Intro

The wind blew cold, specs of white drifted down from the skies above as the Earth became blanketed in it's morning snow. The cold was not too bad today. For the last week the snow had been so thick you could not see your hand if you extended it more than a foot away. People were out and about, but they weren't being leisurely about their day. They knew this was just the calm of the storm and often the calm comes right before the worst of it all. So the people of this city of survivors were doing what they had always done, survived. Some took to the forest to gather wood to keep their homes warm. Other went to the local fur shops to stock up, furs were especially cheap as of late despite the demand brought by the storm. There had just been so much supply in the Fall that it had carried over through the Winter. It was better to spend a few coin on a coat than to spend time hunting and cleaning your own.

The cold was not that bad, the people of this city were used to it. If there were not a chill in their bones something was not right. The closest the people of this city got to warmth was through the blasting of the mines in the search of precious ore. Those days were all but in the past now. The occasional miner would still search the tunnels from time to time but the mountains had been dry for the last four years. It was during these four years that the focus of business switched from mining to fur and lumber trade, which only resulted in such high supply that those businesses suffered as well. Without a strong enough demand for supplies lumber and fur were practically given away. The only good that had come of the excess supplies was that they had kept people alive during this unforeseen storm that had kept people from traveling more than a mile from the cities walls.

There were those however, that were not so used to cold climates. They were The White Cross soldiers that had been stationed in the city just before the storm came in and trapped them there. They had been sent in by the king under the order that they would put a stop to the riots that had been going on. Riots that were a result of poverty, disease, and hunger that in turn was a result of the mines running dry a few years back. Everyone had suffered from the economic depression but some suffered a little less than others. There were still wealthy people in the city. They too had suffered a loss of money but they still had manors overlooking the city from the cliffs above. They may have had to cut down on their spending but they didn't go nights without eating. Because of this those that did go nights without eating, without the warmth of bed sheets, or without medicine, looked to these people as thieves. Thieves that stayed safe within their homes as others suffered. It was because of this people took to their torches and began burning homes down and assaulting owners. It was because of those arsonist acts and batteries that The White Cross was sent in before things got worst. At first this worked. Pitch forks couldn't get past layers of heavily plated armor. But then the storm came in and these temporary peace keepers weren't so temporary. Now they were the embodiment of suppression and they were everywhere.

There was another group that was not so used to the brisk climate. They were the Illuminous. These cloaked rebels were from lands to the south. Lands of sun and sand. A place where you were layers of clothing not to for warmth but to keep your perspiration from leaving the body and dehydrating you to the point of unconsciousness and later death. These men and women had come for much needed supplies. Supplies for war in the name of peace, for these sand dwellers had an enemy of their own at home. One that had ruled their lands for generations and one the Illuminous would like brought down. They had come to the city seeking supplies but instead they found ashes. Embers of people and their homes that the Illuminous had once done business with. Without those contacts they were forced to seek other means of gathering resources. There were two things the Illuminous were good at. Vanishing and eliminating targets, which is precisely what some individuals were willing to hire them for.

This is a city of survivors. This is a city of cold. This is a city in which people would rise and others would fall. This is Urbi Lupi... The City of Wolves.

Deep in a forest, Axle is rummaging around what appears to be a wall or at least a support beam, from what Axle could make of it when he found it, he could assume it was a school, not by any means a large school, just a school house, and he only assumed that because he has had scavenging experience and he had found a book during a different session that matched the cover of one of the destroyed books he found here. He looked around for cloth perhaps he can add to his raggedy clothing but no such luck, he can only assume that this was abandoned before it was destroyed, he didn't even find remains, no bones, no dust, no decay from what he could smell, when he dug. Total bust, nothing useful Axle lets out a ragged sigh of depression straps up his scavenging back pack with today's haul, mostly scrap, but he can sell it to the metallurgist he usually sells to. He emerges from the forest, the town was no more then an hour away. The snow crunches under his feet with each step until he reaches the road. Then he makes his way to the town.

As the snow the fell Duggan walked up to the manor up the hill nearby, Duggan wasn't going to let these people live in luxury while people starve and freeze in whatever hole they called home. Duggan got nearby the manor and he started to go into stealth mode as he crouch down and he started to sneak around the house, he stuck to the shadows to avoid the few guards around the house not trying to use any of his darts and kill anyone. The last thing Duggan needed were these nobles telling the white cross to crack down to find whoever stole their gold and meds.

Duggan used his rope darts to keep him on the roof of the small manor using his darts to connect to another part of the roof so he wouldn't fall, once Duggan got to the safe in the master bedroom he snuck to safe under the bed and he put his ear to the safe as he turned the wheel to hear the tumbler click and once he opened he safe he grinned and grabbed all the coins and the few bottles of meds that they decided to keep for themselves. As he got out from under the bed he heard the door opening so he quickly hid in the shadow seeing the mans wife come home angry talking about how she believed that he was selfish and ignorant of other people. So Duggan decided to take advantage of it so he walked out from the shadows and put a hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming then Duggan said "sshh, its okay im not here to hurt you im just here to do what your husband wont and help the people" she calmed down and Duggan put his hand away and she nodded staying quiet then Duggan said "you should live your live the way you want. Take fate into your own hands and help those you know need it" Duggan said softly and she took out her purse and gave Duggan a few more coins nodding before kissing Duggans cheek "for helping them" Duggan quickly nodded smiling before he left the room and came back out the way he came in.

Once Duggan was gone he went to the doctor and gave him the medicine Duggan "acquired" knowing better then to ask where it came from. Duggan then left to buy his dinner at the inn nearby...

Hirum Lindt waved at the city guard as he reentered the city carrying a dead, gutted deer across his shoulders. He had spent the last two days in the forests outside the city gathering useful plants, and was returning now to deal with the deer he had shot that morning.

He walked to his cave, hanging the deer on the hook hanging from a tree just outside of the entrance. He unlocked the door he had built to his living area and entered, throwing his backpack on the table just inside the door. He opened it and made several stacks of the things in it, one for medicinal plants, one for foods, and one for his sleeping mat and other hunting supplies, which he threw his crossbow and quarrels on top of. After that he grabbed an empty bucket and a set of knives and, after starting a fire in the middle of the room, went outside to deer hanging from the tree. He skinned it, carried the hide inside and hung it on his tanning rack, then came back outside and cut the meat from it, placing it in the bucket as he did it. He carried the bucket full of meat inside to his dehydration/curing room and cut it in strips, laying it in trays and lighting a fire under them.

He walked outside and took the remains of the carcass down, throwing it into a burial pit behind the cave and throwing several scoops of dirt on top of it to keep it from stinking. When he got back to the entrance he saw Jek Heiys standing there. "Hello, Hirum," he said. "Did you get anything for me?"

"Sure, follow me inside." he responded. It wasn't exactly safe to talk about some things in public. They entered his living area and, after closing the door, he motioned to the table. "There wasn't much five-leaf left, as it's too cold for it to grow, but I sapped several poppy plants, and I found several deposits of mushrooms." He handed Jek the various items as he mentioned them and when he was done received several coins in return.

"Thanks, Hirum" he said, "Rich folk love the 'shrooms, and with so much time on their hands they're in huge demand."
"No problem," he said, throwing Jek a blue bag. "Take some medicinal tea with you, no charge. You can't cure everything with 'shrooms and five-leaf."

"As long as you don't mind me charging rich folks through the nose for it." he responded. "I'll let the poor have it for cheap, but I got to make money somewhere."

"Sure, charge them whatever you want. They can afford it. And if you don't mind, can you put the word out that I'm looking for someone that can deal with both the rich and poor? I've got some ideas on how to get the rich to pay us poor folk for stuff we won't mind doing."

"Sure," Jek said, "See you later." He left, and Hirum got back to work, this time scraping the fat from the deer's hide and throwing it into the fire, filling the cave with the smell of cooked venison.

Axle had finally walked back to town the places he call home for now was a small lean to, which is connected to the library but the door to the library from his home has long since been covered. He enters his house and sets his back pack on the one spot on his table that wasn't covered in scraps from the old world. Then Axle sits on his cot opposite his table, his stomach growled. "Yeah, yeah, I know... Bar food?" His stomach seems to growl in agreement. He pulls out a small bag from a pile of what looks like cloth, then puts 2 handfuls of scrap metal in it.

He leaves his domicile, with bag in hand. He arrives at the blacksmith shortly leaving his house, he wordlessly gives the blacksmith the scrap and he pays for it. He then goes to a bar orders his food and sits there and eats his food.

Somewhere in Urbi Lupi

"This is bullshit!" A woman yelled slamming her fist into the table. As she did so a few embers flew out from the gaps of her fingers. "This is the third time this week one of our men have been taken down by those blasted desert dwellers. What are they even doing here?! We're supposed to be pacifying the rioters not battling assassins." The captain turned around facing away from the table with her arms crossed. "It's time we smoke these rats out." A smirk spread across the knight captain's face as she turned her head. "And I do mean smoke...and fire." In her extended hand a flame grew and embers rose to the ceiling.

Meanwhile at the Lunar Downpour in the Trade District

"For the last time, stop trying to balance a glass on your head while drinking another. You're going to start paying for the boards I have to replace when you keep spilling the drinks!" Gray exclaimed in a low yell. He wasn't one for being loud, not anymore. This was his bar, and he wasn't going to ruin other people's good time because someone was being an idiot.

"But Gray you know me, I won't spill another one ever again. Not since last time when you threatened to throw me out." As the burly man finished his sentence the glass on top his head fell and crashed on the floor, shattering and spilling it's contents. He looked at Gray and Gray laid his forehead against his palm in disappointment. "Just go." He said. The man began to rebuttal but Gray stopped him with a simple, "Go." There was no anger in his tone but there was something behind his order that meant he was serious. The man decided it was best not to test him, so he got up and left.

"This day better not get any worst." He said as he removed his hand from his head. Shortly after the door closed behind the burly man it slammed back open letting snow blow in with the wind. "What the hell? I said go away..." Before he could finish a party of heavily armored knights stormed in. They spread put throughout the bar with hands on on the hilts of their swords ready for someone to move. Gray walked towards the door, "What is the meaning of this?" He demanded. As he did another knight stepped in. Unlike the others this one had no helmet to hide behind. This knight stood tall and with power. As she came in Gray paused for a moment, he wasn't one to fear anything but for one brief second of time, he paused...and she sensed it.

"Don't take another step, or I'll burn the hide right off your back." Gray did stop, but with his hands clenched together holding back his anger and pride. "I take it you're the owner?" She continued. "Very well. I'm here seeking answers. One answer in particular." She stepped just a few inches from Gray's face. He did everything he could to keep himself from throwing this woman right out of his bar. "Where are they? Where are The Illuminous pigs?" Gray squinted, "What on Novus Anima are you talking about?" Gray responded.

"I know they've been spotted here. Where are you hiding them?" She demanded holding her ground but Gray was not so easily broken. "Let's get this straight. I'm not hiding anyone. Many different people from many different backgrounds come here so they don't have to worry about the struggles out there." He nodded his head towards the still open door. "It's what makes this place special, we don't ask who you are or get involved in your personal business. It's not our place. So if you think you can come in here and ruin my guest good time, you're dead wrong. Now you can either take a seat and enjoy yourself, or I suggest you turn around and walk back out that door." The two locked eyes for a time, but as the captain glanced over the barkeep's shoulder she realized people were beginning to stand up with a look in their eyes. One she knew too well and she did not want to have a blood bath on her hands. Killing all these people would not help in her efforts to end the riots.

"Alright men!" She said with urgency. "It's apparent we're not welcome here." She stepped back from Gray before saying, "I'm not done with you. Should we meet again I won't be so passive." She turned away before yelling, "Move out men." And with that they left out the door. Gray walked over and slammed it shut before turning to his guest. "Well wasn't that something? Let's drink!"

Angelo was simply minding his own business as he ate and drink at the local bar, it wasn't nice food but it was enough to keep him alive and that was all that counted. Angelo would pay for the specials usually since it would changed depending on the season and since it was winter it was soup day so Angelo got some soup and soft bread as he ate. Although what Angelo didn't count on was the interruption to his meal as he turned to see some knights walk in asking about the illuminous which seemed accurate if they were the white cross which apparent by their armor they were. Angelo watched from his bar stool the entire conversation and Angelo wasn't going to start something and let his favorite bar get raided because he wanted to beat the bitch down but Angelo would send a message to them and that he will do.

Once the knights left Angelo finished eating then paid for his meal before he walked outside and started to follow the knights around, if nothing else they would lead him to their commanding officer so Angelo could have a nice chat with him but if he was really lucky they would lead him to some treasure for him to steal so he could really get his point across. Although sneaking into a white cross base and talking to the commander would send the same message stealing something and leaving pose such better odds then talking to a commander that just might call the guards as soon as he sees Angelo. Angelo then proceeded to follow the knights and see where they would go....

Kreiss looked at the blizzard that had engulfed Urbi Lupi. A blinding wall of whiteness, it would normally be suicide if you were to travel inside one. And yet, he was here to do just that.

"Map." He said to one of his soldiers. The soldier hastily brought him a map of their destination and its surrounding area. White Cross soldiers had been sent to the town after word of large riots had reached the ears of Capitol City. Communications from the city were cut off soon after however, as it emerged that a large scale blizzard had enveloped the town. Now Kreiss and a small group of soldiers were to act as a scouting unit to find out news about the situation in the city and relay it back to the capitol.

Most of the soldiers would be camping out near the blizzard while Kreiss would take a party through the blizzard and into the town. He had created a formation modified from the Sandstorm Scouting formation to accomplish the normally impossible task of travelling through a blizzard.

He would lead the party holding one of his stalwart shields in front of him to block the worst of the blizzard. Two soldiers on either side of him would carry his normal shields to protect them from the sides. A mage casting a warmth spell in the middle of the formation would ensure that the team could keep moving without having to stop, a juggernaut behind the mage would carry most of the supplies and a scout trailing behind the juggernaut would ensure that the team was heading in the right direction.

He'd chosen a route that only required them to move in a straight line so that the scout would only have to keep them on a straight track and it would be much easier to traverse the blizzard. When they reached Urbi Lupi, they were to compile a report on the situation and return to the rest of the soldiers and relay the report to Capitol City. But Kreiss knew the situation in Urbi Lupi was likely to be dangerous and might require extra reinforcements for the soldiers in the town.

Secretly, he had made plans to stay behind in Urbi Lupi if the soldiers stationed there needed assistance. He had added the Juggernaut to the formation in case Kreiss couldn't return with the other soldiers, the Juggernaut would be the one to carry the large shield on the way back if Kreiss couldn't. In a pinch, the team could also function as an efficient combat unit as they had the right soldiers to cover most situations.

Either way, it was time to leave, and Urbi Lupi wasn't going to wait for them any longer. "Soldiers, blizzard formation." He commanded. He teleported his large shield and two small shields in front of him. Two Knights took the shields, and he picked up the large shield himself. The mage, Juggernaut and scout fell into line behind him as the two soldiers got into position. "March." The soldiers marched in time with him, as he headed into the field of white.

The group set off for Urbi Lupi.

If you want your supplies, you must stop The White cross. Whatever it takes

The orders repeated in the mind of the heron. There is a scouting party that travels in and out of the city relaying information back to the capitol. This can't continue. Take out their ears and they'll never hear you coming. The circle was tightly packed together. A shield wall protecting the party from the storm, but it limited their vision which in combination with the blizzard was next to none. This was exactly what the group of Illuminous members were counting on. They crawled through a nearby ditch, the only thing keeping them out of the deadly winds of the storm. As they followed the members of The White Cross they prepped for an attack.

At the center of the group was a mage. Rumor has it a mage guides them through the storm. From what I've heard Illuminous doesn't get along with mages. Let's just consider killing them a bonus It was true, mages were the power house of The Crystal order back home. Their enemies, the absolute embodiment of oppression. This would be their primary target. Their goal wasn't to kill every member of the group directly, in a storm like this their movement was severely hindered. They just needed to take out the party's source of warmth and the rest with their heavy armor would be lost to the cold bite of the storm. A heron made his way down the ditch to meet up with the rest of his assailants. He held a cloth in his hand marked with a white cross and fresh stains of crimson, a symbol that his mission was a success. The scout was dead. Now that the only support that was nearby had been taken out, it was time to strike. One of the assassins, a toad, pulled himself up out of the ditch. He filled two cylinders with chemicals from his shoulders, shaking them before he tossed them in the direction of The White Cross party. They exploded into a cloud of smoke green smoke.

The two herons charged in quickly taking advantage of the acidic gas that had been released, which took only a few seconds to begin burning the eyes of their enemies. They fired their grappling hooks to either side of the group using the pull of the mechanism to increase their speed despite the thick snow at their feet. In a series of movements they would charge in quickly with a few swings and jabs of their high frequency blades they'd cut away at their enemies. Which if it hadn't been for the thick armor and large shields, the party would have been dead after a couple runs. But it wasn't that easy with members of The White Cross. Never was...

Meanwhile

The storm picks up within the walls of the city. Guards leave their post at the walls to take shelter indoors. Children are encouraged or threatened by their mothers to come sit by the fire, and a darkness sits as the clouds block out the sun.

Mira leads her party of knights down the street and down an alley. There they take a sharp turn and head up a series of stairs leading up to the Podge Lodge, a local inn that has served as a home to visitors. Now it was a fortress. The banners of The White Cross hung across it. Bowmen kept an eye from the rooftops, swapping shifts with the others inside to keep from freezing to death in the harsh blizzard. Mira and her men went inside and shut the doors behind them. Little did they know they were being followed...

Angelo stayed hidden behind the corner watching from a distance until he saw that they were going into the podge lodge, the one place that could stand to hold more then a couple people at one time. Makes sense since it had sentry positions meant for times or battle. Angelo looked and checked up on the bowman in their spots watching to see when they would leave, although Angelo wanted to storm in he wanted to sneak in even more. So Angelo drank some wine to help warm himself up and stay in the cold longer until they went through their first shift change then Angelo climbed one of the rooftops and dragged a man down to the ground knocking him out cold, but Angelo wasn't cruel so he made sure the man was around a small fire outside before Angelo took his armor and walked inside simply blending in with the others as he asked a few of the hands working the inn where the commander is, saying a convincing lie in saying he wasn't from around here so he wouldn't know where he would be. After making a few turns Angelo found the room and pretended to be a messenger saying it was urgent only the commander know saying it was from the capital. The guards posted in front of the room left and Angelo simply strolled in locked the door and took off the helmet smiling at the confused commander "hi commander you don't know me but id like to talk about your men's conduct in the town a certain woman to be exact causing trouble in one of our fine establishments, I am not trying to hurt anyone and I would just like to ask that you keep an eye on those under your command better and make sure they behave. keep in mind if I could get in here without much trouble then I can leave easily even if you were to tell everyone here to kill me. let me leave and ill even give you my weapons as a sign of good faith"