Unguarded Guardians (IC) Part 2

[daxtinator396]

Dax awoke slowly and found he could not move. This he did not like. He looked about the camp trying not to show he was awake and found that it wasn't very big camp and it didn't look like there were very many people in the camp hut it looks like elementals were quite present,"Fuck." He said as they noticed his wakefulness and came over to him and then they started to talk about doing things to the ladies and that he could not stand for,"Get your dirty hands off of them! I swear if I get out of here I'll rip you to shreds!" He growled struggling to escape his bonds and do just that and could jot. All he could do was watch as Nyx was changed into he had to admit a more pleasing shape but still he didn't like it because she was being forced into it,"You'll pay for that you ugly rotting sons of whores. You'll regret the day you crossed us." He said lownajd dangerous his voice dripping with murder.

[MiscChaos]

Lilia groans as her eyes flutter awake, still nursing a bit of a headache and aching face from how she went down. She tries to move her hand up to balance things out, only to find that she can't. And that she's floating.

"Can't say I didn't expect this, but still... fuck!" she grumbles. While she's complaining, she notices that Red Wind is gone along with most of her clothes. "Expected that too, but someone's still gonna die for it." she has an sharp edge to her voice as she says this, not liking being separated from her sword for an instant. That thing was her best fucking friend, coming to her aid in so many different situations that it's become the basis of how she fights. She feels naked and defenseless without it. She's forced to get over that real quick though as Sierra comes in the room. Her stomach drops as she gets to the "spoils" part. When the man reaches out and grabs her, something snaps.

"I'll fucking rip your throat out with my teeth!" she barks, unable to tear him apart this very instant because of her prison. No one, NO ONE has DARED touch her outside of battle without her permission and anyone who tried found themselves without a hand, then an arm, then a shoulder, then a leg, then a head quicker than they could blink next. "I'll be painting the wind red with your blood REAL soon!" She only gets angrier when she sees what's happening to Nyx. How she's being twisted, warped into a catgirl. That gets her so mad she's seeing red. She literally can't form words in her fury. It pissed her off to the point that, despite it being a bad idea, she tries to summon up a razor wind storm to cut all her enemies to pieces.

[Angel_Slayer_Alcatraz]

Nyx awoke slowly in the camp and looked around...she saw sort's psyco bitch girlfriend walking in and boasting
"oh hello, I thought I had smelled the stench of bad blood, so you got us, big horrah, but it's that time of the month again so you can't enjoy it!" she said out-loud as one of the men walked over to her and forced her to drink something, "oh big mans is making me drink some scary liquid" she sighed
Suddenly she felt weird and felt...cat like appendages growing, "What the hell?!? Ookami is going to have a field day... she grumbled. Then she heard something shocking, they wanted to remove Yukari from her...but they neglected to know yukari's soul was held within her sword not her, she decided to play along, "Your leader? Removing Yukari, from me? Please she has rooted herself into my soul ever since i met her...Good luck" she said in a slight teasing voice

[Zender_Solarheart]

Victor awakens groggily, seeing that him and everyone else is being...levitated? Yeah, definitely levitation...but why can't they move? And where the hell are they, for that matter? All he sees is a camp, and...Sierra!

Victor's teeth are immediately gritted in fury, giving Sierra and her two underlings a glare that would take the heart of most mortal men. "If you expected me to die earlier, you would've been better off just stabbing me in the neck." He struggles even in his paralysis, though it's mostly mental in nature. Damn these undead-obsessed cretins, and their unnatural curse known as Necromancy...damn them all to Hell. The mental struggle he puts up is visually displayed in small electric arcs dancing along his body, though none of them are harmful; they may have immobilized his body, but nothing they have could quell his warrior's heart.

Then...they cross the line.

One of the elite Necros forces some liquid into Nyx's mouth, and at first, Victor thought it would be aphrodisiac...but it's not. Instead, it appears to be some sort of mutagen, causing her to grow a cat's ears and tail. He grimaces in disgust seeing her pained expression, then hears about how they want to remove the "spirit in her"...could they mean Yukari? Apparently so...

"If you want that daemon's spirit, you can have it...but don't you DARE touch Nyx. I'm already planning to kill you all violently...don't give me reason to make it more painful." Victor snarls with the deepest, most hateful brand of malice, every word packed with razor-sharp killing intent. Hell, he's already thinking of how he'll kill the Necro that gave Nyx the drink...maybe rip his spine out, and impale his corpse with it? Or perhaps shove Mjolnir up his ass, and use a Bakunetsu Fujin Geki to explode his body from within?

Seriously, these fiends had better enjoy Victor's helplessness while it lasts...because at the first chance he gets to brutalize one of them, he's taking it. Nobody threatens Nyx and gets away with it...NOBODY.

[Sortaix]

Late Night Fight:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The Necromancers stood around a bit and snickered at the resistance the group was putting up. Several of them made a few lewd comments about how much fun breaking them will be. A few more dark mages came out to poke fun at the so called "warriors", as they were suspended in mid air. Now the group would be able to see, that they each have four crystal above them and below them, making the shape of a box, and this is the manner in which the people are immobilized. Sierra made a few more comments about how easy the people were to capture, but was shortly cut off as a loud howl pierce the night air.
"Sierra, you said he couldn't follow us here. You said he wouldn't attack us."
"I said most likely. He always was reckless, and it was a guess. Now, quit your bitching and get ready for a fight. Wolf boy is coming here for a fi..."
She cut off suddenly, as one of her minions hit the ground, an arrow of light piercing his chest. The rest then scrambled out as, several more arrows shot out toward the enemies. A few were struck as the torrent of arrows subsided. Sierra stood up and issued a challenge to Sortaix, which was responded by, a spear of light flying toward her. She quickly put up a barrier of magic, blocking the spear as she ducked down.
Sortaix then burst through into the camp, in an armor of light, his wings still upon him as he charged the enemies. He had two blades of light in his hands as he went about slaughtering his enemies. The Necromancers put up a valiant fight, but they were still cut down, as Sort sliced his way through them. This battle was quick and bloody, as Sort slaughtered the dark mages. His rampage was eventually put to an end, as several elementals charged him. He was able to take out several of them, before he was knocked over the head by an earth elemental.
The next few minutes consisted of Sierra scrambling for eight more of the crystals and using them to imprison him. After that was all said and done, Sierra stood up to watch as Sort slowly regained consciousness. After he awoke, Sierra stood before him to gloat.
"Well well, that was quite a show you put on, you we..."
"Oh please, for the love of the gods shut the hell up. Just shut up, I'd rather hang myself than listen to your high pitched, whiny ass, bitch voice for one more second. Matter of fact, just give me a rope, I'll fucking hang myself."
"Excuse me?"
"I said, S-H-U-T, T-H-E, F-U-C-K, U-P. I would rather you just torture me with various sharp and pointy objects, or with magic, than listen to your voice, because it is so horrible to listen to. Can you understand that, you dumb-ass bitch?"
The next few minutes consisted of those two arguing and insulting each other, using all the various personal insults they could think of. After a few more minutes, Sierra finally flew off the handle, screaming and shouting at him, for his age based insults. She then proceeded to blast him with magic, for the next hour. Sort would emit a few shouts and screams every few minutes as Sierra channeled all her anger into her magic, as Sort would continue to mock and insult her, in between telling jokes, which made her even angrier.
At the end of the hour, Sierra finally stopped to shout at Sort even more, but he cut her off.
"I got one last joke for you. Why would a moronic paladin continue to slander and insult a Necromancer as she tortured him?"
"Because he's an idiot.?"
"Nope, because, during the Daemons Moon, the barriers between all three realms are at their weakest, our realm, the daemons realm, and the realm of the gods. All the paladin was doing, was just buying time for the reinforcements."
Sierras' smile faded, as Sorts words struck her. She then grabbed his throat and looked into his eyes.
What reinforcements?"
Lightning then crashed against the sky, the sounds of thunder echoed through the forest clearing, yet there were no clouds in the sky, anywhere. Sortaix then simply gave Sierra a weak and bloody smile.
"Does that answer your question?
"Quick, Everyone get ready to...!"
Her words wer cut off though, as a bolt of lightning chashed down into the middle of the camp, and where the blot landed, a man now stood. A Strong and powerful man, covered in armor and lightning, as he held his hammer in his hand. Then off to the side, a man with a very fish-like appearance formed, holding a trident. The ground itself shook and quaked as it rose up into a column, that took the shape of a woman. Then finally, a large rock, surrounded in fire, fell down from the sky, and out of it came a man cloaked in fire, wielding a blade of flame.
The elementals knew who these people were, they knew that they stood no chance, yet the charged them anyway and were quickly wiped out, as Thor, Gaia, Ifrit, and Poseidon wiped them out. Sierra however used that opportunity to escape into the woods, and hop on her draco-lich, flying into the sky. Once Thor finished with his enemies, he destroyed one of the crystals forming Sorts prison and cught him as he fell to the ground, while Gaia and Poseidon freed the others.
"With all due respect guys, you could have shown up aq little bit earlier you know."
Sort said as Thor laid him down onto the ground.
"You were told to get their attention, not charge into a battle to get captured and tortured, and we most certainly did not tell you to mock and tease your torturer."

[daxtinator396]

Dax looked with hopefulness as his anger simply simmered and rose and boiled ready to explode upon his enslavers as soon as he was able to flex his body and take a more... beastly form. His hopefulness rose more and more as he heard the howl. Sort was near. He had come to break them out and then he could tear these monstrous beings apart with his claws of stone and Gaia's gifts, the earth, and maybe she would smile upon him. His hopes however were dashed as soon as Sierra managed to imprison him as well. He groaned in anger as he felt his chance at freedom slip away. He simply watched in more anger as Sierra tortured and taunted him and he merely tuanted back and then revealed his surprise. Help had come. He then growled loudly and saw his rescue come and his growl died in his throat as he saw Gaia his lady appear before him and free him. He dropped to one knee before her in reverence,"Thank you my lady Gaia." He said quietly and held back from tearing apart a small tree near him in anger that Sierra had gotten away.

[Zender_Solarheart]

The next several minutes could only be described as "mind-boggling." First Sort crashes in on a daring rescue mission, then he gets captured and tortured, and then the gods themselves show up and cluster-fuck everything in their path. Whenever they get back home, this group is going to have a LOT of stories to tell...

...but that's not what Victor's concerned with right now. Instead, he can only use his first moments of renewed mobility to bow at one knee, in respect of the mighty deities in front of him. If the gods would show up in-person to free their group, then times must be even more desperate than he imagined. Unfortunately, Sierra has escaped...but at the same time, the Necromancers' forces have been dealt quite the blow here. In his mind, he silently praises Sort's resourcefulness:

Good ol' Captain Sort. You always have a back-up plan, don't you?

[MiscChaos]

Lilia does the only thing she can do in her impotent fury: continue to glower at her captors. The glare sudden stops as a howl makes all the necromancers shut the hell up for once. It then becomes a look of utter glee as one of them hits the ground dead from a light bolt in his chest, sending the rest of them scattering. She makes sure to keep an eye on the one who groped her for as long as she can though. She wants that fucker dead, nice and slow, and SHE will be the one to do it. She gives a bark of malicious laughter as Sierra is forced to defend herself, but her look turns sour as Sortaix is captured himself and tortured, though she has to restrain herself from continuing her laugh as the torture seems to be for the most part ineffective, Sortaix tearing into the bitch of an elf every minute he’s not screaming. She actually has some respect for the dude now, though she still holds a bit of a grudge from their first meeting.

Even that’s put to the side though as he announces reinforcements though, followed shortly by lightning she can only describe as being from the wrath of an angry god. Turns out she’s not that far off as Thor himself shows up, followed by what she can only guess to be the other gods of legend. If she had to guess, seeing as she never thought remembering them was all that important, she’d have to guess that the water man was Poseidon, the earth woman was Gaia (though, really, you’d have to be something of an idiot not to guess those two out), and the fire man… well, he’s not Greek like the other two and he’s not Norse like Thor so she couldn’t accurately say. Doesn’t matter to her though, so long as they free her. And they do, so it doesn’t matter to her. She’s absolutely livid that the elf bitch got away, but anything she did to show it would at best be useless and at worse accidentally harm an ally, so she stows it for now. She’d get a chance to vent later she bets.

“He got the job done, didn’t he? I’d say that’s good enough.” Lilia says in defense of Sortaix while she works the kinks out of her system from being stuck in a floating cube for the better part of… however the fuck long she was in there. She didn’t know how long she was unconscious after all. Once that’s done, she gives the gods a deep bow. “Thanks for the assistance. I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if you hadn’t arrived.” She tries to make eye contact with Sortaix too so he knows the comment is directed at him as well.

[Sortaix]

Aftermath:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Thor helped Sort down and set him down on the ground. The gods then turned around to face the adventurers. They gave each of the ones that bowed a gesture of respect.
"Rise Champions, we don't have much time here, with our portals closed. Know that you have each been chosen by us to turn back the tide of darkness. I know you must have any questions, go ahead and ask them. We will try to answer as we can."
"You mean, you'll try to confuse us even more."
"I see your still as disrespectful as ever, Sort."
"I know Gaia, and I always will be. Minerva and I had this discussion already.
"Yes we have."
A soft, warm, female voice said as a woman draped in white and gold stepped forward. Minerva the goddess of light.
"I still blame you all for my people being wiped out. Not to mention, that the city that would have been mine to rule, or the people that looked to you all for protection, that you all let die, just to get people to go back to your temple. In fact, let's look at hings for a bit. You let your chosen people get wiped out, by normal people, as the nobles, my people challenged for being corrupt. So the nobles then rallied their armies just to wipe out my people, for challenging them, not to mention to wipe out all nekos like me. Then take into account that by normal people wiping out the Paladins and the Element Champions, no Necromancers could get their blood, to terrorize your realm. So, your champions were slaughtered, the people then flooded your temples, to beg for protection from the Necromancers, which gave you many many more worshipers. Also, the nobles then got to keep their corrupt treasure and exploit their people to the point that the people are ready to revolt and slaughter them. Not to mention, that I know what that bastard Troan did to my mother before he cut her throat. You do realize that S.O.B. wears her necklace like a trophy and brags about what he did?I had to change my appearance so no one would realize my mother was a wolf, just so I wouldn't be murdered by those noble bastards, like they tried to kill Dax over there, had I not stopped them, several times. So, my people wiped out for allowing nekos and other crossbreeds to live, just so the other people would come flooding back to your temples as soon as the Necros started terrorizing them. And you wonder why I don't fucking respect you assholes, and why I can't stand you."
"We did it for the good of the world."
"Fuck your world, Minerva."

[daxtinator396]

Dax gets up and looks upon the gods again and wanted to tell her of all his deeds but knew she knew of them anyway. She was sure to have seen his deeds and maybe even approved of them but still he worried... he enjoyed taking out the undead. Too much he thought. He hoped that darkness wasn't taking hold of his heart or that Gaia would disapprove of him. He listened to them speak and argue and he felt very confused by their words. Was this why they always gave him strange looks..." He wondered to himself and felt even more confused by Sort's anger towards the gods. Shouldn't he be more respectful? He certainly thought so but it seemed something else had happened to make him angry with them. He finally piped up tentatively trying to change the subject and not liking the horrid tension in the air," Um... could we find our things? We should get on our way and maybe we can talk about this subject later..."

[MiscChaos]

Lilia considers Sortaix's words carefully, also taking into consideration that the new woman, Minerva by the name he drops, didn't deny any of his accusations. Suddenly she has a small insight as to why he was such a royal asshole when they first met: he was protecting the one person he had left.

'This isn't the place to think too deeply on it. she decides, pushing it to the back burner until things are more secure. "I'm with Dax on this one. You can fill us in on whatever dickery or noble aspirations we need to know later. At this very moment though, I don't have my weapon and I'd very much like to rectify that, if you don't mind." Then her hand goes to her chin in thought. "Though I DO need one thing clarified right now. Two things actually: Would you even need champions if not for the events that Sortaix describes and what the hell possessed you to pick an ASSASSIN as a champion?""

[Zender_Solarheart]

Victor rises to his feet upon the gods' command, recalling what that guardian dove said earlier. It had already been explained how the gods allowed the Paladins' destruction, and while he's certain the Paladins themselves did not approve, he still didn't think Sortaix would speak so..."openly" about it to Minerva herself. Balls of stainless steel on that guy...but for now, he just pitches in his 2 cents on the present situation: "I agree with Lilia, though I will not question why you chose me. Besides, it's not like the enemy will just wait for us to re-arm ourselves."

With that in mind, Victor follows in whichever direction the group's divine leaders take them in, eager to reclaim his blade. Mjolnir must be yearning for his touch...and just thinking about her name with Thor himself in sight feels even more majestic...

[Sortaix]

End Chapter:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Gaia helped the group find their weapons in a magically locked chest, but her power had it opened rather quickly. As the group got their weapons and armor back, they couldn't help but notice as Thor looked at Sort like he wanted to disembowel him and hang him with his own entrails. Sort for his part noticed Thor's glaring and simply gave him a one finger salute, which made Minerva intervene as she grabbed his shoulder and slung him around to slap him.
"Stop acting like a disobedient child!
Minerva said, the anger now becoming evident in her voice.
"Or what? You and your friends kill me, you end up Sheldons play toy. These people have never met you, to them you are great and powerful gods, but to me, you're just the voices I have been hearing in my dreams, since I was a child. And stop treating me like you're my damn mother."
"Your ancestors would be ashamed of you."
Thor said as he gripped his hammer tightly. He did not like any form of disrespect to him, and Sort was really trying his patience.
"You mean the same ancestors you served to the world on a silver platter, the same ancestors you BETRAYED?!"
Sort then finally lost it and blasted Thor with a beam of light. Minerva however was ready for this and blocked it with her own magic. This time she was visibly...upset.
"You would dare strike one of us?! You petulant child! You're parents would beat you for this!"
"What do I care? You slaughtered my people, let my mother get raped and murdered, and my father and I are forced to protect the people that did it, just so you can have more worshippers?! Why the hell would I help the very same people that killed my city?
"We did not kill them!"
"No, you just stood by and let it happen! That makes you just as guilty for letting it happen!"
Sortaix then took a few swipes at Minerva, which her magic easily blocked. Sortaix was frantic with grief and hatred now, the images of the burning city now all he could really think of. Minerva waited as Sort's fists pounded against her barrier, till he wore himself out. She then stepped up to him and raised her arms...only to embrace him in a hug.
"It's going to be alright, Sortaix. I know we asked a heavy price of you, but you need to understand something. We did not demand the deaths of Kelenmabre. Your people feared for their friends and family that did not follow us, they feared for their souls. So they let themselves be destroyed, knowing the Necromancers would come back, and it would drive the people to our temples. They martyrd themselves, under the condition that the grace we gave them would pass to their friends and family, that still lived. Your people cared for the world enough that they let themselves die, so our blessings could spread outside of your city."
Sortaix had been struggling at first, but was now silent, as the reality began to sink in.
"Every city, or town that has been raided, always had survivors, people that escaped unharmed. Those blessed few are the ones your people had on their minds when they died, that they might be protected from the horrors of our enemies, at least until the Order came back. Your people died, by their own will the sacrificed themselves, for those they cared about, and also so you would be able to build our order anew. We did not kill them for our own motivations, they died to give you a chance to reshape this world and make it something better. What your mother went through, was a symbol of the horrors you will face, and the protection we gave her, passed to you, so that you will not suffer, the horrors of your task. She went through that for you, all your people died, for you to have a chance to help those they cared about."
Sort was now complacent and silent, as he then embraced Minerva back. She simply held him like a mother would do a distressed child. Even Thor seemed to relaxe a little, as he thought about the task they had given these mortals, for no reason other than, they were the only ones that could do it. He then backed away and spoke to the rest of the group.
"I didn't think he was old enough to remember Kelenmabre, but hopefully that is now behind us. You asked why we chose an Assassin, I will tell you. The honorable method of fighting is all good and well, but the methods of an assassin are often times much more effective. And whether you die honorably or not in unimportant to us, what matters is that you all accomplish the task we have laid upon your shoulders. You all have been given this task for a reason, don't doubt that. When you finally reach Kelenmabre, you ill be knighted and named Champions of us. You just need to stay alive until then."
"The moon is ending. Our time here is at it's end, we must leave now."
Minerva said as she and the others disappeared. They gave their goodbyes to the adventures as they left, leaving them to rest for the night before beginning their journey in the morning.

(Note: my next post will be the beginning of the next chapter)

[MiscChaos]

Lilia stands to the side and watches the whole episode happen while re-clothing and putting Red Wind back where it belongs, discarding her emotions for the time being to soak up as much information as she can on the situation like a true assassin. To her, Minerva's words sound a bit too much like sidestepping. She doesn't completely buy the idea of an entire group of people committing mass suicide by nobles and Sortaix's previous theory makes much more sense in her eyes, but bringing that up now would either launch Sortaix into another futile fit of rage or bring the wrath of the gods down on her head. She desires neither of those, so she keeps her mouth shut. Still, she has a much lower opinion of the gods than she did previously.

When Thor speaks to her, she allows her emotions to come back into play, scowling at the god. "Gee, thanks for keeping your priorities straight." she says, voice dripped in sarcasm at his death comment. And just like that, Thor drops to the bottom of her list of gods to respect. He doesn't seem to respect them after all and it's kinda a two-way street to her. 'And this asshole controls my element...' she thinks despairingly. When the gods leave, she just sighs and shakes her head. "There isn't enough mead in the world for this shit." she mutters to herself. Out loud she says, "I dunno about ya'll, but I'd like some sleep not brought about by being knocked unconscious. 'Night." she says, finding the nearest tent not beaten into the ground by the gods' assault to sleep in. But with all the thoughts on what she's learned today whirling around in her head, sleep doesn't exactly come easy.

[Sortaix]

Chapter, 2+1-4+3=

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Well the next few days brought about interesting developments, the most notable was Sort waking up in the morning, having his wolf tail and ears back, as well as his eyes now being the traditional wolf yellow. This was quite a shock to him, but a welcome one, as he was given his real form back. Sort also explained to the group about their newest job, which was sure to be fun. He also explained to them, how the gods have been doing the "creepy voice in his head" method of communication to him until a few years ago, when they started to use the dove, which was his mother. Apparently, having voices in your head, even the voices of the gods, is never comfortable. He also explained to the group about the blood seal on the library in Kelenmabre, that would need his blood to open it, like the seals that were on the gates to the realms of the gods, that would need their blood, which was why the Necros were after them. He also explained of Furons corrupt nobility, several of which were probably in league with the Necros, which was why they would have to be wiped out first, before Furon could go to war with the Necromancers. The whole plan was to kill off Furons corrupt nobles, free that nation from necro influence, as several of it's border villages and towns were all fairly evil, then move to help the elven and anthro nations. Then have everyone march upon the necros and wipe them out.
Sorts discussions lasted the trip, up until they came to the gate of Lamayons capital city, Toran. The city itself wasn't much in the way of cities. It just barely earned that title. The city itself was built on top of a large hill, a bridge connected it to another, smaller hill that was the location of the castle. This gave the city the look of being divided by the small area in between the two hills, that was were the road went. The road went right through the two sections of the city, though there was only a gate into the city, the castle was only accessible from a bridge that was in the city. The walls were large, stone walls and the gate was under construction, as it was evidently receiving new doors. The wall itself looked new, so the gate might actually be in it's final stages of construction.
As the group got to the gate to the city, two guards stepped forth, drawing their swords. They gave out a few rather rude insults toward Dax and Sort at being Nekos, but Sort quickly got them to be quiet. He pulled out a staff that he had gotten from the Necro camp and gave them a little show of magical power. This of course made the guards look like they were about to soil their armor. Sort then fed them a B.S. story of how his father was a powerful Necro that liked furr women, and that unless they wanted to end up zombies, they would leave him alone. The guards practically ran over each other trying to get out of the groups way as they entered into a busy, yet unhappy looking city. As the group made their stop in the center of the city, they noticed what looked like a gathering of some kind, perhaps a slave auction, or an execution, at this distance it was too difficult to tell.

[daxtinator396]

Dax was quite angry at the insolent guards. The nerve of them. They probably hadn't seen more action than a few kids horsing around their whole miserable lives. His fur stood on end and he was about to kindly tell them to go do lewd unnatural acts to themselves when Sort stepped in probably saving a fight that didn't need to happen. He was grateful for that because he would hate to ruin their chances for sanctuary on account of his temper. The look of fear in his eyes helped considerably in making him feel better as they passed by and he quickly thanked sort,"Thanks. I was about to lose my wits back there. I can't understand why people would insult someone just because of how they look." He looked around as they walked through the city while it was busy as any city should be it felt... wrong. Like a mask. Something was wrong here and it nagged at his brain insistently telling him to find out what it was out leave. He decided to find out. As they kept walking he spotted the gathering of something which made his brain nag even more and he turned to Sort,"We should check it out. This place feels wrong and maybe that's will help us figure out what." He waits patiently for an answer.

[Zender_Solarheart]

Sort's explanations of everything along the way had Victor's mind spinning for the whole trip. Part of it was natural excitement and anxiety over the tasks they will all soon face, but most was simply taking in how much they'll have to do. First off, he never expected the Necros' corruption to run so deep in the world's nobility, which will certainly add to the trials ahead of them. Second, what they're doing here is essentially political assassination and treason, all combined into one; then again, if the gods themselves demand it, then it's not exactly treason in the full sense...right?

The third main point of concern, however, becomes obvious enough with how they're greeted by the Toran guards. The moment they draw their swords, Victor's just about ready to unsheath Mjolnir, do his whole "Sword that Cleaves Thunder" introduction, and demand they step aside...but thankfully, it seems Sort can handle it just fine on his own. Walking into town and noticing the gathering in the center, his first thought is to tag along with Dax, pending the Captain's approval, of course. However, what Dax suggests seems to involve stealth, which really isn't his strong point...

"I agree with Dax's notion, though I would personally prefer to hang back unless it goes sour. To put it simply...I'm not cut out for stealthy reconnaissance." Given Victor's bright red shirt, somewhat imposing physique, and overall history with being the loud, gung-ho type, that much should be obvious...

Having said that, Victor wanders over to where Nyx is at, and quietly asks her: "By the way, you are...feeling alright, yes? No ill effects from that...err...transformation?" Asking her about this is really awkward, even for him, and he hopes that doing so doesn't come off as insensitive or nosy. Really, he's just concerned for the poor lass; it's still unclear whether that potion she was forced to drink had any..."side-effects" they should know about...

[Angel_Slayer_Alcatraz]

Nyx had her hands in her sleeves in a traditional monk fashion, her eyes closed and her left eye and ear twitched visibly at his question and as she turned the sword attached to her belt jangled in response
"thank you for your concern Victor" she said in a somber tone "but I am fine" she grumbled as she opened her eyes to look at him

[MiscChaos]

Lilia wasn't paying much of anything any attention, lost in thought like she had been for days now. Thinking about ways out should the gods suddenly decide SHE needed to be sacrificed like Sortaix's order, over the crap way the gods apparently treat their "chosen ones", wondering just when she got put on a string for someone else's plans to kill corrupt nobility. She would've done it anyway if she was paid enough, but the fact that she's doing all the pro bono is starting to fuck with her. So she doesn't react then Sortaix suddenly becomes and stays a wolf, that being insignificant in the scheme of things. She barely notices the guard's crap attitude toward's Sortaix and Dax except to go for Red Wind and prepare to end some lives before Sortaix takes it into his own hands. She doesn't snap out of her thoughts until she sees what could be a slave auction, which pisses her off enough to come back to reality.

"Just point me to a quiet set of rooftops and I should be able to get ya all the intel ya need." she says, still sounding like her mind is somewhere else.

[Sortaix]

Town Square: (Or at least that one place in town, that has a kinda square shape...if you're drunk enough.)

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Well as the people continued to gather around, Sort pointed out to Lilia a roof of a nearby store. There was a ladder already on the building as they were apparently building a post on the front for them to hang a sign, likely for a store or something. The building was also close enough to the gathering, that Lilia should be able to hear enough of what is going on.
Sort then asked Vic and Nyx to stay at the edge of the crowd, just in case of something. Dax however went with Sort into the crowd. Sort was gently nudging people aside with the Necro staff as he and Dax made their way close to whatever had gathered everyone's attention. The people that were nudged quickly got out of the way once they saw the staff and realized what exactly it was, and who it's wielder must be. This allowed Sort and Dax to make their up to what was now apparently an execution.
The executioner was busy testing the trap doors as the guard captain stood aside, watching over a few glum looking people, that were obviously the center of the days entertainment. As the local magistrate came up onto the stage he began to speak out to the crowd about the crimes of the people about to hang. These people had burned down buildings, destroyed homes, stolen food and murdered. The magistrate went on to list several more crimes. This however was not interesting Sort as he began to think they had just walked into a bunch of thieves getting their just reward. He was not able to see what Vic, Nyx and Lilia could see.
Due to Victor and Nyx's positions at the edge of the crowd, they could hear the magistrates loud and annoying voice, but what they saw was more important. They could see three figures in cloaks slip into the crowd without being noticed. They could also just barely get a glimpse of weapons under the cloaks, but the cloaks concealed their entire appearance. Lilia however, could see the movements in crowds that indicated someone being stealthy. She had heard enough to know that the people on the gallows were criminals of some kind, which set her looking even more. She was able to recognize the movements, as she had probably done that a few times herself, only from her position on the roof she couldn't tell exactly what they were intending though, she could see their were at least twelve of these people. She also was just barely able to escape notice as she saw two people climb up onto a roof across from her and set up archery positions.
Things were set, as Sort and Dax could not see this from inside the crowd, however all their attentions were caught when the magistrate gave their last crime to the people.
"These criminals have done everything they can to rebel against our Necromancer overlords, and disrupt all their activities. They have done everything from steal and free our slaves, to sabotaging summoning rituals to kill our Saloran friends! And today these people shall pay for their crimes! Worst of all yet their leader is...a NEKO!"
This, the magistrate shouted to the crowd, which made them all gasp in shock, as the cat neko was herded to the edge of the gallows for the crowd to see. Apparently the "criminals" to be executed were people who rebelled against the Necromancers rule.
"Yes, a neko. He is a filthy half-breed, who threatens the purity and superiority of all humanity! He shall die this day as shall all his kind in due time! Death to the half breeds!"
The crowd mostly silent, though a few cheered, the magistrate looked like he was hoping for more of a reaction from them. They seemed to like the idea of killing the criminal, but of killing all like him, they weren't certain. The magistrate then walked around the gallows spouting propaganda, about how Saloran will make their nation great and powerful... etc. etc. Sort emitted a low growl in his throat as he held the Necro staff tightly, it was only then that he and Dax were able to notice a cloaked figure move next to one of the supports of the gallows, and begin to mess with it, his cloak preventing them from seeing exactly what was going on.