It was time.

Malakaus had spent what he felt was enough time gathering allies for his quest. He even left a hastily made but large notice on some local taverns about his quest. Anyone with a strong arm and a iron will would be welcomed to march with him to the village of Laam Village: it was about a week's march and everyone was expected to provide for their own previsions. Malakaus also made it clear that this was an volunteer quest with no guarantee reward aside from honor: he has nothing for mercenaries and sell-swords. Thus this ought to attract either the truly noble, or the truly desperate. Of course Malakaus had also asked for some highly professional and skilled mages and knights to accompany him, such as Felix and Vesta. There were also a few who piqued his interest, such as that Duncan fellow. While Felix isn't skilled with a sword, his ability at magic makes him as dangerous as any knight, and for Duncan to somehow manage to get an upper hand on him was surprising. Though being a peasant, Malakaus made sure to supply him... As best as he could.

On such short notice Malakaus couldn't get Duncan fitted for proper armor, nor train him in any weapons. So Malakaus gave Duncan his old four-mirror armor, a helmet, and arm guards. The very same one Malakaus wore during his first battle. As for weapons one may expect him to offer Duncan a sword and shield, but Malakaus was not bringing him to fight men. But monsters. And against monsters, you need proper weapons. And for Malakaus a proper weapon was big, heavy, and could break a demon’s beast harden bones and thick hide. Thus he gave Duncan a large spiked club. While some may consider giving him such a weapon insulting, only fools would dismiss the usefulness of the simple cudgel. One didn’t need years and years of swordplay and training to kill a demon beast. You need a strong arm, a strong will, and a sturdy weapon.

After gearing up Duncan, Malakaus had also left a letter for Maria. He didn’t find her at the time so it was simply a report that he has returned to the city to resupply, and has left to the village of Laab to fight off demon beasts in the area. He was almost certain that Maria may remember his death from yesterday, as her blessing may allow her to realize such things. Malakaus himself has noted that usually after his death, people he interacts with tends to forget him as if he had not met them that previous day. So far however, that doesn’t seem to be the case for some. However investigating strange magical phenomenon was beyond his ability. He needed to focus on the task at hand.

With all other preparations completed, Malakaus left the castle, taking the main street straight towards the exit of the city. Anyone who wished to join his mission would need to seek him ought en route towards the exit. Even for those in high esteem like Vesta and Felix, Malakaus did not intend to wait for them. Soon he was joined by Atisha in full armor, who seemed to have done some resupplying of her own. He was surprised to see that she was able to navigate the city so well on her own.

@ADamnFiddle@PhoenixRising@Letter Bee@Noodles@Sir Lurksalot@FamishedPants@ZekariVoblis@Lucius Cypher@Seirei No Hai@Soragoku@Kitsune

---

Atisha needed time to think about what she was told. So many questions in her head and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. She knew she had died, yet here she was. Surely others saw her, but she didn’t trust any of them. Blanc she could because she was an elf, but anyone else would have Atisha’s scrutiny. There was no way she was going to risk letting anyone else know what she might be capable of. That Atisha may possibly be immortal. Fortunately yesterday she had died without her armor, so as long as she kept her mask on no one should recognize her. It was also about time that Malakaus would be heading out of the city to the village of Laab, so Atisha went to do some shopping. She had some money left over from a previous raid on some bandits, so she was going to barter for goods and equipment.

The first thing she brought was essentials: food, medicine, and camping supplies. She and Malakaus has made due with bedrolls for now, but she could sense some weather ahead of them. Perhaps in a two or three days there will be rain. She wasn’t sure how much, but if she could sense it then it might be a lot. With the money left over she traded her spear for a trident as well. She remembered that her father trained her how to use it as a weapon, and while she preferred something with a more slashing grace to it, demon beasts needed something that could break their bones or pierce their hides. Trying to bleed them out was a fool’s errand.

Once she was equipped Atisha went to find Malakaus, which wasn’t that hard to do. The lone knight stuck out like a sore thumb among the common folk, and Atisha simply fell into line right behind him. He glanced at her and she at him, but no words were exchanged. None were needed. Atisha may not like the green ogre, but they had an understanding of one another that needed no communication. A sort of kinship between warriors. If nothing else, Malakaus wasn’t insufferable, so Atisha could appreciate that.

---

@6slyboy6

“Oh, I am not of such high status that I would be in command here. I don’t have the drive that would let me take up such a position. After all, I am but a trained medicus A doctor of sorts, I suppose. If you want the subcommander, you would be looking for Sis’. My older sis’ in charge of here when Maria is gone. Chain of command and all. If she was gone I think the Quartermaster goes next.”

It was clear that Klaus was not the sort to take any sort of initiative. The sort of man who didn’t have any higher aspirations. Considering his statement early, and his rather pretty-boy appearance, he was clearly part of the knights for no higher reason than for status. Or at least that is how it would appear to an outside onlooker.

It was clear that his sister was of higher status than him. Perhaps she was the reason for his employment? There was no way that someone like Maria would deal with a slothful soldier. After all, she was a bit of a hard-ass in regards to those not taking action.Then perhaps there was another reason for his status. Despite the medieval institute, Maria still believed in egalitarianism over true nepotism, but would have to take in those of noble family.

“ Between you and me, I don’t mind what ya’ did. Keeps me busy so ‘sis doesn’t think I’m doing nothing around here. That is to say, I would like to do nothing around here. Healing magic don’t take too much outta me, so it is much better than patrolling or doing actual knight work. Bit grateful for that.”

Klaus placed his hands behind his head before saying this, dropping them and resting his chin on the back of his hand before continuing again.

“If you are talking about the mission that Maria is undertaking, than I suppose that you should check at the Tavern. A knight named Tani is taking the signups there. If you are talking about the mission to which Sir Malakaus was assigned, then I believe he is leaving right now for the outskirts. I have to leave for the latter if you’d like to accompany me. Otherwise, I can see you to the inn. In all honesty, I cannot say I care too much. I’m just here on orders. You may act in your own volition and I will let you do so, But hurt my sis’ and I’ll be sure to stick a knife in y’er back.”

Though the previous statements by Klaus had seemed carefree and without true purpose, his intent became clear once he had concluded speaking. Perhaps he cared too much for his sister. Rather than joining the knights to be a knight, he joined to ensure his sister’s safety. Even if he was but a “doctor”, he was still a knight before all else.

---

@liferusher

Maria chuckled at the proclamation by Shiina, smiling all the time, but trying to stifle the laugh and cover the smile with a tactical covering of her mouth with her fist. For most, this would just be a pointless maneuver. After all, it wasn’t as if she was trying too hard to hide her true emotions given the situation. It wasn’t that she really found the situation too funny. The real reason for for her laughter was because she found the somewhat childish choices of wording and bold proclamations by Shiina rather cute.

“Of course you can have meat and rice. Waiter, I’ll take two bowls of rice and meat if possible. Extra meat for the young lady before me if you could.”

It was clear that Maria didn’t mind spoiling Shiina. As if a mother looking after daughter, or perhaps more aptly an older sister directing her younger sister and spoiling them. Maria never had a younger sister. Though she considered an certain individual akin to an older sister, Maria was always the more meek and shy one growing up. Now that she was a bit more assertive, she did want someone to call her “nee-san” or something like that. But there was no way for someone like Maria to ask something embarrassing of Shiina.

It didn’t take long for the meal to be presented to the two, and it appeared that Shiina looked to Maria with disbelief. It was clear that the girl was hungry. Perhaps it was cruel of Maria to discuss business with Tani before heading out. It was clear that Shiina was extremely hungry. Her eyes and drool spoke more than any word could have.

“You’re cute Shiina, you know that?” Maria questioned to the other rhetorically with a smile. “You may eat when you wish to do so. I am not so cruel to present you with food and then take it away.”

And with that, Maria began to eat the meal before her in a moderate pace.

Alexander Sky

Alexander was waiting at the city gates, hoping that the 'Ronin' had accepted his offer - he didn't want to have wasted a bag of coins for nothing. Nevertheless, at the sight of Malakaus, the young man, his rucksack newly filled with supplies, would walk near, and before the Orc can 'remind' him that this was a volunteer-only mission, the boy would quickly say:

"I want to help. I also bought my own provisions." He left it unsaid that he was going to be almost impoverished by bailing out Kurokono and buying stuff for his journey; he didn't want any pity or to sound like he was guilting people. Let them infer it. Looking at Malakaus not just because the Knight-Errant was the expedition leader, but because the magic-users in his train were bright lights to his divinely-enhanced vision, while the Orc soothed said vision and the eyestrain seeing magic brought, Alexander would sigh, before saying:

"It might be insanity to say this, but I've died before; I thought I'd recovered from its effects, but my actions earlier this day proved otherwise." A pause; nothing would happen unless Felix or someone else who wasn't 'gifted' with Return by Death were there. But even if something did happen, Alexander would cut off his confession mid-way, just before the magic that allowed RBD gripped the hearts of those without it; his ability to see Magic allowed him to time his withdrawal to the last moment.

"Either way, I will go with you." His eyes were haunted now, yet...resolute.

@Lucius Cypher@Seirei no Hai@liferusher@Sir Lurksalot@Letter Bee@ZekariVoblis@FelixArgyle@Noodles

@ADamnFiddle@PhoenixRising@Letter Bee@Noodles@Sir Lurksalot@FamishedPants@ZekariVoblis@Lucius Cypher@Seirei No Hai@Soragoku@Kitsune@liferusher
Right when things felt hopeless to Kurokono, he saw a bag of coins that is sent towards him, by that young boy from the same 'homeland'. Mouthing out a gesture of "thanks", he stopped as he found himself in front of a 'samurai' who doesn't seem pleased at how things have turned out. He doesn't mind owing the kid a favour, since if it weren't for that somewhat suspicious-looking bag of coins, the bar would have turned into a WWF arena by now.

"Well, I took a dump outside and was about to return to settle my bills, with 'my own money'~"

Kurokono made such an outright lie to Tani with a grin, showing her the same bag of money as he threw it to the counter. "Sorry for the delay Miss, had a bad stomach just now, can't be helped you know ~~"

"Like I've said just now, I want to join the Beast hunting job, Madam ~~"

Kurokono said in a straightforward manner, while being alert and not letting his guard down. It is clear as day that there are still people within the bar with hostile intents towards him, and he is ready to draw his sword anytime if necessary.

Zin's ear picked up Dante's yelling, he barked at her, telling the two to do what they were doing in privacy, the dragon woman glared at the boy attempting to tell her what to do." You should learn who you are speaking too weakling, less you wish to be fed to my flames." Zin threatened him. She even poked his chest, with the same hand that groped Avery's crotch." Watch your mouth, and your tone around me human, I'm not a squishy human like you, I'm a dragon wearing human flesh!"

After giving Dante a tongue lashing, she occupied a nearby seat and made herself comfortable and cocked her head over to the girly looking boy, knowing Dante and his cohort and Vivi, that left the only person in the room she never met and just groped to be Avery." You must be Avery." She spoke aloud." I'll wait till you're ready to heal me." She told the oddly dressed man. Before she knew it, Zin was fast asleep without a sound, while she rested herself, the dragon woman had a near repeat of her first dream at Vesta's mansion. Zin felt like she was soaring through the skies, looking down upon many of the creatures of the land before she felt several small arrows perforate one of her wings and sent her crashing to the ground below.

The second she collided with the ground, what looked like an army of knights surrounded her all armed with miniature spears, swords, shields, and maces all of them ready to die for their king. With a single backhand, Zin sent many of the small champions flying she then she unleashed a wave of flames upon many more of the soldiers killing more of them. When Zin took a moment to inspect her handy work, a single knight with golden armor rose out of the burning trail of corpses, unlike the others he wore a helmet of a lion and wielded a golden spear with its blade looking similar to a lighting bolt.

The golden knight moved at an inhuman speed and once he closed the gap between him and Zin he dodged her large clawed hands sweeping for him and put a light cut on her belly before Zin attempted to crush the golden knight under her clawed foreleg. Once she felt the battle was over, a tingle traveled up her front leg after lifting her front leg up to her face she noticed the knight attached to the bottom of her foot with their spear stabbed into her scales. The Knight pulled his spear free from Zin's foot and lunged at her face with his weapon at the ready.

Before he could land his attack, Zin awoke in a cold sweat and arose from the chair. After checking herself for the past injuries, Zin grabbed her coat before leaping from one of the windows and landing hard into some dirt. Zin ran off from the mansion, with one thing in mind she wanted to hunt for something bigger than her and drag it back to the person she deemed her master. The dragon woman moved through the trees and off the beaten path, Zin moved like creature with a mission, she stormed by rabbits, birds, and many other small beings she could've easily slain and brought back to Vesta's mansion, but Zin wanted the big prize.

Once the dragon woman came across a large clearing, she spotted what could only be a pack of wolgarm feasting upon an elk, Zin moved quickly and pounced on the group while their guard was down. The dragon woman cut one of the wolf-like creature's head off in a single swing, once the others were alerted the rest of them to bite at Zin only for her to dash and dance around them cutting their sides and bellies lightly with her sword.

The second one of the beast jumped towards Zin with their claws out ready to pounce on her Zin counted it by breathing fire out of her nose and mouth, as smoke rose into the sky and the wolgarm's charred body hit the soft grass, Zin spotted two of the pack retreat from the battle and take shelter in a cave not too far away, Zin followed after them quickly hoping the two of them would hit a dead end but once she was deep enough inside she realized how thick the darkness really was. The lavender-haired woman soon felt lost within the long tunnel and not wanting to give up on her hunt Zin continued forwards into the darkness, soon her tenacity paid off, but instead of finding the two wolgarm that should've been in front of her Zin instead found what looked like an underground altar with several crystals lighting up the room.

In the center of the room there sat the skull of an unknown horned beast, surrounding the odd skull were dozens of skeletons looking as if they were worshiping it. Before Zin could get an idea of the situation, she found herself drawn to the giant skull in the middle of the large room, before her hand could touch it, Zin felt something crunch under her boot. The second her eyes examined the origin of the noise she gasped seeing the bones of a human with an enormous set of bones that look similar to bird wings. After looking over the creature Zin's hand met with the skull, and a thick crack traveled up the head from the point where her finger was.

The cracks began to creep around the bone trophy and break it to pieces, in a matter of seconds the pieces dissolved into dust right before her eyes and the crystals lighting up the room went dim. As Zin sat in the pitch black darkness, she could feel burning sensation erupt around her body, in a vain attempt to cool down, Zin ripped her clothes off and noticed her arms were red and irritated, but before she could gaze at them any longer a sharp pain shoot up her back and the sound of bones cracking a creaking caught her ears.

Zin doubled over in pain as she felt the skin on her back stretch and contort outwards before stopping, but that wasn't the worst of it. She looked down back to her hands as she felt something rise out of the skin on her arms and around her body, as she fell to the ground. Zin could feel her horns fall off her head and hit the stone floor with a metal clink while her vision went hazy and the room turned into a blur of mixed colors as everything slowly went dark.

The second Zin awoke from her slumber her eyes were met with darkness, as her eyes danced around the room she looked for a source of light before a small light in the distance revealed itself. Zin didn't bother gathering her clothes or her weapon she'd be back to reclaim them after she caught her second wind outside and found a stick to be a torch. The second she was outside, the first thing Zin noticed was that it was a bright dusk, the lavender-haired woman held up her arm to shield her eyes from the bright sky then that's when she noticed it.

Zin was covered from head to toe in scales, with only small sections of her flesh revealed to the world, at the end of each of her digits were claws best for cleaving. After having her hands roam over her new body, Zin felt the long tail attached to her backside and the two powerful wings attempting to move the tail out of everything else Zin wiggled her butt trying to make the long limb move or bend, with enough concentration and frustration, she was able to wag her tail. "Now for the wings."

Woops, pressed a button (might use this later)

Olipher and his crew had successfully secured a position amongst the crew being rounded up for a long walk to a faraway village. Their mission was to fend off some beasts or demons, possibly both, and secure the area along with its citizens. Leading the march was one Malakus Firebelly. The elf clinging to his leg was the same one from the bar who had purchased an expensive bottle on Ollys own dime.. without a thanks of any kind.

Not that he minded.

His own position had been by necessity. Large hunting groups needed scouts, trackers, trappers. People who could see the enemy and report it back to the main host before any harm could be done. In these situations he was more for hunting down wild game and other such tasks.
It was during one such task that Olipher had detached himself from the bulk of the group, leaving Aleph to play with the others as Olly made his way into the surrounding forests.
Following him was his 'apprentice' so to say. Shiraga was young, talented, and needed help once upon a time with her Fura magic training. A happy accident had crossed their paths on the street during a performance, to which Olipher had enjoyed.
The rest was a blur. Training, practice, performances, escort missions. The years had flown by..

The two of them had been tracking a stag before it had scampered off into the forest. A rare miss on his part had put his arrow in the animals neck but had not been fatal. Rather, the beast was running in fear now. The two of them had been following every sign they could find to hunt it down.
Footprints in soft dirt, snapped brances or trampled grass. A steady trail of dried blood..
Wouldn't be long before they caught up to it again.

Olipher couldn't hide his anxiety as they trailed further and further away from the main host. Backtracking would be a nightmare but their pace was slow. Rather, it was how far into the dense forest they had gone.
Indeed they were in for a shock.
Finally arriving in a large clearing, the scene was disturbing. Wolgram corpses, the Elk he had presumably shot earlier..

"Scorch marks..?"

Olipher dropped to one knee to look at the corpses. Olipher and Shiraga had camped for part of the night, so it made sense for other predators to have found the bleeding animal before they had.. but something else had killed these things.

"Shira, can you check the others?" He spoke without looking at her. Instead takin in the scene. A decapitated beast, half eaten elk.. fire. Sword cuts..
"What the hell happened here.."

Looking to the dirt for answers, the pair made slow progress forward. Both on guard. Human footprints, more beast tracks..

"On my cue.."

Moving aside a stray bush, they both saw the cave entrance. All tracks led to it. Just as Olipher was about to fire he saw her. From the cave mouth... a dragon hybrid?

"What in the-" distracted in thought, the finger holding the string released the nothed arrow but the shot was off, skipping a few feet next to the dragon girl as she gave her.. tail.. a bit of a shake.

@Spriggs27

@liferusher @Lunarlors34 @FamishedPants @Spriggs27



It seemly like Zin wasn't having it. She began barking back at him without even caring for public decently, and Honestly Dante was prepared to bark back...that was before Zin lift her finger and was about to touch Dante's chest. Dante face turn blue in a flash as realize Zin was about to touch him with the same hand that was on Avery crotch. "Wait no..." He said in fear before he ended up bending over backward like Neo from the matrix to avoid her dirty hand.

*Wham!*

Dante ended up diving backward so far that he end up hitting his head hard on the floor. "Izzz" was sort of the sound that came out his mouth as he held his teeth together to keep himself from crying out in pain. He then held out his hands in surrender and yet he tried to play it cool. "I yield...Just don't touch me with that hand." He told her calmly. Mind you that his position he was in was uncomfortable both mental and physical. As it took a massive amount of willpower to remain bend backward like he was, plus a headache and dizziness that came after hitting his head.

"Yes sir~!" The dancer Oni made a mock salute, fast-walking to the multitude of Wolgram Corpses spread around the area, most of them were burnt, some look like they were just burned to death just an hour ago given the red bubbly flesh just pouring out of a few. She cringes at the sight and pinched her nose as she walked back to her "Fura-sensei" (she calls him that for teaching her about Wind Magic.)

"All burnt, some look like they were going to help but they got burnt too... only recently though." Shiraga pointed out, standing beside her sensei as she followed him forward towards a stray bush.

"On my cue.." Olipher said to which Shiraga nods and replies with a thumbs up. They were greeted by a mid-sized cave but through the cave entrance she saw something rather peculiar...

...a dragon...girl...thing.

Shiraga flinched as well as the sudden notched arrow made her squeak a little, her high-pitched voice just resounding from where she was and it might spook the dragon girl from where she is staying. "Mou, Fura-sensei, don't go shooting arrows all over the place, I thought you were good at that!!" the Oni flailed comically, not helping the situation either, the noise surely would've been misunderstood as some sort of hostile encounter.

@Spriggs27 @Zelosse

It didn't take Zin very long to learn how to move her new wings after gaining control of her tail, but after noticing that they weren't as big and majestic as she thought they'd be but something else was larger than before, it was her bust. Her former mounds had grown to be the size of an overly-endowed bar maiden, any hopes for Zin to wear a breastplate in the future would be impossible for her, the only thing she could hope to wear would be mere clothes, but it wasn't like she would need armor when she has it covering her limbs and various body parts. Another thing she noticed was her hair changed from it's lavender hue to a darker shade of purple as a heavy breeze blown by.

As Zin's hands roamed over her new bust, and even poking it with a clawed finger wondering if it truly was hers, as she placed both her scaled hands over her chest she didn't notice the two horned creatures approach and fail at their attempt to attack her.



An arrow landed near Zin's feet, once she found the people who fired it she focused her sights on them and once she attempted to yell at the duo but only could manage to get out a burp with flames following behind it, after wiping her mouth, she glared at the two." Yo! You shouldn't shoot arrows at something like me. you'll only get yourself hurt!"

Zin breathed in some air and exhaled not fire but her breath, after realizing that wasn't going to work, she knew a different approach would be needed here. Zin reached down to her waist only to realize her great sword wasn't there either, soon the realization she left all of her clothes and her weapon deep in the cave hit her, once Zin noticed the two of them had horns, her grimace softened."What are you, creatures?" She asked. The dragon woman kept her claws ready just in case these two attempted to attack her."What are you doing out here?" She added another question.

She then noticed that the smaller horned humanoid attempted to tell the big one to not shoot arrows all over the place."You should warn him not to shoot arrows at things that look like people."

Suddenly a new thought crossed Zin's mind, what would Vesta think of this new form she gained, she felt that the silver-haired woman would be surprised, hell her jaw might just hit the floor once she gets a look of Zin, but right now she needed to know what was up with these two horny people, she needed to know what they were doing out in the middle of nowhere." And before you ask me, I was hunting wolgarm before you the two of you arrived." She told the two while crossing her arms under her massive bust, as she waited for their answer she blew a puff of smoke into the air, showing that her patiences was starting to wear thin and gawking at her wasn't going be a good enough answer for the dragon lady.

Vesta Celestia and Avery Ackbar Celestia

Vesta now stood in the room which Zin had just recently exited, her head in her hands as she nursed the headache forming deep within her brain. She had returned to the room to have found it in some sort of chaos, Avery on the ground in shock, Vivi being absolutely livid, even poor Ronni seem to be freaking out about the now broken window.
From what she could gather, Zin had sexually assaulted Avery and ran off somewhere. Great, just when she thought the dragon woman couldn't make any bigger of a mess. Ronni and Vivi had left to return to other duties, as Vesta finally turned her rather obviously annoyed gaze towards the other two in the room.
Avery on the other hand was curled up in a ball while rocking himself softly, mumbling some form of nonsense about being violated or something. Not any of Vesta's concern, only the little white fox who seemed to be counseling him.
"Mr Dante and Miss Aya I presume? I believe we got off on the wrong footing last night. I'm the heir to the Celestia Family, Vesta Celestia. I have questions which I must ask of the both of you...however it seems I have ran out of time for the day." Vesta looked out the window as she spoke, noticing it was considerably later than she thought. And Mr Orgus had gone off somewhere to get some preparations for the journey as well.
Seems like she needed to leave now or risk not being able to catch up with Malakus before he left. She seemed to mull over something for a moment before turning her gaze back to the duo.
"Miss Aya...I've heard from Avery that you both come from the same 'world' so to speak. I believe it would be beneficiary for you to remain under my family's protection, as I myself am trying to find a way back for Avery if he so chooses to take it. I also believe there are others like yourselves. Whether you wish to remain here or not is up to you, but I do seriously recommend it. The world is becoming a more dangerous place with every passing day it seems unfortunately, and I doubt you can last long on your own out there. No offense meant." Vesta added before turning her attention squarly on Dante, her eyes even narrowing slightly as she became considerably more tense.
"As for you...I believe you have learnt from your little 'misunderstanding', right?" Her tone was cold as she spoke. Vesta clearly still wasn't overly grateful at the comments that Dante had levelled towards her last night, and towards her family as a whole.
"However if you wish to repent for insulting my family's honor...I happen to know of a knight who needs some assistance. I myself am going, as is Avery and so was Zin and Orgus, but the latter two seemed to have upped and vanished on me so I might be a little short-handed. I also extend the invitation to you Miss Aya, though I believe it to be much too dangerous for someone with no combat or magical experience...ah I know." Vesta clasped her hands together, before looking towards Aya seriously for a moment.
"If you choose to remain under my family's protection, then I can also teach you magic. At least the basics, depending on your element you might need someone else to teach you the finer details. I myself am the leading Earth user in the kingdom."
Avery had seemed to recover from his 'traumatic' experience with Zin now (about time), as Shiro disappeared off into the house to search for Heinrich to ask if he wanted to come along on the quest as well.
They would leave as soon as Ronni had finished their preparations, with or without the others who Vesta hoped would assist. They couldn't afford to fall behind Malakus.

---

---

Aleph Banton was not completely sure just how wise his decision to follow the armored orc known as Malakaus Firebelly was. Was he not worthless? Was he not frightened at the very thought of death? Why just a bit earlier, he was incapable of just about anything but feeling sorry for himself. So why then did he find himself tagging along for this march? Banton couldn't tell you himself if he was just following his newfound friend, Olipher, or if some part of him wanted this, wanted to be a real hero, even knowing he wasn't one.

He gave a heavy sigh.

While he could not throw away these depressing thoughts that lingered in his mind, the very least he could do was suppress and hide them from anybody else. There was no benefit to causing others to worry about him or annoying them. For now, he could act the part of the fool like he usually did.

Otherwise he wasn't sure what would become of him.

Fwah....f-fwahah....FWAHAHA...!?

Mental preparation was necessary to accurately portray the Hero known as Aleph Banton, the one with an indescribable power contained within his right hand! Or was it his left? Just the mere shock he had received from... what was it again that caused him to suddenly fear his death? Well whatever it was it had made it a bit difficult to think properly and preparing the Hero was not going as smooth as it should have been.

A bit more unstable than he was used to, Aleph Banton silently marched with the rest of the group as he attempted to get into the right mindset. At the very least, he hadn't any problems preparing supplies from the trip. So long as things went to plan, he wouldn't have any problems with what he brought with him. But that did not matter.

Luck was usually on his side, after all.

---

Heinrich was not sure if his mind had made it up, but while he was lost in this mansion, he could have sworn he heard something he did not like. Thankfully, he was capable of not being an idiot like people in horror movies usually are, and instead decided to avoid the noises. If some murder-killer jumped out at him because he decided to investigate, he was sure he would die of embarrassment before the knife reached his throat. He would not fall for the most common of tropes, he was sure of it.

Except it seemed that, much to his irritation, he was a character whom could get lost fairly easily in bigger buildings, as he did not manage to find anybody or anything he would have liked to. He did occasionally hear things some people might have decided to look into, but fearing for some sort of trap, Heinrich continued onwards, in hope of getting himself un-lost. It did not work. At least not for a while, but eventually, he had succeeded in finding the others, apparently just as someone went looking for him.

He of course had caught the part that Vesta and others would be leaving to assist on some trip. Perhaps this was a way he could repay her for the kind hospitality. He wasn't really capable of fighting, but, well, maybe he could carry stuff? Vesta's offer to tutor someone in magic had reminded him of the potential he knew he had since coming here. He really needed to find somebody to instruct him to make use of it, but asking of Vesta was something he could not do as he had nothing to give her in return. His character would not allow it. If she extended the offer to him, however... well, he would try to help in any way he could. It would be nice to get away from the crazed NPCs of this world for a bit.

"A gorgeous mansion you have." Heinrich commented to let his presence be known to those who hadn't heard or seen him, few as though they may be. He stood in a way that could only be described as "fabulous", while looking solely at Vesta, almost as if he disregarded everybody else. Vesta was the only one he had interest in at the moment. It was her (and by extension, her family) whom he had owed for the kind hospitality.

"I am no warrior and I currently cannot cast a spell, but I would assist you in anyway I might if you would have me."

So, let's recap...

Last night, Duncan was dolling himself up in his fancy red uniform to go to a fancy dinner party for some relative of the queen to fulfill his job of standing around politicians, smiling with a bunch of polished medals hanging off his left tit to make them look more electable... and then he showed up in some bullshit fantasy world, filled with an unyielding amount of anime tropes whereupon he immediately ran into an old war-buddy of his, watched her blow up, somehow survived (though he quite distinctly remembered being partially melted) and then got into a fistfight with a guy with fuzzy cat-ears and dress because he also somehow along the way became the Incredible Goddamn Hulk. And now he was following some knightly Orc and a turbo-bitch elf on some crusade to kill demons, at the behest of the afore-mentioned cat-boy who was now his boss.

Because, why not? His life had already taken a permanent turn for the insane, he might as well just roll with it, and ram his foot up Satan's arsehole while he's at it.

So, after downing that pint Felix owed him and somehow being talked into working for the guy (who promptly ran off to get his things and fill 'Miss Crush' (who was apparently his boss) in on what was happening, he followed along with Mally who, as it turns out, was a pretty decent guy when he wasn't calling you a peasant or threatening to put an axe into your skull and Atisha, to which he owed the odd discovery that Gaelic bears at least some resemblance to Elvish... namely, when Duncan responded to her insults and threats (of which there were many, in more than one language) with (among other things) 'Gala'... which apparently means 'Bitch' in both languages and prompted a shouting match with knives drawn that Mally had to put an abrupt stop to before they could murder eachother in front of the castle and give any linguists that might be hiding in the bushes somewhere a fatal heart-attack. Which of course, led to an extensive (and just a liiitle bit condescending) lecture by the Orc about noble conduct wherein the Mountie-turned-Demonslayer decided it would probably be a bad idea to ever mention to the Orc his extraordinarily colourful military career, the fact that he actually owned a decent piece of land and that in his own country, he was the rough equivalent of a Royal Guard.

On the one hand, the Orc might not even believe him.

On the other, he might mistakenly believe him to be a noble and give him another, more thorough lecture for not acting right.

After getting garbed up in whatever gear Malakaus had lying around and being given a giant murder-stick, Duncan parted ways with the Orc (who may or may not have smirked a little at seeing his old gear getting used again) and the Elf (who was very clearly trying to burn a hole into his brain with her murder-glare) and made his way down to the market where he met with Ease (still flanked by the kitty twins) who helped him pawn off his medals, his badge, what remained of his coin purse and even his red serge to get the rest of what he'd need; Namely an old suit of leather armour to go under his plate, an old ruck with all the basic (and economically priced) necessities and a bedroll.

Which of course, brings us quite nicely to the present; with our bald and angry hero of these past few run-on sentences standing just slightly away from the party of the Orc, the Elf, that same damned kid and his fuzzy-headed employer, as yet unnoticed and mulling over his one last chance to run the hell away from this mad misadventure he'd stumbled his way into.

He could just turn and run- Now armed and with the newfound strength of his legs it was doubtful anyone'd have an easy go catching him, and he had spent the better part of his teenage learning how to survive innawoods in a fashion that'd make Rambo green with envy. But... well...

He gave them his word. And while Duncan was many things, outwardly violent and gruff and cold, he wasn't one to go back on his word.

His Grandfather taught him better than that.

And so, with a slight grimace, Duncan pulled a cigar and his zippo from his pocket, lit himself a smoke and stepped forward, making his presence known with a simple statement to the Orc leading this expedition.

"Ready when you are, Boss."

Malakaus and Atisha looked at the first of the arrival, the mercenary that Malakaus only vaguely remembered, and Atisha had forgotten. He said something about dying already, but both the orc and the elf just thought this to be melodrama. Even after Atisha's own struggle with accepting the idea that she may have died yesterday, she didn't think anyone else went through the same thing. That and her initial (or rather her first since she had forgotten him already) impression of the human was already a negative one. Malakaus simply didn't care.

"Obviously. Keep your mad thoughts to yourself."

"Keep your wits about you or you'll die again."

Then came Vesta. Atisha didn't know who she was and Vesta was human, so she ignored the girl. However Malakaus was glad to see that she would be coming along. "Master Celestia! So glad to see you come along. With you on our side I'm almost certain that this quest will be easy." Who followed afterwards made Malakaus sign. He vaguely recognized the young man, but glancing back at Vesta made the half-orc realize that they had that trouble-making wanna-be hero in their midst now. The same one who Vesta had fought a few days ago due to some sort of misunderstanding. Malakaus was hesitant on accepting the help of such a trouble-making youth, however he seemed dour right now. Or was he perhaps just focused? For now Malakaus kept quiet about Aleph. If he proves to be troublesome then Malakaus would handle him. But if he made himself useful, then perhaps the knight errant could look over his misguided accident from before.

And finally there was Duncan. Atisha glared daggers at him through her mask but Malakaus simply sighed. He supposed it wasn't really his place to judge the quality of a man, but Malakaus remembered the strict code of conduct he had to follow as a squire. There was a reason one shouldn't simply take strongmen from a tavern and elevate them to the status of minor nobility: giving a belligerent authority is just asking for trouble. But again it was not really Malakaus's place to judge Duncan's character. Sure he may have no place in high society, but then again neither did Malakaus. And frankly the only reason Malakaus even cared about Duncan's character was because he was in the city representing Felix. Once they leave the city, the only thing that truly matters is his skill in battle. So hopefully the bald man could be just as furious to demons as he can be with Atisha.

As the group slowly formed they approached the edge of the city. Malakaus was able to convince the stable master to loan him and his party a basic wagon and two strong horses. It could comfortably sit about six people plus a carriage driver, so any more than that and they'll have to take turns walking. The wagon would be faster and more comfortable than walking, though once they reach the village they'll need to take extra care not to let any harm come to the horses. Malakaus would have to pay a hefty amount for their safe return. Or wasn't sure if anyone else was going to come now, so Malakaus wasted no time waiting. Taking the reins the orc left the city of Luganica and officially began his quest.

---

The group's travel had been uneventful. They traveled throughout the entire day, a little bit into the night, and rested for only eight hours before moving again, often before the sun had risen. They camped and spent very little time off the road though they did stay at an inn on the fourth night. Finally, the village was within view. The most distinguishing feature of this village it's crude wooden fortifications that surrounded the outer village. Sharp wooden logs impaled into the ground that circled the village, with a few towers in between with archers manning them. The grass off the road was tall; tall enough to hide in. As soon as the group approached at least seven young-looking men rose from the tall grass, each armed with a shortbow. They did not aim at anyone, but they did have arrows in hand.

Malakaus stopped the horses and raised his signet high into the air for them to see. "I am Malakaus Firebelly, Knight Errant of the Kingdom of Luganica. I have come to the village of Laab with allies to assist your village!" One of the more elderly archers approached to look at Malakaus's signet, then motioned for the others to lower their weapons. They went back to their posts and led the others inside towards the village. Along the way, the older man explained the current situation.

"Thank you for coming, sir knight. As you've been told the crystal that protects our village from monsters has gone dormant. It used to be that only the strongest of demons would come near our village, but now even the smallest whelps torment our homes and property. They've driven off game and slaughtered our livestocks as well as damage our crops. A few of our hunters have tried to go and stop them but few come back. The few who did have suffered horrible wounds, and those conscious enough to speak tell us of horrible things in the forest. That there are more demons lying in wait as if they were amassing their forces. And if that wasn't bad enough, recently they have started to raid our outlying farms in larger groups. Before a party of hunters could take on maybe eight or ten of their little ones, but they come with bigger numbers and bigger creatures. We tried to set up this fence as quickly as we coul, but we know if may not even slow down a more rabid mob. Please sir, if there's anything you and your allies can do for us we beg you, help us! We are not rich, but we have had good harvest and saved up wealth. It may not be enough for a knight like yourself, but whatever you need, we will give. But please, save our village, save us!"

Just as the old man started begging and about half-way towards the village, there was shouting in the distance. A large plume of smoke rose into the air and the old man's face looked pale. "That signal... They're here. We're under attack!" At one of the towers two archers desperately fired their arrows into an on coming horde of demon beasts. But their efforts would be for naught, because they faced a terrifying foe: a horde of Oousagi. These creatures seemed deceptively harmless, cute even, but they weren't so adorable when the defenders tried to shoot them down, failing to do so due to their small size and swiftness. They climbed up the tower and together they quickly started to bite and eat the defenders alive. It happened so fast they couldn't even scream.

Atisha took a moment to look at them and gave a rough estimate of their numbers. "There's at least thirty of them. The tall grass covers them, let's move! Old man take the horses and wagon and go!" Atisha wasted no time leaping out of the wagon and charging towards battle, chanting a spell as she approached. Malakaus didn't say anything as he took out his axe and joined her. It looked like the demon beasts were heading towards them anyways so for their best interest the party needed to keep these adorably abominations away from everyone else.

@ADamnFiddle@PhoenixRising@Letter Bee@Sir Lurksalot@FamishedPants@ZekariVoblis@Seirei No Hai@Soragoku@Kitsune
@Zelosse

Alexander Sky

Alexander didn't let Atisha's barb get to him, and he took Malakaus' reminder to heart. He would then look at the others briefly - why was everyone such a flaring beacon of magical energy? - then say, as contritely as possible:

"My name is Alexander Sky, and I hope we can work together from now on." He would then keep quiet, then follow the others to their wagon.

------

One week later, they reached the village of Laab; the crude fortifications were a sign of desperation, a signal that the crystal or crystals that protected the settlement no longer functioned. And less than a minute after reaching the village, Alexander would see the reasons for such desperation - Oousagi, aka literal killer rabbits, killer rabbits that shone brightly to his magical sight.

Resisting the eyestrain, Alexander assessed the situation; the tall grass and the nature of the enemy made hacking at them sub-optimal, and his lack of armor made him an easy target. Perhaps that can be used to his advantage?

Fighting beside Aleph, Alexander drew his sword and cut at the beasts as best as he could, using his magical vision to gauge their positions accurately...

@Lucius Cypher@Seirei no Hai@liferusher@Sir Lurksalot@Letter Bee@FelixArgyle@FamishedPants@Lunarlors34

Duncan wasn't sure what to expect when their motley crew of adventurers arrived at the village, buuuut it certainly wasn't the freakin' Rabbit of Caerbannog and all of it's extended family. However, instead of dwelling on it and getting more pissed off the more he did (as seemed to be his norm of late), he blocked it out behind the cold, machine-like discipline his time in the army and youth under his grandfather's tutelage carved into his psyche and followed in line beside Atisha as she charged forward, taking up her flank opposite Malakaus as she prepared whatever spell she was cooking up. By this point, the bald man was just plain done with being exasperated about all the strange turns his life had taken; he could either ruck up and deal with the fact that a Monty Python gag had come to life to end his, or he could be picked clean like those two archers in the tower. And to be frank, one of those options looked like it sucked a lot more than the other.

And so, big damned club at the ready, Corporal Duncan MacAiden of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police charged forward alongside a judgemental Orc and an Elf with the world's largest stick up her ass against the ravenous, flesh-eating kin of the Easter Bunny.

Adrenaline began to work it's way through his brain. The world seemed to slow and the familiar wartime mechanisms in his psyche that had gone unused the past two years kicked back to life as a calm, lucid sort of heightened awareness overcame his senses.

The panicked cries of the village's archers thundered in his head.

The acrid smoke of the signal fire numbly registered in his senses.

The swaying leaves of the tall-grass before him became much sharper, looking more animated and less mundane.

'Wait a minute...'

The would-be demonslayer began to twirl his heavy weapon in one hand, picking up more momentum with every rotation.

"I've got an idea." He stated flatly, addressing the Elf for the first time in a week and stowing his personal dislike for the woman behind a mask of professionalism as a faint blue glow came to his eyes "Follow my lead."

With that said, the bald man dug his heel into the ground on his next stride and leapt forward a good sixteen feet, throwing all of his momentum behind one horizontal swing of his club, kicking up a gust of wind that pushed the long grass down roughly in the shape of a cone around forty feet in diameter and depth ahead of him, hopefully making any of the beasties hiding in there easier to spot and, if the sun, moon and all the planets somehow aligned, stunning the little bastards enough to make them easy pickings for whatever magic mojo Atisha or Vesta could come up with.

A slight grunt resonated in the back of Duncan's throat as he got to his feet and fell back in line with Mally and Atisha who, at their pace, were quick to cover the distance and overtake him. Weapon at the ready as he caught up.

@Spriggs27@Seirei No Hai

Olipher took one solid glance at the surroundings, all of it, absorbing every sight and sound as the Oni digested the complete absurdity of the situation. In the middle of the forest with his 'apprentice' and now the dragon lady. Of course it all made absolutely no sense and he was silently berating himself for allowing such a completely abnormal situation like this play out at all but there was nothing to be done about it. Their prey had met an end to other predators and now a dragon thing was barking at him for bad behavior?

Shiragas comment about his aim snapped his head to glare at her from behind the imposing faceplate on his helmet. Not that it did much..

"Can it, growing pains. If this.." Gesturing up and down at the scaled woman before them as he stumbled for the words, "Thing. Doesn't mean us harm, we leave. Malakaus has probably already begun the march with Maria, Vesta, and the others who joined the call to arms." Olipher shot the dragon woman a suspicious glare and simply began walking backwards away from the cave and her. "If we're lucky, we might be able to backtrack and exit the forest ahead of them.."

Assuming this thing doesn't try and attack us, that is. The Oni thought to himself. Wouldn't that be a real miracle..

@liferusher @Lunarlors34 @FamishedPants @Spriggs27





Dante calmly listen to her as Vesta's proposal to Aya. To be honest Vesta's proposal sounds like the best choice for Aya, especially since she seem to be foreign to this world or timeline or...whereever or whenever she from, Dante will however, trust that the girl haves enough sense to take the proposal but with a grain of salt. Hopefully, Vesta proposal will not have a strong catch behind i. Then again Avery came out of it deal okay...he may dress as a girl...but Avery doesn't seem to mind.

Dante was a bit sadden when she mention what happen last night. "What i did last night was very foolish, i can not apologize enough for what happen. He told her while scratching behind his head and dropping his dog ears. He then got up and begin stretch. "I am most thankful for the chance you are giving me. I will fight for you at your call." He told her gracefully. Dante seems to have no problem throwing himself into danger. Through he hoped Aya isn't put on the battlefield before she's ready.

Oli's Oni apprentice pouted rather cutely. Since his menacing glare was blocked behind the metal helm of his armor set. It didn't really intimidate her much which she's thankful for by the way. "I'm not a pain..." she mutters and looks down the ground sighing and turning to the dragon girl (Zin) before her. This was her first time seeing such a dragon, and she doesn't know how dragons work... then again, she didn't even know that dragons could look like humans. Instead of showing aggressiveness and her futile attempt at a fire breath, Shiraga just stared dumbfounded at the busty girl with black dotted eyes.

"She sounds polite, shouldn't we at least answer her?" Shiraga called out to her "Fura-sensei" walking backward. Only to be nearly interrupted with:

"...Malakaus has probably already begun the march with Maria, Vesta, and the others who joined the call to arms... if we're lucky, we might be able to backtrack and exit the forest ahead of them..."

Shiraga pouts once more, putting her hands on her waist as she turned heel and faced the dragon herself. "Well whatever. It's rude to walk away from someone who's asking questions." The cute, flat-chested Oni decided to enter the cave deeper at a slow pace, a lazy yet friendly smile plastered on her face and a wave of her hand in the air.

"Uhhh, hi. Yes... umm, it would be common courtesy if you could tell us... uhh... what you are exactly? I've never seen anything like you before." Shiraga walked closer, her big teal-ish eyes tracing down her voluptuous body from top to bottom. She was walking around her in a small circle out of curiosity.

She didn't mean any harm, and if there's some kind of animal instinct inside the dragon girl she wouldn't be able to sense malice or negative energy from her words and expressions.

@Spriggs27 @Zelosse @Lucius Cypher @Letter Bee