(Cool cover!!)

Oh, oh no....XD BTW I can only really be here for an hour. After that my replies will slow to a tectonic rate.

(Fade) Thanks!

(Aggron) Alright. We'll try to start as soon as possible.

@Radiant Thanks for understanding. I really do like the cover tho.

how are you doing fellow children

spoiler alert keenan's gonna get flipping decked

Hey King!
Nah, don't let him. XD

As we're all here, shall we start? I need to go check the last RP, so someone else can start if you like.

(All here except Draco, I mean.)

I'll start!

(Alright!)

okieeee
I think I need to reply to like everything so idk
if Aggron wants to start that's fine

{As they went along towards their destination, Vitis continues to ask Crowley questions regarding his assailant.}"Tall with sunglasses, eh? Tell me, did this lady have dark, pitch black hair, and creepy-a.ss red eyes?"

(hang on I gotta go to the shops with my cousin for our nana but I might be able to reply aaa)

Crowley tried to remember. 'Uh, yeah, I think so,' he said slowly, then cast a suspicious glance up at Vitis. 'Hey wait, do you know her or something?'

(Take your time King, no rush.)

{Vitis just chuckles.}"Not personally, no. But me and my buddies sure know /of/ her. We call her, "La Bruja". I'm not sure if you really fought her , but if you did, I'd be really sad that I didn't get to watch. That's something I would have payed //money// to see. "

@Radiant
Slipping from the dragon shifter's back, Mortikai swiftly fixes his appearing before taking his hat off and going into an elaborate bow.
"Mortikai Ondor, at your service, my good sir. I have to say, you've done quite a number on our quaint little town. Frankly, I'm impressed."

@Rad/Draco
Roaring, Keenan bats at the werewolf, wincing slightly as he realises that was his injured one. He moves in a circle, trying to keep an eye on them all.
In the background, Ango picks up a broken brick and throws it at one of the werewolves.
"Hey! Leave him alone!"

'I DID fight her!' said Crowley. '...And I would've beaten her if she hadn't been guarded by her stupid zombie things,' he added in a bragging tone, his words somewhat undermined by the fact that he was limping heavily and bleeding in several places. 'So, uh, where are we going again? The healer's place?'

{Jerry glances worriedly at Armin. }"Look, Dianne's clearly not happy about all this. Every time we meet, can you do me a favor and not provoke her? She might have agreed, but she does have anger issues, so please don't make this any more dangerous than this already is, ok?"

{and GTG. I'll try to reply when I can, or, I'll just drop off the map. We'll see}

(King)

The silhouetted figure at the window slowly turned around.

'I'm glad to hear you are impressed, Mortikai,' he said in a slow, expressionless voice. 'Because I ordered Anastasia to bring you here in the hopes that you can assist us. Anastasia, did you run into any problems during your mission?'

'No, my Lord!' said Ana immediately. 'But I did see something that you might be interested in...'

'Tell me later,' said Sargon. 'We have a guest.' He turned his attention back to Morty and said, 'My soldiers who have seen you around the city recently seem to believe you have a... connection... with some kind of spirit creature. What do you have to say about this?'

(King/Draco)

The werewolf dodged the brick missile and leapt forwards, howling, to snap at Ango's face. The other five werewolves continued to close in on Keenan. One of them risked being electrocuted to run forwards and grab the lion shifter's tail, crushing it between his teeth.

(OK, Aggron.)

Armin glanced at Jerry and shrugged carelessly. 'I won't deliberately provoke her,' he replied. They were now approaching the front door of his hideout, which he hurried forwards to open. He was about to say something else about Dianne, but fell silent when he looked inside the house. 'Hm, that's strange. Ivy doesn't seem to be home.'

Vitis nods.: “Yup. Her name is Pythia, and she heals people completely free of charge! Trust me, bro, five minutes with her, and you’ll be completely fighting fit! It’s really close now. “

Crowley grinned. 'I'm liking the sound of this. But why does she heal people for free? How the heII does she earn a living?'

Of course, Crowley himself 'earned' money by stealing, but he doubted Pythia did that.

Jerry:”What? Aw, jeeze....”(Jerry rubs his face. )”Armin, we need to find her...”

(Vitis begins to laugh.)”She’s a priestess of some sort. It’s literally against her religion to refuse those in need. Even if that person is a complete scum bag, like you! Ahahaha!”

'Why?' Armin complained. 'It's not like she was trying that hard to keep herself safe. If she wants to wander off into danger, that's her problem.'
He stepped into the building and dropped the large tranquilizer gun down on the floor.

Crowley nodded thoughtfully, not seeming very offended by being called a scumbag. 'Wow, I'm surprised she's still alive,' he snickered. 'Does she have any cool powers other than healing?'

@Radiant
"Well, they're not wrong, but so do a lot of people. I've just been alive long enough to be consider it's right hand man."
He says as he stands straight, replacing his hat onto his head.

@Rad/Draco
Acting on impulse, Ango swiftly swings her fist towards the werewolf, stepping to the side as she goes.
Upon being bitten, he yowls loudly, sending a charge down his spine and into the werewolf.

(Hey King, if you see this: would you be alright with me replying in the browser comments for a short while? I can go get my DS if it's easier for you.)

(King - Nevermind, I'm back on my DS now. XD)

'So, there IS a spirit creature,' said Sargon thoughtfully. 'And you have a close connection with it. Tell me, what is the spirit's name, and what powers does it possess?'

Behind Morty, Anastasia was shifting from foot to foot, clearly impatient to tell Sargon her report.

(King)

The 'wolf attacking Ango yelped more in surprise than pain as her fist connected solidly with his nose. He stumbled back, shaking his head and snarling at the girl.

The other werewolf screamed at the burst of electricity and slumped to the ground, either dead or unconscious. The remaining wolves surrounding Keenan looked like they were having second thoughts about attacking. A couple of them started to back away, their ears pressed against their heads.

@Radiant
"My...superior, I suppose, is simply one of a pair of spirits that keep the balance between good and evil. Though the power that Dark Brink has is possibly more than double than it's sibling. I'm sure you can tell which I'm sided with."
He grins, chuckling a little. Raising his right hand, he pulls back his sleeve and reveals the mark on the inside of his wrist.
"All of those it makes a deal with bear his mark. And as for it's powers..."
Putting down his arm, he's engulfed by the familiar black mass that transforms his body. As it subsides, his housecat form stands in his place, a glint in his purple eyes.
"They are...quite extensive."

@Rad/Draco
He darts towards one who is backing away, electricity visibly running through his fur as he roars at them, sweeping his head to look at the others with a low growl.
"If you don't want to end up like your little pal, I suggest you leave my friends and I alone!"

(oh helloooo
i'm here
sorry if i don't do very much, i'm not feeling gr8 right now
idk just
eDGy emotIONS YKNOW

(aw dude, don't let let your edgy emotions get you down!
pUNCH THEM EDGY EMOTIONS IN THE FAAAAAACE)

(I was just away from my DS so long that it logged me out. XD)

(King)

Sargon gives no immediate sign of acknowledgement, but watches intently while Mortikai bares the mark on his arm and then shapeshifts in front of him.

'Quite impressive,' he said at last. 'How did you come to make a deal with this spirit? What do you do for it, in exchange for these powers it grants you?'

------

The werewolves were definitely backing away now. 'Run for it, mate!' one of them suddenly yelps, before turning and hurtling down an alleyway like a fluffy bullet. The other wolves swiftly followed, the last one pausing to swing a clawed paw at Toby as she passed.

(hhhhh thank you kingboi-
ill definitely punch them
let me just read what youve written so fast

(oh hi Draco
don't be edge
be Edge

--terrible inside joke--)

(i won't be Edge
i'll be Edge's love balloon

---worse inside joke---

Jed growled at the werewolf who had swiped at Toby, his ears pressed back, but he didn't bother attacking her.

While Armin and Jerry had been returning home, Ivy had slipped past them using the thick trees as cover and made her way towards the place where they'd confronted Dianne and her draugr. The girl looked around curiously, brushing her hair out of her eyes. She was scared - but no! She would NEVER admit she was scared. She was going to go out and do something that would make that stupid investigator and his vampire buddy realise how useful she was!

//They'll be sure to treat me with more respect if I can help them defeat this Sargon guy!// she thought, continuing on through the woods. //Hmm, but what should I do...?//

The last werewolf darted away from the group and followed her pack into the alleyway, not responding to Jed's growl. It seemed that their encounter with Keenan had left the wolves shaken, unwilling to fight.

@Radiant
He swiftly shifts back, brushing his coat off.
"Let's just say that a Victorian Circus isn't a very nice place a kid to grow up in, especially when your father's the ringleader."
He says with a slight grown, obviously uncomfortable with the memory.
"It takes a lot to make someone want to do absolutely anything to make their life right again...Though I suspect you might know the feeling, what with..."
He gestures out the window.
"...all this."
Mortikai pauses for a moment, then continues.
"All I had to do was...let it in. And murder a couple of people, but back then it was happening left right and centre. Every so often, it would take ten years of my life in exchange for full control of my body. I have no idea what happens in these times, or if it even uses my body much in that time. But every time, I gain more forms that I can transform into. And that's not all it can do. For every one of his proxies, their reward for following it's orders differs. A bit of pick 'n' mix."

grown???
oMG OK IM SORRY BUT *GROAN IM PRETTY SURE-
ok oksorry just
wait-*gets shot*

(King)

//Then he is far older than he appears,// Sargon mused. //And this bond he has with the spirit gives him powers beyond any human, and even a majority of Magical Beings.//

He took a step forwards, moving away from the window. 'What you've told me has fired me with a desire to see this... Brink, for myself. I suppose you might ask me why. As a vampire myself, there are few powers it could give me that I don't already possess. I have no intention of becoming its proxy. But even so...'

He glanced out of the window, where a bloodied werewolf pack could be seen charging through the ruined streets. 'I feel that this spirit may be able to help me in my quest to retake Vallis from the human race and make it a country where my people can stand proud. I'm sure I can come to an agreement with it.'

@Rad/Draco
Toby yelps as he jumps back, only just avoiding the attack.
Ango picks up another brick at throws it at the last werewolf, yelling after them.
"That's what you get!"
Panting slightly, Keenan shifts back to his human form, slumping over slightly.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Ango asks with a bit of concern.
"Jus'...tired."
He says slowly, eventually standing straight.

(aTTENTION I'VE JUST REALISED THAT THE NIB OF MY DS STYLUS CAN DETATCH FROM THE REST OF IT THIS IS A MAGICAL REVOLUTION
YOU MAY RESUME)

(King - I'M PREEEETTY SURE THEY'RE NOT MEANT TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT)

(Vitis grins.) “Ask her yourself!” (The pair stops at a brick building with wooden doors. Vitis walks, not even waiting for Crowley,
and speaks.) “Pythia, sweetheart, ya home?”
(From within the building, Pythia sighs, puts down her book, and adresses Vitis.)”What did you do this time, Vitis? Another shank wound from a bar fight?”

( i tRIED
YOURS IS BROKEN

(Aggron)

'It's not him, it's me!' Crowley shouted through the door. 'And it wasn't a bar fight, I was fighting zombie monsters from heII being commanded by a creepy-looking lady in sunglasses. Open up already.'

@Radiant
(IT DID IT ANYWAY
I DIDN'T EVEN THINK IT WOULD DO THAT)
"If you truly think that you'll do anything to take back the homeland, then I think you'd be in luck. All you need is wishful thinking or a summoning circle, and it'll come to you. I can't summon it myself, if that's what you want, unless I have a very good reason."
He shrugs, putting his hands into his coat pockets.
"Oh, and a question, if I may. Do you plan on killing all the humans in the country, or will you let them leave and never return?"

(I JUST BROKE THE DODGY LITTLE BIT THAT MAKES IT STAY IN THE SLOT R.I.P
IT DIDN'T EVEN STAY IN THE SLOT MUCH ANYWAYS)

(Pythia walks to the door and opens it.)”seriously, Vitis, you can’t-Oh my god!( @Crowley) Did you get put through a wood chipper?”

Jed glared after the werewolves, then gave a quiet whuff and nuzzled Toby, as if asking if he was all right.

(King)

'I feel the world would be a better place without humans,' said Sargon. 'Look at the human race for yourself - what do you see? Peace? Prosperity? Kindness? I think not. Look at how they have treated us for hundreds of years simply because we are not the same as them. We must cleanse Vallis of their hateful species and start anew.'

He tilted his head and looked at the shifter thoughtfully. 'To answer your question, Mortikai: no, I will not allow the humans to survive. But nor will I senselessly kill them all. Those who are not killed will be turned into vampires or werewolves so that they can live among us in peace.'

(Aggron)

Crowley showed his teeth at the healer, giving her a threatening stare. 'Noooo, I just told you what happened. And it's not THAT bad!'

(King - I think I broke the same bit of my stylus.
I also bent it once so it gets stuck in the slot now.)

(I died for years I'm so sorry)

(As long as you're alive now. XD

I've been logged out of my account like three times now--)

@Radiant
"Well, that sounds reasonable..."
He seems lost in thought for a moment, then snaps back to reality.
"My apologies. A...friend of mine in another town is human. I'm sure they would have no adversity to being turned."
He says quickly, almost too quickly.

@Draco
Toby's tail wags as he rubs his head against Jed, seeming okay.
Keenan takes a quick head count, making sure everyone was still there, then started off walking again.
"We need to keep going."
Ango looks back at Toby, who gives her a nod, then jogs to catch up with the lion shifter.
"So, we're your friends now, huh?"
"I think I've suffered enough with yous to consider yous as such."

(King)

If Sargon noticed the slightly odd way Morty spoke, he didn't comment on it. Instead he said, 'Then I will ensure that your friend is not killed when we reach the neighbouring towns.'

He turned to Anastasia. 'Please take him to one of the cells on Floor 4. I will be seeing him again soon to learn how these 'summoning circles' are made. Then return here and give me your report.'

'Yes, Sir!' exclaimed Ana eagerly. She shifted into her human form and took Morty's arm to lead him out of the room.

@Radiant
"A prison? How fun. Not the first time, I'll say. Do I get a harmonica?"
He says with a grin and joke enthusiasm.

(King)

The Count ignored Mortikai, leaving Anastasia to pull him none too gently out the door.

'You're so lucky to get to talk to the Count like that!' she said once they were out of earshot. 'Most of his army never even get the honour of speaking to him personally - except me, of course,' she added smugly.

(Oh shut up Ana nobody needs to know about your obvious crush on the bad guy)

{Pythia stands at a loss for words for a minute before she finally gets a grip on the situation.}"Come inside, both of you. Ok, sir, (Crowley) this way. Explain to me what happened to you, from the beginning." {Vitis follows them in, shifting back to human form, then stops abruptly, when he feels the pain in his ankle from when Crowley bit him.}

(Aggron)

Crowley went into the building, letting out an exaggerated sigh at all the questions.

'I was fighting some zombie things and MIGHT have gotten stabbed in the chest at some point,' he said boredly. 'After that I got in a fight with this lion guy who could make electricity, and after beat him into oblivion, I THEN got attacked by THIS guy.' He jerked a claw in Vitis' direction.

'And don't ask me how any of that happened.'

{Pythia looks up at the mention of "zombie things", but stays silent, as she figured making sure this fool doesn't die takes priority. She leads him to a back room with a clean white bed on a metal frame.}"Lie down on your side on this bed, please."

@Radiant
"Well, maybe it's because I'm not part of his army."
He shrugs, looking around a little.
"And just a little thing I noticed...You seem to like your boss a /bit/ too much. Just saying. It's just a teensy bit obvious that you want to impress him."
He says in a teasing tone.

(Aggron)

Crowley limped over to the bed and climbed onto it obediently, folding his wings awkwardly as he lay down. He wished he could shift into his human form, but there was still a little while to go before nightfall.

'Just don't take too long, whatever you're doing,' he grunted. 'I have important stuff to do.'

{Meanwhile, at their hideout, Jerry patches himself up, and goes to Armin.}"I'm going out to find Ivy. She's not like us, she likely won't last a minute against an irate shifter. If you don't care for her, that's fine, but I'm not going to have the guilt of her death hang over me."

(King)

'Everyone should want to impress him!' Anastasia snapped. 'We'd never have a single problem in this army if everyone wanted to impress the Count as much as I do. And mind your own business, young man.'

(Aggron)

'Alright,' replied Armin. 'Just don't endanger your own life trying to rescue her. Oh, and remember not to kill anyone. I'm pretty sure Brink wouldn't be happy about that.'

(hey uh i should go and i'm dead anyway so u h bye

(Draco - oh
ok)

"Right...../Important/ stuff..." {Pythia said in an unamused tone as she began to remove what was left of Crowley's bandages. After a brief period of assessing his wounds, Pythia stands up and speaks frankly to Crowley.}"Yeah, you're not going to be doing much for the next twelve hours or so. You have minor fractures scattered about your extremities, your sternum has been fractured and the fragments are scattered within your thoracic cavity, three of your ribs have been fractured and disjointed, I'll have to remove at least one of them, and you're suffering from extreme blood loss. To be frank, I don't understand how you're even alive."

{Jerry doesn't answer Armin right away. He walks over to the rifle Armin dropped earlier, puts it over his shoulder, and walks out the door.}"I can't make any promises."

(Aggron)

Crowley looked blank, then nodded, trying to look as if he understood all the words she was using. 'I'm alive because I'm special,' he said. 'Ugh. So what are you gonna do now?'

@Radiant
"Young man?"
He echoes, laughing.
"I'm likely much older than you, or by my minimal knowledge of dragon shifters, of a similar age. And, if they all wanted to impress the Count, then they'd be fighting each other to win his favour. Sounds like a problematic army to me."

(Aggron)

Armin watched Jerry leaving. 'Ivy isn't worth you breaking your promise to Brink!' he called after him, not knowing if he'd actually hear. 'And you might die. That girl could mess up our entire plan.'

(King)

Ana hesitated, for a moment actually realising the truth of his words. Then the anger returned to her face and she growled, 'Even so, the Count deserves total respect. If he let me, I'd happily fly across Vallis destroying every being that won't bow down to him!'

She was leading Morty down a flight of stairs.

(Pssst, I'll probably have to head off pretty soon.)

{Pythia rolls her eyes at Crowley.}"Well, it's a good thing you came to me. Being /special/ can only take you so far before Thanatos (Deity of death) rips your life away from you. The first thing I'll have to do is disinfect all your wounds, and, well, you have so many. After that, I can take care of the minor ones very quickly, but I'm going to have to remove the bone fragments from your chest before I can heal that over. I can heal your wounds, but not restore your stamina or replace the blood you've lost. You're going to feel pretty crappy for the next twelve hours minimum."

(Aggron)

Not particularly liking the idea of someone removing pieces of bone from him, Crowley pulled a face like a small child being forced to eat vegetables. 'Whatever. If that's what it takes to fix everything, I guess I'll have to let you do it.'

( @Radiant ok, let us know.)

{Jerry heard Armin, but deliberately didn't answer. Jeremiah was clearly getting sick of Armin's utter disregard for human life. //Armin might think saving her is more trouble than it's worth, but I don't. If my plan was really that important to him, he'd be coming with me.// Watching the skies carefully, Jerry begins to make his way towards Shacklestone.}

(Aggron)

After making sure Jeremiah had gone, Armin went to sit in the kitchen, having nothing else to do. //Typical human,// he thought. //Rushing off to save his own kind, even if it puts everything we've been working towards at risk.//

-----------

Meanwhile, Ivy had made her way back into the city. She knew she ought to make some sort of disguise, but didn't know how. Besides, she was confident in her ability to avoid being seen unless she wanted to.

(Aah I gotta go! See you next week!)

{Pythia nods, then leaves the room. She returns with medical supplies.}"Very well. I'll have to ask you not to move around too much. The more you do, the worse your condition will get." {She then proceeds to clean his wounds. the antiseptic is very strong and burns when it touches open wounds.}

( @Radiant ok, see ya!)