Valkon

Defiance

As Jack made his way to the western gate, he caught up with Ren and Devlin, who both appeared to be distracted by their own matters; Devlin producing some sort of electrical barrier around a forest golem- when had that arrived? Was it attracted to the town by the siege?- while Ren was occupied fighting the undead around them. It seemed that the golem, whether by choice or coincidence, had been fighting the undead, and they were trying to convince it to retreat to safety with the rest of them.

He left them to their efforts, be they successful or futile- he had heard of the forest golems before, but had never encountered any himself prior to today, and those few stories he knew of them had conflicting details of their intellect- and continued to the west gate, glancing back. It seemed Gabriel had ended up behind him, though he hadn't lagged too far behind. A good thing, too- there had been enough death in this forsaken little town as it was without Jack's circumstantial allies falling in battle.

Jack arrived at the gate in time to see Fauve disappear into the forest outside of town, wearing a mix of new clothing and the same clothes as before but in far worse condition than the last time he had seen her. Seemed that she had seen battle as well. Amidst whatever straggling civillians were still fleeing the city out through the gate, Jack noted a group of familiar individuals, plus one new face; the Myti, Elf, and... little girl? that had been at another table in the tavern and had taken to a small hill outside of it earlier were grouped up at the gate, along with an orc wielding an impressive-looking mace.

He approached the group, starting, "Seems fate has drawn us all together again. If you believe in such things, in any case." He turned to look at the orc, looking up to him- something he hadn't had to do in a long time- and continuing, "Well, looks like we've been joined by an Orc. Been years since I've seen one of your kind." He turned again to look back towards the town, partly to survey the damage and partly to check if Gabriel had fallen behind. "Rest in peace, small town of Nadaska. Damned monsters are getting too organized for my tastes..."

Defiance

Though the attack struck the beast, it took a moment for Jack to realize it had little or no effect on it, aside from attracting its attention; it swung theleg he had assaulted into him, delivering a swift kick. From his position, Jack only had time to raise his makeshift shield so that it would absorb most of the impact. Even then, the strike from the beast launched Jack back, tumbling through the air and skidding to a halt across the ground. "Damn...." Jack cursed as he got up, winded but otherwise mostly unharmed.

The attack had been futile. The flail- which he had lost his grip on, along with the tavern door, mid-flight- had been completely ineffective against the beast, and Jack doubted his fists would do any better. "Dammit..." Jack cursed again as he glanced back at the others nearby, who were insiting on retreat. As much as Jack hated running from a fight, he could tell when a situation was hopeless, and fleeing was better than death- especially since he had no reason to die for this forsaken town. He looked at the boar one more time before turning and regrouping with Gabriel, Ren, and Devlin, punching his way through any skeletons that got in his path.

Defiance

It didn't take long before Jack had made his way to the horde of skeletons assaulting the town of Nadaska, meeting their front as they reached the library and had begun heading north. Fighting his way into it, volleys of arrows absorbed by the thick wood of the tavern door secured to his left arm while he carved a path of shattered bone and torn cartilidge with the flail in his right hand. More skeletons moved to fill in the gaps, but despite their numbers he steadily made his way through the chaos towards what had become his primary target: the armored boar-like monstrosity.

From the path the beast was taking, Jack surmised that it was most likely making its way towards the church. For what purpose it had targeted the holy building was neither something that was clear to Jack nor something he cared about. All that mattered to Jack was that it was a monster that had to be put down. The skeletons had left the path in front of it open, creating a clearing that Jack had managed to fight his way into. Standing between the beast and the church, he takes a second to position himself before sprinting towards the beast's front right leg, twisting as he reaches it to slam the spiked head of the flail into it with as much speed and force as he can muster.

Defiance

"Well, one thing is clear," Jack says, stuffing the crudely drawn map into his pants pocket, "It certainly means something. As for chasing the man down..." His statement was interrupted by the sound of several roars emerging from the forest outside of town; roars that Jack couldn't place as being that of any kind of beast he had encountered. "Well," he continued, "There's also that. Anyways... I don't expect there's much to gain by chasing him down, though I am curious what the meaning of the map is."

It was then that he picked up the sound of the crashes from the boar-like beast, and the ensuing commotion its attack caused. "The hell...?" He stepped away from the tree, moving to see what was going on. His confusion was answered as a skeleton attacked the elf on the hill nearby, who quickly dispatched the undead creature. Jack turned to Fauve and Gabriel, stating, "Well, it would seem conflict has decided to come to us."

A skeleton wielding a flail covered with rusted spikes approached behind Jack, moving to attack; before the strike could connect, however, Jack spun around, slamming his spiked gauntlet into the skeleton's ribcage and shattering its torso. Whether it belonged to the living or undead, bone broke all the same. Holding down the monster's flail-wielding arm with his foot, he ripped the weapon out of its hand before stomping on its skull to finish it off.

"A bit shabby, but it'll do," he stated, inspecting the weapon he had obtained before looking back to the two nearby. "You two can do what you like, but I'll be joining this fight now." He removed the map, tossing it to Gabriel. "I'm beginning to think I might know what the town being crossed out was supposed to mean..." With that, he walked back to the tavern, grabbing the handle and ripping the door off of its hinges. With stolen weapon and makeshift shield in hands, he moved east to engage the main horde of monsters.

Defiance

When the Elf and the Myti noticed Jack looking in their direction- evident by the former's nod and the latter's brief eye contact- he gave them a quick salute before returning his focus back to the tavern. Fauve had emerged from it; as she jerked her head back in acknowledgement to him, he returned it with the same sort of nod he had given Gabriel. Jack watched her as she approached, but as she pulled down her trousers and it became evident what she had come over to do, he returned his eyes to the rest of the town.

After her introduction, Jack looked down at her hand, giving it a shake. As he was about to answer, Gabriel approached, commenting on the looting that the two of them had engaged in before introducing himself and asking their names. Jack took the opportunity to answer both of them, replying, "Name's Jack. I'd shake your hand as well, Gabriel, but the gauntlets don't typically agree with magic users."

Whether or not he intended to shake Gabriel's hand soon became irrelevant, as the book-reading stranger collided with the enchanter. As soon as he had arrived, however, he had already left, collecting all of his things that had spilled to the floor before continuing on his way; or, rather, almost all of his things. Kneeling down, Jack picked up the paper that had been left behind, looking at the map on it.

It only took a few seconds for him to recognize the area as being Nadaska and its surroundings, the small town crossed off and a location nearby marked with a circle. "Well now... I wonder what this is all about?" As he spoke, he held the paper such that Fauve and Gabriel could see the map as well, glancing in the direction the stranger had ran off in.

Defiance

Jack simply watched as Fauve shoved the body of the late barkeep into a cupboard and hastily covered up the blood, stating, "Yeah, that looks like it'll work." Out of sight, out of mind, after alltt. Granted, the scent of the carcass would probably still attract some attention, but the smell of filth inherent to the place would probably manage to cover it up for at least a short time. He glanced at Gabriel as the enchanter seemed to misunderstand the hero of the story idea, considering whether to correct him or not, but eventually deciding against it.

Instead, he chose to follow in suit with Fauve; the drinks wouldn't do anyone any good just sitting on a shelf, after all, and the barkeep certainly didn't need them anymore. He shoveled as much of the remaining alcohol as could fit into his pack, taking an extra bottle in hand for good measure, and exited the tavern, walking out as if nothing had happened. Jack acknowledged Gabriel's presence nearby with a nod and made his way over to a nearby tree, leaning against it and finishing off the last of his venison, washing it down with the contents of the extra bottle.

Taking a brief look around, he caught sight of the group from earlier situated on a small hill a short distance away. It seemed they were discussing something.

Defiance

Jack's attention was brought back to the two in front of him when Gabriel began to answer Fauve's question. Though he had missed what that question actually was due to his shift in focus, he was more or less able to surmise what it had been from Gabriel's answer. From it, it seemed he was a specialist in enchantments and research; though Jack didn't visibly react to it, that did catch his attention. His former master had specialized in the same sort of thing, after all. Of course, this stranger didn't strike Jack as being anything like Jacques had been, but then again his master had always seemed to take on an alternate persona when he was dealing with customers, visitors, and other such individuals. Perhaps this man was the same.

Jack would have to kill him if he was.

Through his peripheral vision, Jack watched the other group depart the tavern one-by-one, leaving the two in front of him, the hooded woman- who got up and left shortly afterwards anyways- and the horsem- Jack paused eating as he realized that the stranger at the bar had already disappeared. The fact that such a large individual had managed to make his way out of the tavern without him noticing took Jack by surprise, though he decided to attribute it to his focus being drawn to those directly in front of him. Misdirection and sleight of hand worked on similar principles, after all.

In his surprise, he missed the proposal Fauve had made to Gabriel.

It was around then that the hooded woman exited from the kitchen, knife coated with blood in her hand, and headed upstairs. At this point, Jack realized that the bartender had also disappeared- an indication to the source of the blood on the knife, perhaps. As Fauve commented on the situation, Jack nodded, still eating as he got up from his seat and followed her and Gabriel into the kitchen. As he had suspected, the bartender was on the floor, clothes stained red by the pool of his own blood that had been forming around him. Swallowing the bite of meat he had been chewing, Jack crosses his right arm over his chest, half-eaten venison still in hand, and gives a short bow in mock-respect. "And so ends the tale of the fat little barkeep," standing back up and turning to look at Gabriel as the sounds from upstairs cease, he adds "And it would seem someone else's story has ended as well. Any guesses who its hero might've been, merchant?"

Defiance

Jack merely watched Fauve as she laughed at the heavily simplified story of how he had obtained his gauntlets. Not surprising in the least; Jack was well aware of how it sounded. Drinking from the moonshine she had previously slid towards him as she continued, followed by Gabriel's own assessment of his story, Jack set down the drink as he responded, "Believe what you want, but that's what happened... more or less." Jack turned to Gabriel as he continued, "There is indeed more to the story, but I don't expect either of you intend to listen to some stranger's history."

He shifted the moonshine to the side, thinking for a moment before adding, "As for the traveler, eccentric is one way to put it. He was, however, responsible for my freedom, and as such I choose not to question him or his reasons." Jack lifts the moonshine, drinking from it once more. Finishing it off, he slid the now-empty mug over to the side of the table again. "Now. If that's all, I'd like to return to my meal." Of course, given how these sorts of encounters usually went, he didn't expect that it would be, but he would take the chance that it might.

However, before either of them had the chance to answer- or he had the chance to continue his meal without letting them answer- Jack's focus was drawn from the two at his table by the entrance of another unusual individual. He was tall, tall enough to strike his head on the way in- the sound of which being what caught his attention in the first place. Taller even than Jack was, something that he hadn't seen in anyone even roughly human-like since his childhood. Looked fairly strong as well, and appeared to belong to a race of some sort that Jack didn't recognize. Something he'd have to ask about, should a conversation between them occur.

It was only then, with his focus drawn away from Fauve and Gabriel, that Jack noticed that the hooded woman had returned from the upstairs; in addition, another person had joined the Myti and the Elf at their table. A bored teenager that had wandered off to the tavern, perhaps? Unlikely, given the time. Like with Gabriel, something about this person struck Jack as being odd, but from where he was he couldn't tell what. Perhaps time would tell; with the way things seemed to be shaping up, it was only a matter of time before some event occurred that would bring all the unusual and interesting patrons of the tavern together.

Or perhaps it was just coincidence and such things don't happen outside of books and fables. Still, it was an entertaining train of thought.

Defiance

Jack's observation of the others was interrupted by the sudden entrance of another individual; this one, a young woman. As she went about her business, he returned the majority of his focus to observing the others, but she once again interrupted this- this time by taking a seat at his table. It seemed, more or less, that she had taken an interest in his gloves- she wasn't the first individual who had, and she certainly wouldn't be the last.

Jack, ignoring the moonshine for the moment, responds, "About as much any other tavern. As for the gloves, they're not for sale." As he finishes his brief answer, another individual- the first man Jack had noticed enter the tavern- had taken a seat at the table as well, also inquiring about the gloves. It seemed indirect observation was out of the question now. "Hm. Fourteen years ago," Jack answers, "I met a traveler. He gave them to me. I can't say I have any idea why he did, but I'm sure had his reasons."

Defiance

Early Monday afternoon. Jack stood before the entrance to a cave, hidden within the forests just east of Nadaska. All the evidence and rumors he had collected thus far led him to this location, and by the look of it- and the twinge of magic energy he could feel leaking from the c ave's entrance- he knew it was the correct place. Delving into the cave, Jack came face to face with a group of armed thugs- it seemed the mage who had made this place his home opted for a bit of security.

Two oversized brutes of men, armed with equally-brutish swords that looked like they hadn't been maintained since the day they were first smithed, rushed Jack while a scowling woman stood back, nocking an arrow onto a makeshift bow with enough wear that it seemed more likely to snap in two than release anything. The two men, lifted their swords above their heads, bringing the blades down upon Jack- or they would have, had he not simply sidestepped their attack. "You know, I can't help but wonder," Jack states, delivering a punch to the side of one of the men as he continues, "where do people like you even come from?"

As the brute Jack had struck fell to the ground, agonizing over his now-shattered ribs, the second growls with anger as he goes in for another attack. Swiping his sword horizontally while stepping towards Jack, who counters by blocking the blade with his gauntlet, the brute's forward motion neatly brings him into the path of the arrow that had just been released by the woman, piercing the back of his skull and killing him. Jack watches as the man collapses to the ground, looking up at the woman after a brief moment. "You've really got your team coordination down, haven't you?"

She scowls again, fumbling as she moves to nock another arrow onto the bow. Her focus set on her weapon, she loads it and looks back up just in time to see Jack standing in front of her as he delivers a punch to her stomach, eviscerating her. Jack looks down at her as she slumps over, collapsing at his feet. Shaking the wet blood off of his gauntlets, he moves deeper into the cavern.

After making his way through the small labyrinth of tunnels that made up the caves, and fighting his way past more small groups of pitifully underwhelming thugs, he makes his way to the final chamber of the cave, in which the rogue wizard he has been searching for stood. The wizard, in the middle of performing some sort of ritual, turns to the invader, his voice carrying his anger as he shouts at Jack.

"So," the wizard begins, "You've come to take down the mighty Fodrin, have you?"

"That about sums it up, yeah," Jack replies.

"Fool! You may have made it past my guards, but I am stronger than you could possibly imagine!"

"I guess we'll see."

With that, Jack approaches the wizard, who- somewhat perturbed by Jack's nonchalance- quickly prepares a spell, launching a volley of fireballs at Jack. His confusion turns to fear as Jack simply catches the fireballs, absorbing the arcane energy. "W-What the hell kind of power is that?!" he shouts, turning to flee. He realizes too late, however, that the chamber he is in only has one way out, and Jack stands between him and it. As he turns back, Jack is already standing over him, answering. "It's my power."

"No!" The wizard shouts, his fear turning to anger, "No, no, no! I cannot die by your hand!"

"Very well then," Jack states as he kicks him to the ground, stomping his chest in and ending the rogue wizard's life.

Jack knelt down, searching the wizard's corpse. Locating the amulet that had been looking for- along with a handful of golden coins, some stained with red by the wizard's blood- he pocketed his findings before making his way back out of the cave and into the forest.

Some time after he leaving cave, Jack approached the eastern gates of Nadaska. As much as he didn't like spending time in places he didn't need to be in, the journey back to turn in his bounty was too long to make on foot before nightfall. Monster attacks in the region had grown, and while he could fend for himself, being killed in his sleep wasn't something Jack was particularly interested in. Besides, the owner of the amulet had waited for it to be returned this long already; surely they wouldn't mind waiting an extra day or two...

"Halt." The command of the guard at the gate brought Jack out of his thoughts and back to reality. "State your name and your business."

"Jack. Hunter."

"Right," the guard answered with a tone of suspicion, "And I suppose that's your explanation for that, then?" As he questioned Jack, the guard indicated towards the blood that currently stained his gauntlets and the right side of his torso.

Jack answered with a simple nod, adding, "Occasionally a hunter of men," and retrieving a bounty, showing it to the guard.

"Ah, one of your types... well, I don't expect you'll find-"

"The hunt is over. Just need a place to stay until tomorrow."

"...right. Well, I suppose we can let you in." The guard steps to the side, allowing Jack to pass through and into Nadaska. And, before a minute even had time to pass, he had already managed to make his way onto the roof of the town hall unnoticed, observing the activity in the town. Below, he could hear the announcement of the hanging, and- more importantly, at least to Jack- the mention of a large chest and a reward for finding it. "Could make for a good supplement to my income," Jack muttered to himself, "if I happen to come across it."

Next, he turned his attention to the church, and the growing numbers of people around it. Jack's opinion of religious folk had never been too favorable- too dogmatic for his tastes; little more than glorified servitude, from what he understood of it. Not his idea of an ideal life in the slightest. As he was about to move on to other things, however, an individual exiting the church caught his eye- while he didn't look like much more than any typical traveler, something about him stuck out among the crowds of Nadeska like a sore thumb.

Jack narrowed his eyes, trying to focus better on the man. What was it about him? Not his general appearance... something he was wearing, perhaps? Nothing really stood out about that either, though he knew there must've been some reason the man caught his eye. He didn't have much time to think about it before another indivudal caught his eye- one he recognized as one of the Myti. It wasn't hard for Jack to determine what caught his attention for this one, though- it was a male Myti, seemingly traveling by himself. "Did he reject the place his kind would put him in...?" Jack's blank expression turned to a slight smile. "Good for him." Given his own past, Jack didn't particularly care much for the Myti culture's view of their males.

Following the humanoid feline's movements, he realized that the Myti had ended up passing through town into the same direction the man from earlier had- right into a tavern. And, after a brief period of time in which Jack observed the activity in the market, he found his attention drawn to yet another individual who, inevitably, ended up in the same tavern. This time, a hooded figure. He couldn't be certain, especially since night had already fallen and their dark clothing tended to mix into the darkness when it wasn't making a harsh silhouette against what scattered lights there were in the town, but from what he could tell by their figure, Jack surmised that this one, unlike the other two, was a female. "Three unusual individuals, all heading to the same tavern... I don't suppose..."

Sure enough, a brief look around town revealed yet another individual that stood out to Jack making their way to the tavern. This time, an elf. Gender... Jack had enough trouble telling what elves were up close, it'd be impossible to discern it from his vantage point. Regardless, at this point four strange individuals had made their way into the same tavern. As soon as he started heading there it'd be five; a decent size for a party of adventurers for any story. Of course, Jack knew this wasn't some run-of-the mill fantasy story; this was reality. In any case, though, something had drawn these individuals to the same place, and Jack was curious was fate would have in store for them.

Besides, he needed to get down from the roof of the town hall before someone noticed he was up there. And, more importantly, to get something to drink. Making his way down from the roof unnoticed- a feat made easier than his climb up to it by the cover of night and gravity working in his favor rather than against it- he walks to the tavern, arriving as the hooded woman was making her way up the stairs. "Suppose that's one less person to observe..." he muttered to himself as he walked over to the counter, staring down at the barkeeper, who seemed to be in a panic about something.

"Barkeep."

The barkeeper continued to frantically search himself, apparently not having noticed Jack's presence.

"Barkeep." Jack strikes the counter with his palm for emphasis, shocking the barkeeper out of his panic.

"H-hu- oh... Welcome," the barkeep states with a sigh, his earlier frenzy apparently having left him sweating. Whether it was from nervousness or brief physical exertion for such a man, or even both, Jack didn't care. "What'll it be? Afraid we're out of rooms for the night."

"That's fine. I just want ale," Jack states, moving his hand to reveal three golden coins, two of which are stained with a faint red. "Don't worry about change yet. Just keep the ale coming. I have more gold if it comes to that."

"Yes, sir." The barkeep takes the coins, seemingly still disappointed about something enough not to notice the red stains that covered the coins- or Jack himself, for that matter. He solemnly moves to serve Jack, who takes the mug of alcohol and moves to one of the empty tables, positioned such that he can periodically observe the three unusual individuals who remained on the ground floor of the tavern.

Jack takes a swig of the ale before reaching back into his pack, removing something large and wrapped in cloth and setting it in front of him. Unwrapping the object, it reveals a large chunk of venison, the ends of a long bone jutting out of opposite sides of the slab of meat. Lifting the raw meat with both hands, sparks travel between the red-tinted crystals attached to the bracers of his gauntlets as flames emerge from his hands, engulfing the venison long enough to roast it. As the flames cease, the sparks disappear with them, the reddish tint of the crystals having reverted to a dull light grey color, and Jack begins to consume the now-cooked meat.