Beat, beat of hard steps running on dirt.

A pebble on the road is sitting in just the wrong place at just the wrong angle. The foot that catches it slides where it was meant to push, pitching the weight of the runaway forwards into hardened mud. She yelps at the impact, pushes herself off the ground with an arm and an elbow.

Too late.

"Heelp! Help me! Thief!"

Data cancer IA-920, known to its friends as Smudge Pixelby, looks back over its shoulder at the grim man running after it. It turns back to the way it was running, sees a tall being with a stave and a not-quite-so-tall one in horned armour, wearing a bastard sword. It looks back at the man.

The edge of the road is nothing but thicket. IA-920 is already tired.

No more running.

"Catch her!"

At this point it's clear that there's no need. The man with the long straight hair and rope belt is middle-aged but far from fit. He gasps as he reaches the anomaly. IA-920 takes a half-step back but no more, clutching the book firmly in its arms.

Perhaps afraid of embarrassing himself if he should swipe for the leather tome, the man addresses the two wanderers, a long finger levelled straight at Smudge.

"That girl," he wheezes, "is a filthy scoundrel, who broke into my home, vandalised my belongings and stole a cherished heirl-"

"You don't even READ it!" screams IA-920 through its speakers, the snow in its screen flashing into solid red. "You don't even care!"

"That book is the last thing I have left of my old master!" the scholar yells back. "How dare you say I don't care!"

"You can't even-" Smudge seems to realise that she's still three steps away from a pair of adventurers that could be a much bigger problem than the man from the town. She looks back defensively, says nothing.

Nebulius simply frowns at Mergoux's response that undermines his staff. He raises his staff up slightly as a combination of white and black light began to gleam from the center "jewel" before putting it back on the ground with an audible "thump". The light disappears as it issues a mini-shockwave that while visible, it doesn't affect anyone.

"This staff has been under my possession for thousands of years." he simply states, "It's power can overwhelm nearly any advesar~"

Suddenly, a cry for help interrupts as an interesting "thing" runs towards them with a book, while a man tries to get it back. The figure in front was an odd one, at least for these low-tech characters, but for Nebulius, it looked rather ancient. It had an organic female figure, with a computer monitor for a head. This technology is ancient for the Quintillians, used in the mid-early days of their civilization, as they now use far more advanced technology to have faster and more powerful computers and other tech-esque objects. Regardless, even for Nebulius, this figure was odd, and as he can see, she appears to have stolen a book from him.

Nebulius eyes the character quickly, judging her aura to be a very dark grey. She wasn't quite evil, but she certainly didn't seem to be the best in character. The alien's eyes glowed a slight blue as he wields his staff and prepares to stop her. Just as the girl calls out "You can't even-", she would be suddenly struck by the large staff, enough to cause her to fall over. Once she's down, Nebulius points the staff down at the figure, the tip of his staff already glowing white of holy-esque energy.

"Stand down, girl." he commands sternly, "Deliver the man back what you've stolen, this book of his, or face the consequences under order."

Interaction with Nebulius @LMPKIO and Smudge @antarctic termite

Mergoux takes a few steps away from Nebulius as he preforms his magic, unsure as to what he was doing. She sees the shockwave and braces for impact, but feels nothing as it passes over. From what can be seen of her face, she looks annoyed.
"I hate magic" she grumbles. "More trouble than it's worth. So, thousands of years huh? Just how old are youuuuu-" her voice trails off as she sees Smudge. and her eyes go wide under her helm.

"What the f- What is that?!" she gasps at the creature, who would be unlike anything she'd ever seen before. She quickly draws her sword, alarmed by both the girl's unusual appearance and the man's cries of "Help" and "Thief"
"Alright you... whatever you are. Give the man back his book, and I'll let you keep all your fingers"
She holds the sword before her, tip extended towards Smudge in a simple, but strong stance. Her mouth is drawn in a thin line, and she body language shows she's ready to spring into action at a moments notice.

clonk

A bright dizzy spiral flashes on Smudge's face and she goes down on her side. A few blips of sound come from her, none of which manage to start a sentence.

Then the sword comes out, and she jerks-

Light plays patterns on the steel blade. Mergoux feels pressure; Smudge's face has leaked onto the tip of her sword. For a moment, something in it sits between IA-920 and the edge of death.

Then the moment is over and Smudge's snow is back where it belongs, the girl scrabbling back out of danger. The grim man grabs her shoulder as she gets up and she flinches, his presence momentarily forgotten.

Stuck.

A pitiful buzz slips out of IA-920 and its grip weakens. It cries out faintly as the journal is pulled away. The scholar turns to Nebulius, exhausted relief resting on his face.

"Thank you, gentleman," he says tiredly but sincerely, then nods to the frightening warrior. "Madam." He turns, he leaves.

IA-920 is rubbing its head where it was struck, checking for dents. All the while it tugs at its sailor's jacket, now dirty from the falls. The buzz doesn't stop.

"He can't even read it," she mumbles from somewhere, possibly to herself. "He's going blind."

Smudge lied on the ground as the book she was carrying was taken back by the scholar who thanked the two. Nebulius didn't respond, though he only gave a simple nod as he looked down at this "thief". She got up rubbing her computer head and began to bumble about this book.

"Identify yourself." commands the alien, "What was that book you attempted to steal?"

Interaction with @LMPKIO Nebulius @antarctic termite

Merg watches the being closely and jumps as it's face appears on her blade and she takes a half-step back in shock.
"What the-"
She snarls, angry at Smudge for startling her.
"What the hell are you!?"
She nods once to the Scholar, barely acknowledging him
"I'll take care of the thief"
She steps towards Smudge, frowning angrily at it.
"Alright you... whatever you are, why'd you steal that book?"
She plants the tip of the sword in the dirt a few inches from Smudge's neck and puts a boot solidly on her chest, trying to keep Smudge from moving. She then leans down a little so that they're roughly eye to eye.
"Tell me why you stole that book and what your are. Do that, and I might let you keep your fingers" she snarls cruelly

Nebulius spoke and IA-920 replied. "A journal," said the girl, very softly, from somewhere between the fears of saying too much and too little. "A-a-a warlock's travel journal, from Qi Tiān to-" Boot, chest, breaking point.

Smudge shrieked and her volume glitched out, exploded in a stunning blast of feedback. A dozen arms of dazzling snow leapt from her face to Mergoux's, tangling, dissolving and reforming without depth or distance, as if they were all part of the same flickering hole in space.

It took less than a moment. IA-920 had a second's worth of Mergoux's shock and used it to grab her sword by the blade, burying it in writhing snow from tip to pommel and up past her wrist. Something inside the static left cuts through Mergoux's glove as it moved.

"I'm a kid!" yelled the voice from the crackling speakers. "Leave me alone!"

Nebulius listened to what the girl said she had in her arms. It was some kind of journal, a traveling journal from a warlock of the planet Qi Tiān. She was going to continue from where it came from to some location before Mergoux planted her boot on her chest. After she aggressively threatened to chop the character's fingers off, Nebulius tries to interfere by calming the hardened-warrior down, blocking her access with his spear.

"That's enough Mergoux," he begins to quickly explain, "If you push her too hard she may~"

But just before he could finish, the creature began to seemingly glitch out as something came out of the character's screen/face and blinded the warrior with several arms of snow. This was followed by various shards of glass that penetrated the warrior's skin. The sword was then buried through the snow, allowing the character to get a good leverage on the sword.

The bishop by all means doesn't tolerate this childish play. With a sudden jerk, he pushes the female warrior aside, probably dropping her sword in the process, as she is pushed a few meters away. With her out of harms way and not setting up for a fight, Nebulius concentrates on the other girl as he wields his staff and fires off a completely white burst of light as it skims right below her feet on the ground and swipes in a diagonal path, smoke steaming from the marks in the dirt. Then the staff's gem fades as Nebulius towers over the girl, his staff continuing to point at the girl, while keeping his body in between the two characters.

"ENOUGH." he booms out to both, pausing as he glances at the two for several seconds before looking back at the girl, "I apologize for the sudden aggressiveness of my... acquaintance, but I strictly advise you stand down immediately."

He pauses again for a brief moment.

"Allow me to repeat the question." he says, his voice being calm again, but still contained a dose of stern command, "Who are you? Where do you come from? And what was in that book you've stolen?"

Interaction with @LMPKIO and @antarctic termite

Mergoux shrieks and claps hear hands to the side of her helmeted head at the feedback. Her hearing is more sensitive than her other senses, leaving her stunned by the abrupt loud noise.
She falls a few steps back, also losing her grip on her sword as her hand (which had no glove) is cut up pretty badly methinks.
She staggers, still reeling from the sound and is knocked back further by Nebulius. She stumbles and crashes to the ground, ears ringing painfully and completely disorientated. Her helmet slips slightly, revealing most of her face but she's far too out of it to notice or care. Under the helm she's no great beauty, but she's far from unattractive too. Her Hazel eyes are wide with shock and her mouth is hanging open as she groans in pain.
"Ugghhhh..."

A loud thud resounded as a large weight hit the ground nearby. A cry of fear came from the scholar who had only just left, but it ended quickly with a choking gasp for air, a horrid snapping noise, then silence once more. An intimidating figure moved out of the shadows with purposefully slow, heavy footfalls, with a thump behind it as the body dropped to the ground. It grinned with a cruel cunning, as it had perfectly timed the moment to attack its prey. The other creatures accompanying Mergoux confused it slightly, but for the most part it didn't care. They had put her in the vulnerable position she was now in; it was even inclined to thank them. Though it didn't, it did speak a warning to them.

"Stay out of my way. My business is with the woman. If you don't interfere, you get to live; is that not fair? Oh, and..." It began to laugh. "...you may wish to avert your eyes."

When it finished, a hand like a steel vice attempted to grip Mergoux's neck. It would lift her up about a foot this way, before repeatedly slamming her down against the floor. It was the brutal creature's hope that this would knock her unconscious, that it might take her somewhere secluded to hurt her properly.

@Overlord Thraka @Sophrus

Vaulthuz rose from the small crate he was seated on to get a better view of the creature that had wandered into his cave. It was larger than him, much larger ; although it did not seem to be aggressive. Best to be cautious, Gods know what this creature is thinking. Warily, the lycan replied to cloaked figure "You are correct beast, there is indeed power here. More than what you can see before you. Now what do you desire from this power? To serve it, or to be consumed by it?" As the necromancer spoke, the undead from around the camp drew their blades. They did not approach but seemed almost ready to attack at a moment's notice, had it not been for their eyes staring blankly into space.
After a moment Vaulthuz noticed one of the bandits, the mage he had killed, was wielding nothing. He had neglected to bring his staff with corpse for the reanimation so it was unarmed, Vaulthuz would fix that. Extending his clawed hands towards the undead, he began speaking quietly and quickly under his breath. The undead's right arm began to spasm for several moments until a serrated edge of bone erupted from it, it seemed to have transferred from his left arm which went noticeably limp. However as the necromancer turned away from the undead, he sensed a slight tingle of magic nearby. Not from the beast before him, that gave out a far trace source of magic. This one was smaller, weaker. Vaulthuz pointed at one of the zombies closest to the cave exit and growled his orders "Check the cave entrance. Bring the intruder to me, by force if necessary." Immediately the undead did as he was commanded. If the apprentice sent by Mortan was still there, he would initially point into the cave. If the apprentice did not enter the zombie would seize him by the shoulders and attempt to drag him in.

@Pyromaniacwolf@Overlord Thraka

Mortan watched the apprentice enter the cave, he would have rather sent one of the Vampires into the cave but they where stuck several miles away in a dark cave hiding from the sun. His Fallen paladin where far too valuable to send into a situation like this, and his Ghouls where essentially useless for all but heavy lifting and combat. so his last choice was an apprentice or himself, easy decision there. he waited several moments before he heard a yelp and a panicked incantation, the spell meant to tear at the victim's soul fizzled in the apprentice's hand, his target having no soul to attack. He hastily made an attempt to take control of the dead who approached him. Vaulthuz felt a tug in his mind and soul as the bond between his creature was stressed, but not severed. The young necromancer was pushing with all his magical might but did little to halt the advance of Vaulthuz's slaves. The zombies grabbed the apprentice roughly, breaking his concentration on the magic and dragging him deeper into the cave to be presented to their master.

Mortan felt the exchange, the subtle twinge of magic being used. His apprentice was still alive however, he didn't feel a new corpse nearby so that meant he was captured. Interesting development, a fellow necromancer was here. "Curious" he mumbled quietly. His other Necromancers and Fallen started to move forward and rescue their distressed friend before Mortan called out "Halt! we will wait." His followers looked at him confused but did not object and held their position.

Tarz, the young apprentice ceased struggling when realized that his captors where creatures of greater power than he could overcome. Or they where bound in a way he didnt understand, both of which where true. So he was uncerimoniously dragged back to their master, all the while preparing to confront whomever he was being taken to. he repeated what he was going to say over and over again in his mind because he was fairly sure whoever he was being taken to was on the same level of power as his own master. 'I am Tarz, apprentice to the Grave Lord Mortan, Flesh Weaver. He has tasked me to learn who you are'... He had forgotten about the large creature that was supposedly down here as well, but it hardly mattered. If his master decided not to save him the zombies would be enough to end his life, much less a hulking monster.

@Sophrus@Overlord Thraka

Vaulthuz again turned his attention from the beast before him for a moment as the undead returned, dragging the lesser necromancer with him. Vaulthuz inspected his hostage for a moment before approaching and crouching down in front of him so he was at eye level, taking care to show the apprentice the decayed part of his face "I am Vaulthuz, Bonemelder. Why do you disturb my lair? As you can see there is a far more significant creature here that I must deal with" he gestured to the large cloaked figure before continuing "explain yourself quickly or I will add you to my ranks." He finished in a growl before rising to his full height again and staring down at Tarz ; keeping one eye on the other creature at all times.

The Necromancer paled to an even more pasty color, disbelieving his own senses. He was indeed faced with a truly mighty creature... well two powerful creatures. His own master was powerful, there was no doubt about that, but he was not nearly as imposing as either of these two. Mortan simply looked like a dried corpse in armor and heavy robes. These two where actual monsters... "I-" he started but cut him self off when he heard how pathetic it sounded. He resolved himself and took a more level and confident tone "I am Tarz, apprentice to the Grave Lord Mortan, Flesh Weaver. He has tasked me to learn who you are. He awaits outside with a powerful host." when he finished speaking he bows his head and breaks eye contact in a display of submission to a greater power. He wasn't sure if he actually conveyed such a message but he hoped it had.

Outside Mortan quickly grew bored waiting for his apprentice, he knew he hadn't given much time but he was out in the open and he didnt want to be spotted by a local ranger or patrol. so he directed his Ghouls into the cave, a wall of bodies backed up by his Knights. He moved slowly into the cave searching for his lost apprentice.

Interaction with a whole lotta people. @LMPKIO Nebulius @antarctic Termite SMudge @pyromaniacwolf Vaulthuz and possibly @sophrus

Mergoux is still reeling from nearly having her hearing blown out and is easily picked up by surprise. She chokes from the pressure on her throat and thinks to herself 'What does this thing want with me now!?'. She manages to choke out a few words that are barely audible. "Grk, ugh, help...". She reaches around behind her back, pulls out a long dagger and rams it towards the Demon's wrist where it was holding her.

The cloaked figure chuckles and bows awkwardly as Vaulthuz sorta compliments him by calling him more important that Tarz
"You honor me Wolflord." A wide grin of savage catlike canines spreads across his face, mostly still hidden under the hood.
He leans heavily on his staff as he shuffles a few feet forwards.
"I bid you greetings Vaulthuz Bonemelder. I am Tiaz, The Twisted Shaman" the smile fades slightly as he speaks his title. "I have come to join you if you'll have me. I felt you power, and felt that perhaps, whatever your goals, you could... use a ally." He looks down at Tarz.
"Especially against this so-called, 'powerful host'" he chuckles again.

As Tiaz hears the host enter the cave he turns slowly then looks back at Vaulthuz.
"Shall we dispatch them Wolflord? Or let them speak?"
A orange and black striped tail pokes out from under the rear of his cloak, and it swishes, drawing something in the dirt of the cave floor

As Nebulius waits on the girl's response, suddenly does he hear a loud thump from where the scholar had left. There was a cry of total fear, followed by the sickening crack of death. Alerted by his presence as it steps out from the shadows, it walks slowly in their direction ominously. As the creature peered from the shadows, all the alien could see in him... was pure black voidness. This character, unlike Mergoux and the other girl, was pure evil. It was a threat to mankind here on this world. Wielding his staff towards the creature, he takes a defensive posture as he eyes the creature down with his glowing-blue eyes.

"Your hospitality is unwelcoming." he speaks coldly in disgust, "Leave this premise or be vanquished."

The demon-creature simply told him to stay out of his way and to avert his eyes while chuckling. And in a swift motion he grabs Mergoux with a mighty hand and begins to choke her. The alien frowns as his staff glows purely white in energy and with a single swing it unleashes a beam of pure light and holy energy towards his back. The creature would feel an intense burning pain if hit, as if the darkness began to leave his body to longer he would absorb the blow. Prolonged exposure to the beam and he will certainly die.

Out on the streets of Wesville, Grug the Oracle continued his daily routine without much care in the world. Sure, travel between greater realms had just been banned, but he was not one to really bother himself with the concept of travelling. Certainly enough, the Oracle of Gruumsian had been on the road once in his life and while that had been the very trip that brought his powers as an Oracle to his knowledge, he would rather avoid heading out there again. He stopped for a moment and leaned his cane against his side as he used his good hand to adjust his hood. The sun was woefully bright to the man who usually preferred the shade of his wagon and he couldn't even use his shrivelled arm for protection.

His way eventually led him to the nearest well, where he as per usual employed the aid of anyone who happened to be willing to help. This time it happened to be some young man of unknown status, but judging by the fact he was not wearing shoes, yet did not appear to be too poor, Grug deduced he might well be the cobbler's son. They helped him raise water out of the well and as they saw the orc couldn't really carry it either, they spontaneously offered to help him with it further. A good lad, this one.

Back at Grug's wagon, he instructed the boy to leave the bucket next to the wheel and wait a second while he climbed into the wagon for a moment. Here in the relative darkness the naturally nocturnal orc's eyes could see much better and it did not take him too long to fetch a deck of cards half the size of what it had been before this moment. He shuffled them all over his little desk before picking one up and pocketing it into his palm without looking at it. As he entered the glaring outside again, he was pleasantly surprised to see the boy had not ran away while he had been fetching his gift. Yet even if he had, Grug would not have blamed him. Not all were comfortable around the Oracle.

He flipped the card around in his hand, revealing the four of wands, reversed. "Here, this is what I have for you. While I would not put too much thought into it, they say this card, as it is in my hand right now, symbolises transition", he explained, deliberately leaving the part of 'breakdown in communication' out of his explanation. "Now I wouldn't know where you would be going, perhaps you are just getting older? Hard to tell with you other folk... can't blame a half-blind orc about it now, though, can you? Thank you for your help again." With that, he properly handed the card over and waved goodbye to the boy who headed back towards whence they had come from. Grug watched after them for a moment before turning back around, flipping the sign that had said "Closed" back to "Open" and retreated back into his little home with the bucket of water.

IA-920 was, simply put, out of it.

Mergoux's boot had dragged across her ribs when she'd been shoved off, and IA-920 was left on the ground, clutching a bruised chest and finally trying to breathe. The sword clattered somewhere, but IA-920 had already tensed; It couldn't let go if it tried.

Loud voices gave way to louder, more horrible noises. Smudge saw bright light and darkness.

The flickering arms retracted, held her human body protectively in their scintillating cage. The sword was dragged along with them. Sounds rang unbidden from the spirit as if echoing the chaos.

TC left New Bastion on the back of an Ecetopian Riding Dog, a few enchanted whispers and the bitch gladly followed commands. Ecetopian riding Dogs are amazing animals, something between a mastiff and a greyhound, sturdy yet built for speed. TC had loaded up his bag with provisions, and his lucky girl Deborah, and headed south as The Greedfather commanded. It was a few days on the trail, not too far outside of Riverdale, when a keening sound cried out through the forest, sending birds to flight. The sound, to TC sounded like a million chickens being slaughtered, but under water. " Wonder if this the BS I'm suppose to tend to. Muddafukka just sends me anywhere he please with out so much as a fukken target, the red horned prick." TC mumbles to himself, afraid his voice will somehow reach the third layer of Hell.

He kicked the Riding Dog he affectionately named Skank, and set off towards the noise. Deborah resting on his shoulder.

Elise glanced behind her, watching Scarlett for a few moments, who just seemed to be observing the nearby forest with this strange unusual blissfulness about her. To be honest, it wasn't all that odd to Elise anymore and she was sure Fionn had gotten used to it by now, as well. "Remember, we're going into some ruins.. so, just.." Elise sighed softly. "Be careful?" That was the hard part, wasn't it? When was Scarlett ever careful? Sure she would listen when told to stand back, out of the room, and mostly out of range of any sort of opponents, but Elise kept count - seven times. That's how many times Scarlett had nearly gotten herself killed. Before long though, movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, seeing an elven woman working on some sort of toys or something.

Elise and Fionn probably would have more or less walked by her - normally - but not this time. Just as they were walking by, Elise grumbled softly to herself, watching Scarlett walk right up to the table and started staring at the clockwork birds. Taking in a deep breath, she tugged Fionn's shirt slightly, motioning to Scarlett. The girl never seemed phased by anything. Last month they had faced an orc chief named Harg'on Bloodbathed. Gods he was much bigger than normal, but wouldn't you know it? Scarlett had just stood there and watched, like she has no worries in the world. That was perhaps the only saving grace the girl had, in that if she felt she and Fionn could handle a foe, she didn't manage to budge.

"I like these.." Scarlett suddenly said, leaning back and giving Nakreyya a friendly smile. Though Elise was curious about the eye and did her best not to stare or specifically avoid eye contact, Scarlett almost acted like the elf wasn't missing an eye at all. Had to wonder if she even noticed things like that sometimes. "They are beautifully crafted. I don't know much about clockwork though.. I think.. but it looks like precise work.. like you care a lot about your craft."

'Fuck..' Elise thought to herself, folding her arms over her chest. 'For not knowing who she is, she sure comes with crazy intuition.'

Scarlett looked back to Elise and Fionn, giving a soft smile before looking to the elf once more. ".. I hope we're not bothering you much though.. we've just been walking most of the day - off to explore dwarven ruins - but figured a rest might be in order.." Instead of asking, she leaned over the table only slightly once more, seeming to be very interested in the mechanical birds.

Elise slowly raised her hand to cover her face and rubbed the bridge of her nose. 'I hope Fionn doesn't get upset about telling strangers our plans..' Elise didn't bother to scold Scarlett or even think it was needed - the girl seemed innocent enough and probably didn't mean to cause trouble. Hopefully the elf wasn't too put off by their mysterious companion.