RPG To Celebrate Life [PG-VSL]

[Outlaw]

The group continued along the city streets at a brisk pace. That fighting above seemed to be dying down, as many of the victorious dragons began to circle around the large one, seeming to help him with his search. James walked a little ways behind the other four, thinking to himself. He was still trying to gather his thoughts after Nait's 'outburst'. He had never met a girl who was so....forceful with her thoughts. He kind of liked it. He grinned to himself and caught up with the others.

"We're almost to the city center," stated Ashwin, "so we better stay underneith the awnings and such if we are to avoid those dragons." The group took heed to Ashwin's advice and moved to the sides of the streets.

"I hope we find Eso before its to late," said Lynn, looking up to her father for reassurance. As if on cue, Eso and Tesera came running out from an allieway a few blocks ahead.

"There, thats them!" Shouted Ashwin. "ESO! OVER HERE!"

Eso turned up the street to see Ashwin, Lynn, Nait, and two others he didn't know, a man in black and a fairy. He began to sprint in their direction, pulling Tesera behind him. But they were weak and tired, and made there way in more of a huried limp. James wondered why they would be trying to move so fast when they were obviously injured. He quickly found his answer when 3 large swordman in full body armor, consisting of both plate and chain mail, came running out of the same allieway. It was obvious that they were after Eso and Tesera.

"James, can you fight?" Asked Ashwin. James due his long dagger and nodded in response. "Good. You take the one on the left. Lynn, take the right one. I've got the middle."

Nait was taken back by Ashwins command to send his little girl into battle. "Ashwin, are you sure thats wise?" asked Nait as James and Lynn sprinted towards the swordsman. As Lynn passed Eso and Tesera, she drew her dagger and hurled at the right hand guard, catching him directly in the left eye.

"Ofcourse." responded Ashwin. At the same time, Ashwin began to chant a short curse. As he again finished with Amen, the center guard froze in place, sword raised to the air, unable to move.

All that was left was the left guard. James came face to face with the monster of a man, standing atleast half a foot taller than him. The swordsman swung his heavy blade across his chest, attempting to cleave James in half. With cat-like reflexes, James ducked underneith the attack, which left the swordsman wide open. James pulled back his dagger and stabbed it into the exposed face of the man's helmut. The swordsman dropped to his back, dead. The theif bent over to pull his dagger from the man's face.

"James! Watchout!" cried Nate from up the street. James looked up just in time to see the fist of a large metal gautlet slam into his face, sending him flying back several feet. James looked up to find the swordsman with Lynn's dagger still lodged in his eye standing over him, sword raised over his head. However, instead of bringng it down on James's head, the swordsman stopped, as if frozen in time. James could hear the echo of another loud Amen coming from up the street. He let out a small sigh as he scrambled from underneith the frozen swordsman.

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]Lynn went to retrieve her dagger and seemed perturbed at having to take it out of the swordsman's eye. "Uhm.. that's kind of gross." She shook her head. "Ucky." She slid it out of the man and shook her head. "Very, very ucky."

Ashwin arched his eyebrow, "You've been killing people for most of the afternoon and you find that disgusting?"

"Uhmm.. just a bit." She shook her head in embarrassment. "Nevermind me.."

Ashwin turned to Eso and Tesera. "Well, you two are pretty popular today. I-"

"[i]Ohmygoodness.[/i] More new people!" Kira flew out and took off her hat, "I am Kira! Dark fairy of legendary stature! Pleasure to make your acquaintance." She bowed, as she had done several times already this day.

Ashwin gave her an odd glance and got only a smile in return. "Anyway.." He leaned against a wall with his arms crossed, "Do you guys have any idea of what is going on?"

"Only a weak theory or two." Tesera said with a shake of her head.

"Not a time to figure any more of it out, either." Eso said, his speech harried by slight fatigue. "We need to get her out of the city as quickly as possible. Can you all act as some sort of an escort?"

"An escort?" Ashwin tilted his head.

"We've been attacked every few minutes by men like that." He gestured to the frozen swordsman. "If not them it's large, viscous dragons." He sighed slightly. "We [b]need[/b] your help."

"Then I will help you, Eso." Lynn said as she finished wiping her blade clean on a nearby festival banner. Ashwin turned and stared at her oddly. "...[i]Uhmm[/i], I mean." She paused and fidgeted nervously. "If that's alright.." She looked to Ashwin. "Can we?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, fine. I can't speak for Nait or James, but my little group will help you out. One thing though." Ashwin raised his hand, his pointer finger pointed upward. "I'm worried about Vincent. Old friend and such- you haven't seen him, have you? About my age, large sword, probably trying to help you out from the town square? Maybe yelling out some weird dialect? Kinda hard to miss." Ashwin scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, that sounds familiar. I saw him in sort of a passing glance from the sky." Eso replied. "Haven't seen him since, though."

"Blast it." Ashwin shook his head. "We can't double back and find him.. mm."

"Ashy.. he'll be fine." Kira said in a quiet tone. "Just trust his strength." Ashwin nodded at this and faded into a state of quiet contemplation.

Eso looked to Nait and James, "What about you two? Will you help us out?"[/color]

[Frankie]

Nait nodded, "Sure I will help. I can heal to a point and my powers are getting better the more i use them so if anyone gets injured i can help."

Ashwin nodded, "Yes that could be useful."

Nait grinned, "And I can fight well enough with a sword. Blame my father for that."

Ashwin looked at her, "I guess you can 'borrow' one from our 'friends' here eh." He said pointing at one of the brutes laying on the ground. "And what about James?"

Nait smiled, "Well it seems wherever i go he goes... Or so he told me a while back. Whether he coems with us though is up to him or not." She pulled a sword from one of the dead brutes grip and swung it around a bit.

"Somethign wrong?" Ashwin asked.

"No no... It is just far lighter than I am used to. It will take some adjusting."

"Well hopefully you adjust quickly."

Nait grinned, "Oh dont worry..." She created a small sphear of water and put it around the head of one of the dead brutes. She made it vanish a few seconds later, "If push comes to shove I can just drown any jerks we come across." She said with a grin.

[Zephyr]

"Hey, you!" The sudden shout startled Alno'dra, and he spun around to find the source. Behind him were two figures, both clad in light armor, and wielding swords. The pair approached, and Alno'dra gripped the handle of the knife he had been working on the previous night. His cloak blocked this movement from the pair, but they remained on guard none the less.

The bulkier of the two stepped forward and spoke. "We are looking for the flautist from earlier. Have you seen her?" A short and simple "No" was Alno'dra's only responce.

"You are lying," the second one shouted, and pointed his sword at Alno'dra's neck. "Tell us were she is." Raising his left hand, Alno'dra pointed down the street. The pair looked away, which gave him the chance he needed. Alno'dra turned his hand parallel to the ground, palm up, and blew acorss the surface. A burst of smoke and ash seemed to appear from his palm, and surrounded the two. Both fell to the gound, coughing violently.

Siezing his chance Alno'dra kicked the bigger one in the face, and drove his knife into a gap in the side of his partner's armor. The smaller man screamed in pain as the blade was withdrawn, and slumped over. For a moment, Alno'dra wished he had found the time to finish the blade, so that the edge was smoother. Alno'dra walked over and planted his boot against the neck of the bigger guy.

"Who are you?" His words were ragged. The fighting had managed to aggrivate the earlier wound. "I said, who are you?" There was no responce from the warrior, who merely lost consciouness. [i]It doesn't matter anyway.[/i] More voices caught his attention. He turned and readied to defend himself as the drew near from around a building. In a matter of seconds a large group appeared, and stopped the moment they saw him. Within the group he noticed the flautist, a guy wearing a guard's outfit, and, once more, the young lady from the tavern. He did not recognise the rest of them. [i]Hmm, this is interesting.[/i]

[Outlaw]

James rummaged through the bodies of the dead guards, aswell as the frozen ones. He looked up at the sound of his name from Nait. "Oh, you can't get rid of me that easily." he responded with a grin and a wink. "And don't worry. I'm just checking to see if they have anything useful. I'm not taking any money or anything," he said as he pulled took off the belt of the swordsman he had killed, along with small emergancy dagger hilted into it.

He then took the daggers from the other two and made make-shift hilts for them in the belt. He brought the belt over to Lynn. "Your pretty good with those daggers. I'm impressed. Here, take this," he sad as he lay the belt over her sholder. She smiled back at the gesture and thanked him.

James then turned towards Eso and Tesera. "Alright, so whats the plan mon Capitain? We sould probobly find some cover so Nait can heal you two."

[Sakura]

[color=Navy]Tesera and Eso were exhausted from running and ducking. She had a number of scrapes from sliding to hide just in time. There were three more after them, heading their way, they got up and ran as fast as they could, out into a main street. They halted in their tracks as someone called Eso's name. Tesera didn't know any of them personally, but she remembered the girl that had bumped into her and her father. Eso knew them because they lived in the city, though he wasn't sure of the man in black.

As the the two of them just made it to the group of others, the men that were after them burst from the alley too. Tesera was so tired, she collapsed to the ground after they got behind the others. The man and his daughter, with the man Eso didn't know attacked the guards, killing them quickly.

When it was over, they started having a conversation when something flew out of the father's hat. She looked at it closely and saw it was a fairy.

[b]"[/b][/color][b][color=Navy][i]Ohmygoodness.[/i] More new people! I am Kira! Dark fairy of legendary stature! Pleasure to make your acquaintance." [/color][/b][color=Navy]she bowed.

Tesera smiled, it was cute and had a child-like innocence to her.

As Eso requested their help, she started to piece together clues for their names. The man in black was James, and the daughter was Lyn, because the father had said their names earlier before they killed the men. Then the father said the name Nait, which had to be the female beside James. Finally Kira addressed the father as Ashy, but she had a feeling it was just a nickname.

Tesera brought her attention back to the matter at hand of whether they'd have an escort to help them. She was glad to find out that they had all agreed to help them out, she was very grateful, and told them so.

Then she didn't want to be useless and defenseless in a fight, so copying Nait, she took a sword from one of the men that lay dead in the street. She took the sheath and tied it to the sash on her dress. Tesera weighted the sword in her hand, made a few slashes in the air, spun it before sliding it smoothly into it's sheath.

[b]"I think we're ready to go now...Wait! I need to go back to the stage...My bag's there with my cloak, and I have things in my bag." [/b]she explained.

They all walked out of the street and saw another man that was staring at them. They were guarded, they weren't sure if he was here to help.

[b]"Go get your bag quickly. We'll see what this guy wants. If you come across any more men, run." [/b]Eso said.

Tesera nodded and took another street out, she weaved through until she ended up at the back of the stage. Her bag and cloak were sitting in a pile in front of her. She looked around and grabbed both, putting on the bag, then donning the cloak and pulling the hood over her face. She looked around for anyone again and returned to the group.
[/color]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

"Took you long enough," Eso said when Tesera returned.

"I thought I went quqickly," Tesera replied.

"Well, we don't exactly have a lot of time. That dragon's been at the other side of the city for a while, but now it's headed in this direction. It won't be too long before the thing finds us."

"Can't we just hide somewhere?" Nait asked.

Eso shook his head. "No. That won't work. Sure, the thing wouldn't be able to see us, but I'm thinking it'll get tired of looking very soon."

"And what happens then?" James wanted to know.

"Things will burn," Eso said. "If we're still in the city, we die. We don't exactly have a lot of time here. We need to get out, and fast."

The group started moving. Tesera, who was clearly exhausted, had to be helped along by Ashwin. Eso was tiring out as well, but he'd been trained to push himself to the limits of his endurance, so he could take it. He was keeping an eye on the huge dragon. As the arial battle came to an end, many of the survivors seemed to join the large dragon in its hunt. One of those dragons flew directly over the group, its gaze turned downwards in its search. It saw the humans, and let out a roar.

Eso quickly glanced at where the large dragon was. It was heading right for them. "Time's up!" he shouted. "[i]Move[/i]!"

[Outlaw]

The group sprinted down the street. They passed the mysterious man on the street, most of the group passing him without much notice, to concerned with the Large Dragon. However, Kira, being able to fly faster than the rest could run, stopped to great the man.

"Oooooo, another new person!" She exclaimed in the man's face.

"Kira, lets go! No time for that now!" Yelled Ashwin back at his familiar.

"Ahhhh, poo. Well, come on mister. You don't wanna be here when that comes do you?" Kira clamored as she flew off with the rest of the group. The man, looking back towards the monsterous dragon streaking across the sky towards them, followed the group, hoping they could lead him to safety.

The man was fast, and easily caught up to the rest, especially with their wounded slowing them down. James looked over at the man, and, while breathing heavily, stated, "Hey, names James. Who are you?"

The man looked at James, obviously confused by the man in black's apparent calmness of there situation. "Uh, Alno'dra. What the hell is going on?"

James responded, "Big Dragon wants to kill us, so were running, kinda slow now. But lets fix that." James, adreneline pumping and revitalizing his energy, ran over to Tesera, who was partially limping as she went. "Sorry about this Tesera, but we need to hurry." With that, barely missing a stride, James lifted up Tesera and began to carry her over his sholder. He slowed down at first, but once he was used to the weight, he began to run in a full sprint, quickly overtaking the rest of the group. "Don't worry, I'm a theif, so I'm used to running while carrying heavyweights. Come on guys, we gotta find somewere to hide!"

Eso called after him, "No, just go for outside of the city!"

James yelled back, "But then that thing will just follow us out!"

"But if we stay here, it'll destroy the town. Just trust me and head to the outskirts!" Exclaimed Eso.

[Frankie]

Nait rolled her eyes and she easily kept up with James. She could have just quickly mended the wounds of the woman and he wouldnt have to carry her but she decided not to say anything.

"That was a neat trick you did there with the water and stuff you think you can actually drown people? I mean what if they move out of the water hmmm?" The Energetic familiar.

Nait nodded as the thing flew by her, "Yes they do move but if you just concentrate you can seep the water into their lungs anyways. I have never done it myself to be honest. No real need to drown anyone when you run an Inn."

Ashwin called his friend back to him and the fimiliar was dissapointed but went back to him. Nait shook her head with a slight smile. After a bit more running and turning and dodging around corners Nair caught sight of one of the city gates. Beyond that was the outskirt lands and they were almost there... Unfortunatly the dragon was fast as well...

Nait growled, "I'll be very angry if my birthday ends up my death day as well..."

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]"I'm not one to be a pessimist but is there any chance of an ambush up here?" Ashwin said to his peers as they went along, ever nearing the gate.

"By those armed men? I don't think so." Eso replied. "They aren't exactly grand strategists. I'd stay concerned [i]that[/i]." He pointed behind him.

The monstrous dragon let out a well-timed roar and Ashwin nodded. "I'd say that is rather concerning, yes."

"Alno'dra, was it?" James said and looked to his new acquaintance. "I don't suppose you have some ability that would slow that thing down?"

"I don't think so." Alno'dra said as he glanced back at it. "That's.. a rather tall order."

"Blast." James said with a quick shake of his head. "I was afraid of that."

"Don't worry, we're almost there." Eso said, trying to pep them up. "Just a bit more. Keep up the pace."

The dragon's roar ripped through the air again, closer than ever. "Slow it down, huh." Ashwin sighed and beckoned to his familiar. "Kira." His familiar snapped to attention and quickly flew up to him. He nodded to her and whispered something so no one else heard, "[size=1]I'm going to use some death magic. Our survival takes some priority over my concerns that someone will question my ability to use it.[/size]" She nodded back to him and flew behind him, turning around to face the dragon. Ashwin unsheathed his cutlass and carved a rune into his left palm, chanting the words as he ran- [i]"We the demons of the Night do call upon the Nether's power to hinder our foe. We call upon the wrathful fist of the Giant, oh Goddess. Servants of you always, we invoke your strength to summon forth the acrimonious dead."[/i] The two repeated it over until a slight black haze wafted around the group and settled over Ashwin's cut palm. He halted suddenly and slammed his palm into the ground and spoke the word "[b]Amen.[/b]" The black haze settled into the ground with his blood; he leapt backwards, turned, and sprinted to catch up to the group. As the dragon flew over the spot, a gargantuan rotted hand ripped through the earth and grabbed the dragon forcefully. The dragon let out an aggressive roar and began to struggle violently with the hand- but it held fast onto the dragon, refusing to let go.

"What.. is [i]that[/i]?" James asked with some surprise.

"Parlor trick. Every newbie mage can do it." Ashwin not-so-subtly lied.

"We're heroes, Ashy!" Kira cried triumphantly. "We've saved the day!"

"Heroes, eh. Well, I bought us maybe a minute." Ashwin said while glancing back at the struggling dragon. "Probably less from how strong that thing is."

"Make it count, then." Eso said. "Let's get ourselves through that gate- when it does free itself, it should chase us out without doing much more to the town."

"And then?.." Lynn asked with the tilt of her head.

There was no answer. They arrived at the gate and Ashwin found it surreal to see it devoid of any crowds- no merchants, no travelers, no nothing. Just lingering silence. Even that was broken by the horrendous roar of their pursuer as it rinded itself from from the hand. It ascended up into the air and let off bursts of magic, pummeling the hand. Battered and ripped apart, the pieces of the hand slowly seeped back into the ground and let off a black steam as they dissipated. The dragon's eyes traced along the road they had traveled before it locked onto the group as they took their first steps through the gate. He charged forward through the air continuing his chase at a frenzied pace.[/color]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

What Eso was about to do was extremly risky. Sure, it would save them from the immediate danger, but what would happen next? Eso didn't know, but he did know that he didn't have a choice. it was the only thing he could think of to escape from that dragon. He'd almost had to do it while still in the city, but thanks to Ashwin, the group had had enough time to get out before the dragon cought up with them. It would be able to clearly see what happened, and would know that they weren't in the city. There was still the possibility that it would go into a rage, but that was a chance Eso had to take.

The dragon was closing fast, but it was too late. The group had made it to the right spot. "Brace yourselves!" Eso shouted. He used his earth powers to collapse the ground underneath the group, sending them tumbling into an underground tunnel. They were all extremly confused, but Eso managed to get they to move away from the opening. He then collapsed another section of the celing, sealing them inside the tunnel.

"What did you do?" Nait asked Eso.

"What I had to," Eso replied. "As you may know, there's a large network of catacombs underneath Alsoto. Nobody knows who originally made the catacombs, but they're here nontheless. I had to bring us down here to escape from that dragon, but I didn't wanted to do it in the city because ofo the risk that the dragon would go crazy and destroy the city. There's still that risk, but it's a much lesser risk now, and I don't believe that it will happpen."

"And how did you get us down here?" Alno'dra wanted to know.

"I'm an earth elementalist. I waited until we were over one of the tunnels, which I could sense by the absence of dirt, then I collapsed the celing. I had to trap us in here to block the dragon, but we're not stuck down here for good. There are exits, and I think I know where one is."

"Why didn't you use you power when those men were chasing us?" Tesera asked.

"Because the dragon hadn't seen us then," Eso explained, "and I didn't want to risk attracting its attention. We needed as much time as we could get to escape the city. Now, enough talk. Nait, if you want to heal us up a bit, now's the time. After that, we get moving. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be down here any longer than I need to."

[Andrew]

OOC: Apologies for the mistake Sakura. I was typing away unaware that Word was automatically correcting the words as I went along. ^_^>

And sorry for the lack of posting lately, College has been slightly hectic, hopefully I’ll get a few more posts in soon though.

IC: The battle had been fought and was bloody to say the least. The dragons that Vincent had led in to battle had all fought gallantly, but when the huge dragon had appeared most of them fled or were killed. Vincent stopped mid battle and watched in awe at this awesome, destructive creature that was now in a heated aerial battle with Tesera and her newest dragon friend.

A creature that had not been seen for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years was now flying above the whole city in plain view of everyone. Even if Vincent died during this battle, he had lived a long and prosperous life and seeing this mythical creature would be well worth it.

When he had finally recovered use of his body he continued to fight of a few dragons until they were all rallied to the larger creature for what would appear the final assault on the city. Vincent’s grip on his sword tightened as he darted through the city in pursuit of the dragon’s target. Why this huge mythical creature and many unknown assassins hunted such a beautiful and talented young woman.

When he eventually could see them in the distance he tried to call out but fell on deaf ears. The dragon now had his full attention on the fleeing group so Vincent moved pretty much unhindered. He progressively caught up with them but was stopped when so goons on a high rooftop began targeting the group with bows.

Vincent took an immediate detour from his rooftop hopping and began his slaughter of the sneaky assassins. [B]Jeez, there’s a huge dragon attacking the city and they’re still worried about assassinating Tesera...that’s persistence[/B].

After wiping his blade clean, Vincent leapt down onto the street, albeit with a slight creak in his weakening bones. He managed to get a little ahead of the dragon during its struggle with the arm, which was no doubt work of Ashwin and follow the group through the gates into the now vacant opening.

The dragon finally broke it’s grasp and launched some powerful and devastating magic attacks at the deathly hand and then flew at the group faster than before. Just as the Eso dropped the floor on them Vincent Finally managed to catch up. With one great big sigh he threw himself in after them only to have a lot of the dirt collapse on him when Eso sealed the ceiling.

Pulling himself out of the dirt shocked the group and Vincent dusted himself off to retain his dignity and them smiled at the group, before noticing the small flying female at Ashwin’s shoulder. In what could only be taken as a blatant mockery of Kira Vincent shouted loudly [B]“[I]ohmygoodness[/I], I haven’t seen you in ages”[/B] and grasped the little dark girl in a great bearhug.

[rokas]

OOC: [i] :animeswea Sorry for not posting for a while, been busy. You know how it is sometimes with the school starting and all that[/i]

Epok dodged an branch and continued moving forward. He never had to run like this. If truth be told he hadn't run at all for at least a decade, there was just no reason to.
A fireball broke the branch he just dodged and hit couple of haze shoots less than a yard away from Epok. The fireball scorched wood but it didn't set even twigs on fire. Yet the impact power was enough to bring the thickest trees down.
Epok ran round an oak tree into a pool of light in a small clearing. He turned around to face his pursuer.
At first it looked like a giant snake. It was green and had a long body it even moved like a snake, using it's body to encircle slide and roll over branches. yet it was definitely some sort of a dragon adapted to living in a forest. It couldn't fly because it's wings were too small. Wings big enough for power of flight would have gotten in the way in a forest. At this size the wings could keep at least a part of the dragon in the air, gliding for a while longer. Which was useful when jumping from tree to tree. It also used it's short claws to grab onto the bark at the end of a jump. Epok had no way of telling how old the dragon was. It certainly was huge, somewhere around twenty feet in length. It?s right eye was missing, Epok could see puss dripping from between the closed eyelids. Though the missed shots could be blamed on it?s imapared sight the dragon seem rather dum. It didn?t say anything just grunt, besides the fireballs it showed no magic capabilities, it didn?t even take off and fly. If Epok had met a smart dragon the old man would be nourishment for it by now.
The thick oak tree was in line between the dragon and Epok. It was a huge and old tree. It was short compared with the other?s but it?s branches grew outwards rather than up, brought down by their own weight. It?s roots spread around even further, looking like big black pipes feeding and holding the oak in place. Erosion or some animal created a borrow underneath the trunk and yet the tree didn?t sag down. The dragon was already encircling the branches, trying to position itself better for a strike. It took it?s time as it saw it?s prey wasn?t going anywhere, but already more than half of it?s body was resting on the oak with just the tail gripping a silver birch behind it.
The way it took it?s time was unnerving. It was as if it knew for certain that it will get it?s meal now. In the pool of light in a dark forest Epok felt exposed. He knew he couldn?t take on the dragon one-on-one. He pulled out his knife. It was well sharpened and polished. The blade was curved on the sharp side, with a row of teeth on the opposite edge. Epok rolled it in his hands it glittered in the sun.
Dragon snarled, front of it?s body curved. It wasn?t going to toast Epok it will snap him uncooked. Meanwhile the clockmaker looked at the small area of light created by light reflecting of the blade. He directed it onto dragons good eye. Momentarily blinded it attacked, straightening out it?s crouch. It snapped it?s jaws at the place where it last saw Epok last, but he wasn?t there. Dragon continued moving forward as it?s claws hit the ground. The rest of the body uncoiling from the trunk.
Epok had dropped to the dragons right side as it attacked, and now he was scrambling forward. The dragon would need a second more to direct it?s movements and find him with it?s good eye. He reached the gap at the bottom of the oak. The tree was as thick as a watch tower. Epok pushed his legs in to the opening of the burrow and pulled the rest of himself inside. He was squeezed between the earth and the oak, he had his legs bent and his head barely fit through the opening. There were bits of bark in his hair. Beetles were crawling around him and he knew his joints would hurt that night, but he was glad to still be alive.
The green dragon had stopped by now and was looking around a bit confused. Epok started praying someone else would find him before the dragon would.

[CENTER]* * *[/CENTER]

During the celebration of life Epok took the best seat-outside town. The Streets were far too crammed for his liking, so he met up with some of his old friends outside the town walls, on a hilly countryside near woods. Through the morning they set up a fire, roasted a pig, talked about old times, played some card games, showed off what they?ve done since last years celebration. Epok brought his arbalest, his throwing knives and some of his flying models.
Of course the music didn?t travel this far outside the town, but Epok and his companions had been to enough festivals to know about so called musician-magicians. They went around selling musical curiosities with magical properties. One of these was a two horn set. They tied one of the horns among the stage decorations and could hear anything that happened on stage through the other. It worked even this distance away. The old friends didn?t have to be knocked around by excited crowd to listen to the performers, they could even tone the volume down if it was too loud or not to their taste.
They were listening quietly to the mystery performer when the dragons came. They started dancing in the sky performing some intricate winged waltz. Then something went wrong. Without warning the dragons started fighting each other. It took a while for them to realize what was going on. They just stood there unsure if they should stay safely away or run into town, see if their loved ones are ok. First dragons fell from the sky into the city crashing onto buildings and streets. From the hill Epok and his friend could see crowds moving in circles, looking for shelter. There were some that were trying to help, spells could be seen shooting up in flashes from the city. Some dragons were chased away.
One of the stray dragons stumbled onto Epoks party. They had to run away leaving all their stuff behind. Epok ran into the wood s, he didn?t have enough time to pick up any of his weapons or tools, except for the knife used for cutting bits of meat off the pork. The stray dragon couldn?t follow him there, it?s wings were too big.
While runing away from one dragon Epok ran into another. The new dragon Was guarding something, He couldn?t see what because as soon as he heard it?s protective snarling and growling he turned and ran. That was a mistake as the green dragons instincts kicked in and it started chasing him through the woods.
[I] hope it?s ok[/I]

[Frankie]

Nait sat her new sword down on the ground and sighed. She looked around at all the people to decide which was first. She noticed that the one who had joined them during the run was the one who had told her to get out of danger and he looked rather bad. Most would not be able to see it but her still young healer eyes were learning to detect injuries inside the body and where they were.

"Goodness your first." She said real quickly pointing to him.

He sat down where she told him too, which happend to be a small rock, and pulled back her dresses bloodstained and torn sleeves. She was tired from running but now her actual energy had charged up again. To help everyone she knew once done she would be rather weak but to keep people alive she was willing.

She put her palms together and her lips to her thumbs. It looked as though shewas about to prey and in a way most would consider it that. She spoke quietly and softly a few words no one knew the meaning to. A slight glow pulsed as though she was holding it. She put one hand on each side of his chest and waited.

He felt a slight tingle and the pain as his ribs mended.

"I hope your friend is alright." Nait said as she waited for the process to finish. She hardly mended bones but these werent leg bones so they were a bit easier.

"Huh?"

"The one from yesterday.. The rather early drunken one."

"Oh..yeah." He sat quite still and soon the glow on Nait's hands died down and vanished. She removed them and took a breath.

"That should handle those ribs and anything else that might have been in pain." She said turning to the others. Some were perfectly fine and she noticed that Vincent had appeared from under the dirt used to collapse the tunnel. He mocked the familiar and hugged her. Nait nodded mainly to herself and put both index fingers together. She again said something no one understood and put one finger on his chest and another on his forehead.

"Odd greeting dont you think?" He said after she removed them.

"Not really." She said flatly, "I knew that if i asked to heal even the bruises you got from the dirt falling on your head you might say no and that they were minor so i did it without asking. I do beleive everyone here wants to escape alive and the best way to do that is to have everyone at full strength and energy."

"Right" He said turning to look at everyone.

Nait turned to the others again., "Anyone else need some help? I am not sure about all of your injuries or aches... I for some odd reason lost all vision on it."

"Vision?" James was curious.

"Well I am begging to see inner problems. Like with Alno'dra's ribs. But its a new developing skill. Apparently after using it a bit it i lose the ability for a while. At least I hope it comes back."

"Right." Eso nodded, "Alright then. Who else wants or needs Nait's help?"

[Outlaw]

James leaned up against the wall and sighed heavily. Things were happening offly fast, and he wasn't sure he could handle what was going to come next. Or if anyone could for that matter. James was no mage, with no magic abilities. He couldn't make earthquakes or summon mythical creatures. Heck, he would probibly be dead by now if it weren't for Nait's healing and Ashwin's curses.

But as he looked at the rest of the group, he realized he wasn't alone. Lynn was just a little kid, there was no way she was ready for this. And Nait was just a bar tender, but she pushed through her fear and obvious exaustion because people needed her. Even these seasoned veterens like Eso, Ashwin, and this newcomer Vincent seemed shaken, but none of them seemed ready to give up. They knew what they had do, stay alive, get Tesera to safety, stop the dragons, even if they didn't know how to do it. Their strength inspired James, and he began to think long and hard about what needed doing.

The tunnels up ahead were dark, with little light shining from some odd glowing stones in the walls. They were obviously placed there to help people pass through the catacombs, but they barely provided any light past showing were the wall was. James reached into his side satchel and pulled out a small parchment tube. The parchment was stiff and hard, like paper that was soaked in water than dried to quickly. He squeezed the tube a little, and in the places were it cracked, a green glow began to pulse outwards. The new light seemed to attract peoples attention.

"What the heck is that?" Asked Eso, trying to stay incharge of the situation.

"I call it a glow stick. This parchment was soaked in a special chemical which gives off this green glow when it comes in contact with oxygen. I'm not sure how it works, but its very useful in dark places. I'm just sorry this is my only one." replied James.

"Facinating," stated Ashwin, intreged by this new invention.

"Yes, it is. But with this many people, were still going to need more light." piped in Vincent.

"I'm a fire mage." Stated Alno'dra. "If we just had a torch or something, I could light it."

James used his glow stick to scower the walls of the tunnel. Down the way he found a large root in the ground. He unsheathed his blade and chopped it out. He walked back to the group.

"Ashwin, can I have a piece of your cloak?" He asked. Ashwin gave James a stiff stare, but quickly conceeded, using his cutlass to cut off a large portion of his cloak. James took the cloth and wrapped it around the root. "Alright Alno'dra, light it," said James, handing him the torch. With a few quick words, Alno'dra was able to congure a small simple flame in his palm, which he quickly used to light the new make-shift torch. Instantly, the tunnel was filled with light, allowing the group to see much more clearly.

By this time, Nait had been able to heal all those that needed it, even though it cost her a great deal of energy. The newly revitalized Eso, being the only true authority figure in the group, and seemingly the most experianced in combat situation, atleast to James, took command of the group. "Alright," he announced, "lets move out. Alno'dra, you handle the light. If it goes out, you can re-light it. I'll take point, and try to lead us out of here. Vincent, I want you to watch Tesera. Make sure nothing happens to her. Ashwin, I want you, your daughter, Kira and Nait to stay in the middle while James takes up the rear. James, keep that glow stick going aslong as you can, the more light the better. Now lets stay on our guard, there's no telling whats down here." With that the group began to move, following Eso's directions. James didn't know what to make of this guy. On one hand, James had an obvious distrust of guards. But he couldn't help but admire him for his command and composure in this time of crisis. So instead of think about it to much, James did as he was told, taking up the rear of the group, with his glowstick in one hand and dagger in the other.

[Frankie]

Nait was farther back than in the middle really and this was because she herself was now feeling so tired she didnt have much ability to walk very fast. She did notice James's dagger and smiled to herself. She wondered if he was really ready if anything came up from behind.

"I sure hope you dont have to use that." She said keeping up the pace even though it caused her to be a bit wobbly and light headed.

"Same here." He muttered.

"Yeah you dont look quite ready for a sneak attack from behind by some monster."

"Me? Eh I am not worried about that really."

She gave hima curious look, "So why did you agree with me if you are not worried?"

"I am worried. Just not so much about that. You worry me."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You look so tired. If we did get attacked I think we could partially fend off whatever might get us. Sure I have my doubts but we have curses fire earth and physical strength but..."

"Yes?"

He shook his head, "You dont look like you could handle another healing... You also look as though if you made one drop of water you might pass out."

She nodded at him, "Heh no drowning anyone right now..." She joked mainly to herself. "Its ok. I am alright. I will do what I can to help... No matter what it may cost me."

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]"This is such a great day!" Kira proclaimed with glee. "Meeting new people, seeing all of you guys again.. AND I GOT A HUG FROM VINCENT! Goooood, gooood dayyyyy~" She sang to herself as she sat on Ashwin's shoulder with a look of happiness on her face

"Uhmm. I think he was.. mocking you, Kira." Lynn said softly. Ashwin noted the weakness in her voice- this had to be pretty tough on her, training or no.

"[i]It's too bad her first real fights involved assassins and dragons. That's a bit much.[/i]" He thought to himself and grimaced. Memories rushed into his head of his first real fight and his grimace changed into a nostalgic, wry grin. In his nostalgia he was reminded of how similar this tunnel was to one of the earliest journeys he took in his youth.

"That doesn't matter! A hug is a hug." Kira said with a wink. "All is well in the land of Kira!"

Lynn smiled at this. "That's.. that's good. I'm glad you're in such high spirits. Hey, um.. father?"

Ashwin broke out of his thoughts and looked to her, "Hm?"

"What kind of things would be living in a tunnel like this?" She asked worriedly- what Eso had said was still on her mind.

"I don't know. Rats? Snakes?" He shrugged. "Some kind of monsters?"

"Molepeople!" Kira exclaimed. "Definitely got a molepeople vibe down here. I can smell 'em." She nodded to herself.

"... Molepeople?" Lynn asked with a confused look on her face.

Ashwin shook his head. "Molepeople don't exist."

"Yes they do, Ashy! I'm sure they do!" She pouted a bit before she flew up into the air. "I'll ask Vincent, then! We will see who is right! HEY VINCENT!" She flew a few feet forward and sat on Vincent's shoulder. "I'm having a [i]serious discussion[/i] with Ashy and I need your opinion- Do molepeople exist?"

"I can't believe she picked up that strange rumor in her travels." Ashwin shook his head. "Who knows what else she's heard."

Vincent repeated a statement similar to Ashwin's and Kira returned with an even more distinct pout on her face. "I think they exist.." she said in a defeated manner.

"Let's hope they don't exist in these tunnels. We could use some calm for at least a few minutes." Ashwin cautiously gazed ahead. "I'm not really in the mood for another hectic flee-in-terror-from-horrible-monster situation. Hmm." He examined the wall of the tunnel as they walked. "I wonder how often these tunnels flood.." He his eyes traced the length of the wall and he rubbed his hand along it.

"Flood?" Lynn looked concerned.

"Yes. I'd imagine these tunnels flood with heavy rain. I don't think we have to worry about that unless a dragon uses water ma-" He stopped and arched his eyebrow as realization hit him. ".. did any of you see that big dragon use water magic?" Lynn shook her head and Kira was blissfully humming to herself in la-la land. "Good. I was nervous for a second there. Could flood us out of here and ambush us as we chaotically run out of the exit. That would be bad to say the least."

"Don't jinx us." Vincent said back to them with a grin.

"Trying not to, Vin'." Ashwin shook his head with a sigh. "I shouldn't be dwelling on nightmare scenarios."

"Why not? Isn't this entire situation.. kind of a nightmare?" Lynn asked in an even quieter voice.

"It might get that way soon, yeah. But.." Ashwin patted his daughter on the head as they walked. "We've got to stand strong and keep going. Understand?" She nodded.

The group continued on through the tunnels, following Eso's lead..[/color]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[color=darkred]Things were not going as planned. Tesera had managed to escape from him yet again. How she did it was a mystery. How could a mere human escape one such as him? And she'd done it not once, but twice! She'd had the aid of a dragon the first time, but then she'd had none but humans to aid her. There should have been nothing they could do, but then one of them had slowed him with death magic, and another had pulled the entire group underground.[/color]
[color=#8b0000][/color]
[color=#8b0000]In his anger, he was tempted to lay waste to the human city, but he was able to restrain himself. The last thing he needed right now was the outrage that such an action would cause, outrage that would come not only from humans, but from dragons, as well. Even many of those who remained loyal to their kind would dislike such destruction. No, he would allow the city to remain standing for now. As the remaining dragons dearted the area, he made one last inspectionto ensure that he had not been fooled by the humans, then returned to his own lair. Something would have to be done about Tesera, but for now she would continue to live.[/color]
[color=#8b0000][/color]
[color=#8b0000][/color]
Eso led the group through the tunnels, hoping that he was indeed leading them towards an exit. He didn't know anything about the layout of the catacombs, and he didn't know a single person who did. However, he could feel the passegeways was hollow spots in the ground, and he had a pretty good idea of where a nearby exit was. And he was corrrect. The route he'd chosen did indeed lead to an exit.

The group was relelieved as they emerged from the catacombs. The day had gone crazy on them, but that was over now. Looking at the sky, they could see no dragons. Things seemed to have calmed down. There would be no more danger from the skies. Eso, however, knew that they weren't necesssarily out of danger. After all, dragons hadn't been the only ones after them.

Eso was right to assume that there was still danger, for he quickly spotted a group of armed men. They looked like they'd joined each other after the battle calmed down and were trying to escape from the city without being noticed by the soldiers. Sheer bad luck had placed Eso and the others in their path. The men say Eso's group, of course, and they recognised Tesera.

Eso drew his sword. "This isn't over yet," he told the others. "It looks like we have one more battle to fight."

-------------------------------------------------

OOC: This one's a larger group, not just a couple people. Oh, nobody end the battle, please. You can have some of the attackers die, but leave at least a couple of them alive.

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]Ashwin unsheathed his cutlass and looked forward at the armed group of men- from the rear of their ranks a couple of arrows flew over their charging men. They were haphazardly aimed but almost struck several of Eso's group- Lynn in particular had a close call that made her let out a nervous yelp as it slid just past her arm. Ashwin had a worried look on his face but she shook her head in an 'I'm okay' sort of way. He nodded and faced their enemies. Each of them looked well trained for this sort of combat and they had an advantage in numbers. "This is going to be interesting." Ashwin mused to himself even as Eso clashed with a swordsman, his skill showing as he deftly attacked with sharp, strong blows. "Must be at least.. fifteen?" It was hard to count with the chaotic fight unfolding infront of them.

"Much more than that, I think.." Lynn said peering at the men. "Or much less? I.. I can't tell." She said with embarrassment. "Um, they outnumber us though. That's.. that's for sure." She said the last bit awkwardly, trying to recover a bit of her pride.

"I guess we join the party." Ashwin said in a nonchalant tone. He looked to James and Nait who were behind them, "Nait, I know you're tired so.. don't feel obligated to push yourself. I think we've got enough firepower here to take out a blasted army let alone a few knuckleheads like these guys."

"I think I will be fine, Ashwin." Nait replied. "I'll do all that I can.. so don't worry about me." She nodded firmly.

"Good, keep yourselves okay. Later on." He waved and turned, sprinting towards the battle. It was just a short distance away and it seemed like most of Eso's group were already involved in it. He charged into one of them with a vengeful stroke, almost disarming the weapon from the ferocity of his swipe. They were deadlocked and it would have stayed that way if not for his daughter- Lynn swooped up underneath the man and stabbed him in the gut. She took several steps back but the man didn't falter. Ashwin shook his head and talked to his opponent. "Blast it, you're wearing chain mail."

"You'd be correct, old man. Wounded me just a bit that did.. but I'm still kickin', ain't I?" The man said in a harsh tone. "I ain't plannin on dyin' to you stupid fuc-" Kira suddenly swooped up and gave the man a kick straight in his eye, catching him by surprise. He let out a cry and shut it in pain, losing his concentration. With this opening, Ashwin gave him a resounding kick in the stomach which sent him backwards and into one of his friends. They spilled onto the ground but Ashwin quickly had another opponent- a rather burly looking man with an axe that was stained from past battles. Ashwin sized up his new opponent and discerned that he was at a disadvantage in sheer strength- but not in agility. The two began to spar and Lynn was forced to peel off as the man with the injured eye came back for seconds. Kira fluttered about, trying to cause as much chaos as possible to distract them.

From within the enemies there was a cry: "Who wishes to fight the great warrior Ajax!" The man who let out this cry was wielding twin swords and seemed more lithe than overtly strong. He spun them around deftly and locked his eyes on Eso, who had just dispensed with his first enemy. "You! You seem to be the leader of this entourage, huh? Well you little bastard.. I'll take your head!" Ajax rushed through his own companions, sending some of them stumbling with his brash charge- he locked swords with Eso and snarled at him. "You got any last words, scum?"

The axeman's attention diverted to Eso- he seemed to want to gang up on him. He gave a quick, powerful swing that sent Ashwin backwards from it's ferocity and turned to attack Eso. "Blast it.." Ashwin righted himself; charged forward and slammed into the axeman with as much force as he could muster. He was sent down into the ground just before he could attack Eso. "Thank the Goddess.." He muttered, but this was short lived as the axeman picked himself up off of the ground and had an look of pure rage on his face. With the power of his rage he charged at Ashwin, sending him back onto the defensive..[/color]

[Frankie]

Nait stayed farther back and one ofthe men decided she was an easy target. James leapt in front of her and sliced at the man with his dagger. This didnt do all that much however due to the other mans large sword.

Nait lifted hers a swung it but for some reason that part of her brain had decided she was to tired to know how to use it properly. So instead of slashing at him she smacked him along side the head with the flat edge of the blade. He growled and swung at her fiercely.

Nait sighed and jumped backwards to avoid the man and dropped her sword. Her hands seemed to fail when holding it so she decided there was only one thing left to do.

She stared at the man while dodging him. She was quick each time even though she was tired. This was also something interesting due to the dress she wore but she moved quite well. She dodged once again and the mans sword slammed into the dirt sending small rocks and a clump of grass into the air as he removed it.

Nait was staring at him carefully and soon he slowed down and stopped. He grasped his neck and gasped for air. After a bith he was coughing but soon he stoped.. Soon however he was on his knees and soon he hit the ground dead.

James with a moment to spare stood next to her, "Nice but what did you do?"

Nait smiled slightly, "Drowned him of course. I Just used his own body's water and focused it all into one spot... Easier than changing the water in the air into some bubble." She said breathing heavily. She was really getting tired now.

[Outlaw]

James pocketed his glow stick, the open battlefield making it all but useless. He held out his long dagger in a ready stance, quickly trying to formulate a battle plan. His first instinct was to run. He was a theif, not a warrior, and owed no real allegance to this group. And in the chaos of the battle, it would be easy for him to slip away and never be heard from again. But his concounce and pride got the better of him. He didn't want to leave them alone, especially Nait and Lynn. The rest seemed to be seasoned veterens, and while the two girls could hold their own, James couldn't help but feel responsible for their safety. He decided to stay and fight.

As the first volley of arrows flew past the group, one nearly found its target in James'
left sholder. Just as he had done against the assassin he met in town, he caught the arrow before it connected. A quick survey showed none of the arrows hitting their respective targets. 'Lucky,' he though, 'but that won't last long.'

After defeating her assalent, Nait was visibly exausted, and stumbled in attempt to pick up her sword. Responding quickly, James swept her up in his arms and swiftly ran her back into the mouth of the cave. Just as he did, a second volley of arrows wizzed by, barely missing the two. Finding cover behind a large boulder by the entrance, he sat Nait down by the wall. "Look, I know you want to help, but you need to stay here," James said sternly. Nait struggled to get up, shaking her head at James' request. But James pinned her to the wall saying, "No! Please, you need to rest. Just...stay here...for me. Please." James found himself overwelmed by his own concern. Strange what danger could do to even a hardend criminal. Nait nodded quietly, and set back, relaxing behind the cover of the boulder. "Thank you. Now, I'll be back soon. Please, be here when I get back." James requested before he headed back out the cave. Nait was already about to pass out from exaustion, but still managed to give a nod yes.

James emerged from the cave, his concern now with the archers towards the rear of the group. He was afraid that as the battle raged on, the archers would make quick work of his party while they were distracted by hand to hand combat. He noticed Alno'dra and Vincent were still near the cave entrance, battling the first wave of enemies. He called out, "Alon'dra! Vincent! Nait's recovering in the cave! Cover the entrance!"

Vincent, between slashes, called back, "What are you gonna due!?"

James yelled back as he gripped his dagger, "I'm gonna go take care of those archers!" James bolted off though the woods. While circumventing the warriors, he was attacked by a frenzied deviant of the main force, which seemed concenrated on the battle between Eso and Ajax. The warrior was bigger than James, though not by much. He carried a short sword and small circular shield, and moved much faster than most of the other attackers. However, this also meant he had much lighter armor, with an open faced chainmail hood. As he swung his blade at James, James was able to parry the attack with his own dagger, knocking the fighter off balance just long enough for James to connect with a quick jab to the man's face. The warrior reiled back, the bridge of his nose shattered by the blow. However, he quickly recovers and charged at James with a renewed vigor, overcome by a combination of rage and pain. James was able to keep his calm and side-step the man's wild swings and quickly found himself facing the warrior's exposed back. James responded quickly by grabbing his attacker's head and, with a quick jerk, snapped his neck.

With the warrior dispatched, James continued to make his way to the back of the battle, just as the archers prepared for their next volley of arrows.

[Sakura]

[b]OOC: [/b]Sorry I haven't posted in a while, couldn't think of anything.

[color=Navy]Tesera saw the large group of men and groaned as she knew what was coming, another fight. She was sad, it was her fault for everything, if the dragon or the men just killed her, everything would be alright again. She had considered giving herself up. Tesera's companions were so determined to help her, she wondered why they were willing to give their lives for her.

Tesera had been healed earlier by Nait and now she was alright, she would fight beside her companions because she didn't just want to be someone who needed constant protection. Tesera drew her acquired sword and rushed forward. It was easy to make her way through the others because she was small, agile and graceful, making her way toward the back where there were archers which was a nuisance for the others that were fighting.

Tesera broke through the swordsmen and saw the line of archers; there were crossbows and longbows being wielded, they saw her too and several changed their aim to her. She weaved back and forth, avoiding the arrows until she came up and slashed at the bows, slicing the strings of the longbows, then slicing the stocks of the crossbows in a type of swords dance.

She stopped and watched them, they growled angrily and some drew their daggers, others didn't carry other weapons and picked up their arrows, either jabbing them at her or hurling them at her or the others. They all rushed her and Tesera fended them off, then James jumped in to help her out, she guessed he had been thinking the same as her, to stop the archers.
[/color]

[Frankie]

Nait felt very tired and watched silently as everyone fought. She also watched james and Tesera run towards the back to rid them of the archers.

She seemed to be drained by just standing there. She did seem to releive some of the pressure she was feeling when she had drown the man but she didnt understand why. She knew it took two different kinds of her energy to do the healing and the water magic and she figured it must be that.

She shook her head as another man saw her weakness and came at her. She sighed and wished she was skilled enough to work her water into ice. Then she could freeze his feet or solidify a sphear of water around his sword but because she couldnt she fell to her knees and did the last thing she was able to.

Soon this man also had the same reaction to her that the other had. She sat there on the ground barely able to catch her breath and just waited for a moment. Each time someone came they suffered the same fate. After a dew men drown in their own bodily fluids they got the idea to either kill her fast or leave her alone and they chose the later. If they eliminated all the others she wouldnt be a problem.

After a bit of sitting she felt a wierd thought creep through her mind. She felt so selfish for just sitting there and defending herself... one voice said she was resting so she could help the others and another argued back telling her to get off her lazy behind. She groaned as she stood up. Terrible pain shot through her aching body but she soon got going.

She picked up her sword again and went in to help the others.

[Zephyr]

A resounding crunch filled the air as Alno'dra slammed the root from his makeshift torch into the nose of a shortsword wielding soldier. The sound of cartilage breaking would been enough to make most people naseous. The soldier fell to his knees, clutching his bloodied face, and was dispatched by a low roundhouse kick. His helmet rolled across the landscape as Alno'dra turned to face the next enemy.

It was at times like this he wished he had taken to learning a few fist-fighting techniques. For the time being his hunting and survival skills were keeping him alive, and it seemed the rest of the group was doing fine. The only one he worried about was Nait. It seemed that the healing she had performed earlier had taken a lot out of her. Glancing back he noticed her standing up and reaching down to grab her sword.

Alno'dra kicked his latest opponent in the chest, and used the short reprieve to make his way back to where Nait was stumbling forward. "You should be sitting down." He said flatly.

"I'm fine," she replied. "There is no way I am going to sit down while the rest of you are fighting." Nait continued forward, barely keeping upright.

"You need rest. We will be fine." Alno'dra put a bit more force into his voice this time. Before Nait had a chance to respond a scream sounded from the fray. Looking over Alno'dra noticed Lynn had been knocked down, and in front of her a warrior raised his sword. Acting on instinct alone Alno'dra raised his hand and aimed at the blade as it slashed down. In midair the steel literally exploded in the center, and the shrapnel struck the fighter in the face. The blast of energy, which was directed upward, also sent the second half of the sword twirling safely over Lynn's shoulder.

Ashwin did away with the warrior and protected Lynn until she got back up. Alno'dra's eyes raged as he worked to control his temper. The sight of the warrior trying to kill a child really pissed him off. [i]Okay, enough of this crap![/i] Still trying to restrain white hot enegy of his temper, Alno'dra walked forward, forgetting about Nait, and began to blast the weapons of the group attacking them with his fire magic. He continued with this, completely ignoring the energy he was wasting, and how tired he was begining to feel from the earlier battles.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

The man Ajax had quickly singled out Eso as the leader of the group, and while no formal decision had been made, he had been acting as the leader. He'd done it only because he was trained for battle situations, and even though the others were clearly skilled fighters (well, most of them, at least. Sakura and Lynn were clearly inexperienced, and Nait's experience was in a form of battle much different than that which the group had engaged in), he was the one best suited to lead them in their escape from the city. He'd almost gotten them to safety, and that task would be complete as soon as the current attackers were dealt with. But Eso didn't want to simply kill them all. He wanted information, which meant that he needed at least one of them alive. so when Ajax engaged him in just the right spot, he was ready to make his move.

Ajax charged Eso and locked swords with him. "You got any last words, scum?"

Eso, seeing that the two of them were a several feet away from anyone else-enough room to avoid bring anybody else down with himself and Ajax-made his move after responding to Ajax's question with, "How does 'fuck you' sound?"

Eso collapsed the ground underneath himself and Ajax, sending the two of them down into the tunnel from which he and the others had emerged just a f ew minutes ago. The move took Ajax by surprise, which Eso took advantage of. Before Ajax knew what had happened, he was disarmed and on his back, with the tip of Eso's sword at his throat. "Tell me why you're here," Eso demanded.

"Or what?" Ajax asked. "I die? You'll kill me anyways."

"Death threats are useless in an interrogation," Eso replied. "After all, dead men can't talk. If you don't tell me what I want to know, you'll keep living, but you'll have to live wthout your dick."

"You're bluffing!"

"Am I?" Eso made a cut right next to Ajax's left nut, then returned his sword to the man's throat. "Talk, or I'll take the whole set."

"Okay, fine! It won't do you much good anyways."

"I'll be the judge of that," Eso said. "Now, why are you here?"

"To kill the woman Tesera. I was promised a hefty reward if I did so."

"And the others?"

"A few of them are people I know," Ajax told him. "I knew how tight security would be at the festival, and I figured that having some friends would help. We'd split the reward evenly among ourselves. Even split, each of us would come out with an impressive sum. As for the others, the ones I don't know, well, they're here for the same reason. They were hired seperatly from me. Some are mercs, some are bounty hunters, others are just common thieves. The only commonallities is that we were all offered the same reward for Tesera's head, and that we all seem to have been hired by the same man."

"Who?"

"None of us know. He came to each of us after the sun had set, and he wore a cloak. Nobody could make out any features."

"Did he say why he wanted Tesera killed?"

"No," Ajax said. "He didn't reveal any motive, but whatever the reason, the man's serious. Some of the men with me had friends of their own elsewhere in the city, and apparently there were men like us all over the place looking for her. Whoever that man was, he really wants Tesera dead. And he knows more than he should. He told us that the dragons would come, and warned us that they would fight. And he knew that the mystery performer was Tesera, even though nobody else seemed to."

"And you know nothing more?"

"Nothing."

"I'd say you're telling the truth," Eso said. "you really don't know any more. I'd hoped to get a bit more information, but it loks like you're not the man to give it to me."

"So you have no more use for me. You'll kill me now, won't you?"

Eso shrugged. "I have no other choice. I can't really let you live, now, can I? So, farewell." He cut Ajax's head off.

Eso walked out of the tunnel. Turning towards the others, he saw that the battle appeared to be in its final phase. A couple of the attackers had already given up, and were running away as fast as they can. The others kept fighting, even as it became clear that they would lose. It would be over soon.

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OOC: Now you can wrap things up. Just don't have the group go their seperate ways yet. There's still one more thing to get out of the way before that happens.