Against the Night

[Drakeyboy]

Drake noticed the group was getting ready to leave for the forest and quickly packed up the map and if there was a map of the ruins they'll visit (tell me if there's one), that too. As he followed the group near the rear he listened to everyone's plans but none of them were good. All of them relied on too many unknowns and none of them even was a chance. Considering what the thief had already encountered it was more likely that they would clear the dungeon themselves. They did leave last night for it as well so it reinforces that possibility. "Well considering you said that they did leave last night to meet you and Camille, it only makes sense that they are already there, probably close to the relic with the rest of the group standing guard by the entrance. I do have one question though Neshar. Did this group have mages?" Because if so he will need to tell his allies  about him being a Anti-mage. Considering he was in a group of mages anyone would understand his reluctance to share that information.

[Cyril]

"I can heal, if you can kill." His eyes fell upon Xavier's after he finished with Mort's wound. He gestured his robe's beads at the hybrid, eyes on him while they walked. "Nothing is free. But with for price, I can mend anything that's still alive.. But if you guys are more careful, I can do much more than that. Assuming it's not dark, that is.." His words faded into a mumble, and he tailed the thief in the group after they began their trek.

"I try to make it so I don't have to heal in the first place. And if these fellows make a mistake, I can lock 'em for a bit." He added before resuming his more quiet demeanor and padding along the group. His eyes blankly trailed along the sides of the path, and although he noticed the newcomer to their group, he didn't say much to them as the fellow didn't take to introduce himself audibly. If someone wanted to spoke to, they could speak up or forever keep their silence. He grinned to himself, lower on his resources by quite a bit, but still able to put up with his normal walling shenanigans.


The thought of an older temple piqued him in the wrong way, although he didn't really know how he'd deal with it. He didn't want to mention any undead, speak of the devil and he shall appear was his philosophy on this one, and it'd probably be best not to allow his group to know, yet.

[Eden-H]

Lips pulling into a thin semblance of a grin at Neshar's comment, he watched as the young creature worked his jaw and simultaneously listened to Xavier's introductions of each member. His eyes flickered as he put a name to each unique face gathered around. "You already have," he responded to the thief. With a throaty chuckle he fell in step as everyone began to move, head cocking when the otter mentioned being unable to recall if he had given his name. "You are correct. Whatever it may truly be, Nem and Silverwing have taken to calling me Dragonhawk. Hawk or Hawky for simplicity's sake."


Maneuvering away from Xavier as Camille sidled up to the man, he fell to the back of the party and maintained a spot there instead. While he certainly preferred scouting ahead or keeping a position as part of the spearhead of a group, his sheer size would make it impossible for the others to see over. Unfortunately he made a far better door than he did a window. Although if he had wound up like a certain member of his race, even that would have proven not to be a problem.


Exhaling softly and watching every little thing that moved, it was then he noticed the foul expression Mort wore after Neshar mentioned a few plans he concocted. Immediately he began wondering if there was bad blood between the two that had developed when his companions had been present or that they had even noticed. In fact, he had begun to question why he had rushed here before even requesting some semblance of information to work with. As it stood he only knew what to call each person and what he had been able to glean from their garb, mannerisms and speech. Indeed, it was not within his wheelhouse to walk into a situation so wholly unprepared, yet here he was.


Cursing under breath, he worked the leather straps that held the sword/whip just between his wings and above the base of his tail. Releasing the catches, he gripped the blades hilt with one hand and wrapped several rings of the bladed chain around his knuckles. If he was going to be walking into so many unknowns, he may well have one of his weapons at the ready. Especially given what little he had been able to overhear about the venture and the plans Neshar had been providing. It took little sense to understand the danger they were heading straight into.

[Xavier Akafur]

Xavier nodded at the comments from the surrounding members of the group, but shortly after shook his head. "Theorizing is somewhat moot at this point. They have a head start on us and we can't sit idly by and consider every possible angle. If they get their hands on this artifact there's a high probability that the first thing they will do with it is turn it on us. Certainly they won't let us waltz in and take it from them. The best bet is to beat them to it. If they follow us in... well, I can get us out in a pinch." He subconsciously wrapped his fingers around the weight of gold and chain in his coat pocket. "It's a one-way trip, though, so we need to make sure we have what we came for." He straightened his coat slightly as he withdrew his hand from his pocket, the more observant of the group might notice the garment was devoid of the damage it had suffered just the previous evening.

He looked around at everyone present as the trees obscured the sunlight overhead, the group of them walking into the mild shade of the forest, which slowly transitioned into a near-gloom as they traveled deeper. "The way I'm looking at it, our only option is to take this head-on. Make a direct approach towards this structure and destroy anything that gets in the way." He smirked. "Not a subtle or clever plan, admittedly, but with little experience working together and time being against us..." The hybrid shrugged helplessly.


"Mort, I'm pretty sure we're going to need you up front. If we can keep moving it will help. One of the flaws of rushing in head first is we need to be able to punch a hole through whatever defenses this third party has set up, not to mention if any more monsters are running about. If we get bogged down in a pitched battle, we'll be in trouble." Xavier spoke with a friendly tone, but it was clear that there was some habit of leadership that was driving him to sort their group out. The man was used to being listened to, even by relative strangers. He smiled apologetically, as if he was entirely aware that being told what to do might rub the hell-hound the wrong way. "I'll be right beside you this time. There's a good chance it will be tight at points, so mind the axe." The otter-wolf finished with a wink.


"Hawk, Neshar, take points where you feel comfortable. I don't have any experience with the way either of you fight, but if you need room to maneuver just cover the flanks and rear." His gaze shifted to Neshar. "Particularly focus on anyone with a ranged weapon, or god forbid, magic." Xavier figured it was not something the thief needed to be told, but it made the hybrid feel better to say it. Leave nothing to chance.

"Camille, stay close to Mort, let him clear us a path. Fight as you're able to, but prioritize keeping us mobile." He nodded to the mage deferentially and then looked over to the fox-coon. "And Drake, just unleash hell on anything that comes at us." Based on their earlier fight, the other hybrid had possibly the strongest magical aptitude out of their little troupe. There was no reason not to put it to good use liquefying some unfortunate enemies.

The hybrid just continued walking after that, calmly looking around at the others for any sign of confirmation or disagreement. The only sign of his nerves was a slightly flicker to the sway of his tail, and a firm set to his jaw. He -had- just unabashedly given orders to half a dozen super-humanoids, who likely were not used to taking orders from anyone.

[tangletail]

Neshar looked to Drake as he dropped his question. He seemed to pay no mind to Mort’s hatred, even if he could feel it boring through the back of his skull. It was a hatred he could honestly do without for once in his life, but he was expecting at least someone in the group to have very little respect for him. The bad part is… that at least someone in this already dangerous group didn’t trust him. Which meant any act that was logical to him and was done for the best… would likely not be tolerated… by the brute of all people. Sometimes… he wanders why he’s even bothering trying to keep this group alive when they don’t have a prayer that they owe him.

Neshar paused in place as he thought for a moment. His gaze look distant as he recalled to three individuals that had given him quite a bit of nervousness. “I don’t….” he began… but he paused for a moment. His ears flicked, and his eyes narrowed as his thought buzzed a little further. He could catch most creatures trying to sneak up on him. Hell, he could hear a mouse’s heart beat if he was focused enough. But he couldn’t detect magic. Could that be it? Quite possible… as just skill can’t completely dampen sounds. But… maybe those rogues were beyond his skill? That little terrifying thought is something Neshar always considers… along with the possibility of this group randomly stabbing him in the back. A little voice in the back of his head is constantly reminding him of that… or maybe it’s just his paranoia from the lack of sleep.

His eyes refocused onto Drake as he grimaced. “Y-yeah… yeah… that may be a high possibility for three of them… as for the underlings… I don’t know. I didn’t stay for long. The place felt like a lure and bait if you catch my drift.”

But then he paused when he heard names being called out with authority. An old habit from not only his days as a servant but also in the military kicked in. His head turned to Xavier with his ears standing at alert like a hound that had just had it’s name called. When the details all came to an end, the feline didn’t even hesitate with his response.

“Affirmative, I’ll be back and at the ready when you need me… should nothing come up. Just give the word to return,” The thief chirped quickly. He had to painfully resist saying ‘Yes Sir’, as he activated one of his few spells. The shadows quickly lept up from his surroundings and clung to his body. A second later the shadows had incased him and removed him from sight. The only signs of him still existing was a sudden inexplicable weak draft of wind when he darted past a few of the party members.

Neshar, now completely invisible, is roaming in a loose radius around the group with most of his focus being in the front.  If he ran into anything that looked hostile, the group may find it’s body on the ground –striped naked- with several terminating stab wounds. Either multiple times in the chest, once in the back of the head, back of the neck, or the eye. A good indication on why the thief may not have been a good assassin would be that there was a fairly decent chance that his pray may have screamed in terror before being stabbed to death.

Annnd… if nothing happened. They may find Neshar uncloaked and on his knees next to a large hellish looking six legged cat with two thorned tentacles, carefully opening up the bear trap that it was stuck in. The creature doesn’t seem to regard him with aggressive intent.

[Drakeyboy]

Drake nodded hearing Neshar fumble about his awnser. But if there was a few there was more likely going to be a lot more. Then Xavier began taking charge. If it was any other time he'd probably be a little frustrated but after explaining his reason he couldn't help but agree. He listened carefully to Xavier then quickly added a little information he neglected to mention earlier. "I should mention now before we are in the heat of battle but I am actually a fairly good Anti-mage. Being able to siphon magic from spells thrown at me to fuel my own magic. So if we do run into mages let me take them." Drake then brought his hands to his pockets a little unsure on how his allies would feel about it. From what he's seen anti-mages don't really get trusted because of thier unpredictable combat. Which he does sort of fit into that group, and in that last fight against the mutant hound he would have caught some of his allies spells to fuel more of his attacks. But well that isn't really what a teammate should do.

[Eden-H]

Dragonhawk's eyes narrowed into slits, the energy almost completely winking out as he listened to the otters commands. While he may have come here to finish what his family could not, it of course did not mean he had to follow the orders given. Granted, the hybrid did appear to have a head for the situation and the beast could certainly appreciate Xavier's utilization of the resources at his disposal. He would have been quite foolish to leave it untapped, especially given the potential that everyone seemed to garner. Yet the fact still remained that this simple act rubbed his nerves raw, jaw tightening as he mentally traced the reason to why.


"I am most comfortable at the forefront, where my blade and whip may work as intended." A soft hiss accompanied his response as he turned fully towards the hybrid. His lips drew into a rough grin, leaving unusually sharp teeth somewhat bare. "Would this ruin your machinations with..." he paused, searching for the name. "Mort? Or would you still have me covering the flanks in case of direct assault there?" Although certain he knew the answer to his question, it was better to entertain the man than outright disagree. He was here under tenuous circumstances after all, leaving little point to purposefully or even accidentally disturbing the balance that was at play.


"Know that I can function there just as well," he suddenly amended. "I taught Nem about the rifts, although I use them for transport and retreat--as they were always intended to be by the Greater spirits. Not for killing blows."

[AJ Fawxe]

The ruins. The long road to town. The burning across his flesh. The kitsune gasped and opened his eyes, turning his head quickly to look around. His surroundings streaked with each quick turn, reality muddling like paint running together. The fox gripped his amulet and focused on it, his mind calming and his aura fluctuating slightly. Opening his eyes again he looked around and saw the few other people traveling in the back of the wagon staring at him worriedly. "My apologies.. just some bad memories resurfacing." In truth he didn't know, but it usually made people more sympathetic to think that he was just some poor traumatized loner with an old heirloom to hold onto than a mentally unbalanced psychic. The fox had no reason to believe he could kill anyone if he lost control, though others might not be so trusting.

Pulling his cloak tighter around himself he turned away towards the back of the wagon and closed his eyes again, hoping he'd had his fill of nightmares.

Sleep came easier this time. Though he still got bursts of.. something. It wasn't something he had seen often, but he'd been seeing it for the past few weeks. Flashes of abberant creatures, mutated beasts, terror. Admist the images of wild, savage beasts, the fox saw vague shapes and figures. They cameand went too fast to hold onto, though he felt they were important somehow. Something about these things and the places he kept thinking of and glimpsing in his dreams felt important to him. It was a sense of purpose he'd never felt before, and on this last leg of the journey he'd found it harder than normal to focus. It was like some part of him knew there was something important here, but what? The flashes started coming faster and his mind felt like it was being crushed under the weight of it all. A savage, furless beast slobbering acid leading a hoard of beasts against some small group of figures cast in shadows like the forest around them. Lumbering beasts, distorted by either a twisted force or his own fractured mind. There were hills and plains and forests and a doorway that lead to a coridoor that-

"Hey! You alright there?" The voice jarred him suddenly from his slumber and his eyes shot open. "You were shaking pretty bad. The others said you were some whacked out soldier or war victim or something."

Looking out the back of the wagon and past the driver he saw the small village they'd arrived at. "Yeah. It was a year ago. Something.." he paused and rubbed his head as a migraine rushed through his head.

"Don't you worry about me, no need to go digging up stuff you don't need to be thinking about. I do feel bad for ya son. Here," the old weasel handed him some coins, "get yourself a drink on me. If it doesn't help you forget the bad stuff you'll at least forget this evening." He chuckled and patted the fox on the back as he climbed down.

"Forgetting stuff isn't the problem.." the fox muttered, "I thank you though." The fox walked next to the driver as they both appeared to be heading for the bar, though probably for different reasons. Bars always seemed to have the local gossip, and with how his dreams-or visions?-had only gotten worse as he drew nearer to this area, he needed some answers. Once inside the bar he looked around and sighed deeply. There seemed to be a sizable crowd for such a small town. The fox slid his goggles down and the magic activated. The design on the lenses shifted and expanded turning the vague wisps of aura he could see on his own into more defined forms. Looking around he saw small traces of residual emotional aura over by one end of the bar. As he walked towards it he looked over to the bartender and raised his goggles. "Was there a fight over here? Some kind of argument, maybe?"

The bartender looked at him with a bit of shock. "Well, not right there. A few seats down the bar there was a fight. Some lady I'd never seen sat there though. Did you need something?" The bartender seemed confused and intrigued by his sudden and rather on point question. The fox told him he was looking for something in the area, and remembering the figures that he saw standing before the acid spitting beast he quickly inquired about that as well. "Ah! Yes, there was a group of strangers who killed some foul beast in the woods. I don't know where they are now, but they seemed to be in a hurry about something."

The fox thanked him and left, promising to come back and have a drink or a bit of food upon his return. Curious.. the fox thought to himself, the aura couldn't have been off, the emotion was centered there. Some sort of emotion based magic maybe? Perhaps she caused the fight.. The fox left and looked around, asking a few people about the group. They seemed to be a good bunch, but it took too long to find out where they had headed. With only a general direction and his senses to find them, he headed out into the woods. After a few minutes he stopped, ears perking to the sound of voices. Passing a few trees he suddenly found himself facing this mysterious group with nothing obscuring their view of him. All he could do is stand there stock still, while his goggles registered interesting magical auras and vibrant health auras.

Perfect health and wielding magic. I hope they're friendly..

[Goblin Cat 😸]

 The bully listened to the others as he padded along, eyes finally moving from Dragonhawk long enough to stare outward into the woods, as if he'd just now realized his face was contorted into something that was not quite pleasing to the eye. His sour expression seemed to have subsided, especially when Xavier spoke up again and the thief disappeared. At least a strategy was coming along, somewhat. He didn't protest so much as he moved near the front of the group as directed, giving a small grin to the hybrid. “It's a good thing the axe is only back up then.”

 
In truth, the axe only came along in case there was something the canine couldn't bludgeon to death with his fists and even then, when push came to shove, he could manipulate his blood into something to slice as needed. In most cases, it seemed to be there only for looks, perhaps to throw people off when it came to his ability. While usually full of snide comments, Mort kept to keeping his mouth closed to he could listen and learn both about their situation and his teammates. It seemed most of his questions had gone unanswered and the best way to get anything out of the group was to idly listen to their conversation.

 
When his eyes turned again from Xavier to the path, Mort immediately stopped, taking notice of the figure that stood before them. He did not recognize it as Neshar. Given the chatter about heading straight into hostile territory, he did not ask questions, nor did he take the time to address his party – rather he put his head down and charged forward, skin as hard as stone, with his hands clasped above his head in preparation to strike downward and plant his blow on the stranger's chest. He only hoped his party would be quick enough to follow his lead – his intent was to at least disarm the figure and put it on the ground before it could make a move.

[Cyril]

"Is this what I closed those wounds for?!" Camille growled while darkness briefly shrouded the bully. A bright armor appeared over him afterword, the jackal wincing slightly as he was running low on everything about now. His beads sapped, but he grit his teeth and looked over the bully tackling over the odd figure who seemed rather mesmerized by the group. Part of him hoped that the other would eventually react, so that way it wouldn't be like running down something without a fight.

His dark eyes darted around, he bit his lip. He needed more life and he needed it fast. Falling past his backline, his eyes darted around the daytime forest. Licking his lips in a brief hunt until his eyes fell upon a nest of birds in a nearby tree branch. He approached, watching his team behind him while he crept out of their formation briefly. In a quick motion, he wrapped his cloak over the nest and the branch. Using the properties of his material, he tightened it around the branch and the birds; crushing them with a few tweets while he vamped the not so rich source, although the babies would keep him going for quite a while. The loan was terminated and the cycle of life continues. He released the branch, the part he'd crushed visibly more compact than the rest of the tree.


Although only gone a minute, he approached gently and first looked upon the backline while his armor was still on Mort. His beads didn't flow as they had prior to all of his healing, but they did have a bit more juice to them. He exhaled in a bit of relief; feeling the grip of his own death escape him for the moment. His eyes peered around afterwards, not sure if the fellow in the road was more of a bait for letting others slip in behind their front. He kept around the middle more defensively now, prepared to divide anything that may attempt to squeeze itself in there.

[Xavier Akafur]

The hybrid relaxed slightly when the response was primarily non-hostile, even positive in a few cases. The exception to which was Dragonhawk, whom he had essentially guessed at to begin with. The large creature's fiery eyes had nearly narrowed to the point of winking out, but Xavier had not picked up open hostility so much as displeasure. "Fair enough. Take point with Mort, then. I am not familiar with your abilities, even those of the Shift. Nemael had only used those powers a few times during our initial battle." The mage explained, looking across at Drake as well as he revealed his little-known talent.


"If that's the case then work defense against any casters we come across, and turn their spells on them if you can reach them. Just don't break from the group unless you can reliably return." He motioned to the empty air. "The thief should be alright on his own for obvious reasons, but the rest of us can't get separated if we are fighting a large force." Xavier paused and looked as if he was about to add something when he saw Mort suddenly bolt froward from the corner of his eye, pulling his attention to the fore. The individual standing in the forest before them looked just as confused and surprised as anyone, likely a sentry that was lax on the job. Xavier briefly considered launching a fireball over Mort's head, but it seemed a bit of a moot endeavor, as the bully would probably just roll right through the man.


As the events before them unfolded, Xavier recovered his wits enough to look around and behind them for any more foes. Camille appeared to be doing likewise, and with good reason. The air around Drake, in the rear of the group, shimmered briefly before a trio of red-leather clad men were suddenly standing around him, shadows and darkness trailing from them like smoke. No warning, and with no other signs of how they had gotten there. Two of them were wielding thin-bladed rapiers, while one held a pair of hand crossbows. They said nothing and made almost no noise as the two blade-wielding assassins thrust towards the fox-coon with deadly precision. The third of the trio opened fire to either side of the mage, the bolts aimed for Camille's back. Just a split second after which, the trees on the path before them flickered with light, several magical bolts fired from the cover of the foliage flying forth and aiming for Mort and the stranger.


The magical bolts were closely followed by a small platoon of charging soldiers, iron-clad and wielding the traditional sword and shield combination. Directly before them a single man stepped out of the brush, standing nearly seven foot tall and clad in a plate armor of a reddish hue. He did not charge or attack like the rest, merely began to stride forward after the charge, hefting a deadly-looking mourning star and a heavy heater shield. The shield bore an insignia of a curling red serpent on a black background, and gleamed with an unnatural light.

[Eden-H]

Going stock still for a reluctant moment, Dragonhawk cocked his head when Xavier acquiesced. He had been under the impression that the hybrid would inform him to either lock in or leave their little adventuring band behind, his previous companions requests be damned. Quirking his lip, he was about to apologize for assumptions made on his part when several events occurred all at once. Reflexively loosening the chain wrapped around his knuckles and bringing the base of the blade attached to the tip into his claws, he almost followed after Mort's incredibly visual cue. Yet the subtle ripple of unnatural force led him to drop to all fours, turning himself into a relatively smaller target and giving him long enough to asses what was unfolding. Of course he could only remain still for so long before action was required, made abundantly clear when they were being assaulted from all angles.


Barking out a laugh of disbelief, he had no time to marvel over how swiftly this adventuring band managed to get itself into the thick of battle. Instead he burst forward on all fours for a few paces, then quickly switched back to two when he caught the glimmer of light arcing straight for Mort and the supposedly unarmed stranger. Murmuring under his breath, aqua light bloomed into existence along the bladed whip. Drawing his arm back, he let as much length loose as he could straight into the path of the magic missiles. While this tactic had worked in previous occasions, he did not know if the spells these men wielded would be effected in a similar manner by the Shift. Regardless if they were deflected or merely passed through the weapon as though it didn't even exist, he would follow up by skidding a few feet away from where the missiles had initially been shot. Digging his clawed toes into the earth and using his tail for balance, he unfurled his massive wings and gave them a single, powerful stroke.


Over estimating just how far into the trees these mages had either climbed or ported, he over-shot his destination by a couple dozen feet. Cursing under breath and using smaller beats to keep aloft, he was incapable of seeing the fighters who hid within the foliage. Aware of the fact that diving in blindly would be a death sentence for his wings, he hovered for a few precious seconds before suddenly snapping them shut and dropping. Falling almost too swiftly, he glimpsed what appeared to be one of the mages legs and once again hurled the whip attachment out in an arc, the combination of chain and leather wrapping around what he thought was their ankle.


Snarling loudly, he cared not to slow his or the mans fall until the last second when he unfurled his wings and created a second powerful gust. Bobbing in the air before landing, the maneuver successfully spared him from the full impact of his previous action. The person presently attached to his weapon, however, was not so lucky.

[tangletail]

Neshar… surprisingly found very few people wondering around. They lied dead in the path before him with their belongings now his. That added… a few red cultist cloaks to his list of disguises to use. As well as giving him a selection of weapons to use for the upcoming fights. Between the morning star, a long sword, and a court sword. He opted to take the court sword, which was now clipped to his belt.

Now the feline was kneeling before a large displacer beast that was lying on it’s back. The spent bear trap it was trapped in was also clipped to the feline’s belt for a use in some other occasion. Neshar idly scratched the monster’s belly as he looked into the tree lines with a distant gaze. He began to wonder about some things. Namely why he had encountered random cultist so early. Maybe… they were stragglers?

A distant roar definitely confirmed that suspicion.

Now alerted, Neshar scrambled to his feet and darted back to his allies. In mid stride he had flicked his mask into the air and caught it, then slipped it over his head. By the next stride, the mask had been secured in place, and his body reentered his cloak.

Between his bounds and rapid shadow stepping, it didn’t take long for him to cross the distance. The last bound through the world of shadows left him invisible and leaping out of a tree branch just over head. His body fell freely in a pouncing stance. His eyes focused downwards to the chaos below.

Everything just felt as if it was moving in slow-motion for him as he observed everything happening. He had his orders to follow… range and magic. But this… seemed like a good time to break his orders and explain himself later. He couldn’t save Camile… he had nothing to stop the bolts. He was pretty sure he didn’t need to help Mort… but it seemed that Drake was in a danger that he could assist in.

His body shifted once more through shadesmar, and flickered back into reality on the ground between the two assassins and the party’s leader. He longed forward… his cloaking spell tearing it’s self away, his body melding away from the shadows. He raised a dagger in his left, and the court sword in his right to deflect both of the weapons. The movement caused his limbs, and the weapons to expunge a purple wispy aura that lagged behind the lightning fast movement. There was also a noticeable effect of a chameleon like spell, the limbs blurred enough to be easily lost if they weren't watched carefully.

The feline gritted his teeth as the contact between the weapons tore out a metallic screech that wreaked havoc on his ears. He pushed against the weapons, and dipped low. His body swooped between the two’s stance, with the duelist blade spinning behind his back. He spun, behind the assassin on the right and threw out two quick thrusts. Each one exploded with energy that made the arm appear to have just popped into place. First for the lower spine, the second for the cerebellum.

The feline had a terrible feeling that he was going to miss horribly. And instead of checking for the confirmation of a hit… he quickly took a step back in retreat. His stance remaining low with his weapons raised defensively. A second later… and he begin to notice his vision… turning bright and blurry. A light shivering of his arm and leg as the muscles strained was enough to show that the feline's predicament caused by his isomnia from paranoia... and a lack of anything decent to eat for a few days.

Oh buggers… the fatigue is really starting to set in. It was that very moment… the feline was sure he was going to die. He had packed a bundle of herbs to help with his sleep depreciation... but grabbing that right now would be a bad move.

[AJ Fawxe]

The fox blinked as the first of the group noticed him, and the vulpine psychic was just starting to raise his hand in greetings when this stranger suddenly rushed him in an openly aggressive manner. Cursing softly under his breath he stepped back and flicked a paw, sending a small rock hurtling towards his shoulder. It was more to unbalance him or slow him down, as any damage it might cause would be negligible.

"Dammit all.." the kitsune spat in Sylvan, "I was hoping this lot would be good people, not the violent mess I'm seeing here!" Taking a diving step he landed on all fours and sprang away trying to maintain some space. Pulling his staff from his back he charged it with psychic energy and turned, assuming a defensive stance. He made it clear he wasn't trying to attack, but was still ready to be attacked. "I'm just here looking for something, I have no interest in bloodshed. Stand down you damned mercenary, I have no interest in your contract or your coin."

The divine purpose of the Heirophant flooded through him as the battle set in, his chosen legend for the day filling him with with a noble and divine presence. When all hell broke loose around him, the fox glanced away for a second then quickly spun away and swept the legs out from underneath one of the soldiers who seemed to be veering slightly towards him. With great purpose he drove the tip of his staff down into the warrior's face, sending waves of pain through his face and the side of his head before pulling back and stomping down his head, driving him to the edge of consciousness, and possibly knocking him clean out.

Glancing back towards the bully he eyed him closely then backed away, waiting to see how he reacted. If this violent mercenary came after him again he'd need to overwhelm him quickly with a well timed spell and disable him before he could do any real harm. I have not traveled all this way, suffered through all these twisted dreams, and fought through droves of wicked souls to be stopped by a common mercenary.. Though this sudden drove of bizarre cultist soldiers might be something of a threat, especially if I have to fight them and this ragtag group all at the same time.

[Drakeyboy]

Drake would be unaware of the assassins till the last seccond when they became visible noticing the very light sounds with the newfound shadows. He'd bound forward useing his telekinesis to pull himself out of the way a little faster. Once he was on his feet again he span on his heels seeing Neshar get some distance not wanting to give the assassins time to react he quickly made some gouts of fire erupt from his hands and brought both pillars of magic closing onto the assassins from both sides. Whether they dodge or not he'd quickly fire a mana blast towards the main group of charging soldiers to break them up sure they would all live but it would knock them all around giving the rest of the group time to attack and mess them up.