PLEASE CLOSE ~ DEAD

[Fortune86]

Sheridan was just explaining to Selena that the mail had not yet arrived when Diana arrived on Rain. She trotted up to group and caught the tail end of the conversaton.

 

"Some girl is over at the gate Diana" he said up to her. "You asked for some kid to be brought here? Well he's gone missing and they can't find him."

[Chicogal]

Diana frowned, twisting a piece of Rain's mane around her fingers. This had to be about that guy who had gotten injured... Castian. That was his name. "I'll go and check it out. Selena? Please just keep everyone away from the monsters for now," she requested. "I shouldn't be too long... Hopefully..." With that, she turned about, and she and her Fiend headed quickly toward the front gate. Once there, she hopped down and faced the girl. "Please tell me everything. "

[Evangeline]

Sarah stood upright, her gaze flickering toward the newcomer with her lips pursed. At the beckoning for information, words flowed freely from her lips. She explained what she had told the other girl, that the strange man had disappeared early in the morning. The nurse had gone to check in on him before sunrise, and he was simply gone. A doctor had also noticed that some of his clothes-a white white, a red hoodie, and some black pants- had gone missing. Normally, they wouldn't worry as much, but the darkness summoner was still in pretty bad shape... and there was always to matter of payment.

"He's probably still in some pain, so he'll have to take it easy. Those stitches could come out. We were hoping he was here?"

 

Cerulean irises stared hopefully up at the teacher. It would be nice if she were able to report to the hospital that their patient was alright.

 

--

 

Castian sat hunkered over in his dark corner. His empty gaze stared blankly at the wall as the rim of the old rusty tankard rested at his lips. The burning liquid slid easily down his throat, though it left a foul aftertaste in his mouth. He found the fizz comforting, knowing that the strong beverage might help his ailing wounds. Thoughts whirled around his addled mind endlessly as he sat there, but as time ticked on and tankard after tankard was consumed, his consciousness began to dull, leaving him to sit in a dulled silence.

[Chicogal]

Diana shook her head. "He's not here," she admitted, crossing her arms and glancing to the side, to Rain. It was at times like these that she needed the other teacher at the school. Dammit, Bastian. Why did you have to go and pick a useless fight? She groaned, pushing her bangs off her forehead. "I'll only be able to look for him once lessons are finished for today. Until then, he will have to look after himself. Stupid little..." Her sentence finished off incoherently, and she glanced back up at the woman. "Thank you. I appreciate your efforts in this matter." With a small smile, she clambered up on Rain again. "I'll let you know if I find him!" She called as she trotted back to her class once more.

 

Diana liked Castian. It was a pity that he was choosing to act as he was. Unless there were criminal actions involved, then it seemed idiotic to take off like that. Entering the Area, she slid off Rain. "I'm going to sort things out later," she told Selena and Sheridan. "Was everything alright?"

[earwig]

Wiping a few strands of hair from his face, Wes knelt down in the dirt to get a better look at the tracks of a monster he had been following. Three claws, all set into the ground very deep; it must have been travelling quickly, most likely an Earth type. He held a detailed map of Tehgrimm Suda and its surrounding area in one hand and a pencil in the other, marking the direction and angle of the tracks. He feared that the monster was heading toward the town, but it seemed to have curved away as it got close. He'd feel a lot better if he were able to track it down, but for now it seemed that the threat had resolved itself. Torn hadn't been able to see anything moving from above, so he decided to call it a day. Returning his fiend, he headed into the city to find a place where he could sit down and finish his report.

 

The tavern seemed like a great place. It might not be too busy at this time of day and he could sure use a drink after all that scouting. He wiped the dirt from his clothes and boots before he headed in and plonked himself down on the first available seat. He took a quick glance around the room before ordering a drink and beginning to fill out the details of his report.

[Evangeline]

Castian pushed his empty glass aside, knowing he was near the limit of passing the pleasant carefree buzz that hung over his head. That was when the door meticulously swung open. The young summoner froze, his fingers instinctively snaking up toward the crystal embedded deep beneath his flesh. Seeing the seamlessly harmless figure, his hand dropped back to his side.

 

His gaze remained, drifting over the strange blond-haired male now hunkered over paperwork. Castian knew all too well what forms these belonged to. His elder brother had often had to fill out such in his employment at the military.

 

What was a military man doing here? The young rich kid reached for the satchel he had retrieved from the hospital, pulling the leather pack closer to his side. Part of him wanted to approach the supposed officer and explain his story, but the other part of him was too terrified. In the end, Castian stood with a pained grunt. His steps were heavy, and slightly off-kilter as he made his way over toward Wesley. With his heart threatening to burst its way from his chest, he cleared his throat rather loudly to get the figure's attention.

"'Xcuse me...officer? May I...er...sit here?"

[earwig]

"Hmm..?" Wes' pale eyes were ripped from his forms to a young, dark-haired figure. Apart from his apparent shyness, something didn't seem right about him as indicated by his staggering footsteps. He probably just had a little too much to drink, much like he did himself back in the day. "Sure, take a seat."

 

It wasn't unusual for a few people to be interested in military work, but Wes never found himself socialising with townspeople much anymore, he preferred to be out in the field doing his work silently. Sometimes he feared that perhaps he had lost touch with his younger, outgoing nature..

 

He didn't say anything further to the boy, but instead looked at him and raised an eyebrow slightly to avoid making him more nervous.

[Fortune86]

Sheridan shrugged. "I think so. I better go. I still have stuff to do."

 

Helios watched the much older man head back towards the school and then turned his attention to Diana. It was still early but it seemed trouble was already afoot. Was it really okay to leave the injured man to wander around? He supposed Diana didn't have much choice, what with Bastain getting arrested.

 

"So...what exactly are we going to do with them?" he asked nodding towards the captive monsters.

[Chicogal]

"Well." Diana clasped her hands in front of her, turning towar dthe rest of the class. Rain trotted to the halfway mark between the monster and the class in case of any trouble. "Today, we're going to do something a little different. We're going to be identifying monsters. It's crucial to be able to accurately guess the element of a monster - by doing so, you will know its strengths and weaknesses." She gestured toward a small monster in a cage. It was shaped like a fluffy sphere. But it growled and snapped, displaying razor sharp teeth. It had large front paws and was dark green in colour. It was called a Kazmid, and it was Earth. "Can anyone guess what element this monster is?"

[Fortune86]

Helios looked at the monster that Diana had indicated. He had never seen such a creature before. It probably wasn't one of the kinds that showed up around Tehgrimm Suda. However, he got a feeling they were supposed to rely on visual clues of some sort, although probably not magic. If you had to wait until a mosnter cast a spell to see what element it was you were probably already in big trouble.

 

Colour probably wasn't a big help, since monsters of every element could be any colour. And most monster had teeth and claws. Instead he focused on the large front paws. Wasn't there a certain element that liked to burrow?

 

"Earth?" he guessed out loud.

[Evangeline]

The male plopped down into the seat, his glazed over irises flickering around the tavern with his lips pursing. Now what? What was he supposed to say? He couldn't reveal everything... His fingers brushed against his stomach where a deep cut still sent jolts of pain through his abdomen. Hazel eyes fluttered back toward the older male as his lips parted to speak.

"I am a bit lost. I was supposed to be going to the Summoner school, but a monster attacked our caravan and now I can't summon my fiend for very long before I pass out."

 

Well, it was mostly the truth. How exactly was he supposed to word things otherwise? His lower lips found its way between pearly canines as the younger of the two watched the on helplessly.

[ValidEmotions]

[[Rereading a bit about the breakdown of the elements, I noticed that you said "light elements are immune to each other but take more damage from the dark elements" and vice versa, Fortune. Does this mean that a Wind element doesn't take any damage from, say, Lightning? Or did you mean it in the regard that the amount of damage taken is reduced?]]

 

Sorana

 

She listened to the conversation with a bit of concern, her gaze shifted between the aged man, Sheridan, and her teacher, Diana. Finally, the man left and the teacher began class. When Diana asked her question, indicating a specific creature, Sorana recognized it from a photo she'd seen in one of the library books. The name and element of the beast rested on the tip of her tongue. However, before she could speak the words that came to mind, another student beat her to it. Yes, the creature was of the Earth element. And, it's name started with a 'k'. Kaz- something. Kazad? No, that didn't sound right. Oh, what was it she read? Ah! A Kazmid! It was one of the many small creatures, relatively easy to subdue if a Summoner was experienced enough.

 

Hoping that the teacher would ask them what it was called next, she raised her hand timidly before announcing. "That's a Kazmid, isn't it, Miss?"

 

Atani

 

Rolling her eyes, Atani kept her arms folded across her chest. She knew Earth creatures when she saw them. They were practically the only element of monsters one saw up in the mountains. Sure, there were a few breeds of other elements but, when the mountains reigned, you had to adapt to the rough environment. And Earth was a rough element, a sturdy foundation. It only made sense to her that she was of the Earth element, shared the sturdy magic of the world. The one boy sounded so uncertain about his guess, she almost wanted to scoff at him. Didn't the idiot know? Either it was Earth (which it was) or it wasn't. Sure, he guessed right but, he needed to stop guessing and be certain of his answer. Otherwise, stronger and more certain people (like herself) would just walk all over him.

 

And she was looking for a few good stepping stones to use.

Edited November 12, 2014 by Narvix

[Chicogal]

Diana smiled when Helios spoke up - with the right answer, too. She had not been expecting him to guess, if she was honest with herself. He didn't seem to have a lot of self confidence. Then, one of the new girls chimed in with the name. "Correct! Both of you!" She chirped. "Now, which element deals the most and which deals the least damage to Earth?

[DragonSpirit009]

Bastian nodded and looked over his shoulder. Surely someone would be tracking them so maybe it would be the best to go out the back door. Moving through the abandoned house he located the back door covered in webs and dust. Bastian merely waved the webs away trying to find the knob of the door. It took him a few seconds but finally he found the door knob and pulled the door open. Fresh air greeted his face but a rather rotting smell greeted his nose. The back alley behind the house was rather dirty and abandoned but luckily they could avoid certain people. Bastian nodded his head to Arthur indicating that he should follow him.

 

Both men left the building and followed the lonely alley, keeping their eyes open for danger, until they reached one of the main roads of the city. Bastian stayed in the shadows trying to remember where the priests took their clothes to be cleaned. The place was a block away from the temple so their best chance is to get to the temple first. Bastian looked to the sky trying to find the temple towers that loomed over the city. They were quite in luck for the temple was only a few blocks away. Once Bastian figured out a path he stepped out into the busy road and started to blend in the crowd followed by Arthur. He stuck to the back roads and shadows of some of the shops but finally after a 15 minute search Bastian located the cleaners for the temple’s priests.

 

“Wait here.” Bastian spoke to Arthur. He left him in an alley that was right across from the cleaners, it would be better if only one would retrieve the clothing anyway. Bastian crossed the busy road and quickly disappeared down another alley and after several minutes he came back with bag over his shoulder.

 

“Here. I believe they will fit.” Bastian spoke as he handed Arthur the bag.

 

~~

 

“Oh, oh, I know this one.” Bella spoke as she raised her hand in the air waving it at Diana. She had read lots of books on monsters, fiends and elements and had a pretty good idea what was what. Not being able to keep her excitement at bay any further Bella said the answers.

 

“It takes more damage from wind type elements and takes less damage from electricity type elements.”

[earwig]

"Oh dear, that's not good." Wes stopped scribbling on his forms and sat upright in his chair, eyeing the boy. He looked very shaky, especially for someone who had just been drinking. Then again, being a summoner and not being able to summon your fiend without fainting would be nerve-racking...Wes relied on Torn's abilities just about every day, he couldn't begin to imagine fighting without her.

 

"Are you looking for someone to escort you there?" he asked casually as his head bowed down to look at his forms again, his hand scribbling across the page. He hesitated for a second, hoping he wasn't going to bring up a bad memory with his next question. "And if I'm not mistaken, you said 'our' caravan, right? Were the others okay?"

[Chicogal]

"Right, Bella!" Diana cheered. She walked toward the cage, standing a metre away from it. Her eyes skipped along the members of her class - she knew the element of some of their Fiends, but not the new ones. "Does anyone here have a Wind element Fiend?" she asked.

 

((The class just seems to be Bella, Atani, Helios and Sorana at the moment, right?))

[Evangeline]

The young man had to bite down into the soft tissue of his tongue to hold back a rather sarcastic comment. His dull gaze dropped, and he sighed lowly, each movement more exaggerated in his current state. Castian greatly disliked asking for help as it was, and now he had to deal with obvious questions.

 

Each flick of the stranger's hand began to distract him now, drawing his attention away from the conversation until...

 

Suddenly, at the last inquiry, the boy's head snapped up. Lips pursed and his head shook firmly.

"I don't know. I haven't seen them."

Another lie, but there was nothing he could say without allowing the night's events from unfolding. The summoners that had accompanied him were never coming back. Vile twisted within his gut at the horrors plaguing his thoughts; why was he the one to survive? Castian swallowed dryly, quickly wishing he had consumed more of the mind-numbing alcohol.

"I'm sorry. Is there anyone you know who might be able to aid me? I can pay."

[earwig]

Wes' stomach sank a little as he saw the boy jolt upright, and watched his eyes burn into his. The kid didn't know, so perhaps there might need to be an investigation into the matter. Of course, he could bring it up next time he talked with his superiors, and a task force could be sent to the site where the caravan was last spotted--

 

"I'm sorry. Is there anyone you know who might be able to aid me? I can pay." His thoughts derailed. The details of the story would have to wait, and so would his report, which he stopped scribbling over and began to fold up neatly.

"Aid you? Yes, yes, if you want to, you can come with me to the nearest military camp, or I can organise someone to come here. What exactly is wrong?"

[Fortune86]

((@ Narvix: Actually Narvix the elements are split into White and Black elements.

 

White Elements: Light, Fire, Wind, Lightning

 

Black Elements: Darkness, Ice, Earth, Water

 

Light is immune to magic from the other White elements (Fire, Wind, Lightning) but takes more damage from the Black ones (Ice, Earth, Water). They also have a 100% chance of being inflicted with status ailments from Darkness magic.

 

Darkness is immune to magic from the other Black elements (Ice, Earth, Water) but takes more damage from the White ones (Fire, Wind, Lightning). However they can not be healed by Light magic.

 

All of the 'attacking' elements still take regular damage from other elements in their group, so Wind can still be hurt by Lightning as normal. The only thing Wind is immune to is Wind itself.))

 

Arthur took the bag from Bastain and pulled out a long bronze colored acolyte's robe. It was one of the hooded ones, which would make it easier to move around without being recognised. Handing the bag back to Bastian Arthur pulled the robe on over his head and tugged at the cloth until the hem fell down to his feet. It was a bit of a loose fit, but no one paid much attention to acolytes anyway.

 

"Well....this is not the first time I've had to wear a dress."

 

~~~

 

Helios was just about to ask about the earth element's relationship with the light and darkness elements, but it seemed Diana was happy with Bella's answer. When she asked if anyone had a wind type Fiend he had a sudden sense of foreboding. Was she wanting someone to fight the Kazmid?

[Evangeline]

"I just need to get to Niefir." Castian ran his fingers back through his tousled strands as he whispered softly. There was no way of knowing if those people were here, he had to be cautious. Once he was at the school, he figured it would be safer. That group wouldn't dare attack them there... would they?

 

"Whichever is the quickest... or more convenient. Please. Let's not stay here too long?"

[ValidEmotions]

[[Okay. Thanks for clarifying. For some reason, my mind didn't sort it out that way |D]]

 

For a moment, Sorana thought about answering Diana's last question but another girl answered first. That was fine. However, when the teacher questioned if anyone had Wind fiend while standing beside the creature's cage, she paused. "Um, I do, Miss...," she started slowly, uncertain of what the teacher was going for. Still, she took a step forward, hand loosely curling into a fist as she rested it atop her breast and collarbone.

 

She'd read some historical texts, each telling of a crystal formed in the chest of select individuals who would become Summoners. Now, whether or not there was truly a crystal in her chest, Sorana didn't know. She couldn't exactly reach inside and pull out whatever grew within her ribcage. But, regardless, she knew that not everyone could be a Summoner and, those who could, could very well demand to be feared and take control.

 

And she knew that she was a Summoner, since her fiend first appeared. It was by accident, or luck (she couldn't say which), that she discovered it. But, she missed a year of lessons, keeping her discovery secret so she could help her parents back home. This year had been easier, giving her the chance to come to the school without feeling guilty or worrying about the workload her parents might have. She could be at ease knowing that work isn't so hard this year for her father or her mother.

 

So, learning to become a Summoner was now her task.

 

[[There's also Sandor but na82008 made a recent response since moving from the mess hall.

 

Fortune, I hope what I've written was okay?]]

[earwig]

Wes gave a reassuring smile at the boy, hoping to calm him down. He had been taught all throughout his training that any jitteriness can lead to panic, and keeping others calm was one of the most important aspects of any team.

"Sure thing. I'll grab a caravan and escort you to the Summoner's School, we will reach it in no time." He adopted a softer tone of voice. "I'm a trained military captain, anything that dares to attack us will be dealt with. You're in good hands now." He debated placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, but decided against it, lest his words fail he would only spook the boy further.

 

Normally, he would only escort the boy to the caravan and let some lower-downs or bodyguards escort the caravan, but it had been so long since he had last visited Niefir. A part of him wanted to explore the school all over again, to see if it had changed drastically or stayed the same. He didn't even know who was in charge of it anymore as he never checked with their affairs. He would have to sway some of his influence over the others at the camp to allow himself to travel there, but he figured he deserved it for himself. He placed his report gently in his backpack and rose from his seat, swinging it over his shoulder.

 

"Let's get going then?"

[Kestra15]

Stood behind the younger Summoners Selena kept her counsel; this had been part of her basic Military training as well, learning to identify the more common monsters by name and element, and able to 'dissect' the uncommon ones as the students were now doing. Alignment was also common knowledge among Military Summoners, allowing them to better pick and choose their fights. Unlike most Fiends, Vulpis was a non-combatant and while being of Vundhia's light granted her immunity to many Elements, unless it was to work through a battlefield to heal a fallen comrade her size and stature meant it was of little consequence in a fight. Still there came no harm in revisiting the basics, and as the students reasoned through their answers Selena was mentally answering all of Diana's questions and marking them off against the older Summoner's comments.

[Evangeline]

With an unsteady stagger, Castian jumped to his feet. The statement made by the other soothed him a little, but not entirely. Either way, the man was willing to accompany him on their trip, and that did help settle his uneasy stomach. The young summoner's head dipped in a small nod, his footsteps echoing in the small tavern as he made his way to the door. The male fell silent once more; conversation had never been his strong suit. That took thinking, and right now, his mind wasn't capable at that. Fighting with his fiend had been what he was good at, and now he was useless for that.

 

His hand lifted to cover his mouth as a yawn stretched his lips apart. His healing body still demanded he sleep, but he knew there wasn't time for that yet. He hoped this wouldn't take too long. He wouldn't last on his feet much longer.

[earwig]

The man stood up straight, puffing his chest out a little and drawing his shoulders backward, juxtaposing his unsteady companion. As he stifled a yawn in response to his, he wondered whether he should assist the boy in walking, or put his arm over his shoulder. Again, he decided against it, physical contact might not be a good option right now.

 

The camp was not too far from the tavern, it was on the outskirts of town and populated by many tents and tarps, with military crew bustling back and forth, filing reports and being sent on various tasks. Transport by caravan was not uncommon for crew to travel from city to city, so Wes imagined that he would easily be able to request one at short notice, even if he did have to cut in line in front of some others. He then began to wonder if he should head directly to Niefir, or if he should take a slightly longer route through Zurt Lyordeur, since he wanted to ensure the boy's safety, but also get him to his destination as fast as possible. After contemplation, he decided to head directly there, and trusted they would remain safe under the guidance of his fiend.