Gol'Bron Mission: Trial By Fire. (Open to all)

[Mutant_Lorenor]

((People don't be entitled by the Gol'bron Mission Prefix, that just allows me to use Gol'bron resources for this Mission. It is in fact open to everybody and I especially encourage newer players to join up. I have a fun idea planned for everybody. And everybody who joins up will get a chance to get access to one new Artifact of their choice. So feel free to join up one and all!!))

The Peaceful Promenade by Night. Dirty dealings by groups like Step and the Syndicate occurred during the domain of the Dark Mother. The boy's mighty cloak flowed behind him as he moved with a particular purpose in mind. One of the individuals in the Peaceful Promenade needed a package that he was delivering to that person. The owner of a local magic shop. Spells and things related to the archaic arts. Such secrets didn't really fancy the boy much since he was a warrior but the promise of power made his heart soar.

The Endless guided the boy to his destination. He knew without knowing. The building glowed even at night with a distinctive halo to it. The boy pondered attempting to cross the building's threshold with all of the wards in place. It was a squat sort of building, fashioned in the Victorian Era architectural design with a slanted roof larger on one side than the other. The boy thought that the effect seemed strange. Afore the front door swung on an old rickety sign that read simply "Mystical Things." At night, even this shoppe remained open to the general public.

Still though, the boy felt power resonating from that ancient brick and mortar that made him hesitate. It was a power he respected. It burned deep within his gut sending chills across his person. The boy was able to see the wards because he was meant to see the wards. They posed a potential threat to his person and so his sensory array adjusted thanks to The Endless. His glowing purple "eyes" spotting the complicated array of spells and glyphs quite easily, normal folks would miss such things. The boy stood approximately a full yard from the front of the strange old building.

Upon further observance he saw that it was a three-floored structure. The top floor, he guessed, probably an attic of some sort. An old chimney discharged its content into the atmosphere of Althanas along with the rest of the buildings in town trying to choke out the Oxygen in the sky. The boy decided it best to wait and see if it was safe for him to proceed when suddenly, a stranger revealed her position. The boy felt momentarily startled as he turned around to see a young girl looking as if she were in her early 20's. The girl had sparkling blue eyes and blond flowing hair, her person endowed with a demure figure. She wore a dress that night and introduced herself as a girl named Cassandra.

"You are Mr. V'halkulus correct?" The girl asked in a charming, sing-song sort of way. Her voice almost reminded him of The Endless. "I had a full description of you. My Master requested you by name Mr. V'halkulus." The girl said again. The boy thought that being called by his last name made him feel strange. Especially since she whispered the name of an Endless that lurked within his vessel. The boy shook his head in protest. "J-just Lorenor will do m'am. I have the package that was requested of me on my person. I am wondering if its safe to go inside with all those wards about?" The boy admittedly didn't feel any holy wards present but it was better to be cautious.

The girl laughed at his paranoia but wore an impressed face.

"You are quite mysterious Mr. Lorenor. Not many can see such Wards they are very powerful invocations. The Master will be pleased."

[Tenki]

Tenki followed about 10-15 yards behind Lorenor, as per the instructions given to him upon entering the city together. Tenki has been downright amused when Lorenor had come across him on his way through the Concordia forest and asked him to come along on what seemed to be nothing more than a delivery mission to the Promenade. Lorenor has been one of Tenki's few friends on Althanas, having met not long after Tenki ended up stranded on the world. Willing to take a break from alternating between training and allowing Luin time to repair it's functions disabled in the crash, Tenki gladly followed along with the chance to keep an eye on Lorenor. He had begun to form a list of curiosities about the boy recently and considered it a self appointed priority to see if an answer could be revealed eventually.

They had been winding up and down the Promenade for quite some time, and Tenki had been getting near the point of catching up to Lorenor to see if he was as lost as he thought they might be when Lorenor finally stopped moving. Stalling own movement and taking a few behavioral steps to hopefully make it less obvious that he was keeping tabs on Lorenor, Tenki stole the occasional glance in his direction before, instead of going inside, Lorenor was instead being greeted by a girl about the same age and the two of them. Tenki watched the two of them talk for a little bit, with Lorenor seemingly on the defensive in this conversation... something of an oddity for the Hybrid, as he had chosen to identify himself as when Tenki had been impulsive enough to ask some time ago. Pitifully attempting to ease drop for a bit before finally picking up on the ending bits of the conversation, only enough to get three words: "wards", "invocation", and "master." Taking swift note that this would mean, if this master person wasn't a powerful user of the Althanas Magics, he'd at least know those who were.

This would only mean things had a good chance of getting tangled.

[Shadar]

Tempting?

Shadar ignored the voice taunting him from deep within his own mind. It was right, though. A shop full of magical wonders and devastatingly powerful artifacts lay right in front of him. With the powers already as his disposal, he should have been able to phase through a wall and draw everything in sight into the nothingness of the Void. But, morals handicapped him. Not so much his own, but the morals of all creatures under the sway of Fate. It was frustrating to no end, especially given the fact that he knew of places, dimensions far away, where the laws of Fate wouldn’t hold any sway over him. Of course, that kind of existence was out of reach for all but the ethereal demon currently trapped in his head.

Come ooooon. Just one little spell of Bone Melting? They won’t miss it, said the deep voice that rasped as if it were a growl.

You’re a prick, you know that? Shadar snapped back as he tried to keep his own thoughts of thievery buried deep.

A nudge at his shoulder brought his senses back to the world outside of his mind. He stood behind the magic shop, in the alleyway where the shadows were thicker than night and the only way he recognized the creature pressing on his shoulder was the tickle of her feathers and the earthy taste of her soul. “What?” he asked, trying to phrase is gently despite his irritation. Brigitte didn’t answer. She simply buried her face in his shoulder as if to say, ‘Nothing’.

Shadar stroked a hand through her long, soft hair and then turned back to the rear wall of the shop. Curiously, he lifted a hand to it. The voice in his head heaped venom tinged encouragement on him. Despite his better judgment, a bit of it sunk in and twisted his mouth into a bandit’s sneer as his murky black glove grazed the wall’s rough surface. Instantly, it felt as if he had placed his hand into a pot of boiling syrup. It seemed to cling to his fingers, burning invisibly on a plane that seemed far away but still so very potent in its effects. “Dammit!” Shadar cursed through clenched teeth as he yanked his hand back and cradled it to his chest. The pain was fading, albeit with sadistic slowness.

You knew it would do that, you bastard! The laughter of Diamond Jackal filled his skull until it almost distracted him from the pain.

“What happened?!” Brigitte asked with whispered panic as she wrapped her wings about him.

“Just Jackal screwing with me,” he responded bitterly, to which Brigitte nodded as she grumbled something very rude just below audible levels. She knew the games the demon played.

Then, they both fell silent as voices drifted from around the building. Silently, they inched to the corner to look out at the street. If your joke got us caught…

Thankfully, neither of the speakers seemed to sense them. However, something about the short man seemed familiar to Shadar. From this distance, he couldn’t make out very many details, but the soul in that vessel was odd enough to only be one person. It tasted foul, like something you would eat on a dare and never go near for the rest of your life. The sensation it gave him made him want to leave right then. But, he was curious enough to listen through the whole of their conversation.

At the mention of the man’s name, Jackal perked up. Lorenor? That freaky undead thing from Concordia?

I’d say he’s deader than ever, now. He sure smells like it on whichever plane you want to sense through.

Loooovely, the demon said as if hacking up a hairball of sarcasm.

Could be useful, Shadar mused. Then, he quickly motioned for Brigitte to follow him as he darted down the alley away from the shop.

Moments later, the two of them approached casually from the far end of the street as if out for a stroll. At the very edge of vision in the dark atmosphere, Shadar stopped and stared as if surprised. Then, he and his female companion stepped closer and revealed themselves. Shadar himself must have appeared as a mockery of contrast. He wore all black from shoes to elbow-length gloves to high collared, sleeveless trenchcoat. Under the coat was a white cotton sweater that almost made the middle of his torso and his biceps shine with paleness. His skin was only a slightly less glaring shade of white, and his short silver hair seemed to glitter in the faint starlight.

Brigitte seemed far less comfortable. She walked as a human, though she was skinned as a bird from talons to shoulders. Only a triangle of human flesh was visible on her chest that showed off her curvaceous, nude body. Awkwardly, she wrapped her wings, in place of arms, about her torso. The eagle feathers seemed a dirty brown in the night, though the long crimson hair adorning her crown practically blazed and her eyes sparkled green. She held her strongly shaped nose high, either proud or compensating.

They approached to within a few feet of the conversationalists and stopped. From this distance, Shadar could see Lorenor much more clearly. If he had looked dead before, he had outdone himself now. His face seemed drawn to the skull underneath a crown of dirty dreadlocks, and his purple eyes glowed in what certainly wasn’t a friendly manner. Shadar pretended not to be bothered, though. “Hey, Lorenor,” he remarked jovially as he crossed his arms in an aloof manner, “Looking as well as ever.”

I think I’m going to puke.

You don’t have a stomach, so stop complaining.

“I don’t mean to interrupt any business you may be involved in tonight, but I can’t help being curious. You know me. Anything I can help with?” Quickly, he glanced at the woman to gauge her reaction. If she was taken by the nauseating display of kinship, he’d have a pass into the secret rooms of the shop that normal customers were barred from. At least, that was what he hoped. In this matter, he sadly had no contacts better than a smelly little delivery boy.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Just like that, the duo of young immortal and the young female apprentice grew into a larger party. Cassandra spotted them first using her sharp witted eyes to see Tenki long before he even started to approach the boy. She knew that the wards were being tampered with as well. Still, the girl said nothing to Shadar knowing them all to be guests. The Master prophesized it might all turn out this way with strangers of all sorts following The Endless around. The girl had her doubts that Lorenor was in fact the promised Carrier of The Endless.

The Master said that through the boy, a cure for the infection of The Endless might be found. Also--another property lurked. The boy on is own, had the power to control The Endless. All though the small warrior repulsed her, she hid her displeasure well. Keeping a game face on, this project was for the Master so she didn't worry about it so much. Whenever he did his Alchemy the Master had all kinds of harsh smells in emanating from his laboratory.

Like some sort of a mad scientist. The boy at once felt a familiar scent approaching his nostrils and knew Tenki lurked somewhere nearby. On the way here, Tenki always shadowed him and the two bumped into one another in Concordia Forest. The adventure there had been challenging--but that was another story. The boy felt a strangely familiar metaphysical presence that ate at his subconscious mind. At once feeling similar to The Endless and at the same time feeling like something else, the boy felt a sharp pain approaching his temple.

Kneeling to the ground in agony the boy groaned out sharply. He touched his forehead as if to emphasize the level of intensity the pain assaulted him with at that point. A flood of memories from a past incarnation suddenly rushed forth and threatened to drown the boy out. He remembered a past life and an ages old adventure in Concordia Forest. Somewhere down the line, across time and space, and across the very fabric of history itself, the boy met Shadar before. He also felt very familiar with the presence inside of Shadar, almost like a waltzing partner long gone. The boy felt blood trickle down his nostrils and allowed it to touch his lips. He stood up and whiped his face with his sleeves once the pain subsided. He still touched his head from time to time remembering a time and a place. He also had one crucial piece of information about the strangely dressed warrior--a name.

"Shadar I recall calling you a friend once. Friends are always welcome in my presence." He saw the naked bird-girl and immediately felt his loins aching. He ignored it though, she was much more beautiful to his twisted eyes than the human girl despite her shining brightness. The boy moved and offered Shadar his hand as a greeting. And thusly, the Fates shook as two dangerous old friends once more re-united.

[Tenki]

Tenki continued to watch the already odd pairing of Lorenor and the girl with keen eyes before the other set had shown up, one look at which made Tenki begin to question if we would soon have no trouble believing in any kind of life form existing after staying much longer, seeing as many different things as he had. Though like back home, most of the sentient life on Althanas appeared humanoid in nature, the diversity encountered here was much higher than on his own home world, for one reason or another. Perhaps just this world's way of adapting it's inhabitants to the many different environments it possessed. Or perhaps several were like him, and ended up on this world not necessarily by their own design. One day it might be interesting to try and find such things out. But today was definitely not that day.

While the harpy was the more colorful of the two, Tenki couldn't help but feeling like he should keep an eye on the gentleman with her, a striking person in form and fashion, who nonetheless managed to rub Tenki the wrong way just for being there. So odd was it that a person would give him such a reaction that Tenki felt that following near would no longer be the best option. As he stopped pretending to be involved in sightseeing and strolled up towards Lorenor, listening to the partial conversation before seeing Lorenor collapse to the ground, seemingly in pain. Tenki sped up, getting closer and feeling some relief as Lorenor picked himself back up and began talking to the set like nothing had happened just then. In too much of a hurry to hear the comments made by Lorenor, Tenki finally arrived beside his partner, and leaned in fairly close before posing the fairly simple question: "You know these people, I hope?"

[Shadar]

Shadar’s casual façade almost crumbled when Lorenor suddenly suffered an agonizing migraine and a bloody nose. I broke him… he thought in sudden worry, more for tonight’s business prospects than for the dead man’s health. Just as quickly, Lorenor recovered and acknowledged their friendship. Acquaintanceship, rather, but it was a useful error in semantics.

Oh, man. He got a nosebleed over you, the dream demon said in a tone between disgust and amusement. That is so hentai.

Shadar managed to avoid scowling by a hair. I’m sure it was for Brigitte, he countered, though he clearly wasn’t any happier with that alternative. A quick glance to his side erased that possibility. Brigitte was shooting Lorenor a glare that could kill every erection in Underwood. Her gaze quickly moved to the pretty woman, and it carried with it a lower concentration of hostility. But, it was still enough to make her opinion of the others known. Despite the harpy’s cold greeting, the woman didn’t seem bothered by either of the newcomers. In fact, she seemed eerily calm, as if they had been expected. If for nothing else, that attitude marked her as a mage. They were rather unpleasant to deal with, as far as Shadar was concerned.

Another stranger joined them, then, one who seemed familiar with Lorenor. In an instant, Shadar had a decent opinion of the man. He wore a contrast of red and black that was somewhat proportionate to the colors of Shadar’s own clothing. The rose colored sunglasses didn’t hurt much either, even bringing a bemused quirk to his lips.

Good! The paramedics are already here. I’m sure they’ll deal with whatever hemorrhaging went on in your friend’s pretty little skull.

The demon wasn’t an idiot, so Shadar didn’t bother to correct him. It would just prompt another stale joke. Instead, he considered answering the new arrival’s question with something else jovial. Quickly, he tossed that idea. It would probably come off as rude, and Brigitte was shooting that from her eyes enough as it was. Lorenor, with his memory apparently fuzzy, would likely come up with an answer that would suit the situation.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

The boy felt a familiar presence approaching in the form of Tenki. They certainly did keep meeting up over and over again. The boy kept his hand out for a while longer and simply with-drew it once he saw that Shadar wouldn't attempt to accept it. The boy shrugged for a moment. He kept feeling the presence at the far end of his mind, tormenting and at the same time attempting to convert him to the lame side of the force. The boy wore a poker face at that point nodding over to Tenki's person. He looked at Brigette's face once more seeing a coldness there. He decided that he liked it. Keeping that to himself he turned away from her visage for a moment not wanting to be further rude to the Harpy.

Cassandra walked over to the growing group eyeing the Harpy and her companion for a moment. She admittedly didn't like the fact that they'd been snooping around the wards earlier. Residue from the archaic forces tugged around the duo like a myst. Cassandra could see it. She wondered if the boy could.

"We'll wait out here for a while if that's okay with you Lorenor. It seems like more will be approaching. The Master said we might have a big group for tonight's--party."

Party? The boy suddenly wondered what Cassandra might mean. There were a lot of questions--enough to go around. Even Lorenor found himself very confused at the situation. All he was told was that he was to a deliver a package to these people and do as they asked him to do. He never expected the adventure that might follow afterwards. The boy kept quiet for a moment not sure what to say at that point. He had no answers for the rest of the group and it was a time for socialization. A thing he personally didn't like doing. The boy stared from person to person seeing how quickly the group got weird. Tenki stood by his side. The girl, Cassandra stood nearby as well but more on her own than anything else. He saw that she kept staring at Brigette in an odd sort of way. The boy shook his head not understanding women except the Demon-girl Tyria. The boy shrugged for a moment knowing that whatever happened between them wasn't his business at all. A shadowy presence continued to torment Lorenor from far away and The Endless took heed of this. They sang songs of caution whenever the boy looked at his friend Shadar. Shadar carried a dangerous secret.

[Tenki]

Taking the gruff nod from Lorenor as enough of a validation for the two's right be be there, he calmed down and accepted their presence amongst them. The demure woman that had been talking to Lorenor before the others had shown up discussed waiting outside while mentioning about waiting for more... and a party. While a real party, a chance to relax some, would have been a gift for Tenki himself, he highly doubted this would be the kind of party they were going to get. Furthermore, he'd already run into a group of Althanas Magic practitioners, and had been lucky enough to get out out alive and without killing any of them, though he doubted that large one was going to be able to walk ever again.

Still, he looked around the street for a bit, seeing nothing but empty dirt streets and the lights in surrounding buildings actually go out, as if they wanted nothing to do with the eclectic bunch gathering in front of this old store. Finally brining his gaze back to the pair of new arrivals. Catching one really strong look of annoyed indifference from the harpy, Tenki rather sharply turned to face the gentleman with her, the one he'd felt uncertain about. He really couldn't pin down what it was about the man that made him so, he just got a nagging tug on the parts of his brain that worked on identifying threats. Finally pushing it all aside since at least at the moment there was real need to be so uptight, Tenki extended a hand forward across the gap between groups toward the Gentleman, as he hadn't seen Lorenor's attempt to do the same while getting up form the ground. "Since we seem to be stuck here for a bit, how do you do?" He left his hand there for a moment, to see if there would be a response.

[Shadar]

“I don’t like parties,” Brigitte hissed sideways at Shadar. Her tone sounded suddenly fearful. However, there was still a bite to it that reminded him fear could turn any gathering into a massacre, especially with her.

“It’s ok. She doesn’t mean a party party,” the half-elf whispered back, “I’m sure it’ll be something you like.”

Brigitte opened her mouth, then stopped and stared thoughtfully through him as if debating what kind of event she would actually like it to be. She never got a chance to suggest anything, though, because the newest arrival was distracting Shadar.

Blankly, Shadar stared at the hand for a second. Then, the old memories of civilized society triggered and he quickly reached out to shake it. It had certainly been a while. Too late, he realized that the appearance of his gloves at such close proximity might bring about questions. While they certainly felt like a natural material, they looked more like a second skin of oily water. Only the faintest traces of light reflected off them, and that light followed the unnatural currents under the gloves’ surface. Hopefully, the man didn’t look too closely, lest he become seasick. “Let’s get names out of the way,” he said as he quickly retracted his hand after the polite number of pumps. “Shadar,” he said curtly as he pointed to himself, then “Brigitte” as he pointed to the harpy. She wasn’t likely to introduce herself, for this new arrival would strike her as a mild irritant, at best. Just as quickly, he pointed to the stranger and waited for him to answer the unspoken question.

Suddenly, there was a scream from the very end of the street. Shadar winced as if he felt it more than heard it, and he placed his pointing hand to his forehead while he muttered, “Like a five year old.”

From out of the shadows, an entourage of teenage girls appeared. They were dressed in the flashiest, prettiest, and most daring of fashions. Shouts of, “Party!” came from the group in waves, barely heard over the cacophony of excited squeals and squawks. They seemed more like birds flocking around a feeder than respectable humans, but that was gang mentality for you. As they drew close enough to see the little group of strangers and acquaintances, they started to run with volume rising until half the street had dark, angry faces hovering at the windows. Fearing not a cry of public nuisance, they bounced happily over to the group. Some bounced more than others. These appeared to be wealthy city girls, after all, not the county gals around Underwood who had yet to hear of the cosmetic mages in Radasanth.

Just a few paces from the small group they clearly intended to bowl over, they all disappeared, all but one. She froze and stared ahead of her as if something in her barely there blue dress was moving. It was. But, it was far deeper than her clothing. Her skinned seemed to ripple, and then her bare shoulders bulged as if her skeleton suddenly wanted to be taller. Her face sprouted forward in a silent shriek as she arched her back and thrust her body forward in her last moments of femininity. Then, she exploded, more like a piñata than a person. Confetti the color of skin and club wear rained about the body too large for her small frame. With flaming eyes and a sadistic twist to his snout, the purple furred were-jackal laughed with a voice as deep as Hell itself. The flakes that were the young illusionary woman faded into the night by the time he regarded those standing before him. “Diamond Jackal,” he said as he crossed his arms over his hieroglyphic robe and tapped a clawed finger against his chest.

“Idiot,” Brigitte muttered without an ounce of surprise at his entrance.

Shadar appeared to be embarrassed. Either that, or he was clamping his hand over his eyes to see the psychedelic patterns of darkness in his glove. “That… thing’s with me, sadly,” he admitted through his hand. “Don’t let him bother you. He’s about as real as leprechauns.”

Jackal’s projected self shrugged at Shadar. “Of course they’re real. How else do you explain the amount of gold in this world? In proper worlds, that stuff’s actually rare,” he said in a tone that was halfway between informative and mocking.

With a shake of his head, Shadar finally lowered his hand and looked straight at the mage. “You could count him as one more,” he said grudgingly, “Is that enough for us to get off the street? It’s only a matter of time before he wakes up everyone in the town.”

The street, at least, seemed to be properly woken. No lights went on, probably out of fear, but nearly every window had a face in it. Those who had seen the entire spectacle were so wide-eyed as to make it seem like a gallery of ghoulish paintings.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Indeed, fearful eyes stared at the mid-night gatherers. With the element of surprise tactfully shredded from the group with Diamond Jackal's flamboyant entrance, hushed whispers touched the air. At first, the boy felt fascinated by the group of flesh that so readily seemed to throw itself on their laps. The boy's eyes narrowed as he saw something mysterious about the air surrounding the false people though. His eyes weren't skilled enough to see THROUGH illusions yet, but The Endless said something was wrong. The boy took a few steps back as some of the girls got closer. He did notice something weird from Shadar's hands but since he was weird himself, he didn't really care about it too much.

Once he saw the one particular girl start to grow, the boy took several more steps back. He half expected an explosive device to be within the girl, or some other danger to their person. Instead, the individual who tormented the boy's mind revealed himself. The boy took another few steps back, now suspiciously far away from the rest of the group. Seeing the physical form of Diamond Jackal somehow terrified the boy greatly. He wore a scowl on his face for the Dream Demon realizing that he didn't like it at all. The creature used its powers of influence without any sort of self control or pity. Such a thing seemed very dangerous to the boy. He looked from Shadar to the rest of his entourage and pondered running away just then.

Probably the best course of action, the boy couldn't back down from a mission by the Gol'bron. He was honor-bound to Lord Sorahn. The youth thought about the package now, and then he turned his gaze away from the Diamond Jackal, weary of him. The young immortal would have to consult with The Endless about such a matter another night. Right now, the trinity seemed completed and no others might arrive. The boy looked over at Cassandra who wore an equally troubled expression at the manifestation of the Dream Demon. Several wards around the building sparked off for a moment, sending off their power into the streets cascading against the presence of the ethereal intruder. Residue touched the air now.

The boy sighed after a moment. Cassandra broke the silence.

"I guess we're all gathered here now." She stared at Lorenor for a moment, and then to Diamond Jackal, the thing scared her. "Lorenor, the package if you will." The boy handed her the package now and she unwrapped it revealing a Mysterious Device with an air of power. It seemed apparent that the particularly colored cloth wrapped around the bundle kept its powers down. The girl didn't touch the object with her bare hands since mysterious symbols were engraved all over it. It appeared like a purple square with a deeply inset groove in the center. The thing seemed like it was a panel that belonged somewhere else, perhaps to a door. The girl handed the Device back to Lorenor. "It is connected to The Endless somehow, therefore, you are the one in charged of this Lorenor. It is your destiny to Open The Lock." The boy stared at the Mysterious Device and felt a surge from The Endless within. He somehow understood what the symbols meant and started going into a trance-like daze.

[Tenki]

As the new arrivals introduced themselves, well, Shadar introduced them both, which was fine with Tenki, as Brigitte had been giving them all a serious cold shoulder from the get-go. Tenki made no real notice of Shadar's odd gloves other than the coloring, which didn't give him much to think about, as many materials could make that kind of odd effect back on Midchilda.

Likewise, other than being startled at the initial screams and the final, confetti like burst, Tenki overall seemingly payed no mind to the arrival of this third new arrival, taking the flock now waiting outside the store up to six. Between what he had seen of aliens working for the TSAB as a spaceport security officer for a time, not to mention his adventures in the short time he'd been on Althanas, Tenki had pretty much moved into the place where not much truly surprised him mentally anymore. He did take stock of the new arrival's... unique look compared to most he had met here. He looked like something out of an ancient lore he'd read about on a book about non-member world 97's history.

Shoving that aside as the newest one introduced himself in line with the gruff way Shadar had introduced himself and Brigitte, which Tenki finally gathered was intentional, after the way the acted in the moments that had followed.

The young girl that had been corralling them all out on the street finally spoke up and gave Lorenor an odd device while mentioning something about The Endless and an awfully generic sounding "The Lock". Tenki had heard Lorenor mention The Endless by name a few times, but had yet to figure out what it was that name referred too specifically. When Lorenor went out of it upon taking the item from the girl, Tenki took a moment make sure he seemed okay, then left him alone for it to subside, he had seen Lorenor go into bouts of odd reactions before, and doubted this would be much different then the rest, at least for now.

Instead his turned his attention back to Shadar and the two with him, since he realized he hadn't been able to give his own name. "Sorry for being rude. I'm Tenki. Lorenor had asked me to come along and help him with this little errand, but it's beginning to seem like it's going to be much more complicated than that." He turned to the girl that had given the object back to Lorenor after unwrapping it. "Isn't that right?"

[Shadar]

Jackal postured grandly before the sparking of wards that his illusion set off. “Good little bastards,” he spat in mock appreciation, “You brought out a light show for me.” He flicked a tear from his eye, and it burst into flame instantly. It was ash, then nothing, before it hit the ground.

Most of the group, including Shadar, was too distracted to appreciate Jackal’s ramblings. The mage had opened the parcel, apparently drawing a close to Lorenor’s stint as a delivery boy and heralding some greater purpose. The object within disturbed him. It felt powerful, but not in the civilized and structured way of manufactured magic. Everything about the magic building and its practice seemed the polar opposite to it. Strange then, or even worrying, that it was to be brought here.

At the mention of ‘The Endless’, Shadar raised an eyebrow and gave Lorenor a look of renewed interest. In their long forgotten meeting, he hadn’t heard that name. But, there had been something strange about the dead man, even then. It was something small yet powerful, and just bordering on the definition of organic. At least, that was the impression he remembered. Nothing seemed out of place about Lorenor now. He was just Lorenor.

I like little baby Lorenor. He’s not much of a challenge, but it’ll still be fun to make him cry, thought the demon while his illusion remained among their group and leered at everyone as if challenging them to a confrontation.

I doubt that’s a good idea. He’s playing with something powerful here, Shadar warned. His intent was very clear, though, that he cared more for the wellbeing of his body than whatever trouble Jackal might get into.

I know. I like it. It’s a freaky kinda power. Get it for me?

Lorenor didn’t seem to be in the mood to negotiate, not that Shadar would have attempted. His mind seemed to be elsewhere. At least he wasn’t bleeding out the nose this time. Brigitte took a break from glowering at everyone to stare at the frozen man. Curiously, she hunched down so as to study his slack face. It seemed to unnerve her, which was quite a feat given that she was, in one sense, a child of Diamond Jackal, the embodiment of cold chills and creepy crawly itches.

Tenki, as he named himself, seemed either bored of or used to Lorenor’s oddities. Shadar gave him a nod, thinking that he would be used to the dead man also before this was over. It gave him a bit of the uneasiness that seemed to be plaguing Brigitte. Subtly, he brushed his arm against her tightly wrapped wing to break her trance. She gave him a surprised look, then settled back on her heels, or what passed for heels on bird feet.

“Details would be nice,” he added alongside Tenki’s request. “You might as well get it all out now. I’m sure Lorenor can still hear you… Maybe.” He gave her a look that was just slightly defiant, as if he didn’t expect she would be completely honest with them.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Shadar's assumptions about the edifice and the device might soon prove completely accurately. All served a purpose. The energy around the building proved to be particularly powerful and potent, as were the wards themselves that amplified such energy. It seemed clear that the building contained an ancient secret. More accurately, it contained an ancient enemy. Seeing that the device had symbols from The Endless upon its surface, the boy became deeply worried about this revelation. Technology existed from long ago revolving around The Endless.

Thinking about the situation at hand, he looked at the girl with deep worry etched on his badly scarred face. "You say this is part of a locking mechanism correct? Am I to safely assume then that the door is part of a jail cell of sorts?" The boy didn't bother with the introductions, he assumed everyone gathered already knew who he was. The boy had more serious matters at hand, if his instinct was correct they were in for a really rough time ahead. The Endless within suddenly came alive with a sort of impatient symphony. A symphony of longing filled the boy's head. This confirmed his suspicions--another collective of The Endless lurked somewhere in these grounds.

Lorenor suddenly turned towards Shadar and Tenki. To ask them to confront The Endless of their own free will was a very serious matter. Any mistake tonight and they would both surely die. A very somber expression touched his face just then revealing a side of the boy rarely revealed. He had true concerned for his friends and companions, something that kept what remaining humanity he had left, intact. The boy's eyes moved from every one of the gathered companions, even the girl.

"If my suspicions are correct--then we are about to go into a prison. A prison for The Endless. This task that has been placed before us tonight is a dangerous one." The boy paused for a moment letting it all sink in. He didn't even bother waiting for the girl's response because The Endless within him communed with The Endless trapped somewhere underneath the ancient prison. This situation revealed something to Lorenor that he long ago suspected, The Endless were probably all over Althanas. Worse yet, they'd gathered MANY collective hive-minds with their own agendas separate from the one in Haidia. Many secrets still awaited Lorenor's discovery since he was labeled The Carrier of The Endless BY The Endless themselves.

"The Endless lurk somewhere on these grounds." The boy said in a final statement, a true statement, a dangerous statement. Many doubted the existence of The Endless. But they were real. A bio-weapon sent by N'Jal to combat ALL life on Althanas. Lorenor somehow represented a sort of missing key to The Endless. They needed him, and the boy needed The Endless. A rebellion was afoot. Just as they spoke, The Master emerged from his shop.

An old man of Coronian decent, he had wild white hair, long that ended at the small of his back. Dressed in a simple brown robe, the man had a stern sort of kindness about him. A twinkle lurked in his eyes. When he spotted Shadar, he frowned for a moment but let it go opting to make no comment. He walked over to the girl, his Apprentice and placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to ease the worry from her person. The Endless was a matter of great mystery and great danger. To even mention The Endless in certain circles might be an instant death sentence. The Church of Ethereal Sway even went as far as to label the existence of The Endless as a heresy. The old man's face was creased deeply resembling the daggerfall mountains almost in their depth. His eyes shown a cerulian blue. He stood an impressive seven feet in height, with a slight hunch. His person balanced itself upon a single Mage's staff that bore intricate marks upon it. Lorenor recognized some of the marks as being related to The Endless. The man sported no beard, he kept himself clean-shaved out of habit. Only his hair was left in a state of wildness as if he had very little time for keeping himself clean.

The other notable feature was a pair of incredibly large hands. His right hand wrapped itself around his Mage Staff. At the top of the staff lurked some sort of power crystal. It was colored a deep amber. It somehow reflected the starlight and lighting of the night. The Mage Staff had its own aura of power around it, and seemed like a clearly dangerous weapon. Around the old man's waist lurked a utility belt with many pouches and sacks attached with all matter of items probably lurking within. A series of necklaces were upon the old man's neck, probably talismans of some sort. Several rings of note were on various of the old man's digits. He seemed like someone who knew his craft well, hence the old man's title; "The Master." Only time might reveal what sort of arts he specialized in his long career.

"The boy is RIGHT. This building and all its sub-layers are a prison for The Endless. Contrary to what some of you might believe, they are real and almost destroyed the Vampire Nation in Haidia. How might this affect us you wonder? Everything on Althanas has a purpose to it. It is all a part of the balancing struggle. If one piece is suddenly taken out of the picture disaster should befall upon us. The Vampires served their purpose just as we serve ours tonight. It is only befitting that an individual who is combined with The Endless might somehow be our savior in all of this madness." The Master turned to look at Lorenor right then. The boy still held the device in his hands. That same look of worry upon his face. "You've faced them before haven't you?"

"Several times before and it never gets any easier." The boy responded to the whole group as if to confirm the level of danger they were all in.

[Tenki]

Taking the new bits of information from the conversation as he could grasp them, Tenki began to unravel a couple basic facts about The Endless. Lorenor shared his body, if not his mind, with another form of life. Not unheard of, but the others all spoke of it as a dangerous thing, Lorenor himself spoke about it with an odd mix of respect, sadness, and even fear. Something rarely seen out of the hybrid. Seen so rarely that that was enough reason to give Tenki pause.

He looked over the old man that had come out of the building while sorting out his thoughts. Tall, old, and powerful, with the latter likely coming from the middle. It was the kind of seemingly gentle, but firm power most people would liken to putting your hand up a brick and pushing. It was obvious enough to Tenki that the old man had been gathering these objects around his person with reason. One doesn't just gather powerful relics for the heck of it. Was it possible that such a power was needed to merely restrain The Endless talked about into the underground parts of this building. This whole situation was looking difficult, and dark indeed.

The kind of thing Tenki didn't want to leave to Lorenor alone. Lorenor was a good friend after all they'd been through, and he had no intention of just parting way because of trouble to himself. He walked the few steps back over to Lorenor and placed his right hand on his shoulder. "Danger and memories. Both are best when shared. I'm not going to back out on you, the latter outweighs the former."

He turned back towards the building and walked up to it, for the first time being close enough to outright sense the protection... no.... restraint field running over the building. The fields didn't truly serve to keep things out, they served to keep this "The Endless" inside them, below them.

"So, what so we need to know?" Tenki didn't take his attention off the building wall, inspecting them carefully.

[Sorahn]

((Sorry I’m late. Hope it’s okay if I jump in here.))

Darkness completely covered Sorahn as he stood in the shadow of a nearby building, watching the group and listening carefully. He used his light manipulation ability to ensure his darkness camouflage was complete. Crouching in the shadows, he sat completely still, like a predator stalking its prey.

Not long ago, Sorahn had been talking to the mutant called Lorenor. The boy had sought his favor, but also mentioned being a devotee of N’Jal. While eventually convinced of the boy’s loyalty, Sorahn still had suspicions about his activities. When a request for the Gol’Bron’s aid was presented to him, asking for Lorenor specifically, his interest was piqued. This was why he followed the mutant; stalking in the shadows with all the skill and stealth his beast-like physique implied.

Still there was something else. The boy had so desperately sought to gain Sorahn's favor and respect, that the meeting still resounded in him. As a Ranoan warrior, things such as respect were of highest priority, especially when it came to fellow tribesmen. If this mission proved dangerous, he couldn't bear the dishonor of having one of his own men killed while he sat and did nothing. He felt obligated to protect the boy. Plus, he knew respect was something that had to be earned, and he would have to earn the respect of his men, not only the other way around.

The night air felt cool against his warm fur. The quiet of the night was broken only by the conversation taking place before him, and his own steady breathing. He listened intently to what was said, fully utilizing his warrior-tuned hearing and large Ranoan ears. Through their discourse, he was able to learn everything he wanted to know.

Piecing together all the presented information in his head, Sorahn tried to think through Lorenor’s purpose here as well as what role the others would play. Apparently this place and that device are related to some being called ‘The Endless’. He seems to have some of it inside him, and there is apparently much more dwelling in the basement of this building. It sounds like it is extremely dangerous… but if confronting it in a basement is dangerous, what does that say about Lorenor, who’s indwelt with it?

Sorahn couldn’t understand how this “Endless” worked without seeing it or hearing more about it, but given the boy’s alignment, and its dark reputation, he was sure it was related to N’Jal somehow. He would have to be extremely careful. Well, I won’t get in that building by lurking in the shadows. Maybe it’s time to say hello.

He wanted to appear as though he was just strolling along, so he waited until he was sure no one was looking in his direction. Then he silently stepped out of the shadows and into the middle of the street, and assumed a casual pose as he approached the group.

“Good Evening.” He said in a polite voice, a rather cheesy smile on his face. Seeing several people he’d never seen before, he thought it best to introduce himself. “I’m Sorahn un’ Rohnahmeh.”

He wanted to wait and see how the group reacted before proceeding. He wasn’t sure if his appearance would be welcome or not, but either way he wasn’t leaving.

[Shadar]

Shadar caught the old mage’s frown. His only response was a raised eyebrow, though his mind churned within. If he knew Shadar had been tampering with the building’s protections, he seemed to be letting it pass. Getting a prize out of this ordeal, which seemed to be growing more dangerous by the minute, would be a bit more difficult. Stealing wouldn’t be an option, despite the temptations Jackal laid before him. The only way to acquire anything without attracting the ire of Fate was to earn it. Though, Shadar had the feeling that him and Brigitte would probably end up putting in more effort than it was worth.

Jackal, on the other hand, was dreaming big. Unclaimed Endless? This is the jackpot! You’d damn well better grab some.

Shadar glanced at Lorenor, already a carrier, and almost cringed. I’ll pass on that. If I can get my hands on just a few of the trinkets this mage has, it’ll be a far better night than I planned, he thought mostly to himself.

What?! Jackal shouted so loud that Shadar winced in pain. The demon’s illusionary self disappeared as every sliver of his attention shifted inward. Don’t be stupid. I didn’t pay much attention to the whole Endless thing when I was on a higher plane, but I still caught enough of it that the old coot’s story is kind of familiar. If I heard about it back then, that makes it important shit! Now that I’m roughing it in your head, the Endless is looking like the greatest fucking bio-weapon around! Are you going to pass that up?!

The half-elf couldn’t even feel Brigitte worriedly pressing herself against his side as he tried to break through the waves of outrage. A small part of his mind hoped that his pained grimace wasn’t too obvious, though another part found amusement in it, especially if he got a bleeding nose as well. I’ll consider it, he hissed like a cat splashed with water.

Jackal wasn’t pacified, but neither did he rage. You’d better, he said warningly, making it clear that he knew Shadar’s thought was a lie.

“I’m ok,” Shadar whispered to Brigitte when he realized that she was staring up worriedly at him. Her reaction probably got a lot more attention than his own mental pain had, which only annoyed him slightly. Another dash of weirdness wouldn’t hurt much seeing as half the people in the growing party already seemed suspicious of him. The old mage certainly was.

Then, the party grew even larger. The newest arrival looked, comparatively, the strangest. He had a form similar to Jackal’s; human and animal characteristics in all the same places. Then, the similarities ended. Jackal’s image wouldn’t look anything like this thing unless he became a strange combination of body builder, tribal warrior, and ink black demon with even the required horns. The dream demon’s illusion wasn’t available to compare the minute differences, though it wouldn’t be necessary to see that this creature’s appearance was just as threatening as Jackal had played his entrance.

The beast-man offered a greeting that was polite and nonchalant; the exact opposite of how any sensible creature would approach such a gathering of freaks in the middle of the night. To Shadar’s tempered intuition, the attitude stank of falsehood worse than Lorenor stank of death. It made the man called Sorahn look like a total fool. Was my entrance that terrible? he asked himself. He already knew the answer, but the sensation of Jackal grinning viciously in the back of his mind added another note of embarrassment.

As often happened when Jackal pushed Shadar too far, he snapped. “Cut the bloody act!” he shouted to the dark creature. Brigitte, who had been offering her usual glare of greeting, actually recoiled from him. “I’m sure Gramps here has some rune that lets him see so deep in your head he knows when you lost your virginity, let alone that you’ve been watching this whole time. Stop making yourself look like some lunatic, and just get in the line of Endless fodder! It starts here.” He waved a finger to indicate their suicidal little party. Then, he shot a glance to each of the others, daring them to point out that he might as well have been talking about himself. Despite the clenching of his fists and the twitching of one eye, he actually felt a little bit better.

The truth will set you free, Jackal sang in a gravelly baritone.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

((Sorry for the delay folks I've been planning out this post for a while now))

Holding the light-weight object in his hand Lorenor looked at the strange key marker in detail. He turned it in his hands deciding that suddenly he didn't necessarily want the responsibility with being the Carrier of the Endless. Like so many other things in his undead existence, Lorenor realized that ultimately he had no say in this matter. The surface of the object was blue and white with some clear, triangular shaped tubing in the center of the object. In all, the thing was shaped like a cube. It had a height and width distribution of approximately ten inches across, weighing in at no less than two pounds.

Lorenor observed the strange markings of The Endless all over the surface of the device. He noticed a panel on the back where he could place a hand print, there were five digits to the mysterious hand embedded into the marker. The boy carefully observed his destiny for a moment longer. He felt the weight of responsibility for the survival of the group. He'd met the Endless several times in his past and each time the meetings cost him dearly. He was certain there'd be an equally high price to pay this time around as well. Especially with such a large group of friends around.

With the arrival of Sorahn, the circle completed itself. For a moment, the boy felt stunned at Shadar's reaction but couldn't blame him. Lorenor was the only one who really knew Sorahn in this whole group and knew the warrior to be a worthy partner. He let his hands drop to his side for a moment, keeping the device in his hand the whole time. Turning to look towards his partner with the Gol'bron, Lorenor acknowledged Sorhan as an equal. "Lord Sorahn!" And the boy stopped everything he was doing to kneel before the chosen leader of The Gol'bron.

They could all wait a little while longer before entering the prison of the Endless. In the back of his mind, a voice kept relentlessly tormenting him.

[Tenki]

Pulled back to the here and now from his visual investigation of the building by Shadar's irate shouts, Tenki turned back to the group in time to see Shadar finish his rant, and Lorenor... who reacted by kneeling to the newcomer. The reaction would have confused Tenki, had he not heard Lorenor use the name Sorahn. He'd head of Sorahn during the travels he and Lorenor had had together, with the name and some information coming out when Lorenor had been somewhat chatty on a trip. Not much mind you, a name, basic looks, and some baseline stuff about how good a warrior he was. It had also been clear that Lorenor respected him, however, how much so had not been clear until now. The simple fact that he knelt in front of the beast-man did more to put Sorahn into good standings with Tenki than anything Sorahn could have done himself.

He didn't know enough of the interactions between the two to know exactly why Lorenor referred to him as "Lord" but tonight it served to heighten the feeling of due respect. Stepping over to Sorahn, while giving Shadar a bit of odd glare, Tenki found himself giving the beast-man a respectful bow, but not the same, submissive action as Lorenor. "I have heard good things about you, Lord Sorahn. I hope you are here to help, it seems this is not going to be an easy night."

[Sorahn]

So much for the polite approach…

Sorahn’s smile never faltered as he listened patiently to the elf lose all self control and call him a lunatic. The contrast between them was almost comical, with Sorahn looking as though someone had just made a comment about the weather.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name…” He began in the same perversely polite tone as before. He took a couple steps closer to the man, quickly sizing him up over his pleasant smile.

But in an instant the smile was gone, replaced by a look of fiery condemnation that could only come from the face of a warrior. “Do NOT pretend to know my motives for being here. Whether that building contains Endless or a demon possessed rabbit makes no difference to me. I fight for the honor and respect of my fellow clansmen. I fight to protect my men as though they were my brothers. But I can already tell those are concepts that you can’t even begin to understand. No, you are one of the many who put themselves above all else; asking only what you can gain from anything or anyone. I will not have my actions brought into question by such a selfish man.”

He didn’t realize how good it would feel to drop the polite façade until he did it. Recently he’d been forced into a fake mold of political correctness for the benefit of his clan, but it felt like an uncomfortable mask, hiding how he really felt. Finally he had the chance to show real emotion, and not a prefabricated disguise.

This liberation of emotion also revealed his true motives for being here, even though Sorahn himself hadn’t fully realized it until now. While he did want to make sure Lorenor wasn’t up to no good, he also wanted to make sure that nothing bad happened to Lorenor. He had to help his men as best as he could, as part of the Ranoan code of honor so deeply rooted in him it rivaled instinct. He would earn the respect of his men, or else he wasn’t worthy of being their leader.

However it soon became clear how much undeserved respect Lorenor already gave him. The boy knelt before him upon his arrival; something a former slave like Sorahn definitely wasn’t used to. He acknowledged both Lorenor and Tenki with a nod. “I came to help as best as I can.”

Having all the introductions taken care of, Sorahn was anxious to get started. “Well we’d better get moving. Tell me what I missed and what we need to do.”

[Shadar]

He’s got you pegged, Jackal said with a chuckle as Sorahn concluded his fierce rebuttal. You must be really damn easy to read.

The sound of Shadar’s fists and teeth grinding was nearly audible in the quiet night. But, most of his anger was for Jackal’s mockery and the fact that he couldn’t work up another rage so soon. Sorahn’s insults, as stinging as they were, held a surprising amount of amusement for him. He had, at the very least, put an end to the irritating dance of nonchalance, and driving this strange creature to snap back gave him just a sliver of pride.

As the others bowed to the black demon, the insults had a bit more sting, though. It was as if Lorenor and Tenki were saying, “You know, he is right about you.” Shadar had to bite his lip to keep from saying anything. They were right, and he knew it. Honor, respect, and brotherhood were grand words for everything he had chosen to leave behind.

“Heroic sentiments,” he grumbled just loud enough for the others to hear. His back was rigidly straight, making it clear that he wasn’t going to bow. Brigitte mirrored him, though her expression showed confusion over the whole situation, and the tight wrap of her wings around her body belied that she would rather not be involved at the moment. She had never seen Shadar give such a genuine smile while in the middle of a rage. He continued as if musing on an idea long forgotten, “I used to believe them. They already did me in once.” He didn’t elaborate, but simply ran a hand through his short silver hair as he visibly calmed down.

Real smooth, his demon said wryly.

They don’t need friends or comrades here; just bait, Shadar responded as if lecturing a child.

You don’t seem like the ‘willing bait’ type to me.

Shadar felt Brigitte press her shoulder back up against his. With a gentle smile, he looked her in the eyes and saw the impatience there. It made him realize just how impatient he was also becoming to get on with their expedition.

Call it a death wish, he mused with morbid humor. Jackal said nothing, but Shadar could see that fiery maw smiling deep within his mind. It unnerved him enough that he put all of his attention on the outside world once more.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

((Sorry for my delay))

Standing up from his kneeling position, an odd sense of comfort came from the fact that he had several allies with him on this night. Though he could do without the Harpy and Diamond Jackal's sudden manifestations whenever he wanted to torment the rest of the group, all in all Lorenor figured that it had paid off. I couldn't ask for a better group of warriors even if I tried. This makes the fear somehow less biting. He could sense the impatience of his companions and he nodded towards them. He looked towards the one who called himself The Master and his companion, Cassandra.

"Its time to move on. We must face our fears."

Lorenor said. It was obvious to all of the gathered that Lorenor was afraid of The Endless. One never knew what to expect when dealing with the terrifying creatures. He saw The Master staring at his person, attempting to decipher the strange undead face. Clearly, feelings of worry were etched upon The Master as he was forced to deal with the ghoul. Lorenor observed that but could do nothing to alleviate anyone's anxiety towards the job at hand. "I am afraid too." Lorenor found himself saying without really understanding why. He saw that the Master was ready to take them inside the jail.

"Come with me then, the hour has arrived."

The Master waved his hand and the door to the shop opened where it was once closed. He made his way into the shop. Lorenor saw Cassandra moving towards his person and she placed a hand on the ghoul's shoulder squeezing it gently. She clearly wasn't disturbed by the ghoul's appearance at all. The boy nodded towards her trying his best to hide his fear. Once that matter was taking care of, he clutched the Key in his hand with a tighter grip, suddenly feeling the weight of the object. "Cassandra will be joining you. I can't because I have to maintain the Wards in around the building, if my concentration falters for even a moment the Wards will weaken and allow The Endless to run free. I can already feel them attempting to destroy the Wards I've worked so hard to put in place."

Inside the shop were many oddities. Shelves upon shelves of various archaic texts and enchanted objects lurked all around the inside of the shop. There was a front room, well spaced so that a large group of customers might fit into the general shop area. A single large, ornate, counter lurked in the center gathering area. Lorenor spied some weights where gold was measured on the countered to the exact amount suggested by hagglers and other customers. A sign of the available merchandise was posted upon a wall to his immediate left. Lorenor noticed no windows in the odd building.

The shop had many strange smells. Some sweet, some powdery and other scents bitter coming from various potions and serums. An area behind the counter contained even more shelves stocked to the brim with items of various kinds. Lorenor noticed a purple satin curtain, decorated with many mysterious symbols and eldrich markings. The very air in this large room crackled with power. Lorenor could feel energies of many elemental types flowing about the room and this made the ghoul uncomfortable.

Lorenor saw The Master go behind the counter and open up the curtain. "The door we need to open lurks in the back area, come with me." And he saw The Master enter the back area, Lorenor followed.

[Renjiro]

They’ve got to be around here somewhere, Jiro thought to himself as he turned the street corner. His cloak flapped around behind him as he ran down the stone street jerking his head left and right searching for the meeting place. Everything looked familiar; he had already traveled down this road a couple of times before.

Jiro was beginning to wonder if the information was any good or just some hoax. Like most young cocky new recruits, he had been begging for a piece of action from the Black Hand. After driving some veteran member of the group mad with questions about when he thought they might see some action, the senior member had told him that there was a secret mission that he was sure Sorahn, the leader of the group, would not mind him helping out on and that this would be the best opportunity to prove himself since Sorahn was supposed to be there himself.

Damn, Bernard! Jiro was becoming pissed and frustrated. I’m just going to get to the end of this street. If I haven’t found it by then, then I think it is safe to say Bernar-… THUD! The young elf came to an abrupt stop as he face planted into the ground.

Jiro had tripped over himself when out of the corner of his eye he saw Sorahn. He was sure it was Sorahn because the furry creature was just Bernard had described. The animal like creature was standing with an odd group of people that the elf had passed a couple of time already but had failed to recognize as the party that he was searching for. They were now making their way into the building. The young elf’s heart beat with excitement; he had found them just in time.

Jiro got to his feet and walked over to the group ignoring the blood dripping from his nose. He stood tall and proud facing Sorahn. “Sir,” he said loud enough for all to hear, “I am Jiro, a member of your Black Hand. I beg you; allow me to come with you. Allow me to prove my worth to you and to the guild.”

[Tenki]

Tenki made his way into the building closely behind Lorenor, the Master, and Cassandra. Stepping passed the threshold of the building was, for a moment, like moving in strong water. Tenki could feel himself having to push physically to get inside. The sheer amount of force behind these wards were immense, and the other magical trinkets, oddities, and such only served to make the air inside practically palatable with the power available.

Once actually inside, Tenki was quick to note even the building was built differently than the others of this town. While it merely looked different on the outside, the inside showed many of the unique architecture used to build it. It looked ancient, with purpose and power. Things regarding magic were rarely designed with flourish or unnecessary parts, and in some places that was evident. The walls had runes carved directly into them, and the ceiling was oddly shaped in places, like it had been molded on top of pyramids and other shapes. But what caught Tenki's attention the fastest was that some of the patterns used in the roof... they were of the mid-childa system of magic. The lettering style was unmistakable. The implication had Tenki's mind in overdrive. Was it possible this building had a connection to him as well? Could some of the others have survived? But where were they now? He felt a strong drive to discover these things as soon as possible. But it would need to wait until after tonight. However, Tenki's surprises weren't over yet as Luin piped in.

"Sir, ambient power allows for full repair."The voice came from the pendant around his neck. "Luin, are you sure? I know this place has a lot of energy floating about.. but enough to let you finish your repairs right now?" The surprise on his voice was obvious. "All sure, Tapped power full repairs possible without disruption." "Alright, but do it carefully. If there is that much power loose here, I don't need you overloading on me trying to fix yourself up. I'll perform the necessary steps on my end later." Tenki's voice carried note of optimism now. "I'm on it. Repairing Damaged systems." The Device remained silent after the exchange, and while unknown to anyone but Tenki, if anyone else touched it right now, they would have been likely surprised at the heat it was generating during this time. Not enough to burn someone outright, but more enough most people wouldn't wish to keep a grasp on it. Since Luin was resting under his duster, but on top of his shirt, Tenki undid the top buttons on the duster, to allow the heat being generated to dissipate safely.

All the while, he continued to follow behind Lorenor and the Master, who had gone deeper into the building. And closer to tonight's fated events.

[Sorahn]

Sorahn paid no heed to Shadar’s reply, having already dismissed him as a man unworthy of his attention. Instead he focused on Lorenor, trying to gather as much information on the upcoming trial as he could, however no such information was provided. The group was simply invited inside the building.

He began to make his way toward the door, contemplating summoning his weapon. His instincts were starting to rise; a sense of danger ahead that made him more alert. His heartbeat rose slightly. It wasn’t fear - there were very few things Sorahn truly feared anymore – but rather anticipation.

Suddenly there was a thud directly behind him. Instantly his instincts kicked in. With a clench of his fist a smoky black spear appeared in his hand and he whirled around. Within a second he had his spear at the ready to counter any attack as the adrenaline surged through his veins. But as his would-be “attacker” stood from his embarrassing fall, Sorahn quickly realized it was one of his own men.

He lowered his weapon. Apparently this man was a new recruit, ready to prove his worth to his leader. Sorahn smiled. This was exactly the attitude he wanted from his men. “Welcome then. You made it just in time, and I’m sure there will be plenty of things in here to test your mettle.” With that simple greeting, he turned back and entered the building.

The first thing he noticed was the smell. His honed nose was able to pick up a plethora of different odors. From the sweet smell of potions to the dusty smell of various powders, they were surprisingly not unpleasant. He looked round to see various devices and trinkets, as well as jars of ingredients, many of which he recognized from his alchemy experience, but some were still foreign. For a moment the thought occurred to him to ask this man about his alchemy experiences and compare methods so he could further his art. The thought seemed a bit ridiculous given their current task, but Sorahn was confident he would make it through this.

He followed Lorenor and the master behind the curtain, bringing his spear to the ready again.

[Shadar]

Shadar almost missed a step as he entered the shop, and it was only Brigitte’s pressure that kept him from blocking the doorway. The ambient smells were lost to him, for he had shed the necessity of breathing long ago. However, he could still feel the energy that ran from every shelf and display. It made his gloved fingers tingle greedily, and just a hint of burning to remind him that the objects were content to remain where they were. If he tried to absorb them into the Void beyond his gloves, it would be a losing fight.

That didn’t keep him from scanning the room with a gaze full of delight and desire. Many of the objects were the kind he would expect. Gold and jewels lay over them, functioning as both warnings and enticements. There were staffs of all descriptions, vials of fluids that radiated danger, and many artifacts more ancient and abstract than he could fathom. Occasionally, amid the glamour, were objects of plain wood or metal. They seemed out of place, but not diminished, like ruffian’s who had wormed their way into an extravagant party and carried so much malicious intent that no one had the balls to kick them out.

Shadar only realized he was slowing again when Brigitte pushed at his shoulder once more. He moved back up to pace with the group as he glanced back at her. She had anxious eyes, and it had nothing to do with the magical energies that filled the air like a mist. Over her shoulder, Shadar could see another new arrival. There had been nearly too many people for her on the street. Now, they were in a confined space and the numbers still grew. With an understanding nod, the half-elf dropped back a step to walk shoulder to shoulder with her. “It’ll turn into your kind of party soon” he assured her. His body pushed her forward as much as hers did for him, and she seemed to calm slightly.

Her eyes gravitated to the curtain hiding their destination, and she didn’t look at the smaller space with apprehension. There was probably something behind it that would frighten these people and their radiant wills away, or bloodily thin the herd. Either option would do.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Lorenor found himself in a gigantic storing area. Somehow, the smells and scents of the shop room clung to him like a swarm of angry bees. The air was thicker back here than in the front of the shop. Lorenor noticed various intricacies in the walls. They seemed much taller in this section of the building than they looked outside. Lorenor couldn't see the ceiling of the building but he knew there were lights all around.

Some sort of glowing orbs lit up the warehouse section of the building. The ghoul could see many of the orbs stationed upon the walls. A few floated freely and moved around like buoys in an ocean. Lorenor only now started to understand the type of powers that the Master wielded and respected it.

There were crates of all sizes and shapes. Some of the crates floated for some mysterious purpose that Lorenor wouldn't dare guess at. Those crates had a particularly powerful halo about them. All around the room were more mysterious and archaic objects. More artifacts, more supplies of the magical arts and even more tools with mysterious design behind them.

Statues of every type and size, amulets, trinkets of various make and other objects that Lorenor couldn't identify. They were too bizarre. It was now at the presence of such power that the ghoul really understood his own level of weakness. It was a humbling experience. Lorenor followed the Master into the deeper parts of the storage area and then he saw it. Smack in the middle of all the misleading chaos. A door. A door with no room attached to it.

Lorenor would never forget the day he first saw that door. It had a wall attached to it that held the device up in place, but that was all. The door seemed like a spherical amalgam of gears and clock-work made of brass. Even from this distance, Lorenor saw that the door was closed. It had double doors. In the epicenter of the whole mechanism was the locking structure. The ghoul remembered he held the Key in his hands. Suddenly, the weight of their mission hit him. He understood the severity of what they were about to do. Lorenor couldn't negotiate with these Endless. No. These were a new variety of The Endless that the ghoul never saw before.

The Endless within Lorenor sang songs of war. Lorenor felt worry creeping up in his black heart as he saw the door, and what it meant. It stood there ominously, this door to nowhere. The Master moved until he stood approximately five or six feet away from the door. A small staircase lead up to the locking device. Lorenor found his legs moving to the door without him commanding them to. His eyes were fixated.

"Everyone, this is the door. This is a door to nowhere. Everywhere. I found this place many years ago. Like a fool, I used Alchemy to discover a way into the door and once I made a prototype key, made my way into the undiscovered country. It was during my adventures inside the door that I found the key you now hold Lorenor." Lorenor saw that The Master pointed to the object in his hand. "One night going inside the undiscovered country, I encountered The Endless and foolishly engaged them. I paid a dear price that night. It cost me greatly." Lorenor saw that the Master opened up his robes to reveal his left leg. His right leg was replaced with a metallic construct as was his left arm.

"Lorenor proceed to the unlocking device." The ghoul nodded and stepped forward regardless of everyone being there or not. It was time to move on.

[Renjiro]

((Sorry for the wait. It's been a rough week.))

Sorahn did not pay much heed to Renjiro, only enough to assure the eager youth that his presence was welcome before he turned and went inside. Jiro was a bit unnerved by his leader’s brief “hello,” and he timidly shifted his way behind the last pair in the party and followed them into the shop.

The young elf’s eyes darted back and forth absorbing all it was seeing. The shop was filled with ancient magical artifacts and heirlooms from clans and races just like his own. Jiro craned his next in every direction wanting to see more. He had barely been in the party for ten seconds, and he had already lost his focus.

As he admired the ancient prizes with awe, a troubling thought entered his mind. Where had all of these mysterious items come from? How had the Master acquired them? Was he in the business of attacking the innocent for profit? Could he have been the one who sent a small troop to ransack Jiro’s home? Could he have been the one who sought to steal the secrets of Hyra’s special arts?

Jiro knew the there was little reason to suspect this man. Most of the items in the shop had a much darker feel to them than any Hyran artifact. He was also miles away from where his home had been. He doubted that the shop keeper had even heard of his race, but just to be safe, he decided he should keep that information private to himself.

Jumping back to his senses, Jiro was caught off guard as the Master pulled back his robes to reveal a metallic leg and arm. The elf let a small, “Whoa,” escape his lips. He had missed the explanation for the missing limbs, but he was quite sure they must have had something to do with why they were here, which only made the boy yearn for what he had gotten himself involved in.

[Tenki]

Tenki listened to the Master speak. The experiences he relayed certainly could hold valuable. His own loss to the Endless locked here proved their danger. He stared at the door, strafing around it calmly a bit to look at the whole thing. Unlike those few runes in the other room, there was no evidence of mid-childan involvement here it seemed. The door itself was a complex combination of parts from simple metals. But it was still ahead of what most of Althanas was capable of. As the Master finished his tale and exposed the effects of his loss. Gleaming metal prosthetics were revealed attached to his body in replacement of his right leg and left arm.

Upon that point Tenki heard a soft "whoa" echo a bit in the large room. He turned to see another that had joined the group. An elf a bit shorter and with a bit more of an aged look to him than Tenki himself had. Admittedly he was taking a bit of a leap here, but figured since no one else had acted against the elf, he'd joined while Tenki had been taken in by the sights and power of the building at some point. Tenki went a few paces until he was alongside the elf. "I'm afraid I didn't see you join up back there. I don't know how much you know, but we're about to be involved in some pretty dangerous stuff. I believe teamwork will be our best bet of coming out alive. So tell me, can you watch out for your allies?" He hoped he hadn't come across as arrogant, but there was really no time to try and get to know the elf much better than a short bit of questioning.

[Sorahn]

Sorahn blinked several times when he caught sight of the man’s prosthetic limbs. He hadn’t noticed them until now. They served to dramatically underscore the danger of what lay on the other side of the door. Somehow this didn’t frighten Sorahn. He was battle-hardened, and one of an extremely rare few who have already died and been resurrected. Death was not something he feared, but rather dying with regrets about life.

He watched as the boy proceeded forward with the odd shaped key. For the first time Sorahn really noticed the door. It was simply a door, standing freely in the middle of the room, leading to nowhere, lacking the very purpose of a door. Rather, it appeared to lead to nowhere, but Sorahn knew from experience that doors did not have to lead to a place directly behind them in space. He had just recently returned to his home world of Ranoa through a portal device, demonstrating that his planet was not somewhere else in space, but rather in the same place on a different plane of existence.

Sorahn understood very little of this, but he knew the end effect. In this case the end effect was he would be taken to a place on the other side of that door where many evil creatures lived. He instinctively pulled his spear to the ready, mentally preparing himself for inevitable battle.

Ranoan warriors were trained to be fearless. They were trained to face any challenge and conquer it for the glory of Ranoa, or die trying. Sorahn no longer lived on Ranoa, but this belief never faltered. He would fight for the glory of his clan, and to protect his men, or he would not return.

This is what he was bred for. All of the politics of running a clan, the art of his alchemy, all of the things that consumed his time of late, those things weren’t him. He was a warrior. There was nothing he understood better than the heat of battle, facing an enemy, and fighting for what he believed in. It was so basic it was a part of his natural subconscious.

As usually happened, his animal nature was starting to take over. He subconsciously widened his stance, as if preparing for something to leap out of the door. It wouldn’t be long until he was in the midst of battle, and would be able to react without even thinking; fighting purely on instinct. He stared at the door, as if peering into the evils which lay on the other side, carefully watching them and waiting.

The hunter stalking his prey.

[Shadar]

Brigitte seemed to be relaxing in the large space of the store room, but Shadar was so tense that his innards tied themselves in knots over top of knots. He kept his fists closed and pressed to his sides to assure the magical aura’s in the room that he wouldn’t bother them. Unlike those in the shop, the essences here were unsympathetic, unattractive, and fleetingly threatening. The lights, like clumps of fireflies, did well to illuminate every unmarked crate and archaic item, but that did nothing to relieve the tension. There was a reason these objects of power were stored away from the customers, and it certainly wasn’t the fear of theft.

He largely ignored the discussion until the mage revealed his missing limbs. Amid the awed reactions, Shadar made a low, appreciative sound in his throat. He wasn’t the type to respect scars, but some marks were so horrid that they could receive nothing but respect. Strangely, the tension loosened. While the magic surrounding them was an unstable ocean, the false limbs were solid and real. Shadar’s understanding spread to the door, their apparent target, where those limbs had been taken. If what it contained was strong enough to damage such a powerful mortal, then the clockwork portal made perfect sense. It didn’t look like a door, but rather a disconcertingly large lock. People were not meant to travel through this door. It was meant to keep them out and something within; a border between the comfortable world and that which was better left untouched. Perhaps it was childish, but Shadar hated being told what he couldn’t touch.

He smiled and looked at Brigitte. She was smiling too, the kind that had more fire than joy. “We really have a death wish, don’t we?” he asked her with an amused shake of his head.

Her response was a raised eyebrow as she shifted energetically from foot to foot. “What’s a death wish?”

“This,” he said smugly as he stepped toward the door. Both of his hands creaked open as a faint blue light rose from the depths of his gloves. It solidified into veins of prevalida, iridescent with ghostly light, that ran from elbow to fingertip, giving his gloves a disturbingly organic appearance. Brigitte fell into step behind him, her own excitement pushing away the need for modesty as she flexed her wings in preparation. Behind and from all sides, Shadar could feel the charged air leering at him. I’ll leave you in peace, he assured the room, and the pressure decreased as if to say, “Good riddance.”

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Holding the weight of the key in his hands made the ghoul feel like he was holding an asteroid. Somehow, he felt like he was falling though he stood on shaky legs. He wanted to just drop the Key and run but at this point his destiny was already assured. Sorahn was there as well as other members of the Gol'bron. Lorenor couldn't back down now despite the fact that he wanted. He could sense the tension in the warehouse room as a palpable as a lover's kiss.

The ghoul had rarely sensed such power. Every time he had the situation always ended badly for Lorenor. The ghoul looked at the particularly portion of the door that he was supposed to place his key in. For a moment the notion of throwing away the key filled the ghoul's heart. He felt torn at what he had to do next. It seemed like such a simple thing to open that door, but Lorneor knew first-hand what awaited them inside. The Endless. At the same time a friend and an enemy, the creatures were resilient. They were deadly. The ghoul felt his companions growing ready to face battle.

Closing his eyes, the ghoul sighed and prepared himself. There was no going back now even though he wanted to run. The Endless that were behind this locked door felt more powerful than The Endless he'd encountered so far. He didn't know what that meant, if anything at all. Lorenor took a glance back to his companions as they waited for him to take his role of responsibility.

Somehow the Endless were Lorenor's fault. The very fact that the walking contradiction existed meant that The Endless were connected to the outcome of Lorenor's very life. The ghoul felt the weight of the world on his shoulders at that moment. Their lives depended on him. This decision would greatly affect his future. Why did he have to open the door? Lorenor thought to himself. What would there be to gain? Why couldn't they just leave The Endless there and never look back?

These thoughts of cowardice and fear attempted to grip the ghoul's heart. He searched deep inside of himself for inspiration and remembered times he's gone to great heights for others despite his darker inclinations. He turned to look at his friend Tenki and then towards Sorahn. He knew the two of them from past experiences. Upon seeing Sorahn he felt a courage filling his heart and somehow found the strength necessary to lead.

Lorenor walked over to the staircase containing the door. He walked up that staircase slowly as if the door were somehow the devil himself ready to claim his atma. Lorenor placed the key at the central inset within the door, at it's very heart, and waited for a moment. There was a loud clicking sound as the door started to react to the key's power. The energy in the room vibrated visibly causing several sparks and flashes of light to manifest.

The Master looked about with concern and Lorenor caught the glance. He saw Cassandra cover her eyes with fear. Lorenor decided to face his fears and stare at the door as the locking mechanism worked. The key became a part of the door as several chevrons moved and snapped closed around the key inserting it deeper within the door. The key started to rotate and stop periodically as if setting off a combination pattern within the lock. Every time it stopped, a particular portion of tubing along the door lit up with a light blue color.

A powerful vibration flowed from the door. As the door lit up, its inner mechanisms and gears fluxuated. The large gears rotated slowly at first and then gradually picked up speed. Then, there was a brilliant flash of light.

When it passed the door was replaced with a mysteriously glowing purple portal.

A portal that lead to The Endless. Lorenor saw this portal and nodded to his companions. He walked forward, stepped through...

And was gone.

[Renjiro]

Jiro was startled at being addressed all of the sudden. He had to drag his mind away from the wizard and the mysterious door. He thought it kind of odd that the stranger would not even give him a name. He seemed kind enough, but he had the tone of a teacher looking down to his pupil. This had become something that the elf had gotten used to since leaving his homeland and meeting humans for the first time. They all seemed to think themselves wiser or more intelligent because of the childish appearance of Jiro; although, in most cases Jiro was the older being. Jiro supposed that this man had a right to act superior however. He had been in the guild longer which would give him seniority over the young newcomer.

The stranger’s words caught the elf off guard. “Can you watch out for your allies?” Those words hit Jiro hard. He was the only survivor of his sub-race of elves, and although there was nothing he could have done to prevent the others deaths, he felt a surge and pain and powerlessness. He tried to hide his sense of uncertainty and gave the man a big grin as he replied with a tone of arrogance to hide his fear, “Don’t worry. If you get scarred, you can hide behind me. The name is Renjiro.”

The conversation was cut short as Jiro’s mind jumped back to the door as it began to shake the room and the lights began to flicker. The sound of locks turning echoed across the room as the key turned over by itself. The elf’s left hand shifted to his side coming to a rest on the hilt of his blade as he anticipated the wonders the lay behind the door.

Dread shot through the boy’s veins, but he did not allow it to cripple him. His heart was beating fast, but he kept his mind focused. He body wanted to take a few steps back, but he did not allow himself to cower. Instead, he stepped forward. He could hear death calling for the one who got away, but he shut out the black angel’s voice. His head was clear; his mind was determined.

The stopped quivering as door opened before them, a gateway to a realm not meant for the like of mortal. The ghoul was the first to jump through it, but Jiro did not hesitate to follow. He unsheathed the Mood Swing Blade and spoke out to all the others, “Well, c’mon gents. Are you going to let him have all the fun?” And with that, Jiro followed the lead and entered through the portal to the journey that awaited the brave.

[Tenki]

Tenki gazed upon the portal created by the door. It was blatantly obvious to Tenki by now what the portal was and why it had been under lock and key, regardless of what lay on the other side, this was a permanent small scale dimensional portal. A very dangerous and difficult object to create under the best of circumstances, but once up, nearly unsealable without the original caster's aid. Such things were pretty much unseen on his own homeworld, replaced by safer TSAB designed interworld craft and spells. Tenki watched as Lorenor and the new arrival went in.

He stared for a good while. Besides getting more mysterious, this was proving already every bit as dangerous as Lorenor had mentioned. The portal was stable, that much was certain. But for Tenki, the real question was what would drive someone to make one of these if they knew the danger of them. and they had to have known. Amateurs would have no way to ever work on this complicated a spell. Taking a step back at first, Tenki calmly stepped forward and into the portal, ready to face the other side with his friend, and those he seemed to trust.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

((We're moving on, sorry for the delay))

If anybody asked you, being ripped to molecules was a sucky way to travel. In an instant, he was a part of a colorful stream of light that flowed across eternity. For a single moment, his atoms were ripped across space and time, entrusted to the laws of quantum physics. A shady business indeed. Theories were often hit and miss anyway, and the structural integrity of this dimensional gateway was expected to hold. Lorenor didn't really trust any of it, but when he felt the pain of being pulled apart by the strange light, there was a sort of maddening pleasure to it as well.

Though every inch of his body burned with living agony, the trip across the space/time continuity was a dangerous one. It lasted about the breadth of window of a single micro-second. But to Lorenor, that was an eternity. When the rush of hyper-space passed across his person, a blinding light surrounded his very essence. He felt a tremendous pain, and then fell towards his physical being. I certainly don't want to do that ever again. I hope that's not the only way of getting back home.

That trip across the quintessential infinity cut him to his very core. When they landed outside again the ghoul's body hurt. It wasn't an ordinary pain either, the pain singed his very Atma (Soul in Sanskrit). Lorenor heard a scream that sounded far away and he realized it was he that was screaming!

Clutched at his side in agony, he wondered how his companions fared at the bizarre sort of travel. Knowing that they were in a dangerous place, Lorenor tried to collect himself considering all the pain he was in. Standing up, his body collapsed underneath its own weight. He had no time to get used to the strange lighting in the new place they'd just discovered.

Collapsing to the ground, Lorenor let time passed as he got used to controlling his body once again. Basic mode functions felt like they were coming from a very far away place indeed. He still felt like he was falling after he was nonchalantly expunged into the chamber that they were in.

Once the pain dulled down to a minute throbbing on his person, the ghoul found himself able to stand. He checked to see who was around him...

[Sorahn]

Sorahn watched carefully as Lorenor disappeared in a flash of light into the newly formed portal. His eyes narrowed slightly. In reality, he didn’t need much time to make his decision, because his options were simple. Enter the portal, or leave. The second option, which involved abandoning his brothers and becoming a coward, wasn’t even an option at all.

He took a deep breath and didn’t even glance to his companions as he stepped into the portal. Instantly he was seized around the waist and dragged across infinity. He felt like all the air had left his lungs and he had tripped and fallen into a fire.

Then as quickly as it started he found himself in a foreign place, laying flat on the ground. Every part of his body ached, and his vision was very blurry. He bared his teeth and tried to regain his strength, trying not to show pain. He was taught never to show pain. The burning sensation that covered his skin felt like it was searing his very flesh, but he knew he was alright. He would not show any weakness.

Finally he was able to pull himself to one knee and panted as he tried to regain his balance. The pain was beginning to subside. He was very thankful his Ranoan body was so resilient. He glanced over to Lorenor, who appeared to be faring much worse than he was. Assuming this place was safe as he had not been attacked yet, he took his time and allowed his body to recover and fully regain all functions.

After what seemed like an eternity, he was able to pull himself to his feet and obtain some sense of normality. He found his ghoul companion and made sure he was all right before looking around and trying to get his bearings.

“Where are we?”

[Shadar]

A single step from the portal's surface, Shadar stopped and wrapped an arm around Brigitte's shoulders. "I'll lead," he said with his face almost touching hers and both lit faintly by the glow of his glove. His brow had furrowed slightly; tight with what little concern he had for personal safety, especially hers. The harpy, however, stared into the portal with entranced eyes. Slowly, almost unconsciously, she nodded.

Shadar smiled and turned back to the magical door. Brave girl, though easily distracted. He quickly bent his knees and lunged into the light, shoulder first so that Brigitte stayed behind him. But, it didn't matter, because all he felt was pain. It struck him like a hammer to the chest and left him trying to gasp with lungs that hadn't been used in months and, for this moment, didn't exist at all. He tried to lock down his nerves, a technique that had gotten him through many battles, only to find that they, too, no longer existed. How he could feel such pain without material nerves was beyond him, as was the simply luxury of a mouth to spit curses.

Though, the queued curses did finally surface like a pressure wave when he appeared on the other side, and he kept swearing, vile enough to burn nuns at thirty paces, on the way to his crash landing.

For what seemed a long time, he lay there twitching and fumbling for the off switch, though the aftershocks were taking their sweet time running their course. Faintly, he became aware of feathers slapping his face, and he focused on the sensation until he had enough presence of mind to lock down his nerves. He was suddenly free of pain and almost floating in his own body.

His eyes snapped open to see Brigitte next to him, sprawled out and twitching like a spastic children's toy. Biting off one final curse, more passionate than the others, he reconnected with his body just enough to get it moving. The pain, however, had dwindled far more than he had expected, and he was able to fully activate his nerves by the time he had crawled to Brigitte.

She looked up at him, her body grappled into stillness and her head against his chest, with eyes totally devoid of the earlier enthusiasm. There were even tears, from wherever a creature of thought could manifest them, that seemed totally alien on her strong face. She smiled at him, though she still twitched occasionally, and then she defiantly flexed her wings and stood with her own power.

Shadar stood a moment later, his face downcast and bitter. The portal they had fallen from radiated its light over him mockingly, and he answered with an angry kick to the device's frame. The concussion needed only to ripple up his leg before he regretted the act.

Immediately, a laugh erupted behind him, and he spun to face Jackal's illusion. The dream demon looked frightful at first glance, his robes snapping and his eyes burning with twice the intensity of his streetside performance, but Shadar only gawked for a second before he snapped out a hand to wipe the illusion away.

Jackal caught it.

"What the hell?" Shadar blurted as he wrested his arm from the fuzzy hand's grip. Brigitte hissed in a completely un-bird-like manner and shrank away. And Jackal just kept laughing, a low rumble that sounded to Shadar, for the first time in their travels, threatening.

[Tenki]

Tenki felt the pull of the portal, and the spell that held it all together. The rushing pull and turning feeling he could only liken to being inside a blender while it was on persisted for a few moments before depositing him in the same place as the others. A bit of a surprise based on the portal itself, Tenki thought to himself. Brought back to the present by the guttural laugh put out by Jackal. Looking around for a moment his vision suddenly blurred, and he remembered with a very quick jerk to the side why he hated physical transport spells.

They always managed to get him nauseous. Letting his recent meal out again all over the floor was never going to be lived down he expected, but as soon as the gastrointestinal spasms came to a halt he wiped his mouth with a sleeve and stood back up.... slowly. They didn't seem to have all come out just yet, as Jiro was no where to be seen.

Stupid Transport Spells.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

With the pain coursing through his system, Lorenor was able to regain command of his body. Taking a look at his current surroundings, he found himself standing just outside of the range of the portal. The device's power flickered on for a few moments longer, and then the portal caved in on itself before anymore passengers of the device could travel through it. The portal shut itself off. Now, they were stuck there. Lorenor heard a laughter coming from that mysterious entity, Jackal. He turned to look at the gathered forces he'd managed to assemble for the trip ahead.

Tenki. Sorahn. Shadar and crew. The numbers for his party weren't the best he would've liked, but they were better than naught. He took a chance to get familiar with the new environment that they found themselves in. So far, they hadn't been attacked by anything, but Lorenor knew that there were dangers about. He could sense it in the wind, his guts turning on themselves as if a fist was clenching them. It was a distinctive feeling of an imminent threat looking at them, eyes in the darkness watching them with a hunger.

No others had come through the portal. Cassandra had come through the portal a short time after Lorenor had entered and she was there as well. The Master decided to stay behind. Lorenor sighed, he knew that he could've used his help during this venture. Looking around the area surrounding him, the ghoul got a feeling of the new dimension. The sky was a deep color of purple lit with golden glowing stars. Or at least, Lorenor thought those things were stars. They were moving about rapidly in swirling motions and sideways movements. Clouds had faces on them, and this time period seemed to resemble the night. For things were quite dark. Upon columns of a strange material that was colored black sat glowing orbs of light. They were purple in nature and added some illumination to the area around them, Lorenor noticed one of these lamps standing nearby to the group. The columns stood approximately six feet in height. The orbs seemed to be removeable. Lorenor decided taking one of them might be useful. He walked over to the orb stand, climbed the column with some effort, and carefully placed his hand around the orb.

Clutching it with some strength, the ghoul pulled at the orb. He found that he was able to remove it rather easily. The glow intensified after he'd taken the orb for himself. Lorenor jumped the rest of the way down and landed with a fluid movement. Looking at the rest of the group, he stared up at the sky for a long moment and then back at the group. Everybody seemed to be recovering from the portal o.k. He walked over to Cassandra's person and helped her stand up. Observing his party casually, the ghoul took the initiative and decided to allow his emerging leadership skills to help him gain command of the situation. Once Cassandra was on her feet she nodded towards him. "Thanks for that Lorenor." She said, her voice still sounded a tad on the shaky side.

"You're welcome. We seem to all be here. I have no idea where to head next, but I have a few ideas we should make our way to that big building over there." Lorenor pointed with the glowing orb towards a big building some distance away from their position. So far, greedy eyes stared at them from the darkness but nothing made a move upon them yet. All around them, a series of streets as if they were in an ancient city, converged into several roads. Buildings that were made of bricks were all around them, but none of them seemed occupied. The nearest building was a stout structure that seemed to be approximately five stories high. One of the corners of the building, the one closest to them, was broken inwards. The structure of the building and basic architecture was exotic in design. It seemed as though an advanced civilization once thrived in this location. Lorenor looked at the building for a moment and pondered its entry. They could ransack things later. He turned towards the large building in the distance. That thing seemed to be their destination.

And out of the edge of his sensory field, he could feel things stirring in every direction. However, he wasn't able to physically see anything coming at them for the time being. They were safe. Or at least had the illusion of safety. For now. "Let's go." Lorenor said and started the hike.

[Taskmienster]

This thread has been sitting since before the beginning of this year (2009). Since no response has been made to create activity I am going to be moving this. If you would like it to be reopened please feel free to PM myself or another admin and they will be able to move it for you back to the Peaceful Promenade.