Chaos Theorem

[Dobi Boshi]

Chaos Theorem - Quest: Shadows Dwelling in Wellington*

New Wellington Station wasn’t exactly the grandest place he had ever seen, but it still had its simple charms. All it was a single platform lined up against the tracks with a small terminal building so people had somewhere to buy their tickets and wait for the train should it be raining. There was also a small travel inn for people to rest and recuperate at should they arrive at a time like this. On occasion there was a man with a cart parked out front of the terminal offering to ferry people between the station and town for a small fee. Though, given the hour, the likely hood of the man being around today was slim at best.

Never the less, Gerard chanced a quick glance around, staring back and forth down the stone platform before slid off the roof of the train compartment he had been riding on. It wasn’t that he’d snuck on the train illegally, he’d bought a ticket like he always did: he just preferred it were he could be left alone: he didn't mix well at all with strange new people. Sadly the storage compartments had been a little too full for him to squeeze in this time, so he’d opted for the roof pf the dinning compartment so he could watch the world pass him by.

Yawning into the balaclava that covered his face, he lifted a hand to rub the sleep from his eyes. The hour was early and he hadn’t really slept atop the train and he was paying for it now. Up in the sky the sun was still struggling to dominate the morning, the purple waves of the dying evening crashing against glowing orange as they fought to push one another back and remain the dominate power, but before long both would fall to a dazzlingly clear blue. And there wasn’t a cloud to be seen, he noted with a small smile. Nice weather makes for a nice day, he thought to himself, remembering one of his mother’s favourite phrases from when he was a boy.

Adjusting his duffle bag over his right shoulder as he turned to walk along the platform taking note of a few others still departing from the train despite having arrived almost ten minutes ago. A few compartments down men were still hard at work unloading supplies and merchandise local action houses and stores had to ordered in. Nobody seemed to be paying any really attention to him, so he just carried on as he normally would.

Walking along the platform he took note of the lamps that lined single platform losing their light, a new one flickering out after a couple moments interval and before he knew it he was in the terminal heading for the opposite door and from there it was onto New Wellington.

Two years, he mused lightly, stepping out into the early morning air once more. He wonder how much New Wellington had changed in that time, hopefully nothing drastic – he spent enough time getting lost in Imperious whenever the need to venture there arose, he didn’t want to start getting lost in the little towns too. Mother did always say my sense of direction was awful… he chuckled slightly, enjoying the occasional chirp of a bird in the distance as he headed straight for town.

Now Gerard liked to think of himself as a man who despite his career and the dangerous involved, was a well grounded person. But he couldn’t help but get the feeling that something was watching him as he walked down the dirt road towards New Wellington. It quickly got to the point where he ground to a halt, dropping his duffle onto the ground at his feet and looking around to see if anyone else was nearby. His left hand subconsciously stretched out to gently grasp for his staff – Eldred – which hung from its latch on his back over his cloak.

Everyone else on the train probably stopped by the inn to rest or get something to eat. No one else was surely stupid enough to head straight to town without resting first. Well, maybe a Demon Hunter, but they’re all insane so that doesn’t really count. He mused, frowning slightly behind his coverings. But after a few moments of just standing there, looking back and forth he decided it was just paranoia in the early hour. Weird… he hadn’t been jumpy like that in years. Which was why part of him probably though it was something more than paranoia. And his suspicions where confirmed when he looked down to grab his duffle from the road.

There were tracks cutting across the face of the road. Something had cut through there earlier and whatever it was it had been dragging something heavy behind it, or rather two things. Bending down, he traced the prints a little, trying to work out what exactly had made them. One of the drag marks was clearly an injured human, if the specks of dried blood were anything to go off, and the second was a straight line that went a little jagged in places.

The point of a sword, probably a rather heavy one, he concluded given how far it had dug into the earth in places. That’ll be the jag marks then: the sword must have gotten stuck in place and have to be ripped out of the ground.

“Bloodkin,”* he murmured in puzzlement as he brushed his fingers over the faded print. He’d seen such tracks enough time to know exactly what had made them and what they meant, even if the body being dragged behind them had erased them slightly. Demons in New Wellington…? There had never been any reported cases of such a thing before – which, logically speaking, left only one other reasonable explanation as to how a Bloodkin had showed up in New Wellington.

“Dark Cultist,” he frowned beneath his covering, pulling his balaclava down to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Please, please, please don’t let them have any Necromancers,” where there were Necromancers, there were Ghouls. And he hated Ghouls*. “It looks as though I have one more thing to add to the agenda when I talk to Melody,” if anyone would have information to confirm his suspicions then the odds would be good that she would have the information he needed.

He hoped that news of possible Bloodkin in New Wellington hadn’t spread yet; the last thing he wanted was have to put up with a bunch of raving Demon Hunters running around town shooting first and never bothering to asked any of the questions they should. Guess I’ll have to find out what’s going on before any of them can show up, that was unlikely though. If there were Dark Cultists running around he wouldn’t be able to take them all alone if they had decent numbers, and he had to make sure he got them all at once which would surely be suicide if his suspicions were correct.

This is all about The Creator’s Crypt, isn’t it Aurora…? That idea worried him, he was usually a step ahead of his sister but if Dark Cultists were running around they probably belonged to her, and if she felt she had to have them bring in Bloodkin then the was much more in stake at New Wellington that he previously thought.

The Creator’s Crypt is the next link in the chain! Well, it looked as though his hunt for the Black Library just turned into a race against his sister. Only one thing sprung to mind at that idea: "Ballocks,"

---

Footnotes

* See page 2 of the Chaos Theorem OoC thread for Shadows Dwelling in Wellington quest informaiton.

* Bloodkin are the first type of Demon that will play a major roll in the events of CT, a Lore Extract will be posted on OoC thread when they become more relavent.

* Ghouls will porbably be a common type of Mook in the early stages of the RP, once again a Lore Extract will be posted in the OoC thread when it becomes relevant to post one.

[Ra The BlazeWingPhoenix]

OOC: Oh dear, a Tree RP ._. Alright, lemme see if I got this...

---
Clunk. Clunk. That was the sound of his armour as Zerez strolled off of the train. He was in the midst of strapping his sword to his back. The sleek sword was more suited for cutting than thrusting, which surprised most. The blade had a curve near the tip, for hooking other blades and trapping them. Since he didn't use a shield which left his other hand free to get in close if needed, or to put more power into his strikes.

During the whole train ride, he had been polishing his armour, and sharpening his sword. A dull sword did no one good. He liked it when it was just a simple, clean cut through the body. One slice. One kill. No one suffered; it was painless, unless he missed his target.

His armour still shone; after all it had just been polished. He had the utmost respect for his armour and weapon. They were his pride and joy. A final gift from his father before he had moved on.

[Book the Hero]

Garin got off the train with a grunt, his armor letting out a loud sound as his feet hit the ground. He smiled, as he was finally off the damn train, at last. It wasn't so much the moving that got him, but how he barely had any room during the ride. He didn't like being in small spaces for too long, it just wasn't natural for an Ork. He could never understand how the dwarves could keep their sanity down in their tunnels.

He turned and headed towards the road, not bothering to rest at an inn, for he had already rested on the train. What he really needed now was to get moving, and stay moving till he got to New Wellington.

---

Raven silently got off the train, the hood of her cloak obscuring what she looked liked. She quickly moved about the crowds, not bothering to stop and get her luggage, for she had none. Much more convenient to keep everything in her personal space in the void, where she can get her stuff in a heartbeat.

She was now presented with two options, immediately head for New Wellington, or go and rest at the inn, get drunk, and have a fun time. The latter option was appealing, but she was in a hurry to get to town...

[Big Uri]

The merchant caravan rumbled into town mostly unnoticed. Sabriel could tell this only by the sounds that punctured the canvas over the cart she was stuck in. There were other mercenaries out on horses around the carts, but she was stuck indoors, supposedly guarding her employer. In practice, however, she spent most of her time at the side of his chair, in charge of the drink. At least the drink had made the long journey more bearable, and she had probably gotten drunk more that she should have, and had made a fool out of herself.

Oh well, it had only happened during her breaks. At least she had some nights to herself, able to see the stars again, which was nice after spending a lot of time in slums. It reminded her of her life in the forest though, and she was never really one for nostalgia. If anything she was glad about the path she'd taken, though she wasn't particularly happy with her current position. That said, the pay was good. She also got free clothes, even if said clothes were only red cloth tunics and shorts of the same material. She felt odd in most anything that didn't cover her legs though, even if what was covering them wouldn't really provide protection. It was just a habit developed since she often hid knives there. Though she supposed that was probably the reason for the uniform.

Not that she minded too much now, as it was a beautiful day in New Wellington. She lay spread across a sunbed on a terrace opposite the dirt road from the train station to the town. An observant viewer would probably spot her, but no one had yet. She contented herself to people watching, taking interest in the tall man carrying the staff. She had noticed him standing out of the crowd by his height at first, but when everyone had disembarked and moved on, he was still there. She noticed his balaclava at first, almost sighing. She idly wondered whether he was horribly disfigured or merely trying to hide his identity.

He bent down, running his fingers along the tracks that cut through the path. Hmmm, so he had noticed them too. Few had, but she had spent years training in things like that. There was no one better at reading tracks than elven Rangers, of which she, admittedly unofficially, was a member of. Could he be a Demon Hunter? No, not with that staff. He didn't seem to need it to walk, and if it served another purpose he would surely confine it to the void, like he must have done with the ranged weapons that the Order carried. That said, it could be a diversion, and hiding his identity did seem like a classic Demon Hunter move.

Regardless, whether it was his occupation required it or not, his reaction to the tracks seemed to indicate that he had demon hunting in mind. She wasn't averse to killing demons, and had slain every one that had crossed her path, but she rarely went looking for them. She supposed if a town was at stake, especially if her employer and therefore her money was at stake. She might just offer him a hand. She might just be able to get the balaclava off his face and find out who he was. He could be a sorcerer with that staff, but he didn't seem to quite look like an elf. He definitely wasn't a Barbarian or Orc, wrong body structure for both.

On the other arrivals, there was the usual racial mixture between them. They would mostly be explorers, she figured. The Creators would draw interest, naturally. Hmmm, high elf, ork, more elves, more humans, blah blah blah. One human drew her interest, a Demon Hunter she knew from before. She was on her break after all, it wouldn't hurt to meet up with her then meet up with her mysterious track analyst. It would give her a break from the boring mercenary work anyway.

[Book the Hero]

Raven reached a nearby corner, away from the crowd, before looking around. It was always good to be aware of your surroundings, and who was nearby. She noticed a nearby paladin walking by, wearing a shining, polished suit of armor, that just drawled attention to the elf. She also noticed an ork who judging from his great build, dark plate armor, and Big Fucking Sword, was a berserker, and a tough one at that.

It was then she noticed someone on a nearby terrace, lieing on a sunbed, who looked vaguely familiar to her. It took he a moment, as the last time she had seen her, she had been wearing a lot more clothes, but she soon recognized who it was. A smile crept on her face, as she stared up towards the woman, remembering this old friend. She raised an eyebrow out the outfit she was wearing, shorts, and a red tunic. Now why would she be wearing that?

[Big Uri]

Sabriel noticed her old friend staring at her, and decided she should probably go and say hello. She stretched out, kicking her legs in front of her, the direction facing Raven, and rolled backwards onto her feet. Taking her time, she made her way off the terrace on down the outdoor stairs. It was a nice place, and she knew the merchant who had employed her must have been rich. Not to mention that she was being paid quite a bit. Quite right too, she thought, after all, she felt more like his maid than his bodyguard. Maybe she had an exaggerated opinion of bodyguarding.

The assassin business always had her expecting things to be a little more exciting and violent than they were in actuality. Still, Demon Hunting was an interesting profession. and she respected the way that they didn't let much get in their way, though a lot of the time she did wish they would listen to advice more readily. The Order was notoriously hard-headed, or so she'd heard. The void was of interest to her. She often wished she'd chose a path that let her learn magic, but she knew in her heart she loved being a ranger.

She eventually came out the door, having given Raven ample time to get there, she was still barefoot, though she could often be found wearing socks up to her thighs nowadays. It slightly made up for the feeling of having no protection on her legs that the shorts gave her. Maybe it was just her being neurotic, she knew, but it mattered. She was quite liking the socks, actually, though admittedly more on cold days, and it was quite warm today. So she stood, in her mercenary uniform, and looked at her friend with a smile on her face.

"Hello, Raven, you've barely changed," she started, smirking. "You're looking great, I was afraid the business might give you a few grey hairs and your name wouldn't be quite so apt any more."

[Book the Hero]

Raven smiled when she saw her friend get up, and head for the stairs, heading down towards the door. She was happy to find an old friend her, and she would most definetly want to find out what the ranger had been up to.

"Same to you Sabriel." Raven said in response to the first thing the elf said when they came face to face, a small smirk of her own on her face. "And never." She said to the last thing, a look of confidence and pride on her face.

"So, what are you doing here, and what is with that strange outfit you are wearing?" Raven asked, looking Sabriel up and down. "While it does look good on you, this doesn't look like something you would usually wear."

[The Nexerus]

The ride there had been less than restful. The strange, metallic dwarven construct Atra had taken to get to New Willington, most folk called it a "train", never ceased to put Atra on edge. He tried to avoid using them whenever he could. Took a horse, rode a carriage, travelled in a caravan... hell, sometimes even walked the entire distance he was looking to traverse on his own two feet rather than have to cramp himself into an overpopulated moving cage built by the little people of the north. Atra had nothing against Dwarves. Nothing against Orks, nothing against Elves: it was what the Dwarves built that caused him his undeserved unrest. The people themselves were fine: hard-working, diligent, industrious. Their technology, though, Atra felt the rest of the world could do well without for a few more generations. Even now, Atra was only bothering to put up with the train thanks to an unfortunate mishap he'd had back in Imperius with a fellow he'd borrowed a horse from. The man seemed unsympathetic at what the steed had almost sacrificed its life for, and Atra's explanation that he could never have caught the Demon had he not used the horse as bait was not taken entirely well by the traveller. Some people just aren't willing to make sacrifices for the greater good...

Taking an eager few steps off of and far, far away from the idling, noisy train, Atra rubbed his weary eyes and blinked. Allowing himself to become quickly accustomed to the dim light of the town, he took a cursory glance around to get his barrings. Most settlements this size were almost pitch black at night, but Atra liked to think he was a third, or maybe a quarter or a fifth, feline. Not just his agility, decidedly marvellous as it was, but his eyesight seemed to always be befitting of the situation in which he found himself. Atra figured it came from practice. He rarely followed the same schedule as anyone else he knew, few people as that was. Whether he was awake or asleep in the middle of the night depended entirely upon what he felt was right, what he felt was accommodating to the situation he found himself in. There was a kind of ever-present freedom in that, Atra mused, taking off into town, following the streets to get a scope for what he was up against when it came to his objective. Atra was always the one in charge, if only of himself, and he could do damn well whatever he pleased inside of (and occasionally outside of) the confines of the law.

Getting his head back on track, Atra eyed over the sleepily occupied buildings and quiet, moonlit streets of New Wellington. Besides the crowd coming off the train, the town was resting. In all honesty, and despite his ego biting back at him for it now that his suspicion had been aroused, Atra had to admit that this was the last place he'd expect to find Demons. On the surface, at least, the town was much like any other one might find along the path to their destination. For Atra, though, New Wellington was not a stop along the way, but the destination of the travel itself. He'd heard wind and whisper of dark dealings going on in town. As a defender of civilization, a Demon Hunter, Atra took it upon himself to rid the settlement of its woes. If he were to be well paid in gratitude for his work, well, that would be a nice bonus alongside the satisfaction of having done a good deed, wouldn't it? Besides, these kind of things always tended to involve Demons in one way or another. The scum had been clawing at the Central Lands ever since their appearance in the far west. Atra didn't know anyone who remembered a day before Demons, but he was sure there was a plethora of Elves who would be oh-so-happy to indulge him of how grand things were before their arrival. If there was a single trait that united the High Elves and Dark Elves together most, despite their many differences, it was their unapologetic pretentiousness.

Speaking of Elves, Atra's vision was soon disturbed along his way by the sight of one of the elven-kind's glimmering armour. The man (or at least Atra assumed it was a man) was heading inside one of the many taverns this settlement had to offer. Shrugging to himself, and figuring it as good a time to rest as any, Atra followed suit and leisurely made his own way to the tavern. He good use a good nap, and in any case it was probably a good idea for Atra to settle down, take his armour off and give himself a few moments of peace. The investigation could wait until Atra was fully conscious. The only good Demon Hunter is an alert one. Besides, Atra couldn't very well visit a new town before sampling the local drinks, now could he?

[Big Uri]

Sabriel smiled at her friend's reactions. It was nice to see that some things stayed the same, plus Raven would notice the slight swell in pride when she said she looked good in the mercenary outfit. She, slightly jealously, noted that Raven still had her armour and was dressed much the same as last time. Lucky her, she was as free as the bird she was named for. Sabriel felt a little like an indentured servant, though she tried to tell herself she didn't enjoy the job perks.

She was impressed with Raven's ability to spot her in the terrace, though she supposed Raven would have the benefit of the light, since Sabriel had mostly been shielding her eyes from the sun she had been lying in. She had some free time, and while her employer would probably want her when he came back, she technically was on her break. It was a nice sense of relief, that freedom, after spending quite a while confined to a cart or, at best, a small camp.

"I'm working for a merchant man," she told her friend, aware that it was a bit of a fall from where she had been when Raven last saw her, and she hoped Raven wouldn't ask what exactly her job entailed, but she tried not to let it show. "You really think it looks good? It's a uniform, all female personnel have to wear it. Rare you get a separate uniform for only three people."

[Book the Hero]

Raven nodded, understanding her friend's situation immediately. She knew it must be a hard time for people in Sabriel's line of work, these days, and they probably had to take the jobs they could get, to get by. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad you've been taking care of yourself." The Demon Hunter said with a smile. It was only with friends and comrades, that she was ever this kind and sympathetic, with most other people, you'd get zero sympathy, and a few snide remarks at their expense.

"And yes, you look very good in that outfit." Raven said, jokingly flirting with elf, while starring at her legs. The thing with Raven was, that she didn't really care about race or gender. "Anyways, care to get a couple drinks with me, so we can catch up?" She asked, momentarily gazing at the nearby tavern. She decided that she would continue on later, right now, she wanted a drink and to catch up with her friend.

[Big Uri]

"Please, Raven, you're embarrassing me," Sabriel replied, shying away from the compliment. Oddly enough, she took the compliments she received off strangers fine, but it was the ones that she got off her friends, who were few in number, that she got embarrassed about. Especially from someone like Raven. "And I might be needing some new clothes soon, when I can afford any, maybe you could give me a hand? I need new armour and new city-clothes, so I could use a hand there."

"I'm supposed to be holding down the fort here, actually, until everyone else comes back it's just me. They should be back at eight though, so you could either come in, we could get some drinks out on the terrace, or I could just blow off the rules and go to the pub anyway," Sabriel replied confidently, not really sounding too bothered whichever option Raven chose. She'd probably make it up to her employer with overtime work anyway, and he seemed like the type that would forgive with little persuasion.

She got on surprisingly well with her employer, she realised. He was charming, but also a very smart and shrewd guy. She had been stuck talking to him for quite a while. However, she didn't like what her job entailed and the lack of free time and action. Though the latter wasn't particularly his fault and the former was her own fault. As for the lack of free time, that was merely him being shrewd, though he had tried to pass it off as 'wanted to spend more time with you'. Sabriel had laughed at that one, it was so obvious she hadn't expected him to try it.

[Book the Hero]

"There's nothing to be embarrassed by, you quite simply, look great." Raven said with a chuckle to her friend. t had been awhile since she had enjoyed time talking to a good friend like Sabriel. "Eh, I'll join you, wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your employer." Raven said. Usually, she'd have her blow her employer off, but she was her friend, and with the way things are, she would need the money she got from them.

"And yes, of course I'll help with the clothes, we need to get you back into all that clothing you used to wear." The Demon Hunter said with a smile. While she did like the way Sabriel looked in her current outfit, it just didn't fit the Ranger she knew. "Just tell me when, and how much, and I'm there for you." She finished with a wink.

[that fang]

A golden-eyed wolf observed New Wellington just short of the town borders; the black markings in its taupe fur betrayed its magical origins. It traveled alone and now perched, unmoving, on a slightly jutting rock. Occasionally, its nose twitched as the light wind brought a foreign scent its way, but otherwise, it could have been a statue.

Something stumbled behind it, and the wolf leaped from its position, tumbling across the ground before spinning to snarl at -

It was a cat, tawny with green eyes and claws bared at its sudden movement. The wolf relaxed, slightly sheepish. It turned tail and approached New Wellington with resolution. There was a strange scent in the air, dark and heavy; the wolf followed the smell in circles until it realized it wasn't a scent he had been following, but an eerie feeling.

A rock hurtled through the wolf's legs, and it looked up to see a red-faced baker with another stone in hand. "Go on, get out of here!" the man cried, hurling the stone. The wolf dodged this one, fleeing into a back alley that harbored many wooden crates. Mice scattered as the wolf walked through their midst to a medium-sized box. It jumped up on top of it, quickly leaping to a taller crate afterward. It was in this way that the wolf made it to the rooftop of a building overlooking the alley. Edging towards the other end of the roof, the wolf surveyed the town. It seemed one of the large, moving contraptions had pulled into the station and humans (some elves, the wolf noted with interests, and was that an ork?) disembarked. Some seemed lost, lingering in a daze as if they had exited the thing to find they had arrived in the wrong town. Others quickly decided a destination; a few even spotted people they knew and approached to greet them.

The wolf sat on its haunches, lifting its muzzle into the sky. A strong wind suddenly swept across the rooftop, rustling through its fur; and the wolf was suddenly struck with a strong urge to call out. The wolf reared back, its back arched, forelegs locked, eyes closed; a long howl echoed through the streets of New Wellington as the wolf sang to the people, to the earth, and to the world.

[Big Uri]

Sabriel noted the cry of the wolf with interest. You didn't often get wolves in the heart of New Wellington, unless she had been misinformed. She idly wondered if there was any correlation between the wolf and the demons. Was there a lupine demon? She was sure there was somewhere out there, but she was no expert on demonology. Still, it might be worth checking out. The tracks on the dirt road hadn't looked like they had come from a wolf, though, but who knew with demons.

She lead Raven inside, choosing not to pursue the topic of her looks any further to spare herself. That said, it made her feel all the more naked without armour on. The merchant house was rich-looking and well-furnished, predominantly marble with two couches and a coffee table in the middle. It was a rather large villa, and looked to be a nice place to live. The room sloped slightly inwards, creating a bowl-like effect.

"Allow me to serve you, milady," Sabriel joked, fetching Raven a beer and pouring it out into a glass in front of her. She had actually worked in a bar for a time in her life. It had been an odd job, and a little demeaning at times, but there was fun to be had. "Doesn't get much better service than this, eh? I hear bars go crazy for a woman to serve their patrons drink when they're smashed. Appealing to their drunk male demographic, I suppose."

"The majority of which aren't the brightest or best of humanity," the Ranger finished lightly, sprawling luxuriously across the couch and resting her head on one end and stretching her legs to the far end. Her guest might find it odd that she took such open advantage of the perks of her job, but Sabriel had never been the kind of person to cut off her nose to spite her face. If the opportunity of free comfortable living was on the cards, Sabriel was almost completely likely to take it.

[Book the Hero]

Raven frowned a little when she heard the wolf howl, but something in her gut told her not to persue it. Her gut was usually right, and right now, it was saying to drink. Smiling, she nodded a thank you, and took the glass, and chugged down a bit, before laying down on the other couch and answering her friend.

"Heh, just a bunch of drunken perverts, but you could probably say the same about me. But it would be nice to have some guys do that as well." Raven said with a smirk. "I enjoy bars mostly to drink, and for the occasional chance of fun, but then there are those times when a bar fight breaks out, and it gets really exciting. Best one I ever saw was between a couple dwarves, a few humans, and one incredibly drunk ork. Two guesses as to who won." Raven finished, having gone on a bit of a tangent.

[Big Uri]

"To each her own, I suppose. I'm not really a bar person. I end up spending a lot of time in them for work reasons, but by choice I'd rather not. Not really a booze and loud people girl, I suppose. I can see why you'd like them though," Sabriel replied. She didn't mind drinking itself, but she preferred to be out of crowds. She also liked quiet places a lot more than loud usually, though occasionally she would voluntarily go to a bar, if only for a change of scenery.

Even if she did like quiet places, secluding herself in her room when she wasn't working didn't seem like a good idea. It was still a good idea to interact with someone once in a while. In her youth, right after she had ran away from her home, she had spent a year or two in a forest as the only elf in sight. It had been hard to tell time, as she was the only speaking being there, so it could have been as long as five years, though she doubted it.

Back then she had been afraid to leave for the big bad world, preferring to stick to what she knew how to survive in. And she'd never been truly alone, not with the animals there with her. She had also taken to stopping poachers or, on a few occasions when they fought back and tried to poach her too killing them. It was here she had discovered her future career choice, and after spending a couple of years in the forest, she had worked up the courage to go to the city and get herself a job.

"So how've you been?" Sabriel asked chattily, somewhat eager to catch up. She idly debated telling Raven what was up with the demon tracks, and she wondered if the Demon Hunter already knew. She also didn't want to stay too long, she wanted to look for that man and the source of the wolf's howl earlier. So much to do, so little time before her employer came back and she would have to be found sitting there.

[Dobi Boshi]

By the time he reached the Blackthrone Inn, Gerard was just about tripping over his own feet in his weary state of mind. Though, try as he might, he knew when the time came when could actually try and sleep his mind would just wonder to the questions that had been plaguing his mind ever since he discovered the Bloodkin tracks just outside of town. I should probably be grateful it not a Succubus infestation or anything like that, we'd already all be screwed if that was the case. He tried not to shudder at the very thought of running into a Succubus. He'd only met a Succubus once before and that was a long time ago. The memories still gave him nightmares.

Yawning into his balaclava, he walked down the alley between the rows of tables that lined the bar area of Blackthrone; like soldiers stood to attention in their units. It was a nice place, he mused to himself, ever since he first came to New Wellington a long time ago he always stayed at this very inn. The bar area was open and spacious with many long tables, each large enough to hold about eight people each, and their was four rows of seven, with a bar set against the far side of the building. One the bars right coming in from the entrance was a door that lead back into the kitchen, whilst one the other side there was a large mahogany staircase that lead up to the numerous rooms at the inn.

It only took him a moment to reach the bar, silently sitting down on one of the stools stationed there, having taken a moment or two to offer nods of greeting and small waves to those that he recognized from previous stays at the inn. He smirked to himself slightly, the women work at the bar had her back to him, she probably hadn't even heard him approach, so to alter her to his presence he dropped his duffle bag onto the ground with a loud thud.

She gave a start, almost jumping into the air, a sight which caused him to chuckle. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," the women mumbled, turning round to frown at him, folding her arms bellow her breasts. Gerard only gave another chuckle. "You don't write, you don't send any sort of message and now you just drop in here out of the blue? Could it be you just wanted to surprise me?"

"It's good to see you, too, Melody," he replied dryly, pulling his balaclava down - a sign of respect, a show of trust. Melody had always been a pretty girl, he wouldn't quite say she could qualify as a beautiful one, but nevertheless she was one of those girls who was pretty in her own way. Her hair was a light rose colour and she kept it long enough to let it drop past her shoulders, but she always had it pulled it up into a messy bun with strands hanging free over her face. Her eyes were a soft lime green that contrasted well with her light tan. "How are you this morning?"

"Peachy," Melody said with a sour expression and he chuckled again, shaking his head. Always with the snark, "So whaddaya want?"

"The usual, and room seventy one, if it's free," he added casually, knowing Melody would understand perfectly. The room count in Blackthrone only went up to seventy; so he requested room seventy one as a means informing her that they needed to talk without saying directly when in public. Melody gave a tight nod, having got the message. And going off the expression on her face, she was already able to guess what was on the agenda.

Things are worse than I thought, then, It looked as though he was going to have to do a little digging then, he needed to know what exactly was going on before he started doing anything. Might as well enjoy my breakfast first, though, he thought with a small smile of satisfactions - Melody's fried breakfast was the stuff of legends and he planned savouring it. Sighing contently, he pulled his balaclava back up as Melody head for the kitchen. All he could do for the time being was wait and see what happened.

[Book the Hero]

"Not bad, work has been going well." Raven said, with a sigh of a content, as she chugged down another sip of her drink. "There has been no shortage of demons to kill, fortunately, although unfortunately for the innocent folk who can't defend themselves." She finished, before taking another sip, remembering her last job, and the great number of ghouls she had to deal with. At the time, she needed the assistance of a few Barbarians, so she didn't get over-sieged by the demons. Though she liked working alone, she wasn't stupid enough to think she could handle everything by herself.

"I'm hear cause I heard a few vague rumors about sightings. I plan on scouting the town to confirm whether or not there is any proof to these rumors." Raven said, explaining why she was there. "Who would have thought I'd have run into you."

[Big Uri]

"You may be interested in the tracks outside of the house," Sabriel advised with a grin, leaning her head back to look up at the roof, glad to get her hair out of her eyes. She had to admit it was an funny coincidence to run into a friend the last place she expected to run into anyone she knew, especially she wouldn't have visited New Wellington if it wasn't for her work taking her there, and it wasn't even her first-choice occupation.

Not to say that there was anything wrong with the town. It was a bit boring, sure, but it was quieter than Imperius, where she spent most of her time. Of course, the reason she was there was because it was a lot easy to make money there, even if it wasn't as an assassin. She supposed there really wouldn't be a lot of work out here, unless, obviously, you were a Demon Hunter in the current climate. Ugh, she could remember the days when the rifts hadn't opened and the world was so much better.

"I know, right? Great to see you though, and moreso to see you looking well," Sabriel replied, not really wanting to think about finally meeting up with her friend again to see her mutilated by a demon. Though obviously it went with the territory, and Sabriel had accepted it as a possibility, it still wasn't exactly a nice thought. Sabriel herself lead a dangerous life, and she herself knew just how much her life at risk, but she never really feared it. She was never averse to risk.

[Book the Hero]

Raven suddenly sat up, a serious look on her face. "You spotted Demon tracks?" She asked immediately, a serious tone in her voice. Whenever there was any news about demons, she did a 180, and became focused on her job. To some, this would seem a little unnerving how fast her mood could change. But Demon Hunting was Serious Buisness, especially to the ones who did it.

"I enjoyed seeing you again Sabriel, maybe...we can meet up later, but if there are demons nearby, I need to start getting to work." Raven explain to the elf, an apologetic look on her face, for having to cut the reunion short.

---

Garin walked into the Blackthorne Inn with a grunt, his armor clanking as he headed over towards the bar. He took a seat at the counter, while noticing how big the place was, and how there were a few people nearby. With a sigh, he laid his Big Fucking Sword next to him, having it lean against the counter.

He then began to wait for a barkeep to ask him what he wanted to drink. After this, he planned on getting a drink, and resting for the night. A god warrior must keep up his energy, for you never knew when the next fight would be.

[Dobi Boshi]

"An Ork in New Wellington," Gerard mused, looking down the bar at the large Ork, who only sat a few seats away from him. "This day is full or surprises, and it isn't even noon yet." He chuckled, shaking his head to himself, lost slightly in his own private amusement.

What in the the name of the Prime Collective would a Ork be doing out here...? Surely any rumours about Demon sightings wouldn't have gotten far enough to reach Ork ears just yet. And even if they somehow had, if the Ork had come here looking to slay Demons he could have just joined the Army of the Brotherhood.

Going off the armour I'd say he's a Berserker, so what the hell is he doing out here? He'd been so lost in his own curiosity, he never even realised Melody had returned, the plate holding his fry-up in one hand whilst the other held onto a large glass of fresh orange juice.

"The usual, just how you like it, and I'm afraid you'll have to make do with room fifty three, we're a little pressed on rooms right now." Gerard nodded dumbly, snapping back to pay attention to what Melody was saying to him. "And I don't think our new friend would appreciate you staring at him like that." He coughed slightly, turning away from her as he muttered something or other below hims breath; he wasn't even quite sure what he said himself, if he were honest.

There was a slight clang as Melody dropped his room key on the table before moving on down the bar to talk to the Ork. "Hey, big fella, you in town for the tournament?" Melody asked, still within earshot of him. Wait, a tournament?

"What tournament?" He demanded before he could help himself, looking up from his breakfast to shoot Melody a demanding look. But the response she gave him was just a small smirk that she was able to hide quite well; he only caught it because he knew her quite well.

"The town council is holding a tournament," Melody shrugged, turning around and fetching a piece of paper and throwing it back down the bar towards him. He had to almost scramble over the counter to catch it, but when he did he gave it a quick scan, "Apparently, New Wellington might have its first ever Demon infestation and in order to help put everyone at ease, the town council wants to hold a tournament to find a warrior strong enough to as the protector of the town and hunt down these Demons and kill 'em."

"Now that doesn't make any sense at all..." Gerard mumbled, putting the flier down and returning to his breakfast, though his mind. Why does nothing going on in this town make any sense at the moment...? Why not just be done with it and hire a Demon Hunter, it's not like they can't afford it... What are you trying to tell me Melody? What piece of the puzzle am I missing?

[Book the Hero]

Garin had noticed the small human starring at him a couple of times. Judging from his cloak, and his staff, he was probably a sorcerer, and one of the smarter ones, who didn't wear outfits that pretty much said "HEY, I'M THE SPELLCASTER, PLEASE KILL ME!". Eventually, a young lady came, and spoke to the sorcerer, pointing out that spellcaster was starring, which got a smirk out of Garin.

"Yes, I came here for the chance to fight against those who believe themselves to be strong, and maybe have a chance to battle against demons." He said with a chuckle. "I'll be staying in town till after the tournament is over, do you have an spare rooms available?" He asked the young lady, who he presumed work there.

[Big Uri]

Sabriel sighed, stretching out her legs and using the momentum to roll to her feet, a pretty basic warm-up trick. She was beginning to wish she hadn't told Raven about the demons, selfish thought though it was. Of course, it was her duty, yadda yadda yadda, but it still left the elf alone in their house, which Sabriel had already had more than enough of. Maybe she would just blow off her own duties and go to the pub.

She respected the fact that the Demon Hunters hadn't let a catastrophe in their lives stop them from bettering themselves and making a difference, and also the way that they maintained their independence while still being a vital part of the demon-fighting force, but she didn't like the fact that often they were too stubborn to take advice. Of course, she liked Raven because she wasn't usually like that, but she had met a lot of the Order who were.

No, the only part of Raven's Demon Hunter psyche that occasionally irked her was her devotion to duty when she caught so much as the whiff of demons. She knew it was an important job, but there seemed to be a naive lack of self-interest in there, and self-interest was, in Sabriel's opinion, the biggest contributor to her having survived seven centuries. Of course, her curiousity had almost outweighed it on more than a few occasions. The number of those occasions could be about to grow though, she knew, as she was feeling the calling to investigate those demon tracks.

So mentally, she settled it. She could make her insubordination up to her employer, whatever he chose. Overtime wouldn't really mean much, she was already owed some extra money by him anyway, a pay dock would only bring her back down to normal. Alternatively, she could try the begging route, maybe he would turn out to be a big softie and let her off easy. No matter, either way she was going. She'd done at least ten hours stuck in the house, another eight would probably kill her.

"Well I'll be seeing you," Sabriel replied, sauntering over to the door herself. She put on her pair of boots, which were about knee-high, a poisoned knife stuck into each for good measure. Of course usually the top of the boots would be hard to see, and therefore no one could possibly see a knife coming, but an extremely observant being might be able to pick them out now. She belted a short sword across her hips, which was almost a standard among the mercenaries she worked with.

"You can go out first, I'll lock the door behind you," she smiled, dangling the key as demonstration.

[Book the Hero]

Raven nodded, following after the shorts-wearing elf, eager to get started on hunting down those damn demons. She smiled a little when she spotted the knives that Sabriel had concealed in her pair of knee-high boots. "Heh, still able to conceal weapons, even in an outfit like that." She said with a smirk.

When she got outside, she quickly turned back to her friend, smiling. "I had a great time Sabriel, thank you for the drink." She said to the elf. "I hope to see more of you later." Raven said with a wink, purposely dropping the Double Entrende(?).

[Big Uri]

"Assuming they're the only ones I have hidden would be naive," Sabriel replied with a smirk. It never hurt to have another knife at your disposal was pretty much the first lesson she had learned on the job. She stepped outside, grabbing her bow and quiver, her pride and joy, on the way out. Locking the door and spinning the key on a finger, she was unsurprised but sad to see that both the man had gone and that there were no new arrivals to inspect. Oh well, couldn't have everything she supposed, snapping back to reality hearing her friend speak again and realising it would be rude to stay spaced out.

"Oh, my, Raven, are you...?" she intentionally trailed off. She had been around long enough to know what the Demon Hunter was getting at, she had been hearing innuendoes for since before the girl was born. Raven was still an interesting case, she would have liked to have known her before she had joined the Demon Hunters, she felt it would have been interesting to compare the two. Every once in a while, Sabriel would catch things-inflections, mannerisms-that made her think that Raven might have been high born, just like Sabriel had been herself, though the Demon Hunter came off as extremely down-to-earth, and seemed like she'd fit much better in a city than a manor.

She idly wondered if she was like that. She had often been told that something about her did smack of the elven nobility from whence she had came, but she wasn't sure if that was a bad thing. On one hand, it was a nice compliment, but on the other, it reminded her of an upbringing she would rather have forgotten, and brought back images of glowing white halls, groves meticulously cut and tamed until they, in Sabriel's eyes, barely resembled the forests they were supposed to. Her family hadn't been the sole reason she had left, it had been the lifestyle as much as anything else, the hyper-controlled social life. Becoming a Ranger had been enough of a bone of contention, her parents had really clamped down after that. It had got to the point where she couldn't even smile without thinking who would see it.

"You might be so lucky," Sabriel replied airily, wanting to snap out of her reminiscing.

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