The blow was not enough to kill it and Aaron silently cursed as the serpent kept pushing him, slow as it may have been. Just as he was nearly completely circled when something flew through the air and exploded on the serpent. It wasn't a firey explosion and Aaron had enough training to know what it was, and had a feeling he knew who was responsible. "Thanks uncle Vec." Aaron mumbled to himself as the serpent finally left, bloody and injured with a wolf still attached. There was a sigh, but the relief didn't last long. Vec got rid of the serpent, but not before he was surrounded. Sheathing his silver sword Aaron went to draw the steel sword, but thought about his odds. Leaving both swords sheathed, he lowered his hands and stared at the man on the ship. "You wanted a witcher, here he is, but you know you could simply hire us for a little cash." He responded buying himself time to think. "But if you dint mind, I will be going now." He said casting Axii in order to convince them to let him go. Shore was now out of sight thanks to the fog, but if he went the opposite direction he should get back. While her vision was good, it was not good enough to notice the boy in the boat. Seeing the serpent leave, Dayla wasn't sure if they were safe or not. There was still the ships that were rapidly disappearing from sight. That fog didn't feel natural, there was something wrong. And with the rain slowing she thought that there might be a chance to light another arrow. She would be shooting blind but if she hit, she had to try, for the sake of the city she came to call home, even if it didn't feel like it. Looking for the nearest lit torch, Dayla lit up another arrow and took aim, shifting slightly her aim to account for ships movement. "Here goes nothing." she mumbled before shooting off the arrow.
Moving along Cerdic found his way to the fourth crystal. Glancing around the coast was still clear, so he took advantage of that, swiftly destroying the crystal. With one more glance around he ran from there back towards the group. On the way back he spotted Mora, she got out. "Don't run off on your own." Cerdic warned the girl before continuing back. Arriving back at the group Cerdic glanced at Kara who was still passed out. Stepping past the circle he decided they had to get her out. "Alder, help me get Kara to safety." He instructed as he grabbed Kara under the arms.
Well at least the lump of metal had sense enough to take his leave at long last. It was one less thorn in his side to deal with and that was fine by him. He hoped that it would be a long while before Aspire returned, Lucian didn't think he would be ready to deal with its attitude until he had a drink or two in him. Then there was Lynda's warning. It took effort for Lucian not to respond. He couldn't imagine that the step from the pub food to prison food would be that much of a drop when compared to going from the fine foods of his parents manor, to the tavern food he often ate now. Alcohol however would be a lot harder to come by in jail, perhaps one of the only reasons he chose to behave himself at that moment. Approaching the Minister, Lucian observed a familiar look on her face, but chose to ignore it. Acknowledging it only would lead him to acknowledging things better not faced. "It is not smart to jump to conclusions so quickly, so if you please, humour us for the sake of a thorough investigation." Lucian made a good attempt at trying to sound professional and helpful. If he did that, maybe this all would be over quickly. He would have preferred being brought on a task that his swords could get some exercise, but since it wasn't, he couldn't remind anyone why they should keep him around that way. Instead he had to resort to dogging back in his mind, finding the person he was when he first joined the Constabulary, and pretend, just for the day, that boy still existed.
Whether luck, or a blessing from whatever gods might have been out there, Cerdic didn't know, but mercifully it seemed that Ria had not followed him as he bolted away to go play hero. He just prayed that the sadistic creep wasn't killing his friends while he was gone. "Just a little longer, hold on a little longer." He whispered to himself as he rounded a corner and noticed the first Crystal. One at each corner. Summoning his keyblade he swung and smashed the crystal. Only allowing himself a moment to catch his breath, Cerdic turned 90 degrees and started to follow any roads in that direction assuming that it would take him to the next crystal. He would focus on the ones at the corners before the fifth one that was more out of reach. Maybe Alder could escape of he broke only a few. Between the two of them they would stand more of a chance. He hated to admit it, but Cerdic knew it was time to work together with the dog, if for no other reason than to prevent another loss of life.
There was a disappointment that washed over Tinarah when Atmos didn't seem to get any better. Despite Terrin's attempts at comfort, Tinarah still felt like it was just another front in which she failed. Dropping near the back of the group, reluctantly Tinarah followed everyone away from where Atmos was resting. They didn't get too far before there was a block. While there was a way through it, Tinarah looked unsure about going any further. Looking back to where they had come from she hoped they would decide to wait for Choma before moving forward. Tinarah didn't speak her mind though, she knew she was being annoying as it was, and she didn't wish to make anyone hate her. So she silently waited to follow lead, even of her whole mind and body screamed for her to return to master Atmos and wait it out with her.
Things weren't looking good as he was pushed further out to sea. Aaron could see the boats starting to move and cringed slightly. Things weren't going well but he had an idea. The only problem was, that for his plan to work, he would need to put himself in danger. The risk would be one he would have to take if the ships got closer. That being said the ships moved slowly and Aaron wasn't too sure what he should do. Pulling himself up he assessed the situation, the area he was in. He noticed one of the ships catch fire, so if he could avoid getting too close to that ship it would be good. Looking at the monster pushing his boat, he started to notice that it starting to slow slightly. Before he didn't think that he had enough strength to beat the creature, but now.... There might be a chance. His first plan would have worked better, but it required waiting longer and taking another chance. If he failed to kill the creature here however, it would be just as dangerous or more to piss it off. No matter there was no real safe way to deal with this situation. Taking a moment to steady himself, Aaron looked down at the creature, calming his breath. Holding his silver sword in one hand he started to cast a sign with the other. A small blast of fire sprayed from his hand. Aiming it at the creatures head he hoped that it was enough of a distraction as he stabbed straight down at its head. All Aaron knew now was that if something happened, and the serpent got out of the way, he was going to fall over into the water. He had enough momentum behind him that this strike was going to be the only thing balancing him. Watching the bay, Dayla watched as the mist kept creeping up. The ships in the bay were nothing but blurred shadows, but she could see that the monster was heading towards them. Dayla didn't have a good feeling about it. She glanced around at the few people still in the streets, then back at the water. She needed to stay behind and protect, but she also wondered if her archery skills would be useful. She found herself also wondering if Alyse was safe since she never returned to the tavern. Dayla just prayed that she had returned home and stayed there where it was safe. Her sense of adventure got the better though, Dayla couldn't stay back any longer. Hopping off the roof Dayla locked the doors to the tavern, locking everyone in. She didn't want anyone wandering the streets until she knew that it was safe. It might not have been safe for her tavern, but she didn't care. Running through the streets she notched one kind of arrow she had. As she passed by a torch, she ran the arrow through it so it was then on fire. The moment she reached the bay she aimed, not looking at the small group that was gathered there, taking aim she shot for serpent in the water before notching another normal arrow. With the sudden heavy rain, Dayla knew it wasn't likely that she would get another flaming arrow to the beast without the flame going out. As it was it was hard enough to see the beast. However she did have just enough vision to be confident in her aim, as she always was. Pulling the string back once more she savoured the sound of the groaning wood. It had been far too long since she saw some action and the adrenaline gave her a sense of thrill as she aimed once more and fired.
"Ah there we go. All fixed! It looks like there were just a few screws loose, and I am not talking about in my head... Well there might be a few screws loose there too. You never know. Well you would of it was mechanical and you could just look inside, but that is not the case. But could you imagine how cool it would be! I wonder how much more efficient it would be. But you couldn't replace your brain entirely or else I wouldn't be me. Could you imagine me without any emotions, it would be soooo boring! Anyways your knees is fixed up, have a nice day. " Mirela found herself on one of her famous tangents as she finished up fixing up Mister Michael's knee. The job had been a simple one, he had a couple of screws that came loose and simply by tightening them and oiling some joints, it worked good as new. Mirela couldn't say the same for her own hip though. As she went to stand up after he left, she found herself stuck and her hip had locked up. She tried to straighten up a few times but after they failed she sat down looking a bit grumpy. "Um... Someone help... " she said even though the store was empty.
Thankfully one man that was bothering him left, but instead it was replaced with another annoying... person... he supposed. A golem of some sort it seemed but Lucian was no familiar enough with them to really understand anything about it. It didn't matter, it was getting on his nerves anyways. "I don't remember asking for the opinion of a tin can." Lucian retorted to Aspire scowling at him but of course Lynda had to stick her nose in it as well, reprimanding him for the way he spoke to her. Lucian turned his attention to her, staring her down, not backing down, even as she threw his beer in the canal. He had not expected to get it back to start with, so it was no real loss compared to before. She then threatened his job as well. "If you promise not to arrest me, I will leave, but since we both know that won't happen I suppose my hands are tied." Lucian said in a rather emotionless tone. He had other ways of making money, the only reason he had to stay was to keep himself out of extreme trouble. The trouble he got in with Lynda never bothered him. "Lead the way your majesty." He gave her a slight bow letting her go ahead and lead the way.
#BlameArch
Aislinn listened to what Hikaru was saying, trying to catch up on what was happening the best she could. She could understand that he couldn't straight up tell her the whole story without it seeming weird, so she picked up on what she could. Long story short they needed to defeat this Stark person in order to get what they needed to win beat this section of the test. When Hikaru asked where players respawned and there wasn't an answer, Aislinn frowned. Derezzed was just a fancy electronic way of saying dead. Of course, she knew this was another mission where people wanted them dead, why would she have hoped for anything better? Still she had a duty to serve and protect, just as this man said. "So we win or we get derezzed. If we don't do anything Stark wins and it isn't good for anyone. It looks like our path is clear then. I will help as well." Aislinn offered. She didn't totally understand what was so wrong with this Stark person, but she got the sense that they would need to do something about him and quick.
Lucian let out a dark chuckle at the mans comment. The kind of laugh that you gave when the pain, the knowledge of something ran far deeper than you let anyone see. "So what if I am a bully? The Constabulary was on it's way downhill long before that came to pass." Lucian told the man, amusement in his voice even if there was nothing to really be amused about. The joy did not spread to his eyes though... or at least the one eye that was still his. His hand that rested on the pommel of his sword clenched and unclenched slightly as he spoke with this man that was being a pain in his side. "By the way, I don't take orders from hypocrites." He stated plainly dropping the mans hand at last. "I wouldn't try another attack either, it will only make matters worse for you." Lucian warned. Before he could see if the man finally left or now, another voice joined the fray, Lynda, of course. He rolled his eyes at her intervention. He did not need or want it. At least hopefully it would be enough to warrant the leaving of the man so that they could get back to looking into the case and getting back so that he could have another drink. He felt like he had been sober for too long already and he was on edge, everything bothering him. The tug from Lynda came as no surprise but Lucian quickly tried to shake her hand off. "Don't touch me." He growled at her, acting like that small act had hit a nerve with him. Taking a step back trying to convince her she didn't need to pull at him he returned her glare. "My apologies if you didn't like me trying to do my job, and find out the basis of what we are working with, while you chatted up an old friend." Lucian's voice dripped with sarcasm and anger as he spoke down to his superior like she was under him.
Tinarah listened to Takehiko, but didn't turn back to face him right away. The others might have been strong, but she wasn't. She had left home trying to prove to herself that she was strong, but instead ended up getting hurt and taken in by someone else. She tried to learn to fight but that had failed her as she let so many people get hurt and die. She ran instead of helping them. Thinking about it upset her enough that she found tears in her eyes once more, making her more convinced that she couldn't turn around to face Take. While his suggestion wasn't a bad one, to learn how to cure people, she felt that still made her just as much of a coward as ever, but wasn't that what she was? She was always hiding, even know she wished to be in the seclusion of her room away from all of this pain and mess. "I can't get hurt again.... and I can't see anyone else get hurt..." Tinarah insisted, her voice quiet and breaking as she wiped a tear from her eye. "I don't know if I can do this. It is too much." She insisted as she started to walk slowly towards where she left her violin. Picking up the case she looked towards Master Atmos. They couldn't leave until she was better so in an effort to move things along, so she could distract her mind from the dark shadows in which it was drifting too, painful memories she didn't want to face, she took Take's suggestion and decided to try and practice casting cure on Atmos, maybe then they could move on.
Aaron clutched his amulet tight. At first it was hard to tell when it was vibrating more violently, there was enough things round making it vibrate that it had become hard to differentiate between it. However there was a moment in which he felt it, a moment he got ready to jump the boat rocked violently and Aaron fell back as the Serpent burst forth in front of him. Clutching his sword still Aaron prepared to defend himself, even if it looked unlikely that he could. He wasn't far from shore, all he would have to do was fend it off long enough for the serpent to get distracted by something else, hopefully Derrick and or Teliana's fire balls, then he could jump to shore and it would be fine. It was a good theory, but before Aaron could get to his feet, the serpent lowered his head and started swimming. The sudden movement of the boat knocked Aaron back down and it became unstable enough for him to even attempt to get up. Laying back in the boat Aaron cursed himself for his stupidity. Bracing himself on the edges he was able to sit up and look back at the shore that was rapidly disappearing as fog started to enclose around him. If he could just get stable enough he could have a chance at injuring the beast. Jumping and swimming for his life was out of the question. Aaron was not a strong swimmer, but even if he was it was unlikely anyone could out swim the damn thing. "Derrick I could really use some help right about now." Aaron mumbled to himself before casting igni up in the air and hoping that it would make him more visible to Derrick so that he could get the help he desperately needed.
Lucian could see as the anger in the guard he was talking to, rose at a similar rate to his own temper. He scowled at the guard, ready to give up when Lucian caught the sound of a footstep behind him, then a voice. Turning he saw a man trying to punch him as Lynda yelled at him to be careful. Even though Lucian spent half his time drunk, he actually did train during his spare time. His reflexes were on par, and that is why when he turned and he saw the man winding up to hit him, Lucian was not only able to block the attack but catch the mans fist and hold it for a moment, staring him down. "Funny for you to talk about respect. Punching a constable is not respectful yourself. Now I would suggest that you leave before I decide to arrest you for assaulting an officer." Lucian warned not letting the man go until he agreed to leave the area. "As the fine guard said, this is a sensitive situation, you can't be here." Lucian stated sternly hoping that the man would get the picture. Though if he didn't, well it would be fun to get into another fight. Finishing her little happy dance, Mirela returned to her shop and looked at her project. Well she couldn't keep working on that until her parts arrived, which should be later that day. Until then Mirela didn't know what to do with herself. Pacing around her shop a little bit she looked around to see what other project she had going. There were quite a few projects that she hadn't finished yet, put down and just got bored with. Picking up one of them, she turned the knob and some off kilter notes started to play. She had wanted it to sound like the contraption she had on her wall, full of music, but she couldn't get the sound right. Sighing she put it back down to see an old man in the door. "Oh! Mister Micheals, there you are. Have a seat, have a seat, let me see." Mirela insisted waving at the chair still set up from the meeting with the man earlier. Switching out her regular hand for her tools she knelt in front of him and started to work on his knees. "Oh, Mister Micheals, you won't believe who was in my shop today! It was amazing. You know Mister Gallahowe? He owns that electric company, it is amazing! He wants me to join him in this order thing!" Mirela explained excitedly. "Oh wait, maybe that was supposed to be a secret. I don't know. Just don't tell anyone okay?" She rambled on to the old man hoping that he would keep quiet about it.
Lucian scoffed as the guard responded to him. He clearly was not impressed with this situation at all. Crossing his hands across his chest he stared down the guard. "My superior officer? You mean the lady that would rather catch up with an old friend then actually do her job? She is over there, deal with her as you will. That being said I figured there was more important business than a clock golem, I didn't think it would be a problem taking matters into my own hands and you know, doing my job. So let me ask you again, what happened here? It isn't like I am asking much. I am not asking you to let your suspect go or anything, I just want to know what is going on so that I could do my job. That being said if someone was going to attack the Minister I am sure they would be trained enough not to get caught off the bat. That probably isn't your person, or they are the dumbest person in the world." Lucian said with a roll of his eyes. If his question wasn't answered this time, there could be problems. Lucian was quickly running out of patience as his hand twitched back to his sword, though he resisted the urge to start a big fight here. Instead he just stared down at the guard.
Of course Alder had to speak up with his own comment to try free him and the girl as well. Rolling his eyes he turned his attention back to Ria, trying to tell what they were thinking. Thankfully they said what they were thinking, it saved him from trying to guess. Alders plan didn't work but neither did his. Ria didn't care and would rather kill them. Well that was not helpful in the slightest. And then... that was when he made a mistake. As Ria was talking his hand slipped, ripping the page too loud and too fast, of course Ria heard. They turned the attention to him and Cerdic tried to take a step back only to remember he already pushed himself back against a wall. As the darkness swirled around him, he found himself unable to move. Panic struck Cerdic as Ria approached asking for the book, the book he would not hand over. If they were going to die anyways, why would he give the creep what they wanted. Before Ria could do anything to him however, Relli came in to save the day... or at least try. Being freed from the circle, Cerdic darted away instead of helping Relli, a fatal mistake. Ria managed to get back at Relli choking them, killing yet another member of their team. Cerdic was wide eyed and terrified but didn't know how to deal with it. Just as this happened the girl started to yell something at him about crystals. One in each corner. He could do that. He wanted to tell them to hold on, that he would be back, but Cerdic's mouth was dry. Unable to speak Cerdic bolted, trying to find a crystal. He needed to destroy as many as he could, as fast as he could.
Standing in front of the door for a moment Aislinn let some of the other groups go ahead of her and Kel, not particularly having strong feelings or draws in any which way. Watching for a moment she noticed that there had only been two that entered a different door. Her last partner, Stratos, had entered through a door with one other young man that she had yet to be acquainted with. Given she had a bad feeling about this from the start, she didn't like the idea of the pair going alone. Glancing over at Kel, Aislinn finally spoke up. "Hey Kel... I think that we should go with those two. I don't like the idea of them going to that area alone. Is that alright?" Aislinn asked as she stepped away from the door labeled The Grid, and towards the one that the other pair had entered. When she got the okay from her partner to change doors, Aislinn took a deep breath, summoning her keyblade before stepping through the door. On the other side, she looked around to see a room full of people, the people who were there all looked similar, blue circuit like things lined them. Listening to the man speak, he spoke about programs and such. So they really were in these weird digital like worlds weren't they? A little confused and thrown off by this, Aislinn spotted Stratos and his partner. "We should go join them." Aislinn whispered to Kel before approaching. Seeing them with another man... or whatever he was, Aislinn hesitated before walking up behind them, giving Stratos a friendly tap on the shoulder. "New friend of yours?" She asked trying not to seem out of place while still gathering more information if she could. She looked over at the man and held out a hand. "Hi, I am Aislinn, and this is my friend Kel." She said gesturing behind her to Kel as well.
Invite sent
"Well if you want to be technical, you could say I did have some sort of formal training. I mean I did work for a man back in New Haven from the time I was 15, until I opened my shop here at 23. He was a great engineer himself, taught me all I know." Mirela stated proud of her old tutor/employer. For a moment when she spoke about him, she forgot about who she was talking to. Looking up again, seeing Mortimers face, reminded her and she blushed slightly. "I mean it is nothing compared to your training, but I can't take all the credit in the end." Mirela said with a slight nervous giggle. "D-do you really think I could be that great? One day people will actually know my name?" Mirela asked not sure how to react to the compliments. Soon the man said he had to go and handed her an address. Taking it she bowed to him once more. "Thank you, I will be there." She told him and watched him leave before opening her work table again so that she could set to work. Mirela was too flustered and excited though to focus on her work however as she stepped out of her shop and started dancing in the streets, disregarding all the odd stares she got as she danced and hummed in front of her store until Flicka returned with the note saying that her supplies would be brought over shortly.
Aaron floated into the sea a little further, but before he could get close enough to the serpent, it dived under water. For a moment Aaron was a little lost about what he should do about that. Stood there for a bit, staring at the water, contemplating his options. It wouldn't be smart to dive after it... plus he was not that great at swimming. He wasn't going die the moment that he hit the water, but he was not fast at swimming and wouldn't do well against the current. Now in the boat in the middle of the harbour type area, Aaron didn't have any plan in his mind. He had ran into it without thinking again, one of his weak points. Shaking his head he tried to focus on something to do when a familiar voice called out to him. Turning around to he listened to Derricks instructions and started to paddle as hard as he could. The plan, it sounded... dangerous, but if he could manage it, then maybe he would be the hero for once. Glancing around the shore as well, he noticed Vec running into the fray as well. He was going to get an earful for this later, he knew, but for now there was bigger issues at hand. With his free hand Aaron grabbed on to his medallion, waiting, feeling for the vibration of it. He was nervous, but he believed in Derrick and would try. The streets were clearing out and Dayla started to user the scared civilians into her Tavern. While people looked a little nervous at her decked out in weapons, most not having seen her like that, they still found refuge. When her tavern was decently full, the other witcher having left her and the innocent lives that were gathered there for refuge. meaning it was left all up to her to keep these people safe. With a sigh, she scaled the side of her tavern and found herself a spot to crouch on her roof. Looking out she could see smoke down by the harbour, hearing the yelling, but she couldn't leave. Notching an arrow, Dayla prepared for anything that was not a local to come up the road. She could shoot them before they came within five hundred meters of her tavern.
