracking the agents or whatever else could be left to the rest.

Merciless Medic The Regal Rper Sir Les Paul

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Arkayis Misonuka
Rank Fate Agent

Location Romania, Hiking Trails
Mission A Bloody Investigation
Status Focused

​

Tags: RedArmyShogun The Regal Rper Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen Mook-LandStrider

'Noah, we're gonna give them the same treatment we did the thugs,' Gauss said, planning out precisely how he wanted to deal with this encounter. Virtually all of the weapons he could feel around them had some type of metallic component. The crossbow itself would fire bolts of wavelength given it was a Demon Weapon, but that didn't really matter if it was flung out of the hands of its Meister. Even if they were strong enough to keep hold, they certainly wouldn't be able to aim. That was his rationale, at least.

Gauss had no intention of just hearing out this priest. Well before his speech was completed and the small band of thralls and lessers surrounded them, Gauss was charging his wavelength and pouring it into Noah. He intended to Resonate, though not in the most offensive manner. With Arkayis held behind his hips and out of the way, he extended Noah in front of him and began spinning him atop his finger like a propeller, utilizing the same technique he normally did for their resonance. This time, it was all about his magnetic wavelength. Noah spun and spun, creating a vacuum that pulled in air and a shower of sparks that shot out from his rotation. This tempest turbine of resonance amplified their combined power several times over.

Then they planted a massive magnetic field amidst the center of their opponents. It served a single goal. To rip everything ferromagnetic away from their owners and pull it straight into the core of the field. The closer each foe was, the stronger the field. Even at its outskirts, however, the pull would prove strong enough to throw off any attempt at aiming. More importantly, Gauss had learned a few strategical tricks in his time training with agents above his rank. One of them would demonstrate itself here: variability. Through Noah, he began channeling spikes into the magnetic field, causing it to grow and wane in strength at what he considered random intervals with the goal of further throwing off any individual that might have tried to resist or aim an an attack through the field.

If he couldn't rip every weapon away from his opponents, he would at least make them nigh-impossible to use.

"Annika," he said, his voice slightly strained as he maintained Resonance between himself and his partner, "eliminate them. Kill the priest and bloodsuckers, incapacitate the thralls if you can." His instructions came through a grated voice, but remained clear. He wanted to stick to the plan of minimizing thrall-casualties, though in truth he didn't care if that wasn't viable. Annika could cut through just about everything in front of them while he caused chaos amongst their ranks. "Leave any metal behind. Once you're in range, I can't select who or what gets affected," he added, making sure she was aware of the limitations. He hoped she had something on her suitable. If not, then they most certainly would need to invest in some ceramics for situations exactly like this.

 

[The Regal Rper]

Ark | Mojave Desert | Rings: 3/3

The addition Rand’s spell had created only made Ark believe he had to learn Magic Circles even more to refine his skills. The way it shaped his all-expanding Seismic Sense was not what he’d entirely expected when passing it through the circle.

Seeing the cave his Seismic Sense had managed to pick up, he frowned internally. He already knew his magic would be limited here. He couldn’t reshape the whole structure of a cave like this, just from how far he’d been able to pick up alone, he neither had the magic to pull that off or the ability to do it in the first place.

Rand went first, Maria went along with her dolls, and Ark followed after Raph, already crafting the spell for his Magelight before Rand had even said it. Honestly, it was as if convenience had made this unfortunate timing. Learning the magelight and then using it for this very mission the following day.

Although given the confined space, using flames wouldn’t have been an option.

Tiny details made themselves noticeable but Ark ignored them. As Rand found, life teemed, here, there, everywhere- especially underground. The annoying thing Ark found about this was how Ark could detect every small insect, every tiny bug.

It was when they entered the chamber, or rather before they had- Ark paused, sensing something off just before the magelights triggered a reaction wave of scorpions.

Rand’s warning was already in mind. Using those types of spells in this space would be devastating. Feeling the vibrations from the shift of Rand’s initial attack as Maria launched her own assault, and Raph prepared his own response, Ark grimaced.

Only so much I can actually do here. It was a shame really. Tight spaces and confinements like this were indeed his enemy. That however wasn’t the only thing he could do. Support, after all, had been his main role backing his old team.

Runes on his gloved glowed, and to fix the shift Rand’s initial attack cause, Ark reached outwards with both arms on either side of him towards the walls, legs spread the same distance, hands wide open, and made a grabbing motion with a twist.

Remaining falling bits of sand or detritus ceased, the subtle crackling around silenced, and places that had shifted- snapped back into their correct position with a snapping pop.

Ark used Seismic Sense, pinpointing Maria, her dolls, and the location of his teammates- then he said aloud-- “ I’m going to limit what I do here mainly to fixing damages. Any damages that occur, I’ll patch up as quickly as I can.”

He dropped both his arms and stepped slightly forward, with an upward motion of his hand, needle like thorns shot out of the ground- thin, long ones about the length of 2ft, each one spearing into a scorpion from below.. They stayed for only a few seconds, before Ark shrugged- and in the same instant the spikes broke down, dropping the kills, and collapsing into rubbled that he drew back together with one gloved grab and fist clench.

Attacking too much wouldn’t do any favors on his mana reserves, he reminded himself as he felt the brief sense of tension in his shoulders. It had been a mistake going a bit overboard with his weapons. At least this place held enough space for him and Raph not to have to crouch.

Mentions: n/a

Interactions:: Merciless Medic Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

Date: April 12, 2067
Location: Weeping Woods - Northeast Forest Line, Valaam, Republic of Karelia, Russia
Interactions: Nadia, Dani, Adrian, Eva, Irina
Mentions: N/A
Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Mook-LandStrider

Sara sighed in slight relief when Nadia finally relaxed her fury on Adrian. It was starting to get a bit uncomfortable and the tension - at least for herself - was feeling a bit awkward. It was nice to know Nadia wouldn’t throw them away so heartlessly. Thankfully, the topic moved on to what the Leshy was capable of. Even as Eva used her ability, Sara had doubts if it would even work on auditory commands.

Setting up some simple hand signs would be great. Thankfully, there were a few she was taught during her time in EAT as one of her instructors had ties to the military and she learned some of those hand signs. However, especially now, her memory was a bit rusty and she likely messed up on maybe all the hand signs she knew when she tried showing off to Nadia during their walk.

Speaking of, she was very glad the lynx came back to show them to the Weeping Woods.

As they got closer, Sara felt a chill run through her entire body. No wonder why every animal here didn’t want to enter. “It feels like it’s trying to ward me away with feeling alone… I can only imagine what it would feel like for the animals who tried getting near…” She spoke more so to alert everyone what she was feeling, as well as to steel her resolve and fill the anxiety-inducing silence. The trees, as orderly as they were, spooked her. No forest was ever like this, unless the trees were planted for this intention. She doubted they were planted by human hands.

The uncanny forest was made even worse as she couldn’t just smell with her nose anything to identify where anything was. She felt like she was walking through a cemetery with the way everything felt; a sudden need to be reverent overcame her. She held Eva close to her, trying to calm herself so Eva could feel like everything was going to be okay, but still keeping close to Nadia as she was told. Eventually, she would find herself getting close to a few of these trees, but always returned back to Nadia’s side to avoid getting separated again.

Still, even with their minimal connection, Eva likely felt the despair, the existential dread, and the sympathy spawned by hopelessness. Her eyes misted up at the sheer emotional turmoil she felt permeating all around them.

She felt something odd and while she didn’t have great ocular soul perception, she could at least see the dense, impermeable fog and - as she got closer - the light of a soul within the tree. It was unmistakable, even if it was blurry to her. Pink. She spotted blue and red in some of these trees as she got close to investigate - but not too close to touch. So, why were they pink? Was that something new, or was it something like she saw in Sorcerer souls, being an indigo that was between the normal human blue and the purple witch color? But better yet…

Why did these trees have these souls? Was it the souls that were causing the fog? The dread did feel like it was emanating from them, but she doubted they created this foggy barrier.

Nadia spoke, and it made her concerned. Born here? Taken here? Did it even matter now? And when she said this may be a great discovery, Sara paused to look up at her. How could it be anything more than grave? Maybe it was both, but the emotions she felt here couldn’t make her think anything “great” about this. “Does the Leshy keep trophies?” It was a behavior she had seen before in other creatures, even those among her own people. Taking trophies by keeping a memento of the animal you killed - whether it be your first time hunting in general or that of their particular species - was a common way to show your strength and capability. It was a way to show your growing skill to your friends and enemies alike, and demoralize the latter from attacking you.

As she asked her question, she pulled out her Fate-Issued Magitech Communicator, slotting the earbud into her ear and calling Cyrus from the DWMA. Well, indirectly as it was one of the building’s many phones, but considering Cyrus did a desk job, he should be able to pick up if he was busy. If she was unable to connect due to any outside interference or something on his part, she would call the airfield.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Noah Wiley​

Date: April 12, 2067
Location: Hiking Trails, Romania
Interactions: Ileana, Alvilda, Gauss, Arkayis, Annika
Mentions: Midori, Elly
Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun The Regal Rper Mook-LandStrider EmperorsChosen Peckinou

Finally, they were leaving. Noah just had about enough in this goddamned inn, and his patience was running fairly thin. The travel there had been - thankfully - uneventful. Well, until they got onto the hiking trail. He noticed just how methodical Midori was in trying to keep Elly and himself hidden, making him chuckle but at least they put ten times - if not more - effort in blending in than Ileana and Alvilda.

It was when they were forced to walk through some hiking trails did Noah stuff his hands in his pockets and look about. It was a little too quiet for him, and with Elly and Midori gone, he didn’t feel at all safe. But he was just a Demon Weapon, his meister was the one he was worried for. But he trusted that Gauss had some way to get out of any situation they were in. It was then that a rockslide happened.

“Well, ain’t that convenient…” Noah tiredly mused, transforming to be wielded by Gauss and establishing and/or stabilizing a connection with him. He wondered why Ileana and Alvilda were running, making him roll his eyes. He watched as Gauss used both Arkayis and himself to stop the big boulder and turned it into a shield to prevent random bits of the hills’ pieces from throwing them down the path. His fascination with how quickly Gauss figured out how to stop a boulder that size was obviously felt, and Gauss’s own little internal mention had him snorting out of amusement.

‘Oh, that might require complex resonance, which’d take even longer for me to learn concernin’ that’s not somethin’ I know inherently, nor do I think I’m capable of it.’ He hummed in thought, then continued with a chuckle. ‘Then again, if I just zap somethin’ with enough energy, I'd theoretically be able to vaporize it… If it’re water. The thought of bein’ a rail gun as a staff like in that one game does interest me…’ Now he was getting ideas and he had to stop himself from idly imagining that.

Once Annika took refuge behind Gauss and waited out the landslide, they were able to move on. Though, once they tried getting back on the trail, they were stopped by that damned priest from earlier. Apparently, this priest had the ability to utilize wavelength, making him a meister. Before Gauss even told Noah what they were doing, Noah had already got the conclusion and began readying himself to take Gauss’s wavelength to then amplify so he may make a magnetic pull. ‘Already on it, bud.’ Once Gauss’s wavelength was pouring into him, Noah used it to establish a resonance between them before being propelled, which then had him surging with energy. However, even as he spun, the amount of electricity arcing off of him was minimal as he wasn’t intending on using his lightning in an offensive manner, but to bolster his magnetic pull to its intended strength.

As Gauss spoke to Annika, Noah also chimed in, speaking to her loud enough that she could hear but hopefully not loud enough for the priest to hear. “I won’t be firin’ any electricity either. Even if ya don’t have metal that’s magnetic, I don’t wanna accidentally zap ya. Not unless ya know a way to repel it ‘n’ use it to yer advantage.” The thought of that idea had him smiling. That wasn’t a bad idea.

That priest with the earth-shattering axe and trying to hit Gauss with it would hopefully fail. If not, he was wondering how Gauss was going to use Arkayis to stop the attack. He made his intention known that even if Gauss redirected the spin of his form elsewhere, he would still attempt to channel that energy in the same location so moving him wouldn’t cause an issue.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Raphael Valerias​

Date: April 12, 2067
Location: Scorpion Cave, Mojave Desert, Nevada
Interactions: Rand, Maria, Ark
Mentions: N/A
Sir Les Paul RedArmyShogun The Regal Rper

Having only three dolls to handle, Raph was trying his best to be careful with them. He would be pissed himself if someone he had to work with didn’t respect his things with utmost care. He heard Maria speak up for his question, and he clicked his tongue as he thought. “Yeah, hopefully.” Rand apparently spoke up, too, and Raph just shrugged in response.

It’s too early for this shit…

With Rand and Ark hard at work, they managed to find a cavern to slide into. Before Rand even said anything about sending Maria’s dolls down, he was already lengthening his chain to aid in that. Maria basically told him not to worry about it, and he just shrugged with a smile. “It’s not only for letting you down, but to also give some sort of an escape if there’s no other exitway, and if Ark’s busy from full sending us out of here.” Making an anchor at the base of the mouth, he attached the chain there and allowed anyone to use it as he did, carefully making his way down. He broke off the chain and left it there so they may use it to get back up if they ever went back this way.

As the others used their magelights, Raph decided to use his own. It was improved and lacked the bells and whistles he wished for it to have. He’d just have to learn how to “code” this better so he may be able to make better spells. He would have opted out to using them, but he was sure Rand would have nagged him to use it.

It wasn’t long before they not only walked into a giant room, but were set upon with scorpions. With Ark working on repair and Maria’s dolls working on holding them back, Raph grinned, able to utilize one of the spells he learned yesterday from Rand.

As the scorpions drew close, he smirked. Having finally figured out his entrapment spell last night after Rand’s help the day prior, he held his book as soon as his chains were long and he was in the process of whipping them about wildly to lash out at the scorpions. With a shine from his grimoire, he utilized his entrapment, the chains suddenly squeezing around three of these dog-sized vermin in its grasp and crushing them within, hoping to make their limbs useless with the crushing bind before releasing them once someone handled the mess, then moving on.

Before he let them go, he called out to Ark and Rand. “Mind if one of you two took care of these vermin?” He asked, absolutely in glee that he was at least able to help here.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Alek​

Date: January 15, 2067
Location: Repurposed Mage Tower, Bay of Kotor, Southwestern Montenegro
Interactions: Aegis, Astor, Shiro
Mentions: N/A
Sir Les Paul EmperorsChosen

Oh, that was good. This Hoshi guy took the food he offered. He didn’t smile though, but regarded him with some interest before moving on. He didn’t like what this crazy man was insinuating though, causing him to leer from the side. He cringed as soon as this guy spoke of their third wheel like that, shaking his head. Was this a common thing between them? And… Who was Lizzie again? That the surgeon?

Oh, it’s another one of these horndogs…

Considering he didn’t have much going on down there, he kept a distance from that scene. It would only lead to disappointment, so he wasn’t even going to try, and it wasn’t like he couldn’t just handle everything himself. As Astor spoke of his “nemesis’s” body spray, Alek had to agree that - yes - it was kind of… bad.

Astor apparently didn’t catch onto his joke and he rolled his eyes, mumbling quietly. “Just a joke, man…” He was about to say ‘chill’, but he recalled word about Astor being from some frigid tundra or some other cold place, so he refrained from saying it. Even though it danced at the tip of his tongue, he wasn’t about to make an enemy of his ally before they even left. Astor’s colorful commentary had Alek smiling just slightly though. It amused him greatly, but then Aegis continued. Blue blood though?

He looked up at Astor, lazily studying him. Yeah, he seemed pretty snobbish just like every other blue blood. He wondered where he came from to be like that, but thinking about that was too much right now. He’d rather finish the mission. As he was told not to be a dick, he smirked. “‘Ey, I’m doin’ a bit better at that nowadays.” It was a half-truth. He was getting better socially, but sometimes his past habits would rear their ugly heads, especially if he was in a particularly sour mood. Aegis explained what the gas’s property was, and said about their lacking intel on what those things were.

Well, while Alek didn’t mind poking the hornet’s nest, he was also interested in gathering as much intel about this place and it’s creatures as possible without going out of bounds of the mission’s parameters. It wasn’t some sightseeing venture or petting zoo after all. There was something else and it was to destroy the magitech. He was tempted to just bring it with them. Someone smart would be able to piece together the magitech if they didn’t do a good job in mincing them, but he was sure Astor’s second set of arms would be enough.

After being told about how and what to do when they got there as well as their extraction, Alek gave Aegis a half-smirk and a nod. “That’ll be all f’r me. See ya, Shield Hero. And if ya bring a hooker to my place, even as a joke, you're gonna catch some fists.” He deadpanned before walking away, not very enthused with the joke Aegis gave and hoped there wouldn’t be a surprise for him waiting at his area of rest. Not that Aegis had done that, but he wasn’t putting it against anyone. The idle threat wasn't exactly out of bounds for him either. He'd never threaten Antivu, but he was different. Everyone else got the same privilege of being threatened by him if they did something he didn't like. He gave them a fair warning beforehand anyway if they were the type to play practical jokes, which he wouldn't put it past Aegis anyway, even if he did clearly respect him.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Cyrus Kallis​

"Blue Reaper"​

Species Human (Weapon)
Partner Lord Kidd
Rank Three-Star

Location Death Room
Mission The Waking Forest
Status Relaxed

​

Tags: RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen Mook-LandStrider

The line only trilled twice. A quick response, given it a sat-com.

’Agent Middleton,’ Cyrus answered calmly and quickly. The faint clacking of keys echoed slightly in the background. ’What has occurred that you would ring my private line as opposed to your mentor?’ he asked, though oddly there wasn’t much judgment in his tone. He was cold, but not offensive. More so, just logical.

Sara was one of the least problematic individuals within all of the Program. Fewest complaints, strong work ethic, handled the loss of her first partner well, dueled yet maintained positive relationships with her peers, even went out of her way to seek help with her condition. Cyrus wasn’t precisely thrilled to be contacted directly, but if an agent that didn’t typically give him problems deemed it necessary, it was probably worth the time.

Realizing she could have just called her mentor, a part of her wished to die right now. But, she hadn't stopped, continuing on with what they had found while here. Her tone sounded spooked, but there was considerable effort in trying to compose the tremble that sneaked through to rock her voice. Whatever it was, she was more scared of what was here than accidentally calling Cyrus over someone else. "It concerns our mission in Valaam. We have found the Weeping Woods, each tree stationed like orderly headstones with blue, pink, and red souls inside. We believe this thing is a Leshy and it’s housing souls in these trees or the trees were born like this, but there may be possible ties to a fae gate that I am more concerned about. If we leave now, it may be far more dangerous to take care of, so we’re staying to see the mission through despite its dangers. Nadia considered it a great or grave discovery enough to warrant calling you.” She then switched her call to be on speaker for the others to hear his response. “Switching you to speaker now.” Sara didn’t fully understand the significance of what this entailed, but she did understand it to be a possible problem in the future regarding possible fae and Leshies, and she really didn’t want to think about other places like Valaam’s Weeping Woods just sitting there gathering souls in trees like this. What really weirded her out were the pink souls.

Cyrus listened closely to what Sara had to say. In truth, there was a wave of relief that washed over him. Not that he was particularly keen on being called like this, but that it didn’t have to do with Irina being offended or Adrian going mad. Typically, he received calls about the worst-case scenarios coming to pass. He rarely had such a mundane call. He doubted it felt mundane to them, but to him, it was a daily occurrence that field agents needed to contact their base for more information.

’No need. I’ll tap into your ear pieces,’ Cyrus said, interjecting when she opted to put him on speaker. The earpieces would be clearer and the line more secure. It only took a few clicks from his own communicator to make it happen, then it was as he said. Their earpieces shot to life with him on the line. Even Dani and Eva in their weapon forms were somehow privy to the conversation.

'I've been informed that you believe you are combatting a Leshy and there are reports of souls within trees,' Cyrus said, quickly summarizing what Sara had told him. 'While this is interesting, I'll list some important facts from the archives. If it is a Leshy you are confronting, it should not possess the ability to either create or imprison souls in trees. Spiritual Magic is far outside of its reported capabilities. The Fae Gate in the area has been assessed regularly due to the tourist nature of the area; we have never found anything of concern. I wouldn't it rule out, but this phenomenon isn't something we would immediately associate with a Fae Gate, either,' Cyrus explained to them, listing off some general facts based on what he could quickly bring up from his computer.

'There are some archaic rituals that can bind a soul to an object or even other living things... I'm looking for similar data points now that could be related. These rituals are dangerous, rare, and mostly forgotten, but they constitute Spiritual Magic, so we do keep close tabs on them. In Africa, I encountered a tribe that preserved the souls of fallen warriors into masks, and used them to train children into their warriors from a very young age. They were... terrifying formidable,' he commented, though really just filling the gap while he was searching through archived records that might match this.

'Nadia, have you asked Irina for her input? She may know something that can speed this up. Tell her that you see souls inside the trees and any other pertinent details. We may find an explanation not unrelated to the Leshy or a Fae Gate,' Cyrus asked, informing her of just how useful that Research Witch could be. Cyrus was just one man and a former field agent. He could search for hours given the volume of information that existed on the subject. If someone could narrow it down further, that search might be reduced to a mere few minutes.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Rand Mabason​

"Soundwave Sorcerer"​

Species Witch
Partner N/A
Rank Two Star

Location Nevada, Mojave Desert
Mission A Last-Minute Rescue
Status Focused

​

Tags: RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic The Regal Rper

April 12th, 2067​

Smash. Stab. Slice. Crush.

The scorpions, especially at this size, proved little-to-no actual threat to the mages. They had evolved a resistance to spiritual energy, but not magic. Compared to Dall Island, this was a relative breeze. Rand was able to enhance his speed and cut down swathes of the scorpions on his own. Maria could use her dolls to dance through them and kill them by virtually any means she wanted. Even with his spells scaled back, Ark had plenty of creative options for ending these little critters without damaging the cave. Even Raph would found that his base-level chains alone could crush them; he didn't need to waste mana on the upgraded forms of his spells.

The slaughter of them took some amount of time. Ten, fifteen minutes. It truly became a situation of they were not trapped in with the scorpions, but the scorpions were instead trapped with them. Scorpions fundamentally were not an intelligent species. Some had grown more intelligent, but it was generally selective. Social behaviors, methods of hunting, cycles of night and day. What they didn't do is retreat when inside what was effectively their own den. Aside from a few that would have preferred to lay in wait for an ambush near their hole, most of them were content to run right into their deaths. A meatgrinder of exoskeletons and purplish goo that constituted their insides.

Finally, after well over two hundred kills, the last of the more aggressive scorpions fell.

Rand ripped his blade out of one of the exoskeletons and slung off that violet goop. It was admittedly hard to tell exactly what shade it was given their only light was from the Magelight, but it didn't matter. The room did ultimately fill up with an odd, almost metallic scent from all of the dead scorpions. Weirdly enough, now even smaller scorpion brood were emerging from the ground. Pale, almost translucent in color, and much softer than their hard-shelled brethren. These little fucks had no issues consuming the corpses of their kin, they just tried to do so in secret in the further edges of the cavern. Clearly, they only possessed that trait in youth given the sheer amount of them that were just here.

Rand urged them to move on and Ark pointed them in the direction they were originally headed. The caverns and pathways became more and more narrow, though not yet a problem for Maria and her dolls. It did however become problematic for their formation. This was factually dangerous. Ark was ultimately made lead the way as his Seismic Sense would give him the most immediate reaction to any shifts in their surroundings and Rand took the rear so he could sense any ambush that may occur. Luckily, none did.

Instead, the group went on until Rand did in fact pick up six total signs of life. The group had to stop and reassess the direction to go. Ark only knew the outline of the cave system, Rand only knew the general direction. At first, they attempted to use a map on a smart phone, but found that the 3D nature of the caves made that too difficult and time consuming. Instead, Rand helped Ark construct a globe of sorts out of the loose dirt beneath them that represented the paths they had, and Rand could pinpoint where the signatures were. With that, they had an idea of which of these many narrow, winding pathways to take.

More venturing forth and some uphill climbs, but luckily as they went higher, the pathways widened. Then came two problems. As they neared the life signs, it seemed they were entirely enclosed in dirt. Secondly, there were more scorpions, these ones significantly larger than the last. The only rationalization that Rand came to was that the Agents somehow sealed themselves in after running to prevent their immediate deaths. He wasn't sure if it was smart or stupid. Especially given that Scorpions could factually burrow. Without a rescue team like this, all they did was build their own tomb.

Rand had Ark use that same earth-modeling technique to create an idea of what this new chamber would look like, and it was considerably different than the last. It was more of a bowl-shape with steep edges and a flat bottom and it went up further than Ark's natural sense could visualize, tapering as it did. It was a much larger room, but the entire thing looked like a pitfall. Around the bottom of the room were nine or so smaller chambers under it with just one sealed off where the agents seemed to be. Rand could color in the life forms. Nine large scorpions, each somewhere around the size of a horse, but none of the smaller ones. Instead, there were tens of thousands of small signatures in the whole area. So many that Rand actually couldn't conceive or count them all. He was fairly certain this was an egg chamber. The taper sealing likely allowed scorpions to throw in food and it kept in humidity for the eggs below. If these little bastards were cannibals at such a young age, keeping the clutches separate with these big guardians likely became a new social construct for them.

These scorpions were evolving. Becoming slightly eusocial, like ants. This was hugely different than their natural wild behavior. Given what they saw on Dall Island, though, each member of this group was well aware that when it came to Magical Creatures, life always found a way.

"This is a tricky one... I doubt any of those scorpions will be resistant to our magic. They're likely just the adults or main breeders. The entire room is a pit... and I'm sure if one of us did get hit by a stinger, we'd die before we got back to the DWMA," Rand said, contemplating over the situation. "With some Magic Circles, Ark might be able to kill a few from a range, but all this ground is dug out and unstable. If Maria had her broom, she could probably just fly above them and let her dolls do the work. Raph could pin a few, too. I doubt they'd like the red-hot chains, either..." Rand continued, mumbling through the options, but really trying to devise a way to fight them from a range. If they fell down that pit in the dark, even with their Magelights, their vision would be heavily affected and they'd be surrounded by giant, venomous scorpions. In no way ideal.

"Any suggestions? Ideally, I'd like to destroy all the egg clusters, too," Rand asked, seeing if any of their sharp minds could come up with options to approach this rather precarious scenario. The true danger of this situation wasn't their foe; it was the environment.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - Valaam Island, Russia

​

While she wondered if it had to do with the Fae as well, she had not dared ask, nor did she expect Sara to call Cyruss himself, in fact all she wanted was a status update on what they had found in full, in case they did not return, so that the next team would not be blind. Yet she could not shoot the messenger, she should have just given the message herself.

If you want something done right, do it yourself.

With the call now being across all of them she could only swear to herself. "Cyruss. Not who I was expecting. In fact I was expecting no one, a report was being sent in at my request while I scratch together a paper log." She said turning her glance towards Sara as she scratched into the book. Speaking soon after she explained what this was all about, or at least why Sara had called him.

"I wanted to relay our findings to the DWMA in case the information is needed. This Leshy is a clever one, auditory and visual hallucinations, eager to kill, summons small hoards of Treants. And Da, it isn't the normal domain of them to use such things, or to be able, however there isn't just two or three souls here in the trees, there are dozens if not more, of that I am not sure, uniformed in density, unnatural, whole region gives off the feeling of dread, enough so that everyone here can feel it. There has never been any substantial human population here. And I've told her what I could see, and to not touch the trees for now. For a rare ritual, then someone is very well practiced, or the trees developed souls of their own. Wait one we'll see what she has, though this talk will be a short one, we must be moving."

Looking at Irina, she relays in short form what she had been told in terse. "So, ideas?"


Interactions: Sir Les Paul Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen Mook-LandStrider

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Irina​

"The Research Witch"​

Species Witch
Location Russia, Republic of Karelia, Valaam, Northeast Forest line
Mission The Waking Forest


​

Tags: Merciless Medic EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun Mook-LandStrider

Irina listened to the report Nadia gave. She was nervous about them calling anyone, but factually, she had no idea who Cyrus was. Despite his status as the Death Scythe of Lord Kidd, she couldn't care less about the DWMA hierarchy. She just wanted to get out in the world and do her research.

Regardless, the more that was said, the more confident she became in her original theory. She was fairly certain she knew what this was. And, if so, it was insane. A spirit forest hiding in plain sight all these years. It would be such a finding. Incredibly rare, something that intrigued both the DWMA and the Wiccan Council. Arguably, the find of a lifetime. Not that they would get to research it much as they were often protected areas. Aokigahara came to mind as probably the most famous spirit forest; the suicide forest. It was vastly different than these, though. These weren't brought on by suicide. They were created by ritualistic sacrifice. Early Christians and crusaders leaving their marks on the land.

She became excited.

"I have a good idea of what this is, though... I never thought I'd see one," she answered with a type of exasperated passion in her voice.

"A spirit forest is the vague name for it. They're more common in West Asia or the lower portion of Europe. It's... it's hard to explain. I don't fully know your human history. What I do know is that early Catholics or Christians had this idea of purgatory. A place sins could be cleansed instead of going to Hell," she told them, already making the subject matter here fairly heavy. Religion wasn't often talked about within the DWMA; it was a bit of a taboo subject. Irina seemed to not have that same regard. As a Witch, why would she?

"They would have priests cleanse the grounds, making them what they called hallowed. Then they would transplant saplings, sometimes dogwood trees, into the ground where they slit the throat of criminals. The ones destined to die, but perhaps not so evil they were fated to Hell. Sometimes it was a service sold by a Church to have a loved one get to Heaven... the idea is that their souls would suffer for centuries inside the tree and when it died, their suffering would have cleansed them of that sin," Irina explained, still somehow excited and curious despite the topic at hand. To bind a soul was generally considered such an evil deed that the Shinigami would intervene. It was ritualistic magic at its worst. None of it existed today because it was purged from the world. If her theory was right, then this was a place of great evil.

"There are a few in the world left. They're protected grounds. No one knows if the process even works and apparently religion in your realm is so important that church authorities convinced the DWMA to let nature run its course, in the event it did work to cleanse the soul... in the seventeenth century, there was a massive debate over it. The ethics. Souls being tortured for hundreds upon hundreds of years inside a tree that lived abnormally long," she said, going over some history. This is why she said nothing. This is why she kept her opinion to herself. This was such a fickle, volatile subject that had her interest. She could be wrong, but she doubted. More so, she had so much information on the subject; more than she expected they would want to know.

"Think about it. What does a few hundred or even a thousand years of pain matter if it results in your soul going to a pure land of paradise instead of an eternity of torture? At the same time, in a world were there is a God of Death and no proof of any other deity, why subject a soul to such torture? It could be cruel... beyond inhumane. Beyond even Witchkind," she asked, giving them the rhetorical question that was the heart of the debate she referred to in the seventeenth century.

"Spirit forests like this are... unpredictable. The Suicide Forest in Mount Fuji can draw in victims from miles away if they're depressed, and it's legend only brings it more power. If it is a Leshy, and this forest is in his domain... that could explain why nothing up to this point makes sense, and why he is so much more powerful than he should be," she told them, finally offering her professional opinion on the matter. A damning one at that. Her theory tied together plenty of loose ends. It just so happened to be in such an unfortunate, ethically questionable way.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Katsushiro Hoshi | Southwestern Montenegro
____________________________________________________________________________________________
​

"Yup." A single, satisfied enunciation in response to Aegis was uttered. "First few hours, hm?"

Giving a glance to the side, the Hoshi seemed more amused by Astor's retorts than offended. "See, you say you don't, then you go straight into talking about my cologne."

Katsushiro's personality was particularly grating to people, typically encompassing smart-assed remarks that were levied with absolute bluntness and devoid of shame. Contrary to the sarcastic tone, he was more than capable of demonstrating maturity, however that was reserved for an as-needed basis. Paired with his honest and laid-back nature, it was no wonder he made friends and enemies with little room in the in between. All in all, Aegis was one of those he kind of liked. He was a bit stiff, but at least knew what humor was—kind of. He'd see about the other two.

Taking another bite from the protein bar, he mulled over what was iterated to him. All jokes aside, he did find himself agreeing with Astor in the sense he wasn't the most optimal choice for this. Far from useless. He was still insanely fast, a great fighter, and hard to detect. However, not optimal. Vena Clan or not, Werewolves had better base senses than most, meaning Astor was likely halfway decent for tracking. Then again, an assassin usually made sure to cover their tracks, so perhaps that was their link in assigning him.

"Ya' know, I coulda' probably been in 'n out with the data if I was sent," Katsushiro pointed out with a shrug. "You guys are the bosses. Get the packages, clear our traces. Straight-forward enough." So much so that it sounded boring.

Turning to head towards their departure, he caught the Alek's threat and laughed. "For tellin' someone to take a joke, you can't seem to understand one. If Aegis buys you a hooker, then I'll go jump Stein on the steps to the DWMA."

Merciless Medic Sir Les Paul