Eastern Kingdoms

As Amber and Tibalt tumbled over and out of the battlefield, Maryland's spike impaled itself unto the abomination, causing it to shriek in pain as soon Gungir was thrown forward into its main head, while Aileana's snake immediately began to suffocate it while binding it in place. As lightning slammed down onto the demon from Gungir, the sounds of the creature screaming was beginning to be muffled out by the sounds of flesh and bone being molded together into a snack for the large serpent.

Taking Tibalt's sword and igniting it in her flames, Amber hurled it into the pit of the mess that was once the True Demon... igniting it in fire on top of the cluster fuck that was happening to it as well.

"Well... I guess that's that," murmured Amber as she watched Artis and his paladins encase the creatures in holy light. "Does this mean we won the game?" she sighed to no one in particular as she looked at Tibalt, before patting him on the shoulder.

"Come," Trish appeared and lifted Tibalt to his feet, before walking forward. "Let us regroup with the king."

"Everyone!" Gregori let out a rally cry loud and wide, hoping to get anyone's attention, "To the King!"

Allowing everyone time to catch up to him, King Artis turned towards Fredrick, who stood behind him. "So, now that we've slain her pet... I take it Shuria herself will have to answer to her crimes."

"On the contrary, we don't know where Shuria is," spoke the undead knight aloud as he holstered his weapon.

"What?"

"She left moments after the gate was destroyed with the two responsible for its destruction. She said something about meeting with Medan," spoke honestly from the undead soldier's mouth.

"Then it seems we have to visit Medan himself and get some answers," spoke Artis as the entire group made their way to him.

"Excellent work everyone," spoke the boy king with a smile, "not only did we slay the beast and rid Shuria's influence from these lands, we also saved both the Sepulchrum and Stormguard as well."

45 experience has been granted to everyone who participated in the battle

Erix'aad

"Oh, I think not little one," spoke the maskless man as she snatched the whistle from Shannon. "They don't call me 'Face' of the Assassin's guild for nothing." However, Shannon was still able to alert a couple of guards who came bolting down the hallway.

Before they could say anything, knives were thrown their way and into their throats, causing the two guards to collapse unto their own weight.

"I see, I see... So this is the little Guardian I've heard about since entering Erix'aad," the man twisted a pair of knives in his hand, smiling underneath his mask as he laughed to himself. "They just let you go running about in the middle of the night like this?"

"Oh well, I'll be taking you with me," he spoke as he reached to take a hold of Shannon, before whispering in her ear. "Just be grateful I wasn't hired to kill a kid... it always leaves a sour taste in my mouth."

H'on, Lucifer's Estate

Lucifer listened to the Guardians as he brought a hand to his chin, thinking on what to do.

"I see... So you all seek the World Lotus... just as we do," spoke the demon king as he patted his daughter over her head. "I already have my daughter returned to me, so I don't require a wish, in fact, I seek to destroy the World Lotus so that someone doesn't destroy this mortal realm by using it. My love for the mortals, it is what keeps me fighting for it I suppose," admitted Lucifer as he turned towards the Guardians.

"The Angels fight to protect it, seeing it as a blessing given to us by a greater being... but truth be told only Michael, myself, and Setri, the first Guardian, have laid our eyes upon it. It is why those loyal to me defected when I did, I saw it as something that had to be destroyed rather than preserved."

"Is it really beautiful, father?" spoke Shuria suddenly as she looked up at her dad.

"Yes, but not as beautiful as you, my dear," he chuckled as he patted her over the head once more.

"Though, know this, you will have the support of all of H'on behind you for as long as you wish!" stated Lucifer as he stretched out his wings and as a force emitted from him. It was as he was forming a contract with the guardians themselves, and binding all of demon-kind to follow.

"And you'll have me by your side as well!" spoke Shuria again as she quickly ran to Julian's side, wrapping her arm around his again like before.

Letting out a sigh, the demon king returned to his throne. "I suggest you all rest from your weary travels. Please, make my home your own for tonight."

It would seem that Lucifer has given you free reign for the night. Either to grab some food or drinks, converse with the demon king or the other demons, or to just retire for the night to your rooms...

Tortoran Inn

"Oh we don't have time for thisss!" roared the serpent as he slid past Yuval and scooped the pup into its hand, before sliding across the table and returning to his previous posture... despite the mess he made by doing so. "You're going to be a wonderful ssspecimen for the Queen!"

"How rude!" exclaimed Luka as she stood up, only to have a trident thrust before her face. However, she refused to back down, "You can't just take the pupper and think we're not going to do anything!"

"Sssit down, missssy," stated another serpent before practically striking the Kitsune with the back of its hand.

"You too, popsss," growled another Naga towards Skuld, this one much bulkier and longer than the others. Clearly this one was the muscle of the group. "You got a problem?" he hissed as Yuval, clearly not paying attention to any of latter's threats or reasoning.

The wicker pup just whined and bit at the Naga's hand, clearly wanting to be freed and returned to its master. Poor thing...

Farahelm

Elsewhere, Choeun was busy hacking away at the harpies and their almost limitless flock.

"Squ~awk! Retreat back to the nest!" cawed the harpies as a good chunk of their sisters laid dead and defeated.

It would seem that Choeun's endless endurance was proving to be quite the success... Might it be time to follow through and follow them back to their nest?

The Guardian Gate

“'Twas barely anything, Your Majesty,” Aileana airily said in what was presumably supposed to be a mimicry of modesty as she snuck up behind her now-reunited little group and scooped them up into a big hug. The abnormal lengthening of her arms certainly helped in securing all of them in the embrace—and her neck followed suit as it craned towards the boy king and pecked him once more. On the lips.

“And a terrific use of teamwork. Maryland. Specifically Maryland,” she added with an all-too-happy smile, the edge in her voice not even being attempted to be disguised by her. “Amber too, I suppose. She set my snakes on fire. That helped. Plus she makes a hell of a s'more.”

She realised now her neck was still stretched and hovering intimately close to the king's face, and snapped it back with a crack of gristle. And released the group in her grasp as an afterthought. They probably needed to breath.

“But for those who did #$&%-all, good effort. I'll write ye all down on my list. Along with the note to get a list to write notes down on,” she said brightly, before remembering the presence of Bertie by his looming shadow over them and shooting the thing a glare. It actually seemed to swallow fearfully, amusingly enough—before abruptly diving back down into the earth and spraying them all in a shower of dust and rubble.

“Who's up for a drink, aye? Can snake-people drink? I cannae recall. That cider were a treat, I mean. But I think we be deserving something stronger, aye? Kids can join in and kill their livers too. And themselves. By extension,” she offered in a tone uncertain as to be joking or not, reforming the prominent dent in her skull as she spoke—a little hiccup in the form of a stray rock from the massive snake's exit having gone and caved it in. Clumsy beast. Needed housetraining, clearly.

Edited by Enirboreh on Nov 6th 2018 at 10:54:36 AM

Eastern Kingdoms

With a couple sharp gestures Maryland whipped her hands around to sink her barricades back into the ground, then held her hand out and transmuted what remains Aileana's snake hadn't eaten into a bed of flowers. No telling what the parts would do if they were left alone, and she didn't feel comfortable experimenting with crafting bits of it.

"I wouldn't say that we saved Sepulchrum." Maryland commented. "And look, I'm down to celebrate, but don't you think we gotta figure out a plan on this moving forward?" She jerked her head over to Dante. "Ghost Rider there's got me convinced there's some fuckshit going on you can't just apologize away with Sepulchrum. We drink tonight and then I'm saying we nurse our hangovers tomorrow talking about how we're going to fix this."

Shannon yelped and struggled as she was grabbed roughly. Squirming fruitlessly, she beat her fists uselessly against the masked assassin.

No! she screamed mentally. I don't want this! I have to fight! I have to fight!

Alteration: F —> D (Cost: 30 EXP)

Suddenly, Shannon's body was enveloped in a purplish light, forming into a ghostly silhouette of a man in a longcoat wearing a fedora. A bandolier of knives was slung across his chest, and the man's face was inscrutable behind his masquerade mask.

As quickly as the aura appeared, it dissipated to show Shannon clad in the same clothes and bearing the same equipment as the strange man. Looking down, she exclaimed, "Adrian...!?"

There was no time to dwell on what just happened, as Shannon knew exactly what to do now. She started jamming her elbow into the masked assassin's chest with as much force as she could muster, while trying to stamp on his toes. Shannon moved quickly and efficiently, as if she was possessed—and she was, in a way. By taking on the role of one of her characters, she had gained a small share of their skills and abilities.

Applegem, Eastern Kingdoms - Nadia al-Amin

With a roar, a screech, and the trembling of the earth, Nadia turned her head to see the demon fall. Part of her was grateful as it meant the battle was over at last, but it also meant the undead used to make it would not get the second chance they deserved. But, it was something that was out of her hands and the very least many of the undead would live to see another day, once again with flesh and blood. Nadia still planned to make use of the food stock and kitchens in Castle Stormguard but for the moment it made more sense to rendezvous with everyone for now so she made her way back to

The Guardian Gate,

where both undead and living were winding down from the battle. Nadia had missed some of the conversation, but she did hear mention that the undead knights had no clue where Shuria was. "U-Um. I don't know where Shuria is either, but I can easily find her, I believe," Nadia interjected, speaking up somewhat nervously; the amateur cook was abashed at not participating in taking down the demon but rather fleeing the scene (with some civilians yes, but she knew she was trying to stay out of danger as well), and the weird Irish snake lady's words caused her to wince. "Sorry... I'm not really much of a combatant. I just did what I could."

The Guardian Gate

Aileana merely waved the girl off. Or girls. That is, both of those that were addressing her. She liked to talk after all. Two at a time was rarely a difficulty.

“Maryland, that is an excellent idea and we should definitely do that. Get wasted, have a good time, all join in on the party before wallowing in despair and drunkenness! And by party I mean– Giordana Ramsey ye need not fret, dear,” she abruptly interrupted herself, snapping her neck around to face the amateur cook with yet another audible and unsettling crunch. “But practically ye did nothing. In taking down the beast itself, that is. Support-wise... well ye encouraged evacuation. In that manner, ye did fine enough. I suppose.”

That was presumably the closest thing to a compliment one would get from the serpent woman in regards to the situation. Especially considering her eyes were twinkling with mischievous laughter. The rather rough ruffling she gave to Nadia's hair wasn't exactly a subtle indicator of her 'teasing' either.

“Dear king, keep the thing. That way I'll be with ye always. Etcetera etcetera. Enjoy my indirect company,” she hummed under her breath as an afterthought, gesturing to the snake still entwined around Altis' neck without so much as sending him a glance. Instead she had taken to summoning her sword and cleaning it of whatever juices had stained it. And juices was an accurate word to her, it seemed—as she did so by licking the blade like it were some frozen treat.

Edited by Enirboreh on Nov 6th 2018 at 1:38:52 PM

The Guardian Gate

Well, now Tibalt was down a sword. After checking that he escaped without injury he looked back at the mount of light and flowers that was the demon's remains...

"And the light shineth upon the..."

He stopped himself, he was getting too flowery for someone who's only accomplishment was tooting a warhorn a couple of times for morale and being the guy holding the sword the real heroes used...

"I... I need a moment. Also a drink I guess..."

The Guardian Gate - Nadia al-Amin

Nadia woke up in an unknown swamp, unknown to how she got there, with three strangers all lying asleep next to a pile of bones. She met with a village of undead who quite openly were contemplating having her as their afternoon snack. She saw a demon spawn composed of the bodies of the dead, shrieking and maddened and horrific a sight.

But nope, none of that compared to the snake woman, especially after she turned her head all the way around like a goddamn owl. Yikes. Though the ruffling of the hair at least indicated she was a nice (relative term, maybe) snake woman, at the very least. "N-Nadia. My name's Nadia, thank you very much!" Letting her mood lighten with the discussion of festivities, she stuck her tongue out at the teasing serpent lady and pouting like a child. "And I helped cure some of the undead and triggered a truce between Sepulchrum and... uh... this kingdom!"

She forgot if she had picked up the name of the nation on the other side of the wall. Well, she could look it up later. "Ah, that reminds me..."

Nadia swished her hand needlessly dramatically as rows of tables and benches appeared from nowhere, complete with plates, utensils, and the dishes left over from the Marrow's Graw feast.

"Sepulchrumites! Dinner! Undead take priority so they can break the curse! I can't guarantee there'll be enough for everyone but I'll prepare a follow-up feast at that king's castle over there!" Nadia pointed at the boy king, then at Castle Stormguard, then back at her meal. "Dig in!"

Tortoran Inn

It looked like Yuval was taking the procrastinator's route of trying to kick the problem down the road to a more convenient time. Simon could appreciate that, as it would keep him out of this. Unfortunately, the nagas proved Skuld's assessment completely accurate by acting the part of complete scum.

"Specimen? It's a dog!" the teen said, exasperation evident in his tone. "A weird dog that somehow gave some jewels and coins to us, but a dog! Give me a break!" And to follow it up, they proceeded to strike Luka for simply verbally expressing her feelings on the situation and threatened Skuld!

They thought they could waltz around here doing what they wanted just because they had numbers? Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Simon's shadow crushed the cup of water in its hand. He didn't know much about being a guardian, but if they weren't able to help someone that had shown nothing but hospitality than they couldn't be that good at guarding anything. "Stop," he uttered clearly for the whole room to hear, unintentionally using illusion magic to lace his voice with a measure of intimidation. No point in trying to negotiate with people who had already made up their minds. "You made me do this."

The shadow lurched towards the closest naga, moving so fluidly that it would be more accurate to describe its motion as flowing rather than walking. Without any fanfare or delay, the shade would simply try to punch it in the face. And then punch it again. Maybe even a third punch for good measure, if possible. The interesting thing was that, if any of the attempted blows connected, a silver glow would be left behind on the point of impact. Also interesting was that if that spot was hit again, it would hurt a lot more. The glow would quickly fade after a few seconds, but it wouldn't be an impossibly small window to take advantage of with another punch.

While his summoned shade was attempting to apply fist to face in quick succession, Simon moved to put more distance between himself and all the serpents.

Erix'aad

Quite surprising, running into a hit on a convicted man. Lynn was fine to hide and wait for something more conclusive to happen - though Shannon breaking her cover did give her enough information, in a way. Then, the masked figure made his move on Shannon, but it didn't seem like he knew there were the two of them.

She considered shooting the masked man, but with him engaged in melee with Shannon, Lynn would not have a clear shot and did not want to risk injuring her. Then a familiar and utterly unpleasant smell found its way back to her attention. She still had the bucket of whatever-it-was from the bedroom. No better time to use it, then. She bolted out of cover, careful to not spill too much, and turned the bucket over when she was close enough, aiming to dump the bucket and its questionable contents over the assailant's head.

Stormguard Castle

“Well I stabbed one of them giant things in the eye. It shrieked like a girl, I have ye know. I think. Might've been me in my excitement actually. Didn't do much anyway. The horde of ravenous snakes did, though. Tore 'em usunder. The fact they were on fire at the time didn't– I mean helped. Yes,” the serpentine woman responded in what sounded like an almost flustered stammer.

Though inwardly, Aileana simply grinned to herself. The girl seemed to be getting it a lot more than the others did. While it was entertaining to see how unflinchingly serious they were, she couldn't lie in saying that it hadn't been getting dull. Amber was remarkably accepting, but that was about it. She just took strange things in stride. Altis would most likely barely notice the strange thing.

But this one here. She was clearly unsettled by her. Yet she still had room to accept her teasing and play along despite her fear. Fascinating. Perhaps further testing would be required...

“Oooh, lass—ye've outdone yerself,” she cooed upon sight of the mini-banquet, drawing out of her inner musings and calmly slipping her now spotless sword back into her robes to let it vanish away. “Could have saved more for us. Greediguts. But no bother. Ye only have all them and an eternal self-consuming anomaly to feed,” she waved off dismissively, beginning to slither up to the table only to stop near Nadia.

The snake-woman seemed completely frozen for a good second or two, before her body began to quiver with violent retches; causing her to buckle over and stumble back a step or two as her jaw unhinged and a snake splatted out onto the ground. A small thing, by the looks of it. Trembling with fear. Not really surprising. You don't exactly walk off being sicked up by something.

“Here ye go. Wee gift. One time. Unless I give ye another one. Ye'll have to be a good girl for that though...” she said with a shut-eyed smile, ruffling the cook's hair for the umpteenth time as she plucked the traumatized reptile off of the floor by its tail and held it up to her. “Preprepared, or raw? Preprepared, or raw? Preprepared... or raw...?” she mused, weighing her options with her hands before shrugging nonchalantly and biting down upon the snake's neck; causing it to stiffen. “Pwepapawed ih ss.”

Without any further warning, she snapped her head to the side into an unnatural angle—snapping the snake's vertebrae clean in the process and instantly killing the thing. Tutting to herself, she unhooked its limp form from her teeth and lazily draped it over Nadia's head—giggling as it landed so that its glassy eyes were staring upside-down into hers.

“Heard snakes were a delicacy, lass! See what ye can do with it! Mind the venom, though!” she called out to her as she continued towards the table, giggling uncontrollably even as she finally sat down.

Tortoran Inn

Yuval was surprised, not expecting the Naga to manage slip by him so quickly, he wasn't really used to fantasy creatures much less snake-people, glaring at them he cracked his knuckles, slowly inhaled and then exhaled and tapped Simon on the shoulder.

"I don't like a teenager fighting for me. Just let me handle this one, they're thugs, I think I can deal with them quick."

Suddenly the giant took a dash straight towards the Naga, for someone his size he was faster and more agile than one would expect, despite his non-fighting apparel he competently aimed a high kick directly towards his head to make him flinch and drop his hostage. All the while keeping a pretty calm face, at the very least his discipline shone through.

Edited by LiorVal on Nov 7th 2018 at 9:43:49 PM

Tortoran Inn

The nagas had been cool at first, even when they'd asked for the wicker pup. John couldn't really say that he wasn't impressed by how damn tall they were, or the fact that they were like... giant snake people. And that was really, 'really' cool, even if they were dicks. Surely they could talk this out peacefully, though-?

And then one of them kit Luka in the face, and Simon started doing something, and everything went to hell.

"Don't you dare!" John snapped, and stood up as a shadow pummeled a few of the nagas. He grabbed Luka, and golden light swirled around John- and in a flash, the kitsune was suddenly free of bruises, scars, and full of energy!

The human had thought that would be the end of it, but it very much was not. He was pissed, and apparently he was magical.

So he did the only thing that seemed logical, and pointed at them like he was picking someone out of a lineup-

-and a bolt of concentrated golden-white fire burst from his finger, flying towards the naga that was messing with Shulk. No one was going to fuck with his friends.

If the bolt actually hit the serpent, it would char and burn- and then explode in burst of holy flame, which seemed to curve to avoid Shulk. And if it didn't hit him, it would sail right past- and ''then' explode.

Tortoran Inn

Tyger, Burning Bright

Nagas. A denominator for a race, often found in the fantasy genre, comprised of people who exhibited characteristics both of 'humans' and of 'snakes'. Known for speaking with a prolonged 's' sound reminescent of a snake's cry, and for scaly skins. Such were the creatures that had entered the room, rather rudely at that. A group of them, seemingly interested in the 'dog' that had been by them during the meal, so much so they had apparently opted to take the pup by force when asking had failed them.

Intruders to the peacefulness of the previous situation, which if a bit awkward was not dangerous- they had resorted to action far more willingly than to reason. Even when one of them had tried to stand up to them that attempt had been shot down. And yet that same attempt would prove to be the catalyst to a full-on offensive on the snake-people. Each of his fellow "humans"- or "Guardians", as it seemed was the name given to them- had manifested their own power to strike back at the ones who had come to intrude such privacy. Shadow, fire, illusion and magecraft- all arts employed to drive back the Nagas.

-Eliah sighed. That was just his luck, wasn't it? He just wanted to live quietly and peacefully. But again a role that wasn't his had been thrust on him, and he was being forced to dance a dance he wanted no part in. But, at least, if it was any consolation.

This time, he was one of the 'heroes'. Besides, he wasn't powerless. The others had all developed powers, so logically, he too had had to have his, in the same way. But, how to invoke them? —Just do what comes natural. He breathed in, and let his instincts guide him. His arm stretched towards the Nagas, his hand open and pointed at them, as if he was an actor giving a speech to the audience- his mouth moved and words were said.

"Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright...!"

A poem, one of Blake's songs of experience, and perhaps his most famous one- the Tyger, dark and powerful counterpart to the innocent and meek lamb. Why that, of all things? Why did it come to mind? He didn't know. But what happened next was a clear manifestation of "power"- a magic fueled by his energy and given form through his words. A shape appeared, solid yet frail all the same, a tiger whose proud hyde was ablaze, eyes like dark voids and fangs as sharp as knives, roaring and rushing at the nearest Naga at a decent, tiger-like speed. The magic of "invocation", exerted at its most basic.

-Indeed, while that illusionary beast would be able to strike, it would vanish shortly afterwards. It was, after all, an illusion that took a shape through mana. A single strike would surely dispel it. Even its striking force would simply be that of a normal beast's bite.

If so, then- the hope was that it could strike before being hit, and leave enough of a mark.

The Gate.

...

Mason was currently on the numb aspect of the whole "slaying a demon and surviving" thing, barely able to hear the King's praise over the ringing in his ears.

He helped take down a horrible, hideous monstrosity. He had a hand in taking something that should not be down.

His heart was racing, and it dawned on him how serious the situation was. and what was worse...

The fact he LOVED how it all felt!

He couldn't help but salute and try to hide the incredibly dumb grin on his face.

"Glad to be of service your Majesty it was..." He paused, taking a deep breath. "A rush."

Guardian Gate

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Terry cried out as he raised his axe to swat the cake away, which the axe did not take kindly.

Watch thyself, knave! Stop!

Terry managed to successfully swat the cake away, although some pieces of cake and frosting still splashed on his face, with most of it ending up on the axe. The horse was a different story however. Spooked by the suddenly foodstuffs on its face, the horse bucked once again, throwing Terry onto the ground as it ran off into the distance.

"Oof!" Terry grunted as he landed on the ground with a thud. As he stood up, he suddenly turned to Kirsti with a cross look on his face. "Hey cake-girl! What's your problem?!" He yelled, barely even noticing that the demon was no longer on the horizon.

The Guardian Gate - Nadia al-Amin

Yikes. Snake girl here really wants to maximize her creepy-friendly vibe, didn't she? Nadia thought to herself as she shivered slightly at the snake plopped on her head.

"If this is what you consider pre-prep, I'm glad I've never had you in my kitchen," Nadia murmured before taking the snake off her head... her hands abruptly covered in thick gloves as she did so. Tossing the poor snake onto a sudden cutting board, the gloves disappeared and were replaced by a towel which Nadia used to quickly wipe her hair down before tossing it back into the ether.

In several quick, faster than the eye motions, Nadia chopped off its head, skinned it, liberated it of its organs, and placed all these in an empty bowl with the meat scrubbed of remaining viscera and Nadia's gloves apparently back on. "There, now it's pre-prepped!"

The snake was then swiftly deboned, glazed with sweet barbecue sauce and seasonings, grilled on a, well, grill to a perfect light char (a bit of magic helped speed up the process), then chopped and served up in a bowl that was then slid over to Aileana along with a set of chopsticks. "There - a delicacy for a delicate lady~"

The Guardian Gate

“Ooh~!” Aileana cooed, peering down at the dish intently before giving the amateur cook a polite round of applause. “Well if ye're no slacker in the kitchen then that makes the whole 'barely helped in combat thing' moot. Clearly. I mean, everyone's good at something!” she said cheerfully, her words spoken once again in a tone balancing expertly between patronizing and genuine. And expert was the right term—this consistency clearly indicated that it was practiced as opposed to unintentional. “Nice touch with the chopsticks. Scots were famous for using them.”

Without another word, she craned her neck down and reared it back—almost as if repulsed by it for a moment—before abruptly snapping open her jaw beyond any physical boundaries and lunging for the dish. Bowl and all; she swallowed it. Stray saliva dribbled from her mouth and sizzled into the surface of the table like acid. She didn't even chew.

“Aye—goes down easier,” she admitted, 'politely' wiping her mouth clear of her own venom using her baggy sleeve and ignoring its minor corrosion in the process. The robes were a little tatty nonetheless. The odd hole or two wouldn't ruin its current look. “Still prefer 'em live, though. Don't know how to explain it, honestly. It's like dead things don't do anything for me. Had a s'more and it just clogged me up. And the corpse-y smell's nice,” she gestured both to the banquet and the battlefield behind them, “but it doesn't do much to raise my appetite.”

This rather unsettling observation now realised, she settled back into her seat and glanced over the others at the table—before leaning forward again as a sudden thought occurred to her.

“That is to say, I don't hunger for any of ye. Yet. Only the mites and the critters. Rodents and pests, aye? Maybe the odd dog or two. But a steady diet should maybe keep me in check. Literal gut feeling here,” she stated in what might have been supposed to be a reassuring tone, but the licking of her lips rendered it ineffectual at quelling any concerns they might've had. If she wasn't exaggerating and she was indeed starting to hunger for the living, then the intense stare she had been constantly giving them all this time suddenly became not unnerving but absolutely terror-inducing.

Edited by Enirboreh on Nov 8th 2018 at 10:54:18 AM

Guardian Gate

"Jesus!" Maryland stepped back and cringed at Aileana showing off with the snake. That was more incentive to get drinking, but it wasn't going to get her drinks any time sooner. And it was cool to meet the person who'd done all that stuff to fix the undead, but she had her own shit to do and honestly, like, cool that that was happening but it wasn't like she wanted to ask any burning questions of her. She jerked her head up and waved in the universal sign of good job, then headed off to try to find the rest of the people she came in with. Today had been fucking wild and she needed what little familiarity she could find. What she found quickest was Tibalt, so she could do worse, certainly.

She stepped around to make sure she didn't sneak up on the guy, waved, and approached calmly. Guy looked only marginally more nervous than when they first met, but she supposed that was an improvement then.

"Hey Tibalt." She called out as she got closer and waved. "Wild day huh? What've you been up to?"

Guardian Gate

Tibalt glanced up and tried to give Maryland a smile as he tried to calm himself with a small dancing light.

"Nothing much, sat on a horse and blew a warhorn a few times..."

He gave a slight gesture at the leather pouch on his belt.

"I don't know how to fight anyways..."

Guardian Gate

Unsurprisingly, Kirsti’s way of force feeding stranger and their horse with food only she knows that has some supernatural boost had not worked but that don’t stop her from feeling a bit mad.

“You silly bi-” she yelled frantically but stopped herself from saying the whole word since that is not a good way to meet someone new. “BINCH! You were supposed to open your mouth and take the food in! It gives you powers! Like avocado but on steroids!”

Yeah, that’ll explain everything.

From Guardian Gate to Storm Guard

"Well, you did help by finding a flammable sword," said Amber to Tibalt as she patted him on the shoulder. "Come, let's go see to the others," she said as she led both Maryland and Tibalt to the rest of the group.

As most of the men made their way back from the Guardian Gate, some decided to stay put and keep guard over the gate. Others were stationed at Applegem just in case stray feral undead were still out and about.

The king, however, decided to lead a small parade back into Stormguard, with all the Guardians in tow. People cheered and exclaimed in their victory, a warm and wholesome feeling washing over the city as they marched all the way to the castle. As the cheers died down and the boy-king lead them all to the dining room, maids and servants appeared, laying out a feast before their very eyes, and taking note of what they would like as well for breakfast in the morning. In the meantime, they were served all kinds of meats, vegetables, and drinks that the term 'banquet' wouldn't cut it.

"Everyone, good job... Tonight we celebrate the coming union and truce between the Eastern Kingdoms and the Sepulchrum; tomorrow we hunt for Shuria," says king Artis as he takes a seat on the gilded chair at the head of the round table.

"And what of the mess she left for us in the Sepulchrum?" asked Dante.

"I will see to it personally that we fix what is happening in the Sepulchrum," says Artis as he bows his head to the undead knight. "The Guardians will hunt down Shuria in the meantime."

As the king talked with the other knights, Amber looked over at Tibalt, before producing a sword from thin air. "Here, um, sorry for borrowing your sword... I thought you might want another one," she said as she handed Tibalt the blade.

It would seem that now was the time to return to bed and rest, stay and eat and converse with one another, or ask the King and the knights any questions that may be had.

Tortoran Inn

"Ouch! Will...you...ssstop... that!" hissed the snake that was getting pummeled by Simon's shadow. Recoiling, the serpent hissed and let out a groan as it slid out of the inn immediately, with the flaming tiger summoned by Eliah chasing after it. Looking at his brethren, the larger snake took a fire blast to the face, charring its skin as it tumbled over in a heap of pain. Immediately, the brute left the Inn and decided to retreat as well, clutching its searing face in pain.

However, the final snake just snickered at the pup... before frowning as a kick by Yuval slammed against his face. Dropping the pupper, the snake slammed through the wall and onto the floor, before slithering away as well. "We'll be back...!" hissed the leader as it picked itself up and slithered away.

The wicker pup promptly walked over and began licking Yuval's foot in appreciation, before producing another pair of Platinum coins; one for Eliah and one for John. Letting out a 'rawr', the Wicker Pup hopped onto the table and decided to bark at Yuval, wanting to be picked up and petted by the man it thought to be its new protector.

"Hmph... Why I outta..." murmured Luka as she pouted. "Ah, thank you!" she thanked John as she sat up, clearly grateful for being taken care of.

"Thank you indeed!" spoke Skuld as he lowered his staff and began cleaning up. "Nasty Naga, thinking they own everything... Good to see good folks putting them in their place!"

"So much excitement going to put this turtle in the afterlife... Why don't you all go to bed and enjoy the rest of your night," spoke the tortoise as he finished mopping up.

"I'll be staying in their room!" said Luka as she pointed at Simon, Eliah, and John. The pupped just barked, before looking back up at Yuval.

The day was turning to night so soon... Perhaps it was best to go to bed now and save adventuring for later?

Erix'aad

"Gah! W-What is this... Is this-?" grumbled the mask wearing man as he let go of Shannon from her menial assault, and tried to wipe himself off of the mystery fluids. Vomiting himself, the masked man just stood up next to a wall, before vanishing as more people came.

"What's going on here?" spoke Hogger as he appeared himself. Looking at the two corpses, the two Guardians, and then at Gum-Gum, Hogger frowned a bit before sighing. "It seems that we'll have to buff up the security here..."

"Thank you, Guardians, for ensuring that our dungeon guest doesn't escape. Please, return to bed," said Hogger as more guards came into the room.

It seems that this time, it was time to go to bed for real...

Lucifer's Estate

"Come now! Let's enjoy ourselves a bit!" said Shuria as she dragged Julian towards the dining room to eat. "You guys, too!" she says towards Dimitri and Skylar as she waves at them.

Time to eat then, it seems...

At the dining hall laid exotic food, ranging from dragonfruit to even beasts like ostrich, wolf, and other fine meats. There were even tons of other demons in suits, ready to hand out drinks at a moment's notice.

Guardian Gate

"I mean, me neither dude!" Maryland said, throwing her arms at her side as she and Tibalt traveled to the castle. She was getting tired of this sadsack shit but on the other hand she'd absolutely been there before. You didn't get through 4 years of college without a good dose of imposter syndrome. Actually, that was a good angle for her! Maryland frowned and softened her voice a little. "Do you feel like a faker? Maybe a fraud?"

Edited by Taco on Nov 8th 2018 at 8:19:46 AM

Lucifer's Estate

Dimitri nodded and followed Shuria.

"Right, let's get something to eat."

He didn't really feel thirsty or hungry anymore, but he wasn't going to turn down free food. Besides, he'd been feeling... a little tense lately. About the Guardian thing, about a possible war between the dead and the living, and about himself. The other Guardians, while possibly a bit quirky in their own right, probably weren't mentally ill. If they found out about his cravings, at best they'd think he's a freak. At worst, probably a serial killer.

...

Well, that was a fun train of thought.

Dimitri tries some of the wolf meat, just because he can.

I Do Not Love Lucy (Nor Do I Hate Him... Yet) - Julian @ Lucifer's Estate

Destroy it...? Julian thought to himself as Shuria guided him towards the banquet. The power of a wish would be terrifyingly powerful in the wrong hands...

Julian grumbled to himself and shook his head. What was he doing?! This place was sinister; it was so easy to slip up and forget that all this was some strange fantasy land and consider the people here... people.

Not to mention, even if this were 'real', he was now dining with monsters. Strange and disturbing creatures surrounded him yet Julian felt no fear. No... Julian peered around the banquet hall. He despised leaving work unfinished and, if this truly was the land of demons, there was a misbehaving vacuum that needed to be properly disposed of.