[System]
{ "...." }

- General Characteristics -
| {Full Name} |
Devon C. Baines

| {Nickname/Callsign} |
Dev or Devi

| {Age} |
27

| {Gender} |
Female

| {Face Claim} |
Lisbeth Salander/Rooney Mara

| {Dialogue Color} |
Yellow

| {Appearance} |
Devon is a very thin young lady standing at 5'5". She mostly wears dark clothes, regardless of the heat, to blend with the shadows she stays close to. Her frame suggests she doesn't eat much, but only because she rations her food supply very sparingly, however it helps her to move quietly and quickly. As taught by her previous so called 'companion' who said men tend to grab hair first, she keeps her hair short and cuts it with her knife if she feels it gets too long.

---

- Psychological Profile -

| {Personality} |
Devon is not as emotionless or unwelcoming as her stone gaze or quiet demeanor gives her off to be; it's just her poker face. She tends to live in her own thoughts and listens more than she speaks, unless she feels what she has to say is important; or if she feels comfortable speaking out. She's only ever trusted one person, her previous companion, and was taught to not trust anyone. However, after the death of her companion, Devon became more angry, scared and lonely than when he was alive. She detached herself from reality and built a psychological wall of cement around her. Sometimes she talks or mumbles to herself to fill whatever void of loneliness she could to keep her from going insane, if she isn't already. Though she had never attached herself to anyone except her previous companion, and was taught to never do so, she longs for people and friendship.
However, Devon has no fear as far as defending herself or doing whatever she can to survive.

| {Fears/Limitations} |
Other than her utter fear of being alone forever in an unforgiving wasteland, she fears the people that dwell in it. So many times that Devon could have joined a camp or group that she came across, that she felt she could have trusted, came about to be group of cannibals or rapists.

| {Place of Origin} |
Somewhere in South Carolina

| {Background} |
Unsure of how their relationship came to be to begin with, Devon only remembers living and traveling with Seth, who preferred to be called by his self-proclaimed title 'Creature'. An egotistical leader of a bandit group, Seth made it law that if anyone, preferably women, was found alive was to be brought to him. A group of Seth's men found Devon out cold and severely mal-nourished. When brought back to Creature, his men thought that Devon would be of no value to the market, but Creature, desperate for revenue, demanded her to be brought back to health before he executed his initial plan to sell her off.
However, Seth's plan never fully took flight. Whether it was a lustful infatuation for Devon or his addiction for control, Devon became Seth's little 'trophy' and for some reason, she liked it. Devon grew attached to her captor and eventually felt love for him. Seth's intentions may have been twisted in Devon's mind, feeling that he was acting out of love and protection. Devon did anything for him and killed anyone who threatened him or his position.
Eventually, the 'All-Mighty Creature' met his demise and Devon was left wandering the wasteland. With no guidance or direction, she merely existed alone with no purpose left except for death; though, she didn't have the heart to kill herself.

---

- Survival Characteristics -

| {Non-Combat Skills} |
Scout: Being a woman of little words and observant eyes and ears, she's able to eavesdrop easily whether on a minor conversation simply overheard or important information/intel needed.
Drawing: Devon has a photographic memory, but prefers to keep things on paper just in case.
Scavenger: Devon's small frame gives her the ability to move quickly and quietly, giving her a chance to take whatever she may need to survive.

| {Possessions} |
A medium sized rucksack
A worn journal and what's left of a No. 2 pencil
Over the shoulder canteen
3x Stimpaks

| {Combat Skills} |
Melee: Devon keeps a couple knives on her at all times, her own and her previous companions that she took off his body after he died. If unable to reach her knives, she can pretty much use anything in close proximity as a weapon.

| {Gear} |
1x Bowie Knife
1x Gas mask
1x Push Dagger
2x Dual Wield Trench Knives

[User]
Monika walked along keeping to her position in the group. Occasionally fiddling with her suit which was designed for someone a bit larger than her, then again years of malnutrition tended to make one a bit thinner than normal. As concentrated as she appeared, she could certainly feel that her eyes were starting to go together. Walking for this long without the ability to use her cigarettes as a crutch to keep her concentration up was definitely taking its toll on her.

That was until she saw the wall up close. She had already seen it from when she arrived outside the subway, but then it was far away and looked rather small. But up close, it was huge and imposing. The thought of what lay on the other side sent a shiver down her spine. Looking around she still found little comfort with the company that had undertaken the mission with her which only worsened her mood.

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here..." She recognised the words that Emil spoke, they were from one of the books she had glanced through while exploring the university in Hartford shortly before her encounter with the Brotherhood "Certainly fitting Emil." Monika said into the radio in a flat tone while raising her head in bewilderment of the wall in front of her.

Hearing the Paladins instructions, she put her head back down and pressed onward into the abyss with the group. Not knowing if she or any of them would make it back out in one piece. Both physically and mentally this was going to be one of the biggest challenges of her life, but she was ready to sacrifice it all for his future.

[Assistant]
Khaliya, The Swordwind
December 3rd, 2286
New York City Metro - Blue Line
North

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

Those words settled uneasily among the group, almost as much as that strange sound that had dissipated the moment they passed the invisible barrier. Already a few of the mercs were looking fit to bolt, nervous eyes glancing back and forth as they scanned the tunnel walls. Where before in the station the tunnel had been almost pristine save for a few blemishes here and there, now that they were fully within the Necropolis cracks spread across the ceiling showing the stresses of the Great War. It had been rumored that the reason for such a dense field of radiation around and inside the city was multiple direct impacts, but it had never been confirmed. Khaliya spared the group a grim chuckle as she thought of how they may be the ones to put rumor to the test.

As it stood, they could use something to distract themselves from the imminent danger lurking around that next bend in the subway, and for sure above ground itself. Luckily she didn't have to improvise as a voice came across the radio channel, singing a simple cadence that seemed to help out a little bit. Bailey was her name, a quick glance behind her finding the woman with her weapon at the ready. Putting her at her back was a risk, especially if Jeremiah's concerns had grounds, but she needed to break away from the assumptions that the two of them were here for their own glories. The Brotherhood had enough issues and public relations was one of the biggest ones of late, if the group felt that they were there to seize the tech, then things would get very ugly in a hurry.

At the very least it seemed that their resident ghoul was assured that he wasn't going to be executed, something she knew was more common than she was comfortable with. A quick signal to him showed that she was turning off the group channel, and she slowed a moment so that she could speak more directly.

"Don't quite think I caught your name earlier, and since you've got our back with that rifle, I would be remiss if I didn't properly introduce myself." Khaliya extended her right hand out to him, palm up and inviting. "Khaliya Bertrand, or if you're one for formalities then Star-Paladin works just as well. That or just shout for some armor. I know that we're not too good with your people, but in here…" She knew he would understand what she was meaning by "we", the turning of her helm indicating her husband bringing up the rear of the group.

"Prior allegiances don't matter when it comes down to the mission, and more importantly survival. Most of the group here won't know anything more than the basic rumors, and I figure the westerners might not even know that. I want to make sure we take this slow and carefully, avoid as much danger as possible. The fewer risks we take up there, the greater the chances that we all get out of this hellhole alive."

As they walked, her headlamp illuminated the tunnel ahead, other lights flickering on and off along the walls and in the distance a brighter sign. It was the next station, and for a moment she had wondered if it had really been that long since they began, or if it was just closer in reality. So far nothing had happened beyond the idle chatter, not even a feral sighting or signs of recent activity. In fact… There were no signs of the tunnel being used by anything in a long while, likely since the bombs fell and there was no longer a need for it. A safe and stable route in and out of the city, uninhabited by feral ghouls, stray mirelurks or even radroaches… What is going on here? Khaliya was troubled by the very distinct lack of habitation, up until they were coming up on the first station.

The reason why became evident quite immediately, to the point where again she stopped. Before the group was a tunnel collapse, a subway car embedded in the rubble with just a narrow passage leading deeper. There was no way to tell just how far that path could lead, if it was just that single car, or if the entire train was open. Nor was there any way to know if the collapse was local or extended beyond what they could see. Khaliya went back to the open channel, turning to address the group.

"It looks like when the bombs dropped and the subway trains lost power, this one derailed and impacted the wall. There's a path through, but unless someone wants to scout it, we can't risk entering the carriage. We'll have to go above ground here."

[User]
Other than their encounter with the wall keeping things inside of the city, the tunnel trek was uneventful...almost too much so. Routes like these were few and far in between. Though Emil would be lying to himself if he did not admit he appreciated the lack of hostile things trying to tear his face off. They then approached the reason why things were so quiet. A train had derailed and smashed into the wall. There was a small and narrow passage, but other than that passage, there seemed to be no other way through.

"It looks like when the bombs dropped and the subway trains lost power, this one derailed and impacted the wall. There's a path through, but unless someone wants to scout it, we can't risk entering the carriage. We'll have to go above ground here."

The idea of going above ground didn't sit very well with Emil. One little mistake that gets your suit damaged too bad and that's the end of it. Though the narrow path ahead seemed to be the only path he would willingly take, though as the paladin mentioned. They didn't know what dwelt past the collapsed tunnel nor what things were inside of the train itself. Emil decided then and there, creepy narrow passage trumps irradiated hell. "If you guys need people to scout the path ahead, I'll be the first to volunteer." Emil was fine with the idea of going alone but he would appreciate it if he had a partner to join him. It would drastically decrease the likelihood of an untimely death because he can't see what's behind him. "...though I think it would be wise if I have someone accompanying me."

[Assistant]
Though Devon was very used to traveling alone, she was quietly thankful to have those around her for this trek. If she paid no mind to what her new comrades looked like and forgot about the hazmat suit she wore, all of this around her felt normal. It felt like another raid or errand with Creature and his gang. It was always places that looked long abandoned and smelled like mold and stale air. There was either an old door, an opened door frame, or some dark, decrepit hole that always led to the 'treasure' that the gang was after that day; food, ammunition, clean water, or bottle caps. Those fucking bottle caps.

Creature was going to trade Devon for bottle caps a long time ago.

"It looks like when the bombs dropped and the subway trains lost power, this one derailed and impacted the wall. There's a path through, but unless someone wants to scout it, we can't risk entering the carriage. We'll have to go above ground here."

The random thought of the desert winds howl and the sand stinging her face reminded Devon of another reason why she felt so uneasy about this trip. Had it not been for the sound of multiple footsteps, the voices she could hear that were not the ones in her head - the other voices that were not her own thoughts - she would be panicking. How quiet it would be. Not the normal quiet, but the extra quiet where she would be able to hear that loud, endless ringing in her ears. Not even her breath would be able to hide that god awful ringing. Honestly, Devon would rather be above ground. She felt limited to her surroundings down here, therefore, she had to think quicker and gamble that she would make the right choices to keep herself alive.

How selfish to think that way now. No. People in this world had to be selfish in order to survive. People die every day regardless if they could be helped or not. Creature taught her that. Creature taught Devon a lot of almost fucked up logic. "Creature is dead." she spoke to herself.

"If you guys need people to scout the path ahead, I'll be the first to volunteer.."
"..though I think it would be wise if I have someone accompanying me."

Devon looked up. Her eyes restless, whipping from Emil to the lady in the armor. "I'll go with him." Her face expressionless, until she absent-mindedly started gently chewing on the inside of the bottom left of her lip. She wasn't sure what else to say.

Creature was dead and he was not here to make decisions for Devon's life anymore, even though his voice and sense of judgment was still branded into her skull. "Fuck off." she murmured softly, pushing Creature's voice into the void of mind where he couldn't bother her for now.


[System]
Age: 27
Species: Human
Class: Change blader- His gauntlet is both his weapon and also the source of a power up gimmick once
Homeland: Kharlei, who's climate ranges from cloud forests at higher altitudes along with like mountain highlands to a more subtropical locale at lower elevations. It consists of 13 provinces each ruled by a provincial administrator assigned by the current ruler. The capital Jenomizl, lies up into the north carved into a hillside with nearby Cozol lake that feeds the Greenway river, so named because the river lands acts as a water source for not only agriculture but also is a main avenue for moving things along the river's path.

Personality: : Rio is pretty easy going and friendly. An adventurer by trade he's got a sense of wanderlust and curious that is satisfied by moving around.

Appearance:He's got blonde hair and tanned dark skin from being outdoors a lot. He's dressed in a dark color longcoat that sports a fur trim around the collar punctuated by studs. His pants and boots are equally neutrally colored. His gauntlet is the most striking feature because of how it covers the entirety of his left arm. It's made of a silvery material and has an intricate designed carved into the metal along the weapon.

History: He hails from Kharlei and really doesn't care about bringing up history as it's pretty boring and mundane. After reaching the age of adulthood in his country he pretty much immediately joined the WAA and started doing low rank jobs and spending quite a bit of time learning how to fight. It was during an adventure that he would gain his signature weapon, called the "Lordly Talons". This relic while serving as a great weapon however is not at it's full power and currently Rio does not have the ability to bring forth the dormant power it contains.

Powers/Abilities:

Spell Name: Dive bomb
Element/Type: Sword
Rank:
Mana Drain:
Rio jumps up and uses the gauntlet to slam the target

Spell Name: Rend
Element/Type:
Rank:
Mana Drain:
Energy flows into the gauntlet allowing for an empowered clawing attack that not only hits multiple targets in front of it but also does more damage than an unpowered attack.

Spell Name: Circulation
Element/Type: Martial Arts
Rank:
Mana Drain:
By focusing his internal energies he is able to skillfully use his body allowing for great feats of agility.

Equipment:
* Duster
* Lordly Talon(s)
* Sturdy boots
* lucky charm
* Satchel
	+ Enough coinage for food and lodging and perhaps some supply buying
	+ Rations
	+ Notebook & pencil

[User]
"I mean this group is really strong," said the king. "I should have called the WAA in the first place."

Nice sarcasm, your majesty, Nanda wanted to say, but she only smiled. She couldn't tell whether to take the king seriously. He seemed like someone who is unironically fun at parties, and that already earned a point of respect from her. Another point came when he revealed that the escort method is an honest-to-goodness flying carpet. Nanda shook her head in amazement.

"Boy, people would kill to get sights like this."

The view was certainly remarkable, and Nanda made it a point to memorise the layout of the city while they were far above. It was a very short trip unfortunately, and soon the dungeon was in sight.

It was a grim-looking place, and she could feel nothing but bad vibes coming from either the dark clouds or its dark cavern. "Loooooook at that cloud. It's so beautiful," the boy said, which surprised her. It took her a while to realise that, yes, well, there was something of a beauty to it? A beauty that was cut short by the emergence of the bloody soldier.

Nanda rushed to the injured man along with Sampson. "You're going to be okay," she said, firmly. "What happened in there?"

One of her hands went to the dagger in his belt. The red colour melted from his cloak, turning it the colour of the ground. She glanced at the dungeon's entrance. 15 elite knights, gone. Hmm, she might have to take this more seriously than the king was making it out to be.

[Assistant]
The soldier seemed to be unresponsive to those that were trying to help him. Sampson conjured up a fireball and shove it into the soldiers still bleeding arm. The Knight seemed to not feel the pain as his wound was burned shut. "Open your eyes Jackson! Stay with me!" With a heavy-handed smack, the young boy Jack, slapped the Knight in the face. Jack no! You disrespectful little-" Just then the Soldier came back to reality. "Cap-Captain...is it....really you?" The dying knight said almost to his last breath. "Rest now. We'll get you back to the city." The Captain motioned for the soldiers that accompanied them there to take the wounded back to the city where he could get some much-needed healing. As the 2 knights are dragging their comrade back to the carpet the injured soldier suddenly screams out. "Watch out....they're coming...." This caught Sampson off guard as he was primarily focused with tending to the injured.

The group split, a few went to assist the injured man while the others acted as a shield for what was to come out of the entrance. Good thinking on their part as a few moments pass, a pair slow clumsy footsteps could be heard approaching. Heavy armor clinking about as the footsteps begin to approach closer and closer. A figure could be seen in the distance. A slightly taller person with bigger and bulkier armor then the soldier that had previously exited. Sampson turned towards the entrance seeing as much as he could into the darkness. "Brother?" Anyone whose eyes could adjust to the dark could see the figure plain as day. It was a Skeletal Monster,
 wearing dark retro-style armor and carrying a large axe. Upon further examination, one could see he wasn't alone either. He had at least 2 behind him. As the Wraith approached closer, it let out a large screech before charging the line towards Arwyn and Arton.

Name: Undead Soldier
Species: Low level undead
Class: Knight
Appearance

Stats

HP 100
MP 0

Vitality: 4
Speed: 1
Strength: 5
Endurance: 3
Mana: 0

[User]
HP 75 MP 50 Sta Full
The shadowbow's keen eyes (Keen Eye ability, Darkvision racial trait) picked out the details of the creatures moments before they began to screech, and in those seconds Arwen quickly assessed them based off what she could see. Their ancient pitted armour showed signs of battle both old and recent, and their rotting flesh seemed resilient to standard damage.

Unsure if a straight headshot would even stop the creatures Arwen instead lowered her aim for their legs, firing off several arrows as the monstrosities began to charge forwards. Hopefully her attacks would at least slow their advance, if not immobilise them completely. (Three Standard Arcane Arrows STR 3 Attacks, targeting the creatures' legs)

[Assistant]
𝓐𝓻𝓽𝓸𝓷 𝓨𝓾𝓵𝓮
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
Newbie
Level 1
HP 125
MP 25

Vitality: 5
Speed: 3
Strength: 7
Endurance: 7
Mana: 3

Arton held his shield firmly in front of his chest, covering his vitals, as the soldier screamed. The wounded man wasn't just stumbling out of the dungeon, he was fleeing from enemies. He readied himself for combat as he was reinforced by the other members of their party, but he took the center. Soon enough, three figures emerged from the mouth of the dungeon...decayed and decrepit. They would not pass, not while he stood.

He lifted his shield to block the wraith's attack, and to keep him away, then followed up with a powered strike(Hyper Slash) across the attacker's torso. Piercing attacks hardly did good against these kind of creatures. They were terrible abominations, evil monsters that must be destroyed. That much was certain "Send them back to their graves!" He chanted, a look of disdain on his face at the creatures.

[User]
"Watch out....they're coming...."

This was the magic sentence that made Rio turn his attention to the entrance which was currently being guarded by the elf and that guy. From the dimness was a metallic clinking sound with a herky-jerky rhythm. The source of this noise would soon reveal itself in the form of a shuffling undead soldier. He saw it lurch over and start charging at the two as it screeched, with two other ones like itself in tow.

As he watched the battle unfold he flexed his clawed hand in anticipation. He looked at their armor and figured what needed to be done to help out. Waiting for the two in front of him to finish their attacks, he then ran off to the side in indirect manner not wanting to draw the enemies' attention, and then ran at them them from the side to flank them and deliver an empowered slash at all three of them with his claw (rend). His goal was less to hurt them and more to specifically destroy that armor that get in the way of delivering blows to them. After delivering the blow he continued to run and then loop around back to the group.

[Assistant]
Character Status

Arwyn Arton Rio Nanda
HP: 75 HP: 125 HP: 125 HP: 100
MP: 50 MP: 25 MP: 25 MP: 50
Status: Clear Status: CLear Status: Clear Status: Clear
Stamina: Full Stamina: Full Stamina: Full Stamina: Full
EXP to LVL: 60------------------------------------------------------

The undead charged forward towards the entrance of the dungeon. They were first met by arrows that seemed to disintegrate into nothing upon making contact with the monsters. While Sampson accompanied the soldiers back to the carpet, Jack seemed to move in closer towards the entrance unsuspected. He pulled out a book that began to shine and make his eyes shine. "I just need to get a closer look..." The boy whispered creeping up behind Arton just as the monsters made contact with his shield. Artons defense was built to withstand even such a charge from the first undead as he holds his ground not budging an inch. As the second one impacts, the force increases. By the third one, Arton could be seen slightly getting pushed back. As Arton attacked back at the wraiths, the first would raise its arm to guard. However, this was a hopeless attempt as its arm was completely destroyed. From the side of the monsters, Rio charged in landing a critical blow on all of them. The wraith in the front taking majority of the damage. The first wraith was reduced to nothing but ashes as the other 2 scatter. One to the Left and one to the right. Just then Jack spoke, now appearing at Sampson's side. "These are Undead soldiers. They have magic resistance. USE FIRE!!! The boys' voice appeared to be strong and omnipotent, a complete change from the child that once spoke.

Battle Calculations
{Arwyns attack has no effect}
{Arton Deals 25 Damage to Undead 1}
{Rio Deals 80 Damage to Undead 1, 40 Damage to Wraith 2 & 3}
{Undead 1 Destroyed}
{Rio Looses Quarter Stamina}

Undead 2: The monster slides to the right after suffering some damage from Rio's attack. After a unified screech with the other undead, it turns its sights to Arton. This soldier was carrying a large ax, however, any former skills the person possessed with the weapon was now gone. Its stance was sloppy and its movements were more than slow, its will remained unchanged. It charged once more towards Arton, this time lifting its ax and dropping it down with all its undead might.
HP: 60

Undead 3: The undead rolls off to the right, in the same direction as Rio. This one seems to be holding a grudge from the attack earlier. This monster carried no weapon and yet it still charged reeling forward towards Rio. It releases a barrage of slow and sluggish punches towards him.
HP: 60

[User]
HP 75 MP 50 Sta Full
Growling angrily as her arrows melted away when they made contact with the enemy Arwyn began to back away from the monsters, trying to decide whether to hit them with a more powerful attack or switch to her magoli. Just then she heard the young boy's voice calling out, and with a smile she knew what to do.

Calling the power of the wind to her she launched herself high into the air (Light Step ability), giving herself a clear line of fire to the undead soldier armed with the axe. Channelling her energy into her bow she launched a fiery arrow directly at the beast's head (Elemental (Fire) Arcane Arrows STR 10 Attack, targeting Undead 2's head) using the force of the release to flip herself backwards before landing gracefully on the ground several feet further from the monstrosities than where she'd started.

[Assistant]
Ananda
HP 100 MP 24/50

The injured soldier's scream set Nanda on edge. Almost by instinct, she casted Fleeting Steps on herself, then soundlessly made her way around the group, taking a good measure of the dungeon's entrance. When the undead appeared, she was somewhat closer to the entrance than anyone ought to be. Fortunately the monsters more concerned with with attacking the nearest bulky adventurer than a particularly sneaky rogue.

Nanda considered a sneak attack, but as the undead crashed and pushed back the bulky adventurer, she discarded it as a bad idea. Instead she focused on the adventurer, Arton. His muscles should be able to hold on harder than that, could they? Wordlessly, Nanda spoke to his Strength, convincing them that they're stronger than they seemed (Fool Sense +2).

"These are Undead soldiers. They have magic resistance. USE FIRE!!!" said the boy all of a sudden.

"Kid, you're not making sense," Nanda muttered. "They have magic resistance so we ought to use magic?"

[User]
The sound of his claw's attack was all Rio need to know that his attack was successful. As he slowed down to survey they damage he saw that one was taken out and the other two were worse for wear. His attack seemed to have angered one the undead soldiers seeing as it had followed him and was now in the process of attacking him. The attack were sloppy and uncoordinated, reminding him of drunken louts trying to fight.

The kid shouted about them being weak to fire, but Rio didn't have on him any method so he'd leave it up to the others like Arwyn who was launching a fiery projectile to his side at the same undead. Rio took advantage of such sloppy strikes against him to use his gauntlet to secure a good grip on one of its arms and use that momentum of the sloppy punches to stagger it forward towards the fiery arrow's path.


[System]
--Basics--
Age: 21

Gender: Male

Personality: A withdrawn and nervous man, but keeps his inner turmoil to himself. He is stoic, rarely expressing or vocalizing even physical pain. He prefers to communicate non-verbally, but is proud and carries himself in a proud manner. Urban surroundings put him in a bit of a funk but of course he refuses to show it. He would rather attempt to reason than to jump into a fight.

Notable Traits: Dresses quite…primitively.

Town: Just outside of Belvast.

Kingdom: Aislann

--Appearance--

Eye color: Brownish-yellow

Hair color: Blond

Build: Muscular, but a little chubby at the same time. Basically he's ripped but the fat outside his muscles softens up his look.

Skin tone: Heavily tanned

--Magick--

Birth Talent: Shapeshifting

Learned Talents: Potion making, (non-magical: hunting/tracking, plant identification)

Class: Novice

[User]
The winter air was crisp around Laila as she read from her magick book. Just the way she liked it. There was much that she hadn't learned about magick because, well, she honestly hadn't tried. Lately, though, she'd had an unscratchable itch to study more and more. It made her father, Draenik, proud. Even now, as she sat beneath a young cedar tree, her father looked at her with pride from where he sat on the porch steps. He whittled away at a piece of wood, no doubt in Laila's mind that he was creating another wand to sell. The morning was early, and most of her brothers were still asleep. The only other one who wasn't was Jasper, but he had since ventured off into the woods. He spent a lot of time gathering herbs and other things for his potions that he sold. Most of the men in Laila's family were merchants, and she noticed that the women were typically homemakers. Laila dreamed of being the Royal Mage one day.

As Draenik prepared a bag stuffed with wands, Laila rose from her studying place and marked the page in her book, setting it on the porch railing as she approached her father. "Can I come?" she asked him, looking up at the tall man.

Draenik was a man of few words. He was content to listen rather than speak, unless he was speaking to teach his sons a valuable life lesson. As he looked down at his daughter, he nodded his head with a slight smile, throwing the bag's strap over his shoulder and gesturing for her to follow him. The two walked down a long dirt road surrounded with trees and other small houses and cabins. Along the way, Laila looked around her at the plants that grew underneath the trees. She learned from Jasper some of their names and uses, but found herself stuck at remembering the name of a particular blue plant, which she new was used to revive one's magick abilities once their energy had run out.

Laila and Draenik arrived at the market square, and quietly Draenik spread out his variety of wand sticks about a wooden table. Each wand was hand-crafted, polished, and enchanted. Draenik once had the opportunity of becoming the Royal Mage, but denied the offer, which greatly baffled Laila. She never pressed into the subject.

The sun came and went, and once it was getting ready to dip below the horizon, most people were gathering their selling things to leave while some were just arriving. Laila witnessed an encounter between one man and a strange-looking other, along with a woman. Laila made a face because she felt uneasy, though about which one she wasn't sure. Something didn't feel right, but before she could bring it to her father's attention, the man had shifted into a large cat and darted past them so quickly that Laila could not tell what animal he had shifted into. It had caused a lot of heads to turn that way, and Draenik stiffened, but said nothing. Laila looked back to the other two and gasped when all that was left was a fading cloud of black smoke. Several other people gasped, and some even shrieked.

Dark magick.

Draenik, with his bag once again around his shoulder, put his hand against Laila's back, pushing her toward the road that they'd come from. The journey home seemed long due to the tense aura around the two of them. As they neared their house, Laila could have sworn she saw that same blonde man entering a small, almost un-noticeable opening in the forest. She bid her father a silent farewell, and he let her go. She took off quietly behind the man.

"Hello?" she called out to the darkness.

[Assistant]
Drest turned his head stiffly, a pale cloud of breath dissipating into the darkening forest. A voice calling, "Hello?" had made him tense: after the encounter with the dark magician he wasn't in much of a mood to talk. His jaw tightened and he fixed the young woman with a suspicious stare despite the failing light that made it harder to see. He still felt uneasy, but the dread that had tugged at his heart was gone. No assumptions, he reminded himself. She could be working with that... that thing. A large calloused hand brushed back his hair and he sighed softly, a little shakily. He wondered if she'd seen what had happened, and how much she'd witnessed.

Not wanting to be impolite, he strode at a relatively slow pace--he was being cautious--toward the dame. Perhaps she was lost or needed help, and he had plenty of time to be a decent person before resuming his forest wandering. One bushy eyebrow raised a little. He considered lighting one of his pine-pitch lamps but held off for now; they were a precious resource and he didn't know how long he'd be here.

"May I help you?" he asked the woman. His voice came out a little rougher than he intended.

[User]
The sight of the man ambling over to her at such a slow pace was quite eerie. For a brief moment, Laila considered turning and running away. After all, what would those two dark mages have had to do with him? Perhaps he was a dark mage too. What if he purposely was luring her in as some sort of sacrifice? These thoughts raced in Laila's mind, causing anxiety to bubble up and twist her stomach into a knot. His harsh voice startled her out of her own mind, and she froze.

The first words that danced at the tip of her tongue were intended to be spoken with just as much venom, saying I thought maybe it was I who could help you. However, she hesitated, rightfully so. She stared at the man for too long of a time, trying to take in his appearance and judge his intentions and character by that. Her purple eyes glowed slightly in the moonlight, which struggled to break through the branches of the trees overhead.

"I just wanted to know if you were alright," she finally found herself saying through a pained, hoarse voice. She winced and wondered why on earth her father had let her spontaneously chase after this man like this. He was normally more cautious than that.

There must be a good reason, then, she decided. For if her father agreed to her doing something so risky, there was a reason. A logical, purposed reason.

[Assistant]
The man stopped several feet short of the stranger; after the experience he'd just had he didn't want to risk getting too close to anyone in case those mysterious snake-people could disguise themselves. Those purple eyes were certainly...uncommon, although he wasn't sure whether to be suspicious of them. Worse, he couldn't stop returning the stare that she gave him. Quietly he sized her up and decided that--at least for now--she was not a threat. Still, too risky to come any closer for the moment.

The sound of her hoarse voice made Drest feel more sympathetic. This surely wasn't some evil wizard come to finish him off when there were no witnesses. This was just a pretty girl who wanted to know if he was alright after the encounter back in town. Although there were cobwebs of wariness still left in him, he now felt bad for having spoken in the tone of voice he had, despite it being unintentional.

This time he made sure to speak more gently. "Yes, I'm alright. It was but a pushy client, you see, and with nothing left to sell I left in a hurry before he could lose his temper." He hadn't seen the man disappear, so when he said it, he actually started to believe it himself. He must have imagined that invisible hook that had tried to pull him by the gut. Yes...it was in his head. It was not real. He'd had a long day and not enough water.

[User]
Laila unconsciously pulled at her own thumbs, staring through the growing darkness that seemed to build a thick wall between the two. The man surely couldn't have seen the two mages vanishing into black dust, but she wasn't sure if it was her place to tell him. After all, it could get her in trouble. There was no telling what this man could have been involved with. Nevertheless, her mouth opened seemingly on its own and the words fell from her mouth with ease.

"He used dark magick," she told him, straining to see his reaction. She felt herself stiffen at the mention of the practice. "I saw him cast a vanishing spell. Well, I-I didn't really see him cast it. I just saw the black cloud that was left."

Tugging at her thumb even harder, Laila still couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to flee. However, the man before her hadn't seemed to pose a threat toward her, and she felt it would be rude to suddenly take off. Then again, she figured, looks are deceiving. He could be plotting her downfall at this very moment.

"My father was almost a royal mage," she blurted carelessly. "If you're in danger, we could help you."

What was she doing, offering her father to this man like that? Regardless if he was once a candidate to be the royal mage, Draenik was very old, and could have forgotten most of the things he'd known before. Laila felt the sting of regret and guilt in her bosom, and her eyes fell upon her feet instead of straining to see the man.

"I'm Laila," she said, voice dropping at the last syllable because she had, once again, given terrible information, thus making herself vulnerable.

[Assistant]
Drest went cold. Dark magic... it was his worst fear, the suspicion that had tugged at him earlier that he'd pushed away. He should have trusted himself. He should have run the second he'd seen the snake-faced bastard approach and that cold uneasiness settle so heavily inside him. But he didn't, and now he was here with a stranger he still wasn't sure whether to trust. Every moment be became less wary, but there was still that vestige of distrust. That quiet voice that told him, She'll bring you to him. She is acting.

"I'm...not in danger," he said, although the doubt in his voice was palpable. "I'm sure he was after someone else. Maybe I just, looked like someone he wanted dead. You know?" He was afraid that he was mistaken or simply lying to her. He was afraid of going with her and risking giving his trust to a stranger. Even more scary was that he didn't really have much of a choice, or that was what it felt like.

"Laila... um, pretty name. I am Drest."

(boom shitty post)

[User]
Laila couldn't quite decipher if Drest's tone was condescending or doubting at his own words or hers, and so her face heated up with embarrassment as her mind decided to settle on the thought that he was patronizing her for coming after him. To make the sudden redness worse, she felt a ridiculous amount of flattery once he complimented her name. Instinctively, she crossed her arms and turned her head, trying to hide it.

"I-If you ever find yourself needing help," she found herself saying, "Our house is just a bit down the road, to the right."

Idiot, a voice screamed in her head. That was it. If this man was evil, she'd just given up her and her family's entire life.

[Assistant]
"Let's say--hypothetically--that that stranger really was after my blood," started Drest. "If I were to take the asylum you have so kindly offered, what's to say that this evildoer won't find me at you and your father's home? What's to say he wouldn't bring harm to you for sheltering me?" These thoughts brought up his heart rate and his tanned skin pale and cold, though it wasn't very discernible in the darkness blossoming around them. He wondered if he'd have enough time and light to build a shelter at this hour. If not, he could always turn into a leopard and snooze on a sturdy tree branch, but it always made his back hurt in the morning.

Grunting softly, he untied a torch from his belt and held the shaft in his teeth before lighting it with a spark from a small piece of flint and a pathetic bit of iron. The warm flickering firelight that enveloped the two relaxed Drest, if only a little.

He offered the torch to Laila, wordless. He had his answer.


[System]
Quote: Well... crap.
Alias: Ecto
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Family: Fathers: Isaac Engelson, Liam Engelson (Surrogate Mother: Jane Woods)
Occupation: Online Translator
Appearance:

Eric is in the middle of his twenties, with dark hair and green eyes. He is around 5'10", and although he was considered quite lazy, a few years ago he started working out to boost his endurance, so his physique is just above average. He usually wears comfortable street clothing, jeans and cargos, T-shirts and hoodies, complete with sneakers.

He doesn't have any special costume for his "night-time" activities, as his powers give him a distinct look on their own.

Method of Operation: The cautious approach was always more appealing to him, usually scaring the criminals away. His appearance and abilities make it easy to create the impression of a ghost, and criminals are less likely to strike up a neighborhood if they think it is haunted. He also enjoys slowly building up fear in his "victims", like haunting the TV in the house burglars are about to enter, or levitating an umbrella. But if every trick fails, he does not shy away from using force and subduing his opponents, typically with either beating them with a blunt instrument or making them headbutt something with his haunting ability.

Superpower:

Spectral Form : Eric is able to turn into a gaseous, incorporeal form, which allows him to fly and move through tight spaces, like a keyhole or a chimney, though he cannot enter areas that are sealed shut completely. He can shift between this form and his human body in about a second, and when he is in this form, he cannot be touched by anything physical - as it moves right through him -, but this true the other way around as well. This does not, however, make him invulnerable. His powers seem to be somewhat related to the element of air, and and is especially susceptible to it, but other non-physical attacks can also hurt like hell.

Partial Shifting : He can manifest certain parts of his body to grab hold of objects, but the corporeal parts of him are completely defenseless, unless grabbing something that would provide protection.

Spectral Healing : While in the Spectral Form, Eric slowly heals from the wounds he suffers, although this has it's limits, and can leave scars. In any case, it stops a wound from getting worse.

Haunt : Eric can take control of objects that are not bigger than him, forcing himself into them. This allows him to move or levitate around in a rather sluggish way, but can be effective when haunting, for example, a baseball bat. Physical damage to the object also hurts Eric, so it's not worth haunting something that can be easily broken.
Haunting can also be used to take limited control over others, as someone wrestling against the haunted person. This can be overpowered by sheer strength though, and can slow strong opponents at best.

Skills: Due to his upbringing, Eric knows multiple languages, including German, Spanish, and Russian. He also studied piloting to learn about currents and basic flight physics, since he can be affected by the wind. His fighting style is closest to the "whack it until it's down" technique, he started practicing aikido and krav maga to be more efficient.

Equipment: Since the Spectral Form does not extend to clothes or equipment, he goes to the field basically naked. It would be nice to find a way not to appear in his birthday suit when shifting back.

Personality: Eric is prone to cynic joking, and likes irony. He can be sincere and serious as well, but he finds it easier to brush things off with a stoic remark. He is disappointed in humanity, as what he often sees is that man is a wolf to man, and everything is run by corrupt bureaucrats, who are consumed by greed. He believes that although there could be so much potential in people, it is squandered by selfishness and apathy for others. He doesn't like to be in the spotlight, as he has witnessed power and popularity corrupting people. He also dislikes taking responsibility, but reluctantly does so by using his gifts to better the streets, to soothe his conscience.

He disapproves of people who are what he used to be like, and feels shameful about his past as a couch potato. He regularly does cardio exercises to build up his stamina, and trains fighting techniques on his own not only to better his performance on the field, but as a way to "atone" for his laziness. He is likely to push himself past his limits, saying something gritty or just using the words "crap" a lot. This sometimes leads to injury, but since he can heal in his spectral form, he really doesn't care.

Biography: A son of a russian economist and a german engineer who moved to the United States, Eric had ha very easy way of learning multiple languages at a young age. He was also a bit of a geek, and got bullied in school, until he befriended a schoolmate who turned out to be a super with enormous strength. His name was Damien Reed. They were both huge comic book fans, and although Damien was not allowed to use his powers in public, or reveal in in an obvious way, he told his secret to Eric, who practically worshipped him. They used to hang out a lot, playing video games and watching cartoons. Since Damien's power made him fit without breaking a sweat, he was also kinda lazy, but Eric was a normal kid and the lack of physical exercise and countless junk food made him overweight by his teenage years.

Though his parents were caring and supportive, they did not like their son getting fat on the sofa and sometimes made stinging remarks about Eric's appearance, but it was also painful when Damien was adored by all the girls, while Eric was ignored by the opposite gender. So he started working out, and Damien joined him for support (even though it was nothing to him). This would soon turn into short sessions that turned into more chilling.

Time went by, and when went to different colleges and saw each other less and less. After a year into his studies, he saw some news about a superhero on the streets, rounding up criminals and smiling for the camera in the meantime. He recognized him as his best friend. When he called him about it, he admitted with pride that he has officially started his superhero career. Eric found the news fantastic, and proposed to be Damien's sidekick, but he politely declined, reasoning that this was dangerous for "normies", especially for ones who are out of shape. This made Eric finally snap from his lazy ways and work out in earnest.

But while he was losing weight, he saw his friend gradually turn into (or maybe revealing himself to be) a conceited braggart, who loves to dominate the scene. And that was BEFORE he became a corporate tool who started working for the mayor's office as a glorified enforcer. Since he was always "busy" they slowly stopped talking.

One night Eric was going home from a jogging session, while he ran into an armed robbery: two men were robbing third who was drunk after partying. Eric decided to step in, and ended up getting stabbed. While the assailants ran away, he stumbled into a corridor and collapsed from the blood loss. When he came to himself, everything was different, and felt the pain slowly go away. When he looked down, a pool of blood stared back at him, soaking a lying figure on the ground. When he looked at himself, he was floating, all blue and transparent.

"- I'm... I'm dead? Well... Crap. God dammit."

At that moment, he fell to the cold pavement, completely naked, as his usual self. That's when he realized that the figure on the ground were only his clothes, empty of any wearers.

"- I...guess not."

Cold and confused, Eric hastily dressed up in his bloody clothes and ran home. When in his house he threw everything into the washing machine and examined his wound in the mirror. It was a nasty cut, but not as deep as a full stab should have been.

"Okay, let's try this again." He concentrated, and after a short while he turned into his ghostly form once more. He could see the wound slowly, gradually get smaller and smaller healing itself.

"Groovy." This is when his life really began.

Theme Song:youtube.com/watch?v=qyNrZwDOh14

Relationships: TBD

Extra: We're NOT normal.

[User]
Wraith

Just as Wraith was about to open her mouth again, the person they'd all been waiting for walked in through the wall, and was promptly scared off by one of the most intimidating attempts at starting a conversation she'd ever encountered. Maybe having a room of armed and dangerous super-powered vigilantes wasn't the best way to start a friendship. Who knew? she thought, rolling her eyes in a way that made it quite clear what she was thinking.

She snapped out of her daydream when she heard Omega shout at her and Ecto to chase him down. As much as she'd love to stay here and be sarcastic, the guy had a point. I hate it when they have a point. If they wanted to calm Walker down for a talk though, whatever that thing Raven had summoned wouldn't help. It freaked Wraith out, and it was probably on her side.

Aiming for the space that Wall Walker had just disappeared through, Wraith phased through the wall after him, just a little too slow for her to see where he'd gone. This chase was going well so far, then. Sometimes Wraith thought she should spend less time on one-liners and more time on her job. Then again, one-liners were the most important part. She shook her head in frustration. Great. All that talk, and she'd lost him within ten seconds. If only some kind of convenient noise would lead her to where he was. On cue, she heard Omega shouting from nearby, and sprinted as fast as she could towards the source of the noise, just to see the gravity controller crumple.

She didn't have time to see if he was alright, and didn't really care either. Natural selection and everything. She was far more interested in chasing down Wall Walker, whose leg she saw disappear through the back wall. She vaguely noticed the sound of another person or two entering the room behind her as she sprinted after the criminal, phasing through the wall behind his exit within seconds. Someone needed to keep track of the guy. He'd better hope the rest of them catch up fast. For his sake, and that of his internal organs.

This was starting to annoy her now, and she completely forgot her persona as she started to chase him down. "You should really give this whole chase thing up, pal." she said, losing her cheerfulness in favour of an almost emotionless monotone. "Your powers are just a discount version of my own, anyway. And if there's one thing I hate, it's a cheap knockoff."

As she spoke, she laid on an extra burst of speed, hoping to catch up to Wall Walker. She was prepared for the guy to try and surprise her, but decided to give him a taste of his own medicine, raising the density of her fist as launched a quick punch at the fleeing criminal, preparing herself mentally for him to retaliate.

[Assistant]
Girard heard the loud crash and various grunts from what could only have been the floor collapsing under the stress as well as Scarlet along with his team to boot. He could hear noise developing near the doorway which made him rush over only to find TB held by his hoodie by a stupidly large tiger who was trying to fit through the doorway impeded by the man's staff and probably by the others if they had recovered from the fall by now. Something piqued his interest however, why was Scarlet trying to run away with Turn Back in tow? The woman/tigress could have been mauling him but instead chose to try to escape with him which meant something had to be going through her mind, maybe something they could use as leverage. that was up until the man aimed what looked to be a nasty shot straight at what he could see now was a bullet wound and knew using the other man's limited influence probably wasn't going to happen now.

The big man heard Reaper call him into action and he was forming something of a plan in mind as he moved swiftly, for him towards the doorway. With the little speed he could manage the bruiser hopped up past the porch with a big thud next to Scarlet's head as well as the hanging TB who was in some trouble. Looking a bit further he could tell Reaper was up to something seeing shadowy limbs around the front paws which were opening them up trying to cut some of the tigress' balance, he could use that big time.

First move was to pry open Scarlet's jaws enough to get TB out and away by tossing the smaller man so he could land as well as get away from the building if something went wrong which was inevitable. It was then that Girard used the leverage of Reaper to get under Scarlet's front where he starting pushing back and up, shifting a grip to the mid section opposite to her wound, fully intending to flip over the tigress so he could pin her down though preferably not on her wounded side. The claws as well as the struggling wouldn't help if he could get dominant position so he started to use his strength, weight, and straight determination to fight right back against Scarlet's own attempts to dislodge him.

"Back legs. Then get out." Tank said with a calm but strong voice towards his teammates which would clue them in if his plan wasn't entirely obvious by now.

The others were getting one hell of a show of just how strong the big man was, wrestling a massive damn tiger might've made more of an impression than the wall/stage at HQ, but that was the last thing on his mind as the showdown continued. He just hoped the others did what they were going to do quick however they would probably have to make a quick exit because with just Scarlet on the floor in this spot the old building was gonna be having trouble and with both of them nothing good would come of it so the quicker the got out the better. If it came to brass tacks Girard could shield Scarlet from the worst of the debris if she started turning back normal or to something smaller but it all depended on her but one way or the other he was going to make sure she knew the odds one way or the other.

[User]
Okay, following directly will not do.

Ecto tried to catch up to Wall Walker the the shortest way possible, but he was not able to just go through walls. He WAS able to slip through cracks and slits, but completely dense surfaces were not letting him pass, and this slowed him down. I have no chance of getting to him this way.

He could see shattered pieces of glass flying through his vision as Omega opened up the way for others, and a terrifying looking horror rushed past him, her screams sending a chill down Ecto's spine.

Since he was not used to chasing someone this way, he was a bit confused and felt out of his element. Element... AIR! He needed to get a better overview, and he could provide tactical advantage from a higher position! He flung out the window and took a look at the place from above. He heard crashes and shouts from the apartment.

"There!" that must have been Omega. Then he heard a thumping sound and something crashing, like a picture or a mirror falling down. Crap, what's going on? Then he noticed him. He was exiting the building on the other side, Wraith following close behind.

Ecto swooped down.


[System]
Gender: Female

Appearance: Akyasha is much like the rest of her kin. Pale, pleasing to the eyes…. The most notable features are her bright red hair and the religious garb she wears at almost all times.

Abilities: As a Vampire, of course Akyasha has access to Blood Magic and as a devout servant of Ichor, she also has access to Divine Magic that only Clerics of Ichor would have. The Divine Magics of Ichor are essentially Blood Magic without any weakness a Vampire might have as well as the ability to summon the otherworldly servants of Ichor.

That said, she utilizes her Blood Magic in a special way. When she strikes an enemy with her Blood Magic, she attempts to put a "seed" on or in them. This "seed" starts to drain blood from it's target and will over time sprout as a Blood Magic mockery of a lily, something that Akyasha affectionately calls a "Blood Lily". After she collects the lily, she can utilize it in a couple of ways, but her favorite is in her summoning magic. The amount and quality of blood that she collected influences the creatures she would summon from using the Blood Lily.

Personality: Some describe her as an eccentric. She's a devout servant and follower of Ichor. She follows the tenets as close as she can except for one thing. While she agrees that normally, humans cannot love them, she thinks that they can be made to love them. Though, this typically means that she likes to have plenty of human thralls. Specifically, Human Women that she can dress in her religious outfits and follow the Path of Ichor.

Outside that, one could say that she is every so slightly obsessed with the Cult of Ichor and making it as perfect as she can as well as the betterment of her kin. She sees humans in three ways. The humans worth attempted to turn to the Cult of Ichor and those that are cattle meant for feeding. This does not mean the cattle are to be treated crudely as that would be against the tenets. Preferably, they are to be given their own rooms and things to do as well as well fed. That way, their blood tastes the best it could be.

The third and final way she looks at humans…. Are those worthy of ignoring. As the tenets state not to act with cruelty and treat humans with care, Akyasha finds the best way to care is to ignore those that one does not need to interact with as interaction would bring "undue attention to the undead."

Bio: Once upon a time, Akyasha was a blonde human girl with another name, turned by a Cleric of Ichor. Over the years, she dedicated her unlife to the following of Ichor and rose through the ranks. Unfortunately, during the final years she saw many of her fellow clerics felled by Paladins until finally, she was one of the last few Clerics. Of course, one of the last few didn't matter as she was impaled with a holy weapon and put into an eternal slumber. Only to eventually wake back up in an unforgiving world….

Anything else:

[User]
Captain Argus Fellborn

"Perhaps, Ichor willing, we'll rematch that monster with a proper crew someday," Argus replied, putting the maid down. "Nevertheless, I see no shame in a well-executed escape." Unlike the last time he cheated an almost certain death, he pulled it off deftly enough to not warrant sacrificing anyone, he contemplated as he felt a sense of satisfaction in his chest, no doubt from the sense of pride of having pulled it off without deigning to take the easy way.

The pirate still wasn't sure what Cynthia had done with her eye, but she definitely cast the impression that it had taxed her.

Cynthia was unwilling to continue onward, claiming it would be best if the split up, but she gave the vampire directions to the village that she had offered to lead him to. With any luck it shouldn't be too difficult of a walk, assuming there wasn't anything like that sea monster walking around up on land.

"Aye, if I need you, I'll make use of it," he said, accepting the charm, and taking a moment to examine the pattern. "Farewell, lass." He tipped his hat to her and started on his way to the village where, according to Cynthia, other vampires awaited him.

There was much to consider. There was the job to retrieve the blade, of course, but the pirate had other things on his mind. He needed to find corpses for a new crew. He needed to find a source of blood. Perhaps he also needed a ship, but with the collapse of civilization, there would be no wealthy merchant enterprises to plunder out on the seas. Besides, if there was a chance that the Silent Swordbill was still out there awaiting her captain's return, he did not wish to be unfaithful to her.

[Assistant]
Akyasha spoke back to the gorebat that had asked if it could eat the human ignoring said human's blade with nary a care. "No." She commanded back before turning her attention back to the blacksmith girl and Giselle. After Giselle was done, Akyasha knew what she was implying. How frustrating, trying to encroach when Akyasha already had her sights set on her.

"As for me, please call me Akyasha and I am no 'fake' holy woman. I am fully devoted to my Goddess, though perhaps she is one foreign to you. She is benevolent to her children." Well, no more was needed said than that. "As for what I am doing here... Supplies I suppose? And also to see if more would follow my faith, of course, though that is hard to ask in the best of times forget these current ones." To the both of them there, it was obvious which of the two reasons Akyasha really thought she was here for. Of course, to an outsider, Akyasha did sound like she belong to a religious cult... To her fellow vampires as well.

"And can you put the blade down? If I wanted to harm you, I could have done it long ago." If Julene had seen her fight, it was quite obvious a blade as such meant nothing to the cleric. "Instead, how do you fair? Do you need me to carry you into town?" Akyasha asked, wanting to make sure the human girl were in great shape. "My Goddess has instilled within me great strength." Akyasha mentioned, a good portion of her issues healing up. If it were some broken portions of her body, she could fight through it.

[User]
Luna Emeraltide

The vampiress turned her gaze towards the hole leading out into cold air, and hummed after Dragan's theory. The drifting apathy in her smooth hum exposed her own doubts -she seemed inclined to believe the nameless lord had at least some hand in this violence. Luna moved to the ladder, and turned back to Aleksiya.

"I would have us reach Giselle first, wherever she may be. She was last with us outside the gates. If she is yet in the forest, she may be in the most danger," Luna explained before climbing up the ladder. Her absurdly long hair hung below as she ascended, like the tail of a golden fox. A fox that, plainly visible to Dragan and Aleksiya, was in dire need of cleaning. Through their travels thus far, the floor-and-then-some-length hair had collected all manner of mud, twigs, and leaves at its splayed ends. The rungs of the ladder helped to sift out only a small amount of the debris.

At the surface, Luna instinctively spread her arms wide and stretched, as if taking in the glow of a moon which was no longer there. She turned about then, gaining her bearings after being hidden underground in an unfamiliar place.

[Assistant]
Location:
Human Village
Landshark@VitaVitaAR

---

Dragan would make his way back up, passing by a few people who somewhat timidly, expressed their thanks, as if expecting him to be angry for doing so. They were already starting to tend to the dead that had been left alone, burning the beasts and starting to remove them. As he'd find his way back up the stairs, it seemed Giles had kept his word and barricaded the room but after a bit of insistence the villagers would remove it and allow the vampires back into the abode.

"Did you actually manage…to drive the beasts back?" Giles would ask, seeing Dragan return mostly unharmed. "...forgive my disbelief, I wasn't expecting you to return." The boy that had run up earlier was running down now, likely to look for and check for his parents that had been left behind. "I don't suppose you found where those creatures came from?"

Location:
Human Village

---

Luna climbed the rather hastily made ladder. Whoever made it likely intended to use it as a secret entrance into the village below. Climbing up was easy enough, the old thing creaking under her weight as she'd pull herself out of the tunnels below and into the lightless world above.

She was met with an unfamiliar sight.

She was close to the river, not extremely deep into the forest but far enough away from the village most villagers likely wouldn't bother with it. The ladder itself came out into what was a pile of boulders that seemed to have been purposefully placed to hide it, causing her to have to step out of a little rocky passageway to be outside properly. If she hadn't come out of here or knew that it was here, there was a good chance it'd have gone unnoticed.

In the distance, back towards the village she could see the burning smolders of a house. She could see the carcasses of a few dead beasts back that way, too. Giselle's work? The fire seemed contained at least.

This far into the forest though, she could smell it. The stench of blood coming from across and further down the river. It was faint, likely being much further away but it was present, but the fact she could smell it so far away meant there could be no small quantity of it. Perhaps it'd be better to meet up with her fellows before pressing onwards.

Location:
Human Village, Riverside
@Click This

---

Julene was quiet as the two explained themselves, grip on her blade not faltering for a moment.

"I can stand on my own, fake nun." She'd say after a few seconds, though it soon turned into a fit of coughing, as she'd point her blade to the ground, impaling it into the earth and using it to help her do it. "I don't buy a word of what ye said, but…well, I don't think you're here to harm us at least." She'd wheeze a bit, taking a few lungfuls of air. "Sorry about the poor welcome…urgh, but I can't be too careful about vagrants like you two." She'd, perhaps through sheer force of pride and her desire not to show weakness, managed to stand back up, face still covered in soot.

"...I can let ya both stay at my place if you need a place to lay your head for a bit. Ain't big, but I got space for a few extras just in case." A frown, glancing towards Giselle. "I dunno what you're talking about. Ain't no civilization that can exist out here…all people here can do is survive. Ain't no gods either." She'd narrow her eyes at Akyasha. "Except beasts and evil things claiming to be one. We don't need either here."

Location:
Pirates End -> Forest of Beasts
Paladin

---

"Fair winds and safe travels, Captain. Remember - the Violet Witch rewards loyalty." With that, the Maid would fall silent, watchin Fellborn leave, heading north towards the river that she had indicated. As he left, she would soon as well, disappearing into the forests in the opposite direction.

She had a report to make.

Argus would make his way across the rocky shoreline, eventually finding his way to the aforementioned river not long after parting ways with Cynthia and a forest. Following it upstream was a trifling task, with the ability to see in this lightless world the beasts that would have beset most travelers were wary, scurrying around just in the shadows deeper in the forest. Aside from a few hounds and similar beasts and having to cross to the rivers opposite shoreline to get up a particularly large waterfall, it was an uneventful trip.

This did however, put him on the opposite side of the village mentioned as well as in the middle of a forest. It had become much thicker now, with the few bits of foliage that remained on the trees obscuring the lightless sky and their twisted branches and roots making it not the easiest of places to traverse.

It was curious then, that the Vampire would catch campfire light in the distance. While he could now see some ramshackle buildings across the river where the village would be, this person was both across the river and a fair distance away from it still.

Creeping up to see who they were, would reveal a single human. It was difficult to tell much of their appearance beyond their short, brown hair, pale skin and somewhat long, thin fingers for it was obscured by a thick, heavy cloak around their shoulders. They were seemingly writing in a book of some sort, hunched over a small desk as a cauldron bubbled away over a campfire. Didn't smell like food. A number of glass vials and if he was a learned man he'd recognize other alchemical equipment sitting on it. Oddly though, there did not seem to be anything in the way of a shelter. Perhaps they didn't intend to stay long.

They didn't seem to have noticed Argus…and perhaps it'd be best he didn't engage whoever this was. Something about this traveler would make him uneasy.

[User]
While the girl questioned them once more, Akyasha grabbed the bat that had been bothering Giselle and brought it to herself. Then she spoke to the one that had brought her to the human girl. Quietly. "Go find the others and report to me their whereabouts later. No snacks."

Still such worries about beasts and evil things pretending to be gods. "My, you seem quite insistant on there being no gods or anything of the such, but I continue to draw strength from mine. For example." Akyasha tread forward and scooped the human girl into a princess carry.

If she and Giselle waited on her to waddle all the way back home it would take ages. Sure, they would be fine, but she'd likely die of old age! Well, probaly not. "I have no problem carrying a young girl such as yourself. Please do not fret, however. I merely plan on carrying you until we reach your home. Do enlighten us on how to reach it."


[System]
0 - The Fool
Rui Shinichi - Askr
I - The Magician
Matthew Harvester - Kresnik
II - The Priestess
Shirohane Kotori - Kikuri-hime
III - The Empress (NPC)
Hamada Leiko - Titania
IV - The Emperor (NPC)
Sutoraiki Kaminari - Zeus
V - The Hierophant
Samuru Amakusa - Shiro Amakusa
VI - The Lovers
Ryan Alon - Geraint
VII - The Chariot
Akane "Saito" Hanezawa - Setanta
VIII - The Justice
Katsuro Takuma - Giles Corey
IX - The Hermit
Ayano Wakahisa - Dantalion
X - The Fortune
Hashimoto Sato - Chronos
XI - The Strength (NPC)
Noboru Yamamoto - Atlas
XII - The Hanged Man (NPC)
Alexei Dragunov - Prometheus
XIII - The Death (NPC)
Chiaki Nettu - Freyja
XIV - The Temperance
Shizuka Otonashi - Inari
XV - The Devil
Jun Himura - Mordred
XVI - The Tower (NPC)
Fubuki Sayaka - Arachne
XVII - The Star (NPC)
Sieghardt Kasumi - Saturnus
XVIII - The Moon
Mako Moritomi - Israfil
XIX - The Sun
Zeke - Yatagarasu

The Story Thus Far
NOTE: This will only include story relevant events.

The beginning of the school term was nearing, and Rui had recently moved into Warakuma and was going to be attending soon. He met Noboru, who was a childhood friend of his shortly after arriving, and soon after he met Kami. Eventually the three went to the Warakuma Amusement Park, and after Noboru separated, Kami and Rui were drawn into the House of Mirrors.

After a series of strange events, they enter the Mirror World for the first time, and summon their Personas with the help of Kazuki, who happened to be there at the time. They were led out and informed of the Mirror World and the events that have taken place around it.

Shortly after discovering this, Noboru was taken into the Mirror World involuntarily. With the help of Kazuki and Megumi, Kami and Rui find the dungeon Noboru was in, and rescue him. Shortly after these events, Noboru was now part of the party.

In the following week, Matthew Harvester was taken, and police involvement resumed on the mass abductions originating from a year ago. Noboru, Rui and Kami responded quickly and went into the Mirror World to rescue him, also adding him to the party at the end of it.

With Golden Week near way Leiko Hamada was next, and just as quickly the party of four rescued her with the assistance of Riku. From then on, Kami formed the Investigation side, while Rui took care of the Dungeon side.

Shortly afterward, Chiaki Nettu was taken, and the team put together a rescue effort that resulted in a success. Meanwhile, Kami's investigation was showing up little results, as kidnappings so far seemed to be random, so no pattern was discernible.

Not long before midterms, Akane Hanazawa was taken, and the party put together a team to rescue her. The rescue was a success, leading to Akane joining the party. What followed after was a double kidnapping however, where Sato and Kotori were captured.

In the following week the team went to both dungeons and rescued both Sato and Kotori, subsequently the two joined the party as well.

The next week, Ayano and Kami had met up at the shopping center, and after a few events that had transpired, Ayano was captured, and immediately the next day Kami brought everyone together to rescue Ayano. After a difficult dungeon, it was found that Ayano had a more unique power as a Persona user, after she had been rescued.

Ayano's powers were put to the test during an emergency roughly a week later, when Alexei pursued cultist members as they kidnapped his sister, forcing his way into the mirror world. With Ayano's powers the party pinpointed their position and started a rescue mission for both Alexei and his sister Elena.

It was a success, with Alexei joining the team shortly afterwards, although with little time for rest, two more were taken the next week. Those two were Sieghardt, a member of the Drama club, and Ryan, a timid member of the Manga club.

Rui and Kazuki led two separate parties to rescue them in the coming weekend, though Rui's party run was smooth and Ryan was rescued without much incident, Kazuki did not have a much better time, and ended up requiring assistance, to which Rui and his party after rescuing Ryan, reinforced in the effort to rescue Seighardt. It was a resounding success, and the two were rescued safely.

After some investigation by Kami, he managed to find an unsettling truth after pinpointing the cult behind the attacks. The Junsei Sekai Tensei, or Perfect World Resurrection, was an old cult that has been around for awhile. There was one problem though, and that it's leader has gone completely MIA, and his wife died one year ago, despite the cult members passing mentions in a police interrogation.

Fast forward a week later, the Star Drop Café was attacked, and Mako, Shizuka, and Masahide were abducted by members the cult the party was pursuing. Aiko was injured, and Noboru sat this out to watch over him while everyone else successfully rescued the abductees.

Following this event, Jun Himura was abducted by the cult, and a Katsuro Takuma was caught in the crossfire, as well as many others. After a struggle from Jun Himura, it resulted in multiple of the abductors to be thrown into the mirror world as well. This resulted in strange knight enemies found within the dungeons, which were actually the people who were accidentally thrown into the mirror world.

After a rescue requiring two parties to go through different routes in the dungeon, everyone was rescued successfully. Though that has been resolved, tensions among Yakuza, authorities, combined with the presence of the Junsei Sekai Tensei cult, has made things uncomfortable for a few people.

That aside, summer break has begun but not two days into it, an incident has occurred in the Mirror World. Before they could investigate, Zeke, the hawk, guides everyone through to a new area called Seto, a giant lake and sea. Immediately they detect someone inside of it, much like the dungeons before, however upon reaching it, it's much smaller, but the threat to the person trapped here is all the same.

Rui takes a party in to rescue Samuru, while Kami takes another party to investigate Seto's immediate area. After a battle against Samuru's shadow, he awakens to his Persona and joins the team shortly after, while Kami's group sets their first foot into Seto's open areas, which starts as Japanese village and goes on into the fields.

Throughout the week everyone in varying parties explores this new area and progresses through it. Though considering this is Summer Break, Tadao offered everyone to take a trip to the beach for the weekend, which everyone accepted.

The Velvet Room - Challenges and Services

Challenge Rules and System

Character Moves and Skills

Collected Cards

Player Status

[User]
Akane Hanazawa // Strawman Hospital // ER > Head Doctor's Office
Sunday, May 31st, 2015

It was an amusing end to say the least. After a successful rush, Rui managed to hit the shadow's arm which in turn caused the saw to fly high into the air before coming down and impaled him, leaving it bloodied as it dissolved like the others. Talk about Anti-Climactic...  With their opponent now, they moved forward. They soon came upon a door with a sign that read 'Staff Members Only', ignoring it they continued on. As if continuing the cheap horror movie act, the hallway beyond the door was dark with only dim, flickering lights keeping it from being pitch-black. "They're laying it on quite thick, now aren't they?" she muttered to herself.

After walking for what seemed like forever, they finally came upon a door. With confirmation from Megumi, it seems like they were finally at the end. "So the final boss is beyond those doors, hmm?" About time. Taking a moment to prepare themselves for the final battle, they all nodded and pushed past the doors. Beyond the doors was a normal doctor's office ....or at least that would be what I'd like to say but... Everything was tall, outrageously tall. In the room was a boy, one she assumes is the one that they were here to say. And that one... At the end of her gaze was a tall shadow sitting ontop of the desk wearing doctor's garb and holding a clipboard. ...Must be his shadow.

Looking at the thing, it was without a doubt one of the creepiest things she has seen and as it rose from the desk, it kept getting taller and taller and taller. Just to glance at its face caused strain on their necks from how high they had to look up. If that wasn't enough, the bastard also seemed to be in control of a few puppets the size of a human being. Just as they ran to the boy and took a stance, a puppet flew right over Rui but he managed to stop it. Though, after he did so did they take note as more 'puppets' began appearing and what could be seen as trash started coming together as puppets.

"Seriously?" she stared on in disbelief. Even the one Rui defeated started reforming. "Don't tell me that they won't be defeated until the big guy falls..." With a sigh, she gave an affirmative as she summoned Setanta. "Let's go make that path." With that, she charged in with yet another Killrush.

[Assistant]
Strawman Hospital - Head Doctor's Office
31/5/2015 Sunday

Akane cleared through the large group of enemies, though her alone wasn't enough. The puppets would easily encircle on her as she charged in, though she had Chiaki and Leiko's support as Rui swept forward, joining her in the front. The fight seemed to be pretty straight-forward for awhile until...

"No wait! Get away from that puppet!", Rui's blade stopped for a moment, the puppet in front of him didn't look all that different from the others... At least, until its eyes began to glow, and explode in a blast of wind. Rui was lucky, Askr had a resistance to wind, allowing him to easily shrug it off, but this made things more difficult.

"It's not just wind... Some of them have debilitating effects too, I picked them up in my scan, just be careful", the problem was... The puppets all looked the same. Approaching was going to be difficult. Should they take the more direct fight and risk being flanked and swarmed by the puppets? Or fight the puppets themselves? Either way, they didn't seem like a good idea... They simply fought off the puppets while keeping a safe distance as Rui began to think of a plan...

He looked at the Sato shadow, the only thing that really moved were the arms...

"Megumi, what can you tell me about the arms?",

"I've just finished scanning them, they control the puppets",

"I guess that's worth a shot. Leiko, Chiaki, cover our backs, me and Akane will take out the arms", he announced. With that order they may have a better chance if there was a way to disable the puppets, even for a little while, it gave them a chance to approach the main shadow that towered over them.

[User]
Akane Hanazawa // Strawman Hospital // Head Doctor's Office
Sunday, May 31st, 2015

With some help from the others, Akane managed to clear a group of puppets. Things seemed to be going well, maybe too well, with the whole showdown being quite straight-forward. Of course, it didn't last, interrupted by Megumi's warning, the puppet's, that Rui was facing, eyes started glowing. The warning was a bit late as it exploded but luckily his persona was resistant towards wind. "So the puppets are kind of like that other shadow's hearts? Great."

Given the latest developments, close quarter combat is probably off the table. Given the fact all the puppets look the same, you wouldn't know what special surprise you'll be getting, the risk is too great. It'll Probably be best to leave it up to the magic users to deal with them... "Definitely our best option at this point, with the puppets hidden surprises and the fact they can put themselves back together..."

After Rui finished, Akane gave an affirmative. Targeting the shadow's right arm, she summoned Setanta and cast Tarukaja before going right. While making a note to avoid the puppets as much as possible as she moved towards the shadow, Akane figured an increase in strength would allow her to stop the puppets before they had the chance to explode, enabling her to get closer to the shadow.

[Assistant]
Strawman Hospital - Head Doctor's Office
31/5/2015 Sunday

"I-it's working!",

"Of course it is", Rui confidently commented, whilst delivering a finishing strike to the arm, while Akane assaulted the other ruthlessly. Thankfully the puppets didn't reach them. This strategy worked, but it cost their supporting line some of their health, but fortunately with the time gained, Leiko healed them back up.

As the arms bled profusely, the puppets began to cry tears of blood, whilst shaking and rattling erratically, arms and legs moving in almost random directions before breaking apart by the joints. It was a creepy sight to behold, but as this all happened, Sato's shadow yelled in agonizing pain, praising the party. Normally praise was accepted with kindness, but in this case the praise kind of pissed Rui off.

The shadow attempted to get back up, but yet another Gale Slash cleaned up any attempt the shadow made to recover, putting it completely on the defensive, and not even defensive really... It was just vulnerable, heaving back and forth, trying to stay upright.

"Looks like it's our turn", announced Akane.

All-Out Attack
 >No
 >Yes

>Yes

With great ferocity, the party charged down the lanky shadow, smashing it into a cloud of dust in an almost comical manner, but the damage was no laughing matter. As the dust cleared in a skull-shaped explosion, the team backed away to watch the shadow wallow in self-pity as it melted into a black dust that blew into the wind as it did, until finally it was back to the human shape it was prior to the fight... All that was left now, was up to Sato...


[System]
Gender: Female

Appearance: Eh, it could be said that Lyminia has some "highly attractive" features than the average female Goblin, which is very distinct among Goblins and Goblin females. That does not mean she is attractive by the standards of any other creatures, though, so to enough other creatures she is probably still that ugly, four foot, green-skinned piece of work everyone else in the stupid tribe is.

Personality: When looking for a Goblin who works hard at what they put their mind to do and has a solid sense of determination, then Lyiminia is the goblin for you. If you are looking for someone to be the nanny or "mature adult" to help the "screw-ups" within a given group she is a part of, then do not bother trying to get her to do so unless she feels it interferes with her survival (and/or the survival of those others she places value on).
An admirer of hard work and respecter of effort, she is not much of a fan of the "idiot kids who are all play and no work". Lyminia has some interest the earth and rocks below her feet, though this just happens to be an interest she has in this incarnation. She can be reliable and a good ally, but if you go off and do a lot of stupid things that endanger everyone she might just treat you like a "cold bitch" of some sort or let you die. Harsh, but that's how she is on the outside. She has a softer side somewhere inside of her, but is not one to let it out unless around someone she really care for.

Past Life History:
In her past life, Lyminia was born the bog-standard daughter named "Lyra" to a couple of pretty average parents in an entirely mundane world. She watched a lot of dinosaur movies, became a bit of a tomboy, and grew up with the desire to become an archaeologist. But instead of getting her dream job, she got a Geology Major, picked up a hobby collecting all sorts of rocks and rare earths, and worked as an intern for a company. This eventually scaled up to her being able to do work in the field for the next several decades, which led to her gathering samples around volcanoes, and most notably dealing with many studies related to lava. This itself eventually led to her sad death after one day falling down a hill into a lava flow in Hawaii after a co-worker surprised her on purpose as part of a prank, where she was pretty much cooked alive and died very quickly. Tragic.

Gift:
Master of Molten Magma- A Gift that, depending on how she evolves and eventually uses this, would eventually allow her to manipulate magma with her will alone as well as create it from other earthen substances. Has a side effect of granting her a rather potent resistance to heat and fire, as well as naturally granting her Earth and Fire affinities by possessing this.

Obviously, though, this power is at a basic low Goblin level at the beginning. As such, it is not even at this level of allowing her to do all of these things yet. At the beginning as a Goblin, she merely gains a "Moderate Fire Affinity" as well as a "Minor Resistance to Heat and Flames" as well.

Other: She has a personal passing fancy for precious jewels, so if she gets one somehow she will probably keep it unless she is in desperate need for cash. I wonder if this would factor in if she became a dragon of some kind down the line though. *shrugs* Who knows?

[User]
Kichi

"Books? Hm, well we have some who like to write, such as Aya here, but if you want them en masse you'll need to go to the humans. They have this structure called a library, grants public access to more books than I'd say anyone in the city's read. Sabu should again be the one to go to on that, most of us stick to oral tradition." The chief explained to Rekzild, shrugging slightly. Part of him felt a bit bad about pushing so much of the burden onto his son, but the boy would have to get used to this sort of thing in due time, even though it was painfully obvious that he had no intention of vying for the position of chief when Kichi himself retired.

"When Sabu gets back, those among you who are willing to are welcome to accompany him when he heads to the human city next. Going on your own without knowing how to speak to the humans is inadvisable, and if you went with one of the others, myself included, we wouldn't be able to show you around as well as he could, so it's for the best that you go with him." He admitted, a hand going behind his head. Try as he might, the chief was still a monster separate from human civilization through and through; while leading a tribe of monsters was well within his capabilities, dealing with the messy web that was human culture was a headache for him, despite how much his son seemed to relish in it.

"As for a private room, well, if you're able to make one for yourself then feel free." The Bugbear remarked with a slight chuckle. "There's not much in the way of privacy out here, but you're free to either mark out a place for your own or even do your reading in the human city, whatever suits your fanc-" Kichi cut himself off, his brows furrowing slightly before he let out a sharp exhale. "...well then. According to Lord Yggdrasil, Sabu's back a bit early and is up to something at the forest's edge. As chief, I'll need to make sure he doesn't get out of hand. Those of you who would like to head to the human city, feel free to accompany me. Those who would rather get the lay of the land here in our forest, Aya can show you the ropes." He explained, shaking his head in light dismay before turning on his heel and moving to set out from the cave, gesturing for the interested parties to follow.

[Assistant]
Rekzild

---

---

While the answer provided by the chieftain was what he had expected it did not brighten Rekzild's mood in the slightest. From the accounts he had been given it was clear that this human city would be even more populous than their little village in the woods. The amount of goblins in the cavern alone was more than enough to set him on edge, though the one with a stick shoved up her rear intrigued him due to her own pursuit of books, he had little doubt that the noise level of the city would be many times louder than anything he had yet experienced in his short life.

With his question answered and the chief moving on to the next batch he returned his focus to the wall he had been carving. Tapping his chin thoughtfully with his free hand he began to scratch against the cavern, though it only for a few moments.

'It has been made clear to me that there is a severe lack of written material within our humble home. I will seek to remedy this so that hopefully by the time you are reading this there will be an abundance of books awaiting you, even if it means I must copy them myself. Good luck in your new lives, and may the ground quake beneath your feet one day.' His work finished, at least here, he placed the rock once more upon the ground.

With his full attention freed he turned it full force upon the chief, just as he was announcing that his son had returned earlier than intended. Rekzild rose off of the ground and made a beeline to the entrance of the cave, following a few steps behind the Bugbear.

"Chieftain, if I may I have a follow up question. How do we acquire the means of barter? It is clear that your son does so on behalf of the entire tribe, so he has access to the resources he needs. But what of those that will be following him?"

[User]
Her first question got more of a "I can tell you later" kind of answer but considering she had effectively asked about their life history she supposed that was fair when there were so many other questions to be answered. The question about parents got some much more useful info, that apparently the goblins went for the whole "it takes a village to raise a child" strategy of parenthood. Well apart from the chief who, considering how much he talked about his son, probably had a much more personal familial relationship with him. She wasn't sure if that was sweet or hypocritical. She perked up a little because if the village was her family and the chief seems to like her and the rest then that was going to reflect well on the rest of the villagers and then everyone would like her and that was good. She smiled to herself as result of coming up with that wonderful line of logic.

The information about the surroundings had been very useful although she was probably more interested in the fact they were in a forest than most of the other goblins, because a forest meant lots of plants to stick in her mouth. Speaking of which, after a few questions about books and private spaces it became clear that there was going to be a little expedition out through the woods too the town of these human things for books, which she wasn't that interested in, and tools, which might be useful for harvesting plants. She decided she would go with the chief because going to the forests edge also met going through the forest which had plants which she could collect data on. She was also buzzing with energy and wanted to be out and about, learning how to navigate the woods rather than stuck with Aya the grump in the camp. If the town didn't look interesting she could always go back with the chief. She jog/skipped after the chief, excited to get outside into the sunshine.

"I'll come to town for the tools and to find some plants to use my gift on."

As she tried to keep up with his longer strides she realized that during answering knife ear's first question he had mentioned two names without much additional explanation who might have had something to do with their gifts.

"So boss, you mentioned these Knoth and Anekanta divine people. Who are they and what makes one bad and one good?"

[Assistant]
Kluuto

---

Sonata
Kluuto brightened up once she heard that Sabu had arrived back from the city. Of course, she accepted the Chief's offer right away. No sense of just wandering around here with nothing to do, she thought. She had this urge to use her gift right away, and with nothing else to do in her mind, might as well obey said urge. The more she used the gift, she more she would master it after all.

And as for the matter of her own private room, it seemed she had to build it herself. This didn't really please her that much. She couldn't imagine herself digging a cave for her own goblin cavern after all. She wondered if she could find an unoccupied cavern somewhere in the forest, though that meant she had to wander around an area filled with dangerous beasts and monsters. She was a newborn so she couldn't be cocky about her combat abilities. Instinctively, she knew how to punch, kick, perhaps bite the enemy with these decently sharp teeth of hers, but she knew it wouldn't be enough against other monsters who might have more extraordinary capabilities. She knew that ordinary goblins weren't that strong. That was why they lived together as a tribe after all.

She put that problem for later. For now, she wanted to see just how the human city looked. The chief even said she could do her reading in their dwelling, but she quite doubted it would be a truly pleasant experience as she was a goblin and they were humans after all.

As they departed, the scribbling goblin asked the chief whether or not they could get the goods that the goblins were bartering with the humans. That was a fair question, she had to admit. She didn't expect the humans to just give their books for free after all. She had thought she could just ask a book as an extra from them when Sabu traded with them next time.

Another goblin who came along with them told she would get her tools in the city. She could agree with that line of though. There would be all sorts of things there after all and some tools shouldn't be that hard to find. She also asked about Knoth and Anekanta. Now that she mentioned them again, they started to pique her curiosity. Thus, she looked at the chief expectantly, waiting for his explanation.

[User]
The somewhat blunt speaking Goblin gave a small smile at seeing the other female blush over her compliment. Eh, it was nothing much to her, but she hoped that the other female would continue to show the same kind of sense Lyminia herself had just complimented. Though as for the others, she did not feel good about some and was uncertain about others. They had just awoken, she supposed, but even so it did not take a lot of effort to show a tad bit of common sense and caution among other things. Unless there were other Goblins like the red-looking one that stumbled around like an idiot and seemed to act like more of a beast than the rest of them. Seriously, to her it would be best to keep an eye on that one.

Listening to the Chief speak once again, the female Goblin payed sincere attention to his words, taking them to both mind and heart in order to help internalize the information he was giving them. Though when it came to his communication with "Lord Yggdrasil", perhaps it was through some kind of mental means considering how things went down before her eyes. Then again, as the Chief spoke about his son and going to meet him, it brought up an important question for Lyminia. Go to get tools first possibly, or stay and learn the layout of the land? It was a real question, and though learning the layout of the land was a good idea as a whole, getting tools first would allow her to come back and ask about the land's layout later on from Aya or one of the other Goblins who would be staying at the cave. Besides, she had a few more questions for the chief in the meantime.

"I'm coming along with the trip as well. Might get to find some digging tools or something, and i can ask about the layout of things once we get back," the female Goblin said, giving a light shrug before moving to follow along with the chief as well.

Though as they began to move towards their destination, and Sabu, two of the other Goblins who came with the little group following the chief began to ask questions. Considering at least the question that sounded like it was about the two names the chief had mentioned before was interesting to her, it would perhaps then be good to just listen at first. Then again, as she pondered simply listening another question for the Chief came to her mind as well. Mentally shrugging to herself, Lyminia decided that while she had the time to ask she had might as well use it as best as she could.

"Chief," Lyminia said after the other had finished asking their questions before her, "How did you manage to achieve your current evolution as a 'Bugbear' and such, if you don't mind my asking? Did you learn certain skills? Did you eat certain foods? Something else entirely?"

She understood Gifts and Evolution naturally, but the path to an evolution seemed an interesting topic to bring up as well, if the Chief was willing to answer.

---

Sonata