Unsteady Ground [IC]

[MiscChaos]

"Easy" she says as she closes her eyes. 'Nature, please heed my call!' she communicates with the plants in the area around her, becoming one with them, forming the basis of her nature magic. With nature agreeing to work with her, she manipulates the moss on a tree to act as a gag for the guard, then uses a tree around the guard to knock him over so that the grass can restrain him. She thinks about opening up the grass around him so that he'll fall into the Earth, but she doesn't see the need to kill him just yet, rescinding her earlier thought about making him suffer.
As for the female bandit, well first she has the grass hold the tripwires in place so she doesn't fall into those, then she decides to observe the bandit for a while to see if she moves into a more natural area to be attacked from. Unless the bar's wooden as well.

[jayjaycaps]

Flim and Flam both put on their identical thinking faces before turning around to converse privately for a second. It's literally a second before they turn back, large grins on their faces.

"It's a deal!" Flim booms, grabbing the man's hand and giving it a vigorous shaking. "So we get these bottles to Marche, then sell them? Easy as cider!"

Flam walks over to the bottles and begins examining one of them. "What do they do, anyways? They sound like some weird type of ale..."

[That_One_Guy]

Garian continued drinking, "Same here, never met her before in me life." He said and turned back to watching the people dance and sing.

[Icaelus]

"Where...am I?" An exhausted Vivienne mumbled to herself as she stumbled through the dimly lit forest..her gray eyes caught a wisp of smoke and she followed it, eager to find any people that could at least help her. Behind her laid several smoking bodies, laid waste to by her Moonburst magics. It was what the witches had named her magic..one of the only things she could remember about herself. Hell, she couldn't even remember her own age..
The forest eventually thinned enough to reveal a wooden fortress.
Viv's gray eyes widened at the sight, the structure easily the most majestic thing she had seen in her life. She made her way to it with some caution, keeping to the shadows.
No one ever wanted to be caught and imprisoned again after spending more than half their life in chains and shackles..

[MelissaB]

Salyandra smirked taking a hearty wig from her mug of ale. She recognises remembers Panner but it takes little worth at this time it was a simple matter of payment she was interested in and unlike common thugs didn't find the idea of free ale a worthwhile payment. She had no reason to drown herself other than idleness. Besides with a group like this she had to keep her wits about her. "I believe I'll see how secure the prisoners are after this drink. In case someone calls for me." her words spoken over to Lye before she scans the room she's in one more time counting heads as well as weapons at their belts. Taking another drink with a slight smirk.

[napsii]

Garian + Claire -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"Oh, hehe, sorry..." Rye said apologetically, obviously not wanting to intrude. Still, he can't help but let his eyes linger to Claire every few moments. Traveling as much as he did probably didn't give much room to interact with people.

"So, uh, um... who do you folks side with? The winged people or the horned people? They're everywhere now, you know! Some are saying it's the end of the world." he said.

Duvass -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

You pry open the crates and are met with mostly blankets, until one crate in particular prompts a warning from your instinct. A sickly green haze permeates this one crate of blankets in particular, making you unsure of wanting to approach it or not. In fact, it might be virtuous to destroy it, just in case someone else chances across it...?

In addition, you hear a low rumbling off in the distance.

It sounds almost mechanical.

Flim + Flam -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"Yeah, exactly..." the man says under his breath, watching you examine the tightly-corked bottle. It is very elaborately decorated and colored, obviously to make them more noticeable.

"To be terse: it's a mind control serum. Doesn't take effect immediately, but over the course of a few days it'll make anyone who drinks it pretty open to suggestion. From us." he says suggestively. "But to you and them, it's supposed to make you as energetic as a rabbit and was made by a genius alchemist named Zugong, from the North, and is 'proven to work'. And it will work, for about a day. But you should have sold them all before then." he explained. You can hear the nickering of a horse from the other side of the stable, suggesting he's readied it to pull the wagon and its goods.

Clife -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Your magic works like a charm. The guard is quickly and silently subdued and is knocked unconscious by the force of the impact. The tower at the gate is now unmanned and nobody seems to notice. The entire fortress, however, is built on top of a dirt flat, so your magic will most likely be useless anywhere past the walls unless all of the bandits are carrying around pots with carnivorous plants in them. The small wood building that is the tavern seems sturdy enough to resist most attack from this distance.

Salyndra -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Panner, who you've never really seen speak except in whispers to the chief's ear, walks in and leans over the counter to hear what Lye has to say, and Nail follows in soon after, returning to his drink. Lye chats him up for a while, but your keen ears can make out several words of what he's saying.

"...she's really sexy! But any... I don't know... should do it." are about the most you can get. After that, Panner moves from the room and presumably goes back to the chief to repeat whatever Lye said to him.

"Okay." Lye nodded at you when you spoke to him, seeming to want to avoid your gaze.

Vivienne -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

As you approach, you somehow doubt this fortress was built by the military. Instead it seems like a small castle for mercenaries, or brigands of some kind, but you continue along the path anyway.

You continue walking, and hear a loud rustling in the bushes next to you, along with some panting.

Uh, do you really think it'd be a good idea to check under there?

[Cliff Racer]

Virtuous to destroy it indeed. Duvess pays no heed to the mechanical noise in the distance, instead taking a step back from the crate. She rolls her right arm, and uses her dominant left arm to make some handsigns. This causes the air around her gauntletted fist to distort a bit. This'll make her punch blast the crate back a bit- more importantly, it means she doesn't have to touch it. Moving it telekinetically is too boring!

[MiscChaos]

"Tch!" she grimaces as she sees her Nature Magic is going to be a lot less useful inside the complex. Stealth is going to be a problem from that point. But for now, she can still take care of the bandit in the bar. She creeps up to the bar without worry for the traps since the grass is holding them in check in order to see how much of the bar is wood. If worse comes to worse, then she can just collapse the bar in on itself by asking the wood to return to the soil, killing anyone inside.

[jayjaycaps]

Flim ponders what the Shadowy amn just told them. Flam takes the horse and begins attaching the cart.

"And we have to sell them in the Marche? Can't be around here or something?"

[Icaelus]

"This fort..doesn't look very official..is it safe to go in..? Viv glanced up at the wooden fort that now towered over her small frame, now second-guessing her course of action. The witches had all but erased her memory of her eleven-year imprisonment, leaving her with only vague memories of her family and age. She was only five when they had taken her..
Viv's attention perked up when a rustle in the bushes alerted her, followed by some panting noises. Imprisoned for the majority of her life was in no way an educational way to teach her about the dangers of the outdoor, so she approached the bushes.
"Is it a dog? Come out.."
She coaxed, a gentle smile forming on her face for the first time in eleven years.

[MelissaB]

Salyandra raised a brow from the words spoken That wasn't the message she asked to give none of it sounded similar to what she asked for. She was suspicious of this lot as it goes but from what she heard as well as Lye trying to avoid looking at her when before he was eyeing her body up she put down her drink only half empty and left the tavern making sure she never got too close to anyone on her way out her hand on her sword.

[That_One_Guy]

Garian shrugged and downed the rest of his drink, "I used to be with the winged people, but now i'm not sided with either of them." He told the boy and leaned against the bar, yawning just slightly. "Let them fight each other and bring about the end of the world, I don't have a reason to stop them."

[TheDaughterOfHades14]

Claire nods. "Yeah, I'm neutral. Until they come and invite me over and, basically, present what they have and their props, I won't be joining any of them. Maybe start a neutral team, get the Sigil for the us Mortals!" Claire said with a grin, without looking up from her drink.

[napsii]

Garian + Claire -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Rye nodded to both of their responses, occasionally peeking down to something obscured underneath the counter like there was a bomb there. He went back to washing glasses and said over his shoulder,

"My mom says the Angels are going to vanquish the demons once and for all. That's what the cross over there's for, I think. You can touch it and a real Angel will talk to you! If you're a nice person, anyway." he was clearly just trying to make small talk.

Garian and Claire might notice that the revelers and idle merchants towards the east half of the camp seemed to be spying over the grassy horizon at something all at once, if they looked around.

Duvass -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

You reflexively shirk at the sudden green burst of sickly green that erupts from the box as it is torn apart. The frayed blankets seem to cringe as if they were living, their stitches rapidly unfurling as they fall apart. You recognize that this is obviously some kind of dark magic. Moments later, they are simply rags on the ground, whatever noxious poison was in them having dissipated. (+3 alignment)

The mechanical noise seems to be growing louder by the second, and the ground is tangibly vibrating. It appears to be coming towards the south, where you'd spy an inexplicable, blocky shape churning a tower of smoke like a bonfire would up into the sky. What in the world is that?

Flim + Flam -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The man nods, double-taking every five or so seconds as if he's expecting someone to sneak up on him. He's an agent of the dark, however, so this is probably understandable knowing that pro-Angel warrior groups and Angels themselves have been spotted in this area.

"Marche is important to us," he elaborated, "We could throw them anywhere, but we only have so much. This is a nail under the Angels' fingernails." he said.

"Well, time for me to leave." he barely gave you a chance to reply. Seemed he was a busy dude. Not even giving a goodbye, he exploded into a shadowy mist that merged with the blackness from the orb, which then promptly vanished into thin air, the mist subsiding. Being the dark fellows you are, you were actually feel somewhat rejuvenated by the strange mist.

Anyway, your target lies to the east, where a smooth dirt road seems to stretch on forever from the eastern edge of town until it vanishes over the horizon. You see tiny smoke plumes from various camps and ramshackle fortresses dotting the distance, though.

Clife -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Don't get too cocky. Your approach to the backside of the medium-sized bar (where an unconscious merc sits in a shallow trench where garbage is dumped with ale bottle in hand) wasn't as stealthy as you thought, on account of the high concentration of inhabitants. A particularly wiry and work oriented-looking man with a slickened ponytail seems to catch your movement as he walks out of the bar just as you pass nearby, a shortsword at his hip. It seems everyone else is too fucking lazy to help him out (and he doesn't signal for help anyway) but you pick up a grating noise as his sword draws from its sheath, and with slow, silent steps he walks towards the back, pausing at the corner to peek around and get a glimpse of your backside. He obviously knows you're not from here.

Whadya do? You alert this entire fortress and you're going to get butchered. They are not idiots, after all.

Salyndra -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

You exit the bar, and catch a glimpse of Panner, sword drawn, apparently moving around to the rear of the bar.

In addition, you start feeling somewhat dizzy. Well, shit. You're immediately aware someone in the bar must have done something with your drink...

Vivienne -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

There's some animalistic snorting and other odd noises from the bush.

Then, with a loud bark, what looks to be a bright-eyed, silver-furred wolf bursts out and immediately begins rolling in the dirt in front of you, snorting excitedly.

It climbs to its feet and barks at you playfully, licking at your feet rapidly before circling around you and then resuming to roll in the dirt again. It's strangely friendly for a wild animal, but you can see that its claws and teeth are like daggers. In addition, there's something... odd, about it. Its eyes are red, of all colors, and its silver fur seems to have a slight black-red tinge to it.

In any case, it doesn't look particularly threatening while its continuing to bark at you playfully.

Jered Alkaid -

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The winds of destiny have carried you back to your homeland of Eastern Autum. The once peaceful valleys and mountains seem to quiver with anxiety at the rising intensity of the war, flames and firesmoke dotting the once scenic landscape as lumber and mining camps or razed or trade owners to supply the war efforts of both factions. Your skill has allowed you to avoid the narrow mountain passes and dense forests where bloody skirmishes have taken place, for the most part, but you couldn't evade every bloodbath.

You're on a cobblestone path flanked by ages-old pine trees famous to the area on the outlying part of the highlands that soon form into the East's famous mountain ranges. Behind you, the path seems to wind along forever through the forest. However, towards the west, you can faintly see a small hamlet in a circular forest clearing. Your sharp eyes pick up the tiny blur of arrows, some lit on fire and others with magic, being tossed back and forth between what look to be towers on the perimeter of the small village, and disorganized looking groups of warriors, maybe 30 or so, out in the adjacent fields flying a black banner. You could probably be in the melee if you ran flat out for about five minutes.

As you look on, there's a flash of white light and several of the attackers are burnt to ashes in a white flame. You immediately recognize it as Angelic magic.

[jayjaycaps]

Flim and Flam seem unfazed by the shadowy man's sudden disappear. Many clients of theirs were criminals who could not afford to be caught, and often needed fast getaways. Plus too, they learned pretty early on not to ask questions.

Flim walked over to Flam and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Things are looking up again, brother! Another job, another way to get rich quick! Shall we start off today?" "I believe we shall, brother of mine!"

The pair fix each other's clothing (for the third time) and hop onto the wagon (if there is room!). Flam takes the reins while Flim stands behind him, counting crates and bottles, taking inventory. Flam whips the reins getting the horse to head on out. The pair turn east, starting off on their journey right away.

Immediately, the two burst into their song again, this time loud enough for everyone to hear. After all, they'll be gone in a few minutes, who cares who hears?

"We're saying you've got opportunity, in this here-y community..."

[MiscChaos]

"Tch." is all Clife has to say about being spotted. By some miracle the guard who found her hasn't alerted the base and she doesn't want to change that anytime soon. Which means Nature Magic would be the best way of taking him out. Careful of her surroundings she starts to back away, feigning fear with a petrified look on her face, and she leads the guard back to more grassy lands.

[Zender_Solarheart]

Jered's spotting of the flash makes him wince for a brief moment, as it gives his more fine-tuned eyes a small jolt, if only for an instant. He's certain that was a divine form of fire magic, as the same divinity powers his own lightning magic. Whatever's going on over there, it either involves an Angel, or one of their most proficient disciples...and it's definitely more intense than the occasional bandits he cut down on the way here.

"Might as well take a closer look..."

Deciding that such divine workings is worth investigating, if nothing else, Jered chooses to get a bit closer, and examine the scene more thoroughly (but from a safe distance). This war's been tearing Autum asunder for who knows how long, and frankly, he only chose the Angels' side because of how the Demons would run things if they win. At the core of the matter, he just wants the bloodshed to cease...the sooner, the better.

[That_One_Guy]

Garian had looked around, he listened to the boy talk about how the Angels were winning and that touching the cross will allow him to talk to one. He scoffed at that notion and, seeing that everyone was looking over to the east, he decided to see what the fuss was about. Getting up, he moved to one of the idle merchants, putting a hand on his/her shoulder and asking "What's going on?"

[TheDaughterOfHades14]

Claire turned around and took another sip of her drink. She grabbed it and walked out of the tavern. She walks next to Garian and takes another sip. "Have any idea of what's going on? I can't see a thing." She sighs. Claire then walks back in the tavern, sets down her drink, then walks back out. She stands up on her toes and tries to see something, but everyone else is far taller than her.

[MelissaB]

Salyandra stumbles as the world around her shifts... catching sight of the person running around the back she quickly tries to make a get away... someone did something to her drink and now an armed man running around the back of the makeshift tavern can't spell good news. desperate to make sure she isn't followed and to make sure no one else notices her drugged state case they decide to jump her as well. "This what I get for working with bandits... That's it I'm going to kill that bartender and that messenger boy." she mutters to herself her hand constantly clenching and loosening her grip of her sword.