Hafnium Test Thread

[Tassadar]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

As Lenalee continued glance around at her surroundings following Edmunds response, she suddenly remembered that the man had been injured during the fight. She promptly turned toward him, but before she could inquire about it, Lila arrived, this time with another in tow. As she felt the power used by Lila's teleportation coalescing around them, the sorceress took a moment to examine the way that the young girl wielded her energies. It was... Clumsy, to say the least. Every time she used her powers, Lenalee could feel it coming a few seconds beforehand, but her ability to teleport from place to place seemed to be the worst. Edmund and Mari, lacking her sense for the movement of such energies, didn't seem able to tell, but Lenalee knew that anyone with even an inkling of skill in the magical arts or the powers of the soul would be able to sense it, possibly from a good ways off too. She had a sinking feeling that the demon they'd come here to find out more about had such powers. Still, the girl must have a lot of power, if she could throw around so much of it like that.

She watched, and waited, throughout the encounter between Edmund, Lila and the newcomer without making any comment, her lips pursed and her eyes half-hidden beneath her slightly haggard hair. With the battle over, the excitement of it was fading quickly, and the after-effects of the expenditure of her power were kicking in. She glared a little harder at Edmund than might have been necessary, though the man likely didn't notice, and she almost snapped back at Mari as she quipped about the odd groups admittedly strange behavior. Getting a reign on her temper before she could let it control her, however, Lenalee sighed, and said; "Well, I suppose that could have gone worse..... Are you alright? I didn't see you get hit, but there was also a lot going on at the time."

She looked around some more as she spoke. The other three had gone upstairs, and she could hear them arguing still. Introductions and planning could wait a bit, then, as she wasn't yet ready to go up and try and figure out just what had irritated Edmund so much. Lila didn't seem to be able to see, but having only known her for a few minutes, Lenalee could only guess at that right now. "We might be here a while. Want to see if they've got anything to eat?" Lenalee said absently, staring into the kitchen. As she took a step, however, the stab wound in her arm that she'd momentarily forgotten throbbed, and with a hiss, she did a minor working of magic, repeating as necessary until the wound was gone.

Spoiler

Just some OOC stuff. Heal up with a level 1 healing spell. Ask Mari if she got hurt, find out no, conversate. Then go into the kitchen, and look for sandwiches or something.
Also, Lila seems to be stumbling a lot. Is she blind, as far as Lenalee can tell? She hasn't opened her eyes.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Spoiler

HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 75, Status = Fine.

Rolls

Spoiler

Perception: Success (A 20...)

(A safe assumption!)

Mari seemed to become a little more serious when Lenalee inquired about her health. "I am fine as long as you will be, those were not exactly soldiers we cut through out there." The sorceress could see respect in the olivine woman's eyes. Her changing impression of Lenalee was not entirely new but it had grown. Although any surprise could be chalked up to the rogue had not seen what the Badarian woman had done to Dreadbeak, a more conventional enemy, when he had hurt Ren. There were likely several tricks that the sorceress could yet shock Mari with.

For the time being, however, a cantrip to stitch her arm back to normal was necessary. The spell came easily to Lenalee, not that such a small thing would have ever been hard for the accomplished sorceress, but it was made even more simple by the unfortunate amount of practice she was getting in mending flesh as of late. After she had suggested their latest course of action and her arm was no longer perforated, it was off to the kitchen. Mari seemed more than happy to aid in raiding the pantry, eagerly responding. "Let us see what we can find."

The smells coming from the kitchen were superb, a careful blend of spices stewed to perfection. The kitchen itself, however, was plain. It had a few simple wooden cabinets hung along the walls, mostly empty, with doors flung open. There was a break in the cabinets for a heavily barricaded window. There were wooden tables lining the walls under the cabinets and windows. Lenalee could not find any sort of entrance to a larder and neither could the rogue, although there did appear to be a second entrance to the basement. One of the tables had a curious cast-iron sheet on it, upon which sat a pot with a ladle in it. As the sorceress got closer to the pot the smell became stronger, Mari sniffed the air appreciatively for the scent. A quick investigation would prove that it was the same soup that had been on the table, a delicious smell but a bland look. There were a few wooden bowls and spoons nearby, along with some cups. Mari seemed to be waiting for the sorceress to decide whether she wanted a bowl or not.

Lenalee picked up a second scent beyond that of the soup, however. The smell was very chemical in nature and coming from the basement. A second check suggested that the soup didn't have any of whatever the strong stench coming from the basement was in it, though.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

"No... soldiers, they were not.... Except for the two who had breastplates on. Edmund seemed to recognize one of them...." Lenalee responded thoughtfully, just before she healed her minor wound.

Once in the kitchen, Lenalee stared into the pot of soup suspiciously for a moment, glancing at Mari several times as she did so. "Can you tell what's in it? And.... What's that smell?" Lenalee followed her nose, and found herself staring at the door to the basement. "There's something down there...." she muttered, as much to herself as to Mari. Turning to the rogue, she continued more loudly; "Go exploring, or find out what's in that soup first? I'm hungry, but they might finish yelling at each other soon, and I'd hate for us to stumble on their larder of fresh corpses that they've been eating for food. Not saying that that's likely to be what we find, of course....."

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Spoiler

HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 75, Status = Fine.

"If I were to judge by looks I would say somebody inexpertly took a cleaver to a pigeon and dumped it in a pot of water to soak overnight. It could use some garnish. By smell? It is like heaven." At Lenalee's concern over the chemical stench coming from the basement, Mari came closer to the second door and sniffed the air. "I cannot say. Very unappetizing though." It was a strange chemical stench, like ink or clothing dye. After issuing her response, the rogue stopped in thought for a moment as she considered the smell with the sorceress.

"A conundrum to be sure," the olive-skinned woman finally announced with a tone of amusement. "Do we investigate first, find the corpses, and ruin our meal, remaining both hungry and not cannibals? Or do we eat first, investigate second, find the evidence, and end up as sated cannibals?" The rogue strode over to the pot, taking another deep inhale of the fragrance. "If it tastes like it smells and not like it looks, I am accepting of either decision." Despite the humor in her voice, Mari really did seem hungry enough to delay their investigation for food.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee considered for a moment, and then shrugged, and said; "Sated cannibals it is! Lets try and find something to eat with...." She scrounged around for some clean dishware, and handed a bowl and spoon to Mari before taking some of the stew, and pouring it into her own bowl. "Cheers!" Lenalee said, and then simply dug in to her food.

Once they were finished, however, the sorceress immediately stood up, and walked calmly over to the door down to the basement. "Lets go find out what that smell is, preferably before Edmund is finished chewing out his associates." She tested the handle, and if it wasn't locked, she simply walked on down, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for anything unusual.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Spoiler

HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 75, Status = Fine.

Rolls

Spoiler

Perception: Success (Drats! >.>)

Lenalee looked towards the utensils and wooden dishes on the counter, finding them to be suitably clean. Mari simply shrugged and took her own wooden bowl and spoon, not bothering to further inspect either for cleanliness. After ladling out their desired proportions, the two dug in. The taste did not quite match the smell, though thankfully it was much better than it looked. The cook responsible was obviously experienced in the culinary arts, there were no conflicting tastes in the ration stew, every flavor supported the others and blended well. There were still a few mistakes, however, a few of the ingredients weren't mixed as well as they could have been. The bottom of the pot had a little bit of the soup burned on, as well. "Much better than the gruel I have had," the rogue said between a mouthful, which was probably as accurate a review of the contents of the pot as could have been given.

By the time the two had finished sating their appetites, the shouting match, or perhaps extended lecturing, upstairs sounded like it was beginning to die down. Thankfully, the door was unlocked and did not tarry Lenalee's investigation at all. The sorceress calmly strolled down the stairs with the rogue behind her, into a basement that reeked of chemicals. It was well built, the carefully carved stone walls insuring that the small home above remained so. The basement wasn't very large but it was still a luxury that the rest of Amere probably didn't have. Lenalee's search also revealed that there were no corpses or grates for draining blood, either, potentially making it a contender as one of the nicer basements in Badaria, or at least the less hostile ones.

There were several shelves along the stone walls stocked with various odds and ends. Rotted and usable pieces of wood, varying in length and size on one. Next to the bad wood there were a few carvings that appeared to be the work of a novice. One of the pieces appeared to be a duck...or maybe a dog...or an octopus? A grouping of old containers that appeared to contain paint lined the next shelf. Below the paint shelf sat several canvasses, some had been painted on but no one picture had ever been finished. The 'pieces of art' looked very unintentionally abstract. A woman who appeared to have grown a blotch of rainbow paint for an eye was at the forefront of the pictures. Strangely, there were goblin fangs and darkhearts littering the shelf next to the paints, almost as though they had been casually discarded there. The small size of the place meant that it was easy to locate the source of the stench through everything else, however. A large clay jar sat in the corner, its lid discarded on the ground, with inky black liquid in it. Much of the stuff from the container in question appeared to have been used.

Lenalee could faintly hear Edmund, Lila, and the old man upstairs, the noise of their argument nearing its end. The sorceress could guess from how quickly things were winding down that she didn't have much time to do whatever she was going to do lest the trio returned to find the rogue and her snooping in the basement.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee, as hungry as she was, didn't bother to savor the stew. Still, when she had finished, she nodded her agreement to what Mari had said. She had most certainly had worse meals.

Down in the basement, she only glanced at the rotten wood for a moment, not giving it too much thought. She lingered longer on the paintings, glancing at each of them and wondering who had painted them. On a guess, she would have said Lila, as the strange abstractions reminded her of how she saw the world when she chose to view it through her non-natural eye. They certainly seemed to fit with what little she knew of the blind girl, but it was only a guess, at this point.

When she located the source of the smell, she glanced into the jar, at the inky black liquid, and frowned. "Mari, do you have any idea what this is? It looks like some sort of ink or dye, but I don't know. It smells... Off." She glanced back at the stairs. It sounded like the shouting match was coming to an end. "Maybe it'll have to wait. It sounds like they're about done, and I don't think that Edmund would like us snooping around." She glanced again at the shelf of treasures, tempted to pocket all of the darkhearts and goblin fangs. They certainly didn't seem to be of any use right now, at least. But after a moment, she decided that it might be best to leave the trophies to whoever had earned them, and headed back up the stairs, prodding Mari up if necessary. She made sure that the door to the basement was closed once both of them were back up top as well.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Spoiler

HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 75, Status = Fine.

Surprisingly, there was no quip from Mari. Not a response at all from the rogue, actually. The lean woman stared at the strange wooden carvings and abstract paintings as though an eldritch abomination was going to use them to cross into the world at any moment. Lenalee knew better, of course, she was the one with the spiritual sense, the rogue had proven to be incapable in that department, and the curvy mage didn't sense anything unnatural in the room beyond the inherent corruption in the darkhearts and fangs. It took a bit of prodding to get the rogue to turn her back on the amateur crafts, let alone to get her to leave the basement. Eventually, the olive-skinned woman snapped out of whatever was troubling her long enough to offer; "I'm not sure what the liquid was." It seemed that she might have missed it completely while indulging in her strange phobia.

The duo made it back into the main room, insuring to leave everything as they had found it, just under half a minute before Edmund, Lila, and the old man returned. The sorceress quickly noticed that the big man was rubbing the ear that the wolfish warrior had drug him up by. The lean swordsman looked to each of the room's inhabitants, settling a little longer on the shaken Mari with a look of confusion on his face, before launching into the rant that the sorceress probably expected of him. "Alright, we've got a small problem. That teleport thing that Lila did? She's not supposed to do that. Originally she was supposed to refrain from that just to keep the inquisition off our backs, because they seem to be the burn first, ask questions later types, and I'm told that the signature she leaves is pretty noticeable." The tall man looked at Lila, fairly softly given his otherwise sardonic demeanor, the sorceress noticed, and then turned back to Lenalee, his expression a questioning one. "I couldn't feel it but I've got no talent for hocus-pocus, but that's not really the point. The thing is, there are worse things than the inquisition out there right now. In fact, I wish the inquisition would come so they could do some harm to the midnight orgy participation rates."

Mari had recovered enough to frown and roll her eyes at the gunman, obviously wondering if he was ever going to get to the point. Edmund seemed to catch on, at least. "Anyway, yeah, we need to get out of here sooner rather than later. I'm going to leave the final say in how and when we do it up to you," he stated with a nod towards Lenalee. "Because, frankly, I'd be a farm tool holding apparatus or a sex-toy for one of my neighbors right now if it weren't for you." Edmund's look became one of begrudging respect as he spoke. "If we get out of this alive, I've got a reward for you," The lean man raised his hand, wiggling a finger with a ring on it. Interestingly, the piece of jewelry had the symbol of some noble house of Badaria on it, though Lenalee couldn't place exactly which one. The big man looked absolutely shocked at the offer, as though the lean man was committing some sort of faux pas by offering. Lila had a knowing, but sad, look on her face, obvious even without being able to see her eyes, as the wolfish swordsman offered up the ring. "Of course, if I die, you can pry it off my corpse too. Try to keep Lila alive though, or you won't have really earned it, if that sort of thing bothers you. It's worth a bit more than most useless baubles." The comparison to a useless bauble only deepened the look of shock on the big rifleman's face.

"Anyway, here's the breakdown. Lila is pretty drained," He looked at Lila again, who nodded to confirm. "The old man is old," The wolfish man looked at the old man, who nodded without thinking. Lenalee could see the realization slowly creep onto the big man's face as his gentle nod became a look of insult. "I won't leave Lila's side, no matter the reason, once we're making our escape." Edmund seemed particularly protective of the blind girl, not that it was a detail easily missed. His eyes returned to Lenalee before he continued. "I figure, you do whatever else you want to do in here. Get any questions answered. Think out whether we want to make a break for it now or let Lila get some energy back. Then we go from there. But again, you seem to know more of what's going on than I do," a fact that obviously caused the wolfish man some frustration. "So, you get the final say on what's done." His self-indulgent speech over, Edmund simply plopped into one of the chairs at the table.

The tall old man finally spoke up. His voice was deep and loud, it might have been enough to intimidate if the sorceress hadn't seen him drug around by the ear. "I am Lochan Black, retired rifleman of Badaria. A pleasure to meet you both, miladies. I hope you'll forgive me for the state of the place, it's not often that my home is visited by two such talented and pretty ladies!" He laughed warmly. There was no lechery in his voice, merely politeness, it was enough to seemingly put Mari off balance. "I am still a capable marksman, my trophy room is proof of that, and will do my duty as a gentleman to aid you in any way that I can." The big man smiled warmly at Lenalee. The blind girl seemed to share the big man's smile as she added in; "I can help too! I can cook and draw clean water. Sir Edmund is afraid that I'll get hurt but I know a few spells and could defend myself too!" Lochan's smile only seemed to widen at her proclamation. "That's the spirit, milady!" Edmund only stared at the table in frustration at it all.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee stared in confusion for a while at the oddly shaken Mari, wondering what exactly it was about the paintings that had the woman so put off. She hadn't seen Mari this.... Frightened, for lack of a better word. Even when she had seen Ren lying unconscious in the wagon, she hadn't been this dismayed. That set the sorceresses mind back to the pair they had left behind, and Lenalee wondered if the two were alright. A great many things could have happened in the time since they had left them in the woods, but there was nothing that she could do a damn thing about, and not being the type to pray, she cast it from her mind as she pulled the rogue up the stairs.

Lenalee kept her face straight as Edmund spoke, and when he mentioned that Lila's teleportation was quite easy to detect, she nodded and when he paused to glance rather affectionately at Lila, Lenalee quickly said; "I felt it coming well before it happened." She didn't doubt that the inquisition would have taken an interest in Lila, but she doubted that it would be quite the interest that Edmund was imagining. Someone with her skills would have been highly valued, particularly given how vulnerable the girl's youth and disability made her.

The sorceress smiled slightly, a mimic of the sardonic expression that Edmund had on occasion worn, at the compliment and the deferment of authority to her. She wasn't sure if it was precisely the best decision, given how poorly her initial plan could have gone without Lila's intervention, but she kept that particular thought to herself. Instead, she glanced at the ring that Edmund was offering her if she got them all out of here with an appraising eye, and smiled as he mentioned that she could pick it from his corpse just as easily. Probably not the proper expression given the words that it followed, but Lenalee couldn't help herself. For a split second, the idea of simply killing the lot of them and trying to walk off on her own so that she wasn't slowed down entered her mind, but she dismissed it immediately. Being alone likely wouldn't make matters any easier, and she hoped that she couldn't so easily bring herself to murder a blind girl. Or Mari, for that matter.

She half-listened to the rest of Edmund's speech in contemplative silence, a scowl on her face. Her gaze snapped to the older man as he spoke, his booming voice snapping her out of her thoughts as surely as a twig beneath the mans boot, but she quickly smiled slightly at his words. He was nothing if not enthusiastic, at least, and Lila seemed to share in his boisterousness, which served to lift her own spirits somewhat. "Well, Sir Lochan Black, 'tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I must say, I admire your handiwork greatly, but I admire your timing even more so. And fret not about the state of your abode, it has been quite charming I assure you. My name is Lenalee, and this is Mari, in case Edmund didn't tell you.

"I believe that we owe the two of you thanks for the timely rescue. I am unsure how much longer we could have held the villagers at bay. So, thank you, the both of you." She finished her thanks, and gave them a moment to respond, and Mari to add something if she so wished.

Then, her expression dropped as she released a sigh. It was time for the difficult part. "You were right to say that we would do well to be away from this place as soon as we can, Edmund. I sensed Lila's power gathering above us long before she had completed her spell, and I don't doubt that the being behind what's going on here is just as aware of it as I was. She is a demoness, as you know. But according to my sources, she has some sort of mad idea about converting humans into demons rather than using us as slaves. She also seems to have acquired some sort of artifact, at least according to one of her servants, which she can graft onto her minions. The goblin called it the Gem of Eden, and said that she had infused him with its power." She pulled off her pack, and carefully drew the larger gem that had been left behind by Dreadbeak out for the rest to see.

"She is called the Priestess, apparently. According to what I know, she has little support in Hell itself, so at least we don't have to worry about a pack of hellhounds or black armored knights charging in here. I hope. Anyway, I doubt that we could use Lila to get us to safety anyway. We would only be tracked, and succubi such as the one we're up against take great relish in taking those such as Lila and I. Her actual forces are unknown to me, but I have been led to believe that she has an ogre, at the very least, and goblins we have already encountered. The corrupted townsfolk and wildlife do not serve her directly, but they are a danger to us as well."

Lenalee turned to Lochan and said; "You were a rifleman in the army. Were you an officer at any point? Any tactical advice would be greatly appreciated. You also know this village far better than I do, and any avenues of escape that you could suggest would be greatly appreciated. It might be a better idea to try and simply wipe the villagers out, but somehow I doubt that that option is particularly realistic, so perhaps simply holding out until a better option than going back out into the fray presents itself is our best bet."

Then, she turned to Lila, and said; "What are your powers, Lila, and more importantly, how much control do you have of them? I don't want to put you into danger, particularly as Edmund seems to fond of you, but we need to know all of our options." She glanced at Edmund as she mentioned the man, and when she finished she turned to Edmund and said; "I don't recognize the seal on your ring, but I know it to be a mark of nobility. What House are you from, if any? And how are the three of you related, exactly?" The last question was directed at all three, but she kept her eyes on Edmund when she asked it.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Spoiler

HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 75, Status = Fine.

Rolls

Spoiler

Perception (Unrelated to the Resistance Check): Failure.
Resistance (Domination Attempt): 25 + 4 = 29 vs 5 + 14 = 19. Lenalee wins.

Derp, before I forget again. 6 XP for murdering your way through a bunch of dudes. 2 xp for basement investigation games. Total of +8 XP to Lenalee.

"Ladies Lenalee and Mari," Lochan replied with a small bow. On the plus side, his formal nature seemed to have snapped the olive-skinned rogue out of her strange revulsion at the statues long enough to be confused instead. Mari even sincerely offered; "Yes, my thanks to the both of you." It all but confirmed that Edmund hadn't mentioned them by their names, too. "There is no need for the sir, I am no knight, you can call me simply by Lochan. There is no need for thanks, either, it was duty to offer what aid we could, isn't that right, milady?" The older man had turned to Lila as he spoke, who nodded enthusiastically. "I will gladly take any compliments about my aim though!" The big rifleman continued to smile as he spoke, as he had smiled through Lenalee's introduction as well.

The trio listened to the sorceresses' story intently. The occasional raise of an eyebrow or general look of surprise from Lochan and Edmund suggested that they didn't know much more about the story than the 'demon bitch' part that the wolfish swordsman had shared at the river. Lila's expression was unreadable until the mage removed the gem from her pack, she seemed almost squeamish at its appearance in the room. Lenalee could feel a strange and malevolent aura coming from the item, much stronger than the unnatural power she had felt earlier. As soon as she touched it, the sorceress could feel something assault her thoughts. The urge to consume the thing tried to take her, almost forcefully. Lenalee had to force the invading thoughts out of her mind and probably would not have been able to do so if she hadn't become so accustomed to dealing with demons. After its initial attempt was thwarted, it was easy enough to ignore the thing for long enough to finish her explanation and round of questions. She could also choose to leave it on the table or stow it again rather than holding it, which would break the visions entirely.

"The tasks I took on were a bit more...covert, Lady Lenalee. My talent is more in...hunting." Lochan looked almost as though a fond memory had overtaken him for a moment, some glory day long past, perhaps. "I will answer as best I can. My first instinct would be to try to draw this priestess out and ambush her, but as you have said we do not know her strength. If we were to head to the west we could probably do so without fighting our way through the townsfolk but might have to deal with whatever patrols this so-called priestess has in the forests. If we leave the way you entered then we would probably have to deal with the townsfolk but might be able to avoid any patrols of unknown strength." The big man gave an appraising look at the sorceress. "You seem to be quite the talented mage, Lady Lenalee. With your power we might be able to set up a defensive position in this house and fight to our advantage of quality against the quantity of the villagers. If we failed we would have no escape. We do not have the supplies to hold here for a prolonged period of time either, it would be all or nothing." He finished, still surprisingly upbeat but he had become noticeably more grim.

The blind girl spoke up to answer the next question. "I have an affinity for water and ice magic. I can do some things with raw energy and manipulate shadows but I'm not very efficient at it," Lila admitted. "My aim isn't the best, either," she added with a rueful smile. Edmund had looked up when his name was mentioned, he seemed more tired than sardonic at that point. "Formerly of House Dornwen," the wolfish man quickly replied. Interestingly, it wasn't a house that the connected sorceress had ever heard of, odd given that she vaguely recognized the symbol. It didn't seem to spark any memories from Mari, either. "I'm just a mercenary with a job to do now." He didn't seem particularly interested in answering any more than that and ended up looking at the table again, leaving Lochan to answer the rest. "I'm something of an adoptive father, or I suppose grandfather, to Lila here. She's been here since some unfortunate business with her father. Sir Edmund, or I suppose just Edmund now, was here with us on business before the town was corrupted. I owe his employer a great deal and providing lodging for Edmund was the least I could do." The rifleman wasn't smiling anymore, his expression had become a stony mask.

Companion Information

Spoiler

Mari: Duelist, Rogue: Uninjured
Edmund: Two Weapon Fighter, Gunner: Uninjured
Lochan: Rifleman, Rogue: Uninjured
Lila: Spirit Warrior, Shadowmancer, Ice Mage: Uninjured, 85 EP used

Almost as though it had heard the end of the answers, the Edenheart pulsed again from its newest location. A strange feeling overtook Lenalee. With its earlier offer rejected, images of...a carnival, of all things, flashed through her mind. The powerful mage's vision of the place was foggy. There were colorful tents and booths that offered exotic treats. There were masked men and women of all different races, Su-Ku-Ta, Elves, Humans, Fey, and even a few Demons, wearing vibrant garb and performing various tricks to awe the similarly diverse crowds. Nothing seemed to have a price, everything was distributed for free, from the foods to the shows. Slowly, the sorceress realized that the mental view of the festival was getting darker and grayer, the colors and sounds were becoming muted and her sight was being taken to another more grim portion of the field. Suddenly, she wasn't looking at a carnival at all. The realization dawned on Lenalee that she was looking at some sort of obscene feasting ground. Various people and creatures were bound in stocks and other such devices. Gruesomely, many were decapitated or mutilated, some had been butchered and cut open like swine. The sorceress found herself focused on one sight in particular, a large goblin.

It was Dreadbeak, his body had been ripped apart, the lower half was on the ground while the upper was suspended ten feet off the air in stocks. The only thing that kept the fallen dervish from being in two entirely separate pieces was his intestines, stretched between the two like a fully extended accordion. The ground underneath and around the goblin was stained crimson. There were deep and multiple cuts in the berserker's torso, as though some clawed being had grabbed on and shredded him. A shadow seemed to slowly overwhelm the slain demon as Lenalee spied the scene in her mind's eye. It was thick and impossible to peer through. Eventually it became so overwhelming that the sorceress couldn't see anything. She could hear, though.

Ha-ha-ha, a voice began to cackle in her thoughts. It wasn't so much a laugh as the noise of someone, or something, audibly sucking any joy out of its surroundings. Youuu aaare alreeeady mineee, Sorceressss. Iiit issss fateee. While the scene of carnage might not have been enough to stir or shake the sorceress, it was hard not to be shaken by the voice. Another voice conflicted with it, as if to save the mage, however. "Lenalee! Lenalee, are you alright?"

When she escaped the visions, Lenalee found that she was still standing where she had been, suddenly very uncertain of how long the images had plagued her, with a very concerned Mari holding her shoulders and looking at her. An investigatory glance showed that both Edmund and Lochan were consoling a shaking and sobbing Lila.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee paused and scowled as she felt the mental intrusion, the desire to consume the artifact forcibly implanting itself into her mind. The pause was only momentary, however, and she quickly set the thing down on the table as she continued her story. She took note of, but did not comment on Lila's reaction to it, knowing that the girl likely perceived the object far differently than even she did. Still, if any of them tried to touch the thing, she would have swiftly and firmly prevent them from doing so. Thankfully, that didn't become necessary.

She smiled slightly as Lochan revealed where his particular skill set lay, and nodded in response. Helpful certainly, but not offering anything spectacular as she had already surmised that the only choices they had were to fight or flee. She hadn't known where they were, but slipping off into the woods to face the unknown seemed a better option than trying to cut back through the village. A stand here offered its own benefits, of course, but she wasn't sure if that was a great idea, as he was quite right that they couldn't last out the enemies around them.

"You lost your title somehow, then?" Lenalee said following Lochan's explanation of the three gathering together. Before that question could be answered, however, Lenalee felt the gem pulsate, and turned toward it. The world seemed to slow down, and then melt away only to be replaced.....

By a carnival, of all things. Beautiful figures of all races, male and female, seemed to be performing.... Something. Those on stage wore masks, and performed before a crowd that was as racially diverse as the performers. All seemed to be without price, but she couldn't understand a bit of what she saw. The same question repeated through Lenalee's mind a hundred times as she examined her surroundings, in a different context perhaps but always truly the same. Why?

The vision began to grey out and darken, and then suddenly changed. Drastically. Horror and nausea donned on the normally stoic woman as she saw the carnival turn to a scene of carnage before her. A feast of the flesh, but not in the sense that it might have usually meant to her, as the patrons of the carnival were now seemingly strung up on such devices as she had never even imagined, even in the hands of the inquisition. Each of them was mutilated in ways that she had never imagined possible, their bodies torn into a grotesque display, but again, Lenalee found herself at a loss. What was this? Why was she made to see it? And why did such an abomination exist in the first place?

She found no answers, until she came upon the bisected body of Dreadbeak. The goblin was immediately recognizable, but his body was so severely mangled that Lenalee had to wonder how he could have become like this. The sorceress, for all her power and all of her will simply didn't know what to do here, in this place. She had never seen anything of the like before, and had never imagined such an awful sight could even exist. As she tried to process what she saw, darkness began to gather around the fallen goblin, and it filled around her sight until there was nothing but shadows in her vision. Terror gripped her heart, but then, the voice that seemed to originate not form without, but from within cackled into her mind, and she was paralyzed with fear as it delivered its dark message.

Another voice intruded, however, and the darkness was gone in a flash, and Lenalee was left standing in the center of the room with a horror struck expression upon her face. Mari had shaken her out of whatever trance she had been taken into, and a glance toward Lila revealed that the blind girl was sobbing and the sorceress realized that she must have seen the same. For a moment, a torrent of emotions competed for Lenalee's attentions, but then, she forced things into order.

First things first. She turned to Mari, grabbed the rogue by the back of her neck, and kissed her fully on the lips. A thank you, of sorts, and for now the best she could do for her. Then, breaking that, she turned to Lila and let her rage take control. Rage that a vulnerable child, so reminiscent of something only half remembered, could be forced to see something so awful as what the demoness had shown to the two of them. She stepped forward, until she was right next to Lila, and said; "It wasn't real Lila. Everything you saw was a lie. And for showing you that, and trying to pass it off as truth.... I will burn her eyes from her skull." She paused, her proclamation delivered with such certainty and relentless fury that Lenalee had to keep herself from shaking.

A sigh or two later, and she had calmed herself enough to take a step back, and turn to Lochan. "Is there any place in here that overlooks the village? We don't have much time. The demon knows that we're here, and I need to see what's out there before she decides to send something more dangerous than villagers with pitchforks for us."

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Spoiler

HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 75, Status = Fine.

(Gah, sorry. Short post is short. ;_; My wall of text spirit isn't broken yet though! Consider it the calm before the storm!)

Mari seemed quite surprised by the kiss, though she made no move to pull away until the sorceress was ready to, suggesting that her surprise was pleasant. At Lenalee's furious proclamation, Lila seemed to calm down a little, at least. Obviously, Edmund and Lochan had no idea what the young woman, who seemed barely of age to marry, let alone of the experience to deal with that kind of gore, had seen. Nor could the men, though experienced soldiers, understand what it was like to receive those sorts of visions, it was hard for them to offer any comfort to the frightened girl. What the wolfish man could understand, apparently, was the concept of vengeance. He nodded grimly at Lenalee before continuing to try to calm the young ice mage down. The girl had ceased sobbing, though she still shook fearfully.

Lochan faced the sorceress at her question, his own expression was tempered despite the sudden change in atmosphere. "It knows we're here? This is dreadful news." The rogue looked worried at the revelation, as well. "Sadly, milady, there are no great vantage points over the village in this home. You might try to see what you can see from the upstairs window but it might not be much." He brought a hand to stroke his bushy mustache in contemplation, thinking for a moment before adding. "The only real vantage point I can offer is the building I used to watch over your skirmish. It's the tallest place in a reasonable distance and it has a roof access. Its occupants are indisposed, as well. We would still risk needing to battle our way to and from it, however."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

"Take me to the window. I need to see what lies outside, and then maybe we can figure out what to do. I don't want to risk separating from the rest of the group too much, and the demoness knows about Lila now. She needs to be protected." Lenalee said, her voice cold and slightly tired.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Spoiler

HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 75, Status = Fine.

Lochan nodded and motioned to the stairs; "After you, Lady Lenalee." The huntsman was the only one to follow the sorceress up as she made the ascent. The old wooden stairs creaked with every footfall. It was fairly small upstairs. A narrow hallway, not wide enough for the two abreast, that led to two rooms. Although the older man had allowed the lightning mage to go first, he directed her by motioning to the appropriate room. By Lenalee's reckoning, the door she had been directed through would lead to a space directly over the main room downstairs.

From the looks of things, it was a simple bedroom. There was a bed in the far right corner of the room from Lenalee's perspective. A simple wooden nightstand and a similar chest accompanied the mattress at its end and side respectively. There was a candle holder, with lit candle, in the room on the table by the bed, that had almost melted away. An iron rod laid on the floor next to the linen chest. There was a dresser to Lenalee's right, sitting in the corner. A few bookcases loaded with books lined the wall to the mage's left-hand side. Beyond that, it was very spartan. No rugs or decorations lined the floor or walls. Lochan motioned to the window, which was boarded up much as all the others had been. Perhaps it was barricaded even more thoroughly than most, as it didn't let a single beam of light into the room, leaving the candle as the only source of light.

Without waiting for the curvy mage to take her position at the window, Lochan walked over and retrieved the iron rod. The huntsman moved to the window and pried the bottom piece of wood free, in doing so allowing a greater modicum of light and vision into the room. After dropping the rod to the ground, he removed his rifle from his shoulder and offered it to the mage. "You should be able to get a better view with the scope but be careful, Lady Lenalee, it's loaded."

Regardless of whether or not she used the offered scope, Lochan's earlier assessment of what she could see through the window proved to be unfortunately accurate. Lenalee could only see into the town from her position at the glass. What she could see of the town didn't offer much information as to how a mage and four tagalongs might escape it, besides running another thousand foot dash. The only thing the sorceress really gained out of her observation was a sense that the town had become quiet and calm. The corrupted townsfolk no longer roamed the streets. There were no calls after the interlopers that had been through less than half an hour ago. Perhaps not the most reassuring information, given the Badarian sorceress's assumption that a demon knew where she was.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Before leaving the bottom floor of the house, Lenalee made sure to grab the Heart of Eden in a cloth, and wrap the gem thoroughly before returning it back to her pack. 'This place is much smaller than I thought it would be.... I guess whoever Edmund and Lochan used to work for have fallen on hard times, if this tiny place is all they could afford.' Lenalee thought, as she maneuvered through the small house at the older man's instructions.

Within the small bedroom, Lenalee stood well away from the man as he pried loose a board, and when offered the rifle, she nodded and took the heavy weapon. Though she was perhaps far from dainty, the gun was still heavy in her hands, but knelt down to look through the window and held the gun to her shoulder with surprisingly practiced ease. First, she looked through the small opening without the use of the scope, keeping the rifle lowered and out of the way of her sight. She couldn't see a damned thing, other than blurry, indistinct blobs moving among the shapes of the buildings, however, and as such raised the weapon to her shoulder, once more with more skill than might have been expected of her. She kept her finger on the trigger guard rather than the trigger, in order to ensure that she didn't accidentally set the weapon off, and held the rifle lightly as she saw what little there was to see. The villagers seemed to have quieted down, at least, and were strolling about as if nothing had happened despite the battle that had taken place not too long ago.

Rising from her position, she offered the rifle back to Lochan and said; "It looks pretty quiet out there, and we did cut down a bunch of them on the way in. Still.... I think I'd rather risk whatever is in the woods than try to wade back through the town. Particularly if we have Lila to protect in the middle of us. C'mon, lets get going back downstairs." She turned and followed the way they had come back to the stairs, and returned to the room where they had left the others. "We're leaving. Not only is a last stand here nearly suicidal, but it looks like our welcoming committee has gone back to shuffleboard for the moment, and I'd like to take this opportunity to be on our way. We're going to slip out quietly, into the woods, and I don't see us coming back here so make sure that you grab anything that you want to keep. Edmund, you're in charge of keeping Lila with us and making sure that nothing tries to nab her. I'll need to speak to you privately in a moment, but first lets get some other things sorted out." Lenalee said, falling into the impromptu role of commander with ease that surprised even her.

Remaining at least outwardly confident, however, the sorceress turned to Lochan and said; "I suppose since this is your home, you would know best, so I'd like you to gather anything that you think could be useful. We are going into hostile terrain against an unknown enemy, with no chance of reinforcement, no avenue of retreat and with people that need to be protected. Be creative, and don't worry about making us carry a few things as well. Concentrate on essentials, but if you have anything in here that you think might be useful, bring it up. Oh, and bring your trophy collection up from the basement as well, if you don't mind. We're going to need them." She turned to Mari, and smiled slightly as she said; "Mari, help him if he needs it, and keep an eye on things upstairs. I'm not entirely sure what our enemies capabilities are, so I don't think that anyone should go off alone." Finally, she turned to Lila and said; "Lila, sweetie, I want you to just stay here, and relax for a moment. Edmund and I will be back in a moment, and then we can all get out of this place."

That said, she nodded for them to get onto their tasks, and then beckoned for Edmund to join her in the kitchen. Once the two of them were alone together, Lenalee sighed, and turned to the wolfish man; "I heard what you said to the two men when we were fighting in the village. The ones in breastplates. What were they to you? What are you, really? Just a mercenary, or a deposed nobleman, or what? That last question is more curiosity than anything else, so you don't have to answer, but there's an off chance that it might be important." She said, her voice low and even as she met Edmund's gaze and held it with her own.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Spoiler

HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 75, Status = Fine.

(Behold! Edmund gets a new text because the old one was bothering me! Also, another short one, but I guessed that the Q&A session might not necessarily be over.)

The assembled group once again listened to Lenalee's instructions intently. Lila, though still shaken, seemed ready to object to the idea that she needed special protection but, in the end, held her silence. The rest seemed to agree with the sorceress's general logic, although a hint of nervousness was present in Mari's dark eyes. Despite it all, when she gave their specific orders, each accommodated with a simple nod. Lochan turned and made his way down into the basement first. The rogue's eyes lingered on the mage's own for a moment extra, but she eventually nodded and followed the huntsman down. Edmund, for his part, seemed less than enthused by the idea of a private conversation, but was willing enough to go along with it. Lila, on the other hand, had simply nodded as the curvy sorceress explained her task in it all.

When Lenalee felt that she had sufficiently isolated her target, she asked her questions. The wolfish swordsman sighed in response first, though he didn't back away from the sorceress's gaze. "I guess I did say to get your answers," the man replied with a scoff after a short pause. "They were friends, at one point, before the demonic bitch corrupted them." Another pause followed, ending with a sigh shortly after it begun. "I was a knight. My lord was a kind and caring man that put great trust and responsibility on me. One day he asked too much and now I am no longer a knight. It's that simple." Edmund smirked before adding; "As for what I am now? I bet you've already made some judgments there. But it's like the old man said, I'm just finishing a job. You satisfied with that answer?"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Lenalee nodded, frowning seriously at Edmund's answers, and even going so far as to scowl when he suspected that she had already judged him. When he had finished, Lenalee sighed and shook her head slightly before looking back at the grinning man. "I don't know a lot of things about what's going on here, Edmund. I don't know what it is that you failed to do that caused you to lose your title. I don't know what's wrong with Ren, the girl in the wagon to you. I don't know how powerful the woman we're up against is, or how many minions she has. I don't know if I'm going to be alive tomorrow, or if I won't be a mindless slave to some demon whore. There are a few things that I do know, however." She looked up at him, and suddenly adopted a grin to match his.

"I know that, whatever your past might be, you're a great asset to have at my side in a fight. However much you may grate upon Mari, I know from how you treat Lila, and how you've helped us that you are a good man. I know that it's really none of my business how you lost your status, and that your words so far have led me to believe that it wasn't through some misdeed of yours. I know that I don't have any right to judge you, because I've made plenty of mistakes myself." Her smile shifted, and she tilted her head so that she was looking up at him and bit her lip for a moment before she spoke again.

When she did, her voice was low and raspy, and there was a slight blush upon her pale cheeks; "I know that I owe you my life, after today Edmund, and that you owe me yours. I know that I repay my debts in full, whenever I can, and I think that you prefer to keep the scores even as well. But, am I satisfied? No, I do not think that I am." She tilted her head and crossed her arms, pushing her breasts up and giving Edmund a view of her neck all the way down to her cleavage. "I think that I might have to demand satisfaction from you.... Later, Edmund. In full." She glared at him meaningfully for a moment, as though there would be consequences for failing to "satisfy" the sorceress, but she could only hold the expression for a moment before it dissolved into another smile. "Until then... I believe that you and I have a lot to do."

With that, Lenalee walked slowly around Edmund, her hips swaying and her gaze locked with his even as she walked away. Before she left the kitchen, however, she turned away and allowed her face to fall back into a neutral mask. Having ensured Edmund's loyalty (she hoped,) she now had all of her allies as far under her thumb as she would have liked. Lila and Lochan were too kind, too trusting of her and too reliant on Edmund to be give her any trouble, and Mari was already as close to a friend as she had ever had. They would listen to her, all of them, because they thought that she was their only hope of getting out of here alive. Inwardly, the lightning witch prayed that they were right.

Returning to the main room, Lenalee took out the darkhearts she had collected from the foes, as well as the smaller gems she had collected from the goblins in service to the priestess. So far, they hadn't possessed the potency that the Heart had, but she didn't want to have to worry about them anymore. Setting them on the table, she indicated for Lochan to set his own trophies on the table, and once the man had done so and the rest of the group was assembled, Lenalee said; "I know of a man who buys such things, and appears with a thought, even in places of great danger. He is also able to enchant weapons and armor, and as we're going into battle, I think it might be best if we were as prepared as possible. I have a plan that may buy us some time and hopefully eliminate many obstacles from our path, but I also need to know if there are any ways out of this place other than the main doorway or being brought in by Lila."

(Summon the merchant, ask everyone what gear they have, sell him all of the junk we have. I'll figure out what I'm gonna do with him later.)

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Spoiler

HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 75, Status = Fine.

Edmund adopted a surprised expression as the sorceress explained that she hadn't judged him. It began with the raise of one eyebrow and slowly progressed into two. From there, the wolfish man seemed to soften, a momentary look of what may have passed for relief. Though, when Lenalee began to seduce him, anything else visible from reading his face was replaced by a dumbfounded look. It seemed that, despite all his quips and japes, the man had simply not expected it. The lightning mage had managed to render the mercenary speechless, an epic feat in and of itself. It was difficult to tell whether or not her attempt at seduction had worked, although Edmund certainly had not squandered the chance to peek at the curvy woman's cleavage, but if nothing else the revelation that she hadn't been judging the swordsman alone seemed to have inspired something. It was uncertain whether or not she had true loyalty from the entirety of her party, but what she had might have been as close as she could get to that.

After adjusting her expression to be better suited to the task ahead, Lenalee returned to the main room to find that Lochan and Mari had already returned. The huntsman carried a overfilled leather satchel and the rogue nothing. The olive-skinned woman helplessly shrugged at the sorceress as the older man determinedly hefted the thing around. It didn't seem that the marksman was willing to allow either of the women to carry even part of the burden.

After everyone had gathered again, Lochan spoke up. "We collected what we could, Lady Lenalee. Unfortunately, I did not prepare for the contingency of five people needing to escape into the wilderness. Truthfully, I did not even prepare for three." Upon the mage's indication that he offer up the trophies, Lochan put the overstuffed satchel down and put forth the items that Lenalee had spotted in the basement earlier. The spoils totaled four darkhearts and three goblin fangs. Lenalee noticed that Edmund seemed to be the only one out of the five to be particularly confused by talk of the merchant. When she was done explaining, the huntsman replied to Lenalee's question. "There's a backdoor out through the trophy room," he motioned at the door the mage hadn't explored as he spoke. "I imagine it would be the easiest way to escape into the forest without alerting the townsfolk. It's the only alternative to the front door." After she had received an answer, the black-haired mage took inventory.

Spoiler

Group Inventory (Satchel)
4x Darkhearts (On the table)
3x Goblin Fangs (On the table)

4x Filled Waterskins
1x Skin filled with Inky Liquid
Octdoguckupus Carving
1x Field Ration (Day's Worth)
Several Linen Bandages
3x Torches
3x Bedrolls
1x Lantern with Oil
Flint and Steel

Lochan
Foreign Lever-Action Rifle - 3d8 + 2, 60 foot range, holds 5 shots, 2 round reload, ignores 5 AV.
Hunting Knife - 1 + 3d6 + Body/2
Leather Armor: AV = 4, EV = 1, TP = 30, DU = 3

Lila
Clothes: AV = 1, EV = 0, TP = 25, DU = 2.

Mari
Longsword: 1 + 3d6 + Body/2.
Leather Armor: AV = 4, EV = 1, TP = 30, DU = 3.

Edmund
Sabre: 1 + 3d6 + Body/2
Badarian Revolver: 2d10 + 1, 50 foot range, holds 5 shots, 3 round reload, ignore 5 AV.
Clothes: AV = 1, EV = 0, TP = 25, DU = 2.

With an assessment of what her group was working with, it was time to summon the merchant. As expected, it took only a thought for the man in question to appear. "Over here, stranger." When Lenalee, and the others, turned towards the sound of the voice, a corner of the room that none of the party had been looking at, they saw the man. Tall and unnaturally pale, what could be seen of his skin anyway. Covered in a dark cloak with a violet bandana obscuring his lower face. The sorceress noticed that Edmund seemed about ready to draw his sword on the merchant, at least until Mari and Lochan calmed him down. The merchant didn't seem to notice, instead focusing on the sorceress. The man threw his cloak open, displaying a wide variety of wares ranging from weapons to demon skins. "What are ya buyin'? What are ya sellin'?"

Spoiler

Junk transaction goes through, of course. An accounting of it below, just in case I derped on the amount of stuff sold.

12x Darkhearts = 240 denarii
3x Goblin Fangs = 60 denarii
4x Essences of Eden = 80 denarii

Lenalee gains 380 denarii.

Also, erk, this reply feels so much more purely technical than I wanted it to be. ;_;

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Shopping!

Spoiler

No worries, it was going to be a mechanics heavy post anyway.
Sell all of that stuff, and add Lenalee's 80 denarii into the pot for a nice total of 380 + 80 = 460 denarii

So, 300 denarii gives each of us +1 AV to our armor except for Lila, who doesn't need it since if she gets hit, we're fucked.
That leaves 150..... Give Edmund's clothing +1 AV and then give Mari's sword +1 to attack and damage rolls.
That's another 125.

Leaving Lenalee with 35 denarii in pocket change!

Lenalee just shook her head at Mari, figuring that the man would have done something of the sort. Chivalry wasn't completely dead, at least, but the sorceress took a moment to hope that his unwillingness to spread the weight around didn't get Lochan killed. "No worries, Lochan. I'm used to roughing it, and I'm sure Mari is too. Anything you've scrounged up will be of use, I'm sure." She noted that Lochan and Mari seemed unsurprised by mention of the merchant, but wasn't overly surprised. He had been at Artmirst, after all, and so had Mari, so the likelihood of the rogue having encountered the man before was higher than most. The same could easily be applied to Lochan, as she didn't doubt that the man had his share of experiences as well.

When the former knight seemed openly hostile to the strange merchant, Lenalee sighed, glancing between the two before saying; "Edmund, relax." Mari and Lochan calmed him well enough, and once she was sure that he would be calm and collected, Lenalee sighed again and turned to the merchant. "Selling first, and then upgrading. We go into danger, so our armor will require some... Improvement. Edmund, you wouldn't happen to have anything more protective, would you? Never mind, we have too little time to dally.... Some extra for you then. And Mari, let him see your sword as well. This should about cover everything."

Their bargaining complete, Lenalee glanced down at her newly upgraded armor. She was going to need all of the protection that she could get for what was to come, and she wanted her allies to have the same. The only one who's clothing she hadn't reinforced was Lila's. If anything got close to the girl, they would all probably be in far too much trouble for armor to help her. "Alright, now that that's settled, Lochan, show me to the back entrance, and then point me in the direction of that tower that you mentioned. I've got a plan."

Once she had been shown to the door, Lenalee promptly vanished completely from sight. In her place, a girl stood, of a similar height but naked as the day she was born and thin as a rail. She was also sporting multiple deformities, as was common among the corrupted. Smiling impishly, Lenalee, in her own voice said; "How do I look? I don't use this spell very often, but it has come in handy a few times. Think they'll buy it?"

Spoiler

Level 3 light spell, alter self. Become a mutant freak!
Also, feel free to get Lenalee outside and to the tower if nothing happens.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Hafnium Test Thread

Spoiler

HP = 50, PP = 70, EP = 71/75, Status = Alter self.

Spoiler

Several NPC sheets updated!

Casting: Auto Success

"Hehehe... What do ya need all that for? Goin' hunting?" The merchant's cackle filled the air of the small room. It was obviously a rhetorical question, as he immediately set about the task of altering the items. It was a smooth transaction, if only slightly delayed by Lochan's unwillingness to go shirtless in front of the three women in the room. Edmund eventually managed to talk the older, plumper huntsman into removing his shirt in the trophy room and handing it through the door, before being passed off for improvement. By the time it was all said and done, the party was at least slightly more prepared for the road ahead than they had been previously. "Pleasure doin' business with ya, stranger." As suddenly as he had arrived, the robed salesman was gone.

"I did not know it was my birthday," Mari said with a grin at the lightning mage shortly after the pale man had disappeared. The olive-skinned woman waved her improved longsword through the air to test its balance and weight. The other two were a bit more solemn about their newly enchanted gear, they didn't seem excited at the prospect of testing their own equipment's improvements. The blind girl sat patiently for the entirety of it. At Lenalee's suggestion, Lochan merely nodded and led her through the unexplored door. The rest seemed a little confused at their lack of role in the mentioned plann, but waited in the main room anyway.

The trophy room itself was probably twenty feet across both ways. As the name of the room indicated, several heads were mounted on the wall. A mountain lion, a particularly vicious looking wolf, and what Lenalee recognized as a hellhound's head, among many others. A throw carpet adorned the middle of the floor, with a few comfortable looking leather covered chairs around it. There were two windows on either side of a barred door, but they were boarded up. Without any ado about his trophies, the older man moved to unbar the backdoor for the sorceress. When Lenalee cast her spell, altering her shape in order to take on the guise of a mutated villager, the big man looked away, obviously surprised by her nudity. "I, uh, have no doubt in your ability to sneak by them, Lady Lenalee." After peeking out and confirming that it was safe, the rifleman opened the door and stepped outside, going just far enough around the house to point out the building that the sorceress intended on visiting, a tall one much further into the town. The huntsman tactically avoided looking at the mage's nudity, even if it was only an illusion, as he did so. It wasn't until the woman's path was clear that he finally looked her in the eyes again. "Good luck and be safe, Lady Lenalee. We can take care of things here while you're gone." With a nod, he returned inside.

Once the sorceress had ensured that none of the mutants had noticed the two, she was off. Whether her spell would prevent a repeat of her earlier pitchfork-caused perforation was yet to be seen. Still, signs remained positive as she made her way towards the tall building that Lochan had pointed out to her. Overgrown greenery moved with the wind. The errant vermin or scavenging wildlife would dash away at her approach. Occasionally she would see shadows darting past nearby windows as she went by. Regardless of all that, no villagers rushed out to meet her. The buildings around the mage on her little hike were much the same as they were in the part of the town that she had fled in earlier, ruined by lack of proper care and vandalism.

As she continued, things became very similar. Partly because Lenalee recognized the road not more than a hundred feet ahead of her as the spot where she had met Lila. It also happened to be the spot where several villagers had been trying to perforate her with farming tools. Thankfully, it was empty when the sorceress made her return to the scene. A few seconds of walking later and she was at her destination. It was easy to find, partly because it was one of the few two-story buildings in the town. The mage remained as inconspicuous as she could on her approach towards the entryway of the target. After a quick check to ensure that nothing was watching, the sorceress opened the door and entered.

The interior of the building was unremarkable. The first room she stepped foot in seemed to serve as a reception room with a hallway off of it. A few padded chairs were scattered about the room, some overturned. Decoration-wise, there wasn't much left to speak of. A few destroyed items, shredded paintings, a busted table. The only things of particular interest were the corpses of the former occupants. Six in total, all were clearly mutated and nude. A few had been bludgeoned to death and the rest had been shot. Further investigation would prove that the house seemed safe for the moment, at least. Though the sorceress didn't pay too much attention to the interior, she would count a kitchen, a study, and a dining room downstairs as she moved through the house. Upstairs, she found three bedrooms and an attic entrance. Lenalee would be able to try to carry out her plan if she desired, search the rooms, or any combination thereof. Although, she might not have too much time, as she could hear faint chanting not far in the distance.

Eden, Eden, Eden, the voices called.