Nemo had, after recharging by eating a large and delicious meal, ran across the rooftops of the town. He had given away many of the items in his bag, not seeing them as necessary for the journey. He had sold his cooking equipment and gave his books to the owner of a book printer who he befriended and asked her to make copies of his books and keep the originals safe for him when he returns. All he had were his tattered clothes, and his weapons holstered at his sides. When he felt bored of running the rooftops he went to his tower to sleep, he decided in the end that he would sleep in the usual place. He made a chain hammock and slept on it that night, not very comfortably though.

When he woke up, despite the uncomfortable sleeping conditions was fairly energized, his right eye was visibly glowing despite the sun being out and he felt like he could take on the world, he was filled with excitement. With that he went off, simply climbing down the side of the church rather than using his chains. He walked to the gate and said ""reporting for duty!" in a monotone and slightly disinterested voice, despite being so revved up.

Claire was not feeling so great when she/he woke up that morning. Being tied to a bed and feeling sore all over didn't help...nor did the amount of strange bite marks around her/his chest area make Claire feel even more uncomfortable. She/He did eventually get untangled from being tied to the bed and puts on his/her clothes on bashfully...turning more and more red faced as she/he realized what the two did last night. Thankfully, Rochelle was still sleeping when Claire woke up and she/he decided to start heading out to the meeting point and gather a few herbs for tea before reaching the area.

After a while...Claire definitely lost track of time. She/He was too busy making a relaxing brew to fix her/his hangover from the previous night that Claire ended up being late at the meeting. Huffing and puffing from how far Claire had to run, she/he noticies Rochelle nearby and waves at her with a red face once more. Claire hurries over to her side and offers the relaxing brew that she/he made for Rochelle as well.

"S~sorry for being a hindrance last night! I hope that this makes up for it and we can still b~be friends! Next time I'll do better and try even harder!"

Claire has no idea about how perverse that sounded and meant to say that as in how she/he failed as a healer to prevent the two from getting that drunk...

@Norschtalen@Mangrale@Lucius Cypher@Darkmoon Angel@Ryougu@Lady Athena

Viranti looked over to the party's healer and gunner, a perplexed look on his face. There was an odd smell from their direction, the initial reason for turning his head in the first place. The source was mostly from the inordinate amount of alcohol they had consumed, not that the former desert dweller had the slightest clue. But by the looks of them, the pointy-eared being looked a lot like a subordinate or even servant to his strange-hatted master. Although servitude needn't be the case, he was inclined to believe it so, given the boy's demeanor. Besides, he wouldn't put it past non-draconic cultures to support some kind of slavery, indentured or otherwise. Unsurprisingly, bondage of any kind didn't sit well with him, but he wasn't about to interfere with other people's affairs. Those days looked to be long over.

He returned his attention to the "gate", huffing in subtle impatience when it became clear that the Oracle was waiting for everyone to be ready before answering much of anything, making his own inquiry kind of pointless. He may be a simple brute in the eyes of everyone here, but he knew a trend when he saw one. So, in order to not be bored to death, Viranti, upon taking notice of the ironclad tower of a man (Malkai), decided to let his curiosity get the better of him and he walked over to the orc, sizing him up from about two yards away. Viranti's arms were crossed, not about let his guard down in front of such a formidable-looking warrior. Additionally, given yesterday's events, he couldn't be sure that anyone wouldn't just attack him out of the blue - this world was weird like that. "Hmm... You don't seem at all like any being I've ever seen before. I'm curious as to what manner of creature you are," a fairly neutral query as to Malkai's race. The dragonute had little idea what to realistically expect. If he was going to be attacked, it probably would have happened by now.

---

---

More of the interpret heroes arrived, some in better shape than others. Malkai wasn't going to question it: what their personal lives were didn't matter to him. If their nightly activities got in the way of doing their job, that just means more loot for him. The orc rested his massive axe against the ground, leaning against it as they waited for the others to arrive, or perhaps for the oracle to give some final declaration of some sort. Either way one of the heroes came and asked more about Malkai. "Hmm. Wot, ya never seen an ork 'fore?" Malkai could tell from the way he looked at him, that this person was trying to gauge Malkai's strength. He regonized those eyes from many a warriors and ruffians in the past: people who want to see if they could take Malkai in a fight. Malkai was still around, so that spoke for itself.

"Ain't much ta tell, Tails. I'm big, green, and made fer fightin'. Learned how ta swing a club fer I knew wot me name was. Turns out we orks make one up fer ourselves. Yer normie see orks in big mobs and fightin' all o'er da place. Lootin, killin', rapin', dat sort a thing. I just happen ta be an ork outta a mob." Granted Malkai never really joined a mob proper: usually he just sold his blade out to whoever could afford it, and most orks don't bother paying him anything. Thus nearly all his clients were humans or other weaker races who scrounged together whatever goods they could to pay Malkai to fight for them, usually other orks he happens to have found at that time. Usually it turns out well for his employers. Otherwise Malkai wouldn't be here discussing it.

"If yer hopin' ta find somefink speshul 'bout me, yer gunna be disappoint. I'm as ork as ya can git wifout me taking a hack at ya, down ta my gener' attitude 'bout dis hero biz. Don't really know dis Lucius feller, an don't wot he see's in me, but if he's got fightin' to do and loot fer me then I'll be dere."

Melfenius shook herself from the stonewall she was staring at as the sun shone on her pale face. Nothing had happened as expected and she'd spent the last few hours of the night simply thinking about things. Nothing and everything really. She shrugged to herself and moved to the front of the town where they were supposed to meet, curious to see how many people would actually show. She suspected some of them would ditch the quest for various reasons, but time would tell. It seemed a few were already here and having lively conversation at that. Well Melfenius had no desire to awkwardly insert herself so merely watched silently and in fact a little ominously.

"Oh dear, Nephele you ok? You look like you didn't get a single bit of sleep last night..." Loralei said kneeling beside Nephele. While Loralei was attending to Nephele, Khristina nodded happily as the group met up one by one at the gate. She was disappointed to see that a few members of the group were nowhere to be seen, hopefully they would meet again in the future, but right now, Khristina had to pay attention to the present.

"Right... I guess that's everyone, I'm glad to see that you are all ready for this." She bowed at the group as she spoke and turned to the gate. "Beautiful, isn't it? Lord Lucius's power manifested into a single entity, this my friends... Is what is commonly referred to a Gate. You could call it the best way to travel in Grand Gaia. You've probably noticed gates such as this around the village, some active and brimming with energy, some long gone or inactive for many years. We will be using these to travel between the many kingdoms, and our first stop as you know, is the mighty kingdom of fire, Agni. You know, Agni was named after a great and courageous knight who fought against the Fallen Gods hundreds of years ago. They say that his very spirit became the Fire Mecha God that we are seeking.

Oh silly me, I'm getting off topic, we should get going now." Khristina said with a giggle. Loralei helped Nephele up as she watched Khristina enter the red portal behind the gate. "If any of you have any questions about any kingdoms we are visiting, do not be afraid to ask." She said to the group as she followed after Khristina.

---

One by one as the group entered the portal, a hooded figure looked on, unnoticed, from a distance. "So Oracle... Agni is your first destination... I'll be sure that someone will be there to greet you upon your arrival..." With a dark laugh, the hooded figure vanished in a dark haze, the grass where the figure stood was dried and dead as if the life was sucked right out of them.

@Eklispe@Lucius Cypher@Mangrale@cloudystar@Solaris@Lady Athena@Ryougu@Norschtalen

The dragon sported a considerably incredulous look on his face, with the occasional head scratch here and there. Is he speaking in a different tongue?... No... I believe I can... wait... did he just call me a "normie"?!... As time went on, his confusion faded somewhat, context especially helping him to understand that this green giant is a normal "ork" who's not going to eat him nor does he have ties to Lucius, which was especially intriguing since he'd assumed everyone but him knew about the God of Light. He was also mildly unclear as to what "loot" was, but it sounded like something valuable, perchance even edible. "In truth, I haven't seen another of your kind, ork. Perhaps we'll face one in..."

Before he could continue, he heard the Oracle's servants talk amidst themselves, although he wasn't sure about what. He then turned his attention to their master, who did the party the courtesy of describing the origin and function of the gateway before them as well as structures like it before giving some succinct details about Agni and their first objective: important information that Viranti would have been an improbably careless simpleton to ignore... Anyway, as soon as she had finished with "...we should get going now," Viranti eyed the supernatural passage before starting off at a fair pace that escalated into a full sprint and dive into the portal, partly due to him not knowing any better, partly due to him deciding to face this unfamiliar and daunting "challenge" head on. Whatever the reason for his pointless stunt, he'd probably arrive on the other side either in a faceplant, ending up on his back, or even crashing into something headfirst. Either way, at least there wasn't anyone in front of him, hopefully.

---

---

Angi. Rochelle grew up in the country of Angi. Granted, with no real village, town, or city to call her home, Angi was just were Rochelle was born. Still the countryside was her turf. So long as they weren't heading into the city or some such, Rochelle would be in her element. And these portals were certainly convenient: it'd take her the better part of a year just to head back to her home country, and she was about to travel just as far in a few seconds. As everyone went into the portal Rochelle did a quick check up on her weapons, making sure her gun was loaded, her knife was sharp, and her shirt was on. "Note to self: next time I get paid, buy some underwear."

Around that same time Rochelle just realized that Claire had been talking to her. The jumpy little kid handed her some sort of morning-after drink which Rochelle took and downed in a second. It wasn't bad, it actually made Rochelle feel very relaxed. Not sleepy, just less sore. Her headache was even gone. This kid was going to be useful. "I'll hold you to that, big boy." Rochelle bumped her hip right into Claire, grazing his pelvis. With a wink Rochelle adjusted her hat and stepped into the portal right after Khristina and Virani.

Claire nods her/his head happily as Rochelle appreciated the drink and grips her/his small tree-wood wand for her/his aquatic magic skills. The young healer follows behind though is still red-faced from Rochelle's treatment to him/her, still confused as to why did she reply in such a strange way...and her strange movements. Nevertheless, the healer was looking forward to this adventure and proceeds to follow his friend into the mysterious portal that she/he just took note of.

"I really hope I~I don't have to use my healing abilities as soon as we step through...it seems safe enough though. Wait, fire kingdom? Oh no...that means no water areas for me to fish or draw more water from. It's hard to use my magic if the area is hotter than usual...though it does feel nice to get sweaty. A nice sweat results in more of a desire to drink some relaxing b~beverage...if we can find one out there."

The healer tries to joke a bit nervously as the group begins their travels through the portal...

"About damn time."

The oracle opened up the gates leading to the nation of Angi, where they'll face their first trials and the first of these dark lords. Or was it demon lords? Malkai didn't remember and frankly wasn't going to let it bother him. Calling for Wolf Malkai and his animal companion walked into the portal after everyone else did, eager to see what battles await them.

Nephele looked to Loralei and smiles weakly through her exhaustion "T-t-that’s because… I didn’t sleep…. I was worried… That I might get mugged or worse…" She was helped to her feet before she looked to Loralei "Thank you…" She would nod as she rushed after her mistress and higher up

As the group of heroes ventured through the portal they were met with a large swirling red tunnel of light. The trip lasted for what seemed like a minute before the portal dropped the group onto a large open plain. Once everyone exited the portal, the gate closed behind them and faded away. Khristina took a huge breath of air and breathed out. "Ahhh... The kingdom of Agni... It may be know as the kingdom of fire but it really has such lovely scenery."

True to what she said, the large plain stretched far, with red and white flowers covering the hills. A large, crystal clear, blue lake could be seen further ahead and across it, the towers of a large city could be seen in the distance. "Okay everyone, the city is just a short distance away, let's get a move on!" Khristina cheered as she lead the way, Loralei stayed by Nephele's side after leaving the portal. "You need any help walking?" She asked with a caring smile.

---

The skies above Agni were as clear as could be, with a few fluffy, white clouds dotting the pretty morning sky. In the distance, a large airship was in sight. It didn't appear to be heading in the group's direction, more like it was heading towards their same destination, the city. However, off the side of the ship, a telescope pointed in the group's direction was spying on there every move. "Grafl! You have eyes on that group?" A man in black armor called to the man with the telescope. "Calm down Falma, yeah I got them in my sights, and they're heading to the city just as that guy told us." Grafl responded back. "Good, we can get the jump on them there." "Remind me again why a pair of thieves are working to steal back some artifacts for someone." "Because the guy who gave us this task would pay us a fortune, quit your complaining and get your gun ready!"

Stepping out from the portal, the first thing Malkai noticed was the soft crunching of grass beneath his feet. Dry lands. "So. Dis is Angi." He half-expected this place to be full of lava and on fire. Instead it was a wide open area with flowers and hills. Actually not too bad scenically, and he was sure if he foraged around he could find all sorts of strange and exotic things to eat. That and this place seemed perfect for grazing and horse raising. Gentle slopes and open fields were best for animals, or open warfare. He imagined there may be a lot of both in their future. Wolf soon joined Malkai's side and the two followed after the oracle. When Malkai caught up to her he did have a question.

"So Oracle, wot we doin in da city? Just muckin' about or we got gits der dat'd fight fer us? Or is dat where the git we gotta fight hidin at? Cuz ta be honest with ya oracle, half expected ta be dropped right front da big bad's door ta get right down ta business."

The gentleman stirred in his cabin, slowly rising from his cot and making his way to the door. Hearing the muffled shouts of the crew outside, he took that as a sign they were almost at their destination. This man, shrouded and covered, was known as Heinrich. He had only days before a vision, instructing him to intercept a band of heroes and join their quest to save the world from Darkness. As he walked up towards the deck, he gave a small chuckle. "My element is Darkness, yet I save the world from it! Irony seems to be ever present!" He said to himself with a grin. Walking out onto the deck, he spied his fellow passengers.

"Good day, gentlemen! I trust we will be arriving soon at Agni? I do hope we continue to have such a smooth ride aboard this airship! I'd rather not keep my perspective party waiting." He said, gesturing grandly as he normally does.

@Darkmoon Angel

Viranti's entry into the Agni was far from graceful, him pretty much making the dazzling journey through the magical tunnel head first. "-Acck!" He burst forth out of the portal, forcefully crashing to the floor in a loud thud with his legs dangling back over him for a good second, a less than dignified manner of falling that his people had colloquially refereed to for generations as a scorpion fall. His legs slumping onto the vibrant blades that met his fall, he laid there on his front with his head turning to appreciate the firm ground, sort of hugging it with the way he was sprawled. He wasn't angered as much as he was disturbingly bewildered. How is such a mode of travel possible - doors and gateways facilitating networks among worlds, passageways of light that can near instantaneously bridge distances that would have possibly taken years to traverse conventionally (conventional to him anyway)? What of the red tunnel itself? Are they a plain or world in itself, not bound to the realms that they conjoin?

He hadn't stopped to fully contemplate the existence of entities and domains beyond his attention and even perception that nonetheless influence the lives of all living things, the definition of which itself will need a reevaluation since his arrival at Edivid. Indeed, it seems that he's jumped headlong into the world of extreme possibility, of realities that would have to be seen to be believed and many of which herald a real underlying uncertainty as to his own fate, perhaps the fate of many. And now would be almost no different, he was actually feeling fairly sick from the trip, as though he had left his stomach back at the village. He imagined that him casually walking through the portal as everyone else seemed to wouldn't have made a real difference in the matter.

Lifting his upper torso and shaking his head vigorously prior to fully getting to his feet, Viranti eyed the landscape, noting the signs of a city beyond a lake as the Oracle had directed. What caught his attention however was the airship, a floating bulbous fortress he would think, should he get a good look at it. "What is that thing?..." he thought aloud, getting the sense that it wasn't necessarily a major threat if everyone acted like it was a common sight. Should he hazard a guess, he'd simply assume it was by magic that such a construction could hope to stay aloft without wings. At any rate, however long the trek may feel after just being transported, the grounded dragon wasn't about to complain about a bit of traveling after what he experienced.

Melfenius nodded to herself. The group had dwindled but not the point of despair. They were getting ready to travel to the Agni kingdom, a land of fire that was home of the fire mech god they were seeking. A portal appropiatly colored red opened and the dragonoid was quick to rush in literally headfirst, with the others following at a more controlled pace. Melfenius took one last glance around and shook her head, quickly heading after the group. A swirl of colors greeted her for several minutes and she began to worry that there was something wrong before they finally arrived in the colorful landscape. A plain filled with flowers, broken up by a lake and a large city in the distance. It was like they'd walked onto 'Welcome to Agni' hill.

Any question she would've asked was already spat out by the crude heavily armored fellow. The dragonoid picked himself off the ground from the predictable results of his charge and spoke up, asking about and bringing Melfenius's attention to the airship in the sky. Ah well that was interesting, Melfenius had heard of such things but never seen one before, she wondered how it worked. "Do you think it's here because of us? Hm..." Melfenius asked, talking more to herself than anything else, it seemed rather unlikely for that to be the case. No matter, unless it was going to drop something on their heads it wasn't much of a concern.

Breathing in that fresh Angi air, Rochelle forgot how much she missed home. "Aaaaah. Smell that nice, crisp air? All we need now is few cheap ales and gunfire and I'll really feel back at home." As Rochelle walked through the grassy field she took note of the city in the distance and the airship. She's been on an airship before, and in fact took one when she first left Angi. But she was fairly certain that this place wasn't the same city she left and she had no idea where they were right now. But if she got some directions she was sure she could figure her way around soon enough. QA few of the others seemed to react as if they've never seen an airship before, which made Rochelle snicker.

"Ain't you ever seen an airship before? It's like a boat that flies." The city in the distance didn't seem to have a dedicated air field for ships however. Generally if they did there would be way more flying about. Maybe it was just a slow day? Still Rochelle wasn't going to be all paranoid about it. It was just an airship. "Well let's not dawdle. I'm sure those bad guys are just itching for a fight. NO sense in leaving them waiting!"

"Wow...a flying boat! That's soo cool Rochelle. You guys are really lucky...though there is a problem with them. How else can you catch fish and other food while hanging up in the sky? D~Do you go bird fishing? F~From all the way up there? That's pretty scary...considering the fact I look over the edge of a boat a lot when I f~fish. Think I'll stick to the solid ground of a b~boat, much more used to it. And if we're fighting, does anyone want a thin layer of protection? I can only give one Lesser Water Armour out to a person...sorry!"

Claire was very amazed by the scenery he/she stepped into. It wasn't that bad and she/he pulls at the nape of her/his farmer's cloth at the v-neck...not really paying attention to if it would attract anyone's attention really. Her/His wand was at Claire's belt with her/his hand wavering over it in case for an emergency while the other get trying to cool her off a bit for some relaxation in the upcoming stress that may come upon her.

Ryuuga grumbled as he stepped through the portal, granted it was an efficient method of travel, but it meant he'd be unable to see any sights. His mood squickly turned less sour as he saw the lustrous red of the portal. It was a special sight to behold--one that he wouldn't have seen if he'd travelled by conventional means. Stepping out of the portal, he was treated to the sight of a lush field covered in flowers. It seemed they'd have to walk the final bit, after all. Another sight he was treated to was probably one of the most unfortunate falls he'd ever seen.

Approaching his fallen dragonute companion, Ryuuga was surprised to see Viranti stand up on his own, seemingly unharmed. Hestitant, Ryuuga inquired about his safety. "You okay? That was a nasty fall you took there." Then, laughing "Maybe you'd consider walking next time?" Ryuuga was about to say something else, but fell silent as people started fussing about an airship. He'd personally seen them in the air a few times, but when claire inquired about bird-fishing (birding?) he realized he'd never seen one on the inside. Approaching the oracle he tried getting her attention. Say, Khristina...do you think we could get into one of those airships sometime?"

Nephele looked around her as they came through the other side of the portal. The field of flowers, the crystal clear lake. It was a lovely sight. She shakes her head realizing everyone had started to walk off without her. She sighs catching up "Im good thank you Loralei…" She smiles slightly as she just seemed happy to be walk alongside someone she actually knew and trusted. She would continue to walk till suddenly... She collapses from lack of sleep. "On second thoughts... Help would be appreciated"