@Cuccoruler
This enemy was much wiser and far more agile than the shambling ghouls. It slipped to the left as Cia raised her hand, having noticed that she had done the same thing to kill the Taken. Having evaded the sugar spikes, it then surged towards the woman like a greased adder. It swirved unpredictably left and right, and would be upon her in a matter of seconds if not stopped.

---

Theresa veered her eyes away for a moment. She opened her mouth, and her story began.

"Theresa vir an Bol'hjar." She said, "That used to be my name. Vir an means "born from". Ot an means "cast from". You switch from one to the other when you make a big enough mistake to get banished... or you do something your family resents you for. My old tribe, the Red Hairs, they're big on upholding a code of honor within their families. To be strong. To be brave, to... to be a warrior. At least, that's how it is for the men."

"The old gender roles argument?" Ben commented.

"Pretty much. I saw it in plenty of other places I traveled, Highwall's nothing special in that regard."

"And what's Highwall like, exactly?"

"Well... lives up to its name, for the most part. It's up on a mountain range, and it bars off two lands from each other, one that's nice and civilized, other full of monsters and brigands. Wood and stone for houses, trees all over... I could never lie that the place is beautiful. And the views from high up? Nothing beat them, ever. I've tried finding better ones, really."

She paused again.

"Anyway... Red Hairs are, pretty popular around that area. Folks down the mountain see them as defenders against everything on the other side of the mountain range. And that's just what they always did. Anything tried to make its way over, it'd get pelted with arrows before the swordsmen stepped in. That sense of valor, doing something important... I wanted that, I really did. But..." She sighed, and continued, "The thing is, not a lot of women are born in the Red Hairs. There's always maybe, one girl out of every four or five boys. We're just, rare, for them. So they wanted to keep us as safe as possible. And, as you can guess by present example, I wasn't interested in following that arrangement."

"Why didn't they just... I don't know, bed women from down the mountain?"

"Because all the men in the Red Hairs are better than normal human beings. Bigger, faster, stronger... they don't want to tarnish that with mothers from the outside. Their women don't get what they have, we're the same as normal ones. And growing up, I thought that was bullshit. I wasn't going to let the way I was born dictate how I live my life. But every time I picked up a sword, my mother or father, sometimes even my sister Bessa, snatched it from my hands."

"You had a sister?"

"Yeah. Uncommon, in the Red Hairs. Surprised you caught that. It was me, Bessa, and my five brothers Ferris, Barton, Kelper, and the twins Haymar and Hayman. My father, Storbin, was always regarded as being... the most..." She put on a look of slight disgust as she said, "Virile... in the Red Hairs. Seven kids with just one wife. That's a record, as far as I know. He and my mother, Atula? They loved each other. As bad as I made it out to be at times, that's the truth. There was always love in my family, from each to every other, me included. But I just... I couldn't live with a future there. Just being a wife and... nothing else. Nothing really important to... to people, not just the Red Hairs. So... I left."

"Unannounced?"

"I tried telling my father I wanted out, but he just told me it wasn't going to happen. And no one else supported me, so... one night, I took a bunch of money and equipment from the house, made my way down the mountain, and got on the first boat leaving the region."

"And you ended up here?"

"No, there was a pretty big in-between. I took all these weapons, but I didn't know how to use them properly. I got my ass handed to me the first few fights I was in. Over time, I got better by myself, took some pointers from a few more experienced fighters I met... and I made a life out of it. Hunting man and monster alike. Traveled well over the northern countries... until the wars started. Most of the work became independent guard duty and going after things that ate the corpses on the battlefields. Coin turned terrible. Once that set in... I hopped on Fernheid's Galleon."

"And that is?"

"A very, very famous ship. It's honestly bigger than anything I've ever seen on the water. Bigger than Rockvale, bigger than a leviathan from the Sea of Flames even. It's a merchant vessel, a battleship, a luxury cruise, all rolled into one. Practically it's own little seafaring country. You have enough coin, you can get yourself on board, if they don't hire you instead."

"And I'm guessing they did hire you?"

"No. Bought my way on. Took just about everything I had, but it was worth it to be away from the conflict. After a few months of sailing, I was looking for places to start fresh once we next docked... and I heard about the Continent from an older fighter. Decided the mystery of the place was enough to get me there. When we sailed close to it, I got on a rowboat and came ashore."

She smiled and finished off with, "Rest is history. Our history."

---

---

Gerald eyed the tall, looming Taken over yonder. While it did occur to him that there wasn't so much present danger they could meet him with, him being a skeleton after all, he still wasn't interested in getting their attention.

And that being the case, he thought this time rather than speak.

OI, BUGGAH. FIENDISH FIGYEHS STALKIN' 'ROUND IN THE NOIGHT. NAHHHHH, NAH, NAH, THIS IS NOT A JOLLY SITUATION, NOT AT ALL. ME AN' JUNGLE-RICHARD GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE, WHAT WITH THE LOCALS ALL BAHMY TEH ADD TO SAID FIENDISH FIGYEHS.

He slowly crept behind a low stone wall, peeking his head over periodically.

OI WONDAH IF THESE SHADOWY BLOKES KNOW A THING EH TWO 'BOUT ME BLEMISH. BUT THEN THAT WHOITE-HAIRED MISTRESS MADE SUCH A COMMENT WOT CONVINCED MY OI'M NOT THE SAME. SO'S PROLL'Y BEST NOT TEH ASK 'EM. NOT LOIKE THEY SEEM MUCH FAH PLEASANT CONVEHSATION ANYWAY.

All the while, he wasn't entirely sure where he was going.

OI JUST REALIZED OI'M NOT ENTOIRELY SURE WHERE OI'M GOIN'.

Didn't matter. He just had to get somewhere safe, with a vantage point high enough to see what was going on.

EHHHHHH.

@luclovers

Cia the Sweetmeat County Weapon

Cia gave a fiendish smile as the creature dodged her attack. "The Weapon of Sweetmeat County will not be intimidated by such formless creature!" Cia stated as she shoved a hand to the ground. A shield of strong black sugar surrounded her. Just as the creature approached her the shield would sprout spikes to impale it. She was called a weapon for more than just her terrible power, her mind as a strategist was something to fear as well.

Cia had a hand out without the shield, back dust gathering above the shield, if not stopped then the attack to come may be undodgeable aside from running away to beyond the fortress. Cia continued her smiling, though at this point it seemed more out of madness than joy. "I like you don't die from this I'll make you into a servant!" Cia said with a toothy grin.

@Luclovers
@SepticGentleman
@Doc Doctor

@Cuccoruler
Unless the Weapon of Sweetmeat County could look through solid objects, she would have put herself at a disadvantage. It was a foolhardy thing to let the primal nightmare whom the ancients feared as Salmu Pulhu out of sight.
The monster was a thing that kept low to the ground, for rear legs it lacked. Such was its center of gravity and perception, that it could stop on a dime. It did so, halting right in front of the spike shield that had emerged. It knew that trying to crack the shield open would take too long. Trying to dig beneath it? It probably went into the ground like a partially buried sea urchin. So, the relentless horror revealed a taste of its own might and cunning. Its long left arm creaked forth to sieze upon a sturdy spike, and with terrifying strength it would attempt to entirely upheave the partial dome and topsize it backwards, trying to shove and jerk it about with the ferocity of a starved bear assailing an abandoned station wagon. Unless Cia were held in place somehow, she'd end up toppling about inside in a manner most unbefitting that of one trying to charge up a powerful attack.

The Magna Pater was entirely silent as it set about shaking up its victim like a bean in a rattle, a stark contrast to the maddening fervor with which it attacked. It would be a mean feat to maintain the black dust attack overhead when the shield was upside down and being treated like a hamster ball.

@SepticGentleman

A tall Taken slowly turned, seeing Gerald. It simply stared at him for a few moments, perhaps thrinking he was simply another Taken, and then softly stepped off the surface he was on, gliding over to Gerald. Gerald could see its face now. It's skull was barely recognizable as human, smashed into a strange triangle shape. It's mouth was a heart shaped hole, and it's eyes were glowing violet orbs. It made the smallest whisper as it hovered over to Gerald. When it met him, without breaking the momentum, the Taken grabbed Gerald by the skull, and stared at his mark. It was about a foot taller than Gerald, and it's hands were disproportianately large, with long, sharp fingers like the other Taken. After a few moments, it made a aggravated growling sound and simply plucked Gerald's skull from his neck, tossing it into the ruins behind him. A pack of the burgundy eyed Taken moved quickly like rabid dogs over the rest of his fallen body, tearing it apart. And with a whispered command, they lumbered back into the fog, like dogs with bones.

Back to their master.

@SepticGentleman@UrbanEvolution

Flowing Tunnels

Piper opened her eyes.

Not that it did much good. She couldn’t see anything, anything at all. The only thing opening her eyes did for her was make them a little colder. She was still underwater.
When had she fallen asleep? She was surprised she hadn’t gotten any nightmares from the things that had assaulted her camp last... Hang on, was it last night? What time was it, anyway? Which way was up? She couldn’t tell. The darkness was absolute, and while she could feel herself turn and spin when she tried to, she had no perception of anything but the water around her. Where was she?

There was one way to find out. She touched her wand with her other hand, it was still in the holster, secure. Good thing everything she owned was protected from water damage. Aside from her pajamas. She didn’t expect to be out swimming in these...

A thought, and a spark of light appeared. The cold blue glow illuminated the water around her, but she couldn’t see anything beyond that. She put a little more power into it, and something became visible.

There was something moving off to her left. The light suddenly got brighter without her action, and it became clear that it was stone, flying past her at incredible velocity. Was there a stone monster in the deep sea she found herself in?

The light got brighter again. The stone’s surface expanded far above her, and it sloped in her general direction. Odd.

Brighter. She didn’t understand why the light was doing this, but at least she didn’t have to use her own magic for it. The stone wrapped above and below her, curving smoothly from the surface she saw first. Where was she?

Brighter. The stone curved more, and it became clear that it was not a strange indent in a stone monster that was swimming past her, and that she was in fact, in some sort of a pit, and she was sinking.
The waterfall pond! Of course, what else could it have been? She must have somehow put on a weight spell, and the pond was very deep. She didn’t bother trying to dispel the weight, she’d do that when she was out of the water and could remember just which spell she’d used. Being underwater was great and all, but it tended to cloud the mind a bit.

Instead, she cast a different spell, one meant to use the water around her to boost her through the water like a fish.
The moment it left her wand, though, something felt wrong. First off, a good deal of pressure suddenly started to build up around her. It didn’t hurt her, she had arcane countermeasures for that, but she could certainly feel it. It was rather like being hugged, only over the entire body at once.

The light got brighter again, and so did the pressure get stronger. It still didn’t hurt, but it was getting fairly uncomfortable.
Again. The light was blindingly bright at this point, and Piper had to shut her eyes tight to keep it from hurting.
Again. Something was very very wrong. She didn’t feel like she was going up at all, she instead felt like she was floating in once place. She couldn’t even check the walls to see if she was, the light was so bright. Trying to dispel it had no effect.
Again. The pressure was starting to overcome her deep sea warding, her legs were forced together and her arms stuck to her sides. In a panic, she tried to kick them apart. This had unforeseen consequences.
The pressure suddenly converted to flow, powerful, impossibly powerful flow, and she was ripped away in the current she had accidentally created. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t see, the light was ripped away from her and it flashed around her, spinning.

Crack

Piper’s spinning world was suddenly a wobbly spinning world, as a massive vibration went through the water. Another, another explosion, and the spinning ended, replaced by a pulling. She was moving, moving faster than a bird dives, faster than a horse runs. The light when white, and she felt air.

Air, all around her. She opened her eyes. Was that the sky? It was grey, cloudy, and looked like it was just begging to start raining. She turned her head. Oh, that’s where the ground was. Down there. Just where was she?

Then came the sickening ending of rising and the beginning of falling. She felt as though her stomach had just vacated through her skull, and she let out a terribly long, undignified scream. Then, she felt wet again, her scream cut off, and a moment later, she touched the ground. All at once. It was crunchy and sandy. The water flowing over her was nice and cool. Not enough, however, to keep her from vomiting all over it.

When she was done ruthlessly removing every trace of the vegetables she’d made, she turned on her back, and stared at the sky. It really should be raining now. She raised her arm laboriously. It felt like she’d been tossed through a tornado and spat out the top, all the while running a marathon on all fours while she couldn’t move her legs apart. Still, though, she couldn’t just leave a perfectly good cloud cover like that floating around doing nothing.

“Rain, please,” she croaked, waving her wand in some random, imprecise motions. That should do it. Piper smiled. Rain was nice. Water was nice. She didn’t stay conscious long enough to see the first drops.

Cia the Sweetmeat County Weapon

Cia was shaken inside of her shield. The spell she was casting was broken at that point. She broke the shield open as well, though this time she flew into the air instead. "Your going to keep coming after me aren't you?" Cia asked looking at the creature as she floated in the air. She turned to see the Taken were now moving away from them.

Cia gave a toothy grin before looking back at the creature. "Get out of here before this gets worse for you." Cia stated to it before starting to move away. She had become frustrated that she couldn't hit it even worse and saw no point in fighting such a thing. That and her skin was starting to return to it's normal color now. Her hair as well as it shortened.

@Luclovers
@SepticGentleman
@Doc Doctor

The Trio, Introduction

Three days before the events at Rockvale

”We need your help o’ great three! You are the only ones who could possibly save us from the darkness.” said a small woman whose head held four ears indicating that she was a Corellian. The woman sat on her knees with a mat of woven straw beneath her and had in front of her several baskets of bread for the the Trio. They looked towards the woman with a compassion uncommon among the plains though known well by the Corellians who had become their charges to protect. The darkness the woman had been referring to had been noticeable from the simple hut on the hill overlooking the town below. The crystals which all beings on the plain required to live were literally turning a dark shade of purple rather than the nearly clear blue color they normally had.

”We need not your offerings of bread for our help Mari, we only need to know that doing so will help you. Let us take a look at the crystals first hand and we will determine what must be done.” said the middle of the three, a woman whose age was in the mid twenties and specialized in the use of healing magics. Her two companions, a man whose skin was tanned from many years in the sun and specialized in geomancy and a woman whose skin seemed almost stretched and spread thin. Unlike the other two, the stretched woman used dark magics to control spirits which enhance her physical power at the cost of deforming her with each use. The trio rose from their seating on a fine, woven thread mat and walked out of the hut.

Rather than using the long way to get down and wishing not to waste time, the man used his skills in geomancy to pull the four safely down the hill and towards the lake which bore only one dock connecting to the base of the large crystals at its core. It took only a few minutes to reach the crystals and the trio each placed their hands on it. They could feel the pulsing magic which existed inside them and felt something.. deeper from inside it. The crystals felt like they were calling something garbled out by the sound of water. The woman with stretched skin scratched at the crystal and let out a large amount of powder which she threw into a nearby fire.

Views of a town whose buildings looked like they were made of rotting wood and broken parts shuttered across the woman’s vision. She knew not what she was looking for but she knew it must be there. The last view she saw was a red flag and a red bird whose origin she knew not.

”We must go to Rockvale and find a red bird there. I know not for what purpose it could serve but the crystals tell me our objective is there. We leave tonight friends.” the woman said as she walked towards the two companions she had. They knew the crystals were in pain but the source was unknown to them all. If they knew they would fix the damage and wouldn’t need to journey to the lawless city but whatever or whoever was there was who the crystals would lead them to. The Crystals needed their help or the entire plains would be in danger.

Present Time

The three stood just above the small town known as Rockvale from which the distinct sound of fighting had been heard of a few minutes before. A bandit had run past them mere seconds before and had been yelling of a man with a red bird. ”It seems the vision has been fulfilled Tia, it seems they have not lie to you yet my dear companion. We should descend and see what is so special about this man and the red bird.” said the man who's bored look gave away nothing. Yet, his words carried the weight of how important their task was. They needed to succeed or thousands would die.



Darkness enshrouded Vent’s mind and he found it incredibly disturbing and oppressive as if there was something purposefully darkening it. It was cold, far too cold for him to feel his hands and navigate through his inner world. He knew he wasn’t dead but whatever was inside his mind was not of his doing. Vent struggled with all his might to escape the dreamscape but found not the energy to resist the darkness. Everytime he made progress out, he would be pulled back in as if by the sheer darkness was pulling him back in.

”Yessss…. you…. will… make a ...good… vessel.” Said a voice from deep beneath the darkness. It pulled at his form and, despite how much he struggled, he could break free from the darkness. That is, until he words calling from the darkness and a single spot of light break through.

"Hey. You okay? You seem a little banged up."

”Nooo! They interrupt! You shall be mine soon… boy!” The voice called once more from the darkness as Vent’s mind ascended towards the light above him. The last glimpse he caught was of a beastial creature with a hundred eyes and hundred hands as it squirmed deeper into the darkness.

”Ahh, oh.. oh Gods. I.. what is going on?” Vent asked as he squirmed about until he could prop himself up. The adrenaline from his nightmare had allowed him to manage the process of sitting up but the energy wore off and the pain rushed into Vent’s muscles as he realized what a mistake he had made in even moving. His frantic panting turned into shallow breaths as all he could manage was that through the pain which felt as if it was stabbing his lungs with a knife. He looked towards Anne, glad that she was okay, and then towards the woman who had asked him the question.

Brunhilde settled to the ground and knelt beside the man, much too quickly for any to notice she was not, in fact, six and a half feet tall. She looked him over, examining his wounds for a few moments. Her cloak formed a small mountain around her on the ground.

She stated the most obvious thing first. "Well, you're pretty badly hurt, but nothing too serious. You'll be fine in a few hours as long as you don't overexert yourself."

A scroll popped out of the enormous sack on her back and hovered in front of her, supported by a cushion of air, and unrolled itself.
"According to my journal... You started a fight. With fifteen men. To save her."
Her eyes shot towards Anne for a second, then back to Vent. Brunhilde was smiling, or at least her eyes seemed to be.

”Oh… I… remember that now. Is.. that man… truly dead? Vent asked as he looked at the woman sitting next to him and Anne. He could feel sleep crawling closer to him and he feared it. ”Anne, I’ll… need your… help to stand. Please.” Vent said as he looked towards Anne. She shook her head no, eyes tearing up as she looked at him. Despite having been told he shouldn’t over exert himself, Vent wanted to stand up and go outside. Do something other than sit in that bar and wait for sleep to come again.”Please, I have… to make… sure the townspeople… are alright.” Vent said as he started to push himself up and into standing position. Despite how much his body struggled with the movement, Vent would not allow himself to fall back down even if they wouldn’t help him.

"You talking about Barrow? I think he is. That's what my journal says, at least. That him, over there, perchance?"

Barrow's corpse was still lying on the floor a few feet away. Brunhilde had decided not to dispose of that one, because he looked like he was important, but she couldn't remember that bit.

Vent tried to get up, but Brunhilde laid sideways across his chest, keeping him pinned down. "Nope, sorry, you're not moving. You wanna go out, you'll have to do it my way. Doctor's orders."

Of course, she wasn't exactly a medical doctor, last she checked, but nobody knew that.

”Fine! Than… what will.. you have me.. do? Sit here while I heal? I… can’t let that happen. I.. don’t have the… time to stay.. here.” Vent said as he lay on the ground with the girl on top of him. His lungs hurt from speaking and even the light pressure the girl put on him to keep him there was painful. Despite the pain, the worry he held was far more noticeable on the surface. What if one of the bandits ran off and found some allies? Then the entire town would probably be gutted for having existed and it would have been his fault. He couldn’t allow that to happen. ”I… guess since you.. seem to want me.. as your charge… I need tell you my name.. I am Filius.. Ventura… Cantrella. I go by.. Vent.” Vent managed to state as he felt a wave of pain come over him again, this time several times more great than the last.

Brunhilde realized she was leaning on some cracked ribs, and immediately launched herself off of him, looking as apologetic as she possibly could. She wrote his name and sketched his face on the journal scroll, then stood up.

"What, do I look like I'd be stupid enough to leave an injured man in a busted up tavern like this? Come on, now. Try to stay absolutely still, and tell me where you want to go. Keep it simple."

A few moments later, Vent found himself hovering a few feet in the air, although it felt as though he were still lying on the floor. The room felt rather drafty all of a sudden.

Brunhilde wondered if the man had been in a fight - he seemed to be pretty badly injured, and there was blood all over the tavern. The side of her face ached pretty badly, and she got the strangest feeling that she'd been hit by something. It wasn't worth mentioning, though, as it was probably in her journal somewhere.

She turned her head towards Anne, and the journal scroll moved between them, slightly to the side. "May I ask who you are? Must be pretty important for a fight to start over you."

”Me? I’m nobody. My name is Anne and I have no idea why he would go to such lengths to save me. It would have been worth it to just kill me.” Anne said to the woman who had lifted Vent off the floor. She was worried about him as his face bore a face of great worry as he knew floated above the ground. The lack of actual, physical ground greatly worried Vent as, though he felt as if he was on the ground, he knew he was not. Anne simply was worried for the injured man who had saved her life despite the feeling that she was not worth the trouble. She honestly wondered what the man saw in her that made her worth saving.

”Could we…. go uh… outside? Vent said to the woman who had lifted him up. He looked towards the door and saw a man who looked rather surprised and a giant, hairy beast man. At least, beast man was the closest of a thing Vent could recognize it as.

"Er... Yeah. Sure."

Brunhilde had just noticed the massive furry thing standing with a man in the entrance to the tavern. She stepped behind Vent and Anne, putting them between her and the beast. A fucking hamster brute, here? Worst day ever. "We'll... be going through the back door. I don't trust that thing."

She backed through the rear doorway slowly, not taking her eyes of the furry beast, and floated Vent through it with her. The scroll didn't mention the furry thing, but the stress of having seen it was still fresh in her mind, and Brunhilde felt that going in front of the tavern wasn't the best idea for the time being, lest whatever had freaked her out try to intercept them.

She started floating Vent along to the nearest street out of view of the tavern, and looked to the young woman nearby. "May I ask who you are? Must be pretty important for a fight to start over you," she asked... again. She felt like she might know this person somehow, but it wasn't quite coming to her. The scroll didn't mention her, either, as she had been distracted by Osguh's appearance before she could write her down.

@Cuccoruler

Jordan was walking along on his self given quest. It might be a hopeless task but he was at the point of trying anything to see it through but he was not alone. By his side was a fox and a Yig. They follow at his side, all three keeping an eye out for any danger. Off in the distance there seemed to be a town of some kind and that was were the trio was heading. The fox looked up at the human. "Are you sure this is a good place to go?" The human looked down and to the left. "I don't know but I would really like to sleep in a bed even if it is just for one or two nights." The lizard didn't say anything preferring to stay quiet. When they reach the town they enter it hoping to find someplace that will give them a bed.

JoyVille

The people of Joyville were overjoyed to see another visitor. "A new person! Welcome!" Said a man who looked to be in his early 30s. Many people were out and about doing their daily routines. Some going to the market to sell their goods, others selling their goods, some were chatting near the town square. It wasn't a large town, but it was big enough to have all the necessities.

"If your looking for and Inn I just sent another lad towards the Blue Bird Inn. Please enjoy your stay!" The man said with a smile on his face. Everyone in town had a smile on their face, yet there were not children or elderly around here. Everyone was between their 20s and 40s.

Sven

Sven had gotten to Joyville not long ago. He had been sent to go find Cia the Cupcake Princess. However they had sent the wrong man for this job as he hadn't the faintest idea of where he was going. Her was certainly out of place among the townspeople due to his pink hair, gangly body, and strange swirly eyes. That and the fact that he was brandishing an axe on his back looked out of place as well. He also gave off a strong smell of peppermint.

He had gotten to this town hoping to find a map, maybe he could find Cia this way but there was no way of knowing that. He was outside the Inn at the moment a bit confused looking. He could tell something was off about the town, but he just wasn't sure of what it was. Maybe it was the lack of candy or something.

@Trevor1001

@Cuccoruler



He thanked the man and left in the direction of the inn. Something about this place made Jordan feel weird. Looking around he was trying to figure out what it was when Blake spoke. "Does it seem like everyone is oddly happy?" "And where are the cubs? I haven't seen any at all." Looking around again but, keeping what they said in mind, Jordan realized they were right but he also noticed a lack of older people as well. "Your right and I don't see any old people." Making sure to keep his voice low so no one would over hear him. "Lets get to the inn for now. We are too low on provisions to just leave right now. We will get more supplies first thing in the morning and leave." Blake and Jasmine both gave a nod as Jasmine jumped up onto Jordan's shoulder to get a better view. As they got to the inn they saw a strange looking guy standing outside of it. Jordan could tell that the man didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the town and he smelled of some kind of candy. Walking around the weird guys left side Jordan craned his neck to get a look at his face.

Suddenly, a sharp shriek cut through the night air. It was an inhuman sound that pierced the ears of all that heard. The Taken looked up at the sky, the moon beginning to quickly recede. They, in turn, let out a resounding screech, all of them making the worst wolf howl you've ever heard. They then sprinted on all fours, back into the woods, the wave of Taken flooding Coa and the Magna Pater out into the fog. And just as suddenly as it had come, the night left. The moon seemed to fly fast across the sky, like a rocket. And then the sliver of dawn appeared. Down in Room 4, Nerissa awoke. Saaria knelt beside her.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yes," Nerissa began with a smile. She was truly young, perhaps only 16 years old. "The visions come when new things happen. Usually it's in my dreams." She explained.
"How long has this been happening?" Saaria asked, amazed at her new skill in the English language.
"For as long as I can remember." Nerissa told her.
"Her brother Vagner was a great wizard, it runs in the family" Adam said.
"Is." Nerissa said, a darkness in her voice. "He still is a great wizard."
"He's been gone for almost a year, Ris." Adam pleaded.
"I can feel him, Adam." Nerissa begged. "He's still here. Out there!" She pointed to the hole in the roof. "Somewhere."
Adam gave her a long look, and then sighed. "Okay, people, let's set up." He commanded, and everyone in the room began standing up, all of them pcking their things and most bringing strange little briefcases with them.
"You're leaving?" Saaria questioned.
"No, we're going outside." Adam laughed. "It won't be a couple of days before the next night." He explained, confidently.
"Oh." Saaria said. How silly of her. She obviously didn't know how the days and nights worked yet. Everyone filed outside from the tunnels, setting down their briefcases and opening them. Out popped tents, quickly filling the ruins on the outside. Saaria saw that a lot of them were wearing bandanas around their foreheads. She sat down on a rock, and looked around, hoping to see Gerald.

@SepticGentleman @Cuccoruler @Doc Doctor
(The Rock is Gerald).

---

_"OI."

The rock spoke, apparently.

_{"MAY OI HUMBLY REQUEST THAT YEH REMOVE YEH BUM FROM UPON ME FACE, JUNGLE-RICHARD?"} Gerald asked, in a muffled tone.

Saaria immediately shot back up, looking down at the severed skull of Gerald.

"MORNIN'." He said, as Saaria picked him up, "YEH, UH, AS YEH CAN SEE, NOT ALL WENT ACCORDIN' TEH PLAN. THEM BELLIGERENT, SHADY BLOKES WENT AN' DISASSEMBLED ME. TOOK ME BONY PAHTS SOMEWHERE OVER YONDAH. DUN SUPPOSE, EHHH... YEH COULD GO 'BOUT REACQUIRIN' 'EM FOR ME? PUT ME BACK TOGETHAH? WOULD BE A FOINE, DANDY FAVAH, JUNGLE-RICHARD."

@luclovers

Saaria stared at Gerald. She didn't know people could lose their bodies and still be alive! She spun him around, looking at him from every angle.
"You look funny." She said. She then placed him on top of one of her horns, the horn going in through the bottom on holding him at the tip. She pointed st the spot Gerald had said his body went, and began walking.
"Excuse me?" A feminine voice called out. It was Nerissa.
"Yes?" Saaria asked.
"If you're going into the woods, please look for my brother. He's a dark elf like me, and I can't stand being away from him." She explained, twiddling with his fingers nervously. Saaria simply nodded, and Nerissa gave her a beautiful smile.
"Thank you so much!" She exclaimed, tears of joy forming in her eyes. Saaria stepped off the ruins, flying into the air, Gerald spinning on top of her horn as she flew straight into the fog.

@SepticGentleman

Cia

@Luclovers
@SepticGentleman

After a bit of recovery Cia had returned back to her normal form again. The ruins seemed to be bustling with activity now that the attack had stopped. Cia gathered the yellow dust again and then transformed back to her fairy form again. She saw Saaria fly off after that with what looked to be Gerald's head on her horn.

"I'm starting to feel like you guys are trying to ditch me." Cia said flying next to them. "So what did I miss?" Cia asked as she flew next to them leaving a slight trail of yellow dust in the air as she flew. Though the trail was only 3 feet behind her before disappearing.

JoyVille

The people continued to bustle around doing their business. Inside the inn Jordan was given his room after paying.

A large warehouse looking building in the back of the town could be seen from the Inn. To those with magical ability an ominous presence could be felt from the building. There was another ominous presence in the middle of town as well. Right in the town square a statue could be seen as well. It seemed to be of young girl. The statue was even colored even. There was description below it saying that the girl was a songstress Goddess named Mai.

Sven

Sven was in the middle of the town now as he had moved on to look for a map and provisions. "I swear something isn't right about this town." Sven said looking up at the statue. It was rare to see a painted statue like that, especially in the middle of a town like this. "Hey kid!" Sven said turning back towards Jordan. "Come here for a second I got a question." Sven said looking at Jordan. Once Jordan approached Sven asked in a bit of a hushed voice. "You feel it too don't you? The Ominous feeling in this town, I'm not crazy right?"

@Trevor1001

---

"WELL, TEH BE QUOITE HONEST, FAIRY-RICHARD..." Gerald began, still stuck up on Saaria's horn and wobbling some, "THAT DISPLAY A SUDDEN, FIENDISH ROUGH HOUSIN' LAST NOIGHT WAS, EHHH... MOST UNSETTLIN'. THOUGHT MAYBE YEH'D GONE ROIGHT MAD WHEN YEH WEH CLAWIN' AT THAT PASSAGEWAY, THREATENIN' THE REST A THE LADS AND LASSES INSOIDE WITH THE PRESENCE A THE HORRAHS A THE NOIGHT."

The view was pretty spectacular from up here.

"LOOK." Gerald said, "ALL OI'M SAYIN' IS, THAT WAS A ROIGHT UN-INTELLECTUAL GESTURE, AN' IT'S GOT ME THINKIN' YEH COULD CAUSE SUM, EHHH... SITUATIONS A THE DOIRE VAROIETY, IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. YAH MAY 'AVE TO GO GET SUM HELP, FAIRY-RICHARD. THE KOIND A HELP ME AN' JUNGLE-RICHARD BE UNCAPABLE A PROVOIDIN'."

@luclovers
@Cuccoruler

---

At the sound of water being rocketed in the air, followed by a scream, Ben's head snapped in the direction of the explosive turn of events. He followed the body up into the air and back down, and winced as she connected with the ground again. He stood up from his seat and lifted

"Well, she's probably dead." Ben said, crossing his arms and tilting his head trying to figure out how the fuck that woman had launched and where the fuck she came from. "I'll go and get her. See if she has anything work keeping." Ben announced, turning to Theresa for confirmation, only to see the woman had run past him and was busy climbing a tree trying to acquire a hat in a tree. More than likely one of the woman's possessions.

Ben shook his head and continued on his way. As the woman came into his line of sight she was actually waving her arms around lazily, as if trying to summon something or another. Ben was surprised the woman was alive, but he was flabbergasted that the woman was conscious. Unfortunately, the woman seemed to fall unconscious not long after he arrived.

...Totally dead.

Ben crouched down next to her and looked her over. She was small, and young. Long brown hair. He poked her a few times to be sure she wasn't going to be able to chase them down. Nope. Seemed definitely dead-o. One hundred and fifty percent dead. No doubt about it. He lifted her arm off the ground and patted her down. Unfortunately the woman was in her pajamas and had nothing of real value on her save for a few coins and what looked like a wand. Ben unclasped the leather sheath from her being and pulled the wand out of it, looking the item over.

His face contorted into disappointment, but he decided the wand was worth keeping regardless. He slipped it into a pouch in his cloak, and he was about to get up and leave when he Theresa, wearing the hat, knelt down next to him.

"She okay?"

"Dead."

"Ben, she's breathing."

"....way dead."

Theresa shot up to a standing position and swatted at the same spot she had hit earlier. Ben fell onto his ass and rolled onto his back, moaning like a total wimp, both of his hands holding his assaulted cranium.

"Pick her up, Ben. We're taking her back to camp."

Ben did as he was told without question, his other hand still rubbing his head as he lifted the young woman and draped her across his shoulder. As they walked, Theresa's face suddenly contorted into anger.

"You feel that, Ben?"

Ben was quiet for a moment, and he squinted, taking his hand off of his head and holding it palm up in front of him.

"Rain."

Theresa suddenly yelled, grabbing the rim of the witch hat she was wearing and throwing it on the ground in frustration. She quickly realized that the owner of the hat wouldn't appreciate such an act and quickly picked it back up and dusted it off, putting it back on her head.

"Well there goes the fire!"

"I'll kill the fire and grab my stuff. You get your pelt and whatnot in your bag." Ben said, using his tail to crush the flaming logs and smother them. He was fireproof due to his natural abilities, so this action, fortunately, had no affect on him. With his free hand he scooped up his bags and shouldered them.

"I think I saw an enclave not far from here once we left the cave. Just... Follow me." Theresa stated. Ben nodded, and then flicked his head to his friend. An unspoken motion to lead the way.

---

_{@SepticGentleman,@Empour}

Cia

Cia looked a bit sad after hearing Gerald essentially say that they were afraid of were after what happened. "I know it was bad, that rarely ever happens." Cia said with a sigh flying next to them. "I will need to go back to Sweetmeat County honestly, if you both would like to come I'm sure I give you both favorable lodging. "I don't want to lose more friends because of my blackouts." Cia said, she had a very sad look on her face. She couldn't stand to lose friends again, not after she had just gotten them.

@Luclovers
@SepticGentleman