(OOC: Ok, so now we can start. Be warned though, this is one of the first times I've been a GM, so forgive any noobish things I might do.)


Jiro glanced around the black stricken streets, eying the deserted village. There was an odd feeling in the air, something he hadn't felt before. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it felt familiar. The swordsman quickly shook off the feeling, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. Right now, he had to focus on the task at hand. The inn that stood in front of him looked run down, almost ancient compared to the other buildings. Well, it's not perfect. But for now, it'll do. The old oak door creaked as Jiro pushed it open. Inside, the light was faint, casting eerie shadows along the walls. A small number of people were inside, all huddled around a fire towards the center of the room. There was a back draft that echoed, which only added to the building's dark character. "Hey buddy, shut the damn door!" An annoyed look passed over Jiro, his attention turning to a short, plump man behind a counter lined along the western wall. He looked old, maybe in his mid sixties, but had a lively attitude about him. Shutting the door, Jiro silently walked over to the fire, ignoring the skeptical looks he was getting.

"Oi! Not to bug you or anything, but y'mind if I join in on your little game?" Sanquis, greeted three rather odd looking people hiding in one of the dark alleys of the village. One of them turned their head giving off a dark unwanted look. "Leave stranger, those who are unfamiliar here have no business in the dark parts of the village." Sanguis gave off a small grin, revealing a small pouch of money he had taken out of his bag and slightly shook it. "I suppose this will change your mind. No? Ah well, too bad." And just when he was about to turn around, the man rose up motioning for Sanguis to join them. "Of course everyone with something to spend is welcome. The rules are simple, the one who rolls the highest number with three dice wins." The other two nodded excessively, Sanguis just gave off a small 'Aye.' as he watched the first man rolling the dice. "Al right stranger, it's your turn." Sanguis took the three dice in his hands and started shaking them up, though suddenly stopping as he wanted to say something. "I want to make a different deal. If one of you win this game, then I will hand over all the money I currently have on me." The three men laughed, knowing that only a fool would say something like that. "And what if you miraculously win this game? What will you get from us?" Sanguis smiled, observing as the three men awaited his response. "If I win... You three could give me some information on a specific subject?" Once more the three men laughed. "Sure, if we have the information on that specific subject you are talking about." Without further delay, Sanguis once more recalled the highest amount that had been rolled. Fifteen... If I can just roll at the very least a sixteen, that would be great. Sanguis let the three dice roll out of his hands, letting them bounce on the ground until they stopped and showed the amount he had rolled. "Looks like you guys owe me some information, huh?" The man that had invited Sanguis motioned for the other two to leave, it seemed this man was a leader of some sort. "Heh, fair enough. What is it you want to ask me about?"

With a small nod Sanguis reached for a medium sized poster, with a large 'Wanted!' written on it. "I am looking for this man, last seen in this village. Perhaps you know where he is now?" The man carefully examined the poster, a middle aged man, short black hair, a full grown beard. From the shape of his face the man would be fairly muscular, enough to lift up a medium sized boulder. Underneath the image was a name inscribed, 'Carnifex'. "Ah yes, I've seen him roam around in the more crowded parts of this village. I see why you are hunting him, though I assure you, he is a foe to be reckoned with. It isn't described on this poster but he is a skilled swordsman." Sanguis laughed, shaking his head while motioning for the man to continue. "All I know is that he was last seen in the Tavern over there," The man paused for a second, pointing towards a small sign behind Sanguis. "I doubt he will still be there, but someone there will be able to inform you more about his recent whereabouts." Sanguis nodded, rising from his kneeling position while reaching out for a piece of gold in the little pouch that hung on his belt. "Here, that is for helping me out." The man rose up as well, catching the coin that Sanguis had flipping into the air. When the man was gone Sanguis followed the road to the Tavern the man had pointed out, the streets were fairly crowded for a dark alley. Perhaps where he just had a little game of chance was the only dark area for this alley, with a small creaking noise, the door opened, revealing a darkened room with only a few light sources to give people the minimum amount of view. Sanguis carefully looked around, and... Lucky him, the man he was looking for hadn't left the village, neither had he left the Tavern. With caution he approached the counter where his target had taken a seat. "Your finest of drinks please!" Sanguis told the bartender who greeted him and made the first steps for preparing a drink. As his drink got shoved towards his direction, Sanguis took a deep breath and turned towards the man sitting next to him. "So, what brings you to this little town?" The man gave him a dark look. "Watch that mouth of yours stranger, something bad might happen if you don't." And with that small statement the man stood up from his seat, eyeing Sanguis once more. "I only asked what reason you had to be here. No need to get rude, be lucky I am such a nice guy. Something might've happened to you.", "Are you threatening me shrimp? Do you even know who you are talking to?!" Sanguis grinned, rising up from his seat as well. "Enlighten me, who are you to ask that question."

The man clenched his right fist slamming it on the counter. "Stop mocking me shrimp, I am not the type to be looked down on." Sanguis looked around the Tavern, clearly some of the folk in here were used to rising tension, only a few heads were cocked up to see what was going on. "You only evaded my question, you really should try and have a proper conversation at least once in your life. With that attitude, you'll only make enemies." The man's expression turned more furious with each passing second, resulting into clenching both his fists this time. "Choose your next words carefully, something unpleasant might happen if you choose the wrong ones." The man walked closer to Sanguis in a threatening motion. Sanguis took one small step backwards, raising an eyebrow as he did so. "I might be in the mood to look for the right words to say, but I doubt I should say anything. Hey, no hard feelings. I forgive you for being a bad talker." Sanguis grinned as he mocked the man once more, resulting into a fist flying towards him. "Whoa there! That isn't the right way to end a conversation." Sanguis stated as he lowerd himself to dodge the incoming fist, while doing that he launched both his arms, pushing the man away from him who through bad balance of his feet, bumped against the wall behind him. It seemed more people in the Tavern had cocked up their head to see what was happening, Sanguis sighed, watching as the man got more and more enraged...

Aisuru sat in a corner of the tavern, silently watching the person who walked in. A heavy black hooded cloak covered her body, making it nearly impossible to tell she was a woman. The hood covered her face, and especially her long pointed ears, a clear indicator of her elvish heritage. If they knew what she was, a fight would ensue. If they knew she was a woman, though... Aisuru shuddered to think of what the drunken, brutish men would do. So Aisuru sat there in her chair in the corner, silently watching Jiro, keeping away from the others.

Akumei looked up from her drink and sighed, noticing first off a auburn haired man who stood roughly two inches shorter than her. It looked like he'd angered a dice man to the extreme and Ku sighed, standing. Why not help this stranger avoid a sticky situation.

"Put my drink on my tab Jax," Ku informed the bartender as she hopped off the stool. Her large bust jiggled slightly as she waltzed over to the two, maneuvering through the people between her and her destination.

"What's up guys?" she asked, draping an arm across the shoulders of the stranger. "I'm sure you don't have an issue with my friend here, sir," Ku said with a wink and a smile.

Ignore

Jiro lazily leafed through a rather thick book that he had read over a dozen times or so. Sadly, it was the only piece of literature he had on him, but for some unknown reason he could never grow tired of it's context. A scuffle had broken out over by the bar, and the swordsman glanced up from the pages his eyes had been glued to. A red haired fighter had agitated a much larger individual. Clearly, the bigger of the two had no common sense, and Jiro laughed quietly to himself at the sight before him. He removed his gaze from the quarrel though, when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a hooded figure. He silently studied the cloaked person, eying them curiously. Placing the book into the knapsack on his back, Jiro walked over to the table at the corner of the building. He took a seat across from what had caught his attention, and greeted the person with a warm smile. "Hi there. Mind if I sit here?" As he spoke, his eyes darted back to the bar, and he noticed a brown haired woman had stepped into the fight as well. Jiro couldn't help staring at her bust for a split second, before shaking his head and shifting his gaze back to the person before him, the same warm smile returning to his lips.

"Sure." Aisuru replied, removing her hood, revealing her crystal blue eyes, long blonder hair and elf-ears "I'm Aisuru, what's your name?"

Jiro blinked, not expecting to see the elf before him. He had never physically met one, but had heard countless tales about them. His intentions on the legendary group were off far more than he had thought. An even more curious urge grew over him while he took in her features. "Sure." The girl replied. "I'm Aisuru, what's your name." He kept quiet for a brief moment, still a little mesmerized by her appearance. After the shock had settled though, he laughed slightly and nodded his head. "Jiro Kazuki of Moyasu." Relaxing a little, Jiro removed the knapsack from his back and placed it on the floor next to his feet before continuing. "You know, it's a little odd to see an elf in a place like this. What are you doing here, if I may ask?"

Aisuru didn't respond for a little while.

"I wandered here on my own." Aisuru said "I was a soldier, but I was hated by everyone because of my "impurity". I'm only half-elvish. I'm also half-human. It's irritating. I was scum to them, the lowest soldier they had, even though I was far better than many of my "superiors". So I left. And I wandered here." Aisuru looked at Jiro and smiled.

"What about you? Why are you here?" She asked, her eyes sparkling with happiness. She was quite glad to have met someone kind. She couldn't tell why, exactly, but she trusted Jiro.

The swordsman leaned back in his seat, eying her a bit. "I didn't know there were half elves. That must be..different." Jiro scratched his chin for a few silent seconds, thinking over what to say next. "Well, you don't look like a soldier. But I'm sure you could hold your own in a fight.." An idea slowly began to creep it's way into the back of his mind while he spoke to the girl. "I'm here looking for someone. Anyone, actually, that can fight. I'm on a special type of assignment, and need as much help as I can get.." A depressed sigh passed through his lips once he had finished his last sentence. "But unfortunately, everyone thinks I'm on a suicide mission." His short mood of sadness quickly dissapeared though when he noticed how happy she had gotten. Hm..Well, she's different alright.

Aisuru simply shrugged.

"Hey, can't be any more boring than things are for me now." she stated simply "I don't mind, I'm happy to go with you. A nice guy, a big adventure, that's exactly what I need. I'll take you up on that offer." Aisuru smiled happily and winked broadly at Jiro.

"I'd say we shouldn't go till tomorrow at earliest." Aisuru stated "I've got a spare bed in my room in the inn next door, you can stay with me. Should we look for others?"

A confused look on his face, Jiro began to speak, but stopped abruptly. He scratched his head, thinking about what she had just said, and spoke with a confused tone. "When did I ask for your help exactly? I mean, I don't mind it..But you hardly know me." He pushed the chair back and slid up to his feet, slinging the knapsack over his shoulder. "Still... if you're willing to risk life and limb for a crazy idea, then by all means come along. Just know there's a good chance you won't be coming back." Nodding towards the bar, he waited for her to join him, still a bit lost. "As for finding some other help. I say we start over there. I've got an idea."

A confused look on his face, Jiro began to speak, but stopped abruptly. He scratched his head, thinking about what she had just said, and spoke with a confused tone. "When did I ask for your help exactly? I mean, I don't mind it..But you hardly know me." He pushed the chair back and slid up to his feet, slinging the knapsack over his shoulder. "Still... if you're willing to risk life and limb for a crazy idea, then by all means come along. Just know there's a good chance you won't be coming back." Nodding towards the bar, he waited for her to join him, still a bit lost. "As for finding some other help. I say we start over there. I've got an idea."

"Hey, I hear something about an adventure and I'm in." Aisuru chuckled, following Jiro "That's just how I am. And call me Ai, please."

"Alright..Ai." Another wave of confusion passed over Jiro, which he quickly shook off. Making his way over to the bar, closer to the fight, he hung back and took a seat at one of the closer tables. He motioned for Ai to take a seat next to him, his gaze stuck on the commotion at hand. "If I'm right, then one of these guys will be able to help us. We just have to watch and see which one it'll be." Laughing to himself, Jiro reached behind himself into the knapsack, retrieving the book he had been reading. Flipping a couple pages, he scanned the text, occasionally glancing up to watch the brawl.

Sanguis gave a confused look at the man who had a problem being shoved back that easily. "You aren't that muscular, how did you push me away like that?" the man asked in a threatening motion, walking up the Sanguis once more. "Heh, I am just a guy that knows where to hit people for maximum results. Unlike you who just attack at random, and hits random areas. And here I thought you were known as one of the greatest swordsman." Sanguis stepped back just a bit further to collect a complete view of his surroundings, surely this wouldn't turn out too badly, they could still safe a chair or two. "So you do know who I am. And you still choose to pick a fight with me?" Sanguis grinned, dodging the man's attack with ease. "Hey, it would be you to pick t'fight. You threw in the first punch y'know." the man turned around, this time launching his fist downwards, Sanguis evaded the slow attack and shoved the man back against the whole once more, though this time with just a bit more force. As the man bumped into the wall he grunted slightly, having trouble with what looked like a simple shove the man rose up slightly surprised by the strength of his small opponent. "A bulky man like you is easily pushed back, you just have to hit the right areas and they fall like a rock."

The man growled, wanting to unsheathe his weapon though it would do him no good at all. If he did so probably more fighters would dare and join in, and it is surprising no one has already. "You know shrimp, from a first glance at you I thought you had the smarts to understand not to make me mad. But it seems you need to learn the hard way." Sanguis gave of an awkward stare as the man walked back in front of him, wanting to throw in a punch once more. "Y'know, I thought someone like you would have the smarts to know when to settle these things with words. Too bad, the Tavern has already settled for a brawl anyway." With a small change of his look to a more serious state, Sanguis prepared himself to once more dodge the giant man's punch. Not that it was hard with that turtle speed of his, taking half an hour to finish an attack. Just when the punch was to be thrown, someone seemed to have finally interrupted, a woman no less. Brown hair, and... Well, it was an obvious thing to point out. Then again Sanguis was never the one to judge from that. With a small sigh he watched as the woman tried to silence the starting fight. "I'm sure you don't have an issue with my friend here, sir," The man who had stopped attacking glanced at the woman who had just stepped into the rather physical argument. "If he is a friend of yours, then I suggest you teach him to know his place here. Obviously, he doesn't belong here and has no idea what he just got himself into, but I am willing to forgive this little mistake of his..." Having finished talking to the strange woman the man turned his gaze onto Sanguis. "Listen shrimp, be glad your 'friend' stepped in. Whenever we encounter each other again, I doubt things will go this smoothly for you..." The man turned himself around, once more sitting down in front of the counter.

Sanguis sighed, turning his head towards to woman who stood uncomfortably close to him. "Y'know, I think I could've handled mister though guy." He said, lowering his voice. He knew better then to yell something negative out loud, next time it wouldn't go so easy. Which is why he was partially disappointed with someone stepping in to prevent the brawl, from the looks of it the woman was a swords... man? Okay, swords-woman in this case, if Sanguis would ever refer to a woman as a swordsman, he would just say sword-wielder or sword-fighter. Much easier, and you don't anger someone by picking the wrong word. "Anywho, could you give me off just a tiny bit of space? I rather not have a strange woman awkwardly close in my personal space. No offence..." Sanguis quickly regretted those words, but it was his nature to speak his mind when it came to chit-chat situations like this. "On a side note, thanks for dragging me out of that situation. Heh, I would probably have got beaten up pretty badly if it weren't for you stepping in." He gave off a small nod before returning to his seat, well... Grabbing what was left of his drink, most certainly Sanguis would have to wait before he would force an encounter with this man again. He took a sip out of his drink as he waited for the woman to respond...

A quick smirk played across Jiro's face as he watched the woman work her magic, stopping the fight altogether. Feeling the bigger man got off a little too easy, the swordsman snapped his fingers, a small flame igniting in the palm of his hand. Putting the book he was reading away, his head came to rest on his other hand, giving Jiro a playful look. He gave the flame a soft blow, and watched it drift through the air towards the bulky man, catching onto the back of his shirt. A low whistle escaped his lips soon after the man shouted out, alerting the room's occupants to his situation. The flame had grown by now, covering up the lower portion of his shirt, singing it off. "Yeah, keep dancing around you moron. I'm sure it'll help." He mumbled under his breath, laughing softly. Standing up from his seat, he motioned for Ai to follow him as he headed out the door. Before exiting though, he slid a piece of paper between the two other occupants of the short fight with only one sentence on it: If you seek peace from the bloodshed, follow the flame.

Outside in the dark of night, Jiro walked off through the streets towards the southern gate. He had seen enough of this place, despite only staying in the town for such a short time. The idea of staying the night with his newest acquaintance had crossed his mind, and he certainly wouldn't mind it. But that familiar feeling from before had returned; stronger this time. He could make out what it was now. It beat inside him like his own heart. Jiro stood beneath the gate, waiting for Ai to catch up to him. Another snap of his fingers caused a much bigger flame to burst to life, soon hardening into an orb. He carefully placed the orb on the cool ground. A jerk of his wrist sent it rolling off down the road, out of the village and off into the world. While it moved, a bright orange light glowed from inside the sphere, leaving behind an orange colored line that burned into the dirt path. "There. Now, if those two do decide to show up, all they have to do is follow this little trail I made." For a split second though, his mind flickered back to the feeling he was getting. It burned inside him, and he couldn't keep ignoring it for much longer. Someone's about to die..And that someone is very close. I can feel it..

Aisuru appeared as if from nowhere beside Jiro, her hood back up. Her dark robe had allowed her to blend in to the darkness, and she had moved silently. She stood without talking beside Jiro as they waited.

"........" Xion stared at the woman who had tears rolling down her face. "please...you can take me...but let my children go.." she gased at Xion's eyes. while the children where grouped up in a corner praying for forgiveness. "....." Xion looked upon the woman with no emotion.."hmm well all you have to do is give me your most prized possesson." Xion brushed the hair away from his face, showing his electric blue eyes. the woman gasped with fear as she froze on the spot. Xion sighed "i guess we have to do it the hard way... starting with your children first?" his eyes flashed like this thunder in the sky, and his hand started to gather blue static which brightend up the dark room. The children began to scream as the devil like man (xion) began to walk towards them. the mother was still froze with fear, and had no clue what to do. Xion laughed to himself as somebody kicked the door down into the room. "Thats it Xion, you can stop now." Xion looked upon the man and raised an eyebrow. he was the quite the bodybuilder kind of guy. he began to swing his staf before him and threatend him one more time. "get out of here... or ill have your head." Xion laughed again while the blue static faded away from his hands, he knew that now wasnt the time to fight him nor that he had enough time to waste. "heh what ever you say mr. "hotshot" haha" Xion walked away looking back upon the woman giving a death stare.

After a while of walking into the unknown xion came upon a tavern, which he was pretty glad to see as he had'nt had a good drink in a while, he pulled the hood down from his hoodie and walked in. As soon as he walked in everybody just froze and stared at him. xion shruged "eh...give me your best drink if i may ask.." he asked the bartender. the bartender replyed "ha well sure thing" he started to make the drink "i havent seen you around here before," Xion just looked at him then said nothing, he took the drink and began to drink it "its a good thing you havent..." xion slammed the glass onto the table and began to walk out. "Hey! you forgot to pay!" the bartender yelled out, xion looked back at him and smirked.. "ha i dont need to do i?" xion walked out the door.

Xion came upon a orange like trail. he had no idea what it was, or what it was there for, he stood there for a good 5 minutes wondering about what he should do. Xion sighed "well i've got nothing else to do.." he began to follow it, pulling his hood up which covered his black hair which helpped him keep hidden. "hopefully i can find something to eat..." his blue eyes glowed with the moonlight as he carried on following (im sorry that i took to long to join ^^)

Okay, this man was confusing her. Was he angry with her for stepping in or not? Either way, Akumei took her arm from his shoulder. It seemed he'd noticed the sword that she didn't bother to sheath stuck into her leather belt.

"Right, so-" Ku was interrupted as he drank . "Psh, rude," she muttered under her breath, curling her hands into fists. Commotion through out the inn distracted her and her anger dissipated. While she was distracted, a slip of paper was placed close to her and also to the stranger.

If you seek peace from the bloodshed, follow the flame.

"Peace...from the bloodshed?" Akumei whispered. She looked up from the scrap and looked around, looking for this 'flame'. Outside the door Akumei could see a thin, glowing orange line. "Is that it?"

Without another word to the stranger next to her, Akumei walked out the door and into the darkness of the night. The lightning in her sword illuminated the ground even from it's position on from her belt. Ku opened her palm wide, concentrated, and within seconds, a small figure formed itself out of the lightning produced. To anyone far away, it would appear to be a ball of moving lightning yet up close, the detailed and precise structure of a miniature dragon could be made out. It flew to her shoulder immediately as Ku began to follow the line.

Harr and Laeria were sitting in their room at the inn, Laeria was too disgusted by the place to sleep and Harr couldn't sleep with her constant complaining. With his face in his hands Harr was having a hard time not getting mad. Maybe they should just keep moving, the only reason they stopped is because Laeria said she was tired now all she can do is not sleep. Cutting into Laeria's sentence Harr said, "Okay, it looks like you had enough rest let's go."

"What!? I haven't even gotten one minute of sleep and you want to leave!? That's cruel and unusual punishment if you ask me."

"If you want to sleep then sleep but I'm leaving." Harr put his foot down like he usually does and gave the elf an ultimatum. He wasn't as old as Laeria but he was by far the most mature so he was in control.

Harr walked out of the room with Laeria running to catch up. It was a waste of money to only stay in the room for a few minutes, money they couldn't afford to waste. They kept walking through the tavern area and to the outside. Laeria pointed out a strange glowing, orange line in the middle of the pathway.

"That's not the way we need to go Laeria now come on."

"But look at it, what could it possibly lead to? We should check it out. Come on it'll be fun." Without taking an opinion from Harr, Laeria ran next to the line. Letting out a sigh Harr grabbed his cape and swung it the direction of the flame line. This girl is going to kill me by getting distracted by pointless things.

Aisuru noticed several people were following the trail. Making sure she appeared to be neither a woman nor of elvish descent thanks to her heavy traveling cloak, she leaned over to Jiro and whispered in his ear.

"Looks like we got more than we bargained for. I have to retrieve something from the inn. I'll meet you back here in no more than half of an hour." With that, she turned and disappeared into the darkness.

Aisuru retrieved her pack of food, water, and other things she needed for traveling, as well as her weapons and an eagle. The eagle flew high overhead to avoid being seen, as Aisuru returned her key then darted off again into a dark alley.

Noticing his companion had dissapeared, Jiro heaved a quick sigh and gazed around the deserted road. He too, had noticed the band of newcomers following the trail he had left. He couldn't make out any of their appearances, although he thought he spied what looked like an elf. Why do I get the feeling this is going to end badly..

The two had been walking for a good distance by now, yet had reached no new places of shelter. Actually, they hadn't seen any sign of any type of structure. Just lines of trees. The orb he had created kept rolling down the dirt road, Jiro having no intentions of stopping it. Finding a nice, soft patch of ground, he settled down beneath one of the trees, getting ready to sleep. Jiro figured Ai would wake him when she returned, so he might as well catch up on some needed shut eye. But before he began to dream, he heaved a breath of hot air, which burst to life once it had touched the ground around him. A ring of fire, about an inch or two high, had risen up around where he would sleep, burning nothing yet touching everything. Now let's hope I don't get robbed. Or I'm going to have to beat someone's head in. With a short smile to himself, Jiro leaned back against the bottom of the tree and closed his eyes, easily falling into a light sleep.

Xion sighed as he felt he was being followed. but he ignored it has he had no energy to waste, his stomach growled with hunger "urgh... i should be used to this by now.." he kicked a tree with force which made many juicy apples fall down. Xion grasped a couple and put them into his pocket. then suddenly something caught his eye, he turned swiftly to see some kind of ring of fire around a tree, near the southern gate. Xion raised a eyebrow "hmmm fire... strange..." he noticed that somebody was in it. "well isnt this interesting.. looks like i've found someone else to steal from" he smirked as he began to walk towards the person, blue static started to gather around his fingerless gloves, the closer he got, the more static was being gathered.

by the time the static had created a ball of eletrical energy, Xion was only standing a few feet away from the person. the fire made the ball of electric glow a purpleish colour. Xion smiled "this seems to easy" he laughed