[IC] ---

The Unordinary Monster Hunter Group

Magic has existed in this world as another form of energy since the dawn of time. In spite of a nail, time has progressed with and without it, with magic either making lives better for humans, or worse. Magical energy, collectively known as mana, has powered magic of all kinds all throughout the world, whether it would be through alchemy, sorcery, conjuration, superpowers, curses, wizardry or witchcraft. With its ability to transfer into different forms of energy and matter, it was only a matter of time before they became somewhat of a staple in some societies. While mana is an energy found in all things, living and non-living, it exists in different forms and comes in different ways. It is also directly and indirectly responsible for the creation of various creatures and races that exist on the planet they share, existing as part of the demographics, having an affect on history that have either a similar or different effect on society today. While all living beings were born with an internal source of mana that runs through their heart and blood, only few can attune it from birth and become sorcerers, mages or superhumans. Some mana comes in the form of 'curses', where mana can forever mutate a being in a variety of ways (such as that of vampires, werewolves, faeries or entire species in general). Although, anyone can become a wizard or witch, it takes years of practice and study to attune oneself to use the mana within themselves, and the mana found in the world around them. As a result, while magic is a part of everyday life, only very few are directly affected by it, and only few can control it. As such, most magic users are among the elite in goverment, business, and in militaries. This world, with all of the modern amenities that we have here in the land of the present, is what some know as Mana Earth.

However, while most of Earth are what people consider 'low magic', there are many places on the planet where a very high concentration of magical energy condensate. They create these zones called Nexus Points, where entire areas of land, sea or air are affected by the high concentration of mana, and end up creating strange and rather unique landmasses, as well as that of unique creatures as well. In many Nexus Points, entire civilizations once existed, or still do. These places have been fabled to house untold amounts of treasures, with valuable gems, artifacts and even mana power sources. However, many dare not go to such places, and many world governments officially forbid travel to Nexus Points, as often times these places are home to dangerous conditions, creatures and even civilizations. So much so that they make it difficult for even the most advanced military tech to remain inside for a sustained period of time. Even then, with such high concentrations of mana, it has a chance of mutating a person over time, for better or for worse. As such, only small groups of insertion teams for just about any faction ever dare enter such places in search for riches, and while many make it out alive, there are many others who wouldn't make it out at all. While Nexus Points are safely photographed by that of satellites and high-flying aircraft, they still remain a rather mysterious entity for those in the ground, with pictures and video from surviving adventurers telling the tale of such places. Many theorize that the high concentration of mana are what led to the strange conditions in these places, while many argue that the high concentration of mana creates dimensional portals and rifts that allow fantastic lifeforms from other dimensions to enter. While both have been proven, there's not enough data yet to reach a solid conclusion.

However, there is one Nexus Point that has taken the interest of a rather peculiar individual. This place, called Albright Island, is a massive island in the Atlantic, directly west of Portugal and Morocco. This island is home to a variety of biomes, creatures and ruins, though one thing in particular is rumored to be located there, which is the powerful sword known as the BitterBane. The BitterBane is a sharp, powerful and incredibly deadly magical sword consisting of the hardest and sharpest candy known to man, and the tastiest as well. With magical abilities to create candy-based attacks, or to simply summon candy at will, it makes a prime target for such a man as Mr. Smith. After learning about the Bitterbane during his time with the CIA, Mr. Smith embezzled millions of dollars from CIA black funds and various tax havens, and after losing his job, he used said money to purchase a new boat and hire a new crew for his expedition to the Albright Island Nexus Point. However, knowing full well that he would be heading into a Nexus Point, he knew he had to hire different individuals with unique talents that would increase everyone's chances of survival, and make the excursion much easier. And here our tale begins, where Mr. Smith gathers his crew for one hell of an adventure.

[BogeyDope]

Mr. Smith | Valkyrie | Skipper | Ranger | Cleric

-

Adventure Ho!

EZ PZ Docks - Miami, United States
April 1st, 2017
"I Came Running" by Ancient Astronauts

---

Waves crashed up against the concrete pier, leaving behind small puddles of saltwater. Clouds covered the skies, making the area rather somewhat overcast, bringing enough light for anyone to see, but not enough to make it a rather pleasant day. The large landing vessel marking it as the CS Milky Way was moored to the large concrete dock, with the dock workers already trying to load supplies onto it. Two large red shipping containers rested on the dry concrete pier, with only one small crane to move the containers from the dock to the ship. A few people wearing safety neon jackets stood on the dock and on the ship, making sure everything was safely loaded onboard.

Standing out from the men and women wearing neon was a white man wearing a gray suit, carrying a black parasol to make sure none of the sun got anywhere near his skin. Despite the fact that it was overcast, Mr. Smith wanted to take no chances. Standing right next to him was a black woman, wearing light tactical gear with a G3 rifle slung on her back. Like Mr. Smith, she also had eyes of fire, revealing her vampiric nature. However, thanks to her melanin levels and her being an Ash Vampire, she was able to resist the sun quite easily, and thus required little protection. Liana (callsign Valkyrie) stood there and watched with Mr. Smith as the containers were being loaded onto their ship. Liana watched intently with her arms crossed, her left skeletal prosthetic forearm casually tapping against her right elbow.

"You think that should be enough for the trip?" Liana asked, her fiery eyes darting to Mr. Smith's.

"The amount of supplies in these containers should last us for at least a month if we're greedy, three if we ration." Mr. Smith sighed. "Even if we do run low, we could easily dock at Lisbon and stock up there. Trade in a few pieces of treasure for tons of fuel, food and ammo." Mr. Smith smirked. "Easy logistics, child."

Liana smirked a little. "Lemme guess... an eighth of one of those containers is filled with chocolate, huh?"

Mr. Smith blinked and looked away suspiciously. "... No." He muttered.

Liana chuckled. "Right." She looked towards her left. "What's with the Jeep Cherokees anyway? We could've easily bought some GMCs brand new and gave 'em a few upgrades, you know."

"I know, but I feel like it's redundant to run some brand new vehicles through the dirt if they were meant to be flashy with all of that chrome and shit. It's not like we're trying to show off anyway." Mr. Smith said as he watched some of the Milky Way crew drive six modified Jeep Cherokee Classics straight into the loading bay of the ship and reversed them into the cargo hold, parking two of them in front of large trailers already placed in the ship by the cranes. "Besides, I got those Jeeps wholesale, and it was much cheaper to upgrade them up to spec than it was to do it on brand new vehicles. Not to mention that getting a large brand new truck just screams I'm compensating for something."

"Well, aren't you?" Liana asked with a wry grin. "I mean... nothing screams compensation more than having a fucking fighter jet on standby."

Mr. Smith turned to Liana. "Hey, we don't know what we're heading into. Doesn't hurt to be prepared with your own personal guardian angel."

"That comes in the form of an A-4 Skyhawk?" Liana asked Mr. Smith, raising an eyebrow. "Piloted by the cutest Kiwi pilot you could find?"

Mr. Smith gave Liana the stink-eye. "You know, you don't have to come with me if you don't want to."

"I gotta stick around, someone's gotta give you a hard time." Liana said with a teasing smirk.

A woman emerged from one of the Jeeps, wearing a similar light tactical outfit to that of Liana's, but with a few more antennaes and wires on her vest. A woman with a lighter complexion but a larger muscle build than that of Liana, Constance (callsign Ranger) hopped over the barriers and onto the pier, running up to her two vampire superiors.

"Hey Ranger." Liana patted Constance on the shoulder with her skelehand. "Feelin' okay?"

"Yep. Skipper's getting the ship ready to sail." She turned to Mr. Smith. "Mr. Smith." She nodded curtly. "The crew's tying the 4x4s to the ship. Once we get inventory of all of our supplies, we should be ready to set sail."

Mr. Smith smirked a little. "Fantastic." He turned to Constance. "I know what I've got here isn't exactly... uhm, a US Marine Landing Force or anything, but I didn't want to raise any red flags or spend too much money on military grade vehicles, considering that I blew half of it already on the ship and on the fighter jet."

Constance shrugged. "Hey, I'm not complaining. It's nice to know that we'd be having air support on this one too." She chuckled. She turned to the SUVs before turning back to Mr. Smith. "Those Cherokees are outfitted with appropriate armor, right?"

"Yep. Panels within the doors, bullet resistant glass and IED protection." Mr. Smith explained. "Though I doubt we would be encountering terrorists or insurgents on a Nexus Point of all places, it doesn't hurt to be prepared."

Constance nodded. "Still no intel on what to expect once we get there?"

"Not really..." Mr. Smith pulled out a folded map of sorts, revealing a satellite image of the rather biodiverse island that made up the Albright Nexus Point. Deserts, forests, jungles, snowy mountains, and plenty of ancient stone ruins, as well as ruins of settlements that used to exist during World War 2, from the looks of things. "...only what kind of surface geography we might encounter." He folded up the map and put it away within his jacket, disappearing into his hammerspace. "Dragonborn is scouting the island out as I speak. She's airborne and currently taking pictures using the new high-altitude cameras I put on her Skyhawk, so hopefully we can get some very detailed aerial photos in time, and compare any changes that happened from the maps we currently have."

"Are we expecting anyone else?" Constance asked.

"Yeah, quite a few, in fact..." Mr. Smith said, looking around. "Go get Skipper and Cleric. I'm gonna need them up front for when the rest of the party arrives."

"If they arrive." Liana corrected, drawing an annoyed glare from Mr. Smith.

"Right away." Constance then ran off back to the ship.

Mr. Smith glared at Liana. "You have little faith in your soon to be comrades, child." Mr. Smith raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think they won't show up?"

Liana looked to Mr. Smith. "The fact that they've should've been here a little earlier might cast some doubts." She said, folding her arms again. "Do you have a backup team to rely on?"

"Well, I already have contacted a group of Cuban mercenaries to help us out on this, and we'll be swinging by over to Havana-nanana to pick them up. I already got their equipment ready over here, and we can run a few refresher courses for them on the boat before we touch down in Albright. Their callsign collectively will be the Corsairs." Mr. Smith explained.

"Cubanos, eh? Do they speak English?"

"All of the Corsairs that I hired speak good enough English to understand most tactical commands." Mr. Smith said. "Just to make it easier for the rest of you." Mr. Smith grinned devilishly.

"Not because your Spanish sucks, of course." Liana said sarcastically, smirking a little herself.

Constance soon arrived with two men in tow. An older Arab man who simply went by the name of Skipper, looked at the others, standing there in the uniform of a ship captain, sans hat. The much younger blonde man next to him who went by the name of Clyde (callsign Cleric), simply stood there in his white shirt.

"You said I was needed?" Skipper asked, hands behind his back. His heavy Arabic accent revealed his more Egyptian origins as opposed to the others, who were (presumably) American.

Mr. Smith nodded. "Everything looking okay?"

"We seemed to be well-stocked on all accounts, and everything checks out okay. We're in the green for launch." Skipper nodded, watching as the dock crew departed from the ship, and the small ship crew started getting onboard. "Are we waiting for anyone else?"

"Yeah, the rest of the adventuring party should show up anytime now." Mr. Smith said, turning towards the dock entrance. "We'll launch in an hour whether or not they come. We'll make a pit stop to Cuba to pick up the Corsairs before heading to Albright."

[Oooie]

Sigmund O’Welles

At the start of his journey, Sigmund would have told you he was more than a little nervous. All of his closest friends had warned him against it. It was a Nexus Point, after all. No one could be completely sure what he'd find there, nor what affect it may have on his physical and mental health. Sig gently reminded them that they only really existed as a part of his mind, and were therefore not in a position to tell him what to do. That had been that, and he was off.

Now, after a flight to Tallahassee and a nearly 8 hour car ride, he was just glad to be getting anywhere.

“This has to be it.” He remarked to his companion.
“Holy hell! Look at the size of that ship.”

This exchange might have seemed odd to an outside observer. Aside from Sig, who was sitting in the passenger seat, there was no one visible in the car. This had alarmed several drivers on the I-75, and one very confused police officer whom Sig had placated by assuring him that yes this was in fact one of those fancy new self driving cars, despite appearing to be an '89 Chevy Caprice.

The old, apparently phantom driven station wagon pulled up not far from the assembled group at the docks. Sig leaned forward slightly and squinted at them. While one appeared to be of a nautical bent, the other three seemed quite out of place.

“Must be the team.” He mumurred. They looked enough like misfits. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

“Hello there!” He called. “Is this the group going to Spooky Island? I-shit!” Sig tripped a little getting out of the car. A few bottles audibly clattered together in the footwell.

He took an old military backpack and duffel bag from the back seat. “You can go now. Make sure you take this back, yes?” He said to the empty car, which dutifully reversed out and began to drive slowly away.

“I wonder whose car that was?” He mused quietly.

“Anyway, the name's Sigmund. I assume you're Mr. Smith?” He said to the silver haired man. Then, turning to the rest of them, he added “It's nice to meet all of you. I can't promise things won't get weird, but I'll do my best. I don't want to die in a creep ruin any more than the rest of you.”

[EurmalEye]

Leval | Golem

@Oooie@AbandonedIntel

Leval's old family car made slightly worrying hiccup sounds as it navigated through the Miami streets heading for the docks where his new groups ship was supposed to meet up. He patted the steering wheel affectionately. The car had been in the family since he was a child, and still drove pretty well. He had been assured that it would be taken care of while he was away. His thoughts turned to the mission at hand. The Albright Island Nexus Point was probably one of the least explored and most dangerous areas of the planet, but he was going there anyways, not for any great quest or noble cause, because some man called Mr. Smith wanted a candy based weapon. Leval chuckled at that thought once again, it was kind of hard not to appreciate the practical absurdity of it. However, the pay was good and easy to confirm and the other benefit of being able to keep whatever he managed to uncover on the island made the prospect far too enticing to pass by. The overcast skies above made Leval wonder for the fifth time that day if he had brought enough supplies for their voyage.

Leval pulled into a lot at the docks, spying the ship further ahead. Gently closing the car doors, after retrieving his belongings from the rear seats, he walked up to the group of people who appeared to be the team he was waiting for. The man with the dark parasol, was obviously Mr. Smith while he was uncertain about the the other two. One appeared to be a man about his age, maybe slightly older, wearing some very comfortable looking clothes with an old military backpack with him. From the conversation he had overheard, he reasoned that this one must be "Sig" from the brief mentions from the small amount of preliminary intelligence that had been sent. Another woman was there as well, her hand was completely skeletal which was quite fascinating as it appeared to be moving as well. He wondered if it was some kind of enchanted object she had found on some nexus point, reminding him vaguely of "Vecna's Hand." She had the light sort of movement on her feet that Leval had come to associate with a large amount of speed and skill.

"Hello everyone! I am Leval Lamrue, reporting in." He gave them all a warm smile.

From behind the group was a large thudding sound as Golem arrived on the scene wearing a large blanket that covered him from view, not that it did much to hide his overly large stature. When he arrived in front of rest of group, Golem let go of the blanket deciding that it was not longer necesary.

"Mark My Arrival. Where Am I To Be Stowed?" It's voice was like a rockslide falling in slow motion, each word deeply considered before being delivered. Being able to talk at all was fairly impressive given that it did not possess a tongue in the traditional sense. Golem waited for an answer to its question, seemingly quite content to wait however long was necessary.

Leval blinked at Golem in surprise. "Holy Hell, you are a big one."

Golem did not shift or even glance at Leval, but did respond with a simple, "Yes."

[Prosaic]

---

Osmond Wright

EZ PZ Docks - Miami, United States

Interactions

@Oooie & @AbandonedIntel & @EurmalEye

---

The sea was a close friend of his and the idea of being on a boat was not a foreign one.
Though water had a tendency to nullify his abilities, he still loved it. He had been surrounded in water throughout his entire life, his childhood had been spent on beaches. He had always had a fascination for the creatures that moved beneath the depths. All in all, this voyage was just going to be fun. He couldn't see any negatives about being surrounded in the element that he loved and understood almost as much as fire.

The flight hadn't been too long, he'd spent most of it in first class with his feet kicked up. He'd eaten a lot and had gotten pretty woozy but it had been fine, for the most part. He had even found time to flirt with a nice young lady that was sitting a seat away from him. He wasn't sure if she had been nice to him because she found him cute or because she found him pathetic. Either way, it was fun.

Leaving the plane, he booked a cab to ride down to the docks, he was left with a lot of time to think during that ride. It was hard not to wonder what sort of adventures he would have and who he was sure to meet. He knew they were headed to an island and it would probably be sort of creepy. The crew had sounded interesting enough and Mr. Smith didn't sound like he'd be a pain to work with.

Mostly, he wondered if he'd like anybody. He was generally pretty good with people, but he wasn't sure that he'd want to be trapped on a boat with people that he didn't click with. They'd be very different than what he was used to, they'd be from all walks of life. It would be exciting to hear about places outside of Hawaii, he had never really traveled before. Even Florida, despite its similarities to his home, was new and intriguing for him.

When the cab rolled into a parking space, he handed the money over to the man and stepped out. He casted his gaze around the area, the sea breeze tousled his dark blond locks. The ship was impressive and huge. It was really kind of magnificent, he couldn't wait to be aboard it. He raised his hand in greeting, a brilliant smile spreading across his face at the sight of his new crew.

"Hey, I'm Ozzie." he greeted them, taking in the site of his new team. "Sorry if I'm late, I tried to get here as fast as I could.

[BogeyDope]

Mr. Smith | Valkyrie | Skipper | Ranger | Cleric

-

EZ PZ Docks - Miami, United States
April 1st, 2017
"Contra" by Logic (Instrumental)

Interactions

@Prosaic @EurmalEye @Oooie

---

Mr. Smith and his right-hand woman Valkyrie stood together as they waited around for the rest of the party to show up. Skipper thought for a moment, looking out towards the sea carefully, before turning back to the others. Ranger and Cleric simply stood around, waiting for something to do. Mr. Smith turned casually to Skipper, and asked him about the weather.

"What does our forecast look like for our journey?"

Skipper looked to Mr. Smith and shrugged. "Clear skies mostly. Should be a safe and peaceful journey." Skipper said. "Assuming that Albright Island doesn't have any super... magical storms or anything."

Mr. Smith shook his head. "It doesn't look like it has any." Mr. Smith explained. "Dragonborn did report in some strange clouds from what I can recall, but it's just from the mana buildup in the sky. It can cause strange storms a whole lot, but not enough to damage a boat, or at least a fighter jet. People often use it as an omen to turn around so... yeah." Mr. Smith chuckled.

Skipper sighed, putting his hands on his hips, looking away towards the gates. He then looked back to Mr. Smith. "You know you could've hired a weather mage, right?"

Mr. Smith nodded. "I was aware of that, but their huge demand made them incredibly busy and expensive. Besides, if we have any issues, we can port in Lisbon and fix any problems there. We're in no rush here."

Soon enough, a sedan approached and entered into the docks. Due to it being a public dock for boats of all sizes and small ships, there wasn't exactly security that was checking Sigmund's vehicle. It helped that Mr. Smith asked the dock employees to allow entrance to any strange vehicles until the Milky Way departed. The '89 Caprice soon revealed itself, as well as the fact that it had no driver. Mr. Smith was hoping to be the John Hammond in this scenario but it looks like this man was making him have a run for his money!

Once Sigmund exited the vehicle and asked if they were going to Spooky Island, Mr. Smith smiled proudly to him and nodded. "Welcome frie-" He cut himself off once Sigmund nearly tripped. "You okay?" He asked, stepping a little closer. Sigmund then approached him and introduced himself, to which Mr. Smith smiled in kind and nodded to him. "Yes, of course. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sigmund. This here is Liana, my bodyguard..."

Liana waved. "Yo."

"... Constance, my communications officer..." Constance wave a soft wave and a friendly smile. "... Skipper, the ship's captain...." Skipper nodded to Sigmund. "...and this is Clyde, the magic healer. He's here to make sure we don't die in said creepy ruins." Clyde simply gave Sigmund a stare and a smile. "... though now that I think about it there could be other things we might die of but that's neither here nor there!" Mr. Smith said, trying to segue from the uncomfortable situation Clyde produced. "Either way, welcome to the team. Glad to have you... yet to be onboard." Mr. Smith grinned, gesturing to the ship at the end. "Feel free to speak to speak to the others, get to know them."

Liana looked to Sigmund before pointing at him. "Hey... do I know you? You look really familiar. I felt like I've seen you somewhere before." Liana chuckled. "Regardless... it's nice seeing you." She smiled warmly, offering her skeletal hand for Sigmund to shake.

Soon enough, after another car, almost as old as the Caprice that came in, arrived, Leval approached the group with his belongings. Mr. Smith smiled to him as he approached. "Hello, comrade! My name is Mr. Smith, and these are my compatriots Liana, Constance, Skipper and Clyde. They are my bodyguard, communications officer, ship captain and team healer respectively. Sigmund joined us just a minute before." Mr. Smith offered his hand for Leval to shake. "I'll have the dockworkers take care of your car, they'll be putting it in a dry storage area for the next two months." He gestured to a dockworker to come to him, before handing him a $100 bill from his hammerspace jacket. "Please see to it that this man's care is well taken care of."

The woman in the neon safety vest and hard hat grinned at the bill and nodded. "Who's possession?"

"Leval Lamrue. I'll forward the necessary information before we leave port." Mr. Smith nodded.

The woman nodded with a soft smile before turning to Leval, opening her hand for his car keys. "I'll make sure nothing happens to your whip. My word is my bond."

Then several thuds marked the arrival of Golem, to which Mr. Smith grinned at, and the others were relatively surprised by. "Oh, feel free to board the ship! Try not to damage any vehicles when you get onboard, though, just stand in front of the cabin on the deck and you'll be good." Mr. Smith then frowned. "Unfortunately you'll be outside for most of the trip since you can't fit through most of the doors, but I'll make sure someone keeps you company if you wish."

Skipper gave a shocked look to Mr. Smith. "You brought a golem!?" The ship's captain asked.

Mr. Smith shrugged. "The Jeeps can't haul everything." Mr. Smith smirked. "Someone's gotta bring all of our loot back to the ship, just in case if the Cherokees don't work for whatever reason."

Skipper sighed before requesting one of the crew members to help get Golem situated onto the boat, which still had its ramp open after accepting the vehicles onboard.

Once Ozzie arrived, Mr. Smith's attention from Golem was brought back to the now two men who stood in front of him. "Oh, you must be Osmond! I'm Mr. Smith. This young man here is Leval, and that young man there is Sigmund. The large figure behind me is Golem, and my crew here are Liana, Skipper, Constance and Clyde, who are my bodyguard, ship captain, comms officer and team medic respectively." He looked around. "I think we should be expecting three more..." He looked around before looking back to Osmond, Leval and Sigmund. "Oh! If you boys don't mind, I can have some of the crew take your personal belongings to your quarters. You're free to get to know the others while we wait for the rest of the team to arrive. We'll be boarding and launching in about an hour, so there's no rush. Once everyone here has gathered, I'll brief you all before the ship leaves port. Sound cool?" Once he got an affirmative reply, Mr. Smith would nod. "Awesome."

Constance took a small step a little farther away from Clyde and closer to Skipper.

[Oooie]

Sigmund O’Welles

With:

@AbandonedIntel@Prosaic@EurmalEye

It was hard for him to admit, but after working primarily on his own for so long, it felt good to know he was part of a team. Perhaps even greater than his trepidation towards the island was the unease he felt about being directly under someone else's command. Sig was sorely lacking in the shut up and do what you're told department. In fact, he'd quit (or been fired from) a handful of projects where he simply could not mesh with the leadership.

As he met Smith for the first time in the flesh, those fears melted away. The team leader was a far cry from the bawling, red faced gorilla or the pusillanimous bureaucrat he worried he would encounter. He didn't say it aloud, but it was in that moment that Sig decided that he would follow this man into... well, whatever it was he was after. Sig had spilled wine on the dossiers he'd been sent before he'd had a chance to read much past the first page.

He gave the others a bright smile and a nod as they were introduced. Constance seemed to have an air competence around her, which Sig found reassuring, and honestly how could anything go wrong when they had a ship's captain called Skipper?

Oh God, He thought with a flash of unease, what about Gilligan?

Having a dedicated white mage along for the ride was certainly an auspicious sign, but there was something about the man introduced as Clyde that worried Sig. It wasn't only that he seemed much younger than the rest of the crew: there was a tinge of falsehood about him. Sig smiled and nodded all the same, but made a mental note to keep an eye on him.

It was Liana that caught him off guard. Indeed, there was something about the woman he found uncannily familiar. Sig was realized that it was indeed very nice to see her: He immediately felt a strong sense of kinship with her, as if they had known each other for years and this was not a meeting but rather a reconnecting.

there are other worlds than these whispered Magpie cryptically in his mind. Sig reached out and clasped Liana's skeletal hand warmly.

"No," He said in response ",and also yes, though not in a way I'm fully equipped to understand. I look forward to getting to know you." He flashed her a warm smile. "Again, perhaps."

As the rest of the team arrived, he made his introductions. " Sig O'Welles. It's nice to meet you both, Ozzie, Leval. I look forward to our inevitable wacky misadventures." He felt a similar twinge of inexplicable nostalgia as he introduced himself Leval.

a fine a pack as any said Coyote.
piss on that snapped Bobcat in an uncharacteristic outburst. keep your guard up, kitten.

The internal bickering of his Totems was cut short by the arrival of...

"Hot damn!" He nearly shouted, his eyes bright with childlike curiosity. He took a few quick steps toward Golem and began to slowly walk around it, inspecting it's glowing crystalline form. "A real construct! Cleverly wrought as well... Powered by raw mana, are you?"

Sig reached up and gave the hulking figure a friendly pat on the chest. "Don't worry Mr. Colossus. I'm sure we'll be fast friends. Or I'll annoy the piss out of you. Only time will tell."

As Smith gave them their leave, he would move back towards the other two men who had arrived not long after him.

"So, my new found friends, what is it that you do? Y'know, as in..." He wiggled his fingers in a pseudo mystical gesture. "That sort of thing? I'd like to know how best to work together. And if either of you say 'pulling rabbits out of hats', I'll slap you. It's a stale joke."

[EurmalEye]

Leval | Golem

@Oooie@AbandonedIntel@Prosaic

Another member of their party walked up and introduced himself to the rest of them with a large smile on his face. Leval smiled back at him and gave him a little wave. Golem, on the other hand, remained still and unresponsive.

Mr. Smith introduced both himself and the rest of their team as Leval quickly tried to memorize each persons names as well as their respective team roles. When he raised his hand for a shake, Leval grasped it warmly in both hands. Something about the man seemed just to put people at ease, perhaps it was the easy swagger with which he seemed to handle himself. In Leval's experiences meeting with potential employers, they tended to be a quiet bunch attempting to be as covert as possible in whatever their desires may be, but having met Mr. Smith, Leval believed for the very first time that an employer was being entirely straight with him. Plus, he seemed to be a good tipper given how much he had given to the dock worker to take care of his family car.

Leval reached into his pants pocket gingerly and handed over the keys, briefly hesitating as he attempted to puzzle out the meaning of "whip" in this context. Obviously it referred to his vehicle, but for the life of him he could not figure out how. "Gentle on the clutch if you can, it's starting to go again."

Meanwhile, Golem turned to leave without further discussion to follow the crew member Mr Smith had summoned to guide him to location he was to stand, when the human identified as Sig O'Welles, began to circle and inspect him. Golem followed the creature where another beings eyes should be, determining whether or not he was a threat to his current goal. When Sig reached out to pat him on the chest, Golem's arm twitched ready to squash the figure flat before returning to its exact previous position. "My Name Is Not Mr. Colossus, Sig O'Welles And I Do Not Piss." The facts of the matter established, Golem moved past him up the ramp meant for vehicles. The metal ramp rattled beneath his booming steps as he was escorted to the cabin where he was to stand during their journey.

Leval watched the large, retreating figure go before looking back towards Sigmund. In response to Sig's question, Leval sent out some small threads of illusory magic making the form of a large top hat. He reached into the hat and pulled out the 2-D animated figure of Bugs Bunny, who was chomping on a carrot. "For shame! I am a rabbitmancer and will not stand for this kind of discrimination." A quick twitch of finger banished Bugs and the top hat back their formless, invisible threads of magic that faded gently into the background of the area's mana count.

"I am an illusionist," Leval replied with a grin. "Yourselves? What can the two of you do?"