New Horizons

Tobias finished helping out some of the ships crew in securing some of the rigging on the port side of the ship just prior to the captain shouting the next set of orders to his crew, which followed by a few low grumbles as they shuffled off elsewhere about their duties. Tobias then began walking towards the front of the ship as he got closer he could hear a familiar raised voice. "Look!, I'm sorry but i am really not interested!, so please just leave me ALONE!" Nearing the front of the ship Tobias passed a depressed-looking & heartbroken young man walking away towards the hatch leading to the lower decks. Shortly after having walked-up a few steps Tobias had arrived at the front of the ship to see Katia with her arms hanging over the side of the ship having sunk to her knees in relief, Tobias quietly walking over and stopping beside her, then leaning over to rest his shoulders against the edge as he stared out into the ocean causing to Katia to audibly sigh as a result before she spoke up. "I want off this boat, I'm sick of getting asked to go courting or to meet up for drinks when he dock somewhere... and that guy just now, I've lost count how many times he's tried to hit on me."

Tobias smirked "I'm equally tired of hearing your complaints, every time someone asks you" Tobias Scratched his beard trying to think out his words before continuing the awkward discussion as he was never one for properly handling delicate situations & emotions of other people well as his wife mostly dealt with that in the past. "You know normal gir..." Tobias forced a cough to restart "what i mean is you're at the age where..." Tobias was feeling even more awkward with each passing second "What i mean is?..." Tobias let out a huge sigh hanging his head in the process before going on "Look you should live your life, your a really pretty lass so you cant blame guys for asking any its normal to be interested... and..." A grin spread wider & wider on Katia as Tobias went on and on trying to discuss the matter before she spoke up to end his suffering & bring an end to the awkwardness, "Ok, ok, I know all that, ok!, I'm just not interested with any of them, so just leave it, PoP's!" Katia emphasized the word pops at the end as she gave him a smiling but sarcastic side-glance.

Tobias started to relax as he jokingly thought that it would've of been far easier raising a boy passed through the back of his mind as the conversation ended. He acted like he never noticed Katias glace at him, trying to hide a smile at the PoP's comment as he always thought it was only right her real parents should have that title he was just a guardian for Katia but Tobias had come to care for her as his own over the years, not admittedly though.

As they both stayed there watching the water, a voice shouted down from far above "Land ahead!" a bunch of cheers shortly followed as it wouldn't be much longer before they finally arrived at their destination, passengers & crew-members started to come up on deck to see for themselves. Tobias stood just as the ships captain appeared at his side offering a bottle to him "It's been a rough few weeks, but we're nearly there!" Tobias took a swig from the bottle before handing it back "Glad we took you on board back then, both you and y'er lass have been indispensable not just with helping out around the ship & with the passengers but with them looters & the pirates on the way here, if you ever need to sail elsewhere just let me know!, there will always be a place on board fer you two!" The captain then finished the bottle in one go before throwing it overboard, before turning to shake hands with Tobias. "It was the least we could do for allowing us on-board at short notice, Thank you for getting us here!" Tobias shook the captains hand before the captain had walked away back to the rear of the ship.

A small group had gathered at the front of the ship everyone searching to see the land in the distance, it wasn't a surprise to Tobias that Katia had slunk off to avoid the crowed as she was never one for being around groups of people. Tobias instead just stood there watching out while thinking on what they needed to do when they arrived at their destination.

She trotted along behind Joey, "Nothin' s'far as you know." now, Piper wasn't much of a paranoid individual, but at the same time, it wasn't often someone was following her. It was lucky Joey was about, because Pimmy didn't know how to handle a situation like this. She kept brushing her fingers against the brass knuckles for comfort, occasionally glancing to Jason to make sure he was keeping pace. The bustling docks might as well have been invisible to the concerned redhead.

They plowed through the crowds Pip was so used to, but for once she wasn't concerned about the contents of their pockets. She subconsciously reached down to take Jason's hand, making sure he wasn't getting lost in the masses. Her other hand remained in her pocket, assuring her the brass knuckles were still there. Not that she hoped to use them, but it was nice to know she had them. When Joey whirled around the corner, Pip let go of the child to dart into the alleyway after him, stumbling around the man and plastering herself close beside him. Her gaze followed his, eagerly scanning the crowds for that familiar face. The more time that passed without an appearance, the more disappointed and relieved Piper became, "No weapons, yeh." she brushed her knuckles in her pocket, "S'too dangerous. Gittus kil't an' th'like." what if the woman was on the other side of the wall? She craned her head a little to try to peer further around Joey's, when a new presence shattered her suspense and made her whirl around to face the alleyway in a flurry of colorful words,

"Blooody--shittellsinabasket!" a fleck of spit flew from her startled lips and her hands flew out as if the woman had struck. Her gaze flitted between the woman and the roof a few times, making the connection, before fixing on her. The instant Isabeau started moving, Piper sidestepped, setting a hand on Jason's shoulder to step further in front of him. Sure, she'd rob a child if times were desperate enough. Children could easily run back to mom or dad and get compensation. But she'd be damned if she was going to let creepy, hooded women with glinting weapons and a strange look about them get anywhere near the kid.

"Why y'been follerin' us, lass?" her mouth felt dry.

(( @Plecy @Strafe @IcePezz ))

“Hello, and welcome to Maria’s Medicines and Sundries!”

Tirarrian blinked her way from a daze. She must have daydreamed all the way here!

Either way, the group had arrived at a somewhat modest apothecary, who's profession was only a shade away from what Tirarrian herself could do, and did, for a living.

The Gnome thought about inspecting the premises further, but thought better of it. 'Probably better to make myself scarce,' she thought, 'I know I wouldn't take too kindly to someone scrutinising my work.'

Tirarrian piped up "Do you guys want anything to eat? I can pop out and grab something nearby."

@notdeadyet@Elitestpotato@Inertia

@GreenHood (I'll be leaving the shop and possibly bumping into you!)

Zargon's Personal Dimension; Zargon

Zargon looked through his scrying crystal upon the town of mortals, now in his true form and with little concern for anyone finding him; for his dimension was located in between the path to Hell and the mortal realm, and obscured from the prying eyes of all that he did not trust. Well, didn't trust at all - he never completely trusted anyone, for that would be a path into weakness.

He saw the town, in its innocence. Some loose demons hadn't done much with the town, but consiering how weak they were he wasn't surprised. It was time to bring a little chaos to the table.

"It will now... begin."

On that note, he sent a summon for his trusty associate, Aezophyl.

---

Zargon's Personal Dimension; Aezophyl

Wandering the higher stretches of mountains, Aezophyl was glad to have been called; he found the icy peaks to be devoid of anything to do and a detriment to his own powers.

Appearing in his armor in Zargon's dimension, he didn't see Zargon himself. No doubt he was lurking in his true form. It was confirmed when he realized he couldn't see the dark red stone walls, and that they were covered in pitch demon darkness.

"Ah, Zargon. What can I do for you?..."

"The mortal realm is woefully untested. Humanity, gnomes, traitors of our own - they have become... overconfident. They take this universe for granted."

"I shall imbue you with a spell that will hide your true form for one night and today. In that time, find your way into the center of some human gathering place. I need not describe what to do when the time is up and your form is revealed..."

The result, therefore, would be an ambush when most people were sleeping.

If an armored helmet could make a smile, he would be grinning. "Finally... something to do... I will not fail you, Zargon. Not like some of the little minions..." Zargon had used weak demons before to harrass the countryside at the behest of the human mage. It resulted in either desertions or death for most of them involved. Aezophyl would not fail.

He felt the dark, forbidden magics of his ilk spread like lubricant through his armor, until he looked at his arms and saw human limbs, obscured by a dark cloak around his figure. His face would look normal, but his eyes could still give him away...

"I can do little for your eyes, as the spell can only go so far with you. Nonetheless, you can travel in the mass of mortals freely. Good luck..."

On that note, with a flash of red light, Aezophyl appeared on the outskirts of the city. He got up from what had been a kneeling position on the ground, and started walking.

((Players can see him if they wish to, but this is really more of an intro aimed at nobody in particular in wait for anyone who hasn't posted recently to post soon. The real fun is coming up...))

"You're worrying too much." Joey finally let out after a good while of people-watching. It was almost disappointing to see no sign of their elusive skulk. There was a certain thrill to being followed, even if it presented a hint of danger. He eventually let out a sigh as his shoulders sank just a bit. "Just a tyro hound, friend'a the kid, maybe." He mused, peering back to look the child over. More trouble than his worth so far, he couldn't help but think. Piper was who he drifted to next, naturally, but his expression softened for his companion. "...Shaken off, I fig--"

Something moved behind her, dropping to the floor. The man's eyes widened as a thump on the cobbles confirmed it. He didn't have much trouble peering right over Piper's head, and he quickly made the guess where the familiarly-dressed figure had come from. Frustration grew as Piper stepped in front of the child that had lead them to this situation in the first place, he knew how she got. Sure, Joey was no monster, but if he had to pick one of the two to use as a human shield... Well, it wouldn't be Piper, that he was certain. If she was shielding the child, he had to step to shield her, and he tried to brush past the two of them, emboldened as the figure lowered her hood-- A woman, he thought. About his age. Young. She didn't look like a complete crazed murderer.

He threw out a hand, fingers splayed, to gesture the woman to stop, but wouldn't let it actually near her arm's reach. "Stop, stop! You're plenty close enough." He shifted on his feet. His hand stayed extended. Piper's final question was damned agreeable. "It'd better be a good answer-- The fuck're you doing, prancing on the roofs?" He gave the darkly-clad woman a furrowed-brow stare, hoping she could keep her distance. He was confident in the bluff of innocence.

@Ryciera @IcePezz @Strafe

Tagged; @ElitestPotato @The Fated Fallen @notdeadyet

Being ignored by the individuals didn't really perturb Cassius thought it did slightly serve to irritate, with a shrug he just followed them, Not the nicest of people are they? After minutes of hushed talking and sped walking, they arrived at the shop. The sign wavering back and fro, he noted the sweet scent permeating his nose as soon as he entered, Seems like this place is well maintained. Clutching his arm again, the gnome had asked something about food, to which he opened his mouth but closed it again, seeing as he would probably just get ignored and with another shrug, he rest his back on one of the walls, and folding his arms. He had let the lady who seemingly had a bleeding hand which allegedly was claimed to be bleeding more than a cut by a sword.

Trying to give a gesture of niceness, he sat back and let her go first, silently watching with his azure blue eyes and a vexed look while pulling his hood down and trying to dismiss the worsening pain.

She couldn't help but laugh at the two, despite trying her hardest to fight back the amusement she got out of the situation. Her hands floated down into her pockets and she shrugged casually. She slowly came to a stop, not wanting to agitate things any further then they already seemed to be. She was proud though, to illicit such a reaction. They should be scared I suppose, good to know I haven't lost my touch., she thought with a soft snicker, but instead, all that was said was I was curious I suppose. For now, I have no intentions of harming any of you. The boy caught me off guard, and well ... she shrugged again.

She lowered herself to a knee, becoming eye level with Jason. Her crystal eyes looking over the him with wonder. She stayed there for a moment or so, studying, thinking, observing. What was it that intrigued her so? Even at this close, she couldn't pin her finger on it. She bit her lower lip thoughtfully as she rose back to her feet, her attention turning to the other two as she dipped her head in a less threatening greeting. If you wish to fight me, I understand. A bit foolish of an idea, but I wouldn't say that I blame you lot for your suspicion., she answered their questions, sort of, ignoring any reference to her skulking in the shadows or on the rooftops. She was a little too proud, and could be a bit pompous at times. But her confidence was her charm, in a way.

And who do we have here? she turned her attention to Jason again, this time with a warm, genuine smile, curiosity sparkled in her eyes. It would be quite apparent to Joseph and Piper, her interests were more so in the boy for the moment.

@Plecy @Ryciera @Strafe

@Strafe@Inertia@Elitestpotato@The Fated Fallen

No sooner had the word "Jaltheor" left Xusin's lips than did the hunter's face distort. His grip on her suddenly tightened, almost painfully so. For a breif moment Xusin feared the hunter, and dreaded the thought of bein alone near him. Before long though, a kind voice greeted them, and Xusin was dropped promptly on the counter.

"Her hand. Fix it" he was so asertive, asured that she needed fixing. Xusin looked about quickly for a way out. To her surprise, she got 2, much more than fate likedto give people. The gnome ha made a call for supper! Do you guys want anything to eat? I can pop out and grab something nearby.

"Oh Ill go! Im fine really!" Xusin started off the counter. "Besides he surely needs medical attention more!" Xusin was talking about the young man who had followed behind the group. She notioned towards him with her head, and starte to scooche off the counter towards freedom.

No sooner than Tirarrian had offered to grab some food did Xusin leap back into life,

"Oh I'll go! I'm fine, really!", she started to shuffle from the counter, though was having a hard time of it between the Mercenary and the Healer. She seemed to make an excuse; "Besides, he surely needs medical attention more!", she gestured towards... Cassius, his name was?

Tirarrian had been in enough charged conversations to notice that she had seized up when the Mercenary drew close. Whatever words had exchanged between them, they had definitely caused some friction between the two. Either way, the lady was hurt and needed healing before she went anywhere, but Tirarrian felt more uneasy about leaving them in a room together. Surely the scarred man wouldn't try and attack her in such a public setting? At least that wouldn't happen from where Tirarrian had come from, but this far away, who knows how the social climate was.

The Gnome took off her feathered hat and bowed, stirring her dark green hair for the first time in a while

"I assure you lady Xusin, my skills are quite adequate in this task. You seem rather eager to get going, though. How do you figure you can deal with that wound by yourself?"

@notdeadyet@Elitestpotato@Inertia

Aezophyl took long strides down the street. His eyesight was a bit hazy; the spell concealing him also gave him some human attributes. Appearently that included poorer eyesight. He knew that he emitted at some degree an aura of darkness, but nothing could be done about that. Besides, only demons or angels would be able to discern him for what he was, and he doubted that there would be any of those around. Or at least, any that could cause trouble.

He passed a shop, barely noticing anyone in the area in his growing red haze. He wanted to cause something... but he knew he had to wait. For a little while, anyways. His growing anger began to radiate, drawing questioning glances from the people he walked past who simply didn't understand. His goal would most likely be a certain bar that was just a little ways down the street; it was there he felt the most life forms.

Tomorrow morning... too long...

(@Elitestpotato, @notdeadyet, @Strafe, @The Fated Fallen, @Inertia)

~Jason~

He blinked several times throughout the proceedings between the adults. It seemed like the scary lady wanted to protect him, and Joffridus wanted to protect the scary lady. He was beginning to wonder if maybe the scary lady had some sort of special power.

He blinked again as the cloaked lady examined him, unsure if he was supposed to spin around, strike a pose, or dance or something. He wasn’t used to being stared at. It felt like her eyes were poking his insides, and that was weird. Weird lady. But she didn’t seem mean, and she certainly wasn’t scary like Joffridus’ companion.

What to do, what to do, Jason thought. Oh! He dug around in his pockets, and pulled out a clump of lint littered with several leftover bread crumbs. It kinda sorta looked like a bunny, or a turtle, or a cloud maybe. At least to Jason. Probably.

With a sheepish grin, he held out the lint creature thing to the cloaked lady.

@Ryciera @Plecy @IcePezz

~Maria~

Maria did her best to hide her contempt as the tall scarred man plopped a strange, wet foreign woman down on the counter. She had just cleaned it this morning, and now blood was dripping from the woman’s hand, staining the porous wood. She would have to clean it again.

“Her hand. Fix it,” the scarred man barked tersely. Rude. She wanted with all her being to snip back, your beard. shave it. But that wouldn’t do. This was a (hopefully) paying customer, so she would hold herself back and be the sweet, kindly shopkeeper that she usually was.

In a motherly voice, she cooed to the girl on the table, “Oh dear, what happened to your hand? This looks terri--”

No one was listening.

It was getting rather loud in her usually quiet store. A gnome called for food orders, another man with a wounded arm walked in. The wounded woman jumped up, trying to scooch off the counter and escape to the gnome. Maria pinched the bridge of her nose, trying very hard to remain calm.

The gnome called back out. "I assure you lady Xusin, my skills are quite adequate in this task. You seem rather eager to get going, though. How do you figure you can deal with that wound by yourself?"

Ah, fuck it.

“Like hell they are,” Maria barked at the gnome as her sweet facade plummeted into oblivion. In one swift motion, she jerked the foreign woman’s injured hand behind the counter, pulled out the spell book, and began to mutter a lengthy incantation, not bothering to pull out any fake herbs to disguise her magic as “medicine.” The tears and contortions of the woman’s hand swiftly sewed themselves back to normal, and Maria forcefully ushered the woman off the counter.

“Next,” Maria huffed, as she gestured to the man with the bleeding arm. The smile was gone, and Maria glared contemptuously at the shop’s guests.

Tagged; @ElitestPotato @The Fated Fallen @notdeadyet @Strafe @ArenaSnow

The situation that unfolded slightly amused Cassius, with everyone shuffling about. With a slight grin, he just watched as the shift changed from the lady with bleeding hand and him. A sudden chill ran up his spine as a person who was basically radiating bloodlust while he passed the store, Cassius looked back, unintentionally gripping his longsword but releasing it when the figure disappeared. He went back to watching the group of people, with perceiving eyes.

Watching the woman, who he guessed as the owner of this establishment, he felt empathy as she was basically being ignored. Kindred souls, was it? he thought to himself. His eyebrow snapped upwards as her entire demeanor changed after the lady with the wounded hand tried to run off. After healing said first woman, Edict cropped his sword up to her throat, muttering something about being a magician of some sort. Cassius has had enough, unsheathing his weapon out of its beautifully ornate home he pointed it at the unscrupulous witch hunter. "Alright I've had enough, you can't threaten anyone you want." Cassius said indignantly with a touch of irate, "Drop the weapon, else I'll run this through you."

~Maria~

She felt the cold steel graze against her throat, and her eyes darted angrily to the man who wielded it. She was too indignant to be afraid. Obnoxious riff raff barging into the shop, ignoring her, making a mess, then trying to kill her. She wasn't thinking about Jason needing a mother. She wasn't even thinking about the next 5 seconds. She was just angry.

And just a little bit, though she wasn't sure why, the scarred man reminded her of her husband.

She glared defiantly down the edge of the blade, and spat out, "I'm just your friendly, sweet, medicine lady."

"But yes, there may be a spell for that," she smirked coldly. "Try me, if you have the balls to kill an innocent store owner."

But of course, there wasn't a spell for that.

@Elitestpotato

What started at a sliced hand had moved on to a short and benign spell, to a sword at the Healer Lady's throat, to what promised to be an all out fight.

Tirarrian hadn't exactly seen magic before, so maybe she was being ignorant when she thought "Hey, it was only healing, right?" Folk tales ranged from all sorts of evil to do with magic, from human sacrifice to curses to every spell. Due to the Healer Lady's casual attitude, Tirarrian figured most of that was lies.

"Edict! She just healed Xusin, that's a good thing, right? Why don't we all calm down and lower various swords and voices." she eyed Cassius, "Especially you."

What caught Tirarrian's attention most was Xusin caught in the middle of it all. As the target of the spell, would Edict turn on her?

@Strafe@Inertia@Elitestpotato@notdeadyet

She sidestepped, putting a hand between the woman and Jason when she caught his movements out of the corner of her eye, "That warn't hardly an answer." the redhead retorted, her discomfort steadily growing. She stole a quick glance in Joey's direction, who was now in full view, before focusing past him on the woman once more, "Y'ent got no business botherin' this'un." it was difficult to hear with how much her heart was pounding in her ears, and even though the redhead was deluded enough to think she could get out of any situation relatively unharmed, it was assuring to have a friend by her side. She flicked another glance to Joey and withdrew the brass knuckles, holding them down and to the side as a subtle suggestion too their foe,

"We 'ent wan'n t'hurt'che either, yeh?" she assured her, though her voice betrayed her tension, "We 'ent lookin' fer no sord'a trouble. Bu' pardon me fer gettin' jess a touch worrie't 'bout a lass droppin' down from th'sky'n th'like. It don't take a ph'losopher to know tha' 'ent normal." her free hand gradually pushed back, trying to force the child to take a step away from Isabeau. If it worked, she'd follow suit, only faltering to tap the back of Joey's foot with her own before moving.

(( @Plecy @Strafe @IcePezz ))

Fear

What was this? What was going on?!?! Suddenly deep inside of Xusin, a fire ignited. There were all these bats flying about her and everything was spinning! What was this what was this terrible fear?!?! Her very soul was burnt by its presence, and her nostrils filled with their scent. Pure and utmost evil had come close, but what?!?! What could it be and why was it so terrifying?!??

Xusin suddenly bolted past everybody with a sudden burst of passion. She was terrified so much she absolutely had to confront this eil presence, thisdemonic pull in her gut. She took off, thrusting the door open in her wake. Just dowb the street she saw it. Only her fallen eyes or an adept magician could see a man ealking towards a tavern radiating a terrifying red aura.

"Aezophyl.." her lipz formed he words but she had no breath for he had taken it on sight. Instead only a soft gasp escaped her, gently forming thw sound, and carrying a magical hint to the demon that something hadjist darred utter its name.

Xusin covered her mouth and prayed silently that he had not heard his name being ushered. Suddenly being trapped with the hunter and the garden gnome and the young swordman didnt seem all too bad. She would prefferre that over HIM seeing her, even worse, recognize her! She was half tempted to cast a spell of cloak or smoke, but she remembered what the hunted ha said about magic.

So she just stood there, speechless, exposed, vulnerable, and afraid. Her eyes fixated in utmost terror on Aezophyl, expecting life to end at anypossible moment. Her heart fluttered to prayer, and suddenly it felt very hot outside. She flushed in seconds.
"Dear God..."

@ArenaSnow