Carnival of Rust

[Littlemankitten]

When morning arrives, Anastasia is still in bed with Alessandra and Idalia, Idalia in between herself and Alessandra due to the night’s events, though Alessandra still had her long arms around both Anastasia and Idalia due to her rather large size. Beneath the covers, Idalia’s clothes were very disheveled, having both moved aside or removed entirely so that Anastasia and Alessandra can get to what was beneath, while Alessandra was only wearing underwear, both articles moved out of place. Suddenly, the room fills with black light as one of Ignia’s doors appear in the middle of the room, the door swinging open, and Ignia leaping out, landing in a crouch at the foot of Anastasia’s bed. She quickly stands up straight as Indris casually walks out behind her. “Oh, you’re awake… and I see the three of you were having fun without m-” she starts, before Indris flicks her forehead and cuts her off “Lord Barton has been on the front lines, and we know where his army is heading next. He’s going to be assisting Terrorcastra in taking back Alteneisen, which means he’s going to be vulnerable.” she says, seemingly ignoring the obvious signs of what Anastasia had been doing with Idalia and Alessandra.

Anastasia was quite content as she laid there pretty much completely naked. Her arms also wrapped around Idalia as well as encompassing Alessandra. She had been awake for about thirty minutes now but made no attempt to actually move or get out of bed, simply enjoying the little cuddle party they had going on. However she does jump from surprise when black light suddenly filled the room, and she heard Ignia jump down into her crouching pose, Anastasia sits up immediately, going into defensive mode before she realized who it was. When she saw Ignia and Indris, she only barely paid attention to their words before quickly standing up, walking over to both of them and enveloping them both in a giant bear hug, squeezing them and lifting them off the ground. “Where have you guys been!? I know you said you were going out scouting but you didn’t have to up and vanish for 6 months. I was worried sick about the both of you!” Anastasia said in a simultaneously angry and extremely relieved voice, having nearly completely ignored what both of them said.

In Anastasia’s rush to get out of the bed to hug Indris and Ignia, she accidentally jars Idalia awake, causing her to toss and turn a moment, before stretching and sitting up slowly. Meanwhile, when Anastasia wraps her arms around Ignia and Indris and lifts them up, Ignia squeaks in surprise, but soon returns the hug, while Indris dangles in Anastasia’s arms. Indris starts to repeat what she had said earlier, however she notices Ignia reaching for Anastasia’s cock, as she was naked, and stops her by flicking her forehead, causing her to squeak again. “Now’s not the time, we need to form a plan and go kill him, not jerk each other off.” she says, before turning back to Anastasia “No, seriously, Barton is vulnerable, he’s fighting on the front lines” Indris repeats to Anastasia, still dangling from her arms “We took so long because we were waiting for this exact opportunity.” Indris says. Idalia, meanwhile, was now sitting up in bed, her breasts fully exposed due to last night’s events, which Ignia noticed, causing her to lick her lips and stare.

Anastasia doesn’t notice that she had awoken Idalia, too focused on the return of Indris and Ignia, though she wouldn’t have cared anyway cause this was an important moment to wake up for. She smiles widely as Ignia returns the hug, though was disappointed Indris just wanted to be a limp fish. When Ignia reaches for her cock, but is interrupted by Indris, she giggles and gently kisses Ignia. “Naughty girl, you just got back and are already trying something?” Anastasia says in amusement, but turns her attention to Indris as Indris explains the situation. Anastasia ponders what Indris says for a moment. “Well I suppose in that case the easiest way to go about this is to catch him when he is most exhausted, perhaps wait till after he fights a particularly powerful enemy and he seems weakened.” She then leans her face closer to Indris’s. “Also it’s nice to see you again too.” She gives Indris a kiss as well, then finally sets them both back on the ground.

When Anastasia kisses Ignia and calls her naughty, she returns her kiss, passionately, then replies “I can’t help it, I love you, and it’s too much fun~” she says, playfully. When Anastasia then turns to Indris and tells her she missed her, after telling her that they should watch for Lord Barton to be weakened, Indris starts to reply, but is interrupted by Anastasia’s kiss. She looks slightly surprised for the very briefest of moments, but quickly regains her composure and returns Anastasia’s kiss, softly. After the two are set down, Indris gets her chance to reply “It’s nice to see you, too.” she says, before continuing “As the closest taken city to Terrorcastra, Sicarael should have a champion there to face Lord Barton’s forces. After one of their assaults, we can just invade their encampment.” Indris says. Meanwhile, Idalia had realized what state she was in, and fixed her clothing positions to cover her breasts and crotch, much to Ignia’s disappointment, before climbing out from under the covers and moving to sit on the edge of the bed. While Indris was speaking, Ignia had wandered behind Indris and turned her back to Anastasia and Idalia, after which she raised her hands up over her head, and started slowly shaking her hips at them, while looking at the two over her shoulder. After a few moments of this, she slowly lowered one hand to her skirt, and the other to the hem of her shirt and hoodie, then slowly lifted both, exposing her pink and white striped panties, and matching bra, with a mischievous grin.

Anastasia grins playfully when Ignia tells her that she loved her and that it was just too much fun. Anastasia was extremely glad to finally get something out of Indris too, it wasn’t much of a returned kiss but even after they’ve done much more than just kiss Indris still acts like she doesn’t want it, much to Anastasia’s confusion. When Indris says they can invade the Barton encampment after their army had been assaulted or finished with an assault, Anastasia nods. “Sounds like it would be the best opportunity, they’d probably all be exhausted after facing off against the occupying forces, let alone one of their champions.” By then Ignia had gone behind Indris and began clearly showing off her body to both Ana and Idalia, shaking her hips as well as revealing her bra and panties, which caused Anastasia to smirk in amusement. She gave Ignia a quick wink, thrusted her hips forward just a tiny bit, her cock slowly hardening, but then turned her attention back to Indris. “If we do that we should probably rush them down. Go in as hard and fast as possible, don’t give Barton or his forces a chance to even realize what is happening before making him pay for what he has done.”

[Mark3000]

Surrounded by the last remnants of the skeleton army she was gifted, Lilith knelled in the darkness as she chewed out the marrow from a guardian. The past year had been rough on the Nomad. Every step she took seemed to lead her deeper and deeper into the Catacombs. Rest was a luxury she was rarely afforded as traps and Catacomb Guardians lay around every corner. While the darkness didn't effect her physically, it did effect her mentally. Her movements became more feral, her attacks more wild as she journeyed deeper into the maze. When her food eventually ran out, she took devouring corpses and chewing on bones. It was easier then she thought. With her long claw-like fingers and sharp fangs, it was like her body was made for this. Soon her mind narrowed, focusing only on getting to the next room, then the next then the next .....

Tossing away the chewed up femur, Lilith turned her attention to her goblin companion. He had equipped himself nicely while traveling the catacombs. He looked more like an actual soldier now and not just some backwater bandit. Moving over to the goblin, she pulled down his leg armor to reveal erect cock. Without foreplay or so much as a kiss, Lilith mounted the little green creature and bounced on it's penis. Sex was one of the few things that kept the two of them sane. Lilith would fuck her companion any time the endless wandering of the catacombs proved to be too much. But what was once engaged love-making devolved into two beasts fucking each other senseless in the dark.

When the two finished, Lilith cleaned off the goblin's cock with her mouth. She on the other hand let his thick seed drop from her cunt. They wondered together until they reached the stone cave. Crossing the stone bridge over the lava lake, she enters and lays eyes on the pendent. Soon the familiar voice etched itself into her mind. It took everything for Lilith to not scream in delight. It had been so long she though she had been abandoned. Like one of her raised zombies, she shambled forward ignoring the figure in black, merely focusing on reaching out to reach the pendant.

[RandomRoninKitten]

Ophelia/Misc

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

When Ophelia pushes past Lucian and into the hallway, calling Helana and Lily to follow her, they waste no time doing as they were told. Lily excitedly rushes after Ophelia, nearly knocking Lucian over, while Helana is more careful, and quietly apologizes to Lucian for Lily's rudeness. Only after the two had pushed past Lucian does he regain his composure enough to follow Ophelia, having to call after her to answer he question "Yes, Lady Ophelia, she's in the Throne Room." he says, quickly catching up.

The group was already fairly close to the Throne Room, so it was no time at all before they burst in. When Queen Alpha sees Ophelia, she smiles "Hello, Lady Ophelia, Lady Lily, Lady Helana, it's good to see you again." she says, as she motions for another woman, with long, wavy blond hair and pale skin, wearing green armor with floral patterns on it, very reminiscent of Cielo Guard Commander armor, to have a seat nearby.

Lily starts to speak, but quickly remembers that she's supposed to kneel in the presence of a queen, and quickly drops to her knees beside Helana, who had already done so. Lucian, nearby, had followed Ophelia to the Throne Room and, likewise, was already kneeling. "I'm not going to play games with you, I do indeed have information on the location of Alice, though it seems quite dire. It took us quite some time to find gather information on her due to there only being two witnesses who had seen her being transported, and neither one knew where she had gone exactly. According to what Luthica compiled in her letter, it seems that Alice was supposed to be transported to Glass Castle, but never made it there..." she says, pausing a moment before continuing "During her transportation, and despite her severely wounded state, she broke out of her chains and proceeded to slaughter half of the guarding force with her bare hands, before bolting to the west. It seems that she was disoriented due to blood loss, and it took us quite some time to find other information, however Luthica then sent another letter, which indicated that she was seen entering the Valley of Bones in order to escape a group of eight Slime Assassins and a regiment of Sicarael's troops, and hasn't been seen since." she says, softly. The Valley of Bones was a patch of land that was covered in thick black mist, and rumored to be one of the most dangerous places in all of Chaldea, crawling with undead, shadow creatures, and evil spirits. Lily leaned towards Helana and whispered "Yeah, we can take them. I'll Justice Pawnch them really hard." in a confident tone, while Helana remained silent. Queen Alpha then paused once more before continuing further "Most people wouldn't suggest going in there at all, but I don't intend to try to convince you not to go. I'll suggest just bringing the strongest fighters you can find." she says. Lucian then whispered to Ophelia "I'll be willing to assist if you desire." he says, simply.

Selvaria/Blue

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

When Selvaria agrees to leave Bacon and seek work with Barton, Blanche smiles and gives her a soft kiss on the lips "Cute little Selvy agrees, so let's go ahead and get out of here~" she says, happily. Elios nods, then jerks her head towards her horse in the corner of the room, after which it shifts into a cloud of black fog and transports itself outside, reappearing down in the streets.

It wasn't long before the group had packed up, cleaned up, and made their way outside, beginning their journey. As they were making their way out of Bacon, Elios started explaining "Barton boi himself is holed up at Alteneisen... tryin' ta get that there place back under friendly control... if we wanna make ourselves useful, he's probs be mighty grateful if we were ta help him end that there... kerfuffle." she says, struggling with the word "kerfuffle" as if she was struggling to think of the most understanding word to use there, but giving up and just saying it instead. Kerfuffle was very common Darkstar vernacular for a fight. After exiting Bacon, their path took them into the Hanged Man Forest. While the part of the forest around Bacon was devoid of the hanging bodies, the part that they had to enter to make their way to Alteneisen had hanged bodies dangling from almost every single branch. While this fact didn't seem to bother Blanche or Elios, Felicity looked horrified. "Why are there so many hanged bodies in this forest!?" she asked, in shock. "Oh, I'm sorry, Felicity, I forgot that you hadn't seen this place~" she says, apologetically, yet still somehow maintaining a singsong voice "It's said that this forest attracts whose hearts are weighed down with evil, and entices them to hang themselves, so that they may hurt others no more~ mmm but that's just a story~" she says. Elios then picks up where she left off "Bois who don't wanna live... they hang themselves on them there trees cuz that story speaks to them, and nobody... I mean nobody... is good... so they believe them stories to them bois..." she says, without even glancing at all of the hanging bodies. Felicity looks bothered by the conversation and huddles closer to Selvaria, despite being taller than her. Blanche notices and moves closer to them both, groping Selvaria's ass with one hand as she comments "Not to worry, Felicity, Alteneisen is very close to Bacon~" she says, soothingly.

Amun/MrBlah

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

When Amun says that Gorgophone had surpassed his expectations, she raises her head, grins smugly, and puffs out her chest, while Aigle rolls her eyes, very subtly. When Amun then thanks her and pets her head, she looks even more smug, and leans into the patting "Of course, I always complete my assignments with style." she says. It wasn't long before the group reached the Throne Room, where they found Prairie, looking just as Amun had seen her last, on Cielo before the crash, in full Guard Armor, her weapon sheathed on her back, getting to her feet from the chair she had been sitting on. When Queen Alpha sees Amun and his group enter the Throne Room, she smiles "Lord Khufu, welcome. Your guest has been waiting for you." she says, nodding her head towards Captain Prairie, who takes several steps towards Amun. On closer inspection, she had a scar from the base of her neck, to just behind her ear, mostly hidden by her hairline. "Lord Khufu, I had thought you dead. It's good to see that you survived... the incident." she says, pausing with a pained smile on her face, before adding "H-how is... that other girl that was with us?" she asks. Gorgophone then cuts in, first bowing to the Queen, before speaking "I found her wandering Chaldea in search of vengeance. She agreed to meet with you, because I told her that we were searching for the same thing. Naturally, I already had that information, but I had a job to do... and I always complete my work." she says, smiling smugly. Meanwhile, Mena seemed to be listening intently to the conversation.

Lilith/Mark3000

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Before Lilith even touches the pendant, it seems to warp from its position, onto her neck. The pendant then slowly began glowing brighter and brighter, the brightness of the pendant's glow overshadowing the lava, bathing the entire chamber in a purple light. As this was happening, Lilith's Goblin companion, Lump, Loaf, and the Armored Tweetling merely watched. The pendant's chain soon began sinking into Lilith's skin, while the Pendant itself sunk into Lilith's chest, until all of it was part of her. The chain was no longer visible, but the Pendant looked as though it had always been part of her, a Gem that merely grew from her chest. Lilith's eyes and mouth then began emitting the exact same glow as the Pendant. Visions of endlessly wars played through Lilith's mind, every single death that she witnessed feeling inexplicably satisfying to Lilith, only coming up short in the sense that she couldn't feel the pleasure of resurrecting them, or ride their dead, or preferably undead, cocks. After what felt like an eternity, the visions finally end, and Lilith feels like she not only has been gifted an intricate understanding of death, but an insatiable lust kill and fuck on behalf of Zalaam. That's when the nails-on-chalkboard sound returns in her mind "My little shadow, you've done a great thing. That pendant in your chest makes you closer to me... let me show you..." the voice says, then Lilith can feel her Goddess' hands slowly stroking her hips... then her stomach, as if she was phasing through her clothing and touching her bare skin. The hands then travel from her stomach, to her sides, then up her body, gently running up her arms and giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze. The hands then feel as though they're moving towards Lilith's breasts, but just before they would have touched them, the hands stop. "Now, be a good little shadow... and take every city in my name... use the humans to breed more humans, so that we can make even more corpses. The rogue Angel Sicarael has weakened everyone with his war, and created more dead bodies for us to control. My other servants will be making their move at any moment... but you... you will be my hand." she says, and Lilith can feel her breath on her neck, as if her Goddess is standing directly behind her, and her breath smelled like the stench of death, a smell that filled Lilith with an uncontrollable sense of lust.

While her Goddess went silent there, now that she had the pendant, she could always feel her Goddess as if she was there. The hooded stranger then moved to take off her cloak, which caused Lilith's Goblin to step up next to her, his weapon drawn... but all the figure did was remove her hood, and throw her cloak aside to reveal herself. The figure, standing before Lilith in a black miniskirt, tattered hooded cloak, black thigh-high boots and fishnet stockings, and a skimpy black top that showed much of her cleavage, and exposed her stomach, was Lilith's mom. She had red eyes, curved, metallic horns on either side of her head, and wavy white hair that began curling in a corkscrew pattern when it reached beyond her shoulders. Her rune pattern was different from what Lilith remembered, but then she noticed that her glowing purple runes seemed to be constantly shifting across her skin. "Hello, child... it has been quite some time, I understand, but we must put our Goddess' revolution before everything else. Our Goddess has been most benevolent to allow us to work together for now." she says, smiling at Lilith.

Anastasia/Littlemankitten

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Under Construction

[MiscChaos]

Ophelia wishes she could return Alpha’s greeting, but with how impatient she is to hear any news as to Alice’s location, she can only spare a jerky nod of the head. Given how she gives no cares about royalty at all, she also abstains from kneeling. Alpha has never taken offense to the lack before and she sees no reason for the woman to start caring now. She lets her gaze merely pause over the other woman, not familiar enough with whatever city or clan she represents for the woman’s armor to mean anything to her. She remarks that the style of it used to be more widely seen, but she does not know nor care why she has seen less of that particular color scheme. It is not important compared to why she has been called to the room in any case.

The news she hears makes her eyes widen and the dying feeling of hope to bloom fiercely in her chest. Not only did Alice never make it to the Castle of Glass, but she is well enough to take on a platoon of guards unarmed and win. If she is well enough to do that, she most certainly did not die in some unnamed ditch, discarded by the angel as the darkest corner of her mind feared. When she hears of her pursuers, a deep, almost animalistic growl tears itself from her throat. Those Masino damned Slime again! She swears, she is going to wipe them off the face of this planet if it is the last thing she does! Especially the female one who aided in her violation and prevented her from rescuing the others. Her death, Ophelia will savor as she prolongs it for as long as possible. “If we know where she is, why are we standing here? Her pursuers could have long since caught up with her by now and she is without her weapon! I thank you for the information, but we no longer have time to stand here.” To counterbalance the harshness of her tone, she bows as deeply as she can to show her intense gratitude for the information being shared with her. That is all the allowance she gives however. She had been looking obsessively for Annie and Alice for 6 months before her Lana came into her life and has been tracking any and all information on her lost lovers ever sense. She almost literally cannot stand still long enough to do more than that.

She pauses briefly when Lucian offers his aid. She does not know how strong he is, nor does she know his aims. Given what she knows of males as a whole, he has been far too kind to her for no payoff that she can see. That makes her wary about him. What if he is assisting her simply to get to Alice and Annie in their weakened states? She could never forgive herself if she let another man have his way with them! At the same time, however, he is apparently strong enough for Alpha to put some measure of trust in him. Going into the Valley of Bones, she will need all the help she can get if she is to drag Alice out of it in one piece. Especially given the forever accursed Slimes following the Paladin. If at all possible, she would have pulled Aurora to go with them instead. She knows Aurora is mighty, she trusts Aurora beyond all measure of doubt, and she knows exactly why Aurora would have gone with her. It is the Paladin of Sirius’ sister after all. Beyond that, she knows Aurora would worry herself sick thinking of Ophelia going into the Valley of Bones without her. But she is away with no method for Ophelia to contact her. Or… well, it is a thought. The straight line path to the Valley of Bones is unavailable since there are several bodies of water through that route. That eliminates the quickest route. Quite a few of them actually given how far out those bodies of water extend. The best route would be to go east into the Land of Fools to avoid the water, then go past Alteneisen into the Worthless Plains to avoid the last of the rivers. It is not a very quick route, but leading a suicide charge straight to Alice will do no one any good even if she was willing to risk her daughters in such a way. Which she absolutely is not. The goal is to recover those she lost, not lose more people that she cherishes. So her projected route is the best route. Meaning they will likely arrive in Alteneisen in time to help Aurora in her efforts to rid it of the madman’s influence. With that done, she can include Aurora in the effort to locate Alice. Given her Paladin’s condition, it is entirely possible Aurora’s ability to heal could be necessary there. Better to have her nearby and not need her to heal Alice than need her and not have her. But all this hinges on her party’s ability to reach Alteneisen. Lana is untested and Lily is a touch overeager sometimes. It’d be for the best to have someone else to balance things out. At least until they reach the city and can recruit Aurora instead.

“Very well. I do not object to your assistance, Lucian.” She says shortly, already heading back to her room to pack what things she needs for the journey. “Lily, Helana, pack whatever you might need for a long trip. We will not see this place again for quite some time.” Once packing is complete, she immediately heads for Terrorcastra’s gate. There is not a moment to waste after all. Not until she knows for certain this lead is false or Alice is once again in her arms.

[mrblah]

It's amazing how she doesn't see this as even slightly patronizing, he thinks. But that's also part of the reason why he's able to do it, and he'd not be where he was today if he wasn't an opportunist. The act helped calm his nerves some anyway, even if said nerves nearly skyrocketed as they arrived to their destination itself. Could they see his tension? Could they feel the same pressure he felt as he entered into the throne room? Likely not, since his time as a politician has taught him a great deal on how to hide his feelings even more than his previous life in Cielo had. He must've appeared cooled, calm, and collected as he always did when he entered the room. Anything less in the court of the queen could very well prove damaging.

So he went through the normal procedures. He ignored the sight of Prairie and the feeling of both dread and elation he felt at seeing her. He didn't even think of assessing her condition or reading her expression. Instead, he turned to Queen Alpha with a smile and a bow. "Thank you, your Highness." Only when she permitted him with a nod did the were-dog look to the former captain. She looked... almost the same as ever. Despite the year gap from now to then, Captain Prairie wore the same armor and held the same weapon she did when they faced off against Bob White, and didn't bear any extreme injuries he'd expect from someone living out in the wild alone. She must've been out there much longer than he, as he'd fled into Terrorcastra to escape the outside as soon as he could. Moreover, she hadn't... seemed angry, or otherwise displeased. The weight of guilt he felt lessened ever so slightly.

He'd wait until Gorgophone finished, offering the girl a nod in recognition of her efforts, before he'd turn to back to the captain with a strained smile. "Nearly. I'd thought myself the only one so lucky until I met with some other survivors; that girl among them." This is where he'd pause, but only for effect. Amun already knew how he'd answer this expected question. "I'm... afraid the worst came to worse out there. Suffice to say, I... was really the only survivor, if only until now. I'm glad you're here, Captain." It wasn't hard to feign his grief. Even now, the truth of his act and the consequences still weigh on him, so he'd only drawn from it to offer a more convincing retelling of just what he did to... what's her name.

At any rate, it was time to move this reunion somewhere more comfortable. They had a lot to discuss and he'd heavily prefer to do so while seated. Amun turned back to Queen Alpha and offered a deeper bow as he addressed her. "Your Majesty, I thank you for allowing my guest stay in your throne room. She's an old ally of mine from the days of my old home, you see, and my agent had found her outside in the wilds of Chaldea. May she be allowed temporary stay in Terrorcastra, at least until further matters are settled?" Realistically, his best deal would be to have Prairie stay in Terrorcastra on a more permanent basis, but he couldn't request that without knowing the woman's own desires.

[Mark3000]

Lilith watches with amazement as the jewel fills the chamber with an unholy light. As it sinks into her chest, the Nomad doesn't find the sensation odd in the slightest. It feels almost natural. Then the visions come. Wonderful, terrifying visions of dead and resurrection. "AHHHHHHH!" Lilith screamed as the power flowed through her. When the light subsided, Lilith's pussy was dripping wet. She no longer had doubts about her purpose in this land. She would be Zalaam's dark instrument of destruction. She would do anything to please her goddess, and it seemed like she understood that as well. Lilith practically shivered as she her the dark lady's voice and feel to her knees as the shadowy hands messaged her body. But she was denied satisfaction and instead given her mission. With a wild smile and drool dropping from her mouth, Lilith nodded. "Yes my Goddess, my body is yours to command!"

So entrenched in her euphoria was Lilith that she didn't notice the other cloaked figure until they revealed themselves. "M-Mother?" Lilith said with a surprised look. Stumbling forward Lilith look the older Nomad up and down. "It really is you! I knew the path of Zalaam would lead me to you" She said before embracing her in a large hug. "Indeed, The only question is were to start?" She said. "I'm trying to remember, but I originally came her to find the one controlling the surrounding towers. Might you know who they are? I also have to meet up with my former teacher." Lilith said as she mumbled to herself.

[RandomRoninKitten]

Final Chapter:

Ophelia/Misc: End of Heartache

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Before Ophelia left Terrorcastra, despite Lucian being packed and ready, Alpha seemed to think that a different guard would be more effective in assisting with her mission. As such, Lucian was kept in Terrorcastra, while a Were-Dragon named Fafnia, or Fae for short, took his place accompanying Ophelia. She had long white hair down to her feet, bright maroon-purple eyes, long white dragon horns with black trim, large leathery wings, dragon feet, and a long black dragon tail, and wore heavy black and white armor that had been crafted from dragon bone, forming black and white-spiked gauntlets, boots, shoulder pads, chest armor, and cod armor. Strapped to her back, she had a massive maroon sword with sharp white edges.

Ophelia's trip out of the castle and towards Alteneisen takes her, first, through the Screaming Woods, an area where the grass and trees were gray, and made low screaming sounds when the wind blew. Despite the low screaming being harmless, monstrous trees that feasted on flesh also hid themselves within the woods, using the low screaming as camouflage. Despite this, the trip through the Screaming Woods was uneventful.

During the trip through Calt's Black Lands and into The Land of Fools, Fafnia seemed somewhat shy and hesitated to make conversation with Ophelia, Helana, or Lily, in stead mostly keeping to herself, while her eyes darted around the surrounding area in search of possible attackers or clues. Meanwhile, Lily had brought two of the figurines from Terrorcastra and was playing with them, making sound effects with her mouth as she made them fight each other. She had managed to come up with a figure of Annie and was having her fight against a Spectross woman with long hair, a pair of horns, a long dress, and a pair of heavy gauntlets. She was holding Annie away, having her shoot at the Spectross woman as she kited her, making "Pew pew pew" sounds. Rather than playing around, Helana was attempting to teach herself Blood Magic, trying to use the basics of Light Magic that Aurora had taught her as a basis.

As the group passes wide around the Dread Mountains and the water vein that cuts through the Land of Fools, the sun starts to droop low in the sky. "Mom, night is falling..." Helana whispers, finally having stopped practicing for the moment, to which Lily replies "Eh? B-but we just left!" seemingly surprised at how fast an entire day had passed. Fafnia chimes in quietly "The Colosseum of Fools wouldn't let us in unless we're fighters... Kort is pretty far back... The Forest of Silence is even more dangerous at night, and Solstace, beyond, wouldn't let us in, since we're not Spectross..." she starts rattling off all of the nearby locations. Helana pulls a map out of her pack that she had asked for before leaving Terrorcastra "... Fafnia is right. I did not know that The Land of Fools was so far from cities..." she mumbles quietly, starting to flex her fingers, a strange nervous habit that she had picked up. Lily puts her figurines back into her pack, then leans on Helana's shoulder, causing her to stumble slightly, as she looks at the map "OH that place is so big!" she says as she slaps Solstace with her finger, causing Helana to gently shove her arm away, to get her out of her face "Yes, it is." she says, softly, before sighing in slight annoyance.

Suddenly Fafnia's eyes narrow and she begins shifting her eyes around more quickly. Finally, she whispers "We're being followed." in a soft, but serious tone, as she reaches her fingers to the hilt of her weapon. Helana nods slowly, then she slips her hand into her pick, touching her Lantern Shield. Lily, meanwhile, looks around, squinting into the tall grass that surrounded them "Uh... uhm... where?" she asks, softly, hooting softly in confusion without realizing it.

Selvaria/Blue: Bad Guy

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Once everyone is in agreement, Selvaria wastes no time packing up the few belongings she had. She had spent her year assembling tools and parts to rekindle her love of working with machinery and show devotion to Masino, but many of her creations she sold to sustain their living and to be prepared to leave the horrific town of Bacon at any time. As such, her tools and her rifle and a few personal belongings were all she really needed to take with her and she was ready to go in short order. Though Selvaria had come to cherish the time she had spent in Bacon, she had certainly not come to appreciate the town any more over the course of a year and was quite happy to leave as soon as she could. As they make their exit, Selvaria listens closely to what Elios has to say. She was aware of the situation in Alteneisen through her own scouting, as well as Elios' reports, but she hadn't realized that Barton himself was there. Was that city really that important to them? "That seems as sound a plan as any." Selvaria replies simply. Even if their plan to impress Barton didn't work out, defeating Sicarael's forces there was still in line with her goals regardless.

Out in the wilderness once more, Selvaria stayed ever vigilant. She hadn't ventured outside the city as much after Felicity was born but she found her senses were still as sharp as ever as she stayed alert and on the lookout for danger. She was so focused on living threats that the motionless bodies hanging from the trees didn't even register in her mind until she heard Felicity's distressed cries. Once she realized what Blanche also had, Selvaria moved to her daughter's side in an instant, wrapping her arms around Felicity in a tight embrace. The story Blanche and Elios told didn't help things any, even Selvaria found it a little disturbing. One whose heart is weighed down by evil was a description she felt fit herself fairly well at times. If she had heard of this place before meeting Felix and Blanche, then perhaps she too would have.... Before her thought can finish, Selvaria gasps as she feels Blanche's hand groping her rear. The timing was a bit inappropriate to say the least, but she smiles up at the Spectross all the same before turning her attention back to her daughter. "Oh my dear, sweet, Felicity..." Selvaria whispers, reaching up to run a hand through her daughter's hair as she holds her close. "We cannot look away from things just because we don't wish to see them. We need to stay vigilant." She explains softly. It felt a bit harsh to say, but Selvaria knew that Felicity needed to be strong. She didn't want her daughter to make the same mistakes that she had. ".... But if it's too hard, just keep your eyes on me until we're through the forest. I'll keep you safe, and we won't be here for long, like Blanche said." She finishes, giving Felicity a gentle smile. Despite knowing that she coddled her daughter perhaps a bit too much, Selvaria still found that she couldn't help but cling to the dream that Felicity could live her life in peace and safety from this cruel world they inhabited.

Felicity seems to calm down, due to Selvaria and Blanche's embrace, as well as Selvaria's encouraging words, even if Blanche and Elios' explanation of the forest didn't seem to help much. For roughly an hour, the group continued onward, with Blanche groping Selvaria's ass the entire time, Elios suddenly slows and tips her hat, before commenting "Well, it's about time." in a soft voice, her horse's eyes blazing brightly. Felicity looks up at her, a confused look on her face, while Blanche's eyes narrow, and she begins scanning the area around them "That's not good." she mutters, as she twirls her staff in her other hand. Felicity then seemed to get the hint "Uhm a-are we going to try to out-run them?" she asks, in a nervous tone, to which Elios replies "I don't reckon' that'd work too well, darlin'." in a serious tone. When Selvaria begins searching for what Elios and Blanche were referring to, she catches glimpses of spider creatures, with six legs, segmented bodies, pincers with rotating black blades along the edges, and a red carapace, leaping from tree to tree like ninjas as they moves to close the long distance between Selvaria's group and themselves. While their rapid movement made it difficult to count how many there were, it seemed as though there were four.

Amun/MrBlah: Emperor's New Clothes

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

When Amun explains to Prairie that he was the only survivor, then states that he's clad to see her, Captain Prairie nods slowly "The world that we live in is filled to the brim with danger. Our lives can be compromised at any time." she says, keeping a straight face, though her eyes show how deeply saddened she is by the news that they were supposedly the only two survivors left. When Amun then turns to Queen Alpha, then thanks her and requests that Captain Prairie be allowed to stay, Queen Alpha smiles sweetly "Yes, Lord Amun, she may stay. I'm sure that the matters that you must attend to are of grave importance, and I certainly do not wish to impede your progress." she says, with a slow sweep of her hand.

Gorgophone then spoke up "I don't suppose we should have this conversation over some juice? I know you two have much to discuss, and Queen Alpha has much to do, so it would be a shame to clog her throne room." she says, sweetly, retaining her smug expression however. After Gorgophone finished a job, she usually maintained a certain level of mild smugness for the rest of the day, depending on how proud of herself she is. Further, while most preferred tea, Gorgophone despised tea, and as a result, always suggested juice instead, regardless of how appropriate tea would be for the occasion. Aigle cocked her head at Gorgophone, then commented "Don't you mean tea?" she asks, to which Gorgophone replies "NO, not tea. Never tea." she says, very slight amounts of anger creeping into her voice, though she manages to keep her composure. Aigle, meanwhile, smiled the slightest bit, indicating that she knew how much Gorgophone hated tea. Mena scratched her head as she commented "Huh? Why not te-" though she was cut off, not intentionally, by Prairie, who was replying to Gorgophone's original statement "I am not in any hurry. Where shall we converse, Lord Khufu?" she asks, softly.

Lilith/Mark3000: Undead Kings

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

When Lilith hugs her mother, she returns her hug and replies "The path of Zalaam connects all in death, you were right to follow our Goddess to me." she says softly, with a smile. When Lilith asks where to start, and then asks who the one controlling the towers is, her mother replies "Tis I, our Goddess Zalaam has gifted me with the power to raise towers which are bound to her will." she replies, before adding "We shall come across your teacher soon, for Zalaam will guide her to us as we begin raising the dead in our Goddess' name, my child. We shall start our path of destruction and undeath... with Mortis Somnia." she says, almost purring the words as she explained what they were to do. With that, she leaned closely and gives Lilith a soft and skilled kiss on the lips, soon slipping her tongue into Lilith's mouth and licking her own for a moment, before breaking the kiss, a strand of drool connecting their mouths for a moment. "Ahhh~ how I missed my daughter." she coos, as she breaks away, and turns towards the back wall. She waves her arm, causing purple fog to gather in the area before her, after which a reflection of the Veil Forest's jagged gray trees with massive drooping black leaves appeared in the fog, granting them access to a portal behind Mortis Somnia.

Anastasia/Littlemankitten: Whispers in the Dark

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Suddenly, Anastasia was standing in the middle of a Dark Forest, the black trees casting a blue glow on the grass around them from beneath their black bark. Despite having left with Idalia, Indris, Ilaria, Ignia, and Alessandra, Anastasia was strangely alone. As she walked among the black trees, their blue leaves dripping water onto her body as she passed beneath them, she could hear the faintest sound of rustling leaves. Suddenly, a blood red wire that couldn't have been seen if not for the moonlight shining on it, shot out from between the trees, narrowly missing Anastasia due to her quick reflexes. From behind the nearby tree, her attacker leaps onto another tree, kicking off of it and onto a tree branch, the darkness obscuring Anastasia's view of her. Suddenly the wire shoots out again, once again missing Anastasia by a hair. The attacker immediately begins rapidly leaping from branch to branch, shooting out the wires like a gunshot at Anastasia, but narrowly missing each time, the onslaught quickly beginning to tire Anastasia out, due to the incredible speed and precision of the strikes.

Finally, Anastasia manages to catch the wires around her hammer and fling it forward, causing it to slice the tree branch that the attacker was standing on. As the attacker fell from the tree, Anastasia attacks her with a shoulder barge, slamming her backwards through a series of trees, sending the wooden fragments scattering in every direction, as if they had been blown apart by bombs. Anastasia makes her way forward, after the attacker. As she draws closer, she can see that the girl had long black hair, with bangs that fell over her forehead, black tights, pink boots, and a purple frock that reached her knees. Over her eyes was a black visor, which had gray characters scrolling across it, while the girl herself twitched and spasmed on the ground.

Anastasia awakes in the camp that her party had set up after traveling all day. They had taken shelter in a rundown, unoccupied cave, with a collapsed wooden hut inside. Idalia and Ilaria were already up, using a campfire to cook breakfast. Ilaria was using her vines to grab the ingredients that Idalia asked for, while Idalia was doing the actual cooking. Ignia continued to sleep beside Anastasia on one side, in her lacy black bra and panties with purple trim, while Alessandra was sitting on a boulder, smiling at Anastasia as she awoke. Alessandra was fully dressed, and seemed to have been sitting there for some time. Upon seeing Anastasia wake, she commented "Ah, good morning, Anastasia. You slept quite a bit later than usual, I must say." in a sweet and friendly voice. Past Alessandra, Anastasia could see Indris leaning against the mouth of the cave, staring out into Calt's Blacklands, with a frown, the ash-like snow falling from the sky rapidly in small flakes.

[Mark3000]

Lilith sank into her mother's embrace. She nodded along with her plan giving her a sincere yet unhinged smile. "I'm ready. Let up pass through the city like a deadly storm, leaving only bodies in our wake" the Nomad said. In truth she was only partially excited to rain destruction on Mortis Somnia. Such a tribute was the least Lilith could offer to the goddess's blessing. Right now, she had everything she needed right in arm's reach.

Lilith's eyes widened as her mother gave her a passionate kiss. "I've missed you as well mother" Lilith said with a slight blush. Her mother was never this sensual with her. But she didn't mind. She was finally with the one and only person who truly ever understood her. "I can't wait for you to meet my teacher, I'm sure you'll both get along swimmingly" Lilith stated as she made her way through the portal. An interesting trick she hoped to one day learn.

[Littlemankitten]

Anastasia blinks rapidly for a moment as she looks around the strange place she suddenly found herself in, frowning as she sees where she was at. The Dark Forest? She was alone as well, which was the second thing she noticed. Panic immediately sets in, and she looks around frantically for her friends and lovers that she left with. She instinctively grabs her hammer from its holster and begins her desperate search for her lost companions. It felt futile however, as she wandered the endless myriad of black barked trees, their blue leaves clinging onto her skin every time she passed by them. In the dead silence the sudden rustling of leaves was quite obvious to Anastasia, her body immediately stiffens and she reacts as soon as she hears the leaves slightly change their pattern of rustling, indicating a faster movement heading towards her. Anastasia didn't even see the wire until it was just where she was at, a tiny thread reminiscent of Idalia's. Without being able to see her attacker, Anastasia followed their movements as they hopped from tree to tree, constantly adjusting her grip on her hammer to react to each new position her attacker takes. She hears the wire pierce through the leaves again and immediately steps to the side, making the extremely fast attack miss her again. Anastasia had to repeat this a few times before realizing the attacker had no intention of closing the distance, and so switches to the bow she had strapped to her back, quickly taking a arrow and readying a shot and firing at the unseen attacker through the dense leaves. She knew she missed as she heard the thunk of her arrow hitting wood, but she also heard the attacker quickly move to the side, indicating she was close despite being unable to see them. She tries this a couple more times, firing multiple arrows in the span of just a few seconds before dropping the bow and switching back to her hammer, not feeling confident enough with the bow, and having come up with a plan that involved her hammer. The next time she heard the wires sling towards her, she purposefully outstretched her hammer towards the direction, getting her hammer caught in the wire, then using her mighty strength to yank the attacker by the wire, making the attackers own wires snap the tree branch the attacker was standing on. Anastasia then rushed the position of her attacker, seeing the body fall and body slamming into it, loud sounds of cracking and wood groaning resounding through the forest as she slams the attacker through multiple trees, splinters bouncing of her skin. When another tree finally halted her, Anastasia got a good look at her attacker and grimaced, seeing another one of Barton's slaves who no doubt had no idea what their body was being used for at this moment. After looking the girl over more, a sickening sensation washed over her, she looked almost exactly like Idalia except years younger, she even wore the same clothes Idalia wore when they first met before she found her new standard pair she liked.

A despaired wail threatened to escape from Anastasia, but before it could happen her eyes opened a second time, this time in the real world. Anastasia immediately sits up and looks around, worry on her face before seeing her companions around her, making her calm down and sigh, looking down at the cold rocky ground. She then turned her attention to Ignia, who was sleeping in her sexy underwear, which made Anastasia feel a little better as her eyes traced Ignia's body. When Alessandra then speaks up, Ana looks towards her and smiles back. "Yea, I was having some dreams, as per usual recently." She grumbles, slowly standing up, in her underwear like Ignia, which was a similar lacy black pair, though with more frills and rose patterns on them. She moved over to where her clothes were laid out and began putting them on groggily. "Anything happen in the night?"

[Blue56]

Selvaria smiles, relieved to see that she was able to calm her daughter, at least a little. She continues to stay near Felicity, to offer the girl encouragement as they walk. Although she finds herself a little distracted by Blanche's large hand, ceaselessly groping her ass. It's all Selvaria could do to keep herself from moaning out loud, as she had always felt that side of her was a bit inappropriate to show to her daughter. Still, she doesn't object or make any move to stop Blanche, as it was still a wonderful feeling. When Elios and Blanche slow and ready themselves for battle, Selvaria immediately draws her rifle. Closing her eyes, she focuses on sensing the life around her as she had learned to do in her time in the wilderness. She hears the rustling of the leaves in the trees and feels the change in the air flow around them, and when she opens her eyes, she can see the large spiders racing towards them through the trees.

Hearing her daughter suggest they run, Selvaria smiles at her, despite her nervousness at the impending battle. "Perhaps Elios could get away on her horse, but I at least am far too slow to outrun them, dear." She tells her daughter in a gentle tone that belies the anxiety welling up within her. "I believe there's four of them, so we do have the numbers advantage. Just stay calm, stay focused, and do as we tell you and things will be just fine." Selvaria reassures Felicity, before moving to take Felix, who had been resting on her shoulder as always. "Keep Felicity safe for me, won't you, my love?" She whispers, planting brief kiss on his lips before setting him down so they could take up their respective positions and prepare for the battle to come.

[mrblah]

Amun would appropriately express his gratitude to Queen Alpha, a bow and some pretty words of thanks coming from him as necessary. The conversation would move along, however, as Gorgophone would speak up with a reasonable suggestion. He played off the innate desire to pat the unnecessarily smug crocodile girl's head. Doing so would be unprofessional in the presence of respectable company and Queen Alpha herself, plus such secretively mocking slash playful gestures should only be done after his detective worked admirably. Overfeed the pet and the pet becomes too lazy to work for food. In this analogy, Gorgophone is the pet and this very accurately represents how utterly reprehensible Amun's inner mind was.

Anyway! Amun briefly ignored the common sight of Aigle purposely pushing Gorgophone's buttons for her own sadistic fun as he instead elected to respond to Prairie's inquiry. "Perhaps my quarters may suffice? It should prove sizable enough accommodations for all of us, as well as prove as a sufficiently private and quiet place for our discussion." No matter what they might converse of, Amun's pretty sure privacy is a must have. "If that sounds reasonable?" Captain Prairie would, probably, say yes. Let's go with that.

Amun would lead the way back to his room, giving an impromptu tour of sorts (really just pointing out this and that) on the way to impress the captain with his extensive knowledge. When they reached his quarters, he politely opened the door to allow her first entry, taking a step aside and gesturing for her to continue before following in after her with the others involved. After the door was closed, he was especially certain to show her a comfortable place to sit, though the were-beast would offer a thoughtful frown before long as he looked her over. "Ah... would you be so comfortable in your armor, Captain Prairie? If you so wished to change into something more preferable then I would not mind waiting for you. I can have a servant provide you with a change of clothes."

[MiscChaos]

Despite herself, Ophelia feels herself relaxing when she hears that Lucian is being replaced with a female warrior. She is fairly sure Lucian means no ill will, but the fact of the matter is he is a male. All of her greatest humiliations and all her violations have come at the hands of males or slimes. Thus, she finds it very hard to be at ease around either of them. While she has yet to find a slime outside of Sicarael’s assassins so the issue with them has never become a concern, there are plenty of males within Alpha’s domain. Of them, Lucian was the most tolerable and she still felt very uncomfortable around him. She went out of her way to avoid the bard that was a guest of Alpha’s. To this day, she does not know why he was invited nor does she know even his name. The addition of horns to the female warrior makes her wary all over again since the last time she encountered a female warrior with horns, said warrior dropped a hammer on her spine after a Chimera drained her blood for the “crime” of existing too close. Still, she cannot uniformly dislike horned female warriors given she and Helana are horned. Maybe she should merely keep an eye out for curved horns? Either way, Fafnia seems a great degree less arrogant than the Spectross that assaulted her so long ago, so she decides to merely keep a close eye on the Were-Dragon for now.

The Screaming Woods is a little more than an annoyance to Ophelia. Yes, she understands the flesh eating trees use the yelling as camouflage, but if they could camouflage just a bit quieter she would greatly appreciate it. She walks away from the Woods with a bit of a headache and she is used to standing next to Lily when the girl gets sugar rushes and rants about JUSTICE like Alice would so that is an amazing occurrence. If she never went back to that forest, it would be a lifetime too soon. She contemplates the logistics of burning it down. It is not like anyone would miss anything besides a few flesh eating trees. And Pradera dislikes Masino anyway so it is not like she risks angering a Goddess she cares about by doing so. She keeps the thought in the back of her head for later revision.

She tenses once they’re back in the Land of Fools, remembering how everything started in the Colosseum. The slime assassination attempt and the resulting need to attempt rescuing Techra lead directly to Alice and Annie being abducted by the madman and her own conversion to a Nephilim. On the same token, she would not have met Alice and Annie if not for the place and running into Azraq led directly into the events that granted her both of her daughters. While she still despises the place, she really cannot wish to have done anything differently. Besides not losing that last fight, of course. As Helana, despite being the younger of her daughters, is more mature, she finds herself staying near Lily to make sure the girl doesn’t get herself into any trouble. She seems content with her figurines, but Lily’s attention span has been known to wonder. She keeps a close eye on Helana, however. Blood magic is not something to play with lightly. Or at the very least, not something to do lightly unless you are using someone else’s blood as the learning tool. Then you are free to make as many mistakes as your test subject lasts for. Still, it would not do for her child to be hurt by her experiments. It would be for the best to retrieve a test subject as quickly as possible.

She is taken from her musings when the daughter in question brings up the current time of day. “Given how Annie, Alice, and myself left the Colosseum, I do not believe it is an option.” Or at the very least, it would make sense not to allow back in fighters who left in the middle of a bracket. There is no guarantee they would not do it again. Like hell she is permitting her daughters to stay the night in the Forest of Silence and Solstace is not worth mentioning. Not with her… aversion to Spectross to consider. She would put it to the side in a heartbeat if it meant her kids were safe. But it would not do anything in this case so it is not worth considering. “Kort is our best option. It would be for the best we made haste.” Her entire mood changes when she hears they’re being followed. “Maintain caution. If they show any hostile intent, annihilate them. Otherwise, they can be heard out. From a generous distance.”

[RandomRoninKitten]

Suddenly, the sun begins to shift in color, becoming gray with dark black splotches, and clouds begin filling the sky, with strange black wisps radiating from them. Immediately after the sky is filled with black clouds radiating black wisps, thick, sticky black rain begins falling from the sky, forming puddles on the ground with the consistency of jello, but on contact with a person's skin/exo-skin, it instead acts like syrupy tar.

Weather: Negative Storm

Ophelia/Misc:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

When Ophelia replies to Helana, saying they probably can't go to the Colosseum due to her, Annie, and Alice having left it, Fania replies quietly "They do bar what they call 'leavers' from entry." she says, softly, staying at the back of the group as if waiting for be invited to come closer. After Ophelia suggests that Kort is their best option, and then says that they should maintain their distance from the individual following them, suddenly the sun shifts from its usual color to a dull, lifeless gray with black splotches, and the sky is filled with black clouds, radiating strange wisps of black spoke in every direction. Fafnia squints at the clouds, while Helana looks at them in confusion, and Lily digs in her backpack for something. Lily finally digs out a figurine of Alice and smiles at it, seemingly not noticing the clouds and having lost interest in the conversation, but Helana turns back to the others "Mother, Fafnia, I have researched weather phenomenon extensively while we were quartered at Terrorcastra... I have seen no information regarding thi-" she's suddenly cut off by the tar-like rain beginning to pour from the sky, the very first drop slapping her in the face and causing her to stagger back, rubbing her cheek "... Oww..." she mutters, sniffing softly and forcing back her tears. Meanwhile, Lily was hit by a few drops and doesn't seem to notice for a moment, but after one lands on her hand, she quickly puts away the Alice figure to keep it clean and looks up "Mommy, what's this stuff?" she asks, having missed Helana's comments on the subject. As Lily was speaking, Fafnia steps in front of Helana to block the black rain with her body, seeming not to mind the hits, despite the heavy 'tink' sound that it makes as it hits her armor.

From behind Fafnia, Helana whispers a brief 'thank you' before turning back to her mother "Mother... could we find a place to take shelter from the black rain? It is quite painful, and I doubt it is... benign..." she says, softly, as she raises her lantern shield over her head. Fafnia then adds "The individual that was tailing us is no longer nearby... j-just as a side note..." she whispers, hesitantly. As Fafnia was speaking, the black rain begins to fall in thick sheets, one of which hits Ophelia across the face. Due to her Exo-skin, the blow is severely dulled, but it still feels as though she was slapped across the face with a sack of bricks.

Selvaria/Blue:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

When Selvaria explains that they probably couldn't get away from the spiders, but Elios totally could, Felicity's expression changes to one that seems to say 'oh, right, duh' and she replies "O-oh, I should have probably known that..." before slapping her forehead. When Selvaria then explains to her to follow instructions, stay calm and focused, and that they have the numbers advantage, she nods vigorously and prepares to fight, while Selvaria takes Felix off her shoulder and gives him a kiss, waking him up from his nap and causing him to return her kiss, murring and squeaking happily, seeming to enjoy this method of being awakened. When asked if he would protect Felicity, he jiggles in confirmation, seeming to enjoy the idea of keeping Selvaria's daughter safe.

Just then, the Spiders reach them... annnd leap past them, continuing into the trees while Blanche smirks and Elios cocks her head in confusion. Felicity comments first, confusedly asking "D-did we win?" in a confused tone. Blanche's expression grows smug and she twirls her staff "Well, that was easy. They must have realized that a Spectross and a half were here, and that as a result, they stand no chance." she says, egotistically, to which Elios replies "... What in tarnation must they be runnin' from to ignore us?" she asks, still straining to keep her speech understandable for the others. Suddenly, all at once, the ground shakes and the sky darkens as it fills with black clouds, and the sun itself turns gray with black spots. The black clouds radiate black wisps of smoke, and the ground shakes again. Tar-black rain begins falling from the sky in sheets, sticking to skin, and transforming to the consistency of jello when it hits the ground. When one hits Elios, she lets out a loud "OOF!" and is knocked clear off her horse, tumbling across the ground. Another hits Felicity, who lets out a grunt and takes a step back, and when yet another hits Blanche, she merely looks mildly uncomfortable.

Another sheet of black rain slams into Selvaria's shoulder, hitting her so hard that she's knocked into a nearby tree, slamming through it and knocking the tree over from the force of the impact, all despite how much her black exo-skin dampens the impact. Blanche moves towards Selvaria, but before she can reach her, Felix transforms into a stream of slime and forms a slimy umbrella, blocking the black rain for her as it falls, while his face forms at the base of the umbrella and lets out concerned squeaks. With Selvaria safe under Felix's protective barrier, Blanche quickly grabs Elios and Felicity, lifting them and carrying them over to Selvaria and placing them under Felix, beside Selvaria, while crouching in front of them to block the rain. Wordlessly, she reaches her hand over to Selvaria's shoulder and feels it. After she's done, she finally comments "It is not broken, my dear, do not worry~" she whispers, as she places two fingers on it, the tips glowing green momentarily, after which Selvaria's shoulder feels much better. "There we go~" she says, before looking Felicity up and down, her scan being interrupted by Felicity speaking up "I'm okay, mom, the rain doesn't hurt that much..." she says, to which she responds by nodding and turning to Elios, who was feeling her own shoulder and ribs "Nothin' is broken, don't worry." she says, pain clouding her voice. Her horse soon joins them, the rain seeming to phase through its body completely, leaving it unbothered.

The gathering is interrupted by a thunderous roar, and more shaking ground-shaking. When the group turns towards the sound, they can see a massive black lion creature with a black-furred mane, a snake for a tail, three heads, with the mane around each head being formed by a tangled mass of tentacles. When the creature opens its mouths to roar, a bright green light shines out of it, matching their glowing green eyes.

Blanche blinks a few times, as if expecting the creature to disappear, Felicity stares, her eyes and mouth both open wide in horror, and Elios rolls her eyes and sighs loudly. Blanche starts to say something, but Elios holds out a hand, her palm upward, as she incredulously comments "This ain't even the darklands, WHY IS THAT HERE?!" loudly and angrily.

Amun/MrBlah:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Prairie agrees to speak in Amun's quarters, and when he opens the door for her, Gorgophone enters first, as if he was holding the door for her, and then of course Mena and Aigle allowed Prairie to enter, and followed Amun into the room afterwards, politely. When shown her place, she sat, crossing one leg over the other and folding her hands on her lap. Gorgophone, meanwhile, took a seat on a chair, a decent distance from the others, then propped her feet up on the table, while Mena and Aigle remained near Amun. As Prairie was about to thank him for the seat and holding the door for her, she was interrupted by his pointing out that she would likely be more comfortable in something other than armor. This comment caused Prairie to look down at herself, as if she was unaware that she was wearing her armor "O-oh, you're right..." she starts, to which Gorgophone replies "Oh, don't worry about that. The condition of her clothing and armor implied to me that it was all she had, so I have a change of clothes for her in my pack." she says, before standing up from her spot and fishing the clothes out of the pack, handing a folded up stack of clothes to Prairie, to which she replies "O-oh, thank you... where could I change?" she asks, quickly, to which Gorgophone replies by pointing out the bathroom door "In there. I guessed your build and height, so the clothes should fit." she says, with a smug grin. Prairie then excused herself, leaving for the bathroom. While she was changing, Aigle scowled at Gorgophone "Those were mine, weren't they?" she asks, still barely showing any emotion, as she wasn't the most expressive person. Gorgophone feigns innocence, replying "Why, I would never do such a thing." in an innocent voice, as she sat back down and propped her feet up, which absolutely meant that those were indeed Aigle's clothes.

Prairie soon returns, wearing a black dress with a frilly white tie, a red ribbon around her hips, black stockings, and high-heeled red shoes, which she didn't seem used to, as she kept stumbling very slightly. After she had reached her seat, she once again crosses one leg over the other, and places her hands on her lap, ensuring nobody could see up her dress. Finally, she turns to Amun and says "So... what did you wish to discuss, Lord Amun?" softly.

Lilith/Mark3000:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The portal takes the two of them to the outside of Mortis Somnia, where they found Lady Ash waiting for them, an entire army of Skeletons standing nearby, awaiting their command. As Lilith and her mother appear, she turns her head, though she doesn't seem surprised to see them. "Ah, there you are. Shall we begin?" she asks, in a bored tone. Lilith's mother smiles sweetly and nods "Indeed we are." she says, just before raising both hands, after which she throws them both downwards, crossing her arms. A black spell circle appears and begins expanding, a ray of black light firing up at the sky, while a black spire rises behind her. The sun darkens to gray when the ray of light hits it, with black splotches appearing all over, then black clouds begin forming, black wisps of smoke radiating off of them. Once the black spire is at full size, several massive brown-hided creatures with white bellies and spikes all over their hides rise from the ground, followed by an army of zombies. A monster each takes their place, bending over Lilith, Ash, and Lilith's mother, just in time for black sheets of tar-like rain to begin falling from the sky, the impacts against the ground creating indentations due to the force of the hits.

Despite how powerful the rain seemed, it didn't bother the monsters or the zombies, including Lump and Loaf. Despite their appearance, the monsters didn't seem vicious, as one was now holding a little white bird, sheltering it from the hits, while the one protecting Lilith was making a heart shape with its hands as it looked down at her, smiling derpily, while also being sure to block the rain for Lilith's goblin, who had huddled close to her. Lilith's mother then calls out to everyone "Our Goddess, Tenebris' Stage 1 Negative Storm will force them into cover, now's the time to strike. None shall resist our Goddess' Zalaam's army of the dead." she says, with a smile.

Anastasia/Littlemankitten:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

After the group has finished getting dressed and eating at the cave, they resume their trip to Alteneisen. A few hours after resuming their trip, Ignia suddenly looks up at the sky intently. Indris quickly notices this and comments "What is it?" quickly, and somewhat emotionlessly, which gets Idalia's attention, causing her to speed up, catching up to Alessandra, Anastasia, and Ignia, who were near the front due to their long strides "I don't see anything up there, sis." she says, trying to follow Ignia's gaze. Alessandra remains quiet, but also follows their gazes. Suddenly, the sun turns a deathly gray, clouds gather in the sky at incredible speed, turning black and beginning to radiate black wisps of smoke. Idalia starts to exclaim "What the f-" only to be interrupted by a sheet of black liquid dropping from the sky and striking her in the face, knocking her over and causing her to tumble backwards. That sheet of black rain is then followed by even more, though with the surprise gone, Indris manages to evade the first few drops easily, while Ignia opens a Black Door over their heads, causing the rain to pour into a pocket dimension. Indris quickly throws her chain out, wrapping it around Idalia's leg, and tugging her beneath the black door, where she was safe. Once beneath the door, she sits up, still gripping her face.

Alessandra looks out from beneath the door and finally comments "That is certainly a strange phenomenon... nothing about this has been recorded, as far as I am aware." she says, curiously, not speaking in a singsong voice for once. Ignia, while helping Idalia to her feet, replies "I sense a sore of...l darkness... coming from the rain." she says, her voice sounding ponderous, despite Ignia usually being carefree. Idalia continues to rub her face as she replies "This stuff hits really hard. How are we supposed to get to Alteneisen through weather like this?" she says, anger creeping into her voice, alongside the pain.

[Blue56]

They were as prepared as they could be. As the spiders approach, Selvaria takes aim, waiting until they move to strike for an easier shot. But instead, the monsters simply rush past them overhead. Selvaria turns to watch as they vanish into the forest beyond, just as confused about what had happened as Felicity. Feeling relief wash over her as they are now safe, she turns to smile up at Blanche. "I'm grateful you're here then, darling." Selvaria tells the Spectross with a light giggle. She didn't quite believe Blanche's boasting though, Elios' thought that they were running from something seemed more likely.

The relief wouldn't last long, however, as the ground began to shake and a horrible storm began to brew. Selvaria had never seen anything quite like the black tar that fell from the sky, even as it knocked Elios clean off her horse. That Blanche and Felicity were almost entirely unaffected by it went unnoticed as Selvaria herself took a heavy blow that launched her clean through a nearby tree. Even her new form was ill equipped to deal with such a hit, but thankfully Felix was there to form a barrier to protect her as she lay there groaning in pain. Selvaria smiles weakly up at her beloved pet, taking hold of the base of his umbrella form, grateful for the shelter he provided. Blanche's magic relieves her pain well enough. She tests her shoulder to confirm that there is indeed no lasting damage. "Thank you, darling..." Selvaria whispers with a gentle smile.

Before they can regroup or even figure out what was going on, a nearby roar alerts them to the presence of a new threat. This... monstrosity was far worse than anything they had encountered thus far. This must be what the spiders were running from. Elios obviously recognizes it, since she knew it should be from the darklands. "P-perhaps, because of the war? Battle can drive creatures from their habitats." Selvaria offers as she stares in awe at the beast, before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "The why of it is not important now. We shouldn't try to fight in this storm. I believe we need to make a run for shelter." She states, looking to the rest of them for their thoughts. They couldn't run from the spiders, but those were proving to be faster than this new monster. Perhaps they could outrun this beast and reach a city. "Felix, my love, please shelter us from the storm as long as you can. Elios, how many can your horse carry? That may be faster than going on foot." She doubted that the horse could carry them all, but it clearly wasn't a normal steed, so it was certainly a possibility. If not, they would simply have to go on foot. Elios needed Felix's protection as well, even if Blanche and Felicity were fine.