[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/fKo3YKF.png[/img]

[@Samreaper] Menzai [@FunnyGuy] Wendel [@Potter] Arya [@Oso] Bastion[/center]
[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_1Iw37Mx8o[/youtube][/center]
[b][i][color=gold][center]It starts softly, deceptively.

A deep, resonant thrum vibrates through the wooden planks beneath your feet, reverberating in bones and sinews. Glasses shudder, sending ripples across drinks; bottles behind the curve of the bar clink nervously against each other. Conversations trail into silence.

Then—

[h3][i][b]BOOM.[/b][/i][/h3]

An explosive blast of sound and blinding light erupts from the depths of the airship, as though ancient gods themselves had unleashed their wrath within the Stormrider's belly.

The entire vessel heaves violently.

Timbers groan under sudden strain; ropes and rigging creak ominously as they stretch taut. Lanterns swing erratically, casting chaotic patterns of shadow and light across startled faces. Several patrons lose their footing, stumbling or falling as a ceramic plate shatters sharply against the deck. High above, the balloon enveloping the ship moans in protest, its elemental binding ring sputtering briefly with a troubling flicker.

And then—a breathless, awful stillness.

Smoke slithers upward, emerging from the stairwell in sinuous, black coils that seem to have a life of their own. It whispers and twists around patrons' ankles, drawing gasps and shudders as it climbs.

From within this unnatural fog, they emerge.

Eight figures materialize, cloaked in crimson hoods pulled low over faces hidden behind smooth, featureless masks. Their armor gleams darkly, reflecting the muted glow of swaying lanterns. Each step they take feels unnaturally graceful... Silent as if the deck itself moves aside respectfully in their path.

At first, the crowd is frozen in shock, lungs held tight, hearts suspended mid-beat.

Then a shrill scream pierces the quiet, shattering the spell.

Chaos unfurls in an instant. Patrons scatter in blind panic; someone bolts toward the stairs leading to the upper deck. He barely makes three strides before one of the hooded intruders moves. Steel flashes as he plunges mercilessly into the fleeing man's abdomen.

The runner collapses after a silence, a broken puppet with severed strings.

Terror explodes. Chairs topple violently as patrons surge in panic, spilling drinks and overturning tables in their desperation to escape.

The Stormrider is no longer merely sailing the skies.

It is under siege.

What will you do?[/center][/color][/i][/b]