Shattered Innocence (IC) [M]

[Noone]

Unfortunately, the adventurer died before the healing spell could be applied, the impaling process was instantly fatal, in addition to the other damage he had suffered. Their last emotions were those of utter loathing.
Hopefully, there might be something on one of their corpses that could be useful.

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The hands grabbed both of the demons, they made some motions to attempt to escape, but they were held firm. After a few moments, the boy stopped struggling, and growled "What do you want?" at Tyrian, still clearly angry. The girl however, continued struggling. Her right hand started glowing black, probably to cast some spell.

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The inside of the building was a mess. The hut was composed of one semi-circular room, with a door to another room on the left, though the door had been ripped off it's hinges. Random paraphernalia strewn about, some on tables, some on the floor, much of it is broken. There is also a comfortable looking rocking chair, or it would look comfortable if it wasn't blood-stained. There is a corpse on the floor, an old looking being in a threadbare outfit. It looks like he has been only recently killed, by someone with a truly sick imagination. It looks like he was torn apart by someone's claws, far after death as well.
Kassin rushed inside after Kedered, soon, he felt another shock as Garis slew the second adventurer, and his view of the corpse didn't help his state of mind. He clutched his belly, trying to prevent himself from vomiting. After recomposing himself, he rushed towards the door to the other room...

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Wrapped in his speed enhancement, it wasn't difficult to anticipate what Kassin was up to and cut him off to the door.  Kedered called to the angel behind him,"Me first, remember?" Kedered held his blade low, kicked the door open, and rushed in, blade held ready, eyes and mind scanning the area for potential threats, nostrils dilated in case Raffiele decided to follow them in.

[Lisky]

Garis grew annoyed that the being failed to answer any of his questions, then he noticed the blood dripping from the man's nostrils and mouth... he sighed, then let the corpse drop off his tentacle.  He kept himself ready, searching for more targets, tentacles extended, and right hand still in flames... he sheathed the dagger, and used his left hand to rifle through the dead man's pockets, seeing if he couldn't find any clues or useful objects.

He also took the quiver of arrows from the mans back, figuring that they'd help supplement Kedered's own supply

Garis didn't notice the spattered blood across the silver fur on his chest and face...

[Azlan]

Tyrian smiled sadly and shook his head as the girl struggled.  Summoning a bit of the light magic he knew, his forefinger glowed.

"Be still child," he touched her forehead and willed her to sleep.  Satisfied that her struggling had ceased, the turned full attention to the boy, "I wish to know many things, like what were you doing here, why were you surprised to see us?  However, I have others who are better at obtaining information than I.  They do not have moral objections to torturing children."

Tyrian turned back towards the hut and began walking slowly, the hands of stone following him effortlessly.  Any amount of struggling would cause them to tighten until one could not move at all.

When he arrived, he waited patiently for the others to finish whatever tasks they were involved in.

[Noone]

Searching through the adventurer finds some standard traveling gear, some money, a few weapons. There's also a small pamphlet. It's a bounty notice. There's a picture of Kassin on the front page, below it is some writing. It details a lot of crimes he has (allegedly) committed, including the destruction of the Whistling Willow in and the murder of everyone inside, and of Sharaka. It also lists him as the mastermind behind many soul-stealing related crimes in southeastern Ithralia. There is a reward listed for his death, it's exceptionally high. The other pages have several other bounties posted, featuring pictures, and a note saying that they're accomplices to Kassin in the aforementioned deeds, all are listed as extremely dangerous. Raffiele is on the second page, you are on the third. Kedered is on the fourth, and Tyrian is on the fifth. The rewards on these pages are certainly significant, but much lower than the one for Kassin. A contact page is on the sixth page. It says to bring proof of any of the targets deaths to 'Commisioner Brady'. There is an address given, it looks like it's to a city in northeastern Ithralia named Dhallon.

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The boy struggled more, but the hand held him fast. He took a quick look at the unconscious demoness, he seemed quite angry with his situation. "We were out on a date, and having fun, fun until you showed up and ruined everything!" His expression became more angry, and his left hand started glowing black, channeling dark magic into it, preparing to unleash some spell.

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Another semi-circular room seems to complete the hut. Again, random paraphernalia can be found, most of it is broken, scattered about on the floor, most of it looks like it was broken recently. There are two people in here as well, a ringtail being and what looks to be a feline angel. Both of them are covered in blood, and look to have been repeatedly clawed, and looked to be entirely inert. Kassin gasped as he took a look at them. 'I hope I'm not too late..' he thought. Without another moments hesitation, Kassin's left and right hands started to glow with a bright yellow light. He rushed over and knelt down, placing his right hand on the ringtail and his left hand on the angel. He closed his eyes as he put all of his energy into healing them, a tear streamed down his left eye, hoping that he wasn't too late. He held on, and continued pouring energy into them, but finally, with a gasp, he stopped, he looked both of them over, their wounds glowed a faint yellow, then closed.
A faint, feeling of comfort returns to you. Feelings of coldness, fading away, they last occupied your mind before fading into darkness. The cold slowly returns, yet, with a subtle warmth to it, feeling returns where none were before, exhaustion in the place of inertness. With a labored breath, you realize you can open your eyes...
A faint, feeling of comfort returns to you. Feelings of coldness, fading away, they last occupied your mind before fading into darkness. The cold slowly returns, yet, with a subtle warmth to it, feeling returns where none were before, exhaustion in the place of inertness. With a labored breath, you realize you can open your eyes...
P.S: You're in angel form at the time.

[Lisky]

Garis sent Kedered a message before collecting what he could carry 'we've got a slight problem... it looks like what Kassin saw last night was actually some type of vision, and not just a dream... i'll show you what i'm talking about when we meet back up... this could very well throw the demon into a rage, so watch your back.... also, i've got the beings arrows if you need some more'

once sent, he sprinted off towards the hut, carrying the pamphlet and the arrows, leaving everything else for whoever wants to deal with robbing the dead... While running his tentacles expanded back into wings, and he did his best to hide his concern... when he arrived, he had his emotional mask on and he was ready to break the news... Kedered probably knew something was wrong...

Garis ran into the others outside before he could break the news to the other cubi... he turned to Tyrian, though addressed both he and Raffiele "uhh... we've got a very serious problem... and i really don't want to be the bringer of bad news... but it seems our angelic friend was in fact having a vision last night" holding up the pamphlet "they were nice enough to include a return address" he added with a smirk, then continued "looks like i'm off to Dhallon to meet with a 'Commissioner Brady' to get this sorted out"

[Ghostwish]

If you asked him how he was doing, you could bet money he'd say he'd been better.

None the less, as he slowly felt his life and powers return, his mind sprang into action and he quickly tapped whatever reserves he had, and scanned about.. There were a number of sentient around, and a few had ramshackle defenses around their minds. Cubi, he noted. There was one near him, an angel it seemed, and that was the fellow who was healing him. He opened his eyes, and regarded this fellow a moment, before he quirked an eyebrow inquisitively at him..

"Mr. Kassin, I presume?" He asked. "I suppose I should thank you for saving my life then, although now it would seem that my suspicions concerning your character were quite correct."

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Searching around the room revealed no threats other than two comatose figures, so Kedered let Kassin go about his healing. Shortly into the process, he received a telepathic sending from Garis. After a moment internalizing the news, he sent a response. I do not really need arrows, but if their bowstring is in reasonable condition, I would be indebted to you for the equipment. As for the bounty......... I think we can turn this to our advantage. If the bodies of our foes are not too damaged, see if Tyrian can modify them to look like us. Then one or two of us go in incognito and collect the bounties. The money would be nice, but even more important, it would throw the hounds off our trail, at least until the deception is discovered.


Kedered had little doubt that the deception would be discovered. If the scene that Kassin had included the destruction of the town before any news could come out, then whomever was posting this had arcane means of divining information. They also had to be based relatively close by, if these pamphlets were already in distribution. Or perhaps simply able to speak to agents in multiple places in the country. Either way...........


Kedered was snapped out of his reverie by one of the supine figures starting to speak. Being, by appearance, but Thularia had taught his family that Beings could be dangerous. Re-igniting his sword, he held it over the prone man, while thickening his magical defenses. "While I would certainly hate to waste my companions work, I would be very, very interested how you knew his name without an introduction. You would do well to speak the truth, I hold his safety in the highest of priorities."

[Tipod]

Raffielle kept his distance from the hut and Tyrian, looking over his quarry silently. More youngin's causing problems, but at least they weren't Claws or some other kind of death squad. "Fucking kids," he grumbled upon noticing the male demon charging up some mysticism in his left hand. Any other day, I'd be happy to defend you little bastards, but you've caught me in one of my bad moods. He wouldn't want them outright eviscerated, but Tyrian was too levelheaded and calm for that. I at least hope you break their legs, teach them something that'll linger.

Then Garis ran over, no doubt to report back on what he'd found on the recently deceased adventurers. The demon turned away for a moment, but just barely heard the incubus' confirmation: Kassin's visions were, in fact, the real deal. "...excuse me, Garis, but could you repeat that a little more loudly?" He gave him an unsettling stare. "I'm not sure if I heard that right. Did you just say something about your savior's premonitions being legitimate?"

[Redeyessoul]

Kshar coughed and sputtered into life.  Whole again, and unmarred, beautiful blue eyes looked up at Kassin and those who were close by.  The one standing behind Kassin was threatened in some manner by the other unfortunate on the ground beside her.  She rolled over, stretching and fluffing up her angelic wings, confused but happy to be whole and looked at the ball of worry that was Kassin.  'Kassin is what the other on the ground had called him, and the standing one was threatened by this.'

She stood, slowly, not wishing to cause undue attention, but smiled warmly at Kassin.  "Thank you."  She voice was like silk and there was a sense of comfort that seemed to radiate off of her, and confusion.  Kshar couldn't remember how it was she had come to be here, or just who everyone around her was, nothing seemed familiar, her left ear dropped drastically.  "What happened?"  It also hadn't occured to her that she was mostly naked and her new freinds were not.  It was a strange sight, a beautiful white angel well endowed with fluff and other stuff, splattered with blood that was her own but now without wounds to cause it.

The Weight of the belt around her torso was the only other distraction to be had, somehow she knew what would be in it and did not reach for it, it was a salve of some manner.  She looked around, something of the moments before coming back to her, "Where is the hermit?"  Kshar attempted to look past the other Creatures in the room, attempting to see a stashed Hermit hiding behind them.

[Ghostwish]

The ringtail turned his gaze from Kassin for a moment, and narrowed his eyes at Kendered. "Considering the fact that I have just been nearly killed by a pair of demons, I am not in the mood for an uppity Cubi. Goodbye, Mr. Aldoraethar, I shall speak to you later." He said, and immediately set his mind into action.

He formed a physical, yet invisible barrier of energy between himself, and the sword that the cubi was brandishing. He hardened it, and then promptly stood it upright, forcing it against the flaming sword, before he promptly propelled the barrier clear out of the house.

For anyone attempting to discern the attack, it was devoid of any magical energy whatsoever, merely a solid barrier of energy.

Zanfib sighed as he felt the power exerted in the barrier slowly return, and then looked at Kassin again. "While your traveling companions would seem deserving of the bounty placed upon their heads, you do not seem so inclined. So, instead of attacking you outright, and in light of your recent actions, I will ask you, Kassin, why have these charges been leveled against you?"

It was only then that Zanfib took notice of the sentient next to both himself and Kassin, and he broke his gaze on Kassin long enough to peer over at the strange being, or was it an angel? "And who might you be? You were not here before, at least not best that I can remember.."

"Things are becoming very unusual very quickly, I believe.." He said as he slowly stood up, stretching his aching body a bit..

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

At the first impact of the odd barrier the being had formed, Kedered let out a mental alarm to Garis. Assailant inside. Engaging. No visible magical emanations The instant later, still wrapped in his speed enhancement spell, he rolled away from the force, hit the floor and rolled back to his feet.

"Kassin, get out of here while I deal with this hostile."  Not waiting to see whether or not the angel obeyed his directive, and not willing to to gamble on more indecision, Kedered let out a two pronged attack, both lunging with his blade and letting forth a torrent of depression towards this newcomer. Kedered was pretty sure that he had some sort of mentalic abilities, if he was creating a barrier like that, and since beings were rarely themselves subject to mental trauma....

[Redeyessoul]

Bounty??  Charges?  Demons?  Mr. Aldoraethar??  Kshar looked at them all one after another She opened her mouth to answer but stopped short when Aldoraethar did not leave.  Kshar watched him stagger under some unseen force, and again just stared as he ordered Kassin out of the building.  Apparently she had come to be unconscious next to someone who was a hostile.

Confusion overcame any hope for action, there was just no telling who was going to lose their minds, literally or figuratively.  She looked to Kassin for some sort of clue as to what to do, her earlier questions evaporating in the face of the sudden arrogance and aggression of the others around her.

Kshar backed up against the wall ... and promptly fell through some burnt portion of the building.  The shock of snow on her furry fluffy tail made her call out and she scrambled about in the broken off portions of the building and amongst her own wings, unable to co-ordinate her limbs to prompt action.  The white snow blended flawlessly with her white fur and even started to clean off some of the blood. 

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib's attention darted back to the persistent incubus, and he quietly muttered under his breath. But his first action was to quickly erect a similar barrier between himself and Kedered. This one did not move, nor waver. Instead, it fell between the two like a wall as Zanfib concentrated on it, hardening it against the assaults from the incubus, which sent an odd, ringing noise through the air each time it was struck, although there was no sign it had hit anything at all... except in Zanfib's mind, where each blow taxed his reserves.

But when the wave of depression hit, Zanfib actually paused for a moment, seemingly between shock and bemusement. "What was.. that?" He asked, slowly grinning.. before he started to laugh, loudly and earnestly.. The attack had washed over his mental barriers like the tide against the rocky shore, fierce and yet ineffective against the psion's trained mind. You see, years ago he and his tutor had engaged in such battles on a weekly basis, as a means of gauging the younger psion's progress. Zanfib had learned well in the art of psionic attacks, such things that normally only worked on other psionicly sensitive sentient. It was a given in the realms of psions, the same as a warrior and their weapon of choice. The two were inseparable.

"That was pathetic, incubus!" He called after his laughter had abated, although he was still grinning. "Tell me something, Kedered, would you like to end this fight now, or shall I give you a real lesson in the powers of the mind? It would seem that from wherever you of the cubi hail, they are not teaching you nearly well enough!"

It seemed he'd entirely forgotten about the strange being and Kassin entirely. Silly ringtail.

[Lisky]

Garis received the message from Kedered and started slipping around to the back of the hut, he shifted his wings into 4 very nasty looking pointed tentacles, and his right hand started crackling with electricity.  As he reached the house, an angel fell through a hole in a wall... Puzzled at first, Garis tried to seem less intimidating by lowering the tentacles that were reaching over his shoulders.  He didn't want to start fighting until he knew someone was hostile, at the same time, Kassin was in a room with a total stranger, and that stranger was keeping Kedered out...

forming hands with his tentacles, Garis gently pulled the angel out of the way without a word, then flowing through the hole.  he said with a wicked smile "knock knock" as his tentacles reformed their points... his right hand pointed at the beings head, still arcing with and pulsing with electricity

[Azlan]

Using the same power he had on the girl, Tyrian drew his light magic into his hand and touched it to the boy's forehead, "sleep now, if I leave you awake, I may have to inflict harm on you.  I do not wish that to happen until we determine what has happened here."

With both safely unconscious for many hours, he turned his attention back towards finding Kassin, only to have an altercation break out.

The fox sighed and with a resounding crack he struck the tip of his staff to the ground sundering the earth around him.  The ground heaved and cracked, a wave of fire washed over everything and everyone present.  The fire incinerated all vegetation in a 1000 square foot area, completely destroyed the hut and laid waste to the whole area.  No one was in the least bit harmed, felt the heat of flame, nor the sting of shrapnel from the incineration of the hut.  Even the corpses were spared.

A voice augmented by thunder itself resounded through the area, "Enough!  There will be no more violence here!  We will talk and discuss this like civilized sentients unless you wish to test my mettle!"

Tyrian emphasized the last part by striking the ground with his staff again causing the ground to quake and split even farther.

[Redeyessoul]

The stranger pulled Kshar away from the hole, depositing her not too far away.  This was madness!  What had she gotten herself into?  What was going on?  Where was the hermit?  She looked down at the blood stained snow and at the bloody face and chest of the stranger who just moved her.  A quick look around and she was able to spot a horribly mangled body, and possibly a charred one as well.  Whatever the case may be these were murderers.

And in born sense of wrongness overcame her, she looked down at her hands, then back at the stranger.  His wings were malformed, changing into tentacles that reached and stretched.  It was a terrifying moment in which an authentic rage filled her.  Her body rippled with a rainbow of color, "Stop it!"  She screamed, her voice echoing through the silent snow.  Kshar leapt forward and gripped the stranger by his shoulder from behind, "Stop it!"  She continued to scream.

Kshar had no reason to believe that anyone would listen to her, but each effort was necessary, there could be no more violence until she knew what was happening.  She couldn't just stand there while someone else would end up like the bloody piles in the distance.  

And it was then that the fire washed over her.  Fear filled her and she released the Stranger's shoulder, hiding herself in her wings.  When the rumbling voice rattled the ground beneath her she leapt into the air and took wing, there was no more snow on the ground, only muddy ground, but she had a clear view of what had been in the hut.  The body of the hermit made her cry out.  She fell to the ground behind Aldoraethar and hugged the body to her tightly.  A great despair filled her, the hermit was the only being she had known, and then only for the briefest of moments.

To those who could feel an emotional sink hole seemed to open up, sadness, confusion, loss.  An undefinable and undeniable sense of loss, her blue eyes watered and spilled over.  It wasn't about the hermit, something more decided.  Kshar all but ignored the happenings now, let it all unfold around her, obviously it had done so before, and violently. 

[Noone]

Kassin held still as events unfolded around him. He took a first shock as he realized the being he had just healed knew his name, then at the sudden outburst of violence between Kedered and Zanfib. Kassin closed his eyes, sat down encased himself in his wings, trying to comprehend the rapidly changing environment strewn around him. He was concerned with Kshar's health, yet, he didn't even know their names. His mind didn't take the recent surge of violence well. 'I just healed him and he's already trying to kill me?' went through his head, yet, he was too afraid to look. 'I never wanted this... I want... I want...' He felt another wave of fear as the hut burned down around him, and much of the area had been cleared. Fear eclipsed his young mind, the ground shaking and the outbursts of those around him only worsened his rapidly fragmenting mental state.
Kassin sobbed silently to himself, tears streamed down his face. He shivered in the cold weather, yet, his mind only focused on his surroundings. He continued whimpering, trying to cut out the surrounding chaos. His crying then became loud enough to be easily audible. His mental state desired tranquility where none could be found in the chaos. 'Please let it stop... please let it stop...' rang through his head as he cried into the snow.
The weather seemed to be getting colder as well.

[Lisky]

Garis kept saying "i have to keep him safe" as the strange female kept pulling on his shoulder, he was in the process of getting the other stranger's attention when everything seemed to burst into flames...

it was a strange sensation, the area seemed to disappear, yet the fire wasn't a hot flame... it seemed like the illusion he was playing with back at the Willow, only this flame had destructive power... when it was over, he reformed his wings, and took a second to ponder what Ty had done... he then felt the sudden sadness coming from the female, and decided that Ty was right, and things should be handled more civilly.

He ignored Kassin at first, and choose to approached the female instead. He knelt down next to her, and gave a gentle smile, he put a hand on her shoulder and said in soothing, and gentle voice "things got a little carried... and i'm sorry for the way i treated you... the angel over there is someone who i owe a great deal to, and i promised to keep him safe, no matter what... I got worried when the other incubus i am traveling with told me that there was a hostile being inside the hut... and with the man i swore i'd protect... it doesn't excuse our earlier introduction, but perhaps we should start fresh... my name is Garis, of the Ahnasazi clan, and who might i ask is hiding behind these wings?" he gave a wry smile and cocked his head at the question

[Redeyessoul]

Kshar looked up at Garis and said nothing immediately.  Her blue eyes locked onto him.  And then she thrust herself into his arms, squeezing him tightly.  "Kshar."  She said softly, the word itself harsh to say, even in the silken voice of the angel.  "I don't understand what's happening.  Why is there so much blood on us?"  She wrapped her fluffy tail around one of his legs, clinging to him almost comically.  Kshar looked at the incubus and something like recognition washed through her, but was gone as quickly as it had come.  There was only an empty feeling, her sadness replaced with unknowing. 

[Azlan]

The fox bit his lip when he saw the state that Kassin was in, but he continued with his line of thought for now.

"Ah, much better!  Now if we can sheath our overly large weapons and pointy minds, then perhaps we can come to some understanding.  There is a horribly mangled corpse there... judging by the clothes and all the blood on the angel and on the ringtail here, these two were almost to that level."  The fox said with an air of diplomacy.  He gestured behind him and the two large rock hands brought the demon kids forward.

"these two were found exiting the hut, and the male admitted that they were on a date and having a bit of fun.  If this meant tearing up this old being and these two, then we have a bit of a justice issue that we must address.  However, a thorough interrogation of their minds will be required to determine what has happened."

Having finished his little speech, the fox walked to Kassin, and kneeled down.  He wrapped his arms around the feline and whispered in his ear, "I'm so sorry I did that, I just lost my patience with the others and got a bit too flashy in an attempt to silence the situation.  Now please relax and stand up, you are making everything colder."

[Tipod]

Rafa had just gotten up from stopping, dropping, and rolling across the ground, Tyrian's semi-false fire having panicked him for a brief moment. At least he'd kept himself out of the little altercation with the hut's residents. "...look, are we done protecting the helpless and downtrodden yet?" Since the adventurers showed up, he kept expecting some other warparty to follow. "Just tell me we won't have to get involved in every little thing that pops up." This is going to be our downfall: acting like adventurers when we're a bunch of frigging outlaws.

He looked to Tyrian. "You, you seem pretty enlightened. Surely you can understand that it's a bad idea to stop and play judge, jury and executioner on every ne'er-do-well we stumble upon when there're at least three different factions hounding us." His tone was none too pleasant, not that he much cared.

[Lisky]

Garis collected the lightning spark he'd been saving in his right hand, and released the energy back into his body, once sure he wouldn't cause any harm, he embraced the angel and tried to think of a way to explain the situation... all he could think of saying was"you don't have to worry, no one here is going to hurt you... your safe now" 

Garis just let his mind go empty, as his immediate goal was now to try and calm down yet another young lady he'd made a horrible first impression with... though it would seem the second time around was far more enjoyable than when the demoness had tried to take his face off...

wrapping one of his massive wings around the angel, Garis figured he'd wait for things to settle down so he could actually answer her questions...  He said in a gentle voice "i'm not entirely sure what happened, but with everyone here, i think we can figure it out... just let me know if you want or need anything"

[Azlan]

Tyrian decided it best to pick up Kassin and move him from the carnage.  With the feline in his arms, he stopped to address Rafa, "it is difficult for us to continue if we do stop and help everyone along the way, but I am not a monster, I will see to the defense of creature and being alike."

The fox paused, closing his eyes and speaking in a weary tone, "I am also committed to the protection of this one, and he seems to rush into these type of situations without regard for himself."

Tyrian gestured with the young angel in his arms still to all around them, "As a demon, I'm sure you understand power.  Part of this young one's dream has proven true and I am willing to bet the rest as well.  This one causes such fear in those that hunt us, they are willing to fabricate this great ruse to kill or take custody of Kassin.  We have also been referred to as the touched, and I wish to know what that literally means."

A wry little smile crept to his muzzle and he spoke in a half joking tone, "I also want to know why I'm fifth... unless its an escalating scale of power."

[Redeyessoul]

Kshar untangled herself from Garis as everything seemed to settle in some fashion, she looked warily from Zanfib to Kedered.  Whatever was happening these creatures thought themselves innocent of wrong doing, largely.  To see someone else as kindly treated as herself calmed her considerably, they were not monsters to one another.

Zanfib did scare her though, if only because the others seemed so off put by him.  She could feel the tension at the violence and the unease at his knowledge, She carefully wrapped her fluffy tail about herself to keep warm and folded her wings back, thinking deep thoughts.  At least Tyrian and Garis were kind enough in word and deed.  'If only I knew what they were doing.'  Why had so many come together?  They were wanted because of Kassin and his dream.

Blue eyes fixed solidly on the body of Kassin, 'What dreams may come of this mind that he should be hunted?'  She reached into her pouch and pulled free the jar and it's salve, looking it over for clues.  'The Touched'  Kshar looked carefully at Garis, Zanfib and herself, each splattered with blood and without wounds to prove it.  Surely they had all been woken by Kassin from some nightmare, but she still felt as though she were dreaming.

A heavy but resolute sigh escaped her and her gaze dropped away from the salve and to the muddy ground.  "That fire ... All the snow is gone."  She squished some mud between her naked toes.  "Maybe we should talk elsewhere."  She looked up at the sky, Kshar was not afraid of being caught in the open, the sky was rather comforting, but if they were wanted by someone the fire would be like a bullseye pointing to them.  Her ear dropped as her thoughts played over lighter topics, could their hunters even see from the sky?

[Lisky]

Garis stood up and took a few moments to go back over what had just happened, and what had been said... he suddenly realized that he had quite a bit of blood on his chest, and probably some on his face too... he took a few moments to remove it with a quick spell.

although usually quite conservative with his use of magic, he figured that a clean appearance would go a long way toward getting into a village without having to slaughter the entire population first...

once cleaned, he figured he'd at least try and give the ringtail a chance... Garis knew he'd reacted even more violently when he first woke up... now that things were calmer, he'd see what the strange being had to say for himself... maybe he was still groggy, and as such, had some major trust issues... besides, a being might be useful, especially one with enough power to stop Ked... even if only temporarily

Approaching Zanfib, Garis offered him a hand, and said in a polite tone "hello, any chance we can start over... sans hostility... soo anyways, what's your story?"

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered followed Tyrian and Kassin, but waved in an audiatory enhancement as he saw Garis move towards the newcomer. Sending a stray burst of thought at the fellow 'Cubi Find out how he knows who we are. He might be dangerous., he made his way in on the other conversation. "Altruism is all well and good, but we seem to be hunted ourselves, and keeping a low profile might be in order. Especially after that little display of yours Tyrian, anyone with eyes for magic is going to know something big happened here, and I for one would rather not be here when the investigative team arrives."

[Ghostwish]

Sudden fire raining from the heavens with little to no warning was a tad surprising to the ringtail, especially consider he was so used to being the first to foresee any action. It threw him off guard to the point that he dropped any attack he had been planning to mount on the Cubi, and exerted every last bit of energy he had into his shield, fearing an impending, burning assault. However, this left his sensory abilities down to passive only, which did little to help discerning the source, power, or intent of the attack. For once, the ringtail had to rely on his eyes.

Luckily they weren't entirely useless..

While the building burned, the bodies burned, and the vegetation was consumed, he could tell, more or less by the lack of screaming, that the other sentient were unharmed. Was it an illusion? No.. even on passive, Zanfib could tell there was real, tangible energy in this strange show, not just a projection of silly arcane magic. Who was doing it? No way to tell, Zanfib could barely even pick up on the Cubi near him, until a booming voice demanded peace, and an end to the violence..

Zanfib peered about curiously afterward, and when it seemed that the battle was truly over, he slowly lowered the barrier, reabsorbing the energy he had used. That's when Kassin's latest actions caught his attention, and he turned a curious gaze towards the sentient. "This..?" He asked as he reached into his torn robe, withdrawing a pamphlet, a very familiar looking pamphlet to those who had refiled through the adventurer's belongings, and flicked it open, not even seeming to mind the fact it was stained in his own blood. "This is the sentient responsible for.. let's see here.. Murder, arson, soul-stealing and so much else? I believe my master would forgive me if I went out on a limb and said he does not match the profile I had expected."

He become so focused on his internal inquiry that for one, he forgot to reroute energy to his sensory abilities, and two, allowed a particular incubus to practically sneak up on him.

With a small jump, he blinked up at Garis, before registering who he was looking at. "Oh. Hello there. I suppose we all got a little jumpy there, didn't we?" He said, promptly taking Garis' hand. "Zanfib is my name, and psion is my calling. You would be.." He said, looking back at the pamphlet, and flicking into the rear pages a moment, "Garis! Hrm.. some twenty odd counts of murder.. You didn't exactly greet me like a murderer, now did you? None of this is adding up." He said, and waved the pamphlet briefly at Garis. "You know what else is strange? They seem so very descriptive of this Kassin, as if they had a chance to sit down and have a nice friendly chat with such a sadistic and terrible creature, and yet there's nary a word concerning you, Mr. Garis, or the others. Just a tad on the odd side, don't you think?" The ringtail said, his long tail starting to curve about in the air as he spoke..

[Lisky]

Garis nodded politely at the odd being... this was turning out to be a rather intriguing adventure already... and the off beat humor of this Zanfib was only making it better... garis smiled and replied "you are quite correct about a great many things already... it would seem that some unknown forces have conspired against a rather harmless creature, Kassin... i wish i knew more, but it seems information about what is going on is rather closely guarded, and difficult to obtain..."

Garis paused to send a message to Kedered 'i'd say he seems pretty much harmless, if you don't recall, i myself was rather violent when i first woke up... and if what i'm guessing happened is the actual case, surviving a mauling from a young demon would have me waking up rather upset as well... just try and make up, forgive and forget if you will... and if you can't do that, just stay out of each other's way until we find somewhere moderately safe to reassess the group...'

Turning his attention back to Zanfib for a second he said "well, under the circumstances, i'd say we should probably get everyone introduced, i don't see a problem if you want to travel with us until we get somewhere safe... "

with that he strode off to see what the others were up to, and maybe learn a little bit about the other creature, Kshar.

[Azlan]

Tyrian put Kassin down under a tree, away from the carnage and stepped back more towards the group, but making sure he could keep an eye on the blue tiger.

"We can worry about my bouts of altruism after we come to some sort of consensus about what to do about the demon kids.  Depending if they are responsible, you may find that I am a bit cruel in my punishments."  The fox gestured for the hands to come forward, within each still slumbered a feline demon and demoness.

"Can someone please verify their guilt or innocence, so we may mete out what road justice we agree upon and get moving.  I do not wish to take them with us."

Tyrian crossed his arms and his face took on a stern visage as his tail slowly swished back and forth.