Ursali

This being, her sister, was laying out quite a lot of heavy information. I... What is she talking about? Some of it makes sense, but, what does the rest mean? Things that Alriana knew, but that she purposefully kept at the back of her mind. Years of living with Grelbiria had convinced her that those thoughts and details weren't important to warrant serious consideration. However, with the being that called her sister... Her, sister as well then? With her sister in front of her, talking so freely about those thoughts, it took her back thirteen years to the facility. Underground, little to no natural light, a room that was painfully bland. Days spent with Grelbiria, learning many things... "Ah?" She snapped out of the impromtu delve into her memories at Ingverd's voice, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "I, I'm fine, yes. Not that I know entirely what's going on." Slowly, she was piecing it together. Another like her had appeared, called her sister, knew too much to not be from the same place. Did that mean there were more of them? More family out there? She turned to Sixteen to finally answer her. "Grelbiria was always with me, yes. But, what do you mean attacked? Grelbiria took me to Glacies one night... Is that why?" There was more she wanted to ask, much more, but in preferably more private company. However, somehow in the midst of things, Gean invitation to do as such with Tasha was lost in everything else.

"Wha..." The beings attention was suddenly on her, Alriana staring back at her as the being came more into view as she scrambled across the crates. There wasn't any doubt anymore, save for the coloration of the girl, and her golden scaled claws and tail, she was definitely another of whatever Monster Alriana herself was. She didn't know how to take the sudden realization, still as stone until the being collided with her and sent her tumbling and rolling across the ground. When they finally stopped Alriana herself was completely immobilized by the being that had just called her sister. "Wh, What do you mean, sister?" Her mind was going too many places at once to even consider trying to escape.

Out came Renais, but not whoever had screamed. Alriana's curiosity got the better of her, raising herself up on her tail over Tanya and Renais to peak inside while the tiny tiger asked Renais about what was going on inside. She couldn't believe what she saw inside, doing a double take in mid-air. Although she could only see the head of what Gean was talking to, and something that might've been a golden colored tail, she immediately noticed the similarity between whatever this being was and herself. The beings hair might've been pink and silver, but its skin looked the same as her own. "What's going on?" She asked without meaning to, staring straight at the other being.

What was that? Alriana's gaze was swiftly on the wagons after a scream seemed to have come from one of them. Perhaps it was because the wagon had muffled it, but the lizard didn't recognize the voice. A non-tiger in one of the wagons? How long have they been there...? She dropped from her perch and rolled with the momentum before rising to stand. She made her way over to the wagon that the scream seemed to have originated from, the one that now had the recent addition of Tanya standing out in front of. "Everything okay?" She posed the question with a head tilt, waiting for either something to happen or a response from Tanya or whomever had screamed.

The others seemed content to move on and be done with this place, but Ember couldn't help be curious about the double door that they'd all but abandoned behind them. Whatever had attacked Jade seemed to be dealt with for the moment at least; surely she would have time to investigate the door... Ember to 8,36.

Alriana had perched herself in a tree on the edge of the clearing, coincidentally the same tree that Cinaed was sat at on the ground. She watched him work for a while, unsure what exactly he was doing, before shifting her gaze to the other members of their mercenary group. She'd watch someone, switch to a new person, repeat until she cycled back to Cinaed, and then do it all over again. It was nice to be out in nature, even if all she'd known was the city for the majority of her life. A whole new world, much like Islexia was to Glacies. That's probably how it is everywhere. Everywhere is so different when compared to everywhere else. Maybe if there's money left after finding Grelbiria we can travel... She internally mused, shifting her position on the branch some.

"Ahh!" Tundyssa narrowly dodged the spear of lightning aimed at her, the spear sailing past her and exploding into sparks as it crashed into the wall. "What kinda spell was that?" The spell was entirely foreign to the dragon and too quick for her to have a chance to feel the magic used in the spell. Maybe if she'd been hig by it, but she had no intention of letting that happen. Tundyssa to 15, 9 punch the construct to smithereens. "Ahh, t, there's something chasing me! I don't know what it is, but it came up from the stairs after the alarm! She quickly explained as she continued to fly ss fast as she could. She wouldn’t say it aloud, but she was incredibly relieved to see Nisha here too. Though she knew that Ren opposed Ouka, she couldn't bring herself to entirely trust the Oni in their group after her encounterwith them at Vaia's Great Tree. Sollowy to 3, 7. Whatever the thing was it clearly wasn't an ally, Xetketh silently preparing a spell and beginning to float off the ground; she was going to be ready if it tried something. Strange, it took much more of her concentration than it should have just to hover a few inches off the ground. She could handle it, but it was concerning. Very concerning. Rather than stick with their meager group as the being started making threats the fox dashed off, the being in hot pursuit. "If it sounds hostile why run and isolate yourself!?" She growled, floating after them as fast as she could. She wasn't one to help for free, but this fox seemed like her best bet to be reunited with Miz. Xetketh to 27, 4.

"Talk, maybe. Just not want be alone for while." The lizard followed along after Tasha, desire to not be alone far heavier than her concern about the fear her presence would cause the teller. Cinaed beat them to the punch, however. She didn't quite understand why he was so intent to keep his fortune to himself, but she also didn't know him that well either. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious, but even if she rose up on her tail she doubted she'd be able to see. Besides, Tasha had posed her a question. A rather morbid one at that. "If luck like mine, you not see thing good." As Cinaed's telling concluded and he left, Alriana wondered if she should have included him in her comment about luck. Maybe this teller was a doom teller rather than a fortune teller. "Do you want me not look like Cinaed?"

"Mn." Alriana nodded her head along with what Tasha had said. She wasn't usually one to share her burdens, mostly because she hadn't had many before this adventure of theirs started, but this was the first time she'd ever felt scared... Scared of herself? Was that what this was? "Saw self. Scary look in eyes. Many bodies..." She shivered even though she didn't feel cold. "Not want be alone. Not able not think this, don't think..."

Alriana slowed her pace as Tasha approached, stopping and staring up at the tiger. "Mhhm. Am alone... Came from there; probably shouldn't go back." Being feared was the norm for the lizard, she was sure even some of the Tigers were still afraid of her, but this was first time she felt so bothered by the fact that she was a source of fear. It was definitely that image's fault she felt this way, the sight of her own crazed eyes and the mangled corpses still stuck in her head. Normally she'd deal with this by going cloud watching and forcing herself to stop thinking, but somehow she knew that wouldn't work today. "Can come along, but stand at distance probably best."

As the elderly teller called her closer Alriana leaned forward in her tail chair, looming slightly over the crystal ball. As the image formed into one of herself the lizard blinked, wondering if she was instead peering into a mirror. Then she caught the eyes of her counterpart, crazed, like a rabid beast. As the image expanded to show brutalized indescript bodies, she was reminded of her moment with Ramirez in the arena a day prior. Concern blossomed in her chest as she shifted uncomfortably in her tail chair. Then the image changed again, showing a man she'd never seen before in her life holding an equally unfamiliar axe. She didn't know what to make of the scene at all, more confused than anything else. Then it was over, the fortune teller clearly more afraid of her than what she'd seen in the image. "I am a Monster. Maybe me, not sure. Don't act like that." Though she told herself that, she couldn't push that moment of the arena out of her mind. The near overwhelming urge she'd had to slaughter the axe fighter, only for it the fade as quickly as it came. Not even Rustal had provoked such a feeling so why had the axefighter? The lizard did not know. "...I go now. Not have be afraid." The fear in the woman was evident, her presence would likely only continue to unsettle her. Alriana stood up and walked away from the old teller's stand, more concerned about herself than she'd ever been in recent memory.

"Yes. That alright. Tell future." With there being no seat at the stall for her to sit, Alriana curled her tail under her the make her own seat. Though it wasn't overtly obvious, save if the woman was paying attention, she made sure to make herself level with the fortune teller. "You also not like crows, then? Must be reason for discount."

"You can see future?" Alriana tilted her head with her question, never having heard of something like this before. Needless to say, it only made her more curious. "Mhhm, yes. What need do for you tell fortune? Need gold? Have gold." That much the lizard had already assumed, knowing at least that stalls in towns tended to be operated in the interest of earning a living.

With no one left to stop her once everyone had dispersed, Alriana was finally free to scale one of the buildings and observe as the townsfolk went about cleaning the streets of the crows. It wasn't as though she had anything better to do with the shops closed, aside from help clear out the crows; however, she felt she earned the right to rest after killing so many of them. Once the streets were clear she hopped back down to the street, intent to get her shopping done. However, she appeared to have landed near a curious stall. Fortune... Teller? Individually the two words made sense, but put them together and she no longer knew what it was supposed to mean. Intrigued, she approached the stall. "How you tell fortune?" She asked the woman behind the stall.

Ember holds.

A tiny huff left the lizard as her hair was pet, not eager to wait to discuss this; however, given the reaction of whomever Ingverd had been talking to, perhaps it was best to at least wait until it could be discussed privately. "Mrrhm... Talk later, then. Also want buy better dagger. This work, but good have option. Don't think need buy more." She turned, aiming to lead the elf back to their leader. "Come along, Tasha not far."

So, that was how this ended. Their leader died with a whimper, barking like the dog that she was until her last. The town fell silent as the battle came to a close, well, until Cinaed collapsed shortly after the Crow's leader. She might have been a bit concerned had he not been swarmed by the others; though, she didn't understand Alvira and Gean knocking him around, even if it was light, after making the effort to pick him up for Renais. Still so much she didn't understand, but at least the antics of the Tigers themselves had yet to trigger such unpleasant emotions. She'd have to talk with someone to sort out her post kill feelings, preferably sooner than later, even if they were vivid enough that a few days of stewing wouldn't dull them any. And who better than the one who had nurtured these feelings? Though she hadn't seen the elf during the battle it wasn't hard to find him, spotting him just as he was departing from a building. Was he there the whole battle? He did say something about protecting the townsfolk... "Ingverd." She called out as she approached him, her speech back to being regulated. "Kill Rustal. Not feel like you say would. Now, pay reward. Want go shopping later."

While the leader was of no concern to the lizard, just another annoying pest that didn't know when to shut up, the healer that was going to be a thorn in her allies side did not escape her notice. Aly to 13,22, kill priest.

"HHrrgk!" Tundyssa took the blast of magic as well as she could, slamming her fist into the... Thing's gut in retaliation for the pain it had given her. "Dammit, these things are actually strong..." The dragon winced as she turned back towards Tenna, subconsciously relieved she was okay. Though the Thing approaching her couldn't be any good! "Get behind me, Tenna! That other one is taken care of, I think, so we're in the clear if we can take this one. I'm gonna need you to heal me, though. We'll get through this..." Dyssa to 15, 10, stand defensively in front of the white mage Tenna. That sounded like shouting! Sollowy picked up the pace. The thing hadn't made it around the corner yet but who was to say that it wasn't just right behind her? The voice had sounded like it belonged to the male Oni, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Anyone was better than trying to handle this place by herself... Sollowy to 3,12 "Then we're going to find her. I'm not leaving until I see her unsealed." And neither are any of you... Xetketh followed the fox outside the after one final glance at the human she'd nearly killed, eyes coming to rest on both the fox and the... "What in Ratatoskr's name that? Are those a common sight in the world?" The fox beastman seemed to know both of her and Miz, so she was either well-informed or a historian. Asking her was better than asking the human at any rate. Xetketh to 22,4.

Aly merely glowered at his further taunting, waiting for an opening to slice the loudmouth's throat. And Laniva gave her one, Rustal reeling but still clinging to life even as he was stripped of the one thing that could have made him a threat. "Die like the dog you are, wretch." She moved in the blink of an eye, slicing his throat before he hit the ground, left to gurgle out his dying breaths. "My words are wasted on you and your ilk." She flicked the reject's blood off her knife, a dissatisfied huff leaving her as she grabbed her medicine to apply to her burn marks. That wasn't as cathartic as Ingverd made it seem it would be... More like putting down a mindless beast than something worth my hate. Aly to 13,18. The Crow's leader was of no interest to her, she'd gotten her kill even if it left a sour taste in her mouth.

Alriana waited until Rustal's back was to her before she sprang out from the cover of the wall, dagger already drawn and aiming at the sorry excuse of a man. "I'm right here, mongrel. And I'm not worthless, because you don't lose to worthless things. You said it yourself." Aly to 8,18 dagger Rustal.

"C'mon, I can't move around-- What the Hel is it now!?" Tundyssa hurriedly glanced around as the alarm rang out, scanning for something, anything. Then she heard it, something coming up the stairs. A cloaked figure slowly ascended, brandishing a tome; there was only one conclusion she could draw from this. "This must be those 'security measures'... You need to let go, Tenna!" She was done asking, peeling the clinging girl off her so she could put whatever this thing was into the floor before it had a chance to act. Tundyssa to 12, 11, beat the Hel™️ out of the construct with her fists. Well whatever that alarm was couldn't be good... Best to stick with the group rather than pick an unnecessary fight with whatever was in the stairwell. Ember to 6,33.

"What." Xetketh almost dropped Agni out of pure shock at what she'd just heard. "You mean to tell me, that that BITCH, sealed us for centuries!?" She couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it. But, as her eyes hurriedly scoured the room to disprove Asami's claim, she couldn't deny that the place was in some amount of disrepair. Disrepair that wouldn't have happened if the palace was being maintained in the very least. "...Feh. Fine. I tire of holding him anyway." Without much warning, and certainly without care, Xetketh released Agni from her hold and stepped back before he thought to try anything in revenge. She kept a few eyestalks trained on him just in case... "Tell me, is Miz'Githon also unsealed?" First in foremost the well being of her liege was at the front of her thoughts. It was much easier than trying to come to terms that she had been potentially sealed off from the world for well over half an eon. She couldn't even begin wrap her mind around how different the world must be... Xety holds.

Once more another crow fell before her, though this one had managed to hit her with his magic at least. The damage was superficial at best, not even worth treating with medicine. As the lizard moved along the wall she spotted Rustal on the approach, pressing herself against the wall lest her notice her. She would be the one to keep her promise. All she needed to do was wait for him to get closer... Aly to 5,17.

"I MEAN HECATE YOU SNIVELING LITTLE--" Xetketh made to move her hands to Agni's throat when the beastman desperately answered for him, several of her stalks moving around the human to stare at her in place of her hands moving to Agni's throat. "Was that so hard?" She snarled up at Agni, yet refused to lower him back to the ground; he seemed to be worth at least some leverage to the fox-like beastman. "What do you mean I've been sealed for a long time? How many years has it been? Was Miz'Githon also unsealed? Answer before I tire of holding this one." Suddenly there was an alarm, footsteps, and then something emerged from the stairwell. Sollowy was glad she had started exploring and not waited around, not wanting to get close to whatever that was. If it had come after the alarm it probably wasn't friendly. Best to keep moving and hope it hadn't seen her... Sollowy to 4, 16.