@makarov

It was a lush, sunny day in the city of Dou - a city bordering the Elven and human kingdoms, filled with unimaginable beauty and closeness to nature. It's inhabitants were mostly women, that of both human and Elven kind, for there was a sort of negative stigma associated with men if they chose to live here, unless they were either incredibly handsome or gay. Thankfully, whilst Gregory was very much the former of the two, he was merely a passerby, or so it would seem. One could say the city of Dou was that which he was most related to. Things were peaceful, quiet, and not an awful lot was going on. Just your average day in the lovely city center; birds chirped, water sported, and the people were all getting along well...

"Hey, did you hear about the news? There's supposed to be a war going on in the Human Kingdom..."

"Really? Gosh, that sounds horrible... No doubt orchestrated by men..."

"Well, on the people's side, yes, but on the other hand is the dragon: Ssalivan the Terror, said to be capable of wiping out armies!"

"Surely, no dragon could be that strong. It's just a load of hyped up nonsense, and it has nothing to do with us. I say just let the monkeys and lizards kill one-another."

There had been much gossip around town lately of an impending war and significant talk over The Universal Blades - weapons spoken of in ancient texts and folklore that were said to have created the realms of Heaven, Hades, Oblivion and the Earth itself. They had been locked away ages ago, in a time long since past, though now, with the Grand Marshal's orders, everyone across the continent was searching for the weapons. For what purpose, no one was willing to say, though if it had every man, woman and child with combat training searching, well... it must've been important, and there would undoubtedly be a large sum as a reward. Though he may already know that if he attended the meeting held by the Grand Marshal in the Marble Castle.

Even with all this talk, the day carries on, and would continue to do so... At least for the next couple of minutes...

The sound of footsteps all around him, clicking of high heals and the soft smaking of ballet shoes, Gregory could hear every step and every breath, the voices about were picked up by his keen ears as he strolled through the city square. His eyes looked back and forth softly, his light flirty smile playing across his lips and a kind pep in his step. Life was good for the young blonde swordsman, every woman who met his gaze was met with a flirtacious wink which sent most of them away blushing and looking down, others however were more bold and returned his flirtaciousness, weather it be with winks or air kisses. He sword at his hip jingled quietly as he walked, a calm but firm reminder that Gregory was death to the wicked. He continued his stroll only stopping on a small bridge to overlook the stream and take in a small breath of cool air, "What a fine evening..." He suddenly heard rushed footsteps and his senses went into overdrive, He turned and blocked a sword to the neck with blinding speed. "En Garde Dragon Sword!" Gregory grimaced as this other man called out the title that those who had begun challenging him lately had given him, "Must we do this here?" The man looked at him with steele and determination in his eyes, "You slayed my brother, you monster! prepare to die!" The man stabbed inward with a fast thrust towards Gregory's chest, Gregory twisted his body in a full spin like a ballerina and turned right out of the way. The next motion sent sparks flying about and a loud series of clangs filled the air as their swords connected over and over neither of them gaining any ground on the other. The people in the streets had surrounded the two at a safe distance and were simply watching, waiting until the guard showed up to put a stop to it or until one of the men met their bloody end.

@Simple Unicycle

As Connor approaches one of these wooden "poles" (which looked like mini tree trunks without branches or leaves, covered in runic designs), a voice speaks, seemingly from within it, saying:

"Welcome to the Enchanted Forest Inn. How may I help you?"

@BytheSpleen

This knocks many of the Gnolls off balance, and some even into the air. It came as a surprise to them just how capable Iosef was, giving to a more cautious advance as they attempt to spread out, flanking to the left, right, and continuing down the middle straight towards him.

@makarov

The guards do show, and manage to move the crowd further back, surrounding the two of them with razor sharp spears, all aiming inward towards them. "Cease this fighting immediately, or else!" A rather intimidating female elven guard warns, as a light spell is charged in her hands - presumably something that would make them comply if they chose not to. "If you are to fight, then do it outside the walls of Dou! Violent behavior is strictly forbidden!"

@Delta44

Connor raises a brow looking at the pole, before saying: "Uh, two rooms please. One for four people, and one for one."

Once the guards voice issued a halt Gregory knew the game was at and end. He simply twisted away and seperated from the man, they were still surrounded but now the two of them were at each end, no longer locked in battle. Gregory bowed and sheathed his sword, "A word of advice to you my friend..." Suddenly he vanished before everyone's eyes and reappeared outside of the guards circle like a flash of lightning, "in the future don't bite off more than you can chew...how could you expect to beat me when I wasn't even trying and you couldn't gain an inch of ground on me." He began walking away, "Had I used even a touch of my true power you would be a dead man...Enjoy the evening...thank the gods you get to see the rest of it..." and with that Gregory walked away, the people surrounding would tell the guards who started the fight and the man would be arrested so Gregory had no worries once again.

@Delta44

Iosef then curves the walls in, sweeping up all the gnolls before raising a pillar from other to up around 9 stories high. Iosef then raises up a pillar for himself.

"Can I ask what may be the problem, gnolls?!" he shouted.

@Simple Unicycle

"Of course." The voice replies, as a compartment below where it was "speaking" from opens, revealing five keys - four of which have the same design, the last one being different from the rest. "As soon as you climb the stairs, you'll be right outside your rooms. Thank you for choosing to stay at the Enchanted Forest Inn."

"Uh, boss...? Who's the person goin' alone?" Riz asks, genuinely curious. He receives a light bonk on the head from his brother. "It's for Sheil, numb-nuts." Tiz replies with a sigh, rubbing the back of his head. "Seriously, how did you not know that?"

"Why? I don't get why she has to sleep in another room..." For whatever reason, Riz doesn't seem to think the whole thing as shameful, though of course it could just be an act.

"May we please go to our rooms...? I'm tired and need to shower..." Groans Sheil, rubbing her eyes out of tiredness. Whoever knew of such a needy mercenary?

@makarov

As he begins to walk away, however, he may or may not be caught off guard by a sudden explosion. Deafening from it's noise alone, a bright light had suddenly encompassed the opposite end of town, as the skies turned to a red and orange hue. A foreboding dread fills the area, and the sounds of screams and fighting can be heard in the distance. Though of course, this sounds like a very one-sided fight, with the people of Dou on the losing end...

@BytheSpleen

Surrounded and locked in, many of them growl and attempt to claw at the walls, trying to climb up them, some of which managing to do so surprisingly well, though it'd take them awhile before they could reach the top. Iosef easily had the time of day to intervene if he so chose. Some, however, don't seem all that willing to try and climb up and out of their container, standing towards the center and growling up at him atop of the pillar. One such Gnoll shouts:

"I believe the problem is fairly obvious, no?!"

@Delta44
"Actually," Connor tosses one of the four identical keys to each of his team members, keeping the different one, "it's for me. Rooms are upstairs, have a nice time." He then walks upstairs and heads to his room, unlocking it and stepping inside, examining it.

@Delta44

Iosef shrugs and sits down.

"Care to explain why you brought a war party to this town?"

@Simple Unicycle

As soon as he made it to the top of the stairs, it appears he was teleported to just outside his room. It sure was convenient that way. Stepping inside, he finds a rather comfortable-looking rook within, with a single bed in the corner, accompanied by a desk, wardrobe, shower, bathroom, and other such things you'd expect to find in a hotel room. Although it might all look a bit new to him, as the Elves were fairly technical with their magic and had made things humanity hadn't been able to before.

A few moments later, he hears a rumble somewhere upstairs, and the unmistakable voices of Sheil, Tiz, Riz and Kin'Kro (though not so much of the latter) making some ruckus or another...

@BytheSpleen

"Once again, I thought that was fairly obvious." The Gnoll growls. He certainly doesn't seem happy, with all his friends trapped in there. "Do you really expect a good reason from a Gnoll?"

@Delta44
Connor would walk out of his room and straight to the room where his companions were staying. Once he arrived, he knocked on the door, then asked: "What the bloody fucking hell is going on in there?"

@Delta44

Iosef tapped his finger along Earthrent.

"Is it for this here, or the village? Either can make you very powerful and spare plenty of resources..."

@Simple Unicycle

As it turns out, Kin'Kro and Riz were in the midst of some kind of brawl, with Tiz sighing in disbelief, and Sheil running ove to him and hiding behind him, gently holding on to his arm by the sleeve of his shirt. "Please, can I stay the night with you? You can cut my pay in half, I don't care! I just cannot be in the same room as these three..."

@BytheSpleen

"Both," answers the Gnoll with a grin, showing off it's fangs like a proud warrior. "It wouldn't take much effort to take over the village with a Universal Blade, no?"

@Delta44
With a sigh, Connor replies: "Fine. Only because I don't want your head to be ripped off on accident, then I'd be one merc shorter..." As he heads out the door with Sheil, he turns to Tiz. "Make sure your brother and the orc don't kill each other." And then he leaves, going back to his room.

@Delta44

"...I wouldn't imagine it so."

Iosef twists the blade clockwise, slamming two of the walls against each other, so as to crush the entire gnoll army.

@Simple Unicycle

Arriving at their room, Sheil bows as soon as she steps inside. "Umm, thanks again. There was no way I would've survived had I stayed in the same room as them." As though to prove her point, they hear the sound of some kind of glass crashing from the trio's room above. They certainly were having fun up there...

@BytheSpleen

"Wait, no-!"

The unfortunate Gnoll army beneath is sufficiently crushed in it's entirety, Earthrent causing much more force than Iosef may have bargained for, as it left nothing but blood and crushed bits and pieces of bone and flesh. Well, that was if he chose to even open the corresponding walls to get a look at what he'd done..

"Whoa... Now ain't that impressive, 'ey?" Asks the Jester, who had remained quiet all this time, appearing from seemingly nowhere behind Iosef. "An entire army -- albeit a rather small army in comparison to most nowadays -- crushed with a simple twist of a blade... But of course, that's what you should expect from the blade that created the living realm, haha!"

@Delta44

Iosef only scowled at the Jester, and pulled the blade up, allowing Earthrent's direct influence on the earth to cede and the pillars he raised to sink back down.

"In order to protect my clan, I'll have to get the other two swords. I suppose you wouldn't know where exactly would the other blades be...would you?"

@Delta44
"Hm," says Connor, "they must be doing some sort of crazy shite up there... Oh well, I need to get to bloody sleep; after all, you can't steal the most powerful sword in the universe without at least eight hours of sleep." A chuckle escapes his mouth, before he turns to the bed... Only to realize it's the only one in the room. "You want the bed? I'd be fine on the floor."

@BytheSpleen

The Jester giggles, though this soon proceeds into a mad cackle. "Of course! Who do you take me for?!" He chuckles manically, grinning from ear to ear in excitement. "Ooh, yes, I can sense them! Soulstealer and Darkstalker! The former is to the west of here - Ssalivan's. The other, Darkstalker, is to the north! I sense strong presences up that way, though." The Jester shrugs and smiles childishly, as though he'd just been discovered opening the cookie jar... and loved it. "Sooooooo, to which of these two blades do you most desire? A weapon of souls, said to have made the mystical plains of Oblivion? Or the blade of absolute darkness, said to have carved Hell out from under the Earth?"

@Simple Unicycle

"O-oh, no, I-I can't ask for the bed after you've done so much already." She replies with a respectful bow (for whatever reason). "Please, you have it! I've gotten somewhat used to sleeping on the floor, anyway!"

(Here goes nothing!)

A lightning fell on the forests near a inn (Chris's inn), though no fire emerged from it. Out of the smoke, emerged a orc, one much larger than most Orcs. He wielded a large two-handed battleaxe, his leather armor was green, making it blend with the color of his skin.

He looked at the inn then sighed, it was a pity that he had to come in only two years after he had ascended as Watcher and the world was already in danger of destruction. And one of the threats was in this inn. He walked inside the inn and shouted out loud for everyone to hear.

"Wielder of the Demon Blade, come here!" He shouted, he had no intention of hiding himself, the world was in danger and he had no time to spare.

---
Maryvale could suddenly feel terror in her, fear she had never felt, as if all the souls of the dead stared into her soul, as if they could see her every sin. That stare came from right behind her.

The black armor covering the man was unfamiliar, but everyone knew who this being was, he was wielding Darkstalker, it was Midnight, Midnight had come to them now.

@Delta44
A sigh escapes his mouth, before he takes a sheet off the bed and throws it on the floor. "You know what, you take the bed. I'm probably a lot more used to sleeping on the floor than you, considering I've been doing it for the past... What, three, four years? Yeah, I think it was four." With that, he lays down on the sheet and stares up at the ceiling. "G'night, miss Shiel."