RPG Sand Shapers: The Expansion

[Zeke47]

An evil group know as the Sand Shapers(an ancient organization of wizards and sorcerers that use the sands to empower their spells and have control over the desert, the greatest of which cannot truly die if their remains are left on the sands) have risen up in the Aster Desert from the past and now control an empire there that has long been in secret until know, they have attacked the surrounding empires and taken them by surprise. The various empires have called a truce until they qualm the invasion on all their territories but occasional skirmishes still break out between the nations. Just a few days ago the Desert started expanding outwards, the various spell casters in the different nations all found out that the source of the spell is from a Sand Shaper named Wantar.

The kingdoms have called out to their people for skilled adventurers who are willing to fight for their kingdom to help battle this powerful enemy. They are to meet 2 days from now at a small outpost on the edge of the desert soon to be consumed within it if help is not received, the first task of which they plan on giving these adventurers is to break the siege and then drive through the enemy ranks as the kingdoms attack the Sand Shapers and kill the one known as Wantar as he is distracted by the battle to stop the desert from consuming the kingdoms
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Alexica landed on the edge of a high roof in a small outpost, being there a 2 days early and it being around midnight she lept off the building gracefully opened her wings and glided to the ground landing infront of a fairly large building obviously the comand post of the place and walked inside introducing herself before accepting the bed they offered and going down to sleep

Meanwhile Dactrast walked down a road while looking at a crude map, looking up at the stars for a second he all of a sudden felt rage built up inside of him, this happened often and it had been hapening more often lately, a few times he even heard voices, evil and demonic voices. Dactrast sat down and meditated for a few minutes before continuing on as the anger subsided. After about half hour he came upon a town and passed through it as those few around the streets stared as he passed in silent pity and fear of the man before them who obviously had inner demons and could be dangerous. He continued down the road for the next few hours untill the sun started to come up, at that time he revieved his map and notes he got from strangers he asked and figured he had time for a few hours of sleep before leaving to make it on time.

[The Enemy]

Briar, appearing as a young elven man, way on his way too the outpost. He went over his memories of creatures in his mind, making sure he could recall anything very useful quickly if needed. Once he was within about a mile of the outpost Briar refrained from using his ability to 'shift' he wanted his skills to be a secret, even to his companions, until it was absolutely necessary to show them. It was late by now, the moon was high in the sky and the outpost was in view. "so this is where it starts eh?" Briar spoke softly to himself.

Across the land in the forlorn kingdom of Argrim. Dante strolled down the streets of a small hamlet. He was actually planning what or who he would call from the abyss to kill the residents, when a large group of soldiers road toward the village from across the plains. [I]"A worthy adversary?"[/I] Dante contemplated. As they approached the soldier in lead passed his left leg over his horse and dismounted, walking boldly toward Dante with a long scroll in his hand. The soldier opened the scroll ad began to speak "Under order of the high counsel of the realm, you are here by requested to join a small group of men ad women, to attack the sand shapers before their attack is immanent."

Dante just answered with a weird stare "Right" he said in a long and sarcastic tone "an what makes you think I won't cut you and your little posse into itty-bitty pieces right here?" The comment caught the soldier by surprise, but the soldier ventured here knowing who he was to meet, and why the counsel had required him specifically. So he explained according to the instructions given by his superiors "Me and mine are but petty folk in comparison to your might, the sand shapers are powerful enemies that wield deadly magical abilities. They would surely put up enough of a challenge to even amuse a man with the abilities of yourself."

Dante nodded and bore a cruel smirk "Agreed" the notion gave the soldier and his party a wave of relief "you said a group however, where am I to meet my unneeded back up?" The soldier looked threw a parcel bag on his hip then handed Dante a diploma sized scroll with the lord of the land's personal seal in wax upon it. Dante carelessly tore open the seal and studied the parchment. "directions hm?" Dante noted as he read, after about 5 lines he looked up at the soldier with a confused look "Wait just one moment," the soldier began shaking in fear "I-is something the matter sir?" he asked fearfully. Dante continued "Why is this written in aquan?" Upon hearing the question the solider let out a relaxed sigh "The lord simply believes if the stories about you are true, you should be able to make it to the destination indicated within the set time, even though each individual direction is in a different language. And thus if the stories in fact are true, you are worthy of joining the party of attackers."

"Sneaky old man isn't he." Dante proclaimed, "very well, I will arrive on schedule" The soldier nodded humbly "Very well I will leave you to your journey" As he turned to leave Dante placed his 'darker' hand on the leaders shoulder "Not so fast" Dante ordered with a harsh grin. Within moments the man's shoulder had been torn into by Dante's demonic arm and Dante had used the blood to infuse a series on ancient markings down his human forearm. The markings were a combination on tattooed and seared flesh depicting a contract Dante had with the Abyss. Demons resembling hairless tigers with metallic fangs tore out of the leaders body, killing him in excruciating agony and quickly tearing apart his entourage. Dante walked down the dirt path out of the small town as the feline monstrosities continues ravaging the civilians "I had some time to kill anyways" he said to himself.

[Kenso]

[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][COLOR=black]A mild breeze stirred the sands around Chal'kath's feet, and he could feel the grains settling between his scales, their individually harsh edges poking at the nerves underneath. It was a familiar feeling, one he?d grown long accustomed to, but it still annoyed him on occasion. He was walking just within sight of the outer walls of Argrim?s capital city, having a day to himself from his routine regimen with his group. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][COLOR=black]He hadn?t requested it, but his ?captain?s? manner of bringing it up suggested that the other members of the group had done so for him.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana][/FONT][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]A slight shrug lifted his shoulders at that thought. That really didn?t surprise him. Few were comfortable for long around a thri-kreen, and the members of Chal?kath?s group were no exception. He looked down at himself, and chuckled mildly. It was a gift and a curse, being what he was. No human could match his feats of strength and agility, and his scaled exoskeleton left him protected to a degree most human armor didn?t keep up with. But to a human, he looked like a monster, and he could not hide that fact. While humanoid, there was no hiding his extra arms, or his overly large head with mandibles that looked as deadly as the claws on his hands. And he was so impossibly tall and thin he could never pass as human, even if he did hide everything else. Well, not without magic anyway, and magic was something Chal'kath was not fond of.[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][COLOR=black]He glanced back towards the city and stopped in surprise. If he had eyebrows, he would have raised them, though the scales above his left eye shifted noticeably upwards. There was a small group of mounted soldiers, six in number, headed in his direction at a fairly quick pace. Too small to be combat effective, he assumed they bore a message of some sort, though he couldn?t imagine what message required six soldiers. He stopped and waited, adjusting the straps on his backpack, freeing the sand that had settled beneath them.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]The soldiers didn?t take long to reach him, though their pace slowed noticeably as they got closer. Most of them did not focus their eyes on him, instead focusing on various parts of the landscape, or just staring past him. Their discomfort was obvious, and he realized they only had so many people because no one was comfortable with him. He shook his head in disgust upon this realization. Cowards. It wasn?t as though he was planning on eating anyone that hadn?t already died, and murder was not his forte.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]The leader was fairly obvious, with newer armor and a bigger horse. [I]Humans always have to compensate.[/I] He was fairly well-built, of average height, but with a barrel of a chest. The voice that came out of the body was higher than Chal?kath expected. ?The king has issued a request for talented adventurers such as yourself to meet at a preset location in two days to form a small covert group. He plans on using this covert group for a preemptive strike against the Sand Shapers.?[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]Chal?kath?s voice was probably a tenor, but it was distorted by the clicking of his mandibles, something he?d never bothered to try and avoid. ?Any reason that I?m being informed of this when I?m attached to a battle group?? He knew the answer already, but he wanted to make the man say it. Chal?kath did not take kindly to cowards, and was rather fond of making them squirm.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]The leader was certainly squirming, eyes looking everywhere but at Chal?kath. He cleared his throat nervously before he spoke. ?There was a request for your transfer away from your group.?[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]Chal?kath?s mandibles lifted, the closest he ever managed to a smile, though this held no mirth. ?Your honesty is appreciated. Where am I to meet these people??[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]The leader waved a hand forward, an obvious signal to one of the other men, who stepped forward and held out a scroll to Chal?kath, though he said nothing. Chal?kath took the scroll, but did not open it before looking at the leader again. The leader?s voice was straining when he spoke, his desire to be elsewhere very clear. ?You will find the directions within. We have not been given the exact location.?[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]Chal?kath nodded in acknowledgement. ?Then your services are no longer necessary to me. Good-bye.?[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]The good-bye was not returned as they turned and left as quickly as their horses could take them. Chal?kath waited for the sand to settle before opening the scroll. Skimming over the directions, he chuckled. He already knew the spot well. He wouldn?t even need the full two days to get there. All the same, he turned and started walking in its direction.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]Without warning, he stopped. He let his body relax, his arms hanging loosely at his side as he focused his mind inward. Without warning, he was moving again, his steps quicker than they'd been just a moment earlier, and that was before he broke into a run. He'd be there before morning.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Malvok]

It was late afternoon and the sun was high in the sky, It had been a week sense he had left home. Malvok tilted his head back letting the sun wash over his face as he lay there on the roof. Malvok had Taken to this spot when he first entered the city of Taledion he could see over all the roofs in the city and the expanse of forests and could see a scrap of land on the horizon that he would swear was the badlands.

"Well I've been in this city two days now i suppose it's about time i blended in to gather the information i need". with a tiny smirk of amusement he was off. he bolted down leaping off of the roof, arms and legs spread out feeling the rush of wind, and the weightlessness of the fall, it was maybe a two story drop, but still enjoying the fall Malvok quickly wrapped himself into his cloak curling into a ball landing on the roof below Malvok rolled out of the landing immediately springing to his feet and running forwards then dropping in a narrow ally way maybe about 4 feet wide pressing against both walls to slow his descent to street level.

Malvok walked out of the ally ways and brushed off the dust before starting off down the street, he needed to find a place he could settle in if he was going to gather news, he appeared to be walking through a flourishing market.
then he noticed the Deep purple sign with red lettering, It read "the Same Page" Malvok approached the store and noticed that it was an origami store. there were all sorts of things made out of paper, lanterns, hats, pants and creatures, some of which were in glass cases.

When he entered the store he heard the jingling of bells as he opened the door, he heard the crackle of a welcome "Welcome to the same page, how can i help you this afternoon?" it was an aged woman in a deep purple dress, she took him in, but stopped when she came to his eyes. "An what may i help you with today?"

"Are you the owner?"Malvok asked the lady.

"That would be me" replied the woman

"This is a lovely store you have here, everything is made of paper" Malvok said as he looked around the store, "so many things, you must be very skilled"

"Oh thank you I've been doing this for quite a while now, you seem like yo know a thing or two yourself."

Malvok turned away from the paper wares and face the woman well you could say that," he paused to pull a sheet up paper ouf of his sleeve, and as he slowly crumpled the sheet into his hand until they were cupped he said "that i to am skilled", and gently crunching the paper between his hands, he then paused and opened his hands and a short stemmed buddling of a paper rose rose out of the opening of his filling out into blossom as he said,"with paper."

"If you were looking for a job that would be the impressive way to do it." she told his as she plucked the rose out of his hands," ah it's been along time sense I've seen someone else make a rose with so much life in it. Have you found a place to stay?" she asked him as she went over to the shelf to pull down a stand and glass case to store the rose in.

"No i haven't yet," he replied to her

"well theres an old apartment above the store you can use, but for now i should get you acquainted with the store"...

Three Weeks Later


It must have been approaching midnight, and there was a full moon out, Malvok figured it had to be inside this building. It was earlier in the evening he had overheard two men talking in the tavern about the kingdoms recruiting an elite team of fighters. Malvok figured that if there was information anywhere it would be recorded here. Malvok lowered himself to the window edge from the roof and forced the window open from the outside. Malvok crawled into the deserted building, closing the window behind him. he was in what looked like some sort of study, there were a couple desks some cabinets and a number of bookshelves lined with books. Malvok heard the creaking of the doorknob being turned and he dashed quickly to hide among the rows of books. Once he had hidden himself Malvok peered through the shelves of books to watch.

Two men had entered the room one of them holding a candle and a roll of parchment. They were talking in hushed voices.

"It's all recorded in here, the location and date that the force will meet at the move against the sand sharpers..."

Malvok was taken back he had never expected that information he was looking for would just come to him like this he knew he had to get that scroll. Malvok calmed himself and closed his eyes, concentrating, concentrating his spirit energy on the paper, he had learned this trick when he was first learning to control his gifts, it was almost as iff he could see the surface of the parchment. "[I]Come on Malvok focus...[/I]" he thought to himself. "[I]There! Edge of the desert 2 days to the south, in 3 days from now[/I]" Malvok opened his eyes he got the information he needed Malvok reached into his pocket and pulled out a quill, thats when he realized he had forgotten to bring ink. How had he forgotten something so obvious something that he always carries. but there was no use looks like he doesn't really have no choice now.

Malvok bit his thumb. he tore a small opening in the flesh on his thumb to allow his blood to come out. wincing in pain he made a small noise but the noise was loud enough to alter the two men to his presence

"Hey just who are you and what are you doing here" the one man asked after rushing over there.

But it was too late Malvok had finish drawing 4 symbols on the wall lined up virticly then Malvok muttered to himself "Pathway" Thats when the wall started to glow a bright white light Malvok quickly dashed into the light and disappeared as the light died out leaving the wall as it once was and the two men dumbfounded

Outside Malvok was hanging onto the brick wall by a small crevasse that was between two stones this opening gave Malvok some time to get down easily. Malvok leapt outwards way from the wall billowing his cloak outwards to catch the air to slow his descent to make it to the roof across the street a couple stories down. He knew he had to leave immediately. 2 days to the south and then 1 days to spare to find it. Malvok jumped rooftops till he was back to the apartment above the paper store he reached into his cloack and pulled out a crisp auburn colored piece of paper that looked as if it had a tangled boarder pattern lightly etched into it.

Malvok sat down and wrote a departure letter to Miss. Matanael the owner of the store he had worked for. He then went downstairs and broke into the store he laid the letter behind the counter and then he pulled out another large strip of paper and started to fold it. he crafted it into a unique and strange flower it had long narrow leaves and thousands of petals long and narrow. when he finished Malvok concentrated his energy on the flower and changed the colour of the petals to a light pale blue and the stem and petals he changed to a deep purple.

"So i guess your really are one of them after all" At hearing the sweet crackle of the firmilar voice Malvok snapped around still holding the paper flower in his hand.

"I'm sorry one of what?" Malvok asked as if he didn't know what she was talking about. Making an attempt to hide the flower.

"when you first came into this store i was taken in slightly with your eyes. pale purple , now that is something that is rarely ever seen. You see my family had always passed down stories." she told him, Malvok noticed she was carrying a small wooden container.

"What stories do you speak of?" Malvok asked her

"About a hidden people, in this world. a People that choose to stay hidden, it's a pity reall., The fact that your hear now and the fact that you made that flower, means that those stories are more then stories. Which also means you must have some truly unique gifts. This has been passed down in my family for many generations. i believe it's the reason why we even have a myth of a hidden people. And it was probably about time it was returned." she stepped closer and set the container on the counter and opened it to reveal the contense to Malvok.

Malvok was thrown into complete shock" This is!" Malvok said staring at the brush inside, he then quickly turned his attention to Matanael "That brush?!"

"Thats what I've been told, unfortunately i only know what I've been told, i only wish i had the ability to make it work. But this brush belongs to you."

Malvok picked up the brush out of the container he removed the silver cap off the end and admired the wooden handle. Malvok turned to his departure letter" i guess this really has no use anymore" he then took the brush and stroked through each line he had written on the page, and watched in amazement as the brush cleared each character of each word he watch them fade out as if they were never there. " thiis really is the brush of unending stroke. " i thank you deeply for this item" Malvok said as he put the cap back on the brush and stored it under his cloak. "Here i made this to say farewell, I'm afraid i must be leaving" Malvok handed her the flower. "I really enjoyed working here thank you for everything."

"Just finding out that your kind are not a myth after all, and being able to get to know you these past three weeks has been more then enough thanks. I hope that one day I will be able to see you again"

"I'll do my best to return here one day but for now I have to go" And with that Malvok walked out of The Same Page into the street and took off south he didn't have time to waste to get there.

[The Enemy]

Briar appeared at the outpost a little earlier than he'd anticipated. True to form he immediately began studying the area, shadows, holes, common objects. He memorized them all as he slowly wondered through the outpost for the first time. He had been used to finding quick escapes and hiding places nearly his entire life, so whenever h found somewhere new he most often remembered anything that could be used to his advantage. The area was a strange one, 'the outpost' as most seemed to call it, resembled nothing more special than a large military camp. Tents were the most common site, though not your average 2 or 4 man sheet held up by some sticks, and maybe a close line. No these tents, if they could be still called that, were enormous, huge tarps and leather covers suspended an entire story into the air. Each one could hold 10-15 men and they were more common that clouds in the sky.

Within his counting there were probably about 80 to 90 residents of the outpost, though there was no telling how many were warriors, spell casters, builders or anything else. The focal point of the area was clearly the large building in, or very close to, the center. It was the only real building in the area, about 3 stories high and made of solid stone bricks, with a large wooden door. Briar walked up to the door and knocked lightly, he was met with a large clank as a heavily armoured man opened the door. "Greetings" he spoke in a low billowing tone, almost as f he were coughing and talking at the same time, albeit very well. There was an awkward pause as Briar and the man exchanged glances, Briar broke the stare first o he could examine the rest of the room.

"I am Briar" he said kindly in a soft voice. Beginning to walk into the building. The armoured man took a mere instant to step in Briar's path once more. "May I help you?" Briar asked defensively. The Man just stood there with his hand firmly rested on the hilt of a mighty broad sword hanging by the man's waist.

"How can I be sure you are really Briar?" Briar raised an elfish eye-brow, and almost chuckled to himself thinking of how to prove his identity. The large armoured man continued "The [I]being[/I] known as Briar, is a Phasm, he has the power to change hs shape and appearance at will. He is also known, by the few privy to his existence, as an extremely skilled acrobat. If you do not change your form or dazzle me with some form of impressive acrobatics, I suggest you leave before I am inclined to make you." Briar turned toward the door then took a couple steps away from the large man, who smirked at his apparent foiling of an impostor.

In an instant Briar turned back toward the large man and took one well measured step before leaping into the air and leap-frogging the armoured man at least a clear foot taller than him. The Man didn't even have time to draw his blade before Briar was over him and several meters into the room he was just guarded from. "You aren't very good at guarding things, but as a gatekeeper you do a grand job of being suspicious of those who wish to enter." Briar wore a snide smirk.

The man turned around quickly, and proceeded to bow to the obviously true Briar. "My apologies good sir, with this operation being as delicate as it is one cannot be too careful about intruders. The large door man signalled o one of the smaller guards within the main room, who instantly welcomed Briar and guided him to his personal room. He was to wait there for the full briefing, once the remaining guests arrived, or once time was up, which ever came first.

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Dante arrived at the outpost roughly on time, not too early. He was abruptly met just outside the military camp-like region. "Who might you be?" the stranger greeted him. He was an older looking man with a distinct aura of darkness about him, though nothing as sinister or intense as the omnificent sense of doom that lingered around Dante. The man wore a strange clothing made in varying hues of red, dark purple shaded runic markings could be seen scattered throughout his visage. Clearly a man of magic.

"I might be Dante." Dante replied hellishly with a grin of excitement. He slowly pulled his hands together, and with his left h pulled up his right sleeve, revealing the mysterious and potently evil appendage in place of a human's right hand and forearm. The men stared at each other intently, each waiting for the other to make a move. Each waiting for the slightest reason to attack the other.

In the blink of an eye the men both flashed daggers into view simultaneously. The blades clashed with a flash of sparks and dark magical force. The mystery man had been focussing some variation of mystical energy through his blade to increase it's damage and push back, by the make of the blade and the barely visible runes that caught Dante's eyes for a fraction of a second, he assumed the man was just boosting the energy of am already powerful magic weapon. Dante's blade was that passed down from the darker powers that be, and with Date's demon arm reinforcing hi attack, even the stranger's magical potency was pushed to it's limits.

They both stood in stale mate for seconds that passed like days. To the average peasant they were simply standing flat-footed holding their daggers barely together, to the seasoned dark wizard it was more than obvious this was an epic bout of horrendous magic’s, with either side ready to explode with even more terrible power. They simply stood, unwilling to back down, unwilling to admit they are the weaker. Their blades locked almost as tightly as their cruel gaze. The first to pull off was unknown, as the difference was to miniscule to measure without precise equipment, but clear to both of them they broke their gaze a moment before releasing the locked blades.

The gaze was obscured by both of them jutting their focus to the right. What mysterious force had caught their attention was obvious to all. He, stood in a strange cloak made from a material neither Dante nor Dactrast had ever seen before. The most interesting part of his appearence was his pale purple eyes. Both spell casters stood looking at the new man, as Malvok stood still studying them. "Who are you?" Dante finally asked, after what seemed like an eternity.

Malvok answered truthfully. They measured each other's power for a moment of suspence you would need more tha a knife t cut through. Eventually Dactrast introduced himself second "I am Dactrast." he said solidly. He focussed most of his attention on the men arund him, but none the less he always had a fraction of his concentration on how much eldrich energy infuse in his dagger.

Figuring they were all going to the same place, Dante was the first to suggest they get going. Dactract ad Malvok agreed. Though Dante and Dacrast ecxchanged a very distinct [I]'this isn't over'[/I] glare. They headed inside as one omnipotent entity of power. Ignoring the Armoured man's questions of their identity. Dante revealed his devilish arm caiming "I am Dante, and they are with me, that is all you need to know." The man insisted on the identities of the other two men, dante simply repeated "They are with me!" regardless of the man's inquistions.

"Sir I'm afraid-" That is all the armourd man got out before Dante unleashed an unearthly punch,shaking dust into the air from the surrounding foundations, and nailing a hole through the large man's chest plate.

"Well you should be." Dante proclaimed pulling his demonic fist from the man's rib cage. The man collapsed to his knees, speachless. Witin seconds several of the other guards rushed to their lader's side, pleading to see if he was alright. Dante commented "He will live, he had good armour." while examining his devil arm, now barig a few scratches from the sharper parts of the mans broken iron shell. "I assume not all are present, yet, until they arive I will rest o one of these rooms." Dante continued walking toward the bedrooms some of which still had open doors. Picking one with a closed door Dante called bac to the guards "This one should be fine."

One of the soldiers warned Dante once he noticed which door he was standing at. "Uhh Sir? Dante? You mustn't go in there. That room is already occupied, by another warrior." Dante smilled insanely before swinging the door open as to make a large clang as it hit the inner wall. What met him inside was intrieging. It was not a man, more of an insect. The insectoid leapt to his feet in an attack posture with impressive agility. It was Chal'kath.

"My apologies bug boy," Dante taunted insultingly "I'm afraid you're in my room."

[Guest KingKy]

As Dante walked away from the screaming soldiers, Rauros dropped down from the tree he was sitting in. He quickly drew his bow and several arrows then proceeded to kill all the demons attanking the soldiers.
"Help us," moaned a soldier through his pain.
Rauros looked into the soldiers eyes, smiled, and walked away leaving the soldiers to die slowly on the road.
[I]That sounds like an interesting party to crash[/I] he thought to himself. [I]Especially if Dante is going to be there.[/I] And he set off towards the outpost.

[Malvok]

When Malvok awoke it was dusk. tomorrow is the date on that scroll for the outpost. Malvok had stopped to rest before trying to cross these plains. Malvok couldn't really see an outpost anywhere in the distance but he knew that was desert he saw near the horizon. Malvok raised the hood on his cloak feeding his energy through the material, the cloak reacted changing it;s colour to roughly match the colour of the tall grass that seemed to cover most of the plains.

Malvok started off, traveling towards the horizon. The outpost was supposed to be on the edge of the desert. slowly it grew darker, the moon was waining but it still gave plenty of light. When the sun had completely set, Malvok noticed off in the distance that there was a faint glow of light. Malvok estimated that that had to be near the edge of the desert, so Malvok headed for it.

The sun was rising giving Malvok light as he watched the outpost a short ways away crouched in grass. it had gotten a fair bit shorter then it had started. Malvok had to crouch real low to avoid standing above the grass too much. He watched as a demonic looking figure was entering the outpost, which was composed or many large tents, with only one actual structured building within the camp. Malvok used the distraction of the man making his arrival to quickly dash low as he could into the encampment crouch and stay close to the tents to watch the scene taking place.

The newcomer, Dante he had said his name was, was locked blade to blade with another sinister looking man. Malvok could sense the energy being given off by the locked blades, the energy was concentrated enough to actually slightly displace the light in the immediate area. If this camps objective is to stop the unnatural expansion of the desert then Malvok needed to stop this, they were going to need a number of very skilled beings to restore this erosion.

Working quickly, Malvok took the Brush of Unending Stroke and wrote on the inside of his cloak, spells he could manipulate if he needed them later, he wrote several small columns on his cloak. as quick as he could Malvok dashed up to the right of the two battling men, as he dashed Malvok started welling up a burst of energy to release at a moments notice if he needed to. standing there as motionless as he could h separated from his cloak a strip of paper, where a column of markings had once been. He curled this slip in his hand and ready to feed his energy through it.

The two men Immediately broke their combat jutting there focus towards Malvok as he serged into their vision. they both stared at him Malvok took them both in. Malvok thought they both mostly if not exclusively used darker powers.

"Who are you?" Dante was the first to break the silence. Malvok Took note that his right arm was not human, it was the arm of a demon. Dante was watching Malvok's eyes Makvok wondered how much the man could be suspecting, and on top of that how much this man could even possibly know.

"My Name is Malvok, I believe we are both here for similar reasons." Malvok Stated. Dante waved off the introduction and Dante yawned " well perhaps we should move along" and, Strolled inside the building, Malvok followed him inside.

Inside Dante Went off into another section of the building, Malvok Moved to the open double doors on the right, inside there was a large tabel coverd in maps and other documents, he moved off to the corner to sit and wait.

[Kenso]

[SIZE=1]The sun was just cresting the horizon as Chal'kath came within sight of the camp. He was glad he'd manage to make it this early in the morning. The cool temperatures of the desert night made it easier to handle the run to camp, though he hadn't quite figured out why he'd felt the need to rush. He figured it was just a force of habit. He stopped to watch the sunrise, allowing himself the time to appreciate the sun's light as it revealed the expanse of the desert around them, the sky a deep red, almost as if it were an omen of things to come.

He was a little surprised as he looked at the camp. He could see no outside patrols, as though they weren't worried about an attack. Of course, that might just mean they had enough people inside that the small force that would likely be used to attack such an outpost could be handled without consequence, but it still seemed more than a little arrogant.

He did not show any signs of haste as he approached the camp, knowing that would likely put the guards on edge, and he had no desire for a confrontation at this point (or any point, for that matter, at least until it was with the Sand Shapers).

The guards stationed at the gates (which were really just a wide opening in the packed sand wall surrounding the camp, just high enough to slow intruders) were well-suited to the task. Both were behemoths, probably three times wider than Chal'kath at the shoulder, although some of that was probably just the cloth they wore. There would be no actual armor in sight right now, as the desert heat would soon make it far too hot to be wearing any real armor. That was why the best warriors in the various nation's armies were the ones who mastered fighting with light weapons, allowing them to move freely and quickly, dodging and parrying blows instead of absorbing them.


The guard on Chal'kath's left spoke first, he voice deep and booming, a voice that would demand attention and obedience from those beneath the man. "Halt and state your name and purpose." The voice showed no signs of hesitation, and the man earned a degree of respect from Chal'kath for that alone.

Chal'kath stopped as asked. No point in ignoring the man. He was, after all, merely doing his job. He dropped all of his arms to his side rigidly, and bowed first to the man on his left, then to the man to his right. He wasn't completely certain that was how they greeted one another in Argrim, or any of the other nations involved in this, but he doubted it would earn him any enmity. "I am called Chal'kath Vedrinu. I am here in response to a summons for capable adventurers that I received from soldiers of Argrim, who released me from my battle group with that nation."

The guards looked at one another and nodded. "We had been told you wold be arriving, though we had anticipated a later arrival. If you would enter the large building in the center, and go into the first room on your left, you will find someone who can assist you in finding a place to sleep."

Chal'kath nodded. "Thank you. May the end of these affairs find both of you still standing." With that, Chal'kath entered the camp and headed for the building the guard had mentioned.

He had to duck to enter, as he was sure a number of soldiers, including those guards, had to do. It seemed that most of the entryways were the standard size for a house, meaning they didn't account for the oddities that tended to come with adventurers and mercenaries. He headed for the room the guard had told him to, and found it very sparsely furnished. There was no more than 3 chairs, plus a table with one chair behind it and a ledger on top. That one chair was currently occupied by a young soldier.

"What can I do for you?" The soldier was quite to the point, looking to do his job and move on. He voice hinted that he was unhappy to be there, almost as though he felt he were wasting his time.

"I am here for the upcoming mission. I was told to come here to be assigned a place to stay."

"Soldier or adventurer."

Chal'kath would've laughed if the young man hadn't sounded so serious. "Adventurer."

"You'll find the adventurer's quarters towards the rear of the building. Go through the door at the end of the hallway. You will take the first on your left upon entering the second half of the hallway."

"Understood. Is there anything else I need to be aware of?"

"None. You will be contacted when necessary, and you will know when meals are served."

Chal'kath did not wait for permission to leave. The young man gave off a sense of being finished and having no further need for words. Chal'kath turned and exited the room, making his way up the hallway and to his room. The bedroom was not furnished much better than the 'assignments' room had been. A large cot dominated one side, while a chair, small table, and armor/weapons rack made up the rest. Chal'kath nodded in approval. This was war. Extravagances were unnecessary, and merely served to slow things down.

The day went by simply enough. A rather loud gong sounded at each meal, and Chal'kath found the food to be far better than he had been expecting from a military camp in the middle of a desert. Every soldier in camp was one who'd seen real combat on the sands, all of them hardened to sights many people could not imagine. One man had told him a tale about being attacked by constructs of sand that he could barely injure. His scarred arms and chest said he'd been lucky to survive.

These were warriors, forged in the fires of hellish combat and tempered by the cool knowledge that there was still more to come. While many were not as skilled as adventurers, they were as brave, and would make good additional forces in the combats to come.

Chal'kath had plans to spend the second day resting. The third day was when preparations would begin, running on the assumption that everyone who would arrive would have done so. Many people had come and gone the first day, and Chal'kath had already adjusted to the sounds of the guards at the doors, and so was not particularly interested in the noise and Dante and the rest arrived. While noisier than usual, Chal'kath just figured it was a bigger group than had been arriving. Even the crushing iron and panicked yells didn't bother him much. It ended quickly, so there was obviously no actual combat to worry about.

What did bother Chal'kath was the man who came barging into the room, crashing the door rather loudly into the wall. He shot up from the bed, arms up into a defensive pose, quite prepared for a fight. For a human, the man appeared tall, and he had striking white hair.

"My apologies, bug boy. I'm afraid you're in my room."[/SIZE] [SIZE=1]The man's voice was taunting, cruel. He appeared to be looking for trouble. Not the kind of man Chal'kath wanted to have to fight alongside. He certainly couldn't trust him.

Chal'kath's reply was made quickly, and his voice was sharp and angry.[/SIZE][SIZE=1] "I'm quite afraid your apparent lack of intelligence has led you to make a mistake. It would likely serve you well to go re-inquire as to your quarters, for these have already been assigned to me."
[/SIZE]

[Zeke47]

Alexica landed ontop of the large headcourters buiding after going for a small flight earlier and noticed that there was something happening, most likely new arrivals, she decided to investigate and jumped of the roof and went down towards the ground where she found a guard with his armor off that had a hole crushed in the chest. Asking what happened she lifted a small device from her belt, pushed down a small button while holding 2 others as lines of magic flew from the devices entwining themselves throughout it as the metal sprang back into its original place. Then proceeded to move her hand over his chest casting a cure moderate wounds healing his chest. Noticing the quality of the armor she asked which way the man had gone and followed the path towards the adventurer quarters.

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Dactrast Walked in behind Dante and scoffed at the bug mans remark before replying "I believe you are mistaken this room belongs to he who wants it most, and it is quite a fine quarters" as he brandished his dagger and a large hand made of stone rose up out of the ground grasping towards Chal'kath's back.

[The Enemy]

Dante was no genius at math but he knew two on one was bad odds, for him at least. With Chal'kath temporarily distracted by a large stone hand Dante had his chance to get off a quick trick. Which was of coarse the trick he was known for, dark summoning. He punched at Dactrast with a demonic right hook and though he defended with his dagger the warlock was knocked back considerably. There was a single moment where Dante had freedom to act without being attacked, and he took the opportunity by the throat. He scratched his human palm with the claws on his demon fingers and clapped. Choking blood red smoke lashed forth from his hands in long gaseous tentacles, soon engulfing Dante.

Dante emerged from the blood red smoke soon after , accompanied by a strange creation. This was no demon, The creature was clad in a long flowing black robe. Over shadowed heavily by it's dark hood, the creatures face appeared to be a skull made of obsidian which gleamed brightly if any light caught a glimpse of it. though the rob was torn in several places no clear form could be seen through the openings. The creature brandished a large scythe with a dark red blade that seemed to be carved of ruby. By the way in which the creatures skeletal hands of obsidian grasped the weapon, it could be easily deducted the being would wield the weapon with great experience.

Dante looked up and down at the creature, examining his creation, then he spoke "You should consider yourself privileged bug boy" Chal'kath did his equivalent of frowning at Dante's ignorant comment in terms of his race. But he was shocked by what Dante said in continuation. "Even though you Thri-kreen are usually agile and often psionic, you are no match for this beauty, though with your half draconic blood you might out up a decent show, even if you are up against my rare gem wraith. I haven't felt the urge to call one forth in over two dozen years." Dante not only pinned Chal'kaths base race, he was observant enough to recognise his dragon characteristics too, clearly Dante was an individual with more knowledge than meets the eye.

Dante leapt towards the now recovered warlock dagger drawn, and as if on cue the creature revealed as a 'gem wraith' cascaded toward Chal'kath. The being moved swiftly, almost floating on the ground, which it very well cold have been seeing at it stood on no clear legs or feet. Dante assumed his precious wraith could handle the insectoid, so he diverted most of his attention t the powerful spell shaper before him. They clashed blades yet again but this time Dactrast launched a trade mark eldritch blast through his free hand. Dante was forced to pull off in order to use his demon arm as a shield. The blast created a large burst of debris to fly up from the not so solid stone beneath them. When the smoke and rubble cleared Dante's arm was still smoking from dark magic, but was otherwise unscathed. This resilience, the strength he showed moments ago, and the ability to bring forth dark and damned creatures made it more than obvious, Dante was an opponent to be recognized.

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Briar heard a common down stairs and hurried to find out it's source. When he arrived h saw the newest guests had clearly started some sort of scrap with the guest who arrived not long after himself. Briar preferred not to get into a fight, but wouldn't pass up the chance to see a new creature or attribute he might be able to duplicate next time he was in a tight spot. And so he found a nice chair, carried it slowly over to the fight scene and began taking mental notes. To anyone else he seemed a little strange, having not seen his changing ability and not knowing why he would watch or rather 'study' the match in such a way.