Missions for when we go to the South. I can't reveal their content yet, but you can still pick groups ????? Expedition Leader: Sanderson Bracklewood Summary: ?????? Kara Roric Kevin Anthea Baldomar Lumen Members: (6/6) ????? Expedition Leader: Shyra Bracklewood Summary: ?????? Bryce Sebastien Ulrich Members: (3/6) ????? Expedition Leader: Aston Venger Summary: ?????? Tessa Alice Laurentinus Conrad Rayyad Members: (5/6)
Doctor Bishop glared at the man but did not comment "Next question, you'll like this one. What is your connection to the shadowhunter Roxanne?" the doctor asked. From what they knew, this demon had quite an obsession over the girl, it would be interesting to see how it originated. Nick stayed quiet as Alarick had his mental breakdown. He shook his head as Sien spoke "You're not helping" Nick hissed quietly at Sien, his face an expression of irritation, he was staring at Sien quizzically, he really doesn't understand "Alarick doesn't care why you asked. Just go on. I'll catch up soon" he left the warlock and followed Alarick into the alley. He easily passed the barrier and slowly approached the other shadowhunter. For a moment he didn't say anything, what could he say? "Are you alright?" well clearly he wasn't so that was a useless question. "Do you want to talk about it?" He eventually asked. Harmless, open-ended question. Could go either way. He hoped Alarick did want to talk though, just so he could understand what was troubling his friend. Masque blinked, and looked down at what he was wearing. T-shirt and jeans. Wasn't exactly the most appropriate garb for the desert. He didn't even have any weapons, but he doubted he'd be allowed to get them "If you think I won't slow you down too much..."
Nick scoffed as Clarity accused him of lying "I said I try to stay away from alcohol. I never said I have very good self-control" he smirked. Then they left, and some stuff happened. Nick went and made himself a cup of tea and sipped it slowly, staring curiously at everyone else. Just as he finished, Alarick rushed out and grabbed him by the arm. He was about to make some sassy remark until he saw the look on Alarick's face and decided to shut up. what did the werewolf do? I really hope Alarick calms down before somebody gets hurt. he thought, as he unquestioningly followed Nick "Good, thank you" the doctor said as he noted something down "Just as we expected, yes. But I always like to make sure. Do you know of the demon..." Doctor Bishop peered at the paper at a word and sounded it out with his lips to try and work out how to pronounce the name "'Abyzathilad?' Currently goes by the name 'Gord'?" Somewhere else in the city there lay an illustrious dining hall of an expensive hotel. The man, who went by the name "Gord Gottwell" had hired out this particular venue for himself and a group of friends and explicitly asked to be left in complete privacy. The staff had left long ago, and were paranoid about what the hell could be going in there. If they only knew. The ambiance of conversation filled the dining hall as Gord's friends sat and feasted upon what their illustrious host had provided. They were made up of werewolves, vampires, warlocks, all manner of demon spawn, and the man himself sat at the very head of the table in the largest chair the hotel could provide. He gazed upon his feast of decadence with a wide grin, but it was far from friendly. Gord checked his watch and nodded. It was time for the speech. Slowly, the hulking figure stood up. His shirt barely fit around his large belly, and his jacket was far too small, but somehow he still radiated authority. Despite the generally greasy look, his eyes spoke volumes of potential, as if one conversation with him could bring you wealth, health and happiness. He waited two seconds, then cleared his throat. Abruptly, the crowd stopped eating, wiped their mouths with serviettes, and paid attention to their host. "My friends!" he greeted. Two second wait before speaking again "I hope you are enjoying the feast! You may have noticed this is fresh meat, as opposed to last time when we had to defrost it first" he grinned, and left four seconds for the crowd to laugh at his joke "Yes, the tyrrany of the shadowhunters is no more, they are in tatters. Dissent amongst their own agents, and all of them in the palm of the Seelie Queen. We need not fear them anymore! And thus, our hungers can be sated far easier" four seconds for the crowd to nod and chatter in agreement "A toast. To the fall of the nephilim, and the rise of the demons" Gord raised a goblet of thick red liquid and the crowd did so too echoing his sentiment. He returned to his seat and the hubbub returned. Satisfied his crowd were happy, he began to cut into the meat and gorge himself on the steak that lay before him. He could taste the freshness. It tasted of fear and pain in the last moments of death. Humanity... so delicious.
Character Name: Gord Gottwell / Abyzathilad Age: Unknowable Gender: Male Race: Demon Appearance: Currently in the body of an overweight man with slicked back black hair and a neatly trimmed goatee Backstory: A demon who is quite literally a manifestation of gluttony. Has spent several centuries on earth, always looking for new tastes. He's a master chef and a connoisseur. Weapons: A knife and fork Magic: - Dark Bargain: Can make magically binding contracts with others. As soon as the other person agrees to the deal it becomes a contract they cannot get away from. - Silver Tongue: While in human form, Gord clouds the minds of his targets and they are much more gullible while he's talking to them. This effect only applies if he talks to them - Comsumption: While in demon form he can eat literally anything. Other: A servant of Hunger
Big Game Hunting Fordington, Wizard's District, Library: "Relax Bryce, it's definitely dead." the supposed "Doctor" had said. As he said this a claw twitched. As the men argued and discussed, a cold draught wailed into the room and swirled around the drake's body. Suddenly, there was a cold hissing sound, the drake's flesh became pale and rotted away, revealing a cold blue glow beneath the skin. With a cracking sound, it rose, getting to its feet. its claws clacking on the stone. It turned to face Aedan, its undead blue eyes glowing. Its maw opened, and it roared a frosty roar. Fordington, Forge: Guard Commander Chuck Telviron: "Oh yeah... how did I not notice your arm's made of rock Ulrich?" the Guard Commander commented as they walked towards the forge "Hey look! There they are! Fire drakes!" he pointed out as they turned a corner and came across the forge "Do we want to be tactical about this or just rush in?" DM Message: Around the blacksmith's and the forge there are 3 small fire drakes and one larger one. They have not noticed you yet.
Nick fliched slightly as Alarick confronted him "Woah woah slow down. I went home to get some stuff, I packed for Somalia and made sure my cat would be fed while I was gone. I'm a really indecisive packer, I spent about fifteen minutes just deciding which tie to bring. But I'm ready now" he explained convincingly, Nick was an adept at lying. He patted the luggage he carried as if reassuring Alarick "And I'm changed because there was blood all over my old clothes!" He exclaimed indignantly "I always say, whenever you're going somewhere make sure you look good" Nick then noticed a strange woman with them and looked at her quizzically "This... may be an odd question but... do you know the song 'I'm blue'?" Nick asked with a coy smirk "Nephilim. Friend. I try to stay away from alcohol. Nick. My name" he explained copying her speech patterns. Masque was about ready to stab someone when suddenly Morrigan wrapped her arms around him. He was shocked for a moment, then instinct kicked in and was repulsed at being touched. get off me get off me get off me get off me... but while normally he hated being touched this situation was different, her words soothed him. She said just what he wanted to hear for so long. "...thank you" he murmured. He couldn't remember the last time he'd said those words. When was the last time somebody had been nice to him? Paragon watched the screen with a smirk. Nobody had noticed the bug he'd left in Titania's room and he watched with delight the confrontation between the queen and the inquisitor. Doctor Bishop narrowed his eyes and sighed "You don't seem to understand the predicament you've found yourself in. I ask a question and you answer, no matter how relevant it may be" Doctor Bishop made a gesture and a woman went into the cell from another door. She was dressed all in black and seemed humanlike, but she held a black stele. She was flanked by the two men in trenchcoats from the restaurant. "This is Black Knight. She's an expert demon hunter and knows how to make them talk. Hold still" Slavko, in chains, was unable to move away as the nephilim drew a small rune on the demon "Feel that? It should itch a bit. Every time you defy me she'll apply another one, the pain with ramp up exponentially. So, I'll ask again. What is your master's bidding?"
"If I were a woman..." Solomon began "This would be so much easier" he mused at the table. Fletcher, with those beautiful green eyes, sat opposite eating breakfast "If you were a woman, I wouldn't like you so much" he responded with a joking smirk, Solomon smiled, but it had only the faintest traces of happiness in it. Abruptly he got up and walked over to Fletcher, throwing his arms around the man. "Why does it have to be like this" he said with a sigh. Fletcher's smirk disappeared "Because life isn't fair, it kicks us in the teeth and expects us to get back up again" he said. For a moment they just stood there embraced, until Solomon pulled away, his eyes red from crying "I... I wish I could help. That's all I want. You're everything to me, I don't want you gone" Solomon sobbed "...There's nothing either of us can do" Solomon wailed and howled in the field, the lonely headstone and freshly dug earth at his feet. He beat his fists on the ground, maddened by grief at the sheer unfairness of life "HE WAS TOO YOUNG!" he shrieked "IT WASN'T HIS TIME CURSE YOU!" he cursed the heavens. A dark expression suddenly crossed his face and his expression became unreadable. He whispered to the grave "I told you... if you die before me, I'll go up to heaven and fight the angels themselves to bring you back. I won't stop until I'm done. Whatever the cost, no matter how long it takes... I will bring you back" Vyle's reaction to Ana's kiss came in several stages. First was shock, and he looked at her with surprise. Then came embarassment, and for the first time in his life he blushed. Lastly came happiness, and Vyle smiled at Ana awkwardly like a little boy. Until he abruptly returned to normal and replaced the cold, cynical expression he usually wore. "Come on" he grumbled and lead the group into the city. Oxenfurt was encompassed in thick fog and reeked of death. As they walked into the outskirts Vyle saw some dead bodies, but they were torn to pieces "Ghouls... as expected after such a catastrophic battle" Vyle muttered, but there was still something odd about the situation. The atmosphere felt... unnatural. "It would be much easier to find Solomon's tracks if there weren't this damn fog" Zavarius crested the hill and gazed out over the lands. The city of Oxenfurt was not far from here, and it was most certainly different to when the mage had last seen it. The city was shrouded in fog and showed no signs of life, buildings were burned and destroyed, the once great city had fallen to desolation. Zavarius turned his horse, a mighty white steed, and began to head back to the main host. The mage was another member of the Order of the Supreme and was Archon's head monster hunter. He wore his trophies on him, a cloak of scales, a helmet made from a Leshen skull, and various other trinkets. Eventually he arrived at another hill and lain before him was one of Archon's great armies. They had rallied, from every castle from here to Novigrad, together to fight the scourge that had taken their great city. Their patriotism and desire for vengeance guided them. They weren't fighting for Redania, they were fighting for humanity, against the horrible monsters that threatened their homeland. Zavarius smiled. The soldiers ranged from well-trained troops to peasants who'd picked up a sword, but there were a lot of them, and they were lead by Zavarius's own apprentices, themselves master monster hunters. They could not fail to destroy anything that lurked in Oxenfurt. Archon's footsteps echoed around the castle as he stepped through with purpose. Earlier, heralds had announced Archon's arrival and now no doubt the commoners had spread out below the castle battlements to hear his words. Servants parted the doors, sunlight streamed into the castle and lighted his face. He slowly stepped up onto the battlements and lowered his gaze to the many people who had gathered. Some of them loved him, some of them hated him. It didn't matter. Today was not a day to make people happy, today was a day of reckoning "People of Novigrad!" Archon greeted with a smirk. As Violet wandered the halls she came across the young princess Annabelle. Archon had ordered that the princess should not be there to watch his reckoning "Princess Anna. Wonderful to see you" Violet murmured "And what are you doing wandering around?"
Darklight Disturbance Arak'Un: Rayyad was overwhelmed, so many people all talking to him and about him. Rayyad followed Tessa without a struggled and just stared dumbfounded for a moment. He blushed as the complete stranger hugged him and mumbled. "Uh... heh... hi. I'm Rayyad. Rayyad Khayrat. This is kinda my home I guess" he said by way of introduction "Oh! You've been bitten! Did they attack you? Gods I'm sorry I must not have been paying attention, are you very hurt?" Rayyad suddenly blurted to the man who was called "Laurentinus" according to Conrad "Sorry" he mumbled "Uh... where's Shadowweaver?" Big Game Hunting Fordington, Wizard's District: Jayna listened calmy as the strangers spoke and put down her dissection tools. The man in the armour seemed to be either drunk or stupid but the druid was clearly more intelligent. She nodded as he explained "Yes, yes, I've noticed the same things. Though I haven't heard of this "Winter Man" before, he sounds dangerous. Frost magic is clearly at play here" She surmised "Hmm. I think I left some of my trinkets out in the town. They should be gathering information about the resonancies of natural magic in the nearby area. I'll be right back, stay here" the eccentric wizard left the library and headed out into the ruined town. DM Message You three are left in the library, there are bookshelves all around with various books, the table in the middle with the dead drake sprawled across it, and there may be more stuff among the rubble of the ruined library.
Darklight Disturbance Arak'Un Conrad hefted the totem and Rayyad lead them out of the caves the way back was long but they'd already solved all the puzzles and they were uninterrupted. They eventually reached the light of central Arak'Un, but Rayyad was nervous. "So... uh... your friends are around here somewhere right? Heh... do I look okay? I want to leave a good first impression" Rayyad asked them as they approached his house. They suddenly turned a corner and there everyone was "Gah!" Rayyad hid behind the corner, his head peeking out staring at the group with apprehension "Is... is that them?"
Vyle looked around as they arrived, something was... off. "Hmmm. Solomon gained more soldiers than he lost from the Oxenfurt battle" Vyle said while he analysed the horizon. "... Something's wrong. There's some dark magic going on here. I want to go into the city. You don't have to follow, but I need to investigate" Violet torturing Chuck: Spoiler Moments after Chuck had released Talon, the cell was approached by another pair of guards, more loyal to the throne and who were on a mission to interrogate the boy. A short exchange later, with violent words thrown around, and one of the guards knocked Chuck in the head with the hilt of their sword and knocked him out. Later, Chuck awoke in chains sitting on a stone chair In the dim light from a pair of flickering candles desk could be seen, at which sat a hulking figure. "Ah. You're awake" a deep female voice stated. Chuck recognised the voice "Oh. Madam Violet. Nice to finally meet you in person" he stated, trying to keep a calm demeanor "The sentiment is not mutual" the husky voice stated. Her face came into the dim light, a face of determination and no nonsense "Tell me, Chuck, what is your job?" "You should know, you're my boss..." Chuck began to say disinterestedly before he began to feel small bumps in the chair arise, the spikes pushing into his back unconfortably. Of course, she was an earth mage. This ordinary stone chair became a torture device in her hands. "I don't think you understand the way this works, Chuck, I ask a question and you answer. I do hate having to ask twice" Though her words were civil her tone was threatening, Chuck gulped and continued "I'm a guardsman, my lady" "Indeed. And what does that job entail? Do remind me" "...Guarding" "And what were you given the task of guarding earlier today?" "...A prison cell" "Which contained young Lord Talon, a man imprisoned on the grounds of doppler sympathising, correct?" "...Yeah, although I don't think it was right, locking him up like that" Chuck protested. The small rocky bumps in the chair began to grow. Held by chains, Chuck had little room for maneuver, so the spikes dug into his skin painfully "Your opinion does not matter Chuck. The order to capture dopplers and doppler sympathisers was given by King Archon himself. It does not matter what we think of it, if we deny royalty we descend into anarchy" "Anarchy would be better than Archo-" Chuck suddenly screamed at the end of his sentence, his face contorting into agony. A large spike of stone had suddenly forced its way through his hand from the armrest and now the bloodstained tip poked out the top. "Oops. I slipped" Violet stated, her tone making it clear she did not, in fact, slip. "Where did the boy go?" "I'm not going to tell you a dmn thin-" Chuck began his defiance but a spike thrust violently through his leg "Silly me, butterfingers" she stated expressionlessly "Anyway, as I said, I do hate having to ask twice but it looks like I'm going to have to" "I DON'T KNOW, YOU BITCH!" Chuck yelled. spikes from the back of the chair slowly inched forward, piercing his flesh "What do you want with me?" he whimpered "I was never expecting you to give any useful information, but your actions cannot go unpunished. I may be slightly letting out my anger from the fact that three of my friends are dead" Violet casually explained "And I haven't had the chance to kill anyone in a while" with a rumbling, spikes all over the chair began to slowly inch forward, Chuck's cries of pain echoed around the halls and Violet merely watched with a slight frown. She suddenly scowled "This is boring" with a click of her fingers a final spike impaled Chuck's head. She sighed. and returned to writing at her desk.
Masque followed Morrigan, his gaze wary of the other warlock. As the man spoke, Masque narrowed his eyes at him and hissed "I don't want forgiveness" he muttered. Clearly the man was only interested in Morrigan, and she would probably want to talk to him. Masque slowly shuffled away. But when the man created a barrier around them it was a step too far. Something in Masque snapped. He bared his teeth and hissed loudly as he approached the barrier menacingly "Is that what you think of me?! HUH?! I'm just some animal to be cast aside?! I'm not privy to your super secret stupid plans?! I'm fucking tired of being treated like this!" Masque yelled "I'M A PERSON! Not a "thing", not a "that", I'm fucked up in the head, I know it! I'm a horrible person, but I'M A PERSON!" Masque suddenly realised what he was doing, he was making a scene. He was drawing too much attention to himself. What was he doing? He was doing it all wrong again. But he was too stubborn to stop now. After ensuring that Paragon's agency had the demon secured, Nick began to make his way back to the safehouse. However, one of Paragon's men told him that Alarick had gone back to the institute, so he changed his course. He drove back home first and changed clothes, Alarick would probably be suspicious if he showed up in date clothes. He returned to his normal outfit, shirt and waistcoat, and once again exited. As an afterthought, he asked the neighbour to feed the cat while he was gone, he had no idea how long he'd be Somalia. He eventually, after heading back into the apartment and making sure all the lights were off and all the doors were locked, got back to the institute. "Sorry I'm late, I had to sort out feeding arrangements for the cat. I'm ready to head off no-" Suddenly, as Nick took a proper look around he noticed the lobby was filled with wolves "...Oh... Hello. Sorry I was expecting someone more... humanlike. Does anyone want a cup of tea? I don't think we have enough cups for all of you" "Mister Slavko, I'll be honest with you, I don't care if what happens to you is hellish torture or a walk in the park for you, I'm just here to get a job done. And we're certainly not going to let you die here" Doctor Bishop told the man "And don't even bother trying to escape, this is a very secure facility. Mister Keller could tell you that. I just want to know some things while you're here: What is your mission? To clarify: what did your Demonic Master tell you to do?"
Darklight Disturbance Arak'Un, the Mines: Rayyad smiled as Tessa healed the spider "Calm..." He told the nearby spiders, watching from the shadows. One by one they began to leave when they were sure their master (or mistress?) was safe. "You did a really good job here Tessa! Are you sure you don't want to take up the offer to live here with the spiders for the rest of your life? Heh... that was a joke. It wasn't a very good one" Rayyad looked down and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly "Anyway, let's go! We should almost be there" as they walked through the tunnel, leaving the spiders behind, Rayyad felt a pressure in his mind. His other side was more prevalent, but it was biding its time. They eventually arrived at a large dark chamber with something in the centre. It was a thick wooden pole, with intricate carvings of faces, skulls, animals, tribal carvings of various kinds. "Here it is... the binding totem... We should take it up to Arak'Un where we can work out what to do with him" he slowly turned to Conrad and gave the man a big pleading smile "Hey Conrad... you're a big strong man..."
Darklight Disturbance Arak'Un, The Mines: The creature howled in pain as Conrad sliced it violently down the side. Rayyad lunged stepped forward, spun, and lunged into its side with his spear. The creature slumped, but was about to fight back before Tessa knocked it on the head and it fell unconscious "Nice job guys! We beat it! Just beyond here should be the totem..." he looked down curiously at the spider. A pool of blue blood was gathering under it as it slowly bled out. From the shadows, a hundred sets of eight eyes stared at the group, judging their actions "Tessa... do you know any medicine? I know this sounds stupid but... can you heal it? I... I know it tried to kill us but it was just defending its home!" Big Game Hunting Fordington, Wizard's District: "Very good old chap, but I didn't actually know what the runes meant at all. I just deduced that the mage would only want to keep out drakes" Sanderson said to Aedan. He smiled at Bryce. He didn't know if this had been because of the hit to the head from the Night Knight, or if he'd been born like this. Either way, he was certainly a different individual. That wasn't a bad thing, everybody was different in some way. Sanderson remembered when he was younger, he was certainly no better than Bryce. Though... for different reasons. "To the library!" Sanderson announced, taking his mind of thoughts of the past, and heading towards the library with purpose. He knocked on the door, and the door opened a crack "Who's there? Is it that horse rider guy? I told you I don't want to hear about your gods!" A shrill voice exclaimed "Uh, no my lady! It is I, Sanderson Bracklewood of the Adventurer's Society! I presume you are the Wizard Iceroth?" He introduced himself. There was a pause, then a scuffle and footsteps walking away, then coming back. There was a rattle of chains, and locks being unlocked, before the door swung open wide and there stood a woman in blue robes "Sorry about that, I get a lot of unwanted visitors. Come in!" she lead the group further into the library. It was not a large building but held a substantial amount of books, on a table in the centre of the building lay a dead drake that seemed to be in the middle of a dissection "I know this invasion has sucked for the people here, but it's great for my experiments" she casually commented as she approached the side of the table and put on some gloves "So what are you here for?" Fordington: Guard Commander Chuck Telviron: "I'm glad you're so eager! Now I've noticed major infestations of Fire Drakes in the armoury, and a lot of water drakes in the river. Those are our main threats, which do you think we should target first?"
"I'm not sure you could have changed much, Solomon only put himself in such a vulnerable position because he knew you'd give him mercy, he can see into your mind, he's a master manipulator" Vyle warned "And we can bring Zephyr, if you're sure he won't mess anything up" Vyle would have been reluctant to bring the young mage along, but he couldn't deny Ana's logic. A bat fluttered into the room and rested on the window as Vyle looked out onto the vast landscape, respectfully looking away while she changed clothes. She came out from behind the screen and Vyle smiled as she twirled "beautiful" he said with a slightly dreamy expression, before shaking his head and getting back to business "He was last seen in Oxenfurt, we should head there... we may have to portal. Come on, let's grab Zephyr" With that, Vyle entered Zephyr's room and returned to Ana, where she made a portal "Let's hope this works" "How about "Bloodworth"... or "Shadowskull"... hmm... naming things is so hard" Solomon complained to the dead orphan who poured his tea as he sat in his new castle. Walls had been reconstructed and the castle was looking less like ancient ruins now. At this moment an army of dead were constructing a grand hall, some were even affixing a chandelier to the ceiling. Solomon desired a castle of decadence and that was exactly what he'd achieve. Stepping down the stairs, Solomon skipped into the hall. He grabbed a noonwraith's hand and began to dance a slow waltz with the undead woman. While they dance, he hummed a tune. A slow, eerie tune "Hear that? It's the screams of the vengeful dead. Their howls are music to my ears... They shouldn't be screaming they should be WORKING!" he suddenly turned and shrieked into an undead doppler's face "I am expecting guests and this castle must be complete before they arrive!" The horse galloped along the landscape, Willow on its back, cloak flapping in the wind and eyes dead set on her destination. Oxenfurt, that was where the mage was last seen. The boy who Milosh wanted back, and she would complete that mission.
The demigod was swinging his sword towards Kala when suddenly a massive metal fist grabbed his arm and stopped him mid-swing. There was a pause then a polite yet indignant mechanical voice spoke to him "How dare you?" Timothy said shocked. "See what I mean, Ms Kala? People are so rude" he said to his mistress, before squeezing the demigod's arm like a vice and swinging his fist, aimed straight at the man's face. Ashleigh steepled her fingers and peered over them with narrowed eyes. "I see. We need to move fast then. How are their defenses? Do you have a map of the basic layout of their camp?" She asked the men "Right now my plan is to enter under the guise of a diplomatic mission, while the brunt of our army stays outside their walls. Veera can inflitrate and help get the army in while they're distracted with me. I'll bring the Knighthawks who can defend me if anything goes wrong. Any questions?" "Yes, two questions" Ran stated "1) Got any missions for me? 2)... Did I hear you had an Ancient God?"
As soon as the demon began to bargain with the lives of others, Paragon knew it was time to act. As Slavko approached the door, Paragon burst through and fired a round into the demon's arm which held the chain "Not so fast" he said casually. Nick was quick to act, as soon as the demon was distracted he took out his concealed stele and struck the demon around the head, knocking him to the ground. One of the men pulled out a pair of handcuffs, probably magical, and cuffed the creature. For extra measure, Nick placed a binding rune on him "Your reign of torment is over, Slavko. You tried to mess with the wrong guy" he stated emotionlessly "Wonderful job Nicholas" Paragon complimented "Couldn't have done it better myself" "My pleasure" Nick replied with a smile "Black Pawn, White Pawn, take the demon away. Oh, but before I go..." Paragon turned to face the stunned patrons of the restaurant, some had hidden in fear, some were sitting in shocked silence, but they all looked towards the impressive man "This never happened. You all came out for dinner and had a lovely time, and now you're going to go home. As for you waiting staff, this was just another ordinary shift. Waitress, you got that injury when you slipped and fell" Paragons words mesmerized the humans, and as he finished all the patrons immediately left, their faces blank but content. The staff carried on as if nothing had happened. The demon Slavko was awoken in Paragon's HQ, in a solid metal cell. A doctor peered through the narrow window, he wore thick glasses and a long doctor's coat that was black instead of white "Good Evening, I am Doctor Bishop. I'm sure we'll get to know each other very well soon enough"
Nick smiled at Ryan "I haven't seen that movie, but I will now" he said. And so the date went on, and Nick truly enjoyed himself. They talked about life in general, and hobbies. When Ryan tried to bring the subject to family, Nick gently steered the conversation away onto lighter subjects. Hours went by, they had a wonderful meal (which the cook recommended) and even had dessert. Suddenly, Nick looked at his watch "Oh, is that the time?" he said loudly. Two men entered the restaurant, clad in black and stood by Nick's side "Oh hello! Nice of you to join us. Please, meet my friend. He calls himself Ryan Reynolds but that's not his real name. He's a demon, aren't you Ryan?" Nick suddenly turned on Slavko with a smirk and a glare of fire "We first met in a motel and I killed him. He came back obviously and tried to trick me again, I was almost fooled. He underestimates me greatly. Anyway, my friends, I believe you wanted a demon?" the men were dressed in long trench coats, they could have any weapon under there "Come along then, date's over, it's time for you to be heading home" one of the men told the demon in a threatening tone "Come out with us, we'll walk you home. It can be dangerous out there" "Well I'm glad that's how it turned out" Masque replied "I don't like killing. Well, I don't like it after I've done it. But sometimes I just need to express violent urges. I can't control it! I do want to make the world a brighter place but it's so hard"
"NO!" he hissed angrily and hugged the sketchbook to himself... then he suddenly realised what he was doing and slumped "Sorry... I just... it's ruined. It's not very good anyway..." He sighed "For the record... what I did to you... it looked beautiful, but I understand how you might not see it that way... all I ever wanted was for the world to live up to my expectations" Nick tried it "Mmm! Tasty, you know a lot about food then?" Nick asked as he ate the appetizer. Ryan seemed a nice enough guy "So... uh... do you like movies? I like movies... I saw Star Wars VII the other day, some people say it's just episode 4 done all over again but I still liked it" Black Pawn and White Pawn ran over the rooftops stealthily, following the tracking device the led them to their destination. Paragon flew overhead, watching carefully.
Big Game Hunting Fordington Sanderson scratched his chin thoughtfully "Bryce, come with me and Aedan old chap, I'm sure our two new friends can fight well enough on their own, and we may need a powerful fighter with us" He explained. It was time for them to part ways "I hope to see you all in one piece next time we meet, old sports!" he said, bidding farewell to Ulrich and Sebatien. Turning back to Aedan and Bryce he began to lead them to the Northwest quarter of the city, within which supposedly resided the Wizard Iceroth "Right, first order of business let's talk to this wizard the mayor mentioned, he will certainly know something of this 'Winter Man'" Sanderson reasoned. As they approached the quarter Sanderson stopped the group. A few metres into the ruined town there was a glowing purple line of runes across the path "A failsafe against the drakes no doubt, it should not harm us" he stated as they crossed the barrier. They were now in the middle of this section of the town. Nearby was an abandoned library and a church. "Where do you think we should go?" Guard Commander Chuck Telviron: Suddenly, a man ran up towards Ulrich and Sebastien "So you're here to help?" he asked "Good, we need fighting men. Would you mind accompanying me? The drakes have infested the town and they won't leave unless we're forceful about it"
"Cool! I'll... uh... see you then!" Nick ended the call and put the phone away, A giddy grin was across his face, he was excited for this date. Quickly, he drove back to his apartment to get ready. Well first he'd need a shower, and a change of clothes. Bloodstains were generally not called for in a romantic situation. He was halfway through undressing when suddenly the phone rang. Confused, he checked who it was. As soon he saw the symbol that blared up he sighed and clicked decline. He stood for a moment in the shower letting the water drip down him and cleanse the blood and dirt. As soon as he got out the phone rang again. With an angry sigh Nick picked it up "What?... oh... oh really? I see. Well I already saw... yeah... yeah I won't forget" Nick hung up the phone again. Covered with only a towel, Nick looked at himself in the bathroom mirror with a thoughtful expression. He picked up the stele from his pile of clothes, a moment later two runes glowed on his upper arm, where it wouldn't be seen. A few minutes of deciding on clothes later, Nick left the apartment. "Hi, sorry I'm later I couldn't decide on clothes... uh.. I don't have much experience of this" Nick smiled lopsidedly, "White wine? Very classy" he took a sip. Masque didn't smile, he simply frowned less, as he listened to Morrigan. "Words can't bring back lives..." masque muttered bitterly, before taking out his paper. He showed her some of his sketches modestly, various pictures of people mostly, just random people who caught his eye and whose visage stuck in his mind. "Uh... this one's you... it's not very good" Masque hesitantly showed her a beautiful pencil drawing of herself, it had quite some artistic liberties taken, her dress was made from thousands of intricately detailed flowers and vines spiraled up her body. "Oh... and this one's me, uh..." Masque trailed off as he looked at the picture he'd drawn of himself, a grotesque dark image with exaggerated horns and a mouth of horrific, sharp teeth. The image was drawn angrily, the pencil lines hard and dark, whereas the lines for Morrigan has been light and gentle. He turned the page onto the sketch he'd started off his captors, but remembered it had been ruined when he'd been jogged in the car and quickly hid it "Oh that one's ruined, it's not worth seeing" Two guns check Loaded check Body armour check Classy demeanor? check "The eagle has landed, let's go"
