Pandemonium Not Worth The Price

[Scythe and Nyght]

Well. Close one. Seemed ol' Mad Eye just cared about gettin' a smoke in. They really didn't feel up to explaining and answering questions.

Oof. Docked pay for Sash Girl. Well sure, it wasn't their pay getting docked, and that was all well and good, but they still hated to see it. Even those hardcore, dead-eyed, stone-faced mercs that only ever gave a damn about the job could relate to that. Probably. Maybe. Some of those types were right and proper assholes. Even though Scythe and Nyght always looked out for their own hides first and foremost, they could still feel a fellow merc's pain. They'd known it themselves, alright.

Good thing the healer held up her hand, speaking of coin-related pain. Scythe and Nyght each had their mouths open and ready to protest, but hey, the price wasn't in coin. It was in magic-murmurmrah. They never really concerned themselves with the details unless they were--

Relevant. Shit. Hard on the mind? Well that was gonna be rough, depending on how it interacted with the enchantment linking them together.

To hell with it. How bad could the side-effects be?

"If you rubbed some coin on your fingers first, would the healing hurt less later?" said Scythe.
"Wow. If only magic worked like that, huh?" said Nyght.
"Sure it does. One of the Laws of Magic, right? Magic costs something, except if you bribe it, then fuck it?"
"Somewhere a mage is crying, because we're all dumber now, thanks to you."
"Relax, sweetheart, I was just joking."

And to the healer, Scythe said: "Yeah, just force it. We got all boat-ride for the suck to go away."

Hey, even better news, ol' Mad Eye took off for his own quarters. That had to be for the best. Big bastard probably snored like a motherfucker.

But wait. Didn't they still have the boat-ride with him, though?

Well now they needed a bard. With a violin. To play them a sad song on their sleepless nights. Damn it.

 

[Tian]

Clouds scudded across the sky, obscuring stars that danced in the heavens above. Such a plethora of them, each their own, distant world. The sky had changed over the course of the years, the constellations shifting, new stars being born and old ones dying, fading away. Everything changed, nothing was eternal. Not even himself, he knew, though sometimes he wondered when his demise might come.

It would be welcome. How long could he wander the world, while everything he knew, and everyone he loved, passed. How many cycles had it been? A dozen? A hundred? He'd lost track, couldn't even recount the names of the nations and places he'd been, the people he'd known. They were all ephemeral, and, like the world, did not endure. Not in the world, and not in his memories.

He leapt out of the window, sorcery swirling around him as he landed on the street below with barely a sound. A three story drop, but the quickest way out of the building by far. On his shoulder, a cloth wrapped shape, limp across his shoulder. A cloud scudded across the sliver of moon, casting shadow over everything, and when it returned, he was gone.

Moving across the city, through the Slums, to the Shallows. Out into the countryside, where the city proper fell away behind him to be replaced by farm houses and outbuildings, stone walls marking off fields that glowed pale green under the moonlight. The burden on his shoulder didn't seem to hinder him in any way, though he could feel the strain of the sorcery he worked to lighten the load. He would sleep well, some other night. Not tonight, and not soon.

It was several miles out of Alliria proper, on a rise where a copse of trees remained, the ground too stony for a farmer to plow. It gave a decent view of the city, from afar, and the sleepy countryside surrounding it.

Tian saw none of it.

"Have you ever really stopped to appreciate it?"

The voice was soft, so out of keeping with the hard face it came from, a woman that had lived a hard life. The moon hung over the city, half full, its pale light drowning out the stars nearest it. The chill of fall hung on the air, and the trees over their heads bore few leaves. Their breath misted as they sat beside one another, looking at another world just on the horizon.

Tian leaned into her, staring across the fields, lost in thought. Had he? Probably, on some long forgotten occasion lost to the mists of time. But the truth of it was, life was onyl worth appreciating it if there was someone to share that life with. And life was cruel. He knew this in his bones, because this singular moment, caught in the amber of memory, would end like so many others. A gem, to be kept and treasured....long after the one who created it had passed on.

While he yet continued, walking alone, again.

"Yes," he breathed to himself, breaking the solemn silence at the top of the hill. A shallow hole had been dug, barely deep enough to hold the shape he bore with him and which he now laid gently, reverently, into the space that had been made for it. The delicate touch of his hand to her forehead, and then he was placing stones over her body, one at a time.

"So few do," she had continued. "March through our lives, running when we should be walking. Only have so much life to live, so why rush it?"

He had nodded, and murmured something to her, to which she had nodded. "Its people. People like you. That's what makes it all worth it, in the end. Someone to be there when the chips are down, when everything goes to hell..."

Placing the last stone, he stood up, knuckling his ancient back as he did so. A favorite place of theirs, and forever her resting place now. He looked back out to the city, contemplating the journey on the morrow, and shook his head sadly. His heart hurt, the kind of pain that would take years to heal from. Perhaps never, but then he always thought it would last forever.

"But who will be there for me, in the end?" He looked upon the grave of his friend, so shortly known, and bowed deeply, a single tear from his stony face dropping into the dusty earth.

And then he walked away. Never to look back, for the past was the past, and the road wound endlessly forward.

 

[Kasim Areth]

The mists rose, they swelled, they called and sang.

It was a quiet song at first, mute to most. It had begun within the Reach, slowly creeping out further and further, swallowing the earth and sea in great leaping gulches. The tide of red seemed to stream forward at an unstoppable pace, falling over villages, fields, and forests.

Those that did not run from it disappeared, those that did often found themselves chased by voices in their ear. It called to them, pull at them.

The creeping tied did not turn back no matter what it faced, and as it came so did the voices.

Whispers grew to screams, and their sound was undeniable. Men, women, even children came from their homes. A few at first, then more. They walked into the mist, not to the slaughter, no, but to something else. They wandered into the red fog, and inside of it they ascended.

It was as night fell that the first screams began.

Not because of those who had left, no, but because of those that had come back.

 

[Manama Saar Ba'Dul]

The ghosts of the earlier day's events whispered in Manama's mind as she tossed and turned in her bed, the desert girl unable to piece together anything of sense to her that didn't leave her doubting herself completely, her mind entangled with what ifs and the approach of the commander to her request of repayment. She hoped that there would be a way in which she could redeem herself, she prayed to the Six that she'd not cause another mess where innocent lives were hurt, or lost. Flashing images etched themselves into her brain. The old woman laid face down. The child whose neck was wrapped in crimson markings around her throat. Cynthia's scarred corpse staring up at her before getting shoved away. When the wind seemed heavier to her than normal, and heard the soft scraping of plaster and wood near the door to her quarters, she got up out of bed to see curtains fluttering in the nighttime breeze, moonlight glancing off an open window which she herself looked through.

A shadow caught her attention below only by the fact it carried with it something more than itself, something it couldn't completely disperse in the darkness, and so she began a slower descent out of the window in which she almost fell haphazardly save for a strong catch on another windowsill directly below. Landing heavily in some shrubbery from the second story, she began trailing the figure as it flowed through the winding streets, back through the slums, past the spot where she originally met Tobias, out into the countryside. Rolling hills and winding roads were walked by the shadow who she couldn't quite comprehend completely, save for the wrapped visage that slumped over itself. She kept low, her foot work as silent as could be although she still was unused to this terrain. It was far easier to move stealthily amidst the soft desert sands than upon the random branches which she sometimes forgot to avoid, quickly ducking beneath the stone walls which meandered throughout that lined the road at times to help avoid detection. Otherwise, she merely kept low, as low as she felt while hurrying to keep up with her intrigue, hoping to leave her doubt behind in the compound.

As she came upon a rather steep incline, she noticed the shadow stop atop the slopping outcrop of earth, moving towards one of the trees to hide herself behind, watching the scene unfold.

Her eyes teared up as she realized her query.

One dripped from her cheek as she heard him say "Yes." Tian's lover was placed into the shallow grave, and with the body so too, her faith in herself, as the slow drip turned to a steady stream. Her eyes glimmered like the stars above as her soft dark skin retained only faint outline from beneath the boughs of the oaken stand. She wiped them away only to have more emerge as the hand touched Cynthia's forehead, before the soft clinking of stone atop stone kept her eyes focused on the visage of sorrow which she had caused. Every soft tap bore the image of Cynthia's glazed eyes in her mind, the smell of incense heavy on the air. Her nose ached with her heart as she watched him bury his beloved.

"The names Tian, son of no one, at your service my dear. I'd ask that you go easy on an old man like me, but I have a feeling I would be wasting my breath."

"... I'm sorry..." She whispered as her breath became ragged, her idealizations for revenge on the man doused by the pain she saw wrenched in his person. Earlier she wanted to pummel his skull in for what she deemed cheating in the original bout. Now, she could only wish that he'd be okay after this ordeal, although didn't expect him to be. She didn't know anything about him, she only knew that the price for her insolence didn't compare to what he had done to her earlier.

The girl at the desk dropped her pen with a squawk of indignation as the dark skinned woman kicked the door in on the courtyard, rising from her seat so quickly she knocked over the chair she had been seated in. "Hey! You've heard of a door latch, yes?" she yelled, planting both fists on the desk. "You just broke that latch, you're going to buy it!"

She wished her time with the woman whom she took responsibility for was more respectful in nature as her brash outbursts caused constant irritation and irate problems. They caused her to die. They caused unneeded suffering for the actions she committed. As the last stone was placed, she sat down in the grass and wrapped her arms around her knees as she buried her head in her embrace, the tears flowing like the waves across the sea. The lights of Alliria twinkled with the sky, yet the world to her seemed dark and swirling in cloudy substance, as if mist were consuming the land...

"But who will be there for me in the end?"

She sobbed into her bosom behind the tree as the crimson began to slowly coalesce about her.

 

[Aeyliea]

She stared from the rolling deck of the ship, as waves crashed and were broken at the bow, at the land just on the horizon. Dark circles underscored those dark eyes, and the usual sharpness in them had grown a bit dull over the several days spent on the open sea. Days spent heaving everything she had ever eaten into the ocean like an offering to some ancient god.

How she hated the water!

She had paled a bit during this voyage, becoming more bedraggled looking as the time wore on. She was very much glad to not have a mirror right now, for she did not desire to see how far she had fallen from her high standard. And in just days.

It was funny how what she was seeing now seemed to make all of her more personal concerns evaporate like fog on a cloudless day. Which was interesting, because what she saw was fod, tinged red, as though it were made of blood. She had never seen anything like it before in all of her life, and distrusted it intensely. It had to be something of magic, but the mages she had recruited for this particular venture assured her that they couldn't tell one way or another.

Calidan was at the rail, looking on with deep suspicion in his eyes, the occasional glance back at his boss before returning to study what he saw. Sailors scrambled about the vessel, dealing with rigging and readying the shore boats that would carry her and her party across the salt to the beach, but their movements made little sense to her. If it was an equestrian affair, she would have been at home, but as four days of sea-sickness had demonstrated, her home was not on the salt.

"The like of this, I have never seen," she said to her companion. Tian looked upon it with deep suspicion in his eyes, but said nothing. He had said little in the crossing, preferring to spend his time up in the rigging, staring out over the world from his perch. The sailors had long given up on trying to coax the former assassin out, either, as he would just climb higher when they bothered him.

"It is like the world bleeds," a solemn voice, female in nature, replied from behind her. Aeyliea did not turn to look for the source. She knew who it was. The woman was a sorceress, and wore robes that were garishly marked with moons and stars and sequins, as if she were trying to display to the world her profession. Despite the loud attire, though, she did not carry herself in an overt, attention seeking manner. "I have tried to touch it with my mind, but I recoil at whatever it is."

Aeyliea grunted. Her stomach seemed to do slow flips, and for a moment she wondered if she would have to rush off and endure the mockery of the sailors once more - a thing that irritated her more than they would ever know. "What I do not understand, I do not like, Mia." she observed gravely. This was not a part of their mission, and she was unsure how it would complicate things. In her estimation, it couldn't be good at all, and would likely lead only to more problems.

She looked back at the stern of the vessel, and saw the few other recruits she had managed to gather in the short time before departure. They had not been offered as generous of contracts as the original four had, but they had some skin in the game as well. It was anybodies guess as to how this would all pan out.

Some shouting from the shore-ward side, deckhands gesturing that it was time to go. The Captain looked at her charges as they gathered to get into the boats that would take them to shore, lookedto that red mist in the trees just beyond the beach, and shook her head. may the ancestors watch over and protect us.

 

[Scythe and Nyght]

The healer, Alise, wasn't kidding. For nearly their entire time spent at sea, Scythe and Nyght had to endure the echoes of pain from the forced healing. Felt like a damn wolf had taken a bite out of the ear on Scythe's body. Cap had her own problems; not really the sea-going type, Cap, but hey, the voyage wasn't all that pleasant for her either, so there was a bit of commiseration between them. Hers came with a side of embarrassment, theirs came with a side of 'You lazy fucks, why you always in your racks?'

Mostly, it was just ribbing for them, though. Not like they had much to actually do, anyway. Ol' Mad Eye had been big-brained enough to get a ship and a whole crew along with it. Definitely for the best. Scythe and Nyght would have fucked up just about anything past peeling potatoes, intentionally or unintentionally, even in the best of times with no lingering aching clouding their mind.

So they entertained themselves at every opportunity to pass the time. And there was nothing sillier and more foolish than a bored raider/merc. Scythe's body constantly changed his story about what was wrong with him whenever asked by the sailors. A witch's hex, receiving messianic visions from the god of the seas, various diseases of the crotch, and some others. Nyght's body would lay in wait while Scythe's pretended to be asleep in his rack, with one eye slyly open, and then her body would jump out some dark corner and scare the shit out of passersby below deck. She ended up getting punched one of those times. A reflex from one of the sailors, but, seeing as it was his second time nearly soiling his trousers because of her, he offered only a half-hearted apology. Fair enough.

As time passed, and with the pain from the forced healing subsiding, they upped their antics. Scythe's body, as it turned out, had a pretty good Toby impression down, at least when he spoke loud and fast and without warning. So he prowled up and down the Wavebreaker looking for a juicy target, some sailor taking a moment's break with his back turned say, and then barked some salty sea dog shit at him in his best captain's voice. Actually did get one to shit himself. More of scaring a bout of flatulence with a side of mudsplatter out of him, but it still counted. 'Course, Scythe's body laughed so hard at that he ended up joining Cap (not Toby, but Cap Aeyliea) in puking over the side of the ship. And, Nyght's body being below deck in the mess eating lunch, she started laughing like a crazed banshee for no apparent reason and accidentally spit a mouthful of rice and beans into Sash Girl's face. Oops. Almost got punched for that one too.

And then they got it into their mind to mess with the youngest sailor aboard the ship. Fresh-faced kid, just old enough to venture out on his own and claim a scruffy shadow of a beard on his face, probably got no end of teasing from all the older sailors. Why not brighten his day up and have a little raunchy fun? So Nyght's body flashed him. Grinned and waved suggestively. Kept doing it. To just him. Only him. Whenever he was alone or it was just him looking or Scythe's body happened to be distracting everybody else. Kid turned bright red every time, but couldn't look away until Nyght's body tucked the girls back in. Got him a good five or six times with it. Kid even tripped one of those times, brought some undue attention toward them and Nyght had to whirl around and close her coat to preserve the integrity of the game. Paid off though. Scythe's body overheard the Kid talking with a few of the other sailors, asking if that one female merc in the expensive coat who lurked below deck and scared everybody at least once ever...you know...showed them something. Bless that boy's heart, it took him ten minutes to fully articulate to the other sailors what he meant. Once the sailors finally understood though...they each clapped his back hard enough to leave a collection of red handprints and unanimously told him to, "Go for it!"

But the time for fun and games was over. Shame. Scythe and Nyght could feel the Kid working up to courage to talk to Scythe's body, to ask him what exactly was the deal with his...sister? Wife? Partner? Acquaintance? That was going to be a fun conversation. Maybe on the boat ride back.

Scythe and Nyght came up from below deck. Turned and walked up behind Cap, staring in the direction she was staring. Rigging-lurker Tian was there, as were a couple of the new hires. And nobody had any idea of just what the fuck that was on the coast. Wasn't any part of the job, but it sure as hell was in the way. Because of course it was.

Both Scythe and Nyght whistled asynchronously as they took in the sheer immensity of the mist, waiting just through the trees by the coast.

"Hey, uh...Cap?" said Nyght.
"What're the rules on spoils from that shit?" said Scythe.
"How 'bout kill points? More points you got, more you can bet on the shiny stuff."
"But what if nobody gets any kills?"
"Hmm. Finder's keepers, then? I do love finder's keepers."

Treasure was always guarded by some godawful danger like this mist. Unless it wasn't, because there was none. Then you were fucked. All that hard work for nothing.

And the sailors were motioning for them to go. Well, shit, one of 'em was the Kid. He saw them looking and ducked his eyes, probably doing more work than necessary with those ropes holding up the landing boats. Still bashful. Aw. Ain't that somethin'? Might as well give him even more of a reason to root for their safe return.

Scythe and Nyght followed after Cap's newer recruits, getting in the queue to board the boats. Now, more than ever, they were distinctly aware of the ocean waters splashing against the side of the Wavebreaker. Gods, it was intimidating, no matter how hard they tried to play it off. Wouldn't have been so bad if not for that damned red mist and nobody having any idea of what to expect. And the sound of crashing water seemed to be getting more aggressive and hostile as their turn to board got closer and closer. Fuck, the anticipation felt worse than actually being on that beach. There was something morbidly calming about knowing you were trapped in a bad situation and you couldn't escape back the way you'd come. But waiting to throw yourself into such a mess? When you had all the power right now to say 'Fuck that, not gettin' on that boat?' Ugh. Let it be over already. The damn jitters crept all up and down their spines, their arms, their necks.

Their turn to board one of the boats. Scythe's body got in without saying a thing to or looking at the Kid. But Nyght's body acted like she was going to get in, stopped, then turned to face the Kid and placed a hand under his chin to make him look at her and leaned toward his ear and whispered:

Nyght: "Let's talk when I get back, hmm?"

Then she grinned and boarded the boat, sitting next to Scythe's body.

If there was a god of hedonism, debauchery, or plain old good times out there, maybe a little blessing to keep their good boy and girl Scythe and Nyght safe, eh? Surely they'd earned it over the course of the Wavebreaker's voyage.

Surely.

 

[Tobias Tookins]

It was a funny thing to see the suffering of the betters when brought into a new biome, one they weren't used to. As Tobias steered the ship towards the edge of land which was comprised of thick forests and thicker mists, his chameleon eye scanned the coastline for the best entry point on foot. The Wavebreaker bobbed up and down in as steady as fashion as possible for the moment as Davy and him poured over a map of Arethil, one recently acquired from a local cartographer's guild, still a bit out of date it seems. Realizing this too late, Tobias' good eye pierced through Davy's demeanor that everything was alright.

"That roundabout was supposed ta show up two hours ago, Davy... Ya spent all the money on the food an' didn't leave enough for the map?!" He said, pointing to the shore as his is lankier first mate began stumbling on his words.

"Oi! The food and the repairs, the crew and the stairs, everything was broken or nothing was there!" He nudged the thick forearm of Tobias', pointing to his boy, the one who'd been getting queer looks from Nyght. "This ain't been yer run of the mill voyage, crew been talkin' of strange beings bein' in this merc' group. The female twin keeps her sights on Camron, been givin' him playful tease throughout, also hard to keep quiet in the racks when sleeps a'needed!" Tobias shrugged his shoulders, not having to listen to it with his own private space in the opposite end of the ship.

"If ya can't get yer boys to handle a woman's jokes, they may not be men in the first place, Davy."

"Ey! We are too men! Those twins got somethin' awfully suspicious in their heads, like two parrots that whisper the same thing in their ears! An' the seasick woman with her cloaked assassin who takes me spot on the mast! The man shows up out a nowhere an' lets me know its time to go! I come to ya and you tell me to let it be! What'm I supposed ta do if the men start complaining their guests got more power on the ship than they do?!" He quieted his voice for the next question. "How'm I supposed to contain their misgivings and thoughts of... Mutiny?" He whispered the last word as quiet as possible, mutiny being a pirate's worst nightmare and a hopeful, seedy pair of eyes glanced quickly to Tobias' as hope for a reaction would be given. There was none, Tobias was stern in his comprehension.

"Anyone got a knife ready fer me, I'll strangle'm wit' me hands. These guests got more say since they paid fer this voyage, might fine sum better than if we were doin' it elsewhere, though I am wonderin' what this mist gon' do to us." Tobias turned his neck on a swivel as the area chosen primarily by the white haired woman, drawing up just out of the shallow outreach of earth beneath the waves. Wavebreaker was the name of the ship, but beach-heading always left the hull cracked in two. Davy ignored the sentence as he realized his captain a more stalwart individual than last he remembered Tobias, although the fat oaf had always been one self assured man. It was merely the fact that he'd always been in positions of service, it was the first time to see him lead.

"The only normal ones outta that lot seem to be the commander of the company and that dark skinned desert girl! The leader pukes hourly and the lass has been hiding away if not holding an empty glaze in her eyes that reek of self pity. I ain't gonna lie boss, seems like you may want to send us in there wit' you instead!" Tobias waved a hand away as he motioned for the little rafts to be filled and lifted into the water, to take them ashore.

"This ain't to be discussed while I'm gone, Davy, anyone does so you quiet them up quick, right?"

"Right boss, ain't no double-crossin' on my watch!"

Tobias stared at him hard, the chameleon eye looking him over as the other kept hold of Davy's two good ones, the first mate getting the hairs on the back of his neck raised in a prickly position.

"Don't step foot off the boat. I don't like the look of the crimson floating off through the land. Even if rationing has to become of it, I'd rather we keep as many men alive as possible." Davy nodded in affirmation.

"Aye, aye!"

Tobias stepped away from the wheel and Davy stepped forth, taking hold of the many pegs which he used to guide the ship away from danger underneath the water as Tobias yelled for crew to drop anchor. Two heavy set men picked up the large double sided hook and dropped it in with a bodacious splash, as the rafts became filled and the Rei Company was taken ashore.

 

[Manama Saar Ba'Dul]

For most of the voyage Manama held herself in her cot or stared dispassionately across the ocean at the bow of the ship, sometimes climbing up the wooden mast that jutted up from the sea, sometimes to find Tian up there and would slowly sidle down again as she wished not to be close to him. The dark skinned girl caught a couple of sailors looking her way a few times, and while once she may have lashed out to show them she'd fight, now she merely sauntered back to the cot with drooping shoulders, her head hung low. When Nyght spit food in her face, she merely shrugged it off and used some of the drinking water to wash herself.

As the final day of their voyage came about, and the calls for the rafts were heard throughout the hull, Manama gathered up her meager belongings and stepped foot on the poop deck with the nimbleness of a cat as the port side of the boat was filled with many a sailors running by to and fro, leveraging people filled rafts with as much ease as they could, hearing Tobias call anchor she watched the two men drop it far below, the clinking of the chains like rocks atop a grave. Manama got lost in another memory as Tobias walked up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Lass, now ain't the time for that look. Best ta wipe it away now before somethin' wipes you away from this earth."

"The Six will welcome me, and if it be Hissut who devours me I'll go warmly all the same."

Tobias slapped the back of her head as the angst ridden teenager pouted of her ability to die, his good eye locked on her as the chameleon one watched for signs of wrongdoing. He yelled at a lazy sailor who tried going slower than the others to allow someone to pick up his slack, before turning back to Manama completely. With the tone of a father he said,

"Ya need ta quit this whinin' girl. Life is life and death be apart of it, sometimes you'll cause it, I thought you knew this by now, maybe I was wrong."

Manama kept her eyes low.

"Death is apart of life, yes, but when one has not the heart to take the lives of those who did nothing to deserve it, it rips the heart out of the rib cage and now I feel nothing beat in my chest."

Tobias backhanded her stomach as he turned away from her, to catch her off guard. Manama sunk down to her knees as she gasped for breath.

"Seems like ya got enough heart to feel pain, girl, somethin' that's good if ya know how to balance that. If not, I guess I'll have to talk to the commander about yer status, I definitely don't wanna see fuck ups in the woods because you've got issues over killin' Tian's mate."

Manama looked up at the backside of the ragged captain in his worn military coat, one reminiscent of the Vel Anirian captains although less taken care of, his tricone sat haphazardly atop the dome. Her eyes looked around for the shadow of a man to be near, yet saw him by Aeyliea as she stood at the port-side rigging, a sigh of relief falling from her chest.

"It is wrong for me to feel pain?"

"It's wrong ta bring more upon us cause ya can't focus on the now, girl. Remember that your pay's been docked, what happens now if ya fuck up again?" Tobias asked in a stern tone, before moving to approach Aeyliea, leaving Manama sitting on her feet in the middle of the deck, some sailors watching from the starboard side. One whistled at her and she turned back to bare her teeth, yet he merely mirrored her reaction. Manama rolled her eyes and moved to where the rafts were being loaded.

"I won't 'fuck up' again," she said under her breath.

 

[Aeyliea]

The pitch of the smaller boat was even worse as the waves pounded into the shore from the sea, and it would have been a real problem if she hadn't already vomited everything she had ever eaten in her life on the way here. As it was, she was decidedly green until the longboat ground into the coarse sand of the beach.

Aeyliea had never been so happy to be on dry land before in her life. The moment was somewhat spoiled by the fact that she still felt I'll, even just for thinking of the slow rise and fall...

For a moment she struggled to find balance on ground that didnt shift,but that passed quickly. She hurried up the shoreline until she was past the high tide line, and looked back out to sea. The schooner was still anchored a quarter mile from shore, the long boats already on their way back, oars gleaming in the late morning light as they flashed in and out of the water.

Good riddance, she thought with a touch of rancor. If she never set foot upon a boat again,it would be too soon.

Still feeling the effects of the journey to this place, more than glad that she didnt gave a mirror to see the toll of that trip, she turned to look toward the forest. It did not come all the way to the edge of the beach, but instead about a quarter of a mile inland. Sawgrass and mangrove covered the ground between where they were and where the trees began. And between that and them...

The mist. It shifted in odd ways, shredding as it crossed the grasses toward the sea. Among the trees, though, it was dense. The faint odor of stale, dead air wafted over them. It was like an opened tomb, not full of the odor of death but rather the scent of unfathomable time.

Mia stared at it with hooded eyes, fingers playing with her garish robes that hung off her as if draped over a skeleton. She was painfully thin, face hollowed as if by famine. She might have been a pretty woman but for that. "I cannot fathom anything of this, Captain. It's almost as if it is alive...and evading my questing."

Alive... Great. There was no way around this, either.

As the others gathered, she stood in silence, thinking. This was her bailiwick, the planning and the strategy. This was where the mission really began.

"Still nothing, Tian?" She knew something of his particular circumstances, if only just a little. The assassin shrugged, eyes on the coiling mists.

"Nothing I've felt before, at least that I can recall." Hood turned to look at the twins. "Maybe you two can sense something?" There was something veiled in that question, a hidden meaning that they could pick up on, but Aeyliea was at a loss over.

"Doesn't matter," she replied. A hint of unease there, but buried. Despite the outwardly cool attitude, she checked to make sure her blade was loose in its scabbard. Just in case.

"Let's go," she said, and suited her words. She made off into the tall seaside grasses, moving in a sinuous manner that belied a stalking predator, though was in truth more to show off her assets to good effect. There weren't many around, but it was a habit of hers to play to any audience, even if she had no intention of bedding anyone present.

Tian staree after her, and then followed close behind Mia.

Here we go again...

 

[Scythe and Nyght]

Damn it had to suck to be Cap right now. The landing boat bucked like a horse whose ass had just been branded. And, every now and then, a big splash of water came up over the sides and got some of them wet. Sure, it wasn't enough for them to start bailing water. Sure. But wet socks. And Scythe's body felt water seeping through his pants and into his underwear after one of the splashes practically landed in his lap. How the hell did people do this for a living? Sailors were a breed of madman alright, and no mistake.

Maybe they should have pulled a Sash Girl for this one. Underwear couldn't get soaked if they weren't wearing any. Just that though, she could keep that mopey conscience. What she needed--and what always worked for Scythe and Nyght--was either a mug, a smoke, or a good screw. Or all of 'em, hell, anything to get that fire back into her. The most surprising thing about Nyght's body's food-related accident was that it wasn't even Sash Girl who cocked back a punch, it was some random sailor leaping to her 'defense'. Now, more than ever, they needed the Sash Girl who stabbed the ever-loving shit outta that one thug and wanted to pummel the assassin-style outta Tian. They needed that damn fire back.

Bit late for the booze, smokes, or screwing, though. She'd have to rekindle it herself.

And then, finally, off those godsforsaken boats and back onto solid ground. Scythe and Nyght stepped out of the boat and onto the sand of the shore. Each taking a moment to stretch. Work out those cramps.

They each unshouldered their crossbows (that shopkeep, what a lad, holding on to them until they came back after the guard left) and loaded them. Ready for action.

But if that mist and/or whatever lurked in it didn't give a shit about crossbows or swords or throwing knives...they were fucked. And not in the good, rekindle that fire sort of way.

Alive? Did Mia really say that? Alive. No. Almost. As if. Not like that was much better. And Tian didn't know either? Fair enough. Not like there was a roof over those mists.

Then Tian asked them. Huh. He worded that funny. Said 'you two' instead of 'either of you' or some such. Not unheard of, though. Others spoke to them like that before, even without knowing about their mind-merging. Came with the twins territory. Eh. They had bigger things to worry about right now than their little secret.

"Nope, I sure as hell don't," said Nyght.
"I couldn't smell magic if it farted in my face," said Scythe.
"Gods, with the phrasing."
"I thought it was apt."
"Keep your fetishes to yourself."

Didn't matter. Like Cap said. Time to move.

Then Cap moved. And, for quite honestly the first time, Scythe and Nyght noticed something. Something they missed before. Cap...was a woman. Yeah. Sure was. She had a particular way of moving through the grasses. Highlighted all of the everything about her.

Well. When in Alliria, do as the Allirians do. Except they weren't in Alliria, and Cap probably wasn't Allirian. But fuck it.

Scythe and Nyght took to mimicking the way Aeyliea was moving. Imperfect copies from each. But close enough.

And they followed after her and into the grasses and toward the mists.

 

[Manama Saar Ba'Dul]

Manama scrunched her nose at the talk of fart fetishes, her inability to understand everything they said showing as the twins quickly murmured back and forth. Her eyes were stuck on the other landing boats who had landed ahead of them, the lurching of the waves something she'd been used to living in a coastal town on the mouth of a great river, something the desert liked to forget about in wake of its sea of sand.

Manama tried to recollect herself enough as if she were of full-fighting spirit, however watching the back of Tian kept giving her pangs of doubt, filled with regret, the ghost of a man disappearing from view as the others clambered their way through the thick brush that dominated the forest. As the boat she was in hit the beach in full she lept from the front of the bow and her feet became covered in sand, her boots hung over her shoulder as she knew that these conditions would only bring more discomfort if the clothes worn got tracked through water and dirt. She immediately crouched herself at sight of the tall onslaught of crimson between the green, the view giving itself an eerie winter solstice vibe as she followed the rest inland, alert and yet distracted at the same time.

While her physical senses were focused upon the task at hand, breaching the mist to head further inland, she was still wrestling with the events of earlier. Her doubt ate her up like a zudraga did their prey, she couldn't overcome the voice of anxiety that held her in this state of pandemonium which pervaded her soul.

Tobias, one of simpler refinements, merely hacked his way through the brush, a clear target for any predators in the vicinity. Bellowing of bugs and bitching about his britches getting too much sand in them, his curved sword glinted in the sunlight which filtered through the treetops, the true rendition of a pirate. Aye, he was a salty dog, more at home at sea atop a keeling deck than atop the stalwart hold land held. Manama looked back at her companion giving him a subtle "Ssssshhh!" to which he roared,

"Fuck it! If anythings out there wishin' fer a fight they can take me on! Not like I ain't been itchin' fer one since we found the piles outside the compound, my blood's achin' fer this shit to happen! I hope there's at least a hundred kidnappers fer me alone, I'm ready to prove my mettle against whatever may come outta this here mi-"

Tobias was suddenly silent as he flopped backwards, muffled yelps emitted from his person. Manama rushed over with sword drawn to investigate, only to find a small squirrel-like creature had hooked itself upon Tobias' bulbous eggplant of a nose, the man trying to tear it off to no avail. He rolled around in the dirt and Manama couldn't help but laugh at the sight, as much as their subtlety would be nonexistent. She began to tell him in hushed tones to be still as she grasped the body of the critter, using her other hand to pull out the claws which had dug themselves into the oaf's skin. Once free, the privateer sputtered and spat as he rid himself of the fur in his mouth.

"This creature is... What is the word, cue? Cute?" Manama tried to figure out the correct word as Tobias shook his head.

"Little bastard looks like dinner to me!" He grabbed after his assailant to which it evaded, squirming out of Manama's grasp to reattach itself to Toby's face, as if trying to silence him. Manama wondered what it was trying to do before she heard shrieking in the distance, Tobias flopping to the ground once again.

 

[Aeyliea]

She followed Tobias as he cut a path through the tough brush and mangrove, casting a side eye at Nyght at one point. The mimicry was either an ode to her, or mockery. She wasn't sure which, yet. If her senses weren't singing to her right that moment, she might have said something.

Of course, there were only a handful of men to strut for at the moment, and she would just as soon not land a big catfish like Tobias. Let Nyght deal with that particular problem. Just thinking about it made her smile, after a predatory fashion.

It was a hard fought quarter of a mile, but ultimately, they broke through into forest, the thick canopy overhead choking out most of the ground cover. The mist drifted between the boles of the trees, carrying an unpleasant smell with it. More than anything, it reeked of the grave, or if a tomb just opened. More than that, it seemed to be affecting the land itself, and the flora and fauna. She paid no mind to the shenanigans of Tobias as he did battle with a squirrel, of all things. instead, she looked around, filled with sudden unease.

The trees looked as though they were afflicted with some kind of blight, leaves unnatural and sickly in color. They looked slimy. The ground was covered with partially decomposed leaves dropped from the trees. Here and there, the bones of some smaller animals, scattered in the slime.

The shrieking in the distance, cutting through the unnatural silence like a knife, had Aeyliea with one hand over a shoulder in reflex. She stood there, listening as it repeated itself.

"Tian." The single word carried a note of command to it, and the black cloaked man nodded, before moving forward cautiously. He melted into the mist after several yards, leaving them behind, standing their ground

"Hold your ground," she said aloud, voice brooking no nonsense and demanding obedience. "Stay together. This, I do not like. It as if the spirits have abandoned this land."

She eyed her mercenaries with cold eyes, fingers lightly curled around the great blade on her back. The minutes stretched onward. Once, a higher pitched squeal, almost sounding of pain, crashed through the rotting forest. And then the silence resumed.

Come on, Tian, she thought to herself. More time passed. The ruckus of the squirrel fight had finally died away, and she was just about to give the order to advance, when a dark shape suddenly emerged from the mists, moving fast.

Tian.

A streak of flashing steel cut through the mist, thrown as he ran. It smacked into something audibly, that shrieked in pained rage.

That emerged from the mist. It was a deer. Or, it had been. The formerly dainty, majestic animal had been transformed, muscles swollen to many times their normal size. Incisors cut through a misshapen mouth, drooling blood and saliva. That mouth was filled with teeth, the antlers on its head seemingly heavier.

And there, in its head, cocked at an angle because it couldn't penetrate either hide or bone, was Tian's knife.

And behind the 'buck', several 'does' followed, similarly armed with unnatural features, eyes glowing faintly red

"What," Aeyliea said with a snarl as she drew her weapon dropping into a ready stance. "...the fuck are these?!"

And then it was time to fight or run.

 

[Scythe and Nyght]

Ah. Shit. Fuck. The damn grass kept getting in their faces, moving like this. How did this not bother Cap? She do this a lot? This her own little Tian-roof thing? She probably did this a lot. Look at that side eye she was giving Nyght's body. They saw it from two different angles, and from both ways it seemed to say amateurs.

Fair enough. They sure as hell weren't dressed for a trek through the marshes of Falwood (most of their gold was going to go to that shark of a tailor they'd commissioned their coats from, they knew it). Their socks and underwear had gotten wet on the ride over. It was a bit too humid for their tastes. Goddamn bugs everywhere. And even the squirrels were flesh-eating monsters and now they had to look out for them thanks to Ol' Mad Eye's noble sacrifice in letting them know. Rest in peace, big guy. Oh wait, he's fine. Oh wait, no he's not, Sash Girl's got butterfingers. Rest in peace, big guy.

All of that. It distracted them. And they ended up amateurs in the 'stalking through man-sized grass' game for it. Yeah. They couldn't match Cap. But it was fun to try. It would've been even more fun if the Kid was here, he'd probably get a real kick outta--

Was Cap coming on to Tian? That her reason for moving like that? He was available, after all. Was it too soon to think that? Better not bring it up. The ghost of Cynthia could be listening. She'd be the type to haunt the shit outta them.

Alright. Focus. Tian was going in. Really the best candidate for the job.

"Holding ground," said Scythe.
"Don't have to tell me twice," said Nyght.

And they both stood up straight. Keeping their crossbows at a low-ready. Watching the mists. Heh. What if the contract was just plain bullshit? And the shady guy who offered it to Rei Company really just wanted a bunch of dolts to come out and walk into that shit just so he could find out what it did? Mad mage type, or a guy who worked for one. Wouldn't really explain the whole attack on the compound though. Unless there was another mad mage. Who wanted the secrets of this red mist for himself. And they were having a battle of wits with their little minions and vying for control.

Scythe and Nyght really needed to hire a scribe. Someone to follow them around and record their thoughts. That was some gold right there for a nice play at one of Alliria's theatres.

There's Tian. He's fine. What a let down. Play cancelled. Everybody go home. Looks like the mist wasn't--

Together: "What the fuck!?"

Cap had said it, and so did they. How could anybody not, after having seen those malformed deer? They really should've been more careful about what they wished for.

Hell, if Tian's knife couldn't penetrate that thing's head, maybe their bolts couldn't either. Try something else.

So Scythe and Nyght each lined up a separate doe to shoot. Little red-eyed fucks.

And fired. Nyght after Scythe. Two bolts for two monster deer.

 

[Manama Saar Ba'Dul]

Manama turned to the sight of monstrosity which barreled towards the group, her inclination to draw her bow stopped as the two twins fired and saw that their efforts did nothing to stop the attack. She drew her curved twin blades and ran after the mutated animals, realizing that the small creature preying on Tobias was indeed trying to hide itself from the once peaceful creature's now malicious nature. She reached the area where they were and jumped atop the back of one of them, stabbing into the neck in order to stop the undead animal, only to find it wasn't felled, instead bucking to detach the girl from its back. She grabbed onto the horns in order to stop herself from being completely thrown off, her legs dangling to the side as it achieved its goal in part, shaking and writhing in pain as the jugular was torn asunder by her attempts. One blade protruded from the neck which she let go of to hold on to her query, the other on the horn, the buck ran into a tree attempting to maul her to pieces as she held on for dear life.

Tobias finally wrestled the squirrel free from his face to find the transgressors of that terrible noise in front of him, attacking the group. He threw the little pest into the brush as he ran after the desert girl, his good eye fixed on the doe behind the speared leader as his chameleon eye scanned the scene. He thought Manama okay enough to leave her as is for the moment, the doe charging him in response to his presence. Drawing his own scimitar, Toby gave a roar in response to their gurgling moans and lolling tongues, disgusted by their maleficent nature as he jumped to the side of a charging animal, letting his sword slice through the flesh as it narrowly missed its mark. However, while this would seem to be a mortal wound, the creature merely moaned in response and circled around to charge him from the back as another overran him, followed by more from the herd, the swashbuckler stampeded by hooves which stomped atop his pudgy body. He scrambled to free himself from the onslaught to no avail, a hoof temporarily knocking him unconscious as he hit the floor. His body going limp, he was trampled by the transgressors, his face marred and bloody.

 

[Aeyliea]

A nightmare. Thats what these creatures were, nightmares. The anger of the spirits of the land given flesh and form, and oh, how that anger seethed.

She did nothing about the buck, for it had an unfortunate rider, and as it crashed in close to the tree with its unwelcome cargo, it snapped an antler as it crashed into the bole. Aeyliea didn't have time to see what had become of Manama as a result. She had her own problem.

The doe was massive, easily three hundred pounds of enraged deer that should have been one hundred and not a pound more. Aeyliea sidestepped the thing, mimicking Tobias in the long, dep slash to its flank. The hide parted under that sharp edge, but lacking any real force that was all it did. If anything, the animal only became enraged by this insult, and lashed out with hooves that struck the Captain squarely in the back. She felt stitched, not fully healed, pop loose as she sailed forward, landing on the mushy floor of the forest, trying desperately to repress gagging as the stench of decay assault her nostrils.

With some difficulty, she got to her feet, and spun just in time to sidestep the same deer, that used the same trick again. She awkwardly dodged the blow, and then another of the beasts was rushing her, front hooves sending chunks of slimy soil flying. Ready this time, she stepped gracefully to the side, and with every bit of might she could muster, swung up, out, and down on the beast.

It connected solidly with its neck, cleaving through hide amd flesh, biting into bone. The blade stopped three fourths of the way through, bound in that tight flesh as the beast went wild, thrashing and kicking despite being essentially headless. She managed to retrieve her weapon, yanking it free-

-only to stumble back, and into another of the does, red eyes gleaming with rage. Intense pain, then, as the beast sank its teeth into her forearm, and for a moment she though it would bite her arm clean off. Panicked, she slammed the hilt of her weapon into its forehead once, twice, a third time, and it finally let go, staggering backwards a step. Ignoring the fiery pain flowing up and down her wounded arm, she executed an inelegant backhand slash that cut across the beasts eyes, and then, regaining her balance, swung hard into the wild creature, slicing the top of its head off at an angle. Blood flew, mingling with her own that ran in a sheet down her arm.

"Don't fucking stand there like idiots," she cried out in a strangled voice. "Kill these piss-soaked mother of pigs!"

 

[Scythe and Nyght]

Heavy crossbows.

There was definitely a strong argument for them. Yeah, they were a pain in the ass to carry around and travel with and an even bigger pain to reload, whether you had one of those nifty contraptions to help with it or not. Sure. Big headache in certain aspects. But there was just something about the 'one shot, that's all' quality they brought to a fight. Just something about firing a real motherfucker of a bolt that could punch through plate like it was parchment. And, now, mist-corrupted monster animals that took throwing knives and light crossbow fire in stride proved another strong argument for a pair of big daddy crossbows.

Maybe that would be a solid investment for their contract money. Reload speed and travel convenience didn't count for shit in a situation like this. Side note, their list of 'to-buys' was starting to get long. Shields, coat maintenance, possible scribe, now heavy crossbows. And they probably forgot something too.

Well, wouldn't matter much if they didn't make it out of here.

They could end up like Ol' Mad Eye. Squirrel attack into deer trampling. What was that now? The third time he died today? Rest in peace, big guy.

Hey, at least things were going better for Sash Girl and Cap. Mostly. Scythe and Nyght believed in them. Go team.

Of course, they had no intention of getting trampled or riding one of those things or getting bit. And they took several steps back as Nyght's body reached for another crossbow bolt and Scythe's body slung his own over his shoulder and drew his razor sword. Rangers, see? Yeah. Something like that. Boy that melee fightin' looks tough, help you guys out in a second, just gotta reload here.

If only it worked.

A red-eyed doe caught sight of them and charged their way. Damn it. Nyght's body wasn't done reloading yet. And worse, Cap was yelling at them. They assumed as much because they heard her say 'idiots', and if ever there was a more sterling description of them they'd yet to come across it.

The doe's head whipped around as it approached. And it opened its mouth wide. This was going to be tricky.

But Scythe's body got it. Shoved his sword into the doe's open mouth as if it were a bit for a horse. He braced the sword with his other hand, just past the sawteeth on the otherwise blunt side. And as the sharp side of the sword sliced into the flesh at either side of the doe's mouth and got lodged in, he gained a measure of control. A measure. Because the beast thrashed and fought and threw its head about as much as it could.

"Hey little buddy," said Scythe through gritted teeth.
"Got something for ya," said Nyght as she approached.

She slammed the footclaw of her crossbow against the doe's skull and fired. Point blank. The bolt went in one side and burst out the other. And still, the thing struggled, even as its strength was noticeably sapped. Scythe and Nyght swore and Nyght held her crossbow in one hand and drew her own sword with her other and just began to hack away at the beast as Scythe more or less 'held' it in place. She chopped and chopped at its unnaturally thick neck and head. And finally, the damned thing dropped down.

Both Scythe and Nyght were panting from exhaustion after. Well gods be damned and mortal asses fucked, that took way more effort than it by rights should've. This contract was just getting worse all the--

Another doe charged at them and missed and rushed by in-between them and knocked both of them down as it passed and they each landed flat on their asses in the tall grass, their once-held weapons spiraling around in the air.

 

[Manama Saar Ba'Dul]

Manama planted both feet on the bark of the tree her transgressor was trying to maul her on, and walked up the trunk as the buck continued to thrash and writhe about, flipping onto its back and grabbing the sword buried in its neck to create more lacerations in the hide as she attacked once more in fervent fury, scratches and bruises pooling blood about the surface of her skin. The buck threw its head back and she narrowly avoided being impaled by the large antlers which scraped its own hide as she deftly jumped backwards, however in the response got kicked in the chest by bucking hooves. Breath withdrawn from the body, she nearly went unconscious herself at the force, her vision blurring and her legs buckling as she dropped to the earth onto her knees, a blessing in disguise as another hoof reached the area her head had once been. The buck now turning and charging head faced down to the ground, antlers outstretched before him, she rolled over once more and withdrew into tall grass for the animal to blindly chase after, the wind against her as it was able to track her scent. She ran through foliage, whipped by the greenery surrounding her, until she saw thick vines entwining about another tree, her first reaction to climb up the towering plant followed by the crash of antlers beneath her, bone striking wood creating the sort of sound heard from rocks tumbling atop each other. She looked down to see the crazed eyes of an innately peaceful creature, her head wondering how such a malignant force could change the laws of nature. The thrashing of the antlers into the tree trunk caused the deer to become momentarily stunned, and she saw her opportunity to drop back onto the creature as it wrestled with the tree, curved sword in hand swiping down upon the neck. Beheading the creature, its body continued to buck about as its nerve endings somehow were still antagonized, before enough blood dripped from the severed opening and it died off. Manama wiped the sweat away as she looked about for her other sword, retrieving it and running back to join the main of the fray. She stood to the side as she looked about, watching the mercenaries battle with this unnatural herd, she nodded towards the twins as she saw them okay for the moment, until both of them got knocked to their buttocks, and looked towards Aeyliea's position to see her in similar predicament, her soldiers also rearing about, Tian out of sight. Another who was out of sight, a once boisterous Tobias was seen to be still on the forest floor, her eyes widening at the visage of the man's plump body bloody and wounded, dead or alive she did not know. Seeing another of the does rearing back to charge him a second time, head down so as to take a bite into the man's body, she ran past the others about her to bar the path, throwing a sword in the creature's direction to land bulls-eye in its skull, between the eyes, however the charge was not slowed. As it reached her and Tobias, Manama was hit full on by the hilt of her weapon, in between her breasts as the sort of unicorn-like visage nearly impaled her if not for the bluntness of the hilt and degradation of power in its steps. It toppled about atop her, as her body was thrown atop Tobias, his eyes widening as it suddenly reawakened him, howling in pain as blood trickled into his scraggy beard.

 

[Aeyliea]

"Hit the deck!"

Mia roared with the fury of a lioness, and then suddenly intense heat washed over everything. Shouts and curses arose from everywhere as splinters of wood and stone cut into unprotected flesh, and the piercing shriek of the doe that had charged Scythe and Nyght crashing through the woodlands. Aeyliea picked herself up off the ground, just in time for another of the damned things to rush her. Blood streaming down her arm, leaking from the stitches in her side, she struggled to maintain the focus necessary to ignore the pain, to deal with the threats before her. Throwing droplets of blood everywhere, she spun, great sword cutting lateral slash.

The blade took the animal just below its misshapen neck, through the chest. The sound of snapping bone and tearing flesh was sickening as it carved a path through the animals thoracic cavity, a wash of hot blood flowing across Aeyliea's hands before the weapon was yanked from her as the beast, unable to cry out in pain, fell to the forest floor, thrashing and kicking up muck.

Calidan was in next, yanking the blade free and handing it back to the Captain. "Dropped something, Cap," he said, then took off to chase down the remaining animals.

A great, feral roar echoed through the woodlands.

"That," Tian remarked unahppily, "was no fucking deer. Not that these were, but..."

Aeyliea was getting to her feet while Mia and Calidan, as well as a couple of other mercenaries, were streaming into the woodland battleground. Alise, the healer, rushed over to Tobias and Manama, without a sideways glance at the commander.

The feral roar was repeated, and this time something completely unspeakable answered it, half roar and half....

"What the fuck," Aeyliea completed the thought aloud. She looked at her arm, where the flesh of her bicep was torn by teeth that deer should not have. The arm itself was growing numb further on down, and she pressed a hand over the wound, almost vomiting from the pain that caused. Still clutching it, she stood looked around at her soldiers, gathering themselves after that brief skirmish.

Again, those terrible noises, coming from the beach, now. And from the woods up and down the coastline. There had to be dozens of them. Hundreds.

"I think its time to flee," she rasped, and Tian nodded before dashing into the forest, heading deeper into the red mists.

 

[Scythe and Nyght]

Hit the deck!

"Already there..." groaned Scythe.
"But I think the deck hit us instead..." groaned Nyght.

It really wasn't the time to think about it, but what kind of idiots jousted? Granted, Scythe and Nyght had never seen an actual joust before, so maybe the whole thing was a crock of horseshit, but godsdamn if it didn't sound dumb. Here they were, both their bodies having been whacked by an enraged, mutated, enormous sack of meat, and there were numbskulls actually signing up to do something similar. Plate armor their asses, get hit by a lance going full galloping speed and you were on your way to gettin' acquainted with the dirt. It sure as hell felt like they had each lost a joust, that much was for sure.

Felt like the Moon Lady was going to work, what with the heat and the shrieking and curses from the saps who didn't know which direction the deck was. Yeah. Magic. That had to be the ace. Old fashioned steel took too much work to kill these monsters.

Sure would be nice if it was, since they each had to crawl and paw through the grass to find their damn weapons. Got 'em knocked right out of their hands like the wind was knocked out of their chests. They scrambled about. Smacking away thick patches of grass each as they searched. There a crossbow. And there a crossbow. Here a sword. Where was Nyght's sword? Where was--

A roar. One of those 'hope you brought your brown pants' kind of moments.

Both Scythe and Nyght froze. Oh shit. Hey, was there a bonus in killing the thing that roared?

The roar again.

Fuck that. Fuck a bonus. Dumb idea. Have the hypothetical scribe scratch that one from the records. Thought never happened.

Scythe's body crossed through the grass and to Nyght's body and began to help her search. Seriously now. Where in the fuck was her sword? It was big enough and reflected sunlight like a motherfucker, how could they not find it? Did they need a third set of eyes or what? Additional note, inquire in Elbion about a third set of--

Cap summed it up. Again. She had a way with words that just spoke to Scythe and Nyght's collective soul.

Whatever answered the roar sounded twice as bad. Maybe thrice as bad. Maybe more than that, but Scythe and Nyght never bothered to learn the proper word for it.

Hell, Tian had the right idea. Look at that bastard go. Putting them to shame over here, they were supposed to be the first ones to hightail it. A specialty if they ever had one.

Take your losses. Nyght's sword wasn't worth their lives. And her body still had her crossbow and throwing knives. It'd be fine. Well. Shit. Add new hand weapon to the list of things to buy.

And they ran. Following after Tian. And--

What the fuck happened here? Ol' Mad Eye and Sash Girl gettin' a Battlefield Screw under their belts, interrupted by random deer, was Scythe and Nyght's first and only guess. How Mad Eye and Sash Girl figured they had the time was beyond them, but that was part of the challenge, wasn't it? Ah, good times. They held the record in their old raider band. Nobody else knew it but them, but that was all that mattered, right? Champions in the heart.

Might as well help 'em out. With the deer. Not with the Battlefield Screw.

Scythe and Nyght each threw their shoulders into the monster deer to knock it off of Sash Girl. Really, though, the weight of the thing made it more like a nudging and a sliding off. Good enough. But now their shoulders ached like they'd each rammed a tree.

"I'm sure you'll have time for it later, Sash Girl," said Nyght.
"Just keep yourself fluffed, Mad Eye; the secret is speed," said Scythe.

Their good deed for the job done, they hurried on after Tian.

Retreat and fight another day was always an option. And often the best one.

 

[Tobias Tookins]

Tobias looked about in shock and confusion as the trickling of sweat poured from his pores, his orifices trickling crimson. He pushed the two bodies off him instinctively as his chameleon eye ran about, his good eye focused on the bloated deer carcass he struggled to free himself from, before getting his legs out from under and grabbing under Manama's arms, pulling her out the same. He saw the rest of the group running and barreled forward to catch up.

"Ya fuckin' bastards lookin' to leave us behind, weren't ya?! I'm hurt," he harrumphed sarcastically as he flung Manama over his shoulder and huffed bloody snot out of his nose into his beard as he puffed his chest out, beneath the flabby fat a rather strong cardiovascular system propelled him forward, somewhat unnaturally so as if he had once been a professional swimmer. His chest was used to holding in large breaths over amounts of time, allowing his endurance to carry him on in the adrenaline rush he awoke from.

Manama, dazed and confused, peered hazily at the predators proceeding to chase them through the forest, incomprehensible of the fact that she were being carried at the moment. After a while, her swimming head came back, and her hand searched about for her swords before she realized both weapons had been dropped in the attack, one still stuck into the head of that creature. Cursing to herself, she began to beat on Tobias' back.

"My swords! My swords!"

The oaf screamed at her as his long scraggly hair brushed the middle of her back,

"Ain't no use if yer dead when you grab'em! Just focus on stoppin' 'em if ya can, lassy!"

Manama withdrew her bow which was undamaged, a firm yet flexible wood of a local palm tree it was comprised from. Her quiver having a rack in the quiver of which clipped the arrows to, none were lost, holding a good twelve of which she notched one and fired. Eleven, ten, nine, she continued to fire at the closest beast, who would straggle in the weight of the blow, and then the next one who crept closer than the last, none actually falling from the fast flung, low power driven arrows. She grimaced as she tried to figure out a sure-proof method of felling them.

"Nothing seems to be working!" She yelled to Toby as he picked up the pace, her body now bobbing with his own, her head bumping up and down.

"Just do what you can!" He huffed quietly under strained breath.

Manama continued to fire.

 

[Aeyliea]

"Your bellyaching...save it for later..." the Captain snarled between panting breaths as she tried to navigate the forest floor without tripping. She wasn't their babysitter, and if they couldn't keep up they would be left behind without a second thought. It was her own aching hide she wished to preserve now, and she did so with a will.

Although, it would be impossible for them to hide, as the Captain was leaving a spotty trail of blood behind her, rich crimson droplets splattering with each footfall. The arm was completely numb below the bite, now, and she was a little worried about that. She slowed long enough to put her weapon back in its sheath on her back, and then took off as quickly as she could. She could see the outline of the former assassin in front of her, and watched as he sidestepped another misshapen creature, gutting it as efficiently as a hunter would with a dead animal. It squealed in pain, and then she was leaping over its body as it crashed to the ground, landing maladroitly but keeping her feet.

A glance behind saw Manama wasting her arrows on the beasts, and she gritted her teeth. "Wasting your arrows, you are. Save them!" she snapped between sobbing breaths.

And the running continued, the pursuit behind them unceasing. She had no idea what they were running from, and had no desire to. Only the sound of footsteps crashing through the sodden undergrowth kept her company.

A road underfoot. The assassin beheading some kind of bird as it swooped down, swollen body flopping to the ground with that effortless stroke. Fields. Bodies laying among the field, shrouded by the eerie mist. And then, suddenly, a village looming out of the murk. Fire raced through every part of the captains body, but the only option was to keep running, or else turn and face an opponent she did not know while she was exhausted. There was only one way that would turn out.

"Find....a building to...get into..." she managed as they crossed into the town square, brutally slain people littering the ground here and there. A stone walled building loomed ahead, either an inn by the looks of things, and it was that that the mercenary captain made a beeline for, Tian already taking up station at the door with throwing knives at the ready and looking distinctly grim.

And that is not a good sign, she thought to herself as she charged forward.

 

[Scythe and Nyght]

Cap was pretty good at navigating the dense growth of the forest floor. Scythe and Nyght didn't know why, but they assumed she came from the desert. Maybe it was the bones in the hair. Or the exposed midriff; good for ventilation, that. Then again she did have all those pelts in her office back at the headquarters and where the hell would she have gotten all that if she were a sandkicker? Didn't matter, didn't matter, all that was neither here nor there.

Point was, she was following Tian and they ended up following her, following him. Easiest to navigate through the thick foliage and undergrowth when somebody else ahead of you was doing all the hard work. Not that they couldn't have done it themself. That's what living in the woods of the Reach got ya. They were experts at maneuvering through the wild, swiftly and stealthily. That's right. Like a couple of panthers and--

Nyght tripped. Fell on her face.

Scythe quickly bent down to help her body up as they said:

Nyght: "Like a couple of panthers."
Scythe: "Drunk and dumb panthers. But panthers."

They started running again.

Nyght: "All this dirt and muck is never going to wash out."
Scythe: "Hey, at least my coat is still clean. I can look good for the both--"

Scythe tripped. Fell on his face.

Nyght quickly bent down to help his body up as they said:

Scythe: "Drunk, dumb, and blind panthers."
Nyght: "But panthers."

They started running again. Now more in line with Ol' Mad Eye and Sash Girl. Heh, Sash Girl. Must've been nice. Getting a nice cozy ride. Other than the one she may or may not have gotten earlier. This one. Right here. During the retreat. To clarify.

Ooo. Sash Girl got in trouble. Wasting her arrows. Tsk, tsk. Well, suppose she did have arrows to waste. Nyght's body was still down a sword. Oh shit. Upon closer inspection while they ran, seemed Sash Girl didn't have her swords either. Double trouble. Guess she was going to get awfully acquainted with Nyght's body in the archer line. Hell, Scythe's body too. They weren't too keen on fighting those mutated deer, let alone whatever the hell had made (and answered) those roars, up close and personal like. Maybe it'd take a whole bolt case full of bolts to drop whatever came at them. Well, sometimes you just had to unload, didn't ya?

A road. The change in the hardness of the ground almost made Scythe and Nyght trip again. Buncha poor saps caught unawares out in the fields. And hey, a village. They been running so hard and so fast they actually found civilization out in this hellhole. What a treat. Maybe there was a tavern. Nothing like a little liquid courage to smooth a job this shitty over.

Find a building, she says. Well, between beating their feet and desperately panting and gasping for air, they were. Glances all around. Look, every city, town, village, whatever had a tavern. Every damn one. It was like an immutable law of the world or something. Jump in water, get wet. Run too long, get tired. Waltz into town, find tavern. Just like that.

Ah. Well. Guess the solid, stone-built inn or what-have-you was the second best choice. And, honestly, if it was good enough for Tian, it was good enough for Scythe and Nyght.

They ran across the town square and each jumped over the bodies of the poor saps on the ground that were in the way and barreled toward the inn. Running side-by-side. Forgetting, in that fast-paced and frantic moment, their protocol for going through doorways.

Scythe's body leaned into Nyght's body and Nyght's body leaned into Scythe's body. That, instead of going single file. Too late did they realize their fuck-up.

And both of them slammed full-on into either side of the door jamb and the outside wall of the building. Each practically bouncing off of the stone and flopping back and down and onto their asses and then rolling onto the flats of their backs, crossbows clattering on the ground.

They lost all sense of putting on a show and pretending.

"Fucking! Son of a! Bitch!" said Scythe, holding his face.
"God damn it!" said Nyght, holding her face.
"That wasn't supposed to happen!"
"Thought we were over this!"
"How long has it been?"

They each groaned as they rolled over and onto their hands and knees.

Together: "Long enough."

Fuck it. Just fuck it. They all had bigger and badder things to worry about right now than some weird little enchantment Scythe and Nyght shared.

They each grabbed their crossbows and hobbled into the stone-built building.

 

[Aeyliea]

The mercenaries piled into the old stone building, ignorant of all the details as they moved indoors. Tian brought up the rear as the others dragged Tobias and Manama in behind, tossing them both to the ground as the doro was slammed shut behind them. Outside, the feral howls gave way to something even more frightening: the rhythmic sound of language, or a rough enough approximation.

Panting, the mercenary captain leaned against a wall on the far side of the room - a common room, by the looks, with overturned tables and chairs and bloodstains on the floors. Now that she had a moment to really look, she could see that this place had been boarded up, barricades put in place at the windows and one moved away from the door. Empty bottles lay on the floor - someone had obviously been drinking a fair bit of wine in here, although it was difficult to say exactly how long ago that had been. Days, by the look of things.

And a trench blasted into the ground outside. And barricades on the road leading out of town to the south. There had been people here, once, before all of this started. Apparently they had holed up here, as well, and eventually fled. Having seen the beasts outside, the mercenary could only hope that they had managed to find a place to run to, and not been torn limb from limb for their efforts.

"I don't know how long its been since they fled, Cap, but it appears someone was using this very building as a refuge. Some powerful magic used here, too." That was Tian, and from the sick look on the face of the sorceress with them, she could only imagine how powerful that spell had to be to leave a tell this much later.

"The rest of you alive?" she barked, looking to see how many of her companions were still with her.

 

[Scythe and Nyght]

Did they have time for a massage break? The most of the town got wrecked--well, the people mostly--but this nice stone-walled building was still standing strong. Maybe those mutated animals and other nasty things got the sniffles trying to bite or claw their way through stone. Or something worse, who cared. Point was, they had time, right?

'Cause damn did their faces hurt. How would one go about massaging someone's face? Shit, did that cost extra? Well, both sets of legs burned like all hell. Can't go wrong there. Maybe convince Tian to massage Scythe's legs and Sash Girl to massage Nyght's. Had to keep it chaste. Not enough time for sexual tension and that kind of massage. That was the business model of some fine folks back in Alliria, bless their goddamn filthy souls.

Damn it, now they added another thing to buy to the list. It really was amazing how fast a hundred and twenty gold could disappear.

Future problems for future Scythe and Nyght.

Present Scythe and Nyght weren't getting that massage any time soon and still had vicious monster problems outside to worry about. Monsters that sounded worse and worse by the minute.

Scythe and Nyght sat down on the floor because why the fuck not it was the closest. They each, as mechanically as a lever and pulley contraption, leveled their crossbows and put their feet into the claws of their respective weapons and began the process of reloading as they sat. Panting all the while like Cap.

Tian was doing important things. Smart things. That's what he got paid for, right? Scythe and Nyght knew they were just a "pair" of dimwits who got lucky more often than not. Really, it was amazing they were still alive. The Gods of Good Times had to favor their little dumbfuck duo down here on Arethil. As long as they put on a good show, they could live another day. That had to be the deal they never signed. No other explanation, really.

Why did Leona have to be such a bitch and kill almost all of their raider buddies? Damn those were the good times. Never had to fight any mutated deer then. Oh well. The Gods of Good Times give and take, or some shit.

Scythe and Nyght flinched when Cap barked her question. Goddamn it, there was just something about her voice and demeanor that always gave them a start when she did that. Sure they were twitchy at times, sure. But Cap brought it out in spades.

"She's alive," Scythe said.
"He's alive," Nyght said.
"Hey Cap, you think that D'arle lad you don't trust will pay us a bonus for this?"
"I mean, that son of a bitch had to know about this mist, right?"
"Heh. Details, there are."

Habits. Still pretending to be two separate people. Even after their embarrassing wall smash.