The Shattered realm

[DM]

Great things often start off quietly, this time it was just a man riding into town. On any other day, the rider would just mean a few coppers in the local tavern owners coffers and maybe a smitten daughter. This day, it was a messenger from the king. The lone man rides to the barons keep to deliver his message, and by the next day fliers are posted in every ale hall. The dead where rising, across the known world. This sort of event normally just means a necromancer that needed to be put down, this was far too wide spread though. It seemed to start everywhere at once, nowhere was safe from the walking undead. The kings call, "To all able bodied persons across our fair kingdom, rise up, gather your weapons and friends. It is time to put the dead back to rest! Report to your local constable to enlist, there is a silver piece for each one slain." The call was simple but effective, almost immediately adventurers began to line up to sign up for the easy gold. Will you be one of them?

~As you ride into the fairly prosperous barony capitol city, you notice everyone carrying weapons openly. Even the children are carrying clubs and daggers. There is no sign of serious crime issues or even the refuse that most cities collect, apparently the baron takes care of his people. The buildings are well maintained and excellently crafted, but oddly every building is stone on the first floor, no windows and very stout looking doors. Immediately inside the gate there are several taverns and inns for the visiting adventures, the sign on the gates and on every tavern door made it clear why there was so many swords about. Ahead of you is a fairly average looking inn, with a rearing unicorn on the sign and some very lively music coming from inside. Welcome to the baronial seat, Aquaterra~

[Damien]

Damien never really liked traveling. He supposed it was the whole fact that he had never had a real home. But the Thieves Guild normally kept a spot open for their favorites. He was in a caravan with a traveling merchant family when he arrived in the capital. The place wasnt much, but ever since the whole zombie outbreak, inside the walls was a lot safer than outside. He was hired to guard the merchants and they paid him enough to keep them protected till they reached this city. Now that his job was done, he accepted his payment and jumped off the wagon, waving to one of the children who had grown fond of him and his sleight of hand tricks.
Damien moved into the nearest Inn and tore down one of the posters. "A silver for each zombie slain... and they're everywhere. Interesting." He sat down and ordered a pint, sipping it and propping the chair up on it's hind legs as he read over the notice. "Everywhere..." he took a deep swig and a light went on in his head, he spat it out and looked at the notice again. "Zombies everywhere at once?" He stood up and finished his drink, dashing out and heading for the Thieves Guild in this city, down an alley and into the wall itself, he knocked the special knock and went straight to the head of the branch.
"Yeah what is it Talborn?" the branch head asked, looking over Talborn's half height'd form.
"If there are zombies everywhere, does that mean that there's a guild of necromancers trying to destroy the world?" Damien asked hurriedly.
"Either that or an incredibly powerful Necro..." the Head said, shrugging a little. "Why?"
"Do you realize how much an entire guild set of Necro heads would be worth?" Damien asked quietly.
"Probably a couple dozen platinum." The Head smirked. "You think you can take on a guild of Necros by yourself?"
"Well not by my lonesome... but with our Guild's information network, I'm sure we can pinpoint the whereabouts pretty quickly, and then assemble a team, or find some of the adventurers that are abundant in this city and split it evenly. I might walk away with 3 or 4 platinum if I work it right."
"3 and a half after you pay back the Guild for it's services."
"Er... right 3 and a half. Course." Damien smiled and bowed himself out. "I leave the Networking in your capable hands sir."
"I'll contact you the usual way then."
"Aye, I'm going to sign up to get some easy silver while you do that." Damien ducked out and headed to the Guard Station to enlist with the Constable.

Damien walked into the Guard station and walked right up to the front desk, placing the poster on the table and smiling gently as he nodded to the attendee. "I would like to join the initiative and help fight back the undead. Is that all?"
The attendee handed him a slip of paper and smiled. "That's all you need. That paper proves that you're fighting in the Baron's interests and that will count the undead you kill and we will have silver waiting for you on your return."
"Magical tracers?"
"Pretty much, just knows how many undead you've killed."
"Well, that's pretty convenient." Damien pocketed the slip of paper and walked back out of the station, looking around again and running into the traveling merchants from his caravan. "Oh hello again! No market today?"
"No, sadly the market is closed today, we got here a little late. Not to worry though, as you know our goods dont go bad, so we will be fine till tomorrow. Though we're low on funds so food will be a little scarce." The merchant looked a little downtrodden.
"Martenin, if you want, I could get you all cheap meals at the thieves guild in this town. They feed the needy for much less than the local inns."
Martenin looked up happily. "You'd do that for us?"
"You got me here, it's my pleasure."
Martenin summoned his family and the other merchant traveling with them and they set off towards the thieves guild, Damien showed Martenin where to house his wagon and horse for the night and led them in, one of the workers in the guild rolled his eyes and then smiled. "Talborn, are all these people with you tonight?"
"They brought me to this city and did not make it to the market in time, I wanted to give them the best cheap meal in town."
"The chef is good, and cheap? We dont charge anything other than donations." The worker smiled at Talborn, who winked as all the merchants brightened over a free meal.
"It's my gift to you all for getting me here at all, please eat your fill tonight, and stay here. We always have spare rooms for guests." Damien smiled and nodded to the worker who began preparing rooms.
The food was brought out shortly and they all dug in to plates of meat and cheeses, breads of different kinds, vegetables and even some more exotic foods. It was all delicious and everyone went to bed full and happy several hours later after conversations and a few games of cards, all of which Damien won.

[DM]

(very nice, and no, thats just for intros)

[Phoenix]

“Who are you?” the question sounds in his mind, he vocalizes “My name is Enabrin Tain, new made Psion of the Elan.” Once again the many toned voices in his head speak “whom do you serve?” Brin speaks again “I serve the council and the will of the crystal mind” and he awakes into his new world. The underground world of the Elan, veins of crystal running through the walls providing an all encompassing light. The lack of shadows normally unnerves most new comers, those not created to be here. He moves with a surety through the tunnels, the map clearly etched in his mind, as well as his mission. Scour the surface, find us a new home, and scout the world above for somewhere that we can live in peace and secrecy for another million years.
Brin makes his way deeper into the labyrinth, towards the shapers, those that make everything. He steps into the vaulted cavern where they work, crystals glittering everywhere, even to his mind’s eye this place sparkled with light and radiance and power. One of the lesser shapers comes forward towards him, a pair of beautiful crystals in his hands. ‘The precogs knew that I would be here today, knew that I would need these items to succeed and thus the shapers where told long before I was even awake.’ The though races through his mind as the shaper walks to him, holding out a small blob of, goo, and a pair of crystal daggers.
With a cautious hand he reaches out to touch the blob and the ectoskin flows over his body, covering him from head to toe like a second skin. He picks up the daggers in each hand bows to the shaper. ‘Now to the mundane storage’ the thought appears in his mind and the directions appear to him. His single minded attention to detail leading him towards the surface, one of the last places he entered was the mundane storage. Full of items that you would find in any store in the surface world “this one I know” he says to nobody in particular as he picks up a light crossbow from the rack. Looking it over as a professional would he sets the weapon on the table with his daggers, the ectoskin pulling back from his face even though he could see through it. He rummages through several of the local styles of clothing “the surface must be harsh if they must wear clothing to protect themselves from the weather” picking up a backpack he packs a couple different outfits into it. Pulling on a common traveler’s outfit, “it feels so odd” his ectoskin pulls away from his hands making him look like a normal person. He packs the basic survival gear, and a couple extra daggers. The crystal blades get a leather wrap around the hilts and slipped into matching sheaths. “Now for the crossbow” he says to himself as he selects a very well designed war quiver, three pouches for the bolts running down the length. Strapping it to his leg he loads it up with the 60 bolts that it will hold. Strapping the crossbow into a combat harness he makes his way towards the surface.
The final chamber was the stables, the room was massive, for while the nomads could move anywhere by themselves, everyone else needed help. The groom, warned of my arrival had my mount ready for me, a good saddle with a week’s provisions in the saddle bags and the courier’s horse was ready for the long haul. Some horses where built for power, some to carry armored men and some for speed, this one was bred for endurance, long distance travel. The perfect horse for his mission, with a practiced swing he mounts the animal, and guides it out of the stable into the almost pitch darkness of the entry way. It was kept that way to keep out invaders; he takes a moment to let his eyes adjust as he emerges into the sun for the first time in his new life.
The issues of the surface realm where almost completely unknown to him, the undead rising up before him where just distractions on his mission. Putting a single bolt into the first one, puts him down into the ground again the second one falling to the force of his mind. “if that is the only thing the surface can do to slow us down we should take over” he shakes his head in disgust and rides on, his mind calling to the crossbow bolt in the skeleton, it wriggles its way out and hops back up and into his quiver as he rides past. ~several days later~ he comes across the first surface town and rides into the community, the posters advertising the undead are everywhere he makes his way towards the registrar’s office and signs himself up. “Wait in the tavern at the end of town, we will have a group of adventurers meet up with you, we don’t want citizens getting killed needlessly” he nods to the man taking the slip and heads towards the bar to wait for his team.

[SpiritAmenthor]

Spirit moved from the forest, Loki hot on his tail. They were leaving the forest for the first time in many winters. It wasn't the same anymore, the natural world he loved was being turned upside down. People were dying, and more undead came to be every day. He had watched the travlers, seen them fight and die on the path. For every fallen soul, another undead to join the ranks. From every flag, young, old, healthy, sick. They died the same against the hordes of undead. It went against the natural order, against the laws of the world of green he cherished. There had to be an end to it. An end to the suffering. An end to the death. One of the groups who had fallen had been carrying a letter, One silver for every undead slain it had said. Some fool had brought his family with him, for a coin. Metal ripped from Nature, and pounded by Beings. He remembered the days when money mattered, now it was a trifle. A hassle. Nature provides Everything he needed, everything but one thing... Did money matter so much? Maybe, he could woo a mate if he had money and a name for himself. Settle down in the forest, raise children and teach them the wonders of Nature. Perhaps a bit of a dreamer, but dreams that far off are okay. First, kill undead. Save people. It was the right thing to do. Every life is precious, he would return to Her the spirits this undeath had robbed.
So, he had packed up his camp in the woods, left the safety of the Grove like his namesake and travled. He had been named because of his eyes. They were such a pale color they were almost white, yet he could see perfectly fine. His Guide on the path of the Druid had thought he had chosen the Wolf for his companion because his eyes were failing, but that was far from the truth he had known the wolf since it was a pup when he had saved it. Learned that saving a life, means caring for it after. Like a spirit, a ghost, he had taken everything he had brought into the forest and in a few days the rains would wash away the only traces of his ever having been there. He walked from the forest with spear in hand and shield lashed to his pack: He had left, no turning back now. His fur was far from neat and trim after years of the forest life, so he had braided it wherever it had gotten too long on his head and a few in his tail, the long grey fur fluffed out from under the leather of his armor and the thick long cloak that had come with the traveler's outfit over him. He stood at 6' tall, and lanky. The strength of his Lupine blood kept him from being skinny tho. Some might say he was young, for a druid at only twenty-two winters. But, youth had it's advantages. Finding where to go had been easy enough, everyone able to lift a weapon had seemed to have the same idea. Too many people, he understood strength in numbers, but there were more people on that road then he had seen in the past five years. So, they had taken back to the forest, following the road from it's safety as long as he could until he had no choice but to leave it's safety. They had cut down the forest around the cities, he was in the land of those who didn't understand. It wasn't their fault tho, they were blind to the wonders he had seen in the wilderness. He could feel how anxious Loki was with all the people in the city... Or was he simply mimicing his own anxiety? He felt out of place, awkward. So many people and so few trees. Where do I start? Maybe this was a bad idea, the chances of finding a building with a rearing unicorn on it might as well be are rare as the real...There! His eyes looked back to the piece of parchment in his hand. That symbol, it was the same one as on the parchment. He looked back to Loki. "Well Loki, it's time. Tomorrow we fight the undead. Tomorrow, we start earning a name for ourselves. Right?" Part of him knew the wolf didn't understand him, it didn't stop him from talking to his companion. He moved towards the Inn, hopefully someone inside would be able to answer him on where he should get started. He moved up to the door and opened it, the loud music hurt his ears and he winced. He looked to the bard then to the man behind the counter. "No pets allowed." Spirit looked to Loki then back to the man. "He's not a pet." The portly man waived his hand and made an obnoxious noise. "Pet, familar Same damned Thing. It stays outside, or so do you." "That's fine, I enjoy the outdoors. However, I was wondering if you could tell me where I might find more information on This." He offered the sheet and was given a quick point in the direction of the Guard Station. His throat hurt already. He wasn't used to talking in the coarse language. Druidic was so much easier. Alas, only Druids know the sacred tongue. He made his way towards the Guard Station and noticed a small crowd of people outside. When he approached he asked one person looking on. "Excuse me? What's going on?" He was rewarded with being shoved and glared at angrily. "Get in Line and wait your turn." Spirit resisted the temptation to pull a weapon on the unruly individual and instead asked. "Get in line ... For What?" "For getting your papers to fight the undead, damned Animal." With a curt nod, Spirit headed to find the so called Line and stand in it. Loki at his side the entire time he moved, the black fur of the wolf contrasting to the light grey, almost white of Spirit's fur. He reached down and rested his hand on his companion's head, and felt himself relax. This would take getting used too, in the wild when you are pushed you push back. But, this wasn't a pack of wolves, who needed to be shown dominance. This was more like a group of bears, he needed to stand up and roar instead of start swinging... "NEXT!"


He had done it. It felt... strange. Picking a side. But, it wasn't for this Kingdom. It was to save people. To save them, and to earn a name for himself. as he made his way towards the inn he had been directed too he couldn't help but wonder what sort of people he was going to get matched up with. Hopefully there would be another druid in the group, he wanted to know if this longing for the forest was normal and to not have to stand up and roar alone. The nudge at his side brought a knowing smile to his face, he wasn't alone. Loki was there.

[Rei]

((Removed. Too much going on to deal with this too.))

[Rumpleteazer]

It just so happened the druid wasn't alone in his love of the forest. Nor in his preference for the outdoors. Ileyan Blue, otherwise known as Yanyan by her friends and family back home, opted for a rooftop over the loud bustling streets below. The young bear knew she had to come down. Staying up on a strange square roof wasn't going to help her kill the mean things. It also wasn't going to help her get the little paper that everyone seemed to want so badly. Did it work like the useless round metals city people seemed to treasure so much? Even her chief was willing to give really good wood to her family if she was able to get enough of the metal things for him. He used the metal things to trade for metal that could actually be used, and for animal hide. It all seemed so very silly to her, but then, there was a lot of silliness to this world it seemed.

A frown played on her lips as she looked down at the multitude of people below. There was so much noise down there it hurt her ears. The loudest noise there ever was back at home was the noise from the wood working. That wasn't noise though. That was music. The rhythmic chopping of the ax, the smell of wood shavings floating through the air to tickle her nose, the crackling of fires and the splash of waters as the wood was worked with, not forced. And they were always so careful to make sure to use every last bit of any tree they cut down, and that seedlings could be gathered from those trees and planted. Even Yanyan managed to grasp the concept of trade, and that give and take could be a nice thing. She just wasn't so sure about it when it came to the silly round metal things. Well, there was a lot in this world she didn't understand, so she would just put the round metal things in the silly group, for now.

A little girl stopped and giggled at the sight of the bear in human clothing, with fur such a pure black it showed an almost bright purple in the sunlight. Yanyan's small tail wriggled about happily from the small hole cut into the back of her loose brown pants as the corners of her white muzzle tugged up. Her dark green shirt, which wasn't so much a shirt as it was half of a robe that was tied at her waist, was low enough to show the striking white crest that rested just over the curves of her soft not-quite-modest breasts. She stood up and waved at the girl, wriggling her digits and letting the black, well, part claws, part nails, on the end of each one glitter in the sunlight. The wind picked up the long braid of her golden blonde hair, whipping it about her hips like it was a second tail of sorts. The girl giggled and clapped, making the bear's smile grow all the more. She made a funny face, and the girl made one right back, complete with sticking her tongue out! ... until the girl's Papa scowled and pulled the girl to his other side where they couldn't make funny faces at each other anymore. Or at least she thought it was the girl's Papa. Maybe it was her uncle instead. Or maybe a really really old cousin. That would make more sense, because Yanyan's Papa was never so mean looking. She couldn't even remember a time her Papa made an mean face like that.

She sighed softly and sat back on her large padded rear, which was covered with the very same uncomfortable metal that was draped beneath the wrapped half robe top. Her calloused paw found the leather wrapped around the handle of her mace, and she drew it from her back and looked down to it with a small, sad smile. She traced her finger pads over the master craftsmanship and took in a deep, shaky breath. Papa had put a lot of work in her mace. He had used extra strong and sturdy metal and the best and strongest wood around so it wouldn't break on her like her old one had. He traded a lot for the leather that made it so she could get a good strong grip on the handle, and for the super special oil that he covered it with so she couldn't accidentally catch it on fire.

He always took such good care of her, even while helping her to grow all big and tough and strong. Or at least strong. But she wasn't all grown up yet. She was still so short, and he was so big and tough, and she was so, not smart, and he knew so much and told her the old stories and taught her how to work with wood. But she didn't know that much. He was supposed to teach her everything. She knew she took a long time learning things, but he wasn't supposed to leave before he taught her everything. Before she could be big and tall and tough too. Her rounded ears folded back against her hair as her eyes began to leak. Mama said he didn't live because he was such a special bear that the gods wanted him back at their home. She even said he was so special, they Needed him back at their home. It wasn't fair though. Yanyan still wanted him. Yanyan still needed him. It wasn't fair. Why did the gods make him her father when they Knew that she was a slow learner. Knew that she would need him longer than they wanted him to be here? She couldn't put these questions with the other silly things in the world that didn't make sense to her. It hurt too much to try to. And yet, no matter how much she tried to understand it, no matter how much Mama tried to explain it, none of it made anymore sense to her than the wretched day it had all happened.

She sniffled as she shifted the mace to hug it to her chest. Her eyes were leaking again. She blinked them a few times before rubbing her eyes, trying to clear her vision. She then wiped at the drops of water on her furry cheeks and took a deep, shuddering breath. She had to be strong, for Papa. For Mama. For Shushu and for Bonbon and for Lyly. She took another deep breath and gave her mace an extra squeeze. She then put it back in its holder that was strapped diagonally across her back. She could leak all she wanted later. When she was alone, and didn't have to go down and face the... was that a wolf? She blinked and shifted onto her knees. She had seen humans come and go all day, but she hadn't seen another stand-on-two-legs, like her or her family. Or such a pretty wolf. Her eyes followed the pair as they moved away from the line and seemed to be studying the humans, even as a thoughtful shine came to the stand-on-two-legs pretty eyes. How strange. She thought the pair would be at least a little like her and try to keep away from the loud noises. Maybe she needed to better understand what was going on. She moved to the edge of the roof, keeping her low body even lower.

She wished the helmet she wore wasn't so darn shiny. Maybe she could find something to cover it later, like the way the cloth on her body covered the metal shirt and metal pants. Her large soft brown eyes narrowed as she tried to get a better look at what might make those small paper things so special. Maybe if at least a few of the things she had lumped up to just being silly could be understood and made not so silly anymore, she would know how best to go from here. She bit into her bottom lip and narrowed her eyes a little more. She also made the mistake of leaning forward a little more, and more, and more, and more, until she quite suddenly fell over the edge. She probably could have found her balance if she had enough time, but the heavy metal clothes she wore beneath the loose cloth clothes added weight to her already weighty girth, and the helmet she wore tilted forward and blinded her sight quite suddenly. The added weight of the mace to her back didn't help either, once her body got close enough to the point of no return.

Yanyan's brain somehow managed to think of a surprising number of things as she tumbled through the air before the ground jumped up and bit her body. She could never grasp why time seemed to slow down when you were about to get really really hurt. Was it so that you could better enjoy the little time there was before having to feel all that pain? Was there some way to make your body move at Regular speed so you can keep from getting really really hurt? Or was it just one of those silly things, like when the sun left those ugly blotches of dark in your eyes that weren't really there or like the way humans valued those silly rounds of metal? Or was it an act of the gods? Which really was just as silly as the blotches and the round metals Gods also left the young bear wondering. The idea of something never being born and never dying, living on and on and on and on and on and on. Wouldn't living get boring after awhile, even with all there is to learn? Wasn't there a limit to all the things that could be learned in the world, or even in whatever world or forest or home the gods lived in? Where did they even live? Was it a special place, where there was always more things to learn, and that's why they were okay with living on and on and on and on and on and on? Was her Papa really there living in their home with them, making all those nice things out of wood for them? Would they want him to whittle a whole bunch of pretty figures, like he did for Yanyan when she was an even smaller bear? Or would they want him to work the wood into useful tools? She couldn't imagine the gods wanting him to make weapons for them. They were gods, after all. What would they do with weapons? And why would the gods let her be so very good at climbing, but so very not good at Staying climbed up, or so very not good at the Landing part. Those were important parts of climbing too, weren't they? And on That thought, there was the ground.

She landed with an oomph and soft thud, her helmet staying on her head only because it was strapped under her chin. She moved a paw to lift the helmet from over her eyes, her cheeks burning a bright red beneath her dark fur from the surprise of falling, even though it wasn't exactly a surprise by the time she landed. She looked at all the different eyes on her and tried to smile her small, sweet smile. She then stood herself up and brushed herself off, just as Papa always taught her to do whenever she fell. She straightened the finely crafted wooden shield on her back that was positioned to lay over her mace. She then walked over to the place she saw people getting those strange little papers from. Her leg hurt a little from the fall, but luckily she had landed on her padded posterior, so there wasn't near as much pain as their could have been. Her small tail was set to wriggling behind her as her heart beat against her chest harder and faster than a wild bird in a small cage. She was really doing it. She was really setting out on her first adventure, and she was going to work really really hard to make the mean things go away forever, so no other little girl ever had to lose her papa to them again.

She blinked as someone suddenly shoved her- or at least tried to shove her, since moving her wasn't such an easy feat- and looked up at the tall man he was yelling so loud and so fast she couldn't make heads or tails of it. She frowned up at him, and felt a soft growl boil down deep in her chest. She only stood at a mere 4'2, but her body was thick and strong, with slabs of muscle that were covered with a layer of fat which made things like falling from the really high places she had climbed up to all that much easier. She looked back to the man handing out the little papers and started to hand him the paper with the funny squiggles on it that she had managed to snatch off of a post. The same tall man tried to shove her again, and she stopped with the paper on the table to look up at him. Okay, the first time she could maybe think it was an accident. Accidents happened all the time anyway, right? She could even think that the yelling just meant he had been having a really really bad day. But when he did it a second time, and with that really mean look on his face, it didn't seem like such an accident anymore. The loud and fast yelling didn't help either.

She let the boiling and brewing growl rise up, and her rounded ears folded back as she opened her mouth to let out the strongest, mightiest roar she could. Okay, so there was no way she could make it as loud and deep and scary as her papa, but at least she could try! The man looked down at her, and actually smiled! And laughed. Wait, was he laughing at her roar? She blinked up at him before her large eyes became round and a frown tugging on her lips. It wasn't supposed to make him laugh! It was supposed to scare him! She took a deep breath and was about to try again when the man at the desk caught her attention. Wait, what was she doing there? Oh right, strange little papers! Her frown turned right quickly upside down and she took the paper. She knew her mastery of the common language was far from, well, a mastery, but she was very proud to know what she did of it, and prouder still that she knew how to speak some of it, which somehow seemed even more difficult than understanding it.

“Tank ooo!”

“Riiight. Just be certain to keep that paper safe. You'll need it to collect your silver afterward.”

Yanyan's eyes lit up. Silver. That was the name of the useless metal her chief wanted for the really really good wood. She carefully tucked the little paper into the little pouch she had been given for that very metal and shifted the other two small pouches around her waist a bit; one held about a half gallon of water, and one a couple days' worth of food. When she didn't leave right away for the tavern, someone behind her tugged on her shoulder as a feminine voice sounded out.

“Outta th'way yah stinkin' animal!”

“They pro'ly won' let 'er in th' t'vern. No pets 'lowed.”

“Means someone'd 'afta own'er. Who'd wanna own That!?”

“If'n she was washed good, 'n' shaved, sh'd maken uh goo' ass f' pullin' carts.”

It was probably a good thing she didn't understand even a fraction of what was being said. And the bit she Did understand, well, she had just bathed that morning, so she knew the woman had to be mistaken! Still, her rounded ears folded back. Why were their voices so mean? Was it a bad thing for her to have the paper and trade it in for silver? Were they all just cranky too? Or maybe they lost their papas or mamas or babies because of the mean things too. Yeah, that had to be it. She remembered Shushu got really cranky from it, and even a little mean. Okay, she could understand that much. It wasn't even something silly. Besides, she had what she needed. She walked away from the sad and cranky people and looked around for where to go now. Mama had said she would be best if she had someone watching after her, just like Papa or Shushu always watched after her. She scratched at her leg a bit as she looked around. So where could she find someone who wouldn't be cranky like these people? Oh wait, there was the building with the sign of the horse with the stick sticking out of its forehead. There had been all sorts of people going in that direction, even the wolf! It was right across the street too! Okay, that seemed to be an okay place to start! She skipped over toward it like a little girl coming home from school, her small tail set to wriggling once more.

[DM]

The common room had finally reached critical mass, the number of people reaching that magical and unknown number, combined with the flow of alcohol and thirst for a good fight. The bartender of the Prancing Unicorn steps outside, signaling to the lupine druid and his four legged companion “you two can come in for the selection of groups. I trust the animal is house broken” he looks down at the wolf with mild trepidation “just make sure he behaves.” He leads them inside and he moves to the bar standing upon it, banging a pot with a large wooden spoon. Brining the crowd to a reluctant silence “since there are so many people in search of others to travel with myself with the other tavern owners have decided to take it upon ourselves to organize this a bit more, I want everyone to take a number from the buckets that are being passed around by our lovely bar maids” the three of which shoot him various comments and gestures, varying from his wife’s blown kiss to his mother-in-laws shaken fist with a smile on her face. His very lovely daughter just tittering, not from her father’s comment but from the man next to her, earning him a dark look from the bartender “there are enough numbers for everyone to join up in groups of four or five in a couple cases, we figured that this would be large enough to keep most of you alive. If there are any clerics in the group, we ask that you announce yourself so we can assign at least one of you to each group.”

He hops back down behind the bar “ok everyone, once you have your numbers. The tables themselves starting from over by the stairs, and moving to the right are numbered. One through twelve, move to your tables and once your seats are filled you can head on out.” As the crowds eventually sift themselves out to their respective tables the introductions begin, most of the tables receive clerics starting at table one on down. Only table 12 was unlucky enough to not get one, instead they get one of the extra fighters in the bar a fairly well known and respected hunter in his own right, judging by the seemingly happy grins of the people at the table. The bar maids take platters of food out to the various tables, heaping platters of meats and breads, tankards of only slightly watered down ale. Again the bartender climbs upon the bar once everyone has been seated, “looks to be two of you without a group are welcome to stay the night for tomorrow’s drawing, or can try at another inn. The rest of you, eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we may all die” and with this ancient blessing to the warriors he hoists his tankard and takes a long drink from it, some groups stay the night eating and drinking, some take off immediately and some take a good meal and head for an early night. By a few hours after dawn the bar keeper expects everyone off to make their fortune, or whatever may drive them.

~Mr thief, you arrive in the bar thanks to a tip from your guild just in time for the selection process and all of you wonderful players all pull number six, Ivriel when you approach the bartender announcing yourself as a cleric you are assigned to the same table, or if you remain silent you randomly select that number. Its good being god~

[Dark Kitsune]

It was starting to dusk, the air of the desert was strong, hot and hostile, but the ranger did not mind; since he had gotten expelled from his hive he had been travelling west, he had heard about a large city where all races coexisted, and for now, he looked a place he could call home. Tattered cloak waved in the strong wind as the weird looking character moved through the desert with skill, being it his home, jumping often to avoid the strongest wind gusts. He didn't want to arrive at night to the city, the more difficult it'd be for him to find a place, and at least he thought that way, being what he was.

A couple of hours went by, as the adventurer was reaching the region where the city was, there was still sunlight, which he was for. Fastening his pace, he managed to reach the city gates, giving a sigh of relief, he put his hood over his head and covered his body, right now, the only things visible from this weird guy were his two swords on his back, his quiver, and his long bow, however, the tattered cloak also showed his feet, his clawed chitinous feet. Walking among the crowd of people, towering over many thanks to his rather tall stature, he looked at everyone and only once or twice clicked his mandibles. Trying to go unnoticed was no easy feat, as he felt many looking at him, he didn't want any troubles. Walking down a side street, he leaned against a wall, muttering something in his native tongue, as a gust of wind left on his feet some piece of paper, leaning down to grab it, he read the contents.

"It seems to be some sort of gathering... Oh! A hunting gathering!" Thought to himself, as he clicked his mandibles happily. The paper said about the undead and how people from the kingdom were requested to fend off this evil.

Quickly, he got to look for this place, this... Tavern the paper spoke about, however, in his six years of life, he had never seen one before, so he didn't know what he was looking for; going through the crowds, looking for that particular sign, he didn't know exactly what to look for; he had never seen a tavern or a unicorn.

After some hours, he sighed a bit defeated. This city was huge, how did he expect to find something in here; he really wanted to join this hunting party, but he was not used to the cityscape it was all new to him, and at his eyes, everything looked the same, he was at a lost, and dared not to ask anyone where it was in case someone didn't like how he looked and he cause panic or something. Hey, he was trained to track humans, but that's because they tend to get into his kind lands with no permission, however, it was something completely different to get into human lands.

A strong sigh signaled his defeat, as he went to ask someone for directions, the paper said something about signing up to get a silver piece for undead killed, that sounded about right. Searching around the place, he found someone that could direct him to the tavern, it was close, and there he could sign and offer his skills as a hunter to aid in this corruption that assailed the land. With a quick pace he walked some more streets. He turned around, and there it was, the tavern he was looking for.... With a smile, or what could be called one, he strolled into the crowded place, it smelled at human and other things, but he wasn't very sure on what he should do, gripping the paper in one hand hard, he went to a wall, leaning against it. The tall, cloaked figure was kinda shy, however, he went to the bartender, or at least the one that seems to be organizing everything, and leaning in some to whisper some words to his ear, with a clicking voice.

"Excuse me... Where do I sign in for this... Hunting... I mean, adventure?..."

He leaned back and awaited the organizer's response, meanwhile, his eyes took in on all the warriors, adventurers and mercenaries that filled the place. He'll never understand how is it that humans and their fleshy siblings organized... It was all much of a mess for him, but, if that got him to get some more experience as a ranger and help out clean the land of the corruption, then he can cope with that.

[Damien]

(Finally a second post ^^)
Damien had arrived ten minutes before the whole assignment got started. He looked around at the tables already being assigned and smirked to himself. "I may be no good at fighting, but I know chumps when I see them..." he scoffed and drew out a number six, a table which, had yet to be occupied. "So I'm starting my own group, this should be interesting." He looked around at the ones yet to pick, more of the strange characters hadn't gone yet, and some of the more seasoned warrior types seemed to be waiting till all the fresh meat players all got into their own groups.

Damien wagered that if the picking continued like this, he would wind up with a very good team, that, and only group twelve was said to not have a cleric. Which means no matter how many assassination strikes he had up his sleeve, he could always have someone making sure he wasn't going to be caught completely off his guard if it missed. He walked over to the table with the folded paper 6 at the center and sat in one of the far chairs, pulling off the whole dark and brooding air that rogues usually had with ease. He'd done this kind of stuff before, but more on a moral or reconnaissance basis, never for such a good reward at least. This had drawn his attention for the money, and he stayed the course for the glory of being the first to get to the Necro Guild. He just hoped his plan wasnt going to come crashing down on him, like so many other things did.

It seemed to be customary to lay down the weapons of his trade on the table so everyone in the group could see what they were getting with him in the party, so Damien placed his dagger, and the shortbow on the table, along with a few vials of poison he had 'procured', a long garrote, and a couple of iron throwing knives. He had to say, he looked impressive as he sat there leaning his chair back against the wall.

(Hehehe ^^)

[Phoenix]

The very pale human draws his own lot number from the bucket, a six. Moving to the table he sits across from the short thief, his eyes sweeping across the tools arrayed on the table. His face seems normal as does the rest of his appearance, except for his eyes, if computers had existed in this era his eyes would look like he had spent far too many hours in front of one. Burnt sunken holes in his head "I take it that this is custom in you lands" he shrugs as he pulls a pair of clear crystal daggers from their sheaths, laying them on the table with a gentle hand. If the halfling had a good eye for gems he could tell that they are of exceptional quality, but even his eye couldn't tell their real potential as deep crystal weapons. The rare crystal looks like any other high quality crystal, but holds a special psionic resonance, allowing him to channel the power of his mind into his strikes. "Hello Sir Halfling" he inclines his head slightly to him "my name is brin, I am a" he pauses for a split second "magic user, and a fair shot with my cross bow and daggers." His sub conscious training, and maybe a touch of his past life, begins to surface as his interaction with normal people began to increase. Resulting in a fair smirk followed by the very human gesture "a pleasure to meet you" he extends his hand across the table to him.

The whole time his mind is processing every scrap of information, 'these people seem to be fairly well organized but distracted by these events, my people could easily transit across their lands without much resistance, but not very secretly. I still think that it is the best use of my time to go forth and find out what is causing this global pandemic, it would greatly increase our standing. We might not have to hide as we travel, that would greatly increase our transit time.' His thoughts race, all this occurring in the time it takes him to sit and extend his hand to the halfling.

[Vyncent]

Today was the day. The vixen looked to herself in her full length mirror and examined the robes she had decided to wear on her first steps out into the world as a ful-fledged wizard. Enchanter was her school of choice, for she couldn't help loving to make things sparkle with the magical aura that ones of her practice put on them. What could she say, it was a weakness, but a most profitable one if she could perform it correctly. Yes, this was indeed the day. All the years placed into learning the arcane arts, learning how to focus her mind and mystical energy into the incantations that would allow her to work the laylines to her whim were about to be put to experience. Her abilities tested in the world beyond the walls of her academy.

The sun was hidden today, covered up by dark clouds brooding a storm. Though she could feel it in her bones that this wasn't a storm that nature provided. It was a storm that would effect the land in a far different way. She shivered as her crimson robes laced with golden filigree swished around her ankles, the soft orange shoes making her passing silent as she descended the stairs from the dorms that the students used. It was a modest structure, like the rest of the buildings that made up the academy. But she was not bound for the class rooms that she'd sat in for these long years. No, she walked with a sureness of the newly graduated. Meaning that with each step that took her closer to the grounds gate made her all the more nervous.

This had been her home for so long, the thought of leaving, which had been a dream of hers till now, didn't seem like the great escape she'd dreamt it to be. It was a big world outside. A big, hostile world if reading and rumors from traveling merchants were true. A shiver crept down her back as she straightened it to look more sure of herself, stepping into the small building that was attached to the way out, a double gate barred with both steel and magic.

The wooden door opened with a creak before she stepped inside, gasping as she was greeted with the smiling faces of her instructors and the headmistress of the school. The elderly feline bade her over with a small gesture, the young vixen following it and bowing at the waist to all who had come to see her off.

"My child...you needn't bow so low anymore. From this day forward....you are a wizard. Show pride in your profession as you strike out into the world and do us all proud." Her hand gently cupped the youth's chin, raising her with the softest of lifts.

"I will, headmistress." Her smile was sad as tears welled in her eyes. She quickly blinked them away, not about to cry in front of her five tutors and headmistress.

Jory, her eighth year instructor and scribe teacher smiled with pride as she shook hands and bowed heads with the others before she came to him. He'd been the father figure for her since she had arrived as a kit, so young and new to the world. She hadn't had any parents to speak for her, and he had taken her under his wing, raising her till she was old enough to start her classes. "You'll do well. We've given you a horse and supplies that will see you off."

Tears once more threatened to flow from her eyes as she stepped forward and embraced him, breaking protocol of a former student. But he had been like a father to her and had imprinted the title onto him as such. He hugged her back for a moment before clearing his throat and blinking hard before looking sternly to her. "That was not very becoming of a young wizard. Do try to be more respectful."

She blushed and nodded, speaking softly with a bow of her head. "Yes, sir. Forgive my transgression." She backed away and waited as the others moved from the building. The bells for classes would ring soon and they needed to head back. She blinked and perked a brow as Jory stayed behind. His stern look left him like ice melting away in the spring an he came forward to hug her tightly.

"And now I get to say farewell as a father to his daughter..." He kissed her cheek and held her tightly, her arms folding around him to hug him back with a light sob.

"I don't want to go anymore..." As they parted from each other, she reached up to dab at her eyes with the cuff of her robe. He smiled softly and stroked her cheek affectionately.

"I know, Karin. But you know this is what is required. All initiates must leave the grounds upon graduating. It's not that bad..." He chuckled as he opened the door that lead to teh middle between the gates, a horse of ebony hair waiting for her. She turned to the ringtail, concern on her features as the bells began to toll for classes to begin.

"Aren't you going to be in trouble for not being at your instructions?"

"No." He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "The headmistress saw fit to grant me leave until you left so that I could enjoy what little time I had with my daughter before she was gone from me." His voice began to break at the end of it, causing him to breath in deeply to compose himself.

She leaned in against him as he gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I'll make you proud, father. I'm grateful for all that you've done for me. I'll miss you." She hugged him tightly one more time before heading to the horse. He reached out to stop her, handing her a rolled up parchment.

"Here. Consider this a going away gift. It'll help keep you safe should you find yourself stopping in the wilderness for the night." He smiled with that worried look all fathers got to their eyes when their child was going off into the world without them there to help protect them. She took it with a warm smile and nodded.

"Thank you father." He nodded and turned to leave, stopping at the doorway and facing the gates. He raised his two palms up, facing them towards the steel bars and muttered the incantation to release the spell temporarily to let them swing open for her. As he left she mounted her horse, her belongings int eh saddlebags. She sighed to herself before spurring the steed onward, letting it trot past the gates to wear the magic took hold and closed them with a metallic groan. With the academy closed off behind her, and the world before her, she set off in the direction of a barony that she'd heard about that was said to be a good meeting place of adventures and people seeking work within the city walls. Perhaps they had an enchanter to apprentice her. Or maybe she'd go exploring in a band of others. With options for her to mull over, she spurred her horse on faster, her robes whirling about in the wind as she rushed off to her journey.

<After some time>

No amount of reading or rumor would have prepared her for what lay in wait in this world outside the protecting walls of the academy. The undead walked the earth as if they had a right to it. The death and desolation she'd witnessed unnerved her to the core. She had been lucky to escape like she did when a couple of walking skeletons had broken off from what looked like a contingent and began to give chase as she raced from them. Her horse was fast, and so she lost them in a matter of a few moments. But the nightmarish creatures now haunted her vision as she entered the fog riddled forest outside of the barony. Strange noises played at her fears, the creatures moving about making every shadow look like an enemy would jump out at her and steal her away to the darkness where unspeakable evil awaited to rend her asunder. Her breathing high, she stopped as night fell on the land, casting everything in ethereal shadow as the moon came free of the cloud cover. Undead phantoms stalked her as she made camp, ghostly sounds came to her on a whisper of wind and made her shiver in both fear and apprehension. It was all she could do not to pass out from panting too harshly. But as the fire came to life, her mind stopped its wandering as she stared into the flames. She'd pitched her tent near the underbrush by a tree, keeping it well hidden should predators come by, or the undead that had trailed her relentlessly till she'd lost them in the Hills of Fandori. The rocky terrain would be hard for bones like them to navigate.

She sighed and pulled out the piece of parchment her father had given to her before departing. A soft smile came to her lips as she spoke the enchantment and set the alarm to be mental. Should anyone or thing enter her camp she'd be sounded by the mental ping of the alarm setting off. She took out her spell book and chose the spells she'd need if that were to happen as she made her way into the tent, letting the fire die out on its own. It would be hard to fall asleep that night, but she'd eventually fall into slumber, the sounds lulling her into dreams of death and walking dead. Nightmares of a land let loose of the natural order.

[SpiritAmenthor]

Spirit almost froze at the sheer number of people in the room. His mind did a quick count, then did a second as he began to see more people in the back and smaller areas. Too many. That was simple enough. There were simply too many. He had to reach and hold the head of his companion against his leg. Loki was feeding off of Spirit's nerves, and he was feeding off of Loki's. The announcement caused him to turn with one hand gripping his spear at his side. He paused at the words and then after watching several others draw these numbers, he moved to do the same. He yipped as his tail was stepped on and he rounded to glare at the individual who had done so. Loki growling deeply. The individual held up their hands with a quick appology before moving behind someone larger. Spirit simply turned back and took a number before retreating towards a table. He looked down at it and read the number 6. He moved towards the table with the two others seated at and glanced between them. he straightened a little, before placing his number down on the table. He looked to the weapons, and each face. He wasn't entirely certain what to say so he simply leaned his spear against his shoulder and took off his pack. He set it next to his seat and then pulled the chair out and sat in it. He reached down and ran his paw along Loki's head and neck. The sensations relaxed him to the point he had closed his eyes. He didn't exactly fall asleep, but when he opened them he had almost believed he was back in the forest again. The sight of people made him stiffen and he spoke in a low tone. Far more curt than he had intended. "My name is Spirit. This is Loki."

His eyes glanced down to his companion, before he continued to stroke his head and neck. When his eyes returned to the two others at the table, he shifted uncomfortably as his eyes glanced towards the people near him. Too many people. He fidgeted almost restlessly in the chair. A chair made of wood. They had probibly cut down a tree to make it too. So much death. So pointless. In the back of his mind he wondered, why he had ever left the forest to begin with.

[DM]

~ok we lost our cleric, but we are going to go ahead anyway. i'll get someone to play our healer here soon, i'll just have them come in later~

[Rumpleteazer]

Ileyan made her way into the strange building and stopped short a few feet past the door as her eyes grew perfectly round, sweeping the area as she took in all the many people seemingly milling about. Never in her life had she seen so many people gathered in one room. She began to step back slowly as her paw reached over her shoulder for the handle of her mace. Even when the traders came, there had never been that many people gathered, and that Included her entire tribe! And for so many people to be gathered inside, instead of outside where there was fresh air and a huge fire in the middle instead of so many tiny fires, well, it just didn't make sense to her.

It felt like a trap and difficult to breath in, and small, and unsafe, and a place she didn't want to be in. She could find other ways to get the silly little metals. All she wanted to do was kill the mean things. Though, it might be kind of difficult to find anyone to watch after her like Mama wanted, but that was okay. She would find someone, somewhere. Maybe even in this big tribe. There certainly Seemed to be enough people around outside of the tavern without anything better to do, anyway.

When her foot hit the doorstep, she began to turn around when something shiny caught her eye. She blinked and perked her small rounded ears as she tried to see where it was coming from. Oh, she had just seen it too! Where was it... there! She spun back around and took long sure strides toward the table in the middle of the room. There was a large smile spread across her muzzle as she moved her paw from her mace and her tail wriggled about behind her.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she made silent note of the poor craftsmanship used for the tables and chairs in the tavern. Of course, there had to be leeway made for how many chairs had to be made for a building this big. Still, her nose wrinkled a bit in distaste. Poor quality meant all of it would be cracking in a few decades. The wood wasn't even the sort that could be recycled for firewood. Okay, so Papa never used wood that would burn easily without using the super special oil on it, but it made the furniture in here even more of a waste. At least craft it so it could be used as something else once it cracked. Like, maybe the tables could be used to make, well, smaller things. But the chairs were made of a wood that wasn't even good for whittling!

She jumped a bit in surprise as a really pretty human girl stepped in front of her. She hadn't noticed she had gotten so lost in her own thoughts, or that she had even stopped walking toward the... what was she walking toward again? Oh, right, the table with the shiny! She began to grin again, then frown when she tried to move passed the girl, the shiny on the forefront of her mind now, but the girl seemed to insist she take a paper from the basket. She started to point toward the table she wanted to go to, but the lady again insisted. She let out a heavy sigh and did as she was told, reaching up and plucking out the folded paper. She then opened it to see if maybe there was a picture, but no such luck. Just a worthless doodle. Well, maybe it would be as useful as the other paper had been. In... getting her yet another smaller paper. What was it with these humans and paper and scribbles? Yet another Silly thing. Wait, what as she doing?

She blinked with a small frown and looked up from the paper, a lost naive look in her eyes. A sparkle caught her eye again, and she grinned in excitement. Right! Shiny! She walked right up to the table she had originally made a bee line to and set the paper down, forgotten for now. And yes, by some chance, happenstance, or will of the gods, it had the number six on it for all there to see. She leaned over the table, not yet taking note of the other three gathered on the table, and reached out to touch the tiny pretty crystal sharpies. Her paw fell short though, remembering what Papa had always said about not touching other people's things. Even the forest's things should sometimes not be touched without permission, like the trees or some of the animals.

Her eyes turned to the person sitting in front of the tiny pretty crystal shiny sharpies, and her grin lingered on her lips as she placed her paw in front of them respectfully. “Very purdy,” she breathed softly. She glanced at the other furless person and at what he had on display for people to see. The objects were small, and there were many of them, but none of them seemed shiny or even to be a weapon. She tilted her head a bit with a small frown and a confused look in her eyes. She looked over the objects again to see if maybe she had missed something, which wouldn't at all be a first for her. Far from it in fact.

There was another small sharpy, though she would want the pretty shiny ones if she was to ever get one. There was the tiny bow, which, well, the small bear had gone through several bows back when she was trying to figure out which weapon to learn to use. Only her father's really big bow was strong enough to keep her from breaking it, and that was almost as tall as she was. She doubted she could even so much as hold that tiny thing without it snapping right in her paws! What were the liquids? Something Silly, she was almost certain of it. The long glass containers they were in were really pretty though. Maybe he was just showing how they could hold stuff and not leak? Then there was... string? Was that for fishing? She hoped he wasn't looking to gain much from that! And a couple of dull ugly tiny sharpies.

If this was a place for trading goods, which she was starting to guess it was with the way things were out on display for all to see, she didn't want to trade with this person. His items seemed boring, dull, and rather useless. Maybe it was just a place to show off what you could make and get people to want you to make things for them. Papa and other people in her tribe did things like that, and would make lists in the brain of things to make and which thing made went to which face. Though he liked to whittle while he waited instead of just sitting around, making things for little kids to ask their mamas and papas to buy. It would explain why most people only had one or a couple of each item.

She still managed to look up at the human with a smile, though she was an honest person who had never quite grasped the idea of lies or deceit. She tried to be a bit polite, but her smile was tinged with outright disappointment. These goods wouldn't do well here with such pretty shinies that close to them. Her own paw reached back over her shoulder and grasped the handle of her mace. She only really had one thing to show off the craftsmanship of her tribe, but it was a master craftsmanship and well worth showing off. Okay, so she had two things, if one bothered to count her shield. But though it was good and durable, made of strong wood meant to repel strong attacks, it didn't have much craftsmanship behind it, and would easily be paled beside the mace.

She pulled the mace free and set it as gently on the table as she could next to the other goods. Her eyes shone with pride and her chest puffed out a bit as her posture became a little straighter. It was the last thing Papa had made for her. What was there Not to be proud of? Her family's work. Her heritage, though she would never be able to think up of the word heritage if asked. Her eyes moved to the spear as she waited for everyone's reaction to the fine work, and her head tilted the other way. In her searches for a good weapon she could use, she never thought to use the spear. Her aim wasn't too bad, and she could get a lot of power behind her throws, but after the experiments with bows and arrows she had learned she wanted a weapon she could keep a better hold of.

Her eyes moved to the owner, and lit up immediately as a bubbling giggle left her lips. It was a walk-on-two-legs! Just like her! Well, not Just like her, since he was a wolf of course! But he had fur! And something in her gut made his eyes just as pretty as the shiny sharpies too, if not prettier, though she'd never be able to explain how. There was Home in those eyes though. A fuzziness that drew a soft sigh from her lips. They made her think of Papa's eyes. Her expression suddenly turned from soft and longing to joyful and warm. Her lips parted to introduce herself, when she noticed the four legged right next to him.

Her eyes lit up anew as she danced from one foot to the other and clapped her paws softly in excitement. She moved to her knees so she was eye level with the animal, and spoke to him in a soft, somewhat awed voice, in her own language. She always had a high respect for the animals of the forest, especially those brave enough to move out of the forest for the ones they chose to be with. After a moment of talking to him, her eyes turned up to the walk-on-two-legs as she grinned up to him, her small tail wriggling once more.

“Pweasepweasepwease cahnju ask heem I cahn pet heem pweasepweasepwease I promish to be soft n not hirt heem pweasepweasepweasepwease?”

There was such an undeniable innocence and honesty in her eyes that even a blind man could see she would keep her promise and pet the wolf as gently as she could to keep from hurting him. She just wanted to feel his fur and touch him physically. And maybe even get to know him at least a little tiny bit before the walk-on-two-legs had to leave. Oh, maybe she could ask Them to watch over her as she killed the mean things! That would be so much fun! Then she could spend even more time petting the wolf and getting to know him and maybe even not have to ask for permission through someone else to pet him! She was nearly bouncing on her knees over the idea, suddenly very excited by it.

[Dark Kitsune]

The cloaked creature, still hidden mostly from sight except for his legs, went closer to the ones that were giving out the papers. Taking one, and noticed a human number six, he turned his head and watched over the table with said number, tilting his head as he watched a certain bear's antics, a chuckle came from his mandibles. He turned his tall frame towards the table and walked over to it, he knew he couldn't stay anonymous for much longer as he put back his hood, exposing his instectoid head to the rest of the ones sitting at the table, noticing the ones that already were there, and also the tiny crystals on the table. Interesting, they looked like the crystals his Hive used often, psycrystals, however he took that thought to the back of his head as he continued to appreciate at the little bear.

Greetings, to all of you +He said with a voice strong enough to be heard by everyone at the table, however, he didn't expect a greeting himself, so he just remained seated, watching what scenes unfolded before his composite eyes. His antennae flickering as he took in the scents in the air, his clawed hands tapping on the table a bit, he seemed either bored or nervous, it could be both, impossible to tell without expression in his face. He just took his moment turning his head every so often to look around at the tavern, and even at his companions, but he still didn't feel comfortable enough to talk to any of them.

[DM]

~well, here come your choices players. Going stay and eat or are you all going to take off into the wide open the world?~
The meal is a satisfying array of food, meats and cheeses and breads. With only slightly watered down drinks, as the night wears on the crowd gets smaller and smaller. Some drift up to their rooms and others head off into the night. If you decide to stay you are all given a single room, it is just barely large enough to hold the lot of you comfortably.
~if you stay there or not, here we go~
You all step out into the brisk air, the atmosphere in the town is one of a very somber quiet. All the windows and doors closed tightly against the night and the undead that wander it. The town guard only has a single gate open at this hour, the road leading out of town is a nearly straight, rutted cobble stone street. At least for the first hundred feet, after that it is a hard packed dirt road leading into the forest ahead, wisps of fog clinging to the trees, shrouding them in a deeper darkness. The shadows moving in the deep woods could be anything from trees moving in the slight breeze to, an army of wraiths moving through the trees. The road to the north disappears into the forest, under an overhang of branches forming almost a tunnel of green into the depths. To those who are especially attuned to the forest feel nothing out of the ordinary; it just looks creepy to the uninformed. The large forest is obviously a preserve of some form; to have a forest this large next to a major city is rare across most of this world. Obviously the baron or the king thinks a good deal of preserving the wonders of the world. The forest stretches as far as the eye can see to the east and west, to the south you can see a small trail leading around the outside of the city towards the south bound road.
~ok peoples, there is your choice, north or south. Although north would make my job a bit easier and would allow you all to pick up the next member of your team. A full blown wizard… oooooo~

[Phoenix]

He takes each person’s hand in turn, well those that offered giving them each a fairly standard “good to meet you,” even to the Thri Kreen he is polite and respectful. He looks around at the assembled group, his eyes fixating more on the bear than the Thri Kreen “you are a very sweet girl” he smiles down at her watching her fascination shift from shiny crystals to the very well behaved wolf on the floor. Picking up his daggers he slips them into the sheaths with a small flourish, his eyes shifting from person to person “by the looks of it we should be able to head out now, get out of this crowded city and into the fray.” Opening his backpack he starts to load up with a couple loaves of the wonderful fresh baked bread, pulling out a couple of cloths he wraps a few blocks of the cheese “no need to pass up on the free food” he smiles broadly, cinching his pack closed.
Even if they decide to spend the night (which I doubt), as they arrive at the gate his eyes sweep the area before them “well that looks slightly foreboding, but I doubt that the baron would leave anything truly dangerous just outside of this capital city, probably just travelers and undead” unslinging his cross bow from his back he pulls the cord back and locks it into place. Hanging it from his saddle he mounts in one smooth motion “I vote north” his mount drifts to the side slightly and towards the forest as he swings the horse around to face the group.

[Damien]

Damien felt antsy (pardon the pun) he wanted to get out and get his gold. Sure, this was by the looks of it, a marvelous team. He was a little taken aback by the one who shook his hand though. He stood after that and bowed to them all. "I'd have to agree that it would be best to get moving and find the source of all this before more innocent lives are pulled in." He sounded far too nice to be a rogue, but it was true, he liked helping out, and when the pay was good, doubly so.
Damien gathered his weapons and looked over the food, taking some bread and a smaller bottle of ale and stuffing them in his pack with some vegetables and a wrapped package of meat. "I'll eat on the go or something... my stomach doesnt really feel like settling any time soon." He ran over a mental checklist one last time and smiled as he walked into the night air, stretching a little and looked out at the forests. "Yes... north sounds good, it has a nice ring to it." he smirked a little and hoisted his pack a little higher as he peered into the trees, looking for anything that could possibly try to kill them as they left.
(I'm with leaving instantly, night travel with zombies is so much more fun.)
Damien looked up at the moon and rubbed his eyes. "Cloudy night, those undead bastards will try pretty hard to get to us as we move, but I heard they dont normally break into more than a shamble, we should be fine if we simply move quickly and set up a night watch for camp."

[SpiritAmenthor]

Spirit looked up at the Bear and tensed, she wasn't aggressive and seemed to be following some tradition. The paper spoke of her being a part of the group, and he blinked when she dropped down. Loki growled at how close she was getting, who was this creature to get so close? To invade his space. Spirit reached down and put his paw over Loki's muzzle, not holding it closed, but pressing it to his leg. He spoke in the druidic tongue to his companion. He looked to the bear and shook his head. "He doesn't know you. Doesn't trust you yet. Perhaps later, when there are less people around." If she questioned when later would be he would quietly say to her. "You drew a 6. We are now all a team to return the undeath to the ground and bring balance back the lands."

Loki looked up at Spirit, expectantly. He wanted to leave. Now. Spirit honestly couldn't fault him for it. It was noisy and there were far too many strange smells and odd people. Strange smells? Food. He sniffed at the air and looked to the door as the food was brought in. Loki changed his mind about leaving rather quickly as Spirit handed him a few of the meats. They were tender, and flavorful. It was a shame to not be able to offer thanks for the meal, but the others would not know the words. He simply said a quick thanks for the bounty and for the lives the animals and plants gave for the meal they were to enjoy. It was the words of the rogue and the quick gathering of the items that caught his attention. Apparently his prayers were being answered, and as usual just as that prayer no longer applied. Spirit quickly did the same, collecting some of the bread, and meats for the trail. He looked at the unlikely group that had assembled together and then turned to his Companion.This would be the group to end the undead scourge? To re-set the balance? To return to the ground the dead things that roamed the ground freely? Her will was strange, but he had to have faith. Had to trust in Nature, in the Mother. He lashed his pack to his back and put his spear at his side. Loki looked up as Spirit rose and nearly bounded out the door, all too eager to leave.

.....

When they reached the edge of town he moved past the gate. He breathed deep the cool night air. It was crisp. Clean. Invigorating. He looked back to his group, to which he had barely spoken. North, to the forest. His eyes were alight at the thought of moving back into the woods he knew far more about than the strange city with it's smoke and dead things. He looked to his feet, then spun looking for where Loki had gone. The wolf was standing at the entrance to the forest to the north. Watching. Waiting. Spirit couldn't help it, he was just as eager. Things, were looking up again. Back to the woods. Back to nature, where a Druid belonged.

[Dark Kitsune]

Hanzo looked at the food, his antennae twitching every so often as he took a quick glance at his "party", quite diverse, but complete. He felt the druid was the one he could trust the most, being one close to his own path, however, seeing as the other grabbed food and stood up, he did too. Taking a last look at the tavern, he left with the rest.

...

Once they have reached the forest, his mandibles clicked. He could see perfectly in the dark and took a quick glance at the surroundings, also, he didn't need to sleep, so surely he'll be the one making the guards at night most of the time, he knew this.

"Well, Now that we are here, what shall we do? Does anyone have a plan or are we going to make it up as we go?"

With one pair of hands, he took his bow and got it ready, with his other pair of hands, he took two of his swords. He got ready for everything that was bound to happen, his eyes taking a good look at everything in the forest.

[Vyncent]

Her dreams hadn't been good ones, the undead running rampant and devouring the life of the world. She awoke with a start, the last nightmare more personal than the others. Panting as the shadows of that dream left her in her tent alone, she looked about, something wrong with the feeling in the air. And then there was another mental rapport in her mind. Her eyes widened as she realized it was her alarm spell. Her heart racing, she went to the flaps of her tent and peaked out into the night to see the moonlight illuminate two walking horrors in her camp area.

Both wore nothing, carrying crude resemblances of swords. As they turned their heads, the dew that had clung to the sheer bone made it gleam in the moonlight, the ghastly green glowing in the eye sockets where once eyes had been unnerved her. But she recognized these two skeletons. They were the two that had chased her through the hills. How had they found her in here? She backed into her tent a little, the small enclosure well hidden since the two undead had yet to locate her. She calmed herself, bringing to bear the spells she had prepared for such an occasion, though she had little experience fighting such monsters.

she would only get one shot at this, if it worked. She opened the flap of her tent and sneaked out from it, circling around behind them. She then cast light on a leaf to their right, drawing their attention. As they raised their swords to combat whatever was glowing, she made the right gestures to her next spell and called out two more of her spells. To the walking bone closest she called out, "Arcanus Projecta!" A ball of blue energy sailed from her finger as she pointed it at the skeleton, striking it in the back of the skull and burst it into sparks of crackling energy, the magic missile connecting true to its caster's aim. She quickly began the next spell as the other turned to it's fallen comrade and then turned that eerie gaze on her.

Her eyes widened in fear as it began to lope after her, raising the sword once more to strike her down as she finished her spell and called out, "Daze!" The skeleton was hit with the faint green ray of light and stopped in its advance. She was glad she had another magic missile to send out or else she would have had to try and beat it with physical means, something she was never good at. As the horror looked about as if blind, though without eyes that was a bit redundant, she made the gestures needed and pointed straight at the skeleton's skull. With a strong, if not shaky voice, she called out once more, "Arcanus Projecta!", the ball of energy sailing out across the distance to perform exactly as the first, splintering the skull into tiny bits. She panted softly, scared and bit tired from the mystical energies she had to exhert to perform that many spells in succession. As she looked to the pile of bones, they turned to dust along with their weapons. It would seem the magic holding them together had also kept their weapons from decaying as well. Not unheard of.

With her assailants gone, she sighed and slumped in on herself, trudging back into the tent as the adrenalin left her body. She opened her book to recite and prepare more spells before turning in once more, hoping that was the last of her excitement tonight, though realizing that it might very well not be so.

[Rumpleteazer]

Ileyan's eyes had brightened at the words from the human-like one with the pretty little sharpies when he called her a sweet girl. At the wolf's reaction though, her cheeks flushed beneath her fur and her rounded ears folded back. She looked up to the walk-on-two-legs with a frown, and could feel the dejected look on her face even though she may never know the word to best describe it. She nodded though at his words and straightened up with a small sigh. She did ask when later might be, since she was still a little worried the pair would leave and she wouldn't see them again. At his words, her ears perked up and her bright smile returned. So she found someone to look after her! Not just someone, but a whole hunting party sized group of people! Mama would be so very proud!

At the sight of the bug-like creature in the cloak though, her smile turned all the sweeter, too easily distracted by the peculiar creature with the joints and shiny skin. She waved to him with a small, playful giggle, her small tail wriggling all over again, before she started looking around the table once more. She noticed the informal introductions and jabbed a thumb at her own chest. She declared in a proud voice, “Ileyan Blue! Tribe call me Yanyan.” Even as she spoke though, the others were gathering small bits of food and leaving one by one. The frown returned to her lips as she watched them retreat, and she whispered softly, “Why hurr... hurr... Why leave so fast?”

She sighed softly as she found herself all alone, again. She looked around her at the other people still in the tavern. There weren't near as many as had been when she first walked in, but still a whole lot more than she was used to being around. She never understood how she could feel so very alone when there were still others around her. It was the same feeling she had gotten the next morning after her Papa had been killed, and that she had felt ever since she left her tribe. A shiver ran through her body, and she quickly stuffed the thoughts into the long long list of Silly things. It wasn't too late to catch up with them, right? The walk-on-two-legs said they were traveling together, right? So they wouldn't Leave leave without her... would they...?

She quickly grabbed her mace and slid it between her back and shield, the straps there keeping it in place. She started to turn for the door when her nose reminded her of all the good food still on the table. That very nose wriggled as her eyes swept over the meats and cheeses and breads the others had left behind. That was a lot of perfectly good food. And it was all a gift from whoever owned this place. What was it Mama said about gifts? That it was mean not to take gifts. She didn't like being mean. She climbed onto the bench and used it for some extra height, which meant extra reach. It let her reach for the various bowls and platters, dumping the food off of each one and onto the plain and course table cloth that covered the table. She worked methodically, leaving a trail of dishes on the bench as she moved.

When everything was emptied out, she took another look at all the food. It was easily a couple hundred pounds worth of weight. She could carry that! She gathered the tablecloth by the corners, than knotted and scrunched and worked it into a package like her Papa always showed her. Okay, it wasn't nearly as neat as Papa's work, or as nice looking, but at least it would work for now. She grabbed it by the tab she had left for herself and slung the bundle onto her back. Her body managed the weight with ease despite her small size, and she grinned with pride. Now, what was she doing after- oh right! Need to catch up with the group!

She ran out the tavern with a bounce to her step, making the long braid bounce around her like a tail. She looked left, then right outside of the tavern. Where would they have gone? Ooooh, there they were, where the forest was! She bounded on over to them as she cried out, “Wait!” She managed to catch up rather quickly, and her small tail wriggled about as she looked around at them, smiling at the sight of the horses. She giggled and reached for them before looking to the forest. She breathed deeply the scent that was unique to the trees and a warmth filled her eyes. It wasn't home, but it was almost just as good. It was Comfortable. It was Familiar. It was... Nice. She wanted to go there. There was some mean things in there, but it was going to be so much better than any city. Something seemed... off though. She bit into her bottom lip and looked around at the group a second time. Something was missing, and she couldn't seem to grasp what. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling for her to not be able to grasp something that seemed off, but it still bothered her. There was the faintest smell of something burning, and then it dawned on her.

“No priest! We gots nobodies to heal stuffs!”

(Sorry this took so long. Been a hectic week. Also, take the faint burning smell as you will, whether it had been a mental trigger or her thinking too hard >.>)

[DM]

~our intrepid heroes venture into the rather ominous forest, the local humans had various superstitions about this forest. none where founded on reality, the ancient forest a preserve dating with an ancient treaty with the elven kingdom. dating from the fall of the dragon lords, the Centari. the low sun completely blocked off by the canopy yet still warm for this spring, most of the planet being considered tropical. you travel for a decent way through the rather peaceful forest, after a time the faint scent of scorched bone could be scented through the air, well to those of you that can smell it. if you decide to follow it it leads you off the path a short distance. you would get about 100ft in before triggering a silent alarm spell~
OK here is a bit of compressed history of the world for all of you. this is a fairly young world, for around 100,000 years it was ruled by 100 god like beings of absolute power and a thirst for more of it, one side went chaotic. the other orderly, then they waged war upon themselves, shattering their own power in a massive civil war. all the other races where created by these gods as their servants and slaves and worshipers. they rose up during the civil war and used the magics that they had learned from the centari to over throw them. so magic is so far limited to 7th level, after that, you need to research spells and create them *grins* could be fun, wild surges.

[Phoenix]

Looking down at the little bear girl as she races along to catch up with them, carrying the massive sack full of, food if one was to judge buy the bulges and shapes "that is truly astounding yanyan, but I don’t know if we could eat all that food. But it is good to know we have it" his eyes narrow in thought "you think slowly don’t you? You don’t appear to be stupid by any means, your answers so far are right. If a little enthusiastic" he smiles a slightly odd smile at her "plus I don’t even think my horse could carry that much" it spreads to a grin. "Looks like we are all in agreement, north it is" he swings his horse around and sets off at a slow walk, well for the horse anyway. As they enter the forest he looks around, "well it's at least nice on the inside, much more comfortable than the sun" his eyes now sweeping the trees of the forest side to side and up into the canopy. Completely oblivious to the scent he continues on down the road "you seem really proud of that mace yanyan, it seemed very well constructed. Did you perhaps make it?" well she was strong, which was good, but slow could be dangerous. Everyone else seemed fairly confidant, but for the moment she was the wild card. It would be best to keep her happy and focused on her tasks, prevent her from getting hurt out here. She could be a great warrior and a great child, but never a scholar. (ok i kinda like that, might change it a bit)

[Sponsored content]