Time: Morning
Location: Riverbloom, Outside Books and Cookies
Interactions: None
Mentions: None
Equipment: Longsword and Plate Armor

---

All the while, the town's livelihood was interrupted by a rather unsettling sight. The black tattoo engraved on the orc's forehead was a sign of trouble. This was no minority of the so-called 'honorable savages' that some would attribute to the respectable Nabarask tribe, this was the actual savages. Stories of countless atrocities conducted by the brutal raids by the Dugmahords still scarred this land, even as its intensity had dropped since the Dark Elves took over. In fact, among the Riverbloom Plaze goers on that day, it would not be any surprise if there was one who had first-hand experience of those raids. As a result, the gigantic orc lumbering through the street attracted an abundance of suspicious and outright hostile glances from all species alike. What could possibly be going through the heads of the orc, many wondered?

Apathy was the answer.

Barrock simply didn't give a single crap about what the others were thinking of him. He was focused on getting his equipment maintained, as well as cashing on the payment that his previous employer had given him. Normally, payment in perishable goods would simply be rejected outright by the orc, but he relented this time around, seeing the young lady fumbling over the most basic of a transaction and simply shelling out what she could, and also her problematic circumstances. The contract was discounted too, but whatever, he had the money. But there is a reason why he didn't like to hang around towns and cities.

"You. Yes you, you tusker!"

It's these asses.

"I'm sorry but there are women and children here. You will not hurt them!"

And of course, it's coming from a dark elf.

"Stop right there! I cannot allow you to destroy this town!"

The dark elf stood from a distance, with a straightened hand pointing straight at Barrock, who simply ignored it completely. He continued lumbering rather clumsily with a clear limp on every step, clad in armor and a long straight sword at his waist. His hand held onto the scabbard loosely, but a finger perpetually tapping on its handguard. His bloodshot red eyes occasionally glanced at the obnoxious elf before looking up to the street, paying him very little attention, just as much as he deserved.

"You pigs deaf?! I said stop!"

Outside the Books and Cookies bakery, the sight of an orc amidst the inhabitants was hard to miss. The dark elf deliberately side-stepped to stand in his way as Barrock headed in a different direction earlier. Once it was clear he was not going to avoid this asshole, the orc approached him slowly but surely, the finger on the handguard continued to tap.

"Y-You know, I can fight. I will cut you into pieces! W-With my ancestral sword here!"

His voice faltered as the orc neared, dwarfing even creatures like him, but he was desperate to keep up the appearance. Barrock stopped right within striking distance of the elf, and the finger on that handguard now pushed the sword slightly out of its sheathe. For a moment, his piercing gaze met the hulk of the self-righteous dark elf, the latter's knees visibly trembling from fear. Bystanders held their breath at the standoff. Some tried to grab the authorities. Some braced for the bloodshed that were guaranteed to spill.

And the orc simply walked away.

To the surprise of many, he just walked away. No blood on the ground, no heads rolled. Sighs of relief were exchanged.

"That's right, go back to your pen coward!"

And a cry of victory. But for all intents and purposes, the dark elf did not win that fight.

Time: MORNING
Location: INT. MAMA MALACHI'S SUMMERHOUSE - RIVER PORT
Interactions: N/A
Mentions: The guy cosplaying as an elf @princess; the golden lion furry@Helo
Equipment:

---

Jun gingerly tucked the letter into an envelope and slid it into his backpack, making sure it was nestled safely amongst his array of useless belongings: electronics that he kept turned off to save what little battery life they had left, a pair of headphones now reduced to mere earmuffs, a wallet containing cards and money that were about as useful as Monopoly money in Avalia, and a key that might as well have unlocked a door on the moon. Even the cursed plastic bag that had nearly suffocated Jun to death and caused him to fall down the stairs found its way into the backpack. He should throw the bag away. He really should, but he couldn't bring himself to do that.

He wasn't going to leave anything behind, not a single thing. They were a symbol of his old life, a reminder of who he really was, and he needed that reminder now more than ever. He had to keep himself anchored to reality, and that meant not getting lost in this fantasy like the LARPers who were fully immersed in the roleplay. Hopefully, these items would be enough to keep him grounded until he could find a way back home.

Jun twisted the doorknob and cracked the bedroom door open just enough to peek through the narrow gap. The hallway was empty. He breathed a small sigh of relief and eased the door open a little further.

The hinges let out a soft creak. Jun winced and froze, holding his breath as he listened intently for any signs of movement. After a few tense seconds, he exhaled slowly and continued to push the door open, one inch at a time.

He slipped out of the bedroom, closing the door as quietly as possible behind him. His heart raced as he tiptoed down the hallway, eyes darting back and forth. Every creak of the floorboards seemed to echo through the house. But Jun pressed on, determined to escape.

Just as the exit loomed into view, Malachi's morning call echoed through the halls. The water-spraying man was clearly in a foul mood, a sharp contrast to Zion's irrepressible energy that made the whole house tremble with excitement for breakfast. The giant furry's hollering overpowered Jun's hurried footsteps toward the door that stood between him and his freedom.

---

The answers Dante and Darius gave him were unexpected leading Menzai to be a bit taken aback. A prosopect he had not considered or at the very least in detail. This exchange offered him a new observation on the brothers he failed to notice; very telling that these two had some experience with dangerous situation even if small. If their fit bodies weren't already telling enough.

Still, it was the time nor his intention though made sure to acknowledge the humans capabilities. A good sign that these two might have what it takes to endure and push through it all, but that was the future.

" An interesting answer, yes." Pausing while giving a nod of appreciation." But it is not the lesson I aim to teach. Perhaps when better experienced and comfortable we may touch on honing one's instinct in such a way. No, what I hoped to instill in the both of you was a taste of the dangers of the path before you. What awaits you, what awaits the humans are the evils of these lands foreign to your kind." His blank expression softened with a sadness as he gazed upward to the sky as if searching or seeing what was not apparent or visible." A darkness encroaches upon the realm. Whether it be the dark elves themselves or some other force using them, I cannot say." Inhaling deeply, the words hanging in the air, drifting off with the breeze to dissipate.

Turning his gaze back to his wards." Countless struggles and hardships stands ready just outside the confines of this forest. And my role in all of this is to ensure the safety of any human in need... and to train you." Menzai stated, his expression serious once more.

From there, Menzai began to quietly step around the brothers inspecting them, marking the details of their form and composures. He took a moment then to ponder over the interaction and all that has transpired; taking a moment to think while stroking at his chin wanting to make sure he had the necessary information to continue on.

" I have hope my explanation was clear enough. I wish to have it understood that I am here to be your guardian and teacher..." Trailing off as he folded his arms across his chest once more." And not to befriend. So we shall keep this professional and that includes nicknames. Is that clear?" A stern stare at the two when stating this.

Menzai gave the brothers a few minutes to take in and go over he said." If this is understood then we may begin training." Tilting his head with a brief scratch of his chin, thinking to himself momentarily before motioning towards them." Mr. Dante, Mr. Darius. May you please demonstrate what have managed to learn up to this point? Mind, this is merely a demonstration, nothing more." Making sure to drill in that distinction lest the brothers let things get to their head and become competitive.

---

The first things that came to Ismael's mind as he was brought to a new world. He was told so much, informed of much more, told how is all worked, and it plainly confused him. He died? He knew his ticket was up eventually but he never expected it to be in a dingy hotel room. All Ismael could think was that this seemed like some kind of story he heard some of his buddies talk about, it was increadibly jarring for the first little bit, but Ismael was calm. It seemed he was brought here before his death for some reason, and it seems that reason is to possibly save this world.



After his summoning, Ismael was given to a group and was told they were not only to protect him, but train him and bring him to some place to learn how to hone his powers. Powers he has gained from being brought to this world right before his death. A strange idea, yet it was one that he had quickly accepted, one Ismael even joked about, and in the company he found himself in, it seemed to sit well.

The time before reaching port was quite simple, he was tested and trained in different regards. His physical combat was often pitted against the lovely Amisra, whom of which seemed to love to try and aim for low blows, to Ismael the is understandable yet it never felt good. If he didn't spar with Amisra, it was with Arlen, a man Ismael found intrest in because of his guns. Flintlocks were quite rare to see in the flesh, sure here it was their technological level, however, for Ismael it was still a real treat to be able to play with one.

If it was not physical training, Tanithil was there to try and train Ismael's magic. Something wholly alien to Ismael, another energy within that can be controlled and produced to produce some magical effect. It was hard to understand, and harder to see results, yet nothing came easy, Ismael knew that. It was still annoying

---

Ismael had never felt at home on a ship, he may have been a Marine, it did not mean living on a ship was something he was used to. Now on a wooden ship that smelt of sweat, sea salt, and gunpowder. Honestly it was pretty bearable to things he has had to smell before, it was just quite a different life than that which he led, but he got pretty used to it. There was one issue he found, sea legs, he had never gained true sea legs, he didn't live on a boat, he was able to work on a boat, but to live on one is a different feeling. He needed to get used to the swaying and shifting of his center of gravity, something he was able to manage but not something he was used to, but he could fake it well enough to be normal, just don't ask him to run around on the ship at his full speed.

Yet he never needed to as Tanithil had often grabbed him, and today was no exception. Tanithil today came to grab him as they reached port, and with it came a cloak! Once given it, Ismael thanked him, "Oh! Thank you! Very swanky". Ismael chuckled as he adjusted it and listened to the explination Tanithil gave from Captain Morr. Soon they made it near the top deck where Tanithil sat at the stairs before reaching the top deck, Ismael did similar, as he nearly laid himself out on the stairs relaxing and listening. Ismael gave a small nod and a "Aye Aye Sir", when he was spoken to by Captain Morr about staying low and close to Tanithil. Ismael began to make mental notes of what was being said before Tanithil jumped up leading to Ismael doing the same.

"Port Vanarosa hu? Looks like a few places I know". Ismael said this while letting out a chuckle as he began to follow Tanithil to Amisra. There they spoke of some Disguise ring, where one spoke of the possibility of stealing it, Amisra seemed well enough with purchasing one so Ismael said with a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head, "Oh good, I thought I was going to have to work the corner to get one". Before he let out a laugh and began walking down the plank to the dock while saying, "Well let's go!"

ᴛɪᴍᴇ | Morning
ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ | Southwest of Roshmi City
ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ | Mister Luum @FunnyGuy, Bardulf @Lava Alckon, Rue @Potter, Bowyn @Helo, Brigitte @Tae
ᴇQᴜɪᴘᴍᴇɴᴛ | Travel bag with essentials (money, rations, fist aid, etc), sapphire pendant, twin daggers.

---

“So you thought, lead the owlbear toward others, let someone else sort out your mess. Great plan, typical elf logic.”

Zeva glanced over at the snowy-haired stranger that tossed her the biting words. She responded with an awkward, nervous smile; she wasn’t expecting the strangers to take too kindly to her leading danger straight to them. While they might hold a grudge against her for this, it was a much better option than dying alone in a forest.

The other fairy of the group reassured him, "It’ll be okay.”

Zeva nodded in furious agreement; she liked this fairy lady already. “Yes! We’ll be fine if we work together!” she beamed.

As the owlbear came into view from past the trees, the winter fairy took swift action, skillfully wielding her polearm against the beast that charged towards them. In the next second, a wall of ice sprung from the ground and kept the owlbear at bay. The ground beneath them seemed to shake as the large beast rammed the full force of its body towards it, but the ice wall remained strong.

Woah, that’s some cool magic! Wonder what it would be like to fight an ice magic user…

While the others in the group seemed appropriately focused on the beast, the light elf that Zeva gravitated towards earlier seemed to be lost in his own world. Honestly, his vocal absentmindedness was distracting Zeva from the imminent threat in front of them. He was rambling about things Zeva didn’t understand, going on about Bardulf and a lost staff – which one of them was Bardulf anyway? In the next moment, the light elf pranced away on his own while Zeva watched, bewildered. She couldn’t believe that her fellow light elf would abandon his friends in a moment of danger, something that Zeva herself would find inexcusable. There wasn’t any time to ponder this man’s virtue, however, and Zeva quickly refocused on the battle.

The next one to attack was the dark-haired man. Something seemed to take over him as he steeled himself for the owlbear’s charge. He drew his weapon, and with electrifying speed he swung his blade into the hide of the foul beast. The halberd sank a deep wound into its neck, and the man swiftly dealt another blow to its arm. Zeva couldn’t help but to be impressed by his strength and agility; she was sure he’d make a great opponent as well.

“I’ll have a go!” Zeva smiled mischievously as she readied her weapons. She winced, lifting up her injured arm, but she was eager to deal more damage to the beast in payment for the wound she received from it. The dark haired man did a great job, and the owlbear was staggering already. Even with the state her arm was in, it would be easy to land a hit.

Zeva jumped off her left foot and dashed towards the owlbear. The beast stumbled backwards and raised up its uninjured paw into the air in preparation to attack. Zeva swiftly altered course mid-sprint, and leaped above the beast’s swinging claws. An orb of light began to form in her hand, and she physically thrusted the concentrated light into the beast’s eyes, “Wa-pow!”

Now blinded, Zeva darted her daggers through its flesh, butchering an ‘X’ on its shoulder. After landing the attack, Zeva jumped backwards, away from the beast, and re-applied pressure to her bleeding arm. She was giddy in vengeful glee and sneered at the beast, “Haha, how do you like that?”