Shattered Innocence (IC) [M]

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Following Kassin into the basement, Kedered glanced around and wondered what sort of occupation supported this humble, but tasteful abode. Whoever paid for this place was obviously a person of some means. Especially in Ithralia, electric lighting did not come cheap.

The fox being, this Eilan baffled Kedered for a second. His thoughts seemed primarily on the dancing swordplay that Ithralians favored, but his disconnect between the words he was saying and the surface thoughts flitting through his mind displayed evidence of having dealt with psionics before, probably 'Cubi. He was about to answer when a stab of shouted thought pounced through his head.
What is that girl doing?

It took a minute to shake off the ringing in his ears, in which Garis "spoke" to his mind in a more subdued tone. He sent back a response immediately. Are you certain? Does she have headwings and a symbol? Either way, I would not make a very good teacher. The methods I learned by........ were harsh. I would likely break her. Besides, I need to stay close to Kassin, and I would have thought that you would jump at the opportunity to stay close to a pretty female.

Turning his attention back to Eilan, he shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, breaks to my concentration. Kassin was kind enough to pull me out of a collapsed building and healed me. I owe him my life, and will stay with him until that debt is paid. How do you know him?"

[Lisky]

A big grin grew across Garis's face as he heard Ked's reply, In response Garis sent 'it's not  like the ways i learned was all puppy-dogs and flowers you know... but, if your going to be the vigil bodyguard, i guess she'll learning how to do basic magic, and how to shapeshift her wings into whatever she needs...

on a completely unrelated topic, is it just me, or is something about the fox being a little... off?...  all i'm getting from him right now is thoughts on swordfighting and cards... but judging by his emotions, there's some deeper thought going on there.

[Noone]

Eilan, before responding to any of Kshar's inquiries, tossed her the blanket he took. "Here,  it's something to cover yourself with for now." He took a quick glance at Kshar's second wings before continuing. Kassin and Kyirri went to the second door, went inside, and shut it behind them.
"Those, look to be Cubi head-wings." Eilan continued, "Cubi generally grow them in their twenties. I guess they chose a rather inconvenient time to pop out. Regardless, I think you'll adjust to the changes, in time."
"As for that salve, if you don't know what it is, I wouldn't try anything with it, magic can be... volatile at times." Eilan looked at Garis and Kedered. His thoughts were still focused on cards and swordplay.
"If you wish to know, Kassin and I have known each other for a few years. We got to know each other on one of my adventures. Creatures often aren't trusted in Ithralia, and a lot of beings blame them unconditionally for their problems. I met Kassin when he was on the receiving end of such distrust, and I helped him out of it. He was out healing some beings that were ill, though, some other adventurers wanted to harm him. I stopped them, and we've been friends ever since. He's the most gentle creature I know, and he often goes out of his way to help others, he's healed my injuries more than once as well."
A thought slipped from his card-playing and sword swinging. I kind of wish more creatures were like him, I think there would be less problems in the world if that were so.
Eilan stroked his muzzle with his right hand. "He healed you, he does make a lot of friends that way. Still, I don't see how that alone would put you on a bounty list... a lot of things don't make sense to me." He paused for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. "So... where did he heal you? And did anything of note happen after that happened and before you got here? And most importantly, did you pick up any clues indicating why he, and the rest of you might be hunted? I don't think Kassin is even capable of harming anyone, let alone committing mass murder. Plus, I don't know of any eighteen year old angels that can perform soul-based crime."
He took a deep breath, awaiting a response. Another thought slipped past his poker game. Brady is normally good about verifying the claims of his sources, and he attempted to keep this matter away from me, I hope he has a good explanation the next time I see him...

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib smirked a bit to himself.. Kshar's mind had become little more than numbers and darting thoughts. So be it. came his voice again. I can just watch from afar.. I have a pretty good idea what is happening to you already.

With that, he turned his full attention back to Kyirri with a smile. "Ah, Kyirri then. I am called Zanfib Black, you can probably guess where the family name comes from. Pardon me for asking about the lights, I come from a slightly rural area of Astarea, where they were a somewhat rare sight." He said, speaking while he idly swept his senses around the room..

That's when he noticed something about the fox being that irked him quite a bit. A disciplined mind, it seemed. Zanfib growled inwardly, because he hated minds like that.. Just a little exercise of will was all it took to keep a psion of his skill from probing undetected. There was the occasional break in the screen, but not nearly enough for Zanfib's taste. He hated being thwarted by such simple tricks...

During his idle scans, he noticed quite a bit of mental noise in the room, but he was beginning to suspect that not all of it was noise. He peered a bit closer, and thought that he detected some manner of communication. Not quite the same style as a psion, but something a little more.. inherent. He glanced at the two older cubi for a moment, wondering. He knew the race was thought-reading, but were they thought-sending as well??

He broke from that train of thought a moment to answer Eilan's questions.. "Myself and Kshar are the only ones not yet hunted. We were recently added to this group after an attack from a pair of demons. I myself was following a very unusual bounty notice, one I am sure all of you already know about. A very high bounty, I mgiht add. But from what I have observed, neither Kassin nor his companions match any of the charges claimed against them. So, now I am following as a means to investigate the matter further."

[Azlan]

Tyrian trod quietly over the flooring and came to stand with the others.  He smiled somewhat knowingly at the thought of soul-based crime, "indeed, eighteen is far too young to be able to able to have the magical might necessary to separate a soul from another's body.  Souls are quite interesting things to deal with.  They can be personally contained within one's self to tap as power reserves, or consumed entirely to increase one's own power.  One alone is very powerful, but thousands are exponentially so.  Souls can be bound to objects, or forged using... special techniques... into objects of power.  There are countless things to be done with souls, not to mention the husk from which they are taken.  Take myself for example, a powerful sentient could extract my soul... say when it was young... take that soul and forge it with many lesser ones to create an amalgam of potentialities.  With the right combination of course.  The husk can be preserved, enhanced... improved.  Then the two can be recombined and made into a creature for a special task by an ancient dragon, tri-winged succubus, a curious fae, or any number of others.  Such a creature can bide, ply his tasks and rise against his own masters... take their souls and learn from it... from thousands of others... and... well, such a thing would seem beyond Kassin and so against his personality... oh!"

The fox stopped his little rant and stared intently at the electrical light, "I see, is it so very tight in there?  Interesting, quantum space... rather fascinating stuff.  Would you like to escape?  It would seem so boring to be stuck in a closed system... really?  Well alright then.  Tell me a little more about this "foamy" quantum space-time..."

The fox continued to hold his conversation with the electric light bulb. 

[Lisky]

With everyone starting to focus on Kshar, Garis realized he'd never introduced himself to those who were giving him safe haven.  Turning towards the fox, Garis said in a slightly apologetic tone "i'm sorry, it seems i forgot to introduce myself earlier, I'm Garis, of the Ahnasazi clan.  My story is fairly similar to that of Kedered, Tyrian, and Rafaielle, we were all staying at the Whistling Willow, when the entire place just exploded.  No idea what caused it, or how it happened, but i woke up in the morning and Kassin was there tending to us.  I doubt i'd be here talking to you if it weren't for him"

Turning to Kshar, Garis picked up what felt like a hint of embarrassment, along with quite a bit of worry, he said " you don't have anything to worry about, under the circumstances i guess i'll be taking the time to fill you in on a basic history, along with teaching you a little bit about the abilities your going to start to gain...  but that can wait for a little bit, at least until tomorrow... i'm a little more concerned with what we can do about this bounty on Kassin, and the rest of us."

[Tipod]

Like Garis, Rafa realized he hadn't introduced himself properly to their gracious host. "And I'm Raffiele, Clan Thom'sen. Like Garis and the others, your friend dragged us out from the inn's rubble." He tried to keep himself from sounding completely acerbic as he continued. "Unlike the others, however, I didn't need rescuing, but got caught up in this escapade all the same." He visualized what it would have been like if Kassin weren't there: complete silence, a dead Aldoraethar, the entire place to himself... he'd brush his shoulders off, loot the corpses and leave a happier man. ...If only.

He looked to Garis and Kshar, tapping the incubus on the shoulder. "Look," he whispered, "could you, Ked and I have a little chat soon?"

[Redeyessoul]

Kshar gratefully took the blanket and wrapped it about herself, tightly enfolding her wings and her neck, then sitting down on the couch.  The cacophony of thought that followed, about her, about the rescue, about asinine other things, filled her head.  She listen and got quieter as each person spoke or thought or did as they would.  The sense of unwelcome was strong, only Garis seemed to be openly friendly, but the rest were neutral, like Zanfib, at best.  Her own head filled with how to be useful to them.  She had only an inclining of what she was capable of, truly even the strangers she just met (for the first time?) seemed to know more of what she was capable than she.

As each described their stories she practiced listening in on their thoughts, trying to overcome the desire to stare at each as she did so.  People on the run had to look inconspicuous, staring would not help the fact that she was covered in wings.  Kshar had little money, for all the good it would do a Creature such as herself, and no skills.  Her only grace was her at home feel in the air, even staggered by near death she had been able to leap into it, embraced like a familiar lover.  She would need to know more about everything before she could help anyone.  'Kassin was unable to fly.'  She rolled it over in her mind, considering carrying him.

Why stay with Kassin?  Why stay with the others who had little interest in her being with them?  Warming now she turned her thoughts to a more pleasant light: she was cubi.  The others who apparently shared her race had clan names they mentioned, perhaps her clan was out there, looking for her.  'I'll have to find a way to travel with them to Astarea.  Then I won't burden them so.' 

As she thought over the others thoughts something Zanfib had said earlier that day clicked.  'Brady.  As in Commissioner Brady?  The name on the bounty?'  Panic almost gripped her, almost ripped her out of the seat and into flight.  Two things stopped her: The first was the ceiling which was the floor of the house, the second was the pressing need to be helpful to the others who had been the kindest, if not always the most welcoming.  She would need everyone's help, Kassin seemed unable to defend himself much.

That last thought caused her to look around for him.  The others didn't know these two beings, and they had separated Kassin from them.  She looked at Kedered, worry plain on her face, and concentrated hard.  'You care most for Kassin.  Is he safe?  Do you know that these people are trustworthy?'

[Noone]

Eilan took a moment to let what he was being told to all sink in. He gave a cursory glance at Tyrian, at first, quite freaked out by his monologue on souls, and then by his behavior. He raised an eyebrow, rolled his eyes, then looked towards the others. He also gave a quick look at Raffiele, though he didn't decide to say anything. He rolled  his eyes again and looked towards the others. He rubbed his right shoulder softly with his left hand, he looked at the ground, as if to gather his thoughts. He then picked his head back up, and put a more alert look on his face.

"So... Kassin was at the Willow. I guess the best lies have a grain of truth to them." He faced Garis. "You were all at the Willow? Five creatures in one place, all caught in the same calamity... that's an odd coincidence. Did any of you know each other prior to meeting at the Willow?" He took a pause, he didn't like repeating himself. A thought slipped through his barrier. Two demons on a seemingly unrelated instance... I wonder where the connection is... "Also, did any of you find anything that would indicate why you would have bounties placed on you?"

He stopped again, re-playing what he was being told in his head. He took a stern look at Zanfib. "Also, is there any particular reason you said you and Kshar were not yet hunted?", putting a strong emphasis on the word 'yet'.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered gave off a nasty chuckle, both at Garis's obvious inquiry and Eilan's more naive one. He gave the answer to the former off as a dull thought, just on the edge of what he gauged Garis's perceptive ability to be. He is trying to hide what he's really thinking. I am surprised you have never seen the tactic before.

At the same time, he languidly drawled out to the fox-being. "Well, I am uncertain about the others, but the crimes that are listed against me are rather obvious fabrictaions. If they wanted to get a real bounty on me, all they would have to do is go to any Thularian record keeping base and look me up. I would guess that the reason that Zanfib said yet is the obvious one. It seems that we are hunted because Kassin is the primary target and we follow in his wake. If Zanfib and Kshar do so, they would likely be added to subsequent updates."

Kedered then half turned to Raffiele, whispering "I haven't forgotten you, but I have this niggling suspicion that Eilan is building up to some sort of a plan. I want to hear what it is. Is what you want urgent enough that I should cut him off?" Halfway through his speech, he winced, as Kshar's mental message hurled through. Responding in kind, he sent a much more subdued line of thought back to her.

Please do not shout like that. I am uncertain if the others might have heard. As for these people? Well, Kassin seems to trust them, and I doubt the ability of one seeming adventurer and a midget kangaroo rat to seriously threaten us. Warn off some authorities yes, but I doubt they pose much of an overt threat. We should be as safe her eas we are anywhere in Ithralia.

He then turned back to Eilan, back to real business. "Kassin is only eighteen? I realized he was young, but he should not be off of his mother's apron strings by that age. Why is he allowed to wander out more or less alone? He does not really have the skills or the temperment to defend himself.... It is somewhat of a minor miracle that he managed to survive."

[Lisky]

Garis turned to Raffiele, and said "i'm with Kedered on that one, i have no problems chatting, but i'd like to hear what our hosts have to say before we start discussing things like the relative lack of experience of some of our current party members"  Garis' mind started to wander a bit, and he was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with Ty holding a conversation with a light bulb.

To ease his discomfort, Garis created a small ball of light, and started rolling it around his arms, up his wings, and basically just played around with the control he had over the small ball, changing it's brightness and color.  He eased his mind with the little ball, then, as promptly as it had appeared, a few moments later it disappeared back into his palm.

After his little show, Garis turned back to the fox being "sorry, i got a little distracted, as far as i know, none of us knew each other personally, the only one i even knew existed was Kedered, but that's because we share the cubi heritage...  i saw the others that night, but i hadn't met any of them before..."

[Tipod]

"Well obviously we shouldn't talk right this second, I mean--" Though he stopped short as Eilan mused further. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't noticed any creatures besides Kassin, Garis, Tyrian, Kedered and himself. What were the odds that five people from three different species would meet up and fall into the same mishap? "...I knew a little about Kedered from my grandpa's lectures and debates on the Aldoraethar, but everyone else was a total stranger before the inn blew up."

The bounties placed were another matter. "The fliers are baffling, though. I'm listed as an accomplice to soul-stealing, but that's not a racket we Thom'sens get in on. Brings too much heat." If anything, it'd be listing murders from over fifty years ago.

[Azlan]

Tyrian finished his little conversation with the light, speaking a few words in a language that was quite alien.  It had the sound of meat sizzling on the fire or more accurately electricity arcing from a severed wire.

Turning to the rest of the sentients, he noticed at least a pair of odd stares and Garis had moved a considerable distance from him.  He chuckled slightly, "all natural forces have a dimensional reality tied to it specifically.  Earth, air, water and fire make up traditional elemental forces in this area of the world.  In the cosmology of the universe, these planes of forces have denizens, elemental entities.  They have language and culture, and can be interacted with if one knows how.  Sources that draw from these realities, or represent their element on this plane can be used as a medium to communicate or draw such a being here.  Now what does this have to do with me holding a conversation with this illumination fixture?  Well, where the natural elemental planes border with the two energy planes of Light and Darkness, a hybrid existence is created.  Lightning, or what Being sages... scientists call electricity, is formed from air and light.  As mechanical, magical and natural means of generating this energy are found, one can interact with these hybrid elemental entities.  So therefore, I am talking to the electricity."

With a pause he checked to make sure everyone was still awake before continuing, "so what are we doing to rectify our situation?  What options do we have?  I am not really from around here, at least not in the last four hundred years or so..."

The fox closed his eyes, remembering a time a hundred or so years before the others were born.  Images of fire, mangled bodies and armies rampaging across the land, and a fox dancing through carnage with fire and blade destroying without mercy or remorse and a look in his eyes where hollow and soulless.

"Those times were different then they are now, and most of my memories are chaotic of the land, its peoples, or the culture."   

[Noone]

Eilan looked at Kedered. He nodded as he listened to what he was being told. His eyebrows edged up and down, his thoughts still shielded as to what he was really thinking. He sighed as he decided what to say, he briefly looked at the floor, then mustered his confidence and looked at Kedered.

"Yeah... Kassin is eighteen. As for his mother..." He paused and shook his head for a moment before proceeding, and took a deep breath. "His family is a bit of a... touchy subject to him. He hasn't told me much about them. I've gotten the impression that he doesn't get along very well with his parents, or his brother or sister. He doesn't like talking about it, though I get the impression that they're not a pleasant bunch. I wouldn't press the issue on him unless you had a good reason to, as I don't think we'll be getting their help any time soon. Regardless, I think he either left them or they kicked him out some time ago, but, I really don't know."

He glanced over at Tyrian. He looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Otherwise, he kept his facial expressions and thoughts shielded. He only listened to parts of his speech, trying to dump out what he didn't consider practical.

"Rectifying your situation... that, won't be an easy thing to accomplish, though... I have had an idea. I'm sure that you've read the contact information on the back of that pamphlet. Anyways, Brady is normally pretty good on making sure the claims of his sources are verified, he has an occasional slip up here and there, but generally, he's never put obvious fabrications out." He paused for a moment before continuing. "He also actively tried to prevent me from finding out, and there's a part of me that thinks he's not being entirely honest with this bounty, especially since it's so large. I've known plenty of adventurers who would be willing to sell their ethics for a large enough sum."

"Anyways, I was thinking of having a nice little chat with him. At best, he would remove the bounty, though he may slip his source, and then whomever that is can be dealt with. I'm not a mind reader though... and I'm not entirely comfortable doing it alone. So..." He gave a glance towards Kedered and Garis. "I was wondering if you two could shape-shift and come with me. He's bound to have some mental protection, but not a perfect shield. If my suspicions are correct, you may be able to find something out that I won't be able to. Both of you can shape-shift and read thoughts right? I figure that you two would change forms, and then we could go over and talk with him." He looked over towards Tyrian and Raffiele. "I'd like someone to keep Kassin safe, in case anything went wrong in between the time we go over there and the time we get back, plus I don't think going near Dhallon without a disguise would be a good idea. I think you two should stay here, the outside isn't really all that safe, and..." he looked at Tyrian. "I wouldn't want to disrupt your conversation with the lightbulbs." He looked at Zanfib and Kshar. "I suppose you two could stay as well, I wouldn't want to burden you with our troubles. Plus..." he said, motioning towards Kshar. "Kyirri should probably get you a change of clothes as well."

Eilan stretched out his arms and legs. He made a soft glance towards the door that Kassin and Kyirri had went behind, then looked towards the others in the room. "Does this sound good to everyone? If so, I suggest we get moving as quickly as possible, time is not on our side."

[Lisky]

Garis listened to Eilan's proposal, when he asked if it was alright, Garis gave a polite nod and said "i'm alright with your plan... though depending on when you want to leave, it might be a good idea for me to find something a little warmer, i've got a formal tunic, but a coat, or cloak would be a nice addition to the disguise... and some boots will be required as well... other than those few needs, i'll be glad to come along..."

turning his attention back to Kshar "well, looks like basic lesson are starting tonight after all... i'll start you up on a few things you can practice until we get back... once this is over, we'll go find some spot where i can get you started"

he then sent a quick message to kedered 'if we both go, i'm slightly concerned about kassin's well being around Raffiele, do you think Ty will be enough to keep him safe... Zanfib seems to be well intentioned, but if he ends up wanted, who knows how long that will last... and Kshar... no question about it, she needs us more than we need her... but at the same time, if she becomes even mildly proficient in the use of her wings, she would become more of a match for most beings in one on one combat... '

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Ked listened to the fox's proposal, and thought it had some merit. After a moments consideration, he guaredly said "I agree, taking this bounty off of our heads is certainly a good idea, but you know this commissioner, I do not. What would make you think that this is out of place, and what sort of pressure is he pliable to. Is this something we can realistically talk our way out of, or are we going to have to se mental intrusion to force him to change his mind? If it is te latter, I would suggest Zanfib instead of one of us. However, my short time with him seems to mark him as one who would rather use his ower, even if more subtle alternatives present themseves. If w an jst reason with him, Garis and I might make a better team, although I worry somewhat for Kassin's safety. How likely is an adventurer to openly assault this home? Normally, I would like to leave early morning tomorrow, but if it is not safe, maybe we should hide out in the woods while our envoys get moving now."


In a short aside to Garis, he projected,essentially, I agree with your analysis. However, I do not thin that Zanfib isgoing to be openly hostile, more of an upstager, and I do not think that Raffiele is the type to betray us to the outside.If he has a problem, he will assault Kassin himself, something he is unlikely to do with even Tyrian alone as a deterrant. No matter how much his head is in the clouds, I am certain he would notice an attack. And we have to balance it out against the reward. Getting this bounty off of our necks is supremely important if we are to be active in Ithralia. We should be out for what? A day? Two at most? We need to put our most reliable people forward for this mission, and at the moment, I think that is us.

[Tipod]

At Eilan's suggestion, Raffiele gave a slow blink before looking over to Garis and Kedered. With them out of the scene for a little while... then again, he'd have Tyrian and Zanfib to contend with if he tried something against Kassin, and both had enough non-physical prowess to crush the demon like a bug. Those were still better odds than contending with two incubi. Cubi were such a total pain to fight, if not for the tentacles then the possibility of getting held down and having your brain throttled six ways to Sunday. "...I would love to be Kassin's bodyguard." He spoke in a calm, neutral tone. "Though you three should probably hurry up. Bad things could happen if you guys dawdled."

Really, he didn't have much hope of killing Kassin, and though the thoughts were pretty obvious on his mind, they were becoming more and more dismissive. His best chance of wasting the angel would've been when they first met, and that time had long passed. It was all he could do to just stay with the group and make sure Kassin didn't get them into more trouble.

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib smirked at Eilan, and said, "Well now, if mental intrusion is the call of the day, then leave the cards in my paws. I am a psion by trade, and telepathy is only one of my many skills." Zanfib said as his lengthy tail swayed and lazily swung about in a pompous, self-assured manner. "You mentioned a bit of shielding, yes? Unless he is a true psion himself, I highly doubt he will be able to keep me from learning everything we need to know, and maybe even influencing him a little in the process. And all without him any the wiser as well!"

As the others spoke, Zanfib picked up on thoughts here and there, but he kept noticing the unusual noise in the background, and concentrated on it for just a brief moment to try and discern what exactly it was.. And just in time to catch Kshar's outburst. While loud, it was still just noise, but now the ringtail was near certain that he was picking up on cubi 'transmissions'. He spent a little of his energy to strengthen his senses further, and begin to listen intently, swinging his perceptive powers across the spectrum in a scanning tactic.. And then, he could swear he heard Kedered whispering to Garis! But, it was only that. Whispering, and softly at that. Nothing that the psion could make out, but now he was intrigued. Fascinating.. he thought to himself within his shielded mind.. It would seem that they are not so much sending their thoughts, but merely transmitting on a level in which their minds inherently pick up on.. Hmmm, Master never did speak much on cubis, despite they seem to be the only sentient capable of any psionics beyond us.. He would only say they were stupid, arrogant creatures.. but.. that's a dragon for you..

He kept trying to adjust his telepathy, seeking out this strange and mystical racial thought wave, and the next time the cubi in the room made an exchange, he picked up the odd syllable and word here and there, but it was broken and incomprehensible at the very best. He tweaked his senses a bit further, but found the room had gone quiet for now.. He would simply have to wait, and hope he was getting close to cracking these secret transmissions.

While all of this was in the silent and subtle way of the telepath, Zanfib was not so experienced as to hide his efforts.. His ears kept instinctively flicking towards the cubi every time he was 'listening in'. It might not have been much of a cue to his clandestine efforts, until one considered the fact that his ears were easily the most noticeable feature of his entire head...

[Noone]

Eilan turned to Zanfib, a bit surprised. "You're a mind reader too?" He paused for a moment, trying to come up with a way to use that advantage most effectively. "Well, if you're doing anything more than a passive search, just make sure to not apply too much pressure. If he finds out, he'd probably assume you to be a cubi and try to kill you, and that would mess up any efforts at diplomacy. As far as his shielding... I don't think he has an actual mind-shield, but he's dealt with cubi before, so he has some discipline in trying to keep them from reading his thoughts." He paused, with a smile, and continued half-jokingly. "Plus, you probably don't want to read all of his thoughts pertaining to his paperwork, it might send you comatose."

"At any rate, I don't think it would be easy by any stretch of the word, he knows that I'm friends with Kassin. As far as conduct goes, try not to be overly aggressive with questions, he may get suspicious if you do, even more so with my presence there. Just stay calm, try to press him on any factual errors he might present, but keep a calm demeanor. I figure he hasn't investigated the charges against Kassin very thoroughly, and if we're lucky, we might be able to press something on him with that. He also might slip out his source in one of his thoughts, though he will be pretty tight lipped on the subject. Also, it would also be wise to invent a cover story, he probably won't recognize you so be prepared with something in case he asks who you are. We can discuss this more on the road though."

Eilan went over to the door Kyirri and Kassin went behind, he knocked on it. Kyirri opened the door from the other side. "I think Garis and Kshar will need some clothing, could you take them upstairs?"
Kyirri nodded, he moved over to Raffiele and Tyrian. "Could one of you keep Kassin company please? I don't think his mental state is in very good condition. He's calm for now, but he might start getting unstable if he's left alone."
He then turned towards Garis and Kshar. "I shut all the blinds upstairs, so you shouldn't be spotted if you come on up. There's a room on the second floor with a lot of spare clothing... hopefully there will be something that fits you."

Eilan motioned towards Kedered and Zanfib. "I'm going upstairs to get my things, we should get moving as soon as Garis is ready." With that, Eilan headed upstairs, soon out of sight.
Kyirri made a small motion with his hands. "Come on, lets get going." He headed up to the top of the stairs, and headed towards the second floor.

[Lisky]

Garis went to follow, and sent Kedered a quick message while walking 'if zanfib is coming too, do you think one of us should stay behind to keep an eye on kassin? if i stay, i could teach kshar, but you don't seem too fond of the being... and i'd be concerned for his heath if he screwed up... if you stay, i know Kassin will be safe, and at the very least you can make sure Kshar doesn't slack off too much on what i'll start teaching her tonight... if we both go, i don't think the 3rd mind reader would add all that much to our overall mission, and the more of us there are, the more attention we'll get... so i think it should be just 2 to accompany Eilan for this little journey...

Following the beings up the stairs Garis turned to Kshar and said "for now, i'm going to get you started on learning how to use your wings to form into just about any tool you could ever need, it's a racial trait of ours that will prove rather invaluable throughout your life... and you've already witnessed a little of how it's done" he said the last bit with smirk, remembering how he'd swung through the trees with great ease... and she had, not...
"anyways, i think we ought to get some more appropriate clothing for the weather, and i'll get you started with some things to practice until i get back in a day or so..."

[Redeyessoul]

It seemed like everyone had finally decided on a course of action, and Garis was offering to teach her!  The excitement was building and she felt ten feet tall.  Wrapped in the blanket she followed Garis and Kyirri up the stairs to the clothing.  "Form any tool?"  She spread her wings around until she could see them, the feathers looked like feathers still.  Different colors mind you but feathers non-the-less.  She frowned and concentrated, nothing happened.  "How?"  Big Blue eyes looked up at him hopefully, the excitement of getting to learn still raged in her, but mixed thoroughly with a grand confusion that seemed to prevail most of the time. 

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered leaned over to continue his whispered conference with Eilan, when an image, one that he had not ever directly experienced but was simulated for him repeatedly bby his father appeared. Dragon! He spun, spells dancing at his fingertips, before noting that there wasn't the crash of a huge body or the immense sense of presence that accompanied one of the scaled beasts wherever they went.

Returning to his more natural pose, he nodded, somewhat shamefully towards the fox-being. "My apologies. The past few days have left me a little jumpy. How long do you think this mission will take? I am unsure how long it will take to reach Brady. Part of me  thinks that it might be best if only the two of us went. It would leave more bodyguards around Kassin, and perhaps as importantly, fewer people to trip an alarm when we go to see him. Some of my companions can be a little hotheaded, and besides, the less people, the easier it will be to blend in. When were you planning on leaving for this journey, anyway?"

[Noone]

Kyirri led Garis and Kshar into a large room upstairs. It was somewhat messy. There were large piles of various clothing scattered across the room. Some of them were on shelves, in drawers, on hangers, some were in boxes on the floor. The room looked as though it hadn't seen much recent use.
Kyirri pointed towards some sections of the room. "Men's clothes are over there," pointing to one section of the room. "Women's clothes are over there," motioning towards another part of the room. "Take what you need, I don't think my parents are going to notice... or care if you grab some things. I hope there is something to your liking here."

*******************************************************************************************

Eilan rummaged around, he didn't turn to face Kedered, but responded to him nonetheless. "I'm hoping to leave as soon as possible, as I said, time isn't on our side." He put a jacket on, and wrapped a longbow around his back, and grabbed a quiver. He spent some time gathering supplies. "The trip... I think we'll spend about three hours in transit total, possibly a reduced amount if one of you can give us some kind of speed enhancement for the trip. Then there's the conversation with Brady... I figure, factoring in some time for unknowns, it might take four or so hours to go there and back." He paused as he inspected himself, making sure all of his gear was in place. He blinked, then looked at Kedered.
"Before, you asked if there was anything Brady was pliable to, I probably should tell you that his workings pretty much run on his good reputation. If you can somehow pressure him in such a way that he thinks his reputation might be at risk, take advantage of it, I feel he will be more agreeable to our inquiries if we can make him believe we have a way to damage his image."
Eilan paced towards the exit. "Change your shape, we're leaving as soon as everyone who's coming is ready." Eilan took a brief look outside. It was still snowing, but it was somewhat lighter than before, though still frigid.

[Lisky]

Garis smiled as Kshar tried her best to form her wings into something... he shook his head gently, and grinned.  Cocking his head slightly, Garis said "now now, it's not like you can just will them to do something, your wings work at a much more subconscious level... try focusing on you objective, rather than your wings, actually, here... try picking up some clothing, and bringing it to you, rather than you walking to it... here let me demonstrate"

Garis stood just inside the doorway, as his wing formed a long tendril with what looked to be a hand at the end.  The tendril extended to a cloak, plucked it from a pile, and brought it back to the incubus... with a smile he said "alright, see if you can't try the same, and remember, focus on your objective, and let your wings do the rest"

looking over at Kyirri, Garis said "i'm sorry that i've turned this into an impromptu lesson, but i think it'd be a good idea to get the girl going on something while i'm away... it is most gracious of you to lend us your home, and i really do hope to repay your kindness one day Kyirri"

[Azlan]

Tyrian stayed by Kassin, waving to Eilan as the being headed for the door, "do not worry, I shall stay with Kassin and protect him."

The fox angel settled down in a comfy chair.  He summoned the familiar wisps of arcane power used in the ruined inn and shaped them around this cottage.  He spent his time exploring as much of the home as he could.  Areas that were touched by the air, the earth, or water were open to him if he sought to explore such.  The contents of the pipes, the potted plants or the garden were of no interest to him, unless something unusual caught his eye.

For the moment he sought to observe the young angel that was their charge for the time being.

[Tipod]

Rafa stayed downstairs as the cubi and beings left the room, scratching the back of his neck before muttering to Tyrian as he went to keep Kassin company. "I need some air, be back in a minute." In reality, he just wanted to get away from the others to continue his brooding. It seemed like Raffiele was only ever happy in solitude. At least he had enough sense to hang out by the back door than step right out into the lawn.

The demon looked out to the other houses and fields silently. If all that was keeping him along for the ride was peer pressure and the thought of being found by some goons, then why didn't he just run for it? Three of them would be leaving while the others screwed around inside, so making a mad dash for freedom wouldn't be so hard.

...he took another look left and right, checking for any nosy neighbors staring into the yard.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered was glad that he spent most of his time posing as a being. Safest, when one spent considerable time along the Thularian border. He rarely kept his headwings out in the first place, so it was a simple process of retiring to a washroom, removing his shirt, rolling in his backwings, and then using a touch of magic to modify his apparel to a wingless status.

The next step was to alter his face away from something that would be tied to himself. After a moment of thought, he twisted his features into those of a more solid furred feline, and a second moment's effort removed the spots over his body.

And now for a disguising touch. After the basic transformation was complete, he cast a dark birthmark, a purple blotch over the left side of his face, concentrated around his eye and cheekbone.  Kedered had experimented with deformed disguises, and noticed that people tended to overlook all other aspects of him. His biggest worry was that his accent, the cultured tones of the pre revolutionary territories that are now Thularia, was something that he couldn't disguise without magical aid, which oculd also be detected. But nobody ever looked for the point of origin of a freak. They'd see the wine stain birthmark, and look little further.

Putting his shirt back on after a brush of magic to close the wingholes, he stalked up to Eilan with his bow over his shoulder and hip. "I am ready to depart if you are. I do not think any of the others will be accompanying us. But I do question the wisdom of leaving at this late hour. I do not have your experience with this commissioner, but I doubt he would appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night, no matter how urgent this mission is. Would it perhaps be better to wait for daybreak?"

[Noone]

Kyirri silently looked at the floor while he let Garis and Kshar dress themselves. He turned away, not wanting to embarrass them. "There's a bathroom down the hall if you need some privacy." Kyirri turned back to Garis, then jumped back to repay me, I suppose you could consider this my thanks for keeping Kassin safe." I just hope Eilan isn't getting impatient down there, he silently thought.

****************************************************************************************

The exterior was cold and quiet, and it was snowing lightly. There was however, activity to be heard in adjacent houses, and lighter activity could be heard coming from the road. It doesn't look like you would be spotted in your current position, but going onto the road is bound to get you detected. There doesn't seem to be any activity coming from the woods, and it would be easy to slip inside undetected. No neighbors could be immediately spotted, but their houses had their lights on.

****************************************************************************************

Kassin slouched on a couch in the basement's back room. It was small, but functional. Kassin seemed calm, though there was a worried look to his eyes. He frequently closed them and gritted his teeth, only to return to a more relaxed pose a moment later. When Tyrian entered the room, he seemed more calm, and put up a weak smile. Yet, his expression soon after exchanged to a worried one.
Kassin looked at Tyrian, he started to say something, but he found himself stopping prematurely whenever he wanted to say something. "I..." "Do...." You...". He stopped himself short each time, then took a sad look at the carpeted ground.

****************************************************************************************

Eilan turned to Kedered, looking at his disguise, then nodding in approval. He then paused a moment to think about his inquiries before answering them. "Night comes early this time of year, but Brady's hours don't change to accommodate, so I figure that he should still be in his when we reach him. We shouldn't wait, I wouldn't feel safe keeping Kassin in one place for too long, though I figure this is probably a better hiding place than most. Still, I would prefer to clean up this mess sooner rather than later, and I'd rather not risk the chance that we might be found if we linger for too long, and subsequently interrupting our opportunity for meeting with Brady."
"I'll be outside, let's get moving." Eilan strode towards the front door, opened it up, and stepped into the snowy exterior.

[Tipod]

With the neighbors keeping inside, his own associates busy with preparations, and night fast approaching, this seemed to be Raffiele's golden opportunity to run. Nobody would just be staring out their windows at early evening, and even if they did, what were they going to do about it? This was a time for idle relaxation, dinner, fireside chats and all that; nobody was about to run outside and dog some stranger.

And with the addition of a young succubus to the team, the odds for further screwups had increased exponentially. The psion, he wasn't nearly as piteous, but young cubi were emotional beings and prone to causing friendly fire or other problems. An untrained creature like that would be their undoing, he just knew it, and that was his clenching point.

So long, suckers, he thought as he planted his knuckles into the ground. Have a nice life, or whatever little will be left after the cops jump you. Off he went, bounding into the woods and kicking a fair amount of snow in his charge. I only wish I could've stuck around long enough to see some more skulls cracked, but you people are on the road to agonizing failure.

[Azlan]

Tyrian opened his eyes, focusing on the young angel.  He shifted his position to take the spot next to Kassin.  With his paw he lifted the young one's head so he could see his eyes, "what is it Kassin?  What do you wish to ask?  Do not fear, you can ask me anything and I will do my best to answer you."

The fox did his best to sound reassuring and comforting.