@Zerofighter@Dark Cloud


The revenant was the last to remain within the entrance chamber of the tower, the hulking knight silently bearing his baleful gaze upon the so called "Witch." "WE SEE TRUE NATURE..." The knight took a rigid step forward, slow and deliberate without taking its eyes off the masked woman. "YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM IT..." It continued to lumber forward slowly as though the creature was stalking prey. "MASKS WILL NOT SAVE YOU."

In the blink of an eye though, Mai appeared in front of the knight, her silver eyes glaring like red hot daggers. She drew her massive blade and pointed it straight at the knight, ready to cleave him in two with one fell swing. "The mask might not. I however can, and will." She said, her normally soft voice was threatening. "Choose your next move wisely, or your head will be another trophy for My Lady's new empire."

The Witch motioned for Mai to stand down. "I recall you promising to wait for my instruction."

Almost instantly Mai sheathed her blade and stood beside her Lady again, "I apologize Mistress. I however won't stand to have one insult you in such a matter. Forgive me though for my foolishness." She bowed before her lady before resuming her stance beside her. However, she was still on guard, ready to act on a moments notice.

The Witch patted her on the back and moved to stand in front of Jared. She touched her fingers to the edges of the mask, waited for its latches to disconnect, and removed it. Her silver hair flowed freely down her shoulders, and her moist, scarlet lips parted slightly into a half-smile. "I am not hiding, mister knight. Look upon my face and remember it. My body is the trophy of my victory over the darkness, and I would be remiss if I did not share it with another. Do you like what you see?"

'I do, that's for sure.' Jared thought as he watched all this unfold like he were spectating. The revenant, however, had none of it. As it was a creature of the Void, it had little interest in women. "SEE LIES," said the revenant. "SEE A VOID."

"Tch." The Witch replaced her mask and folded her arms. "It seems I haven't communicated clearly enough, as that fine gentleman suggested earlier. I ate your kind to become the creature I am now. I feasted on its soul, devouring it drop by drop over three hundred years until its spirit became mine. Do you understand? You are food. Nothing. Void. And to the void you shall return if my Baneblade find your neck. Count yourself lucky, creature, that you have found a human host, for I have no wish to cut down the living with the dead. See no harm comes to him, for in the day you consume his flesh, your soul is mine for the taking."

With that, she turned on her heels and walked away. Jared watched until she vanished inside the tower before returning to join the others.

"Chatak not know." Chatak said. "Captain might be dead. If no, feel bad for gobs. If yes... Still feel bad for gobs. They have bad time soon."

"He might be dead? Oh no! Good ri- I mean, that's terrible! Anyway, what do you mean about the gobs having a bad time soon? They look like they're having a grand ol' time picking through the- hey, stop that! That's my grandma's pocketwatch! That's very expensive, you know! She got it way back in 355 NC when she went on a business trip to Conterre and had a little ha-ha-you-know-what with grandpa-"

Just then, the sound of an explosion rumbled through the city. Then another, and then another.

["Well, they certainly got to work quickly..."] Chatak mumbled.
"Hm? What's up?"
"Guardman, you hear boom? That Chatak friends. We wait now, they be here soon."
"Boom? What boom?"

Another explosion ripped through the city wall nearby and left their ears ringing.

"Ah. That boom." He chuckled nervously and scratched his cheek - not realizing he could only do so because his hands were free. "Should we wait for them to untie us, or do you have a plan for that?"

Needless to say the little demon was all too eager to get as far away from that tower, and more so that wicked woman. Dexter didn't hesitate to follow Mackensie after she called for him, he wasn't willing to stick around and see what the masked woman in the tower would do to him if she had noticed his presence.

Dexter jogged after the girl who had beckoned him to follow, upon reaching Mackensie's side the boy looked her up and down as if checking her out in a not-so-smooth fashion.

'She looks so pretty.' Dexter thought with a tinge of pink on his cheeks 'Maybe this human isn't so bad?' he cleared his throat and upon getting her attention he smiled sweetly "Thank you for not leaving me behind, pretty lady."

Suddenly he looked even more embarrassed for saying she was pretty and if his cheeks got any more red he'd likely turn a different shade of embarrassment "I mean your uh-your a very nice per-uh..." he stumbled over his words with the grace of an elephant in a china shop.

"I'm...fine. Thank you. I...do not know what came over me back there. I'm...sorry." Came his soft reply to David.

Yakeru had walked silently beside him ever since they had gotten out the tower. He felt ashamed, thinking that he had been a liability to the rest of them. He had acted all brave but when he faced both women, his body had refused to listen to his mind. Granted, his mind had been set on other things but fighting so perhaps it had been for the best. If David had not pulled him out of it, who knows what could have happened. If this would happen again in the future, it could spell doom for all of them.

Though he also felt glad that the feeling he had when he was eye to eye with the hooded lady, was fading with every step they took away from her. Unbeknownst to him, it kept lingering somewhere deep in the core of his soul and quietly he agreed with David.

Yes, there was certainly something about her

The city was burning all around them with bodies littering the streets and the now ruined houses or buildings. Goblin patrols let them pass and Yakeru could see that the bodies were collected on carts to be brought outside the walls and thrown on big piles. Had they been the only survivors of this onslaught? And why? Why had she spared them? These questions moved around in his mind until they had reached the outer gate. Where the odd kinda wizard, introduced himself and invited them over to his house. He was tired and getting hungry, as if he had not slept in days and had not eaten for much longer than that. It drowned out the other depressing feelings he had a few minutes ago and a smile formed on his face again. Then, he realized he had not introduced himself yet to anyone.

"I am..." He wanted to say 'Miyazaki Hakaru' as a force of habit but he stopped himself just in time. That person was dead. "...Yakeru. We were lucky that you woke us up mr. Avant." He bowed his head in greeting.

Than he raised his head again, cocked an eyebrow, seemingly being how he had been before the thing had happened with the Witch.

"Hm questions? Oh good. I think we have plenty of questions for you. For example, where are we exactly, how did we get here and above all why did we really get here?"

It was a strange feeling, walking through the aftermath of carnage, their party somewhat muted in thought. Above the din of roaring flames, the crackling of burning wood, the goblin soldiers chattered as they scurried about their business. MacKensie had to step aside as a goblin went past them, pulling a cart piled high with corpses. She did this in abject silence, jaded by the rollercoaster ride they'd all just been on, since waking up in the coffins. An entire city. In flames. So many dead around her. Hundreds. Thousands, probably. And here they were, walking out with nary a scratch. MacKensie felt a little guilty, but moreso she was curious. Why were they special? And how could she help? If she was going to be stuck here, then she did want to help. No use planning a new life in a new world, when said-world's existence was under threat.

MacKensie pursed her lips. Yes. There had to be some political and military power out there, still capable of standing up to the Witch. If she could just find out where they were, that would be a start. Her thoughts were interupted when someone appeared beside her and cleared their throat. To her pleasant surprise, it was Dexter.

"Thank you for not leaving me behind, pretty lady." She opened her mouth to reply, but he was suddenly bashful and it took her aback, her raising her eyebrows. "I mean your uh-your a very nice per-uh..."

She tiredly chuckled and smiled, realising what this was. It wasn't the first time a boy had been stumbly and nervous around her. "Thank you, Dexter," she said politely, hesitating before patting him softly on the back. It was a strange duality, the kid being so weirdly cuddly and cute, but also the glaring fact he was a monster. "I'm glad you came with us," she said, watching the emotional big-hearted David making sure the swordsman was okay, half-listening to the older man crack dry remarks about the Witch. This was the rag-tag bunch she found herself with... and to be honest, it could've been a lot worse. Her smiled grew a little, before it disappeared. "We won't let anyone hurt you, okay?" she assured Dexter.

MacKensie realised the sound of metal-booted footsteps had remained ever-present in her ears. She turned around to that the huge, hulking knight that had torn the retreating goblins to ribbons, was stalking behind them. She quickly realised that this knight had come out of the coffins too. He was one of them too. Well, she thought as she turned face front. That's a relief.

When they finally stepped out of the city, everyone introduced themselves, MacKensie joining in for the sake of Robert, who wasn't there the first time. They agreed to go to Robert's home where they could rest and eat. MacKensie's stomach started grumbling ferociously at the promise of a fish supper. Yakeru had already started asking the questions on all of their minds, and MacKensie stayed vigilant for the answers as they travelled.

When an opportunity arose, MacKensie asked her own questions, and as she asked, she realised that the answer to them, had become more important to her than most of the giant pile of mysteries at her feet. "Who is left to oppose the Witch and her army?" and "What do their chances look like?"

"Who is left to oppose the Witch and her army?"
"What do their chances look like?"

"Grim."

Emperor Dragan slumped into his throne at the statement from his advisor. The Empire was supposed to be superior, a world superpower; what was everyone doing? How had the world's most exceptional country managed to be defeated by this upstart woman and her ragged band of misfits? They had the world's greatest production capacity, economy, technology, military might...they had it all. Even a- a setback like this could be easily reversed, right? His generals had to be slacking. That must be it. He should fire them and hire someone new.

"Who do I need to fire to make this happen?"

The advisor dabbed a bead of sweat from his brow. "General Kilton was in charge of the deployments in that region."

---

"General Kilton sir, your reports."

"Mm." He grunted and took them from the messenger into his office to read them over with his staff. "Of the ten thousand soldiers stationed there, two thousand retreated alive to Hildegard. Five civilian casualties. Thirty thousand civilians safely evacuated to Hildegard post-battle. Three hundred Imperial soldiers were taken captive; no ransom requested. Five reincarnations awakened and were observed defending the tower for a brief period. Enemy forces allowed them to leave."

He handed the documents to the staff officers. "We were crushed. No two ways about it. We'll have to abandon Ormouth for the time being."

"The tower is an important source of reincarnations. I could have a team of rogues go retake the tower."

"If they could hold it, and if we could count on the appearance of...let's say ten more reincarnations while they do so, I might agree to that. Even one reincarnation is a force to be reckoned with, but if five were forced to surrender, that Witch must have an ace up her sleeve. No, I do not think retaking it is a good idea."

"What about aerial bombardment?"

"Read the section about the Witch's forces."

"...50 airships, each carrying approx. 20 wyvern riders, appeared from the fog and opened fire with a new kind of magic weapon. Flaming missiles were observed changing course to precisely destroy defensive catapults."

"Mhm. The Witch must have gotten a hold of Dr. Avant's inventions. Remember the report three days ago describing a new airship fleet constructed at Nazir?"

"I do."

"Three days ago?"

The lieutenants in the room gasped.

The general nodded grimly. "We have nothing in our arsenal to match that kind of speed, nor weapons capable of matching them. The Emperor foolishly spurned Dr. Avant, and we've been paying the price ever since. I told that old fool-"

There was an awkward cough, reminding the general to watch his tongue. "Ahem. Anyway, we'll have to combine our remaining forces and put together a defensive solution at Pelinor before she cripples our iron production. Aelred, Othwund, you're on the job."

"Yes sir."

Another messenger poked his head into the office. "General, a message from the Crown for you, sir."

"Hm." The general opened it up. His expression darkened.

"What is it?"

"His Majesty is being foolish again. I'd better go speak with him."

"Who is left to oppose the Witch and her army?"

They hadn't got far before their question was answered. A series of explosions ripped through the city wall and crumbled sections of it, not exactly the sort of thing an invading power would want for a newly conquered position. Someone else was opposing the Witch.

That someone turned out to be a certain well-dressed goblin and his more shoddily clad companion.

"I daresay, that was splendid potionwork thou didst concoct!" the male crowed. The female grinned and wiggled her ears at him before disappearing through the hole she'd made. The male, suddenly panicked at having lost sight of her, followed her through the hole with as much haste as his feet could carry him.

The girl scuffled behind a pile of rubble as goblin knights rushed to investigate one of the other explosion sites. Pleased with herself at having successfully distracted them, she scrambled up to a high point on the wall and looked around. Her ears wiggled when she finally spotted her mark.

"Didst thou find our friend?" the male whispered loudly. She hopped around with glee and pointed to a certain midget-sized individual and his knight trying to sneak past a pair of guards, who were gambling over a pile of coins. The male began to climb up to try and see what she was pointing at, but he was doing such a noisy job of it that she had to yank him into a fallen hay bale with her when the guards came over to find out what was causing all that ruckus.

When they eventually left, she pulled the male back out and put a finger over her lips.

"Ah, yes, I shall be quiet henceforth," he whispered.

Satisfied with his answer, she located a spare suit of goblin armor and plopped it on her friend.

"What? Dost thou expect me to wear this- this oily, ebon monstrosity?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

He winced. "Ugh. Verily this shall stain my garments," he mumbled as he struggled to put on the armor. The girl eventually had to come over and help him put it on. Once he was finally suited up, she gave him a once-over and a thumbs up.

"I pray this endeavor is worth it," he grumbled.

Now that she had a suitably convincing escort, she could finally waltz around like she owned the place. The guards didn't even give her a second glance when she strutted past them; she already looked the part of a Goblin Magiker to a tee. When she relocated Chatak, she rushed over to him and tackled him in a tight hug.

"Oh! Is that thy friend? 'Tis a pleasure to make thine acquaintance!" The male approached Melvin and offered a handshake, failing to realize he still looked like a goblin death-knight at the moment.

Melvin just stared. "A goblin who can speak Common? Now I've seen everything..."

---

@Thinslayer

---

"OOF!" Chatak wheezed as he was spear tackled, falling on his ass from the unexpected assault. Still, he smiled when he realised who it was, patting her head with relief. ["Good to see you guys made it, I was beginning to get a little worried. I guess Patches got through them all and found you?"]

His question was answered as he felt a large canine tongue lick the side of his hood, followed by a nervous cackle. Well, looked like he was gonna be taking that off, otherwise his only other option was spending the rest of this escape with drool-soaked fabric sticking to his cheek. That still didn't stop him from patting her as well with his free hand.

["Thanks Patches, I'm glad you're ok too."] He said, before standing up and unbuckling a sword a sheathed sword from the side of the hyena's saddle, looping it over his own shoulder. This was soon followed by a large bag, packed to the brim with small clay bombs. "What you saying Guardman? You really not realise? Chatak flattered."

And that was when he pulled off his hood, revealing his face in all it's gobliny glory.

"Now, we find caught humans. Chatak think it about time we go save them, yes?"

The goblin girl nuzzled into his chest and wiggled her ears as Chatak patted her head. When Patches came over to lick his master's cheek, the girl laughed and pulled the hyena into a group hug.

Melvin's remark earned Chatak's attention. "What you saying Guardman? You really not realize? Chatak flattered." Chatak pulled off his hood, revealing the characteristic green features of a goblin.

Melvin gasped. "You're a goblin? Holy shitstorm in a loo!"

"Now, we find caught humans. Chatak think it about time we go save them, yes?"

Melvin grinned abashedly and scratched his head. "Yeah, it's about time we did that."

"Rescuest thou strangers whilst thy friends call thee 'you?' Let us first exchange names. Mine is Shaktak. My female companion here possesseth no name yet. What is thine, O human guardman?"

"Uh, Melvin. Of Charlsbury."

"Splendid, my good fellow! I shall promptly forget thy name henceforth! Makest thou sure to remind me every once in a while, yes?"

"You got it, bud. Now, about the prisoners. I have no idea where they are."

As they spoke, a goblin death-knight rounded the corner and stared at them. Melvin started to back away. "Uh oh. I think we've been had," he muttered. The goblin stepped closer, but instead of accosting them, he approached Shaktak and declared, "Speak Common too? Me speak Common! Brothers in Common-Speak!" He put out his fist, and Shaktak gave him a fistbump.
"Well-met and a fine afternoon to you, good sir! Didst thou learn under Professor Tiltorius also?"
"Yes! Me learn with Tiltorius. Good teach. Hard, crazy, but good! Me learn lots."
"Agreed. What style didst he compel in thee?"
The goblin knight cleared his throat and replied, "Yo dude zat is vicked sick!"
Shaktak roared with laughter. "I love it! Truly thou shouldst use it more often!"

The two bantered for a bit while the others looked on awkwardly. At length, Shaktak asked, "Dost thou practice with the human captives?"
"Eh. Me try. Humies spit. But me learn many humie curses! Common word 'fuk.' Mudderfukr, fukinshit, fukr, yoofuk. You know meaning?"
Shaktak scratched his head and chuckled. "I believe 'fuck' refers to human reproduction."
The goblin recoiled in horror. "Ew! Blegh! They not wrong, but...me no understand brothers' fetish for humies. Thank Queen forbid it."
"I do not understand it either. Absolutely disgusting. Do you have to interrogate them?"
"Queen try recruit them. Some join. Most spit. Spitty humies caged back there." He jabbed his thumb at a small tower structure next to the Sealed Tower.
"I see! Wouldst there be any trouble were I to speak with them?"
The goblin shrugged. "You try recruit humies. Me wipe spit. Bath that way."

The goblins fist-bumped and parted ways. Shaktak turned to Chatak and said, "Thou heardst him. To the prison we go!"

"How you get to this world of Xadia is beyond me. The mechanics behind world transfer is not something we've fully explored, but I've met some people like you. They can only describe the experience as an unpleasant yank." Robert curled his two fingers. "But for why? Let's just say that you are some of the sharpest individuals that the world needed."

When the question 'How is that the case?' would inevitably pop up, Robert would reply, "I read the contract." once again, in his casual and seemingly sarcastic tone, but not exactly. But what was ultimately the reason was revealed soon after. "The Emperor wants you to be awakened, and I did. Who is the Emperor? He's the so-called ruler of a Human Empire, but not really, because I rejected his rule and lived by myself."

Robert couldn't help but be amused at what attempts the guy was doing to get him back into the Empire. The thing that is hard to deal with Robert is that he's such a wild card. He doesn't give a single fuck if he gets arrested. In fact, if the Emperor ever dared to do that, it'd probably hurt his regime more than it would benefit him. That's kinda how he could live relatively peacefully like that for a while. It's funny, because usually only divinely strong individuals could have that kind of influence, while Robert's just an average magic practitioner and fighter.

As for who is opposing the Witch? Well, let's just say he didn't really need to answer them.

"I have such a good timing for this." He just chuckled as he heard the explosions. "Yes, if it's not the Empire soldiers, it might be small pockets of resistance from peculiar individuals looking to rebel. Well, they're generally just nuisances to her, but if you fellows want to oppose the Witch, and doesn't want to serve an aristocratic Empire at the same time." Robert had his palms wide open in a 'be his guest' gesture. He'd be fine with either what they chose.

Dexter's face turned a brighter shade of red upon being given a pat on the back, like he was some kind of scared little child promising no harm would befall him. "Do not co-" he stepped back from MacKensie obviously flustered and ready to protest, but he was suddenly distracted by the unmistakable sound of metal-booted footsteps. Yet something else felt familiar about the hulking knight trudging behind them in relative silence, something very familiar.

'Impossible, that can't be right.' the boy slowed down his pace significantly and gazed at the knight with curiosity in his eyes 'How can it exi-'

"LITTLE ONE, KNOWS." the voice rang out from beneath it's hood, the Revenant now staring directly at the demon boy as he watched the knight with sudden interest. It also could sense the boy's true nature like he could sense them, however both seemed equally curious of one another. "I don't know what yo-" Dexter began to lie but the Revenant cut the little demon off again "WE KNOW TOO." it said walking up to the boy, Dexter was nervous but the knight didn't say anything further about what it knew of him, both in silent agreement to not press the matter any more than either had.

Now the knight seemed less intimidating, both were aware of their true natures and understood that it were no matter to discuss openly at least not yet. Dexter simply kept his questions to himself yet still he wondered if the entity sharing the body with it's host truly could be trusted. 'Well we'll see soon enough, hopefully we don't die before then.' the boy shrugged and sighed dismissing the thought.

"Yes, if it's not the Empire soldiers, it might be small pockets of resistance from peculiar individuals looking to rebel. Well, they're generally just nuisances to her, but if you fellows want to oppose the Witch and doesn't want to serve an aristocratic Empire at the same time." the stranger Robert had his palms out in a 'be my guest' gesture, it seemed to Dexter he was impartial to their decision from what he said.

Still feeling embarrassed for being a coward Dexter decided to step up and speak first "I for one think that bitch needs to be knocked down a few pegs, I'll oppose her and fuck serving an aristocracy." he made his best attempt to look tough by crossing his arms defiantly "I'll help you mister Robert, I may not look strong but I know how to use my hands and my head."

He looked like he was about to say something else when an unfamiliar voice spoke up from behind Dexter "I agree with the little guy." it was the knight but now he sounded less monstrous and more human, he had a soft but serious tone.

"I am at your service." he removed the shroud from his head revealing his face to be that of a handsome young man's with messy black hair and pale skin, his eyes glowing a soft hue of purple.

@Dark Cloud@Zool @Thinslayer@Conscripts @TheFox
David continued to help Yakeru walk, doing his best to reassure him that everything would be ok. He still couldnt get his mind off those two women. One was named the Witch, the other he didnt get her name. Just saw those silver eyes. Like miniature moons that shined in the darkness. The Witch's voice would be one that he wouldnt forget. He still didnt trust Robert, something about him still rubbed him the wrong way. But at this point, they had no where else to go.

Leaning back in his chair as everyone asked their questions about how they could deal with The Witch. After they were told the situation they were in he could only think of one thing.

They were royally fucked.

Robert of course was being a smartass again. "So, were in a situation where the badguy pretty much one. I dont know if you noticed, but the bitch has a 7 foot tall woman with sword that could probably cut through a damn horse. So it will be a good idea how much a difference we can make!" Taking a breath to compose himself again. Knowing he had to keep calm, not wanting to end up acting irrational. If they wanted to make it through this they had to work together on this.

Hearing his stomach growl, he had to admit the whole ordeal did leave him hungry. "Ok, lets just try and relax now ok? We all had long evening. But, I may think your a asshole Robert, I rather help you. I dont know who or even what The Witch is, and we might end up dying. I just want to know Im fighting for whats right is all. So, I'll help you." He said, before looking at Dexter.

At first he thought the kid was going to be quiet, and maybe even a bit of a coward. There was more to him then meets the eye it seemed. Giving him a small smile, before offering him one of his crossbows. "You can take this till we get you a proper weapon Dex." Though before Dex could respond, he looked over at the knight. Raising a eyebrow at the handsome face beneath the mask.

"Alright, looks like we have a team here. After we rest up, we should find out everything we need to know about The Witch. Who and what is she really."

@Scarifar

The West Pelinese Labyrinth was oddly quiet for a place brimming with dark magic. This one reached all the way down to the planet's core, where a mana barrier generated by the Sealed Tower blocked off any further progress. The Empire had placed teleport circles in strategic locations all around the labyrinth to speed up navigation, but today, they didn't feel terribly helpful as Afki and her escort team charted out a previously unexplored branch. They'd been underground for days now, almost a week, and some of the men were getting sick for lack of sunlight.

The quest seemed like a tough one at first. The labyrinth was notorious for generating numerous powerful monsters from its crystal core, and the team went in there fully expecting to fight. But there was neither hide nor hair of any of the usual quarries. There wasn't even so much as a rat, let alone the giant spiders and manticores that usually roamed these parts. The local Formic tribe was nowhere to be seen.

Teleus, a high-ranking paladin from the Adventurer's Guild, raised his torch to shed light on a high roof they just walked under. "Say, Afki, I don't remember if you ever told us how you came to the Empire. What brought a tribal like yourself all the way down here to explore slog-marathons like the West Pelinese Labyrinth? Was it the money? I bet it was the money."

---

@Thinslayer

---

["Hmmm..."] Chatak hummed, before shaking his head. ["No, not yet Shaktak. You take some bombs and head over there. Stay out of sight, wait for my signal. If I give you the all clear, wait til I make it to you before revealing yourself. If I signal that things've gone poorly, cause a little chaos among the other gobs and use it to get as many of the people out as you can until I get there."]

He turned to his other companion and Melvin.

"You two. With me. We go talk with Witch. Work things out."

And with that unnervingly simple statement of what could very well end up being suicide, Chatak started making his way to the tower. That woman he saw entering it before must've been her. Who else would be able to cut through the soldiers so easily, or travel among the gobs of her army without issue? Thankfully, it looked like the other gobs didn't seem to realise he wasn't one of them, likely because his friend was still dressed in their armour. Because of that, even though one of his companions was a human, they didn't seem all too interested in stopping him, just like the one who had talked to Shaktak in engli-... common... Anyway, he was just going to take those memories of Earth and repreeessss them right back down. He couldn't afford to get distracted here. He was pretty sure it'd work fine, but he didn't want to give himself any disadvantages just in case.

By the time they made it to the tower, he'd managed to calm himself down, at least enough to be in a decent state of mind again. Before he could convince himself not to, he stepped into the structure, not having far to go before locating the one who had caused all this chaos, all this death. And the only reason he was still alive today.

The Witch.

["Hey there, Miss Goddess, it's been a few years. Do you remember me? Chatak of the Claybitah Tribe? I've come to negotiate the release of the captured townsfolk, if you'd be so kind as to listen."]

@Thinslayer

As they traversed the labyrinth, Afki raised her waterskin to her mouth, taking care to only drink a sip. The sounds of footsteps echoed throughout the hall they traveled in. It was strange that there were no monsters, but Afki wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth and was glad for the intermission. It meant there was more time to enjoy the sights and explore. Right now, she was having the time of her life, though she did feel a bit bad when she saw some of the others in the group getting sick. Still, it was always a risk coming into dangerous places like the West Pelinese Labyrinth, and everyone here knew that.

"Hmm? Oh, well, I always did like a bit of adventure, and unexplored areas like this are perfect places to find adventures!" Afki responded, her tail swishing around in excitement. She practically skipped with joy and her eyes lit up with excitement as she continued, "I mean, who knows what you could find here? Gold, artifacts, powerful weapons and armor, you know. The money just follows when you do a job like this. Or at least, that's what I'd like to think happens. It's not every day you find something valuable, but at least I have fun doing this, and that's the important thing."

@Dark cloud @Zerofighter @Zool @Thinslayer @Conscripts

As the bulky knight removed the shroud from his head, Yakeru had not expected to see the face of a young man. It did not fit the image he had in his mind when he had seen the knight tearing through all those goblins. He wondered even if they had picked up someone else who donned a similar knightly armour. No, it was the same person though. Or not? He had a different vibe over him then earlier. It was too confusing to keep thinking about it for now. Perhaps they could ask the knight his story when they arrived at the house of Robert.

He turned towards the burning city, the smoke rising high it almost blotted out the sun. Even from this distance he could clearly see the holes the explosions had created, penetrating the city walls. It seemed that even when the city was considered lost, people were still willing to fight for it. Did that mean there were still people alive? But who was willingly spilling blood and risking their lives for perhaps the few they could save from the forces of the Witch? Why?

He suddenly reached for his head as pain shot through it. It felt as if he was getting stabbed in his skull. He left the side of David and took a few steps before sinking on one knee. His head was spinning and he closed his eyes, his mind projecting the voices of everyone time and time again.

...who opposes the witch...

...small pockets of resistance...

...that bitch needs to be knocked down a few pegs...

...at your service...

...fight for whats right...

All of them, this team as David had put it, had walked out of the city unharmed. Did they not have...some kind of duty to the people who could still be alive in there? They had been summoned here according to Robert Savant, they were expected to do great deeds. So why were they walking away? They had to turn back.

Still those two women were there. They would not stand a chance. Not to either one of them.

He could feel another stab in his head.

YOU would not. Because you are weak... A voice whispered in his head. Teasing.

No, I...

Yes, you are a weakling. You almost peed your pants back there. The voice started to chuckle.You are not hurt, yet you let your new companion carry you to safety, support you, comfort you. Perhaps next time, you can ask him to dry your tears and help you blow your nose! You are no hero.

It was true. Yakeru had wanted to be like the hero from his novels, fearless in the face of great evil. Yet he had frozen and had relied on someone else to get him away from there.

Who are you even?

Oh but you know me, as well as I know you. I see right through you and see you for what you really are: A cowardly weakling who deserves no place in this party. All of them are going to turn their backs on you. One. By. One.

Shut up! Who are you?!

I am you. Miyazaki Hakaru.

Wrong. I am Yakeru and I am not weak. Not any more!

Prove it, you coward. The voice hissed.

I will!

Weak....ling...

“I am not weak...” Without realizing he had spoken these words out loud. He wiped the dirt from his pants and narrowed his eyes as he turned his head to look back at the city once more. In his mind he could hear screams coming, flowing on the wind. Gritting his teeth as he clenched his fists. The sound of the voices from his companions did not seem to penetrate his ears, sounding more as if they came from behind a thick veil. Without saying a word, he started to walk, past Jared and Dex. His right hand moved to the hilt of his sword and his feet started to run. He did not pay attention to what was happening behind him, he just kept on running.

The city gate came closer with every step and Yakeru could see two goblins dragging dead bodies from a cart. One of them pointed at the quickly approaching figure. Light reflected on the blade of the drawn sword. Yakeru roared. The goblins shrieked. With one fluent wave of his sword, and without lowering his speed, he cleaved them both, from the waist, in two. He did not stop there. A goblin patrol had tried to stop him. There were only five of them. The fools His heart was filled with anger, to both the goblins and himself, not letting other feelings enter. His mind was set on just one thing: Death.
Four of them he left in a gory mess of blood and guts, picking up a spear and threw it straight through the neck of the last one who was trying to escape. It gurgled as it drowned in its blood, clutching the point of the spear sticking out of its throat.

Yakeru breathed heavily and his heart was pounding fast but still he felt unsatisfied.

He followed the sounds of dreadful screams and horrifying laughter. A group of goblins, led by a big one, had captured a small group of people, mostly women and old men. Armed with spears and short swords they were trying to drive them into a cage or some sorts. One of the women cried out as one of the goblins tore on her clothes. Whatever he had been thinking, Yakeru made sure it was the last thing in this world he had. Blood sprayed on the young woman as the head of the goblin was cut clean off. It landed at the feet of the big one, who kicked it in curious wonder before turning his gaze toward this new threat. The Witch had ordered them not to attack the reincarnations, but now there was one killing his brethren. He could not let this go unpunished.

The little ones did not prove much of a challenge for the wrath of Yakeru. “Go!” He yelled at the captured humans. “Get out of here! Move!” A blow of a club missed him by a hair and he took a few steps back, defending the people and keeping his eyes on the big brute who was surprisingly fast considering his height. The club came down again which Yakeru managed to dodge and he twirled around the goblin, slashing its legs and its back. It roared and spoke in some sort of guttural language which Yakeru did not understand. It probable meant nothing good anyway. A massive hand smacked against his ribs and he flew against a half destroyed wall. He coughed as he fell to the ground and got grabbed before he got time to get on his feet. He got lifted into the air, the face of the goblin coming closer, ready to take a bite out of him. He tried to raise his arm but it was held firmly so he could not move his sword.

If you would ask him later, Yakeru would probably not remember how it happened but in that moment, he had closed his eyes and with a flash of green he suddenly found himself behind the goblin who was still looking at his now empty hand. The sword of Yakeru went deep, ignoring any resistance of flesh, tendon and bone, pushing it with both his hands and holding it in place as he moved it up. Warm blood washed over his arms. He did not care and thought only about the people he had saved just now. “I am not weak.”

His legs were shaking but as he heard more noises of running feet coming closer to his position, he gladly turned to meet his foes.

@Zool

@Scarifar
Almost right on cue, they came across a wooden loot chest hidden around a corner. Teleus kicked it open to reveal a pile of copper coins and a bronze sword. "I think it's more accurate to say the money follows you, Afki. I never get this lucky until I join your party. You're like a living lucky charm or something." He distributed the loot among himself, Afki, and their other 10 companions before moving on.

"Still," he murmured, "I wish we could be getting loot from the monsters. Spider eyes and Manticore tails fetch high prices among alchemists these days. It's odd that there's not a single monster in sight here. Did they move out or something? There's no blood anywhere either..."

As they walked, the light from the torch began to scatter, indicating they'd reached the Quartz Road. Teleus and the others had to lower their torches so they could better see the path, because it became a precipitous drop on either side. All around them, the torch light scattered into pink and purple rays off the glowing crystal rocks. Spear-like stalactites hung from the ceiling overhead, and stalagmites sprung from the walls in the abyss below. The place rather resembled a deathtrap disguised as a natural wonder.

Supposedly, the Formic Tribe could be found just off the branching path. They sent a scout to run ahead of them to check and see if their disposition was favorable. He returned later than they anticipated.

"Guys, you have to come see this."

When they stepped past the tribal gates into the city, the entire place was empty. From the largest dwelling to the smallest hole, it was totally, thoroughly empty from top to bottom. The millions of Formics that once lived here...weren't.

The party stood in silence as they drank it all in.

"Well, at least there's no one guarding their loot anymore," Teleus remarked at length. "Want to explore and see what we find, Afki?"

In spite of her growing desperation to simply sit down at the roadside and process everything, MacKensie was looking increasingly more resolute as she walked. A zealous fire was burning in her eyes, although most wouldn't have noticed, for her walking pace had crept up slightly and she was now at the head of the group. Her fingers tingled with a determined and excited energy as she started to...

...be herself again.

You see: MacKensie Trydant was a soul attracted to big causes. Although far from a full-time activist, the young woman supported political and civil rights movements, unafraid of the discourse and challenges of the present day. She approached this in the same way she approached her studies and sport - with righteous passion, fierce competitiveness and the conviction of an inquisitor.

And now here she was... her old life stolen from her. Nothing on her schedule. And the greatest cause of them all, right in front of her: Saving the world.

"Oh for goodness sake," she remarked haughtily at Dexter and Jared's position on the matter. She'd already mentally rolled her eyes at Robert bragging about 'rejecting the Emperor's rule,' and now the sentiment was 'fuck the aristocracy.' She shook her head. "The Human Empire sounds like a better bet than anything that's been mentioned so far. Strength, resources, surely? And it was they who summoned us. Perhaps they have a plan alr-"

"I am not weak..."

MacKensie stopped and looked behind her. Those three words could not have better summed up this bullshit sausage festival of egos. It almost felt like a sarcastic joke - she wished it was - but much to her disquiet, she realised Yakeru was very-much being serious and was already marching back towards the city. "Yakeru, stop!" It was no use, the young man was gone. "Yakeru! Oh fuck," the last two words a mutter as she started running after him.

He'd made some distance between himself and the rest of them, but MacKensie was close enough to see four pieces of goblin collapse as Yakeru disappeared past the corpse cart. When she got back onto the city streets, she slowed a little to see the horrific massacre 60 feet down the way. A goblin surveying from the roof sounded a horn, signalling hostility in the streets and a need for reinforcements. A quick bolt tearing through the creature's throat was enough to put an end to that awful racket but it may have been too late.

MacKensie followed her enraged companion as best she could, but was waylaid by a big flying beast, piloted by a goblin. She was forced to lose ground, diving into a roll to avoid a swooping attack, before diverting her route through a series of gazebo canopies at roadside. A few arrows thudded into the canopy or pinged off it, a huge shadow and screeches ripping overhead. When MacKensie saw the refugees fleeing toward her, just as the flying beast had made a pass, she knew she had to make a distraction.

She used a quick wall-kick to vault herself up to the roof of a single-floor public house, grabbing the edge before pulling herself up. "The gate is that way!" she shouted, waving at the escapees and pointing back the way she'd come. Then came a short screech. "Oh dear."

She started runnning across the rooftops, hopping and skipping the gaps, getting away from the refugees far enough to maybe give them a chance. A spinning flip to her right side-stepped another potentially fatal pass from the flying creature, and she almost fell of the roof...

...then she saw Yakeru teleport, a little distant but in plain sight...

...and she did fall off the roof. "Waaah!"

She landed in a market stall, tearing through the hide roof which broke her fall, but hurt nevertheless. The flying beast lost sight of her, he patrolled around trying to re-establish visual contact. MacKensie half-climbed half-jumped out of the mess she'd created and saw the lone Yakeru in the middle of the street. At the same time she was so happy to see him okay, her anger ramped back up and, heedless of any potential danger, she ran out towards him.

He turned to meet her, sword drawn and ready to fight... ready to collapse, more like, she thought to herself as she neared.

"You bloody maniac," she scolded, slamming on the brakes but still almost knocking right into him. She grabbed two handfuls of his tunic. "What are you thinking!? Are you trying to die!? You should be ashamed of yourself! You choose your own foolish pride over an entire world that needs our help!? What good are you dead!? What good are you to those you just saved, when the Witch moves on and destroys the next home they make!? Do you even care, or is just about you, going out in a blaze of glory with your dick hard - to hell with everything else!?"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she told herself that she might be being a bit harsh. Yakeru had just saved a bunch of people, and who knew what fate lay in store for them if he hadn't. And he was only young, no more than 18 years old, surely. (It was not the first time she ignored that voice until it was too late.) Fortunately for her, she didn't have time to feel guilty as that familiar but unwelcome screech filled the air.

The flying beast was back and closing fast..................

["Hey there, Miss Goddess, it's been a few years. Do you remember me? Chatak of the Claybitah Tribe? I've come to negotiate the release of the captured townsfolk, if you'd be so kind as to listen."]

A group of goblin knights escorted a human guard kicking and screaming out of the tower as Chatak walked in. “SCREW YOU BITCH!” he spat. “I’LL NEVER JOIN YOU! NEVER!”

The Witch looked on as they dragged the man out. When his screams faded to a tolerable volume, she turned to Chatak and motioned for him to follow. She led him back to the coffin room, which had been retrofitted as a makeshift office. Most of the coffins had been turned into temporary filing cabinets, while two coffins had a stone slab laid over them to form a table. The Witch tapped a panel to close the door behind them.

She gestured for him to take a chair at the table, and sat herself cross-legged atop the table next to him.. [“Chatak of Claybitah, you said your name was?”] she began. [“Chatak...that name sounds familiar. Is Chitak any relation?”]

[“My brother. If I’m not mistaken, you’re the one he took me to to heal me as a baby, right? Made me a ‘new person.’”] Chatak said as he sat down.

She cocked her head and stared at him.

The Witch silently chalked up a small magic circle on the table, offered a drop of blood, and touched her hand to his forehead. She let out a small gasp.

["You're that child from before! Who...are you? Before, I mean."]

[“Just some dumb Japanese kid, same as everyone else who ends up reincarnating in fantasy land.”] He said casually as he leaned back in his chair, before his eyes narrowed in a piercing gaze, accompanied by a fox-like smirk. [“Or were your circumstances a little different perhaps, Otherworlder?”]

She chuckled and waved her hand. [“Oh, not so terribly different. Back on Earth, I was a computer programmer making robotic machines for manufacturing companies. God, it’s been so long since I last touched a line of code! I can barely even remember the names of the programming languages anymore. I think one of them was called C? And that other one, the stricter one, what was it called...Pascal? No- Ada I think it was. I liked that one. I remember because I argued constantly for its use in the company projects. When people’s lives and millions of dollars are at stake, you want something that won’t break just because you forgot a semicolon.”]

The Witch chuckled and let out a longing sigh. [“Oh, I would give much to return to those days. Not everything, but much. What about you, Chatak? What did you do in the old world?”]

Well that was interesting, Chatak thought to himself. He’d heard The Witch had been around for over five hundred years, and yet here she was, saying she was from a time that had computer code. This could be important… However, he’d keep it to himself for now.

[“Not much, I was either a cook, a shut in, or a criminal in the making, depending on who you asked. My family owned a small diner attached to our house, so I worked in the back as the chef. Had to tell everyone it was my sister though, because I had a bad face, which in turn led to me getting a bad reputation.”]

He shrugged.

[“Eventually, it ended up that my only option when I wasn’t doing that was to stay hidden away in my room to avoid getting caught in any more fights. Useless til the end I guess.”]

[“Oh, surely that's not true. You just had...I believe the term for that now is resting orc face,”] the Witch remarked with a hint of mirth in her voice. [“I vaguely remember having a colleague like that. Are they angry with you? Are they fine and just can’t show it? Are they still deciding? It can be difficult to tell sometimes. So I can certainly understand why that would make your life difficult. I’m sorry to hear it. If it’s any comfort, your new face isn’t so bad.”]

She patted him on the shoulder as she got up to pace the room. [“But we digress. You wanted to negotiate the release of the captives, yes? I am amenable to the idea. I was holding them in order to recruit any strong people among them willing to join our cause, but as you have just witnessed, such efforts have been going poorly. Nonetheless, I still feel it would be worth the effort to try, and as such, I am not inclined to let them go for free. What can you offer me in exchange for their release?”]

[“Well, I’m afraid we don’t have much at the moment.”] Chatak sighed. [“Our village is still quite small, infrastructure is a work in progress. But what I can offer you is a bit of perspective. Tell me, what was all this actually for?”]

[“To save the world,”] she answered immediately. [“Specifically to prepare it for the coming Voidspawn invasion. There are approximately...10 million of them, by my estimation, and their numbers are growing by several hundred thousand every day, possibly exponentially. The Sealed Tower controlled them with a sacrifice of 1 billion. There are...countless...variables that could influence the weakening of the Seal, but what I can say for certain is that they have begun to break free within the last 10 years or so. And this world is not ready. There are fewer Bane weapons than you can count on one hand, a mere handful of devices able to stop Greater Voidspawn at all, and not nearly enough individuals of minimum caliber required to face them on equal footing, let alone superiority. We will be wiped out. I think- no, I know- that humanity is capable of defeating them. It’s been done before. But it will require the world to be united, and that’s the one thing humanity is incapable of without strong leadership.”]

[“Well, what a noble goal. I might’ve been inspired to join up with you myself if I hadn’t watched you so thoroughly cripple it.”]

The goblin sighed.

[“Do you really not understand what you’ve been doing? You aren’t uniting the world, you’ve made it more divided than ever. By embarking on this crusade the way you have, all you’ve done is convince the population of the world’s biggest superpower that you’re a threat. That you can’t be trusted. You’re not some great queen uniting this world against an ancient evil, you are the ancient evil. The Dark Lord.”]

[“Tell me something I haven’t heard before,”] she mumbled. [“You do have a point, Chatak. You’re wiser than I expected. I will certainly take your words to heart and consider them. If you have the time-”]

She paused to touch her left ear.

The Witch narrowed her eyes at Chatak. [“You are not here to distract me, I hope? I received word that the Reincarnations have returned and slain several of my warriors.”]

[“There are more of us?”] Chatak asked, his eyes widening for a moment.

[“You were not aware?”]

[“I had some suspicions that there might be a few others, maybe the emperor, or some high ranking members of the other countries’ governments, but none close by. Either way, why would I shoot myself in the foot like that if I wanted to release the hostages? I’d be putting myself in danger for no reason, and making it harder to achieve my own goals in the process.”]

The Witch hung her head as she mulled it over. [“...I want to believe in you, Chatak. Come, then; show me your resolve. Negotiate with the Reincarnations, and let there be no more bloodshed today.”] She touched the panel to open the door and beckoned him to follow, leaving her spear behind.

She paused in the doorway.

[“Before we go, I want to make you a deal. If you can persuade even one nation to prepare for the coming apocalypse, I shall call off my invasion.”]

[“Ideally you’d end it now, before you weaken both sides beyond the point of recovery, but fine. I’ll do you one better. You want an empire that can hold off the Void, I’ll do it myself.”]

His eyes narrowed as he stood.

[“I’ll show you the path you should’ve taken yourself.”]

And with that, the two of them strode out of the room, flanked by the alchemist, Patches, and a no doubt rather confused Melvin.

[“Oh, and stay out of sight, will you? If they’re here to fight back against your forces, I’d rather not have you setting them off.”]

[“That can be arranged.”] She pulled her enchanted cloak around her body, enshrouding her form in a veil of shadows. [“I shall wait for you nearby.”]

Chatak didn’t have to travel far before he saw the scene the Witch had been describing. Two humans, a man and a woman, surrounded by goblin corpses. Flying overhead was a wyvern-rider, quickly closing in on the pair.

[“Alright, first things first, call off your troops. Hard to negotiate under fire, as I’m sure you’re aware.”]

The goblin knights began to retreat toward the Sealed Tower. There was a sharp whistle, and the wyvern ceased its assault to fly back to the airships.

Chatak nodded at the slightly improved situation, before turning to his companions.

[“You two, go get Shaktak’s attention and bring him back here. He’s better at common than me, I might need him to clear up any misunderstandings. And hopefully not cause any new ones.”] He said, before turning to Melvin. “Melvin. You with Chatak. Humans less fighty if see other human here.”

The goblin girl nodded and took Patches to go find Shaktak.

Melvin made an Imperial salute. “You can count on me! Nobody’s better at standing around doing nothing than I am.”

Chatak nodded again. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d understood the guard correctly, but if he had, he could relate with that kind of self deprecating confidence.

And then, it was finally time for what might be the most difficult part of these negotiations.

“Humans! No more fighting, you make worse. Chatak already talk to Witch. Free humans of town.” Technically, she hadn’t actually said she was going to release them yet, but it was pretty clear it would only make things worse if she didn’t at this point. “No be stupid, yes? No waste new life so quick.”