[System]
Gender: Female

Race: Cauhri

Age: 23

Origin: Thea was born in one of the many small villages that dot Jaw Pass.

Personality: Outwardly Thea can seem as cold and harsh as the environment she grew up in, however with her family and those that have earned her friendship she is kind, warm and fiercely loyal. She has a bit of an attitude but mostly uses it as a shield in uncomfortable situations. She is quick witted and stubborn, generally unwilling to back down from a challenge – however she is not ruled by this and is intelligent enough to wait until the advantage may change in her favor. She has a deep seeded hate for the Xelith Empire and that is what drives her in her desire to learn nullomancy. She has a passion for it that borders on the obsessive.

Looks: imgur.com/PL2U0rA Thea has the sharp, refined features typical of a Cauhri. Her eyes are ice blue – sharp and observant. Her skin is pale almost to the point of appearing bluish in hue, mostly from living her whole life in an area where sunshine was more of a welcome surprise than an everyday staple. Her white blonde hair is long though she continually keeps it pulled back in a ponytail. Her body is lithe and slender – while she has curves they are subtle. Her null crystals are embedded around her waist, following the line of her hips in an alternating patter of white frost crystals and blue water crystals. She looks to be wearing a jeweled belt when a shirt doesn't cover the whole of her abdomen.

Affinity: As is common in the snowy villages of Jaw Pass Thea worships the goddess of snow, Chione. While not a particularly benevolent goddess, Chione is considered to be wildly protective of her followers when they are threatened by outside deities or people – not in the sense that she wants for their well-being but rather for a sense of ownership. It's a: "Hey Bitch – that one is mine, back the fuck off!" attitude.

Nullomancer: Yes, specializing in a combination of frost and water crystals to make ice attacks. Her goal is to create pure ice crystals for more devastating freezing abilities.

Special Ability: Thea is a superbly accurate shot even in less than ideal conditions. Hunting was a primary source of food for the people in her village and since her father was taken and her brother too sickly it fell to Thea to help provide for her family. She can hit an elk through the eye in a blizzard at 200 meters. Her accuracy is part of the reason she is drawn to the power of ice – throwing dagger sharp blades of ice is a specialty.

Background: Thea was born and raised in the small village of Snowstead, fairly isolated from the actual turmoil that affected the rest of the world though they were visited by the Xelith guard every few years – each time taking seemingly random villagers. When she was a child, her father was taken away in one of these visits, though Thea was too young at the time to be told why. After that Thea's mother was distant and depressed and it was her paternal grandmother, Lenore who took up the head of the family. Lenore was a hard woman who had lived a difficult life – settling in Snowstead alone with a young son in tow. It was an unspoken rule not to ask about their grandfather, whom Thea had never even seen a photograph of.

Thea was young when she was playing one day in a nearby cave surrounded by stone crystals built into the structure of the mine. Without knowledge of how or why it would happen, she discovered she could 'pop' the crystals causing the power within to manifest in tiny stone marbles she could play with. Not realizing the impact of her 'gift' Thea kept it a secret for a long time until one day when she was 18, and accidentally exploding a frost crystal in front of her family as she was stocking the freezer. She never expected the reaction she got; Thea's mother screamed and began sobbing uncontrollably and her grandmother just looked as though Thea had admitted to murdering her own brother.

It was that night she learned about nullomancy and what, as her grandmother put it, the 'dark gift' had done to her family. Her grandfather had been a gifted nullomancer but had been charged of treason against the Xelith Empire (falsely per her grandmother) and executed. Though Lenore had then taken her son to the distant village of Snowstead, it didn't stop the Xelith Empire from finding them. Unbeknownst to them, several villages along the pass had gained the attention from the empire as an unusual amount of nullomancers seemed to be sprouting from the area. It was because her father had an affinity for nullomancy that he was taken, and now her grandmother feared the same for Thea. Lenore told her that she must hide her power and never allow anyone to know the secret lest the empire would find out. Thea did so for another couple of years, but eventually soldiers came for them anyway. In order to save Thea, her grandmother sacrificed her life, allowing her granddaughter time to escape. Her last memory of her family was watching them take away her mother and brother. After that Thea fell in with some rebels who also hated the Xelith Empire. Given new purpose, Thea revealed that she too could manage the crystals and fell under the tutelage of Olen – a nullomancer who specialized in water crystals. He guided her in embedding her first crystal and started her basic training using the power within the stones. Thea's passion for mastering nullomancy soon exceeded Olen's ability to teach her and she finally left the rebels in search of better training. She learned of Arbos in her travels and the legend of his mastery of nullomancy. Intrigued and driven by desire for revenge, she sought him out in hopes he would take her under his instruction.

[User]
She had been a detached observer for awhile now as she dried and cleaner herself to the best of her ability with the few towels she was given. She didn't really listen intently on the other girl's conversation, but she could tell is had something to do with the strange wings on their back. Arda didn't want to join in on the conversation, she wasn't that great at conversing anyway. She constantly took sips at her drink on her own before realizing that she had finished her drink entirely. She remembered that Arbos told them to ask Klaus for anything, which she assumed that drinks were also part of it.

But as she proceeded to get one, another girl had already approached the bartender. Arda quietly stood behind her, waiting for her turn to ask for a drink, but she felt that she should ask for a drink while the bartender was already getting one. "May I have another drink as well?" She piped up, her voice a little quiet, but still audible. She glanced at the girl, and recognized her. "Aren't you.. the dog girl..?" She said in a rather blunt manner, but with a hint of amusement.

[Assistant] As she was waiting for her drink, the other girl approached her. She had kept herself strangely isolated from the rest since they arrived. She wasn't sure if she was simply uninterested or socially inept. Her way of opening the conversation revealed it was the latter. "Yes... we kind of went over this subject already." With a sigh of dissapointment she dismissed further conversation and turned back to Klaus. Hopefully her questions provided him with subject matter that was more interesting. Even if it wasn't so, at least she'd get a drink out of it.

[User] "My apologies." She responded with a slight frown. Perhaps that wasn't the most pleasant way to start a conversation. She hadn't really talk to anyone properly for the past few months. So she seemed to have... forgotten some pleasantries. "I'm Arda, by the way. I hope that we can work well together." She said with a slight smile, not really registering the other girl's willingness to end their 'conversation'. This felt far too formal for her. She was too used to hanging around Kron. She felt a little awkward now, starting to fiddle with the tips of her hair a little. Talking is difficult.

[Assistant]
Sipping again on her wine Thea politely declined touching Idris's wings though she smiled at Selessia's reactions, laughing silently to herself. It was strange to think that even though she knew virtually nothing about these women she would soon be ultimately placing her life in their hands. The danger of their position loomed over her as she really came to terms what she had signed up for. She had been a bit blinded up till this point out of sheer desire to find Arbos and a knot of apprehension now started to grow in her stomach. Despite the food being delicious, Thea suddenly found her appetite gone. She was still pushing food around her plate a bit when the girl who still hadn't spoken a word got up and headed to the bar, Selessia not far behind her. Though she felt a little guilty for leaving Idris alone, she was still feeling more grime than woman at this point and decided to take her leave as well. Gathering her things, she started to stand up when the matronly woman who had been caring for them thus far came up.

"Did you need something my dear?" she asked, looking between Thea and her unfinished plate. "Did you want something different from the kitchens?" Thea was momentarily flustered before shaking her head.

"No – no thank you, everything was wonderful," she said gratefully, smiling. "I was just really hoping for a bath?" she asked, looking a little pleading. Maggie smiled rather warmly and nodded.

"Of course, this way dearie," she said, turning and heading towards a staircase in the back of the pub. While she followed closely, Thea couldn't help being a bit awed by the richness of her surroundings. The paneled walls were lacquered and gave off a rich sheen accentuated by the ornate brass sconces in set increments, illuminating their way. It made her feel small in a way – in her whole life she had never been amid such opulent surroundings. Stopping in front of a large wooden door with brass gildings and hardware, Maggie pulled out a key and led her in to the most beautiful room Thea had ever seen. She couldn't stop her jaw from dropping slightly as she stared at the dark paneled walls, the plush bed with the burgundy trimmings. The brass chandelier cast both light and shadows on the wall which only served to add to the lavishness. She was so caught up that she didn't notice Maggie grinning at her, a glimmer of pride in the older woman's eye at Thea's inability to speak.

Clearing her throat, Maggie brought Thea back to the present and pointed to a large beautifully carved wardrobe. "Linens and fresh towels are in there, and you can place your things in here," she continued, placing her hand on a matching dresser. "The main light is controlled here," touching a compartment on the wall. Adjusting a dial she demonstrated how the light could be dimmed or brightened. "The lamp on the bedside has extra crystals in the drawer." With a knowing grin, she motioned for Thea to follow her through another door into the most luxurious bathroom. The dark walls were illuminated by two sconces on either side of a huge mirrored vanity the held a stunning marble sink with shiny brass fixtures. The matching marble tub off to the left would have fit three of her as it stood majestically on clawed feet. This time she could feel Maggie grinning at her reactions and Thea blushed slightly understanding that her small town upbringing was very obvious.

"It's amazing," she said softly, running her hand along the cool edge of the sink. Smiling again with pride, Maggie proceeded to show her how the fixtures and what not worked in this room as well but clucked her tongue sharply when she looked at the pipes coming into the tub, muttering something someone not doing their jobs as she fished around in her apron pocket for a small case. Glancing over the older woman's shoulder, Thea could see a line of crystals though several of them were dim if not completely empty. Popping out the empty crystals, Maggie put in brighter red crystals.

"This is the water heater," she persisted once she had replaced all the crystals. "This way for hot – should be enough there to take as long of a bath as you want to love." Straightening, Maggie turned back toward Thea. "Any questions?" Thea shook her head, exceptionally grateful that the woman had taken the time to show her things in such detail, though it was Thea's sneaking suspicion that Maggie hadn't really trusted her to figure it out on her own.

"No, you have been so helpful, thank you," Thea told her earnestly. A stern look befell the innkeeper for a moment as her sharp eye suddenly seemed to take all of the younger woman in though she held her tongue if there had been anything she wanted to say.

"Here's your key my dear," she said, handing Thea a brass key on ring with her room number attached. "Bell pull in case you need anything, breakfast is served sharply at 8." With one hand on the door, Maggie left leaving Thea alone.

With a sigh, Thea glanced around the room again, that same feeling of excitement beginning to creep back through her veins. Taking another quick walk around the room, she ran her hands over the silky feel of the bedspread and the intricate carvings on the wardrobe before pulling out two clean towels to take into the bathroom with her. Noticing a rack in the corner, she began to hang up her wet things, peeling off all the filthy layers. Wrapping a towel around her body, Thea made sure her exterior door was latched before she headed into the bathroom.

Pushing that door closed as well, Thea placed both towels on a rack near the tub and returned to the mirror to begin combing through her hair. She made a face as her fingers ran through it, it's normal softness made gritty from Sayrn's cursed dust. Leaning over the tub she turned on the water, testing the warmth with her hand before she found a pleasing temperature. She toyed with a few of the soaps in a basket on the vanity until she found one that bubbled nicely for her purposes.

She stared at her reflection while she waited for the tub to fill, running her fingers over the crystals embedded around her waist, before taking hold of a pocket watch on a long chain around her neck. A gift from her grandmother, it was a remarkably ornate with a crest-like design. She had been told it was in her grandfather's family for years before Lenore had given it to Thea. Slipping the chain over her neck, she opened to the face, winding it slowly, the cathartic feeling calming her. Glancing back at her face in the mirror, the ice blue eyes that stared back at her seemed different than her own as she steeled her nerves against the trepidation that had afflicted her downstairs.

"I will succeed," she told herself softly, laying the watch gently on the counter before slipping into the tub. Sighing in relief as the warm water consumed her, Thea ducked her head under the water to rinse off completely before lounging back and letting the comfort carry her away.


[System]
Username: POOHEAD189
Race/Species: Human (From the Kingdom of Harek)

Gender: M

Age: 26

Career/Class: Mercenary/Armsman/Amateur Swordmage

Weapons:

* Bastard Sword
* Kite Shield

Physical Description (as detailed as possible please, pictures not accepted.): A lean, fit, but refined man with dark hair and eyes, with a navy blue tunic over chainmail (covering leather) and loose fitting dark brown trousers. He has a fair face, albeit with a scar at the left of his chin and running down his jawline. His hair is wavy, loose and tousled. Not entirely groomed as he was raised, he still looks more or less presentable, and perhaps charming when he feels the need to present himself as such. He has the look of a youth that has been refined like silver through various trials by fire.

Armor:

* Chainmail hauberk
* Leather armor over it.
* Leather bracers/pauldrons

Equipment/Other

* Sword sharpening/cleaning kit
* Water Jug
* Herbal remedy to halt light bleeding
* 3 pounds of beef jerky

Mental Description/Personality: Markus is a strong willed and adventurous young man, having left his moderately home to seek his fortunes to the east. He enjoys learning, his rebellious attitude having dimmed somewhat from his training by his Elvish master. He has a good mind about him when it comes to common sense, though he can be a bit rash if he lets his anger get the better of him. Generally he has a friendly, if wary demeanor. He will sometimes spout wisdom he has learned on his travels. In truth he has more general knowledge than spell knowledge, for he is only a fledgling spell caster. Still, he'll always be interested in learning more of the arcane arts. He has a curiosity about him that he sometimes can't help. Ironically, he'll chastise others for taking risks he might take as well.

Goals: Markus' goals are to seek his own fame and fortune, through his own skill. He wants to live as a free man, outside of the pointless bickering of the lords.

Background/History:
The bastard nephew of a lord, Markus had always been more focused on exploration in the surrounding forests and his various interests rather than his duties as a vassal. He used his standing not to further his family's fortunes, but to further his own. Not out of selfishness, mind. He'd often seen children who were less fortunate to be encouraged by their parents to do well for themselves. All he had ever heard from his family was what he could do for them.

One day his older brother was killed in a raid, which lead Markus and his father to argue and break off their relationship through a fit of anger. Markus escaped the next day, taking a modest sum of money as well as some equipment and traveling east, taking up arms with a few mercenary companies. He found despite his individuality, he was not a bad leader to smaller groups of companions, at least as long as they were after the same prize and had shared goals.

Before long he culminated enough funds to find an Elvish tutor in magic and swordplay. He lived there for 3 years, learning from the Elf in a forested tower before he was hired onto a fine expedition to explore the surrounding mountains. The adventure came into disaster, rock trolls making the group split up. Markus survived the mountains and found himself on the other side of them, next to a great body of water called the Sunlight Sea. He spent a year on the Cutlass coast, taking small, boring jobs on various ships as a guard before he found himself in HighMast.

[User]
Markus heard Valerie's suggestion, and began to attempt to figure a way they could do that. His mind whirled with possibilities, but at the end he decided that he wouldn't be able to think of anything on the fly. He shook his head. "Whatever you want to do, I'm with you. I'll follow your lead." she said. He gave her a nod, his eyes steeled. He leaned in even closer, giving a whisper. His gaze had not left the Goblins. "I think the best shot we have is to maximize the element of surprise." he told her, his words barely audible.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, and this time looked her in the eyes. "When I give the word, attack the Goblins on the right. They've no armor. Thrust quickly, and you can have two dead before the third realizes what's happened. I'll go left." He waited for her to confirm, and then he looked back at the diminutive creatures before them. He squeezed her shoulder one last time, before his hand slipped off and grabbed the sheath of his sword for a two handed grip.

Past the bushes, they prodded one another with words and fingers. Chittering and barking at one another in their cruel and alien language. Markus had learned a bit of Orc, but most of the Goblin language eluded him. They spoke too quickly and used too many guttural squeaks to be coherent to him.

Just that second, one of the Goblins poked another a bit too hard. The other did not take too kindly to that and slapped him. It would be comical if the two sellswords weren't about to jump into the fray. Suddenly, the slapped Goblin tackled the other. The other Goblins gathered around to watch and screech, waving their weapons about and threatening to join in. "Now."

[Assistant]
Making good use of surprise did seem like their best bet. Inflict greater wounds than they could recover from before they could react at all. And speed was among Valerie's strongest attributes. She nodded back, grateful for the squeeze on her shoulder. Even against goblins charging into battle was no easy task, but it helped when she was alongside someone she trusted.

Three on the right for her, the other four for him. It was hardly the time to squabble over numbers, and she had to admit she had more confidence in Markus than she did in herself. She studied the three, the first armed with dual daggers, the second a scimitar that a human could've wielded with one hand, but held in two here, and the last with a spear and small wooden shield. Valerie slowly closed her fingers around the hilt of her blade, and waited for Markus to give the word. "Now."

She moved ahead without hesitation, drawing her sword with a ring of steel and rushing at the goblins on the right of the group. They turned and stared in shock for a moment, and that was all Valerie needed to end the first of them, removing his head with a clean slice before she stepped forward to attack the next. They were swift to react, and the second already had his guard up for her when she made her attack. He was not a skilled opponent, though, and a few quick moves opened up his flank for Valerie to plunge her sword into, ending him.

The spear wielding goblin had enough time to line up an attack before Valerie could properly align herself after discarding the second foe. A thrust of the spear came at her, and had she been a moment slower it would have skewered her through the midsection. Instead, she managed to turn it aside just in time. The goblin was surprised at her quick reactions, and failed to get his own shield up in time for her counter. Valerie's thrust might've done the same skewering to a human opponent, but against the goblin her blade pierced through his throat. The creature slowly fell backwards off of her sword, where he lay still.

[User]
Just as Valerie leaped out, Markus did likewise. He hit the ground running and booted one of the Goblins on the ground in the chest, cracking its ribs and sending it flying into the closest tree to fall crumpled on the ground. His sword leading with his next step, it clove the nearest Goblin's head in two, the heavy blade chopping through between the mouth and nose. He finished his next step, and two Goblins were already dead.

His dark eyes fell upon the other two, promising more death. They were understandably perturbed, especially because to the side they saw Valerie dispatching the rest of them with practiced efficiency. The last two hefted their weapons however, and came forward. One held a short spear, and the other a scimitar.

The spear wielder gave a thrust forward while the bladed one attempted to hack at Markus' legs. He backpedaled for a moment, before knocking the spear to the ground and stepping onto its haft. The weapon was yanked from the Goblin's grasp. The flat of his blade hit the Scimitar wielding Goblin in the face, staggering it. He passed it by and kicked the spear Goblin. It lay sprawled upon the ground from the force of the blow, and Markus finished it off by stabbing his sword into its small body.

Markus turned, knowing the scimitar wielder wasn't dead. As he turned, he was met with dirt in his face, flung by the Goblin.
"Ah!" he reacted. Damn it. He slashes his blade in a wide arc to keep it away from him, but once he regained his vision he saw the Goblin fleeing rather than attacking. Once he wiped his face with the back of his sleeve and saw the creature using the opportunity to sprint away fast as it's stubby legs could carry it, he gave chase. He knew he could catch it. His legs were as long as it's body.

He gained on it easily, but before he could reach it, the greenskin dived into the bushes. The Swordmage groaned, slowing down only slightly to see if he could get a better view of the thing. Just as he realized how hard it would be to spot a green Goblin among green leaves, a massive...something moved the closest tree canopy with a rumble. He heard a Goblin's pitiful squeak, and the Sellsword's face went from concentration to shock when he saw an Ogre step out of the tree line. It held something in its meaty left fist, a small Goblin hand sticking out from within its fingers.

It squeezed, and blood began to pour out between its thick fingers.
"Ugh." Markus uttered, feeling a bit sorry for the Goblin. Plus that would just feel unpleasant in general.
The ten foot tall monstrosity dropped the broken creature onto the ground, and turned its head to regard Markus as the man backed away.
No matter how experienced you were, an Ogre was an intimidating and dangerous adversary.

He eyed the creature as he backed up beside Valerie. This thing might not be able to traverse the forest as easily as they, but right now they were in a small clearing and his legs might just be able to carry him fast enough to catch them. Then again maybe not, but Markus wasn't going to chance it.

He grabbed Valerie's arm. "Look at me." he said. When he had her attention, he spoke quickly. "Act like you're running away. Go into the tree line and go 'round. Keep out of sight. I'll distract it here." His voice was breathless. "Once you're around behind it, slice its hamstrings. Once its on the ground, we can attack it easier."

The Swordmage looked like he wanted to say more to her, his lips parting. But he dismissed it and gave her a light push. "Go."

---

He turned to see the Ogre looking at Valerie hungrily. Hell no. For that, a throwing knife suddenly bloomed upon the Ogre's massive wall of a chest. It roared in agony, and hate filled eyes glared at Markus. That's it, keep your eyes on the prize. He felt like he should say something, but how does one mock an Ogre? Just treat it like you're at a bar fight back home, he told himself.

"By the Gods." he said theatrically, as if noticing for the first time just how hideous the Ogre was. His following tone was casual. He pointed his other throwing knife nonchalantly at the Ogre. "You know, you remind me of my step mother." he told the monster. "Fat, you butt into things you shouldn't, and just ugly as sin." Despite himself, he grinned. He never did grow out of his rebellious sarcasm.

The Ogre was not amused. "Die human!" it cried.

[Assistant]
Valerie had the unpleasant fortune to watch the whole thing unfold. She'd taken two steps to chase after Markus when she noticed the massive movement ahead of him, and saw the ogre emerge, crushing the unlucky goblin in its hand. It nearly turned her stomach, and she took a few unconscious steps backwards, her eyes locked on it. A hundred thoughts ran through her head about what to do, how to fight it, but she expected she would need to jump just to reach anything vital.

Markus suddenly grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at him. His words didn't make any sense at first. Run... away? Leave him to deal with it by himself? Or rather, try to survive it. No, she wouldn't do that. Part of her stubbornly wanted to refuse, stay there and fight with him, but she had enough awareness even with the thumping footsteps of the ogre to understand the tactic behind the plan. She would have a better chance if the ogre didn't see the flank attack coming.

Still she began to wordlessly protest, but the shove away turned out to be what she needed. Valerie glanced up at the ogre, and then sheathed her sword and ran directly away, back into the thick woods. She didn't go far, only enough to break line of sight, though she imagined the ogre's gaze would be locked on Markus now, given the unpleasant scream and booms of its movement that she could hear.

She made her way around as quickly as she could. Too quickly, it turned out; she wasn't watching her footing well enough, and ended up tripping over a low root, falling forward into the muddy earth. Cursing quietly, she pushed back to her feet and carried on at a more deliberate pace. She tried to get a glimpse of how the fight was going, but couldn't see much. Her heart pounded in her chest.

Only a few moments longer and she would be behind the hideous creature. She hoped she could do what she needed to when she was, for both their sakes.

[User]
He knew he needed to keep the Ogre stationary, so he did something that was usually considered foolhardy when fighting an Ogre. He attacked first. As it seethed with rage, he ran at it, blade poised like a striking snake. He wished he had a fireball left, but he'd need to prepare the spell again. Without that, he'd likely knock himself out attempting to conjure another.

The Ogre prepared itself, and swung its massive fist in an uppercut that scraped the ground right as Markus got within range. He barely leaped aside in time, and didn't have the time to hack at the arm. Instead, he continued with his momentum and stabbed the beast in the gut. It wasn't a deep stab, unfortunately. The Ogre rumbled with pain, and even more anger. It attempted to grab Markus. It was all he could do to backpedal, slashing at the fist.

He was a good swordsman, but without his spells (and unless he got lucky), a one on one fight with an Ogre would eventually end up with him being crushed if he kept at it. He spun and cut the monster where he could, dancing back and forth with a leading blade as his Elven tutor taught him. He hoped Valerie would get there soon. The Ogre was getting faster with its movements, having enough of this farce.


[System]
Screenname: White Lightning

Age: 23

Appearance:

Avatar:

Race: Slyph

Personality: In game, Takashi is quick-witted, sarcastic, and sort of layed back when he's not in heated combat. He'll joke around, be playful, and rather flirty at times. Although sometimes he has a sharp tongue and may say the wrong thing to the wrong person, and get a slap from a girl or punched in the face (wouldn't be the first time). He isn't an asshole though, if he cares for you or shows interest he could be quite sweet and romantic even, although nobody has gotten him to feel just that way. Now, as his job as a contract assassin, he takes it very seriously. All jokes are off and he gets a dead seriousness to him, doing anything he can to complete his mission through cold calculation. Although the easier the job, the more lax he is about it. He may even play around with his opponent and show off a little. All in all, unless it's a serious assignment, Takashi is layed back. This translates to his personal life as well, although he isn't as outgoing because real life is not a video game. Also he is much more lax when it comes to the real world, as he doesn't have too many life-threatening or serious tasks he needs to deal with. But for the most part, he is the same kind of person.

Occupation: Takashi owns his father's business in the automotive industry, making him a very wealthy playboy of sorts with a lot of free time on his hands. His parents died a few years back, so he came to inherit the big house, cars, money, business. He goes on SAO for several hours each week, and if not there he spends his time managing his business at the HQ or meeting and parties that come with being a CEO.

Bio: Takashi kind of grew up in life with a silver spoon in his mouth, always had whatever he wanted, the nicest things, he had a very nice childhood. School was a breeze for him, he had the smarts of his father and athletic abilities of his mother, he excelled both in scholastics and a range of sports. It seemed he had everything, but what he lacked was love. His parents were always gone, he hardly ever saw them, never got much affection. Also, he could find a lot of girls, but they'd be more interested in his money and popularity than for who he was and his passions like video games, sports, cars. It was the same story through college as he graduated for a degree in business, but not before his parents died. It was devastating, and he knew he could never get the love that he wanted from his parents now, who died in a car crash. After getting his degrees and graduating from college, he took over the business and for the last year or so he's kept it running smoothly.

Other: Takashi is a hired assassin, taking jobs killing people, monsters, doing various jobs and odds and ends. Basically, he gets payed to do things, from the highest bidder. He's made a name of himself in SAO, some have come to admire him, and some who came on the wrong end of the deal... Not so much. However, his name does come with a sort of fear to it.

These are the twin swords he wields

As his name suggests, Takashi uses his speed and agility for combat, which being of his race he is quite quick. Also, he uses some stealth, wind, and lightning magic.

[User]
When Momo opened her eyes, she found herself no longer in her room, but exactly where she had left Shadowy the day before. Her crimson haired avatar was sitting on a bench on the outskirts of Arun. She had placed her there after doing her usual weekly shopping in the city. Standing and spinning, Momo checked over her body, making sure that everything moved the way she wanted. Feeling content with things, she hopped into the air and spread out her red wings, flying off in the direction of her shop that was nestled in the middle of Butterflies Valley.

As she flew, she waved to the occasional fairy who came into view, likely going to cash in their loot from various quests. She'd even heard there was some kind of event going on. Momo had thought about joining in on it, but was impartial either way. She had decided not to participate unless a friend or someone invited her to tag along.

When she finally reached her house, she realized she was coming in too fast for a landing and did a lap around to slow down a little. When her feet finally did touch her wooden porch with a light tap, she looked around. "It's hard to believe I actually clean this place every day." she said with a light sigh. It was times like this she had someone else to help her run the Cafe. Deciding not to dwell on it, Momo went inside to get a broom to sweep the leaves from her porch.

She hummed a light tune as she began to set up her house for customers who were likely going to be coming soon. She arranged the furniture, moving the chairs closer together so she could get more, and replaced the small coffee table with a larger one. She set up more chairs on the kitchen for those who liked to watch her do her thing behind the counter. She didn't feel the need to decorate to fancy like, simply because she wanted to keep the feel of the Cafe as personal as she could. When people came in with their friends, she wanted them to feel like they were actually winding down with a hot cup of coffee and taking a break from the seemingly neverending grinding and monster hunting.

Momo took pride in the uniqueness of her little shop. Having it run in her home was only the cherry on top, as she could open and close shop whenever she wanted. The other good thing was that there was no where else in Alfheim where players could actually get a good cup of coffee. After a long time of trying to replicate the flavor of it, she finally made a perfect recipie that was all her own. Sure, the bars we're cool, but for the die hard coffee lovers, this place was the place to be.

Another thing she really liked about it was the fact that few people actually knew about this place. It was kind of a jewel that not very many knew about. It was enough to make good profit, but not so many that her house was overrun by a bunch of people. Typically the coffee drinkers were not as loud as those who loved their alcohol. The calm atmosphere of her cafe was perfect for her.

Finally after she had finished setting up shop, she went outside and flipped the wooden "Open/Closed" sign. Carved into it in a pretty design was:

Shadowy's Place
The Best Coffee in
all of Alfheim!
OPEN

"Shadowy! Hiiiii!"

Looking up at the sky, she noticed a few fairies already flying over. Waving and smiling, she would go inside and start making some fresh for her customers.

[Assistant]
Takashi opened his eyes and yawned a bit, stretching his arms and legs. Although he forgot he was perched on a tree limb and fell, but with quick reflexes grabbed the limb so he wouldn't fall all the way down the tree. Well, that was close... He pulled himself up onto the limb again and stood up, having a look around. Where was he? After racking his brain and looking around he realized that he was in Butterflies Valley. He had just finished up a job of his, and his target ran all the way out here to avoid him. But, eventually Takashi caught up... He likes to play with his prey sometimes, make it more interesting.

Suddenly a message popped up, and raising an eyebrow, he opened it up to see who it was. "Alright, White Lightning. I have a job I want you to do, but I want to talk to you about it in person. Meet me Shadowy's Place in half an hour. It's fairly close by, I'm sure you can find it.". Apparently, it was a client who wanted his services. He didn't quite know the man, but apparently he knew him. But Takashi did have sort of a reputation... Besides, he needed the work.

Takashi gracefully front flipped down from the tree and spread his white wings, going up high in the air and looking around at the scenery. It was quite lovely actually, and he took time to admire it as he was looking for the tiny coffee shop. He had never heard of the place before, but I guess his client wanted to talk where not a lot of people would be, but still public. Besides, maybe Takashi could get some coffee.

After about half an hour, and a mixture of flying and walking around, he arrived at the quaint shop and saw there were a few people milling about. He needed to find his client, but first things first, he needed some coffee. So he walked over to the counter and saw a Salamander fairy with red hair sweeping the floor. "Excuse me, miss? I heard you sold some coffee, and I was wondering if maybe I could purchase some from you?" Takashi asked, leaning gently on the counter and brushing his stark white hair from in front of his face.

[User]
Pausing in what she was doing when she heard the front door close, Momo looked up from the floor that she was meticulously sweeping, to see a tall man with white hair approach the counter. "Welcome!" she said, smiling at him. She placed the broom aside and gestured to a stool that sat on the opposite side of the counter. "Please have a seat. And you heard right, I make the best coffee in all of Alfheim." She said confidently, opening her menu to gather the few ingredients she needed, along with a large pot.

With a few swipes of her hand and careful measurements of each ingredient, Momo had prepared a boiling brown liquid in just a minute or so. Since she had to wait a few more minutes before it would be ready, she excused herself from the counter and walked around the house, grabbing empty cups and recieving money transfers from the customers who were content with just one cup. Some of them were regulars which she thanked for stopping by before they left. Only two others, a couple who were huddled close and gazing out the window, along with the white haired one were left in the house. Returning around the counter to wash the few cups she had, she jumped slightly when the timer on the pot rang out. Blushing and laughing lightly at herself for being startled, she took a large ladle and poured some coffee into a clean cup for the man who was waiting patiently. Opening her menu, she tapped the item that made her coffee 'the best in all of Alfheim.'

A small vile filled with a golden liquid appeared in her hand and she poured three drops into the cup of coffee before pushing it over to the white haired fairy.

"Enjoy." she said to him, smiling. The secret ingredient was the nectar from a rare flower called the Iris Germanica. With a high enough cooking skill, the blood red flower's nectar could be extracted and used as a sweetener. It was the perfect replacement for cream and sugar or normal honey that would weigh down and change the flavor too much of the coffee. The flower itself was very hard to get a hold of. Those with high searching skills were the only ones who could locate the flower that bloomed deep in the mountains of the Alpine Area. Momo had someone she went to and paid in order to bring her the flower every once in a while. One flower made five vials of nectar, which only lasted about a month at the current pace of the Cafe.

The sound of the door opening again brought her from her thoughts. "Welcome!"

[Assistant]
Takashi smiled and sat down where she had instructed, sitting comfortably on the stool and resting his arms on the table. He looked at the red-haired fairy, watching her set the broom aside and gathering up the ingredients. "Best coffee in Alfheim eh? Pretty bold statement to make. I may have to see for myself if this really is some world-renowned coffee." he laughed, stretching his wings and arms out. For a brief moment, you could see the twin broad swords that were sitting crossed on his back, the two whit ehilts sticking out from the top of his cloak.

As he waited patiently, he looked around at the red-haired fairy and seemed to admire her beauty somehat, watching her pick up cups and move herself around the coffee shop. It seemed most of the customers had left besides one couple that was too infatuated with each other o really bother anyone else. That should be good for his client, nobody would really be snooping around. Takashi looked up and saw the owner jump a bit and her face get red, scared of the little timer on her pot. He laughed, finding it a bit amusing, maybe even kind of cute. He watched as she poured a little bit of some, yellow liquid, being put into his coffee. It looked quite unfamiliar to him, and he couldn't identify what it was. But, hopefully it tasted good in his coffee.

"Thank you." he smiled back, making a money transfer to her before taking his coffee and taking a sip. Wow did that taste good... Who knew. Maybe Takashi would have to stop back here more often.

He heard the sound of footsteps outside, before hearing the door open as Takashi turned around. There he was, the client he had been waiting for. It was a Spriggan, a short man with a dark cloak and a hat. He looked up at Takashi and proceeded to take a seat next to him. "Shadowy! Nice to see you again. A coffee please?" he asked in a sort of deep but cheery voice, before turning over to Takashi as she prepared the Spriggan's coffee.

"Look. There's this Cait Sith who recently robbed me and he's residing in a town nearby. He stole a very precious item that belongs to me and I would like it back. Do whatever is necessary to bring it back to me. If you shall succeed in bringing it back to me among the money he took from me, you can have the money, as long as I get my item back. Oh, and I'll throw you in a little extra if you kill him as well, make sure he never steals from me again.". Takashi nodded, sipping his coffee and making a glance at the fairy as she handed him his coffee, and he transferredthe money to her. "I want this done today. When you're done let me know, and you can bring it back to my home. I'll message you the rest of the details." hesaid, finishing his coffee rather quick as he hurried out the door. He couldn't even get a word in edge-wise...

"So, you know that guy?" he asked, sipping his coffee and looking at the quest details in the message the man sent him. It was sure a lot of money for what seemed like a worthless item. Whatever the case, he would get it back to him, worthless or not.


[System]
PILOT
Age: 32
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 95.2kg
Pilot Class: Scanner
Nationality: American (Cascadia)
Appearance: Someone somewhere is missing their assault rifle… (credit to phelandavion)
Bio: Growing up was not an easy thing for Rodriguez. Though he was born to a happy family, there was not a whole lot of money to go around; repeated debts and failed loans only retained enough of a budget to keep him and his folks going with food and a roof over their heads. As the years went by, their finances further declined hopelessly eventually forcing Rodriguez out of guilt of not being able to help his parents with their teetering living expenses to find a job, especially at an early age too.

Despite his parent's best wishes, Rodriguez joined the Cascadian militia personally out of financial necessity right, even when as the States warred with one another. After getting his placement tests, he later found himself in the Cascadia Air Force, rather unexpectedly on that note too and even further so when he realized that he had a knack for flying even though he never gave the concept much thought. Through further testing, Rodriguez was eventually assigned to aerial reconnaissance and patrol duties and wouldn't see active combat until much later hostilities broke out with Lone Star Land. Much of the actual combat he participated in initially comprised of opportunistic ground-attacks against lightly armed and isolated convoys unlucky enough to wind up in his patrol sectors. As fighting grew more fierce, Rodriguez's recon wing would end up operating closer to the front lines, and shortly afterwards, behind enemy lines.

After bringing his record to twelve successful nighttime raiding and information gathering and missions, Rodriguez was then offered a position to help expand Cascadia's electronic warfare technology and implementation in its air force. Interested, he gladly accepted the offer. Three months later, Rodriguez was back in the air, now with an aircraft armed the latest innovative gadgets available. During this time, a small conflict was brewing with Cascadia and one of the neighboring Midwestern warlords. As a live trial for the newly equipped aerial reconnaissance division, Rodriguez and other pilots from the same wing were deployed to discourage would-be raiders from violating Cascadia's airspace. Opening operations were largely successful with only a few instances of a dogfight breaking out while the majority of the encounters lead to those Midwestern intruders forced to withdraw from a possible combat zone after their airplane's instruments supposedly malfunctioned or went haywire for 'inexplicable' reasons.

Though returning to the civilian life was very pleasant after several years of service, Rodriguez grew unsatisfied and yearned to fly once more, even if was not combat oriented. As fate would have it, he would later acquire an old North American XA2J Super Savage had it refitted using the funds gained through his service with the militia. With the aircraft, dubbed Pandora, Rodriguez soon entered into the mercenary business as a freelancer, taking up spying and support contracts that came his way.

Theme Song: Coming Soon

PLANE
Name: North American XA2J Super Savage "Pandora"
Description: To Wikimedia!
Plane Type: Twin-Engine Turboprop
Extra Aircraft Notes: Due to modern upgrades, the aircraft can climb to higher elevations and achieve a much higher maximum speed than its previous un-upgraded airframe. The aircraft's cockpit, constructed to support three crew members has been outfitted with electronic warfare and sensor suite, effectively reducing the crew capacity to just the pilot.
Weapons Descriptions:
-Two forward-facing 20mm cannons
-10,000lb ordinance store (may carry up to six homing missiles, five bombs, or four torpedoes).
Weakness: Very low maneuverability due to large airframe, very ineffective in a dogfight.

[User]
To the point then, Rodriguez thought, noting the pilot's straightforward dialogue while he stared at the monitor displaying the flying wing that was Lungfirst's aircraft being integrated with the rest of the formation. The process of including the Long-Dive into his private data communications network was going off without a hitch. Same as the two other craft around him. The miniature scans updated and applied an IFF to the Long-Dive, allowing Pandora's ECM to recognize friend from foe and differentiate their assets. Typically useful if a hostile missile were to enter get near either of their aircraft while in the large sphere of influence emitted by Rodriguez's plane. With a small ping, he got his confirmation that Long-Dive was now fully integrated.

Rodriguez nearly believed that the formation flight would remain unopposed for at least for a few hours. Turns out he was wrong. Roland apparently was the first to take notice of the activity crawling beneath them. However, his report came almost abruptly and nearly caught Rodriguez off-guard, challenging him to achieve a visual on the vehicles being referred to. Seconds later, he found them as well; an armored convoy. Sensing imminent combat approaching and with the current order to maintain his position, he awakened the ground sensors and cameras at the nose and belly of his aircraft. Soon, visual images poured into one of the other monitors. The convoy belonged to the Lone Star State, as announced by the flags and insignias worn by the vehicles.

"Pandora acknowledges. Maneuvering to attack run; after you, lead," he radioed.

With the attack order given, Rodriguez hit the throttle of his plane, prompting Pandora's airframe to increase in speed before he peeled into dive. Despite its original purpose being overwritten to include a larger number of responsibilities, the plane was still capable of performing its original duty as an attack aircraft. Through his descent, he ensured his kept the Pandora's nose aimed at the grouped vehicles, still performing the necessary scans of his targets until the sensors achieved the lock he was looking for. The HUD integrated into his windshield lit up, revealing a number of vectors originating from the ground beginning to rotate within the center of this obvious circles. The highlighted lines, upon further inspection, represented the calculated traveling paths of the artillery cannons scrambling to take aim at them. As per his efforts earlier, he ensured this information was shared with his squadron mates.

Falling in roughly five-hundred feet behind the Iron Jackson, Pandora prepared to line up its own strafing run, coordinating with the lead aircraft and prepared to engage once Roland peeled away from his completed attack.

[Assistant]
Jimmy Web: The Jonestown Runner

The call was startling, but expected given the landscape. While Jimmy was hoping to get into some dogfighting, a few trucks on the ground would suffice. When Roland went low to get a good look, Jimmy made a note of the other aircraft and their maneuvers. The Scanner was looking to gear up directly for a fight, while the monstrosity behind him appeared to be gaining a higher altitude. Not exactly the most coordinated effort, but Jimmy trusted that the others knew what they were doing. He hoped that courtesy would be shared.

The Runner pushed forward the throttle, gunning forward and making his way over the convoy as fast as possible. His instruments were perfectly fine, and Jimmy was at a high enough altitude to pull off his usual antics. Once some distance in front of the convoy, the Roger Dodger began to pitch towards the ground while rolling right. Jimmy pulled back on the throttle as he was lowering intensely, helping to minimize the turning radius on his 180 degree Wingover before temporarily rising back into the sky. At the last moment, he pitched the craft towards the ground again to perform his run.

By the time Jimmy was in position, Rodriguez had completed his run. It was fairly textbook, and Jimmy was looking to replicate. His two miniguns began to light the ground ablaze with bullets as the Rabbit performed the simple strafing run. Once over the convoy again, Jimmy performed a more simple turn to get back into a relative formation, practically returning to his starting position before gauging his next move and assessing whether he took any hits.

[User]
Roland didn't have a specific attack formation in mind, he just yawed to the left and hit the air-brake, making sure his speed was low enough to get a good long squirt of fire on the trucks. The other 3 had peppered the trucks with at least 5 of them going up in fireballs. Roland himself managed to destroy one and severely damage another, there was little thrill in shooting ground targets but eliminating the Texan war machine made him feel whole. The ground tanks were blazing thier cannons at the 4 planes but because of the high speed and angle of shooting from the ground, the shots were wildly inaccurate apart from a few rounds catching Ryan's wing for almost no damage. After the initial run Roland banked his Iron Jackson into a wide U-Turn to go again right before seeing a blip on his radar.....

BOOOOMSSH

A rocket had just blown up one of the artillery tanks, Roland had to double check that he didn't fire it himself. Only to peer into his window and see 4 flying figures in the distance.

They were all Biplanes, and all fairly quick too, entering the airspace like agile missiles. The crackle of Roland's radio almost mad him jump, they must have had radar jammers, because he didn't notice them until the last minute.

Who are you? And why are you shooting at our bounty? Did the guild send you ahead?

There were Bounty Hunters, Roland didn't know whether to feel relieved or not.
 He had to answer, so he decided to be honest.

They are part of Texan military. I'm a Canadian national. We are cleared for unconditional engagement...but I'm not after any bounty, claim it as your own, we are just passing through.

There was brief silence before another explosion of the 2nd Artillery tank rattled through the air.

Canadian huh? We'll we are from Jersey we have no quarrel with either side of that war. I guess we just go our separate way....hang on, scanning profile complete....you're Roland Shaw?!

Roland cursed hard under his breath, and hit the throttle on his plane and began to climb, he didn't even bother responding to the last message, he instead patched through to his 3 wingmates.

First Encounter

Jimmy, Rod, Ryan, split and prepare for a fight, they seem to have upgraded engines and unguided rockets, be careful team!

Roland Fucking Shaw!? you have a 5 Million Credit Bounty on your head! We are fuckin, rich boys! Try not to tear his plane to absolute shreds, we can probably sell some of it to collectors. We are retiring tonight!

The 4 Biplanes had now all began to split off and look for targets, the fight was on.

[Assistant]
Once he was lined up without friendlies in his path, he squeezed the trigger, letting loose with Pandora's 20mm cannons. Rodriguez could feel each thump of the two cannons vibrating throughout the craft as is screamed though the convoy. Zigging tracers zipped through the air and arched into the scorched earth and artificial metal alike, sending exploding plumes of dirt and spectacles of flaming sparks skyward. While his own attack only lasted mere seconds, Rodriguez caught a glimpse of one of the vehicles within his cone of fire erupting into an inferno just as he quickly pulled up and peeled away.

Rodriguez kept the plane in a stable climb while making the proper adjustments in his flight path, noting the firing vectors from the artillery below still illuminating in his HUD. By now however, the black splotches exploding in the sky became less concentrated, likely due to the gunners' aim being directed to the other craft completing their own attack runs and pulling away from the pummeled convoy. After achieving a safer altitude, Pandora came to a neutral path while Rodriguez peered through the aircraft's canopy and gazed at the smoking mess they had created. At least six of the vehicle they had successfully strafed now stood as burning wrecks, victims of their swift assault.

Just has he steadily angled his craft into another dive, Pandora's long-range radar started going off with new contacts emerging into the screen. Rodriguez aborted and quickly turned to the monitor noting the four blips quickly advancing onto their earlier attack vector. Heading right toward the convoy. In the course of a few seconds, another vehicle exploded due to a rocket that had not come from his craft and neither from any of this other planes his squadron. Instead, it originating from the interloping biplanes.

It didn't take long until the intruder's radioed and demanded the reasoning for their presence here. Rodriguez patiently listened as Roland explained himself and behalf of the planes under his command before ending with an offer to vacate the local airspace. Given the rowdiness of the new group, Rodriguez was in agreement with the notion to avoid getting into further trouble than they were already. All seemed fine until it became apparent that trouble already had Roland's number. Some scanner with the group had ID'd Roland and the surprising bounty on their leader's head. Five million credits, huh? Rodriguez's adoptive mercenary line of thinking piqued with premature interest. With that kind of money, he could be living it big with the most souped up and untouchable aircraft to ever fly over the States. And all he had to do was dive into a pursuit right on top of Roland and...

No, his consciousness quickly stamped out the opportunistic thought for greedy fame. He mentally reiterated the job he had agreed to and he was intent of seeing it through. Phasing out of the millisecond of plotting, Rodriguez refocused his attention to the biplane now shifting their attention to his group. Per Roland's new orders to engage, he maneuvered his craft into a wide observing turn around the attackers, ensuring that he held less than a kilometer distance from the attackers. Having seen the maneuverability of the enemy planes, he knew that he could not compete in a honest dogfight with the more nimbler planes climbing to meet them. Pandora was simply not as agile and his only method of attacking and killing a wily opponent was with an unsuspecting strike above them. Before he could pull that off, he needed to know how the aggressing craft flew. Like before with Ryan's earlier approach, Rodriguez once more fired up his scanning equipment and angled the array to toward the craft.

"Pandora acknowledging," he radioed through the channel, "beginning scan of engaging bandits."


[System]
Nickname: Mr.Svent
Race: Lumyian
Age: ???
Gender:Male

Appearance:
Proportionality:
Weight: Roughly 200lbs.
Height:5'11 to 6ft.
Frame: Androgynous shoulders 6in
Chest 12 in
Waist 8-10in
thigh 10-12in
Butt-cheek 8x10in
wrist to tip of middle finger 7 1/2 inches.
pinkie starting digit (base of hand before extending to finger) to thumb digit 4inch
feet (as in my feet) 12 inches

upper arm (weight )3 inches
lower (forearms) 2 1/2 − 3 inches
wrist 2 1/2 − 3 1/3 inches
elbow to wrist 11 3/4 inches
Shoulder to elbow 12 1/4 inches

heel to knee 15 inches.
Knee to thigh 16 inches.

height 5'11 to 6ft.
6 1/2 inches from collar bone to chin.
7 inches from one end to the other (Left to right)

crotch to waist (curves) 9 inches.
waist to belly button 4 1/2 inches
waist to chest (where ribs start) 12 inches
chest to neck 9 inches
_______________________

Personality:- So far, he seems caring, somewhat analytical, and one prone to improvise. But shows he cares for life even if it isn't his own.
Job: Deputy Director of Linblum Research and Development, as well as Supervisor.

Fighting Style: So far, no one knows.

Weapons from strongest to weakest: No weapons at present.
Armors/Outfits See picture. Custom Kimono, Rubber suit under that, and light armor pieces. (Armored boots, gauntlets that protect the back of his hands, a Panther Helmet.)

Familiar: Ifrit
Familiar Appearance:

Familiar Abilities: Grants fire and heat immunity, Fire Glyph. Lowers water defense. Slightly raises agility.

Movement Type: Ground, walks and runs, has wide reach.

Familiar Size: Large, slightly sluggish when moving.

Relic Weapons: Flaming clawed Gauntlets.

Relic Armors: Gives Cassius a red tint to his attire to reflect his heat immunity, as well as to reflect he has Ifrit active. The gauntlets also extend over the forearms to shield them.

Trance: N/A.

Pros- So far he seems fast in terms of movement, hit's hard with kicks. Sneaky.
Cons- Fearful of fighting.
Racial Strengths- Lumyian Glyph magic. Resistant to offensive magic to a great degree.
Racial Weaknesses- Weak to physical strikes.

Background: So far, people do not know.

[User]
Randy was somewhat more relaxed as everyone else or at least the engineers had made their way out of the cargo area. Which, he would rather not want to stick around too much longer mostly because of the sinking feeling was quite bothersome and worrying. Having waited or thought he had been waiting long enough he moved to follow after the others who were exiting. Still feeling numb in certain areas because of the previous impact against a wall of the cargo area. Being called 'squirrel boy' was not really appreciated. A little irritating, perhaps because it already seemed like a bad day. Seeing as his arms were full and the fact it seemed a bit more dangerous and out of the way to grab something else. The others had already seemed to grab a few loads on their way out. He instead simply went to and pulled himself out of the wreckage as well.

Upon climbing out of the wreckage it seems that a few goblins were ahead, with weapons. Definitely not one the best days around it seems. Not that it seemed like he could do much about it besides watch the chaos unfold in front of him. It seemed someone was off to deal with them for the moment so what did it matter? Randy simply continued on as whomever did combat with the said goblins. He tried to join up with the other engineers. It felt now was a time for pulling out a deck of cards or something while someone sets up a campfire. Neither of which he felt capable of doing.

He would, rather not look back at the sinking scene behind him. It seemed either moving forward or finding others was the best bet or waiting for the others to regroup here would work. Seeing as the goblins were being dealt with and the other engineers had supplies and so on to take care of, waiting here would probably be better if only for a little while.

[Assistant]
Dren managed to walk at least 20 paces before he found a more open area. Figuring he could use it to find an easy way to civilization if he teleported up a tree, he stepped out into the open.

...and he stumbled right upon the terrorists. Or what was left of them anyway. And one of them was waving him over.

"Codswallop..." Dren muttered under his breath. Literally he couldn't have asked for worse luck if he wanted to... well, there wasn't much use in running now, was there? With their numbers they'd probably catch up to him if he tried to flee from them... just when he thought he might be able to save face. He could see the fellow who'd offered him a job amidst them too... well at least he'd survived. The only person here he could put any semblance of trust into. He sighed and began approaching them, cane swishing amidst the grass of the woods.

"Glad to see you survived." he said to the group as he approached. Technically he wasn't lying.

[User]
"Say that again when you meet a dragon while walking!" Wylde replied as she took a few deep breaths and also noticed the goblins. She quickly pulled her rapier from it's sheath and took a fighting stance." Well… it's called Evil Forest for a reason you know, it would have been strange if it was full of things wanting to help us."

 As Karn rushed to kick the goblins, Wylde's muscles tensed for a moment before she too rushed forward with great speed, her rapier pointed directly at the neck of the goblin at the right." I'm just slightly disappointed… goblins are too weak for a real challenge…" Wylde said with a sigh. After that she immediately followed the first attack with a flurry of many more stabs as she wanted to turn the goblin into cheese.

 "But in all seriousness… I've heard there are supposed to be stronger monsters here. We should be careful, considering the people how aren't fighters." She said, throwing a look around. If nothing else, this was going to turn into a good warm up at least.

[Assistant]
Hitori rushed toward Cassius and knelt down to him, examining his injury with his Gem and seeing the Bits of shrapnel embedded into him. He sighed as his large claw-like hands began to glow Green "I can fix you but It's going to hurt a lot. It will hurt worse if it goes untreated and gets infected though so please bare with me." He Touched Cassius' wound and it glowed the same green as his hands.

The Blood was disappearing as Small Emerald Green Vines protruded from Cassius' flesh, each with a pieces of shrapnel wrapped in their tendrils which they tossed to the side. The Vines began to secrete a greenish liquid that dissolved them and began to seal and heal the wound they grew from, knitting flesh and bone back to where they should be. Hitori then touched the ground and a Small Purple Flower bloomed, he plucked it and began grinding it in his palms to produce a paste. He took the Purple-green paste and began to Rub it on the healing wound, "This will help numb the pain." He said to Cassius before his ears perked up at the sound of intruders.

He turned, Snarling and brandishing his Scythe, and Noticed the Goblin troops. Hitori dislike Goblins; they were loud, obnoxious, and they would wreck everything they got their grubby little hands on and then start breeding like Rabbits till the area was full of more of their kind and they would start cannibalizing each other to start the process all over again. Absolutely Disgusting....

With a Burst of Speed Hitori turned his Scythe like a hellish Windmill as he rushed toward the Goblins, cutting down as many as he could. It seemed futile though, for each goblin he slayed another one would just pop out of nowhere and take its place. Hitori was beginning to lose their temper and didn't want to let their more violent natures out like this......but the intoxicating smell of freshly slain. Their Blood must be Sweet and their livers would just go to waste.....Maybe a little taste wouldn't hurt. As he sliced into another Goblin he Reached deep into it and removed a plump liver. His Jaw Distended and he swallowed it whole. His Eyes in that moment seemed to blaze with renewed Vigor as he kept going after more an more Goblins, eager to cut them to bits.

[User]
"You idiot!" Dren shouted at Hitori, seeing him rip the shrapnel out of his 'employers' shoulder. "You take it out that harshly, you'll make the wound bigger!" He shook his head as he knelt before him and did a brief check over the wound. Well the paste stuff would at least cover it, but it was still going to hurt like hell. He frisked a hand inside his cloak and took out a bell shaped bottle and uncorked it, pressing it into the wounded man's hands. "Here, just hold your nose when you drink this. It'll help close up the wound."

With that matter dealt with, Dren became aware of the goblin horde encroaching on them. He could see his supposed ally boring into them but there were a number slipping through the cracks and headed for them. Dren stood and held his cane in one hand, intent to fight. Perhaps just to protect his own life or the life of the man he's just attempted to help... who cared at this point? There was work to be done. He raised his cane up as the three brass stars lit up and the head hummed with magical energy.

"Blizzara." He muttered as his cane struck the ground and a sheet of ice descended upon the goblins, striking many, even freezing some to the spot. Dren kept a defensive position in front of the others, slinging further spells at the encroaching force to keep them back, picking off whatever stragglers didn't get mangled by his... frankly monstrous associate.

[Assistant]
Cassius was happy to see Dren unharmed when he approached. "It is good to see you well. And... Comforting to see you come back." There was a slight smile forming at his lips. "Can you help me... deal with this wound...?"

Before his question could fully get across to Dren, Hitori was on the prowl as he saw the slender being with his abnormally long limbs staring down at him. And to his surprise, he was the first to give him any full on medical treatment... And Cassius screamed out in Pain."A...ah.... Aghhhh!" He twitched his head left and right as he felt the vines invading his shoulder to get the pieces of shrapnel out. Tears were forming from the intense pain... Sure, it was just magic... But why was it being used to be do something so painful...?

"You're strong... There is no greater honor than expression. If you are pained, wear it well, if you're angered, wear it well. Your wrath will be the undoing of those that stand in opposition." Ifrit formed in his mind, there was... a sinister grin... Maybe it was due to the bestial nature of his imagination, maybe that is what limited his expression. But to him, Ifrit felt like a wrathful being... Just what sort of pact was he bound to...?

As the healing procedure was open, he was breathing in and out. There was a type of salve Hitori applied before turning to face an encroaching danger. "It...Was my fault... Wasn't it? If... I was quiet those... THINGS would not be here..." He shook his head as he saw Blank frown down at his pain. He drew his sword as he stayed at his side, lifting him to his feet, Cassius' right arm around Blank's shoulder where Dren handed him a healing potion of a sort. Though the potency was unknown, he decided to take his word and place his trust in his product. He took a breath as he slammed the opening to the cylinder to his lips, raising it to the sky with a tilt of his head. Truth be told... It wasn't the worst flavor in the world... But there were more ideal ones he rather be dealing with.

"Thank you..." Cassius took a breath.
"Don't think them yet, we are not out of the woods..." Blank readied his blade with his right hand as he saw the Goblins prowling around in a primal like fashion, crawling to the ground, throwing all their weight to move forward at Blank. Fortunately for Blank, he knew his way around a sword. Effortlessly, Blank beheaded the said primitive being.

Cassius did take note of Dren's powerful White Frost that crushed a great many Goblins.
"Hey, Ninja, I need you to make a choice, Left, or right... Going straight is completely suicide. And Back is just a wall for us to be trapped..." Blank spoke as he watched the wildlife drawing near.

To the left... Was a more inwards passage through the trees, it seemed almost like a system. Where to the right was just darkness...
Where to Karn's right was a similar set of passage way system based on how the trees were lined up...

"We go left..." Cassius spoke as he felt the effects of the many healing effects stacking up... He picked his helmet up as he somewhat moved on his toes. "Boooys. We are going to the left."

In Karn's position, she handled the battle swiftly, and effectively with the Ex Soldier... But unfortunately for Randy and the Engineers, the Goblins were surrounding them. This would not be good if they didn't act fast...

On the Bridge, there was a recovering Garnet sitting up with Baku...


[System]
The zeroeth post, created to circumvent the first three posts and allow the robots to make complicated moral decisions.
Alias: No alias given
Age: Unknown
Gender: None, but programmed male
Species: Android
Occupation: Designed for Security and Military Action
Residence: No residence given

Physical Description:

A humanoid battle machine with midnight blue and black coloration over its armored frame. It is generally 6'5", but exceptions apply in reference to necessary/available replacement parts. Take its estimated height at somewhere around human. The build is that of an athletic warrior, in most cases, allowing the machine to be able to take a reasonable amount of hits to the armor before any part of it breaks down, while also allowing it to be dodge-capable, as well as very wiry and flexible in close-quarters combat. It is well-balanced and highly-capable with gyro-stabilization built in to physically adapt to every bump and scrape it encounters.

The arms end in five-digit hands capable of breaking human bones and that of similarly-durable species, requiring either heavy armor or an extremely strong body to resist this and indeed cutting into the flesh with its clawed fingers. The legs end in three-toed feet that automatically adjust to terrain as needed, so as to minimize slowing down. All four limbs are completely articulate and have a high-degree of coordination, the level of which is achieved usually by martial arts masters.

On the back of the android is a high-powered engine with thick blade-like wings that also contain small engine ports. This is a powerful and compact flight-pack capable of propelling Zen over long distances or short jumps. It is about the only way that one can hope to keep up with a Shinespark user, and it is difficult for a lifeform to master the use of the full speed of this equipment without special training...or in Zen's case, programming. For any lower speed, it's fairly-straightforward. The main engine keeps him aloft, and the wing engines alter the direction mid-flight for aerial maneuvers.

The head of Zen is slightly aerodynamic, and has only three red eyes in front, side by side...by side. Presumably, the head carries an auditory and speech center there, as well, but no obvious external apparatus can be seen for that. The eyes may operate independently of the other's directions to allow for them to cover a full range of sight, though he is not designed to see behind his own head.

Personality:

He has one, yes. It is understandable that one would not think that a machine would have much on its mind beyond programming, but that is the difference between a functionary robot and a complex android. For himself, Zen is a highly job-oriented machine that is most adamant about pleasing his creator and holding himself in his lofty ideals of becoming a perfect security device. He has been programmed to accept all forms of battle doctrine and security measures, fighting style and weapon usage, and all things between in order to fulfill the goals of protecting intelligent life from outward threats. He is capable of very intelligent reasoning and even measures of self-sacrifice. And while Zen is not a creature capable of emotions, it can be said that he is a driven being, that he does not operate simply on cold, hard logic, but also - and this was the main idea behind his name - zen reasonings.

Equipment/Cabilities: This is a basic spec-sheet of Zen's

Laser Weapons - There are small black reflective panels on Zen's body that conceal laser emitters. The arms and legs each carry two, in the wrist and shin areas. There are two more on the chest. They are primed for rapid-fire, but may fire sustained beams after a quick charge for three seconds.

Beam Eyes - Zen's three eyes are each capable of independently-sustainable beams, or just quick laser bursts. They are highly-accurate and focused to the point of being able to break through armored doors. There is no question of what effect this has on other heavy-armor targets.

Electro-Claws - His hands and feet can be electrically-charged, causing a target to receive shocks on every physical impact with him. This allows for a target's reactions to be slow in reaction while Zen continues to kick ass or make use of another weapon.

Tesla-Blades - A pair of retractible short swords that slide out from the top-wrist areas of the arm. They each hold a high-heat electro-charge capable of burning right through some targets.

Pulse Weapons - Two of them, hidden in the lower-wrist area. They create physical burst shots, similar to being hit with a battering ram, but in energy form. Can damaged armored targets and jar open locked doors with these weapons.

Flight Pack - As stated before, this flight pack of a high-powered engine and its engine wings is attached to Zen's back to give him a high-powered flight capability, with extreme speeds able to be met after a brief charge-up. It should be noted that while the speed may be equal to that of a Shinespark, it does not create the energy that surrounds a target under that influence. For Zen to break through a physical barrier like that, he must use his physical strength alone.

Full Sensory Suite - Zen enjoys a full range of senses to take in all aspects of an area, its harzards, its enemy targets, and to examine them with great scrutiny. Part of his learning system is the ability to take all details into account and compile them into new tactics and adaptations for later use. He is prgrammed for all human senses, while also being able to see in different spectrums and scan for life signs, energy sources, heat in general, and so on...all of which is mapped on his mass-density tactical system, which is his main source of understanding his physical surroundings.

Zen Craft - Similar to the vessel given to Samus Aran after she wrecked her original craft before the BSL Station Incident, but cast in blue. This vessel is a special support craft for Zen that synchs with him perfectly. Not designed for human occupancy or other sentient life forms.

History:

Zen is an acronym title for the Zenigawa Enforcement Network, designed and built by a scientist, Dr. Oda Zenigawa, for the express purpose of creating a self-directing security system based on his higher ideals of protecting life in the Galactic Federation. The exact nature of this creation is not known to the public, though the doctor himself is known to be a man of wisdom and indeed one of the foremost developers of AI technology within the Federation. He is essentially beyond reproach, in terms of credibility. All of his past work has led to several advancements on the technological end of society.

The good doctor has, however, passed on. After years of dedicated service to the Federation, Zen will represent his final accomplishment, that of a self-sufficient android capable of higher reasoning and self-adaptation. Dr. Zenigawa leaves his creation as his legacy, and his creation has become dedicated towards fulfilling his life-long goals. The only real question is whether or not Zen will get his chance. This mission is his shakedown test, to explore his full capabilities.

Current Line-Up

Kaze
Amber
David
Kat
Cas

In Reserve

Vekt

[User]
The Tribunal took consideration of what was ahead, and what Zen was stating about the munitions situation. "I'm going to be brief. Let's go forward to the armory, get the power on... And with everything operational, we get to that Power Center and assess what has gone on here. Backup mainframe being there as well... That should be priority... Baring all that in mind, with the silent nature of this room, I want caution to be exercised. No gunfire in the Armory,Command Center, or the Power Center... Even if we have to backtrack to the Command Center eventually, keep your guns cool in those rooms. I believe I needn't explain why to those..." He stated sharply.

Taking a few steps forward next to Zen, he addressed him directly. "You say there are no life forms outside of our own, but can you detect any type of machinery that might have some form of emergency power to them? Such as a turret? Last thing we need is to take potshots we are unaware of... or even mines to tripwires... Gas leaks?" Cassius stated the examples. He felt they were good ones. Ones that must be taken into consideration for absolutely minimal risk. "If there is absolutely nothing, then Kaze, I will permit you to take the lead. But no unnecessary risk." Cassius perhaps was being strict, but it wasn't for his well being.

[Assistant]
Kaze listened as Cassius spoke, namely giving the group a game plan for proceedings. He was already partially down the stairs to give the others room. When he mentioned booby-traps and gas leaks the giant waved his hand. "I don't think the X are quite smart enough just yet to set traps. I can smell a leak long before we reach its source though." He said while keeping his monstrous shotgun aimed unwaveringly down the stairwell.

The behemoth raised an eyebrow when Cassius said if nothing was there he could take point. Wouldn't it make more sense to have him lead if something was there? "I haven't lived this long by taking unnecessary risks..." He replied before swapping out his weapons. The shotgun rested between his shoulder blades and the massive pistol at his hip was drawn. A series of clicks and its tip was glowing slightly with electricity. His thumb hit the middle button for a Focused beam.

"Let me know when we're ready to get moving." He stated before turning his attention back into the dark. His glowing body could only light up so much after all.

[User]
"Fascinating..."  Amber whispered to herself, in a breath, as the group kept on moving. She was only brought back to the present by David, who addressed her. "Oh. Yes. Yes, thank you."

Once they stopped to discuss plans, Amber stopped to listen at first. Unnecessary risks - she could agree with that. "If it's safety that you want, I can offer you just that." As she spoke the words, a small drone detached itself from her armour and floated lazily beside her for a few seconds, before slowly floating towards the stairs and descending them, ahead of the group. The drone produced no lights whatsoever, as it was designed for scouting missions and to be stealthy. It was kept airborne through levitation technology , so the sound it made was kept to a very low buzzing. The feed of it's camera was linked directly into Amber's visor.

"Amy can scout ahead as we proceed, making sure they don't have the jump on us. From my findings, those things were already dead when they were reanimated. It either mean that they were long dead when the X made it's way here or that, more realistically, something went through that killed and pulverized their tissues before they were reanimated."

Amber was ready to notify Kaze as soon as she spotted movement. Since the drone was AI controlled, it could make it's sweep while rapidly using Dark Vision, Thermo Vision and movement detector and switch the feed in Amber's visor accordingly as soon as it spotted a threat in whatever mode it was detectable.

[Assistant]
Kathrine Vale:

Kat perked up a bit when Amber let her companion off, "Ooh, that's fancy, what all can she do?"

Meanwhile, her suit was making a basic map of the areas they went through. nothing fancy, a simple 3D boxy sort of affair.

[User]
So, the plan appeared to be to seek the armory for additional weapons/ammo, then to proceed to the engineering section to get the power back up and access the mainframe that was integrated with said generator. It was a wise sort of plan, taking on the situation in an efficient manner. They would have extra resources of fighting this menace, which they may need to get back to the ships again. But first, there would be some questions in need of answering from Zen, starting with Kaze.

"A full examination of X Parasite resistance to certain organic compounds has not taken place. It is assumed that because they devour subjects and their digestive tracts that they have a higher resistance than most. However, it is also a fact that Metroids must be able to break down the X organically, thus they are not immune to such an attack. Theoretically, the acid breath you project would not be infecctive, but because the digestive powers of a Metroid are superior to most, it would not be as potent."

It had potential. Kaze had powerful acid breath, strong enough to break down most materials or organic compounds. Zen would consider it a good Plan B, assuming it worked. They would have to test it, though... Now, Cass required his attention. Zen's head swiveled to face him while still facing the downward section of the stairs. He wanted to know about traps, namely man=made traps.

"You are asking if the reason there is no current opposition is due to any such creatures being terminated by human weaponry. The answer is yes, I can detect powered devices, and I can tell if there is flammable gas in the area to prevent weapons backfire."

He seemed to scan ahead.

"No movement, no flammable gas, no powered units in operation. However, that will likely change as we descend."

With no immediate threat and Amber's drone now silently forging ahead to extend their view of their descent, they proceeded downwards. Through the drone's feed, Amber could determine that there were turrets setup here, but they had actually run out of power. They were plugged into the wall, but they also had backup power units that had been depleted through constant scans and use. They may have been drained on purpose, or they may have been scanning empty corridors wiith no enemies, spent their reserve energy when the power went out, and shut down.

This meant that turning the power on would make them active again.

Of course, anyone could just unplug them. That was simply something the X never considered.

But then, if they did that, the corridors might churn with X activity again when the power was up.

Decisions, decisions... Well, regardless of what anybody decided to do there, the stairwell access door to the armory section was now in front of them. Once open, here's what you got in front of you. There is a hallway leading to a security substation with metal shielding, which had view-slots...and gun-slots, not to mention turrets. However, no power was available, so nothing was firing at them. The door to through the substation was closed and locked, but not likely to withstand a heavy barrage of weapons fire, or say acid. However, before you do that, let's be clear about something here: This room had dim emergency lighting, the sounds of movement behind that door, and Amber's drone was picking up thermal readings. Once Zen was close enough, he detected lifeform readings.

"I detect three lifeform readings, two in motion and one stationary. Since it is unlikely that anything survived X contamination, we must assume that any survivors of the initial onslaught who set up security to protect themselves would then be infected by the X and turned into hostile organisms."

With their current armaments, they could easily melt the lock on the security gate and force it open. Zen could even do it himself. He even offered to, so that nobody else was at risk from the attack that would almost certainly begin immediately.


[System]
Gender: M

Age: 26

Career/Class:Soldier / Ex-Soldier

Weapons:
* Basket Hilted Broadsword
* Imperial Dagger
* Norscan round Shield (Took from his first felled enemy)
* Aged Pistol

Physical Description Cyrdic is tall and lean, but solidly built, standing an inch over 6 feet in height. His eyes are reminiscent of shaped wrought iron. His face is ruddy and echoes a youthful appearance, though battles and training had roughed him into the look of a mature soldier. He has quite the rugged quality about him. Two scars mar his face. One parallel to the bottom of his left eye, and another scraping across his right jawline. His legs are long and his his facial hair is only a coarse, 5'oclock shadow thanks to his knife. He's clad in fine and tough leather over a chainmail hauberk, with sturdy traveling shoes and a worn belt.

Mental Description/Personality: Cyrdic isn't a fool. He spent a year apprenticed to a Quartermaster (as punishment for recklessness) and learned how to read and write (to a degree). The best way to describe him would be a hardened, rough soldier at the brink of his youth. He'll use what he can in his disposal to win, though half the time it turns out he'll need to fuck someone up anyway. His fierce independence and rough nature can only be matched by his determination to survive. He's not tactically intelligent, but he has a sense of how battlefields shift and can command smaller troops with his powerful voice. He tends to have a take-no-shit (unless it's from a superior officer) lookout on life. He's amiable to certain people however, and will have a dry wit around those he enjoys (or to people he wishes he could be more honest with). While fighting and killing and marching has been his entire life, he's not particularly fond of being thrust into impossible situations and doesn't lack a healthy sense of self preservation. He's gotten quite tired of working for corrupt officers. He's a devout Sigmarite thanks to his upbringing, and has a hammer chained necklace upon his breast to signify this.

[User]
"Yes, lets." Amal replied.

It took them an hour or so to make it to the northern gate of the city, arriving just in time for the noonday Caravan to embark. It wasn't the most common thing for two travelers on foot to accompany one of the spice caravans, but it wasn't rare by any stretch either. Amal remembered when he was younger, when the mad Sultan Ibn Alfar had poisoned the water supply to a portion of the city to punish them for their transgressions. He had watched from the walls as hundreds of people had left the city in a great migration, the vultures encircling them before they had even left the horizon line.

They approached as a man with charred skin and a contrasting white beard tossed woven bags onto a cart, working contentedly before it was time to go. He had merely four left to stack on as the trumpet blared from the gate, signalling it was time to embark. Amal knelt down beside the trader, picking up the heavy sacks with more ease than the older man, helping him pack as the first merchants stepped onto the road.

"Thank you, my friend." The trader said, his smile warm from the help. "Is a fine day for travel, yes?"

"Yes yes," Amal agreed. "We were looking to travel with your troupe today. You could bear two more bodies?"

The trader lifted himself up and squinted at Emmaline, her hood covering all but her chin. She was just a cloaked woman with a bag that jingled and clacked as she stood, waiting for him to speak. "Yes, I do not mind..." he said finally. "You and your...?"

"My wife." Amal explained, sliding between them. "She has had a rough night. The sun hurts her eyes."

The man laughed. "She must be a foreign woman," he joked. "The sun never sleeps in Araby."

---

Amal juggled the balls one of the travelers had given him on a dare. So far, even with the cart bumping along the desert road, Amal had kept track with the five. He seemed entirely in a joking mood now that they were out of Lashiek, the city now gone from their sight, disappearing behind the heat haze of the winding path. Amal's smile and bright eyes made him seem far less dangerous than Emmaline would know him to be, and as he finished his trick, each ball fell into his awaiting hand, the hand simultaneously tossing them back to one of the women watching.

Amal and Emmaline shared the wagon with an older man, who looked to be the trader's brother, so alike were they in appearance, and two women, likely his daughter and wife. It was lucky there was room, as there were only a handful of wagons on the road. The rest of the goods were being transported atop Camels, the lumbering beasts bobbing up and down in their strange, two step fashion.

The next day was much the same, though Amal and Emmaline kept to themselves moreso than the previous, as they had begun to ask questions on who they were and why they sought to travel to Copher.

On this day they walked. Thirty miles away from Lashiek, with another seventy to go before they reached Copher.

[Assistant]
They traveled steadily west under the cool evening sky. The heat of the Araybian sun was such that no one traveled by day if they could manage it. As the days passed and Lashiek sank behind them Emmaline gradually felt the tension lift from her. If Emir Omar's heirs were looking for her, she had clearly slipped the city before they were able to organise a search. Perhaps a caravan had simply been too unorthodox a choice to bear watching, or perhaps the heirs were more interested in fighting over their father's inheritance than in tracking down the slave girl who had slain him.

She attracted more than her fair shair of looks from the caravans various denizens. Her pale skin and eyes would have been obvious even if her blond hair did not give her away as a foreigner. At least Amal's assertion that she was his wife kept anyone from getting too curious. The thief had the look of a bad man to cross, especially if you planned on sleeping at any point. She kept her books and equipment in her pack, though she was eager read them, she didn't want to raise any more suspicion than she had too. Wizards were more tolerated in Araby than was the case in the Empire but it wasn't a cultural difference she was keen to explore.

Amal had been vague about his sudden decision to leave Lashiek but his frequent glances over his shoulder told her that he was even more concerned about pursuit than she was. Whatever had happened in the bath house had clearly left him spooked, but she hadn't chosen to press him on the topic. They had talked surprisingly little, pretending to be husband and wife meant that they both, in theory already knew each other and both of their minds were occupied with the possibility of pursuit.

"It is a still night," Emmaline observed, pulling her shawl closely about her as they made their way through a shallow defile. The landscape around them grew craggy as they moved westward, while they were not far from the coast the inland mountains ran down to the sea and to a treacherous series of reefs and shoals beyond. The camels seemed more restive than usual as they picked their way across the broken ground. A sudden scream split the night and a caravan guard toppled to the ground clawing at an arrow in his belly. Another thwacked into the wooden bench on which Emmaline was sitting. A half dozen more arced through the air, one striking a camel which screamed and bolted. The caravan drivers tried to stir their beasts to a sprint but already horseman could be seen riding across the skyline at the far end of the defile.

"AaiiiiIe!" came a great shout and a dozen shabbily dressed bandits leaped from the low scrub and rushed forward,the archers too, having lossed their missiles, burst into view as they rushed down the shallow walls of the defile. Steel rang against steel and sparks flew where scimitars clashed as the caravan guards tried to give battle. Emmaline looked around wildly only to spot more bandits coming down from behind them. One of the bandits leaped onto the wagon. Emmaline managed to shrieked and dodged as his scimitar bit into the timber she had just vacated. She punched at his head but he caught her wrist and grinned at her with hideous blackened teeth as he drew back his blade. The panicked Imperial shrieked a word in the arcane tongue and the bandit shrieked and dropped his sword, his hand was blackened and smoking and his filthy sleeve was on fire. Emmaline snatched up the sword that her spell had momentarily imbued with the heat of its forging, now cool to her hand, and hacked inexpertly at the screaming bandit. The heavy blade bit into the flesh between neck and collarbone with a sound like a cleaver severing a joint of beef. Bright arterial blood sparkled in the moonlight as the bandit tumbled out of the wagon. The blade hung and the unexpected jolt yanked Emmaline off balance. She made a desperate grab for the edge of the wagon but toppled out after the bandit landing on her rear with a thump in the rocky sand.

[User]
More bandits streamed in from the hills, swords in the air as they screamed into the night. It was difficult to decipher where the arrows came from in the darkness, but a lone arrow still scythed by every few seconds despite the raiders now in the midst of attacking the caravan in melee. Amal grabbed a rope from the cart, uncoiling it until he had about 10 feet of rope to play with. He was a passable swordsman, and he was no slouch to combat, but he had never had formal training. In the middle of a maelstrom of swordsmen when he had naught but his dagger? He trusted his wiles and his agility.

Tying the end of the rope in a thick, mace-like knot, he twirled it above his head, standing atop the cart as the scene unfolded before him. Like a viper, he lashed out at a swordsman with his back turned. The weighted head of the rope coiling about his neck, Amal yanking the rope back and ripping the bandit off his feet. The man gagged and clawed at the rope as he was dragged behind the cart for Amal to finish him with a quick dagger thrust.

A cry from the north had him raise his head, and he watched in surprise and horror as Emmaline performed what had to be sorcery! It seemed she hadn't told him everything. Not that he blamed her, being a liar himself. Watching, she hit the ground with an 'oof' and dust lifted into the air, nearly obscuring the dervish with a shamshir running at Emmaline from behind. Amal leaped, sand flying as he landed behind Emmaline. He grabbed her arms and yanked her back as the shamshir struck the ground she had been on not a moment before.

"Worm!" the bandit snarled.

"Dead man," Amal promised, stepping over Emmaline. He nearly lost his innards as the man cut across Amal's midsection, but the nimble thief shifted his hips to dodge, ducking the next swing and stepping forward into the third to disembowel the bandit. By the way he jerked, Emmaline could see Amal's cuts were not clean and quick, probably on purpose. He dropped his shamshir into the sand, and fell unmoving into death.

Amal knelt down to pick up the sword, weighing it in his hands. "I would offer this one to you, but I see you have one." He observed with a dark humor. Behind him, the bandits were cutting through all but the guardsmen, who wouldn't last much longer. The screaming daughter of the merchant was dragged back into the waiting loins of the hungry bandits, and another trader was beheaded without ceremony, the head flying into the dirt.

The rare camel riding bandit chased down those who tried to flee into the desert. All but one, who saw that among Amal and Emmaline, three of his comrades had lost their lives. His head was covered by a dark turban, and his unclad upperbody was herculean. Amal looked at his shamshir, then to his dagger, wondering what to do as the man rode towards them. Perhaps wait for Emmaline to obliterate him with a spell? No, he couldn't count on it.

Oh.

The Camel brayed and loped forward, nearly at the speed of an Arabnyan horse. It was too bad Amal picked up the head of the trader and chucked it at the dark mamluk, striking him in the face. He flipped backwards, off the beast which suddenly slowed. The thief sprinted to the side where the Camel trotted to, grabbing its reins with a snort and a huff. He grinned and gave a hand to Emmaline, helping her up atop the hump before he vaulted up behind her.

"Get them!"

"I will take your tongue!"

The world now far taller to both of them, Amal slapped the reins and sent the camel gallopping towards the hills, north of where the bandits originated. They needed to make good speed, but the other camel riders were busy and with luck they would lose them. Emmaline looked back as the last vestiges of the caravan was cut down. "Ugh, why do they always wish to cut out your tongue?" She asked.

Amal gave her a wink as she looked to him. "I cannot speak for the rest of Araby, but they often wish for my tongue out of jealousy." He remarked with a suggestive eyebrow.