Uneathered [Tarot Heirarchy]

[Ioder]

“You don’t say…” Ioder trailed on as he and Leona sat across from each other enjoying the candle light. Ioder had been summoned by the leader of the Tarot Hierarchy to once again operate under her order. The angel had not been in her company since has was recruited to preserve the Tap a while back during their walk through the Red Forest.

“Ruins Undiscovered were the first to recover the item.” Leona said as she picked through an assortment of shelled nuts she had in a bowl on the table. Something about her gave off the feeling that she was less than worried. “In a temple located in the badlands with little around it other than a small town surrounded by a few large plantations.”

Ioder watched as she touched every single nut in the bowl meticulously as if she was searching for a special one. She was a little strange but she was the all-seeing Leona of The Tarot her word was as trust worthy as written law. “Leona,” Ioder started waiting for the girl to give any of her attention to him. As her eyes raised form what she was doing and onto him he continued. “You see all futures correct?” Leona raised an eyebrow to Ioder as if she didn’t understand his question. “You once told me that you can see all timelines.” Ioder cleared up his wording.

“Ah…” She said waiting a moment continuing. “Your time is soon Ioder please be patient.”

“That is not what I meant.” Ioder quickly lashed back. “How many of your ‘Time Lines’ end with me losing my patience with this waiting?” Ioder said as he stood up and walked towards the door. He needed not an answer rather he knew he made himself understood.

“Bring Vincent along with you, he should prove to be nothing but an asset. Go first to the sight of the discovery to see what leads might be there.” Leona said just as Ioder left room and waited for a single moment in the threshold.

“It will be done.” He said as he closed the door.


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

Ioder pondered what could possibly have been uncovered that even Leona was ordering him to recover, must be something valuable if she wished for two operatives to work on it.

Just what could the twisted cards of fate have planned for Ioder?

The possibilities are literally infinite.

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent liked his new home, well...like was kind of an understatement. Vincent ADORED his new home in the Tarot Hierarchy base. Leona had found him in the middle of nowhere Scara Brae, and after recruiting him to her cause brought the lost lamb to their base in the Crimson Forrest. It had been a bit of a journey but in the end Vincent had been dubbed the Knave of Swords...whatever that meant. He supposed it was his title and rank in the organization, but it felt rather arbitrary. He had adjusted rather quickly, finding the base's library and quickly settling into his room.

However, his actual living quarters didn't see much use. He quickly pounced upon the Library and set up shop in the heart of the large maze of books, setting up desks to stack books upon and sprawl out maps. This soon become his nest of sorts, having set up a bedroll and a latrine in two of the corners, this square clearing became his sole place of dwelling. With no sun to regulate time for him, days and weeks and possibly months blended together in a manic craze of studying. Aside from passing out from exhaustion in his corner, answering natures call, and occasionally wandering out to find nourishment when he was starving, Vincent was completely devoted to his studies. He started by tackling the lay of the land in this new world he was in, scouring maps and getting a feel where everything was in relation to each other, the tackling the histories and cultures of each country to the best of his ability, all the while taking incredibly careful notes to go back over. He quickly, or possibly over a long time, developed the ability to take careful notes without even looking at the page he was writing on, instead he was busy buried nose deep in his readings. After feeling he had gained an appropriate knowledge of the world he was in he moved to magic.

Learning all he could about the Tap invoked a curious desire within him. His previous topic of study had been simply out of necessity, after all what good could he be if he didn't know how to go about the world and do his tasks. Learning about the tap was...electrifying. Every discover or page turned sent a shiver down his spine. This was a cosmic force beyond comprehension, the source of Althanas' magical energy. It seemed that it flowed in wells, or cracks in the world. The information varied, and Vincent had no way of verifying accuracy. Instead he began to verify for consistency. Jotting down his notes with each book and then cross checking facts. In the case of magic he takes no chances with outlier facts until he has solid research to refute or prove them. Instead he simply starts another set of notes with facts that have been verified in at least three sources. Ioder found him deep in study his study. Blonde hair disheveled from running his hands through it, eyes bloodshot from straining to read in the candlelight, lips twisted upward in an almost manic glee. At first he didn't notice the angel until he stretched his back and caught him out of the corner of his eyes.

Suddenly the trance was gone, and he jolted back into reality falling flat on his ass. Ioder chuckled slightly amused by the young mans reaction. "Vincent I presume? Leona told me I would find you here." He stepped over a pile of books and offered a hand to help the scholar up. "My name is Ioder, and we've been given a mission." Vincent took it wide eyed at offer and paused for a moment before speaking, as if to gather his words. "Y-yes my name is Vincent..." He paused once more as if unsure of what to do. He turned wordless and began to clear one of his desks free. "What have we been assigned to do?" He asked somewhat apprehensively. Ioder walked over to the clear desk and noticed that Vincent had maps of all the major areas rolled up and ready to go. "A guild of Explorers known as Ruins Undiscovered recently unearthed a relic in the Outlands in some forgotten temple of the gods." he began. Quickly Vincent pulled out a map of the Outlands and pinned it down, with an ink pen he roughly marked out the spot of the excavation, "Yeah, I'd read about it in one of my books, they've been there for quite some time" he replied. Ioder paused slightly irritated by the interruption, but equally impressed in the young mans knowledge.

"we've been ordered to go to the site of discovery and look for any leads. Our job is to find the item and bring it back. Understood?" Ioder continued. Vincent nodded sheepishly. "I can fly so there's no need for me to organize transport. There is a town a short distance away from the ruins that we can meet at in a tavern known as the Giddy Goat. I think you might be able to secure some travel arrangements from out contacts." Vincent nodded "Alright" he replied. The two parted ways and Vincent left the library for the first time in three months as he would discover. After cleaning himself up and making himself look more presentable Vincent went about making himself more presentable.

...

The Giddy Goat... Vincent had taken about two days to arrive there. He had found a merchant caravan heading there and hitched a ride in exchange for doing some minor bookkeeping for them. As he walked in he scanned the building for the angel. Not seeing him he finds a small table in the corner and orders a meal while he wait.

[Ioder]

Ioder squinted as he soared high above the clouds over the outlands. The sun was still high in the mid-morning sky greeting all who felt its warmth. Ioder particularly like to take long flights during the day letting the cool air and warm sun remind him that life in the clouds was bliss. “Yaaaaahhhhhoooo” Ioder yelled then quickly tucking his white wings back. He began to spin like a wondrous top descending quickly, and then disappearing into the thick clouds.

As his skin touched the fluffiness of the cloud Ioder thought back. Once he had heard someone question what it meant to be free; to live for oneself, not under the foot of another. And to Ioder this very moment is his freedom, the wide open sky.

Breaking through the bottom of the clouds Ioder spotted the many plantations scattering the fields below. Two or three standing windmills and a couple houses were all that stood on each plantation. There sure is a lot of land to cover. Ioder thought to himself, the thought of having to search this much land was terrifying. But in the distance he saw it, The Shiko Ruins. The Temple stood tall above the tree line at the end of the plantations. Good to know.

After a few more minutes of flying Ioder spotted the village Vincent planned to meet in. Sparing no more time Ioder swiftly flapped his wings with all he could muster to carry him there. In no time Ioder came up on the village and actually spotted his fellow Tarot associate enter the Giddy Goat.

Who would have guessed?

He was astonished that the two managed to make it at the same time. Not often do things just line up like that in this world. This meant Ioder wouldn’t be sitting around all day waiting. Hooray


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

“Aye…” A quite drunken woman slurred as he sloppily tried to compose himself. “ What-“ Another pause “What you want?” The woman answered Vincent as he flagged for service. The busty woman swaggered her way over to Vincent who now looked extremely awkward watching her try to walk. He only was holding back his giddiness by sheer willpower. What had he gotten into?

“Umm, I’ll be meeting someone here. I’ll be having two of you porks and whatever is on the Tap.” The kid had some jokes. By this time Ioder had already entered the Giddy Goat but with his hood up and wings well hidden.

Ioder moved across the room blending in with those around him. He looked over the room until he saw Vincent sitting off in the corner talking to some woman. Ioder walked up to the bar and took off his hood; he leaned to the man next to him asking who the lady Vincent was talking to was.

“Simone” he said after taking a second to look over his shoulder. “She is a drunk. Pay her no mind.”Ioder almost lost it. He just loved drunks, they were so amusing.

“Thanks.” Ioder said as he turned to watch the show. Simone was definitely drunk and he wasn’t sure but didn’t know if Vincent was aware she didn’t work here. He waved from across the bar to Vincent who clearly now saw him but had to try and fight off Simone as she stumbled around trying to speak to him.

If you could call those words.

[Cards of Fate]

Oh for fucks sake I flagged down someone who doesn't work here... Vincent thought to himself as the drunk staggered over. It was too late, there was no way for him to recover this and save his graces, it was time to play along with the charade instead of dying of embarrassment. "I'll have two of your...porks and whatever is on the Tap." It wasn't until after the fact the Vincent realized the joke he made and chuckled. The woman attempted to speak in some sort of language Vincent wasn't aware of, Elven possibly? he thought to himself struggling to gleam some comprehension to the strange words coming from the woman's mouth. Maybe she's trying to tell me she doesn't work here? he contemplates for half a moment before he see's his comrade wave to him from across the room. "Uh...strike that my friend's here..." he says hurriedly getting up from his spot and scurrying over to his comrade trying to mask how mortified he was. "Heya Ioder!" he said nervously snagging an open spot next to his comrade. He sighed and motioned to the bartender, making damn sure that he had seen the man preparing drinks, and ordered "Two of whatever is on the Tap" he says elbowing his partner with a slight grin.

Slightly nervous he looks around at all of the people and then turned his attention to Ioder. "So where do we start? Ask around and try to find researchers?" he says rather nonchalantly. It was clear from his twinkling eyes and tense posture that was he excited. He was on a real live mission for a secret society in a high fantasy world, he was like one his storybook heroes on a quest to save the world. Pausing he leans closer to Ioder, "that woman I was talking to...what language was that?" he asks as the bartender brings them two incredibly tall drinks of...something. Vincent unawares about anything alcohol related raises his mug to his lips and takes a big swig. The mead was sweet like honey, and washed down his throat leaving a warm sensation behind. Caught unawares he grins. and sets his drink down. Reaching into a light travelers rucksack he pulls out a notebook and opens it to consult his notes.

[Ioder]

“Those weren’t words.” Ioder said watching Vincent take a swig of the mead. “And yeah that’s about the plan from here.” He continued as he leaned back letting his head dangle. He could sure tell that the kid was ready to get started by his tone. “But I already found the temple earlier as I was coming in.”

“Really? I guess that would save us some time. But I would like to ask around town about what has been going on there.” Vincent said as he pulled his notes from his bag.

“Fair enough,” Ioder accepted. He looked up at the barkeep, trying to study his features. Carefully he analyzed every contour of the man face; his eyes and nose are just slightly small for the rest of his face. Ioder studied the man’s face for two reasons, firstly Ioder was a shape shifter of sorts and having a native disguise was always a necessity. And secondly the most well-known man in a town is the barkeep.

Man, I this is going to be a drag. Why did I get sent out to a bum town like this anyway? My power should be put to good use, not retrieving goods. Ioder mentally beat himself up wishing he could be elsewhere furthering his own goal rather than the goals of The Tarot. But alas this is where he is, and this is where he will stay. Leona’s lapdog, her second favorite-

Ioder wondered what she saw when she first laid eyes on him. Was it his dark past, or his cloudy future still unwritten?

Vincent nudged Ioder once again trying to get his attention, Ioder had blissfully drifted into thought.

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent sighed unable to grab his friends attention. "According to my notes the ruins had been found out ten years ago. Since then several guilds have been digging there with not a lot of notable success from our point of view. Ruins Undiscovered made the most progress and had the most funding to explore the temple. What it was is still a mystery, not many guilds have ever seen markings like this before. It's clear that it was somewhere held sacred, but that's about it so far. A number of smaller relics lake vases and pottery have been pulled, but recently it was announced that they had found something of magical potential. The rumors were all over the place within a month." he paused and turned a page. "That being said one of the women in the caravan had been sending letters to a boy working with the guild that she fancied. He said it was a piece of Jewelry but wasn't allowed to talk much about it. About a month ago his letters stopped arriving and she lost contact with him."

He paused to take a sip of mead again and looks over his other notes. "Bandit activity has been up recently, so when we're on the roads we might want to exercise caution." he then got the bartenders attention "Could we get some pork or something over here for my friend and I?" he asked slightly nervous. He had been given a decent sum of money for traveling, and a decently sized iron dagger tucked into his boot. Leona had stopped him on his way out and handed him some gear, demanding he take it. Guessing on the look she gave him he would probably not survive without it. His boots had been brand new and made of a sleek black leather. His trousers a rough cotton dyed brown, and a black leather tunic. He took a moment to notice his skin was slightly tanned from adventuring, and his overly skinny frame was starting to fill out just slightly. Finally a server brought both of them a plate of sliced ham and two rolls each on a plate and Vincent payed and tipped.

"What do you think we should do next Ioder?" he asks sighing and putting away his notes. He noticed several people were looking at them, a small town knew when strangers were about. Suddenly he felt like this mission was going to be slightly harder than he thought.

[Ioder]

“I don’t think they like use talking about that.” Ioder said as he realized that most of the patrons of seem more of rough bunch. In fact the only one who didn’t look like they were stacked to kill was Simone. “We should go.” Ioder said tugging Vincent’s shirt. Ioder stood and began to walk to the door with Vincent right behind him. The two quickly walked out both faces firmly looking down.

Ioder ushered Vincent in front of him and then out the door. Making sure to keep Vincent more than protected at all times. They both emerged and embraced the beautiful sunlight. The Tarot Operatives continued to walk along the road just leaving view of the Giddy Goat.

“They didn’t look to friendly.” Vincent said trying to see if he was thinking the same as his partner. Ioder wasn't easy to read due to his nature but he isn't an emotionless beast. On his face he wore both curiosity and calamity, worry and intrigue.

“No, and with all of them hanging around I don’t think it’s not such a smart idea to stay around here much longer. I say we head toward the temple now.” Both looked at each other for a moment, eyeing up one another. Not even in town for an hour and already there were issues arising. “In your notes it said that this was bandit territory, well at least your info is legit.”

Both began to walk in the direction of the Temple about four miles south of the town just when the sun was highest in the sky.


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

“So how did Leona find you anyway?” Ioder asked Vincent just trying to spark some kind of conversation during their walk. “She doesn’t just approach anyone now.” This must be a fun subject because Vincent slightly perked up realizing that being here, doing this is a big deal. They are here to retrieve the pendant found here, that is their mission.

But first they must conquer this trek.

[Cards of Fate]

The situation in the tavern had devolved quickly from Vincent's incessant blabbering. Why the fuck did I think it was a good idea to talk about bandits in a bar in bandit turf? he thought to himself as the two rushed out. Several less than friendly characters shot him a dirty look or two and he suddenly wished he was back home drinking mountain dew and eating pizza reading all of this in a game guide and not living it. As they continued out it occurred to Vincent that Ioder was doing his best to protect him. He looked at his partner and smiled slightly as they walked down the road. He seemed serious, but something about him seemed friendly. Reaching into his boot Vincent pulled out his sheathed dagger and moved it to his belt where it would be more accessible. "They didn't look very friendly..." he said rather sheepishly.

At Ioder's suggestion they continued on down towards the temple. As they walked Vincent got lost thinking about the Tap and all of it's intrigue. He smiled at the compliment to is Intel and they continued on.

...............

Ioder's question caught Vincent off guard. "How did she find me?" he parroted the question back to him as he thought about it. "Well..." he paused to gather his thoughts. "I had been wandering around Scara Brae lost, I had...lost my memories you see. I was in a town with this grouchy old dwarf in his bookstore. Leona came in looking for a text and I helped her find it out of his stacks. She offered me a job and seemed to know a surprising amount about me. She seemed like she needed my help, and I had been having these weird visions and one was of her..." he paused. "Long story short she got me to join her in a trip to the base and along the way dubbed my the Knave of Swords...whatever that means." The road was surprisingly empty of people and Vincent shivered. "She sorta told me about her power but I don't one hundred percent understand it..." he added. After that I pretty much moved into the library and began to study anything I thought important to our cause. I started with the world because I couldn't remember anything about geography, then I moved on to the Tap. It appears that in a lot of cases info about the Tap go hand in hand with info with ancient civilizations. I'd only been studying for a month or so but it seems that the Tap was revered by a lot of these peoples, and was the source of great power for them. However it seems like our civilization has either not figured out how to harness the tap as they did, or something happened to diminish the power of the Tap." They had left town by this point, and there was nothing but open fields and a dirt road between the two of them. "How did you meet Leona?" he asked curious.

[Ioder]

“In Raiaera.” Ioder said answering Vincent’s question. “I had just said my goodbye to a good friend of mine when I met her. Leona is a brilliant woman but she is not one to engage in combat, rather her second in command Alyssa acts like her bodyguard. Alyssa and Leona both approached me and offered to pay me if I was to assist them in finding the Tarot Base in the red forest. Power was what I was promised, the power to see my sister once again.” Ioder was quiet after that. Instead he looked all around him and realized that there wasn’t a soul in sight.

“I see, well that must have been a rough endeavor. Just even heading into the red forest is to invite death upon you. I’ve read in a few of the tomes within the library that the red forest is the home of many mutated and deadly creatures.” Vincent said wondering if Ioder was really strong enough to traverse the red forest before they used their secret paths. The forest itself tried to kill and eat any who is not supposed to be there.

“Aye it was.” Ioder said as he revealed a large scar that now runs the length of his exposed arm. “But here I am, still serving Leona.” Ioder took one last quick look around and decided that this would take a while if they continued to just walk. “Hey hold on!” Ioder yelled as he moved behind Vincent and locked his arms underneath Vincent’s. Then with one great and wondrous push Ioder propelled himself and Vincent up into the air.

Ioder flapped his wings and he and Vincent soared through the air. “Look over there,” Ioder said pointing in the direction of the temple. Vincent seemed nervous being up in the air but looked anyway trying to avoid just looking down. “That’s the Shiko ruins. The temple we came to investigate.” Ioder turned in air and started for the temple, taking only minutes to reach the temple.

The two looked down at the few tents standing around the outside of the temple. They must have been put up by Ruins Undiscovered for lodging and general use while they were here doing research. But Ioder noticed that there were no signs of anything living lurking around even in the trees surrounding the temple. Ioder descended and gently dropped off Vincent in the center just before the entrance to the temple.

“I don’t like this feeling. We should at least hear someone.” Ioder said as his feet touched the ground next to his partner. “Let’s have a look around.”

[Cards of Fate]

"Hey hold on" was about the only thing Vincent had time to register before suddenly his feet weren't on the ground anymore. Instead the two propelled upwards, wind whipping his hair and whistling in his ear. The ground beneath them seemed to vanish and Vincent was freaking out. Holy shit we're flying, the only thing keeping me from being a bloody splat on the ground is this guys arm strength... Suddenly Ioder was pointing at something and Vincent tightened his clutch to his ally. "Oh shit..." he said clenching up. He forced his eyes to look at the ruins, instead of the ground beneath them, and took a deep breath. As the flew forward Vincent almost felt a sense of wonder in flying through the air. It was a nice day out, and the wind felt pleasant on his skin. He was also incredibly terrified and completely unable to enjoy it. .

The camp was deathly quiet and Vincent was incredibly uncomfortable in the current atmosphere. This was not the aura of a camp that just made a major discovery. This was quite the opposite. "Perhaps we should split up..?" Vincent suggested placing a hand on his dagger. Ioder nodded "Yell if you find something or need help" he replied. Gulping and shoving his growing sense of peril to the back of his mind Vincent nodded and the two parted ways. The angel went deeper into the ruins while Vincent decided to check out some of the tents on the outskirts. Any fire-pits were long cold with nary an ember to them, and there wasn't so much as sign that anyone had been nearby recently. No footsteps in the strangely red clay as far as Vincent could tell. In fact it looked like something had been dragged...into a nearby tent. Steeling himself and drawing his dagger Vincent slowly approached the tent that it appeared several drag tracks led to.

As he approached he was assaulted by the most awful smell he had ever come across in his life, and a strange buzzing. Nervous he opened one of the flaps gingerly and tensed up fighting the urge to vomit. Before him was a pile of about 15 to twenty bodies, all in various shapes of abuse, but all clearly dead. The stench of blood and decay overpowered Vincent, and for a second he forgot about calling Ioder and turned to vomit any food he may have had in his stomach right then and there. On his knees heaving and praying to whatever fucked up god this world had that his stomach would hurry up and empty Vincent realized that the ground wasn't a red clay, but dried, blood soaked, mud. Finally after his stomach had settled Vincent took a swig from a wine skin to clear the taste of bile from his mouth. "Ioder!" He called out at the top of his lungs "We have a problem!" it was only until after he made the mistake of yelling did he realize that whoever did this could still be nearby.

Turning back to the tent he sighed and began trying to figure out if their bodies had any clues...

[Ioder]

When Ioder heard Vincent’s cry for him he was already well into the first room of the temple. There was no light other than the sunlight glaring in from the entrance. The earth below his feet was uneven as if piles of dirt mage the flood a veritable sand dune. I guess the excavation was still underway. Ioder thought as even just this was suspicious. Ioder turned and ran out the door back to the outpost outside. Maybe Vincent has found something that could explain this.

As Ioder ran up onto the tent where he was sure Vincent cried form, the stinging smell of rotten flesh registered in his mind. “No.” Ioder said already knowing what Vincent had stumbled upon. Ioder tensed his wrist and out of his gauntlet one solid Damascus blade was released. Ioder was always ready for a fight, though wished he never had to. He was prepared for anything- as always.

“Vincent!” Ioder yelled as he threw the cloth of the tent aside and entered the tent. His eyes started to water at the sight of the mutilated corpses, he had to gag into his hand for a moment. After losing his self-control only for a second Ioder recuperated quickly. The sight of the dead always made Ioder uneasy but he couldn’t let that stop him. “I see. That would explain a lot.” Ioder said as he forced himself to gulp down air. “There hasn’t been much work in the temple either, looks like it been abandoned a while back.”

Vincent was bent over a body trying to examine it, maybe to see what had done this to them. The man seemed to have lacerations across his neck leading Vincent to believe he was executed. “What does that mean?” Ioder wondered as he moved over to Vincent and started to help examine the body. Bruised and charred each one seemingly tortured in one way or another. Ioder lifted up the arm of one man and as he did it simply ripped free of the body. Ioder threw it across the tent and nearly vomited on himself. “Let’s get out of here. “ Ioder said as he stood left the tent and walked as far as he could to avoid the smell.

After catching his breath Ioder stood once again facing the entrance of the temple ready to delve into them.

[Cards of Fate]

It almost made Vincent feel more assured about vomiting when Ioder was gagging at the sight of bodies, if only for a moment. Stomach empty Vincent only retched on some of the more gruesome bodies. Wen the mans arm ripped free of his body Vincent almost had to excuse himself. All the while Vincent was thinking about all of the pieces of the puzzle. As they walked out into fresher air Vincent frowned. "So it seems these men were tortured for some reason. If I had to guess, whoever did this was hunting for info about the artifact." Vincent paused. "There were quite a few bodies in there so I'm guessing we're dealing with a larger force, either that or they were picked off one at a time but that doesn't seem likely...."

Vincent had followed Ioder to the entrance, deep in thought. "Regardless of what we find in here we should probably take note, this is most likely the ruins of a civilization that worshiped the Tap..." he added rather nervously. "Leona would be pleased if we made some headway in our research while on the mission" the two entered and waded through the dirt, Vincent had sheathed his dagger and replaced it with a notebook and would occasionally stop and find a place to whip out an ink pot and quill to take down notes. As they passed through the dark chambers that had been excavated so far Vincent did his best to take rubbings of hieroglyphics and compare them with his notes on dead languages to see if anything matched up, but he would need much longer than a few minutes for that.

"This seems incredible Ioder," Vincent would occasionally spout as he took notes. "These ruins are very well preserved, and had the guild been allowed more time surely we could have figured out a lot more from this."

[Ioder]

Ioder wondered about the possibility that whomever did those horrid things to the researchers could still be lurking around. Figuring that there was enough to keep the book smart Vincent busy for a while just on these walls alone; Ioder concentrated and his body began to emit a glowing aura. His aura illuminating the area and revealing two long rows of hieroglyphics illustrating the events of the time. Vincent than began to copy down everything that he could to record what they were seeing.

“Look at this!” Ioder said pointing to the corridor obviously leading further into the temple. Above the door there were words written in some lost language Ioder hadn’t seen in hundreds of years. He recognized the markings and shapes assuming it were part of a phrase he once knew. “I’m sure I’ve seen this before.” Ioder said making his aura brighten up the area closer to the door. Vincent was quick as he didn’t seem to need any more time to copy what he was seeing. After all Leona did say he was going to be an asset, Ioder could see it now.

“Really? Can you read it?” Vincent inquired not even looking at it still etching everything he could see. “Or is it too worn?”

“No, but I can’t seem to make heads or tails what it says.” Ioder said still making toward it and then into the corridor. Vincent still steady recording everything that he could see. Ioder wasn’t paying any attention to it rather he was ready for anything. Ioder didn’t want to give off the impression but he was scared, if the people who did that were in the temple also this would be a catastrophe. He could only protect Vincent for so long and against multiple opponents it would be even harder. “No continue to log everything but pay attention to me and we will be fine. They might still be in here.”

The two continued down the corridor and into the next room. No signs of anyone but with each room they reached it became more and more clear that the excavation as less and less substantial the farther they went inward. Until they came to a large downward slope in the sand dune they were about to give up hope. But at the bottom there was the faint glow of a torch emerging from an uncovered door.

[Cards of Fate]

Ioder being able to glow was a godsend for Vincent. As he continued to scribble down everything he saw Ioder had started to move on. Sticking a stopper in his ink pot he put away his notes and followed suit, keeping withing an arms reach of the angel encase anything decided to pop up. "Do you think whoever killed those researchers got what we're looking for?" Vincent asked quietly. Suddenly the notion that they were not alone in the ruins was very frightening, however Vincent was too giddy from all of the notes he had just taken to let the full effect sink in. As he passed the phrase Ioder mentioned Vincent took a moment to look at it. It was unlike any of the languages he had seen in his books, but it was still possible that he could find some info on it. After jotting down this last bit of notes Vincent had his dagger drawn, faking that he knew how to hold it rather well.

In the last room with the sand dune and uncovered door Vincent gasped "Ioder look" he said pointing to a partially uncovered mosaic. It depicted a crude shrine deep within some mountains, but flowing out from it were lines of deep blue in a swirling pattern. "I'd be welling to bet money that's a shrine built over a major source of the Tap" he said taking as much time as he could to memorize it. As he finished he noticed Ioder had already slid down the dune towards the door, and Vincent followed, crossing the portal after his partner.

[Ioder]

“Get down!” Ioder hushed Vincent and pushed him as he entered the room with Ioder. Across the large room Ioder saw three men shoveling not paying the entrance any attention. From his point of view none of them were dressed like your typical researcher. More so they all were well equip for combat looking like the brutes back in the tavern. The glow of the torch countered Ioder’s own enough so that they were not noticed entering the room.

Vincent crouched well out of view behind a stone pillar holding up the roof. He had a concerned look upon his face looking to Ioder for instruction. Ioder sitting just opposite him on the other side of the door could see his concern and tried to put on a face of assurance though he was sure at all.

“Bugger off!” one of the men yelled as he through the shovel he was using against the wall. It made a loud clank before falling into the sand, the other stopped and looked at him. “What are we still doing here?” He said angrily.

“Boss said dig,” The man just to his left said. “So dig.” He finished and went back to digging.

“Forget that!” The first man said again louder. “He already got what he came for. Now he is just making us work.” This must have been the man last straw as he didn’t go back to working and instead turned to leave the temple.

“You walk out now and you won’t be able to come back.” The last man said before returning to his task.

“Im not coming back!” he yelled back waving of his comrades.

Ioder watched this unfold and tensed his wrist once again to release his blade. He wasn’t sure what the plan was but these men must have been at least partially responsible for the bodies outside. Killers and their boss seemed to be ruthless even to his men. Vincent watched Ioder draw his blade and waited for his cue.

It never came though and the man exited the room heading back outside toward the tents. Without noticing either of them the man clad in iron chain main left the room yawning. The other men were still across the room digging away.

Ioder looked over to his partner whispering. “What should we do? Fallow him or get the info from these two.”

[Cards of Fate]

The two of them crouched hidden as they heard the whole exchange, and almost pissed himself when the man left without a word noticing the two of them. Vincent's heart was beating a million beats per minute as he tried desperately to come up with an idea. "I think..." he whispered quietly "That we need to get these two to talk...." he turned to look at the other two men. Despite the low light he could make out on man was significantly larger than the other, in fact the other wasn't particular large to start, more of a boy Vincent's age in all honesty. He motioned with his dagger for Ioder to take out the larger one, each geared in leather, while he prepped himselft to take on the other one. Ioder nodded noting the creased brow on Vincent's face. Reaching into his pocket Vincent flicked his twenty sided dice 18 the number seared into his mind. Feeling more confident the two counted down from free on their fingers and rushed from their spots.

Vincent rushed the younger man from behind driving his knee into the back of the young bandits legs to cit them out from under him. Mid dig the young man was caught off guard and dropped onto his knees. At this point Vincent had stumbled slightly and gotten in front of the youth. Planting a foot Vincent drove both of his knees into the young mans chest forcing him to the ground. Vincent was not particularly heavy however, and after recovering the wind that was knocked out of him the young bandit whos hand were free swung at Vincent hitting his square in the jaw. Vincent stumbled and dropped his dagger as the youth pushed him off and pinned Vincent himself to the ground in a crude grapple and began to choke the young scholar. Vincent gasping for air grasped at dirt futilely I'm gonna die.... he thinks to himself in a sheer panic I DON'T WANT TO DIE!. Suddenly his hand finds the hilt of his dagger and acting on pure instinct the young man brings it up and stabs blindly at the his assailent.

His attacker tensed up, and before Vince could realize where he had landed the stab the youth hacked up blood all over his face. Stunned Vincent realized he could see the tip of his dagger poking through the front of the young mans throat, and watched the light drain out of the panicked bandits eyes as his grip loosened on Vincent's own throat. Oh god I... The young man hacked up more blood and rolled off the young man convulsing. Vincent had no time to react to anything else happening in the fight, without as much as a whimper he feinted, his last thought being I just killed a young man...

[Ioder]

Like Vincent, Ioder was ready to strike first and ask questions second. Lifting himself off the sand Ioder glided at the second man still digging. He moved like the angel of death, his blade well ready for action. The Tarot members had the upper hand having the element of surprise. Ioder glided past Vincent in an incredible display of speed.

“The embodiment of purity, holy light please shines upon me. “ Ioder chanted as his Damascus blade began to glow and a mist like aura enveloped it and his arm. The same phenomena Ioder displayed before illuminating the temple though this was different. This was violent; the bright mist flowed around his arm waiting for Ioder’s move. Ioder kicked up his feet and tucked his wings as he began to twist. A beautiful spiral of death Ioder kicked the man forcing him to fly forward off his feet. He landed face first into a pile of sand before quickly fighting to his feet.

At this point Vincent had already brought the other of the bandits to the ground, he seemed to be faring well enough. Though he seemed confident Ioder was still concerned about Vincent, for Leona’s sake of course.

“What’s going on?” Ioder’s opponent yelled trying to grasp what was happening. All he could see was Ioder’s almost blinding aura and the faint glimpses of his partner being taken down by another. Almost like and animal he drew his weapon, a wakizashi hidden in his jacket.

The angel could have easily disposed of both men with relative ease but this wasn’t about him. It never was, Leona sent Ioder on this mission only to observe and keep Vincent alive. She wanted him to assess the young scholar in the field. So far he had not been disappointed in the least, showing great initiative and zealous to achieve his goal. Even his willingness to involve himself in direct confrontation Vincent showed nothing but promise.

Ioder knew he needed to keep at least one bandit alive to extract the information he needed. Then he watched as Vincent slid his dagger into the other man’s throat. I guess its you lucky day. Ioder thought .

“Talk to me Grim!” The man yelled as he lunged forward aiming to squire Ioder with his blade. Ioder swiped with all the might he could and sliced clean through the wakizashi then reaching out and grabbing the man by the throat. Ioder clenched his throat until the man dropped the hilt of his blad into the sand. Ioder had cloaked him into passing out from lack of air.

“Vincent,” Ioder said, he looked over to see his friend on the ground covered in blood. “Vincent!” Ioder yelled dropping the man and running over to Vincent. He crouched over him trying to see what had happened. “Vincent wake up!” He yelled shaking his body. Shit, don’t you die here. Ioder hadn’t seen exactly what happened to Vincent but was assuming the worst.

[Cards of Fate]

After about three shakes the young man stirred slightly. Groaning he opened his eyes to see an angel standing over him. "Shit am I dead?" He asked quietly before his vision cleared enough to see properly. As everything came into focus he realized it was Ioder kneeling over him. Vincent touched a hand to his head and found it sticky with blood, he gagged and his eyes began to roll back in his head "I'm feeling feint..." he muttered trying not to pass out. He groaned and tried to sit himself up, his throat feeling like it was on fire. Struggling to breath Vincent took slow deep breath. "Welcome back to the land of the living!" Ioder said ecstatic that his partner wasn't quite dead yet. "What the hell happened?" the angel asked confused.

Vincent, caught the dead body out of the corner of his eye and gagged. "I...killed a man..." he said in a rather sullen tone. He felt sick, he had practically killed a kid in the prime of his banditry career. Ioder thumped the youth on the head "You feinted at the sight of blood? You scared me half to death!" Vincent frowned "I'm sorry Ioder..." The smell of copper on his face began to make him a bit light headed. "Can we find something for me to wipe my face on?" Vincent looked around and noticed the other man laying on the floor. "Is he...?" Vincent asked looking pale

[Ioder]

“No, but when he wakes up he is going to have a head ack. Now let’s get you out of here.” Ioder said as he pulled Vincent up. He looked around and felt his pockets before tearing off a piece of his shirt and handed it to Vincent. He took it graciously and began to wipe off his face. Ioder walked over to the man he had incapacitated and lifted him up onto his shoulder. “Let’s go.” Ioder instructed with a smile on his face trying to easy Vincent.

Ioder and Vincent both reached the glaring light of the day and back to the foul smell of the bodies outside. Ioder threw the bandit onto the ground before kicking him in the side causing him to gasp for air and wake up. He looked around for a moment before focusing his eyes on Ioder. He reached for his blade quickly but halted his hand realizing that it wasn’t on his person.

Ioder in a display of power fully extended the length of his wings reaching about ten feet in length. The bandit cowered in fear to the angel and assumed a fetal possession at his feet. He was mumbling something under his breath possibly out of fear or insanity.

“Vincent, see if you can make this guy talk. After all YOU did kill his friend.” Ioder said making sure the man knew Vincent was dangerous just like him. “If I do it he might lose an eye.” Ioder said imitating him removing his own eye then winking and smiling.

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent tried to strike a menacing pose, normally it wouldn't have worked, but with a face still stained with dried blood everything the young man did was slightly creepier than normal. The smell of dead bodies probably helped as Vincent drew his dagger and knelt down. "Listen bud" he said trying to do his best impression of a mobster he'd seen on TV. "My names Vinny, and this here is my boy Mephistopheles." he said gesturing to the angel. "Me and my associate here were looking for something from these archaeologists that you and your friends killed. I'm not usually a forgiving man, normally I'd cut your balls off and feed em to your sister. I don't have the time though. So I need you to tell me what you took, and where you took it. Otherwise I'm gonna let my guardian angel over here practice slicin and dicin for our next cookout." Vincent during this entire time had adopted an incredibly shitty Italian accent.

"What? Something from the ruins? I don't know..." the man was clearly disturbed by the fact that the blood of his friend on Vincent's face. "Our boss had us attack these guys, something about an amulet or somethin. He had this look in his eyes like he really wanted it. Once he got it he told us to keep digging to see if we'd find anything else and he and the rest of the boys went back to the camp." Vincent grinned. "Good, where the fuck is the camp" Vincent growled. "Its like a half days ride west you can't miss it!" the man said cowering. A pool of yellow liquid began to pool under him signifying that he'd pissed himself. The man began to whimper. "Oh god you killed my little brother Tommy..." Vincent paused for a moment, almost dropping his facade. "Mephistopheles, your call on what we do with this scumbag..." he said turning away. The moment his face couldn't be seen he bit his lip, face filled with remorse. "We can't let him go or he might warn his friends..."

Vincent continued past Ioder and returned into the ruins and found a cozy place to sit down. He felt he was going to be sick.

[Ioder]

As Vincent requested Ioder stepped forth towering over the sobbing bandit. Ioder too heard him cry that the man Vincent killed was his younger brother and also felt the guilt Vincent felt. But the defining characteristic that makes Ioder such an excellent operative its his rational mind. Understanding that this man along with his brother contributed to the deaths of the Ruins Undiscovered member stationed here. Inexcusable...

"Do you fear death?" Ioder said as he stood over the man. His eyes now overflowing with contempt Ioder had no intention to let this man go on living unpunished.

"Please don't kill me." He graveled at the angel's feet.

"Answer me!" Ioder snapped back. The man just began to cry uncontrollably his sobs like nails on a chalk board. "So be it. You have lived a life filled with sin." The saraphim said as he raised his hand to the man pointing his palm at his head. "You are banished from this world. Angel feathers!" Ioder yelled as a cresent shaped glyph of radiant light formed and shoot out at the man. The light spiraled only once before completely decapitating him.

Vincent saw as his head flew clean off and rolled on the ground. Ioder kicked his lifeless corpse to the ground and motioned for their departure. It was now time to claim what they came for.

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent rose to his feet and staggered after Ioder. Suddenly he felt very tired, but they had much more work to do. "Does killing people ever get easier?" Vincent asked as they walked along. His feet ached, his legs felt heavy, and his head felt clouded. He wouldn't be much help in the bandit camp he had figured. As they begin to walk longer and longer, Vince begins to limp slightly. The sun has begun its descent in the sky, it'll be nightfall by the time they reach the camp. After a bit the young adventurer pulls over to the side of the trail and plops down on the ground. "Let's take a break Ioder. There's probably too many for us to take them all on so lets catch them in the night when most of them will be sleeping. We'll go metal gear on them." Vincent stops after his last sentence and chuckles. "Whoops, you won't get that reference."

He pulls his bag into his lap and pulls out a couple canteens, some stale bread, and dried jerky and offers some to the angel as he wolfs down some food. Anything to get his energy back and let him relax for just little bit. While they waited for the sun to set.

[Ioder]

Ioder and Vincent set up a makeshift camp just off the road under the fading shade of a large oak tree. Vincent rifled through his knapsack and offered all his foods to Ioder as he started to eat whatever he could. Ioder leaned against the base of the oak tree and tried to rest his eyes as his comrade refueled so to speak. Drifting in thought the seraphim pondered the possibilities that this adventure could play out. His face cringed at the thought of either he or Vincent falling in battle which was definitely a pertinent outcome.

“Vincent,” Ioder said getting his attention. Vincent turned as he still was chewing the jerky he stuffed in his face. “You know that you don’t have to go through with the rest of this mission.” Ioder said solemnly. A confused looked came over the young scholars face questioning the Angel’s logic behind his words.

“What? What do you mean?” The scholar asked hesitantly.

“I just want you to fully know that what we did back in the temple was nothing compared to the carnage that is sure to come.” Ioder softened his tone from here on. “These men slaughtered the thirty researchers just for a small pendant. They probably won’t be too happy that strangers are trying to take it. There will be blood tonight.” The sun had just crested below a hill on the horizon.

Though he spoke truth Ioder always had a backup plan for all his endeavors. If it looked like there would be a lot of difficulties if they entered in force Ioder would take the form of a sparrow and slip in undetected. “There is another way, I can shapeshift into a sparrow and just retrieve the Item with the bandits not knowing any the wiser.”

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent was mid bite when Ioder revealed his plan. He pondered it breifly. It would be easy. Ioder could sneak in and he wouldn't have to deal with anymore fighting. They could go home and report to Leona, mission accomplished. Then he remembered the pile of bodies. He thought about the idea, and how a group of bandits would basically walk free. The men of Ruins Undiscovered would never be avenged. No one would know what happened.

"Absolutely not" Vincent replied sternly. "As it stands we are the only two men who know what happened in those ruins. It lies on us to properly punish the monsters who did it." Vincent sounded so confident that he could barely recognize his own voice. "Besides if we sneak in and try to be stealthy we can probably catch most of them unawares..." he added.

Ioder glanced at Vincent stunned. The young man had just been feinting at the sight of blood hours before, and here he was making some speech about punishing bandits. "I have to get stronger Ioder, this is one of the only ways I can."

[Ioder]

The plan was set; Ioder and Vincent both agreed on how the night was going to play out. It wouldn’t take long for the two to reach the supposed location of the bandit camp responsible for the deaths of Ruins Undiscovered. A picture of their decomposing corpses was still fresh in both of their minds, tormenting their waking thoughts. These men needed to be punished for their crimes against humanity.

Ioder choose to take to the air instead of using the roads to travel for two reasons. Firstly Ioder cherished every moment her spend high in the air as free as a bird. And secondly he could do some much needed recon before either of the Tarot members would have to see battle. Before the angel ascended into the cool night air he left behind these words of warning to his comrade. “If you ever fear for your life, run for your life. This world is cruel and unforgiving and these men slaughter for fun. Don’t die okay?” These were Ioder’s last words to Vincent before they would meet on the field of battle.

In the refreshing air high above the thin layer of clouds Ioder shifted his shape into one resembling an elegant eagle as he neared the Bandit camp. From high in the sky Ioder could see the camp starting to form as he flew over top another forest at the end of the West Road. There were plenty of torches scattered around in the foliage below illuminating the camp below built into the forest floor. There were makeshift shakes constructed around the bases of trees and cloth tents covering the ground.

Ioder tucked his eagle wings in and nosedived down toward the bandit forest. In his bird of prey form he was swift and a great flyer weaving in and out of the foliage as he reached it, eventually landing on a thick tree branch overlooking the commotion of the night watch. There weren't many bandits awake at this time only a few scattered along the border of the camp with one or two guarding the main buildings which Ioder assumed were full of weapons or bunks for the ranking members. This was going to a task if Vincent of himself alerted the slumbering men; their sheer numbers could over run the two operatives.

Vincent please don’t do anything hasty. This isn’t any game were are playing, these men will take your life without any second thought. Ioder thought praying that the scholar could read his mind. Ioder was perched on the branch for a few moments before he shape shifted once again but this time not back into his comfortable form rather the exact shape as the bartender from before in the Giddy Goat. He continued to stay perch on the branch until he dropped down hoping to test his theory. These bandits must know and love the only proprietor of alcohol in all the area; with this body he should get wherever he wants undetected or undisturbed much.

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent had a pit in the bottom of his stomach as he walked alone in the dark. Fuggin Ioder wanting to go off by himself... he thought angrily to himself as he trudged along. Soon he could tell that he was getting close to the camp, and that's when he got off the road he was on and began to attempt a stealthier approach. Had the bandits not all been drunk celebrating their victory over the poor defenseless archaeologists they would have heard what appeared to be an injured elephant tromping through the underbrush.

It was not a pleasant experience. There were a ton of spiked vines that liked to scratch at the young mans exposed skin, digging in and taking hold of his tender flesh. It was almost as if the Red Forest of Raiaera wasn't as far mutated as people were led to believe. By the time he safely arrived at the edge of camp he was scratched up and bloody. Tired he stuck to the shadows looking for a way to sneak in.

His chance became apparent when two very drunk guards left the edge of the camp to piss. As they stumbled into the forest he wondered if he could simply blend in and act drunk, surely no one was sober enough to recognized a new face? One look at his clothes and the garb the guards were wearing made him think otherwise. How the hell do I do this... he wondered. He took a deep breath and began to sneak along the shadows of the camp...

[Ioder]

Ioder froze in the moonlight just barely breaking through the canopy of trees. With black hair greased back and his smile missing a few teeth he was frozen in place. On the darkened path boarding the forest camp the imposter barkeep met eyes with a man wielding a large club walking to meet him. Ioder’s disguise was going to be put to the test earlier than he expected.

“Reynold, What are you doing walking around out here?” The man asked quietly as he ushered Ioder behind a tree to block his view from anyone else. “You know you can’t be here. They’ll kill you if they see you here; these guys don’t mess around especially not after what happened at the temple.” From his tone and body language Ioder could tell that he was nervous, but of what was unclear.

“What do you mean after what happened at the temple?” Ioder said trying to match Reynold’s accent. It wasn’t perfect but close enough to fool anyone into just thinking he had a cold.

“I can’t talk about this now, if they catch you here…” The man stopped dead. “I Told You Never To Come Here!” The man said passionately, his ocean green eyes glistening in the faint light of the moon. He had long blonde hair covering the top of his shoulders, and seemed to be a bit taller than Reynold. He held his club tight and looked around to see if anyone heard him. What was the connection between these two men anyway?

“Im sorry…” Ioder trailed off seeing that his plan was not looking good. But he was thankful that he found the only person of the band of warriors not to want to kill him on sight. “I just wanted to see it, the thing everyone’s talking about.” Ioder asked even though he was sure that there was no such rumor circulating. “The neckless.”

The blonde haired bandit had a look of doubt upon his face after hearing Reynold say those words. Almost as if he was questioning how anyone outside camp has heard about the raid or what they recovered. “Who told you any of that Reynold? Delirious won’t be happy hearing this.” He said as he with his free hand grabbed hold of Ioder’s wrist tightly. Not trying to hurt him but just enough to show that this was no joke.

“Le- Let go of me!” Ioder said as he ripped his wrist free of the other man. He took two steps back slowly keeping an eye fixed on Reynold’s contact before turning and running back into darkness of the forest. The other man turned as well and re-entered the camp kicking up dirt in frustration.

So it is here. Ioder thought to himself as he shifted his shaped back to his regular form before circling back towards the camp. Ioder walked back in the direction of his encounter making sure to step over the overgrown roots and ducking to avoid the fallen limbs. Delirious, he must be the leader of this outfit. Where ever he is the pendant couldn’t be far.

Ioder returned to the tree where he and the bandit stood, tensing his wrist to extend his Damascus blade. This wasn’t going to be a cake walk to get in there, a challenge to say the least.

“I hope Vincent has already started.” The words barley slipped his mouth.

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent was not having a fun night. He slunk from shadow to shadow trying to blend in perfectly with the cover of the night. All around him bandits seemed to be in the middle of some strange celebration. Every man had a drink in his hands and was hitting the alcohol heavily. This played much to the young man's advantage. A drunk bandit's senses were too dulled to notice when the young man crossed his vision out of the corner of his eye.

He spent most of his time scrunched up as tight as he could get in the shadow trying to hush his rapid breathing. His heart was pounding as his entire body screamed at him to run away from the large tent in the center of camp where he felt sure he was going to find the leader of the camp. One hand clung tightly to the grip of his dagger ready to whip the blade out and attack with it when needed.

He kept to the shadows and avoided larger groups of the bandits as he slunk around. As he neared closer and closer to the large tent the men seemed to become...scarcer. This worried the young man but his mind was too clouded with adrenaline to even process the fact. He would never have thought himself capable of any of his current actions, but every time he felt like backing out the pile of bodies flashed through his mind. Finally he arrived to just outside his goal. The entire tent was shrouded in an eerie darkness, and not a bandit was to bee seen. Vincent paused for a moment. He needed a diversion, something to help him.

[Tobias Stalt]

"It had to be a fuckin' horse."

His mount snorted at his demeanor, unappreciative but tolerant. The ebony Fresian had a temperament like a forge; hot inside, but controlled without. Pocks of age had begun to show on the mount's features, silent witness to how long it had maintained it's wild inner flame. Tobias held a mutual respect for the beast, if only because it was all the transportation he had. "Why in the deep hells did I agree to this?"

Their brief rest occurred on a rock face overlooking the badlands, and his horse snorted disdain for the idea of descending. "I don't blame you," he muttered as though the animal could understand. "For once, we agree." A comical whinny came from the midnight colored steed as it shook its head. "Fine. You wait here."

Tobias dismounted, half wary that the horse might bolt. When it did not, he almost felt disappointed. "Less a chance I'll be noticed on foot," he rationalized, then dared a quick stroke at the beast's muzzle. It snapped it's teeth at him, and Tobias jerked violently away. "Well, N'jal take you, too. Four legged freak."

It felt like the horse was laughing all the while.

***Earlier, several days***

Rich with the aroma of lavender and myrrh, the dark tent burned at his eyes when he entered. Tobias blinked back tears and choked on thickened air. "Sit with me, Stalt," came a smooth voice, familiar and seeped in a seductive tone. "I have a request." The former soldier always found these sudden meetings with magickers less than comfortable, and in her meditative den, he felt further exposed. "Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid," he snapped. The idea of a woman who could peer into his deepest issues and pry at things to get at him unnerved Tobias, but it was not fear that stayed him. Begrudgingly, he found a seat on the regally woven oriental that stretched out across dirt and provisioned Leona with clean seats. She opened her gentle eyes and offered a disarming smile. Tobias frowned in return.

"You are," she stated simply, "an anomaly. Something I do not fully understand." The admission made Tobias wonder if magic was as infallible as he once believed, but the woman quickly interrupted his thoughts. "However, what I do understand is that your strange... talents..." she stressed the word, as though proffering it a magical quality of its own. Tobias sneered at that. "Those are useful to my designs."

Tobias imagined that Leona fancied all of her pet freaks loyal to a fault and overjoyed to find welcome in the fold. It must have been strange to her that someone with no magical prowess at all would find any modicum of refuge among those who sought arcane knowledge. He knew she had quite possibly divined his purpose among them, but she never brought it to light. No, indeed- Leona seemed quite satisfied to allow Tobias his own agenda. That thought alone made her so much more dangerous in his mind. "Get to the point," he growled.

"I have sent two of my cards," she used the word affectionately, ripping away the facade of lesser humanity as she constructed newer, superior forms for those who entered the fold, "into grave danger. They seek to recover an artifact that may prove immensely useful to our cause."

"Your cause," the rogue corrected. Leona offered only a smile.

"Tobias, we do not have to go on as enemies," she told him, "you can find in me a great ally, if only you give me trust."

"Trust," he replied curtly, "is earned. Never given."

She nodded slowly. "Wise words," she granted, "I chose well to summon you, and not another. Heed me, the two I sent forth are days out from here. You would never catch up with them on foot, so I will grant you a means of reaching their destination with haste."

"And when I arrive?" Leona looked into his eyes when he asked that, and after a moment, she spoke.

***The Present***

It was a longer march than he imagined, rough sands and the corpse of a ruin strewn between Tobias and his quarry. For miles, he could see nothing in any direction but rock and soil. The sky raged with an earthen heat as the wind tore at the ground and sent it airborne. Tobias swept his messy, chestnut locks from his eyes and bit his lip.

The sounds of battle wafted above the storm every so often, but no open war was waged. Screams from steel and throat alike confirmed Tobias' direction, and he stayed the course.

The road took him to the fringes of a painted wood, all the colors of autumn without the season itself. Vicious flora threatened him as he grew closer, only to seem docile when he came close. "There now," he muttered as calls issued between bandits betrayed their closeness. "Not exactly the most subtle bunch," he observed.

Tobias ever lacked the magical touches that made other pawns for Leona's chess game so dangerous. He made up for it, he liked to think, in his own way. Eyes watched every portion of path visible from the encampment; Tobias noticed immediately a scant number of guards. He kept low and to the brush as he made his approach, and once he was close enough, the youth searched for the two men he was sent to save.

"Ah," he mouthed, and Leona's words about a shapechanger returned to him. He spied a boy in the firm clutches of a toothless bandit. The lad broke free and fled into the darkness of the wood. Tobias' own hiding spot was mere feet from the lone guard, who turned now to see what the buzz was about. "What the shit, Durango-!?"

Before the guard could fully voice his question, a sick gargle overtook his voice. A hand slipped over his mouth as his eyes bugged. Tobias let the body slump where it stood. "Never take your eyes off a job, mate," he mumbled, though the advice would do the bandit little good in hell. The Tactician scraped Cold deftly over the grass to clean away leftover blood from the kill.

The window for action would rapidly close if he and the others didn't act. "If I can't find the other one," he decided, "I'll have to signal him some other way."

He bent down, scooped up the still burning lantern of the guard he'd ended, and tossed it. With a screech of shattered glass, the oil spilled out and caught on canvas. Flames spread like an overturned cup around the tent, and a chorus of cries tore out from it. "One signal, as ordered." Fire caught on the grass and heat licked at Tobias' face.

[Ioder]

Ioder shivered with anticipation waiting for the perfect moment to take action. The quarrels of mortals weighed little for the eternal Seraphim, yet as he peered from around the trunk of a tree he remembered Vincent’s words. “It lies on us to punish these monsters.” He was right after all; these men were monsters and would be better off erased.

With his Damascus blade at the ready Ioder watched as one patrol of two men started to walk in his direction. Chitchatting about whatever but clearly not on point this night; both slightly stumbled as the kept guard. Just as the two were about to reach Ioder’s tree the stopped abruptly, “I gotta take a leak.” The first man said. He quickly positioned himself in front of a bush next to Ioder, though the angel stayed clearly out of sight, shifting around the trunk avoiding the other man who took position next to his partner. Creeping out from behind his safety tree Ioder walked with the utmost stealth behind the men who were both emptying their bladders.

“Man, Delerious must really be happy.”

“Aye, he was looking for a big score and he got his.”

“Do you think we will be leaving for Salvar in the morning? He mentioned something about that earlier.” Both men had finished and began fastening up their trousers.

“Im sure we will stay here a few more weeks until we can find a buyer for the gem.”

Ioder had heard enough, neither of these men seemed fazed by the atrocities the committed, rather happy they had finished their job. In his riotous fury Ioder raised his blade up until the point was all but touching the back the first man’s neck. Without a word Ioder pushed his blade deep into the man’s neck and out the front. Crimson blood splashing out the front and spewing from his mouth as he tried to scream but couldn’t. All he could muster was a flailing arm hitting his friend who reacted with quickness.

“Travis!” He energetically yelled as his mind began to process what was happening. All he could see was his buddy’s terrified expression alongside a gaping wound in his neck. Ioder aggressively put his foot to the man back and kicked him off his blade before slashing at the survivor. Once, twice, three times his blade met his flesh carving him like a pig. One of his slashes managed to tear the man’s shoulder all the way to his groin. He only letting out gurgles as the Seraphim carved him.

Ioder stepped back watching as both the men lay in a pool of blood he made for them. It had begun; there was no salvation for these men. By the night’s end this land would be purified of these ‘monsters’ by the hand of The Tarot, by Ioder.

Without reservation Ioder extended his beautiful wings to their fullest and ascended quickly into the sky. Hovering just above the canopy of trees Ioder pointed his free hand down at the trees covering the bandit camp. About to use his light magic to ignite the woods Ioder noticed a crash and a flash of light. Below him there were already flames engulfing the dry foliage, was this Vincent? Or maybe another, either way the fire would frenzy the rest of the bandits and hopefully draw out Delirious.

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent had been lurking in the shadows watching what had just gone down. Some man he had never seen before had suddenly popped out of nowhere and killed a guard like something he would have watched from a spy movie back home. Suddenly he felt like there was something more to this fight than he realized, and that possibly another party was after the same thing they were. Then the man threw the lantern into a tent not five feet from where he was hiding. Suddenly the darkness was illuminated by the orange light of a forest fire in the making.

"Holy shit" Vincent exclaimed suddenly leaping from his hiding spot away from the flames. The man seemed to notice Vincent but the Scholar didn't pay any mind as he promptly took off as fast as he could in the other direction. His heart pounded in his chest as his feet pounded against the ground in a dead sprint. His breath was quick and shallow, and suddenly the young man was cursing every time he had ever cut gym class. He found that the whole camp was in disarray and hardly anyone was paying attention to him, the fire was proving more important.

Suddenly several very attractive and naked women ran past Vincent and the youth stopped for a moment. "Wha..." he managed to get out before he was interrupted by a string of loud and increasingly explicit swears as a large naked bear floundered out of an extravagant tent. The "man" must have been seven feet tall and every bit of 400 pounds of muscle and fat, mostly fat. He had hair everywhere, including places Vincent wished he wasn't able to see. "Who der fuck is messhin with ma gods dammned camp!" the man roared almost delirious from alcohol. Suddenly the youth was aware of a very large, very sharp looking sword in the mans hands, and a very shiny amulet on his neck. "Oh shit..." Vincent hissed before turning tail and hauling ass back the way he came. Suddenly being near smokey the bears worst nightmare seemed safer than this man.

[Tobias Stalt]

Chaos reigned as Tobias stood in the midst of his handiwork. Flames devoured the camp so quickly and thoroughly that already he had seen at least three men flee in terror, and two others attempt to douse the flames. A swift jab of his knife to the jugular put a swift end to their meddling.

Rotund and indignant, the nude man who brandished his menacing blade caught Stalt's eye and he tasted a bit of vomit on his tongue. "Couldn't be fucked to put on anything?" Tobi hissed disdainfully, "no one wants t' see tha', ye fat fuck." He watched the bandit leader turn his angry, drunken gaze and they glared between each other for a moment. "Don't lock eyes with me," he spat.

"What in blazes?" Tobias glanced over to the speaker, a confused and bewildered Vincent, and blinked. "Who are you? Did you set this fire?"

"Leave off," Tobias quickly replied, and a hand shot up to ward away conversation. "We'll talk later. Yer friend here needs to be dealt with, first." The black blade in his hand hung low like a bared tooth. Stalt fixed the fat bandit with a stern gaze and nodded. "Take his belongings."

"Like hell," the obese thief lord interjected. His sword flashed threateningly toward Tobias. "Ye better give me all yer fookin' money, if you plan on walking out of here alive." Tobias stifled a laugh, and Vincent blinked up at him warily. Tobias offered the man a quick wink.

[Ioder]

Everything was happening too quickly, between the now blazing fire and the plethora of fleeting bandits made this more complicated than it needed to be. Ioder peered through the thick canopy like a bird of prey, searching for Vincent in particular. But he could see nothing, only smoke and chaos. Despite his limited vision Ioder could hear the many persons running from the blaze. The very men who massacred the Ruin’s Undiscovered members back at the temple. Their sins would not go unpunished, not if Ioder could do anything about it. The Seraphim quickly flew to the edge of the forest in the direction of the closest town. Figuring that the survivors would seek shelter this was the best way to cut them all off. He with all his almighty power landed with great presence in a clearing about fifty yards from the forest’s edge. He stood with his back against the woods letting his wings rest in full view of any who would make it this far.

One by one the bandits started to emerge from the brush collecting them and regrouping. The first was a older bulky man with a large sword latched to his back, all of them seemed to roughly look alike all with a very upset demeanor. “What the fuck is happening?” The first man yelled to the other trying to piece together what was happening. “What was all that?”

“A fire, it’s going to burn down everything.” A man answered him. “There hasn’t been rain in weeks, this forest is going to light up quicker than all hell.” Another man finished. It was starting to appear like the fire would soon engulf everything, even Vincent would need to make his retreat soon. Ioder had full confidence in his partner’s ability, he was sure that Vincent would be safe and emerge with The Crystalline Pendant they were sent to recover.

“Let’s get away from this place, regroup back at the tavern.” The first man instructed the rest of the group of stragglers. About fifteen in total have emerged at this point and still none full acknowledging Ioder’s presence just mere feet behind them in the shadow of the burning wood. “Aye.” Someone answered him. The bulky man turned only to finally seen his undoing, Ioder the Seraphim of Judgment. He was the end, the finale. The curtain was about to drop on their performance and Ioder would be the one to silence their sin. “Who goes there?” He yelled out to Ioder.

Ioder looked over his shoulder at the men, who he could only see outlines of against the raging flames that were now spreading quite rapidly. He counted fifteen or better, odds that he had faced before. “I am your salvation.” He said as he turned to face them. “You all have committed dire sin, sin that you must atone for.” He started to walk ever so slowly towards the bandits now forming a tight group. He wasn’t sure but all this confusion must have been playing to his advantage, in conjunction with his god like form and wings they feared him.

Ioder savored the feeling.

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent seemed caught between a rock and a hard place. Fire seemed to be devouring the camp and outlying forest alike, gnawing on the dry bones of tents and trees alike. Heat seared at the young scholars skin as it just began to sink in that he was quite powerless in this situation. Two unknown men of massive power were about to square off in a violent battle, a fire raged aiming to consume anything and everything in it's gluttonous wrath, Ioder was nowhere to be seen and Vincent had nothing but his notes and a silly little dagger. Nothing was going to save him. Knees quivering he stumbled away from the fight, away from the fire, and collapsed. Why would you do this to me Leona... Vincent thought to himself as he crawled through the dry brush hurriedly. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. The town! panic crossed his face as he realized that the innocent people would surely suffer some repercussions of these actions. He scrambled to his feet and began to run, not away from the problem at hand, but to the people who needed his help. Men had been slaughtered and left to rot in their tents and Vincent couldn't do a thing about it, but he could save this village.

As everything continued to happen in the camp Vincent made a dead sprint for the town, his feet pounding the dry earth as his lungs struggled to draw in breath. Soon he was at the town square filled with bandits and concerned citizens alike. The whole town was buzzing with activity preparing fire cuts to prevent the flames from spreading and having water buckets ready. Vincent used his studies to his advantage and helped people with ways to prevent the spread of fire and fire fighting techniques he had learned in his studies. Should it spread they would be ready.

(Vincent out of posting order until needed again?)

[Tobias Stalt]

"You've got to be shitting me."

Tobias watched the young man tuck tail and run, then glanced back at the fat oaf who's grotesque manhood flapped comically between his legs. "Yew fucked wi' the wrong troupe, laddie," the bandit taunted with the most menacing voice he could manage, his disposition considered. "I'll gut ye wide open."

"As much as I'd love to debate all that," Tobias resigned himself with a sigh as the black blade slipped into his hand, "I think I'll save us the trouble of that dance. Give me your necklace, and I won't cut-" he gestured toward the obese man's groin, "-it off."

"That's it!" the thief cried out, and he threw himself toward Tobias. Blades bellowed their clash above the crackle of flames.

Moments later, the king of bandits lay flat on his stomach, eyes wide with disbelief. A demon stood in the flames above him, in one hand a blade that swallowed light. Tobias reached down and grasped the pendant, then wrenched it free from the thief's throat. "I'll be taking that," he told the man, "and I'll see you in hell."

On his heel Tobias turned, and he left the naked man to contend with the fanning flames.

[Ioder]

A massacre would be the most accurate description to what transpired next. Ioder ascended up into the sky with his powerful wings. As he did he released the four slivers of magic speckling the night sky above the bandits who had since started to make a run for it. Clearly Ioder was about to end these men, as they ended so many back at the ruins. The slivers each resembled a feather from his wings before zipping off after the fleeting men. They flew like heat seeking missiles after the bandits. As Ioder banked and turned to fallow the men he saw his angel feathers spear four different men. Blood sprayed and coated the grass ground as the fell over dead. The others not waiting a second continued their pointless retreat.

“Feel the pain you caused!” Ioder yelled out into the night sky as he fired his light ray from his hand. Dragging it across the field he ignited a circle around the rest of the bandits. There was now no way to escape, they were surrounded on all side by fire. Like sitting ducks the ten or so bandits cowered, eyes locked on their doom. Ioder banked once again to face the bandits. This is going to be fun. the angel thought as he cloaked himself in his glimmering aura. His glimmered not only prevented him from taking damage for about six strikes but also increased his penetration with his blade and fists.

Like a dive bomb Ioder landed in the center of the group, sending people and dirt flying up in the air. All around there the fire roasted the fighters, Ioder flawlessly kicking and slashing his way through the remaining bandits. His wings were also a crucial aspect to his fighting style, using them to push off enemies and regain his footing Ioder easily struck down man after man as if he were fighting children. One by one the men lay dead on the ground or purging in the flames of his holy justice. Ioder pointed his hand once more and let fire another beam of light hitting two of the bandits and infighting them like tinder. Their unhallowed screams filled the area and only one man was left standing.

The last bandit stood as far away from Ioder as possible. Ioder still cloaked with his brilliant aura stood stoic with flames behind him. He began to walk slowly over to the last man standing. The bandit shook with fear, not even able to hold his blade firmly he dropped it. Ioder stopped mid step as he did and decided instead not to kill this wretched man. Rather he used his powerful wings to lift off once more and leave the man within his prison of encroaching flames.

Vincent, I hope you have the pendant, this turned into a bust. I hope he remembers the rendezvous back in town. Ioder thought to himself as he flew off into the direction of the tavern they visited earlier.

[Cards of Fate]

After several minutes of nighttime flying the angel touched down outside the tavern to find Vincent in the clutches of Tobias, hoisted off his feet.

“You fucking ran away from a fight you pussy!” the mercanaray roared as he throttled the scholar.

“You fucking lit the entire camp on fire!” the scholar whined “What the fuck was I supposed to do? Jerk the fat man off?”

“Oi drop the boy” Ioder shouted as he stepped in, rescuing Vincent from Stalt’s clutches. This had been a long night and an even longer mission. All three of them were weary, all three of them were ready to go on their separate ways and head “home.”

“Here’s yer soddin amulet.” Tobias growled flinging at the angel. “Next time Leona sends me on a mission and it’s with either of you punks I’m leaving you both to rot.” He spat as he turned away. Vincent shook slightly as he turned to Ioder.

“That was a disaster and a half…” he muttered, eyes wide with fear. Both of his knees were shaking and his face was caked with soot and sweat.

“You can say that again…” Ioder grumbled as he ran the amulet along his fingers. “All of that death for a little trinket….” Ioder growled. “This thing isn’t even real gold, the chain is pyrite and the gem is glass, what sort of power could it even hold…” Ioder mused.

“What a let down…” Vincent muttered sighing. “Can we go back to the base now?” he asked his angelic companion.

“Yeah Vince, let’s get the hell back to base and tell Leona everything that happened.” Ioder replied as the two turned to walk away from the town. It has been a hellish mission, but it was finally over, and Vincent could feel a growing bond with his new partner.

[Philomel]

Title of Thread: Uneathered [Tarot Heirarchy] (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?28361-Uneathered-Tarot-Heirarchy&p=243890#post243890)
Judgement Type: Workshop Submission
Participants: Ioder, Cards of Fate, Tobias Stalt

Rewards:

Ioder (http://www.althanas.com/world/member.php?17424-Ioder) receives:
1915 EXP
21 GP

Cards of Fate (http://www.althanas.com/world/member.php?17720-Cards-of-Fate) receives:
1770 EXP
221 GP

Tobias Stalt (http://www.althanas.com/world/member.php?17202-Tobias-Stalt) receives:
390 EXP
40 GP

Spoils: Accepted for a damascus-base pendant at normal quality with a teir 2 enchantment. 200 GP is deducted from Ioder's rewards for the spoil.

Spoil in form of "The Crystalline Pendant of Afterlife. It allows the user to relive the last five seconds of their lives with knowledge of how they were slain the first time. The user can only use this once per thread to change their fate."
Spoil is to go into the Tarot Heirarchy Vault.

Submitted to Workshop for Commentary.

[Lye]

EXP & GP Added!