~Legacy of the Cormyrs 1~ (Closed)

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

(Note: I am using my level 1 profile for this project for the remainder of the thread)

Thursday, March 3rd, C.P. 1813
2:30 P.M. (Standard Althanas Time)
Day 1--


Finding employ in Underwood, Alberdyne Cormyr enrolled in a local faction of guardsmen simply calling themselves The Watch. Employed directly by a man named Jaliss Evenkeel, Alberdyne quickly adjusted to the routine of a militia. An extended arm of The Corone Empire, The Watch was responsible for the security in Underwood. Primarily a brawler, Dyne learned how to refine his combat tactics in the recent months. Part of his duties as a member of The Watch was to complete his combat education. The refinement of strategic combat was a critical portion of The Watch. Alberdyne Cormyr proudly wore the crest of his family on his uniform even as he served Corone.

Under the careful scrutiny of The Watch, Dyne learned. His body became even tougher than before, and he obtained greater endurance. Dyne was learning quickly. He'd relearned the basic concepts of skirmishing tactics. In the process, his basic brawler's skills had evolved into something greater. Also, Dyne had refined his basic weapon-skills with much tutelage at the hands of his superiors. In short, The Watch had turned Dyne into an effective warrior. Going up against some of the criminal elements of Underwood, Dyne worked to develop a good reputation for himself within Underwood's society.

Working hard, everyday was a challenge. Dyne would get up every morning to train in his combat skills, and then, in the evenings he would spend time at a locale workshop. The workshop's name was The Shining Blade. The Watch's main headquarters was a small fort located in the western area of Underwood. Guards were few in number these days, so The Watch deputized volunteers to join their numbers and help bolster the shortage of soldiers. Most of the members of Underwood's armed forces were all over Corone assisting The Empire in fighting Coalition forces and The Corone Rangers. Dyne represented a growing trend that represented a volunteer army in Corone.

End of the day, Alberdyne Cormyr just wanted work. With dual-employ as a member of The Watch, and an apprentice in The Shining Blade, Dyne was constantly busy. Patrols in Underwood was an oft thankless job. During his circuits of Underwood, Dyne often bumped into the shadier elements of Underwood. As a member of The Watch Dyne had to enforce the peace. Trouble starters were detained and sent to prison to pay for their crimes.
Dyne found himself often scrapping versus many members of the criminal elements in Underwood. Skirmishes between The Watch and citizens were often extremely violent affairs.

Many times, Dyne patrolled with several individuals in a unit called a squad. Of this, Dyne was still a member of The Watch without the rank of a squad leader. Under this new regimen of education, Dyne studied day in and day out. Pushing himself harder than he'd ever pushed himself. The days were brutal, and the nights were equally so. Dyne had fallen into a daily grind. This routine provided the youth with a newly discovered purpose and vigor.

***

The first thing that came with the new employ was the uniform. Traditionally, Dyne wore a basic commoner's outfit. However, as of his recent employ, he was wearing the garb of a member of The Watch. Fully employed, as a guard of Underwood, the new mentality took a bit of getting used to. Patrols were not difficult work at all, the only excitement Dyne saw was when criminals or violent protesters. Recently, militant groups were sprouting up all over Corone speaking out against The Empire. Freedom of speech, was not free. Violent protesters had to be taken down like the dogs they were. Peaceful protests were allowed and carefully monitored by the guards, despite The Gisela Massacre.

Nightmares of that event still plagued the population's hearts and souls. Dyne knew that not all of the soldiers of The Empire were inherently corrupted. Folk just wanted to work. Dyne was amongst those folk that simply wanted to contribute to the well-being of Corone. It was better that, than joining the loosing side of The Corone Rangers, or the truly vile organization that was The Coalition. In secret, The Syndicate still operated as well as as the various religious cults in Corone. Networks of information gathering were put in places long ago in secret by the members of The Republic of Radasanth.

Dyne found himself in his personal quarters one Tuesday afternoon. He'd lost knowledge of the time several moons prior. With his patrols and blacksmith duties, he no longer cared what hour of the day it was. He didn't even calculate passages of time in terms of the hour anymore. He calculated by his work, or duty at the moment. Right then, Dyne happened to be in his personal quarters reading several volumes of books about the art of Blacksmithing. Dyne was an apprentice still, but would one day be a Mastersmith. He still had to pick his vocation.

Sitting up in bed, the youth still had several hours before he was due for his next set of patrols. Studies he was committing to memory was part of his current duties for the workshop he found himself a part of. Dyne read several more pages of the works in his hands, and sighed. Stretching from the uncomfortable position in his bed, the youth slid out from it. Taking his books, he placed them in a small cabinet that was located next to the metal bunk beds Alberdyne Cormyr slept on.

He slept on the bottom bed, whilst another guard took the top. Several bunk bets with chests at the front of the beds were set up in the room. A total of six bunks, three on either side of the chamber. Then, towards the end of the chamber was a gathering area. Three tables were set up, a lamp was lighting the room with arcane glow of magical light. Several off-duty guards were present, eating meals or conversing. Dyne dressed in fresh civilian clothing and greeted the fellow guards as he left.

Dyne was still a perpetual nobody in Underwood. With the social rank of a Yessu, for joining The Watch, Dyne had obtained a bit of reputation in Underwood. But not enough to become a mover and shaker. Snapping his cloak around his shoulders, Dyne could feel the weight of The Cormyr Symbols upon his shoulders.

A short time later, Dyne stepped out into the warm. but breezy, March afternoon. It had rained several days earlier. The temperature was generally mild and acceptable though Dyne still had to bundle up a little bit to ward off the cold. Cold still hung in the air despite the generally warm day. Dyne wore clothing that was somewhat warm, but not winter-clothing, or Salvarn clothing. His top was a jacket that buttoned with latches all the way to the top. It had an elegant collar. The clothing was that of a basic commoner's clothing. The tailoring was not masterwork in nature, but it fit the youth. His black pants were baggy, and made out common denim. He wore gloves, and a warm hat. His glasses were the center piece of an otherwise completely dull individual. Dyne had striking red hair that was tied in a long ponytail, and his eyes were a deep shade of green. The only piece of masterwork tailormanship he wore, was his cloak. Across his back was a navy blue cloak, that bore the symbols of Clan Cormyr. He wore a backpack with his belongings, and kept his weapons sheathed in scabbards. He shield was strapped across his back underneath the cloak.

When Dyne stepped outside, his stark green eyes noticed a crowd gathered right outside of The Guards' tower. Not protesters again... Dyne thought to himself as he felt worry in his heart. His hand went to the hilt of his sword just in case he needed to draw it. As he made that movement, a fellow Guard in full gear placed a hand on Dyne's shoulder.

"No need for that lad. Just some Troupe. A few of them are from that group that call themselves the Tantalum. Big deal over in Scara Brae." The guard said.

"Actors huh? Are they any good?" Dyne asked, he was interested. Dyne was a philosopher at heart, and any chance to expand his horizons was a welcome one. The guard waved for Dyne to step forward. Dyne and the guard moved through the gathered throng. People were hollering and applauding at the performance. A big sign that read "The Tantalum Troupe" was posted above a hastily erected stage. Dyne moved through the crowd with his companion, and he saw...

[Kryja]

The journey to Underwood was pleasant, and much needed distraction for Nin and his companion, Li. It was easy enough to hitch rides on carts though, masquerading as a pair of traveling performers, paying their way with story or clever trick to amuse those that helped them.

Song was also preferred by the various merchants and farmers, giving both Li and Nin plenty of practice. Li could finally start remembering the words to the songs, as well as improving her contralto. Nin on the other hand, focused on perfecting his soprano, traditionally a female vocal range. It was to the point that Li remarked that she felt as though she should have been born a man, while Nin should have been a woman.

Once the two arrived however, Li contracted a small fever and kept herself to the local inn the two were staying at. The balding keeper was kind enough to offer a fever reducer, claiming that he had bought it from a small child who sold them. Despite Li’s skepticism, she accepted it and downed it with a meal. Almost at once, a serene calm and drowsiness came over her, and with the help from the keeper and Nin, they managed to bring Li to the room.

After the keeper left, Nin sat by his friend’s side, thinking of what to do now that he had the entire day to himself. Instantly, a smile stretched across his face as he shoved his pack carefully under his bed. It was time to explore without the watchful eye and reasoning of his friend. More importantly, he could now unpack later.

Nin had nearly stepped quietly to the door, when Li mumbled out, “Nin…” causing him to freeze and turn around. Seeing Li roll about in her sleep, drooling slightly out of the corner of her mouth, made him relax. He slipped out carefully and shut the door, then proceeded down the stairs.

“Ho there, your friend doing fine?” the balding keeper called out.

With a smile, Nin nodded his head. “Yes, much better. Thank you very much sir.” Without thinking, he did a small curtsey and watched as the keeper’s face light up in embarrassment.

“Ah well… ya know… it’s my pleasure to help lovely travelers like you two.”

Nin wondered what Li would have done and guessed that she’d have blown him a kiss. He wondered for a moment if he should do the same but decided against it. Instead, he just smiled once more and left to explore Underwood.

It was a nice town. Quiet for the most part, but the market street was bustling with sound. The general store had a variety of interesting goods, but mostly for the town and travelers passing through. There were a few lovely trinkets, but Nin could ill afford to waste his money at the moment. Li would have his neck if she knew, and she most certainly would as she kept track of their finances. He heaved a slight sigh and continued to wander.

The various fruit stalls held a variety of options and having not eaten since morning, the sight made his stomach grumble a little. After some thought Nin chose an orange to peel casually and eat as he wandered through the streets. As he finished, he found himself standing in front of what looked like a guard’s tower with connected barracks. Nearby that was what really caught his interest. A troupe wagon and what seemed to be a stage in progress. Across the top of the stage, on a board were the words, “The Tantalum Troupe.” The name sounded familiar, but having never been out of Salvar until now, he couldn’t be sure. Perhaps one of the merchants he traveled with had mentioned them.

In either case, one of the members noticed Nin standing their staring at their sign, and bound up to him with a large smile. “Good morning missy, going to watch our show soon?”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Nin gave a show of alarm and stared at the man. He had bright eyes and a clean shaven face. It seemed he was in costume already, playing the part of some knight or soldier. Still, having been taken in such surprise, Nin managed to ask a bit dumbly, “There’s a show soon?”

It was the man’s turn to look surprised as he beat a fist on his chest plate proudly. “Of course! We’re putting on the play called, ‘Legend of the Sword of Radasanth.’ Exciting isn’t it?”

“Oh…” was all that Nin could reply with after the man finished. It killed the man’s enthusiasm a little as he stared at Nin in sheer disbelief.

“You’re not from around here are you?”

“No, I’m from-” Nin began but never finished. A female voice called out to the man in front of him.

“Henry, are we still missing Martha?”

At that, Henry, looked rather flustered and scratched at the back of his head. “I suppose so. Did anyone look for her, Emily?”

“Why? So we can have two people get lost?” A woman wearing blue, denim overalls and a green bandana, that held back her blond hair, emerged from a newly raised curtain. Spotting Nin, her scowl instantly brightened to a smile as she rushed forward to grab onto his hands. Startled, Nin stared back at the woman’s ocean blue eyes, who in returned stared back intently into Nin’s violet eyes. “Tell me you can sing.”

“I… I can sing…?” Nin said, unsure of what was happening exactly.

“Emily, you aren’t thinking of using her? She doesn’t even know the story!”

Glaring at Henry, she spat quickly, “If you have a better idea, then tell me. Shows on in twenty minutes.”

“I uh...”

“Exactly.” Smiling happily at Nin, she began to drag him backstage, while leaving Henry to stare after the two.

“W-wait! Don’t I get a say in this? I mean, like Henry said, I don’t know the play…” It was a rather weak defense, now that Nin thought about it, but the whole situation felt like a strange déjà vu.

“Do you have anything better to do?”

“No… but-”

“Then it’s fine! The part is small and easy.” Passing another one of the crew, who was studying his lines, Emily unceremoniously snatched them away and pressed them into Nin’s free hand. “Act two, scene five is where you start. You’ll be playing the wife.”

“He had a wife?”

“Maybe. Now sit.” Nin sat down on the chair in front of a large mirror, on command. “Act three, scene one is where you sing the first song…”

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

What was supposedly a “small and easy” part, ended up being a good portion of the play, with lines in almost in every act and scene. As Nin studied his lines frantically, Emily had applied makeup and braided his hair for the role. Someone else took his measurements and altered the various costumes to fit him perfectly. Staring at Nin as he read his lines, Emily suddenly prodded at his chest. “You’re a bit flat there aren’t you?”

“Well I’m-” Nin began to explain, but Emily waved her hand quickly to dismiss it.

“No matter. You’re pretty enough without those being gigantic.” Bringing Nin over to the mirror, it was the first time he had actually seen himself with the stage makeup on. Needless to say, he didn’t recognize himself immediately.

“Emily, I don’t know if I can do this…”

“Don’t worry about it, just have fun.” Emily encouraged while guiding the two of them towards the stage. Sudden applauds brought Nin to attention where he was and with a panicked look, turned to Emily. “Have fun!” Snatching the script from Nin, she gave a light push to propel Nin onto the stage.

Seeing the audience for the first time, Nin felt a feeling of dread, colder than the Salvarian tundra, flow down his entire back. It wasn't the first time he was in front of a crowd, but the very thought of acting for the first time terrified him.

“Ileana, I have returned with news of the war.” Turning, Nin saw Henry who gave a wink after he finished his line. Seeing Nin nearly frozen in place, he whispered quickly, “Pretend it’s just me and you.”

Taking a deep breath, Nin looked to Henry who continued to smile in reassurance. Feeling a bit better, Nin began, “Radasanth, to see you again soothes my worrying heart…”

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

As the play progressed, Nin eased into his role much more quickly. During other scenes in which he wasn’t needed, the other cast offered tips, suggestions. Once or twice, Nin slipped up his lines, but Henry’s quick thinking was always able to salvage and even improve the situation.

About half way through, the missing actor, Martha managed to find her way back by following a group coming to see the play. After Emily had explained the situation to her, she watched her replacement with interest, and once Nin returned for a moment of reprieve, Martha offered a few of her own suggestions as well.

When it was time for Nin to sing his part, he took everyone by surprise, including Emily. She had only expected Nin’s singing to be like that of an average village girl. Instead, when he finished, and the curtains dropped to change the set, the crowd cheered with ovation as the crew patted Nin on the back.

The biggest surprise, and happy accident, came at the end. As Nin was walking to embrace Henry, the dress he wore snagged on part of the rushed stage and he fell forward. At the same time, his braid came loose and his river of hair cascaded down his shoulders and over Henry’s arms as he caught Nin. However, their faces were poised for a kiss and in the spur of the moment, Henry pressed forward with no knowledge of Nin’s true nature. A portion of the crowd went wild with cheers as Emily motioned for the curtains to drop.

As the curtains hit the ground, Henry let go and apologies profusely. Nin unfortunately didn’t hear any of it and simply stared ahead; feeling rather violated and didn’t move until Emily snapped him out of it. Everyone seemed to be smiling in an awkward way and when Nin finally said something, he mumbled, “I feel like I’m going to vomit…”

The entire crew laughed except Henry as he received congratulatory slaps on the back. “I’m not that bad of a kisser!” he finally exclaimed as everyone lined up. A few others of the cast helped Nin up just as the signal was given to raise the curtains again.

The crowd was still applauding as everyone on stage took a bow.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

"Momma? What's that man doing behind you?"

"Don't be silly young man, there is nobody in the room besides you and me."

"Mom. I'm scared, that man looks really angry and he looks like he wants to hurt us..."

"Young man. Stop that nonsense right now! There is nobody behind me do you hear? Do you hear me...!?"

***
Things have been quiet of late. But my nightmares were always the same. I kept dreaming of the place known by the scholars as The Antifrimanent. In my dreams I saw terrible things. The very souls of the living that fell day in day out were suffering. Althanas was suffering. The dead were not passing through the gates of judgment like they normally should. So they lingered. Some became dark things, terrible things.

These things lurked in the dark to torment the living. Just beyond the naked eyes of man, they were the visions of the seers. I am a seer. Since as far as I could remember I could see them. Phantoms. Wraiths. All sorts of things that lurked within The Antifirmanent. These visions constantly tested me, but at the same time, I honed my gift. I didn't run from it. Now though, I found myself running from myself. My fate. The reason I was sent here to this world. I see a Future, a Future in my dreams that I don't want. Will we all be ready? Only time will tell...I fear though that for me, my time is running out.

For it has already begun...

***

Standing next to the guard he'd stumbled upon earlier, Dyne was lost in thoughts. Too disturbed to really enjoy the performance at hand, the words of the famous play were barely audible to the young watchman. His eyes were closed as he listened to the words, then his mind went to that far away place. The Antifirmanent. Eyes greedily watched Underwood from afar, but there was no immediate threat to the safety of the locales. Dyne breathed a sigh of relief, he'd manged to enjoy a brief moment of respite. His maddening journey lead him to battle with Wraiths of all sorts. Some were more violent than others.

With the recent death of Xem'Zund, Dyne noticed an increase of dangerous Wraith activity. Seers and exorcists worked hard to eliminate The Wraiths that harmed the living. There were casualties during the war. Dyne was training to better his skills as a Seer so that he could become an Exorcist someday.

The cheering crowd created enough noise that it brought him out of his deep thought. Alberdyne Cormyr realized that he had missed the entire play with his mood swing. Sighing, he was able to see a lovely part where the great Hero, Radasanth, embraced and kissed his wife. Everybody in Corone knew the old legends of Radasanth and The Demon War. The sword that still decorated The Bazaar was proof of that knowledge. Alberdyne Cormyr studied the closing moments of the play. The crowd screamed "Encore!" and Dyne chuckled at that. For a brief moment, he had allowed himself to know peace. For a brief moment, he could simply be a young man.

Soon though, something disturbed the neophyte. Feeling a distinct cold energy pass across his spine, the youth felt an alarming sense of danger. Turning around, Dyne closed his eyes for a moment and reopened them. His dark green eyes became distant, and he suddenly drew his longsword. His partner, the guard noticed the act and moved to quickly clear the crowd away from Dyne's position. Dyne stared into The Antifirmanent for a moment or two. At first, there was nothing...

Then, Dyne saw a blur of movement rushing towards the stage. Supernatural speed guided the creature. Immediately, Dyne knew what it was that he was looking at. "Wraith!" Dyne called out to his partner. Running towards the stage, Dyne was right on the trails of the offending creature as it rushed over to the actor playing Radasanth. Dyne saw the creature summoning its power to attack. Is it too late?! Am I too slow?

"Dyne!" The guard called out to him.

Seeing The Wraith drawing closer to the stage, Dyne continued to run at best speed. He felt his breathing quicken as he ran at the best speed he could muster, which was not very impressive. Looking like a maniac, Dyne ran up to the stage and jumped on it. Just then, The Wraith noticed Dyne's counter movements. It stopped in dead movement. Turning around, the creature stared directly at Dyne with eyes cold and made of darkness. The Wraith ignored its initial target and flew towards Dyne. Dyne readied his weapon and lunged across the stage at The Wraith before anybody would be hurt...

[Kryja]

Those around Dyne had no idea why he had drawn his sword. The look in his eyes certain did frighten a number of those around him, and they were more than willing to move aside of him, with or without aid from Dyne’s guard friend.

Was it because one of the actors was a criminal? That must have been the reason, but as Dyne shouted out, “Wraith!” All the townsfolk glanced around at what he was talking about. Was this man insane? A few of the actors and crew on stage grew uneasy while Emily gave the signal for those without combat skills to withdraw from the stage.

Then Nin saw it as well; a dark figure moving quickly through the crowd, gliding silently with a definite aura of dread. Close behind was the guard sprinting as if life depended on it, which at this moment, certainly seemed to.

All of the actors had no notice of the wraith, and were more intently focused on the seemingly crazed guard. That was, until Nin shouted, “Henry watch out!” Confused, he turned and glanced at Nin, only to be tackled down as the wraith took a swipe at him.

With both of Nin and Henry groaning, he managed to say, “Knew you couldn’t resist me,” before Nin grabbed them both to roll away from another strike. The wraith had materialized a shadowed blade, seemingly apart of its arm, and thrust it into where Nin and Henry had been.

This time, everyone in the crowd and the actors on stage saw the splinters of wood fly up off platform. Without wasting another second, Emily shouted out to the rest of the crew, “Fucking hell, someone drag them back here!”

The stage crew leapt into action, literally, as they tied a length of rope to their belts and bolted out to grab onto Nin and Henry. With a heave, the rest of the crew and actors pulled them back behind the side curtains, despite the wraith having turned its attention away from everyone and towards Dyne. No one else could see it except Nin, and he assume, Dyne as well.

A few things happened suddenly, first being the crowd thrown into panic and more guards rushing out to try and control the situation. Dyne, the guard everyone had thought previously insane, clashed with the wraith’s sword of shadows, sparking on impact. At a glimpse, Nin could see that the guard’s own sword had begun to glow with a green pulse. Lastly, a sudden pale blue portal, circular in formation appeared before Nin.

“The hells are you?” Henry asked suddenly, but a gasp from the crew alerted everyone else to what they saw. It was indeed, a wraith, bathed by the green light from Dyne’s sword, showing the world its true, dark nature.

No one paid much attention to the small portal as a glowing blue fox leapt out onto the stage. Attention was brought to it when Martha screamed and kicked through it. “No no it’s okay!” Nin shouted quickly as the fox’s image blurred a moment before reforming.

“Are you an exorcist or something, Nin?” Emily asked in a bit of exasperation. Everyone glanced back and forth from the fox to Nin.

“Something like that, but right now I don’t have time to explain.”

The fox made a sound of irritation and began speaking in its own tongue, <“Focus Nin, there’s a wraith.”>

Nin looked to the others a bit uneasily as they all stared at him. Sighing out, he answered in fox tongue, <“Master, I can see that, what am I suppose to do?”>

<“Ask for a sword.”>

Taken by surprise, Nin looked to Emily with an awkward smile and asked, “May I borrow your sword?”

“Uh… sure…” Tossing it to Nin, he caught easily it by the handle.

<”Now follow me and do as I say.”> The blue fox ran onto the stage, followed closely behind by Nin, until the fox suddenly stopped. <”Looks like you’ll be getting your crash course in spirit banishment!”> Standing onto its hind legs, the fox began to draw into the stage with a walking stick that appeared simultaneously.

<”The hell? Aren’t we spirits?”> Nin asked.

<”Shut up and focus!”> The blue fox tapped the center of the magic circle, which began to glow blue as well, illuminating the intricate symbols and ancient writings. <”Cut your hand and trace it with blood.”>

A sudden gasp from the crowd made Nin and the fox look up at Dyne, who had just narrowly escaped from a near decapitation. The dark creature appeared to be tireless while Dyne was obviously just a human. But, as the old blue fox narrowed its eyes, it noticed something odd and off about Dyne. Something that he couldn’t quite place its paw on…

Nin knew better at this point than to argue, as a life was at stake. Slicing his left palm open made him wince, but it provided ample blood for him to draw with. He wrote frantically with his right index and middle finger, wishing he had paid more attention in calligraphy classes.

When the last character was completed, the blue glow disappeared from the symbols and was replaced by a brilliant golden light shining from them, illuminating the entire stage. <”The hell do I do now?!”>

With a chuckle at his pupil, the fox barked out, <”Press your bleeding palm onto the center and aim.”>

Aim? With what? It was too late to ask that as Nin slammed his left palm onto the center of the light. A great roar of wind appeared about the young man while several beams of blue and golden light shot from the symbols in all directions. Quite suddenly, they all directed themselves towards the abomination of nature and fired straight.

the things said in <"insert text"> are things being said in Fox tongue, Nin's native language.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

This is probably not the most brilliant of plans ever. Dyne thought to himself as he ran across the stage. Strangely enough, the wooden floor of the stage felt heavy against the bottom of his boots. As he ran, the stomping action of his boots against the floor echoed through the air. As a sound, it made Dyne think about the situation at hand. Crunch, crunch, crunch, thump, thump, thump. Went the sound. After a moment of running, Dyne could not discern the noise his boots created from the sound of his own heart beating in his throat. Fear. It was a powerful emotion that crept up his spine and filled his gut with a certain ichor that he did not like.

With his eyes narrowed, and concentration etched upon it, Dyne swung his weapon to intercept the weapons of The Wraith. A moment or two later, elemental energy burst from a source located near to The Psionic's position. He felt tremendous power that he could not currently investigate due to the nature of the event before him. With the stage quite literally set, the curtains rose on the final act of the play. Dyne moved his sword quickly in an attempt to lock blades with the weapon that The Wraith had conjured moments ago.

Around The Wraith, cold air began to crystallize. Dyne felt the cold air emanating from the creature even as he ran towards the source of that disturbance. With his eyes locked upon the eyes of the creature, Dyne proceeded to lock blades with it. His eyes developed an intensity as he studied The Wraith. Emerald orbs glowed with a ferocity that was unique to the highlanders of Corone. Alberdyne Cormyr's blade held fast against the blade of the creature. Fortunately, he had summoned up the psychokinetic energy as he ran and focused it around the bronze sheen of his longsword.

A few moments later, The Wraith was revealed within The Firmanent. People gasped with terror as they saw the stuff of nightmares. Immediately, guards cleverly hidden within the crowd began to disperse them as systematically as possible. Panicked patrons were escorted away from the central battle.

Instantly, a day of festivities was turned into a tale of terror.

Dyne's powerful muscles bulged through his wardrobe as he held The Wraith at bay. The thing moved forward with supernatural speed and strength, both assets far more than Dyne was capable of. His eyes showed strain where they once held ferocity. Sweat trickled down his cold skin, and a cloud of steam flowed steadily from his nostrils. Dyne looked at The Wraith the entire time, facial expression never flinching. A slick layer of ice developed on the floor beneath Dyne as he laid against the ground now. It was all due to the strength The Wraith possessed. It was far beyond anything that Dyne was capable of using.

Pressing down against the youth, The Wraith was using supernatural powers. Dyne grunted audibly as his muscles were pushed beyond normal limits. With strain in every inch of his body, Dyne began to realize that the end was imminent. This really wasn't a brilliant idea... Dyne thought to himself as he began to feel the weight of loss against him. Closing his eyes now, Dyne submitted himself to his fate.

But that was not meant to be...

Suddenly, a tremendous power burst from someone or something lurking nearby. The power surged quickly and was released in the general direction of The Wraith. Dyne heard a terrible sound that he suspected was something like a scream. The Psionic carefully positioned himself now against the blade of the creature as the elemental blasts struck it. When the scream filled the air, Dyne closed his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth. Then, the unexpected happened. The creature fled! Obviously frightened by whatever power had been used against it, the creature ran in the direction it came. Dyne got up as soon as it began fleeing, and prepared to pursue, a powerful hand prevented him from achieving his goal.

Dyne turned towards the owner of the hand, and it was his superior officer.

"Wait, Dyne. Let us gather our resources first..." The Officer turned towards Nin and the others. "We owe you a great debt you have saved my young friend here."

Dyne kept his eyes in the general direction The Wraith fled.

"There won't be much time. We'll loose it if we don't act quickly enough..." Dyne said to nobody in particular. That was when he turned towards Nin and the acting troupe. "I'm sorry for my lack of manners. I am humbled by your assist. My name is Alberdyne Cormyr. But there will be time for that later, right now we have to figure out how that thing made it past the city's Wards..."

[Kryja]

Silently, Nin cheered in his head as the wraith moved quickly and disappeared from the direction from whence it came. However, his private celebration was cut short by an irritated cough from the blue fox.

<“You drew the characters wrong!”>

Confused, Nin looked to the guard and his superior. Unfortunately, whatever they said, he couldn’t pay too much attention as the fox wacked him in the hand with his walking stick. <”Ow! What’s that for?”>

<”For writing the wrong character! Here look, you made an extra mark.”>

Prying his eyes away from the guards, Nin looked to the fox again. Thankfully, Emily stepped forward to handle the dealings with the official protectors of the city. “Glad to be of help. Though, credit goes to the young miss and her familiar.”

Eyes turned to Nin, who seemed to be arguing with her “familiar,” rather than having it obey him. <”Well, it worked didn’t it?”>

<”Yes, but do that one more time and you’ll likely end up in bed for the next week.”>

A frown creased the young man’s face as he stayed silent. Looking up, he noticed everyone staring at him and that made him squirm a bit in discomfort. <”So what do I do then?”>

The old fox noticed that attention had been turned to them and with a deep whining sigh he drew another character onto the wooden stage with his cane. The symbol was much simpler and consisted of only five strokes. <”Use this next time.”> Without waiting for his pupil to react, a portal of blue opened once more and the fox disappeared through it.

“So… mind telling us what that was about?” Emily managed with a grin.

The officer nodded his head in agreement. “I’d like to know as well, young miss.”

“It was… uhm…” Nin began, but as his mind worked furiously, Henry came to the rescue.

“Does it matter? We were saved, put on a good show and we’re all alive still. Why not figure out what to do about the ghastly thing?” There was a murmur of agreements from those around the group.

“Then it’s settled. We need to return to our barracks and plan out next course of action. Your aid would be of much help miss…”

“Nin, please just call me Nin.”

“Very well, Nin.” The officer bowed to the actors and then took his leave while issuing a few orders for the guard to secure the area.

Though at a loss of what to do, curiosity was getting the better of the young man and after a second or two of deliberation, he decided he would follow soon. A gentle hand pressing onto his shoulder made him turn to see Emily who was grinning like a lunatic.

“Go on, knock’em out cold for us.”

“What about you all?”

“We’ll be around still. Come visit after all this mess is done.” Turning to the rest of the crew, Emily suddenly turned to her former self. “Alright boy and girls, let’s get this crap cleaned up and prepped for anything.”

Smiling, Nin turned and looked about for the barracks. But first, there was still the matter of the guard who has fought with the wraith. He had been waiting there, a bit awkwardly, but silently. Staring at him, Nin struggled to recall his name and after a short while, he managed, “Thank you for protecting this town, Alberdyne, was it?”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

After brief words were exchanged, Dyne looked at Nin for a moment and nodded to what he assumed was a young woman. The soldier looked in the general direction of The Wraith with a growing sense of anxiety. It got past the city's Wards, that's not a good sign. We'll have to talk to The Magi to get the Wards recharged or something. But all that stuff gives me a headache anyway... Dyne was just thankful he was able to help. The chill March weather made Dyne adjust his cloak as he turned to look from Nin towards his superior officer. His eyes were narrowed behind his glasses as he adjusted them once more. Alberdyne Cormyr did not fancy himself a hero, he simply did what he had to do in order to survive.

First and foremost, the youth fancied himself just another soldier following orders for The Corone Empire. Underwood was part of The Empire, and Dyne was a small face of it. Though he knew The Empire had committed evil acts against its citizens, it was still a fundamentally sound Nation. No true Emperor had risen from the clutches of The Viceroys. Without a true leader, the main factions of Corone were struggling for supremacy. But the war, only caused victims for lower to middle class. If you were not conscripted for The Empire you were an enemy or worse. Alberdyne Cormyr lived in an age of strife during Corone's history. He wished he could be one of the political upstarts, but he had nothing to barter favor with. So Dyne decided to help the defense effort for Underwood in Corone. That's what made the patriotic youth join The Watch in the first place. He wanted to gain station and favor for his family, Clan Cormyr.

Dyne was motivated to work in the military from an early age. First, it was his training in The Citadel, now it was military training. He had roughly graduated from one station to the next. That was the important thing, his family was largely tradesmen and merchants. They had operated underneath the radar in low-key operations to avoid the watchful eyes of The Syndicate. Dyne could operate as he saw fit as long as he did not disrespect the banner of Clan Cormyr. Dyne knew he could operate as a conscript of The Empire as long as there were no major events that effected the already turbulent political atmosphere of Corone. Political activists preached the end of The Empire, but Dyne was a philosopher and realist. He saw The Empire as a chance to bring a great boon to his Clan.

Thinking about those matters, Dyne looked at Nin for a moment realizing some time had passed whilst he thought about things from a philosophical point of view. There was one bottom line: a Wraith was loose and I have to stop it along with the source of The Wraith. Dyne looked at Nin for a few moments longer, several minutes had passed. Wearing a soft smile on his handsome face, Dyne adjusted his glasses once again. Nin was a pretty girl, if she was a girl, and that fact made Dyne feel a little out of his boots. However, he had grown brave recently and he decided to approach the girl and ask her for her help.

"Yeah it's my job." Dyne told Nin. "No thanks is needed. I am simply doing what I am paid to do." He nodded to himself. "The Captain is waiting in The Barracks. We should go there now if it's okay with you. What is your name by the way?" Dyne asked. "I'm Alberdyne Cormyr like I said earlier, but most people just call me Dyne." He said casually, with a quick shrug. He walked towards the front of the stage and hopped off. He looked at Nin expectantly. "Do you need some assistance?" He raised his hands towards Nin so that she/he could take them.

***

In The Barracks now, there was an oppressive atmosphere. Several guards were yelling at each other, with a chain of command clearly thrown out of the windows. The chamber was a planning hall of some sort. Maps and books were strewn about a large table as Dyne stood next to Nin. He looked at Nin for a few moments. Then, he turned to look at The Captain. His long-time friend, and warrior of The Empire. The Captain was deliberating with The Guards about how to proceed forward. A Wraith was on the loose and it had a specific target, someone in The Tantalum Troupe that was performing earlier in The Underwood Square. Dyne was suddenly stared at by The Captain and several of the gathered guard-folk. Dyne sighed and stood up stiffly. He looked his Captain in the eyes and saluted.

"Alberdyne Cormyr reporting for duty sir!" Dyne said dutifully.

"At ease soldier, Dyne, how many times have I told you there's no need for such formalities? We are not in a direct war with the enemies of the state. We have to act quickly when trouble stirs." The Captain said. "Anyway, describe the situation to my fellows." The Captain added.

"Uh...right." Dyne nodded. "Well they were performing on stage when I sensed it." Dyne began. "My companion here..." Dyne pointed to Nin. "...Saw it as well. Through my training, I was able to make the psychokinetic energy manifest, as a result, The Wraith took physical form."

"Wraiths stay in The Antifirmanent." One of the guards said angrily. "We have Wards in the city that prevent invasion from such creatures. There are holes in your report, soldier."

"He speaks the truth." The Captain suddenly added. "I was there to witness The Wraith make an attempt at that fellow in The Tantalum." There was anger in The Captain's voice.

"Yet you're asking for resources and man-power to track this creature down in Concordia Forest of all places." The guard said, he was a ranking officer, but not a superior to The Captain. "You know the current situation within Radasanth, we cannot mobilize in full numbers without there being backlash from those in power." The man said. "I am afraid mobilization is not possible."

"There's a Wraith on the loose, it could harm a lot of people!" The Captain suddenly began to loose his temper.

"Richard, that's enough of your temper." The speaking guard said. "We cannot mobilize in large numbers..."

Dyne suddenly interrupted the two arguing soldiers.

"It doesn't have to be a large squadron. I'll hunt down The Wraith by myself if need be." Dyne added. "I can go right now, I know how to track Phantoms down. I don't need help, you'd just hold me back anyway." Dyne said calmly. He was preparing to leave on his own without giving them time to deliberate as a comity. Dyne looked at Nin, for some reason he felt he could trust Nin with his back. He turned towards The Captain. "You could come with me." Dyne said. "I don't think this problem would require a large tactical force anyway. Too many boots on the ground would alert the enemy to our approach."

"You heard the man." The guard suddenly said. "We have one conscripted volunteer for the operation." The guard said with a dark expression on his face. He looked at The Captain. "You have volunteered for the mission Captain. I can spare two-three extra men for the squad but no more. Large mobilization is simply not possible. I expect full report when the source of The Wraith is discovered."

The Captain cursed out loud.

"You son of a bitch...!" He suddenly prepared to grab the collar of The Guard. "I'll let you get away with this one, but don't think that it will be the end of this. You're Handlers will hear from me." The Captain said and then turned towards Dyne and Nin after releasing the guard. "Come with me Dyne, we're heading over towards The Armory. It's time you let go of that Bronze equipment and got some serious gear." He looked at Nin. "And you, you're officially deputized into my squad. Come with us to get yourself properly outfitted." The Captain said. "My name is Richard Korphane." He said to Nin. "I expect you to be able to assist as a member of The Watch. Just stay close and follow our lead." The Captain said.

Dyne sighed and decided that some help was better than no help. He knew The Captain was a tremendous warrior however. He would appreciate the chance to increase the power of his old equipment. Walking towards The Armoury, the young psionic stood alongside Nin as they walked towards The Armoury. Dyne did not like the political atmosphere that was crippling the power of The Watch. We are supposed to protect the innocent. Dyne thought to himself. He walked in silence standing behind The Captain, and alongside Nin. Somehow, standing next to Nin made Dyne feel like he could fight without being weak...

[Kryja]

These humans were silly. Rather, the matter was a serious matter, but the way the humans bickered was silly. That wasn’t to say there wasn’t bickering, but that was usually reserved for the likes and tastes of food and best time of seasons. Serious matters were dealt with by the elders. With that realization, he privately thought, ‘Wish village elder was here to help the humans...’

The next series of events would have had Nin snickering and giggling on the floor had it not actually involved him though. Sure, offering help was one thing, but being deputized? Civilization sure had a strange way of doing things. Curiosity was getting the better of the young man though and a need to see what would happen began to grow inside of him. Perhaps it might be fun to wander around with them. Besides, Li was sick in bed.

Silence seemed to be the best course of action though. When the captain made sure Nin knew of his expectations, Nin just nodded with a small smile. The captain, Richard Korphane, seemed like a nice enough man. Nin didn’t mind the fact that the captain assumed that “she” seemed helpless and that whatever Nin did on stage, was a fluke.

Maybe it was a fluke though. As they walked down the stone corridors of the barracks, Nin kept looking at his hand. The new five stroke character would be easy enough to remember though. The thought of writing it in his own blood made the young man shudder though.

It wasn’t until they neared the armory that Nin caught Dyne stealing glances at him. They seemed to be more glances of curiosity of whom “she” was and that by itself was a welcomed change. If they could form a friendship, it might even make the trip fun. Amused with his own thoughts, Nin bumped into the captain lightly before stumbling back a little. The man didn’t even move!

Thankfully, Richard didn’t actually feel Nin bump into him as he produced a key to the armory and allowed the two inside. “Gear up with whatever you need. The door locks when it closes, but you can open it from the inside.” Ticking off a quick mental checklist, the captain moved to take hold of a two-handed sword and slung it over his back. “I’ll meet you both outside. Twenty minutes should be enough time.”

Richard turned to leave and as he reached the door he stopped. “One more thing, try to keep the armory organized and replace things if you decide not to take it with you.” The door shut behind the man and as the sound of his footsteps faded away, Dyne and Nin began their search for equipment.

At once, Nin found himself gravitating towards shiny things in the room, despite Nin haven’t no idea what they were. Beyond “sword” and “shield” and “armor,” Nin wasn’t very familiar with the arms that were used by the army. He was much more familiar with the tonfas, sais, ninja-tos, and the more sinister weaponry of assassination. Shiny usually meant bad when one is trying to sneak around…

Alberdyne on the other hand, moved about with professionalism, outfitting himself with a shield made of green metal (that was shiny), and a new long sword. To check the quality and balance, Dyne drew the blade and gave a few swings. It seemed to also be made out of the same material as the shield, green (and also shiny). Satisfied, he sheathed the blade and set about to return what he had tested or browsed through. Done, he turned to check on Nin’s progress.

“She” seemed lost. Actually, Nin seemed to be more like a child who had just discovered a candy store and only knew one flavor. “She” moved about and poked things, testing the edge of blades, picking up armor to check the weight and after ten minutes had pass, still had nothing chosen.

Giving a cough to get Nin’s attention, Alberdyne offered quickly, “I could give you some suggestions if you’d like.”

Scratching under an ear, Nin stood still and looked about the room anxiously. The weapons that he was used to weren’t about and the closest things were short swords and daggers. Even the jutte that he brought was at the inn with Li. Yet, if Nin did show the martial skills he had with unarmed combat, that would bring into question as to where he learned such a thing. After another minute had passed, Nin finally shrugged. “I think… I’ll use… this!”

Alberdyne held in his laugh for fear of being rude, but the amount of effort he was expending was killing his abs. “That’s a mop.”

“Ah…” Feeling a bit foolish, Nin glanced about again before settling on a steel dagger. “This then!”

“What about armor?” Worry was obviously etched into Alberdyne’s face.

“What about armor?” Nin asked with a hint of confusion in his voice. All of the sizes were actually larger than Nin and rather heavy.

“Erm… never mind. We should meet with the captain now to be honest. He doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Taking one last glance about the room in hopes of something that he could improvise as a weapon, Nin gave a sigh as his eyes found nothing. “Let’s go then.”

Making the way to the door, Alberdyne strode forward one step ahead to open the door for Nin. “After you, Miss Nin.”

Silently, Nin cheered in his head for moments like these. Bowing quickly in thanks, he quickly crossed the threshold and waited for her companion. “You should lead though. I’ll just get lost.”

“Oh right, good point…”

Once outside, the few clouds in the sky had drifted away and though it was getting later in the day, the sun was much brighter now. Bright enough that Nin squinted his eyes in discomfort. Standing by a light post, Richard was looking over a map, periodically raising his head to check for his squad. When he finally spotted Nin and Alberdyne, he waved them over.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Wearing the soldier's uniform, Dyne didn't much like armour either. So in some ways, he understood where Nin was coming from. The equipment that was in the storehouse didn't seem good enough for Nin's stamp of approval and this raised interest in Dyne. Wearing a grin on his face, Dyne adjusted his cloak for a moment or two. A part of him missed the bronze broadsword he had used for so long. He knew though why The Captain had asked him to change his equipment. It was needed for their mission.

Dyne walked alongside Nin.

Though he was a soldier, his cloak was emblazoned with the symbols of clan Cormyr. The front of his shirt showed the emblem of The Corone Empire upon it. Carrying the symbol of The Empire was a great responsibility for the youth, and he was no villain. Though some of the soldiers were, Dyne was working from within to help stop the corruption within The Empire. One day, Dyne hoped to become powerful enough to earn favor amongst The Viceroys and help bring them to their senses. Dyne had a lot of pride in his capacity because he was a Highlander of Corone from The Yarborough Barony. That's where his ancestry laid despite the fact that his clan hailed from Radasanth.

Dyne's well-fashioned boots echoed in the halls of the stone building as he walked alongside his newly found friend. The halls had many paintings and suits of armour placed within them. Journeying from the armoury to the outside world was a relatively quick process. Dyne was lost in thought as he felt the weight of the plynt sword at his side. It felt like the weight of Corone was on his shoulders. Dyne spotted The Captain and made his way towards his person. Several large buildings were located around the barracks of The City Guard. Most of these were stately buildings that were part of the government of Corone. Noble folk worked in these structures to help maintain the stability of the newly formed Empire.

At previous strategic meetings between the various segments of The Underwood military, Dyne met some of the noblemen who worked as part of the local government. Though Corone no longer possessed a republic, The Empire still had a functioning government. Representing the sword of The Empire, the military structure of Corone was critical. Dyne knew this because he was a soldier for Corone. And the military proper was conscripted almost completely for The Empire. Dyne looked at The Captain's face as the man motioned for them to arrive. Dyne carefully walked towards the man's position. All that he'd grabbed out of the armoury was a simple plynt shield, and a plynt longsword. He needed not anything else. He kept his iron daggers with him. Eventually, he would forge better equipment for himself on his own free time. Now though, the matter of The Wraith needed to be dealt with.

"Good, you two are on time." The Captain said. "We're gonna wait five more minutes for the secondary squad members to arrive. Then we'll march into Concordia Forest. Hopefully with your talents, Dyne, we can spot the source of The Wraith and eliminate it." Richard said calmly. "What do you think Dyne?"

Dyne looked at Nin's general direction as if seeking moral support.

Dyne cleared his throat.

"I still don't know how The Wraith made it past the wards in our city. This is something that deserves some investigation. But first we have to secure the location where The Wraith originated from. Maybe it will be easy to find, maybe it won't. Likely it's someplace in Concordia Forest not too far from here." Dyne said. "It's my gut instinct that says more than one party were involved in this matter."

"Right." Richard began. "To pass through the wards would require a tremendous deal of power. We need to take care of this matter immediately, and as quietly as possible." Richard added.

Just then, three soldiers arrived in full battle armour. They were the grunts that were placed under Richard's command. Richard immediately looked in their general direction. He did not like the fact that the soldiers were late for a critical operation...

"You're late." Richard said, annoyance in his voice. "Don't be late again." He added.

The three soldiers were all dressed in various qualities of armour. One wore heavy leather, and the two others wore steel or plynt. They were fully armed with many weapons upon their person, and a shield a piece except for the leather-clad fellow. He wore no shielf, but instead, several quivers of arrows and bolts were attached to his belt. Dyne identified the man as an archer of the army. These men were service-men who were clearly veterans of tactical skirmishing. For a little while, Dyne thought that the higher ranking officials that oversaw the operation would screw them out of proper help. Dyne was glad that someone in the elite circles had some common sense. Dyne looked at Nin with a nod of his head.

"All right that's all of us. Let's head over to Concordia Forest." Richard issued the marching orders. "We have a general direction of where the target moved, so that's a start at least. It couldn't have gotten too far away from us." Richard said.

One of the grunts walked over to Richard.

"Captain, is it true that the thing was a Wraith of some sort?" The fellow asked. "We had our equipment enchanted not earlier today." The man added.

"Good." Richard said. "I have the map. But most importantly, we have our most valuable asset right here." Richard looked in Dyne's general direction. "The lad here is a medium. He will help us spot the enemy." Richard continued. "He will be crucial in our ability to fight the enemy." He kept looking at Dyne. "Soldier, be on your best capacity today. This mission is critical." Richard said.

"Aye, Captain!" Dyne added, saluting quickly. "We should head from where The Tantalum Troupe was performing their play. That's when The Wraith attacked in the first place. It headed into Concordia Forest from that general direction." Dyne said, easily recollecting the details of the earlier battle. The Wraith's image brought a shiver up his spine. Nervously, Dyne adjusted his glasses. He wasn't sure what he could do against a Wraith of that caliber, but The Captain had faith in his capacity to be an Exorcist. With that in mind, Dyne knew he would have to trust in himself. "Let's head over in that general direction then."

He saw that Richard nodded. Together, they all started to walk in the general direction of The Tantalum Troupe. However, once there, they took a detour to the Southwest where Dyne suspected the enemy would be. It wouldn't be a long journey, Dyne suspected, and he placed his hand on the grip of the new weapon he'd taken from The Armoury. If all went well, they could all be home for supper. Somehow, the terrible feeling in his gut wouldn't be shaken and he felt like they were all walking into some demonic trap. Should he voice his feelings? No, I cannot place worry on the rest of my squad on the behalf of a hunch. I have to be more careful than this from here on in... Dyne thought to himself as they walked. He kept close to Nin the entire time. Dyne's cloak lashed in the breeze like a dragon's maw.

[Kryja]

It was hard for Nin not to notice Dyne staying close to his side the entire time. Not to say that the young soldier was wretched in scent, but rather the new (and shiny) shield that Dyne carried continued to catch the glint of sunlight. Every time it did, Nin felt his vision flutter and would have to narrow his eyes despite being in the shade of the forest canopy. Although grateful for the protectiveness of his new companion, Nin feared that he would become blind long before they actually found the wraith.

The noise of the group moving through the forest underbrush was also enough to alert anything nearby to their presence. Obviously not a stealth mission, it still caused Nin a bit of discomfort that they were announcing their position so readily. Veterans or not, the men’s armor and equipment were on par with a full orchestra in a small room. Then again, anything in the silence of the forest seemed loud.

Unable to stand the glint of the shield any longer, Nin picked up his pace to catch up with the Captain Richard. “So… we have a plan right?” With a naive look pasted to his face, he kept in stride with almost a childish wonder.

“Address me as Captain, and we do. For now just fall in line.” Not in the mood for nonsense or small talk, the captain moved on ahead while pushing aside a low hanging branch.

Ducking as the branch swung back, Nin twisted a frown onto his face and slowed his step enough to stand beside Dyne once more.

The group continued on slowly, navigating their way through the forest with an occasional stop to get their bearings. The sun was starting to sink in the sky as well, a constant reminder to how little progress they had actually made. The forest was vast and looking for a wraith in a darkening forest was more akin to trying to count fish in a murky pond.

But, while the looks of the other soldiers turned more to agitation and the beginning hints of worry, Nin couldn’t help but grin to himself. He would be able to see a bit better now that the sunlight no longer reflected off the shield of his companion!

Suddenly Nin stopped and covered his nose in disgust. Though it was faint, the stench of decay was nearby. It was unmistakable and altogether unnatural. It wasn’t the scent of carrion of rotting vegetation. It was something much more sinister and if anyone else in the group could detect it, they certainly weren’t showing it. At least, not that he could see.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Trees suddenly began to become much darker and Dyne did not notice it at first. His eyes were peered into the other dimension, as he studied so he was not focused on the physical world. They were distant, far away. His eyes searched for some clues as to where the enemy lay. There was virtually no activity in The Antifirmanent, and that worried the psionic the most. Usually, there were specters and phantoms all about attempting to gain entry back into The Firmanent. The psionic knew that was the truth, but now, all things were quiet. He squinted his eyes and searched for matters that he could study on the surface of the ghost-world. It's phantom-form was a substance that had no name and was constantly in movement.

Alberdyne narrowed his eyes as he studied the environment. They had made significant progress since leaving Underwood behind. He knew because he could see the lights of Underwood some distance away now. He could see the phantom-forms of his companions around him. However, when he looked at Nin, Nin appeared to be completely natural within The Antifirmanent, just as Dyne himself appeared. Colour in a colourless, gray world. Then, when they turned a corner as a group, Dyne began to notice the changes everywhere. In The Anti-Firmanent there was a substance that was silver in colour everywhere. In Dyne's studies he learned that the substance was known as psychoplasm. A liquid that often was a byproduct when the land of the dead touched the land of the living...

Then, Dyne noticed the essence of the trees in The Antifirmanent. Normally, trees gave off a radiant energy that was their life-force. This deep into The Antifirmanent, trees gave off a silver-light of energy, but in this area, there was no light, or a black void. It meant corruption. The target is near now. Dyne thought to himself and drew his newly acquired weapon. As he did that, he noticed a certain tension in the air coming from a different location, but nearby. Deeper into the path of corruption. Dyne blinked a few times and willed himself back on The Firmanent. When the fading sunlight touched his eyes, Dyne had to cover them for a few moments. His eyes were dilated as he studied his environment, then, the wretched smell touched his nostrils.

Dyne made a face and felt like he wanted to hurl. Clutching his stomach for a moment, he paused the walking expedition. His companions, The Captain, mostly, noticed that Dyne stopped moving. So he signaled for the troop to stop their progression forward. Dyne sighed. He had a strong urge that the were near to the general direction of their enemy. Then, he felt a heavy substance drip on his boot. Dyne turned to look at the source of the substance, and it was a deep-green liquid, thick in nature, that was dripping off some nearby grass. Dyne looked and saw the substance all over the place. His hands was gripped tightly against the hilt of his sword...

...Dyne heard a loud scream nearby. He saw that his companions heard it too.

"It's here. Somewhere nearby..." Dyne said with an experienced tone, and began to move in the general direction of The Wraith.

[Kryja]

The unease in the men could be seen as plain as day in the darkening underbrush. It wasn’t the scream that made them shudder and roll their shoulders in discomfort. Any veteran soldier would be used to screams. It was a slow trickling cold crawling down their spines. Unnatural by the very definition of the word and as the group slowly crunched upon the dead leaves, the feeling only got stronger.

Without warning, their surrounds dimmed quickly, the light of the sun being swallowed by the outstretched limbs of several shriveled trees - trees that had once stood proud were now twisted and gnarled skeletons of their former glory. “No torches…” the archer whispered as one of the others began to unwrap one from his waist. “We’re better off when our eyes adjust. Sides, it’ll attract them.”

Nin on the other hand was more than comfortable with the shrouding darkness. As abnormal as it may be, he could see just as well as he could in the day time. That and he wouldn’t have to squint now. Not to mention there would be no more light reflecting off of Dyne’s new (and shiny) shield, blinding him now and then.

Still, the air was heavy with tension as the group moved slowly, doing their best not to rustle the leaves or snap stray branches. Try as he might however, Nin was having an exceedingly hard time doing so. He was much more used to simply running about grassy fields or snow. He managed though, barely, much to the irritation of one of the soldiers.

But it was Nin’s ears that were first tickled with mumbled chanting off in the distance. “I think I hear them. There, up head in that clearing.” The captain, Richard, only nodded his head and motioned for total silence, then waved for the archer and other two swordsmen to break off to the side. The soldiers did as they were signaled to do and separated quietly to creep slowly from another direction.

Meanwhile, Richard, Dyne, and Nin edged up slowly behind a fallen trunk to peer into the clearing. As they did, Nin had to stop himself from gasping out at the sight of a dozen or so corpses stacked in the center, each emanating a putrid green light. From what remained of their decayed clothing, they fit the ideal of would-be travelers or merchants; people who wouldn’t be missed by the local population if they went missing.

In addition, there were six robed figures bathed in the sickly green glow that seemed to devour any shred of sunlight that the branches overhead failed to capture. One of the six was directing the others to perform some task before returning to a bound body on a nearby altar. The figured then raised its hands in an offering before bringing a dagger down upon the body again.

The bound body screamed again and began to twist and writhe in agony. Whoever it was, they were still alive.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

It was just then that the wraith that instigated their whole investigation manifested in the clearing.

Clearing? This is more like an outdoor temple. Dyne's eyes could see the green residue of the wraith everywhere, and it was troubling him greatly, he felt a knot in his stomach. The feeling had gripped him with an icey-cold sensation. Keeping quiet, Dyne looked at Nin and then Richard. They were both staring intently, with horror. Dyne carefully studied the being that seemed to be the leader of the small coven. That was the target in Dyne's mind. His eyes were already searching for an object he could use his psychokinetic abilities on. Dyne found a stone, and relaxed his grip on his shield and sword, sheathing both for a moment. Holding the stone, Dyne began to focus his kinetic abilities on the small, but heavy object. The granite felt good and sturdy against his hands.

A moment later, Dyne's hands began to glow with psychokenisis energy. Dyne's intent became to harm the leader of the group. He knew he couldn't take on all of them at once. So when the glow reached it's brightest peak, Dyne threw the stone with all of the might he could muster. He saw the object hurl through the air, rotating head over head. Dyne focused with his will to aim where others would see only a thrown stone. Dyne was actually aiming the projectile with his mind. Dyne extended his arm in the general direction of the target, and focused hard. When he had his connection established with the stone after a few feet of it being in the air, Dyne mentally pushed. The stone moved towards the intended target, sailing uninterrupted...

***

(Pardon me mod, I lost track of how many soldiers were with us)

The archer and two warriors made their way through the thicket, carefully stalking the nearest of the sorcerers. They all glowed with a strange green energy. When the leader was suddenly struck with a stone, the soldiers took that as a signal to move. The archer readied his crossbow with a bolt, took aim, and let the bolt sail through the air with deadly intent. Meanwhile, the two other soldiers were stalking the rest of the sorcerers. In a couple of moments, they were upon them sorcerers, and a scream of confusion broke out in the clearing. The soldiers were at the ready and began to strike at the confused magi...

***

"Damn it Dyne, why didn't you warn me!" Richard yelled as he readied his majestic longsword and lunged into the clearing. He yelled a battle-cry.

"You're crazy!" Dyne sighed and then stood up looking at Nin. "Nin, come with me, someone's gotta salvage this."

[Kryja]

Surprise was clearly on their side. At least, the soldiers who were at their positions were ready to spring on the attack. This was clearly not how Nin or Richard the captain imaged things going. Then again, Nin didn’t have any prior experience of how a battle should be. It all seemed a bit messy and confusing.

When Dyne’s words settled onto his ears, Nin couldn’t help but give an exasperated look to the young soldier. Crazy? Dyne himself was the one who launched the attack without proper warning to his comrades! Despite his personal feelings though, Nin nodded in a quick reply before running after the captain.

However, the mages held their own relatively well, despite one of their numbers already down by a bolt in the back. Armed with nothing more than their own bare hands, they parried the swords of the two soldiers who had reached them first.

At least, to the captain and the other three soldiers, it would seem so. For Nin, one sensitive to other spirits and Dyne, a medium of the other world, they could see that swords and shields of shadows had appeared in their grasps. To further complicate things, the leader was protected on all four sides by his remaining companions. Free to hurl bolts of energy at the guard with the crossbow, keeping the archer from harassing them.

And for Nin? His mind couldn’t make sense of all that was happening. No assassination or spy training had prepared him for skirmishes or battles. He was only taught to strike when least expected and disappear quickly.

But he couldn’t hesitate in the middle of battle. That much he knew, and as he closed the distance, he worked furiously through what he could do. Hand to hand was out of the question, being armed with only a dagger and clothe on his back, he was certain to be cut to ribbons by the shadowy blades.

“That’s it! Shadows! If they enemy is using shadows and spirits as their weapon, I can disarm them!”

Without thinking the plan through completely, and hoping that the idea would work, Nin tore away the bandage around his left palm. Using the dagger to cut open the wound once more he threw it quickly after towards one of the magi, before returning his attention to his own mandated task.

“Master said… like… this!” Nin didn’t even pause or notice that he had drawn the five symbol character in midair before himself. The feeling was natural, and instinct was operating through the man now. Relief washed over Nin upon seeing the symbol glow with the familiar golden light and with a slam from his bleeding palm onto the character, sent forth two spiraling streams of blue light.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

There was no beauty in the event, no elegance, no nothing.

Somehow, Al had expected something else to occur, not this random chaos that burned through the night.

Screams and howls of agony shattered the once still air, Al growled as he tried to get a grip on what was going on. His one saving grace was protecting that kid from harm. He knew that he was inevitably doing the right thing, however, seeing it first-hand told the story. He was too green. Al needed to gain more experience in these types of affairs if he wanted to protect that which mattered the most. Looking towards Nin, he put on a serious expression, reminding himself of his place there. In the confusion, he'd lost track of how many people there actually were on the field. His quick eyes attempted to spot his Captain, that was a good start. When a few moments passed, he realized that the man was nowhere to be seen. Don't panic! Al needed a moment or two. He looked at Nin when the kid released some sort of energy-blasts at one of the renegade Mages.

"That's an impressive trick." Al said. "We need to get ourselves together!" Al was telling himself that more than he was his younger companion. Suddenly, one of the renegade Mages popped up directly in front of Al. "Shit!" Al cursed out loud, and gripped the newly acquired weapon tightly in his hand. Think Al, think. What can I do here? Al still fancied himself a street urchin, a brawler. And not one of the soldiers of Corone. Looking at Nin, he turned his attention back to the Mage who was already preparing a spell. Al only had a small window to react. "Take cover!" Al yelled, and then physically rushed the Mage with his shield drawn. Judging by the red glow of the energy around the Mage's body, Al thought that the man was about to cast some sort of a pyromancy spell. Al didn't fancy getting cooked alive. As he ran with the heavier shield aloft, the young warrior suddenly jumped forward a few paces away from his opponent.

"For The Empire!" Al found himself yelling, and he lunged his sword in a downward cut towards the chest of his opponent.

Just as Al was striking, his foe released the fire-bolt spell. It was a hot blast of fire that singed the air. Burning quickly, Al readied himself for the attack. He felt the heat from the blast, and the Mage was already preparing another bolt. Al counted the moments before his weapon struck the man's chest.

Then something happened...

"Holy shit!" Al was knocked backwards by an unseen force and landed several paces away on his ass. Al growled, he knew he was doomed. Looking at Nin, he was hoping he could at least protect that kid with his own life. Seeing that the Mage had targeted Nin for destruction, Al picked himself off the ground and ran with his shield drawn. He knew his weapon was useless against the Mage, but he could still intercept spells with his shield. When Al took a position in front of Nin, he raised his shield in a pitiful attempt to block the fire-bolt. When the impact came, the youth growled at the heat against his shield. The temperature had risen up several notches with the explosion that followed. Energy crackling everywhere. He knew that the attack wasn't simple fire, but wizard's fire, and that made the thing increasingly dangerous.

Wizard's fire crackled about his shield. If he had assumed correctly, his enemy would attempt another fire-bolt spell. He looked at Nin. "Stay behind me." Then he suddenly lunged towards the Mage, but would not slash, he was attempting to test the force-wall that surrounded his opponent. If he was correct in his theory, the wall wouldn't handle physical pressure real well. But then again, he couldn't take much more blasts from the Mage either. He ran at best speed, with his shield at the ready. He held his sword in a downward pointing angle. When he was in range, he leaped forward with his shield. Al was much heavier than the Mage was, at least he assumed he was. When he ran with the bashing technique in mind, he attempted to strike the Mage at about a mid-level center of gravity.

As Al began to feel the repelling nature of the wall, he pushed his boots down against the ground. The force-wall made the youth move backwards ever so subtly, but Al was moving forward already. As he had guessed, the force-wall would only take a certain amount of physical damage. Al's shield temporarily connected with the wall and the youth was correct. There was a burst across the Firmanent for a moment as the shield and magic became one. Several shattering flares of energy burnt outwards. It was magical shrapnel that there was no way to prepare for. Al had a sharp mind, full of intellect and knowledge. He carefully ran through the shield as the Mage suddenly realized what Al had done. Al heard his opponent yell in frustration, and began to call out to his comrades. Al had to act quickly. Risking the fact that he was about to get hit by the wall's shrapnel, Al maneuvered himself. He swung powerfully with his shield at the face of his opponent, and about the apex of his swing, he suddenly stabbed in a downward fashion at the man's chest.

Not his best work, but not too sloppy either.