Against the Night

[Goblin Cat 😸]

 The bully gave a nod to each speaker, not really having anything to add. It was as good as any other plan he'd suggest. He wasn't entirely keen on working in a group, but given most of them seemed to have their wits about them, he was willing to give it a chance. Even still if it came right down to it, he was rather confident he could handle anything thrown at him being what he was... Or perhaps it was merely his stubbornness that made him feel overconfident. Those triangular eyes of his gave a final scan of the group he was working with, taking note of their most distinguishing features for his own information – at the very least, so he could identify each of them when they returned at midday.

 
Lacing his fingers he turned his palms outward and stretched, cracking his knuckles in the process with an overplayed yawn as if to indicate that there had been enough talking. “Probably wise to tell where you're going so we don't cover the same ground, too. I'll hit the tavern and see what I can dredge up.” He announced with a grin. He'd be sure to get a drink while he was at it. “If you're coming with me, then come, otherwise I'll see the lot o' you at midday. I expect we can give warm introductions after we share our findings,” he added, almost as an afterthought.

[Ryan Naismith]

The shepherd listened to the others speak, grumbling some small complaint as he walked away. He decided that he would check out the forest. If the other people were going to be roving around the town... Well, he would prefer to be away from them.  Besides, he was a good tracker, not a people person.
He followed the Arbalist, noting that he was likely a competent  tracker as well. But, he quickly decided to split off from him, citing the reason that they would cover more ground that way.  He turned, heading into the forest at a different direction than him.
After a bit of wandering, and following what might have been beast tracks (But turned out to be nothing but a regular wolf's), he heard an ear piercing howl. He could tell right off the bat that it was no beast he knew, it was too long and loud for a dog or wolf. It didn't have that hint of a scream like a werewolf would, either... so it was no beast he knew. Which meant that it was likely an alchemical construct.
He drew his silver sword, carefully watching his step so that he made no noise, and left minimal tracks. After following the sound for a moment, he came across a section of ruined forest; like something had charged through it. Something big... and recently, judging from the fact that some leaves were still settling.
He knelt down, taking a good look at the tracks below him. He could spot... six distinct sets of footprints, which meant that this thing likely has six legs. And, judging from the depth of the footprints (Though he had already assumed this, due to the carnage it had caused), it was quite heavy. He cocked his head as he realized that the beast had no claws. At least where a beast would normally have claws.
 Also... Silas noticed something... off about one of the leaves. He picked it up, bringing it close. There was a smallish hole on the edge of it. It was slightly brown around its edge, and judging from the fact that it seemed like it's edges were more rounded; softer (for lack of a better word) than a small animal eating it, there was a quite high chance that acid had caused that burn... which meant this thing had some sort of acidic power, possibly either in its saliva or from a separate gland that created it in order to store it for some sort of acidic attack.
He looked up from the ground, standing up and surveying the trees around him. He saw no tufts of fur, which likely meant that this beast had no fur. Could mean that it had tough armor, but such could be expected from an Alchemical, or supernatural construct. He also noticed two small holes in a tree, as if it had tried to attack whatever it was chasing, and missed. Judging from their size and depth, they were stabbed into that tree.
 He stood, deciding that he would head back to the village  with the information he had gathered. As much as he hated to admit it, this beast would be tough to kill on his own... he would need help.
He kept examining the tracks as he left, noticing something odd. It was as if several smaller tracks converged in the mass of destroyed trees... Silas knelt back down, looking closely at them. They looked almost exactly like the large beast's did, except they were smaller... Which meant this thing had minions, houndlings of some sort.
Silas let out a low growl, speeding up his pace just a little bit. He had collected some quite useful information.

[Eden-H]

Although curiosity was an intense temptation that nearly drove him into asking a few questions of both the terrier and the flamboyant hybrid, he set his jaw and refrained from uttering a single word. Dragonhawk had already asked the question that had been on his mind and the jackal had swiftly sated their desire for information. Thus when everyone broke apart to go their respective ways, he turned around to his friend and peered up into the hollow sockets of his eyes, head tilted ever so slightly with an unspoken query. This action was met with a small roll of the shoulder and Nemael exhaled loudly, tension bleeding away from his posture. The fabric around his muzzle creased ever so slightly as his lips turned into a wry grin, the subtle lines of bared and notably sharp teeth catching the threads.

"You already know."

Dragonhawk shifted from one foot to the other and snorted, the glowing spheres that now composed his eyes rotating as he rolled them. "I 'already know' what you plan on doin' and what you want me to go about." Again he shrugged his shoulders. "I am well aware of how important this is to you. Just holler if you need me, yeah?"

Nemael bowed his head in agreement, then suddenly reached forward and wrapped his arms around Dragonhawk's waist in a tight embrace. However, as suddenly as it occurred he was already moving away and towards the village at a fair pace, head held low. When he chanced a look back over his shoulder, he noted that his friend had already gone to do as they had agreed prior. This would leave Nemael alone to help with the beast of this village and explore more of the world on his own when this little monster party inevitably broke apart after the hunt. It was something he was greatly looking forward to, seeing that he held little regard for large groups of hunters more than capable of fending for their own skin. If they had been in over their heads or at least less confident in their skills, he would have bore more interest in the entirety of the proceedings. After all, he was here to help those who did not know their way in the world; not people who had lived their lives long enough to have a course already chartered.

Moving through the village with a practiced and swift gait, he subconsciously tugged at his gauntlets and then ran a hand over the semi-jagged metal set similarly to bladed scales. Noticeably his shoulders fell somewhat as his muscles relaxed, the tendons in his neck no longer straining against the fabric. This seemingly routine gesture was a nervous habit that he had yet to entirely break, one that always worked to comfort him in the hours before a hunt was to begin.

Wandering for a period of time, he finally spotted a person he knew would have information about the beast. Whether it was idle gossip or the truth would be in the air and would require verification from the hunter and jackal. Until then, however, he sidled up to them; apparently in their blind spot. Reaching out, he tapped their shoulder gently, having no wish to accidentally tear their shirt with the claw tips of his gauntlets. Instead of startling as he expected, they simply turned around and looked him up and down. Nemael could see their disapproval, even as they attempted to hide it.

"Apothecary." It was a statement, not a question.

They grunted in response and waved for him to continue.

"Survivors?"

Their expression subtly shifted from stern to apologetic. He wondered if they thought he was going to die like the others that had been hunting for the creature or if one of their own had perished hunting the beast.

"Yes... there was one." He paused and looked up at Nemael, brows furrowed. "Young lad; rather typical boy. Was out in the forest against the admonitions of his greaters. Either incredibly lucky or bloody stupid, he wound up against a tree. Minor sprains, small cuts to his face and head, sore back, but alive."

Nemael's brows furrowed, shadowing out what little could be seen of his eyes. "The hound?"

The man gave him a sidelong glance before continuing. "The boy said it was a great beast, with teeth the length of his arm and acid that dripped from its fangs." He chuckled softly. "'Course, he always had a bit of a, ah, imagination. Wouldn't trust a word to come out of his mouth."

Looking the apothecary in the eye, he tried to ascertain whether they were attempting to prevent him from finding the sole survivor or if the kid truly did have a wild imagination prone to invention. "Pretend he is a reliable source. What did he say?"

The apothecary scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning ever so slightly back. He glanced off to the left before returning with an even gaze.

"If the boy was right, and I'm not about to go shoutin' it from the hills that he may be, but if he was?" The corner of Nemael's lip twitched, wings rustling against his back as he waited.

"If'n the lad was right, this damned beast is a nightmare risen from Hell itself." He spat on the ground, making his gaunt cheeks even shallower with the action. "No fur, little cretins that follow it 'round the bloody woods--was a surprise they didn't tear the kid apart--acid drooling from its maw, large enough to put our village to shame." His lips twisted into a scowl. "If you think you can kill this thing, by all means, be free to throw yourself into its jaws."

From pleasant to snide, Nemael was taken aback by the sudden change in the apothecary's disposition. Taking a cautious step back, he lifted a hand and waved once. "Thank you." Then he turned around and began the journey back to the bounty board. He hadn't expected this man to be so far away from the center of the village, but he considered the information to be helpful never the less. However, what was more telling to him was how the man rapidly degraded from a terse calm into a countenance that suited the saltiest of Magisters and Tradesmen. The idea that the man knew far more than he said was blatantly obvious, though was it due to fear of what may happen if more adventurers were fed to the thing? Or did he know something far more sinister and was doing his best to hide it?

Was everyone in the village going to treat them like this? If so, why would they have put the bounty up in the first place? His eyes narrowed to mere slits as he considered the possibilities, trying to make sense of all of the information that was flagrantly conflicting with itself.

[Xavier Akafur]

Xavier stood at the board while the others went their separate ways, moving a little ways away from the cloaked figure and his monstrous companion, though not so far that he missed the embrace. That did bring some questions to mind, but none that he was keen on asking the stranger.


 Two of the group headed for the woods immediately, and examining the way they moved Xavier had no doubts that they would find what they were looking for... whether that be to their detriment or not. He left them to it, rubbing his chin with a webbed paw as he considered his own course of action. He was far from his home, this land entirely unfamiliar to him, and with both competent trackers and a host of people scouring the town for information, he doubted either of those courses would yield much beyond what would be gathered without his assistance. His specialty was ancient ruins and magical items. Monster hunting was nothing new to him, but this time he was far outclassed by others in that regard.

With a small chuckle to himself and a shrug he walked off towards the market that was still in the process of setting up for the day. If nothing else, he could buy some traveling supplies for everyone, and cook a meal for lunch! He had also misplaced his knife in a skirmish a few weeks ago, and needed to find a replacement blade to carry.

[Drakeyboy]

Drake gave a slight nod understanding the idea of searching for information. Because there was so many people searching for information he wasn't too worried. So he went to the market place to replenish his mana potion supply, and to listen to gossip.

When he inevitably returned he sighed because he didn't find any useful information. The gossip was everywhere and none of it was about the monster they were hunting.

[Xavier Akafur]

[Before things slow down in the thread, we'll go ahead and skip to mid-day ^^]


The sun was high in the sky as the first of the rag-tag group returned to the meeting spot. The vibrantly-dressed hybrid had arrived fairly early so that he could dish out the food he had bought for the group. It wasn't much, just some cheese, bread, and a hearty stew in wooden bowls. Several people had given him odd looks, though whether it was due to his appearance or the fact that he had started a small cooking fire near the center of the village he was not quite sure. Nobody had insisted he put it out, however, so there he remained.


Xavier's thoughts wandered to places far away in the hour or so he sat waiting, past adventures and old friends. This was far from his first rodeo as far as impromptu parties were concerned, but this may be the least stable of the bunch. Very few of those gathered appeared to be quite as content as he was to join forces, and he suspected most had plans in place should chaos break out. Getting them to cooperate in a combat scenario may be a bit tricky...

As the others began arriving he would be found sitting rather casually on the ground, breaking off sizable chunks of the fresh bread and slowly chewing them down to crumbs, staring up at the clouds drifting past.

[Drakeyboy]

Drake came back seeing the vivid man by the board. It wasn't that hard to spot him either way with his bright colours. Drake got a bit closer and sat down close to him. "Find anything?" He asked as he pulled out his tome. The thing was large at least three hundred pages with a silver embroidering on the the cover. Drake flipped somewhere near the middle and pulled out a blank tome with a few scribblings on the first few pages. After pulling out a self inking quill he started to write things in the blank tome. He was trying to decipher this tome so he could use the spells locked inside. He already has a whole blank tome full with the first half the the tome.

[Khaki (on hiatus)]

"It's definitely out there." Khaki explained breathlessly as he jogged over and stopped to catch his breath. "I found a trail, but it's a bit washed out with the rain and the scent is a bit stale, but I'd say it should lead us right to the creature"

The jackal crouched down by the board to rest for a few moments before he eagerly accepted a bowl of stew from the hybrid and devoured it quickly, grateful for the hot meal. He looked behind him and checked to see if any other members of their group were approaching.

[Eden-H]

Noting that two people had made their way back to the 'camp' before he did, Nemael slowly wound his way around them and dropped to the ground with a sigh and the clink of metal. He leaned against one of the legs of the bounty board, seated opposite of the jackal. Carefully adjusting his wings so that the smooth wood rested in between them, he shuffled in place so that he may be comfortable.

When food was offered by the hybrid he refused the meal, but gave a non-committal grunt of thanks. "Apothecary took care of a survivor," he started suddenly. His gaze slid between each person before settling on the fire. "Said the kid only had a few scratches and a sprain from a tumble. Didn't mention why it ignored him."

He shook his head slowly and lifted his right leg, resting his arm across it as he thought back to their conversation. "He became incredibly defensive when I asked what the kid told him about the creature. At first he wouldn't tell me a thing, purely on the basis that the boy had a 'wild imagination'. When I inquired further, I suspect he wanted to spit on me, but wisely chose the ground instead." Nemael chuckled softly at the thought. If the apothecary had taken that route, he would not have necessarily blamed him. "Finally opened up and said that it had massive teeth, drooled acid, a posse of smaller minions, no fur and was massive enough to put this village to shame. Then he told me I was free to throw myself into the hounds jaws if I thought I was capable of killing it."

Slowly his eyes drifted to the right as he stared at the spot he had entered the village from. "You would think out of every person here an apothecary would want the hound dead more than most. It must be tiring gathering so many herbs and plants and paying for what he cannot find. Especially considering their latest addition." Nemael ran his fingers across his gauntlet as he thought. "Of course he may just be tired of the fact that everyone who has gone hunting for it has died. Losing hope as it were. Although I do admit I am still curious as to why he wrote me off so quickly."

Grinning, he laughed quietly at an inner joke and then looked to the jackal. "You said you have resided in this village for a time. Is the apothecary normally so abrasive?" He cocked his head to the right, lips quirked into a sly smirk that distorted the fabric.

[Cyril]

The secondary and very ornate jackal grumbled lowly as he entered the village square.. He wasn't a local to this village, although he was definitely a part of a neighboring city. Neighboring being quite a distance away, but he took pleasure in roaming. While doing a bit of shopping, mostly for food. He approached a stall, quickly completed a transaction for some soup and bread. While sitting on a bench in the plaza, he noticed quite a peculiar group of people near what looked to be a display board. He watched from afar as they gathered, having their own food and sitting around. His ears moved slightly as he listened to their conversation. A hound, and massive teeth. Slowly he approached, keeping quiet and observing the circle. Before the jackal spoke, he waited for a gap between the speech; taking in the flow of magical energy amongst the crowd. His ears twitched, as he looked and saw that all but a few were mages.

"People tend to be abrasive when approached by masked figures, especially strangers." He spoke a bit brashly, before looking to the group. "My name is Camille Aelius. I am a magic user and I wish to also take down this.. Animal, with you all." He spoke clearly, humming softly.
His only thought was that such a strong creature would definitely be packing quite a bit of life force; something he could use to further his.. Practice.

EDIT: (My bad; I was multi tasking when righting, I messed up the font size)

[Drakeyboy]

(Uhm... that is tiny. It must be at least three pixels tall.)

[Khaki (on hiatus)]

Khaki moved aside to make room for the newcomer and gestured for him to sit down, but he made no comment to the mage. Instead he turned his attention to Nemeal.

"The apothecary?" Khaki asked, pausing for a few moments to think. "More or less, He treats all outsiders the same way. He's a strange fellow that one... always looks like he's hiding something from you."

[Xavier Akafur]

Xavier dipped his head slightly to the newcomer, but likewise did not speak to him, engaged as they were in talk about the suspicious apothecary. He pondered the information. "Could be that he is making more than he is spending and doesn't want to lose his business. A foolish notion given that most have simply died and not returned with any injuries.... and I'm sure losing access to a large portion of the wilderness is probably taxing on his supplies, as you said."

As he spoke he ladled out another bowl of stew and held it out to the newcomer, offering a subtle smile as he did. "Greetings, friend. Glad to have your help. We may need it." He conceded. "Initially I thought this was a simple monster but it sounds like we may have quite a battle on our hands."

His attention turned to Nemael. "As for this apothecary, I don't trust anyone acting suspiciously with such dire events occurring near their home. I vote we pay him a visit after we take care of the monster... see if he changes his tune." The hybrid did not need to add that if he was still hostile then something certainly was amiss. "Information is valuable."


"And on that note..." He chimed, looking at the other two now. "While we wait for the others, how about some proper introductions?" He placed his paw on his chest, webbed fingers splayed across his fur in a gesture of sincerity, or perhaps self-indication. "I am Xavier Akafur, Captain of the Stormrider. I am a treasure hunter and merchant by trade, though I generally handle acquisitions more-so than sales." He flashed a small smile to the group, ears perking as he waited for the others to respond in kind.

[Drakeyboy]

Drake was listening to the whole conversation taking mental notes of important things that were brought up in the conversation. When the introductions rose up he waited for Xavier to finish then then closed his book gently memorizing the page he was on. "my name is Drake." He then placed his book back in the satchel to eat. "Wandering spell crafter. My home has burned so i can't hail from anywhere." He said rather matter-of-factly. He took up the bowl that was offered to him earlier and took his first slurp straight from the bowl. It was actually pretty good for a free meal.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

 Midday came for the bully, but alas he found himself moving from the tavern a little later than expected. He only hoped that the group had not taken action without him. Perhaps he should have held off on a few drinks – at least then he could properly remember to step outside every now and then to keep track of the sun. Still, he made his way to the board all the same, hoping he wasn't too late.

 
A confident smirk held his features when he spotted what looked to be a little pow wow in front of the message board, complete with a fire and familiar figures. “And here I thought I was going to be left behind,” he blustered, giving a small laugh upon approach, “When in fact I'm greeted with a small camp. You know there's a perfectly good inn not too far from here. Or even the tavern.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate, “I'm sure they wouldn't o' minded us pulling up a table to discuss what we're gonna do about their little dog problem... But who am I to judge, eh? We're all in the same place, that's all the matters.” The hellion clapped his hands together, rubbing them conspiratorially. He hardly seemed aware of the current conversation, or rather, he didn't care as he moved into the circle of men, making himself welcome.

 
“Unfortunately, a lot of what I heard at the tavern was just as you'd expect. A lot of gossip. Hardly any of it useful, all of it describing how scary the creature is. Who knows what's true and what's been added as it's been passed along.” The dog gave an unamused snort, waving his hand dismissively – not that he'd expected any less – the tavern had merely been a way for him to pass the time until it was time to meet again. His specialty would be when it was time to face the creature head on.