Samuel remained still i his seat, lightly sipping the drink that laid in front of him. He never drank alcoholic beverages, for those weaken the faith and minds of those who do partake in it. However, tea was an excellent remedy for his morning sickness. At the very least, it was distracting enough to allow him to ignore the occasional stare at his... rather sickly appearance. Of course, an old man looks tired and sick, what's new? No need to stare as if General Snow just entered the establishment with a whip. Samuel took a swig before calming himself down. They were probably just worrying about him, no need to be upset. As he became lost in thought, he didn't notice that the man who he had been anxious around when the previous day was still around, observing the two as they waited for their group to reform.

What was Samuel doing? He left his village, where he was the only doctor, and set off for some grand journey. And for what? This thought process remained for several seconds until a chill ran down Samuel's spine. He had remembered why he was climbing this damn tower to begin with. He was going t-

"Birdie! Howyadoing? Your feathers looksofine right now!"

The familiar sound of the demon he had met the other day floated to Samuel's ears and, as she did the previous day, she ignored his presence entirely. While this was something that never really bothered Samuel, even when he was younger, it was still quite rude. Nut, she planned to join the group, and Samuel was not going to let his emotions hold him back from his mission! Gabriel tweeted slightly, before clambering onto the scantly-clad girl's outstretched hands. He was then lifted and held against her generous bosom, which resulted in more tweeting from the small bird. Normally, Samuel would have been surprised again by the girl's choice in clothing, but he was far too tired to care. Besides, she'll grow out of it eventually... if they survived the tower.

The sound of bickering and a sickening thud, followed by a high-pitched whine caused Samuel's attention to shift towards the door once more. Standing there was the knife-ear elven woman he had met in the very beginning. She slowly made her way to the table and, as she did so, the scent of burning coal assaulted Samuel's nostrils, and he noticed black streaks in Lena's hair. It reminded him of a boy in his old village whom he had helped through a particularly bad cold. The fairy by her side was met with a cold glare from Gabriel, before he simply closed his eyes to rest. He smiled slightly, before turning his back to the door as an orc man behind the counter appeared.

Samuel tensed considerably as he appeared, and the size of the orc made him rather intimidating to say the least... and he was also an orc. Samuel sighed internally. He really had to kick that bad habit. The orc went on to say that Okami was at the marketplace and prepping supplies for the journey, and that the group was to eat their meal here. The orc also explained that their would be a large amount of rations, and he chuckled before leaving. See? Not all orcs are bad, you racist old coot. Samuel berated himself internally. Considering the two looked nothing alike, Samuel assumed that the orc was most likely a step-father. He then began to dig into the delicious meal laid out before him, being sure to save a large amount of nuts and vegetables for his feathered companion. Even though the bird didn't look very hungry where he was...

The girl, Faera blushed slightly. Apparently, she didn't know his name. The thought of being mock offended crossed Samuel's mind briefly, before quickly being dismissed. Samuel was far too old to play that well and not come off as a creep...

"I am Father Samuel, or simply Samuel if it is easier. I apologize for never introducing myself before!"

A chill rolled down Samuel's spine, but he still did not notice the man that stared at the group. He didn't even notice the fox-like man next to Faera enter a staring competition with him.

Samuel's tea soon emptied. At the very least, they would be able to meet some spirits. Who knows, maybe they'll meet some who Samuel can actually understand! Speaking of spirit he can understand... That eccentric duo from earlier appeared. Lux and Gerald seemed to be doing fine... and it was quite fortunate Gerald was still translating for Lux. Samuel pondered whether or not this group would be able to climb the tower, but soon stopped this line of thought. It didn't matter if they were unable to. Either way, they were going to.

---

Stop talking already, god! Let a bird get some sleep around here... I spent all night learning how to fly, and it was all for nothing... Oh well. The mighty Gabriel needs to rest his tired eyes, if only some people managed to shut up...

AH!

Oh god! There is the winged maiden! Oh god, Oh god, please don't ask about the whole flying thing yet, please, please, please-

"Birdie! Howyadoing? Your feathers looksofine right now!"

"I am doing quite fine, especially since you have entered my presence! I thank you for the compliment, I do spend much time on my plumage.

Phew... Thank goodness. She didn't ask. Now, I just have to stay away from her for the rest of the day, and I'll be perfectly fine-

Why am I so high up?

Dammit... Even the magnificent softness is unable to fix my sorrow... Now, I am in her grasp, and I must rely on my fantastic luck in order for her to not ask the fatal question...

At least, I have an incredibly soft napping place. These will do nicely to sate my sleep-lust. I gently ruffle my feathers, before roosting.

But it only gets worse. That damn sow... She has the audacity to insult someone as great as I, and then enters my line of sight!? I pray for her undoing.... No. Even though she is not fair by any sense of the word, and she makes a board look endowed, she is still a female. I let her off easy by throwing her a stink-eye, in an attempt to bury the hatchet. Besides, all women, no matter how vile and malevolent, have a place in my harem.

I'm going to go to sleep now...

---

@MacDuffy@Duoya@cloudystar@Cherrywitch

"O-oh, thank you." Lena replied to the Orc. Well, that was nice, wasn't it? She had ate a quick breakfast before she left out of fear of being late, so this was a welcome development. Adventuring on an empty stomach would have been all kinds of bad. The elf turned to Faera, giving the other girl her usual nervous seeming smile. She was glad to see the cheery girl was still in on this. She exhaled, taking a deep breath as she observed the group. Samuel, Vilivyn, Faera, Okami, even the grumpy Kitsune. She gave him a friendly wave before focusing back on the group as a whole when someone rather...flashy decided to come into view.

For the most part, Lena ignored him. She wasn't good with his sort of people. Tania yawned, utterly unimpressed with the display and instead started pilfering food from Tania's plate, as well as the surrounding plates of other people as discreetly as she could. For the most part, she also ignored Gabriel as if he wasn't even a thought in her head. Lena did the same, a bit unsure as to how to start a conversation when everyone already seemed to be either busy eating or talking.

Direct Interactions: @Duoya
In Area of: Ad Vitam (Okami's Tavern)

The demon simply smiled at the bird resting against her breast as he chirped cheerfully. She would have continued to compliment his plumage, but the little thing fell asleep in his new nest. Using a single arm to keep the bird there, she sat across from Gabriel's master as the group worked on their meal.

"... hi um ..." Of course, the two needed to have a talk about this. Vilivyn simply had ... negative experiences with the more religious folk of the metropolis. "It seems your bird has taken a liking to me. You don't mind if I let him rest here for a bit, do you?"

Of course, other, more important things, were going on around them. But it would probably be good to make sure she wasn't walking off with someone's spirit without their permission. She didn't want to make enemies within the party before they even started their journey.

@cloudystar

---

Fortunata rushes outside with her spirits holding on tight to her. The green one seemed to be enjoying herself while the blue one was staying calm. She had grabbed the robe that the demoness had given her originally and was wearing it. Upon exiting she felt the rays of the sun on her face through the hood. She sighs as she continues down the path and climbs the fence rather than taking the gate to exit the estate.

Upon exiting she notices a Large cart with boxes on it. She noticed the rich looking, non-prick guy riding it towards a tavern... She wondered why a tavern seemed familiar. She shrugs as she heads towards the tavern from way behind the large cart. She wasn't going to try and make conversation with the rich looking, non-prick guy.

Okami was quite oblivious to the fact that Fortunata was following him...probably due to how excited he was to the adventure they were all about to start on. Lupa on the other hand was quite aware of Fortunata following and hopped onto the cart to watch her with a playful grin of sorts...her tail wagging to match the excitement in the air. The duo and their followers slowly made it back to the tavern.

---

Once inside, Okami leaves the cart of boxes outside for his co-workers to take care of as he and Lupa go after the group. He does stop after a few steps when Lupa nudges his leg awkwardly and points backwards. Turning around to see Fortunata, he immediately assumes that is Alba and waves her over.

"Come on Alba, everyone is over here. You're coming too right?"

He quickly meets up with the others, wrapping his arm around Samuel's shoulders smiling at the others. Noticing the supplies given to them and picking up one of the bags, he waves at the others who were ready for the journey hopefully...though does see the old man from last night watching them peculiarly.

"Alba is here now guys, seems like she's late like me hehe. Sorry for taking so long, just wanted to do something for the Tavern before we head off. You guys ready, seems like my dad followed through with the favor I asked him. I think we're ready to go, well at least me and Lupa are. Can't wait for the adventure to start, can you guys? Are we missing anything or anyone and does anyone have any plans for when we head in?"

@Lady Athena@RabidAnubis@Savo@Duoya@Rune_Alchemist

Samuel continued to eat his portion of the large meal spread before the group. Truly, whoever made it must have known what they were doing, as the dish was incredibly delicious. Samuel took note that even the fairy spirit, Tania, was picking off pieces from other people's plates. Across from him, Vilivyn decided to finally speak to Samuel directly, causing him to nearly choke in surprise. After all, since they met yesterday, the two had not shared a single word with each other. While her request was slightly hesitant, Samuel was perfectly fine with it. He was the oldest person here, so maybe some of the other people were simply nervous around him. Samuel quickly assured the young demon that everything was alright.

"Of course you may hold him, I don't mind. Besides, he seems much more tired than usual."

Samuel waves his hand dismissively, in an attempt to show how trivial the question was. At the very least, the young lady was much more respectful than her attire would lead one to believe. A warm arm wrapped around Samuel's shoulder, causing him to stiffen slightly, until he realized that it was only Okami. His muscles relaxed as he listened to Okami's speech. Samuel responded to the questioning.

"I am more than ready to begin when everyone else is."

---

@Duoya@cloudystar

Lena had to admit, the food was delicious.

"Meh, not as good as yours." Tania said as she took a piece of bread off of Vilivyns plate.

"I-I'm not that good at cooking." Lena replied, sheepishly.

"Pfft, Lena one of these days you're gonna have to stop being so...you." Lena frowned. What did that even mean? She was just fine the way she was, wasn't she? Well, admittedly, she could be a little more social but other than that...there was nothing wrong with not bragging about your accomplishments. Thankfully, soon Okami had made his appearance and seemed like they were ready to get underway.

"Y-yes! I am ready." finally, a chance to return to the tower and actually be good at this whole thing! Despite her nervousness, she was excited.

"Well, nice to meet you, Mr. Samuel!" Faera greeted in her normally cheerful way, seeming to bounce on her heels as she nibbled a piece of toast with a heavy heaping of strawberry jam on it. As she reached back down to grab something else, she noticed a certain pixie make off with it. "Wha?! No fair, that was mine!" The orange haired girl pouted, but reopened her wide eyes as a plate was scooted over to her.

"Here. I'm not hungry anyways." The fox stated uncaringly, to which Faera grinned widely with a cheeky thanks and started to eat everything sweet on the plate. Of course, Inari was a bit preoccupied with something else. As he was about to approach the man, the brat they had first met had entered. He had nothing personally against him... it just was that he didn't feel like Faera and him needed to travel in such a large group. He didn't like playing nice with others.

Faera, however, was ecstatic to see him. Her toast still hanging from her mouth, the orange haired girl jumped up from her seat just to give him a quick big hug and a little salute. "Mai, mai, mcamptain!" She mumbled through the food, quite cutely, though Inari rolled his freezing crystal blue eyes at her childish antics. They flashed back over to the man, tuning in to the conversation, with much suspicion and mistrust behind them.

---

As the fox's attention returned to his young ward, Baldur's attention turned to last night's liquored-up showman, having returned for a morning encore. Either he drank so much he woke up still inebriated, or this was simply the way he acted normally. The latter sounded far less safe, and far less appealing for Baldur's ears. When his gaze returned to the group, he could see that the waiter boy had arrived. Judging by his cadence and the way he spoke, Baldur surmised he was the one leading this group on their expedition up the tower. His gaze returned to the fox-man, who had returned his in kind. Well, he had already been spotted by one of them, so he might as well make up his mind.

He smirked at Inari's distrustful glare and rose to his feet from the chair. "A moment." He spoke aloud as the group individually announced their intent to leave. He looked up from the brim of his hat, eyeing each of them. "You intend to all climb the Tower together, yes? Your group looks to be in desperate need of a good sword arm." At this, he shifted his cloak, revealing the exotic-looking longsword belted at his left. "I offer mine, should you feel the need for it."

Direct Interactions: @Duoya@cloudystar
In Area of: Ad Vitam (Okami's Tavern)

Vilivyn let off a wide grin as she continued to leave Gabriel in his new roost after Samuel gave permission to hold onto him. The demoness was about to let off a nice reply to the priest, but Okami walked in with an announcement for the entire group, explaining that he was ready to head off. Letting off a sigh of relief as the clergyman was distracted by the teenage boy, the demoness gathered herself and did her best to act like that wasn't a stressful experience for her.

She hardly noticed Tania take a piece of food of her plate, and was too relieved at the moment to really care. Like Faera though, she suddenly realized that this was the beginning of her adventure and jumped onto her feet, nearly tripping over in the process. "Yeah! Let's go!" In the excitement, Siren entered her body, wings expanding and flapping slightly as she bounced slightly, somehow making sure the entire time that Gabriel wouldn't fall out.

Lupa & Okami

Okami laughs and almost doubles over, even Lupa seems to be letting out a chuckle of sorts, as the group seemed to refer to him as a leader of sorts. Him, the leader? He got the lowest score on the test and didn't even know much about making decisions! Nevertheless, he starts distributing the bags as he casually explains. "I'm definitely not the leader guys, I did terrible in the exam. Plus, I kinda can't make decisions often just letting someone else do them...plus I'm more of a running punchy kicky person than a leader. You guys want a leader or a group vote most of the time, go ahead and I'll give my input. But now, let's go whoo!" Okami and Lupa seem to do one large hop in the air in exclamation as they were about to hurry off to the door until they were suddenly stopped by a strange warrior person...the same one that Okami checked on the previous night.

"Err...you sure you'll be fine to travel? Not that I doubt your ability but I doubt your well-care. I wouldn't want you to getting gravely injured while we could have protected you...that's why. That and what do you guys think? I'm fine with whatever the group wants."

Lupa was busy looking at the pixie girl with interest. She enjoyed her little mischief and offered the pixie a ride on her back if she so desired.

@Duoya@RabidAnubis@MacDuffy@Cherrywitch@Rune_Alchemist

---

Fortunata watches as the cart stops and gulps deeply. She sees the non-prick rich looking guy and his familar get off and call her over by her former name "Alba". She nods as she allows both her spirits to hide within the cloak again before follows the guy into the tavern.
Upon entering she sees everyone waiting for the both of them to arrive and sighs. She walks in and sits beside the demoness to listen to speech given by the non-prick rich looking guy.

She whispers quietly to the demoness "T-thank you... for what you did for me...." She didnt seem to like the idea of speaking to someone, but she felt she could at least speak to the demoness as she also was spirt-touched. Fortunata's voice was sort calm and soft, but at the same time it was strong.

@RabidAnubis@Savo@Duoya@Rune_Alchemist@cloudystar

As soon as the samurai's feet hit the floor, a growl rumbled in the fox's chest lowly, standing his ground in the typical animalistic way. Faera blinked, glancing over at Inari with curious eyes. She pulled the toast from her mouth as she swallowed her previous bite, lips parted in questioning. "Inari? Something wrong?"

Inari's tail lashed at the samurai. "If you wished to join us, asking first would be a better option than eavesdropping." He stated coldly, arms crossed across his chest in a firm stance as he eyed the swordsman.

Faera glanced between the two, seeming confused with Inari's words, but finally resting with a big grin in Baldur's direction. "Hey, I say more the merrier! You seem nice." Inari clicked his tongue, obviously disapproving of his summoner's ignorant choice but as her spirit had no right to question her decisions. If she willed it, Inari would follow. Still, he would watch the swordsman quite closely if he so happened to go.

Direct Interactions: [@LadyAthena]
In Area of: Ad Vitam (Okami's Tavern)

The succubus gave a small smile back to her fellow spirit kin as she looked over at Alba and spoke to her cheerfully. "Hey! Don'tworryboutit! Now, sit down with me! I'm just glad you are feeling better!" Vilivyn gave her friend a hug, withdrawing with a wide smile. "We spirit-kin gotta stick together, y'know! If there's anything you need or anytime you need a friend while we are in that tower, don't be afraid to ask me, alright?"

---

@cloudystar@MacDuffy@Cherrywitch

Before they could get underway though, it seemed like another wanted to join their little party. Lena had seen him earlier. he looked like one of those old grizzled soldiers that old dwarf Nusgrout told her about in some of his old stories sometimes. He was good with a blade then? He certainly looked like it. Lena for one, would be glad to have another along. It didn't exactly seem like everyone else agreed though. Mostly that grumpy kitsune, Inari. He reminded her a lot of Tania in some ways...

"U-um!" Lena spoke up. "I think he should come! Um, he seems...like he's good with a sword, at least." Lena turned to look at the pixie on her shoulder, who shrugged and yawned.

"Don't look at me, I don't care. He can go get mauled by a Minotaur for all I care."

"Tania don't be rude!"

"I mean, that'd just leave nothing left then, my little elf." Lena pouted slightly, giving Tania one of her usual nonthreatening glares, but didn't argue further.

Okami nods at everyone's responses and shakes the hand of Baldur as he starts passing by. He leads on, hoping that the others will follow soon. He tries his best to raise everyone's spirits...err well spread his enthusiastic demeanor around though a certain few don't really need his praise. The runner quickly puts on his white adventurer's coat as he sprints off, nearly dropping his orange scarf in the process.

"Well then, welcome sir! Can't wait to work with you in conquering the Tower. Let's get going guys, no time to waste!"

Lupa simply watches as he hurries about, mostly waiting for the others to catch up in case they got left behind by the speedster. She patiently waits for them whenever while eventually...they do reach the base of the Tower. However, she does notice Samuel heading off, telling the others to go without him...strange. She'll be sure to tell or at least in some way or form tell Okami later but she does notion to the others in the back about Samuel's strange condition. Hoping that he'll be well when they return, she gives off a soft howl of sorts as if to lead the group in the right direction...though she was just basically following Okami and hoping that he knew what he was doing.

---

Iniya watches as the party starts to finally reach the center of the Tower, waving at them and showing a handful of E-Ranked Quests for them if they choose to grab one on their way into the Portal.

• Find the Glitter Gems (Floor 2-4)
• Retrieve the Rattles of Beast Snake Spirits (Floor Any)
• Pacify Rampant Beast Spirits (Floor 6)

(Details will be provided to those who ask about it through PM)

Okami doesn't pay much attention to the quests due to his focus being on the Portal. The speedy adventurer does turn around before entering to make sure the others were right behind him. Lupa was still in the lead of those who followed, doing her best to make sure the group stayed together of sorts or at least not lose where Okami hurries off to.

"Ready to head in whenever you guys are! Can't really buy much here...no idea how most of it works after all hehe. Any last second things you guys want to do or say, now's the time. Oh and by the way, can someone else lead the way when we go into the next Floor? No idea what to do when we head in."

@Rune_Alchemist@RabidAnubis@Cherrywitch@Lady Athena@MacDuffy

---

Fortunata could help but overhear Baldur speak about the need for a sword. She looks to her katana on her side. She shakes her head and tries to point for Baldur to leave immediately. She turns back to the demoness and whispers "Couldnt agree more, especially with these other people around, who may not be as trustworthy as you" There is movement from her two spirits within her cloak. She rolls her eyes as she pets them both trying to calm them. The group would get up and start walking towards the tower, still pretty upset about the whole fact she wasnt considered capable with a sword.



She stares up at the tower and sighs. She couldnt believe her life would take a full circle ending with her returning to the tower she would once of called "Home". She grabs the demoness by the hand and whispers "Watch your back and keep your eyes open for traps" She didnt like where this quest would end

@Rune_Alchemist@RabidAnubis@Cherrywitch@Lady Athena@MacDuffy

Direct Interactions: [@LadyAthena]@cloudystar@Rune_Alchemist@Cherrywitch@MacDuffy
In Area of: The Tower

The demoness followed the party into the tower, sticking close to her fellow spirit-kin. It was rather obvious she was more comfortable with an ally around, and it became more apparent as her hand was grabbed out of a degree of nervousness and advice whispered into her ear by the fox girl.

Of course, Vilivyn had many similar fears to her newest companion, whos hand she squeezed back firmly. She didn't know why, but she tried to draw some sort of comfort from it as she was starting to face the true immensity of the situation. This was where she was born, on some high up floor by a powerful demon. And here she was to conquer it.

The succubus didn't think of the creature that resided up there truly as her parent - her father was the only one of those, and her step-mother fast approaching the status, but rather as something to be overcome. But as someone born within ...

"Iwouldlike - ahem - I could lead the team. Icantalk to spirits and such, which would be useful for the group!" The succubus unconsciously puffed her chest out slightly as she tried to appear more powerful, and looked around to gauge the rest of the group. The fairy would obviously be against such a thing, but the spirit-kin next to her would likely be for it as would Lena, since she usually opted to remain quiet.

"Also, Icanfly which is useful for the party as a whole, in addition to having abilities which can track thosewhoneed to be defeated!"

---

@cloudystar@Cherrywitch@RabidAnubis

The issue being resolved, Lena followed the rest of the others to the tower. It had been a year since she had been there, and she was more than a little nervous about going back. She couldn't help but think about what happened when she was last here, and she couldn't shake the thought that'd it might happen again. As positive as she tried to be, she just couldn't help but to have these doubts plague her.

"...didn't think I'd hesitate to coming back, heh..." Tania didn't seem to be doing any better. The little pixie was sitting on her shoulder, staring up at the tower and being oddly quiet. The comment though, made Lena somewhat confused. She knew Tania used to live in the tour, but the statement was odd. The pixie never talked much about her life there, aside from that she left because she got bored living there. The elf always thought it was a bit odd and that she always sounded like she was avoiding the question, but she had never pushed it.

"Tania?" The pixie whipped her head towards Lena, somewhat surprised she had been addressed. She didn't seem to realize she had spoken aloud.

"Hmph. Just annoyed that when we find those morons who left you to die I won't be able to beat them to a pummel myself." The elf frowned, giving the Pixie a critical look but once again, didn't press the issue. It'd probably not do any good, and only serve to annoy the pixie further. Not like she got much time to consider it anyways. "And pfft, like I wanna follow you anywhere skank." The pixie scoffed. She zipped off the Elf's shoulder, grabbing the quest for floor six - the one about pacifying the rampant beasts before shoving it into Lena's hand. "Here, we can do this."

"e-eh? You sure?"

"Oi, Lena, you wanna get better at fighting right, so best to start early."

"I, erm, guess, but wouldn't it be better if we had some help?"

"...you seriously wanna tag along with batslut?"

"Her name is Vilivyn, Tania, and yes. I uhm, am not very good at the leading thing..."

"You gotta start somewhere." Tania said with a sigh. "But fiiine. Do whatever you want. When the scantily clad bat brain gets us lost, don't say I didn't warn ya."