Shara heard the commotion at first and ignored it, her attention was only drawn when she saw Kirk’s mouth start to gape. She turned her head to see something begin to claw from the ground. She felt her kitten climbing down her back and into her sack. She reacted on instinct alone, taking her bow from her back and notching an arrow. She’d never seen anything like these hounds before, their flesh gracked, exposed area’s of flesh dripping a thick fluid, their mouths seemed to large for their head, but the eye’s caught her, a white steam lisped out of the sockets, evaporating on the air, behind the sockets where what she guesed to be some kind of sensor. People began to panic, rising and running to the doors, only to be stopped by robed figures , they pounded at thin air a meer foot away from the hooded figures, as if an wall stood in their way. In the corner of her eye, she saw the dancing girl brandish a blade of some kind, taking on one of the creatures, she slashed at it as she dived to the side, injuring it. It howled, the sound seemed to be composed of screaming... of pain, but with clear intent for rage. It brandished it’s claws at the girl pulling back to strike. Shara let loose the first arrow, the bolt struck it raised claw, pinning it too its head. It screamed again, she drew and fired another, this one pinning one of its hind legs to the ground. “Shara!” Shara saw a blair of motion as Kirk jumped over the bar, he collided with something, falling to the ground. She slung the bow around her near, drawing her short sword. Kirk thought with the beast, but before she could get close enough, the creatures mouth opened, far to wide, she charged as its mouth drew around his head, seeing his body grow limp suddenly, then she was with it. Her sword lunge sunk into the creatures chest, she drew out as quickly as she could as the beast let go of Kirk limp form, it bandished its mouth for her, jumping into the air, she swiped, the creature landing on the floor beside her, as it scrambled to get up, before it was able to, she plunged the sword through its head, feeling satisfaction at the crunch of the bone. She drew her bow once more, not bothering to look to see what had happened to the other hound, this time pulling one of her few dwarfen arrows, she pulled, aiming at one of the robed figured. “Bleah” Light eradiated from the runes crossing the arrow head, lighting the dimly lit tavern. She saw the robed figures falter slightly from its glow. She released. The arrow flew true, striking one of the robed figures square in the chest, there was a massive explosion of energy’s, the figure she’d struck was flung against the door frame, the wood buckled behind his impact, cracks spreading forth along the walls. He screamed as his body began to degrade from the arrow point. Shara was reaching for another when she was hit by a sudden force, she collided with the back of the bar. Bottles smashed, covering her in all manner of beverages. She lay still for a moment before getting back up, after making sure mr fluffs was ok.
Golful'gar skittered to a halt as several human guards appeared as quickly as the creatures, and pointed their rifles at him. "Hold it right there, you heathens!" Golful'gar could see more people being held at gun-point. There was a human girl, a blindfolded Elf, but more importantly, the Dwarf. "Wah you want?" He asked the guard distractedly, looking at their guns. Giants had a fear off firearms. He pointed to the mass of shrieking winged creatures trying to fly past the wreckage to attack, "Fight's ova ther, leave me alon!"
"Fight's ova ther, leave me alon! “Muffle Mouth is right,” Broggen added, “Are ye so daft as to not notice the terrors fillin' the skies?” Standing barely higher that the half-giants knee, Broggen never lowered his blades. These guard types were notoriously dim-witted. He eyed their weapons carefully. They were human made, nothing compared to the good dwarvish pistols he carried. But even so they far out numbered his own, not to mention the fact that one pistol was empty and the other had only three chambers left. The dwarf took a chance to glance at the others that had joined him. Of all people to survive, the cat-loving Shorty was there, as well as that female Shorty. There was also that Darky, Broggen was never fond of dark elves, but at the moment the guards seemed to be choosing sides for him so it mattered little. “Dalia dear, these are yer kinfolk. Now'd be a good time pipe-up, 'afore them flyin nightmares come back.”
The woman had pushed him off of her rather quickly, but it told him that she was still able to walk. He followed her without question as more explosions and gunfire filled his ear drums. He jumped down with her only to be greeted by several guards aiming their guns right at them. He quickly analyzed the situation, he was with the girl who looked like she could handle herself, a giant that he has only ever read about, and a dwarf. He looked at them in awe, the first time he had ever seen other races. "Fight's ova ther, leave me alon!" the Giant said. What a weird accent, he had read about it but never really heard it. “Dalia dear, these are yer kinfolk. Now'd be a good time pipe-up, 'afore them flyin nightmares come back.” The Dwarf spat, just as with the same grit as the Giant. He quickly snapped out of his euphoria back to the dangerous guards. Kilth looked at the girl, apparently she knew what to do. But if she didn't, Kilth had his left hand right over his small dagger. He calmed himself, and heard screeches. He hadn't really been looking up at the skies until know, he saw what looked like winged demons. He let out a gasp, "What the holy mother Terrafel are those!?" Kilth rarely cursed, he believed it to be a sign of weakness. But he felt weak at this moment, with armed guards threatening him and demons in the sky. Great first impression of Termir.
Airship Dock: Dalia raised her arms, surrendering to the guards. The events on the deck finally all came crashing down on her. She didn't know the exact significance of the shard, but was stupid to have ignored it two weeks before. She had to get to the Baron before those acolytes did - otherwise, she would have failed. But, given the current situation, that wasn't going to happen. She looked around for any way of escape, and then at the guard's faces, covered with visors from their uniform helmet. If she were alone, she would've been able to slip away, but there were others at stake. She didn't want innocent blood on her hands. "Fight's ova ther, leave me alon!" the giant shouted, pointing at the sky. “Muffle Mouth is right, are ye so daft as to not notice the terrors fillin' the skies?” "Shut your mouth, Dwarf!" one of the guards spat, turning his rifle from the giant to Broggen. “Dalia dear, these are yer kinfolk. Now'd be a good time pipe-up, 'afore them flyin nightmares come back.” A screech came from above, and the guards all looked up briefly for the source. This was it. "Now!" Dalia shouted, darting for the guard closest to her; Jaz did the same. She wrapped her left arm around the watchman's rifle while turning to elbow him on the side of the head. He let got of his weapon and staggered a little, but she brought him back and into a choke hold, the barrel of his own gun aimed straight at his head. Jaz had managed to do the same. Immediately, the rest of the guards spun around to focus their attention on these two. Dalia breathed heavily, analysing the situation further. She noticed the dwarf had pistols at his waist. "Draw now!" she shouted at Broggen, at which point one of the flying demons swooped down and impaled the guard standing closest to the dwarf, causing him to fire at his ally in Jaz's hold. Giant's Foot: An arrow fired from the half elf's bow struck one of the black-robed summoners, incinerating him on impact. At the same time, the hound Ilayda had slashed crumbled into black ash. The second summoner threw a tide of shadow energy at the half elf by the bar, knocking her into the bottles behind, while the one who had attempted to woo Ilayda snuck up behind her, drawing a long, coarsely edged sacrificial knife from his robes and holding it high above her back.
Taking advantage of the guards' distraction, Golful'gar swung his arm at the one in front of him, hitting him square in the chest with his palm. The man flew back, and Golful'gar turned, ready to fight the rest, only to find most had already been incapacitated. There was a loud screech as several creatures flew past the ruined ship and began attacking. "Mor'a dem birds!" Golful'gar said loudly, grabbing a passing one by the leg, and throwing it against the ground. It screamed, and tried to pull itself to it's feet lopsidedly. One of its wings had been broken. Golgul'gar grunted as more and more demons filled the air, targeting him, the tallest. He ducked the attacking birds, swinging his arms wildly. "Les go tu cova, 's too open hur!"
"Draw now!" the woman screamed as she took out the first guard. Broggen didn't hesitate a moment. In a flash his throwing axe was burried in the helmet of the nearest guard. He pulled his last good pistol with his free hand and dropped a second guard with a deafening boom from the short barrel. Once those two were down the dwarf dashed over to the first fallen soldeir and retrieved his tomahawk. Another guard went sailing past him and landed in a heap some distance away. From behind Broggen heard the might giant holler "Mor'a dem birds! Les go tu cova, 's too open hur.” The long-shanks was right. The guards were down and it was time to move. A dark creature suddenly swooped over Broggen, nearly slicing his goggles off his head. Broggun holstered his pistol and returned his battle axe to his hand. A second swooped low along the ground and made for the Dark-elf. In a swift sprint the dwarf intercepted. Broggen hooked the lower tip of his axe below the creature's neck as he jumped. Landing on the the other side of the low flying creature he gave a swift jerk that sent it flailing off coarse, tumbling past him. It trailed dark blood from its neck as it slid to a stop on the cobblestone courtyard. Had he known which way to go he would have just as likely left the others to fend for themselves, but as it was, he wasn't quite familiar enough with Termir to be sure of a quick exit. “Well didn't anybody hear the Oaf? Lets get a move on!” Broggen made sure to keep the half-giant nearby, not only was he a formidable ally, he also provided good cover from the circling death above.
“I’m not even going to be able to get a raspberry and honey Crepe because of you!” Her friend, recovering quickly from her momentary shock, charged outside his field into the fray, alongside the psychotic human. Clairc's jaw nearly dropped. Are they crazy? Who the hell are these women and where did they learn to fight like that? Do they really plan on killing demons with their blades? Clairc wasn't going to take his chances with the demons unless he had no other option, but he couldn't leave these people to die. The funny thing was he wasn't sure why. He didn't owe this city or its people anything - he was nothing more than a wretched half-elf after all. Perhaps it was some abstract moral principle his mother had instilled in him as a child, or perhaps a hope that they would one day accept him. It didn't matter, his mind was made up. He needed to get to his workshop. His workshop was located in the stone building right behind his stand. Looking back at the women he realized that if he was going to make a break for it, this would be his chance. As the bubble popped, showering the area with golden dust, Clairc broke out in a dead sprint for the doorway. Frantically flinging open his door, not bothering to close it behind himself, Clairc disappeared into the building. His shop would appear to be a total mess to a outsider, but to Clairc it was organized chaos. His scorched workbenches were covered with every assortment of clockwork part and tool man could find. Large stacks of books lined his walls, his entire wall space covered with blueprints and experimental runes. What he was looking for stood seven feet tall in the corner. It was time to put his latest invention to the test. A minuet later, Clairc stood outside, remote control in hand, engineer goggles shielding his eyes. “Good people and demons alike, thank you for visiting my shop! Let me introduce you to my latest creation!” He said theatrically motioning to his doorway as he pressed a series of buttons on his remote. Bending down to exit the building, a humanoid clockwork creation joined him at his side. “This is Model R3-56, my pride and joy!” R3-56 was a life-sized version of the toy robots he was selling out front. Made of a golden steel, its right arm was a large drill and its left arm was a giant pincher, R3-56 was created to protect his shop from would-be thieves and to assist Clairc with his work. Today it was going to serve and greater purpose – to protect the weak. Claric punched in few more commands into his remote.“R3-56,” Clairc bellowed extending his arm, pointing to a nearby demon, “ATTACK!” The robot began to moved forward at a fast walk, its metal gears grinding with every step, steam shooting out of every joint. One of the 'deranged dust bunny monsters' leaped at his creation, but was met in mid air by R3-56's drill, flinging blood caked pieces of flesh in every direction. The demon, or what was left of it, fell dead to the ground. “The mind is greater than the sword...” he whispered to himself.
Kilth watched as his fellow comrades swiftly took out the guards, "Too slow" he grunted to himself, he felt helpless. He rapidly sheathed his dagger and pulled out his bow from his back, only to hear a screech and see the Demons swiftly upon his party. He readied an arrow but he felt a strong wind pushing against him, he turned to see the Demon coming right for him. He tried to duck but then he saw an axe fly by and hit the creature right in the neck. Blood quickly began to pour out of the creature, Kilth looked over at the Dwarf. Knowing that if he gave too much praise he would seem weak, so he said, "Not bad" As he released an arrow at one of the creatures staring at him in the sky, it hit him in the right wing. He measured roughly where it would start to descend and he ran over to it, and took a strong grip of his arrow and tore it through the creatures wing. The creature crashed on the ground, where Kilth reacted quickly by standing over it with his foot on it's neck, "Pass from here, Go Demon!" as he shot an arrow in its head. “Well didn't anybody hear the Oaf? Lets get a move on!” the Dwarf screamed, staying near the Giant. Kilth darted in the direction toward his current allies, and almost took an embarrassing spill in some blood but managed to save it and make it look like a cool slide. He crouched next to the Giant and drew two arrows, he looked up at even more monsters. "Merciful Brotherhood, grant me the strength." He closed his eyes and prayed silently as he let his arrow release.
Claric punched in few more commands into his remote.“R3-56,” Clairc bellowed extending his arm, pointing to a nearby demon, “ATTACK!” The robot began to moved forward at a fast walk, its metal gears grinding with every step, steam shooting out of every joint. One of the 'deranged dust bunny monsters' leaped at his creation, but was met in mid air by R3-56's drill, flinging blood caked pieces of flesh in every direction. The demon, or what was left of it, fell dead to the ground. As the golden flecks graced the obstructive horizon and a brief moment of stunning silence, Noveen heard the spinning of cogs and rickety gears from behind the Crepe stand, coming more specifically from the direction of the shop that she had not yet had a chance to visit. The stand itself was flipped over like a bulwark and the delicious treats were thrown off, littering the ground like so many cigarette butts. It was a nightmare. She had trouble focusing on the enemies when a couple of drops of water were oh so very tantalizingly nagging her in the back of her mind. After she had unsheathed her daggers and yanked them from behind her back, warming to their touch, one of the beasts had looked away from her and her new human friend Bella. It had more interest in the half elf who was putting on a one man show of his gizmos complete with a demonstration. Noveen heard a couple of letters and numbers and the clockwork object was well on its way to drilling and clamping enemies to submission. She heard a drilling noise, followed by a wet plop. The demon that had chosen to leap at Noveen fell short only a few inches and had made contact with the runed barrier harshly but a moment before, falling to the ground with a soft thud. Noveen, her head down and her legs moving with as much grace as she could muster, hastily straddled the demon and began to hack at its throat and large mouth in separating motions. It wailed as the blades sunk quickly and with limited stoppage into its rounded torso and upper appendages. Its warm blood splattered her cheeks, hair and leather vest. In its desperation, it managed to get a brief hold on her arm and it felt like an anvil had fallen on it, pinning it in place. Noveen responded by thrusting her unpinned arm into its canyon of a mouth with so much rage she felt the point of the blade touch the paved floor below. She took a painful breath as she looked up to Clairc, Bella, and the killing machine that was R3-56 through blurry eyes. “How many are left?” She shouted. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears she did not know if she had even asked a question or not. “Is everyone okay?”
“How many are left?” She shouted. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears she did not know if she had even asked a question or not. “Is everyone okay?” “That was all of them and everyone is fine,” Clairc said softly, stepping over the pulverized corps, “Well, besides the demons that is.” He walked over and knelt down next to the wounded female, lifting his engineer goggles onto his forehead. “Here, let me have a look at your arm.” The bite on her arm didn't look very deep, but Clairc didn't know what to expect. He had never dealt with a demon's bite before. Though he didn't show it, Clairc was excited to meet this woman. He didn't know what it was about this human that interested him. Maybe it was the pained look in her eyes when she was sitting on the crate. “I have some winters root in the shop if you need something to dull the pain. My name is Clairc by the way.”
“I have some winters root in the shop if you need something to dull the pain. My name is Clairc by the way.” “Oh, no, don’t mind it. It is really not as bad as it looks,” The wound began to fester and bubble, leaving a sticky, tarry residue that stretched across the length of her forearm stopping just above the wrist. It still felt tight and flattened beneath a heavy burden. She shook it as if it was asleep and it began to diminish to the point where it was tolerable. She did not let her pain show, especially in front of someone she did not know. She clenched her teeth. She looked from her forearm to the half-elf’s ears and then back to his face quickly. It was strikingly handsome with eyes that were shaded with the colors of a warm, placid forest resting beneath an evening sun. His hair, cut and kempt, but obstructed by a pair of goggles, was a sandy color that reminded her of the warmer regions of Terrafel. She saw runes streaked across his arms and for some reason she felt that they emitted comfort and security from his body to hers. Noveen blushed as she held out her unwounded hand as if to make an acquaintance. “I’m Noveen Baptise, and I could really use some water and a cigarette. Got any contraptions that could fetch them for me in that fancy shop of yours?” She asked with the biggest smile that ever crossed her face, her hand floating and waiting to be shaken.
She asked with the biggest smile that ever crossed her face, her hand floating and waiting to be shaken. Clairc laughed. He wasn't sure how to handle this. These humans have been treating him like he was their equal and the smile on Noveen's face nearly took his breath away. What was it about her? He clasped her hand, accepting the hand shake. “I would send R3-56 inside but I'm afraid he still needs some more work before I can trust him enough to do tasks on his own. He would probably destroy every glass I own before he was finished.” Accepting the handshake seemed polite at first, but he suddenly started feeling very uncomfortable. Letting his hand fall away, he looked for any excuse he could to advert his gaze. He stood up and turned to the other human. “Sorry about the wait. How may I help you?” He said with a hint of sarcasm.
Gunshots went off and Dalia hid behind the guard she was holding, using him as a shield and dropping her rifle in the meantime. A spray of blood hit her in the face and she closed her eyes. When she wiped it off and looked back at the scene the guards were all dead. Not exactly what she had in mind, but it would do. "Les go tu cova, 's too open hur!" The danger still loomed overhead, as the creatures circled around them, swooping in and out every now and then, waiting for someone to show weakness or lack of attentiveness. The dark elf secured the area by shooting arrows into the sky, making the flock break up for a while. That bought them some time, but they did have to get to cover indeed. However, Dalia also had to locate the Baron. She looked around at her newly found allies. They could be of considerable use. Maybe if she lead them with her… It's not like any of them really knew much about Termir in the first place anyway - other than Jaz, and he wouldn't object to anything she said. “Well didn't anybody hear the Oaf? Lets get a move on!” the dwarf reminded them. Dalia nodded, "Follow me!" and she started to run up the cobblestone walkway, toward the only place she thought those of highest nobility would be at a time like this - Crown Square.
“Hell yeah!” Bella yelled in a pure mixture of rage and joy as one of the demons was splattered over the street with the drill of a giant Mr. Robot. Oh, it felt GOOD to slice something up. Sure, Bella got to spare a lot, and had been hunting before, but never actually killed someone or killed in a fit of rage. It felt so good! Slaughtering the cause of her rage. It’d be different if they weren’t murderous demons of course; she wasn’t one to kill someone who simply angers her. She wasn’t insane. The fluff ball dust bunnies were dispatched fairly quickly, although Noveen was injured. Thankfully, the shop owner had some knowledge of first-aid; which was good, because Bella didn’t even know how to wrap a bandage. There was always an assistant or nurse nearby if Bella got a scratch sparring, so she never learned. While the shop owner, Claric was his name, attended to Noveen, Bella took notice of her surrounding in more detail. The Summer Festival had been reversed totally. Black smog replaced the sunshine, screams replaced cheers, explosions replaced firecrackers, screaming demons replaced cheering children. Termir was Bella’s home. She had lived here all her life. And now the city was burning. Her home, her shop, everything, her entire way of life; she might have to leave it all. Maybe she’d be able to come back, but right now, she had to escape the city. “Sorry about the wait. How may I help you?” Said Claric, who apparently had completely forgotten that the city was burning and people were being devoured by giant dust bunnies. Probably due to being too fascinated with Noveen’s bosom... Bella liked Noveen, and appreciated Claric's help, but really now... “You could start by focusing on the situation at hand,” the entire street seemed to shake as a small airship crashed into a building across the street and burst into flames with a small explosion, showering the street with rock and debris. “We need to get out of here. Oh! But where’s Masamune gone?” For the first time all day, Bella became truly worried, turning and scanning the street. “Mmreowe!” Masamune came running down the street towards Bella giving a muffled meow due to the sweet crepe he held in his mouth. “Oh, Masa!” Bella crouched down to pick up the kitten and give him a quick kiss on the head. “You’re just the sweetest thing aren’t you? The crepe will have to wait though, and I’m afraid I can’t carry you right now, so follow close behind, alright?” Surely the kitten knew no English, but it seemed to acknowledge what she said all the same. “Alright, we let’s get out of here.” Bella said to Noveen and the shop owner (he looked more like a shop owner than a Claric) as she set Masamune back down and cut a long tear down both sides of her dress, revealing long and lean white legs. “Come on!” Bella shouted as she began dashing down the ruined street, Masamune the crepe carrying kitten following at her heels. Just as Bella was reached the end of the street, which was just a short distance from the clockwork shop, she spotted another group of people, also carrying weapons, running down the street apparently coming from the airship docks, which had apparently just blown up or caught fire or something similarly spectacularly explosive. “Hey! You all there! Hold up!”
“Come on!” Bella shouted as she began dashing down the ruined street, Masamune the crepe carrying kitten following at her heels. Clairc shrugged, not sure that she understood his sarcasm. He wasn't sure what made him decide to follow her, but no matter how far Claric traveled in life, he would always look back at that moment as the moment his life changed. He took one step, and then another, and before he knew it he was chasing after that half-cracked woman, beckoning Noveen to follow.
Clairc shrugged, not sure that she understood his sarcasm. He wasn't sure what made him decide to follow her, but no matter how far Claric traveled in life, he would always look back at that moment as the moment his life changed. He took one step, and then another, and before he knew it he was chasing after that half-cracked woman, beckoning Noveen to follow. Noveen wasted no time shaking off her wounded arm once more. She stumbled and barely managed to retain her footing. She noticed that Claric’s eyes, which had at first looked as a knot of slumbering pines, had turned into a fiery blend of jade and emerald. When he looked back at her, beckoning her to follow him as he trailed the tall pretty lady, who at first glance, appeared to be her own opposite, she saw something in his eyes and she believed she knew was it was. Understanding. Appreciation. Change. She held her dirks tightly in her hands and jogged after the pair as they made their way to the end of the street. For a moment she questioned if she would rather be sitting on her crate smoking Steelweed or playing a game of 5-finger fillet. No. She wouldn’t exchange adrenaline for anything in the world. “Bella, Bella, Bella,” she muttered under her breath.
“Well didn't anybody hear the Oaf? Lets get a move on!” The Dwarf shouted. Golful'gar glared at the Dwarf, as he moved closer to him. "Oaf!" He said angrily, "Ya sodden shrew, I ain't tho wit'yu yet." He would have struck the horrible little Dwarf, but he was distracted by a call from the human girl. "Follow me!" She said, and began running down a walkway to where many houses stood. That was Good enough cover for Golful'gar. Letting out a deep "Harumph" to the Dwarf, he began lumbering quickly after the girl.
Arrows came out from nowhere, hitting the hound and buying Ilayda the time to move out of the immediate harms way. She looked around in time to see the woman who had just saved her life shooting a shining arrow. “Bleah” With piercing accuracy, the arrow hit one of the summoners in the chest, causing him to burst into short lived flames. Seconds later the furious and wounded hound that would have surely killed Ilayda only moments ago, burst into a billowing cloud of black ash. Ilayda's eyes flicked to the other summoner right as he shot a blast of energy at the other woman. Perhaps.... It was then that Ilayda realized the summoner who had tried to buy her a drink was nowhere to be found. Cold fear trickled down her back, and she spun around in time to see the summoner behind her, bring down a cruel sacrificial knife. However she wasn't fast enough to avoid the blade. As she spun she could feel the serrated edge, sliding across her back, leaving a line of fiery pain and the sickly, spreading warmth of blood. Pulling her dagger she plunged it into his arm, forcing his knife away from her skin. The wound on her back screamed in protest, but she gritted her teeth and forced herself to hold her postion. If he stabbed her again she didn't know if she could hold on, already her loss of blood was making her feel a bit dizzy. Without warned she plunged her hand into her sash, and in one swift fluid motion, drove the dagger she pulled from it into the summoners stomach. "I've given it some thought, and I'd rather you didn't buy me a drink." She hissed at him as he stumbled back. Ilayda began backing up quickly, trying to put some distance between herself and the wounded, hopefully dying, summoner. Her clumy footsteps soon hit a chair leg, sending her flying backwards. The large wound on her bag screamed in agony as it hit the floor, and tears sprung to her eyes as she lay there, unable to get up.
After a short period of fiddling, Eenzthk produced a small canister of sage scented tea. Two simple cups sat atop the table and he poured. He muttered a word of Skittari, made a few flicks of his wrist and spat in each cup. Drink. A look of disgust fell upon Barlowe's face. "I'm not..I'm not drinking your spit you vermin...and get the hell out of my head!" The drunkard rose to his feet, lifted his fist to the air, and swung. A series of chitters occured seconds before the fist made contact. Barlowe cursed in pain, his hand thumping into the rats face but bouncing forward as though it had just collided with iron. Please, just drink. You're tired, drunk...and going to hurt yourself. He glared at Eenzthk, tapping the cup with an index finger. "What is it?" A special blend. "Book binder? What the hell does that mean? I take it that you don't plan on reading me stories." Well, someone's tongue is sobering up. "Get on with, what do you want vermin?" Obviously, not so sober as to...play nice. What I want...A cup of tea for one...A plate of bread...maybe fresh maggots gathered from the morning pale...lots "STOP WITH THE INSUFFERABLE RAMBLING IN MY HEAD!" Barlowe's hands hit the table. Eenzthk squeaked a little in surprise. You asked what I want "You know very well what I meant, what-do-you-want-with-me?" I want you to drink. A crooked smile spread across Eenzthk's face. "And if I don't?" Then, you don't. But you'll be missing out on a life changing exchange...
Eenzthk pushed the tea cup towards Barlow in one grand gesture. "Life changing?" Ah, so the chit does have a curious side Slight smirk. Drink. Barlowe looked down at the concoction before him and grimaced. "How do I know it's not going to kill me, or bu---" a belch stifled his speech. "uuurn a whole in my gut?" Eenzthk reached forward and slams his own drink in one gulp. Drink. With an uneasy hand, Barlowe sipped his last free drink. It tasted of bitter sea weed and brine. Now Mr. Barlowe, tell me your dreams, desires, beliefs...your essence. Time is of the essence. Eenzthk's tail came forth with a bone carved pen while his hands unearthed a heavy leather book. Barlowe sat silent. One more thing.. The pen extended towards him within the rat's tail. Breath into this Barlow blew softly into the pen. The rat smiled, just as he had previously. Tell me your essence. Barlowe did, rambling forth his greatest desires, intimate secrets, everything that made up his very being. And with each word, Eenzthk would make a small configuration in the book. To the naked eye, the ritual would seem to take mere seconds but capturing one's soul on the page took time, time that was only magically possible. With the last scratch of ink on parchment, Eenzthk winked at his business partner. Thirty-eight.
Dalia made sure the group stuck to the sides of houses and buildings, thereby being covered by their roofs from the threat above. There was so much going on, but she had to keep her head clear, and had to make sure they stayed away from any more guards. So far, for the first two roads, everyone seemed to be keeping up fine behind her, Jaz taking the rear with Whiskers cuddled up around his shoulder. Then they made it onto one of Termir's busiest trade streets. Dalia stopped. Damnit! she cursed, knowing that she must've taken a wrong left. It was dangerous to be out in such a busy place. However, the danger here seemed to have been subdued. As well as a few ransacked and broken stands, crepes, and clockwork toy robots and airships, there were three demonic furball creatures slain on the cobblestone path, their bodies marinading in thick black blood. Standing over them were three people and a clockwork robot. They looked quite satisfied with themselves, but alert nonetheless. Another group of vigilantes? thought Dalia, although, admittedly, they themselves were more criminals than vigilantes - slaying guards and all. “Hey! You all there! Hold up!” spoke one of the three up ahead. She was tall, fair-skinned, with her hair all done up. A prissly snob, Dalia would have guessed, if it wasn't for the blood on her dress and the tears exposing her legs. She also held a rather intricate weapon. "What happened here?" Dalia asked, already fully aware of what the answer would be.
"What happened here?" "Well, we were attacked by some evil dust bunnies, but they've been dealt with. And judging by the stains, you're group has been attacked as well. I think it'd be best to get out of the city. The Trade Center's train station is just a short while from here, we should head that way." The group was quite an odd one. A half giant, a dark elf, and a dwarf along with two humans. It was unusual to see such a diverse group traveling together. Of course, it was unusual to be attacked by demonic dust bunnies as well. With that in mind, the group was normal in comparison. "Oh! And I am Bella Artire. This is my kitty cat, Masamune, and these two are Noveen and The Shop Owner." Bella said as she motioned to each of her companions. "Oh, but it'd probably be best to keep moving, not quite the greatest time for pleasantries is it?"
Shara bounded over the bar, throwing a random bottle at the one who’d assailed her, it smashed again air, she smirked, seeing what it was that stopped the bottle. The pressure wave was like a physical force, anything physical can be broken. Several more bursts of energy assailed her, she dogged the first, striking the second with her sword with as much force as she could muster. The sword was repelled, causing her to spin, she used the momentum to her advantage, as she spun, lining up her blade to strike the next assault. This wave caused her to spin yet again, this time, she was close enough, putting all of her force into the strike, she brought the blade down over his collar bone, it met resistance, which began to sink. She spun to the other side, aiming for the neck, the blade met resistance once again, this time drawing closer to flesh. The robed figure fell to the ground this time, raising a hand. The next strike broke through the force, the bit through the figured hand. He screamed. She drew the blade back, again striking for the neck, her brought his other hand up to shield the blow, the sword cut through skin, muscle, and bone, stopping halfway through his neck, blood burst from the injuries, splashing on her face and clothing. She didn’t notice the blood, to content on focusing as the figure stilled She drew the blade out, stepping back and taking her used arrow from the door frame, making sure it was still in shape to be used, then returning it to her quiver. Ignoring the few that still move, as well as the discarded limbs of people, she walked over to Kirks body, kneeling by his side. He was gone, his throat a mess of mutilated tissue, a tear escaped Shara’s eye, she’d seen so many others die in her years, she’d begun to learn to cope with accepting loss, but this struck a tone that others hadn’t, he’d been to one to free her from her bondage all those years ago, finding her half dead in front of her parents burn husks. She’d never wanted him to die... he was to kind of a man... She felt Fluffs climbing out and onto her shoulder as if sensing her dread, trying to comfort her, she stroked him, thanking him. Only now did it register of the screams from outside. Shara kissed her fingers, then placed them over Kirks lips, before rising. She saw the dancing girl on the floor, as well as several others, although the others seemed in no shape to move, the girl was in pain, but she seemed more apt. Shara walked over, offering her free hand to the girl. “Want a hand?”
"Well, we were attacked by some evil dust bunnies, but they've been dealt with.” Noveen seemed to take slight offense in Bella’s nonchalant and casual response to this group of total strangers. These were no damned dust bunnies, she deliberated so loudly that she feared they could hear her thoughts. Never before had she seen things like these- or even heard of them. She surmised it was the work of demons; the hounds and horrors of hell. A feeling of nausea surged through her stomach and traveled up her spine, forcing entry into her irritable skull. “I really don’t think these things are dust bunnies,” she managed politely as she face palmed herself, and then took one over of the group through a fingered screen. They seemed like a suspicious bunch, as they were too diverse. Most in the capital city chose to stick with their own kind for fear of gossip and slander. Noveen herself was not fearful of defamation, for she already meant even less than the dirt beneath a drunk’s clod stompers. The smell of soot and ash were not far off in the distance. If it wasn’t the demons that would swallow them whole- it would be the flame that would purify them in a righteous blaze of glory. She wasn’t as trusting as Bella, but she saw no other choice but to put their heads together, if that is what they wanted to do, “I imagine that the trains are still working,” Noven seconded and then stifled her tongue.
