[i]The menagerie of outsiders attend the impromptu meeting, tensions high and answers few[/i]

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[@Rune_Alchemist] [@Spanner] [@Hammerman] [@Lord Zee] [@drewccapp] [@TheFake]

As he might have expected, Emile wasn't the first to leave the guild hall's rapidly-deteriorating confines.  After traveling a short way around the ex-structure's perimeter, he came upon a group already assembling out front.  Relieved as he was for the chance to meet up and talk with the others, he couldn't suppress a twinge of pragmatism that ran through his head.  Almost without meaning to he began to size the three individuals up, just as he'd done in the game.  In a world like Yggdrasil, where PKing could happen anywhere and everywhere, it paid to be cautious and regard each player as a potential threat.  Here, he felt somewhat bad for feeling compelled to do the same, but nevertheless he examined each in turn.

The first, and perhaps least remarkable, was a lean man in earth-toned armor that managed to be stylish and intricate without even being conspicuous, let along garish.  His bow distinguished him immediately as an archer, and given the rather high average player level in the flashfire guild Apocalypse Now, in this world the man was no doubt analogous to a legendary Bowlord.  Emile caught himself and shook his head a touch; was the situation already so mundane that he'd accepted this impossible shift and started to let his imagination run wild?  Even if this ordeal seemed straight out of a dream, he needed to keep his head on straight.  Accepting this as reality was step one, and not losing himself in it would be a long road.

With that in mind he scrutinized the other three.  One girl, who appeared to be some sort of fairy, grew to full size before his eyes before vocalizing her attempt to cope with the situation.  Emile stifled a commiserate laugh.  [i]I'm with you there, kid.[/i]  His attention turned to her attendant, an elf lady in armor, who appeared to be the straight man of their two-part act.  What caught his attention about her, aside from an odd aura of light, was that Tania introduced her as an NPC.  This caught Emile by surprise.  He knew the term, of course, and that players could essentially create extra characters controlled by AIs to follow them around or whatever, but to see one just as lifelike as the player characters around her...she gave every indication of having a mind of her own.  [i]Well, why not?[/i]  Emile shrugged after a moment.  [i]NPCs coming to life makes as much sense as any of this madness.[/i]  He turned his attention on the final person present -a classy, almost foppish-looking demon fellow whose robe suggested he was a mage- only to catch a few choice words from the fairy.

With a voice full of scorn, Tania ridiculed those responsible for destroying the guild hall.  Behind his helmet, Emile frowned.  He hadn't expected such a sudden change of tune.  Had she really not been aware of the Beholder's rampage?  Nobody had used excessive force in dispatching the creature during the chaos; every ounce of blame lay square on its tentacled head.  [i]Maybe,[/i] he reasoned, [i]she's simply venting fried nerves on the first targets that present themselves.  I can't really blame her...but it's still awfully immature.[/i]  He glanced sideways to see if Liana had heard the insults, but she didn't seem to give much of a reaction.  On the other side of the coin, meanwhile, the long-haired demon mage struggled with a surge of emotion threatening to overflow, but he reigned himself in with laudably little effort and regained his composure.  Out of everyone present, Emile concluded, the sorcerer in blue appeared to be behaving the most normally.  When he introduced himself as Cain, Emile gave a nod of acknowledgment, but didn't have time to return the formality before more people began to appear.

Through the clearing dust from the ruins, a handful of others arrived one by one.  A paladin-looking man in fall armor plowed through a wall, made his way over, and kneeling in what looked to Emile like meditation.  He said nothing and gave no hint of any insecurity, but rather acted with the poise of a loyal retainer.  [i]Huh.[/i]  The strigiforme's focus flew apart as some sort of beast ascended into the sky from the building's wreckage, an angel right behind.  Sooner or later, Emile suspected, he would get used to seeing such strange things in such striking detail.  At about that time, the archer from the original group began talking again.  He suggested putting together a plan and going somewhere as a group, which sounded just fine to Emile.  That said, he wondered how the archer planned to figure out which direction was north without using the absent sun.

After that came a distraction—the black knight who'd put an end to the wild Beholder, still eking out that repellent arclight.  Emile winced until she dismissed it, and waited until she happened to glance his way before giving a nod of thanks.  The thought struck him that he'd be able to convey his emotions better without the helmet on, but then again, how exactly did one smile and so forth with an owl head?  Still, he pulled off his helmet and tucked it beneath his arm as Kallahar touched the ground near everyone else.  She too had a plan, and funnily enough it diverged a solid one hundred and eighty degrees from the archer's, though obviously she hadn't been around yet to hear his idea.  With two groups taking shape, Emile wondered where he'd choose to go.  Compared to the faceless metal revenent, the archer's merry band seemed a lot more personable, but Kallahar's tone hadn't been disagreeable either.  Then, naturally, he could choose to strike out on his own, but he knew he had to watch out for Liana.  For the second time Emile glanced her way, worry writ on his owlish features.  She wasn't just vulnerable mentally; if strength carried over from Yggdrasil, which by all accounts it had, she was the weakest person here.

When Tania opened her mouth with venom on her tongue a second time, Liana did take notice.  Full of guilt for causing so much trouble even accidentally and stung by the fairy's insults, she clasped her hand and hung her head, staring at the ground.  The sight deepened Emile's misgivings about her.  [i]Guess I might've misjudged you.  Not a poor soul trying to cope with the situation, but a brat who enjoys putting down others.[/i]  Liana was already in a sorry spot, full of confusion and disgust with herself, courtesy of her new form.  Added to that her blatant declaration of petty intentions, and he couldn't stay silent any longer.  [color=5D8AA8]“Now hold on a minute, miss.  No need for callin' names.  It was the Beholder that did all the destroyin', and nobody else.”[/color]

He cleared his throat, and held up his free hand with the palm upward.  His gaze swept across the assembled group as he addressed them.  [color=5D8AA8]”As for me, I think it'd be better to get to know you all.  My name's Emile, and this is L-”[/color]

[color=E2725B]”Lenore.”[/color]  His niece interrupted him, gliding forward a few steps.  Clearly her extreme discomfort with herself remained, but all of a sudden it looked like she'd decided to step up.  The thought gratified Emile, making him think that standing up for her had helped her out a little.  Her decision to introduce herself with her in-game name, however, made him curious.  Well, the two could sort that out later.

Giving a nod, Emile continued.  [color=5D8AA8]”We're from Scotland.  Findin' someplace to go and sort things out sounds like a great idea.  Most important thing to me seems like figurin' out the lay of the land, so to speak.  Chances are there's a whole country of places and people we need to learn about. Just...you know, bargin' in seems like a bad idea.”[/color]  His golden eyes gave Tania a somewhat pointed look before he put a hand on his niece's shoulder.  [color=5D8AA8]”I'm thinkin' we might go south.  That okay with you, er, 'Lenore'?”[/color]  She nodded, and Emile turned to look at Kallahar.  [color=5D8AA8]”We can be your company then, if you don't mind.”[/color]