[IC] Crossroads of Astas [High Fantasy]

[Lucius Cypher]

The Azure Knight circled around the hooded person, but soon he seemed to begin to slow down. Sensing a trap or a trick, the Azure Knight moved in. By the time the two of them were on the same roof, the man stopped and took something out of his coat. He said it was a wanted poster from Alderia. From that, the Azure Knight could conclude he was after a bounty, and presumably killed the man on the poster. But the Azure Knight did not buy it. Drawing her sword, she prepared herself for a fight. "Lies! You claim to be collecting a bounty, than why did you flee? What proof do you have that would prove your innocence? What evidence do you have to even prove that you have captured or slain this bounty? Now submit to justice or be slain!" The Azure Knight watched the man carefully. He was breathing heavily, likely tired from the chase, but if he chose to fight she could expected renewed vigor from the man, as well as dirty tricks to escape or defeat her. "This is your only chance to turn yourself in peacefully! Resist or stall, and I shall separate your head from your neck before your close your eyes!"

[chukklehed]

"Hold citizen." Grace said, looking at the Azure Knight. She rarely trusted their type, but never quite knew why. She turned back to the man, heaving a sigh. "Despite your presentation of proof, you must pay a fine to the city for the disturbance. We do not allow bounty hunts to be carried out inside city limits, especially kill orders. Return with me to the station, pay your fine and you'll be allowed to leave without further incident. Try to run again and we will be required to hunt you like you hunted that man." She approached him, feeling uneasy about him. Something about him was off. As she passed the knight, she spoke in a low voice for just them. "While your aid is appreciated, you are out of your jurisdiction here. Leave the law to us."

---

Alteral sat in the corner of the "Farmer's Daughter", the shadows almost eliminating the need for his heavy black clothing covering almost every piece of his skin. He looked over the merriment with a longing, almost hungry stare, and drank his ale. The only colors at his table were the white staff leaning against the wall, the thick leather bound book under his left hand, and the gleaming golden cross around his neck, marking him as a priest of the Sun God. Normally Alteral vir Mithran avoided places like this, where he might be tempted too much by the scent of warm blood, but he had felt almost compelled to find companionship after decades of solitude. Even so, his sudden need for social interaction would not beat his ironclad rules. He refused to approach anyone in the tavern under false pretenses, instead hoping one of them would come to talk to him.

[ShadowD]

Xavier smiled at the over zealous psycho. "You do realize throwing threats like that around when you know not who, you so easily give them to will lead to an early grave." He says his voice icy as he stares down at this...knight. "Besides the poster is deemed enough proof the oaf slain matches the description on the poster also. " He holds up a ring the man had inside his pants pocket "I must send this back to the grieving family that hired me, I was surprised they could afford my fee, as this bauble is no where near as pricey." He hands the ring to grace "See to it that it get's shipped safely back, the family lives in the capital they are shop owners there I forget the name of the shop but their surname is Reimos." He says and walks to the edge of the building, I shall await you at the bottom guardswoman." He says and sits down on the edge of the roof, and easily turns taking a hold of the ledge and climbs down the side of the building, he startled a couple and says "Hey rooftops, you never know when someone crazy will jump from one." He says and smiles as they run off. Xavier shrugs leaning against the wall. He breathed a sigh of relief, the wall granted some respite from the morning sun, too many more outbursts like the one he had...gods he didn't need to kill the bastard, could've bound and gagged the oaf, instead he murdered him...even if it was a bounty he could've done it with only maiming the poor sod. Xavier shook his head man's dead who cares, one less cutthroat about.

[chukklehed]

Grace made her way to the edge of the roof, glad to be leaving the Azure Knight behind. "Wouldn't you LOVE to know why they make you so uneasy? So MAD?" Said a voice behind her. Grace felt her jaw tighten No, not here. She thought, continuing as if nothing was wrong. "I can tell you, if you want. I remember what they did to you. All you have to do is say the word." The figure floated in front of her, and was once again itentical to herself in almost every way, except for an intricate tattoo down her arm. Just leave me alone. she thought desperately, trying not to show any of her frustration on the outside. "Well those aren't the right words. Well, you'll come around eventually. I know you will." And with that last statement, Logic faded from view once more. Grace reached the street, happy to see that the man hadn't run off again. "This way." She said shortly, heading off towards the nearest Guardhouse.

[RumikoOhara]

La'Shara sat down atop the bar and chatted briefly with the bar keeper and merely giggled when he offered to pay her for his increase in business. She told him she couldn't as what she'd done was a celebration of her Goddess who's name she couldn't utter outside of her forest.
She did say that her Goddess had no law saying that she couldn't accept an offered drink though.
The Bar Keep set her up with a bottle of whiskey and the offer that she was always welcome in the "Farmer's Daughter"
La'Shara poured a portion into her stout mug mixing the two with a swirl.
Looking around the bar she notes the strange hooded fellow and her curiosity get the better of her.
She heads over to Alteral's little shadowed corner and simply has a seat across from him an says in almost a whisper "The Smart Squirrel hides his nuts even from his friends" After which she looks around the room as if she were suspicious of someone listening in.
Her eyes though never cease to sparkle with amusement as she smiles

Strange mode of dress for a Sun priest, please forgive me if I seem a bit odd for today marks 162 days as a wanderer for myself

I am La'Shara of the Forest Temple she giggles as she sips her potent drink

[chukklehed]

Alteral looked up from his drink, looking into the eyes of another elf, and feeling homesick. "I am Alteral vin Mithral, High Priest of the Sun, and one day I shall be recognized as such and don my robes once more. Today marks 20 years an outcast, which might be why I have allowed myself into town, despite my better judgement." What could be seen of his skin was white as snow, matching the color of his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was raspy, even through the muffling of his facewraps. "May our meeting be blessed under the eye of the Sun."

[Lucius Cypher]

The man taunted the Azure Knight, but only convinced her that this man sought to fight. however, the guardsman (Or woman, as her voice told her) told the Azure Knight to stand down. Why, the knight did not know; if this man was dangerous, wouldn't she want help? Alas, the man at least did turn himself in without fighting, so the Azure Knight stowed her blade and let the two on their way. All the talk of bounties reminded the Azure Knight that she needed to turn in her own, and so she left the rooftops to grab her sack of severed heads.

Admittedly, it was difficult to navigate the city from her position. She had been so caught up in the chase that she didn't bother to register her location. All she knew was that she left the bag near one of the city entrances, but from her view point she couldn't even tell where the sun sets. And she'd rather not wait until nightfall before she could collect her bounty. She had to ask around town, but eventually she found her way back to her sack. Still in it's location, surprisingly enough, though perhaps it's rancid smell deterred any thief. It was heavy with the stench of death, twenty-one to be exact. "Righto! Let us be off than, and turn in these things for a good deal of coin and silver!" She didn't direct that towards anyone in particular as she heaved the sack over her shoulder and headed towards one of the guardhouses.

[WitchChild]

Thalen devoured the bird from the spit and thanked the cook profoundly as if he had sold to him something that was prepared by a master of masters. Flattered the cook gave the Rath'Kar warrior a slip of cloth to clean the grease and juices from the meat and looked around the market once more to take in the sights after pul. He saw a dark skinned man, young looking with white hair was not too far feasting on juicy fruit. A little further, Thalen caught a glimpse of a woman in very exotic looking attire which he suspected might be from the Daigotsu Empire from what he had heard about it. She also seemed much respected by how people were greeting her before she headed to the seadog guild.
He saw three people, two of which seemed like a merchant pair and the third a potential buyer. What he could see from where he was, they might be Hakedians. What was most interesting however was seeing guards chasing a cloaked man who took it to the rooftops. Thalen couldn’t help but wonder how it would end. The guards in Vekia weren’t idiots and they made sure that the city was secure, even the roofs with crossbowmen.

Thalen returned the spit and decided to head to an herbalist or such. Some creatures were poisonous so having some cures and medicine with him while on hunts would be most preferable. He asked around and those he asked told him about Lady Kwan.

He approached her establishment but there was no one attending it, at least not her. After asking some of the people around, he managed to pay an peasant child to run along to find her.

===

Lord Haklo was walking casually through the markets, examining some wears until a large eagle suddenly found a perch on his shoulders. His retinue were shocked and they were even about to draw their swords. However they calmed down and so did Haklo after his initial shock. He still had his hand on the dagger at his side since the eagle landed on his shoulders. “You defecate on me and you will be a peasant’s dinner” Haklo said to the eagle and continued to walk around the market, past three Hakedians doing business and then to a tavern known as “The Farmer’s Daughter”
He entered the building with the eagle on his shoulders and one of his retinue, one of which stayed behind in front of the tavern. Haklo looked over at the tavern and there were two that caught his eye immediately. At least one was an elf woman who was…well…barely clad at all. The person she was talking with clad in just about everything black. Sure, House Desol often wore black themselves but at least they flared it with some other color instead of going nothing black. His eyebrow arched for a moment, he approached the barkeep. “Roasted meat for this” He said to the barkeep, pointing at the eagle on his shoulder.

[ShadowD]

Xavier followed the guardswoman to their headquarters in the city. While waiting for the paper work he was able to have his hood down, his fine pale skin, and his sharp colored eyes made him look elvish, his long hair down covering his ears made it easy for people to believe it. It helped him in the long run, better to be thought of as a drunken elf rather than a bloodsucking monster...speaking of he's going to have to get more now...which means hunting more people. He didn't like doing that but animals and the like just did not sustain him as well as well not just human blood, but thinking, feeling, emotional beings did. It was said during his time being experimented on. Too bad he couldn't remember the exact reasoning behind it all. He didn't talk to many people while waiting, preferring the darker corners of the barracks as he waited for the processing to end. He sighed and looked around, a courier dashed by and he grabbed the man by the scruff of his collar. "Hey here's 10 gold pieces, make sure this get's sent to a family in Alderia..." He tells the courier who and where to go specifically and then goes back to waiting. He sighed again and mumbles "How much longer will this take." He was impatient despite his long life and it showed easily, especially when he wasn't hooded or masked.

[Major Ursa]

Skender listened to Lord Haklo and obeyed...because he was quite a powerful and beautiful human, and not doing so would be quite immoral to him. Sitting still on the human's shoulders, he was surprised when the human brought him to a tavern. Eagle-Skender ducked his head when they entered through the doorway. Gazing over at the tavern goers, then down at Haklo, then at the elf woman. Making a hiss of distaste, he hopped onto the counter when the barkeep laid out the plate with mutton, and let out a loud (and uncharacteristic meow) before tearing out a piece of meat and swallowing it down. The other person Haklo was staring at...dark robes, all over. Hard to tell whether human or non-human. So, Skender did his thing. Bobbing his bird head up and down, and tapping along on the bar counter in a sort of rhythm, he danced towards the heavily cloaked figure, letting out a chirp here or there...before landing on the elf woman's lap, and flailing around quite a bit, making quite a flapping-feather fuss. Of course, his talons and beak were new dulled since he wasn't trying to harm her. He came in with Lord Haklo, and doing something like harm a citizen would embarrass him greatly. And so, he kept on rolling and flailing on her lap.

[Lucius Cypher]

The Azure Knight stepped into the guard house, her hand raised and pointed towards the roof. "FEAR NOT! For I have put an end to this ravenous bunch of scum!" The Azure Knight walked towards the nearest counter, the attendant still a bit shocked by her appearance. "Please excuse me, but where do I turn in the bounty for this one?" The Azure Knight pointed towards the bounty paper of a man who is believed to be the leader of a gang of robbers. His capture or death would reward her 500 gold, and 100 for each of his associates. And from the size of her bag, she had found many of them. The attendant and the Azure Knight conversed for a short moment before directing her towards their headquarters. Another jaunty walk later and she arrived, and to her surprise, she saw the hooded figure from before. The Azure Knight didn't make a comment however, as her business with him has been concluded. Instead she walked over to another attendant to inquire about the bounty, who than directed her to wait in the area for someone to come help her. The Azure Knight did as told, however, the smell of her sack soon begin to fill the building with the wretched stench of death. The Azure Knight apologized to the guards who asked her to get rid of it, telling them that it is the heads of the robbers she's trying to get the bounty reward on.

[ShadowD]

Xavier sighed as he saw the armored vigilante walk in with her morbid smelling sack, he had smelled it halfway down the street and it had been making him feel ill even before it stepped into the garrison. He walked over to the clerk and handed them some coin, "There enough to pay off my fine and then some." He says and puts his hood back up, his annoyance with the incompetency of these guards heightened by the fact they did not have the courtesy to write down that the robbers' armor could be used, or something other than their heads. He walked out of the garrison, hiding his disgust behind his hood and mask and continued on his way. He decided grabbing a bed "for the night" would be in his best interest as it would be easier to stay under the radar. He first decided however to head towards a tavern and get himself a drink...even if they did not work as well as they had before. He looked around noticing one "The Farmer's Daughter....ha." He chuckled to himself, it was dark humor that made him laugh as he remembered that one of his first kills as a vampire was a farmer's daughter...but that was so many lives ago. He walks in and sits at the bar, ordering one of the strongest, and most expensive drinks for himself, around him was...well most notably Lord Haklo, and an elf woman... wearing almost nothing, and someone wrapped up better than he was, which was surprising as most people would no doubt find it inhumanly hot at this time of day. Xavier shrugged he didn't care really, but it was weird....maybe he did care, he was afterall, a very curious individual. However he knew better than to pry, being alive for so long meant that he was good at not prying unless he needed to. The barkeep came back with his drink and he took to sipping it, as was the custom around these parts. A good strong drink deserved respect afterall.

[WitchChild]

The Baron's son, Haklo, watched as the eagle feast on them mutton that he ordered and then was interested in the people that he had seen before, the elf and the robed figure, and began to fumble around it seemed. He let the bird go his own way and looked around the tavern for a bit. Other people entered the establishment and others left, to go back to their homes or jobs or even shopping as the market would be still open for several more hours. Dwarves and humans were seemingly the majority of the patrons of the Farmer's Daughter though, like the elf woman with the dark hood, other races were among the patrons. Couple of Hakedians, five or so Rath'Kar judging my their masks that they had pulled off and their colorful hair. By the clothing if some people, Haklo assumed they were merchants, well set merchants too. He took a deep breath and then he heard a cough behind him. He looked around and seeming the cook of the place was on the other side of the counter holding a large plate of steaming fried potato slices. The next thing he knew, very pleasant smell hit his nostrils and his mouth began to water. "Greetings uhm...milord. Thank you for gracing this humble tavern. Please, have some" The cook said nervously before going back to the kitchen to tend to customers' meals. Haklo arched an eyebrow at the departing cook and then at the potatoes. It wasn't too uncommon for any store owner or tavern keep to give people of prestige certain luxuries as not to earn their displeasure. Haklo wasn't so petty but the cook had left before he could decline the food. He shrugged and picked up a potato slice. The piece glistened as it was fried on a skillet in butter and pepper and spice made the slice almost spotted. He ate the piece and was glad that he didn't decline the cook. The potatoes were delicious and only after he was on the third slice did he figure "What if it was poisoned". He stopped eating for a second, thought for a moment and when nothing happened, he continued eating.

===

Thalen decided not to wait anymore and come some other time. The Rath'Kar spirit caller left the medicine woman's shop to go somewhere he could be of help. He was walking calmly but then he shivered as a sudden chilly breeze hit him and the day darkened. He looked up at the sky and saw that dark clouds were covering the blue, turning the sky a gloomy dark grey. It was unnatural. Thalen could feel it. There had barely been any clouds less than an hour before and now it looked like it was going to storm. People around him looked up at the sky and some merchants looked over their wares, wondering if they should pack up if a storm would hit. Yet it didn't feel like it would happen. It made Thalen worried and he looked around as some people had decided to leave for home or make some very last minute shopping before doing the same.

The ground suddenly began to shake then. It felt like an odd earthquake and many merchants made up their mind. Guards helped them to pack up their wares but before the third merchant to finish up packing, the section of earth beneath Thalen exploded, sending him flying 4 feet into the air and 3 feet away. He feel to the ground and he found himself looking up at a shrieking form of a night lurker, a large one too.



The insectoid creature lashed out at the fallen Rath'kar but he dodged by rolling away. More and more Night Lurkers exploded out of the ground around the city. By the time Thalen was on his feet, almost a dozen large mature Night Lurkers were in the market square, majority of which mauling people, merchants and guards. Their shrieks unnerved the Rath'Kar warrior but he drew his sword and took up his whip, steel blades sliding out of the leather cord.

===

Haklo Desol looked out as he heard a woman's scream and many armed men and women in the Farmer's daughter looked at the exit of the building. "NIGHT LURKERS!!!" Someone on the outside screamed and guards' bells rang out in alarm.

[chukklehed]

Grace was back on her patrol when the attack started, so she was one of the first to show up. Night lurkers... she thought, drawing her sword. "Don't forget to collect the fluid." Logic's voice said from behind her, "We're running low, and it costs an arm and a leg. Probably the ones attached to the person collecting it." Looking at the length of steel in her hand, she dropped the sword, knowing that it would do her no good against the armored hide, and it wasn't fast enough for her to use it to full effect. Instead she drew her secondary weapon, a long curved dagger, and charged at the nearest one. Jumping onto it's back, she stabbed viciously at the thin space between the armor plates, slicing into the flesh of the beast. With a shrieking chitter, it threw her against a wall and turned on her, only to get the blade in it's jaw instead. Grace flicked some of the body fluid off her knife as she turned to the next target.

---

Alteral heard the yelling and crashing outside and immediately stood from his seat, throwing a couple gold coins, far more than he owed, onto the table and running out the door. He had barely taken two steps before being slammed into by one of the beasts, flying a good ten feet and landing in a heap. As he stood, his cloak and mask slipped off his head, revealing his bared fangs and ashen skin. "I beseech you, my lord, grant me the strength I lack." He intoned, tendrils of light wrapping around his hands. Even through the cloth, he could feel the sun magic burning his skin, and he raised his hands quickly. Two bolts of light shot from his hands and impaled the Night Crawler as it scuttled towards him. Another rounded the corner behind him, and he jumped onto it's underside. Sinking his fangs into the beast, he drank deeply before jumping backwards. "Your blood turns my stomach, but I need the strength right now." He said, already feeling his burns healing. "Come on then."

[ShadowD]

Xavier got up and pulled out his pale blue blade, he glared from under his hood as he rushed out of the tavern growling "Night Lurkers" and hit one with a lightning bolt making the creature growl in anger and turn towards him. The shopkeeps and guards protecting them able to run away as he hit a few more making them face their new attacker. He pulled his hood back and mask down "Only good thing about you guys showing up is the sun is now gone." He says smiling, his reflexes, strength, and agility would all be fine now. But don't over do it, there are others here, he looks around noticing the others, all of them one of them clearly another vampire and he grimaced as he realized the man was a sun priest and he...ew he bit into one of the creatures....that is disgusting. Xavier was hit by one of the tail's of one of the beasts he had so woefully forgotten and got up baring his own fangs, his blue red eyes gleaming now "Big mistake." He then leapt and landed on the back of one sinking the dwarven made blade deep into one of the soft ridges inbetween the beasts armor, this not killing it he sent electricity through his hand and into the blade frying the beast from the insides. He got off the one and faced down the other two, he glared, the two were working together...denoting some intelligence in these beasts, using their tails to back him up, one using their tail to keep him out of the air. He shook his head and smiled blasting one in it's eyes with lightning until their pale white iris' burst and it's head exploded. Xavier grimaced then as he realized he had left his tear open and closed it immediately. He had heard the whispering and the clawing as the wraiths knew his tear had been open. He then shifted his weight and leapt to one side as the last Night Lurker he had to face slammed it's tail down where he had been moments before, he felt a little drained from his magical exploits just now, and had no way to feed he growled, his eyes still lit up like beacons as he cracks his neck for another round with the beast.

[Lucius Cypher]

It was a dark and stormy night (Or maybe just stormy, as the Azure Knight has lost track of time) when the Night Lurkers attacked. They came en masses, catching nearly everyone off guard. The guardsmen fought back as best they could as everyone else ran for safety. But there were simply too many Night Lurkers attacking too quickly to save everyone. People would die. "AND THEY SHALL PAY!" The Azure Knight leaped into action. With her sword drawn, she attacked the nearest Lurker, catching it by surprise. Her massive sword combined with the speed of her attack enabled her to puncture through the monster's armored plates, and using skillful foot movements she threw her entire body's strength into forcing her blade out, while also slashing the giant insect in half. But that was merely one beast. Before the monsters had time to turn to face her, she had already descended upon another, forcing it's armored plate upwards to expose it's softer flesh, where she stabbed the Azure Light into. that was two. Jumping off the dead monster the Azure Knight readied herself against another group of Night Lurkers, and they put their attention onto her. Unlike the first two, she no longer had the element of surprise to kill them easily. But she was not worried; she had faced worse odds. and backing her up was some of the local guardsmen from the near by barracks, as well as the sentries posted on the top of the buildings. While they were busy in their own way, they would assist the Azure Knight but occasionally distracting one of the Night Lurkers, or finishing it off when she couldn't for some reason.

The Azure Knight and the local guardsmen worked together to eliminate the Night Lurkers in their way. She stood behind the guardsmen shield wall, and using the reach provided by her sword, stabbed in between the gaps of the shield at the Night Lurkers. When one of the beasts managed to break the formation, the Azure Knight was quick to kill them and allow the guardsmen to reform their shield wall, as they continued their path of slaughter. The Night Lurkers may be superior against a guardsmen, but the combined forces of the guards was able to fend off even some of the more massive Night Lurkers. The Azure Knight helped when she could as well, and the guards did not as her to leave; she was not dressed as some peasant caught in the danger, but as an actual knight ready to fight. Her help was appreciated. The Azure Knight stayed with a group of guardsmen, twenty in total, as they made their way to a tavern called the Farmer's Daughter; the captain of the guardsmen had orders to escort some noble who was last seen heading towards the tavern. While the Azure Knight herself would have liked to save more innocents, the captain of the guard was quick to remind her that she was just a lone knight; she lacked the manpower to save everyone. But if they could escort the noble to safety, they could than focus on saving the rest of the city. The Azure Knight still didn't like it, but he had a point.

The group managed to clear a path towards the Farmer's Daughter, and while many were battered and bloodied, a few of them dead, most of them were still ready to fight, the Azure Knight included. her armor was soaked in blood, both her own and the Night Lurkers, and her armor was damaged and scarred. Though slowly healing, one could see where a Night Lurker tried to bite her arm off, but only managed to puncture through her forearm instead of ripping it off. She had picked up one of the guardsmen tower shield and now joined the shield wall blocking the Night Lurkers while stabbing them in the head. As they fought off the monsters around the tavern, the captain of the guardsmen took her and a few other guards into the Tavern, and told her who they were looking for. The Azure Knight was the first to enter the Tavern as many were beginning to leave, shouting out the name of the noble she was sent to look for. "Lord Haklo Desol! Where are you?!"

[Esailia]

Esailia glanced up at the sky as the light changed, her feline eyes narrowing at the clouds as they rushed to cover the day in grey gloom. She had never seen the weather change so drastically before, and it filled her with a dread she hadn't felt since her father died.

"Luna, I think we shoul-" She began, but was cut off with something bursting out of the ground. She dashed over to her companion, yanking her away from her goods just as dirt and rocks fell over the square from the explosion. "Let's go! Grab some food!" She yelled over the screams and shouts of warning like her own. She pulled her bow from her shoulder, drawing an arrow back on the string to take aim at....she didn't know what they were. She likened them to armored worms. People were yelling something that she didn't recognize as any word she recalled hearing before: Lurkers.

With what time she had as she waiting for Luna to snatch what she could, she took in as much as she could of the beast. It wasn't like a worm...more like a burrowing millipede. Where the legs grew from, a slit of what appeared to be softer flesh was exposed between the armored back and belly of the creature. She adjusted her aim and let the arrow fly. She didn't see where it hit before grabbing at Luna again, this time pulling her away wether she was ready or not.

"Something must have attracted those creatures here." She rambled, her mind more on avoiding the running people than actually holding a coherent conversation. "Where can we go? How do we get out of the city?"

[chukklehed]

Luna grabbed the gemstones from the rug, knowing that they were the most valuable thing there and the easiest to carry, and quickly looked for a way out. Glancing up, she saw a path she could take to the roof by instinct. "You lived in the forest, right?" She said over the noise. "Come on, follow me." Throwing her bag over her shoulders, she leapt straight up to grab an overhang, pulled herself up towards a window sill, and jumped the last few feet to get to the roof of the building. Luckily the houses and buildings in this part of the city were grouped close together, so they could easily jump across the rooftops for a while. Reaching down to give her charge a hand up, she said "Come on, we need to make it to the wall!"

[Esailia]

Esailia didn't wait for the hand up, leaping up after Luna with ease. The huntress pulled another arrow once her footing was stable, notching it before glancing about as well "I hunted in the forests of my home, yes." She replied, then took another shot at one of the huge lurkers down below, hopefully hitting between its armor. As she lowered her bow, she shot a look back at Luna "To the wall it is." She agreed.

She took off at a jog, speeding up only to fling herself over a street to the other side, landing with a practiced grace. Esailia looked around as she waited for Luna to follow behind, a habit formed out of hunting in a forest where half the beasts are bigger than you.

[ShadowD]

Xavier had been smacked into a wall by the creature, he landed on the ground, blood and bile in his mouth, the only thing that kept him alive was his vampiric agility as he dodge rolls away to a safe distance. He spat the blood onto the ground, his face set in a dark grimace, he sheathed his blade and opened and closed his hands. He hadn't planned on this, a big one, intelligent and deadly, a bad combination when it came to beasts. He dodged again and agian as it either lunged or tried to hit him with his tail. His feral grin coming back to his lips as he steps to the side and get's in close, the creature then tried using it's, what passed for feet, to spike him, two went into his shoulders, drawing more blood, the creature thinking it had it's new prey finally captured lunged down with it's mouth agape, Xavier slammed his gauntleted fist upwards, a powerful upper cut that went up and through the upper jaw of the lurker and into it's skull, he felt his knuckles breaking as he did so, grimacing in pain...and at the amount of bug gore on his cloak he sighed and pulled his hand out, shaking it, his bones were already healing as well as some of the minor wounds, he opened his tear again and blasted another lurker that was going for the vampire priest. He moved again spinning around the creature to stand with his back to the other vampire "Hey, any magic that works against them rather than just us?" He says sending another lightning bolt into the creature, it stumbled and growled at him.