The tale begins when a hulking man half clothed in the furs of a Smilodon opened the saloon like doors and barged his way into the Shit Faced Tavern drawing the eye of many of the patrons within, at least the ones not preoccupied by the bard music and the Tavern whores. The man was huge, about seven feet tall in height, with long blonde hair and an equally blonde and long braided beard. The man was muscular, in fact he was positively ripped. His body was lined with painted tattoos of serpents and dragons and on his back was a positively massive great sword. The man moved with purpose wasting no time in approaching the counter and talking to the Tavern owner.

"Welcome to to the Shit Faced Tavern where we hope you'll spend a little time, buy a little beer, and get shit faced drunk. Can I interest you in some food or drink? We also have women who'll keep you company tonight for a few extra coins," said the Bartender in his Teutonic accent in an amiable but straight foreword manner.

"I will have some pork, and a large jug of mead, and then we will exchange words, for I have need of information," the barbarian replied before sitting down in front of the Tavern owner and plopping a bag of gold on the table.

"You heard the man," the Tavern owner said to a tavern wench nearby, "pork and mead." He then turned to the barbarian, "so you need information? What kind of information?"

"I'm looking for a man named Maximillian, an elven mage with the blood of many hundreds on his hands. He is a sadist and worshiper of the mad god Loki. He often walks the earth dressed like a Jester spreading horror, misery, and death wherever he walks. I am a mercenary by the name of Hrothgar, and a very powerful man has paid me to bring him his head," the barbarian responded.

The Tavern owner went bone white and started trembling before he regained his composure, "... I'll tell you what I know, but it'll cost you."

Hrothgar pulled out an even bigger bag of coin and plopped it on the table, "tell me everything."

(OOC: Not a very good first post but I haven't done this in a while.)

overheard what the brute had said, and he turned himself slightly to the left so he could eavesdrop. This particular rogue was pretty unassuming, aside from the old scar that someone - or something - had carved across his face. However, at the moment he was not drawing any attention, unlike the barbarian, and that's the way he wanted it, being roguish and all. His green eyes pierced the dimly lit tavern as he eyed each of the patrons and employees carefully.

Ah yes, he'd heard right, hadn't he? The Mad God Loki! In this realm, Loki must be the big cheese, or at least one of them, he surmised. Scratching his unshaven jowl, the dark-haired man lifted his drink to his lips as the large man laid coin upon the counter. This caught his eye, but only for a moment. He didn't need money right now.

The drifter flexed slightly in his black leather vest, bearing his impressive biceps, though they were scarred from battle, or torture, much like his visage. He leaned closer to the two men as they spoke, eager to gain some information about this wicked mage. Perhaps he could offer the pointy-eared clown something in exchange for a meet-and-greet with the grinning git himself.

Another chance to steal Loki's power would be pretty top.

A girl danced upon a table, her bare feet deftly stepping between the half quaffed ales and flatware. She twisted and undulated, her long ebony tresses flowing down around her slender shoulders while her anklets, bracelets and coins sewn into her dress chimed softly to her movements. She was covered in jewelry. Copper and bronze mainly, housing mere semi precious stones. They were tools of the trade, catching the light and drawing attention. Each, alone, was worth little but in total would likely be a week's salary for a common labourer.

She had arrived earlier that day to the small town atop a vardo wagon and had set up shop selling odd trinkets and potions with dubious magical powers purportedly bringing luck, fertility or one of a dozen other nebulous benefits or forfending horrible outcomes. Many debated the accuracy of any of her statements but it did not stay the crowed of lusting men from browsing her wares.

Now, she had closed her wagon and come into the Shit Faced Tavern and had begun to dance. Already she had made a fair bit of coin. Many eyes had switched to the mammoth of a barbarian that had just entered and she found herself momentarily jealous and she found herself undulating her hips, shaking them rapidly to catch the firelight on her bangles and steal the attention back to herself. Still, it didn't prevent her from eavesdropping. It was difficult over the rowdy crowd. He said something about seeking someone out and being a mercenary. It sounded, from what she could gather, that this barbarian was some sort of bounty hunter.

@aspie3000


"Ah ale, you never managed to fail me do you?" Caligate slurred as he squeezed the empty mug close to his chest. "WENCH! My friend here is empty, he could use some... liquid..." The argonian drunkenly slid a gold piece towards the center of the bar.

"I have a lot more forgetting to do, so if you could hurry up that would be great!" A maid came by and grabbed his coin and empty mug. The argonian had been at it for about two hours now, and had only gotten up from his stool for the occasional bathroom break. The Shit Faced Tavern was true to it's name, Caligate was indeed past that phase of shit faced.

As he waited for this ale, he looked around the bar. He had been fixated on his drink for so long, more people had come and gone since he had entered. A large, burly, barbarian man was talking to the barkeep. Caligate couldn't quite make out the words, but he had heard something along the lines of "elven," "mage," and "blood on his hands."

Ah... A bounty hunter! There's good coin in that! Caligate fiddled around in his pockets, looking to see if he was low on coinage. A quick second of rifling around showed that he was indeed dead ass broke. Looks like I may have found pay for a room for the next week...

As the barbarian threw down his coin purse, Caligate slumped himself up and walked over to him. He brought himself quite close to the mountain of the man, close enough that the barbarian could smell the Ale on his breath.

"Doing hunting are we?" Caligate said, trying his best not to slur his words. "You know, two always makes better company than one, my friend. This... elf... you speak of. He probably has tons of lackey's by his side, no? I can provide assitance."

As Hrothgar the Barbarian sat with his full attention on the Tavern owner waiting intently for him to spill the beans on the elven mage, he was rudely interrupted by a drunken lizard man.

"Doing hunting are we?" Caligate said, trying his best not to slur his words. "You know, two always makes better company than one, my friend. This... elf... you speak of. He probably has tons of lackey's by his side, no? I can provide assistance."

Hrothgar immediately leaped to his feet, pulled out a dagger and pressed it against the lizard man's throat, "and what use do I have for limped dicked lizard who can't even hold his drink, save perhaps as cannon fodder? You wish to interrupt me while I am in the line of duty you amphibious vermin? And I guess you'll want to split the bounty on the mages head with me as well? ...Well? Speak lizard! Justify your existence before I slit your throat right here!"

(OOC: Feel free to fight back if you want. This is kind of a test by Hrothgar.)

With the Barbarian's outburst nearly all activity ceased. All eyes, including that the blue gray eyes of the dancing girl were locked on the sudden drama being played out before them. For most, there was something of anticipation. Lizard folk weren't exactly human after all and not in the way of an elf or a dwarf. They were- "less" than other races, on par with goblins and other fell creatures.

For herself, the dancing girl chose not to intervene. She wasn't sure she wished to involve herself with a boorish barbarian warrior and a inebriated soldier lizard who had both made it quite clear there was a bounty on a mage's head to be had to every single person in the establishment. That had been unwise.

Silently, she pondered the odds of the barbarian slitting the lizard's throat and finally wagered that he wouldn't. She was no expert on barbarian tribes but most had a devotion to obscure honour codes. She supposed he likely would find no "honour" in the deed. Unlike herself who couldn't give one whit about honour and would gladly knife someone in the back or poison their ale.

Caligate quickly found himself in a very unfavorable situation. A dagger was pressed against his neck, and he had no demon nearby to assist him. There was no way he could fight this man on a one on one fight, even with his natural advantages. The man towered over him and was twice his weight. Were Caligate to fight back in this position, he would most surely find himself bad injured, if not dead. Caligate had to think quickly on his feet, which was a little difficult due to the alcohol impairing his thoughts.

"Aha... Friend, there's no need for that..." Caligate tried to keep a calm tone, but his nerves bled through. "I can assure you, I can be quite helpful, serrah. Believe it or not, this 'limp dicked lizard' is quite the powerful mage himself. If we, hah, step outside, I can show my skills... I wouldn't want anything in here to get broken..." Caligate tried to lean back slowly to ease the dagger off his flesh, but ended back falling and landing on his back, thanks to the ale he had previously been drinking. The argonian growled due to the impact of the fall, then looked back up to the barbarian and tried to crack a smile, hoping the man would stop his aggression.

Hrothgar furrowed his brow; he had hoped that the Lizard would fight back and show him his skill as a warrior. In Hrothgar's lands to the north, this would be a challenge that no one one with a shred of honor would turn down. It was known to the man with a dagger to his throat that the offender would not let his enemy die in such a backhanded way and inevitably it would lead to a one on one fight. However... magic complicates things.

"Aye lizard... I was actually looking for someone with magical skill in order to help face this man fiend. It would be suicide for one such as me skilled only in blade and axe to face this powerful mage alone," Hrothgar said before reaching out his hand to the lizard.

"I... do apologize for my behavior, I only meant to test you. You may show me your skill when we step outside, but first..." Hrothgar turned to the people of the bar still shocked by his behavior, "you heard me right, there is a bounty on an extremely powerful mages' head. The bounty is given by a powerful lord who's family were murdered by the man and their souls condemned to the Mad Hell. He offers enough wealth that we may split it among ourselves and still come away with a hefty sum. Any warrior who is brave enough to take on a man who is a servant of the mad god himself may come and join me, for it will take many men to defeat this mage."

He then turned to the Tavern owner, "now tell me what you know."

Caligate exhaled deeply, relieved today wasn't going to be his last. He took the barbarian's hand and found himself being picked up with ease.

"Thank you... You will not be disapointed." A barmaid came up to Caligate and gave him the ale he order. He shook his head and pushed the girl away. "No thanks, m'am. I think I need to sober up..."

The Tavern owner glared at Hrothgar, "Don't cause a scene in my tavern, and for the gods sake don't make it known that you're recruiting people to fight that mad jester in my tavern! He's insane and he'll kill me and my family for this! Listen, the Jester's minions came into my bar last week and threatened my family with rape, murder, and condemnation to the Mad Hell. He knows that you're coming Barbarian, and he's told me to give you this message. You will find him holed up in the the cave of ghosts deep in the black forest. Now take your men and get out of my tavern, I want no part of this. One more thing... please get the job done and kill this maniac."

Hrothgar turned to the people of the bar, "my offer has been made, who will accept?'

"Well, you have me and my... friends..." Caligate said, raising his hands in a faint dark glow. "You'll meet them soon enough. Let's show this mage who the best one is in town..."

Caligate was still drunk, but was beginning to sober up. The adrenaline boost from the dagger against his neck probably helped him a little bit. Depending on how far this cave was, Caligate figured he would be sober enough to take on this mad mage.

"You've made your last mistake old man..." A calm female voice spoke, echoing softly around the room as the source of the sound appeared in the doorway of the bar, a dark mist swirling together until it formed a person in a dark hooded cloak out of the air. The woman's mouth was just barely visible under the shadow of her hood as she smirked at the bartender, her lips not moving even though her words could be heard by all in the tavern, clear as day.

"You on the other hand, Barbarian. I've been looking forward to meeting you for quite some time?" She phrased the statement as a question as her form walked closer to the man at the bar, her footsteps making no sound as she crossed the room, passing through patrons, tables, and chairs alike as if she were merely a vision made of smoke. Those wise enough to recognise this form of magic began to back away from the woman, some even going so far as to simply get up and leave the bar. Once she was close enough to the men they might notice the necklace she wore, a symbol of those loyal to the Mad God. Her eyes began to glow a soft yellow as she turned her gaze on the bartender, a smile on her face as he backed away in fear.

"Any last words?" She cut him off before he could say anything, her smile revealing wicked sharp fangs in the corners of her mouth now as a dark smokey wind sprang up around the man. "You say you want no part of this, but you became a part of it the second you were told to relay the message. You should have known better than to think that we'd leave you un-sup-er-vised." As she drew out the syllables of the word the black smoke in the air began to cut into the man's flesh, deep red lines covering his body as it fell to the floor behind the bar. She looked at him for a moment as he lay there, before Tching at the sight.

"Not even worth killing, not at all..." She mumbled to herself, her mouth actually moving as she used her real voice for the first time since stepping into the tavern. The cloak made it hard to tell, but her voice definitely gave it away now that she wasn't using any magic to enhance it. She was young, and now that she was standing still many would probably guess by her height that she was still just a teenager (she's not) -though there was no mistaking the fact that this woman was definitely a follower of the Mad God, considering she'd just killed a man for his purposes.

She shook her head slightly, her gaze turning to meet the Barbarian's as her eyes began to glow brighter, the yellow glare from underneath the shadows of her hood an unsettling sight as she spoke to Hrothgar, using her mental voice again. "He's served his purpose though, just as you will serve yours." She grinned at him, continuing. "I'm here to tell you that you have no chance against dear Max, although all of us are going to enjoy seeing you try to bring him down. So, gather as many as you can who are as willing and as dumb as you are to try and take up swords against him. You'll need all the help you can get."
@aspie3000

The Tavern owner glared at Hrothgar, "Don't cause a scene in my tavern, and for the gods sake don't make it known that you're recruiting people to fight that mad jester in my tavern! He's insane and he'll kill me and my family for this! Listen, the Jester's minions came into my bar last week and threatened my family with rape, murder, and condemnation to the Mad Hell. He knows that you're coming Barbarian, and he's told me to give you this message. You will find him holed up in the the cave of ghosts deep in the black forest..."

As soon as these words were uttered, the rogue's image flickered ever so briefly, as he vanished from the tavern but left behind an illusion that he was still there. However, even if someone had noticed the flicker, their memory of the momentary reality adjustment would be eaten away until seconds later, they could not recall what strange thing they had thought they witnessed...

Three Days Earlier...

The hellish realm of Malevora was in chaos, once again. However, it was not a slave uprising that had caused it this time, nor a civil war between the gods of hell. Malevora's chief god Dakhon had been exiled by his junior, the dark, psychotic warlord who had earned the horrific title The Infamous by conquering and torturing and slaughtering his way through the multiverse; most educated in extradimensional travel had at least heard of him, but rarely had anyone seen him and escaped to tell the tale, unless he wanted them to.

Once his mentor, Dakhon had become more of a hindrance to The Infamous. Yet, the revolt that had taken place after that unexpected shift was nothing compared to the factions war that had erupted in Malevora once The Infamous' previous-loyal subordinate Alexandra, a human in charge of the spy/assassin guild called The Citadel, turned on him and led the humans and reptilian Skaar Demons against the Malevoran loyalists. But this had sparked something in the hearts of the other subjugated Malevorans. Millions of slaves and soldiers and even some nobles joined forces with others of their respective species and sought more than freedom now, but also the right to rule the dimension of Malevora.

With so many factions vying for power, The Infamous had no choice but to go underground, most of his powers stripped from him by a goddess he'd thought was faithful to him. She turned out to be leading the other pagan gods against the man...and a man he was - mortal.

Fleeing Malevora, The Infamous found himself at the mercy of others, manipulating them into getting him more power and a way to another realm. Though he managed to retain the ability to teleport within planes, he could not teleport or portal out of one. The Infamous traveled to half a dozen worlds before he found this one...

Present

"Maximilian. I am not here to fight." The Infamous said in an slight Irish accent after he teleported into the cave of ghosts deep in the black forest; he was standing in the shadows behind the elven mage. "Do ye know who I am?"

The entire tavern was launched into chaos. That happened when someone was viciously attacked in a small public space. Women and men alike raced for every exit. Some, the smarter ones, flipped over tables and hid behind them and awaited an opportunity to escape that didn't involve racing past a psychotic sorceress.

The dancing girl wasn't one of the smart ones. She did as the most did, racing for the nearest door. Perhaps hoping that the barbarian would keep the interest of the mad god's follower she ran, pale soles of her bare feet flashing as she raced for the rear doorway, bangles and sewn-in coins making a racket as she moved.

A slender, cloaked woman clicked her tongue in annoyance as her table was bumped and her drink almost spilled during the chaos the tavern was in. She had just entered this land a few months ago and has been traveling ever since. This place was foreign to her. The people and customs were extremely different from what she was used to, the only thing that was the same was the gods and their power.

She was just getting ready to leave, to a more preferably quieter place, when the Barbarian had entered. She listened and watched intently as the purpose of the Barbarian's visit was revealed and she ordered another drink. 'Could this be the same man that plunged my own country into chaos and caused it's collapse?' she thought as the shadowy woman entered the bar.

Her eyes narrowed and she fought to keep her own power at bay as she recognized this shady woman's presence. It was indeed the same ones that destroyed her own beloved homeland. The ones that took joy in torturing and slaughtering women and children. She clenched her teeth as she felt her own magic welling up inside of her in rage and sorrow. As the barkeep fell to the ground she managed to keep herself in check. Her power was no match for the shadow woman, she knew because she had tried before. She caught her drink before it spilled as people rushed from the building in fear. She lifted it to her lips and took a long drink, never removing her eyes from the confrontation in front of her.

<Snipped quote>

As soon as these words were uttered, the rogue's image flickered ever so briefly, as he vanished from the tavern but left behind an illusion that he was still there. However, even if someone had noticed the flicker, their memory of the momentary reality adjustment would be eaten away until seconds later, they could not recall what strange thing they had thought they witnessed...

Three Days Earlier...

The hellish realm of Malevora was in chaos, once again. However, it was not a slave uprising that had caused it this time, nor a civil war between the gods of hell. Malevora's chief god Dakhon had been exiled by his junior, the dark, psychotic warlord who had earned the horrific title The Infamous by conquering and torturing and slaughtering his way through the multiverse; most educated in extradimensional travel had at least heard of him, but rarely had anyone seen him and escaped to tell the tale, unless he wanted them to.

Once his mentor, Dakhon had become more of a hindrance to The Infamous. Yet, the revolt that had taken place after that unexpected shift was nothing compared to the factions war that had erupted in Malevora once The Infamous' previous-loyal subordinate Alexandra, a human in charge of the spy/assassin guild called The Citadel, turned on him and led the humans and reptilian Skaar Demons against the Malevoran loyalists. But this had sparked something in the hearts of the other subjugated Malevorans. Millions of slaves and soldiers and even some nobles joined forces with others of their respective species and sought more than freedom now, but also the right to rule the dimension of Malevora.

With so many factions vying for power, The Infamous had no choice but to go underground, most of his powers stripped from him by a goddess he'd thought was faithful to him. She turned out to be leading the other pagan gods against the man...and a man he was - mortal.

Fleeing Malevora, The Infamous found himself at the mercy of others, manipulating them into getting him more power and a way to another realm. Though he managed to retain the ability to teleport within planes, he could not teleport or portal out of one. The Infamous traveled to half a dozen worlds before he found this one...

Present

"Maximilian. I am not here to fight." The Infamous said in an slight Irish accent after he teleported into the cave of ghosts deep in the black forest; he was standing in the shadows behind the elven mage. "Do ye know who I am?"

The Mad Jester Maximilian sat in the ghost deep cave, where the Mad Hell met earth to create a small pocket dimension in the main chamber. He was meditating on many things which to the average mind would seem absolutely demented, mad philosophies, dark secrets, death and murder. It was surprisingly peaceful. It was a bright paradise where there was a lush jungle, the grass and plants were many colors, there were colorful birds, the temperature was warm and sunny, there were many delicious and brightly colored fruits, there were also giant mushrooms growing out of the ground, and the sun was in the sky and had a face on it with a happy grin.

...And then, a shadow and the voice of fallen warlord. The Mad Jester opened his eyes, smiled, and then starting laughing in a crazed maniacal insane joker like manner, "Oh yes my fallen starling, I do know who you are... In fact I have been expecting you for a long, long time. The Mad God knows many things, and he shows me many things, and my what a story yours has turned out to be. The betrayer becomes the betrayed, the man who owns the world loses everything. The Infamous becomes a footnote, one fallen warlord among many in that hellish realm, how the mighty have fallen. I suppose you have come to me to seek the Mad God's aid in getting your kingdom back; am I correct in this assertion?"

The Mad Jester stopped for a second in thought and the continued, "it is always the nature of those with evil in their heart to seek more for themselves, power, wealth, women, reverence. This is also the nature of good men as well, they just seek different things, friendship, love, admiration, the state of feeling good about oneself for the good actions they do. Both peoples can never fill the void in their hearts no matter what they do... nothing satisfies, everything leaves them feeling empty. The mistake that they make is that they take for granted that the world makes sense, that they either have a purpose or that they can make a purpose for themselves. All their lives they find solace in many things, religion, hedonism, morality, ego, love, and nothing truly satisfies, because it's all a falsehood, we are puppets on a string here to live, reproduce, and die until finally our world ends, or it doesn't, who really cares right? My point to this warlord, is to ask you the question... So what? So what if you get your kingdom back, and so what if you gain more and more power, what's the use? What value does it have? Well, my infamous lordling... SPEAK! What value does your kingdom have to you, to me, or to anyone most especially the Mad God Loki?"

"You've made your last mistake old man..." A calm female voice spoke, echoing softly around the room as the source of the sound appeared in the doorway of the bar, a dark mist swirling together until it formed a person in a dark hooded cloak out of the air. The woman's mouth was just barely visible under the shadow of her hood as she smirked at the bartender, her lips not moving even though her words could be heard by all in the tavern, clear as day.

"You on the other hand, Barbarian. I've been looking forward to meeting you for quite some time?" She phrased the statement as a question as her form walked closer to the man at the bar, her footsteps making no sound as she crossed the room, passing through patrons, tables, and chairs alike as if she were merely a vision made of smoke. Those wise enough to recognise this form of magic began to back away from the woman, some even going so far as to simply get up and leave the bar. Once she was close enough to the men they might notice the necklace she wore, a symbol of those loyal to the Mad God. Her eyes began to glow a soft yellow as she turned her gaze on the bartender, a smile on her face as he backed away in fear.

"Any last words?" She cut him off before he could say anything, her smile revealing wicked sharp fangs in the corners of her mouth now as a dark smokey wind sprang up around the man. "You say you want no part of this, but you became a part of it the second you were told to relay the message. You should have known better than to think that we'd leave you un-sup-er-vised." As she drew out the syllables of the word the black smoke in the air began to cut into the man's flesh, deep red lines covering his body as it fell to the floor behind the bar. She looked at him for a moment as he lay there, before Tching at the sight.

"Not even worth killing, not at all..." She mumbled to herself, her mouth actually moving as she used her real voice for the first time since stepping into the tavern. The cloak made it hard to tell, but her voice definitely gave it away now that she wasn't using any magic to enhance it. She was young, and now that she was standing still many would probably guess by her height that she was still just a teenager (she's not) -though there was no mistaking the fact that this woman was definitely a follower of the Mad God, considering she'd just killed a man for his purposes.

She shook her head slightly, her gaze turning to meet the Barbarian's as her eyes began to glow brighter, the yellow glare from underneath the shadows of her hood an unsettling sight as she spoke to Hrothgar, using her mental voice again. "He's served his purpose though, just as you will serve yours." She grinned at him, continuing. "I'm here to tell you that you have no chance against dear Max, although all of us are going to enjoy seeing you try to bring him down. So, gather as many as you can who are as willing and as dumb as you are to try and take up swords against him. You'll need all the help you can get."
@aspie3000

Hrothgar the Barbarian looked to the dead Tavern owner and back to the shadowy girl who had barged in the tavern to deliver her message. Hrothgar picked up the jug of mead he had ordered and chugged it down in one gulp, then spit toward the ground in which the shadow woman walked, "aye, the elf sends a little girl to do a mans job. It seems that he is a weak livered coward hiding himself in that hole in the forest and sending... Ah wait, I see that you're a vampire! It has been so long since I've killed one of your filthy kind! When I was apart of the Children of the Sun we used to murder your kind and use them for sand bags and target practice, those were some of the best times of my life! Thank you for bringing back such beautiful memories, for that I will give you a clean honorable death!"

Hrothgar whipped out a potion and drank it then he unsheathed his great sword and ran toward the girl ready to cleave her head off.

The Infamous stepped out of the shadow and into the sunlight, enjoying the feeling of it on his skin. It had been a long time since he felt the sun, even a fake one. There was no sun in Malevora, obviously, and every time he stepped through a portal into another world, it was always night time. And before, when he was a conquering warlord, he was too busy relishing the slaughter of his foes to enjoy the suns of other realms. But there was no enemy to slay here, so he simply stood there, a half smile on his face as he half-paid attention to the mage speak.

When Max was finished, The Infamous finally turned to him, a deadpan countenance crossing his face as he was unimpressed. "Ye do not fear me, because ye know that of my 88 powers, all stolen from slaves and denizens of my empire, I retain but less than half a dozen o' them. And most o' them nay very useful in combat. I do fathom ye're way o' thinkin'. I know types like ye love to bargain, love knowledge and power and things as much as the next basterd. So I'll offer ye somethin' an' in return I ask only for the ability to traverse dimensions at will. I offer ye the only thing I can: meself. Yet don't go thinkin' a bloke like me ain't worth somethin' to a Mad God like Lowkey. For not only will he retain me allegiance, but also that o' the fallen angel on me shoulder."

With that, one of the first - and most evil - fallen angel's took form to the right of The Infamous, however, she did not appear corporeal. Samyazaii's image was that of her original body, a teenage girl, though this appearance also included blood covering her from head to toe.

Most had never known that the chief fallen angel of all Chaotic Demons had been the one influencing him all these years, and so The Infamous elaborated on that point, "When I was 16 years old, she began manipulating me thoughts and emotions, though I knew it not. Years later, when she revealed herself to me, she also told me that she could not take corporeal form, as part of some curse. We are inseparable, and in the universe I'm from, she commands all Chaotic Demons. Surely that could be of some use to ye and the Mad Git."

The Infamous crossed his bare arms over his leather-clad chest as he smirked with pride.

A young girl was hiding behind a table, her eyes focused on the floor. Some would say a person as young as her shouldn't spend her time in places such as 'The Shit Faced Tavern' and now she understood why - that was a dangerous place for a ten-year-old. Her old patchy dress and her short dark auburn hair stuck to her body due to the alcohol that spilt onto her as people ran out. She clutched a hammer in her hands, which she found inside her parents' bedroom. Even though she didn't know how to fight, it did give her some sense of safety. As the girl leant against the wooden table, she forced her eyes shut.

@Vesuvius00@Animera@aspie3000

"You've made your last mistake old man..." Caligate turned around to see a female figure creep into the bar. Shadows swirled around her, her magical prowess made clear to Caligate. He recognized the aura around her as magic preserved for evil and nefarious mages, as the power of it tended to corrupt the user. There were a small number of instances where a mage was able to not give into the magic fully, but the malicious and corrupting nature of the magic could never fully be avoided.

As Caligate study the new figure, he quickly deduced they were not of demon kind. Their powers were fierce indeed, but Caligate himself was a fierce mage. Were this person not to be so incredibly hostile, he might have tried to converse with them, share some spells, and call it a day. As he was laser focused on studying the newcomer, he ignored most of their talking. He was quickly snapped back into reality by the scream of the barkeep who quickly fell to the floor.

"Not even worth killing, not at all..."

"Shit..." Caligate muttered. Still inebriated, he was in no condition to fight, especially in such a close area. He could possible summon a demon, but the chance of friendly fire was very large. Before he could say anything, his newly acquainted barbarian friend charge the figure. "Double shit..."

Caligate began to head for the door and yelled to the barbarian behind him.
"Push her outside! It's too dangerous in here!" Caligate was preparing to cast a spell for a flame demon as he ran, but his eyes stopped on a little girl, no older than 10. She was a poor little thing, and definitely had no place in a bar. She was clutching something in her hands, but she was clearly in danger. Caligate cursed under his breath and stopped his spell concentration, scooping up the little girl as he ran. The movement was not deft by the slightest due to his drunken state, but he managed to pick her up.

"Don't worry," Caligate huffed as he picked her up. "That lady won't hurt you. Once we get outside,
you have to run away as far as you can and find your parents!"

Caligate was only about half way to the door. He hoped the mage wouldn't attack him too, as he was quite vulnerable due to holding the girl in his hands and holding ale in his gut.

Hopefully the barbarian gives her enough trouble for now...

@jeroukoo @Animera @Vesuvius00 @aspie3000

She watched as the one called Caligate tried to help the barbarian, urging him to push the vampiress outside. She finished her drink and set the mug on the table without a sound. It was at this moment that Caligate had turned to rush to get a child that was cowering behind a table. Caligate was still obviously teetering because of his alcohol consumption. If the vampiress were to turn her attention towards him now there would be no way to escape or fight back.

"Well I suppose it's time I did something," she muttered to herself as she stood from her seat and silently, but swiftly, made her way towards Caligate. The quick movement caused her hood to fall, revealing long, deep red hair and startling, bright green eyes. There was a scar across her left eye, a memento of the final battle to defend her homeland. Under her cloak she wore leather armor and had a short sword at either hip.

As she approached Caligate she removed her cloak, it had magical properties to protect against magic attacks. "Take this child to safety, I will cover you," she spoke softly, but her voice was cold. She placed the cloak over the child that was in his arms. "Don't lose it, it is very special," the corner of her lip turned upward for a small moment while she spoke to the child, her voice slightly less cold.

As she turned to cover Caligate's back her eyes met his for a brief moment. She moved so her back was to his and let her power dwell up from with in her body. Her hair began to dance with flames as her eyes shown brighter. "What are you waiting for lizard man?" She growled at Caligate, "Get out of here now!"

She was no mage, nor used any learned magic. Her power was inherited from her family, the royal family of a now destroyed kingdom. As her thoughts brought back so many painful memories of her past, her flames consumed her body. Her eyes shining brighter than ever before. She would be damned if she watched that vampire, who was in league with Max, hurt anymore innocents. The Barbarian had rushed the vampire, hopefully they could best the evil doer without too much damage if they worked together. She drew her swords and assumed a defensive position as Caligate exited the tavern with the girl.