The sun had just started rising over the wood-sea. but The Dark Bastion never really slept, creatures came and went at all hours, the nocturnal ones just arriving, the daylight one's just leaving, sometimes those who lived between those worlds would be doing their best trade at these hours. sticking out from the edge of Blood Moon tower was one of the many balconies for the flats within. the only difference was that the doors for this flat was open. not that it was unusual, just different from the ones around it. on the lower levels, huge doors stood open to let trade through. though there were a few larger creatures standing guard incase anyone who would cause trouble turned up. another day, another strange event. it was life. if not much of one.

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Shiro shot through the sky, spiraling madly as he passed over the treetops, scaring a few feline like creatures who were heading towards the bastion. he dived and shot through the canopy, carving a oddly shaped hole as he did so. skimming under the arch of the entrance he pulled up and cornered in to the long hallway, the satchel around his shoulders swinging like a flail. the air traffic at this hour wasn't to bad, however he did bounce off a vampire bat going the other way. the argument with the disgruntled gentleman lasted under a minute as Shiro hadn't lost much momentum. he continued the mad flight until he arrived at a odd looking herb shop. pulling up he dropped lightly on to the roof and then down to the main entrance, pulling a small pouch out of his satchel he handed it over to the gentleman at the counter in return for some money. he nodded his thanks and was off again, down the street, making deliveries and a few other bits and pieces.

His undead features formed what appeared to be a scowl as the last shred of night was obliterated by the rising sun. Raphaezel stood on his balcony for a moment longer before turning and making his way indoors. The Lich glided more than walked, a small cloud of green energy shrouding his feet. If he so chose he could physically walk as the lesser races do but he much preferred this method of traversing his environment. The balcony doors closed on their own the moment he was through the threshold as if they sensed his presence. He glided across the main chamber, which served as his private library, to one of the smaller rooms. Skulls of all kinds lined the walls and the floor held an array of glyphs and ritual symbols. Chained in the center of the room was an unconscious human male, an adventurer of sorts who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Raphaezel tapped the floor with the butt end of his staff and magically amplified the sound. Instantly, the human awoke and began to panic and scream upon laying eyes on the Lich. His face formed a crooked grin and an eerie laugh emanated from his dead lips. He raised a boney hand and a spiraling blast of necromantic energy shot forth and passed through the human, carrying his soul with it as it exited. The lifeless body slumped to the floor and the energy returned to Raphaezels hand. The Lich examined the soul intently. 'Brave.. curious.. cautious….. ah, there it is. Jealousy. All humans possess some darkness in their hearts.' He laughed as he devoured the soul. While not necessary to sustain himself, the darkness of souls tasted something wonderful. The body may prove useful later, or not, after all it was now his property and he would do whatever he felt with it. On that note he glided out of the room and through the main chamber to the exit door. He willed them open and they swung open as if a battering ram had struck. Green smoke poured forth along the floor into the corridor, dissipating past the doors. Perhaps he would visit the shops today. The doors of his lair closed as he glided away.

Roxy walked through the forest. Most of the time she enjoyed the quiet. Quiet meant that she was alone. Roxy wasn't a big fan of people. She could deal with them if she had to, but mostly she preferred it to. Roxy had learned at a young age that she couldn't trust anyone. Still she was going to need supplies soon, but for now Roxy intended enjoy her walk and the space the forest provided.

~Staying to the shadows, Keyzer didn't like this. Waking up in an odd place was one thing, but waking up, bound, hooded and gagged was not his idea of fun, let alone a vacation. At least his *Friends* wouldn't be much of a problem, as after coughing the hood off, one's brain simply pulped inside his skull, then he forced the second to shoot the driver. After the van was brought to a stop, he forced the human to release him...and then taste a gun barrel before giving himself a permanent haircut. Keyzer took his time looking through the van, hoping he'd find some gear, but apparently these authorities didn't have all of his gear. They allowed him to keep his garment, a few hard to find throwing knives....and his life. With that done, he left the van by the side of the road, and walked off into the woods and faded out into the shadows (shadowform).~

Shiro had finished his rounds. having delivered the last of his collected items. often trading something he'd picked up for something else and so on until he'd got the required items to make himself some money. It was long, tedious work but mostly it was just moving items round. by the time the sun had fully risen and was a handsbreadth above the horizon he'd made all the money he'd needed. he was debating what to do. not really wanting or needing to sleep. his body was adapted to the requirement of little or no sleep.less than half an hour. often going for weeks on end without much more than a few hours.

Vaahn always wished he was a full-blood Vampire instead of a Dampir. Being born from a daylight and a nocturnal races made sleeping a troublesome question. Eventually he settled on avoiding scheduled sleeping in favor of just sleeping when he got tired, regardless of the time of day. Today's sun rise happened to be in the middle of his "day," so he was not too far from his home, at the bustling trade center of the Blood Tower.

With not much on his shopping list, Vaahn spent most his time idling the populated area after making usual runs. Being part vampire, the only nourishment he needed was blood, any other food or drink was simply a luxury, or they would be, but he preferred the taste of blood more than enough to consume only it.

It had been so long since his escape from human civilization, he had become fully accustomed to life in The Bastion, and there were no shortage of interesting people, and even other vampires and dampir, which would ease his feelings of alienation. But at the same time, each passing day was relatively boring, he always wished something exciting would happen.

Roxy stood on the outskirts of the city. She wasn't fond of cities. Cities meant people and Roxy wasn't fond of people. Still she need supplies so avoiding cities and people wasn't something she could do forever. While Roxy considered herself to be self sufficient there were a few things she could only find in cities and towns. Enough avoiding, she decide. While she didn't like cities or people she cold deal with them for a day or two to get the things she needed. Growling under her breath Roxy stormed into town determined to get everything done as quickly as she could.

Shiro was running through the halls, darting round people and in his hurry he managed to clip his foot on a street vendors cart. going A.O.T. right in to the back Vaahn's kneecaps. the only warning either of them got was Shiro's half yelped "yaargh!" and the street vendor swearing at shiro for knocking the stop block out of his cart and letting it roll away down the hill. after another few meters of movement the small pileup skidded to a halt.

Raphaezel glided through the shops on his cloud of necromantic energy. Oh how he loved the reactions of the other citizens, those counted among the living at any rate. The living fear death more than anything… and death was Raphaezel. They gave him a wide berth, hoping the unspoken laws of the Bastion would keep them alive. Those denizens not counted among the living, such as vampires, demons, half demons and the like, merely avoided him out of a healthy respect for his abilities. He stopped short at a butchers stand, a large carcass having caught his eye. Or at least the glowing orb that used to be an eye. There were various meats and beast parts hanging on hooks or displayed on ice. His skeletal fingers caressed the large hunk of dead animal… what pets could become of this? his imagination was the limit.

The glowing orbs set their gaze on the butcher, an orc. "Hooooow much forrr thisssss?" He spoke, his voice a combination of echoes and whispers.
Terrified, the poor creature could barely respond. "Fi… fifty coins.. sir." The orc responded, shaking in his boots. He cowered all the more at the Lichs irritated response.

Raphaezel was by no means short of coin however. His test subjects more than carried enough gold to be counted as his income. And the Lich was not without civility.
"verrrry welllll…" from a pouch on his belt he produced the coin and in one fluid motion, his boney hand dropped them on the table and grasped the product. The butt of his staff struck the ground and in a burst of green flame the carcass was teleported to his private storage. Not but a moment later a cart came barreling down the hill towards him. The crowd around Raphaezel gasped and backed away to watch in shock and fear as to what the unpredictable undead horror would do. He did nothing, however. The cart slowed and came to a complete stop just as it bumped his magical barrier. Glowing eyes flashed red for a moment before turning back to their cool blue. He would investigate this.. disturbance.

What the-

Without a moment's notice, Vaahn was lurched forward by Shiro's air-borne body, knocking him down flat as the dragon tumbled for another few feet. He rose to his feet and dusted himself off, and looked up to see a vendor panicking as he frantically followed the now-runaway cart. Several other people has seen the ordeal, but they quickly returned to their own business.

With his composure regained, Vaahn stepped towards Shiro, who was still on the ground, and extended his hand. "Are you alright?"

Roxy leaned against a nearby building watching the chaos. She laughed as the runaway cart almost ran over two people. Maybe coming to town isn't going to be as bad as I thought Roxy thought to herself. Atleast this trip into town was looking more interesting then most of her trips had been. It was nice to have something interesting happen. Anything to make the dealing with people worth the effort was a benefit her book.

~Keyzer finally reached the edge of the treeline, closer to the town, watching as he went. It didn't help he had short legs, but working his way to the town area, he'd have to come out into public~
Well...at least apparently this is the land of misfit toys...
~watches for a bit longer, then slips from the trees, down a street, and tries to do a simple recon on the town, keeping a wary eye out for anything out of the ordinary, he also keeps an eye open for places of shade~

Shiro, was grinning like some psychotic maniac, gripping Vaahn's hand he hauled himself up, "I'm fine. if somewhat winded. that wasn't the most gracefull tumble I've taken." he admitted and then laughed "I'm shiro, sorry about flooring you." he was still smiling, although it wasn't quite so insane. "the cart seems to have surrendered to its inertia. or someone's magic. think we should find out?" he asked. Though on average he wasn't one to start a friendship or a drawn out conversation he'd taking a liking to the vampire. one that wasn't related to the vampires innate charm. Shiro knew all about that due to a very badly ended relationship a few years back and had made sure to carry a charm on him to nullify such effects. though they still looked rather graceful.

"That's good. My name is Vaahn, pleased to make your acquaintance," he responded with a slight bow. With Shiro's second comment, Vaahn turned his gaze to the base of the hill. With his keener eyes, he was able to see the cart resting in front of a tall, dark figure. The vendor who had given pursuit slowly came to a stop to assess the damage, but seemed unnaturally idle. Vaahn was too far away to decipher why.

"Hmm, yes. I suppose we should make sure no one else was injured."

In a fluid motion, he pivoted and began to walk down the hill.

Blade landed on his balcony, just returning from a night job. Apparently a thief had been targeting a particular stall for about a week now and the owner had finally given up on catching the thief by himself. The job had been far easier than expected as it turned out the thief was just some kid who could run faster than the owner. He had actually taken it easy on the kid, not because it was a child but because he was slightly reminded of himself at that age, and it just now occurred to him that it was very possible that it hadn't actually been a child, just one of the races that weren't as tall as the others or aged slowly. Mentally cursing himself for his potential blunder he entered his room and took out his payment, a green gem about the size of his hand, and put it in a hidden chest for storage. He didn't like having more money than he could carry and selling that would definitely put him over. Still not tired in the slightest he decided he would visit the market place. If he was lucky he'd run into the kid and be able to confirm his age, besides he needed to spend his money on something. Stockpiling it wouldn't be doing him any favors anytime soon.

((Due to personal commitments Baconator won't be with us for a bit. he said its ok for us to continue on without him, For now we'll assume that his char has simply swept away in the as-so-far typical aloof and cryptic way.))

Shiro Spread his wings and let his own weight carry him downwards, his wings providing a forward glide, keeping up with Vaahn he tilted down and scooped up a apple from where it had been thrown from the cart, digging his teeth in to it with a satisfactory crunch. "I won't offer you one, most of your kind eschew 'mortal foods'" he said not unkindly but with the air of one who was simply in the place where he would offer one. "think he'll try and sue me or something?"

Roxy watch the two guys head down the hill to investigate. She still had a lot to do but she was curious what had caused the accident. Satisfying her curiosity was way more interesting then finishing the things she needed to do in town. Her business could wait a few minutes. Roxy decided to follow the interesting pair of guys. Maybe her curiosity would lead her into something beneficial. She had been looking for something to do for almost a week. Maybe she had finally found something interesting to do.

Aria sighed softly hearing the commotion and shouting about a run away cart, closing the small black book resting on her lap before tilting her head looking up though her pale blond hair, her keener sight spotting the stopped chart and several figures heading towards it before the gleaming red skin of the apples caught her attention reminding her that she hadn't eaten since she left her dwelling this morning. She had spent most of the day wandering through the stalls stopping here and there to catch up with a few 'friends' she had made over the past decade or so, playing a quick game of tag with some of the younger orphans roaming the darker alleys and shortcuts through the towers maze-like set up. Hearing her stomach growled she bit her lip softly wondering if she could sneak in there to at least snag one of the apples and slip back into the ground without being noticed or would just buying one be the safer option either way, run away carts weren't that uncommon thanks to the flying traffic now and then colliding with those stuck on the ground.

"Might as well..." She said softly depositing the book back into one of pant pockets, getting up and stretching in the same fluid motion her back popping slightly as she did testimony to the long hours she had been sitting in that same spot, she had been making notes on the different type of subspecies each of the kinds had, slightly marveled at the variance differences and crossbreeds, being one herself she felt a curiosity to how they dealt with the various reactions from the parent races or if they had to find solace and acceptance elsewhere.

Weaving her way through the crowd nimbly she stopped a few feet away from the edge of the chart still hanging to the outskirts of the crowd of onlookers kneeling slightly as to sit down and watch deftly scooping up one of the apples rolling it around in her hands as she looked around herself noting and judging others reactions not entirely caring if she was seen or not, before returning her attention to the cart noting that it wasn't all that damaged, just not in the best of places to help with the flow of traffic."Just another day, huh..." She muttered softly to herself taking a small bite out the apple.

~Thanks to the given chaos of the runaway cart, Keyzer was able to penetrate further into town, as the commotion would give him some ability to simply blend in, be forgotten and figure out what was going on in this area. Seeing a variety of beings, part of his mindset was, he'd lost a bet with God, if he believed in the humans' garbage they'd been shoveling, but more simply, he was among normal folks...and stayed among the shadows. Watching the chaos settled down a bit, he listened to see if anyone could figure out what was going on, stopped a person walking by, and *persuaded* the person to talk...simple runaway cart, settlement...Keyzer let the person go, shuffling off mumbling.
She'll be ok in an hour or two..before setting up in a nearby alley, out of the way.

"I doubt something like this is worth a lawsuit," Vaahn replied matter-of-factly as he pushed a lock of hair off his face and behind his ear. "However, I do anticipate a demand for reparations." Looking down at his coat and leggings, picking off small bits of dirt as he continued, "I know I would if something I made a living off of had its integrity in jeopardy." As he finished his thoughts, he and Shiro landed at the base of the hill, right where the cart had stopped. It was saved by the magical barrier of a tall and shadowy-looking figure, but this figure was on his way away from the scene by the time Vaahn arrived. The only other person was the vendor, a rather generic looking dark elf picking up the produce that had fallen from the cart.