The Adventurers Guild

[Marcus Pheonix]

Click here for the OOC thread

 

Backstory:

 

The Adventurers Guild. A system put in place by the government to combat the constant threat of monsters and maladies that inhabit the land. It is not known how the original monsters arrived, some say that one day they emerged from the shadows, others that they descended from the heavens as bringers of the ragnarok. However, it is known to all that monsters are a threat to both rural and developed areas. Men and women killed in the dark, farms burned to the ground, all had reason to worry. It is said that one day a monster, an abomination of a creature that resembled both a man and a wolf, attacked a shepherd in the night. But the shepherd was skilled in the arcane and proved that one does not need 20 men at arms to destroy a monster.

On that day the Adventurers Guild was founded, managed by crown assigned officials and employees who oversee the paperwork, delegation of money and contracts, locating and recruiting adventures, heroes, who fight against the monsters. Humans, elves, beastmen, orcs, men, women, children, the elderly, tricksters, knights, men of magic, men of science, all of them flocked to the guild, determined to defend their fellows from the monsters.

Slowly the Adventurers Guild expanded, making contracts with neighbouring kingdoms and towns, setting up branches across the land. Those who required aid would lodge requests to their local branch and teams, soloists, or even specialists would fulfil the contract and earn their keep at the guild. Utilizing the divine abilities of the church, adventurers who lived and fulfilled their duty to the guild could do these tasks with no fear of death. Upon death the divine sigil that every adventurer had would allow their spirit to linger, allowing them to walk to the nearest church. Their body quickly decays through the power of the divine magic laid upon the brand, a precaution put into the sigil to prevent any monsters from eating the body, and the equipment, whole, which did occur. When they arrive at a church associated with the guild, the priests would revive them, granting them a new body, and a convenient towel to keep their modesty. This essentially makes adventurers unkillable at the cost of the gear they had on them at the time of death, until they can reclaim it from the being that killed them.

 

Plot:

 

You are a fresh recruit, a brand new adventurer with your eyes set on becoming a legendary Odin class hero, a feat only achieved by the most powerful and revered adventurers. There are four ranks of adventurers, in ascending order of superiority they are:

 

Loki; the new adventurers, the people tasked with keeping dire rats out of farmsteads. Many people believe that this tier is called Loki as a result of those who apply to become an adventurer simply for the immortality included. As such, limitations were incorporated, requiring this tier of adventurers to fulfill contracts much more frequently than the upper tiers.

Freya; the first official tier of 'heroes', not as powerful, nor as well-known as those of the Thor tier but without a doubt the most abundant.

Thor; the most well-known heroes, they are revered by the populace and many aspiring adventurers see reaching this tier to be the peak of an adventures career, there are few who can manage to reach higher.

Odin; the most powerful adventurers, more commonly referred to as legendary heroes, scarcely seen but without a doubt the top of the top.

 

You applied for your license at the local Adventurer's Guild in the medium sized town of Hargrave, a mostly human town. To the north the town borders the Heavens Valley, a dual mountain range with a long winding valley between them that leads to the tundra up north, the valley contains multiple mines and quarries, the precious gems inside are the main source of revenue to the town. To the east and south east of Hargrave is a freshwater lake, rumoured to hold secrets within, and to the south and west, a simple forest and the main road to the neighbouring towns and capital. Hargrave sits on the Capital continent, one of two on this world. The continent spans from the northern pole far to the south, it has forests, mountains, deserts and marshes, with towns, villages and cities here and there throughout. The second continent is called the Westerlands, as it is located predominantly to the west of the Capital continent and reaches farther south than the Capital continent.

 

Info:

 

This world is a semi-steampunk fantasy. While swords and magics exist and are quite prominent, primitive guns and airships are also a common sight, particularly in the dwarven and dragonborn lands. As with any adventurer, you start off at the Loki tier, required to constantly bring in revenue to prove to the Adventurers Guilds higher ups that you have what it takes to be an adventurer. As such, most contracts will start as simple ones, simply because an adventurer wouldn't have the time to take on the higher level quests and still fulfill their quota. After some time you will be tasked with a single higher level contract, as presented by the Adventurers Guild officials. Upon completion the adventurer will be moved up to the next tier.

In the beginning of adventurers travels new, recruits are put into teams so that they can get used to the work load, after passing through the Loki tier adventurers no long have to work as a team but many still continue as it lightens up the workload.

 

I'm basing a fair bit of this on World of Warcraft and DnD, for playable races I'd like to restrict it to the more common ones from DnD;

Humans: The generic, most common race

Elves: Mystical, magical pointed eared humanoids. Live much longer lives than humans and are also slightly shorter. They have many different races within the species of elves.

Dwarves: short, stout and sturdy. Miners, metal workers dwarves are well known for their underground towns and strength.

Gnomes: the smallest race, pointy eared and rely on their intellect and cunning to to survive in a world of giants.

Halflings: the middle child of the 3 shorter races. Halflings generally have a bit of a belly on them and enjoy a more relaxed life than most other races, though they can still be as competant warriors as the next race.

Half-orcs: the half breed of a wild orc and a human. Not as hostile or beastly as a pure orc but with their large protruding lower canines and tough orcish skin they are some of the deadliest fighters in the world.

Tieflings: in ancient times the tiefling ancestors made pacts with demons. To this day they are horned, tailed, hooved humanoids with storng ties to the arcane.

Dragonborn: proud and often looked upon with suspicion, Dragonborn are essentialy humanoid dragons, they come in chromatic and metallic variants. They stand taller than the average human and have a tough scaly hide and a tail. The race has the natural ability to breath an elemental magic, the magic itself is based off the colouration of thier scales. Red breath fire, blue breath ice, green; poison, etc...

 

Many of the races can also have half breeds between them, in the case of half-orcs consider them human/orc, elf/orc are also possible.

 

The era is fantasy/steampunk, think WoW. A majority is fantasy, but dwarves and gnomes have their mechanical machinations. More mystical races like elves and fae will not have as much of the steam powered tech but rely more on magical energy, magical torches instead of pitch based ones. For guns and steampunk style weaponry, no automatic weapons. Those that are allowed include: Revolvers, pepperboxes, shotguns and single shot rifles. Explosives are allowed, however they wouldn't be to a modern standard and would likely have faults.

 

Magics:

Arcane: Magical energy, telepathy, spectral creations, teleporting, student of all magical fields, master of none.

Elemental: Earth, fire, wind, water, lightning and any combination of those.

Conjuring: summoning, spectral weapons, spirit helpers, animal familiars.

Druidic: natural magic, plant life, animal transformation, often includes an elemental specialty.

Necromancy: dark magic, summoning undead, draining life force, blood magic.

Divine: light magic, relies on the power of the gods, healing, shields, anti-undead.

Demonic (warlock): not necessarily dark, someone made a pact to gain power, hexes, curses, the Dark equivalent of Arcane.

 

Mages can vary, they could be somewhat akin to a paladin, wielding their magic through a sigil or empowered weapon, or a staff/wand wielding wizard or sorcerer.

 

The monsters will vary greatly. Trolls, ogres, dire wolves, dragons, undead, gargoyles, goblins, fishmen, gnolls, werewolves, vampires, minotaurs and evil spirits. There will be more than just monsters - bandits, and dark wizards. Ordinary people can be villainous just as easily as creatures of the night.

 

Rules:

 

1. All forum rules apply

2. Don't Godmod/Powerplay

3. Keep it M/pg13 rated, don't go into too much detail on the gory things.

3. If your character dies don't suddenly find an exact carbon copy of whatever Items you had on you, you'll have to purchase new equipment and then head off to pick up what you lost.

Your character can die but be wary of the consequences

4. No Mary sues/ Gary stus, not untill you're Odin tier

5. If you have ideas or suggestions be sure to message me, be they races, locations, monsters etc. If I reject it I will give you a reason as to why.

6. Try to post at least once a week, once every couple days preferably if you're characters in conversation or in combat with another player (against a common enemy for the combat)

8. Semi-lit? A short paragraph would be nice but I understand that when things start to get moving people won't be able to post as much. Please keep grammar, spelling and punctuation readable.

9. PM your forms to me please, if you want more varied critique, post them in the OOC.

 

Form:

 

[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Character Name:[/b]
[b]Alias:[/b] (Optional)
[b]Age:[/b] (7, 17, 777?)
[b]Gender:[/b] (Birth or identifies)
[b]Race:[/b] (Any unique ones? Just include a brief description)
[b]Appearance:[/b] (Images are great but they don't cover everything, a couple lines supporting it would be appreciated)
[b]Personality:[/b] (RPing the majority is fine as sometimes people can't fully portray what they've written but a few aspects should be included; are they a nice person? Or do they just want to watch the world burn?)
[b]History:[/b] (What happened in their life to make them want to become an adventurer?)
[b]Combat Style:[/b] (do they fight using magic, guns, sword? If magic what type?)
[b]Special Equipment:[/b] (What weapon/ specialised armour do they use that they wouldn't want to lose, not counting money? Also include anything like a pet should you have it) 
[b]Tier:[/b] (Everyone starts at Loki)
[b]Other:[/b] (Any extra information)

Edited March 23, 2016 by Marcus Pheonix

[Marcus Pheonix]

Accepted Characters

 

Username: Marcus Pheonix

Character Name: Kra’veilin “Koral”

Alias: Bear

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Race: Elven Half-orc

Appearance: 6ft 3, with dark grey skin that almost appears black when in shadow. He has a powerful build but somewhat leaner than human half-orcs as befitting his elven blood. Like all half-orcs he has two protruding canines jutting up from his lower lip. He has yellowish green eyes and claw marks across his nose from one cheek to the other. He wears a brown tunic, with a bear pelt over his back, the head sewn onto a hood that he keeps over his head and the arms as sleeves/gauntlets. He also has leather boots and under his hood long blonde hair that he keeps tied back in a ponytail.

Personality: A bit of a wild one, Koral isn’t the one you want to start an argument with in a bar. Fond of his drink and meat Koral’s main purpose for becoming an adventurer is to quench his bloodlust and earn money to support his drinking habits. He can be nice, especially to fellow’s he’s shared a drink and a sad story with. He has a quiet fondness for the shorter races and a quiet hatred for elves. His hatred of elves leads him to hide his elven hair.

History: Born to an elven mother after an orc attack on her village, Kra’veilin was treated as an outcast by his elven peers. However, he was still one of the village and was taught the ways of the bow and the purpose of the village. The village was situated high in the treetops of a sacred forest, where old ruins remained and creatures not found anywhere else on the continent presided. On his 18th year he was assigned with his first druidic task, to still the great brown bear. The bear had been aggressive towards the other forest creatures and due to its size none of the elves who tried to reach it and calm it could, as the large bear would drive them away with its sharp claws. Kra’veilin, desperate to finally appease his village approached the bear in an attempt to calm it. However, the bear attacked, as it had with all the other druids. Desperate to succeed Kra’veilin did not retreat and suffered a swipe across his face. The pain, however, awakened his inner orc, Kra’veilin killed the bear and skinned it without mercy. Upon returning to the village Kra’veilin was shunned and exiled, killing an elder creature of the forest was taboo to the elves. Angry at his exile Kra’veilin assuming the more orcish name of Koral and travelled north.

Combat Style: He primarily uses a bow, his quiver sits on his back poking up through a hole in his pelt. However, he can enter an orcish rage and put his hands into the ‘gloves’ of the bear pelt and swipe at enemies with the claws. He also has some small druidic powers, though they’re limited to calming beasts, and shape-shifting, though he uses them sparsely.

Special Equipment: His bow is made of the wood from his home forest, and is very sturdy and allows for fast accurate shots. His bear pelt is very thick and acts as tough leather armour, the claws of the bear pelt are large and Koral uses them as makeshift bladed gauntlets at times.

Tier: Loki

Other: Due to his dark skin, his bear pelt and brown tunic many people at first glance assume that he’s a bipedal bear.

 

Username:MrSpyro

Character Name: Oryx

Alias: n/a

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Race: Dragonborn (Darksteel Metallic)

Appearance: Oryx is about 7 feet tall, with ridiculously shiny obsidian scales and fiery orange eyes. He appears to be lean and almost catlike in build, but he's actually plain skinny. He has a pair of whiskers that are about a foot long each and curl slightly at the tips, and a pair of deer-like horns on his head that measure about 9 inches and branch off a little. He also lacks a tail. Oryx prefers to wear light clothing (it's common knowledge that heavy armor dampens magic) and is nearly always seen with a plain gold ring on each of his horns with diamond-shaped amethysts in them. At the beginning of the RP, he will be wearing a plain white robe under a blue tabard with gold trim and secured with a red sash. Oh yeah, and boots.

Personality: Oryx is quiet and observant, and generally doesn't talk unless spoken to. He is pretty asocial, and will usually be watching things from a distance or reading books as opposed to socializing.

History: Oryx was descended from a small village that is known for producing warriors that wield twin blades and are powerhouses on the battlefield. The children usually start training at 13. However, Oryx contracted a disease on the second day of training that left him bedridden for almost a month. While he couldn't learn to fight like his peers he couldn't just give up and embarrass the entire village either. So he turned his attention to magic. He was surprisingly talented in the fields of the arcane, and took to it like a fish to water. When Oryx finally became healthy enough to train with the others, he was not only far behind them, but he had to get his tail amputated due to the illness, which left him severely off balance. The village elders took this into account and eventually decided that he should continue studying magic instead of learning to fight. After a while, he became a successful mage and decided to turn his skills to a cause and signed up to become an adventurer.

Combat Style: He uses wind, water, and lightning magic to create storms, and a staff for self-defense.

Special Equipment: His staff, which he artificed himself, and his two horn rings.

Tier: Loki

Other: Oryx tends to suck on his whiskers when he's contemplating, and polishes his scales. A lot. He will spend hours making them look perfect.

 

 

Username: Darkstorm34

Character Name: Toyos

Alias: Called Toyo by close friends.

Age: 24

Gender: Neutral (they/them)

Race: Sol Elf, a nomadic race of elves who roam across the continent.

Appearance: Toyos, like most of their race, has tanned skin dotted with small freckles, and stands at about 5' 7", which could be seen as short to some. They sport golden-blonde hair, which is short and wavy, along with eyes of a similar color. Their ears are pointed, giving away their elf status, and, despite their small size, they are still lithe and graceful, like the stereotypical elf.

Personality:

They're generally a good person, though Toyos tends to be swayed a lot by their own morals, doing what seems morally right to them. Their idea of what is "morally right", however, sometimes doesn't match up with others. For example, they were taught from a young age that they were superior to the rest of their group, being born to the chief of them. As such, they've always believed that it is "normal" to put yourself above others, which can get them into trouble with some people. However, this self-absorbed, conceited nature can be softened. They hold a soft fondness in their hearts for anything that can fly, including dragons, and likewise, dragonborn. They have sophisticated tastes, but will soften up to anyone over a couple drinks at a tavern, and likely stay softened to that person over the years. Also, anyone who does them a favor, or protects them in battle, instantly earns their favor and makes them love the person in question, due to a person in the past that the behavior reminds them of.

History: Toyos was born to the chief of their group, and had a lot to live up to. They were the firstborn, destined to become the leader of their group. As such, they grew to think that they were the boss, that they were better than others. They found a great friend at an extremely young age, another elf from the group. They became best friends, training in bow and blade together, and learning basic magics with one another. They seemed inseparable. When a group of bandits attacked their village, the two fought together. Their friend, protecting Toyos, kept the bandits from getting to them, and was struck down doing so. Feeling empty after that, Toyos began wandering on their own, and it wasn't until they started learning conjuration that they started to grow happy again, and began exploring. Soon, they had discovered it held a special place in their heart. Eventually, they decided that the Adventurer's Guild was a perfect fit for them- and so the young hero joined the Guild.

Combat Style: Toyos was taught to fight using a bow or a blade, but, in a fashion that would be condemned by their group, prefers to fight like a battlemage, using with a sword empowered with frost and conjuring up familiars and beasts to fight for them. They fight with light, elven-crafted armor to allow for quick and graceful movement.

Special Equipment: As mentioned above, their sword, which is empowered with frost, along with their specially-made armor. Their preferred familiar, which stays with them most of the time, unless the conditions in a fight grow dire, is a large, spectral eagle who shines like the stars, which sits upon their arm when stationary, but often circles above them. Toyos refers to it as "Estel". It seems to be their own personal spell.

Tier: Loki

Other: The name of the friend who died for Toyos is Monoe.

 

Username: Windra

Character Name: Hinaii

Alias: n/a

Age: 21

Gender: Female

Race: A hybrid between an Orc and a Dragonborn.

Appearance: Her unique parentage might suggest a unique appearance-- and it certainly doesn't disappoint. Hinaii sports the sharp teeth and protruding tusks the rest of her kind is known for, yet her Dragonborn heritage causes her already-thick skin to sport a thin layer of dark blue scales. Heavy, black-tinted plate armor covers her chest, waist and thighs; the rest of her body is protected only by the scales and her natural toughness. Spiked pauldrons rest atop her strong shoulders. She would wear boots, save for the fact her feet are too beastlike to comfortably fit into shoes. Her facial features are far more Orc than draconic, with her messy blue hair (the color of her scales), her lips almost permanently curled into a snarl, and her blazing red eyes.

Personality: Hinaii is a fierce girl who holds a deep passion for life... and fighting. Particularly fighting. She will never pass up the opportunity for a brawl or scuffle, and she absolutely hates to lose. Though she's angered easily, she has a cheerful streak, which usually shows itself after an intense battle. It's when the action stops that she gets a bit grumpy. If she doesn't satisfy her Orcish bloodlust in at least a week or so, she's been known to break fences, bottles, and really anything at seemingly random.

History: Hinaii, for as long as she could remember, grew up among orcs-- particularly her father and other 'family members.' They all roamed the plains next to a massive cliffside that held Dwarven and Dragonborn settlements (primarily). Often, they would plunder these towns to survive and sometimes simply because they could. While the other orcs kept Hinaii in the band, she wasn't necessarily welcome; they disdained her parentage. She wasn't as bloodthirsty as they were, and while she would attack whom they attacked, she would never KILL them. Her father would constantly scold and even beat her for this misconduct. Finally, one fateful night, she had enough. She packed what few possessions she had acquired and left.

She might have died in the cold had it not been for a Dragonborn woman (named Nagaii) from a nearby village who took her in and raised her as her own. Her disposition was calm and kind, and she treated her half-breed visitor with utmost care. Nagaii taught Hinaii all she knew with a patient hand-- which couldn't have been easy. She slowly learned a Dragonborn's ways of life to balance her previously fierce lifestyle. When she grew old enough, Hinaii finally bid farewell to her mother figure, travelling out into the world and becoming an adventurer for fame, glory and excitement.

Combat Style: Hinaii wields a two-handed greatsword, and she uses it to attack her foes relentlessly and without mercy. She rarely uses strategy. She just... goes for it.

Special Equipment: Her greatsword, given to her by Nagaii, is imbued with the power of fire, causing the blade to burn at the touch. Its blade is a glowing red with a black and gold hilt and sheath.

Tier: Loki

Other: She'll still go back to visit her mother figure once every few months. She is the only one Hinaii has ever completely softened towards, and is possibly the only one she could ever love.

 

Username: Drakkoh

 

Character Name: Bryce Bihmark Kopernik

Alias: None.

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Appearance: Despite everything, Bryce and his brother Vlad looked as normal as any other human. The young caucasian adult fit the mid 20’s male archetype of his race quite well, boasting a heavy stubble and head of unkempt dark brown hair as if to advertise his happy-go-lucky attitude. His lack of physical training however is quite outwardly apparent, as unlike his brother, Bryce’s build is lean and unintimidating. His preferred color of attire is always black, much like the priests in the church where he’d studied and trained used to wear. It usually consists of some sort of loose flowing garments, be that a robe, or a two-piece cloth set, which due to its frequent coloration is often mistaken for some sort of formalwear. In either case, he always carries a variety of pouches, designed to carry a various assortments of herbs, vials of broths and tonics, symbolic or magically imbued icons and other such rabble that he uses as tricks of his trade. Lastly, he seems to always carry either a dagger tucked away somewhere, and is frequently seen with some sort of staff in hand, though he has never used either them in combat.

Personality: Having spent a great deal of his time among monks, priests and their ill-stricken patrons, Bryce has grown accustomed to leading a life of modesty and humility, making him charitable and modest. He’s witnessed first-hand the pain of hundreds of souls in agony that have crossed the hallowed halls of his old domain, thus has an innate desire to lend aid to those who simply cannot aid themselves.

His priestly ways underline both his best assets and worst shortcomings, as naïveté follows ensuite to his charitable nature, for a true hero’s spine must be as firm as concrete, while Bryce’s leaves a lot to be desired. Built to mend and protect, rather than destroy, his crutch is his reluctance to cause harm, and frequent reliance on the destructive potential of his team, over his own.

Despite his shortcomings, Bryce is passionate about his goal to undo the harm that a world as chaotic as their own can cause. His ultimate goal is to change the ultimate fate of any other human being, to defeat mortality itself, and witness the passage of centuries, if not millennia. While this end may never be met, he chooses to remain blind to that most discouraging possibility and remains hopelessly optimistic on the matter.

At times, even eerily optimistic, bordering on obsessively-so...

Beyond all that, Bryce is rather shady and reclusive. Though not clearly apparent, in small ways, it is.

He continually keeps altering his life story in small ways.

He always makes sure to keep his chambers locked and never left unattended.

His journal is always closed shut with both a physical locking mechanism and an arcane seal.

Most bizarrely of all, he always seems to keep his wrists and palms tightly wrapped in bandages, even though it is certain there are no wounds there for them to service.

History: To hear him tell it, Bryce’s entire life revolved around that blasted church before his decision to join up with the Adventurer’s guild. Small details of his history seem to change with each re-telling he is asked to do, making many question Bryce’s honesty. The more perceptive of listeners would note that the young man seems somewhat reluctant to discuss his past in detail as well. Still, very few have taken interest in such irrelevant dribble. So far as anyone else is concerned, his family is alive and well, and his youth was almost entirely spent in a church, until for whatever reason he tells you, he left it all behind and pursued a new life with the adventurer's guild.

Combat Style: Bryce's combat style relies entirely on his knowledge of divine magic, underlining his supportive role in aggressive encounters, as well as making him exceptionally potent against undead opponents. Against anything else, however, he most often uses the plethora of non-lethal attacks in his utility to make an escape, rather than go for a kill.

If pushed too far, or cornered, Bryce may resort to other means of combat.

Special Equipment: For weapons, only his curved dagger, and although he doesn't actually use it as a weapon, he insists on its high value. Aside from that, he prefers to preserve his fitted black cloth attire, claiming it is difficult to produce an outfit specially designed to freely house all the tiny knick-knacks his line of work demands.

Tier: Loki

Other: In his pursuit to gain eternal longevity, it was necessary for him to examine every possible means of reaching that end, taking his research through the darker corners of the arcane. Bryce's "other means" of combat is necromancy, primarily blood magic. Due to that school of magic being scorned in his previous church community, he has developed an obsessive need to hide his usage of it, and any relations he has to it. The bandages upon his wrists and palms are there to hide his scars and flesh markings from the practice of blood magic and necromancy.

 

 

Username: Fiskit

Character Name: Valkesel

Alias: Val, Valk, or Kessa

Age: 26

Gender: Genderfluid (he/him pronouns)

Race: Tiefling

Appearance: Val is a male tiefling with such a feminine shape and cute voice that he's often mistaken for a girl. With his pale purple skin and slim body, from a distance, one might even mistake him for a human. Until they notice the horns, that is. Val's horns are rather long, emerging from his skin at an equal longitude to the center of his eyes and reaching back and around, curling in a wide circle around his barely pointed ears, and finally ending in dull points near his chin. Luckily for him, the curvy nature of his horns does not interfere with the growth of his incredibly long (down to his lower back) and incredibly thick black hair. He's been growing it out since childhood, so he's rather adept at manipulating the flowing locks into any number of styles from braids to buns. He's even invented a few styles of his own. Another prominent feature that distinguishes him from humans is his tail. Long, purple, and pointy, he often has to pick it up in marketplaces to prevent unaware persons from stepping on it. He wags it like a large puppy when excited. Speaking of size, Val is a shocking 5 feet 5 inches tall, very short for his race. Val is also a bit of an anomaly from other tieflings in the fact that he has feet, like a human. It is rare, but not unheard of. There isn't much explanation among experts as to why, but they suspect that tieflings with human feet are simply more closely related to humans than other more demonic tieflings. His body is absolutely covered in sigil tattoos, all the way down his arms, legs, and midsection stopping around his collarbones. His neck and face are clear of sigils. He wears a small cloak of dark brown minx fur wrapped around his shoulders (he gets cold easily) and a rather plain pair of brown cotton pants. Occasionally he'll swap the pants for a long brown skirt which falls to around his ankles, swishing against his thin legs as he walks. When in battle, he'll remove the minx cloak, revealing his midsection to be entirely bandaged, all the way up to just under his arms. The sigil tattoos he bares hold no power when hidden, so removing the cloak reveals sigils of both power and protection all up and down his arms which are necessary for him to be successful in battle.

Personality: Val is generally a good person, although he can be very rude to those who disrespect him. He loves joking around and will flirt with pretty much anyone with a pulse. When people mistake him for a female, he completely falls into the role, giggling and taking the name "Kessa." He's notorious for flirting his way out of paying for things, and will hang on to a generous person for hours on end if they continue to buy him things. He's used to an ever-changing group dynamic, so being stuck with the same people for a long period of time makes him anxious. He's very unaccustomed to people actually wanting to know him on a personal level. Even though he can be very annoying at first, most people quickly become attached to his relentless optimism and apparent fearlessness. He's excited easily and loves shiny things. He intends to spend the money he gets from the adventurer's guild on jewelry to adorn his horns and a lot of blankets (once again, easily cold).

History: Val's father is a tiefling and his mother is a human. He always lived in a human city as a child, as his father, like himself, did not like to be tied down for too long, and left before he was even born. Val's mother did her best to raise Val and his younger sister Yendris on not very much money in a part of the city that wasn't exactly the nicest. Humans were never very kind to poor Val. Tieflings are, of course, part demon, and in a village like the one they lived in which the social environment was heavily centered around religion, there was no place for Val. His sister Yendris was human, and very beautiful, making her the shining light of the family, despite being younger than him. Val never really forgave her for taking the love of his mother and the entire village, while he struggled just to prevent himself from getting beat up on a regular basis. When he was 14, Val ran away from home in the middle of the night, leaving only a note and the holy book his mother had given him on his 12th birthday. Free from his old town, Val began to see the world for what it really was: A melting pot of races, beliefs, and self expression. Val grew his hair out as a symbol of his freedom. He learned magic from an old human mage (Mundilan) who was housing him for a few months as he tried to find a way to make sustainable income. She schooled him in the arcane, and taught him all kinds of magic. When she taught him how to create and then charge sigils, he was immediately taken with them, and she was the shaky handed person to give him his first of many magic tattoos. After about 3, he began to tattoo the sigils himself. He saw his body as a blank canvas just begging for a bit of decoration, not to mention that he was sure it would make his mother furious if she ever were to see. He decided to keep a good balance of sigils for different purposes by putting them on different parts of his body. His right arm is covered in protective sigils, holding meanings such as "I will survive this battle" and "I will push on through the pain." His left arm (his dominant arm) is coated in sigils of power, carrying sigils that represent sentiments like "I will destroy those who stand in my way" and "I will stay strong in the face of adversity." He ended up staying with the old woman much longer than expected, and eventually came to know her entire life story. She told him of her children in the far North and her husband (who was certainly coming back some day soon now) and her darling pet raven she had as a girl. When the old woman didn't wake up one morning, Val was stricken with grief. He performed the funeral rites himself, burying her in the sprawling pasture behind her home, marking her grave with a beautifully large chunk of jade. In her studies, she had pegged jade as one of the strongest protection stones. He did it not only as a symbolic gesture to represent her protection of him, but also as a sort of good luck charm in the hopes that it would protect the poor soul's grave from grave robbers. He spent a month traveling in the North of the country, but he never met the children she had spoken of or heard of the husband's whereabouts. Finally having made peace with the matter, Val is now ready to turn a new leaf in his life. After spending almost three full years at that woman's house, seeking employment, he wants to become an adventurer. He believes the thrill of traveling to unknown places will quench his thirst for both meeting interesting people and making money.

Combat Style: He uses his sigils as a source of power, and occasionally will paint additional sigils on the palms of his hands before an especially tricky fight. But the sigils don't engage in the actual combat. Val wields a spear with blades at either end that he spins at incredible speeds to deliver dozens or maybe even hundreds of quick slashes in a matter of minutes. Speed is his best attribute, along with the element of surprise (which can be almost entirely attributed to his small stature). Apart from sigils, Val is also capable of dimension door, an ability in which he can open a doorway to another place nearby, and even take a person with him. He could potentially conjure spectral creations or use telepathy (but only on a very basic level, nothing too deep in the mind) but he's not a fan of other. He always feels like a creepy puppet master when he thinks of spectral creations, and telepathy feels far too invasive to even mess with. He would only use either of these abilities in a dire situation.

Special Equipment: Val's most vital piece of equipment is his spear, which he constructed himself. The blades are not any form of metal, but rather two incredibly strong crystals that were gifted to him by Mundilan. He sharpened the crystals himself. The thing connecting the two crystals is in fact the leg bone of a very large saber tooth tiger, or so Mundilan always claimed. He welded the spear together in a fire he enchanted specifically for the purpose of making it unbreakable. While the spear certainly can be broken, it would take quite a lot, and Val would likely cry if he had to give it up. His other most important possession is his paintbrush, which can be very useful for painting sigils not only on himself but on others, making him an excellent teammate (if he likes you). He has a small book of already charged sigils on his person at all times, but even if he were to be separated from it, he has the designs of a few healing sigils and a few defensive sigils memorized in case of emergency. Besides those two things, the only thing he really values is his minx fur coat, which he convinced a very handsome Halfling to buy for him in return for a kiss.

Tier: Loki

Other: He thinks bugs are creepy and once he cried upon finding a centipede in his shoes. He doesn't wear shoes anymore as a result.

 

Character Name: Aluel Deng

Alias: The Arrow of Piye

Age: 26

Gender: Cisfemale

Race: Baketako. What some might view as monstrous, others know to be peaceful folk, honourable in their dealings and slow to anger. Communicating among their kind largely by changing the colour of their skin in certain ways, they have a reputation for being secretive and cunning, but in truth they are very open - to be anything else is the height of dishonour. It's just that humans don't - and, barring magic, can't - speak the lingo. Of course, the primary characteristic of them as a species is the fact that your average baketako is an enormous sword-wielding octopus that walks like a man.

Appearance: Aluel is tall and lissom of physique, standing at a full six foot four in her sandalled feet - and this doesn't count the elaborate headband of greenwood, flax, and gold panned from the river she at least partially grew up in. Her skin is exceptionally dark, even by baketako standards, so black it's almost blue - a common trait, for those who know how to spot it, among those of more recent water-spirit ancestry. She habitually wears the elaborate courtly robes of the baketako Great House, the family of semi-divine baketako whose ancestors have been the (largely ceremonial) rulers of the river-folk for seven centuries. This is a clue as to her background, as is her rigid posture and impeccable breeding, to say nothing of her ever-perfect ceremonial makeup - she is a woman of noble birth, and as such has been in the palace guard ever since she learned to walk.

Personality: While a certain amount of pampered-princessness might be expected from a noblewoman (the old line from Burke's Peerage is "the Aga Khan is a direct descendant of God; an English duke takes precedence"), this isn't really the case. Yes, she can be diffident and snippy when she's in a mood, but those times are rare; she aspires to be regal, a caring and generous ruler, using her gold gained from a life adventuring to turn her people into the empire they deserve to be.

History: The baketako have long held a position in society (admittedly, among those who have heard of them, for they are hardly the most numerous of peoples) on the Capital continent similar to that of a hippie ashram in our universe; more "normal" people tend to either not understand them and leave them to it or actively harass them for not conforming to societal values. The only reason they haven't been totally enslaved is their natural gift for weather working and elemental magic, particularly (and unsurprisingly) the element of water. They are a spread-out and divided people, coming together mostly for the Diets of the Great House, in which the new laws of the Capital are debated and it is discussed whether or not the baketako clans and clades will abide by them. Aluel would have that change.

Too long have thugs from the capital tried to pressure their people into servitude and penury. Too long have they been forced to scratch a living from woods and hillsides. Too long have they been anything other than engaged in a war of attrition, a war with no real victor except the slavers of Hell. She would see that waste of life end. Her caravan, the Citadel of Piye, named after the ancient, withered, somehow still-living god-king of the baketako, contains warriors, not soldiers. If they are to stand a chance against the armies of the Capital, they must be drilled and practiced men and women. They must develop new tactics, new methods of fighting... they must learn the ways of total war.

In this, they will need a guide. Someone who has a hundred lifetimes of experience. Her people are patient as the sea is patient, and one day, when the time is right... they will carve a new and independent nation for themselves, dedicated to destroying corruption and demonic forces both on land and at sea.

Aluel would have that be her.

She was raised in the palace guard of one of the surface-dwelling caravans of the baketako, drilled relentlessly in swordcraft and wizardry. The latter she took to; the former, she very much did not. Her rather wiry build - by her species' standards, anyway - is combined with an unshakeable belief that melee combat is on a path to extinction, and that when the gun evolves, the sword shall become as obsolete to the modern military as weapons made of knapped flint. Combined arms philosophy, that is her creed, and she spent childhood days reading through the campaign diaries of the great commanders, both of her people and the land-dwellers of the Capital continent. Know thy enemy an' all that.

The present corps of advisers to the surface-dwelling baketako king is of a very radical bent, one which the sea-dwelling majority are keen to distance themselves from... at least, in public. Aluel is a product of that radical environment. She believes that it is the destiny of her people to rule both land and wave, and to bring an end to what she perceives as vicious attacks on her people's sovereignty and honour by the surface dwellers. That all being said, she still prefers the long game and the strategies of Fabius; water waits. Water always waits.

Combat Style: Aluel really, really wants to learn the art of gunsmithing, though her experience is largely concerned with elemental magic. She strives to combine the two disciplines into steam-powered gunnery. It is definitely worth mentioning that she has a particular fondness for pistols and multibarrelled longarms - which, thanks to her tentacles, she can wield at the same time.

Special Equipment: The aforementioned headband of greenwood - it's a crown of office among her people, though it might make people from our universe assume she had a Tumblr. Additionally, she has a single pistol, preserved through her own water magic, that fires bullets of poisonous coral she knaps herself.

Tier: Loki

Other: she gay af. also she an octomapus. the two may not mix well.

 

Edited April 3, 2016 by Marcus Pheonix

[Marcus Pheonix]

Reserved just in case

[Marcus Pheonix]

((Ok time to start ))

 

Koral sat at a table in the back corner of the Hargrave Inn. He was nursing a pint of ale in his hand, an empty plate sat in front of him.

He had just finished the test that all would be adventurers must take prior to being accepted, and had been instructed to wait at the town inn for his results.

Looking around the inn he tried to gauge whether he could make out any of the other recruits. But it was lunch time and the inn was full of people.

There were certainly some strange characters, a dragonborn and what looked like a half-orc dragonborn were certainly the standouts. Koral didn't think he'd ever heard of a half-orc dragonborn before, he wondered briefly whether they could breath fire like the pure blood of their race?

 

"Excuse me... but, uh... are you finished with that?" The timid voice of a serving girl pierced through Koral's thoughts.

 

Turning his harsh gaze towards her, she momentarily jumped in fright, Koral gave a light nod. She hesitantly took the plate and utensils and began to hurry back before Koral stopped her, grabbing her shoulder and holding out his mug.

 

"Another pint" He said, dropping a few copper pieces into her hand. Nodding she hurried off, desperate to get away from the intimidating half-orc.

 

As she returned, fresh mug in her hand. The door opened and a dwarf in a finely woven, silk, white tunic entered. He had a red sash around his waist, with a pouch slung through it, and a pair of reading spectacles on his nose. What caught Koral's eye most however was the gleaming silver badge of the Adventurer's guild on his chest, indicating that he was an official.

 

"Excuse me," he started, raising his voice above the noisy crowd of the inn. "But could all the trainee's who attempted the trials please join me," The dwarf's accent made it almost impossible to understand to someone raised around elves and their fine tongue.

Koral watched as he then made his way to the stairs to the second floor of the inn, this area was reserved for village guards and members of the adventurer's guild, it wasn't much different from the 1st floor, but was a space where those of more 'importance' could have some space away from the crowded rabble. Being mostly open and more like a balcony it provided a nice view of the main stage, where often a bard would be performing.

 

Taking the mug from the serving girl, who had also stopped to look at the dwarf, Koral stood and followed the dwarf up the flight of stairs. There were a few guards sitting enjoying their meals, but Koral ignored them and focused on the dwarf who had been seated by a serving boy at a large round table, obviously built for discussing such as these. Koral walked over to the table looking curiously at the dwarf. Looking up at him the dwarf examined some papers that he had in his pouch and promptly nodded towards a seat. Koral sat down at the seat and waited for the other adventurers to arrive.

 

((I'll post as the dwarf after everyone currently accepted posts.

Also I forgot to mention that dragonborn can breath fire, and because it makes sense I also said that blue and white dragonborn could breath ice instead... Windra it's up to you whether Hinaii can do that, but Spyro, Oryx can now breath fire, congratz. If you want to make it black fire or something to be cool then go ahead but the general consensus is the element is based off their scale colour))

Edited February 7, 2016 by Marcus Pheonix

[Windra]

A large girl walked into the inn, her uncovered, beastly claws making each and every one of her footsteps loud and heavy. Combined with the noisy clatter of her armor and her strong, booming voice... Well, she certainly wouldn't be sneaking up on anyone anytime soon. Not that she was trying to. She liked being heard, and grinned slightly as most of the inn's occupants turned their heads to stare at her.

 

"Hey," she growled cheerfully, raising a hand in greeting at the startled citizens, "How's it going, then? Hope you're not starin'-- where I come from, that's offensive.~ You don't wanna offend me, d'ya?" Hinaii drummed her short claws on the wooden table in front of her as she sat on the small stool, and people suddenly decided they wanted to look at something else. Anything else. Like magic. The half-orc chuckled to herself, barking at a serving girl for a pint of mead. "An' gimme the good stuff!! Not any of that cheap swill!"

 

Hinaii placed four copper pieces on the table as a tip for the poor, timid girl who served her; while her manners were rough she was not unkind. As she waited for her drink to arrive, she took the liberty of looking around, wondering who her possible guildmates could be. She saw plenty of fitting characters; a couple Dragonborn, like herself, some dwarves-- even another half-orc-- but there was no way she could determine who would actually take quests and perhaps fight by her side. The half-orc let out a sigh through her nose with frustration, snatching her drink when it arrived and emptying it in one drought.

 

Some time passed in this manner until she heard the gruff voice of a well-dressed dwarf call above the voice of the crowd, "Could all the trainees who attempted the trial please join me?"

 

Hinaii's eyes lit up, and she stood from her seat abruptly, causing the stool to fall over as she roared, "Finally!! Some ACTION!!" Without even picking up the stool (or apologizing for any of the heart attacks she most likely induced) she dashed up the stairs behind the dwarf, pushing people aside in her excitement. This was it. She would finally become a full-fledged adventurer, and her life would never, ever be dull again.

 

When she reached the table, she didn't even hesitate, seating herself next to Koral and growling happily. "Finally. Can we start already?? Where are the others?"

[MrSpyro]

((Actually, I was thinking he should have frostbreath or maybe cold fire, since it fits with his weather magic))

 

Oryx barely looked up when the Dwarf walked in, too focused on the index of monsters his friend loaned him when she heard he was going to become an adventurer. It wasn't until he spoke with a heavily accented voice about something something trainees that the Dragonborn put the book down. Oryx stood up and followed the Dwarf upstairs. On the second floor of the inn was a large round table where the man sat at, as well as two large half-Orcs, one with a bear pelt draped over his shoulders and back, and another with the handle of a blade sticking out of a golden scabbard. Oryx sat down next to the one with the sword and flipped back to the entry on Hellhounds, nearly shutting out all of the commotion in the rest of the building.

Edited February 7, 2016 by MrSpyro

[Paintra]

At a table of their own sat a lone elf, with a small mug and a piece of paper on the table beside them. The elf read over the words on the paper a couple of times, murmuring to themself, and then wrote down a few more words. Sincerely… Toyos, Sol Elf. Toyos placed down their writing utensil, took a sip of their drink, and folded the paper, slipping it into a pouch at their side, which was held there by a strap that went over their shoulder.

 

The elf nonchalantly glanced around the inn, gazing at the loud dragonborn-orc stranger who had walked in, then looking back down at the table as if nothing happened when she loudly exclaimed, "How's it going, then? Hope you're not starin'-- where I come from, that's offensive.~ You don't wanna offend me, d'ya?" Toyos drank a bit more, then set it down. “Empty. Damn.” They murmured softly, drumming their fingers on the table for a moment, before looking down as the meek little serving girl came up to the table. Toyos silently nodded when she asked to take their drink, and watched her hurry away with the mug.

 

The elf sat in peaceful silence, just gazing around the loud room, and wondering to themself, Which of these people will become my allies? Which of them want to be adventurers, like me?

Of course, that peaceful silence was not going to last.

 

Toyos’ quiet observation of the room was broken when a dwarf entered the tavern, calling out, “Excuse me!” At this, they looked up, the rest of the room going rather quiet. Toyos remained calm, but suddenly, excitement gathered in their eyes when the dwarf asked, “Could all the trainees who attempted the trial please join me?”

 

Toyos flinched as the same girl from before shouted, “Finally!! Some ACTION!!” and dashed after the dwarf. Toyos followed a bit more slowly, seating themself on the other side of the dwarf and quietly resting their hands on the table as she gazed at the dwarf, awaiting his next words.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Darkstorm34

[Marcus Pheonix]

((Yo Miko you wrote her in your first sentence. Even you're getting confused.

For the sake of this next part I'm going to just briefly control your characters, never fear! It ain't much))

 

The dwarf was leafing through the separate pieces of paper, seemingly mentally ticking them off as each new person came and sat at the table.

Koral tapped his finger impatiently, watching as the loud half-orc perched herself down next to him. She seemed a lot more orcish than himself, and that was mainly due to her severe eagerness to hurry up.

The next to follow was a near pitched black dragonborn, odd to see a chromatic dragonborn this side of the continent Koral thought to himself. The dragonborn seemed the polar opposite of the female, seemingly not even interested in the events going on.

Lastly and much to Koral's annoyance, an elf arrived, placing him...her... themselves down next to the dwarf.

The dwarf made another mental tick one last time as the elf sat down and then looked around briefly, back towards the stairway.

 

Clearing his throat he began, "Hmm, is that all... thought we had more."

"My name is Thranwil, I'm in charge of the new recruits of Hargrave and I'm here to discuss with you your results from the trial that you just underwent. Now starting with the Dragonborn," Thranwil said, tapping a quill.

"Oryx, Strength examination, poor scoring. Agility examination, poor scoring. Magical examination, high scoring. Theoretical examination, high scoring, you achieved full marks on monster classifications and weaknesses. Overall you achieved a 7 which is a pass, congratulations, you passed. I'll need you to sign this form and you will officially be an Adventurer," Thranwil said, sliding a form over to the Dragonborn.

 

Glancing up from his book, Oryx took the quill and quickly inscribed his name upon the parchment. Taking the page back Thranwil, signed his own name beneath it. As he did a visual representation of a sword glowed briefly on Oryx's hand, than faded.

 

"Next, the half-orc... the female. Hinaii, Strength examination, high scoring, you broke the previous record for 2 handed combat-

 

"Ha ha!" Hinaii exclaimed.

 

Thranwil sent her a look and then continued, "Agility examination, average scoring. You did not undertake magical examination. Theory examination, low scoring, but achieved high marks on Orcs and Trolls. You overall achieved a 6 which barely passes. Congratulations, please sign this -

Once again Thranwil was cut off as the form was snatched from him and hastily signed by the overeager Half-Orc. A look of annoyance on his face Thranwil took the form back and signed it, once again the symbol of the Adventurer's guild glowed on Hinaii's hand as it did Oryx's and promptly faded.

 

"Next, the other half-orc. Koral, Strength examination, high scoring. Agility examination, high scoring, you broke the previous archery record... Magical examination, low scoring. Theory examination, average scoring, full marks on beasts. Overall score is an 8, congratulations, please sign the form and you will officially be an Adventurer," Thranwil said.

He seemed to still be annoyed at Hinaii's interruptions as he kept the form's firmly under his thick dwarvern hand before slowly sliding it towards Koral. With surprising finesse for a half-orc Koral signed his name and slid the form back towards Thranwil, who promptly signed the form.

 

"Lastly the elf. Toyos, Strength examination, average scoring. Agility examination, high scoring, you broke the half-orcs archery record,"

 

Upon hearing this Koral sent a look to the elf, not amused.

 

"Magical examination, low scoring. Theory examination, high scoring, full marks on dragons. Overall mark a 7, please sign the form," Thranwil finished sliding the form to his side.

Taking the form Toyos signed it and slid it back. Thranwil signed it and then put the different contracts back into his pouch.

 

"Now, as you should know Loki class hero's for the majority of their time, work as teams. You four are hereby being assigned by me as a team. You shall also be assigned a starting contract to test your abilities. After completion you may undertake new contracts from any guild hall around the continent. You are required to fulfill a contract once a week until your promotion to freya class. Do you understand or do I need to repeat myself," Thranwil finished, looking oddly in Hinaii's direction.

 

Removing a sheet of parchment from his pouch he placed it on the table.

"You're contract comes from Mountainfel village to the north, inside the Heaven's Valley, Mountainfel is a mining town, their main source of income is silver. A pack of goblins have taken over their chief mine and they are requesting assistance in removing them," Thranwil handed the contract to Toyos as they were the closest and stood.

 

"Good luck, I suggest you start your journey today mines go deep and you may be down there for some time, don't want your membership revoked on your first contract," Thranwil said. Gathering his things he then left the building.

 

Koral watched him go then stood, downing his pint of ale. "I don't have anything keeping me here, I'm good to go," He said as he slammed the mug down.

 

((Sorry if that's a little awkward to read. And don't think i'm bias giving Koral the best score, I tried to base it off the characters!))

[Paintra]

Toyos held up the piece of paper, and proceeded to read the contract out loud to the group- which didn’t contain much more information than what the dwarf had told them. When they finished reading the page, Toyos handed it to Koral. “That’s it, then… We’ve heard each other’s names, but we hardly know anything about each other. For example, our fighting style, what we’re good at… If the four of us are going to be working as a team, then I think we need to be more than just acquaintances if we want to succeed.”

 

“With that said,” The elf continued, “I’m Toyos. Battlemage. I generally prefer ranged, but I’m quite good with my blade.” They nodded to the blade which sat sheathed at their waist. “I’m not exactly sure how I scored so low on magical examination, but… It’s fine. I’m only particularly good at one form of magic, which is probably why. I pretty much specialize in conjuration, if you’re wondering.”

 

Toyos looked to the rest of the members of their new group. “What about you guys?”

[Windra]

"Ha!! Did you see those marks?" Hinaii bellowed heartily, throwing her empty mug on the ground and planting one foot onto her stool with the other still planted on the ground. A heroic position-- or so she thought. She could have done with a few less drinks if we're being totally honest. "My name's Hinaii; don't you forget it! And I like to fight! Bears, Goblins, monsters.... bring it on.~" She flashed a toothy grin, her red eyes narrowing slightly in thought. "Er, as for style... who needs that? I bash enemies with my sword here" -- Hinaii pulled her glowing red sword out of its scabbard and held it out for show -- "...until they shut up!! Simple. How fighting should be, if you ask me."

 

Then her grin became more genuine, her eyes glittering as she set the sword back in its sheath. "If we get our hands onna gun, I guess I could use it fine, too-- but ranged combat really isn't my thing.~ Don'tcha guys worry!! You ever get into trouble-- fall back behind me! There's no enemy I can't TAKE!"

[Marcus Pheonix]

Koral raised his eyebrow at Hinaii.

"So long as you don't get in the way of my shots I don't mind," He said.

He took the contract from Toyos and placed it in his bag, tucked away beneath his pelt.

"I'm Koral and I use a bow, don't be concerned about my magic scores. I only participated in the trial so that I could get a few extra marks to assure my entrance into the guild. I have no inclination to use magic, nor do I want to tell you what my specialty is. I shoot a bow, and in same cases fight up close if I have to," He said stubbornly.

 

Spinning his hand around he grabbed the collar of the Dragonborn and pulled him to his feet and began dragging him towards the staircase to the first floor.

"I don't want you holding us up Onyx," He said as he walked.

[MrSpyro]

Oryx made a surprised yelp as Koral grabbed him by the collar of his robe. He grasped at the half-Orc's hand, and was just barely able to undo the man's grip. Oryx fell to the floor in a heap, gasping. "I'm not slow," He argued, his voice lowering in volume to a barely audible whisper, "It's just that my tail was amputated, and I can't retain my balance when I run because of it." Oryx realized he was the only one who hadn't introduced himself yet. "Oh yeah, I'm an elementalist, by the way."

Edited February 8, 2016 by MrSpyro

[Paintra]

Toyos looked down at Oryx, then back up at Koral. “Well,” they spoke, tapping a foot slightly as they waited for someone to say something. “What are we waiting for? Whether Oryx slows us down or not, it doesn’t change the fact that we need to leave sooner or later.”

 

Toyos seemed a bit pushy- because they were. “And I think that we should leave now, because it will guarantee us enough time to travel to the mines and get everything done. Any objections?” Toyos gazed at the three other people standing before them, and nodded, without even waiting for an answer, and turning and heading towards the exit.

 

Whatever impression the others had got of the Sol Elf- whether they thought Toyos was quiet, kind, or soft-spoken- those thoughts were clearly mistaken. The elf liked to be in charge. Of course, since they were working in a team, this behavior couldn’t stay forever. The four of them would have to learn to work together, to coexist with one another, and to become a true team of adventurers. And with the combined effort of the four heroes, that had to be possible.

 

[Windra]

Hinaii stared at Toyos's back as if she had just spoken Troll, her bottom lip curling in displeasure and displaying her sharp teeth. She did not like to be told what to do. Ever. She had spent years taking orders from people she hated; some elf wasn't going to boss her around without a fight.

 

But not yet. A little voice whispered in the back of her mind, suppressing the tide of indignace and rage. Here isn't the place to fight. Be patient, be patient.

 

Hinaii swallowed her pride with difficulty, letting out a puff of air through her nose as she clomped out of the building and onto the cobblestone road outside. The half-orc stretched her head up to the sky, the sun reflecting off of her scales and leaving her nice and warm. A rumbling noise rose from her throat in pleasure. "Ah... Glad it ain't winter, huh? That would suck. I hate the cold." Hinaii laughed gutsily, gripping the hilt of her blade subconsciously. "We don't hafta shop for anything, do we? Like... food supplies, or whatever? All I've got is a bunch of dried meat! That, and three flasks of water!! ...heh, might not wanna share the water. I've drank from 'em-- and hell, you don't want my germs.~"

[Marcus Pheonix]

((Making him anti-social seems like a cheaky way to not have to post as much spyro ))

 

Releasing Oryx from his grasp Koral rolled his eyes at him.

"Surely you've had it long enough that you've learned how to walk? You'll notice that I don't have a tail and I can manage fine," He said sarcastically to the dragonborn, then followed after the elf and Hinaiil.

Both seemed to want to get the journey underway as soon as possible and Koral agreed with them, though the elfs pushy nature bothered him.

Koral pulled out a map of the area from his pouch and examined it briefly as he emerged from the building after Hinaii.

"Mountainfel is about a fifth of the way through Heaven's Valley, at the foot of the first large mountain if one were traveling north. There should be plenty of game along the way, elk, goats and the odd wolf or two. I don't need to buy food," He said matter-o'factly to Hinaii.

"Judging from the distance we'll be camping at least one night, possibly more if we're slow," He said casting his eyes on to Oryx once more. Koral rolled up the map and put it back in his pouch.

"You're not afraid of wolves are you twiggy?" He asked the elf.

 

((I'm still developing Koral, I think he'd have decent survival skills considering he lived off the wild growing up, so he'd be able to hunt and gather edible herbs quite well. Also from now on (until Toyos grows on him) he'll refer to Toyos as 'elf' and twiggy, cause Toyos is shorter than most elves and has tanned skin making them look like a twig in his eyes. Hope that's alright with you Miko))

Edited February 9, 2016 by Marcus Pheonix

[Paintra]

((Sure, as long as Toyos gets to call Koral “Bear” in return ))

 

“I’m not afraid of wolves, but… Twiggy?” Toyos raised an eyebrow, then sighed. “When you grow up moving around from place to place, you’re almost certain to run into wolves. And we did. So I’ve fought wolves before. And they’re quite predictable, not like Dragons or, say, Goblins.”

 

They summoned an eagle out of the blue, which landed on their arm, which Toyos had held out for the familiar. “This is Estel. My familiar. She’s rather good at helping me fight. Don’t shoot her or hit her.”

 

The glowing eagle looked at Koral, then Oryx, then Hinaii, then back to Toyos, as if expecting the elf to tell it to do something. When Toyos didn’t, it just relaxed, taking off to glide in lazy circles above the group.

 

“Now, since we’re ready to go, we should really get going.” The elf began to lead them towards their destination, walking alongside Koral proudly.

[Windra]

Hinaii followed, trudging along the rough path next to Koral, behind Toyos and in front of Oryx. Far in front of Oryx, in fact. Hinaii was annoyed to find that at her usual quick, violent pace, the Dragonborn couldn't quite keep up. She grumbled in annoyance and tried to find something else to focus on, picking at one of the scales on her right arm: a habit she had developed ever since she left home. Her mother used to help clean her scales as per Dragonborn custom, using hot water heated over a fire to clean more effectively. Hinaii was always too proud to admit the heat hurt her a bit, so she went along with it through gritted teeth. Nagaii just assumed she hated to bathe. Which wouldn't be too far from the truth, to her credit.

 

This temporary solution couldn't satisfy her quick temper for long, however, and she quickly became irritated once more. Glancing back at Oryx in annoyance, she nudged Koral (a little more roughly than she meant to) and muttered into his ear, "Can this guy go any FASTER? I swear, in a few seconds here, I'll carry him if I hafta!" Hinaii tossed her head indignantly, snorting out a burst of what looked like flame, but would actually freeze if one were to touch it. "Hrrmph. I hope we get there soon-- I'm itching to fight somethin'. Are you excited?~ Because I am!!"

[MrSpyro]

Oryx realized everyone was referring to him and tried to pick up his pace, bursting into a sprint. However, once he was a couple feet behind Hinaii and Koral, one of the cobblestones along the path came loose. Oryx fell flat on his face. He got back up and dusted his robes off. Nosebleed aside, he was unharmed. "Do we really have to walk there?" Oryx inquired. "Why don't we rent steeds or something? Does this city have an airship port we could take? It would be a lot faster."

[Windra]

"A steed?" Hinaii let out a (rather rude) snort, crossing her arms and pausing to look back at Oryx. She tapped one beastlike foot on the ground for emphasis. "Y'think I could ride one've those? I weigh somethin' like two hundred pounds! Any horse wouldn't go too far with me on it." She looked as if she was about to say something else, then she blinked once, considering. Maybe... I've been a bit rough on 'im. H-He obviously DESERVES it, but... I guess he's part've our team now.

 

After a few moments of silence, she sighed, adjusting one of her pauldrons with a low rumbling sound. "...Airships sound great and all-- but they cost a lotta money! And I mean a lot. Sheesh, I've only got, say, ten gold on me? Tops? We'd need more if we were gonna buy us all a ride."

 

Hinaii turned to the others, shrugging briefly. "I dunno. Do any of ya have gold?"

[Drakkoh]

((Thank you for the quick approval Marcus. ^^))

 

Figures... -muttered a hooded black robed figure, as he stood above the quivering forms of two rather unruly looking gentleman.

It was a rough world, full of those who would take advantage of even the pious men and women, if it meant earning some easy coin.

Had the roughians succeeded however, they'd have been greatly disappointed either way.

Look at what you made me do. -Bryce wheezed, gripping the earlier inflicted stab wound with one hand as he recited a plethora of incantations in the back of his mind to accelerate it's rate of recovery.

His other hand, he held aloft, free from it's bandages and glowing a dim crimson red.

 

As the two figures writhed beneath him, the man clenched his fist, and a dull crackle escaped the bodies of the two fallen bandits, as their throats collapsed in on themselves, cartilages crunching and buckling under the pressure, muscle tissue ripping and destroying their only means by which to draw a life-sustaining breath. The two corpses shambled and struggled in protest for roughly twenty seconds, before going still and lifeless.

 

Lowering his hand, Bryce grunted in pain from his injury, but immediately proceeded to treat it so as to not draw too much attention to himself, once he'd arrived at his destination. That stab would served as evidence of his own naivete, and the man preferred to not have to explain how he'd gotten it. Hell, he was already late for the meeting because of those thugs, but it was he who believed their story of a short cut through the dark and silent alleyway, after all.

 

Several short incantations later, Bryce had at least stopped the flow of blood, and made sure that there would be no trace of the wound within the hour. Scrapes and cuts were easy enough, but a dagger buried hilt-deep in one's chest was no laughing matter, and needed time to mend. Still, once he'd applied a bandage, it was bearable enough to permit him to walk, if a bit awkwardly.

 

Just as he was thinking of what to do with the bodies, his eyes short towards the alley's edge, where he heard voices coming from the street.

"...rent steeds or something? Does this city have an airship port we could take? It would be a lot faster."

There was nowhere to go... the alley was a dead end, so there was only one thing to do. Covering his face with his cowl and safely putting away his curved dagger, still dripping with his own blood, he quickly paced out the alley, brushed past the small group of newly strangers, and quickly moved towards the inn, which was actually quite near-by, hoping to dear gods that the group would just move right along and go on with their day.

 

Though that his black attire was adequate for hiding spilled blood, it did nothing for the smell. Sighing deeply, Bryce took down his cowl, before stepping in, trying to formulate a proper response as to why he'd been delayed, still either unable or unwilling to process what had just happened in that dark alleyway. Truthfully, he was unsure who to look for, but the place didn't have many patrons anyway.

 

Ofcourse... -he rolled his eyes. The meeting had dispersed, and the group had gone its way. Stepping back outside, he browsed through his assortment of small pockets until he found what he was looking for. A small bottle with no label containing a clear water-like fluid, that he downed in one gulp. It's effects would soon kick in, and it would be a relief and a half for the man once it did.

 

((I tried reading the above posts, but it's been a while since I've done this. I ended up a wee bit confused, so I'd like to apologize in advance for any discrepancies in my posts. ))

Edited February 10, 2016 by Drakkoh

[Marcus Pheonix]

((thats a decent first post, but Thranwil has left the tavern, mayhaps you could change it to you spot him heading away from the tavern and notice the officials badge? You can roleplay the conversation, thranwil will be a little annoyed that you missed the meeting but will just sigh and continue. And you don't need to bother with the test scores if you don't want to ))

 

Koral snorted.

"You haven't ridden a fine horse then if you haven't encountered one that could carry you. Many horses pull carriages, and he said steed. There are more than just horses to ride, albeit they're the most abundant and cheapest, not counting mules, maybe we should just get a mule for you Onyx?" Koral said, grinning.

"It would certainly make traveling faster. If you have the money for a steed go ahead," Koral finished.

He paused in his movement and sniffed, something smelled like blood.

He shrugged, there was no sense bothering to investigate, they had a deadline, he'll leave it to the town guard to discern what it was.

 

((Koral also has a good sense of smell, I'm just gonna keep adding abilities to him ... I kid.))

[Drakkoh]

((thats a decent first post, but Thranwil has left the tavern, mayhaps you could change it to you spot him heading away from the tavern and notice the officials badge? You can roleplay the conversation, Thranwil will be a little annoyed that you missed the meeting but will just sigh and continue. And you don't need to bother with the test scores if you don't want to ))

((I edited my previous post accordingly. Thank you. I'm not certain I'd do him justice though, mind if we RP it out?))

 

With little idea what to do now, and no intention of heading back to his old lifestyle, Bryce leaned against the tavern wall, looking around the passers-by. Many of them came in various shapes and sizes, and even colors. What a strange and curious sight to behold. It wasn't often that non-humans entered his old lifestyle, as his church mostly serviced his kin above all other. These bizarre humanoids were so alien, yet they went about their days as if there was nothing discerning them from the common crowd of the town.

 

Deeper within the recesses of his mind, a sinister series of questions started peaking his interests.

These creatures, these non-humans were all organisms in their own standing, unique in their own ways, and some carried traits he was eager to analyze, for they could hold the key towards his ultimate goal. Perhaps, dissecting a body or two, analyzing the ways those walking flesh-bags functioned... How is it they succeeded in staving off the grim reaper for far longer than his human kin could, he'd thought about it before, but never felt the urge to actually do so.

 

But then, this was the reason he'd abandoned his old life, was it not? To pursue his research without fearing judgement. All in all, the whole adventurer title he sought after was but a ruse to mask his true intentions. It just seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. Reaching into his pocket, he took out a small piece of parchment, where he'd scribbled down some information about the Adventurers' Guild. "Adventurers" -he muttered as a smile crept across his face. What a deceiving and innocent title for what was nothing more than your common mercenary. The only difference was the title, badge, and some lax restrictions as to the kind of work they would be paid to do, no doubt.

 

With a sigh of relief, Bryce felt the medicine take effect as his chest pain subsided. It would do nothing to aid his wound, but at least it would keep him numb while the healing happened, and that made it all worth the nausea it would cause in some time. Putting the note back into his pocket, he moved away from the wall and briskly paced away from the alley, down a random street, trying to figure out what to do next. Noticing the occasional glances he got from the more perceptive of passers-by, he realized that his attire did indeed smell of blood. Reaching back to put his cowl back over his head, he momentarily didn't pay attention to where he was going, and just as he was about to round a corner, he ran right into a dwarf.

 

Excusing himself with a muffled apology, he intended to just move right on, but something caught his eye. The dwarf in question was wearing a symbol of some sort, a badge. It was something he'd seen somewhere else, and though he paid it little mind before, he was certain it mattered now. Taking out the inscribed paper from his pocket, it was clear that the dwarf was associated with the people he wanted to meet.

 

Wait! Sir, are you from the Adventurers' Guild? -he halted the dwarf before he could go about his day, put the paper back into his pocket, and took a deep breath- Because, you see, I really need to speak to a representative of theirs.

Edited February 10, 2016 by Drakkoh

[Marcus Pheonix]

((Sure thing then but if you don't mind I'm gonna wait before I post, as I don't think there would be much for Thranwil to say... also I'm tired ))

[Windra]

((Newcomer!! :3 Welcome, welcome! Happy to be RPing with ya.~

 

Hey Marcus-- do you think we should make an OOC thread or chatroom or whatever...? For when we're discussing what happens next, etc.? Or is posting here fine?))

 

Hinaii, being her usual self, didn't even notice the blood. She simply blinked at Koral with scaled eyelids, hesitating before nodding. "...Eh. T-T'be honest, I..." the half-orc cleared her throat, eyes glancing to the side, "...only tried once. That one wasn't strong enough, to be sure. Collapsed right under me. Haven't ridden since." She smiled sheepishly before looking back at Oryx. Her claws rapped against her sword's scabbard impatiently. "Okay, fine. We can get ya a horse, if that'd be better. Need money?"

 

Hinaii sounded frustrated; not unusual for her. She wanted to get moving. She wanted action. She wanted to break something.

 

((EDIT: yaaay second page~ How didn't I notice this before? ))

Edited February 10, 2016 by Windra

[Marcus Pheonix]

((I don't really want to manage an OOC thread as well... sorry if I'm lazy. If someone wants to make a chat room or something that'd be cool cause I don't know how.

 

Also Windra a horse would be pretty expensive for our characters at the moment probably 200 gold to rent one, as new adventurers (which also means previously unemployed ) we wouldn't have much money... unless you saved up?

 

Second page?))