Kaite honestly didn't have anything against wood elves or really anyone. The posh aristocracy and 'holier than thou' demeanor that those with power dragged behind them stank with hypocrisy. This is what she truly hated. The offer to join the orcs was enticing, though, as the idea of setting off with her own means to take down the warlock in step with the supposed savages that the elves sought to crush tickled her.
Darkly, she hadn't intended on succeeding in regards to the whole Warlock situation which left her at odds the longer she thought about it. Where the elves had their lineage and guarded secrets, a single man had risen to challenge them and upturn the land upon itself.
Maybe she could get a few answers before bringing his head back for the elves. It would certainly shut them up about claims of defection.

Hesitating while deliberating, Kaite came back to ask "And, now...would you goofs be th'ones raiding villages and enslaving townsfolk?" As it was, Kaite had sworn off banditry (for what such a claim was worth), and the concern about a certain band of orcs threatening the cute snowglobe of elven hierarchy made Gorman's presence a bit convenient for her taste.

"Vain's Victors don't plunder anybody," Gorman stated, rising to full height with his fists on his waist. "We stand against banditry and evilness, unlike those treacherous mongrels down south. Bought and paid for, the lot of them. We true orcs are more honorable. Captain doesn't even let us so much as look at anyone wrong. Come on, you'll love it."

Twists and turns were the alleys in the Hill, cutting left and right and diagonally. A veritable maze where an experienced man could lose any pursuer given the right precautions. Unfortunately, this murder seemed almost an act of passion. There was no thought to it but rage. As Xen moved as quickly as he could, he looked upward toward the women and children peeking their heads out from their homes and shops. Some heads looked on in wonder and astonishment while others began pointing. Those on the streets were pushed back against the wall or peering down a seemingly empty corridor. All of these pointed that Xen was going the right direction. Where others would be drawn toward the commotion behind him, others who had seen the beast would be more focused upon that which usually feeds at night.
The Storyteller caught up to him in due time, his speed and gait not being what it used to be years ago. Xen barely gave heed to the man, as he was too focused on determining where the beast had gone. As he rounded a corner, what appeared to be fine particles filled the air. It wasn't dense enough to cloud vision, but in the right angle, the sun reflected. This stopped Xen in his tracks as he studied this powder for a moment, his eyes glancing over to the Storyteller, "I intend to capture it." With that, satisfied that the powder was relatively harmless, he began walking down the corridor. There was one more right angle turn ahead, and if his memory served him, this led behind Arcanius Emporium. He had spent many days within that shop and knew it intimately.
Xen held his staff defensively in front of him, his grip light against the smooth brown shaft. His voice was but a whisper, motioning the Storyteller to follow. "Tread carefully..." His movement was graceful for an old man with a limp yet it didn't seem to impede him. The closer they walked it was as if the shouts and cries behind them began to become muddled and only the pulsing of the heart could be heard right behind the ears. He could faintly make out the banging of mail and metal against pavement stones. Shields and scabbards rubbing against greaves as soldiers spread across the back alleys of their beloved city. The air was stained with the foul smell of blood and Xen knew they were close. "Stand and be known, demon. Show yourself." His eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched, waiting for whatever lied ahead to make their move, all the while slowly stalking closer... and closer to their prey.

@Thinslayer

Kaite stood resolute to the claim the orc offered, "And I'd hold y'to it! If the aim can be a warlock, then my steel comes in tow" Kaite growled through her helmet so that it resounded with mechanical reverberation. "Hell with these aristocrats' game, but I will not suffer service to a tyrant of any form!" the tone lowering to a hiss while the half-elf looked back the way they came, the kids long since gone from any view after the slightest of curve in the road she followed. Her concern was the future, and a soft spot was worked into her personal armor after the day's events. If the orc was too dumb to convincingly lie, then she could rest easy on uneven rocks with the warmth of knowing her actions were not in vain...maybe she could even return to hold another class with the kids, sometime. "I better love it or I'll have you wearing your tongue as a neck-tie" Kaite grumbled, none too thrilled with subverting plans issued by elven authority, though excited to see such horizons manifesting in her dreams.
The laughs turned to silence as Kaite bumped chests with the larger orc, glaring up at him through the holes of her visor. "I mean it..." she cooed, the darkness of her obscured eyes narrowing before she continued. "If you've lied to me, I will gut you first..." she stated, haplessly shoving them back once more in the same manner with cautions apparently tossed to abandon. After a moment of staring the large orc down, Kaite offered a hand to shake, composed like concrete and metal cold like ice.

She hated how the armor approved of her decision. It was only this that made her consider that it may have been the wrong choice, in spite of her feelings.

@Hawlin
"And I'd hold y'to it! If the aim can be a warlock, then my steel comes in tow!"
"Oh yeah! Here we come, Warlock!"
"Hell with these aristocrats' game, but I will not suffer service to a tyrant of any form!"
"Preach it!"
"I better love it or I'll have you wearing your tongue as a neck-tie!"
"You said it, girl!"

Kaite's smile faded as she closed the distance between her and the orc. "I mean it. If you've lied to me, I will gut you first."
Gorman nodded solemnly. "You may wear my tongue as a neck-tie if I lie. Speaking of which, get a load of this: the string in my necklace is made from an orc's small intestine, dried to the texture of jerky. And one of these teeth on it- this one here, I think, I pulled from an orc before I killed him. Ho man, he was so mad. I can't wait until you get a necklace of your own. Do your kind make trophies of any sort?"

---

It wasn't long before Zenovia began to notice disturbances around the town, the spirits were becoming a little restless. Her gaze moved towards the source of a scream. She saw a few townsfolk moving toward the noise, muttering among themselves in a small group. The elf also wanted to see what was going on, but she was a little afraid to go by herself. Either she'd be swept up in the commotion caused by the people or she'd find herself in an undesirable situation, whatever that may be. As she weighed the risks of going to investigate, she saw someone in the corner of her vision.

Another elf like her. Maybe, it was getting dark. but she could distinguish some features of the other woman. Zenovia remembered her from the meeting earlier. Perhaps she should go talk to her about this? She was bound to get to know her teammates anyway.. The mage took a deep breath in and walked over to the woman. "Uhm.. Hi, I'm Zenovia Almire, the party's mage. I remember seeing you at the meeting today, so I thought I'd introduce myself." She gave the woman a warm smile, holding her hand out in greeting. She hoped that she didn't sound too awkward.. The shaman never knew that taking the initiative could be so difficult.
"Also.. About that scream earlier, perhaps we should go take a look..?" She added.

@Rekaigan
"Nice to meet you, Laina Silverstides, I'm the healer of the party. And yes, I was about to head there myself."Laina responded to the other elf, smiling politely. Inside she was a bit worried, what with all of the commotion in the town plus that scream. She shivered.

---

"Nice to meet you, Laina Silverstides, I'm the healer of the party. And yes, I was about to head there myself." Laina responded with a polite smile.

'Oh thank the spirits.' Zenovia thought inwardly as Laina greeted her back. However, now wasn't the time for too many pleasantries. "Well, let's get going, before something else terrible happens." She said firmly, nodding to the other elf as a sign to say 'let's go'.

Upon reaching the small crowd, she noticed some guards had shown up and that there was a puddle of blood. What a terrible scene. Zenovia asked one of the guards for information about what happened. They explained it to her, saying that Xen had gone after it, as well as some other man. 'The Storyteller' is what they called him. The shaman knew who they were, of course. She thanked the guards, moving away from the small crowd. In her haste, she failed to notice the girl who had been caught up in all this in the first place.

"May the spirits guide me. Please show me where Sir Xen and the Storyteller are." She said in a hushed voice, her hand caressing the crow head of her staff as it glowed a mute light blue briefly. A few of the spirits around her shuddered and became visible for a split second, their forms being similar to large firefly lights, their colours being a soft light blue. They melded into the ground, showing a small light blue path to only Zenovia and Liana.

She turned to Laina, "Please follow me. I hope we're not too late." She requested, following down the glowing path. It wasn't long before they spotted the two men. As they approached the pair, the glowing path faded away.
"I hope you are both unharmed. Where is this creature?" She inquired, whispering. She was blissfully unaware of the fact that she snuck up on them.

@Rekaigan@XenoCyanide@Rush99999@Ineffable

The cloaked figure looked towards Xen with a look of fear in it's eyes. The glowing powder made it look like a monster. But in fact it wasn't a monster at all. This was nothing but a young boy. They had been hunting a young boy this whole time. "P-Please! Don't hurt me! I just barely escaped!" The boy pleaded. At this point however Vert was slowly finding her way through the streets. The guard she had been placed with seemingly had been lost.

Vert licked her lips as she approached the parties healer. "They had to go and choose to capture him instead of killing on site. What a pity. I would have far preferred they kill that one for me." Vert said as she ran a hand through her own hair.

She looked over at Zenovia and Laina. "Though I have to admit, it's been awhile since I last ate some mages." Vert said with a smile as she got within an inch of Zenovias nose. Just as she did this a large maw seemed to grow from her abdomen, her dress seeming to meld with it instead of tearing. The large maw then attempted to snap at Zenovias chest.

@Cuccoruler @Rekaigan

The Storyteller barreled into Zenovia just in time to get her out of the way of the teeth. "I have many a story about people like you in my book, Devourer" The Storyteller said as he stood up, drew his sword and prepared a lightning spell "Yours in an unjust fate, but I won't allow my pity to stop me keeping innocent lives out of your abdominal jaws".

---

Xen's right foot slid across his left, placing itself gently onto the pavement. Then his left moved ahead, his body inching closer to where this thing was supposed to be. He knew what this substance was that permeated the air around them. It came from a beautiful white flower that grew along the ridgeline of the southern mountains. The magicians found that the properties of this flower when crushed and inhaled produced delusions that stemmed from the fears of those around them. When the boy ran into the bag, the trauma that he witnessed overtook and produced a demonic visage. As the boy rounded the corner, cowering, the demonic radiance shattered around him into thousands of pieces like glass, disappearing into nothing before they hit the ground. The boy did startle Xen for a moment as he was not expecting a child. His posture shifted and before he could walk toward the boy, he heard voices behind him. Storyteller was already moving and rounding the corner.

Xen recognized one of the voices. The stammering woman that was amongst the bodies and the gore. Clever. Very clever... he thought to himself. The beast's last few words, his eyes widened and his speed increased. Xen rounded the corner just as the cloth around Vert's midsection began to mold around whatever hideous maw was hidden underneath. They were a few paces away and there was no way Xen could reach them in time. He also wasn't sure how these two would react but if their character during the meeting was of any betrayer of their experience, he doubted much would be done. Thankfully, the Storyteller had taken the initiative and barreled into Zenovia. As this was happening, it gave Xen an opening. The staff he held was in his right hand hanging at his side as he rounded the corner. With only a moment's hesitation as his mind processed the different approaches one could take for their defense, he hurled the staff toward beast's jaws.

It traveled through the air inhumanly quick, its aim true enough. His goal wasn't necessarily to bludgeon the monster but to give him enough time to reach Zenovia and Laina. The staff twisted sideways in the air, attempting to muzzle the maw like a horsebit. As soon as the staff left his right, however, his left reached over and grasped the hilt of the dagger resting on his hip. He heard the familiar twitch in the air as the manifestation of magic was being prepared. "NO!" he yelled as he came to the Storyteller's side.

Ventus shifted slowly in place. They approached from everywhere- All sides, with no gaps in their formation, despite how disjointed their numbers were. That's all they had over him, really. Numbers. That's all anyone who didn't deserve power had, the allegiance of imbeciles and cowards who's desires drove them on instinct alone. Beasts incapable of introspection were doomed in a world like this, but those who found themselves outside of allegiance shared a similar fate. Ventus knew that, it didn't bother him. He was practically dead already. A redundant chill echoed through his body in waves as the war band closed in on him. Each monotonous beat of his heart lined up perfectly with his analysis of the onlookers. Unusually calm, Ventus used it to coordinate his strikes, like a metronome, ducking below the first battleaxe and drawing his dagger. Firmly gripped in his left hand, Ventus spun leftwards and flicked his arm towards the grunts neck. A stream of crimson lashed out, and the orc fell forwards. Ventus hopped to the side, pushing his unusually lithe Orcish body away from where his first kill fell, and towards another attacker, who seemed unprepared for his agility. The second Orc had his battleaxe drawn, prepared to swing it overhead, but that left a painfully wide opening that almost prompted hysteria in Ventus. It was laughable, these idiots had no idea how to fight. They were barbarians! But as Ventus flipped his dagger around, and slashed at the second Orc's throat, the rest of the war-band grouped up more tightly than before. Two free kills, that's all he could manage? Ventus hopped past the second orc, to his right as his second mark lost his hold on the battleaxe he wielded, and behind him by the time he'd fallen to the ground. Ventus sprinted past the thinnest ranks, towards Ungrog himself. But with so many Orcs between him and the chief, there was no guarantee that he'd reach his target.

Ventus dodged deftly, ducking low in his sprint, below a high axe swing, and using his dagger to parry another attack that came from in front of him. He used the hilt of his blade, and twisted his body around the oncoming axe swing, using its momentum to dig his right hand straight into the attacker's throat, nails first. Ventus kept his 'claws' sharpened, and although they weren't the cleanest or deadliest weapons in his arsenal, the unsuspecting Orc wouldn't pay much mind to such a barbaric attack. His third kill slowed him down, enough for several orcs to surround him from all sides. Ventus spun his body a full 360 degrees to survey his surroundings, counting 4 immediate threats, all wielding similar axes. Brutish, inaccurate weapons Ventus thought. He pulled his bloodied hand from his prior attacker during his spin, and flicked the blood towards one of his newest attackers, striking his eyes. It didn't stop his momentum, but Ventus dashed towards him, past the killzone of his axe, and pushed his way behind the Orc, using him as a shield while one of his brethren lashed out towards Ventus. The fourth kill was not Ventus' to take, as one of the orc's own allies cleaved into his shoulder blade with reckless abandon. The power from the attack did however push Ventus back, but he manages to stand his ground, pushing away from the cleaved Orc, and towards another attacked that rushed him from behind. Ventus paused and looked towards the warband's flank. "Reinforcements?" He muttered, barely sifting past the oncoming orc's ace swing with a shift of his body weight. His thoughts pushed him of balance, however, forcing him to trip, and fall into a clumsy roll. Although the uneven ground didn't put him in a lethal position, Ventus was unable to completely dodge the next attack that headed for his person. He felt the sting of steel slice through his right arm, at least an inch deep, before he was able to return to his feet. Suddenly he was out of position, and out of luck.

"Only four.. Haha.."

Ventus sighed as he continued to shift his was around several more attacks, unable to counter with his ego wounded so thoroughly. He could do without an arm, but letting himself get distracted twice in one day?

Maybe he deserved to go out like a coward.

@Thinslayer

Gorman's misunderstanding of Kaite's threat was picked up, though she wasn't about to explain the process of slitting his throat and yanking his tongue out the hole. The misunderstanding went so far as to explain the disgusting backstory behind his necklace before asking what her take on it was. It took her a moment to pull herself from how she cringed in her helmet, though eventually said, "I used to have a necklace of teeth from idiots I knocked out in taverns, but it got to be gratuitous and I lost interest in- did you say small intestine?"
Still reeling from the idea of such a wretched article of orc fashion, she shook her head. "Fuckin' gross, but I guess whatever floats your boat. I'm more of a tattoo type" Kaite explained with a wave of her hand as she started walking, intent on stocking up on supplies for the trip.

His understanding of the situation was grim to say the least. He was fairly confident the attacker was an animal but you could never be too sure in this day and age. Tiberius jolted down alleyways and backstreets, but unbeknownst to him, he was probably the worst man hunter to ever set foot in the city. He was spun around with really no lead, nor did he take the time to actually look for clues. It really wasn't his fault, he was just bad at finding monsters, but somehow, they always found him. He was quickly loosing hope, with no lead to go on and nothing else to be seen, his journey led him to the outskirts of the town.

Then he saw them.

He didn't care much for orcs, had really only fought a couple in his time and had learned from experience that they were natural born fighters. They also had a savagery that he disapproved off. It was one thing to kill an opponent in fair combat quickly but another entirely to beat them to death senseless. Now he could see one in the distance, and Kaite, the black knight or whatever she was, was standing next to him in discussion. He balled his fists, why was there an orc here? And more importantly, what ties did Kaite have with him? Was he connected to the murders that had just transpired?

Kaite then began to walk in his direction, so Tiberius did the only rational thing he could think of and shouted, "ORC! I might have a word with you!" Then he walked towards the hulking creature.

@Hawlin
@Lord Zee
"You once had a necklace of teeth?" Gorman chuckled, impressed. "Not bad, human. And yes, I did say small intestine. See, there was this one time-"
"ORC!" someone shouted.
"Yes?"
"I might have a word with you!"
"You've had eight words with me. Go away. Now as I was saying-"

@Thinslayer
@Lord Zee

The stories Gorman had been told must not have been very accurate as assuming she was human was quite false. Kaite's invitation and welcome were colder than any of the humans' receptions which only made her assume that she was seen as some kind of sub-human mongrel...a mutt, if you would. Her attempt to distract the man from his story about tacky and stereotypical eviscerations didn't seem to be panning out even as a familiar voice called from the distance.

Making out Tiberius approaching, she looked over her shoulder to the orc. "This could get bad. You didn't...do anything, did you?" she hissed, trying to keep the knight from hearing the question before turning back to the group's paladin. "Mi amore! How goes your quest for youthful proclivity?" Kaite chirped, spreading her arms in inappropriate welcome as she teased at Xen's phrasing of what they should do with their time in town. "Find a squeeze to squish? Ah! Don't tell me; a true gentleman would never kiss and tell~" she continued to joke, gnawing on her lip inside her helmet as she hoped her foolish display would at least calm the apparent business that Tiberius had with her recently met acquaintance. Waving a finger at him with the conclusion of her mirthful jesting, other hand planted on her hip and tilting to the side to flaunt femininity where humor could potentially fail.
"On that note, this is Gorman. Sayin' somethin' about a warband out for a certain warlock's scalp, er something" she explained, jerking a thumb over her shoulder to the orc as a means to casually introduce him.

Vert was not happy about her meal being taken from her. Though as she thought of this she saw the staff going towards her. She wasn't fast enough to dodge it and found it hitting her to the ground. She started to get up now remebering a tactic she used on her first kills. Fighting outside often gave her a disadvantage to those who wanted to prevent property damage or damage to anyone near by. Vert couldn't care less for these things. "You aren't very much fun you know that? Taking away my meal like that." Vert said with a smirk as she started taking a few steps back.

While Vert had a fair amount of stamina she couldn't exactly withstand magic, and that was what she wasn't looking forward too. Vert soon found herself walking into another building. This one wasn't a magic shop. "Would of been nice to take out at least one of you. Would of certainly made my life easier. Oh well guess I gotta do it the hard way then." Vert said taking steps into what seemed to be a home. The family inside ran out when they saw her monstrous form. At this point Vert was beckoning them to come and get her.

"Heh... About that... The meeting was... Bittersweet..." Ivan started off slow but soon got to explaining what happened during the meeting. "... And we don't know if Erudessa is dead or not... But for the most part it is true that this Warlock defeated her... The meeting was meant to gather me and a group of others together to stop this Warlock... It would be an understatement to call this guy bad... We humans and the elves are the only ones who have a chance at stopping him." He hoped that all this information didn't fly over Noire's head, it was a lot to take in.

"By the way... Who was that cloaked person you were just speaking to?" Ivan couldn't help but ask, it felt rather suspicious to him.

Noire wasn't particularly listening until Ivan got the the part about Erudessa. He didn't particularly care for her policies and leadership style, but the loss of a leader was a pretty big deal, especially for someone who works so closely with her activities. "Dead? That's insane! Some 'Warlock' dude is responsible?"
"We don't know if Eruessa is dead or not, but for the most part, it is true that this Warlock defeated her."
"So the secret meeting...?"
"The meeting was meant to gather me and a group of others together to stop this Warlock."
"Wowzers. If they're gathering hotshots like you, it must be pretty serious."
"It would be an understatement to call this guy bad. We humans and the elves are the only ones who have a chance at stopping him."

Then Ivan decided to broach a more...delicate topic. "By the way, who was that cloaked person you were just speaking to?"
Noire brushed it off with a nervous chuckle and a wave of the hand. "Oh, that's an old friend of mine. He's something of a wallflower, but he's chill. Don't worry about him. So how's the team? Get to meet any hot chicks?"

The audacity of this brute was appalling and it made Tiberius grit his teeth. What was even worse, was that Kaite was talking in such a manner that he found incredibly immature given the circumstances. For pete's sake, he didn't even know what Xen had been talking about when he said, youthful proclivity, but now he was getting a picture. It seemed on every turn he was learning something new about her but for the life of him, he had no idea what 'mi amore' meant when she had first addressed him. He would have to ask her later.

He walked up to her and spoke hurriedly, "Please Kaite, this is no time for funny talk. Innocents have been murdered in the town and a hunt is underway. This orc, Gorman, is a prime suspect unless proven otherwise." He empathized orc, for now that he had a better picture of the brute, he found him to be larger then excepted. This did not worry Tiberius however, he had once fought an ent with a pitchfork. Then again, the ent did manage to break his left arm before finally being put down.

He looked beyond Kaite and at Gorman, now speaking in a very commanding voice, "Tell me Gorman, what business do you have here? I find this situation very...Interesting to say the least."

@Hawlin@Thinslayer

@Rekaigan@Cuccoruler@XenoCyanide@rush99999
Laina rushed to Zenovia's side as she was knocked over. She grips the elf's arm.
"Hey, are you okay?"Laina does a quick scan, some scratches and bruises but nothing that bad. She looks at the fight in front of her and quickly goes back to examining Zenovia.
"We might have to go if we don't want to be caught up in the midst of this"Laina warns Zenovia gesturing towards the action that was going on, nervously.

The audacity of this brute was appalling and it made Tiberius grit his teeth. What was even worse, was that Kaite was talking in such a manner that he found incredibly immature given the circumstances. For pete's sake, he didn't even know what Xen had been talking about when he said, youthful proclivity, but now he was getting a picture. It seemed on every turn he was learning something new about her but for the life of him, he had no idea what 'mi amore' meant when she had first addressed him. He would have to ask her later.

He walked up to her and spoke hurriedly, "Please Kaite, this is no time for funny talk. Innocents have been murdered in the town and a hunt is underway. This orc, Gorman, is a prime suspect unless proven otherwise." He empathized orc, for now that he had a better picture of the brute, he found him to be larger then excepted. This did not worry Tiberius however, he had once fought an ent with a pitchfork. Then again, the ent did manage to break his left arm before finally being put down.

He looked beyond Kaite and at Gorman, now speaking in a very commanding voice, "Tell me Gorman, what business do you have here? I find this situation very...Interesting to say the least."

@Hawlin@Thinslayer

Gorman released a low growl in warning. "My business is none of your business. If I am a 'suspect,' then state your complaint and arrest me so we can sort out this misunderstanding."

Then he lightly slapped Tiberius across the face (or helmet if he had it on). "Put your head together, human! Do I act like a criminal to you? If stupidity were a crime, you'd be executed."