The Priestess walked through the desolated town were only the undead roamed, mindlessly, they shuffled along with the sole purpose of satisfying an unquenchable hunger. 'Poor, wretched thing,' she thought as she reduced another unholy creature to ash. It was the only aid she could offer the walking dead.

This scene was becoming more of a normality, she had already traveled through three other villages like this and only a hand full of survivors ever made it out before the wretched betrayer, Sven, could turn them into his army of undead. If things continued as they were, Sven would have an army of endless dead and be twice the threat the demon lord ever was. It had only been a month since the campaign to over throw the bastard king, however, the now titled "Tyrant" was growing in power razing everything in his path. Alionna had been with Sven and his allies for some time before the over throw of the demon lord but she had not sense Sven turn to the dark arts. Every time she thought back to those days she questioned herself if she ever noticed the signs or if she just ignored them.

Alionna was deep in thought and hadn't noticed the growing number of undead gathering, though they were weak compared to the demons she was more accustomed to fighting, they still had a rather large number and a singular purpose. The cleric's attention now on the creatures before grabbed the holy symbol that hung around her neck and began to whisper a spell from underneath her hood. Divine energy pooled above the undead and as the spell came to its peak the elven woman clenched her hand into a fist then slammed it down like a hammer. A column of holy flames descended on the group of undead turning the creatures to ash.

"Dust-to-dust," Ali remarks as the holy flames burned at the defiled earth.

The Cleric was suddenly was hit with the pain of the demon's curse that had marked her over a decade ago. She had gone far too long with out tending to the scarred flesh and the agony was becoming too much for her to continue to ignore. Alionna gritted her teeth together and placed her hand over her face as the surge of pain washed over her. The elven woman took a deep breath and pushed through her torment, she would need to take refuge soon to care for cursed skin.

The Priestess of Sarenae had wondered farther into town, this time she had placed a spell of warding on herself that would repel unholy creatures. She scolded herself for not doing it before she had entered the town. Alionna continued on her path, there was a rumor of a gathering that was supposed to take place in this blighted village. A minute had passed and she seemed to come across the center of the village, with a rather suspicious looking statue, however, she was no expert on art. She then noticed the group of people that had gathered under the statue, it was then that she felt the foul presence of demons. Her eyes narrowed at the group, she noticed not all of them were demonic. It was too late to turn back now, she surmised that the group already knew of her presence thanks to the column of divine fire she had rained down from the sky.

Alionna stood back, her hood covering most her face, she waited for the group to react to her. Hopefully if the demons were here to attack the gathering she could unite with the others and take them down.

Leila didn't really notice the archer walking towards her until he was standing beside her, so she jumped a little when he suddenly greeted her.

"P-pleasure to meet you, Sir Garen," she replied politely. She was used to do so ever since she was a little girl, even though she was already tomboyish back then.

"And as for your offer for aid, I shall happily partake in that. But not now. She is indeed a demon, but she hasn't done anything wrong. Well, not too wrong anyways," she said with a chuckle. "We shall keep an eye on her, and the moment she crosses the line, there and then we take her out."

Leila smiled at the ranger. She was glad she found an ally in this mess.

She then saw the lizardman agreeing with Remus' plans. He seemed to be a reasonable person, so perhaps...

"Sir Garen, what do you think?" she turned towards the elven archer once more, "Do you believe his words? I can buy that he wants to kill the Hero but I'm pretty sure he will stab us in the back once our role in his plan is over. And that ritual... it seems fishy. Maybe it will secretly bind the user to his will or something like that.

"I am fine with cooperating with demons and the like, as long as I can trust them that is."

As she talked, she noticed another person had joined in the fray. She could tell it was a her, judging by her body. But she couldn't see her face, seeing how it was covered with a hood. She then just sat there, looking at them.

How many more people would gather, she wondered.

Remus gave a smirk as more of the group finally agreed to help. When Veskerr showed her disdain for him Remus only smiled more at her. "You really need to stop lying to yourself. You act tough on the outside, you always have, all to make up for something, but what could that be?" Remus said with a smile. Since his death Remus had become a bit more free spirited it seemed. He was far more serious before. He couldn't come back from the dead, nothing could. Once you were dead, that was it. If only these heroes-to-be understood that.

"Now as for that plan you wanted. Feon will talk about that part after we are done here. And it doesn't entirely involve magic, actually we will be needing someone good with ingredients for that part." Remus said before his head slouched. The smoke disappeared from Feon's eyes and soon enough her eyes also returned to normal. Feon lifted her head up and stood up while holding her head.

"Right, now that your listening to us, I'm not sure if I ever introduced myself. And this goes for that newcomer over there too. I am Feon, a monk, and apparently, the one who is the currently the voice of the former demon ass whole." Feon said with a sneer on her mouth. She really hated the demon lord and had no problem showing it. Though the two hated each other they had a bit of an agreement. The demon lord would prevent others from possessing her as long as she helped him with his new mission so he could eventually pass on once it was done.

"Sorry for the rough start, now. As for sacrifices for this statue. If one of you could clue in the new comer, I could use some help finding some pigs or deer. Honestly birds would work too." Feon asked the others standing up and showing a much calmer stance now towards the others.

Astiroth stood and waited for apparently nothing to happen. He tilted his head when he heard Remus said things with no souls yield no reward. Between that and the horrible joke, Astiroth didn't no what was more annoying.

Looking around, he noticed people somewhat separatedifferent themselves into groups. "The loner again. Whatever." He mumbled to himself. He heard Feonsome voice return to normal and mentioned helping her find live animals. Astiroth turned around and began to walk off. "There are woods nearby aren't there? Anyone mind helping me catch a bear? I'm aware it has to be alive so if anyone wants the experience of helping me fist fight a bear then you are certainly welcome to do so. Should make a good story if you live too." With those words said, Astiroth began walking towards the woods. What stronger creature could currently reside there if not a bear.

Garen seemed to spook the girl slightly when he began talking. He really had to stop doing that, sure it was apart of his nature to be stealthy but he never knew when things might go awry. He listened to her speak, it had been a long time since anyone had referred to him as a
'sir' and he wasn't very partial to it. It was for knights, nobles and others who prided themselves on a code on chivalry. He'd let it slide for now, and probably tell her otherwise when she finished.

The ranger pulled down the cloth that covered his mouth, to also reveal a smile when the girl wholeheartedly agreed with him about killing the demon, but at the right time of course. Though she was slightly misguided about it doing, 'nothing wrong' for its very nature was an abomination, cursed to be foul and unforgiving. Least he could count on her if the time ever did arrive.

"Please, just call me Garen." He spoke causally before frowning again, "In my life, I was always taught that trust works both ways. So no I don't trust him or any of their kind. I'd advise you to do the same, but the hooded girl is right after all, we have to put aside our differences for the time being and save what we can before it's too late."

He paused, letting what he said sink in, before continuing, "As for the ritual, like I said previously, anything willing to give always takes more. I don't think it would bind us to Remus, he's not much right now. Hell he's in another person's body that he can't even control. We have a difficult decision to make, do we let the demons use it and stand by watching? Or should we even the odds and play along? We'll just have to see what kind of magic is offered."

"You never did give me your name, miss-" He noticed she wasn't exactly looking at him, and as his gaze followed hers, he saw the women standing away from everyone else.

Garen recognized his old friend instantly, as feelings of joy crept back into his heart. "It can't be... Alionna? I... Uh, you'll have to excuse me."

He half jogged over to her, removing his hood so that she could see it was him. Once he arrived, Garen hugged her fiercely before she could say anything and then let go, looking her over.

He said softly, "Ali... I-I thought you were dead."

"Very well then... Garen," Leila replied. She was not used to addressing someone just by their name, especially someone she just met. "Then we agree. I will also cooperate with them while keeping an eye on them at the same time. It will be unpleasant, but it is necessary." She sighed. "And you have a point about the ritual. Perhaps I am just scared for nothing. I agree with watching the others do it first, just so that we can know if the power we will receive is worth it."

"And my name is Leila. Just Leila. I was born as a villager so our family didn't have a name. Once again, I am glad to meet you, Garen," she smiled.

She then saw Garen excusing himself as he half-jogged to the newcomer. It seemed she was his acquiantance of some sort, judging by how he just hugged her right away. She was glad to hear that for any acquiantance of his couldn't be a dangerous person. She had already begun to get tired at the whole "watching your back" thing.

She looked back at the possessed monk, and it seemed she had already taken control once more. She then explained that she would like some animals to act as the sacrifice, like pigs of deer. She looked around and she couldn't see any pigs nearby. They must have run away.

The man who tried to sacrifice an undead before asked if anyone wanted to go with him to the forest. He said it was to catch a bear for the sacrifice. She didn't understand why he would endanger himself needlessly like that. She would just rather catch a deer instead. The spell worked either way.

"I'll go catch a deer instead," she announced to the group as she made her way to the woods as well. It should be easy to catch one so she really didn't need anyone else to help her.

Vreskrr smiled in wicked delight. Two humans were openly conspiring to kill her, delightful. She was about to interject, stating assassinations would be best planned in secret, when a familiar presence approached the group. Turning to see what it was, Vreskrr was hit by the strangest sense of déjà vu. The presence she felt was no other than her own, though barely recognizable since it was left there by an earlier, weaker version of herself. The man who had just slashed a zombie suggested a bear hunt. Vreskrr considered joining until her train of thought was interrupted by seeing the man who was conspiring to kill her ran off to get up close with another girl.

"Creep." She snarled before heading after astiroth. Lunging after him on all fours, she caught up to him in no time. "Anything better than staying with that archer, he gets a bit too friendly with the females for my liking." Considering this insult excuse enough to join the bear hunt, she got back up. Snickering, she turned around and blew a kiss at Leila. Vreskrr's demonic feature hindering any attempt to determine whether or not this was meant mockingly, the truth of this would remain an uncertainty as they went their seperate ways.

Tony had a bit of a problem. All of his stuff was still secure. His pot was clean, his utensils were in good shape and he even had a good stock of spices, but he'd forgotten one fundamental component. As he searched his pack, he also noted that he didn't have any vegetables or meat on hand.

Alright, make that 3 fundamental components, although he could make do without vegetables.

Indeed, he was lacking firewood. Can't start a cooking fire without wood, which means he can't cook until he got some. He wanted to cook something for his new friends, if only to see who the humans were. There wasn't much that brought on conversation quite like good food, whether he was eating or making it. But that wouldn't happen if he let it go like this. The most pressing thing was meat, as it was important but also more difficult to get. Animals didn't tend to get close to villages and an entire village of the walking dead wouldn't help that very much. Vegetables would be somewhat easier as he knew a little of the vegetation in the area. Wood would be easiest, however, so he decided to start there and work his way down the list.

Tony emptied his pack's contents, gently placing them on the floor of the dilapidated house on one of the cloths that he'd packed. He then picked up his axe and dropped his shield before picking up his pack, briefly wondering what to cook. He didn't exactly have the luxury of choice at the moment, though, so he decided not to think about it and went off to the woods.

It seemed that everyone was getting into groups more of less, it wasn't quite total unity but it was something. Following Feon regaining control of her body another latecomer showed up, someone Garen recognized apparently, and several other split off to go find their own sacrifices out in the nearby woods.

Kythe turned his attention back to Feon, finally standing back up again and hefting his blade onto his shoulder "I could help you track down a deer" He took a few steps toward Feon before stopping for a second to look back at Kolonis "I take it you might want to study the magic left behind by Sven more? I can try to bring back a stag or such for you should you want" He looked the sorceress up and down once more "heh, if you even need one that is" He'd wait for a response before setting off

Kolonis gave Kythe a small shrug. She would use the time to become intimately familiar with arrangement in the present area, and as for a sacrifice, she had several concepts in mind for how to deal with that part. It was a non-answer, really, but she'd let him take it as he willed as she laid the runes out over her lap and began to rearrange them. There was some time for her to formulate a plan and perhaps make the situation optimal to her advantage. Demons, humans and a few others working in unison. Who would have thought. It wasn't a circumstance to be squandered, not at all.

As Leila left the town, she saw Vreskrr blowing a kiss at her from a distance. She had no idea why the demoness did that but it certainly made her feel annoyed. Like she was playing with her, and not taking her seriously at all. She reminded her of those knights that laughed at her when she told them she wanted to join them.

"Hmph, demons and their arrogance..." she grumbled.

Entering the woods, she was glad to see how the forest seemed to be unaffected by the disaster that hit the village. She could still hear the birds chirping on the trees, and she saw some squirrels frolicking around on the branches. Hmm, birds and squirrels. They should be able to use them too for the ritual. But, since she already said she would catch some deers, might as well aim for a deer.

After walking for a good 15 minutes, she finally found her prey. In front of her, nearly hidden in-between trees, was a deer. It didn't seem to notice her, as it was busy eating the grasses growing underneath it.

Leila cast her enhancement magic to her feet. She then leaped towards the animal so fast it had no time to react. And before it could escape, Leila crashed her sword's blunt end into its head, knocking it unconscious. Of course, the attack was enhanced too. She then carried the deer on her shoulder without even flinching, thanks to her strength enhancement magic. She then walked back normally to the village. No sense in wasting her mana for nothing.

Back in front of the statue, she put the animal to the ground. "Here's your deer," she said to the monk girl. "Don't worry. It's still alive. I merely knocked it onconscious."

Alionna felt her heart jump as she recognized the elven man before he dropped his hood. A wave of relief washed over her, for a month she had no idea of what became of her closest and oldest friend. After she had suffered the wound that almost took her life, the rest of her group pressed ahead and took on the demon lord, she had made it back to the camp and after that she hadn't heard anything from the archer.

The priestess saw Garen come in for a hug, she braced herself for the incoming pain that was sure to follow. The mans embrace was welcomed, however, her cursed flesh burned sending agony throughout her body. Alionna let out a soft whimper biting back a scream. The priestess composed herself as Garen let her out of his embrace.

"I thought you were as well..." She relied as she looked up into the man's eyes. "After the demon lord fell everything turned to chaos and many of our allies either died or followed the Hero--" Alionna stopped herself as if she chocked on the word, "the betrayer." She corrected herself with a snarl then continued. "I had hope you'd escaped, I couldn't even imagine the thought of you following Sven in his madness...but your here."

Alionna smiled and placed her hand on Garen's upper arm, "you look awful," she remarked with a snicker. The priestess whispered a spell and divine light began to fill the archer as a familiar surge of energy swelled within him, healing any wounds and restoring any lost energy. However, it did very little for his hangover.

The Priestess looked to the demons of the party as some began to fan out, just being in their wretched presence filled her with uneasiness. just a month ago they were slaying the loathsome creatures and now they were just standing shoulder to shoulder with humans. "What is this alliance with these monsters," she says as if just the thought of such a thing caused her illness.

Garen winced for Alionna, so caught up in the moment, he had forgotten about her curse. One that made her destined to live on the edge of agony. He regretted hugging her without at least a warning but she probably understood. It was just good to see a friendly face that hadn't been killed or joined Sven in his conquest.

Next, he felt her light magic course through him, renewing his energy levels and healing his wounds. He instantly felt ten years younger, besides the small headache at the back of his mind. He stood up straighter and stretched his arms out. "Thank you my dear, I really needed that. Who knew that wounds took so long to heal without magic?" he scoffed.

"I suppose I have a lot to tell you. Things happened so quickly during the final days. It feels so long ago, but to think it was just a month.." He paused, returning her gaze with a soft smile before letting it drift into his natural stoic look, "Many of our friends did die that day but I should have known you weren't among them. You were always the strongest of us, besides... besides Sven. I was one of the lucky ones to teleport out in time. It was awful, the look in his eyes was something I hadn't seen before... or it was something I chose to ignore."

The ranger sighed, "Even with the Demon Lord's death, Remus is still alive. Well, in a sense. Do you see the brunette human over by the statue? She is a vassal for his spirit to reside in. Hard to believe I know, but I heard his voice through her. Supposedly they both wanted people to show up at this town to preform some sort of ritual on the statue. Remus said along time ago cultists use to worship it and were given power in return for sacrifices. The people and demons here have decided to put aside their differences for the greater good of the world and see if its true. At the rate that Sven is going, we've been told his magic has the potential to wipe out everything, even the underworld."

He stopped talking for a moment, letting the information sink in before finishing. "Us 'moral' folk, or so we've been called have been reluctant to use this source of magic but some of us have come to the agreement that if the demons are going to use it, then we must as well. In no way am I going to let another tyrant rule over the world, especially a demon one. Now that you're here, perhaps you could shed some light on what this statue actually does?"

He looked at Ali again, noticing the imperfection of her scar. It wasn't looking so good. Garen stammered, "I-I didn't mean to hug you. Well I did, but I forgot about your... problem. How's it doing? Do you need anything?"

Feon looked at the others as they went off to find their sacrifices. "Wow, your quick." Feon said looking down at the deer that was there. Now just to be clear. You won't get any actual power from this statue. Just the ability to learn magic far quicker. Down side is that knowledge you get can only be obtained through certain writings and ancient texts. There is also another down side to this though, not sure if I told any of you. The magic and knowledge you obtain will only be temporary. You will forget it all after a year." Feon stated. She had wanted the others to know about the downsides earlier but was too busy explaining everything else. The bright side of this though meant that any lingering effects from the magic and power they gain won't be there after a year.

"Oh right." Feon said picking up a rock and looking into the sky. She could see a few geese flying over head. She got into a stance reared her arm back and threw the stone as hard as she could at the bird overhead. It fell down from the air and landed in Feon's hand. It wasn't dead yet thanks to Feon catching it before it hit the ground.

She hadn't told anyone how large the sacrifice had to be. Truth be told, a pigeon would have worked just as well.

Feon turned to look at the new comer and walked over to her after a bit. "Good to see you two know each other. Seem's Rem knows you as well, says your both... I'm not repeating what he just said." Feon said as what Remus had said about them was not pleasent. "I'm Feon by the way." Feon added with a kind smile.

Astiroth raised a brow at Vreskrr'so remark. "Too friendly with the ladies? By all means, I'm certain no one will drug you on the account of...claws....teeth...then again I'm sure those perky horns get you all the affection from men." He stated with a slight chuckle. Astiroth continued to stroll into the woods. "So, aside from your stature, what makes you want to fist fight a bear?...Nevermind." Astiroth thought about how the statue would work. His body couldn't process magic effeciently so anything they did with it would be of no use to him. It would be more like a mockery or insult of his inefficient skills in the arcane arts. "So, you think this magic will really do anything? Personally, I don't really care either way."

It's didn't take long for Astiroth to find the hideout of a bear. Astiroth examined his surroundings. He pointed out a tall tree. "Hop up there. I'm gonna lure the bear out. When I do, all you have to do is land on its head...easy. By the size of your thighs, I'm sure you have quite the leg strength." With that, Astiroth went into the bears den. A roar could be heard before Astiroth could be seen in a almost relaxed sprint with the best close behind. "Any time now. I'm really lazy and would prefer not to run."

@Ryougu

Kythe waited a moment longer after Kolonis shrugged at him, when it became apparently that that was her only response he said "I'll uh, try and get you a rabbit then" and turned back toward Feon to see the knight who's name he's still yet to hear returning with a deer, prompting an impressed comment from Feon followed by an explanation of the limitations and drawbacks of the statue.

Kythe walked the rest of the way toward them, stopping short to stay out of the way of Feon rock and the falling goose. He followed Feon after she caught the bird and went to greet the latest newcomer to this group, meaning to ask a question when she finished speaking "So, how limited are these texts and writings?"

"Hey, you get it, these horns get me all the men. Too bad they're all so easy though, it's no fun when they are." Vreskrr replied to Astiroth's presumably cynical remark. "As for fistfighting a bear...I'd rather be near a bear than be near that creepy archer. The magic should be amusing though, not like that mad lunatic Remus has any reason to lie anymore." Sadistically smiling, Vreskrr followed Astiroth deeper into the woods.

Just tagging along as Astiroth checked all sorts of holes and crevices to see if he could find a bear, the pair eventually arrived at the place. Frowning upon Astiroth's remark about her thighs, Vreskrr silently got up in the tree. No sense in killing him for something so petty. Patiently waiting for Astiroth to lure out the bear, Vreskrr sat in the tree and whistled a tune. When Astiroth returned, with the premise of a bear, Vreskrr once more smiled sadistically. There was no sense in killing him, but she could still make him pay for it...

When the bear came running after Astiroth, Vreskrr replied dryly "Let's see your thighs do some work now, hmm? I suggest you start running to the statue, I doubt you are unable to outrun a simple bear?" Running next to Astiroth, she commented. "Show some of that demon prowess you are working so hard to hide. We'll kill it back in town, right in front of the statue."

Tony swung his axe into the tree, making a deep gouge in the fallen tree. He hacked again, and again, until thick piece of wood detached from the log. He picked it up and lay it on its side, chopping into quarters before depositing the pieces into his pack. Tony took a moment to wipe the sweat off his brow and take a swig of water. He had quite a lot of wood, enough for a large fire, and some kindling to get it going. The muscled man considered going back. He had probably had enough wood to last the night as well as cook some dinner. But then he heard the noise.

Paws hitting the ground, faraway conversation and most importantly, the roar of a rather angry bear. Tony decided to investigate. On emerging through some shrubbery he spotted 2 of the crew engaged with a bear. Tony assumed that it was part of the sacrifice deal. A whole bear though, and it was likely that someone else had gotten something considering it was only 2 of them taking on a bear. He managed to catch a snippet of their conversation through the angry growling, the demon woman mentioned something about the man's demon powers, checking the man off of Tony's human checklist.

Tony frowned and retreated, going back to the fallen log. If it was a bear he'd need more wood, no question about it. And if the others had gotten something else, he'd need more than that. Tony sighed and raised his axe, bringing it down onto the dead tree with a solid thud. Just a little longer and he'd have the materials to cook up the sacrifices, assuming they left a body. He sure hoped they weren't planning to just throw away the carcasses. Sure, his teammates were demons, but he'd cook for them regardless. It was his duty as his chef, to feed anyone who was hungry however he could.

Alionna took a moment to process all that Garen had told her, a thought had come to the priestess that disturbed her. She was so deep in thought that she almost missed Garen's quarry. "Yes, I'm okay. I just need a moment to tend to the cursed flesh and I'll be fine," she replied faintly.

The priestess took a deep breath to compose herself, the pain of her burnt skin had subsided to something manageable. Alionna's eyes followed the woman that Garen had pointed out to be the host of the felled demon lord. As Feon introduced herself she studied the monk, she had an athletic body and no weapons, side from a pair of gauntlets. She had met a few monks in her travels, she could tell from the way the woman carried herself she hadn't studied at a monastery for long. However, she was having a hard time judging her, maybe it was from the demon lord's presence or just the way she spoke about using a blood ritual so freely.

Alionna's eyes trained on Feon's, they were not the eyes of the forgiving priestess of Sarenae. They were of a righteous warrior that slayed the unholy in the name of her goddess, the eyes that many demons saw for the last time as they were sent screaming back to the endless abyss. "You've gathered mortal and demon alike, for a blood sacrifice, that can give someone power that they have not earned or took years to respect." Alionna's words were not harsh but firm. She looks to Garen, "In all the time we were with Sven, had you noticed anything to suggest that he had the knowledge of necromancy, this magnitude of the dark arts?" she asked motioning to the blighted surroundings. She did not wait for Garen to reply and continued her thought, "being given a power like this can only corrupt, what is to stop one of you who are given a power you weren't fated to have to become an even greater threat to the world that Sven is."

The priestess sighed and relaxed a bit. "look, I'm willing to swallow my pride and work with demons as these are desperate times. However, we should be destroying this thing not using it." she said forgetting to introduce herself.

@Ryougu

Astiroth kept pace with the bear but barely. It looked as if the bear had almost caught him several time. "Why do I have to run? I never like running." He took his time getting back to the village. During the run, he slipped a ring off of his finger and crushed it. He glanced at Vreskrr. "So vresgur, it's vresgur right? Do you ever have trouble writing your name? Nevermind, I'm sure the thighs compliment angered you enough." In what seemed like a moment, Astiroth crossed over Vreskrr casting the bear to shift after chasing her. "I'm sure you can handle it." Astiroth got near the edge of a farm and climbed up it as he neared the village. "Godspeed perky horns. I'll be here when your done."

Astiroth sat down on the edge. "We are all dead." He stasted resting his his sheathed blade in his lap.