[System]
"Don't worry, you just leave things to your Big Sis Rosie!"
Age
21

Gender
Female

Physical Description
Standing just shy of five feet eight inches, Rosie is a rather imposing woman physically. Her long, burgundy hair is often worn loose in her natural waves, with a set of bangs cut just above her eyes. Her skin is on the fairer side, albiet she sports several nicks on her knees and a few scrapes here and there from the days of her youth. Her outfits tend to be on the simpler, mature side, as she finds herself shying away from anything too girly anymore. Any set of clothes is universally accompanied by her small, pearl earrings, pink lip gloss, and heels--legends say she can even run in them.

Personality
Rosie likes to think of herself as an older, mature woman, but it's obvious she's just come off the cusp of her maidenhood. Bubbly and eternally cheerful, for Rosie it's nearly impossible for her to see the downside to anything. Always helpful and eager to please, she tends to go out of her way to help her younger coworkers. Her work ethic is impeccable, as she believes that a job isn't worth doing unless you give it a hundred and ten percent. She tries to be attentive and caring, though sometimes she tends to miss the point and goes off her own assumptions. Sarcasm is a foreign language to her, and she is quick to jump to conclusions. She means well, she just gets much too excited.

Likes & Dislikes
(♥) Flowers and nature in general
(♥) Organization and cleanliness; everything has a place!
(♥) Working hard
(♥) Tea
(♥) The taste of cherries

(X) Sarcasm. She just...doesn't get it.
(X) Rainy days. The skies look so sad...
(X) Bug of any type and size will cause her to completely freak out and panic
(X) Messiness. She will immediately try to clean if she sees anything out of place
(X) Ghosts

Biography
Born the youngest of three siblings, Rosie has always been a rather hyperactive child. From school to her home life, the girl has always been bouncing off the walls, her parents finding it hopeless to curb her and only trying to point her in the right direction in hopes she could take that energy and put it towards something positive. Eventually some of that energy was controlled better as she got older, but she painstakingly took her parents' guidance as 'put all your energy into what you're doing'. Mind you, it resulted in some excellent grades and a surprisingly decent track record in middle school, but her one-track mind often resulted in her neglecting other things.

Her relationship with her family improved, and one by one her siblings decided to leave home. Rosie herself decided to go to university to get a degree, living in a modest apartment while she studied. As some time passed, however, her parents' financial troubles came to light. Her oldest sister moved back home in order to help them out, but encouraged her sisters to try to help. Rosie decided to put her education on hold, giving back the money for her last year as well as most of her savings, and got to job hunting. She figured if she could work and save enough, she could pay for her last year herself.

The mail service can hopefully solve her financial woes, even if just temporarily.

Relationships
TBD

Other
Her theme.

[User]
The big day that was gonna change her life had finally arisen. With a backpack and her letter with the info and adress. Emi in her good mood was strolling down the wobbly path as she made her way towards the post office. At first she had thought it would be on quite a remote place but it was not to her surprise. She had to walk the last way just to get to the building and that was a long way already. It had become clear to her that they probably did not need any vast roads to deliver the post. Maybe they did have a big airfield for their bikes. Anyhow she was excited.

The building quickly came into view revealing the old and unkept look of the putside of the building. Emi stopped for a moment and took a quick gulp. It felt kind of scary to get so close to the building. It didn't seem habited at all, was this even the right building?

The path stopped at the front door of the building. Emi shakingly stepped in front of the door and with a trembling hand knocked on the front door. No reaction. Emi waited for somewhat longer and knocked again but was let down with another no reply. Emi did not have the heroic side to look in through the window and decided to simply wait for a while. They might not have opened yet and there did not seem to be any other building nearby.

As time went by other people joined Emi in her waiting game. Apparently they would be applying for the post delivery job as well. Emi introduced herself to everyone and simply chatted for a while as they waited.

Suddenly the front door opened making Emi release a terrified shreek as she was right next to it. She stepped back and eagerly peered into the darkness. There did not appear to be anyone in the building but she was sure she saw something move. Only a second later a creme colored figure dashed out making Emi shreek even more as she moved one of her feet off of the ground in reaction. She spun and fell onto her butt into the flowers at the side of the path. In frustration she swung her arms up amd down for a moment as she visibly pouted.

"I'm so done with today!"

But as soon as Emi spotted the dog running and frolicking around outside in the flowers her entire mood cheered up. In a bliss she motioned towards the dog for a hug as she thought it was super duper cute. Emi stood back up again and ran after the dog in attempt to pet and hug it forever. They would be living happily on the flower fields till the end of time.

"Doggggyyy!"

[Assistant]
"The workplace should be right around.. Whoa.."

Calum halted at the sight before him, lowering the missive he was reading. Well-tended flora of varying ilk and vivid colors pervaded the green fields. Atop the inclined path lied a rather crude shack, which appeared to embrace the very nature it stood on. If it wasn't for the smoke emitting from its chimney, it would be easy to assume that it was abandoned. Still, everything about it felt... natural. The morning breeze that he felt brush past his being only complemented the invigorating vibes as he walked up the path towards his destination. It was going to be his very first job; the feeling of uneasiness inching on him like a bug. Nevertheless, it was one that he had decided on.

A chance for fateful encounters. To soar through the skies. To find one's own happiness through witnessing another's smile. A simplistic, yet wholesome dream for some, even if considered childish by others.

Arriving at the end of the walkway, Cal finds a young woman; a damsel possessing ashen hair and looking the same age as him. Their eyes met not too long after, and thus a greeting was inevitable. "Good morning to you, miss! I, uh.. assume you're here for the same reason as I am?" The two made light conversation, before more figures came one after another. And by each one arriving, he couldn't help but feel a slight sense of discomfort. He was honestly expecting a more gender-equal ensemble, and this was quite the surprise.

"Erm.. I suppose introductions are in order, huh? Alright then, I'll start! Name's Calum. Calum Pierrepont. Folks call me 'Cal', so feel free to do so as well. Here's to hoping we all get accepted, yeah?"

The exchange picked up and continued from there, up until a certain point. The slight creaking of the door made the ashen-haired Emi shriek by surprise, and the others in tandem. "Y-you're joking.. right? T-the house can't possibly be haunted.." The sole male uttered with shaky breaths, a tad nervous when Emi slowly peered into the darkness.

And, like a scene from a horror flick, it happened.

"UWAAAH!" A figure bound from the doorway, causing his body to jerk backwards by instinct. His precious brown hat parted from his head and he almost lost his footing, like Emi just did. His wide-eyed gaze was glued to the culprit; a dog. Inconsiderate to the people it had just frightened, the creme-colored furball ran towards the greenery and frolicked about. His heart was beating fast, his right palm planted on his chest and he was struggling to catch his breath.

"Man.. Not.. a big fan of.. jumpscares.. Hah.. Little fella almost gave me a heart attack! Ahaha.. Hahahahaha!" Cal burst out laughing, realizing that he likely screamed the loudest of them all; the man among the women. He bent down to pick up his fallen hat, returning it to where it once was. "Well, that was embarrassing! Let's just move on and forget that ever happened?"

He tried his best to save himself from that embarrassment. He really did.

[User]
---

Southmere EMS Office
Morning

---

Rosemarie Neldelstein rolled her eyes at how quick the sole male of the group was quick to get spooked by the old post office. There were few things that scared her, but she would never imagine anyone being nervous at the sight of a building that was worn but obviously not condemned.

"Wow. You're so brave." She uttered sarcastically, clearly unimpressed by the boy.

The blonde-haired girl felt her impatience get the better of her as she pushed her fingers against the door, pushing it all the way open as she hoped to see some actual adults at work at the homely-looking post office. The constant chattering of the boy wasn't really much of interest to her, especially now he was trying to earn some brownie points by trying to write off the appearance of the dog as catching him off guard and that everyone should "move on". As far as Marie was concerned she had already moved on because she didn't care in the first place.

"Whatever." She managed as she walked into the building before calling out to whoever was inside. "I hope I'm not early!"

[Assistant]
---

Southmere EMS Office
Interacting with Cal (@Althiel)

---

Summer yawned, arms stretching over her head after a long day of work. It was time for her to go home, make some hot chocolate, and snuggle into her bed with her most fluffy blanket. Then the slasher movie marathon would commence!

 Getting into her bubble car, she floated away from the lab. She had to go pick up Molly and Wobbles from their pre-school, the best hamster training school in all the land. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't been paying attention, and her bubble floated right into a pickle! Summer began to fall, the world growing big around her. It was sorta peaceful really, no noise but the horse peckers. Nearing the ground, she looked up at a giant blue gummy worm, with the face of her...grandpa?

 Summer's eyes flew open, the bright sunlight causing her to wince. Pushing off her bed, she noted to not ever drink odd juice from the cabinets again. That dream had been wierd, even for her. She smiled at the note on her nightstand, reminding her that today was finally the day for her adventure to begin again. The Erusian Mail Service! Connecting the island to the rest of the world, one delivery at a time! She couldn't wait to finally arrive there, and hopefully get accepted.

 Luckily for her late late self, she had already picked out an outfit last night, one that reflected her excitement. Brown boots, patterned tights, and a cute cream top. Grabbing a slightly burnt bit if toast, she was all ready to go. Pointing a finger in the air, she marched through the door.

 "Onwards!"

 The walk to the post office was short and fairly uneventful. Arriving there, she noticed that quite a few others had already arrived. Walking up to the largish group, she introduced herself with a smile.

 "Dia duit! My name's Samarah, though I'd much rather Summer, if you don't mind. Samarah's very formal sounding, not much my favorite sound. I guess you're all applying too? I'm so glad! Though, there's mostly girls here, no? That's good too! Yay, I'm so excited!" She continued her chatter with a few of the others, not noticing the open door until she heard Cal's scream of terror. She whipped around, expecting to find some sort of serial killer dude, or something big, buff, and scary. What she didn't expect was for a dog to happily run out the doors, running over to the flower field. She let out a sigh, relieved that she would be living for another day.

 "Jeez, don't scream like that, haha...I thought you were getting attacked or something!" She kept a teasing smile on her face, just to make sure he knew she wasn't trying to make fun of him.

[User]
"Goodness..."

The auburn haired young woman had to admit that if anything, the group was colorful enough. She didn't know what to expect at first; the only thing she knew was that she was older than the others that had gathered. A few frowns here and there but everyone seemed polite enough. Rosalinda Myles herself was uncharacteristically quiet for once; aside from a quiet hum, she hadn't spoken to anyone yet. Whether it was nerves or just trying to get a read on the group, she wasn't entirely sure. She wanted to make a good first impression, deciding that since she was clearly the oldest, she needed to be the one with a clear head just in case anyone needed help. It was what her sisters did for her, so it was time to pass on the favor.

Right! Time to guide the little ones on the right path!

Except, one decided to march in, another ran off to chase the dog, and the other girl was laughing at the poor boy who was scared half to death by said dog.

Rosie stood there, dumbfounded by the rather quick turn of events. Her eyes looked from the building to the duo still with her to the quickly disappearing body of the girl that had given the dog chase. Well, she wanted to play the big sister, so she may as well pick one and finally do something. Since one girl had decided to enter and the young man--Cal, right, he did introduce himself to...Summer? Yes, Summer--wasn't harmed, so she prioritized getting the young purple haired girl back on track.

Turning towards the flower field, she tried to remember what her father used to do to get a dog's attention. His collar means someone owned him, so he was likely trained. Taking her index and thumb, she took in a deep breath before using them to let out a rather loud, shrill whistle, hoping to catch the dog's attention and lead the girl back to the building.


[System]
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Appearance:
 Height: 5'5"
 Build: Slender
 Hair: Ash blond (light brown)
 Eyes: Green
 Clothing: His attire consists of a white, long-sleeved shirt underneath a black, over-sized hoodie with a pair of black gloves. Additionally, he wears a pair of dark green pants with black combat boots.
Skillset: He is experienced with the functionality of machines, due to his upbringing, and has an adept knowledge of science. He is also talented at picking locks and has a decent amount of knowledge in medicine. Though he is not the strongest, he is fairly nimble.
Weapon(s): .45 Auto Pistol & Combat Knife
Personality: Though quiet when with strangers, he is quite the talkative person when given the time to become adjusted to another's presence. Armed with a sarcastic personality, as well as an offhanded tendency to snap at people, he does have an odd sense of obligation for other people's safety and well-being, even if they have done him wrong before. He also has the habit of hiding things from people, fearing the consequences he may have to face if he were to tell them. As for himself, he could be considered rather unconcerned and reckless.
Biography: He grew up in the same town as Jace, sequestered in the marshlands of southern Georgia. His father worked as a mechanic there, which included supplying the town with purified water. When the machine began to break down gradually, though, rations had to be issued, which caused the family to become unpopular when there was not enough for everyone to share. His mother died when he was young when there was a "freak accident," and afterwards, that only gave the other townspeople more reason to ostracize the family--if the man could not be trusted to keep his own family alive, then how could he be trusted to keep an entire town alive? When he was sixteen, he fell ill from radiation poisoning, but recovered; after this close call with death, he decided to begin his research on a long-term solution for the water issue, studying Project Purity and more cases of a G.E.C.K. working miracles. About two years after, he and his closest friend, Jace, set out on their journey to search through Vaults until they discovered one.

[User]
"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea," Basil agreed. Though there weren't many people out on the streets, the few who were had eyed them suspiciously. Then again, they probably did that with every stranger.

 Leith reluctantly took the proffered chair, though his back immediately thanked him for the relief. He sighed heavily, tipping back just slightly in it as he relaxed. "Damn, I'm getting old."
 Especially too old to deal with kids' relationship issues. I wonder if it'd be far-fetched for me to try dating again...a little bit of moisturizing cream, some cologne, and I'd look a hundred and twenty again, I bet.

[Assistant]
Raider finished taking the armor off before chucking it at a nearby trashcan. He was actually thankful to get rid of the heavy piece of metal, but he'd gotten so used to wearing it, it was almost like a part of him now and he felt too light. He wore a shirt underneath that was so severely stained with dirt, sweat, and blood that you couldn't even tell it used to be white.
 "Remind me to get it on the way out if I can. I need some sort of protection out there and that hunk of metal has probably saved my life more times than I can count." And he didn't have any money to buy any leather armor of metal armor for that matter. He might try to steal some before they left, if an opportunity presented itself.

 After Kaye took a seat, she quickly took the beer and almost drank from it, but hesitated. She stared down into the contents of the glass as if it was acid. Leith had planted the seed of doubt and now she was worried that he was indeed a psychopath.
 "It's beer," Jace said, eyeing her intently. "You know, alcohol." He took a drink of his own beer before something clicked in his mind. "Do you think I poisoned it?"
 She blushed severely and shook her head a little too quickly. "No! I just...usually drink whiskey."
 He could tell she was lying through her teeth and sat his own drink down with a loud thud. Without hesitating, he grabbed hold of the two beers and took a drink from each glass before setting them down in front of them once more, eyebrow raised. "Good now?"
 She looked down at the table and slowly took a drink of the beer feeling a bit ashamed.

[User]
"Okay. Just don't let me forget to not let you forget," Basil replied, heading off again towards the clinic. They should be close now.

 "What about germs?" Leith inquired. He pushed the beer bottle back with his pinky. Perhaps it wasn't such a great idea to deliberately get on Jace's nerves, but eh. He'd done worse with his life.

[Assistant]
Raider stared at him oddly, not seeing how that made any logical sense, but didn't comment on it. He tensed when he saw the doctor's sign looming in the distance and almost turned to walk the other way. The doctor was almost as unpleasant as his time in the raiding group had been, because in the group their doctoring methods had been near torturous. They got immense pleasure out of ripping bullets and cutting off limbs of those unfortunate to get injured in battle.
 He remembered an incident he had a little over a year ago. During battle, he had been shoved against the wall and had his side ripped open by a rusty nail protruding through one of the boards. With no painkillers to alleviate the pain and no stimpaks to heal it, they cleaned out the deep wound using a bottle of whiskey and a dirty cloth to dig into the wound and 'clean' it. After that, they used a needle that had been used in one of the syringes used for psycho and wire used from an old piano. The stitches had hurt worse being put in than it was nearly ripping his intestines out.
 His entire body froze just outside the doc's door and he hadn't even realized he was shaking his head. "You know, I'm actually good. I think I'll stay out here and wait for you."

 Kaye shot a glare in Leith's direction and wanted to berate him for egging him on. Her look screamed 'what the hell happened to not taunting the psychopath?'
 Jace glared at him in rising annoyance. "You're a ghoul. Your entire face is a germ." He tipped back the rest of his bottle and slammed it on the table before reaching over for Leith's own. "If you don't want it, then it just means more for me."

[User]
Basil paused, hand nearly on the door's handle, and said, "But you need to get that wound looked over. If you're really concerned about money, then I have enough." He then noticed the boy's expression; he looked panicked, almost. Well, he supposed that was normal. No one really liked having to see the doctor. "He's not going to hurt you, you know. That'd defeat the purpose of being a doctor, after all. If he looks like he's going to harvest your kidney or something, we'll come right back out, okay?"

 "Ouch, that one-liner was almost clever," Leith said, rolling his eyes. He shrugged at Kaye, draping one arm over the back of the chair.

[Assistant]
"You haven't been to the doctors that I have..." Raider mumbled, mostly to himself. With much difficulty, he forced himself to walk towards the door. His legs felt heavier than lead with each step, but managed to walk through the threshold. As soon as they were inside, he took one look around and almost darted out the door once more, but ran directly in Basil, startling him even more.

 Jace scowled angrily at Leith and took a drink of his beer. "You know what? You broke our contract, so if you're not careful I'll kick your ass and say to hell with what I said earlier. A deal is a deal and you cheated me. Even turned down a free drink that was given to you, you ugly bastard."
 "He does have a point, you know. Those are fight words, turning down someone's offer of a drink." Kaye smirked, taking a drink of her own beer. "If you were going to offer second rounds, can I have Leith's?"
 He chuckled despite himself. Thankfully his sole mission right now was to get roaring drunk to forget what had happened earlier and at this rate, he was definitely going to succeed. "I like your style, I'll give you that." He then grew somber and narrowed his eyes in Leith's direction, all humor gone. "So what is your angle? I've never seen no ghoul who didn't drink before, so you must have a hidden agenda on agreeing to come with me."

[User]
Basil winced when he ran directly into him, but grabbed him gently by the shoulders and urged, "Look, you have to see him. I mean, you let me actually remove the bullet and I'm not even licensed! All that he's going to do is give it a look-over and give you some more medication to dull the pain. It won't be that bad, I swear."

 Leith sighed, and replied, "Look, the only thing that has an effect on me is a sickeningly sweet combination of Jet and, for whatever reason, Sugar Bombs. After you come to realize that, you find little reason to waste your time with alcohol." He passed the drink over to Kaye. "But other than that, I've just never been much of a drinking man. Someone would have been damn ashamed of me if I resorted to that to forget about my problems, rather than confront and resolve them." He looked pointedly at Jace.

[Assistant]
"Yeah, and if I hadn't allowed you to take it out then I would be dead," Raider protested. "As long as he doesn't perform anything else on me, then...I guess." He sighed as his shoulders sagged in defeat. With a deep breath, he turned back around and started walking further into the building.

 Jace made a tight fist in a poor attempt to suppress his rising anger. "Are you insulting me? Because I'm pretty sure you just insulted me." He held up a couple of fingers to signal to the bartender. Once he noticed them, he gave a slight no of his head and set to work to popping off the caps of the beers. When he brought them over, Jace didn't even look in his direction as he grabbed his beer and took a sip of it. "You can deal with your problems anyway you like and I will do the same. I'm confronting my problems right now and quite frankly, this is a good resolution for them as well. If you don't like it, then you can get out and leave us be in peace. I didn't invite you to tag along, anyways."

[User]
Basil smiled, relieved, and the two of them entered the clinic; it was small, with two cots in the far back of the main room. On one, there was an old man who leaned against the headrest, a book in his hands and an IV hooked up to one arm, but the other was empty. At a desk, there was a middle-aged man in a white coat that was lightly stained with blood, who was so focused on writing on his clipboard that he didn't even notice them arrive.
 Clearing his throat nervously, Basil said, "Excuse me, sir?"
 Head shooting up in surprise, the doctor made a little sound from somewhere deep in his throat, dropping his pen in the process. It clattered noisily onto the floor. But then he smiled and said, "Ah, yes, hello. I hope that there is nothing too dire, but how can I help you two boys today?"

 Leith lifted a hand to his chest, dramatically feigning offense. "And here I thought we were just becoming friends. Obviously, I was mistaken." He then smirked. "But no, you're not dealing with your problems, kid. Besides, who even drinks beer when they want to forget? There's barely any alcohol in the damn things. It's mostly just yeast. Yeast that is over two centuries old, at that." If he'd had a nose, he'd be wrinkling it in disgust. "Nasty and harmful beverages aside, how about you at least try talking about whatever happened with us? Maybe we could help you out."

[Assistant]
The very moment Raider zeroed in on the doctor, his eyes went straight to the lab coat and he stared at the blood intensely. As the doctor spoke, he barely even registered he'd spoken at all and once he finally made it up to look at his eyes, there was an expectant look in them. Had he asked him something? "Umm...I was shot and my...my friend here," could he call him friend? "he took the bullet out for me, but thinks it might infect. I think I'm okay, though, so there's really no need..." before he finished his sentence, he tried backing away.

 And there it was. The hidden intent of their reasons behind coming. Was it so much to ask for to have someone who just wanted to spend time with him instead of wanting something from him all the time?! "And here I stupidly thought someone might actually want to spend some quality time with me," he said angrily. "Why don't you keep your non-nose out of other people's business and leave me the hell alone." He then stood up, preparing to leave. "You're all the same! Pretending like you give a shit when all you want is to take advantage of a situation. I have enough problems on my hands and you're not one of them." He paused to rethink that last statement, knowing it made no sense.
 "Jace-"
 "I know!" He rubbed at his head furiously. "Don't try correcting me."
 Kaye sighed. "Look, maybe it isn't any of our business, alright? But you were about to shoot the guy who claimed to love not even twenty-four hours ago!"
 "Would you keep your voice down?" Jace scowled.
 "My point is, if you don't get your head out of your ass then you're going to lose him, you idiot."
 He laughed with no humor and shook his head in disbelief as he picked up the beer. With a few large gulps, he polished of the bottle and gently sat it the table. "I've already lost him, so don't worry about it, sweetheart."

[User]
Basil planted himself in front of the door, leaning against it as he said, "He just wants to look at it, okay? If you don't do this, you'll just get worse. There's nothing to be scared of."

 "Like Hell you have," Leith said, slamming a fist onto the table, surprising even himself. A couple of other patrons turned to look their way, but in the silence, they eventually resumed their idle chatter and drinking. He sighed, but nevertheless, he continued, "Look, there is someone out there who obviously cares about you and is depending on you. Are you really going to let him down?"


[System]
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Species: Dracoavian
Image created by Ridlins.

Stands at five feet, seven inches tall.
Bio: Trevor lived a relatively normal, boring life, though, for some reason, he was absolutely okay with that. When he was a child, he was always the target of bullies due to his love for video games, and general nerdiness, however, he was one of the few nerds who could and would fight back, and even so, with surprising strength. If he didn't change schools every year due to his parents moving, he probably wouldn't have gotten picked on after the first time... that isn't to say he didn't get in trouble, since he was bad at trying to convince people, and everyone always thought he was lying, despite Trevor typically not being one TO lie. At first he didn't really think he HAD anger issues, but all of that changed in the seventh grade, when he was just awake enough to notice that he was blacking out, and going completely berserk... the last sight he could remember seeing was his fellow students running away from him, or getting out of his way... funny thing, he doesn't even remember what GOT him that angry, but that incident caused him to finally agree to work out that issue.

 He has since calmed down, and hasn't gotten in any more fights, since most of the bullies in high school remembered him from at least one of the elementary schools he went to, and they didn't want to mess with him. He has since just finished college, getting a degree in computer programming, of all things, and he took his first interview for his first real job... his first day was going to be in a couple days, but he was, hilariously enough, excited about this. This was going to be the start of a brand new chapter in his life, and of course, he didn't think the meteor would actually hit until yesterday, and that REALLY soured his mood for a bit, but then he said to himself 'Well, if it's the last day for humans, let it be known that I really tried to adult' he chuckled at his own joke, and tried to live the last day as if it truly were the last. He tried all sorts of new food, all kinds of new activities with all of his friends, even introducing a few of them to others, and blew most of the cash he had in his wallet. He ended up DEAD tired when he got back home, though, he really didn't want this last day to end for various reasons, his body just wouldn't let him stay up any longer...

 However, much to his surprise, Trevor somehow woke up the next day, though, not everything was where it normally was, specifically, there were feathers and scales everywhere, and he had a long, blue thing blocking his vision... and he felt like he had a tail and wings, but, that can't be possible, right?

Weaknesses (x2): Ice, Stone, and Nature magic
Strengths: x0.5 - Water, x0 - Fire, x-1 - Lightning

Skills:
Fisticuffs: Not one to use weapons, Trevor prefers to just punch the enemy, despite the fact that his claws might be a better choice. He uses no real fighting style, since he was never trained, but there's enough strength behind his punches to make this a viable option.

Fire: Firebreath, and some other fiery skills... Trevor's alright at it, but some of the more advanced fire moves tend to come with some sort of drawback for him... he uses it as recklessly as one would expect.

 Flame Drill: A skill in which Trevor imitates a drill and drills through the opponent using his tough claws, and a dose of fire breath. A powerful move that can easily hit weak points and ignores an enemy's defense, but it also leaves Trevor dizzy, and unable to accurately attack for a while after its use.

Lightning: Trevor's a natural at using electrical abilities, apparently, and he tends to shoot said lightning from the tips of his claws, often shaping his hand to look kind of like a gun and even occasionally saying 'pew, pew' when he does so.

 Energize: Trevor can use some of his own electricity to give one of his teammates, or himself, a sudden burst of energy. Heals HP, and can restore some lost magic... costs a decent amount of magic to use, however.

Runes: Scan Rune - Allows one to use the 'Scan' skill both inside and outside of battle... said skill allows the user to read alien languages, and know the strengths and weaknesses of enemies once it's used on a sample of that language, and an enemy, respectively. This rune doesn't need to be equipped to any skill slot, and doesn't require any real magic to use.

 Heal Rune - Allows the use of one type of healing magic, depending on which type of magic it's equipped to. In this case, it allows the use of the magic skill 'Energize', since it's equipped to his lightning magic.
Other: Nothing.

[User] Jason nods. "But won't the ghost just leave them, and possess someone else? We don't know how it works. All we know about it is that it apparently kidnaps people and puts them though a test of some kind." He looks at the chained women, and sighs. "What's your name, miss? Sorry about the chain, but I was worried that you'd respond with violence. As you did. I'll remove the chain if you come over here." He flaps his glowing wings, and looks around the room. "Is the ghost still over there?"

[Assistant]
Shaula

---

 The phoenix woke with a scream that made Shaula jump; for a moment, she thought it was still possessed. Once it had a moment to calm down, it explained how it had ended up here. After running through the portal, the other thief and it had been attacked by the ghost, which stole the artifact and declared them 'unworthy' of it. Shaula put away her Orgone emitter. "You stole the artifact from Trevor?" she said. She looked at Trevor. "And you don't even know what it does? Here I am thinking they just stole your phone or something."

 Meanwhile, Celina and Jason were discussing how to fight off the ghost. Celina seemed ready to let it possess someone, but Jason thought it would just take another body after being defeated. "If we go through with this - which, just so we're clear, I'm still not convinced. Apparently, we don't even know if this artifact can get us back." She shot a look at Trevor. "Why let it use one of us? There's plenty of those mole-alien-things back there. Just let the ghost use one of them, then knock it out. Simple."

[User]
Mia

---

 The phoenix let out a terrified shriek as they woke up. It was somewhat startling. Mia was expecting them to wake up slowly, especially after seemingly being knocked unconscious. As she withdrew her vines, the phoenix - who, based on the voice, she assumed was female - explained to them what happened when she encountered this ghost that they were after. Apparently, it was just up ahead.

 The others immediately began strategizing, talking about how they would take down the ghost. Mia decided to chip in as well. "Keeping our distance might work. That is, if he needs to get close in order to possess someone. The truth is, until we know exactly how this ability works, there's not much we can do to prepare." Shaula seemed to have a plan as well, but Mia was quick to shoot it down. "Shaula, the ghost can just leave the mole and possess someone else. Even if he couldn't, I doubt he'd be stupid enough to fall for a trick like that."

[Assistant] Shaula seemed to be a little confused, and while the others continued talking to the phoenix who revealed her name was 'Maria', Trevor answered Shaula's questions. "I uh... apparently chased the wrong thieves... the thieves I was supposed to chase stole my laptop, my TV, my phone, and at least one of my game consoles... but we're kinda in too deep at this point, and need a portal to get out," Trevor then answered the whole 'and you don't know what it does?' thing with "Again, it's not mine, and while I saw it used in battle, surely it does more than form a temporary shield around the user," Maria then nodded and walked towards Jason, mumbling "That stupid artifact, and the end of the world was NOT worth it... I am SO quitting the artifacters, after this..." which Trevor heard, and almost wanted to bring attention to... end of the world? Artifacters? Who the heck? Why the heck? Of course, she didn't say anything that would answer any of those questions, and simply said "Mind if I tag along for a bit? I just want to go back home, and you guys seem like you know where you're going... here, as a 'sorry for putting you through this' gift, I'll give you these," Maria then seemed to drop a few runes on the ground... one of them had a cross shape etched into it, and was glowing green, while the others seemed to have three arrows pointing outward in a few different directions, and were glowing orange. Curious, Trevor picked up the one with the cross shape in it, and used it on himself... he then felt like he knew how to heal someone using lightning magic... and while it only healed one teammate for some HP, it also seemed to give them back some of their lost magic, too... interesting. "Uh... once we get these runes sorted out, let's... get this ghost thing over with, alright?" Trevor said as he waited for the rest of his team to take their runes.

[User] Jason picks up one of the runes. "Might as well find out what this does." The light on the rock vanishes, and his palms glow with the same marking. "One moment...Maria, was it?" He erases the drawing, and the chain fades away. He looks at his now glowing palms with interest. "Humm." He faces away from the group, and repetitively shoots several streams of fire out of the markings on his hands, blacking several spots on the wall. "This is very interesting. It lets me hit all targets at once. Where did you get these?" His hands glow red, and he begins drawing in the air, the light following his palms.

[Assistant] Now this was interesting. That thief, even if they were a thief, was giving the group some runes that could end up being useful for the next fight that happens. Celina looked at what everyone was taking and took a rune that was like the one that Jason took, seeing what it did. She smiled softly at this.  "Well… that is rather interesting…"  she said, thinking before trying to create a small bird and send it to the wall. The bird suddenly split into multiple birds before bashing at the wall, going some markings on it. She thought about it. "So… this should be interesting when I want to attack a group of people all at once. " she then said, smiling softly as she thought about it. Won't be really useful next fight possibly, but could be interesting when dealing with groups.

[User]
Mia

---

 These runes seemed to enhance the abilities of whoever used them. As the rest of the group began trying them out, they found that their attacks split into multiple parts. As useful as this could be, Mia really had no way of taking advantage of it. She hadn't figured out how to properly use the light arrows yet, and she already had an ability than let her heal more than one person at a time. Eventually, there was only one left. "Shaula, you can take the last one. You'll get more use out of it than I will" She hoped that more of these runes would appear in the future, possibly ones that would be more useful to her.

[Assistant]
"The end of the world was NOT worth it..."
 That was the most important sentence Shaula had heard all day. Trevor may be a complete blockhead for jumping into a portal after a video game, but at least he had done one thing right. His portal had lead them straight to an agent of the New World Order. Even better: the agent might be ready to defect.
 "Mind if I tag along for a bit? I just want to go back home, and you guys seem like you know where you're going... here, as a 'sorry for putting you through this' gift, I'll give you these, the phoenix said. It dropped four rocks on the ground, a glowing symbol etched onto each of them. Trevor, Jason, and Celina took the first three, and, almost like Trevor's earlier, the symbols vanished and appeared on their hands. Celina tried out her new power; apparently, these runes multiplied their attacks. "So... This should be useful when I want to attack a group of people all at once," she said with a soft smile. Shaula found that statement slightly unnerving.
 "Shaula, you can take the last one," said Mia. "You'll get more use out of it than I will."
 "Thank you, Mia." Shaula forced a smile. "I'll make sure I do." Without taking her eyes off the phoenix, she picked up the rock. Immediately, its rune vanished, and there on the back of her hand appeared the same symbol, glowing a bright, ominous orange.

[User] Soon enough, the rest of the runes were snatched up by everyone... but Mia... then again, she didn't have much in the way of offensive magic skills as it was, and not to mention the fact that she already knew how to heal the party... a couple of them tried out their new powers, their attacks splitting off into five or six parts at once, though, Trevor could only assumed these attacks cost a bit more of their magic to use like that. Maria then answered Jason's question with "Well... I got them from the artifacters. They found a bunch of them just... strewn around after that meteor almost hit, and they've been studying how to mass-produce the things for their own people," Trevor seemed to think about that for a moment before finally continuing onward to a seemingly empty room with a sizable chunk of the artifact that was used to somehow stop the meteor... the body and one of the heads was still intact, and just sitting on a rock next to a portal out of here. Surely it won't be this easy... Trevor thought as he headed towards the artifact, only to be stopped by some sort of magical barrier. "Who's there? Who wishes to take the artifact?" A voice called out from elsewhere in the room. Trevor didn't respond, and it kept talking "Whoever you are... you won't JUST be getting it... my magic wall will see to it... no... you'll need to do a test, first," after that, a large ghostly dragon appeared in the center of the room. Trevor tried to attack the thing with both light and fire magic, but that didn't seem to work... he then tried to punch it, and that did about as much as you'd expect punching a ghost to to. "Violent one, aren't we? Well... you'll get nowhere if someone here doesn't lend me a body," the ghost explained, later asking "Would anyone like to volunteer?" to the rest of the room.


[System]
Head of

Basic Information* Home: Stockholm, Scandinavia
* Age: 32
* Affiliations: Pureblood House of Warren
* Occupation: Potions Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
* Former School: Durmstrang Institute
* Current City of Residence: London, England
* Gender: Male
* Height: 6'2"
* Hair: White as Snow
* Eye Color: Soft ember red

⌘ Level-Headed ⌘ Kind & Gentle ⌘ Sweet & Charming
⌘ Educated ⌘ Mature ⌘ Down-to-Earth

[User]
Once they sat down, Fianna waited as he collected himself. Gabrial soon broke into his prepared speech about what it meant to be a Slytherin and how the new students could transcend what negative stereotypes they might be worried about. Fianna listened as he articulated the traits that brought them to the serpent's house and how they could be positives and could push them toward great futures, while at Hogwarts and upon graduating from its very secure walls. "Hmmm." She gave a light thoughtful hum as she propped her elbow on the cold table and cradled her chin her hand.

While she was sure the youngest generation of incoming witches and wizards needed to be assured that their House wasn't some kind of punishment or daunting predicament, she didn't know if all of them would be receptive to such grand trains of thought. However Fianna also knew the students who were in Slytherin were very capable and likely eager to prove their worth, not just to themselves but to the teachers and classmates around them. While his speech explained how the students could face any challenge and should take pride in their traits, she wondered if he ought to remind them that they are not just defined by those traits but others as well.

Overall, she thought the message was good and she didn't think anything had to be altered. She still believed that he was too concerned about making such a good impression upon the first years. When she was a first year, she didn't remember the speech she had been given. "i think it's fine. You're assuring the students and empowering them. That's all you need to do." Fianna finally spoke up. Still, unlike her, Gabrial didn't have any Hogwarts experiences to call forth. "When I was a first year, everything was so big and scary. Yer away from yer family and tryin' to make friends while keeping up with the classes...it is a lot to ask a simple child. They need to know they can count on you and if they know that, they shouldn't be afraid to fail."

"What was it like for you at Durmstrang when you just started out?" She asked him. While she couldn't apply that directly to Hogwarts since both school demanded different things, she wondered if reflecting upon his own worries might help him tune into those who would be arriving in less than twenty-four hours.

[Assistant]
Her question about his time at Durmstrang and his face clenched slightly. "Certainly wasn't as welcoming as Hogwarts has been." He began as he took a drag off of his cigarette and leaned back, his face distant as he remembered his time at his own school growing up.

"Durmstrang was about half the size of Hogwarts." Gabrial began as he blew out the smoke and continued with his reminiscing. "Two houses much like here but more intense. The definitions were Strength or Knowledge. The strength house was represented by an ox and knowledge was represented by an owl. Clever weren't they?" A chuckle left his fine lips as he pushed the spectacles further up onto his nose and ran his friend through his hair. "There was a third house not many got into and that was the house of the dragon. Those who end up in the house of the dragon show signs of intelligence and cunning bravery. Out of the massive amount of students who enter Durmstrang since it opened, less than a hundred entered that house… and you're looking at one of them."

A smirk moved across his face as he took a drag from his cigarette. "I was the only one though." The statement was followed by him blowing out the smoke before he sighed. "Things were relatively lonely as most students retired for the evening before I was ready for bed so I spent a lot of my evenings alone. Maybe that's what made me take up working out, something to get my mind off of everything. However, when it came to time to activities I was rotated between both houses. I was an excellent hunter and an exceptional potions master, between the bow and the cauldron I was an asset each house needed. But it meant double the work for me. They pushed me really hard by expecting me to excel in both, and that was probably a good thing as I feel I have a balance of both strength and brains that my cohort did not have. However it took its toll and was one of the reasons why I moved away and chose not to teach there."

A shrug rose and fell his shoulders before he chuckled softly. "Sorry… I didn't expect to ramble on like that. To put it simply, it wasn't great and I wasn't excited about it but it worked out in the end. And that's not what I want to tell the kids on their first day."

[User]
It was interesting to hear more about how a student spent their time at Durmstrang and why a place like Hogwarts would interest him, as they were clearly very different in regards to rules, expectations and overall treatment. Fianna had no doubt that students who left the Durmstrang Institute were tough and ready to tackle the world but she hoped there had been room for some fun and playfulness. Fianna was sure she wouldn't last a week in Durmstrang. It sounded like Durmstrang liked to view the world in black and white which wasn't really fair but she knew she couldn't exactly judge a school by one former student's account. "I was hoping your life at Durmstrang would be applied somehow to teaching here but that doesn't look like the case." She frowned slightly.

Still, it was worth a shot in asking and she was glad to know more about Gabrial.

"Sounds like an intense place to be, but you seem to have made it out alive." She smirked slightly. "But I bet you'll do great here and the students will appreciate your encouragement and your different experience growing up in another school." She told him. It sounded like Gabrial wanted to be a better role model than the ones he may have had growing up which was a noble idea. Slytherin kids weren't often picked on anymore but she was sure if any were, Gabrial would be able to handle the situation. "All in all, ya didn't even need my help." She teased him as she eased herself up from the table, patting it with her palm.

"You've got nothin' to worry about." She assured him. "You turnin' in for the night?" She asked him. Fianna intended to head over to Hogsmeade in the afternoon and do some shopping prior to the students' arrival. She had to wonder if Gabrial had ever been down there but it was likely that he hadn't. Fianna was glad to start a new term, enjoying the students and their insights immensely. If some seventh years did well, she didn't mind inviting them round for a drink or two to celebrate a hard-earned mark or other accomplishment. Getting along with the students was what made the work worth it. The new generation of witches and wizards was vital to everyone's survival.

[Assistant]
Gabrial chuckled when she mentioned that he was still alive. "So far." He stated as he finished his cigarette and put it out like the other tone before he turned his amber gaze back to her. Hearing that he had nothing to worry about gave him a sense of hope, a long sigh left him as he seemed to relax on the bench. Pulling out his wand, he gave it a flick and sent the books and papers back to his office.

"So, a real… serious question has arisen, and I need your help again…" Placing a large hand on the table, he leaned forward and whispered. "Where can I get some booze?"

It wasn't long before the two found themselves in Hogsmeade and Gabrial ran his large hand through his white hair. "Wow!" His eyes expanded as he looked down the road to see many different shops. His face expended into a smile as he fell into step with her and started down into the small town. "Wow this looks a lot like the little town outside of Durmstrang. Now I need two things, booze and sweets. Life cannot function without alcohol and sugar."

Hogsmeade was full of buildings, shops and surprisingly people. This was an actual town and the white haired man looked rather excited as they went through the streets, his amber eyes twinkling as they ventured forward. "I bet it looks amazing here when it snows." He mused to himself as they stepped through the town.

[User]
At the need to find a drink, the place to go without a doubt was Hogsmeade. While it was late, the shops were still open, well aware that that the teachers needed to let off some steam prior to school starting. Even though Fianna intended to go in the morning, she had no qualms about stopping into the village of shops for a drink. Hell, she'd climb through a blizzard if it meant there would be a nice pint of whiskey waiting for her on the other side of hell frozen over. Fianna showed Gabrial the area and he seemed quite enchanted by the simple homey shops. It was a gem and she was sure everyone who visited Hogsmeade, fell in love with it in some manner of fashion.

Students likely loved the freedom away from Hogwarts while others might love its homemade items or comforting beverages. No matter the glint in one's eye, there was something for everyone at Hogsmeade. At the mention of sweets and alcohol, it was easy to predict where the pair would end up settling. "Oh yes, it's a beauty in th' snow." She nodded to Gabrial. "I truly envy the lucky who get to work here, it must be a charmin' life to lead." She considered. Of course Hogsmeade didn't really open until Hogwarts did so it had to be seasonal work for the majority of owners, which was probably stressful. But every owner seemed to be proud of their work and not too stressed about making tons of money.

"A lot of these places have seen generations of witches and wizards grow up right in front of their eyes. Third years and up get to venture into Hogsmeade on the weekends but only if they're in proper academic standin' and have gotten permission from their parents. It's something a lot of students look forward to, a wee bit o'freedom beyond the walls of the school." Fianna said as she lead them to Honeydukes at the end of one of the small streets which were littered with cobblestones and bits of green grass poking around the flat weathered stones.

"Honeydukes is likely ta be your second home if it's sweets and booze you're after." She told him as she opened the door for him and stepped in after him. "They've got gobs of chocolate and candy, it's run by this adorable husband and wife. They've got a good supply of whiskey, wine and the like. But butterbeer is what they're known for. It's not terrible alcoholic but for the teachers, they do add a bit more for us." She nudged him a bit as she picked a small table and sat down, waving two fingers at the portly man behind the counter, signalling for two drinks. "It's sweet and tangy, like butterscotch mixed with whiskey. It's marvelous."

[Assistant]
The arrival at Honeydukes provided Gabrial with mouthwatering excitement as the man saw the reflection of the delicious treats inside. "Wow!" He exclaimed as they got closer. The description of the place made him chuckle softly as he pulled open the door for her. "Adorable husband and wife? Could be you and me one day." Did you see that comment coming? I'm sure you did.

Following her inside the smell of the delicious and delectable treats filled his nostrils. As she sat down he nodded at her description. "That sounds delicious. I'm not picky about my sweets as long as they're sweets." A laugh left him as he began to move around the shop. Candies, cookies, chocolate covered anything, caramel dipped everything; the further he got around the store the more his eyes seemed to sparkle with a child-like wonder.

By the time he made it back to their seats he had his arms full of candy. "This place is amazing! We never had any sweet shops outside of Durmstrang. I have a feeling I'm going to get rather fat while I'm here." He sat down before allowing the candy to tumble from his arms feeling absolutely no shame. Nougats, Acid Pops, Chocoballs, Choco-Loco, Crystallised Pineapple, Fudge flies, Glacial Snow Flakes, Honeydukes Mice pops, Pixie Puffs and of course, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

As their drinks arrived he asked for something random, a bowl. Once he received the bowl he cracked open the container of the beans and dumped them inside. "Let's play a game." He said with a grin to his face as he took up the butterbeer and gave it a sip. "Damn that's good." The mutter under his breath caused him to smile before he turned his ember gaze back to her. "The game is we each take a bean and eat. The first person to make a disgusted face as to answer the other person's question truthful; the game is over when the beans are gone or one person gives up. What do you say?"


[System]
Username: BCTheEntity
Race/Species: Dark Skayleigh - A half breed of dark elf and giant.

Gender: Male

Age: 47

Career/Class: Living weapon, barbarian, bodyguard, mercenary.

Weapons:
* Arm spike - A large steel spike attached to the stump of Nuva's right forearm and about twice as long as that was, complete with front-facing barbs to tear even larger holes in a target; in combination with his already-great strength and inherent khala, he can fairly readily "punch" with the force of a cannon shot, and in a pinch, the mass of metal can also function as a rather hefty club, block attacks in the manner of a shield, or even break any blades which get caught up in the barbs.
* Maul - An overly large lump of steel-plated lead on the end of a long and sturdy oak shaft, with two sides for differing purposes - a flat side for blunt force trauma, and a sharpened spike for similar effects to the arm spike at a longer range. Nuva is strong enough to wield this weapon in his single remaining hand, and its impact can also be enhanced with bursts of khala, to arguably greater effect than the arm spike.

Physical Description: Nuva Doer is all but impossible to mistake for anything but a skayleigh. Standing a full 220cm tall, he is at once more lithe and more powerfully built than any normal human, possessing a figure that would be all but impossible for a human to achieve, but which is merely well-crafted by skayleigh standards. This, however, is where his resemblance to a normal skayleigh ends - where they possess blonde or brown hair, his is bone white; where their eyes may be many other colours, his share the strange gold glow of many a dark elf; and if a normal skayleigh is wrought from marble or sandstone, then Nuva is wrought from obsidian, his skin a strange indigo colour which, whilst not quite as intense as the dark elves he draws half of his lineage from, is still more than sufficient to mark him as one of their number on its own. Most notably, of course, is the immense barbed spike where he once had his right hand and forearm, seemingly welded directly on to his flesh in a permanently-scarring fashion, the seam seared near-black as a result.

Oddly for a skayleigh, he tends to walk around slightly hunched, as though trying (and generally failing) to draw minimal attention to himself at all times. Furthering this effect is his choice of clothing; aside from torn and blood-stained white cotton underclothing that is generally hidden beneath his armour, he wears a series of items designed to cover his skin as best he can, including a hooded cape, a loose robe that partially cloaks his weaponised arm and nearly drags along the ground at the feet, tall boots which serve to cover up whatever parts of his legs robe and armour do not, a single elbow-length glove on his remaining hand, and a full face mask.

Armor: Though he is physically strong, Nuva is in no way invincible. In years past, he wore relatively light leather armour which proved itself insufficient for its purpose; this has since been upgraded to significantly thicker leather, plus a full suit of chainmail to sufficiently cover the majority of his vitals without reducing his mobility too greatly. Incidentally, it also helps to cover up the majority of his body, with additional clothing as described above to hide whatever else might be visible.

Equipment/Other: Nuva's other equipment is simply composed of essentials that a wandering mercenary might require - food and water rations, a few purses for coin, a holder for his maul, and a set of bedding for sleeping in the wilderness.

Mental Description/Personality: Nuva Doer is all but the definition of "a product of their upbringing" - having spent most of his life in the hands of dark elf society, he can quite readily be callous and cruel in ways that more civil societies would consider abhorrent, and he is certainly not the friendliest of people even on his better days. This is tempered, however, by his generally submissive attitude - it has been hammered into him time and again (sometimes literally) that to disobey is to suffer, particularly when a woman is commanding you, and even in the heat of battle where he functions best, he is highly prone to following the orders of others against his better judgement. The overall impression he gives off is rather depressive, the image of a person who has been pushed around their whole life.

Goals: To acquire a purpose beyond what meager role fate appears to have set for him.

Background/History: Dark elves, beleaguered on all sides as they are, are often in search for the next method of advancing their prowess in various fields, be it improving their ability to work steel or increasing the power of their military forces. It happened, then, that when some dark elves headed to the Kaelic Isles some time ago, and learned that wood elves and giants could interbreed to produce beings with as much grace as themselves yet far more strength, they wondered whether such units would make grand shock troops for their own armies. With that in mind, many decades were spent by certain dark elf factions attempting to acquire giants of their own, for the creatures were immensely strong by any merit, and it was difficult to capture one without killing them for various reasons. Eventually, however, some success was seen, and through use of certain specific capture techniques, giants began slowly trickling into the Low-ways in chains, there held and used as breeding slaves by the dark elves to produce what came to be referred to as "dark skayleigh" - as strong and lithe as their Kaelic counterparts, if not stronger given typical dark elven physiques, yet with the same strange aesthetic alterations as the smaller half of their bloodline, and more importantly the capacity to be raised from birth as living weapons.

Nuva Doer was one such individual. His entire childhood was spent as essentially a slave, taught the ways of normal dark elves and yet that he was lesser than them for his "impure blood". More oddly, in his mind, he was constantly told to train himself in a peculiar fashion - to punch things as hard as he could with his right hand, and to wield a particularly large maul in just his left. This pattern continued until he hit twenty five, and roughly the cusp of his full growth; then, he was taken into a forge room, only to be chained to the anvil in preparation for his right arm to be removed, and an oversized, superheated barbed spike to be impaled deep into what remained of his forearm by two rods, permanently mutilating him and welding the weapon to his body forevermore.

He learned- or at least was told so- afterward that he was quite lucky to not be dead, as other dark skayleigh before him had gone through the same procedure only to perish of infection, with the idea of extreme heat to prevent such a thing proving to be a newer innovation. Regardless of luck, this didn't particularly lead to much better fortune in the future - after a period of acclimation to his new appendage, he and many other dark skayleigh were sent out on to the battlefield, in his first battle leading the charge through a cave system against a force of dwarven spearmen accompanied by a wizard of flame. Many of his brethren died; Nuva did not, and he was sent out again many times in the future, eventually proving himself a veteran in that same sort of assault over the course of fifteen years, yet consistently remaining subservient even to most basic soldiers in the force, never mind whichever dark elves were in charge of the forces proper. Ultimately, whatever luck he had ran out, and at roughly forty years old, he suffered extreme injuries that led to his passing out and presumed death, and thus to the abandonment of his body by the dark elves who had held him in thrall for so long.

And yet, as it happens, skayleigh are significantly tougher than some people give them credit for, dark skayleigh in particular. Though he remained unconscious for a fair period of time, he lived long enough that a passing gnome mage noticed him, and fully healed the recent injuries Nuva had accumulated, though in exchange, the gnome insisted the dark skayleigh work under him for a few years, as both a bodyguard (complete with better armour than he'd had on at the time of his "death") and an assistant in the physical plane for whatever esoteric arts the mage decided to indulge in - and given the gradually-revealed eccentricities the gnome possessed, these were sometimes extreme in their nature.

Eventually, a combination of decreasing need for his services and increasing consternation amongst the local population led Nuva to part ways with his employer and set out on his own, though given his race, mutilations, and attitude, it consistently happened that the only work people were willing to grant him was mercenary work of high danger and comparatively little pay, and then only begrudgingly even when he disguised himself beneath clothing and mask. His current presence in Starkvale is a last-ditch effort to find some purpose for himself beyond the constant battle and subservience that has defined his entire life, or else to make peace with himself on the matter; he fears that failure to achieve this will ultimately destroy him, and again that continuing his role as a mercenary surely isn't the right path to achieve his goals, but sees no other way to progress than to pray something will show up and guide him to a better path.

[User]
Geremiah had first been a little scared of all the strange folks drifting in. It was obvious he didn't fit in, here more than anywhere else (and that was saying something.) But this talk of fighting was getting his blood up. He'd had precious little experience of it in the army, but slaying bandits was a service to the every-man. An honourable job!

"I propose a good charge up the middle, with any fortified archers being taken down by our own or nullified by shields and armour. They could well have some sort of gate, but it seems like we have our own battering ram!" he nodded towards the almost scary Dwarf with flaming hands. "Failing that he could just climb over the walls and give them a good fright! I'd expect them to surrender once that happens, their main advantage will have been lost and the fight knocked out of them."

Geremiah already felt hostile glances thrown towards him, knowing he had hardly answered the question they were in quandary about. But there was no right answer to that one, it was up to the Captain to decide

[Assistant]
Throughout the exchange of ideas, Laila took the time to examine her left hand while she listened to the others. She sighed silently at the holes she'd stabbed into the supple leather where her two missing fingers should have been as she rolled the proposed mission plans around in her head. Most of the others seemed to favor helping the Lord and taking the bandits head on. She wasn't a huge fan of that. In fact, she wasn't a huge proponent of fighting anybody who had the advantage. She preferred to manipulate the situation until she had the upper hand. Smart rogues always lasted longer than the strong ones.

"Or," Laila said stretching out her legs under the table nonchalantly. "We could soften up their ranks before we… run at them." She didn't seem pleased at the prospect of running at a fortified position with about a dozen men. "I know of a man in the tent city that makes a lovely poison. It's mostly non lethal and difficult to detect, but it takes about four to six hours to take effect and has," she paused and looked up towards the sky, seemingly searching for the correct common word to use, "...explosive… results."

Her lazy smile turned a bit wicked. "If we sneak someone in and put in their morning meal, they would most likely still split their forces before the poison began working. We wait until they are sick and then strike," she shrugged a little and then added, "If your lord and his men cannot defeat a weak enemy as such, well, there's only so much hand holding one his station should have. And if we're attacking these bandits for your large friend's vengeance," she added to the captain, "then why don't we make them suffer a bit for their trouble, yes?"

Laila, having said her piece, straightened in her chair slightly and softened the hard light caste about her kohl lined eyes. "My name is Laila," she said like she hadn't just been talking about poisoning men and then slaughtering them. Her right hand moved up to her heart and she nodded her head at the lot before her, though it seemed more like an inbred, compulsive cultural norm than a sincere gesture. "And I am an unguilded rogue."

[User]
I looked back and fourth between my fellow mercenaries and are employers. Watching them discuss strategy and our objective. Charging head on or weakening their forces from within, such talk wasn't on my mind, I had other things to ask. "Thats all well and good, but I think ill be the first to address the more important topic. Should we succeed exactly how much will each of us be paid?" I sat up from a relaxed position as I spoke, glancing at my soon-be comrades before continuing.

"forgive me if I'm being a bit blunt or greedy, but I made a promise to a good friend of mine. And I'm not about to risk my hide if the pay is cheap. I expect that we will be paid handsomely for such a dangerous task. Dont get me wrong I like the idea of sharing extra loot and being rewarded with what we kill, but if the loot there is rubbish and your bounties for each head is as cheap as dirt that isnt really exciting." I paused a bit to remove my helmet. "My name is Fafnir Sigurd, and I hope that it will be a pleasure serving with you lot."

[Assistant]
Nuva Doer listened as a number of other ploys were described. In particular, the idea suggested by the human Laila was one that seemed to increase their chances of success without overwriting most other plans save the first, since it relied on the poisoning of the bandits' morning meal. It sounded like the Captain wasn't necessarily enthralled with the idea of a night assault anyway... so, it came down to his opinion on whether or not to split the group. After Fafnir's display of interest in payment, Nuva chose to spoke again.

"I maintain my opinion on which strategy would be best to handle these bandits," he stated, "but considering the numbers, any assistance we can get in terms of weakening the bandits would be appreciable. If nothing else, it'd slow them down, and make tracking any who escape an initial fight against the lord and his retinue easier, which of course both make Jex's job far easier.

"As for payment," he continued, staring over at Fafnir, "recall that if this plan and the subsequent ogre hunting goes as intended, we are practically guaranteed a position in the area as a certified guild, rather than merely a group of bounty hunters. One presumes payment would therefore be in-built for this job, Sigurd."


[System]
Party Roster
Hundred Kira - @Tenish the Mighty - Docking Bay Control Room - Active
Sevyn Spades - @TTwoThumbsUp - Docking Bay Control Room - Inactive
Marga - @Bonjour xx - Docking Bay Control Room - Active
Farvis Kren - @TheUnknowable - Docking Bay Access Corridor - Inactive
Mez - @Kalas - Docking Bay Access Corridor - Inactive
Simon Brewer - @DJAtomika - Docking Bay Control Room - Active
James "JR" Rourke - @TheMadAsshatter - Retired

Red hatched areas are currently exposed to space and inaccessible for characters not in full EVA gear.

Character Sheet
Race: Species or sub-species. No defined limits here so feel free to pick any species appearing in popular culture or just make up your own. If your race has any special inherent abilities please be sure to list them below.

Appearance: A basic description of the character's overall appearance and common attire, or a photo reference if possible.

Personality: Simple psychological profile for your character, giving details of their main motivations and outlook on life.

Skills: An outline of the training and abilities of the character. These come in five levels of proficiency: Amateur, Proficient, Experienced, Skilled, Expert. I'd recommend limiting the character to a maximum of five skills with two class or profession skills, two general skills and one combat skill. For example a Mechanic might have Expert Engineering and Expert Mechanics as class skills, Skilled Driver and Experienced Salesman as general skills and Proficient Brawler as a combat skill.

Non-standard Abilities: This section is for unique abilities for the character's species, as well as any personal abilities they may have. I'd recommend an absolute maximum of three of these, but would counsel for only one or two in most cases.

Equipment: Here you should give details of the main pieces of equipment the character usually carries with them when going on a high-risk mission. I'd recommend taking one or two weapons, at least one piece of class or profession-specific equipment, a set of armour or protective clothing, some form of communications gear and any utility or survival gear you feel would be appropriate.

Bio: A brief (two or three paragraph) history of the character detailing where they're from, their current life circumstances and their reason for being included on the mission.

Quote: An example of something the character is likely to say, giving an insight into their personality and general life attitude.

[User]
"There's a lever inside the airlock, on the upper left side of the outer hatch. Yank it down and the umbilical will deploy. You can fine tune it using the monitor just below the lever and the controls beside it. Won't be needing a perfect lock, just one good enough to hold pressure until you get the party aboard." @SimplyJohn

"Perfect." Mez replied. He moved to spring into action but the droids' change of movement caught his eye. "Looks like time's about to run out." He stated before moving back into rear bay. Quickly scouring the ship, his eyes fell on a equipment locker towards the end of the bay. He'd need a comm-link headset to be able to communicate with the Gygan outside. Mez crossed the bay in less that five strides and wrenched open the locker door. The following smirk on his face meant he'd found what he was looking for; a powerful shortwave comm-link headset. All he needed now was to cannibalize it for the transmitter and insert it into one of the many sub-ports of his Direct Neural Interface. He could use his body to amplify the transmission range and communicate with Hundred.

Before he'd finished thinking of what he wanted to do, Mez was already walking towards the airlock, the transmitter was now sending out radio waves at 200% more power which allowed the waves to be able to cut through space. "Hundred, do you copy? Come in, Hundred. I am going to release the shuttle's umbilical early using the manual override. I need you to ensure a positive lock on with the Lone Star, nothing perfect but enough to pressurize the walkway. We have less than 5 minutes ETA on an asteroid shower which'll mean mission failure if we don't do this now."

Mez punched the control panel of the airlock, pressurizing the small room. It took a few seconds but far longer than it needed. Once he was inside, he followed the Pilot's direction. True to his word, the lever was there. Mez pulled it which activated a series of loud clunks and a hissing sound. 'The umbilical must be moving.' He quickly turned his gaze to the monitor and keyed in a few simple commands via the control pad. Like everything else on board the shuttle, the computer systems proved rudimentary. So Mez only had to alter a few sub-routines in order to exact the optimum speed efficiency for the extending walkway.

[Assistant]
Hundred's frown had never left. It certainly didn't change when the ships macrobot accompaniment swarmed out of the arresting airlock. With a thought she impelled the Dust further into the airlocks mechanisms. Ah. There was the problem. She should have checked first. Her comm crackled. She snarled at the pilots castigation. He was right to berate her. She had not performed as she had tacitly implied.

Hundred took a moment in the flurry of activity around her person. She examined the Star bots' movement patterns. They may have been upkeep drones, trapped in a process loop, unable to perform their scheduled maintenance due to the faulty door mechanism. No, not faulty, sabotaged. The bots surrounded her, the emitters on their cutting lasers adjusting. Her frown deepened even further. Hostile then. She was more interested in the one maneuvering over to her micro-channel. They had the wherewithal to target her Dust. Curious. Her comm was filled with the beam of another of her mission mates. The Visipian. Hundred did not like the Visipians. The Consortium did not like them either, but she didn't see that as much of a point in their favor. They were dogmatic, fascistic, too much like the Consortium for comfort. But their methods were barbarous. Conquest. War. Wasteful. But most damning of all, they possessed technologies that Gyges had yet to replicate. Divine Energy. A superstitious designation. A weak grip upon the fire whose secrets they alone had discovered. But he had given her a gift. A goal. Redemption. Five minutes.

"It will be done in one." Hundred raised her arms, fingers flickering tactile commands. Dust around her compacted and formed, layer upon layer of tightly packed Fullerenes wrapped around each other, growing, hardening, sharpening. From Dust to dagger, little black spikes of graphene, bristling around her in a satellite sphere. She looked around herself at the busy little bots. So large, so few, so primitive. Her hand waved dismissively. Her teeth bared. It was almost a smile. Punching into the closest hostile robots, the spikes split upon intentional faults, fragmenting into flechettes, shredding the interiors of the bots trying to unseat her footing. Striding forwards a second wave of spikes formed to deal with the rest of the offensive constructs. She flexed her right hand, just above her open palm another longer, leaner blade began to form the constructing edge of it's black blade radiating a sharp golden glow. She stepped over the half-melted lip of the plating she was standing on, moving back towards the airlock. Her other hand waved dismissively again, the second set of spikes shot forth to enforce her lethal contempt for the machines that had lost her face.

It would be done in the next 47 seconds. She was keeping count.

[User]
The moment the tiny little bots began firing their lasers, Sevyn fired into the swarm, jumping from target to target. She felt the shuttle beneath her inching every slowly forward as it clumsily tried to align itself with the open airlock. She considered the idea of throwing one of her EMP grenades into the two meter hole, a relatively easy target, but deemed it too risky once the shuttle started extending its umbilical tube.

Once the tube started moving, Sevyn moved herself to its lip, still firing at the droids as the silent thump, thump, thump of her magnetic boots causing a dull reverb throughout the umbilical.

Meanwhile Jemini tried to make herself useful by calculating the trajectory of the tube and sending the necessary minor adjustments needed to align it with the Lone Star to the shuttle pilot while she took shots at the stationary droids. She chirped and whirred angrily, even beeping once to express her extreme displeasure at having to work with the current shuttle pilot, though the droid couldn't place a value on either Sevyn's or the less-than-adequate shuttle pilot's maneuvering, seeing as how both were equally annoying.

Sevyn was edging out on top though, considering she was standing at the lip of tube, ready to snap herself into the tube right before it would attach to the Lone Star instead of staying outside of taking care of all the bots all because of her stupid desire to be the first inside the derelict dreadnought.

But then again, why else would she have teamed up with a bunch of ruffians if the rest couldn't handle themselves in a little scrap.

[Assistant]
JR was no less anxious to get on the Star, but the rate at which people seemed to be stepping out was both impressive and astonishing. Aside from the Gygan, it didn't really make much sense for anyone to be going for the ship without having been docked, but at least it made for some entertainment. At least until it seemed as though things were... well, going. He definitely began to get an apprehensive feeling about boarding the ship, though it made him all the more anxious to get onboard and find out why. There was definitely something about that ship.

He stood himself up at the mention of them docking with the dreadnought, knowing that it wouldn't take much longer now. He was more than ready to board, though he couldn't help but be distracted by two of his apparent crewmates' bickering. The two of them were either going at each others throats, or organizing their next romantic getaway, or both. It was definitely hard to tell, and he was sure plenty of sarcasm was flying through the shuttle. He couldn't help but chuckle at some of their remarks.

The window through the airlock showed their point of entry, a few hundred meters away at this point. The movements of the shuttle were jarring at points, but JR bore through it. It definitely wouldn't be the first time. "Well then, who's ready to party?" he asked, eyes still fixed on the Lone Star's airlock.

[User]
"Watch out, we're incoming!" Felix screamed into the radio as the shuttle drew closer to the dreadnought, its thruster fire swelling across the ancient plating, burning away a few of the scurrying droids as they finished cutting into the hull plating. They seemed unconcerned with their dwindling numbers as both Sevyn and Hundred targeted their colleagues, instead setting into the damaged innards of the ship's docking mechanism with a single-minded devotion. The spinning hull fragment spun off into the cold darkness of space, drifting passed the shuttle's viewports with an almost serene grace.

A groaning shriek of twisting metal echoed inside the shuttle's compartments as the umbilical made contact with the Lone Star's hull, scraping a couple of inches before the magnetic clamps managed to lock into place on the ancient plating. The placement wasn't ideal with the maintenance hatch a little off-centre, but it was a good solid lock which would be more than sufficient for the party to board.

"You guys had better be going," Felix called through the 'com as his fingers danced a grim fandango across the thruster controls. "That asteroid belt's coming up fast."

[Assistant]
"T minus one minute and closing!"

That was the last thing that escaped Simon's mouth before several tons of space-grade steel plowed straight into the Star's hull. The screech was ear splitting, but after all was done, the umbilical was locked firmly in place by the magnetic clamps. Felix had done his job, now it was time for them to do theirs. Simon stood, unclipped a slightly bent piece of plas-steel from his chest plate and bolted it into place on the back of his neck guard. The folded piece of equipment powered up and unfolded with a rhythmic whirring and clicking, extending itself up over his head and around his ears, the helmet slowly forming itself in place. The last thing to form itself was the faceplate, which he left up while he excited the cockpit, not without giving Felix a pat on the shoulder.

"Good job Felix, thank you. We'll take it from here, you busy yourself with getting out of the way of those rocks."

Without waiting for anyone else he booked it from the cockpit, grabbing his rifle from the bench as he strode towards the shuttle's airlock. He pushed his way ("excuse me sorry") past the Visipian, Mez, and tapped the airlock control. He turned back to the remaining crew still within the ship, a grimace on his face.

"Colleagues, we have to leave, now."

He nodded his head and his faceplate slid down and snapped into place, the viewports of the stark white helmet lighting up in a crimson red cross.

"Otherwise we all perish."

[User] The shuttle airlock quickly cycled open. With the sealed unbilical on the far side the system knew not to waste time decompressing the chamber and Simon found himself looking down the passage towards where Sevyn waited for him.


[System]
The Shining Hoplite

Background: Iolanthe's upbringing was a simple one, she was born in Athens, to a silk weaver of a mother, and a father who was an archer in the city state's army. War was commonplace in Greece, and engulfed much of the young girl's life. Even though Greece was solidified as a country before Iolanthe's time, frequent disputes between Athens, and its neighboring city states, such as Sparta, and Corinth, hardened the girl's outlook on life. At age nine, she lost her father, who died in battle during the Achaean-Roman wars, which ultimately resulted in a loss for Greece. During this time, Iolanthe was young, but she was much unlike the girls her age, many of which sought after boys, or tried their hands in the trades; perhaps it was because her father was Spartan, the desire to do battle ran deep in her blood, and vengeance was lustfully sought after. Young Iolanthe played stick fighting with the boys, and came home with many a bruise at the end of each day. Deeper in to the war, at age ten, Iolanthe realized she had a power unlike any other, the ability to see things that nobody else could, with a precision to mock the gods, she was blessed, and joined the Greek army as a scout. Iolanthe's teen years involved practicing swordplay with the local militia, who adored her spunk, and manning the country's beacon outposts, where she could properly utilize her vision.

Perhaps if Iolanthe was older, she might have been better able to help her country fend off the Romans. Word reached Athens of Corinth's fall, only years after the unity of Greek city states. She wanted to join in the army's march, but was not allowed, luckily, for they were defeated in battle. When the superpower that was Rome finally pushed onwards to Athens, there little the city could do. Iolanthe's teenage years were spent during Rome's domination of Greece.

At age twenty, Iolanthe's vengeful mind was mostly quelled, for life with the Romans wasn't so bad, love for the gods was shared across the empire, and there was little more than a language gap. Eventually, Iolanthe went on to become a priestess to the stars, assuming a religious life might quell her inner rage. She observed the stars, and marked many points on astrological charts, but years passed by in boredom, and she eventually fell in with old allies that fled the Corinthian war. The complete annihilation of Corinth caused enough backlash to give reason to the Greeks, to create a secret rebellion, of which Iolanthe joined, and fought back against the Romans.

During Iolanthe's third battle against the romans, she was met by a powerful adversary on the battlefield. She proved herself invaluable in battle, many a legionnaire flinched before her skill with the spear and aspis, however the Romans had a secret weapon, a man with a magic voice, who invoked this power upon the hoplites of Rome. Using his voice, he cursed and brainwashed the Greeks to serve Rome, and Iolanthe became the man's prize and joy. She was directly integrated in to the royal Legion, and her meddle was tested against the many artifacts seized by Rome - that is when they discovered the truth, she was Hyperion's champion.

Personality: Honour and virtue above all other things, Iolanthe's pride and pursuit of glory often compel and motivate her actions. In battle, she is tempered, but extremely analytic, her eyes of course being blessed by the divines. With ease, she can determine the motives of an individual simply by observing their physical gestures, making her seem very wise. Quick thinking has saved this hoplite more often than anything else, she is intelligent enough to convince hardened warriors of her usefulness, even in an age dominated by men.

Appearance:
Beneath her helmet, Iolanthe is a beautiful woman, with rosy cheeks & lips, her eyes are a dark brown, just slightly darker than her long chestnut coloured hair. Her complexion is often marred by dirt, sweat, or bruises from battle, and her thin nose tilts slightly to her left. Standing upright, without shoes, Iolanthe is five feet, and ten inches tall. She is musclebound, with very large thighs and calves, and oddly squarish shoulders. She has smaller than average sized breasts, and a wide hip ratio.

Equipment:
↳ Hyperion: The legendary sword-lance, named after a titan god who fathered the sun, moon, and dawn; its blade is six feet long, its handle two, with a bladed hilt on the back end. This weapon's shape and form changes depending on the time of day, and it is otherwise the most indestructible item in Iolanthe's armour. When the sun is high, the lance glows a bright gold, harmful to the naked eye if stared at for too long, in this state, the lance's blade becomes superheated, allowing it to melt through metals given enough time and force. Unlike most lances, Hyperion's spearhead is flat, and sharpened to act as both a slashing and piercing weapon. When the cowl of night looms overhead, Hyperion's Selenic form awakens, and it loses its glow, turning ice cold and invisible. At dawn, or dusk is when Hyperion is most deadly in battle, in its Eon form, the spear becomes ethereal; at dawn, it glows brightly, and burns whatever it passes through, at dusk, the reverse effect, anything struck by the incorporeal blade will be frozen.

↳ Aspis & Hoplon: Iolanthe sports two shields at all times, and incorporates them in a very defensive fighting style. The first, an Aspis of two feet in diameter is attached to her right shoulder, with room bored out of the top side so that it does not interfere with her head-space. The second shield, a larger three-foot hoplon, is often brandished on her left forearm, and attached tightly so that it does not fall off in battle - her hand is mostly free, however still hidden behind the shield, she has practice in wielding her gladius behind the shield's dome. Both shields are made of steel, and gilded with bronze, the larger of the two weighs about fifteen pounds, whilst the pouldron is just over half of that.

↳ Gladius: Two short swords are equipped to Iolanthe's hip, one on each side. The swords are made of steel.

↳ Panoply: A full set of armour, comprising of both Greek and Roman crafts. A signature muscle cuirass, uniquely crafted for her, allowing room for her breasts, unlike most Greek armours which are made for men. A Legionnaire's helmet, signifying her service to the Roman legion. Bracers equipped to both her wrists, and shins. A metal plated skirt protects much of her legs and waist. Iolanthe wears no smaller pauldrons, nor any plates for her joints, so her movements aren't that hindered.

↳ Cloak: A crimson red cloak is fastened to rings attached to the back plating of Iolanthe's armour. Fully aware that getting clothing stuck in battle can become a fatal mistake, the cloak is detachable if tugged on hard enough, or she may unhinge the rings with the hilt of her spear.

Abilities:
↳ Hyperion's Blessing: Like most Greek gods, Hyperion has a favored champion, Iolanthe, his blessing upon her is the power to brandish his legendary spear without being burnt or frozen.

↳ First Principle: Iolanthe's eyes were blessed at birth, and throughout her life, she realized her true power was not a martial art, nor in the trades or crafts, but a scholarly prowess. Her observational skills are beyond human, proven so during her city state's war against Rome, where Iolanthe was able to spot the Roman army on the horizon, and calculate exactly how many men marched, as well as exactly what kind of weapons and siege engines they brought to the battlefield. Her visual prowess goes even beyond distance, fog, smoke, and darkness only vaguely disrupt her line of sight, she is capable of staring at the sun without burning her eyes, and her mind is exceptionally quick to react to anything she perceives as an immediate threat.

↳ Physicality: Unlike many other champions, Iolanthe lacks the upper body strength to push boulders, or wrestle minotaurs, however she does have her qualities. Her thigh and calve muscles are immense, and she is fully capable of enduring powerful impact attacks, if she blocks them with her shield, and channels the kinetic energy through her legs. It is difficult for even the strongest of champions to break Iolanthe's brace, due to the sheer power of her lower body. Her dashing speed is formidable, however the weight of her armour is cumbersome, she is well known for her short dashes, which add tremendous force to lance thrusts.

[User]
Gonad jogged into view, all hot and sweaty. He slid to a stop at the food, looking over the meager fare with a merry eye before selecting a pot of wine. The large man chugged it down with relish, and then filled the empty pot up with the rest of the food. First dibs and all. He did leave a consolation prize though, as it was customary in his village to honor food givers by bequeathing unto them the honorable remnants of meals past. Before leaving the stone table to go do some stretches, he'd have climbed upon it and dropped his tassets, squatting. His rippling thigh muscles tensed...

Thick ropes of firm doodoo snaked from his arse, coiling into a steaming, bespeckled hillock. The pile grew higher and higher, truly a gratuitous offering. Gonad's face grew red, a single purple vein bulging from his forehead as he strained. A fat, egg shaped wallet of dung dropped upon the poo mound like a greased cherry atop a warm chocolate sunday. One by one, several smaller, more compact turdlets fell from the heaving hindquarters of the warrior, tumbling down the grand slopes of shit mountain.

The barbarian knew now that the hardest part had yet to come. He gritted his teeth, tendons in his neck throbbing. A sputtering fusillade of shart shrapnel blasted from his buttocks, the poopy potshots dousing the table and ground like paint cast from a wet brush. The barbarian's teeth chattered now, lips pulled back in a grimace of effort as a single, massive log emerged in slow motion to the ode of Also Sprach Zarathustra.
This elongated monkey-missile descended from on high, crushing into the corn populated caca castle, heralded by a resounding fanfare played from a lone but thunderous tushie trumpet.

His business finished, Gonad hiked up his drawers and hopped off the table to go warm up for the battles to come.

[Assistant]
D'Angelo leaned up against one of the statues of an angel, his cowl pulled up and cloak wrapped around him as he stared ahead onto the path and then the many paths that it would become. There was no way to know exactly where each path would lead, it was a crap shoot. As far as he could discern one path was as good as the next. He clicked his tongue against his teeth and waited patiently, occasionally a gloved hand would appear and he would tear off a piece of dried meat or take a swig of water.

He was content to wait in relative peace, enjoying the calm before the storm as it were. Yet, something always had to ruin the moment, something always went wrong. It was so when D'Angelo heard someone step up on one of tables and take care of business. He had only meant to look over his shoulder and see what the commotion was, yet when his dark eyes came upon the horrendous act that Gonad was committing he simply couldn't look away.

"You are a disgusting Neanderthal." He said plainly and loud enough to be heard. Truthfully, D'Angelo didn't have the words to express the level of disrespect and complete idiocy he just witnessed, he could only give a stern look of a disapproval and then shake his head. He hoped that one died first.

[User]
A fire pit and pitched tent completed a small camp-out at the base of the apocalyptic mountain, here is where Iolanthe waited out the final days before the climb. It was when the wind and earth stirred, and the monks became every frantic, that one could assume the paths opened up once again. The hike would be a perilous one, Iolanthe knew well of the stories of old, but the rewards far outweighed the dangers. What was it with the gods, and mountains? Was Olympus not a grand enough bastion on Earth's soil, did the archangels have to create their own mountain, with the flesh of the fallen? One gaze upward, the peak was perhaps one of the only things beyond Iolanthe's view, hidden behind cloud cover.

Covered in a red cloak, and huddling over the warmth of a fire, Iolanthe waited till dawn to arrive, whilst surveying the path leading up to the first temple. From her position came an advantage, she was able to scout out the other competitors from a slant over the ridge. Blessed were her eyes, for few things escaped their criticism. Two champions already made their way towards the shrine, and perhaps did not notice Iolanthe's camp in time to figure out her motives. Insight was important to the hoplite maiden, and knowing what manner of warriors competed against her could give her the edge towards victory. Neither champions that arrived so far wore much armour, which explained how they came so quickly. Their weapons, or lack thereof in the case of the tanned warrior, were quickly noted, as it would go for anyone who arrived late to the tournament puppeted by the gods. Iolanthe feasted upon a slab of salted pork, whilst remaining unmoved, she was still a remarkable scout after all, and she wanted to know just what she was going up against.

Luckily, the display of a certain barbarian would go unwitnessed by Iolanthe, though that didn't mean she couldn't gauge his vulgarity at first glance. An aura of flies seemed to follow him, signaling either a lack of hygiene, or a defense mechanism similar to the forest foxes, who bathed in their own excrete hoping the smell would ward away predators. Iolanthe prayed to Hyperion, begged and sought to persuade that he would not find amusement in matching her against barbarians that did not share her honourable combat etiquette.

As time passed by, Iolanthe might grow bored of waiting, and eventually return to the narrow path behind her, which she knew would lead to her first challenge. May it be man or monster, she came equipped for battle against either.