LoD Chapter 1- The Legend of the Salvaged Hope

[Bosolai]

The smell of the salty ocean breeze filled the port district of Goraz. Two figures stood near the docks, both about the same height and wearing the same attire. The one with a blue jacket was wearing black pants, black shoes, and had brown hair. He pointed up to the sky out in the horizon. "Ian, look. Another star is fading from the sky."

Ian, the blonde one with the black jacket, pants, and boots, looked up and responded, "Thats the eighth one this week, Ayden. Its not an uncommon sight."

"It always makes me wonder what could be doing this on such a massive scale, and right under the nose of the Dragon's Blood. We're supposed to be the underground organization of underground organizations. If something's going on, we're supposed to know about it!" Ayden said, holding his hand against his forhead to mask his confused look.

Ian turned to look at the fountain. It was a marvelous piece of work. Not only was it plucked from an artists imagination, but the towering colossus took in the ocean water and pumped out clean freshwater. There were several levels to it, each with a different scene from some legend or other. And the way the water fell, it made it look like the wounded figures were bleeding, the sad figures were crying, and the happy figures were even dancing. Even without a double-take, anyone could see that the Art Renovations Committee was worth funding. Ian then looked around at the street level, and saw some figures coming in the horizon. "Our warriors are arriving."

Ayden turned to look at each as they approached, but didn't introduce himself right away.

[Astral Harmony]

Renetta was happy, but didn't smile. She was very excited, but she carried herself boldly, managing to not skip while she moved. It was unprofessional, and they would probably decide to not take her along if she acted as youthful as she looked. She definitely dressed maturely, having polished and inspected her weapons and armor beforehand to insure that she would look like a lady, and not some girl who just happened to be quite vicious when it came to killing stuff. The weapon revealed that well enough. Richard, her father had bought it for her when she broke her first one during the initiation exam at the mercenary guild, and Renetta had maintained it well ever since. She had gone to bed early and rose earlier, leaving while her father still slept with only so much as a kiss on the forehead and a whispered "It's time."

It was time, wasn't it? Time to no longer accept lies, regardless of their source. Renetta was an adult now, and had been one for quite some time. She was ready for the truth, no matter how bad it would be. Mother. Big brother. And this darkness thing addressed in the letter. Renetta was sure to find more truths than she would ever need as she got closer.

[Raiden]

Samoht walked down the street. He took his time; he was in no rush. In fact, the slowness of his walk was a habit that was still instilled in him. His hood was up, and in the dark depths of the cloth, his crimson red eyes were scanning the area, searching for any ambushes or snipers. Though he gave up his life as an assassin ages ago, some habits die hard. He wrapped the cloak tighter around his body.

He saw the two figures standing ahead of him. He assumed that they were the ones who sent him the letter. He lightly patted the longsword hanging from his left hip as his right hand crackled with electricity.

For their sakes, they better not be wasting his time.

[TheBlindMime]

A sole shadow began moving fron the street towards the dock, his movements slow and shaky, like that of a wandering drunk. Easing himself down the path the figure seemed to be carrying a heavy load on his back. As the figure moved down the path he began to drift to the right, the movement seemed almost uncontrollable. His stumble quickened his pace as began to fall onto the fountain.

He landed with a sullen groan, gripping its rim after his fall he leaned his head in slowly the sound of lapping quickly followed. His head continued lowering downward until his face was submerged, even in the pale moonlight the dirt could be seen floating off of his face and onto the now disturbed lower ring of water.

His sigh of relief echoed over the dock as he stood up and threw his hood off, "So, this reward, how big is it?" His voice was mocking as he dragged the back of his hand against his lips to dry it.

[lazy man]

Kerith was panting in a dark alleyway. He was close to his destination, but he was sure he was being followed. He even saw some of his owners' agents trying to find him when he was hidden. This wasn't good. If he were found when he was so close...

Shaking that idea off, Kerith took one last sprint toward the two figures he'd seen earlier. There were three more now, but that didn't bother him. The letter mentioned multiple people, so he was sure they were more of the others, but he deeply hoped that this group wasn't a group of the people going after him trying to trick him. However, when he got closer, he saw that it definitely wasn't what he was thinking.

Slowing down with his final sprint, Kerith loosened the grip of all the things he'd grabbed during his escape. His claymore, thankfully, with its holder that he would put on his back, his suit of chainmail, and, oddly enough, a pair of gloves that he'd had for a very long time now that he found very comfortable... and that was it. At the very least, he was ready to fight. Looking up, he saw the need to introduce himself, despite the fact that almost anyone else he introduced himself to died in the ring minutes later. Anyone else would have been disturbed, but he thought of it as a way of life after six years.

"I'm Kerith. If you got me because I can kill, then you definitely have the right guy." The statement itself would be disturbing to the average person, but he was a pit fighter, and that was actually normal among his kind. Securing everything in some way or another onto himself, Kerith ignored the looks that were inevitably headed his way.

[Lioness]

"This noble quest requires no extra compensation," growled Ian to the Wolfkin, insulted by his mocking tone.

"Easy, Ian," Ayden said softly, "We have not asked these people to come for no reason. And you know well that they will be compensated, if that is what they wish."

Ayden turned to face all of the new arrivals at once, and he announced, "Welcome. I am the man who brought you all here, and this is Ian Roberts, one of the members of the Dragon's Blood. I will tell you more when everyone arrives."

Some members of his audience began wondering, "Others? How many are coming? How many more?" ... but they did not worry long.

[Mintaro]

A large lumbering figure approached the group from off down the dock lanes. I small dot of red light signified a large pipe in its mouth. As it got closer the sound of hooves on wood could be clearly heard, and the shadow of a pair of massive horns seen on his head. There was a time where such a visage would be thought to be a daemon approaching. Now it was known as simply another Minotaur. As the large creature emerges from the shadows of boats and warehouses, the moonlight illuminates him better. His black horns glinted slightly, waxed in what could only be assumed as a minotaur fashion. His clothing was sparse, a loin cloth covered his pride, and a large quantity of pouches and bags were about his person. He reached the group quickly, his long bovine strides taken up the ground even at a walking pace.

When he reached the group he sniffed the air and snorted it back out in a sound that was like ripping canvas. Taking another long puff from his pipe he looked to the man he had heard speak as he approached. He spoke around his pipe, "I be Karnok. I do be hopin you can help wit dis problem, and dat I can be helpin you." His accent was thick, he was obviously from one of the plains tribes. The scent from his pipe was quite evident now. It was not a tobacco like most people smoked. Or even the mind numbing herbs that sometimes come from overseas. It smelled more like a spice that you've tasted before, but not one you can quite place.


(OOC: Its not Pot dammit! Its just an herb that his people grow that tastes good, and better when smoked. Its fantasy! *runs away*)

[Toastburner B]

Connor walked down the streets of the unfamiliar city. He had only been here a few days before the note mysteriously appeared.

Then again, the monk thought to himself, People take more notice of a minotaur in monk's robes tha stars fading from the sky. Why should a note be so mysterious?

Still, he had been told where the fountain was by the keeper of the inn he was staying at, and he was reasonably sure he was on the right street. Soon, the sound of the fountain assured him he was on the right track. When he saw the group, he hesitated slightly. Another minotaur. Connor still wasn't really used to being around his own kind, especially considering he knew next to nothing about the culture of his own race, having been raised by the monks of the Altus Montis temple.

Still, it was a minor thing. With a slight shrug, Connor continued forward. The monk was lightly equipped, the only obvious weapon being the quaterstaff he was now using as a walking stick. Connor was smaller than the other minotuar, and was lean and lank for his race...if a minotaur could be lean and lank. His muscles were well toned, but not to the point of being oversized like some minotaurs prefered.

As Connor approached the group, he stopped and bowed. "I am Connor of the Atlus Montis." he said. "If I may ask, which one of you is Leonsbane?"

[ThanosOfTitan321]

Gwyn hovered above the streets of the city. Her movements and her face were much more solemn than her usual chipper faerie self. She arrived where the rest of the group were, looked around at all their faces, and opened her mouth to say something. She closed it again, and decided to just sit down and wait for instructions. She landed on the ground, hoping not to get stepped on by all these large people.

[Bosolai]

Ayden watched as the Fairy landed, then said, "Ok, now that everyone's here, I can get started. I am Ayden Leonsbane, the one who sent for you. I summoned you not only because you can kill things efficiently, but because you all have a reason to stick around, not just the money. As you all know, the world is fading from existance, but we finally have a lead on how to slow the darkness. Maybe even stop it entirely."

Ayden stopped to take a breath, then turned to his side to face the ocean. "Not too long ago, some magical activity was detected a ways off the coast. A diving team went to investigate, and they found a mysterious altar. We brought it back to do some further investigations, and found that it acts as a one-way magic gate with a preset, yet unknown, destination. We sent in a team of scouts, and we know they found three things. One of which was a way out, as only one of the scouts came through, appearing right in front of this very fountain nearly dead and quite insane. Which brings us to the second thing they found. There is something at the other end of that gate, and that is a very terrible and ferocious something. Lastly, the survivor could only say one understandable phrase, and that was more or less ‘He holds the key to bringing everything back’ which is why I sent for each of you."

Ayden faced the group again, then continued. "The group was 5 scouts armed with little more than surveying gear. The fact that even one made it back means whatever is at the other end of that gate surely won’t stand up against 9 fully armed chosen. Help me obtain that key, and you'll each receive 20 gold pieces, as much as you can eat and drink at the Gilded Rose Inn tonight, and, whats probably the most valueble, a favor from the Dragon's Blood." He held up eight pouches, and used telekinesis to give one to each person.

"Now, are there any questions, or shall I take you to where we're keeping this altar?" Ayden asked.

[TheBlindMime]

‘He holds the key to bringing everything back’ As these words rang out the wolfkin's ears perked up. Yes, he thought, This key, if we have it we can put everything back. It will all return to normal, His fist slowly clenched as he his thoughts came to a close. Penance will be paid.

"I think if anyone had questions about this mission they wouldn't have shown up at all. Lets get going, I could use a hot meal." For the first time in 6 years he felt a spark of life within him and he wasn't going to let it get away from him for the sake of clarification.

[Raiden]

Samoht huffed a bit.

"Exactly. The note was suspicious as it is. No one showed up simply to ask who you were. I, for one, am here to do a job, get my payment, and leave."

Samoht lowered his hood, allowing his long black hair to flow out from it's confining space.

[Astral Harmony]

Renetta tapped her steel boots with her Arm-Blade. "We're staying in Goraz one more day? I think I overdressed for the current occasion, then. I don't mind staying here as long as I don't run into my father. He'd never let me do something so dangerous as go into some other realm."

[Bosolai]

"Good, you're all eager to start. Follow me then." Ayden led the party to a nearby, dimly-lit building. Inside were a few guards on watch, but seeing the two Dragon's Blood members caused them to stand aside. When everyone was inside, he told the guards, "Bring out the altar and stand back. You don't want to get sucked in by the gate."

"Of course, sir." Two of the guards went into the back room, and came out lugging a three-foot tall, five-foot long, and two-foot wide piece of uninspired work. There were no carvings or etchings in it. Not a single relief or decoration on the chunk of marble, save a single sapphire in the top. The sapphire itself was rather large, about six inches in diameter.

"If you're feeling weak in the knees, too bad. Here goes nothing." Ayden placed his hand over the gem, which instantly lit up. The rest of the previously unimaginative altar began to glow, revealing runic markings and various lore glimmering along the sides. The floor shook, and out of the gem came a brilliant blue light. All nine within range were blinded, and were in a very different place when they opened their eyes.

They find they are at one end of a suspended path made of some semi-transparent material. Above them is one brilliant, distant light that is illuminating the area. Below the path is an infinite pool of water. At the other end, about 30 feet away, are 6 steps leading up to what one could only imagine as a temple. The ground is a flat disc about 50 feet in diameter with pillars dotting the edge every 2 or so feet, climbing eternally high to the light above. At the center is a hole in the disc, 5 feet wide, and with a 10-foot statue of a man hovering in the middle. He is reaching upwards with his right hand, and from it flows water which is falling to the pool below.

But before anyone could comment, a dark mist descended and began to swirl around the statue. A deep, menacing voice boomed, "So... The chosen have come..." The mist started to collect together in front of the statue, taking the shape of a hunched over figure. Any features were impossible to distinguish due to a black cloak covering everything, even the face. Ayden walked forward, up the steps of the temple. An obsidian sword appeared in the figure's left hand as the voice continued, "And so... The chosen... shall... die." He lunged at Ayden, who sidestepped before being impaled, but changed direction in midair and knocked him to the side. He called down to the rest of the warriors, "Are you going to just let your friend die like this? Come on, make me work for the pleasure of your deaths!"

[Raiden]

Samoht rolled his neck, loud cracks coming from it.

"Finally. Some fun!"

Samoht held both of his arms out, his hands pulsing with electricity. He spun in a small circle, the electricity flowing in the air. In a graceful motion, he combined both of the swirling electric orbs, and made a large sphere of sparkling electricity.

He tossed the large ball at the shadowy figure, knowing that even if he blocked, the moment the ball hit any object it would explode.

[lazy man]

Kerith looked up at the arena he would have to go up to. "Just like the pits..." he thought absentmindedly as he walked up and yanked his claymore off his back. Noticing that the thing he was fighting was mostly, or pure, he didn't know, shadow, he would have to find some way to get some light off of his sword and into the creature. While he was going up the six steps, he enchanted his sword so it would reflect any light that it could get.

With a now mirror-like sheen on his sword, Kerith charged his enemy like he would in a pit fight, reckless, yet obviously with experiece and skill. With a wide and arcing swing, Kerith came in right after Samhot's electric ball.

[Astral Harmony]

"Get to it! I'll catch up!" Renetta said, her left hand glowing with red light. Her eyes closed and her teeth clenched in desperation, she started her chant, augmenting the damage her allies would do in combat with her Killing Aura enchantments.

Killing Aura - Slowly upgrades damage all nearby allies can deal over time. Renetta must keep chanting and cannot take any other action aside from moving at a walking speed, and the spell can be downgraded or interrupted by hitting Renetta. When the ally moves out of range, the Killing Aura slowly loses its effect at the same speed that the aura builds it when inside the field, and the ally must move back in range to reimbue his or her weapon in the aura. At Renetta's current power, the Killing Aura extends in a 15-foot radius all around her.

[Mintaro]

Karnok looks up at the shadowy figure and watches the blind charge. He kneels down slowly seeming to feel like he has all the time he wants. He taps his pipe on the ground, leaving a small pile of burning ember. Karnok then pulls out a dry looking moss from one pouch and adds it to the embers creating a small fire, into the fire he places a red herb. As it burns it gives off a musky scented smoke. Karnok closes his eyes and breaths the smoke deep into his body. His skin turns a slight shade of red and when he opens his eyes they too are red. In fact it even looks like his hair has taken on a slight reddish tint, though it may just be your imagination.

Karnok stands up, the veins all over his body are now standing out and pulsing. He seems bigger somehow, not just in height but in mass, and yet he still looks the same size. The entire effect is disorienting but it quickly fades and his body seems to return to normal. Except for his eyes which remain red. He pulls out a large trident which he had been keeping behind his back. He speaks softly to himself, his voice seeming to almost be doubled. "Now we be bein ready for da fightin." He looks to see what has become of his potential foe.

(OOC: I figure by the time hes done the lightning ball has expoded so rather then just attack I'm going to wait for a GM update.)

[Bosolai]

The cloaked man attempted to deflect the lightning ball with a shadow orb of his own, to little effect. The shadow orb merely altered the course and continued on to Samoht, while the lightning ball exploded, taking out the cloaked man's right arm. It didn't fall or fly anywhere, it just burned away.

He twisted his blade down to defend against Kerith's attack, but with Renetta's boost it merely shattered in front of Kerith's blade. The claymore continued to cut through, and managed to get halfway through the man's lower torso before it suddenly stopped, then was thrown back out. It went in like cutting through a chicken wire fence, but was thrown as if it hit several tons of steel.

The man jumped backwards and cackled. He spun around once, and his form was restored. Only now, he was slightly taller, and wielding a huge shield. He dashed towards the stairs, hoping to charge down anyone still on the path and knock them to the pool way below. When he was done with the charge, he hovered back to being just in front of the statue and changed his weapon back to the sword.

[Mintaro]

Karnok saw as the man returned himself to 'normal' and charged at him. He grabbed Renetta and leaped into the air as the man charged underneath him, landing and rolling with small female in his arms. He stops his roll with one hand and releases Renetta, letting her lay as she lands. He then looks up to see the shadowy assailant land in front of the statue. "It be bein our turn now" Karnok says with the same odd echo. He takes off toward the man at an incredible speed. His legs rocketing him across the ground. As he reaches the stairs he leaps into the air flying up all six steps to land and continue running past Kerith. He moves across the interceding 20 feet and thrusts his trident, putting all his built up momentum behind his thrust. He didn't however aim so as to thrust into the shadowy assailant, but rather attempts to simply pierce through him and then split the statue behind him with one stroke. With any luck he could pin his target down. At the very least, it all looked really cool.

[TheBlindMime]

Scratching his neck absentmindedly as he watched the action he merely snickered. "Will shadows always be Howl's problem, or will fate throw me a curve." His jesting mood seemed to have no bounds this day as he muttered his most recent sentiment. As the shadow charged towards him he made his decision, Howl fled down the path right towards the shadow his cloak rippling in the wind behind him, I'll end this in one move He leapt at the shadow throwing his right hand backwards, it became apparently quite quickly he had misjudged the distance to/and size of his opponent.

Howl's boot caught the shield before his face did, he let out a low groan as the sudden pressure of g's forced him down. Flipping backwards as the charge ended Howl watched the end of the path pass under him. His fingers grew cold as he threw them towards the translucent path, a spike of ice ripped through his cloak and into the path.

As he swung by his neck below the path Howl began to wonder if all jobs the Dragon's blood would be this glamourous.

[Astral Harmony]

All the action had jostled Renetta quite a bit, and she almost completely lost her focus, her Killing Aura losing a little more than half of its current build. Slowly, she came to her feet from the awkward roll, made awkward because she didn't want to cut herself with her own weapon. She began chanting again, stopping the descent of the Killing Aura's effects and starting to build them once more.

[Lioness]

Meanwhile, as Ian watched, he noticed the man turn well, shadowy. He no-longer seemed solid. It unnerved him to no end.

Ian was trying his best to get behind or close to behind the darkly cloaked man. Finally, judging that he was at in a good position, he conjured a light elemental behind his enemy. The elemental began immediately trying to cloak the figure in light, but it only partially worked. The figure turned abruptly and sent a powerful dark shaft straight into the elemental. The injured creature flew backward and tried to regain some strength, but it’s light was fading. The man turned back solid before Ian's eyes - Perhaps, in shadow form, he was vulnerable to light? It would be useful to know.

Ian unsummoned his elemental, realizing it was not powerful enough. Nonetheless, making the dark shaft seemed to have weakened the dark man considerably and Ian had new hope. He looked around to see how the others were faring.

[lazy man]

Kerith stumbled back as the shadow thing spit his sword out of its body unexpectadly. With barely any time to dodge the now charging shadow, Kerith jumped out of the way, landing firmly on his stomach. Quickly pushing himself up, he saw that the others were keeping the thing busy. Now was the time for him to redo the enchantment on his sword. While reflecting light onto it helped cut at first, it wasn't enough to do the job. So now, he would use something else.

This new enchantment was something he'd used to blind his opponents, if it called for that. What it did, simply, was absorb light as long as it was exposed, and then release it all in one flash. It was a cheap trick in a pit fight, but here he could use it to his advantage and release all that light inside of the shadow, not just of the outside of it. With the light elemental the Ian summoned, this only made the process of storing all of the light easier, but when it was unsummoned, Kerith had to wait a little more for more light to come into his sword.

"C'mon, hurry up, damn you," Kerith thought as he waited. He was always one to be impatient in the middle of a fight, but he could hide it easily. Holding his sword out to where there was the most light, He waited for an oppurtunity to show itself before he charged the shadow again.

[Bosolai]

Ayden managed to catch his breath and get back on his feet. This time he wasn't off guard. He leaped at the cloaked figure shortly after Karnok did, hoping to team-attack the fiend. Just before Karnok's trident would've hit, the man became transparent, and the weapon went straight through, no resistance or anything. And so did Ayden. His blades went in clean, but Ayden went right through as well. Karnok's trident hit the floating statue, which deflected the attack as if it hit a large mithril pole.

The cloaked figure moved away, but before he could do any damage, Ian's elemental blasted him out of his shadow form. He hurled a dark blast at the elemental as he fell to the ground, injured.

When he caught himself, he was hovering around much faster. He shifted his sword into a staff, shot three shadow balls, one each at Karnok, Kerith, and Howl.. He went above Ayden, shifted to a shield, and tried to rush down and crush him. Ayden stayed put, and used a blast of telekinesis to throw him out of the temple and to his death. Of course, Ayden forgot about the whole hovering thing, so all it did was buy some time.

Edit: (OOC: Consider the temple environment indestructable for the most part. A stray claymore strike might chip the ground or a pillar, but for the most part everything is pretty solid. The statue itself is indestructable, and is the way out. Touching it with your hand will teleport you in front of the fountain.)

[Mintaro]

OOC:much better

Karnok smiled as his spear tore through his enemy and slammed into the statue. His smile faded when he realized he hadn't done any damage. He flew through the shadowy enemy and struck the statue. A resonating clang rang out from the strike as his Trident deflected. The deflection was so powerfull it shook the trident from his hands, causing it to fly away and slide across the ground, landing near the outside edge of the ring. Karnoks momentum however stayed on course and he crashed into the statue. He managed to wrap his powerful arms around that of the stone man. The water cascaded down over his horned head. Looking back over his shoulder he sees the shadow bolt slamming into the ground dispersing against it, leaving a minute depression.

[lazy man]

"Almost there... Almost there..." Kerith thought as he watched the fight and his sword at the same time. The claymore was now pulsating with a bright white light. The moment it was constantly glowing was when Kerith would start attacking.

Through all this, Kerith barely managed to see the shadow ball flying straight at his head. Kicking his legs out from under himself, he barely managed to dodge it, but landed with a thump on his side. Cursing and then turning to see his sword, Kerith saw it was glowing a brightly, almost like a light bulb. With a smirk, Kerith got up and watched the sadow, waiting for his oppurtunity to get his sword in it and then release the gathered light.

[Toastburner B]

Seeing that the enemy had been forced out of his shadow form, Connor moved in. The minotaur didn't use any of his weapons, just his fist and his hooves.

However, the term "just" hardly did Connor justice. Using the enchantment magic of the Atlus Montis monks, Connor enchanted his fists so that they became rock hard, and increased his own strength.

Connor moved in quickly, hoping his movement would attract the attention of the foe, leaving an opening for those with light skills. Connor leapt, a jumped aimed right at the foe's chest.

[TheBlindMime]

Howl dragged himself up his cloak then using the icecicle for leverage pulled himself onto the translucent path once again. As he pulled at the icecicle to remove it from both the path and his cloak he began to mentally pick out the spot where he would have landed below. That would have been one hell of a dive. Howl thought as he continued to fumble with the icecicle, then he heard it.

His gaze quickly reached the shadow orb that was headed right for him. He couldn't free his cloak fast enough to escape, placing his foot at the top of the icecicle he hurled himself forward as he unclasped his cloak in a burst of speed. Watching as his cloak and icecicle dissolved into the shadows he growled. I liked that cloak. He landed with a thud and a rattle. The shackles on his wrists made a subtle jingle as they hit the ground. He stared angrily at the shadow floating in the distance, You will pay for that. Howl thought as he began moving towards the temple.

[Raiden]

Samoht was quite pleased when his explosive spell had dissolved his opponent's arm. He wasn't as happy when he reformed.

"Damn. He doesn't want to sit still!"

The electricity crackled, his dark cloak billowing around him from the aura that was beginning to form around him. His eyes glowed with a blow sparking shine, and his hands generated bright light.

"This will hold you."

Samoht drew a glyph in the air, and then slapped it with his hand. Bursting from the glyph was a long dragon made entirely of electricity. It wasn't a summon, more along the lines of a symbol. However, the thing did bite, and constrict. It would hold the thing for a while. The electric dragon flew forward, it's jaws opened wide. It would bite the shadow man, then wrap itself around him, holding him in place.

[Astral Harmony]

Renetta spared a moment of concentration to open her eyes and see how the battle was progressing. The moment saved her life as she was about to be blasted by incoming light.
Aww, shit.
Renetta didn't have time to dodge and brought the shield she had to block it, throwing her off her feet and her guard. All the focus she had on the Killing Aura was broken, and it was quickly dying.
Maybe I'd be smarter working on our defenses.
Using the Arm Blade to help her to her feet, Renetta's left hand started to glow with blue light and she changed her chant, working on boosting protection with her Fortifying Aura.

[Bosolai]

The cloaked man saw the Minotaur and electric dragon coming at him, so he pulled another trick out his sleeve. The cloak seemed to fall apart, into three pieces. Three pieces which grew into fully formed figures, of course. One, obviously a fake, threw itself right at the dragon, which wrapped around the doppleganger before both disappeared. The other two split ways. One prepared an attack against Karnok, the other heading to fight Renetta. Connor managed to do a flurry of powerful hits on the one closest to him, and fortunately that was the correct one. The doppleganger about to strike Karnok disappeared, while Connor's target was sent flying backwards and caught by Ayden who had daggers ready. He headlocked the figure, pierced his neck with both daggers, and brought him to his feet. "I'm draining his mana and dazing him. Give him everything you've got!" yelled Ayden.

"Hahahaha..." The man laughed, fading into shadow form. "If this is the best you can do, you should feel lucky I'm killing you. The others would waste no time breaking your bones and making you suffer very painful deaths.

"Claymore man, Fairy, now!" Ayden shouted to Kerith and Gwyn. Both pointed their weapons at the shadowy man, piercing it with light before it could go anywhere. Ian followed by bringing an upward swipe at the solid, smoking figure, ripping it down the center. The cloaked man fell to the floor, and sunk into the ground, dissipating into the shadow of itself. Ayden's Ba'Nian dagger rejuvinated him, and he used his telekinesis to pluck Kornak off the statue and onto safe ground.

Just as he did, the water stopped flowing and out of the hand came a small chunk of white marble with a blue streak in the middle. It floated down to just in front of the statue where it hovered. "Is that... the key?" Ayden asked to no one in general.

Another voice, much calmer than the one before, echoes, “Yes and no. A key, but not the key. This is the key of water, and you need seven more. Gather all eight keys and the light shall shine ever so bright, banishing the darkness.”

Ayden walks up and grabs the key. "So you're telling me that we need to find seven more altars?"

The voice will responds, “No, the altars will reveal themselves, but you will also need to find the light.”

Gwyn speaks up, "And where can we find that?"

The voice responds by making a shrugging sound, then saying “Couldn’t say. Never really knew, myself. But you’ll find it. Oh, and since you’re not in such a rush to leave like my last visitors, just touch the statue with your palm. Be careful now, don’t fall, cause it won’t be pretty. Go along now. Bye bye.” One by one the group put their palms on the statue, and one by one they appeared in front of the fountain where they first met.

Ayden looked at the key of water, then spoke to the group. "It looks like our mission isn't over. However, our work for tonight is. I gave you the twenty gold earlier in the pouches, but you can expect more after each key we obtain. I'll get the diviners of the Dragon's Blood to find where the altars will reveal themselves next, you just go to the Gilded Rose Inn to rest up and get to know each other and all that jazz. For those of you who are fugitives, I assure your safety there. Its run by Dragon's Blood, and as long as you are there, your seekers might as well think of looking in Ba'Nia. Meet me at the Goraz Teleportation Gate tomorrow... er... today at noon, the diviners should have something by then. Good night." Ayden walked off, while Ian led the group to the inn.

(OOC: Chapter is over for the main story. I'll be putting up chapter 2 shortly after I get chapter 3 written up, but you can continue to use this chapter for drinking and tale-swapping at the inn. Sorry, Thanos, for not letting you get in on the action, but I felt I'd rather get onto the story instead of drag on a fight that was meant to be short-winded.)

[lazy man]

"Is it just me, or was that fight too easy?" Kerith asked no one in particular. He felt like he'd faced much stronger in the pits before, even in group fights. For some reason, he was feeling overconfidant at the moment. Whether it was because he'd just won, he'd escaped and attained freedom or both was uncertain because of how he acted, but it was definitely one of those things.

[Lioness]

"I believe that what we saw tonight was only a taste of what is to come. I fear much worse will follow," Ian replied in a quiet voice. "But come, let us drink and celebrate our victory! We should certainly get some rest soon; tomorrow we will likely be fighting again, but I for one would like a nice, relaxing drink." He ordered himself a hard ale and sat at a large, round table, inviting the others to join him.

[Toastburner B]

"At battle one, the foe defeated, and no deaths on our side. Surely something worth celebrating." Connor said, sitting down at the table. Despite his words, he only ordered a mug of water. He reached into his pouch, and, as promised, the gold coins were there. Connor pulled out a few an put them on the table. "Come...it will do us good to relax this night. The first round is on me."

[Astral Harmony]

Renetta picked a place at the wall to lean against, and used this opportunity to catch up with a friend of hers who worked at the inn, a girl named Natalia. Renetta probably would've talked to her anyways, yet it was Natalia that started their dialogue, centered around Renetta being at an inn in the first place.
"You have a house, here in the city," Natalia insisted.
"Naw, ya think?" Renetta giggled. "I'm doing a really serious job now."
"And it goes beyond the city?"
"Yep."
"And your father would never approve, would he?"
"Most certainly not."
"So you didn't bother telling him." It wasn't a question.
"No."
"Did you even wake him up?" Natalia's right eyebrow was cocked when she asked.
"He probably sensed that something was amiss when there wasn't a warm, nourishing meal on the table," Renetta smirked with a roll to her eyes.
Natalia chuckled. "You're going to catch hell when you return home."
Renetta's expression was dangerous. "If my father tries to stop me, it's going to be him that's going to catch hell. It's my time, now. He may have been quite a good warrior back in his day, but I'm the superior swordfighter now."
This pretty much continued on while Natalia didn't have much to do.

[TheBlindMime]

Howl scratched at his beard in thought as the waiter waited for his response." So your saying I can have whatever I want and the Dragons Blood will be picking up the tab?"

The waiter merely stared at him blankly as he replied a simple "Yes."

"Leg of lamb. Lots of them." Howl replied greedily.

The waiter merely scoffed a reply as he marched towards the back. Howl began to start looking around the room, at all the people. Everyone here looks quite strong, why are we necessary for this mission, after all these are merely the people they use as a front. What makes us the chosen, why any of us, why me of all people. Howl seemed lost in thought for a few moments, the sound of a plate ringing down in front of him derailed his train of thought.

Looking at the 2 lamb legs set in front of him Howl hungrily slams his hands down across one and slams his teeth into the tender meat. Jerking his head backwards ripping the meat from its bone he slowly gnawed at it letting the juice flow down his chin. He felt an awkward gaze locked on him his eyes met that of the waiter, who looked shocked at howl's manners. Howl smiled letting some of the meat drop from his jaw to the floor.

"And what will you be drinking tonight sir?" The waiter asked angrily.

"The best most expensive wine you've got." The waiter scoffed once more before making his way back to the kitchen. Howl laughed as he wiped his face with his hands, "No point in wasting good meat, he leaned down grabbed the meat off the floor and threw it back into his mouth before going back to town on his leg of lamb. I think I'll enjoy being a chosen, as long as the food doesn't run out...