"My name is Max Defreys." Max held out his hand "I've lived here all my life, been protecting these people from various menaces...such as these shadows. I work for the city, i've been taksed to find out the source of these shadows and stop them from murdering people."

"Nice to meet the both of you," he says as he shakes Max's hand. "Seeing as we are being honest with each other I am a warlock currently employed by the high priest. He wants me to deal with the shadow threat to the city." He looks at Anea, "If what you say is true then you due not fall into the conditions of my arrangement with His Holyness (bitter emphasis) and therefore have nothing to worry about from me. And frankly i don't care if you are human, shadow, or a giant scorpion as long as you don't interfere with my work." As he moves toward the end of the alley he mutters, "soon the whole city will know the truth about my kind." He laughs bitterly

Kolnar would raise his eyes to the door as he hears two people rush outside, but then lowers them back down as the barkeep places a plate of food and a mug of water down in front of him, the young male would nod to the barkeep before dropping two gold coins into his hand "thank you" he said, his voice almost silent, he would then raise his right hand to his face and with it he removed his mask then placed it upon the bar next to his plate. His face was hansom, or at least it would be if it weren't for the large scar that went down the left side of his face, starting just above his left eyebrow it cut down over his left eye then half way down his left cheek and was about 4mm thick, the scar tissue was pale against his normally tanned skin. Kolnar kept his left side away from prying eyes as he slowly ate his food, it wasn't the best he had ever had but he was glad to get something in his belly, while eating his food the young man thought about what he was doing here, remembering what the fortune teller had told him over a year ago.
He was told to find Heros, where the shadows come alive with the sound of grinding metal, when he was first told this he was unsure what it ment and now that he was in Heros he still had no clue but from what the guard said the evil creaturs attacking the locals were called shadows..
"could this be what he ment?" he asked himself, pondering what he was to do. After about five minutes he finished his meal and then quickly drank the water before picking up his mask once again with his right hand and placing it back onto his face, covering the scar that he tries so hard to hide, upon doing this he turned to look at the door, only then did he wonder what all the fuss was outside.

After a few seconds of thought Kolnar stood up from his seat at the bar and before he did anything else he placed the sword belt back around his waist, he always liked to have Banakari with him, he learnt the hard way about being unprepared, that was how he got the scar on his face. After securing the belt and making sure the sword was in the position where it should be Kolnar slowly made his way to the door then left the tavern, as he exited the establishment he saw the two that had rushed out, they were talking to a third person. The young man couldn't hear what they were saying so he decided to go and ask if they knew what was going on.

"Excuse me.." he said as he neared the small group, "i was wondering if you could tell me what is going on and what exactly is attacking the locals"

He stopped a few feet away from them, awaiting an answer and unsure what kind of reception an outsider like himself will get..

Roy lowered his blade at the surprise entrance of all the individuals. He had not expected so many people to come running. He stared long and hard however at Anea who had just announced her being a shadow that fought for justice. In Roy's eyes though there was no such thing as a shadow that fought for justice. "I have nothing to say to a piece of trash shadow. If not for your killing the other shadow I would have killed you already. As for the rest of you it's nice to meet you all I am Roy Eustace." Roy took a slight bow as he introduced himself.

Max clearly noted Roy's hostility towards Anea and didn't want to get in the way at the moment. While the others were introducing themselves to each other Max took Kolnar aside.
"Its clear you're new here mate. Well there are a few things you should know. Don't misunderstand me, you look formidable enough with all your gear, but I will never know your true power by just looking at you. So, here's the details. This place used to be like any other, a normal city with the usual amount of crime and all that. But recently some unexpected turn of events have happened and the death toll has been rising. From the evidence we've gathered we know what the creatures look like, they are strange beings that are made of metal, the move fast and are strong. I'm currently working with the city's security to try and find out where they are coming from and how to completely destroy these...things. they call themselves shadows."
Max paused for a while.
"Bah, where are my manners?! My name is Max Defreys. Its good to meet you."

After being taken aside by one of the males in the group, Kolnar listened to what he had to say.
"hmmm... that is very interesting" the young man paused for a second before continuing, "it seems as if i have come to the correct place, i was sent to search for something that matched the description you have just gave me". Kolnar then lowered his head slightly in a bow to the man who had just introduced himself as Max, "I am Kolnar Huojin, it is a pleasure to meet you Max".
He then raised his head back up before looking to the others who were still talking, "it seems as if the female is trustworthy, i sense no ill intention within her", Kolnar then looked back to Max before speaking once again, his tone of voice was soft yet deep "is there any idea why these things are attacking? it seems kind of odd don't you think?...." his question sort of trailed off slightly as he turned his head to the left after hearing what could only be described as a grinding of metal, his right hand made its way to his lower back before resting upon the hilt of Banakari.

"Dude. What is your problem? I am against other shadows for a reason and wish I was a normal human. I am probably the only good shadow there is!" Anea said to Roy. "You dont seem like an understanding fellow. Maybe later on you will know that I am a good hearted person." She then turned to Max: "Come on. Lets go back inside. I will buy you a drink."

"I am perfectly understanding. If you had known what I've been through then you would understand my hatred of shadows." Roy turned and walked towards Kolnar and Max trying to stay his blade and attack the shadow that claimed to be 'good'. "Kolnar if it pleases you shall we accompany each other to deal with the shadows?"

Roy then turned to look upwards and glared. He had noticed Kolnar reaching for his blade as Roy talked to him. He heard the faint sound of metal if only barely but it was there. "Who's there?!"

keeping his eyes in the direction of where the sound had came from Kolnar had heard someone speak to him, asking him a question he then slowly turned his head to look at the male known as Roy, "thank you for the offer, but i prefer to work alone and honestly, i am not here to rid this city of its problem", a soft chuckle escaped past his laps as he continued to speak, "I am here to find answers to something that has bothered me for a long time, but once again thank you for the offer". Kolnar the moved his hand from the swords hilt and hooked his thumb into his belt again so he was now resuming a casual stance as he spoke with the others, "what I would like to know is, what it is that these 'shadows' want, there must be reasons why they are attacking"

Max turned to Anea: "One second," he lowered his voice to a whisper "I think we may need these two if we are to get to the bottom of what's going on here. Besides, what do we have to loose?"
He then turned back to the other two. "Kolnar, I don't have the answer to your question, but fortunately that is the answer I wish to find as well. I know you would rather work on your own here, but I think that our expertise could be of use to each other. You could search for clues on your own but you don't know this city like me and Anea here, and if you're looking for answers from the people you'll find that they're not as comfortable with strangers as one might think."

Seeing that the others are ignoring him Orin decides to investigate the source of the sound of metal. As he turns a corner he sees a shadow making a run for it around a another corner and out of sight. "Infernus!" he cries as he sees it disappears. He turns to the others who had been discussing some plan. "Splitting up now will only make it easier for the enemy to track us down and kill us one by one. So I suggest we work together for now."

"clues would be good, what is known so far?" his question was not directed to anyone, it was left open so he could find out what he could, he then continued "I suggest we go back inside and talk, I have been on the road for sometime now and I am rather tired, i would prefer to get some rest before beginning our hunt of these shadows" and with that said Kolnar turned away from the group and headed back into the tavern. After re-entering the building he made his way to a large empty table that was positioned in the corner of the large room, and as he sat down upon a vacant seat he called for the bartender to come over.

"I'll have a mug of clean water and bring some ale for the others when they come in"
The young man then handed the bartender 5 solid gold coins to pay for what he had ordered.

Max entered the tavern next. Just as he walked in he turned around to see what the others were doing, they were still outside.
Upon reaching the table he sat down across from Kolnar "It'll be a big deal if we get together to hunt down these shadows. This will be the first time the city has taken an aggressive stance. Regardless, its a huge step forward in getting rid of the problem."
Both sat in silence for a while. Then Max spoke again: "What is known so far is that these creatures prey upon the weak, in my experience after I killed one they were not usually agressive towards me, unless, for 2 reasons; I'm hunting one down or if I get in the way of one of them attempting to kill a civilian. They tend to keep away from guards during the day, but if they find one alone in the dark they will not hesitate to kill him. Other than that I have no idea what their motives are."

When Anea was about to enter the tavern, she noticed a man leaning against the wall. He look familiar. "I heard you are turning against us. The elders are trying to find a solution because they fear you. It isnt good for them, if someone as powerful as you is their enemy. It looks like you have found strong friends." The man said. Anea noticed who it was: "Minot. it isnt wise for a rogue like you to get close to the village and spy on the elders." She said. Minot was a guy who violated the laws of shadows by disobeying the elders. He was like a bandit. He killed and robbed people without caring if they were weak or strong. "Anea, they contacted me. They know that were good friends. The elders believe you have bigger plans. They say you want to kill all shadows and want to rule the human realm, killing people at random. Please dont tell me that, that is true. I..." Minot said but then felt a pain in his gut. Anea had stabbed him with a large needle that came out of her hand. "So... they were right." Minot said. Anea then replied: "I dont kill humans at random. I kill those who I think are evil. I will spare the shadows who join sides with me. The good and innocent shall be protected. So are you on my side or have you betrayed me." Anea seemed so cold. It wasnt like people knew her. Minot then said: "I would rather be on your side than on the side of the elders because I love you." He embraced Anea, even though a bit of blue fluid was leeking out of his diaphragm. He couldnt hurt her. He felt so close to her.
Anea opened the door to the tavern and called in: "I will be right back, Max. I have met an old friend." She then went on a walk with Minot. They walked around the area hand in hand. Sometime a gang showed up in front of them. "Oh. We have ourselves a couple here and one of them seems to be wounded. He probably wont be in our way when we rape his girlfriend." They said. Anea immediately turned into her evolved shadow form and said: "Evil humans like you dont deserve to live. I will tear you all to shreds." She felt the sudden fear of the bandits and liked it. They couldnt run away. So Anea tore one of them apart. She tore the second bandits head off as if she would pull a cotten ball apart. The third tried to run but was too slow. Anea ran to him and grabbed him by the face and lifted him off the ground. Anea had an evil grin and said: "Bandits, sexual offenders, outlaws and other people like you are worthless. I dont feel any empathy for your suffering." She then crushed his head with her right claw. Anea then changed back. "Thats how you should handle criminals Minot." She smiled and grabbed his hand. Minot didnt know what to do. He even was afraid of her. He didnt know if she was really protecting innocents or if she was insane and might kill him for fun.

Max had heard Anea say she'd be right back, but when she wasn't back for a while he went out to go find her. After a while of looking he saw something; "ANEA! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!" yelled Max after seeing Anea's face as she killed the last member of the gang. He ran up to the body. "You can't just go around killing people! Even if they are bad! You could have brought them to me, I could have locked them away. They didn't deserve to die because they made a stupid choice!"
He walked up to Anea, grabbed one of her arms, he was careful not to crush the metal, and pulled her to him so that they were face to face. "Look, if you wish to join us in stopping these shadows then there is going to be no killing for the sake of killing. Understand? I don't want a trail of blood that will make the shadows easier to find us. You get it? I want a trail of blue liquid so that the next time any creature comes to threaten innocent people, they will know what we can do to them!"
Max let her go and pushed passed her, walking back down the alley. He said, "I'll be in the tavern if you want to help!" he called back without looking.

Anea grabbed Minot and went back towards the tavern. They went in and sat down next to Max. "Max, I was only protecting my injured friend here." Anea said. Then Minot said: "Hey! You were the one who injured me when I told you the elders sent me. You probably thought a rogue shadow was on their side. Are you now planning to exterminate all shadows?" "Not all shadows. Only those who are against me, which means I will attack the village sometime. They are in the way for bigger plans." Anea said forgetting that Max was sitting right next to her.

Kolnar sat in silence as he listened to Max and the two others, not even the sound of his breathing could be heard, just then the bartender came over with the drinks and as the tray was set upon the table Kolnar reached froward and took his mug of water with his right hand, as he did so his left hand was already on its way up to his face where upon reaching its destination it would slowly remove the mask before placing it down on the vacant seat next to him. The young man's blood red eyes looked over those that were sitting at the table and after taking a small drink of water from the cup he began to speak.

"so can someone please explain to me what is going on, and what exactly those shadow things are"

After he had finished speaking he took another drink of water as his left hand went up and untied his hair, after doing so he moved his hair slightly so that it would cover the large scar he had on the left side of his face.

Max put down his mug and looked at Kolnar; "You sir, want answers?" he said and then pointed to Anea "Well you talk to her."

"Shadows are beings made of metal. They can have a human form and a shadow form. Some even have evolved shadow forms like me. Most shadows want to kill the weak, while me and my friend here kill shadows and criminals. So if you see us, remember that we are the good shadows. The shadows come from a large village hidden in the forest north of here. The elders tried to negotiate with me because I am strong enough for them to ask not to be the enemy." Anea said.

Kolnar began to frown slightly as he heard the explanation to what the shadows were, although he had seen many things on his travels it was this that brought him the most concern. After a moments thought, the young man looked down at his mug before looking back to the group, his voice had that of an annoyed tone as he spoke, "I believe i have came across something like them before, it was years ago and a long way from here" he paused for a second as he took a drink and as he placed his mug back upon the table he continued to speak, "I am not certain but i think it was one of those so called shadows that gave me this scar and i believe it is them that i am here looking for, when I think about it more it does make a lot of sense"

Kolnar then went quiet and began to remember the night that he was caught of guard, he would never forget the sound that he heard just before the attack, it was like nothing he had ever heard before, unearthly, inhuman. The information that he had just been given concerned him alot, he wasnt sure what exactly he was going to do but he was sure of what needed to be done, these shadows needed to be destroyed.

"I am not interested in saving anyone's life, lets just be clear on that" he said, his voice low and with the hint of annoyance still there, "but I will help you rid this city of these blasted things, I am intent on finding the one that attacked me, i want a reason to why and then i will destroy it"