When a plan comes togather...

[Ingenious]

If you want to join, post in the thread "A simple quest".


~*~
Ye Lighte Warriors
or those of similiar ability

I invite you to join me on a mission that could bring you riches
A fortress full of loot for the taking along with the chance to join a
crew that will find work to gain more loot
More will be explained at the meeting right before the mission

Meeting time and location
a few miles northe of underwood at high noon a week from today
~*~

That was how the parchments read. They had been written, sealed and sent a week prior. Kichiro himself had had done the first two steps and had intrusted the final step to several runners who would carry them to the various cities of importance about Corone. All he could do now was make his way to the meeting point and hope for the best. He had no doubt in his mind that the alure of looting treasure from an abandoned fort would bring in several people of various talents seeking their fortune. Not only the alure of the fort was there but the chance to join a mercenary group he planned to base at the fortress he sought to conquer which would bring in yet more treasure. It was a for sure thing that at least a small group would show, that is unless the parchments never reached their destinations and presented where the people could see it. That possibility alone had Kichiro's heart skipping beats often and in a slightly foul mood. Of course the mood would dissappear when he saw others, but not until such an occurance. Kazuo's chuckling did little to alleviate the situation.

Instead of taking his anger out on his oversized rat of a friend, he instead focused on nature about him. There was nothing dazzling or glamorous about the forest really. There was little variety in the lush green trees the seemed to be in military lines. It almost seemed as if the forest was reincarnated by the hand of man to replace the ashes of one decimated. Little did he know that he was correct in his assessment of the forest's history. He moved onto the one thing that did brighten his surroundings, which was the fact that several varities of wild flowers that created a rainbow of colors that had bloomed in patches randomly placed. He couldn't get an eyeful like he though, he could only afford a glance at them out of the corner of his eyes. There were likely men going to be at the little meeting and he didn't want to seem any less of one than the others. One fact he did notice was the light gracing the flowers with it's warm touch and he guessed that this was an everyday occurance by how they flourished. Not only were the flowers graced with the touch, but him and the dusty trail before him shared the same blessing.

After only a few more minutes, he reached the post he had put out a little before he had sent the runners. It was simple wooden post with nothing extraordinary about it. To any passerby, it would seem to be a marker telling the weary traveler such as himself how long he had to go before reaching civilization. To Kichiro though, it marked the hidden path to his magnificent fortress. The image of his glorious fortress was still burned in his mind. His eyes started to twinkle a little as he started to think about how marvelous the fortress would have been shortly after completion. He quickly snapped out of the flood of thought that had entered his mind and focused on his task at hand. Getting the gang togather to go seige the fortress, or to be more accurate, raid. He flinched at the though of anything happening to his fortress. His plans involved ambushing the current unfit occupants and taking it for himself. He looked around and saw that no one had arrived yet and decided to take a seat nearby. He leisurely strolled over to a small pile of leaves that rested in front of a tree and plopped down atop them. He leaned against the tree and let his eyelids slowly fall. He felt Kazuo scurry off for some reason or another and figured he had something in mind. A wry grin formed on his face as he thought about how close he was to making his plans come to fruitation and how close he was to getting his fortress.

[Jahl]

The flyer given to him in Salvar seemed a bit vague and was in an area that Jahl had never actually heard of, but Mahil seemed to know his way around the world enough. After six days of climbing through the mountains: which Mahil had claimed were the Twilight Mountains that separated Alerar from Raiaera, they had reached the shores of the mainland where the mountains ended.

“Why are we going again?” Jahl asked the possessed child.

“Because it’s the best option for you, it would be wise to build up a large amount of gold to be able to set yourself out in the world if that’s what you still want to do.”

Jahl came back a little confused, “I guess, but couldn’t I do that somewhere closer to where we were?” Mahil ignored Jahl and placed his foot in the water in front of them. “So,” Jahl started, “What’s next, do you have a boat, or do we plan on swimming?”

“We plan on swimming.”

Mahil dove into the water, disappearing for a moment before he came bursting back through the surface on the back of what seemed to be a dark red porpoise. It was sleek and dark, its mouth full of wicked teeth. It looked evil but good at the same time, like a happy medium. “This is my friend Kjal, he is like me, He will take us across along with his mate Ilij.”

Another porpoise splashed through the water, this one solid white and beautiful, no evil about her at all. “What a strange couple.” Jahl waded into the cold water and climbed on top of Ilij, trying to find a spot that he thought would be comfortable for the mount.

”Don’t worry about your legs, human, worry about your hands and how much grip you have on the fin.”

The trip was exhilarating and quick, Jahl’s legs never meeting the mount, just his hands holding on to the fin held him to the creature. “Whoa,” Jahl exclaimed as they reached the island of Corone. His body was soaked to the bone and his limbs sore with movement and resistence of the water. Mahil gestured in the air and lifted his five year old host from the ground, levitating in place. He then looked at Jahl, ”Come on now Jahl, no time to lose.”

Jahl could barely walk, but Mahil wanted to keep going that instant. Jahl forced himself to try and keep up, muttering under his breath about Mahil being a showoff. During the walk, Jahl realized that the flora around him was definitely different than his deciduous homeland. The grass was green, the air warm, and flowers he’d never seen littered the ground. The only odd thing that occurred to Jahl was the way that the trees were arranged, almost as if they each had a soul and mind of their own and valued order and precision more than the trees of his home enjoyed randomness and chaos. Everything here seemed peaceful. “There,” said Mahil quietly, and sure enough, there was a man sitting quietly on the path next to a wooden post marker. ”He must be the guy who put the flyers out.” Jahl thought to himself. He began to make his trip forward to the man before he realized that Mahil was nowhere to be found, the demon-child gone from sight. ”Maybe he owes the guy money?’ Jahl chuckled to himself about the prospect, then continued to the man.

“Are you the one who sent this?” Jahl pulled out the flyer, crinkled and torn in a couple places from being wet and cramped in his pockets. He brushed his wet hair back waiting for a reply. He must have looked ridiculous standing there in wet clothes and water dripping from his armor.

[The Madd Hatter]

-----Silence lay on the forest like a soft blanket, nature being forgetful and spiteful. Slowly chaos and disorder was seeping into the disastrously organized design of the remaking of the forest. Saplings and young adults ranged through the trees, non aged and only a few dark and dead trees remained from what was once here. It saddened the Madd Hatter to be among this monstrosity that mortals had made. Though it was a vigil attempt to remake something great, they should never have been so planned. At essence, they knew they were tied to nature, but even in rebuilding nature they had a drive to overcome and conquer it, destroying the randomness and in turn putting in a limiting factor of control.

-----It annoyed the noblesse to no end.

-----As he wandered among the trees, following no discernable pattern or path, he placed a calm hand on the trees, disturbed by their silence. Normally he could touch both the bark and soul of nature’s treasures, but now they were quiet and muted, careless of the surrounding. Humans had instilled their spirit, their individuality and ignorance into these trees. Sadness almost surfaced on the calm countenance of the Hatter, but he instead simply let out a deep sigh and pulled his eyes away from the grove. Nature had no place here, stamped out by man.

-----Soon his footsteps led him out of the forest and onto a path, not far from where a large post had been placed into the ground. The sight of it send a quickening of anger down his spin, shooting out throughout his body and bringing forth a soft growl. The dreams of man sometimes led to monsters, but even the smallest of vandalizing had the most demeaning effect. Simple minded fools would take that as a sign that they still had a long way to travel before reaching their beloved civilization, but the forest took it as a forever immobile sign that man had been here and considered this place conquered. A dead corpse, crucified forever unnaturally into the earth and shoved into the heart of the wood.

-----Moving towards it with a purpose he soon found himself in company of other mortals and thought the destruction of the pole was against the best idea at this point in time. He would return later to remove of it, but for now his curiosity moved on to greater issues. One traveler wouldn’t be a moment of intrigue, but a waiter and a traveler increased the desire for investigation a thousand fold. In a forgotten place such as this remade forest, multiple people at the same place in the same time were rare.

-----Stepping forth and approaching the group, he found a two humans, one a boy and the other not much more aged, beginning into a conversation. Striding into the sparse light let through the thin and horridly organized canopy, the Madd Hatter gracefully approached the two. Without introducing himself he let a curious and questioning expression enter his face, acting as if he knew where he was and why he was here. A proper place and a proper time, though he knew nothing of what could be going on.

-----Who knows, it might be a fun distraction.

[Ravenok Kinnes]

"What the fuck is a Lighte Warrior?" Ravenok asked out loud in front of the flier hung on the tavern wall. One of the people standing next to him shrugged, and the freelancer ripped the paper off, bringing it up to his face and examining it.

"... 'a few miles North of Underwood,' eh?" He said, looking over the rest of the bulliten. It was a good thing that he had decided to have some drinks while he passed through Underwood before he made his journey to wherever it was that he was going. He didn't even know. "Ah... Loot... That's always been something that smells of danger and peril." Ravenok thought to himself, finishing off the mug of ale that he held in his hands. With a burp and a satisfying 'ahh,' he set the mug down on a table behind him along with a gold piece.

"Ah, what the hell. I'm already in Underwood. Might as well go, maybe someone interesting will show up!" He turned to the door at his side and walked out calmly, crumpling up the flier and shoving it into his tunic.

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

Present

The sun beat down upon Ravenok's back relentlessly as he walked on the small dirt path leading through the forest. Only the lord's knew how far he would have to walk before he found this damn meeting location. "They could've been a little more fucking specific." He thought to himself, "And why does this damn forest have to have so many twists and curves?"

Truly, he could barely see what was twenty feet ahead of him. The dense forest just seemed to go on forever, and it just so happened that the makers of the path couldn't have just made it go straight forward, so he could see his goal before he reached it. For all he knew this was some bandit trap, just waiting to ambush whoever came to the 'meeting location.' He was debating whether or not he should just turn around and head back to Underwood, whatever possible loot he could find would just have to kiss his ass.

He did not fully regret coming though this forest, for it was indeed beautiful. Flower patches were sprawled across the forest floor, the shadows created from the boughs above dancing in random patterns throughout. Leaves flew through the air with the fresh breeze, clean enough to bless the nostrils. It was undeniably warm. It was just the right day to be exploring vast ruins and killing worthless creatures to find untold treasure. Ravenok was never one to disregard natural beauty, and to ignore the flora and fauna that were blossoming this day would be a sin.

The freelancer was just about to turn back and go to Underwood as he turned to go around a bend. A large post was jammed into the ground not twenty feet ahead, and it seemed that there were three people gathered around. Hmm... A single post in the middle of nowhere, and with a collaboration of travelers about. Maybe this was the spot he was supposed to be meeting at? It did meet the description, vague as it was. One person did catch his eye as he made his way to the three. A coincidence among coincidences.

"Frederick?" Ravenok spoke aloud, as his stroll brought him only about five feet from the group of three. He hadn't even bothered to examine the other two yet. The freelancer wouldn't expect to meet this one here so soon again. "He's in on this too, hm?" He thought to himself. Perhaps this just may be entertaining yet!"

[Ingenious]

Illusions of granduer leaped about inside the mind of Kichiro. The only noticable sign on the outside of such daydreams was a smile that went from ear to ear. He was daydreaming quite peacefully until someone shattered his dream world by questioning him about sending something. He kept his hands folded in his lap as he peeked out of one eye. The first thing that came into focus was the dripping wet and torn flyer he had sent out a week ago. His grin returned to it's glory it had been before he was disturbed. He quickly pushed himself to his feet and dusted off his black trenchcoat and slacks. He bent over, grabbed his feathered black hat and put it on his head in one swift move and ended in a bow to the person in front of him. As quickly as he had bowed he had returned to an erect position. He then scanned his counterpart head to toe. He nearly chuckled a few times noticing how is exotic the armor, the tattos on his face, and the fact that he was wet. It seemed that his counterpart had gone through a hell of a journey to arrive here.

"It seems you have found one of my flyers. I wonder if others will show up? Of course they will, they just need a little time." He said as he stroked his chin.

As he finished the statement, as if it were destined to be, a well dressed fellow appeared from the bland woods. He cocked his head a little questioningly at the choice of apparel for the newcomer but quickly let his attention wander elsewhere due to the fact he had arrived without harm. The look on the man's face was quite curious but he couldn't quite understand it's meaning. He was about to question the man when a voice echoed from behind him. He spun on heels to face the new comer. He found himself having to look up to see the face of the new comer. He felt a little anxious pondering wether or not the group was as skilled as it was odd looking. He let out a heavy sigh followed by a deep breath.

"Well since we have a little bit of a gathering here and you guys seem the sort to have seen my poster, I shall inform you futher on the situation. In the woods there is an abandoned fortress, quite a grand one I might add. I have seen it with my own two eyes and I have also heard growls, howls and all sorts of sounds coming from the fortress. That is where you three come in. I need others to help clear out this little fortress of mine as well as helping me create a group of mercenaries based here. We shall wait here for a few more moments to see if any others shall make their grand appearance as well as to allow you three to ask questions."

[Jahl]

”Hmm, mercenaries… What has Mahil gotten me into.” Something about the prospect of being put into danger for nothing but a small payoff and the blood on your hands seemed oddly low for Jahl. Yet, he could use the money.

“Sounds like a plan, I could always use some blade practice.” He played it off smoothly, hiding his second doubts. It seemed to Jahl that he had no other choice really. Not only was there the possibility of the other men killing him for backing out, but Mahil would never let it go. Jahl began to play with the sharp edges of his elbow blades. They had not been used very much since he made the armor, so they still had the paper-thin sharpness that they had when they were born. He checked both, then took a second to check out the other people in silence.

The original man, or guy, seemed to be the same age as Jahl. His hair was long and dark as well as his apparel. He seemed nice enough, but had a certain aura around him that gestured the presence of a type ‘A’ personality. Obviously, he wanted his ‘fortress’ back and it was nice to see someone with a definable motive rather than Mahil’s usual unpredictable goals. The recruiter seemed like a pretty reasonable fellow, and Jahl turned his attention to the next man who had arrived.

”What a strange-looking guy,” Jahl thought. He was wearing a trench coat with a very nice, but oddly matched, dark blue top hat. His whole apparel matched nicely, the clothes being limited to two colors, black and dark blue. However, it wasn’t the dress that made Jahl think the man was odd, but the body language. His amber eyes seemed far off and distant, not really there in spirit, but there materially. It was a dizzying prospect and Jahl quickly changed subjects to the last man who arrived.

”Damn!” The man was definitely big. He was solid muscle and cold to the bone to be sure. His face was readable: a killing machine. Yet, most massive people wore a ton of armor, hiding behind walls of steel. This man wore nothing but cloth. A tunic, pants, and a small amount of armor, in the form of greaves, wrapped themselves around his gigantic fists. He was definitely going to be the strong part of the raid.

Jahl raised one eyebrow in skepticism. He wasn’t sure he was really cut out to be hack and slash material. He knew he could hold his own in a battlefield, but this whole thing seemed overwhelming. It was strange that Mahil had lead him here, so far from home, just to clear out some monsters for loot. There were definitely monsters in Salvar. As for now, however, Jahl was here and was stuck, and he would do his job.

[Primal Urge]

The forest was a peaceful place, filled with the chatter of birds, the fluttering of insects and some of the most beautiful flowers imaginable, peaceful that is, until a few hours ago. Voices carried far on the wind, if you knew how to listen, and when Ingenious began the introductions, there were not three people digesting the information he produced, there were four.

Slick with mud and berries, the face of 271 was barely discernable from the bark of the tree he was concealed in, which in turn, allowed the savage hunter to observe the events that had been unfolding beneath his feet. First one man had arrived, early in the morning, and painstakingly hammered a wooden post into the ground as if to mark a point of interest in the small clearing. This stranger seemed to be in a hurry though, for as soon as he had finished erecting his mysterious tower, he snatched up a bunch of parchments and scurried off in the direction of the nearest town.

271 had been living off the land for several weeks now, stalking and killing the animals that inhabited the forest to both hone his skills and renew his strength after that ordeal in Fallien and so was extremely curious about this man, and the business, that brought him here. Fortunately for him however, he didn’t have to reveal his presence to him when he first noticed him, because one of the pieces of parchment, precariously balanced upon several of its sisters, was caught by a stray gust of wind and sent sailing into the air.

The enigmatic figure mumbled what, to 271, sounded like a few annoyed curses, before leaving the parchment to the forest and departing for town to complete the remainder of his business, affording him the perfect opportunity, to stretch his hand out and snatch the parchment as it drifted past him. Examining the words scrawled across it’s freshly printed surface, 271 discovered that the man was trying to recruit companions to help him clear out the ancient fortress in the darkest reaches of the forest.

During his residence in the area, he had often traversed the outskirts of the fortress the flier spoke of, and knew well the fearsome sounds that came from inside it, but if this stranger was willing to pay him to brave those dangers, he would be all too happy to accept. The patience of a hunter is a thing that can defeat even the fiercest of creatures and this skill served 271 well as he waited for the stranger to return to the ‘meeting place’ he had chosen, passing the time by tugging at his memories, and trying to decipher a past that was still in tattered shreds.

When Ingenious returned later that day, having advertised his adventure far and wide, it wasn’t long before several other people were drawn to his promises, like eager moths to an inviting flame. Whilst he was speaking, 271 quietly surveyed the new arrivals from the vantage of his perch, studying each face inquisitively until his gaze came to rest upon one, that actually seemed familiar to him. Racking his brain, he eventually managed to remember that the tall and imposing fellow on the right, was Ravenok Kinnes, a giant of a man even by his standards, who had explored those ruins in Fallien with him.

Feeling slightly more at ease in the company, now that he recognised one of them, 271 gingerly released his grip upon the branch he had been latched on to and proceeded to leap down to the ground a few feet away from them. The sight that would meet the people congregated in the clearing, would be that of a gaunt faced man, who looked more beast than man and sported an assortment of tattoo’s across most of his body. Although he wore no armour, like most adventures did in these troubling times, 271 was no small man, by any means, standing at roughly six foot eight and weighing a formidable two hundred and eighty pounds of muscle.

Raven would well remember how deadly the enormous hands of the hunter were, if he thought back to their escapades in Fallien, but he was sure that, even without having ever met him, it would be apparent, that here was someone as wild and untameable as natural itself.

Speaking in a gruff sort of tone, 271 explained why he was here. “ I too, have seen one of your...fliers, and wish to explore the fortress with you. “

[Vamrsh Skylare]

Vamrsh had been walking since the morning and was getting tired of looking around the forest for this 'meeting place'. After finding the flier on the tavern bulletin board he had set out to find the author of it. So far he was getting bored of the walking without any action. On the other hand he had been alone for a long time and perhaps it was time he joined a group of fellow wanderers and looked for a purpose in this world. As he trenched through the rough forest he suddenly heard the sound of wings overhead.

"Ah Rygor you've returned" Vamrsh said as his small wyrven came down and landed on a branch near to him. It was about time that he had returned, since Vamrsh let him go after leaving the tavern.

"I presume you have found the meeting area?" At this Rygor let out a small roar of acknowledgement and pointed his head towards the area. Vamrsh replied "good job" handing Rygor a small treat of some meat from a small sack on his side. "Time for you to rest" Vamrsh said as he opened his cloak to reveil a small pack for Rygor to rest in while he wasn't out hunting for food. So he moved towards the area that Rygor had pointed towards, pushing small branches and brush out of the way. It wasn't very long before his Elf ears picked up the sound of people talking at this he increased his speed into a light jog for humans but just a stroll for himself. He just caught an informative voice telling someone that they were waiting for anyone else to join them.

"Well then I'm just in time" Vamrsh stated as he came out of the clearing to find the group of 5 men... well most of them looked like men. He took off his hood and looked around the odd group then looked toward the one standing by the signpost who was obviously the one giving the details.

"I found your flier, what did I miss?"

[Ravenok Kinnes]

((Shorter, yes. I am just doing this to get things moving. After my vacation i've found it extremely and almost impossibly hard to get back and organized into all my Althanas threads. My apoligies. I plan to start getting back into things maybe this weekend.))

Ravenok's head went down along with his eyes. No response came from his friend Frederick, instead he got a cold shoulder as he simply walked off, apparantly not interested anymore about this little fortress raid. Normally he would grab the man by the back of his shirt and throw him to the ground, but he wouldn't to that man. He sighed slightly, not really wanting to call out to the departed nobleman look-alike. Instead he just let the thoughts go, dismissing the fact that Freddy leaving would take out much fun from this quest. Oh well. His thoughts and gaze shifted over to the new recruit. A bear of a man.

"Dammit! Dammit all. Just when I thought I had my moment of glory, this guy comes in." Ravenok thought to himself, glaring at the muscled barbarian who had decided to enter the scene. He noticed the surprised look on Jahl's face when he looked at him, creating a sense of true pride in the freelancer. The thought went away when another of his build approached the group. Not often was it that he was showed up like that right after he himself had been acknowledged. Hmph... Oh well, Ravenok couldn't see any sense of promise in that barbaric... Thing. He wouldn't let it get to him, though, for he was always taught that there may be more under what one's eyes first see.

Apparantly Ravenok had not really been listening to their "host's" words. His eyes were fixed on the people presently around him and the one who had just come. Somehow the words managed to be analyzed in his head without him knowing, because for some odd reason he responded to the man's words. A strange trait, that. To not listen to someone speaking, but somehow, in someway the words managed to just lay dormant in his mind for a time being, and a response processed subconciously while he said other things, and then when the right time came those words forming the response would pop out of his mouth just like that!

"Yes... A fortress, I remember reading that on that 'flier,' there," he started, "I hope that we plan on setting out soon. I haven't any camping gear, and I don't plan on sleeping under the fucking stars. Not near a monster infested fortress, that is. Heh. Tell me, what do you know of the beasts in which those growls come from? Or are you just plain dumb and don't know what the hell we're going to run into?" The last question he has put a little more emphasism into. Really, that's all he cared about, 'The Fight' as Ravenok himself likes to call it. He was also interested about this 'merc group' that was to be formed after this little journey. A sad way of starting a group, if you were to ask the temperamental fighter himself.

The voice of another stranger, and elf, trailed along in the air. Most of the words themselves had been taken in, pulled apart and thrown right after they entered Ravenok's thought process, but enough got in for him to know that he was here for the trip as well. Ravenok had never been fond of elves, it was just some sort of thing that had to do with his pride. Or maybe he just didn't like them period. Nevertheless, they weren't very high in his mind. And rather than thinking of some smart-ass remark to tell the man, Ravenok simply glanced at him with a slight look of disgust. If he wanted to live after this journey, he would do well to stay the hell out of the monk's way.

[Ingenious]

Those in the group had began to look about at the other members of the little raiding party. Most likely they were sizing each other up trying to figure out who to be near and who to stay out of the way for. Kichiro wondered if this seemingly chaotic group would be able to be kept togather with the alure of treasure. They looked the type that would follow through with the mission but you can never know how people will act until something happens. He continued to analyze them until he heard a grunt followed by a thump. A large burly man adorned with tatoos had landed a few feet away from them. His head was covered with stuble and he seemed to have been in the wild for some time now. Kichiro could always use the burly type and this made the second that had shown.

“ I too, have seen one of your...fliers, and wish to explore the fortress with you. “ said the wild man.

Less than a minute after the wild man's arrival, another had arrived on the seen. This one seemed a little bit more mysterious, something akin to Kichiro himself for the newest arrival wore a pitch black cloak wrapped around his body. The man also seemed to keep a wyvern in his company but he wasn't too sure yet. His day was getting better and better with each arrival. With the force that was now assembled, he imagined he could easily sweep through the fortress and claim it as his own now. His illusions of granduer were quickly leaping from his mind into reality. He decided he needed to get this party on its way so he scanned the area quickly looking for any other arrivals. Seeing none at hand he began to tell the plan.

"The fortress, as you well know, is a few clicks in. The plan is rather simple since those dwelling there are of like mind. We will obvioiusly enter through the main gate and proceed through the main corridor. We will then navigate the fortress and make our way to the heart of it. Once we make it to the heart room, we will activate the fortress' heart. Oh, wait, before that we must retrieve the key to the heart. After we retrieve the key we will follow the plan and go to the heart. once we activate the heart, the fortress' defenses will kick in a clear most of the place out for us allowing us to clean up the left overs and claim it as our own."

[Jahl]

Jahl blinked at the words for a moment then began to process them. It now seemed apparent that the plan was not all blood and massacre after all, there was strategy and a goal other than death. A few clicks... how far is that? Jahl hadn't been out much and learned even less before he left home after that one bloody night with his father and the sheet of wood in his onyx globe, he still did not know a lot of things that a proper adventurer must. Tired of standing around, and feeling odd from the water drying slowly through his clothes and armor, he stretched his legs and fidgeted. "So let's get this show underway!" All the talk about reclaiming a fortress made him nervous at first, but now gave him a sense of reason and a feat that he wished to proceed with.

Instead, knowing that his actions were a little hasty, he sat down where he stood, pulling out the old knife that he dulled almost to a nub with carving and started a new project. He was mentally tired and found himself cheating his imagination. The blank mask he pulled from his satchel was now beginning to look a lot like the large man that had intimidated him before. There was another large man there as well, but Jahl was spacing out and used the nearest person to him to make the woodwork.

Soon he was finished, and stood up, the shavings falling from his lap and chest onto the earth below. He gave a swift strong breath to the wood to clear it off and roughly buffed it with his rough burlap shirt. He looked it over and smiled with satisfaction. He showed it to the large man and smiled, then began to stick it in his bag. Halfway down, the small sapphire globe on his right arm began to pulsate with brilliant blue light and hum with a low whisper. The mask resembling the large man began to resist the downward force of Jahl's hand to the satchel and slipped through his fingers, disappearing into the globe just like the mask of death and the flame mask from before. "This is some weird shit..." Jahl was almost used to the odd things that had been happening to him as of late, but now that other people were around, he was hoping that he wasn't crazy and they had seen it too.