---

Sharadur's lips compressed into a tight line as the second pyromancer made his flashy demonstration, going so far as to blatantly hurl a ball of fire at someone's face. While she knew that her general demeanor certainly didn't help with some of the more prolific of stereotypes about her brand of magic-users, the shit this guy was actively pulling was the real heart of the problem. Though she could feel her fists clenching, she knew it would do little good to start a conflict right here and now. That would be downright unprofessional. Besides, she could deal with him in her own fashion later if he proved to be too problematic, for now it was time to hear some terms from the big guy in charge.

She wasn't too fond of the answer he provided to her question. Part of it sounded like he was mocking her, though the second part- that about appreciative townsfolk providing some measure of compensation- that was something she was more familiar with. They called that extortion in some parts, but sometimes you had to do what you had to do to make ends meet. Flexible morals were standard fare in mercenary work and sometimes the peasantry needed to be reminded just how valuable the services she provided were. Very well, she'd at least give one or two of this mage's chores a try to see where it carried her. The two options the old guy provided seemed simple enough, though she knew better by now than to take anything an employer said at face value. Frankly, she didn't give a shit which one they did first, since she guessed their employer ultimately wanted them to take care of both. She figured she might as well second whatever suggestion got thrown out first, so they could expedite the process and undercut the period of bickering that usually accompanied group decisions where no single individual had yet to demonstrate strong leadership capabilities.

"I'll have what she's having." Sharadur interjected after the first woman dramatically emerged from her spot lurking in the shadows to declare her preference before anyone else could voice an opinion on behalf of the second option. From her experience, the more people who quickly came out unanimously in favor of one option, the more it pressured the indecisive ones to just follow the crowd into the realm of overwhelming majority. "Let's all go play exterminators like the big happy mercenary company we are."

---

Aiden shakes his head to clear it and realizes that what he did was not helping his case. "I'm, I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that. Well actually, I do but, that doesn't mean that it was okay. Again, I'm sorry." He bows, then tries to hurry outside before people start to gossip about him. He moves through the door after calling out, "I'll go deal with the magician. Again, sorry." He pulls his hood up and calls on his magic to warm him up, because rain is cold, man. He shouts at Pyro, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!" "I did nothing.""You totally did, though. I don't know how, but you caused that.""Sure. And pigs fly.""Save it."

"Alright, alright. That's quite enough I think..." The mage grumbled and made an obscure hand gesture towards his left. A portal emerged from virtually nowhere a few feet away as a blue swirling mass that became pitch black in the center with a swirling blue edge. "Head on in if you are ready. If not, the door's behind you. You have a demon to handle. Or a life to live in your own little worlds. It is all up to you..." He leaned back, letting those standing in the room make their choice, and being no longer receptive to questions and commentary.

Those who did not pass the portal would presumably leave to live their own lives elsewhere. Those who did pass would find themselves at the top of a rocky hill that overlooked a dusty, partially dead valley that was crossed between raw dirt and sand. A desert, but not quite, with many cracks running through the ground. Most were small and harmless, but some were quite wide, extending to unknown depths. More importantly, a town was near the edge of the valley, surrounded by rocky hills and a mountainside. There was a small wall made of both stone and wood, an old, crumbling construction that would barely be enough to keep a set of determined burglars out. The town itself showed little life in the distance, though lights could be seen in some of the taller structures. The portal was one way and would not show up behind the group upon entry. The only indication that it even existed would be the appearance of another group member, at least a foot away from the last person to 'spawn'.

"Let's all go play exterminators like the big happy mercenary company we are."

Anto gazed at the the female Pyromancer, Leneyl she'd called herself. As she'd stepped forwards and closer to her she'd felt a very slight increase to the temperature around her - unsurprisingly it was a welcome change to the usually frigid air in these parts. She took a few moments more to examine her before her gaze flicked to the next member of the group.

Anto watched as the man who'd introduced himself as Aiden Blazerunner suddenly seemed to have an internal struggle that ended with him bowing and apologising as he left. Something about taking on the rouge mage. Anto blinked several times before she resisted a shrug. At least some one seemed to be in a hurry to do something.

The ancient mage Kune too seemed to think that the little gathering had run on long enough as he seemed to effortlessly bring forth a large swirling portal. So casual was the man's command of magic it seemed to flow from him and bend to his very thoughts alone. It was impressive to watch, at least Antoinette thought so as she continued to stare at the old mage and the shimmering gateway that hung beside him.

Though on one hand she longed to stay and have a real conversation with the old mage, perhaps learn a little of who he really was and what he was capable of - she was sure he must have experienced much in his time as well and would be an invaluable source of information. But really she was beginning to feel longing returning to her, creeping slowly though her body. It was not one she had not felt in quite some time, the smallest buzz of excitement was starting to rise and a small smile spread across her face as any feelings of apprehension and doubt that she may of been feeling were replaced by a desire to once more test herself against the arcane.

"Thank you Kune, until I see you again" she commented to him with a quick nod moments before she stepped through the portal, the smirk still upon her face.

The gloomy and dank room rapidly disappeared as she stepped through and somewhat instantly found herself alone atop an arid and rocky hill. The wind was suddenly much harsher too and she once more found herself pulling her robes tightly around herself again and her smirk quickly disappeared as she turned and waited to see who would follow.

---

Whelp, so much for that plan. As she watched the second pyromancer run off, she couldn't keep the smirk from her face. She honestly had no clue what that one was thinking, proclaiming a target and charging wildly off. Did he think to subvert the group decision by trying to force their path towards one of the targets, or did he think they were planning on splitting up to tackle both problems simultaneously? Then again, right about now she did think she could still hear him yelling at himself somewhere outside of the hall, so maybe he didn't have much of a plan at all. She gave a small sigh of annoyance- this wasn't the worst group she had ever worked with by a long shot, but they weren't off to a terribly impressive start either. At the very least whatever happened here would doubtless be memorable.

She had almost considered following the impulsive fellow pyromancer when their ancient employer started speaking once again. With little more than a gesture he had conjured up a pretty little portal. How cute- if only the pyromancer had waited another minute or two before rushing off. Though she was more than ready to be rid of this musty ruin, she also had stayed alive long enough to know that you always allowed someone else the privilege of being the first one through a mysterious portal. Though she sincerely doubted that ancient guy really meant them any direct harm at the moment, some old habits stuck with you.

As it so happened, the quiet woman was the least timid one among the remaining mercenaries and fairly promptly went through the portal. Not wanting to be outdone by anyone else, Sharadur was not far behind. Giving a final sidelong glance towards the door to see if that bizarre pyromancer fellow was about to come bursting back into the room to accompany them, she stepped through the swirling blue mass of magic.

As soon as she was through, she heaved a sigh of relief. Something about the musty gloom in that place had been oppressive. She had become acclimated to the point of not even realizing how heavy it weighed on her until the abrupt transition to another place entirely. It was that first breath of a proper sea breeze after emerging from hours spent down in a stuffy ship's hold. Shardur loved it. Taking a single deep breath of the fresh air was cut short when the wind picked up and kicked an unreasonable amount of dirt and grit into her face, souring her exultation and causing it to devolve into a sputtering string of profanity.

Wiping her eyes, she quickly scanned her surroundings before settling her gaze on the one other person who had come through the portal so far. "So, any idea where the fuck we are?"

---

Orkag had been a bit sad, the young cat girl that he had met and had begun to connect with chose to stay back and go somewhere her life would at least not be at risk. He could accept that much, not everyone would rise to a challenge as dangerous as this and someone like her would be unfit to enter a place such as this, however, he had to be rather forceful towards the raven, Beak, who had taken an unusual liking to her. The raven itself had gone so far to peck him a few times before accepting that IT would have to be separated from its new friend to serve its master.

Before entering the portal, Orkag said a quick and silent prayer to the nature spirits here and prayed that the spirits of wherever he was headed were at least friendly enough. However, as he passed the portal, it seemed like his prayer had been ignored by the spirits, perhaps they had even done quite the opposite as he arrived into the arid half-desert alongside his ravens and his two other companions. Other than a town, there was nothing of much actual interest for Orkag and he guessed that if they were to proceed on their mission, they would have to enter town, secure themselves a place to stay for at least a night and then they would be able to question the locals as to where they were.

"I am not sure myself, but I suppose that we must head for that town over there!" He said, pointing his staff towards the town in the distance. The raven, Claw, the one who had tried to no avail to inspect the wizard that had sent them on this mission in the first place was the first to take off and it flew as high as it could in the sky to inspect the surroundings and to see in the far distance beyond them. Orkag knew it paid to be aware of one's surroundings, and considering that they were in an entirely unknown place, it was the best first action to do for the orc.

Hesitation. It washed over Saffron as the portal appeared in the room. If she entered, then she doubted she could return; she didn't even have an idea of what was on the other side. It was a big decision, to continue her life as she normally did or to go through the portal with the others, some of which had already entered. Her small fists clenched as her gaze rested on the portal. Saffron reminded herself that her normal life was one where she was in hiding, where she was hunted not only for being a mage but also for being quite inhuman. She would be safer among other mages, and though she was still inhuman, she would be safer in a group.

Her eyes lowered to the ground, staring at the floor, studying it as if it was a book in order to try and calm her mind, despite the fact that she was using up time and the portal could close at any moment, forcing a decision upon her. She ignored that fact, as if it closed that meant she was so indecisive that she shouldn't go, which was a decision itself. A few more moments passed.

"Here goes nothing. Or everything," Saffron said to herself, before proceeding to walk toward the portal. She stepped through, popping into existence on the other side.

Her eyes took a half-second to adjust to the sudden change in visuals, but once they had, Saffron smiled to herself. There was no turning back now. She took a swift look around, getting her bearings, the first thing she spotted being the town in the distance, the same one (unbeknownst to her) that Orkag had spotted. "I apologise for the delay, I was having a few... Well, anyways, did I miss the plan? I supposed we're headed to that town, it seems the most logical of places to go."