Sine Nomine: Evil is a Star

[Call me J]

(Open to all Sine Nomine members)

The messenger rode bravely from the docks towards the City of Lights. It was dark, a good time for the dark elves of Alerar, but a time that made the Salvarian quite nervous. He knew that he was vulnerable to dark elven bandits and thieves who would savor the opportunity to attack a single messenger, especially one dressed in Sifan robes. Still, the messenger persevered on bravely through the darkness, past Etheria, out towards Ettermire, until he could see the black smoke and incandescent lights of Ettermire emanating out into the darkness. He smiled, the noble journey was almost over. After a quick glance to his left and right, the messenger reached into his saddle bag and removed the letter, just to insure it was still there.

The letter was still there. The seal of the Salvarian state shone in bright gold. It was quite an opulent seal, especially given the difficulties Salvar was facing with its civil war, but the messenger appreciated that his government hadn’t given up on the little touches. He congratulated himself on a job well done, and thought of the reward he would receive when word of his deed reached his king.

Before the messenger could place the letter back into his back, he suddenly found himself lifted up into the air. Tightly and desperately, the messenger gripped the letter, unwilling to let go of the message of his government, even at the expense of grabbing at the reigns of his steed. It wasn’t until the messenger was more than fifteen feet in the air when he looked up to find that a small dragon had lifted him up into the sky.

“Wh- wh- whaaaa…” the messenger stammered.

“Give me the letter,” the dragon demanded.

The messenger shook his head.

The dragon reiterated his demand, only now with a threat as well. “Give me the letter or I drop you.”

Timidly, the messenger offered the letter upwards, the dragon grabbed it with his mouth. A few seconds later, poor Salvarian envoy was thrown into a nearby lake. The unfortunate man would be able to swim to shore, though he would have to explain his failure to his government with a great deal of embarrassment. He watched helplessly as the dragon continued to fly through the sky, and wondered if he ran quickly enough, could he keep up with the powerful beast that was soaring through the sky. He tried, but failed.

-x-

The dragon didn’t land until he had reached Etheria Port. There, the dragon set down near the ruins of a lighthouse, transformed into a humanoid form and began to read voraciously. Less than half an hour before, Jame Whitizard-Kaosi had heard that an envoy from Salvar was coming with news about their civil war. He had decided to intercept it. Now, he stood in the shadow of an abandoned lighthouse in a vastly abandoned port city, and read the missive ravenously.

Almost immediately, a shudder rolled down Jame’s spine. “If this is right, the state is going to crush the church in a matter of days,” he realized. The letter spoke of a secret facility in Sulgoran’s Axe, deep in the extreme cold of Salvar, where the government was working with a particularly powerful mage to turn prisoners of war and captured slaves into mind altered soldiers who knew nothing but loyalty to the Salvarian government. They had finally captured enough to decisively crush the church, and with time, they would have their army.

Jame knew something needed to be done about this. He had no particular tie to either church nor state, but he knew morally, he couldn’t stand by and watch as a government profited from such a cruel tactic against people who it wanted to govern. Immediately, Jame thought of Virtue and Sine Nomine, and realized they were the only people he could turn to if he wanted something done. He turned back into a dragon and did not stop until he reached Radasanth.

-x-

When Jame set down in Radasanth, his entire body was covered in sweat. He shook himself off slightly, and then transformed back into humanoid form without barely missing a step. He entered the a small complex of flats near the Citadel, a place where he had been told that he would be able to find someone from Sine Nomine if ever necessary. They had kept a flat on the eighth floor of the rickety old building, and according to Virtue, there always needed to be someone there.

As he climbed up the stairs, Jame tried to pay no mind to the smell of mildew and moisture all around him, but he couldn't help but think snidely about how even a secret organization should have had enough money for something better than a shoddy flat in an are of Radasanth just bordering on the slums. After climbing what seemed far too long in the stale building, Jame reached the apartment door and rapt loudly.

Virtue answered. He looked particularly surprised to see Jame.

"Oh... yes, come in please... come in," the older man managed. He offered Jame a handkerchief to put around his face.

The half dragon nodded appreciatively and masked himself. Jame knew he didn't need to elaborate on the urgency of the matter, his tired eyes and sweat soaked appearance said that enough. Once he had placed the kerchief over his mouth, he entered into the room, surprised to see how many other people were there. "All members," Jame guessed.

He cleared his throat and began. "There is a facility in Salvar we need to destroy..." he said, before handing the paper off to Virtue so the older man could see what he meant.

[Lucien]

It had been nearly a month since Lucien had joined Sine Nomine, a group that had masterminded his escape from a small Salvic dungeon and placed him in a rather stable, if bland, position. He kept house, organized papers, and anything else that your average uneducated Althanianite could not fathom. Despite the disparaging remarks public education received on Earth, it seemed state lunches and worn books full of gang taggings had taught him invaluable lessons.

The flat was worn and moldy and smelt like your average gas station in the summer, a scent strong enough to annoy, but feint enough to pretend it doesn't really exist. It was the elephant in a room full of awkward stares of members from all over Sine Nomine, gathered together under a single banner by the rather pudgy form of Virtue, who gestured for the boy to prepare a pot of tea over an open flame towards the back.

As the whistle chimed, Lucien heard weary footsteps climb the long, winding ascent into the apartment, before coming through the rickety door whose hinges desperately needed a god squirt of oil. As he threw together a few cups that he filled with the brown liquid, he heard an all too familiar voice with a rather urgent tone to it.

"Jame?" he thought with some strain as he balanced a rather full silver plater tarnished by age, swaying a little as he walked out into the main room.

[Magdalena]

These news could not have come at a better time.

Virtue had merely glanced over the epistle, expecting no more than the drivel that sent aspiring heroes on a fool’s errand. It wasn’t quite so, he quickly came to realize after a second, more thorough read. The stout man pondered the situation, contemplatively rubbing his chin. There was much to gain from this unbidden endeavour, much that would help further the cause of Sine Nomine.

“Let me see if I am clear on your demands,” Virtue finally said, looking up from the paper to stare at Jame with his deep-set eyes, one brow quirked as though the boy had made a most outrageous request. “You are asking us to send our few numbers to get entangled in matters that not only do not concern us, but would also aid the Church, were this mission to be completed successfully?”

Though his claim was ostensibly sensible, Virtue knew that it was a lie. It was in their best interest that the current state of upheaval in Salvar be held in a stalemate, letting the church and monarchy wear each other thin. If this facility was left to its own devices, however, an already shaky balance between both powers would suddenly see its scales tip to the King, and his yoke over the Salvaran nation would become entrenched, once and for all. Such a prospect did not amuse him. On the contrary, by undertaking this mission, not only would they set the scales back, but Sine Nomine’s own numbers would also grow much stronger. Now this was a pleasant notion to the man.

Virtue dallied a bit longer, acting as though he were torn in a quandary, slightly leaning toward a choice unfavourable to the young man. He watched Jame sweat from exhaustion of his hasty trip and the dreadful anticipation of an answer, and was rather enjoying his position of power. “I, however, cannot overlook what benefits our group can draw from your heartfelt proposition. It would seem that on this day, our goals intertwine.”

With a strong-armed flourish of the hand, he turned to the other occupants of the dilapidated room. They were a strange assortment, only a few notches above ragtag, but Virtue had no doubt as to their competence and loyalty to the organization. Even those sprawled on the stained floorboards or those lazily propped against the peeled and browning walls, shrouded by hazes of tobacco smoke, had their uses. “Only a few are needed for this task. This will be no raid, but rather an infiltration,” the pudgy man paused, narrowing his eyes to sharpen their glimmer of malice.

“An assassination,” he finally said, his voice dark and solemn for effect. “Those of you who are up to the challenge, arise.”


“I shall go,” came the sensuous whisper, coddling as it reached their ears. The voice had not originated from the room, but rather from behind the silver-haired newcomer. A woman in delicate white robes and swathed in a blood red shawl was standing in the doorway, arms crossed beneath the hinted shapes of a plentiful bosom, chin high and straight backed, exuding an elegance that was characteristic of nobility. Without a word, she passed by Jame, brushing the tip of her fingers on his shoulder as an apology for making him move, coming close enough for him to smell the scent of white blossoms that lingered in her wake.

She was fairly shorter than him, but even then he could see nothing through the fragile weave of her hood, save for a few wayward waves of scarlet hair. The woman turned to face him in a fluid motion, vestments fluttering in counterpoint to the sway of her body, but yet again her features remained concealed. Behind a crimson-feathered mask of purest silver and sparkling filigree, only the unflinching glower of pale, beryl eyes and the lush redness of heart-shaped lips could be seen.

“I present to you one of the leaders of our society. You may call her Maiden.”

[Call me J]

Jame had been a bit uneasy as Virtue had talked to him, he had thought the necessity to act in the proposal was evident. As far as members of Sine Nomine went, Jame figured he was among the least likely to be outraged by actions taken b the corrupt governments the world over, but the idea of mind control soldiers was disgusting. The half dragon was about to go into his first ever self righteous tirade but before he could, Virtue had agreed to his proposal.

With a scowl, Jame wondered if Virtue’s feigned reluctance wasn’t a more subtle punishment for what had happened in Ettermire, but now that the issue was settled, the half dragon was ready to go into battle, if not for Sine Nomine, then for himself. To concerned to notice that the boy serving drinks was the one he’d rescued from the jail in Salvar, Jame looked on at the group of people that Virtue had appealed to.

“Not much to choose from,” Jame thought. He had envisioned something completely different from what Virtue was proposing. He had wanted an entire army, had he thought infiltration would have been all that was necessary, Jame could have hired a pair of mercenaries in the great tavern in Ettermire. Instead, he had come here hoping for something better, the full size of Sine Nomine’s forces brought down on the most heinous use of force he had ever seen.

For a second, the half dragon considered making an appeal to The Light. In Jame’s initial encounter with both of them, he had found the young crippled boy to be the more idealistic of the pair. However, Jame had no idea how he would reach the boy, and even if he did, he got the distinct impression that among the leaders, Virtue was the true first among equals.

Now, he looked at the first volunteer, a woman who went by the codename of Maiden, and smirked appreciatively, knowing that the handkerchief that covered his face would prevent her from noticing his somewhat lewd expression. Still, he wasn’t pleased. Under many different circumstances he would have been glad to have teamed up with a slight, attractive woman, but this was not one of them. “For the sake of the Mya, we’re going to be infiltrating an army base…” he thought angrily. “Not a debutant’s soiree…”

Still, the handkerchief over his face should have mostly concealed this displeasure as well. “Hello, Maiden,” he intoned. “You can call me Rafe.” That was the name he went by in most situations with Sine Nomine. His true name in the group was Joule, but that was only the position he took when acting as a leader. After recruiting a female lycanthrope into the group, he had been punished and told to stay away from action, but even before that, he had been told that he was not to take his full responsibilities as a leader until he succeeded in his missions in Alerar. Until that point, Joule was nothing more than a statue, and he was Rafe.

However, thinking of the female lycanthrope made Jame realize that he might not be stuck on the mission with just this Maiden. Without caring if he broke the norms of politeness by interjecting, he turned towards Virtue. “That fox girl Dark Assassin wanted something to do,” Jame said. “She’s in Scara Brae, let her come with us too. Just me and Maiden might not be enough…”

Virtue seemed a bit surprised that Jame would say something like that, so completely and utterly out of the blue. In fact, Virtue seemed so surprised by the comment that he sent someone to comply just because he was stunned enough by the remark.

“Anyone else?” Jame asked. “I don’t really want to go three against an army…”

[Slayer of the Rot]

Virtue pursed his lips, and worry creased his brow. If that man's voice hadn't come up yet, perhaps he wasn't present. It would hardly be surprising if he wasn't indeed here; the man's faith and attendance for any function or meeting was dismal. All he ever seemed to care about was killing and what was in the pipe that day. Even though Virtue had been the one to recruit him, it was difficult to tell if he should be trusted. Despite having been sat by in the opium dens he frequented and talked to about The Light's vision, the man had gave numerous rude sounds of derision and waved them off. He was sure that he wasn't here, or anywhere in sight, but nevertheless, Virtue turned his eyes warily back into the room and over the present members.

"What? You want people killed?" Virtue winced as his eyes were drawn to the south wall of the flat, where nearly a dozen new members were gathered around one broad shouldered man. They were passing around a worn delyn combat knife, and the man in the middle had been telling random stories of his fights. The knife vanished from The third woman's hands, and the man stood, a wide, rough hewn stone mask pushed partially up his face. A stub of a smoldering cigarette hung from his lips, and just the ragged, pointed end of a white scar could be seen on his right cheek. The light played beautifully across his close cut chartreuse robe; one would guess it was some form of silk. A sun bronzed hand reached up and plucked the cigarette from his mouth, and pushed the stone mask over the rest of his face.

The mask was made of simple stone, still craggy and unfinished. Two sections branched off from the forehead to make the impression of horns, and rough red crystals marked where the man's eyes were. His posture belayed a fairly good mood; if anyone else was bothered by the smell of mold (and the sight of it, it showed in little dark spots on the walls close to the floor), he seemed pleased by it. Stretching his long legs, he stepped over the huddled members and walked across the flat to where Virtue and Maiden stood with on of the inductees he didn't know, who'd called himself Rafe. The man's masked face turned towards the young man, and his posture instantly stiffened.

It was the smell, if nothing else, that brought up the fresh memory. The smell of a half dragon, though if it had not been for the silver hair, red eyes, and towering statue, the man would have passed it off as coincidence. Part of him still did. There was no way of knowing if Rafe was Jame Whitizard, the hybrid he'd killed in the Dajas Pagoda under a different name in face short of asking or ripping off the handkerchief he hid behind. If he'd been in a worse mood, perhaps he would have. However, the surprise worked it's way out of his body even as Virtue looked over at him, his face unreadable.

"This is another of our leaders, Caligula. I hadn't realized he was here, but he's more than enough for this mission." Dan Lagh'ratham, known in this circle as Caligula, known briefly to a Jame Whitizard as Kross, grinned behind his stone mask and put his hands on his hips, puffing his chest. He already knew he was powerful, and had been approached for just that reason, but it still felt nice to be said out loud.

"Better believe it," his amusement apparent in his tone. "I was brought into Sine Nomine as muscle. I kill the threats, and I get what I want. What's your problem, Rafe? I'm feeling like I could kill God. Whatever's got you worried, I can crush it..."

[Andromeda]

I had just gotten back from Alerar after being recruited by a secret organization known as Sine Nomine. I had gone there in search of the hunters that had killed my parents, and ran into a man who introduced himself as Rafe. He ended up recruiting me. He saved me from jail, and together, we saved the man that I thought to be the leader from a crazed dwarf. I had left under the circumstances of being slightly untrusted. I had been hoping for a chance to prov ethat I could be trusted. It seemed that chance would come soon enough. As I was in the middle of a staged battle in front of my forest home in Scara Brae, a messenger came up to me, saying “You are needed at the citadel by Virtue.”
Distracted by the messenger for a second, I let my guard down. That was a mistake. My opponent was swinging as I heard this, and I realized this too late. I tried to block his blow, but I didn’t have time to ready my grip on my Katana. It was knocked out of my hand, thus causing me to lose the sparring match. “Damn It!” I cursed at the messenger, my hand sore from the force of the blow, “Can’t you see I was in the middle of sparring?! Now, who sends you?!”
“Sine Nomine” the messenger responded.
I stopped and thought for a second, trying to remember the code. Finaly,
“Tell Virtue that I will leave soon, then, but I must have a rematch with my opponent first. Without distractions.” And I turned to my opponent and said “I am sorry for the interruption. Let us begin again.”
I completed the sparring match, asked the man I was sparring with to wait for me at a nearby town, and began to ready my gear.
As soon as all of that was done, I headed of to the citadel. It was a long and uneventfull trip, but it was extremely cold. As soon as I reached the Citadel, I was greeted by Virtue. He lead me up a set of rickety looking winding stairs, which creaked and groaned ever so quietly under our weight. They smelled strongly of mildew, and I wrinkeled my nose in disgust. Finally, we reached a door. He opened it, and as soon as it was open, a wall of scent hit me. The room smelled strongly of tobbaco, and also hinted at freshly made tea. the room was rather ramshackle, with peeling wallpaper and stained floorboards, and I had to force myself not to gag from the apperance and smell. I noticed several people in the room that I was now in, one of them, being the man that had recruited me, Rafe, I remembered, was his name.
"This is our newest member, Dark Assasin." said Virtue.
"Hi," I said, waving at everybody. "So, why was I called here?" I asked, turning to Rafe as I said this.
Virtue answered my question. "We need a group of people to infiltrate a government facility. As you should know, the Salvar government and the church have been at war for a while, but the government has built a new facility that could tip the balance of the war, and it is in the best interests of our group to keep the war in a stalemate. We need your help."
I thought for a few minutes, finally saying "I will help."

[Nekoprincess]

"Miss Lightening! Hey miss Lightening!" Mistuki's voice rang in Rain's ears as she waved a note. "Didn't you see this? Master Rafe left this for you!"

"Mistuki...oy...you know my name. Call me Rainee...Rainee! We are not on a mission for Sin Nomine right now!" the half cat said in an exsprated voice.

"I know Rainee..I know but this is a note about Sin Nomine! Says your needed in Salvar!"

"What?" Taking the note, Rain pursued it briefly before she sighed and said irritably "He could have just told me....we were just together!" She then begin to gather her things. The hotel room she was in was cluttered with little machines that were cleaning up after her mess. The meal she had just eaten was currently be disposed off by a round little machine that was wiping the food remnants into a plastic bag and depositing her plate inside a little metal tray within its body.

Ignoring the little whirring sounds the cat mother hurriedly gave orders to her assistant. "You remember Mylie right?"

"Yes...your cute little girl." The mink haired girl said softly.

"Right...right I need you to watch her...here..." She paused in throwing in a vial of herbs to rummage through her bag until she came up with an ornate gold key. Pressing it into Mistuki's hands she murmured "Take Mylie back to Grace Manor Mistuki. See she is looked after."

Mistuki groaned as she murmurs "But...but!"

Rainee held up a finger, interrupting the nervous girl as she murmurs "Don't worry...all your needs will be met Mistuki! You'll be safe! Mylie won't cause you any trouble!"

A brief nod was given as Mistuki hesitantly said "A..al right." She then turned to leave the little room murmuring "I"ll go get her.." The mink haired girl then moved to knock on a small adjoining door. It opened slowly as a sleepy looking kitten appeared.

"Whaddya want Mistuki?" Mylie yawned tiredly.

"Your mom has a mission. I"m taking you back home."

Whimpering a bit Mylie asked "Can't I sleep a little more?"

"No your mom has to go now! I'll be keeping you company!" Mistuki said excitedly.

"Al right.." the young cat turned to her mother and said loudly "Come back soon though mom! Don't be gone to long!"

"I won't honey! Don't worry!" Rainee said as she closed the door to their hotel room. She then hurried to the front desk, where a young Drow girl was busy chewing gum.

As she looked up she asks " Checking out Miss Miyami?"

"Yes...the other two will be down shortly. I"m paying now though." She then handed over the required fee as the Drow girl checked her out. Once that was done she exited the hotel She then headed for the train station. Paying for at ticket, she gave her code name Lightening to the train conductor.

Soon she reached the train station in Salvar and stretched wincing a bit from the icy weather. Turning to read Jame's note she mutters "Just where is this building?!" Shivering a bit as her eyes traveled over the warmly dressed passengers she mutters "Ugh...I should have worn something warmer."

Moving to exit the train station, she pauses to check the note again and lets out a soft curse. Her eyes widened as she murmurs "Damn it! Radasanth? But then why did he tell me Salvar?" Turning to head towards the ticket booth, Rainee checks her wallet again, it was still full enough for her to make the trip to Radasanth. In a shivering voice she murmurs "Tick....ticket to Ra...Radasanth please!"

The conductor looked at her with disapproval before he murmurs "Should have checked your stations before you left the train. Here." He handed her a ticket in exchange for her money muttering "Next train leaves in fifteen minutes. Just wait over there." he points her towards the station house.

Nodding, she makes her trek against the snowy platform. Pushing open the glass doors, she enters a warm and dry circular room. Sitting in one of the leather chairs she mutters "I hope the train arrives soon. I don't want to be too late for the meeting...."

[Call me J]

Things were looking better. Jame was a bit surprised that Andromeda could reach so quickly, but that wasn’t what was important. He now had a genuine strike force ready. Between the masked seductress and this powerful demon, the half dragon was relatively confident. He knew Andromeda could handle herself and he had made sure to put in word to get Rainee to come along. “Five people…” he figured. “That should be enough if we have a plan.”

At the moment, Jame had nothing. Even as he had been flying over the sea to reach Radasanth, his mind had been focused just on the heinous nature of the enemy they were facing and the need to get to Sine Nomine.

Before he left though, Jame took a more thorough look at the muscle that was going to be provided for the mission, a man by the name of Caligula. The name itself was enough to make Jame a bit uneasy, but there was just something about the juggernaut before him that seemed memorable. And while Jame couldn’t exactly place the memory to a specific incident, he remembered enough of a negative affect to be nervous about it.

However, Jame was more than willing to set personal animosities, if they existed in the first place, aside. He offered Caligula the same piece of paper that he had given to Virtue, and suggested that he read. Jame knew that it wasn’t always the politest behavior to assume an Althanian could read, but in this case, he felt that it was more important that they started moving than he worried about anyone’s feelings. Between Caligula and Andromeda, or Dark Assassin as she was known in the group, one of them would be able to read what had been written.

With that settled, or soon to be settled, Jame decided that he needed to get moving. “We’ll get a boat at the Radasanth harbor,” he said. “We need to be in Salvar… anyone have any more questions, ask them as we’re moving. I’ve asked a certain Lightening to meet us at the harbor, and I don’t want to keep her, or any of the rest of you waiting. This is going to be hard enough as it is…”

Jame made no effort to excuse himself to Virtue before he left, though he did offer a casual wave to Lucien, with a somewhat mean suggestion that the boy be careful not to get locked up in anything again. With that, he moved out into the Radasanth streets, glad that it was still early enough in the morning that there was no one around to alert the authorities about a man whose face was covered by a handkerchief.

[Magdalena]

‘Well, well, this Rafe is an arrogant one,’ The woman thought to herself, watching the pump of Virtue’s pink and pudgy cheeks and the slight flare of his nostrils as the newcomer left the flat. Rafe had only spoken aloud a few suggestions, but he had successfully managed to undermine the stout man’s authority by taking over the whole enterprise, then absconding with the members of his organization without as much as a farewell. He blinked fast, inhaling slowly, as if to tame the fires of his wounded pride by the cool waft of reason, the sweet smell of profit. He flattened his hair and pulled it across in a greasy comb over, recovering the serene exterior of a man who had the world’s best interests at heart. She smirked. There was no room for even his mother in that fat-strung excuse for a heart: what could he possibly care about the world?

“Is there anything you’ve forgotten to tell me, Virtue?” she said while stopping at the splintering doorsill, almost as an afterthought. “Anything about this Rafe that I should know?” His first answer had been the twitch in the wrinkles around his eyes, then that round, toothy smile that he meant as a sign of smugness. They’d never seen eye to eye, and neither missed a moment to show their apathy for one another. This was one of those times. “So be it. I presume I’ll soon find out on my own, anyway.” He sent her off with a courteous sweep of the arm, to which she only responded with a dismissive wave of the hand. ‘Petty, petty little butterball.’

Maiden descended the stairs in a stately hurry, rejoining with the bulk of the group. Rafe led the way with Caligula and Dark Assassin close in tow, their three figures already melding into the midday crowds of the thoroughfare. She’d never met that anthropomorphic fox creature before, but to be honest she didn’t very much care either, having disdained most of those vagabonds and mercenaries who had amassed under their nameless banner, lulled by the call of personal gain. No, she didn’t care about them as much as they didn’t care about her; they were all here for reasons their own, the leaders included, save perhaps for that blind boy that Virtue apparently used as an innocent figurehead. The Light, Virtue and Caligula – of them, she wondered which she scorned the most.

The question was left without an answer when something caught her attention, like a fleeting shadow at the edge of her vision. It had appeared near brick walls that lined her right, perhaps vanishing into on of the many winding alleys that made the heart of Radasanth. Rather than a twitch of paranoia, however, it was a grin of relief that was splayed across her face. What she saw hadn’t been the mistake of an amateur stalker, but a deliberate act, done on purpose. It was a signal. ‘So you’ve finally come.’

All the way to the port, Maiden had not parted with her smile. The smell of brine was heavier now, the air laden with the astringent stench of fish-fraught crates as well. Less than fashionable men were scurrying back and forth on the boardwalks and docksides, some in striped shirts soaked in an unsanitary mix of sweat, salt and oil while others favored their bare-chested liberty, however plump or scraggly. “Rafe, can you see your friend anywhere?” she asked absently, her nose creased as she looked around.

Without waiting for his answer, the red maiden called up one of the idle men that sat on the bollards of the harbor, who slowly peeled himself off from his seat and walked over to the group, his hat tipped and a pipe in hand. He took a moment to quirk a brow at the masked procession, giving only a thought at the oddity of this motley group. After all, he had seen many a port, and there, the faces he'd met were often stranger than strange. “What can I do for you, m’lady? Need a set of my sails to take you across these perilous seas, I reckon?” He heard no answer and began to gripe about her rudeness, but was quick to sew his lips shut at the flickers of gold in her offered hand.

“Where to?” he said simply, catching the coins she dropped with the tip of his leathery fingers. There was more than enough to compensate for their few numbers. Far more than enough, he repeated, staring at the handful in disbelief. He stowed them away greedily and turned his grey eyes to stare proudly at the lean yet sturdy body of his clipper ship, the Molniya.

“To Salvar,” came her just as simple retort.

“Home it is, then,” the captain noted in his native tongue with a satisfied nod, eyes rolled up in nostalgia. When the moment had passed, he walked up the boards to his vessel, clearing through the crew to make way for his newest and only passengers. He was unaware that an extra figure had been added to his numbers, unaware that it observed the masked woman with a gentle smirk.

“Yes… home it is,” she whispered, smiling back.

[Andromeda]

I followed Rafe as he led us out of the building. I stuck close to him as he led us to the harbor, for fear of getting lost. I was good at finding even the most obscure path in nature, but the complex street plans of the city always confused me. I was deep in thought almost the entire way. My thoughts ranged from what had happened the past few days, up to thoughts about the new members of Sine Nomine that I had met today. Who was this Maiden character I had met? What was her purpose in life? Would I get along with this new person, Lightening, I thought was what Rafe had said her name was. I was jerked rudely out of my thoughts when I accidentally ran into Rafe as we reached our destination. We waited a while as Maiden got one of the sailors to take us to the mainland. As I boarded the ship, I noticed a member of the crew that had not been there before, as far as I had noticed. I thought nothing of it at the time, but I stored it in memory, just in case.

[Nekoprincess]

Tapping her foot impatiently, Rain was getting tired of the small sitting room. She had already studied the clock over the wall four times. She also could see that the room only consisted of two rows of comfy leather chairs, and that a vending machine sold warm drinks for one piece of gold. This didn't help any though as Rainee had already spent her allotted sum on the room that Mylie, Mistuki and she had shared. Sighing as she breathed warmly on her hands, her silver eyes once more looked up at the clock.

Finally! Those fifteen minutes felt like eternity! Rain thought as she hurriedly rose from the warm leather seat she had been sitting in. Exiting the simple waiting area, she was assaulted once more by the cold. Meowing a bit as her ears flattened against her head for warmth, she made her trek quickly through the powdered snow.

Once she reached the open door of the train, her body was covered with white flakes, shaking them off, she hurried into the train. Once there she soon reached a seat that was occupied with a pale skinned elf, her seat was next to his. Sitting down she smiles at him murmuring "On your way to Radasanth?"

The elf looked at her with dislike in his eyes, in a voice filled with disdain he muttered "I am yes, but I don't consort with your kind!"

The half cat's mouth shut quickly, looking at the elf shrewdly she thought This is why the world needs to be cleansed, its people like him that cause this world to be so unsafe... Taking her seat, Rainee gave the elf a wide berth as the train started.

Turning to stare out the window, the half cat watched as the snow of Salvar slowly disappeared. It was soon replaced by machines pumping out thick fog, as they made their way through Alerar. Rain sighs, she had just come from here and things had been normal. She and Jame had been able to spend some quality time together, but now, she'd see him through Sin Nomine and things would have to be different. She wanted it to be just them, but in truth she knew that she couldn't be that selfish.

Sighing, as the train announced that they were in Radasanth. She rose letting the elf pass by her. Heading for the exit, she handed the conductor her ticket and left. She then caught a horse and buggy to head over to the harbor. The streets were quiet as the horse trotted his way into the harbor.

The smells of salt and fish assaulted the cat mother's sensitive nose as she exited the horse and buggy. Paying the man who drove her, she soon heads for the group of masked people, pulling out a handkerchief from her pocket she waves at them calling "I'm Lightening. I received a note from Rafe about this meeting. What is the plan?"

[Lucien]

The tension that gripped so tightly was lifted, and simple chit and chatter began. The leviathan, the woman, the assassin and the dragon were gone, and the only thing stopping Lucien from following was the pudgy hand of Virtue leading the boy to a small back room behind beaded doors.

The enclosure smelled worse than the entire building as piles of clothes rotted on the floor and stacks of paper swayed like lumbering beasts prepared to die. A dead silence was only interrupted by the occasional chewing sounds of moths, as they gnawed away at their feast.

"Shouldn't I be following them?" Asked Lucien with a general concern., his eyes lit up to account for the dimly lit room.

"Sit down," said Virtue, for obvious dramatic effect that was lost when the boy realized there were chairs in the room. He propped himself against one rather large pile and tried to look as serious as possible. "I don't trust Rafe, and I fear The Light gives that creature far too much of his much sought after trust."

There was a pause in dialog as the rickety wall boards let a brief and brittle draft pour into the room. Insulation appeared to be a foreign word to the flat.

"So what do you want me to do a-"

"I need you to keep an eye on Rafe, and the rest of those vagabond leaders." Virtue's face turned a deathly pale and Lucien's a ripe red. "And I need you to remain as unchanging as the world in the way you act."

Lucien, stunned at the assignment, could only imagine everything that could possibly go wrong. The thoughts of the dragon form of the man who saved him, or of that gargantuan creature in the stone mask beating his small body to a pulp, were ever present reminders of the risks he would be taking.

"I - I don't think they'd ap...ppreciate me spying on them," stumbled the boy, whose eyes now darted about the room in a frantic attempt to take his mind off the situation.

Virtue could only smile a deep and pudgy smile, and in his robes he reminded the boy of some sort of sadistic Santa Claus. He shuffled, as fat people do, over to one of the neater stacks of paper, and from its swaying bowels plucked a small notebook with a pen attached. He handed these things to Lucien, trying to portray a more gracious attitude than he had before.

"These," he began, "will allow you to keep track of their activities." As the man spoke, the boy opened up the cover of the notebook to find only a single sheet of paper inside.

"But, uh, sir," wavered Lucien, "there's not enough for me in here. I know we're a bit short on funds, but - "

"Don't be so foolish as to assume it at face value!" For the first time, Virtue raised his voice to a near yell, but settled down to a more quiet tone when he saw the alarmed face of Lucien. "That book is glamored. Everything you write on that paper will disappear and," the man pointed at the shreds where other pieces had occupied, "appear on the sheets I have."

There was another brief silence that ended when Virtue gripped the boy's shoulders once more and pushed him towards the door. "Go now. You'll find them by the docks."

Lucien, about to leave, eyed the book black and white cover of the notebook, and the strange stains that seemed to mar it. "Is this blo-"

"Get going!" With that yell, Lucien darted through the beads and out the flat's door, leaving Virtue with the sound of a slamming door and a satisfied smile on his face.

"Sine Nomine's will be done."

[Call me J]

Jame was pleased to find Rainee waiting for him. He was pleased by how loyal she was to the things he called on her to do. It was fortunate she had left Radasanth before their ship had left for Sulgoran’s axe, otherwise, it would have been difficult for them to meet back up. He smiled as she called herself Lightening and only covered her face by a handkerchief. He supposed that the others who had yet to meet her wouldn’t have known any different, but he had never heard her code name yet knew exactly who she was.

“Lightening, good of you to join us,” Jame began, pretending for the moment that he didn’t recognize the catwoman, more out of a desire to keep both her identity and his a secret. However, he wondered if he should reprimand her for discussing the subject of a plan so openly. “I am the Rafe from whom you received that note.”

He didn’t feel like telling the entire story of what they were doing all over again. After all, he had already told it twice, first to Virtue, and then to all the people he was trying to recruit for the job. “And a whole lot of good that did me,” he thought snidely. “We hardly got anyone useful to come along.” He hated to think that Rainee was going to be one of the most reliable warriors. He had called on her to serve as a healer, where she’d be out of the majority of conflict.

Now, Jame wondered if there was a plan for infiltration that he could construct that would be of any use. Masked identities made people stand out, especially in a covert operation the kind of which they were planning to attack in Salvar. At some point, Jame figured they were going to have to take off their masks, and he didn’t like the prospect of that. There was no one in Sine Nomine he trusted that much, especially people who would be found around Virtue’s apartment without a defined purpose. In fact, Jame even hated that Virtue knew his name.

“Maiden, find us some kind of a deal on one of these ships,” Jame said blankly. “And Dark Assassin, go with her, the two of you come up with something…” With that particularly vague direction, the half dragon made his way over to Rainee and gave her a warm embrace.

“It is good to see you…” he whispered. “Just be careful with your identity here, not all of them can be trusted.”