The Mad God's Masque and Bellicose Ball (IC) (M)

[Aisha deCabre]

"Just call me 'Rynkura', if you will," the tigress replied, smiling in satisfaction as Karazkt took her order to heart.  It took only a minute for him to act and start up the mech, prompting herself and Gareeku to take a few steps back to give him some room.

Even the white wolf had to admit that having him around might be useful after all...if only a bit strange.  But then again, what around them hasn't been strange?  He trusted Rynkura's judgment at least...hopefully, there was a way to get out of there and perhaps get some answers on what happened at the Ball.  And for the moment he was also appreciative of the tiger's insistence to be at equal with her over the situation.  Damned if I'm going to sit and wait, he thought.

Only when it was quiet enough, when the Insectis disappeared from sight, did Gareeku see fit to reply to the tigress's question with a short grin.  "I pretty much doubt that I would have a problem with that, Mistress."  Granted I'd rather have food and a room at an inn, but food is food, survival is survival.

The Healer chuckled.  "As I thought.  Let us start then, my young friend...the sooner the better.  I have my doubts that this storm will stop anytime soon.  First I suppose we'll look around this small dock area for supplies."

Hoping that Karazkt remembered what they said about them exploring the forest ahead, the wolf and the tiger started towards the barrier that separated the greenery from the wet and muddy sand.  Along they way, they hoped that they would at most come across any kind of civilized life, considering the dock and the dilapidated shack that had stood nearby...considering the storm, it looked to not be able to stand the rain from the outside for very long.  And at the least, they hoped to find something to trap for their food and a fresh supply of water.

But just like Gareeku, what was foremost in Rynkura's worries was the ability to find a way out of that place.  Not so much back to the Ball as back to Furrae, though the former would have to supply them with answers if so.  And if Aisha was to be kept waiting forever for the two of them to return...

The dockhouse was the first place to explore though, so they were careful not to let the wind knock any debris onto them as they approached.

[Cogidubnus]

 Both Melodie and Rover were able to fit in the rear of the airship quite easily. The gigantic spaciousness of the flying hanger didn't impress upon until one managed to get very close, by which time it was immediately apparent that this ship was on a gargantuan scale. Even with wings spread wide, they didn't even come close to touching the edges of the ship. It was perhaps one of the very few indoors environments made for a creature of Rover's dimensions.

There were dozens of other giant gryphons there. Most of them were lazing around - sleeping or lying down, and a few of them were playing. There were other figures scattered about. Smaller, four-legged gryphons, and other humanoids were walking between the behemoths (far away from the ones who were playing), and most of the entire hangar was staring at the entrance of the duo with something akin to surprise - mostly surprise. Trepidation and anxiety from the smaller figures, and playful grins from the giant Gryphons.

Through the center, a smaller figure was marching down the middle of the bay, surrounded by a number of others. It took him a fair while to get to the end of the bay, but Mel recognized the black clothing and silver hair long before he got there.

The eyepatch was a new addition, with a scar peeking just past its edges, and his clothing seemed less rakish than it had been - his sword hung at his hip rather than slid underneath a belt, and his trademark hat was missing too. But it was definitely Cog.

"...Mel?" the wolf said, disbelief apparent in his voice. His eyes turned towards the giant gryphon standing next to her. "And...Rover and Tim, right?"
His face seemed more afraid than surprised. He looked at Mel, yellow eyes wide. "How...it's been almost twenty years, Mel. I can't believe you're even alive."

* * *

Cerebus gently pushed the ruby-studded collar back, his face somewhat hiding an exasperated expression. "I think I'll be alright without, thanks. Pretty hard to get lost in grassland like this."

"Er...if I might have a moment of both of your time before we go?" he looked with a somewhat worried expression between lioness and slightly-crazed ringtail. "I know there's some unfinished business between the two of you, but...it's not like what happened in that Castle was a dream or anything." he looked between the two of them, his expression serious. "It happened. As an aftereffect, it teleported us here. A -side effect-. I'm not a mage, but I've...spent time around them, enough to know that this sort of thing doesn't happen unless you...er, one of them called it "breaking space-time" or something. He said it was a big deal."

He paused. "Basically, what I mean to say is, whatever was in there knows who both of you are, and knows who I am too. Killing each other seems like...I don't know. The enemy of my enemy is a convenient ally, yes?"
He made a somewhat helpless gesture. "Mr...Ti'Pallo, was it? I don't know what that mirror showed you, but I notice that you had three sets of wings now. That implies a few things, and I realize that now, reality seems a bit simpler than it did before. But this...Mad God, isn't something that you can simply ignore."

"If that doesn't move you, at least by keeping the other alive you might buy some time to run while he hunts the other person down. And at the very least, I really would rather not die by proxy while you two destroy everything around you."

"So...truce, I guess? For a little while?" Cerebus gave a strained grin, his cigarette hanging off his lip at an angle.

* * *

As Basilisk finally found the door that presumably led to the exit as tried it, he found that it was, somehow expectedly, stuck. The knob turned, but for some reason he simply could not open it, no matter how hard he pushed. Something seemed to be barring it.

* * *

The creature looked up at Stygian, large eyes focusing on the black bat eerily well in the darkness, and stood stock still for a singular, eternal moment. Lips that hid long, sharp fangs curled back - and kept curling back, and back, until it revealed a set of fangs like an angler fish - seemingly endless, needle teeth like knives.

And then it screamed. There was something unnatural about it - far louder than a creature of it's size should have been able to make, the scream echoed down unseen rock halls and rebounded into the room, a sound bloodcurdling enough to freeze one's blood solid. it stopped just as quickly, and like a viper ran at Stygian, a thin line of drool dangling from its mouth.

* * *

"What are you talking about? Nothing makes sense to me." Jeremiah's companion said, crossing an empty street and then crossing again, after looking for cars both times.

It was too very long before they began to near the vortex. It was more impressive up close, the three dimensional nature of the funnel made more apparent when one was looking up at it, rather than just from the side.
It was also apparent that there was something more strange going on. Around where the funnel touched down, instead of more funnel, there was was a tower. A ancient, stones-and-iron tower. Surrounded by a wall. Around this, there was nothing.

Space simply stopped there, like the city was simply wallpaper over something else, and both of them could see an endless, violet void where the street stopped.
At what appeared to be the second story of the tower, a bridge crossed the distance and connected with a building on the other side. The black cat looked at Jeremiah, and shrugged.
"It appears we have to climb the corporate ladder. Money gives you all kinds of bridges, I guess." he said, walking around perimeter of the  reality failure and occasionally attempting to balance on the edge.

They arrived a the building not too shortly thereafter. The sign that hung from the door said "Closed due to Giant Spider Infestation". The name written on the wall said "Muldoon's." As to what they sold, it was an apparent mystery.
"Giant spiders! That's not that bad." the black cat said. "Giant ladybugs, those are terrifying. So many spots."

[Lisky]

Bas approached the metal framed, wood and metal door.  The windows to either side were dusted and frosted over on both sides.  He couldn't make out anything besides a hazy-brown glaze through them.  He tried the door, slowly. The nob turned, sure enough, but, he pressed, and the door moved before it touched some immovable object.  Adding more pressure, the door didn't seem to budge any further.

The door was one more frustration in a rather long-ish list that had been slowly compiling... it was time for a rather cathartic release.  Sliding the shield off, he grew both sets of claws.  The cheap aluminum and particle board proved no match for demonic strength.  The hinges creaked as Bas pulled against them.  Bolts flexed, then failed, metal bent, and the frame distorted as Basilisk applied additional pressure.  In a titanic *CRACK* the entire frame warped, the bolts shattered or de-threaded, and the demon gently set the door down against the adjacent wall after not so surgically removing it from the wall.  He grabbed his shield, and a broad grin grew across his lips, "much better" he said to no one in particular.

After re-equipping the shield, Bas peeked outside to see what had blocked the door to begin with.

[Stygian]

The bat stood watching the slouching thing impassively as it tensed, straightening just the slightest and then freezing solid for an instant. He only started to move just before the thing screamed, but there was barely any time to react; it forced out the beginning of the sound in something akin to a bark, instantly reaching full volume, and then drew it out into a long, marrow-rending cry. Stygian's knuckles whitened even past their already pale coloration, his ears almost flat against his skull, and he bared his teeth in a contemptuous grimace. If he had counted on anything, it was clear that things had just got out of hand.
  The thing's hideous face opened up, and dozens of glistening, needle-pointed teeth parted as it hurtled forward, propelling itself toward the bat and the jackal with mindless, reckless ferocity. Stygian put one hand in his pocket, wedged his cigarette in the corner of his mouth with the other, and...
  'B̀̕u҉̶ŗ̸̀̕ń͢͞.̴ '
  The word departed the bat's mouth smoothly, but the sound didn't quite seem to correspond to the movements of his lips. And there didn't seem to be just one voice; behind the bat's own, there was a hissing, dark and crackling something that formed a complex harmony out of what he spoke. There was a brief, weak amber light, and Elizabeth though she could see symbols in the air, flickering like fire. That glowing outline hinted at the edge of vision, and for a moment she thought she felt a draft brush through her fur. And then, the thing attacking them incinerated mid-step.
  It was both fascinating and frightening to watch. The snarling thing didn't quite stop, or burst into flame, or explode. It just seemed to hit something right in the middle of its raging dash, like a gust of wind which hindered its advance and held it up for a moment. As it did, its skin charred and stripped like paper, its flesh turning to cinders behind it with unnatural speed. In the space of little more than a second, the thing was scoured clean right down to cracking, blackened bones, sizzling between unclean flames and the ash of flesh that would not hold it together anymore. It fell apart in a cloud of dust just steps away from the bat's feet.
  Stygian exhaled a long waft of smoke, adding to the acrid smell that now filled the cave.
  'Well, shit,' he said. He turned his eyes back to Elizabeth, a dour look on his face. 'That puts a dent in things, I believe. I suggest we move from here.'

- -

Elyse was right in the middle of silently cursing Baseel a bit for taking away his aid of sensory input, searching her way after the Demon toward the exit, when she felt a tingle of something a bit off, and stopped. Then she speeded up her steps.
   'You know, it might have been that you just needed to pull, not push,' the bat said sarcastically, as she rounded a corner and caught a glimpse of what Bas had done to the door. She tilted her head a bit. 'And do you know this one?'

[Mel Dragonkitty]

When Mel saw the denizens of the airship she landed with more trepidation than eagerness. Giant gryphons were so territorial she couldn't imagine how so many came to be in one place. And the one thing sure to set giant gryphons off was a dragon in their territory. Nervous, but desperate for information she landed lightly, ready to spring back into the sky at the first sign the giants were agitated. She was a bit confused when it was their smaller brethren who seemed more disturbed by her arrival. She shifted a bit from foot to foot, debating whether to stay or go when she saw a smaller figure approaching, apparently an authority on the ship.

Mel shifted to her smaller form, a petite snow leopard with oversized white leathery wings. She also changed from her ball gown to her favorite outfit. The soft grey suede coat was reassuring in an unfamiliar world. She cheered up a bit when she realized it was a familiar figure approaching, yet not familiar. Just a few minutes ago Cog had been very dapper in his formal outfit, yet he was a little ragged looking now. Still, she started forward to give her friend a hug until the look of fear on his face stopped her in mid-step. Things were evidently odder than she knew. "Twenty years? Cog, it can not have been much more than twenty minutes since I saw you at the ball, talking to that poor deranged cubi with the fluffy tail."

Her own fluffy tail swished as she shook her head. This was no time to argue details, "I really need to find out where I am so I can get home and find my grandfather. Grampa is the only one who can straighten Gramma out. I need to get him back to the castle."

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace paused and turned to look over her shoulder at Ti'Paollo's antics, then at Cerebus. Her ears perked up, and her whiskers spread in an alert and friendly expression, but when she spoke, her voice was icy cold, and calm. "I already gave m' word t' th' General there," she said, "m' contract's on hold, at least 'till we get out o' this. I'll co-op'rate when we need t' do." The lioness made no mention of liking it, or of trusting either of them. She also somehow neglected to say anything about including the Undead jackal in her agreement with the 'Cubi. Not until she knew a lot more about him, anyway.

Andrace continued to look, not quite staring, at Cerebus for another couple of seconds, then she turned and resumed her stalk through the long grass, following her nose to the source of the woodsmoke scent. Her tailtip jerked twice from side to side, then held still, and one ear again turned back to make sure the others were following her.

[Azlan]

Kiet stopped his jovial forward momentum to turn towards the jackal for a moment, "TiPaollo.  T...i...P...A...O...L...L...O, tie-paul-low."  He smirked with a toothy grin, closing his eyes as he continued, "who Paul is and why you want to tie him down low is your own business... but really, in all seriousness it isn't that hard.  I would guess that it is just Paollo again, since he seems to have left me and I'm pretty sure it was a re-manifestation rather than a dissipation of his spirit."

He continued walking with Cerebus as he spoke, "really, the Mad God is Shinda's problem in reality, or if its unlucky, all this chaos it is creating will draw the attention of Shazarelamith and she will consume it.  Maybe we will be lucky and Luna will defeat him, but that does not help us here.  We need to get out of this... well, you know what I'm talking about, and figure out how to solve this problem so I can get back to the important things in my life."  The ringtail gave the jackal a knowing little smile.

He attempted to be as serious as he could on the next subject, "don't worry, I intend to cooperate and do whatever I can until we get out of this.  As Andrace has said, she gave her word and I mine.  I suspect she doesn't like to have to do this, but I believe I can trust her until this is cleared up.  After all, she fails if something else kills me, it has to be her hand or action that leads to my demise.  I'm not sure her contract will matter if the mad god destroys Luna, as it is the old hag's petty problem and not Icewing clan's."

Kiet whistled innocently for a moment as he walked, "don't worry about us, we have that cooperative honor thing going on for now.  Worry about yourself more, it is hard to trust you and I'm not aware of any truces made between any of us regarding you."

Turning again to Cerebus, a not so subtle grin of sharp teeth graced the muzzle of the little ringtail, the kind a predator gives to another, showing its resolve and tools in case of a conflict.  Nasty, sharp little teeth, but not significantly impressive for natural weaponry.  Not even his claws were tremendous, mostly due to his size, but it was the thin halo of his hidden, three sets of wings that made the display more impressive.  Turning back, he jogged a bit to catch up to Andrace, and his aura had dissipated long before he reached her.

"Habitation... so how do you want to do this?  Three, hostile to one another, travelers aren't going to have much luck with locals."

[Cogidubnus]

 Cog stood silent at Melodie's statement, disbelief still apparent on his face. The sound of the no-doubt massive engines that kept the airship running thrummed loudly in the background, a dull droning that kept the otherwise silent hangar from awkward quietness.

The wolf crossed the distance between them and hugged her, his chin on her shoulder. The dragoness heard him take a deep breath.

"Mel...Mel, we thought we'd never see you again. It's been twenty years, Mel." he said in her ear. Cog stepped back just a moment later, looking up at Rover. "Barely anyone survived that ball. Luna...no one has seen Luna. Or that deranged Cubi, or...a lot of people. That ball changed a lot of things."

His head was tilted, and he looked back down at the dragoness. The aides behind him were exchanging glances, although it seemed they hadn't quite pieced together what was going on yet. The giant gryphons seemed to be delicately being distracted by smaller gryphons and other handlers.
"Mel, I don't know how to say this but no one has heard from the Icewing clan since that ball. Ships that have gone north haven't been seen again. The last one to go said they saw an airship frozen in the ice, and turned back. The Icewings have been quiet. And we're a long way from the North..." he rubbed the back of his head, looking around the room.

"We're, ah, over the ocean right now, but we're heading south. I...um, well, I guess this is somewhat strange, but I'm a captain now." he grinned sheepishly. "Or, well, an Admiral now, I guess." he paused a beat, looking outside at the sky. "This is the Lazuli, flagship of a group of twenty. It's a long story."

* * *

The ashes on the floor stirred, a slight breeze flowing over the cavern stones. It indicated that they were close to the surface, at least, but the numerous tunnels leading from the chamber they were in provided no clues as to which. There could be multiple paths to the surface, or they might find themselves going deeper without knowing it.

Even Stygian's bat-ears heard nothing except the low whisper of wind in this place. The chanting in the distance, ceased.

A singular scream echoed from some far chamber, and was cut short.

* * *

Cerebus's eyes widened at the lioness's and ringtail's statements, and he averted his gaze towards the forest line as he nervously fiddled with his cigarette, coughing.
Until they stopped paying attention. He took a drag, and gave a small smile.

He wasn't worried about them killing him - well, he wasn't worried about the lioness killing him. The ringtail seemed a bit off in the head, but he seemed nice enough, if he was on a hair trigger. He'd met and dealt with such creatures before, and although it seemed like they were insane, it was more that they simply had different goals. And he couldn't think of anything the creature would benefit from his death. Which just meant that he was pretty sure that he wouldn't kill him.

"Shazarelamith. I think if that happens we all have bigger problems." he muttered quietly to himself. "Hell, why not invite the One who Gnaws in the Darkness, or the crawler between chaos, or the ancient Lord of the Deep. The universe has problems then. At least this is a terrestrial god..."

The three of them walked for some time, through the field and then through a forest, where the leaves overhead whispered so loudly that conversation was practically drowned out in the wind. Not too long after that, however, they came to the crest of a hill, and there in front of them was a town. It was small, and clearly agrarian in nature - the grasslands around had been cleared, and wheat had been planted in it's place - although there was no wheat left. It appeared the harvest was done.

The middle of the town, however, was bustling with activity. Even from this distance, they could see giant kegs rolled out into the street, and a strange effigy - a giant wolf, made of straw, sitting in the middle of the street.

* * *

Before Bask could retort to the bat's statement, there was a low, yet somehow terrifyingly loud growl from the doorway. A wall of white moved out of sight, and was promptly replaced by a dragon's head. Crystal eyes locked on to the demon's form.
"You!"

"What did you do?!" the voice said. It was the sort of deep that one associated with cement mixers, the sound something like a bag of rocks being shifted around a voicebox instead of muscles and membrane. It was also clearly outraged.

* * *

As the two of them approached, the dockhouse seemed abandoned, appearing to be comprised more of driftwood than any respectable timber. A small, four-squared window looked out over the beach, and they could see that on the other side that faced the sea, a round porthole was still intact, set high up on the shack's wall.
The door, however, was locked. Pathetically, of course - a large, bronze padlock was fastened around wood that looked about ready to rot off and float away at sea.

Lightning forked through the air and struck the sea not a mile from them, easily within sight. An earsplitting boom rattled the boards underneath them.

  * * *

Karazkt's diggermech seemed to be in fine shape, and it did it's job very well, pushing through the dirt like creamy butter. The jungle's roots didn't go very deep either, so it seemed that it would be fairly smooth sailing.
Volcanic islands, however, don't have very thick soil. He hit rock quickly. But there was something odd about it.

He could hear water through it. It could be an aquafir, but it sounded more like...running water. Like a river. For some reason, it made him uneasy.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

As the group approached, and Mel switched to her smaller form, Tim dropped lightly from Rover's shoulder, landing beside the Icewing dragoness almost silently, folding her wings out of the way under her cloak. Her travelling cloak; neither her nor Rover had noticed, but they weren't in their ball clothes anymore, either. She frowned down at her outfit, then smoothed her features and composed herself to wait for the grey wolf, Cog (apparently), to introduce himself. He seemed... vaguely familiar, somehow. Had he been at the ball? And how the heck did he know who they were? She was fairly certain she hadn't been introduced to him; if nothing else, the eyepatch was distinctive enough.

He had mentioned twenty years, though, and a number of missing persons. Perhaps he'd picked up their names and descriptions from that. Although that didn't explain the immediate identification; maybe the presence of the dragon they were with, and jumping to conclusions? It was all very confusing. If she could just get a few minutes to think about things, she might even have a chance to catch up, as it were...


Rover, given that they were standing in the entranceway, had sunk to a prone position, head cocked to one side, one large eyeball watching the approaching wolf with his entourage, the other keeping track of the other giant gryphons. If he was lucky, they might want to play. And he was still miffed about losing out on the last set of playmates, just when things had got to be interesting...

[Yugo]

Esme had been in the middle of making some kind of remark about the sudden wrenching and tearing of wood from beyond her field of vision when she rounded the corner. Whatever the burly demon that called himself Bas was up to was paltry compared to what awaited her. The words that the angel had been forming caught in her throat as her eyes took in the rather frightening image on the other side of the destroyed doorway. The crystalline blue lenses set into the dragon's head seemed to capture her gaze, holding her transfixed. The young angel suddenly felt somewhat helpless before the raw unbridled strength she knew lurked behind those reptilian eyes.

She let her vision stray over to the tall snowy bat next to her, raising her eyebrows in a worried and questioning expression. "I hope you have a way to handle this, because I sure as hell don't," she whispered under her breath. If she felt this intimidated even this far away from the dragon's deadly reach, she could only imagine what Bas felt at the moment. Esme certainly did not envy him his current position as it was, as he was responsible for the dragon's outrage.

[Lisky]

Baseel froze in place at the roar.  He held his hands up defensively, returning the claws to fingers, and putting up as best of a mask as he could.  With a face that still showed trace amounts of fear that had the demon's pulse skyrocketing.  He said with only the slightest of quiver in his voice, "I.... I didn't do anything.  I was at the ball, being flirted with.  Got launched into the orchestra's balcony... and woke up here..."   He paused, trying to catch his breath.  Fear was starting to cloud his thoughts and judgments.

He inched back towards the pair of women behind him, keeping his movement slow, and clearly in Brunhilda's field of view.  He could cower, but that would be a sign of severe weakness, so very un-demon-like.  He stopped his backwards movements as he started to focus, un-clouding his mind.  He knew fighting was a loosing proposition, however, sincerity would be his ally.  Individual honor, as well as a racial tendency towards truthfulness would help back his words. He continued thinking 'It is exceptionally rare for a demon to lie, under any circumstance.  Another sign of weakness, and one that follows a particular individual to the grave.'  He inched forward, slightly less terrified, but still quite shaken.  "I am as lost, if not more so, than you."  

He looked over the dragon, observing what features he could see through the empty door frame.  Familiar features stared back as he noted similar marks and scars to those he'd seen while flying over the dark cloud.  His eyes locked back onto hers.  "I will honestly admit, i am not powerful enough to do something like what is happening here. Or, at least, not that i'm aware of.  If there is something you wish of me, however, it seems you have me at a bit of a disadvantage." Taking a formal bow, "i am at your disposal, madam."

[Stygian]

Elyse was terrified, but apart from her ears which had twisted almost a full 180 degrees around and a certain twitching quiver of her very short tail, she didn't show it in the least. The blasting voice had done its part to the intimidation, but mainly it had been the realization that it was a Dragon they were facing that had caused fear to well up in her. But the larger creature seemed as clueless and as impotent to derive what place they were in and to fight whatever had put them there, which meant that dragon though she were she couldn't be that powerful. At least, that's what Elyse kept trying to tell herself, while trying to quench the little voice in the back of her head that kept saying that in that case, it might just be that whatever did this is only that much more powerful than even a dragon...
  'We didn't do anything,' the bat responded, with a hint of hauteur in her voice, but not too much. 'We thought you were in charge of what was happening at the ball. And when I say "you" I mean "you Icewings". I'd just like you to know that if this is all some poor joke on your clan's part...'
  The bat let the sentence hang, and for a moment the air was full of indignation and hesitation. But, as she fixed her yellow irises on the Dragon's chilly blue, there was a profoundly meaningful twinkle deep in them that said: Don't shout, don't blow up, don't fly off the handle in any way. Just play along and mirror me and at least give an image of rising above this deal and assuming some control, because we seem to be up the creek with no paddle, and we really need to lower the levels of stress and insecurity and anger here.

[Aisha deCabre]

The disheveled dockhouse wasn't much to look at, at least from the outside.  With the downpour almost all but forgotten, the focused healer and warrior looked over the place whilst the sound of the digger mech all but seemed to disappear nearby.

"Looks like this place has seen better days," Gareeku muttered, sparing the glass window a curious tap or two.

Rynkura nodded with agreement, having noticed the padlock on the door.  "This entire island seems to have seen better days, my young friend.  At least that is what it feels like.  Were I not preoccupied with other worries, I daresay I would like to spend some time here just to solve its mysteries."

With a hum, the tigress took the bronze padlock in a paw and studied its marred, rusted surface.  The handle it was attached to felt rather weak, as if it were about to snap off with one strong tug.

As if he were reading her thoughts, Gareeku's voice was heard not a moment later, along with the sound of metal sliding out of a protective sheath.  "I got it."

Rynkura backed up a couple of steps as the wolf approached the door with his sword raised.  With a downward slash and a clang, the old lock fell to the ground.

The tiger grinned.  "Ever the subtle one.  Well, let us see what's inside, then."

Neither of them thought themselves to be too cautious around what they figured was an empty shack, especially a locked one.  Still, it didn't hurt for the wolf to still have his sword in hand and Rynkura with her staff nearby as they entered, out of the rain but not out of hearing range of the lightning storm outside.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel hugged Cog back, but it was automatic, her mind a blank. It was impossible for her to even imagine her entire family missing they were such a major part of her life. But even as her thoughts refused to come other parts of her mind began pulsing with hot sharp frightening things that she didn't dare acknowledge. For a long moment she was stuck in place, unable to think and not daring to feel. Finally her brain latched onto the thought that if she had somehow been missing for 20 years then her family might be too. She would figure this out and find where everyone was. After all, dragons were known to have meetings that lasted longer than 20 years.

Her rationalizations firmly in place Mel could listen to Cog again. "An Admiral? I never knew you had naval aspirations my friend. How did that happen?"

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace paused for a moment on the edge of the clearing, looking intently at the village as Ti'Paollo trotted up beside her. The wind noise had been too much for easy conversation in the forest, but now she could hear what the others were saying. She turned to look at the 'Cubi with a bright, cheerful smile that only seemed to be a little bit forced. "Ah, but by th' time we get there, we'll be th' best o' friends, won't we?" With a swish of her tail, the lioness twirled round and came between the 'Cubi and the jackal, draping an arm over each of their shoulders in a friendly, easy manner. It probably didn't matter in either case that her claws were now only inches from sensitive nerve complexes, major blood vessels and windpipes. "Ain't that right, dead guy who ain't told me his name yet?" she added, turning the full force of her cheerfulness on the Undead jackal.

"Oh, an' th' locals prob'ly know we're here," she continued as she walked forward into the clearing, towing the others along with her. "Little places like this don't last long out in th' back o' beyond if they don't put out lookouts. I'd bet there's a few watchin' us right now, if they value their tails."

The big structure going up in the middle of the village gave her something to think about as she approached. Now she remembered reading an old journal in the family library, and coming across a footnote that mentioned wicker wolves being made at certain times of the year by remote villages. But she couldn't remember any of the details. Was it anything to do with "charming rustic folklore traditions", as it was usually described in tourist brochures...?

[Boog]

Staring into the bleak unknowable void made Jeremiah's eyes hurt. While the basic laws of physics were being violated and the warning of deadly spiders got some attention, this seemed like the most pressing concern. He squinched his eyes shut and rubbed them, pulling his coat up around his face to allow him to only see the tower.
"Splendid. Peachy. Superb. Dandy. Fucktastic." Each word punctuated by one of Jeremiah's feet hitting the stairs up to the door. He stopped and turned around quizzically, one hand on the door.
"Ladybugs? Really?"

[Cogidubnus]

 The one-eyed cat nodded. "Completely terrifying, my friend. First it's quaint supermarkets, then shopping centers, and suddenly you're eating expensive noodle soup beneath a portrait of some asinine ladybug named Tso."

The cat paused. " It's delicious, but terrifying."

The door swung open slowly, and the two of them made their way into the darkened foyer. To say that it was infested with cobwebs would be an understatement. Giant, whispy strands of silk floated and danced in the sudden breeze, covered with dust and largely useless, but nonetheless eerily larger than any web that the frog had seen before.

Tom reached into his coat and brought out a long knife, and readied his pistol in the other. He took a step forward, and began to cut through the first of the webs.

"If you die, can I have your stuff?" he said, the knife sliding through the webs like butter. "I mean, that's a nice jacket. I've always liked plaid."

* * *

Rover saw the other gryphon's looking back at him - and to his surprise, there was an ineffable twinkling there that he hadn't seen in the eyes of another gryphon before.

"Never really did." Cog said, looking out behind Mel at the sky behind her. "But, I won't deny, there is something...strange, about the sky that grows on you."
He looked back at her. "But that's not how this happened. Mel, a lot of people died in that castle. A lot of important people. The number of revolutions in the first month alone would astound you."

"It's getting better, but things are still very delicate. And there is a real problem to the south."

Cog smiled at the dragoness. "The King of Seven Kingdoms, he is called. Johan Cross. A relative unknown who usurped the throne of one Kingdom, and has somehow managed to defeat seven more."
Cog paused. It seemed like he was considering something, but then shook his head. "I was one of the few survivors of that mess of a party. In the chaos following it, there were a lot of people with questions, and a lot more who didn't believe a word I said and wanted me dead."

He looked at the sky. "There was one, though, a Queen, who gave me this ship and told me to flee. So I did. And now, twenty years later, in payment, and as one of the few who survived the event that created this, to stop him. And here I am."

His started at the clouds, and at the sea below them. "If you'd like, Melodie, we can go to the North. But...I'm not in a position to go now myself." he turned to look at the dragon. "And frankly, I could use your help. If you can spare it."

* * *

The dragoness fixed at Elyse with one crystal-blue eye. She waiting until the bat was done, and then fixed her eyes on the hapless demon again.
She suddenly began to shrink, slowly at first and then faster, shapeshifting into something else. It was apparent what in a few moments.

What could only be described as a bunny - for rabbits are lean, harsh, and tend to not be fluffy - stood in battle regalia, with a cigar clenched in her mouth and a warhammer slung over her shoulder. She was operatic in a few senses of the word. She was fluffy, curvaceous, and short. Her fur was white.

  She stalked up to Bask, her head barely up to his chest. The cigar smouldered. "I have no idea what's going on." she said, giving Elyse a measured look. "But I don't fucking like it."
"This isn't a joke. And I don't know where this is. It looks like a fucking desert, but it's not any fucking desert I've been to and I've been to a fucking lot of them." she glowered. "Like a fucking wizard exploded here or something. Fuck."

She took a deep breath. "We need to find a way back, now. Teleportation magic isn't working. And this place is...huge. Miles and miles of city. All like this." She blinked.
"The Icewings are responsible for this. I will escort you out and then find the mistress." she nodded once. She looked up at Bask, and then Elyse and then Esme.

"First, who the fuck are all you people. Besides prettyboy here. I already fucking met him."

* * *

The Jackal took the hand with claws aimed at his throat, and raised it to his lips, kissing it. "My dear, I have forsworn the taste of living flesh, but a sweetmeat such as yourself makes me reconsider."
He slipped out of her arm. "My name is Cerebus. You can call me Cerebus." He said, smiling.

"I'm sure there are folks watching us." he said, taking out another cigarette. "However, I'm sure that won't be a problem, as we mean no harm. And some alcohol might be nice. You know, I have a doctors note for that sort of thing. At least two gallons a week." he said, giving the other two a grin.

* * *

Surprisingly, the shack had managed to keep the water out despite a long period of neglect. There were a few damp spots on the floor, but the majority of the place was dry. And there were some very interesting things there.
Sea charts covered one table, with a map hung on the wall above them. A telescope, compass, sextant and rock alternatively kept the chart open. There was a hammock on the other side of the shack, and a locked chest at one end. The lock on this chest seemed much tougher and better preserved, the iron only barely rusted and still strong. The chest, however, was slowly beginning to rot.

The map, however, was interesting. It seemed to be a map of the island, there was writing all over it, seemingly at random. Red ink scrawled a circle over the water in one place, where it circled what seemed to be a clearing in the jungle the next.
There seemed to be a volcano at the center of the Island as well. It too was circled, along with the question
- "Where are they coming from?"

Rynkura looked back, and noticed a cutlass still in it's sheath hanging by the doorway. As she looked through the doorway, however, she noticed a reef far, far in the distance. And almost thought she saw something move on it.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Tim raised one paw, at that point.

"Ah... I don't wish to intrude, but... can this Cross fellow count? I mean, I was always taught that one plus seven makes eight... Anyway, if I understand you correctly, you're saying that we can go where we like... but that you and yours are heading into battle? To defeat evil, right wrongs, and make the world a better place, as the old saying has it?" She waved her paw at Mel. "And you want... Mel..." She paused for a moment, grasping for the name. Then the mention earlier of Luna, and the Icewing clan, caused certain pennies to drop. She gulped, and went on, somewhat uncertainly; the Icewings were widely known, and Luna was not someone to cross. "Mel...  Icewing? here to come with you?" Back on surer ground now, she went on. "Well, I dunno what Mel will choose, but the two of us don't have anywhere else we need to be. I'm not sure how much help I can be, but Rover's usually pretty helpful. If you can get him going in the right direction." She turned to smile at her charge, who wasn't there.

She turned back with a bright and patently false cheery smile fixed on her face. "Er... Excuse me a moment."

Turning away, the smile slipped from her face like jelly nailed to a wall, being replaced with a tightly furious expression. Under her breath, she was muttering "I'll kill him. I swear I'll kill him. I don't care if it takes me the rest of my life, I'll work out a way..." while casting around to see where he'd gone...



In the background of the conversation, Rover had been bored to start with; the fight hadn't been there, things had gone from bad, with no fight, to worse, with boring chatter. He glanced around, not moving his head much, just spinning his enormous eyeballs around, taking in the expanse of the room they were in. He'd noticed the other gryphons, but Tim wouldn't have let him go play, no matter how fun they looked. Now that she was distracted, though...

He carefully, deftly, and, above all, silently, slunk away from the doorway where the conversation was being held. Using the pads of his enormous paws to cushion his hefty weight, it still seemed unnatural to have something that large slink that noiselessly around to where the playing was going on...

[Boog]

"It's not plaid, it's tweed," Jeremiah huffed, calling up some illusionary light to help see through the gloom, "And no, this was my grandad's coat. If I die it goes to my cousin Clarice. If she dies it goes to his friend Hugo. There's a system." The frog flicked out his own knife, trying to keep an eye on anything that may contain giant spiders. "So, didn't get your name. If you have one. What do you do when you're not... Doing this stuff?" He whirled on something he saw out of the corner of his vision, which turned out to be a drifting fragment of webbing from the cat's vigorous slashing, and sighed. "Got any family? A legal guardian they call when you go off on your own?"

[Azlan]

The ringtail huffed with a slight grin on his little muzzle in response to Cerebus's antics with Andrace, "you two should find a private room, if there is an inn here.  Otherwise you could use a hayloft in one of the barns."

Looking about the town before them, he did not seem concerned with the lioness's arm about his shoulders in obvious body language or vocal tone.  However, Andrace could sense the small amount of unconcealed tension in his shoulders.  Such a thing was unavoidable, it was instinct, and no matter how much he believed her word of honor, she was still a heinous murderess and predator.

With an even, low voice he spoke to both of them, "if we are going to be this 'chummy' when we go down there, I suggest you both use the familiar and call me Kiet.  The absence of a moniker or continued use of the family name will be suspect.  Only strangers, military, aristocrats or other like types use the formal so much among themselves.  Another note, both Cerebus and myself are going to need to lose our high-born cant as it were.  We need not be as colloquial as... Annie here, but a bit more conventional."

Focusing his eyes on the wicker wolf, Kiet could only wonder what it was used for.  Modern beings didn't tend to practice the old religions where such things were meaningful, "I dun know what that wicker wolf s'about, but gotta be some kinda festival.  So lets go down there."   

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace's smile back at Cerebus seemed to be honestly open and friendly. She didn't mind Undead, as long as they behaved themselves. If they didn't, then she'd get to know them — briefly — in a professional capacity. Although this particular Undead was certainly annoying at times. At least the jackal wasn't overly grabby with his courtly manners, unlike that fluffheaded idiot in the tavern at Sennen Cove a couple of months ago. His broken wrist should have healed by now.

The lioness paused for a moment at Ti'Paollo's slightly suggestive suggestion. Her gently swishing tail stopped with a distinct kink in the middle. Then she gave an amused snort and glanced at the jackal. "Sorry t' disappoint, Cerebus," she said with a wink that the 'Cubi couldn't see, "but I like m' guys t' have at least a pulse — a girl's gotta have some standards. On th' other hand... y' know us Adventurer types, sometimes we're attracted t' powerful folk... ain't that right, Kietypoo?" She ruffled the 'Cubi's hair and played with his nearside ear for a few seconds before striding on towards the village, still towing the others along with her. Somehow she'd managed to say that last with a straight face, and without making the traditional gesture of sticking her fingers down the back of her throat.

[Aisha deCabre]

Rynkura wasn't too surprised at the condition of the shack's interior...but the things inside did catch her eye, and for a moment made her wonder if the two of them should really have been looking inside what had to be someone's home and shelter.

It was certainly had the reminiscent quality of being a seafarer, though.  The maps on the tables made her head tilt in curiosity, and she took a closer look at them to see if she could discern where they were.

"Blood," she cursed lowly.  "I do not believe I recognize any of these areas.  I have been many places in Furrae, but none so deserted..."

Then her eyes wandered over the chest in the room.  The lock was of better quality, but the wood of the chest looked as if it could be split by a few good, strong swings.  Again hesitance gripped the tiger.  This was someone's home...but they had no way of knowing if they were still out there, or even if they were alive.

With a half-thoughtful hum, she then glanced at the cutlass hanging nearby.  Well, if they had wandered off, perhaps they would have taken that with them.  Or should have.  As the tigress was an avid blade collector, she couldn't help but reach for the sword and slide it out of the sheath to check its quality.

Her eyes only wandered briefly to the open doorway while she did so.  The ocean looked rather torrential, but for the moment the storm was calm.  Such effects could give the eyes some brief illusions...such as making the tiger think that something was actually out over--or was it under?--the water.

She shook her head.  This is not the time for that foolishness again...I still have to find out who played tricks on me in the library, whence we return.

Turning back around, Rynkura glanced at the maps, then at Gareeku.  "Well, young friend, what do you think?  We could take the map with us and find that clearing, it seems as good a place as any to investigate.  I wonder if we should be near the volcano however...whatever this 'they' are that our mysterious beach keeper was talking about...ominous rumblings.  Such a bother."

The red scrawling over the water was interesting, too.  Briefly, Rynkura wondered if she really did see anything...

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel paused a long moment, torn between emotions when Cog asked her to help with his war. On the one hand, in a most ungrown-up sort of way, she wanted her grandpa. On the other hand Cog said this event was linked to the ball, and as an Icewing, even the littlest one, she felt a certain amount of responsibility as well as wanting to help a friend. With a deep breath she said, "I will come along. Perhaps we will come across one of my grandfather's relatives who knows what is going on."

That cheered her up a bit. Grandfather's brother was sure to help her hunt for the family if she could find him. The problem with storm dragons was that living on clouds make them a bit difficult to locate.

[Azlan]

Kiet's large fluffy tail puffed up and whipped about as Andrace teased the ancient Cubi.  Despite his relationship with the assassin, he was still barely able to conceal his reaction.  The lioness won a point to be sure.

Narrowing his gaze to the jackal as his large fluffy tail stood up rather straight with the tip whipping back and forth.  He made a small motion across his mouth, a 'zip it' motion, "let's go before Annie over acts."

[Gareeku]

After removing the lock from the door with his sword, the wolf heard the tigress' comment and smirked. "Subtlety is my speciality, mistress."

Stepping inside the shack with Rynkura, Gareeku was somewhat surprised to discover that, apart from the odd patches of dampness here and there, the inside of the shack was dry. Looking around, the wolf too could see that it appeared to be the home of a seafarer. However, unlike Rynkura, Gareeku at that moment had no qualms about stepping into what appeared to be someone's home. To him, that was the least of his concerns.

Upon eyeing the locked chest, the wolf could see that, unlike on the door, the lock on the container was much more secure. The wood that the chest was made of, on the other hand, definitely looked to be rotting, catching the lupine's curiosity somewhat.

...Could probably get that chest open with a blade...probably would be taking the piss somewhat though, having basically broken into what looks like someone's home an' all...

Listening to Rynkura comment on what was on the map, Gareeku couldn't help but notice the tigress look out the window that overlooked the ocean for a few seconds. Her look was like she had seen something. Turning his head and glancing out the window as well, the wolf couldn't really see anything himself, but he remained wary.

"Yeah. You could say that. As for where to go, the only place that seems best would be the clearing, and taking the map with us certainly wouldn't hurt." Gareeku replied, going with what seemed to him to be the only option. Apart from his curiosity making him wonder what was in that chest, there was nothing else in the shack that seemed to be of interest. Gareeku had, however, noticed Rynkura examine the cutlass. "And if I were you, I'd hang on to that if it's decent enough. Never know when you might need it."

[Aisha deCabre]

Rynkura nodded in agreement upon hearing Gareeku's confirmation, picking up the map and inspecting it a little more before neatly rolling it up.  "Then I believe we have our destination.  I just hope that our Insectis friend will be okay without us until we return.  He does know that we were hoping to explore, at least.  As for what we may find in the jungle, I think you and I shall be more than enough for them, aye?" she grinned.

Upon mention of the cutlass, the tigress regarded it for a second before slinging it over her shoulder to rest where it could be drawn from behind.  "You are right, of course.  It should be of well enough quality, protected by the sheath for a while.  The weapon may very well be useful.  And if not, it shall look quite nice in my blade collection nonetheless," she chuckled, before turning thoughtful.  "This place looks very well enough to have been abandoned, so...I say we use what we find to our advantage.  It is best in such circumstances to abandon doubt."

At least to the tigress, her words did make a ring of sense.  Who knew what time and place they had ended up...whether or not the fates were now erring on the side of their deaths.  Rynkura would do everything she could to stay one step ahead of that.

As she finished the sentence, the Healer's eyes wandered to the decrepit chest.  She couldn't help but notice Gareeku's curiosity to it as well. "Let us see what is in here first, shall we?  And then we can make our journey."  She raised the point of her staff and brought it back down upon it, trying to see how well the thing could splinter.

Once the business was dealt with, then it would be time to venture forth, the map's trail hopefully having changed little since last used.

[techmaster-glitch]

   Karazk'ts mech pushed through the soft, wet soil easily. As he went, he constantly applied bits of Earth magic to compact and solidify the "walls" he made as he tunneled, so that the whole thing wouldn't collapse. Rather quickly, Karazkt encountered a layer of rock, and a little examination determined it to be volcanic. Rather strange, but certainly no stranger than everything else that had happened. At least this was familiar.
   Although Karazkt's mech could keep going and bore its way through the rock, Karazkt decided that, for simple shelter, he was at an adequate depth, and the rock would make a nice floor. However, with only a mech-sized hole behind him, this excavation wasn't an ideal shelter yet.
   Karazkt then went to work widening the end of the hole where he was. Going in circles, he pushed the wall of soil out farther, thickening and strengthening it in the process. Soon enough, he had a decent-sized cavern that could house the mech several times over, providing plenty of room to work it around.
   Satisfied with his job, Karazkt returned to the mouth of the tunnel, widening it just slightly along the way, and just stopping before the entrance. The tunnel itself was sloped enough that both the mech and anyone on foot could walk up and down it with little difficulty.
   Finally, Karazkt went to work on the entrance itself. With liberal application of earth magic, Karazkt shifted the composition and shape of the soil around the entrance. With only a little effort, he managed to crate a "door" or sorts; a section of ground that could be easily manipulated with earth magic to open up or completely seal the entrance, yet still be reasonably strong when sealed.
   His task completed, Karazkt sealed the entrance and stood his mech beside it. What had the surfacer said... "trek further inland"...something about "hunting for meat"... Karazkt could piece together what this meant the two surfacers were doing, although he couldn't be quite sure with them. All he could be reasonably certain of, and deal with, was that it might be some time until they returned.
   This did not bother Karazkt in the slightest. His race was a patient one.

[Cogidubnus]

 The ghoul fell to the floor with a dull thud, quite dead and suddenly silent. It lay there still for a moment, the bat staring at it musingly while he sucked on the cigarette between his teeth. The red cinder flared in the darkness, hardly enough to illuminate the place, and immensely noticeable in the pitch black.
His eyes, however, pierced the gloom as though it wasn't there. He saw the ghoul's body twitch, and then begin to melt. Charred flesh and bone sagged, the creature's body bloating, before it's stomach popped like thin dough. Blood poured out onto the stone steps, trickling in the cracks in the stone, but not entirely naturally. There was a slight smell of brimstone, and where the creature's blood ran, the stone seemed to shimmer with some malevolent energy.

It disappeared soon enough, but it left whispers, right on the edge of hearing. It was impossible to make out exactly what they said, except for a vague feeling of agony and pain.

The bat's ears twitched. He exhaled a gout of smoke, and grimaced.
"Ah. I think I know where we are."

He faded shortly thereafter, disppearing from sight, leaving only the Succubus there in the middle of the cavern. She could again hear nothing, except for the sound of whistling wind, and somehow the smell of sea salt and rain.

* * *

Karazkt was standing guard at the entrace of his cave, the rain still falling hard and pounding on the exterior of his diggermech, when he heard something.
whispers

He couldn't tell where they were coming form by the whispers alone, but somehow, he seemed to know that they were coming from beneath him - far beneath him, but not too far.

Just as quickly as he heard them, they faded.

* * *

"Oh, aye, y'thinkyekenbetalkin'tomelikethatcanyah?" Cerebus said, if he was speaking. His voice rose in pitch and timbre, and there was a vague, enraged quality to it, as though the speaker might be just slightly unbalanced - be that imbalance from generational suffering to chronic drunkenness.
"Y'luckyayedon'juststahyawheryastandboyo, lasmansaith'tahmeisinthafookin'grounnah, "oh, yecahnnotbetalkingso Haih-an-maighty, ahlhaveyeknowmahfatherdiedwhenahwastwelvedrinkenthalasto'oursavinonwhiskey, diedonthefookin'barfloor, dahnottalktahmeaboutyerfuckin'haighanmaighty."

With that, Cerebus gave Kiet a jovial wave and followed, taking a drag of his cigarette every now and again.

The slope of the hill was gentle, and without too much trouble the three of them found themselves at the bottom and on the road that lead into town. From this distance, the sound of music could be heard - pipes and fiddles and such, nothing more than rustic fare. But it was happy sounding, at the very least, which suggested a pleasant festival.

It was.

The entire town must have been out - which wasn't saying much - but a caravan had stopped into the town as well, and everywhere there was food, drinking, and dancing. Hogsheads of alcohol that took up entire carts sat around the main square, and there were mugs a-plenty set down beside them.
It wasn't before long a very large, burly man approached them. He loomed over them, the bull looking as though he's spent all of his life pulling trees out of the ground with his bare hands, and gave them all the once over.
"Who'se this! In my town, eh? Buncha bandits no doubt, here to ransack for everything you can get your hands on." he grinned at them, hoisting his mug to drink. Cerebus punched him in the arm, causing him to spill a bit, and he sputtered.
"Oh, Aye, banditsarwe? I'llhaveyeknowmagreagrandfatherwasabanditnonoblerprafessioninthaworld, that'smightyfinebeery'gettherehowaboutfillin'erupforus,I'lltellyastoryferyertroublesthere."

The Lion looked confused. He made as though to speak, and then didn't quite know what to say. He tried again.
"Ah...what?"

"Beeryegreatdumbasshole! Beer!" he  laughed, slapping his back and leading him towards the hogsheads. "Anmaybeyeshowusthemasterathiscaravanwe'regettingtiredawalkin'don'tyaknownao..."

Which left Kiet and Andrace by themselves for a moment, mostly ignored by the townsfolk since the village chief seemed to have given his approval. Their eyes slid towards the caravans all around them.
There were carts of goods, surely, and then carts build to hold people rather than things. And one cart in particular seemed to stand out. It was darker than the rest, either built from a rich, dark wood or painted so, with two laterns swinging from the overhanging roof that leaned over the stairs to the door. And on the stairs, a small figure was looking at them - a woman, a black housecat it appeared, staring straight at Kiet with the most brilliant green eyes it was possible to have. Her tail swished for a moment, not breaking her gaze, and then she stood up, and without delay opened to the door to her traveling room and slammed it shut.

The side of her cart said in big red letters "Mina Greene's House of Curiosities".

* * *

The wooden box broke under Rynkura's staff, the rotten wood giving way easily. A few moments of clearing away the debris revealed a few things - a piece of silver chain, a gold coin, and then a narrow bottle, still corked. There was no label on it, but the top was held down with rope as well as friction. Despite the coldness of the room, the bottle was hot - very hot. Rynkura wouldn't be able to hold onto it with her bare hands for long.

And she almost thought she could feel it sloshing around by itself, even though she wasn't moving her hand.

  Thunder cracked. The reef again lit up, although this time no figures could be seen crawling along the rocks above the sea.

* * *

Before Brun could finish, or anyone could answer, the world exploded.

There was something, then everything was white, and then gone - and then he was back in that place that tasted like, somehow, ice cream.

And then he was inside somewhere very dark, that did not taste like ice cream. It, in fact, tasted like the worst thing he'd ever put in his mouth, ever. Worse.
He heard something scream, distantly, and then he felt the wet, slippery area around him -give- somehow, and then he was on a carpet sputtering.

A one-eyed cat in a suit peered at him strangely from where he was standing, a revolver leveled at him.
"I say, I've never seen a spider bleed a demon before, that is a first. Not sure if I should shoot it, really. My gut says maybe, though."

Basi noticed the dessicated, exploded corpse of a giant spider next to him. The taste in his mouth got worse.

* * *

Cog sighed, and nodded. "Thank you, Mel. I appreciate it, truly."

"And, ah, I misspoke earlier. This isn't the ship that I was given. This one I got just recently, after being orde...er, asked nicely to go take care of this.
Cog's face bespoke all of the enthusiasm of a dental patient. "We are a few days away yet. If you'd like, I can show you around the place, or you guys can rest...I...er, well. I don't know where you've been, but I assume you're tired. Where -have- you been?"

* * *

In his Castle, Johann Cross could see the approaching airships. Seven airships, to take out seven countries. Some arrogance didn't know any bounds. It made him wonder, sometimes.
He knew how to rule. Fear was an effective tool. But treading that fine line between hate and fear was difficult, and he sometimes slipped into the domain of being hated, although there was slight reason for it.

He stared at the screen, a most interesting device from his outings into the planes beyond Furrae. Getting it to act like a scrying ball had been no mean feat, but it did mean he possibly had an effectively infinite number of channels. Some of them were more useful than others.

It turned off with a thought. Cross considered.

[Lisky]

The bunny before him disappeared in brilliant white flash, a whisp of what may have been pain rippled through the demon... but he couldn't be sure, he was returned to the weird ice cream like place for a flash. Then the sensation passed as a truly vile taste filled his mouth, and a putrid stench filled his nose.  Before his other senses kicked in, he was already on his knees, hacking and coughing at whatever the substance was.

He heard someone talking, peering around the a dark room, he saw a an exploded spider somewhat behind him.  As realization hit him like a ton of bricks, there was nothing he could do as he felt his stomach muscles clench, his throat grow hard and stiff, and what little content was in his stomach come spilling out onto the floor.  He heaved again, the rancid taste somewhat alleviated by the bile and digestive juices, which really wasn't much of an improvement.

The heaving and hacking ended as the demon looked up to find a feline before him, wearing an eye patch, seemed a servant's outfit... and... his eye's traced the outline of his arm.  It appeared the feline held a revolver pointed at Baseel's head. The demon's eyes narrowed, and his lips pulled back a bit.  He'd been thrown and pushed around, and a mere being wasn't about to end it all in yet another flash.  Bas's left wing snapped fast and hard, aimed at the revolver's barrel, intending to knock it up and to the right.  In the same motion, the demon rolled low and sprung into a low crouch, hardening his skin, extending his claws, and charging a spell.  He snarled, "Don't push me little being, keep you toys pointed somewhere else, at someone else... or you'll find the last thing you'll see is my heel coming in to pulp your head..."

His hand shimmered with the blackened mist, though the snarl faded a bit, and the demon took a second to calm down.  He very slowly brought himself to his full height, still watching the feline carefully,  he added, still with a hint of anger, "If you manage to agree to that, however... i don't think, we'll have a problem..."

His mind started working as the dizziness and confusion got pushed aside by curiosity.  In his peripheral vision, the demon caught sight of the massive spider again, and he couldn't help but ask "... and, uh... where the hell is this?!"

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace flicked one ear and smiled wryly at Cerebus as he spouted off at someone who looked like he might be the little town's mayor. She was intimately familar with the state of mind where speech became one continuous vowel movement, so she could understand the Undead jackal clearly. She wished him luck getting information out of the mayor, or the caravan people. If they could get a lift to the nearest train line, that would be even better. She didn't know where Cerebus wanted to go, but she would probably stay with Ti'Paollo a little longer. Just in case she could consider their truce over, and try to carry out the job Icewing had given her. It would be much more dangerous now, though, even with the aid of her new sword, with much less chance of coming out afterwards in one piece... or even having an "afterwards".

A movement across the square attracted Andrace's attention. Without moving her lips, she murmured quietly to the 'Cubi out of the corner of her muzzle. "Look at th' fancy wagon. Black cat just went in there, she was lookin' real int'rest'd in y' — think we sh'ld check it out?" The words painted on the wagon caught her interest as well: House of Curiosities. Well, she was a curious feline...

Out loud, the lioness grinned and nudged Ti'Paollo with her elbow. "Hey, Kiet, while Cerb's off doin' his thing, let's have a look round th' fair. Mebbe one o' th' food stalls got y' fav'rite — sizzlin' weasel onna stick!"