@Dark Cloud@TheFox[@Zerofighter@Zool@Conscripts
A quiet hum was the only sound in the dimly lit room. The only light came from glowing veins in the walls, pulsing a gentle blue in steady rhythm with the hum. Seven stone coffins stood lined up against the wall; three were open, four were sealed shut. The humming throbbed for a moment, and the lids of the sealed coffins opened up.

Thus were the remaining four reincarnations awakened from their slumber.

---

---

Already very much awake, and panicked too the short red-skinned little demon boy had been pacing back and forth upon the flagstone floor of the chamber he was currently stuck within. However the boy was panicked for a different reason other than being stuck in a room full of corpses, no he was more afraid of the fact he himself was inhabiting the body of one such corpse. He knew who he was, a creature of the Void and his kind wouldn't be welcomed with open-arms if he was correct in assuming he knew exactly where he was.

He abruptly stopped his pacing once he heard noise coming from the other coffins, his heart was beating rapidly and his mind raced as he tried to think of a way to avoid being seen by whatever monsters were surely about to rise. But in his haste to hide all commonsense was forgotten and he hid futilely behind a coffin with his eyes peaking from the top of it, darting around the room.

"Shit, shit, shit..." he swore under his breath realizing he was hiding behind an occupied coffin.

She was dead, right? Yeah, she definately died. There was no way she'd survived that plane crash. But then, why was she thinking? How was she thinking? Was this the afterlife?

This train of thought was the spark that restarted MacKensie's five senses. The first thing she was aware of was her heartbeat, which would steadily begin to quicken as her anxiety grew. The air was musty, and above the faint sound of the her own breath, there was a throbbing hum coming from... outside? The questions began to pile up on top of the already important conundrum. She moved her hands and reached around to find that she was in an enclosed space, and that's when her eyes shot open in fright to total darkness.

Forgivingly, she wasn't made to panic in the claustrophic environment as the front of the box popped open and the young woman rushed forward to freedom, tripping in her hastiness and sending her tumbling out of the stone coffin, unceremoniously onto the floor with a whiney shriek. The pain from the fall had her fleetingly think that this was absolutely not the afterlife. She looked at her outstretched arms, not recognising her clothes. Her eyes went on to spy the dimly lit room, the strange glowing blue light in the walls, and eventually the seven coffins behind her.

She gasped, paling with fear, eyes wide. There were literal coffins in the room. And yes, she had just jumped out of one. Butt-scooting away from the wall with the coffins, as others began to awaken, MacKensie was way past screaming in alarm. She was mute, at this point.
She simply rose to her feet, against the opposite wall, an unwilling spectator to whatever might happen next.

@Rabidporcupine

Horses whinnied in alarm as the cart almost ran over a young goblin carrying a large sack on his back. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" the driver screamed. Crowds of people twice the creature's height jostled him back and forth, many unaware he was even there until they were almost on top of him. Most could not even hear his cries, let alone understand the words he was crying out to them.

["Help! Help me! Please! Please help- please help my baby brother!"]

Another person shoved him aside. He fell back on the stone pavement, and twisted himself so he wouldn't land on the precious cargo he carried. The goblin scrambled to his feet and pressed through the crowd.

["Can- can anyone- can anyone tell me where- where the goddess is?"] He grabbed onto a random passerby's sleeve. ["Please help me?"]

The woman snatched her arm away in disgust. "Ugh, go away."

As he watched the woman march off, he spotted a tower looming overhead. Maybe she's in there! He hefted the bag and plodded toward the tower, pushing and weaving his way through the crowd until he arrived at the gates. A pair of tall, imposing guards stood in the way.

"Go away," barked one of the guards.

The goblin got down on his knees and groveled before them. ["Please let me see the goddess! My baby brother is dying!"]

Neither guard understood the goblin language, but even they could gather he was making a request of them. "She's not taking any visitors right now."

The goblin crawled up to the guard's foot and clutched at the hem of his tunic, babbling something the guard still couldn't understand. Disgusted, the guard kicked him away. "I said go, you little shit!"

At that moment, the gates creaked open.

The guards immediately dropped to one knee in solemn reverence.

The goblin looked up to behold a human woman, robed in blackest ebony, whose silver eyes stared down at him from behind a featureless bone-white mask.

["My goddess!"] the goblin cried, and crawled up to her feet to grovel.
The woman knelt down and lifted his chin. ["You're a long way from home, little one. What brings you all this way?"]
The goblin suddenly looked up at her. ["You...you understand me?"]
["Well, I didn't live 500 years to not learn the language of my neighbors. You wish to make a request of me?"]
He withdrew the sack and laid it at her feet. ["Please save my baby brother. He's dying and I don't know who else to turn to."]

The woman gingerly opened the sack to find a baby goblin. It seemed to be only a few months old, but it was unusually small and frail for its age. Wheezing gasps came from its little mouth, and its skin was pallid and sickly. She checked for a pulse, and found it weakening by the minute.

["You did the right thing. Come."] She picked up the goblin child in one arm and gave the guards each a backhanded slap. "Do better next time," she chided. The guards bowed their heads in shame as she strode inside.

Once inside, she set the goblin child down and pulled out a piece of chalk, with which she began to draw a magic circle. Then she took a knife, cut her arm at the elbow, and dripped a few drops of blood in the circle. ["This is a magic circle designed to amplify the natural healing processes,"] she explained. ["Keep an eye on him for me while I prepare another spell, would you?"]

The goblin nodded and watched the embers of magic seep into his brother's body while the woman brought over her spear. "Analyze," she whispered, and the spear began to glow with a pale white light. She hovered the tip over the goblin child's body, and when the spell was complete, she touched her palm to the gem and closed her eyes.

["Intriguing."]

["Will he be okay?"]

She sat down across from him and folded her legs. ["Your brother is evolving."]

["E- evo- what?"]

["Evolving. He is changing inside into something greater than he was."]

["What is he changing into?"]

The twinkle of a smile sparkled in her eyes. ["A new person."]

*Yakeru*

---

---

A soundless darkness. A sudden flash. A silhouette of a man running away. He had seen his face before. Now it was fading away but the eyes, the look they had, remained in his mind. The colour of red on his hands and chest, mixing with rain. No air. Pain. A soundless darkness. A flash of light again. White. An outstretched hand. Pain leaving him. Sleep.

With a sudden and deep gasp for breath, a young man got up from one of the now open coffins. He kept coughing and gasping for air for some time, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around him, paying only attention to himself. His hands quickly moved towards his chest where he had expected to be wound. Strangely there was nothing to see. His eyes wandered over his clothes, his breathing going from fast to a more irregular speed. He did not recognize the clothes he was wearing. Or did he? Vaguely, somewhere in the far reaches of his mind, he remembered seeing them before. Then he suddenly knew.

Feeling the fabric of the tunic for the first time, the outfit he had created and drawn for Yakeru, the hero of his light novel. It almost made him laugh in disbelief. Everything he was wearing was exactly how he had imagined it to be. Even the sword, that was lying next to him. The details were most impressive. His gloved hand touched the steel of the blade and he was surprised it felt warm instead of the expected cold.

Certainly I must be dreaming, right? But I remember getting shot...what happened?

Finally he turned his gaze to the coffin he was sitting in and he scrambled out of it in shock, the smile now gone from his face and his eyes going from bewildered to panicky. Was this some sort of crypt? In the dimly lit room he could make out other coffins against the wall. He swallowed. Did the dream turn into a nightmare? He tried to steady his breathing, calm down but he felt that he couldn't. Sensing he was not alone in the room, he quickly looked around to see if he could spot the person or persons there.

A young woman was standing at the opposite wall, watching him and he sighed a breathe of relief glad to see a friendly face albeit looking as shocked as he probably did.

"Uhm...Hello. Do you...know where we are?" He blinked and put his hand to his mouth. This was not his voice and yet he had spoken with it. Even though his heart was racing still from the slight fear, his voice had not sounded like how he felt but more like the voice of someone who considered all this just a nuissance.

His attention suddenly turned back to the other coffins. What was going on?

David woke up with a sharp gasp, like he was desperate for a breath of air. Like he was deprived of air, looking around the room wondering what just happened. Last thing he remembered he was home, and now...he was here. Trying to remember his life on earth, what led up to this moment. Wait....he couldnt remember anything. His old life was gone like a blur. He knew his name, it was David, where he used to live and the face of a woman. Was she his mother? Getting out from the coffin, cursing as his legs gave out. Wondering how long he was passed out for. Looking around the room, seeing a few more people also waking up.

"Where the hell am I?" Everyone else looked just as confused as he was. They didnt seem like they were the one behind this, they looked just as confused as he was. Cursing as he tried to stand, looking around the room. Something felt wrong here, like someone or something was watching him in here. "Excuse me? Hello? Umm do any of you know where we are? Or....why were here."

Pinching himself, clearly he wasnt dreaming. Running his hands along his body, not feeling any wounds. And he wasnt scarred or anything. This didnt look like anyplace he been to before. Looking at the others, he decided to introduce himself. "Umm, My name is David Markovia....I think it is at least." he said, unsure if he was right about his past. Everything was still foggy, he couldnt remember much of what his life was like before. Just his name, where he lived, and a woman he recognized. That was it.

Robert didn't fully understand the quest given, but then again he never understood that tower anyway. A group of individuals being zipped out from another world now awakened in a body that who knows what picked for. And he was expecting them to help? There's no guarantee that they'd actually be nice enough to do so, but they wouldn't even understand to begin with. But urgency clouded all logical judgement, as the man in the black gambeson hastened through the tower corridor to the coffin chamber. They should have already awakened, and to his guess confused, scared. He was pretty much right, to no one's surprise.

Approaching the four newly-arrived was a rather sharp-looking young man in black gambeson and breeches, huffing a little from his travel to the tower. He quickly brushed his hair over his forehead with his hand, gave everyone a quick glance, before letting out one last puff before speaking, in a hurried but seemingly casual tone.

"Everyone up? Everyone good? Functional? Hmm?" He glanced across the rather diverse group of individuals, before cutting right to the chase. "This...never has a good explanation, but I'm going to need you to ready to fight, soon. Yall familiar with it?"

---

@Thinslayer

---

Chatak decided it would probably be best to walk into the city as he approached. Sure, just walking alongside Patches might seem a little odd compared to the usual animals a human might see around these parts, but at least this way he might just seem like a halfling or gnome with an exotic pet. Riding into town on a hyena's back though just seemed a little too gobliny to not get called out. Then again, it's not like the rest of his appearance wasn't at least somewhat suspicious too. He had to make sure none of his skin showed, but that fact would have thrown him off in itself if he was one of them...

Still, not like there was much he could actually do about it. Gobs weren't particularly appreciated by most other races, so he had to do his best to hide his identity until he knew the people he got help from wouldn't get scared off. Honestly though, it wasn't like he could actually blame them if they did. The vast majority of gobs weren't exactly pleasant to be around, and up until he started putting his ideas into action, the Claybitah Clan wasn't much better. However, after his suggestions had started to show results, the gobs of the tribe had started being able to focus on other things than just surviving from day to day, and he felt it marked a significant improvement on how bearable they were to be around. They actually had time to make things instead of stealing them now. But that had led to the realisation that his knowledge was only going to get them so far. If he wanted the tribe to keep growing as it had, he was going to need to know how to take that information further. That meant finding experts on the subjects, and either getting notes from them or taking them to Claybitah territory himself.

Preferably the former, because it was entirely possible the empire might send someone to wipe them out if they heard of a goblin tribe getting too advanced. Might pose a threat to the nearby villages, after all.

Either way, the point was that he needed experts, and that meant he needed directions. He'd already started getting weird looks from a few of the people in the streets, and nervously adjusted his mask just in case it might've accidentally left a bit of green exposed. When he was mostly sure it hadn't, he hurried along to the massive tower in the middle of the city, one he still had a few very, very vague memories of from his childhood, where his brother had brought him to be saved from the verge of death. Twice actually, though he doubted most would ever know that. He wasn't entirely sure why he was drawn to it now, but as he approached, he caught sight of a nearby guard by the entrance.

Great! He was sure they'd give him directions!

"Ey, Guardman?" He asked, still having trouble with the hume language. "Me Chatak. Chatak need smart people. People who make building, or metal, those type. You know where?"

In the dimly lit room, it was hard to make out every detail, but MacKensie could see he was a kid. A teenager, more accurately, and looked like he might be a little lost himself. This notion of a shared, miserable situation, seemed to calm the young woman even if she did remain frozen.

"Uhm...Hello. Do you...know where we are?"

His reaction to his own voice, MacKensie just guessed he was scared of being too loud, but he didn't sound scared at all. If anything, the kid just sounded annoyed. But then why.... oh, like it matters, Mac, she scolded herself.

Visions flashed in her mind - the hysterical plane isles, filled with screaming athletes; her friends, coaches.

"I..." was the start of her reply to the boy, before being distracted by another one waking up, this one a man, not much older than her maybe.

"Where the hell am I?" he asked. He pressed his questions further, MacKensie shaking her head and telling them both that she had no idea what was going on. It was clear that none of them did. "Umm, My name is David Markovia....I think it is at least."

David's last announcement was disconcerting. He didn't seem 100% sure of his own name. Much like the boy's reaction to his own voice, MacKensie didn't (couldn't) dwell on it, instead introducing herself.

"I'm MacKensie. MacKensie Trydant," she told them, straightening her posture and giving them a clipped courtesy, before leaning back against the wall. As she did, she noticed for the first time that she had some weight around her hips, and she realised that she was wearing an old leather belt satchel. Also on her belt was a smaller pouch and a knife. "I err... I think I..."

I think I died, she wanted to say. It was just so ridiculous. But those final moments on the plane were real. That terror. The impact.

MacKensie suddenly realised she was at the door to the chamber, when she heard the hard-heeled steps of someone outside the room. Out of instinct, she moved away from the door and back to her coffin. It was then that she saw she'd left some items behind in it, so she scooped them up to inspect for clues. Then the chamber door opened.

"Everyone up? Everyone good? Functional? Hmm?" The man that entered was well-dressed and groomed, older than everyone else, and clearly not so confused like they were. He shared his gaze with the room, before cutting right to the chase. "This...never has a good explanation, but I'm going to need you to ready to fight, soon. Yall familiar with it?"

MacKensie bristled at the idea. Fight who? Why? She had another look at the items in her hand and now realised they were weapons. One was a small crossbow of sorts, and the other was some kind of wrist contraption. She looked at the boy beside her and saw that he had a sword. And not a rapier for fencing. It was a bloody full-on knights swords, like something out a fairy tale.

Perhaps this is a dream, she thought. Perhaps it's the ultimate dream of death. Then her thoughts spilled out of her mouth. "This is the afterlife."

@Rabidporcupine
"Ey, Guardman?" he asked, still having trouble with the hume language. "Me Chatak. Chatak need smart people. People who make building, or metal, those type. You know where?"

"Chatak need smart people? Me too, buddy. Me too. Just the other day, Perrius decided it would be fun to try and eat grass using a magic spell, so he was ripping out clumps from the captain's front yard, and hoo boy, lemme tell ya, the captain was pissed. Now there's a whole-ass rule in the book saying, I kid you not, 'Thou shalt not eat grass.' And don't even get me started on Tartary brothers. You find any smart people around here, you let me know, okay? I'll be right here, making sure nobody eats the captain's grass while there's a whole friggin' invasion on the way..."

So that human wasn't terribly helpful. After asking around for a bit, he managed to find somebody who was able to give him useful direction: "Oh, you mean blacksmiths? Yeah, we got a bunch of those down in the industrial sector, that-a-way. They're really busy at the moment though, since, you know, there's an invasion coming any minute now. I gotta go. Good luck to you, kiddo!"

Shouted commands and endless "Yes sirs!" filled the air as soldiers hustled to prepare the fortress for battle. In the distance, an ominous, unnatural fog filled the sky, a sign of powerful magic that even the weather had to obey.

The Goddess's right-hand mage had the power to control the weather...

David checked body trying to find something, something that would tell him about who he was, or where he came from. Unfortunately, there wasnt any form of ID on him. But he did have some weight on his waist. He looked down seeing two hand held crossbows, both with loaded silver bolts. At his him was a cursed sword, resembling a katana. Looking at the others addressing themselves. There was a young woman MacKensie Trydant, who had pointed ears, blonde hair and a blue tunic. It seemed she also realized she had weapons.
There was a thin, strange man telling them they had to fight. Where the hell was he?!

"Fight? Buddy what are you talking about? I just woke up here, and I want some answers."

Looking over at Makenzie who began to say they were dead. Shaking his head before looking at her. "No, no we cant be dead. I..I dont think we are. Look, I dont know whats going on. Im not fighting anyone until I get some answers." Looking back at Robert, taking out his crossbow and aiming it at the man. He was sure he never held something like this before, at least he think he didnt. But now, it felt right in his hand, like he had this before. "Tell me whats going on here pal.." There were shadows moving around him, it looked like a strange shadow was coming from his back. It took the shape of a long arm, and its hand had long fingers. It curled over his body, revealing itself.

His eyes widened, almost dropping the crossbow. "What the heck is that!" The arm reacted to his emotions, as retreated back to his back. Vanishing as if it was never there before. His heart was pounding, feeling each beat now. "Ok, maybe we might be dead..."
_______

“Wait a moment. I...What is this about fighting? Who are you even? Why...How...?”

The young man did not know what to make of all this. Suddenly a man had entered asking them things like if they were functioning well or something and that they had to fight. That last part wasn't really a question. He merely expected them to do so. Well he did ask them if they were familiar with it but still. It did not answer any question they might have and only gave room to even more questions. He felt as if he had gone insane and he was now in some hallucination. It was all so absurd and surreal. Perhaps, when he got shot, he didn't die but instead he was in the hospital dreaming some coma induced dream.

So confused he felt he nearly tripped over his own feet as he took a few steps backwards, his mind racing with flashes of memories. If this would be a fantasy novel, this would be considered the moment where the reader gets to know the protagonist, the hero who would undertake a quest to save the world or some sorts. But that was just the thing. In novels it would be like that but surely not in real life. He looked at his gloved hands, clenching and unclenching his fists. It just felt too real to be some kind of dream though. His last step backwards made him walk against the coffin in which he had woken up in. He dropped his sword which clattered to the ground. It was loud enough to drown out the humming sound.

Fight.

As he picked up the sword from the ground, he could hear it whisper in his head.

Fight!

The whisper got louder into the voice that was not his. Or was it?
He weighed the sword in his hand, holding the hilt. It felt good. As if he had been born with it as a part of himself.

Fight, Yakeru!

His eyes got drawn to the name engraved on the sword. The name he knew all too well, even better than he knew himself. Yakeru.

“If your coin matches the risk, I am your man.” He mumbled softly the phrase Yakeru often said in his novels and he chuckled. His entire body language changed in that moment and he inhaled deeply before releasing his breath slowly. The sword got back in the scabbard which he slung on his back. His eyes went from Mackensie to David, who both also seemed to be armed, and the odd man who had entered earlier. If this really was the afterlife as Mackensie had put it and this to be his fate, then he would grab the opportunity with his both hands to be someone he never was or could be before and his name would be Yakeru.

With a grin he sat down on the edge of the coffin, his arms crossed on his chest.

Heck, he already was him.

A sudden movement in the dark made him turn his head and he saw some...thing looking at them. He was surprised he had not noticed it before. So is this afterlife in Hell?

“Who are you, demon?” He jumped up, cocking an eyebrow as his gaze was locked with the creature.

---

---

"N-Nobody!" the boy blurted out without thinking, even though he knew his name already and had gone through the motions after pacing for what seemed like an eternity "I-I mean nobody that matters really, I'll just be leaving now!" before he even started towards the door he stopped realizing the man who had entered the room was standing close enough to it to block him.

"Please don't hurt me, I'm so scared and I-I-" he stammered, buckling under the gaze of everyone looking at him "Dexter," he coughed into his hand awkwardly "My name is Dexter." his eyes darted around the room looking desperately for an escape route, but it was futiles there was only a single exit. "I don't understand what's going on, I'm just scared of your kind." Dexter told them, inching away if they tried to get close to him.

Welp, it went exactly as he expected. One threatened to kill him with the crossbow. One basically already crapped his pants. And Robert thought they would be some legendary heroes of antiquity or something. But they had weapons at least. That probably accounts to something right? Right?

He knew he didn't look or act exactly the most friendly of person to be the first to meet anyway, and that's on him, but he never looked like those priest or priestess anyway. He is a mechanic, an artificer, they demand a lot, and he too. The first thing he demanded were some composures.

He put one hand in his pocket and another on his lips, figuring out how best to convey this whole mess of a situation in the most efficient way possible. He fizzled with a small black rock in his pocket then on his hand, occasionally tossing it up and down, as he walked to the side of the room where an empty furnace stood. He threw the rock into it, then blew a gust of wind onto his two fingers. Gradually, a blue flame appeared on the tip of the fingers before engulfing the rest of them. Immediately, he swung his hand in the direction of the furnace, and the blue flame flew into it.

A few seconds would pass in relative silence, as Robert stood with his hands on the top of a furnace and legs crossed. Before any of them could really question this, a large and sudden bang sound rippled the air. It might be overwhelming for the people unfamiliar with sudden loud noises, but for someone with so much lab experience and shenanigans like Robert, all it did to him was just small inconvenience.

Waiting for a few seconds for them to recompose themselves, he'd stand there as if nothing had happened. "Did your ears hurt? Now you know you're not dead." He clasped his hands. "Like I said, it never has a good explanation, considering you just get yeeted from another world to this one. But you don't want to be yeeted off again. Trust me, it's not pleasant." For real this time, he finally explained. "Long story short, you are called upon to this world Xadia in the defense of...shall we call it 'the Empire' for now, which is now under attack from an outsider's army."

He waited a few seconds again to let the words sink. "See? Just made things even more complicated. What you need to know for now is that we're basically surrounded. And you're not getting out alive and whole if you're being confused and scared." Robert then gave a stern head-tilted glance at David. "Aim that crossbow at me again, and you WILL be dead. For the last time."

---

@Thinslayer

---

Chatak nodded along with the guard, trying to pretend he knew what he was saying. Ancestors, why did he have to talk so fast?! Eventually though, he finally realised that he wasn't actually giving him directions, instead just telling him not to eat grass or something. Which, now that he thought about it, was probably fair. He'd had to resort to grass at a couple of points during his first winter, after a string of particularly poor hunts had left the clans food situation even worse than normal.

He did say something weird towards the end there though. Invashun... The way he talked about it made it sound important, like it was coming to the town... A political figure maybe?

Eventually, he found a human who could give better directions, pointing out where he could go. They also said the 'blacksmiths' were busy though, because they were preparing for that same thing the guard had talked about, so he guessed he'd better find somewhere to wait. Or no wait, shit, maybe he should hide! If that Invashun thing was some sort of hume lord, they might be able to assume he was a gob! And humes hated gobs! Looking around, he wasn't especially sure where he should actually go...

Wait, no, calm yourself Chatak. You're panicking. Right, thanks Chatak. Guess I got carried away again. You're welcome Chatak. Now maybe we should ask someone what an 'Invashun' actually is before panicking. Good idea Chatak! Thanks Chatak.

After a moment of thought, he decided to go back to the guard by the tower again. Sure, he wasn't much help with directions, but he seemed to know a hell of a lot about the Invashun, and didn't even kick him or anything either!

"Ey, Guardman." He said. "It Chatak again! New ask. Not good with you langwi. No know all words good. What is 'Invashun?'"

"Ey, Guardman." He said. "It Chatak again! New ask. Not good with you langwi. No know all words good. What is 'Invashun?'"

The guard paled at something behind him. He lifted his finger and pointed.

"That."

From the darkness beyond, a black ship bearing the standard of the skull and horns pierced through the fog high above the city. One by one, the rest of the armada followed, until nearly a hundred ebon vessels emerged from the mists. Portals opened all over the city, and from them poured forth thousands of armored goblin warriors. In the blink of an eye, the city descended into chaos. The screams of men and monsters pierced the skies. Fireballs erupted from the flying ships and boomed against the city's magic barrier. Hundreds of wyvern-mounted archers leaped from the ships and dove at the hapless knights.

The guard grabbed Chatak by the arm and tugged him behind him. "Stay behind me. Things are about to get ugly."

MacKensie had found a convenient holster on her belt where, when she 'clipped' her crossbow into it, it was flat against the small of her back. The wrist contraption, she placed on her left arm, and it vibrated almost imperceptibly and she felt an attunement to it. Although attunement was not the word she would use, for she couldn't describe the feeling but just knew the contraption felt right at home on her arm.

As she did all this, most of her attention was on David, who wouldn't accept her theory. She hoped he was right, but the invasive thoughts of her final moments on that plane vehemently objected. Then David turned things up a notch, drawing a crossbow of his own and pointing it at the man who'd entered via the door. As soon as MacKensie saw his hand reach for a weapon, she drew her own crossbow so fast it scared her. A blink of an eye and she was pointing her weapon at David, but immediately she lowered it, shell shocked by her own lightning dexterity. There wasn't even a bolt loaded, not that it was of any consequence.

Stunned, she watched things get even crazier when the shadow-arm protruded from David. "What the...?" And then David, stunned with his own power, calmed down.

"Ok, maybe we might be dead..."

MacKensie mentally laughed, but her face was a picture of shock. This was insane. She looked at the other guy, who simply sat on the edge of his coffin with a grin, arms folded. He was clearly much more comfortable with the situation than David or her. But in light of her own self-demonstration of abilities unknown, she was subconsciously starting to grow in confidence at the current predicament. When the young man turned his head, MacKensie followed his gaze.

“Who are you, demon?”

"N-Nobody!" The creature had MacKensie dumbstruck yet another time. It was an actual monster child, and if it wasn't so clearly scared and afraid of them, not to mention, able to speak their language, MacKensie would've freaked out right then and there. "I-I mean nobody that matters really, I'll just be leaving now!" Dexter was his name, apparently. A demon kid called Dexter, MacKensie thought, exasberated. How much crazier this situation could get, was unfathomable. "I don't understand what's going on, I'm just scared of your kind."

He was actually rather adorable. Like some goth girl's teddybear or something, MacKensie's head tilted as she changed her mind about the kid. The well-dressed man who'd asked them to fight went over to the furnace on one side of the room and began messing with it. A few seconds of silence passed as the room tried to figure out what he was going to do next. Whatever he did, the resulting explosion shocked the crap out of MacKensie, who turned away, hands on her ringing ears.

"Did your ears hurt? Now you know you're not dead." He clasped his hands and proceeded to elaborate on the situation, although he was creating even more questions with every answer. But this was actually a different world, and there was indeed an army outside that they were needed to help repel. And they needed to suck it up and deal with the situation or they really would be dead.

MacKensie stealed herself, Stiff upper lip, Mac, And decided that this man was right, and so she would accept things for what they were, tackle this situation head on, and maybe have a cry about it later. She opened her mouth to speak her piece, but was interupted by the sounds of large explosions somewhere outside.

"Sounds like the battle has started," she said to her apparent new comrades. "And we are getting through this alive and whole. I am not dying again." She looked at the older man. "Lead the way, if you would."

David sighed and tried to think about this. There was a lot they needed to know, how could they trust this person? For all they knew he couldve been the one who did this to them! Looking at the others, who he knew were in the same predicament as he was. From MacKensie, to the little demon kid named Dexter. Holstering his crossbow, he sighed and knew they were in this together. He felt obligated to help them. Looking back at the one who threatened him.

"Fine, we'll fight with you. But after this, I want some answer. We deserve it." Most of all, he wanted to know what happened to his memories. Was he really David Markovia? Most of all, who was the woman he kept thinking of? Such a kind soft face. When he thought of her there was a warm feeling in his chest, but a longing one too. As if she was someone he couldnt find. Someone in this world had to have his memories.

Jumping at the sounds of the explosions outside, and shouts of others. Looking at Mackensie who also heard the explosions. "Well, we best join the fray now. Not just you, ALL of us arent going to die here today." Telling her looking back at the others who were his comrades. The third arm came from his back again, the long findertips changed this time. Instead of being cursed ends the fingertips now resembled spikes. The arm looked as if it was ready for a fight.

"What the hell is this thing?" he asked touching the arm, but realized his hand went through it. Raising eyebrow, it was like he was touching smoke. Maybe...

Concentrating, the arm moved to pick up a stone, and with some effort crushing it into pebbles. So the arm couldnt be touched yet it could touch others. It seemed to be part of him. This would prove useful. Looking at his team, taking out his crossbow, making sure it was loaded. "Alright, we dont know where we are, or if were dead. All I know is someone needs help, and we should do something about this. So lets fight whoever the hell these people are, and maybe get some answers."

Looking back at older man, "Well, who are we fighting against.."

"Glad I can have your composure. Now follow me." Robert said as he quickly but steadily led everyone through the huge lobby that connected the entrance, the coffin chamber and a whole lot of other room that he and the rest of the people here would be dying to know, but there were no time for it, as the sound of explosions, screams of both men and what appeared to be goblins. A voice echoed in his mind amidst the chaotic whizzing of arrows. 'There's too many of them!'

Robert asked the voice to come over to the sealed tower with his stuffs, before continuing with leading the rest of them. As he was about to answer David's question, it basically answered itself, as multiple of the armored goblins breached through the door, ironclad and sword in their hands, ready to murder all in sight.

"Well, that." He only had one last thing to say before the goblins began to attack. One was awfully ahead of the rest, with swords raised, but a beam shot right into the creature from the artificer's fingers. Smoke billowed out from the spot where it landed, but the goblin was still twitching. It apparently went through but not enough to take it out of the fight. He needed some readjustment.

Seems like there is no time yet for the resurrections.

"I have no idea of their weaknesses yet, so normal combat principle applies for now."