Interaction with @Dusksong @HokumPocus

---

Chres instinctively drew the short sword, which he had taken from one of the cult members the previous day. Thinking the newcomer to be with the cult, Chres had nearly lopped the man's head off. That all stopped the moment the man slit the throat of one of their pursuers.

The man apparently knew their names. Another one then? Chres wondered, lowering his blade. He would have to ask for specifics later. For now, Chres wasn't about to complain.

He turned his attention to the remaining thugs. It seemed they had not taken well to the more even playing field. One of their numbers had taken to running rather than fighting. Unfortunately for him, Chres wasn't about to let the man get away and warn his friends.

Running towards the fray of battle, Chres called forth some of his stored body heat. The feeling of warm rushed from his back, down his legs and to the soles of his feet. Chres raise his right foot as if to run up a set of invisible steps. As Chres's foot moved downward, it connected with something solid.

A small floating platform had appeared beneath his foot, its size no bigger than Chres's own foot. It was a heat construct created using tempraision's Weaving technique. The platform glowed a dull red. Static. Unmoving.

The immobile nature of Woven heat constructs made the technique perfect for defense and utility purposes. However, unlike with Shaped constructs, the remaining heat in a Woven construct could not be retrieved after it's usefulness had expired.

Chres had used this technique during the previous day to form the set of stairs and platforms which the group used to escape the burning building. Back then, he had to account for the other people using his platforms. That meant he had expended a greater amount of heat to make the constructs larger and longer lasting.

This time was different. Today, all Chres had to worry about was himself. As such, he used only the minimum amount of heat needed to give the constructs the size and lifetime he required to effectively push off them.

Chres ran up into the air, Weaving a new platform each time he needed something solid to land his feet on. Behind him, he left a set of ascending platforms. Their glow dissipating into the air mere moments after being left behind.

Chres stopped his climb above the fight, positioning himself high enough to get a clean shot off the runner. Sheathing his short sword, Chres pulled out his dagger and flung it at the man. The dagger connected, wedging itself deep into the man's upper back. The thug stumbled from the pain. Falling to his side on the ground.

Immediately, Chres dove off his platform. Reaching into his stores of heat, he Wove another construct in the shape of pole leading to the ground below. Hugging the pole with both arms and legs, Chres slid down it with ease. As his feet hit the ground, he released the construct and let it dissipate into the air.

Chres had intended to chase after the runner and finish him off, but was instead faced with a dilemma. Taking notice of the new threat from behind, one of the remaining thugs had turned to face Chres. Meanwhile, the runner was getting back to his feet. Chres tsked as the thug facing him thrust his blade towards Chres's exposed side.

Chres jumped off to the side, avoiding the blade. He then Shaped a small shield strapped to his left arm. Swinging his arm out wide, he knocked aside the thug's follow up and countered with his own attack. Chres thrust his right hand towards the man's heart, Shaping a small blade in his hand before making contact with the thug's body. The Shaped blade lodged itself deep in the man's chest. With quick a twist of the wrist, the thug dropped to the ground dead.

Their usefulness having expired, Chres released his Shaped heat constructs to prevent further depletion of his heat stores. Calling the constructs remaining heat back into his body, he began to Compressing it while adding the necessary heat needed to form another Compressed ball of energy. The runner was on the move again and had started calling out for help.

Chres hurled the compressed energy in the runner's direction. Making contact with his back, the construct burst in a blast of energy and knocked the man out cold. Only one of thugs remained standing; engaged in battle with the newcomer. The thug was holding his ground, but not by much. Chres could tell that this newcomer was far more skilled with a blade.

Turning away from the man, Chres approached the knocked out runner. They were far enough away from the Market for the runner's cries to not have been overheard. However, Chres knew better than to lean too heavily on that assumption. They would need to leave this place shortly.

Removing the dagger from the man's back, Chres swiftly slit the man's throat with the weapon. He then sighed. Nearly half of his stores of body heat had been depleted from this fight alone. He had hoped he would not need to use another bout of Compression. After all, one use alone wasted an hour's worth of stored heat. Unfortunately, the runner's shouts called for urgency. If they ended up in more skirmishes like this, Chres was going to need to don some head wear to get a small boost in his heat stores. He had not come to this town expecting to fight for his life.

Wiping his dagger on the dead man's shirt, He immediately began replenishing his stores of body heat. A minor chill swept through him as his body. The feeling of his body heat filling his stores. Chres paid it no mind. He had become use to the feeling long ago.

Chres began scavenging through the dead man's belongings. He found a pouch of coins and a few knives. Chres pocketed the coins and stashed the knives in his boots. He may not have come to this town prepared for a fight, though with a few more skirmishes like this, he would be.

Chres rose to his feet, as the sounds of fighting ceased behind him. "Now then..." he said, turning to face the newcomer. "Let's find a place to talk."

---

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." Sil hummed. The familiar had taken interest in the newcomer. She fluttered a foot away from the man's face. Leaning forward, hands clasped behind her back, she stared intently at the man. Looking from his right eye to his left, and back again. Eventually, she straightened her back and gave the man an innocent smile.

"You have silly eyes." She said happily. She giggled to herself. Fluttering off to perched herself comfortably atop Chres's head.

Chres had his back to the newcomer and was peering out the side of a shattered window. Led by the Innkeeper, the group had taken cover in a nearby abandoned building. There they waited, making sure that they had not drawn the attention of any additional cult members.

"Thank you." Chres said without looking at the man. "My name is Chres, and the richly clad man over there is Octavio... Though-" Chres turned his head slightly to make eye contact. "-you already knew that, didn't you?"

---

^{@Pezz570@HokumPocus}
Dispatching another two men took little effort, considering their apparent lack of abilities. For Ferris, a bounty hunter who commonly dealt with magic-wielders, normal people were more of a chore to fight, especially when it came to groups of two or three. The closest in comparison would be fighting other Odos Agausion users, whose abilities Ferris was intimately familiar with. While it wasn’t comforting that so many like-skilled individuals had been driven mad, it was always interesting to see how far they’d strained their skills. However, considering the lack of enhanced strength, speed, and healing involved in the current fight, Ferris was a bit underwhelmed, and he instead chose to keep an eye on his future teammates.

When the fight was over, Ferris removed his scarf, taking a whiff of the air. Pine was the strongest smell, followed by some sour undertones, but otherwise there were no abnormal scents. Then, replacing the mask, he moved with the group to an abandoned building, as suggested by a man who Ferris placed as the innkeeper. There, they were out of the prying eyes of the cult, but Ferris was not yet safe from—

Ducking out of the way yet again as the familiar, Sil, flew too close to his face for comfort, Ferris glanced at Chres to check for any indication as to whether the ordeal was almost over. When the familiar was finally satisfied, she flashed Ferris a disarmingly innocent smile.

“‘Silly’, huh,” he echoed as she flew back to Chres and landed atop his hair like some misplaced bird. “That’s a first.”

Ferris wasn’t fond of familiars, but from the description provided he knew that he’d have to deal with a few of them, so he’d prepared himself mentally. That is, he was prepared to ignore them for the most part, but it seemed like the more intelligent familiars wouldn’t stand to be ignored, and Ferris took note of this.

Chres’ introduction was unnecessary, and when Chres himself pointed that out, Ferris nodded. That Chres knew that meant Ferris wasn’t the first person to join their group under such circumstances, and Ferris was willing to bet that that included Chres himself.

“Yeah. Name’s Ferris, and I suppose you know who sent me here,” he said, pulling his scarf off. “I’m a bounty hunter by trade, and I’m an Augaisionist.”

He paused to let that sink in, glancing between the faces of his groupmates, then everyone else present. Usually, he didn’t like giving away details, but it only seemed fair that he’d let his future teammates know, especially considering that he knew their magic types already. As for how they would react, well, he’d deal with that as it came. Besides the most obvious downfalls, he was a capable fighter, and anyone spurning him purely based on the threat he might pose years down the line and past their current goals was, to put it mildly, losing out on a valuable ally.

“I was told what to expect—the Distortion, the cult, the Seed of Insight. The goal is to kill the Seed of Insight by removing its hearts, cutting its stem, and salting its stump, and in the meantime we protect ourselves from the Insight using crystal jade candles.”

He stopped, waiting for his new teammates to respond. Given the mysterious natures of his informant, Ferris was inclined to believe the entire story only because the man had found him, thus unveiling himself to be a powerful being or sorceror. Such a powerful being, therefore, had no reason to seek out Ferris except for his skills, since he had no reason to lie. His goal was also a noble one, in a way, so Ferris was inclined to believe in his good intentions, but a little caution never hurt. Getting input from strangers wasn’t completely reassuring, but it was better than trusting an individual who’d approached him out of nowhere.

Mentioned @Jerkchicken@fetzen@13org

---

As the three made their way up the clock tower, their tail disappeared into a nearby tavern.

---

Tayla fidgeted impatiently with her Whittler's knife. Little by little, she chipped away at the block of wood in her hand. Shaping it into the form of the woman from the day before. Her strokes started smooth and precise. However, as the shape she desired began to emerge, her whittling became cruder. Her cuts less accurate.

Her mind was elsewhere. Away from the block of wood she cut away at. The fight with the woman replayed in her head. The memory consumed her. Filling her with anger and obsession.

She was out there somewhere. She mocking her. Laughing at her! 'Coward' was what she called Tayla. 'Pathetic' she had said.

Tayla's carving became erratic. Each cut chipping away larger chunks of wood. I AM NOT A COWARD! She screamed in her head.

Someone's hand lightly touched her shoulder. "Tayla..." Said a voice behind her. Tayla looked up towards the owner of the voice. It was Smit. "You'll hurt yourself." he said.

Frowning, Tayla looked down at the block of wood. In her anger, she had chipped away so much of the wood that her next cut would have surely nicked her thumb.

Tayla put down the knife. Shrugging off Smit's hand, she got to her feet and tossed the butchered block of wood off to the side. "I hate waiting." She said.

Smit smiled softly. It made Tayla feel anxious. What? Did she say something funny?

"You know," he said, "Sightless Vetius says waiting is the key to victory."

"Yeah? And where is Sightless Vetius now? Lounging about in the Shining Palace?" Tayla said dryly. "I wouldn't mind waiting either if I were him."

Smit dropped his smile, he looked around as if uncertain. "You really shouldn't speak poorly of Sightless Vetius." He said quietly. "If Sightless Nieffar overheard you..."

Tayla rolled her eyes. Typical Smit. A loyal dog through and through. Loyal, protective and boring. He followed Tayla wherever she went. It had been that way ever since she first joined the Clan.

She still remembered that night on The Broken Isles. She sat alone atop the Church of Insight, looking upon the Clan's home town. She had just arrived, but didn't really know why she came. She didn't belong there. She didn't belong anywhere. She was just Tayla, the broken girl. She had no home, no family. She had nothing.

He came from behind her and sat down a few feet away. They just sat there like that, saying nothing to each other. Finally she got up to leave.

"Where are you going to go?" He asked out of nowhere. She looked at Smit, confused.

"I've seen your like before. Syella often brings back people she found off the street. Most of them leave, but some, like me, stay." Smit turned to face her, looking at her for the first time. "You? You look like a runner."

Smit had been right. She had been planning on running. It annoyed her that he knew that. It frustrated her that he pinned her so well. "What does it matter to you what I do?" Tayla asked, not making any attempt to hide her annoyance.

Smit shrugged and looked away. "It doesn't." He said.

Strangely, Tayla felt let down by this answer. That feeling only served to frustrated her even further. She turned to walk away.

"But," He said behind her. "were you to stay, it could be a place for you to call home."

Tayla froze in place.

"A place where you can feel safe." He continued. "A place where you can finally feel like you belong." She felt naked and exposed. She did her best to hold back the tears.

"It would be a new beginning. The future, yours to make. That is why I stayed. That is why all of Syella's recruits stay."

Tayla ran, unable to tolerate his words any longer. She ran and ran till she could run no further. Leaning against a nearby wall, she struggled to catch her breath.

'It could be a place for you to call home.' His words lingered in her head. Tears streamed down Tayla's eyes. Why did she run? Why did she always run? She was sick of always running. Sick of always being weak.

'It would be a new beginning. The future, yours to make.' Tayla's breathing slowed. She looked up at the Distortion's night sky. Perhaps a new beginning wouldn't be so bad. A new beginning meant she didn't have to be that weak girl any more. A future. Hers for the making.

That was the night that Tayla didn't run. It was the night that Tayla held her ground. She remembered the surprised look on Smit's face when he saw her still there. That surprise quickly turned to a smile.

Smit had been by her side ever since. Even as she quickly rose up the ranks. When she started getting assigned missions, he would volunteer to come along. She remembered It made her uncomfortable having the man around her all the time. She never asked him to come, and yet on every mission he would be there. Ready and waiting to follow her command. He was there to bring her food on nights where see didn't eat. There to make a fire when she shivered in the cold. There to watch her back when the enemy was about to take her life.

Tayla shivered. She would have died yesterday were it not for Smit's interference. He was too nice. Too thoughtful. It made Tayla uneasy.

She didn't trust men. She didn't like the way they looked at her. She knew the evil of man. It would only be a matter of time till Smit revealed that same evil. All Tayla had to do was wait.

Tayla sighed, leaning against a wall. Oh how she hated waiting.

"Do you need more numbing oil?" Smit asked. Tayla looked to the man questioningly. "Your shoulder." He clarified. "Does it still hurt?"

Tayla glanced to her bandaged shoulder, realizing that she had been rubbing it. Unconsciously pressing against her wound from the previous day.

"It's fine." She said bluntly. Reluctantly, she slid her right hand down the length of her arm. She shook her head. He really was far too conscious of her needs.

The door, leading to the room, opened. One of the survivors from yesterday's battle walked in. "He's at the clock tower." He said. "Accompanied with the large one and the woman."

Tayla smiled. It seemed she would have the opportunity to kill the white haired woman after all.

An itch crawled up the back of her neck. 'Do not kill them.' Sightless Syella's words echoed in the back of her mind.

I won't. She thought to herself. I'm only going to kill one.

Interaction with @Typical @HokumPocus

---

Chres arched an eyebrow upon learning of Ferris's ability. It had been a while since he last met an Augaisionist. He doubted Karina would appreciate the idea of a potential Crazed joining their ranks. He was not ignorant of the distrustful look she initially gave him after learning that he may have already been touched by Insight.

"Sounds like our 'friend' told you the gist of things." Chres said. "The others are at the clock tower, trying to send a message to the invading army's nearest camp. With any luck, they might be able to get us out of here without even needing to take out whatever this Seed is. If not, well our group right here is working on plan B.

"There's a group in the city who want to rid the town of the Cult. They call themselves The Watch. Our innkeeper friend, over there, knows a guy. The plan was to go meet with him, but... well... it seems the cult was able to recognize Octavio and myself."

---

Octavio sighed, longer than necessary. "It appears our identities have become commonplace, whether we like it or not."

Just who did that mysterious man think he was, continuing to grow his piecemeal band of warriors? He had thought of the man less over time, like an animal picking at a wound eventually coming to terms with its presence. The appearance of Ferris, however, brought it at the forefront of his mind again. His iron grip of control was frustrating, to say the very least.

"And if that section of the town is indicative of how the rest of it is faring" he added, "then we´re going to have to get comfortable with the possibility of combat occurring at any moment."

Ah, yes. Surprise attacking a rogue. His sense of powerlessness was at an all time high, and he feared having to take part in more disadvantageous combat in the near future. Lagging behind the rest was not a good strategy if he wanted to survive in this horrid world.

Lynx stared quietly at the man, relieved that Sil had found another subject to torment.

Truth be told, Karina was relieved when Týfurkh explained a bit more about his ability, stating it would be highly unlikely that their message would be intercepted. Like he explained, it was almost like a directed beam. The only ones who would be able to hear their message would be the respective recipient and whoever stood in the middle of the beam, which, in that case, they would need to be floating in midair to hear them.

"I see... I apologize for being so careful, but we are in a very troublesome situation... Caution is never enough." Karina said, with a thankful nod towards Týfurkh as he finished explaining it.

Týfurkh's following statement was a good one though. What if the tower was in bad conditions? They would somehow need to get to it's top. One way or another. Their group wasn't exactly the most... discreet one and the idea Karina had wouldn't help with discretion either. Luckily, DB offered himself to scout ahead of them.

"If you see, feel or even if anything, no matter how small, goes wrong, do not hesitate to retreat and call for our help." Karina said, with a respectful nod towards DB before he ran towards a nearby building and using it to reach the tower.

A few minutes went by as DB scouted ahead of them for any enemy or suspicious movement before he called them in a low tone. Much to their luck, everything seemed to be going perfectly well until that moment. Karina only hoped it would remain like that.

"The tower's structure seems to be fine. We should still be careful though." she said.

In the unlikely event that something happens, Karina could use her ice magic to get them to safety. It would be extremely taxing on her body depending on how much she would need to use, but if she needed to use it to guarantee the success of their mission, she wouldn't think twice.

As both her and Týfurkh got inside the building, Karina stopped for a moment, looking to Týfurkh and DB with a serious expression.

"Hear my words carefully, for I will not repeat myself." She said, with a serious tone.

"Hear thee not, the sweet whispers of Kaspar, lest you take his place when Samiel, the Black Huntsman comes to collect him." Karina said, making sure Týfurkh and DB were paying attention at every word she said.

"This is the message you must send to the forward operating base. It's a refference to mine and fath- General Viktor Frost's favourite Opera. Der Freischütz." Karina finished, hesitating noticeably when she was about to say that the general was her father. It was clear though that it wasn't because it was a secret, but it was more of something related to hierarchy, respect and how she was raised by him. It was also the first time she mentioned her father's name, which was another sign that she indeed trusted DB and Týfurkh.

@Fetzen@Jerkchicken

---

^{@Pezz570@HokumPocus}
Ferris was silent as he listened to Chres, his face blank as he processed the man’s words. So the other half of the group was off trying to enlist help from outside forces. The one doing the enlisting would have to be Karina, who, Ferris was told, had ties to the Nation of Touch’s army. What those ties entailed was intriguing, since it seemed like she had more than a little sway if she could summon armies with only messages, but Ferris had been told nothing of personalities and was therefore unable to gauge whether or not he’d be able to win her trust. If she and the others were anything like Chres or Octavio, who seemed apathetically accepting of his entrance, accepting him as another pair of hands to help, he could hope to become incorporated into the team more quickly than he’d planned, but he doubted all of them would be as accepting of him. One was bound to be wary, and just one if he was lucky.

Chres’ point that the others might be able to recruit help and allow them to leave without dealing with the seed, though, seemed unlikely. Considering the power of the person who’d sent him, sorcerer or not, Ferris doubted the group would be able to leave without dealing with the seed they’d been sent to deal with. If they weren’t required to resolve the situation, Ferris doubted that the man would have sent them. Considering that they were up against precognition like the Cult of Insight, the man likely had his own methods of divining or affecting the future. Why else would he have sent them and not dealt with the cult himself?

Ferris, though, kept this to himself. Starting an argument so early was a bad choice if he wanted to earn his new teammates’ trust, especially if the situation might resolve itself eventually. Chres and Octavio seemed to understand that the other group might not succeed in their efforts, and that amount of doubt sat fine with Ferris.

The Watch, though, seemed like a very real possibility of help. If anything, contacting and enlisting help from an internal militant group seemed more along the lines of what Ferris had been sent here to do, and if he was hedging bets, he’d guess that the man who’d gathered the group likely intended for them to find The Watch. Of course, Ferris knew that he was doing a lot of guesswork here, assuming the man who sent him was able to see the future and had gathered the group to stop the Cult of Insight, but with the facts he was working with, it was hard not to see it as such.

Octavio’s point that the group’s faces were now known to the cult was a good one. Now that Ferris was part of the group and, by extension, the future in which they might stop the cult, he too would be known to the cult, losing him his anonymity despite only arriving this morning. It was wildly unfair that their enemies had the power of knowledge of both the present and future on their side, since bridging gaps between present and future could, sometimes, be a simple task, but Ferris supposed he ought to trust that the man who'd organized them hadn't done so on a whim.

As he listened, Ferris found himself pondering how he was planning on gaining the group’s trust. It’d been a long time since he’d had to earn trust, let alone from a group so strange and scattered. As a bounty hunter, when he wasn’t working alone, he was united with others under a common, understandable goal: turn in the bounty and get the gold. He trusted other hunters with his life only because there was a mutual understanding that they’d be of use to each other, and after they’d taken down the target that understanding became one of knowing that neither of them wanted to tread the path of mutual destruction. If these understandings couldn’t be reached, Ferris wouldn’t have bothered to with a partnership in the first place, but his current situation was different. He didn’t choose his teammates, and he wasn’t aware of their goals. Equally alarmingly, the same could be said about his teammates, since he wasn’t inclined to share his own goals—at least not yet.

All that said, though the group’s future goals might differ, their present circumstances and goals were the same. The man who’d organized them hadn’t provided a platform for trust in the future, but he’d provided one for the present, and Ferris could work with that for now. With a target in mind, Ferris was in his element, albeit a more conflict-rich one this time around.

Octavio was correct that combat was all but inescapable at this point. Disguises would do them no good in the long run, given the cult’s abilities, but neither would attempting to hide. There was no telling when and where insight might alert the cult to their whereabouts, so, in a way, their best option was to keep moving ahead.

“We should keep moving. Disguises might buy us time, but the Insight will catch up,” Ferris said, reaching for his mask as he turned to the Innkeeper. “Where do we meet the man who can take us to The Watch?”

Climbing up a seemingly endless flight of circular stairs was not exactly one of Týfurkh's most favorite activities, but it was necessary nontheless and he was fully trained. Anyone not believing this would be proven wrong by his ability to maintain a fair speed despite the fact that he had to lift an almost ludicrous amount of weight, taking two steps at a time each time.

"Der Freischütz, you say ?" A gentle smile crept onto the man's face. "You know that the nation of hearing has a certain faible for music and such ? If you like operas you really should go there once. Maybe, once this is over, we can travel together..." That was a bit of a two-sided coin Týfurkh was referring to. After all an opera was much more than just music. It also was sort of a visual novella and as such good operas probably could also be found in the nation of sight as well, but that was place he never had been previously.

"I'll try to remember that code..." Well... he simply had to. They probably would only have the opportunity to deliver a message once, so if this one transmission did not match what was expected their mission would end in utter failure. As they continued to climb the tower Týfurkh and the others could already feel fresh gusts of winds coming down. Apparently the top of the tower had not been sealed off or had already been opened up again, a good sign at least.

"I also need a direction as precise as possible. Give me a landmark or something else to shout at, given the distance the area where my voice will be heard will still be pretty small." The top of the stairwell was covered by a large wooden hatch that lead to a platform probably intended for maintenance. From there the tower's bells and the mechanic that allowed them to be rung from down below were within an arm's reach. The latter seemed to be fairly new, but the bells themselves probably had been hanging there for decades, if not centuries. Not really surprising given how much effort had to be put into getting them there in the first place.

"Alright. Give me a minute or so, please..." Týfurkh whispered and tried to stay back from the rim of the platform. It was preferable if noone spotted them high up here and the same was true for hearing them. He untied the uppermost part of his armor, allowing his breast to spread further while shouting, and seemed to become more and more concentrated. "Karina ? The direction, please."

Interaction with @Typical @HokumPocus

---

The Innkeeper's face paled upon learning Ferris wielded crazed magic. Unlike the others, he appeared far more uneasy about this information.

"Where?" The innkeeper squeaked. His eyes widening till they looked like they might fall out. The innkeeper looked from Octavio to Chres in disbelief. Chres offered the man a shrug, which only made the innkeeper pale further.

He looked back to Ferris, wiped his brow and shook his head. Finally, he sighed. "Southside..." He said. The resignation thick in his voice. "I-I'll just.. I'll take you to him..." He walked away as if in a daze. Horror stories, involving Crazed killing a town's worth of people, running through his mind.

"Everything's fine. Everything's perfectly fine." The innkeeper muttered, reassuring himself. Chres could barely make out the words, as the innkeeper lead them Southside. "The sky is black. My shadow moves towards the light. Did that rock over there suddenly move half an inch to right? Yes... yes, it did. Perfectly normal! Just like the Crazed follow me aro- No, no, no... bad thoughts.... bad thoughts... Everything's fine! Everything is just... fine..."

They walked for a few minutes in silence. Chres did his best keep an ear out for trouble. As a bodyguard, it had been his job to survey his surroundings in order to spot trouble before it happened. He needed not worry so much about blending into the crowd. His only concern was to keep the caravan and his master safe from harm.

Things were different now. Chres was no longer a bodyguard, and the ones in control of this town were out there looking for him. Too much glancing about looked suspicious. Suspicion could draw unwanted attention. Unfortunately for Chres, this meant he was out of his comfort zone. Nevertheless, he did his best to remain aware of what was going on around them.

Chres looked to the innkeeper. The man seemed to have regained some color in his face. He had stopped muttering reassurances to himself for the time being. Instead, his focus seemed to be more on keeping the group off the main roads and on ignoring the Crazed wielder behind him.

Sil, sighed audibly. Something she did at times when bored. Getting to her feet, she back-flipped off Chres's head, and took flight. After a few laps around the group, she fluttered up to Chres's right side. Her figure level with his shoulder.

Where's a good puddle when you need one? She thought to Chres.

Chres smiled softly. Sil... He thought back.

Hmm? She replied, looking to Chres with a slight tilt of the head.

Why are you obsessed with puddles? He asked her.

To Chres's surprise, Sil scoffed at the question. Obsessed? She thought back. Obsessed?! First of all, obsessed? Ha! I don't even know what that means!

Chres stared at Sil flatly. Her arms were crossed. An unamused look upon her face. Are... are you upset with me? He asked, feeling slightly confused.

Second of all, She continued, disregarding Chres's question. can yoooooou do this? Sil transformed into her ferret form.

N-no? Chres responded, not quite following.

Sil transformed back and nodded as if satisfied. That's right! I didn't think so!

Chres arched an eyebrow. All this, because I asked you about puddles?

Aaaand third of all, she thought loudly. Eyes closed. Finger raised in the air. I don't appreciate- Sil's eyes shot open. Her thoughts stopping mid-sentence.

"Wait..." She said aloud. "Did you say puddle?"

Chres, mouth slightly agape, stared blankly at her. Shutting his mouth, he nodded slowly in bewilderment.

Sil gasped with excitement. "Puddles?! I love puddles!"

"Sil," Chres said, dumbfounded. "why don't you go play with Lynx?"

"Who?" She asked.

"Your friend, the horsey."

"Oh!" Sil said, pounding the bottom of her fist into her hand. "You Mr. Armadillo!"

Arma-what-now?

"Yes..." Chres sighed. "Go play with your friend, the... whatever you just called it."

Sil giggled and zipped off to go yank on Lynx's tail.

Chres shook his head. "The more I try, the less I understand her." He said to the others. He grabbed his flask of flavored water and took a small swig.

Swishing the water around in his mouth, he overheard the innkeeper reassuring himself again. Chres swallowed the water and looked to Ferris. "You must be use to this sort of thing." He said, nodding towards the innkeeper. "Doesn't seem very pleasant."

---

^{@Pezz570@HokumPocus}
The innkeeper’s instant fear of Ferris was clear, but Ferris didn’t mind much. While it might impede some interactions with the man for the time being, the innkeeper wasn’t a permanent part of the group, and with his lack of magic, Ferris wasn’t too concerned. The innkeeper wasn’t someone Ferris felt he’d need, not after the innkeeper served his purpose and led the group to The Watch.

So, as the innkeeper led them onwards, muttering under his breath in an effort to keep himself calm, Ferris focused on his surroundings instead, unmasking to keep a tab on any magic use around them. Enemies without magic likely wouldn’t take them down unless the enemies far surpassed them in number, but large numbers naturally drew attention, so that’d alert the group automatically.

When the air around them offered no indication of foul play, Ferris focused instead on his teammates, attempting to commit their specific scents to memory. His adept power was a bit finicky, relying on his sense of smell since he was forced to choose between activating his powers and using his powers to detect magic use in his surroundings. Still, it was a useful power, especially for keeping track of people. Different types of magic smelled different, and if he focused on single scents, they too smelled distinct, like unique scent prints that varied per person. Upbringing, temperament, and age could all influence the scent, as Ferris had found, but he was largely unable to differentiate which factor was contributing to which aspect of a specific person’s magic scent, mostly because there were likely a lot more factors that affected the scent but that he wasn’t aware of. In addition, it was hard to pick up the underlying scent markers, and usually Ferris found that he had to go through a lot of trial and error as well as spend a decent amount of time around the person. And, even more, the person would have to use magic on a regular basis for Ferris to be able to actively track them, but thankfully most magic users he was tracking had a habit of doing just that.

In this case, Chres’ Touch-based magic smelled of the usual pine, but, with the scent fresh and strong, Ferris picked out an unusual sharpness to his scent, which Ferris would have thought to be the smell of Octavio’s Sight-based magic except that it was still strongly pine in its nature. However, it may have also been because of the familiar, Sil, who smelled of the rusting metal most familiars did. Other than that, Chres’ magic also had lighter notes of a sweeter nature, and though the sour-like scent stuck out like a sore thumb now that Ferris was thinking about it, he knew he’d have to double check another day before he could conclude anything.

Octavio’s scent, on the other hand, made more sense. Pungent vinegar was doubly echoed by the smell of his lynx familiar, who provided the sourness a metallic touch. Under that, though, Ferris found minor notes of a somewhat kinder scent, but he couldn’t place it well at the moment. Floral or fruity, most likely, but he’d have to check back later.

Some strange glances between Chres and his familiar clued Ferris in to the mental conversation being held, and he was almost glad he didn’t have to deal with a familiar. Far and wide, familiars seemed to be more trouble than help, discounting the companionship they offered.

A moment later, the fairy familiar elongated into a ferret, then back into her usual form before speaking aloud about… Puddles? Ferris looked on, bewildered as Chres expertly maneuvered his familiar into being someone else’s problem before turning to him with a question.

“Used to this sort of thing”—Ferris supposed he was. Not many people would say they liked him or trusted him, but he didn’t need someone’s complete favor or trust to be able to do his job. It was helpful, of course, and Ferris appreciated the rare times when someone really didn’t care, but only because it made his job easier. Past that, whether or not he had someone’s liking or trust was superficial and rather meaningless unless they might hold use to Ferris in hos future ventures, so the remark about distrust being unpleasant evoked few thoughts when it came to the innkeeper.

“I suppose I’m used to it by now. It doesn't affect my job, and it’s not like I can convince them otherwise without time and effort.”

He paused.

“I’m glad you both handled it better than him, though.”

---

Octavio smiled at Ferris´ words. "I appreciate you thanking me, but I don´t think that it's necessary."

He continued to speak to him, but faced the innkeeper instead. "The truth of the matter is that in a situation such as this, you either learn to live alongside the madness, or you stumble and fall." His eyes gazed at the inkeeper's and his smile widened. "A simple choice, right?"

Behaving properly around his party was important, but he wasn't about to let this man abuse what little empathy Chres had instilled in him. He had spent a large part of his life as a rogue, and if there was one thing he had learned throughout the years it was that if you couldn't even look out for yourself, then you weren't worth the effort of having around. This man had been useful to their party, but if this concerning behavior of his continued then Octavio would most likely downgrade him into a meat shield until further notice.

In contrast to the innkeeper, Octavio had developed a slight interest in Ferris. His sense of taste was abysmal and his sense of smell suffered for it, so it seemed curious to him that people were able to heighten their sense of either to use in combat. What kind of intricacies laced into the air did this man pick up just by walking around somewhere like a market or pub? Octavio was grateful for his perceptive vision, but he wouldn't mind giving it up for a day just to see if expensive wines really did taste better.

His thoughts vanished as Lynx let out a growl. Lynx hated resorting to behaving like an animal, so this must have been a serious occasion. Octavio turned and witnessed Lynx baring his mouth to Sil. Had he resorted to warning her off like a territorial predator out of desperation?

"I am a lynx of exceptional origin! You will cease at once!" he shouted. His voice was masculine and regal, but it sounded ridiculous coming out of a lynx trying to slap a fairy away.

Octavio cupped his chin in thought, then spoke. "Chres, what are your thoughts over my familiar possibly hurting her? He's not skilled enough to kill her, but he could definitely launch her against a wall at some point if she were ever slow enough."

Lynx shot a brief look at him. I'm not skilled enough? I'll prove you wrong.

Not only Karina was surprised that Týfurkh was interested on Der Freischutz but also there was no hiding the fact that Karina was very surprised and didn't knew how to reply to Týfurkh's proposal to accompany him to watch an opera in the nation of hearing. In fact, she couldn't even remember the last time she got out just to relax...

When they finally arrived on the top of the tower, Týfurkh's voice soon interrupted her thoughts, reminding her that she couldn't think about relaxing yet. Týfurkh was already preparing himself, going as far as to untie the uppermost part of his armor as he concentrated himself.

"I-I'm sorry. Directions, yes." Karina said, shaking her head as she quickly looked around, orientating herself.

"The forward base is currently located a few kilometers to the north of Focalia, west of the 'old' border between the nation of Touch and the nation of Sight." Karina said, as she pointed towards a few key locations before giving a precise direction where he should shout, unaware that she was basically considering the territory the Nation of Touch took from the Nation of Sight in the war already a part of the former.

"Everything has gone well so far, but we should not drop our guard. I trust you, Týfurkh." Karina said, as she nodded to him with a serious expression.

Despite the words she had just said, something deep down inside her was telling there was something wrong. It was too quiet. Nobody apparently came after them, no one noticed them climbing the tower, despite the fact that the Cult was supposedly watching every movement they gave.

@Fetzen@Jerkchicken

Mentioned @Jerkchicken@fetzen@13org

---

"The clock tower..." Smit said aloud. "Why the clock tower?"

Tayla simply shrugged. She wasn't concerned about why. Right now, all she was cared about was the chance to stick her blade in that pompous woman's cold heart. Before she could do that, however, she needed her team to get in position.

She waited impatiently, watching as her team spread out. She wanted to approach the tower from all angles, though in such a way so as to not tip the enemy off too quickly. She watched as one of the females on her team made her way towards the back of the tower. The woman stopped halfway to tighten the straps on her boots. She got to her feet soon after, and continued the rest of the way. The woman causally leaned against the tower's base. She shuffled her feet every now and then. Looking around apprehensively, as if waiting for someone else.

"It doesn't seem very wise." Smit continued with a shake of the head. "There's only one way in and out of the building. They are taking a huge risk going there."

Tayla didn't respond. Her attention was focused on the others. A man and a second woman arrived from a different direction. They joined the woman already positioned at the foot of the clock tower. Greeting each other and engaging in conversation.

To the north, she had three other men positioned at a table outside a tavern. They crowded around a game dice. Half full drinks in hand. In the east, stood a man preaching to others about the wonders of the Clan of Insight. Two female assistants at his side, approaching and engaging with the people passing by. To the south, a "beggar" sat on the streets. He looked to those who passed, hands outstretched. From the west, another three went about placing decorations celebrating the new month and it's associated sense.

And then there was Smit and herself. Standing southeast. Alone, at the mouth of an alleyway. An ancient oak tree shading them from the measly light shining out from behind an ever cloudier sky. Together, they watched from a distance. Fifteen people in total. She thought. Plenty enough to handle two magic users and the giant man with the crossbow.

"I wonder why they are taking such a risk." Smit pondered behind her. "Just what are they up to at the top of that tower?"

Tayla felt her heart pounding in anticipation. Everyone was in position. "Honestly Smit," Tayla said, "I don't really care."

Smit looked to her, frowning. She forced herself to not look away too quickly. She didn't like him looking at her like that. It always made her feel uncomfortable. Tayla took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"You know what I am, Smit?" She asked, taking a few steps towards the tower. "I'm a doer." She reached into her pouches, grabbing the flavored cotton tufts inside. "I prefer doing rather than thinking too hard on any one thing." Tayla popped the tufts into her mouth and pushed them off to the side with her tongue. "You, however," she continued; her voice slightly muffled, "are a thinker. If you thought less and did more, then maybe Sightless Syella would give you a team and some of your own missions some day."

Smit chuckled softly. "I'm in no hurry." He said behind her. "You keep on doing, and I'll keep on thinking." Tayla shook her head at the man's words. 'A future, yours to make', he had told her. What sort of future was he making for himself?

She brushed away the thought and plowed on ahead. Smit tailed closely behind. Her approach was a signal to the rest. Now was the time to make their move.

One by one, each of the groups inched closer to the tower's base. The "decorators" came forward. weapons concealed in their baskets of flowers. The gamblers got up asynchronously. Fanning out, so as to not draw as much attention. The "preacher's" assistants each split up. One approaching Tayla's direction with a wave. The other moving earnestly towards the gambler closest to her. The preacher, still preaching, turned his back to the tower. He made grand gestures with his hands. A distraction from his backwards motion towards the tower.

The "beggar" was the only one who didn't move. That all changed with Tayla's passing. She swooped down and grabbed some of the beggar's earnings. The beggar, playing his part, yelled in outrage. Smit responded by shoving the beggar to the ground. Tayla walked on, ignoring the commotion. She counted the coins and stuffed them into her purse. She didn't look back. Even after the beggar got back to feet and proceeded to chase after them.

Slowly, everyone closed in on the tower. Tayla looked to Smit. The man caught her gaze, nodded and whistled. All acting immediately stopped. Props were dropped. Weapons drawn. Together, they rushed the building and kicked down the door...

Interaction with @Typical @HokumPocus

Mentioned @13org

---

The innkeeper covered his ears in response to Octavio's words. "Everything's normal! Not thinking about it! Just going to show you all the way." The innkeeper said loudly.

Chres smiled. He couldn't help but feel slightly amused by the innkeeper's stubbornness. Sooner or later the man would have to confront the reality of what Ferris was.

A sudden growl distracted Chres from his amusement. He looked to Lynx in time to see Sil yelp. Frightened by the familiar's change in demeanor, Sil quickly zipped away from the snarling beast and hid behind Chres's leg. Chres smiled. About time. He thought.

"He... growled... at me..." She said in-between sobs.

"Yeah... I don't blame him." Chres said.

"How am I supposed to know what a minx is?" She cried.

"You're not!" Chres said more quickly than he would have liked. Last thing he needed was for Sil to start tossing the word 'minx' in Karina's direction! Chres took a deep breath. "He's a lynx, Sil. Not a dog. Not a mouse. Not a lizard, horsey or arma-whatever-you-called-it. But a Lynx."

Sil's sobbing quieted. "A Sphinx?" She asked with a sniffle.

"A Lynx." Chres said firmly.

"A... Lynx..." She said as if trying the words out for the first time. She looked to Lynx curiously. Her finger raised too her lip. Chres tilted his head. Did he actually get through to her? Perhaps she could be taught a lesson or two.

He then looked to Octavio and sighed. "Honestly, Octavio, Lynx would have a hard time hurting her even if he wanted to. She was never given the ability to feel pain. Unfortunate really. Perhaps she would have been a better learner if she knew what pain was." He joked.

"I do too know what pain is!" Sil exclaimed, making herself level with Chres's gaze. Her hands on her hips. Cheeks puffed out. "Pain is what happens when people insert things where they don't belong!" She explained proudly, nodding her head satisfied.

Chres coughed loudly, nearly tripping in shock. He looked to his familiar. Eyes wide with disbelief. "Sil! Where did you ever learn a thing like that?" He asked in-between coughs.

Sil shrugged. "I've seen people do all sorts of weird things while you take naps. Did you know some people make puddles on trees?!"

Chres gave her a long flat stare. "Sil... I'm afraid we are going to have a nice, long talk tonight." If he could get through to her with Lynx, then perhaps he could teach her not to spy on people when they do... private things...

"I agree." Sil replied, fluttering off in Lynx's direction. "We really need to talk about how much bigger your nose is compared to mine."

Chres arched an eyebrow. So... He thought, that's why she thinks my nose is big... He shook his head. Watching as she hesitantly approached Lynx.

"Um... Ex-excuse me, Mr. Lynx." She said shyly. Her politeness impressed Chres. Perhaps her manners were taking a turn for the better. "Would you like to play tug on Mr. Lynx's tail with me?"

Aaaaaaaaaand.... face palm. "Well... at least she asked." Chres sighed. That was one step in the right direction.

"We're here." The innkeeper said, stopping in the middle of the Shimmer Town's slums. Chres looked around uneasy. Homeless lined the streets, wrapped in blankets and covered in dirt. People of questionable character stood hunched in the shadows eyeing their group. They looked at each of them from head to foot, as if trying to decide whether it was worth robbing them or not. The streets stank of trash, shit and piss. It was not the most pleasant of places.

"Wait here." The innkeeper said. "Try not to make a scene. I'll go inside and talk to him."

Chres nodded to the innkeeper, who sighed and walked up to an old rundown brick house a few buildings away. Two men stood outside guarding the entrance. The innkeeper hesitantly approached the men and spoke them.

Chres watched apprehensively, worried that something might go wrong. At last one of the men went inside the house. The innkeeper stayed behind waiting patiently.

"Ferris." Chres said. "Now might be a good time to know what the symptoms of your insanity are."

After a minute or two, the guard came back out and nodded. The second guard padded down the innkeeper. Finding nothing, he let the man into the building.

"You do still know what they are, right?" Chres asked in a voice that was not too calm or stern. He looked Ferris in the eye, hoping this man had his wits about him. Whoever the person they were about to meet was, Chres had a feeling it would be trouble if Ferris lost it during the meeting.

---

^{@Pezz570@HokumPocus}
Though he didn’t find the conversation surrounding familiars particularly interesting, Ferris listened along, trying to pick out useful information from the inane banter. Octavio’s lynx was a proud animal, though ‘not very skilled,’ in the words of Octavio himself, which suggested a life without much conflict. But, given Octavio’s suaveness, Ferris was hesitant to believe such; many people got by with wit rather than strength, and Octavio struck Ferris as that type of person, given his smooth needling of the innkeeper. Then came Sil’s limited vocabulary, which she seemed almost purposely slow at fixing. Ferris cleared his throat at her attempted description of pain, a bit surprised at her strange associations. From her ‘innocent’ words, however, Ferris made the observation that she tended to wander off without Chres, making her a potential eavesdropper Ferris would have to keep an eye out for in the future. That and a nuisance, which she was proving herself to be every other sentence, and Ferris was almost grateful when the innkeeper finally announced the group’s arrival.

The area around them was robed in grime with a noticeable stench in the air, reminding Ferris of why he preferred to stay out of cities in general. Replacing his mask, he waited with the group, meeting the eyes of anyone willing to look at them, be it out of curiosity or otherwise. He’d done his part of avoiding gazes and trying to keep his head down, but that only tended to work in the brighter parts of the city; in the darker parts, where a lack of confidence might mark someone as an unassuming target, intimidation tactics worked much better.

When the innkeeper entered the house where, assumably, someone in The Watch was waiting, Chres spoke up with a question that Ferris couldn’t blame him for but was annoyed at anyway. The timing, frankly, wasn’t too great, and neither was their location if Ferris was going to start talking about his weaknesses. But, since they were on the clock and Ferris couldn’t fault anyone for wondering, least of all his future teammates, he forced himself to relax, taking a cursory glance around before he went into what really wasn’t that big of a deal anyway—or at least to him.

“Yeah, becoming one of the Crazed, I know. With me it’s paranoia, not insanity. Some little thoughts here and there, but I reason them out before they go anywhere. Can’t be too careful, with this brand of magic.”

Finished, he looked between Chres and Octavio, gauging their reactions. Considering that they hadn’t been too put off by his earlier claim of Augaision, Ferris wasn’t expecting a sudden change, but people were fickle. Ferris knew this.

"Alright..." Týfurkh replied. Just by carefully listening to his words one could already get the impression that his attention was already being gathered elsewhere. "I hope I don't need to tell anyone that you need to protect us while I am delivering this message. Just in case..." He made a few steps back away from the edge of the platform, as far as the presence of the huge bells allowed. Adding one or two meters to the few kilometers the message would have to travel would hardly make a difference, but being seen from downside or not very well could.

The tower's height proved to be perfect for their plan. The city walls were no match for its height, any signal intended to reach out far enough could travel over them unhindered. Also there were no other buildings visible that could get anyone else in its way, so it also was pretty safe to assume that nobody else could be eavesdropping. Though, honestly, trying to eavesdrop from this near would have made one's ears burst in blood probably. In order to overcome several kilometers of atmospheric damping Týfurkh had to shout very, very loud.

"Hear thee not, the sweet whispers of Kaspar, ..."

None of Týfurkh's companions would be able to hear anything, and neither would any of the cultists that had managed to follow them undetected.

"... lest you take his place when Samiel, ..."

One could see sweat burst out not only along Týfurkh's forehead and cheeks, but also among the major part of his upper body. As he continued with the last part of the messages he also started to turn rather pale.

"... the Black Huntsman comes to collect him."

Done! The giant man stumbled backwards and hit one of the bells. It nearly was moved enough to make the clapper hit the inner walls, but luckily it remained silent.

"Give me a few moments please. This was quite... exhausting." and he continued to breathe heavily, having no idea that their enemies were approaching as he was speaking. Týfurkh started to reattach the straps of his armor he had undone previously with slightly shaking hands as he was leaning against the bell. He could see the entrace of the narrow stairwell they had come through, but nobody was to be seen yet. "Now that our primary objective has been achieved I'm wondering if we should to return with stealth as well or if we should just try to make a run for it as fast as possible. I'm open to both strategies, to be honest..."

_{@13org@Fetzen}

---

"Yeah don't worry, I'll play it smart if trouble comes." He'd say to Karina before departing to enter the tower.

After the group rejoined, Karina would talk about the code phrase. The man softly recited the lines from this opera with a speed and confidence as if he had some familiarity. "Got it, but isn't this more important for Týfurkh to remember since he's the one doing the speaking?" He said wanting to know if they'd need to repeat it at some other place later on. His interest was piqued as she mentioned some trivia about the sentence and the opera it's from. He always suspected she was someone higher in the hierarchy, but being the daughter of some general in the army. Things were getting interesting especially when they'd inevitably need to accompany her to whatever place they were.

He would be quiet again as Týfurkh and Karina talked about opera. Painful, bitter, feelings arose in him and he found himself biting the inside of his lip to clear his thoughts. Briefly, he'd turn his head away from them not wanting them to notice the fleeting sour look on his face. He'd also trail behind as they climbed the stairwell. He'd also take the time to look behind them to make sure they were safe for the moment. He'd linger a bit to let out a melancholy sigh as he raced up the stairs to join them at the top. "Hope you got the words memorized big guy." He said to Týfurkh as he rested against the wall. He was position in a way to watch the stairs as well as the the others.

The man would raise a look as he noticed how strenuous it was him doing that was. The man was not only getting sweaty from it, but he was also looking pallid as well too. Then again he'd probably look pretty bad as well if he needed to use his own talent to its limit. While that was happening he was also focusing his senses back to the stairwell and below. Týfurkh would finish exhausted and right around that time he heard the door being forcefully opened. "Karina, Can you protect Týfurkh while also watching the stairs and anything from outside? In the meantime I'll do what I can to keep them busy here." He said coolly as he grabbed his stick.

The vagrant warrior would already start charging activating his power. He would take a dramatic dive from the stairs and fall below. Of course with his power activate he would become light and control his descent as he bounced from wall to wall. He would do a falling axe kick on some hapless cultists that were further up the stairs. He'd knocked them down as they rolled. He'd then rush further down as he saw just how many of these damn cultists there were. He could only hope Týfurkh would soon recover soon enough. He a feeling things would crazier.

He'd choke up his grip on the stick to compensate for smaller quarters. And he'd stab, sweep, pin, and do controlled swings to control the space around him. Here and there he'd let some empower strikes to really clear the crowd and knock them around. He was already more or less on the ground floor, for the sake of being harder to fight he'd jump on the stairs and retreat a bit upwards. The man's strategy was to more or less force most of them outside and slow their flow. For while it may be tricky to fight inside, it was a bigger disadvantage to the cultists. It would be like damming or narrowing the channel of where stream of water flowed to slow it down. Or at least that was what he hoped he could enact.

@Jerkchicken, @fetzen, @13org

---

The door to the tower splinter inwards. Lynne, one of the new recruits, was the first into the building and up the steps. She paused half way up.

"What is it?" One of the men behind her asked.

"I..." Lynne stuttered, blinking twice. "I just saw myself die..." She replied.

Lynne looked up wide eyed in time to see the target's foot smash her head in. Lynne's body went limp. Rolling down the steps and knocking the two men behind her down with her.

Tayla tsked. Seeing yourself die is never a good sign, while in the Distortion. Had Lynne reacted quicker, perhaps she could have avoided death.

Smit sighed. "Whelp... Lynne's dead." He said, frowning.

Tayla shrugged off the comment. She never liked the woman anyways. Lynne was far too flirty with the men. It made her more of a distraction rather than an asset.

"Good news is," Smit continued. He reached for his magic deterrent coated throwing knifes, and looked the dirtied man in the eyes. "our target came to us."

Tayla grit her teeth, grinding them in frustration. She looked up, towards the top of the tower. That was where she wanted to be.

"We need to cut him off." Tayla said. Her voice muffled by the tufts of cotton.

Smit nodded. "Makes sense. I'll go gather-"

Tayla cut him off. "No need." She said, placing her hand to the ground. Five others gathered around her while three other cultist ran up the stairs to face the dirtied man. "I planned ahead." She focused on the taste of one of the five cotton tufts in her mouth. Savory.

"What?" Smit asked. He whipped his head in Tayla's direction, but it was already too late. The ground beneath Tayla warped, stretching upwards. "Tayla!" Smit called after her, in protest.

She ignored the man's complaints, instead directing her attention to the man who had pretended to be a beggar. "Tex!" She shouted to him. "You're up!"

Tex smiled a sluggish grin. The skinny brown skinned man had just finished chugging half a wine skin. It's effects were quickly kicking in. The man leaned against the wall, touching it's stone surface with his hand. His eyes were half closed and unfocused.

For a moment, it seemed that Tex would collapse. But then, his eyes shot open. His scrawny muscles bulged. A renewed focus entered Tex's eyes. The effects of the wine seemingly burning away.

With a roar, Tex lept toward the dirtied man as he faced off against the three clan members climbing up the stairs.

---

Tayla warped the ground beneath her and her men. The ground stretched upwards, up off the ground floor. Warping so much ground was a taxing feat. She could quickly feel her lips beginning to dry with each moment that passed.

They raised pass one flight of stairs. Two flights. Three. Tayla stopped there. She could feel her tongue sticking lightly to the roof of her mouth as she pulled it away. She needed a sip of water.

She looked to the men and women with her. They looked back as if expecting her to do more.

"Well?" Tayla said expecting the group to get off. Instead they glanced at one another as if unsure. One woman even questioningly pointed upwards as if asking, 'Aren't you taking us all the way to the top?'

For the love of- Tayla thought, her lip curling up in annoyance. "STOP STANDING AROUND AND GET OFF ALREADY!" she barked.

The group jumped, startled awake from their stupor. One by one they stepped onto the nearby steps and ascended to the top.

Tayla tsked. New recruits. She thought. Here she was, dehydrating. What did they do? Stand there, looking around like a flock of dumb birds.

With a shake of the head, she followed the group. Once on solid ground. She let go of the warped platform. The ground instantly turned back to it's normal state, as if it was like that the whole time.

Tayla took out a skin of water and took a long swig. Much better. She thought.

She followed her team upwards, grabbing a handful of coins as they neared the top. Using her tongue, she shifted the cotton tufts in her mouth till she tasted the one she wanted. Sour. Her magic triggered.

Tayla released the coins, letting the coins newly applied momentum launch them towards the opening above. Anyone waiting there would be in for a nasty surprise...

Despite the bad sensation Karina was feeling, she simply stood by protecting Týfurkh together with DB as the giant got ready to use his ability. Much like Týfurkh himself had said, Karina wasn't able to hear anything as he shouted, even though it was apparent that it was quite tiring and exhausting for him, seeing how his reaction was at the end. Pale, sweating and obviously exhausted, he asked for a few seconds to recover his breath as he stumbled backwards, almost hitting the bell.

For a second, Karina dashed towards the bell, afraid that it would make any noise, but the noise she would hear didn't have anything to do with Týfurkh's movement neither the bell...

Deep down inside, when she was still climbing the tower, Karina could feel that there was something wrong. It was too silent, too quiet, no patrols, everything was going exactly as they had planned, it was indeed foolish of her to not trust her intuition. Sadly, it was too late to do anything when they suddenly heard the door being kicked open. It was safe to assume they were surrounded by now...

Both DB and Karina immediately grabbed their weapons, ready to protect themselves the second they heard the noise. Before Karina could say anything to DB though, he told her to protect Týfurkh, immediately diving down the stairs to fight. Silently cursing his eagerness to fight, Karina was doing her best to quickly calculate an escape route for them, taking in consideration the assumption they were surrounded.

"Can you run yet? How much will you need to recover yourself?" Karina asked, as a cold aura began forming around her the second she made the same ice blades she had used earlier.

By the sounds coming from downstairs, DB was already fighting against multiple opponents. They had to do something now.

"Týfurkh, please be ready, we won't have time to rest. We are surrou-" Karina began as she rushed towards the hole that lead to the stairs in order to assess the situation but got interrupted by a handful of coins that were thrown by the attackers. Missing Karina by just a few centimeters, making her jump to the ground in order to avoid to be struck by the deadly coin shower.

"Shit!" Karina cursed.

"They are already here, Týfurkh!" she shouted, trying to alert the tired giant still on the ground after dodging the coins. They were outnumbered, so it would be better for them to position themselves so that their enemies had to pass through a funnel in order to reach to them, and right now, the hole on the floor from where the coins came up was the best they had.

"Týfurkh, the stairs!" she said, in quick, direct commands as she tried to get up, regain her balance and assume a fighting stance before the enemies arrived. An ice aura becan to surround her as she tried to summon her ice blades. She was caught completely by surprise and those coins made things even worse. Despite her having dodged them, she was completely vulnerable now.

Karina was indeed worried about DB, since so many enemies passed by him. Was he still fighting or he was taken out in such a short moment by someone or something, like that monster, Syella, they fought earlier... Still, rushing towards DB and ignoring both Týfurkh and the enemies coming up the stairs was an incredibly dumb move. The best Karina could do right now was to trust on her companions and hold her ground until she found an escape route... Preferably taking everyone with her.

@Fetzen@Jerkchicken@Pezz570

Lynx?!

---

The inability to feel pain? Lynx thought, interested. The urge to pelt her into a wall rose within him now that it wouldn't technically be hurting her, though his brain reminded him that it would look uncivilized. If anyone asked however, he would explain to them that he was a gentleman incapable of harming women, or something like that. It was both ironic and concerning to him just how similar that thought sounded to Octavio's usual plans, but luckily none of the people in their group were mind readers. He walked with them just out of their sight, hugging any corners that were available to further shroud himself, taking the occasional self-indulgent and unnecessary leap whenever no one was looking. Being constrained to a beast's body had its advantages.

His quiet footsteps came to a halt as he turned to face everyone present now that they were still. It was best to get this over with now that he had shattered his silence.

"I apologize for not having formally introduced myself to this party. I am Lynx, travelling partner to Octavio."

There was an undeniably regal air to his posture and appearance, and despite his recent outburst he managed to convey a tone of masculinity and serenity. The filth and decay of the world around them contrasted with his earnest attempt at introducing himself however, rendering his hard work pointless. Anyone not familiar with him would have probably perceived him as some sort of overgrown street vermin. Octavio wore an odd look on his face.

My travelling partner? Weren’t you my familiar? The human smirked for a moment.

Silence, he responded.

"Despite my feline appearance, I am an individual of distinguished origin and would prefer to be treated as an equal on this journey." The words emanated from within him without the need for moving his mouth. After this odd introduction, a brief period of silence enveloped their conversation. If it were possible for a lynx to awkwardly cough, he would've done it now. Sensing that they were expecting more out of him, he finally spoke once more.

"And no Sil, you may not play with my tail,” he finally muttered. At least she had now learned what animal he was.

Octavio’s attention was split between watching his only friend embarrass himself like an arrogant boy on his first day of school and Ferris explaining his affinity to the Crazed. The latter was important, but the former was just too entertaining to ignore. ”Being a smidge paranoid about anything is a good thing if you find yourself stumbling into strange places often,” he remarked, a bit absent-mindedly.