”Now, now why do you always get hostile when I try to speak with you Zero? This game is already tiring for me and that should mean the same for you… Why don’t you just join sides with one of the groups already and start ending this so we can get back to real training.” _____The male’s voice cut into the air like cold steel, his whereabouts unknown however his focus seemed to follow those within the dark empty streets namely the girl carefully scanning the area. She was nothing short of what looked like a small child, but the air around her was almost toxic with hostility as she once more quickly spun around growling at the darkness around her. This uncommon darkness was HIS work, Nyx had grown very well aware due to his numerous visits to try and get her to act recently. ”I have said before, and will say again thirteen, I do not work with or for others. Now leave and take your stupid magic away with you.” ”Such a cruel one they seem to have made you those teachers. Zero social skills and thought to maybe use others for your own gain. Then again that is mainly the reason i always try to get you on my side Zero, or should i call you Nyx here?” _____The sound of light steps was the first sense restored as Nyx spun around watching the shadows pull back towards a figure who stood across the street from her. His pitch black eye locked onto her as he slowly waved his hand and started walking away. A moment passing before Nyx felt her frame lift and found herself getting carried by two figures and started struggling to get free. ”As I am sure you know by now, only five of us remain. You, One, Myself, Four, and somehow five despite the odds against him the most in such a setting. Anyways One and Four have teamed up and seem to be trying to expunge me from the game while slowly closing the noose around five. Yet nobody seems to have a eye on you except me, that is very sad since you only got the name Zero for the very reason none of us could beat you.” _____The male moved his hand out as the shadows seemed to throw a cane into his open hand and he pointed to Nyx with it while ranting the current state of their challenge. Another desperate Kick towards her captives ending with a sore foot and less energy as Nyx growled and was forced to follow along with the talkative member of the class of assassins. ”Now I’m sure you won’t work WITH me, we both want this over with so I have a plan you just might enjoy. They want me gone, as I do have the greatest chances in this setting and since I’ve spent my time protecting myself. Thus, when my gaurd ‘happens’ to go down they will come for me personally not wishing to once more be tricked into thinking I was dealt with. If your mind is too slow to understand this is YOUR chance to take out our common foes.” @Temperance | @Madison Freebird
Madison always loved high-stakes games. The hesitation in her fingers as they slid across the table to peel up her cards. The ratcheting tension as each man and woman placed their bets. Five, ten, twenty, forty. The numbers running through her head as she debated which cards to pitch. The growing lump in her throat, the agonizing, silent scream as she was dealt another two. The twinkle in the eye of the otherwise stone-faced player on her left. Raise. Raise. All in. One more card. Please please please please-- The soft scrape of paper against the felt-lined surface of the table. The rush of blood, the pounding in her temples. The breath caught in her throat. The dealer's beady brown eyes scanned the table, gauging everyone by the little tics and tells that broke through their blank facades. "Alright, what's everyone got?" Madison immediately slammed down four aces and a card that didn't matter and exploded out of her chair. The others tossed their worthless hands onto the table and groaned as they calculated how much money they just pissed away in their hubris. A pair of middle fingers dancing in the air, Madison's voice cracked as she shouted with deviant glee. "All of you can eat the fattest of 'em!" Her near psychotic laughter echoed throughout the darkened room, drawing the ire of every living person present. About a billion venom-tipped daggers were thrown her way as she danced around the table. She didn't give a rip. She just won some serious gold. "We shouldn't have let her join," one of the guys sourly whispered to another. "S'okay. We jump her on her way out." "Don't fecking think about it, kids," Madison cooed. "I'd waste the whole lot of you before you could get out of your chairs" Looks were exchanged as the witch scooped the pile of coins in the middle of the table towards her. She stuffed them into her inventory, then went back for a couple of stragglers. One of the gambler's hairy hands snapped out and latched onto her wrist. "I'm sorry, missy. Nobody gets to waltz in here an' take all of our money like that, I'm afraid." Madison met the guy's gaze, staring into the steely orbs set in a thick, sagging wall of oily fat shadowed by the brim of a newsboy cap. Her smile only widened, slowly transforming into that of a predator's. "We're gonna' have to ask for our money back." His meaty grip tightened around her arm, dirty fingernails digging into her porcelain skin. "Now." "I'll leave you a couple for passage into the afterlife, how's that," she hissed. Well, it sounded better in her head, anyway. With a flick of her left wrist, a tarot card popped out of her sleeve. The Five of Pentacles shot into the air, and with a blinding flash of violet light, cast its spell on the poor bastard. His hands shot up and clutched his head, and his screams echoed off the walls of the darkened room. The other players present stood to attack the witch, but she had the rest of her deck at the ready. With a quick in-hand bridge and spring flourish, she ripped the top three cards from the top and held them in the air. "Sit the hell down, all of you." Madison glared at each of them in turn as they stood still, unsure of whether or not she was bluffing. They looked at her, the cards she brandished, and their friend as he continued to writhe on the floor, a trickle of blood pouring from his nostrils as the spell wreaked havoc on him. Slowly, one by one, they did as they were told. Madison slowly backed towards the door, flush with enough cash to see her through the rest of the month. She waved the cards around in the air, daring any of them to do anything. Madison backed into the door, the knob digging into hip as she pocketed the deck and scrambled to wrap her spidery fingers around it. The witch motioned towards their friend as he convulsed on the floor. "If you can still afford it, you might wanna' get him to a clinic tonight." And with that, she slid out the door and into the safety of the streets of Stokbon.
_____The male turned as the sound of a door peeling open caught his attention. Black eye glaring down the woman for a moment before he resumed walking forward, his path across the street the the woman and Nyx once more Kicking the air to try and get away from the annoying person she was forced to accompany. His cane waving to point at Nyx once more as he spun around to speak up again, this time his tone different. ”Please your majesty, if you would have simply came with us when we asked nicely the first time we would not have to assure you return home before your father worries more.” _____The can slamming the ground lightly, a magic circle quickly spreading but seeming to vanish just as quickly as the sound was carried away in the wind. The group of four changing appearance slightly as the two men holding Nyx seemed to shift into two knights, and the man leading the group taking the appearance of a noble or respected individual. Nyx herself now taking the clear sign of a highly respected noble with long dress and all, the slight sight of her changed clothing due to magic causing her to gag in her mind. ”Now if you promised to behave and come along with us I can ask them to set you down, otherwise we only have so much longer until we can set you down and your father can speak his worries to you. Honestly, you are a young woman, it is not wise to go sneaking out at night. What your father would do if someone found you before we had.” _____The male pushing the act more as he turned and resumed walking, his cane carefully hovering above the ground. Nyx wagering he was expecting the woman to have not got a good luck and by changing to such a look, and act they would not cut into this escorting home facade. While Nyx did not want their help, nor would she thank them it was not like she herself could do anything for the moment. @Madison Freebird | @Temperance
Madison hesitated for the briefest of moments as she slammed the door behind her. Across the way, a small group of people were huddled together. Characters, more like; lurking in the shadows just outside the light of a street lamp, two of them hoisting a small girl in the air, and the fourth casting her an unreadable look. Even stranger, one of this jerk in particular's eyes was completely black. She'd read enough comic books in her day to know what that probably meant. But was it any of her business? Probably not. Behind her, she could still hear the retching and screaming from the gambler she hexed, his buddies yet to decide what the hell they were going to do. She hoped that they ended up dragging his carcass somewhere she wasn't going. The woman turned to make her way to the inn she had a room at for the weekend, her footsteps heavy in the evening air, the gold heavy in her inventory. She probably made enough to spend the rest of the week in the city, exploring its libraries and ale houses, and maybe even upgrade to a bigger room closer to downtown rather than on the outskirts of the slums. A light yet distinct pop! caught Madison's attention. Instinctively, she turned around. Rather than the crowd of randos that she spotted when she walked into the night, she saw... well, maybe it was them? But their outfits had clearly changed... Gone were the rough-looking kind of people that would be out at this time of night, and in their place were a pair of nobles, the girl being rather forcefully escorted by two knights. Madison paused for a moment. Something was definitely not right here. Her curiosity got the best of her as she strained to hear what one of them had been saying. She was able to catch most of it. Kind of hard not to, as the guy was pretty wordy and deliberate in his inflection, as if he were simply playing a part on a stage. Her hand slowly reached for her tarot deck. Giving it a quick cut, Madison flipped the top card over. She caught the image of the card face out of the corner of her eye, and her bird-like features immediately twisted into a scowl. "Sure," she muttered to herself. "We've already played the villain tonight, let's go play hero as well" Madison slid the card back into the deck and squared it up with her spidery fingers. As she spun on her heels, she considered throwing up an illusion spell of some sort; but that'd require her to shuffle the cards. That would cause unwanted attention. So, the witch opted to simply follow them at a distance to see what other trouble she could get into before morning.
What was it about tramping and trouble? It seemed no matter where she went, no matter how packed full of patrons or far off and secluded its locale, whatever place she found to curl up with a drink was filled with suffering and strife. Normally the woman thrived on such, made it her bread and butter within the game as she relished in the livelihood and chaos... But not. When. She. Was. Drinking. Which, admittedly, was a lot. Eeeeeeeeeer, all the time in fact. But what else would you do when you were able to heal your alcohol poisoning, hangovers, and even dehydration away with the wave of a hand and the muttering of a spell? You got shit faaaaaaaaaaaaaced! Which stopped being fun when monologuing jackasses didn't stop talking about their shady weird lolita bullshit out loud in the middle of everyone's business. She was more or less hidden in the confines of an alley, her view limited but her hearing unfettered as the man discussed things with some young-sounding waif. Addled by her drink, she couldn't quite make out what the nature of their business was... but it didn't sound pleasant in the least. And unpleasant things weren't... um... good? Such was what her brain told her in its state, and such was what drove her staggering out into the street, to confront the creeps. Pulling out her magical staff, Temperance created a light to see by. It wavered and faltered, the magic clearly unhinged due to her intoxication, but nevertheless the intensity of its shine made it clear that her spells could pack a punch. "LEGGOA'ATGURL!" she shouted, and then channeled healing magic within herself to sober up and get control of the situation. Her eyes, suddenly freed from their bloodstaining and blotchiness, filled with clarity and anger. Her stance seemed to harden as purpose filled her, the woman no longer drunk and no longer confused about things. She wasn't sure WHAT was happening here, but she knew that these guys and that girl were not copacetic. Now in command of herself once again, the magical light she had summoned grew steady and strong and flared all the brighter. "LEGGOA'ATGURL!" she repeated, clearly amused by how it had sounded the first time and just running with it at this point.
_____When the white haired woman seemed to take interest, and even going the extent to flash a bright light at the group Nyx could only shut her own to avoid the blinding light. The male leading the group however hand another idea as he slowly removed one hand from his pocket and waved it casually, dark magic pulling the light towards his blackening hands before he simply kept walking towards the woman. When she re-sparked the magic to once more flash him he only exhaled and set his eye onto the figure. ”While I know this might look wrong to those not knowing the story, we are only doing this because the young mistress did not want to come home after her father’s worries grew beyond simply waiting for her return. If she was more willing to come home we would set her down, however such is not the case so unfortunately we must do this. Now if you would be so kind as to move…” _____Once more the man slowly moved his hand in attempt to see without losing some of his vision. Nyx carefully opening her eyes and catching sight of a growing flame behind the woman on the edge of a roof, the sick green color of the flame not helping as Nyx tried to get free again with far more struggle then before. This was getting to crowded for her, and if her gut feeling was ever correct that green fire meant Four was about to attack them. ”You should be more worried about that one getting the wrong idea.” _____Nyx spoke up tipping her head upwards as the male turned to notice the gesture before leaning to look and clicking his tongue. His cane tapping the ground as his illusion shattered and he walked past the woman hooking his can to his arm and clapping slowly. ”Well that was not in any plans I had made for you to show up so soon. Zero, If you still wish to be the lone wolf… Guards make sure Four’s attack hits her even if you are caught in it. If he is here it likely means…” _____His speech cut short as he quickly spun waving his hand to intercept the shaft of a passing arrow, a cold grin across his face as the wood began decaying. The location of the shooter unknown however as the man waved his hand the guard dragged Nyx closer to the figure charging the green flames on the roof. Growling loudly and keeping her struggle up she refused to lose and die this way. @Madison Freebird | @Temperance
And just like that, it turned into one of those nights. Just when Madison thought she'd have something all to herself to enjoy, everyone playing at home decided to go "oh hey, a spontaneous, unmarked quest! Time for some sick EXP gains!" and leaped into action. There was the crazy broad cloaked in light and liquor who rushed into action, her words a sloppy string of slurred syllables that dribbled out of her mouth. And then, the twang of a bowstring, the sound of crackling emerald fire overhead, and shouted commands from the guy with the black eye. Before she could draw her deck out of her inventory, all hell broke loose. Didn't stop her from slinging spells, of course. It wouldn't matter who got in her way, so long as she dId ThE rIgHt ThInG and stopped the young woman at the center of the event from being kidnapped or whatever was going on. The machine gun cracking of cards filled the air as Madison shuffled up and fanned the deck in her hand. Selecting a trio of cards from the middle, she flung them high into the air. They spun for a second as mana flowed through them and erupted in brilliant violet flames. In a blink of an eye, the spell was primed. And with a snap of her thin fingers, it was unleashed. Madison felt the mana coursing through the deck pull something tangible from her as the bright bolt of malevolent energy snaked through the air towards one of the two assholes dragging the girl through the street. Surely someone who hid behind a shoddy story and an even worse illusory disguise shouldn't and couldn't object to being attacked from behind. Not that they'd have a chance to in the first place--Madison picked out one of her favorite spells, a nasty little hex that would methodically melt the flesh off his bones. An extra torturous bit of trickery that would fill the night air and her heart with his pained screaming. A twisted smile forming on her thin face, Madison snatched the spent cards out of the air and prepared for the next spell.
Speeches, archers with green flames that reminded her of some old show about superheroes, and a nearby witch who started hexing the creeps in the street. What an... interesting situation... this had turned out to be. Quite the melting pot of chaos and drama. So much so, in fact, that more than enough was happening without her having to get involved and make matters even more confusing. After all- any more, and it'd be impossible to follow the threads of suspense and the tangled web of motive and emotion would fall apart into a town-destroying free for all. So... really... she knew her best move. Smiling, Temperance put out the light she had created and stepped backwards into the shadows of the alley once more, disappearing from everyone's awareness as her mastered Incognito removed her from sight and sound and smell, though likely not mind. But they were too busy fighting each other to go chasing after a ghost like herself, and so hidden away, she moved up onto the roofs and watched the bloodshed and violence from a new perch. How interesting it was, to see how it would all play out, without her interference... Would the child be kidnapped? The archer fell his prey? The witch be cursed to face both archer and kidnappers all on her own? Oh, what a tangled web that had been woven. What were the end goals, what were the reasons? She was deeply amused, and ready to find out, as she waited in darkness and merely observed through her Investigation Mode so that she could track HP and Conditions, register Names of the avatars, and most importantly... just enjoy this clusterfuck, without being caught up in it.
_____From a small show of fangs into a full blown battlefield was the result as the figures seemed to start clashing. The archer firing mores arrows from the cover of night towards the man leading the kidnappers. An annoyed gaze as even his workers got attacked, the pained scream from the man drawing a vain to pop on his head before calmly slamming his hand against the face of his own hired help and rotting the face away until nothing was left but black smoke giving Nyx chance to get free. Red eyes watching the air and quickly tumbling as another arrow sailed ripping a decent gash into Nyx’s arm and dragging her slightly with the force of wind behind the arrow. ”Come on now, One, and you also Four, why don’t we take this somewhere else clearly our guest here… or not” _____The man stopped speaking as he waved his cane to quickly parry an arrow out of the air and direct it towards the growing green flames causing it to explode and catch the entire roof ablaze in moments. The figure once charging it jumping down, her right arm burning wildly as she rushed forward towards Nyx who desperately tried to keep her distance. Of all things she had to be attacked, she did not even want to be here! Hands going in her sleeve before she started throwing vials at the girl who ignored them even as they burnt away at her skin. ”I’ve had just about enough of you two stopping me from asking Zero to work with me!” ____Cane spinning rapidly before he slammed it against the ground causing the earth to turn black and Skeletons begun to rise in swarm. The three if left alone would likely destroy this side of town as they began to stop pulling punches rather quickly. Nyx crawling away while the girl began smashing the skeletons, she wanted to get the hell out of the area, but as an arrow sailed and impaled her right hand and rooking itself half into the stone path below it was clear she was not going to get free easily. @Madison Freebird | @Temperance
Haaa, Madison mused sourly. Did I say this was getting interesting? Nah, it's upgraded to "all hell's broken loose". Green fire, arrows, bodies, yelling, screaming, dramatics, and now friggin' skeletons were everywhere. Where the hell did that drunk bitch go? Madison scanned the impromptu battlefield for any sign of the glowing white-haired madwoman, but she had disappeared completely. Fine, sure, okay, whatever. I'll just rescue the little girl myself. Madison bit her bottom lip nearly hard enough to draw blood as she focused on the tarot cards in her hands. Three quick in-hand shuffles, interrupted by the chaos reigning nearby. She caught the sight of the faerin catching an arrow with her hand in the worst possible way. The girl was effectively pinned to the ground with death circling her. One last cut of the deck, and she made her move. Madison focused her thoughts into the cards, picturing in her mind's eye a storm of phantasms, their energy building inside her as she selected three cards and tossed them into the air before her. One by one, the illusions exploded from the cards, zipping through the air towards the pack of assholes fighting over the girl. While the distraction was in place, Madison snatched the spent cards out of the air and raced for the faerin. Dodging the skeletons' shaky movements proved to be a little too much for her considering the mana she poured into her haunting spell, but she powered through the exhaustion anyway. That's what heroes do, right? The witch nearly tripped over her own feet when she finally made it to the girl. Kneeling down, she set her tarot deck on the ground at her knees and gripped the shaft of the arrow with both hands. With a swift motion, she snapped it inches above the back of the faerin's hand. "Hey kid, need you to do me a solid and slide your hand up and free." Madison anxiously looked around to make sure they were being left alone, then slid a random card out of the deck. It glowed with a soft green energy as the spell prepared itself. In a moment, thick blades of grass would grow from the ground she knelt on, weaving themselves into a bandage coated with a healing salve for the girl's wound.
Ooooooooooooooh. Aaaaaaaaaaah! Hmmmmmn. The hell was even going on? The white haired woman found a seat up on a roof, a chimney serving as something to press her back against, as she eyed the warring forms of the combatants below... and one above, shooting arrows, of course. She wasn't sure what sides there really were, but a best guess said it was Rapist Kidnappers in one corner, Hot Topic in another corner who was trying to help Loli Child from Rapist Kidnappers, and of course Lee Harvey Oswald on the roof had it out for... all three of them? Whatever the lines in the sand and the seats in the court, Temperance had effectively removed herself from the situation for now. She watched as Hot Topic moved to Loli Child and tried to work up something to patch and heal a wound the child had sustained. If only there were a white mage around to help! Oooooooh! Oooooooooh... No. This was not her fight, and without a better picture of what was going on, she didn't want it to be. The game wasn't fun when you couldn't appreciate the rules, in order to break them. No, she would remain hidden away for the time being, quietly observing and writing down the names of each player as they appeared in Investigation Mode. After all, Rapist Kidnappers appeared to want to play the Disguise Yourself game earlier, so there could be some fun in revealing their true identities to others in the game. If you thought child molesters had it bad in prison, you hadn't seen what a social medium like the gaming community would do to them. Especially in a game like Terrasphere where torture was possible and no rules forbade it. Ooooooh these guys were going to have it so bad in the future.
