Fallen Kingdom The Role Play Game

[TheJester]

"Now, I suppose you are wondering why you are here?"

Dralak was fiddling with a branch from one of the trees in the woods. He gazed at the captured and weary Sparton.

"Wh-who are you?" Said the Sparton soldier to Dralak.

"Oh dear me! How rude of me to forget my introduction! My name is Dralak Nekos. Son of Clan Leader Dorain Nekos and grandson of King Emperius Alucard Nekos."

"What kind of name is that!? Please don't hurt me! Please!" The Sparton soldier was frightened. Not the usual Sparton soldier, that was for sure.

"Oh, I won't, I just need you to tell me where all of the Spartons are currently camped out. Once you do that I will let you go." Dralak smiled at the soldier with reassuring eyes.

"What the hell are you people? Olympions?"

Dralak put his face unto his palm at the question.

"Don't you know what a Vampire is?" Dralak asked.

"V-Vampers?" The Sparton tried to pronounce it as best as he could.

"Vampires you idiot. Bloodsuckers? Nightwalkers? Denizens of Darkness? Apostles of Calamity? Ring a bell?" It was almost as if Dralak was interrogating the man for an answer.

"N-no not really." The Sparton grew more and more afraid.

"We are a race of creatures that survive on drinking blood. We have incredible speed, agility, and strength. You have never heard of us?"

"I have never heard of Vampires before I swear!" As if the Sparton was on trial.

"Okay, let me give you a little History Lesson. Over 1000 years ago, Spartons and Vampires lived together within the same country. Then, out of the blue, the Sparton king banishes all Vampires from Sparton and drives them underground. Their existence is wiped from history and they live in obscurity for the next 1000 years. A bit rude, don't ya think?" Dralak talked to him as if he was having a casual conversation over tea.

"W-well I don't know bu-"

"Enough of this. Now, here's the deal. You tell me where your boys are camping out and I won't kill you."

The soldier, panicking too much, couldn't think straight and forgot the location. "I don't remember..." The soldier said.

"Well that's too bad." Dralak pointed his sword at the soldier. "Then I guess you must die."

The man regained his sense for a moment as he remembered the location.

"Wait! the last tme I saw them we were at the bridge! The West Bridge I believe!"

"Nice comeback, kid!" Dralak said to his captive.

"So, y-you'll let me go?" The soldier asked with relief.

"Actually, no. I am going to kill you right now." Dralak smirked mischievously.

"Wait! I told you the location! You needed that!"

"Actually no, I didn't, I captured you from the camp you idiot. I wouldn't have captured you if I didn't know where your boys were." Dralak laughed at the soldier like a bully to his victim.

"Then why did you-"

Dralak stopped him before he could finish his sentence.

"I was actually just f*cking with you." Dralack laughed at the brilliant prank he felt he had just pulled.

"Please don't kill me! I have a wife and two kids." The Sparton pleaded with all his might.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it's gone."

There was silence for five minutes as the Sparton was thinking of a way to respond to what Dralak just said.

"Wh-what's gone?" The Sparton asked.

"The f*cks I give. They're all gone. You are out here in the middle of nowhere, traveling miles away from home and ready to die in battle, and you honestly think I am going to care about the family you left behind? Don't think so."

Before the soldier could respond, Dralak rushed and snapped his neck, killing him. Dralak then paced around the area talking to himself, or to his subordinate. It wasn't clear which one.

"You know what's funny? Two-thousand years ago, after the Armageddon that hit Earth, the world kinda started all over again. Then the humans came and renamed it 'Aretha'. Isn't that creative!? I love humans and their brisking similarity in letters... They added an 'A'. That's so amazing! Why didn't I think of that!"

The subordinate then came to Dralak to speak.

"Sir, the Olympions are almost done rebuilding the bridge. They're a lot faster than we expected. Is there a way we could get them to fight the Spars or Aths?"

"Hardly. They are too focused on their misguided belief... Seriously, one genetic f*ck up and suddenly they are descendants of an ancient civilization."

"Why would they believe it if there was nothing to support their claims?" The subordinate asked, eager to learn Dralak's wise words of wisdom.

"When you are different, you suddenly want to feel special to cover up the pain of not being like anybody else, no matter how convoluted you sound. It doesn't matter anyways. We are here on the island and they aren't and when they enter we will give them the biggest ambush that would put the Battle of the Bulge to shame. Then we can get our revenge on the Spartons for what they did to our kind. There hasn't been many changes to who we are and how we fight, but it seems the people are too stupid to know us anyways. So either way, we are at an advantage. There is one thing different about us compared to 1000 years ago. Do you know what that is?"

The subordinate looked at Dralak totally stumped.

"I don't know sir. What?"

"We're pissed off."

[Blurred_9L]

"Crap, we haven't even finished crossing the damn bridge..." thought Devin as the hordes of monsters approached the still dazed soldiers of the Sparton army. Claws and fangs battled against swords, axes and spears. The proud warriors scattered all over the bridge, breaking formation. Devin wondered if they always won their fights with the use of brute force. "Well, might is right for them, I guess" he thought as he shot an arrow at a flying umbrella that playfully hovered above a group of soldiers, floating over their heads as it attacked with it's massive tongue, but rised up as the frustrated soldiers tried reaching it with their sharp weapons and pointy sticks. The arrow hitted the umbrella exactly in the center of its red eye. The cursed umbrella fell down to the bridge, where it was rushed by the angry fighters.

Just as Devin shot the arrow, two flying kettles quickly passed by him, dropping boiling water over the area. Devin threw himself to the right, dodging most of the water just before reaching for another arrow, shooting straight at the furthest kettle, causing a crack on it. The other one, apperently angry at the damage done to its comrade, flew straight at Devin. With no time to shoot another arrow, with his empty hand Devin reached for Marbringer, the black dagger, and swiftly cut the air in front of him, just as the kettle passed through, making it stumble to the ground, cleanly cut in half. The other one fleed as it saw the destructive power of the obsidian-like dagger. "Well, I didn't expect something this uncanny to happen." Devin thought, as he put away the small weapon and readied another arrow. "Then again, I'm in the middle of nowhere, fighting kettles and umbrellas."

He didn't have to wait long for another enemy to come, for as soon as he grabbed the arrow from his quiver, a loud shriek pierced the air. Devin felt stunned as he kneeled in pain, he dropped the arrow, before tyring to cover one of his ears from the sound. He felt as if he would be driven insane just by listening to it, and desperately looked around for the source of it. High in the sky, a small bird flew by, singing a song of madness. Devin looked at it, realizing the presence of a big full moon in the blue sky. That couldn't be a good sign. Not wanting to lose sight of the bird, Devin endured the pain he felt and tried to stand, as he recovered the arrow from the floor of the bridge. Aiming as carefully as he could, he let go of the string, sending the arrow flying, piercing one of the bird's wings, promptly making it fall towards the water below the bridge.

Devin sighed in relief, an action that he would soon regret. A small figure appeared to his left, shrouded in purple mist, glaring at him, sipping from a gourd too big for the minute's humanoid constitution. "What is a child doing..." he thought, before noticing the horns on her head, the mist around her began to clear, revealing Kanakuma-Doji.

"I heards dat youre notta common soldia..." she said in a quiet, slow voice. She smiled, a pointy fang protruding from her smirk. "Letsh play, shall wii?". The small oni suddenly divided herself in 10, each one of her becoming even tinier than she already was. They let out a drunken laugh as they all scattered in different directions.

Devin, still stunned from the ear piercing shriek, saw as the pieces of the oni left. Youkai still roamed through the bridge, fighting against the Sparton army. In the distance, a kettle watched as the small oni began her plan to take down the Athenon, but it wouldn't get to see it fail or succeed, for an arrow would soon towards it, shattering completely into pieces. "How troublesome... I should have been more careful." he thought as he shot again towards the distance. More youkai seemed to be coming and now he'd have to deal with a dangerous enemy. "This day just keeps getting better and better..."

---

(Sort of have to stop writing here, I'm kind of waiting for a Mimsy's GM post, but if you guys need me to write the battle I'll start thinking of something, hope this is enough for a while).

[Guyshane]

Azir stared in horror at the man who had just insulted a crowd if angry sailors. What? Just because I do it doesn’t make it a good idea, especially when you’re unarmed. Especially when your insulting the people who have your weapons! Am I the only sane person on this ship?!? I mean it’s a sniper rifle he would only get one shot off before they- you know what? I don’t care anymore. They’re all insane, besides I only like Raivisa and Setsuna an-

“Excuse me sir?” Oh thank the Heavens a distraction.
“Yes Sailor wh-“ Azir broke off his sentence as he turned around.
“Sailor why is the first mate unconscious?”
“I found him like this”
Azir breathed a sigh of relief. Oh good I was worried there for a minute
“Well I think this means our murderer is gone or he wouldn’t risk knocking out the first mate” Azir ran a quick check over Carlmono’s head.
“He’s concussion free…I think he is anyway. Not really my area of expertise. Anyway someone go get me some water.”

Once Azir had a bucket of water in his hands he immediately dumped it all over the first mate, who woke up sputtering. I guess he really didn't have a concussion.Azir put on a wide smile “Carlmono my friend. How are you feeling and who knocked you unconscious?”

[AMimsyBorogove]

STORY POST - SPARTON CARAVAN

Dust scattered in all directions as a blur, trailing purple mist as it flew, spiraled ever upward around a single point, where mist and small pieces of debris whirled skyward upon a tornado of air. Amidst this vortex of wind, a shape in black stood calmly, his equally dark sword cutting upward offhandedly and into the shadowy mist that surrounded him in a single cloud, blocking out all of the light of the outside. The foggy mass divided before it, splitting and scattering as though blown away by the force of an explosion, only for the unstoppable blade to be met by a curving edge of silvery steel. The sound of clashing metal was heard even over the roar of the surrounding battle and of the high winds, and the mist was entirely dispersed as sparks flared between the clashing blades, evidence of the Oni's magic of blazing mist as an explosion swiftly erupted. Smoke and mist rose equally as Torakuma-Doji flipped backward out of the cloud, landing in a battle stance on her feet, her sake dish having nary a ripple upon its surface in complete violation of all logic.

Yet, as the devilish blast cleared, the assassin still stood, unharmed, the Oni's flames extinguished before they could even reach him, and the shockwave absorbed by the rippling air that was but faintly visible surrounding his body. He gave a slight chuckle, holding Colada one-handed while his off-hand sat idle in his coat pocket.

"Tch. You're pretty good!" The Oni said cheerfully, the respect of facing a worthy opponent evident in her voice.

"And you're rather fast," He replied casually, more stating an observation than actually giving a compliment. "I suppose I should be glad that your attacks are weaker than those of your fellows, even if they are more swift. Were you a little stronger, you might actually be able to pierce my defenses. Fortunately, mist is something that poses no threat to me."

"What's with that, anyway?" Torakuma-Doji asked, curious. "The only time I actually hit your blade was on that last attack, but you still blocked me somehow. Is that the air you're using?"

"Indeed. Rather pointless to try attacking me with mist, isn't it?"

"That's not exactly sporting."

"Well, I'm fighting someone who can't die. You're really one to talk."

"I suppose you have a point there," Torakuma-Doji sighed, but then laughed it off with a rowdy chuckle. "Well then," She said, grinning. "If I'm not strong enough as I am, I suppose I'll just have to cut to the chase, then!" Taking a deep gulp from her sake dish, she gave another raucous laugh, and leveled her sword once more.

"You're the type who gets stronger the more you drink, aren't you? How predictable," Neiross sighed. "I suppose that means you'll be able to pierce my barrier now. Damn. And you're only the second most troublesome person with that power I've had to face in recent memory."

"What was that? Who's this person who's supposedly better than an Oni, then? I'll go find him and beat him up once I'm done with you!" Torakuma-Doji exclaimed forcefully.

.....

The scarlet moon glimmered off the enemy's rising blade as the assassin swiftly reached out with his off hand, snatching up one of many fallen swords stuck point-first in the bodies of their owners, as though the adversary before him had deemed them unworthy of being killed by his own blade. The shoddy broadsword glinted dully as it carved upward from the opposite side as the enemy's weapon, the much larger sword Neiross wielded clashing with the slender, curved blade of the enemy's weapon.

.....

"Heh. Impossible." The assassin gave a short, wry laugh.

"Eh?! Don't insult me! There isn't anybody an Oni can't defeat!" The horned woman shouted defiantly.

.....

Then, with a groaning of steel that came without even the slightest jolt or impact to forewarn the assassin of what was happening, the enemy's blade passed through his own like a hot knife cutting through butter. In an instant, he'd released the weapon and leaped backward, raising an eyebrow as its thick, heavy blade parted from its hilt, the two falling separately on the ground.

.....

"He is impossible," Neiross continued matter-of-factly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" The Oni asked, confused.

.....

Tch. He cut through the sword? Neiross wondered, his feet sliding beneath him and kicking up a small wave of the pooled blood as he skidded backward across the stony ground, reaching out and bracing himself against the haft of a nearby spear to stop his slide across the slick crimson claret that had flooded the entire plateau of Tel-Avir. Skidding to a stop, he wrenched this weapon up just in time to see his enemy, a black blur silhouetted against the blood-colored full moon, dashing forward, sword held in a flawless slashing stance at his side. The assassin idly noted with impressed surprise that the enemy did not even make a sound as he came on. For all his training, Neiross could not even hear the man's breath, nor the sounds of his feet as he seemed to glide over the surface of the pooled blood covering every inch of the field without even creating a single ripple upon it. It was almost like looking at a ghost, a mere specter of a Human form that, no matter how real it looked, was just a phantom without breath or life. And yet, the enemy before him was unmistakably a Human being. Not an Olympion, with their powers and their magic. Not a wraith or some other devilish creature. A mere, mortal man.

.....

"I mean," The assassin said. "That a person like that simply cannot exist."

"Oh?" Torakuma-Doji asked, seeming quite interested. "In that case, once I beat you, I'll have to make you tell me who this man is!"

"Heh," Neiross scoffed, readying his own sword as the Oni leveled hers. "I survived against That Person. Compared to that battle, killing an immortal enemy who moves so slowly will be a trifle!"

"Well, then, you'd better be ready to back those words of yours up!" The Oni roared, and, in a flash, she leaped towards the assassin, her blade plunging down even as his barrier parted to receive it. Her strength and speed had at least doubled since her last attacks. Now, Neiross realized, blocking with his shield would only be so effective, and he couldn't afford to have his control destabilized. He'd have to fight her seriously.

Hm. How bothersome. But, you know, she does fight a lot like that man did. Her weapon is even the same.

.....

"Whee!" The drunken shout, followed by hysterical drunken laughter, was the only warning Devin would get before a tiny form abruptly dropped onto his head, followed by several than suddenly landed atop his shoulders and back, while still more grabbed onto his arms and legs. In an instant, all ten of the miniature Kanakuma-Dojis had laid hold of him. Then, their bodies flared with a purple hue, and they scattered into mist. The last to fade was the one atop his head, who gave a triumphant - albeit somewhat nonsensical cry before vanishing into mist.

"If ya can't takesh tha heat, STAY IN THA KITCHEN!"

With those words, then, every last bit of the mist violently erupted into a fiery explosion. At the same time, in the immaterial mist high overhead, a humanoid shape took form, and Kanakuma-Doji looked glumly downward. "Aww, wait a minute... *hic* I messhed up my line," she mumbled sadly. Quickly, she took a drink of her sake gourd, which seem to console her. Or perhaps it was the prospect of the fight at hand that immediately brought a manic grin to her face. For even as Devin was likely recovering from the sudden explosion, she was already getting ready to attack him again. Slowly, the mist around her began to expand and to merge with her body as she began to grow in size at an alarming rate...

.....

"Hey."

The word was immediately followed by a sudden right-hook from behind, aimed for the side of his unsuspecting target's head, that might well take the seated warrior Maliborn completely by surprise. Having thought his enemy defeated, or at the very least delayed, he probably wasn't expecting the giant hand of Ibaraki-Doji to suddenly strike at him as the massive Oni took shape behind him, completely unharmed by the burning of his mist. After all, why would he be? Burning their immaterial mist was something they themselves did to attack their targets, something which did nothing to destroy their actual forms. Even if it had worked, it wasn't like it would have delayed the Oni overly much, considering how much mist was still lingering in the air all around the battle. Assuming him destroyed was simply laughable.

"I enjoyed the warm-up. Whaddya say we get serious now?" Ibaraki-Doji said, grinning as he cracked his knuckles and stepped back into a combat stance, his shield and flail appearing once again in a flash of mist, each much larger than they'd been before. As his white eyes slowly turned to gleaming red, he smirked.

This was going to be fun.

[Lordxana0]

Maliborn looked at the Oni and then laid back and stretched. "I know Kusinagi fighting him is pointless, should have tried to kill something that could actually die, rather then attack a ghost" he looked toward the massive Oni. "Move, you are blocking my view of the real fighting, and please don't bother attacking, I don't acknowledge you as an enemy, or as a person, you are a ghost made of mist, I could no more kill you then a cloud or the ocean, I could fight you, I could beat you, over and over and over again until we both grew sick of it, you can outlast me as a being of magic I would tire long before you, I can't kill you because you would heal from any wound I deliver upon you, I can't harm you because you would turn to mist so my sword would pass through you, I would simply grow tired and you would bash my brains in with your silly little weapon, I can defend myself from whatever you can do while on my back, so if you plan to continue this pointless game then hav" he yawned. "have at you I suppose, but I would rather you moved so I could watch warriors fight against enemies that bleed and die"

[JRPictures]

Jack had enjoyed his walk across the big long bridge. His quest was finally beginning and he felt on top of the world.

Meanwhile a girl, roughly Jack's age was walking behind him playing around with a stick by setting it on fire on and off.

As this went on, she tripped over on to Jack as he conjured some water to take out the fire on him.

"Don't you know it's a bad idea to play with fire." Jack said half serious, half snarkily.

"Yes many times, has anyone told you how easy it is to drown a person?" she snarked back.

"Ok that's enough keep walking everyone." a nearby Olympion said as everyone started walking again.

While Jack and the girl got each other and started talking as they moved across the bridge.

"So uh hi my name is Jack Shepphard, what's your name?" Jack asked nicely and awkwardly as she replied "Hayley."

"Nice name. What are you going to Unigarond for?" Jack asked hoping to keep the conversation going.

"You know like the rest of Olympion, we're taking back what's ours plus all that wealth and resources could serve Olympion very well." Hayley explained smiling sincerely with pride.

"Yeah that's essentially my same intention plus I wouldn't want to miss a chance to see the Fallen Kingdom, everything I've read about it can't compare to seeing it in person." Jack gushed. "And well serving my kingdom."

"That's nice. So you're here by yourself?" 

"Oh yeah don't really have much family that wanted to accompany me on this besides this was mostly an alone trip for me." Jack explained.

"Same." Hayley replied.

As this went on Jack thought to himself "I'm actually talking to a girl for once... Wait get your head in order. I'm finally talking to someone on this trip. Hayley could be an ally or sell me out if I admit my real quest. Just try and get to know her more and when you think it's enough tell her the truth. Just act subtle and don't imply anything."

"*smiles* I think this the beginning of a nice friendship." Jack noted sincerely.

"What? Is this your first one?" Hayley asked jokingly.

"What no.......yeah actually." Jack admitted awkwardly.

"Hahaha there there. Besides I'm fire and you're water. We'll fit just fine together." Hayley joked around with some honesty.

The two walked on together as they admired the scenery of mountains and trees.

[Sicon112]

STORY POST ~ OLYMPION CARAVAN

The sun slowly rose higher into the sky as the party advanced, a trail of men and wagons a mile long, clan banners waving in the wind, as they crossed the wonder of architecture completed by their own powerful magic. Horseback mounted dignitaries and missionaries could be sighted here and there, and many of the older VIPs rode in lavishly adorned carriages. However, farther back along the bridge could be seen the staple of traveling armies: the baggage train. The carriages gave way to sturdy but plain looking wagons interspersed with pack animals covered in tough, leather carrying bags. This was the lifeline of the force as it traveled to rediscover the great land of old.

The forces had been traveling for a few miles down the bridge before anything of note happened. The first sign that something was up was the distressed whinnying of the pack horses and a few shouts of surprise. So far, the animals had caused very little trouble. Had they been the horses of one of the other nations, they would certainly have been startled long ago, at the first junction between solid cobble footing and twisting supports made of fay magic. However, these horses had lived all their lives among a race whose nature was deeply entwined with the concept of magic. They and many of their forefathers had experienced many similar sights, and these animals didn't even bat an eye. On the other hand, they thought much less of the segment of the bridge that had been filled in with a violent sea creature, tamed by the great spells of the Sacred Ones when it assaulted them during the reconstruction. Pausing when cobble gave way to hard, reptilian scales, the horses of the pack train stubbornly refused to go further, and reacted violently to any attempt to force them to do so.

A brown haired, quiet looking man rushed over towards the drivers of the lead wagons, who had dismounted and attempted to coax the beasts forward with no success and were now conferring about what they should do. "Is everything all right? What has happened?" His face creased with worry, the young man, wearing the sigil of a mid level monk on his robes, called out to the men that were obviously his subordinates.

"Ah, Brother Zaine. We cannot get the horses to move any further. They are terrified of this creature, even after the Sacred Ones tamed it."

Glancing aside and seeing some men bustling around a medical wagon, the man identified as Zaine grew more worried in appearance. "What is all that over there? Did the animals hurt someone?"

"I'm afraid so. One of the pack horses went nuts when his caretaker tried to pull him forward and started kicking. The healers are examining those hurt now, and I don't think any of the injuries were serious."

Relief crossed Zaine's face, and he opened his mouth to speak, probably some order or another, but it was at that point that a group of hooded men stepped out of the growing crowd around them without any warning. The surrounding watchers gasped in surprise and stepped aside, looking worried. This was the Inquisition, a group of powerful mages under the control of the Sacred Ones directly. They had almost boundless authority for punishment over the lower ranked Olympions, and the rumors surrounding their order were not exactly pleasant. The leader stepped forward and spoke in an annoyed but superior tone. "What is the meaning of this commotion, Monk Zaine?"

"Ah, Inquisitor." He fidgeted nervously. "I've only just arrived on the scene, but it seems that the animals are upset by this creature."

"The animals in the lead were kept under control. Why can you not make your own creatures obey you?"

"But, the animals in the lead are cared for by magic tamers. If they show signs of disobedience, they can always be calmed quite easily, and as I said, I only just got here so I haven't had any time to call for tamers myself."

"Can you not handle something as simple as a recalcitrant beast?" The Inquisitor snapped back, angered at the nervous looking man's retort, even though it was obvious it had not been intended as an insult.

"Ah, sir, I am a pyromancer. I would only upset the creatures more."

"You don't think I know that?" The Inquisitor was clearly very upset now. "I came here for a surprise inspection, but I can already see this whole section is filled with incompetence and insolence!" He threw aside his cloak and held up an ornate staff. "I officially relieve you of command! Come with me, and I'll teach you the importance of holding your tongue!"

The man called Zaine threw up his hands, looking scared, and opened his mouth as though to speak.

(OK, here is a scene. Have fun, all. Interact, try and calm down the inquisitor, or maybe just try and humiliate him. Of course, if you want to be a jerk, you can always ignore the NPC's situation, but if you help him, then you get him sticking around to help you in the future and whatnot. *cough*and I don't have to create a new NPC next time I want something to happen*cough* You post your interactions with the NPCs and I will post their side of the conversation/brawl if it comes to that.)

[Pixelmage]

The caravan had stopped for some reason. Enemies? No... Too soon and too far. Politics it is. Natalya approached the area of the commotion to see the horses uneasy. It was an odd sight, normally the Olympion horses didn't misbehave. Off to the center of the bridge two figures were talking, Zaine. The leader of that section, Natalya recognized one of the men. She knew the names of most officials around the regiment her group was stationed at. It was part of her duty to know where danger might decide to come from and being aware of those around you is a basic requirement for that, after all.

The other was unknown. But his hood made it clear that he was from the Inquisition. Along with a few others from the same group. Bad news for the poor monk, I suppose. Natalya leaned against one of the horses, who flinched from the sudden contact. His movement attracting some attention from other onlookers, among them one of the Inquisitors.

"Meh, who let the slaves rest? Get to work and make those horses-" He directed his words at the crowd in general, but was cut by the woman's voice.

"Don't call slaves those who you don't hold on a leash yourself, Inquisitor. You may be proven wrong." The commotion stopped, attention turning to the Athenon archer. Zaine who had his hands in the air at this point turned his gaze to her, shocked at the intervention.

"Dispose of the slave." The leader of the Inquisitors called back without diverting his gaze.

"You might want to withdraw that command, Inquisitor. It would be shameful if your title was revoked, would it not? If you do leave this place alive, that is." Natalya replied calmly. Calling both the leader and the subordinate with the same title was probably an insult, but one she didn't mind throwing, to the letter of the law the title wasn't inaccurate therefore the leader couldn't react to it.

His eyes turned to her, only then to notice why the others didn't act immediately. Standing at the same place, close to the edges of the bridge, the woman stood with her bow ready, in perfect aim at his head. That alone wouldn't be an issue however. The real threat was the arrow held ready. Blackwood shaft with purple fletching. The only one of this particular kind carried by the archer.

"I assume you understand the significance of this particular arrow, do you not Inquisitor?" Natalya teased. "If you are in such a hurry to arrive at the island, you could just ask Lord Veritas to run there, after all. It would only destroy half of your precious army, hopefully. In fact, I believe Lady Sundry would enjoy having a few words with you even now."

Stormy thoughts flooded her mind as Alia began walking quickly towards the epicenter of the problem. Of all the fool things to do, Nat just has to go and stick her neck out for, of all people, a Monk?! Pausing for a moment to discharge the buildup of electricity, be a bit useless to try to do this, only to have it rain on the inquisitor

Arriving at the scene, Alia was greeted to the lovely sight of her guardian, Natalya, threatening the Inquisitor with the purple arrow. Moving to stand between the arrow and its intended target, Alia spoke, "Inquisitor, I believe that this issue is better taken to less, volatile, conditions."

Turning to her bodyguard, she calmly said, "Stand down, Mercenary Natalya. Go attend to your responsibilities elsewhere, I believe I can deal with this, Inquisitor." With a quick nod of assent, Natalya walked towards the back end of the caravan.

Turning towards the Inquisitor, Alia smiled and said, "Care for some tea, Inquisitor?"

[JRPictures]

Jack and Hayley watched the events with Zaine and the Inquisitor play out as a woman intervened and almost caused a scene.

"Hmm the fights here can get interesting don't they?" Hayley commented smiling.

"Oh yeah. I could've intervened but I didn't want to be hit with an arrow, they hit pretty hard." Jack replied.

"And how would you know that?" Hayley asked curiously.

Jack quickly realised he was referring to his time as a vigilante in Olympion in one incident where he got hit hard with an arrow and had to spend a week resting the wound in his knee. There's still a scar there too.

He quickly went for a save "Umm.. You know common knowledge, the bows can stretch far and the arrows are sharp and long."

Hayley smiled at the awkward response "Oh right. Well I think we should keep walking."

"Oh yeah man this place got dark and foggy fast I wonder how long before we can reach Unigarond or see some glimpse of it. I'd just love to make it before Sparton or Athenon makes it. They'll steal all the resources and power before we can make it." Jack noted.

"Of course they'll steal the wealth and resources but we're more powerful and stronger not to mention our relation to Unigarond's people." Hayley stated in response.

"I'm not denying anything or having a go but the fact that we are descended from Unigarond's people has fascinated me I mean do we have any real proof on the matter or do we have to take our ancestors word for it. I repeat I'm not saying I doubt this I can believe it but it's a good question to ask." Jack explained in detail from his opinions.

"That is an interesting thought." Hayley stated as smiled modestly.

As this went on she thought "He's interesting isn't he? Has his opinions and likes to do good but there's something I can't shake about him, those awkward sentences and that statement about arrows. He's hiding something definitely, that or he probably hasn't talked to a girl before. I'll find out soon enough."

[Sicon112]

STORY POST ~ OLYMPION CARAVAN

A small smirk was visible beneath the hood. "Ah. Lady... Sundry, was it?" He paused for a moment, then held up a hand and the two red-cloaked forms behind him stepped back and relaxed. "Whether or not I care for tea matters little right now. I've been dispatched here by order of the Sacred Ones to get the baggage train moving immediately."

Off to one side, a man from the crown stepped forward and engaged in a hurried, whispered conversation with Zaine, before turning and running off. Stepping forward, the monk brushed some of his slightly curly brown hair out of his face. "Of course, Inquisitor. My men are organizing as we speak. We will get the animals moving again soon, I hope."

Snorting disdainfully, the Inquisitor glanced aside at Zaine from under his hood. "You had best do better than hope. The Sacred Ones want no more delay." Turning back to the new arrival, the Inquisitor's voice suddenly carried a hint of danger. "And as for you, Lady, I shall not report your servant's actions. Threatening an Inquisitor might be enough to have her burned at the stake on the stop, but she wasn't much of a threat to an Inquisitor either. However, I suggest in return for my lenience you find some way to speed thing up around here, or I might reconsider. How you do it matters not to me, though, I do suggest you educate your servant on the relative power levels of our kind. You and your companion may have passed the Qualification Rights as low-level nobles, but to the Sacred Ones and those that serve them, that matters little."

(OOC: OK, I must request again that you do not move my NPCs. Pixel's previous post used them acceptably, so I will let the fact that he controlled them slide this time. I've already talked with him about it. Not mad or anything, it's just that if you do conversations in chunks like this, it makes it easier for other characters to get in and take part in the scene.)

[agoraoptera]

".. that matters little."

Malafortion rose to his full height, at least a head and a half or maybe more taller than the Inquisitor. Turning his fiery gaze upon the Inquisitor, the azure-skinned Olympion stared him down with all due deliberation, intent so forceful it was almost a physical presence. The implicit challenge was clear.

Do I seem as if I matter little?

"The Sacred Ones," Malafortion rumbled in a tone so thick with disdain it was obvious the Inquisitor meant less than nothing to him, "want many things. So do I. Mercenary Natalya has an accurate grasp of your skill level. Educate yourself."

His honed mind cast inwards, Malafortion visualised himself, seeing every nerve, seeing how every muscle connected and intertwined. With a single twitch of his little toe, imperceptible to anybody else, a small air by the Inquisitor's ear collapsed and compressed together for barely a moment, before expanding back to fill the split-second vacuum, functioning like an invisible hammer slamming at the Inquisitor's head. The effect of this was that, to all appearances, as if simply by thinking it, Malafortion had slapped the Inquisitor to the ground, accompanied by a booming thunderclap.

And the Inquisitor fell to the floor.

[Sicon112]

STORY POST ~ OLYMPION CARAVAN

The roar of the vacuum collapsing drew shouts of surprise from the crowd, and many jumped forward. The metal rings on the head of the Inquisitor's staff jingled at the same instant.

A brilliant rainbow of colour tore into existence beside the red cloaked form's head, and the compressed wave of air suddenly collided with a constantly shifting wall of tiny hexagons, shimmering a thousand different hues at once. The Inquisitor caught his balance, which had been taken by the very first fragment of the blast that had slipped by his shield, and as his cloak swung out around him, his staff jingled once more. The shield shifted, and a lightning bold of rainbow brilliance crossed the space between the two men, the shield instantly shattering into its miniscule components and darting across the bridge faster than an eye could follow.

The moment the attack passed the taller man, it dissipated into a shimmering wave of magic that washed over the shocked crowd behind harmlessly. The Inquisitor straightened as a thousand tiny cuts frayed the edges of his attacker's robe. There was an ominous silence, split only by the murmuring of the crowd as they stared at Malafortion in shock. "Allow me to remind you of something, Veritas. The Inquisition is hand picked and trained by the Sacred Ones themselves in their secret arts. We are second only to the high priests in our control, and like those blessed ones..." He motioned to the shifting crowd, all staring intently at Malafortion with less that friendly intent. "...attacking us is a heresy of the highest order. Now, I suggest you depart and do something to assist this situation, or I will be forced to arrest you."

(OOC: First off, please do not control the NPCs. Second, you just attacked a religious figure. Please keep that in mind if you decide to continue this combat. Not that you aren't free to go right ahead. Third, the Inquisition aren't push overs. They may not be quite as fast as Agora, demonstrated here when the Inquisitor was unable to fully block the attack, despite the fact that it wasn't a direct move, just the creation of a vacuum which was then allowed to collapse. His reaction speed not that he is expecting an attack will be increased just a tad more. However, there are three of them, and all of them have tutoring from childhood from the most powerful mages of the entire Olympion society. Not going to be a simple fight, if you decide to do that. I will, however, remind you once more, this is a religious figure we are talking about here, dispatched by an even higher ranked body of religious figures.)

[JRPictures]

Jack and Hayley watched the events unfold before them.

"I don't think there'll be a boring day on this caravan." Hayley commented.

"Of course there won't be. There'll always be some drama especially on a quest like this." Jack commented.

"Well I'm not joining in on that" Hayley stated.

"Neither am I. I got in enough fights at Olympion." Jack stated realizing he slipped again.

"You've had fights in Olympion eh? Well I'd like to hear this story." Hayley commented as she wondered what Jack meant.

"Oh it was nothing really. Just making sure people weren't breaking the law or doing anything bad." Jack stated still wondering how he could slip again.

"Really you know that vigilante that went around at night had a similar ideal." Hayley stated hoping he could admit something about it.

"Oh yeah that vigilante. He did good in stopping criminals I won't deny that." Jack states hoping to drop it.

"Really well for a second I thought you were the vigilante." Hayley commented chuckling a little.

"Haha funny guess but I wouldn't do what he's pulled off. But dangerous for my tastes." 

"And traveling to Unigarond isn't?" Hayley states trying to break through.

"Well yeah this is dangerous but … you know what forget it. Let's just enjoy the trip and hope we make it to Unigarond in time." Jack replied dropping the subject.

Hayley went along with it and thought "He's definitely hiding something. He might be the vigilante but there's something else entirely here."

[Blurred_9L]

Devin didn't saw the danger come until it was already upon him. The ten Kanakuma's were holding him in his place, and he knew they were about to do something, but what he did not know; he just struggled uselessly to keep the small bodies away from his limbs. Still, they held onto him with their unnatural strength. Suddenly, Devin saw the bodies flaring up, emitting a purple light from them as they started to become mist like again. With a nonsensical exclamation, the last Kanakuma-Doji disappeared into the mist. Devin felt that he could move again and readied himself to shoot at the sight of any nearby enemy, but his reaction was too slow for as he turned to attack, the mist became an explosion. Devin threw his weapon to the side, hoping that it would be unscathed after the blazing fire died out. He was thrown away by the explosion, landing painfully on his back.

"I... can't die here..." Devin thought as he tried to stand up, feeling the pain of the burns on his arms. His leather jacket would soon crumble from the heat. His weapon was far away from him and he probably wouldn't be able to put up a decent fight with the poison darts anyway, now that he didn't have as many poisons to work with. "Is she even weak to poison, anyway." The thought ran through his mind as he looked around, trying to come up with a way to not die... Then she saw the small oni... except she wasn't small anymore, she was growing and were before stood a petite monster child, now was an oni, tall as a two-story house, maybe even taller, sipping at the gourd filled with sake whilst looking at her much smaller opponent.

"Gee... looks like I'm done for." he thought as he tried to shake away the sudden dizziness that had taken over him, Kanakuma just stood there, grinning, waiting for him to make a move or perhaps just stalling so that he would get even more nervous than before. Devin scanned the area of the bridge in front of him, looking for something he could use to even the odds of the battle, but all that was left was leftover thrash and empty barrels from last's night celebration, if you could call it that. Time passed and Devin knew the oni in front of him would begin to grow impatient soon; he had no choice but to look for a plan of action. "Well... it's not like I got anything to lose." he thought as he dashed forwards, for he was powerless without his weapon and he was sure darts would be highly inneffective against a giant child oni, as weird as that sounded in his head. Kanakuma saw him moving and acted accordingly, trying to stomp him as if he was an ant. Her movements were sluggish, as if she was holding back and this was a game to her.

"Maybe it is a game to her..." Devin thought as he launched himself forward, dodging the incoming geta that threatened to flatten him. He rolled through the bridge, quickly standing up again, his bow was just a few more meters away from him, but he didn't know how much longer he could keep evading the drunk oni, for he was getting dizzier and he could feel his muscles complaining with pain. He wished he hadn't went overboard last night, maybe he wouldn't be in so much trouble if he hadn't drunk that much.

Finally, he slid beneath the gap the oni's geta formed with the cobblestone of the bridge and grabbed his bow just as he stood up. Kanakuma looked even more dangerous from up close. The girl stood there, looking down at him whilst she sipped from the gourd once more. Without any kind of warning, she jumped backwards before spitting out the alcohol she was drinking and with a switf hand gesture, the alcohol caught on fire, creating a rain of sparks in the air. Devin reacted as fast as he could, readying and arrow and quickly aiming towards Kanakuma's face, it was his best bet if he wanted to inflict some kind of damage to the monster. He let go of the stretched string and the arrow was sent flying towards one of Kanakuma's eyes. He let out a shout, unsure she would be able to hear it: "if you're looking for alcohol, look elsewhere! If you're still not convinced you might check those barrels over there!".

[AMimsyBorogove]

STORY POST - SPARTON CARAVAN

A screaming, whistling rush of air tore through the mist again, shattering it into countless little clouds that swiftly began to regather, only to be scattered again by the torrents of air that slashed through the target again and again, as the black-clad assassin merely smirked, twitching the blade of Colada back and forth, releasing each time a precise slash of wind that ripped apart the oni's body before it could reform again.

"A being made of mist attempts to enter a hurricane," The assassin mumbled snarkily. "What did you expect would happen?"

"THIS!" The sudden roar from behind him caused the assassin's eyes to widen in slight surprise, but aside from this, he displayed no reaction. A loud clang, followed by the sound of crumpling metal, resounded through the air, and when the mist scattered once again, the partially-reformed Oni that had appeared behind him, sword in hand and ready to stab him, was cleanly bisected by the assassin, who now stood several feet behind where Torakuma-Doji had been, completing his slash.

"You discarded your legs and regenerated only your upper body in the hopes of landing a blow on me, huh...?" The assassin mumbled, analyzing his enemy's strategy as he lazily turned to face her again, leveling his sword casually in a one handed stance as the Oni, slowly, shakily rose to her feet, her body seeming to have to force itself back together instead of reforming willingly.

"What... the... hell... did you... do to me?!" She asked, gritting her teeth in rage.

"Nothing," The assassin replied bluntly. "It's just that you're within five meters of me. My barrier will continue tearing you apart so long as you remain inside it. While that doesn't pose a threat to one such as you, at least it handles the bother of actually dealing with you quite nicely."

"Oh... does it, now...?!" The Oni hissed angrily. "I'm already starting to reform... What'll happen, I wonder, if I take a drink of THIS?!" Taking a long drought of her sake bowl, she grinned, and abruptly, her body instantly regenerated.

"You're awfully determined. I hate determined people. They never die, even if you kill them." The assassin sighed, almost offhandedly raising his sword to intercept the Oni's attack, even before she moved. This was fortunate, as when she did move, a moment later, she advanced so quickly that it was more like teleportation than a charge. A resounding clashing of steel against steel rang out through the air, and the assassin went skidding backward, barely able to keep his feet. Yet, despite this, his back hand never came out of his pocket.

"Oh, right. You got stronger, too," he mumbled, raising his blade more resolutely to intercept the Oni's follow-up, turning away a series of three furious slashes instead of blocking them directly, before abruptly lunging forward and impaling Torakuma-Doji through the eye socket. She merely grinned as her head shattered into mist, and took a step forward, cutting again with her own blade, only to be stopped as, whipping his hand out of his pocket, Neiross flicked his wrist precisely to send one of the many belts hanging from his outfit flicking out, wrapping it tightly around the blade of the sword using his control of the air around him, then pulling forward, actually managing to haul the recovering Oni off-balance, sending her staggering past. He wasted no time in sweeping his blade back around, bisecting her at the waist and using his air control to tear her body apart from the inside. As she regenerated, he casually drew back, this time bringing her sword with him. Taking hold of it in his free hand, he casually began to appraise the blade, nodding slightly in appreciation of its masterful craftsmanship.

"W-W-WHAT THE HELL?!" The Oni spluttered angrily. "Just what do you think you're doing?!"

"Borrowing your sword," The Assassin replied bluntly. "What does it look like? Or are you still half-blind from having your eye stabbed?"

"G-give that back!" The angry Oni shouted. The Assassin shook his head sagely.

"If I did that, you'd just attack me again. Too much of a bother. I think I'll throw it into the sea and take a nap while you go and fetch it." He raised the weapon over his head, and proceeded to do just that.

"Y-YOU COCKY BASTARD!" Torakuma-Doji howled angrily. "I'll kill you with my bare hands if that's what it ta-" The Oni was just about to make good on her threat when suddenly, the entire battle froze at the sound of a single, echoing call of triumph.

"GUYSH! I FOUND THA BEER~! *hic*"

.....

A few minutes later, it was all over. The attacking Hyakki Yako disappeared, save for the three Oni, who swiftly gathered up the remaining barrels of alcohol in the gigantic Kanakuma-Doji's broad grasp. Both Torakuma-Doji and Ibaraki-Doji were deeply disappointed to leave in such a manner, but, having gotten what they came for, they at last resolved to depart.

"You lazy arse..." The woman-Oni hissed irritably, having just fetched her sword from the depths of the ocean once again and immediately having occupied herself with beginning to wipe it off. "Next time I see you, I'll wipe that grin off your face for sure!"

"Sorry, but I don't grin. It hurts my cheeks," The Assassin replied tiredly. "And even if I did, how would you know? I wear a mask."

"SHUT UP, YOU INSUFFERABLE IDIOT!" The Oni squalled.

Ibaraki-Doji, meanwhile, was disappointed for a different reason. "Tch," He chuffed. "And you're supposed to be some kind of champion of this army? I almost feel sorry for them, having a leader who's too scared to fight in the face of odds he knows he can't beat. If that's what passes for manliness in your culture, I'm deeply disappointed. A real man fights, no matter what's against him! Try and remember that, and maybe I'll give you a chance to prove yourself a warrior if we ever meet again," The Oni chided, before turning to rejoin his comrades. "What a boring trip," he scoffed to nobody in particular as he left.

And so, the denizens of the Forgotten Island departed just as suddenly as they had come, satisfied with the mass quantities of alcohol they carried with them.

"Well," The assassin mumbled, sheathing Colada. "That was possibly the most pointless thing I've ever seen in my life."