Howdy!

Yo, Aggron!

Hey, how you doin'? I'll do my replies when we start today.

I'm doing alright! I just have a lot of things to do this evening. XD

You can start if you want, since as I can't.

Ah, I see. XD I feel ya, I often have to multitask on saturdays too.

I'm going to give everyone a minute to get here before starting.

Saturday seems to be multitask day for a lot of people. XD

And alrighty!

That's long enough. Replies inbound.

I
SO
TOTALLY
DID
NOT
FORGET AND ALMOST HAVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN I REALISED IT WAS EIGHT O'CLOCK

(King - Oh noooOO
There's no need to have a heart attack though, it's OK. XD)

{Pythia gives Ana a slightly disgusted look before turning back to Sargon.} "Yeah, but I think they might have....misidentified who stole it. They tell me Oliver Morrow, y'know the famous magician guy, is responsible for it."

(Aggron)

Ana's eyes went wide. 'Ooh, Oliver Morrow? THAT man? I always thought he seemed a little bit crazy. Maybe he DID do it. Should I go and kill him, my Lord?' she added eagerly.

Sargon considered for a moment, then shook his head. 'If Dianne really is recalling the curse, I would like to see what this person does next, before I risk your life a second time hunting him down.'

(Aggron - Would it disrupt any plans you have if I throw a patrol of Sargon goons against the Jerry and Armin squad? XD)

HeII

{The werewolf lets the words sink in, then starts sobbing.} "P-p-please! I have pups to look after! I-I....I don't want to die!"
Dianne: "//You// have pups, and yet you partook in the slaughter of families? Liar. Give me a f$ @king break."

(No, send 'em. XD)

(Aggron)

Armin shook his head, his expression as disbelieving as Dianne's. 'Hardly anyone in Sargon's army has a family, they're all heartless bastards,' he scoffed. 'One less of you in the world sounds like a good thing to me.'

(Draco - good evening younger sibling)

(Aggron - Will do. XD)

(I also just realised this is the 60th RP)

(Oh woah nice!
Also I'm watching Kubo and the Two Strings for the first time anD OH MY GOSH
KUBO AND HIS MOTHER ARE ACTUALLY REALLY CLOSE TO BEING LIKE ANGO AND EMILIA
ILLUMINATI CONFIRMED)

(King - I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THAT
BUT THAT SOUNDS AWESOME)

(Yaaaaay, happy 60th! :D)
{Pythia looks at the ground.} "Well......If it was him, why do you think he'd do such a thing?"

(Aggron)

'Who knows?' said Sargon. 'Perhaps a friend or family member of his was killed, and he seeks revenge against me. Of course, I have not ordered any of my troops to target this man, but when unleashed, werewolves can easily get... carried away.'

Ana bared her teeth angrily. 'Who cares what happened to him?! He's trying to kill everyone!'

{Dianne approaches the wolf, despite his pleas.}
Wolf: "I-I beg of you! Spare me, please!"
{Dianne puts her hands up to his face, seemingly very gently brushing his hair.}
Dianne: "Look at you pleading with me. You're pathetic. After everything you've done to those poor people, you have the //gall// to beg me for your life?"
Wolf: "No, no, it's not true, it's not!
Dianne: "Just like those people, your pleas fall on deaf ears."
{In a second, Dianne grabs the wolf's head and twists it 180 degrees with a sickening snap, to which Eliza turns away, grimacing.}

helo older sibling

im just watching a guy describe a wrap as looing like a painted tu.rd

( @Draco Was that guy Gordon Ramsay? XD)

(Draco - I see you have many things to do tonight)

{Pythia rolls her eyes.} "Well, you //did// order the death of every human in the city. Just sayin'."

(Aggron)

Armin smirked. 'Nicely done,' he said, and looked like he was about to say something else, but stopped when he noticed Eliza's expression. 'So, how many more are--'

Before he could finish, a deafening howl came from a nearby street. 'It's them! I recognise them!'

'No, idiot, it's not them!'

'Yes, it is! It's that Jeremiah guy and the traitor Armin! The Count showed me a picture of them!'

A group of at least twenty werewolves emerged from behind a building, all snarling as they approached the group.

'Oh, damn,' muttered Armin, staring at them. 'I forgot to disguise myself.' He raised his sword in preparation to strike, just as the werewolf pack came bounding towards them.

he also says "this is as tasteless as the wallpaper your nan had in the 70's"

@aggron
Pfft, no XD
it's Ashens
he is an man on youtube who looks at generally bad items

(Aggron)

'No, Pythia,' said Sargon quietly. 'I did not. I gave the order for all humans to be turned into vampires or werewolves, and only to be killed if there was no other choice. But some of my minions forgot themselves in the commotion and started killing instead. I did not plan for this many deaths to occur.'

@Radiant/Aggron
"No."
Reaching into his coat, he pulls out a knife.
"I learned long ago to always come prepared. This long coat isn't just for show."
Mortikai casually twirls it in his hands.
"It's been a long time since I've had a fight that's at least halfway decent. This should be interesting."

{Jerry, Eliza, and the Old Man all draw their weapons and start firing, dispatching quite a few of the wolves as they charged. Dianne produces a shortsword and brings up the rear.}
Jerry: "Dammit ARMIN, this is the second time!"

(King/Aggron)

Crowley's face blanked for a split second, then he smirked and raised his own knife, moving to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Vitis. 'Oh yeah?' he said quietly.

{Pythia just gives Sargon a disbelieving look.} "Sure you did. Sure...."

(Aggron)

'Hey, they recognised YOU as well!' Armin protested, turning to slash viciously at an approaching werewolf. The creature fell to the ground, blood pouring from its neck. Another two took its place, and he held them at bay with his sword.

Another werewolf sprung towards Eliza, while two more ran at Dianne.

(Aggron - Feel free to control some of the werewolves too, if you want. Let's make this chaotic. XD)

(Aggron)

'Do you doubt me?' said Sargon. Before he could say any more, Ana gave a growl of frustration.

'Are you saying the count is LYING?' she hissed, lowering her monstrous head to look Pythia straight in the eyes.

{Eliza dropped her gun upon being pounced, but pulled out her silver knife and stabbed it to death. However, it was pretty big, and her tiny body couldn't get it off.}
Eliza: "Ummm, somebody? Help?"
{Dianne waited for the wolves to pounce at her, stabbing the first with her sword and catching the second by the neck. As the first went limp on her blade, she used her decay magic on the second, and before long, the wolf's body fell away and Dianne was left holding a half decayed head in her hand. From the roof top comes about five werewolves, one of which shouting "Dog Pile!" before all five jumped at Armin, looking to pin him to the ground.}

{Pythia raised her hands in a non threatening manner.} "All I'm saying is either you gave the order, or your army is highly undisciplined, as to blatantly disregard your orders, and you don't seem like the undisciplined type."

{Vitis laughs and puts his hands up to reveal a knife between each finger.} "Ok, weirdo, it's all up to you. You gunna do somethin', or are we just gonna stand here looking cooler than you?"

(Aggron)

Armin turned his head when he heard Eliza being attacked, but before he could do anything, the five werewolves from the rooftop leapt towards him. Striking out with his sword, he killed the first three with a single stroke before they reached him, but the other two succeeded in pinning him to the ground before he could stop them.

More reinforcements were charging onto the battlefield. Giving Dianne a wide berth, they attacked Jerry, Eliza and the Old Man instead.

(A)

'Werewolves are notoriously hard to control,' said Sargon, 'and yes, I will not deny that some of my troops are undisciplined. I did the best I could in the circumstances. You should be grateful not all the humans are dead.'

@Radiant/Aggron
"Why would I lie about something so exciting?"
A curved grin tugs at his lips, something about this feeling like a forgotten memory, but one that he was more excited to relive. His grip tightens on the handle of his weapon.
"Let's have a little fun."

(I accidentally pressed send hang on-)

@Radiant/Aggron
Mortikai steps forwards, raising his arm as if he was to go forwards at make a stab at them, but instead throws it at Crowley, pulling another from the other side of his coat.

{Jerry and the Old Man are fighting with everything they have, but are being quickly overwhelmed}
Jerry: "There's too many! Eliza!"
{Eliza finally squirms out from under her dead assailant, only to be met by a one eyed man in a white suit. Inspector Fleur.}
"Ah, what is a sweet little blossom like you doing in such a terrible place like this? A street brawl is no place for a lady."
{Dianne waves her hand, raising all 25 draugrs at her current disposal. Rising with glowing red eyes, the draugrs form a line and charge the assailants.}

(K/A)

Crowley dived sideways with a yelp, having not expected Morty to aim for him first. He managed to dodge the knife, though it skimmed past his shoulder, and he ended up lying on the ground from his attempt at evasion. Scrambling to his feet, he ran to pick up Morty's fallen blade.

{Vitis begins to throw his knives at Morty in quick succession.} "C'mon! What you got?"

(A)

Armin fought his way free from the two werewolves, leaving them bleeding on the ground, badly wounded. Spotting the one-eyed man advancing upon Eliza, he leapt forwards, ramming Inspector Fleur back with his shoulder.

The other werewolves yelped and backed away at the sight of Dianne's draugrs, but didn't flee. Instead they began to attack the creatures, even though their attacks weren't doing much damage.

{Pythia shakes her head.} "No. //You// should be grateful every day this lasts. You're just making more and more enemies every day this goes on. How long before it all collapses?"

(A)

'I did not ask for a lecture, Pythia,' said Sargon. He spoke expressionlessly as always, butin the background, Ana looked furious. 'Maybe it will collapse in the end, but I still intend to do everything I can to make Vallis a safe home for my race, free of humans and their prejudice.'

The inspector was holding Eliza, telling her how pretty she was when Armin rammed him. He dropped her and she ran and dove behind the line of draugrs, trying to reload her weapon. As Sargon's people try to hurt the draugrs, they manage to grab a vampire who got a little too close. Dragging them down, they start to rip the vampire apart in classic zombie fashion.}
Fleur: "Your eyes are like-ACK! Sacrebleu! Excuse me, //Armin//, I was talking to the lady! Looks like I have to teach you some manners!"

{Pythia sighs.} "Very well. I will go now, but please try not to hurt anyone else."

(A)

Armin wrapped one hand tightly around the Inspector's neck and shoved him against a wall, grinning. 'Really? I'd like to see you try,' he said, tightening his grip in an attempt to choke the dragonshifter.

(A)

Sargon didn't reply, but beckoned to Ana and started walking back to their base. Ana followed immediately, throwing Pythia a nasty look as she passed her.

{The Inspector punches Armin in the gut with his dragon strength and pushes him back. He then proceeds to roll up his sleeves.} "Drop the blade, Armin. Let's settle this like men."

{Jerry and the Old Man are quick to rally behind the line of draugrs, reloading, while the draugrs push forward, driving back Sargon's forces. One of them decides to send out a distress call to Sargon.} //SIR! Help! It's Armin, Garvey, and an army of zombies! Help now!//

(A)

Armin staggered back, gasping and winded from the blow. Once he'd gotten his breath back, he laughed. 'And using a weapon isn't manly enough for you? But fine, if that's how you want to go...' He sheathed his sword and lunged at the Inspector with vampiric speed, aiming a punch towards his throat.

(A)

Sargon paused when the call came in, causing Ana to gaze at him worriedly. He then sent a telepathic message to Frederick and Wendigo.

//Jeremiah and Armin are in the city,// he said. //You will go there and assist in their capture. Take some other dragons with you.//

//Yes, Sir,// replied Frederick, hiding his worry. How was he going to hide his loyalty to Jerry and Armin if he was ordered to capture them?

@Radiant/Aggron
Mortikai deflects a few knives with his own and dodges the rest, only just managing to grab one with his free hand as it almost hits him. He throws one at Crowley again, expecting Vitis to be too dexterous with catching and throwing knives for the attack to be effective.

(K/A)

Crowley wasn't quite fast enough to dodge this time, and the knife sunk into his upper arm. He yelped and pulled it out; luckily, it hadn't gone in too far. Gripping the knife in a bloodstained hand, he ran at Morty from behind and attempted to stab the blade into his back.

{The Inspector was barely quick enough to parry and throw a counter punch at Armin's face.}

(A)

Armin dodged as well, and while the Inspector's arm was still extended from his attempted punch, Armin grabbed hold of it and twisted hard, nearly breaking the wrist. He was still laughing, seemingly enjoying the sport.

Meanwhile, most of the werewolves were beginning to back away into the streets as Jerry, Eliza, the Old Man, and the draugrs pressed them back. One reckless individual charged forwards and tried to knock Jerry to the ground, howling in rage.

{As the individual ran towards Jerry, he shot him in the knee, and then was promptly swarmed with draugrs, finishing him off. The inspector cursed, trying to grab a hold of Armin. He knew Armin was faster, but he was stronger. If only he could get a hand on him. Unfortunately for him, he was pretty bad at hand to hand, and really only challenged Armin out of gentlemanly honor.}

(A)

Armin seemed to have figured this out, because he grinned as he evaded the Inspector's slower attacks and said, 'You're not very good at this, are you? Anyone would think you'd never fought a real fight before.' He continued to taunt the dragonshifter as they battled, neither having inflicted serious damage on the other yet.

(A)

Just after the werewolf tried ane failed to attack Jerry, Wendigo appeared on the scene, in dragon form, with Frederick on his back. They didn't join in the skirmish though, instead watching from a distance, plainly unsure what to do.

*and

{The Inspector growled and pushed Armin away.} "Shut up, lousy traitor! I'll drag your beaten, bloodied corpse to Sargon myself!" {He lunges forward, throwing a wild haymaker at Armin in frustration.}

{Dianne sees Wendigo and Frederick and slinks out of sight, reappearing moments later hidden in an alley, whispering to them.} "Hey! What are you doing here?"

(Aggron)

'Yeah, good luck with that,' said Armin as he leapt backwards to avoid the inexperienced punch. 'Sure you don't want to use weapons? I wouldn't think any less of you if you did.' Without waiting for the Inspector to answer, he threw himself forward and tackled the dragonshifter to the ground, attempting to pin him down and get his hands around his throat.

(Aggron)

Frederick whirled around, ready to confront an enemy, and then spotted Dianne. '...The Count sent us to come and 'assist in your capture',' he whispered. 'But we're not going to do that, obviously.'

@Radiant/Aggron
Mortikai whips around, dodging quickly backwards to avoid the blow, fear sparking in his heart at the thought of suffering such a wound again - he pauses for just a second. Again? He shakes his head slightly, paying no attention to it. Flipping the knife he still had in his hand, he goes in for a swift jab to his ribs.

(Probably gonna go soon.)

(Got to go, my wifi's being turned off! Bye!)

(Bye!)
{Dianne looks the two over.} "Well, what's your plan?"

{The Inspector grabs a hold of Armin when they hit the ground, taking advantage of his close proximity, performs a reversal, and is now on top of him.} "I might not be very graceful in hand to hand combat, but I have a mean swing!"
{Holding Armin down with one hand, he raises the other to bring it down on his face.}

{Vitis takes advantage of Morty being focused on Crowley to run at him from behind with a combat knife, aiming to stab him.}

(Aggron)

'Wendigo can't fight either way,' said Frederick, sounding annoyed. 'He's still carrying those people.' He pointed to the dragon, who was standing there looking disgruntled, the unconscious mother lying on his back. Her child was still held carefully in the dragon's huge paw. 'But we can't refuse to fight, either. Sargon will get suspicious if we don't do anything to help these people. We'll have to join the battle and pretend to be fighting you, and then we'll go back to him and say that you escaped.'

(Aggron)

Armin allowed the punch to land rather than waste energy stopping it, not thinking that it wouldn't cause him any serious injury. At the same time, he drove his knee upwards into the inspector's gut, trying to force him off.

(King/Aggron)

Crowley danced backwards, cackling with mad laughter as he evaded Morty's attacks. He was easily fast enough to dodge them, but he couldn't get in close enough to attack the top-hatted man in return.

{Dianne takes a moment to think.} "Ok, give them both to me, and get ready to run. You want a reason to flee? I'll give it to you. "

(Aggron)

Frederick eyed Dianne mistrustfully, but after a moment, he nodded to Wendigo, who stepped forwards. 'Fine. Take them, then. But tell me what you're planning.'

{Dianne takes the child and the mother.} "Simple. I'm going to shift and get us all out of here. But first, Sargon's going to see first hand why he should have just let me be. "

(Aggron)

Frederick stared at her for a moment, then turned away with a disgruntled noise. 'I suppose you're not going to be any more specific than that. But listen, I overheard Sargon saying that he'd leave you alone if you don't mess with his plans anymore. Do you really want to provoke him again?'

{Dianne was walking away with the child under her arm and the mother over her shoulder when Fred asks his question.} Twice. This attack is the second time Sargon's tried to kill me. Pleasantries went out the window the moment he sent his personal escort after me. It's time he learned that his actions have consequences. I will not humor an as.sh.ole who tries to kill me one second, and begs for a cease fire the second his attempt fails." {With that, Dianne walks away to deal with the situation.}

{The Inspector flinches at the blow, but ignores it and slams Armin's face anyway, winding up another with the other hand in the process.}

(Aggron)

'For once, I might agree with you,' muttered Frederick. Then, turning away, he leapt up onto Wendigo's back. 'Be ready to fly.'

The blue-and-black dragon grunted in acknowledgement and spread his short wings.

(Aggron)

Armin grabbed hold of the inspector's wrists to stop him attacking again. Using the hold as leverage, he flipped them both over so that he was on top, then immediately released the inspector and leapt to his feet. His sword was lying on the ground some ten feet away, and he started to move towards it, at the same time wiping his bloody nose on his sleeve.

{As Dianne approached with the two civilians, Jerry and co. run up to her.}
Jerry: "Why are //they// still here?
Dianne: "Wendigo sucks, that's why. Here."
{Dianne gingerly hands the two to Jerry and the Old man.}
"Stay close. I'm going to route Sargon's forces, then we're leaving."
{Without waiting for anyone to protest, Dianne shifts and bounds over to Sargon's remaining forces, breathing a storm of fire onto the remaining group. The fire spreads everywhere, enveloping buildings, cars, goons, and trees.}

{The Inspector runs after Armin, intending to tackle him, but runs past him, trying to avoid the flames. Being a frost dragon, he really doesn't like the heat.}

(Aggron)

Wendigo leapt into the sky, startled by the explosion of fire. 'Wait!' said Frederick. 'We can't leave until the rest of them run away!'

On the ground below, the werewolves and other minions were scattering. Those who hadn't been instantly enveloped by the flames ran for their lives, disappearing down side streets and alleyways.

Armin smiled grimly as he grabbed his sword off the ground and moved to the edge of the street to avoid the fire. 'What's the matter? Scared?' he taunted the Inspector.

"This is not over, ARMIIIIIIIIIN!!!!" {The inspector yells out at Armin as he flees. As everyone flees, Dianne yells out to everyone.} "Get on! Now's our chance!"
Jerry: "Armin, we're leaving! Get over here!"

(Aaaaand, Armin now has a nemesis. XD)

(Aggron - XD)

'Sure it isn't,' said Armin in an amused tone, too quietly for the fleeing dragonshifter to hear. He looked around as Jerry spoke, and seeing Dianne ready to take off, he ran over and pulled himself onto her back.

Wendigo flapped higher into the air and started on his way back to Atlas Tower without a backward glance.

{Not wasting any time, Dianne takes off and begins to fly back to Riverside.}
Jerry: "Well //that// sucked. We didn't even finish what we went there to do."
Dianne: "Hey, Sargon basically bought the curse more time to spread by attacking us. If he wants to die horribly, far be it from me to deny that to him."

{After the attack, the draugrs scattered throughout the city. One of Sargon's men decides to let him know what happened.}
//Uh, sir, they got away. Before you get mad, just know that if they didn't have that dragon lady that killed Ana with them, we would have had it.//

(Aggron)

'We must have removed most of the curse,' said Armin. He was speaking somewhat thickly, as there was still blood pouring from his nose. 'There can't be more than a few people left who still have it. We can sneak out here later and get them, too.'

(Aggron)

Sargon didn't respond to the soldier, but instead turned to Ana, who was walking alongside him as they returned to Atlas Tower. 'Jeremiah and Armin were seen in a nearby street and were attacked by a patrol,' he said softly. 'Dianne helped them escape; we now know for certain that she is on their side.'

Ana scowled. 'I will kill her, my Lord!' she hissed, obviously still resentful towards Dianne for causing her death.

'No,' said Sargon sharply. 'Dianne is the only person capable of recalling this curse, according to Pythia. Until she has done it, I cannot lay a finger on her. Besides, I do not think she will attack my forces again - I believe that the only reason she killed my patrol was to save her allies from them.' He fell into a thoughtful silence.

{Eliza looks up at Armin.} "Oh my god, Armin, what happened to your face?"
Dianne: "Maybe. We can't go at night because of Oliver, but maybe..." {Dianne falls silent, deep in thought.}

(A)

Armin grimaced, attempting to stem the flow of blood with his jacket sleeve. 'Nothing to worry about,' he said lightly. 'He probably just broke my nose. Are you alright? I saw that werewolf going after you.'

He could hear Dianne talking in the background, and though didn't say anything to her, he was curious. //I wonder if she already has an idea? It sounded like she's thinking of something...//

{Eliza gave a worried look.} "I'm fine. That guy was a creeper, but you didn't have to fist fight him. You should have just used your blade, or let Dianne roast him."

(A)

'I know,' Armin admitted. 'But he was annoying me, and after I saw the way he was talking to you, it felt more satisfying to hit him instead of hacking his head off. I don't like creepers.'

"Creepers suck." {Everyone else said in unition at Armin's creeper comment.}
Dianne: "And that's precisely why I don't like you."

(A)

'What?!' he yelped, turning to stare disbelievingly at Dianne. 'Since when was /I/ a creeper?'

"Give me a break, Armin, you don't know?" {Dianne says, a grin creeping accross her face.} "The first time I saw you, you were hitting on a child (Tochi) in the middle of a bar, of all places. To make it even more obvious, you're clearly attracted to Jerry's //youngest// looking cousin, who looks like she's barely 18."
Eliza: "Hey, //Time Wizard//, remember?
Dianne: "Physically speaking, you're almost still a minor."

(A)

'Hey,' said Armin, looking highly indignant. 'I was NOT hitting on that little girl, how low do you think I am? I have way better taste than that. And Eliza's an /adult./ She might look younger than she is, but she doesn't look like a child. And anyway, Dianne... I don't hear anyone else here calling me a creeper.' He folded his arms with a smug expression.

Old Man: "Creeper. Stay away from my niece."
Dianne: "And there you go. Say what you want, but I saw the faces you've made at these young women. You're a creeper with a capital C."
Eliza: "Hey, don't I get a say in this? Armin's not a creeper! He's sweet, and handsome, and kind."
Dianne: "Actually, as long as we're on the subject, I'd like to know just how Frederick feels about his father clambering after this fair maiden while his //mother//, your wife, lies in the graveyard not 200 feet away."

(A)

Armin chose to disregard what the Old Man had just said, though he threw Eliza a quick grateful glance. 'Oh, come on... My wife died /two hundred years/ ago. Yes, I loved her, but I'm not going to ignore other people for the rest of my immortal life just because I was married once.'

{Dianne chuckled while Eliza voiced her protest.}
Eliza: "Yeah, isn't the saying 'until //death// do us part' or something? Well, she is dead, and Armin doesn't deserve to be alone for all eternity!"

(A)

'Yes, and it's not like Frederick cares either,' said Armin, sounding exasperated. 'Have you actually /seen/ the man? I don't think he cares much about anyone, or anything, anymore.'

Dianne: "Are you sure? Fred's going through all this trouble to avenge the family Sargon stole from him, putting himself in harm's way to help us. Why is that, I ask you? If he didn't care at all, why doesn't he just run away and start fresh? Find a sweet girl to settle down with, like you?"

(Aggron)

Armin shrugged. 'How should I know? Maybe Sargon's death is the only thing he /does/ care about. Or maybe he just feels obligated to help us because I'm his father. I don't know what motivates him, I haven't seen the guy since he was 9.'

Dianne: "I guess we'll just have to find out."
{With that, Dianne descends into Riverside and lands, waiting for everyone to get off.}

(Aggron)

As they landed, Ivy came running over to greet them, her expression both curious and suspicious. She looked slightly bedraggled, as though she'd only recently gotten out of bed. 'Oh, you're back,' she said. 'I was starting to think you might have all died or something.'

Armin jumped down from Dianne's back and looked around.

Wendigo arrived outside Atlas Tower, nearly crashing into Ana as he landed. The larger dragon snarled and snapped at him, and Wendigo backed away with a little yelp.

'Are either of you injured?' Sargon asked, stepping around Ana to look at the new arrivals.

'No, sir,' said Frederick quickly. 'We went to help the patrol as you requested, but that Dianne woman showed up, in her dragon form, and nearly killed us all. We had to flee.'

Ana sneered down at him. 'You must not have tried hard enough! They were a gang of stupid humans, how hard could it be to kill them?!'

{As Dianne arrived, Magnus approached. After everyone got off, she shifted back to human form, staggered a bit, then approached Magnus.} "Report."
Magnus: "The fields are scuttled, and we've set up a workshop for you on Baker Street.
Dianne: "Thank you, Magnus. I'm going there now."
{Jerry greets Ivy.}
"Of course we're not dead." We did get driven out before we could finish, so we are going to have to go back at some point."

(Aggron)

'Ooh, really?' Ivy sounded interested. 'You should take me this time! I bet I can help! ...But what happened? How did you get driven out? Did they RECOGNISE you or something?'

{Jerry looks at Armin, a little annoyed.} "Oh, they recognized one of us all right..."
{The Old Man just walks inside while Eliza sits idly by.}

'We have learned not to underestimate humans,' said Sargon quietly. 'These particular ones, at least...' He glanced at Frederick. 'Why was Dianne involved with these people? I was told that she was busy recalling her curse from the city.'

'Yes, sir. I believe that Jeremiah and Armin were helping her. I'd advise against killing them, my Lord. If we do, Dianne might not be able to destroy the entire curse.'

Sargon looked thoughtful. 'No doubt that they are only helping her because, if they did not, they would be killed by the curse as well.'

Wendigo snorted. 'Well, of course,' he muttered under his breath. 'They're not doing it to save US, are they?'

(Aggron)

'Excuse me, they recognised BOTH of us,' said Armin, catching Jerry's look. 'Don't forget, they're searching for you as well, not just me.'

Ivy just rolled her eyes. 'So, are you going to let me come with you next time? You'd probably be better off with me than him,' she added, pointing at Armin. 'Sargon's people don't know who I am!'

{At that moment, Pythia appears from around the corner, looking frustrated. She had just come from putting out the fires.}
"Sargon, are you stupid or something? Did you not hear a thing I said this morning?"

(Aggron)

Sargon turned to face Pythia, raising an eyebrow. 'I have enough to remember without recalling every detail of our conversations, Pythia. What do you mean?'

Behind him, Ana had whirled around at the sight of Pythia. She now stood motionless, a look of absolute hatred and disgust on her face at the way Pythia had just spoken to her master.

{Jerry gives Armin a disgruntled look.} "You know, I at least tried to disguise myself. You didn't. Fine, Ivy, you can come next time. I'm going to bed now, I'm sick of this shet."

{ Pythia gives Sargon a look of 'are you kidding me?'} "There I was, going about my day, when I hear a commotion. When I go to investigate, what do I find? Your people, running while on fire and //Dianne// flying away, because your people attacked her! You've just driven her out before she could recall all of the curse, effectively buying it more time to spread! What do you have to say for yourself?"

(Aggron)

Armin flipped Jerry off, an identically disgruntled look on his own face.

Ivy grinned gleefully, ignoring the vampire. 'Sounds great! You won't regret this!' She turned and skipped off back towards the hotel, intending to get herself something to eat.

(Aggron)

'There was a misunderstanding, Pythia,' said Sargon calmly. 'My people did not attack Dianne. They ran into a group of other people, who were enemies of ours, and were attempting to subdue them. During the battle, Dianne appeared and rescued her own allies by attacking mine. My soldiers had no idea that she was in league with them, nor did any of them attempt to attack her personally.'

{Eliza just gave Armin a worried look.} "Hey, don't be too hard on him. Jerry hates it when he's wrong about something.......He also hates leaving things undone......And getting up early.....I guess what I'm trying to say is he's kinda frustrated right now......"

{Pythia frowns at him.} "Are you absolutely sure? She's kinda hard to miss..." {Sighing, Pythia turns away.} "Look, I'm sure she'll come back at some point, just, when she does, please try to be more careful. I'm sure no one wants to die like that..." {She points to a dead cursed individual off in the distance.}

(Aggron)

'Yeah, I know,' said Armin. 'I don't resent him for that. It's just that he seems to blame me for every little thing that goes wrong. It's enough to get on anyone's nerves. Besides, being frustrated isn't an excuse to take it out on your allies.'

(Aggron)

'I have no intention of harming Dianne, or preventing her from recalling the curse. I will also issue orders to my patrols, making sure they understand not to harm her either... but if she attacks us, we will defend ourselves.' With that, Sargon turned to go inside the Tower. Ana stayed where she was, glaring at Pythia.

{Pythia, feeling two eyes burning into her back, turns to look at Ana.} "Do you have something to say to me? Or are you just going to glare at me?"

{Eliza sighs.} "Yeah, I know. Like I said, he doesn't like to be wrong. C'mon, let's go inside."
{As she entered the building, some of Jerry's family were conversing.}
Relative 1: Really? They dug up the //whole// graveyard?
Relative 2: Yeah, they did. Hauled off all the bones somewhere. Should we say something to her?
Relative 1: You say something. I'm not going anywhere near her or those things."

(Aggron)

Ana sniffed contemptuously. 'Oh... nothing,' she said, though it was clear that she wanted to say something rude, and was only holding back because Sargon was within earshot. She followed the vampire back to the Tower, gave a roar of frustration when she remembered she wouldn't fit inside, and leapt into the air instead.

(Aggron)

Ivy was sitting there with everyone else, drinking from a can of soda and watching the conversation, though she apparently hadn't come in early enough to know what they were talking about, as she looked confused.

Armin entered the room with Eliza and immediately headed towards the kitchen area. 'What's this about digging up a graveyard?' he said as he passed.

{The pair of relatives look up at Armin, a little startled.}
Relative 1: "Oh, ummm....Well, remember when you and everyone went to the graveyard to check that grave? Well, after, and I'm talking the second you all left, three of Dianne's draugrs started tearing the place up, packing up the bones, and carrying them off somewhere."
Relative 2: "Yeah, should we do something about that? I get that she's a Necromancer, but...I dunno.....I don't really like that..."

{Pythia just sighs and departs. She really doesn't like Ana, and it's clear she doesn't like her either.}

(Aggron)

Ivy choked on her drink. Armin returned from the kitchen with a drink of his own and sat down beside her. 'Really?' said Ivy, once she'd stopped coughing. 'Did they actually do this on Dianne's orders?'

'Did they take ALL the bones?' added Armin, thinking of his family.

Sargon returned to the topmost room of his base, clearly wanting to think over the day's events. Ana remained outside, sitting on the roof of the building, which was the closest she could get to him.

Relative 1: "I don't know. That graveyard's pretty big. I'm pretty sure she did order it though. I don't think draugrs can function otherwise."
{Eliza walks out of the kitchen with a sandwich and sits down, joining the conversation.} "Hm, well it makes sense. She doesn't exactly have access to all the corpses she wants anymore."

(Aggron)

'That's pretty grim, though,' Armin commented. 'Using the people who were buried here as draugrs. Can't she just go to the edge of Shacklestone and find some bodies from there?'

'Maybe there are better bodies here,' retorted Ivy, trying to sound as though she knew what she was talking about. 'Or maybe she just doesn't want to risk getting seen!'

"She probably needs them to make frames. Y'know, altered skeletons and stuff." {Eliza added.} "Although, since she can't get close to Shacklestone, this is probably all she has to work with."

(A)

Ivy frowned and took a sip of her drink, muttering something about disrespect to the dead. '...I think I'm going to go to this graveyard and see what's going on,' she said after a moment. 'I want to know if she really HAS dug up all the graves.' With that, she stood up and left the building. Armin stayed behind, though he looked a little uneasy.

{Eliza lifted her chin at Armin.} "Hey, you ok? You look a little nervous."

{When Ivy reaches the graveyard, every plot was dug up, and all the caskets removed. There was a trail of dirt leading down the street.}

(A)

'It's hard not to be worried when one of your allies is digging up dead people,' said Armin wryly. 'Even worse when most of your family is buried here... But hey, she needs them, I suppose.'

----

Ivy turned on the spot, gazing up and down the ransacked graveyard. '...Hey!' she called into the silence. 'Is anyone here?'

{Eliza makes a face. finishing her sandwich, she stands up.} "Ok, Armin, let's go."

{When Ivy yelled out, there was no answer. Only the sound of the wind through the trees.}

(A)

Armin inmediately set his drink aside and followed suit. 'Where are we going?' he inquired.

----

Ivy gave a small, exasperated huff at the lack of answer, then spotted the trail of dirt leading along the street. Curious, she decided to follow it to see where it ended.

Eliza: "We're going to see that witch, and demand she return your family."

(A)

'Well, it's not that I don't appreciate you doing this, but I'm not sure Dianne's going to give them up just because we ask,' said Armin, following after Eliza.

"Oh, please." {Eliza says shortly.} "She's got a whole bunch of skeletons from everyone else, I think she can afford to give up a few."

{The dirt led to a basement a street away. two draugrs stand guard at the entrance, and the sound of Dianne humming musically can be heard inside.}

(Aggron)

'That depends on what she wants to do with them, but alright then, let's go and see her.' Armin looked around as they left the building. 'Where is she, anyway?'

----

Ivy stopped in the middle of the street, staring at the pair of draugrs from twenty feet away. She had no idea whether they might attack her just for getting too close, so she approached cautiously, ready to sprint away if they made any threatening movements.

{The draugrs don't even acknowledge Ivy's existence, as they were ordered to stop threats, not allies.}
{Eliza looks around before speaking.} "Oh,...Actually, I don't know..."

(Aggron)

Ivy hesitated, staring at the draugrs, then made a tentative move forwards to the entrance. Curiosity overtook her, and she went inside without bothering to announce her presence.

----

Armin pointed towards the graveyard. 'We could go and look over there,' he suggested. 'She might still be there, or there might be a draugr around that could tell us where she is.'

{When Ivy entered, the basement was dark, lit only by a few small windows. The bones from the graveyard lay in sorted piles and there were embalming supplies and odd looking bottles, jars and books on tables.}

{Eliza nods.} "Ok, let's go see." {Walking up to the graveyard, Eliza makes a face at its condition} "Hmm. Couldn't those draugrs have been a little neater?"

(Aggron)

//Wow...// Forgetting her manners, Ivy reached up to touch one of the strange-looking books. //What could all of these things be for?//

----

Armin didn't seem to be paying attention to the state of the graveyard; he was staring at the trail of dirt across the street. 'Look, an obvious clue!' he said, and began to follow it to where Dianne's basement was.

{As Ivy reached up to touch the book, Dianne's voice came out from the back of the room.} "What is it, Ivy? Why have you come?"
{Dianne was sitting in the corner, her back to Ivy. She was working on something while Magnus stood by her, facing Ivy. To their right, a large skeleton of.....something was hanging from the ceiling, suspended by wires. It was built like a centaur, but seemed strangely unnatural.}

(Aggron)

Ivy spun around at the sound of Dianne's voice, her hand whipping away from the book in a guilty manner. 'I was just looking!' she said, a bit defensively. 'I saw this big trail of dirt leading away from the graveyard, and then I wondered what you might be doing with all those skeletons...' Her eyes momentarily flickered towards the centaur-like thing hanging from the ceiling.

{Eliza nods and starts to follow the trail with Armin.} "That must be where she is. There's two draugrs flanking that basement door."

(Aggron)

As they drew near to the doorway, Armin hesitated, just as Ivy had done, and glanced between the draugrs. When they didn't do anything, he continued forwards and let himself into the basement. 'Let's hope she doesn't have traps set up to murder any intruders, 'he muttered jokingly under his breath.

{Dianne gets up from her workstation holding a draugr bird, outfitted with a messenger bag. She starts to walk for the door as she speaks.} "I'm building soldiers with the skeletons. Human-centaurs that will be faster and stronger than anything Sargon has at his disposal, other than the dragons, of course." {As she approached the doors, Armin opened them, and the bird immediately took off, flying past Armin and Eliza. At this, Dianne just looked puzzled.} "Odd. No one would ever visit me back in Shacklestone, why is everyone flocking to me now?"

(Aggron)

Ivy watched the bird leaving. 'Who are you sending messages to?' she blurted out.

'Have you taken ALL the skeletons from the graveyard?' asked Armin, ignoring Ivy. 'Because, you know, it's pretty disrespectful. These are the remains of peoples' friends and families you're cutting up and putting spells on.'

{Dianne frowns, ignoring Ivy as well.} "I didn't ask for a lecure, Armin. What did you expect, Armin? This is my medium. Surely you didn't expect my help to be only the aspects of Necromancy you found to be morally pleasing, did you? You want to kill Sargon, you need soldiers. You want soldiers, I need biomass to build them, and given how far I am from Shacklestone, this is all I've got."
{At that, Eliza cuts in.} "Yeah, we get it, can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, but we're not here to ask you cease all production. Armin just wants his family to be left in peace, right, Armin?"

(Aggron)

Armin looked like he didn't really want to argue with Dianne, but he shrugged and said, 'Of course I do. How about you leave my wife, parents and daughter buried peacefully in return for my continued help in defeating Sargon?'

Ivy, not liking that she was being ignored, folded her arms and muttered audibly, 'Like you help us THAT much...'

{Magnus chuckles at Ivy's comment. Dianne takes a moment to consider before motioning for the door guards. Muttering something in her unknown language, the guards start going through the bones, picking some out and putting them back into caskets.} "There, they will find them and put them back. Are we good now?"

(A)

Armin visibly relaxed a little. 'Sure, we're good,' he said, watching the draugrs working in the background with mild curiosity. Ivy just rolled her eyes, looking extremely exasperated. 'So, how many of these weird centaur things are you going to make?' Armin added.

"As many as are needed." {Dianne states.} "Once the curse is safely contained, teams of these are going to cut Sargon off at the knees."

(Aggron)

'So, we're going to turn the city into a battlefield? Sounds like my kind of thing,' said Ivy with a sly grin. She gazed around the basement. 'Is there anything I could help you with? I have nothing to do until our next trip into the city.'

{Dianne looks Ivy over.} "Not really. Unless you're willing to go out and hunt some deer for me, there's not a whole lot you can do for me."

(Hey, just a heads up, I'll probably be absent from most of tomorrow's RP. Sorry in advance. :( )

(Aggron - Alrighty, no problem. Thanks for the warning. :) )

Ivy blinked. 'Now, I'm good at lots of things, but I am /not/ running around in the woods killing deer. No thanks.' With that, she took her leave, disappearing from the basement and out into the village. It was just beginning to get dark outside, the first signs of afternoon making way for evening.

'I could hunt deer,' offered Armin as he leaned nonchalently against the doorframe, surveying all the strange things that decorated the room. 'What do you want them for? Well, cutting up and turning into centaur things, I suppose. Or eating. I mean, you /are/ a dragon.'

{Dianne watches Ivy leave before turning to Armin.} "If you could, it would be appreciated. Yes, I need biomass for the centaurs, and meat as a meal would be nice for a change."

(Aggron)

'Not a problem, then.' With a quick wave of farewell, the vampire left the basement. He glanced at Eliza on the way out, who he noticed hadn't said anything in a while. 'Want to help?' he asked with a grin, half-joking.

{Dianne nods at Armin as he leaves and turns back to her work. Eliza smiles at Armin and follows.} "Sure. I hunt deer all the time back at home."

---

{Meanwhile, the bird draugr Dianne sent out has arrived at its destination. Landing on the side of a building, it incessantly pecks at the window to get the attention of the inhabitant. The building was Atlas Tower, and the target inhabitant was Sargon.}

(Aggron)

Armin looked momentarily surprised, but seemed to accept this without question. 'That's interesting... Where do you come from, if you don't mind me asking? I know that you and the rest of Jerry's family had to travel to get up here.' He started to head in the direction of a patch of woods just outside Riverside, where he knew deer and other game could sometimes be found.

(Aggron)

Sargon looked up from his desk when he heard the creature knocking on the window. Frowning slightly, but also curious, he stood up and walked over to the window, sliding it open to let the bird draugr inside.

{Eliza shrugged.} "Oh, not far outside of the Vallis province, kinda in the middle of nowhere. It's nice out in the wilderness. No noise, no sorcerers, no headaches."

{The bird hopped inside and began to speak.}" //SQUAWK// Special delivery for Count Sargon! Dianne wants to talk to you." {Reaching into its bag with its beak, it pulls out a phone and puts it down for Sargon.} "Her number is set to the two key. Dial it when you're ready. Good luck. //SQUAWK//"