The Crusade of Arae

[Zankio]

Vyn glances at the man as he asks for her name while they hurry down the path. "I'm called Vyn." She lets out, not overly familiar with introducing herself. She listens to his introduction with slight interest, finding Rork moderately interesting for a human. "I'm glad you'll try to help my friend." She says in an attempt to thank him, struggling to put the right emotion into the words as her concern grows.

When they meet up with the woman and her savior Vyn feels uneasy about the state he is in. Watching Rork take charge and move on to help, Vyn quickly introduces him. "This is Rork, I ran into him further down the path, he can try and heal him."

[KnightVanilla]

After all the purchases and the decision to return here Umbrage wondered a great many things. Such as whether or not she'd encounter more kind people such as the ones she met. Her method of magic was rather interesting if not complicated. Instant materialization isn't an easy spell type to form but those that can master it are usually set for life.

Only real catch if she remembers correctly is that you have to have a detailed memory of the object you are forming. Especially if that object is food. Umbrage kept watching interested in mimicking the spell to form simple objects such as knives. Its never too hard to learn new spell if you watch it be performed in front of you this many times.

[Icaelus]

Her teeth clenched as she felt her strength siphon out of her. Wow. This was much more draining than she had originally thought. Glad for the decision she had made to sit down before she used the crystal, she spent several moments observing the light shining from the crystal. This had damn well better work for what it had put her through.
Jeanne gazed curiously at the light that seemed to fill the veins of her hand holding the crystal, a rapt expression on her face.
"Hm. Amazing."
She smiled to herself as the crystal shifted it's direction, pointing to the left of the heart of the forest..which had been her original destination, anyway. Great usage of the crystal, ugh. Still, better safe than sorry.
Jeanne deactivated the Je'bahdi crystal, grimacing at the sour taste that filled her mouth and the dull ache in her muscles. Never going to do that unless she absolutely needed to..
She stood up slowly, brushing the dust off her clothing before straightening up. Ultima Bellum was waiting in that direction. Better get a move on, yeah?
With a soft sigh, she began the trek towards the forest, her eyes scanning her surroundings for anything useful at all..such as water, for one.

[A Vision of Sound]

Yvria:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The metallic stomping comes closer and closer towards you as you momentarily decide what to do. Figuring that whatever it was will likely look inside the cave, that way was out, as was sprinting down the mountainpass at night. You duck behind some rocks, hiding yourself cleverly thanks to your adept flexibility. Closer and closer comes the heavy footsteps...And as they do, it sounds like...Armor?

The light being shone gets brighter along with the footsteps being heavier, and it's clear that whatever it is is almost in the clearing. A few seconds later, it seems the light is being shone through the use of magic from an iron-clad gauntlet's palm. As the figure slowly but surely makes their way to the center of the clearing, it stops. You suspect they're looking around briefly, before the light seemingly travels out of the gauntlet, and rises up in a glowing orb, which quickly brightens like a flare high above to illuminate the clearing, and in turn, giving you a better look at the figure. ((See OOC description for appearance.))

His shield is strung along his back and his sword is sheathed at his belt. He stands roughly 6'2, and has the physique to boot, you'd expect. However, he's completely covered in blood. Completely. Bits and pieces of gore freely drop from his armor as every footstep he makes leaves a bloody trail in its wake, the stench making you recoil in disgust. Not a single sound nor breath comes from the figure, as if he'd be perfectly calm or weren't even breathing at all.

The Crusader slowly looks around, his visor a deep shade of black making it impossible to make out any facial details, and travels his gaze across the rock face. Slowly, he raises his hand and seconds later, it's enveloped in a blue light that travels along his gauntlet. As it does, his palm suddenly shoots out a wide, blue ray of light that would be best described as a spotlight. He slowly raises his hand to view the top of the rock face first, and the light and his gauntlet turns red, along with his forearm briefly shaking as a bird flies out of the light's embrace, which quickly turns blue.

Realizing that you'll be spotted if even an inch of you is caught in that light, you tuck yourself together and hold your breath. You watch the light slowly pass above you and over the rocks you'd be hiding behind, staying blue the entire while. After the most intense minute of your life has passed, the light vanishes and the slow, heavy, clanking footsteps of the Crusader commence once again, heading towards the cave. The flare continues to hover above the clearing, though after a few minutes of laying perfectly still, it sounds as if the water barrels are being used. If you dared peek your head up, you'd see blood washing out of the cave in a torrent, as if the Crusader would be cleaning himself of it.

It seems you're in quite the pickle.

Status:
Health: 24/24
Mind: Clear.
Nutriments: Perfectly healthy.
Affects: None.
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: None.
Equipment: Light leather armor in poor condition, one of the straps along the left breast being incredibly worn and nearly falling off. The pouches along the armor not doing much better, one of them completely ripped out of the bottom. Simple animal-hide clothing and undergarments. A small-sized rucksack in good condition, able to hold a healthy amount of items. Two daggers in alright condition, though they could definitely use some maintenance. A waterskin filled with good water.
Core:
Strength - 3
Dexterity - 5
Constitution - 3
Intelligence - 4
Charisma - 6
Perception - 6
Luck - 1
Corruption – 0

Yvria OOC:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Rukarra:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

As you bend over and command them to come forth, they both look at one another again for a brief moment. One of them murmurs, "Fuck, man. If we die from this, I'll at least die happy." Walking up behind you, you feel the man's hands on your hips, rubbing you softly, before the tip of his cock presses against your drooling vulva. He briefly rubs the head of his dick up and down your achingly-tight slit, and groans as he thrusts forwards, embedding his six-inch cock inside of you. It isn't the biggest you've ever had, but damn, it at least scratches that itch.

He thrusts his hips against yours and groans again, starting to gyrate his cock in and out of your cunt. He even raises one hand off your hips and roughly spanks your ass, groaning again. The other man seems unsure of what to do, so he moves in front of you and handily presents his cock, the thing nearly pressing against your lips as he looks like he thinks you'll bite it off. Never the less, the dick in your pussy is starting to feel veeeeeery good...

Status:
Health: 28/29 (27+2
Mind: Lust-crazed. (-1 Intelligence)
Nutriments: Hungry. A bit parched.
Affects: None.
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: None.
Equipment: Two battles axes, in masterful condition. Rusty, weak iron pauldrons. Leather bra and pants maintained perfectly.
Core:
Strength – 8
Dexterity - 5
Constitution - 6
Intelligence - 2 (-1)
Charisma - 1
Perception - 5
Luck - 4
Corruption - 3

Kiera:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Vincent looks at you with high hopes, despite the crossbow idly pointing at him. He watches your expression carefully, before you stand up. Relief and hope sparks along his features as you walk over to the parchment, not particularly paying attention to anything you say except to nod every now and then, a growing, wide smile on his face. As your hand grips the paper, Vincent's expression would be best described as a child on Christmas day. When the paper is ripped off however, your back to Vincent, you're immediately subjugated to...Cold. Your limbs are encased in cold that seems to come from your very bones, and your chest tightens as if you would be having a heart attack. What you're feeling right now is clear. Fear. Uncontrollable, mind-melting fear that encases itself in your very soul. You can hardly move, much less speak. This is the work of something sinister, for it obviously is not fear that had been inside of you before--

...You ripped off the parchment. Just how badly you've fucked up almost tears through you as much as the horrifying fear does. Never the less, you grit your teeth together, which is a feat in and out of itself, and attempt to turn your head to the side to at least get a glance at Vincent. No such luck however, you feel like you're encased in concrete. But then, comes the low, sinuous chuckle that you've heard before, when you first entered the cave when it was completely pitch-black. It doesn't sound human, though the voice is unmistakably Vincent's. Then, after the chuckle has departed, Vincent's voice is different. Like a lion playing with its' prey, his tone rolling through like a hand in a glove. The voice of a manipulator that could talk the devil into attending church.

"Mmm...So you fell for it, did you...It feels so good to stretch again...Aaaahhh...That seal kept my powers under wraps, too. Thanks for that. Seems like you can't move...Let me fix that beautiful body of yours." And just like that, with a snap of his fingers, the cold encasing you has subsided, at least, for the most part. Your movements still feel sluggish, and your chest is still tight. Immediately you whip around and level your crossbow to the best of your abilities, though you nearly drop it as you see that the cave is...Gone.

Looking around, nothing but black, flowing smoke traveling clockwise like you'd be in the middle of a tornado surrounds you. And standing in the middle of it would be Vincent, facing you. There's a change, though. Two thick, long, ash-colored, segmented horns erupt from his temples and curve forwards and a tad bit upwards, giving him a fierce appearance. The next thing you notice are his eyes. Blood-red, his pupils black, along with his irises enlarged with his sclera segmented with a black and red pattern. He's grown at least a foot in height, and he stands completely naked, his muscles being especially toned and...Delicious...

-Wait, you didn't think that...What is even happening...

"Vincent" slowly strides forwards towards you, your vision briefly blurring as if you'd whipped on 3D goggles for an instant, before he's less than a foot away. Immediately trying to pull the trigger on your crossbow, Vincent's hand would already be on the tip of it. As he grips the barrel of your bow, it fades into black dust and blows away with the wind, and with his other hand, he loops around the small of your back as he kisses your neck, letting loose a deep, rolling, "Mmmm..." His lips feel divine against your skin, and it's even almost enough to surrender yourself fully to him. Your will however, fights off the overwhelming desire to submit to this man as you'd prepare to knee him in the groin, but you find your leg just doesn't want to respond.

Then, comes his purring, unbelievably sexy-- Agh. Tone. "I'm not going to kill you, Kiera...In fact, I'm not even going to take you. I'll even let you go, think of it like my parting gift to you...But...If we meet again..." He trails off, looking down at you with an amused smile as he grips both sides of your jaw with his hands, before leaning down and planting a kiss against your lips. As soon as your mouths connect, it's like sparks fly. You involuntarily let out a soft moan and your knees buckle, your snatch letting out a little trickle of lubricant as you can feel your nipples hardening beneath your armor. All too soon, he pulls back from the kiss, his arm slowly leaving the small of your back. "...Then I don't know what I'll do to you. But I've wasted enough time here already. Until next time, Love." And just like that, he removes himself from your body, nearly causing you to reach out as if to coax him back into your arms, before he turns around fully and walks off into the smoke surrounding you, disappearing from view.

The next thing you know, you're opening your eyes. You're on the floor in the cave. You rapidly feel your body, and breathe a sigh of relief as your clothes would still be on you. Momentarily at a loss as you remember your crossbow's fate, you look to your left and see it perfectly unscathed right next to you. Fucking illusions...Illusion or not however, everything you felt was real, it had to be...Just thinking of him pressing against you, and that ki--

Cutting yourself off, you clench your teeth in despair. You've just let loose an evidently very powerful demon.

Status:
Health: 27/27 (25+2)
Mind: Horny.
Nutriments: Thirsty. Peckish.
Affects: Venombrawler. (+2 to health)
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 110 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: None.
Equipment: Leather armor in very poor condition. A black fur cloak. A well-maintained crossbow. A somewhat dull knife. Snares, ropes, and crossbow bolts in excellent condition. A small green lizard-like corpse. A small pouch, containing: A white, mottled egg.
Core:
Strength - 3
Dexterity - 8
Constitution - 5
Intelligence - 5
Charisma - 1
Perception - 7
Luck - 1
Corruption - 6

Gaen, Ezra, and Vyn:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The healer known as Rork immediately runs over and commands Ezra to ease Gaen to the ground. Seeing that only his back would be bloodied, Gaen is helpfully lowered down to the ground on his stomach, his cheek in the dirt. Untying the bandages, Rork lets the final strip free as Gaen's wound suddenly drools blood once more. Removing a red handkerchief from inside his robe, Rork wipes the blood from the wound, and sets both of his hands on either side of the rather nasty-looking stabwound. Closing his eyes and muttering lowly, he begins chanting what is most likely a healer's spell. Over the course of about five minutes, the bleeding in Gaen's wound slows down to nill, and stops altogether. A look of consternation on Rork's face now, he grimaces and grits his teeth in between chants as Gaen's skin would slowly start to mend itself together. Around ten minutes have passed, and his wound has mostly closed up. A minute later, and Rork ends the spell as he collapses against the ground, panting softly as Gaen's back would be completely devoid of any wounds, not even a scar present where it would have been.

Opening one eye to look up at everyone, he chuckles between pants, "Heh...Looks like...I did it...Go get...The others...Bring them...Here..." He looks at Vyn while he says this, clearly indicating her. Gaen slowly opens his eyes, though it's very clear that moving would be a bad, bad idea. The sun has lowered to bathe the path in faint darkness.

Gaen:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Status:
Health: 7/30 (29+2)
Mind: In mild pain.
Nutriments: Very hungry. (-1 Strength, Dexterity, Contitution.) Very thirsty. (-1 Dexterity, Perception, Intelligence.) Exhausted.
Affects: Venombrawler (+2 to health)
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: Killer Instincts, Iron Will, Bloodlust, Outcast, Weakened by the Sun, Dark Urges. (All passives.)
Equipment: A perfectly-made and maintained axe. A dull shortsword with a sheath. A hunting knife in average condition. Patchy, slightly weakened leather armor, missing an arm completely. The existing arm on the armor is home to several gashes and teeth marks. Two bolas, of masterful make. A well-crafted, slightly curved shortsword.
Core:
Strength - 8 (-1)
Dexterity - 5 (-2)
Constitution - 7 (-1)
Intelligence – 4 (-1)
Charisma - 1
Perception - 5 (-1)
Luck - 1
Corruption - 3

Ezra:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Status:
Health: 27/29 (27+2)
Mind: Clear.
Nutriments: Hungry. Thirsty. Fatigued.
Affects: Venombrawlers (+2 to health)
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 4 silver.
Mental Arsenal: None.
Equipment: Flimsy heavy gauntlets. Light cloth armor in good condition. A well-made, well-maintained dagger. A backpack, containing: Ulmnioson fruit.
Core:
Strength – 7
Dexterity - 7
Constitution - 6
Intelligence - 2
Charisma - 2
Perception - 4
Luck - 1
Corruption - 5

Vyn:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Status: 
Health: 24/24
Mind: Clear.
Nutriments: Thirsty. A tad famished.
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: Nature's Nourishment, Zephyr's Whisper, Charm Animal.
Affects: Blessed (+1 to all stats) Elf race (Passive mana regeneration along with a slightly larger mana pool.)
Equipment: Light armor in perfect condition. A satchel in good shape, filled with: Blueberries.
Core: 
Strength – 5
Dexterity - 5
Constitution – 4
Intelligence – 5
Charisma – 3
Luck – 3
Corruption - 3

Umbrage:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

After the crowd is somewhat dispersed, Angela grins and shouts, "Sorry everyone, closin' time!" Which is then met by a chorus of "Awwww..."s, before she reaches out and closes the shutters to her wagon. Looking down at you, she smiles sweetly and snaps her fingers, "Well, time to go!" She cheerfully announces. Opening the back of the wagon, she climbs out and patiently waits for you to follow, and closes the back, locking it with a silver key. Making her way through the small crowd of caravaneers, Angela looks, at best, completely lost. Never the less, she soldiers on and idly talks to herself, worrying about which type of frog would go well with which type of liquid, the properties of fly juice travelling at a certain speed to coat a small area of metal for some unknown reason, the fact that the wheel could have been invented by a cow, and much, much more. Despite all of this, she leads you onwards, never faltering (Except maybe a few times.) until she exclaims, "Hah~!" and points towards a purple, rather lavish-looking tent. "Told you I'd find it!"

Never the less, Angela brushes through the flaps of the tent and beckons you inside. Once you do step through, you feel as if your body is encased in a cool, breezy aura. Like the room you'd been sitting in was hot as hell and air-conditioning was turned on to calmly brush over you. The insides of the tent would be described as a whacky fun house of magic to say the least, it even looks bigger on the inside. Staffs, magic mirrors, golden trimmings, you name it, all litters the tent and extravagant would be an understatement.

Angela sighs faintly as she sits on a purple, rich-looking bed. "So, sorry if I'm being rude, but...What does a girl like you want to achieve by participating in something like this?"

Status:
Health: 24/24
Mind: Pure.
Nutriments: Perfectly healthy.
Affects: None.
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 5 copper.
Mental Arsenal: Pulse wave, Regeneration, Shatter Barrier.
Equipment: Leather armor in good condition. Leather vambraces in good condition. Modified custom-made canesword in perfect condition and quality. Some sweets.
Core:
Strength – 5
Dexterity - 9
Constitution - 4
Intelligence - 5
Charisma - 1
Perception - 3
Luck - 2
Corruption - 0

Jeanne:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

After you've stood up and started trekking out, the sun just dives over the horizon, and you feel your powers truly take light. You let out an idle sigh of relief as you're bathed in darkness, setting off towards your destination. Your eyes slowly begin to clear up as you move, before you finally blink the last of the dust out of your eyes, and voila, you can see again. Never the less, you continue to keep an eye out for anything that could be useful. (Roll: 17) And useful is the area that you find. Not too far off is a lake, and from the looks of it, a clear one at that.

It's some time before you actually reach the outskirts of the lake, and indeed, the water looks drinkable. However, it's better to be safe than sorry. (Encounter roll: 12) Suddenly, you hear the water swishing in an irregular manner. Looking up, you see the head of a woman floating in the water, looking at you with a smile. Upon closer examination however, the woman is not human, and her skin has a light, olive, smooth quality to it, as if she spent the majority of her life underwater. Her eyes are a light green with slitted pupils, and her hair is raven-black and pools behind her in the water, similar to your own. Her smile reveals her slightly-pointed fangs as she wades her arms in the water, almost as if she would be beckoning you.

"Hello." She simply calls out, in a voice that could only be described as beautiful. "And what's your name?"

Status:
Health: 24/24
Mind: Clear.
Nutriments: Slightly thirsty.
Affects: Half-demon. (+10 corruption.)
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: Slayshade, Death's Melody, Reaper's Cloak, Shadowstep.
Equipment: Black leather gear in good condition, everything upkept to a very respectable degree. A belt, utterly broken, unable to hold anything whatsoever as it would be completely frayed, and ruined in some areas. A longsword of master quality, and along the guard is a blue gem infused with magical energy. The sword is enchanted, causing it to swing faster with the aid of magic from the user. (Note, it is not lighter, it propels itself based on your attack. It will automatically sap your mana as you use it, though it's a very slight drain, practically unnoticable.) A shortsword also of master's quality, but lacking an enchantment of sorts. A wand of perfect quality, oakwood infused with Vampire's Bane along with a pinch of Ghost Spices to give it a seamless casting ability.
Core:
Strength - 2
Dexterity - 8
Constitution - 4
Intelligence - 7
Charisma - 2
Perception - 5
Luck - 2
Corruption - 20

[MyLittleCossack]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The metallic stomping comes closer and closer towards you as you momentarily decide what to do. Figuring that whatever it was will likely look inside the cave, that way was out, as was sprinting down the mountainpass at night. You duck behind some rocks, hiding yourself cleverly thanks to your adept flexibility. Closer and closer comes the heavy footsteps...And as they do, it sounds like...Armor?

The light being shone gets brighter along with the footsteps being heavier, and it's clear that whatever it is is almost in the clearing. A few seconds later, it seems the light is being shone through the use of magic from an iron-clad gauntlet's palm. As the figure slowly but surely makes their way to the center of the clearing, it stops. You suspect they're looking around briefly, before the light seemingly travels out of the gauntlet, and rises up in a glowing orb, which quickly brightens like a flare high above to illuminate the clearing, and in turn, giving you a better look at the figure. ((See OOC description for appearance.))

His shield is strung along his back and his sword is sheathed at his belt. He stands roughly 6'2, and has the physique to boot, you'd expect. However, he's completely covered in blood. Completely. Bits and pieces of gore freely drop from his armor as every footstep he makes leaves a bloody trail in its wake, the stench making you recoil in disgust. Not a single sound nor breath comes from the figure, as if he'd be perfectly calm or weren't even breathing at all.

The Crusader slowly looks around, his visor a deep shade of black making it impossible to make out any facial details, and travels his gaze across the rock face. Slowly, he raises his hand and seconds later, it's enveloped in a blue light that travels along his gauntlet. As it does, his palm suddenly shoots out a wide, blue ray of light that would be best described as a spotlight. He slowly raises his hand to view the top of the rock face first, and the light and his gauntlet turns red, along with his forearm briefly shaking as a bird flies out of the light's embrace, which quickly turns blue.

Realizing that you'll be spotted if even an inch of you is caught in that light, you tuck yourself together and hold your breath. You watch the light slowly pass above you and over the rocks you'd be hiding behind, staying blue the entire while. After the most intense minute of your life has passed, the light vanishes and the slow, heavy, clanking footsteps of the Crusader commence once again, heading towards the cave. The flare continues to hover above the clearing, though after a few minutes of laying perfectly still, it sounds as if the water barrels are being used. If you dared peek your head up, you'd see blood washing out of the cave in a torrent, as if the Crusader would be cleaning himself of it.

Tucking herself away behind some rocks, eyes watching for the oncoming disturbance with equal parts curiosity and dread, Yvria awaited her "visitor". The clunking footsteps of armor becoming less mechanical and more tell-tale as they got closer with... what almost sounded like squelching? Then it comes into view, a tainted vision of what was supposed to be a knight but only appeared like a demon came into line of sight. The visceral view of the light spewing, gory nightmare being all it took for Yvria to tuck herself against the rock as tight as possible. Even going as far as to grab her tail in her hands and slit back her ears just in case they reflexively scanned for the armored one's footsteps while she dared not look. Suddenly, the sky overhead brightens almost with a pale blue aura that made her hair stand on end, causing her to dare a look over the rock to nearly get herself discovered, the sight being even more gruesome in the artificial light overhead. The rancid smell of slain enemies was complete, forcing Yvria to contain a gag before ducking down and craddling her knees with her tail inbetween them.

An intense beam of light shoots around the clearing now, illuminating all the bushes and rocks that were presumably unoccupied before a reddish hue overtook the stream. A bird flying overhead making variety of loud reports as it takes the hint to flee the scene before the ghostly visage adds the little thing to the bloody collection atop his armor. It would be now that Yvria noticed how eerily silent it all was. Nothing, save for the bird, had dared to make even the slightest noise. It was silent enough so that even her breath and heartbeat sounded loud to the frightened hider. Giving raise to the idea that she should cup her mouth while she awaits for the beast to just leave. Several moments pass in dreadful silence as every second drags itself along, that was, until the clanking footfalls resumed. Thank the gods, she thought, he's finally leaving. When a variety of light splashing and slushing is heard, that was what made this all the more worse. Earning an unintentionally growled, "Fuckerrr", from Yvria as she realized that her entire supply of water was likely now ruined with bits of gut. Wait, did it hear her? Gods, she needs to leave right now.

With the blue light overhead, its main function was clear. The clearing was perfectly lit. While the washing continued, she would peak over the rock upwards at the orb. Hoping to use this chance to slink off down the trail in search of new place to sleep the night away now that her camp had just been likely drenched in bloody water and footsteps. Were nothing to go wrong during her occasional peaking, Yvria would wait a few moments to confirm that the brute was still contaminating her water. If the sounds from the cave continued, Yvria would attempt to scamper as silently as she could away from the seen. No doubt on edge and in a foul mood given her loss of a bed for the night.

[Majora]

Rukarra sighs as her itch was finally scratched even if it was by someone who didn't exactly fit the description of a true mate for her, she didn't mind. As he spanked her she rolled her eyes, that felt like nothing.... at least he's getting some sort of power trip out of this. She looks at the man ahead of her as she seems unimpressed at how timid he was, "You, just stick it in already, and you back there, don't get too happy or you'll see what a true warrior can do... you two are going to protect me for the night." She looks back at the man hitting it from behind before she looked forward at the man with the cock on her lip as she grinned, taking it into her mouth with care as she stared right into his eyes. She tries to be as gentle as possible with her mouth as she could as her other hands helped her arch her back. These two are probably going to feel very good about themselves, even if she was probably stronger than them, so they better defend her or their heads are being added to her belt.

[KnightVanilla]

When the shop eventually closed down Umbrage followed her friend's lead. Wondering all to well if she could learn a spell or two from her. As the walked the camp for some time without really any results. Umbrage asked if they needed to ask for help. It was never a shameful thing to ask for help after all.

Although they did eventually find now. Walking in to enjoy a cool breeze was a great relief. When she heard her question the only answer she could provide was that someone was expected to. So why not her if she doesn't feel she can trust the other participants. After all that was said and done she asked if it was alright to see if there was any spells she could use within her collection.

[FragranceofMtDew]

Ezra was wary of the hooded man who approached at first but relaxed when the girl she sent ahead followed behind him and explained that he was a healer. Ezra gently lowered Red to the ground so that Rork could begin working on his wounds. Glad to be free finally of her heavy burden, Ezra sat down on the ground to rest a bit with a sigh of relief. After a bit Rorks healing seems to be done and, much to Ezra's surprise, Red's wounds are completely gone without a trace. "Huh. Not bad. It was pretty touch and go for awhile there, but looks like we made it." She said as Rork collapsed from exhaustion, asking the girl to go get others.

"Others? Yeah that'd be for the best. No way am I lugging both these guys all the way to town. You go on ahead and I'll stay back and watch over these two." Ezra told the girl. The sooner she could finally make it to town the better.

[Zankio]

Vyn lets out a sigh of relief seeing his wounds heal under Rorks Magic. A weight lifting from her ever so slightly as she begins to feel extremely grateful for this mans kindness. Vyn nods at the healers request. "Thank you so much Rork, get some rest while I fetch The others." Vyn eyes the other woman uneasily before setting off back down the path, at a more steady pace as she begins to feel the rush fade from her body. She focuses on staying on guard as she walks the path, weary of what May jump out at her again.

[Kaed]

Had no interest in going near flaming fists, when he could rain magic and insults down with impunity. On the other claw... he eyed the two holding back, as they stared up at him. It was obvious they were trying to gather some intelligence on him, which meant that they had plans of some kind. It would be careless of him to reveal the full scope of his prodigious magical abilities this early, with others trying to gain a tactical advantage over him somehow. With a sneer, he turned his attention back to the shouty hide-wrapped creature. "Mewling dirt-monkey! The skies are my birthright! We are where we belong already! Kiss the dirt that spawned you, dirt-monkey! Trernesj!" With the last, he gestured towards in the most distainful way he could manage, increasing his personal gravity considerably, so he would be pinned to the ground and unable to move. (Spell: Gravity manipulation. Target Rams'kor)

[Icaelus]

At last, night reigned for now. Undoubtedly, it was the safest time of the day[/color] for her to get some travelling done. Jeanne already knew the general direction of Ultima Bellum, continuing on towards the forest that was most likely the first of many trials to the goal.
As she neared the treeline, a clear-looking lake sparkled in the nearby distance, beckoning her..well, might as well take a closer look. The water seemed drinkable, she couldn't confirm it. Nevermind. Water could wait. Better a slight thirst than getting poisoned from bad water.
"Hm?"
Jeanne glanced up as the water was disturbed with something breaking the surface, rippling the lake's mirror surface. A lone, head of a female..something human-like floated in the waters, a smile on her lips. Jeanne's blue eyes narrowed momentarily, hand moving to the grip of her longsword.
The head spoke, a beautiful voice that soothed the soul, calming her anxiety. It asked for her name..
"I thought it was only proper to introduce oneself first, before asking for another's name?"
Jeanne returned the smile, her lip curling into a half-smile as she answered the head. What the heck was she, though? She certainly looked human in a way, but yet she definitely wasn't.
"My name is Jeanne. Yourself?"
She shook her head, letting the issue from before go. It had been a trivial matter of manners, anyway. Not that she could afford being polite, anyway. Her hand never left the grip of her sword, however. It was one thing to tone down your guard to talk with other people..and quite another to completely let down your guard.

[Reaver]

The first thing she did once the nightmare ended was laugh. It was an unnatural reaction to have to the ordeal she just experienced, not to mention the fact that people were going to die because of her mistake but everything seemed so amusing when she thought about it. Her instincts and paranoia had right the whole time but she had rejected them in favor of a possible reward. Then he had tried seducing her with illusions, magic and ended with a warning, no a threat! He had threatened to ravage her next time they met. The thought made her laugh even more, not just to hide the underlying magical want she felt from the idea but because if she ever saw him again she was going to disembowel him with her hands. Vincent had taken what little trust she had for strangers had destroyed it and while she didn't exactly miss the flaw of giving people the benefit of the doubt, it hadn't been his to do away with. "Next time indeed, love."

Leading the Crusade had been something she never really cared to do, but was simply doing as a favor to the mage she had found in the woods. She was committed to see it through but not for any personal satisfaction. Now killing this demon, that was something that would give her intense pleasure. He had tricked her, made her the prey and for that she would show no mercy. Once the leader of the Crusade she would use all the resources to hunt him down and repay him for his treachery. The idea made her smile as she looked up at the ceiling of the cave. It pleased her to have extra motivation to succeed. Vincent had released a monster of his own with his betrayal.

"Its time to go now." She reminded herself, knowing she couldn't lay on the ground all day, thinking about what she was going to do to Vincent. She wasn't sure how long she had spent down there but she looked out at the sky before emerging from the cave. It was time to get serious about the Crusade which meant getting to the Ultima Bellum. Pulling out the stone, Kiera placed it on the back of her hand as she closed her eyes and thought about the crusade. "Ultima Bellum." She whispered more determined than ever to see this through and secure her revenge.

[A Vision of Sound]

Yvria:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

As the horrifyingly-grotesque Crusader is busy tainting your water, you slowly, ever so slowly peek your head up and eye the glowing orb. It doesn't look to be like the man's spotlight, and you test this by quickly flipping your hand up. Nothing happens. Standing up as quickly and quietly as you can, your limbs and fingers shaking from adrenaline, and you rise to your feet. Tentatively, and ever so gently, you creep past the outcropping of rocks you'd have been behind, and the Crusader would still be washing himself. Looping around to the far right, you search for another outcropping of rocks, anything for cover really, (Roll: 16) and are pleasantly surprised as you come across a selection of the mountain that would come up in a low manner, perfect for crawling behind. Dropping down to your belly and forearms, you crawl slowly but surely, and the sounds of the water slishing and heavy, wet objects dropping against the ground refuses to cease.

You come up to the edge of your cover now, and despair. It's a straight shot to the path down the mountain if you gunned it from here, but whether or not you sneaked or sprinted, you're in clear line of the cave and if he looks in your direction while you're moving to it, you'll definitely be spotted. Deciding that he'd probably be more focused on washing himself than staring out into the cliffside at night, you venture to sneak as quietly as you can. You've spent your entire life doing this, after all. Slowly, ever so slowly, you stand up without making noise to the best of your abilities, (Roll: 15) and succeed, being quieter than a church mouse. Crouching now, you're bent over as you close your eyes to steel yourself, before you open them and focus on the distance away to safety.

Breathing in and out quietly to psyche yourself up, you dare peek your head out to view the cave. The Crusader is indeed washing himself, barrel after barrel being dumped over his head and gradually cleaning himself of gore with every waterfall, he would still be completely adorned in his armor. (Roll: 18) Fortunately, he is indeed looking at the cave wall, and not out to you. You suspect he'll stay that way, as he's still got a few barrels to go, and it doesn't look like he's completely cleaned yet. Immediately taking your chance, you run-crouch past the distance, praying to every god there is that you don't fuck up. (Roll: 18) Success. You loop yourself around the path and almost break into a run down the pass. Unfortunately for you, it's pitch-black. Even with your superior eyes, nothing can see in complete darkness, and you find yourself frowning as your eyes adjust.

(Roll: 2) Down the mountainpass, you accidentally catch your foot against a rock, and fall. You let out a faint yelp as you do, and your chin kisses the ground. Cursing quietly and rolling around briefly in pain, you rub your chin and growl. Never the less, you soldier onwards down the mountain, looking for any sort of clearing you can, a hidden cave, anything, really. (Roll: 5)

As you continue walking down the path, the faint sounds of merry-making can be heard. Is it a town? A campsite? Your hopes are bolstered, and you move quickly, eager to put as much distance between you and the horrifying figure as you possibly can. As you move down the path, carefully watching your step every single second, you start to frown. The voices sound...Primitive. Almost gutteral. The path has an overlook cleverly concealed by some rocks, and the area above you is illuminated by a warm campfire's glow. As you peek over the rocks however, your hope quickly turns to despair.

An incredibly large clearing rests below you, at the foot of the mountain. This would normally cause for you to rejoice, as just past this is sweet, sweet, flat land. However. What bars your path now causes your heart to sink. It's a goblin camp site. More like fortress. Countless goblins, never above five feet in height, mill about and rest around multiple camp fires, some of them sparring with rusty swords, fists, or tackles. Many of them are either drinking or completely drunk, and this only serves to boast their merry-making even more. Looking around, (Roll: 14) you spot a few areas for cover where you think you couldn't be seen, but truth be told, it doesn't look good. If this stronghold is here, how did you even get on top of the mountain? You wonder.

Sighing, a magic-user would best answer that, and you don't question it further. It seems this is going to be quite tricky if you don't want to either get raped or killed, probably both.

Status:
Health: 24/24
Mind: Slightly tired.
Nutriments: Perfectly healthy.
Affects: None.
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: None.
Equipment: Light leather armor in poor condition, one of the straps along the left breast being incredibly worn and nearly falling off. The pouches along the armor not doing much better, one of them completely ripped out of the bottom. Simple animal-hide clothing and undergarments. A small-sized rucksack in good condition, able to hold a healthy amount of items. Two daggers in alright condition, though they could definitely use some maintenance. A waterskin filled with good water.
Core:
Strength - 3
Dexterity - 5
Constitution - 3
Intelligence - 4
Charisma - 6
Perception - 6
Luck - 1
Corruption – 0

Rukarra:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Panting as he ruts you as best he can, the man behind you nods even though you weren't looking at him, saying in between breaths, "Heh...Heh, yeah...Sure!..." He then grimaces as he moves forwards a bit to fuck you deeper, and your snatch lets loose wet squealches with every thrust of his hips, his thighs and crotch slapping into your ass to create multiple clap sounds every time his dick hits home. The man in front of you shudders as you move your lips forwards, enveloping his dick with your soft, warm mouth. Coiling your tongue around his cock, he begins thrusting as you also suck, likely giving him his first tongue-fucking experience. Thrusting almost in unison, you're spitted on both cocks at once, and while they might not be big, they feel very good.

All too soon though, the man behind you grips your hips as hard as he can, gritting his teeth together as his thrusts become increasingly rougher and more erratic, and he groans out, "Uuuggnn...Gonna cum~!" The man fucking your face grips the sides of your head as well, the tip of his dick just pushing past the beginnings of your throat as he groans, "Y-yeah, me too!" Being an orc, you can't get pregnant from human seed, fortunately. Though it runs through your mind, are these humans worthy to feed you with their seed? Never the less, your pussy is clenching tighter and tighter, and your orgasm is just over the horizon. This is finally it, it feels so good!

Status:
Health: 28/29 (27+2
Mind: Lust-crazed. (-1 Intelligence) Slightly tired.
Nutriments: Hungry. A bit parched.
Affects: None.
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: None.
Equipment: Two battles axes, in masterful condition. Rusty, weak iron pauldrons. Leather bra and pants maintained perfectly.
Core:
Strength – 8
Dexterity - 5
Constitution - 6
Intelligence - 2 (-1)
Charisma - 1
Perception - 5
Luck - 4
Corruption - 3

Umbrage:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Angela listens to your story through and through while you tell her everything, and she smiles warmly to you once you're finished. "That's a fine reason, a fine reason in deed, Umbrage. Your brother would be proud of you...As if God." Standing up, she walks over to a room divider and mutters something lowly. Not ten seconds later, she's in a pink night gown that somehow suits her perfectly. She smiles down at you again and then gestures towards you, "My, you don't really expect to sleep in all of that armor, do you! You'd be in trouble on all fronts. Feel free to just fling whatever wherever, it's not like you can make a bigger mess than I did!" She chuckles, before moving over to her own bed, and flopping down in it, snuggling in the covers.

Just as you're about to ask her to teach you a spell or two, you get a strong, indescribable feeling to wait until morning. You don't know why, but you feel like it should be done then. Shrugging, you look around the tent and view the multitude of beds to choose from. There would be soft, cushiony sleeping rolls placed all over the place along with a few hammocks hanging from the ceiling, or there would simply be a queen-sized bed on the opposite side of the tent from Angela. All of them looked extremely appealing, and it seems wherever you want to sleep, you can.

If you sleep now, you will not be posted for until morning. The only exceptions to this are if you are woken up by something, or a special circumstance occurs.

Status:
Health: 24/24
Mind: Tired.
Nutriments: Perfectly healthy.
Affects: None.
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 5 copper.
Mental Arsenal: Pulse wave, Regeneration, Shatter Barrier.
Equipment: Leather armor in good condition. Leather vambraces in good condition. Modified custom-made canesword in perfect condition and quality. Some sweets.
Core:
Strength – 5
Dexterity - 9
Constitution - 4
Intelligence - 5
Charisma - 1
Perception - 3
Luck - 2
Corruption - 0

Vyn:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

You give your thanks and nod to everyone, giving a little wave of your hand as you turn and start jogging down the path, a hand on the grip of your katana as you do so. You keep a keen eye out for anything and everything in the bushes and along the trees, you're not interested in being ambushed, nor are you wanting to be in another fight anytime soon. Your thoughts drift back to how everyone would be counting on you, especially so since the sun has set and complete darkness will be upon you very soon. You psyche yourself up as you jog, knowing that you'll get to the group, far away as they may be, you have to! You're going to become the future Champion!

You continue to raise your own moral, a smile drifting across your lips between pants of breath, and you turn along the path, though you nearly skid to a stop as your heart sinks in your chest. Up ahead, not twenty feet away, is the leopard that was with the Huntress. Leah, you believed the leopard's name was. She stares at you as you both maintain eye contact for a brief moment, and it's just then that you're about to turn around and sprint back to Ezra and Red, before you notice something in Leah's jaws. It looks like...A scroll?

Slowly, she walks towards you while glaring. Her tail occasionally flicks behind her, and you suspect that if she was here to attack you, she'd have done it in an ambush, and she wouldn't have something obstructing her jaws. Following this line of logic, the Huntress probably has a message for you on that scroll. Letting Leah make her way up to you, she stops at about five feet away, and dips her head down towards the ground. Letting the scroll slip from her jaws, it rolls over to you and brushes against your foot. Giving the leopard one last look, she then turns to the left and leaps through the bushes, disappearing from sight. Bending down, you pick up the scroll and frown. Whatever she had to say, it probably wasn't good. You could read it now, or you could wait until everyone was together so you could all hear it at once. That seems to be the more appropriate option, but the choice is yours.

It's a few minutes of jogging again as things get progressively darker, but eventually, you see the warm light of the small caravan up ahead. Your hopes bolstered that they're perfectly fine, you sprint the rest of the way and pant lightly, before catching your breath. Relieved sighs and praise echo from everyone as you tell them that both Rork and your friend are fine now, though troubled expressions quickly accompany these as you tell them that they still need help. Immediately you all head off towards them, the shepard of the group herding the cattle along as best she could to keep up.

(Encounter roll: 4) It's a good five minutes of brisk walking among the lot of you, before two figures slowly stride out of the trees ahead of you, standing along the path. They're too far away from the light everyone in the small caravan emits to make out any discernible features, and in this darkness, they're little more than silhouettes against the grey landscape. However...Their eyes. Their eyes glow a muted orange, and they're standing rather still, evidently not in a hurry to proclaim themselves, and instead, they're content to simply block your path.

One of the caravaneers to your right however, gasps. She starts trembling and manages to whisper, "V-...Vampires..."

Status: 
Health: 24/24
Mind: Clear.
Nutriments: Thirsty. A tad famished. Tired.
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: Nature's Nourishment, Zephyr's Whisper, Charm Animal.
Affects: Blessed (+1 to all stats) Elf race (Passive mana regeneration along with a slightly larger mana pool.)
Equipment: Light armor in perfect condition. A satchel in good shape, filled with: Blueberries.
Core: 
Strength – 5
Dexterity - 5
Constitution – 4
Intelligence – 5
Charisma – 3
Luck – 3
Corruption - 3

Gaen and Ezra:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

As Vyn leaves into the growing night, she lets a little wave of her hand go before she turns around and runs off, leaving the three of you in silence for a moment, save for Rork's gradually-controlled panting. He then looks over to Ezra as he lays on his back, evidently not having the strength to sit up. "He should be fine...In a few hours. His body just...Needs time to adjust. Isn't natural to tell the brain...Those wounds have healed that quickly." He manages to pant out, nodding to Ezra as much as he's able. "That...Being said...Do you have...Any food?...Going past...A mage's limit will...Drain their body of...Nutrients...It's how mages die...If they overdo it. Anything would...Urk. Be fine. As long as it's nutritionally...Ack...Beneficial." He explains, his voice cracking slightly.

Just then, a rolling cackle emits from the trees high above the three of you. A barking cackle, nay, a laugh, one that echoes through the forest. It almost sounds like it'd come from-...A hyena. Ezra immediately clenches her fists inside of her gauntlets and glares around the trees above her, trying to discern the source of the sound. She would not be ambushed off-guard again, no matter what! It's just then however that the thought of how the Huntress works flashes through your minds. She probably wouldn't warn you like this if she wanted to attack...The element of surprise is one of the most influential factors in a fight. It almost seems like she wants you to expect her.

Just then, the sound of something whistling through the air, followed by a heavy thunk like something lodging itself into a tree rings out from behind the three of you. You all immediately whip around, to see the Huntress languidly laying against the branch of a tree not three feet off the ground. She unwedges her knife from the branch and raises it to her mouth, sticking the tip of it beneath her mask to likely clean her teeth with it. As you all look at her, she flashes you a grin and then a cackle. Her bone-mask covers a bit of her upper mouth with teeth extending down a tad, though her lower jaw is somewhat left uncovered, allowing all of you to see her smile, which is filled with malice, and sharp, dagger-like, pristinely-white teeth. She removes the knife from her mouth and sighs out, "Letting the young Elf go all on her own in the middle of the night after she'd just been gang-raped by a bunch of goblins...Boy, you guys are stunned." She snickers, erupting into another cackle of laughter as her leg drifts off the branch and hangs loosely in the air.

If she were insulted or threatened by anyone there, she would have just snickered and laughed, though made no offensive moves towards the three of you. "I'll be honest. I just want the three of you all to myself...That can't happen if someone comes in and kills you before I can." She explains, examining the edge of her knife. She then sighs as she slides it smoothly into a leather sheath along her ankle. "Right now, your friend's with that group all of you were getting your panties in a knot over. But there's a catch. See, all of you are in vampire territory now." She explains, fixing the three of you with an intense stare. Then, she idly shrugs and grins once more, setting her hands behind her head as if she wouldn't have a care in the world. "Yeaaah, that little group's stopped at the moment. Two vampires're blocking their path right now. I'd give it around...Hhm...An hour tops, until five more show up. Handling two is hell enough, but an entire Brood?" She shakes her head, sighing faintly as if that idea would be suicide.

"As you are, I doubt you could even kill two of them, much less your friend on her lonesome...But hey, at least all of you'll survive!...For a few hours, unless you move. Right now. But hey, who am I to give you advice. I'm trying to kill you, after all." She snickers, erupting into another cackle of laughter as she looks off to the distance. However, slowly looking back towards Ezra, the Huntress flashes her a toothy grin that would send the gauntlet-clad woman's hair on end. "Buuut...If you're lucky. I couuuuuuld be convinced to...Oh, I don't know...Help you out this one time. But then again, I have some terms that I'll collect on if you do. And if not, well...Enjoy being vampire chow, kiddies!" She snickers, letting out a barking laugh.

Standing up now, she hops off the branch with one foot, does a somersault, then lands with a heavy whoosh in front of Ezra. The Huntress picks up a long stick that would in fact be her spear, which had been extremely cleverly concealed up until that point. She then looks down, grinning to the three of you as she slings her spear along her back. "No time for details on my terms, though. You either want my help now, or you all try your luck against a Brood. Your choice, better pick fast."

Gaen's status:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Status:
Health: 11/30 (29+2)
Mind: In mild pain.
Nutriments: Very hungry. (-1 Strength, Dexterity, Contitution.) Very thirsty. (-1 Dexterity, Perception, Intelligence.) Exhausted.
Affects: Venombrawler (+2 to health)
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: Killer Instincts, Iron Will, Bloodlust, Outcast, Weakened by the Sun, Dark Urges. (All passives.)
Equipment: A perfectly-made and maintained axe. A dull shortsword with a sheath. A hunting knife in average condition. Patchy, slightly weakened leather armor, missing an arm completely. The existing arm on the armor is home to several gashes and teeth marks. Two bolas, of masterful make. A well-crafted, slightly curved shortsword.
Core:
Strength - 8 (-1)
Dexterity - 5 (-2)
Constitution - 7 (-1)
Intelligence – 4 (-1)
Charisma - 1
Perception - 5 (-1)
Luck - 1
Corruption - 3

Ezra's status:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Status:
Health: 28/29 (27+2)
Mind: Clear.
Nutriments: Hungry. Thirsty. Fatigued. Tired.
Affects: Venombrawlers (+2 to health)
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 4 silver.
Mental Arsenal: None.
Equipment: Flimsy heavy gauntlets. Light cloth armor in good condition. A well-made, well-maintained dagger. A backpack, containing: Ulmnioson fruit.
Core:
Strength – 7
Dexterity - 7
Constitution - 6
Intelligence - 2
Charisma - 2
Perception - 4
Luck - 1
Corruption - 5

Aataz:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

As you confidently yell out your prowess in your unbelievably annoyingly-high pitched voice, Rams'kor turns around to his buddies and throws hand in the air, shaking his head. "Ughhhh, this fuckin' guy's getting on my la--" (Roll: 3) You then confidently yell your spell out, with the exception of a strong gust of wind sending you flipping through the air, mucking your spell up and causing your head to briefly ache from the unfinished shout. Rams'kor laughs up at you, snorting as he does so, (Roll: 13) before with a grit of your teeth, you yell your spell again and his laugh is immediately cut off by the man's chin violently hitting the dirt. He groans, trying to lift himself up, but cannot. Surprisingly though, his fists and his feet can move almost perfectly fine. An advantage of his magic, it looks like. Despite this though, his head, torso and limbs still can't get off the ground, and he yells in frustration, rapidly struggling to no end.

Seeing this however, the evident leader stares down at Rams'kor, before muttering something to his armored comrade. Idly flipping the reigns on his horse, he slowly starts striding towards both you and Rams'kor. You focus on Rams'kor and maintain the spell as best you can, (Roll: 18) and you're about to throw a glance over at the leader before your chest tightens and your heartbeat starts thumping almost unbearably loudly in your ears. Your vision quickly grows dark, and the spell you were weaving falters slightly, though thankfully, it wears off after you either de-activate it, the target somehow breaks loose, or you move too far away. It almost feels like you're having a heart attack, and all of this happened only as the bald one started getting closer to you. There's something else, though. You can almost physically feel his gaze roving over you...Was that it? When you almost looked at him, that was when you started feeling like death itself. You're only thankful that you didn't legitimately look at him.

The leader is unlike anything you've encountered before. It would be very wise to flee now, what else he is capable of is a mystery best left unsolved. Alternatively, you could stay and fight. Your heartbeat is slowly returning to its regular speed, and your vision has fully come back to you. It couldn't be that hard if you just didn't look at him...Right?

Status:
Health: 20/20
Mind: Slightly panicking. A bit tired.
Nutriments: Perfectly healthy.
Affects: Slightly nauseous. Heart beating irregularly.
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: Decoy, Terrify, Enthrall, Paralysis, Manipulate Gravity, Manipulate Attraction, Manipulate Time, Spacial Displacement, Spacial Partitioning.
Equipment: Short sword in perfect condition, the blade gleaming with a beautiful edge, steel in its make. A simple leather belt and scabbard with a few pouches, being in not very good quality, a few of the pouches frayed to the point of uselessness. A loin cloth, and a bandolier in good condition, not needing repair.
Core:
Strength - 1
Dexterity - 5
Constitution - 1
Intelligence - 12
Charisma - 2
Perception - 3
Luck - 5
Corruption – 0

Jeanne:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The woman lets loose a rolling giggle and dips slightly below the water at your question, before her smile brightens at your own. Her voice sounds like a beautiful cascading waterfall, soothing your nerves as she talks. "Mmmh...That is a beautiful name. Mine own is Crystella. What is a beautiful maiden like yourself doing out in these plains alone?" She asks, her lips a dark shade of blue that seems to compliment her, upon closer examination, faintly-light-blue skin. After you'd tell her or something of the sort, she smiles and lets loose another beautiful laugh, ending it with an amused sigh.

She then slowly raises a hand from the water, her skin being the same all over her body, and you notice that her fingers are webbed, starting at the middle of each digit. She beckons you forwards, "I do not like speaking from so far away, and I cannot leave the water for very long...Won't you come closer? Please, take your boots off, don't get them wet." She smiles, continuing to idly drift in the water. (Roll: 8) Before you even know it though, your feet are already along the shore, the water just kissing your boots. Your hands are even wrapped around one of your boots, as if you were just preparing to take it off. That's strange...You don't remember moving, nor do you remember bending over to take the boot off...Though while your hands are where they are, it couldn't hurt to just remove them both and get it over with, right? You bet the water feels amazing, all the more since Crystella's in there. She's so beautiful...

Status:
Health: 24/24
Mind: Feeling slightly airy, and giddy.
Nutriments: Slightly thirsty.
Affects: Half-demon. (+10 corruption.)
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: Slayshade, Death's Melody, Reaper's Cloak, Shadowstep.
Equipment: Black leather gear in good condition, everything upkept to a very respectable degree. A belt, utterly broken, unable to hold anything whatsoever as it would be completely frayed, and ruined in some areas. A longsword of master quality, and along the guard is a blue gem infused with magical energy. The sword is enchanted, causing it to swing faster with the aid of magic from the user. (Note, it is not lighter, it propels itself based on your attack. It will automatically sap your mana as you use it, though it's a very slight drain, practically unnoticable.) A shortsword also of master's quality, but lacking an enchantment of sorts. A wand of perfect quality, oakwood infused with Vampire's Bane along with a pinch of Ghost Spices to give it a seamless casting ability.
Core:
Strength - 2
Dexterity - 8
Constitution - 4
Intelligence - 7
Charisma - 2
Perception - 5
Luck - 2
Corruption - 20

Kiera:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

You lay on the floor, staring into the cave's ceiling as you contemplate various ways to take succession of the army and lead a charge against "Vincent", or whatever his true name was. Your thoughts leave you laughing at just what you're going to do to that fucker. After a time however, you slowly pick yourself up and string your crossbow along your back, cleverly concealed by your cloak. Stepping through the cave, you ascend the small rock-ramp leading to the surface, and peek your head up to look around. The sun has completely set over the horizon, and it's already nightfall. The surroundings are dark grey, and will soon be pitch-black in a matter of minutes. You don't think that going out right now would be the best of ideas, nor do you really want to run into anything in those plains, especially at night.

You also cannot help but fail to conceal a yawn. Waking up out of that coma reminds you just how tired you actually are, and your eyelids are beginning to get heavy. Never the less, you remove the crystal from your pocket and place it along the back of your hand. Briefly whispering the words required, you fail to stop a gasp from your mouth. Your strength starts draining at an alarming rate, much quicker than you anticipated. It feels like millions of piping-hot needles are jabbing themselves in your body from every direction at once, and the feeling all but intensifies over time. After roughly ten seconds however, looking down at your hand should it be visible, your veins are glowing a faint light blue. They pulse in waves towards the top of your hand, to which the crystal is the same glowing color, pulsing in rhythm with the energy flowing through you. The light from the crystal then rises up and slowly forms an orb. It then shrinks, forming into a half-triangle. It points through the heart of the forest in the distance, and does not falter for even a second. Destination in mind, you de-activate the crystal as your skin feels wet. You've started sweating, and you feel like you just did a bi-athalon of sprinting for twenty miles and then lifting countless weights for hours on end. Never the less, you grit your teeth and endure it.

You could still go outside now, but there's a perfectly viable shelter right here, and you doubt you'll find anything else nearly as good wandering out in the dark. Even more so now that you're practically weakened, and won't be able to fully recover for some time. The choice however, is yours.

If you sleep now, you will not be posted for until morning. The only exceptions to this are if you are woken up by something, or a special circumstance occurs.

Status:
Health: 27/27 (25+2)
Mind: Horny. Tired.
Nutriments: Thirsty. Peckish.
Affects: Venombrawler. (+2 to health)
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 110 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: None.
Equipment: Leather armor in very poor condition. A black fur cloak. A well-maintained crossbow. A somewhat dull knife. Snares, ropes, and crossbow bolts in excellent condition. A small green lizard-like corpse. A small pouch, containing: A white, mottled egg.
Core:
Strength - 3
Dexterity - 8
Constitution - 5
Intelligence - 5
Charisma - 1
Perception - 7
Luck - 1
Corruption - 6

[Kaed]

Aataz didn't like the bald human at all. He was probably some kind of necromancer or something, and they were always unpleasant, difficult folk to deal with. Plus, he could cause heart attacks from the ground, so that was a bad thing. The kobold began to fly in slow circles around the group, shouting down at them, but avoided looking at the bald one. "Foolish smoothskins! Dirt-kissers! You will all suffer for your insolence! regpos. You should never have crawled from your mother's wombs that you might one day face Aataz!" (Spell: Decoy: Self-targeted) In the middle of his insulting tirade, he quietly murmured a spell to create a duplicate of himself, which continued to fly in circles while Aataz headed away from the party of three, towards the forest. If he didn't feel too exhausted after all this, he would also add a quiet "Temep.", speeding up time for himself and getting a head start for a little bit.

Granted, as he got farther away from the illusion, its insults would probably degrade in quality considerably. "Generic insult regarding your parentage! Insulting implications regarding your relationship with maternal figure!"

[MyLittleCossack]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

As the horrifyingly-grotesque Crusader is busy tainting your water, you slowly, ever so slowly peek your head up and eye the glowing orb. It doesn't look to be like the man's spotlight, and you test this by quickly flipping your hand up. Nothing happens. Standing up as quickly and quietly as you can, your limbs and fingers shaking from adrenaline, and you rise to your feet. Tentatively, and ever so gently, you creep past the outcropping of rocks you'd have been behind, and the Crusader would still be washing himself. Looping around to the far right, you search for another outcropping of rocks, anything for cover really, (Roll: 16) and are pleasantly surprised as you come across a selection of the mountain that would come up in a low manner, perfect for crawling behind. Dropping down to your belly and forearms, you crawl slowly but surely, and the sounds of the water slishing and heavy, wet objects dropping against the ground refuses to cease.

You come up to the edge of your cover now, and despair. It's a straight shot to the path down the mountain if you gunned it from here, but whether or not you sneaked or sprinted, you're in clear line of the cave and if he looks in your direction while you're moving to it, you'll definitely be spotted. Deciding that he'd probably be more focused on washing himself than staring out into the cliffside at night, you venture to sneak as quietly as you can. You've spent your entire life doing this, after all. Slowly, ever so slowly, you stand up without making noise to the best of your abilities, (Roll: 15) and succeed, being quieter than a church mouse. Crouching now, you're bent over as you close your eyes to steel yourself, before you open them and focus on the distance away to safety.

Breathing in and out quietly to psyche yourself up, you dare peek your head out to view the cave. The Crusader is indeed washing himself, barrel after barrel being dumped over his head and gradually cleaning himself of gore with every waterfall, he would still be completely adorned in his armor. (Roll: 18) Fortunately, he is indeed looking at the cave wall, and not out to you. You suspect he'll stay that way, as he's still got a few barrels to go, and it doesn't look like he's completely cleaned yet. Immediately taking your chance, you run-crouch past the distance, praying to every god there is that you don't fuck up. (Roll: 18) Success. You loop yourself around the path and almost break into a run down the pass. Unfortunately for you, it's pitch-black. Even with your superior eyes, nothing can see in complete darkness, and you find yourself frowning as your eyes adjust.

(Roll: 2) Down the mountainpass, you accidentally catch your foot against a rock, and fall. You let out a faint yelp as you do, and your chin kisses the ground. Cursing quietly and rolling around briefly in pain, you rub your chin and growl. Never the less, you soldier onwards down the mountain, looking for any sort of clearing you can, a hidden cave, anything, really. (Roll: 5)

As you continue walking down the path, the faint sounds of merry-making can be heard. Is it a town? A campsite? Your hopes are bolstered, and you move quickly, eager to put as much distance between you and the horrifying figure as you possibly can. As you move down the path, carefully watching your step every single second, you start to frown. The voices sound...Primitive. Almost gutteral. The path has an overlook cleverly concealed by some rocks, and the area above you is illuminated by a warm campfire's glow. As you peek over the rocks however, your hope quickly turns to despair.

An incredibly large clearing rests below you, at the foot of the mountain. This would normally cause for you to rejoice, as just past this is sweet, sweet, flat land. However. What bars your path now causes your heart to sink. It's a goblin camp site. More like fortress. Countless goblins, never above five feet in height, mill about and rest around multiple camp fires, some of them sparring with rusty swords, fists, or tackles. Many of them are either drinking or completely drunk, and this only serves to boast their merry-making even more. Looking around, (Roll: 14) you spot a few areas for cover where you think you couldn't be seen, but truth be told, it doesn't look good. If this stronghold is here, how did you even get on top of the mountain? You wonder.

Sighing, a magic-user would best answer that, and you don't question it further. It seems this is going to be quite tricky if you don't want to either get raped or killed, probably both.

Testing the gods if you will, Yvria ascertains that the light glowering overhead was not any cause for immediate concern by waving her hand above the rocky cover. The only threat would be the cave now, keeping this in mind. The female humanoid would make every footstep and breath as light as possible, her tail quivering with the rush of it all. Creeping closer and closer to freedom, keeping every prayer to the gods in her thoughts as she began to drag her entire body as lowly as possible behind another outcropping of rocks. Everything was going so well, the trail was just a few feet away! That was... until the clearing became devoid of boulders or cover. Shit! It was all or nothing now, freedom or possibly death. Nothing new. Taking another look around her obstruction, she would be thankful to see that the brute was still wasting /HER/ water to wash his gross armor with. Now was the time to definitely not fuck up... propelling herself to her legs with a nearly noiseless transition, Yvria would sneak across the open ground as if she were a spirit in the night. If, mind you, that spirit was almost shitting itself while ducking into the woods for safety. Running with its tail literally in between its legs.

Success! Freedom, the clearing was behind her! She thought just before noticing how dark it was, immediately stubbing her foot on a sizable rock and faceplanting heavily on the hard, gravely dirt. "Arrrghk! Fffffuck!", she restrained as much as she could in the silent darkness. Propelling herself up right again to rub her chin painfully and begin putting as much distance as possible in between herself and the invading demon in the cave. A scan of the mountain side on the mid-night journey revealed little of interest, no shelter to use, no comfortable beds to sleep on. Ughhh... if only that... that /thing/ hadn't come along. But wait, is that? Laughter, speech? A town! Yes, company, inns, rich pockets! All her problems were solved! Her path was careful and her sleep secured... but, as approached the source of the sounds. It all came apart. Upon coming unto the edge of the clearing, ducking behind a rock outcropping, her spirits sank along with her ear positions. Her tail stopped moving only to twitch in frustration. "How in the gods... this... uggghhh, nnnooo! Think, her, think! Therrre must be a way arround! M-maybe... she could speak to them? No, maybe... urrh, mate? No... too many...", all this she murmured to herself as she attempted to sneak to one of the far sides of the clearing, hoping to find a way to sneak along the side of this obstacle or use the walls of this disgusting fortress to her advantage. All the merry making would blur their senses, so prehaps she could scale a wall on the side without being noticed. Yes, that was the best plan. She /had/ to make it down the mountain. Prehaps she could find a camp or a tree to sleep in without having to worry about patrols or demonic intruders at the base of this hell zone. Upon going as far as the outlaying cover allowed, she would stop and attempt to look around for any weakpoints in the walls and merrymaking to sneak through.

[Reaver]

The way was through the forest, Kiera's previously intended destination. No doubt she'd have to use it again once she got further into it, but knowing her direction was a good start and a good end for the night. Better to recover and start fresh the next day than continue trekking and be vulnerable to an attack. The cave was as good as any place to sleep, one entrance, one exit and easily defendable to an extent. As an extra precaution, Kiera placed a rolling snare near the entrance. Usually used for catching small animals and breaking their necks, it could also function as trip-wire if an unaware individual's foot went in it. With that done, the huntress went back underground. She hoped the steak and water was still on the table and hadn't dissapeared with their sinister creator. If they were still there, she'd drink and eat her full before settling down on the haypile. She'd first undo her fur cloak to put on top before lading her crossbow and placing it right next to her body, in grabbing distance. Then with a sigh she closed her eyes, hoping she wouldn't end up dreaming on Vincent and his sculpted body and his way with his tongue.

[FragranceofMtDew]

Ezra took advantage of the down time to get some much needed rest while they waited for the girl and the others to return. She couldn't fully let her guard down as they had no idea what lurked in the forest around them but it was better than nothing. Rork began asking if she had any food and Ezra glanced at her backpack, briefly considering whether to share her emergency rations with him. She didn't get a chance to make a decision though before she heard the cackling that could no doubt belong to the huntress they had encountered earlier. Ezra immediately sprung to her feet and raised her gauntlets in preparation of the fight to come.

It wasn't long before the huntress made her presence known with more cackling and a taunt. This wasn't like her though. Her sudden openness made Ezra suspect that the panther lay in ambush. The taunt about sending the girl off alone was likely meant to make Ezra strike randomly and leave herself open. Ezra didn't take the bait though and instead scanned the surroundings wearily as the huntress continued to speak. Surprisingly the huntress seemed to be here to warn them that a group of vampires were attacking. The huntress was twisted to be sure but she seemed to have some sort of code that made Ezra believe what she was being told. The idea of being indebted to the huntress didn't sit well with Ezra but she doubted their group would fare well against vampires in their current state. That girl and Red were bested by a group of goblins and Red was likely unable to fight at full strength still. Rork was exhausted and unless his companions were warriors they likely would not be of much help.

After considering the offer a few moments longer, Ezra finally made a decision. ".... Alright. I accept your terms." She practically growled at the huntress. It was barely a choice at all after all. But if she lived through this she at least had a chance of getting out of her deal with the huntress. "We should try to deal with the two up ahead and get out of here before their friends show up. Red, can you walk on your own yet? You can sit this one out if you want but we need to get moving. And Rork, you should eat this." Ezra fished the fruit she had purchased earlier out of her backpack and handed it to Rork. "It's supposed to fill you up pretty quickly. We're probably gonna need your healing again before we're out of this mess." Regardless of any responses she received, Ezra turned back towards the huntress. "Let's get moving already. We don't have much time apparently." She said before swiftly heading down the path towards the girl and the others.

[KnightVanilla]

It didn't take her long to explain her reasoning and life what took her long was deciding where to sleep with eventually she found a comfortable spot where it was just like her bed. Eventually she would slowly doze off wondering what the next day had in store. For now though she'll have to think of ways to make money.

[Zankio]

Vyn watches the strange leopard wearily, her hand immediately going to the hilt of her sword in a defensive stance. Awaiting its first move, Vyn is surprised to see the scroll in its mouth. Meeting the animals glare with her own as it nears her and drops the scroll before Vyn. Waiting until the leopard disappears before moving to pick up the scroll, Vyn hesitates on opening it, deciding she didn't have the time or proper amount of daylight left to examine what may be written on it. After explaining the situation to Rorks travelling companions she begins to lead them back, a small sense of pride rising within her as she feels relieved that this day was finally coming to an end.

Vyn halts the group as forms emerge from the trees, shifting into a familiar combat stance Vyn narrows her eyes in attempt to get a better look at what decided to block their path. The glowing eyes of the forms ahead unnerving her as she draws her blade in preparation, as well as envoking her 'Zephyr's Whisper' she had a feeling that this would be a good test of her abilities.

[A Vision of Sound]

Aataz:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

You create your spell without fail, and your scales soon reflect the rather dim light the moon begins to cast over you. You're completely invisible, and your decoy continues to fly around in a large circle, occasionally dodging out of the way of Rams'kor as he uses what look like magical rocket boots to soar up to your clone's height. Almost immediately however, the leader and the man in armor start following you, nearly exactly where you are as if they saw right through the clone, and could even see you as you currently are. Despite this however, you're still much faster than them, and even Rams'kor couldn't hit a target as small, fast, and hard-to-see as you. Never the less, you pass the middle of the field, your magical reserves still abundant and rearing to go. As you move farther away, your scales slowly become more and more defined, until you're fully visible once again. With your wings spread, drifting through the night sky, the moon just beginning to tip over a few mountains in the distance, everything would be quiet, like time has stood still. It's enough to make even you inhale slowly with a smile on your face, and feel like you're utterly relaxed, even though you just escaped what could have been your death.

A few minutes later, you de-activate your time manipulation spell and come to a stop, flapping your wings as you continue your gravity spell. You're near the edge of the forest now, and you can't exactly sleep in the air. You'll have to land eventually, though it seems like the mercenaries could see you when you were invisible...Or rather, the leader could. There's definitely something up with that guy, and you aren't exactly in a hurry to figure out the hard way. Never the less, you're forced to make a decision sooner rather than later, and you de-activate your gravity spell, slowly gliding down towards the forest. Turning your descent sharply into a sweeping circular motion, you land in a small clearing and briefly look around. Your mana's not exactly bountiful anymore, though with a bit of rest that'll be fixed right up.

As you continue to look around though, you find that the clearing (Roll: 20!) is in perfect shape. The grass is soft and inviting, along with several large, incredibly dangerous-looking thorn brambles completely surrounding you. It seems you've found yourself a little cozy fortress where you could spend the night in, and nothing short of a natural disaster would be able to get to you if they didn't know where you are.

If you go to sleep now, you will not be posted for until you wake up again, or a special circumstance occurs.

Status:
Health: 20/20
Mind: Tired.
Nutriments: Peckish.
Affects: None.
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: Decoy, Terrify, Enthrall, Paralysis, Manipulate Gravity, Manipulate Attraction, Manipulate Time, Spacial Displacement, Spacial Partitioning.
Equipment: Short sword in perfect condition, the blade gleaming with a beautiful edge, steel in its make. A simple leather belt and scabbard with a few pouches, being in not very good quality, a few of the pouches frayed to the point of uselessness. A loin cloth, and a bandolier in good condition, not needing repair.
Core:
Strength - 1
Dexterity - 5
Constitution - 1
Intelligence - 12
Charisma - 2
Perception - 3
Luck - 5
Corruption – 0

Yvria:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

As you approach the fortress with a hopeless feeling in your chest, you groan and decide to scale a wall, at least, unless a better opportunity suddenly presents itself. Looking around however, that looks like it'll be difficult. The walls surrounding the fortress are made of extremely large logs of wood, with the tips pointing towards the sky sharpened to prevent that very strategy from working. You're confident that those spikes aren't that sharp though, at least, if you don't literally fall on them, so Plan A it is. Going down on all fours much similar to a cat, you slowly sneak from the path to an outcropping of rocks that (mostly) shields you from view, save for your tail. You make an effort to tuck it between your legs as you stealth through, and all too quickly, the rocks you'd be hiding behind end. Thankfully, you're in a mostly shaded spot, so being spotted from a distance was all but impossible, save for a goblin or two looking straight at you, which would indeed be rare, as the little bastards' attention spans are that of a golf fish in most cases.

Tensing up your muscles to "sprint-crawl" along the ground, you set a large rock in your sights. Holding your breath, you then make the short journey across. (Roll: 15) You rise to your feet and dive forwards, silently sliding behind it. You briefly listen to any change or sudden shout of alarm in the goblins' voices, and thankfully, there is none. You're not even halfway to a quarter of the way where you want to be, and this thought makes you groan. At least you're making progress. Tucking yourself into a ball, you (Roll: 15) adeptly roll yourself over to another rock, and take cover, still out of sight. Peering past your cover, you observe a large number of goblins, likely ten or twelve, dancing around a fire like idiots, making jeers towards the goblins of another campfire. They then take notice to this, and one of them cocks their head, growling. Soon enough, insults are exchanged, and quicker than you would have thought, about twenty goblins are going at it in a team assault. The pulling of ears, biting, kicking and kneeing in the groin, spitting in their eyes, throwing, are all prevalent and everyone surrounding them laughs, a large number of goblins occasionally even falling to the floor while clutching their stomachs as they watch the small-scale skirmish. If circumstances were different, you'd almost even giggle at the fight, but unfortunately, you're in a potential life or death situation right now.

Taking advantage of the fight and its' loud noise of screams and roars of battle, you decide against crawling and speed up. Crouch-walking over to another rock, you sigh as you'd do it without any faults. However, looking to your left, (Roll: 20!) you view a tumbleweed, cleverly camouflaged in a dark and slightly gray pattern to utterly blend into the surroundings. Picking it up, you think you can use this to your advantage. Holding it in front of the goblins' view, you slowly crouch-walk along the edge of the mountain, and after a few minutes, you've made considerable progress and you likely would have spent an extra fifteen minutes of sneaking around if you didn't have it. About a minute later, you grin as you think about just how stunned all of these goblins are, and how they'd be fooled by a cheap trick such as this. (Roll: 11) Just as you continue thinking this however, a particularly strong gust of wind blows the tumbleweed from your hand and sends it brushing along the ground, far too far away to even hope of grasping without sprinting for it. Briefly freezing, you slowly examine your surroundings.

(Roll: 11) Thankfully, you're behind a somewhat tall outcropping of rock, so you immediately duck down. You listen, and listen, and listen...No sounds of alarm. You haven't been spotted. You notice that you're in a particularly dark spot as well, further adding to your camouflage. You slowly turn around, preparing to vault to the next rock, before you blink as there would be a shirtless goblin staring at you, the short little guy frozen in place, wide-eyed, and with a tankard in his hand as you both stare into one another's eyes. (Goblin initiation roll: 2) (Yvria initiation roll: 7) (Yvria roll: 18) Thankfully, your reflexes are much quicker than his. Immediately, you spring forwards, plant your hand against his mouth, and wrap your legs around his back as you bring him back to your previous point of cover, glaring down as you grip his neck and with a quick crunch, you snap his neck. Thankfully, no one else has spotted you, and you're about halfway to the wall now. It's very far, and the next section is going to bring you into the light, but things have gone relatively smooth so far. You can do it, you know you can!

Backing out is still an option however, as most of these goblins were probably going to nurse a hangover in the morning, allowing a much easier approach...Though your mind races back to the Crusader, and immediately, your hair stands on end. He was heading down, and he was almost finished cleaning himself when you left...

Status:
Health: 24/24
Mind: Tired.
Nutriments: Perfectly healthy.
Affects: None.
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: None.
Equipment: Light leather armor in poor condition, one of the straps along the left breast being incredibly worn and nearly falling off. The pouches along the armor not doing much better, one of them completely ripped out of the bottom. Simple animal-hide clothing and undergarments. A small-sized rucksack in good condition, able to hold a healthy amount of items. Two daggers in alright condition, though they could definitely use some maintenance. A waterskin filled with good water.
Core:
Strength - 3
Dexterity - 5
Constitution - 3
Intelligence - 4
Charisma - 6
Perception - 6
Luck - 1
Corruption – 0

Ezra and Gaen:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Ezra looks towards Gaen, who would be passed out again by this point and then cuts herself off with an irritated sigh. Looking towards Rork, she fishes out her Ulmnioson fruit, and hands it towards Rork. He graciously accepts it, and takes a piece off the end of the carrot-like meal. Popping the tip he broke off inside his mouth, he chews briefly and the color immediately returns to his face. He then stands up and makes his way to his feet, and lets loose a sigh of relief towards Ezra, along with a smile. "Thank you...I feel much better, now. That fruit really does work wonders..." He muses, before snapping into action. Sensing that Ezra is more capable of combat than either he or Gaen is, he bends down and wraps the unconscious man's arm around his shoulders as best he can, grimacing under the weight, but he can manage, at least.

The Huntress stares down at Ezra for a few seconds after she'd accepted, and then walks up to her, snickering in that hyena-like fashion like she always does. She even reaches a finger forwards and brushes it up Ezra's chin as she taunts, "Hope you know what you're getting into, Girlie..." Erupting into a cackle of laughter, she sighs in amusement and walks past her, before nodding her head towards Gaen. "I'll do most of the fighting, since you don't look like you've dealt with vampires before. If they want, they'll turn you into one of them. But hey, those're only the experienced ones, so you'll more likely just get a bite wound that won't stop bleeding, and you'll die from that instead. I can't guarantee I can kill both of them if they decide to come at the three of you, though." She warns, looking back to the lot of you as you walk, taking on a more serious tone now. "I'm serious. Protect the two of them, and let me handle it. Only fight if they're right on top of you. If they're only Natus, they should be easy to deal with. I suspect they're at least Oppidanus level, however. Which...Of course, spells bad news for your friends." She explains, slowly walking along with the three of you.

Stopping however, she looks back at Ezra without turning her body and grins to her. "I'll go on ahead. If I work as well as I usually do, you'll find vampire corpses and your friend as you keep walking down this path. If I don't though, I'll try to come back and let you know what's going down. Oh, and...Typically, vampires' eyes glow in the dark, depending on their 'level', so to speak. If you see a pair of kinda...Orange, glowing eyes, then chances are, you're in trouble. And for the love of every God there is, try not to look into their eyes if they're close to you." And with that, she emits a long, rearing howl similar to a wolf. However, as it drags on, she chuks repeatedly to give the howl a hyena-esque vibe. It's certainly something you've never heard anything like before, and it sends chills down your spines. After she finishes her howl, she slings her spear along her back and strides forwards, clearing six or so feet with every push of her foot against the ground. She then suddenly springs up at least ten feet in the air, extends her hands, grabs the branch of a tree, and flings herself up into another altogether, and takes off high above. You're all certainly glad to have her on your side, though you dread when you'll have to actually fight her.

Keeping a stalwart eye out, you slowly press on, limited by Gaen's unconscious body as Ezra keeps her fists raised and her wits sharp. Being caught off-guard now could easily be the end of your journey right here, right now. You all continue down the path however, even as the Huntress has left. However, Gaen suddenly begins convulsing and letting out slightly scary choking sounds, before he falls to the floor, his limbs shaking rapidly. He then begins coughing up blood, before he rolls on his side and vomits a crimson tide onto the floor, soaking his face in it. After a few seconds of this, he slowly grows still, and doesn't move. Rork groans as he looks upon the body of Gaen, and shakes his head solemnly to Ezra. "He's...Gone." Leaning down, Rork closes the man's eyelids and sets him on his back, taking care not to touch the blood over the man's mouth. "Sometimes, the brain cannot take the stress of a healer's work. It's very, very rare, though it seems not rare enough...We should keep moving."

Ezra's status:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Status:
Health: 28/29 (27+2)
Mind: Clear.
Nutriments: Hungry. Thirsty. Fatigued. Tired.
Affects: Venombrawlers (+2 to health)
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 4 silver.
Mental Arsenal: None.
Equipment: Flimsy heavy gauntlets. Light cloth armor in good condition. A well-made, well-maintained dagger. A backpack, containing: Ulmnioson fruit.
Core:
Strength – 7
Dexterity - 7
Constitution - 6
Intelligence - 2
Charisma - 2
Perception - 4
Luck - 1
Corruption - 5

Gaen's status:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

DEAD.

Vyn:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

As you silently activate your spell, you can feel the air perceptibly shift around you, and as a few insects fly by, you can nearly pinpoint the route they'll take through the air. This thought is enough to steel yourself against this new threat ahead of you, and you can only hope that this will give you the edge you need in combat, should it resort to that. And it most likely will, if these are indeed, vampires. Grabbing the shaft of your katana, you slowly and smoothly slide it out of its sheath, readying yourself as you strike a menacing pose. The figures in front of you don't move, it's like they're still as statues against the night. However, just then, you hear a long, extremely loud howl. It doesn't really sound like a wolf per se, it's too..."Rough". As the howl continues however, it's interrupted quickly by a rough, grating sound, almost like a hyena's cackle. It's certainly something you've never heard anything like before, and it's enough to send a shutter down your spine. You wonder if the Huntress made that sound, though she most likely did...Is she on the hunt for the other two you've met? Or maybe even you?

This was enough to distract you in the sense that looking down the path, the two pairs of glowing eyes are gone. Immediately looking around slightly, you ready your blade to potentially parry any sort of ambush-style attack. Seconds pass, and you feel nothing in the air around you. That is, until a woman from behind you screams and a shift in the air at 5 o'clock behind you alerts you of something trying to get to you. Immediately turning, (Roll: 3 [Zephyr's whisper +2] = 5) you raise your blade and grimace as something metallic clashes into you along with a body supporting it. The vampire hisses as he'd essentially dove towards you face-first as he propels himself like a torpedo, and due to your poor reaction speed, he'd managed to cut a slight gash on your arm, before you're able to grit your teeth and push your sword, forcing him to fly away. He lands on his feet and digs his hand into the ground to slow his descent, and growls violently. Just then, a few horrified gasps are all you have to go on before you feel yet another shift in the air at 7 o'clock behind you, now. (Roll: 20! [Zephyr's Whisper +2] = 22!!) Being completely on the ball this time, you predict the trajectory of the new vampire's attack. If this one was anything like the other, he'd be diving at you head-first with his blade outstretched. Taking a rather risky gamble, you immediately grip your katana with both hands, turn around, and not breaking stride in one fluid motion, slam the pommel of your katana against the ground with the blade reaching for the sky. You face the ground in a kneeling position as you do this, and the vampire realizes his mistake too late. You firmly grip your katana as the vampire's head literally flies into your blade and opens his skull in twain. Due to the force and speed of how he would be flying however, he doesn't stop there. The heavy, wet, surprisingly quiet sound of him being split in two in less than a second is all you focus on, and he was flying so fast that you weren't hit with even a drop of blood.

Taking a look back, his severed body is definitely dead. It's a rather disgusting mess of gore and blood, so you don't look for long. Unfortunately, the other vampire would not have been idle this entire time. Looking back towards him, he snarls violently as he sprints up towards you, his eyes glowing a blood-red as opposed to orange, before your ear flicks as if you swore you just heard something in the distance. Raising your blade to block the impending vampire's attack however, something whistles through the air and immediately sends him flying into the ground, the man letting loose a loud yelp as he does so. The small caravan's light is shone on the vampire, and he struggles and groans in pain as rather large arrow has skewered his side, likely straight through his lungs, and due to the size of the nock and shaft, him getting loose on his own is going to be extremely tricky. He likely won't die from this though, so you grimly stare down at him and raise your katana over your head. With one fell swoop, you decapitate the vampire, and end the threat to the caravan for good. At least, or so you hope. You don't know who show the arrow, and you could be in their sights next...

Status: 
Health: 21/24
Mind: Tired.
Nutriments: Thirsty. A tad famished.
Affects: Elf race (Passive mana regeneration along with a slightly larger mana pool) Zephyr's Whisper (+2 to dodge rolls) Bleeding.
Physical Arsenal: Je'bahdi Crystal, loaded with: 20 copper, 5 silver.
Mental Arsenal: Nature's Nourishment, Zephyr's Whisper, Charm Animal.
Equipment: Light armor in perfect condition. A satchel in good shape, filled with: Blueberries.
Core: 
Strength – 5
Dexterity - 5
Constitution – 4
Intelligence – 5
Charisma – 3
Luck – 3
Corruption - 3