[IC] They Have Returned (Ebonfort)

[Twhirtley]

Starting Date and Time: 45th day of Ceruleo, 300 DM, Sunrise

Starting Location: Scream Watch

CS URLs: Raffey & Megumi & Drachiathoryx 'Drache Sgarsiath' & Halbera

Ser Tybalt Witerlee stood at the upper most catapult in the Scream Watch Stronghold, looking out over his little slice of paradise. He was the Warden Knight stationed here, and one of the fiercest combatants in all the Knights. He was born of a knight and a prostitute in this very village, fought against the older squires when he was but a page, fought against knights when he was but a squire. As with all new knights, he was stationed here initially, to defend against and fight the ever constant Screamer threat. But he never left, quickly winning his way up through the ranks. And now, he had no desire for a higher rank, for here, he was king. There were five Lords higher than him in rank, but he did not care about that. They were all safe in their mighty Citadel, whereas he was here, fighting daily, training new troops, always keeping his edge. And he hoped that it would be here that he would die, and here that his body be burned, rather than rotting of age behind a desk.

However, he did have a problem that was not being resolved as quickly as he liked. For the last few seasons, there had been attacks on the roads around the other villages. This in and of itself was not strange, Screamers snuck into the empire and attacked fairly frequently. However, the reports from several attacks seemed to indicate another threat. One that wanted them to think it was the Screamers. And that was odd. An unknown enemy, posing as a known enemy. It wouldn't change anything. The battle against the Screamers would never be resolved. They were far too mobile, too adapted to their land, and far too populated. If the entire Ebon Knights marched out there, it would be a slaughter. But the same would be said if the Screamers attacked the empire en masse. A permanent stalemate.

Ser Tybalt suspected they were gathering information, under the guise of attacks. Learning about the empire, spying upon her. He'd set his best scouts and trackers to the task of learning more about these people, after their most recent attack at the beginning of the season. Several of his scouts were killed in their tracking efforts, indicating the level of skill from this mysterious enemies. However, two had been successful in just getting the most basic of information. One, a man who was able to sneak so close to Screamer camps that he often pickpocketed their dinner plates, had learned that these mystery attackers had come from the west, eluding Screamer trackers as well. The other tracker had learned a name, of a place, likely where they were from.

New Vircastoria.

If it was built from the ruins of Vircastoria, their old enemy, then them being from the west made sense. There wasn't enough information, and it was far too distant to send knights to discern more information. And there was so much Screamer territory between them. If anyone went, it would have to be civilians, a small group, with enough skills and wit about them to possibly not get caught, which was the longest of shots.

"Liera."

"Yes ser?"

"Speak to the spymasters, find me five civilians that can travel undetected across Screamer territory, to see if this New Vircastoria exists, and if so, what information they can learn from it. And make sure the reward is good enough to interest the best."

The blonde woman nodded curtly, "Yes ser," and left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a thump and snort, Raffey suddenly found himself awake. His eyes blinked several times, before the blinding pain behind his eyeballs set in. The light from the fireplace was quite painful, as he looked around the tavern. Just how much did he drink last night? He felt at his coin purse, it was significantly lighter, so it must've been a good bit. There were many others slumbering as he was, mostly knights, as was expected, predominantly men. Women never seemed to have trouble finding someone to keep them warm at night.

He saw a young lass, a teenager, cleaning up, picking up glasses and dishes from the tables, sweeping about muck and refuse. Once he was awake, "Is about time, can you git gone, I have work to do."

"Is only mornin hun, nah need to get all snippy. Min' if I grab a drink ta get rid of da poundins?"

She rolled her eyes, as only a woman could do, huffing, "Git it yourself, leave the coin on the bar."

He flashed a toothy grin, getting up from his bench, stumbling a bit, finding his balance. He really had drank a lot, as he knocked over his bench. Raffey quickly set it straight, under the glare of the girl. He put a few coppers on the bar, poured himself a flagon, then put two more coppers with them, and left. This was one of his normal morning routines, he either woke up in one of Scream Watch's many pubs, or in the bed of some woman whose name he'd forget. Stepping out the door, he hissed at the sudden cold and bright light of the sun. Grumbling a bit, "I neva ge' used to dis col'." He tightened his cloak around him, and downed the rest of his drink, tossing the flagon into the grass.

"Raffey, Raffey Silafin?"

Raffey turned, and saw a quite lovely squire, a blonde woman. His smile instantly brightened, "Tha's me darlin. An' 'ow ken I 'elp a flower like ya?"

The young woman blushed profusely, before gaining her composure. "I'm told you traveled through Screamer territory to come here, yes?"

Raffey nodded, maintaining his smile, but not sure where this was heading, "Aye... 'ad a few close call, buh any of y'all Silent 'unters coul' do i'."

"We have a job for you, if you want it. We need to send a small group across Screamer territory, to investigate a possible new city known as New Vircastoria. We'll reward you handsomely if you return with good information. Land, gold, could even make you a knight."

It wasn't a hard decision for Raffey, had all his favorite things, danger, traveling, promise of reward. But he had no need for land or becoming a Knight, and gold, well, anyone could get that. And if they were just giving it all away, well, he wanted a cherry on top. "Okah, I do i'. Bu' I wan' dinna an' drinks witchya when I ge' back, or nah deal."

She flushed deep crimson, "Um... uh, fine. The group meets at the gates at the twelfth stretch. Be ready." And with that, she turned on heel, and left him as quickly as she could, leaving him grinning like a fool. They must really want this information if she were to agree. Fine by him.

At the twelfth stretch, he sat atop his Auric Beetle, all of his belongings packed away, as usual for one who traveled as much as he did. He sat there smiling, knowing this journey would probably take many days and nights, assuming they didn't die right out the gate. Hopefully there'd be a few women to join them, it was winter, and nights got really cold.

He watched as a knight approached. He didn't wear the normal knight armor or sash, but Raffey could tell by the way he moved what he was. He saw that he stepped quietly, heel rolling to toe, naturally. This man was well practiced in being stealthy, so much so that it was his normal mode. A tracker or hunter most likely. The short human man looked up at him from astride his horse, "So apparently I'm the leader of this group," Raffey almost scoffed at that. Shocker, a knight as the leader. Raffey decided to just keep to himself for now, waiting on the rest of the group to arrive.

[Rekaigan]

The sun had only just risen and Megumi was on her way out of a shopkeeper's house. The night before she had gotten quite friendly with the trader, and he had assumed that they were to sleep together that night. However, the sly half-feline had different plans. As they shared a glass of wine in a 'romantically' candle lit room, she had spiked his goblet with a strong sedative. She neatly tucked him into bed, giving him a peck on the forehead before she overturned the entire house, snatching everything of value. This was one of her more daring heists compared to her usual pickpocket acts, and it had gone considerably well. So well that she was confident enough to sleep in the man's bed until morning and then leave him with nothing other than a roof over his head.

It wasn't until early morning, after she had stashed away her profits in her well hidden chest, she was walking through the relatively empty streets of Scream Watch. This place was pretty depressing, and she had almost forgotten why she was even there. She felt a presence behind her. Watching. Waiting. She stopped and looked behind herself, only to see nothing. She continued to walk, but more slowly this time. Acting as though she didn't notice anything.

A sense of blood lust from a dark alleyway caught her attention. Her ears twitched as she heard very hushed foot steps moving about in the darkness. Suddenly a slight flash of light. She swiveled sideways as a dagger lodged itself into the cobblestone near her feet. A distraction. The unsheathing of metal was simultaneous on both Megumi's and the alleyway's side as a cloaked figure flew out of the darkness. Megumi had only just managed to lift her dagger to try deflect a blow, but she was immediately disarmed, her blade clattering loudly on the stone street. She froze in place as a blade's tip was mere centimeters away from her neck. The cloaked figure chuckled.

"Very good.." He said simply as he sheathed his dagger. "Megumi Tsukiyama.. Would you like to put your talents to something more...fruitful?" He added slowly in a deep voice.

Perhaps he knew what she had done, or what she had done before, but that didn't matter right now, small details don't matter. "What do you have in mind?" She inquired with a slight grin. She had calmed down significantly since the man has sheathed his weapon.

The man grinned at Megumi's response, "We, or should I say, the knight's 've got a little.. Expedition.. going to a city named New Vircastoria. However it requires going through Screamer territory." He said in a hushed tone, briefly pausing before continuing. "Still interested?"

Megumi grinned back at the cloaked man. "Of course." She responded in a similarly hushed tone. An adventure? Of course she was going to go for that. This place was getting a little too dreary for her to handle, and she was eager to get moving. Especially if she was going to make a lot of profit out of it. She had already dealt with Screamers before, they were nothing to 'scream' and shout about.

"That's good to hear. The group gathers at twelfth stretch, at the gates." He said, turning away. Before Megumi could even respond, the man had disappeared into the darkness of the alleyway.

As the day rolled on, the twelfth stretch had come. Megumi didn't have a lot to pack. Just a sleeping bag, a leather skin of water and, of course, her weaponry. She wasn't really equipped with a lot of camping gear, since she spent most of her time under a roof at night. As she arrived at the gate, her eyes immediately locked on the giant beetle and then moved up slightly at the man who sat on it. This'll be interesting. She thought. There was a human next to the beetle, with a horse. A knight. But it wasn't a normal knight. His clothing and the way he moved, even ever so slightly, to greet her. A stealthy one indeed. "And another one joins us. We'll be moving out soon." to which Megumi smiled, "I'll be in your care." She responded, with a slight curtsy with her non-existent skirt as if to mock formality.

[Twhirtley]

The group was rounded out by the almost late arrivals of a flea riddled Aaenshi man with an assortment of axes and hatchets on his person, mounted atop an equally shaggy wolf. In addition to him was a scar covered, female goyle, near black instead of the standard light grey. They were silent, though if they were here, they were clearly invited. The short human, the leader, "Good, I see we're all here now. We can do names and pleasantries later, our mission is simple in concept, near impossible in execution. We head westward, sneaking through Screamer territory. Should we manage to do this without being killed or enslaved, we still need to locate this supposed city, if it is indeed real. Upon locating it, we need to infiltrate it, and learn as much about it as possible. Who are its leaders? How does its military function? Is magic popping up there as well? Are they a threat to the Ebonfort? This mission will be long, will be quite dangerous, but very, very profitable if we return alive and successful. I've had experience with Screamers near to Scream Watch, and I understand you," nodding at Raffey, "Have made this journey before, albeit from the south. So we'll go carefully, listen to your word on the matter. The mission comes first and foremost, so those of you that are here for the bloodlust," he looked at the Aaenshi on this point, "You need to keep that in check. We fight when needed, but avoiding it altogether is better."

There was a loud thundering of hoofbeats as an entire company of knights in their armor roared by and out of Scream Watch. All had eyes on their ragtag party as they passed, some smiling and wishing good luck, others sneering and rolling their eyes. "And that is our distraction. They are going to attack the nearest known camps, to distract the scouts and sentries near here on our departure. After that, we're on own." Once the company was out of sight, "Let's go. We're going to stick to the edges of Chartric Forest, so we have cover if needed. The Screamers sometimes camp in their, but quite rarely, mainly because they are a prime target for Silent Hunters."

With that, the leader kicked his horse forward, taking a northwesterly path. Raffey wondered if the Chartric Forest was really the best option, he'd followed the coast on his way in. But maybe he just had a fondness for the sands, reminding him of home. But there were more risks of being on the edges of both the plains and the forest. It was a killing field, a hunting ground, as the best predators from both worlds often crossed the border briefly for prey. And that thought, that one alone, excited the hunter. He and the others would bait out some of the deadliest creatures, with little interruption and intervention from the Screamers. Perfect.

He saw the woman, the cute half cat, and noticed she had no mount, and clearly the knights had no intention of providing her one, a detail the leader seemed to have overlooked. The goyle could fly with the group, and the Aaenshi, that just darted out of the village with a hoot had the wolf. Raffey offered a hand down at the woman, "Wan' a lif'? Lots of groun' to be runnin' over an' we dun need ya slowin' us down. Dibney here can carreh de both of us easeh."

He took this time to look her over, drinking in her feminine features. Perhaps a bit thin and slender, but that wasn't a bad thing to him. He found himself wondering if she'd hate her tail being pulled... Probably would, most cats did. "Da name's Raffey, by da way."

[Rekaigan]

She had never seen a Goyle, nor an Aaenshi before, but she wasn't about to go and greet them. One of them looked as black as night and the other looked like he could use a month soaking in a bath. She decided to ignore their presence as the short knight started to speak. Most of his instructions were pretty straight forward, and she started to mentally jot down notes of what they're setting out to do. Megumi was a little unsure about this whole expedition, since they didn't even know if the city was real or not. But an adventure nonetheless, also the rewards would be great. On the statement of bloodlust, she felt that it would be easy for her to suppress it, since she wasn't really there to kill a lot, but she would if she needed to.

She paused for a moment, realizing that she was the only one that didn't have a mount. She heard a strange voice speak to her, she turned, only to see the man on the giant beetle offering her a ride. She smirked cheekily at him, "That would be wonderful." She replied as she took his hand, getting up onto the beetle. She leaned in closer to the hunter, her body just about against his back, her arms around his rather toned body. "My name's Megumi. I'll be in your care~" She replied quietly into his ear. Might as well be closely acquainted to at least one of the group members, to ensure she's not left behind.

[Twhirtley]

Raffety grinned silently as he felt her lithe little body press against him, making a tsking noise that sent Dibney bolting forward. "Good girl, nice and steady." He watched the grasslands pass by, looking over his shoulder as Scream Watch quickly became a small dot behind them. One of the benefits of having an Auric Beetle was they ran quietly. That let him have time to talk, though he rode in silence for a long while, keeping the leaders in sight ahead of him. They reached the tree line of the Chartric forest after a few stretches, before he finally spoke.

"So, Mehgoomee, wus your specialteh? Ah'm monstah huntah, an' travele' trough dah valleh here. Ees easieh wit jus' me doh, biggah group make hardah."

He saw the goyle floating out over the trees, while the aaenshi and knight were far ahead. The distraction would keep the Screamers occupied for a long while. Raffey tsked twice, speeding Dibney up faster, gripping the saddle tighter with his knees. "Dis lan' ees strange, so col'. An' so much green. So veddy stra--" He quickly uttered a command, "Het."

Dibney stopped, and he placed his hands flat against her carapace. He could feel the loud, rhythmic thuddings ahead, coming closer, from the forest. They were heavy, deep thuds, not heading to him, but rather further ahead. He looked up and saw leaves fluttering from trees above the canopy, then a loud roar boomed out. Raffey watched as a heard of massive beasts burst from the tree line, on a collision course with the knight and aaenshi. Raffey studied them, fascinated by their colors rather than worried for his companions. They stood as tall as Dibney, and were pure muscle thundering forth. It was cleared to him that they were in a panic. That meant they were a grazing herd animal, pacifists, and were being hunted.

Smirking, he tutted, and Dibney turned into the trees, as he could see the rushing beasts ahead. The aaenshi's wolf was skirting easily between the beasts, his rider whooping loudly, bopping the beasts on the horn with his axe. The knight on the other hand, he was struck by the leading beast, thrown to the ground beneath his horse and quickly trampled. Raffey winced as he listened to the crunching of metal and squishing of his body.

"S'wut he gets fah bein' weak."

[Rekaigan]

The sudden bolting motion of the beetle caused Megumi to hold herself against the strange man tighter so that she didn't suddenly fly off the mount. She was surprised at how quiet the giant beetle was as it trekked the terrain, she would've assumed that it'd make more noise due to it's size. You learn something new everyday. They rode in silence for awhile, which comforted the half-katzheer more than it would anyone else who was just acquainted with someone.

"I'm a thief by trade. I'm just going where life leads me." She replied after a brief lull in conversation. She was finding it hard to understand what Raffey was saying, his accent was so.. strange and thick, but she somehow managed to translate it into proper words. A monster hunter..Hmm. She didn't actually know that much about monsters, other than the two-headed monstrosity that she saw at the festival. It sounded like a tough life, she figured that she was better suited for hunting wealth and treasures.

She was busy trying to decipher what he was trying to say when they suddenly came to a stop. She looked over Raffey's shoulder, only to see a herd of massive quadrupeds burst from the treeline. Like Raffey, the colours seemed more interesting to her than the safety of her companions. They were huge. As huge as the beetle mount. She watched as they charged out of the trees. They looked.. scared?

She watched as the Aaenshi and his wolf made a way through the herd with relative ease. The same couldn't be said for the knight that was crushed under the weight of more than a dozen hulking beasts. She cringed and looked away slightly, but kept looking from the corner of her eye. Poor guy. He probably just wanted to get paid. She sympathized with the now deceased pile of mince. She felt herself agreeing with her companion. Her mother said similar things when she came across 'less fortunate' people.

[Wild Alyssa]

Hot blood still rushed through Halbera’s veins, regardless of her calm composure combat always proved to send adrenaline rushing through her body. Her cheeks red with exertion and her breathing heavy as her red hair had been pulled free from the bun she had twisted her hair into before the battle had begun. With the sickening sound of metal sliding through flesh she pulled her sword free from the tattooed screamer’s armpit and let him slump to the ground into a heap that slowly began to pool blood. She looked around where she saw a couple dead squires, a knight and even more dead screamers. She had killed two of them herself, she remembered the fierce fighting and the clash of weapons, the screams of the dying as they slaughtered each other.

Leaning down she slide the flat sides of sword across the pants leg of the screamer wiping the crimson vital essence off, which stained the once earth brown pants. She looked up taking a deep breath before sliding the broadsword into the sheath on her hip. Clicking her tongue she listened closely wondering where any further fighting was likely taking place and heard in the distance the sound of swords clashing, but also the sound of something like thunder. Hurriedly she ran grabbing the reins of her warhorse that knew better than to run from combat. Yanking herself into saddle and clicking her tongue three times. The horse named Rogal began to gallop towards the sounds.

What Halbera found was the complete opposite of what she expected to find, some ragtag group and a single knight. She was just raising her hand and about to yell out some some creatures came thundering through and she watched in horror as her fellow knight was crushed into the dirt along with his horse. She pulled the reins to make a complete stop and watched as they continued. Slowly she dismounted her horse and walked sideways staring at the crushed body on the ground between the legs of the many beasts running through the area. Reaching up she put a hand to her chest regretting the very wasteful way the knight died, when she noticed a tear in her clothes and looked down able to see the chainmail underneath, it had it’s own scratches. She then realized she had come very closer to her chest being pierced.

“This… This is such a waste. Obviously… They will be in need of a new knight.. I will have to take over I suppose.” She further composed herself and took a deep breath as she waited, watching and stared at the herd of creatures rushing through the brush destroying everything in their path.

[Twhirtley]

Raffey was leading Dibney further and further into the forest, the herd still thundering through, the sheer numbers of the massive beasts showing the significance of whatever scared them. Raffey kept looking where they were running from, when he saw it. Pale, large, and triple headed, the monster was chasing after the last of the herd monsters. It stood taller than them, but it moved awkwardly, partially running on insect like legs, and swinging around the massive trees. Raffey got a fun idea, "I 'ope ya readeh. Dis goin' be fun."

He hutted twice and Dibney chortled skirting a wide circle until the newest predator passed by, still trying to catch up to the last herd beast. He then clicked his tongue loudly, and drew his spear from his saddlehold. Dibney raced to catch up to the monster, staying behind it and off to the side. Once she was close enough for Raffey to reach, he shouted, "Ho." Dibney maintained a matching speed, as Raffey readied his spear. He looked back at his companion, just smiling, before eyes forward. His torso was twisted to the left, but as he prepared for an overarm thrust, it twisted back to the right, his arm cocking back. He then snapped it forward, letting loose the elastic power of his muscles, his arm arcing up, then down, slamming the spear into a fleshy part of the creature, making sure to twist at the end, to lock it in place. Then he gripped it with his other hand, as the creature screamed in pain.

It flinched away from Dibney, pulling Raffey off the giant beetle. His weight didn't seem to slow it much, as it seemed his blow was mostly being ignore now. Because of the angle of the thrust, his spear was pointed at an upward angle, shaking violently as it ran, his muscles straining just to keep him on it. He swung his legs up to the shaft, making sure to tighten his stomach to keep steady, managing to wrap his legs around it as his arms finally gave way, letting him slide down to the creature's flesh. It was firm and ripply beneath his boots, giving him decent enough footing, so long as he kept a hold of his spear. He took a moment to rest his arms, before powering himself forward and upward, keeping one hand one his spear. As soon as his feet were flat atop the creature's back, a deft twist of his spear pulled it free and spinning around his arm as he slammed it down in the creature's back.

Once more it screamed, as tentacles began slapping backward, trying to seek him out, one of the three heads looking back at him. He was just out of reach it seemed, and the creature seemed deadset on chasing down it's prey. He took a moment of rest, wondering if his feline companion managed to join him. He was still atop the creature as it dashed out of the forest and into the open plains air, now a bit more stable without trees to help balance it.

[Rekaigan]

She stared at the three headed monster in some disgust as it burst through the trees. It looks disgusting. She thought. She didn't want to get near it... but that wasn't really her choice as Raffey urged his giant beetle toward it. "Wha-" Her response was cut off as they bolted toward the monstrosity. She watched as her companion drew his spear, before giving her a smile.

God dammit. She let go of Raffey as he stabbed the monster, she balanced herself on the running beetle, which, thankfully, ran smoothly. She watched him as he climbed onto the 'thing' before he continued his assault. She quickly looked around, thinking of a way to stop all of this nonsense. She noticed that the monster was quite close behind the slower herd animal, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to make the beetle run any faster.

She sighed as she pulled out her dagger with an icepick grip. She steadied herself as she slowly rose to a standing position on the beetle's back. After a deep breath, she leapt from the insect, landing on the monster's back. As she landed, she realized that she had overshot slightly, almost causing her to tumble off it. Luckily, she stabbed her dagger deep into it's back, anchoring herself. The creature screamed in pain, attempted to swipe at Megumi as it had tried to do with Raffey. She managed to lift herself onto it's back before it reached her. She gave Raffey a cold glare, "Remember that we have a job to do. That does not include playing horse with a monster." She hissed icily.

She looked back to her primary objective. The herd animal. From her crouched position, she sprung forward, and with a gamble, she jumped onto the monster's head. It shook it's head as she made a second jump, causing her to barely land onto the herd animal's back. Again she used her dagger to stab into it's back for anchorage. It wailed, swinging it's body wildly as it tried to throw Megumi off. She barely managed to hold on, her grip like an iron vice around her dagger. The animal soon grew tired of rampaging and focused on running for it's life. Megumi used this opportunity to pull her dagger free, drawing one of her throwing knives in the other hand. The creature bucked in pain again, but the feline had stabbed the throwing knife into it's back as she had with her dagger previously, she a little more steady than before now that she got accustomed to the shaking. She took another risky gamble. Letting go of her throwing knife, she slowly crawled up the animal's back, reaching the back of it's neck. She pressed her body against it, hooking her arm around it's neck, stabbing it in the throat before yanking it back out.

Blood spilled from animal's neck, it screeched in agony, causing more blood to spray out. It started to buck again in panic, this time throwing Megumi off completely. She flew off a few meters to the side, tumbling in the dirt for a second or two. She coughed violently, the wind knocked out of her from the impact. She slowly got up, sore from the ordeal, looking over to see what happened after all that.

[Wild Alyssa]

Slowly a cool calm demeanor overtook Halbera as she noticed the herd wa slowly dwindling. She reached down drawing her sword free of the sheath as she looked off towards where the group that had been with the dead knight were now fighting some massive multi headed beast. Almost immediately she was galloping towards the creature despite the fact the others were fighting the beast. As she got close she slid out of her saddle and darted between the beast’s tentacles.

Her sword darted back and forth as she slashed her blade across the tendons on the back of the creature’s tentacles. Blood splashed across her armor and clothing,  fiery eyes glared out from strands of hair falling over her face as she twisted and stood her sword stabbing into the connection of the beast’s tentacle and where it connected to the body. The blade struck true and she twisted her sword creating a gap of torn flesh as a sickening pop of muscle ripping  and tearing more ligaments as it did.

The creatures wailed and struck out at Halbera a long leg pinning her to the ground one of the heads coming to hover above her clicking in a menacing manner. As the head move in a blur to strike she shoved her sword forward to strike a blow into the creature’s mouth causing a shrill scream.

[Twhirtley]

Raffey felt the woman land near him, smiling. When she scolded him with those cold eyes of hers, all he could do was laugh heartily from his stomach, dodging a near tentacle slap. He watched as she took off, wondering at her plan. When he saw her bring down the herd animal, "See! It jus' bou' havin' fun Mehgoogoo!" He pulled his spear free of the creature's backs spinning it backwards into a proper combat position, crouching low. He thrust out once at the head that was facing him, just missing its throat. A tentacle lashed around the shaft, and he smiled, "Nah ya dun!" He twisted and yanked, feeling it slice the tentacle as he freed it, taking a heavy step back to maintain his center of gravity.

He thrust once more hitting the throat square on this time. The creature reared back unexpectedly, and Raffey had to step forward to maintain his grip on his spear. This brought him too close though, and a large tentacle slammed heavily into his exposed ribs, a pained groan escaping his lips. He'd barely held onto the spear, stepping forward quick enough to avoid the tentacle from wrapping around him. He kicked a foot against the creature's neck, to kick himself free and out of range. The creature stopped for some reason unknown to the monster hunter, giving him the opportune time. He pushed off his leg hard, landing on his back, spear free of the dead head's neck. The creature as a whole still seemed to be quite alive, and screaming in pain. That's when he noticed new tentacles, drenched in blood, smaller, coming out of the wounds. He stared curiously, before the creature sort of just... popped. Raffey was thrown, landing heavily on the cold grass, stunned, surprised at the grip that remained on his spear.

Where the creature once stood was a mass of red vines, roughly the same size as the creature they'd been inside. The vines were covered in razor sharp leaves and what appeared to be long thorns. The speed at which they struck out at Raffey was intense, wrapping around him and his spear with ease, thorns embedding deep into his chest, arms, and back, him screaming in pain. He had to act fast, feeling his spear splinter against him. He let loose a shrill, high pitched whistle, one he'd trained into Dibney, but had never used before now.

The beetle understood, scooping up the nearest person, that happened to be Megumi, into the safety of her chitinous, sticky mouth, and sped off. The vines lashed out at the beetle, but were useless against her armor. The vines grabbed many of the herd creatures that were too slow, taking them down and ripping flesh and limb apart. One snaked around Halbera's horse, over her legs, lifting both. The knight could hear the air escape her horse's lungs as the thorns impaled it. Her legs were protected by her armor, but she was trapped.

Then the creature stopped, lifting Raffey and Halbera (and her dead horse out). A group of people moved out of the trees, mostly on horses, at their forefront, a redheaded woman, her body covered in tattoos that looked similar to the vines the pair were currently caught in. "Seems someone else was hunting our prey. That's not very nice. Luckily for you, I'm in need of slaves for trade. So you'll live." She smiled lovingly at the vines creature, before nodding at the hairfoot halfling standing next to her. Two quick blows from a dart gun, and the world turned dark for Halbera and Raffey.

Dibney ran until she was certain she was safely from the creature, before spitting Megumi out. She looked back, the giant mass of vines still visible, the people that had approached it small dots in the distance. She chittered sadly, sure that her master was dead. The aaenshi on his wolf spotted them and rode up to Megumi, "What in the hell is that thing?" He knew she probably had no idea, but he felt it needed to be said. Megumi's sharper eyes could see that a woman and Raffey were tied up and slung over horses, indicating that they were still alive. The vine creature disappeared into a little red woman, and the group on horseback began heading their direction.

Nervously, "We... we should hide," already taking off into the forest. Dibney nudged at Megumi, then lowered her head to let her climb up, before following suit. As the party passed the forest line, Dibney saw her master, and shook excitedly, but made no noise. Once they were well off into the distance, the aaenshi said the obvious, "Well, they are heading the same direction we needed to go anyways. Perhaps a rescue is in order. And Sheila here," patting at his wolf, "Can keep up with this big gal, faster than any horses."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Raffey and Halbera awoke, they were chained to posts so thick, they might as well be trees. They were near a fire, in the middle of a camp of their captors. Halbera's armor and weapons were gone, the pair of them only in their clothes and boots. This was their life for the next couple of tendays, until the day of the 24th of Jadeyan. On this day, they were led into a much larger camp, the rest of the tribe they assumed. During their imprisonment, they were treated well for the most part. They were fed, kept warm, but always chained to either a horse or a post. They were allowed to talk amongst themselves, but if they tried speaking to a tribe member, they were ignored.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Megumi and the aaenshi, who never gave his name, and their mounts had followed at a very safe distance, but never saw an opportunity to rescue their charges. They met little other trouble along the way, as anything dangerous was disposed of by the tribe they stalked. Once the group joined with the rest of the tribe, it all seemed hopeless, the aaenshi, suggesting that it was too late now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

((Drache will be joining now, feel free to do as much posting either here or as separate stories up until the 24th. I'll post again for that, and continue on from there. :D))

[Wild Alyssa]

Throbbing filled Halbera's head as she woke up slowly to the dying light of the sunset. Her lips parted to let out a groan, that's when she felt the rough rope on her body, the lack of armor, the weight of her sword gone from her hip. She squirmed for a moment to test the strength of her binds only to realize there was no use struggling in her weakened state.

Her body was sore all over with several cuts still stinging though she could tell they weren't too bad. That is when Halbera remembered the explosion of vines and that helpless feeling as she had hung in the air. "I guess father was right."

She glanced back and forth at the camp looking at all the screamers, and hate began to build in her heart. She pushed it away and looked over to the other captive. She didn't even know the man's name but it seemed they were to share a similar fate. "Hey! You awake? I'm Halbera... We need to start coming up with a way to get out of here..." She just then noticed her sash missing and rolled her eyes. "And to get my gear back... Bastards killed my horse..."

[Drache]

Drache arrived at the Kvaren gathering on the morning of the 24th, the massive encampment sprawling out across the plains before her. It was difficult to keep her feet on the ground, her wings held high behind her as Laurel and her friends led her in among the tents, greeting old friends and picking a spot for themselves amid the rest of their fellow nomads. The atmosphere was wholly festive and competitive and the camp was nearly frantic with activity. Everywhere the half-dragon looked she spotted something new and fascinating. Of particular note were strange-coloured horses that spoke, though they sounded a bit slow-witted to the red-scaled hybrid, and she made a note to take special care if she ever felt hungry enough to pick off something alive as a snack.

Music thrummed through the ground under Drache's talons, and the clash of weapons drew her attention as rippling warriors tested their strength against each other in fast-paced fighting in rings marked with coloured rope. The dragoness met people of races she'd never met, and found her mind awhirl as she bravely tested out her basic understanding of their language, laughing with them when they had to correct her, which was very often. It was fortunate that most of these people knew Common, and her new friends were happy to translate when she was introduced to someone who didn't.

To anyone watching it would be clear that the half-dragon was new among these people. Her clothing alone, tailored to her unique shape, was decorated in a style foreign to both the Kvaren and Ebonfort. She was doubly lucky that she had not met with the same fate as the slaves. It was only when she asked about Ebonfort that Kraven led her over to look at the slaves. Unlike the Screamers, Drache stood for a while watching those bound to the huge posts, her fiery eyes gleaming thoughtfully until she was pulled away to meet a twin pair of impressively buff dark-skinned men Laurel called "Swordmasters".

"Yes, of course I'd love to meet them. Now what was that you were telling me about a Warlord who got her horse stolen at a party?..."

[Rekaigan]

Megumi watched as Raffey and another knight started to attack the tentacled beast when red vines burst out of the ground, engulfing the monster. She was confused to say the least, she had never seen anything like that before. She cringed as she heard Raffey's pained scream. When she regained her focus, she noticed that Raffey and the knight had been caught by the vines, it looked agonizing. She heard a loud, shrill whistle, she look around, wondering if something was about to arrive to help. Something did arrive, but not to help Raffey. The giant beetle picked up Megumi in it's sticky jaw, she felt like complaining, but when she heard something thump against the Beetle, she was glad that it had picked her up.

She slowly got up after being spat out by the beetle, her clothes covered in slime. She looked back as she tried to shake the slime off herself. She pat the grieving beetle on the side for a moment, before the Aaenshi approached her. "I have no idea.." She responded rather unemotionally, but when she saw Raffey and a woman being tied to some horses, she felt some relief. "But I know that they're alive. For now." Megumi continued. She nodded in agreement with the Aaenshi. Hiding for now was the best idea. She climbed on top of the giant beetle with relative ease as it lowered itself for mounting.

"Perhaps we should rescue them.." She said in a non-committal tone. She wondered why she should help them. From what she was taught as a child. Those who were caught were no use. They were liabilities. She shook her head slightly. Raffey had saved her life, so she owed him that. No matter how much of an idiot he was in the first place.

~~~~

After awhile, the group have joined a much larger looking tribe. And all thoughts of rescue were shattered in that moment. She cursed under her breath. "There's no hope of saving them now." Even if they had the martial prowess to take them on, they wouldn't live for very long. Megumi became painfully aware of her lack of martial skill, which made her curse again.

[Twhirtley]

Jadeyan 28th, The Kerawac Gathering

There was much muttering and rumors as the entirety of the Kvaren watched the Crimson Vines arrive, in very late fashion. Tribes never arrived later than the meeting of the Warlords. It was the quickest way to lose face and become a target from multiple tribes. Yet not a single warlord stepped up to challenge the short redhead covered in Blood Vine Marks. She smirked as they walked along, their caravan being finished off with several slaves being strung along by chains at the back of a wagon. Among them, Halbera and Raffey. As Keelie walked past Ozlo of the Thunderfangs, she left him an idle comment, that he ignored, "I hear you got more slaves than me this time, well done. I really thought I was going to take it this time." She strutted past, the mountain of a man that served as her only Swordmaster staying close by. It was well known that he was brutal in combat, surprisingly fast and sneaky for one his size. It was much less known that he was a Temper user, just as his Warlord was a druid.

Several of her Shadewalkers that had arrived before her approached her, quickly updating her with pertinent information. She nodded and the slaves were led to an open area, before she let loose her massive bloodvines. It peeled itself from her skin, growing to a mass several stories tall, wriggling menacingly but not attacking anyone. It was a show of strength on her part, that she could dominate and grow such a dangerous creature. In the swamps to the west, they grew only as big as a bush typically, and were well known to the people. But this, this was a true monstrosity. A large tendril reached out and she stepped upon it, and it lifted her up so all eyes could see her. She then shouted, loud enough so only those that were fairly close could hear, "You all disgust me. My Shadewalkers tell me that people out west killed some of the Kvaren that weren't pure, proper races. And instead of teaching these people a lesson, you sit here and talk? Celebrate? Cowards. The whole lot of you. Two of these slaves I've captured were already on their way to deal with this problem, and they are fucking squatters."

The Bloodvines bristled in their mistress' anger, swiping close at people, but never grabbing them. "I'll be heading west with my people to deal with this. Any who wish to join me are welcome, slave or Kvaren. We leave at sunset." The vine lowered her down to the chained slaves she hauled in, and she spoke to them alone, "You may join me, I cannot promise you will live, but you will be free if you survive. It is your choice." No one moved at first, before there was a loud, "Fu' ih. Ah'm in." Raffey stepped forward as far as his chains would allow, and a crimson tendril lashed out. Raffey didn't flinch, staring down Keelie as the vine snapped the chain easily. Raffey moved forward, relieved to have been freed. A handful of others stepped forward, and were subsequently freed, but the majority stayed behind. Keelie nodded at her Shadewalkers, leading the freed slaves to the area that was already being set up for Keelie's people.
Keelie sat down on a thick vine, "You may eat, love." There was a shrill sound of glee from the vines, before they began slamming down on the slaves that chose to stay behind, crushing them, pulling them toward a maw at the center of the mass. Blood flowed everywhere, there were screams of fear and pain, the stench of copper in the air, as Keelie just sat there calm as could be.

Once the vines had devoured all of the slaves, Keelie pulled them back into her skin, and simple walked away from the carnage, her silent Swordmaster accompanying her. Once she was back amongst her own people, she saw a new face, a half-dragon woman. She smiled briefly at the woman, "I understand a few of my tribe have grown rather fond of you, Drachiathoryx Firespinner. You may stay with us as long as you'd like, but we have business out west to attend to. My people tell me you were heading that way as well. Your friends are a part of my scouts, and will be leaving before the rest of the tribe." As Keelie moved past her, she stopped, looking over her shoulder for a moment, "Your coloring is quite lovely, I always fancied red."

The slaves were to accompany the scouting party, that consisted of Kraven, Laurel, Sirik, Hezel, and Shora. All accompanying them were given swift horses and were to leave immediately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Having collectively given up on rescuing their mates, Megumi and the Aaenshi who'd finally revealed his name as Fleabit, were already heading west, Megumi atop Dibney. The beetle didn't fight the simple commands given to her, still mourning the loss of her master. At midday on the 28th, they finally found their first sign of any civilization. It was a lone tavern, at the beginning of a road. There were several humans and varying elves in grey colored gi or robes at the beginning of the road. From their hiding spot in the tree line, they could see all of them were armed, and all bore a white petaled flower tattoo on their arms. They saw no bestial races amongst them.

Fleabit suggested they watch and wait, to gather as much information as they could. After overhearing many snippets of conversation, they'd learn several key things. The first is that those in grey were known as Justicars, and only they bore the flower tattoo. They would gather that these people enjoyed killing bestial or primitive races, and even halfbreeds, believing in purity. Finally, these people seemed to worship something they learned was called Coria. Finally on the morning of the 31st, the aaenshi spoke up, "I don't think we'll be able to learn more unless you get in there. You can pass as a human if you try."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scouting party arrived at the same tavern on the morning of the 31st as well. After some quick deliberation, the more normal races would be allowed to go in and learn more of these people. The Crocodilian woman, Shora, pulled Drache aside. "I can get us in there..," and to prove her point, she glowed with her magic, and where a large crocodile had been, stood a tall, human woman. "Illusionweaving has its uses... I can even keep your hair if you'd like." Laurel had decided to stay behind to watch their mounts.

Upon entering the tavern, it would seem as normal as any other, although not near as busy. There was a stout human working behind the bar. Every time he had to serve a justicar, he looked terribly nervous, but always more relieved when anyone else approached him. In the back corner were a couple of white elf women chatting fervently, a chillborn man sitting alone staring at his mug. There was a set of stairs heading up, opposite the entryway.

[Drache]

The days she spent at the Kvaren Gathering seemed to pass in a blur for Drache. Laurel and the others took turns escorting her around, and while she felt like her days were an endless parade of new faces and exciting things to see and do, after four days the half-dragon had only seen a fraction of the massive camp. Drache mostly hung around with the Crimson Vines, fascinated and welcomed by their spell-casters.

Even so, on the 28th Drache awoke with Peridiath's mission weighing on her and stood outside the flap of Sirik's tent with her arms folded across her torso, tail-tip flip-flopping as she scowled thoughtfully towards the horizon to the west, feeling the warmth of the rising sun on her wings and horns. The drow said nothing, as usual, as he emerged, still pulling his clothes on, but lifted a questioning brow.

"It's nothing," Drache insisted.

And as it would turn out, fate had arranged for her to remain with her new friends a little longer. On the 28th, Drachiathoryx spent most of the morning watching the fighters compete in contests of strength and skill with many different weapons, most of which the hybrid had no names for. She sat under a colourful awning, leaning against Kraven's broad shoulder while Laurel rubbed some kind of spiced salve into the soft membranes of her wings. She had two books open in front of her, one was her ornate personal journal, and the other was the first of the logbooks Peri had given her.

In the logbook, Drache noted the events of the Gathering with a short description, but in her own journal she elaborated a great deal, the margins littered with sketches and tidbits of information she learned about magic or the Kvaren language. Her ear-frills twitched at the sounds of steel blades crashing together. But the sounds of fighting faded as the Crimson Vines arrived and the half-Ixen watched with curious fascination at the tension that seemed to rippled through the crowd of onlookers.

The half-breed's reptilian eyes widened even further as the bloodvines peeled themselves from Keelie's skin, and Drache crept forwards to get a better look before Sirik's hand on one of her wingbones kept her back. It may have been her imagination, but she thought a ripple of knowing anticipation swept through the Crimson Vines as Warlord Keelie delivered her scathing chastisement. And the reason for that was quickly explained as the massive plant-creature shrieked and began crushing and devouring the slaves who had not volunteered to join the scouts.

Drache shrank back from the grisly scene, her lips bared in a fangy grimace as someone's blood splattered hot and sticky across her scales. The brutal murder of slaves was a stark contrast to the festive atmosphere the elementalist had enjoyed thus-far, and as Drache's eyes fell on the face of the first slave who had volunteered, she decided that it was time to leave.

Keelie was much shorter than the dragoness, who dipped her snout and fluttered her wings a little at the Warlord who addressed her. "I'm flattered by your hospitality, Warlord Keelie," Drache replied, glancing at Laurel for confirmation that her combination of words and hand-signs was correct, though she finished her sentenced in Common. "It is true that I was traveling West when I met your scouts, and I intend to continue shortly. It pleases me to think that my path will align with theirs for a little while longer."

But when offered the reigns attached to a horse, Drache just laughed ruefully and waved the giver off, swishing her tail in amusement. "I think not. My wings work perfectly well, thank you."

--

On the morning of the 31st, Drachiathoryx prudently removed her cloak from her pack and swept it over her shoulders so that it covered her wings, the hood draping over her horns. It was a poor disguise, no amount of cloth enough to obscure her shape, but at least it would hide the bright crimson of her scales. But when Shora offered to disguise her with magic, Drach refused. "A kind offer," she grinned, looking into eyes that had been croccodilian a moment before. "But I prefer to keep my own face. I'll stay out here with Laurel and you can tell me what you learn when you come back." The half-dragon was reluctant to trust in another spellcaster's skills, and was reluctant to assume a human disguise on principal.

Turning to Laurel, "If these humans are going to be that much of a problem for people like me, I might have to resume my journey alone." The hybrid sounded reluctant, leaning in close to nibble Laurel's earlobe while the others went inside.

[Rekaigan]

They had been travelling for quite some time. The Aaenshi had revealed his name to her during this time. Fleabit. Megumi felt that she could've guessed his name after noticing his rather unclean fur. She kept Dibney away from the dog-man to ensure that she didn't catch whatever the furred man had on him. After awhile, they came across a lone tavern.

Hiding amongst the trees, she noticed that there weren't any bestial races among them. Perhaps it was by coincidence? As they spent their time, as Fleabit suggested, listening to the people that entered and exited the tavern, she soon learnt that it wasn't a coincidence. They were all aggressively racist. She felt an anger well up in her as she listened to the, now known as 'Justicars', laugh about killing off bestial races and people of half-blood. She wanted nothing more than to walk up to them and kill them on the spot. They had also learnt that they worshipped 'Coria', whoever that may be didn't actually matter to the half-cat at all.

On the morning of the 31st, the Aaenshi suggested something ridiculous. That she snuck into the tavern, posing as a human or pure-breed. "I hope you notice this thing that I have. Called a tail." She responded in slight irritation, gesturing at her black feline tail. She eventually sighed and nodded. She slowly tucked her tail into her pants. It felt extremely uncomfortable. She figured she would only be able to lean on walls and sit on stools with only half her buttocks on the seat. She just hoped that nobody would notice her cat-like eyes.

She calmly entered the building without much problem, her bestial eyes weren't noticeable at first glance, thus allowing her to walk in unhindered. The tavern was relatively quiet, the chatter being quieter than most. She noticed the stout human who seemed to be very nervous when serving Justicars, but he seemed relieved when serving anyone else. She slowly approached him, soon she stood before him. She could see the relief on his face as he saw her. She put a few coppers on the counter, "A mug of Ale if you don't mind." She requested with a soft smile on her face. As she received the mug, she leaned in a little closer, with a playful smirk. "Justicars giving you trouble~? You shake like a half breed." She whispered to him after making sure that nobody was listening, hoping to elicit a response out of him.

[Twhirtley]

Raffey had kept to himself for most of the journey with the scouting party. He really didn't care about the mission at hand, though he did appreciate the irony that Ebonfort and the Screamers were working toward the same goal despite their hatred for each other. Riding a horse had made him broody, he missed Dibney. When they came upon the strange tavern, for the first time, Raffey really didn't feel like drinking.

He stepped out of his tent, seeing that the only people remaining were Drache and Laurel. He wasn't in the mood to be especially chatty and was a bit cold toward them. There was some venison staying warm over the fire and he took a skewer of it as he began heading out, away from the tavern. He was sure those that had gone in would be able to get the information necessary. But, he wanted another look at the area. Where there was a tavern and road, there were other things unseen.

Spare spear and javelins strapped to his back, his leather armor having been oiled so that he could move silently if needed. He moved toward the guarded road first, just to see what would happen. The guards stared at him as he approached, one lowering a spear to point at him, "Stop. I don't recognize you."

Raffey rolled his eyes, "Dat migh' be 'cuz ah'm new ta town. Jus' visitin'. Duh name's Raffeh."

The man scowled, eyeballing him, "Well we're not letting in strangers, pure or otherwise, Coria's orders. You can stay at the Lovely Lily there until we allow outsiders in again. But if you're found in our territory, you'll be killed on sight. Have a pint on me, just tell Larry to put it on my tab."

Raffey smiled a fake smile, "Tanks for duh warnin', aneh sudgeshtuns on where ta go nex'?

The man thought for a moment, "Well to the south there's a horrible town of dragons. They enslave pure races, like dwarves, and make them do horrid things. To the east there's tribe of horsefuckers that will eat you. Not much else around here, just a bunch of ruins of old Vircastoria, before the Ebonfort destroyed us out of jealousy."

Raffey nodded in thanks, and turned on heel and returned back to camp. Finally speaking to the women, "Dey's nah lettin' anyone in. Mentioned some ruins nearbah. Gonna cheh' 'em ou'. Wanna join meh?"

Giving a few slips for preparation if either agreed, Raffey began heading north past the tavern. He wouldn't speak unless one of them addressed. He seemed distracted and depressed as he moved toward the nearby tree line, walking over some fairly obvious boot and giant beetle tracks walking in from the east. He didn't feel the eyes of an aaenshi staring him down from a hiding spot in a bush.

Meanwhile in the Lovely Lily, Larry took Megumi's coins and passed her an ale. When she made her joke, he smiled nervously, "I'm no filthy halfbreed, we don't let those kinds in here. Especially those with strange eyes." A justicar had heard his response and raised a glass, "Damn straight Larry! Filthy creatures deserve to die!"

The entire bar cheered and took a hearty drink. After a bit, Larry brought Megumi another drink, on a napkin. If she turned it over, she'd find some of words written there.

Center door upstairs. Knock four times.

If Megumi decided to venture upstairs, she'd find a justicar, a human woman, following her, unspeaking. Once at the top, the woman would speak, "I've not seen you here before. You from town?" She had brown hair and a kind smile, and a vicious rapier hanging from her hip. No matter what Megumi said, the woman who introduced herself as Sammeh, would continue insisting on small talk and not leaving her be. It didn't seem as if she would be left alone.

[Drache]

The day slipped by while Drache and Laurel waited outside near the shifting saddlehorses, both of them keeping an eye out for strangers who might approach them. While both ladies were at risk of becoming targets of the strangely aggressive townspeople, Laurel would have been able to pass much easier than a scaled and winged half-dragon like Drache.

She kept her hooded head bowed slightly, though an ember-like glow of her eyes flickered now and then as she glanced around. It was difficult to keep her long, snake-like tail from swishing back and forth under the hem of her cloak so she stooped briefly to dig in her bag, coming up with her journal and a pen.

The half-dragon had covered nearly half a page with her observations and was in the middle of sketching a figure in the bottom half when Raffey emerged from his tent. The hybrid hollowed him with her eyes but didn't try to impede him as he approached the guards on the road. The sound of her pencil hissing smoothly across the paper continued, but her attention was mostly on Raffey's interaction with the guards, her ear-frills flexing under the cloth of her hood.

They were too far away to hear what the guards were saying, but the snatches of their tone that floated back over the distance were far from friendly. Drache quickly sketched one of the petal tattoos she had seen, with Laurel helping correct her since she had gotten a better look.

The half-dragon glanced briefly at the tavern, wishing she knew how to mindspeak to her allies so she could find out what was going on inside. When Raffey finally came back and spoke to them, her hidden snout was slow to turn back in his direction. He wasn't the only one who was distracted.

"Ruins?" Not only was that right up her alley, it was potentially part of what Peridiath had hired her to find. Wanting to be away from this hostile town, the dragoness agreed eagerly, though she didn't expect Laurel to be so ready to leave the rest of her people behind.

"I was considering striking off on my own anyways, it will be nice to be away from..." there was a subtle wing-motion under her cloak towards the guards and she made a silent hand-motion that technically meant "scavengers" but with a focus on the creepy watchfulness. "They're making my scales itch. Besides, you could do with someone to watch your back."

It only took a few minutes for Drachiathoryx to secure her belongings and join Raffey, watching the land around them. The monster hunter didn't seem keen on conversation so Drache quashed her inclination to flirt with him. She didn't notice the beetle tracks. Or more accurately, she didn't recognize them for what they were and was resigned to her unfamiliarity with the creatures in this land enough that she didn't bother to mention their strangeness. Knowing now that she could, she let another level of awareness surround her, feeling for things like torches and campfires that might betray the presence of those they might want to avoid. "It occurs to me that if you wanted to escape the kvaren who enslaved you, now might be a good time." There was simple curiosity in her tone, puzzling out a stranger.

Yet even with the town and guards behind them, she couldn't help but feel watched, and finally dispensed with her cloak in the interest of being unencumbered by it. "Did the guards give you any indication of what kind of ruins they are?" She asked finally, moving close so that she could keep her voice down. It sounded almost sultry and purring when she did that.

She thought she saw gleaming canine eyes in a bush and paused, her head moving back and forth slowly to try to reproduce the glint.

[Rekaigan]

Megumi let out an amused 'hmmph' at the bartender's response as she withdrew slightly, giving him a smirk. Not really what she expected but at the same time, she should've expected a response like that. Truth be told, she was quite annoyed at their attitude toward half-breeds and bestial races. It only bred more nonsensical hatred. "Quite an interesting place you got here.." She muttered under her breath as she accepted the ale. She would've preferred a cold glass of milk, but that would just raise questions about her. A grown woman ordering cold milk in a tavern. Laughable, but also suspicious. She gave the ale a deep gulp before putting the tankard back onto the counter. She noticed the napkin that the bartender had handed her. At first she thought of using it to wipe her mouth, but she noticed some writing. Instructions? She threw a glance at the man she now knew as, Larry. This could possibly get her killed, but it could also lead her to more information. This man had noticed her eyes, that much she knew. Perhaps he was trying to lure her into a trap.

But she didn't know if that really was the case. She wondered how many other half-breeds have tried to come in here and do the same thing that she had done. Probably not many considering the crowd. Megumi drank the rest of her ale, using the clean side of the napkin to wipe her mouth before scrunching it up into a ball. "Thanks Larry." she said simply as she made her way upstairs as the napkin had said.

She wasn't even half way up the stairs before she noticed someone following her. A Justicar. Perhaps by coincidence she was following her? When they reached the top of the stairs, the woman spoke to her, "I've not seen you here before. You from town?", to which Megumi replied with a similarly kind smile, "Oh no, I'm just a traveler.".. That rapier looked very nasty. Not something she'd want to go up against. The half-cat couldn't get away from the woman. She kept making small talk as if she wanted to stop Megumi from doing something or maybe she just wanted idle chit-chat. Whatever the reason, she was in the way. Doing anything other than talking would cause a scene though. The woman had introduced herself as 'Sammeh', "It's nice to meet you Sammeh, my name is Rahn." she responded, she made no pauses when mentioning her fake name, her response flowing as if it were actually her name. A lie nobody could contest or notice.