Of Faeries and Mystery

[ShiroTenshiRyu]

Giving a daunting sigh, Kai looked around the room. This bunch was rag tag to say the least. He contemplated for the briefest moment how to explain who he was and what he did. "I..." He hesitated for a moment. "I am a member of the Fallen Hand. We are a group of... trackers. For now that's all you need to know. I've recently been tasked with hunting down a man who has escaped from his cell." His eyes sharpened and he looked around at the four in the room now. He feared Katka would be the hardest to convince to come with him. Theon was eyeing the group in particular their Faeries. They were all of odd shapes and sizes. Their powers could only be guessed at.


"I need furs who are willing to risk their life to capture this man. But more so I can't be depending on cut throats who are only here for the money. That's why there was no reward posted. If you choose to accept this mission I can tell you the reward would be that fit for a god! I won't lie. The man we are hunting has struck down armies in a single blow. The odds are against and frankly we will probably die. If you want to leave I won't stop you. Just say the word, and I'll wipe your memory, and you will awaken in another in safe and sound your memories of this meeting gone. So I'll ask once, will you help me find this man?" The odds were not in his favor. Given everything he just said he feared he'd have to go to other towns to find potential recruits. He was running out of time, he hoped they would say yes, otherwise he would have to go it alone.

[Cyril]

"So, he's a tough guy, huh?" Camille licked his lips, his beads going still as he listened to the honorable request. "You have me, as long as I get the killing blow.... Or many that make up for it. Oh, and as long as there's no funny business. But then again, most of us look prepared to take care of ourselves." His eyes fell on the young one, and his grin kept constant and the beads idle. His chair was placed forward, and his thoughts ran about the group. The only bit of backbone shown seemed to be in the town guard, Camille had to think of what a mess it'd be without his magic.
"I must also add, your presentation is far from persuasive."
Cathal removed his form from the body of Camille; perching in his cardinal form on the tip of Camille's finger. The bird took looks at the faeries that it could see, and kept rather still while also listening to the words; sharing a few thoughts at Camille occasionally, mostly pertaining to the personas of those within the room.

[KittKat chunky~]

Katka listened to Kai give his little speech, staring intently at the rich mahogany table surface. Her thick furred tail swished agitatedly as between her fingers she toyed with a rough-hewn copper coin, spinning the disc of metal back and forth between thumb and forefinger and then back again.

When he had finally finished she glanced up and fixed the weasel with a grave stare. Flipping the coin into the palm of her hand, she glanced around the room and said. "I find it curious, that you of all people would knowingly let a guard of the city watch into this establishment." She paused, then looked back up to Kai again. "I am hardly an expert on the building laws of our city, but I suspect the watch may be interested to know of such a place, so clearly designed with secrecy in mind..." Her grip tightened immeasurably around the hilt of her sword as her tail flicked back and forth.

At Katka's feet the great wolf of grey fur that had until now remained silent slowly pricked his ears up, then gave a low rumbling growl that permeated the meagre silence. Even sitting Ashe came up to the level of the table in height, ferociously large by most Faeries standards, thick fur covered in livid runic markings of black and white from snout to the tip of his tail. He fixed his owner with a piercing amber gaze.

With a deep sigh Katka clenched the coin tight in her fist until it dug into the palm of her hand. Life in the city watch was not what she had trained so many years for. A Grey Coat, cast out and shunned. The large scar in her side twinged with pain at the thought. She had been spared her miserable life that day as her Lord lay dead on the palace floor, only because they knew the shame of her failing would be worse than any death they could deliver... 

Slowly, and without looking to Kai or any of the others, she released her grip on her sword and continued. "...Which is what makes me realise the true urgency of what you are saying, if you are willing to take such risks." Finally she glanced up to Kai, meeting Camille's eyes for a briefest moment, and slid her hand down to softly stroke Ashe's muzzle at which the growling slowly died away into silence again. "I will also go with you."

[White Wolf Guardian]

"Well I've been through some jobs that I considered tough before, but this definitely puts a new spin on it. The reward sounds like I won't need to work again, honestly there's only one way out of this world and I will reach the same end either slowly or quickly. In this choice I don't have to wait too long." The wolf said with a sly grin and a worrisome Dodearchy practically shaking from the information being thrown all at once. Xeric's decision is going to make him lose sleep indefinitely.

With an affirmed decision, the merchant raised his arm and clamped it down on the table to make a loud thud. "Xeric Abactor at your requested services."

[Chrono Blackwyng]

From behind Enoji, in one of the shadowed corners of the room, a rather large dragon practically leaps out. Followed by him was a smaller and more feral dragon that leapt off the larger dragon's shoulder and used its' mass to grab and slam Sunova to the floor, though a more perceptive individual would notice that the feral dragon cusioned part of Sunova's impact with his wing. The larger dragon's attack seemed just as planned out, delivering a backswung fist to the left of Enoji's skull and catching the wolf by his clothes before hitting the floor.

After the moment that both individuals were incapacitated, the larger dragon set Enoji on the floor and the smaller dragon carried the fox-girl towards her partner and put her in one of the pockets. "If you would forgive my impulsive actions Kai, this one seems too flighty to handle the job you have for us." He then turns to the other members and flashed his toothy smile at them while also putting his heterochromia on display.

"Hello, my name is Ur Dracht. If you want a further demonstration of my prowess, feel free to come at me in any order you wish." He chuckles after that statement, his smile never fading.

[ShiroTenshiRyu]

"Was it really necessary to knock him out like that?" Kai let out a heavy sigh, then whispered into the ear of Theon. Theon paid no mind to the others who must have been in shock of their new companion, as he floated over to the two furs who were now unconscious. A small teal flash went off twice, once in front of Sunova, and once in front of Enoji. "It's a memory spell. One of the few powers Theon possesses. But enough of that. I have a sizable party of companions all of whom seem to be willing to help me, so now I can explain a bit more. But I will save it for the road. Tonight is your last night in town. Come sunrise we should meet at the south gate."




He stood and left the room without another word, Theon perched on his shoulder as he went. Kai was glad for the group he'd found though he was unsure how they'd react once they'd discovered his true intentions. Returning to his usual smile to his face he made for the market district which would only be open a hour or two. When he arrived he purchased water skins for himself as well as a new pack since his last had been shredded by rats one night. Double checking as he went he made sure he had supplies for the short journey they had to their next stop. His final stop of the was at a small Mage's shop where he purchased a handful of gems for keeping Theon's energy up.




He made his way briskly back to the Black Weasel, where he slept through the night with ease. When he awoke at sunrise he put on his smile and thanked the gods he hadn't had any nightmares that night. He left the Black Weasel and was the first to arrive that morning at the south gate. He sat under a tree by the gate waiting patiently for his companions.

[Cyril]

Camille and Cathal jumped at Enoji's knockout. Squinting, the lion and cardinal almost went to sap off any life they still could, until they heard that Enoji was just knocked out; something that immediately relaxed and disappointed the pair. Camille's gaze fell upon the newest addition, and then back to Kai. After hearing his statement, he got up from his chair and telekinetically attached his beads back to his outfit. "An explanation would be nice, make sure to get all of the details." He said before he walked out of the room; second out.

He kept a slight watch on the townguard, when he left. When their paths became seperate, he walked towards a shadier part of town. He stuck out like a sore thumb, due to the contrast of white amongst the dark backgrounds and latern lit streets. Hearing a commotion from an alley, Camille walked down it to find a thief robbing a townsman. He grinned a bit darkly, his beads quickly delatching from his outfit and floating around him due to telekinesis. "You haven't harmed him, yet, have you?" Camille drew the attention of the thief, she laughed.

After the scene had finished, Cathal emerged off his tattoo form on the thief, while Camille finished a bead ritual around the townsman. A dark gray mist vanished into his beads, which latched back onto his clothing. The two layed still; sapped of their life by Camille and Cathal. After exiting the alley, Camille was addressed by a guard;
"You, did you go down that alley?"
"No, 'm on my way home from work. Tired, and it's late."

He continued to walk to his home, on the upper part of the town(in terms of wealth and physical position). He packed a bag with one waterskin, a large glass sphere, and a multi-use blade. As a bit of a treat, he also took a dark brown and green version of his outfit, in the event he needed to become less flashy. He looked at his beads, the blue tainted by a dark gray; leaving a dark and earthy color. He sighed in content and proceeded to fall asleep in his lavish bed for the moment. Cathal kept to his tattoo form.

In the morning, Camille dashed out with his bag and a nectarine. He ran to the south gate with Cathal in tail. "Where is he?" He said, looking around. Cathal pecked at his side, telling him that Kai was across the rode at a tree. Camille nodded, and walked over.
"Good morning; so, are you going to give details, yet? Or wait until everyone's here and we're out?" He smirked a bit, looking away. "Maybe share how fight, if you do..."

[KittKat chunky~]

Katka leapt to her feet as the large dragon dispatched Enoji from the shadows. She drew her sword with a rasp of steel, her teeth bared as she growled. "And, Mr Dracht, you considered it a good idea to display your 'prowess' in such a manner, in front of a guard of the city watch?"

She stood silent for a moment in the ensuing silence, the tip of her sword hovering inches from Dracht's chest. Her ears flicked back slightly as she glanced around and then back up at the seven foot tall mass of dragon before her. Bravery could often be misconstrued as stupidity she thought, especially in a situation like this where what she was doing was very, very stupid. "What I meant was..."

Katka paused, beside her feet the large grey wolf butted his head against her hip. Unlike her Ashe had remained entirely calm and silent throughout and as she glanced down into his solemn stare she sighed. Sheathing her sword with more force than was necessary she turned to leave. "... As of today I will not be a part of the city watch, so do as you wish."
 

*  *  *

 
The rest of the evening for Katka was spent arguing with a number of people. Eventually, after much shouting and even the threatening of imprisonment, the commander of the city watch agreed that Katka could indeed take her leave of the city. After all, she argued, it was simply her taking exile for failure in the Lord's Guard, merely a few years late.

Her armour and sword were of course her own and so what other equipment she figured she would need was bought and gathered into a leather pack. Various small items and clothing, travel rations, food and water. There was no one to truly say goodbye to, besides a couple of fellow guards who had shown her some more friendliness than the rest.

The next day she stood opposite the south gate watching the others slowly gather. She stood in the shadow of a shop front, with the heavy grey cloak she always wore in her hands. The single item of clothing had marked her out for years as a failure. All those years of training wasted in that one moment. She sighed and at her side Ashe glanced up at her and gave a muffled woof that amounted to what she considered the canine equivalent of a sigh. Like it or not the Grey Cloak was a part of who she was and she almost felt lost without it. Securing the cloak back around her shoulders Katka glanced at the sprawling city before approaching the group. Maybe one day she would prove herself worthy of removing the cloak for good... One day.

[White Wolf Guardian]

The wolf looked upon the event of the newcomer and knocking them out, just as if it were another common event and then went back to looking placid. "Many a day there were brawls in the bar, watching another get knocked out was nothing new. The sleeping spell was interesting I suppose, Dodearchy still hasn't made much of a reaction. Just as well anyways, this is going to be a long road ahead." The wolf sighed quietly and watched the thrown about conversations, only somewhat nerved by the city watch retiree.

"This city watch individual really does restore faith in the mental fortitude of not thinking security can look for the highest bidder or even consider bribes. There is probably much more to it... but I'll just leave it for how I see it. The sudden appearance of a dragon was surprising, haven't seen one of those in a very long time. This other shady looking character Camille looks to be like someone that requires me to keep my inventory tight. I'm not really sure if I ever expected anything more though considering the conditions of who would probably even entertain the idea of going on a perilous journey with a close guarantee of meeting death sooner. Dodearchy is taking this better than expected." Xeric pats his sack to feel the smack from the inside, of a concerned companion.

Upon the next day, as usual far before sunrise the merchant was making his usual round of checking inventory and sharpening a few weapons. When the time was near, the merchant made his way to the south gate, surprised to see that Kai was well prepared "This group leader is more interesting everytime I see him, perhaps we will have more conversations eventually."

[Chrono Blackwyng]

To say the least, Ur was disappointed that Katka didn't follow through on her implied threat. It's difficult for one of his stature to get an opponent that didn't start knee-knocking at the sight of him, especially since the city watch never went after him with anything less than four or five of their number. Until the job had come along, Ur was getting rather bored with vigilantism or antagonizing the guard into fighting him. While it did give him good practice for fighting multiple enemies, their tactics got repetitive after the sixth fight with the watch.

Ur left his rare moment of introspection as he looked down at his familiar, then popped open one of his side bags. "So, how much did you make?" the smaller dragon looked around for anyone who might be listening or watching, then sat upright and pulling open a pouch under his chest before dumping a not-so-modest pile of coins to the floor. "Enough for ten pints. Maybe twenty if we can get the good stuff from Jackie's Still." Vis answered, then climbed into the pouch and closed it using his wing claws and tail.

"So, plan for tonight:" Ur stated aloud, turning towards the rotatable wall.
"Drinking Contest at Jackie's Still." Vis said while poking his head out the bag.
"Going to the Raised Tail for nightly company." Ur's smile slowly turned lecherous in his reminicing.
"...if we don't run into Runo and her gang." Vis interrupted, turning Ur's smile to a frown in an instant.
"Really any gang that we had the good fortune to antagonize." Ur added before picking up the coins and putting them in the bag next to Vis'.
"Well, "One thing at a time" as you always say." Vis slipped his head back into the bag.
"Actually, it's "Every experience is a good experience."." Ur pushed open one side of the wall, making sure to not make too much overall noise.
"Is there a difference?"
"For us, Vis? No, there isn't." Ur made his way out the inn, and into the city's night-life.

The next day, Ur finds himself in a tree with Vis dangling like a bat from a nearby branch. He flicked the smaller dragon off the branch, watching him sail through the air before his wings shot out and he flew back towards Ur. Ur then dropped off the tree and landed amidst the rest of the group.

"So Kai, exactly where are we going to start our search for Z'erra? I mean, it's not like there's anyone else who could have done the absurd feats you've described."

[Xylic]

Xylic woke up early that morning, the sun was still below the horizon and the sky shone a bloodshot crimson. She got up and out of bed and began to prepare herself. She kept on her only the essentials. Donning her armour and securing her weapons, making sure to pack an ample amount of arrows. She looked around her home one last time before leaving, unsure when, or if, she would see it again. Tyr eyed her closely, his head tilted in curiosity, tracking her around the room. As she made for the door he leaped off his perch and flew out, past Xylic, and into the open air. Xylic watched as he glided past and up into the red sky, she knew he would be watching.


She began to make her way down to the South gate as Kai had instructed her to the previous day. Today was the day she would meet the team that Kai had gathered. As she walked, she remembered the day when she had first arrived in the city. She had come through the South gate, after fleeing from her village, unsure of where to go. She wandered the countryside for months, working whatever jobs she could to survive, until she came across this city. Her father had taught her to fight, having only one child he had dedicated himself to passing on everything he knew to her. Xylic had no idea how useful she would find those skills. If it weren't for Kai's generosity and assistance that first day, Xylic has no idea what would have become of her.


As she approaches the gate she pulls her hood up over her head, covering her face down to the eyes. "A little ambiguity never hurts...", she says to herself, "Especially if you have no idea who you'll be encountering". After a quick search she spots Kai and some others grouped under a tree nearby, she begins to walk towards the group. Her faerie, Tyr, is nowhere to be seen, but she knows that he is flying high enough to be out of sight. "Out of sight, out of mind...", she finds herself mumbling as she approaches the others.

[ShiroTenshiRyu]

Kai was ever the morning fur, with bright eyes and a cheery grin he greeted his fellow companions as they arrived one by one until the last arrived. "You are late as always." Kai chuckled to the last fur who arrived. "I'd like you all to my Xylic, my trusted aid and understudy." He let the introductions begin with the last member of their team as he waved them down the road to start their journey to the city of Sha' Ra where the Imperial Jail was. Kai had ignored Ur's earlier remark about Z'erra impressed that there were any outside of his Order who knew he was still alive.


"I suppose since Ur has more knowledge then I expected of those I would hire I suppose it's only fair I divulge more of my intent." He gave a pause in his speech looking to the golden brown leaves that fell off the autumn trees, and clear, blue, early morning sky, hoping that there would be reason not to tell them, fearing he may scare them off.


"About a week ago a man escaped the Imperial Jail in Sha' Ra. Now normally Imperial Forces would handle this in a day, two at the most. But the man who escaped last week is no mere mortal. You are correct Ur, in believing it was Z'erra who escaped." Kai took another pause, and thanked the Gods it would only be two days travel to Sha' Ra. "For the rest of you Z'erra was once a powerful wizard, who fell to the temptation of Dark Magic. No one could stop him and his undead legions as he slowly conquered all of Gersia." Yet another pause, even he was growing tired of this explanation.


"Finally Z'erra grew to bold. He attempted to conquer the Gods themselves. He made a pact with Nechrolius, God of the Underworld and together they fought a grand battle that tore the very foundation of the world. Alas it was all for not, for though Z'erra did gain the powers of a god, he and Nechrolius were both imprisoned by the other gods. As the world began to rebuild we built a prison around where the Gods had trapped Z'erra so that should he ever escape again we would know. It should be evident that we have been tasked with hunting down Z'erra." He held his breath hoping none of them would question what it would take to capture a fur who had all but ascended to godhood.



Kai gave a sigh of relief as he finished his recount of who Z'erra. He looked forward the road calm and empty in the early morning. There was a light breeze that reminded him of where he grew up. He gave a small moment of thought to that tiny beach village he knew as child, then quickly dismissed it. He continued at the front of the group, his excitement almost palpable. No matter how many times he left for a job or adventure he still got excited like a kitten on it's Name Day.

[Cyril]

Camille stood quietly while everyone showed up rather quickly, not saying much of a word after his mumbles were unheard. Crossing his arms a bit impatiently, he then took to his bad habit of toying with more of his beads, making them spin after unlatching them and watching the life within them. The cardinal pecked at him in an effort to stop him from wasting the little magic he was, and Camille simply tapped it off. Cathal returned to the inside of Camille's clothing; returning to its tattoo form as a sign of irritation.

Camille sighed a bit, walking along the front looking disinterested but listening to the shortened synopsis of Z'erra's rise to power, and hummed to himself. The leviation on his beads swayed, and they dropped within the lion's hand once Camille heard the mention of undead. A bit of a haughty grin came across his face, while he let Kai finish the story, before turning around and walking backwards; speaking rather abruptly.
"So, finding him won't be too much of a problem, then." He then laughed a bit, "At least for the magic crowd. Such a creature creates a heavy imbalance, due to that power. At the very least, a sense of direction would be perceived by a person in the life focus. The only real problem would be our ability to apprehend such a being, or the strategy."

[KittKat chunky~]

Katka listened to Kai's story with only half an ear. Not that she wasn't interested to find out about the venture they were setting out on, but more the fact she had rarely set foot out of the city walls. Training to join the Lord's Guard had meant much of her young life spent in the training arenas of the city, then the Lord's Guard itself and rarely if ever did her Lord to whom she was sworn travel. In the years after her demotion into the city watch she had felt even less need to, in those bleak years after her ultimate failure.

With a light breeze in her hair and the sight of fields, trees and villages stretching as far as the eye could see, she could not help but feel an unusual sense of elation, taking it all in as the great walls of the city fell away behind them.


As Kai finished speaking Ashe glanced up at his wildcat companion. The wolf faerie gave a disgruntled 'wuff...', rolling his eyes as he noted her behaviour before butting at her hip with his snout as they walked.

Almost knocked off her balance Katka glanced down at the wolf, then sheepishly across to Kai as she realised he had finished. "And you expect to capture him, with this group? You must have a hell of a plan."  She glanced around at the group as they strode along the high road, tail swishing as she returned to walking in silence.