The Shadow of Shashallah Quest (Event Quest)

[DukeWolfRein]

Active Players: DukeWolfRein, DarkPigeon, Scottishgal, Vernes, Boxer, TheTexanQueen, KaptainJohnson
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By the cold and barren ground at the foot of The Peaks stood a town called Herrtikuk. Buildings spread out from the center in a circular fashion, once the ruins of a grand Elvish fortress now they were used by the townspeople as homes and businesses. Traders littered the streets, peddling their wares and exchanging goods between themselves. The lights that illuminated the town hung from lines that ran from building to building, red round lamps made of paper. As the people walked along the streets they spoke of the sky above them and how grey it always seemed, Herrtikuk was situated in such a way that the sun never truly reached it except for a few hours during the afternoon. The Town itself was surrounded by a large wooden wall. Strong trunks that had been dug deep into the ground and fashioned sharp ends at their tops protected the town from the Orcs in the Mountains, and the many Bandits and Raiders hiding in the forest on the other side. The Wall had three Gates, one to the South, facing a trading path that beat through the forest towards the Shashallah Desert; One to the West, facing the Kildreth Forest, and one to the East, standing between The Peaks and the Town. Each of these Gates bore the symbol of Herrtikuk, a golden boar with a ring of fire around it.

As Reina approached the Eastern Gate she could feel the air around them start to warm up. It had been two days since they had left The Shore and buried Solora by the side of the path towards Herrtikuk, and in those two days no one had so much as peeked at them. They had found no trace of anyone on the path between The Peaks and Herrtikuk, and she found that extremely odd. Usually one could find a trader or two heading down to the Town, but the path had been dead still and quiet. As they came down a slope towards the Gate she stopped. There was something ahead, or someone. Finally, someone to talk to. She walked forward and began to speak when she noticed that whoever it was, was not alive.

The Corpse had been strung up and left hanging from a tree, its guys strewn across the floor. Reina looked at the dead man and raised a brow, she was very curious as to who this poor fellow was. The man had armor on, specifically he had Theysilon armor on, and he was bald, average sized. She looked back at her group and sighed "Raiders, you can always trust them to leave a mess."

~~~~~~~~

Deep within the Forest a Goblin popped his head out of a hollowed out trunk and sniffed the air. He held the head of the group they had found not far from The Shore in his hands and played with it as if it was a ball "My my, it seems the rest of your group has showed up. I can smell that Dog even from all the way over here. Him and his little Halfling bitch are sure to be in for a surprise. I hope they liked my present." The Goblin chuckled softly and looked around at the other five hanging above in the branches of the trees "Report back to Drax, he's gonna wanna hear of who just arrived." The Goblins grunted and leapt off jumping from branch to branch into another part of the forest. The Goblin in the trunk looked at the head and pushed the eyes in "Yes, he'll be very pleased, very pleased indeed." He climbed out of the trunk and began running into the forest.

~~~~~~~~

Karmin walked towards the Western Gate, the girls were behind her and there had been an air of impatience after the fight with the Sefalin. There had been no traders or any beasts on the path to Herrtikuk, and Karmin knew that this was strange, they should have found the Goblin Warband by now. She looked over to Kumari and nodded "I guess we'll be looking for any sign of the Warband inside of the Town. Kumari, I want you and Celia to pair up and find out anything you can about the Goblins. Josephine, do us all a favor and do what you do best, go into the trees and scout the perimeter of the Town, feel free to find us once you're done. Do not engage without informing me first. I will look for a place to spend the night, it's about time I had a decent enough bed under me." Karmin walked towards the Gate, the Guards standing in the watchtowers above looked down and nodded to each other.

The Gates opened as Karmin walked, she knew the girls would listen. Ever since the Sefalin she had found that they were not as useless as she thought they would be. Celia and Josephine in particular were very useful for recon and they were always so eager to put their necks on the line to scout ahead. Kumari was a whole 'nother breed, and her skills were more scholastic than anything. The girl had a fire in her that she used in battle, but that was nothing compared to the amount of knowledge she had and was ready to provide when needed.

[scottishgal]

A collection of small ruined buildings had been linked together to create a pitiful excuse for a tavern. The outside was a mix match of woods, metals and stones. Someone had thought this a good idea…the idiot. The inside was somehow worse, the staircase leant to the left and the floor was half wooden planks and beaten dirt. The current occupants of the tavern were mostly men crowded around the small excuse for a pub. A lone woman stood behind the bar, she was a hard looking woman. Her whole body screamed “piss off” to any of the men who moved closer to her. The men were plenty drunk already, even though it seemed that the day had only truly begun. But with the constant grey it was becoming hard to figure out what time of day it was.

Kaira was not who many thought to see this day. She was clad in a simple brown dress with a dark green cloak. Though her mundane clothing was not what many turned with confusion to see. It was the pale skin, the doe eyes which looked upon everyone with a hint of pure innocence. She was not one of the usual occupants of the town, the woman beaten down by the grey around them. Men gave her leering smiles, Kaira only blinked slowly back at them until they turned their backs on her. With a small smirk she wandered up to the bar. The woman behind had a vague idea of who Kaira was. Kaira had been residing upstairs for some time, but rarely come down. She much preferred her own company, than any drunken mans. But today seemed to be her “lucky” day.

A man of her age came over, flashing a somewhat white smile. Kaira rested her fingers around the mug of water she had asked for. The man leaned himself against the bar blocking her in against the wall, no escape. He probably thought her to be like a small trapped rat. Kaira dragged her eyes to him and kept a neutral look upon her face. The man chuckled and dragged his grubby fingers through his manky hair. ”The names Keir.” Kaira didn’t change her expression. The man chuckled lightly, almost like he was nervous. “Come on Luv…Gie us a smile.” Kaira only blinked slowly, like she either didn’t understand him or was unamused by the mere thought. The man seemed a bit taken back, he glanced back at his companions and watched them snicker at his failure. The man frowned slightly, “You’d look much better if you’d smile.” He said reaching a hand out to gently touch her cheek.

Kaira grabbed his hand before his fingers reached her face. Her hand tightening around his wrist. “You do not touch me.” She said her voice soft and sweet, though there was no smile to match the voice. Her eyes were fixed on his, daring him to try again. The man blinked rapidly at the sudden movement. She let go of his hand and he moved a step back rubbing his wrist. He glared at her and growled under his breath “stupid slut”, he made to move away. Turning his back to her, bad move there. Those able to see would see anger flash across the soft features of Kaira, she was not one to take kindly to such words. Kaira flicked her fingers up and lifted the untouched water from her mug. With little effort she sent the water flying at the back of the mans head. The water smashed into the back of his head, not too hard just with enough force to send him stumbling forward straight into a man nursing a beer. The seated man choked into his beer and stood up with beer dripping down his chin.

It took mere seconds for the entire tavern to descend into chaos. More beer was split and with each drop that reach the floor another punch was thrown. If anyone had thought to look to the corner where the pale girl had sat, they would see nothing. A small grubby coin was left beside the mug and the chair was empty. Kaira had had enough human interaction for the day. She was back up in her room and there she would remain unless something of interest happened in this grey derelict town.

[DukeWolfRein]

Sitting on the windowsill of Kaira's room was a girl with bright white hair and a pair of eyes that could Pierce right into anyone's heart and see what was inside. A sword rested at her hip and her hair blew from the cold air outside. She looked up to the Caster and smiled. It had been quite a long journey to find her, and her smile showed how pleased she was at finally making Kaira's acquaintance.

The girl slowly got off the window and looked at the Caster. "Caster Kaira? My name is Jaa-deh. I am a Sword Mage with the Theysilon Army, and I am officially your apprentice." Jaa-deh retrieved a roll of paper from on of her pockets and presented to Kaira "I hope I came at a good time. It was quite the journey, I would want to ruin it by arriving at a bad time." Her eyes looked at Kaira and she was caught by the woman's beauty. Many in the Academy had spoken of Kaira, and of her uncontrollable rage. The way the spoke in whispers of what she could do. How she had cut an Orc in two once just with water. Jaa-deh could feel the woman's power and she def off of it. She had chosen her specially because she knew that they were opposites, and she found something so interesting about that.

[darkpigeon]

-- Josephine and Kurami --
In their day's traveling together it became clear to Josh that she was taking a liking to the Undine. Kurami was good example for 'still waters run deep' something that she had proven as she had killed the Sefalin by drowning it in mud with the use of her magic. Josh liked that about the Undine, that she secretly could be that cruel. She was not a worldly person Josh, she knew what she knew and would not pick up a book even if it could safe her live. But she knew some stuff about the Undine, how they could bend blood in a persons veins, make them drown in their own blood or play around with them as if they were mere marionetes. Kurami was more than happy to explain the 'science' behind it all, and how the very first Undine who had discovered it was one of the strongest Elite Storms that ever lived. It showed why the Theysilon army wanted the girl to become a storm elite. As much as the Undine could be cruel she took a liking to reading, she was smart and kind hearted and was not easily scared. Even in the eyes of the dangerous Sefalin she had proven herself to be a strong minded woman.

Not having her books with her put the Undine on a edge and made her brain hungry for such amounts of knowledge. She truly was happy to see the city of Herttikuk standing in front of her, and if she was the bouncy type of girl she surely would be doing so. Instead she looked deadly calm, almost bored as she listened to the orders that Karmin gave her. If only she could find a bookstore to feed her hunger for knowledge! and hopefully find a book that she did not know already. SHe nodded and looked at the drow, she was ready to head into the city with this young woman, and wanted to learn to know her just a little bit better.

Josh herself hoped for something exciting to do and was glad to hear that she was to scout the surrounding area of the City, and the city of Herttikuk itself. The young thief nodded in agreement and was up and away before Karmin could even finish her sentence. Here she was in her true element, she loved running and climbing over rooftop's, broken down walls, chimneys, and everything else that others would consider 'too damn high' or 'way too dangerous'. She was happy to be away from the group, and for not having Karmin breathing down her neck.

She was up and away into the forest first. She did not know what Karmin wanted her to find but of something would be there. Josh would be the fist to know. 

[thetexanqueen]

The recent slaughter of the Sefalin was still fresh on Celia's mind as they traveled to the town. She kept replaying the fight in her mind, which kept her silent for most of their journey, she knew there were areas that could be worked on, for everyone, but she was proud. They came together and brought down a foe that would have easily chewed thrm up and spit them out had they not been trained by the best. On the outside Celia kept a cool, calm demeanor, but on the inside she was beaming. She had hoped for another challenge along the way to the town, but she didn't mind the peaceful journey they had. I wonder when any...'bonding moments are going to happen. Father always talked about leaving with a group of strangers and returning with brothers after a mission... the young Drow thought back to her fathers battle stories and smiled slightly, for the first time she would be the one telling a battle story and it wouldn't be about inside the areana! The idea of telling her parents about her mission made her chest swell with pride, they would be so happy to hear about her successes. Her eyes drifted to the Undine, Kurami, and a flash of the Undine raising the waters to kill the Sefalin came across her mind, Celia was impressed. Then she shifted her gaze to Josephine, she didn't know how to feel about her. For one she could barley understand what came out of that woman's mouth and two she seemed to have a temper, nothing like Karmins though. But, Josephine was a very talented fighter and so was Karmin. She had a lot to learn from this group of women.

"Yes ma'am," Celia replied to Karmin's order. She looked over to Kumari and smiled at her. "Let's get started," she said and walked through the front gates and began to think of where to go to get the scoop on the Goblin situation. "Maybe we should find the market place? Lots of gossip happens there, or some taverns? Those are always filled with hunters and travelers, maybe we can get some good information there?"

[scottishgal]

The body swayed softly in the wind. His cold dead eyes staring into nothingness. Blood dripped steadily from his corpse dotting the pathway. Tehron had smelt the corpse before seeing him. The metallic smell of blood, it bit at his nostrils but he was used to it. When he saw the body, he took a step forward to pass by it then something caught his eye. He froze. It…It was one of his group. Numen. The man had sent them on their task. Tehron had thought his group cowardly, that they had fled. Or that…they sent them away to get rid of them. None of the group seemed particularly happy with their presence.
But well this changed things, someone had slaughtered his group. If they had returned then they would surely be hanging beside him.

He caught Neara with his paw and tried to hold her back. Tehron had shown no emotion, his eyes only frantically scanned over the corpse. Trying to figure out his wounds. Neara tutted at him and struggled her way past. Neara wasn’t quite, her gasp was rather loud and high pitched. She moved a step closer, her hands flew to her mouth covering her open mouth. “B..But…” She said glancing back at Tehron. Tehron caught her gaze and stared at her. She was not to speak of them.


Tehron raised his chin at the elf as she spoke. “Goblins…It stinks of them.” Tehron glanced at the rope holding the man up and sighed. “Neara bring him down.” Neara glanced between the two of them and moved over to the large oak tree. She unsheathed a small knife hidden under her clothing and made quick work of tearing through the rope. The rope slid through her fingers and the man fell but surprisingly the wolf caught him. The body hadn’t been strung up that high and the wolf only made a soft grunt when catching the heavy man.


Throwing the body over his shoulder, he moved away from the path. Neara scurried behind him, she bent beside the corpse and closed his eyes. Tehron placed a paw over the emblem on Numen’s chest. After a moment they both stood and moved back to the group. Neara glanced at her new friend and gave her a small sad smile. Tehron snapped his eyes to the elf. “I couldn’t leave him hanging there. His soul would not rest.” He said rather bluntly, like his words were rather obvious. Neara moved back to her previous position of clinging to him and glanced up at the elf. “Shall we?” Tehron said to the group gesturing for them to continue down the path.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Kaira was not amused. She never expected to find someone in her room. This young girl was sitting there and…smiling. Not a good move. Kaira raised her chin and let her speak. She nodded slightly, confirming who she was. She frowned when she mentioned something about her apprentice. “I think not child.” She said rather coldly. Kaira snapped her eyes to the roll of paper and glared at it.


“You did not come at a good time. Nor have you helped my mood by breaking into my room.” She said taking a step forward, her eyes fixing on the girl. She tilted her head, scanning the girl up and down. Kaira called the water from the wash basin to her, pulling it across the floor towards her. Without even moving her fingertips, she whizzed a small ball of water past the girl. It would move her hair with the speed and pierce through the partially closed wooden shutters. The act was not meant to harm her, but merely show the girl that she should fear her and not smile at her arrival. “I care little for the Theysilon Army. Find yourself another.” She said before moving from her open door. “Now get out.” She said holding the water tight within her fingertips. Kaira felt there was no need to fear this girl, but the rather large weapon her back still made her worried.

[darkpigeon]

Kurami watched Josh disappear over the walls, the small girl seemed so very much in her element jumping and crawling over anything that she reminded Kurami about spiders.. why the girl was called the Ferret from time to time was a riddle to her. She stopped watching as Josh was gone and looked at the Drow. "Sounds like a good plan, these so called 'watering holes' are good for information gathering. Though these kind of roughians do not feel all to chatty if it comes to the Empires men and women.. with that I mean us" She smiled and walked over to Celia. "we need to find a delicate balance between being these so called roughians ourselves... without losing our dignity as Theysilon soldiers. This truly is a lesson we both need to learn.. I think that the one called Josh will find this more.. troublesome" She smiled and followed Celia towards the gate "With that I mean keeping her dignity"

They reached the gate rather quick and were let in without so much as a suspicious look. The city was a trading hub for this part of the country and was used to see all kinds of races, and combinations of them. A Undine and Drow did not raise any questions with the guards, they just kept talking about their day and the cheese onion bread that one of their wives had made. Undine loved these kind of places, walking amongst the normal men and women. The looked at the wares they were trading with one and other, and how a man was getting into trouble as he had tried to swindle a few other men. this she rarely got to see, it was every bit the picture she had imagined as she studied in the library.

....

Hybrid stood silently watching both Neara and Theron handling the dead body. She did not like this bad omen, and it made her grow rather nervous. She looked around, her wings tight against her body as she scanned the surrounding area to find that nothing else was seemingly out of place. She only saw few birds, a couple of deer... nothing that would point out that they were in any danger. She made a little jump as the body fell into Theron's arms and wondered if they were to bury this one too. She found that an odd concept, putting someone in the ground seemed hardly fitting. The harpy fed their dead to the vultures so the birds could bring their spirits high up in the sky were they would remain between the stars for all of eternity. But maybe these ground dwellers did not like the idea of being in the sky forever so she did not protest when the elf was put to rest, nor would she protest when the human was to be buried.

[vernes]

Cresco watched as the corpse was caught by the wolf creature. 
After slowly turning his gaze on their surroundings, Cresco finally spoke up. 
"Father did not spoke of problems this close to the town of his friend."
"I don't think the people of the town are aware of this event."
"We should leave this area soon and inform the town of this."
For a moment he seem to contemplate something. 
 
"Did anyone know this man?"

[kaptainjohnson]

Looking up at the hanging man, his mandibles unconsciously clicked together, making a quiet and soft ticking, running through the scenario's that could of lead to this man's death, taking into account the Theysilon armour he wore. He never had understood why raiders, bandits and the like seemed to string up corpses - hanging's were an official and common punishment for criminals, their main purpose to end the victim's life. But hanging up a dead body had no point. If anything, it detrimented the outlaw's, alerting travellers to the threat of an ambush on the path ahead. What an odd people that inhabited this world, forgoing sense and reason. Or perhaps he merely had yet to comprehend it.

Bringing his mind out of his skull, seeing the wolf-man pull the corpse down, he silently protested, as it would now no longer act as a warning to other travellers to come this way, but these people had a deep rooted tradition of burying their dead, and he was not one to go against that he did not understand. On the thought of culture, he inspected himself before glancing at one of the more human looking of the group. He doubted people would take well to a creature like him with what they would consider an other worldly appearance.

"Bandits and raiders should be expected near settlements, especially as this is a trading town. Outlaw's can make a far more profitable catch then from the villages" He addressed the robot, looking towards the gate.

Pulling out a plain woollen blanket, spreading it out and pulling it around him. Bringing his two side legs together and up, he outstretched them to stand on 'two' legs, the blanket long enough to hide the rest of his body with his elongated height.

[DukeWolfRein]

~Reina~

Reina watched as Tehron cut the man down, almost hastily. Bandits and raiders were nasty pieces of work, most of them too far gone from this world to be considered mentally stable. It was a bit of a sad story really. Most Bandits and Raiders will start off poor, living outside of the help from the Theysilon, perhaps a retired soldier or an ex-trader with some basic knowledge on how to use a sword. They'll start off robbing caravans and assaulting people in order to survive another day, just for some food, then greed sets in. Eventually they start becoming more and more sadistic until killing and torturing become a normal part of life. Reina had seen many a wealthy trader and soldier turn into the basest form of their past self simply because they had been cast out.

She heard Cresco and turned to face the Mechanomicon shaking her head "The man is not familiar to me. However his armor is. He is part of the Theysilon Anti-Mercenary forces. Whoever did this to him is in for it." Her gaze shifted to Tehron and she greeted the Wolf's invitation to continue with a smile "Yes, it's been too long since I saw Herrtikuk."

They walked towards the Eastern Gate and immediately a group of guards dressed in simple leather armor ran from the guard hut near by the gate to greet them with their spears pointed at them "Halt! What brings you here? And who is that on the Wolfman's shoulder?" One of them shouted at them. He seemed to inspect the group thoroughly and then focused on Reina and then Tehron "Explain yourselves. Now."

~Jaa-Deh~

Jaa-deh was surprised at how aggressive the woman was, but she didn't falter. Her smiled remained in her face as the wat shot next to her and she found the trick ever so delightful. Never in her years in the Academy had she seen someone make water into a solid enough form to go through something. Very gently she got off the windowsill and looked at Kaira "Unfortunately I cannot go until I have proven myself in battle with you ma'am. There are strict rules to adhere to when it comes to being an apprentice. I sought you out because you were on the list, and if I go back now they'll just send me back to you until you agree to teach me."[/color] Her eyes met Kaira's and there was a moment where she could feel the extreme anger behind her eyes reach into her.

She fixed a stand of her white hair behind her ear and then tilted her head slightly to the right "I understand you were General Axion's wife. It is imperative of apprentices to learn as much about their future Masters as possible before meeting them you see. I know that after he was killed you joined the Military. I also know who it was, and I sought you out because I wanted to help you find this person. It is my way of paying for apprenticeship, as it is custom."[/color]

~Sashti~

As the Caravan settled into the city marketplace the Frog looked around for any Inns. He was hungry as could be and the idea of eating something besides the spicy desert food made his stomach sing. Thoruk popped his head from inside the Caravan and jumped off before following after the Frogman. Sashti began to walk towards the nearest vendor he could find and licked his lips before picking up a piece of bread with some spices and meat inside. He laughed and gave Thoruk a piece before paying the merchant and walking away "Now this is real food Thoruk! So good!"Thoruk let out a chuckled and devoured his food. Sashti began to chew when he accidentally bumped into someone, or rather something. Whatever he had just stumbled into was big, and hard. He looked up and was met with an Orc face, something he had not expected in Herrtikuk. He narrowed his eyes and growled "Outta my way Big Green."

[scottishgal]

Tehron held the cold dead body over his shoulder. One paw holding onto the corpses back to stop him from sliding off. He heard the metal mans question and chose to ignore it, he didn’t want to bring any more attention to them than necessary. Tehron heard the elf answer the Mechanomicon and snapped his eyes between the two. He couldn’t help but to smile when she said that whoever killed him was in for it. The force would not stop until who did this paid for their crimes.

Neara kept close to him as they wandered towards the Eastern gate. They would not bury him outside the walls, it was not fit for such a man. Even if Neara did hate him, she knew that he should be respected and no one deserved such a death. Tehron wanted to groan when he heard the guards voice. He glanced at Reina and then lazily dragged his eyes back to the guard. “We have come to enter the city. The man you see atop my shoulder is dead. He was killed and strung up along the path. His name is Numen. The leader of the Seanon Division of the Anti Mercenary squad. He was a member of the Theysilon Army and is worthy of a state burial.” Tehron said as if reading from a card. Tehron glanced up at the man and wanted to smirk but thought better of it. “Before you state such concerns, if we…nay I had killed this man why would I bring him within the walls for a burial fitting of his rank? We merely wish to enter the city for simple restocking of supplies and to bring this man’s death to the knowledge of your city watch.” Tehron kept his eyes on the man and felt Neara shuffle behind him. Neara kept herself completely hidden and gave Hybrid a small smile as she stood behind Tehron.


~Kaira~

Kaira fumed silently as the girl told her she could not leave. Something about her angered her even more, it might be that stupid calm voice how everything seems so relaxed to her. She knew she was right and curled her hands into fists. She hated that they had such a control over her. Kaira thought for a moment, she could evade the girl a while longer. Send her back to the capital, convince her to annoy another mage instead of her.

Kaira crossed her arms watching the girl fix her hair. She froze when she heard her say his name. If it was possible, her eyes were burning a hole through the girl. How dare she? The thing to push her over the edge was this silly girl saying she knew who killed him. No one knew who it was, she had spoken to every official member of the incident. She knew everything of it down to the exact time the arrow went through his neck. How could some little thing think she knew who it was.

Kaira raised her chin and glared at her. “Outside. Now” She didn’t wait to see if the girl was following her and just turned making her way down the stairs. The bar was still full and a few pieces of wooden furniture were scattered around. A few men stood in her path but scurried out the way when they saw the anger atop her face.

Once outside, with the cold air biting at her skin Kaira turned around. “Lesson One. Don’t ever rile up your opponent. Especially when it will end badly for you.” Kaira waited until the girl moved into her sight and raised her hands palm down. The fountain behind her that was cracked and falling to pieces started to shake softly. “Don’t you lie to me. You cannot come here for my help and tell me you know who killed him. No one knows that.” Kaira curled her hands into fists and water started to trickle free from the fountain. “Don’t you ever utter his name.” She said her breathing heavy as she tried and failed to control her anger. She snapped her fingers out quickly and the water shot forward.

Half of it raising up and shooting almost like arrows at the girl. The water shaped mid air growing thinner to a point as it whizzed closer. The other half turned to ice and slide at a rapid pace to catch under her feet. If it managed to get underneath her feet, one single movement would send her falling to her ass. Kaira felt her whole body shake, her anger always got the best of her and this stupid girl pushed the wrong button.

[darkpigeon]

 -- Graham -- 

He was still chuckling at Mouse her misfortune as she had nearly choked in the ale. He did not know if women like her even drank ale, and if she did not he surely was going to teach her. But for now Buttermilk sounded like a saver bet, he did not want her to get drunk on her very first day on the marketplace. "We go look for good trade, some fabric for orc that want pretty fabric, some herbs, spiced and fruits for cooking, herb for sick orcs, and maybe we find book for Graham..." He leaned forwards towards Mouse and smiled "And chicken, much chicken and buttermilk for both Graham and mouse." he patted her on her shoulder and turned around so he could lead her passed all the market stalls that were spread around the marketplace. 

He had not watched where he was walking and felt someone or.. something bump against his leg. He looked down and was surprised to see the big red frog eyes staring up at him. Not the most friendliest eyes he thought to himself and chuckled as the small frogman called him Big Green. "Excuse Graham, he did not look where he walked. He is sorry for inconvenience. Have a pleasant day sir" he said strangely gentle. He had taught himself to just take any insult and let it fester inside him until he was out of the city. Any bear, wolf or bandit that would cross his path them would be so very.. very unlucky. 

[thetexanqueen]

"Ah, yes. I doubt anyone of them would care to speak to the real us," Celia laughed and tapped her pale white hands on her chin as she thought for a moment before smiling and turning to her partner, "we just play pretend! So instead of being on a mission for the theylison we are...head hunters! Paid in shady alley ways and no one knows our real names. And we are hunting a goblin, can't say who, but is known to be in the goblin 'clan', if you will, and see if we get information that way!" Celia quite liked her idea and thought that with this rough crowd the story would work no questions, but it was just an idea in her head and everything in her head went perfectly.

"Unless you have any ideas." Celia fully believed In team work so she wanted Kumari's opinion, even if it wasn't what she wanted to hear.

(Short post I know. We had the mover evaluation today so I've been preparing for that. We get packed on the 16th and hopefully move shortly after, but nothing is easy with the military!)

[vernes]

= CITY GATES =
Cresco made sure not to draw too much attention.
With his clothes well adjusted to cover him, all Cresco could do now was to remain calm.

[DukeWolfRein]

~Reina~

The Guard looked at Tehron and then back at the dead man and with a signal ordered the others to raise their spears back up. He walked forward and once more eyed the group "We have been finding corpses along the roads for quite a while now, this is not the first, and I do not think it will be the last. At first we suspected Bandits, but it doesn't seem likely given that the roads have been cleared of any undesireables. We have also scouted as much of the forest as we can, except for the Swamps deep within Kildreth Forest, and we doubt any group of Bandits in their right mind would seek shelter there. I will take the body and make sure he gets the burial he deserves for his service. Make yourselves at home, and welcome to Herrtikuk." He signaled two of the other guards and they walked up to Tehron, grabbing the body gently and moving it away towards the barracks.

Reina looked at the Guard and crossed her arms, one of her eyebrows rising slowly "You will bury the man outside of the city? Do you not have a Cemetery?" The Guard turned to look at her and sneered "Leave it to an Elf to question Human methods. Herrtikuk does not have a Cemetery, no. We either burn our dead or bury them outside the city, it helps to keep the city itself free of useless buildings or things such as tombs and graves. The man is military, we will more than likely have to send him back to the Capital and have them figure it out, until then we will keep him as preserved as possible within the Barracks." Reina nodded once and began to walk towards the now opening gates. She turned once and looked at the Guard once more "You will tell us if anything happens to be discovered about what killed this man, correct? It is the least we can ask for after delivering him to you." The Guard only nodded before walking away towards the Barracks. Reina shrugged and looked at the Group "Come on then, the city awaits us!"

As they entered the city the first thing to make itself most noticeable was the smell of spices and food in the air. The calls of merchants clamoring for customers and coin. Reina had not been to Herrtikuk in quite a while, and she could not for the life of her remember why she had not come back sooner. She took a deep breath and smiled, the city was the same as always, busy and bursting with exquisite wonders to be found. She turned to talk to Tehron when she heard the explosion.

~Sashti~

The Frog was taken back by the Orc's response, and as he walked away he looked down to Thoruk, a look of confusion exchanged between both of them. He ran after the Orc, yelling out at him " Wait! Wait! Listen here!" As he reached him he stood in front of him and closed one eye, a sign of curiosity that had become a habit for him "I just insulted you, do you not have anything to say beyond apologies? Do you not want to smash my head in? Beat me to a pulp? Perhaps even maim me a little?" Thoruk ran after Sashti and grabbed on to his leggings, pulling on them and pointing to somewhere down the street "One moment Thoruk, can't you see I'm talking to someone?....Oh what is it you..." Sashti looked up to see where Thoruk was pointing and that's when he saw the explosion.

~Jaa-Deh~

As she followed Kaira out of the Inn she could tell that there was an anger way beyond any she had ever experienced, either from others or herself. Jaa-Deh only stood and watched as she began to summon the water, and she noticed something very peculiar. Although in order for a Caster to be able to control an element they must be in direct contact with it, Kaira seemed to have surpassed that, using the air itself as a medium through which to make the water come forth. Only the most experienced of Casters knew how to control Elements without having a direct connection to them, and even then it was still a very imprecise skill. Kaira had not only commanded the water, but she had transformed it into ice within seconds and as Jaa-Deh saw the spikes coming at her and the ice run underneath her she knew one thing, this woman was not only the strongest Caster she had ever met, she was the strongest she had ever heard of. A feeling rose from her stomach and covered her whole body. She looked at Kaira and smiled.

Her hands were the only thing to move, she didn't need to move her feet any particular way anyhow, that would most certainly lead to her slipping on the ice. As they came up, her palms facing the coming ice, she began to focus energy into her hands. She was unsure of the effects of the spell as she had only heard of it in theory. The transformation of one element into another. Swordmages were supposed to be able to work in perfect duality, whether it was mastering two different elements, or handling a sword just as well as casting a spell. She was already skilled with the sword, she only needed teaching in Magic. She felt the first contact of the ice meeting her palms and then a very warm feeling on the palms of her hands. The Ice was slowly becoming fire, tightly packed fire, every part of the projectile turning into flames right before her eyes. She looked up at Kaira, her face calm but on the inside she could feel a sense of accomplishment, excitement, she had done what in theory should not be possible. She had done it, and now she could write back to the academy that it wasn't a theory. She smiled. The fire began to spin out of shape and grew into a large wall of flame. Jaa-Deh looked at it and knew that this would not end well. As the fire began to form into a wall small popping noises came from it. Jaa-Deh shook her head, she knew. A tightly packed fire once released has more than enough energy built up to level buildings, roads, even mountains. She had to send it somewhere or else this whole entire side of the city would be destroyed.

Jaa-Deh had never felt helpless, or desperate. She had the ability to be as calm as possible, no matter the situation. However, doing the impossible can make anyone do something that they've never done before, and so she panicked. She didn't know where to send the Fire. It had been mere seconds since Kaira had sent the Ice her way, but it felt like hours. Jaa-Deh launched the Fire, aiming up. She saw as it flew up and into the sky. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked back and saw a woman with long brown hair and a look of melancholy in her eyes. "Not bad, for an amateur." The woman ran forward and aimed her hand up, the fire coming down in a spiral towards her palm. Jaa-deh could not believe it, this woman was absorbing all that energy, all that fire. She saw the fire begin to spout out from her mouth and eyes, almost as if there was no space left inside of her body to hold it. The woman looked at her, the last of the fire going into her body, an then she noticed the smile.

Karmin felt the fire inside of her and looked at Kaira "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes, Ice Queen." She let out a chuckle and then turned to Jaa-Deh "You should know better, that if you play with fire...You're going to....BUUUUUURRRRNNN" Suddenly there was a flash as energy began to pour out from her eyes and mouth, Karmin screamed into the air and the explosion that followed was blinding.