The Dead Forest (Increased Orc activity due to skirmish)

[Musset]

sweatdrop "Ooops..." Oh dear, it looked like she made it mad!

Her first knife was deflected harmlessly away, but before the enraged ugly could chop the tree out from under her the little girl had let go of her branch to drop to the ground in a crouch.

Size was usually a determining factor in who won a fight, and Gorsh most definitely had enough height and weight behind him to chop down the poor trees! But perhaps Musset had a bit of David in her makeup, because before she even hit the ground the child in her mottled tan and brown clothes had another knife in each hand.

Crouched she made a very small target, but the big ugly was obviously used to facing opponents that were smaller than it was. The question was; Was Gorsh as fast as he was big and ugly? xp

There were a lot of chinks in armor, chinks below the waist that a lot of people never even thought about due to the simple fact that they were used to facing people their own size... not someone less than half their own height!

Muse waited for the big guy to close the distance, up close was a knife fighters best friend, purple eyes carefully watching which way the trees fell so as not to get herself trapped under one.  

[Flightless Butterfly]

An axe passed through the tree that Flutter had been hiding behind. She jumped back, narrowly missing the edge of the blade. She pulled out a length of wire from her bag. She attached it to the falling tree, and one adjacent to it that was stationary.

The trajectory would take the razored wire with the tree, and towards the large orc trying to slice and dice a little girl that had been in the tree. Flutter was amazed to find someone that was actually smaller than she was.

She darted towards another tree. The portal that she'd used to get here had been part of the tree that was now destroyed. She would be stuck here until the next big rainfall unless someone had a mirror that she could use.  

[Downlow Otaku]

Login ID. . . I3ambi
Password. . . **********
Incoming Transmission. . .

As the Orc lacky designated to strike Nero closed in. Nero had time to rev his sword once more, before it began to glow even more and become slightly blinding to most untrained eyes. He felt the wind blow, and luckliy for him it was in the direction of the Orcs. He took a strong strance and performed a slash to which unleashed an arc of fire about 6 meters in length and about a meter thick, this fire was intense to the point that against a human it would give 3rd degree burns but to an orc it'd probably give 2nd degree burns, yet he wasn't finished, as the arc of fire roared towards the orc Nero closely followed behind his sword in his left hand raised above his head and his demon arm cocked back, it was still sealed and so it wouldn't provide a bone shattering or skull crushing blow, but it's demon skin was still impossible to penetrate so maybe that would do something as he knew his hand wouldn't break of course.

End Transmission x x x x x x

 

[Darshendros the Eternal]

((Someone find Dirge and beat him with a stick!))  

[Eternal Dirge]

Well that had gone as well as expected to be honest, it had been a long shot to hit at all. And Damion would have capitalized on the momentary pause if not for sparky mcwonderblade over there, lighting up what had once been a camp site with sudden bursting flames erupting from his sword. The wave of heat was enough to steal the breath from your lungs and cook your meal for you, which was about what it did in the end. The sudden heat stole the Hydra's breath from his lungs, sending him into a choking, coughing fit as he lunged away from the wildly swinging orc.

He hit the ground hard on his side, coughing hard into the dry dust there and scooting with his feet in an effort to keep the bigger orc away from him. Just what had the kid done?! His eyes hurt from the heatwave, but it didn't affect his ability to see the fires burning where plants had been caught in the wave of fire. Some were blackened crisps, thin streams of smoke rising into the sky, but the trees and bushes and dead foliage further out from the wave of fire were burning rather merrily. Greedy flames jumped from plant to plant, spreading rapidly in what was sure to be an out of control fire very shortly.

But then again, He had to deal with his large green opponent right now, and he couldn't do that on the ground. Even if the beastly Orc came charging in, Damion would roll to his feet, taking huge gulping breaths in an attempt to recover faster, feeling the tenderness of his arm where the heat wave had toasted him lightly.  

[Darshendros the Eternal]

The raging inferno slash consumed the orc charging toward Nero - he didn't even have the chance to cry out before being incinerated by the sudden conflagration. There was only a black, charred husk standing where the orc had been after the flames passed, momentum carrying it toward Nero still, but all it oculd do at this point was fall on him.

The other orc, coming for Damion, jumped away from the fires as he had done, but wasn't as lucky as some of the flames caught on his left arm. After snuffing out the flames, the orc saw his companion's smoking corpse falling toward Nero. Looking at the firebug and then at Damion, the orc decided instead to flee through the woods before the whole place went up in flames, turning his back on Damion.

Meanwhile, Grosh continued to advance toward Muse, axes swinging threateningly, until he saw a tree falling toward him covered in razorwire. The burly orc jumped back so it landed between them, narrowing his eyes at the razorwire wrapped around it. The orc sniffed the air, suspecting another player on the field, but all he could smell was smoke and a hint of roasted flesh. Grunting, he returned his glare back to the little girl, drool running down his lips from between his tusks.

"Come, little one, and face the might of Grosh!" he said as he swung one of his axes and chopped the fallen tree in half.

"I promise not to kill you. Oh no. The men are in need of some fun back in camp, bahaha!"  

[Musset]

Musset had also jumped back from the falling tree with a squeak of surprise, wondering if the forest was alive and mad at her for getting one of it's own killed...

The big ugly was grunting something that she suspected was a really nasty threat, even if the actual words could have been taken as a peace offering.

"Ugly.. I wouldn't go anyplace with you even if Nedy told me you were my pa!" That being the most insulting thing the well mannered child could come up with she dodged to her left tossing another throwing knife at his face as Gorsh chopped the tree in half again. She was trying to keep the downed tree between them until she could figure out a good way to get in behind him, or under the reach of that darn sharp axe!  

[Maximos]

Its not that Ryugi was a difficult student, the lesson simply took alot of times. The runes were indeed basic, but as Maximos had invented Lunaic from a combination of different text based magical languages only one of which was Draconic, he would have to educate Ryugi in the basic functionality and meanings behind several of the rudimentary crafts. It was all very intricate, like writing a sentence in several different languages using many of the characters in each language while not confusing its meaning. A simply mistake of seemingly insignificant size could take a command like 'tuck', and have the lower case 't', inverted changing the entire meaning of the word, the command, and the spell as a whole. Doing that at the wrong time while trying to control and change the flow of the universe, could be catastrophic.

After hours, the lesson had completed, and yet just as Ryugi would have a definite understanding of the array necessary to create the desired reversal effect, he would likely also understand he had maybe a fraction of understanding for Lunaic as a whole. The lesson, though not intentional, could easily lead one to believe that though the idea of this backlash reversal was truly fantastic in scope, Maximos played with such forces quite often. His Lunaic runes could steer the madness and wild forces, but it could never stop them. He had to know it, but he played with the magic anyway. He...had to be mad, or at the very least completely unconcerned with the negative outcome.

As they walked, the forest flowed from plush green to dingy gray. It flowed like summer to autumn from alive to seemingly dead. The naked trees cast awkward shadows and left twisting knotty branches to poke through the morning mist. Over the course of hours, clearly, morning had come. The path beneath them turned to dusty gravel and then eventually to cobblestone which lead down a hill and to the ruined land of Cyndonia.

It was clear, in the gray morning light that this land was old. Stones were fallen and decayed, but also rounded by nature and stained with green moss, vines, and overgrowth. In areas where paved road once ran, large trees disrupted foundations and stretched high into the sky. The detail and skill put into its craft showed that Cyndonia, now a village surrounded by ruins, was once very advanced for its time. But time had ravaged this place, and yet on closer inspection it was clear it had been ravaged long before that by forces unknown.

People wandered to and fro across stone streets bringing cows, horses, or barrels of various wares to small shops. As far as the rest of the world had advanced this land was now far behind. And it seemed, that everyone knew it. Or rather, that everyone knew something they were not saying. Not a soul here, from the man rolling a barrel of mead, to the woman carry a group of quilts for sale, to even the children sitting on stoops and not playing with each other, no one wore a smile. Just a sort of grim sense of purpose.

In the dawn light, the town looked quaint and quiet. Classic perhaps, with an almost comfortingly stiff cool breeze rolling the mist through and past denizens. But, all of that was marred by a single black tower ejecting itself up from the ground, what looked to be a few miles from the village itself. Miles yes, but the tower still loomed enormous over the ruins of Cyndonia and cast a single ominous shadow across the landscape.

Ryugi would likely be the only one here to feel it. But the air was thick, like a super heated gust of steam tossed in ones face suddenly. Magic was ripe and rife in the air, this entire place seemed saturated with it. If he employed any sort of magical sight he might even see the stuff pouring from between the cobblestones. But he didnt need eyes to feel it. Rich, and thick, enough to make the dragons small hairs stand on end, and send a tingling feeling across his skin.

Max however, seemed oblivious. After stepping onto the cobblestone road the Shadow stretched his hands into the air and let out a long yawn. And then grinned. The journey here was a success, Ryugi had been taught a new trick, Cyndonia was here and saving would soon begin but first...

"I think, I'll have a nap." Said Maximos, looking at Ryugi with a bright smile and a nod. Simply put, Maximos had just finished a long and terrible night, and a terrible day before that. He felt a rest was well deserved.

"I'll get you a room too, and leave your name at the front desk. But if your not tired," He made a wide gesture to Cyndonia as a whole. "Feel free to explore. I would suggest you keep your true nature hidden, and try to be back at the Inn before dark. I think its best if we're together when or if they attack."

And with that, Maximos began trotting off down the hill toward one of the two story half ruined and shabbily repaired buildings.  

[Ryugi Kazamaru]

Ryugi was a good student, listening to the guidelines of Max's words as he explained, in detail, what each runic symbol was, what it meant, and how it related to the whole picture. Oddly enough, Max would find that Ryugi already had a decent understanding of runic magics and letters. He owed that to his dear friend Kara, who had shared some of her spells with him many years ago. As Ryugi listened, he came to understand just how Maximos came upon all of these interesting things. The man was insane. Only someone lacking complete sanity would try half the things that Maximos had done. However, sane or not, Max has always shown himself to have a steady head under duress and in virtually any situation. Ryugi had once likened his friend to a yogurt-covered-raisin. And while true, Maximos was also a black cat. The man had nine lives, always landed on his feet, and someday his curiosity would surely kill him.

Hours passed with the two magic-nuts going over runes, discussing the nature of the beast they were working to create, and all the while, time moved on in its steady flow. The night that had surrounded them so fully for so long gave way to the early reds and oranges of dawn's approach, and the trees that had acted as their cover from prying eyes and ears gave way to bare husks of wood. This section of the forest was most certainly deadened, and the eerie landscape was only accented more the the tendrils of fog that drifted lazily across the path at their feet. A few marching hours later, and the path changed to cobblestone, and at last, Ryugi saw his first view of Cydonia. In a word, it was depressing. In a sentence, it was a small town that appeared to eek out an existence despite time's attempts to smother it from the minds of men and the annals of history.

Then there was the tower. Tall, dark, imposing, Ryugi didn't like that tower in the slightest. It just screamed "BAD THINGS LIVE HERE." Of course, to any well-seasoned adventurer, Ryugi knew that was exactly where, ultimately, their adventure would wind up. At about this time Ryugi suddenly felt the air thicken. Rather, it wasn't so much the air as it was...the ether. His magical sight revealed that this place was absolutely bursting with raw magical essence. It rose from the cracks of the ground, seeped from below buildings, and swirled amongst the downtrodden people of this town. This was not a happy place, but it was the perfect place for someone looking to do a lot of crazy s**t with magical power. Ryugi could feel the energy coursing through his body already, almost like an invasive presence. It was very odd to have power flowing through your body when you did not command it to do so. If Ryugi noticed Max's immunity to the arcane overload, he didn't make mention of it. Truth be told he was too busy trying to figure out what all of this ambient energy meant for combat, especially HIS style of combat.

With this much power flowing through the area, he'd be able to draw an almost limitless supply of energy into himself or Ragnarok to bring to bear against his foes. Of course, Ryugi also reasoned that any foes they faced would certainly have the same abilities as he did, and make use of the extra boost of magical might. He was busy taking note of this as Maximos' voice suddenly caught his attention, drawing it away from his thoughts.

Maximos

"I think, I'll have a nap." Said Maximos, looking at Ryugi with a bright smile and a nod. Simply put, Maximos had just finished a long and terrible night, and a terrible day before that. He felt a rest was well deserved.

"I'll get you a room too, and leave your name at the front desk. But if your not tired," He made a wide gesture to Cyndonia as a whole. "Feel free to explore. I would suggest you keep your true nature hidden, and try to be back at the Inn before dark. I think its best if we're together when or if they attack."

And with that, Maximos began trotting off down the hill toward one of the two story half ruined and shabbily repaired buildings.

No problem, Max. Actually, I think I'll be joining you in that nap. I may not have had as rough a day as you, but I didn't exactly get any sleep last night either. Ryugi chuckled. It's probably best we both get some rest before we jump into this. That said, Ryugi would quickly follow after Max.  

[Maximos]

There was much to be pondered during the short jaunt down the roughly hewn stone path and to a two floor rickety building with a hand painted sign which read , "Inn" in bold black simple print. For instance, no one seemed to pay any attention to Ryugi or to Maximos. There were not rude glares, no passing waves, no thing of any note. People looked up and noted the two as much as they noted each other and then went back to whatever tasks occupied them before hand. For some that just included staring off into space as gloomy as can be..

It would seem, Cyndonia was a land of no mystery. Its evil's were all very obvious, its victims all very victimized, and while this all appeared clean cut one might imagine it would also be the perfect front for something darker and more complex than could be openly seen. It was almost hard not to believe such a theory, as Maximos paused just outside the Inn door and stared up at the shadow of the massive black obelisk of a tower looming over them. Perhaps, deep inside Cyndonia was an evil so great and so corrupt that it filled the heart of everyone caught in its shadow. Perhaps it was hidden just beneath this stone, crawling around through the cracks in the ground, perhaps even sunk into their homes themselves. Perhaps...

Max shoved open the swinging wooden door of the establishment, wood immediately creaked, cracked, and then snapped off of its dark rusted hinges and fell with a clamor down to the dark stone. Perhaps not...

Max, set the door gently against the frame, grimaced, and then stepped through the now fully open doorway into a living room with tables and chairs placed around, covered in dust from a complete lack of usage.

"I'm really sorry, I'll pay for that." He said, but the woman behind the counter did not seem concerned, upset, or anything but dower. The Shadow looked from her to Ryugi, as if trying to not the oddness of her response or lack there of. "I...would like two rent two rooms, please."

The woman said nothing. "How much do I owe you?"

"Pay when you leave." She said dryly, looking at both men and placing two keys on the counter, each numbered. Max took one, nodded to Ryugi, and then began making way for the stairs and to his room.  

[Ryugi Kazamaru]

Ryugi took note of how lifeless the town seemed to be. It was certainly creepy and odd. However, Ryugi continued to follow Max to the door of the Inn, which promptly fell to the ground as Max tried to open it. Ryugi winced. That was one way to make an entrance. The woman at the counter was just as stolid and uninterested as the rest of Cydonia's populous. It certainly was strange. Ryugi was used to being a bit of an outsider, but never like this.

He quickly grabbed the room key, nodding in thanks to the woman, before heading up the stairs after Max. He'd part ways with Max as he found his room, and would open the door. It was a room at an Inn. That was all that could be said about it. It had a bed, a bathroom, a chair, and that was about it. Ryugi looked around, sighed, closed his door, and performed the customary bed-flop that comes with any hotel room.

He kept still, enjoying the feel of the mattress, as his mind wandered to and fro to all the questions that seemed to be dangling right in front of him. The thickness of the air was almost suffocating, on top of the weirdness of this place as it was. Sighing, Ryugi pulled himself up off the bed, reluctantly, and reached behind him to where Sol Blade was kept in its sheath. He drew the weapon and leaned it against the wall nearest his bed before he once again created the small light brush he'd used for Max's training.

In effect, Ryugi had learned the runic symbols for permanency. He quickly went about drawing symbols of light energy for the intended purpose, and when he was a single one away, he paused, gripped the handle of the blade, and activated the negation technique using the ambient energy in the area rather than his own. Unlike combat, this use was small and localized, simply dropping the ambient arcane energies around Ryugi's room to normal background levels, and not disrupting it anywhere else. As he maintained the effect, he took the brush with his other hand and finished the symbols for the spell, allowing Sol Blade to effectively act as a dehumidifier for magical energies within the room.

He could cancel the spell when he woke up by removing the light-based runes maintaining the effect. For now, however, the thickness of the air dropping back to relatively normal levels, he wandered over to the bed, pulled off his boots, and simply flopped back onto the top sheet and pillows to fall asleep.  

[Maximos]

Ryugi Kazamaru

He could cancel the spell when he woke up by removing the light-based runes maintaining the effect. For now, however, the thickness of the air dropping back to relatively normal levels, he wandered over to the bed, pulled off his boots, and simply flopped back onto the top sheet and pillows to fall asleep.

There wasnt much in such a droll town to rouse a sleeping dragon. Silence, wind, and leaves, they were the sum of the lullaby the Cyndonian ruins presented. However, just around mid day, there was an aberrant sound. It was music, both soft and melodic, but also grim and sad. It was not the sort of music a person plays at a funeral, but more the kind a person plays to tell the tale of weeks later when the finality of the death truly sink in. It was, Ryugi might recognize, the sort of music that likely only the stately shadow would play and most definitely came from the ebbs and flows of a bow over the strings of a violin.

From the window, to the door, it seemed everyone in the town was distinctly unmoved by the melody. They walked lifeless staccato rhythms across broken cobblestone, they rolled carts meaninglessly from door to door. The afternoon faced Ryugi squarely, and greyly.  

[Ryugi Kazamaru]

((Good to see you, Max. Really, it is.))

Ryugi's sleep came slowly, but surely. He hadn't slept very much the previous night, and this place seemed oddly comforting. The sound of cobblestone streets reminded him of his youth on the streets of Presea. The melancholy tones that drifted from the shadow's music did not rouse him, and in fact, added to his sleeping demeanor. If not for the dimming thickness of the air around him, and the very clear notion that he was, in fact, not at home, he might have even expected dragonfruit tarts to be sold in the marketplace.

For now, though, sleep called quietly to him, and in his exhaustion, he did not ignore the beckoning calls of drowsiness. How long Ryugi would sleep was unknown, but he did indeed need rest, and for the moment, he got exactly that.  

[Ryugi Kazamaru]

Maximos

((I wasn't sure if you had plot planned for when Ryugi was asleep or not, so I figured I would let you do that. However, since you hadn't replied, maybe you thought Ryugi sleeping was my way of delaying. In any case, that isn't the case. xd ))

After a nap of a few hours, Ryugi finally awoke. He sat up and took a deep breath, sighing as he stretched. That nap was exactly what he'd needed. He pulled himself up and off of the bed and walked over to Sol Blade, gripping the handle of the blade and sliding it into the sheath at his side. The "dehumidifier" aspect of the weapon would continue to function in his local area for the moment, but he could dispell the runes continuing the process when the need arose.

After he was convinced he looked fairly presentable, and without bed-head, he wandered out of the room, and went about trying to track down his shadowy companion.  

[Maximos]

((No sir, I just hadnt seen you had posted. 'Good to see you too. I hope I can stil recapture the magic I was going for here.))

Strangely enough, although the hauntingly familiar nature of the melody, Maximos was not its performer. As he readied himself, the dragon would probably notice that the music was still playing. What's more, the room the Maximos had occupied the night before was vacant of both his person, and his possessions. And finally the downstairs "lobby" or rather vacant piece of shoddy craftsmanship which was seemingly once someones living room, albeit with only two or three pieces of furniture, was vacant of anyone except the same bland woman sitting behind the counter staring out the wide expanse where her door once was.

Prevalent across the entire scene however, was music. Sad, haunting, and melodic, as it may have been it was also almost unnaturally without repetition. It was as if someone was playing free form from within the town, without rest. No one hummed the tune, no one stepped to its rhythm, infact it seemed the townsfolk did not hear it at all. Instead, they continued about their droll days, dressed in droll colors, existing in a droll set of ruins. Everything here was a contrast to Ryugi's bright colors, demeanor, and general way of being. And without answers or clues to his companion's immediate location, it seemed the dragon was alone.