[center][h3][u]The Lum Channel, Aboard a Nillium Freighter[/u] [sub]3rd of Summer - 9:35 PM[/sub][/h3][/center] Men and woman were scattered across the large boat that overlooked Paric and Ayer, keeping a watchful eye on the seas below for any sign of nightly disturbances. Even if the channel was calm this late in the night, there was always risk writhing in the ocean depths, waiting for its chance to strike at any moment. [b]Lily Milia[/b] rested her arms against the ship's railing while one of her companions operated a spotlight from a few steps above her. Myti didn't need those pitiful lights to spot anything out in the ocean with their natural night vision, but the Nilliums weren't exactly [i]ready to burst[/i] with ranks of feline warriors. Lily was one of only a few that worked under the Don, albeit without a shred of the enthusiasm that initially lead her to join up with one of the gangs south of her homeland. She'd initially thought that joining a group of [i]pirates[/i] would be exciting! She thought it was all about sea battles and docking enemy ships! Fighting against the other gangs and causing a ruckus! All that cool stuff! It wasn't. The three local feuding nations had been fighting a [i]cold war[/i] for years now. Major conflicts were a thing of the past. None of them possessed the fire-power to wipe the other out, and the ocean was hardly a practical field of battle. Any sort of ruckus on the water's surface was sure enough to attract unwanted attention from some of the [i]larger[/i] oceanic beasts. The engines of these freighters, [i]especially the fang,[/i] already stirred up a little bit of chaos from time to time, but even [i]that[/i] lacked the excitement that this young Myti warrior was looking for. The chance that something actually posing a [i]threat[/i] to the larger Nillium ships was practically non-existent. No battles with sea monsters for that little kitty. Not tonight, not ever. "What's that?" [b]Iggy[/b] sputtered, "Lily, take a look." The spotlight creaked to keep aligned with what Iggy had spotted. Lily lazily scanned the water's surface with her eyes, still rested against her fuzzy forearms. "A Nillium," He yawned, "Little bigger than usual. Maybe it's spawning." "Yeah-hah! It's about that time of year. A little early though. Poor little guy's all alone." Iggy leaned around the spotlight to get a closer look at the sleek fish that skimmed the surface of Lum's waters. The black-and-white splotches scattered across its spiked spine confirmed it. It was a Nillium, [i]a Male[/i], marked by the waved dorsal fin near the front of its body. It was nearly ten feet in length, and two feet thick. "Chubby bastard. [b]Maybe the ladies would be fixin' for a fuck if ya lost a little weight, tubbs!"[/b] Iggy shouted at the water. The Nillium stirred slightly, bending its body towards the boat before diving underwater. Lily sighed. "You spooked it." "Whatever." Paric and Ayer were on the opposite side of the boat as it passed by. One of the spotlights swooped a few feet over their heads, putting them just outside of the ship's view. But the waves from its arcane propulsion system were starting to upset the water. When the ship made its full pass, it might have been a little difficult to keep their boat from tipping if they put too much weight opposite to the freighter's path. [center][h3][u]Nillium Encampment, The Sewers[/u] [sub]3rd of Summer - 9:35 PM[/sub][/h3][/center] "You know, sometimes I wonder about myself! Don't you think it's curious, [i]curious that a man would look at his own reflection and forget why he'd sat down?[/i] I think it's strange! I forgot already! I forgot!" The pale-skinned man laughed loudly as he spoke to a bloodied silhouette that hovered inches away from his face. There was an overwhelming stench of feces and torn flesh that flooded the tunnel he'd sat down in. He rose his left hand and licked his palm clean, brushing his tongue across a thick layer of coagulated blood. "You taste like cinnamon, Reginald. Were you perhaps, [i]I only assume in full earnest rest assured,[/i] a virgin soul? Did you habitually scratch your neck? When you were nervous? Did you?" The bloody face didn't talk back. "Of course you were! Oh, how quaint! I weep for you, dear Reginald. The touch of a woman, the rush of power that accompanies a courageous [i]thrust[/i] towards action, I'm afraid men like you will never get a chance to, [i]never a single chance with such cowardly overtones and vicious contempt lingering in your subconscious,[/i] experience such wondrous emotions!" The crazed man suddenly frowned. "Well, clearly. [b]I don't see why I feel the need to point it out.[/b] Dead men cannot copulate, claim, crush, or capture captivating occasions." He lowered the face that hung near his own, brushed his left hand across the clean cut that ran straight through his neck to harvest another handful of blood. "You make a terrible conversation partner, Reginald." Without another word, he tossed the decapitated head across the sewer, and sloppily licked the length of his left palm once more. The body part bounced and cracked as it rolled across the cavalcade of mutilated corpses in his wake. "You Nilliums are all so [i]boring."[/i] [center][h3][u]Feral Cove, ???[/u] [sub]3rd of Summer - 9:35 PM[/sub][/h3][/center] The Feral cove reached across most of the southern edge of Leias' surrounding forest. A sandy expanse, stopping only for the local encampments, with various rock formations, ruins, and crevices lining its unforgiving shoreline. From where Paric and Ayer floated, it wasn't too far off, sitting relatively calm across the gentle waters of Lum. But its namesake didn't only serve to mock the Myti that lived barbarically to the north and east. The coast was absolutely littered with [i]monsters.[/i] One such creature, the outrageously common [b]Dustilk[/b], hid itself beneath the sands in wait for smaller prey to walk overhead. They were incredibly easy to detect with a sharp eye, making them a non-threat to the educated traveler, but sometime these [i]teeny tiny[/i] crab-like buggers would clamp on to the uneducated traveler's ankles and act as a very [i]painful[/i] deterrent to wandering the beach. [b]Dannisus Rexiy[/b] was one such traveler. Half-way across the beach, [i]likely in search of something inane,[/i] the foolish Myti adventurer had run through several Dustilk while enacting a panicked retreat from what he assumed to be something [i]much more threatening.[/i] By the time he'd decided it was safe to stop, four of the inch-wide little [i]beasts[/i] were clinging to his ankles with their singular pincers, and trying to work their way past his skin. Unfortunately for them, attacking something that large would only spell their doom. With a painful grunt, the Myti knelt down and crushed the crustaceans one by one with the hilt of his short sword. As one might have expected, they released their grips immediately upon [i]dying[/i]. "Brilliant," he muttered to himself, lightly touching the red cuts around his ankles with one finger. "[b]Brilliant.[/b]" They might have been relatively harmless little bastards, but Dannisus was not keen on [i]running[/i] while there were sharp pains shooting through his feet. The slightest misstep could lead to the gravest of fates in the wild, even for the experienced. He was already practically [i]insane[/i] to be traveling on his own through the woods, but if there was anyone capable of keeping themselves hidden from danger while out in the wild, it was a [i]Myti,[/i] gender be [i]damned.[/i] Dannisus reached into his side pouch and quickly prepped some bandages while keeping his fuzzy ears propped up. As he pressed the bandages against his skin, his tail flailed against the sand erratically. Myti might have been cautious, but they were not known for their [i]pain tolerance.[/i] He looked around cautiously while waiting for the pain in his ankles to subside. The ocean caught his attention quicker than anything else though. There was a heavy glint in the distance as ships traversed from island to island as nothing more than unrecognizable blips on the horizon. Dannisus didn't know very much of the Nilliums or their practices, but could assume the origins of those boats pretty easily based on what he'd learned on his visit to one of the rivaling outposts. The Leman gang did [i]not[/i] think kindly of them. Suddenly a storm of possibilities forcibly rammed their way into his head once after another. [i]What if a patrol got too close to shore? Were they perhaps looking for anyone who involved themselves with their opposition? Did he have to worry about anything? Could [i]Nilliums[/i] walk on land?[/i] The absurdity of his panic spiraled for quite a while until he was able to [i]reset[/i] his thoughts. None of that made sense. He'd be fine if he didn't interfere with anything going on out in the channel. That wouldn't be a problem though. Even if he wanted to, how could he? The man couldn't even [i]swim.[/i] [center][h3][u]Baeshri Hills, West of Centaurus[/u] [sub]3rd of Summer - 10:40 PM[/sub][/h3][/center] Noru spotted the metal glint as Daelin made mention of a more adequate search almost immediately. He agreed that Ellorei's commentary was absolutely [i]unnecessary.[/i] The woman had been irritating him this entire time. But he didn't expect much of her. The moment she'd declared herself a 'nomad' was the moment that Noru dismissed her as an untrained barbarian of the wilds. Even though Druids had some honor to their practices, they were chaotic factors that had a lot of potential to make a terrible situation even worse if not guided. Thankfully Daelin had proven himself to be more competent than the likes Captain Copp and Flin. When the stone had fallen on Ellorei's had, he couldn't hold back a smirk himself, though. The fact that he almost let himself chuckle bothered him. It was just a silly coincidence. Nothing more. From far above where the group walked however, Marilyn hid herself behind a collection of bushes in a panic after knocking one of the pebbles off the edge of her hiding place. That was it, she had to have been spotted despite being so high up! Thankfully though, there was no immediate reaction. It wouldn't matter to the Myti if they were nearby, but Sasha had retreated in the opposite direction. The only Myti that came towards the hills, was one of her companions that Zay had fought off earlier in the night. The footsteps below made the Pilot panic. She didn't want to get caught out here all alone with a twisted ankle. The girl was barely able to defend herself uninjured! But as long as she followed orders, everything [i]should[/i] have gone smoothly. From where the glint shined however, there was nothing but danger to be found. The Myti that escaped earlier held her dagger at a careful angle from the pitch-black darkness of a small cavern, keeping the rest of his body hidden with a bout of soul magic that prompted invisibility. The amount of focus required was [i]absolutely crucial.[/i] One distraction, and she might have been revealed. But even in the darkness, she was confident that nobody would spot her figure until it was too late. When Daelin approached with [i]three others[/i] behind him however, she grew the slightest bit anxious, especially when she didn't recognize [i]Ellorei.[/i] Regardless, she stood her ground. Making a sudden move now would give her away. Although she could have escape with her superior agility with ease, her [b]orders[/b] were clear, and she would [i]never[/i] defy Sasha. [center][h3][u]Baeshri Pass, Caravan Centaurus[/u] [sub]3rd of Summer - 11:00 PM[/sub][/h3][/center] Daelin's search party had already been gone for half an hour. Zay was able to fall asleep only moments after they left, while Neal rested with his eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling of the Caravan's interior. With Rem standing watch, it was surely safe. But Neal felt differently. There was no telling what could happen from there on out. What if they Myti came back? Were Druids really trustworthy? Were they even capable of taking a single assassin on? Surely, their powers, much like their morals, had [i]limits.[/i] Less than a kilometer down the path towards the southern trading route, something began to quake the earth. Rem would see it long before the beast reached Centaurus, but it wasn't what one might have expected. A Single Venbu, much larger than your average specimen, charged down the path as an exceptional speed. Despite its larger size, dull hair coloration, and [i]crooked jawline,[/i] the old beast was faster than anything that the Arcadian Caravans had ever had at their stead. But it wasn't pulling anything behind it except a small wooden cart full of men and varied supplies. This wasn't a Venbu assigned to any Caravan that Arcadia had control over. More curious than its cargo, speed, or rugged features however, was how it didn't seem to hold issue with having a saddle strapped to its back. Atop the rogue Venbu sat a massive human male with a large hammer latched to his back. As he grew closer, Blake noticed Rem before they were able to position themselves for an ambush. He smiled regardless. This was going to be a lot more fun than their previous experiences. "No tricks this time, fellas!" Blake shouted to his companions riding behind him, "Time for a good old-fashioned [b]brawl!!![/b]" [center][h3][u]Berganfont, Lilith's Keg[/u] [sub]4th of Summer - 9:03 AM[/sub][/h3][/center] "I've been alright. Boys are better in the kitchen, gettin' better anyways. Shop's seen a lot of business. Guards stopped coming by ever since Myron-" Lilith cut herself off and leaned against the bar top. "Well, we've been doing good, all around." Lilith forced an exaggerated smile and started making her way down the counter top with her rag again, moving away from Shane. "Should only be a few minutes til' the boys are done." [center][h3][u]Berganfont, Under the Town Bridge[/u] [sub]4th of Summer - 9:03 AM[/sub][/h3][/center] The gap between Berganfont's low houses and high houses was like a dirty crevice in the earth. Bricks staggered as the roads ended, and water drained down here until it left the city through one of the two flood-paths. But it was wide enough for a few delinquents to seek refuge from the guard, even if it was a little smelly, and [i]wet.[/i] The place acted as a drain for the sewer system, after all. Anyone hiding down here would be sacrificing their sanity. It wasn't like they were able to use the tunnels under Berganfont to make their way around, anyways. They were way to small for [i]most people[/i] to fit through. Kids like Matthew didn't have that problem at all. He was acrobatic for a kid of 16, but maybe that was to be expected of an Eldi. Climbing off of the bridge and getting down into the [b]Sewage Crevice[/b] was no big deal. This is where he'd usually relax after scoring a big haul, since no adults would even think about falling into the slippery pit to go after him. One wrong move spelled death, and the only way back to the surface world was through the [i]tiny sewers,[/i] or out the [b]Flush Gates.[/b] Taking their only viable exit would not only put adults in the [i]wilds,[/i] but it would land them in a disgusting lake of sewage and mud. All kinds of nasty creatures liked to lurk around the sewage that nations produced, and although a few of them were friendly, there were plenty that wouldn't differentiate between humanoids and [i]trash.[/i] Matthew poked his hand into the pouch that he'd stolen from one of the town's priests with an eager expression on his face. He pulled out a handful of silver, gold, and... A single black gem. Part of him was immediately intrigued by it, but the other half of him was immediately curious with how much it might have sold for. Even without it, he would be able to eat for a few days with that money! Matthew sighed with a smile and put the contents of the pouch away while resting against the slanted wall of the crevice. A surge of sewage landed on his head from above from one of the many holes behind him moments later, though, sending him into a flurry of sputtering and coughs. Right, he'd almost forgotten where he was for a second there. [i]All alone[/i] in the gutters like a rat.