The City (IC) [M]

[Paladin Sheppard]

After she released Kaela's hand she fairly bounced over to one of the stools at the bar. "I don't sapoose you have any sparkling wine do ya?" Ephrael said still clutching her captive warp-aci....And completely ignoring it at the same time.

[Angel]

The kids moved with the rest of the group, relieved that they were finally going somewhere rather than just standing at the gate talking safety. Kali actually needed to shake her legs a bit before they got going, and Mykst stretched his thin body with a few popping sounds. They HAD been standing for a while, after all, and neither one liked to stay put for too long.

As they walked towards Andrace, Mykst noticed that Kyirri had an odd expression. The kangaroo-rat hadn't seemed to be the most readily trusting guy, and a few other members of the group certainly set him off, but being compassionate and patient, Mykst hadn't found a reason to hate anyone yet.

Then Edaric addressed them personally for the first time, in a rather intentionally showy way. And he offered a flower made from magic growth to Kali. Mykst blinked widely, and the expression on his face a second later indicated several emotions...but not fear or hate. Confusion, anger, jealousy, worry...but still not hate. Mykst was a rational person; he was very slow to anger or hate with anyone. But some little piece of his masculinity was irked with the undeniably attractive leopard flaunting himself in front of a girl Mykst would do anything to protect, and expecting her to react to it. Or was he?

As for Kali, she raised a reddish-brown eyebrow and quite a few emotions made themselves present as well, more mentally than physically so. Curiosity, annoyance and confusion were the dominant ones for her. She felt Mykst's grip on her hand tighten slightly, and couldn't help smirking.

"Thanks for the compliment, Mr. Incubus, and the neat trick," she said, taking the orchid gently from him. "But pink isn't really my color." The orchid slowly wilted in her hands, but Mykst's grip didn't loosen. He said nothing, just glared. He wasn't about to say something stupid, but he wasn't going to fake happiness either.

[Lisky]

With the mixture of emotions coming from the pair, Ed just grinned deviously as he watched Kali and Mykst, "My apologies, Black Magic... Or at least, i believe that is what your friend called you.  I meant no harm with the gesture, merely taking a few moments to get acquainted with the party..."

Turning his attention towards Mykst, his agitation clearly showing, Ed clasped his hands together behind his back and said "You seem rather jealous with a hint of, perhaps annoyance... Ah, I know what this calls for..."

Pausing the spotted feline moved with a flourish, sweeping his right hand, palm down towards Mykst in an overly dramatic fashion.  He spun his wrist, as if to reach for something up his sleeve, and produced an equally delicate orchid as the one he'd handed Kali.  "Clearly you wanted one too."

Before giving Mykst a chance to respond, Ed slipped the flower's stem around, placing it behind the house-cat's ear.  He made a mock salute, an almost wavelike gesture, holding his middle and index finger to his brow, then flourishing them outward.  Saying politely over his shoulder, "keep yourself on your toes, i'll keep an eye out as best i can... but do try not to run off..."

With his friendly introduction complete, Ed headed back towards Andrace with a rather large smirk on his face.  He posted himself up by her side, doing all he could to not look back and giggle at the expressions the kittens must have had on their faces.



At the bar, Raeleg continued to squirm and wriggle, trying to break free from the Tazzy devil's grip.  When he failed to break free, he tried squirming so his belly would be against hers, and his hind-claws could perhaps help with the attempted escape.  He looked exceedingly indignant as he continued trying pushing and prodding at Ephy's 'death grip' and was feeling rather powerless at that moment.

[Angel]

Mykst's anger was matched not with a threat or with mockery, but with...another flower, this one behind his ear. By the time he was able to process why this had happened, Ed was already away from him and Kali both and back at Andrace's side. After a second or two of confusion and slight agitation herself, Black Magic finally understood and smiled. It took Mykst a bit longer.

"B....wait..." Mykst's wide two-colored eyes flickered back and forth fron Ed's back to Kali's grinning, knowing face and back again. "Was he just trying to-"

"No, sweetie, he just wanted to mess with us," Kali answered, shaking her auburn head. "He was introducing himself to us, yeah, but he wanted to confuse both of us. Must've needed a snack." Now Mykst's eyes cleared up, and he smiled in relief.

"Oh, thank goodness. I thought he was coming on to me instead of you there." Kali's ears perked up mischievously, and she smiled toothily.

"Aw, was Mixy jewous of da big, buff 'cubi?" she cooed, tugging Mykst's non-flower-adorned ear as he pouted and blushed a bit. His mumbled "maybe" earned a laugh from Kali.

"Relax, hon;  I'm pretty sure he just meant it to be friendly anyway. He's right about us needing to stay close to the group, and he's the only one here who called me Black Magic so far, so he must want us to trust him. Besides, he's hot and everything, but you saved my life, and your hair is much prettier than his as well," she added teasingly, ruffling a paw through Mykst's black thatch before plucking the flower away from his ear and tucking it into the ties of his cloak. He smiled, plucked a few of the petals off of it, and sprinkled them in her hair before they both moved to catch up with the group.

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace raised an eyebrow and perked her ears towards Edaric as the 'Cubi sauntered away from the two confused youngsters. "Snackin' again...?" she murmured with a wry smile on her muzzle. The lioness turned, waved her arm in a "let's go" gesture and strode off along the road away from the gates, her tail-tuft flicking back and forth at her hocks.

She looked much more businesslike now: she constantly glanced from side to side to make sure nothing could jump at them from round a corner. Her ears twitched back and forth, listening out for the sound of extra footsteps, and every now and then she looked over her shoulder to keep track of the others.

Adding together what the innkeeper and the guard had said, plus Edaric's experiences, they were in hostile territory the moment they entered the gates. And where there was hostile territory, there were usually hostile inhabitants. Andrace wanted to see, hear or scent them first.

[Yugo]

Kaela buffed her claws against her breastplate as she sat down next to the almost obnoxiously excitable young girl, raising a single eyebrow at the mention of her rather vague occuption. "This isn't much of a place to be searching for treasures it seems. Just fanged horrors and danger." More importantly than that, Kaela herself was looking for a treasure, although not the kind you would find long abandoned in some decrepit building. Whatever Ephrael's goals and motivations really were in the City, she came across as too enegetic and dimwitted to be a clever and conniving jewel thief. The wolf marked the girl off of her list of suspects for the moment. No sense in making an enemy of such a friendly, if annoying, sort.

"For the love of...you're going to give it a heart attack at the rate it's going." Kaela's voice was thick with reproach as she used her powerful hands to pry Ephrael's hands open so the little dimensional being could get at least a few moments of reprieve before the Tasmanian Devil tried to grab it again. "I know it's a cute thing, but at least give it some freedom instead of smothering it to death." She felt a bit of sympathy for the small creature, who seemed to want nothing more than to get away from the very grabby and huggy young girl.

[Tipod]

Surprisingly enough, Payden kept his mouth shut as they began to file on out into the City proper, opting to stick by the youngin's just in case. Even as Ed teased Mykst with the harmless trick, he managed to stay silent, only fidgeting with the lever on his rifle and thinking a single, quiet thought: Little son of a bitch. 'Cubi just loved pulling those stupid stunts.

"Keep your eyes and ears open, you two. Holler if you see something suspicious." Which basically described everything in the entire City. As much as he loved relying on his own senses, these fuzzy kids had him one-up on sight, hearing, and smell. Even if he was their age or vice-versa, they'd still have him beat.

[Mao]

Mao did his best to hop back down a few stairs, attempting his best to keep his balance in the face of the sudden but awkward attack.  He hoped the floor of the place wouldn't protest too much.  Once landed, he began to try and calm the creature down, placing his hands out slightly wide and bowing down a bit in to a position that showed that he was not armed at the moment and that, to the normal eye, was not in a fighting ready stance.  Hopefully he wouldn't need to strike the creature, as the trained eye would notice that this was a purely evasive stance.

"Shh...It's alright," he said in a soft, soothing and as calming voice as he could manage, "I'm not going to hurt you.  I bear you no ill will.  There is no need to fight, I just want to know what has and still is happening here."

The creature had seemed off to him when he looked, but not so off that he was ready to strike the creature without first ascertaining it's true intent.  An awkward and ungainly attack upon being startled into wakefulness did not count as aggression to Mao, but defense.  This was a dangerous place, after all, and such things were a matter of survival.  The alien nature of the the startled mouse however was quite obvious, but even the most hideous of deformations could still house a sane or at least 'humane' mind.  For now, this would have to do.

[Paladin Sheppard]

"Awww," Ephy pouted as Raeleg was extracted from her grasp. "I doubt I could kill him with love." She continued with a sharp grin.

"So what brings you here?"

[Boog]

The thing in front of Mao finally pulled itself upright with a grunt, still ready and poised to attack or run at a moment's notice. The man's attempts at being soothing just seemed to confuse and thus frustrate the creature; it slapped at the bare stone walls once or twice, producing loud jarring noises in what seemed to be an attempt at scaring him off. The creature shrieked again and lumbered forward...
And a scratching noise in the walls passed by, quickly. The mousecreature kept slapping the wall, shrieking louder and getting closer to Mao... And the scratching noise came back.
Skch.
A different noise. Before the scratching sounded like it was against stone. Now it was the noise your fingernail makes against the skin of your arm, the sound transferring from something hard to something soft. The mousecreature froze, its pupils dialating to the point where it became apparent that its irises, under the oversized pupil, were green.
It squeaked once, softly.
Skch. Skch skch.
A slab of skin, like a piece of deli meat, fell of the mouse's shoulder. Two fingers fell off its left hand soon after, the base of each an almost surgically smooth cut. The mouse rushed forward frantically, tripping over itself in a bid to escape whatever was happening to it. The concept of it considering Mao an obstacle to its escape, given their relative sizes, was completely laughable. It threw itself down the stairs, with no concern for tripping or other personal injury, directly at Mao.
Skch Skch Skch Skch Skch Skch Skch...

--

Traxen's van soon outstripped the rest of the group, being a motorized vehicle and all, and soon the tollbooths for the bridge to the city were in sight, albeit a good six blocks away. There were recent signs of a struggle. Bloodstains, a couple twisted and wrecked looking booths, the body of what appeared to be a deformed crocodile... From the incubus' earlier descriptions, however, there should have been more bodies. If they'd already been dragged away then the scavengers here worked VERY fast. There were a few cars parked nearby, all of which of somewhat older models. A few minivans, the occassional PT cruiser, a t-bird parked across a lawn with grass tangling itself in its hubcaps. Each outside a pristine suburban home. There was the occassional bark or yowl in the distance, probably strays... Even the wind barely moved. No matter how long it had been there, the ordered pristine lifestyle of its former residence still permeated the environment like the smell of apple pie and ties.
The bridge, up ahead, apparently continued onward into the mist. The city didn't even attempt to hide how ominous it was.

--

The other group in the city, lead by Andrace, was finally on its way. Somewhere in the world, fanfare was playing.
In the severe quiet of the suburbs every small noise sounded louder. The rustle of grass, the rare clunk of some object in one of the houses being disturbed, the chirp of sparrows... No visible people though, not yet. Just rows after rows of mostly quiet houses only apparently having just started to fall into disrepair. Really, all things considered the place looked like it was in good shape. The occasional door hanging open, cracked window, unkept lawns or awkwardly parked cars were the only obvious signs that the place had been abandoned at all. Finally, twelve blocks in, they got their first sign that someone else may be there. The scrape of a manhole cover closing as they approached it.

--

Moze chuckled as he poured out the sparkling wine for the girl, even getting out a nice glass. "So, what got ya? Did you get a good look at it?"

[SpottedKitty]

Even if none of the others had heard what Andrace did, they shouldn't have missed the lioness pausing for a moment in her steady pace. Her ears and whiskers perked forward alertly, and she made a small "slow down" gesture with one hand and a flick of her tail-tip.

"Up ahead," she murmured quietly, "sounded like a manhole cover scrapin' shut. Could be someone tryin' t' hide from us, or mebbe settin' up t' ambush us. Raek, no maulin' 'less I say so. Th' rest o' y' check y' weapons an' keep alert. Anyone wi' magic, can y' sense anythin' odd hidin' nearby?" The lioness glanced at Sister Alex, the young mages, and Edaric before returning her attention to spotting likely ambush sites.

She walked on, but a little slower and more deliberately. A quick pat, a wriggle, and a shrug re-checked that her sword and gun were ready to draw instantly if needed. Until they were, she preferred to keep her hands free.

[Lisky]

Ed had mostly kept quiet as the group ventured towards the City... he'd stayed close to Andrace, though given her mood, he hadn't ventured towards flirting or risque comment.  Instead he'd kept his sense peaked, scanning for anything that wasn't in the party... It wasn't as easy as he'd have liked given that he'd kept a small part of his sense trained on that sheriff... his distinct hatred of cubi, combine with firearms might lead him to be tempted to have a little incident in (not so) "friendly-fire".

The feral garble of thoughts that came just before the manhole cover slid shut put Ed on edge.  His wings half-flared, and his eyes narrowed.  Andrace spoke during his moment of tensing, and the spotted feline replied, "There is something there... not enough emotion or thought to pinpoint, but... there's something, or things in that general direction"

Pointing towards the general location of the manhole cover...  "Can't tell you much more than that... whatever it is, it's pretty feral... very little thought that i can tell... I'll let you know when i know more."

Ed's wings twitched, short tentacles formed, all donned with draconian heads.  They seemed rather vicious at first, hissing and showing off tension... Though that quickly passed as Ed calmed himself down.  A few moments later, one slunk towards the kittens, sliding up between Mykst and Kali's heads, then meeped at the kittens.  It smiled politely then proceeded back towards Ed... If one didn't know any better, they'd be rather certain that either Ed was teasing the kittens, or that the tentacles truly did have a mind of their own.

[techmaster-glitch]

   Traxen slowed the van down to an easy pace as he neared the bridge and passed through the scene of a fight. He made a small "eww" face as the bloodstains, wrecked scenery, and the mangled corpse of some sort of mutated...thing...all over the street passed by his panoramic screens. Although, given how much blood there was scattered around and only a single body to be found, and what he had overheard of that Creature's own account of the battle, there should have been more bodies...which means that there definitely are things that are alive here, and they are hungry.
  Traxen also took note of several of the parked vehicles he passed. He'd definitely have to snag one or two on his way out, probably one of the minivans.
 However, as he got closer to the start of the bridge and passed the houses, he realized that something was missing. He tapped out a few things on the keyboard to his right, clearing one of the screens of the otside view and replacing it with a readout. Yep...that group wasn't here. He wasn't even picking up the two headsets, which meant they weren't even within the 1-2 mile range. Weren't they going to use that one Creature's little warping critter to get here first? Or...well, it had only taken Traxen a few minutes to get here, perhaps they hadn't warped yet?
  Slightly worried about this, Traxen finally rolled up to the first tollbooth to the bridge and brought the van to a stop. The City loomed ahead on the digital screens. Even in broad daylight, a forboding fog hung low over the city. The dark towers of skyscrapers penetrated the fog; sentinels that watched over any intruder.
  Traxen tapped out a short command on the keyboard and leaned forward as one of the screens directly in front of him slid up, a metal plate on the front of the van doing the same, revealing the single window between the inside of the van and out. Traxen stared out at the mist-cloaked City.
  The City stared back.
  Traxen sighed, leaned back, and made the plate and screen move back into place. This place was dangerous, no doubt about that. Deploying his drones around the van unfortunately wasn't an option at the moment, they'd never be able to keep up with the van at the speeds he'd need to go to get in and out of the city before nightfall. Traxen turned he head around and looked back to the center of the van's roof. Well, if he needed it, he needed it.
  Traxen then started speaking aloud. "Pamcawv, deploy roof turret and standby. Track all moving targets, fire on command word 'strike'. "
  "A-fir-ma-tive."
  There was some whirring noise as the dome on top of the van opened up, and the heavy machine gun turret on top lifted out. Pamcawv would automatically lock onto anything that moved, but it wouldn't start firing unless Traxen said "strike". Juuuust in case there was any beastie was somehow capable of keeping up with a speeding van, as Traxen had no plan on stopping until he reached his destination.
  Traxen tapped out a few more miscellaneous commands relating to the van's speed optimization and handling, and took a deep breath. He would have revved the engine, but the van didn't have one to rev, running off a microfusion generator and electric motors. Traxen did, however, press his foot on the "gas" pedal.
  The van went past the tollboth and rumbled onto the bridge, picking much more speed on the wide, straight, empty bridge than when it was going through the suburbs. Traxen would be going at the maximum possible speed while going through the streets of the city until he got to the hall, only slowing down if he saw a roadblock or neared an expected turn.

[Noone]

Kyirri cooly glanced looked about, keeping ever alert. He looked across for possible cover in case anything got nasty. He made a few sniffs in the air, trying to determine anything suspicious. He took note of the condition of the houses, and the roads as well. Damned arm. He thought, as his left arm bothered him again. He also felt a tingle go through his head as he looked about. Great,.. it's probably making sure I don't say anything.., not that I want the others to know about that anyways. Not now.

He listened intently to Edaric, though didn't look directly at him. He had wanted to get his weapon ready, but he couldn't while holding the map book. Still, he was ready to drop it and get himself armed in a moment's notice.

Those houses... they still look like they're in reasonable condition, yet empty. That probably means they've been abandoned recently. Still, I'm surprised they don't look like they've been thoroughly looted, considering the premises of this place. That most likely means that something is either looking over them or there hasn't been the time to pick them apart. He briefly glanced at Andrace, then returned to examining his surroundings. No... it's not my place to interject... only if I find something more definitive...

[Mel Dragonkitty]

As the group traveled Sister Alex pulled a piece of paper out of her pouch and began playing with it. What looked like a nervous tic was actually her way of preparing for whatever the suburbs would throw at them. Paper was a prime ingredient in her magic. The staff in her other hand was not and she was already getting irritated and wishing her superior had given her a wand of healing rather than the staff so she could have both hands free. And that wasn't even taking into account the thing's attitude.

Alex's large fluffy tail began to twitch, a real nervous tic, as they moved through the too quiet suburbs. They were too pristine to be this empty. People did not simply abandon valuable real estate without a pretty extreme reason. The opposite in fact, she had seen people struggle and fight to remain in squalid shacks. She slipped a second piece of paper from her pouch.

[Myr]

Hmm?

You know, there were a few downsides to keeping one's attention so unfocused; it nearly made him miss when his employer gestured for them to slow down! As it was, the massive lupine blinked, ears perking as she spoke. Alas, he'd also missed the sound that'd caught everyone's attention. But then, he wasn't in the front of the group, so it was understandable...right?

Still, those pale eyes focused on Andrace intently as she motioned for them to move more carefully, and spoke of hearing something. Or, as the male 'cubi said a bit after her, some things. While the lupine troll already cared little about Edaric (Not that he knew the fellow's name yet!), he wouldn't doubt the feline's ability to sense thoughts overly much.

It collaborated with what his employer said as well...which meant he had to be prepared anyway. A pity he wasn't allowed to maul without her consent though! Personally Raek thought that was a tad redundant; since he was just as happy using his natural weapons as he was that axe he carried. Sometimes it was infinitely easier to do so, really.

Ah well; he'd live with it.

The lupine Mythos nodded in acceptance at her order, his hand still poised to grab his axe if needed.

Heh, and now that he had a reason to be much more alert, his eyes were roving over the general area, looking for anything he could find useful to supplement what he had. For example, a small lamppost might prove useful, if he could tear it from the pavement, or a piece of a fence-metal or wood would matter little in his opinion. The wolfish troll wasn't one to shirk at using anything he could-should it be usable for him.

Heck, if one of the company died and he had nothing else available, he'd be more than happy to swing them like some sort of squishy club if it came down to it. Just had to hope it didn't come down to something like that...just for the implications of what might happen. Ew.

Still, he was as ready as he could be. Hopefully, anyway.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Taking the wine glass in a delicate grip (Like that of a noble born woman) Ephrael sipped the free drink, thinking how best to answer.

"Oh it was a blue on blue, I got hit by a bit of flying bone from a grenade burst, thrown by Miss Amazon here."  She said lightly, with a wink at Kaela.

[Yugo]

The big wolf frowned visibly at the bartender as she took a drink of her ale, tipping back the glass to get at the last dregs of the thick treacly drink. A sigh escaped her lips. "Admittedly not the best throw of my career, but that grenade did a lot more harm to those monsters than it did to your butt." Kaela smiled as she made an elaborate gesture that demonstrated an explosion and the resulting burst of gore and viscera. "You were quite the marksman however. Those were some pretty impressive shots you were landing for just an adventurer passing through."

Kaela motioned for the bartender to refill the mug in front of her, tapping a gauntleted finger against the glossy wood. "Would you care to head back out into the City with me? I could use an eye like that. I'm searching for a lost jewel of sorts." Although the incubus had appeared to leave, it didn't bother Kaela much. She found his kind to be fickle and capricious, their emotional nature making them harder to rely on. Although Ephrael seemed a little jumpy and manic, she seemed like she could be a useful asset and companion. "What do you say? Yes? No?"

[Paladin Sheppard]

Knocking back the remains of her wine Ephrael grinned at the older woman. "Sounds like a plan! And we even have a free lift!" She said smiling wickedly in Raeleg's direction.

[Cogidubnus]

Giles considered the creature's first question. He exhaled a cloud of smoke, giving the...thing, a measured look. "What am I doing here? Walking." he said, and then continued to do just that.

"My name is Giles. My favorite kind of person is alone too. You could help me out with that, you know." he said, and flicked his cigarette into the water, where it sizzled once before extinguishing. He promptly began rolling a new one. "I notice you're all alone too. You got any friends, Polly?"

[Angel]

Myksat and Kali each heard the manhole cover slide as everyone else did, and both immediately went to instinctive stances; Mykst's fur bristled and he clenched his staff in one hand, his tail straight up and his eyes ahead at where the noise was. Kali's fur didn't bristle, but her teeth bared and kept her mama's words in her head: Just because you shouldn't believe everything you hear, doesn't mean you should discount it.

Of course, this meant that their reaction when Edaric's tentacle-head meeped at them was a bit exaggerated. Mykst hissed and almost swung at it, and Kali bit back a roar, but not a quick swipe at the air where the tentacle had been. Once they realized what had in fact happened, the housecat took a deep breath in and smiled, and Kali shot an angry but amused look of warning to Ed. Then they both turned their attention back to the area ahead of them. Sheriff Velasquez had warned them, their families and teacher had warned them, and of course, everyone in the group had warned them about this place. With so many reputable sources, everything had to be considered a potential threat here.

[Kafzeil]

If there's one thing Jinx learned to hate, it was his own gut instinct. Because 9 times out of 10, it was right, and Jinx could never remember it telling him about something good.

Taking a deep breath and wandering towards the stairwell, slowly, silently, and cautiously, the feline's senses alert to even the slightest change in his environment.

then, something heavy up above was move...and quickly at that.

Gun and rapier at the side, Jinx pressed his back against the wall next to the stairwell entrance, tightening his grip on his weapons.

No, yet another thing Jinx hated was waiting for moments like these, because with the adrenaline coursing through his veins, at speeds rivaling a cockroach caught in the light, a minute could seem like hours, and that itch on the trigger finger could get deadly to the impatient assassin.

Then it hit Jinx; He hoped this thing wasn't big or heavy enough to take out the wall surrounding the door.Then again, it most likely was. He didn't earn his nickname for nothing, after all.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Witt shrugged at the demon girl, from his seated position. "Mmhmm. So, that says what you get from the arrangement. What's in it for me?"

He did not, however, show any signs of preparing to leave.

[Boog]

The demon girl finished what she was doing and set the stylus aside.
"Besides someone who knows a bit more of the City than you being able to help you get whatever YOU'RE here for?" She gave Witt an appraising look, "I mean, what else is there to do in this town? Come see the world oldest Dairy Queen? Please. Tourists don't show up in this town for the fucking culture, no matter how hard the mayor tries to play up the goddamn museum. You're here for excitement, or treasure or a deep seated hatred for your own survival instinct or whatever the hell else makes people want to go to the City. And it tends to go better if you have someone on hand who can tell at least a little more about what's gonna try to eat you."

--

"Sure thing. This way, come on." The girl led Aisha and Gareeku further down the hall with the sarcophagus, heading toward a hallway that seemed to be full of paintings. Delicate brushstrokes rendering a castle on the moors, a portrait of a cubi woman in an elaborate headdress...
"Basically, it's all right here." She waved the notebook. "It's an old trick, sort of a really simple divination. You know enough factors and you can predict anything."
A page fell out of the book, but she didn't seem to notice. On it was mathematical formulae and odd notes. If Xi is greed and Xh is fear, and if Xh changes based on the aggression of the Muertes and Xi changes over time, how long will it take the Brothers before they open the Vault? 2Xi to the power of...
"Anyway, it's all supposed to really pick up with the arrival of a PARTICULAR group of adventurers. Admittedly, th-this isn't really a place that takes well to destinies, b-but you can't ignore facts. This p-particular batch of adventurers were supposed to start with a pair, in black and white. And something about the hunter seeing eye to eye with the devil, I don't completely understand that bit. And you two fit the bill."
She sighed, walking further among the paintings. A raccoon dressed in renaissance attire posed with a bowl of fruit in one, another depicted the birth of Athena... "And I'm n-not the only one who knows th-this, and I can almost g-g-guarantee that you w-were seen on the way in, s-so you're definitely involved NOW." She looked up somberly, passing by a plaque about painters in the past hundred years. "And I'm sorry that you are. I truly am. I'm sorry about the things you'll see and what w-will happen in about three minutes and the danger you'll be in and the people that are going to, um, explode. I'm sure you don't deserve it. But it's going to happen and it's all right here." She leafed through the notebook and murmured "twenty seconds, damn... Here, take the notebook. I think you'll need it." She grinned sadly as she handed it over, "By the by, name's Jeanette. Jeanette DuBois."
The shrew walked ahead a little bit, turning a nearby corner ahead of them. Why was she shutting her eyes so tight...?
Exactly three minutes after she'd passed the plaque, or twenty seconds after Jeanette had flipped through the notebook for the last time, someone further down the hall yelled "Oi! 'Oo let yew out!" There was a whistle, and the squelch of a piercing weapon striking home...

--

"Grenades, eh? Niiiice," The orangutan gave an appraising whistle. "Glad to see someone puts some thought into it." He blinked at Kaela's question and looked around, "Hmmm... I give tours of the outer suburbs by day, it's less dangerous. Going deeper in... Whoo," Moze exhaled, looking back and forth from Kaela to the door to the countertop... He was plainly nervous. Not saying no though. "Been awhile since I've been deeper in... Where's this thing likely to be?"

--

"YoU sHoUlDn'T lItTeR." Polyglut remarked, lazily swimming around where Giles had thrown the cigarette. "I bElIeVe ThErE's A fInE, tHeSe DaYs..." He vanished under the water and reappeared on the other side of the ice bridge, his mouth staying below water while his eyestalks poked above. "No. I dO nOt HaVe FrIeNdS. I hAvE nEvEr ThOuGhT aBoUt It. Do YoU hAvE a MaP?" There was a sound rather like a giggle. "I sUpPoSe We BoTh LaCk ThInGs We NeEd. MaYbE yOu WiLl Be My FrIeNd WhEn YoU cOmE bAcK tO tHe RiVer."

--

Whatever was under the manhole cover, it was already leaving. Ed could sense its thoughts, getting a bit more coherent as time went on, as it moved away. Basically a line of thinking boiling down to "Is it them? It might be them. I should tell him it's them. Or might be then."

--

The Pamcaw made it's way through the city, eventually reaching a wide open main street. In allyways things could be seen moving, and between buildings high above things like balloons, but far too lumpy to be such, drifted. Packs of individuals were passed and ignored, although various blockages in the roads necessitated some manuvering around them. Eventually the vehicle was making its way down a wide, seven lane street, looking like further on it would merge into some tunnel or highway. A truck was tipped over across five of the lanes, snack cakes probably long since gone bad spilled over the road. There were other abandoned cars nearby. Some waiting in parking spaces as if hoping their owners would get home, some poking out of large garages...
And a t-bird, with grass sticking out of its hubcaps.

[Mao]

The thing in front of Mao finally pulled itself upright with a grunt, still ready and poised to attack or run at a moment's notice. The man's attempts at being soothing just seemed to confuse and thus frustrate the creature; it slapped at the bare stone walls once or twice, producing loud jarring noises in what seemed to be an attempt at scaring him off. The creature shrieked again and lumbered forward...
And a scratching noise in the walls passed by, quickly. The mousecreature kept slapping the wall, shrieking louder and getting closer to Mao... And the scratching noise came back.
Skch.
A different noise. Before the scratching sounded like it was against stone. Now it was the noise your fingernail makes against the skin of your arm, the sound transferring from something hard to something soft. The mousecreature froze, its pupils dialating to the point where it became apparent that its irises, under the oversized pupil, were green.
It squeaked once, softly.
Skch. Skch skch.
A slab of skin, like a piece of deli meat, fell of the mouse's shoulder. Two fingers fell off its left hand soon after, the base of each an almost surgically smooth cut. The mouse rushed forward frantically, tripping over itself in a bid to escape whatever was happening to it. The concept of it considering Mao an obstacle to its escape, given their relative sizes, was completely laughable. It threw itself down the stairs, with no concern for tripping or other personal injury, directly at Mao.
Skch Skch Skch Skch Skch Skch Skch...

Reacting as quickly as he could to the charging church mouse, Mao attempted to leap up and over the scared creature, as he did so, he did something he was not so sure would work:  During the jump Mao flicked both arms out, briefly and with his hands hardened for but a brief second of impact, and struck the walls on either side of him.

"Either I'm doing the bravest thing I've ever done... or one of the most foolish..."  he thought.

"Well, nothing else for it."

He did his best to aim for a landing that would allow him to be able to turn and run immediately, formulating a plan in his mind as quickly as he could.  If his brief observation of the situation was correct, whatever was in the walls was reacting to the sounds, hopefully, it wouldn't be smart enough to predict and learn from what he was about to do.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Witt snorted. "You mean we're not going to get to see the worlds most excellent collection of reinforced toupees? I was so looking forward to the edification thereof." The irony flooding out from his tone. "Besides, even Dairy Queen has culture. Just look in the yoghurt pots."

[Lisky]

Ed hissed as the thing ran away, "We're being watched... and there's a Him type that's a leader... These feral beasts are capable of semi-complex thought... or, at the very least, they can be trained to perform somewhat complex tasks... Be on your toes, everyone."

The speckled feline kept himself near the front, and near Andrace... while having multiple motives to be where he was, he didn't kid himself which was the most urgent in his mind.  As an afterthought he waved towards Kali and Mykst for them to move in a bit, "Things could very easily get dangerous now, little ones, you may be no stranger to danger... but this place is vicious and unforgiving... please, stay a little closer until we're past that gate at the entrance again."


Back at the bar, Raeleg had perched himself on Kaela's shoulder, keeping the wolf between himself and Eph.  "I mentioned it earlier, but felt i should say it again.  Ed has instructed me that should you two want to get back to the City, I can either take you to him, or, anywhere he or I have been thus far... Just let me know what either of you need."

[techmaster-glitch]

   As Traxen was speeding down the roads, there were a number of things he didn't notice at first, even with the fully unobstructed panoramic view given to him by the special setup in the driver's area. But, even as focused as he was, it didn't take him long to start taking in the details around him, rather than simply trying not to plow into anything that happened to litter the roads.
  It started with him finally catching motion out of the corner of his eye, towards an alleyway as it passed. Traxen immediately slowed down and brought up a replay of the camera pointed at that angle on a spare screen. It wasn't possible to make out any real detail, but something definitely moved in there.
  Traxen continued on, only going slightly slower than he was before, and being more aware of his surroundings as they passed by. and what he was aware of definitely threw him off.
  For one thing, it seemed most dark alleyways had a something-or-other flitting about the shadows, which in and of itself was quite troubling. When he managed to look upward, he was quite shocked to see large, bulbous... things floating around. Traxen had absolutely no idea what they could be, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.
  But even that didn't shock him as much as what he began to see, the further in he went. And that was the blatant presence of people.
  There weren't many, but they were there. Some Beings,a Creature every now and then, an occasional human...as Traxen passed the block by, he'd see one or two more. Just wandering about in the open. Sometimes in small groups of two or three. All as if they were oblivious to the fact that this was supposed to be an abandoned city, or at least only occupied by mindless scavengers hiding in the shadows. The van sped past all of them, as heedless of them as they were of it.
  Traxen did his personal best to avoid them, with his van and with his thoughts. He was under the now obviously mistaken impression that The City didn't have any docile (even pretend) life left, if any real "life" was left at all. He thought the only things that were in here would be the random scavenging monster, or pack of monsters, and maybe a few mad bandits or survivalists. He didn't think he'd find some wandering schmuck every couple of blocks, not even having the decency to be a shambling, aggressive horror (though he was fervently thankful for that last part).
  Traxen had not forgotten any of the warnings that the people at the inn had given him, especially not the piece of advice that was repeated most often; "If it looks alive, stay the hell away from it." There were far, far more things that "looked alive" than Traxen conceived there could have existed in this City, and he had to treat each and every one as a potential hostile. And that scared him shitless. Every time he passed some lost citizen, it added one more potential hostile to one large hornet's nest that Traxen had to be very careful not to disturb. If things went south, he knew he could very well find him self attempting to run a veritable gauntlet, and if enough of them got together in one place, a mob. He wasn't sure he had enough ammunition for that. And even if something that bad doesn't happen, he knew if he were to get into any sort of trouble at all before reaching his destination, he'd have no choice but to turn around and leave his objective. He didn't have the time to deal with a problem, get to the city hall, and then get out of the city before nightfall, even if a problem didn't escalate into calling down the wrath of the city's remnants on his sorry van.
  As Traxen was speeding his way down a wide road, he noticed a particularly large obstacle up ahead, more than just any of the random parked or crashed cars he'd been passing, and slowed down. When he got closer, he saw that it was an overturned trailer truck, covering more than half the road, it's long-rotted cargo spilled across the road. Traxen noted it to be rather odd that (even as bad as "food" was by now) no scavengers, large, small, or microscopic had picked the area clean. He shrugged this off and avoided as much of the spilled cargo as he could, slipped by the truck, and passed a few more cars and people. For no apparent reason, he noticed one car in particular, one that had definitely been left out for too long, as it had grass growing through the wheels. Traxen glanced at it oddly for a moment, and thought What an ugly antique...
  Traxen then glanced at his map, then at the sky, and cursed. He still had a ways to go before getting to the hall, and the afternoon sun was already making it's lazy way down the sky. As soon as he had clear road again, Traxen generously pressed the accelerator.

[Angel]

The kids lowered their staves and relaxed a hair when whatever was under the manhole cover was gone. But they heeded Edaric's advice to walk closer nonetheless. They'd just had their first real taste of danger outside of Chae-Raki, and it both excited and scared them to no end. The description Ed gave perked Mykst's interest.

"If they're capable of thought, that means that they were looking for something specific, right?" he asked.

"Should I summon a few guards?" Kali added, still looking back and tightening her staff. "Or ask for advice on what it could be? The dead don't see much, but they hear everything."

[Boog]

Two blocks from city hall

According to Traxen's map, he was getting pretty close. Couple blocks, and then he'd be-
"PTANG!"
SOMETHING thumped against the side of the van, from the left. While he was moving at his speeds? A quick look at the cameras showed the source of the attack to be a heaving, snarling mass of absolutely nothing at all. The slam came again, this time strong enough to send the vehicle off course by a couple degrees- Wait. There was something on the camera. A snack cake packet, moving up and down like it was stuck to something's foot, leaving a trail of small specks of white cream filling.

--

The Last Chance Inn

"That ain't the only thing there fulla fungus, I've heard things about the girl that works there too," the demon girl's lips quirked into what could be called a smile, if the smiler was somewhat out of practice. "If you still need convincing, would a majority share of any treasure found in there do? I don't have any use for it myself apart from continuing to cover my room, I'm just after one man."

--

The Church in the Suburbs

Mao's plan worked like a charm, the scratching noise moving away from the churchmouse and up through the walls toward him. As he fell back down SOMETHING brushed his arm. It wasn't a sensation that could be described as cold or hot, smooth or rough, soft or hard. Just... Sharp. He could see bits of his fur from the near miss fluttering down next to him.
Meanwhile, downstairs, some sort of headless giant threw itself out of the door in front of Jinx, flailing and squeaking. It looked almost like a cartoon of a muscle guy, all oversized upper body and tiny legs- ah, there was the head. Some tiny little mouse head at the end of a neck like an upside down mixing bowl. Something had been chewing on it, apparantly. There were almost surgically rectangular stips of skin hanging off the poor creature like Satan's own body hair waxing strips. Its finger was missing, as was one of its ears. It staggered, squeaking in panic before crashing into the alter and knocking it over.
As it got back up its tiny eyes focused on Jinx. It gave another shriek of mad pain and lumbered in his direction...

--

The Suburbs

A breeze sprang up, drifting leaves through the suburbs. The houses remained still and quiet.