[System]
Black King
Age: 18

Normal Appearance:

Brain Burst Installed/Brust Linker?: Yes

Avatar Appearance:
(White/Black Panda)

Dueling Avatar Name: Black Void

Dueling Avatar Appearance:

Rank: Black King - lvl 9

Legion?: Yes, Legion Master of Caelestia Umbra

Other:

Most in Brain Burst probably believe that Shizuka has uninstalled and retired from the game seeing as she hasn't gotten on it in the last three years. This fortunately is untrue, though she doesn't know why she can't seem to push herself to delete it. Maybe it was all the memories they held of her brother and the last thing she wanted to do was purposely forget him or maybe it was the guilt from thinking it was her fault. If she hadn't gotten to level nine, if she hadn't been a huge target than none of this would have happened. Her brother died because of that crash and nothing could change that no matter how much she wanted to. It was her fault. If it hadn't been for her brother's Guardian than she would have been challenged while completely injured in a coma. Mamorimasu worked hard to keep her safe but the coma wouldn't shake so he went to seek help. He risked it all asking for the Red Kings help, feeling that she was trustworthy enough to know the Black Kings identity and not take advantage of that knowledge. Failing and having Brain Burst uninstalled before she ever woke up maybe that would have been better in her opinion upon awaking. Instead, they were the winners and their attacker couldn't remember why they had done what they did, at least not completely which made a perfect insanity plea. Others tried to attack later but between her two protectors, there was no chance.
Shizuka is slightly afraid to stand back up and jump into the Accelerated World again. It makes her worry that her brother meant nothing but she is slowly coming to terms with what happened and the call of that World has slowly started to grip her again after all these years.

Fun Facts:
* Shizuka is mute in the real world. The only way she can speak to another is a wired connection or a Burst Link where her Avatar is in control. It is this reason that Brain Burst is so alluring to her because it gives her a voice.
* Her brother was a twin.
* Her brother was also the one that gave her Brain Burst and never cared about her rising level as he wanted to support her if he couldn't protect her any longer
* Loves the rain
* Actually should need glasses but her Neuro Linker corrects that problem. When she takes it off she must use glasses.
* Mamorimasu(her brother's Guardian the Emerald Shock) and the Red King are the only people that know her real identity and that she is still able to be a part of Brain Burst and he has subtly been helping in trying to get her to return.
* Her father is the CEO of a major software development company and her mother is the head engineer and designer of the latest hardware
* Her parents have shunned Shizuka from basically the beginning. Once they found out she would never speak to take over for one of her parents as a protege, they turned all their effort on Aishi to take over for one of them and looking in to possibly another child.
* After Aishi's death, Shizuka was blamed and kicked out of her own home with practically nothing, Mamorimasu's family gave her a game testing job in their company and help creating games. She has a side projects that she tells no one about but it pays well.

Not the Rabbit XD

[User]
Hirose Reimi

Solstice

Reimi, though socially awkward, at the very least was able to order her tea. The waitress walked towards herself, and Reimi placed her order for the supposed delicious bubble tea that Shin had recommended to her. It was unlike Shin to lie to Reimi. After all, they could be considered friends to say the least. Reimi considered Shin to be one of the few people she trusted. Though seemingly popular, Shin seemed to, at a core like herself, was flawed.

And Reimi understood this well.

No one is perfect. Humans existed as entities imperfect by design. A man's conscience and his judgment is the same thing; and as the judgment, so also the conscience, may be erroneous. The flesh endures the storms of the present alone; the mind, those of the past and future as well as the present. However, imperfection does not imply a flawed self by nature, and a flawed person was not an imperfect person by nature, nor are the two mutually exclusive.

 "Y-yeah of course."

Though Reimi tended to have problems expressing herself, she did seem a lot more lively in the presence of Shin. Though even to Shin it was a bit hard for her to open up completely, in the end opening up slightly was more than even Reimi might be able to confide in her parents, who seemed to almost ignore her entire existence.

Perhaps it was by chance the two met. Though someone not to believe in superstitious things like fate and whatnot, even Reimi considered that day "fateful". If she had not met a person in the sea of nothingness that became her life, and if he had not been able to smooth over her course personality, perhaps there might have been a different future to Reimi's end. The child to endless ridicule due to her natural tendency towards awkwardness and to a degree stoicism.

But to Shin's recommendation, Reimi took the cord and placed it into her Neurolinker. Though normally it was rather embarrassing after all, the only reason why a boy and a girl tended to use a direct link was due to their relationship being that of boyfriend and girlfriend. It was considered scandalous otherwise.

But Reimi considered such notions to be childish in the end. It was simply an exchange of thoughts no different than a conversation. The only reason the two would be forced to use the direct link must have been information a bit too sensitive for even the meager amounts of people within the cafe.

 "So, what did you wish to talk about, S-Shin?"

Though technology will continue to advance, it was always a bit odd for Reimi to direct connect to anyone. Direct connections require a degree of intimacy to trust another for this instance. A Neurolinker was the tool of the future, and to allow strangers into your key to modernism could impede on such processes. And even so, to allow someone to read your personal thoughts required a great deal of trust. But Reimi trusted Shin. At least, she hoped her trust in Shin was not ill-founded.

 "We don't seem to do this often do we? After all, that is what c-couples do. But it is nice to do this sort of thing with you, Shin. It kinda f-feels good. "

Well, it wasn't exactly like Reimi had a dirty mind. In fact, it was rather the ignorance of her statement's wording that lead her to say such an awkward thing through the direct link.

[Assistant]
Kazue leaned forward to push himself up off the ground, watching as the girl he'd bumped into turn her head towards him. Her hair perfectly framed her face, revealing who this person was. When she looked at him Kazue immediately knew who this person was. Her name was Momiji, they've had class at school together in the past years.

Kaz wasn't much of a socialite, and he really didn't have much(if any) friends. The people that he encountered on the day to day basis consisted of his two parents and sometimes his mailman, it wasn't exactly a perfect circle of friends. That being said, anybody else who left any sort of impression on him was usually remembered. Such as his best friend, or even, evidently, someone who knew his best friend.

Kaz lost in thought as he starred at this girl, was pulled down back to reality with a chain that took form as attitude. It took Kazue by surprise to see this girl, who at school, is a kindhearted and friendly individual, show so much bitterness. Kazue didn't see it coming at all, her words 'Watch where you're going, idiot!' stung his timid self.

Kazue was well aware of the persona's one takes on when they know they'll be judged by others, along with being around the people they know. It's very often a person chooses a mask that portrays them as a better person. It's only when caught off guard do you truly see whats underneath that aforementioned mask. Of course, everyone does this. Kazue once read a quote from a book he was reading that really gave him some perspective on how people act. It went along the lines of ' Every person wears three masks, a mask to show their friends, a mask to show their family, and a mask they only show to them self. These masks change over time and are different for everyone...'

Kazue looked down and felt he was responsible for this little dilemma, He was about to apologize and leave the cafe, but more words had escaped the girls mouth. These one's weren't hurtful, however. She explained who she was and that she knew Kazue. It was strange to him, he knew they'd met before but she was acting as they only seen each other before.

Kazue remembers a time when Yoshiro, his best friend who isn't here anymore, introduced Kaz and Momiji to each other. Why now is she acting like that? It was clear Kazue didn't pick up on many social clue, this being a prime example.

"I-I...We've met before..." Kazue said with some hesitance. He was starting to think maybe they had't officially met before, and that maybe Kazue had just imagined such a scenario.

He bit his lip a bit before he spoke again, he wanted to see if she remembered or not. He let out a whisper, only saying one word hoping she would acknowledge or at the very least humor his notion, "Yoshiro??" He said, as if he was asking if she'd remembered him or not. It was a little depressing to hear himself say it out loud, seeing as it was a name that was such a big part of his life.

He looked at Momiji with a confused expression on his face, as if he was thinking about whether or not they have met, or maybe confused at the fact that she couldn't remember.

[User]
Reimi's calm response to his suggestion allowed for Shin to calm down a great deal, That's right, nothing to get embarrassed or flustered about. We're just two friends having a private conversation, that's all, nothing more than that. he thought to himself, picking up his end of the cord. He felt around for the slot and inserted the connector once he located it, opening his window and dragging the document he had typed up to the linked icon, placing it there and sending it to her. "Before we discuss anything, you should read what I just sent you, it has the relevant information on something I've never told anyone before. You will be the first one I've ever told, so please keep what you read between us..." he paused here, his eyes looking away and down into his drink, "...nobody else needs to know." he added, his voice now sad. He remained silent, the only movement that came from him was when he went to sip his drink; even then, he kept his eyes focused outside on the rain. It mirrored how he felt inside. He figured Reimi was just about done reading the document when he finished taking another sip, his eyes finally meeting hers again, though the usual joy that was once in them had been replaced by the sadness his voice held minutes ago.

"I think that's probably why you and I get along so well, Reimi, we both know what it's like to be hurt." he told her. He sighed out loud, propping the side of his face up with his hand, "The game I mentioned, I actually stopped playing after all was said and done, I really didn't want to run the risk of seeing her again. It's also why I don't connect to the net outside of home or school anymore, it's too risky for me as I still have the program installed, so anyone could challenge me at any moment." he paused for a moment. He pointed at her, "And before you ask me, the answer is no, I have no interest in ever going back to that place. Even though it's been six months, the memories still linger there, especially the one involving the last time she and I saw each other. I never imagined in my life I would have to fight her, yet she had no qualms about it. I don't want to go through that again." he told her, lowering his finger. Despite what he said, there was a message between the words. He wanted to go back, he was just afraid he would have to face her, to relive the pain all over again. That scared him. More than anything in the world, did that one single thought alone, scare the living daylights out of him. Even as he tried not to let it show, his left hand shook ever so slightly, and the look in his eyes were that of fear. The accelerated world was his nightmare, and soon, his school life would become one as well.

[Assistant]
Kaoru Morita

"Y-yes! Thank you so very much!"

Thanking the person at the desk profusely, Kaoru Morita was on her way back home from the local convenience store. Her parents had sent her out to pick up some rice, some small snacks, and various sweets of no use outside of Kaoru just munching on them all through her day off from school. The bags tucked securely in her arms, she was currently running down the sidewalk, getting absolutely soaked from the rain.

Not the best way to start off a day, she had to admit.

But she just wanted to get home, first and foremost. Away from the world she found so daunting. Have a few snacks, log in for the day, and just have some fun. Perhaps she would log in as her K-chan persona for a while. It would give her something to do that didn't have to do with Naturia either way.

...Ish. She usually used her K-chan persona to promote Naturia.

Either way, she tried to speed up her trip home. The quicker she got out of the rain, the quicker she could find something else to do with her time.

[User]
Shizuka was completely lost in thought, waiting as the files to download and barely even noticing the mechanical movements of her spoon being lifted so she could take a bite. The spoon half the time would just hover still full before being placed back down into the bowl since the owner was to busy to focus on the task before her. The alert on her NeuroLinker was enough to jostle Shizuka from her thoughts and causing the girl to flinch just as the spoon went into her bowl. The action causing quite the mess as the contents of the bowl spilled all over the surface of the desk causing Shizuka to mouth a curse and look up at the ceiling for a moment as if asking it why since she would now of the redo the paperwork on her desk. She grabbed a towel, slowly cleaning up her mess and frowning as she thought once more what game the Red King was playing at by setting this up. It was obvious that there was some alternative motive but if she just didn't show than she wouldn't ever know what the other had planned. It felt like a trap even though she trusted the other girl, something was just...off. She worked on drying and salvaging what she could from the chaos of miso soup before plopping on the bed once more. Her body relaxed as she opened up the files, diving into the Virtual World that Keiko had created and waited for her avatar to load up. The player spawn lit up on the balcony, the avatar being formed slowly and when it had the small bead like black eyes opened to view a very blank room. There were only weapons of every kind, shape and size but most were grey meaning that they could not be in play yet and most likely needed to be earned or weren't actually ready yet. Her eyes were drawn away from the weapons, onto the actual player and watched as he was in stance across from the AI as the counter was almost to the end of its round.

3,2,1....FIGHT!


[System]
Username:
Austronaut
Race/Species:
Human

Gender:
Female

Age:
20

Career (if any) and Skills:
Duelist
Dancer

Weapons:
Rapier, Dagger, brace of dueling pistols. Throwing knives.

Attire:
Biancca dresses in a mercenary's approximation of court dress. She wears an ensemble of white and red silks with a tightly fitting leather vest. Stylish but functional leather boots round of the costume as well as a red cape, popular in Tilean dueling circles.

Equipment/Other
Poisons: Raised in affluence Biancca knows the polite way of doing things.
Clothing: Biancca's affection for pretty dresses and clothes is something of a joke. She dosen't travel light if she dosen't have to.

Physical Description (as detailed as possible please, pictures not accepted.):
Biancca is a beautiful Tilean woman, with dark hair and sparkling dark eyes. She has a classically beautiful heart shaped face, the kind Tilean painters like to use for a model. Red lips form a little cupid's bow mouth that make her seem friendly and more innocent than she actually is.

About average height she possesses a lithe grace and her slight frame supported tightly corded muscle. She has a dancer's physique which has treated her well in the mercenary life.

Mental Description/Personality:
Biancca is vivacious and loves life. She is quick to anger and quick to forgive. She has a regrettable tendency to leap before she looks and to become caught up in the drama of a situation when she should rightly be paying attention to business.

While generally friendly, she can be mercurial, and quick to be swayed by a handsome face or convincing oratory.

Background/History:

Biancca was born into the lower Tilean aristocracy and spent her girlhood in and around the various petty courts of that war torn kingdom. As a result she has an unusually good education, particularly in etiquette, and speaks like a noble.

Unfortunately for Biancca her various bastard uncles were a staple in the mercenary trade and filled her head with tales of glory and adventure. Quickly the safe walls seemed stuffy and constricting. It was no real challenge to use some of her allowance to get some training and to use her looks to convince amorous bravo's to show her a trick or two with sword or pistol.

By the time she turned seventeen she enlisted in a mercenary company with the sponsorship of her Uncle Rodrigo. Sleeping rough wasn't all it was cracked up to be but she found adventure and excitement a'plenty.

[User]
Just as quickly as it had all began, just as Bjorn was able to tackle and strangle a screaming goblin, the would-be bloodfest turned into... dinner.

It was an odd moment for Bjorn. There he stood with a large, heavy slab of stone he'd picked up, ready to hurl it at the offending goblin that had attacked them all from above. In those moments, the Norsca had a chance to make a few very important observations:

First: he realized the dwarf was right, and these were all probably going to be his brothers-in-battle. These people would be the ones he'd depend on for survival.

Second: he realized that while he could possibly kill them, that would leave him without brothers-in-battle.

Third: he'd probably lose the job if he killed his compatriots.

Fourth: food. Eat.

Therefore, deciding it was best to belay his killing urges, Bjorn sat himself down at the feasting table and grabbed a whole platter of mutton for himself. He ate voraciously, much as befit a hungry barbarian, and displayed all the courtly niceties of a rabid, starving wolf.

As he ate, the Skaeling began to look over his... battle brothers... for the first time. Well, he had seen them before, but things were finally calm enough that he could inspect them. The dwarf he gave his attention to first, wiping grease off his chin as he eyed the fellow. He seemed caught in a conversation with the woman that had entered the room last, grumbling something about the "manling lordling" that Bjorn couldn't make out over the sound of his own chewing. But what struck Bjorn was he was staring at an obvious veteran, a man whose hand appeared to be made of metal. His hair was graying, and his scars were numerous. Perhaps he couldn't reach the top of a bookshelf, but he seemed like an asset at the least.

Then there was the woman. Truth be told, Bjorn found it hard to be attracted to her, as much as he missed having a warm woman pressed against him. True, she was beautiful enough, but she was still young. What's more, she was shaped like a twig. She didn't have the girth of a proper Norsca woman. She did, however, have a warrior's confidence on her face - and that confused Bjorn, since she didn't seem to carry any real weapons on her. What in Khorne's accursed name did she intend to do with that skinny sword? Still, she had those guns as well, and if she was any good with them, well... that would be useful. That would be very useful.

His eyes flicked to the hobgoblin next. What little experience the Norsca had with hobgoblins told him they were a treacherous lot, not to be depended on in a pinch. Though this greenskin's attire was a little foreign to him, Bjorn had no doubt the best way to make sure the little monster actually fought was to keep it in front of him.

Bjorn trusted the smaller goblin a little more, specifically because he could throw him farther. He also noticed the goblin was eyeing him specifically, the same way he'd seen soldiers and adventurers staring at well bred horses for sale. The goblin, being weak like goblins naturally are, must have decided that the biggest person in the room was the best to keep close. This made sense: in greenskin bands, it was often the biggest, scariest ork which ruled them all.

Of course, that probably meant the goblin, like his taller kinsman, would turn yellow as soon as any of the fighting went south. And it could very well be the goblin was just thinking about stabbing him in the back first, or contemplating which boot to steal first should he die. Once again, the Norsca made a mental note to make certain the greenskins marched at the front of the battle lines.

There was one more fellow among these battle brothers: the halfling. He just... boggled Bjorn. He was musclebound, like a small, rounded ball of raw fury. If he didn't know any better, Bjorn might have thought the halfling was a tiny ogre, so muscular was he. He ate like a champion, too, tearing at a haunch of ham like some sort of ravenous beast. His face had a sort of scowl to it, even though he certainly seemed to be enjoying his meal, as if he were going to rip off the arm of anyone that threatened his platter of meat and vegetables. And his cleaver... it was...

Well, Bjorn knew he didn't want to learn if the halfling could swing that cleaver just yet.

Really, when Bjorn looked out at the group as a whole, he realized something: there was an awful lot of distrust. The greenskins were hard to read, but that's because they were the little sort, and the little sort always wanted to find good fights while being more than eager to switch sides at the wrong moment. Nobody seemed particularly enthused about the state of affairs. If this was going to be his band of brothers, and if they, as a group, were going to do any work for the crazed lord that gathered them together... They were going to need some sort of camaraderie, weren't they?

"You've got a mighty healthy appetite, shortstuff," Bjorn grunted to the halfling with a belch, grinning over at the halfling. "And you've got a mighty weapon, too. If you fight like you eat, woe betide our foes, eh?" With a chuckle, the Norsca grabbed at the nearest pitcher of ale and took a solid gulp from it, belching yet again. Then he looked about the table with another sweep of his head.

"So, we're all here for this Lord of Guh-cargo's job offer, eh?" Bjorn thought aloud, pausing in his meal and setting his elbows on the table. "This seems a damned motley crew. It might help if there were names to go with these ugly faces, or else I might just call you something we'd all regret!" The huge man slapped his hands into a bowl of water, splashed the stuff over his face, and started to clean his face just so.

"My name is Bjorn. They call me bear-blooded, though I can't imagine why." Wrapping a giant hand around a haunch of meat, the Skaeling then tore off a piece, swallowed, and grinned in a friendly manner at his company. "Well?" he grunted. "Spit out your names! I'd rather know who I'll be singing of should any of you die in battle."

[Assistant]
The stained, dusty heap of multicolored fabric had squeezed itself out from under a pile of broken planks, shrieking and scurrying over behind the fur-clad giant on base instinct, darting from one tree-trunk leg to the other as the familiar sign of Dwarven bloodlust glittered in Sketti's eyes and the house manservant crumpled in on himself in growing despair.

"Ehhh, phwoar!" it had squeaked, obnoxiously, waving the I AM A MERSENARY stikk like a defensive talisman, "What a, um, terrible accident!"

---

Food had a way of enforcing the most uneasy of truces, and so it was that the would-be hirelings now sat around the banquet table as the dust settled, and one or two stubborn chunks of rubble dropped down from the erstwhile balcony above.

"See, I was jus' lookin' about fer da boss of da castle," Gobskag was explaining, shrilly, "When I noticed dis, ehhh..." the goblin's beady red eyes shifted between Jan and the Dwarf, "evil-lookin'... one-armed... 'alfling..." he tried, "All lurkin' about, wiv a crossbow an' all like, eyein' the proceedins below. And ehhh, I heard 'im mutterin' like, sayin "I'll get dese gits if iss da last fing I do, cos I 'ate da boss of dis castle an I'm gunna shank anyone what tries ta help 'im!""

Gobskag stuffed a whole potato in his mouth, not even slowing down as he continued his tale and chewed at the same time, potentially goading Biancca to put a musket ball between his eyes and spare her another moment of Etiquette Hell.

"Well, bein' of an 'eroic nature, I charged the git, an' fought wiv all da strengf I could musta, which is why I was shoutin', see -- but it were too late! Da platform fing started to break, and he disappeared inna puff of smoke, leavin' me ta fall to my deff! 'Ow was I to know dis castle was so shonky? Fank Mork da damage weren't worse than it was! And that, ehhh, the, ehh, nice... stunty... didn't get krumped."

Gobskag tried not to look shifty, unfortunately looking shifty about trying not to look shifty.

"You boyz an' ehh... girly-boyz..." he attempted, eyeing Biancca uncertainly, "...can calls me Gobskag da Great, top finga-waggla of da Scarey Face tribe, an' also da Black Bonez tribe. Dey's all dead, mind, but it still counts."

Another potato and the top half of a drumstick, bones and all, followed the first into Gobskag's abnormally capacious gob.

"Fooo, ehhh.... (chomp, krakk) ..Whem duff we gef paid?"

[User]
Biancca felt the tension ease out of her as the gathering descended into more or less civil discourse. She smiled sunnily at the dwarf.

"Mad as a march hare by all reports," she agreed, making no effort to conceal her voice.

"Still it is the interrogative of the prosperous to be eccentric..." blank stares greeted her. Elocution clearly wouldn't be a large part of this job, if she agreed to take it.

"I mean to say the rich can be crazy if they have the gold," she amended, with a concerted effort to use smaller words.

The goblin's ate with a feral enthusiasm that made the half-ling and barbarian look like courtiers. She hadn't served much with greenskins in the past but their evil reputation and unreliability were almost a mercenary by-word. That left the barbarian, the halfling and the dwarf. She wondered how reliable any of them might be. Still she needed the job which meant she needed them.

"I am pleased to meet you Bjorn Bearblooded," she declared formally pushing herself to her feet and taking a long swig from her glass of wine. It really was an excellent vintage she decided.

She stood with a flourish, pivoting slowly to take in the assembly bowing slightly to the assembled group.

"I am Biancca Del'Arivara, I am honored to meet you all," she lied outrageously, "I'm sure our patron will appear in due time and let us know exactly how we can win glory, honor, and most importantly gold in his service."


[System]
The Naive Ryugitsune

---

"You wouldn't like me when I'm angry. It's okay, though; you seem harmless."

[User]
There was little else to do but sit down and listen. Ming did so, keeping her back straight and her hands in her lap like she did when the priests gave her lessons. She listened attentively.

When asked to answer, Ming twisted her mouth as she peered up in thought. "Well...umm..." She pushed her hair out from in front of her eye. "I was hoping to have fun in the tournament, but if someone is going to try and ruin it, I'll help stop them. You seem nice, too, so you getting killed would be mean." She looked at her friends. "Should we help?"

[Assistant]
~ ❀  ❀ ~
______________________________________________________________________________________
N a t s u m i
~~~~~~~~
_________

E n c h a n t i n g G e i s h a
------------------- -----------
___________ ______

______________________________________________________________________________________Sat with legs crossed, looking about the lavish room more than espousing Elf, Natsumi wondered to himself. Most of this information they had known before they hopped on the boat, more still had come quite soon after. The deaths of former contestants, however, did perk his ear. So to speak. He turned his attention to nobody, staring intently at a fixture on the wall as if it were a figure in his mind, and said, "Doesn't the plot twist sound like the Wu's were behind the killings all along?" He turned, then, to the rest of the group sat comfily about in this miniature palace. "I think that if we want to save our own hide, we don't have much of a choice but to help along. I mean, if we want to win, then that puts us in considerable danger." He sighed to himself, "If only them and I could just have a little chat. I'm sure then they could see that working for us would be a much better use of their time than loathing after a little pally."

[User]
Marthysan  the Righteous

---

"You are welcome to try," Marthysan replied with a chuckle. "I certainly would not mind a reprieve from looking over my shoulder. But I doubt that we would see any long-term changes, even in the best of scenarios." The paladin gave a yawn and stood to his feet, adjusting his tunic. "The night has been long, and there is much to do tomorrow for all of us. You will have to sign into the tournament, and will likely have your first match. Plus, there are the other challenges that you are welcome to attempt."

Marthysan looked around at the group that had gathered before him and offered a warm smile. "So, do you accept my offer? If yes, we should retire, but you aren't forced to. If not, I suppose you would like to take this time to find your room from the front desk. Just know that I offer this information freely with no other agenda than I have stated. I swear upon the honor of the Light of the Sword, the Inheritor: Iomedae."

[Assistant]
---

---

 The silence that stretched over the group caused Hanani to frown, he was mildly surprised that none of the usually bubbly ones jumped on the chance of a free room and more 'glory'. Letting out a sigh, the Magus brought his hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache, maybe he did, who knew but him? "I think it's a rather easy choice," he finally said, his tone bored, "We get to pick your brain about the tournaments and get access to a really nice room and all we have to do is keep you alive and fight a bunch of crazies to prove we are better than everyone else here..." He shrugged his shoulders as if the choice was obvious, which it was to him. Who would possibly pass up the opportunity to sleep in such a nice room and get all the information possible about past tournaments that he may know about. Plus, if they had an enemy in plain sight, it would be good to get as much information about them as possible so they could dispatch them quickly.

Elven Magus Shadowdancer
HP: 113/113 AC: 21
Initiative: +7 Hero Points: 2
Arcane Pool: 9/9

 Duration of Spell(s) Left:

Prepped Spells:

Cantrips -
 Vicious Mockery - 2
 Mage Hand - 2
 Open/Close - 1
 Light - 1

First Level -
 Shocking Grasp - 2
 Shield - 1
 Burning Hands - 2
 Corrosive Touch - 1

Second Level -
 Scorching Ray x2 - 1
 Visualization of the body - 1
 Aristocratic Nightmare - 1
 Fiery Brand - 2

Third Level -
 Air Geyser - 1
 Force Hook - 1

[User]
---

Ruby Phoenix Tournament - Day One

---

The night passes without incident as the party finds themselves drawn to sleep in some of the most comfortable beds they had ever felt. The morning soon breaks, and it seems as if all of New Harbor wakes before dawn. Even as the dull orange sun creeps slowly over the eastern horizon, the fishermen have already crowded into their boats. They move swiftly, like blackened silhouettes dancing against dawn's watercolor pallet, eerily silent except for the shuffling of ropes and oars, and the caws of their trained cormorants. Marthysan greets the party when they rise, already awake and brewing his morning tea, and tells them they need to get going so they won't be late for the opening exhibition. Finding their way to the Grand Pavilion poses no challenge, who find a steady stream of boats carrying contestants and observers who can afford passage across the bay to the seaside arena, while droves of locals follow the coastal path to the pavilion.

The Grand Pavilion and surrounding fairgrounds lie deep within the cove, and feature a massive and elaborate combat arena specifically constructed for the tournament. Scores of colorful tents cram the grounds spreading from the wood almost to the water. A line of spectators stretches from the Grand Pavilion, waiting to enter the arena. Contestants are given priority, and red- and orange-clad monks usher the eclectic collection of warriors and battlemages into the arena to stand before the Emissary.

Before they are allowed to enter the Grand Pavilion, however, the party must sign an entrance contract before an Abadaran cleric. On the contract, the PCs must write their team name, and the name of each member of the team. They must also each sign their names to the contests' five simple rules, which are:

• The commands of the Emissary and his agents are to be obeyed at all times, and the Emissary's word is final. None shall take violent action against the Emissary or his agents.
• No contestant may leave Xielan Island until the conclusion of the tournament for any reason.
• Once a round has begun, no contestant may receive any aid, be it magical or mundane, from anyone not participating in the round as a contestant.
• Should any contestant yield to a foe and forfeit the battle, failure of other contestants to honor that forfeit will result in immediate disqualification.
• No contestant shall loot the body of a fallen foe.
• All contestants agree that there shall be no ties; only one team may be named the champions.

Once each member signs the entry contract (which is mandatory for participation), monks escort them to the fight stage, where they find many other contestants already assembled, each waiting patiently, and watching performer acrobats entertain the growing crowd as the audience files into the grandstands.

In the grandstands, a tenuous hush falls upon the immense and eager crowd. Moments later, the curtains part, revealing the Emissary flanked by the oni Kiang Zhen and the previous Ruby Phoenix Champion, the half-elf paladin Marthysan the Righteous. Behind the Emissary, like motionless statues, stand no less than a dozen qinggong monks—his mystic disciples and bodyguards. As all watch rapt, the Emissary rises and addresses the crowd.

"I am Sifu Xho Nuo—Emissary of the Ruby Phoenix Tournament and guardian of the legacy of Hao Jin, the once immortal sorceress in whose name you are gathered here to battle. To honor the Grandmaster's legacy, I stand before you to carry out her final will: the thirty-first decennial Ruby Phoenix Tournament. Without further delay, we begin our first round of the contest. May the worthiest win!"

Upon his final words, the crowd erupts into clamorous applause, and the contestants scatter for their respective seats or positions throughout the pavilion. The PCs are escorted by a group of silent usher monks and directed to the center of the fight stage to face their first opponents, the most skilled martial artists of the famed Monastery of the Enduring Spirit in Quain. The party is given a minute to prepare for the combat, at which point the gates will open and the contest shall begin.

[Assistant]
It was decided. Outside of the bouts of the tournament itself, they had a new mission. Ming was so excited that she thought she would have trouble sleeping. As soon as she was out of her armour and on the futon, however, she felt all her energy get sucked away into the soft surface. She did not realise the sensation until the sunlight peeked in.

Ming greeted Marthysan with a bow, a smile, and a quiet good morning. As good as the tea smelled, she swiftly excused herself for her morning prayer. She lit a stick of incense, held her silver locket in both hands, and spoke at barely a whisper to Daikitsu. She thanked her for all the help the day before, hoped she enjoyed the song and the food and all the excitement, and kindly requested her watchful eye for another day. She promised to share some more today.

>Spell prep: Just as yesterday except swapping Compel Hostility for Stone Shield, Desecrate for Shard of Chaos, and Savage Maw for Grace.
>(This is not at all because Mutton was a dumb-dumb and forgot to buy the material components for Desecrate)

By the time Ming stood up from the balcony, she consulted her party for whom to receive a little trick for the tourney today. They knew the procedure by now. Maiko offered, and Ming sat with her for ten minutes to gently chant and wish blessings upon her. Then, abrutly, Ming poked Maiko on the nose. Maiko felt her bones hum for a moment. She was imbued with Daikitsu's favor.

>Imbue With Spell Ability cast from domain slot. Maiko may now cast 2x Cure Light Wounds and 1x Grace, each at CL 10.
>Maiko has these spells until they are used, or until Ming dismisses the imbue effect.
>These imbued spells do not require a divine focus to cast normally, but we'll need to get a spare holy symbol for other spells for future imbuing.

The rest of the morning was mainly spent bickering over selecting a team name. Ming had plenty of suggestions to give that were promptly discussed for little to know length of time. 'The Tail Chasers,' 'Hanani's Honeys,' 'The Bun Munchers,' 'Daikitsu's Divas,' 'The Moë Marauders,' and 'The Fruit Foxes' were the highlights from Ming. She wondered how they could make a decision at all if such wonderful titles could be shuffled off on a whim.

Nevertheless, they had a muster to attend. They signed in, much to the jumpiness of Ming, making her armour rattle as they were brought to their first bout.

"Yesyesyesyes! Let's fight!" She made no effort to hide her teeth as she bounced in place and bestowed boons to the party on the final countdown.

>Bless: (Standard action) Each ally gains a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and on saving throws against fear effects. This lasts 10 minutes.
>Stigmata: (Standard action) Ming takes 1 hp of damage each round as she bleeds from ritual markings. Ming gains a +1 sacred bonus to saves until she stops the stigmata.
>Folding Tower Shield: (Move action) The buckler on Ming's arm springs out in extradimensionally hidden surfaces, clacking and clicking into a tall rectangle emblazoned with nine etched fox tails. It's a tower shield now.

[User]
Kyoumi spent the rest of the night in silence, with the majority of the night and morning not spent sleeping spent on meditation and prayer, though shortly before they were brought to the arena, she did take some time to comb her hair, brush her teeth, and weave her hair into hard-to-grab patterns.

"We're not going to lose this fight, no matter who we face. We're destined to win, right?" She said to the group, before joining the discussion on group names, though her only good suggestion in her opinion was Glitter and Rainbows and Ünicorns and Princesses, or GRÜP. She didn't expect the group to agree to it, but at least it was simple.

Once they reached the arena and signed in, however, she ceased talking, entering a sort of battle trance, as she cast spells to prepare for combat.

>Mage Armor (+4 armor bonus to AC), Shield (+4 shield bonus to AC), Disguise Self (A heavily armored human samurai of indeterminate sex with a plumed kabuto and draconic mempo), and Mirror Image (4 extra Kyoumi-samurai).


[System]
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Personality: Feon is very upbeat to the point of being annoying. She does have a bit of a dark side though, as she has been known to lose control. She has no problem with killing others, sometimes she may even do it on "Accident".
Appearance:

Height: 5'4, Orange eyes, Orange Hair, Weight: 120 pounds
Cup size: Washboard

Magic level: Medium
Type: Caster
Specialization: Support/Enhancement Magic
Style: Melee
Physical mutation: Some the skin on her arms and legs as well as abdomen is rather tough due to her constant use of skin hardening magic.
Spells: Shield magic, Speed enhancement magic, Strength enhancement, Weapon enhancement, Healing enhancement, Invisbility, Weight enhancement
Equipment: Two Daggers, each with what looks like a sapphire in the hilts.
Title: Two faced Enchanter.
History: Details will be revealed in IC.
Feon was born into a rich family. She started to learn magic at around the age of 5 through some private tutoring. When she was 7 she was taken away from her family and held hostage for days. However her family never sent anyone for her, instead after awhile her kidnappers started to grow impatient and as such started to take it out on Feon. They started to beat her almost daily. After about a week of beatings Feon suddenly snapped. The moment she got her hands on a knife she started to go crazying stabbing each of her kidnappers multiple times. She came out of the kidnapping, to her parents who feigned excitement to see her back. Feon left her family at the age of 14 and started to travel the world. She started to see the brighter things in life on her travels. Thus she became a much brighter person. She eventually joined the Dragoon Guild at age 23 with much excitement, hoping that she would find even more adventures with the guild.

[User]
Cinia and Linia gave a sigh when the girl started to talk normally again. "Sorry about that, we have had some bad experiences with people who acted like that, especially back on the island." Linia said taking the lead like she always did, even though Linia was the younger of the two she always seemed to take the lead when needed. "Anyway's I'm Cinia." Cinia introduced herself, and Linia joined shortly aftwards. "I'm Linia." She said with a smile. The two of them really were twins from how much they relied on each other.

Feon meanwhile smiled at Hiryu before turning to see the other areas in the marketplace. She really liked some of the teddy bears, specifically one with a bow just above it's tail and just under the neck on it's front. "It's soo cute!" Feon said walking towards it with a huge smile on her face. "Once this job is done I am so buying this!" Feon said turning towards Hiryu with a smile on her face. Feon then turned towards the caravan that she was meant to be protecting. "Right, so I think it may be a good idea if one of us scouts out the route we will be taking. We may be able to find them before they find us." Feon said now turning her attention to the job at hand. "I know your fast, but I could certainly make you faster if you wanna start scouting now." Feon said to Hiryu as she knelt down to enchant her legs with a speed enhancement spell.

[Assistant]
"It seems pretty popular," added Hiryu, glancing around at the crowds walking through the town. Quite a few girls were walking around with that particular model teddy bear, although Hiryu didn't mention that specifically. He didn't know how to respond to the part about it looking cute and so chose to ignore it. He also didn't want to have any more conversations about how cute and pretty things were and decided to push the envelope. "Right there; there's our merchant." he mentioned, pointing to a shop front. Outside of it was a cart, being loaded with goods by an adult, middle-aged man. Hiryu walked up to the man to introduce himself. "You ask for escorts?"

"Oh, you responded to my job request? You read the whole thing right? I'll pay you up front and a bonus when we arrive." replied the merchant in a matter of fact way. "If you make it." Hiryu narrowed his eyes at the comments. It was strange to him that the marchant be so foreboding. The merchant seemed convinced that he would run into trouble, trouble that would require the help of mages to escape successfully. It was suspicious for the merchant to be so convinced such a level of danger would be coming for him. Enough for Hiryu to potentially break the cardinal rule of transporting, the rule with got him expelled from his clan in the first place.

"You never said what we would be transporting," Hiryu teased to the merchant, now with an interest to fish for clues.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some trade goods from the festival over to the next town," replied the merchant as he was putting the finishing touches on. Hiryu glance at one of the crates the merchant was dropping on, and also at his shop front. Everything was so nondescript, blank. Hiryu genuinely couldn't get a read on what kind of merchant this man was or any clue of what was inside those boxes.

"W-w-well now, I'm sure that you guys could manage whatever comes, you don't want to stray too far away from me, I'm paying you to protect me after all, haha..." quickly rebutted the merchant. Hiryu paused on the merchant for a second, potentially a second too long as the merchant's disposition changed to a nervous and self conscious bemusement.

"It's a good call," replied Hiryu to Feon. "I know the trail you're trying to take. I'm familiar enough with it. It passes by the train bridge over the Acacia river. Should be routine enough," Hiryu scanned the earnestness on the merchant's face, who seemed to be trying to grab Hiryu with a glare to hold him from going. It lasted less than an instant - a freudian slip of sorts, too quick for Hiryu to sus out what his deal is. Hiryu moved to stand in front of Feon. "So... do I need to do anything or..." he asked with a shrug in regards to her enchantment.

[User]
"hero? HERO? you think i want to be a bloody hero? heroes are just as bad as the bandits that burned down my home and killed my brother!" Lance snapped at the idea of being called a hero, after learning about the world he and the group he lived with for the past 6 years started to despise heroes "only kids believe in heroes... every one of us stopped believing in heroes and now some stranger tells me to stop trying to be a hero, pathetic way to make me look like a foolish child as you claim" Lance picked up his sword and the photo "you hunt monsters do you!? why don't you look at yourself before you start claiming things!"

He and the kids stopped listening to the stranger that intruded their home as they all said in sync "I won't follow you unless you understand the pain we all went through" Lance was surprised to hear the others think the same way "come on Lance you are from the Lance family line you can't let some stranger take us away..." Lance reacted surprised "N-Nick that's supposed to be a secret! in case my family is famous or something!" Lance looked at the stranger "listen i know what your asked to do and everything but can you let the baker know that he is in for a surprise for when he finds out who the thief is... i used to be his neighbor and when i lost my home i started to buy his bread the first few week but i told him if i vanish the bandits would have found me and killed me" He grabbed his old noble's coat unique to only him as it had his name on it.

it reminded him of who he was in the past "i told him such lies when i really just started to steal his food" He looked at his small pouch of jewels "i wish there was a place i could take jobs rather than just asking people if i could do something, and later today i have to dance with someone for 5000 jewels... i don't think i'll get paid that much but hey if i can make a girl happy sure, i think i talked enough lets go... you guys stay behind in case someone comes... you remember the tactics i taught you... you don't want to end up like Kazaku last week..." he grabbed a old photo on display "damn these street rats killing my kin because i defeated them" again letting him get distracted by the little details letting the stranger wait even longer "r-right to be baker right? sorry for the wait" he walked towards the stranger wearing his old (undamaged) coat

[Assistant]
A rather sinister smirk look came onto Feon's face as Hiryu stood near her ready for the enchantment. Without another word she slapped his butt with the enchantment, it didn't really matter where it was placed, but she always liked to trick others into thinking it mattered where it was placed she could it somewhere odd, sometimes she was slap someones face with an enchantment just to see their reaction. "Let's go then." Feon said as she started to run ahead of him, almost like she was playing tag with him. Feon certainly liked to have fun with whoever she was working with, and it never seemed to be a dull moment when she was doing so.

A few miles into the trail Feon started to notice that there were alot of broken branches. She stopped and started to look around at the branches. "I think this may be where the last attack took place." Feon said as she started to look around at the ground for any signs of traps or pitfalls. If she needed to Feon could slap a few enchantments on her self at a moment's notice. She had her daggers on the back of her belt ready to be grabbed if she noticed something was off.

[User]
Hiryu's eyes stretched wide at the feel of Feon on his rear. It was more than just uncool, it was a sudden and direct violation of his personal space. His back went rigid and upright, frozen in place on contact. He swallowed the lump in his throat and attempted to move passed it.

"Okay..." he muttered with a blink. He shuffled his legs, testing their reaction. He felt turbocharged. Feon moved on ahead of him and Hiryu took a couple steps to chase her, but stopped, remembering the merchant. He looked back. The man was nervous. He couldn't hide it. Hiryu wondered if he was even trying to at this point. "We have everything under control. You have my word." replied Hiryu, before jetting off to the scene of the last robbery. along the way, Hiryu remarked on how fast Feon's magic made him. Running was a naturally forte, but Feon's magic seemed to make it truly effortless. When he arrived, he immediately knew the scene didn't make sense. The attack was situated out in the wilderness. For any gang of roving bandits and thugs they couldn't afford to scour the entire area between cities like this looking for travelling stock or traders. They would need to set up camp, somewhere they can work around. The vast openness between towns of Fiore created too many opportunites to miss someone by chance of being in the wrong place or at the wrong time. The struggle looked precise, not necessarily organised, but precise. They left nothing of whatever was being transported, meaning they had they own means of transporting it after the attacked the wagon. What's more, there was wreckage of the wagon still left lying around, meaning they didn't steal that to make their exit either.

"We need to head back to that merchant." explained Hiryu, before high-tailing it back the way they came. The prior encounters with bandits on this trade route were not random. There were prepared for when and where they were attacking the traders and what they were highjacking them for. More to the point, Hiryu was convinced that the merchant already knew all this.

---

The Merchant didn't wait for Feon and Hiryu to return, feeling to anxious as a sitting duck. The merchant boarded his wagon and commanded the horses to mush in the direct of his destination. The horses moved into a trot and the merchant glanced left and right as he moved further and further from town. Unfortunately, while out on the meadows near the train tracks, he heard a whistle. It startled him. Upon glancing around, he saw a man on horseback, beset by mountain bandits on steeds resembling wild boars or pigs. He tried to out pace them by forcing the horses into a gallop, but the bandits closed in on him from all directions.

[Assistant]
Feon followed Hiryu as closely as she could, though even with her enchantment keeping up with him wasn't easy due to his already superior stamina. Feon noticed the merchant already coming towards them, she also noticed the arrival of the bandits. She grabbed her daggers as her eyes seemed to go from happy to down right sadistic, she would get a chance to kill. Her sadistic nature made many others fear her, others in the guild normally kept their distance from her during missions that required battle.

Once Feon got close enough to one of the bandits she jumped into the air and sent a kick right to their face kicking them right off their mount. Once they were on the ground Feon's eyes grew even more sadistic as she was about to stab the bandit in the chest with both her daggers. "Show me some blood!!" Feon yelled out in glee.


[System]
Age: 18

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Weapon:
Two metal tonfas, Artorius and Gwenhwyfar (formerly Lawnslot). Both are identical, visually, save perhaps a few differences in internal mechanism. In the traditionally held position, the longest part of the body aligning along the forearm, the forward facing post is actually a shotgun barrel; though standard shells are the usual ammunition, dust rounds can be loaded instead. The storage area expands along the spine of the weapon. The recoil is often used for propulsion when useful. The primary length of each tonfa actually has a blade running along it, resembling one half of a sword, to be specific.

This is because both weapons are capable of combining into a large, long sword; Caledfwlch. The two weapons reconfigure in such a way as to create a long, straight two-handed sword with a straight crossguard. The shotgun barrels are reoriented as the crossguard, one pointing to the left and the other to the right, used to enhance the power behind his swings.

Artorius and Gwenhwyfar both have one other unique attribute; high capacity batteries built into their frame. Each battery continuously siphons a supply of Aura from Benjamin, building the energy up so long as they are, in some way, upon his person. This energy can be released with a button built in below the shotguns' triggers, on the handle of the combined blade, or on the handle of the smaller tonfas. The release of this energy usually is used to power his Semblance, and must be replenished over time when discharged.

Joyous Guard
Expansion Calibrated for Ultimate Resistance
B. Lloyd #8 of 7

An expansion device manufactured to work in conjunction with Artorius and Gwenhwyfar. In its default form the Joyous Guard is a tower shield, large and incredibly heavy. Two racks are integrated into its back side for holding the two tonfa when not in use. It can be held in hand, affixed to the forearm (vertically or horizontally) or stored on Benjamin's back. The top and bottom sides taper off into wedges, enabling it to be used as an offensive bludgeoning weapon when affixed horizontally to the forearm. Its connection to the forearm is carefully designed to ensure that both tonfa are compatible in use when the shield is in play, though Joyous Guard is primarily intended for use with Caletfwlch. The shield is manufactured from dense, durable metals, making it even heavier than it looks. For this reason Gravity Dust was used in its construction, making it nearly weightless in Ben's hand. Notably, however, it is Aura-coded to Ben's Aura; in the hands of anyone not on its whitelist, the Gravity Dust reverses and makes it too heavy to be lifted.

Joyous Guard's secondary configuration requires the use of Artorius and Gwenhwyfar. The shield unfolds, incorporating the transformation mechanisms in both tonfa to provide the necessary components for the configuration. Namely they provide part of the edges and part of the hilt of the immense two-handed sword Joyous Guard becomes. The effects of the Dust carry over in this form, ensuring that Ben can swing it almost as easily as he would Caletfwlch. In fact, due to the nature of F=ma, a swing from it will be many times as devastating with a fraction of the effort. Like Caleftwlch, the shotgun barrels incorporated into the hilt aid in granting increased force to its swings.

Finally, in a tertiary configuration, Joyous Guard can convert while affixed to Ben's forearm by splitting down the middle and orienting the magnetic racks used to hold Artorius and Lawnslot along the two horizontal halves. The Lightning Dust used to generate that magnetic field, in this form, cranks into overdrive to turn the shield into a forearm mounted electromagnetic cannon. Slow-firing, but incredibly potent in its offensive power. Artorius and Lawnslot are absolutely necessary for this configuration, as they provide the additional structural stability needed to let Joyous Guard withstand the considerable forces exerted. As a bonus, however, this makes their shotgun barrels useful in this configuration.
Specialty: Benjamin is a highly adaptable fighter. He lacks dedicated defensive capabilities, but his weapons serve very well as augmentation to forearm blocks. The lightweight nature of his weapons, however, also means that he is a highly agile fighter. His preference is to move as quickly as possible, landing strikes when opportunities present themselves and evading blows (blocking if absolutely unavoidable).

Use of both his Semblance and Caledfwlch is exceedingly rare, to the point that they have not yet been used during his career at Beacon. Both are abilities and options he keeps to himself, aces up the sleeve. Ultimately, his style permits him to act as the situation demands, though the drawback to the continuous siphoning of his Aura, as well as his lack of any dedicated defensive tools, is that his personal defenses are noticeably lower than others'.

Semblance: Deinamig: Benjamin is capable of using Aura to fuel an individual section of his body to well beyond its usual limits. Fueling his legs, for example, will drastically increase both speed and power of his legs, and fueling his arms will do much the same. This can, theoretically, be applied to any section of his body. The Aura for this is usually provided by the resevoirs built up within his weapons, but that supply is not infinite. If a situation arises where he is unable to tap into it (or it runs out) he can directly fuel his Semblance with his present Aura.

Personality: Benjamin is a friendly guy. He also, at first glance through his performance in school, nothing to write home about. Average or slightly above in all his classes, with the only oddities appearing once one takes a closer look. His homework assignments represent minimal effort, while all examination scores actually place him near the top of the grading scale. Between the two, depending on how the class is run, they average out to roughly average grades. In short, Benjamin doesn't bother to do his homework until the last minute, if at all. He conforms to a decidedly nonstandard view of what is important, and what is not. Things he views as "busy work", such as most homework assignments, are treated with at best casual disregard, while things he views as important (tests, examinations, practice, getting to know people) works at. His strange views actually are rooted in a single opinion; if it isn't something he needs to do in order to do well in his life, it doesn't really matter. People skills will be important, combat skills will be important, all of the knowledge he amasses will be important. So he takes his tests and exams seriously, but at the end of the day… Who's going to care, once he leaves Beacon, whether or not his did his vocabulary flash cards?

This practical viewpoint extends to many aspects of his life, but he will always make an effort to get to know people. His wit might be a little sarcastic at times, but anyone who he views as a friend will find that few will go to greater lengths for their friends. Aside from his practicality, which more than a few teachers might instead term "laziness", Ben has one other notable quirk. He seldom fights at full capacity. He believes it is always best to have an ace or two tucked away up the sleeve, so that if a situation ever arises where he simply can't handle it, or needs just a little more power… He has something to draw on.

Color: Steel Gray

Emblem: A single inverted sword set behind a shield emblazoned with a crown device.

Appearance: Benjamin is a few inches short of six feet, making about average height for his gender. He has an athletic build, obviously necessary given his school, but he isn't overly muscular.The fighting style he prefers requires nimble movements, mandating that he maintain both a reasonable muscle mass as well as his agility. A faint grin is his default expression, blue-gray eyes bright with life under slightly messy light brown hair. He wears the Beacon school uniform completely unmodified, though it isn't at all uncommon to see him take the coat off and carry it around. When not attending class (and thus not required to wear his uniform), he tends to default to jeans paired with a black or gray long sleeved shirt. Light but durable boots are his footwear of choice, as his usual field attire simply adds some lightweight gray armor over his torso, and perhaps greaves to his shins. Artorius and Lawsnlot are carried at his belt, one on either side.

[User] Krysthane brightened up, actually this gave her the perfect chance to began questioning. "No sir, we're here for a mission actually. As you probably know a bunch of police officers are down with the flu right now so my team was called in to temporarily assist and keep an eye out. Right now we're attempting to investigate some reports on vandals in the area causing some problems in the area, do you know anything about that? Oh and also, I know it sounds silly but have you had any Grimm sightings in the area recently?" Krysthane inquired, all business now that her playtime was done. Hopefully these knights would have something more concrete to work on, so far it seemed the Grimm sighting were nothing serious.

[Assistant]
Ciel - Resolute
"I am still unsure on all of this something smells foul about all of this" Ciel spoke up stating her own opinions on the matter at hand. While it was true that these people weren't the strongest minus her minor effort of fear and getting caught in the illusion. "I do think that it could be a front and perhaps we were meant to find these but this could just be me being overly cautious." She continued as she turned briefly to face her team mates. Maybe it was just her but she did believe that despite everything that happened that it was to easy to grab said information they were practically screaming their colors for the world to see. Still she supposed Jack could be right and they were mere peons in the scheme of things rather than anything else. Beyond that though they completed the mission and to her that was what mattered more it showcased to her at least her faults and she was going to become stronger or have a way to make sure she won't fall for such illusions again.

[User] Daniel watched as Greyson put two cards face down and declare, "Two fours." If Daniel understood correctly, he needed to put cards face down as well and tell his opponent what they were. Sounded simple. A little too simple, perhaps. Well, he'd learn the rules as he went. Daniel took one card from his hand and placed it face down, saying, "One 5."

[Assistant] I say your bluffing" Greyson said with a small smile wondering if he was right, it was a small thrill thinking he could be right or wrong on this. Not fighting for your life kind of thrill but it was so much better then sitting in bed waiting for his wound to heal. If Greyson was right about Daniel's bluff then Daniel would have to take all the cards currently on the pile the name of the game was to empty the hand and if they had most of the cards in the deck they would end up loosing the game. Greyson wondered how Robert and Priscilla were doing as they talked about a pet having a semblance or something. Greyson didn't think it was odd since the Faunus were part animals why wouldn't a real animal have one? That was just Greyson's opinion however...

[User] "I say you're bluffing," Greyson said. Daniel raised an eyebrow. Now there's the catch in this game, Daniel thought. So the objective was to lie about the cards they were placing down, and without getting caught, probably. Unfortunately for Greyson, Daniel had not been lying about the card, and Daniel flipped the card over, revealing it to be the 5 of clubs. "Sorry, man, this is a five," Daniel said, grinning. "So, what happens if you get it wrong?"

[Assistant]
Sarina Tala Dei (SC) and Vega Venetia (VGNB)

Vega was left annoyed after the two Faunus left a mess in the Dining Hall as she saw the littered floors of the dining hall while observing a group of pissed off annoyed students. Why did we have to have a freshman with us… As she sighed. "Hey Gratia" as she looked at her with her annoyed face "Next time watch what you say in public. Anyway" as she looked to her cousin "Tala, can we…leave. I'm done."

"Alright. Let's continue our tour." While the tour group finished cleaning up their table, Sarina was talking to group of angry chefs. "Their names are Shiro Kuhaku and Gren Orchid of Team Swansong." She said in an orderly tone. The tour group followed her outside of the Dining Hall; Sarina saw an open window and approached it to seeing Gren. "Tsk, freshman." As she mumbled.

The tour took them to their final destination the Dorms. "This is the Dorm area you will be living in. I live just across you VGNB which is nice and I have people I can finally relate to. Clair you are with me."

Out from her jacket pocket, she revealed six keys. "Here are your keys" as she gave out to everyone.

"Anyway, welcome to Beacon." Sarina said unenthusiastically as she entered her Dorm room with Clair.

Sarina living area was decked like her own personal apartment. She had her own couch and a table in the middle around a flat screen TV left of the lockers while on the right with various furniture around the one facing the windows right center in the middle was clearly hers as she decked out the place with dressing mirror, cabinets for her clothes etc. Three beds were in their but were pushed against one another in one corner. The bathrooms remained unchanged.

Sarina then plopped down on her couch. "Ugh" As she moaned. "Make yourself comfortable Clair."

While that VGNB had entered in their room, Vega checking out the living room. "Wow, this living space is big. I can definitely make this place fancy just by getting some furniture and decorations."

[User] Greyson sighed seeing he was wrong and he answered "if I get it wrong then I take all the cards currently down. The object of the game is to loose all the cards in your hand and whoever has no cards in their hands win" Greyson said as he took the 3 cards currently down and he looked at the cards he currently had and decided to tell a truth and said "two 5 of clubs" Greyson said putting the pair down in front of him waiting to see what Daniel will do...

[Assistant]
"We all set?"

The query was uncannily calm, given the situation. Which is to say, calm for being prepared to dive headfirst into a potentially very dangerous mission. They'd chosen it for that very reason. Something big, something dangerous, something difficult; all to show that they could hang in there like the rest of them. Ben knew that, maybe, that wasn't quite the healthiest attitude. Charging at the world with something to prove tended to make people stupid. But, knowing that something isn't wise isn't the same as being able to change it. He did have something to prove. They all did, and they all knew it.

Looping Artorius and Lawnslot through their holders, finally satisfied that they were ready, he surveyed his team. BAST. Bastion. Most teams at Beacon weren't quite what you'd expect, but his was definitely the misfits. Dropouts, slackers, antisocials, and the too social. All the terms most would apply to them. Terms even Goodwitch probably applied, even if she didn't say them out loud. But none of them were quite true.

He had something to prove. But he was damn proud of the team he was on, too.

"Gonna be a hell of a ride. Anyone needs anything else, I'd get it now."


[System]
Species: Human

Gender: Female

Age: 34

Nationality: Outreman, previously citizen of Angjusk

Occupation: Deputy head of department - Cradle Research & Development

Cybernetics:
* Cradle quick-access implant - Allows access to and from the Cradle environment without additional hardware. This advanced module also reduces fatigue caused by the process, allowing power users multiple entries in a single day.
* Tier 7c 'Cradle Builder' suite - Grants access to the programs created specifically for 'terraforming' the Cradle. Tier 7 out of 20 allows Freyr to auto-build a variety of specialised equipment and propose-build mid level structures.
* Ilyes Brand communication and productivity module - Standard implant for access to Outremer's communications network. Also integrates with many well known productivity tools like a personal assistant, as well as more bespoke scientific tools.

Backstory:
Freyr was born on Angjusk, an older colony than Outremer that was renowned for its military materiel, particularly star ships.

Her mother was an innovations tsar assigned by the government to a consortium of the planet's largest ship manufacturers. During most of Freyr's childhood, her mother's sole task was making sure Angjusk battle fleets were the best money could buy in the Diaspora.

Before she was born, her father owned and operated a series of protein farms across Angjusk. After a chance encounter at a lobby meeting, he was headhunted to co-ordinate the military industrial complex's entire food supply chain. He also met his future wife, as it was Freyr's mother who had recommended him for the job on that fateful day in the lobby.

Freyr was born five years later. Her early life was a whirlwind of schooling, snatches of intimacy with her parents (when they weren't busy) and extended periods with friends. She discovered a natural capacity for learning and excelled in her studies. So much so that she received offers from universities across the Diaspora to come and develop with them.

Her mother and father both pressured her to consider diplomas like Interplanetary Relations or Agrarian Policy. However Freyr was not interested in pursuing a career in politics. Angjusk has been involved in at least a dozen small conflicts since Freyr had been born. She had seen how politicians would destroy entire cultures for the sake of influence, and wanted none of it.

In her first act of defiance, Freyr accepted a position at a school in Babylon, the main city of a far away frontier colony called Outremer. Driven more by the desire to have time away from her planet than by the subjects on offer, she researched what Outremer was known for. It was here that she first discovered the object powering this section of the Diaspora - the Cradle.

She quickly became obsessed with its untapped potential and seemingly unknowable past. She decided to pursue Xenobiology and Machine Intelligence as her subjects of interest, voraciously consuming the knowledge gathered so far on the Cradle.

It was here at the university that she met her future partner, David, who was studying art history. Isolated from her family and friends, alone on a strange planet, Freyr was glad of his unassuming company and kindness. They grew very close over the course of their degrees, and moved in together after graduation. Their daughter Amy was born a few years later.

After Uni, Freyr was picked up by an Outremer administration outreach team and placed in a government career fast lane. Her obsession with the Cradle made her an obvious choice for the Cradle Research & Development department. Once there, she quickly proved herself capable. Several breakthroughs in her first five years meant she was allowed to hand select a team of dynamic young individuals to help pursue her work. A couple more catapulted her into a deputy head of department role, to the ire of some of it's older and more entrenched members.

It was on her 34th birthday that the Cradle abducted her family. It had been acting strangely for weeks prior, rolling back years of terraforming. Freyr had been working round the clock to figure out why, practically living at her field office by the Border. David had bought sweet treats and had Amy with her.

What can only be described as creatures emerged from beyond the Border and overran the camp. A panic spread through the mostly unarmed workers, leading many to flee for their lives. Freyr's last memory of her family was being propelled across the camp by one of the creatures. She could only watch from her position immobile on the floor as they carried off her husband and little girl.

Security forces conducted a sweep of the immediate area beyond the Border, but found no sign of them. So Freyr began looking by herself as soon as her broken bones were reconstructed. Months went by. Her work stopped and her mental health deteriorated. Eventually she was placed on sick leave and her access revoked, after she attempted to use her influence to organise an armed excursion deep into the uncontrolled zone.

[User]
The camera covering the incident was located in the same atrium they were in. Freyr looked up and over her shoulder to locate it behind her. The initial view was quite far from the action, but she could zoom and enhance it with little trouble. It was also a bit gloomy, as only the emergency lights were on. The timestamp at the start of the video was the dead of night in Babylon terms, so Freyr guessed everyone had long gone home.

After a few seconds, four dark shapes appeared from the stairway in the corner of the frame. Freyr guessed these were the Skinners. They didn't look out of place, as they wore the standard issue Cradle newbie jumpsuit, however from the footage they were clearly on edge. The one in front brandished a pistol to ensure the office area was clear before motioning his colleagues forward. Two of the other activists were carrying bulky briefcases, which they laid down on two of the free tables. Once they'd been opened, Freyr paused the video and zoomed in. One of them was a laptop and one of them was clearly some kind of bomb.

"How the fuck did they get a bomb into the Cradle?" Freyr asked. Major Osman shrugged. "We're looking into it now - they may have had help. Keep going, it gets better." Freyr hit play again.

One of the activists armed the bomb, another connected their laptop to one of the consoles and then began typing manically. The other two checked out of the windows and generally looked nervous. "What was that?" Freyr asked, pointing to a section of the screen covered by the big side windows. "Just wait." Karos murmured. One of the guys standing guard seemed to notice it as well, as he stuck his face to the glass and peered in that direction. He turned around, shouted, and the other person rushed over as well. Freyr turned the sound on.

"I didn't see what it was… i think it's below us!"
"Ok. We need to wrap this up now!" How long until it's armed and the data is ours?"
"Two minutes."
"I need five."
"We don't have five fucking minutes, we need to get out of here right now."
"Wait...did you hear that?"
"Yeah - get the scrambler armed and then we're leaving. I'm gonna check downst-"

A loud crash made Freyr jump in her seat. In the blink of an eye, the activist standing by the window had just disappeared out of it. The man who'd just turned away to go downstairs whirled around, as did the two others on the opposite side of the space. The leader raised his pistol, but clearly hesitated when he saw what came through the window. Freyr leaned in til her face was almost touching the glass, not quite able to grasp what she was seeing.

It had six insectoid legs, shiny black, and a compact, armoured carapace. But quite unlike anything Freyr had seen before, the carapace and abdomen behind that were punctured by at least a dozen violet tendrils. They worked as appendages to heave the creature through the gap and also held the immobile man it'd captured like a limp doll. The thing had a short neck and a face… Freyr's breath caught the moment she saw it. It was a human male's face, pale and contrasting with the sheer black of the body and legs. The eyes were bulging and completely black, but she recognised the face nonetheless. Her mouth dropped open and a silent scream shook her body as her eyes filled with tears.

The creature had David's face.

The rest of the abduction was very brief. Screams rang out on the recording as the leader fired his handgun at the creature. But when another of the things crashed through a window behind him, they were quickly overrun. The creatures held all four of them aloft like broken playthings and scooped up the unarmed briefcase bomb before exiting via the same windows they entered.

But the only thing Freyr saw was her husband's visage through streams of tears as she howled in anguish at the screen.

[Assistant]
Vreta's investigation was a slow process. The marks on the office building were on multiple sides, so it was difficult to say at a glance exactly where those who made them had come from or gone too. He had to move slowly and carefully enough not to be spotted by the guards, while also keeping an eye on his surroundings for anything notably out of place. Fortunately, whatever damaged the office building did not seem to have the word "subtlety in their vocabulary. As he was circling the perimeter of the building, he noticed a high fence with plenty of marks, scratches, and a bit of damage of its own. Something had scaled it, and likely quickly. Now that he knew where to look, he could see traces of the intruders' path towards the building, though since he could not follow in that direction, he instead looked to track where they had come from.

Following the path into the neighboring lot, Vreta soon realized there was a lot to track. He could not be sure of the exact size of the group that had scaled the office, but they had been moving in a rather loose group. Quite spread-out. It would take a while to investigate the area around the warehouse, and that was if he did not need to go inside. If he did, he would probably have to just be content with an incomplete search. Still, the soldiers guarding the office had not extended their perimeter to the neighboring lots, so it was possible he could find something before they decided to sweep the area.

[User]
"Freyr, i'm so sorry! I never wanted any of this, but now do you see how much we need you?" Karos soothed over Freyr's howling. He knelt down next to her on the floor as she sobbed into her hands and placed a reassuring arm around her. "What is happening, why is she crying like this?" Osman demanded. "As I suspected, those creatures have the face of Dr Lang's husband, who was abducted months ago." Karos replied, looking up at her.

Osman grabbed him by the arm, pulled him back to his feet and moved him away from Freyr. "Are you out of your fucking mind? What kind of sicko brings a grieving woman to identify their husband as the face of a giant insect?" Osman hissed. "That grieving woman is also one of the most brilliant xenobiologists on the planet!" Karos hissed back, pointing to Freyr. "She may be the only person on Outremer who can figure out what's going on. I had to try!"

"That's exactly what it is." Freyr said. Both of them turned to look at her. "What is?" Karos finally asked. "An insect. An ant, to be precise." Freyr continued. "Human settlers throughout the ages have inadvertently brought them all the way from Earth, hidden in food or raw materials. And when we first entered the Cradle via the underground vault, we brought them into the Cradle." Freyr got up, an idea tugging at a thread in her mind. She wiped tears from her eyes and rewound the recording to the first few frames where the creature was visible - she hid the face behind the second human man.

"In some of the first records about life in the Cradle, they noted the Cradle responding differently to smaller lifeforms like ants. As they strayed into the uncontrolled zone, it would hijack them, sort of like other well known parasites. Control the body and add extraneous features." Freyr was searching through a database of scientific reports at this point, seeking to back up her hypothesis. There was something comforting about delving into information from the distant past to distract from the present.

"Here we are." She said, pulling up pictures from three hundred and forty years previously, in the first years of the Cradle. It showed a common type of ant standing in a petri dish, with tiny purple stems sprouting from its body. "It's pretty similar to our friends on the video." Karos remarked. "Exactly." Freyr confirmed, turning to them. "So, what are you saying, Dr Lang?" Osman asked. "Well, based on the evidence available, i'd say most of the genetic makeup for these creatures didn't come from inside the Cradle. It may not have the means or the imagination to design it from scratch, so it's hi-jacking our fauna, making it bigger, adding those appendages and that...face." She exhaled deeply again.

"This is progress!" Karos beamed. A beam which folded into a guilty grimace in the face of Freyr's obvious distress. "Listen, Freyr, I am so sorry again to bring you here. But this is exactly the kind of info we can use! I couldn't tell you about it beforehand, as it would've coloured your judgement. I needed to see if you recognised that face without any-" The comm set on the table chirruped, and a voice called from it. "Major, there's some kind of disturbance in one of these testing sheds, what would you like us to do?" Osman quickly picked up the handset and raised it to her mouth. "Establish a perimeter, we're-" Suddenly, every light, screen and piece of equipment went dead.

They were plunged into darkness, until Osman's suit torch clicked on. "Lieutenant, come in!" the Major quickly moved out of the atrium into the main office area to look out of the windows. When she came back, she had drawn her sidearm. "Everything is dark. Follow me."


[System]
Gender:
Male

Appearance:

Stands at a large 6'4. Broad of shoulder and hulking in build. Well-defined muscle, though deeply scarred across his body. Favors furs over silks when outside of his armor. Typically favors massive two-handed weapons, and is most commonly seen wielding a massive flanged mace.

Abilities:
Dragan primarily utilizes both blood magic and necromancy in tandem, befitting a vampire known as the Death Knight.

As a blood mage, Dragan specializes in physical enhancement, preferring to fight in melee with a physical weapon in hand. Of course, he's entirely capable of utilizing the other aspects of blood magic as well, resorting to blood weapons when disarmed and blood barriers to defend against magic. Strangely, though, he has never been seen actually casting a ranged blood spell.

As a necromancer, Dragan keeps it simple, traditional, and efficient: zombies, skeletons, and other such more mundane undead with which to drown his foes in a sea of corpses. One will occasionally see larger abominations within his forces, but these are rare and tend to be pre-prepared, with Dragan seemingly unable to raise these at will in the field as he could with groups of lesser undead. Of course, Dragan cannot simply raise armies at will. Without preparation, he tends to be able to create a dozen or so undead soldiers at a time, given enough materials. With the proper rituals and rites, however, Dragan is entirely capable of acts such as raising entire graveyards at once or binding the shambling bones of large creatures into his service.

Both of these aspects combined leave this particular vampire as a frontline general, leading undead armies into the thick of battle.

Personality:
Dragan follows a twisted sense of noblesse oblige in his dealings. To him, vampires are inherently higher life forms as compared to humans, and thus bear responsibility towards them as a result. Humanity in Dragan's eyes are, at the very least, higher than cattle. It would be more accurate to say that he treats mankind as ignorant children: unable to fend for themselves or make wise decisions. Thus, vampires are to safeguard humanity within their borders, and for this service, deserve the blood they require to survive. After all, this was simply the feudal contract as existed in eras past. Only now with more worthy lords to rule over man.

As a follower of noblesse oblige, Dragan strives to be as great as he can in his personal conduct. He conducts himself with elegance and decorum. However, this is also matched with a penchant for violence and direct action. Where other vampires prefer subtle manipulations and secrecy, Dragan simply strides through problems with a suit of hulking plate armor, a massive weapon, and an undead horde at his back. He is a lord, after all, and lords do not skulk like cowards when their authority is challenged.

In regards to the Goddess, Dragan is a loyal enough follower that he swears to fulfill his divine mission without complaint. Having served the Queen once already, he sees little issue with working to bring her back.

Bio:
The vampire lord known as Dragan Meszaros, the dreaded Death Knight of eras past, was once known as the crusade's greatest shame. Born as an orphan ward of some irrelevant church of a now-dead god, Dragan grew to be a paladin of the same church, setting out on quests throughout the land. He slew monsters, saved the innocent, and championed the light of his god.

Despite his successes, however, Dragan slipped ever into deeper frustration and melancholy as he saw the same stories happen time and time again. Men create problems for themselves that he had to solve for them. Tragedies and villians were created through human sins. The apathy, greed, and wrath of humanity were greater foes than any mere monster that had ever stood in his path. Men were ever more incapable of managing themselves.

Dragan's final days as a paladin were spent chasing the rumors of a vampire in a great duchy of a now-forgotten kingdom. When he arrived, however, every value he held was challenged. The duke was a vain tyrant, working his people past the breaking point and abusing the fruits of their labor to glorify himself. The commoners barely cared about this vampire in the territory: a few deaths a month barely compared to the starving masses. In fact, when Dragan did finally track the vampire's thralls down to an outlying village, he saw something there that broke him. The people in that village, the vampire's cattle, were doing far better compared to the rest of the duchy. Better fed, working for themselves, and just...happier.

It was then that Dragan knew his truth: man was inherently unable to rule itself. Left to its own devices, humanity would eat itself alive. Dragan gave up. He fell. Returning to the duchy's capital, the once-vaunted paladin launched a brazen assault on the duke in broad daylight, slaughtering him and his meager guard. Afterwards, Dragan returned to the vampire's village, throwing the unworthy ruler's head into the middle of the town square. With the vampire's attention piqued, Dragan knelt before him, stating that he had seen the true light.

Bemused at the thought of taking a fallen paladin as Ichor's child, the vampire turned Dragan. After a period of time adjusting to his new existence and learning all he could of vampirism, Dragan took his leave, setting out on his own with his patron's blessing. Centuries later, the vampire known as the Death Knight scourged the land, conquering a kingdom with his undead army in the name of the Queen. He sought to replace the incompetent rule of man with his own benevolent tyranny. But this was not to be. Not in this era. Such a public, reviled monster was one of the first targets of the Hundred Paladins, made more urgent by the shame that he was once a paladin himself. While the bulk of the Hundred tore through his armies with their silver swords and divine blessings, their strongest champions engaged Dragan himself and laid him low. The Death Knight was shattered with his kingdom, his dreams dashed as the Hundred moved on.

[User]
Captain Argus Fellborn

It was clear that this sea monster wasn't fooling around, Argus observed as one of the pieces of floatsam was pulled beneath the waves. Argus pressed onward, wanting to stay ahead of the beast.

As they got closer to the mast in the distance, another platform beneath him was pulled under. Fortunately, he still had both his reflexes and sea legs, and was able to avoid losing his balance and falling into the water. Unfortunately, there were more skeletons coming. One of them came at him with a fishing net, intent on immobilizing him. Argus would be impressed with the creativity of it if he weren't the target.

He probably could cut his way through the net, but that'd still slow him down, and he couldn't afford even a momentary delay with that monster practically nipping at his heels. But just as a ship could sail against the wind, this could be used to his favor.

"Thanks crewmate, I need this," he mockingly spoke as he caught the edge of the net and threw it into the water behind him, hoping it might be able to slow the beast down even for a moment. Just as he began to parry and cut his way through those in his way, Cynthia's spear came hurtling forward, impaling several skeletons as it hurtled into a mast.

She's got a bit of a competitive streak, Argus noted as he took advantage of the strike to resume his flight forward. She'd make a poor candidate for a thrall- it'd be a great waste to suppress such a spirited, defiant personality with a surrender of one's will that accompanies enthrallment.

Perhaps he was jumping the gun- they still needed to escape these skeletons and this sea monster before he could think about rebuilding his crew.

[Assistant]
Location:
Human Village
Landshark@Asuras@VitaVitaAR

---

Whether Giles had much to comment on the vampires words, he didn't speak it. He'd merely order the rest of the villagers to do as previously ordered. Quickly they'd clamor to grab anything they could, barricading and sealing off the door to the basement as the vampires made their descent…

Dragan was the first to engage, the beast hearing him approach as he'd rush towards it, hammer raised and poised to smash its face in. The creature, quickly turned its head towards the vampire knight in response and with little care for its own wellbeing met Dragan's charge with its own. Dragan's hammer met flesh, slamming the creature's face against his hammer with a sickening crack.

Whether through its own momentum or power though, it didn't have the intended effect of smashing him through the ground. Instead, it would carry through, its antlers slamming against his armor as the beasts claws, in a frenzied, gluttonous rage tried to rip and tear at his armor, trying to find anyway to get to the fleshy bits within as it gnashed its teeth and howled.

Luna's assault was as elegant as she was, it seemed. The beast, upon feeling the magical restraints on its flesh, chains attempting to bind it, shrieked, looking up from its meal just in time to see the vampire launch her assault upon it. Her sabre slashed its flesh, right near its neck, the blade cleanly cutting through it as blood oozed from its wounds. It struggled against its bonds, arms flailing and shrieking, wrapping its gnarled claws around one of the chains, pulling and wrenching the chain as another cut was delivered to its head, right through its eye.

Finally, with a hiss and a loud shriek, it managed to break the chains, flapping its weak wings and leaping into the…well, it tried, only to bang its head against the ceiling, and then promptly fall upon Luna, still aiming to claw and otherwise injure her in a somewhat admittedly unconventional manner.

From further down the hallway, the shouts of more humans, cut short. They likely weren't going to be able to save many unless they hurried. There didn't seem to be an obvious way that the beasts had gotten in down here.

Location:
Forest of Beasts
This

---

Landing on the beast, it struggled, throwing its head and bucking its body as it'd slow to a halt, trying to throw the vampire off as she'd plunge the silver blade into the creatures arm as it made an attempt to grab her, earning another pained shriek as it'd recoil, but still not down as it'd clutch the injured arm, giving her just enough time to plunge the blade into the skull of the antlered beast, having a near immediate effected as it bucked and tried to remove the pest from its back coming to a near complete halt and almost throwing her off - and it would have, had it not been for the first creature that had finally managed to grab her.

She'd feel pain in her stomach, the beasts claws having impaled her as it'd pull her from the beast, slamming her into the ground where it'd pull its claw from her stomach, proceeding to try and maul her.

Location:
Human Village, Riverside

---

Akyasha engaged the beast, bloody axe sinking into the creatures knee as it hadn't even seen or acknowledged her presence up until it was too late to avoid it. The beast howled, gurgling as it'd immediately tur blood oozing from the wound but the cut was far to shallow to reach bone, cutting through what seemed to be nothing but fat, making the beast more agitated then anything. Immediately, it'd turn, making a wide sweep with the ship mast in its arm in an attempt to slam it into the vampire nun.

Inside, Julene made it back down to the first floor, the building quickly lighting up with fire, but the undead were not so easily deterred. Not caring for their own unlife, and still burning they'd leap from the upper floor, trying to accost and drag her down with them, while the ones on the stairs and lower floor still made their way towards her.

"Tch, just die already." She'd growl, managing to block a strike from one of the undead creatures, shoving it back into a wall that was on fire. She had to get out of here before the other barrels ignited - but the things were being awfully persistent in slowing down her escape from this place.

Location:
Pirates End
Paladin

---

Perhaps, Argus better be glad even considering making a servant of the Violet Witch a thrall was not considered some form of treason.

"Not far now captain!" Cynthia called back, retrieving her spear from the wood that it had found itself resting in as argus tossed the net into the water nearby…whether or not it had some effect for the moment. More skeletal undead would pull themselves from the water around them, earning an annoyed growl from Cynthia as she'd quickly engage, slicing through more and leaping through an open hole on the ships hull that she had pulled her spear from.

"This way! Hurry! That thing-!"

Too late.

Whatever it was, slammed its bulk into the ship hull, cracking its weakened frame, splintering it and sending it sinking into the waves, Cynthia disappearing further within. In the same instance, the platform under Argus was slammed into with enough force to completely shatter his already unstable footing! He'd need to act fast unless he'd want to find himself swimming with the undead and whatever creature that was.

[User]
The beast was more durable than he'd expected. Even factoring momentum into play, Dragan's strike should have done more damage to its cranium than this. Enough to disable or disorient it, at least. Or perhaps the beastman just wasn't cognizant of pain. Either way, he didn't have time to waste with this one any further. The sound of screams down the hall told him as much.

As the beastman began to claw and tear at his armor, Dragan took one hand off the haft of his hammer and gripped the creature by the throat, bodily lifting it up with one hand. A sickly green glow started to emanate from his gauntlet, and the Death Knight's necrotic magics began to slough the beast's skin off its bones, rotting its flesh away. Moments later, the process was complete, and Dragan released his new skeleton minion down to the ground, where it obediently fell in line at his side. With that done, the armored vampire turned his helmet's gaze towards the cowering humans off to the side.

"Flee upstairs! Your headman is ordering the door barricaded! Let him know of our progress, we will go to aid the rest." He commanded before tearing off at a sprint towards the other set of screams, his skeleton matching his pace.