"It seems that everyone as arrived. At last, the cast for this grand play has been assembled. Come on now, everyone should be smiling, aren’t you all just excited for the task that lays before you?"

Gregorias was unfazed at the lack of response he received. If anything, he expected no less of the situation. Currently, there were a total of forty-two master-class and above warriors that stood before him. Amongst them, some were old, some were young. There were those who used magic and there were those who relied on their on their body. Both male and female. Yes, before him stood the coalition force formed by the three kingdoms. Each had assembled and sent out their strongest warriors. Gregorias gave a cynical smile as he noted some dangerous individuals that were hidden among them.

Nominated by both the Water and Earth Kingdom, Gregorias was chosen to oversee and aid in the management of the coalition force. He was an outsider; an observer. He was part of the northern tribes that was unaffiliated with any of the three kingdoms.

He was the ideal man since each kingdom did not complete trust that the others would stay faithful to the temporary treaty. Even their current base camp was far into neutral territory to prevent any backstabbing reinforcements from potential traitors.

He inwardly lamented how tedious it was going to be to manage the ragtag group before him. No doubt within them were plenty of egoistical individuals. Nevertheless, Gregorias always had ways to deal with such people. He gave another cynical smile.

“Let’s move onto more official matters, shall we?”

Gregorias cleared his throat before continuing.

“While the ceasefire that has been established is active, none of the voluntary parties, regardless of background, may harm one another throughout the duration of this period. The sole enemy will be the unknown monsters that have appeared, the main priorities being the large creatures that have appeared within the active warzones and caused discord for each of the nations while in combat. There are no special conditions for those who partake in this venture, the rate in which you annihilate this threat is advised to be quick and thus the quicker you return, the larger the reward's sum will be.”

He paused yet again, waiting for any questions before he resumed. All that came was silence though.

“You will all be able to chose your own teammates for each individual mission. There will be a requirement for each mission, for example, an A rank mission will require you to take at least 4 members. In the past week, we’ve already identified over 20 of these monsters in various locations. When the latest update arrives at dawn, you lot will be dispatched immediately to quell these beasts. If you have not created a team by then, you will be put on a random team.”

Gregorias then rolled the script back into its proper form, pressing its seal closed and returning it to his bag. He looked to the group before him and gave an all teeth grin.

“So it’d be best if you guys start making acquaintances now, you never know who’s going to be your new best friend.”

Cypher grumbled at what Gregoria said, he didn't like the idea of working with others, but it was clear to him that he'd have to in order to get jobs done. He looked around at the other warriors in the room, trying to find someone who he can work with. "Dammit, I need to find someone strong to team up with." he mumbled as he noticed that some of the warriors where quite famous while others looked like they were straight up occult.

He sighed as he walked to the dinning tables near by and sat down, "I wonder who here is worth teaming up with."

"Twenty of the damn things! Sounds like we got our work cut out for us eh?", to anyone watching it would appear that Nilara was speaking to herself. That wasn't entirely false as she was speaking with Saria. The desire demon had recently become capable of speaking directly to her host without melding their minds. "I look forward to facing these creatures, it has been ages since I've last slain a beast and I tire of killing peasants", the demon whispered back into the mind of the necromancer. Nilara raised a brow in response, Saria had always been murderous but for desire sake never simply for the fun of killing. "You a desire demon? Cause you sure sound like a wrath demon right about now", Nilara smirked at her comment. While she had never gotten used to the fact that she was a mortal prison for a demonic soul it did comfort her slightly that she'd have someone to talk to. Most here gave Nilara dirty looks when she first arrived. It didn't help that she came in on chains, but apparently her reputation preceded her. Most of the time she was fine with that, people who knew her feared and respected her. But this lot was different, they probably hunted her kind and would be more than a match for her. Fortunately their quarry wasn't the necromancer so she'd relax until that changed.

"I would recommend any of the Kingdom's commanders, they are all quite impressive people." A dark-haired man sat next to Cypher, his thick glasses layered with what appered to be iron dust. He was an unremarkable individual amongst the nigh legendary heroes and villains. He seemed rather nervous as he proffered his hand.

"I'm, ah... Gideon. Gideon..." He waved his hand absently, his brain working overtime as the mage's blue eyes darted around the room. "...Falreach. I work with metal. Nice to meet you."

"I would recommend any of the Kingdom's commanders, they are all quite impressive people." A voice said to Cypher, and he immediately turned and lunged for an attack, only to stop half way when he realized he wasn't being attacked. Cypher examineded the man that was now sitting next to him, curious as to how he didn't notice him sooner. "I'm, ah... Gideon. Gideon ... Falreach. I work with metal. Nice to meet you."

Cypher raised a brow at the mans hesitation, "Are you sure that's your name? You don't sound so sure about that buddy." He said in an amused tone as he relaxed a bit. "I'm Cypher Storm, I work with lightning. Nice to meet you to. And to respond to your suggestion, I'd rather NOT work with one of the super pushy commanders." Cypher explained "What about you? You any strong? Even if your not I can still have yah on my team, I just need a guy to follow along so I can get the higher class missions." Cypher said confidently.

'Gideon's' nervous smile didn't shift as the younger man mentioned how odd the ferrokinetic's introduction was. Instead, he moved on to answer the next question, still as fidgety and jumpy as ever. "I'm just a support mage, Mister Cypher. I only know a few spells that are strictly offensive." He reached inside on of the pockets that adorned his dark clothes, retrieving a set of silver rings that had been masterfully linked together in a chain. "It's not much, but I can do simple things like make armor and get the lay of the land. Or parlor tricks like..." He waved his hand, and the links of the chain were separate without so much as a flash or spark of raw mana. It seemed as if they had just flowed through one another.

"Here, a token of our meeting." He pushed the first of the silver rings across the table toward Cypher. "It should fit on whatever finger you put it on, I'm at least decent working with silver. If you don't mind me, I'd be honored to follow along."

Cypher made a face of disdain for a brief moment at being call 'Mister Cypher' before removing, "Well then that works great! If I partner with you I can do my own thing without you getting in the way" He said as he picked up the silver ring laying in front of him. He the put it on his right middle finger and looked inspected it. "This is a nice ring, make it yourself? Nice magic trick by the way."

Edit: "Now we just need one or two more members to our little group, Anyone hear look like they fit the bill Gids." Cypher said to the older man

Not far away from the dining table where the nervous ferromancer and young stormboy sat, there stood a man in white robes with a skull mask covering his face. There was not only the long handle of a hammer rising over his shoulders, but the barrel of a miniaturized cannon as well. His head turning slowly as he examined everyone in the room. "Teammates, eh?" He muttered to himself. "While I do so enjoy working alone, it's best that I do not fight alone..." Ijo continued as he kept looking around the room.

What are the qualities I should look for in a potential teammate? I cannot discern their true strength just by observing them...nor do I particularly desire to speak with them... Ijo thought as he made the pistol at his hip levitate up to his hand, before proceeding to examine it. This was out of force of habit, as he felt a sense a sort of comfort in looking over the weapon's craftsmanship. While it may not have been superbly made, and while it certainly had it's flaws, he did make the weapon himself after all...

-

John sat at one of the several other tables in the room, fiddling with a medallion. He wondered what it was, and if it could tell him anything in time. But soon enough he slipped it back into his pocket. Enough of that, I shouldn't worry myself too much. He thought as he began to look around the room. "So...anyone here could be my teammates? He said, eyeing a few of the more attractive women in the room. "Yeah right...like I'd have a chance. Might be worth a shot...but...nah."

He then pulled out one of his scythes and charged it with electricity, watching as the bolts arced across the gap in the blade.

This was not Maggie's day. Dragged out of her work to attend a meeting for soldiers? And arriving late. The glares she had received from commanders. As though there was time to go through every report that passed through the camp each day. But this was wholly unfair. Maggie had expected to fight, this was war and she was a sort of soldier. Technically. Part of her was even looking forward to it, first hand observations of her work. Any grunt could use her tools, but none of them knew what to look for as she had quickly learned.

Still, it was supposed to be orderly, teams assigned and formed by generals with lists and knowledge about candidates. This put her in a futile position.  She was not unaware of how she looked, especially surrounded by fully armored warriors. Nor was there any chance of being mistaken as a magic user. No, there where no misconceptions in Maggie's mind. Barely scraping past five feet, small frame, mangled hands, and generally disheveled looks would not win her allies. If anything she appeared to have just lost a fight. A small growl of frustration slipped out and she kicked the table leg. So much for testing; she'd be stuck scouting around the camp for bandits with this system in place. If she was going to fight it had to be the big baddies.

The other soldiers around the room where an odd collection to be sure. Only a few where in uniform, Earth Kingdom troops she recognized but couldn't differentiate ranks. Most where in their own clothing, or armor. Warriors where easiest to pick out, the way the others carried themselves gave off the same effect as full plated armor and heavy arms. No, these people wouldn't see her worth. She'd have to show them. Silently grumbling, Maggie scowled, slouching in her seat and began to knaw at a blacked thumbnail in thought.

Off to the side of the room a girl, woman really, seemed to chatter away. Whether it was really to herself or anyone who could bear to listen to her absent minded rambling for more than a minute or two, that part was hard to discern. Evelyn could barely keep her mouth shut as the purpose of their mission was explained to them all. 'Well a team will definitely make things more interesting!' The thought crossed her mind and she breathed a sigh of relief at the idea of not being stuck on her own the entire time. She didn't function well alone. It wasn't like she'd had much of alone time before. "Hmmm, all of these options..." Evelyn murmured to herself. The room was full to the brim with all kinds of people, some tall and terrifying, some brooding and quiet, and some small and unintimidating although she didn't doubt any of them could hold their own in a fight. After all, they were all supposed to be some of the best in every respective kingdom.

To get a better view of the room, Evelyn squeezed her way past some of the towering individuals in front of her. Geez, size was quite an important trait around here. A quick glance across the room and she picked out few faces in the crowd she recognized from stories and what not, although most were unfamiliar. Looking towards a necromancer in chains she quirked a brow in curiosity. "I didn't think they'd enlist the help of criminals too... The thought made her shudder a bit, some of these people were actually dangerous. Another woman caught her interest, one who didn't seem too happy about being there, kicking a table leg. She was a tiny thing too, and rather disheveled. "Uh...Hello! Are you..are you alright?" Evelyn accompanied the question with a friendly smile, leaning against her spear in the woman's direction.

"Seems there aren't many Saimer here, none that I can see atleast. Not surprising, most don't stray from the coasts", Irisara eyed the mob of warriors, mages, and rogues that had been listening to Gregorias' speech. A real bunch of characters they were, the sheer variety reminded her somewhat of her crew only this lot didn't smell as bad. "It's too bad the boys hadn't come along, this place would've felt a lot more hospitable", she thought to herself as she rested a hand on the pommel of Agea. There was a reason most sea elves stayed to the coast. History is unclear but many say the Saimer originally came from the sea, for a sea elf to go inland they'd be away from home and their natural element. For Irisara to be away it left her with a feeling of homesickness that put her in an unnatural position...she'd have to make friends. The pirate was a normally amicable person but only to those she knew, to have to go through the process of putting trust in strangers was something she wasn't looking forward to. The fact she was a notorious corsair made making friends harder unless they themselves were less than ideal citizens.

"Let's get this over with. Just pick a team and head to your tent. If they want to make friends they can once I know they won't end up dead within the week", Irisara scanned the crowd for someone worth her time. In one corner she noticed a woman speaking quite casually to herself. Irisara raised an eyebrow before looking the other way, "I'll pass on the madwoman, anyone else?. There was a couple already in conversation but from the looks of things they just started talking. "To hell with it, might as well make tonight interesting", Irisara walked over to Evelyn and Maggie with a smirk on her face. She had an idea for breaking the ice with these two and hopefully if things went well she'd have two new "friends". "Now feels about as good a time as any for few drinks eh? Name's Irisara", Irisara held out her hand for either Maggie or Evelyn to shake it but quickly pulled it back once she realized her barbs were out. "Shit, sorry about that, still not used to the inland", she said as she retracted the barbs which quickly sank back into her fingers.

Gideon nodded. "As I said, I work with metal. Iron's my best, but I can do all sorts of things with gold and silver."

"Well, if you don't particularly want anyone from the command class, I'd say there's a lot to choose from." He scanned the area, gesturing at ones that caught his eye. "And if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to avoid anyone from either the Sea or Land Kingdom's military arms." He chuckled nervously, tapping his fingers along the cold iron of his staff. "Confrontations between former rivals doesn't make a good team dynamic."

He thought for a moment longer, then reached into another one of his many pockets to pull out a grubby and torn sheet of parchment, the messily scrawled script that nearly covered every visible inch obscuring some sort of crest that had been stamped near the top right. "Let's see... From what I've heard, the Pirate Queen Irisara Silaen has been called here, and she's both dangerous and non-military. She's the sea-elf with the twin cutlasses. Then there's the Necromancer, she's the chained lady over there. I've don't have as much on her, but I was told that she had to come here or be executed. Umm..." He turned the sheet over, glancing over the barely legible names. "Evelyn Cheyne, mage that works with water. She's a Water Kingdom native, spent nearly all her life on and around her father's ship. She's the white-haired girl talking with the Pirate Queen. Or... A man named John Reynolds, he's a caster that works with ice and lightning." He searched for a moment more, coming to the bottom of the page in record time. "Another guy you could consider would be Lucas Trent, he has the interesting and quite powerful ability to control force. It's up to you, Mister Cypher."

Cypher listened intently at the descriptions Gideon was telling of the multiple possible teammates. Well, more like he was excited to see potential sparring partners. He then took at the many people and noticed that the Sea Queen and the girl that Gideon named 'Evelyn' seemed like they could be very strong. "Lets get those two! All we really need are two or three more people right?" Cypher said before he stood up and grabbed Gideons arm, dragging him away from the table and forcing him to follow along as he introduced himself to the girls at the other side of the room. "Yo ladies!" Cypher said with a smirk, "M'names Cypher Storm, and this is my buddy Gideon." he said as he pushed Gideon forward. "Gideon here says that you guys are strong, so wanna team up with us?" he asked with a grin as he finally got a good look at the three girls.

The last to be mentioned sat a couple of seats to the right and a row back from the ferromancer. Lucas leaned forward, his attention caught by the mention of his own name as his mind worked backward through the rest of the exchange. After a moment he stood up and moved to follow the other spectacled man.

"How interesting that the fellow who had trouble remembering his own name would be so keen on the details concerning the other candidates. And what an interesting ability you seem to have. Such a skill would have made you very valuable in any one of my business interests."

Maggie didn't notice that the blonde woman was speaking to her at first. She stared at her blankly before forcing a smile. Time to test out her people skills.
"Fine," she replied, examining the woman "just isn't my usual crowd." Not that she had a crowd. As her eyes shifted again to the surrounding groups she found another woman staring, at her or her new acquaintance? Either way she was smiling, approaching even.

A genuine smile crept to Maggie's face upon hearing Irisara's greeting, and only flinched for a moment upon seeing the magic displayed on her hand.
"Maggie, and any number of drink would make all of this go down easier. This is-" she stopped in mid gesture to the blonde, realizing they hadn't actually gone through introductions. Thankfully two more showed to their table. To think she was worried about finding people merely seconds ago. The first man, Cypher looked young, especially to be in a war. Gideon didn't apparently to much of a warrior either. But looks didn't mean much, as she well knew. She smiled at the newcomers and folded her arms.
"That depends. I'm only interested in the serious work, the big ranks." She raised an eye brown as yet another man came to the table. A very social group they had growing here.

Evelyn listened to Maggie's words, giving her a slight once over as subtly as she could manage. It was true, she did stick out quite a bit, falling under the unintimidating category of people. "Hmph, I know the feeling." Evelyn agreed with a breathy laugh. The thought of her father's ship crossed her mind and a small sigh escaped her lips. It'd be a bit before she was back there, home with her family again but her curiosity for the world burned brighter than the comfort of home. Before Evelyn could think of anything else to say, they were approached by another woman. She squinted at her, a sense of familiarity hitting her. It didn't take long to put a name to her face, Evelyn eyes widening to the size of saucers as the Pirate Queen and Maggie spoke. She was both star struck and a little nervous at the same time.

Collecting herself in time for Maggie's introduction to end and her's to begin, her smile broadened again although with a nervous edge to it. "I'm Evelyn, Evelyn Cheyne. Happy to make your aquintances!" She exclaimed. "A drink would be great!"

There small group quickly seemed to double as three others joined. 'Making friends was as easy as I thought it'd be! Evelyn looked to the three new people, listening to the boy who led them over. "Oh..um..." The offer took her a little off guard, but her bright smile didn't falter, it even seemed a bit more elated at the idea of a team. She looked back to Maggie and Irisara trying to see their reactions. After all they'd been together first. "What do you guys say? We could all talk about it over drinks or something, amirite?" Evelyn chirped, gesturing to the six of them.

"I hear that, all this tension in the air I need something o take the edge off", Irisara replied with a chuckle. That was when she heard Evelyn reply, it actually took her off guard for a moment, "Never met someone who was 'pleased to make my acquaintance'. "Nice to meet you Eve, and you as well Mag. Let's get out of here, hopefully the drinks 'round here are as strong as the ones in Stormacre", some may claim it would be too early for nicknames but to Irisara it was normal. Back on The Amaranthea when she wasn't being the captain, Irisara was rather casual with her crew. Everyone gave each other nicknames, and despite it bringing a sense of brotherhood it made the crew vulnerable when a crewman was lost. That's why Irisara would never show emotion after a battle report. She had to remain strong for the crew or else they'd get weak and being weak was not a luxury one could afford as a pirate.

So far things were going relatively good, that was until Cypher and Gideon arrived. "Yo ladies! M'names Cypher Storm, and this is my buddy Gideon.", it wasn't so much what he said that annoyed Irisara but who said it. "'Yo ladies?' Who does this kid think he is? Ugh just get over it Iris, you don't want problems on the first day", she gave both Cypher and Gideon a quick look over but before she could speak Maggie practically spoke for her. "Same for me, if I'm doing this I'll be paid well for it. Gods know I could be on the water right now making easy coin. Ain't you a little young for monster hunting? No offense but I usually fight with men who can hold a sword", Irisara rested her hands on her hips with a skeptical look on her face. She wasn't insulting Cypher really, in truth she was testing him. The boy was here because he could fight, Irisara was simply trying to see what he was capable of as well as what kind of person he was.

Cypher almost wanted to burst out laughing and rolling on the floor at Irisaras comment. He'd been getting that question almost every day for the past 10 years and it still never stop amusing him on how stunned people could be about his age. "Well I may not look like it, but I can pack more then a few good punches. Hell, I'm pretty sure I'm part of the stronger half of fighters in this place." He said with all seriousness. He didn't want to sound arrogant, but he knew it was true. Working as a mercenary and killer for the Storm Clan since he was 7 has led him to have a large amount of combat experience in both fighting beasts and people alike.

"But enough 'bout me, lets get some drinks and sit down somewhere and talk." He said as he tried to look around for an empty table.

"Wait, Mister Cypher, I don't quite think that-"

Gideon's nervous complaints fell on deaf ears as he was shoved forward into the gaggle of women. He leaned heavily on his staff as Cypher pushed him forward, already quite uncomfortable with the personal space violations that he was unintentionally inflicting on the opposing trio. He had barely caught his breath as the rapier master spoke up from behind him, mentioning his strange habits.

"Ahaha. I'm just well informed, Mister Lucas. I'm really no one special."

The metal magician made himself comfortable standing as the banter flew back and forth, content to keep to himself as the others talked. He positioned his staff between himself and Maggie, and managed to look as uninteresting as possible, even with his constant aura of iron particles. He was doing quite well at it until Irisara's inflammatory sword comment cut through the air. Cypher's response was possibly even worse for the general good air that was in the process of being made.

Immediately, Gideon took a step forward, attempting to preemptively diffuse the situation. He rubbed both hands together, adopting an almost pathetically meek voice. "Now, please, let's not start confrontations when we can drink. In fact, why don't we just go get those drinks? If everyone's okay with that?"

"That so? Well we'll have to put that to the test. Later though, for now we find ourselves a place to relax with a pint in hand. That is if you can handle your drink?", Irisara glanced at Cypher with a mocking tone in her voice. She didn't doubt that Cypher could drink, gods knew she was drinking at his age. Looking around the room Irisara spotted a table with a keg sitting atop it, almost charging through the mob she made it to the and quickly filled a mug. Unfortunately it wasn't to her liking as she poured the rest of it onto the ground. "What is this? Might as well be puss!", letting out a sigh of disappointment she looked back towards where she left her team. Waving them over she waited for them to get to her. "If there's nothing here then it looks like we're going out for drinks", she smiled at the thought, it'd be just like a night on the town with the crew.