The Dragon Hunters

[Ascelia]

[[Please go to the recruit thread before posting here!!]]

((CLOSED TO MYSELF, TEUTONIC KNIGHT, ZERITH, 016573, STARGAZER, FIRESTRIFE, AND BROKEN))

Ascelia wondered into town. It had been sometime since she was here. Last time it was just only to grab some supplies and move on, this time she decided to stay for a couple of days. It was already getting late, and the sun was setting. The patterns of blue, pink, purple, and orange were left in the sky as the sun slowly disappeared behind the mountain range. The town no reflected the image of a ghost town. It was dark and gloomy; the lack of light really brought the image of the town down. The buildings were just simply wood and glass. The most populated place of the whole town was the tavern, of course, and the streets were empty except for a few random people. So, Ascelia decided the tavern would be best.

She pushed open the door to the tavern, the large oak doors creaked and seemed like they were ready to fall of their hinges. The smell of ale and vomit quickly filled her nose. ”Stupid tavern and inn splits. The smell is horrible on both floors, no doubt.” she thought to herself, walking in. But she still managed to get to where she wanted, and quickly. She took few breaths as she walked towards the counter.

“Whatcha want?” he asked, in a surprisingly stern voice. She was quiet surprised at his voice. It was so deep and cold, but it didn’t match him at all. She was a rather frail boy, not much taller then she was. He had the build of a teenage boy, and a baby face. He didn’t even look like he had hit puberty yet. “So, whatcha want?” he asked again.

“A single room,” Ascelia replied, “Oh…and an ale,” she added quickly before he disappeared. A loud cry of excitement filled the tavern. Something that was a surprise in such a dingy place. But soon, the cries faded, and the usual jumble of words filled the room again. Just as the tavern got back to it usual self, the tender came back from the back room. “Ale and the key,” he called, placing both of them on the counter. “Room three, and six gold,” he said, and held out his hand.

Rolling her eyes she handed him the gold, “Pfft…only worried about the gold,” she growled as she picked up the key and pint of ale. Slowly Ascelia started pushing her way through all the drunks heading towards the stairs. On her way, she overheard a bit of a conversation. “It came from the fields of Khu’fein,” the male voice said. When she tried to find the conversation she couldn’t, everything was jammed into a commotion of voices. Shaking it off, she headed up the stairs to her room.

Unlocking, and opening the door, she walked in. She placed the key on the side table, and then sat in the chair near the window. Staring at the mountain range, she waited. For what, she wasn’t sure, but whatever caught the attention of everyone in the tavern would surely happen again. Her excitement would have it’s way with her this time.

[Breaker]

[Previous Day-- Scara Brae]

"This is beautiful... beautiful."
Joshua Cronen rolled back on his heels, inhaling deeply through his nose and embracing the soft smells of the forest. A fresh, crisp scent from the towering oaks and wispy yew trees pleased his senses, while a darker, mustier smell from the underlying loam supported the feeling of the great outdoors. Josh had never seen wilderness of the like before. A hundred yards from the town of Scara Brae the woods became so dense and undisturbed that mankind may as well not have existed. As the young agent stood enjoying the air, he rolled his head back so the sun played on his face. It warmed his well-tanned features pleasantly, and he closed his eyes against the offending brightness as he drew in another breath. "This is almost magical," he thought, "Completely untainted by fossil fuels or... smoke?" A breeze had sprung up from it's restlessness, carrying a faint whiff of woodsmoke to the earthling's nose. Instantly curious, Josh rotated in place for a moment, then decided which direction the smell was coming from and set out to find the source.

The Agent move through the forest carefully, trying to disturb its natural beauty as little as possible. The first sound he heard was the cracking and popping of timbers in a fire. Seconds later, the small fire came into sight. Crouched arond it were two slim men in long grey cloaks, muttering softly in a strange language. As he approached them, Josh's foot fell on a dead twig which snapped in half, the report sounding like a gunshot in the quiet forest. Both men leaped to their feet and turned to face the earthling. Here Josh got a shock; their faces were a deep purple colour, and their ears long and pointed, topped by long black hair. Joshua stared at them in confusion, while they stared back with obvious fury.

"You spy on us!" The taller of the two cried, his voice rising in anger, "You will pay!" The strange purple man then lifted his hands, and a glowing ball of light appeared in front of him, growing larger and larger. Josh did a double take at this, but, recognizing the threat, began to race forwards.
"No!" The shorter pointy ear cried, slapping the other's hands and causing the ball to disapear, "To kill without need is the deepest sin. Our brothers will take care of him." Josh was nearly missed a stride in his charge. He knew from experience that he could look quite intimidating-- especially when running straight at a target. These two, however, did not seem at all concerned with the Marshial Artist. In fact, they did not seem to consider him a threat at all. "Let's see if I can change that..." Taking a final power stride, Josh leapt into the air, forming his well toned body into a flying jump kick aimed at the shorter of the two. The strange man simply raised his hands, palms up, and a dark blue portal appeared in midair. Already flying forwards, Josh could not stop himself from sailing straight into it. The last words he heard in Scara Brae carried a dire warning.
"Do not worry, cousin... he will not last two days at the Fields of Khu'fein."

*** *** *** *** ***

[Present Day-- The Fields of Khu'fein]

"Yeh've got 'im now, laddie!"
The sinews and veins in Joshua's right forearm bulged and pushed out against his skin as his muscles flexed to the maximum. The Agent's eyes glared across the table at his opponent as sweat beaded on his forehead. The other man was larger, with heavier shoulders, but Josh had guessed his own arms were more properly toned. Luckily, his guess was correct. With a final strain, he slammed the larger mans wrist into the table, raising a chorus of cheers from the watchers. Small amounts of gold changed hands, and a slightly larger amount was added to the growing pile in front of Josh. The earthling had been given a hundred pieces of the odd currency in Scara Brae, and had earned almost fifty more that night due to his winning streak in arm wrestling. Grinning from ear to ear, Josh looked around for his next opponent.

Josh had arrived in the small mining town the day before, having been somehow transported there through the "magical" blue portal. He had spent the entire previous day sitting in the corner of this tavern, the Blackout, and eavesdropping on the conversations. He learned that the purple skinned pointy eared men were called dark elves, or drows, and that the small bearded men who also populated the area were dwarves. There were also a goodly number of humans, and they became Josh's main source of information. By the second evening, the Special Agent had successfully blended with the crowd-- a move straight out of training 101.

A waitress arrived with a round of drinks for the men, and Josh waved at his pile of gold, signifying that he would pay for the round. The girl took several coins from the pile, and placed the tray on the table. Greedy hands snatched up the foaming mugs, and various fists pounded Josh on the back in a friendly manner. The Agent was enjoying himself immensely, partially due to the easy attention, and partially due to the four beers he had consumed. Suddenly, a giant of a man slammed himself into the chair opposite Josh. With massive hands the man placed what looked like forty or fifty gold coins in the middle of the table and stared. Grinning like an idiot, Josh pushed his winnings to the centre to match the bet.
"I'm all in." He said, offering his hand. The giant's hand closed over his in a vicelike grip, and immediately the man began to pull. Josh felt his arm go tight, and slowly begin to give. He strained against the larger man, but found himself losing. His steely, carefully worked muscles were no match for the other man's beastial power. With a head full of ale, Josh saw only one solution. "Need to make money some how..." Suddenly, his skin took on a golden sheen, causing him to glow like a well polished medal. With ease he slammed the giant's arm into the table. As the glow diminished, the man sprang to his feet, roaring in anger.

"You cheater! I saw what you did... now you'll pay in blood!" Josh saw the man's hand go to his belt, and close around the hilt of a jagged dagger. Slowly, the Marshial Artist got to his feet, and took a step back from the table. As he did so he snatched up a bread knife from a loaf nearby, and held it like a dagger, inverted in his hand. His body tensed like a spring, but a disarming smile played across his face.
"Don't do anything you might regret now..."
Frantically, Josh began to calculate the odds of the fight in his head. His success in the recent competition and his buying of the drinks had made him popular. Just the same, this man might have friends that would take his side. The mood tensed in the bar-- some men were looking for a good fight, while others would be content to watch it. "One way or another... looks like there's going to be a brawl here." Josh thought. He bounced on the balls of his feet, ready and waiting.


((I thought it would be nice to start with a bar fight. Feel free to be a part of it, or watch, or not be here at all. I do intend to fight this big guy, though, and that could easily start a brawl.

Ascelia- I took the liberty of naming the place, since you didn't. Let me know if that's a problem.))

[Teutonic Knight]

Godfrey was traveling through The Fields of Khu'fein looking for some work or evil to smite he always enjoyed taking care of other pepoles problems just to make life easier.

"Ahh whats this Blackout sounds like a nice spot to grap a beer and see some action." Godfrey said to himself knowing theres no one around he wouldnt feel stupid saying things to himself.

So Godfrey opened the oak door surprised by the noise it made when he pushed on it he stayed at the door way looking at it and realizing the hinges were not strong enough to hold up the heavy oak door. Godfrey shut the door slowly trying not to be the one to take the door off its hinges.

Godfrey noticed some excitment going on around one table and heard a bang on it every know and then and saw a man leave the table and another sit down at it. He assumed it was arm wrestling going on and when he walked up his assumtion was correct there were was one man at the table who was winning round after round sending challengers home with sore hands.

The man bought many beers and was greatfully sharing them so going along with the flow he decided to take one before someone else did. The ale here was good and had a sweet rich taste that was much better than ones he had had before.

Godfrey pulled up a chair and watched the man win his matches then one very large man stepped up to take on the champion. The matched had started and it looked like the challenger was winning then all of a sudden the champion of the arm wrestling compition turned a golden color for a split second and in the blink of an eye the lage grizzly of a man's hand had slamed along the table.

The large man seemed very angry and said that the other man had cheated and he was going to kill him because he was a cheater. Because of such nonsense does not give a reason to kill so Godfrey thought he may help the smaller man but first he wanted to see where this would go.

[Stargazer]

Artemis washed the blood off of his arms in a nearby stream. It was night, and the kill had been easy. Men never look up. The half-demon had waited in the trees as his target had passed by. A jump and a slash was all it took. Red eyes flashing, he kicked the corpse into a pile of brush. It didn’t hide the vile smell, but the body would probably not be found for a few days. Artemis straightened slowly, trying to fight off the excited shadows that clung to his ankles and chatted happily. He spoke a few soothing words in the language of shadows, the one no one that wasn’t a shadow speaker could hear. In response to the sounds, they began to stop the clamor and settle contently around his legs. One shadow asked why he had killed the man. Artemis didn’t answer; he never really knew why he killed anybody except for entertainment. The shadow didn’t need to know that.

The half-demon grimaced as his stomach growled. He looked around him, but was only met with the sight of an empty clearing. There was nothing to eat. Artemis’ eyes flashed back to the body, but quickly dismissed the idea from his mind. A shadow noticed that he was hungry. It winded up his midsection and settled on his shoulder. Pointing with a tendril of darkness, it gave him directions.

Not more than a few yards from the dismal looking town, the shadows slipped back amongst the trees. Artemis looked at it skeptically. He could probably get food there, but most likely food poisoning as well. He was hungry enough to risk it. He ran down through the streets (which were pretty empty), and looked around for a place. The Black Out looked very nice. A “Black Out” was what the world really needed, in Artemis’ opinion. How was anyone to get anything done with the sun shining in their eyes?

The half-demon pushed open the door, and stooped to get through the frame. It was most often the case with such places. Artemis wrinkled his nose; the place was filled with such a vile smell. Then he straightened up, and found a table in the corner. Normally such a large figure dressed in black would have gotten at least some attention, but it was not to be the case that night. The focus was on a pair of fighters, who were beginning a face off. Artemis looked enough like a human for nobody to catch note of his red eyes. These eyes were focused on the fighters until the shadows that had draped over his shoulders alerted him of two other people. An elf and a man in a white surcoat. They also picked out one particular combatant: the smaller of the two.

“Are they important?” he asked them

They gave him the feeling that they would be later on. The half-demon sighed. He wasn’t particularly enthusiastic.

[Zerith]

Depression had hit Zerith yet again. The countless days spent in looking for information to help out with his personal quest were getting him nowhere. Now, like the many times before he was beginning to doubt if he would ever succeed. Perhaps he was just failure altogether? If that was the case then what was the point in trying anymore?

He had wasted years of his life for what? To end up doing nothing but sit around and drink in the Black Out? To do nothing but sit around and watch match after match of arm wrestles? God, could life get any worse?

Before Zerith could come up with an answer to his last question there was a sudden commotion behind him. Like almost everyone else Zerith did the natural thing and turned around to see just what was going on. Two men were just about to go at it for some reason. Yet because of the sudden tension in the room, it felt like a bar fight would start as soon as someone threw a punch.

“Awww come on man!” the man sitting beside Zerith shouted. “Just throw a punch and get this fight started!”

“I have a better idea,” Zerith replied. “Why don’t you just shut the hell up. If you want to see a fight then why you don’t look around for your balls and throw the fist punch. Although if it turns out you just don’t have any balls then you should start asking yourself why you were just never born with them.”

The crowd burst with laughter as the man’s face turned bright red. “Why you little…” he spoke with clentched teeth. “You’re one to talk punk. I’d like to see you back yourself up with some action, but then again you wouldn’t even be able to hurt anyon-.”

Before the fool could finish his sentence Zerith slammed his fist into the bastard’s face. After that everyone who was waiting for the first punch entered the fray. It only took a few seconds until the fight filled the room. Zerith found himself being one of the fighters, taking his frustration with the way life was treating him out on anyone who got in his way. He wasn’t on a side nor was he backing anyone up or vice versa. He was just fighting, plain and simple.

Eventually thanks Zerith the fight moved outside as well. Mostly due to fact that during the fight the young warrior threw a stranger through the large, tavern window and out onto the city streets. Others saw this as an opportunity to move somewhere more open. Zerith on the other hand was snuck up on from behind and knocked through the same window.

Picking himself of the ground Zerith dusted himself off and was about to get even with whoever threw him through the window when suddenly a thunderous boom drowned out all the yelling and commotion. The night sky was suddenly filled with colour as well as what looked something like fireworks filled covered the sky as well.

The young fighter found himself staring at the mountain range in the distance. Towards where the source of both the explosions and the wondrous display of colours resided. Some of the others one the street stood were just as confused as he was. Every mind wondered just what on the mountain could do such a thing. Or what if the cause wasn’t on the mountains? What if it was really on the other side?