"I wouldn't recommend scaring me that often Kazehaya-san. You might find that is has some... consequences on my end." She said before listening to Sasha and Natsume talk to each other. Natsume seemed confused by the task so Amelia took it upon herself to explain" The request simply involves us going to the north of town and find some Jara plants to collect leaves from Natsume-san. The only thing we might have to be concerned about are wildlife and bandits... but I'm sure they'll be no issue, especially for you three."

Kazehaya was flustered a bit by Sasha's suggestion with books. He looks the studious type but he barely touches a book, it bores him. "Oh yeah! Books, so who read books anyway?" he defended himself with a smirk. "Nice to see you too Natsume, knew you to be a bookworm too." he said mockingly to his companion.

"And oh, Amelia, don't worry. That won't happen again. Intentionally, at least. You can't blame me for you not noticing me. I ride with the wind, I'm the wind." he was trying to be modest but he's got his arrogant mode turned on. "Kidding aside, when should we head out to carry out this task guys?" he turned to the three of them.

Sasha smiled at Natsume. Natsume had other strengths than biological stuff. Sasha herself couldn't read very well, something she didn't let be known by the other guild members. Another reason why she was trying to find as many books as possible, to help her with her reading. It wasn't working so far, despite the fact she liked to read.

If any of her guild members watched here, they'd see that she often spent a long time reading the jobs, and hoped they thought it was because she was just pondering them, instead of trying to make sense of the letters.

"Oh, yeah! Books, so who reads books anyway?"

She smiled again when Kazehaya spoke and shrugged, "I do" She said, trying to sound confident, and knowing it wasn't the best she could do. Still, she continued, I think we should go out now, before the sun goes down. It would be good to get a job done this week"

Chloe waited to see if either of their other teammates would object to already setting out. Elliot didn't, and she certainly wasn't, so she finished off another mug and stood up. Honestly, she couldn't get very hyped for this job. There was just nothing to be hyped about it. Well, the money was quite a bit, but she didn't do jobs for money. She did them because they were fun. And you know what was fun? Smashing things with a giant hammer. But, she had nothing better to do and sitting here was just bound to get her in trouble sooner or later.

"Alright! Lets get going then!" She excitedly stated as she headed for the door to the guild.

Maho nodded and smiled at the introductions. She watched with wonder as Elize made a knife dance. She knew from hearing and reading that magic took all kinds of forms, but aside from her own she never got to see it before joining Phoenix Wing. And seeing it with her own eyes was something different entirely. How pitiful that the wolrd shunned something like that. She wanted to see all of it.

Listening carefully to what her teammates (Because that's what they were, right?) had to say, they narrowed down the time frame and that the Ripper might actually be a dark mage, but they still needed more if they wanted to make sure Maho was indeed the target. "There might be something in the books. If he is a mage, it would help to know what we're dealing with and how to fight him. However, we still need to make sure he actually does what we want him to." she pondered, "I shall go to the outpost and try to find out something that links the victims together. Appearance, location, something. Then we'll have a better chance. If we have that, all we need is means of capturing him." she suggested, wondering if the patrolmen would even be willing to share.

Elize contemplated the course of action they could take. Maho brought up a good point, that being that they were still pretty in the dark about what exactly was going on at the crime scenes. If they were going to catch this guy, they had to be completely sure of everything. If they messed up, they could end up putting themselves, especially Maho, in even further danger. Even worse, they could misjudge everything completely, then he would claim another victim, and Phoenix Wing would have to answer for letting such a thing happen. There was quite a bit riding on this.

After thinking things over, Elize looked up to Astaroth and Maho. "Alright then. I think we should split up. Maho, you can go to the patrol outpost and gather what you can on the cases. I'll head over to the library and research what I can about historical reports on the witching hour, types of dark magic that might be involved, that sort of thing. If we meet up before evening falls, we should have enough time to figure out what to do." Elize paused for a second. It would take her at least until then to gather info, so it was a sound time to meet. They'd have a few hours to plan their move. Elize looked to Astaroth. "It's up to you who to go with. Though I can probably handle my part so...maybe help out Maho?" She felt a tad bit bossy, but when she had such a situation in front of her, it was in her blood to get things done in an orderly and precise manner.

(To save time and space, have a bunch of 1v1 posts scrunched together.)

“Alright, sounds like a plan,” Astaroth agreed. If he had a better idea, he would have voiced it by now. At the moment, this job was simply a divide-n-conquer to gather some more information, if at all possible. The funny business shows up once the sun goes down. “I say we meet back at the guild hall entrance at sundown. Until then, we can do whatever we deem necessary. Good luck, Elize.” He started to make his way towards the patrol outpost, beckoning Maho to follow him, “Let’s not waste any time.”

“Right.” Maho nodded, strolling after the blue robed wizard. Fishing in her pocket, she pulled out a candy and stuffed it in her mouth. “So, how long have you been in the guild? Are all the jobs as odd as this one?” she asked, trying to strike a conversation. It interested her to hear more about this guild thing. The girl was still undecided. On one hand, it seemed like a friendly place enough. On the other though, she wasn’t certain she could trust these people. She was a thief herself after all - who knew what kinds of people could be hiding among their ranks.

“Three years,” Astaroth answered instantly. “Come to think of it, I haven’t dealt with something like this in a month or two. Life is usually pretty slow until the occasional ‘dramatic quest’ pops up. Does that answer your question?” They had to walk clear across town to get to the patrol outpost, and endure all the untrusting looks the townspeople gave them. Astaroth habitually rubbed the side of his neck, where his guild mark resided.

“Mhm.” Maho nodded, her tongue too busy with the cocoa candy to form words. “How did you come to join, if you do not mind me asking?” she said after a while. A few seconds later she realized she might get the question asked back in return and regretted even asking it,but it was out now. After all it wouldn’t be the first time she told the fake story, but gor the first time she felt a little bad about having to do it. She didn’t care of the rest of the guild, but the two that were with her now seemed to accept her, and deep down she didn’T want to hold any secrets from them. Perhaps in time, when she was sure she could trust them, she would tell the true tale.

“The rent was cheap and the beer was cheaper,” Astaroth answered. That was part of the answer, but he didn’t exactly trust Maho with all of his personal information either. He immediately returned the question, “What brings you here?” The more idle conversation they had, the less bored Astaroth was. It made the long trip to the patrol office more bearable.

“You can see I am one of the younger people in the guild. I stumbled upon a tome that explained about the concealment magic one day and was enthralled by it. I am not too strong, and it is much safer to be invisible when walking the streets after night. Jack the Ripper here case in point.” she started, “I joined up to see more of magic. I want to see all of it. It was here that i started learning about the telepathy actually, to be able to cover more jobs.” she said, the lie rolling off of her tongue as easily as if it was crystal pure truth.

“There are a lot of stories like yours,” Astaroth observed partially to himself, “but it doesn’t give them any less meaning.” Sooner or later, they stumbled upon the aforementioned patrol outpost. “We’re here,” the illusionist pointed out flatly. “I’d keep any shenanigans to a minimum; the police are already looking for an excuse to arrest us. We’re just going to walk in and politely ask for any intel on Jack the Ripper. Let me take the lead on this. I’m good at talking.”

Victor smirked at his two teammates, and they started to head off. It wasn't to far away, but from what he can tell the man lives not to far out into the forest, and that they could easily arrive there within a few hours. As they left the guild Victor thought to himself about the excitement that could out of this adventure even though it wasn't blatantly action packed at first glance. "Do you guys think we should make a plan?" Victor asked in order to prepare for what could happen once they actually get there.

Jangel13 said
...Angelo said simply looking at him with what might have been described as a stare of confidence in his chances.

The Master’s appearance softened in response to Angelo’s answer, his lips forming into a smile. “The welcome my son, to Phoenix Wing!” He said, “You’re part of our family, your troubles are our troubles, your pain is our pain, and most of all your happiness is our happiness. May you learn much and gain many friends on your adventures.” The guildmaster hopped onto the bar counter and announced, “I’m going to celebrate our new member by drinking all night long!”

Jarvis approached from behind and placed a mug next to Jamie. “I’m fairly certain you were going to do that anyway Master.” The bartender remarked with a smile. Grabbing the mug and taking gulping it down quickly Jamie replied, “Tsk, Jarvis don’t worry about the little things.” The master quickly gulped down mug after mug, each one being refilled immediately by Jarvis and after five or six in rapid succession looked at Angelo, “Boy, do you know what is the most important thing in the world?”

[quote=lordmidget]

Jangel13 said ...Angelo said simply looking at him with what might have been described as a stare of confidence in his chances.[Quote]The Master’s appearance softened in response to Angelo’s answer, his lips forming into a smile. “The welcome my son, to Phoenix Wing!” He said, “You’re part of our family, your troubles are our troubles, your pain is our pain, and most of all your happiness is our happiness. May you learn much and gain many friends on your adventures.” The guildmaster hopped onto the bar counter and announced, “I’m going to celebrate our new member by drinking all night long!”Jarvis approached from behind and placed a mug next to Jamie. “I’m fairly certain you were going to do that anyway Master.” The bartender remarked with a smile. Grabbing the mug and taking gulping it down quickly Jamie replied, “Tsk, Jarvis don’t worry about the little things.” The master quickly gulped down mug after mug, and after five or six in rapid succession looked at Angelo, “Boy, do you know what is the most important thing in the world?”

the most important thing in the world?" Angelo said softly to himself to think of an answer before he put his hand over his chest to feel his neck and he smiled and called out "family!" Angelo said smiling finally feeling a little joy in having a home that welcomes him and will accept him regardless. With his past he never thought it would be possible but it seemed he chose right in wanting to join the phoenix wing guild of all places. If he wanted to ask what was the most important thing in the world to Angelo he would have said 'To make a name that will reach the heavens itself!' but that's what was important to Angelo. When it came to all of life, family was important to everyone no matter who they were. Angelo only had one blood relative left and he wasn't even sure if that realize was okay anymore considering what he left her with

By this time Elliott was used to Jamie's shenanigans and didn't need to pay much attention to know that The Master would act ridiculous for a while then find some excuse to drink the night away. Besides he had a job to do. As the three mages made their way out of the guild hall Victor asked a question. “Hmmm, for a reward of 20,000 Jewels there has got to be something fishy going on.” Elliott replied “It isn't clear what that might entail though so I don’t know if we can come up with much of a plan other than keep your guard up. At least until we see what we are up against.”

OOC: w/ Infin1teZer0 & lordmidget(NPCs)

“Let me take the lead on this,” Astaroth told his younger companion as they entered the patrol outpost. Outpost could be taken as an overstatement; the place was rather small. Inside is only a handful of desks, and only one of them had an occupant. A lone police officer sat working away at his current project, not acknowledging the two mages’ presence. At the back of the building, Astaroth could point out two jail cells for holding criminals, and a door labeled “Police Chief”. The blue-robed mage made his way to the police officer and removed his cowl out of politeness. “Excuse me,” he introduced himself, “but would the police chief happen to be in his office at the moment?”

The officer looked up from his work and looked up and down Astaroth and Maho. “Who are you and why would you need to speak to the Chief?” He questioned curtly, putting down the pen he was holding and crossing his arms in front of his chest while turning to face them.

“We’re people being paid to do this,” Astaroth replied, producing Jack the Ripper’s wanted poster and offering it to the man. The man grabbed the poster, glancing at it briefly before scowling, “Tch, I can’t believe someone hired damn mages.” Sighing, he relaxed his arms before saying, “The chief is busy, but I can answer some questions about this guy.”

“Do you have any witness testimonies? A criminal record? A list of victims? Any kind of files even remotely related to the Ripper would prove useful,” Astaroth requested, pulling up chairs for Maho and himself to sit down in, opposite of the police officer.

The officer gave him a quizzical look, “Why would we keep files on that lowly of a criminal? It’s just someone trying to gain fame by stealing his name.” The officer got up out of his chair moving towards a file cabinet, “I guess we might have something.” The officer opened a drawer and began rifling through files until he pulled out a folder. “Here it is, all the data we have about him.” The policeman said, handing Astaroth the folder.

“Sweet, thanks.” Astaroth thanked the man, taking the file and flipping it open. He motioned Maho to come look as well. The folder contained a single page ripped out of a newspaper titled, “Woman attacked at night, clothes slashed to pieces.” The article talked about how a woman was coming home from work when she was attacked by a shadowy figure and her clothing was ripped to pieces, and would have probably been killed if an officer hadn’t happened upon them. Unfortunately the policeman didn’t get a good look at the figure as the figure ran off once he arrived.

“No photos, no protocols, who’s running this place?” Maho whispered, trying to find something that would help them. “I can’t see anything in this, is there more?” she said, wondering if the policeman was honest with them. there was no way this was all they had, or the police was really rotten around these areas. The policeman who had gone back to his work, turned around shaking his head at them, “Why would there be more on some lowly pervert? It’s not like anyone died or anything, there has been a few more attacks but the only thing ever harmed was clothing. Why should we worry about him, when there are real criminals to hunt down? I would have presumed you would know he wasn’t that much of a criminal since the reward on that poster is only 13,000 J.”

Maho has had enough of this guy. “Tell that to the victims faces, I dare you.” she said, her voice deathly cold, “Do you have a daughter perhaps? Imagine if that was her being his target.” she continued, the glare she was giving the officer enough to break through a wall.

“Simmer down, cowgirl. I told you I got this,” Astaroth half-whispered to Maho, putting a hand on her shoulder in an effort to silence her. “She does have a point though,” Astaroth’s voice had none of Maho’s venom, but it was just as serious. “In short, we’re dealing with a potential serial-rapist, with several charges of sexual harassment under his belt already. I’d hazard a guess and say there are a lot more cases that should be in this file, but have never been reported. If that’s not a criminal to you, I don’t know what is. Now, let me ask again as nicely as I can: Do you have anything else on this guy we could use?”

The police officer grumbled before replying, “I told you that’s all we have, there are more important cases to deal with than that one. The only thing we know is that he strikes at night in the downtown district of town. Now if you wouldn’t mind I’d like you to leave so I can finish my work.” Glaring at them he lifted his arm and pointed to the door.

“Alright, thank you for your time. It’s been a pleasure,” Astaroth gave a small smile almost ironically, then he turned to Maho. “Let’s go find Elize,” he said flatly, storing the police file in his robes and exiting the police building. His hood returned to its upright position once he exited.

“Hmph! The pleasure is all yours.” Maho said in that typical spoiled brat tone before following after Astaroth without any greeting to the police man. Once out, she sighed, her irritation somewhat softening: “Well, at least we now have time and place, but that still leaves the possibility of him attacking someone else even if I am there.” she grumbled, looking to the ground. the behavior of that police man was inexcusable. “Let's head to the library and hope Elize had better luck.”

After a short walk to the library, Elize made her way inside to begin her search. The structure was very nicely sized locale, thanks in part to it's location in the city. The main room was large and round, with a high dome ceiling painted with all sorts of designs. In this room was mostly tables, which provided plenty of seating for patrons. Lining the walls were shelves, and near the entrance was the main desk. At both sides of that were two hallways which led to a few more rooms full of books. At the desk was a short old woman, perched on a little set of stairs in order to even reach the desk. Taking her chances, Elize took a deep breath and stepped up to the counter.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" She asked in her most polite voice. The older woman looked up from her desk and squinted. The lighting wasn't the best, despite the windows in the ceiling letting light in. "How can I help you, dearie?" The woman asked in a most gentle voice. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, would it be possible to get historical records and criminal cases pertaining to something called 'the witching hour'? It's for an investigation of the recent Jack the Ripper assaults." Elize inquired with a smile, hopping the woman was too short to see past the desk and see the knives strapped to her legs, lacrima exposed.

"The witching hour? That old myth? Well, I don't think you'll find anything, but..." The librarian scribbled the name of a section, 'Unexplained Phenomena', and pointed to the hallway at her left. "If there's anything, it should be down there. Now, I don't know why you're researching that hooligan, but you be careful! A sweet girl such as yourself could get terribly hurt!" The diminutive woman cautioned. Elize smiled, nodding. "Yes, ma'am. I'll be extra careful. Thanks!" She made a half-bow, and quickly made strides down the hall, boots clacking on the wooden floors, sending loud echoes through the pathway. She was thankful the light hadn't reached inside yet, or the librarian would have been able to see her guild mark through the thin sleeves of her blouse.

It was silly to act in such hushed manners, but it was necessary. The old woman may have refused to help her, otherwise, pinning her with some off-base accusation having to do with Zeref. That didn't matter now, though. She entered the room that held the section she sought, and breathed in the smell of aging tomes. It made her smile, the musty, earthy scent bringing her comfort. This was where she belonged. Well, either here or out exploring. Both were equally suitable. Right away, she started scanning, looking for anything. A little while passed, and she'd come up with a couple candidates. All turned up useless. There was nary a mention to the witching hour anywhere, and surely no in depth explanation. In regards to individuals similar to Jack the Ripper, committing crimes during the witching hour, no one came up. Frustrated, Elize decided to go back to the main room and look through newspapers that were sitting on the table, left there for the reading pleasure of guests.

The farthest back she could find the first reported case was about two weeks before. Proving that this was relatively new, at least in documented accounts, Elize's theories had been thrown out the window. "Gah, this is ridiculous...Astaroth and Maho had to have better luck..." Elzie groaned, planting her forehead square on the table in front of her.

Amelia wasn't sure how to take Kazehaya but his comment on books caught her attention and caused her to roll her eyes. She often visited to town library to read, mostly history in the hopes to find places that included big battles. Battlegrounds had the largest concentration of warrior spirits, which were some of the best in battle. The only downside was that they rarely had magical power if they were too old. Still, she said nothing as she stood on her toes to look at the book in Sasha's hands and study the picture of the Jara plant, though flower was probably more accurate in this case. Once she had it memorized she lowered herself and waited for the others, deciding to follow their lead

Jamie’s face distorted with anger at Angelo’s answer and he shouted, “FOOL! The answer is obviously girl’s sw--!!” Just then Minah came flying across the room nailing the master in the face with a kick. “Shutup you perverted old man!!!!” She yelled furiously her eyes glowing red with anger, the air around her seeming to turn dark black with rage. Grabbing Jamie by the neck and lifting him off the ground she turned her head to Angelo, “You can go, leave this rotten guildmaster to me, I’ll beat some sense into him.” Not waiting to see if Angelo had left she started slapping Jamie silly, “Stupid.” *Slap* “Perverted.” *Slap* “Idiot.” *Slap* “Learn some control already!” She roared pulling her fist back and punching the guildmaster as hard as she could sending him flying across the room breaking any tables in the way of him before crashing into the wall, cracking it. Jamie slid down the wall onto the ground and a grin crept onto his face, “Swimsuits...are…lo--” He managed to croak out his hands struggling to form into a heart before Minah tossed the nearest chair at his face. Still seething with anger Minah turned and stomped out of the guild hall, sending anyone foolish enough to get close flying with a punch.

lordmidget said
Jamie’s face distorted with anger at Angelo’s answer and he shouted, “FOOL! The answer is obviously girl’s sw--!!” Just then Minah came flying across the room nailing the master in the face with a kick. “Shutup you perverted old man!!!!” She yelled furiously her eyes glowing red with anger, the air around her seeming to turn dark black with rage. Grabbing Jamie by the neck and lifting him off the ground she turned her head to Angelo, “You can go, leave this rotten guildmaster to me, I’ll beat some sense into him.” Not waiting to see if Angelo had left she started slapping Jamie silly, “Stupid.” *Slap* “Perverted.” *Slap* “Idiot.” *Slap* “Learn some control already!” She roared pulling her fist back and punching the guildmaster as hard as she could sending him flying across the room breaking any tables in the way of him before crashing into the wall, cracking it. Jamie slid down the wall onto the ground and a grin crept onto his face, “Swimsuits...are…lo--” He managed to croak out his hands struggling to form into a heart before Minah tossed the nearest chair at his face. Still seething with anger Minah turned and stomped out of the guild hall, sending anyone foolish enough to get close flying with a punch.

Angelo finally couldn't help it and he started to laugh loudly at them thinking that above everyone else they would be entertaining. Angelo liked the old guys humor at the very least and he looked around his new home. He was wondering however when he was going to get his tag, from what he knew about guilds they always branded their members with the mark of their guild and without that mark I really wasn't an official member of the guild. Although he thought of it as a challenge to take a job first and prove he can do it before getting his brand as he went to the request board wondering what jobs were left for him to take at all considering the board seemed empty

Jarvis laughed quite a bit at the show Minah put on. He had been there since the day the guild had been formed and had yet to see a crazier pairing than the master and his adopted daughter. "Oh, Right" he said to himself and walked to the back of the bar and began rummaging through a chest."Here it is" he said pulling out a stamp with the guild logo on it. He walked back to the bar and looked around the room until he saw the new boy looking at the board. "Hey! new boy!" He called to him. "It's great to see the enthusiasm but im affraid you cant take any jobs until I've given you the mark of the guild. Come on over here and tell me where you want it."

Angelo smiled at him glad he didn't do anything wrong before he really got started "thanks. To be honest id prefer it green and on my left shoulder " Angelo said smiling unsure he could change the color to green since it was his favorite color and he went over to the guy and he pulled on his shirt slightly to him left shoulder so that if he had to reveal his guild mark he wouldn't have his back to the enemy which wouldn't be the best idea

"Green eh?" Jarvis said looking around for the master. Last time he gave a member a diferent coloured mark he got a rather.....stern, talking to. seeing the master occupied he quietly cast a colour changing spell on the stamp to make it a nice green. He held a hand up to his lips and whispered "Dont tell the master" with a wink. "So you said left shoulder?" When Angelo confirmed his question Jarvis placed the stamp down and held it for a moment, then with a pop and a small flash a green Phoenix Wing emblem was left on Angelo's shoulder. "There you are lad, Good luck and glad you chose to join Phoenix Wing!"

Thanks mate" Angelo says smiling covering his brand under his shirt "I really wanted a home to be honest so I can make a name fit myself that the world will know" Angelo said smiling at him as he got up to go and and look for a job available