The Clockwork Mansion

The sun was coming up on the eastern horizon, it's gentle light bathing the world in a soft warmth.  It was the end of spring, the plant-life was in full bloom, and the populous of the various nations were getting up to begin their daily routines.  Morning deliveries were being made, and the usual hustle and bustle of everyday went on.

In Voethfel, it was raining over most of the region, a light, constant patter under a dark gray sky.  A light fog, gently rolling across the fields, through the city streets, causing the winged residence of the land to seem ominous, and silhouetted from any distance.

In Nhylamar an earthquake hit an unpopulated area, the weak vibrations, however, could be felt for hundreds of miles around.  A train was flying past near the epicenter, and derailed.  The heating spell, normally used to keep the boiler running, failed to disengage in time, as first the main engine, then subsequent cars caught ablaze.  A smoking pillar, rising up to greet the morning sun.

In Aeliseium, it was eerily bright as morning mass started.  The fact that every church had a stained glass window facing the east added to the dramatic effects of the sermon, as the gathered church-goers were bathed in brilliantly colored rays.  Their god reminding them of the glory that awaited them in heaven, or so the priests would say.

In Sevastia' Nyad a heavy wind blows across the great sea port of Vestria, the "shipyards" working tirelessly to build the grand sky-ships.  Cargo is loaded from the near-by docks as both recently finished, and recently repaired merchant ships gather their loads and proceed inland.

At Sevastia' Nyad's Trinity Arcane Academy, news that the Countess of West-Hollow was making an appearance had many of the younger professors and students on edge.  Somewhere on campus, the tall, narrow, and fiery red and navy vixen demon was looking for someone.  She had a suitably professional skirt, dress tunic, and very simple, yet expertly crafted pieces of jewelry.  In her left hand was a letter addressed to a professor Whittington-Smythe the Fifth.

In Ahnk' Ator, the sounds of heavy machine starting up, the deep rumble of heavy metal against the ground.  Another day, another series of patrols, as the mechanized forces of both insectis and being dutifully guard the border, following their assigned routes in hopes of catching would be pirates before they get close enough to cause any real damage.


(OOC: so, here's how it goes ladies and gentleman.  I'm leaving the beginnings of your introductions completely up to you and taking things from there.  Parties will be gathered, and the adventure(s) will unfold.  You choose where you wished to start, describe the settings, and i'll get you going from there.  Have fun with this, and I'm hoping you're ready for the twists and turns i've been plotting for you all. /OOC Note)

"For our peace, we give praise.  For our salvation, we give praise.  For our future, we give praise.  All mighty creator and protection of this world and the next we give praise."  The words rolled off Ashlynn's tongue with a comforting familiarity, even though it felt somewhat hollow.  She wasn't at peace nor did she feel saved as she knelt in the vane of Pouteux Bree's chapel on the hill overlooking the town.  Yes she went through the motions.  As an officer she understood and appreciated the importance of appearance to the community.

Once the services were over she excused herself from the after worship activities.  The luncheon would be nice, but she was certain that some women in the prayer group had decided it was long past time for Lieutenant Taige to find herself a husband.  That was the last thing she needed right now.  She walked down the shaded lane to the city below.  Most of the town would be busy with denominational activities, but for Ashlynn this was her chance to take care of some intimate business.

She slipped into the doctor's office, glad she made the appointment weeks ago to see him when he wasn't busy.  After some brief pleasantries in which she talked about inconsequentials at work and he gave vague anecdotes about unnamed patients they withdrew into his examination room where she neatly disrobed.  Each piece of her uniform was carefully folded or hung, even her underwear.  When she was bare the smoky furred skunk was glad only the doctor saw her like this.

"I just feel wrong.  It's not a pain.  It's different that that."  She said as she sat, closing her eyes, ignoring the doctor poking her and listening with his sthetscope.  He knew about her; one of five who really knew about her.

"Your hand and foot are working correctly though, yes?"  She raised her mechanical hand.  It was wrong.  It felt like her actual hand, but it wasn't.  She could hear the gears clicking softly as she manipulated the fingers.  No hesitation in any of them.  "Well I don't know what I can tell you.  Your case is unique, my dear.  I'm afraid any complication you develop will also be unique."

Complecation.  Her life had become one massive complication.  Ashlynn nodded and redressed.  "Doctor, may I ask... what do you hear when you listen through that?"  She asked as she buttoned her shirt, nodding towards the sthetscope around his neck.

He gave a polite smile.  A feigned smile.  She was an expert at that.  "Oh just the usual.  Your breathing.  Heartbeat.  You know."  She did know.  She bantered with him for a few more minutes and paid him his script before she slipped out the door.  Her eyes locked straight ahead as she walked towards the town's barracks house.

He'd been lying.  Her heart hadn't beaten for almost four years now. 

Sethir Clandover glanced up as the clock chimed gently.  In Nhylamar there was no need to hide and so he didn't need to pretend sleep.  While Seth didn't exactly flaunt the fact that he was of incubus heritage, he didn't believe in concealing it either.  Better that people know right away.

Even though he hadn't slept, the white wolf launched into a fairly normal morning routine - showering, cleaning his teeth and putting on a fresh set of clothes to face the new day.  He paused and concealing his backwings, selected a racing suit... they needed more gearwork for the repair job downstairs and he'd have to go into the capital to have them made up to the tolerances the job required.

Leaving the machine shop in the care of his apprentice, the wolf hid his backwings, donned the jacket, helmet and hopped onto his bike.  The Stirling engine was cold of course, but a quick blast of fireball spell soon brought it up to operating temperature.  Placing a lump or two of coal in the combustion chamber to keep it running, he revved it up to speed and took off into the streets of Nhylamar.

Gabriel blinked a few times, sprawled on his back, amid debris and other panicked passengers. A derailed train or an exploding boiler were nothing new to him, but he was usually a lot closer to the engine when it happened.

"Bollocks." He said after a time.

He sat up, recovered his cap and his gun, and hurried to back the cars where passengers baggage were kept. Gabriel had no intention of getting press ganged into fixing an obliterated engine. Hopefully, Walsh was still in one piece. Of course, there was a chance someone would get it into their head to take off with the steam powered bike themselves...

Gabriel shifted his Holland, his gun, over to cradle it in one arm. He dug a translucent blue stone almost the size of his fist out from one of the pockets on his belt, and dropped it down the four inch wide barrel. Then he pulled a hand lever, fixed to the side where any other gun would have a breech or lock. Internal linkages shifted, and an indicator on the side of the weapon moved from "Ignite" to "Activate"

If there were any looters or press gangs, Gabriell was sure Holland would have something to say about it.

The Countess swished through the halls, gracefully striding along the corridors and walkways of the august Academy, in search of someone - anyone - who could direct her to the professor without either gibbering and wetting themselves, or drooling enough to irrigate a desert country. She wasn't having much luck.

"Can you tell me where... no, I guess not. I wouldn't worry, were I you. You really won't burn very well like that." With a snort of derision, the navy and crimson vixen strode onwards, her various parts moving in a delicate, intricate, and hypnotic dance.

*swish* *swish* *swish*

"Could you direct me to the rooms of... Hello?" She waved a hand in front of a blank face. "Anyone home? No?" With a sigh of disgust, she swished onwards.

*swish* *swish* *swish*

"Excuse me, do you know where I can find Professor Whittington-Smythe? Hello?" She delicately sniffed the air. "Oh, forget it."

*swish* *swish* *swish*

By now somewhat irate at the lack of courtesy shown her, she snapped to a halt beside a short, stumpy badger, with a mildly befuddled air of thought about him as he strolled along the arched walkway towards a sunny garden. He blinked, and turned to her as she stopped, raising one eyebrow above the glasses perched on his nose, his hands clasped behind his back.

"How might I be of service?" he intoned, politely.

"I need to find Professor Sir Whittington-Smythe. Can you direct me to his rooms?" The request shot out.

"Why, certainly, my lady. Just this way." He said, indicating back the way she, and he, had come, and offering her his elbow, waiting for her to take it, and then sauntering back down the walkway. As they went, he continued the conversation. "Might I enquire as to your business with the good professor?"

"I'm afraid I cannot say."

"Ah, I see." The tone in his voice indicated comprehension of the delicately unstated rules, and he immediately changed the subject to the sunny weather, with minor commentary on the odd puddles spread here and there along their way.

As the conversation evolved into a comparison of various types of tea, they reached a junction, took the slightly less busy path, and strolled on up to a smaller building, where he opened the door and bowed her through, then directed her down the corridor and to the left, into a smallish office, the walls lined with bookshelves - one or two sealed with thin cloth, and extremely thick enchantments, so that the contents, whatever they were, were not visible - and whiteboards, many either scrawled all over or covered with more thin cloth. Once inside, he turned to her, and offered tea, along with cucumber sandwiches or chocolate biscuits, of her choice, then sat in the armchair beside her, his own cup of tea cupped delicately in his left paw.

"So. What can I do for you, Admiral the Countess West-Hollow? I presume it involves the letter you seem so reluctant to relinquish."

"Hahaha, haha, woooww--" Of all the classes of train crash, "fiery" was the one Bartholomew Thom'sen liked best. He absolutely loathed the smell of roasted flesh and agonized shrieks of scorched passengers, but it was just so satisfying being one of the few flameproof people on board. And in the wake of destruction and death, he couldn't help but laugh. "Ho-ly shit, ahaha." He backed away from the smoldering wreckage carefully, both hands clutching his hairless head. This was some setback.

Debris had torn a few holes in his armored jacket, and his precious backpack almost got buried beneath tons of steel and wood (hell, he almost ended up beneath several thousand pounds of detritus), but he managed to get out in one piece. And now he was stranded with what other hardy survivors were left. Looked like he was legging it unless the conductor survived along with some manner of distress equipment: flares, crystal balls, magic mirrors, anything.

Maaan, don't tell me bugs have earthquake tech now... Let this be Mother Nature screwing over innocent people, please.

   "Alright. You got it?"
  "Yeah, I got it."
  The morning sun fell on a small trade road on the very fringes of Aelisium, where it became difficult to tell if the towns were really part of Aelisium or not. On the side of the road, a large four-legged machine squatted, with two "arms" folded up in front and an arched "tail" on the back. In the crook of the tail, there was what looked like a seat or cockpit of some kind. The bottom of said cockpit had a hatch that opened into the innards of the mech. The body of someone was half in and half out of this hatch; only the legs sticking out into the seat were visible, while the torso was well inside the great machine. Underneath the mech, a large panel was opened, and there was a second person who's upper body also disappeared into the mech's interior. Inside the mech, the voices of the two people reverberated around, though there was no way they could see each other through the myriad mechanisms.
  "You sure? This system is going to slam back into place hard once I let it, and if you're not holding onto that gearshaft like I said, not only will it not reengage properly, it could take your arm off or something."
  "Yes, I'm sure, just let it go already."
  "Alright...one, two, three!"
  CLANG!
  "AGH! My hand! Oh gawd, my hand!"
  The body half sticking out of the rear cockpit suddenly jolted, and started extracting itself from the inside of the mech.
  "GAAK! Gaak, are you okay?!" The beaver Being shouted as he managed to get out of the bottom of the cockpit and lean over the side of the mech, desperate to know what had happened.
  The other Being, also a beaver, appeared out from under the side of the mech, clutching a rag to the stump of an arm, gasping in pain. The mind of the Being up top instantly shifted into overdrive, bypassing shock and the natural "this can't be happening" reflex and thinking How bad is it, really? Can the hand be reattached? Can we find one of those rumored prostheticists? Can I make a prosthetic? I think... cycling through every possible "what if" scenario, genuinely concerned for the other's well-being.
   The Being down low then began pulling the rag off of his severed hand...to reveal that it wasn't severed at all, and merely a trick of perception. His "cries" turned to laughter.
  The first Being's metal processes immediately crashed, every scenario scattering away, and the concern he felt vanishing. His face also changed, going from shock to fury. "Why you little-" He picked up a rather large wrench and chucked it with considerable force at the other, who barely managed to dodge, and quickly lost his mirth.
  "Whoa, Gezz! It was a joke!"
  "It was not funny." Gezzemocht glared down at his younger brother with an unwavering gaze.
  Gaakronacht shuffled uneasily, until he was forced to lower his own gaze in shame. After a few moments, he looked back up. "So...is it working now?"
  Gezzemocht rolled his eyes and replied with a small amount of lingering irritation. "Yeah, the right-rear-leg shouldn't be sticking anymore."
  The older brother then climbed down from the back cockpit to the ground, and helped his younger brother crank the large and heavy armored panel back into place on the belly of the Storm Scorp. They then stowed their tools away, and retrieved their familiar attire; pilot's light armor, with Gaak putting on a vest over his outfit, and Gezz putting a tool-bandolier over his. They both got back up into the Storm Scorp; the older brother Gezzemocht returning to the rear cockpit in the "tail", while the younger brother took the cockpit that was up front.
  The Vaponci brothers both performed several inscrutable actions together, pulling levers, checking valves, and other things. The Storm Scorp shuddered, emitting many clanking sounds as gears began turning. The clanking got faster, until it gave way to a low humming, grinding sound, and the Storm Scorp raised itself to its full height on its four legs. Gaakronacht manipulated some levers, and one by one, each leg lifted up and went through a range of motions. Both brothers watched each leg approvingly, and Gaak commented "Smooth as the day it was finished."
  Gaakronacht continued manipulating the levers, and each leg folded up against the side of the main body, resting the wheels mounted on the leg joints against the ground. More levers were pulled, and the sounds of the mech shifted. It then started moving along on the four wheels; slow at first, but quickly gaining speed.
  The brothers had just finished up several "contracts" at the town they were just at; due to the increase in raids among small border towns--many which were not important enough to warrant a military presence, nor possessing enough money to hire a real mercenary or privateer company--had put out calls for any independents possessing of any kind of serious weaponry for defense. By paying on an individual basis and setting them to the same task, the towns were able to get entire groups of various border-warriors and independent engineers in an affordable way. Gezzemocht fondly recalled the last town; they had met another Aelisian engineer who had created an exceptional suit of clockwork armor for himself. Gezzemocht had eyed that suit enviously, desiring very much to take it apart and see how it worked, and he knew the fellow engineer had eyed their Storm Scorp with a similar envy. Eventually, they and the others in the group had rooted out a pirate band that had been harassing nearby settlements with stolen tech.
  After that was done, all the "independent mercenaries" had dispersed in different directions. The Vaponci brothers were heading to another nearby town that had sent messengers telling of similar troubles. The brothers wondered who they would meet when they got there, or if no others like themselves had arrived, or if whatever troubles the town were having had already been solved.

All was calm at sea as the Sevastia' Nyad's West port was in view. Arroyo took off his goggle visor as he squints at the nearby land. He pulled on a cord, which made the horn low-pitch sound to signal those at the port of the incoming boat.

Arroyo was familiar with these waters seeing that he travels by sea a lot. He looked up at the departing airships, smiling as he waves at them. "If only i had enough money to get that kind of an upgrade..." He swiped the sweat off his head. He pulled the cord for the horn once more as a extra precaution for those departing.

Arroyo adjusted the strap holding his coat closed and brush back his mane as he readies his boat to be docked at the harbor. Arroyo soon turned off the motor for the boat as soon as he was near the docks. The boat stopped perfectly at where it should be.

Arroyo then got down to the deck of the boat, and anchors the boat tightly with a chain to the docks. Perfectly secure. Next her puts a lock on the door to the inside of his boat and the little trap door to the controls of the boat which also lead to the inside as well.

He stuffed the key into his coat pocket and zips up the pocket securely, stepping off the boat and onto the dock. A bit wobbly his legs were, though that was common after being out at sea for a while.

He then tapped a finger on his chin for a bit. "Perhaps I should head to the market...or see if anyone is willing to give me a mission of some sort for money of course." He strolled off the docks and soon into the port's town.

Lucy's eyes fluttered open, a sliver of light reaching her from her resting place in the back alley. She was leaning against the wall, now facing red brick, and a beaten up set of trash cans beside her, with an assortment of trash laying on the pavement.

Lucy groaned, reaching to rub her forehead, but encountered some resistance. Something was on her chest.

The feline's face froze in horror as she looked down at it. Her shirt and vest was covered in blood, and rising out from the middle of her chest was a ornate handle. She felt like vomiting upon realizing that something was now lodged in her chest. How the Hell was she still alive?

The alternative, however, was far, far more frightening. With both hands, Lucy grabbed the handle, giving it a careful but firm yank.

The blade came out almost effortlessly, not an ounce of pain, only a oddly small amount of blood seeped from the wound. The knife glinted eerily in the morning sun, it was of a heavily ornate design, but still sturdy and functional, the engravings hinting at a ritualistic purpose. The blade's size, however, was the most alarming, as it would have likely pierced her heart quite easily.

Lucy began to stand up, still holding the knife. The events of last night came flooding back. The three men, the bite, and finally, her murder.

Congrats Lucy, you finally went in over your head, and you're a Zombie now! At least you still have your wallet.

She needed to stay hidden She was shit creek without a paddle now. If she was discovered now...

She shuddered. Well, on the bright side, she couldn't feel pain anymore.

Pitter patter pitter patter. Sikici watched the rain fall gently, having taken shelter underneath a nearby tree to avoid getting wet. It wasn't as if he really had that much of a problem with being soaked by the rain. In a way, this was one way to get a quick bath, which was rather useful if one didn't happen upon a creek or river or other body of water to bathe in. On the other hand, Sikici did not exactly have that many clothes left to spare, so getting this set wet probably would not help him very much. Furthermore, all of his stuff would get wet, and most of his belongings did not operate correctly when wet, or at the least, not at their peak efficiency.

Well, at least it wasn't raining very hard. Sikici could have probably used magic to block the incoming rain and preventing himself or his belongings from getting wet, but why bother using that to do something so mundane? It was better to just sit here and relax. Besides, he could enjoy the view. Not that there was anything of particular interest to see, but seeing as how Sikici needed to convince himself that he was not bored, he was determined to prove that there was indeed something interesting out there to watch, and since the view was there, by the gods he was going to enjoy it.

This kept him entertained for the lump sum of five seconds, at which point he figured that if in that amount of time he had not discovered anything worthwhile, then perhaps there really was nothing worthwhile out there. Of course, Sikici could have just kept on watching. But why would he go and do something like that?

He looked around. Nobody seemed to be using this small dirt road, although at this point it was just a line of mud across the ground. Then again, some fog had rolled into the area, so it was not as if he could really see all that far. Still, nothing but mud and rain and fields as far as he could see.

So Sikici sat there, wondering if the rain would stop or just fall harder.

"Officer on field!"  Bellowed the Field Sergeant as Ashlynn stepped from her Spartan quarters out on to the flat training green behind the barracks.  The grizzled wolf received a nod from her and then shouted, "Form up ranks, lads and lasses!  Now!  Now!  Now!"  Spot inspections were one of her many tasks.  She counted under her breath the seconds it took for the forty men and women to fall into five rows of eight.  Pouteux Bree wasn't on the battle front.  It maintained four four man flak guns and a lightning cannon to deter raiders and the occasional pirate.  There were always problems in the hinterlands, but thankfully Pouteux Bree was a quiet community.

Ashlynn walked from soldier to soldier.  No less than thirty seconds to each.  One complement.  Two criticisms.  A smile and nod and a salute received.  Move on.  Rarely a criticism was exchanged for an outstanding with soldiers who looked exemplarity.  The war was a constant reality, but most of her soldiers were untried in combat.  She hoped to spare them that as long as possible.  "Crews A, B, and D are going to pull an extra two hours for gun maintenance.  Crews C and E are to be on yellow alert while they're on work.  No reports of hostiles or enemy activity in our area.  Off crews are to make sure the barracks and grounds are in order.  Crew exchange will happen at five bells."

"Yes ma'am!"  They said almost in unison, most of them staring straight ahead.  Most.  She noted a ferret trying to catch a look at her left eye.  She could feel it rotate slowly in her socket.  He jumped at her artificial organ looked right at him, fixing him for a second.

"Dismissed!"  She barked, and the sergeants went about getting the crews going in the right direction.  "Corporal Vitts.  Remain."  The ferret froze as the rest of the squad dispersed to get about their duty.  Ashlynn brushed her power blue uniform's sleeve, removing an imagined speck of dust.  The ferret couldn't have been older than eighteen.  She looked down at him, her eye clicking softly as she stared at him for a long few seconds, her lips a practiced neutral set.  "Is something the matter, corporal?"

"Ma'am, no ma'am."  He blurted as he kept his eyes level at her breast.  She'd heard more than enough gossip to know that her men didn't regard her sexually.  Or if they did they were wise enough to keep it to themselves.  She looked at him a moment longer, her arm clicking softly as her finger tapped on her elbow.
"Dismissed."  She said finally, and he saluted, turned on heal, and marched as fast as he could without running.

"Was that really necessary, lieutenant?"  Her captain said behind her.  The elderly griffin had been a veteran of many campaigns.

"Sir?"  She turned, frowning as she thought about the exchange.

"You practically hit him across his face with your hand."  He said kindly as he folded his hands behind his back.  "Was it necessary?"

Ashlynn didn't know quite what to say.  "I'm sorry sir."

"You're a fair officer, Lieutenant.  The men listen to you and follow you, but you don't have to alienate them by pointing out your disability."  He fluttered his wings as he shook his head.  "In any case, that's not why I wanted to talk with you.  I wanted to notify you that there's been more reports of banditry.  With our numbers here so depleted we may have to resort to outside means."  Ashlynn pressed her lips together.  Outside means translated to hiring mercenaries.  "If so, I'll need an officer to supervise."

"Sir."  She said with a salute.  Lieutenant Caplain was her senior.  It was better to accept gracefully than to be assigned grudgingly.

"Thank you, Lieutenant.  I hope that it proves unnecessary.  Dismissed."

Stephan looked up at the roof of his wagon as he lay on his cot. The sharp staccato tone of his clock permeated his thoughts, each tick steadily marking the flow of time. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, he just didn't feel tired, and had spent a better part of the night thinking. His thoughts had wandered far and wide. From his father's sudden disappearance, the death of his mother, and how little he knew about Incubuses; what to expect as one. Most importantly he was thinking about what the future would hold. Stephan idly toyed with his back wings as he waited for the clock to chime the hour.

tick... tock... tick... tock... tick... clang... wait, clang?

With an audible crack a metal disc ripped through the wall of Stephan's wagon, smashed his clock, and embedded itself into the wall. Stephan shielded himself from the flying debris that had been his clock, and rolled off his cot. Outside his cart he heard Mary running up to his door, "Oh gods... please be alright." He reached over and pulled on a pair of pants, just in time for the door to his wagon to fly open.

Mary rushed into his room with a helmet on her head and glanced around apprehensively, "Stephan are you okay?"

Stephan smiled and shook his head, "I'm fine," he reached over and tugged the disc out of the wall, "though my clock has seen better days."

Mary was visibly relieved and she took the disc from him, "Sorry, I was trying to fix a meat cutter. I didn't know the blade would ricochet like that."

Stephan chuckled, "Fix or weaponize?"

His teasing caused Mary to smirk, "I'm just trying to get the blade set, I cant help it if it was designed with that much power behind it."

"Well, I'm up. A whirling blade of death flying through the wall and obliterating my clock makes for an interesting wake up call. I've got  to head into town and talk to the stage manager about the show, why don't we grab some breakfast in town while we're at it? Maybe we can get one of those danishes you like so much."

Mary turned and exited the wagon, "Fine... fine... you don't have to twist my arm," and shut the door behind her and left for her wagon.

Now that he had a moment to himself, Stephan walked over to a full length mirror. He closed his eyes and started muttering the words of a spell under his breath. There was an intense burning sensation as his wings folded into his back. He took a moment to catch his breathe, and then looked himself over in the mirror. Without his back wings he resembled a slightly handsome, yet completely normal, squirrel looking being. The only mark he couldn't hide was a blue tattoo on the back of his right hand that resembled an archaic eye. One of his few things his father had told him, was that this mark, his clan mark, couldn't be hidden with magic. Satisfied with his appearance he got dressed, and with a fluid motion he put on his hat. Stephan opened the door to his wagon and stepped out into the morning air, a couple of minutes later Mary joined up with him, and together they headed off to town.

High above the border between Voethfel and Nhylamar, a passenger airship flew steadily through the skies, carrying an assortment of passengers. Aboard was Challam, of Seme, standing on the deck of the vessel, well out of the way of the crew. He was leaning on the safety rail, watching the clouds drift by and ground roll underneath. Both sets of his wings were out, and his gloves were sticking out of his back pocket.

He sighed wistfully to himself, idly fluttering his headwings for but a moment as his thoughts drifted from past, to present, and then vanished into the future. He stood up straight, eyes still upon the scenery, and took a moment to adjust the rifle that was strapped across his back, laying across the backpack-like chamber which supplied it's power.

His mind slowly drifted back to the academy from which he was now returning. He had met many an odd character, and seen many a strange thing, but such was to be expected from what had to be the largest den of head-winged dingbats ever to exist. He had learned many, many things, far more than he had initially expected, and it had been a pleasant surprise. He had also met many of his adoptive family, for Seme held a considerable presence at the school, seeing how it also doubled as recruiting grounds, what with all the stray clan cubi about. A century or so worth of classes, an excellent academic record, and now he was returning to his home. But what was he returning to?

He paused a moment in his thoughts to give a friendly wave to a passing crew member. He made it a point to be cordial and polite, even to strangers, for it was a sound practice in his experience, simply because it was a contagious practice.

As the crew went about their work, his mind sat between the here and now, and the soon to come. He was coming home, at last, but he did not know what awaited him. He worried of the political matters involved. He was a citizen, yes, but he had been gone for a measured time, and into the territory of no friend of his home, no less. There was also no telling what had changed, who had changed. The being presence would have surely not slacked under the furious whip of time. He found himself lost in his attempts to discern the future.

Time would tell, or so his theory went. He settled on going back to enjoying the scenery, while the clouds rolled by.

Tezkat stretched out and yawned. He brushed frilly silk undergarments from his face--hardly an unusual way to wake up, but there seemed to be a few too many pairs for one night's adventures. He sat up. Alice's trunk had come open and spilled its contents everywhere. Strange, as he'd secured it for her himself just last night. An explanation presented itself almost immediately: The cabin was upside down.

"Ky, why am I on the ceiling?" He brushed shards of the crystal chandelier from his fur.

His familiar had taken the form of a hummingbird and was buzzing frantically around the cabin.

"Earthquake! Train derailed! Alice is dead!"

That would explain the scores of panicked voices screaming in his head. The flood of succulent pain and terror energized him far more than any breakfast in the dining car, but why did they all have to be so damned loud?

The first rays of dawn streamed across the body of his travelling companion. She might still have been sleeping if not for the obviously broken neck. At least she was peaceful and quiet.

"Damn. I rather liked her. Now who's going to pay for the trip?" Tezkat sighed and rolled over onto the pile of clothing, rubbing his temples. "It's barely sunrise. Wake me up around noon."

"The car is on fire!"

A crackling oak panel fell from the wall, setting his makeshift bedding aflame.

"Fuck." Tezkat flicked smouldering sparks off his trousers. "Fine. I'm getting up."

Grabbing his sword and gun belt, he looked around for salvageable clothing. His leather boots and coat appeared to be intact, but the rest of his wardrobe was proving considerably more flammable. He'd have to find a shirt and waistcoat elsewhere.

Demonbane slashed once, twice, thrice, and a swath of the train's side fell open. Tezkat stepped out into pastoral countryside suddenly marred by a conflagration of twisted metal. He sheathed the blade and took off at a lope towards the cargo cars at the rear where he'd stored his bike.

Dawn found Paige's slumped form in the local drunk tank, sadly a place she had been in quite often in the last two weeks. The local constabulary had no problem collecting her from whatever bar she had collapsed in, very few of the local drunks came so willingly or without violence, plus she was very easy on the eyes for the night-shift.

Paige found herself laying on her stomach, and blew some of her hair out of her face as a hand groped around for a glass of water the officers had started setting out for her. Groaning she could not reach the glass and rolled over on to her side and swung her legs over the edge, as she slowly sat up an ungodly headache burst inside her head, reminding her of the rather large bottle of vodka she had consumed the night before.

The contents of her stomach hurtled towards her throat after all this movement and she barley made it to the bucket near her bed.

"Morning Ms Nova, have a nice nap?" A male voice from the doorway asked in an amused tone to which Paige raised a hand and extended a middle finger "I'll take it as a no then!" The voice said, as Paige lifted her head and stared daggers at the feline Constable, but then her features softened.

"I didn't cause too much trouble did I Vince?" She said as she finally found the water glass and sipped at it.

Seth parked in the street, warded the bike (carefully putting the combustion chamber into stasis to keep it 'alight') and made his way into a machine shop.  Inside a Demon-winged Doberman was working at some intricate piece of clockwork.  He looked up, and noticing another incubus, the horns on his head warped slightly and became a set of bat-like headwings.

"Hi Seth," he said.  "What can I do for you?  And have you heard the news?"

Sethir removed a small gear train from his backpack and handed it over.  "Stripped," he said.  "Reckon you can build a replacement?"

"A control mechanism," the Doberman said.  "It'll take a few days but it shouldn't be too hard.  For you... 10% off."  Seth smiled.  Dorcan had been his business partner when his machine shop had first opened, but had much more of an interest in small, precision mechanisms than Seth and had decided to set up on his own.

"What were you saying about news?" Seth asked.

"The earthquake."

"A magnitude 3 quake is hardly news."

"It was more than that at the epicentre.  They say it's derailed a train on the wilderness line, caused some horrible accident.  I hear they're still looking for people to help."

"I might check it out," Seth ventured.  "...but surely you remember the roleplaying sessions at the Academy.  Once I head out there a horrible plot to destroy the world will no doubt manifest itself and I'll be sucked into some nonstop adventure.  Best I not go there at all, so the world remains safe," he grinned.

"Well, if you're not back to collect this, I'll know what happened," Dorcan said.

"I'm sure Nickelsohn can take care of it," Seth said, and headed out, banishing his wings and putting the helmet back on his head.  The humanitarian in him was calling out to visit the site and offer any assistance an incubus could, but there was something he needed to do first while he was in the area.

Seth rode to the main square of the capital and removing his helmet, stood before the clock which had been erected to celebrate the current millennium.  Although the drive mechanism itself was powered by a series of weights on a chain, the backup power source and the illumination were magic.  As he gazed up at it, the light briefly brightened.

"I love you too," he whispered, his voice cracking slightly.

Kyirri arose uneasily. The smell of mold on the walls, the sound of others bustling in the slums in which he took residence, the taste of rotten air as it went through his mouth. All were things he could get at least temporary reprieve from when he shut his eyes for a night's rest. The morning came with feelings of unease, and unpleasant ponderings. He had to wonder whether he'd be able to pay for food, whether he'd be thrown out of his abysmal home if rent increased. Whether he'd be mugged on the way to his lousy job, whether his place would be robbed if he stepped away for a moments notice. All were concerns for many in the place where he had lived.

He slowly prepared himself for getting ready to go to work. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to keep what tiny amount of money he had with him or hidden at home, he could have himself mugged or his property robbed very easily. He walked over to the door of his one room apartment. It was barely hanging on it's hinges, even a moderately strong person would be able to smash it down effortlessly. The only protection his place offered from robbery is that it was thankfully sized to beings of his size, which means larger beings would have to crouch to stay inside. He figured it was that size to cut down on space, and not to provide any safety. He scraped together what he had and headed out.

The streets were as rancid as his home, and didn't even pretend to offer any pretenses of security. He knew full well that thugs and criminals in reality controlled the streets, and that any would break his legs to take what little he had. Twas daily life in the slums of Nhylamar. The law of the land barely had any say here, as far as he was concerned. They wouldn't care about the well-being of one sickly-looking, destitute rodent anyways. The real power, in his eyes, was held in the hands of criminal gangs, and only slightly less criminal industrialists with their own arrays of goons. Dealing with any of them meant death, either quick or slow.

Getting to his job was a trying enough exercise.  It required patience, perception, and skill. Being caught by the wrong person would mean getting robbed or injured. He wasn't really equipped to ward off a larger being as well, much less a creature. Still, he could move quickly and quietly, and had good eyes and ears for predators.

Kyirri breathed a sigh of relief after getting to where his job was. He managed to get there early, he always did try to leave early, being delayed in trying to avoid goons sometimes took some time. Still, he didn't think too much about it as he rushed over to the door, raising his ears to check for any last minute surprises, then opened it up and paced inside.

Soon, everyone would be talking about the earthquake. But the truth is nothing noteworthy happened in Lamylar that day. Anabelle wouldn't have even noticed it, had it not been for Steph, the 7-year-old wombat.

The girl had been playing rough games with her friends again and had ended up falling off a tree. When her parents brought her for a quick check-and-fix, she was having trouble walking and was trying hard not to cry.

"You're lucky," the witch told her when she was done with the examination. "A sprained ankle's not so bad. It could have been far worse. Now hopefully you'll learn your lesson and something really bad won't have to happen."

Anabelle applied some cold straps on the sprained ankle to reduce the swelling while deciding how much magic she should use. Too little, and the pain would take weeks to go, plus the girl could get impatient and hurt herself again before it could fully heal. Too much, and she'd forget about the pain and get careless again - and if healing magic was used too frequently, there was the chance that her body could become dependant and forget how to heal itself. "Now, if only your parents would keep a close watch on you while you play outside, things would be much easier for us both," she thought. She'd have to talk to them about it at some point, but so far she'd never managed to think of a way that would neither offend them nor allow them to shrug it off with another "we're too busy to watch her all the time and don't have the money to afford a full-time nanny".

Anabelle sighed, and decided her next course of action. The immediate future was easier to decide. She'd numb the pain enough to allow the girl to walk but not run, take care of the swelling, make the ligament hold together, apply a firm bandage and let the girl's body take care of the rest. She'd check her again 2 days later and, if things were going well, she'd finish the job. Otherwise, if Steph made a bad move and messed up the witch's work, she'd switch to regular healing which would take as long as it would take. She wouldn't be responsible for ruining the girl if she turned out to be one of those who can only learn things the hard way. Which hopefully wouldn't be the case. After all, it was the first time she was coming with something worse than scratches and bruises.

Steph was already feeling better when Anabelle started wrapping up the bandages. That was clear because she was already looking around, pointing at things and asking questions. She was quite a curious girl. Then the unexpected question came.

"Why are your potions moving like that? Is it magic?"

Anabelle had to turn around to see what the girl was looking at. The potions stocked up on the drawers against the wall were indeed making small waves. That wasn't supposed to happen. It certainly hadn't happened before.

"I think they're trying to tell me something," she replied. "You know what? I'll figure it out when you go home and tell you what it is when you come back the day after tomorrow. OK?"
"Do potions talk?"
"They speak the language of things. You have to pay a lot of attention to understand what they're saying. If you watch carefully, every object can tell you something."

That seemed to do it. The girl was impressed, and seemed to forget about the pain completely. At least she'd have something to do while she was forced to stay at home for two days. Her 'homework' was to take a careful look at something she used everyday, and learn something from it. Annie wondered what the girl would come up with. Children were usually full of surprises. She also wondered whether she'd be able to figure out what was going on within the next 2 days.

But then, 2 days later everyone was talking about the earthquake as if it had been the most impressive thing they'd ever seen or heard of. Some were even saying there was magic behind it, or talking about some kind of secret weapon. There were a few who claimed that the balance of nature had been upset and now the land itself was striking back. Lots of weird stories, nothing concrete. Anabelle was unable to figure out what the cause of the earthquake had been; but then again, it had been hardly even noticeable in Lamylar.

Zelah Marazanvose hadn't slept. Of course not: the reddish-tabby cat wasn't sure how long it had been since the last time she'd gone to bed expecting to sleep, or even dream. At least a hundred years, maybe a hundred and fifty... or could it be more? Nowadays she just used the time to rest, or plan, or worry, if there wasn't anything else that needed doing through the night. She sighed, sat up in bed, claw-combed her mop of short green hair into some sort of order, and stretched. Arms, shoulders, tail, backwings, and finally her headwings, although the airship cabin was really too small to let her spread her leathery green wings to their full span.

The 'Cubi wondered idly where she was now: engine noise still hummed through the walls, so the airship hadn't docked anywhere. I wish I'd studied Nhylamar's geography a bit more, she thought. OK, I was in a bit of a hurry getting out of Aeliseium, but "far enough away I've never heard of the place at the far end of the line" isn't always such a great way to choose where to run to. Are Nhylamar's airships any faster than ours? For all I know, I'm half way to Voethfel. First thing, then, check the timetable and find a map. Her sense of time told her it should be about time for morning mass... no, she wouldn't be going to any services for a long time. Maybe never again.

Zelah slipped off the bed, folded her wings, and looked over her fur in the little mirror behind the cabin door, checking to see if it needed any extra grooming. And also to make sure she hadn't shifted any bits of her body and not noticed: that sometimes happened when she was tired and upset, and she'd been tired and upset for nearly a week now. Then she went through the familiar routine of sorting her clothes into two piles. Her magical talent was well rested, mostly unaffected by her agitation, so it only took a little effort to hide both pairs of wings. The green mark on the side of her chest glowed softly for a few seconds. And then a little more effort. One hand reached out and hesitated over the piles of clothes, picked up the one with a bra neatly folded on top, and put it into the travelling bag on the floor beside the bed.

A short time later, the cabin door opened and Zelah stepped out into the corridor, washed, groomed, and (hopefully) ready for whatever the new day might bring. The clothes he wore now were better suited for travel than what he'd been wearing for the last several days: good boots, rugged trousers and jacket, both warm, lots of pockets to hide his weapons if he needed them. Time to find out where he was, and where he could go now. For the moment, the disguised 'Cubi hoped only not to meet too many spooky Creatures, at least not too often before he got up on deck...

Dr. Adelaide Montegu stood in the open doorway of the St. Vesalius hospital in the town of Sleepy Grove. Her arms crossed and her fingers tapping against the embroidered medical insignia on the sleeve of her long white uniform coat, it was unclear if she was trying to glare away the foggy rain or wish it thicker to blot out the town in front of her. Adelaide sighed and ruffled her wings. When she had been transferred here she thought a town that straddled three countries would be vibrant and busy. Instead it was a dirt road town that none of the three countries seemed to want to claim. Nothing ever happened beyond an occasional baby being born or an elder passing on. The knights stationed here were old and crippled. And Adelaide thought she was slowly going mad from boredom.

Academy

Sitting in the office, the vixen idly mulled over what the badger had said.  She had to admit, she saw no lie in his face, no signs of deceit.  A subtle smirk, and a slight nod of understanding.  "Sir Whittington-Smythe, I'm here on diplomatic business, not military.  Countess alone would work fine, or Aleyna if you'd prefer informality.  We're sending a diplomatic entourage to Voethfel in an attempt to build better relations, and from everything we've been discussing, you would make an excellent candidate to join the team.  That is, if you'd be willing to help out your people."

She extended the letter gently.  Her movements smooth and calculated. In fact, if he'd had any experience with her at all, he'd suspect everything about her was intentional and made to seem alluring.  The seductive, low cut, and backless dress.  The way her lips always carried just the slightest bit of pout.  Her seemingly at-ease-ness with the total bi-polarity society treated her, how the population was either terrified or smitten with her.

Her pout faded, and a polite, dainty flash of teeth replaced it.  "If you're willing to help my airship leaves in a little over an hour, it might not be much time, but we would be very grateful for your services.  Your help would be rewarded handsomely, and you could consider it a personal favor as well."


Aeliseium Town

The drive was uneventful, a few airships passed overhead, mostly civilian traffic.  Traders coming to and from the outskirt villages.

As the large machine rolled to the edge of town, everything seemed normal.  The gate was locked, there were no signs of smoke or any conflict at all.  The guard in the lower was carrying a large-bore repeating rifle.  He sighted the machine, and a finger could be seen working the hammer near the grip.  "Who are you? What the hell are you doing here?"

At the range, both brothers could clearly see that he was wearing an infantry long-coat, and had some type the NCO armband, a blue stripe running the length of both sleeves.  His face however was completely featureless, hidden behind a standard issue gas-mask.

However, the sounds of heavy footsteps were audible over the normal clanking of the machine.  Someone was probably getting whoever was in charge.

(meanwhile, in the officer's quarters)
A runner, A feline of some type, brown and gray, knocked on the officer's door and said politely, "Sir, we've got visitors.  Someone's way out this way with a full mech... Might be the mercs we're waiting for, but it might be best if you come to the southern wall, Sir."


Sevastia'Nyad Western Port

If the feline had been paying attention, he may have noticed the second boat pull in shortly after him.  The man's gaze seemed transfixed on the young being.  As Arroyo headed into town, the man seemed to follow at first, then disappeared down a back alley, between a bakery and machine shop.

The town itself was full of activity, people lining the streets, and shops of all kinds open for business.  In the center of town, and clearly visible to Arroyo, a job posting board, requesting adventurous souls to track down items of value.


Kyirri's Work

The trip had been surprisingly uneventful.  The usual slum-lords and local thugs were no where to be found.  In fact, the streets were fairly quiet.  The shops were open, and the owners seemed to be pleased at the lack of local thugs stealing from their businesses.

Just inside the door was a small shop, the walls and display area full of shelves.  Each shelf was filled, end to end, with what seemed to be haphazardly placed books and tomes.  The quality ranging from barely holding together, to expertly crafted pieces that probably seemed more at home in a museum.  Mr. Arklan had done well for himself, with his out of the way store.  In fact, his establishment was one of the most popular in the whole district, simply because of the rare parchment that stood atop those shelves.

The old looking Saint Bernard lazily moved from his counter to greet the roo-rat.  He'd been forced to take on an assistant when, on a job some years ago, something had destroyed his left knee beyond what even magic could repair.  The bone was fused solid, and he walked with a limp and cane.

"G'day Kyirri m'boy.  I know you've only been working delivers until now, but i think i've got something a little more... special... in mind, instead of your usual daily chores.  It'll fetch you twice your usual pay... and i'll give ya some travel coin as well if you're interested."

Kyirri could clearly see a slip of paper and a mid-sized bag of coins.  It probably contained more wealth than 3 months of food and rent for the little rodent.


The Drunk Tank

"can't say you did...  Then again, you're far from a mean drunk... Though i do have to wonder if that offer you made last night still stands."  The cougar flashed a toothy grin, then added a playful wink.  

"Anyways, Leofric, The Duke of this region, his son dropped something off for you..."  The feline reached into a pocket and produced a small envelope.  He unlocked the cell, and passed it to the wolf cubi as he made room for her to head out.


Aboard the airship(Challam)


Watching the clouds sail by, Callam suddenly caught a glimpse of a cloud that seemed... off.  It was too round, it was too gray.  It wasn't a cloud.  The nearby cloud-bank passed, revealing a mid-sized zeppelin.  It was painted a cloudy gray, with white wisps that imitated natural cloud formations.  Without any notice at all, clouds parted in a bright orange and yellow flash, and, almost at the same time, top of his own zeppelin burst into flames.

The deck below his feat lurched hard as the airship began nosing downwards.  An empty stretch of sandy beach below.  The pirate's main guns leveled on the falling airship, smaller sets of guns looking for anyone trying to leave the falling wreck.  A higher-pitched *Crack* *Crack* *Crack*  could be heard, as long-range scatter guns peppered the handful of creatures who charged the assaulters.

Train Crash

The sheer panic had put everyone on edge, yet also left them completely disoriented.  Any would-be gangs or ruffians were still too confused to make a break for the cargo-cars.

A half dozen random passengers followed Tez out of the slot he made in the roof, then continued to flee as the fire from the main engine began spreading to the cars behind it.

A few miles down the track, a small village could be seen.  It was supposed to be their next stop anyways.  An inconvenient walk, but no where near impossible, even without supplies.  In the other direction, an airship could be seen heading towards the smoky column rising still higher into the air.  The column making a clear signal that something bad had happened there.

Airship Cabin(Zelah)

As he left the cabin, Zelah would note the faint hum of the engines, the light wooshing noise of wind as the large vessel continued it's voyage.  A whistle sounded, then another.  There was some muffled noises coming from above.  The thoughts were garbled, blocked.  Though, the emotions were clear enough.  There was rage, fear, greed, someone felt lust, others were oddly focused, and yet a handful seemed to be locked in a prayer of some kind, emoting regret and a sense of loyalty at the same time.

Suddenly a thunderous roar came from above.  More voices, more panic.  The sound of footsteps above made it clear whatever had happened was already over.

Sleepy Grove

As if on cue, a young delivery man, wearing a journeyman's cloak appeared holding a sealed letter from the order.  He immidiately recognized the angel the description he'd been given and made a B-line for the Angel's current position.  He was a canine of some kind, a mutt by the looks of him, neither tall, nor overly strong looking.  The only thing that actually gave away his creature herritage was the clan symbol sticking through the cloak, emblazoned on the poor boy's shoulder, collar, and the left side of his neck.

He approached, huffing slightly, "I've *pants* I've been sent ahead to inform y... you... that there's an Air... ship coming to pick you up.  You're being transferred to a new hub."  He extended the letter, and, judging by the way he was heaving for breath, it looked like the young cubi might collapse from exhaustion at any moment.

Back Alley

The streets still seemed empty to Lucy, most if not everyone was still in morning mass.  That gave her maybe 10, 15 minutes to get out of the city walls, judging by the position of the sun.  Shop doors were still closed and locked.  The first church bell clanged, signaling the time of personal prayer.  10 minutes.  10 minutes is all she had to clear the 3 miles of city between her and the outer wall.  Either that, or at least find a decent change of clothes.  Hers were drenched crimson across the front, and would be a pretty clear sign something was up.


Lamylar

As Anabelle  finished her latest visitor, she could hear excited squeaks and squeals from various members of the people.  There was a strange man walking towards the town's gate.  He wore a military style tunic, his weapons clearly visible as he approached the sleepy border town.  He was a demon, judging by the size of the rifle, pistol and saber he carried, a younger one.  One who wasn't ready to completely forsake modern technology for the arcane.

He carried himself with a calm ease, despite obvious holes in wing.  As he grew closer, a very slight limp could be seen in his movements.  His tunic looked to be more tattered, and the blood-stains made it clear he'd seen very recent action.

Ana could clearly see this all happening, she could seem him start to stumble, then collapse just outside the gate as his strength failed.  His hand reached towards the gate of the town, grasping for help, though no voice could be heard, only grunts of pain.

Rain-soaked road

The rain choose to do neither, instead it stayed at it's constant patter, enough to soak the ground.  His path seemed to be heading  to the Sevastia'Nyad border, and approaching a good-sized city there as well.  The border would be friendly, that was obvious, Voethfel and Sevastia had a very good relation, officially anyways, with the sole exception of the pirates.

A Lower flying airship provided additional reprieve from the rain, as it followed the road to the city.  If one wished to, they could take an easy jog, and follow in it's shadow, avoiding the seemingly ever-present pitter-patter of rain Furrae had decided to bestow upon the region.  The mist seemed to be clearing as well, as, even though there was a light fog, one could still see through the faint mist a massive towers and high walls.  Or, at least their outlines.  It was the city of Yagsandras, a city housing several of the most prestigious arcane universities, and given it's location, a common place for merchants.  If one needed something, Yagsandras was a very good place to be.

City Streets

While heading down the streets, the first thing the pair would notice is that it seemed literally every creature they ran into was flaunting their heritage.  In fact, it was true... Literally every creature, whether demon, cubi, angel, mythos or in one case the fiery flesh of a phoenix, they all just stood out.  They didn't bother hiding who or what they were.  They carried on as most would expect being to.  Mind you, the one demon balancing a full-sized couch on one finger may have been a bit much, but most were just going about, either crafting various goods, providing useful services, or just out shopping.

A wide range of shops greeted the pair, both walk-in and street vendors were out to day.  A subtle ripple came through the city, and every seemed to pause, look towards the seeming source of the rumble, and, upon seeing nothing, a few seconds later, returned to what they'd been doing before the earthquakes shock wave had passed through.

Arroyo felt slightly unease for a quick second, as if he was watched but then shrugged it off. His ears picked up some small talk among the merchants of news of an earthquake. Of course, Arroyo didn't feel an earthquake but then again he was probably out at sea during that time the earthquake struck. His ship was a bit wobbly on the way back to the port now that he recalled.

He shrugged and approaches the job bulletin board. His green eyes looked over the small posts in the board, there were a few involving using or required machinery. "Kind of hard to find a good job these days." He sighed, pulling out a small windup key and attaching it to one of his cuffs and started to twist as it, loosening the pressured mana flowing through his body and the cuff itself around his wrist, seeing it was beginning to be a bit tight. "Though earthquakes are common these days...why is this one any different?"He switched to the next cuff, clicking away at the winding. Then he stopped and pulled the windup key back to his pocket and then twisted a knob on both of the cuffs then smacks it down, causing a small hiss emitting from it, signaling that it was correctly calibrated.

The pressure gauge read 25%, which meant that 25% of his mana is suppressed. He shook his head and continues to look over the job board, reading it carefully for a job well suited for a being such as himself and his talents.

"The hells..." Challam muttered quietly to himself, for the moment he spotted the airship, he wasn't quite sure what it was, or why it was painted so oddly..

BOOM.

Oh! Pirates! Lovely!

Be it instinct, or lessons from SAIA fresh in his mind, Challam immediately went for the cover of one of the masts while he brought his rifle out to the ready, and hit the gauge that would start the pressure building. As the weapon began to hiss to life, he unscrewed the cap on the scope, and removed the rubber lid on the eyepiece. And then he heard the tall-tale click of the pressure valve snapping into place, which was the sign that his weapon was ready to fire. The movement of extracting a round from his belt, unlatching the chamber, sliding the round in, and then re-latching the chamber seemed near instinct to him, which honestly surprised him. Besides a few practice rounds just to pass the odd free time, he had not used his rifle much in the last century. Some memories never fade, he thought to himself, as he quickly popped from cover and leveled the rifle.

The scope scanned the airship. He saw one of the scatter-gun wielding pirates. Just a moment to aim. He stopped breathing. A squeeze of the trigger.

The weapon let out a roaring hiss as excess steam flew from the muzzle, and a large round sailed through the air with frightening accuracy. One pirate's head exploded in a fascinating display of horrific gore. Challam grinned to himself, but as he listened to the hiss of the pressure valve going back to work, he realized he wasn't the only one who was aiming a shot. The pirate ship was as well.

"SHIT." Was all he could utter as he immediately broke from cover, and made a run for the opposite rail, away from the attacking pirate ship. He felt a pang of regret as he dove over the side, realizing that despite all that he had learned, there was nothing he could do to save the crew from the crash. He would have to continue this fight on the ground, as that seemed to be where the pirates were heading, otherwise they wouldn't have tried to crash her right away.

He didn't spread his wings, not yet. As he plummeted straight down, he used what magic he had to enact a magical shield around him, in case someone saw the incubus making taking a dive and decided he was a viable target. And so he headed for the beach below...

Outside the Aelisium Town

  The rest of the drive towards the next town in the string of towns the Vaponci brothers had visited went smoothly, only passing beneath some civvie airships every now and then. Eventually, a town came into sight...although there was quickly some doubts that it was "the" town the brothers were looking for, as even from a distance, they signs of Aelisium military stationing was exceedingly obvious, especially to the brothers.
  As the Storm Scorp pulled up the the town's gate in wheeled mode, a lone guard pointed his weapon at them and demanded to know who they were and what they were doing.
  The Storm Scorp began unfolding itself (its legs at least, not the arms), getting off the wheels and back onto its feet, then turned its side towards the guard and the gate, bringing both brothers into full view.
  The both stood up straight at attention, snapping off a quick salute. The guard would easily tell that the two beavers were not pretending; even though they did not look like proper military, the nuances in the way they saluted suggested they must have had real experience at some point.
  Gezzemocht called down first (and further displayed his knowledge). "Take it easy, Sergeant. We're the brothers Vaponci, formerly in the 35th Mechanical Corps, engineer and developer's division-"
  "-And pilot and operator's division." Gaakronacht finished up.
  "As for what we're doing, um..." Gezzemocht glanced around. "I think we may actually be in the wrong town. We've been passing by various border towns that lack a military presence and rendering aid in countering banditry and raider activity. And, well...this town obviously does not lack a military presence..."
  Gaakronacht spoke up. "Uh...you weren't the ones who sent a messenger out to Copperbolt requesting external aid five days ago...right?"

Lucy weighed her options, and headed back to her Office and Apartment.

The Facts were These: She had just missed the City Watch's Shift change by not a few minutes, and while the guards themselves may or may not have been praying, they'd still likely stop a bloodied woman, and either kill her outright or detain her for proper purge.

She'd likely barely have enough time to reach the gates. Thus far, a change of clothes and something to cover her eyes was he best bet. Hide in plain sight, essentailly.

Lucy bolted down the road way, sprinting her her office. The trp was likely to take only a few minutes, but changing would leave with an estimated three minutes of downtime. Though admittingly, she'd leave a note for mother to find.

Goddamn...talk about Karma...make my living rooting out Creatures and I find I'm turned into one. Well, good to see the Divine have a twisted sense of humour, isn't it?She mused to herself as she srpinted down the empty street, which, in about ten minutes would be full of shoppers.

Their otherwise peaceful walk into the city was marred by the rattling of storefront windows and a tangible tremor as shockwave passed through the city.  Everybody stopped and peered off in the direction the wave seemed to come from.

"What was that?" Mary spoke aloud what everybody was thinking.

Stephan shaded his eyes and peered into the distance, "I'm not sure, hopefully it was just an earthquake."

Seemingly satisfied that whatever had happened wasn't going to cause any further interruptions the nearby laborers went back to their task; content to speculate amongst themselves about the cause of the ruckus. Meanwhile Stephan and Mary continued down the street in search of a cafe.

"So, all knowing one, do you really think it was an earthquake?" Mary idly made conversation as they walked down the street with a devilish grin on her face.

Stephan shrugged, "Well, I don't hear any sirens, so I doubt it was an explosion." He gave her a sly look, "Though it could be the growling of your stomach... We better get you some food in you before you bring the city down on our heads."

"Oh hardy har. I didn't know you were a doing a stand up comedy act as well." Mary pointed down the street at a small cafe with an outdoor patio, "Hey, that looks good, lets try that."

As they approached they saw that the sign over the cafe was shaped into a circular looking shell with the words "Sun Dollar Cafe" across it. On the patio were several tables positioned to allow customers to enjoy their meal outside which, considering the marvelous weather, was a rather tempting idea. Given its idyllic setting, it was rather devoid of customers.

"Pardon me, Miss, I was wondering if you were open for breakfest." Mary approached the mouse being who was upending whatever had been knocked over during the tremor.

The mouse looked up and smiled, "Of course, it'll take more than a bit o' shak'n ta shut us down. I'm Sunny. Please, take a seat anywhere ya'll like. Can I get'cha something ta drink ta start out?"

Both Mary and Stephan sat down at the nearest table. Sitting down brought them about eye to eye with the four foot tall Sunny and it quickly became apparent that Sunny was aptly named for her fiery red hair, and friendly disposition. Stephan glanced over at Mary, "I think I'll just settle for a cup of coffee, black, how about you?" he glanced up at his sister.

Mary thought for a second then seemed to make up her mind, "I'll just have a cappuccino with some cocoa powder on top if you have it."

Sunny smiled, "Alright, I'll give ya'll a moment ta figg'er out what'cha want fer breakfast," she handed out a couple of menus.

Meanwhile, a Feline demon stepped out of the shop wearing an apron. The demon was huge, so much that he had to duck to get through the door. His voice was something you'd expect roaring in blood rage on the battlefield. It was deep, dark, and rumbled ominously like the first few pebbles of an avalanche, but with none of the malice, "So, what are they having?"

Sunny looked up, "One coffee, black, an one cappuccino with cocoa powder. Korlos, honey, could'ja be a peach an get started on that? I still need ta tidy up out here." Korlos nodded in acknowledgement and stepped back into the shop. Meanwhile Sunny beamed at Stephan and Mary, "That was Korlos, my husband, he's not much fer conversation but he's always helpful."

It would seem that the rain was not going to be doing anything exciting soon. A light shower was falling, not enough to be called a torrential rain, but enough to thoroughly soak somebody who was wandering within it long enough. At this rate, Sikici would be unable to get to Yagsandras anytime soon. Then again, it wasn't as if the angel was in any particular rush to get there. He was not meeting anybody, to his knowledge, and it was not as if he desperately needed supplies. Sikici had merely decided that it might be worth his time to wander around Yagsandras, and so he had decided to go there. Perhaps there would be a few trinkets or items within the city walls that would catch his interest. Who knew? With the number of merchants that were supposed to be within those walls, there was bound to be at least something of interest. Now, whether or not Sikici would be able to afford that trinket was another matter entirely.

He could see the city from where he was sitting, if only faintly. So close, and yet so far! Yet, he couldn't be bothered to do something to stop the rain from getting him wet. How lucky for the angel, as he spotted an airship making its way towards the city. Of course, Sikici did get a little wet running from the tree he was under to underneath the airship, but at least he was moving towards his destination. He did have to jog, but it was not as if he was so out of shape that he could not keep up. If was actually rather refreshing; a little exercise never hurt anybody.

Well, except for that one time, when that one person stretched a muscle while jogging. But they just sucked. Like, a lot.

Sikici didn't except much trouble if he tried to cross the Sevastia'Nyad border, what with the diplomatic relations between his country of Voethfel and Sevastia being relatively friendly, if at the least not hostile. Still, one could never expect what would happen next. For all the angel knew, he would be beaten with sticks if he tried to cross. Hopefully, that wouldn't happen.

"Stand down."  She said to the sergant sighting the pair with the long arm.  "They're expected."  She said as she walked to the edge of the tower and looked down.  The skunk showed either alarm nor awe at the warmech.  In one look she assessed the brothers and their equipment and nodded once.  She decended to the ground and slipped out.

Ashlynn walked towards the pair in her field blues, the Lebarge slung at her side while her other arm held two more belts for the slug thrower.  Ashlynn had never determined if the cut was intentional but the uniform emphasized her curves far more than she thought necessary.  Still, they proved useful on occasion.  The gray skunk's tail swayed behind her as she approached the beaver brothers.  "Lieutenant Ashlynn Taige, 45th regular infantry.  If you are..." She paused and thrust the forty pound ammo belts into Gazzemocht's arms, reached into her pocket, pulled out a slim leather folder and snapped it open, her good eye narrowing as her replacement whirred in the socket, "Vaponci and Vaponci then you're the ones my captain contacted."  She snapped the folder closed and thrust the much lighter folder into Gaakronacht's hands.  "Your contract.  Four days of patrolling around the village.  I will be your liason."  She then reached out, her mechanical arm retrieving the ammo belts with ease.  "Any questions?"  She asked as she shifted the immense Lebarge and made an attempt at a smile to the beaver brothers.  It was not a very good one.

A final twist of an ensorcelled wrench brought the final touch on his most recent clockwork toy.  With a hum, two cerulean orbs flared to life, bright and constant.  The white porcelain enameled body and limbs flexed and moved about this way and that, learning and testing its form.    A full mirror revealed its form as something akin to a vixen shaped mannequin, having the basic form and anatomy, but no detail... a large doll.

Finished adjusting the gyros, gears and mechanics that made it move, it assumed its spot among five other similar life sized dolls.  A mink, a large breed feline, a large breed dog, a short-eared lapine, and a mouse.  All were female in basic form.

Their creator, a young looking feline of the cheetah persuasion with steely fur and dark ebony spots and tear streaks, gestured in a circular fashion indicating they should turn around.  Doing so, each found a small pile of folded clothes, which their internal programming indicated they should wear.  Locke, perhaps out of some gentlebeing learned response, turned away as they began to consider their 'uniforms'.  

The fox appearing one unfurled the largest piece to reveal a dress, a maid's garb, brown and white.  "She" twitched slightly, perhaps a gyro-instability, perhaps she should have it looked at in case there was a problem.  Having no other selection, she donned it like the others.  All came to realize that their attire was all the same.

"Done, ladies?  Good.  Now I've, uh, made you all to take care of the various tasks of maintaining the living spaces of Flamehaze.  She is in charge of your household operations, and I am Locke, the master of this household.  Any questions?"  He stood there several moments as each tilted their heads in slight confusion.

"Oh right, no vocabulators... haven't quite figured that one out just yet.  The reels are just too complicated and bulky.  I need to find a way to manufacture a smaller one, and to imprint it with the right runes..."  The cheetah began sketching notes on blackboards and easels.

The new maids began to filter out, having received instructions on tasks soundlessly from Flamehaze herself.

A few minutes of inventive bliss were all he was able to achieve before an alarm sounded.  Flipping up a paper thin flat panel display, numerous data readouts were displayed in crisp black and white.  He was crossing the border into Sevastia' Nyad and would reach civilization again.  He had spent too long out alone just he and Flamehaze, so long he built himself maids.

The important bit of information was that they were heading into a small lightning storm.

"Let's deploy the collectors and head in at best possible speed.  I'll be to the bridge in a moment."  Locke stated as he donned his coat and headed for the bridge.  It was good to get a break, all he had encountered was wind and rain, but a lightning storm gave them an opportunity to charge the batteries.

"They say only a fool charges a thunderhead holding his lance aloft."  He smiled, "what fools we certainly be."          

When Seth finally arrived at the scene of the crash, he was convinced he was too late to do anything about it, but common decency dictated he try.  It had belatedly occurred to him that a member of his race was ideally suited for this kind of rescue as he could go for an hour or four without breathing, and like most trained 'Cubi, could also make himself element-resistant.

Parking the bike he warded it again and undressed, shapeshifting himself a quick pair of pants for modesty.  While he might be fireproof, it did not necessarily apply to his clothes - or his underwear.

Watching everywhere for signs of collapse, he entered one of the burning carriages and strode into the flames, listening for the thoughts or emotions of anyone still trapped.

Outside the Aelisium Town

   After the brothers had given their information to the guard, an officer showed up, telling the guard to hold off. She then said that they did indeed have a job for them, and passed up a folder containing the details to Gaakronacht in the main pilot's seat.
   The brothers, on their part, were actually staring. Even their jaws hung open at the sight of Lieutenant Taige. However, if she looked closely and did not immediatley brush off their gaze as completely insensitive at seeing someone in such a condition and looked closer, she would notice that their expressions were not of shock and fear, but...wonder and awe?
   In unision, the brothers suddenly blurted out, "Who made those parts for you?!", possibly damaging whatever "professonal" image that had been going for up till then.
   "Or...did you make them yourself?" Gaakronacht added. The brothers had heard of people with such clockwork prosthetics and of the engineers who made them around Aelisium, but they had never seen any such thing in person. It was always a story or "friend of a friend". But seeing them here, in person, for the first time...
   But, that wasn't urgent at the moment. Gezzemocht suddenly spoke up from the secondary cockpit. "Er, my apologies, Lieutenant. Forget our inquiries for the moment, I suppose questions like that can wait. You did say you'd be our liason, right? I'm sure we'll have much better opportunities to converse in depth..." Gezzemocht spoke in a friendly voice that masked undercurrents of excitement, and his smile back to the Lieutenant was genuine.
   Gaakronact piped up again. "I got a better question; can you open the gate and show us where we'll be lodging before we get started on our patrol? We can also discuss precise details while we're at it." Gaakronact flipped through the folder, looking at times, patrol routs, local information, and other things. This was far more organized than any assignment other towns had given them, it was almost good to be back with fellow military. Gaak tossed the folder to Gezz in the rear cockpit as both sat back down, ready to move the mech to wherever it needed to go.

Kyirri looked up to Mr. Arklan with a blank stare. He knew better than to think that his boss genuinely cared about him. He could have easily found another assistant if Kyirri dared to make any demands of him. People were expendable in the slums, if one poor beggar off the streets stopped being useful, one could always find another.

"Cut the fake sentimentality." He stated blankly, as he glanced towards the slip of paper and bag, then back to Arklan, summarizing that the bag and paper weren't for him. I wonder what he intends by giving me twice my normal pay though... he knows I'm on no position to demand a better salary, and that I'm completely expendable to him beyond how I can give service. Plus, his wording makes me think he wants me to do something dangerous. It's not like most of the deliveries I give are safe, all of his previous assistants met rather gruesome ends, and I've had a few close calls myself. Still... I should get more details. After a moment's pause, he asked a simple query.
"What did you want me to do?"

Lucy unlocked her door, slammed it shut as she ran over to her wardrobe, quickly switching out of her bloodied clothes, leaving them in the hamper, her brain not really clicking she'll likely never use that hamper ever again.

Grabbing a towel from her bathroom, she wiped down her gash in her chest, and  as she she redressed, she wrapped the towel around her chest and began to dress, hoping the towel would act as a banage, at least preventing any more blood from staining her fresh clothes in case more seeped out while she moved.

She carefully but quicklycollected her equipment, looking at the knife. It glinted at her, as if grinning a sadistic grin. The blade would at least be useful if she got in a fight...

Lucy began scrawling a note to her mother as quickly as she could, her heart heavy for the first time that day. the reality of her condition was starting to ht her. Either way, she'd never see her family again most likely. Her brothers had felt the region, and her mother was all alone now. If this note didn't reach her, then her mother would likely merely be told she was dead.

She felt like crying now.  Her hand clenched into a fist, as she let out an anguished scream as she punched the wall. This wasn't fair. She couldn't even cry now.

Her eye caught the clock. Her time was up. She could hide here-

"Miss Alighieri?"An assertive, firm male voice called. It was her landlord, Mr. Tenpenny. He had likely just gotten back from worship, and he sounded kind of pissed.Of all the days to be late for the rent...

Bart snorted loudly, looking between the wreckage, airship, and down the tracks. It was so tempting to just leave before the authorities showed up to gather and question everyone, but--

...Weeelll, shit.

A scream from one of the burning cars kept him rooted. Most of the other passengers, beings especially, were trying to get away; where did that leave the survivors pinned underneath heavy luggage or KO'd by the impact? In deep trouble, that's where. And what was a naturally flame-resistant Creature to do?

Grumbling, Bart approached one of the cars and grabbed its door, ripping and tearing it off the hinges before slipping inside. "Anyone here? Scream or get left behind, your choice!" At least the interior was nice and smoky, just the way his dark lungs liked it.

Zelah had barely taken a couple of steps from the cabin door when his ears perked at a sudden noise and a torrent of emotion smashed down on him, apparently from the deck above. He snarled and staggered against the wall. Something had gone badly wrong on the airship, and the sour "taste" of most of the mental barrage wasn't a good sign. It reminded him of at least one fight she'd been in during her time in the Aeliseian army. Just in case... the 'Cubi ducked quickly back into his cabin, grabbed his weapons — plus the fully loaded spare stripper clips for his pistol — from his bag, made sure his chain-blade was fully wound up, and stuffed them into various pockets he'd added to his jacket for this purpose.

He left the bag behind as he rushed back out and along the corridor that led up on deck. The sudden roaring noise from far above was horribly suggestive of disaster. Footsteps echoed from various directions as he put his hand into the pocket that hid his pistol and reached for the final door that led up and outside. A bulge under the back of his jacket wriggled along his left sleeve as far as his wrist. If it was an attack, anything hostile on the other side of the door would get a sharpened wing-tentacle tip in the gizzard if it was close enough, a bullet if it wasn't.

The question of her prosthetics always came up.  Sometimes it was just staring.  Sometimes it came as nervous questions.  Rarely was it so direct.  Her initial reaction was to scowl, the clockwork eye whirring faster in its socket before she checked herself.  Anger wasn't helpful in situations like this.  "No, I didn't.  Don't ask me who did, how, or where.  I don't know."  She remembered though.  Every time she thought she might forget it always came back.

Her ears swiveled forward at their tone.  She was used to detachment.  She was superior to soldiers under her command, expected to order them to die.  Inferior to her officers, who used her to delegate their commands.  It created familiar barriers she was used to.  Soldiers knew better than to ask her unpleasant questions.  Officers didn't need to.

She lifted her forearm and pushed back a plate in her wrist to look at the clock.  With all the gears inside her it was an obvious addition.  "The captain wishes us to depart as soon as possible.  There are reports of deserters hiding out in the western scrublands, raiding farms and food stores.  I'd like to catch them before news of your arrival reaches them and they're on the lookout."

However her nose sniffed a moment before she sighed and shook her head.  "All right.  We can delay a hour.  Give you two a chance to stretch your legs and catch a meal.  If you need anything delivered to your quarters, leave it with the gate guard.  He'll have it transported for when we return."  She said as she walked around the steel arachnid.  Being infantry, she had only a rudimentary understanding of such vehicles.  "Where do I put my weapon?"

Whittington-Smythe listened attentively, and openly, to the proposal from Countess West-Hollow. He did not, however, make any move to accept the letter immediately - he was far too worldly-wise to do that. Besides, her reputation preceded her. He appreciated the effort she had gone to, as well, with her dress. It just failed to have any effect on him - after all, he'd had years of people trying this to get information out of him on the various projects he'd worked on.

He raised one eyebrow, and then reached for the letter, declaiming "This does not constitute acceptance, yet, of your offer. Neither am I declining it out of hand." His fingers gently closed on the letter, and pulled it from hers.

He got up, sauntered over to the desk, and daintily selected a paper knife from the organised drawer, turned the letter over and opened it, returning the knife to the drawer, before extracting the folded parchment, placing the envelope on the desk, and looked it over.

He paused, glanced up at the Countess, and indicated the paper with a wave of his other hand. "Were you privy to the contents of this?"

She nodded, and he went back to reading it. The official seal in the top corner was familiar, but the overlaid pattern indicating the diplomatic branch of the government was not one he'd seen very often before. The Department of Defence, sure, all the time, but not the Office of Foreign Relations.

... officially request that you join the diplomatic party on their journey to the city of Wolksheem. While there, you are requested and required to render all assistance to both the diplomatic envoys, and, should the occasion arise and the opportunity develop, and, in the opinion of the envoys or yourself,  the likelyhood it would improve diplomatic relations between the countries, to both the city of Wolksheem and the country of Voethfel.

After that, some details of where he should go, and with who. And at the bottom, something that - briefly - raised both of his eyebrows in surprise:
Should you accept this charge, know that you will have the grateful, personal thanks of your sovereign.

He folded the parchment carefully, and looked up at the vixen seated on the armchair in his office. "I presume the length of the assignment is indeterminate, and that the arrangements have been made to cater for my students and responsibilities at the Academy?" His tone almost made it a statement. At her nod, he nodded back, reflectively.

"In that case, I believe that I will be honoured to accept the charge you carry. If you will give me a minute or two to pack, I would be pleased to accompany you back to your ship. Unless you'd prefer we travelled separately?"

At her smile, he bowed a half-bow from the hip, slid the folded parchment into a pocket, and turned to open a closet and withdraw his suit jacket, flipping it out and putting it on, then opened various drawers on the desk, and selecting various small items, putting them in the pockets of his waistcoat, jacket, trousers, and shirt; nothing that upset the line of his suit, of course, but a surprisingly large number of items could be stored in the various deep pockets, without looking at all scruffy.

In merely a minute or so, he was ready to travel. He selected a great-coat, since airship travel tended to coldness, if one wasn't careful; and, of course, the Academy was sheltered from the prevailing winds; and hooked that over one arm, before presenting his other, with a smile, to the Countess.

"Shall we proceed, Aleyna?"

Gabriel finally found Walsh. Its crate was intact, but on it's side.

After dragging the steam-powered bike out of it's box and apart from the rubble, he started checking it over for damage. The boiler, firebox, and  fuel tanks were fine. Checking over the Walschaerts valve gear that gave the bike its name took a little more attention. The motorcycle looked massive with Gabriel standing next to it, but it was actually not more then two meters long. Gabriel constantly darted looks at the people around him, and reached for Holland once or twice, but no one seemed to pay any mind to the tinkering, four foot tall, young, rodent.

After going through a quick tuneup, and making sure the gear was on "All Stop," Gabriel lit it up.

Not only did the firebox blaze up, oil fuelling into six burners, but a set of enchantments flash heated the boiler to jump start the process. In scant seconds, steam pressure had built up. Once Gabriel took the bike out of park, the force would course through a myriad of brass tubes, powering each of Walshes three engines in turn, to the pipes that passed through the water pre-heating tank, and finally out the ornamented exhaust pipe. A second exhaust on the opposite side blew  out smoke from the firebox.

Gabriel was rather proud of the bike, having to hand assemble it from spare parts and scrap-metal. It was designed to be as long range and efficient as possible. The triple-expansion engines made full use of the steam pressure that fed them, and the co-genertation exhaust manifold recycled any "waste" heat, steam and smoke, to pre-heat water as it passed from the storage tank to the boiler. There was even a system of enchantments that would draw thermal energy from the firebox to fully re-energize the flash-heating crystals after fifteen minutes of burn. Really, the most expensive element was the oil, but a tank of oil went a lot farther then a scoop of coal.

Besides, Gabriel thought as he looked over the gauges and dials on the dash, How am I supposed to shovel coal while I'm sitting on a bike?

White steam and black smoke vented out the dual exhaust pipes, but Gabriel paused before pushing the hand lever from "All Stop" to "Dead Slow." Traveling with a stranger was risky, but traveling alone was outright dangerous. He glanced around to see if anyone else was setting up to head out.

Adelaide accepted the letter from the messenger, then with a jerk of her head directed him towards the kitchen. He could find a warm seat and get an invigorating drink from the cook. If he passed out it might delay her getting out of this dead end town.

She slit the envelope open with one claw as she walked back to her quarters. Adelaide only gave it a quick glance; she had the official transfer letter memorized. Funny thing was she didn't remember anyone getting mad at her recently, or rather unusually mad. She was also surprised to see that her new assignment was the hospital in Sebatos. That was a large city, almost the opposite of her current posting. She shrugged and tucked the letter into one of the many pouches on her belt. The masters of the order didn't use any sort of logic she could discern in her transfers.

At least she had packing down to an art form. When you moved at least once a year you tended not to collect much extra.

(OOC: I have visitors at home until Sunday, I'm afraid keeping up is going to be a problem. I'll try to make a quick post while my mum talks to Adi right behind me. Apologies in advance for the inevitably low quality.)

"What's going on?" Anabelle wondered as she walked out the door to see what the noises were.

A small crowd had gathering. Everyone was talking in whispers. Then she saw him.

She stepped back for a moment. She'd seen a few Demons before. She'd never spent enough time in their company to get to know them well, but she'd heard many stories about them. Some of them were scary - mostly tales passed on by oral tradition, probably with little truth behind them - while others were only mildly disturbing. All of them agreed on one thing, however: demons were incredibly resilient. What could possibly hurt one like that? Unless he was only part demon... it was a possibility, but even if that was the case he appeared to be quite strong. Yet someone or something had managed to fill him with holes.

Anabelle felt a tinge of fear when she thought that whatever had done it could still be around. She looked as far as she could see, but found nothing unusual - other than the Demon and the scared yet curious crowd. She found herself walking towards the Demon, compassion and curiosity outweighing her fear. People made way for her as she got closer to him. A few watched in silence, while others kept whispering.

She kneeled down to examine him. He was a feline, with long, dark hair and leathery wings, which had been perforated in many places and were dripping blood. His fur and clothes (uniform?) were also blood-stained. But he was still alive. Then she noticed the weapon, and concluded he was probably some kind of soldier. Which meant he was trained to fight. And still...

She looked in the direction of the gate once more, but found nothing.

"Did anyone see anything?" she asked out loud, but she got no useful answers.

She wondered what to do next. For some reason the attack she was fearing wasn't coming, which meant the attacker was either gone, incapacitated, or biding his/her/its time. She thought of using magic to detect it, but didn't know what to look for. And if it was that good at attacking and disappearing, it would probably be able to hide from her magic too. There wasn't much she could do on that front.

There was, however, something else she could do. In the middle of such a strange and worrying situation, only one thing was clear: someone was hurt. Annie didn't know who he was, nor what she wanted. She didn't know if he would attack her or others upon regaining consciousness, nor whether helping him would turn his attacker's attention against her. she didn't know what everyone else was thinking - oh, how she wished they could help her find the right course of action. But she couldn't leave him like that. If she let a stranger die knowing she could have helped, it would weigh on her conscience forever.

So she did the only thing she could think of: she carried him home as carefully as she could, and started to work on healing him. The general murmur became louder behind her back, but she knew it wasn't worth listening to: they didn't know anything more than she did. She'd work on quelling their doubts and catching up with the rumors the following day, if everything went well. She was aware that it was a big 'if'. At least she could use as much magic as she needed this time: Demons were highly magical Creatures, his body wouldn't resent it. She took his weapon and put it in a place she hoped was safe, took off the clothing items which were torn or stained, and then began the cleaning and healing process. Hopefully, he'd understand she was helping him. And maybe she'd get to learn what was going on once he woke up.

Falling
Challam could see the ground rushing up to greet him, probably rather certain his shield would protect him.  He couldn't feel anything, no emotions, not the shielded mind that was quickly gaining on him.  The last thing he heard before things went dark was what sounded like glass shattering, a sound something akin to a hammer hitting solid wood, then burlap being ripped.  After that, his whole world seemed to disappear for a moment.
The smell of salt, the gentle sound of rolling waves and a faint wet spray greeted the incubus back into the world.  Something was radiating heat behind him, he could feel in on the back of his neck.  Voices were coming from in front of him.
Standing in front of him was an equine demoness, white fur, with a crimson and gold long-coat over tight, brown, leather pants and a black corset.  She was standing in a partial circle, comprised of mostly cheering and jeering beings along with a few demons.  Immediately next to him were 2 other survivors from the crash, he'd noticed them both when he'd been boarding the airship just outside SAIA's Voethfel gate.
The equine started circling.  A wolf being was standing with a small knife in his hand, the equine had a slightly longer dagger in her own grasp.  The being made a lunge, lightning quick, and Challam was almost certain it would hit.  Instead, the equine grabbed the wolf's arm just below the wrist and yanked him forward, her other hand flipped the knife into an underhand stance as the blade flickered across the wolf's gray fur.  A pink and crimson mist  erupted from behind the equine as she stood, in total calm.  She approached the 3 survivors.
She stood in front of them, blood across her face, and long vicious teeth glaring at the survivors in a bear-trap smile.  She said in an eerily calm and emotionless voice, "I am captain Kattia Nohklin, you three are all that remains of the vessel you were on.  however, we seem to have a little problem.  I only have room on my crew for one..."
Pausing to flip the dark steel blade around in her hand, a sadistic mirth stained her tone, "That's why, we're going to have... TRYOUTS!  Though, do make it quick, we're leaving shortly, and we wouldn't want to have to arbitrarily decide for you."  
The same bear trap gleamed at the survivors as she flicked the knife carelessly between them.  The blade wedged itself into the sand, hilt up, inviting any of them to take hold of it's finely crafted grip.

Burning Train

Seth could pick up several thoughts and emotions, a lot of fear and despair near the front, and a lot of confusion near the back.  Most of the confusion, however was mostly annoyance.  He could see the outline of a dark shape near the front car.  A shadowy shape in the smoke.  That car was smoldering, and just about ready to go aflame.  The next one back had 3 or 4 different sets of emotions.  Probably beings from the general feel of things.

The demon could see a figure in the far corner of the car.  A young, shaggy, mutt looking being, maybe 20.  He looked unconscious .  other than that, there were small bags littered everywhere, and a few obviously dead bodies.

As far as Gabe could tell, most people weren't actually looking for a ride.  In fact, most people were moving their own way, either towards the airship, or city. The ones he could catch were either heading back into the inferno or heading away.  The slow moving motor cycle drew the attention of a few rather gruff looking beings, but the sight of the large gun cradled in his arm made them reconsider anything so foolish as trying to steal the machine.

Muddy Road
The city grew more clear, though the road grew harder to travel by.  The rain had continued it's constant patter had neither ceased, nor grown harder.  The mud was growing slicker, though the towers grew to imposing figures as their peaks seemed to raise higher into the air.  The airship had started raising, and gaining altitude as it began making it's docking pass.
The city gates were growing close.  A mildly annoyed demon, looked to be an elk, stood guard at the main gate, a blackened dome over his head.  He gave Sikici a skeptical look as the angel approached.  Waving the tiger forward, the demon said in a calm, almost pleasant alto  " 'ello sir.  Do you wind statin' yer business?  And also, is there anything you're carrying that might be considered, eh, contraband?  if you answer yes to the latter, you can either dispose of it here, or try and hide it off in the wilderness..."  
The demon flashed a toothy smile, "Just playin' with ya.  Welcome to Yagsandras, and don't cause too many problems.  I'd recommend putting up a light shield though, boy... some of those roofs are giving off waterfalls."

Flamehaze

The city ahead was just a few miles east of the Voethfel border, and, in fact was a mere 10 minute flight from Yagsandras.  If a new crew couldn't be acquired here, the Voethfellian population always seems more than willing to go on adventures into 'less than upstanding' business ventures.  In fact, most sky-pirates were based in Voethfel for that very reason.
The City of Avendal quickly approached, several other sky-ships came into view, including a pair of heavy battle-cruisers, and a battleship... the battleship looked brand new too.   A few unusually large civilian ships were approaching, but really, nothing else in the skies caught Locke's attention.  Down below, a pair of dockworkers were using light-wands to guide Locke into the berth, located at the top of a 300 foot tower.  The center of the tower was a large elevator, which made it very easy to transport goods.
The towers had several advantages.  They kept the city-streets clear of air-ship bows.  They allowed for quick deployment of military vessels, and the biggest advantage was that they also had a sense of security.  One could plant a ward on their ship's elevator, and it would only allow specified magic signatures to use said elevator.  The town below had many shops, every type of essential supply and many luxury items free flowed into Avendel, as such, it was one of many trade hubs where, chances are, if you're looking for it, you can find it here... or in the city just across the river and border.

Airship (Zelah)
As he eased outside, the first thing he would notice was that the entire crew he'd met when boarding was dead, along with several wearing identical uniforms, but obviously far better armed then what she'd seen when she'd first come aboard.  There were a few creatures standing on the deck.  Black coats, gold trim.  And to the port side, a massive airship, bristling with guns, armor, and at least twice the size of the civilian ship Zelah was on.
Standing in the middle of the deck, almost directly in front of the cubi was a very tall demon.  His long-coat bore a great deal more gold embroidery.  Wings folded back and a massive revolver in his left hand.  In his right was the captain with which Zelah had purchased a bunk from for the duration of the trip.  The demon looked very angry.   The demon, an unnaturally bright silver, mixing with an unnaturally dark black, met in the middle with a crimson colored fur patches where, perhaps brown would be on a being of similar pattern.
Thoughts were coming through much clearer now.  Although the words exchanged between the two couldn't be heard over the rush of wind,  the lack of people made their thoughts come through very clearly,  The captain was thinking of nothing in particular, and radiating fear.  Then demon, however, was radiating anger, and judging by his lips, the words matched his thoughts.  ' I thought i told you, if i catch you operating your slaving ring in Wolkshammer airspace again, i'd gut your crew, and throw you off your own deck before burning this wreck to the ground.  Maybe i'll save you the humiliation you piece of pirate shit, and just end your life here, if you tell me where your new victims are, and tell them to come out, that it's safe and they're in no trouble at all, then perhaps we can make an arrangement. '
The demon carelessly tossed the captain to the deck, holstered the weapon, and grew his claws.

BIG OOC NOTE
I'll finish the rest of the posts tomorrow morning, apologies to all who i didn't get to, but sleep needs come before the game, this will be updated ASAP.

Paige gave the Cougar the brightest smile she could manage in her current state, "I call bullshite Vince, even when I'm as drunk as last night I'm still not that easy to get into bed." She patted his shoulder as she passed. "Nice try though."The wolfess followed him though the lockup to the out-processing where he left her to return to his post.

Waiting around for a few minutes she soon had her possessions back and buckled in place, and once set headed back towards the hanger her old band owned, she was hoping someone else would turn up but after nearly three weeks had just about given up. As she walked she remember the letter Vince gave her.

Opening it with a thin blade she had hidden in her hair, Paige began to read.

Seth breathed a silent sigh of relief at the fact there were still living people in the train.  He felt annoyance and confusion at one end and fear at the other.  Since this was Creature territory it was a reasonable bet that anyone reasonably powerful would be able to save themselves.  The confused and angry people likely fell into that category.

Instead he made his way quickly to the front - people who were scared were almost certainly in more danger and thus a higher priority.  He opened his mouth to call out and promptly fell into a coughing fit - while he didn't need to breathe much, his body still had the protective reflexes of a regular Being and it took all his strength and discipline to recover.

The wolf revealed his backwings and morphing them into razor-sharp tentacles, began hacking into the door.  Once he was through he'd be able to slice open the carriage itself and provide some kind of escape route.  He began to prepare a low-level ice blast in case there were flames he needed to douse.

Challam groaned softly, rubbing the back of his head as he picked himself up off the ground. He looked around, noting the fighting ring, and gritted his teeth in frustration. Now how in the hells did she manage to drop my shield that well? And my rifle's gone. Lovely. But then an idea occurred to him.. pirate loyalty was about as solid as water..

He grinned. Suddenly those classes in deception didn't seem so silly anymore, and he came to appreciate the value of playacting..

"And who would want to follow a two-bit demon like you?" He announced, crossing his arms. "I take a look at your crew and I see rusting weapons and desperate eyes. I suspect you're keeping nearly half the loot all for yourself, aren't you? Would explain the harried state of this crew, it would!" He continued, and then raised his voice higher for everyone to hear.

"If I led this group, I'd see to it that everyone got their fair share of the winnings, not just some dolt with a quick blade and a fancy hat. That way, everyone could obtain even better equipment, and a well-armed crew would mean bigger targets for all of us. And bigger targets means even more for everyone who's in. It's a cycle that builds upon itself in an endless climb of wealth. Not that you'd know anything about that, would you, 'captain'?"

"I mean honestly, Nokhlin, look at you. Hitting passenger liners? That's small game, demon. There are military transports everywhere during these troubled times. And thanks to demands on the front lines, they've often only got a single platoon to protect them and maybe a mech or two!" He said, and then flashed a big grin at the gathered crowd. "Think of it, gentlemen. Hit the transport, make off with her cargo AND her weapons, then keep what we need, and sell the rest to her enemies at, dare I make a funny, cut-throat profit. We'll be RICH!" He announced.

He had ignored the knife entirely, but his wings had slowly morphed into six long, whip-like tentacles, each complete with a head on the tip. They slowly moved around him in a semi-circle, encircling him like a living shield. "Or you could stay with this incompetent mare, and continue to have your rightfully earned profits swindled away." He said, and gave one last grin. "Your choice, gentlemen."

Aelisium Town

  Both brothers were slightly surprised at the way Ashlynn's seeming irritation about mention of her prosthetics, though they had been rather abrupt. She went on to say exactly what they were patrolling for, which was good for direction, including the detail of it actually being important to leave as soon as possible. And apparently, being "liaison" actually meant she was going to accompany them, as she asked where to stow her weapon, which was somewhat unexpected, but not unwelcome.
  From the rear cockpit, Gezzemocht spoke up. "Oh, uh, hang on a sec..." He pushed some levers in his cockpit, then climbed down the side and went around to the rear of the mech, and opened up a side-hatch to the compartment where they kept their own possessions. After she put in everything she wanted, Gezz said "We're going to go park our mech for just a little bit while we catch a meal to-go, we can get going after that. If whatever bandits we're looking for being alterted to our arrival is a bad thing, then I agree that getting along as soon as possible is important. And don't worry, there's not really anything we have that's worth leaving behind or unpacking." Gezzemocht then pointed to some rungs bolted to the mech. "Hold onto those if you don't want to run to keep up on foot."
  Gezzemocht clambered back up the mech, but instead of going to the rear cockpit, he shimmied along the 'spine' of the mech until he was hanging next to Gaakronacht in the front cockpit as Gaak maneuvered the mech into the town.
  Gezz whispered to his brother. "Something's up."
  "Yep."
  "This is a military-occupied town and they're looking for outside help? Though not exactly a full regiment, the force they've got here isn't insignificant, even without heavy support. The raiders around here must be worse than we thought."
  "Yeah...something just doesn't feel right. It might just be that these 'deserters' managed to hijack some serious hardware, but then again...there could be something going on we don't know about."
  "Keep an eye out, let me know if you come up with anything else. And, uh...I'll get the food. Stay with Storm Scorp, keep the engine warm. We'll be leaving pretty quick, I guess."
  "Sure thing."
  The mech pulled up near the town square, and shuffled into the largest available space. Gezz jumped off, folder containing their "contract" in hand, and rounded back to Ashlynn. Looking at the nearby stores, he said "So, where do we go for some quick but decent-quality food?" He opened the folder and began examining its contents more thoroughly. "And what else can you tell us about the troubles you've been having?"
  Gezz then blinked. "Oh, right! You told us your name, Lieutenant, but we haven't introduced ourselves to you, just to that guard... You already know our last names, so I'm Gezzemocht, and that there's my brother, Gaakronacht." He said, pointing to his brother in the mech's main cockpit.
  "You can call us Gezz and Gaak!" Gaakronact called down.

Locke slid out of the pilot's seat and retrieved his jacket from its hanger.  Pausing to consider his arms locker, the feline angel took only his 'dueling' pistol wand to accompany his saber.  He was careful to observe the rules of port with regards to his weapons, before striding off to the dock port, preferably before Flamehaze or one of the new maids decided to open it.

Egress from the ship was easy, and the dock crews of Avendel accommodated all types, with a large, wide and railed ramps and wide, clear berths for those who could glide or fly.  Awaiting at the bottom of the ramp was a smartly dressed badger being with a slight air of mendaciousness about him when he caught sight of Locke.

The angel removed his locket, causing his wings to issue forth from his back.  His jacket, being a special weave, had the appropriate spots once the enchantment was released.  The badger backed down slightly and scribbled something on his clipboard.

"Welcome to Avendel sir, the Flamehaze has been here before... you are?"  spoke the badger in a pleasant tone tinted with a smidgen of curiosity.

Locke's reply was offhanded and casual, after all there was nothing to hide about the ownership, "Locke, here are the papers and such.  I acquired her from the previous owner, amiably I might add, everything is in order from the 'Nyad registries."

The badger examined the paperwork, "I am Geoff.  Ah yes, everything appears in order, appropriate seals and magical marks.  Here you are, my lord, berthing fees and such will be handled when you are prepared to depart.  Here is the manifest of port charges, do you have anything to declare?"

Taking back his registry papers and the offered list of fees, Locke shook his head, "just what I have on me for arms, I have no cargo as I'm off mark."

They both entered the elevator down and during the descent, Geoff offered Locke a small marker.  "If you plan on warding the lift, you can include this staff marker... if not, any berthing services will only be handled with your permission.  There is an extra service charge for a private berth of course."

"Naturally."  Locke sighed as the door opened to ground level, "thank you for your attention Mister Geoff."

Bowing, the badger retired back towards the administrative area for the port authority, "thank you my lord, enjoy your time here."

A newcomer to this city, the lone cheetah angel felt small, but it was nice to be back to civilization.

Ashlynn looked at them a moment.  Frowned in thought, then pointed.  "I'd recommend Aldele's if you can handle spicy.  She makes a vegetarian stew that should suit you.  If not, that corner market has a selection that should.  The contract has a three hundred credit chit.  Just show it to the owners and they'll send us the bill."  She folded her hands behind her back, "Don't go over the limit please.  Audits are fun only for the auditors."

As the one brother ran for provisions she sighed, standing besides the rungs.  Not at ease.  Not leaning.  She stood almost completely motionless.   However she did look at the other brother... not sure still which was which.  "Our problem is that we are away from the front, which means most of our force is sent northeast or east but far enough from the capital that individuals think they can leave, evade, and return home.  We have soldiers to secure the town from raids but not to dispatch armed patrols.  The result is we're stuck in here, they're out there, and they know we can't go after them."

Ashlynn let out a disgusted snort.  "Deserters are only the first possibility.  They could also be raiders looking to plunder vunerable assets or even soul slavers."  Hate dripped from her voice, "We've had difficulty with airships sneaking in and hiding in the badlands outside town.  They grab who they can and withdraw.  We don't think its military action.  The Anhks generally just level everything in cannon shot, occupies, and rebuilt to suit.  Might be a Nyad strike force too, but that's really stretching it.  Never know with them though." She said as she crossed her arms and shook her head.  "The only way to know for sure is to go out there when they're not expecting us and see.  So we hire irregulars.  If they're deserters, they get a chance at surrender.  If they're not then they get a ballistic trial."

She returned to that utterly neutral stance, without even a bit of stray movement.  "So what about you two?  How'd you get the equipment?  It doesn't look like a standard warmech and is much too advanced to be an Anhk refit."

There was a slight chance it might not have been one of Zelah's absolute worst ideas, but the suddenly revealed carnage and the significance of the thoughts he'd overheard from the hulking Demon had left him a little numb and not thinking clearly. "Hey, you, what're you doing with Captain Hake?" the 'Cubi shouted over the wind noise as he took a few steps forward. Just then his brain caught up with his muzzle, he made a startled what-the-hell-am-I-doing! "mew" noise like a frightened kitten, turned and bolted back towards the door.

Zelah's tactical advance to the rear would have carried him through the door if he'd noticed a gust of wind had caught it and nudged it shut while his back was turned. He hit the door snout-first with an almost comical grunt, and a sparkle of disrupted magic at the back of his head marked the spot where a pair of green batlike wings abruptly sprouted through his hair. The no longer disguised 'Cubi stood there for a few seconds, headwings jerkily sinking to half-mast, then he very slowly took his hand out of his jacket pocket, making it clear his fingers weren't holding a weapon, and had no intention of holding a weapon of any kind. He turned again to face the Demon, an anxious look on his face, ears and whiskers drooping, and his tail fluffed out from root to tip. He stared in horrified fascination at the huge claws the Demon's hands were growing.

On the plus side, Sikici was getting where he needed to go. On the minus side, the road was getting muddier. If his clothes got wet, they could be dried; if his clothes got muddy, they could be washed. But washing his clothes would make them wet, and then they would have to dry, which was the situation that the angel had been trying to avoid in the first place. But Sikici was careful enough not to slosh around in the mud too much, and luckily did not get any of the liquid dirt upon his clothing. The airship he had been using for cover was rising to go to wherever it needed to go, which was fine, seeing as how Sikici had arrived at the city gates.

Ah yes, the city guard. A gate usually had a guard accompanying it, and Yagsandras had a city gate, therefore it made sense for there to be a guard. Sikici gave the guard his reply, in a monotone and with a rather emotionless face. "I wouldn't say business, so much the fact that I am going somewhere, and Yagsandras happens to be in between where I started from and that somewhere I am going. I supposed I could stop and browse the city for my amusement for a while. I wouldn't say I have anything that is contraband, although that's rather obvious. Would you tell anybody that you had something illegal in your possession?"

The angel cocked his head to a side. "If I did have contraband, I would certainly try to cause many problems. But I don't, so therefore I won't try to cause too many problems. And thank you for the advice regarding the light shields. I've heard that waterfalls are beautiful sights to behold, but I'll put one up regardless."

If nothing else happened (i.e. the guard threw him in jail because he thought Sikici was a lunatic), the angel would continue into the city, placing up a light shield so as not to suddenly find himself underneath a deluge of water. He wasn't quite sure where he was going to go now. Wandering around aimlessly in the hopes that something would happen seemed like a good idea.

At the Job Boards

Several different jobs caught the feline's eye, an ad for some item in the wilderness, request for crewmen aboard both sea and air ships.  There was a request specifically for a water-mage of some kind in a southern province, perhaps a day's travel.  If nothing else, the pay was good on that one.

While his attention was transfixed on the boards, a female feline, black fur, with a white belly, and white paws.  She dressed in full adventuring garb, and looked to be in her mid 20s.  She strolled up next to Arroyo and began checking out the board as well.  She looked at the addresses, though, she occasionally stole a few glances at the golden furred boy while making her way down the many advertisements.

Cafe

As the two sat together getting their breakfast, the town continued on peacefully.  Various news and gossip could be overheard as the town went about another sleepy and seemingly uneventful day.  A lot of talk was focused around a recent train crash, but other than that, it seemed to be a whole lot of nothing.
A scantily clad succubus vixen walked by, flashing Stephan a wicked grin, and a wink.  She was not someone he recognized in the slightest, however, if he followed where she'd gone, he'd note that she had disappeared from view into a near-by library.

Aeliseium Apartment

"Lucy, is everything alright in there?  Do you have a visitor or something?  I thought i may have heard a scream."
The voice was followed by a knock, and probably the man pressing his ear to the door to listen for activity.  At that point Lucy seemed to have but 3 real options.  Jumping wasn't an option, too dangerous from that height.  She could, however, use the planters and window sills to scurry down the building.  Or up for that matter.  She could climb to the roofs, and make her way to relative safety over the crowds.  Or she could try and bluff her way down to the streets, and work her way to the gate that way.  She'd only have a few seconds to choose and act before the decision was made for her, however.

Sleepy Grove

Almost on cue, the outline of a chartered airship started settling into a standard landing pattern, that would put it just above the sanctuary's outer garden.  It grew closer by the minute.  A relatively small courier vessel, probably sent specifically to pick her up.  Not completely unheard of, but generally such luxuries were spent on those who'd earned the papering, not those who were being taught a lesson in humility.
The captain of the airship was a cross looking Scottish terrier, everything about the being said he was annoyed to be here, but, apparently he'd been paid just enough to compel him to not have the order come looking for their money.  He dropped a few lines down, finding a clearing only slightly larger than the small zeppelin.  The 3 man crew quickly slid down the ropes, running in the different directions, pulling the airship down to it's landing position.  The captain stepped out, onto the ground, finding Addy without much effort at all.  His weak attempts at politeness were obvious.  He didn't want to come out to this sleepy town,  and his gruff attitude towards Addy made that completely obvious, "Alright Ms. Montegu, i'm here to take you away... hopefully you've got everything packed, because you're leaving in 20 minutes or less... whether your stuff comes with you is all up to you, lass."

Book Store

The canine gave the roo-rat a gentle gaze, "Kyirri, there's a specific book i've managed to track down.  It's in the hands of a private collector, and he's very graciously agreed to sell the book.  It's going to be a 2 or 3 day trip however, and it's not the safest of routes.  Think of the double-pay as a sort of bonus for both doing me a great favor, and as a means of compensating you for the relative danger this trip will put you in.  You've been a good assistant, you're quiet, and unobtrusive, yet you do good work.  That, in and of itself is valuable.  So i hope you trust me when i say that i don't lightly send my assistants on jobs like this.  If it was really too dangerous, i'd hire a proper adventurer to go get it... As is, double pay, and you can keep the leftovers of the travel money.  Just  remember that it's 3 large gold, and 5 silver pieces for the book.  Everything else is yours for travel, food, and whatever else you might want or need."

Trinity Academy

The vixen grinned in a most un-countess-like way, a twinkle of the eye, and a toothy, overly-devious grin.  "Why Cyril, it's good to see that you've decided to add a little informality to our working relationship, which, i regret to inform you, will only go so far as getting you to Wolksheem... after  that, you'll have the rest of the diplomatic team to meet with and work on building relations with the Voethfellian population."
She paused to take a look around, "if that's everything you'll need then yes, let's get going.  I'm docked in slip 3"
She slid her arm around his, and headed towards the diplomatic airship waiting at the dock.  The trip would be a few hours to get to Wolksheem.

Airship Deck

Zelah would be rather surprised to find that after the captain had gone to cowering in the corner.  The large demon went from an impressive, imposing figure, to one of polite smiles, and even friendliness.   The demon came over to check on the horribly startled cubi, the long vicious claws had shrunk back into regular fingers, the massive revolver was sitting in a holster on the canine's hip.  A soft rolling tenor carried over the wind, "Hello, there!  I'm sorry our meeting had to be under such dire circumstances."

The demon extended a hand, and gave a friendly smile, "Baseel Wolkshammer, and you've got nothing to fear from
me or men, sir."

Police Station

As Paige read through the letter, the basic gist was an open invite to join the ducal heir for a little project he was working on, under his father's request.  If she was truly interested in joining him, she could find him at, depending on the time, a few specific sets of coordinates, one was the palace, a 15 minute walk from where she was.  However, that didn't happen until late this evening.  Earlier times were listed with map coordinates.
With the letter was a picture that seemed familiar yet she didn't recognize the male  german shepherd.  Clearly a demon, large horns and wings, blue eyes.  Everything about him seemed familiar, yet... as her memory of him was a daze.

Beach

The crew themselves were more amused by the boldness of the cubi, a few interested ears perked up, but all in all, it seemed amused sneer was the more prevalent expression.  The demoness snorted, " i do hope you're joking little cubi.  If you're really planning on challenging me, i suggest you try intimidating someone who didn't shatter that glass-globe you called a shield with a single kick."
Long vicious claws grew from her hand, a swirling, sparkling red powder seemed to rise from her hands.  "you question my tactics, and yet we made more from this little raid then the last 3 Aeliseian military transports we hit combined."  A very toothy grin on her face as she unsheathed the long blade strapped to her side.  It's long, jagged teeth looking more like they belonged in the mouth of a shark than on the edge of a sword.  She flicked a switch and the teeth began spinning with a soft hum.
"Have you ever fought against an Aeliseian chain-blade?  they're vicious little tools... take a bit of work to get use to, and prepared, but once they're up to speed, they'll cut through just about anything."
The demoness began stalking forwards, the large, single-edged sword in one hand, her other rested near her hip.  the grip of a pistol in plain view, though he couldn't tell by the grip, as it wasn't a design he'd seen before.

Avendel

The city seemed to reach out and take the angel in, it was a welcoming place at first, though clouds seemed to be rolling in from the east, unusual, though not unheard of this time of year.  High above the city, Airships came and went, delivering goods to and from the sprawling commerce center.  A couple of beggars were waiting in the corridor leading from the "docks" to the main city districts, trying to grab the attention of any captain they could find.
A wand salesman stopped the cheetah for a moment, trying draw his attention to the various specialty wands he sold.  A few looked of decent quality, though the actual enchantments were probably of dubious quality at best.  The shops district was the best place to go looking for something like that.
The town seemed mostly pleasant, if not a little busy at the moment.  The smell of freshly seared meat greeted the feline's nose as a restaruant opened it's doors for the lunch crowd.  A young looking chipmunk, perhaps in her mid 20s.  Down the street, a clothing vendor was advertising his enchanted robes, tunics and dress shirts, claiming them to be as strong as plate-mail, and as light as cotton.  Given the prices, he either wasn't joking... or didn't get too many repeat customers.

Train Crash

The door gave Seth little trouble as it was splintered then ripped away.  The survivors inside were all beings.  They were huddled on the floor, cowering.  As soon as the light came flooding in, and the smoke began leaving, they rushed for the hole, moving in a messy lump as they cleared the train.  The last being cleared the newly created doorway just as the smoldering in the car became a full blown inferno.  The entire wall burst into flames.  If there was anyone else in the car, they were clearly dead, or, were emitting no emotions at all, were exceedingly well hidden, and had a nigh-impossible mind shield... probably the former...

Aeliseium Town

A group of civilians seems to be trying to get a better look at whatever was going on.  Strangeness without hostility was always a welcome break from the monotony of village life, and so the collection of farmers and tradesmen began peeking out over the wall surrounding the city at the strange contraption before them.  It was clearly of Aeliseium design, too "fragile" looking to be insectis, and it -looked-  too complex to be within the grasp of creatures.  However, the civilians merely stood behind the skunk officer, and let her do the talking.  No sense causing trouble with something that was probably powerful enough to level the entire town in a matter of hours, if that...

Bart sifted through the corpses and luggage fervently, several times tugging on a person's wrist only to have the flesh literally disintegrate into ashes. God, it would take hours for the smell of death and burnt hair to wash off. He was about to ditch the search effort and smash into the next car when he picked up the only living, uncharred figure in sight: the mutt. "Hey, you," Bart effortlessly lifted him by the shoulders and gave a rough shake, "Upsy-daisy."

A piece of loose timber dropped from above and clonked him on the head, reminding him that now wasn't the time to screw around. He tossed the limp being over his shoulder, easily barreling through and into the fresh air outside before tripping and dropping the canine like a ton of bricks. The poor guy was lucky Bart didn't break his neck in the process.

The Blonde succubus stared at the photo, hoping to figure out where she could possibly know his face from. Oh she knew he was the Duke's heir, and had seen his photograph in the papers a few times, but she had this feeling she'd met him in the flesh.

Then it hit her...Last night she was preeety sure she had given  him what amounted to a lapdance and propositioned him right after..."Oh godsdamnit" She said loud enough to turn a few heads, which just caused her to blush a nice fiery red. 'Damnit why'd he have to be cute' her inner monologue added.

Now that her headache had been blasted away by the realization she'd made a fool of herself with the possibly second most powerful man in the Duchy, she fairly sprinted back to the Hanger. Yes, she needed a job if that's what this demon was offering, but turning up in her current alcohol soaked jeans and t-shirt was not a good idea.

Stripping off once in the hanger she dumped her old clothes in a bin she had been using, she really needed to wash what was in there but so far he days had been getting up getting dressed in something resembling clean and then getting drunk as fast as possible.

Once in the shower Paige relaxed some, the hot water soaking her fur and getting the little kinks out of her muscles. Drying off with the aid of a minor spell she looked again at the letter, noting that she'd missed two of the times, once while checking out of the jail, and the other while cleaning up but still had time till the third. Fussing with her hair properly instead of just shaping into place she tied it into a pair of braided pigtails. Done with her hair she padded over to her closet and pulled out her flightsuit, mainly because it was the most presentable (and rugged thanks to a few minor spells). Dressing she belted on her swords and her thigh holster, then decided to grab the fur-lined jacket she wore in the cockpit to keep her warm.

Certain she didn't quite look as bad as she might have last night (and hopefully a bit more professional) she left the hanger and headed to meet the heir.

Seth backed out of the flames quickly and watched the Beings escape.  Once they were out of immediate danger, Seth made his way back towards the far end of the train where the confusion and annoyance had come from.  While Creatures would have a better chance at survival he wasn't about to leave anyone who might need help.

Train Crash, Nhylamar

An insistent magical chime echoed in the back of his mind. Something had triggered the silent alarm ward he'd set on his vehicle. Rolling around in a derailed train car might have done that. So would a looter taking advantage of the chaos. Tezkat rubbed the bridge of his nose. How the hell could anyone call such annoying sensation a "silent" alarm, anyway? The spell's creator was clearly a sadist.

Ky continued buzzing around as a hummingbird. The tiny creature flitted up above the fallen train cars, surveying the devastation. Something on the other side of the car caught his attention.

"Hey. There's a little rat guy pulling a bike out of the baggage car."

"What?" Tezkat scowled and vaulted over the car.


A shadow descended over Gabriel. The dark form, silhouetted against the morning sun, dropped from above the adjacent train car. His leather coat fluttered around him, open to reveal a muscular, black furred chest. His hand rested on the silk-bound hilt of a sword. The rune-lined grip of a handgun poked out of a holster at his hip.

The panther sized up the young rat, sapphire eyes blazing and dishevelled blond hair matted with soot. His demeanour quickly softened. He didn't look much older than Gabriel--late teens at most. He stood up straight and adjusted his coat with a quick jerk on the lapels. His relaxed grin revealed a sharp, white fang.

"Nice ride, kid."


Tezkat strode past the young rider and hopped into the baggage car without waiting for a reply. He had his own ride to look after.

You might have mentioned that it wasn't my bike.

You didn't give me a chance!

The car was a mess. Luggage and supplies lay strewn all over the place. Ky swooped inside, circled a few times, and came to rest on an overturned wooden trunk. His form shifted upon landing. Now a sleek little black ferret, he dove into the clutter and sniffed around.

Tezkat found his crate in the corner of the car. The crash had smashed it open, but its contents seemed intact. He dispelled the wards with a wave of his hand and pulled away the covering to reveal a demonic contraption of black, purple, and gold.

The metal beast sat in the corner like a gargoyle, lifeless crystal eyes staring into space and wings folded against its sides. Tezkat ran his hand along the sleeping machine. A hiss of air announced the opening of an access panel over its heart--three concentric rings of gold engraved with arcane glyphs. He removed a shimmering crimson gemstone from his pocket and set it in the center of the rings.

At the touch of the soulstone, the machine flared to life. Crimson flames sparkled in its eyes. Arcane symbols crackled with eldrich light, and the three rings whirred into motion, each spinning on a different axis. The access panel swung shut and sealed. The bike purred softly.

Tezkat straddled the padded leather seat and took hold of the metal reins. "Come on, Ky. We're going."

The little ferret poked his head out of a pile of clothing. "I found you a shirt. It looks like your size."

Tezkat eased the bike forward, pushing debris and clutter out of his path. He leaned over and snatched the shirt from the pile. The previous owner had indeed been about his size--and surely had more pressing concerns at the moment than some missing articles of clothing. He rummaged around for a few other items and stashed them away.

Ky hopped onto the bike and scurried up the leather coat. His form shifted once again. He rode out of the baggage car wrapped comfortably around his master's head as a pair of brass goggles.

Arroyo's eyes skimmed through the job board quickly. 'An item quests...redundant and boring. New crew mate needed on airship, as if I'm going back on a boat again after being out at sea for a long time...what's this?' He plucked the advertisement of help wanted from a water mage, very odd to him. A specific kind of person for a certain little quest. But the pay was hard to pass up.

He folded the advertisement and stuffed it in his pocket, just so no one could steal this job from him,then again who would be able to? He to ponder a bit, what about his boat? It would have taken a day's journey to get their by boat. It would seem quicker by train. He started to casually walk away from the job board, taking long strides towards the docks, thinking whether or not to go by sea or by train while thinking of the risks of each method of transportation. But while he was thinking about that, he reexamines the advertisement for his mission so he knows what exactly he's getting himself into.

Aelisium Town

  It seemed that the mech's arrival hadn't escaped the attention of the townsfolk, though neither brother was bothered.
  At Ashlynn's information that their contract had some credit on it already, Gezzemocht smiled. "Actually, the credit now won't be necessary...we've still got some money from our previous jobs. In fact, when coming to a new town, I'll normally spend money getting parts and other things, and spending a day tuning up our mech before taking on the assignments, but I apparently don't have time for that this time as surprise is of the essence..."
  Gezzemocht then headed over to the market while Gaakronacht stayed in the mech's main cockpit, listening to Ashlynn describe the nature of the town's raider troubles. Gaakronacht absorbed the information intently, thinking on its potential implications.
  To Ashlynn's questions, Gaak responded, "Oh, Storm Scorp here? You're correct, it isn't a standard warmech, but it's not an Ahnk refit, either. We--well, mostly Gezz, but I and a team of engineers helped--actually built this thing ourselves, when we were in the military."
  Gaak made sure to meet Ashlynn's eyes after that. "No, we're not deserters, our service time expired legitimately, thank you. If fact, we would have stayed on if it weren't for the increase in raider activity along the fringes, and we figured we'd do more good out here than on the lines.
  "Anyway, as we told the gate-guard, we were in the 35th Mechanical Corps; I in the pilot and operator's division, Gezz in the engineer and developer's division. Gezz worked as the lead engineer on a lot of prototyping projects, while I often field-tested new experimental mechs. It always seemed that the stranger it was, the better I could handle it...anyway, Gezz finally got the go-ahead to work on a project of his own and, well, Storm Scorp was the result. He actually did draw some inspiration from some Ahnker configurations, he thought he could redesign them from an Aelisian standpoint, and well, he did. Best thing he's ever built, and the best thing I've ever piloted. We took the Scorp into several major battles together, and then our time finally expired. Go figure; due to all the other work Gezz had done, we were able to keep the Scorp when we left, though I think the Corps still has copies of most of the blueprints. I doubt they'll bother trying to reproduce the Storm Scorp though, it's too unusual to fit into a regular mech division."
  "That it is." Gezzemocht said, returning from the market. "Lunch!" He called up to Gaakronacht, tossing a small bag up. Gaak happily dug into the fresh fruits and other foodstuffs. "I actually rather miss working for the military, though." Gezz said, digging into his own food. "You'd be hard-pressed to find any better supply of high-quality materials, workshops, whole teams of lesser engineers, and the experience of superior engineers... Much of my best work, including the Storm Scorp of course, was done there. That quadrupedal design? You would not believe how complex it is. There have been other experiments with such radical designs, but they've only had limited success, and they weren't able to scale it down as much as I have. But, while in the military, I managed to get it working. I think I hope to return, but of course, they're always looking for the next bright spark, and it's likely they'll retain any new candidates longer than me, which means said candidates will have been kept up with the times, leaving me behind in the dust... oh well. What we're doing now is important."
  Gezzemocht looked up at the Storm Scorp. "Well, unless there's anything you need to do or collect, I suppose we should get going. Although...the Storm Scorp really was designed as a two-person mech, not three. I figure you don't have your own small transportation, otherwise you wouldn't have asked to store your weapons, so... I guess you can sit in the rear cockpit, I'll be up front with my brother. But if anything happens, I'll need you to disembark quickly so I can man the rear cockpit. Just don't touch anything while we're traveling, please. Especially the controls."
  Gezzemocht climbed up the side of the mech, eventually settling up in the front cockpit with his brother, and waited for Ashlynn to embark or go do anything else she needed to first.

Kyirri stared at Mr. Arklan silently, not sure what to make of his speech. He'd worked alongside him enough so that he probably knew about Kyirri's thoughts on apparent generosity. Always a trap, it is. He didn't even have to mention anything.

"A proper adventurer... kind of like the ones who would go back on their deals as soon as someone shines a few coins in their face." He said dryly. I suppose he could also add that I've never stolen from him to that list. Not that I could really blame anyone, since I get nearly killed once every week or so and I only get barely enough to feed myself. Double pay though... I expect that I'll have to spend most of it just getting to and from my destination intact, with little to nothing to spare. He shook his head, and began thinking about his assignment.

I'm picking something up instead of delivering it, and I'm carrying an unusually large amount of money for this assignment. That means I won't have anyone after me in particular for the first stretch, but I'll still have to watch out for being mugged. As for the return, I'll probably have someone coming for me, though I won't have as much money with me. Still, I should take two different routes, going the same way both ways will only make me an easy target...
"If it's a two or three day trip, then I take it I will be leaving the slums for a time. Where am I headed to?"
"Also..." he continued. "Is there any specific time-frame in which you want me to be back? I know you'd prefer as soon as possible but moving quickly is often risky."

Avendel


Locke waved off the wand salesperson with a shake of his head, "not today I'm afraid, strictly business and all, no need for one right now."

The cheetah angel strode off with purpose and quickness before the wand merchant could formulate a new approach, and ducked into the restaurant.  The smell of seared meat was a little more than he was willing to bear, especially since he was rather hungry.

The maître d' greeted him at the front, "good day sir, one for lunch?"

He nodded to the young lady, who gathered a menu and gestured for Locke to follow, "this way sir."

The restaurant was not very busy yet, so a booth was easy to obtain and what he was seated at.  The menu was opened and presented, "the fish is especially good this time of year sir, and we have a fine selection of aged meats.  Your server will be with you shortly, enjoy your time with us sir."

Locke nodded his appreciation and perused the menu while awaiting the wait staff.  He ordered a fine lunch, but not extravagant and merely sparkling water, nothing distilled or fermented.  It was an excellent change to mechanical chefs and bulk food stores on Flamehaze.  Settling his bill, Locke left and headed deeper into the shops district, stopping to examine the wares at the clothing vendor selling enchanted wares.

"Pardon me, you would not happen to have a long coat with dimensional pockets by any chance?"  The angel inquired.

Zelah's anxiety reduced a little as the Demon approached, looking much less threatening now. An odd wriggling motion along his sleeve marked where his ready to strike tentacle pulled back and vanished into his body. He smiled politely, although calling his expression a smile might be generous. Despite Wolkshammer's words, the 'Cubi was still nervous and on edge. "Heh, you're right," he said, extending a hand himself, "hardly the best of introductions. I'm Zelah Marazanvose, late of Aeliseium. Very late, if I ever go back there and they get hold of me." He smiled wryly, and a little sadly, and flapped his right headwing.

Abruptly Zelah's whole attitude changed, his expression now one of disbelief, then anger, then a white-hot fury. "Wait, I though I'd heard you say... Hake was a slaver? He planned to sell me? And here, in Nhylamar, that means..." More than just the 'Cubi's face was showing his emotional turmoil; an odd wave of distortion, not really much like a normal 'Cubi shapeshift, washed over Zelah's body, its effects only obvious at head and hands, although the sudden bulge at the front of her jacket was a pretty strong clue as to what had just happened. She ignored the Demon for the moment and turned her head, snarling with a mixture of literally soul-deep fright and burning rage, towards the scruffy beagle huddling in a corner of the deck where he'd been dropped.

As Zelah charged towards the terrified captain, her hand dipped into her jacket pocket and this time took out her pistol, an Ailiseium army model with a distinctive wooden grip and a boxy magazine hanging underneath. A practiced thumb motion pushed the safety catch off and pulled the hammer back. She grabbed the beagle's hair in her free hand, and shoved the muzzle of her pistol under his throat. "Hake, you son of a bitch!" she screamed as her headwings flared out behind her ears, "you were going to sell my soul? After what I paid you for this trip? Give me my money back!"

Train wreck, Nhylamar

Gabriel watched the other biker roll out. The rider's comment had nearly given him a heart attack.

He's thrice my size, loaded for bear, and riding a bike that looks it was forged in hellfire, he thought. On the other hand, he liked Walsh.

Gabriel slid Holland into a sheath just under the handlebar, and got Walsh moving.

Once he caught up with Mister Hell-on-Wheels, he cut back from Ahead, Full to Ahead, Standard.

"Hoy!" He shouted. "Not safe to go it alone, aye?" His voice was light, typical of a youth, but he was used to shouting over the din of engines. "Saftey in numbers, y'know? If ya have me along, I might be able to keep that bike of yours in full trim, too."

"The name's Gabriel!"

Stephan was listening to Mary rattle on about problems and news regarding her Tinker shop. It was nice to hear about something outside of the realm of the standard problems with the magic show. He had just finished a decent breakfast, and was now sipping his cup of coffee. Then she walked by.

A succubus, a vixen, walked by. Her dress, her attitude, both done to draw attention... to make the mind wander, Stephan wouldn't have been a man if he hadn't noticed. She flashed Stephan a wicked grin, and winked before slinking off into the nearby library. "You're not listening to me, are you?" Mary followed Stephan's gaze to the retreating form of the succubus, "Oh wow, she's pretty," she gave Stephan a sly look, "You should go talk to her."

Stephan snapped to, "Uh... no... she's pretty but I'm not so..."

Mary interrupted him in a sing song voice, "Doooooo iiitttt.... doooo iiittttt..."

"Mary," he glared at her.

she sighed, "Stephan not every woman is like Stephie, she was nuts. Come on it might be fun!" she started gathering up her belongings, "I'm going to head back to the wagons, thank you for the breakfast, I hope everything works out..." Stephan rolled his eyes as she started to leave. She paused and gave him a smirk, "in whatever you pursue," and sauntered down the street.

Stephan shook his head and grumbled under his breath about his sister, paid for the meal, and added a generous tip. He stood up, and looked thoughtfully in the direction of the library and sighed. He was truly his father's child. From what he remembered of his father; he liked to explore, to question, to let his curiosity get the better of him. If he didn't try, then it would niggle at him for the rest of the day. He smoothed out his jacket and made his way into the library, not completely certain on where it was going to lead him.

Perhaps it was mistrust, or simple paranoia. What ever it was, Lucy did not say a word, merely slinking over to the window and quietly unlatching it, then lifting the wooden frame up.

Five stories up of a 7 story building. The roof was her best bet. She gazed into the streets below, it wasn't too busy. She could see the market place down the street, the nearest city gate, and the Airport. The airport was a possibility, though sneaking on an airship might put he rout of the frying pan and into the fire.

The gate was her goal, but the Airport was a good enough backup plan. With the gate she could vanish off into the bush, maybe see if she could head towards someplace less hostile.

She stepped out onto the planter, the dirt completely barren, as she hugged the red brick wall, looking up, she figure her best bet was the rooftops. She swallowed, leaping as she reached for the planter above her-

She gasped as she grabbed it with both hands, heaving herself up onto it. Even though her heart now longer functioned, her mind gladly filled in the gap.  As she stood up, she repeated the process, this time with a little more confidence.

The following time she had to use the windowsill, grabbing it and pulling herself up, carefully pressing her feet against the glass, allowing her to reach the rooftop. She pulled herself up, the undead ocelot let out a low, but aloud and triumphant laugh.

"Dame Doctor Montegu," corrected Adelaide without even looking at the captain as she finished tightening the buckles on a larger belt pouch she had just added to her normal belt. Knights learned to travel light and fast early in their careers. She saw the local Master being intercepted by the messanger as he made his way to the garden to see what the commotion was. That would save her having to find the man and make an explanation. "I am ready now." She gestured towards the airship for the captain to lead the way.

Challam simply shrugged, it had been worth a try. He immediately prepared his tentacles for battle as both sets of wings wholly disappeared. The result was four long, thick tentacles which ended in the trademark heads of his clan, and then close to a dozen smaller ones, as thin as knives. "Suit yourself then, pretty horse. I figure that blade of yours will sell for a nifty price." He said, and then promptly sent one of the larger tentacles zipping forward, the head gnashing with its pointy teeth, and headed straight for her leg. Whether or not it contacted, it would quickly retract. He wasn't intent on finding out JUST how sharp that blade was.

Ashlynn continued to regard the Storm Scorp's design and form as Gaak told her of where they obtained their skills.  Aesthetically pleasing.  Mechanically sound.  It remained to be seen if it was combat capable but it did meet her approval.  As she listened to them describe their times in the 35th something tickled her memory.  An wolf her father's age rambling on about his time in the 35th mechanized while she lay bloody and battered on an operating table.  She gave herself a hard shake, clutching her left ear and she tried to put that memory where it belonged.  No, she really didn't want to deal with it.  It was much better off forgotten.  Yes.  Just forget and calm down.  Gradually she did so.


"I am sure you are not deserters.  We would not be working together if you were.  Some of the best Irregulars I have worked with were regulars who let their contracts expire.  After all, the Capitol stresses that only when individually strong can we have success."  She said as she walked around the mech.  "As for your service, I've only heard good things of the 35th Mechanized.  Well... occasional mad operations aside.  Your raid into Anhk territory two years back to set up skirmish operations against three Anhk dreadnaughts was insane.  Truly mad.  Those things destroy whole armies if they get within range."  She actually smiled though.  "It saved the southern front though, and you destroyed one and crippled the other two.  I still don't think that the Anhks have recovered."

As they moved on she shook her head.  "No. Man your cockpit.  I'll be find riding on top or afoot.  She said as she climbed the rungs they earlier motioned.   She sat on top, strapping down the Lebarge as she closed her wrist on the rung besides her and with a click, locking her hand in place.  As they departed, a number of velocipedes did as well, heading into the badlands by alternate routes.

The land around the town of Pouteux Bree was floodplain, flat and divided into neat squares of land.  The river split the town north and south while the rail line split it east and west.  She directed them first along the trail and towards the high dry hills beyond the farmland.  It was good hiding territory, with dozens of long ridges ranging from a few dozen to a hundred feet high. "Stick to the gullies if you want to avoid notice.  Follow the ridge tops if you want to spot them faster."  She said as she looked out at the scrubby thorn bushes that grew in abundance out here.  "It's your machine so I'll leave the preference to you." 

Sethir made his way to the back of the train, tentacles out in case he needed to cut his way through something.  In the smoke he made out a figure.  The figure didn't seem to be trying to escape and they didn't have a regular Being's aura so he concluded they were also here to rescue the unwary.

"There's still people... In the back there," he coughed.  "I felt their minds...  Probably not Beings...  Need any help?"

Bart had just begun dragging the unconscious mutt when Sethir approached, giving the incubus a mildly confused look. Or, something that could be construed as mildly confused if he could notice the dark Creature's brow. "Probably not beings, huh? What, are they kids or something?" He dropped the canine with an unceremonious thud.

The clan consensus on rescuing beings versus other Creatures was pragmatic: a Creature could usually save itself whereas beings could not, and therefore didn't deserve saving. It was another matter entirely if the monsters in question were youngsters. "Tell you what: I'll help you, since you're busy hacking both lungs up." He smiled smugly, almost looking like some kind of bizarre shark mythos. "Just point me in the right direction, punchy."

"Damn childhood reflex," Seth said, managing not to cough through an effort of will. "Dunno if they're children or not.  Can't tell from here, but they deserve a chance."  He pointed.  "Towards the rear compartments."

He began to head that way, listening out for the minds of others in case there was anyone he'd missed.

Train Crash, Nhylamar

The panther raised an eyebrow. He reined in his bike to allow the little rodent to catch up. The magictech vehicle emitted barely more than a soft hum and a whirring of wheels as it moved, eerily quiet compared to the roaring steam engine on Walsh or the blazing inferno of the train.

"Call me Fang." He smiled another sharp-toothed smile. It wasn't hard to guess how he got that name. "Where are you headed?"

He swerved around a pair of Creatures heading towards the back of the train.

Lamylar
The demon was completely out cold as Ana carried him back to her house and began her healing.  The crowd was more concerned about the strangeness of the situation, and stood around gawking.  As she pulled him inside, she'd note both upper-layers of his uniform were filled with holes.  There was no sign of a real pattern.   Most of the injuries looked to be mildly deep slashes, though there were signs of 2, perhaps 3 different types of weapons used.  She ended up removing his outer coat, and a light-weight shirt underneath as well.
As Ana applied her healing, the feline let out a groan and appeared to possibly be waking up.  His arms and legs twitched as her healing took hold and began sealing his wounds.  It almost looked like he blinked for a moment, though his eyes remained closed.  His wings seemed to flutter a bit, flexing from their folded position to slightly extended
As Ana finished and the wounds were sealed, a soft murmur escaped the demon's lips.  He blink once or twice, giving a confused, bewildered look for a moment, before collapsing back into unconsciousness.  A short time later, a groan of pain, and a loud sigh signaled his finally waking up.


Airship (Zelah)
The being curled into a tighter ball.  Trying to make himself as small as he could.  He squeaked and pointed towards an open door across the deck rather meekly.  Bas made no attempt to try and stop the now female 'cubi from doing whatever it was she was going to do.  His right hand was perched on his hip, his left behind him as he waited for whatever Zelah choose to do.
If she followed the way the rat had pointed, she'd find an office with all kinds of paper-work, a couple of small revolvers, bullets littering the table, and several pouches of coins, including the one she'd given for passage.


Hanger
If one were to double-check the map cooridance given by the Ducal heir, they'd find that the coordinates would put him roughly 200 miles south of the city, and either on, or above a series of rolling hills that were common landing grounds for pirates looking to hide out from a Nhylamaran patrol.
The airspace over Wolksheem was relatively clear, and, if she used her plane to get there, it'd take maybe an hour to get to the proper meeting location.


  Book Store
Mr. Arklan replied with a nod of appreciation.  "glad to see you've got your priorities straight Kyirri.  You've got all week if you feel that you need it.  You're heading to Mikoron's public library, where, they had a special sale for me.   I've struck a deal with the mayor, and he's agreed to part with a specific tome for the specified price.  It's a history book, pertaining to the entirety of a specific cubi clan... it's been verified as authentic, and as such, worth a great deal to me."
Pressing his spectacles up his nose a bit, the canine moved to the note and bag of coins, holding them both out for Kyirri, "Now, this note has the address and an exact description of the book in question.  And this is your travel money.  When you get back, you'll get double your pay, along with getting to keep whatever you have left over.  I reward loyal employees, after all."


Courtyard
The airship captain was taken slightly aback at the cold tone.  He looked and felt equally guilty.  He'd been intentionally gruff, and she'd called him out in it.  Giving a polite bow of the head he replied, "right Dame Doctor Montegu, if you'd follow me, it's going to be a day long flight, and you'll find more comfortable quarters in the back."
Leading the angel  to the back of the small, gondola like crew-quarters, there was a small, yet very tastefully decorated room, it was clearly designed for the passengers to stay during the ride, as it had windows with a pair of very comfy looking overstuffed chairs near them, along with a full length couch, and baggage storage.  There was also what appeared to be an ice box, and a small cabinet that appeared to be stocked with liquors.


Rooftops
The next rooftop was separated by a small alleyway, easy enough to jump, however, the next roof was over a full road, perhaps 10 feet across.  It was also considerably lower.  Beyond that, a tall building hid her from view of the local constable's office. 
A few people in the streets were coming back from the market, but most of the city seemed occupied with church still.  As such, she still had maybe 5 minutes to go.
Downstairs, the landlord shouted for Lucy, she could hear him shouting and stamping around her room.  After a few moments, she could hear him lock the door as if nothing had happened.  Probably convinced it was some bizarre dream.


Trinity Academy
The vixen lead the way.  Sitting in the slip was a fairly modest airship.  a couple of mast-like wands hung out from the ship's side, her narrow, aerodynamic looking build made her look something akin to a naval vessel, but thinner, longer.  She was of what appeared to be a fast frigate type warship.  Designed for speed of travel.   Rippling arcane currents surrounded her top and bottom sections, while more rods hung off the hull at angles.  These wands would provide the steering.
After crossing onto the deck however, it became clear that this was the personal transport of someone of wealth, power, or most likely, both.  The wood was soft, smooth, and waxed with a finish that gave a clear-coat appearance, however gave very firm purchase.  The dark, pure woodwork was probably enchanted to withstand far more punishment than anything like her design should be physically able to.
As she escorted the badger to his quarters for the trip, he'd note more finely crafted woodwork, with relief carvings of ivy the structural members.  A mosaic of an exotic forest covered most of the far wall.  An overstuffed couch, a desk, communication orbs, finely crafted and gold inlaid pens.  Really, it seemed more like he was being given the countess's office for the day long voyage.  A map was sitting on the desk, and, if it's distances were correct, it'd be no more than a 10 hour trip for a military vessel of comparable design.


Train Crash
The airship continued to close, it's design clearly of Nhylamar.   It looked to be a heavy transport, and, if one were to study it, would note that it was of the armed, military design. 
Those on the train were filing out under their own power, a combination of beings and creatures left the cars further down the line as they began coming to their senses.  Seth's help didn't appear to be needed, as there were no more emotions coming from the train itself.
The city in the distance was clearly a smaller one.  It's outer wall, and tall, airship-landing towers could be seen, but not much else.  A thin, smoky haze partially obscured anyone's long-distance view as the train continued to burn, the 2nd car back starting to burn, and the 3rd starting to smolder.


Yagsandras
No sooner had the angel put up his shield, than a column of water slid off a roof top and splattered across his shield.  The roads were eerily dry, however, and if one watched carefully, they'd note that water literally fell through the streets.  Other enchantments of the city became apparent too, as lamps lit themselves and their fiery glow in the dull-gray morning added a bit of brightness.
Shops were open of all kinds, and, it appeared a good deal of the places never actually slept.  Clubs of all kinds caught the angel's attention.  One bar in particular, as a demon bouncer tossed a rather scruffy looking 2 headed mythos ferret out the door.  Shouting in the mythos' wake " We told ya to keep your hands to yourselves around the girls... now GET OUT!"
The mythos was practically in tears, and something seemed off about one of his arms.  It appeared to not move right.  In fact, the left arm didn't look normal at all... an odd bulge could be seen at the mid-forearm , and it appeared he could move his hand at all... if Sikici didn't know any better, he'd be sure the mythos's arm was broken.


Library
The tip of the Vixen's tail is all Stephan would catch as she made her way into a small side-room.  The entrance led into a massive room.  Tall, arched ceilings over 2 story tall bookshelves.  a second level above the first added even more size to the room, as it became apparent that the small building housed a pocket dimension of some kind.  The vaulted ceiling had a mural, some epic, ancient battle was being depicted.  A demon, bull it looked to be, had a long spear piercing through multiple beings, while a bolt of lightning was held in his other.
A receptionist, looked to be a rabbit of some kind, stood looking at her index cards.  She was wearing a professional looking attire, a business suit, long-skirt, and if he looked over the desk, he'd probably see high-heels as well.  She gave the boy a bit of an incredulous look and asked, "uh, sir... can i -help- you?"
her tone indicating she wanted nothing to do with the cubi boy.


Avendel
The shop owner, an owl with long feather wings partially hidden by the coat he was wearing looked at the other angel and nodded.  "I do, in fact, have a few pieces of clothing that do in fact have extra-spacial pocket.  Not too common a request from those outside the adventuring community though.  You an Adventurer Mr..."
Pausing, it appeared he was holding a piece of parchment and reading something.  His awkward pause ended in a bit of a surprise twist, " Pyrinost-Highwynd it would seem.  Hmm... Depending on the style you're looking for, i think i can help you out there."
First he held up a leather trench-coat, long and made of dark-gray leather.  It's edges seemed slightly fringed, and the owl's eyes narrowed as he observed what appeared to be a bit of charring.  "Hmm.. that usually doesn't happen...  Looks like i mixed up one of the test-coats with the actual sales ware..."
Idly tossing the coat back behind his counter, the shop keeper started leaving out various coats, all with armor-like qualities and pocket dimension.  Colors varied from reds, greens, blues, and a single black, and 2 white coats.  "anything catch your fancy, Mr. Pyrinost-Highwynd?"


Beach
As the tentacles lashed out, the demoness raised her hand from the pistol grip and held it in front of her.  A thin, charred, glass-like sphere appeared in front of her.  Challam's tentacles slammed into the solid surface as if they'd hit a brick wall.  As he started to pull back, the demoness flung her hand outward in a dramatic sweep.  The sphere seemed to roll forward, the other prisoners were right in it's path, and both were pulped before the cubi's eyes as they were both crushed into a paste.  "Well look at that... i guess we've got a winner." the equine chided with another bear-trap grin.
She moved in with the chainblade, swinging the vicious weapon in wide, ungainly arcs, which told of just how much weight was actually behind the semi-elegant, and very vicious looking weapon.
Out of the corner of his eye, Challam caught sight of one of the pirates, a Chihuahua, he was fumbling with the recently acquired loot, and accidentally sent a cloud of steam spraying into the pirate next to him's face.

Aelisium Town

  Both brothers chuckled at Ashlynn's story of their exploits. "Yeah, that was one of our first outings with the Storm, here..." Gaakronacht said.
  "Yes. We were part of a special flanking group to harass a line of Ahnk armor that were advance for the dreadnaughts. The weapons on the Scorp here, plus all the other mechs with us, were able to cripple enough of them to allow an assault column to move up." Gezzemocht continued.
  "That was pretty much our 'moment of truth', proving that the Storm Scorp could hold its own in battle." Gaak finished.
  At her insistence of Gezz taking the cockpit, he shrugged and did so, moving from the front of the mech to the back again, and settled in.
  Gaak took the mech out of the town, heading into the plains toward the ridges. When Ashlynn told them their options, Gaak looked back to Gezz, who responded. "We'll go into the gullies. The Storm Scorp actually isn't well-equipped for long-range engagements."
  The scorpion-like mech strode down the lower path.

Sethir couldn't detect any minds in the train anymore.  "Looks like you were right," he told the Demon.  "They must have escaped while I was tending the Beings."  Or they're dead, he added mentally.

"I'm not sure I can easily offer you a lift," he said apologetically as they left the train, "but the capital is in that direction.  I'm going to check that everyone outside the train is going to be okay and then think about getting home."

Releasing the element-proofing he shook himself, and with a visible effort of concentration, shapeshifted his fur.  Every hair on his body stood on end for a second and much of the soot fell away.  It'll do until I can get showered, he thought and donned his leathers again.

There was an airship in the sky.  Much as he disliked the authorities of Nhylamar, Seth felt a certain sense of civic duty and if it was an official one, leaving the scene of an accident was probably some kind of offence.  He couldn't make out the markings, though and in any case, most other people would be leaving.  Safety in numbers, or a veritable shitload of fines for the council?  Difficult to say.

Since no-one seemed to be in obvious difficulty he took his bike and walked it towards one of the larger crowds.  Probably best not to speed off into the distance just yet, in case his help was still needed.

Pausing at the access door built into the main ones, Paige re-read the letter. "Well Smeg..." the Succubus said with feeling, before stepping back inside and hitting the button that would retract the main doors.

Walking over to her Spitfire, Paige went through the pre-flight checks and sent a signal though the message stone in the cockpit to the tower for clearance for a flight. After getting a reply she pulled her cap and goggles from her pocket and shifted her wings away, as sitting in a cockpit designed for a being was damned near impossible with them out.

Pushing the starter for the engine she waited for the revs to reach the right setting before easing the brakes off, the A-12 rolling smoothly across the field to the main runway. Once lined up she did her final checklist and opened the throttle wide, the magically enhanced engine screaming as she hurtled down the runway and then into the sky as she pulled back on the stick.

Leveling off after a while she banked the Spitfire in the direction of the hills she knew so well...

Reward loyal employees, I suppose that's why I haven't starved to death yet. Though I'm damned close. Kyirri glanced at Mr. Arklan, then proceeded to give his attention towards the bag of coins, and the note, and subsequently took them. He examined the note to make sure that everything was in order. "I shall attend to it at once." With that, he paced outside, thinking of his task. Kyirri held commitments in very high regard, it wouldn't have been proper of him to renege on this one. Even if he had kept the travel money and gotten another job, it was entirely possible that he'd have just had it all stolen as well. With his exit, he gave some thought to what steps he would take.

His first stop would be a place that had a usable map. He didn't like to blindly go from destination from destination as that could have gotten him lost, or put through an unsafe path. A little bit of research could save a lot of hassle. He didn't intend to buy one, but some places would hopefully allow him to skim over one without purchasing it. There, he would plan out the two most effective routes, planning on taking the most efficient path on the return trip and the second most efficient path going to his destination. He wanted to balance safety, time, and cost in planning these routes. Once he had his planned routes, all he needed to do was follow through with them. Spur of the moment things would of course, always catch his attention. He could get easily lost in a large crowd, and could move quickly and quietly when alone. Even the best laid plans had to have room for on the spot flexibility.

Goals in mind, he set out to do just this... and hopefully reach Mikoron's library without any major complications.

Challam winced slightly as he felt the tentacle slam into the barrier. Even with all the pain negation training he had had, there were still nerves in these extensions. His eyes popped wide as he saw the prisoners within the path of the barrier, and he tried to save them, but the larger tentacles simply were not swift enough, and met the barriers head on in a series of equally painful collisions.

Challam growled audibly at the callous mare, but found himself unable to strike. The tentacles were too slow to dive between the ungainly swings. He had begun considering that perhaps stretching out his appendages to strike her from behind would be the best tactic, when the tall-tale hiss of steam met his ears, and he saw the spat cloud out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing the obnoxious pirate clumsily playing with his precious weapon set Challam's blood to a boil, and he immediately charged at a run with his wing-heads lashing at the hapless pooch. The result is best not described in detail beyond being gory, messy, and just the slightest bit comedic. Regardless, the end result was that Challam had his rifle back, but not without a hitch.

Upon giving his precious weapon a quick check, Challam found that the idiot pirate had inadvertently set the weapon into its overflow state, and the pressure needle was rapidly climbing towards the red. His eyes popped wide in shock and anger as he realized he only two choices. Shoot, or lose the gun.

"uh, sir... can I -help- you?" Stephan's attention focused on the lady sitting behind the receptionist desk. He smiled and shook his head, "No, but thank you for asking. I'm pretty sure I can find what I'm looking for." He then started to make his way to the side room.

Train Crash, Nhylamar
"Where am I going?" Gabriel answered Fang. "Away from here! I'm thinking if the town's been hit by the quake, they'll have a need for mechanics and hired help. Might pick up some work there."

He glanced over his shoulder at the third biker at the site. "Hoy. That one looks like he's headin' out."

Beach

As soon as Challam head the weapon in his hands, he felt something like a pinch on the back of his head.  Something jostled his shoulder lightly, and a woman's voice asked something he couldn't quite make out.  The beach faded into a white haze as his eyes naturally opened.  Blinking, Challam was still sitting on the airship, over Nhylamar.  The woman next to him, a tigress, wearing a simple, wide-strapped halter-top and form-fitting trousers jostled him again.  "Excuse me, sir.  Is everything alright?  You seemed to be having a bit of a nightmare, there, the way you were tossing and turning in your chair."

about the only thing of note about the woman was a red patch Challam could catch on her slightly exposed cleavage, and the only reason he could see it was because of how blatantly it stuck out from the rest of her fur and attire.  If he were to focus on it, he would note it seemed exceedingly familiar... but he couldn't quite place where he'd seen it before.


Just beyond the message board

The instructions were pretty vague, it was a experimental machine shop looking for a water mage.  That's about all the advertisement would say.  The city's placement put it right near several major hubs of activity, and either train or boat were both easily viable options, as the city was placed right on the edge of a large river.

A man at a news stand watched the feline go on his way while purchasing a news paper, he seemed to disappear into a diner just as a female lioness came out.


Train Crash

As the Zeppelin got closer, distinct markings could be seen across her side.  It looked like the front portion was painted to appear as clouds.  Her forward guns suddenly went ablaze for a moment.  A few hundred yards in front of the bikers, plumes of dirt and sand were sent high into the air as clots of dirt and shrapnel fell harmlessly to the ground.  A thunderous echo was sent across grassy plain as the airship fired again, sending more shells exploding in front of the riders.

At the crash-site, long sections of rope fell from the sky and beings began sliding down, they seemed to be wearing a hodgepodge of different uniforms, civilian type clothing, and light body armor that looked to be of Aeliseium design for their non-clockwork armor equipped soldiers.  All carried both guns and blades, and it looked to be about 20 of them, a few to each rope, 8 ropes total.  As the last man touched down, a demoness jumped off the deck, a white mare, dressed in red trousers, a black corset and a red and gold long-coat over the corset.  A wide blocky scabbard hung at her left hip, and a pistol with a distinct black, metal grip hung from her right.  (the pistol appears to be a long-barreled Luger... an Aeliseium officer and war-machine crew sidearm where long weapons are impractical)


Library

The rabbit gave a very dismissive wave as Stephan left.  The clacking of shoes could be heard heading up a flight of stairs, an open door the source of the sound.  Although Stephan could no longer see the vixen, he could clearly tell it was her, as the library was completely empty besides the receptionist and succubus who'd given him the alluring signs.



Aeliseium Town

In the distance, a small pillar of black raised into the sky, before melding with the clouds.  It was unclear of what was going on, but apparently there was either a large, coal-powered vehicle in the distance, or a fire.  Fire usually meant trouble, and neither Ash, nor the brothers had been given any heads up of large industrial vehicles operating in the area.



Slums

The nearest map-store was a few blocks away, the streets were still relatively empty.  A good thing in the violent sections of the city.  He'd left several local maps, including a large map of Nhylamar that had roads, railways and common airship routes on display.  The map read "2 Copper" on a slip of paper tacked to the map.  The shop keeper seemed to be distracted, as the female ocelot had her back turned, and seemed to be talking with someone.  Kyirri should easily be able to plot a route in a couple of minutes, and, if he had some scratch paper handy, even jot down a few notes.

Zelah tightened her grip on the captain's hair, almost ripping a chunk of it out of his scalp, and pushed her gun muzzle harder under his throat before she turned her head to glance briefly where he pointed. "If you're lying..." she snarled threateningly, then she slammed his head down against the deck, jumped up and gave him a good hard kick just behind the ear. Hard enough, she hoped, to leave him out cold and not able to bother her for a while. The furious 'Cubi strode across the deck to the open door, her tail lashing, and stuffed her gun back into her pocket after easing the hammer down and putting the safety back on. Half-way there she paused, looked down and patted her chest. "Hell, not again," she muttered just loud enough for Wolkshammer to hear her.

Inside the seedy cabin, Zelah sighed in relief when she spotted her money bag among the pile spread over a table. That greedy idiot Hake must have been about to count his loot when he'd been so rudely interrupted. She ignored the paperwork and guns, and the other bags — they might belong to other "passengers" still below deck, if there were any others, although she couldn't believe anyone could have missed the noise of the ship's crew being overpowered — and slipped it into an inside jacket pocket. It wasn't quite illegal in Aeliseium, just very difficult, but she'd managed to get some Nhylamaran currency to use in her escape, and she'd needed almost all of it to pay Hake.

Zelah came back on deck looking not quite so incandescently angry, although the poisonous glare she directed at Hake should have burned a hole right through him. She walked up to the Demon, paused a moment as her headwings drooped a little, and sighed. "Well, my thanks again for the rescue, Wolkshammer," she said, "but... what now?" It took an effort to keep her anxiety from sounding obvious in her voice: after all, it was the first time she'd faced such an imposing-looking Creature in the flesh.

As soon as the first plume of flame appeared from the zepplin Gabriel hit the emergency breaks, and fell off the side of the bike for cover.

"Incoming fire!" He shrieked.

He swore heavily and held onto his hat as dirt and shrapnel went flying. He grabbed Holland out of it's sheath, and thumped the butt of it twice. Hands darting swiftly, he caught the blue stone that slid out, tucked it back into a pocket on his belt, drew out a long purple crystal, and slid that back down Holland's muzzle.

Gabriel vaulted back onto Walsh, and pushed the engines up to full speed as quickly as they would. The rear wheel, a double helix cog, threw dirt up behind him and the bike sped forward.

Gabriel kept Holland tucked in his arm, pointing generally upwards, and his other hand on the handlebar. He kept a sharp eye out for any enchanted weapons, or spells being prepared, pointed in his direction. The second he saw anyone thinking about it...

His fingers danced over Hollands trigger.

Gabriel stayed low, pressing himself against Walsh. Hopefully, the bike would cover him from small arms fire. If the soldiers were smart enough to get out of the way of a charging steam engine, and the zepplin wasn't willing to shoot at it's own soldiers, Gabriel just had to focus on pushing through as quick as possible and pray for the best. Hopefully Gabriel could make it under and behind the flying boat, which was likely where it had the least cannons pointing. Chances were that whoever was in command up there would care more about the train then turning the boat around to go after one driver.

Why did they care about the train?

They couldn't have been military.. a wrecked train didn't have any strategic value. Two other possibilities lept to mind; either they were pirates going for the cargo, or they were slavers.

They were welcome to the former. The latter, Gabriel wasn't too keen on.

Sethir threw himself to the ground when he heard the blast.  At first he thought the train had exploded, but a moment later he realised that the ship was firing on them.  Whoever it was, they probably weren't government officials.

I'd just got this suit cleaned, he thought stupidly.  On his back, two slits appeared as he morphed the leather, allowing his wings to escape.  A 'Cubi's wings were the toughest part of their body and he quickly fanned them out just so, to ensure his head and torso were shielded.
He took the broadsword that had been strapped to his bike, helmeted up and hopped upon it, firing it up as quickly as he could.
Not far off, another bike was doing something similar - Seth decided to take his chances and follow suit, at least until he had a better plan.  He folded his wings back, looking for the optimum point between shielding himself and wind resistance, and hit the road.

Challam practically jerked awake, and blinked his eyes repeatedly as he looked about, quite confused. He looked over at the tigeress with wide eyes, and it wasn't perversion that sent his eyes darting to her cleavage, but curiosity.

Red mark, he thought, Could it be a..?, and as he pondered over the unusual dream he had just had, he half-smirked a little bit too knowingly. But he turned a pleasant smile to the tigeress. "Yes, sorry, was having what I suppose was a nightmare, or a very well conceived act." He said, straightening his clothes out from all his thrashing about. "Which would be very strange, don't you think? I mean, I am past the age of dreaming really. Haven't done it in quite a while. So I suppose I should say it was all ever so confusing, wouldn't you say?" He said, still keeping his pleasant smile as he casually checked the gauges on his rifle, and found them to be sound.

While he awaited her response, he took a glance out the window. It seemed as if he had slept through the entire trip, but he just wanted to check and make sure.

Arroyo blinked once before stuffing the paper back into his pocket. Even if the instructions were vague, they were easy to follow. His walk continued until he hit the docks. There were an unusual amount of people there today.

The chatter about the earthquake followed by...a train incident? Surely that was the cause of the small increase of people at the docks. They must have post poned train rides and quickly switched to boats, seeing they don't know how much damage the earthquake did to the tracks.

Arroyo groaned a bit followed by a sigh. "Looks like the Canal is going to backed up." Arroyo slowly walked to his personal boat, a couple people asked if they could ride with him. Which of course, he rejected them. Last thing he wanted was people rummaging through his boat and possibly stealing his valuables.

He untied the boat and kicks off, letting it drift out a bit before turning the engine on, as he slowly drifts through the canal, just in time too. The traffic wasn't as bad as Arroyo thought it would be. ' So far so good.' He thought to himself, as he waits through the slow waters of the water passage through town.

Kyirri examined the map carefully, but stayed more than an arms reach away from it. I'd better not give him any cause to think that I'd steal from him... and I wouldn't want to give him an excuse to search me either with what I'm carrying. He first looked for his destination, if it were on any of the maps. Then, he took note of the railways and airship routes that would speed his travel. Lastly, he looked for shorter routes on foot, from a station to his destination. I probably won't be able to afford an airship. He said it would be a two or three days travel, but he probably meant with transportation, going entirely by foot would be too slow. That probably means I'll have to be efficient with the railways, I just hope I won't be attacked on one. I'll just have to find two different routes that can get me from here to there, and back.

It's going to be a long trip though... I don't think I can afford the time or cost to stop at an inn or place of reprieve. He continued staring at the map, scanning for important details. Refraining from sleeping throughout the trip is going to make this faster, cheaper, and safer, and wouldn't spoil any of my dirty little secrets. Still... I probably shouldn't skip on eating... it's uncomfortable and I don't want it having too much control over me.

After examining the map, if not interrupted, he would head out for his destination. Damn it, I really wish I could afford something I could take some notes with... I'll have to do what I can from memory. It's never failed me before... but... this trip is longer and more dangerous than most...

Stephan followed the footsteps up the stairs, and followed the trail of the succubus further into the library either by the sound of her footsteps, or the occasional glimpse of her tail. Her travels came to an end in a small study room, a room used by those wanting privacy. He saw her tail flit into one, and approached. He stood just outside the doorway, and with a soft knock on the door jamb he announced his presence, "Pardon me if I am interrupting. I am Stephan Oralis, we met in passing at the cafe. And, I thought that when a woman of such beauty graces me with a smile, I should at least say 'hello'"

Locke cleared his throat after the second time the owl merchant used his last name, "Locke is fine really, my family name is a bit cumbersome for talking shop as it were."

Looking over the items, the angel cocked an eyebrow at the charred coat, but filed that thought away.  Slipping on a pair of spectacles, he withdrew his pocket watch from its pocket.  The bronze item was engraved with numerous technomantic symbologies and roteworks, and the cheetah absentmindedly clicked one of the three button-dials, like one would a stop watch.  The lid flipped open revealing numerous dials measuring, mechanically, precise time, barometric pressure, temperate, humidity, etc. and was quite the collection of clockworks.  These dials and readings meant nothing to the actual spell he had just enacted.

His spell began, using the spectacles as the visual foci and the watch as the technomagical processing engine.  Locke examined the strength, stability, nature and truth of the enchantments; subtly pulling each layer back as one would read a pamphlet.  

As his eye was upon the black one, that was the focus of his examination, having been subject to a naming upon entering discourse with the proprietor, Locke felt justified on analyzing the item he wished to buy.

Shield up! Now then, Sikici would just be on his merry way, right after he stood still and appreciated the fact that his light shield had just prevented a column of water from soaking him thoroughly. Mentally thanking the guard, the angel continued into the city. He noticed that the roads were oddly dry, which was nice, since it meant that there was no mud to splatter onto his clothes. It would actually seem that the water was simply falling through the streets. This, added onto the fact that lamps around Sikici began lighting themselves, led the angel to believe that there was magic in play here. All he'd heard regarding Yagsandras had been about its merchants; there was nothing about these enchantments. Then again, he didn't think he should be particularly surprised. This was probably common in most major cities, although Sikici had never really spent much time in any major cities, so it was not as if he would know.

There were certainly a lot of clubs around. They did not appeal very much to the healer; although his knowledge of what went on at clubs was limited, he believed that most clubs served alcohol, a substance which usually brought out the worst in people. If he really thought about it, a club was a good place for a healer to be, because of the injuries that generally occurred there due to the alcohol consumption. Or were those bars and taverns...? But unless a club was willing to hire Sikici to heal any patrons that were hurt in an alcohol-fueled brawl, he did not particularly feel like healing some schmuck for free. Besides, he couldn't be sure if all clubs really served alcohol, seeing as how he had never really been in one. All his knowledge was from hearsay.

Looking ahead, he noticed a bouncer throwing out a ferret from one of these clubs. Something about not being able to keep one's hands to themselves? A pity. Oh, the ferret had two heads? That meant it was probably a mythos, then, wasn't it? There were chances that it was something else, but Sikici was willing to bet that it was a mythos. The information wasn't exactly very important, but what did that matter?

As he walked by the scene, Sikici noticed something off about one of the arms. Stopping to take a closer look, the angel figured that the left arm was broken, what with the bulge and the inability to move the hand at all. Lucky for the mythos, Sikici suddenly felt like healing the schmuck for free. It happened on occasion, and the angel just went with it.

He knelt down by the ferret, releasing a low-level healing wave to slightly soothe its pain and get its attention. "Do you require any healing aid?"

Train Crash, Nhylamar

The ground exploded in front of him. Tezkat swerved away from the blast and veered back towards the train. He looked up at the approaching airship. Somebody had just shot at him. He snarled. That somebody was about to have a very bad day. But first he would need cover, and fast. Taking one hand off the reins, he pricked a finger with his thumb claw and hastily drew a bloody arcane symbol on his chest. A word of power sealed the invocation. He gripped the reins again and accelerated just as the second barrage of warning shots landed.

Tezkat skidded the bike, flinging himself clear of his ride. The vehicle slid to a stop. He kept rolling. Right into a blazing train car. Flames engulfed him. Damn, it was hot. Thick black smoke belched from the collapsed wall. He held his breath and moved quickly through the wreckage. His impromptu flame ward wouldn't last long, but the diversion had served its purpose. Aerial spotters couldn't track him now. He turned invisible and carefully snuck away from the car, putting enough distance between himself and the inferno that the smoke and ash wouldn't give away his position despite the illusion.

The enemy--whoever they were--rappelled down from the craft. A motley crew some twenty strong, led by Demon mare who didn't even bother with the ropes. Clearly not part of any official military. Mercenaries or pirates, then. But if they were coming down here, who was left guarding the ship? Surely no more than a token crew. With no obvious anti-air defence in the area, they'd be foolish not to devote most of their forces to subduing opponents of unknown strength on the ground.

With no time to properly tailor the coat, Tezkat simply drew his blade and stabbed back under his arm, slicing two thin vertical slits. Had he been visible, his newly released wings would have appeared black and demonic. He spread them wide and launched himself skyward. Hot thermals rising from the train provided lift with minimal need for flapping--not that his wing beats would be heard over the roaring flames, airship engines, or screaming passengers anyway. He circled up to put the sun at his back--force of habit even while invisible--and swooped down to the deck of the airship.

Bart threw up an arm to shield himself after the initial blasts, having nearly jumped out of his skin in the process. Sethir had already zoomed off by the time he recovered. "...hey! Don't leave me here!!" The "every Creature for himself" policy suddenly didn't seem so attractive.

What the hell's going on? Since when do Nhylamar ships fire on their own trains? Though the piecemeal uniforms and armor design made it clear just who was behind this insanity. ...Aeliseium. Son of a bitch. If every meathead adventurer got together and formed a confederacy, Aeliseium would be the result. Bart quickly scrabbled through his pack, donning an iron warmask as he pulled out his knife and hatchet. He wasn't about to openly scrap with a detachment of soldiers, but if they closed the gap, he'd need to bring the hurt on them. Hopefully, he could convince them to let him pass by as a neutral civilian (haha, yeah right).

(OOC: writing in a hurry. Real life and RPs just don't get along.)

The Demon started moving. Anabelle had many questions, and was still rather scared. She stepped back, positioning herself at what she hoped would be a safe distance, and watched him.

He slowly began to move, feeling his own body, touching the spots where the worst wounds had been. Then he opened his eyes and, with a confused look, he slowly propped himself up and looked around. He didn't seem to have recovered all his strength yet.

"It's OK, I'm a healer," Anabelle told him. "You're in my house. You were hurt. Do you remember what happened?"

With a bit of a bewildered look, he replied: "not really... there were 3, maybe 4 of them, seemed to come out of nowhere... I think they were insectic... but I couldn't tell.  They had masks on..."  Shaking his head in confusion, the demon held a paw to his head.  Giving another groan he added: "and where are my manners... I'm terribly sorry miss... Renard Kasrikan, and I owe you my life... thank you."

His words helped the capybara feel somewhat calmer. It was a relief to know that, whatever else was out there, at least he wasn't hostile. She moved closer to him and introduced herself.

"My name is Anabelle Clemens," she said with a smile. "How are you feeling now?"

Badlands outside the Aelisium Town

   As the Storm Scorp moved through the lower gullies in the ridges, the brothers eventually noticed a column of smoke or ash in the distance.
   As they got closer, Gezzemocht's eyes darted around, taking in the column of smoke, some trees, and their shadows, muttering numbers under his breath, like measurements. Eventually, he said "Gaak, stop over there," pointing under a large-ish outcropping. When they did, Gaakronacht looked back to his brother, who was frowning slightly.
   Gezzemocht looked over to Ashlynn. "There is a very high likelyhood that the soot over there could belong to whoever we're hunting. Either it is from some kind of large fire--which seems rather sloppy to me--or it is the exhaust from a coal-powered industrial-grade machine, but whether of Aelisian, Ahnkian, or Nhylamarian origin, I cannot be sure. If it's Aelisian or Ahnkian, it almost certainly is only industrial, and not military-grade, but if it's Nhylamarian, it could be military equipment.
   "Now, I never intended us to go in blindly, and not just for the fact that the Storm Scorp is more of a support mech than a direct assault mech. I suggest that we reconnoiter whatever is ahead to determine the force composition and best angle of attack before moving any closer. One, or possibly two of us should go on foot to assess whatever the unknowns are, then return."
   Gaakronacht piped up. "Yeah, I think two of us may good as well; take advantage of the buddy system. I'm sure you can tell how we would like that whenever possible," Gezz grinned, "and we also just like redundancy and backups."
   Gezz spoke again. "But you know this area better than us, are more aware of the situation, and you are actual infantry, while we are not. What do you think, Lieutenant Taige?"

It was certainly not her job to go out and get shot.  Most military liaisons hung so far back they needed binoculars to see the irregulars getting blown up.  Ashlynn, however, neither disagreed with his assessment nor did she hesitate to disengage her hand and climb down the side of the storm scorp.  She gave a series of stretches to loosen her body; not an unpleasant sight to watch, before she withdrew the Lebarge.  "Stop if you see me in line of sight.  Be ready if you hear a shot.  If something explodes, come with all the fire you can manage."  She said as she began to walk down the wash towards the smoke.

Aeliseum soldiers and officers were not ones for crawling through mud and dirt on their way to a fight, but Ashlynn did keep her body low as her eyes roaming from the dust ahead of her to the thorny hillsides above her.  The gray skunk moved in a stoop, trying to keep the thorn bushes nearby for cover, pistol out and the Lebarge ready.

Then she froze, catching the faintest gleam of metal. Slowly she lowered her eyes till she saw the dull trip wire stretched across the wash.  Her hand followed it to the toggle switch buried in the sand.  Well now, that was quite an unpleasant bit of explosive.  She pinched the toggle firmly and then carefully snipped the wires.  Looking back at the storm scorp peeking around the next bend she drew a big X in front of the mine.

So far so good.  The washes were meeting in a bowl.  No more mines that she'd found.  She dropped to hands and knees, crawling along the edge of the bushes to spot the clearing and see what was the cause of the smoke.

Adelaide managed a fraction of a smile at the captain when he showed her to the elegant room. "Thank you Captain." She seated herself in one of the chairs and pulled a book out of one pocket, settling in for the long flight.

Seth felt bad about abandoning the Demon, but giving him a ride wouldn't really have worked anyway... the panniers were mounted over the rear seat and he needed to keep those.  For a moment it crossed his mind to cast a fireball spell at the airship, but considering the way it was armoured, it was probably a futile gesture.  Better not to attract their attention unduly.
He kept on after the other bike, trying to think of a sensible plan that didn't involve running away.  After all the trouble of rescuing these people, abandoning them to the raiders was a terrible thing to do, but it was one he was contemplating.  At the end of the day, he was scared.

Airship Deck
Bas gave a neutral expression as he started walking towards the deck of his own airship.  Considerably larger, it's side mounted turrets were practically grinding against Hake's zeppelin.  The demon  gave a non-committal shrug and replied, "I can give you a ride to a Voethfel City, and you can find you way from there? or, if you'd like, you're more than welcome aboard the Swift-Spear.  I've got more than enough room, Zelah, and if you'd like a paying job, i'm more than willing to offer one to a fellow creature in need.  Got to look out for each other after all, Right?"
Giving another friendly smile as he approached the narrow planks laid between the decks, Bas offered a hand to help Zelah cross.
In the distance, a small shape could be seen coming closer.  It was just a spec at it's current distance.

Airship (Challam)
The tigress gave him a very confused look, "Uh, pardon, sir?"  She looked at him and looked at where his eyes had transfixed, "Are you that easily distracted by a tattoo?  Or are you just another one of -those- kinds of people who sees a girl with a nice figure and ogles all you please, and expect them to be fine with it."
Giving an angry huff, the girl went to adjust her top, if Challam was watching, he'd note that the red speckle was in fact the very edge of a stylized rose.   A moment later, her top was completely covering her cleavage, and she'd moved to another empty seat with an angry huff as she left.

Wolksheem Air-dock
Cyril's airship took about  10 hours to get to the Wolksheem airship dock.  The act of passing through simply involved Aleyna waving to the guard, in a rather informal facsimile of a salute, and then waving the badger into the port.
Once inside, he'd note that there was another airship unloading from the other side, it had but a single passenger, a squirrel of some type, who seemed to be getting directions for something.

Addy's  trip took all of 8 hours... however, she spent two hours in dock, doing nothing because it seemed someone had screwed up the paperwork.   She was where she was supposed to be, as her trip to the monastery  was via land.  Across the way, a fiery red vixen and oddly colored badger were unloading from their own ship.  She was dressed richly... probably some type of royalty, and he was dressed... daintily for a lack of a better term.  Her directions seemed to have been off, however, as, the note about her ride mentioned nothing about where the contracted cart was supposed to meet her.
Wolksheem is a massive city, and Addy can see the dusk lights begin  to ignite as the sun sinks into the horizon.


Cockpit
Paige was close, very close... about 5 miles off her destination, when she could see 2 airships docked side by side.  One looked to be a general purpose civilian type,  No real visible armaments, and still too far to tell if there was anyone on deck.  The other one, however, was  considerably larger, it's heavy turrets mounted both on top and bottom, along with what appeared to be smaller, anti-air turrets lined the larger airship's flank.  The larger one appeared to be a new class of battle-cruiser.
The back 3/4 of the airship actually looked like it was designed to be used as a flight deck, the man guns were mounted underneath a long, wooden platform, that appeared to have been marked at the back, and flush with the deck was the top of the forward, topside turret.
Drawing closer,  she could see a creature with large wings standing on a small ramp between the two airships.  It appeared he was leading a small group of mostly similarly uniformed creatures, mostly demons, to the battle-cruiser.  Getting closer still, she could clearly identify Bas, and could make out the 10 or so other creatures who wore similar uniforms.  There was 1 individual with Bas, she appeared different than the black and green clad creatures.  7 demons, an angel, a phoenix, and what may have been cubi... or, perhaps an 8th demon.

canals
The day proved rather uneventful, the little traffic that Arroyo did encounter seemed to mostly be traders using the rivers to access smaller settlements to sell their wares.  Night was quickly approaching, and Arroyo would either have to find a spot to anchor his boat, or find a port.  The rivers were dangerous to travel at night.  Feral beasts patrolled their currents, beasts with large pointy teeth, and ones that proved to be a challenge for some of the more mighty creatures.   As if to reiterate this point, a large, saw-blade like dorsal fin appeared.  Easing out of the water as the monstrosity it was attached to had apparently caught something.
As the sun grew lower still Arroyo could see a sign, clearly marked for a nearby town, or a few inlets he could use to park his boat for the night.  Unless of course, he felt truly alert and skilled enough to risk a night-time voyage.

(OOC Note: this is the first half the posts, putting it up now, and will update as muse comes... apologies to you at the train crash... just having a bit of a hard time putting this mental image into words...)

Arroyo's eye grew wearier as the sun sets in the sky, though he did occasionally practiced a bit of casual magic while the boat was guiding itself among the river in a slow pace, then took control of the boat when he hit a fork in the road. He squinted at the sign that said a town was up ahead.

Arroyo knew that he wasn't in any condition to continue the long journey alone and tired. He let the river guide him, or rather force the river to guide him down the path with some of his magic. He was an odd mage, he used kinetics than lexicon to use most of his talents. He He rowed his arms as if he was swimming forward in a gentle way, causing the boat to speed up a bit. He then stopped as soon as he heard the nearby town coming up, the laughter of children running inside, and the horns of boats ready for docking. He pulled the horn's cord to signal his arrival then slowed down as he drifts into a spot at the docks.

He got off, and anchored his ship in. He then looked back at the town to see what it looked like on land.

Banking slightly so that she circled the two zeps, Paige made out the name on the bow of the Battle Cruiser type. "MJOLNIR" She read aloud to herself, "My Someones feels pretty sure of himself...Well at least its the right ship."

Placing a hand on the stone set in a necklace she wore while flying, she spoke; "Mjolnir, this is Free Pilot Paige Nova. Requesting permission to land. Have invitation from Baseel Wolkshammar. Over."

She was hoping that a ship armed and of such recent construction had a message stone aboard, if she didn't get a quick reply she'd use the old strobe stone to Morse code a message.

The lap across the first alley was nothing, practically. Lucy cleared it with ease.

The next leap was a bit rougher, to put it mildy.

The ocleot had taken a running leap at the buillding, building momentum before she jumped...

...Barely clearing the  street. She grabbe donto the ledge of the roof, cursingto herself queitly as she pulled herself up onto the roof.

She took a moment to collect her thoughts, before one that terrified her surfaced.

Hope no one saw that...

Aelisium Badlands

   Ashen had jumped down from the Scorp and limbered up; holding onto the side like that for awhile must not have been too comfortable. The brothers both glanced at each other at what she said was going to do, and as she started to walk away, Gaakronacht said to Gezzemocht "I'll go with her. Though it shouldn't happen, I can still shoot a gun better than you. Besides, I'm the one who has to pilot Storm here around wherever these guys are." He checked his pistol and grabbed the scattergun from the side of the cockpit as he started clambering out. "Lieutenant, wait up!"
   Gaakronacht caught up with Ashlynn as she was disabling the mine. Gaak made a note of that; mines in the area meant potentially big problems. He kept low and walked along after her, the scattergun slung on his back and his pistol in its holster. When he got close, he whispered "Buddy system, remember? Besides, I gotta see the layout of this place for myself before I start fighting in it. And if this goes right, there shouldn't even be any shots, we just want to know what we're up against first."
   He continued moving forward with her as they got closer to being able to see just who or what was out here.

Zelah's tail-tip and ears twitched just a little as she considered Wolkshammer's offer. Could she trust him? All the Church's teachings said Demons and other magical-natured Creatures couldn't really be trusted... but she was a Creature, try though she might to forget it or deny it, and from now on she'd be living in a country full of Creatures. That thought suddenly frightened her. If Wolkshammer just dropped her off in a city with Creatures everywhere, could she cope? The Demon couldn't know what he'd be doing to her... could he? Perhaps it would be better to take in Nhylamar in smaller bites, in a smaller place, like an airship.

"I think I will take you up on that job offer," she said after a moment, "after all I haven't anything else to do... whups, I almost forgot, my travelling bag, it's still in my cabin. I'll be right back!" She hurried across the deck, her forgotten headwings fluttering, back into the main corridor leading to her cabin. She didn't notice the tiny speck appear in the sky over the brow of a distant line of hills. When she returned a minute later carrying her bag, though, she couldn't miss the small fighter plane circling a short distance away. It had to be friendly, she thought as she crossed the deck and followed Wolkshammer over the gangplank, or at least not hostile. A heavy fighting zeppelin like this could have easily swatted the plane out of the sky if it proved unfriendly.

Lamylar

The demon held his head a bit.  "Weak... tired.... a bit sore... along with a many number of other descriptors that shouldn't be used in polite company."

Adding the last bit with a weak grin.  "I hate to burden you, but... would you have anything to eat?  If i could just get a little something... well... it'd be much easier for me to heal on my own if I had something to work with... we demons regenerate at an incredible rate, so long as we have the energy to support it. "

Slowly bringing himself up to a more upright position added, "Sounds like we've got some visitors.  Perhaps my own questions can wait..."
As he finished his observation a subdued knock sounded on the door.


Avendel (clothing merchant)

The owl gave an inquisitive glance at the strange contraption.  More curious than concerned.  The outer-most layer was a mid-level anti-magic spell that covered the surface of the coat, however, it was specifically designed to just over the coat, not a caster's hands or body.  It would stop, or at least dull the effects of most combat spells.  Just underneath that, also bound to the surface of the coat was a cloth-to-steel spell.  When the anti-magic field was triggered, the very fibers of the coat would literally turn to steel for a short duration.

Outside of the surface spells it seemed the coat had a basic dirt repellent, making it effectively stain-proof through normal means, and the pockets did in fact contain small dimensions... each pocket dimension was a 3' by 3' by 3' cube, and had a number of minor organization spells to make accessing one's inventory far easier than digging around in the rather voluminous space.  Every single one of the enchantments appeared to be a permanent bind as well, truly woven into the very material of the coat.

The owl seemed to beam with pride as he asked, "What do you think, Locke? Meet your expectations of quality and style?"


Train Crash

The bikers in the distance would note that the top-mounted gun-turrets, which seemed more to ward off other Zeppelins than ground-type things, couldn't lower their cannons to a low enough angle to actually hit the riders.  They could annoy the motorcycle mounted duo with dusty clouds, but not actually deliver high explosive shells on top of them.

Bart could see the soldiers touch down with lever action rifles, pistols, and a pair carried pump action shotguns.  They seemed distracted as they began heading for the non-destroyed cars, waving their weapons threateningly at anyone who approached them.  The smoky haze made long-distance sight difficult, the blacked cloud from out front was blowing towards the crash now, enveloping the raiders and former passengers in a blackened haze.  One would have a hard time seeing more than 30 feet in front of them as the winds began blowing more of the hot soot and ash about.

A pair of soldiers started heading towards where Bart was.  They seemed distracted, almost dazed.  One carried a decently large revolver in one hand... at least, decently large by being standards, for a creature, it'd be on the "average" side.  The other carried a lever action gun... it was tough to tell what type, due to the large bore.  It was either a powerful rifle, or perhaps a scattergun.  

The one with long gun turned to the overturned car, prodding at it with the muzzle of his weapon, the other one went looking over the stuff people had tossed out of the adjacent cars in hopes of saving something.  Neither seemed to have noticed the demon, yet.


Aeliseium Outskirts

As they looked down at the source of the smoke, Ashlynn and Gaakronacht would see that a small river ran just before the clearing.  If nothing else, it'd be a good place to top off their water supply, both for drinking, and powering the steam machines.  In the clearing, a small village, of what appeared to be a nomadic village.  The large tent-structures were burning, sending huge plumes of smoke into the air.  There were dead bodies all around, men, women, children and the elderly... all dead.  There were signs of both projectile and bladed implements used, but from this range, the exact type was unidentifiable.


Above the Train Crash

Although his approach had been shielded by magic and the beings on the upper deck hadn't noticed the thud, Tez could hear something like a hollow howl, long and constant coming from the inner cabin that led to the deck.  Around the large-bore turret, a crew of beings were busy loading and sighting, never even noticing the dull thud of his landing.  A few other beings watched, scatter-guns and repeating rifles in hand, each also carried a revolver, and dagger.

The howl grew louder, and an unseen voice chided, "Here kitty kitty kitty..."
The other guards heard the voice and immediately began looking around the deck with puzzled looks on the faces of those who didn't wear masks.  A general sense of confusion could be felt as well.


Library

As Stephan walked into the small office, a sweet soprano rang in the back of his head, "Why are you following?" it asked, "What did you seek to gain?"

There was no sign of the vixen anywhere, it was as if she'd vanished into the very walls of the small room.  The door suddenly shut behind him, and it felt as if a feral snake was crawling up his leg.  It was a tentacle, perfectly blended with the carpet.  It had wrapped itself around Stephan's leg, and another was arcing off the door frame, pulling his arms.  She seemed to materialize from no where, the vixen had feathery headwings exposed, along with a feathery down on what parts of her back wings weren't tentacles.

"I take it you've never had much contact with Cubi then?"  She giggled, as she pulled up the back of her high-cut top, pretty  much the dead center of her back was a tattoo like symbol.  It looked like a tribal mark, 2 slashes of pale blue on her golden-orange fur.  "Nact'larn, Lust clan... Sorry if there was any confusion... just getting a snack..."  
She patted him on the head as an adult would a confused infant, "Sorry to say, squirrely... but you're just not my type."

With that, the vixen seemed to flow out of the room, leaving Stephan alone, and probably more than a little confused.

City Street

The 2 headed weasel mythos could only seem to babble incoherently as he seemed on a total breakdown.  He held his arm up to the angel however, with the help of his still good hand, and managed to get out "please..." before going back into the pain-fueled babbling.


Around the Battlecruiser

"MJOLNIR here, we read you loud and clear, Paige.  You've been cleared to land, recommend you taxi to marked off section near the rear platform to store your plane."

She could clearly see Bas now, his height over most people made him easy to spot, as did his large, partially flared wings as he crossed the gang-plank with the civilian dressed female.  One of the smaller turrets that had been covering the smaller ship's deck slowly turned it's cannons downwards, aiming towards the now cleared decks.
Bas gave a polite nod as he lead the way.  "Being staffed mostly with creatures we've got the total crew in less than half of what the vessel normally is built for.  Just claim a room that doesn't have things in it, when we get back to port, we'll get you a uniform, and, if you'd like something with a little more oompf.... there's certainly larger weapons available."  

His voice trailed off as another demon came by, she considerably shorter than Bas, and seemed to a lab of some kind.  However, given her odd green and gold coloring, it was difficult to tell.  She whispered something to Bas.  He nodded as she disappeared.  "If you'll excuse me, it seems I've got something to take care of, the bunks are just down the stairs to your right.  Any open room is yours."

With that, Bas disappeared and headed for the flight deck.

Paige would find Bas standing in a fenced off section of the landing deck, right by marked off section... it almost looked like an over-sized elevator.


Aeliseium Rooftops

As if on cue a shout came from below "HEY MOM! DIDJASEE THAT?!" it was a child's voice, and the little boy was pointing towards the building Lucy had just scaled.
A local officer shouted, "I saw something moving too... Better go check it out."
Lucy could try and scale down, or she could wait for the officer... either way, people were standing and staring at the face of the building she'd just cleared.  The far side led into another ally, or there was a major street on her left and right as well.


Map Store

As Kyirri took what he could, he'd note that by airship, which would cost 7 gold coins, it would take less than half a day, 4 hours at most.  There were 2 train-routes that would take 2 days, and a day and half respectively... they were both 3 gold coins.  He could hike, but that'd take the better part of a 5 day trip either way.  After taking into account what he'd have to pay for the book, that left the roo-rat with 15 gold coins to spend on everything from food, water, shelter, traveling, and whatever else he might need.  The train station was easy enough to find, loud, noisy place, with easy to follow rails running through sections of the slums.  The airship dock, however, would require a bit of work.  It was in the upper-class districts, and just getting their alone was dangerous.  Thugs tended to post themselves at the transition between districts, hoping a rich and adventurous scamp was foolish enough to pass through...

The problem there, is that they also watched for slum-dwellers heading for the rich districts... it meant one a few things, usually that they had enough money to try and buy something only sold outside the slums, like firearms, bullets, or objects of fine quality.  Liberating said slum-dwellers of said money was a common practice for the thugs.

Had babbling incoherently recently become the new way to show approval? Was it "hip?" Was it trendy? The angel really needed to get with the times. Then again, perhaps it was the immense pain that was making the mythos babble, which would probably make more sense. Still, it was not as if Sikici would know the difference; it would be inaccurate to say that he was able to keep up with all the new vocabulary younger generations seemed to spew out these days. Then again, Sikici was not exactly very old himself. Maybe he was just disconnected from society?

In any case, the mythos did not seem to be getting better, so Sikici got to work. Taking a deep breath and clasping his hands together, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Healing broken bones was well within his range of healing capabilities, but it still required some effort on his part. This was just a forearm fracture, nothing too complicated. The bones needed to be mended, but more importantly, they needed to be mended in a correct position. No use having a fixed bone if it is jutting out of your arm, right? The mythos' arm gave off a light blue glow as Sikici meditated.

Sikici first used his magic to dull out the pain in the mythos' forearm, because his magic was not at the level where he could snap his fingers and the arm would be fixed (although that would be nice). After determining that the mythos would not writhe in agony during the procedure (it would still feel a rather awkward sensation in its arm, however), the angel adjusted the bones so that they were on the same level, then brought them together. Fusing the two fragments together to mend the entire bone took precision, and Sikici spent most of his time at this step. If something went wrong here, the bone's structure could become unstable later on and weaken it further in the long term.

Finishing the task, Sikici released the magic and opened his eyes to observe his work. On the surface, nothing seemed wrong, although that could be a different story in the interior. The mythos would still probably feel a dull ache, although the pain would be nothing compared to before. Sikici looked at the mythos. "Does anything feel incorrect to you?"

Challam turned a light shade of red, and smacked himself on the forehead. Thought for sure it was him. He thought to himself. Well, can't go leaving loose ends.. He mused as he sighed and stood up, following after her.

"Excuse me, miss?" He started. "Terribly sorry about that back there, I mistook you for someone else. See, that tattoo of yours looked like the clan mark of an old.. well, I am not quite certain if I should call him a friend or a nemesis, but anyway, I though I should come apologize, since I seemed to make you a bit upset back there. Hope there's no harm done?" He asked, smiling a bit.

Above the Train Crash, Nhylamar

Tezkat dropped to the deck a bit more forcefully than intended. His wings folded in close to his back. Something had detected his presence here, it seemed. Another Creature, surely--most likely the Demon mare's second, left in charge of the ship while she gallivanted around the wrecked train. Or perhaps she was the underling, and her boss had remained on board. Even the ship itself might be alive, like Deimos's Mythos-bonded cruiser. He scanned the deck for signs of telltale tendril holes. Tezkat licked his lips. Whatever awaited him below decks, his little airborne adventure had suddenly become much more entertaining.

He cocked his head, weapons at ready. Five Beings manned the forward gun behind him. Six more stood between him and the stairs. Despite their confusion, they gave no indication of having pierced his invisibility. These small fish promised pitifully brief sport and might even raise the alarm before he dispatched them all. The gunners would get a reprieve... this time. Still as death, he waited for them to reload. As the deafening report of the cannons rocked the deck, he sprang past the guards down into the bowels of the ship.

As Bart got a better look at the "soldiers" and how they carried themselves, he noticed something a bit fishy. Several things, really: Mismatching uniforms and weapons? Making a big racket and hassling victims at a train crash? Since when did Aelisium grunts push around being survivors? These were no soldiers, these were just a bunch of street thugs who got lucky. Once he realized that, his blood began to boil.

Sheathing both weapons onto his belt, Bart approached the two beings in a swift, unhappy stride. The kind of stride that told you you'd get punched in the face if you didn't move out of the way.

She's Nact the girl you are looking for.

Stephan listened to the succubus as she explained her previous intention. Her reference to her clan symbol made him subconsciously think about the back of his hand. He was impressed by her abilities, it showed, and he wondered just what that would entail for him considering that the Noctali clan were well known illusionist.  "Sorry to say, squirrely... but you're just not my type," her dismissal brought him back to reality and he watched her, speechlessly, as she flowed from the room.

Stephan waited a minute or so to collect his thoughts, and then began to chuckle. She had dismissed him; he wasn't her type.  To any other person this would have been considered a bad thing, an insult, but to Stephan it was gloriously normal. She could have done worse. About seven months prior he had met Stephie, she caused him more grief than any rejection had ever caused.

He met Stephie Locatos, a canine being, at one of the after show parties the theaters had a tendency to throw for their patrons. They had dated maybe three or so times before things started to go wrong. Stephie became obsessive of Stephan wanting to know every little detail of where he went or who he was with. At first he put it off as just a quirk of her behavior, until she became aggressive with any other woman he met up with. He tried reasoning with her, explaining that his job required him to meet the public and mingle, but she was beyond reasoning. The final straw was when Stephie left a threatening note with Mary telling her to leave. He had told Stephie that it was over, that they were through, but that didn't go over well with her. She disappeared for a week, and they thought that was the last they had seen of her, that is until Stephie arrived at their wagons armed with a gun. She claimed that Stephan and she were destined for each other, that Mary was a viscous interloper who wanted him for her self. She was clearly delusional, but also armed. Thankfully she had no training with the weapon and Stephan managed to subdue her, using the same spells he used in his show ironically enough, and they held her until the authorities arrived. Nobody was injured, just a few bullet holes to patch up in the wagons, but the whole ordeal had left Stephan with an extremely unpleasant memory.

Stephan idly dragged his finger across the spines of the books as he passed. Maybe Mary was right... he was spending too much time in the past, worrying, wondering what horrible consequences his actions would cause. He pulled out a pocketwatch and checked the time, his meeting with the Theater manager was later in the afternoon, and he had plenty of time to spare. "Maybe I should find a book to read," Stephan mused to himself, "And, maybe I could do with a vacation," he finished the sentence in his head as he walked down the rows of books lined up on their shelves.

The gray colored cheetah closed the watch, placing it back in its pocket, "it is good work, very nice color.  However, I require at least one dimensional pocket that can accommodate an object of about five feet in length, but not very wide.  It would also need to be able to fit my wings, but conceal such areas if I hide them."

Locke considered the other coats, "I suppose the concealment could be added later, I can do that myself.  I am regrettably not a tailor or the type of enchanter that can produce an item like this.  Especially one of such masterful quality"

Smiling broadly at the owl, the angel waited to see if the merchant had a finer gem among his wares, he flicked his tail about in a show of anticipation and feline curiosity.  A ploy if you will, but one intended to ferret quality in merchandise as opposed to thrift in price.

As he started to come down from panic, Sethir began to think more rationally about his predicament, and it filled him with a sick sense of dread.  He not only had to worry about his own life, or the lives of the train passengers, but he now had a measure of responsibility for the souls of their attackers as well and that was a burden he really did not need.

How could these people be so stupid...?  Surely they didn't want to risk spending their afterlives in someone's sports-bike, their immortal essence slowly being eaten away as the owner burned rubber... the very thought of it made him quail.

By now he was out of the range of the big guns, but this put him closer in range of the attackers themselves.  He hadn't really come equipped for this - the closest thing he had to ranged weapons were his tentacles and a few offensive spells.  A gun or a crossbow would have been better... if he got out of this okay, he made a mental note to invest in one.

Parking the bike again, he put the helmet away - it was designed for accidents, not gunshots and he'd be better off with proper hearing.

Some of the soldiers or pirates - whichever they were - had started to examine the train and Seth settled on a strategy at last.  He sneaked into the gap between two carriages that weren't aflame and extruded some wing-tentacles, listening out for minds and thoughts.
He could grab someone off their feet like this and pull them out of sight before they could even scream - the next person to come by who was of the attackers' crew would very quickly lose their head.

Paige banked around again to get a feel for the wind and where the arresting wires on the MJOLNIR's landing strip were. Satisfied the Succubus chopped her speed back as she made her approach, lowering the reinforced hook near the tail of the A-16.

Just as the Spitfire's wheels touched the deck she cut the throttle back completely and once the hook caught a wire applied the brakes as well. Retracting the hook she throttled up again as a deck member with a pair of paddles directed her to a parking bay.

Once parked and her wheel's chocked she shut down the engine and unbuckled herself as another deckhand put a ladder against the wing for her to use. Pushing back the canopy Paige clambered out and down to the deck, noting how good it felt to be on board a Warship.

She looked up to where she could see Baseel...

Kyirri continued examining the map, nodding that his initial conjectures were correct. I've got all week, and I'm in no hurry to get mugged. Still, I've gotten what I needed, I'd better get out before the shopkeeper thinks that I'm stealing from him... people always think that us beings that barely score three feet in height are always pickpockets and thieves... not that it's an entirely invalid assumption.

With that, he headed out towards the train station, still trying to move quickly and discretely, alert for any thugs which might mug him. He figured there were bound to be some cutpurses in the area, even if there were less than there were 'guarding' the route to the airship docks. That's another disadvantage of barely being three feet tall. Muggers assume that since I'm short, I'm an easy target. Though, I suppose that's not a bad assumption most of the time. With luck, he'd reach his destination without too much trouble.

Get to train station, get tickets, seems like a plan. I might want to get some for the return trip too... they're easier to hide than coins. Plus it saves me the time I'd need acquiring them.

Lamylar

Anabelle listened to the knocks on her door. It could be someone looking for her but, all things considered, it was hard for her to tell.

"Any idea who it might be?" she asked the Demon.
"No idea," he replied, "judging from the footsteps, I'd say they sound smaller... perhaps a child.  My kind aren't exactly common in these parts of Nhylamar."
"Yes, I've noticed," said the witch. It was an understatement, especially considering the commotion his appearance had caused. "I'd like to ask you what you were doing here in the first place, but I'm afraid that's going to have to wait."

She walked towards the door and asked who was there. The door opened up a bit. She hardly ever locked it, but was now starting to consider it might be a good idea... if it was any help against the mysterious threat. A couple of boys were standing there, peaking in, peeking around, trying to see the 'monster' that had crawled into the village. A third boy, the apparent leader of the group, stepped forward from behind the others and spoke up.

"Excuse me miss Clemens, but is it really safe in there... with the monster?... My dad said that demons are really really dangerous."

It was clear that the three boys were trying to catch a glimpse of the demon feline inside.

"It's OK, kids," said Anabelle, "everything's going to be alright. Now please go home and wait until I'm done. This isn't a good time to come inside."

The leader, clearly deflated by this rather anticlimatic encounter, nodded politely and started to head back home. The boy sighed and said, "aww... alright..." before changing his course to join the others. A few moments later, Annie could see the three children tear off towards a nearby field where they were commonly seen playing.

"They should be fine for now," she thought. "At least I hope so."

She heard Renard move and turned around, closing the door behind her while trying not to appear startled. Apparently the demon had grown a bit curious, and had propped himself up a bit more, so he could better observe the door.

"Cute kids," he said, as he seemed to flop back down. "Hopefully not too many more interruptions... Exhaustion's starting to set in..."

"Perhaps I'm just too edgy," the capybara thought. "But can I help it?"

"To be honest, the kids are at the bottom of my list of possible threats today," she pointed out. "I do have some food, if not a lot. I'm not sure what you like to eat, but hopefully we can find something that suits your tastes. Now, if you don't mind, could you please tell me what brought you here?"
Propping himself back up, the feline demon replied: "it was a patrol, rumors about raiders hitting the border settlements for some reason.  I heard some noises, saw some smoke, went to investigate.  There was a clearing a few miles north of hear where I landed, and thought I'd done so quietly enough to not draw attention.  Walking towards the smoke, I ran into three things... beings, insectis... I really couldn't tell.  Had masks that really muffled their voices.
Then one jumped me from behind, never saw him on a little boulder.  Clipped my wing pretty viciously before another came at me with a knife.  I'm not really sure what happened next... I remember the 3 of them on top of me.  Then waking up a little while later, the things were gone, and I just started limping this way, hopeing to find someone... Sorry that I can't be more help."

Anabelle remains silent for a while, trying to assimilate the news.

"That's... I'd never heard of an attack like that before," she finally said. "Raiders, yes, sometimes. Not many in this town, fortunately. But they were never that skilled."

She couldn't imagine who could possibly have done that, let alone what they wanted, or how she could protect herself and the whole of Lamylar if they decided to attack the village. If they had hurt a demon so badly before he could even know what hit him, what chance could she stand against them? Fighting was out of the question. Could there be a way to build a defense strong enough to protect everyone? She couldn't think of any. During the last 2 years, the villagers have become used to turning to her for help. What would happen if her help was not enough?

She sighed, realizing she'd gone silent for a while. "I'm the one who's sorry I can't be of more help."
"Think nothing of it..." the feline replied, "and, really just anything for a snack would be great... I think, afterwards, a nap will be in order."
"At least I can do that much. Tell me, what kind of food do you eat? I'd rather not embarrass myself by making wrong assumptions."
"Meat, vegetables, grain... anything will work, really, it's less about flavor, and more about energy and substance, you see,"  he answered, flashing a weak smile with the reply.
She returned the facial gesture. "In that case it should be easier than I thought. I still have most of the 2 pies I got yesterday. Sometimes people give me food in return for my services. And I have some bread and fruit I keep ready in case I need something quick. The bread may be a bit hard, though. I was planning to get some fresh bread soon."

She realized she didn't really have to describe her whole inventory, but at that moment she felt more comfortable uttering unimportant words than facing a silence that would inevitably allow her fears to fill her mind.

"A little fruit and bread is fine, thank you," he replied. "You've been more than hospitable, Anabelle, once I've recovered, if there's anything you need, feel free to ask."

He was really kind, she had to grant him that much. She could tell he was doing what he could in order to ease the tension, and reckoned she should try to do the same. She offered him some bread, apples and oranges, while she tried to think of a way to take him up on his offer. She'd have to make the best of what she had.

"Right now all I can ask for is that you try not to scare people more than they already are, and that you please let me know if there's any more trouble. I believe we'll need to find a way to protect the village and its people."

The demon took a piece of bread and an orange, gently peeling the tangy fruit with a claw.  His weak smile grew more friendly as he replied.

"Thank you, Ana.  I have no intention of scaring anyone, I was here to make sure that the villages were protected." Pointing towards his coat, then taking a bite of bread, he added: "there should be a small sphere in the inside, right pocket, it's an Orb of Communication, it should let you call for help if you need any."

His eyes seemed to be growing weary as his expression slowly shifted to neutral.  "I think  I'm going to take a nap in a moment, if you don't mind."
"Of course," she said, and let him go back to bed.

Once he was lying down with his eyes closed, she made herself some tea and finished the old apple pie whose last portion she'd been saving for breakfast. She wondered what the rest of the day would be like. In any case it was better not to start it with an empty stomach.

   "Damn!"  Ashlynn swore as she straightened and began to move into the middle of the camp.  "Keep an eye out for more traps."  She warned as she put the pistol away and drew the massive Lebarge.  The gun made a satisfying thunk as she cycled a round into the chamber, and anyone who knew of the weapon understood that you did not want to get in that field of fire.  She moved into the camp, her eye whirring softly as it picked up the dozens of smashed or smouldering structures.
   "Wandering folk.  We warned them not to stop here.  They travel from one country to the next, claiming neutrality.  Some folks just don't give a damn about neutral."  She said as her boot carefully lifted a tent.  Smashed contents but no bodies.  It was giving her a bad feeling.  "We offered to give them shelter in town, but their leader swore they had to obey the dreams or the fae or... whatever."  Ashlynn snorted softly.  She didn't believe in faerie tales.  If there had once been fae they'd been gone from Aelisium for a long time.
   As they searched, still nothing.  Burnt tents but no tell tell stench of incendiaries.  Blood in the dirt but no bodies.  Blasted belongings but no shell casings.  "Magic.  They were using magic.   There had to be more than one or survivors would have scattered and returned."  And from the burning wreckage, it hadn't been long ago.  She looked at Gaak, "Make another sweep for mines and then get the scorp here.  We need to send up a yellow signal flare to the town."  She straightened as she looked across the creek, her eye slowly focusing.  "There's footprints on the far bank.  They forcemarched the people out of here and not long ago.  There's a chance we can catch them before they magic their way out of here."

Great...it's official...I'm the gods plaything...

The alley was her best bet, she figured. Geting back onto her feet she srpinted for it, leaping down onto the fire escape. The metal creaked and groaned as scurried down the old escape, kicking the last ladder down before clinging back to terra firma.

Act calm...act csual...they don't notice a thing unless they see your eyes.

Lucy tried her best to mentally calm herself, pulling her hat's brim down over her eyes, moving deeper into the alley, walking quickly as she tucked her hands into her pockets.

Perhaps it would be safer to simply stick to the alleys and move towards the city gate that way. Blend in, hiding in plain sight would work, she hoped.

Aelisium Outskirts

  Gaakronact was decidedly not prepared for what came into view. He was expecting a camp, yes, but the camp of their quarry, not a camp their quarry had ravaged. He stroed through with Ashlynn, gripping his scattergun, really wishing he was back in the Storm Scorp. He listened as Ashlynn explained that she actually knew the people of this nomadic settlement, in that they had refused shelter to living on the road.
  At her suggestion about the flare though, Gaak frowned. "I'm not sure a flare is a good idea...sure, we should alert your comrades to this, but I don't think it's such a good idea to just shout out to everyone that we're here like that... someone or something might still be watching..."
  Gakkronacht then went back to the edge of the settlement, as far as he could go while still keeping Ashlynn in sight. If there was anything in the immediate vicinity, he wasn't going to break line of sight with her, there's no way he could break the buddy system so easily. Cupping his hands over his mouth to focus his voice, he called out as low as he could while still being reasonably sure Gezzemoch could hear him, "Gezz! Gezz! Get over here!"

  Gezzemocht was fiddling with some things in the mech when he heard his brother's voice in the air. He could barely make it out, but he instantly figured he needed to bring the Strom Scorp to them, instead of them coming back. He hopped out of the secondary cockpit and slid down to the forward cockpit, geared up the Storm Scorp, and started moving it toward's Gaakronact's voice.

Zelah nodded to Wolkshammer — sitting down hard on a reflex action to salute in the style of the Aeliseium army, which might not be appreciated in Nhylamar — and headed off downstairs in the direction the Demon had indicated. She soon came across the block of cabins, and found a row of empty ones. She opened the door at the far end, hauled her bag inside, and closed the door, leaning back against it with a sigh of relief. The multi-coloured canine Demon who'd brought that message to Wolkshammer had been hard enough on her nerves, but the few other crewmembers she'd encountered on the way down here had been even weirder. One winged type, who she suspected might have been an Angel, a couple more Demons, and one... thing... with furless iridescent skin and far too many arms, legs and eyes that could only have been a Mythos. They'd all seemed friendly enough, though.

She rested there, head back, headwings splayed against the door, for a few minutes until she felt a little calmer. She was just one more Creature among many others now; she was safe. And with enough time to get used to the idea, she might begin to feel that way as well. The worried 'Cubi was finally roused by a tight, scratchy sensation across her chest fur. Well, she had dressed male this morning, and then she'd got a bit too angry at Hake and had another little accident. Time to do something about that. She slipped her jacket off, hung it on the hook behind the door, and heaved her bag up onto the bunk.

Ten minutes later, Zelah opened the cabin door and stepped back out into the corridor, feeling much more comfortable wearing a shirt and underthings to match her current form. She might feel safer if she did it, but she really shouldn't hide in that cabin all the way back to the airship's base. She wanted to explore a little, see how this airship differed from the ones she was used to, and hopefully not meet too many of the crew right away. Headwings fluttering and ears, whiskers and tail twitching nervously, Zelah started back along the corridor, looking for stairs leading up. Her weapons were still close to hand in her jacket pockets, but surely she wouldn't need them here... would she?

Lamylar

The rest of the day seemed to come and go for Anabelle.  There was a lot of talk about the demon who'd come into the village, but very little outside of that.  There were rumors abound as to what had brought him to the sleepy little community, and what was going on.  Morning fell to afternoon, then the sun began setting.  As the sun started to creep below the tree-line, a small boat could be seen coming down from the river.  A golden furred feline appeared to be aboard.
Arroyo came to an unoccupied dock.  Not far away was a gated community.  A mid-height wrought-iron fence surrounded the community, with what appeared to be easy-access gates leading from the 2 paths, and 1 road leading into the village.  Children were at play at the dusk, and the gentle caress of night was starting to creep up.  There were a few adults out as well, some tending to their children, and some who were manning shops.  There was but 1 clearly marked inn Arroyo could see from his position outside the gate.


Battle-Cruiser MJOLNIR

Bas stood waiting for the wolf-succubus on the flight deck, as her plane was pressed by the crew to the appropriate area, the plane started to vanish within the armored hull off the warship.  Bas gave a friendly salute like wave, lifting middle and index fingers a brow the flicking his wrist towards Paige.  He approached with a slightly devilish grin.  Bas said, "Glad to see you're interested in my own offer, Paige,  even though I had to rather graciously turn down your own..."
He coughed into a hand to try and hide the slight chuckle.  "Welcome aboard the MJOLNIR, The Hammer of Thor. "
Paige would note that Bas wasn't wearing a mind-shield at the moment, and would pick up a distinct mental image of her pounced on top of him, rather forcefully laying out her own proposition immediately after thanking him in a rather... unorthodox way...  for his offer of a job .
He let his voice and thoughts trail off as he made a flourish towards the stairs to the inner airship.  "If you'd be so kind as to follow me, we can talk about getting you a contract, and if you're interested, get you a bunk."  

As Zelah wandered the halls, there were several crew she passed just lounging in their rooms.  It seemed most, if not every crew member had their own bunk, a rare luxury indeed on a warship, even one as large as the MJOLNIR.  As she reached the stairs Bas had indicated, a demon collie appeared, a smidge taller than Zelah, he was wearing a sleeveless tunic, which he'd left open.  It was obvious he was being intentionally showy for the new succubus, as he non-chalantly leaned against the door, tail wagging slightly.  He said in playful tone, "How you doin" Giving a single, exaggerated head nod.


Back Alley

Lucy could hear the sound of the officer on the roof as she darted down the alley.  It was clear that she'd missed that meeting by only a few seconds as she could almost feel his gaze wander down the alleys.  The gates were only a few blocks away as the alley ahead of her lead right into a busy street.  The gates were close, and people seemed to be ignoring her.  Her eyes had developed the unnatural yellow of all undead, but hadn't start glowing just yet.  The gate was almost in sight but crowds were getting larger as the morning's congregation had been slowly filing into the streets.  Church was over, and most people were now either off shopping, or tending to their stores.  Lucy had to walk just a few more blocks, and then she was home free.


Library

Stephan would note that the library had a truly massive selection of books.  They ranged for entertainment, to history, to do it yourself books.  He managed to stumble into a rather large reference section for cubi, by cubi.  Flipping through the various do-it-yourself training manuals for preparing your children for SAIA, expositions on various famous cubi, and a few history books, Stephan would come across one that would really draw his attention. the leather bound book was rather plain, It's side cover had the title Noctali History, followed by a mark identical to that on his hand.  It was strange, as if the book were calling out to him.  It was as if the book wanted him to read it.


Near the train station

As the roo-rat drew closer to the train-station, there was a commotion behind him.  Seemed the local gangs were having a scrap, as the sounds of metal-on-metal clanged together.  A deep thud resonated, along with a squeltching sound, soft, and juicy.  There was a loud crunching noise as well, a snapping, crackle, followed by a howl of pain.  The downside of these street brawls is that they often spilled out into the streets, however, fortunately for Kyirri, it also seemed that it'd drawn the local thugs away from the train station.
There were lines, as usual, people wanting oh so desperately to leave the local slums, news of work in other places, along with the usual middle-class who were frugal enough to know that airships were far too expensive for their wages.  His  train was leaving in less than 20 minutes.   As he approached the ticket counter, a young looking feline, female,  cream and gold colored, asked, "excuse me sir, would you like an upper-class cabin for just 1 gold-coin more? seems this trip we've got a few, and are offering them, along with 2 meals for a discounted price."
She smiled politely while awaiting Kyirri's answer.


Coat Shop

"Oh, looking for some added customization are we?  Well, you're in luck Locke, for you see, i happen to be the enchanter of these fine wares.  Altering the pocket dimensions is pretty trivial, would you prefer 2x2x5, or something  more like 1x3x9?"
The owl started examining the black leather coat, fussing over a few things as he looked through the various enchantment.  "If you use a creature to being amulet on this particular coat, the effect is similar, the coat adapts to the needs of the wearer you see, just need to wear the chain on the outside of the collar."
Hoisting the coat, clearly too long for himself, as it's edges skimmed the floor, and the wing-slots were just a smidge too large.  As he adjusted the buttons, the coat seemed to collapse in on itself, the edge came to a tailored length, and, he donned a simple crossed-hammer amulet, with the chain outside the collar.  His wings disappeared, as did the wing slots.  Locke could detect no illusory magic, as none was used.
Removing the amulet, his wings, along with space for the wings sprouted up.
"enough proof of the quality? or, would you still like to browse?"
The owl removed the coat, setting it back on the counter. He brushed off imagined dust around the bottom edges.


Airship (Challam)

The tigress looked annoyed, but gave a reserved nod, then replied, "Apology accepted, now why don't you go sit down somewhere else before you hurt yourself."
With the dismissal, the tigress reached into her back, produced a small, leather-bound book, and began reading, completely ignoring challam.

The rest of the flight took several hours, and proved rather boring, people slept, read, or made idle conversation while they sailed over Nhylamar, towards the city ahead.  It wasn't the largest city, but still quite a bit more sprawling than what he'd been used to at SAIA.  Waiting outside were various taxis and signs leading to all corners of Mikoron



Train Crash

Bart moved right by the guy with the rifle, he continued checking out the train.  However, the guy with the pistol immidiately raised the weapon and shouted, "Stop right there!  What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Holding the weapon in a threatening way, pointing the muzzle toward's the demon's face.

The being who'd ignored the demon had started to climb atop one of the train-cars Seth had settled behind, his head peaked around the corner just long enough to find himself starring at a small cluster of razor sharp bladed edges and narrow, spear-like points.  His thoughts froze as the tentacles quickly did their thing.  The dying being's gun plopped to the ground, and the large shoulder-pouch became rather obvious as the headless body slumped over the couplings of the cars.

Gabe could see the attackers sliding down the ropes, most seemed rather unconcerned with the biker as he came flying through the repelling zone.  A rather foolish pirate tried to get in the way, running towards where Gabe would be, waving a  knife and pistol wildly trying to get the rat being to stop.  The masked figure would easily pass in front of Gabe's bike, and he could either try and stop, or try any number of maneuvers to either avoid, hit, or get a clean shot with Holland on the foolish and now alone individual masked being.


Above the Train Crash

The whirling noise grew louder and more distinct, a dark shape loomed in Tez's presence, dark, glowing, red eyes transfixed on the cubi.  The shape grew larger as the feline cleared the door way.  Standing at a mid-way ramp was a demon, ebon and crimson colored fur on the jaguar.  His claws were extended, and a reddish glint seemed to shimmer from the backs of his hands.   In the demon's right hand was a large chainblade, the whirring sound was that of the chain, spinning it's vicious shark-like teeth at a blurring rate.  In his left hand was a short-blade, the grip and handguard made of a vicious looking knuckle-duster on top of the twenty or so inch blade.
A paw panted on the next step, and it was clear the demon could see right through the invisibility spell.  "well what are you waiting for little kitty?  You came to play, you've even got your toy out.  So, lets play!"
So saying the demon lunged forward, swinging the chainblade as if it were a knife, in a slash aimed to cut across Tez's midsection.


In the streets, outside the bar

The 2 headed mythos nodded.  Both heads spoke in a slightly unsettling unison, "We're sorry for any trouble we've caused... we don't have much to give in the way of money, we are but a poor trader,  at the moment, until our shipments come in.  We can, however, give you a border pass, if you'd accept that as payment instead?"
The two headed mythos looked hopeful as he began reaching into a pocket, producing a small scroll, with both Voethfel and Sevastia 'Nyad's official seals on the outer parchment.


Aeliseium Rubble

No sooner had the pair turned their attention away from the edge of the woods, when a trio of masked individuals appeared, they each carried a long, stocky revolver, still holsterd, and an oddly yellow-tinted gunmetal-toned blade.  They wore semi-matching leather looking coveralls, brown leather in a semi-form-fitting suit.  They wore gloves, and there was no sign of exposed skin. The sound of chittering filled both Ashlynn's and Gaakronact's ears.  The things suddenly began sliding towards cover as soon as they'd noticed they'd been spotted.  They broke in 3 different direction, one dove behind a small cluster of corpses, another, to the pair's left, dove behind a still burning tent, the third, moving to the pair's right, dove behind a fallen log.

From their current position, Ashlynn had a clean shot at the one behind the bodies.  Gaakronact  on the other hand, was not nearly close enough to use his scatter gun, but he could clearly see the barrel of the masked, and leather clad thing start to peek out, and, it seemed to be starting to get a bead on the beaver.  Lining up the metal nubs of the iron-sights with Gaakronact's torso.

Gabriel scowled, veered to avoid the soldier, and kept driving ahead at full steam. Hopefully, he'd avoid combat entirely and make his way to the next town without delay.

Aelisium Rubble

   Just after calling out to his brother and turning back to Ashlynn and the torn-up encampment, Gaakronacht saw three figures emerge on the far side. He couldn't quite make out their weapons or outfits, although he certainly didn't recognize them. However, he did heard a barely-audible chittering sound...and he only heard that sound from one place in his life. INSECTIS!
   As the three figures went for cover, he noted them taking aim...one of them directly at him. "Geargrit!" Gaak cursed as he immediately dove off in the direction of where he had come from as bullet impacts started hitting around him. He didn't stop to check himself if he had been hit yet. His light pilot's armor might protect him somewhat, but if they got a lucky shot...
   Gaak then heard a stomping sound he could never mistake as Gezzemocht crashed around a bend with the Storm Scorp. "Get up, get up, get up!"
   Gezzemocht immediately reacted and jumped out of the main pilot's seat and went back to the rear one as Gaakronacht scrambled up into the newly-vacated seat. The Storm Scorp continued foward as Gaak clipped out "Three footmen, small arms, likely Insectis but unconfirmed." letting Gezz know exactly what to look out for.
   The Storm Scorp strode into full view of the camp. While Gezz scanned around for something he could shoot with the rotary-gun, Gaak took aim at the place he had last seen the enemy shooting at him...
   whu-BOOSH
   A single shot from the sonic-concussive thunder-cannon was released, impacting the area squarely and turning it to gravel. Gaak kept an eye out to see if they guy was still there and was hit, or if he had moved somewhere else...

Adelaide was getting impatient. She hadn't been sent for to be left at an airship dock for the day. She went hunting for someone important to straighten the mistake out. Obviously other people, like that vixen and badger, weren't invisible to the staff of this place so someone relatively competent must be in charge somewhere.

Sethir studied the head and body, committing their features to memory in case he needed to assume their identity.  This done, he rolled the head under the train car and frisked the body quickly, searching for any ID (magical or Daguerreotyped). Proof that they were somehow enemies of the state would be very useful if the authorities started to ask questions about the headless corpse later on.
Sethir wasn't very happy about what he'd done, but at the end of the day it was a mercy killing... if he had been arrested or waylaid by a less scrupulous Creature, his existence would probably have ceased entirely.

He couldn't do much about the blood on the ground and the train, but with a little shapeshifting himself and his clothes he at least got himself relatively presentable.  He resolved to kill the next one by stabbing them through the head or heart as it was less messy.

He took his victim's pouch and pistol, inspecting them quickly while he waited for more prey.  Now I have a revolver.... ho, ho, ho!

Sethir pondered on what he'd learned so far.  The man had had a mind-shield, but his demeanour, emotions and dress had given Seth more than enough clues to determine that he was one of the attackers.
As the man had died and his mind-shield faded, Sethir had been able to confirm that they were indeed pirates, rather than soldiers.  But whether they had been put up to this by someone, he could not rightly tell.

Quote from: Basilisk on March 22, 2010, 08:39:10 PM
Battle-Cruiser MJOLNIR

Bas stood waiting for the wolf-succubus on the flight deck, as her plane was pressed by the crew to the appropriate area, the plane started to vanish within the armored hull off the warship.  Bas gave a friendly salute like wave, lifting middle and index fingers a brow the flicking his wrist towards Paige.  He approached with a slightly devilish grin.  Bas said, "Glad to see you're interested in my own offer, Paige,  even though I had to rather graciously turn down your own..."
He coughed into a hand to try and hide the slight chuckle.  "Welcome aboard the MJOLNIR, The Hammer of Thor. "
Paige would note that Bas wasn't wearing a mind-shield at the moment, and would pick up a distinct mental image of her pounced on top of him, rather forcefully laying out her own proposition immediately after thanking him in a rather... unorthodox way...  for his offer of a job .
He let his voice and thoughts trail off as he made a flourish towards the stairs to the inner airship.  "If you'd be so kind as to follow me, we can talk about getting you a contract, and if you're interested, get you a bunk."  

Smiling in reply to his own the wolfess walked to meet Baseel halfway, "Sorry for the trouble, Mr Wolkshammar" She said grinning impishly though with a slight pink tinge to her cheeks as she replied as she picked up the mind picture. As she followed him she kept listening, as as they neared the stairs and Baseel finished his offer she couldn't help but add: "Oh yours is taken then?" In a completely deadpan tone.

Arroyo stopped for a second as he was about to get off his boat. He quickly turned back to the door to inside the boat and walks into it for a minute after unlocking it to go in. He grabbed a belt with a sheath attached to it and wrapped it around his waist. 'Better safe than sorry...but then again that's what that church guy said when he turned int a zombie...Ah well.' He raised his hand up and a small spark of blue light appeared for a quick second as it turned into Arroyo's sword. He soon sheathed it and grabs his money and puts it in his pocket before exiting the boat.

He locked up the door to his quarters and gets off the boat, walking up and through the gates of the small town, taking out his windup key and soon tinkered a bit with his cuffs, making a echoing clicking sound as he walks through the first street he entered into.

Challam paused for a moment at the end of the exiting ramp of the airship, and simply took a moment to look around at all the people. It'd been too long since he'd seen any large congregation of people that wasn't infested with head-wings. He smirked, and stepped up to the signs pointing visitors about. He was just looking for the departing airship station to book a flight further into country, where his clan held businesses.

Hopefully finding what he sought, he would set off on his way there, barring any terrible life-altering event..

"Johnny I hardly knew ye, haroo... haroo"

Gabriel stood in the back yard of a long abandoned farmstead, drawing water from a dilapidated well.

"Where are your eyes that were so mild, hurroo... hurroo,
Where are your eyes that were so mild? hurroo... hurroo,
Where are your eyes that were so mild
When my heart you so beguiled,
Why did ye run from me and the child,
Oh Johnny, I hardly knew ye.

He didn't really know how to sing, but he was familiar with the words and tune. He could sing along with his memory, at least.

After travelling along the side of the railroad for a time, he'd turned north along a farmer's backroad. The well was a good place to resupply the water tanks, and Gabriel needed a bite of bread and cheese, too.

"Where are your legs that used to run, hurroo, hurroo...
Where are your legs that used to run, hurroo, hurroo.
Where are your legs that used to run
When you went for to carry a gun
Indeed your dancing days are done
Oh Johnny, I hardly knew ye..."

Gabriel also took the time to strip down the valve-gear linkages. He hadn't needed to, but it felt good to take something apart and oil it... comfort of the familiar. Now, he poured one last bucketful into the tank behind the seat. Then he stood stood up, surveyed the land around him, and wiped his hands off with a rag.

Time to move on. Find another job, get paid, stay fed. That's how the world worked. You made a life as you could, and when war shook things up, you started over when the dust settled.

"I'm happy for to... see you..." Gabriel trailed off. He glanced about again, more from nerves than anything else. A dilapidated farmhouse, untended fields, and a plume of smoke in the distance. Familiar territory.

He took off his cap, ran his nails through his hair, and cleared his throat.

"Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg, hurroo, hurroo...
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg, hurroo, hurroo.
Ye haven't an arm, ye haven't a leg
Ye're an armless, boneless, chickenless egg
Ye'll have to put with a bowl out to beg
Oh Johnny, I hardly knew ye..."

Running sucked. Wars sucked. Gabriel never shirked on the job, and if you wanted something taken care of you rolled up your sleeves and dealt with it. It didn't matter if it was your job to fix it or not, either. Someone had to do it, or it didn't get done.

Gabriel took a firm grip on Walsh's handlebars, and drove off at full steam. Gabriels young soprano was stronger now, and there was as much iron in his voice as melody.

"With your drums and guns and drums and guns, hurroo, hurroo..!"

---

Gabriel rolled into the city of Sevoy some time later. Gothic revival mansions and civic centers stood towering in the distance, closer to the city heart, but Gabriel stayed in the outskirts. Workers shuffled through the streets in the industrial neighborhood, dockworkers and laborers. After driving for a time, fighting with roaming pedestrians, horses drawn carriges, and other motorized vehicles, Gaberiel parked Walsh at a utilitarian but busy pub. He detached the gemstone stud that activated the flash-heat enchantments of his bike, as well as the hand lever for the chadburn, and tucked both in his pockets before heading in.

There was a fine line between "lower middle class" and "rough company." Gabriel tweaked his cap a little lower, and went straight for the bar, eyes darting over the crowd and hands fidgeting in his pockets. He hopped onto a stool, and put a few coins on the counter.

"Gin and tonic, sirrah." he said.

The barkeep, a rotund badger, eyed him. "Aren't you a little short in years for drinkin gin?"

"I'm old enough to earn wages, aint I?" Gabriel replied, and added a few more coins.

The barkeeper shrugged, and slid them off the counter. "Fair enough." he said, and poured him a glass.

Gabriel sipped at the tumbler. "Speakin' of wages, know where I might go to find some?"

"They're always looking for littles to work at the mines," he said, "and down at the docks, there's plenty blimps and sailing ships that'd need a cabin boy."

Gabriel flinched, spilling some of his drink. "No..! No," he said. "I'm no cabin boy or coal miner. Mechanics work, or engineering."

"Need experience and training for that sorta work, boy..."

Gabriel looked at him from under the brim of his cap, and held the glass infron to fhis mouth to cover a smirk. "I got letters of reccomendation." He said, and drained the glass. Gabriel waved away the barkeepers offer for a refill. "I'm looking for a job on something armed. Too many pirates about, and civilian work doesn't pay so well."

"Oh... ah, well then. I might know of a few captains needing crew." The barkeeper said.

"I might be looking around for a while. Got a room to rent for a few days? Don't need much more than a broom closet, and it's better then sittin' in the common room." Gabriel said, and gestured to the room around him. He tried his best to not look as jumpy as he felt.

The barkeeper nodded. "I'll talk to the owner, but I think so."

Gabe gestured with his glass to the taps at the bar. "Need someone to tune up your plumbing? Since I'm not doin' much else."

"I'm sure that will help."

Lucy moved at a brisk pace towards the gate, mostly staying in the alleys and less crowded streets. She kept her head low, the brim of her hat concealing her eyes as best she could.

She moved around crowds and smaller gatherings of people, only a few seemed to show any kind of notice to her, though she moved quickly enough she was sure she was forgotten once she was out the line of sight and the topic of conversation moved back today's service.

Lucy had only gone to such service once in her life, following her father's death. She never trusted the bishop, her own paranoia had silently accuse him of some kind of involvement in her father's murder.A harsh accusation, yes, she realized, but he had heard rumors about him, the kind of stuff a stereotypical Demon would call inhuman.

Finally, the past few minutes had seemed like ages, but she could see the gate now.

The demon's tone and body language eased off as the mook raised his revolver. "Heeeyy, hey, whatsa matter? Don't you like me?" Bart held out his arms in a friendly gesture, eyes softening and glittering gently. "You know what I think?" He took a little step foward. "I think someone needs a huuugg~"

Bart quickly closed the gap between them, grabbing and pinning the being's arms to his sides in a borderline crushing bearhug, causing a few small, audible cracks in the pirate's vertebrae. "C'mon, big hug biiiiiig hug--" And, without warning, the demon ignited himself, orange flames engulfing them both in a nice, searing embrace.

Sevoy

The barkeep appeared a few moments later with a key, "I only take cash up front for renting rooms.  Single bed, and half-bath is the smallest we got... room and bed dimensions just about match perfectly.  Hope that's a'right with you."

The bartender then produced some tools.  "Tell ya what, you fix the leaky spigot 'ere, an' you're room 's free for tonight, and i'll go asking around for who needs a mechanic for ye s'well... you break that tap though, and it'll more than jus' yer room tha' you'll losin' tonight.  If ya catch my drift."


Battle-cruiser MJOLNIR

Bas felt a slight flush on his own face as well as a devilish grin appear.  He lips curled back in an playfully evil grin, exposing his eerily white teeth.  He chortled, "Currently, the captains bed is only occupied by the captain.  However, if that's an offer to change things...."

Rubbing his chin as if pondering something, Bas lead Paige down the flight of stairs, at the bottom he finished his thought " Well, I can't see any reason to turn you down." Giving a rather noncommittal  shrug, the demon started the tour of the ship, Paige would also note that his thoughts were shielded now.

After wandering several hallways and 2 more sets of stairs, Bas "Up ahead, you'll see the bridge... while it appears to be a glass structure at the front of the ship... that's just a woven magic screen.  You see what's at the front of the ship, when, we are in fact at the very core of the vessel... deepest and most protected part on this entire warship."


Train Crash

The being in Bart's arms seethed and screamed in agony.  A small contingent of pirates, 3 obvious ones, and what could have been movement around the roof of a still intact train-car.  In a matter of seconds, the screaming had stopped as the leather suit, rubber mask, and metal joints began to be consumed in the brilliant orange blaze.  The smell of burnt flesh started to fill the demon's nostrils, a sickly, bitter-sweet smell.

A shout, "What the fuck just happened to Rodney?"

A reply of "Shit man... how's he on fire... what happened?  Wasn't Joey with 'em?"

"Joey, you there?! Rod, Joe?"

3 three grew closer, still unable to make out what happened in the ochre, acrid, and partially blinding smoke.


Seth heard the voices, they were on the other side of the train, and still a ways away.  The pistol seemed to be in working order, and he'd find a small box a matching shells, perhaps 30 spare rounds.  He'd also find some ammunition for the rifle, copper cylinders with a wide, flat base, indented with a firing pin should hit the percussion cap.  It was a mid-bore shotgun that was lying on the ground just beyond the reach of the pirate's corpse.
Suddenly he pick up thoughts of, Ohh... boss'll be proud of me for this one.  He'll be happy to hear about someone taking down a strange creature like him... one who doesn't listen when they're supposed to.
Half a train-car down, lying near the roof vent in a prone position, there was a being lining his sights up towards the near-by funeral pyre.  Seth had a clear view, but it appeared as if the being had no clue he was there.


Aeliseium Streets

Lucy could almost taste the freedom of the outside world, the gate was in sight, and there were but 2 guards.  Both seemed transfixed on incoming traffic as she drew closer.  Suddenly the world seemed to slow down.  She could see the forest, perhaps a half-mile down the road.  A farmer came by, staring more at her figure than the newly revived undead's face.  The guard at the left side the gate seemed to pivot, almost glacially, the husky's blue eyes seemed to lock on her face.  He seemed distracted, as if he couldn't find the words.

It was clear he thought something was off... but he didn't know what just yet.  It wasn't until she'd barely cleared the gate that it seemed to click, "YOU MISS!, STOP!  NOW!"

She could hear the SHHHHKKK of steel pressed against it's hardened leather sheath, the guard had drawn his short blade, rather than reached for his gun.  However, she quickly heard an "ooof" as a cart hit the guard, stunning him for a few seconds, while the other guard, still confused, was trying to pick out just who his comrade had signaled to be questioned

Well, at least the mythos was no longer screaming in agony, either from the broken hand or from the result of Sikici trying to mend that broken hand. Everything seemed to be in order, considering the mythos did not seem to be in any pain, and the hand looked all right. Of course, that would not necessarily mean that it would stay that way as time progressed, but at the moment, the situation had stabilized. That counted for something, right?

Sikici hadn't intended to ask for payment, but hey, free stuff! He gave a nod as he accepted the border pass from the mythos. "Thank you. I am sure this will prove to be useful in the future."  Sikici tucked it away into a small pouch he had.

"Unless you need anything else than, I'll be off."

Kyirri knew enough to stay well away from thugs having a rumble. Dealing with the street gangs period often meant one was marked for death, either quick or slow, even though they could offer him a better standard of living than he could realistically get on his own. Still, he had enough sense to avoid them while they were in the middle of a fight, best not to involve oneself in such things.

He was however, rather surprised at the a large number of people leaving the train at this time. Probably hoping to avoid the thugs and gangs...
He looked up at the feline at the ticket counter. He was immediately suspicious of the offer. His head immediately screamed. Scam! He didn't take long to ponder whether to take the offer. In all likelihood, it's just another seat with a shinier name. Plus if I'm dumb enough to take the offer I'd have a larger chance of being mugged, people after those with more money. And, if I take a normal seat I could get 'lost' in the crowd.

However, it was a good idea to reply politely. "No thank you ma'am. May I have a regular ticket please?" He was ready to hand over the money necessary for the exchange, and then get on the train.

Seth watched in alarm as one of the pirates prepared to shoot at someone.  All he had was a pistol and a rifle, neither of which he'd used in a few years.  In any other situation he'd have time to reacquaint himself with the weapons, but right now someone's life was on the line and a miss would probably kill him.

Instead, he cast a fireball, something he kept regular practice at.
A lucky shot would kill or severely injure them, but even a miss should be enough to distract the guy and prevent him taking the shot.  The wolf pressed himself back against the wall, only his muzzle and one eye peering around the corner to see what happened.

Zelah paused, her eyes widened and headwings flared just a little, when the slightly taller canine Demon stepped out in front of her. Like the other crew she'd met, she could feel no hostility fron him, only friendliness and curiosity... and... attraction? He thought she was cute? On a second glance she realised the Demon was actually quite good-looking, discounting his Creature features, and after a moment she remembered why. Take away the horns, wings, and un-Being-like fur colour, and he resembled someone she'd known a long time ago. Someone she'd actually been fond of, until he'd run away screaming when he discovered what she was.

"Uh... hello," she said in a quiet voice just a whisker's breadth from a nervous squeak. "I'm Zelah. Your Captain Wolkshammer just took me on, uh, I'm new here, uh, my, what a big zeppelin you've got, uh, could you give me directions round your hairy chest — meep." The 'Cubi let her rambling monologue crash and burn, while her tail fluffed out and her ears blushed so hard she thought they'd burst into flames.

Getting Schooled in History

Stephan plucked the book off the shelf, and ran his hand over the cover. He walked down the bookshelf to a nearby sitting room which was occupied by a a single ferret being. "Mind if I take a seat?" the ferret looked up from the book and gave a scrutinizing look, "Sure, I don't see why not." Stephan took a seat and started to skim through the pages of the book. "Hmmmm... clan history..."

Stephan looked up from the book at the Ferret, "Yes, its about the Noctali clan." He opened the book and started to read again.

"Noctali, now that is an interesting clan history. Have you read it?" the ferret interrupted the reading.

Stephan shut the book and gave the ferret a steady look, "No, that's what I'm trying to do," The ferret shrugged and went back to reading his book. Stephan opened the book again and tried to pick up where he had left off.

"I know all about them." again the ferret interrupted Stephan.

Stephan shut the irritably shut the book, "I take it you are some sort of professional on the matter?"

"Exactly," the ferret slapped the arm of his chair, and hopped down and started to pace, "You could say the Noctali clan was born from the Ilsorta clan. Ilsorta was..." the ferret's eyes narrowed and he grimaced, "A mad incubus, filled with delusions of perfection." he paused and smiled at Stephan. "The perfect Incubus, or Succubus as it were. What do you know of Eugenics?"

Stephan shook his head, the impromptu history lesson had caught him off guard, "I'm sorry I've never heard of that before."

"Well, its like when you selectively breed dogs for specific qualities such as the ability to fit into a ladies purse, but instead he started with Beings. Not trying to get us to fit into a tea cup mind you, some of us cant afford to be any smaller than we already are." The ferret paused for a reaction from Stephan.

Stephan casually waited for the ferret to continue, a small hint of a grin on his face.

"Hmmm... tough crowd... Well Ilsorta typically dealt with politics and economics, the forces that can make or break a nation. But, in this case he was involved with a group of Beings known as the Ascendant; a big Eugenics group trying to breed the perfect Being. He used them for their methods, and then applied it to the many clans of cubi, to breed the perfect clan." the ferret resumed his pacing, "Now... meddling with Beings, any of Ilsortas brood could have done that. But, when it involved the other clans... well you don't send out anything but the best, and that happened to be Noctali."

The ferret wheeled around to face Stephan, a devilish grin was plastered on his face. "Noctali was Ilsorta's second in command, best among all others. His skill in deception and misdirection so powerful; that he was sometimes referred to as the Hand of Chaos, for his mere appearance would cause disorder and calamity." the smile faded as the ferret face grew dour, "He was privy to it all, every wild whim, every mad plan of Ilsorta. Yes, Noctali had the grand honor to watch the his clan leader drag his clan towards oblivion, all over an obsession."

Stephan shrugged, "So if Noctali was so powerful, and Ilsorta's second in command, why didn't he try to get Ilsorta to come to his senses?"

"Ilsorta was a clan leader, he didn't get to where he was without earning it. And you tend to treat something that can devour your eternal soul on a whim with a good deal of respect. Noctali did what any good Incubus would do; he made a plan, a gamble as it were." the ferret idly inspect his fingernails You see, the problem with an obsession, is it can distract you. He did his job as Ilsorta's lieutenant, carrying out his whim. At the time the clan leader had his eyes on certain specimen of the other clans, and it was Noctali's job to retrieve them; and he retrieved them. Oh, there were rumors tossed about regarding the disappearances, but as long as Ilsorta got his precious materials, he didn't seem to care. They were to him as gnats."

"So how is that a plan," Stephan interrupted, "I mean it just sounds like he didn't change anything with what he was doing."

The ferret seemed to pause at the interruption but then continued, "Oh yes, that is exactly how he wanted it to seem. You see, if you leave enough bread crumbs, enough clues as it were, people will follow it. It took hundreds of years of carefully placed clues, enough to keep people interested, but slow enough to make sure the truth was discovered when he wanted it to be. Have you heard of the Dragon and Cubi wars?"

Stephan thought for a moment, "Ummm... what I remember was that the Dragons and the Cubi got it into their heads to see who could pummel each other the hardest for kicks."

The ferret regarded Stephan with a steady gaze, "cute... real cute. Well, for the most part that is what happened. But, one dragon in particular became real irate with the Ilsorta clan. Do you remember the Ascendants I told you about?"

Stephan nodded.

"Well, the dragon Yesorthin found out about them, and that Ilsorta was secretly backing them. Now dragons are pretty self centered critters. If they see you building an army, they think you are coming after them. Considering at the time dragons and cubi were at each others throats, he didn't hesitate to attack. And believe me, there is no amount of breeding that will save you if a dragon decides to put his foot down. So while sifting through the ashes, Yesorthin happened to find one of those bread crumbs Noctali had carefully left behind. Well the very thought that a Cubi clan, especially one known for its political manipulation, working against him by raising an army. It infuriated him, so much he launched an offensive against the Ilsorta."

Stephan cupped his chin in his hand, "Wouldn't the other Clans render assistance? I mean its well known that when confronted by a severe threat, that it would force people to band together to combat it."

The ferret nodded, "Normally that is true, but do you remember Ilsorta's project? He burned a lot of bridges by doing that. Well, Noctali did the dirty work, but the end result is that pretty much all of the other clans had a bone to pick with Ilsorta's clan. So you as you can imagine, 'assistance' wasn't very forthcoming. So the clan of Ilsorta had to defend itself against Yesorthin's brood alone."

Stephan furrowed his brow, "I'm not exactly an expert in warfare, but wouldn't that be a very bad thing for Ilsorta's clan?"

"Heh, well it is true that physically dragons are much stronger than most cubi, but cubi are capable in their own fashion." the ferret paused as if he was recollecting a memory. He grinned, "The fighting was vicious, but none more viscous than it was between Yesorthin and Ilsorta."

The ferret theatrically threw his arms open, "It was like watching two gods of war clash. Each strike caused the earth shudder, their magic set the air ablaze, and their battlecries crashed down on the mere mortals below with the savage fury of the storms. And in the end, when the carnage was finally wrought the air stood still in the anticipation of one or the others final release. Ilsorta triumphed over the dragon Yesorthin, and threw him to the ground. But for Ilsorta, it was a costly victory. He was weakened by the conflict, and was barely capable of standing himself. And that is when Noctali's scheme paid off.

The ferret began pacing again, "Noctali approached Ilsorta and struck him down, claiming his soul in the process. And, on top of that, he claimed Yesorthin's soul as well. Something along the lines of a unexpected benefit. You see, Noctali knew that Ilsorta would eventually ride his clan into the ground, and that to prevent that he would have to eliminate him. All those years he spent carefully alienating the clan, finding someone who could pose a credible threat to Ilsorta, and engineering their meeting. And with both of their souls he moved on to his next goal. Ascension."

"What is Ascension?" Stephan interrupted the ferret.

"Where do you think the clan leaders come from? They sure as hell aren't born that way. They're made, and often by their own hand too. Ascension is... not fully understood... just that it takes a phenomenal amount of power to pull off. To an Incubus like Noctali, the souls of Ilsorta, and Yesorthin were exactly that. He then took the biggest risk of his life."

The ferret hopped up onto the armrest of a nearby chair, "Like I said, Ascension is not fully understood. Out of every cubi how has attempted it, very few pull it off. Those that fail to do so... die, or worse."

"Well, obviously he... ascended, otherwise they wouldn't have written a book about his clan." Stephan felt the ferret was dragging the history on, "All you've been talking about is the Ilsorta clan."

The ferret glowered at Stephan, "Well, obviously you start a story at the beginning. At least that's how I was taught. You see, the Noctali clan grew from the ashes of the Ilsorta clan. After the battle with Yesorthan's forces ended, of the eighty Ilsorta clan members, only about thirty remained. And of those thirty, only ten were capable of joining Noctali. The rest," he started to count off on his fingers, "were either too insane to understand what was happening, too despondent to care, or angered over Ilsorta's death. You see, when a clan leader dies his entire clan feels it. Its a gut wrenching, soul shattering experience. And, every member is affected differently. Those that were left, the ones that joined Noctali, they were the few that could still function to some degree," the ferret hopped off of the arm rest, "The Noctali clan licked its wounds and then went to work."

"What do you mean went to work?" Stephan tilted his head to the side, "I thought Noctali rebelled because of what the clan was doing?"

The ferret nodded, "That is true, but many cubi of the other clans knew who Noctali was, where he came from. The first thing the clan had to do was sever all ties with the failed Ilsorta clan, and to improve their relations with the other clans. To do this, the Noctali clan assisted the other clans in the Dragon and Cubi war, which was still raging on. While the other clans were stuck in their various conflicts; the Noctali clan would move between them striking their enemies at random causing chaos and disorder. For example, the combined forces of Teskala the dragon, and Firemaw the demon."

Stephan laughed, "Firemaw? A demon? I didn't think they could breath fire."

The ferret shook his head, "He's a demon, he probably chose it because it sounded cool. Anyways, before you interrupted me, they were laying siege to a Taun stronghold. Now the Taun could have taken them, but their position was precarious. They were waiting for some reinforcements to arrive, but were facing a hard advance from their enemies. The Noctali clan struck Teskala, and Firemaw's forces from behind. They caused an incredible amount of chaos and disorder amongst the ranks, and even managed to lead a good portion of the forces off on a wild goose chase. During this battle, it was the first time Noctali was, 'killed'" the ferret quoted the word killed with his fingers, "Even though dragon Teskala struck Noctali down, he would later appear unscathed later on. Nobody is quite sure how he did it, but they do know that he was repeatedly killed over the entire Dragon and Cubi war and every time his slayer was sure Noctali was dead for good, and every time he would come back as if nothing had happened. Though they did very little damage to the attacking forces, their intervention bought the Taun clan more than enough time for their reinforcements to arrive." These interventions did much to soften the grievances against Noctali, and gave his clan a relative clean slate; a fresh start."

Stephan yawned, "So what did he do after the war, I mean there was time between then and now."

The ferret shrugged, "Nobody knows. Some say he was finally killed, while others believe he just retreated to the shadows. But, what they do know is that the Noctali Clan has lived on and, due to their nature of their clan members, the other clans view them with equal amounts of amazement and frustration. Unlike other clans, the Noctali clan doesn't adhere to some global agenda as their members are free to explore and develop on their own. Between now and the war, the clan has been active. The Noctali are famous for doing what seems impossible or improbable, bending the rules and stretching the limit. You will find them as adventurers, spies, and entertainers; though other professions are not unheard of. But for the most part you will find them hip deep in trouble and still happily playing to the audience."

"Wow, I must say, that was interesting," Stephan stretched, "Who are you, and Why do you know all of this," he yawned again.

The ferret seemed to think for a moment, "Well... as to why? I guess you could say I'm sort of a teacher... As for who?..." the ferret smiled, "oh, by the way, you're snoring."

***

"Hey, you idiot. This isn't a bunk house." Stephan was jolted awake by the sharp prod of a ruler, as a librarian glared down at him. "Your snoring is practically rattling books of their shelves. If you feel you need to sleep, go home, or out in the gutter, I don't care where as long as it isn't here." she gave him one last prod with the ruler and stomped off in a huff.

Stephan blinked, took stock of his surroundings, he was in one of the reading chairs, and the Clan history book was open but face down in his lap. He shook his head and picked the book up to see where he left off. It was opened to the modern history of the Noctali clan. Stephan yawned again and checked his watch; several hours had passed. He stood up and shook the sleep from his head, and tried to remember just what the hell he was dreaming about, but nothing came of it, it was like trying to grasp at smoke.

A fear gripped Lucy like a vicegrip as the very passage of time slowed to a crawl.

This was no time to panic, she thought. Just act calm and blend with the crowd she reasoned. She could make her escape unnoticed if she didn't panic.

unfortunately, that's just want she did. In spite of what her mind reasoned, she  took off, running down the road and too the forest as fast as her legs could carry her.

The Undead feline,  glanced back, surprised at how much ground she had gotten between the city gates. As the fear began to loosen it's grip, a new one came in it's place.

The guards had guns.

She dove into the ditch, hoping to throw off there aim if they were already trying to center her in there ironsights. She  kept her body low, hoping that these guards didn't know how to use their guns, and weren't chasing after her.

So much for not panicing...

Locke nodded approvingly at the owl merchant's demonstration.  The coat would indeed serve his purposes well, especially in concealing his magical, portable cannon.

"This coat is most definitely what I am looking for and most excellent quality I must mention.  The two by two by five dimensions would work perfectly."  The ashen cheetah produced a small card made of iridescent, silvery metal, "what might the cost be for this my fine friend?" 

Paige, her gaze sweeping the bridge did not feel out of place. "Pretty much the same setup as the Valkyrie, Captain." She paused for a few moments "So besides warming your bed for you, what else did you plan on needing me for?"

Above the Train Crash, Nhylamar

Tezkat ground to a halt a few steps into the airship. The other jaguar blocked his path down the stairs. He raised Demonbane in a casual salute and smiled.

"What a big sword you have there. You wouldn't happen to be compensating for anything, would you?"

A lunge at his midsection. Little room to parry. Nowhere to dodge but out. He leapt backwards out the door, clearing all the steps in a single bound. Wings tucked tight against his body, he arched into a graceful backflip and landed in a ready crouch with a soft thump, blade in one hand and gun in the other.

As he stood, Tezkat flickered back into view. The Demon could clearly see through his invisibility--not so uncommon a talent, really. Penetrating every illusion--now that was a much rarer gift, and Tezkat had many more tricks up his sleeve. His shape flickered again. An identical duplicate stepped out of him. Then another. And another. Where once there had been but a single dark feline, four now stood. They grinned at the shocked pirates.

"Morning, guys. We're just"

"playing with your boss."

"You might want to"

"give us some space."

Four identical teenaged panthers spread out across the deck. They turned and raised their guns in unison. When the Demon reached the top of the stairs, they fired as one. Glyphs carved across the barrels flared blue for an instant. Muzzles flashed soundlessly as bullets both real and illusory streaked towards their target.

Bridge MJOLNIR

The various mythos, angels, phoenixes, cubi and couple of gryphons all turned either towards or away from the pair as Paige made her comment, which echoed around the rather open space so as to be loud enough for everyone to hear.  The nearly synchronized coughing-over-snicker fit had the entire bridge crew with very large and tell smirks on their faces.  From what Paige could tell, Bas himself tended to be claimed, rather than openly pursue relationships of THAT nature.

Trying to act as naturally as possible, Bas's eyes squinched, and he brought a paw over his muzzle, rubbing his eyes for a moment.  "I was actually hiring you for your flying skills, you ability to provide longer range support,  to provide additional cover and help give targeting locations for the long- guns..."

Gently guiding Paige away from the bridge, and trying to ignore the fact that a large display board already had a grid drawn, with names and times drawn on it.  "Right... next on the tour, we can go up, and check out the flight, and upper combat deck, or directly below is crew quarters, kitchen, mess, and showers.  Below that is storage and the lower combat deck, and below that we've got the winch room, and the main cargo hold.  If you'd like to explore on your own, you're welcome to it, or, i can continue to play guide."


Hallway MJOLNIR

The demon flashed Zelah a devious smile, he leaned forward, ruffled her hair, and leaned against the wall again, "no need to get flustered, miss, just sayin' hi, and greetin' one a the newbies.  'Sides if Sadie thought i was flirting with another woman, she'd 'ave my balls on a chopping block in 2 seconds flat."

Extending a hand, the canine added, "Elkan Heizmar, pleasure to meet you Zelah.  If you'd like a tour, i can show you around, or, if you'd prefer someone else, i can go see if Baseel is available... perhaps him, or one of the boarders would make you feel a bit more at ease."


Airship Dock (Challam)

Nothing truly eventful happened to Challam as he unloaded his bag, and followed the signage.  Tomorrow's flights didn't leave until mid afternoon, thus leaving the incubus with the option of either finding a place to sleep the time off or, exploring the various bars and clubs around the city.  It was dark, though the sounds, thoughts and emotions commonly associated with the night-scene were rampant.  He could feel amusement, affection, lust, disappointment,  sadness, joy, a massive litany of emotions.   No one had approached him.  The ticket counter had a notice, stating out-going tickets didn't go on sale until 8am tomorrow.


Train Station

The feline took the roo-rats coins and handed him a general seating ticket.  The various people standing on the platform seemed as widely spaced, and concerned with their safety as the roo-rat.  The most striking thing to catch the roo-rat's attention were a pair of demons, both looked very young, and smartly dressed, they both appeared to be wearing easily identifiable seals for a prestigious Nhylamar run arcane university.

There were far more beings, along with a striped feline succubus, not truly a tiger, her stripes were too sparse.  Bright blue hair, golden fur, and navy stripe.  Large feather wings on her back and head, it was difficult to tell what she was thinking, but she cast the roo-rat an interested glace as her attention came his way.  She then came to watch for the train, it's loud whistle announcing it's arrival shortly.


Library

Stephan would note that it was almost nightfall, he'd have to head back to the cart soon.  The librarian's gaze was still locked on the winged rodent.  "If you got any drool on the cover of my book, please wipe it off, and return it to it's shelf, it's closing time, -SIR-"

She added just enough ire in her voice to sound annoyed without being angry, and she'd said it with enough force to make it obvious that she was serious about him leaving.


Coat Store

The owl nodded politely, "normally 1000 marks, however, you've caught me in a good mood, say, 800?  It -is- a fair price, more than matching any competition you'd find in the market district."
While talking, the owl had been busy with the coat, rearranging the pockets into the requested size.  Waiting for the card, the owl asked, "Is there anything else i can do for you, good sir?"


Above the Train Crash

The demon stood at the top of the stairs, and watched as the 4 felines appeared.  He glared mildly, "A cowardly boarder who hides behind tricks and guns... you don't deserve deat... *BLAM!*"
The four slugs seemed to meet in the same place, 3 fizzled out of existence, the 4th seemed the splat.  A small, metallic circle could be seen pressed onto the demon's chest.  A look of extreme annoyance on the black and crimson jaguar's face as he stalked forward, sheathing his short-blade and flicking the piece of metal harmlessly off.
"Only a coward brings a gun to a sword fight... i'm gonna enjoy guttin' you... bo hoy."  The demon's tone  a mockery of the southern Ahnk'Atorian drawl.


On the Road, Nearing the Woods 

Lucy suddenly heard the massive *CRACK* behind her as the first shot was fired.  She'd managed to open the distance to almost 100 yards before it came.  In front of her, the near windless day made the small plume of dirt kicking up all the more telling.  A second shot, then a third.  A forth shot grazed her left ankle, then they seemed to stop.  She'd opened up an incredible distance and the guards appeared to be heading back inside.   As quickly as they'd disappeared however, they seemed to reappear, and this time, it sounded like there were more of them.
Behind her, a troop of infantry wearing the armored uniforms, and carrying long rifles started heading towards the woods and her.  She could hear them shouting, but couldn't hear what they were saying.  She'd gotten enough distance to put her out of their effective range.  The forest was close... very close, perhaps a one thousand yards away.  That was when she felt the first signs of real trouble.

A deep, reverberating thud, then another.  Back at the gate, a single mech appeared.  It was fairly large, standing almost 40 feet tall, it's bipedal configuration, with large heavy bore cannons mounted on it's gorilla like shoulders.  It's hanging arms held coils of cable, and the static cannons which were used to such brutal effect in capturing rogue creatures.  Lucy could see it plodding along, the deep thumps growing louder and more frequent as it cleared the gate and loped off after her.

Above the Train Crash, Nhylamar

The Demonic youths laughed and stretched out their wings.

"Oh, don't be sour."

"That was just"

"our way of"

"saying hello."

They glanced down at the smoking revolvers and spun them into hip holsters with flamboyant flourishes. Four gleaming blades levelled their points at the Demon while mirthful eyes fell on the whirring mechanical contraption in his hand.

"If you want a proper"

"sword fight, then"

"shouldn't you bring"

"a proper sword?"

The four circled their opponent as he stalked out on deck. Without warning, they pounced as one. Demonbane and her three spectral sisters slashed at the Demon from all sides, thirsty for his blood.

Bart breathed deep of the pirate's ashes before noticing that others were closing in. Already he could see their outlines in the smoke, tensed and confused, each holding some manner of weapon. They hadn't quite caught onto Bart's presence just yet; he could just slip out and make for the nearest town. Then again, that meant leaving the rest of the passengers to fend for themselves against armed and violent criminals.

Besides, he'd already killed one pirate. What was another three to the pyre?

The demon slowly advanced towards the trio, head twitching and tilting as he walked closer in a hunched gait. Even at several feet away, they could feel the intense heat radiating off him like a giant bonfire. "Hhhabbsal, aabbis al aarraa--" He gibbered and slavered as he lurched closer.

"its closing time, -SIR-"

Stephan calmly regarded the librarian. she was clearly delirious with her work and making a snide comment regarding her timekeeping abilities  would solve nothing. He quickly replaced the book (no saliva cleaning required because there was none), and began to make his way towards the door. All the while the librarian was watching him with a hawklike gaze.

The first thing he noticed when he stepped outside was the darkness of the hour, "Oh shit."  It was late, definitely past time for his meeting. "How could I have slept that long!?" Stephan pulled out his pocket watch and glared at it accusingly, it apparently must have died earlier on. Either the librarian was rubbing off on him or this most recent stress was getting to him, possibly both, but Stephan felt the onset of another headache. He rubbed his temples trying to sooth the pain down, and a grumble, he pushed his way through the evening crowd as he headed back towards the wagons. He'd have to deal with the theater manager tomorrow.

The walk to the wagons was uneventful. Luckily Stephan's headache had subsided once he left the cluttered inner city, and he was busy trying to think of how to explain to Mary what had happen. He stopped abruptly at the wagons, neither was had any lights on. He cautiously tested the handle to his wagon, it was still locked. Unlocking the door he stepped inside, and with a quick light incantation the inside of the wagon was illuminated. He glanced around the inside of the wagon, apart from the gash in the wall where his clock had been, and the slice in the opposite one, nothing seemed out of place. His attention was drawn to the letter on his desk and he  breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was in Mary's handwriting.

Stephan,

I know that you would likely be worried about me not being here when you got back. I'm going out with a friend, and I should be back tomorrow. So, don't be such a worrywart.

Mary


Stephan dropped the letter back on his desk, and sighed. He really wished she's introduce him to more of her friend, even if he didn't approve of them. He would feel a whole lot better if he knew which door to kick down should something go awry. Stephan hung his jacket up, and took his shirt off so his wings wouldn't shred it. Oddly enough, the pain of his wings reforming dulled his headache even farther. He flexed his wings to get some feeling back into them, and it is at that moment he noticed the small folder that the letter had been resting on. Stephan picked it up and leafed through the documents; What he read caused his blood to freeze.

They were documents detailing a short term lease of the theater, basically what he would have signed had he actually met with the manager at the meeting. The worst part was that they had his signature on it, and whomever forged it was good. Stephan dropped the lease back onto the desk, and took a deep breath, his mind was racing a mile a minute. Working on his show was out of the picture. The dull throb of his headache, coupled with his concern, would make it impossible to concentrate. He needed open spaces.

Exiting the wagon, he turned around. A jump followed by two flaps of his bat like wings bought him enough altitude to land softly on top of his wagon. The roof of his wagon had been his thinking spot. Whenever he got the urge to ponder the mysteries of the world, or he got sick of looking up at the ceiling, he'd fly up and watch the sky go by. He laid back and crossed his arms behind his head. Part of him wanted to tear off and go tearing through the town demanding where his sister was. Another part of him said that it wouldn't do any good. His sister had left a note stating when she'd be back. Whoever signed the theater lease probably had disguised themselves as him. Neither of which would convince the local law enforcement to perform a search. Going door to door and kicking them in would only lead to more trouble. He was powerless, and his only option was to wait, and pray for her safe return. None of this seemed to comfort him, and he resigned himself to gazing up at the starry sky.

The only small comfort had come from the wording of the letter. Mary had written the letter as if she hadn't seen him since the cafe. Maybe, just maybe, she had left before whoever had left the contract on his desk had arrived.

Quote from: Basilisk on March 27, 2010, 10:51:26 PM
Bridge MJOLNIR

The various mythos, angels, phoenixes, cubi and couple of gryphons all turned either towards or away from the pair as Paige made her comment, which echoed around the rather open space so as to be loud enough for everyone to hear.  The nearly synchronized coughing-over-snicker fit had the entire bridge crew with very large and tell smirks on their faces.  From what Paige could tell, Bas himself tended to be claimed, rather than openly pursue relationships of THAT nature.

Trying to act as naturally as possible, Bas's eyes squinched, and he brought a paw over his muzzle, rubbing his eyes for a moment.  "I was actually hiring you for your flying skills, you ability to provide longer range support,  to provide additional cover and help give targeting locations for the long- guns..."

Gently guiding Paige away from the bridge, and trying to ignore the fact that a large display board already had a grid drawn, with names and times drawn on it.  "Right... next on the tour, we can go up, and check out the flight, and upper combat deck, or directly below is crew quarters, kitchen, mess, and showers.  Below that is storage and the lower combat deck, and below that we've got the winch room, and the main cargo hold.  If you'd like to explore on your own, you're welcome to it, or, i can continue to play guide."

"That my Captain is entirely up to you" Paige said with a slight grin, having seen the board on the way out (and was tempted to go back and add her own name and time). "So far from what I've seen the Mjolnir could be the sister ship to the Val, where was she made?"

Challam quietly regarded the sign concerned with the sale of tickets as he kept his bag slung over one shoulder and his rifle over the other. He was pondering what to do next, and took in the emotions flooding around him as he did. He decided it would be good to see some of the night life, seeing how these kind of parties would be far better planned than the lunacy in the academy. At least the folks here would have an idea of when these festivities would start!

He turned away from the counter and strode off down the street, taking in the sights and sounds as he went. But then he paused as he saw one particularly lively bar and tavern. An odd place called 'Drink-Dance-Fall-Repeat!', and judging by the steady stream of folks coming and going from its doors in various states of sobriety it had to have been fairly successful. He shrugged to himself mentally, and figured why not before he strode into the establishment..

Hallway from the Bridge

The demon-shepherd was quite thankful for the change of subject, "MJOLNIR is a new class of Nhylamaran battle-cruiser, she's more just an upgrade than a real new design in ship, however.  Better protection, longer range guns, and just more efficient to build.  She's a powerful vessel, and designed to accommodate a creature crew.  Probably the only thing you might notice different, if Valkyrie was a heavy cruiser or larger, is that this ship is larger, and the extra mid-deck cargo-hold.  Besides that, most warships have a pretty similar layout from the region."

Bas lead the way to a stair-well, there were voices from down-stairs, and the sounds of mechanics at work upstairs. "If you'd prefer to claim a room, the quarters are actually quite spacious, we've got more than enough rooms for individual quarters, at least, for the time being."


Above the Train Crash

The other jaguar gave an annoyed snort, "Your parlor tricks are growing irksome, boy."
With a flick of his left wrist, a fireball cleared through the illusory feline, with that discovered, the demon held his sword high, then brought it down in a wide, sweeping arc... his back was clear, along with one side, the arc converged with all three swords, and at the moment the demon instantly knew which one was the real Tezkat.

The real Tez would feel the sharp impact, and heavy force of the heavy mechanical blade as shark-tooth blade bit in, shoving the smaller cubi's blade towards the front of the blade.

The demon followed by pivoting  towards the real target, his blade held as though he were wielding an epee in a simple fencing match.  The toothy grin across his parted lips let loose a wicked chortle.  "Your forms not bad, but you seem a bit slow for such a tiny blade."

With a flick of the wrist, the demon stepped in again, this time with an overhead slash.  The demon rolled a sadistic chide as he moved, "En guard, mon amie"


Train Crash

Seth's fireball caught the sniper on the corner of his long coat, fire quickly spreading through the cloth, as the heat touched his skin.  Trying to roll, the sniper ended up falling between the train-cars with a sickening thud.

Bart could see the three in front of him scatter, running back towards the repel lines, and the small contingent of troops on the ground.  A deep, loud *Whooomp* of air could be heard overhead, then another, slow, rhythmic beats.  In the smoke, the shadowy outline of a winged figure could be made out.

Suddenly behind Bart, the rhythmic beats stopped with what sounded like the skittering of gravel, a snake-like hiss, then nothing.

Seth made his way - as unobtrusively as he could - to where the sniper had fallen, to see if he was still alive and make any necessary corrections - as painlessly as he could.
He heard certain sounds, as if someone had just glided down from the airship, but he was on the wrong side of the carriage to see.  He made a mental note to look around when he had dealt with the sniper.

Zelah forced something not too far off a smile back onto her muzzle and hiked her ears and headwings back up from their droop, after Elkan's hair-ruffle. She still felt nervous and hideously embarrassed by what she'd said, though. "Ah, no," she replied as she took the Demon's hand and shook it, not without a little nervous quiver running along her arm, "no need to bother anyone else, Elkan, it's okay — I've just had an awfully stressed few days, and my muzzle ran away with itself. A tour would be great, thanks."

The 'Cubi's agitation gradually eased over the next few minutes, her almost painful ear-blushing fading, and her tail fur lying flat again. She wondered idly who Sadie was, and what kind of Creature she'd turn out to be.

"That's right! Run!" Bart shouted as the pirates scattered. "Run you fucking pansies!!" He was ready to hurl more insults when he heard the sound of beating air overhead, the flames on his body wavering forward as the wind brushed against him. Something had obviously just landed behind him, and whatever it was, it wouldn't have announced itself so loudly if it didn't have the guts to back it up.

He quickly spun around to face his would-be attacker, claws flexing menacingly as the fire continue to dance about his body. "Whoever you are, you're about to get five across the face!!"

The blonde succubus pouted at the demon, looking crestfallen. "Aww you kicking me out of your bed so soon?" Even for a mind reader it would be hard to tell if it was acting her part or not.

The onslaught of grinding metal teeth clattered against Demonbane. Tezkat grunted with the effort to maintain a steady grip on his sword. He sprang back out of reach and raised his guard, pausing to study his opponent. Something about the other jaguar seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what. Although greatly enhancing his illusionary arts, photographic memory cluttered his mind with so much extraneous imagery. No matter. The answer would come to him eventually.

Lips curled into a smile at the success of his little experiment. Despite being able to see the unseen, the Demon had resorted to indirect means of penetrating his more sophisticated illusions. With a wave of his hand, all three spectral duplicates flew across the deck. One after the other, they merged back into the original Tezkat--far more ostentatious showmanship than merely dispelling the effect required. As misdirection, however, it neatly covered his next, more insidious "parlour trick". Warping light and sound around him, his body appeared nearly an arm's length away from his true position.

Tezkat chuckled at the banter. At least his opponent seemed less grouchy now.

"How do you ever satisfy anyone waving that huge monster around? Long, steady thrusts are so much more enjoyable."

A overhead slash of the chainblade. Tezkat stepped up to meet it, gaze fixed forward lest his eyes give the trick away. Tiny blade or not, he had yet to reveal his true speed. He raised his own sword as if to parry the massive weapon. Suddenly, he lunged under the Demon's guard. Displaying a reckless lack of concern for the whirling blade descending on his shoulders, he lashed out with a vicious cross to the Demon's belly.

He wasn't really there.

The chainblade would meet naught but a mirage. A few steps to the side, Demonbane was poised to bite deep into her prey's exposed flank.

Cyril shook his head at the wave indicating he should proceed into Wolksheem airship port. Instead, he bowed, then offered her his elbow. "Ladies first, Aleyna. To do otherwise would simply be rude."

Upon entering, however, there was something subtly wrong. The only person (other than staff, of course) that he could see was some other passenger getting directions.

He glanced around, looking for the rest of the diplomatic party. "I say, my dear lady, weren't we scheduled to meet someone?" He fished in his waistcoat pocket, and snapped open the pocketwatch, glanced at it, and tucked it away again, a disappointed frown on his face. "They appear to be somewhat tardy, for some reason. Is this typical professional behaviour of the folk I will be working with, in your opinion?" He sighed. "I can work with that, if I must, but it is exceedingly tiresome, you must admit."

He shook his head regretfully.

Outside the club

The 2 headed mythos meeped in delight  as his arm seemed to be better, "nope, nothing else good sir... thank you very much."

Without further chance to respond the mythos had bolted out into the rain, and down an alley across the street.  This left Sikici alone in front of a the club, with a large merchant district just up the street.


Battle-Cruiser Halls (Paige)

Bas rubbed his eyes again, dispelling the mind-shield, as he made his thoughts clear and open for the succubus.  On the one hand, he wanted to make it clear that his reasons for hiring her were professional.  That his intentions were not simply to fulfill some frat-boyish fantasy that had started in the bar the night before.  On the other hand, he didn't want to offend the new comer.  He tried his best to sound neutral as he replied, "I never said that... I'm sure you know well enough that your offer is very appealing.  I'm making a point to show that my intentions are completely professional, no matter how tempted i am to take you up on your offer.  I hired you as a pilot, not the pretty girl who jumped me at the bar, last night.  If you wish to be both, well."

Flashing a devilish, and slightly salacious grin, Bas made a sweeping gesture down the stairs, "Captain's cabin is the first on the right.  Otherwise any open room is yours."


Battle-Cruiser Halls (Zelah)

The canine demon tried his best to hide a smirk behind a fake cough.  "If you'd like to just rest for a bit, you're more than welcome to... otherwise, we're on the crew deck.  Mess halls are down that way, and every 20 rooms, there's a set of stairs. leading up on the insides, and down on the outsides."

He pointed over Zelah's shoulder when he mentioned the mess halls.  "Down stairs is the lower combat deck, mostly used for manning the belly-side protection, and under-side guns.  Below that there's the  main cargo hold.  It's mostly empty save for food, water and other... eh... essentials...  If you're a wine connoisseur, that'll be one of the places you'll like to visit in your free time."

Flashing a knowing smile, he continued, "Up above, you've got the command deck and side stations for the protection against small aircraft and creatures.  next level is the upper combat decks, the main guns, and the flight deck."

"Soo, any preference where to start?  Prefer top to bottom, or bottom to top?"


Train Crash

The sniper was slumped over the connectors, between the cars, still breathing, but wheezing in pain.  Probably broken ribs.  His rifle was sitting on the ground as well, a bolt action of Nhylamar design, and of a very common, though rather high caliber.  Besides the long-range rifle, the being wore a lightly armored suit, heavy leather with thin metal plates sewn in to cover the neck, and torso.  Both front and back had the metal plates sewn in.  He also wore a gas mask and filter, and as far as Seth could see, not a single patch of skin was showing.

Bart's only warning that there was someone else was from the wicked soprano cackling in his ear just before a howl of wind, then the echoing crack.  It felt like someone had just punched him in the back of the head, but it was too flat, too blunt.  A equine female, demoness  stood with an extended hand.  Her wicked tone bespoke a great deal of cruelty.  "Whom is going to give whom five fingers across the face my horribly deformed fellow?"

She was fairly tall, perhaps just shy of 6 foot.  She wore baggy trousers, loaded with various pieces of gear, bullets, blades, a blocky sheath on her left hip, and along with a large knuckle-duster, blade-guard combo exposed from the sheath.  She wore a corset and cutoff jacket that covered her arms,  and the top half her torso, ending at about the same height as her ribs.  The furry edge of the leathery coat told that it may actually serve a purpose beyond simply fitting her style.


Night-club

Challam was greeted by a mythos of rather gargantuan size as the bouncer.  The mythos grunted, "What'cha'think'yer'doin shorty?"  

He the proceeded to point out the lockers for weapons and other gear.   Above the entrance, to the bar a sign read "Check -ALL- weapons at the door."

Inside, from what he could see, there was a bar being used as a stage, a very shapely, and by most accounts, attractive demon lioness was dancing in a rather seductive manner, teasing a couple of patrons with her sultry looks, and movements that were just shy of caresses.

In fact, as far as Challam could tell, everyone inside was a creature of some kind.


Above the Train Crash

The Jaguar didn't seem surprised at all as the false cat rippled into non-existence as the blade passed through it.  With the follow through, however, Tez would find a steel-edged wing heading straight towards his very real face, shortly after deflecting his would-be well placed blow out of the way.

Furthermore, behind the wing-edge, the blade's cutting edge had been flipped upwards, and the previous downwards slash was quickly recovered from as the demon brought the blade towards the real Tez, slashing at a 30-ish degree upwards angle, trying to get the saw teeth to bite into the other feline's lower ribs.

Adelaide went searching for the manager of the aerodrome. Eventually she found a desk in a corner with a nameplate telling her that the small ferret seated behind it was the manager. She approached the desk slowly, completely calm and quiet. People didn't listen, even to advice they desperately needed, if you started out shouting. "I need to report that your underlings are in dire need of retraining.  They have left me standing for two hours without coming near. Surely even the meanest intelligence can detect a doctor traveling in insignia is not on vacation with days to waste." She tapped her fingers on the heavily embroidered medical insignia on the sleeves of her duster for emphasis.  "Despite the fact that your employees appear to have functional eyes none of them ever approached to see what I was waiting for, or even, heaven forbid, offer to find the missing ride. I wasn't even offered a seat or a cup of tea for the wait. I'm sure you will want to model appropriate behavior for your underlings."

Adelaide settled back, tucking her hands into the sleeves of her long medical duster, and waited for a response. Despite the fact that she hadn't come near it this move somehow set the war hammer on her hip to gently swinging.

"Eight hundred sounds quite reasonable and the coat should do it."  Locke paused and handed the merchant his card, "this should cover it.  This will be it for my interesting spending in town, everything else is practical... bulk food stuffs and such.  Perhaps I should look into a conventional firearm to go with a being disg..."

Locke's voice trailed off as he gazed intently at a rather uninteresting picture on the wall.  It was not the picture, so much as the thoughts he was mulling about, so what do I plan on doing?  I can't keep raiding commerce lines without a more versatile crew.  Perhaps I should build some combat automatons, more than just the one I use to guard the boarding tube.

Considering his next move, Locke was wary to attempt to hire another crew he couldn't fix himself, or shutdown at the appropriate moments to prevent mutiny.

Well, that had gone rather nicely, had it not? The mythos got its arm healed, and Sikici had gotten a border pass out of it. He had no idea where the pass had come from or whether it was authentic, and the angel was not quite sure whether or not he actually had a use for it. But again, hey, free stuff! Then again, if it was a fake border pass, Sikici could get in trouble for it. But hey, free stuff!

But, what to do now? Sikici could certainly go take a gander at the merchant district, which was rather close by. But it was raining, and the angel wondered if any merchant would ply their trade in such weather. There were certain to be a few individuals doing such a thing, but he was of the opinion that most were not. He could easily just go and check, but why would he go and do something like that?

Well, since it was there, Sikici decided he might as well check out the club. Would he accomplish anything worthwhile while inside? Would he accomplish anything at all? What was he going to do when inside?

Well, Sikici would have to get inside first to figure it out, right?

So the angel would try to get inside the club. He was unaware of any procedure that went with this, so Sikici would try to walk in and see if anybody tried to stop him. Probably not the best of ideas, but there was not really anything else he could do at the moment.

Seth relieved the injured Being of his weapon and prepared to break his victim's neck.  It wasn't pleasant but it was relatively quick and less messy.  The suit might be handy as well, if he could kill the Being without damaging it too badly.  Once the remains were squirrelled away beneath the train he could start to think about the newcomer a bit more.

A quick glance revealed it seemed to be a Demon, and that was bad.  Unless she was immature, she'd be able to mop the floor with Sethir and there was no guarantee that she'd be anywhere near as compassionate - when it came to a person's soul - as he was.

Alerting the authorities to the pirates was risky, and to Seth's mind it would be tantamount to stealing their souls himself, but the situation seemed to be spiralling out of his ability to influence it and speeding away for reinforcements might be the wisest course of action.

Challam wasn't too surprised by the no-weapons rule. In many countries, such a rule would not have applied as many creatures weapons were natural, but since the rise of technology, one's claws were not so fearsome anymore... or, at least, not as fearsome as a chain-blade.

No, it wasn't that that gave Challam pause. It was what the mythos had said.. "You have no idea how happy I am to finally hear someone call me that." He told the bouncer as he headed for the lockers. "You know while I was off and away I only met two cubi taller than me?" He continued as he selected an empty locker, promptly tossing his bag in and setting his rifle inside as well. "No, no, it was always 'watch your head' or, I bet you get this one all the time, 'how's the weather up there?'" Challam said, making a face and flaring out his head-wings in disgust. "Anyway, have a nice evenin'!" He said with a cheerful wave as he made his way into the club.

It looked to be a mostly creature club, not that Challam was complaining. There were plenty of emotions going about to feed off of, and even though he shared the affinity of his clan, he found the methods of feeding off his prize emotion to be unpleasant at the least. So, Challam just found a vacated seat towards the back, and idly watched the life of the bar..

Quote from: Basilisk on March 29, 2010, 08:21:53 PM
Battle-Cruiser Halls (Paige)

Bas rubbed his eyes again, dispelling the mind-shield, as he made his thoughts clear and open for the succubus.  On the one hand, he wanted to make it clear that his reasons for hiring her were professional.  That his intentions were not simply to fulfill some frat-boyish fantasy that had started in the bar the night before.  On the other hand, he didn't want to offend the new comer.  He tried his best to sound neutral as he replied, "I never said that... I'm sure you know well enough that your offer is very appealing.  I'm making a point to show that my intentions are completely professional, no matter how tempted i am to take you up on your offer.  I hired you as a pilot, not the pretty girl who jumped me at the bar, last night.  If you wish to be both, well."

Flashing a devilish, and slightly salacious grin, Bas made a sweeping gesture down the stairs, "Captain's cabin is the first on the right.  Otherwise any open room is yours."

"Hun if I wasn't serious about it I wouldn't have made the offer" the wolfess said as she patted his rump and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I'll go get my gear..." With that the succubus padded down the hall her tail (and hips) wagging from side to side.

Kyirri only took short observations of who was around him. He was more concerned with not being noticed than anything else, though he did make an effort to steer away from the creatures he could spot. Not making eye contact with anyone else around him, he positioned himself in the best place he could 'hide in plain sight', and waited for the train.

Above the Train Crash, Nhylamar

Demonbane clanged against a metal wingtip. Already committed to the diving lunge, Tezkat whipped his sword back just as his momentum carried him head first into the followthrough. He instinctively relaxed as the blow landed. Blade supported by his free hand, he shoved away and rolled will the impact. The roaring chainblade whizzed by his chest, barely clipping one of his coat lapels as he arched back. His wings flared. He pumped them once, providing the extra force needed to propel himself out of reach. Back pressed against the wooden railing, he glared at the Demon.

His brass goggles throbbed. Owwwww! That's going to leave a mark. I'll be black and blue for days!

Ky, you're black and blue to begin with. Tezkat grimaced and rubbed his forehead. Dark magic doesn't bruise.

Says you! Let's get out of here. This guy is kicking your ass.

Who's side was Ky on, anyway? Sure, he had yet to land even a single cut on the Demon, but they were both still playing around, testing each others' strengths. Of course, there was that inconvenient ability to see through invisibility. And somehow dispel his displacement magic...

Fuck! Who was he kidding? After more than a thousand such fights, he was still just the nimble little trickster unable to match blade and claw with the big strong Demons. He'd wear out quickly even if he could pull off a few lucky strikes. Real Demons didn't tire. Indignation burned in his belly. He forced his breathing to slow. Revenge was best served cold, dark, and unexpected. He needed to fall back and rejoin this battle on his own terms. But how? While his soul-powered bike could easily outrun an airship, artillery shells and battle magic were quite another matter--especially with this illusion-breaking captain in the picture.

Tezkat drew his revolver. Most of his ammunition featured simpler magical effects, the kind even he could enchant despite a relative lack of artificing experience. The last chamber, however, he reserved for the more powerful rounds that he'd managed to procure over the years. He was loathe to dip into this meagre collection, but today looked like one of those special occasions. He thumbed the cylinder two notches counterclockwise and raised the gun.

"This gun isn't just for saying hello." He winked. "I also use it for goodbyes."

Suddenly, he swung it towards the bow of the airship, where most of the remaining pirates were busy guarding the cannon. And its neat little stack of shells, now locked in his sights. As before, the muzzle flashed in silence. The globe of blue lightning that erupted on impact did not.

Boom.

The excrement had officially hit the air circulation device.

She paused only for a second as her yellow eyes gazed upon the metal behemoth before darting off yet again.

Lucy glanced at her gun as she ran, quickly checking it over. Six shots, and a knife. She had a more bullets on backup, but somehow she figured if she needed to use the gun at all, she wouldn't be reloading...

The knife was an last resort, she doubted she could stand toe to toe with those guards in that armor. Still, maybe if some exposed joints in armor let her disable it somehow.

She had no idea how fast the metal colossus was, though, for now, her best chance...maybe her only chance, was that forest.

Lucy had always figured she'd get into trouble with the military or the town guard. She just assumed it'd be a drunken bar brawl, not a fight for her own life. Or Unlife.

Bart's fire extinguished with a hush as the horse's fist cracked against his skull, causing him to faceplant roughly. He slowly, shakily got to his knees, standing up straight as he pulled out his hunting knife. "We'll see who's deformed once I cut your tits off," he snarled, turning as he passed the blade from hand to hand. "Or maybe I'll make myself some saurbraten." After a few more knifey handshifts, the demon pulled out his trusty hatchet. "So what's it gonna be? Rib or chop?"

He moved in a careful sidestep, trying to circle the vicious mare.

(OOC: making this short because it's late and because I've found no other way to do this.)

Against Anabelle's expectations, the day was free of unusual happenings. There were comments, of course. And questions. But nothing she wasn't ready to handle. Especially since her guest was being as kind and good-mannered as anyone could be (very far from the image she and the villagers used to have about Demons).

However, it wasn't long before other rumors started spreading. It was easy to gather information in Lamylar: all it took was fading into the background and listening to people chatter. Some would even start talking about anything and everything after a simple 'how are you'. Of course, it took some effort to filter the decorations and free interpretations from the actual facts. But listening to different versions and looking for common factors, applying some common sense and looking around for whatever was missing usually worked quite well.

So... someone else had arrived. Some said it was one person, others said they were 2 or 3. The descriptions were too dissimilar to make sense, so it was either more than one individual, one who could shapeshift, or one whom they hadn't been able to see clearly and whose appearance had been vastly decorated by people's imagination. It was bound to be the latter with the tavern's regulars, but a few of the others had agreed on having seen a male lion Being. The part about him being all soaked and carrying a rigid snake were doubtful, though they had also been repeated by more than one person. And some of the rumors she overheard could be about Renard too.

Anabelle had a lot of work to do, so, sadly, she wouldn't be able to go searching for the stranger yet. Besides, she needed to learn more about him before she could confront him directly. Or was it them? She'd have to find out how many strangers were in town, first of all. But that would have to wait: she already had the fresh bread and was done seeing the few people whose age or physical condition merited a house call. And had received a tri-color pie from one of them. Sweet! Ahem... she had to get back home so that she could get done with both the witch work and the house work for the day.

(OOC: OK, maybe it was not THAT short. But it was stalling anyway.)

Train Crash

The pirates who'd originally judged the entire expedition as a quick and easy snatch and grab quickly found themselves far more trouble than they'd bargained for.  From Seth's perspective, the pirates were mostly backing off, heading back for the ropes with which they'd descended. 

The being's armor was dented, damaged, and seemingly in less than ideal condition.  The gun however, seemed to be working just fine.  It's simple sight and action were both simple enough to work, and use. 

Behind him, he could see the demon make her first move, or, at least, the outline of the demon.  The winged figure moved startlingly fast.  Her thoughts were blurred, a very weak mind-shield, just enough to mumble the words, not hide them completely from Seth.  She moved her hand towards her midsection, then struck outward... Slamming the other figure with either a back-hand or back-fist.

Suddenly everything went to hell, a massive series of rippling explosions a few hundred feet away sent everyone, exluding Seth, who was protected by the train, onto their backs, ringing in their ears.  The shards of metal didn't seem to effect either Seth or Bart, but the ground directly under the airship was littered with bodies...  most of the assault team seemed to have been wiped out.

Bart was laying on his back, only lightly dazed, vision blurred as the smoke and dust mixed.  He could see the demoness start to get up, she lifted herself to a pushup position, then fell back over in a coughing fit.  She tried again, with the same results.  The third time, it seemed like she was going to make it.


Inside the Club (Challam)

Inside, Challam was greeted with the sight of an all creature club.  Drinks were being passed around, various magical energies were being passed back in forth in various reckless displays of skill and prowess.  There was circle to the Cubi's far left, two females, an angel patheress and succubus wolf were mid brawl.  The circle light up blue with every hit the succubus landed, and red with every blow from the demon.  It was rather one sided in favor of the cubi and her tentacles, until *BAM*, the Angelic patheress had lunged forward and drove a knee right into the cubi's face.  The wolfess arced back bleeding a bit, just before collapsing to the ground.

To challam's right, there was a bar serving alcohol, and, it appeared to be high quality stuff if the bottles could be trusted.  A pair of demonesses were dancing provocatively, as if they'd learned to dance at a less reputable locale.  They were serving drinks, and drawing attention, dressed in short skirts and corsets.  A fiery red, with silver spots, ocelot joined the doe he'd seen when entering.

A thin, wiry, yet powerful looking navy furred jackal demon was eyeing Challam, then the circle, thought's hidden behind a shield, yet his intentions clear.


Battle-Cruiser MOJLNIR

Standing in a stunned and slightly confused position, the young demon stood watching Paige swish back down the hall.  He recovered decently quick and caught up, standing shoulder to shoulder as he followed her back, trying his best to quickly recover his gentlemanly demeanor.  "If you need any help, just let me know.  Otherwise, I guess I'll just be acting as your guide for the time being."

The demon added a bit of playful swagger in his own step, folding his wings and moving to a position just shy of contact, matching his pace with hers, while standing slightly behind, and on Paige's right side.


Train Station

Most of the creatures seemed to move towards the front of the train, clearly taking upper class seats, while various class-levels of beings started moving towards where the further back,  where the general seating cars were.  The succubus that had he'd noticed early seemed to be following Kyirri now.  He could catch a glimpse of wings fading as the train pulled into the station, cars clearly marked, and quickly unloaded as passengers quickly disembarked and began orienting themselves.

A few moments later, the general staff started loading the train, ushering passengers into  the 3 person deep benches on each side of the aisle.  There was a good deal of room for  Kyirri, as it was clear the benches were designed for a full sized passenger.  A glimpse of yellow as his eyes darted, looking for danger, the succubus was 2 rows behind him.  A few moments later the doors closed, and an usher began walking the aisle, doing a quick check of tickets.

The gray-furred feline stayed upright as the train lurched into motion and Kyirri's adventure began.  The train ride started and he could almost feel that succubus's ever present sense crawling over him.  Less than an hour in, he would feel unusually drained, tired, almost as if someone was willing him to sleep.
 

Over the Train-Crash

It started with a loud boom, not the earth-shattering kaboom Tez had expected, but still a boom.  Metal shrapnel sprayed everywhere as the demon covered himself with his wings.  Tez was less fortunate as the hypersonic bits of metal bit and dug into his fleshier wings, along with a larger chunk the caught the edge of his leg.  The concussion rushed past the feline and nudged him towards the edge, further throwing his balance off.   Just before falling over the ledge, Tez could see the deck gun had become dismounted, and appeared inoperable as best he could tell through the haze of the explosion.  He'd also note about a half dozen shells rolling under the railings, off the airship deck towards the pirates clustered below. 


Forest Edge

Lucy could hear the pounding growing louder.  Suddenly there was a loud roar.  Way to the oh-so-recently reanimated feline's right a cluster of trees exploded.  Wood flakes and bark scattered as the light cannon could be heard ratcheting the next shell into place.  She was just passing the tree line as a thunderous boom, and another tree was hit, closer, but still off it's mark.  The tree collapsed almost perfectly parallel to Lucy's path.

The darkness of the closely packed trees, and their dense canopies instantly killed Lucy's sight.  It was as if night had suddenly descended upon her.  The mech stopped, but she could still hear the foot-patrols behind her.  The tightly packed trees appeared to be closing around her, growing tighter as her path became more a trail, and then faded into brush and under-growth, and shrubberies.


Wolksheem Aero-Dome

The little ferret looked at the irate angel for a moment, looked back at his papers, calmly sipped tea from his mug, then gave an irritated cough.  He blinked, cocked his head to the side, ears flicking a bit in his obvious disapproval.  "I'm sorry... can -I- help you with something?..."  Acting as though he'd completely ignored everything she'd said up until that point.   The current manager gave Addy an annoyed look as he posed his question.  fingers steepled, and the arrogance in his attitude obvious.


Cyril's query was replied to with a shrug from the vixen.  "I'm not sure... i was told they'd be meeting you here... Perhaps they are behind schedule, either way, that is not my problem... what -is- my problem is making my 10am appearance in tomorrow's delegations over an increase to the military budget in the House of Lords... I apologize for having to leave you like this, and on such short notice, but such are things."

The vixen handed over a few additional notes, a small bag of coins should he need something to eat or a place to stay, and a friendly wave.  "Best of luck, Sir, and i hope the rest of your entourage arrives shortly."

With her little goodbye the vixen headed back up the ramp and onto the airship.   This left Cyril alone save for the few attendants of various shops, and the dome-crew who were clearing the countess's airship for launch.


On the Cart

The air was chilly, a soft breeze rolling over the rodent as he sat on the cart.  He felt strange, overwhelmed, and yet, had this feeling of connection.  He heard a voice in his head for a second, someone thinking about a recipe for dinner.  "2 cups s...."

Then it was gone.  As soon as it had come, the feelings of connection passed.  A few moments later, he could hear something rustling through a bush near by... a second later, it was silent.  Completely quiet, too quiet.  The soft chirping of the crickets had stopped even.

(OOC NOTE: Muse started to die on me... gonna finish the other posts i owe tomorrow morning... sorry to those i've missed)

Kyirri gave the succubus a sharp glance as he started feeling drained, looking for any obvious signs that she was using magic on him. Didn't think that could be done silently and without gestures... He got back in his seat, and started planning a course of action. I don't need to sleep,.. but I don't know how much protection it will provide against whatever she is doing to me. At least what I'm carrying is well concealed. He presented his ticket when the conductor came by.

Examining his surroundings carefully, he started to formulate a course of action. He took note of any exits, to other cars in the train, windows, or doors that exited from the train. He looked around at the other passengers, counting how many witnesses there would be in case someone attacked him in plain view. He also himself examined who might have been sitting with him.

Creatures tend not to be very careful, and they often act against their own self interests. Still.., often times they don't need to. She might be able to kill me, take what little I have, and bolt before anyone would care to react. I don't have any weapons on me... not like they'd serve to deter her. It might create a panic if she starts searching my corpse, but I don't think she'd care. He glanced about again. I didn't pick it up yet, and I only saw her at the train station. It's possible that she's been following me from earlier, but not likely, since she wouldn't have had her head wings out unless she's an idiot. She's probably planning on killing me, taking my belongings, and then running for the exit once the train comes to a stop. He gave his surroundings another critical glance. Still... whatever I do... I better do it quickly, this is not going to be a short trip and time isn't on my side.

Quote from: Basilisk on April 03, 2010, 12:49:46 AM
Battle-Cruiser MOJLNIR

Standing in a stunned and slightly confused position, the young demon stood watching Paige swish back down the hall.  He recovered decently quick and caught up, standing shoulder to shoulder as he followed her back, trying his best to quickly recover his gentlemanly demeanor.  "If you need any help, just let me know.  Otherwise, I guess I'll just be acting as your guide for the time being."

The demon added a bit of playful swagger in his own step, folding his wings and moving to a position just shy of contact, matching his pace with hers, while standing slightly behind, and on Paige's right side.

Grinning playfully at Baseel Paige headed up to the flight deck to collect her bags. Opening the luggage hatch on the A-16 she pulled three decent sized rucksacks and tossed two of them at the demon. "Be a dear and take those down would you?" She said sweetly, but with a wicked smirk.

As he examined the dead sniper's burned clothing and stowed his body under the carriage, Seth took a moment to look around.  Aside from the Demon, the pirates seemed to be retreating.  This either meant that they were fleeing because things weren't going to plan, or that they were about to do something terrible from the safety of their ship and didn't want to be on the ground when it happened.

He heard a blast up above and looked up, the airship seemed to be rocking slightly and wasn't that smoke...?  Then there was a sudden, vast explosion on the ground.  It would probably have killed him if he'd been on the other side of the train...
Seth quailed as a number of Beings suddenly had their lives snuffed out.  He clutched his head, willing his ears to stop ringing.  One of the fringe benefits of being a Creature was that if you did suffer that kind of hearing loss, it would gradually heal back.

Shit, I hope the wards protected the bike, he thought.  He couldn't remember which side of the train he'd parked it on.  Peering out he could see shrapnel everywhere.  That seemed to have killed most of the pirates who were still on the ground.  He wasn't sure if this had been planned - if it had, the pirates were either even more callous than he'd expected, or it was some act of mercy to protect their souls from the law - one that was as bizarre as it was indiscriminate.

Suddenly Seth was filled with horror.  The crowd of passengers who had been heading away... were they far enough away, or had some of them been shredded?  He had to make sure they were okay.  He loaded the rifle up with the nastiest looking round he had to hand, and fired into the Demon mare, who was struggling to get up.
Then he turned tail and ran, keeping the train between himself and the Demon (and the site of the explosion).  His plan was to get to the bike and if it still worked, get to the crowd and make sure they were okay.
If - as he suspected - the explosion was unplanned, it probably meant some bad shit was going down on the airship, in which case the big guns wouldn't notice him fleeing.

Challam pretty much ignored the would-be challanger, and didn't show much interest in the fighting at all. He'd never been one to search for conflict, no matter how often it found him. The bar, however, was a different story.

Challam's eyes lingered over the many labels, and some of them seemed just too good to be true. But, he decided to give gambling a shot, and ordered a fine wine that had once been served in a clan meeting. Maybe he could get pleasantly drunk before the night was over..

Arroyo had the strangest feeling from the town's people. He couldn't be sure, it was a gut feeling after all. He thought again about having his weapon out in public, it is a bit unsettling these days to see someone with their weapon unconcealed. Weapon or not, he also had another feeling why he got this feeling as well, it was because he wasn't a familiar face around these parts.

Arroyo's method of transportation did put him in a bit of a social block. He could never really stray away from his boat too far, due to the fear of those trying to steal it away. After all, it is his home. It was an odd looking boat but it was a sight that gave Arroyo a sense of relief after a long hard day.

He suddenly stopped and shook his head a bit. Perhaps he was affected by fatigue or maybe just thinking too much. He continued his stroll down the street, in search of a shop to stock up in necessities for his journey.

Stephan was busy sorting through his mind. He was playing various scenarious through his head. "She could be held against her will, possibly for ransom. Maybe they're torturing her... what for I dont know... Gods if they harmed her there will be hell to pay, I'll make sure of 2 cups s..." his brow furrowed, Great... all this crap piling up, and I'm thinking about dinner..."

Stephan cocked an ear towards the edge of the clearing, all the sounds of nature had just died, someone was out there. With a flick of his wrist, Stephan reached into his hip pocket on his pants and pulled out a magician's wand. It was black with a white tip and about one foot long, clearly something that couldn't have physically fit into his pocket to the casual observer. Inside the wand was an iron core that exited at the tip of the wand, the practical effect of this design, meant he could better direct a jolt of lightning while on stage. On the other hand it would be perfect for delivering a nasty shock to anybody who underestimated him. Wand in hand, Stephan waited for whoever was out there to make a move.

Everything went quiet all of the sudden, the bustle of battle supplanted by a dull ringing noise. The sound of rushing air gradually crept into his consciousness. Tezkat blinked. The ground was approaching at an alarming rate. He should probably do something about that...

He pulled out of the free fall, gritting his teeth as he spread his wings. The only part of his body able to match the toughness of a Demon's hide, they had taken the brunt of the blast. Dozens of hot metal shards protruded from the leathery membranes. Buffeted by the wind, many dug deeper as he arced into a wide circle to slow his descent.

The rain of artillery shells touched down, rocking the pirates' drop zone with a string of explosions. Dirt, shrapnel, and gore sprayed across the field. Tezkat braced himself, struggling to steady his flight against the turbulence of multiple shockwaves. When the dust cleared, little remained of the pirates. Not in one piece, at any rate.

His bike lay where he had left it, in the shadow of an immolated car near the front of the train. Sheathing his weapons, he dropped through the billowing smoke and came in for a landing. He stumbled, suddenly aware of the pain in his leg as he pitched forward onto one knee. A chunk of twisted metal was embedded in his calf. He sucked in his breath and pulled it out. His blood sizzled on the surface of the nearly palm-sized shell fragment as he tossed it aside. With his flame ward expended, the heat had partially cauterized the wound, but it oozed blood and puss freely nonetheless. He'd never get the stain out of his trousers. After rolling it up around the wound, simple magic tightened the cloth into a makeshift bandage.

Tezkat limped over to his bike. Bits of shrapnel scattered behind him as he morphed his injured wings away. Even becoming incorporeal failed to banish the throbbing discomfort. But daily beatings as a child in the Demon Isles had taught him to ignore pain. Such minor flesh wounds would heal on their own within days. He had to move quickly in the meantime, however. There was no telling when the doubtless very angry Demon would come after him, and he was in no shape for a rematch. He pulled the vehicle upright and climbed on. A little scuffed up but otherwise intact, it purred softly under him.

Aren't you glad I found you a change of clothes?

He chuckled at Ky's attempt at levity. Tezkat was covered in his own blood. A few pilfered clothes on his bike and the shredded coat on his back were pretty much all he had to his name, stuck in the middle of nowhere without travel funds. He might have just made a new mortal enemy--in retrospect, it would have been a good idea to ask the Demon's name. And it wasn't even breakfast time yet. He still had all day to find more trouble.

Lucy kept running, and an even as the forest got darker, she could hear the soldier's voices grow fainter and fainter. She grinned, laughing. She had escaped. She had won.

Then, everything that had happened in the past few hours started something. Some trigger in her brain, with nothing to focus on but walking, suddenly the scope of her predicament was in full view.

She'd never see her family again most likely. All her friends would likely kill her if they ever met again. She was homeless and she was very, very, very much alone in a country that wanted her dead.

The feline Undead trembled as she trudged through the thicket. She wasn't just a Creature, she was a zombie. Pain, love, the sweet taste of fresh Yorkshire pudding and fresh lemonade on a hot Summer's day, she would never again experience it. The only thing she could ever taste, ever crave, was live raw flesh.

Then, the final straw. She stopped as it emerged from the cloud of shattered worrying thoughts, eclipsing all others in sheer horror.

She would outlive her brothers, she would now endure all of this for centuries, maybe even a thousand years or more. She was denied dying of old age, she either be killed again or rot away slowly over countless years.

The forest fell silent before an anguished scream  filled the dark underbrush,  before falling eerily silent, a long, trench coat and fedora wearing feline trudging through it in a seemingly random direction, as if suddenly entranced.

The explosion rocked Bart's hearing and vision as he hit the ground, staring up at the dust around him as his hands subconsciously picked around his chest for any metal shards or holes. Nothing. The pirate thugs (and probably some of the passengers themselves) weren't quite so lucky as they were pulverized by the blasts. But that demoness, she was still alive, and stunned by the force of the explosion. Now was his chance to keep her grounded.

The demon quickly scrambled to his feet and rushed towards her, just barely making out some kind of banging noise before his charge. With reckless disregard, he stomped his boot square into the mare's back, gripping and twisting her wings as roughly as he could manage.

Adelaide was a bit amazed. Mid-level bureaucrats generally got that way by developing a highly refined survival instinct. Grumpy angels with weapons should have at least brought him to his feet. This ferret was either the luckiest or stupidest being on the continent or he wasn't a being at all. And if he was a disguised creature in a land where wings and horns were flaunted that meant he was up to something. Nine times out of ten that meant cubi. Adelaide was in complete sympathy with the dragons wanting to get rid of the pests. And she had an idea how she could figure out if it was a cubi with no idea when enough was enough or the most oblivious bureaucrat ever.

She began spellcasting. Subtle movements of her hands and soft subvocalizations were the only hints to her actions. The chinchilla didn't believe in the more theatrical types of spellcasting some of her compatriots practiced. With a gesture as if dusting her hands the spell was sent towards the ferret. Then she turned and gave the well-dressed badger who was just approaching a smile. Adelaide didn't smile too often so the gesture was a bit less charming than she imagined. "Why don't you go ahead of me sir. My problem might take a moment to unravel."

Adelaide stepped a few paces to the side and watched the ferret. She couldn't go very far, the spell relied on the caster remaining nearby. It was a spell learned during a stint working a psychiatric ward. Newly "born" cubi tended to end up there. It often took a nice little bubble of quiet to calm them down. None of those nasty thoughts or emotions battering their tiny brains. If this was a cubi he should realize something was wrong very quickly. If he wasn't a cubi the spell shouldn't have any effect. Of course if he wasn't a cubi she'd have to think of something different. There had been several interesting incidents in medical training where a spell for replacing a dislocated shoulder had been used on people without dislocated shoulders. This smile was even less pleasant than the last.

Zelah looked both ways along the corridor where Elkan pointed, then turned and laid her arm on the handrail of the stairs. "Let's start at the top and work down, shall we?" she said, "I'm not sure, but I think this might be where I came down on to this deck."

A few steps up, the 'Cubi paused, her ears and headwings semaphoring and her tail-tip slowly curling from side to side around her ankles. "Um..." she said a little uncertainly, "might be a bit late to ask this, but what's Captain Wolkshammer like as a commander?" She'd served under some very good officers in her brief stint in the Aeliseium army... and one or two hideously bad ones. It had been one of the latter who'd landed her in the situation where she'd had to return to civilian life abruptly, with generous helpings of mayhem and property damage. Which kind of commander had she just committed herself to?

Club (Sikici)

A large and brutish looking lion-demon stood in front of the Angel, as he headed inside of the first door.  A wooden rack built into the wall was on Sikici's right, it appeared filled with weapons.  Just behind the demon was a secondary door, where the angel could smell alcohol, and hear rather jovial music and laughter.  The lion giving Sikici a bit of an annoyed glance as he said,  "Any weapons to check, do so now, over there."  Making a gesture towards the rack

He glared again, the tinge of magic around his eyes making it clear he was looking for pocket dimensions, or other tricks for hiding weapons.  He continued after giving the Angel  a rather thorough  visual inspection, "... and if i catch you getting handsy with the staff, I won't hesitate to throw you out... Other than that, if you've got no other questions, welcome to the Land Shark."


Coat Store

The owl gave the other angel a bit of a concerned look.  His abrupt stoppage of out-loud thought, followed by his rather odd stare at the picture on the wall had the store owner a bit worried.  "Uh, sir? Is there anything else i can help you with?  Sir, are you all right?"

The owl angel gave Locke a light tap on the shoulder as well.  Trying to either break whatever trance that Locke seemed to have put himself in, or, at least get his attention long enough to find out what had happened.


On the Train

If Kyirri kept tabs on the succubus, he'd note her get up a few moments later and head towards the lavatory at the very rear of the car.  Nothing else of note happened as the train continued on towards it's next stop.  Kyirri had 3 more stops to go.  The succubus, however, got up, swishing her tail as she walked by,  and gave the roo-rat a little wink as she got off the train.  A little while later a few scruffy looking beings boarded, and the train continued on it's way.


Battle-Cruiser MOJLNIR  

Bas caught the bags, slinging them over his shoulder for a moment.  He then started to make a flick of the wrist gesture, rolling his hand in a circle, before grabbing the straps of the 2 bags, and warping them to his state-room.  "why bother with carrying when one with enough skill can get them there faster, and with far less effort?"  Giving his own toothy grin, Bas played off the obvious show of magical prowess as nothing, moving in closer to help Paige with the last bag.

The canine demon flashed Zelah a wicked grin, "well then, flight deck first, then the armory...  If you'd be so kind as to follow me, your tour can commence."

Sliding past the succubus,  Elkan slid up the stairs, he then replied to what was probably her more pressing question as he reached the top of the first flight of stairs, "Captain Wolkshammar is decent at what he does.  He's a bit more easy going than i suspect a warship captain should be, but i'm not going to complain.  He's a very lead from the front, and lead by example kind of guy...  Besides his color choice for uniforms, can't find any other faults with the man while i've severed with 'em."

While talking, he'd been leading Zelah up 2 additional flights,  Planting them in a rather cavernous room, A large square hole in the celing was had sunlight coming in, and along with the inner lights, made the room seem even larger, as it was difficult to make out the small dark shapes at the far end of the internal hanger of the large battle-cruiser.

"Hmm.... here's the hanger, where we hold our smaller aircraft.  We don't have too many just yet as the majority of creatures we've employed are already flight capable, or at least glide capable.  Makes housing gyros,  ornithopters, or planes a lesser demand.  Though it looks like one of the new pilots has just arrived.  Also looks like she's makin' a move for the captain..."

Giving an amused snort as he finished, the canine let the feline get a good look around, standing around in a polite and attentive stance should she have any questions.  


Train Crash

As the smoke and dust began clearly, the civilians from the train could still be seen heading off, away from the crash, most were heading towards the nearby town, some 20-30 minute jog away.  Seth could clearly see that the majority of them had cleared the danger-zone several times over.  Some were far enough along to just be silhouettes.  However, all this knowledge didn't come until after he'd taken the shot at the demoness.   The slug went a little higher than he'd expected, punching a hole through both sets of leathery wings, leaving nasty tears, and dribbling blood.

Bart's assault was quick and brutal, however, the gunshot wound through the wings had the demoness alert and pissed, while inflicting only a minor injury.  As Bart's boot slammed into her back, and her pulled at her wing, she rolled away, exposing his other foot to her grip.  She yanked it in, wrapped her legs around the boot that had been planted on her back moments ago.  A few seconds later, his boot that had been on the ground was trapped between her claws.  The mare, behind a vengeful, toothy, and scorn filled glared, proceeded to twist the foot.  The ankle gave a painful *CRACK* as Bart experienced what felt like a bolt of fire running up his leg.  He suddenly found he couldn't move the toes in his one foot, and all attempts to move the foot sent even more wracking pain through his leg.

She let him go, and rolled to her feet.  Stretching her wings, and standing over Bart with a triamphant grin on her face.  "Stupid boy" She hissed "Did you really think that would work?!  If you're going to ground a demon, you stomp the WINGS, not the back."   Delivering a swift kick to his torso to roll the other demon out of the way, the demoness stomped on Bart as she took to the air again.

Tez could see the Demoness and but a few survivors on the ground.  A dark shape, a demoness mare, and what looked like another cubi heading along the train trying to make an investigation of what was going on.  The demoness took off, completely ignoring the cubi as she ascended to the top-deck of the airship.

A few moments later, Bart, Seth and Tez could all see the airship rev it's engines, and start speeding north.  It seemed the remaining pirates were running.


Bar (Challam)

The incubus was greeted with a wide-bodied wine glass and a dark, almost black, red wine was poured into the cup.  He could smell the rich mixture of flavors even as the glass was passed to him.  His order hadn't gone unnoticed either.   He didn't have an obvious clan-mark showing as he approached, the feline was some type of tiger, though rather unusual colors, a royal blue base, with golden stripes.  His bright gold eyes were piercing as he approached.  "Haven't heard that particular wine ordered in some time.  Why it must have been when the sending off party for a certain troublemaker who needed to be tamed by SAIA... if i recall correctly."

The tiger flashed a wicked and toothy grin as he took up a seat next to Challam.


Aeliseium Forest

Lucy's Path took her close, very close to a couple of settlements.  The sounds of living folks going throughout their day was obvious.  She could hear children playing, and she come perilously close to being discovered by a local constable who'd been wandering the woodland paths.  Eventually she arrived at a river, it was impossible to tell what time of day it was... She'd been in the darkness for a while perhaps all morning, perhaps longer.  The river was slowly meandering, it was shallow, but in the way.

Suddenly a titanic *CRACK* followed by the sound of something heavy slamming into the ground, then another noise, almost like the sound of a breaking arm amplified 100-fold, followed by another deep thud.  Something near-by was tearing down trees, and in a brutal fashion.

The brothers could hear the sound of a constant rumble as 2 of the fully-suited invaders disappeared back into the thick brush of the woods surrounding the clearing.  The sound of rending metal, and creaking wood could be heard as well.  Suddenly a massive *BOOM*, as a massive plume of dirt and debris surged skyward, propelled by an explosion of extraordinary magnitude.  A ratcheting sound, more rending mental... Then, an enormous metal leg.  Deep, black, shiny, and bulky.  The bipedal figure pushed over another tree.

The thing standing before the beaver brothers and Ashlyn was enormous, humanoid, and bulky.  It had to weigh at least 100 tons.  It looked like an enormous person, clad in head to blackened plate armor. Each arm ended in a series of light auto-cannons.  In the center of the chest was a large bore for a snub-barreled cannon.  The top half the head looked skull like, and the whole machine looked to be almost 50 feet tall.  It leaned to the side, using the auto-cannon mountings to shove the last tree aside as it entered the clearing, almost at the same time as the Storm-Scorp.


Around the Cart

The bushes rustled again, there was shallow breathing, but Stephan still couldn't tell who or what was there.  Another bush, further away rustled this time.  The near windless night had left him with few assumptions to make besides someone or thing nearby.  The  branches swished and swayed against each other, making distinct swishy noises.  

Stephan barely had time to react as an unfamiliar being feline rolled into the clearing, his movements seemed to be erratic, and he was shouting "OH MY GAWD, The BEES! THE BEES! THEY'RE STINGING ME EVERYWHERE!"

Swatting at something, the being rolled right on through the Squirrel's camp erratically flailing, falling and rolling.  Patting at some unseen force that seemed to besiege the being.  As far as Stephan could tell, the blackish-blue feline was either a house-cat or perhaps a half-breed panther.  His hair was cropped short, and hidden under a dark gray hood, connected to his tunic.  The being had adventuring garb on as well.  A sword strapped across his left side, and what appeared to be a solid, box-like object strapped to his right leg.

As the airship disembarked, Seth - having seen that the passengers appeared to be safe - made his way to the smaller demon who seemed to be injured.

"You okay?" he asked.  "We should probably get the other side of the train, just in case they fire the big guns."

Aelisium Forest

   Just after firing off a thunder shot at where the one soldier who had shot at Gaakronacht was, some much louder sounds were emitted from the trees. Very loud sounds. Sounds that the brothers were very familiar with. Two of the three soldiers that Gaak had seen earlier retreated towards the sounds, the third one unaccounted for.
   In several ways, Gezzemocht was the "commander" of the Storm Scorp. When Gaakronacht is actually busy shooting at something, it was Gezzemocht's job to keep track of things the younger brother couldn't spare attention for, including what they should be doing sometimes.
   "Full voll then half-circ right, keep cov!" Gezzemocht shouted, using a shorthand language for Aelisium ground vehicle crews. In this case, it meant to circle forward to their right (the approaching enemy's left) while keeping as hidden as possible, but not before letting off a barrage with all weapons at whatever was about to enter view. Gaakronacht began to back up up the Storm Scorp again, back into the trees they had just emerged from. One of the advantages of the equal-quadruped design was that the steam-mech could move the same speed in any direction.
   An Ahnk'Ator medium steam-mech (by their standards) began emerging from the opposite side of the forest, just as both brothers knew it was and were ready for. Standing more than twice the height of the Storm Scorp, this mech was armed with a huge central cannon of heavy-artillery caliber, with multiple autocannons on both "arms". Before it had fully emerged, and before the Storm Scorp had fully disappeared, Gaakronacht began firing. In very quick succession, he fired a thunder shot, a lightning shot, a second thunder shot, a second lightning shot, a slug shot, and a third lightning shot.
   whu-BOOSH
   Krzzap!
   whu-BOOSH
   Krzzap!
   Blam!
   Krzzap!
   The first three shots he aimed directly at the large cannon-hole in the center of the enemy mech, the last three at the "head" of the mech, just before finally hiding back in the trees.
   The one thing that allowed a mech like the Storm Scorp to take on mechs larger than itself was the fact that it's two main weapons generally didn't bother with armor; the concussion cannon could easily buckle lighter armor, but in all other cases, it shook and knocked about anything behind the armor. The lightning cannon was similar, if it doesn't punch a hole, then it disperses and fuses things up. The shot cannon generally just bounced off anything too thick, but otherwise was decent for causing general damage. In all hopes, the first three shots directly to the enemy mech's cannon damaged or disabled said cannon by affecting the mechanisms, where normal weapons would've just bounced off. If there were any pilots in that area as well, they'd possibly have a few headaches at least. And if the pilots were in the mech's head instead of the chest, then they should have similar problems.
   Hopefully, enough problems to let the Storm Scorp slip back into the trees without them getting off any return shots...or at least any accurate ones.

Kyirri stared at the succubus as she left, his own expression completely blank. He kept his attention on her face and wings, trying to anticipate what she would do, and positioned himself ready to sprint for an exit if attacked. He breathed a sigh of relief as she left the train. Still, whatever energy draining she did left him severely weakened. A tingle in the back of his head kept him awake, like something yanking on his mind. It was moderately discomforting but it served to keep him alert. That's probably not the last piece of trouble I've seen. I'd better be alert for anything else.

He glanced about, still keeping himself fully alert. Change of plans, after I get off the train, I'll find a place to eat, rest, and lay low for a bit. After that, I'll be on my way. There's not a lot I can do while I'm on the train though... I'm stuck in my current seat, I guess I'll just have to wait and hope that I don't get attacked.

The ocelot sighed as she walked along the river, looking to find the shallowest part of the river before

The noise didn't seem to brother her. For all she cared it could be a bunch of loggers. Maybe she could swipe a map from them, find her bearings and get somewhere less hostile. The border to Nylammar has to be close.

Great, it wasn't loggers. She could hear gunfire. Maybe some bands of bandits and raiders were fighting. No...The artillery sounded too heavy for that. She should have ran, but then again, maybe she could stow anyway on a pirate ship.

She checked her pockets once. She still had the note to her mother. She forgot to leave it behind. Lucy felt like crying. And yet, no tears for form, no matter how sad she got, no matter what tragedy befell her, something as simple as single tear would ever be shed.

She screamed yet again, kicking up cloud of dirt and gravel in fury. It wasn't fair. In one day, one single day, she had lost everything. Every goddamn thing in her fucking life was now so far away...

She reached the very edge of the clearing, crouching down and using the bushes for cover she peaked through. An Ahankian  Mech and an another mech, and odd looking four legged design, squared off. It took Lucy a good moment before noticing the four-legged mech was an Aesilian design.

Before she could turn her tail and run like Hell, however, a stray shot from the Ahnkian mech's auto cannon struck a nearby tree, sending splinters and chunks her direction, before the entire tree fell with a loud crack,

The great tree had fallen on Lucy, pinning her leg to the ground. Grimacing, she reached over to free it, thankfully nothing seemed broken. But now she was between Scylla and Charybdis.

Lucy grabbed her gun and pulled the trigger back in case things looked bad. She doubted she could use it actually kill anyone, save that skunk officer. She didn't plan to, anyways things got ugly, well, she'd prefer to die by her own terms today then give some Aesilian soldier the pleasure of another creature kill.

The Carts

"OH MY GAWD, The BEES! THE BEES! THEY'RE STINGING ME EVERYWHERE!"

Stephan watched the being swat his imaginary attackers. Either the being had had induldged in one too many recreational drugs, or he was trying to lure him out to see what the problem was. Most likely the latter than the former. He sighed, might as well nip this in the bud.

Leaping off of the cart, and flapping his wings a couple of times to slow his descent, Stephan landed on the ground near the being, "I am Stephan Oralis," Stephan drew himself up, his wings were folded behind him, all together cutting as an imposing figure as he possibly could, "you will explain to me why you have invaded my camp, and you will do so quickly. I'm in no mood to be trifled with." The last sentence dripped with malice as he glared at the feline being.

Quote from: Basilisk on April 07, 2010, 08:34:41 PM
Battle-Cruiser MOJLNIR  

Bas caught the bags, slinging them over his shoulder for a moment.  He then started to make a flick of the wrist gesture, rolling his hand in a circle, before grabbing the straps of the 2 bags, and warping them to his state-room.  "why bother with carrying when one with enough skill can get them there faster, and with far less effort?"  Giving his own toothy grin, Bas played off the obvious show of magical prowess as nothing, moving in closer to help Paige with the last bag.

"Ye realize tha be chea'n" the Succubus purred at the demon, again falling back into the accent of her clan, while picking up the last bag. "So when do you plan to go into action Captain Wolkshammer?"

Challam paused in mid-sip of the wine, and swallowed as he cast a side-long glance at the stranger. "And who might that be? Hopefully not my cousin. That emo bastard could cry black ink if pressed to." He said, and took a sip of the wine, before continuing to the incubus(?), "My clan always tells me there's a right way to drink this stuff, but I can never seem to get the hang of it. So who is this dingbat you speak of, Mr..?" Challam asked, awaiting his reply.

Battle-Cruiser MOJLNIR

Bas gave a noncommittal shrug and replied with a toothy smirk, "Depends what type of action you're talking about, Paige.  If it's combat, probably not much for a few days, save for perhaps another pirate or 2... We'll be heading out for a supply run after we finish today's patrol.  Heading to northern Nhylamar for the night.  After that, we'll be doing a few more patrols, before getting into something a bit bigger."

He playfully strolled up next to the succubus and said in a wickedly playful tone, "If you'd like to continue the tour, up next, we've got the armory down stairs." 


In the Clearing

The being continued to flail as Stephan spoke.  Suddenly, Stephan could hear a faint buzzing... it suddenly grew louder.  The being stopped flailing, his arm suddenly pointed directly at the rodent.  A swarm of reddish tinted narrow-bodied insects exploded off of the adventurers arm and headed straight for Stephan.   He'd note that it wasn't bees... but wasps... and they didn't seem to pleased to see the winged squirrel.


Bar (Challam)

"Dequlin, Seme clan"  The feline replied with his own evil grin.  "And you've failed in two of the most important steps to truly enjoy that wine."

Waving for the bartender, the feline said, "Whatever he's having, please... i need to show him the failure of his ways." 

The evil grin grew more toothy as a fresh glass and more wine was poured.  Dequlin chided,  " Now, watch what i do, and if you can't get that much, i may have to call a proctologist to pull that head of yours, out of your ass..."

Swirling the liquid around, the tiger very daintily put the glass up to his lips, tipped the glass back, smelled the wine first, let it barely touch his lips, then, a few moments later, tilted his head back and sipped a small amount of the intoxicant.  A few moments of savoring were obvious as Challam could tell he was enjoying the bliss, even though the new-comer was protected by mind-shield.

Bart coughed as the mare took off into the hazy sky, pushing himself up and hopping on his good leg. The pain subsided just enough for him to stand up, staring at the fleeing demoness with a scowl beneath his mask. "...yeah, that's right, get the fuck outta here! Tell your mom I kicked your ass!" Damnit, she just had to break something in his leg; those were the most annoying wounds to recover from. All he could do was hop along or sit until the bones knitted back together.

He stopped his tirade long enough to acknowledge Sethir, still hopping awkwardly. "...oh, yeah." The demon fished around through his jacket pockets, pulling out a small stack of thin, crumpled leaflets and handing one off to the incubus. "My cousin's running for superintendent on the local school board. Vote Hassan-Alan Thom'sen or he'll bitch me out again." The small scrap of paper was a smartly-designed and punctual advertisement titled, "Education, Not Indoctrination: A Treatise on Public Schooling," followed by a small list of bullet points for the ideal Nhylamar school system: more programs for low-income families, cultural sensitivity classes, emphasis on tolerance and other liberal values. The kind of values the wealthy, landowning Creatures of Nhylamar didn't want their children infected with.

"You sure you don't want a cast for that?" Seth said, pointing at the leg.  Polymers were easy to create magically, it would take very little time or effort to simply encase his ankle in plastic.

He scanned quickly through the leaflet and blinked in mild confusion.  "That's very left-leaning.  I approve, but... weren't you waxing all 'survival of the fittest' earlier?" he asked, and stuffed it into a pocket of his jacket.

Train Crash, Nhylamar

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about those airship guns. They suffered a mishap, it seems. Technology, huh?"

The only other person left alive at the train crash eased his bike up alongside the two Creatures.  Obviously not a product of Nhylamar steam technology, the bestial contraption of leather and steel purred softly as he brought it to a stop, its black and purple wings folded tightly against its sides.

The youthful panther--he looked no older than his teens--sported a wide grin, seemingly quite pleased with himself despite a rather dishevelled appearance. Barechested under a dark coat peppered with small cuts and a few long gashes, he was covered in blood and soot. Matted blond hair hung over the leather and brass goggles on his forehead.

"Well, those pirates certainly bit off more than they could chew. Serves them right." He surveyed the devastation, then gazed across the grassy plains to the east, squinting against the morning sun. "Looks like they left a few stragglers."

Less than a mile down the tracks, a half dozen armed pirates were chasing the passengers fleeing back to Serabatos.

"That's good to hear," Seth said glancing around at the newcomer.  "Nice bike, by the way." he said.  Then his headwings drooped slightly.  "Who's powering it, though?"

"As for the stragglers, I'll join you in hunting them if this guy doesn't need any help," he said, gesturing at the demon.  "Otherwise, I'll catch you up later."

"I waxed 'every Creature for himself.' What chance do beings get when their landlord eats people's souls and the teachers break your kid's hand for giving lip?" The demon continued to hobble awkwardly before setting his foot down with a wince. "Don't know why my cousins bother with politics, though. Nobody in my whole family's been elected to anything in over 500 years."

Bart's brow quirked as the panther rode on up, still bending and shifting on his good leg. "You guys can go ahead, smack around whoever you want. I'll be fine." As much as he wanted to lay some more hurt on the damnable pirates, getting some food and crashing on a bench was top priority.

"Dequilin?" Challam said incredulously as he quirked a curious eyebrow, "THE Dequilin?" He said, and grinned a bit. "You should really write the headmistress a letter some time. She can't seem to hold a conversation with one of us from Seme without mentioning you." He said, and then tried his own hand at the 'proper' way to drink the wine.

"Huh, it tastes better." He said, setting the glass down a moment. "I still don't see how Aunt always manages to get completely smashed off of it every meeting though." He said, and then looked over the feline again. "So what has you out here? I didn't think we had any holdings until further into the nation?"

Train Crash, Nhylamar

A hint of anger flashed at the disapproval in Seth's voice, but it was immediately buried, undetectable to anyone but an empath. The feline's cheerful expression never wavered. A layer of intense pain hid beneath that smiling mask.

"Oh, him?" The newcomer patted his bike. "In life, he was a murdering rapist asshole. Now, his spiritual remains feed my bike, just as his earthly ones feed the grass over his grave."

He jerked his head towards the pirates. "Shall we?"


Tezkat tore off towards the east, disinclined to debate bleeding heart liberal politics. If that Incubus harboured philosophical objections to soul execution, he might not approve of taking prisoners. In that case, Tezkat needed to reach the pirates first and ensure that at least one of them survived long enough to question. Creatures held grudges for a very long time, and he had to prepare for his next meeting with the Demon. He licked his lips. Oh yes... their next meeting would be very different.

"If you're sure," Seth said to the Demon.  "And yes, I'll see if I can't vote for your cousin."

Turning to the other biker, he detected a faint surge of anger and made a gesture of subtle apology.  "I suspect that the fairness of the trial in these parts may often be index-linked to the demand for souls," he said. "But it sounds like you knew the guy, so I'll not quarrel over it."

"As for the pirates, yes...  I suppose we'd better get this over with."  He headed over to the bike and stowing his new-found weapon on it, helmeted up.  Short-range stuff like the katana and broadsword would be better for this sort of job - shooting while riding was not something you wanted to do when there was a crowd of innocents involved.

Weapon check, was it? That made sense; it would hardly be a good idea to place weapons in the hands of a drunken patron. Sikici unstrapped the two thrusting daggers from his forearms, placing them onto the weapons rack as directed. The angel was expressionless as he watched the lion-demon give him a visual inspection, probably to look for any hidden weaponry Sikici might have. He didn't have any, so there obviously wasn't going to be much of a problem.

Wasn't that mythos thrown out of the club for 'getting handsy with the staff?' Sikici certainly didn't want to get an arm broken, even if he could just heal himself. Then again, it wasn't as if he had planned on 'getting handsy with the staff' in the first place. He didn't have any other questions, so he merely gave a nod to the bouncer and headed through the secondary door and into the club.

"Well shit..." the thought shot through Stephan's mind as the wasp began swarming at him. He acted out of reflex, and whispered a few words to a spell.

Stephan wasn't sure if wasp could be disoriented by a flare spell, but it was worth a shot. As for the being? well it sucked to be him. Stephan shielded his eyes as a small bead of pure light appeared in the air between the swarm and him. Noiselessly it exploded in a eye searingly bright explosion of light that illuminated the camp like small sun. As quickly as it appeared, the light was gone, leaving Stephan to blink away the faint after image and, not waiting to see how badly the swarm was phased, he started to focus on another spell, one that would teleport both him and the being to the entrance of his wagon, and hopefully out of the cloud of insects.

"Nani?  Er, I mean... what?"  Locke blinked several times at the owl before giving a slight nervous chuckle, "oh, my apologies.  I was thinking of a few unfortunate circumstances I have troubling me.  I seem to be in the need of some things that I am unsure of how to obtain."

Locke signed the intended receipt and took his card back.  Scoping up the altered coat, the cheetah nodded respectfully to the shop owner and exited.  His next stop was the market proper, he needed a conventional firearm and some bulk food stuffs, he might even buy the parts to build a clank or two.

Battle-Cruiser MJOLNIR

Bas continued with the tour after dropping Paige's bags off in his quarters.   The tour continued, stopping in the mess hall for a afternoon snack.  She was escorted through the heart of the ship, shown the main soul-stone matrix, armory, and general workings.  She'd be given a brief rundown of her various tasks, shown both armories, and as the tour concluded, Bas headed back to his cabin for some rest.  Whatever Paige did was up to her, they'd be returning to port in a few hours.

Zelah's tour took considerably longer, she was shown everything, the collie took an especially long time in the armory.   She'd been assigned a new toy to play with, a large bore lever action scatter-gun to play with, she was also given several different types of shells to play with.

The airship would arrive in Wolksheem several hours later.  Unloading the crew at the main port, Bas and the newcomers would be the last off the ship.  In the main lobby, there were several individuals gathered around the port commandant's desk.  A dapper looking badger, and an rodent type angel.


Aeliseium Forest

The Storm-Scorps first shot did splinter the tree, however, while that cleared their own weapons to fire, it also cleared the line of sight for the steel giant in front of them.  All 8 revovler style light-cannons fired.  Plumes of dust, dirt, sand and shrapnel bounced off the Storm-Scorp.  As the brothers went to move, they'd both note the denting of the armor on the lower digits of both front legs.  Nothing serious, or even impeding, but they'd been dealt a glancing blow.

Their own follow-up shots  seemed to disrupt something, the heavy-bore artillery was aimed right at the mouth of the strom-scorp... but there was no ear-splitting roar... no fiery bath of death and metal.  The gun or it's feed mechanism were damaged.  The other shots, however, went wide as the raider mech moved with surprising agility for a Ahnk'Ator built raider.

A deep, hollow ratcheting sound echoed out, and both brothers could see the chambers being cycled, loading fresh shells into the cannon chambers.

On the outskirts, Lucy could see the ominous metal giant as it turned into the woods and knocking over trees.  A bolt of lightning smashed into the forest,  and the rippling air of a concussion blast whipped past the clearing.


Nhylamar Badlands

It didn't take but a few minutes to catch up with the pirates on foot.  They hadn't quite mingled with the crowd yet, and as the bikes approached, the half dozen individuals started forming up.  Tez was out front, but Seth wasn't far behind.  The sudden crackle of gunfire sounded as several of the pirates opened up on the bikes.  Tez could hear a round ping off just behind his leg.  Another clipped his side, leaving a dull burning sensation.  Seth was luckier.  The whistle of a missed round sailed by his ear, despite the helmet, and a couple plumes of dirt were kicked up.  The pirates had formed a rough, half-circle as the bikes grew closer, they gave up on moving with the civilians in an attempt to band together.   Another pair broke off from the civilians, and joined up in the circling move.  With them, the total was brought to a grand total of eight pirates.


The Club (Sikici) 

Sikici entered into the poorly lit room.  It was large, expansive, and several times larger than the outside walls.  The main bar had a collection of creatures and beings buying drinks from the staff.  Both men and women wore scant clothing, just enough leather to cover the right spots.  Around the other side was a stage.  There was a 'cubi doing a fan-dance, again being showy as customers attempted to get her to mess up her routine by tossing coins onto the stage, hoping she'd forget the fan just long enough to go for their money.  If Sikici didn't know any better, between the slightly sleazy crowd, and general aura of the place, he'd be fairly certain he'd just entered a strip-club.


At the Bar (Challam)

Dequlin gave a wicked grin, "I can't help it that a few freshman hadn't figured out what the 'real' fire alarm sounded like... They were just foolish to go running towards the courtyards..." 

Giving another shrug, the tiger replied, "I'm actually just out on a little adventuring at the moment... didn't expect to catch you on your return trip.  Though, now that you're here... perhaps i should warn you that a lot has changed while you were gone.  Probably for the better, but the territory is a hell of a lot larger, now.  If you need a place to crash, I'd recommend the White Pony, just a few blocks down."


In the Cart

Stephan's first spell worked at fairly well.  The insects did seem confused... he didn't get stung after all.  The few seconds it took to prepare and cast the jump-spell were long enough for the adventurer to recover.  The box Stephan had seen earlier made it's purpose obvious as the pair stood face to face... Well, not quite.   Stephan's face was facing the barrel of the boxy looking semi-automatic pistol.  "Where the hell are we?  What'd you do, Squirrely?!" 

The panther still looked disoriented, and Stephan could almost taste his fear... Bitter, almost like someone melted a tablespoon of butter in a cup of water... and then the squirrel was somehow compelled to drink the strange mixture.


Train Station

Kyirri would find nothing else eventful happen for the rest of the trip.  He arrived at his stop a few hours later, he still had his money, and nobody seemed to be following him as far as he could tell.  This train station was in a higher end area than his departure location's.  It was clearly geared towards the middle-class patrons.  Store fronts had decorative windows, and nigh-gaudy displays compared to the worn and grimy look the roo-rat was used to.   

   Gabriel woke next morning, curled up on the pillow of his bed. Hazey midmorning sunglight streamed in through the rooms single window, and the air was slightly damp. Sitting up, he stretched, yawned, and shook himself out.
   He'd taken a bath in the washroom sink the night before. With all the dirt washed out, his brown fur was now a rich cinnamon and his hair was a dark golden blonde.
   Even if it were the smallest room available, it was certainly more than enough space for Gabriel.
   As he got out of bed, the first thing he did was take his brass pendant off the end table and loop it around his neck. Then he went to the washroom where his clothes were hanging on a line, and got dressed. He'd washed them in the sink too, and they were dry by now.
   I swear, without all the coal dust and road drirt, they weigh half as much.
   Either that, or I've worn them half-way through.
   Gabriel stumbled out the door and down the stairs, still dogged by sleep. The common room was nearly empty, except for a few patrons who had stopped for a staple meal.
   Gabriel hopped up on one of the barstools, and crouched on it's edge. His tail coiled around the columb for extra stability. "C'n I hav a drink?"
   "Gabe." Said the bartender, adding a breif wave in greeting. "Taps're workin well enough."
   The rat murmered a soft ice spell to chill his beverage. "They should be... I sure was." Gabriel said. He wasn't exaggerating, either. The taps had only needed a new gasket, but he'd spent a few hours last night crawling around in tight spaces, doing basic upkeep on the plumbing. "Anything in the pot for a hard workin' rat?" Gabriel wrung his hat in his hands, eyes round and sorrowful.
   The bartender cuffed him upside the head lightly. "There's something in the pot for paying customers." He said.
   Gabriel grinned, and set some coin on the table.

---

   Gabriel, astride Walsh, rolled out of the stables attached to the pub. Traffic was light, but in an hour or so lunch time traffic would have the streets packed.
   First things first. I totally need to get one of those pocketed vests the Nhylamar areo-navy uses. I should pick up a new pocket-torch too... the nozzle on my current one is starting to wear out, and the enchantment is fizzling a bit.
   Then it's off to the markets to look for work. There'll probably be a few pursers about, picking up supplies. Most people wandered around the docks, or trawled the pubs, looking for work. The only people you met at the docks were too busy to talk, while all you found at the pubs were drunken NCOs. Pursers, quartermasters, and first-mates were the ones Gabriel wanted to talk to, and the best time to catch them was when they were shopping.
   Any other supplies I need will depend on the job. One thing is for certain though; before I leave port...
   Gabriel found a spot to park and lock up Walsh in the commertial district, and continued on foot.
   ...I'm gonna buy a huge bag of jujubes.

Realising that they were coming under fire, Seth did the wing-trick again, creating a gap in the back of this top so that the wings could escape.  He flattened them out into something that would protect him a bit more and dismounted the bike.

Since the pirates had apparently decided to stand their ground, the crowd would presumably carry on and thus separate themselves.  The wolf incubus considered that the best approach would be to kill the ones who were actually firing first, and then see if it was possible to negotiate some form of surrender.  If the pirates wanted to run for the border in exchange for some information - thereby retaining their lives and souls - he wasn't about to stop them.

With a sigh, he rearranged his wings to protect his head, leaving only a small gap to see through, and brought the shotgun to bear on one of the attackers.

Stephan looked at the offending firearm with disdain, "Alright, its a show with a hostile audiance," he smirked, "Let's roll."

Stephan held his wand in front of him with both his hands as if he were holding onto a railing, and regarded the Being cooly, "Skill... magic... perhaps unholy pacts with those from beyond?" he let that linger for a bit, "But, that isn't the important question? Now is it? You see, I asked you a question earlier. A question to which I have yet to recieve, and I am still waiting for, an answer. Up until this point I have been pleasant, I rescued you from your swarm of bees, while you rudely accosted me with a weapon." he held up his hands revealing that he was holding nothing but his wand, "While I am unarmed I might add. A simple answer to my question, and we can part ways no harm, no foul. Honest." He smiled disarmingly, "But, first I would suggest you lowering your weapon. For, you see, the question you should be asking is; if up until now I have been pleasant, do you truely want to see me become... unpleasant?"

Kyirri kept alert throughout the entire trip. At the trip's end however, he was quite exhausted, least of all from the energy drain he'd been hit with. Fatigue made the back of his head bang, he was also feeling a bit hungry. He knew he could sustain himself longer, but it was uncomfortable, and it was hurting his perceptions. After meeting that cubi on the train, he was convinced that someone was after him, and would likely kill him after he picked up the book.

He glanced around at the store fronts with his blank gaze. Reminds me of the life I used to have... days could go by where I didn't have to constantly worry about being killed over half a crust of bread. I didn't have to worry about having my home broken into every time I left. He glanced around a bit, still ever alert. It all looked so nice back then, but I know better now. This place only looks nicer. The authorities are still just as crooked and the places are just as dangerous. I would know from empirical evidence after all. Bitter memories came back to him about that one night. His parents were murdered. Soul murdered in fact. To his knowledge, the authorities didn't even care.

He shook it off, spending only a moment brooding on his distaste of Nhylamar authorities. I'm thinking about things that won't matter. I shouldn't be. I need to stay alert. He kept his future attention focused on trying to find a place he could stay for some time, and get something to eat as well. He searched for an inexpensive, inconspicuous place.

"A lot?" Challam asked, quirking an eyebrow, but then promptly placed his paw over his face. "Geez.. I really have been gone for a while, haven't I?" He said, before looking back to his clan member again. "I remember talk of expansion, I guess I had just forgotten how long it's been. Talk turned to plans turned to action turned to history by now." He said, and took another slow sip of the wine.

"I think I'll just hang around here for a bit, and try and figure out my aunt's secret to falling over drunk from this wine." He said, grinning. "I'll head to that inn you mentioned if things get too rowdy here. Why not fill me in on what's happened since I left?"

Aelisium Forest

  Gaakronacht gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes slightly as dirt and debris exploded in front of him with the Ahnk'Ator steam-mech firing all it's autocannons. His pilot's light armor absorbed most of anything harmful, but a few things painfully pelted his face. He was already backing up the mech even as he had loosed his own volley, and before the trees blocked the mutual view of the two mechs, Gaak noticed the enemy seemed to be aiming it's primary cannon at them... but nothing fired. That was fortunate, as it was that there didn't appear to be any significant damage.
  After getting back in the trees, Gaak took the mech to the right, and began circumventing the clearing with the ruined village and the large steam-mech, keeping far enough behind the trees and other cover that the mech shouldn't be able to see them. While doing this, he also pulled out a protective mask from a compartment in the cockpit; behind him his older brother had already fitted his on.
  The brothers had fought mechs like this before (usually as part of a large team, but still), and they knew that in order to take out a large foe like this, hit-and-run while aiming to disarm it was necessary. Removing it's teeth, so to speak.
  "Quite a thick volley." Gezzemocht remarked to his brother.
  "I thought it best to not half-arse this one. We don't have any bigger friends to hide behind." Gaakronacht tensely replied.
  "Too true. When we come out to hit him again, go for whichever arm is close, try to take out those auto-cannons. Hopefully the chest-cannon's already out of commission for good, but if you get a chance, but send a shot or two it's way again, just to be sure. Maybe at the head as well, we don't know where the pilots are hiding. We've got to keep it off-balance. We got lucky with it's return fire there. If it gets a straight shot at us, we're in trouble."
   "Don't I know it..."

Sikici wondered why the lighting was so poor in the room. Was it simply to save the effort of lighting the rather large room? Or was it just because they were lazy? Perhaps it was a mixture of both? Or perhaps it just created a certain sort of 'mood' in the club.

The angel took a look around the room, taking a quick look at some of its occupants. Here was Sikici nearly completely covered in clothing, and there were people, with barely enough leather to keep them covered. In fact, Sikici was relatively certain that such a small amount of leather couldn't possibly contain a bosom so large. And yet somehow, it did. Didn't that hurt? At all?

As he slowly meandered around the room, doing his best not to draw too much attention to himself, he noticed the cubi performing a fan-dance. Sikici had never seen a fan-dance before, or even been aware that people fan-danced. See, there was something you didn't see every day, although perhaps for good reason.

Now, if he didn't know any better, this wasn't just a normal club. This was a strip-club.

And that made the angel... uncomfortable.

Quote from: Basilisk on April 15, 2010, 12:05:34 AM
Battle-Cruiser MJOLNIR

Bas continued with the tour after dropping Paige's bags off in his quarters.   The tour continued, stopping in the mess hall for a afternoon snack.  She was escorted through the heart of the ship, shown the main soul-stone matrix, armory, and general workings.  She'd be given a brief rundown of her various tasks, shown both armories, and as the tour concluded, Bas headed back to his cabin for some rest.  Whatever Paige did was up to her, they'd be returning to port in a few hours.

The airship would arrive in Wolksheem several hours later.  Unloading the crew at the main port, Bas and the newcomers would be the last off the ship.  In the main lobby, there were several individuals gathered around the port commandant's desk.  A dapper looking badger, and an rodent type angel.

After being left to her own devices Paige headed back to the Captain's set about disrupting Baseel's rest...In the best kind of way.....




When the Mjolnir docked the wolf succubus followed her Captain's lead and was nearly the last to disembark. "So whats the plan Skipper"? she asked in a playful tone.

Nhylamar Badlands

Tezkat grunted when the bullet grazed his side, a sharp reminder that the abandoned pirates still posed a threat. They were circling together, the way herds of feral beasts often did when frightened. Delicious terror. Had they even realized yet that two dangerous Creatures bore down on them, or was it merely the instinct of panicked prey? Pirate loyalty being what it was, it shouldn't take much to push them over the edge.

The other Incubus was closing atop some kind of steam powered bike. Tezkat veered off to flank the enemy and approach from downwind, giving his new partner the chance to reach them first. And hopefully draw most of their fire.

As he angled back to charge the group, Tezkat drew his sword and released his wings. Keeping them hidden didn't hurt any less, and he needed to make a strong impression. A simple glamour concealed any evidence of injury. Tears in the batlike membranes closed. His trouser leg returned to normal with no sign of the bloodsoaked bandages. Blood around his own wounds disappeared, creatively replaced by the sorts of spatter earned from slicing foes.

A ball of crackling blue electricity, not unlike the one that had razed the airship deck minutes earlier, appeared in his hand. It shot towards the pirates, raking the ground with a curtain of lightning as it flew. A loudening roar of thunderclaps announced its approach. It fizzled out just shy of the group, obviously meant as a warning shot, leaving only the smell of ozone and a trail of smoke in its wake.

It wasn't real. Such an awesome display of power far exceeded his talents in elemental magic, and he had no desire to waste expensive bullets when simple illusion would suffice. But the pirates didn't have to know that. He rode through the illusionary cover, real dust kicked up by his wheels mingling with the spectral smoke, and skidded to a halt right in front of the pirates.

"Good morning! Do you perchance know this man?" He held out his hand. A black flame burst from his palm and coalesced into an animated miniature of the chainsword-wielding jaguar. After giving the pirates a chance to recognize their boss, he snapped his fist closed, snuffing it out. "He ran away without finishing our duel, and I thought some new friends might tell me where he's headed."

He rested his blade back across shoulder in casual disregard for the guns pointed his way. No one with that Demon in his sights would show concern for such puny weapons. His confident half grin displayed a single white fang.

"Who wants to be friends, and who wants to be breakfast?" He licked his lips, hungry bloodlust in his eyes hinting that he might find either option agreeable. "I'm holding tryouts."

Sethir was about to fire when the other rider called out.  He hesitated.

"I'm not opposed to making some kind of a deal," the wolf called out.  "Information - or your surrender - in exchange for a quick death, maybe a chance to run for the border.  "Otherwise... I can't vouch for the safety of your souls."

He re-adjusted his sights but paused before firing - he wanted to see what they had to say to the proposals.  Or what the other rider had to say to them, for that matter.

The metallic beasts continued there skirmish, Lucy keeping watch.

The four legged mech tried flanking the larger one, moving in her direction.

Lucy cursed her luck. Trapped like a damn rat...

In desperation, She tried digging, shoveling away the earth around her foot to pull it free. But the question was would she have enough time to do this task and slip away unnoticed back into the bush.

She looked up from behind the fallen tree. The mech was right beside her own. And in that split second she was likely very visible.

Click. Click. Clunk. "Ow, dammit!" Zelah jerked her hand back and stuck her finger in her mouth to soothe the bruised claw-sheath she'd just caught (again) in between two sharp-edged chunks of metal. At least she hadn't managed to draw blood this time. With her other hand she laid the shotgun down carefully on the bunk beside her before she lost her temper and tried to throw it through the wall of her cabin. She liked the powerful new weapon Elkan had arranged to have issued to her when her tour of the airship brought them to the armoury. It had a lot more punch than her old Army-issue pistol, but it was so different from any gun she'd used before, it was taking a little getting used to. The exasperated 'Cubi twitched her ears, whiskers and headwings and lashed her tail a few times. Old habits and drills, some aided by the memory of amazingly loud sergeants, were hard to set aside. She'd spent the last couple of hours after her tour in her cabin, practicing reloading, working the feed, and stripping the gun, getting familar with it, and the damned thing was still biting her.

She'd just decided to have one more try at smoothing out her reloading technique when Elkan poked his snout in the door to tell her the airship was almost back at their base. She repacked quickly, finding room in her travelling bag — just about — for her newest acquisition and the boxes of various types of ammo that had come with it. Only a small effort was needed to hide her headwings. She hitched the bag over her shoulder and threaded her way through the corridors and stairs until she found the main loading ramp. Wolkshammer was already there, accompanied by the wolf Elkan had pointed out as one of the new pilots. The one who'd set her sights on the Captain, to judge from her tone of voice. She could see headwings sprouting from behind the wolf's ears: could she be another 'Cubi? Zelah strode down the ramp, glancing at the small group gathered around a desk off to one side of the extensive lobby, and stopped a winglength away, standing almost at attention. "Captain Wolkshammer," she said quietly to announce herself. Her whiskers wiggled and spread: she was getting an odd emotional read from the wolf and the Demon. They hadn't... had they?

Addy noticed a large group disembarking from the big ship that had just docked. Great, more delays finding her missing ride.

Nhylamar Badlands

The wolf Incubus hadn't quite backed his play, but that was fine so long as the double threat served to further crush the pirates' resolve. Acutely alert to their thoughts, emotions, and body language, Tezkat's relaxed posture belied the urge to lash out at the first sign of his gambit failing. Even non-magical bullets fired in panicked desperation would be painful--possibly fatal--at this range, and he wasn't sure how badly the leg wound would affect his mobility. He inclined his head, Demon wings flaring slightly in a display of dominance as he waited for a reply.

"oui, speedmew 'atch 'ere y're standin!"  yelled the liftermech operator as its mechanical bulk swung around to deposit the pallet of supplies on the elevator leading up to the dock where FH was tied up at.

"sorry!" replied Locke as he sidestepped the swinging loader mech, "hey wait a minute, what did you call me..."

However, it was too late.  The doors closed as the lift headed up to the dock.  Shrugging, the cheetah turned back towards the supervisor, "really, should that be a proper address for the client whom is purchasing your goods and services?"  Arguably it wasn't a lot of food stuffs, but still.

"True, but you shouldn't stand in the way of heavy mechs either."  The sable shrugged as he flipped through papers on his clipboard, "that should be the last of the bulk goods.  Food stuffs and... some mechanical parts.  Sign here please."  

As the liftermech exited the elevator, Locke signed the receiving document.  He had already inspected the goods upon purchase, and one of his clockwork minions had verified the merchandise.

"Thank you again."  He stated as the sable and his delivery crew departed.  Locke walked after them, heading in the same direction, back to the marketplace.  This time, he was in search of a gunsmith.  

With Tez and Seth entertaining themselves with the pirates, Bart was left to sit back and keep his broken ankle set up nice and straight. It took several minutes for the splintered bones to knit themselves back together in a brittle bond just stable enough for him to limp comfortably on. Goddamn horse, never turn your back on a Goddamned horse--

He hobbled along in a rushed gait, keeping his distance from the pirates as he made his way towards the capitol.

Wolksheem Aerodrome

Bas nodded towards the small detail waiting at the far end of the lobby area, "Well, for the evening, I'm planning on heading back to the castle.  Tomorrow morning, we're getting resupplied in Nhylamar, and doing a patrol along the Orabatos mountains, watching for Ahnk'Ator activity. "

Turning his head to acknowledge that he'd heard Zelah, and understood, "For tonight if you need a room, you're more than welcome to come with me... There's several dozen open guest rooms at the castle.  We can get you accommodations in the city at one of the inns... either way, it's up to you.   Just be here tomorrow at 8am for boarding the MJOLNIR, assuming  you're seeking accommodations elsewhere."

At the main counter, the little weasel quirked an eyebrow as Addy cast her spell.  He looked annoyed, even irked.  "Things are quite busy, Miss... please sit down and wait a few minutes.  I'll see if i can't get things moving... You could always try bugging someone else in the mean time."
With a glare, the being went back to his paperwork.


Nhylamar Badlands

The half-circle flattened to a firing line, and with all 8 weapons drawn, they unloaded every slug their weapons were prepared with at the duo.   They didn't care what the others had to say, they were in panic, their thoughts were easy to read, 'Kill or be killed'.  The hail of bullets led to no actual hits, fired in haste, an attempt to stop the riders, rather than the precision aim required to hit a vital organ on a moving target.  
That's not to say there weren't a few close calls.  Tez felt his coat flicker in the wind as a slug passed under his arm, and Seth would hear the sound of grinding metal.  Should he check his helmet, between the ears would be a fresh scuff mark.

Bart would find an uneventful and slow walk as he headed for the city.  It took him a little over an hour with his limp, and any action he could have helped with had long since passed.


Sevastia'Nyad Market

Locke would find conventional firearms nigh impossible to find in the market.  Wands were easy, and everywhere, but  all he found were a couple of cheap and grossly underpowered derringers and a few larger pieces who's quality were questionable at best.  One of the wand-smiths, who appeared to be a being lynx in perhaps his early to mid 30's watched the angel for a few moments.  He seemed to take note in Locke's interest in a conventional firearm.  "Oy you! with the spots."  

Waving with a free hand.  The lynx suddenly pointed east, towards the city wall, and said, "If you're looking for something a bit more corporeal, Yagsandras is but a hop-skip and a jump away.  Friendly enough to creatures, and they tend to have Nhylamar type weapons, since that seems to be what yer' lookin' for."


Aeliseium Riverbed

With a surprising bolt of speed, the Ahnk' Ator war-machine surged forward.  It was coming in at a clockwise rotation.   Sweeping in like a hinging door, the larger machine tried to push the other mech into the open of the clearing.  

Lucy could see on the far side of the mechs, something moving.  The ground shifted, and an insectis appeared to be literally coming out of the ground, without actually disturbing the soil.  It's leathery outfit, hid most of the features, but she'd recognize the blade and pistol it carried.   They were of obviously foreign design, and the colors said the metal came from Ahnk' Ator.


Nhylamar City Streets (Kyirri)

The roo-rat would find nothing that seemed to fit his search at first,  after around 20 minutes of searching, he manages to find a little hole in the wall type inn.  He was greeted by a creamy white mink.  She was slightly shorter than Kyirri, and had a pleasant smile.  "Welcome to the Westwynd Inn, sir, would you  be looking for a meal, or, perhaps a room?"


At the Bar (Challam)

Dequlin nodded, "Well, for starters, we've practically doubled the size of Mesrahal, built 2 areas, 3 court houses, a pair of churches, a new hospital, several being-schools, and they've got a factory on the southern outskirts.  That's for starters... you'll have  to be a bit more specific as to what you're looking to know about... it'd take far far too long to tell you everything."
Sipping his own drink again, the other incubus watched Challam intently.


Strip Club

The fan-dancer continued, and the patrons seemed content with ogling the staff.  One of the scantily clad women appeared.  A tall and statuesque lioness.  Her tail flicked back and forth, and she said in a pleasant, feminine, and rolling alto, "Anything i can get for you, hun?"

Just outside, Johan Ledwinka was out, heading for the market.  He passed an unusual 2 headed mythos, along with the small club.  The sounds of an active and bustling city filled his ears as he went about his usual weekday routine.  

Seth winced as the bullet grazed his helmet.  For a second he thought it had hit something vital, but he gritted his teeth anyway.  Shit, he thought, 'Good cop, bad cop' isn't going to work here.  These guys appeared to be so desperate they were beyond reason.
He cast a stun spell at the nearest attacker, and then turned the gun on the others.  It wasn't something he enjoyed doing, but if they could thin the numbers down the survivors should - in principle - be easier to overpower.

Zelah quirked one ear higher and twitched her whiskers as she grinned a little bit despite the stress and nervousness she felt. "A real castle...? I've never been in a real castle before. I'll take that offer, I think, Captain." While she waited for Wolkshammer to lead the way, the feline 'Cubi glanced for a moment at the wolf, her emotions in considerable turmoil. Was this really another 'Cubi? Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to hide her headwings again, although she felt naked leaving them hanging out for everyone to see. Elkan hadn't said anything, even when she'd almost had a heart attack in the middle of the tour when she abruptly realised she'd completely forgotten her wings were showing.

She felt, in rapid succession, anxious, hopeful, terrified, and heartbreakingly lonely. Was there anything she ought to say or do when she met another one of her kind? Would they like each other? Hate each other? Fight each other for... prey? After a moment looking the wolf up and down Zelah realised there was something she could do. A little concentration, and there were subtle changes to the line of her jaw and muzzle, the shape of her ears, the sheen of her fur. Then one more change, although it left her shirt again almost uncomfortably tight. There — now who was bigger and prettier...?

Addy noticed the irked expression on the ferret. She took it that her guess had been correct and she now had an irritated cubi trying to get rid of her. He just wasn't bright enough to realize that the simplest way to get rid of her was to give her what she wanted.

She smiled, which was still a rather uncomforting sight, "Oh, don't worry about me. I'll wait right here. I wouldn't want to put you to the trouble of finding me once you find out what happened to my conveyance." With that she fluffed her wings and settled them down in a manner quite like a bird settling down for a long nap. She was going to be right there causing tons of frustration he wasn't going to get a taste of.

The short evening passed by in the market. Arroyo only had enough money to get a little bit of food for his boat. He spotted a small kid on a moped, Arroyo looked at it with jealously, only letting a few words pass his mouth. "I want that..."

The day has finally reached the end for Arroyo. He walked back into his boat, locked the door, stocked up his fridge with the food he bought and sorted out the spoiled food from the food that was still fresh. He leaped onto his bed, smiling a bit as he fell into deep slumber.

Kyirri made a sharp glance around the place, making sure that there were no obvious imminent threats in the vicinity. After taking his quick observations, he turned his attention back towards the mink. "Both. How much are they?" He scrutinized her and her surroundings carefully, making sure that there wasn't anything out of place.

Aelisium Forest

  Unfortunately, it seemed as if the initial volley did not sufficiently disorient whoever the pilots were. As the Storm Scorp was making it's way around the clearing, hidden by the forest, there were suddenly crashing sounds very nearby. The Ahnk'Ator mech had to be moving in their general dirction, pushing trees down. In fact, at the maximum visual distance through the trees, Gaak saw a few topple over. Not good.
  "Back up, keep us out of sight!" Gezzemocht shouted, and Gaakronacht complied, the Storm Scorp halting in its tracks, then moving in reverse, and angling deeper into the trees. "They must have been able to see which direction we went, but they shouldn't be able to see us now, and we've got to keep it that way! Do not fire unless they see us! I'll guide our path!"
  As the Storm Scorp moved backwards into the trees, Gaakronact was more focused on peering forward, looking for the enemy mech and ready to fire if necessary, and less on where the Scorp was going. Gezzemocht fulfilled this by looking behind the Scorp, and calling "Thunder" or "Lightning" for "left" and "right" respectively (corresponding to the sides of the two main weapon mounts to avoid mixing up directions from different perspectives), and Gaak automatically replied. By doing this, he hardly had to divert any attention from actually being ready to fire the cannons at the Ahnk'Ator mech, should it somehow get lucky and stumble across them.

Cyril arched one eyebrow, and glanced back and forth between the (pretty, and determined) grey squirrel with the extremely large battle hammer and serious demeanour, and the apparently overmatched weasel in charge of the port. He stifled a smile at the predicament, and cast about briefly before appropriating a chair behind, and to one side, of the doctor, where he could survey both parties.

He parked himself neatly in the chair, straightened the seam of his trousers, and reached into a pocket to produce his pocket watch. Popping it open, he glanced into it, then reached in and extracted a saucer, and a full, and steaming, delicate bone china cup of tea, placing it neatly on the saucer. A pocket produced a pair of sugar tongs, with a cube of sugar, then swallowed the tongs again without impacting upon the line of his suit at all. Following that was a small milk jug, condensation beading the outside in the moments it was out, and, finally, a silver teaspoon to stir the resultant concoction. Slipping the teaspoon back to whence it came from, he placed the cup and saucer precisely upon his knees, adjusted the fall of his suit to his satisfaction, then lifted the saucer once more.

Smiling perhaps just a tiny fraction too pleasantly at the weasel, he blew carefully on the tea, and took a sip, apparently perfectly willing to wait just as long as necessary. As an afterthought, he extracted a shortbread biscuit, and took a nibble.

Satisfied that everything was perfect, he took the moment to comment, in a deep, even baritone not at all out of place coming from his barrel chest. "If I were you, I would expedite the ladys' request. Just my opinion, mind." With that opined, he went back to enjoying his cup of tea.


And the show.

Will's muscles ached, especially around his upper ribs. He had moved into Mesrahal upon hearing that they needed construction workers, with the town growing rapidly. It took some convincing of the foreman that his tiny frame could handle the work, and, truth be told, he probably wouldn't have gotten his employment if it weren't for them hiring every person they could get that was even remotely qualified.  Still, he was hardy, and he had long since learned to disassociate most of his mind from his task at hand. It was almost like going to sleep, he would awaken, long past sunset, with the foreman doling out his pay; sweaty, tired, and aching, and little memory of what had transpired that day.

The joys of hot water were tempting, but tonight, he had further tasks to perform. He scurried over to a little boarding house erected for the laborers in the town, opened up his footlocker assigned to his bunk.  He got out his coat, he'd need it against the chills of the night, and sluiced off his hands and face on the way out. Shrugging on the bulky garment, he thrust his hands into his pockets. He didn't have a clock, but walking outside, he saw an uncomfortable number of oversized people. Maybe he should have stopped to take that bath. Still, even in a town under construction as this was, it was easy enough to find a drinking establishment, and he spent perhaps two hours nursing a rye. A small one. He had to be careful. Alcohol hit him quicker than larger folks.

When he left, it was pitch black. Lamps hadn't gotten around to being erected yet, so Will produced a small bullseye lantern out of one of his coat pockets, and staggered his way around. The rye on his breath would give him ample cause to act drunk, and pretending to be deep in his cups was a very useful way of allaying suspicion.

He made his way toward the "older" section of town. Bigger buildings there, while he was sure that grand structures would be thrown up, most of the stuff under construction was utilitarian, small. Plus, older structures meant older wood, and dry rot was his friend.

He had spent previous nights wandering about, had his approach and his escape memorized. He should be able to see this from half the town, as bare as it was. Walk along Sturnpike street, duck into the alley, climb the short wall over, quickly quickly quickly, darting along the cobbles. He took a second to catch his breath, and beheld the perfection.

Something large and heavy must have crashed into the back of the massive wooden edifice, and then tarred up to keep the weather out. Sloppy work, sloppy. He hummed, as he pretended  to fumble with his lantern, and as he turned the illumination off, he mimed adding more  oil into the back, instead emptying half his flask onto the beams. A little more as a trail, and then came the hard part.

He knew, from previous observations, that the inn had a little coal pile, for heating most likely, kept behind a gate. Picking the lock was out of his abilities, as was scaling the structure. So he dabbed his fingers in his oil, making a trail of quick burning fuel across the side of the structure, flinging drops as he walked, from his lead to the coal pile.

When he was done with that, he went to his leading trail, and took off his gloves, wiped his hands on his handkerchief. Breathing quickly, he carefully opened up one of his inner pockets, withdrew a tiny stick with a fat head from the sealed pouch. He blew on it twice, and then rubbed it on the cobbles before it burst into flame, which he dropped into the little trail of oil droplets. He waited a second to make sure it caught, and then scooped up his lantern and walked off briskly, but unhurriedly. He estimated it would take about a minute and a half before the trailing lines of oil reached the coal pile, at which point the conflagration would really start. As he walked, he whistled a little tune that he had heard somewhere, working on a rail line in one of those transient territories.

"Criminey." Challam said, taking another long sip from the wine. "I'm not even sure where to start!" He said as he set his glass down and leaned on the bar. "Well, I suppose I should ask what you think they'll do with the school boy when he comes back?" He asked, smirking at him. "Used to be just patrols around that little village we had. Not sure what I will do with what sounds like a blooming city."

Quote from: Basilisk on April 26, 2010, 12:51:38 AM
Wolksheem Aerodrome

Bas nodded towards the small detail waiting at the far end of the lobby area, "Well, for the evening, I'm planning on heading back to the castle.  Tomorrow morning, we're getting resupplied in Nhylamar, and doing a patrol along the Orabatos mountains, watching for Ahnk'Ator activity. "

Turning his head to acknowledge that he'd heard Zelah, and understood, "For tonight if you need a room, you're more than welcome to come with me... There's several dozen open guest rooms at the castle.  We can get you accommodations in the city at one of the inns... either way, it's up to you.   Just be here tomorrow at 8am for boarding the MJOLNIR, assuming  you're seeking accommodations elsewhere."

Quote from: SpottedKitty on April 26, 2010, 07:49:10 PM
Zelah quirked one ear higher and twitched her whiskers as she grinned a little bit despite the stress and nervousness she felt. "A real castle...? I've never been in a real castle before. I'll take that offer, I think, Captain." While she waited for Wolkshammer to lead the way, the feline 'Cubi glanced for a moment at the wolf, her emotions in considerable turmoil. Was this really another 'Cubi? Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to hide her headwings again, although she felt naked leaving them hanging out for everyone to see. Elkan hadn't said anything, even when she'd almost had a heart attack in the middle of the tour when she abruptly realised she'd completely forgotten her wings were showing.

She felt, in rapid succession, anxious, hopeful, terrified, and heartbreakingly lonely. Was there anything she ought to say or do when she met another one of her kind? Would they like each other? Hate each other? Fight each other for... prey? After a moment looking the wolf up and down Zelah realised there was something she could do. A little concentration, and there were subtle changes to the line of her jaw and muzzle, the shape of her ears, the sheen of her fur. Then one more change, although it left her shirt again almost uncomfortably tight. There — now who was bigger and prettier...?

"Is your room still available Baseel?" Paige asked the Captain with a grin, as he mentioned the castle to the feline, who it seemed didn't realize she didn't have a mind shield.

Pouring through the jumbled thoughts Zelah was broadcasting, the older succubus smiled, then laughed as the feline finished her shape changing. "Oh hun," Paige said with a mix of pity and amusement, "That's not the best way to trap a man's heart, sure the boobs help, but mostly with whats in his pants." The wolfess stepped closer to Zelah and focused her otherworldy senses on her, confirming that other had indeed never met one of her own species before.

"And no I don't think we'll be fighting, or hating each other. But if you like I can teach you who we really are." She said as she approached the feline to hug her.

Nhylamar Badlhads

Tezkat scowled, a passable imitation of the annoyed face the red jaguar had shown him earlier. In their mad panic, the pirates had missed him entirely. But they didn't have to know that. He made a show of plucking flattened illusionary slugs out of his fur and coat. He playfully tossed the spectral bullets up and down a few times, as if testing their weight, and then pitched them over his shoulder. They disappeared into the grass behind him.

"So everyone's chosen the breakfast option? I'll be taking heads now. If you want to keep yours, best get on your knees and beg."

He hopped off his bike into the cluster of frantically reloading pirates. At this range, he no longer had to be faster than bullets--merely faster than Beings. Despite his bloodthirsty grin, it took excruciating effort not to be seen favouring his wounded leg. If the wolf Incubus was a pain feeder, he'd be getting a feast, but it couldn't be helped. Best to end this quickly. Once they'd thinned the ranks a bit, it shouldn't be too hard to leave one of the scoundrels mostly intact for questioning.

Slash. Slash. Slash.

Locke smiled cheerfully at the lucid lynx, or at least gave his best try, "ah thank you sir, good advice indeed."  He really wanted to add, spotted guy with the bob tail, but held his tongue on that part.

He was familiar with Yagsandras, having been there a few times, so it was a mere matter of finding his bearings from here and plotting the course.  He mulled over charts in his mind and by the time he reached the lift, he had the plan laid out.

The angel cheetah settled his paper work and fees before heading up to Flamehaze.  He boarded and sent a message to her, prepare to get underway, we are heading for Yagsandras.  Lay in a course once we have cleared the dock.  

The dock workers cast off the moorings once the gangway was stowed on the ship and Locke had radioed from the bridge.

With little ceremony, the sleek vessel was on its way to the city of Yagsandras.  

"Hmm?" Sikici hadn't even seen the lioness approach, having been too busy standing there and wondering what he was supposed to do. Well, that problem seemed to have solved itself. That was certainly handy. Although now he had to think about whether or not he wanted anything. Well, something to drink would be nice. The angel wasn't very hungry, though, and he wasn't even sure if stripper clubs served food. Did they serve any drink that wasn't alcohol?

Sikici turned to look at the lioness. "Oh... I suppose something to drink would be nice? What kind of beverages does this place serve?"

Now that the angel thought about it, he didn't even know the name of this establishment. He needed to pay more attention to things like that.

Zelah's eyes widened as she realised the wolf was replying to what she was thinking. She dropped her travelling bag — fortunately not on her toes or tail-tip — and made a few quick gestures with her right hand. Her eyes and fingertips glowed a deep violet for a few seconds as a crude but effective Being-type mind shield lumbered around her thoughts like a badly fitting sweater. "I'm, uh, sorry, I did it without, ah, thinking," she babbled nervously, "but I wouldn't go after Captain Wolkshammer, he's my CO, I couldn't hurt himmmf...!" She grabbed her muzzle with both hands and held it shut before she put her feet, complete with boots, any further into it. These people had to know what a 'Cubi was capable of, but how could they know she'd never gone on a seduction rampage before? She still didn't know if it was something that would just happen sometime, when the urge came on her. It didn't help that said CO was standing in the corner of her vision, one ear visibly cocked to hear their conversation.

She watched the wolf uncertainly, but still her lunge and hug took Zelah by surprise. The shorter feline 'Cubi made a squeaky meep noise as her tail fluffed out and her ears and whiskers laid back. The unexpected glomp pinned her arms against her sides, and she fought hard against the instinctive reaction to struggle, or rip a wing-tentacle through the back of her jacket to defend herself. "T-t-teach me?" she stuttered nervously. "Hmph, I suppose there's a lot I don't know... yes, I think I'd like that." She made a conscious effort to at least try to smile and calm herself down, smooth her tail fur, and bring her ears forward a little. She raised her hands and patted the wolf's back uncertainly as she began to return the hug. Her earler near-panic was fading. She was still very much on edge, but... was that a little hope she felt now, at last?

For Johan, this particular morning's routine was anything but, as he trudged through the rain possessed of a singleminded determination. Being entirely lacking in any sort of magic talent he was unprotected from the elements, which were in this particular instance rain but had been a variety over his career. In addition, the diminutive fennec was of no illusion that his foot speed was remarkable in the least. Despite this, he was often given long-distance assignments to outposts which had no direct transport, thus he spent a great deal of time in long overland trudges carrying valuable cargo.

At the beginning of this mission, as usual, they had given him a stipend, meant to cover his food, lodging, transportation, and any medical care he may need. Continued exposure to the elements could have a significantly deleterious effect on his health, and given that travel was intrinsic to his occupation, when he had heard of a maker of quite high quality and compact steam carriages in the city, he had managed to string together justification to himself of the validity of finally purchasing one with embassy funds he had expressly been told were only for the necessities of discharging his duties.

Now, the only trick would be FINDING the bloody place.

An hour had passed before Bart's tender anklebone finally mended enough for him to put any amount of weight on it. But with his luck, he had already approached the front gates of glorious Nhylem by then. ...fuckin' A, just my luck. At least none of the guards bothered to hassle him on the way in, aside from a few small comments ("What happened to you, step on a landmine?").

Man, why's my cheek hurting? Slowly undoing the straps to his mask revealed the problem: a considerable dent on the lower-left side of the iron slab, no doubt from his equine opponent's punching. He'd need to find a blacksmith before heading back out into the wild frontier, and probably a tailor to help sew up some of the holes in his jacket. Not that the marketplace of the biggest Creature-and-being city in the region wouldn't have those, but between the quadruped formal menswear, chiropractors, shell-cleaners, magic ingredient and charm outlets, claw-sharpeners and talon shiners-- It was almost impossible to find a regular smithy between all the damned specialty shops. God damn, who demands this much shit? I could probably find a professional nose-picker in this zoo.

Nhylamar Market

The first thing to appear in Gabe's field of view as he came into the market was a rather imposing candy store... it was as if someone had taken a small, yet imposing, gothic style church, and then covered it with bright, happy colors, rounded out the points by slapping gumdrops on them, then proceeded to shift everything into the girlishly pink, faded neon orange, and a hideously bright green.  It's garish appearance, however, attracted children from all direction, as kids both winged and wingless could be spotted sprinting in with coins, and leaving with their sugary gains. 

A mythos was working the counter, a faded yellow and white creature made of tentacles and eyes... one could almost mistake it for a pointy cotton-candy monster, as the bulbous, body had loose, fluffy hair around the lumpy eye sockets.   A tentacle waved to Gabe through the glass door.


In front of the Wagons

The last thing Stephan saw, which came seemingly out of nowhere, was the metal-capped grip of the boxy weapon.  The blow came immidiately after he finished his ultimatum.  The hit took him just above the brow, and on the side of the head.  The squirrel felt dizzy, and for about a half second, his vision faded before he collapsed to the ground.

When he awoke it was difficult to tell how much time had passed.  It was still dark out, and the only thing that really seemed off was the entrance to his wagon seemed to have been left wide open.  The only sign of the being were tracks in the dirt, and if Stephan checked inside, he'd note a lot of stuff had been rummaged through, but most of it had been deemed junk.  Some of his coins were stolen, others still remained hidden.   A splitting headache ripped through the entirety of his skull, worse than earlier.  He could hear voices again, faint, but there, and he could taste something... almost as if it were in the air.  Bitter, sour, and salty.  It was a strange sensation as the headache grew with intensity.


Lamylar

The sun began to rise as night came and went.  Arroyo's boat was left undisturbed.  The morning mist was rolling across the slowly flowing gully.  The river itself was filled with heavy traffic, heavy boats were carrying large cargos delayed by train after yesterday's incident, along with the normal craft going through their usual routines.


Wolksheem Aerodrome

Bas hadn't been watching Zelah change, his focus had been on the Squirrel and Badger at the front desk.  They seemed to be doing their own thing, and as such, he left them to hug it out.  He approached from behind the pair.  "I'm terribly sorry to bother you, Sir and Miss... Is Joshua being rather unhelpful today?"

Flashing a knowing smirk at the man at the desk, Bas continued, "If you'll pardon the intrusion, I am Baseel Wolkshammar, and if there's anything i can do to assist you, please let me know."

The canine demon wore similar colors to the man at the desk, his uniform or more tailored, and flashier version to that of the weasel being.  Cyril would note that the signet ring, on the hand laid on the back of his chair matched that of the flag pinned to the wall behind the weasel being. 

Sister Adelaide would note the name sounded familiar.  The family was a patron of the order, and a rather generous contributor as well. 

Neither could detect any deceit in his words.


Westwynd Inn (Kyirri)

"it's 4 silver for a room, 1 for a meal... If you stay the night, the  5 for dinner and a room, also gets you a breakfast in the morning"  She replied in a chipper, pleasant tone.  Flashing a pleasant smile, as she waited for Kyirri's reply.


Nhylamar Badlands

Tez's first blade swipe caught the grip on a pistol, cleaved inward and took off the being's hand clean off.  The follow-up strike, an upward slash to position the next swing in a proper position to take the next target, slashed clean through the being's upper torso, spraying bits of gore and blood as it passed through.  However, his next slash was met with metal.  The being was holding a knife in his one hand, and a partially loaded revolver in the other.  The chocolate lab being flicked his hand to the side, slamming the half-loaded revolver drum into the ready position. 

Seth's stun spell knocked a long-haired feline off her feet.  She was out cold before she crumpled to the ground in a heap.  His attempt at firing the large-bore weapon one-handed proved rather fruitless, however, as the scattering of pellets passed between a pair of masked individuals who were both in a panic.  One carried a repeating pistol, the elegant design was simple, and it seemed to flow into position.  The being pulled a toggle, readying a round, as the masked figure's hand drifted towards Seth's chest.


Bar (Challam)

"They'll probably just send him along somewhere else to be more productive... We've got clan holdings in several towns in the area.  Several joint ventures with other clans, demon families, several mythos run cartels... we've expanded immensely in the last few decades, and we're always in need of talented individuals to perform various tasks."

As Dequlin finished his drink he gave a 2 fingered wave and got up, "I'd rather not get myself too sloshed... Take care, and perhaps i'll see you again."

The other Cubi started heading for the exit, leaving Challam 'alone' at the bar.


Yagsandras

In the market, Johan would find himself completely surrounded with just about any and every tool, trinket or toy he could conceive, along with several who's purpose he himself could not even begin to fathom.  The carriage maker, however, was nowhere to be found.  Several shop owners had waved to attempt to get the attention of the fennec. 

Sikici was greeted with a rather playful grin from the scantily clad lioness, "You lookin for something with a kick, something that's smooth... or something a bit lighter?"
A playful giggle as she crossed an arm under her bust, making the form 'enhancing' corset she wore, seem to prop her up even more.

The Cheetah angel could already see the towers as he made it to the upper deck of the Flamehaze, it wouldn't be but 5 minutes before he was at a docking tower.  A rather gruff and well armed looking officer, in the faded blue/gray of the Nhylamaran army greeted him.  He looked to be a mixed breed feline,  being, perhaps in his late thirties.  He waved Locke into the docking slip, and gave a shallow bow.  "Welcome to Yagsandras, Sir.  If you'd be so kind as to sign in, we can get things moving from there."
The airship had not completely docked yet, and could still maneuver.  The being was following along on a walking platform that ran well beyond the slip.  "Just a few questions before you land, good sir.  I can tell by the design that your ship is of Sevastia' Nyad build, and as such, a foreign vessel.  Could you please state your business, and how long you expect to stay in our fair city?"

Seth swore and holstered the weapon as his shot went astray.  Now was not the time to experiment with new weapons - it looked like he'd have to do things the old-fashioned way.  If I get out of this okay, I'd better invest in some firearms training, he thought.

One of the foes aimed at his chest - instinctively he wrapped one wing around it for protection, 'Cubi wings being the toughest part of their body.  Nonetheless, it might not stop a bullet completely and he wasn't about to find out the hard way.

The wolf threw himself sideways, still shielding himself with one wing and morphing the other into a long, thin - and razor-sharp - tentacle.  Thanks to the stun spell, it looked like they had one captive, and that made taking the others alive into a much lower priority.  A quick beheading might be enough to convince the others that they meant business.

Gabriel's eyes locked onto the candy shoppe, and he immediately pulled Walsh over. Five minutes later he came out with an eight pound sack of jujubes in his arms, and the stick of a lolly-pop thrusting boldly from the corner of his mouth.
     Right, then... He thought. Now that that's taken care of, back to business. Gotta find a job. Packing the sack into Walsh's baggage compartments, he mounted up and continued driving down the road.

Cyril turned his head, lowered his cup and saucer, and raised one brow. "Unhelpful? Oh, no. I wouldn't say so." He paused, delicately, for a fraction of a second, then delivered the next line, deadpan. "He hasn't done anything yet to be unhelpful about, that I've seen." He glanced down at the signet ring for just a moment, matching it to the crest he'd seen behind the aforementioned Joshua. Not to mention his memory of the more influential families in the surrounding kingdoms - something about Wolkshammer tickled the back of his mind, but failed to actually come forth and enlighten him as to what it was. Oh, well. It couldn't be that important.

He went on. "I, myself, am merely attempting to enquire after some associates, who appear to be somewhat delayed. However, I believe the lady there was before me, and I would hate her to think I was lacking in civility." He indicated the aforementioned doctor in white with a courteous wave of a paw. "If, after she has been assisted, I find myself still waiting on Joshua, however, I would be most grateful for any assistance you might feel it appropriate to provide."

Quote from: SpottedKitty on May 03, 2010, 07:04:37 PM
Zelah's eyes widened as she realised the wolf was replying to what she was thinking. She dropped her travelling bag — fortunately not on her toes or tail-tip — and made a few quick gestures with her right hand. Her eyes and fingertips glowed a deep violet for a few seconds as a crude but effective Being-type mind shield lumbered around her thoughts like a badly fitting sweater. "I'm, uh, sorry, I did it without, ah, thinking," she babbled nervously, "but I wouldn't go after Captain Wolkshammer, he's my CO, I couldn't hurt himmmf...!" She grabbed her muzzle with both hands and held it shut before she put her feet, complete with boots, any further into it. These people had to know what a 'Cubi was capable of, but how could they know she'd never gone on a seduction rampage before? She still didn't know if it was something that would just happen sometime, when the urge came on her. It didn't help that said CO was standing in the corner of her vision, one ear visibly cocked to hear their conversation.

She watched the wolf uncertainly, but still her lunge and hug took Zelah by surprise. The shorter feline 'Cubi made a squeaky meep noise as her tail fluffed out and her ears and whiskers laid back. The unexpected glomp pinned her arms against her sides, and she fought hard against the instinctive reaction to struggle, or rip a wing-tentacle through the back of her jacket to defend herself. "T-t-teach me?" she stuttered nervously. "Hmph, I suppose there's a lot I don't know... yes, I think I'd like that." She made a conscious effort to at least try to smile and calm herself down, smooth her tail fur, and bring her ears forward a little. She raised her hands and patted the wolf's back uncertainly as she began to return the hug. Her earler near-panic was fading. She was still very much on edge, but... was that a little hope she felt now, at last?

Breaking off the embrace Paige stepped back and again stared at the feline, a Smirk on her face. "I mean I can teach you the basics and our history, but for the more advanced stuff you'd need to go to the academy...But that's for later! For now lets go harass our boss." The wolfess said with a wink.

Grabbing at Zelah's hand she full intended to drag the smaller succubus over to where Baseel was standing if she had to.

Kyirri did some quick mental calculations on his finances, factoring in what he had, and what he'd need coming back. He nodded his head, counted the coins carefully, and then gave the mink the requested amount. He then proceeded to go off to where he would have his meal.

Stephan sat up and cradled his head in his hands. Whatever the being had hit him with had caused his headache to return with a vengeance, "I should have just blast him..." he mumbled. He stood up and took in the aftermath, it looked like they had been robbed; thankfully most of their money was in a bank. So he probably only made off with a few hundred or so silver at most.

Stephan fumbled with the door of his cart, and stumbled into the interior, and crashed into his bed.

Zelah semaphored her ears for a moment at the wolf's reply. Academy? What did she mean by that — a school for Creatures like her? With what little she knew about her own nature, her mind boggled at the thought of what some of the classes there might be like... and some of the teachers.

The feline 'Cubi grabbed for the handle of her travel bag as the wolf towed her across the room. She cocked one ear and twitched her whiskers at the idea of giving her new CO a hard time already, but the wolf's cheerfulness was infectious. She reminded herself that over the years she'd had a few ideas she'd always wanted to try, but she hadn't dared do them with — or to — a relatively fragile normal Being. Besides, she thought rather mischievously, weren't Demons supposed to have a lot more natural — and unnatural — toughness and stamina?

As she came within earshot of Captain Wolkshammer she got a better look at the two winged Creatures he was talking to: both Angels, she thought. A grey-furred rodent of some kind with pink hair, possibly a squirrel, although some features didn't look quite right for that, and a... a pink badger? She'd seen some odd fur colours among the airship's crew, but this was nudging the line into downright funny-looking. Their emotions were just as varied. The grey... squirrel? some kind of fluffy mouse? had so much annoyance pouring off her, she seemed almost ready to bite someone. The badger — and where had he got that cup (with saucer!) of tea? — appeared calmer, but Zelah thought she could feel something else, some kind of dark humour maybe, lurking below the surface of his mind where she couldn't sense it clearly.

The four legged mech loomed over the Undead ocelot, the metallic behemoth and it's occupants completely unaware of of her. A stray round, the mech stepping in the right direction, and Lucy would be killed.

Or would she? True she heard that an Undead could be dismembered and not only survive, but  not feel a thing. Some Rather disturbing reports even pointed that an Undead could still control their severed body parts.

never the less she did not want to figure out for herself.

She peaked out from behind the fallen tree, spotting the Raider. Well, she thought it was a Raider. He seemed Ahnkian but she doubted these guys were military. Maybe Deserters. Too small and far away to be a full blown unit and too heavily armed to be a scouting party.

Lucy readied her trusty revolver, pulling back the hammer, her yellow eyes looking down the sights. The raider hadn't seen her yet...she had a clear shot.

Arroyo yawned as he got up, followed by a sudden fall from the passing boat's horns. "What the-" He looked at the clock that hung on the cabin's wall. He knew from that second that he overslept by half an hour and traffic has started up. He quickly ran up the ladder, dressing himself and stumbles a bit as he starts up his boat.

The boat moved and started to slowly drift into the backed up river for his destination.

Adelaide recognized the name. After all, it was the Samara Wolkshammar Memorial Hospital she was now assigned to and she had brushed up on her new assignment during her long zeppelin ride. "It seems that your employees are in need of customer service training. They appear to believe that leaving passengers standing for two hours without even asking if they need assistance is acceptable." She nodded a slight bow to the young demon, "Dame Doctor Adelaide Montague. I'm trying to locate my missing transport to the local hospital." As an afterthought she added a companionable nod to the badger who had backed her up on the ferret's uselessness.

Past Baseel's shoulder she could see two cubi approaching. They would get quite a surprise if they got too close to her emotion dampening spell.

Challam waved farewell to his kin, and then set about finishing his drink. He felt a little overwhelmed with all that had happened. Sure, there had been letters back and forth, but the focus had always been Challam, his school-work, and any odd encounters with cubi from other clans (or the near constant probing to see if he'd found a mate). Yes, his family had never relented with the pressure, not for a moment.

He smirked wistfully at the memories for a moment, but then felt the anxiety of his return home set back in. He'd rather expected to be the city boy returning to the rural town, not the other way around! But it seemed that near-constant school-work had made him forget that the world kept turning outside of SAIA.

He finished his drink, and left his payment on the counter, before heading for the door. He'd decided to follow his kin's advice instead, and get a room at the local inn to relax. He passed the mythos guard on his way out, gathered his things, and set off into the night.

Market Place and Job Hunt

The unicorn was wandering northern Nhylamar, and attempting to find a fresh soul-stone for her armor was proving a bit more difficult than she'd have liked.  The governmental channels seemed to be out, so, she had to go to the private sector.  Rumor had it there were both legal and black market stones in this northern city, and given the proximity to Voethfel, she could always try some of their cities if this trip proved unfruitful.

Her mech was safely stored in one of the several armories this city held.  The magical locks there would prevent anyone from even considering an attempt at stealing her war machine.

She was in a rather populated part of the market, several airship captains could be seen around her, along with a couple mercenary recruiters... of the ones she could see advertising, none were very reputable.  Most were little better than pirates, if that.


Gabriel would see the brightly colored unicorn as his bike headed further into the market district.  The area was where many ship captains could be found buying supplies, weapons, and hiring people for various missions.  It was fairly easy to tell which captains were better off.  The clothing was a decent clue, but the weapons, and fine details were far more telling.  

He'd note a wolfish angel sporting a truly impressive hat, wearing a fine long-coat of a dark navy laced with red.  What appeared to be solid gold buttons.  She appeared to be shmoozing around a couple of mechanic shops as far as Gabe could tell. She looked looked like a promising start.  Other than the angel, a large pair of horns peaked out over the crowd by a good several inches, though Gabe couldn't see the owner.


Nhylamar Creature Market (Bart)

As the demon stumbled into the market, the first thing he'd note was the sheer number of buildings, kiosks, and carts.  Everywhere he could see, there was a venerable wave  of creatures.  Gryphons, Angels, Phoenixes, Demons, and Mythos of all kinds.  Beings seemed to be rare here.  They seemed to avoid this particular section of the expansive markets here.  A massive mythos, a ball of slimy green tentacles, and massive muscles was busy making swords of truly impressive size.  

A phoenix had a stand full of rather massive firearms.  The shells she was selling were of an extraordinary size compared to the small pea-shooters Bart was used to seeing.  I say shells because bullets is the wrong word, the mental  image most have when one says bullet is of something small, concealable ammunition.  These projectiles and casings are neither small, nor very concealable.  The hand-portable cannons before the shark-ish demon seemed more akin to something a being would weld onto a war machine, than something a creature would saunter into combat with.  They were all revolvers, and all were polished to a bright sheen in the afternoon sun.  Most had chrome barrels, emphasizing their size and power.    

Another booth seemed to house a general purpose metal-worker.  A gazelle angel, who'm seemed rather busy repairing a section of plate with a couple of holes the size of Bart's fist.


Westwynd Inn  

Kyirri couldn't sense anything off as he was brought a good sized bowl of hearty soup, and a large roll.  Looking to be a meal portion designed for one of a larger race.  Compared to what he was used to, the chunks of meat, and vegetables swimming about in the thick broth.  The pleasant aroma, combine with the warmth made this meal feel like a feast.  Especially compared to what he was used to.

The mink smiled warmly from the counter, giving a clear "hope everything is to your liking" look.


Aeliseium Forest  

The Ahnk Mech shoved several trees out of the way.  Realizing it was losing this chase.  The mech made an abrupt turn towards the river.  It seemed to be heading off, possibly trying to leave the area before the brothers could report the raider's position to the authorities.

Lucy's pistol snarled as it's heavy metal slug flew forth.  It caught the masked insectis square in the back.   The figure crumpled instantly, twitching as it's bodily fluids drained through the new opening in it's carapace.  The taller mech started strolling into view, a little further away as it headed into and the across the river.  It appeared to be fleeing.


Wolksheem Aerodrome  

Addy was greeted with a toothy smile from the demon dog.  His attention went from the weasel at the desk, then back to Sister Adelaide, "Apologies for this offence, madam.  If you'd care to accompany me for the evening, i'm in grave doubt of anyone being available this time of night to take you to the hospital.  However, my family's hospitality is always extended to members of the order.  If you don't mind spending the night in-city, we can get you a transport first thing in the morning.  I myself can assure you of that, as tomorrow's flight-plan for the MJOLNIR takes us almost directly over the site."

His back was turned, and gave no sign at all he was paying attention to either cubi girl.  They had complete and utter surprise for whatever they had planned for Bas.  


(OOC NOTE: i'll add more tomorrow, however, sleep needs are starting to effect the quality of writing and thoughts...)

Grinning more like the Cheshire cat than a wolf, Paige dragged her willing (yet unwitting) accomplice over to where Captain Wolkshammer was chatting with an aerodrome official and a pair of what looked like stranded travelers.

Stopping behind him, then leaning out to the side, she winked at the Angel, and proceeded with her plan. "Baseel!, I can't believe your dumping us so soon, and for an Angel no less!" She said in a mock upset voice, but she was grinning wickedly at Addy, although she was ready to look distressed the moment Captain Wolkshammer turned around.   

Zelah felt an odd tickling sensation where her headwings usually were as she approached Captain Wolkshammer and the two Angels. She didn't realise what was happening, though, until she stopped beside the wolf 'Cubi — she couldn't feel anyone's emotions, and the constant whispering of unshielded thoughts had been silenced. It made her uneasy and uncomfortable: as if she were in a room full of people muttering to themselves, and suddenly she'd put her head into a big box of feathers. Was it an attack of some kind, even here in the Captain's home base? Was it a natural effect of coming too close to another 'Cubi? Was it a spell of some kind? If so, it was a kind of magic she hadn't encountered before.

Zelah was so distracted she almost missed hearing what the wolf said as she all but draped herself over Captain Wolkshammer. Ohmygawd, she thought, aghast. What are you doing, woman, he's a Demon and they look like powerful Creatures — don't annoy them or embarrass them!

Ohmygawd, he's your CO!

Ohmygawd, and mine!

She tried not to let her mental velocipede crash show on her face, but she couldn't avoid letting her ears and whiskers droop, and it felt like her tail had at least one kink in it.

Josephina made her way through the crowded market space as best she could. As always, she had gone to significant lengths to look like an ordinary being; her wings were hidden, as they almost always were these days. Though she was wearing one of her plainer dresses, it was still more extravagant than the local fare.

No... perhaps that wasn't quite true. The local pirate and mercenary captains were all dressed as sharply as they could afford; crisp military uniforms surrounded her on all sides, bedecked with medals and awards of questionable authenticity. It was no doubt a ploy to present themselves as something other than hardened criminals... but Josephine knew there was more to it that that. These people wanted respect... authority. Dignity.

She was no better dressed than many of the robber barons here. But she was certainly the only one wearing an extravagant gown; an elegant Victorian affair, bedecked with ruffled blue silk and cinched with a wasp-waist corset. Even the women who held rank here preferred straight-cut jackets and slacks. Among these cut-throats, a dress was not a show of strength or power.

Nor was it a uniform. Her outfit showed no trace of actual rank or affiliation; she looked like any other upper-class citizen. The only symbol of rank or authority she wore was currently clasped at her hip... a strange sort of mechanized rapier. The bell and pistol-grip were intricately decorated with jewels and metalwork, like the rapier of a duelist. Instead of a metal blade, the length of the sword resembled a violin bow; a long, metal shaft, strung with metal wires on one side. Though the sword's function was not obvious, it's form was clear. It was a cavalryman's sabre; the sword used by mechanized infantry. It was a symbol of office first and foremost, but a real weapon nonetheless. This delicate noble's daughter was a pilot.

She kept her eyes sharp, and her ears open. She knew quite a bit about the kind of replacement parts she needed, and had already declined several merchants who had offered substandard wares. Of course, she was also in the market for employment... and suffered from the same problem. She had already declined several offers for work that were substandard, or too poorly financed. Or worse... morally questionable.

She attempted to maintain her graceful demeanour while she considered lowering her standards... an unpleasant thought. As always, she would have to see through the sales pitch to what actually lay beyond.

(OOC: Something like these. (http://www.bustledress.com/aab/lisa/article.pics/victorian.fashion.plates/misc.fashion.plates/1879.victorian.dresses.1880.jpg) But blue and silver.)

Gabriel perused the crowd, measuring up the potentials.

The demon looks like a good choice, but you can never really tell with those sorts. He thought.

Gee, isn't that a pretty dress...

A unicorn..? Gabriel frowned. I can't remember if they count as beings or creatures... I don't think they have any fancy magics or such. She has a right prim bearing, tho... could be an aristocrat or an officer, or the like... Gabriel cut off mid thought as he spotted something dangling from the ladies hip.

A cavalry saber. Mechanized cavalry.

Gabriel brought Walsh about, and matched speed with the slender unicorn. "Beggin a moment of your time?" He said. He continued without waiting for a response, talking swiftly. "I couldn't help notice your right sharp blade and bearing, ma'am; y'must be an upstanding officer." He tugged the brim of his hat in greeting. "M'name's Gabriel Cartwright, mechanic and engineer, an' ahm looking for gainful emplyment with a fine an' proper person such as y'r elf. I can strip down and tune up any hardware ever seen on the feild of battle, from any nation you can name, an' I can pick wreck clean as fast as you can make one."

He put on his best smile, and gave the lady the widest, brightest, and hopeful eyes he could muster. "If y'd be so kind an' generous as to give a young tinkerer a spot of work to earn his supper, I'd be right honoured."

"I got letters o' recommendation, if ya need 'em..." He said.

The lady turned towards Gabriel with a look on her face that suggested she was expecting to address a little child. Her look changed to one of surprise as she realized that this particular child was sitting on a motorized bi-cycle that might have been several times as large as it's driver.

It was just as well that Gabriel continued his spiel without hesitation, for the lady was stunned into a sort of mild speechlessness. The idea of a child working on massive, complex machinery seemed unthinkable. Then again...

The lady stopped walking, and crouched down low enough to gander at the bi-cycle. She gazed at it for a time, and then rose to look him directly in the eyes. It was hard to tell how much of that puppy-dog look was the result of carefully rehearsed manipulation. Not all of it, though...

"Let's see about this." She drew her sabre from it's belt-loop, holding it by the 'blade' such that he could see the handle. The bell itself, in addition to being ornate and bejeweled, had a number of tiny mechanisms built into it. Indeed, the hilt was an actual, spring-mounted grip. It wasn't that different than the control lever on a motorcycle's handlebar... though it looked more like an over-sized trigger.

"See what you can make of it, lad. If you can tell me where she came from, and what you think of her, I'll see those letters of yours."

Kyirri ate his meal rather quickly. It felt good on his stomach, eating like this was a luxury to him. Most of the time he'd have to scrape on by with whatever he could get. He didn't think too much about that though, fatigue was weighing down on him, leaving his senses dulled. He avoided making eye contact with anyone around. After he ate, he went up to his room.

Gabriels eyes flicked over the blade once or twice. He made no move to touch it. When he looked back up to the unicorn, his face had gone from enthusiasm to focused intent.

He could have said a dozen things about the blade at this point.

He locked eyes with her. "It's... 'Aeliseian.'" He said, in a very deliberate tone.

Josephina watched the boy, paying especial note to the pause in his sentence. It certainly implied that he knew more than he was letting on. That alone was noteworthy.

It would have to do for now. She offered the boy a quick nod, and spoke quietly. "I have yet to purchase a replacement part for my materiel. It may be a long... and possibly fruitless search; you can go fetch your papers if you haven't them here. Otherwise, your welcome to follow aside while I browse. I'll either be here, or at the seventh vault in the industry complex. Well... probably, I'll be at the salon just across the street. If you can call it that."

"Oh, my manners!" She offered a slight bow at the waist and a gentle smile. "Josephine. No titles or ranks to worry about... for now. "

Unfortunately for the cubi Adelaide had absolutely no sense of playfulness on the best of days, for which this day hadn't qualified. She stared discouragingly at the woman. "I'm a demon," was her only response, aside from ruffling her large feathered wings as if daring a contradiction. The ferret cubi had put the whole race into disgrace for the day as far as the chinchilla was concerned and she wasn't going to encourage their racial insanity.

She pulled herself together and managed her fragile smile at the young demon. "Thank you very much for your generosity. It's a pleasure to see that hospitality isn't a completely lost art around here." She tossed a glare at the ferret, intensifying the spell a bit at the same time to let him know that nothing was forgiven.

Gabriels smile reappeared. "Thank you kindly, Miss Josephina. If you want to see 'em, I have my papers stowed on Walsh, here." He patted the bike. "But then, I could say the same for all my worldly possessions. If you can't find the part you need, I can fabricate a replacement. All I'd need are the materials and a shop to work in."

Gabriel brought the bike alongside Josphina, and matched her pace.

Josephina nodded when Gabriel mentioned the papers, but shook her head when he spoke of fabricating a new part. "Well... unfortunately, the component I need is somewhat of a specialty item. I need one of these..."

She tapped a finger on one of the more prominent jewels on the hilt of her saber.

"...but larger. Much larger."

Gabriel covered a breif look of consternation with a tug on the brim of his hat. "Well, ma'am, I suppose you'll have to find someone else to provide that service." He said.

Wolksheem Aerodrome

Bas turned to give Paige an indignant look.  The fact that the Angel seemed to be already cross had him worried.  "Miss Sheppard, my family have been strong patrons of the Order of St. Vesalius.  This is family business... not personal entertainment.  So, if you'll excuse me for a moment, I'll be tending to something that -does- seem to require my personal attention."

Turning back to Sister Addy, Bas gave a weaker smile, "apologies  for the interruption, madam.  As i was saying, it would be an honor if you'd accompany me to the castle... I'm certain the Duke and Dame Wolkshammar would be delighted to play host to you for the evening." 

Giving a formal bow, the demon flourished an arm towards the stairs leading down away from the weasel's desk, and towards the city outside.

In the background of all this, a being frog was doodling some art, passing the time while waiting for one of the several people rumored to be able to get him into the Voethfellian Arcane Archive.  The congregation hadn't seemed to notice him, though a passing creature, a rather extravagantly dressed taur type mythos,  dropped a small precious stone in the hat he'd rather nonchalantly left on the bench... apparently the passerbyer  deemed the being in need of charity. 


Outside the Bar

As Challam left the bar, he crossed paths with several people going about their nightly tasks.  Their thoughts were murky, difficult to make out.  Perhaps he'd had more alcohol than expected, a sleepy haze fell over the cubi.  The smell of acrid smoke, coal smoke, came from behind.  Several shouts, thoughts still hazy, Challam couldn't even make out their intent.  Suddenly his mind hit a crystal clarity... A good deal of anger was suddenly in the air, followed by a dark figure shouting, "Halt, Cubi! Stay where you are, and keep your hands where i can see them!"

In the distance, Will could hear the panic to start to break out.  The orange glow of the flame flickering off some low clouds in the evening sky.  The faintest taste and smell of smoke touched his lips and nose as he continued on his path, completely undeterred.


Nhylamar Market

The horns that Gabe had spotted earlier had disappeared into the crowd, vanishing somewhere deeper into the sprawling market district.    The mention of a soul-stone meant money, a good deal of money at that.  Stones were hard enough to come-by, especially legally. 

A few of the merchants had heard and seen the subtle move that Josephina had made.  The top of the line wares were being brought out.  Weapons, armor, clothing, exotic dyes.  The types of items that would generally cost more than the average person just browsing would be willing to pay.  In one of the back alleys, a rather mangy looking oxen seemed to be staring at the hilt of the unicorn's sword.  He opened his long-coat, revealing the dark, purple-toned, elongated teardrop shaped, and about fist sized stone.  The kind of stone that generally held the soul of a moderately powerful being, or a weaker creature.


Nhylamar Badlands 

Seth was fast enough with his tentacles, the being hadn't expected the move.  Seth's aim was a little low, though, as the being tried to jump back, the blade snicker-snacked between the ribs, the being fell flat on his back, gasping for breath, though mortally wounded.  He'd die in a few seconds.  Seth could feel pain and fear radiating from the victim... He wouldn't have time to focus on the thoughts however, he had just enough warning that another being was trying to at least slow him down as a bullet clipped the very edge of his shielding wing.

The projectile may have actually missed, it was tough to tell, though his wing's edge felt hot.  On the far side of his wing, a being holding a shotgun was busy pumping the action, loading a new shell.  Shit, how'd i miss?! the being  thought, with a bit of an incredulous edge.  The emotion was mixed with his panic and horror.


Westwynd Inn

Kyirri's room was plain, a simple quilt, a simple stuffed mattress, clean sheets, a bathroom with working plumbing, and a small night-stand.  The room was rather Spartan, painted a shade of gray that made it seem dark.  It was a place to rest, nothing more, nothing less.

Locke had returned the slight bow and was ready with the variety of papers and documents necessary for making port in a Nhylamar city.  On the bridge deck and in the main portion of the ship, close to where other could just see from the outside, his mechanical maids busied themselves.  This was more a show that the ship was crewed, or seemingly so, to outsiders in an attempt to stave off casual, larcenous individuals.

Presenting the carefully organized paperwork, he politely answered the feline's question, "just doing a bit of shopping mostly, a few bits of equipment and perhaps even an extra hand or two aboard.  I have been to Nhylamar before, but not Yagsandras specifically.  As such I might spend a day or two in port."

Sikici honestly had no idea what the lioness was talking about, assuming that she wasn't talking literally. That would be silly; who ever heard of a drink that kicked you? How would you drink such a drink? If you tried to take a sip, it would kick you in the face. The angel was of the opinion that it would be difficult to drink anything if it tried to kick you in the face while you did so. What was a drink that was smooth? As in... smooth with the ladies, kind of smooth? Or smooth with regards to texture? Was a light drink a drink that did not weight very much? So confusing.

"I honestly have no idea what you just said. Let's pretend I understood all that, and ordered a lighter drink. Is that acceptable?"

Underneath his fur, Seth's face flushed at the pain and fear of his dying prey.  This was why he'd spent time as a bounty hunter - it had offered a ready supply of these darker emotions at no overall cost to society.  Much as it pained him to admit it, he liked them - he scarcely felt it as a bullet took off a couple of feathers.
"Forgive me," he said.

Another Being was taking aim and Seth was forced to turn his attention away from the dying man.  As he turned to face his attacker, his wings swivelled to keep them facing the other minds, protecting his back and the back of his head.
He let fly a fireball at the shotgun - aiming at the middle, it should at worst, deflect his aim.  If he was lucky, it would ignite any wooden parts, and maybe scorch the guy's hand into the bargain.  If not, he'd have to trust in his wings' protection and jump - preferably in the opposite direction to last time.  Keep them on their toes...

Where is that Creature? he wondered briefly.  Is he hurt?  Pain was pain... the incubus hadn't been paying much attention to where it came from, as long as it wasn't his own.

Cyril turned one eye to watch the companions of the demon yclept Baseel sneak up behind him, smirk, and then whine at him. One corner of his lips twitched, watching, although the smooth, calm surface emotions of his mind didn't twitch; the amusement was deeper than that, it seemed.

At the chinchilla's response, however, he raised one eyebrow, briefly, and ran a fairly professional eye over her. Large, feathered white wings, fluffy grey fur, all the signs pointed to more Angel blood than Demon. However, it wasn't his place to gainsay her statement. After all, for all he knew, she was more Demon than Angel. And, either way, it was her business, not his. Not gentlemanly to mention it, however, so he merely lowered the brow again and went back to looking inscrutable.

In response to the various introductions, he proffered his own. "Sir Cyril Whittington-Smythe, at yours. The Fifth, that is." He brushed an imaginary crumb from his lapel, and continued. "I'm apparently here to meet a diplomatic delegation, although since they seem to be as disorganised as my original selection." He glanced over at the irritable ferret, and the two slightly confused ladies closing on Baseel. Based on the slightly confused and dazed expression on one of their faces, and the matching irritable look on the weasel, there was more than one Cubi around being affected by the slightly obnoxious spell that the Dame Doctor had cast. He made a quick mental note to inquire after obtaining a copy of it for later use. And, also, to figure out precisely what it did, since it didn't seem as universal as might be preferable...


He glanced at the indicated arm. "Am I included in this invitation, or should I look forward to the pleasurable company of your weasel, there?"

The gleaming finish of the handcannons immediately caught Bart's eye, drawing him over to the phoenix's stand like a siren call. Such fine, deadly weapons, easily capable of blowing the head off a troll at thirty yards. He soon drifted off into testosterone-addled fantasy...

This is what it means to be a warrior for a whole new era: a bitchin' trenchcoat, steel toe boots planted firmly on the back of whatever Creature you blew to Kingdom Come, a revolver twirling in your right hand, and a dame hanging off the other. Preferably something leggy like a serval or antelope, and in tattered clothing for whatever reason. "Don't worry, sweetheart," you croon in a handsome baritone, "'cause there's nothing to fear when a Thom'sen's at your side..."

He snapped out of dream just in time to realize he'd been slavering over her stock for almost twelve seconds. "...uh, pardon me. D-did you make all of these yourself?"

Being the Succubus she was Paige took Baseel's rebuff in stride, even winking at the Badger who she'd caught the almost smile from. Turning to Zelah she tried no to laugh at the feline's reaction.

Patting her on the cheek, Paige smiled at her. "Hun you really need to relax a bit more, it all in the name of fun, especially for an 'old' air pirate like me." Pausing she looked around for a moment with a wistful smile.  "You want to head up to the castle? Or how about some shopping?"

Aelisium Forest

  As the Storm Scorp continued back up deeper into the forest, Gaakronacht suddenly noticed something...the thunderous footsteps of the Ahnk'Ator steam mech were suddeenly getting fainter.
  "Gezz! I think he's running!"
  "Perfect! He's probably facing away from us again! After him!"
  Gaakronact stopped the Storm Scorp, then once again moved it forward. Suddenly, he remembered something Lieutenant Taige had said before they got separated. "Gezz, do we even have any flare rounds?"
  Gezzemocht froze in place for a moment, then jumped out of his seat. "We will in a moment!" He clambered over the side of his secondary cockpit, and hung off of a few rungs on the Scorp's side while opening up one of the storage compartments with his other hand. He grabbed out a box of shells for their pistols, a special compartmented box with various powders, and a few little bits of scrap metal before climbing back up into his cockpit. He pulled a tool off his bandolier, and started dissecting one of the pistol shells.
   As Gaakronacht continued to move the Storm Scorp foward, he suddenly heard a sharp crack off to the side, the sound of an unmistakeable gunshot. Both brothers whipped their heads around, and saw that someone they hadn't seen before had just shot one of the hostile infantry. They couldn't quite make out her features, but she was definitely wearing Aelisium clothing, and was also certainly not military. Gaakronact called out to her, "Take cover, citizen!" before continuing the mech foward, keeping a close eye out, waiting for the moment he could see the Ahnk'Ator machine through the tree trunks...

Yagsandras Market

Seeing that the trip to the market, at least for it's original purpose, seemed to be something of a bust, Johan decided to at least make it worth it somehow, and the rainwater forcing him to make a tactical retreat under his hat gave him just the idea as to what he should be looking for. He ducked into the nearest clothier, brushing his large ears down with his fingers near the entrance rather than dripping all over the floor.

"Now, to find a nice umbrella." he murmured, and started looking around.

Well it seemed Challam had figured out his aunt's secret of sobriety shattering. He was 'pleasantly' drunk, and quite enjoying it as well. He didn't even quite notice the smell of smoke at first, but after a few whiffs he began to look about in a somewhat dazed state, when someone promptly accosted him from behind.

"Whoa! Hey!" Challam called, putting both his hands in the air and looking over his shoulder. "What's the problem??" He asked in a confused manner..

Josephine noticed the 'subtle shift' almost immediately, and it taxed her dwindling reserves of tact. She had been trying not to be obvious about what she wanted, for fear of attracting the wrong kind of attention. Then again, she would have had to attempt a purchase eventually... and she wasn't exactly going through proper channels anyhow.

She nearly put her hand to her sword when the alley-dealer reached to open his coat. At the sight of the stone, her eyes narrowed. She stepped forward, lifted a hand slightly, and cast one of the precious few spells she knew by heart. She was no sorceress, not by far... but she knew her stones.

The spell extended her innate empathic ability. A glowing aura appeared around the stone, like the telling aura that hovered around all sentient creatures. The aura revealed the stone's temperament, but not in the form of emotions and surface thoughts. This aura, if you knew what to look for, could reveal many things; the quality and power of the soul within. Any evidence of astral corrosion or scarring, perhaps caused by shoddy enchanting or abusive treatment. And, above all, it revealed whether the soul had been taken by force; ripped from a body with neither permission nor right.

That last one was all too likely. Willing soulstones were one in a million; the stuff of myth and legend. She would still buy it if it wasn't... but she had to know.

Looks so cozy, a bath and some good rest would really do me well... Kyirri thought as he surveyed the room. Still, no reason to get comfy just yet... He surveyed the room more thoroughly, looking for other possible exits or entrances, perhaps a window. He then searched around for anything he could use to barricade the door. He also examined the door, looking to determine what kind of lock it used, and how secure it appeared.

Instinct is a truly funny thing. Especially when two different instincts clashed.

Lucy had just experienced just a clash. The Beaver had seen her. Though thankfully they hadn't noticed she was biologically deceased.

Her most primal instinct told he to hide, to dig herself to flee before she was soon looking down the barrel of a scattergun. However, another part of her brain wrestled control away from her animalistic impulses for survival.

"Hey, sorry but that ain't happening! I'm kinda trapped under a goddamn tree, but, you know, I'll get to gnawing my own leg off right now!" She yelled back, her tone a sardonic one.

Yet again, her sarcasm flashed it's sharp tongue in the face of a crisis.

Zelah's ears flattened for a moment before twitching erect again, although her expression seemed to be as much annoyance as agitation. Something was interfering with the ability she'd pretty much taken for granted the last couple of hundred years, to hear unshielded thoughts and taste even stifled or inhibited emotions. This sudden blankness had pushed her off-balance, but she realised the wolf 'Cubi — Shepherd, the Captain had called her — didn't seem bothered by it. Was she shielded somehow, or was she just used to the muffled sensation?

... or had she caused it?

"Um..." Zelah said decisively, "I'd prefer to go to the castle with the Captain first, and get settled in. Shopping can wait until some other time." Besides, she thought, until I know more about you, Shepherd, I'm not going to turn my back on you, or go anywhere alone with you. Okay, you seem to be friendly enough — that perkiness, though, it'll grate at my nerves after a while! — but I wouldn't even know your name if the Captain hadn't mentioned it just now.

Just as she was about to turn towards the exit Wolkshammer had indicated, she glanced curiously at the grey-furred rodentlike Creature. She'd said she was a Demon, but wasn't it Angels who were supposed to have feathered wings? These Creatures were crazy...

Will had to catch his breath; even though he had forced himself to walk away as sedately as he could muster the will for, he still felt giddy, exalted. He had made several turns and doublings back through the streets, and could feel the warmth off to his right, air toasted radiating out from the coals and the beams, spreading a warm front throughout the hamlet. Trying to contain himself, he made his way to one of the larger, yet rougher cobbled houses in a nicer section of town, and hauled himself up the side, shortly attaining the rooftop, from which he stretched out and watched the cackling flames consume the building he had visited.

He sat. He stared. There was this one bull in his construction team, a lumbering oaf, but Will liked him. Tom was almost certainly asleep, but he wondered how the burly being would view the fire. Probably as more opportunity to work, another chunk of jink to bring home.

The foreman would be mad if he weren't at his barracks come dawn, but Will had sat up enough nights to know that there was always a fake dawn before the true one, a small lighting in the eastern sky. It would give him enough time to scramble back to the workplace and pretend to have been in bed all night.


He lay down on his back, bundled up his little satchel so that he could crane his neck towards the inferno without too much discomfort. When his pants got wet, he shifted his gaze skyward. Someone once told him that the stars were nothing more than huge gas fires, billions of miles away, far enough away so that they didn't appear like the sun. The idea fascinated him, and he entertained a brief flight of fancy of traveling to the glorious scorching masses.

Nhylamar Badlands

The few remaining pirates proved to be short work for the pair of cubi...  Little more than nicks and scrapes tarnished their appearance, practically nothing compared to the dead and dismembered bodies which littered the ground at their feet.  The pirate female was out cold, though having a rather terrible nightmare, as a wave of fear radiated from her form, curled into the fetal position, attempting to protect itself from some unseen assailant .


Around the Wagons

Sounds crept back into the squirrel cubi's ears, someone was entering the area.  Still dazed, and bruised from the pistol-whipping,  Stephan had no idea who it was.  Nothing seemed quite right just yet, though that was probably just the headache.  It seemed to be getting worse, again.


Wolksheem Aerodrome

Bas snickered, "I'm sorry, Paige, but we'll be holding off on the shopping until tomorrow.  We're doing a supply run for some additional shells for MJOLNIR's main guns, along with having a good deal of free time.  As such, tomorrow, you can shop to your heart's content.  For now, I am heading for the castle."

Turning his head and attention to the badger, who'd introduced himself as part of the diplomatic entourage, the demon replied, "It is a privilege, Mr. Whittington-Smythe... Perhaps they've been delayed, or perhaps some beauracrat in the group decided to throw hissy-fit about being forced to leave their office-work behind..." 

Giving a shrug, the demon continued, " As an ambassador, it would be improper not to extend the offer to you as well, good sir..."  Addressing the collection as a whole, Bas said, "If you'd please follow me, it is but a short trip to the castle, though be sure to approach the carts from the rear.  I've had a few close calls not following my own advice, and those gryphons pulling the carts can be a bit... cheeky"

With a smirk, Bas headed outside, several large, dart-like carts were resting on the ground, perhaps a half-dozen 4 person carts, each attached to a fair sized gryphon (Gryphon B for Demonology) about the size of a large horse of the Clydesdale breed.


Yagsandras Docking Tower

The feline gave a polite nod as he jotted down some notes.  "Nothing really to worry about then.  If you're staying for too much longer, just remember to check in with the dock-master to secure yourself a more permanent hanger to rent.  For now, just pull into the slip, and you're  cleared for your stay, Sir."

As he finished, the feline officer took a quick turn then disappeared from view.  A massive release of magical energy and the faint tinges of a teleport spell.  Apparently he'd left the Angel to do as he pleased


Strip Club (Sikici)

Grinning, practically ear to ear, the lioness replied, "How about i get you some water, and you can figure out what else you want from there?   Sound good?"  She didn't really wait for a reply before heading back to the bar.  She was going to give the Angel a few minutes regardless.


Clothing Store (Johan)

The store he'd entered was filled with  various styles of coats, pants, formal ware, and dresses.  At first glance, there wasn't an umbrella to be found, merely coats.  Sitting at the counter was a older looking, narrow handed aardvark.  He was thin, twig-like, though appeared nimble as he stitched the seam on a skirt.  He took a few moments to finish the work he was doing before pointing towards the back wall.  There were several style of umbrella, hidden from Johan's initial view by several display pieces.  It was almost as if the store owner knew what he was thinking.

A few moments later, the same aardvark appeared, though with leathery wing-stubs, long tentacles led back into his workshop area, as he asked, "Iz zhere anytheeg eh cahn 'elp 'ew viz, good  zehr?"  He spoke in a have accent, difficult to tell exactly where, though his headwings were also visible now...


Nhylamar Market (Josephine and Gabe)

Josephine could feel that the soul was that of a being.  Definitely taken by force, and taken in combat.  The soul was stronger than most, probably a mercenary, or officer of some kind.  The stone itself appeared to be in decent condition, perhaps reused 2 or 3 times at most, and it's quality was remarkable, clearly purchased initially from a government broker.  The soul was also quite fresh, no less than a few weeks old.   

Sitting atop his bike, Gabe could clearly see the shady looking individual as well.  The pair of horns from earlier also resurfaced for a blink, before disappearing into another shop a few blocks up.  The crowd was moderately dense, not packed shoulder to shoulder, yet not barren... There were enough people, with a solid enough flow, that making a b-line for the store would be all but impossible.

Gunsmith (Bart)

The phoenix, wearing a skirt, tight fitting top, with a looser coat, looked rather petite, especially given the size of some of the weapons in her shop.  Some of the pistol seemed to have bores that were larger, around, than her thumbs.   She giggled, in a horribly feminine way.  "What type of small shop keeper doesn't sell their own wares, my mysterious and toothy friend?"  She said in a soft soprano.

Reaching under her counter, Bart could hear the shift of something metal scraping against the wooden stand.  "Since you seem -very- interested,  I thought i'd pull out something... special... just  for you."

A bit of snicker escaped her beak as she set the tiny pistol on the counter top.  It glimmered with the inlaid gem-stones, the slightly pinkish-toned pearl handle of the derringer set on top.  A rearing horse in silver was etched into the small grip.

The pistol was an over-under barrel style, and clearly designed for a woman.  "Most powerful gun in stock" the phoenix girl chortled with delight, as she smugly grinned at the demon.


Aelisium Forest

The path the taller mech had taken was clear, though it had made a sudden turn.  Tracking it would be difficult, it's footsteps echoed through the woods, and with the turn, despite it's size and bulk, the great war-machine had managed to escape.  As it reached a second river perhaps a half-mile down the road, it all but disappeared, moving faster than the storm-scorp could ever hope to achieve.  Behind it, a few shards of metal, along with the dead insectis on the ground.

Outside the Burning Bar

The demon crept out of the shadows, wearing a uniform clearly indicating him as a local constable.  He said in a gruff and accusing tone, "Just where do you think you're going?  And why is the bar you just left on fire?"

Moving closer, the demon's shape grew more clear, when he was a few feet from a lamp-post, his features were more clear.  A Bull, large, muscular, short cropped hair, and a pair of horns that would make many question just what he was overcompensating for. 

A pair of manacles danged from one hand, the other was pointed straight at Challam, a single finger extended, it's owner looking quite cross.  In the background, a handful of creatures were trying to contain the inferno with water and ice spells, attempting to salvage the bar, or at least isolate it from the surrounding buildings.


From his vantage point atop the roof, Will could see the flames lick higher and higher.  He could see the fire winning the battle for his building of choice, despite several powerful creature's best efforts.  He could see the bar being evacuated, and could even hear the shouts of someone else being accused of -his- crime.  The sun wouldn't rear it's head for many hours... and, as luck would have it, the foreman was far too busy sleeping off a busy day's work to notice anything.   He was unconscious almost on the other side of town.


On the River

Arroyo would note that there were a lot of smaller boats weaving in and out of the spaces between the larger ships.  There appeared to be a clear spot between a couple of larger vessels heading south.  As the feline was making his towards the slot, however, a loud, high-pitched *CRACK* echoed from the upper deck of the cargo hauler behind him.  A being holding a pistol was standing near the edge of the deck, a splash as well.

Someone screamed, another crack, and the scream ended.  Pirates  didn't -just- occupy the skies, after all.


Westwynd Inn 

As far as the half-sized roo-rat could tell, the room was very solidly built.  Although unable to tell, a number of reinforcement enchantments had also been placed on the exterior.  A safety feature many inns and hostels were adopting to prevent a brawl outside from disturbing their patrons inside.  It was good for return business if a lightning bolt crashed through one's window, and killed their guests, after all.

There was a single window, on the same wall as the headboard as the bed, and located a little ways away.  If one wanted to sleep, there was very little preventing it.  A simple flick of a switch to douse the enchanted flames, which gave off no heat, and the locking of the simple dead-bolt mechanism seemed to drowned out all outside sound.  A noise muffling enchantment linked with the lock.

Sethir ran a few minor spells to clear off the blood and heal what nicks he had sustained.  There was a small hole in his suit.  He cursed and ran a stitching spell over it.  Demons sometimes took offense at being asked if they were okay, so he refrained from asking the feline how he was and turned his attention to the bodies, living and dead.

"It didn't have to be this way," he said aloud, "But it's a better fate than you'd get if you were captured."  This brought him to a new problem, their own captive.  What would they do with her afterwards?  Clearly, turning her in would be a death sentence.  If she turned violent they might have to kill her anyway, of course...

Seth raised an eyebrow.  The stun spell may have glanced her or something because the girl seemed to be asleep rather than completely unconscious.  In fact, she seemed to be having some kind of nightmare.  He sighed... entering dreams wasn't his forte - entering a nightmare would be a pain in the arse.

He glanced at the Demon feline.  "What do you think?  Should I try to wake her up, or enter her dreams and interrogate her there?"

   Gabriel inched his bike along, staying alongside Josephina. He glanced about, unabashedly wide eyed and rubber-necking, smiling brightly.
  Which gave him ample opportunity to scan the crowd at regular intervals. He mentally kept track of about a half dozen individuals that seemed to stand out as questionable. It was hard to say just what it was that made someone "stand out"... Gabe just went by instinct.
  "Miss Josephina, unless you have any objection, I think I'll stay back whilst you conduct your affairs." Gabe said. "Certain kinds of dealings make me apprehensive, don't you know. I might as well survey the local colour till you're done." His upbeat demeanor didn't falter, but his hand casually unfastened the catch on Hollands holster. The motion was covered by a number of other actions over Walsh's dashboard.

((OOC: Translation, "I'm going to watch your back and keep an eye on the crowd for any trouble."))

Kyirri examined the room with tired eyes. He shook his head as he knew that willpower was all that kept him from collapsing on the inviting looking bed. Far more comfortable than the conditions he were used to. Still, he couldn't afford to give in just yet.

He glanced out the window, then examined the door. He decided against barricading one of the entrances, since it would interfere if he had to leave out of one of them quickly. Besides, they seemed to be far more sturdy than what he had been used to as well. The quiet of the place made him uneasy, it made it seem all the more inviting, and deadly.

I might as well at least take care of myself. He went inside the bathroom. He took a bath, making sure that there wasn't too much water running as to not create too much sound. After cleaning himself up, he made final rounds around the room, making sure the door and window were locked and secure. After shutting the lights off, he fell on the bed and fell asleep, silently hoping that he'd be undisturbed whilst he slept.

Nhylamar Badlands

Tezkat allowed his glamour to fade. The patterns of blood spatter shimmered and redistributed themselves around his coat. This time, most of it actually wasn't his. For a split second, the demonic wings were visible in their damaged form as they shrank back inside his shredded coat. He flicked the blood from his blade and slid it back into the sheath.

He stepped over the bodies--body parts, really--of his opponents, favouring his wounded leg a little more noticeably now that the rush of combat was wearing off. He slumped back against his bike and stretched out as he tried to normalize his breathing. Real Demons wouldn't have tired from a morning's rampage, and he didn't want to show weakness in front of another Creature. He managed to look quite pleased with himself despite the throbbing pain.

He raised an eyebrow at the question about dream travel. Right. Cubi were supposed to be able to do that. He'd read about it, of course, but he'd never seen it performed. Although not eager to hand over control of the interrogation process, curiosity got the better of him. He leaned forward.

"How does that work? The dream thing... is it more reliable than questioning her the old fashioned way?"

"Depends how it's done," Sethir replied.  "Also what condition they're in.  If the subject is having a complete mental breakdown or a nightmare, it can be a dead loss, or even dangerous.  Just passively watching her dreams give me enough information to answer the basic questions of who they are, why they're here and so forth.
"If I can make myself visible to her, I can probably do the usual bargain - 'Tell me everything and I won't suck out your soul in your sleep'.  That often works.  However, frankly, dream interrogations can be a strain and besides, I'm out of practice.

He paused.  "I don't know whether you had in mind to torture her.  One of the big advantages dream surfing has over that is that it's difficult to kill the subject, and they are less likely to make shit up just to stop the torture. If you just want to bring her around and threaten her, I can tell you if she's lying."

"I wus heading to a local inn a clannie pointed out ta me." Challam said, his words somewhat slurred in his drunken state.. "And what do you mean.. on.. fire.." He asked, his words trailing off as he peered around the constable, and saw the tavern slowly transforming into a bonfire.. "Holy smokes!" He exclaimed, clearly alarmed. "I just got out of there! Blimey!" He said, and looked to the demon. "Honest, I just went in and had a round of drinks. Maybe too many, but that's all I did. Oh, and a clannie came and talked me up a bits. But that's it.. Straight to the bar, and straight out, which I think is better than straight to the floor. Heh." He said with a somewhat drunken smile.. "I didn't shape-shift once, either. Same form the whole time. Oof, if I wasn't so drunk, I'd go help, but in my state I'd probably make it worse.."

Zelah followed Captain Wolkshammer outside, fixing the wolf 'Cubi's full name, Paige Shepherd, in her memory. She approached the Gryphon-drawn carts with mingled curiosity and apprehension. She'd seen Gryphons from a distance several times before, of course, but she'd never been so close to one. As she hefted her travel bag into one of the carts, she took a closer look at the Creature strapped into the traces. It was really quite attractive with those almost iridescent feathers, she thought as her tail swished in slow S-curves behind her.

The curious 'Cubi had been careful to heed Captain Wolkshammer's advice and approach the cart from behind. Unfortunately she hadn't realised how close this took her to the sharp end of one of the other Gryphons...

Around the Wagons

The sounds outside his wagon woke Stephan from his sleep and he opened one eye while he groggily took in his room. His head was throbbing from both his headache and the bludgeoning he had recieved earlier. Stephan cocked and ear to the outside and tried to listen over the complaints of his body.

Sure enough, he heard the sounds of someone walking around outside. Stephan struggled to his feet, and looked at the clock on the desk; which had been busted a day earlier  and therefore wasn't very helpful. With a loud crash he clumsily knocked it over as he reached for his wand. Muttering under his breath, he stumbled over to the door and figited with the lock. Upon finding that the door wasn't locked he grumbled some more and threw open the door and lashed out with a jolt of lightning, not specifically aiming at anything in particular. "Damn it! I'm in no mood! Whoever you are, you better get out or I'll fry you!"

Addy headed for the further cart, hoping that most of the crowd would head for the nearer one.  While she certainly appreciated Captain Wolkshammar's offer he kept some rather disreputable looking company and she was hoping for a less crowded transport. If she had been on the other side of the cart she might have seen the Zelah getting too close to the gryphons and warned the cubi. Not out of any sort of fellow-feeling, but in order to save herself having to perform a healing.

Jeremiah chewed at the tip of his pencil; a nervous habit, when he was thinking. What was he doing? Here he was, miles from home, skulking around the sleaziest places he could... The man had to do some serious digging to even get a name that could get him into the Archive. Baseel Wolkshammer. Guy sounded like some nobility punk. Demon though. Jeremiah'd had... Bad experiences, with demons. So caution was advisable. He plucked the small precious stone out of his hat and absentmindedly stuffed it into his "beer money" pocket. Now if only that big gaggle of people would quiet down so he could hear himself...
A high pitched squeal cut through the man's thoughts, a voice he instantly recognized as either a teenage girl or a dying canary. But in the midst of it he could make out the word "Baseel!" His head snapped up alertly, focusing on the succubus and, thus, the demon she was hanging off of. Without looking away he snapped off a quick sketch of the man in the corner of his notebook.
That was him.
And they were leaving. The whole group was heading off to a bunch of carts. Jeremiah found himself in a position where he needed to make a snap decision. Go talk to him, or find some other way...
Or sneak in.
... Ohhhh no. No no no no no. You be quiet.
I've seen breadboxes guarded better than those carts. We could totally get in there.
No. Shut up. We're not doing that.
You got any other bright ideas?
I will if you let me THINK.
Yeah, but I'm not gonna do that.
He hated these arguments.
Jeremiah skulked his way over to one of the carts at the back of the group, staying to the back and out of the gryphon's line of sight. Checking to make sure that it WAS part of the appropriate group, but that nobody was in it, the frog opened the door as unobtrusively as he could and slipped in. Now he just had to hope this didn't turn out to be a terrible idea.

Aelisium Forest

   The Storm Scorp reached the area where the trees thinned out again, and came across the path the Ahnk mech took... onlyto find it far off in the distance, beyond the range of even their projectile cannon.
   Gaakronacht slammed his fist, cursing. "At least we know for sure these guys were Insectis...but that's the fastest Ahnk machine I've ever seen." He said, noticing the body on the ground, and turning to Gezzemocht. "We have to go wheeled mode an catch it, we can't let it get away in Aelisium territory!"
   Gezzemocht ground his teeth, staring ahead. "No...I don't know if we could stop it. We might slow it down, but then no one else would know about it. We've got to go back to the garrison and alert them, so they can send communications to all other outlying garrisons to be on high alert and search for that beast. Let's go pick up that traveler, and find Lieutenant Taige."
   Before they turned around though, Gezzemocht quickly jumped down, gathered up a few samples of the scrap metal, searched the Instectis's body for any weapons or other gadgetry, thowing it all into a compartment on the Storm Scorp, and lashed the body to one of the legs. All enemy equipment needed all needed to be taken back to a base where it could be analyzed or disposed of properly, not left around where a wandering raider could salvage it.
   The Scorp returned to the area where they had seen the Being traveler. "Citizen? Citizen, you can come out now, they're gone."

Wolksheem Aerodrome


"Well! You two aren't much fun!" Paige said with a mock scowl. "But if we must, then lets be about it!" the Wolfess continued with a predatory grin directed towards Baseel.

As she followed Zelah towards the Gryphon drawn carriages, Paige noted the younger Succubus was just in reach of one of the beast's beaks. Her wings formed behind her, fitting through some cunningly hidden holes in the Bomber jacket, and a pair of Tentacles reached out to attempt to move Zelah out of harms way before the Gryphon struck.

Josephine nodded, her short silver horn catching the light briefly.  "Certainly, lad. This won't take long... I believe I've seen what it is I need. you know where to meet up with me if things go odd."

She offered one last smile, and moved further into the alley with the strange black marketeer. Her voice was too low for Gabriel to make out, but she was obviously haggling. She seemed awfully calm about it; as if she knew what she was doing.

The elegantly dressed unicorn then took a tiny pouch from a hidden pocket in her dress, and poured a tiny handful from it into her hand. she was obviously trying to make sure that only the man in the alley could see them, but Gabriel was close enough to make out tiny sparkles... gemstones, beautifully cut. They were obviously not soulstones, or magically enchanted ingredients. Josephine was holding a fistful of good, old-fashioned treasure.

On the River

Arroyo jumped a bit from the fired round of a pistol. Looks like he might have some action after all, or not. He doubted some lowly thieves of the sea would board his vessel and try to take anything of his, they seemed to be after bulks of goods for them to sell off or use for themselves. But he couldn't take any chances.

Arroyo quickly turned around to face the cargo ship behind him. He saw a lone pirate on the edge of the deck from the side. A bit hard to take a fire at with a pistol but then again Arroyo wasn't much of a gunslinger himself so he would have missed completely and risked being shot at for attempting, plus he didn't even own a gun!

The yellow Lion tugged the horn's cord a couple of times in specific intervals. Alerting other ships of a ship being attacked by a monster of some sort. While his right arm was busy pulling the cord, his dominant hand, the left; started to imitate a serpent's movement, as if it was rising from a jar. A small stream of a water soon rose and moved the same way Arroyo's arm had. Arroyo then curled his fingers a bit as the tentacle reached up to the lone pirate and wrapped around his neck as the lion's paws made its movements. He then clenched his hand into a fist and made a jerking motion, which made the tentacle attempt to pull the pirate off the cargo ship.

Lucy had tried digging her legs free. To say her attempt to free herself did not go well was like saying a snake was a little lacking in the limbs department.

She twitched as she heard the smaller of the mechs return.

"Citizen? Citizen, you can come out now, they're gone."

Well, clearly they didn't hear her....retort over the gunfire.

Hiding was now pretty much futile. One at the very least saw where she was pinned down, and that would likely be the very first place they'd search. gunning the two down would be a bad idea, if the two had any brains they'd still have their personal weapons at the ready, just in case another Raider was hiding, knocked out, or otherwise got left behind by his buddies.

Lucy sighed, this was one Shitty Day.And understatement, yes, but damn, a single day everything she had every know was gone, and it looked like everything she touched now would turn to shit. She was just ready to give up. Maybe put a bullet in her own brain, deny a one of those three a kill notch in their gun at the very least.

She she pulled back the hammer,  she remembered the note to her mother. Lucy sighed as she considered another option. It was futile, no way in the Seven hell's it'd work. Still,it was worth a shot. Her father had always told her everybody, being or Creature, was basically good, maybe she had simply lost sight of that in all these years.

"I'm over here." Lucy called out. "I'm stick under this damned tree."

She hoped they'd at least listen to her. No lies, no trickery, just the truth. It was worth a shot. Even if she was killed maybe at least she could get this damned note delivered.

Nhylamar Badlands

Tezkat chuckled. "She's helpless and alone with the Creatures who hacked her partners to bits. I don't think we need to injure her to get her to talk."

He got up and knelt by the captive. Even in her sleep, the fear flowed off her in waves. He'd have to find a way to learn that dream trick sometime. It sounded like fun even though the wolf didn't seem too enthused about using it here.

"I don't know what you were planning to ask her, but I seek specific information. About her captain. He and I have a little unfinished business."

"In that case, we may as well do it the more conventional way," Sethir said.  "I want to know a bit about who they are, and why they came here.  Whether this was a planned incursion or an opportunistic raid.  Either way it's our civic duty to report it, and I don't really know enough to do that yet."

"Okay, then," he added.  "Let's do this."

The wolf cradled the pirate's head in his lap and his hands began to glow slightly as he invoked a spell to wrench her back into consciousness.
"Wake Up," he commanded.

Locke's ears drooped as he was planning to be polite and thank the fellow, but he had already turned and teleported away, "bother, so hard to use one's good manners when others are in such a hurry.  No matter..."  The cheetah bowed to no one in particular, "thank you kind sir, have a pleasant day."

Gathering a few things and donning his new coat, he paid special attention to what he knew of Nhylamar personal weapons policies.  On his way out he made a visible sign of waving to his maid staff, which waved back, and secured the hatch.  Making his way from the docking tower to the city level, he stopped to gather his bearings, today should be a good day.

Nhylamar Badlands

Tezkat stood back to give the Incubus room to work with the prisoner. The wolf hadn't even bothered disarming her, let alone properly restraining her. Part of his interrogation strategy, perhaps?

The jaguar wandered back to his bike and found a more comfortable perch for the interrogation. He smiled as the feline stirred from her nightmare. No doubt waking into a new one.

"Good morning, kitten. We were hoping you could answer a few questions." He bent forward to pick up a severed head--the chocolate lab who'd provided brief sport a few minutes earlier. "Your friends aren't so talkative anymore."

Seth noted with some irritation that he'd missed the prisoner's weapon.  No matter, he was monitoring her emotions and thoughts closely and his tentacles were ready to restrain her if she made any stupid moves.

Aelisium Forest

   The brothers heard the woman call out to them, informing them of her predicament. The Storm Scorp quickly found her, with her leg caught under a fallen tree trunk. Gaakronacht deftly manipulated several levers in the cockpit, and the arms of the mech gingerly (as was possible for a machine like it) reached down, wedged under the trunk, then lifted it up and easily tossed it to the side. Gezzemochet then hopped down from the secondary cockpit and grabbed a first-aid kit from a compartment, heading over to her to check if she was all right.
   "Are you hurt, can you walk?" He aksed as he approached her. "What's your name, by the way, and what were you doing out here?"

Clothing store

Clearing his throat, the diminutive vulpine tried, and failed, to look somewhat officious, given his job as a diplomatic courier. Being very short has it's disadvantages, one of which being you are often not taken as seriously as you would like. Of course, it didn't help that that he was, befitting his size, relatively soft-spoken.

"Um, yes, thank you. Well, I had come in looking for an umbrella, as I suspect you have already gathered."  Johan stammered, buying himself time to formulate a response. Honestly, the cubi had unnerved him slightly, although he was certain it wasn't his intention. "I'm a diplomatic courier, so I do a great deal of travelling, and was hoping you would have something suited to my, er, stature. I wouldn't want to purchase a nicely-done bumbershoot just to be carried off in the breeze with it, eh?" he joked, falling back on self-deprecating levity in an attempt to dispel the discomfort.

For a brief moment, Bart stared in incredulity at the puny weapon. At least she had a sense of humor. "A-ha, haha--" He broke off the laugh, quickly setting the derringer aside before any of the other Creatures around thought it was his. "Seriously though, I got a proposition. My family, Clan Thom'sen-- you probably heard of 'em-- needs some firepower. Just in case the world gets more war-torn and miserable than it already is."

He gave an odd gesture. "Yeah, I know, the 'nice-guy' clan wanting more guns. Sounds crazy, but let's face it: people don't like nice guys. Think you'd be up for making us some shooting-irons, maybe teaching our tinkerers what you know?"

Nhylamar Badlands

Slowly uncurling her body, the pirate slowly brought herself up from the stun-spells effects.  She slowly rose from her fitful sleep.  Blinking a few times at the wolf and feline looking at her.  Panic immidiately took hold.  She started flailing against Seth, "Let me GO! LET ME GO!" she shouted, over and over again while attempting to flee.


Wolksheem Aerodrome

As the crowd piled into the carts, Jeremiah would find himself packed in with bags and no one else.  Zelah would find that her tail was left alone, though the breeze from a playful swipe could possibly have been felt, as the gryphon behind her made a pawing motion.  Bas managed to sneak off to a different cart while Paige was busy helping Zelah.  Sister Addy, and Cyril were both given seats, and the convoy took flight.  Arriving at the castle around ten minutes later, perhaps a bit more. 

Rather than being given a chance to settle down, the newcomers were accosted  with servants as their belongings were taken to various guest rooms, including jeremiah.  They were taken to said rooms, and shortly thereafter ushered off to dinner.  Which, besides a few pleasantries, was oddly quiet as the Duke and Dame Wolkshammar were busy discussing something of urgency that couldn't be overheard by the attendees.  A quick tour was given, and then the guests were set in for the night.  Everything seemed to move like clockwork. 

Night came and went, breakfast was served early, and the attendants were sent back on their merry way to the MJOLNIR.  Dr. Adelaide would find her monastery still under construction.  Apparently whomever had earned the contract hadn't informed the order that they were running several months behind schedule.   Lord Wolkshammar had offered to house the good doctor until the monastery was finished, however, whatever the case may have been, it seemed for the short term, she was stuck with Bas and Crew.

Cyril was requested to accompany the heir on the trip, as any political matters he was meant to deal with would have to wait, due to fellow land-owners visiting that afternoon.  He wasn't given much choice in the matter, as he too was escorted off on the shopping trip.

Both Paige and Zelah were taken along as well.  Reaching the northern Nhylamar market took little more than an hour, they'd travelled in a straight line, and received immediate docking clearance.  Half the crew were let off the ship, including Bas and company, the rest were aboard to guard the ship.

Bas passed out a small back of coins, as well as a small, blue-green stone.  An orb of communication, which would allow them to talk to each other, should they decide to split off, and go separate ways.  Bas made a b-line for the first stores on his list and let the crewmen do what they wanted.  This was akin to a 12 shore-leave for a wet navy, and many of the crew, including a few recognizable demons, cubi, and a particular angel made their ways towards various locales of interest.


Clothing Store

The aardvark's appearance shifted, he'd taken on the appearance of a common house-cat type feline.   Black with white paws, and a white splotch on his nose.  His wings, however, were a brilliant gold and deep reddish purple.   "Something a bit smaller then, eh?  I think you'll find something you're looking for towards the left half the shelf.   If anything there is too hefty, still.  Well, i can always cut one down to size in a few minutes."
The feline gave a shrug, the sound of snipping could be heard from where the wing-tentacles continued to work, despite the fact that it seemed Johan had his near total attention.

The rack he'd mentioned did have smaller umbrellas, either hard-wood, or engraved metal.  There were 12 to choose from, all dark, muted tones.   


Yagsandras Docking Tower 

As the elevator descended from it's high perch, Loche would note that the towers led right to the market district.  All around him, vendors had their stores open, carts out, and   a general buzz of business was underway.  As he hit ground level, he'd note it was starting to rain, which did nothing to dissuade the others around him.   The collection of beings and creatures in the streets had either magical shields, or umbrellas overhead as they made their way around, either browsing the various shops, or going somewhere specific.

A mammoth sized mythos, with gorilla proportions was standing outside a strangely under-marked location.   A small sign hung outside had a picture of a pitcher of ale, but no other name, or sign adorn the building.

Further on, an absolutely packed market could be seen.  Apparently someone was demonstrating a product, as there was a small stage erected, and a  semi-circle formed to watch the display.


Around the Wagons 

*Kzzzaaappp* "OH YOU SON OF A BITCH, STEPHEN!"
A familiar voice shouted at him.  His sister looked absolutely furious, a wand in her own hand as she delivered a rather powerful push spell to Stephen's upper body, knocking him clean over, onto his butt.  "What's the big idea?! You could have really hurt me, or Sylvie. "

At the mention of another, a rather familiar succubus appeared with a Cheshire Cat-like grin across her muzzle.  She gave a wave, then snuggled up to Mary as her grin grew crooked, becoming a wicked smirk, "Ya, what's with the sparks and anger? Something happen while we were... out?"

At that moment, some rather unpleasant mental images flooded into Stephan's head.  As if he could see -every- vivid detail behind the thinly veiled euphemism.  As quickly as they'd come, suddenly he heard something about dessert, untruth, and something about Sediment shaped chocolate... It seemed today was going to be odd, very odd indeed.


Northern Nhylamar Market

Josephine would find that, instead of the soul-stone she'd been expecting, she was facing down the barrel of a massive bore, snub-barreled revolver.  A flat-palm extended, and the unicorn could hear the man mumble in a near whisper, and a gruff tone, "Hand it over, princess, all of it..."

Gabe couldn't quite see what had happened, the oxen's coat concealed the weapon in his hand.  He could almost feel something going wrong however.  Something seemed off as the man suddenly went from a shady business dealer, fairly relaxed, but alert, to something else, and his pose seemed to be rigid as a board.


Westwynd Inn   

Kyirri would find himself undisturbed by any outside source.  However, internally, he  had a rather bizarre vision in his sleep.  A woman, succubus.  She was holding a strange book.  Her features were too faded to make out.  Canine of some type, very thin, with attractive dimensions.  That much was safe to assume.  Her colorings seemed vaguely familiar, but the lack of detail in the dream made actually identification impossible.  There was a significantly smaller shape behind her, following her.  That thing, that blob.  It seemed to reach out to Kyirri, as if it were trying to convey some message.  Though, before making actual contact, the dream seemed to fade into a restful sleep.

However, upon waking, he'd find that he remembered the colors.   In fact, he'd remembered the entire thing, rather vividly as well.  He would also find himself more compelled than he already was to find the book.



Aeliseium Forest

More rumbling sounds could be heard in the distance, far too far to tell who or what they were.  No rhythmic  drumbeats as the Ahnk mech had produced.  Either there were multiple mechs around, or a multi-legged vehicle.

The tree moved off Lucy with little effort , leaving little more than scrapes and scratches as far as the eye could see.  What couldn't be seen were the many compression fractures running up and down her left leg, which, had she been living, would have been unbelievably painful.  In her current state however, they were little more than a slight stiffness.


Outside the Burning Bar

The demon stalked closer.  Challam's inebriated state only further fueled his suspicion.  "Well, if you caused no problems, then you'll clearly not care if we take ya in, for a few questions.  Right?"

A cruel grin drawn, as the demon made a reach for Challam's arm, he'd flicked the manacles opened with his other, and was preparing to attach them.  His mind-shield proved very resilient to whatever thought reading Challam might attempt.  Though, he could feel arrogance and triumph as the 2 primary emotions the other creature was radiating.


Gunstore

The gryphon's smirk grew even broader, "You think i'm joking about that little bitty thing, eh?  Well, for your information, with the enchantments on both the gun itself, and the ammunition, it's like blasting someone with a Ahnk' Ator built forty millimeter cannon shell, with every shot.  The bigger guns are certainly more intimidating, but they lack the subtle qualities of my baby, there.  For the larger guns, they're powerful, sure enough.  As for your questions  Teaching you what i know, out 'o tha' quest'n... Not good for repeat business, hun... and that's what i am...A business-woman."

Shrugging, and stifling a giggle, "As for selling ya m' wares, are you looking at buying a few guns for security, or are we talking about crate-fulls of the things?"

Lucy gave her leg a slight flex, pulling up her pant leg get a better look stiff, but otherwise it seemed like there wasn't much noticeable damage. She hoped, at least. Shepicked up some of her things and began to stand back up, using a nearby rock for support.

The brothers would notice something was amiss already. That kind of weight had to have been painful, to put it nicely. Lucy should even be standing on the leg, much less walking.

'Thanks for that."Lucy chuckled softly, moving her legs. Perhaps something had dislocated and she could knock it back into it's proper joint?

She looked at the Brothers. he eyes were not glowing-yet- but they still had an unnatural yellow colour to them. "Name's Lucy. Lucy Alighieri...I'm...well, first off where in the Seven Hells am I anyways?"She muttered. She was trying to play dumb. Trying. She knew these weren't idiots. If somebody had given them a bloody warmech they'd know a Creature, much less an Undead, when they saw one.

Sethir swore to himself as the Being struggled.  His tentacles wrapped around her arms, restraining her.  "The shock hit her too hard," he hissed.  "We should have offered her tea and biscuits instead."
"Put the head away, please," he added.

Sethir patted the feline on the head and his eyes glowed faintly.  It was possible for a 'Cubi to actively drain someone of their emotions, as opposed to passively feeding on them.  It took more energy to achieve than you gained, which made it useless for feeding.  But when you needed to calm someone down a bit it had a lot going for it.

"Calm down," he said, his voice gentle.  "Just tell us what we want to know and it will all be okay.  We'll let you go then."  He kept repeating this.

Josephine clenched her jaw at the sudden change of events. For a moment, her face bore a look of righteous anger; exactly the sort of 'how dare you' look a wealthy aristocrat might wear. She seemed to temper herself, though, and her face calmed. After all, she was hardly surrounded by respectable company.

Josephine took her glittering handful of jewels and held them out towards the thief.

A moment later, with a casual and deliberate gesture, she dropped them to the ground. The rainbow of precious stones cascaded down, scattering slightly as they landed. A few rolled off, threatening to disappear into sewer gratings or cracks in the sidewalk.

Josephine herself seemed unconcerned, her expression completely blank. Almost bored.

(PM Sent to Basilisk)

   Gabriel slipped off Walsh, and slid Holland out of it's holster in the process. Sprinting over swiftly and quietly, crouching low and keeping his blunderbuss tucked close to his chest, he kept hidden behind Josephina as he approached.
   Gabriel briefly peeked at the merchant from under unicorns arm... and darted back immediately when he saw the revolver.
   ...And the stones on the ground.
   He stayed behind Jo, but kept Holland ready.

Pirate Interrogation

As the emotion was drained from her mind, the effect was almost instant, like a light-bulb clicking on.  She blinked as she considered her new state.  She stopped flailing, and knew she was at their mercy.  With panic gone, all emotion gone, she knew they could do whatever they wanted.   looks like i'm trapped here, can't lie either... no mind-shield, and the wolf's a cubi.  They could be lying about letting me go though... but, i really don't have much choice...


"How did you do that?"  was the first thing that escaped her lips, as her mouth seemed to start working again after the few second total body freeze.  "what do you want to know? I didn't hear your questions over my own shouting..."

Her thoughts were getting garbled together, though it just seemed that, without emotions clouding her thoughts, her mind was trying to work out various plans of escape should the pair of cubi turn out to be lying.


Nhylamar Back Alley

The would-be mugger's attention flickered to the stones as they tumbled to towards the ground.  The shiny glitter they cast in the morning sun.  He started to flinch, then froze.  A deep baritone from somewhere down the alley said in a rather flat tone,  "You sneaky bastard.  Trying to sell that which is not yours."

A flash of white teeth in a predatory smile, a pair of horns,  and something metallic appeared from the shadows that covered the other end of the alley, behind the oxen.  The thief turned to face his new assailtent, momentarily forgetting about those in front of him.  A deep, slapping *click* could be heard as the hammer on the massive , finely crafted, though very spartan revolver was pulled back, and the weapon leveled at the Oxen's head.  The German Shepherd demon behind the gun looked well dressed, perhaps even uniformed in some type of officer's garb.  He wore a long-coat over a dress shirt, a pair of loose-fitting and many-pocketed pants.  He wore a pouch-belt, along with the revolver's holster that nestled on his left hip.  His coat bore a symbol of Voethfel, and a family crest.

The demon was hugging the wall opposite of the entrance that Jo and Gabe had taken.  The oxen was trapped and now his weapon was pointed harmlessly at the back of a store-wall, in plain view of both the equine and the half-pint rodent.


Lamylar

Renard was starting to get back when Ana returned.  He seemed to be in considerably better shape then she'd left for her errands.  He was considering a few things, apparently deep in thought.  It took him a few seconds for him to react to her Ana's appearance.  He scratched his chin, as he got up, and said, "I've been going over various scenarios in my head, and it keeps coming to needed someone from this village to come with me to the capitol to make a formal request for better protection.  I doubt i can get the mayor, he's needed for day to day affairs..."

He left a bit of a pause, as if uneasy, before continuing, "You however, don't seem to have such responsibilities.  Would you mind accompanying me, preferably as early as tomorrow morning, to go to the capitol, as a representative of this village, to get some better form of protection against outside incursion?"


On the River

Mostly likely to Arroyo's surprise, the tentacle did not, in fact, do as he'd planned, the stream of water suddenly collapsed from his control, and he could feel the powerful dispel spell that had been cast from somewhere beyond his line of sight, further along the larger ship.  The pirate who'd nearly been victimized started darting his head from side to side, searching for anything that might have been the source of the spell.

The ship started speeding up, as it made a break away from the current area, where it was clearly unfriendly.  The pirates had yet to detect the lion-being's interference.

Arroyo gritted his teeth a bit, then sped up his boat a bit, trying to catch up with the hijacked ship. He noticed some odd netting on the sides of the boat, Arroyo smiled and wiggled his hand a bit, causing his little boat to speed up to the side of the boat. Arroyo was now located on the side of the boat that wasn't within a pirate's line of sight.

A mischievous smile came across Arroyo's face as he ties his boat and climbs his way up it slowly. He already anticipated the situation: There is at least one pirate that knew magic and judging by the size of the boat, there's going to be a lot of them. With his sword at hand, and a river for unlimited ammo for his spells, Arroyo felt quite confident that he would be able to pull off this reckless, yet heroic act of stopping these pirates. After all, they were in his way to his job.

The instant the mugger's eyes had turned down towards the jewels, Jo's slender wire-saber was in her hand and pointed forward. She now stood sideways, one foot forward, in a standard fencer's stance. Her draw of the sword had taken only an instant, but it hadn't been sudden or startling. It had been barely noticeable.

She paused, though, as she heard the newcomer's voice. With the thug thus occupied, she took the opportunity to draw an electric pistol from her side. She also did something else that was barely noticeable. Her long, silvery-white tail swished, taking on a life of it's own; the hair lengthened quite a bit and swept across the ground before her. The strands spread out and clasped the errant gemstones before retreating back. It was a remarkably natural, whip-like motion; it looked exactly like hair being tossed. She hoped neither the thug nor the hidden man could see what she'd done. Of course, she also hoped Gabriel wouldn't exhibit undue alarm... he was almost guaranteed to have seen.

Only after this was done did she speak. "May I assume you gentlemen have prior business together?"

"All right, water's fine."

What was a good accompaniment to water? This really wasn't supposed to be this hard. Well, he'd order an alcoholic beverage, and see how things went from there. Worst-case scenario, the angel would be dead tomorrow, although that was sort of the worst-case scenario for every scenario, really. Actually, in theory, there were even worse-case scenarios than death, but the angel really didn't want to think about that.

So... a light alcoholic beverage, then? Sikici wasn't exactly very familiar with any kind of alcohol, although he had a general idea as to what kinds of alcohol there were. He tried to think of a specific drink, since something as broad and vague as 'beer' or 'cocktail' probably wouldn't cut it.

"...how about a brandy fix, then?"

When Josephina took her stance, Gabriel shouldered his pipe-gun and took a half step of his own.
  "Begging your pardon, sir." He said, loud enough for the oxen to hear him. "That's no way to hold a pistol when you pass it along... Someone might end up getting shot. Why don't you just hand it to the lady now, hey?"
  Then we can see about acquiring a soul-stone, he thought, noting the precious stones as well as the silvery tail that had swept them up. Lady Josephina seems to have means and talent, after all.

"I am not lying," Sethir told the pirate, "But I will know if you are.  If you satisfy us, then certainly, you can make a run for the border.  Or, if you fear being caught, I can give you a quick and merciful death.  I have no wish to see you lose your soul.

"However, if we feel you are not providing us with what we wish to know, we will have to turn you over to the authorities, and you will likely end up with your soul powering someone's trailbike and your body cremated and flushed into the river.  This is probably not what your parents would have wanted.

"Now." he clapped his hands.  "My comrade here wishes to go after your captain, he has some personal grudge, I think.  So he'll want to know what his name is, where your base is, and things like that."
"Right?" he nodded briefly at the other Creature.  "Enough information to hunt him down.  Whereas I wish to know if this was an opportunistic raid, or something sponsored by an enemy power, so that I can report it to the proper authorities.  If it was sponsored, I want to know the details, or the name of someone who would know."

Anabelle was surprised by the proposal. She didn't know how to respond.

"If you don't mind, I'll have to think about it for a minute," she said.

He wouldn't deny her that, of course. She walked to the window and looked outside. She had lived in that town for the last two years, but things were suddenly changing. The town felt different. It even smelled different. No activity could be seen on the street outside Ana's home. Everyone who wasn't working, attending school or staying at home was probably at the bar discussing the unusual events of the week. Or maybe by the river. She'd heard something was going on over there and had been planning to check it out after a necessary stop at home - to drop some things, pick up some others and see how Renard was doing -, but that might not be an option anymore. Even if she did go there and managed to help sort things out, that was likely to be just the beginning of something bigger. Perhaps too big for her.

"It's a tough call..." she finally said, turning around to face Renard. "Strange things are happening here. If I leave and things get worse while I'm away, I'll blame myself for it. But even if I stay I may be unable to help if things get too bad. If you think we can get the help we need at the Capitol, and that it won't get here too late, I'll go with you. I'll just need a few hours to pack, talk to some people so that they keep an eye on those with a poor survival instinct, and write a note to post on my door for those who come to see me. I was planning to see what was going on in the river. Perhaps I should go there first, if only to find out what's happening and make sure that people stay away from danger. Sometimes people can be too curious for their own good."

Kyirri rubbed his head, and peered around the room alarmedly once he got up. Realizing there was no immediate warning, he stopped a moment to contemplate. A dream? I don't think I'm *capable*  of  dreaming. That must have been a message... though that's odd... He was deep in thought when he noticed that his legs were moving without his active consent, pushing him towards the door. It took a moment's focus to regain control of his limbs. "Damn it, alright, alright, I'm going... I'm going..." He muttered under his breath.

He made sure to keep moving while he thought about what his dream meant. Couldn't have been my own product, I can't do that. It could be someone else entirely, unlikely with the compulsion. Or it could have been him... but I'd likely have received more clear instructions or none at all. Though... it's not like he ever makes my job easy... He kept his expression blank as he moved back to the dining hall, where he would hopefully have his free breakfast. Doesn't matter though... not like I have a choice... not like I've ever had one... He briefly scanned the area for anything interesting, but was more focused on his own matters.

Aelisium Forest

  Gezzemocht frowned a little at what this girl, Lucy, had said. "You're lost? Well, you're within a day's walk of several Aelisium towns and a garrison...in fact, we'll be heading to the garrison straightaway to alert the authorities about this Ahnk'Ator incursion. This is something that must be handled militarily right away..."
  There were more telltale rumblings of of heavy mech footsteps, more than the one mech earlier. Both brothers glanced in that direction worryingly. "Very much right away!"
  Gezzemocht turned back to her, offering a hand. "Come on, miss Alighieri. We can drop you off at a town on our way, after this is taken care of." However, Gezzemocht had noticed something...odd, about this girl. She seemed to be standing on her legs a little easier than someone who had a tree trunk on them should have, and her eyes seemed a bit off-color...

Northern Nhylamar Market

Grinning like a child in a candy store, Paige headed....Straight for a candy store, and soon re-appeared with few bags of her sugar fueled addiction favorites. With a lolly-pop stuck in her muzzle, the Succubus headed for her next closest addiction, a high priced dress store.

After indulging on a few dresses (and other things) which she had delivered to the MJOLNIR, the Wolfess wandered the Marketplace. Stopping at a few stalls and shops idly browsing, Paige spotted a Gun store, and while admitting to herself that she had too many addictions, went inside.

After all she may find a new toy or two she thought as she opened the door.

Just outside a Nhylamar Alleyway

Things had gone... Surprisingly well, for Jeremiah. Nobody seemed to notice that there was one too many guests. It was assumed that he was someone who ranked high enough to get invited to the castle, simply not high enough to get a better seat in the coaches. He even managed to sit in at dinner, listening in and not looking around. He managed to gather confirmation that YES, this was the Baseel he was looking for. He wasn't fond of nobility. Or demons for that matter. But it seemed he would need this guy.
With the servant's convenient assumptions it was the simplest thing to slip aboard the ship that Lord Wolkshammar and his entourage were taking. From there he simply kept his head down and let the crew assume he was another guest. He rather hoped they weren't starting rumors. Maybe if he was chattier he'd seem less suspicious...
As the party finally made their way into the market, he tailed the demon, casting a small illusion simply to dull his skin tone. Bright orange would be easier to notice following someone, but simply mute it down to a sort of muddy tone and the eye slid off it. Ah, the myriad uses of color theory classes.
He was slightly confused when the man had ducked into a nearby alleyway. This didn't seem to be the right part of town for prostitutes or black market deals, and frankly he could think of no other reason for a nobleman to walk into an alleyway. Hell, he'd probably heard that joke. Two noblemen and a mer enter a dark alley... Something like that.
You're letting yourself get distracted.
Right, right, yeah.
Jeremiah sidled up and leaned on the wall next to the alley, happy to rely on his natural camoflage as a harmless layabout, and listened in.
"You sneaky bastard.  Trying to sell that which is not yours."
Ah, that explained it. Jeremiah smiled to himself. This was actually pretty useful. Better yet, there was even someplace to discuss business with the man in private.
The frog pulled his hat down over his eyes and waited. Things were looking up.

Stephan struggled up to his feet, grumbling all the way, "What is the big deal!" he sneered, "I don't know, maybe it was the fact that we were robbed... oh wait... or maybe its because in the  process of being robbed I nearly got my teeth kicked in!"

Mary squinted at the doorway, "Stephan are you alright?"

He stepped out of his wagon, "Of course that bolt might have to do with the fact that Mr. Thief could have returned with some buddies to cause more trouble, and frankly I'm tired of being beaten up by some thug wannabes!" Stephan held up his hand, a small spark of electricity flicked between his thumb and fingers, "I tried tact and it didn't work! So I figured I'd use force this time!"

Mary snorted, "And that justifies nearly frying whomever walks up to the wagons!? What if someone else got hurt!"

"Yes, I think it does. Anyways I intentionally hooked the bolt to the left. It was a warning shot." Stephan growled and jabbed his finger at Mary, "But, maybe the person who should really be answering questions is you!"

"What do you mean "me"!?"," Mary put her hands on her hips.

"You weren't here when I got home last night!"

"I left you a note on your desk!"

Stephan snorted, "Yes, I remember, you didn't say you were going out with, " he looked at Sylvie and grimaced as he remember the mental images he had seen earlier, he glanced back at Mary while gesturing at Sylvie, "with... with her!"

Mary growled, "And just where the hell do you get off telling me who I can meet with!?" she jabbed him in the chest, "Just because you don't like a person doesn't mean I don't! And really its not your business to know who I'm with!"

"Not my business!? I made a promise that I would look after you, so it is my business! And I only ask who you are out with because I need to know who to track down should you go missing! I mean she could have locked you away or, worse, stolen your soul and I wouldn't know who the hell you were with!

Mary opened her mouth to reply, but Stephan interrupted her, "On top of that I found my signature on the theater lease on my desk! Which is very troubling considering how I didn't make my meeting with the theater's manager!"

"We couldn't find you, so we improvised!"

"And now the manager thinks he has met me, and I have no clue as to what was discussed during that meeting! Not only is it fraudulent, but it could come back and bite us in the ass later on!"

"But, we were trying to help!" Mary was blinking back tears.

"Help!! That was the stupidest thing you could have done!" Stephan snarled, "It was my job to attend that meeting. Yes, I screwed up, but I should be the one fixing it!" he gestured at Sylvie again, "Not some succubus standing in for me! And, how could you even trust her with that after just meeting her? She could have had an ulterior motive!"

"Yeah," Mary sniffed, "and you are an incubus..." she turned away angrily and stormed off to her wagon, tears trailing down her cheeks, leaving Stephan glowering and rubbing his temple.

Pirate Interrogation, Nhylamar Badlands

The black jaguar turned to the severed head in his hand. "Aw... that takes the fun out of killing her." The head nodded gravely.

He shrugged and tossed the head aside. "Well, kitten, we're fresh out of tea and biscuits, but you do get to live a little longer. That's something, right?" He smiled and leaned towards her.

"It must be terrible for you, being stuck out here alone with a couple of scary Creatures, abandoned by your leader..." He pressed his hand over his heart. "I feel your pain. That red-furred bastard abandoned me too. Just flew away without a word!"

He flashed a toothy grin. "Why don't we talk about it? That always helps."

"Garrison, uh..." Lucy bit her lip.Shit, yeah walk right into a hornets nest...unless.

"...That's close to the Nhylammar Border, right?" She asked, managing a small smile. "What direction is the border again?"

Yeah, Aligheri, real smooth. Totally Inconspicuous.

She took the Beaver's hand without realizing her mistake. Right away the beaver could feel her hand's lack of temperature, her body seemed unnaturally cool for a mammalian Being. Lucy was not what she seemed...

"I don't think I caught your names, by the way. You two brothers?" She quizzed pair, hoping to distract them from discovering her newfound race. Somehow she knew it was not going to work. But she played along anyways, hoping this would somehow work, like a small Child hopes there misdeed will go unnoticed if they pretend it never happened.

   Both brothers furrowed their brows at Lucy. "The Nhylamar border?" Gaakronact up in the Scorp said. "Why would you want to go there? That's Creature territory."
   Lucy then took Gezzemocht's hand and asked the brother's names. Gezzemocht immediately knew for sure something was wrong. Her hand was far too cold. And her eyes...no way.
   Gezzemocht kept up a smile, saying "We're the brothers Vaponci, Gezzemocht and Gaakronact."
   "But you can call us Gezz and Gaak. I'm Gaak."
   Then, in the moment Lucy was looking upwards to Gaakronact, Gezzemocht made a hand sign behind Lucy. It was part of a few standard ones most Aelisium soldiers knew. This sign meant several related things; misdirect, deciever...Creature.
   Gaakronact blinked, then pointed to the flat area in the center of the Storm Scorp, between the two cockpits. "You can sit there for now. We'll drop you off wherever you want." He turned and sat back down properly in the cockpit. "Even near Nhylamar, if that's what you really want, though I can't imagine why..."

On the River

Climbing up the railing, Arroyo could suddenly hear movement on the deck.  Someone shouted, "Someone's righ' 'n 'ere ass!"
At least 3 individuals waited for the feline, One was dressed in traditional mage robes, the other 2 were wearing leather armor, with thin metal plates sewn in around vital areas.  They were carrying rather large looking swords, curved and heavy edges.  One was also toting a blunderbuss, the other a pair of revolvers in a pistol belt.
The Swordsman stood behind a faintly glowing barrier, blades drawn and waiting for Arroyo.


Back Alley of Sevoy

The rolling tenor replied, "Why yes, yes we do.  This thief took something rather valuable of mine... a certain... Gem..." 
As if on cue, the oxen tried to make his move, his arm had barely twitched, when the small cannon the demon held roared, sending bits of the oxen's now powdered head sailing into the building's heavily reinforced walls. 

Holstering his weapon after the action, the demon stepped forwards and introduced himself while looking for the soul stone, "Apologies for the mess,  he was going to try and shoot his way out, you could tell by the way he'd straightened up, just before moving.  Baseel Wolkshammer, Milady and Sir"

Pulling the stone from the concealed bag, and setting it in his pouch-belt, Bas stood upright, and better assessed the female in front of him, "Would you mind my inquiring as to what occasion has prompted such formal wares, Miss?"  His attention briefly flickered to the half-pint, then back to the equine.

In the background, Jeremiah could hear everything, but it seemed the demon had  simply hadn't noticed him following along behind.

(OOC Note, i expect -everyone- took a shot at the bandit, though left his final state besides dead, ambiguous)

Strip Club

Returning with his order, the lioness had a teasing, playful smile on her face, "Sure thing, hun, anything to eat to go with that?" 
She swished her hips a little more than one would imagine being comfortable, putting on a bit of a show for one of the early morning customers it seemed.


Pirate Interrogation

Pausing to consider what the pair had said, she figured she didn't have much choice, "We're technically part of the Koshrikan navy, a small country between Aelisieum and Nhylamar, privateers sent to raid and disrupt, before we too get swallowed up.  We're more or less free pirates though, they merely provide us safe haven in exchange for a percentage of our plunder.  The captain, whom you just met, is Harman Maribach.  He has no single port of operation, due his deal with the Koshrikan government.  Tracking the Burning Rose, shouldn't be too hard, though.  She's a fairly slow airship, especially compared to some the military purposed machines."
She paused and sighed, "I wasn't around for any of the dealings though, i just know where, not who, or why."

Lamylar

At her attempts to see what had happened down by the river, the loud noises and shouting seemed to be over.  Renard followed to see if perhaps he could see something different, or should there be trouble, help to some degree.  A large cargo ship, most likely transporting bulk goods, was on it's way, a smaller vessel could be seen attempting to match speeds on it's side.  A small figure clambering up the netting on the side.
"Looks like we just missed something interesting."  Renard chimed, watching the figure attempt to scale the boat.


Just outside the kitchen (Kyirri)

Kyirri's compulsion to find the book seemed to pass at the idea of food.  The mink from earlier could be seen in the kitchen, as she'd left the door open while starting to cook eggs, bacon, and was busy frying some slices of bread.  Coming out with a larger plate full of food, the hostess had a rather infectious grin on her face, "I hope you slept well last night?  If there's anything you need, whether it be something else to eat, directions, or contacting someone, please just let me know." 
Setting the plate down, she headed for the desk, just outside the mini-restaurant area, and took up her post, attempting to attract some early morning customers for a meal.


Sevoy Streets

Paige's little wanderings around the market took a good deal of time.  She'd spot a few crewmen, or the captain wandering around from time to time, but each appeared up to their own thing.  Suddenly everything outside came to a screeching halt has the thunderous *CRACK* filled the air.  There was a little panic from some of the smaller creatures, but a good deal of the market continued on as usual a few seconds later.
A local constable, a young looking demon, approached the direction of the sound cautiously.  Seeming to take as much time as possible to canvas the area.  He too disappeared into the crowd.

For Dr. Addy, her own search brought her to a pet store filled with all types of wondrous feral beasts, both large and small.  An owl-bear cub, a wyvern on a perch, perhaps 3 feet long from snout to tail, and wings nearly double that.  In a fairly large cage in an unobtrusive corner, a kitten was playfully rolling around it's box.  It kept seeming to get stuck on it's back.  And then the reason for it's stoppage became clear.  It managed to flip over, and reveal a pair of feathery wings.  The kitten mewed.

Arroyo just smiled a bit, he enjoyed a bit of a challenge. He mumbled to himself a incantation as the river's water around the boat turned into a thick mist. He remembered what a clown once told him a long time ago about illusions, what good is one if it doesn't stimulate the other sense besides sight? Arroyo slowly climbed up the railing a bit more, playing a bit with the mist around them into making the three waiting for him think he was already on the deck, right to the side watching them, or at least a shadow of Arroyo caused by Arroyo's tampering with the mist's properties.

Now Arroyo plays the waiting game, waiting for the mage to pull away from whatever he was doing to assist the swordsmen and dispell his little illusion so he can quickly ensnare the mage and get rid of him.

"Thank you," Sethir told the pirate.  "That is very helpful."  He removed her weapons and digested this information.  "Ordinarily I'd try and persuade you to testify, but I suspect that would go rather ill for you.  By the way, if you make it whole back to your homeland, I strongly suggest you take up a less dangerous form of employment.

"Now," he continued.  "Perhaps I'm being a little paranoid, but it was rather convenient that you just happened across the train wreck.  Especially, as you say, with a slow ship.  Did your people somehow know about it in advance, hmm?"

Shit, they know...come on Loose, you can still...

No, that was a bad idea. They seemed nice enough, maybe they'd understand what had happened to her?

"I'm getting Dodge, that's what." Lucy proclaimed as she sat on the area specified by the taller brother, looking for a handrail of sorts or something to prevent herself from falling off the mech.

"Last night at about quarter to midmight, I was murdered." She reached into her trench coat and held up the ceremonial knife, a grisly souvenir, the blood, now dried and a dark red spashed on the blade's uncannily reflective surface. this no doubt creeped the brothers out, but she wanted them to feel something close to the feeling she experienced opening her eyes yet again."I felt death's embrace take me, my killers left me in a backalley."  This fact puzzled the ocelot a great deal. It was odd for the Children of the Reaper to do such a thing. They again, it could have been there hideout had been compromised or they were new members acting out of line.

"At about sunrise shortly before service today ended, I woke up with no heartbeat, no breath in my lungs, and this knife lodged firmly in my chest."She put the knife away, her words where heavy. In spite of the fact couldn't physically cry anymore, it sure sounded like she wanted to.She angrily slammed her fist into the hull of the mech, teeth bared back. "Goddamn...just..." She struggled to find the right words. She didn't look at either of the Vaponci. She just stared hull, Expecting bullet to tear through her skull.

Challam was a tad tipsy, but not so smashed that he didn't miss both the manacles.. and the demon reaching for his arms. His intoxicated state did, however, cause him to react perhaps a bit stronger than he would normally have.

What he did was quickly morph his wings, the feathers vanishing as they became the trademark tentacles of his race, with the trademark heads of his clan. As he turned to move his arm away from the guard's grasp, he positioned the heads right where his had been.. and so the guard would likely find himself reaching for something with lots of sharp, pointy teeth.

"No, I wouldn't mind, but you can lose the cuffs in a hurry. I mean, seriously? Manacles on a cubi? Why not market a one-size fits all shirt for mythos while you're at it?" Challam barked, huffing angerly. "And another thing! I just got back from a century abroad, so just what questions are you planning on asking? Maybe what classes I took? Sheesh!"

Locke disembarked at ground level with a jovial attitude and pleasant smile, for he would not need to traipse around the entire city for what he needed.  Risking being viewed as a bit ostentatious, he made an outwardly obvious use of magic to generate a rain shield.  In reality he activated a small enchanted device, but he saw a certain value in being perceived as an arcane sort for the time being.

Venturing into the crowd, he was careful to be polite as he maneuvered among them, heading for the area where there appeared to be a demonstration occurring.  Curiosity led to some interesting finds in the past, and hopefully this would be at the very least academic.

Adelaide wandered around the city shopping district, not really looking for anything. As a knight her order provided all of her necessities and there were few non-essentials she craved. She started into a bookstore but a rather tall squirrel dressed in the habit of those book crazy nuns was at the counter. As she seemed to be purchasing half the store, judging by the size of her stack of purchases Addy decided that book browsing wasn't worth her time.

As she continued down the street she saw a sign for a pet store. She decided to stop in. It was really too bad that the order didn't have any place for a veterinarian, as Addy truly loved animals, as opposed to people, whom she could barely stand most days. The place specialized in exotics, rather than your typical housepets so Addy was surprised to see the little kitten in a cage. Not even an exotic kitten but an average white ball of fluff. Then she spotted the little white wings. With heroic effort the chinchilla managed to turn her delighted but undignified squeal into a cough. She knelt down to get a closer look at little creature.

The instant after Baseel had made use of his firearm, Josephine had a strange rapier clasped in her left hand. She stood in a classic fencer's posture, back arched to present her foe a narrow cross-section. Of course with the brigand dispatched, she now pointed her strange sword in Baseel's general direction. She spent only a moment staring at the body, her lips pursed in disappointment. She seemed almost a touch despaired, but soon regained her composure. She then returned the blade to her belt, and offered the Demon a curtsy.

She spoke with an accent that was almost unnaturally refined and delicate. "Queen's own to you, good genteel. I had been hoping to arrange the purveyance of a legitimate soulstone, and came to this settlement dressed accordingly... I have since, to my knowledge, exhausted all upstanding channels and have had no choice but to abase myself with less respectable vendors." She left the issue of her oddly extravagant attire unspoken.

"If I am to understand you as being the rightful owner of said stone... would you be interested in pursuing this transaction yourself?" She tilted her head slightly. "I shall be disheartened but understanding if you refuse. If it's any consolation, I am neither a lackey nor a merchant... I seek it for my own use."

She wondered what he would make of her desire to use it herself... surely this Sir Wolkshammer knew how powerful a stone such as this was.

Kyirri looked at the hostess as she brought him his food. If I'm paying this much for a single night... I might as well make the most of it. Quickly glancing towards her, he made a soft nod. "I don't need anything else, but thanks." With that, he ate his breakfast, handled payment, then went outside.

Once outside, he scanned the streets, noting how crowded they were, or if anyone else took unusual interest in himself. He took his usual measures to avoid being noticed. With a sigh, he headed towards his destination, hoping that he wouldn't be attacked or the like.

Aelisium Forest

   As Lucy made her way up to the spot on the Storm Scorp, there were indeed hand rungs in various places seemingly there for that very purpose. Then...she began telling her story, admitting she was an Undead. Gezzemocht only watched with a grim expression on his face as he returned to the rear cockpit, while Gaakronacht twisted around in his again, mouth hanging open slightly.
   There was only a moment of silence when she finished. Then Gezz spoke. "Truely...you have suffered what is probably the worst fate for one of us Beings to endure, worse than any death... to be turned into one of them."
   Gaak shut his mouth and adopted a similar grim expression to his older brother. "We were both in the Aelisium military for four years. We repelled incursions from all four of the other regions. We know firsthand just how vile magic, and the entities capable of innately controlling it, are. We know that they need to be kept out of our haven, no matter the cost..."
   "But..." Gezz spoke again. "We do know that not all Creatures are despicable power maniacs who think us Beings to be their playthings. Only most of them. You see, for the last few years after finishing our military service, we've been patrolling border towns of Aelisium as independant private defence contractors, border towns not important enough to get a real military presence for protection. For these reasons, these are the areas the occasional Creature can stay in and lie low with less to worry about than farther in. We've met some of them. Indeed, a Creature can be a decent person. Who would have thought?"
   "This is why...." Gaak again. "We will help you in the same way we have the few good Creatures, even if you are not entirely truthful about your story for whatever reason. We'll take you as far into Nhylamar as we dare. Now that you're...one of them, it's not safe for you to stay here (though it seems you already know that). We do still need to alert the garrison of this Ahnk'Ator incursion first, but we won't turn you in."
   "Although, you do still have time to consider." The older brother said. "If you are telling the truth...personally, I'd say that being exiled into their lands to live as one of them...is absolutely a worse fate than death itself. But it's your choice. You've got until we get to Nhylamar to think it over. But if there's any other ways we can help you in the meantime, we'll do what we can."

Having been in far seedier marketplaces, Paige passed off the gunshot off with the same lack of interest as most of the citizens around her. Apart from the sweets and the dresses, the shopping so far had been mostly unimpressive, for which the Succubus was very much surprised (not that it occurred to her her tastes were far from the average.).

After crossing the square and avoiding being crushed in the process, she found herself in front of a pet store, and again her addiction to cute things overruled common sense and she walked inside.

Wandering around she soon found herself looking into a cage at first appeared to be a normal kitten, but when it rolled over spotted the little wings. The was a cough on the other side of the cage just as she was about to make a girlish squeal, which brought her up short. "Oh crap its that Angel/demon from yesterday.."  Paige thought.

Thinking that if Baseel thought the other important, it would be best if she attempted to mend fences, after all she may act ditsy but she was a highly intelligent fighter pilot.

"Its cute isn't it?" She said in her politest voice.

Gabriel's shotgun had thundered only just after Baseels. Unlike the demon, Gabe had aimed for the gut. Instead of a bullet wound, about two dozen tiny metal flechettes, barbed and fin stabilized darts about three inches long, covered an area about nine inches across on the corpses abdomen. They had only penetrated about a half an inch, but the lacerations were bleeding profusely.
     The rat waved his gun lightly to disperse the smoke. "I aint a sir, I work for a living." He said, and pointed to the unicorn with his thumb. "At the moment, for her."
     Then he tipped the brim of his hat to the demon. "Gabriel Cartwright, freelance mechanic, engineer, and enchanter."
     He gestured to the gun. "This is Holland, a good friend I made a while back."
     He gestured to the darts. "That was a bee-hive round, with some rock-salt thrown in for good measure. Adding in-salt to injury, you could say." He said, and smirked in jest. "Pardon me while I see to my friend here while you discuss your affairs." He said, then nodded in parting, and stepped back a pace to withdraw from the conversation. He still kept an ear open, though.
     Gabriel took a translucent blue ball from his belt and dropped it down Walsh's barrel. He pulled a hand lever on the side of the gun, which turned the indicator for the firing mode from Ignite to Activate.
     He stepped aside to lean against the wall, rested Holland against his shoulder, and kept a casual eye on both ends of the alleyway. Walsh parked at one end, the demon standing at the other. Both of them had Gabriel worried about pirates and thieves.

Zelah's nerves were coming closer and closer to being completely shredded. Last night had been enough of a strain, with so many Creatures in the castle's main dining hall. At least they'd all been friendly: the last time the feline 'Cubi had been in such a large crowd surging with hostile emotions, it had brought on an ears-twisting headache that had lasted for hours. Well... almost all friendly — there had been one guest, one of the few Beings there, a brightly coloured frog of some kind. He'd radiated a general disapproval, if not an actual dislike, of Captain Wolkshammer, and yet he seemed to want to get close to him. That struck Zelah as rather ominous, but the frog had disappeared into the crowd as the dinner party broke up.

The 'Cubi had fidgeted all night in her room, worrying. She didn't know anyone here, and the only one she even half trusted was the Captain. Could she go to him wearing only her purple pyjamas (the castle staff had whisked away the rest of her travel-stained clothes for a long overdue cleaning) and say in her slightly exotic, not-from-around-here Aeliseium accent, "Captain, I have detected feelings of hostility towards you." Would he believe her? Could she believe herself? She'd been led astray before relying only on her ability to sense emotions.

In the morning no-one had been assassinated in their sleep, there were other things to think about, and Zelah almost forgot about the frog. He'd been issued a uniform in the Wolkshammer livery, and other gear that would be delivered to his cabin on the airship. He hadn't quite worked himself up to a nervous headache overnight, but he was twitchy, and he almost visibly jumped when he caught sight of the frog again as the Captain took them all to the northern market for the shopping expedition he'd mentioned the day before.

That decided him. When the airship landed at the market and everyone went off in different directions, Zelah waited for a moment then followed the frog. It didn't take long to realise the frog was in turn following Captain Wolkshammer. Zelah did his best to keep both of them in sight, changing his appearance whenever it seemed the frog might have looked back. He'd noticed the colour change, but he could follow the frog by his emotions now. Finally the little procession led to the end of an alley.

The 'Cubi sidled closer, and almost panicked when he heard the gunshot. Apart from a few flicked ears and bristled tails, though, none of the passers-by reacted very much. He heard the Captain's voice, but not clearly enough to make out what he'd said. Now was the best time to make his move, while the frog was distracted. As he stepped out of a shop doorway and took a few quick paces forward, Zelah steadied his nerves and, for the first time in public, unfurled his wings and headwings. He felt horribly exposed, as if he'd ripped off his clothes and waved his... anatomy at everyone.

The slits in the back of the uniform worked just as the castle's quartermaster had promised, and the 'Cubi loomed over the frog with his wings mantling his shoulders and his headwings spread. "All right," he said in a snarling, no-nonsense tone he'd learned in the Aeliseium army, "who are you, and what do you want with Captain Wolkshammer?" The posture of Zelah's wings hid his arms from behind, so only the frog could have noticed his right hand not quite pulling from his pocket something suspiciously like the butt of a pistol...

Outside the Alleyway.

The bang of the gunshot made Jeremiah jump. He didn't like guns. They were loud and noisy and they hurt people. He'd had plenty of bad experiences with guns, which unfortunately usually stemmed from him not having or wanting one. He tried to shake the surprise out of his head and listened closer. This was probably where things would get very, very important.
Jerry?
Shut up, Bal.
JERRY!
What!?
Where did the sun go?
... Oh. Um...
Ever have a plan fall apart while you're distracted?
Jeremiah slowly turned, eyes following the shadow that had fallen over him along the wall to the wings of a rather tall incubus. It occurred to him that wings made any contest of looming rather unfair.
"All right, who are you, and what do you want with Captain Wolkshammer?" Whoever the man was, he was armed. And dressed in the livery of the Captain. So, at any rate, at least this was still taking him in the appropriate direction. The frog considered his next move very carefully, before slowly putting his arms in front of him, palms out, the universal gesture for surrender, before slowly reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a small, brightly colored packet. He plucked a small pink cube from it, unwrapped it, and popped it in his mouth before holding it out to his captor.
"Gum?"
Silly, yes, but whether or not the person would accept it after you took a piece could tell you a lot about them. After politely waiting for the fellow to accept or decline, he continued.
"Anyway, yes, you've rumbled me. As you can plainly tell, I'm an assassin." The lie exploded in the being's consciousness like a firework. A cubi could tell he was bullshitting, and deliberately poorly, from space. He went on, keeping an entirely straight face, "I've been sent by his ex girlfriend to bring her his head, after tearing it off his body with my bare hands." He held up said hands again, demonstrating that not only was he not about to rip the heads off any demons, he probably had a bit of trouble opening particularly stubborn jars. "But don't be fooled by my appearance as a deadly bruiser. I am in fact a powerful mage, and intend to use every both of my arcane talents to bring about his doom. If you've been following me long enough you've already seen one of them. Beware my awesome might."
Finally, the frog's face cracked into a grin, and seven mental voices howled out laughing.
"In all seriousness, your master may be able to get me somewhere I need to be. I was hoping to put forward the matter to him at such a time and place as it was convenient, where I wouldn't be turned away by some secretary. But it looks like he's busy." He leaned back against the cool brick, closing his eyes and smiling. His mind roiled in a panic, but it sure as hell wasn't letting his face know.
"Do me a favor? I've been lonely as hell since the castle. Pull up some wall and keep me company until he gets out. You can even keep the gun on me, if it does something for you."

'Subtle wares,' she says. Bart had any number of qualities, but 'subtle' was not one of them. Hopefully, she wouldn't insist on foisting that girlish weapon on him. "...okay, so no go for teaching us. It's fine, I see where you're getting at. How about I just place an order?" The eggheads at home could probably map out how a gun worked if they had a whole box of the damn things to play with.

"Like, let's saaayyy..." He hemmed and hawwed, claws drumming along the counter. "A couple crates of assorted firearms, and one handcannon for me? Preferably something that won't bring my manhood into question?" Bart shifted a little, giving the phoenix a wry look. "You sell party-crates, don't you? Like a box of mixed nuts, but with guns?"

On The River

The mist filled the deck, blinding those caught in the thick dark cloud.  Shouts of confusion, "What is that?!"  "Where is he?"  "What the hell just happened" passed back and forth between the trio, as well as other voices further down the deck.  All this was suddenly halted, as a deep, whispy voice stated, "Hold you ground, stay still, otherwise this might hurt a bit."

*KKKKZZZAAACCK*  A bright light suddenly filled the darkened cloud, the bolt of lightning passing so close that Arroyo could feel warmth of the air it'd heated in the milliseconds it'd passed though the area.  Ozone filled his nostrils, and the blinding flash left everyone blinking little stars out of their eyes.

"Did ya get 'em?" 

"I do not know... now shut up and let me focus!"


Pirate Interrogation

"It was more or less dumb luck.  We hit a small convoy south of here, near Ahnk territory.  When we saw that smoke cloud on the horizon, the captain figured it'd be worth checking out.  We didn't have any prior knowledge that the train would crash, we did have knowledge that there would be a train in the area.  Those things are on pretty accurate and set schedules, ya know."

Giving a sigh, the feline asked, "Is there anything else, or am I free to go.  The longer I stay, the less chance I have of clearing out before some other gung ho demon or cubi comes traipsing around, and hauls me off for 'questioning'."


In the Streets, By the Burning Bar

"Just cooperate and come down to the station, we've got an expert who'll know the instant you even think about telling a lie.  I have no such advantage"  Sweeping a hardened wing across the flurry of draconian heads.

"either you come the easy way or the hard way, your pick."  The demon's free hand glowed with a murky blue.  Challam could sense the stun-spell, powerful, direct, simple, and very difficult to deflect or dispel in flight.




Pet Store

The kitten watched Dr. Addy for a few seconds, placing it's paws against the metal bars of the cage, then reaching out towards the angel with a single paw, tiny claws extended with obvious intent to try and reach just a little further.

Paige's attention would be turned to something gooey, dripping down the back of an ear.  Above her, a bizarre looking gecko, oozing with it's glossy coating, was busy cleaning itself, rather nonchalantly dropping the coating wherever dirt and grim found themselves embedded.


Sevoy Back Alley

Tapping the stone-bag, Bas nodded politely to the rodent and equine, giving a grin of approval at the seemingly ingenuitive half-pint.  Turning his attention back to the ball-gown attired unicorn, Bas replied, "I've got a need myself of this particular stone.  However, if you don't mind my asking, what do you need such a powerful energy source for?  I –might- be able to acquire an additional stone, but first, I need to see if I can use your skills." 

Outside, Gabe would note a rather prominent winged figured enter the pet-store across the market.  He could also hear a conversation going on, on the far side of the alley, the words were distant and muffled, but there were at least 2 other people behind this, Baseel.


Around the Wagons

The other succubus, however, stayed just long enough deliver a powerful blunt slap across Stephan's face, she used a winged tentacle, and it hurt.  It felt less like a slap, and more like getting decked with a baseball bat.  Blood trickled from the fresh splits in his lip, along with his nostril, and a small split near his eyebrow.  "You son of a bitch" Sylvie replied

"After all she did to try and help you, that's how you treat your own sister?  Great Job looking out for her... just great.  I'm going to follow her, and you are not, if you know what's good for you."

Turning her back, Sylvie darted off after Mary.


Outside the Inn (Kyirri)

The moment the little roo-rat put his foot on the pavement, the urges returned.  He didn't just want to the find the library, he –needed- to.  With his constantly alert nature, the first thing he'd notice would be the canine being, dressed in muted brown leather, he bore the uniform of a mechanic.  That, in and of itself was by no means odd, nor the tool-belt, filled with various specialty items, and the clearly enchanted tool-belt, with several times it's actual volume worth of carrying capacity.  What was odd, however, was just how clean the mutt looked.  He seemed a bit too dapper to be mechanic, and something about his walk.  An arrogant stride, shoulders squared, at some point, that male part Dalmatian had been in an army.

Kyirri had few options, either confront the man somewhere where there was too high a risk of collateral damage, a risky venture to be sure, or, attempt to loose his tail in the twisting roads of the city.


(OOC Note: Writing this while on vacation has taken forever, i know i still owe more, and i'll get to them when i have time, Thank you in advance for your patients)

"I'm done with you," Sethir told the pirate, loosening his tentacled grip over her very slightly.  "If my associate here has no further questions, you're free to go."

Feeling something slimy plop onto her ear Paige put a hand up to find out what it was. "Ewww....." She said as her eyes followed the path of the filth to the Gecko thing.

"Gods that's revolting" Paige uttered as she wiped her hand against it's cage.

Kyirri glanced at the Canine, however, he soon decided to go on his own way. Sticking your nose into business not your own invites trouble... I'd best stick to mine. He briefly checked his wallet to make sure that all his coins were accounted for, but he was careful not to show it in public.

Hoping that his memory of gazing at those maps before would serve him, he strode on. While he kept alert, he tried to avoid direct eye contact with anyone. He didn't fight the compulsions either. For now, he just let them control him. There wasn't much that resistance could do for him either, they always won.

If there's anything useful about those commands... is that hopefully they'll guide me to where I need to be, and not even allow me to get lost... assuming I'm going where he wants me to go anyways...

Sevoy Back Alley

Josephine's left eyebrow rose as Baseel commented on the use of her skills. It wasn't a gesture of suspicion, though.

"I am a mechanized cavalry pilot, and have had the pleasure of serving as a captain in a professional military force. My success was rewarded with a degree of social status, as is no doubt evident from my attire. For reasons beyond my control, my duty requires me to pursue more... independent endeavors. I am free to work as either a contract mercenary or as a privateer, but I am no common brigand; I have official royal sanction to pursue targets of opportunity as I see fit. I can provide a copy of my letter of marque if you wish to confirm it's authenticity."

"As for my business here... my vehicle is as fine a steed as one could hope for, but it has some unorthodox components. It's power source is starting to show it's age and I was hoping to find a replacement part sooner rather than later."

"I can purchase the part with valuables up front if nessecary... but I do prefer to work for my supper."

Arroyo shook his head as an reaction to seeing the bolt of lighting. 'Shoot that almost got me. There no way these guys are pirates to have someone cast a spell so precise like that.' Arroyo knew he had to act fast. He grabbed onto the ledge of the ship and flung himself up into the air for a brief second, holding his sword in his other hand  and giving it one swing horizontal, the blades broke off into segments on a chain within the sword which extended it's reach in attempt to harm the trio that was searching for him.

The haze still was around, but probably not for long. Arroyo kept himself ready and his defenses up for anything thrown at him. After all, he still had the upper hand near his element.

Great, I don't deserve to live. How nice. Lucy thought to herself.

She bit her tongue at the vile Creatures statemen, grabbing onto one of the handrails.Yeah, our Leaders are a bunch of great guys. Annexing smaller countries on a whim, executing anybody who can throw a fireball. But because they're Beings that makes them better then any otter creature with power, right. She bit her tongue wisely. She was too stressed to argue as it was.

Still, she rejected the idea of letting the the beavers kill her. A minor victory for her, at least.

she remained oddly quiet, she felt like a leper. The brothers pitied her, but at the same time she knew they likely saw as something to stay away from. She looked at the hull of the mech, for the first time today, she saw her reflection on the metal plating.

Her once shining emerald green eyes had taken a sickly yellow colour.  They weren't glowing, not yet, but is made her sick to see such a stark trait her entire family had gone, replaced by this mark of the Unholy magic.

Stephan picked himself up off of the ground and turned back to his wagon. He reached up to his face, and felt the cuts burn and could taste the blood. Grumbling to himself; Stephan grabbed a clean bathrobe and a towel, and headed to the showers.

The showers consisted of a wood and metal stall attached to a water tank. The tank itself could be heated, and, with the filter on the bottom, the water used could be recycled. Stephan stepped into the stall and shut the privacy door. The water was lukewarm, the heat enchantment didn't have enough time to warm the tank, but Stephan could care less. He tried to clean his troubles away, wash away last night because today was beginning to look like a doozy.

Dame Dr. Adelaide Monteque, known for being detached and calm, absolutely melted. The kitten reached out towards her and mewed softly.  Opening the door of the cage she lifted the white ball of fluff and feathers out and snuggled it under her chin. It was only then that she noticed the cubi from yesterday wiping something rather... biological looking from her ear. "I don't believe that particular animal is poisonous. Any fur lost will be purely cosmetic."

The kitten purred and snuggled down against Addy's chest. She quickly debated the purchase. While it would take another month or so she knew the new chapterhouse could use a cat. Pests needed to be kept out of the gardens when they were planted. That would leave plenty of time for this little darling to grow up. Having talked herself into it she took the kitten to the front counter. Once there a bit of rational thought kicked in, "Can you tell me about this cat? I've never seen one with wings before. How large will it get? Does it need special care?"

Lamylar

Anabelle sighed, and looked around to see if anyone was hurt.

"Well, I'm glad we're not being invaded or something," she said. "I guess we should get things ready and leave before something really bad happens."

She looked at Renard while she started thinking of what to tell everyone as she left, and what to take with her on the journey. She hoped they could find out what exactly was going on and come back with help in time.

Clothing Store

The degree of attention he was being paid was likely what unnerved him, he was most decidedly not used to being the centre of attention, it always reminded him of that one time (not in band camp) that he had been attacked in Sevastia'Nyad. However, Johan took his time, tucking his cane under his arm and looking the umbrellas over in a manner that screamed indecision, picking each one up and examining it not just for aesthetics but for method of construction. When he was a child, he more often disassembled and reassembled his toys than actually played with them, and that nature remained. It was at least ten minutes before his eye fell on one of the taller ones, which happened to have a particularly hefty engraved metal shaft.

"My friend, you are a mind reader... Quite literally, I suspect," he murmured, under his breath, and then it was as if a switch had been thrown somewhere in the fennec's head, his entire demeanor shifted. He glanced at his cane, then back to the umbrella, and a grin like a child who had been told he may be getting a new toy spread across his face. Quickly, he turned back to the shapeshifter, his expression manic and his speech rapidfire.

"Listen, do you have a large piece of paper I can use? Or better yet, exactly how good are you at getting in my head, because I've just had an idea, and looking at how solid your work is, you're definitely a skilled enough craftsman to put it together if you can put what's going through my head together into something coherent." By the time he had said it all, he was practically bouncing up and down, hyperfocused.

Cyril sauntered through the market, following roughly behind Baseel and the white Dame Dr. Adelaide Monteque, attention more or less equally divided between the group he was following and the various stalls and stores around the marketplace. Who knew, maybe he'd find something to pass the time.

He'd organised himself with a top hat and cane, today, the cane extracted from his watch pocket, and the top hat from somewhere in his coat tails. He'd also brushed the odd imaginary crumb from his spotless white shirt, made sure the waistcoat and tails were perfect, the winklepickers were so shiny you could shave in them, and all the other checks were satisfied.

A brief wander into the bookstore didn't show anything of interest, although he did take note of the location for a later revisit, in case he'd missed something. He sauntered past the gun store, and had a brief look there for anything that might be new; unlikely, in his professional opinion, but worth a look none-the-less. He caught the proprietoress' eye, nodded in a professional, I-see-you-know-what-you're-doing-but-are-busy, I'll-wait-until-you're-free sort of way, and went on with browsing the varied hardware that was available, carefully investigating the magical componentry and contrasting it to what he knew to fill in the time.

Zelah watched the frog's routine with the packet of gum intently. Almost out of reflex he nodded and began to reach out with his left hand. His left wing reshaped into a tentacle, snaked out and stabbed a piece of gum on its sharp tip, then curled back and slipped the gum into his pocket before morphing back into a wing again.

When the 'Cubi heard the word "assassin", his gun hand twitched and his hair changed colour three times in as many seconds. He's admitting it? he thought in astonishment. But why should — wait, he's not serious? What's he thinking, what's he hiding...? Holy God, how many people has he got between his ears? His expression bounced rapidly from grim determination to ears-laid-back surprise and confusion as he tried to decipher the thoughts and emotions behind the frog's words. He blinked and shook his head, fluttering his headwings, and concentrated on keeping his tail from fluffing out too obviously. The frog might not be a danger to the Captain — probably — but he was downright weird. Zelah slipped his gun back into the holster hidden in his jacket pocket and took his hand out, empty.

"You just want to talk to the Captain?" he said, one ear and headwing cocked inquisitively. "All right, we'll wait until he's finished his business, then you can have your say. Mind if I ask just what you want, if it doesn't involve annoyed girlfriends?" A quirky smile twitched across the 'Cubi's muzzle, and his fluffed up tail fur began to settle down. He reached into his non-gun pocket (with his hand this time, not a wing-tentacle), took out the piece of gum he'd speared earlier, unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth.

There was only one obviously odd thing the frog might have noticed, if he had a good ear. Captain Wolkshammer had gathered his crew from all over the country, but the feline 'Cubi sounded as if he'd come from even further afield: when he spoke, his accent was pure Aeliseium.

Aelisium Forest

  There was a long silence as Lucy said nothing. The brothers watched her for a while, then settled down into their cockpits. "We can see you still need time to think it over" one of them said, Lucy probably wasn't aware enough to figure out which. "We do have to pick someone up first, though..."
  The brothers walked the Storm Scorp around the perimeter, but try as they might, there was no sign of Lieutenant Ashlynn Taige, although the brothers weren't exactly trackers. Fearing the worst and slightly sick, they double-timed it to the garrison, with Lucy riding along.
  When they got to the garrison, they parked the Stomr Scorp on the outside and Gezzemocht went ahead into town. While he was there, he explained the entire situation to whoever recieved him; that they didn't find the bandits they were contracted to find, but stumbled on a lone Ahnk'Ator incursion group, and that Lieutenant Taige was missing in action. He then said they had to leave on a short trip immediately, though he skirted the fine details. He mentioned lucy, but didn't say anything specific about her. Gezzemocht also gave back most of the upfront credit pay they had been given, as their contract was unfulfilled. Gezzemocht assured he'd do everything he could to be back soon to finish the contract and actually collect the pay, but the brothers were well familiar that detours sometimes spiral into something unexpected. He played it safe as neither brother would ever take the risk of ever being known as mercenaries who absconded with pay and left an unfulfilled contract. They had a reputation (small as it was) to uphold, and they wouldn't tarnish it with mistaken dishonor.
  After that, Gezzemocht returned to the Storm Scorp, and they set off down the road, away from the garrison, eventually taking a turn offroad and heading for Nhylamar territory...

(OOC: if you don't like me jumping this ahead Bas, I can edit the post.)

Pirate Interrogation, Nhylamar

"Hmm... I figured as much. He wasn't exactly shy about wearing those privateer pins." The panther stretched out. "Oh well, I don't suppose there's any hurry to catch up to him, then. What with my blowing up his gun deck and killing most of his crew, he'll need time to repair and recruit once he finds a port."

He pulled off the brass goggles and ran his fingers through his hair. The golden locks were matted with blood and soot.

"In the meantime, I need to locate a bath and a change of clothes. My luggage sorta went up in smoke, and the splattered in blood and gore look isn't quite as fashionable as it used to be."

He fussed with his hair, having seemingly lost interest in the captive pirate.

"Well," Seth said, looking down at their captive, "I guess you're free to go this time.  Try and make sure there isn't a next time."

Making sure he'd relieved her of any projectile weapons, Sethir released the feline and withdrew his tentacles.  Not completely, just in case she tried to do something stupid.

"Well," he said to the other Creature, "I guess I'd better think about reporting this to the authorities."

Really, all accents just fell under "Foreign." To Jeremiah. He remembered which countries had the food he liked, but he'd never been keen on Aeliseium cuisine. Hence, all he really knew about the cubi in front of him was that the guy was twitchy, didn't have perfect control over his shape... And what he'd gleaned from him taking the piece of gum. A decidedly reasonable, if not the most composed, person. Reminded him of a student he had back when he taught. Shame that boy had gone into performance art, but then, it was a field that attracted a lot of cubi. That was neither here nor there though.

He was trying very hard not to think about the fact that the fellow had come very close to shooting him.

The fellow's question was a bit inconvenient though. The frog grimaced as his voices all began clamoring at once.
Oh, nothing. I'm just afflicted with a curse that leaves me not entirely responsible for my actions or use of magic. I'd like his help in dispelling it, and making it so I don't do things like blacking out and waking up having done god knows what to god knows who. Mind if I go speak in private with the man you're plainly very protective of?
Well, don't say that.
No shit. Anybody have any ideas?
Did he hear that? We're dealing with a cubi.
Crap, hope not.
"I'd... Prefer to bring up the matter with the Captain," Jeremiah grinned sheepishly. "Nothing personal. It's just... Business stuff."
Smooooth.
Shaddap.

Nhylamar Badlands

She looked between the two of them, "Right, thanks, i guess...  You shouldn't be seeing me again.  Either i make it to the border, and try something else... or i don't, and there's no evidence that i ever existed... either way, you've kept your end of the bargain."

She bolted off towards the tall brush, probably looking for a place to lay low for a little bit, and orient herself towards safety, as the whole of Nhylamar was not safe for her.


Pet Shop

The owner of the shop snickered, as he eyed the kitten, "Ah, she's simply the product of a few generations after an experiment to create the ultimate pest control.  These adorable little winged kitties were something from Savstia'Nyad, an experiment to help control their pest-bird problem.  They worked alright, but as the novelty wore off, they fell out of style a few years later.  They're quite rare, but all in all, they're simply your standard fare housecat, with the ability to fly."

He smiled a bit smugly,  "So long as they find a loving home, they're really quite lovely pets"

In the back, Paige would note all manner of feral creatures, some small, some not so small.  The wyvern, perched on it's roost cocked it's head to the side, as if curious about her actions with the slimy gecko.


On The Way To The Library

Taking a few turns down the increasingly crowded streets, Kyirri would find that he hadn't lost the worker.  In fact, as time progressed, and turns started becoming harder and harder to track, the canine seemed to start gaining ground.  However, as Kyirri crossed into a major road, his tail seemed to suddenly disappear.  There was no sign of the canine, anywhere.  The library was only a few blocks away at this point, that's what the memory of the map told him.


Sevoy Back Alley

Baseel grinned at the unicorn, and said, "Well then, perhaps a deal can be arranged.  I do know of channels with which to obtain a new source of power.  Both readily available, and completely legal.  If your services are available milady, I believe your talents could be employed with a little, uh, project I have been assigned to carry out, along with recruit for said project.  However, I understand that you may wish to hear more details... perhaps a back alley is not the best place to discuss proper business?"

Outside the alley, the activity seemed fairly routine, customers were shopping at the stalls and store, others were simply browsing.  The loud gunshot seemed to have chased the unscrupulous characters away from this particular district, at least, for the time being.

Bas hadn't really waited for a reply,  the tall demon slipped out of the alley right between Zelah and Jeremiah.  He tipped his head, and tipped his middle and index fingers on his right hand, to his eyebrow, to Zelah as he passed.  "How're you doing today, Zelah... and who's your friend?"


On A Boat

The uttering of a simple phrase in an oddly deep, and grating tone was all it took for the fog cloud to dissipate.  The mage stood there, black robed, carrying a dark staff with a white crystal set in the blackened, gnarly, wood.  The other pirates started moving in, while the mage, his face covered by an eerily  featureless metal plate,  pointed his staff towards the feline adventurer.  He started muttering something Arroyo couldn't quite make out, however, the crystal started glowing.

The other pirates seemed to be giving the feline quite a wide path too.


Off the Beaten Path

The trip in and out of the camp was fine, for the brothers.  However, once off the major roads things started getting darker and more ominous.  A tinge of something sharp, somewhat sweet, yet painfully acrid order filled the air.  A few moments later, the first signs of the smokey smell that filled their nostrils became apparent.  A great white cloud rolled off as they crossed a small road.   A flicker of flame danced above the forest as well.  Some building was quite clearly on fire near by.


Around The Wagons

Today was clearly not Stephan's day.  Getting himself cleaned up, he'd realized just a bit too late that he'd left the soap outside the shower stall.  As the realization hit, his headache suddenly stopped... and his hair felt... strange.  It felt as if his hair had exploded like a mad scientist's... and with it came the strange feeling that it was alive.  The water dripped off his hair, and fell in some new, and interesting way.  Furthermore, Stephan would note a distinct lack of soap, left outside his little stall of safety.  As if on cue, a milky white bar levitated in to view.  It was supported on something... strange,  smooth, and clearly of well toned muscle...   Wait... was it coming out of -his- back?!


Lamylar

Offering his own view of things, Renard replied, "Just give them the truth.  You want to remind them that the journey is but a few days.  You want to let the know that the goal of this expedition is to maintain the safety of the village, and furthermore, there is someone around to adequately perform your tasks until your return."

Scratching his chin, the feline considered a few other options.  "As for what to take, i'd suggest a days worth of food and water, at least 2 changes of clothing for standard travel, and a 3rd for formal  wear.  Besides that, what you take is up to you.   If you need help carrying things, being a creature doth have it's advantages."



Clothing Store  

The 'cubi gave Johan a bit of a confused look as he continued to work on the coat.  "Well, to be honest, it's just the words, mental images are a bit out of my league.  Think about it, more like listening to someone's inner voice.  Like, getting to hear everything someone thinks about saying, but then gets filtered out... anything more complex than the words, and things start getting balled together, and are tough to follow.   I do, however have some paper... several sheets should you need them."

A tentacle returned from the back room with a rather large sketch-pad.  If one were to flip through, they'd note several sketches for styles of clothes, and a handful of mechanical designs for more complex umbrellas and other gear that served a more specific purpose.  It seemed that this particular shop owner had a bit of skill with very small machines, as well as sewing and embroidery.



Mischief In The Streets

The badger would detect a range of spells imbued with the weapons, Concussion spells, strength and hardness enhancements, elemental damage spells, along with other more subtle spells.  A handful of the larger revolvers had an aura of fear around them, intimidation.  Some of the smaller ones he'd overlooked at first, he suddenly realized why, they were specifically enchanted to have just that effect, be seen as so small they were nigh worthless.  Upon closer examination, such an assumption would be quite folly.  

He could sense the various layers of the spells too... then enchanter, or enchanters had done quite a masterful job, and it showed in the prices.  The weapons were expensive, meant for only the most upper crust members of society.


Around the stage

A sudden flare on the stage drew the crowd's attention.  An otter popped onto the stage with an overly dramatic flourish of an arm.  "Good morning Ladies and Gentleman, today, i have a bit of witchcraft and socery to show you, something that none of you would -ever- seen before.  Something so outstanding! So Amazing! So sure that we will impress you, we will be giving away free samples... while supplies last, of course."

The otter disappeared behind a shielded curtain, in fact, as far as Locke could tell, the entire stage was a combination of enchantments and shields.  Whatever magic, probably potions, judging from the equipment the otter was producing, was behind those fields, it was clear that the owner of this wondrous magic wanted to be sure to hide the secrets from prying eyes.  Not only hide, but had gone to paranoia levels of security for such a display.  A pair of Sevastian built golems could be detected at the very edge of the curtains.  Whatever equipment they had was anyone's guess, but their magical aura radiated just beyond the edge of the now area now wrapped in the anti-magical curtains.


Gun Store

The petite gryphon chuckled, "Depends on how much cash you actually have... As you can probably guess, my wares aren't cheap.  Not cheap at all, in fact.  If you're talking a box of 10 pistols, well..."  She pauses and writes a number on a slip of paper.  "Or, if you'd prefer boxes of rifles, pistols and scatter-guns... well, that's a bit more."

More writing and hiding,  "Also note, these are the numbers -per box- ... so you'll have to multiply your order by how many guns you actually plan on getting...  As for ammunition, the calibers are are quite plainly etched on the barrel, right next to the tumbler... helps prevent confusion.  IF there's anything else i can do for you... please, just let me know"

She slid the piece of paper forwards, face down so that the numbers were still hidden from Bart's view.

"I bet it does," Anabelle replied, looking at Renard out of the corner of her eye.

His response to her thoughts had caught her by surprise, but she wasn't about to let that trouble her. She'd just have to get used to having him around.

"I like to think things thoroughly," she said. "Just to make sure I'm not forgetting anything important. I can do it by myself, though. If you don't mind, I'll need a couple of hours to get everything ready. If there's anything you need to do before we leave, now would be a good time."

Zelah did his best to stifle his unease at showing his 'Cubi features. He shifted to a more attentive posture, ears and headwings perked, shoulders and backwings braced, and his tail curled neatly around his left ankle, when Wolkshammer came out of the end of the alley. "Captain," he said with a respectful nod, "I noticed this frog here following you from the airship dock. He says he needs to talk to you, some private business."

The 'Cubi didn't mention the cacophony of voices he'd sensed in the frog's head just a few moments ago. For one thing, he wasn't entirely sure: his ability to sense others' thoughts had led him on wild Mow chases before. For another, the voices had been just too fuzzy and unclear. The only thing he could tell for sure was that there were several of them, and at least a couple had sounded rather... excitable.

Stephan glared at the bar of soap. "So help me... if she's trying to screw with me again, I'm going to rip her wings off." the thought ran through his mind, regardless of whether he could make good on the threat.

"Cant a guy take a shower in peace!?" Stephan whipped around to the entrance of the stall to confront who ever was behind him; which was nobody. As he spun around the tentacles moved with him, with the one offering the bar dropping it onto the floor of the stall. Confused, Stephan spun around trying to see where the tentacles were coming from, which resulted in him spinning in place for a couple of seconds before he figured out they were attached. "What in the?" he muttered and then it hit him. He knew Incubi could turn their wings into tentacles, he had seen his father do this on many occasions. But typically they also had... he gingerly reached up to his forehead and felt the new protrusions coming out of his head.

As he had reached up to inspect his new set of head wings, his tentacles had risen up with his hands in an almost sympathetic motion, which brought one of his tentacles in front of Stephan's face. It was at this point a series of events was set into motion that would soon leave Stephan laying on the ground in an unconscious heap.

First, the tip of the tentacle morphed into a draconic looking head and gave him an wicked grin. This in turn startled Stephan who took a step back onto the bar of soap on the floor. The soap shot forward and careened about the bottom of the stall while it threw Stephan backwards; who in turn cracked his head against the wall of the stall. Dazed, Stephan stumbled forward in an attempt to steady himself, where he stepped upon the bar of soap again. This time the soap sent him forward into the opposite wall of the stall with another crack, this time with his forehead. With a sigh, Stephan slumped and tumbled out, through the shower curtain, into an unconscious heap on the ground outside.

"Well, it's been nice to make your acquaintance," Seth said to the panther.  "And thank you very much for your help with the pirates."  Fumbling with a pocket of his riding suit, he pulled out a wallet and extracted a card which he offered the other Creature.  It read "CLANDOVER ENGINEERING LTD" and gave his address and orb number.

Checking the bike, the incubus shifted himself back into Being form and donned his helmet.  He removed some clothing and other combustible material from a dead pirate and stuffed it into the firebox as fuel.  Lighting it, the wolf waited a little for the machine to reach operating temperature, pushing it close towards where the panther stood while he did so, just in case he had something else to say.
Otherwise, it was time to make the journey back to Nhylamar.

Cleaning the last of the Gecko's skin goop off her Paige noticed the Wyvern she'd looked at before watching her inquisitively.  Taking a chance the Succubus extended a tentacle towards the intelligent (for its size) beast.

Cooing softly she moved the tentacle close to it's perch and hoped it would hop onto it. 

The Unicorn said nothing, but gave a nod before following him out of the alley. She also looked aside, giving Gabe a satisfied smile, welcoming him to follow.

She remained quiet as Baseel spoke to the two waiting outside; one seemed an acquaintance, and the other a possible recruit. No need to pester anyone with questions, she thought. He'll no doubt wish to explain things to us all at once.

Lucy hadn't really noticed the smokey smell. Given that her sense of smell had vanished along with her pulse, this wasn't surprising. Then again, there was something else on her mind.

"But if there's any other ways we can help you in the meantime, we'll do what we can."

It had seemed like hours since she heard those words, and  due to the scattershot nature of her thoughts Lucy only remembered just this moment; The Note.

"Well...there is something..."The ocelot muttered, pulling out the note, looking at it. The way her yellows gazed upon it, that piece of paper clearly had significance. She almost looked like she could cry just from looking at it.

"I want you to make sure this gets to my mother."She told one beavers."No matter what happens, doesn't matter if I become an exile or an actual corpse, promise me this will reach her."

Arroyo just stood there in the center of it all. "You know." Arroyo soon spoke up. "It's a bit odd for a mage working for a bunch of bandits that are commonly found at sea." His lips curled into a smile as soon as he saw an opening. He started to make a dash as soon as he heard an incantation-like murmur from the masked mage.

As soon as his steps were within his sword's whip-like range, he swung his sword once more in a horizontal fashion, possibly hitting a pirate or two, possibly hitting the mage's staff and causing his spell to be misdirected. But to be safe, Arroyo soon side stepped to the opposite direction where his staff was pointed and let his blade snap into its original form and raised his hand up, the water from the river suddenly raised up behind the Lion's back and fired a round of water, in a bullet-like fashion.

Sikici had heard that brandy fixes were incredibly sweet. He liked the sound of that; it would hopefully offset the bitter taste of the alcohol. The angel never really drank, and on the rare occasion that he did, never very much. It was often during celebratory occasions or the like that he found himself consuming alcohol in any quantity.

As for food, well, once again, he was at a loss. What kind of food did they serve at bars/strip clubs? Wings? Peanuts?  "That'd depend on what you serve, wouldn't it?"

Off the beaten path (Near Aelisium/Nhylamar Border)

  The bothers remained respectfully silent for the whole trip after they left the garrison town. As the Storm Scorp strode along, using its wheeled mode whenever the ground was flat enough. After a time, though, Lucy suddenly spoke up, jolting everyone out of their thoughts. The Storm Scorp hissed to a halt.
  She held up an evelope and explained its personal nature, and made her request to the brothers. There was a moment of silence.
  "Last words to one's family upon exile or death..." The younger brother Gaakronacht said softly from the forward cockpit.
  From the rear cockpit, Gezzemocht leaned forward and reverently accepted the letter, read the address on it, and gently tucked it into his jacket under his light pilot's armor. He then nodded to Gaak, who nodded back. Both brothers placed their fists over their hearts, and in Gezz's case, not entirely coincidentally over where he had placed the letter.
  "We promise, as soon as circumstances allow, we will deliver this letter in person." Gezz said.
  "Upon our word as defenders of Aelisium." Both said in unison.
  There was another silent pause, and the brothers set back into their cockpits, moving the Storm Scorp forward again. Very shortly, however, both brothers picked up the smell of smoke, and then saw it on the horizon. As they moved closer, they saw the flicker of a large flame.
  Gaak worriedly looked back to Gezz. "Are we still in Aelisium?"  
  Gezz checked a map from his cockpit. "...Yeah. We are."
  "Dammit..."
  The Storm Scrop's course altered, heading towards the fire.
  "I must apologize, miss Alighieri." Gezz said. "We have a duty to all of Aelisium. If there are any survivors, we must take this detour to render aid. But you need not be put in danger, we can let you off at the perimeter, and we will pick you back up as soon as our sweep is done. Do you want a weapon?"

Kyirri hadn't been tracking the worker any more than any other perceived danger on the streets. He minded his own business. He continued on towards the library, silently hoping to get there without any more delays. He did however, stay alert as always.

Clothing Store  
"Looks like you're definitely the right man for the job," Johan said, as he flipped through to a blank page, setting the umbrella and his cane abreast on the counter and began a rough sketch, narrating as he went.

"This one, the shaft is roughly the same diameter as my cane. I had the thought that we could cut and thread the umbrella shaft at the grip end, thus I could always have a free hand, even though I get to keep the use of this." the fennec said, twisting the cane's handle to free the slender, needle-like push-dagger within. "Personally, I avoid a fight whenever I can, but in my line of work, getting robbed could hurt a lot more than just myself."

Addy held the kitten out and looked it in the eyes. "So you are a pest removal specialist, are you? Think you can keep a garden safe, little one?" In response all she got was a purr and a few sleepy blinks. "I think I will take her." Depositing the kitten with the clerk Addy went around the store picking out only the most absolutely vital supplies, such as a harness that exactly matched the blue of the kitten's eyes.

There were no words for how grateful Jeremiah was that the captain had showed up right then. Zelah had been friendly, sure, but there were few tactful ways of saying "I want him to help me commit fraud to obtain controlled arcane knowledge!"
"Jeremiah Ac'Gregor, at your service sir." The frog's voice practically dripped honey. He was laying it on thick. Really thick. Which is a good sign he was going to ask for a huge favor, if you knew the type of personality. "If I may compliment you on your choice of retainers, by the way?" He gestured theatrically to Zelah, "This young man acted on a rather remarkable degree of initiative. He's got good instincts, and offered me one of the most polite but effective threats of violence I've received in a long time. I don't suppose your organization has any of those employee review pamphlets I could fill out?"
"But I should get to the point. I've been looking for a man of your connections and reputation to aide me in a small, trifling matter, which I'd prefer to discuss in private if possible." He grinned, "I've managed to obtain a few useful contacts myself, getting this far, and I'm sure there's something I could offer in return for the assistance."

To him, the amount of security and defenses seemed extremely paranoid for a simple snake-oil style huckster.  The cheetah slipped on a pair of jewelers glasses and manipulated the tiny loupes to focus his sensing apparatuses into a tight beam looking for the gaps in the layers of magical shielding.     

As he was bouncing tight beams off of things, Locke turned to the closest friendly looking person in the crowd.  Leaning slightly closer to that person's ear, he whispered, "what's this all about then?"

Nhylamar Badlands

The panther glanced back at the pirate girl as she disappeared into the brush. "Well, she was nice and helpful. I hope she doesn't die too horribly and painfully."

He accepted the proffered business card, inspecting it briefly. With a flick of his fingers, the card vanished into thin air--perhaps magic, perhaps simple legerdemain.

"Hmm... so you work in the capital? I'm heading that way with Alice." He cocked his head with the raised eyebrow of someone coming to a sudden realization. "Oh, right... she burned up in the train crash. It'd be awkward to stay at her place now, wouldn't it?" He frowned, but quickly shrugged it off and turned back to the Incubus. "I don't suppose you could recommend a nice cheap place to stay while I'm in town..."

Nhylamar Badlands

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sethir said cautiously.  Emotionally, the panther didn't seem to be too distressed at losing his companion, so it could go either way.  In any case it was none of his business.

"I live in the capital so I'm probably not the best person to ask.  You really want someone who visits it..."

He frowned.  "That said, I've heard good things about the QuadTree hotel.  It's owned by Dimanika Clan so it's safe enough, but it is a little expensive and the floors are randomly-numbered."
The wolf smiled for a moment... he and Dorcan had spent many days and nights designing the elevator control systems while the tower was being built - the clan representative had insisted that it visit each floor in numerical order.  They had eventually used a pinned barrel, much like that found in a musical box.  The pins were screwed into place so that they could be rearranged as necessary.

"Oh yeah, there's a TravelShack as well.  They're cheaper, but the beds aren't as comfortable.  Depends if you need to sleep, I guess.  And how long you'll be there for."

"Anyhow, I'd better make tracks," he said.  "You're welcome to tag along if your machine is working."

So saying, he helmeted up and hit the road, trying to get his thoughts in order for the report he'd have to make.

Lamylar 

Renard waited for Ana to gather her things, and prepare for the trip.  He himself merely tidied up his own appearance a bit, along with adding several runes across his body, making him more obviously an enforcer of Nhylamar.  "Whenever you're ready, all me to take care of your bags."


Sevoy Back Alley 

Baseel listened to the frog, and held a thoughtful gaze for a few moments before responding.   He kept his tone level and calm.  "Well, Jeremiah... to really determine what fair trade would be... i do believe i'd have to know what you'd ask of me first.  Seeing as you've done your research, and have passed the scrutiny of my some of my security, you can either follow me to a meeting with the crew, or wait at the MJOLNIR, in my quarters, and we can discuss this issue further.  As is, I do have a meeting i need to attend.  Privacy will be a bit minimal, with several crewmembers, as well as possible recruits involved." 
Reaching into a pouch the demon canine produced a small black, sphere, perhaps the size of large marble, "This will either grant you access to the ship, or allow you to contact me, should you choose to head off until after the meeting.  If it weren't for previous arrangements, i'd have gladly tried to sort this out sooner."

Turning his attention back to the unicorn and rat, the demon added, "Milady, and sir, if you wish to join the crew, i am holding a semi-formal meeting to give everyone a brief rundown as to what's actually going on, and why i am in need of services from such a broad range of skills, and why i am -primarily- recruiting creatures. "   Making another sweeping gesture, the demon reached out towards the restaurant district, his hand shimmered with a blackish mist for a moment, along with his bright blue eyes.  "If you're seriously interested in a job, please, follow me.  I've just called a meeting for all the stones the other recruits are carrying.  A meal is on me, along with a little bit of enlightenment." 
Waiting just long enough to gather his followers, Baseel started wading into the street, careful to take roads large enough so that the mechanic could drive his bike without much problems.


Around The Wagons   

Time seemed to fade away again.  Something appeared in a vision, of some sort... or maybe he woke up and then passed out again.  He couldn't remember.  However, the water was still running, splashing around him.   his upper-body had all but dried,  however, and there was not a peep of the sound of people.  Stephan could feel people a ways away... but there was no one within his camp.  his senses seemed off... 

It was calm, peaceful... and then, right in front of him, a black slit appeared, the slit seemed to face him, a total darkness, the blackness grew, it had depth, there was light somewhere in the black patch, floating in the sky, a little ways in front of him.  An orange, spotted paw appeared, black, baggy pants, some type of opened vest, then, a leopard head.  Long, leathery wings sprouted from his back, smaller from his head.  His dark blue eyes transfixed on the squirrel.  "Oh... it seems i caught you at an awkward time... "  the voice was soft, moderately deep, and oozed with amusement. 
"I've got a letter for you, and some stuff to go over... so... why don't you get dressed before someone else finds out that you're going to be incapable of sating the ladies when you get to the academy"  He flashed a very toothy grin.  On closer inspection, a bright red mark could be seen through the opened vest, placed on the feline's very well formed, and taught, thin, but muscular frame.  He seemed almost sculpted out of one of Stephan's sisters romance novels.


Pet Store

Besides the harness, which very easily slid over and around the wings of the little kitten, kibble, bowls, and an enchanted collar with a teleport mechanism were all suggested to the angelic doctor.  The store keeper tried adding a few toys as well, seeing that this particular customer seemed to want to pamper her pet.

In the back, the wyvern gave Paige's tentacle an odd look, prodding the extended limb with it's beak-like nose.  It opened it's mouth, and cooed back in an imitation of Paige's own noises, then took a small hop.  It weighed far more than it looked like, perhaps 8 pounds, quite heavy for such a small, and flight-capable reptile.   It's tail swished back and forth, the stinger clearly not extended as looked at Paige and released a bit of a chirp.  It cocked it's head, and it's expression practically oozed, "So, what now?"   wait...  Wait, was that thoughts she'd just heard?

a few moments later, the small black stone the captain had given each of them rang with a subtle chime, it grew warm, and it moved a bit.  A few moments later, an image of a diner appeared along with strangely specific directions engrained in their memory.  They knew where they were going, as if it were second nature.


In the Smoke and Haze, Aeliseium 

As the brothers sped down the road, they'd quickly find the building on fire.  It was a large school-house looking building.  Part of a church.  There were screams coming from well inside the walls, and, it appeared the fire was set to completely trap whoever was inside the building.  The door was visibly aflame, along with the windows.  The smoke was rising as the flames crept towards the center of the building, "St. Moneclare's Orphanage" were the letters engraved in the large wrought-iron sign. 

More screams, panic, terror, imminent death.  Every entrance was aflame, and through the windows, it looked like most of the outer corridors had joined the blaze as well.  A child's wail, a small raged form pressing against the window before succumbing to the flame.  Before the brothers, was a ghastly scene...  A horribly dangerous, and ghastly scene.  The building looked on the verge of collapse as the fire ate away at the  supports of the large, wooden structure.

Lucy suddenly had her own problems to deal with.  Coming from the nearby woods were footsteps, heading away from where the brothers had just gone.  A ripple of movement, something green.  Then it disappeared.  Suddenly movement from something brown.  Whatever it was, it was difficult to tell if it'd spotted her just yet.


On The Big Blue Watery Road (Arroyo) 

A hammer-like sound thundered against the hull of the ship, then another.  Rhythmic drum-beats.  The masked mage looked at the being feline and cackled.  "You are in over your head, adventurous lad.  You jump overboard now, and we won't come after you, nor attempt to stop your escape... "
Another bolt of lightning flickered out from the staff.  Another drum-beat from below deck.  The water Arroyo had summoned was dissolved in a flash of hissing mist.  Another beat from below deck.  Was it getting louder?  *BOOM* another beat.   The mage's staff flashed again, a small shell of glowing energy covered his feet and the deck-plate below him.  "Do you even know what you're stopping, lad?  You don't honestly think you can stop -him-, do you?"  *BOOM*  Something was coming from the inner hold of the ship. 
A sharp screetch could be heard, a sound like a rusty nail against a chalk-board.  Metal rending, giving way, as something tore through another deck.  "He won't give you a deal as good as i"  Long sharp teeth exposed themselves below the mask.  The swordsman had donned masks as well.  A symbol,  a bizarre, swirling star pattern, with 3 points,  brazenly displayed on the side of the cheek of each mask.  "Oh, he's very close now... i'd run if i were you."
The beating started again, and this time, the upper-deck rumbled.


Club

"Well, i can get you a..."   Suddenly the waitress paused as an incubus, some breed of lynx, appeared from the door and shouted, "Hay, Sol's show is about to start... if you want to catch the whole thing, you'd better get out 'ere now!"

Many patrons filed out, and many staff members hastily donned clothing of a more modest nature, and followed in kind.  The entire club seemed to be emptying out into the streets, heading down the road, towards the market square.  The lioness made a not so subtle push towards the door, and said to Sikici, "oh, you'll want to see this... he's been bragging about his wonders for -far- too long to not have something absolutely wondrous to show off."   


To the Library

Kyirri's attempt to ignore his purser worked.  The male seemed to disappear into the crowd, with no signs of his outfit, nor head anywhere amongst the beings and creatures going about their routines.  He would find himself outside the large building, it's marble columns standing perhaps 10 stories high, and each heavily engraved.  This was one of the grander libraries in the area, a place where books where rare books would surely be found, and it matched the address his boss had given him.  He felt compelled to continue with his mission... He -had- to get that book.

At the front desk, a squirrel being stood by a small sign, it read "Ms. Tanika"



(OOC: there's more coming in the next few days... but i'm too tired to carry on... enjoy those of you who've been posted for, and those who haven't, don't worry, i haven't forgotten you)

"I'll be fine, I'm used to carrying things around and I prefer to have my things at hand," Ana politely rejected the offer. "Thanks anyway."

She went back home and packed, making a mental list and going through it several times until she was confident that she wasn't forgetting anything important.

While she was going through her drawers to pick her stuff, she came across her old music box. It was a family relic, brought from Aeliseum although no one knew for sure where it had been made. It didn't hold much monetary value, nor did it have any magic unless the spell was so well-concealed no one in her family could ever detect it. But it was important to Ana. Its music comforted her when she was nervous or upset, and just looking at her helped her ignore all the little nuisances and focus on what was important. She decided to take it with her. It didn't weigh a lot, and she'd feel better having it with her than leaving it at home.

Before she left, she wrote a note saying she'd be out for a while, going on a short mission to help protect the village, and that anyone who touched anything inside the house would be subject to a terrible curse. She stuck the note on her front door and hung a few talismans around to deter possible bandits and give the impression that she was serious about the curse.

She also talked to a few people on her way out to make sure all the urgent tasks would get done, as well as to convey the message that everything would be fine as long as no one didn't go looking for trouble, and that staying at home was the safest choice if any unwanted visitors showed up.

Then she went back to meet Renard.

"I'm ready," she said with a simultaneous smile and sigh.

She looked in the direction of the road. She wished she could tell what was going to happen next, but she knew she'd find out in due time. She'd just have to make sure she could deal with whatever life threw at her.

Back section of the Pet Store


The succubus grinned widely as her tentacle took the reptile's weight, a sentient Wyvern was a rare find! Oh sure they couldn't talk, but they were as intelligent as a low IQ being! "Well now darlin' I go see the nice man at the counter and see what he's asking for you. Would you like that?"

Stephan grumbled as he sat up with a groan as his head began to throb in pain. "What hit me?" he mumbled, seemingly ignoring the cubi standing over him.

"Oh... it seems i caught you at an awkward time... "

Stephan looked up at the remark, and then reached up and felt his headwings, "Oh no... I grew a second pair of wings." he was clearly way behind on current events.

"I've got a letter for you, and some stuff to go over... so... why don't you get dressed before someone else finds out that you're going to be incapable of sating the ladies when you get to the academy," the stranger continued.

Stephan was too dazed to notice the stranger had made a slight against him but did notice that he was in front of another person, a stranger at that, completely nude. Something seemed to click in his mind and he felt something shift behind him, he only managed to say, "oh..." before one of his wing tentacles snatched his robe off of the hook and threatened to smother him with it. Stephan fought with the article of clothing as several other tentacles tried to position it to put it on him, and failing miserably at that as well. Stephan finally growled, and lashed out and snagged one of the offending appendages, "Stop helping! Just stop! I'll kill you!" the rest of the tentacles lashed around his wrist in a similar sympathetic motion, "I'll rip you out and deep fry you like calamari!!!"  Stephan was rolling on the ground, half clothed, "DIE!!!"

Arroyo kept his sword raised and pointed at the mage. He scoffed a bit at the masked man. " I'm not terrified by sea monsters, I've spent A LOT of time at sea, you think I don't encounter them out there?" He took a swing in the air with his sword, but it wasn't to intimidate the mage, it was to stab a closing in swordsman with it's swift and extended blade, enough to leave a gash in flesh or a dent in armor. "But if you really want me gone. Hand over your living hostages. " He kept his sword in hand, it's blade back into it's original form, spinning it around with his wrist, being prepared for an attack.

"Deal or no deal?" The lion smirked, waiting for a reply.

(OOC: since you vanished before answering my question in the chat Bas, I'm assuming the ophanage is not completely engulfed in a massive raging inferno, and the fire is still only on part of the building and in the process of spreading)


Burning orphanage

  It was truly one of the most horrifying things the Vaponci Brothers had ever seen.
  They had been through war. They had seen Creatures shred entire infantry squads to pieces alone. They had seen bandits pillage defenseless towns for resources. But they had never seen such sensless and deliberately cruel thing, as the fire was clearly started in a way meant to trap the inhabitants. This...
  This was just sick.
  "We gotta get them outta there!" Gaakronact shouted even as he moved the Storm Scorp to the least-burned wall.
  Gezzemocht was mostly a mechanical steam-engineer, but he was versed in basic architecure and structural mechanics, as it was all related (and this was quite a simple structure). He could tell the basic layout of the church, and make an educated guess about where the load-bearing points were (and weren't).
  As the Scorp approached, Gaak shouted as loud as he could, hoping someone in there could hear him. "HOLD ON, WE'RE GETTING YOU OUT!"
  Gezz started shouting directions to Gaak based on his observations. "Make a hole here! No, a little to the right...okay, punch it! Make it wider! Okay, no more, let's make another one!"
  Gaak steered one of the Storm Scorps weapon-mounted pincers to jab into the wooden wall, grasping the timbers in the pincer-claw, and pulling them out, then making the hole a little wider, as Gezz directed.
  Gaakronacht shouted again, this time through the newly-made hole. "GET OUT THROUGH HERE IF YOU CAN! WE'RE MAKING ANOTHER HOLE!" He hoped to see humanoid figures rushing through the breach in moments...
  "Okay, move! Make another one over here, to the left! A little more...okay, hit it! Easy now!"
  Gaak repeated the action, punching a hole in the wall and pulling the wood out of the way according to Gezz's instructions...

(OOC: edited for GM cutoff of the action)

Kyirri examined the exterior of the library as he went on in. Mostly, he was thinking about how expensive decadent such a place must have been. Certainly didn't need to include all those engravings... building like this might be worth all the non black-market business in the slums... Taking one last glance for anything out of the ordinary, he went inside.

Once inside, he did his usual scan of the area. While he felt it was unlikely he could be attacked inside this place, it certainly was possible. He paced nervously up to the front desk, getting in line if there was one. Once up to the desk, he'd raise himself up to his full, if rather short height and try to get attention.

"Miss Tanika?" He'd start, his voice completely flat. "I'm here to pick up a book for Mr. Arklan." He'd then pull out that slip of paper that he had been given back in Arklan's book store.

Well, this was a particularly interesting twist. It would seem that drinks and food at the club would have to be put off until later; somebody was performing outside. And while Sikici normally wouldn't be all that concerned with such a spectacle, it didn't seem like he had much choice in the matter. Sol, whoever this person was, must be quite the performer to gather the attention of so many people... or perhaps, he or she was simply quite the talker. The lioness had talked about Sol's bragging.

If that were to be the case, Sol could be injured quite badly if the performance didn't go off as expected.

...well, the angel was truly interested, now. He nodded at the lioness, shuffling out of the club behind the rest of the patrons and following them to the market square.

Having hidden herself in in a ditch prior to the Brothers rushing off. She had wanted to help, yet doubted she could have actually done anything. Hell being Undead might have made things worse somehow.

Then she saw something moving. Had it seen her?

Slowly, she drew her trusty revolver, holding at the ready, laying on the ground on her belly, hoping the ditch and the bush around her would conceal her.

Jeremiah accepted the marble with a bow, "I'll opt to join you then, if only to acquaint myself with your operation." Smooth, Jeremiah, don't cock this up... "Don't worry, I'll stay out of the way. You could sorta say it's my specialty." He grinned and followed behind Baseel, falling in step with Zelah.
"Think I made a good impression?" He muttered, mildly amused.

Leaving Lamylar


The road which had to be walked followed along the river for perhaps a quarter mile.  A bridge crossed the river.  After the bridge, it was a several mile hike down the road to the nearest train station.  One of the big advantages a magical nation had was the ease of assembling large projects with minimal effort and time, especially when simple magic can produce the basic resources required to make things like rail-ties and tracks.  A fact that wasn't lost on Renard.  He absentmindedly commented, "You know, it take 20 creatures, performing community service for some misdeed, all of a day to lay 100 miles of track.  It takes over 4000 beings in Aeliseium to accomplish such a feat... Truly astounding, isn't it?  They waste so much, and yet claim to be superior. " 

The way he was talking, it wasn't exactly clear if he was thinking aloud, or trying to engage Ana.  They still had a little over a mile and a half to walk before arriving at the train station.



Pet Store


The wyvern looked at the succubus intently.  It almost sneered as it radiated a combination of smug satisfaction and amusement.  Nope, not sentient at all... totally not sentient... what would possibly make you think i was capable of complex thought?   The Draconian cheeped at the succubus as it hopped back to it's roost,  sorry, not quite that easy, girly  
For a creature lacking lips to produce a proper smile, the small wyvern seemed to be smirking at Paige,  Why would i -ever- want to give up my cooshy little spot, here?

As the little wyvern finished, Paige received a message from Bas, it was similar to thought reading... but, slightly more directional.  She knew where he'd be meeting and when.  She could come back and browse pets later.  An important meeting needed her attendance, now.

After gathering all the supplies, Dr. Addy also felt the same message, it's urgency, and the fact that she knew where to go, as if it were second nature.



Around the Wagons


Ed visibly face-palmed, he held his hand over his face, rubbed the inner-corners of his eyes with his thumb and middle finger.  He wiped his eyes, as if trying to think what he was witnessing was simply a trick of his own mind.  An audible sigh escaped his lips, and he began rubbing his temples.  "Look, stop trying to hurt your wings... they're tougher than you... they'd kick your ass... "

Prodding the writhing form with a foot, Ed set a letter down on the lip of a wagon's entrance and waited for the thrashing to stop.



On a Boat, Filled With Cultists


The pounding grew louder, the deck started to buckle, outwards.  A long, slender point appeared.  The cultists all went down to a knee, a position of obvious submission.  They bowed their heads as a hand appeared.  A long, narrow, slender hand, with long, delicate looking fingers.  An effeminate arm,  equally delicate to the hand, came up from the blackness below deck. The fingers wrapped themselves around the metal plate, over an inch thick, and the metal creaked as the fingers suddenly yanked downwards, opening a large rift in the deck.   Arroyo could see the delicate hand appear again.  An unnatural platinum colored arm, with purple stripes. 

The deck creaked again, an angel stood before Arroyo, a tigress.  she was slight of build, what should have been orange or white, was an odd metallic tone, somewhere between silver and platinum.  Her stripes a deep purple-blue.  She was wearing a simple outfit, a form-fitting black dress, strapped on one shoulder, and obviously backless. 

She spoke in a sing-song soprano, she seemed careless.  Up and down her arms, rune-inscribed rings covered from her wrists to her shoulders.  For an adventurer who'd faced creatures, he'd note they were specifically designed to prevent spell-casting... but why so many?

Before arroyo could think too hard on his problem, she approached the mage, seeming to pay no mind to the feline adventurer.  He stood up, and began removing the circlets.  Taking perhaps a second or 2 per ring to break their bind.



Burning Orphanage


Though the holes were small, and meant to act as an entrance, 2 things happened.  As the first hole was made, the fire grew hotter as oxygen rushed in.  This also caused additional pressure on the wall.  Several support timbers collapsed onto the mech's claw as it punched the second hole in the wall.  The mech's claw was stuck, and they'd inadvertently caused the fire to grow more fierce.  The screams grew louder.  The hole they'd made with the claw had smoke pouring out of it.  A small space, just barely large enough to fit one of the brothers was held opened, as the timbers that had pinned the mech were long, and the claws large, and sturdy. 
Inside, a small body was desperately clawing, trying to get out of the deathtrap, through that small hole.  The squeals of hope as a small hand could be seen protruding through the smoke.



  At Bree Tanika's Desk


"Hmmm? what?"  The squirrel being looked a bit lost.  "Mr. Who again?"   She gingerly took the paper,  Folding it over, holding it sideways, examining it ever which one.  Kyirri had no clue as to what she was looking for.  He'd done as instructed.  "Oh... right... Mr. Akman the book-collector!" she exclaimed.

"if you'll just follow me, we'll have to collect your book from the area where we keep such rare collector's items.  You'd be -shocked- at how many people have tried to steal from us!"  She rather absentmindedly started to get up, before tripping over her chair.  She spilled a pile of index cards all over the floor, and a look of horror came over her face.
"maybe this'll take a little more than a minute"  she said, while shuffling through the cards.  Her tail making an utter mess of the desk behind her.



Around the Stage


The man Loche prodded gently, and posed his question to was an equine, a being in upper-class casual business attire.  He gave a non-committal shrug, "Sol's finally putting up whatever it is he's been working on for the last few weeks.  Beyond that... i can't tell you much, he just said to come and be amazed... so here i am."

Before giving the angel a chance to reply, a booming voice came from behind the curtain, "Welcome ladies and gentleman, welcome, welcome to my show.  Today, i'm sure you're all curious why i've been keeping things wrapped up so tight.  For today, you see, i am finally ready to show off my newest masterpiece.   Furthermore, i have enough of them to cover sales, probably for today only. "

The ferret reappeared, this time his large feathery wings were on clear display. Rather than the natural brown, the angel had taken on a vibrant green, gold and black color palette.   He was most likely an angel, and given the way he was moving, either very well trained, or very experienced in the art of manipulation... probably both. 

He swung his left hand out from behind his back in wide arch.  A simple, low calibur revolver, commonly found all over Nhylamar was in his hands.  It's  black barrel and action, covered by the green/gray fur of the ferret, now that his being disguise was gone.  "Now, you might ask, 'Why is he carrying a gun?'  'What's so special about that gun'  and 'why in the gods' names am i wasting my time here watching some loon go off about a tried and true technology?'  The answers will present themselves in a moment"
He paused, brining the revolver down to his side, sweeping his other hand across and over the crowd in a flourishing wave.  "But, to show off this wonder, i would like one of you to help me.  This will prove that i have in no way set about to trick you.  So... is there any winged volunteer amongst you?"



This Ditch Seemed Like a Great Place To Hide


The shadowy image flickered.  A pair of bright green eyes seemed appear through the haze of the form.  They locked onto Lucy.  She could make out a shaking head, and then it was gone.  She couldn't see what it was, or where it'd gone... but there was no mistaking the fact that it had seen her, and it had chosen to ignore her.



Every Good Adventure Should Start in A Bar!


As  the various recruits were ushered into the large and spacious bar,  it became obvious that the demon-captain had something special in mind.  For those who'd been aboard the ship, every face would be familiar, and every face sat at a space around a truly massive table.  Every table had been pushed together, in a massive U shaped setup, which took up the entire floor of the bar.  A non-too easy feat, given that there were now, perhaps 50 or more beings and creatures in the establishment.  There was room to spare too, despite all the wings, tails, claws, horns, and additional limbs. 

At the head of the table... the very base of the U stood captain Wolkshammar, along with a half-sized, and very cross looking ferret angel,  and a pair of demon canines, who seemed to be made of muscle, their tree-trunk like necks, and  biceps that looked more like thighs on feral equines  were made all the more impressive when one took into account just how much stronger a demon was, pound-for-pound, than a being. 

When everyone had found a place to sit, Baseel raised his hands in the air, and said, "everyone, if you'd be so kind as to sit down, we have a little bit to discuss before your meals and beverages are served.  Before passing out menus, i'm sure you're all very curious why i've assembled you all here.  Especially you new people."

Standing up, and walking along the collection of both new people, and those granted leave, Baseel said in a rather nonchalant tone, "If you hadn't noticed, the ship we've been using, the one you've all seen, and stayed on, is of Nhylamar design.  Officially, she's Voethfellian, a personal warship of the Wolkshammer Duchy.  She is a very, very modern vessel.   Now... this might seem strange, but Nhylamar has asked for help.  The insectis are up to something.  They run their factories nigh non-stop, yet, we've seen none of their new war machines being used in their border skirmishes in Nhylamar, Syvastia Nyad, Voethfel, nor the small surrounding kingdoms.  Not a sign of them.  Therefore, using intelligence, gathered through some very skilled, and very unnamed agents, we've located one of their larger factories. "

"What i have collected you to do, should you agree to still come along, is to get into that factory, though any means necessary, steal one of their prototypes, and destroy the facility on the way out.  Before i continue.  I would ask that, if you're already feeling uncomfortable about this, to bring up your major concerns now.  Are there any questions before i continue?"

Anabelle cast a sideways glance at Renard, wondering how much he knew about her and her family's history, or if he was even taking to her or to himself. She decided it was best not to give the matter too much thought... just in case. There was still something she could say, and with any luck it might stop the tension from building any further. If he wanted to know her position on such a delicate subject, she'd make it clear. She was firm on it and wasn't going to pretend otherwise.

"Many Creatures make that same claim," she replied. "Yet their power is something they were born with, not something they have earned. I don't agree with one nor the other. Those who believe themselves better than others by birthright only bring pain and suffering to the world."

She hoped that Renard wasn't one of them. But if he were, his being here with her would make no sense at all. After all, she was a Being, and the Creatures who saw Beings as inferior wouldn't consider her a potential ally, nor a serious threat. Unless... No, better not to think about that. It would be better not to think about anything important for a while. She decided to start playing a song in her mind. It would make the journey easier.

Nhylamar Badlands

Tezkat's eyes widened almost imperceptibly at the remark about sleep. The wolf knew. How could he know? No, of course he couldn't. It an offhand comment from a Creature too used to the diversity of races in the capital. Nothing more. Besides, despite his inconvenient bloodline, Tezkat did in fact require sleep. He merely avoided it when possible. Sleep brought the dreams, and no good ever came of that.

"Working?" The panther patted his bike. "I doubt your noisy old bucket could even keep up. I suppose I could give you a wide enough head start..."

The other rider thankfully didn't wait for him.

Well, he's gone. Aren't you done yet?

The grass rustled around the tiny, well camouflaged scavenger. Ch-yah. It's not like these guys were swimming in gold. Some coins. Maybe a ring or two.

Just take whatever you can. We'll need money in the city. At least until we find a new source of income.

Why not the wolf? A nice bleeding heart type. He's kinda cute, too.

Tezkat scowled at his familiar. Truth be told, being around another Incubus made him uncomfortable. He hated having to keep such a tight lid on his emotions. With the rush of battle fading, the full extent of his injuries would soon have become apparent to an empath. Ignoring pain didn't make it go away.

The pirates carried enough valuables to keep him going for a little while, at least. Looting the men who'd come to rob him had a delightfully poetic irony. A few minor cantrips restored some semblance of order to his outfit. The bloodstained warrior look was surely out of fashion in the big city, and he didn't need that kind of attention just yet.

The bike flared to life under him, purring softly with soul-powered magic as he raced down the road to the capital.

Nhylamar Badlands  (sorry Tape and Tez :B)

The drive seemed to take a little while, the city's sky-scrapers loomed high as they grew closer.  The city itself was opened, though a wall could easily be brought to bear in times of war.  Today was not such a day, and as such, the gated mansions on the outskirts of the city started propping up in view.  Winged creatures tended to like extra space, and the standard of living around this part of town was rather high.

Nothing caught either incubus' attention.  In fact, the streets seemed more quiet than usual.  Chances were, something had drawn a good deal of people downtown, either that, or it'd come to a point in the day where no one was home yet.  Either out shopping or working.

The Streets grew more narrow, the building more utilitarian and larger, and the crowds grew thicker the further in they got.



Along the Train Tracks

Renard cocked an ear, and gave a bemused grin at Ana's reply.  "the difference between power and efficiency is that power can have as much waste as it wants, and waste is something i see the Aeliseium population do a lot of.  They regard creatures and beings as evil, simply because they have been touched by magic.  They are genocidal... they want to end all creature life.  At least our culture respects the sanctity of life... at least, for our own citizens.  It is sad that fighting is as common as it is... and the entire region has grown just that much more unstable since the insectis showed up.  It's surprising how dangerous the world has grown in such a short time."

The station's outline grew closer.  The sound of a train's whistle could be heard in the distance as well.  They'd arrived just in time to catch their ride.  


Umbrella Shop

Looking over the plans, the incubus turned from the umbrella, to the being, then back to the umbrella.  "Oh, a simple blade?  Nothing more fancy than that?  I think i have something similar to what you're looking for here."

One of the umbrellas, set a little higher than the others, had a metal ring around the neck of the grip.  The incubus handed it to the being, "just put the tip on the ground, push down, then twist counter-clockwise.  When you pull back, a small, hardened bladed.  Very sharp, though more of a fencer's weapon... more rapier like than a dagger... but it should suffice if protection is all you need.  Though, if you want to be sure it works 'right', perhaps take it to Phillip the enchanter, up the street.  He can make it sharp enough to pierce a dragon, and strong enough to take a blow from a demon."

The incubus smiled, passing the grip of the concealed weapon into the being's gesturing hand.

"I'd say that's efficiency," Ana smiled as she followed Renard to the train. "Anyway, what you said about Aeliseium is true, which is why I'd much rather be here than there. But this country's still far from perfect. I'd love to see a place where everyone's lives were respected, but I know that's far too much to ask. If we can make life a little bit safer for a village or two, I'll consider it a job well done."

Seth noticed that the streets were a little empty, but paid it no mind.  Just one of those things, he figured.  Once in his home district, he found the local police station and dismounted, stopping briefly and looking through the eyes of a passerby or two to check that he looked relatively presentable.

Stowing the helmet and habitually warding the bike, the wolf made his way to the front desk and waited for the receptionist to be free.

"Excuse me," he began, "I may have some information regarding the train crash on the wilderness line.  Where should I go to report this?"

The inquisitive nature of the feline and that of a technomancer was piqued.  Locke was searching for interesting items and he hoped to not be disappointed.  The angel took the most expedient route through a crowd he could, he leaped gracefully.  Releasing his pendant he unfurled his wings and coasted towards the steps to the stage. 

He stole a look at the revolver in his hand with his spectacles.  Performing a quick amount of magical analysis to see if it was just a revolver before he slipped them off as he landed. 

"I seem to be a volunteer.  Imagine that, me a volunteer."  The cheetah said as he mounted the steps, "exciting isn't it.  He bowed to the crowd and offered his hand to shake the ferret's, "the name is Locke."

     Gabriel sat at the table, crouching on the edge of a full sized chair. He'd declined a high chair or bar stool.
    "Sir," he said, "you mentioned before that you were primarily looking for creatures on this job. I've no misgivings about working with other races, and I'll have no problem keeping up."
    He sat back, hooking an arm over the back of his chair, and brightened up. "As far as the job goes, I can do everything you need a mechanic to do. I can keep your boat flying as long as I have specs, parts, and a half decent crew... actually, two of the three would do fine. I've done plenty of after-battle salvaging, too. I'm no stranger to running off with hardware while the previous owners are shooting at me."
    He put on a million-dollar smile for his finale. "If you aren't convinced yet... it just so happens that I know how to work with Ahnk'or hardware. You'll have a hard time finding a tinker with less then four arms who can say the same."
    The small youth glanced around the room. "Can I get a scotch, please?"

By the look of things, it appeared that Sol did, in fact, know what he was doing. Or perhaps he was just a superb liar. A mix of the two, maybe? Well, since Sikici was already here, there was  no point in just leaving. He didn't really have anywhere to go; going back to the club seemed redundant, since all of the patrons (and most likely a majority of the workers) seemed to have congregated here.

So blah blah blah ferret angel, blah blah blah gun, blah blah blah technology, blah. Lots of talking so far, but nothing seemed to be happening. Boring!

But ooooh, a call for winged volunteers! And hey, Sikici had wings, didn't he? Yes he did. And since he could be classified as 'winged,' he could potentially become a 'winged volunteer,' because he was winged, and because he had the mental capabilities to volunteer.

Good idea? Very good idea!

Sikici raised his hand. No calling out, no jumping up and down, no leaping up and performing a few loops in the air... just raising his hand. Since the crowd was big, the angel entertained the thought of creating an arrow of light energy, hovering it above his head, and having it point at him.

But nah.

A step away from crazy.

Stephan's shoulders slumped, "I cant..." he shook the tentacles off of his arms, "Just what the hell am I supposed to with these? I'm supposed to be able to control them, but I'm going to end up killing someone..." he stood up and sighed.

Stephan's ears perked up as the thought occurred to him, and he whispered the words to a familiar spell, and gritted his teeth against the pain. Readjusting his robe, he glanced over at Ed, "Listen, I'm sorry about this. The last couple of days have been pure hell, and it doesn't look like its going to improve anytime in the near future. Would you like to come inside the wagon for some tea, I don't have anything fancy, but its brown."

Arroyo soon started to lose the stomach for this fight very quickly. "A bit odd for a person like her to be on this boat...But I think I get the picture now..." He stood on the railing of the cargo boat facing them. " No matter. I'm losing taste for a fight. I obviously failed the objective...but before I go~" Arroyo soon quickly lashed off a swordsman's mask with a swing of his extended blade, catches it and proceeds to jump off the boat, sliding down a rope of the netting hanging off the cargo boat. "I can promise you this! We will meet again!"

*Ker-clomp* He landed safely on his boat, slashing away the rope that held his boat and the so-called cargo boat together in the river. With a flick of his wrist, the sword disappeared. Arroyo quickly climbed up to the bridge, where all his controls for the boat were. He quickly turned on the engine with a twist of a key, the same key that functions with his cufflings. in the center of the bridge part of the ship, there was an engraved pentagram. Arroyo stood in the middle the engraving lit up. He started to mumble an incantation, his boat started to speed up gradually and eventually dart off at an opposite direction the cargo boat was heading.

The yellow lion kept the engine in it's overclocked state for a couple seconds before cooling down and relaxing.

Quote from: Basilisk on July 31, 2010, 02:25:04 PM
Pet Store


The wyvern looked at the succubus intently.  It almost sneered as it radiated a combination of smug satisfaction and amusement.   Nope, not sentient at all... totally not sentient... what would possibly make you think i was capable of complex thought?  The Draconian cheeped at the succubus as it hopped back to it's roost,   sorry, not quite that easy, girly  
For a creature lacking lips to produce a proper smile, the small wyvern seemed to be smirking at Paige,   Why would i -ever- want to give up my cooshy little spot, here?

As the little wyvern finished, Paige received a message from Bas, it was similar to thought reading... but, slightly more directional.  She knew where he'd be meeting and when.  She could come back and browse pets later.  An important meeting needed her attendance, now.

"Well now I could just buy you...." Paige said with a mock wicked grin, which softened "But I'm not interested in owning unwilling pet. Tell you what how does a perch on a BattleZep sound to you? Plenty of room for you to stretch your wing should you wish, and I'm sure that you could hunt at your leisure instead of having to wait to be fed."

Paige was about to say more when Baseel's message came through. "Unfortunately my Boss just called for me...If you want to go I can take you now, and if what he wants doesn't take to long I may come back if you wish to think about it. Do you have a name little one?"

Mr Arklan, not Ackman... Kyirri thought as he kept his eyes on the squirrel. His face and eyes were as blank and expressionless as ever. And no, I really wouldn't be surprised at attempts of stealing, especially from a gaudy place like this... He felt however, that it would have been impolite to explicitly say that.

He didn't flinch when the squirrel tripped, nor did he move to help her clean up the mess. His eyes glanced to her tail as it brushed against the desk, but he made no moves to get involved. He just stood in place and kept his eyes on the Squirrel. He made occasional glances about, and looked behind himself to make sure nothing was out of place.

Umbrella Shop


The being took the device in hand, admiring the workmanship before withdrawing the blade. Holding it, as suggested, with a fencer's grip, he chuckled.

"The obsession with 'fancy' some people have is enough to boggle the mind, but I'm not one of them. As a fellow I met once wandering where I wasn't supposes to go on an airship once said, the more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain." he said, and slipped the blade back into it's disguised scabbard.

"You know, it's just hit me, I do not believe I've formally introduced myself. My name's Johan Ledwinka, may I ask yours? Also, how much this lovely piece of craftsmanship is going to put me out of pocket? When I was a child, father insisted I take up fencing. Looks like it's finally going to pay off."

Adelaide discovered her new pet was pedigreed only when the papers were handed over to her separately from the rest of the items that she stashed away in her "medical use only" storage area. She unfolded the paper then looked down at the tiny pile of fur, feathers and bright blue eyes, "Evidently your name is Vanilla Mittens Glitterheart III." She shook her head as the kitten yawned in boredom at this information. The names some people came up with to torment their animals. Then she felt the message from her host. She picked the kitten up, "Time to get going, Van. Business calls."

Burning Orphanage

  As the Storm Scorp punched the second hole, some timbers on the inside fell down on the claw, pinning it. Wonderful.
  However, a voice could be heard right in that very hole. Gezzemocht jumped into action, grabbing a gas mask and shrapnel goggles from a small compartment in his cockpit, and fitting them on as he hopped out of the cockpit. He quickly opened up a compartment in the rear of the Storm Scorp, and grabbed a crowbar from it, rushing back up front. As Gaakronacht continued trying to move the claw around to free it, he started trying to angle it up to give more leverage and help lift the timber off the kid as well, as Gezz jammed his own crowbar in and tried to help pry the kid free.

Train Station

Renard lead the way to a booth.  The area around the tracks was gated.  An older looking feline being was sitting in the little booth.   He was a brown housecat with blond highlights, and graying hair.  He wore a simple vest, with a pocket-watch tucked into his right-breast pocket.  A brass chain dangle to where it seemed to connect to a small rod, threaded into the vest.  A simple, yet near full-proof method of avoiding theft.
He eyed the pair for a moment before reaching towards the inside of the booth, just outside Ana's field of vision.  "I suppose you'll be wantin' 2 tickets for Nhylamire...  That'll be..."  Pausing as Renard showed his badge, and papers.  "Billed to someone else...  Train'll be ready in a few minutes... just make yer'self comfortable for a few minutes."

A passenger train, 6 cars long, perhaps 150 passengers total, pulled into the station, unloading a handful, while the rest stayed aboard, waiting for future stops.  Renard handed Ana a ticket, Car 2, booth  4.  "If you need a hand stowing your bag, let me know. It'll be a long ride."  The demon said, as he started making his way aboard.
Inside, the first thing that would be obvious, the interior was several degrees larger than the exterior.  Space was plentiful, and the simple wood-paneled car seemed to have several luxury items located in booths near the middle.  A diner, bar, and small shop selling trinkets, along with necessities that are commonly forgotten by travelers, such as umbrellas and brushes.



The Precinct


The blue ball of tentacles, with bright golden eyes appeared from behind the desk.  The mythos was a rather compacted, and squiggly thing.  It's voice was strangely feminine, despite the difficult to judge nature of the beast.  It was some type of mythos, and it seemed to be multitasking in ways that left even Seth, with his winged tentacles, in envy.   The mythos said, "Situation on the wilderness line is already being taken care of.  If you have further information to tracking pirates involved, you can file your report with lead investigator Hayden Kol.  4th office on the left."
It was hard to tell if the mythos had simply dismissed Seth, or, if it had the ability to run everything it seemed to be, with the care and attention it seemed to be taking with ensuring that each file was in it's proper place.



Around and on The Stage


Sol flipped the revolver around, opened the chamber, and showed the audience that the weapon was unloaded.  He watched as the cheetah angel moved to the stage.  "Now, hopefully you don't have a problem using those wings of yours."   The other angel said rather casually.

Producing a single, brass shell, with a odd, green-blue colored bullet, Sol continued.  "This is a special type of bullet and gun.  I'm sure you're all aware how the mark and teleport spell works... now... what if i told you that, in this gentleman's hand, was the ability to use such a spell, with the pull of a trigger, and flick of a switch.
The revolver handed to Locke had a switch, located right along the thumb-rest.   "Now, if it's in the up position, you're going to warp to the nearest open area that you can fit into, around the bullet.  But... that's not the only use for this tool.  I say tool, because it's more than a gun... though completely capable of firing standard .41 caliber rounds, this revolver is also designed to be used with a variety of specialty ammunition. "

Pointing to Sikici with his raised hand, Sol said "you'll be next... if you'd approach the front, i'll get you something to try in a minute good sir.  And you after him"  pointing to a demon- hound... some type of Doberman-mix from where either of the angels could tell.
Turning his attention back to Locke, Sol said, "Now, where would you like to go, good sir... perhaps straight up... perhaps across the street.  First, push up on that lever by your thumb, Aim where you want to go, pull the trigger, then, pull the hammer back.  I asked for a winged volunteer because, at least you can survive the fall, should you decide to go straight up."  Giving the cheetah a snicker, and a pat on the shoulder, he started heading for a pile of boxes.  Probably retrieving another gun.



Barroom Meeting


Addressing the little rodent-being, Baseel replied, "Well, there is one piece of the mission that's been handled.  Your assistance and enthusiasm has been noted, we'll be glad to have you around once we've got the area secure."

He paused, and surveyed the group again, "This is going to be especially risky, because, as you might know, Ahnk' Ator factories are built underground. While they have venting for smoke-stacks, they have minimal access to and from the surface. Save for the surrounding city, that's strictly being territory... We'll be operating underground.  On their turf... before things get too nitty-gritty... i think i should get   back to the basic overview.  Before that, however,  Does anyone -else- have any questions?" 



The Wagons


Ed sighed.  His fists were balled, and the stun spell he'd prepared was still glimmering across his left hand.  "First of all, there's a school to teach you how to control them.  That's what this letter..."  Casually extending a tentacle to the letter, plucking it off the wagon, lifting it up, then setting it back where he'd left it.  "Is here about.  Your wings are just like another set... or 3... of limbs.  You need to think of them as such, and learn to control them.  They're subconscious, you focus on your goal, more than the wings, and let your own mind do the rest." 

"as for tea... or food in general... well, clearly you didn't learn much about your heritage then.  We don't need to eat.  In fact... those headaches... ya, they're your own damn fault.  You'll notice you feel like you've eaten one too many cookies... eating isn't going to help that... at all...  Just saying.  You should read your letter, and think things over from there." 
Ed very casually leaned against a wagon, then altered his colors to appear as if he were part of the wagon.  Matching tones, and using his wings to cover the clothing he was wearing.  "Let me know if you want to know more.  Until then, i'll go entertain myself."



Exit, Stage Uh... River?


As he jumped from the deck, the last thing he heard was a reply from the angel.  "I'll be looking forward to it."  She'd said it in a calm, distant, and icy tone.   She was probably telling the truth, with the worst planned for said future meeting.

Arroyo's last sight of the cultists was them heading straight ahead, while he slipped down a smaller water-way.  The split in the river had probably saved his life.  The cultists, as that was clearly what they were, given the way they seemed to worship the angel, bend to her whim, and bow to her demands, hadn't bothered to try to shoot at the lion.  The rest of the crew was probably dead, or worse.  It seemed that this little adventure was turning more complex by the hour.  Simply getting to a paying job seemed more and more difficult.



Pet Store


The wyvern thought They call me Samara, and i think it best if i have a little time to think about the possibilities... for now... perhaps i'll have made a decision upon your return... perhaps not... but if your master is calling, i think it best to heed his call.

The trip to the bar was relatively short.  10 blocks of hiking through pedestrians had Paige and Sister Addy arriving just in time to hear Baseel ask,  "are there any other questions?"



Library


Pens, cards, slips of paper, crystals, a small wooden box, and a couple of keys slipped onto the floor.  Bree continued making her mess.  She appeared to gather one thing, then drop two more.  "sorry, this'll just take an  ooopps... one... ooooopsss.... ooopppss... i'll just... ooops"  She couldn't seem to even finish a sentence without getting distracted. 

After what seemed like a good 15 minutes, the squirrel had managed to put her things in some semblance of organization.  She took one of the keys, and motioned for Kyirri to follow.  "Stay close... there's some powerful warding here, and i'd rather not have to clean up yet another mess."  She smiled rather sheepishly, as if she'd somehow experienced that first hand.



Umbrella Shop


"Kaleb, Osbardine clan.  Probably not well known, nor do we want to be... we're a satisfaction clan. "  He gave a shrug, looking from the hidden blade to the half-sized being holding it and considered...  "It says 4 gold, 7 silver... but lets skip the silver, since you'll probably be needing that for the enchanting, should you choose to get it.  It's something i'd recommend too...  There are some ruffians out there, where plain steel is about as useful as a toothpick... and i'm talking those cheap wooden ones."
The cubi gave a devious smirk, while gesturing down the street,  "you'll find Phil down that-a-way"



Great Ball of Fire


The sound of wood falling in the background, crackling fire, something sizzling, the bittersweet smell of  seared flesh, they assaulted the brothers through their masks.  The squeals and shrieks of terror could be heard as well, as the pair continued prying enough space for the little child.  A small, canine muzzle appeared, followed by the wolf's dirty, soot-covered face.  Inch by inch she scurried through the hole the brothers had made.  She was sobbing, whispering over and over again, "Is it gone?  is it gone now?  Are you sure it's gone?  It doesn't leave anyone alive... we... we were bad.. and it came to punish us... just like the headmistress said. "

The little girl continued babbling... something about a monster , one that came and ate the bad children when they misbehaved, and became loud enough for the monster to hear.   It sounded like a fairy-book tale... except the results were clear enough... the orphanage appeared to be the only building that had been assaulted.  Though... it was odd... the entire village... it seemed, was strangely silent, despite the orphanage.



  Ain't No Rest For the Wicked


The opened topped skiff was cold.  The darkness that shrouded the little air-skiff as it approached the larger craft through the clouds.  Makran, a demon lynx,  said in a low voice "there she is... looks like the intel was good, after all."  A pair of beings stood in head to toe dark leather.  They wore breathing masks, and appeared to be dressed in Ahnk' Ator  raiding gear.  Small pouches were built into the cloth, they contained all kinds of various gear, bullets, grenades, wands, vials with various powders and liquids, along with several purposed crystals with difficult to read enchantments on them.  There was also a Succubus on the team, Kierana.  It was difficult to tell what her base form was, given the way she shifted.  In fact, chances were she was really "naked" at the moment, despite her form-fitting outfit.  As far as Alexander could tell, she was an all black housecat, wearing a tight-fitting cat-suit.  Her wings were exposed, and the pair of lighting wands she carried were tucked underneath her bust.  She was seductive as usual... however, she was from a fear clan.  Which one was anyone's guess because none of the others had even seen her mark, and she wasn't about to tell where it was.

The beings, Karmack and Mendoza, readied themselves at the helm of the small craft, dropping her down, silently, through the clouds.  They matched speed with the large craft, and inched closer.  Karmack stayed behind the wheel, while Mendoza gave the all-clear signal.  It was time to for Alexander to do his thing.

"Gentlemen. Ladies." he said, giving the merry band a white-toothed grin. "Let's not take all night now." He tipped his hat off his head, the piece of leather and felt falling to the floor, and scooting onto the railing, fell over the edge and into darkness.

A nylon cord screeched against the wooden hull as the black furred mythos fell at an alarming rate. He could hear the same screeching come from the thick steel rings attached to the harness he was wearing. Two seconds. Fairly soon now he should be running out of rope...
He pulled hard on a strip of cloth, increasing the friction on the cord and slowing him down. Mendoza managed to keep him just outside the far edge of the envelope. Just as he past it, he felt a tremendous jerk as the line ran out and forced him upside down. He managed not to gasp too loudly, and he felt the skiff rocking above him.

No screams meant that nobody had fallen out of the airship yet, though, so that left everything to Mendoza now. He reached into his harness, carefully undoing two front-pocket clasps, and pulled out two blueshined revolvers. The dark steel didn't so much as glint in the moonlight.

A little lower, now, and he'd see what he'd see. No gunshots after ten seconds meant pull him back up. But with luck, the navigator on duty at 3AM wouldn't be looking anywhere but in front of him. First shot should break the glass, then momentum would do the rest. Attach the line, let the others zip in, and then on to clear the ship.
An entire military transport. This could be the beginning, right here.

"What...The...Fuck?!"Lucy mouthed.

Whatever it was it saw and choose to ignore her. For whatever reason, though she wasn't sure if she  wanted to ever know that reason.

She stayed motionless, gripped by fear. What if it came back...Oh Crap, the Brothers! Where they in danger?! No...she should stay here...She couldn't just leave them hanging in the wind. They could be in danger.

Still, that thing could tear her limb from limb easily. Or she assumed, she had no clue just what the hell it was. A Demon? Golem? Some pissed off Giraffe?!

She stayed in the ditch, as though two opposing force sin her head debated the best course of action.

Umbrella Shop

"Thanks Kaleb, I really appreciate it." Johan said, and dug around in the flap of his coat, before handing over the four gold, smiling, but then took on a sober look and held up his cane. "And trust me, I know it's worth it, I don't need this just to hide a dagger in."

He paused for a minute, breaking out of a train of thought involving unpleasant memories, and then smiled again. "Anyway, that's ground I don't need to tread again, so yeah, definitely going to get it enchanted. It was a pleasure to meet you, Kaleb, have a good day." The fennec bowed, turned, and headed off in the direction the Cubi indicated, certain the enchanter shouldn't be too hard to find. And yes, as the umbrella pops open, it becomes clear that Johan is very satisfied.

Seth bowed his head politely to the mythos in the police station and thanked her/him/it.  They're going to be in real trouble if that creature ever decides to quit, he thought.

Mentally shrugging it off, he made his way to the door which had been indicated and knocked twice.

Smirking back at the Wyvern Paige turned to leave, "He may be my 'Boss' Samara but by no means is he my 'Master'. But we shall speak more when I return."

As she reached the bar in the company of the Angel/demon Sister, the Succubus heard Baseel's question about anyone having any.

"When do we leave?" She said fairly confident whatever the Captain had gathered all these creatures and beings for had to be for the sort of job she craved, dangerous, adventuress, and with a little good old fashioned mayhem on the side!

Paige was sure he'd fill her in on the job and the plan and inmore detail, in a more private setting.

Kyirri watched Bree as she cleaned up the messes which she had made. He didn't even blink throughout the whole fifteen minutes, his face was expressionless as ever. I have to wonder how someone that clumsy hasn't been mugged and killed in the streets yet... or how she even has the job she has. I'd get thrown on the streets if I did anything like that. She probably gets paid more than I do as well. He didn't feel a touch of irritation for the delays though.

Kyirri followed her when motioned to follow. He briefly raised an eyebrow when she mentioned having to clean up another mess, but his face quickly resumed it's general expressionless state. I'd better be careful that she doesn't accidentally misfire whatever wards they have on me though... she doesn't seem like someone that can be relied upon. More so than other strangers.

Stephan watched the other cubi fade into the woodwork. He snatched up the letter, slit the seal with a letter opener and unfurled the parchment and began reading.

I hope this reaches you in good health.

As you may have noticed, you have undergone some changes. You have finally matured into an incubus/succubus. This change does not represent the end of the person of who you were, but instead a new chapter in your life. With these changes come new abilities, new experiences, and you will need training and guidance.

Training and guidance that we can provide within the sanctuary of the Succubus and Incubus Academy. At SAIA we can provide a safe environment where you can learn to master your abilities while being amongst others like yourself. If you are interested in attending then all you have to do is request attendence though the bearer of this letter.

Stephan put the letter down, "How did you find me? How did you know when?"

Well, there wouldn't really have been a point in asking for winged volunteers if there was no need for the volunteer to use their wings. Otherwise, why specify that you needed winged volunteers? Simply asking for volunteers would have been enough. Unless, of course, the person who was asking had a thing for wings.

Excellent, more talking. Blah blah blah bullet, blah blah blah gun, blah blah blah spells, blah blah blah trigger.  Something about being able to use spells despite only having a gun on you. Sikici didn't really get the significance of that. Why not just walk? Lazy arses.

But oh well. Seeing as how the tiger had been given the opportunity, he might as well use it. So procedure and directions... push lever with thumb... aim...

...aim... where? Sikici could aim anywhere, couldn't he? Up, down, left, right, anywhere in between. Of course, aiming down wouldn't get him anywhere, since beneath him was a very solid stage. Aiming directly ahead would plow him right into the crowd, and aiming behind him... well, he wasn't quite sure what was going to happen if he aimed right behind him. The angel could try aiming above the crowd? Nah, aiming straight up seemed like a good idea.

So aim straight up... pull the trigger... pull hammer back...

...now what?

Locke smiled, "I can fly alright, it is one of the most liberating and exciting memories I have as a cub.  Just too dangerous to do it nowadays."

A careful inspection was warranted as he wasn't too familiar with magical rounds and conventional firearms.  There did not seem to be all that much to this particular tool, but depending on capabilities it would fill his need.  Looking about, the cheetah considered where he might go and with a nod he made his decision.

Following the directions as he was instructed he took sighting forward to familiarize himself with the sight points before aiming skyward.  Running the calculations in his head he estimated the time and toggled the switch at the appropriate time.  Hopefully he'd find himself a reasonably high distance up.

Burning Orphanage

   Gezzemocht worked furiously at the fallen wood with his crowbar as a child started to crawl out from underneath it. Dammit, making those holes was supposed to clear the way, yet obstacles just kept stacking up. Eventually, he managed to pry her out, taking her into his arms and moving her to the rear of the Storm Scorp. She was babbling, barely coherant and delusional. That didn't mean what she was saying wasn't what actually happened, though...
   Gezz got to the area behind the Scorp, and deposited the girl in the grass, allowing her to curl up. He quickly moved his goggles and mask off his face.
   "Stay, here!" Gezzemocht made sure the girl's eyes were looking into his own, and spoke in his most authoritative voice, carefully emphaizing each word. "Stay, here! You're safe now!" He then left and rushed back to the front of the mech.
   Gaakronacht was still struggling with the pinned arm. "This isn't good, Gezz!" He shouted down as Gezz reached the front again. "I'm going to try to fire the slug cannon at this log, that should split it in half. It'll certainly overpenetrate, I'll aim so it doesn't hit anything behind it. If that doesn't work, I can fire the sonic gun, that will reduce the whole log to splinters, but it'll probably bring this whole thing down!"
   "Wait on that second plan!" Gezz called back up. "I'm going to see if I can get anyone else!"
   Gaakronacht then began angling the Storm Scorp's body and "mouth" cannon at a good angle to hit the log on top of the arm, while Gezzemocht ran over to the first hole they made, wondering why no one had come through there yet...

Jeremiah paused mid-drink, his face noticeably blanching. He slowly set his glass down, and pulled his hat down a bit.

A factory. Underground. That was what the man was moving towards. No wonder his contacts hadn't suggested meeting Baseel yet, the man was on some gods-crazed mission to pick fights with the bugs. He'd gotten himself in over his head. SO far over his head.
But if it worked, he could get those books. And find his cure.
Is it truly worth the risks, sir?
"How-" Jeremiah licked his lips nervously, "Ah, how do we intend to get in?"

Streets of Nhylamar

Tezkat rode into the city, silently thankful that the streets didn't seem very busy. Crowds gave him terrible headaches, and he was in pain enough already. That was the first thing that needed attention. His shrapnel injuries were slightly more extensive than he cared to admit, and any trouble more dangerous than a handful of scared Beings could pose a serious threat until he recovered. The coins liberated from the pirates should buy him at least a minor healing potion. That would have to serve until his natural regenerative abilities had a chance to work their magic.

Already, the buzz in the back of his head was growing as he rode deeper into the city. Swelling Nhylamarin crowds broadcast their useless mental chatter to the whole world, with an unpalatable slop of random emotions mixed in for good measure. Sometimes he wished there was a way to turn it all off. Like right now.

He turned down yet another narrow side street, navigating from the memory of his last brief visit to the capital. If memory served--and it usually did--there should be a quiet little potion shop just around the corner...

Arroyo just sat down and watched the river wind down into the horizon. Most people would have suffered from road hypnosis for staring for too long, but too much was on his mind.  He then diverted his attention to the pentagram on the deck of his ship, quite large but only a few spells he knows works well with it. Perhaps it was regret of not being able to stop them? Was he going soft on anyone he faced? Could his spells use more intensity next time he uses them? So many thoughts of how the battle should have went in his head, He looked at the mask he snagged from them, memorizing the mark in his head.

But then he realized something! The vague job in Lamylar. After all, that was the purpose of his trip. Though he was unsure if he's right for the job, the little skirmish back there did leave a wound of a sort...

A Thin Cord Away From a Long Fall With an Abrupt Stop

Dangling above the rope, the signs of movement caught the wolf completely off-guard.  He turned started to square himself then promptly slumped to the floor.  The slug, as expected, passed through the plate-glass window, shattering little shards across the cabin.  The bullet passed through the window, through the 20 or so feet of air between it's initial entrance into the cabin, and the navigator in the little hanging gondola.  The bullet then hit the uniformed grey and white wolf just under his muzzle,  through the spine, and through the window on the other side. 

The being slumped, eyes rolling back into his skull, and blood pooling around his crumpled form.  The mythos has an easy time swinging in.  There was no one else on the bridge.  Clearly security was either slacking, or in other areas of the airship.  The windows had a double-handrail.  Mounted over and under, the over-rail clearly meant so that one could open a window, and lean way forwards, while holding one's balance above their head to pull them self back in.  This upper rail proved the perfect place to wrap the guide-wire.

As the mythos finished, a loud thump from the door near the rear of the rather spacious bridge signaled the entrance of security.  He'd have a few moments at most to prepare.


The Ditch

Lucy's staying put left her alone.  The smell of smoke and burnt flesh was all around her now.  The sound of buckling wood, heavy materials crashing against each other echoed through the trees.  Faint screams could be heard over the gentle breeze.  Staying where she was, the thing was gone, and she was all alone.  Safe for the time being.


Some Might Call Him, Tim... but, They'd Be Wrong

It turned out that Phil was a red and yellow phoenix.  His distinctly avian features showing as he was busy weaving some type of enchantment into a potted plant.  Blue and white arcane energies danced around as the avian continued his work.  As Johan reached the opened doorway, the phoenix gave him a nod to show he'd acknowledged the being's presence.

"i'll be wit 'ya in a moment laddie"  the phoenix said with a thick brogue.   He continued working with the plant for a few minutes before turning to the being.  "How can i help you today?"


The Precinct

Sitting outside the door.  A strange, lanky man.  Was it a man?  It was hard to tell, and as Seth went by, he couldn't even seem to remember what the man's face looked like, despite it being only a few seconds old.   He made his way past the suited man, and into the office.   The cubi standing behind the desk was dressed in a rather plain over-coat, suit, and pants.  A Green and black wolf, displaying both sets of feathery wings.  His clanmark, however, was hidden somewhere on his body.  If Seth hadn't seen the badge sitting in the left-breast pocket, he'd have probably mistook the man for some type of merchant or lawyer.   

Without skipping a beat, the wolf's eyes locked on Seth, he said in a bit of an edge tone, "What news have you of the train crash?  That's what you seem to be here about, anyways."


Barroom Briefing

The demon gave a smirk at Paige's eagerness.  He dropped the mind-shield just long enough to send her a quick message 'are you always this eager to jump into things,  Or am I just lucky?'   He then replied aloud, "We'll be leaving within the next few days.  Our path isn't quite so direct.  We're throwing a little misdirection into the mix, so, rather than a few hours, we're looking at about a week's travel time.

He listened as the new person, the frog being, expressed some rather obvious and serious apprehension.  Several members around the table seemed equally curious how one was going to enter an insectis facility.  Especially one that was buried several hundred feed under-ground.  "We know where a one of their major entrances are.  One that's normally designed to be used their transports to take things to and from other cities.  over-ground trains are an easy means of transportation... and the Insectis have several tunnels designed to be used by them.  We're merely going to follow them to their loading decks.  After that, we use the intel gathered from some very skilled, and very well placed spies.  We've got a map of their tunnel network, and we've got a high enough creature population, that i'm quite confident that, even in such confined spaces, we've got the advantage."


The Library

The first doorway loomed.  A pair of gryphon statues lined the doorway.  The statues were a white marble, with deep black eyes.  They eyes were a pitch, endless black,  They didn't seem to have any depth, simply due to their darkness.  They also seemed to be watching Kyirri.
 
Bree approached the door, slowly slid the key into the slot.  A soft click seemed to echo in the vacant halls.  Kyirri heard her say "just a moment" as she stepped through the door.  He could hear her fiddling with something that sounded like books on a shelf.  "There, you're safe to come through now."   She said, as she reappeared behind the doorway.

"The book is just a little ways back, now.  Watch your step though, there's a few more uh... goodies... to look out for."


The Wagons

"You think a headmaster of nigh unlimited power would tell me how she knows things, or what tricks she uses to keep track of all the new students?  Clearly you don't know much about our race at all."

Ed reappeared with a neutral expression on his face.  "Do you at least know what SAIA is?  Or, more importantly, who Fa'Lina is?"


Up on Stage, Taking Shots

Both Angels felt the ripple of exploding gunpowder roll through their shoulder, and, as each did as instructed, and pulled the hammer back to ready the next shot, they'd each feel a strange sensation.  One moment, they were of firm, solid wooden planks, Suddenly, their stomach's lurched, and they had the sensation of falling.  Wind whipping by their wings, hair and fur.  If either would look down, they'd note that they'd been warped over a quarter-mile up.   The ground was rushing up to meet them as they continued to fall, as well.


Why is the Village So Quiet?

The child continued to sob, seemingly inconsolably.  A peer around the corner reveals that the roof-timbers had caved in, blocking the path to the secondary whole.  The orphanage had turned into a preemptive funeral pyre.  It seemed like the town either didn't know... or were to busy with problems to help.

The first sign of something wrong came from behind Gezzemocht, a heavy creak of wood, the sound of falling shingles, and a very loud Thump from just behind him.  A dark form stood there, winged, dripping with darkness too deep for the light of day to penetrate.  It's features shrouded, but wings visible.  It spread it's blacked form, pulled a leg back for a split second, before sending a brutal kick towards the Aelisian being. 


Hunt for a Potion Shop

The hunt for the potion shop took Tez to the very edge of town.  He was on the very outskirts.   The alchemist was inside, a haggard looking mythos.  She appeared to be some type of naga, her body a jet black across her back, yellow scales covered her belly, and bright red diamonds ran down the centerline of her back.  She wore a simple corset, that covered her narrow, yet very distinctly feminine body in just the right places.  Her 4 limbs very precisely slicing, and mixing ingredient as she turned to the young feline, serpent tongue extending, she said with a playful hiss "whelsss, what do we have ssseeeerreee....  Sssssomeone who neeeedddsssss heeaaallinngggssss, perhapsssssss?"

The Precinct

There was no-one in the office and Sethir's attention span got the better of him.  He found himself staring at a painting on the wall, a reproduction by the Demon artist Giotto Francini.  It bore in graphic detail a leather-winged and horned rendition of Jesus casting the first stone.

Someone came by, and as far as he could tell, shapeshifted.  Sethir ignored this.  Personally he rarely left his base form, not wanting to be accused of 'Cubi trickery, but if other people wanted to change their appearance in that manner it was none of his concern.

"Sethir Clandover," the wolf said, and bowed slightly.  As he did so he created a chink in his mind-shield, allowing his thoughts to be read and weakening the barriers covering his last few hours.

"I hope this doesn't take up too much of your time, sir," he said.  "For all I know you know this already, but I felt it was best to make sure in case it was important.

"I saved a few people from the crash itself," he began, "But I'm not sure that's of interest to you unless you are keeping tally of survivors or the deceased.  The pirate attack seems more pressing and given the rumours of war, some believed that the crash may have been deliberately caused by the Insectis.  The speed at which they arrived - uh, the pirates, that is - it may have indicated foreknowledge of the crash, which would be a matter of national security.

"However, along with a fellow rescuer I managed to capture and interrogate one of the pirates.  According to her, they simply happened upon the crash from the smoke, so it was an opportunistic raid and not premeditated.  The airship is called the Burning Rose, and its captain is one Harman Maribach.  He has a deal with the... Koshrikan navy, I think.  The usual sort of privateer arrangement, or so I understand."

"Is this helpful, or do you wish for more detail?"

Stephan shook his head, "My father disappeared before he could really tell me much... it was probably one of the many things that was left undone in his wake." His voice was steady as he tried to maintain a matter-of-fact tone, "Now, I've vaguely heard references to SAIA... nothing much though. I always assumed it was a conclave or town somewhere. As for Fa'Lina" he glanced down at the note, "I'm assuming she runs the place."

He reached over and plucked a sheet of paper out of a bin, and picked up a pencil and sat down. As he hastily scrawled out a note he continued, "If anything I should probably look into this, as it could be something my father had set up. If not, then I can at least find out how long I've been watched and why. At the very least something useful might come of it." he finished the note and left it on the desk, "If you would kindly step outside there are some things I need to do before we can leave."

He waited for the other cubi to leave before he gathered up his stuff and locked up the wagon. He then walked over to Mary's wagon and traced his finger over the door inscribing a crude pictures which looked like a squiggle and a box; which would alert Mary that he had left and that a note explaining why he had gone. Satisfied that everything was in order, he finally returned to the incubus, "Okay, I'm ready to go, how do we get to this SAIA place?"

Locke thought he had prepared himself, yet his heart raced as he suddenly found himself over 400 meters in the air.  The cheetah nearly dropped the pistol as the momentary panic gripped a hold of him.

Wings out, pulse racing, the angel dove on the crowd below.  Adjusting for his current velocity, Locke managed to buzz the crowd before pulling up into a loop and coming down slightly harder than intended on the stage.  He came to rest in a crouch, he blushed a bit and grinned slightly impishly as a wooden board cracked under his paws.

"My apologies old chap, thought to have a spot of fun at that while up there.  Exquisite result though."  Locke commented as he rose to a standing position.

She breathed a sign of releif, before staring up. The screams...the smell.

The brothers.

Getting back on her feet she sprinted in the directioon of the diaster, the smoke billowing omniously ahead of her...

Keeping quiet for now (Not an easy thing for this Succubus) Paige waited for any further questions....She thought about wading through the small crowd to Baseel's side and draping herself over him as a sign of possessiveness, but she was sure that that would antagonize some of the hires...

Burning Orphanage

   The girl continued crying as Gezzemocht left her, but it seemed like she'd stay put for the moment, at least. Unfortunately, when Gezzz went to check the first hole they had made, he saw that some of the roof timbers had already collapsed in... Gezz didn't even bother cursing. It was too late.
   Gaakronacht, meanwhile, had fired the slug-cannon right through the log on top of the Storm Scorp's claw. Yet more unfortune as it failed to break the log in half enough to let the claw out, but it did loosen it a but. It would just take some time...
   There was not much left they could do. Gezzemocht rushed back over to the little girl to giver her a closer check-over. Suddenly...there was more sounds behind him and the Scorp. Gezz whipped around....and saw a winged figure, features indicernable as it seemed to be clad in shadows themself.
   At this point, Gezzemocht knew they could actually die here. The Scorp was powerful enough to kill a creature, but usually not at such short range. The Scorp was a fire-support mech with nothing to support. And there was no way any of them could go at a creature on foot. with small arms.
   Knowing his little pistol certainly wouldn't do anything, Gezz did the only thing he could do.  He tried to shield the girl with himself even as the creature launched a kick at him, while Gezz yelled "CREAT-uhh!"
   Gaakronacht heard that behind him. And with that, he too reacted without hesitation. There was nothing left to do. The sonic-cannon module was mounted onto the pinned claw, and pointing directly at the log (but also into the orphanage) at point-blank range. As it now no longer mattered, Gaak fired it.
   The log was literally and instantly reduced to a cloud of splinters (as was anything else directly behind it) as a concussive blast pounded everyone's ears. Gaak ripped the claw free, already moving the Scorp's four legs to do a rapid 180-degree turn. The moment the Scorp was turned around and he could see the shadowed figure, before it was even perfectly lined up, he fired the sonic-cannon a second time at the figure, again at point-blank range. The general ground immediately turned into a massive shower of dirt, hopefully taking the shadowed figure with it...

Well, that was certainly peculiar. One moment, he was standing on stage, and the next, whatho he was high up in the air. And quickly descending, to boot. That... no, that was hardly good at all. The other angel had spread his wings and was managing to descend rather nicely, and Sikici followed his lead, except without all the fancy loops and all.

No, rather, he just sort of glided back down to the stage as best he could, settling down upon the ground, knees still rather weak from the sudden transportation, hands a little shaky, but overall rather fine. The angel certainly wasn't keen to try that again. An interesting technological device, to be sure, but a frightening one if misused.

"A... very interesting contraption, indeed."

Thankfully, Alex had prepared a thousand times over for this already, and he acted with the fluidity of someone who had gone beyond needing to think about his movements.

His left hand spun his revolver once, putting it in the low-hanging holster by his hip in a reverse grip, and then drifting down towards the small, innocuous-looking lamp hanging on his belt. It seemed fairly ordinary. The panes, instead of glass, were made of dried, withered leaves, so thin as to be translucent. They seemed fragile, but upon testing were at least as strong as glass.
His hand fell towards knob that would have controlled the wick, if this lamp had one. A small inscription - "Hagekure" - was written in neat letters just beneath it.

His left hand turned the knob, and a dark flame sprouted in the lamp, plunging the cockpit into utter and complete darkness. His right hand aimed at the door, cocking back the hammer on the revolver. He could feel the rope on his harness tugging, but it would have to wait just a moment.

Kyirri followed Bree mutely. He took sharp glances around, as if half expecting to be zapped if he made a wrong step. He silently wondered how many traps and checkpoints this place had, and how, and if Bree could keep them all straight. I wonder how much longer this is going to take...

Still, he figured that as long as he just stayed silent and did as Bree told for now, he would be alright. He did so.

Barroom Meeting

   The Unicorn, still dressed in an opulent ballgown that looked blatantly out of place here, raised a delicate hand as she addressed Baseel. "From the description offered, it would appear this mission will involve passage through a variety of environments. Underground tunnels, vertical shafts, factories and industrial complexes... I believe my mechanized cavalry unit would be uniquely well suited to such a variety of terrains. It also excels at in-close and urban combat, and has the endurance for extended operations."
   "Regarding the operation, however..." She seemed to steel herself for a moment. "I am a loyal soldier of a small industrial colony on the border between Nhylamar and Aeliseium. If the operation itself is located anywhere near my homeland, I would be happy to volunteer my services free of charge. All I would ask is to be given all repair and equipment expenses, and a full share of salvage and recovery rights."
   She clasped her hands and leaned forward. "Even if the operation is nowhere near my homeland, I'm still be content to participate. I've been making most of my income through salvage, as of late."

Police Station

"Already aware of the situation... others have come forward.  Also aware of the pirates, and we also  know he usually makes port near the Aeliseium border, in Tacenta.  If you want to help with the investigation, the real concern is why a Class 6 earthquake hit nowhere near a known fault-line.  If you'd like to help with -that- mystery, we can point you to where the thing originated.  It hit just south of a small town, Kesslen.  No reports in from there... seems the damage was actually quite minimal"  
"if you go, i'd be happy to hear you finding... if you go elsewhere, you're free to do so... it's not like you're employed by my office or anything."  moving over to a map, the detective used a wing-tentacle to grab a map from a drawer, and pointed out the small town.

"Now, if you'll excuse me... i'm about to get some more bad news."  He waved a hand to the door, with a distinctly sour look on his face.  He was glaring towards the opposite end of the station from where Seth had entered.  
As he was all but thrown out of the office, Seth would note a pair of military uniformed individuals, both beings, and both looking cross and worried, waiting in the hall.  He'd also note the man from earlier was gone.


Where are we going, and why are we in this hand-basket?

Ed reappeared, his orange and black forming over what had once been a nice wooden red-brown.   He smirked, while holding a glowing hand up in an open-handed grasp, as if he had a large, invisible apple sitting in the palm of his hand, and he were examining the fruit.  He said, "oh, that's the easy part... or at least should be.  Just gotta wait for Raeleg to get here."  

As if on cue, a slender, dark-grey rat like thing seemed to appear out of nowhere.  It spoke in a high-pitched voice.  It's long, slender tail flitted from side to side.  It said, "Ed, we've got a problem... Fa put the school on lockdown.  No teleporting in or out it would seem.  Actually getting there is going to require you to take the main gate."
"you mean the gate in Voethfel"
"that's the one"
"you've got to be kidding me"
"nope"
"really? fuckin' really? of all the times to decide this, it had to be while -i- was out?"
"Is it really all that bad being trapped in the outside world"
"Well, it sure as hell will be if she doesn't lift this lockdown soon.  Cassie is going to be pissed if i'm late again"
"Ya... and what about Ethenia, and Gryson, and the others who'm you haven't seen fit to introduce me to."
"Raeleg, not the time for this... soo... how about teleporting me to the gate then?"
"can't do either.  Seems you'll just have to get their the old fashion way."
"damnit you little floating glow-rat... what good are you, anyways?"

The rat disappeared, and Ed gave a heavy sigh.  "looks like we're taking a ride.  Know the way to the nearest bank... Looks like we're taking a sky-ship or a train."


Funeral Pyre (what's left of the orphanage)

The kick delivered to Gezz was both powerful and brutal.  It took him square in the ribs, and sent him sailing several feet .  He'd find it hard to breath, harder than with the smoke  The shower of debris sent the small girl scrambling for cover, and the winged figure kicking off the ground, she spun in a high arch, putting a good 20 feet of distance between her and the mech.  The close-range shot hit where she'd just been not a second ago.  

The Sonic blast had a delayed effect.  However ,the roof caved in, as did the remaining walls.  A sadistic cackle echoing over the snapping, crackling flame.  The eerily feminine voice cooed from a nearby rooftop,  "You know, you can still taste them in the air... those little ones... Enjoy getting what's left of them out of your nose, lungs and fur. "  

The shadows dropped, an angel stood before them, she'd jumped again, her move shrouded by the smoke.  A tigress.  Tall, narrow, though not frail, with very predatory lines to her body.  Her base coat was an odd metallic blue-silver, somewhere between a polished silver and platinum.  Her stripes a deep purple-blue and her eyes were a deep, piercing green.   She cooed, chiding at the brothers, "Perhaps i'll let you live... i need someone to let the people know that Sel' Kar is back, after all." She snapped her fingers, nothing but a wispy black cloud stood where she'd been not a moment before.

Lucy arrived, just in time to witness the shower of splinters, and the strange shadowy shape disappear.  only to reappear again atop one of the houses.  Something else was off.  There was no signs of anyone else... the village seemed... dead.  There were no visible bodies, and the only structure with any visible damage was orphanage, still quite ablaze, and slowly falling apart.


Barroom Meeting

The presence of soo many new people was draining.  They mostly seemed eager to serve, or, at the very least, willing to do so.  The large demon wrapped up the meeting with a briefing on the route.  They'd travel south for the better 2 days, cross over the ocean, cut east at a specifically timed point, and use the costal mountains at Akhem Sapal for cover.  From their, they'd follow the train-tracks to the depot, using the expansive,  flat facility as a landing zone, and a very short term base of operations.  
After finishing the briefing, meals were had, drinks were served, and more private conversations had.  Baseel seemed to be rather consistently busy chatting with his XO, a female ferret angel.   As the pair of them eventually concluded, Baseel announced, "It seems we're going to have to get moving sooner than planned... certain events are shifting our time table... If you'd please follow me, I'll explain more on the ship."

Back at the ship,  Baseel announced "There have been signs of insectis activity near several border towns.  It's unclear if this is simply a probe, some type of renegade group, or the beginning of something bigger... whatever the case may be, these events are driving up our time-table.   We're heading out as soon as physically possible.  Welcome to the MJOLNIR ladies in gentlemen.  Looks like it's time for the hammer of thor to ear her name."
The XO was on the bridge, Baseel himself had retreated to his cabin, working out additional details using a projection globe.  The intelligence was surprisingly good, they had blue-prints of most of the inner-workings of the facility, along with projections of the city.  Baseel flashed a very toothy grin in the soft globe.  It seemed that, save for the time-table, everything was moving as planned.  


Some say you're a troubled boy, just because you like to destroy

The wheel around the door squeaked as someone undid the simple lock mechanism.  There were 3 beings who stumbled into the shadows.  The one up front was carrying a repeater pistol and a lamp.  He was some type of bear, difficult to see all his markings in the duality of the lighting.  Behind him, a pair of caninds, a fox and a coyote, both carried scatter guns.  It seemed the dark mirk of the mythos' enchanted lamp was combating the bright oil-lamp of the being.  The small ball of light they managed to create was enough to see a few feet around them.  

However, given that the lamp entered the room first, and the lamp was the first target that was presented to Alex, it was also the first thing his sights lined up with.  

The great thing about oil lamps is their relatively long-lasting capabilities.  An oil lamp, so long as it has fuel, can burn for hours at a time.  Given that this lamp was still full, it had hours of use left in it.  Or at least, would have -had- hours of use left.  The problem with an oil lamp is that it is filled with oil.  Flammable oil, and when that flammable oil comes in contact with a spark.  Say, the already burning wick of the lamp the oil-pan used to be attached to.  You have turned a simple tool of illumination, into a simple tool of immolation.

As if the loud crack of the revolver weren't enough to wake the ship.  The erratic steps on heavy metal plates, and screams of burning pain added to the noise, echoing through the gondola.  The alarm was raised.
Behind the mythos, the sound of shattering glass, and the heavy *Whump whump whump* of leathery wings flapping rapidly to build speed announced the arrival of at least one of  Alex's team members.



Up on stage, after shots

The stage creaked under the angel's slightly harder than expected landing, but the boards held.  When cracks seemed to appear, they shortly there-after seemed to seal up, revealing freshly cut, and well cared for blanks of very soft-grain wood.  

Sol was waiting for them, a big grin on his face as he watched Locke perform his acrobatics.  He had a bit more worried look as Sikici took his time, very carefully landing, and still looked quite wobbly from the experience.  "You see ladies and gentleman.  That's all there is to it.  Easy to use, though a bit disorienting the first time.  Perhaps it's time to show off some other features in a moment.  But, first, lets see how our volunteers enjoyed themselves."

He went to Sikici first, "You alright there, sir?  Looks like you're about to loose your lunch.  Here, have a seat."  With a sweeping gesture a chair appeared just behind the still disoriented angel.

Next, he approached Locke,  "You, my good sir, appeared to quite enjoy yourself.  A bit more of natural then our other volunteer.  Would you like to assist me in some further demonstrations?  I'll make it very-much worth your while."

In the library


Suddenly the squirrel stopped, and turned around, looking down upon the roo-rat.  "I just had an idea that would probably be far far safer.  Why don't you just wait here, and i'll go get mr. Arkman's book for you"
She beamed a bright smile at the being, as if this idea were the next best thing since sliced bread, or the discovery of fire.

She held out her hands, then disappeared behind another set of doors.  If Kyirri would try it, he'd find the door  quite locked.
A few moments later, Bree returned.  she carried a very large looking, iron-bound tome.  The book looked to weigh a heft portion of Kyirri's own body-weight.  Several symbols were inscribed.  Jagged squiggles, sharp angles, slashes.  They seemed somewhat familiar, but the roo-rat couldn't quite remember where he'd seen some of them before.  Certainly in the bookstore with mr. Arklan, but exactly where escaped the half-pint being.

"Follow me back, and we can finish this transaction... hopefully it's not too heavy for you."  The being girl seemed to carry the apparent hefty weight with ease.  It didn't effect her rather overly-sensuous walk, which, given the way was dressed, looked like she had the grace of a newborn giraffe.  

At the counter, the girl waited for payment.  A voice suddenly etched itself into Kyirri's mind.  A whispy, hollow voice.  It said ' I'm waiting for you outside, little one.  you -will- come with me, and you -will- give me this book.  Sadly, it seems, your contract with Mr. Arklan has been terminated... permanently   '


Municipal Center

"i'm sorry, but we just can use you at this time, Mr. Kalugin... we can't get your official paper-work because your previous employers are either dead, or yourself.  You can show our engineers your work, and if you meet their approval, then, maybe, MAYBE, we can talk again... but there's not much i can do for you until then."

The mythos at the desk looked like a perfectly normal jackal being.  He was average height, with a slightly chubby build, something many expected of  higher level bureaucrats.  However, should one try and take a punch at him, they'd quickly discover that the canid was nigh unbreakable.  His skin and flesh harder than steel.  He watched the soul-stone engineer carefully.  He didn't want to let the man go, but the higher ups had said no.  His hands were tied on the matter.

Down the hall, in the claims court.  There were several Cubi, Mythos, and at least one demon, all waiting for room 1213 to open.  This was where the ruling for salvage rights was going to take place.  The doors had been shut.  What this meant was anyone's guess.  Had someone gotten their first?  Was the judge still out to lunch?  Had the location been moved?

To answer all these questions, a demon appeared out of the door-way, the legally signed documents in hand.  Mr. Messua was greeted with a littany of glares and dirty looks.  Probably the only thing keeping the gathered crowd from tearing him apart were the pair of military uniformed demons in front of the Recruiters and Officer's Training offices.  It was fairly common knowledge that they kept some of their most powerful soldiers there as a trick to gather young demons and half-breeds.  A simply display of power and the claim that "with the proper training, and a couple of more years, you can do that too"  was usually all it took to get them salivating... often times drooling on the contract, while signing that dotted line.

The demon had the contract.  He had purchased the train-wreck's salvage rights.  Now, it seemed, was time to  collect, before someone less scrupulous decided to melt the wreck down, and wander off with the iron ingots.  Tracing the source of regular metal was rather difficult... most trains, including this one, weren't enchanted.  If he didn't get down their quick, someone might walk off with his recently purchased haul, and him unable to do anything about it.

Oh what a wonderful morning/Oh what a wonderful day~

The minute word had reached Haien Messua of the train-wreck, he had been out the door.  He very nearly forgot his coat and walking around coins in the rush.  Of course, so had the other businessmen in the hall; Haien just had the luck of the judge being a personal friend, and making use of his fire-magic's ability to propel him at great speeds when jumping from a height.

It had taken more than a little work for Haien's silver tongue to get the judge, friend or no, to sign off on the contract.  He'd had to argue that him being the saintly soul he was-I knew giving those poor deadbeats more time for their rent would pay off one day-would put the metal to a good use, developing some of his country properties; and promising to contribute a portion to the arms-buildup.

Haien didn't like selling weapons.  A sword or a gun, once sold, could just as easily be turned on its previous owner to obtain more swords/guns.  But there was a market for them, and there was war on the horizon.  So it seemed Simon & Sons Refinery would be producing metal for the purpose of killing people.  How distasteful.

In the present, however, Haien elected to indulge the urge to gloat this one time, winking cheekily, and puffing a bit of smoke out through his nostrils, which then formed a hollow heart shape.  And with that done, he was moving like a man possessed.  There was no time to lose!

In short order, Haien was flying down the streets.  Not literally, mind you.  His wings were too thin to give him more than a boost while jumping, which coupled with his levitation and fire magics had him standing in front of his mothership establishment, The Devil's Deals in short order.  It was a large store, two stories tall, and its name proclaimed with a large sign of poured metal, each letter crafted and painted to look like green colored flames, with a smokey outline.  The ram hastily opened the door and went to the front desk where he would normally sit, and rang the bell meant to gain the employees attention, in an alternating pattern of longer and shorter jingles; a pattern all Haien's employees were trained to recognize, and drop whatever they were doing and get to the front desk.

Minutes later, all five store clerks were lined up in front of the desk.  Three of them were Beings, while the other two were a Demon, and a Gryphon (B).  All were dressed in The Devil's Deals uniforms; black pants and boots, with bronze tunics the seems stitched with green thread, and smokey gray at the collar and hems; except the Gryphon who was given a satchel of similar design to serve as a uniform.  The Beings were a set of triplets; or rather they behaved like triplets.  The trio all essentially had the same personality, same background, even dangerously similar names; naturally they were the best of friends.  T'was kinda freaky. 

The other two were both normal...er than the trio; a Demon Horse, and the russet-colored Gryphon.  As soon as they had stopped fidgeting Haien started speaking.  "Alright, we've got to make this fast.  Henna, Hanna, and Honna.  You get down to Simons & Sons and make sure they have the room to process a new shipment of iron."  The trio nodded, and left for their job; like all the ram's employees, they had been trained to not ask questions, to just do what they were told.  "Kali, you round up a salvage crew, and get them out to that new wreck in the wastelands.  Strongarm as you see fit."  The horse chortled, and went off to do his job.  "Bassoon, you're with me.  Come on, chop chop."  Bassoon flapped off, out of the store and around back, while Haien closed up the shop; putting money in the safe, getting all the alarms and traps in place, and locking all the doors leading in or out. 

By the time he was done Bassoon had the cart outside, and had strapped himself in.  Despite being modernized in the business sense, Haien still enjoyed traveling by Gryphon cart.  T'was great exorcise for Bassoon, and freed Haien up to counter immediate threats moreso than an automated contraption would.  Having spent far too much time, in his own opinion, getting all his ducks in a row, Haien hopped into the cart, and whistled for Bassoon to get the cart going.

Precinct

Wondering if he should have used a message orb before coming in person, Sethir felt the detective's impatience and made as hasty an exit as would still be considered courteous.   Rumours of war, he thought, noting the military personnel waiting outside.  Maybe there is something to this business about the quake being deliberately induced.

The incubus paused outside the office, and considered what was involved in going to Kesslen, which seemed to be on the border with Ahnk-Ator.  As he did so the wings morphed slightly, switching over from their natural, Angelic form to something more demon-like.  If he did run into any Insectis troops or agents, he'd be in for a hard time whatever happened...  But there was no sense in risking being plucked first.  Maybe I should just hide them entirely, he thought.

The morning was indeed good for some... for others, it was less so.
One of the others was a tabby-patterned cat with rather large goat horns and batlike wings currently pacing in  office, 943C belonging to the Military Liaisons, looking rather disappointed.
He has spent the day so far waiting in several lines at the Bureau of Work, then getting his residence permits scryed at the immigrant office, then filling in the application forms and getting them stamped, and so far, the result could be characterised by a single, very round numeral.
This was mainly (or so he thought) the doing of the portly jackal office-mule who has decided his documents aren't enough to prove he can do his job properly.
"Look, of course i have mostly been self-employed! Do you think there are many around who offer a permanent soul engineer jobs?
They'd have to be building a private mech, or airship army, a factory the size of several villages, or spells whose AOE radii rank into kilometres.... and such folks generally tend to end as someone's necklace, ring, or desk lamp... "

This time the bureaucrat responded with a bit more interest, claiming his application will be considered if he shows his work to their staff... The chances were still rather lousy, but it was the best he could hope for.

These times weren't so great for Avram. After his last employer, an angel who had a massive factory with small single-purpose clanks doing most of the gross work in mind, did indeed end up powering the decorative lights on the logo of a competing cartel at their HQ  he was mostly working on his own.
The problem with that was that although some did want enchantments on weapons or items, and there were one or two showoff businessmen needing a soulpowered gryphonless carriage to demonstrate their power and affluence, most of the customers needed simple soul gem refills, which had the least returns of all the jobs as it had to involve other people, mainly to get the soul, and the reliable sources and methods he had mostly provided him with being souls only.... 
The chiefly used method was paying some poor being a relatively nice sum to wander along streets at night, almost inevitably baiting some unlucky mugger who would soon find himself in the customers' gem, or in a better case, a glass jar, though even an expert such as Avram couldn't avoid failures when using these primitive devices.... soulgems were expensive for a reason.
The local authorities didn't mind much - after all, it decreased street crime levels, for a given definition of "street crime" and the beings who got a few days' wage for a stroll which, let's face it wasn't that much more dangerous than a factory shift at some of the more avaricious employers,  weren't complaining either.
The second one, relatively safer if one didn't get discovered but also more expensive involved bribing a few penal officers in some of the prisons further from the capital, and harvesting the souls of those prisoners, whose deaths could be ascribed to natural causes afterwards - not like anyone considered it too important, if you knew who to choose.

Both of these worked nicely, however, in the months after the war started the state began to clamp down on private soul market, in order to secure a better supply for the war effort, not to mention the increase in internal security aimed to prevent sabotages threw a wrench into the cogs of the second harvest method....

"Allright, where and when do i have to go to meet your... engineers?" Avram remarked with a slight bitterness in his voice...
"I am sure they will find me capable enough, just as all of my previous employers"
Heh, demonstrate.... i designed the power supply for a flying fortress  when you were sucking on your mother.... why the hell are all of these damn penpushers beings? No wonder it goes like this...give a beggar a horse, he'll act like lord...The demon stood there waiting for an answer, apparently patient, but an observant eye could small  electric arcs flickering on and off between his claws, and a faint hint of ozone refreshing the office's otherwise stale air.

"

Just arriving at the Mjolnir

   Josephine had been more than satisfied with the arrangements that had been made after the barroom meeting had adjourned. The journey to the airship, however, had left her irked. She was eager to move her equipment on board as quickly as possible, but was at the same time unwilling to miss even a moment of whatever briefing Baseel had to offer. Besides... you never knew what a moment's delay might cost you.
   She followed the group at a brisk walk, and tried not to look put out. Her... signature armament... was far too weighty to be loaded onto a small carriage or buggy. Moving it required a quad-flatbed; a huge freight platform that was driven by a set of six continuous tracks, measured two street-lanes wide, and weighted two long tons all by itself. She had rented one already, of course; one with a canvas covered top to conceal the contents. She even knew how to drive it... but only just barely. It had taken her almost an entire day to crawl the freight vehicle through the crowded city streets; it had been an ordeal that had left her feeling uncharacteristically cumbersome. It had given her a newfound respect for mechanical operators that was rarely held by hotshot battle pilots.
   The worst part, of course, was that the quad-flatbed had been transporting a vehicle that could have made the journey itself in a matter of seconds. But that would have been the very antonym of discreet. She kept her eyes open for Gabriel, and silently prayed the tiny grease rat could skillfully pilot a vehicle the size of a small cottage through a series of aggressively crowded streets.

Baseel and Paige's Cabin

Paige in one of her new 'dresses' sat on the bed she and Baseel were sharing and studied the Captain as he planned and plotted. Smiling she padded over barefoot to stand just behind him, then placed her arms around his shoulders and embraced him while her chest met the back of his head, and looked down over his head at the globe.

"Do you plan on sitting there all evening?" She purred into his ear before nibbling on it.

Before he could answer She span his chair around and sat in his lap facing him, and grinned......With alot of teeth.

The Burning Orphanage or rather what's left of it

"by...the Gods..."

It was sad and sickening sight. There were very few words to describe the scene other then purest, vilest evil.

Then the disgusted turned to a variant of confused horror. Only the one building had been destroyed. She didn't know it's purpose but everything else had been...untouched. Like a ghost town. It didn't make a whole lot of sense.

Spying a winged figure, Lucy took her chance, hoping she still had the element of surprise, aiming her revolver and firing at the angel, a swift crack followed by stream of smoke rising from the barrel, hoping to miss her mark.

She had no idea what was happening, but frankly figures observing chaos on rooftops where a bad omen. She began to recall a story her father had told her when she was six and when she asked for advice if she ever had to fight a creature.

Look up.
Why?
They love hiding in rafter and on rooftops. Especially Cubi, though it also gives them a good vantage point. Thing is, They're also sitting ducks. Why i remember-

She shook it off. now was not the time to be thinking about her father. Clear your head girl.Remember his Golden Rule: hesitation kills. And hesitation Had in fact killed her once before.

Eye on the Birdie

The fennec stepped in, smiling warmly. Hooking his cane at his elbow, he dropped the tip of his newly acquired sabrella to the floor, leaning on it slightly before shifting away and partially unsheathing the concealed sword, and presenting it to the avian, transferring his weight back to the cane as soon as possible as he spoke.

"I was just talking with Caleb up the block, got this from him. Said you could make it much handier to have with. I'm a courier, so I run into a bit of trouble at time. Showing a seal and a blade is enough to get people thinking they'd better reconsider their, but the other times I've got to be able to cover my own escape. Cane's got a dagger in it as well, but I can't really hand that over to you unless you've got someplace for me to sit."

Just outside the Captain's Cabin

   Josephine wasn't able to pick Gabriel out of the crowd as she followed the Captain. She decided not to take too much effort to seek him out; the boy likely had his own irons in the fire. She would simply have to speak with Baseel directly... though when that might be was anybody's guess. She pursed her lips slightly as she remembered a more urgent issue; the soulstone she'd been trying to acquire. Her vehicle wouldn't be much use without it, and he had mentioned that he had ways of acquiring one lawfully. Hm... if he knows I need a soulstone, he will no doubt be curious as to why. I suppose he'll  discover all the details sooner or later, regardless.

   She followed him as he left the crew and recruits to their business, and approached the door to his cabin. After a quick look-over to ensure her appearance was orderly, she rapped the back of her hand against the door.

   "Captain, if I might have a moment with you? I should like to finish our earlier discussion of proper business... best not discussed in a back alley." Her voice was refined but soft, and she had chosen the words specifically to jog his memory; they mirrored what he had said to her after having foiled the attempted mugging. She was hoping to do this with a minimum of intrigue or innuendo.

Mjolnir Dock

   Gabriel arrived at the Mjolnir some time after the meeting at the tavern concluded. He could be seen, and herd, long before he actually arrived, however.
   Full-size equipment transport vehicles were not very subtle, after all.
   Especially considering the volume and variety of profanity required to muscle one through afternoon traffic. Fortunately, mass usually took precedence over right-of-way. 
   The transport rolled up to the loading dock. Josephines steed was laying on the flatbed, covered by a canvas tarp and prepped for transport. Gabriel hopped out of the closed cabin of the vehicle; in his hand was a mostly empty bottle of scotch.
   One or two of the dock workers, responsible for receiving cargo, watched the pint-sized youth climb down the flight of stairs on the side of the transport. Then they looked up at the behemoth of a vehicle itself, which was the size of a small building. Then back down at the slim rodent.
   Gabriel glanced at them breifly, then over his shoulder at the transport, then down to the bottle in his hand.
   He swished the last of the beverage. "Had to keep m' throat wet." He explained. His voice wasn't slurred, but his brogue was slightly more pronounced. "'Sides; I can't swear proper like till I've had a drop or two." He downed the last mouthful from the bottle, then pointed to the mech on the flatbed. "Have that loaded up wit' th' rest o' th' mechanized infantry."
   He sauntered up the gangplank to the ship, and went inquiring for the chief engineer... if they had one, of course. If they didn't, they would soon.
   He sang softly in his light soprano, as he passed through the airship:
"A gentleman was passin' by,
He stopped for a drink as he got dry...
At the well below the vally-o.

Green grows the lily-o,
Right among the bushes-o..."

((OOC: Song: The Well Below the Vally (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2vRD2AiqIE). This is a pretty good approximation of Gabriels accent, though his voice is higher.))

En Route to Nowhere, Pop: You.

Stephan scratched his chin, "Yeah, the nearest bank is in the town. I dont know where the train station is... and an airship isn't even in my budget.." It then struck him, "What were you talking about with that warp-aci? Is there something I need to know about? Why SAIA would be locked down?"

Police Station

Seth dithered for a few moments more, then came to his senses.  If he hung around he was probably going to pick up stuff from a military briefing and that would not be good.  He knew as well as anyone that Creature souls were hot property and he did not intend to give anyone an excuse to stake a claim on his.

Leaving the building, he made his way back home - his apprentice had kept the place in order, which was more-or-less what he had expected.  The business would be in safe hands during his absence.
Seth cleaned himself up and spent a few hours resting.  During this time he studied the map, making a rough copy of it for safety and looking up what he could find about Kesslen in his encyclopedias.

Finally, placing his old suit aside for later repair, he picked another, fueled up his bike and roared off towards the border.

In the library

Stay silent, get this thing done... do so. Kyirri waited patiently for Bree. He looked up at the book, his face still expressionless. Did Arklan know about that thing's size? He decided not to dwell on it. "I'll manage." Somehow. Already in his head he was tracing his route back.

He got the coins ready for the transaction. He stopped abruptly when he felt the voice. Oh hell. He froze, not in panic, but was registering information, processing. Well that's one way to bypass security, actually have the person who's supposed to pick it up pick it up. He handed over the coins, his hands and arms moving without his conscious thought driving them. Possibly means Arklan's dead... probably actually, knowing the slums. I wonder what's so valuable about this book though... probably nothing I should care about though... just a cog in a wheel. Part of him wanted to stop the transaction, just take the money and run, just to spite him. It wasn't any use though, he'd just get choked if he resisted, he couldn't. Nothing for it now. He handed the required payment over to Bree, then looked up at her. "May I have the book now?"

Burning Orphanage

   Gaak did not let up.
   Even as the shadow-lady jumped around, he continued firing, all three of the Scorp's cannons, in fact; sonic, lighting, and slug. Unfortunately, as most creatures are, she was too small and fast to be hit by the anti-heavy weapons. Gezz wasn't actually manning the tail-turret specifically meant to bring down creatures at close range. What with the noise from the cannons, neither brother heard a word she said before she vanished.
   While Gaak was firing, Gezz was getting up, collecting himself fairly quickly thanks to the military. He knew the plates in his light pilot's armor were bent, though, they would have to be removed and fixed ASAP. He looked around, saw that the girl had already run for cover (good, she still had some self-preservation instinct running), and that the shadow-lady had vanished. For a few tense seconds, he and Gaak scanned around, but it didn't look like she was coming back. Both turned turned back around to the mostly collapsed orphanage. Both knew it was likely a lost cause by now, but there was no giving up till the fire was put out. Gezz rushed back in with his crowbar to pick through the least-flaming debris, while Gaak used the Scorp's pincers to pull away the pieces most on fire and stamp them out. When Gezz saw that Lucy had arrived, he called for her help.

Gryphon Carts and Train Wrecks

The trip seemed rather uneventful at first.  The smell of acrid smoke, burning wood, and dust filled the sky.  The wreck seemed abandoned from the first Passover.  The only sounds being the still snapping wood, crackling with embers as the last of the fires slowly expelled themselves.
The gryphon landed near the main engine.  It appeared that there were scratch marks, dents, maybe even tool marks.  Something seemed off, and Haien had very little time to react when he realized what it was.

A pair of cubi launched themselves out of the sandy ground.  Their bodies, perfectly blended in as they moved to opposite sides,  not a word exchanged as they circled the ram and gryphon.  Both had eyes locked on the demon, just before a wave of jagged ice ripped through the ground, right for Haien and his avian employee.


Office of Engineering

"If you'd kindly keep your patience before I call security, I'll get you what you need.  Now, sit still while I look at who's available when."
He brought up a calendar, flipped through it, and brought up a schedule.  "if you're looking for talking to someone immediately, there's 2 engineers working on the NAN Halcyon, in hanger 7 down on the east-side docks.  Beyond them, there's a slot in Destroyer 414  and 415 in hanger 12, tomorrow, and then there's hanger 14 for the rest of the week.  If you're looking for something a little later, you'll have to let me know the date."

He shot Avram a rather annoyed look, waiting for what the demon might say.


Captain's Cabin

The larger demon practically melted under the gentle touch of the succubus.  He was moving in to nuzzle his companion when there was a loud rap on the door.   He picked her up, laid her across the bed, and hastily donned a tunic, "Duty calls m'dear.  Perhaps we can pick this back up at another time."  

He brushed a hand across her face, then left.  His military uniform in disarray as he hastily buttoned the top, then opened the door just enough to peek his head out.   "Ah, Miss Josephine, apologies for the condition of my uniform... you've caught me a little off guard."

Casting a quick spell, Baseel quickly cleaned and straightened out his uniform, hair, and general appearance before opening the door and sliding out, hopefully without revealing too much either way.  "What can I help you with, milady?"  


Engineering Deck

The half-pint rodent would find himself greeted by a rather imposing looking demon.  She was  a predatory feline, dark blue fur, with orange spots.  Her eyes were an odd shade of red/violet, and she was wearing leather coveralls.  Her grease stained outfit told her profession far better than any calling card, or introduction.  "What's this, Lu?  This little pipsqueak just drove –that- through down-town, and you're waiting for permission?  Get  L2 and 3 cranes here, and load it up at station 17.  Slaying Mantis unit. "  
The feline headed out, she carried a wrench at least as long as Gabe was tall.  "soo, you're looking for engineering, 'eh?  What's you're specialty, lad?  Are you better with the clanks, the rotos, or the fixed wing fliers?"  

In the background, a belt-fed cannon was being welded into place about a rather stocky looking assault mech.  It's  surface was bristling with several types of mounted weapons.  A battle-axe stood by it's feet as well, the axe had to have had a 5 foot cutting-surface, with around 20 feet of haft.


Silent as the Grave

The crackling and popping wood were all that remained, Lucy's shot passed through the point where Sel'Kar had been.  The village remained still, silent, dead.  It wasn't undead either.  As far as lucy's senses went, there wasn't a soul, save for the 2 brothers, and the still sobbing, and terrified little girl.  The village, save for the brother's and Lucy's movements, seemed utterly still.  The little girl appeared to be the only one left from the original population.

There were signs that someone or thing was approaching from the near-by river.  It ran through the far end of the village, opposite the direction the trio had come from.


Enchanters 'R Us

A chair flipped over the counter, as the Avian gave a look at the blade, "a few silver pieces, and I'll make this blade nigh unbreakable, 2 more, and It'll be sharp enough to pierce a demon's hardened flesh.  1 gold if you want everything done to both, if you want less... well... lemme know, and 'll ajus' th' 'rice accordin'ly "


To the Bank

Ed shrugged as he replied, "normally speaking, teleportation is the fastest way in and out of the academy.  However, the headmistress seems to have blocked that means.  Either she fears something might slip past her, or, more likely, she's just doing some routine safety procedures.  However, she gave me no warning of this... which... is rather irritating, since I've been gone for less than an hour."

The feline sighed, and kept walking,  "Look, if you're ready to go, lets just get moving.  I'd like to get out of here ASAP.  The sooner we get to the gate, the sooner we can get you setup in a room, and the sooner I can get back to my own things."
Raeleg reappeared with a snap, "See if you can't let Katalia know that I'm not going to make for dinner tonight, and explain why... if you've got to take the gate, so be it... hopefully they'll let an individual aci warp if nothing else.


Little Village up the Coast?

As arroyo made his way down the winding river, he encountered very little on the first day.  On the second, traffic had seemed to fall to a total stand-still.  On the third day, the woods surrounding the river seemed odd... There was a faint haze.  A white, stale, cloud had flown over the river.  Suddenly, a deep thump echoed through the trees.  Murmured shouts in the distance, which were unintelligible at the current distance.  However, i t something was happening not too far away.  Arroyo's first sign that something was up was a glint of metal through the trees.  A flicker of darkness, and a cloud of smoke rising off into the sky came next.
Arroyo had just missed the fight between the brothers, lucy and the Angel.


Post Police Precinct Predicament

The map making was easy, the information gathering was not.  The city of Kesslen's most obvious feature was it's relative lack of features.  It served very little military purpose, it's economy was fueled by the unusually pure iron and coal mines located within a few miles.  It's location put it on relatively fertile ground, making it a good location for farming.  But really, there was nothing to make it special from any of the other mine-towns that had sprung up in the industrial boom in the past century. The military presence seemed rather minimal, a mechanical lance, supported by 3 platoons of infantry.

As Seth headed out, he'd note a squadron of 4 incredibly large airships, bristling with gun-mounts, and surrounded by a cloud of smaller, fixed-wing aircraft, and flying creatures, start heading west.   It was a carrier assault group of some kind.   He could see the massive Winter's Wrath, 1 of 4 massive sky carriers, a technological and magical wonder.  She was flying black flags... it seems this wasn't a peaceful operation.  The other 3 appeared to be a new class of fast dreadnaught.  They were sleeker than the warships Seth was used to seeing, though just as well armed.  
Unknown to Seth, this raid was a statement for a certain feline demon pirate, a cessation of hostilities at the cessation of his life.


Library

After counting the coins, and fiddling with a drawer, Bree finally replied, "all yours, do you want a bag... Or maybe an oxen for that?"
Just behind the rodent, a raspy voice spoke, "I'd be glad to carry it for you. "  A cubi female,  and some type of monitor lizard.  Her reptilian features were mostly hidden under a loose fitting set of coveralls.  She appeared to be some type of engineer... or perhaps borrowed clothes from someone who was.  Her dark, slate gray scales seemed to shimmer as she moved.  Dark red eyes transfixed on the book.  A navy blue mark on the top of her left hand matched one of the symbols on the book.  It dawned at Kyirri that that's where he'd seen the symbols before, they were Cubi clan signs.

The female had neon yellow stripes running across the top of her head, following the lines of her eyebrows down her sides, and along the backs of her palms.  "Mr. Arklan sent me as assistance."  She said, flashing a set of dagger like teeth that seemed more fitting of a shark than a supposed seductress.
"If you'd please follow me, Kyirri, I'll escort you back, and make sure you make it home, safe."