Chronicles of Drasil (IC)

[daxtinator396]

Amber waited with wide eyes for the answer and had almost forgotten the smell of the awful stinky camels when the man had said no! Stupid camel merchant... She huffed mightily and said,"Fine... also make you camels smell.... less Camely. Drives people away!" She said seriously as she went over to the sword man and gave him then once over,"Hmm... He sure looks like somebody I should know! But from where..." She thought for a moment and finally had it! The Past's Locksmiths! He would be really great if she was right and she quickly dashed over to him minding the camel manure in the straw filled stable. She got up to him and quickly asked,"You! Do you have anything quick enough to get us to the swimming shrine? And second question... are you of the Past's locksmiths? You sure look like it!"

[Inferi]

"Then I’d tell you that I don’t care and you have a job to do." was Leona’s response to Jace’s unneeded question. Stupid people…if there was a job to do and the employer summoned you, then you don’t sit around and finish playing your card game. That’s not what you get paid for, and wastes the time of everyone involved. Unless there was a moral reason to not do what the employer requests, then doing something for your own pleasure should not override the time that you are getting paid for. Besides, the sooner the job started, the sooner it could get done, and then Leona could move on to something else.

Fortunately, nobody actually said anything else and the group left the tavern without too much trouble. She really hadn’t wanted to forcefully make them leave, or attempt to, since that would have no doubt ended badly for everyone. It was probably more likely that she would have left by herself, and just gone back to Elbert to wait for them, but since she hadn’t needed to it was unimportant. She had been forced to do things like that before, and it almost always reflected badly on both her and the other people in the group. The employer would think that she couldn’t do a simple job, or had failed at finding them, or something else useless, and one time it had even come out of what she had been paid. That had been more irritating than anything else, but there wasn’t much you could do when your employer was one of the more powerful officials in the Guilds.

Relieved to see that nothing had happened in her brief absence, Leona leaned against the side of the wagon as Elbert gave his little pep talk. She knew very well of what she should have to do, although she suspected that she had it better than most of the others. Heat wasn’t something that really bothered her, something that she considered at least partially connected to her affinity with fire. Unless it got insanely hot, to the point where most people would collapse, she wouldn’t feel much worse than minor discomfort. Places cold enough to freeze, though…those were a different story, and she preferred to stay as far away from those as possible.

When Elbert mentioned that there was a water mage among the bandits, though, she couldn’t help but sigh. Sure, it would be water, the one thing that she was less effective against. While it did make a fair amount of sense to have a water mage in the desert, it was still just typical bad luck that they would be powerful. Still, if there was only a single mage, then she would just stay away from him or her and let others in the group handle them. Even if he wasn’t the only one, as long as the others weren’t water mages she would be fine. Against normal grunts her flaming whips were more than enough, especially since many people had no idea how to even fight against something that could wrap around the weapon you were using to block it and pull it away, among other things.

"I’ll leave that one to the rest of you, if you don’t mind." she commented as she climbed into the wagon, taking a seat near the front. It wasn’t the optimal spot to jump out from, but she could easily manage if the speed became a problem.

[jayjaycaps]

A look of mock surprise trying to cover his cocky grin, Jace couldn't help but comment on Leona's remark. "Well! Quite the attitude on this one, eh boys?" Jace called back to the other mercs. "Lighten up, would ya? It was just a joke..." Truth be told, Jace didn't care much about the job. Hell, he hadn't cared much about any of his recent jobs. All he cared about was the coin after they were completed. This job was just another drop in the bucket, as far as Jace was concerned. Jace followed Leona back to Elbert, albeit at a slower pace.

Leaning against the wagon, Jace half listened to Elbert, half played with the water from his canteen. Making it swirl around his fingers, he rolled his eyes when Elbert mentions keeping the precious water rationed. Like he needed a reminder. Deciding play time was over, Jace sent the water back into his canteen and screwed the lid on it. "Got it, Elbert. Don't you worry about that Water Mage; you guys got yourself the best one around right here." A smug look of satisfaction on his face, Jace climbed into the back of the wagon. Finding himself a seat, he patted Quicksilver, his ultralight, ultra sharp short sword. Certain that the blade was still at his side, he adjusted his quiver full of arrows. He had left Neptune's Bow in the wagon, and quickly slung it across his back. Confident that he was ready for whatever was ahead, Jace opened up his canteen again. Spilling it's contents onto the floor, he stopped it before it could actually hit the ground. Bringing the water up to his fingers, he played around with it again, mesmerized by the cool patterns and flow of the liquid he controlled.

[Angel_Slayer_Alcatraz]

Nyx grumbled something incoherent to anyone who wasn't near her, but anyone who was near her heard her say something to the effect of "Men are idiots" she saw the the white haired man being the only one looking at her with curiosity and decided to sit near him
"What is with the curious gaze sir? Do you have a question about me?"

[joeyjoey61297]

"Mhm okay thanks Sweetie I get it know so lets play. Oh and yeah lets play for stakes but umm what kind of stakes do you want to play for exactly?" She says as she looks at Al with a smile. She didn't care what the wagers were for she was a gambler and not to mention pretty luck; even if she loses Jo's job will pay it off in no time and for her it's not even work just fun. "Before we start lets get a round of drinks...and how about the first ones on you?" Jo says boldly with a happy grin.

[Icaelus]

Irie idly spun Hurricane like a baton in her hand as she moved along at a leisurely stroll, the very picture of unhurried as she headed for the Hollow Hump. Well, she could afford to be lax! Not like her colorfully-dressed friend Marco was gonna go anywhere, was he?
The magician stopped twirling Hurricane as they came up to the establishment, just stopping short of creating a minor hurricane in the middle of Erimos. She pushed the door open into the inn, becoming aware of a man entering after her.
Let's see..solidly built, dressed inconspicuously in a green cloak. Yeah. No mistake about it, this was someone was a purpose other than just a hot meal or renting a room for a night. Perhaps he just wanted a drink!..or not.
Eager to distance herself from the newcomer, Irie continued on straight to the desk clerk, tapping Hurricane gently on the man's shoulder to immediately get his attention. The man was kind of lucky, actually. Hurricane was known to emit random bursts of gale-force wind at the slightest touch at times. God knows how many top hats Irie had lost because of that.
"Well met, good sir! I am Irith Church, travelling magician. I was told that a Marco resides here? I have some business involving doves and playing cards with the man, skilled as he is in magic as well. May I have his room number?"
Irie smiled sweetly at the desk clerk, laying the charm on thick. It wasn't difficult to get a weak minded man to bend to her wishes, usually. Her Sofolian background had given her all the beauty necessary and her human side had provided her with all the cunning and smarts.
Fair trade? Some might say so, but in Irie's mind, it was never worth her mother's life.

[Reaver]

Ramses kept up a slow pace on the way to Hollow Hump to give himself enough time to form a plan. He hid most of his weapons underneath his cloak, but keeping his swords in plain view to ward off unwanted attention. Finding the Hollow Hump without much trouble, Ramses scopes out the place looking for any other exits and people of interest. Besides the Magcian girl with the classy cane he doubted anyone else could give him too much trouble. The guard however posed a whole different problem since his pressence meant Ramses probably wouldn't be able to bribe the clerk for info. "Well there are more than one way to skin a cat or a human." He mutters as he takes a seat, facing the stairs. If he couldn't get to Marco quietly then he had no problem waiting for him to come downstairs.

[Zender_Solarheart]

Xiaotou

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

With your attack strengthened by both speed-boosting and range-extending spells, there is little that the Earth-wielding tonfa fighter can do except raise an earthen barrier in defense, which proves…mostly ineffective. The barrier itself was shaped for an attack from the front or side, but since you landed behind him, the best he can do is shift the barrier to make way for his backwards evasive hop. That maneuver lets him escape most of the damage, but a visible wound on his chest, just barely penetrating the armor, is still inflicted (30 damage). Strangely enough, however, no blood escapes that cut...

At this point, you hear what sounds like an aggravated growl from beyond the wall of rock-spikes that keep the other two mooks out of the engagement. However, the voice that follows that growl is not of a thug…but of the hermit. “Y’know what? I don’t wanna smack y’all with my dick, so move your carbon-tubed asses.”

Suddenly, the whole wall of earthen spines shatters like glass, the gravely remains falling to the ground with a pattering noise. The hermit stands between the two dagger minions…or rather, what’s left of them. Without so much as a single drop of blood spilled, their remains fall to the ground, each one torn in half at the waist. The hermit then extends a hand covered in a black gauntlet, points at the tonfa thug, and shoots out a black bolt at the thug’s chest…which punches straight through his heart without any effort, and surprisingly lacking in any spilled blood, just like the first two.

“Oi…never send machines to do a man’s job.”

With that said, the supposed hermit removes his hooded cloak…


…revealing a man who looks anything but old and hermit-y.

“Anyways, lemme re-introduce myself. The name’s Alcor, and the game’s murder. I’m here to play with toys, and kick ass…and as you can see, my toys got boring.” Alcor gestures to the fallen minions on the battlefield now, which upon closer inspection, are clearly not human…in fact, they look more like big, metal puppets, with little wires and tubes in place of their innards. Hell, were those things even alive at all?

“So…shall we dance?”
(BGM: http://youtu.be/p1Q71zcBpuo?t=35s)
Suddenly, Alcor fades into a black mist of darkness…no wait…that’s actually your own sight fading, as all light that your eyes can catch is snuffed out. When your vision returns, you’re standing in the middle of a large arena-like dish, with a shallow pool of blood lapping at your heels and dripping off the edges. The sky – or whatever that outside abyss can be called – fluctuates between a bloody crimson, a pitch black, and a sickly purple color. Then, Alcor himself reappears, the black gauntlet on his hand swirling with a scarlet aura…oh Hell…

{//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\}
Envoy of the Grave
ALCOR
{\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//}

{Battle Stats}

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

:Xiaotou:
Health: 90%.
SP: 165/200.
Status: The scratch on your leg has sealed up, so there’s no more worry about infection…but you have MUCH bigger things to worry about now…why so serious?

:Alcor:
Health: 100%
Status: Well, he’s certainly enjoying himself…

Irie

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

“Ah yes. Mr. Turilli did say he’d have a visitor at some point.” Wait…he what? Was Marco expecting company? Interesting…

“Could you please check her real quick?” The clerk asks the nearby guard, who looks at you, and then whispers something in response. According to your Sofolian sense of hearing, it sounds something like “that will not be necessary.” “Oh, so you’re with the Knighthood? My apologies, then. He’s in Room 34.”

Ramses

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

You can overhear three points of interest in the conversation between the clerk and that Houdini-looking chick. First off, Marco was apparently expecting company; who that company is, or what he expected from them, however, remains unrevealed. Second, the magician-y girl is with the Knighthood; better steer clear of her. Third, and most importantly, the room Marco’s in is #34…though, with Little Ms. Mage-Knight heading there as well, you might need to get creative on this one. Or you can continue lounging here, waiting for him to come to you. Your choice.

Amber

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The sword-toting man looks over to you as you make your approach. “First off, I am indeed one of the Past’s Locksmiths…the Keymaster, to be specific.” Hold up…Keymaster?! Now his face matches up with a name: Jered Alkaid. You are currently standing in the presence of the Past’s Locksmiths’ leader, which means he’s the head of the 4th largest Guild in the whole of the Federation! Quite the stroke of luck, running into someone so famous and respected in a place like this.

“As for the Swimming Shrine, I can take you there tonight; my caravan was going to head that way regardless. However, I must first ask you this: for what reason do you wish to visit the Shrine?” A valid question; Jered probably wants to make sure you aren’t thieves, or something. He has a whole guild to look out for, after all.

Jo

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

As if prompted by your mentioning of drinks, a barmaid comes over with three mugs full of the tavern’s trademark ale: “Sandy’s Brew.” “Three mugs o’ Sandy, courtesy of a Mr. Ramses.” Ah, Ramses…always did know how to keep things interesting, eh?

“’Ramses,’ huh? Friend of yours?” Alex asks with a smirk. “I mean, if the guy bought us a few drinks with his regards, he’s gotta mean something to you, right?” “Al, that’s none of your business.” “Chill Greg, chill. Pops is right; you do need to loosen up more. Hehe!...ahh, but we’re getting off-topic.” Alex turns back to you. “Well, if you want us to decide the wager, how about this. If you win, we get to show you our treasure stash.” “Whoa Alex, what the hell?! You know the rules on that!” “Greg-o, cool it. That’s only if SHE wins, mmkay? Just believe in the heart of the cards, or whatever gives you that insane luck.” Alex then has another long…”analytical” look at you, and says: “Hmm…but if either of us win…what are you willing to offer us? Eh?” Clearly, he wants you to decide your own part of the deal. So…what’s it gonna be, lady luck?

Leona and Jace

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

With everyone loaded up in the wagon, Mr. Elbert cracks the camel’s reigns, getting them started on the move out into the desert.

Location: Nobi Desert.

The Nobi Desert isn’t one to brave on-foot; white-hot, fine-grained sands are blown about by the wind periodically, and they’re known to sting like a drop of hot grease if one touches your skin. Those sands also put wounded personnel more at risk, as the very fine grains can easily enter even a small cut, and often cause infections as a result. They don’t normally carry anything too lethal, but if you’re unlucky enough to get sand from an old scorpion nest…yeah.
Still, the worst part about this desert – as with any other – is the broiling heat that the ever-cloudless sky sends in from the sun. This is why Water mages like Jace are so important out here: their ability to create and manipulate water aids greatly in keeping people hydrated, especially if you happen upon a freshly-saturated cactus. With a blade in hand, one can trim the spines off of cacti and cut them open, allowing the mage to distribute its fresh water among the group.

“So, about that Water Mage bandit Mr. E mentioned…anyone here know much about him?” Locke asks, not wanting things to be all silent and dull on the trip. Reggie’s the first to reply: “Only rumors. They say he wears armor of pure ice, and talks with some deep, monster-y kind of voice. Folks call him the ‘Chiller.’” The “Chiller,” huh? If that “armor of pure ice” bit holds true, it’s pretty obvious how he got his name. Bill then adds: “If his armor’s made of ice, why can’t Leona just melt it off?” “That’s the thing: it’s also said that he can change ice to water and back again at any temperature, even out here in the desert. All he’d have to do is shift part of it to water, and her flame whips aren’t burning so bright.” Considering he works with bandits, this guy sounds pretty skilled…but hey, you’ve got time until nightfall, when the bandits come out, so perhaps you can think of some clever strategy for him in the time you have left?

Nyx

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The white-haired man’s eyes dart away from your gaze for a brief moment, as if in a bashful reflex, but quickly turn back to make eye-contact with you. “Well, I’ve heard rumors about you. They call you the ‘Blade Priestess,’ and say that you’re as deadly as you are beautiful…but strangely, none mention your unique garb. It looks similar to a dress from the oriental islands in Pramiz – a ‘kimono,’ I believe they call it - but the sleeves are much shorter.” White-head then seems to…blush? Yeah, that’s definitely blushing. Then he asks: “If you don’t mind me asking, what land do you hail from? Even the rumors speak little of your past, and I’m…intrigued…”

[Angel_Slayer_Alcatraz]

Nyx was in a good mood and decided to humor the shy man on his question about her
"Yes I do in fact come from pramiz, but I do not have a home there...it was burned down by an accident"
She looked down, staring at her sword
"and yes my dress is indeed based of the Kimono but in my culture you only wear it for special events and festivals, this is the more, day-to-day version"
She smiled slightly

[joeyjoey61297]

Smiling she said with a familiar grin"Yeah I know Ramses, he's my boss.Oh and me and him don't have a bond like that I mean I like him but I dont know. Anyways..."
Thinking to herself she tried to wonder what these boys might want from her though she had a pretty good idea considering that Alex has been hinting towards something since she moved over to the table; if it's what she was thinking she didn't exactly mind I mean it is her job; but she kind of liked the other boy he seemed shy which Joe liked.
Looking at the boy in a blushing manner with her index finger on her lips she whispers"I'll show you some of my Treasure if you win.". After that she gave a quick wink and said "But you both have to beat me or your going to show me your treasure, if only one of you wins then i get to see your treasure and the one that wins can have mine." Saying that Joe hopes Alex losesif she cant beat both.

[MiscChaos]

Xiao smirks as her strike rings mostly true, but it quickly slides off her face as she sees that the man isn't bleed, isn't crying out in pain, isn't doing anything. It further devolves into the frown as the hermit speaks up and summarily executes each and every one of the men she was supposed to be fighting. Wait... those aren't men. Just what in the hell is going on here!? The intensity of that question only intensifies as the "hermit" reveals himself to be every bit as young as she is and only gets worse from there as everything goes dark... and relights with an arena seemingly made out of blood.

"Well, I take back what I said earlier about none of this being shocking." she says to the man, Alcor he said his name was. "You've most certainly got a flair for the unexpected." she doesn't know anything about the man's fighting style other than the bolt of black he used to kill her prey nor what other tricks he has up his sleeves, so her method of attack comes down to keep a medium amount of distance between them, enough to quickly close in if ranged turns out to be a bad idea and enough distance to range in the first place, and keep moving. So she dashes to the side, firing 4 bolts from her each of her gloves as she goes for a total of 8 projectiles in the air. Then she takes 4 of them and puts them under her control through "No Escape". Those deviate from the other arrows and curve in such a way that they're now targeting him from behind, ready to explode into a current of electricity if they make contact. While all this goes on, she keeps moving, eyes open for any counter attack from Alcor and praying that her crew somehow gets to her for backup. This is starting to get straight up crazy!

[Inferi]

“He would have to exert some serious control over it to do that.” Leona mused, her eyes on the desert outside. While most people abhorred the thought of coming out into the desert, she actually found the sight of the shifting sand a bit relaxing. Sure, the feeling of the sand on her skin wasn’t the most comfortable, but neither did it bother her like it did most people. Infection was the only thing she really worried about from it, and even that was uncommon enough that she wasn’t worried about it any more than anything else.

For the moment, it was the water mage that had her attention. If he really was strong enough to be able to shift water into armor and still make it keep its shape on his body when he altered the form while he was wearing it, then he would be a foe that she really had no desire to take on. Not by herself, at least. She knew her limits pretty well, and that was far above what she could handle. If the rest of the group were fighting him as well, though, they stood a chance. He couldn’t possibly pay full attention to all of them attacking at once, and that would possibly be where they might have an advantage. Of course, this depended on them actually being able to focus on him, but that could be figured out then, when the conditions of the battlefield were known.

“If we have to take him on, then I think our best chance is to not take him on one versus one. He sounds more powerful than I can handle, and although I don’t know for sure about the rest of you I would guess that you are about the same as me.” she said, trying to figure out how this would possibly play out. “My magic might be the least effective out of everything we have, but I have no doubt it can still hurt him if he isn’t fully guarding against it.”

Of course, that left the problem of him focusing on her. Once he knew she was a fire mage, she had a feeling he might focus on her in an attempt to take her down. That could be a problem for him, since she knew her magical defenses would last less time than any other element, but when it came to a basic level she wasn’t actually weak to his magic. Hopefully that would help, a little bit if nothing else.

“It all depends on what else we have as resistance.” she said with a shrug. “I’ll try to focus on the regular bandits if I can. Fire has a tendency to make people panic, which should make them easier to deal with. We just need to make sure that mage doesn’t completely shut me down. If he focuses on me, I’ll try and keep him occupied so that the rest of you can deal with everyone else. Just make it quick if that happens, will you? I doubt that’s a fight I can win.”

Stopping her little speech, Leona shrugged again, finishing with, “Anyone else have any tactical ideas that might help?”

[jayjaycaps]

Jace played around with his water, freezing it in abstract shapes and remelting it to change it around again. He listened to everyone talk about this water mage, a slow smile creeping across his lips. The answer was simple, really. Why was he the only one to have thought of it?

"Now, not saying that you'll need any help since you got me, but here's the thing. Us water mages are weak against wind mages, see? Reggie, you said that this Chiller guy freezes and refreezes his armor, right? So while Leona here," he jerked a thumb over to Leona, "Uses her fire-y magic to melt his armor, we get someone who uses wind magic to zap him to bits." Putting his legs up, Jace put his hands behind his head. He thought it was a pretty brilliant plan, even if it did expose a weakness of his. "That is, provided we even have a wind mage here who knows how to use electricity. I guess it'd be pretty easy, we're in a desert after all. Dunno if y'all noticed, but it's pretty dry and arid here. Lotsa spare static and electricity to spare."

Jace wasn't really threatened by this Chiller guy, even with the tales Reggie was telling. Making ice armor wasn't that tough; Jace did it all the time. Of course, he didn't make actually armor out of the ice, he stuck to more smaller things like swords and daggers. After all, that ice armor must be pretty bulky and ungainly, and limited how much Chiller could move. Movement was Jace's style, so staying evasive was a must. Like the intricate designs he made his canteen supply flow into, Jace was flexible, fast and malleable. He could swerve and dance circles around guys like Chiller all day long.

[daxtinator396]

Amber almost stopped being giddy for half a second as her question was answered... Key master! Wow! She couldn't believe she was standing near the head of one of the greatest guilds in the whole continent! She soon started bouncing again as she heard the rest of what he had to say. He could take them! One more step in the road! She then heard the last part and stopped. This was a serious question! Needs a serious question... well she wasn't robbing it right? Hmm. She didn't know what to think she was doing so she answered the only way she knew how,"For adventure of course! We are a guild of explorers! I'm the leader the only Amber Rictone! And your Jered Alkaid! We aren't going to take advantage of the place we just want to get in take some valuables for the guild. We heard there was a chance we could make it so we hightailed it here! Can you take us Mr. Keymaster? Pleaseee?" She asks with a big smile.

[Icaelus]

Irie nodded in agreement as the desk clerk mentioned that the man she now knew as Marco Turilli was expecting company. Interesting. It seemed like the man was trying to make contact with someone..
"That'll be me, yes."
The magician smiled, lying right through her teeth. Finding this contact of Marco's would be interesting. What did Marco know that was so important that even Joseph Edge himself wanted to talk to him? She tapped Hurricane lightly on her hand, a tick of hers whenever she was thinking. A thought occurred to her and she turned, sweeping the entire room with her eyes, lingering only a fraction of a second longer on the man in the green cloak. Noticing his weapons for the first time, he carried a pair of blades..but that was probably not all. Who knew what a man could carry on his person, concealed by a cloak..?

Irie didn't waste any time, heading straight up the stairs as she was granted access. Time to find this Marco. Stopping before Room 34, Irie took a breath..and frowned at the smell of fish. Yuck. Yeah..Marco liked fish, alright.
Irie rapped sharply on the door with Hurricane, stepping back quickly.
"Housekeeping, Mr Turilli! Customers are complaining about the fish smell and we sure aren't cooking fish downstairs!"
The girl called out, running her hand over her cane as she activated the electrical spell, Stun Baton. Charged enough to deliver a non-lethal blitz of electricity to any human, effectively disabling anyone to came in contact..
Couldn't take any chances, could she?

[Reaver]

Ramses grits his teeth in anger, the more he overhears the conversation. Sure this was never going to be easy to start off with, but throwing the Knighthood into things was going to be a cluster-fuck. The last thing he needed was drawing attention to his Guild back home, so killing the Mage was out of the question. However incapacitating was definitely an option. “Well it looks like it’s time to lie and cheat my way to my target, again.” Ramses waits for the Magic-girl to start walking upstairs before standing up. He pats his hair down to look semi-presentable, before approaching the clerk. “Hello good sir, my name is Jonathan Dane and I would like to buy a room for the evening. People have told me that room #34 is quite the comfortable room so I would be willing to pay more to be near it. After all I’ve heard great things about this place.” He finishes with his trademark wink before placing a heavy bag of gold on the desk.

[Zender_Solarheart]

Xiaotou

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Alcor smirks with amusement as your arrows are loosed into the air, deflecting the normal four of them with a single backhand from his gauntlet. The four curving around for a No Escape strike cannot be deflected so easily, so he instead backflips over them…and freezes their movements mid-flight with a set of black auras. No spell incantation, no hesitation in any part of his movement, no sign of effort whatsoever; as far as appearances are concerned, it was a cakewalk for him to do.

“Is this what you call ‘magic?’ Feh, lemme show you how it’s done.” Alcor remarks, then snaps his fingers, prompting your suspended arrows to…turn? Yes, that’s right; he’s turning your own arrows mid-air to aim at you instead, then gives each of them a charge of black energy in the tip, and utters two words dripping with sadistic glee:

“Four Fangs.”

In the blink of an eye, those four arrows previously aimed at Alcor are now screaming towards you, and reach your location faster than you can hope to react. One whizzes by your left ear, accompanied by the second zipping past your right temple, but neither actually connect. They do, however, leave your body temporarily locked up with a chilling sensation in your skull…which leaves you wide open to the two that impact just in front of your toes, releasing a blast of black-colored wind that blows you backwards, splashing some of the blood in the arena onto your clothes and legs. The blow incurred from landing about 30 feet from where you once stood, surprisingly enough, is minimal (3 damage), but it does leave your body unable to move for a brief moment…and clearly, that is all your enemy needs. This is made even clearer by the second incantation uttered from Alcor’s lips:

“Eight Angles!”

Out of nowhere, a rapid-fire combo of eight separate fists of blood strike at your back, wracking your body with immense pain, and sending it sky-high, only to fall face-down back to the ground. The blood coating that ground softens the blow only enough to keep you from breaking any bones, as indicated by the follow-up pain of the impact (22 damage). “So, how does it taste, sweet-cheeks? BLEHAHAHA!!” Alcor taunts you with a toothy grin, laughs like a madman, and still doesn’t take a stance. Is this all just some game to him?!

{Battle Stats}

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

:Xiaotou:
Health: 65%.
SP: 105/200.
Status: Pain Shock. A heavy onslaught of “ouch” has left your body quite sore, impeding both offensive and defensive capabilities.
Also, you've got blood splattered all over you from the arena...yuck.

:Alcor:
Health: 100%
Status: Cackling up a storm.

Irie

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Room #34 is pretty easy to find; after taking the stairs up a level, it’s directly to your left, practically staring you in the face. Silence pervades the hall outside, Marco providing no response to your ‘room service’ trick…at first. After a few tense seconds of that silence, a voice breaks it: “So you claim…Ms. Christings.”

Hold up…how does he know your name?

“Yes, I know who you are…but you do not know who I am. You know only that Koin wants me.” Marco’s voice is very calm – emotionless, even – and there is no telltale hint of any lie in his words. True or not, he believes every syllable of what he says. Rather than requesting that you come in, he instead walks out to meet you face-to-face. He looks you over head to toe, but not in the way that’d give you chills from a pervert’s eyes; he seems to be sizing you up more on your readiness for war, as opposed to love.

“Hmph…so, you came to take me…’protective custody,’ correct?” Marco walks just far enough to be directly in front of you, with his left side clear in your line of sight. Sheathed on his belt, you can see a short sword with a broken jewel in the cross-guard, but nothing suggests he intends to use it right now. Perhaps it was a trick of your eyes, but you could’ve sworn you saw a faint red glow beneath that cloth covering his left eye, just before he spoke of your intentions. For that matter, how did he even predict those in the first place?

No wait...you weren't seeing things. Marco's left eye gives out another soft red glow beneath the cloth, convincing you of that. “There is another here….he seeks my life. We must leave at once.” With a slight nod of the head, Marco motions for you to follow him downstairs, seemingly ignorant of the fact you’re a member of Koin’s Knighthood…despite his obvious prediction of your motives. Perhaps it’s your outfit?

Ramses

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Your plan seems to go smoothly…until you prop that gold on the desk. That’s when the guard comes over, so punctual that all he’s missing is an exclamation mark over his head. “Hey, buddy! Bribery is a criminal offense, y’know! You’re coming with me.” Well shit, looks like your haste has made waste…

…or has it?

In a stroke of very good luck for you – and bad luck for him – Marco Turilli himself comes downstairs, followed by that mage girl you saw earlier. He glances momentarily at the hefty bag of gold you would’ve bribed the clerk with, then at you…and just keeps on walking without a word. Perhaps he thinks the guard has this under control? Regardless, your mark’s well on his way to slipping through your fingers…what are you gonna do?

Amber

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

“Hmm…” Jered has a very quizzical look on his face, even more so than before, as you provide your giddy, almost fan-girl-like explanation. After a pause in which he considers your proposal, he answers: “…Alright. I will provide you with transportation, but there are certain relics the Locksmiths need from those ruins. You are free to take what you will, so long as none of those relics are among them. Do we have an accord?” Holding a hand out for a handshake of agreement, Jered awaits your response.

Jo

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Another smirk widens across Alex’s face as you explain your end of the wager. Your past…”experience” with this field of work suggests he’s already getting ideas, but it can’t be said for sure. Greg, on the other hand, tries to focus on his cards to remain composed, though his eyes do dart up to look at your charming face every now and then. “Hehe…I’ll take that bet.”

With the stakes set, Alex passes you your starting hand, then one for himself, and holds his up to hide their values. Both him and Greg maintain a seasoned poker-face, impossible for you to read. Your own hand really needs a swap-out right now, as your current set of cards gives you nothing but junk in terms of hand values. You can swap anywhere from a single card to the whole hand for whatever the deck gives you, and judging from Alex’s gesture for you to make your move, they’re waiting on you to decide. The game is afoot…

Jace

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Upon Jace’s mentioning of Wind magic, Locke looks up. “If it’s lightning you need, I can provide that. Besides, ice is just frozen water; it’s about as conductive solid as it is liquid, don’t you think?” Well, that irons out that little detail…

…but you have bigger problems on your hands now.

Suddenly, the whole wagon comes to a halt, and you can hear hooting and hollering outside. Reggie uses one finger to lift up a small hole in the wagon’s curtain – just enough to peek outside – and gets a cheeky smirk on his face. “Well, I’ll be, the scum came early.”

Outside, the bandits you all were sent for have surrounded the caravan, and their group leader steps forward to look Mr. Elbert dead in the eyes. “Listen punk, this is our turf yer steppin’ on. OUR sand, OUR heat, OUR dry air. Everything on our turf belongs to us, see? And that includes whatevuh gear yer haulin! Now hand it over, and we might let ya outta here in one piece. Got it?!” “Oh, but of course.” Mr. Elbert replies, raising his hands to imply that he won't fight them. “Feel free to take it for yourselves; I can’t lift it on my own, so I hire people to do that for me in town.” That’s the cue for you lot to get ready; the moment those rear curtains open up, let ‘em have it.

Nyx (Alcatraz):

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The white-haired man’s eyes widen as you mention the razing of your house. “Oh…my condolences…” Clearly, he feels a bit guilty for inadvertently prying into that, but at least he’s polite about it. “It is a very nice dress, though; whoever made it must be very proud of their work. The same can be said of your katana, too; very unique craftsmanship, while maintaining everything that a Pramizian blade should have.” Interesting. Despite his quite Westernized appearance, he seems to know a lot about the oriental Pramizian culture.

“Oh, but I got ahead of myself, and forgot introductions, didn’t I?” The man extends a hand in greeting, and introduces himself: “I am Victor Stein, a guardian for hire. Some call me the ‘Sword that Cleaves Thunder,’ if that sounds familiar at all. What’s your name? Aside from the ‘Blade Priestess’ title, I haven’t heard much to call you by.”

[joeyjoey61297]

Well she didnt really like her hand but she swapped out all but the 10 of diamonds. She looked up as she drew her new cards than after she finished her turn she slowly reached over and placed her hand on top of Greg's and said "It's your turn sweetie" in a flirty manner trying to get him to lose focus on the game.

[daxtinator396]

Amber twitches her ears impatiently as she waits for him to respond. Maybe she wasn't flirty enough... maybe if this doesn't work she'll have to be more flirty. Wouldn't be the first time. Guys seemed to be fairly attracted to a cute little Tabbies with energetic personalities. As she was thinking this all through though he agreed! Yay! She grinned widely,"Really? Yay! Can we leave now?? CAN WE???" She asks excitedly then and then vigorously shook his hand in agreement,"Of course! I know that it wouldn't be free so there now that's the price!" She said with a grin.

[MiscChaos]

Xiao expected the normal arrows to be deflected, they were nothing more than a diversion after all. The "No Escape" arrows being backflipped however... and then LAUNCHED back at her!?

"Dirty pool!" she shouts as two of them miss. She doesn't get a chance to shout more as she's swept off her feet and launched. Then slammed into the floor. She REALLY wants to shout 'FUCK YOU!' at the guy, but the idiot MIGHT just take it seriously and THEN where would she be! If the fucker's got magic like that, long ranging him just isn't an option. And with her bruised and dazed the way she is, close range isn't an option either. That leaves going on the defensive until she can get her feet back under her. So first, she literally gets her feet back under her, then she prepares No Way with a bout of electricity in it, launching it to cut off any attack coming from in front of her with the added bonus of the high intensity of the winds blowing the blood out of her general area and, probably more importantly, off of her. She gets the feeling she's REALLY gonna hate the sight of blood when she gets through this. Cause there's no IF about it, she WILL live through this. She needs to get back to Xue! With her front relatively guarded, she turns her attention to her sides and back, swords drawn and waiting for any attempts to slip into her guard.