Kana Na-Ahn's Story

Kana Na-Ahn
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Life as an earth elemental is difficult. First off, you don't know who you are when you are formed. Two, it takes a lot of maneuvering in the first few moments of life in order to not fall apart right away. And three, provided you can keep your self together, the general public is usually a little hesitant to accept you as a member of society instead of as a monster.

When Kana was formed, a being known as Tir'Ish Na-Ahn found her. There had been a war, she was told, and there was a lot of magical energy left on the battlefield. By chance, certain amount of that energy resonated with the earth, and an earth elemental was formed. If it weren't for Tir'Ish's instructions and guidance, Kana would have fallen back apart as soon as she had formed. However, due to that help, she was able to stabilize and take up a form. The first form the elemental found was a fallen shieldmaiden who had fallen during the battle. Using her as a blueprint, Kana formed herself in that image and took the form of a humanoid. Tir'Ish then named her Kana Na-Ahn before leaving her to figure life out.

That was two years ago.
==
The city was a beautiful place. Kana wore a long cloak with the hood up in order to hide her rock-like skin. The less she drew attention to herself, the better. Kana was on the search for a day of labor. For her own purposes she was looking to raise money, and her incredible strength and resilience to fire made her a valuable candidate for both construction and blacksmithing. The only challenge was to find someone who would hire an elemental.

Going through the city was normally uneventful, but a commotion broke the busy trance near the gate. Three carriages were hustling towards the upper town, and making way for them was in the best interest of anyone who didn't like a broken leg. It happens often enough. Kana watched with curiosity as they passed. Nothing too exciting, except for the abruptness of it. After watching the speedy procession, she continued to make her way towards a part of town that was in need to repairs. She was hoping for some work there.

Tir'Ish Na-Ahn
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Tir'ish noted the intent of greeting from Hazarmaveth, and returned one in return. It was no surprise that he could sense Tir'Ish' presence. It was pretty difficult to hide from Hazarmaveth. Tir'Ish waited for a little longer, then felt satisfied that most of the valuable information has been obtained: There was a substance known as Black Ichor, it took life and then "evolved" it into a new type of creature, this seemed to be a concern, and a team was being assembled to scout out the issue. Simple enough.

Tir'Ish began to consider who would be able to scout out this Ichor. Remembering an Earth elemental residing in Hoffngard, Tir'Ish went off to see how she was doing. Kana Na-Ahn was one of Tir'Ish' "children", being an elemental that was able to sustain thanks to its help. She, Kana, had been searching for some purpose to exist, and perhaps this could be it. Tir'Ish left in the direction of Hoffngard, sending a departing greeting back to Hazarmaveth while hiding its intentions and destination.

Nox

---

The three black carriages stopped once they were in the upper class sector of Hoffngard. Outside Nox could see the estate that he had requisitioned via messenger ahead of time. Stepping out of the carriages were three butlers or servants of some kind all in their thirties, and one small well dressed boy. Immediately a runner boy dashes up to the first butler and hands him a note and runs off.

The butler reads it then whispers the information into Noxs ear. He nods and leaves the staff to unpack his things into the estate. Walking down the street to a nearby estate as per directed by the note, he takes a deep breath before entering, unaware of the dark mist lingering behind him...

---

Xyr

---

The Deity of Tragedies and Horror drifted through the finely decorated halls of the estate, having come to the city for this opportunity. In front of him was one of his newer followers, Nox Stri. The young boy followed the directions given to him by the door man per his own request and soon entered what seemed to be a lunch meeting between several of the nobles within Hoffngard. Xyr noticed Nox gulp before the boy joins them and sits.

One noble in particular showed interest in the boy, a middle aged noble who was curious about Disdain. Nox was the first noble to ever leave the city state, and as such they had many questions. Xyr remained unseen and whispered into his ear. "You are new to these lands... new to their customs..."

Nox responded by thinking a moment then speaking. [color=darkred]"I am ignorant of this land... and I might need help with local custom... if you could offer it... "

An hour later Nox was leaving the estate, his innocent ways in this persona gaining him their favour, and enough money for a Disdain embassy in the city. Xyr had given him the words to convince them, but that was only one part of the whole. He left Nox to enjoy his afternoon and continue with the next part of this tragedy.

After much time he wandered into what seemed to be farm lands. How he really ended up here was a mystery to him. All he really knew was that he was somewhere, a place he was sure to find out, at least he hoped to. He just kept walking in a singular direction until a large city started coming into view.

He approached the large stone walls with two massive doors set in the middle where the road joined to the city. As he approached he could see some wagons carrying produce inside. The sun lit up the sky with a rather orange glow as it was starting to near twilight. He stepped up to the gate, the guards standing by to keep watch of those entering the city.


Just as he was about to enter the city a guard stepped up, stopping him from going any further. Creep eyed the halberdier up and down before the man spoke.

"Sir, have you payed the entry fee?" He asked him, clearly barring his passage into the city. Creep cocked an eyebrow, clearly in some confusion.

"There's an entry fee?"

"Yeah." The guard spoke brusquely, by no means pleasant in his demeanor. The man looked him up and down, clearly evaluating him. His upper lip contorted with disgust as he estimated Creep's worth.

"The fee is fifteen silver."

"Huh? I'm not sure if I have that much on me."

"That's not my problem. Pay up."


Creep's expression sank into a frown. He looked over, seeing peasants with wagons passing into the city regularly.
"What about those people? Don't they have to pay?"

"They've paid already. Now's your turn."

He couldn't tell if the guard was telling the truth or not but he didn't feel all too happy nonetheless. Regardless he started fishing in his pockets to see what he had to pay with. Within his jacket he fished up a couple silver pieces that were minted quite a while ago as well as a handful of bugs that happened to be in the way. When he reached out to hand the man his change the guard recoiled in revulsion.

"Eugh! What the-!?" The thuggish guard exclaimed after retracting his hand from Creep.


Just then three black carriages approached the gates, the other guards making way for them to pass through.
"Bloody hell! Look, just go and don't let me see your ugly mug again, got it? The guard told Creep after having seen the carriages coming up. The man did not wait for him to answer, hurrying over to do his duty instead of trying to extort money from passersby.

With a shrug he stuffed his silver coins back into his pockets and continued on, shuffling through until he was lost in the crowd, a face among faces. As he went along he noted seeing someone who looked almost earthen. He couldn't get a very good look however and he didn't bother to stop and check.

---

A bit of time later

---

The town was much different than he remembered it. It had grown and changed since he last visited this place. One old establishment that he recognized however was The Old Dog, a tavern down in the run-down side of the city. While everything else seemed to have grown up and gained a polished gleam to it this place still looked as sub-par as it did the last time he was here.

Stepping in through the door it was pretty much what he expected to see. The tables were somewhat rearranged, there were some new waitresses and the surly old bartender had been replaced with his son, the surly now middle aged bartender. Still much of it was still the same. The floors were still dirty, the lighting was still dreary and everything still smelled of vomit and alcohol. The customers were the usual fare, alcoholics and poor folk who couldn't afford to drink at nicer establishments.

Long has it been since a time where Creep could enjoy getting drunk and forgetting his problems. Nowadays he couldn't even get the satisfaction of filling his stomach thanks to the holes which lingered even still. Still he couldn't help but come and reminisce of a time when he could.


He went over and sat at a far table in the darkened corner of the room. Not long after sitting down a waitress came up to take his order. The young woman in her somewhat scant attire, the standard work uniform for all the waitress's there, would of looked attractive were it not for her constant scowling expression. Not that her looks mattered to Creep, not anymore. It was just something he noticed.

"Can I take your order?" She sounded a mixture of both bored and annoyed. None of the waitresses looked at all happy to be working here and for good reason as they regularly had to deal with undesirable sorts as a common routine. He couldn't blame them for that, nor did he feel it particularly unjust to be lumped in with the pathetic masses which this tavern called it's customers.

Creep just sorta looked down at his shoes, trying to be as discrete as he could so he didn't draw any unnecessary attention.


"What can I get for two silver?" He humbly asked, his voice somewhat retiring as though he were shy. He wasn't particularly extroverted but his main goal was to not draw any attention to his wounds or the bugs which sometimes crawled in and out of them.

"cup a' ale's all that'll afford 'ya."

Without another word he quietly reached into his pockets and produced his change, taking the time to make sure his hands weren't full of bugs this time. As he handed her the money she just took the money from his hands, not really giving a damn as she turned and strode off towards the bar without so much as spending a moment longer looking at him.


"'Ey Burt, we got an order for one cup a' ale for the creep in the back corner." The waitress passed off his order to the bartender who went ahead and filled up a cup. Handing the cup over to the woman she brought his order up to his table. Without so much as even a glance at him she passed his table, setting the cup down at the opposite end of the table before striding off to wait on another table.

With a melancholy sigh he took his cup and set it back down on the table in front of him, just staring down at the bottom of the drink as he dwelt on where the good ole' days went.

Alieth

As Alieth walked on, she realised she didn't really have a plan- Which was unlike her, but she shrugged and mumbled to herself "not like those plans work out anyways". Her thoughts were cut off by the the words of two men who were walking in front of her;
"They say The Black Ichor changes animals, as if they are mutants or far worse" he said in a hushed tone, his clothes looked as if he were a noble- But she guessed he wasn't that high in ranking. The other man looked alike, brothers perhaps, but his stature stood taller- more affirmative. "I see, I've heard that myself- even rumours that it might be spreading across the Ertse'gart, but they may just be rumours- People practically feed off gossip these days". Alieth slightly frowned, unsure if to believe this information. The men turned down a busy street, and she realised that she had been following them all the way back to the main gates. "Bleeding skies, I'm back where I beg-" she began to mutter to herself, but she was interrupted by a small, middle-aged woman slamming into her. She looked up, dazed. The person who slammed into her had her back to Alieth, and Alieth then saw that it wasn't the woman's fault. The large crowd of mortals had parted for three worn down, black carriages. She could practically feel the buzz of gossip that was brewing. Alieth moved through the crowd, muttering a "sorry" and a "excuse me" to all the people she bumped into. Her eyes stayed glued on the carriages, and she could faintly see a head popping out of one of the openings of the carriage. Managing to zig-zag her way through the crowd, she set off to find out where the carriages would lead her.

==
After some fast paced walking, she had figured out where the carriage would be going, the upper class sector of Hoffngard. She decided not to journey in there, for she knew that she would earn some unwanted looks- Everyone in that sector knew everyone, and gossip thrived as if it were light itself. She couldn't help but wonder what the new-comer wanted, and if it would affect her in any way- For all she knew, they would be discussing what tea is best. But she had a feeling, and it didn't go away easily.

Kana Na-Ahn
__________________________
Kana managed to find someone who would hire her. It was hard! Have you ever been discriminated against because of your race? Well, being discriminated against because of your species is even harder. Add on top of that that Kana is a woman, and most hard labor places simply would not even consider. More than once she was threatened to have the guard called if she didn't make herself absent. Finally, after about eight or nine attempts, one contractor was willing to take her after she moved a cart out of her way single-handed. In was an expression of annoyance, but apparently her raw strength was enough to get a job for the day.

This particular job was fun. Her fellow workers were scared of her, especially when she removed her cloak, but they were willing to work near her. The job only lasted for a few hours, and was of the type that each worker was compensated seven silver for basic work, and ten for specialized. When Kana was in line for pay, they tried to hand her seven.

"Am I just a standard worker," she asked. "Could any of your others lift two bundles by themselves?" And there she stood, with her earthen hand outstretched, while the contractor considered the situation.

"Fair enough. Take yer ten. We could use someone of yer....abilities later in the week. If yer interested, check back 'ere later."

Giving a grateful nod, Kana took her day's wages and followed the group of workers to a nearby tavern. They weren't scared of her anymore after working with her, but they still were wary. What better way to ease the tension of what could be future workmates than to drink with them? Kana couldn't get drunk, of course, but she knew she had a better chance at better pay if her work force actually trusted her. So with that, she led off to some dusty, dimly-lit tavern.
--------------------------------
Inside the tavern was about as bad as she expected. Dirty, dimly-lit indeed, and vomit, alcohol, and B.O. permeated the air. The smell didn't bother Kana, but each worker recoiled only slightly as they came in. They were used to it, sure, but no one could truly be used to it.

The group ordered the house grog with their wages. Kana got the same, even though it was more money than she wanted to spend. No one received a full day's wages, as they only worked almost half a day, but they were pretending that they were nobles with the way they spoke to the obviously unhappy waitress. More than a couple suggestive comments were made about her as she left with the order, and Kana decided that staying inside her cloak would be the best option. She looked conspicuous, sure, but it was better to be the strange one with a full cloak than the female earth elemental who would garner far too much attention from others.

((Please disregard.))

He watched as customers came. Nothing was much unusual about that. Not until the cloaked woman came.

He vaguely remembered seeing her as he entered the city. She seemed to have an earthen face but it might of been a trick of his imagination. What did it matter, anyway? She was just another patron in the bar, just looking to drink her sorrows away no doubt. He turned his own attention back to his drink. That's right, he had his own sorrows to drink away.


A toast. To life poorly spent.

With that thought in his mind he took the cup and drank what two silver could afford him. The fluid burned his throat and ran into his stomach. Sure it might of been unwelcome by some of his guests but it felt somewhat nice to feel something in his stomach that wasn't writhing about. The stuff's just gonna run out the hole in my guts anyways, they can shoulder a little rain.


With a deep sigh he stood, finally too dreary to keep on feeling bad for himself. He had indulged his desire to wallow in regret but more work laid ahead for him. Not that his work was strictly necessary, at least to his mind. The cockroaches have always had holes to crawl into well before he became what he is. Still, they wanted someone to look out for them. He knew well that life was no good just looking after one's self, never trusting a fellow not to take your coin and slit your throat while you slept. Not even insects were below a little grace, even if he was what little they were afforded.

With a lurch he lifted himself from his seat. He had paid and drank, now it was time to go. Casting one last wayward glance to the hooded woman, a sight which stood out among the local clientele, he turned and left the bar.


Stepping out into the dark alleyway, little else lighting it but the dim light of the tavern itself, he saw ahead into the darkened alleyway ahead. Though the shadows consumed the light not too far off leaving the entire alley ahead nearly pitch black his eyes could see much better in the dark but even sight such as his could catch a clear look at who was a head. All he could make out was a cloaked figure hunched over something. The moment he took a step forward the figure fled, clutching something to it's chest as it ran.

He was not about to give chase but he could now see what it was the figure was over. A body, struck dead.


Approaching he could see it was an old man, bald with a bushy grey beard. He was dressed reasonably well and not too far off he could see his spectacles, the item likely having fallen off during the struggle. He had been stabbed, once through the rib cage and another right above it in the middle of his throat. A violent but quick end.

Looking on at the scene he could only ponder what must of gone down and why. It was so recent too, the old man must of not been able to cry for help. It was not the average criminal's work, especially since the pouch of coin at his hip was untouched it seemed. No, this was the work of an assassin most likely. What the figure took however was still a mystery.


"What shall become of the body, sir? The ear wig asked. It used to speak to him using honorifics like Master and God but he insisted they don't.

Well... He considered his answer, struggling with the ethical ramifications his choice might hold.

Let the cockroaches eat what remains. If they bury him the worms are just gonna eat him anyways.


With his decision made all he needed to do was cast out a thought. He contacted as many cockroaches within the radius as he saw fit with a single beckoning thought and they all came, swarming out over walls and through gutters. Thousands upon thousands of cockroaches swarmed over the body, biting at the rotting flesh, and this was only just the roaches from this block. He almost never summoned all the insects in the area to one location all at once just in case in some freaky scenario something were to blow up somehow and demolish everything around. He always wanted to make sure that even if he were to somehow croak his subjects would live on.

Thus was the end of another life in the gutters of Hoffngard.

[I posted this in the wrong location. Anyone know how to change that?]

Tir'Ish Na-Ahn
_________________

It took a while, but Tir'Ish made it to Hoffngard. Aware of the other gods' messages, or at least the general idea of them, Tir'Ish went off to find another Na-Ahn by the name of Kana. Kana was a fairly new earth elemental, and so still was willing to adventure. There were other Na-Ahns who were older and preferred to remain somewhere comfortable, but thankfully Tir'Ish had someone newer to work with.

He decided to take the form of a man while in the city. Settling just outside the gates, Tir'Ish formed the cloud of energy that made up his being and solidified it into the shape of a man. He got the idea from a monastery a while back. His avatar - if that's what it was - had a little color to the skin and was completely shaved. Standing at 5'11" and in remarkable shape, he formed a red form-fitting robe about him and concentrated a large amount of energy into a full-staff. The staff, due to the amount of energy put into it, was nearly indestructible and immensely solid. In prior wars, cheaply made swords and shields shattered under a direct impact from that rod.

Tir'Ish approached the gates. He had managed to learn the local language, but still had an accent from other, more ancient languages. He read the intent of the guards who stopped him, seeing that they were tired but still intending on doing a good job.

"I'm on business. What do you need?"

Tir'Ish found that the best way to work with mortals was to be direct. Indeed, they parted and let him through the gate with little further questioning. Tired humans are lazy humans. Now, to tract down Kana. All Na-Ahns give off an energy signature, so it shouldn't be too hard to find her.

Kana Na-Ahn
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A man entered the bar, and immediately Kana perked up at attention. Here, in the middle of the city on an ordinary day, was the god of spawned energy Tir'Ish. She recognized the form he took, and sat for a moment looking at the red-clad monk holding a very intimidating staff. He locked eyes with her, then turned around and left without a word. That is, no spoken word. With that single look a message was conveyed that he had a mission for her and she was to follow him outside. Putting her payment and drink onto the table, Kana left without so much as a word to her coworkers.

As she walked out, Kana followed a trail of projected thoughts to the side of an alley. Whatever the mission was, no doubt it was going to be fun. The god of energy was propped up on a wall, fingering the rod he held. It was an intimidating sight, especially after she had seen him break trees and rocks by simply hitting them. Looking up, he conveyed to Kana "I see you're doing well. I have a mission for you, if you would accept it."

Tir'Ish always asked before issuing a mission, and Kana appreciated that. It made her feel in control of her short life. "Yes," she stated out loud. "What is it?

"I recently observed a council of the gods discussing a substance known as the Black Ichor. They are assembling a scouting party to look at it. Their objective is to assess the threat it holds and about its status. I would like you to join them and help them with their mission. Also, I want you to test something when you reach it."

The stream of thoughts ceased for a moment while Tir'Ish formed a sphere of energy, stabilized it, then gave it to Kana.

"Take this and cast into the Ichor when you are alone. I want to know what it will do. I would do it myself, but if the result is too adverse then it might destroy me no matter how far I am away from it. You, however, are made out of matter. You would be protected if the reaction is aggressive."

Kana looked at the ball of energy she was now holding, and noted that it was warm to the touch. Placing the sphere into her cloak, she accepted the mandate. Upon doing so, Tir'Ish walked away without another word, leaving Kana to her thoughts. She was excited! A mission from Tir'Ish usually meant a reward afterward. Even better, it was something that may be too dangerous for a being composed of pure energy, so she was the only one who could do it. With a lot more enthusiasm than in the morning, she set off to find this adventuring group. If there were many gods who were assembling heroes, it should be easy to find as they would look like a group of mismatched misfits trying to tolerate each other's company.

Rey listened to Carissa speak so enthusiatically about music and her harp, which clearly now was an enchanted item likely from Edna herself. It just had that godlike shine to it... so very shiny. The beastkin can't help but chuckle at the girl's energy, she was in a very happy place, unlike herself who was still trying to find it. She gave the harp a good look and nodded her head in acknowledgment. Then the girl continued, about her nonviolence, a sentiment that was shared with Hazarmaveth as well.This troubled Rey slightly, but she understood it.

"So I see, a harp and hobby to be prrroud of, for certain. Well, music... where I was from, was used more as a signal, as a motivator in war, and ritual, not enjoyment, and I was happy to leave it behind," she begins to explain, not sounding exactly please with it. "As for combat, I will if I must, but I preferrr alternatives. I am... on one hand a healer, I suppose is the word, I mend wounds as a... blessing from... Hazarrrmaveth, but on the other... well, I hope is not needed. This aside... hrrm?"

With a pause she sniffs at the air and looks around, she had caught an unusual scent all of a sudden... it was something of an unfamiliar earthy smell in one direction, and something completely unfamiliar elsewhere. The former was closer. She glances about for the source of it and catches a cloaked figure out of the corner of her eye. She seemed to be looking for something, or more likely, someone. Rey would take a wild guess that she was to accompany them and raised her hand to signal her.

Carissa was happy to hear another person that did not resort to violence unless absolute necessary. Of course she notice how every time Rey pronounced her R's she would almost purr them out. Like a kitty cat almost. Of course Rey would seem to look around, and Carissa herself looked around and noticed another cloaked figure.

Carissa smiled and waved at the figure as well. "Hey Rey, did anyone tell you you kinda sound like a cute kitty cat? Every time you pronounce your r's are pretty cute sounding. Sorry if it seems like an insult I just think that's unique of yours." She chuckled a bit. She honestly thought that was cute, almost like she was a humanoid cat person.

Kana Na-Ahn
_______________________

It was way too easy to find people who stood out. Kana approached the two who were waving at her, and greeted them. "Afternoon. Are you here for the Ichor?" It was vague enough as to not warrant unsolicited attention, but specific enough that if they were who Kana thought they were, they'd understand. She also made sure to keep her voice "normal" as possible, not giving off that it was made by malleable rocks that functioned similar to vocal chords, but not quite exactly. It was best to keep her elemental nature discreet until she knew that these two were non-hostile.

They were a peculiar group. A girl with a harp, and some type of humanoid cat. Both female. The cat looked dangerous enough, but the girl not so much. Kana hoped that the Ichor didn't spawn anything too aggressive, or that there weren't guardians. Until she tested the ball of energy, she knew Tir'Ish wouldn't get too close for fear of being destroyed. Until it was safe, she would be only with the blessing of the energy god and not with its fighting prowess.

Waiting for a response, Kana looked around from under her hood, looking for others who might be approaching.

Rey's eyes widen, hearing herself referred to as a... a kitty cat. She was letting her impediment out too much, she got too comfortable and let her guard down. Though she did not let down her outward composure, inside she was screaming. Carissa did not seem to care, but what of the others, what of the city? She knew of Beastkin reputation, and more often than not the rumors were true. With some strange looks from passing Hoffngard citizens she takes in a breath and bows to Carissa.

"I apologize for my poor speech," she says swiftly, before lowering her voice to near a whisper. "My kindrrred are not well received, for good rrreason."

With that, she rises and turns to Kana, who then confirms her assumption. She was, admittedly, taken aback by the party thus far. Not only all female but none that were the same race, let alone species so far. Her senses were too keen not to tell that Kana was earthen by origin, either that or she had rolled in the mud but she highly doubted that.

"Grrreetings... sorry... and yes, yes we are. I'm Rey Jihara, Ha-zar-mav-eth sent me."

Carissa covered her mouth when Ray apologized for her manner of speaking and immediately went to wave her hands and shake her head in disapproval. "No! No! No! No! I did not mean anything by that! I should apologize for bringing it up! I only thought you were cute sounding, and not bad sounding in any way! I am sorry for making you apologize!" She then bowed deeply.

After her apology, Carissa stood up straight and looked at the person they waved over. When she asked if they were here for the Ichor, she nodded in affirmation. "Hello there! Welcome to the scouting party! My names Carissa Asheton, hero to Edna. Pleased to meet you." She greeted with a friendly smile.

Kana nodded slightly. "Very well. I represent Tir'Ish Na-Ahn. It will be a pleasure to work with you, for a time. She looks around, adding "Do we wait for others? I understand that the nature of this Ichor is fairly unknown. What type of a group are we assembling?" Elementals may be resilient, but they're not immortal. If this small group got jumped, she wasn't sure all three would make it out alive.

"Also, how far of a travel is it? Have your gods indicated?" After a few questions were answered, Kana was ready to get started. Any mission for Tir'Ish was exciting, though she refused to betray her emotions in front of these two. She would let them ultimately take charge, just so long as she had a way to preform the experiment she was tasked with. In the end, that was all that mattered.

(Never mind me, just posting in the wrong area again.)

Creep

"What ails you, bug keeper?"

Creep looked up, drawn out of thought by the sudden voice of the figure that had approached him. Immediately his cockroaches senses danger, something they were quick to retreat from as all the bugs scurried from the corpse, leaving the alley much the same way they came only with the addition of circumnavigating the stranger. Creep himself took a couple steps back, purchasing some distance between him and the strange figure before him. He did not know why she approached him like so but a lot of things about this were definitely not normal to his sensibilities.

"Well for one thing this is the second time today that somebody's gone off at me with cryptic nonsense. I swear it's like people just get their kicks by trying to puzzle me."


He tried not to sound too defensive but it was hard with a pair of little eyes looking on at him. At this point he mostly just wanted out of this conversation as he mostly just found the whole conversation off-putting. Well, that and he was really suspicious of the figure being another deity trying to play mind games with him again.

"As much as I'd love to er, stay and chat I'll probably be on my way, My way being outta here more specifically."

As he had been backing up while talking with that said he slipped past the corner, vanishing from view. That is to say he didn't literally vanish but rather took off down the alley, hoping quite well he wasn't being pursued by something quite awful.


Just as he emerged from the alley way, coming to a slow he saw three women. Two were concealed in cloaks, one in a mask and the third was dressed in a colorful dress, likely expensive stuff given the vibrancy of the colors. He recognized the one person from the bar. It wasn't that strange to see this person again given how close the locations were but given the events just prior it was starting to get rather strange how often he was running into strange out of place people in Hoffngard.

"Hey, you bunch wouldn't happen to know that doomsday sayer over by the dead body now would 'ya?" He asked, wondering if there was some connection between these people and the other one. It wasn't much of an unusual question in itself but there was little involved in the topic that was usual for a place like Hoffngard. Even dead bodies weren't THAT usual though they were unpleasantly frequent in the river that ran down the middle of the city.

The avatar of Bashemath sighs and looks over at her... companions.

"Was I unclear? Perhaps I should try better next time," she says to essentially herself. "That one is special... and I will not let Xyr or the other gods use him."

"It is scouting for now, we intend to check Ertse'gart and see how far the Black Ichorr has spread and... if necessary... make contact," she responds as well as she could muster. "Hoffngarrrd sits on the edge, so from here, not long. I am shocked there arre no signs of it here."

With this said another person emerges, this one in a seeming hurry to get away from... something. It was a young man, tattered clothes and hat. A vagabond perhaps? She was not going to judge, but his scent was strange. In any case, it was clear immediately that he was likely not another sent to join them. She was also taken aback by this abruptness, not sure what to say in response to his mention of a doomsday sayer.

"I know nothing of such, I am Sublimatio Carro, um... under Ha-zar-mav-eth, nothing to do with... doomsday," she explains, trying to be as forthright to place herself away from such dark practices. It wouldn't be the first time members were mistaken as a dark cult, given their dress code and the whole... being associated with a god of the afterlife. She inspects him, shifting concerns. "But tell me... you spoke of a body... were you attacked? Are you okay? Do you requirre help?"

Tir'Ish Na-Ahn
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Tir'Ish watched as Kana quickly made contact with what seemed to be the scouting group. He (for he was still in the form of a man-monk) smiled, and kept hidden on the rooftop where he was perched. All was going well, and hopefully they would have some answers soon. The smile quickly faded, however, when the boy infested with insects suddenly made an appearance. Creep, thought Tir'Ish with just a hint of contempt. Creep was certainly no enemy of the Na-Ahns, but he was difficult to deal with sometimes. What is he panicking about, I wonder.

Tir'Ish decided to get in closer. Jumping from the roof and using a small amount of energy to keep his physical form intact, he took off running towards the group. He slowed down just in time to not be immediately noticed as an abnormality, and walked closer to be ready just in case Kana would be in danger. Keeping his eyes on them, Tir'Ish read their words by the intents given off. Dead bodies were bothersome, so-called "doomsday sayers" were often trouble, and Creep was usually a little rash.

Unless something threatening happened, Tir'Ish planned to stay his distance and watch. It has been a very long time since he fought, and he certainly wasn't eager to start back up.