---

"Atop the mountain we strode victorious and high spirited; we were fools to think a single mountain of the dead would be enough to defeat them."

---

Village of Auguston

March 3rd, 299 AMB

Another bright, sunny day in the lovely village of Auguston was just cut short. Everyone who lived in the village had come to fear the sound of the air raid siren, for they knew what it meant. Fear had not always been the first thing on the villagers minds however and many of them revelled in their cherished memories as they buried the dead. Memories of beautiful springtime parties with plenty of food, drink and fun for everyone to partake in. The reason for this fear held a name that, to the unacquainted, seemed overly dramatic or maybe even a little superstitious. Although many of the villagers dared not speak the creatures' name, there were still a few brave souls who didn't mind risking a jinx. As the first sentry atop the decrepit, makeshift palisade spotted a dark figure upon the horizon, he made the dreaded name ring in the ears of everyone it reached. The Reapers had come again.

As the red and dark purple blood mixed and soaked into the pounded dirt, the screams of the dying faded. The last handful of fighters began again the process of burning the corpses, the blood and even half the wall. If it was tainted, it had to burn. Across the village, past the abandoned blocks of burned out buildings and gravestones, lay a small inn. The inn carried a name from a happier time, "The Lazy Dragon" stood triumphantly upon the sign at the entrance. The Adventurer's Guild had long since given authority to the owner of the tavern and abandoned the inn to its own devices. The village had never been a hotspot of activity for adventurers since The Line was only twenty miles to the north. With everyone passing the village up to head to the Line, the inn section had fallen into disuse and rarely held anyone at all. The winter had decimated the garrison at Fort Moonblade which defended the valley through which you had to pass to enter or exit the Plaguelands. The tavern held most of the remaining fighters and workers who stayed behind to try and hold against the tide.

In this tavern, a small step would take you up to a slightly elevated level which held a fairly large, and rarely used, private room. A curtain seperated it from the rest of the tavern and tucked away inside was a cloaked figure sitting at the head of a fairly large table. Outside of the curtain sat a small sign that read "Adventurer's Guild" on it. As the figure waited patiently, he took small sips of weak mead from a mug under his blacked out hood. The runes on his gauntlets had a faint glow about them as he moved them about, and even to the most educated, they seemed to exude an aura of mysterious power.

A girl was walking along the road until a magically enchanted truck slowly passed her by. She looked up at them and she walked towards the truck and stopped them. ”I need a lift to a village,” Patricia said. Her blue eyes were definitely showing towards him.

The enchanted truck driver glanced at the girl. “The closest village to here is Auguston and that will take a while to get there,” Driver said. He was blue draconian and disliked stopping since he is heading for another village, which isn’t that hell hole. “What’s your name child?” He said.

She looked at the blue draconian and smiled slightly. “My name is Patricia I am traveling looking for a guild,” Patricia said smiling, “And I am a Rune Holy Priestess.” She wanted to get there as fast as possible.

The driver’s eyes opened wide when she said was a Rune Holy Priestess. “Runes, hmm, that is interesting, I will allow you to get in the back of my truck Patricia,” Driver said. He thought a bit and smiled with a devilish grin on his face. “You will owe me a favor, if we get there in time,” Driver said.

She looked at him slightly funny and didn’t understand what he said. ”What kind of favor, sir?” Patricia asked curiously. She backed up from the truck’s driver side door.

He looked at her and sighed at her question, he opened up the driver side door and got out of his truck. He stood taller than the short girl. “I scratch your back and I scratch your type of favor,” Driver said. He looked down at her and wondered about her for a second. He walked towards his back of his truck and popped open the trunk and bowed towards the girl. “Please get in, I must say don’t worry about this,” Driver said. He wondered why she was wearing a cloak, the only other people who wear cloaks were humans, which this girl definitely looked like from her eyes and facial features.

She shook her head in confusion in what the draconian said to her, but when he politely told her to get into the back of his truck. She walked to the back of the truck and hopped into the truck. ”How far is the village of Auguston? I am happy you stopped out of all the people who passed me by,” Patricia said smiled.

The driver, who’s a blue draconian waited until the girl was perfectly within the back of the truck and he shut the door. He recalled his memory in how far it is and smiled towards her. “It is about 5 miles away, but my place I have to go to is like, twenty-five miles away,” Driver said. He walked to the front of the vehicle and got into the magical truck which looks somewhat similar to a Ford F-150, just magical. The truck started to move forward again, but it was much faster this time since he wanted to get this girl to her destination quick so he could get on his merry way.

She stayed in the back of the truck and her injury from a long forgotten past started to act up but she grinned and bared it for the time being. ”I hope this village has a guild, which requires a Rune Holy Priestess,” Patricia thought to herself. Her sword had a bluish glow aura to it, but it was mainly her injury that was activating its effect to lessen the pain from her leg.

It took a few hours to get close enough so the driver could see the wreckage of what was the Village of Auguston and he easily knew what happened to it. His look on his face wasn’t happy. ”Great I hope the line isn’t in this bad of a shape,” Driver thought to himself. He stopped right outside of the village and looked at his notes and wrote down, ‘it is still a hell hole.’ He sighed and got out of his vehicle and walked towards where the girl is sitting in the back of the truck. “Hey, I am at your destination but there’s an Inn called the Lazy Dragon in the Village of Auguston. It is one of the stops towards the line if you could say,” Driver said. He opened the back of the truck with a slight trick.

She looked at the driver with a smile and she slowly gets out of the back of the truck with everything she was carrying. She stands right there for a minute and walked towards the village and noticed it. She was slightly in awe of the sight she sees, but she couldn’t really understand why really. ”Thank you, sir, I hope you have fun on your journey,” Patricia said happily. She walked into the village slowly from the entrance that is facing away from the line. She did notice the tavern, the Lazy Dragon but didn’t really understand anything she is seeing now unless someone in the village could tell her. She walked towards the tavern, wholly clueless of the situation around her.

The Driver walked back to his truck’s door and drove away from the Village of Auguston since he doesn’t want anything to do with the hell hole, he deemed it to be so. That would mean he will have to take the longer route to the line to get to his destination.

She heard the truck move away from the village. She didn’t really look back at it. ”I hope there’s someone in here that could help me in terms of a guild,” Patricia thought to herself. She walked into the inn’s entrance and had a confused look on her face. “Hello, anyone here?” Patricia asked.

Ki'Tann pushed his way past the small girl with little heed for her curious musings, in a hurry himself to satisfy a fletching of morbid curiosity that had been slicing its way into the recesses of his mind with relentless determination.

"Move, little one," he hissed, making haste towards the back of the inn, and leaving Patricia to wander aimlessly. Tip, tap, tip-tap. His hind claws clicked against the cold wooden boards, drawn indefinitely for balance and caution. Barefooted was more comfortable, more natural, even if it turned heads and allowed the occasional pebble to find itself lodged between the pads of his paws. It's how he liked it, and it was a fantastic way to differentiate the intolerant and the accepting, not that he was about to make the distinction all that significant. To him, it only separate those who deserved to die, and those who deserved to die painlessly.

He'd been here for less than a minute and the putrid smell of Humies was already sticking to the inside of his nostrils. The tabby stepped past a few patrons carefully, weaving around the cracks in the floor like a dancer. The pace of his steps jittered, one two, one-two-three four, one two-three four-five, subtly indicating a methodical approach to the well versed in subterfuge, or the pacing of a drunk to anyone with a shred of common sense, but Ki'Tann wasn't trying to hide anything, and he certainly wasn't intoxicated. His massive sword was on display for everyone to see, tucked away comfortably in its sheath on his back, with a crossbow hanging just below that, clipped to his belt. Beyond that, his face was open for all to see. He hid nothing about his features, and his lithe figure was discernible with ease. He was about as cat man assassin as one could get.

Ki'Tann took a wide glance of the Inn as he stepped forward, collapsing into a chair that he found secluded from the Inn's tables. His tail whipped around and rested comfortable at his side, flicking from side to side as he surveyed the room carefully. His curiosity wouldn't be sated until he found out what all the hubbub was about.

The steady clip clop of heavy hooves meeting the worn earth of Auguston sounded as Atlas meandered through the village. His sleepy cantaloupe colored iris roving over all the sites that the village had to offer. Which to put lightly wasn't much. Perhaps at one point in time the village had been a plucky little hamlet. One whose days were filled with lively mornings and peaceful nights. A time when its patrons did not have to scramble to their shoddy homes and hope the threat passed over with little casualties as possible. A time when Reapers was not a household name uttered in harsh frightened whispers.

The large snowy coated centaur's sightseeing was brought to an end as he came to his intended destination. The Lazy Dragon. It looked just as the old villager had described. A bit small in size and could use some work. Overall not too shabby. However, he wasn't to picky in the first place. He didn't plan on staying for an extended amount of time here. Just a few weeks maybe a month at the most. Long enough to rest up and hopefully earn some coin for his pocket. Or at least enough to get him by until the next settlement. He needed work and this was the place he was pointed to find it.

Atlas bent forward slightly using his hand to push past the door hanging his head low so as not to bump it on the frame. His tall and sturdily built stature prove to be only a slight inconvenience as he entered the tavern. Thankfully his equine half was only brushed slightly by the frame and did not get stuck...this time. Oh the joys of a centaur.Almost immediately he had to stop so as not to trample over the small female standing near the entrance. She was shrouded in a cloak and from what he could tell was pretty young in age. " S'cuse me, ma'am." His voice a deep hum as he offered her an apologetic grin dipping his head in greeting as he stepped around her, making sure not to step on her foot in the process. She was so little and a misstep from him could probably cause some serious damage. A quick survey of the tavern showed that business must have been slow today. A few patrons scattered about here and there with one in particular standing out from the rest. A feline like figure was seated away from the rest. Even though the feline had stirred his curiosity, for the moment, Atlas decided to leave him be. He didn't look to be in the mood for small talk. There was most likely a reason the cat had chosen a secluded spot. And Atlas could respect that.

His attention stopped on the small sign that read Adventure's Guild which was placed outside of a curtained off area. The same guild the old man had told him about. If he were to find work surely that would be where to start. As gracefully as his bulky body allowed him, Atlas made his way past the tables and people. Drawing back the curtain and entering the private room, he saw a large table with a lone figure sitting at it. Huh, kind of smaller than expected. Perhaps the rest of the guild hadn't arrived yet. He shook his initial shock from him and dipped his head at the figure moving closer and extending his hand towards the stranger to shake. "Howdy, the names Atlas." Another glance around the room. "..Are you the leader of this guild?" Dumb question maybe but he couldn't just tramp right in and say nothing.

"That ain't nice y'know."

A gunshot resounded around the area followed by a thud. A heavily covered person stood before a lifeless body, a revolver pointed at the corpse. Blonde hair peeked through the turban that the person wore and bright blue eyes stared coldly at it. She let out a sigh and then placed the revolver back into its holster under her dark cloak. "If only 'ya just listened, it wouldn't have ended like this." She said with a shake of her head.

She then spun around and then began to head out of the house. Her footsteps echoed in the empty establishment, creating an eerie tune. She hurried out of it, not out of fear but rather out of urgency. Time to turn it in. Once she was out of the house, she was immediately greeted with the sight of a crowd forming around her, or rather the house itself.

Murmurs that blended into each other, creating a screeching symphony, erupted when she stepped out. Eyes fell upon her and people began accusing her of things she did do, but they didn't know the context behind it. They didn't dare come closer, not when she had such a menacing gun slung over her shoulder.

Adira looked at them and then raised the cover of her mouth that was part of her cloak. Shit, did that wake up the whole town? Of course it would. She guessed that would have been really loud. How will she get out now?

"Clear the way!"

A deep voice rumbled out and everyone scattered, making way to three people dressed in guard uniform. Adira calmly looked at them. Her right hand gripped tightly on the strap of the Reaper. The captain, by the looks of his uniform, ordered the two to go inside and he stayed by Adira. He was of the Wolven folk, built like a warrior with a battle axe strapped on his back. He was like a wall between her and the people, and also her freedom.

The two guards came back running. They reported their findings and the people revolted, shouting profanities until silenced by the guard once again. The captain looked at Adira, eyes boring holes into her. "You are hereby under arrest for murder of Rajir Habvid. Any resistance will be met with violence." He then harshly grabbed her wrists and then the two guards cleared the way for them and she was led towards the jailhouse.

Adira did not struggle against him though. In fact, she just went with him. She was shoved inside the jailhouse and then they looked at each other. The captain sighed, emerald green eyes looking at Adira like she was a joke. "What in the name of the gods was that? I thought you said you were doing it cleanly."

"Ain't my fault Cap'n." Adira replied before swiping a bottle and then drinking from it. She could see the captain scrunch his nose at the stench of alcohol. "He wouldn't come silently so I had to put a bullet between his eyes. Or else, I would've been the one on the ground."

The captain rubbed his forehead. "Ugh, fine. But they can't see you leave here unscathed. We'll send you over to Auguston. Pretty close and there's a small inn there called the Lazy Dragon and there's a small Adventurer's Guild stall there, even after the whole independent inn thing. It's a little run down but it's still alive." He then took a pouch of gold and then tossed it towards her and she deftly caught it. "I think they're calling you over there."

"Thanks a bunch Cap'n. S'ppose I ain't going back for a long time eh?" Adira asked with a grin as she was led towards the back door and a small cruiser was there.

"Nope." The captain said before crossing his arms. "Or else I'll lose my job. Come back here... preferably in thirty years or so, or never at all."

Adira gave him a big grin and then sat down inside and closed the door. The driver didn't speak to her. She then gave the captain a small wave before the car lurched forward.

---

"Oh damn, Auguston's been hit pretty hard." The driver commented as they drove in. He stopped in front of the village to let her out. "Good luck man." He said.

"Thanks. Take care on your trip back." The turban wearing woman exited the vehicle and then proceeded to walk towards the inn. Auguston probably got hit by Reapers again. She bowed her head at the fighters who were burning bodies. She kept to herself as she hurried towards the inn, not wanting to fill her nostrils with the smell of burning bodies. Adira rarely went here. The Line was only a few miles away so she usually just passed by this place without much thought. Though she kind of wished she saw this place when it wasn't in this kind of state.

The inn wasn't any better either. Poorly taken care of and obviously not used very much, but it was standing. Adira entered and then immediately went looking for where the little stall was. She was already an official member of the Adventurer's Guild, it's just that she doesn't know about this particular branch. Disappointing right?

She found it quite easily. She noticed other people but she merely sat down on one of the seats on a table that wasn't occupied and then leaned back on it, looking at the mysterious cloaked figure. She was pretty sure this was the guy she needed to find. Alrighty. She's pretty interested on what they're going to do.

“OWWWWWWWUCH!”

A small child wailed in pain as tears built up in her grey eyes. Marissa gave the girl a sympathetic smile. The fox understood that the ointment stung; but the girl had such a grievous wound on her leg that if it wasn't cleaned and treated as soon as possible, then it would get infected and the girl would suffer far worse than a short stinging sensation. Marissa continued to press down on the rag and the girl couldn't hold back the tears any more. She sobbed and Marissa put her free hand on the youngster's dirty cheek.

“I know, I know dear. It will be all over in a few moments.” Her soft hand stroked the rough skin of the little girl and her thumb swept away the tears.

The patient gasped and sobbed as she tried to be a brave person. She decided to focus on anything else that was not the pain or the wound. Her eyes fixed on Marissa's large white tail. No, that was wrong, it wasn't completely white, was it? There was a subtle yellow in the fur. The tail stood proud in the air as though the Healer had made a conscious effort to keep it off the mucky ground. The child pointed to it and met Marissa's red eyes.

“C-can I stroke it?” She quickly wiped snot on the back of her pointing-hand and returned to pointing at the tail.

Marissa grimaced. “I would rather you didn't-” The girl started to cry again and Marissa's large ears twitched and shot up. “O-Of course you can! Don't cry, don't cry, if it helps you, you can stroke my tail.” She begrudgingly guided her elgant tail to the child's lap and continued to treat the wound; now applying a thicker salve before the bandage.

“Yay! Thank you, Miss!” The grubby girl grabbed the tail, making Marissa cringe. However, the stroking was very soft and gentle and the girl looked a little more at peace. Marissa smiled and focused on her work.



After her final patient, Marissa was tired and groggy. She held her tail in her arms as she headed towards The Lazy Dragon inn, and plucked dirt from her fur. She would have to groom it later. As she arrived outside of the building, she flicked her tail behind her and cautiously opened the tavern's door. Her eyes scanned the tables and bar, searching for individuals she should be wary of. Content that no-one looked too dangerous, she continued toward the bar and asked for a small cup of mead.

As she waited for her drink, her attention was caught by the rustle of the curtain to the back room. 'Adventurer's guild'. She had worked as a volunteer for them before, helping heal up Adventurers for free for a chance to promote her potions and salves. Marissa tapped her fingers absent-mindedly against the counter as she considered peeping in to see if there was anyone she knew inside. Maybe she would watch it for a while first.

Hmm...it should be...around here somewhere shouldn't it? It had been awhile since she had been in Auguston, and her sense of direction was likely not exactly what one would consider stellar in any fashion, but she had lived in the area of a year or so, so she thought she had a fairly good grasp of the area. Well. She should have at least, but judging from the way the place looked...was it Auguston? It looked so different. So much more...glum. There were a lot less people playing dead last time she was here, that was for sure. Did the funny death men come again and take people to their sleep? No no, there was a lot less fire involved if they did that...were the living ones burning the dead? They made such sweet smells, at least. Perhaps she should take a nibble...

Suddenly, her steps were halted by some large bear thing and caused her to stumble backwards.

"Hey, watch it!"

Oh wait, it wasn't a large bear thing. It was a large living thing without any fur whatsoever. How sad. If it was a bear, it'd make for a fluffy pillow. Still, her friends had taught her manners and she should apologize for running into the large man!

"Sorry," She tilted her head to the side under her cloak. "The smell of the dead is so sweet...I was distracted, since It was making me hungry." Great, that was a good apology! Straight, honest, sincere, and to the point! "It is a pity you are burning them - we could have been such great friends." Also good! Her friends told her she should always try and appear friendly if she wanted to have a good life. Granted, for the past few years she hadn't exactly succeeded. People throwing knives and trying to do stabby things to you were not friends.

Wait the man was giving her the most queer look. He looked a bit...sick, actually? Maybe shocked. As a good, caring individual she should ask if he was alright.

"Sir, are you alright? You look a bit sick...maybe you should sleep? It is a luxury some dead don't have. Maybe don't take it for granted?" Oh right! She was in a kind of a hurry, wasn't she? She should make it to the guild. She knew where it was. Couldn't be too far from here, nope! Reaching up, she pat the man on the head. "I have somewhere to be, but perhaps you should take a break. Maybe try not burning the sleeping ones? Perhaps it might help you sleep better." Before the bewildered man and onlookers could even say anything, Lia started walking again towards her destination. A small place called The Lazy Dragon.

Lia stepped inside, making sure her cloak still concealed most of her body.

The air inside smelled unpleasant - the smell of the living. Not that she disliked the little live birdies, but her and them tended to not get along well. Over the few years of what one could call her life, she had learned to avoid places that smelled heavily of them and stuck to more...secluded places where one such as her wouldn't be bothered all that often, except for the occasional work. At least it looked appropriate - a bit run down, but that meant it had a certain charm to it Lia definitely liked.

After a quick survey, the Elf found what she was looking for - a curtained off area that read Adventurer's guild written on a sign over it. Well, if she was looking for work that was where she needed to be. She hadn't been in regular employ of the guild since...well, since her friends decided to take a nap. Seemingly ignoring everyone else in the Inn, Lia walked into the area and was greeted with a rather pleasantly empty room.

Just a...cute furry little horse man and a shady looking man with magic hands. Her eyes lingered on the centaur as she walked in, standing right in the curtain. It was likely fairly awkward having this cloaked figure staring at him, come to think of it. She should stop that and apologize for staring. Staring was rude, yes?

"...sorry for staring, but you're fluffy." There! A good apology with a compliment! Haha, she was doing pretty well at this, yes? And her napping friends were always so worried about leaving her alone. Feeling like she had succeeded in making herself appear as an upstanding citizen and a little tiny bit more human, the cloaked Elf walked to a far part of the table and took a seat, deciding not to lower her hood just yet.

It would be potentially dangerous to do that. She may be dead, but she definitely liked living and attracting attention to herself was not a good way to continue to be not-dead more.

A cobbled carriage drawn by nothing but enchantment bumped down the rough roads. The mage inside was making his rounds like many other strange traders of magic and tech alike. Unlike the noisome cars that frequented these roads this bewitched carriage had no motor to make sound over the beautiful music of the forest. The plump mage in gaudy, purple robes sat in the front. He held reins that strapped around to the bottom of the coach. One had to be wary in these parts. Reapers and all that. Regardless of the fact the mage hummed a marry tune and shifted jollily to it in his seat.

Wildlife in this area was thinning. Perhaps it was because they sensed a coming danger that men could not. "I remember when these parts were bustling." The mage muttered to himself. "So much life, now it's all going gray." He sighed. This man was here to peddle his trade; enchantments, potions, household goods that most would consider snake oil. A legitimate business man - and he heard a sound no trader wants to hear!

A loud snore cut the air like logs being sawn. Then a snort as whoever it was settled. The mage pulled the reins back and cursed. "Again! Damn stowaways.." The coach rolled to a stop, hill or no it stayed in place. As he hopped from his perch the mage took his staff, clacking it against the road every few steps he took. He gawked in awe at the creature sprawling amongst his luggage. How the hell did something that big hide in his goods!? This mostly naked cat-man had to be at least a head taller than six feet. The cat scratched his furry abs and flopped over again, completely unaware he had been discovered. The mage, a little intimidated by the size of his guest, made good of his staff and gave his stowaway a poke. His guest simply batted it away like it was second nature and rolled over.

That was enough to tip him over. "You! Get up! This is illegal and dishonest." The mage commanded. The great cat-man finally roused. He rubbed his eyes with a forearm and grumbled something unintelligible and angry sounding. "If you want to keep going you'd better damn well pay for it! I don't even know who the hell you are." The mage kept going, he must have been really pissed.

The stowaway finally responded. "Yeah -- about that. I'm Ramm." He scratched at his disheveled mane thoroughly as he kept talking. "How 'bout this cherry-face? I guard you until we get to Auguston. After that this gets put behind us."

The mage's face lit up a bright red on queue. "Cherry-face!? Not happening, beasty." He retorted.

Ramm's face stretched into a terrifying toothy grin. "Beast? Where I come from that's a compliment." He chuckled a little. "Fine. I'll walk. I can smell the town from here anyways."

There was a visible relief in the man's eyes. At the same time his own curiosity was piqued. "Smell the town? What do you mean?"

Ramm perked up at the question. "You don't know do you? Haven't been around Auguston for a while then. Town smells like burning ever since the line got closer. Makes it easy for me to find but hard to stay." He looked around at the bleak forestry. "Can't blame the wildlife for running off when they've got senses like mine. Given the choice I'd leave with them. Too bad I love fighting, and fighting gets me paid." He beamed at the trader.

Safety seemed to be pressing on the mage's self interest. "Fine, I'll take you to Auguston but that's it." He concluded.

___________________

Auguston was worse now than Ramm remembered it last. The smell permeated the soil. The fabled reapers must've been getting closer to them. He hadn't the opportunity to meet them in combat yet but relished the thought. It excited him.

One of Auguston's last, most resilient attractions was also his destination. "The Lazy Dragon." Ramm muttered as he looked at the sign. Fitting for a place to gather a fighting force. Someone needed to wake that dragon and who better than an elite team of fighters. He stomped gracelessly through the door and into a tabled area. The inn itself wasn't far better than outside. The dour mood that had settled across the town had infected the patrons in here too. A mad grin settled on his face. That meant a clash would hopefully happen sooner than later. He plodded toward the curtained off area and stuck his head through to look at the menagerie gathered together. Tabby cat, a centaur, an elf. That was a collection. He stepped all the way and paused next to the elf. He gave her a discourteous sniff. She smelled like dead people. Finally he shrugged and leaned against a wooden beam. Most people in this town smelled like dead people. Roasting the dead wasn't even a terrible smell, it was everything else they burned with it. He finally introduced himself. "Name's Ramm."

Marissa had finished her drink. She didn't recognise the small, cloaked figure that disappeared behind the curtain. However, the bulky figure that followed a little later, with black stripes in his fur, she knew him! Of course, he must have been the man she had treated a few years ago from a serious burn on his tail. He had been extremely grateful for Marissa's help and the sweet dreams she had given him.

Her tail swished from side to side as she lost herself to her memories. She tried to recall the Felinian's name. Unable to pluck it from her mind, she slid off her stool and approached the Adventure's Guild. Marissa was certain that his name would return to her once she gazed upon his handsome features.

With confidence, she tugged the curtain back and entered the room. Marissa went to place her delicate hand on the large tiger's arm as she poked her head around to get a better look at him. “It's nice to see you again-” Her words quickly sank back into her throat. Her cheeks began to heat up, ears tall, eyes wide and fur stood on end. This was NOT the Felinia she had nursed in the past.

As though she had touched scorching hot metal, Marissa retracted her hand in the blink of an eye and began to trip over her words. “O-oh, s-sorry, I-I thought you were someone else. N-now that I think about i-it, you have a, uh, very different sense of fashion to my old friend.” Marissa's voice turned to a whisper the longer she rambled and the further her eyes dropped toward the loincloth.

She closed her eyes as if she wanted to shut out the rest of the world. It was SO embarrassing to mistake someone for someone else. She wanted to quickly leave the curtained area, but her legs wouldn't move. She was frozen in place, doomed to face the consequences of her assumptions!

As the small band of adventurers gathered inside the room, out from beneath the cloak, a hand waved for them to sit around the table. Without pausing for them to sit or get comfortable, he spoke.

"Each of you have come here for a reason, be it curiosity, coin, adventure or perhaps even seeking help. Whatever your reasons may be, you sit here now before me and in return I offer you what you seek. In exchange for joining this guild, you will have the support of everyone here to help you attain your goals, in order of urgency. Those who seek riches may do so by helping to collect contracts, those who seek adventure will find no end of it and those who who need help will be given it."

As he spoke the last sentence, he waved his hand to dispell the cloaking spell lain over the table. As the cloak faded, it revealed contracts at each seat, a finely sharpened piece of charcoal next to them and a small closed box.

"If you still wish to join this guild of adventurers, read the document and sign it with your name on the line, and place your bloodmark upon the page to bind it. If you no longer wish to partake, you may take your leave now.

As she waited, a number of other people made their way into the room. So many fluffy things in her presence! Eee, she just wanted to hug and pet them all! Especially the one with the fluffy tails! So cute! She looked so frightened though! Why? Lia tilted her head to the side, trying to figure out how to help. Being scared was no good! It tugged on her heart strings to see something so cute so frightened, so to speak. You know, if she had any heartstrings to tug on.

Well.

Lia had to be a good Samaritan here and help!

Ah...wait. But she was so far away and she didn't really want to get up. So, she'd settle for giving the cute fox lady an encouraging thumbs up! There, that would be good! She just needed a little confidence, is all! She was maybe scared of the cat man but he was cute and fluffy too! No way this 'Ramm' couldn't be good! Lia forgot to take into account Marissa's eyes were completely closed, thus her encouragement would likely be wholly ineffective.

Now, onto business...spooky man made something appear in front of her. A little box, and he wanted something called her 'Bloodmark' Hrm. Slight problem. She didn't exactly have a whole lot of the delicious red substance to go around. Those little iron spikes wouldn't really be enough to get a good amount of blood out of her.

Hmm~

Reaching into her cloak, she pulled out one of her knives. The weapon was simple, but long, sharp and fairly well crafted and lightweight. Perhaps not heavy enough to really punch through heavier defenses, but with fleshy things it could easily ruin the entire rest of their soon to be short lives. She spun the knife in her fingers, playing with it as she reached over with her other hand, starting to read the contract and making sure to give it a surprisingly thorough look over. Always make sure to read the fine print, otherwise you might get cheated out of money! That was no good, and not nice.

Not nice people deserved to be put to sleep for a while.

Seeing nothing too out of the ordinary with the contract though, Lia decided it was acceptable.

With surprising swiftness and suddenness, she grabbed the end of the knife and nearly cut the thumb on her other hand completely off in a motion that some might have mistaken for an accident. Lia didn't seem to be too bothered by it, she didn't even flinch nor seemingly care about who might have been thoroughly shocked by the action. She placed the knife on the table, getting a good coating of blood on the other thumb before placing the seal on the contract.

"Hey hey, shady magic hand man," She turned her head to the masked man with a light, somewhat childish giggle, using the hand that still had its thumb still attached to hide the dagger somewhere back under her cloak. "Signed and sealed!" The thumb that had nearly been severed didn't seem to be bleeding much at all, and as Lia finished signing it the Elf reached into her cloak and pulled out a small needle and thread, starting to work on patching herself back up.

Adira watched everyone that had entered. There was that tiger-looking dude (probably part of the Felinia family) and another cloaked figure who she assumed to be female. However, the cloaked man still didn't say anything. She rubbed the back of her head as she continued to lean on the table. Were they waiting for someone else? The blonde didn't know. She wasn't impatient by any means, but still, she thought she had a job waiting for her here. In fact, she didn't even know any of the people gathering in the room. More mercenaries perhaps?

Then, another one came up and approached the Felinia. The blonde stared at her for a while, her mind processing something. She had seen her before. It only took her a few moments to realize who it was. And the younger woman was in trouble. It seems she has mistaken him for someone else. Adira thought about it, to help or not to help? Risk missing something amusing or save one's acquaintance from further embarrassment?

She stood up and then headed towards the pair. She slung her arm around the Vulpinia while saying, "Well, well! If it isn't my favorite Vulpinia? How 'ya doing Doc?" She then looked towards the Felinia, giving him a lazy grin. "Looks like Doc here mixed 'ya up with someone else. Sorry 'bout that. 'Ya know how it is with the healers, with so many people gettin' themselves hurt out there, it gets pretty easy to mix some of 'em up." It was only now that the thought that maybe a Felinia wouldn't have such a good relationship with a human - considering the fact that a lot of humans in and our of the Free States own one subspecies of the Felinia community. But she's placed herself in this situation, she could probably survive.

She then looked towards the cloaked figure who had started speaking and her arm slid of Marissa's shoulder. Oh? This all over again? She watched as the other cloaked figure headed over to the table; however, instead of using the box with spikes, she took out one her knives and began spinning it on her fingers as she read through the document. Adira watched with amusement and then paced closer to the table, tugging on the Vulpinia's sleeve to signal her to follow so they could sign up as well.

Then all of a sudden, the cloaked girl swiped the knife and then cut herself to procure some blood. Hm, Adira was pretty sure she saw that the knife nearly cut her entire thumb off because of that action but the girl didn't seem fazed so she didn't react violently either. She was quite an energetic person, it would seem. Adira's eyebrows shot up when the girl took out some sewing equipment and began sewing the wound. She gave her a smile and a pat on the back, "Sewing yourself back together huh? Can't say a lot of people can do that."

She then looked back at the contract. While she had been doing multiple jobs for the Adventurer's Guild before, she had never really joined up. The contract was pretty simple and straightforward - just like how she liked things. Adira pressed her thumb against one of the spikes until her thumb started to bleed and then pressed it against the contract. "And done." She then stepped aside and looked at her thumb, tempted to drink the blood for some reason. Ah, the weird urges you get sometimes.

Patricia followed the people who went past her that went upstairs. She was grateful to the centaur for not squashing her. She looked around the room, she had entered and it was quaint and gave her a smile across her face. Her sword had a glow to it and it was a faint blue. She saw three other cloaked figures in the room and one of them were sitting down already. ”This is a lot of people,” Patricia thought to herself.

She heard what the cloaked figure and who was male from his voice. She stepped up to the seat and read the contract for the guild in question. She opened the small box and put her thumb in it and it made her wince a bit. She put her thumbprint on the contract. ”It is done sir,” Patricia said, looking at her thumb. Her left hand started to glow with some holy magic and it healed her injury on her thumb. ”Good thing I learned some of those holy spells,” Patricia thought to herself.

She stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face. She looked at the Centaur in question. ”Thank you for not squashing me, sir,” Patricia said. Her voice was a bit nervous but she was grateful. She sat down on the chair besides her. She gave out a yawn and put one of her hands in front of her mouth. She traveled much and had an exhausted body language to her. She put her hand on her forehead for a bit. She placed her hands on the table gently and gave out a relieved sigh.

Ramm stood over one of the empty spots at the table. He wasn't going to sit down so he just leaned against the table and his weight pressed it down on his side. He used the graphite to draw a big 'X' at the signature spot and then stood up again and leaned once more against the wall.

"You may have my signature for this guild but I refuse to give you my blood. Are we dealing with a cult or is this an endeavor of grand adventure?" He questioned. "I've had my business in shady dealings before and not once have they asked for my blood. I will not make practice of spreading it around. I do not trust men that would want it. I am no master of magic but I do know it can be used for ill in the wrong hands." He looked at the others already bleeding themselves for this cause and scoffed. "I will bleed for you in real combat but in paperwork? No! To think they could make paperwork more painful."

Ramm also seemed to skip the part where he couldn't read...

Marissa had suddenly acquired a human. It took a few moments to recall the blonde woman's name, but it came back to her. This time, it was definitely someone she knew; but there was a hint of caution as she whispered the human's name. “Adira... it's been a while.” Marissa was still frazzled from misidentifying Ramm, but luckily, it seemed the bulk of a Felinia hadn't even realised Marissa existed. The fox smiled and let out a relieved sigh, but the calmness quickly disappeared again as the cloaked male figure finally spoke.

The fox was happy enough to take the 'leave now' option. She had volunteered as a Healer and she had hired Adventurers for her quest to find Badger, but even if they could offer her help or protection, there was no way Marissa could become an Adventurer herself. She hadn't the time to help out others on year-long quests when she had her own. She felt selfish, but she couldn't commit to the contract. As she was turning to leave the curtained room, she felt Adira tug on her sleeve, as though she wanted Marissa to queue up to sign the page. Such a subtle gesture was enough to make Marissa feel guilty.

The least the Healer could do was look at the contract. As Ramm complained about using blood to seal the deal, and the petite Elf sewed herself together, Marissa read over the contract, twice, and being sure to look for the small print. “I see, so you want us to use our blood to bind us to this contract?” Marissa whispered as she looked at the cloaked man. “Contract magic... so we can't harm the guild, or anyone in it intentionally. Profits are to be divided equally and we are not to ask or demand any more than our fair-share. We would also agree to aid guild members with their goals in order of urgency. That all sounds like a fair and standard contract, but this bit here concerns me.” Marissa's eyes grew less soft and more serious as she focused on one part of the contract. “The bit about following your orders to the best of our abilities... I take it I'm within my right to ask for some sort of identification that you are indeed an associate of the Adventurer's guild and not just some blood-mage seeking to bind us to your bidding?” Marissa's eyes returned to their gentle gaze. “I'm sorry, but I would like to make sure.” She also gave a side-glance to Adira, as though Marissa was asking if the human had had similar dealings with guild-members like this in the past.

Anticipating the reaction of several of those at the table, Alexander had quietly and subtly placed a dagger on the table in front of him. He stood now befote them with their questions in mind and prepared to put them to rest. With a small wave of his hand, the contracts that had been filled vanished while the rest remained.
"Trepidation is expected, in turn, I will sign my contract to you. It read as follows. 'I shall preform no rituals involving your blood. I shall not harm you in any way. I will give you the guidance and support expected of the guild master.' To quench another question, this guild is not a direct partner of the Adventurer's guild, it is registered with them. The blood seal is required for confirmation of your person, not for anything else. As guild master I give you my word."
With the last words, Alexander grasped the dagger in front of him, and after pushing up one sleeve to reveal a slightly pale white area of skin, he drew his blood and as the drops hit the table, a red light flared from the words of the guild master's contract which had been carved into the table.
"Seal the contract and give your signature, or leave. We have no more time to waste on pleasantries."