Masquerade Part 2: Army of Darkness

[Xinnidy]

Somewhere in the conversation, Maja realized she was dropped. It did not bother her much as she was lost in thought, but she wondered how that happened. Maybe people don't talk to me a lot because they think I'm like a little child? She was grasping, but in her head it somehow made sense. Part of her felt incredibly empty. She wanted to leave home to learn about all sorts of things, not to stay the sheltered kid her parents raised! ...Am I not doing it right? I really have to try acting more... mature. Maja couldn't help but release a sigh after this surge of self-criticizing thoughts.

When she resumed paying attention to Makin and co., they raised a prospect of scouting, which quickly brightened her face... which returned to pensive again as she thought more about it. No, they probably want a harpy or Joel since they can fly too. They can see further.

Wandering off on her own, Maja put even more thought in what she could do at that moment. Makin said to carry the tired... maybe I could carry someone. Ah, but I can't carry the heavy men if they're tired... hmm, at least I could heal them if needed, right! Her mind decided on carrying more duties, Maja walks off to the group with the axemen, that strong archer, and the mage girl, staff in hand for duty and greeting phrase already at the tip of her tongue.

"Need healing?"

Edited September 17, 2014 by Xinnidy

[MRDRHAWK]

Kendeall frowned at the little mage girl trying to show off. That, and he was still miffed about the whole 'forgetting his own faults' thing, which she oh-so-not-kindly pointed out. Dammit. "How long have you been able to do that? And... when we get into the next town, you think that you could help me get myself some more practice with my tomes? I'm not crazy about dealing with what's ahead without some more experience..." Kendeall wondered if the tomes themselves could have any meaning in the fortune. Fire melted ice, right? Maybe he needed a Fire tome to melt a huge barricade of ice to go into the cave and get his reward? Who knows.

[riariadne]

"Any test, huh?" Valha asked her courier, arcing herself against him teasingly before settling into resting her head on his shoulder. "Old man? That really seems like pushin' it. You're barely older than me, right? I'm only twenty-two, I've got plenty of years ahead of me. She said I was oblivious to somethin', though... I dunno, whatever. That's just sixteen year old stuff, actin' like they know everythin' all the time." She seemed confused by his expression of how light she was. "Of course I'm really light. I'm small, 'n all harpies are... we've gotta be, or we'd just fall out of the sky whenever we'd try flyin'. So I'm easy to carry."

[Refa]

Kendeall turned around to see the guy who took his axe earlier... attempting to give it back? That was certainly not what he'd expected, considering how he pretty much just snatched it from him. Still, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he took the axe back. "Thanks for that... er... Sorry, but who're you again?" It never occurred to Kendeall that he didn't really know who this guy was. Dammit.

"Quincy. I don't believe we've met before, so there's no reason you'd know. Since I'm apparently going to be sticking around for a while, might as well get introductions out of the way. What's your name?" Quincy replied not so succinctly. He noted that the nearby mage girl's voice was rather annoying. I wish she'd shut up already, Quincy thought.

He heard someone nearby ask if they needed any healing. Man, how can I count on these guys to save me in a pinch when I don't even remember their names, Quincy thought. He decided to ignore her because he hadn't even been scratched in the last battle, much to his disappointment. I don't like getting hurt as much as the next guy, but come on. You wouldn't even know I'd been in a battle by the looks of me, Quincy said inwardly.

Edited December 27, 2014 by Refa

[Vestige]

"Er, boss, forgive me but I really don't think I'm going to need an extra extra set of eyes. I like to think my eyes are good enough as it is," he replied, trying to ignore the slight awkwardness in the air. "So yeah, I'll just be a few moments and then I can lead you guys over," he said briefly before climbing up onto Ophelia. He stroked her neck signaling her for take off. She reared up a bit and with a couple strong beats of her wings, she took off to the air. Flying outside the confines of combat was quite relaxing. Just gotta find someplace decent, and then we can finally get some sleep.

[SB.]

"I'm alright, aside from one of those centaurs almost trampling me!" But then he frowned slightly, looking concerned. "But uh, how are you holding up? Whatever that thing was, it looked like it hit you pretty hard. Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Even if he hadn't been hit, he was fairly tired between the fight and the day's walk, and he thought he was one of the luckier ones, being able to avoid anything close range. He imagined healing staves took their toll on the user, and Maja would probably run herself ragged if someone didn't stop her.

[MRDRHAWK]

"Name's Kendeall. Kendeall Soderberg. It's actually kinda nice to have another axe user with us, especially since I seem to do less cutting people up with it and more throwing fire at people." Kendeall replied, trying to remember if anyone else in the group used axes. None came to mind, though, so he dropped it. "Hey, you're probably looking for another axe, right? Well, I've got a Tabar on me if you need it. Or want it, I don't care too much. Never get to use it anyway."

[Nanami Touko]

Orders

"Wha-- Hey! Raith, I gave you orders!" she shouted after him, but he'd already flown off. Makin frowned, and crossed her arms. "Geez. I know he wants to sleep, but running off on his own is not worth the risk... Keep him safe, Dragon." She sighed, and continued to sit there, as there wasn't much she could do about it. "We'll move when he gets back, then," she said to no one in particular, as Lanos was the only person left near her. "Anything else you had, bird man?" she asked him, turning her attention to him for the question.

A Challenge?

Ingverd blushed. Valha pushing herself up against him was enough to accomplish that. "Any test," he said, without stuttering. Blush or not, it would take him far more to break his cool. "Yeah, I'm only twenty five. Not that I'll look it for another ten or so years, but, y'know. Comes with the territory," he said, mentally breathing a sigh of relief at Valha's age. Ingverd could imagine what Vriska had meant by oblivious, but Valha was certainly not that. "Teenagers will be teenagers. I wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer when I was younger, as you know." But aside from that, Valha seemed confused at his confusion. Ironic. "I've not carried a harpy before. You're my first try. So forgive me if I hadn't realized how light your race was. Makes this rather enjoyable, I must say."

Practice

"I dunno. You're kinda old," she said, flatly. "Might not be worth it to help you get any better. You might be better off just swinging that axe around... But we'll see, I guess. If I have some free time outside of my own training." She left Ken with that, as he seemed to be striking up conversation with another axeman. Now, where's... There he is. And no Valha, either. Hmmmmhmhmhm~ Vriska carried herself over to Makin and Lanos, poking the bird in his feathered arm. "Hey. Mind if I hitch another ride?" she asked, smiling wide.

[Refa]

"That's a long name. Mind if I just call you Ken? Axes are nice and all, but chucking fire at people seems a lot cooler. I'd do it myself if I had any damn talent in magic," Quincy replied. "Sure, I'd be happy to take it if you have no use for it," Quincy said as he took the axe and tried testing it out. "Yeah, this works a lot better than that Halberd of yours. I'd say this is more my size for sure." He noticed the mage girl was the girl he helped off of Lanos' back earlier and she'd gone up ahead, presumably to hassle the poor fool yet again. Not in any particular urge to watch the harpy suffer, he yawned and sat down. What do people around here do for fun anyways. Surely even the timeless tradition of hacking limbs starts to lose its charm after a while.

Edited December 27, 2014 by Refa

[Oersted]

"No not really. I just wanted to know if I'd be stuck carrying her the entire time." And speaking of carrying women Vriska just happened to chose now of all times to approach. Well so much for having luck on my side today... He turned and looked at her. He could stay strong all he had to do was say no. Just say no. It's not that hard. No, no, no, no, no, yes, no, no, yes- He sighed and crouched down. He should've figured he'd crumble considering he was tired and thus didn't want to fight a losing battle. "Hop on." Besides, maybe she'd fall asleep and it wouldn't be as awkward as he thought.

[riariadne]

"Unbreakable resolve to be tough for me, huh?" Valha asked, pausing to think for a moment before playfully nipping his ear. "Oh, you you've got cheater elvish youthful-lookin', huh? Do I look much different from my age, or is it hard to guess at all?" She laughed a little at his mention of teenage years. "I guess nobody's really the brightest those years, huh? Thinkin' they can do whatever 'n all that. Still, I think you shoulda expected me bein' light at least a little! We're part bird, 'n most birds are really tiny. Or should I be offended you'd think I'd be a bit heavier?"

[Vestige]

Soaring through the sky, Raith felt at ease. Though there was a little voice in the back of his head worrying about what he would do if the girl suddenly woke up in the middle of an aerial flight. It's a bit of a startling experience if you're not prepared for it... So, rather than delaying the trip, he set to work with scouting out the terrain. He found a nice open spot--not too far away, but far enough so they wouldn't have any harrowing encounters with the centaurs they left alive in the camp. He made a mental note of the surrounding area and swung Ophelia back to make the return trip.

He cleared out a landing spot and without dismounting called over to Makin, "Hey boss! I found us a spot, let me know when everyone's ready and I can lead you guys to it."

[Nanami Touko]

Moving Out

Makin left Lanos to deal with Vriska, sighing as Raith returned. "You... Oh, whatever. It's too late for me to be mad at you. We're all tired and want sleep. Lead the way and we can all get some much needed sleep." She turned to face the rest of the group, addressing them once again without shouting: "Alright, Raith found us a spot. Follow him and we can all get the sleep we want. Come on." She motioned for him to start walking and began to slither after him.

Playful

Ingverd felt a shiver run down his spine as Valha decided to play with his ear, keeping his balance and taking a deep breath to avoid making any noises. He doubted his face could get any redder. "Unbreakable." As far as he was concerned, this was worth putting up with. "You do, a little. You're a bit short, and you're certainly...whimsical." That was a good enough word to describe Valha's attitude towards things. As for being a teenager... "I'm just glad I learned that the world doesn't work like that, soon after that little phase. And, Valha, look at it from my perspective. You and Lanos are the only Harpies I've ever actually met. No frame of reference, and all that. And even if you were heavier, you'd still look good." He said that with a chuckle, but then looked over at Makin, and sighed. "Well, hold on. I guess we're moving. And I was enjoying our talk so much, too." He hummed softly and started to follow after Makin.

More Rides!

Vriska continued her smile, as she ran around Lanos and quickly hopped onto his back, latching on and giggling. "Mmmm... Soft... All that fighting and running about was so tiring... Thank you." She rested herself against his back and proceeded to try and relax.

Edited September 18, 2014 by I have opinions

[riariadne]

Valha found Ingverd's reaction incredibly amusing, smirking triumphantly. "I think that if I really wanted, you'd be far less than unbreakable... but I think that's plenty of teasin' for now." She hadn't really thought that Ingverd hadn't met any other harpies in his life. "I guess that makes sense... not a lot of us hangin' around Ward. Maybe Felson'll be your chance to get a frame of reference, then. Plenty of 'em there to meet if you want, though I dunno how much they'll care to talk to outsiders." A look of pure joy overcame her at the thought of moving. "Finally, time to get goin'! Sleep time awaits."

[Xinnidy]

"Oh! I'm fine, it still stings, but I'm fine." She looked down to see her own wound. It had punctured her light, hide armor twice but thankfully hit nothing vital. It was tainted red from bleeding, but she wasn't at a risk from bleeding out after Raith healed her.

Moving a hand to hold her waist over the wounds, Maja continued to ignore the light stings. "I'll just put some ointment later, probably. I still haven't used staves long enough to tire out my mind either, so I decided to help if people needed it!" She glanced around after a short pause. "...Which I guess isn't the case if nobody answered."

[Oersted]

"Am I really that soft?" Lanos accidentally wondered aloud. He couldn't help but wonder just how soft his feathers actually were if Vriska was that excited just to ride on his back. Or maybe her excitement factored into the whole 'she thought he was cute' thing. Whatever the case was, he'd made her happy by giving her another ride on his back and, maybe it was her full of smiles attitude -from what he'd seen anyway- or his already good mood, it made him crack a smile despite how tired he was. "Yeah, no problem," he said as he stood up and grabbed her legs to hold her up properly. He tried to be gentler than last time so as to not surprise her again. Of course, he could've asked first but he would've felt beyond awkward asking Vriska if he could grab her legs. It just sounded... strange to him.

[SB.]

Angus relaxed a bit. "If you say so. Just don't overdo it, alright?" He glanced over at the boss as she finally promised them some sleep, and gladly followed after Raith, hoping that there wouldn't be any interruptions this time. And also hoping that he wouldn't end up being on the first watch...

[Nanami Touko]

Plenty of Teasing

Ingverd sighed a sigh as he walked along. She sure knows how to tug at my heartstrings, this woman... I just wonder how serious this teasing is. Ingverd decided that it wasn't all that serious, and was most likely just Valha having some fun. As disappointing as that was. "Well, don't tease anymore while I'm walking; I'd hate to drop you." And so off they headed towards the campsite.

Plenty of Zzzzzz

The light breathing of Vriska resounded in Lanos' ear as she'd already dozed off, unable to answer his question.

Plenty of WALK

And so Raith led them off to their campsite, and everyone settled into sleeping, Ingverd taking the first watch and leaving Valha off to whatever sleep she wanted to get. Or at least, almost everyone...

[spoiler=Plenty of Talk]Makin had taken the shaman off of Ophelia when they reached the campsite, and set her down a little bit away from the rest of the group. A good thing too, as she's just started to wake up.

"Alright. Time for you to start talking..." Makin said, curling onto her tail and folding her arms. She hissed at the shaman.

"Nnnnn... Wh-What...? Where am I?" Tami was more than a little surprised to be far away from her campsite, with no ally in sight. "Who are you? What's going on!?" She quickly became agitated, of course.

Makin sighed. "We're a few miles away from your group of Osten friends. Now, you're going to tell me what a human was doing working with them, and why you had this note in your tents." She produced the note that had been found inside more than one of the tents, brought back over by Quincy.

Tami glared at the snake, struggling against her binds and growling as she found herself unable to move. "What're you gonna do if I don't? There's nothing I gain from telling you anything!" She was putting on bravado, but it wasn't a lot. Anyone could tell she was a bit terrified. Who wouldn't be? Suddenly awoken and then tied up, and taken off to who knows where!

"You talk, or you get to find out what asphyxiation feels like. I hear it's not very pleasant." She slapped her tail on the ground for effect.

Tami visibly swallowed. "I...I-I..." She took a moment to weigh her options, wondering if it would be worth it. She decided life was more important. "F-Fine... Fine, okay!? O-One of the council members, Cedric! He's looking f-for mercenary groups to raid Karstell and bring back whatever they can find! I-I convinced some of the Osten to work with me, and they could take whatever other treasures were there! That's all, alright? Please don't kill me...!"

Makin nodded, and slithered over to Tami, who initially cowered, but stopped once she realized Makin was undoing her binds. "Get going, then. You're only a few miles out from your camp. I'm sure if you know the area well enough you can make it back to them... But don't try to bring them back here. I let you live; don't make me regret that. Because if I do? You sure as Hel will." She gave the shaman a knowing look, and then made a shooing motion.

With all the hatred she could muster, Tami glared at Makin, before rushing off into the night.

Always making enemies... Oh well. If she comes back, I'll deal with her. Never actually choked someone, before... I wonder what it's like. Makin sighed off her disturbing thoughts and decided to turn in for the night. She could use some sleep, herself.

----------

And that morning, everyone got to sleep in. Everyone. At some point in their travels that next day, Isabelle came back, and got chewed out greatly by Makin for deserting them during that ordeal. She explained that she'd simply went around, as she didn't want to deal with the centaurs, which elicited an even louder, and more aggravated chewing out than before. It seemed she didn't quite understand what it meant to join a mercenary group. Alas, that dealt with, everyone began the trek on towards Felson

Chapter 4: A Royal Headache

And a few days later, they arrived at the gates, standing tall and proud before the city. A few guards stopped their group for a moment, causing Makin to have to hammer out the details of their trip to the city. That dealt with (albeit after a good half hour), they were allowed entrance, and everyone was faced with the slums of Felson. To get to the Upper Rung, they'd have to at least pass through. It was a straight shot, but it was still a rather poor sight to behold. Most of the carefully crafted buildings looked run down and without proper care. Many people sitting amongst the streets gave the group odd looks, and a few looked like they might've been thinking about trying to mug them. And down a few alleys, peering out, were the faces of the slums most populating residents: the harpies.

It was a rather drastic sight all around.

Makin did her best not to look anyone in the eye, and simply led everyone forward. "We're staying at one of the inns in the Upper Rung. The last time I came to Felson was years ago, but if my friend still works there, we might be able to get some cheaper room and board... And then I can see about meeting Cedric." She was glad to at least have a name to go along with the note. The Minister of Defense wanted people to raid Karstell? How odd.

"And I've never actually been here," Ingverd chimed in, taking it all in. It was frightful. "Hope no one tries to mug me," he mumbled, mostly to himself.

Edited September 18, 2014 by I have opinions

[riariadne]

Back here, huh... I guess this is home, isn't it? While Makin avoided the sights of the Lower Rung, Valha stared at everyone who passed by their group; a warning glare to those who seemed hostile and a more sympathetic one to those who were just curious. Three years gone by 'n I still don't feel welcome. Sure is nice to be home again... She bared her claws a bit more noticeably in a small show of dominance, hoping it would send a signal to any would-be attackers.

[Vestige]

As the group paraded through the suffocating and narrows alleys of the so called, "lower rung" Raith couldn't help but gawk at every soul, human or harpy, that he passed by. Some looked on with wistful expressions coloring their faces, while others masked themselves with apathy. Still others would narrow their eyes are the group, no doubt enraptured in the grasp of envy and contempt. Still, he couldn't help but feel pity for those around him. As he walked onward, he saw a ragged young child, pointing eagerly at him and his companions. Next to him, was presumably the boy's mother, who ignoring the child's glee, was trying with all her might to pull him back into what they called a home. However, once the boy noticed he had gotten Raith's attention, he began waving and tugging even harder, against his mother's pull. Stepping out of line for a moment, he confronted the woman and the boy. The mother immediately withdrew to herself, trying even harder to pull back the boy, while the child greeted Raith nervously. Raith held a single finger to his lips and pulled out his sack of gold. He grabbed a few coins and wordlessly, slipped them into the woman's palm. Not to leave the boy out, he took a single coin and held it out for him to grab--which he did so with earnest delight. The mother muttered a word of thanks under her breath but otherwise held down her gaze. He patted the boy on the head and quickly returned back to walking. He wanted to refrain from looking backwards, but he couldn't help himself. From the corner of his eye, he saw the little boy marching with great gusto, an imaginary weapon in one hand and his mother's hand in the other, as she ushered him inside. It brought a smile to Raith's face, and he felt like he had done something good--something that might have made his sister happy.

[algae]

This is Felson? More curious than anything else, Sonia scanned her surroundings, especially the people. I guess I'd have been just like them if I hadn't been lucky enough to get out when I did? She looked around for something to distract her from that unpleasant train of thought and settled on the dragon rider's interactions with the family. "That was... kind of you. Most people would have just kept walking"

[Vestige]

"Hm? Oh well, yeah, I dunno, I've had the money for a while and I wasn't exactly using it so," he shrugged. "A couple of extra coins for me might make the difference between having a meal with some ale, or a meal with just water. A couple coins for them might make the difference of having a meal, or not having one at all." It felt nice to be praised for his actions, but he would have been content even if no one had noticed. "Don't quite think I've introduced myself though. My apologies for that. It just seems like every couple of days, our group just gets larger and larger. It's hard to keep up!" he chuckled at himself, shaking his head at his own absentmindedness. "My name's Raith though, Raith Ereld, a pleasure to work with you," he said, extending a hand out to the brown haired girl.

[Oersted]

For Lanos, the walk in the slums gave him mixed emotions. He felt glad in a sense, the slums had been his home up until three years ago, yet he also felt like an outsider now that he wasn't one of the harpies looking at the, no doubt strange, group of travelers. Things sure have changed in three years, huh. I wonder if anything changed at all or if it's literally the same place but with everything three years older... He figured he'd have to take a walk through the place if he had the time. He could always fly away if things got ugly.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Oersted

[Bluedoom]

Ferdinand noticed Raith handing over some coins to an urchin, and smirked to himself. There was a lot you could learn from observing people rather than talking to him, and this Raith person seemed like a generous one. not a gesture you would usually see from someone wandering the slums of a town or a city.

The one thing he could not help but notice, and be curious about, was the ghost working for Makin's group. He had never seen a ghost before, but a ghost actually fighting and being a mercenary? That was one step further. Ghosts didn't even need to eat and fill their stomachs, so what was this one's motivation to fight? He wouldn't be needing any money to sustain himself, he was already dead. Ferdinand was looking for the perfect chance to talk to him. He wanted answers from Kadin.

Moving through the slums, Ferdinand was pretty confident about not getting mugged. Having experience as a merchant was useful, because he learnt not to show any sort of weakness for muggers to look at him as a target. Looking at Ingverd's face, he could see clearly that the myrmidon was not very comfortable at all. Ferdinand decided to help him out with that.

"Have no fear, you won't get mugged if you don't let your paranoia take over you. I don't think these harpies would want to pick experienced mercenaries as their targets, unless of course, you show that you're highly paranoid. Hmmm, I wonder where the armoury is... it would be nice if I could buy a new weapon... or even look at some weapons. I've been using a weak bow for a while, I was lucky that Angus lent me one of his bows." Ferdinand told Ingverd as the group moved along. He wondered what kind of chap was this Ingverd fellow.

[algae]

"Sonia Blanchard. I don't know how, but I've managed to avoid introducing myself to most of the group for a couple of weeks." Which is kind of depressing, when I say it like that. Nonetheless, she shook his hand "Er, anyway, it's just nice to see that kind of thing. Not exactly common for someone to want to do help the people in here, or so I've heard. "