Elant Weisand's Story

Stepping into the very heart of the festival alone was a privilege that Elant seldom had. It was because of this rare opportunity that Elant had taken it upon himself to broaden his horizons, and explore life outside of the Dwarven agenda. Though he considered himself far more open minded than that of his caretakers, there were still traces of doubt strewn throughout the Seraph about life outside of the mines.

As an ambassador to the Dwarven Royal Family, his business outings rarely left him time to attend personal pursuits. With his recent acquisition of time off, however, he decided that there would be no better opportunity to reach out to the outside world than attending the annual Solarian Festival. This was to be a time of celebration- a time to unite peoples of all creeds, races, and religions. For once in his life, he was happy for the chance to experience mingling with non-Dwarves- amazing what a little no-pressure communication can do for an otherwise silver-tongued Ambassador!

His stroll through the festival gave him the opportunity to meet many different types of people, but it was one particular booth that caught his fancy- the Magic Hunt. Caressing his blunderbuss, he fondly remembered the day that jolly Bo the Scythemaster presented him with an elusive chunk of Magic Ore. He decided that his duties to the Royal Family could wait a while longer yet, as he would like the chance to repay the Dwarf for his selflessness and friendship.

"Excuse me, sir," Elant started, addressing Hugo, "I can see that you have quite the gathering for your venture. I specialize in both mending and augmenting the bodies of fellow hunters, and I'm also no slouch with a blade. I would love to enlist in your endeavor if you can spare the room."

Felix stared at the growing crowd around and began flicking his tail back and forth. "Hugo, are you going to answer the questions of this ideal and racially diverse group, or are you going to sit there LIKE SOME MUTE IDIOT?" Felix turned his head to glare at Hugo and possibly smack him around, but he wasn't there. "Yo Felix!" Felix quickly swerved his head to where Hugo's voice was coming from, underneath the table, of course, "Where the hell did we place the contracts?" Felix facepawed, "They're next to our broken radio." "Okay, found it! Thanks Felix,"Hugo emerged from underneath the table with two fat stacks of paper. Hugo slammed the two piles onto the table.

"Before I begin I am required by law to give a quick disclaimer. Magic hunting is dangerous job that has a high fatality rate and may lead to painful and gruesome death, also be cool and don't do drugs. Now that everyone here is aware of the consequences of magic hunting we can continue. Greetings, my name is Hugo and I am the Hunts Master of this party. This my comrade Felix, I wouldn't recommend trying to pet him, but you can test your luck if you want." Felix glared at Hugo who returned the look with a smile. "The party will be acting as an official expedition party that will act on the behalf of the GMHO and because of this I cannot divulge the details of the expedition in public or to non party members. If the circumstances were different I would be free to tell everything, but the GMHO doesn't like people knowing everything about what they do and I'd like to keep my license and my life. You are also required to sign either a two month or four month contract to join the party so that you will be able to receive the necessary visas. So who wants to get rich or die a horrendous and painful death trying?" Hugo pulled out a large cardboard tube and pulled the string at the very bottom, unleashing a torrent of multicolored confetti and streamers. "Where the hell did you get that?" "Places my dear Felix, places.

Seraphina watched as many more people stepped up to the booth. She was feeling bored waiting around for so long, even if there was plenty of commotion around her. It wasn't until a male Seraph came up to the podem. Seraphina stopped playing with her dress and watched the Seraph walk through the crowd sign the piece of paper and wait with the crowd. Seraphina kept her eyes on him and walked over to him intrigued with why he had decided to come and join the magic hunting group jsut ike she had. 'Perhaps he is also bored of life...' Seraphina thought to herself.

She stood next to him and was about to speak, when the Head of the hunting party that they had signed up for stood up and started to address the odd looking group. She sighed and listened intently to master Hugo and she giggled at how he made such a dramatic and huge emphasis on dieing on the journey. Seraphina knew that it would take a lot for something to kill a 421 year old light mage, but she couldn't become so cocky. Even though she kept trying to reassure herself she couldn't help but feel a little scared, since this was the first time in her very long life that she was doing something this dangerous and risky. However, she thought of the little boy that she had helped before and knew that because of so many people who weren't able to use magic or be gifted with such a long time to practice and appreciate the properties of magic, that she had to do something of more meaning in her life to help others.

Even though Seraphina found that healing and saving people's lifes was very important and helpful to the world, she felt that if she couldn't put her own life on the line then it would be a life wasted and would soon be forgotten.

When Master Hugo finished, he released a confetti cannon and Seraphina and the others were showered in sparkles and colorful tiny pieces of paper. Seraphina giggled and said, "Well, what would life be if there wasn't a little danger in it! I don't care about the money, but count me in! Let's start hunting some magic!"

A train comes rolling into a station, slowly grinding to a stop. with a hiss, the train’s doors slide open. “Kiergestein, Kiergestein station. Please watch your step when getting of the train.” the message repeats itself a few times more as the passengers stream out of the train and onto the station. As the train empties out., a metallic figure hops out of the exit, landing onto platform with a thud. “Wow, that was a long train ride. Almost succumbed to boredom on the way here.” The figure said. “Now, how do i get to the central square?” With that question in mind, he went asking around, but many were reluctant to mention anything at all, besides a friendly elderly lady whom he suspected had a case of bad eyesight. Nonetheless, she detailed him the exact way to get to the centre from where he was. Thanking the elderly lady, he made his way there, stopping briefly to buy a newspaper.

“Hey, didja hear? Some nutter fired a few shots at a cat in central square.””Yeah yeah, heard that already. get with the times rog my buddy.” Is what a middle aged men said to another. “Reading this newspaper will have to wait.”Gainsboro said as he tucked the newspaper under his right arm, and continued on his way towards the centrum. Each step fast and with purpose, The click-clacking sound his metal feet made upon the cobblestone street audible enough to attract numerous looks during his brisk walk. When he finally made it to the square He noticed three glaringly obvious things.

One: The very flamboyant performer on stage who looked highly annoyed by the rabbit kindred next to him.
Two: The most diverse group of all time was gathered around one spot.
Three: The Grey, gargantuan women who held a sign which looked small in her hands, up in the air which had "Super Awesome Magic Hunters Recruitment." crudely written on it. “Truly, a toddler could have done a better job of writing it”. Is what he thought.

He but away his still unread newspaper in his slingbag and retrieved his Proof of assignment letter from the main United Keter States GMHO branch. He made his way to the extraordinary group, his foot falls ever audible as walked around the group until he saw the person next to the giant of a women, a relatively tall, well built man who wore his hair in a tail, who he just saw slamming two stacks of paper on the table, giving the shortest disclaimer he ever heard and introducing himself as Hugo and his feline companion as Felix.

"The party will be acting as an official expedition party that will act on the behalf of the GMHO and because of this I cannot divulge the details of the expedition in public or to non party members. If the circumstances were different I would be free to tell everything, but the GMHO doesn't like people knowing everything about what they do and I'd like to keep my license and my life. You are also required to sign either a two month or four month contract to join the party so that you will be able to receive the necessary visas. So who wants to get rich or die a horrendous and painful death trying?" After he finished talking, and after letting various people including the bunnygirl respond to Hugo, Gainsboro addressed the man.

“Sir. I have been newly assigned to you by the main Teker GMHO branch.” He says as he holds out his assignment letter. “My name is Variable Proto System, Grand Walker Frame III; “Gainsboro Twelve”. You may call me Gainsboro Twelve. Am i also required to fill in these forms, and is there anything i can assist you with at the moment, sir?” He asked, his voice somewhat altered through the voice box behind his faceplate, and slightly muffled by the faceplate itself.

June 21--10:35 AM
Kergstien, Solarian Empire

By the time the Huntsmaster-to-be had finished speaking and sent confetti flying everywhere, Michael was staring at him with a confounded look. This man did...not seem quite right in the head. He was rather spontaneous, and as far as Michael could see, not entirely trustworthy. And just what was he doing, talking to his cat?

But one thing was clear: Hugo would not be giving him any more information. Combing the confetti and streamers out of his short, pink hair, Michael turned around and started walking away without giving much of a farewell at all. As soon as he was sure he was out of eyesight of the crowd at the booth, however, he glanced backwards, and for a fraction of a second, his eye flashed orange once more, allowing him to see the magic signatures of everyone at that stand.

And good heavens, there were plenty of tremendously powerful people there! The "statue" lady, the Huntsmaster, a young lady with white hair, even a man in a black suit who sat a small distance from the booth...actually, whether the man in the suit was involved, Michael didn't know, but that wasn't the point...in any case, he could see that the power flowing through their bodies exceeded both his and Thomas' at normal levels.

Just as Michael was wondering why so many powerful people had come to this Hunting Party in particular, his thought process was interrupted by metallic clanking--and he looked up barely in time to see what appeared to be a robotic suit walking past. For a few moments, Michael continued to stare in awe while it marched to the booth--and then, he made up his mind about something.

Rushing into a dark alley, he raised a hand to his bracelet and made a short yet urgent conversation with someone else. "...Yes. I understand. I'll tell him right away." After that was over, he made another call, this time to Thomas.

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Thomas, meanwhile, was bowing to his audience with a triumphant smile on his face. The show had gone with no further distractions, and his fans were very pleased--though Thomas himself had panicked internally when the loud robotic suit had gone past, but thankfully his Fan Service had not been ignored.

The people around him were now shouting for an encore performance, and Thomas was about to reply when he noticed the violet gem on his bracelet flashing. Although rather annoyed, this time, he knew something important was going on. "Ah, hold on a moment, my fans. Your encore will begin shortly." Raising a hand one more time, he packed the puppets into the dark violet box and rushed away, where he could continue his conversation in peace. "What is it, Michael? I need to do an encore!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but your Fan Service must wait a bit longer," his younger brother's voice retorted. "Listen, Thomas. There was a booth next to your show--remember it? Where that crazy man shot at his cat?"

"Yes, what about it?" Thomas asked impatiently.

There was a pause on the other side of the line. Then, "We would like you to join that man's Hunting Party."

"Pfft, I'm too busy for-" Thomas suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the bracelet as though it had turned into a jellyfish. "Wait, WHAT?! Why would I need to do that?!"

Michael's voice continued, but the voices were getting louder around his end, so he probably was re-entering the main square. "Most of the people looking to be in that Hunting Party are extremely strong. That level of strength is exactly what Fath..." The words suddenly halted, and in that moment, Thomas bowed his head rather miserably while Michael resumed speaking in a shakier voice. "...what we are looking for. So...he asked you to join."

"Well, why not you? I've got work to do!" Even though what Michael almost said had dampened his spirits, Thomas was still rather determined not to go.

"There's still one week of classes left, so I can't go. And, well, you...know why we can't send Christopher.'" Another silence fell between the brothers before Michael finally resumed talking. "Well, in any case, you're the only one out of us that can go. So, I'll ask the Huntsmaster if you can enter. Get back to the square, alright? You can do your encore after we're finished."

Finally, Thomas reluctantly agreed and headed back towards the center of the city.

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Right. This should work out fine. Michael, at this point, had reached the booth again, and raised a hand to call attention to himself. "Excuse me, sir," he called to Hugo. "I will not be joining your Hunting Party myself just yet, but could I reserve a spot for someone else?"

The crowd around Elant began to expand exponentially, especially after Hugo's rather exuberant display with the confetti. Undaunted by the warnings of death and secrecy, Elant signed his name upon a 2-month contract. If they were this short-handed, the contract could easily be renewed if Elant wished it. He was also fairly certain that the current Dwarven monarch wouldn't dream of letting him wander the festival without at least one pair of eyes keeping tabs on him, so he was certain to be provided with some sort of backup should things go sour. It really was a win-win situation!

As he handed Hugo his contract, he noticed the presence of none other than Seraphina, the Solarian Seraph. Tales of her beauty and mastery of magic had reached him even in the depths of Minoresse- though none had done her justice enough to warrant her radiant presence at the present moment. It was bizarre- he had never had much experience with those of his own kind before.

Deciding to break the ice, he matched Seraphina's gaze. "Good day, madam." Elant introduced, "Rather serendipitous that two of our species sign up for the same expedition! If I'm not mistaken, you must be "The Solarian Goddes, Seraphina?"

-IGNORE-

Maleki had only had a second, barely getting his question out of his mouth before it seemed as though every oddball in the entire city was suddenly crowding around the booth. He was not sure what annoyed him more, the large number or people jostling around him and talking all at once or the crazy man he was trying to get a job from. Suffice to say, the odd collection of people gathered around was more than interesting, as the bossman sent confetti flying everywhere he took a moment to glance around and study the people gathered.

The first to come up after him had been a small goblin with shifty looking eyes and an odd beard, odd partly because Maleki could not recall the last time he had seen a goblin with a true beard. The little one was small enough that if he was not careful he might get trampled by the others standing around. A orc had shown up right after, shouting about wanting to hunt for magic. Female from the looks of her, if he had to guess he would say she was from one of the plains tribes but he could easily be mistaken. She spoke with a heavy accent, obviously not from around these parts and he could not tell for sure if her seemingly quick breathing was out of weariness or out of excitement. He had a feeling she would end up burning herself out if she continued the way she was. It was better to go slowly and calmly. Next a short, though not as short as the goblin, girl approached with deep blue eyes that reminded him of the ocean he had seen only once before. The wings on her back gave away her race, either she was a seraph or his understanding of human anatomy was missing a few points. She was more interested in the cat though than anything else, probably not an adventurous bone in her body. This was already an odd group of people gathered, he was not going to be walking into any taverns with them. As his eyes moved past the girl he spotted someone who made a slight shiver run up his spine. Fighters always had a different sense about them, like wolves able to know when another is near. His senses told him that the human who was talking to the elemental was an experienced fighter, both because of the fact that he was taller than most of the other people around and also due to the fact that he had a hardness about him which could only be produced by time spent harming another living person. He would have to keep his eye on that one, luckily it did not look as though the man was keeping an eye on him.

As Maleki was studying the nord a man stepped between them, cutting off his view. While the Nord had seemed hard and brutal, the newcomer was obviously more refined. Another seraph, he held himself as if he was defusing a bomb, serious and with an air of precision. No warrior though, he was more likely a merchant or politician of some sort. A persons whose words could be as deadly as a blade. A small smile spread across Maleki’s face, any smart man would leave now, this group was already looking like trouble with the strange people joining it, and a wise man would extract himself and not get involved in such a concoction that was probably going to blow up in someone’s face. It was Maleki’s gut that he followed though, picking up one of the papers that the man, Hugo, had set out and filling it out. Whatever happened, at least he would have something to do finally. An elf had just approached, talking with hugo when a giant tin man came walking out of nowhere. Maleki could not help but laugh a little, setting the paper down and pushing it towards Hugo along with the other filled out papers. The tin man was a warrior, or at least that was what his build looked like, and walking talking machine warriors were not the most common thing to see walking around. He did not know why he was surprised though, from the looks of things a life walker would be joining next and no one would mind at all. With a shake of his head Maleki asked one question to Hugo, his voice projecting a bit in order to make sure he caught the man’s attention. “When do we leave? I would like to look around more if I have the time.”

Seraphina looked up at Hugo and seemed confused. "Angel Dust?" she said softly. She had never had such an odd nickname before and was taken off guard. She nodded at Hugo, "Yes sir. I do know. I am a very experienced healer, so i think if anyone was going to die I could help to stop it from occurring. " Seraphina giggled and blushed slightly as she filled out the contract and handed it back to Hugo, sighing in relief. She quickly got out of everyones way and stood in the middle back where she had came from. Everyone seemed so excited and eager to start the journey. She looked around and saw an elf and the Seraph. She felt like she was the only person she studied fully on healing magic and only focused on that. She felt important and smiled feeling anxious as well to start the journey. She was excited to feel the thrill of being on an adventure that was dangerous and fun with a very diverse group of people. Even with such small numbers, there was even another Seraph among the group... And they were probably the oldest of the group from what she guessed at least. 

Suddenly, she heard a voice next to her and she turned to see the male Seraph greeting her. She blushed feeling shy and she giggled as he called her a goddess. "Oh well, I am Seraphina, but i dont know if Im a goddess. I guess that is what people call me now..." She smiled up at the Seraph. "But it is a very nice day, I am very excited to start an adventure with you, since i dont see many other Seraphs lately. But what is your name sir? You remind me of someone I heard of among my Dwarven friends." She scratched her arm and examined him, noticing that he looked like more experienced flyer than herself and that he was a very handsome seraph as well. 

Now having signed up Valar looked around sizing up the group. Brawlers they had in plenty. The giant stone woman would be terrifying in a fight. Valar couldn't quite see anything harming her. Putting her up front might be a good idea for combat. Then there was the Orc, bigger than he was and about the same weight that walking staff looked sturdy enough to do some severe damage. That Troll had also been eyeing him up. He also had the look of a hard man. They would either get along in quiet mutual respect or there would be blows. He'd have a hard time but Valar was bigger and though the fight might be tough it would not be impossible and he liked his odds.

Then there were the Seraphs. Probably magic users, what aspect that would take Valar had no idea but he figured they'd have to have a little protection in a fight. That was surprising, you didn't usually see Seraphs, Valar had heard that there were only a handful in existence.

His gaze scanned the crowd. There appeared to be a dearth of Marksmen but that hopefu---- What in the name of Writhkas Blood was that?! Two tiny figures stood out, a goblin that could have been no more than 3 feet tall and just taller than him was a little girl with.... were those bunny ears? Valar didn't even want to imagine what the hell was going on there but those 2 he'd much rather not have. Unless they had some very specific and HIGHLY useful skillset. Valar was a mercenary, a bounty hunter, an assassin if it came to it, NOT a babysitter.

Oh well he was going to go buy some things to help him hurt people. He smiled as he walked quickly off, yes, that would make him feel better. He browsed around a couple spots till he spotted something he really liked, Gloves with a sleeve that came up to his elbow in fire proof material. The best part was definitely the metal studded knuckles, that would put a dent in someones skull for sure. He picked up some wire snares and extra rope and filled up on food and ammunition. He checked his pack and breathed a sigh of relief. He still had his bottles of Bearhuggers Whiskey; Very Fine. After that he moseyed back over to the square to await departure and maybe take a measure of his new companions

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The man name "Hugo" then turned to him, handing him a contract. "Don't call it a quest, you'll make it sound like a field trip for small children." The man said. "If you're interested, sign on the the dotted line, and you can join the crew. But I'm not going to accept your help, to be honest I don't trust the bureaucratic abilities of someone named Donnie, you look like a Donnie, are you named Donnie?" "Hugo" gave a smile. "Just messin', though I will need your name. There are people named Donnie everywhere and you can't trust people named Donnie."

"My name's Lucusious." he said signing the paper. "Lucious Marder, don't bother trying to pin a nickname on me" he continued. "They never stick." Lucious returned the signed paper. He also took a second to take a look around at the company gathered around him. A few big brutes...a couple seraphs...strange folk too... he thought. "This is becoming more and more like one of those fairy tales..." he sighed.

Lucious turned back to Hugo. "Now what?"

"Nice to meet you, but that wasn't a name, and I refuse to refer to you by a product code so I'm going to give you a nickname, and I'll let you choose which nickname ya get since you gave something that was supposed to be a name. So your choices are Robo-Enforcer or Plate Face. You can get back to me on that choice with a signed contract." The recruiter had said.

“Oh sir, you wound me. I hold considerable pride in my name you know? I am saddened you wouldn’t even settle for Gainsboro.” The Voltikron said before a small chuckle escaped him. “ I jest, it doesn’t bother me to that extend. Can’t say the same for the lead designer. Cute kid. I’d break her heart if she heard about it though. ” He took the form with the 4 month option, and started filling it in. While he filled in the form, he thought about those two nicknames.”Robo-enforcer? What am i? a kill bot? “TARGET EXTERMINATED, AWAITING NEW DIRECTIVES. NEW DIRECTIVES AQCUIRED, ENGAGING NEW TARGET.” He tried to stifle a snicker as he imagined it. “Plate face was just as bad. Seriously, this Hugo guy is quite unimagineative. Let’s just get this form filled in.” He thought.

"Age, birthplace, race aaand done.” He handed his now filled in form back to Hugo as he spoke. “Here you go sir. Now about those nicknames… They sound both quite horrible and uncreative. I’d really prefer it if you’d just call me Gainsboro or even Gain, but if you have to be stubborn about it, At least call me Dan, Metalman or Tinman. Heck, even Tincan’s better.” He tried to explain to the GMHO assigned recruiter. “Either way, i’ll be sitting over here reading my newspaper until you need me.” He said while shrugging, as he made his way towards a nearby bench. He took his newspaper out of his bag and sat down, Crossing his left leg over the right in a casual manner. He started reading the frontpage slowly, taking his time reading it, all the while whistling what he thought was a soft, pleasant tune.

June 21--10:38 AM
Kergstien, Solarian Empire

"B-boyfriend?!" Michael spluttered, utterly unable to understand where the most-certainly-not-right-in-the-head Huntsmaster had gotten that notion from. But already Hugo was wondering with anger where someone named Felix had gone. "How rude...honestly, I worry about what I'm getting Thomas into," the pink-haired boy muttered to himself.

At that moment, he heard the crowd of Thomas' fans cheering, and knew the reason why without even turning around. The puppeteer celebrity had returned to the square already. Alright, time to get down to business.

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Waving to his fans and giving them his usual stage smile, Thomas quickly locked onto Michael with his eyes and began walking in his direction. "Okay, let's get this thing over with," he sighed as soon as he could no longer see his fans in his peripheral vision. "So this is the thing you want me to spend my precious time for?"

"Yes," Michael replied, sounding none too happy--Thomas could see him glaring at a man in a trench coat. Though he couldn't guess what happened, Thomas shrugged and took one of the forms, beginning to sign it without really giving much of a greeting to any of the people standing around him. "Um, shouldn't you say something first?" Michael asked, indicating the man in the trench coat. "You should at least introduce yourself, right?"

Once again, Thomas shrugged without seeming to care much. "Not my problem," he replied. "So, what are you planning to do in exchange for all this trouble you'll be putting me through? I don't want to be away from my fans for too long."

"When classes are over, I will go after your party. Just message your location to me at that time, Thomas," his younger brother instructed. This made Thomas feel better, knowing that he wouldn't have to suffer through this alone.

The blanks on the paper were soon filled with Thomas' somewhat untidy handwriting. "Alright, we're ready," Thomas sighed, putting the pen down. "Now, who am I supposed to give this to..." Pointed in the direction of the man in the trench coat once again, Thomas tapped the man on the shoulder and handed his form in. "Well. You are the one in charge, eh? I am Thomas Aefenleoht, and I'll be entering your party. No objections, I hope."

Not far away, he could hear his fans gasping in surprise and saying things such as "Thomas is joining a Hunting Party?" "What would he ever need to do that for?" "He's got weird tastes at times, huh?" Putting a hand to his face, the puppeteer figured his fans would not give him a rest at all. This would be a fuuuuuun journey.

Hugo quickly leafed through the contracts. After seeing that everything was in order Hugo straightened out the pile with a few quick taps. “A good days work, and nice bundle of fresh heads.” Hugo smiled and let out a deep sigh. From the depths of his pockets Hugo pulled out his bronze pocket watch and flipped it open, 10:45. Hugo quickly snapped it shut and addressed the troll, “You shouldn’t worry about leaving today. I have to run these contracts to the local GMHO office to create the party roster and register everyone here under my jurisdiction and leadership. Now if I can get these contracts in before they close early,we should be able to leave tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon at the latest.”

A loud canon of a laugh boomed across the crowd from the back. “Ah but the office is already closed! We decided not to open at all today, after all it is the summer solstice festival!” A large, dark skinned man made his way up to the front. “I could smell the fear and eradicated fantasies from across the city and I knew only one magic hunter could destroy so many hopes and dreams with a few introductory remarks. How the hell have you been?”

The large man grabbed Hugo, hugging, lifting and crushing all at the same time, “You’re crushing me,” the Huntsmaster groaned.

The man released Hugo from his bear hug, “Sorry ‘bout that, I sometimes don’t know my own strength.” Hugo wheezed for air and coughed, “It’s nice to see you too, I see you haven’t lost your touch.”

The large man picked up the stack of contracts and weighed it in his palm. “My, my, I have to say this a larger stack than usual, have you gone soft or have you just lost your touch?”

Hugo avoided the larger man’s inquisitive look and joking smile, “No, I’m just … working with different terms.”

A jovial “Ha” was blasted into the air and the man slapped Hugo across the back, “So what you mean is that HQ decided that you were being too morbid and gave you a recruitment quota. It’s a shame really, it was always entertaining seeing you widdle an entire crowd down to a few candidates.”

The man began looking over the contracts and signed the top contract, “Hey, what the hell are you doing?”

“I’m giving you and your party a speed boost.”

Hugo stared at the man, “I don’t think your signature can threaten to beat people up.” “Well the being the chairman of the Southern Solarian District does add some important weight to my name.” Hugo looked at his friend with shock, “That’s right; gaze upon Chairman Brutus of the GMHO!"

“Wait, your last name is Brutus?”

“No, Brutus is my given name and only name.” Brutus handed back the contracts, “Bring the contracts first thing tomorrow morning and I can guarantee that the office will get the party roster registered within the hour. So enjoy yourself and try to catch the parade. They’re trying make a big show for one of the magi, so it will be fantastic. See ya soon!”

“Fill in all the blanks that ask for your information.” Hugo gave the line jumper a contract and moved her aside, “Hey Morgan, I see you found Felix, I hope he hasn’t tapped anything he shouldn’t have.” Hugo pulled out the remaining contracts, “So I’m assuming you and your friend are here for the sign ups. Cool stuff, just fill out the required spots and we will be —” Hugo was suddenly interrupted by a blast of chilled air as three dark purple pillars of light that came from an expanding pitch black cloud struck the ground a few near the Kriegstein senate. Hugo drew his revolver and scowled, “You have to be shitting me.”

The streets were on fire with black and green flames that flickered from the impact site. The city guards encircled the mass of robed madmen and their ironclad leader. A simple and hollow command echoed from the suit of armor, “Kill them.” A deathly howl rang out from the mass and the mob descended upon the guards like a wave of madness. “Kill them all, kill them in the name of the devourer.” Civilians ran away from the blood thirsty cultists who easily cut them down with their twisted and grotesque blades. “The spell casters and the blood circle is ready. She shall truly have a feast tonight. But, my liege, are you sure they will be able to spill enough blood in order to force the contract?”

A simple and chilling laugh rang from the blackened helm, “If they cannot spill enough, I’m sure that the hot blooded fool will be able to compensate for what will be needed.” “I heard you were talking shit. Dreadlord Ezekiel, it is time for you to atone for your sins against the creations of the life walkers.” The dreadlord turned to face the challenger, “I figured you would show yourself, you sorry excuse for a magi.”

The magi’s face turned crimson red with rage, “This ends now. May your soul burn for all of eternity. Gergamel, GIVE ME STRENGTH!” The magi charged at the dreadlord with a loud and piercing battle cry. After a few minutes of intense fighting the dreadlord jumped back. “Face it Ezechiel, it’s over, you’ve lost!”

A faint chuckle echoed from the dreadlord’s helm, “I would beg to differ; it’s you who has lost.”

The magi stared at the dreadlord in bewilderment, and then it him, he was standing right in the middle of a blood circle. “No, how did you—”

“I’m very careful at spilling my own blood. Well it was fun while it lasted but I’m afraid it's time for you to die. ENCASE!” The magi was suddenly surrounded by ribbons of blood that encircled and bound his body. “May your soul bring nourishment to her body. CRUCIFY!” a large metal spike rose from the ground empaling the magi.

“Damn you Ezech—,” From the sides of the spike shot out two arms that formed the bloody crucifix. The magi’s body squirmed and then exploded into a shower of blood that covered the dreadlord and his spellcasters.

From the mangled corpse emerged the great spirit Gergamel. The spellcasters slammed their staffs into the ground, as the murmured their incantations. Five scarlet ribbons of blood emerged from the bloodied streets and bound the fearful spirit. The dreadlord drew his sword and cut off his right hand. With mock grandeur, he waved the bleeding arm as if he was signing his name on a large sheet of paper. “FORCE CONTRACT!” the spirit howled in pain as its form was being absorbed by the stump of the dreadlord. In a bright flash of light the spirit was gone and the body of the dreadlord was restored. The dreadlord unleashed a maniacal laugh, “I can feel its power course through my veins, my god does this feel wonderful.”

“My liege, would you like to lead the eradication of the city?”

“I have finished my business in this petty sacrifice. Spell casters, we return to our fortress. Message the rest of the group; tell them that they may stay and feast upon the flesh of innocents.” The spell casters nodded and launched a glowing red projectile into the air. The dreadlord raised his sword into the air and they disappeared into the smoky haze, while his minions bore down on city, leaving trails of blood and half eaten corpses.

June 21--10:45 AM
Kergstien, Solarian Empire

Watching the two men bicker with each other, Thomas sighed and looked around; it was still morning, so the hours would go by slowly. "Well, we'll have plenty of time to kill, eh?" he murmured. "Well. I'll be over there, giving my Fans the encore they wanted. If you need me, please wait until the show's over." And he began to walk away, back to where the box of puppets was waiting.

Immediately, the fans cheered, but there were still questions running around about his joining the Magic Hunters. Would they ever give him a rest about it? Thomas sighed and raised his hands to obtain his fans' attention. "I have only decided to seek out the Magic for the good of our Solarian Empire, my friends, as well as our allies across Valderia. That is the best Fan Service...no, the best service at all I could give to this land." Of course, it sounded rather hollow to him, but he tried to ignore that.

However, the puppets had barely risen out of his box when a cold wind burst past him and his fans, causing some to lose their footing--even Thomas had to grab onto the edge of the box to steady himself. Looking up, he saw three pillars of dark purple pillars of light emitting from further down the street, as black clouds swirled high above the city. "What the hell--?"

His bracelet flashed, and he raised it to hear Michael's voice. Most of his fans were looking in the other direction, pointing and gasping in horror at this new spectacle, so he was in no danger of being observed by them. "Thomas, I don't know what's going on, but a great quantity of powerful magic signatures dropped into that area. Something big and bad is happening."

"I can see that, Michael," the puppeteer hissed. Pointing at the puppets, he gestured towards the box, and they flew towards it--but instead of putting themselves away, they instead picked up swords, shields, and spears. "You can do whatever you want--I'm going to ensure my fans are safe," Thomas declared firmly.

Pointing in the other direction, he ordered the crowd of his admirers to head off, and turned back towards the pillars of dark light, as his puppets began to assemble themselves in front of him in defensive postures. "But, man...this is terrifying. It's like a freaking apocalypse right now..." Suddenly, Thomas thought he could see figures clad in dark robes murdering and mutilating all who were unfortunate enough to get caught up in the chaos. Cold sweat dripped down the back of his neck; it now seemed apparent that he was about to be swept up into something terrible.

Fear, blood, flesh, and chaos. Truly this effigy and orgy of violence should appease her. The three cultists relished themselves in the moment as they approached the closing gates. The guardsmen unleashed a hail of gunfire to slow their advance as they desperately moved to close the massive gates. With a loud clang the gates were sealed and the remaining guards men beckoned their comrades on the top of the gates to let down the escape lines. Panic quickly turned to desperation as the three cultist showed no signs of stopping, even though they should have been very dead. The center cultists smiled and stopped his brethren, “Leave these pathetic mortals to me.” The other two stepped back and smiled as they watched the blubbering guards screamed for their comrades to save them.

The cultist’s eyes began glowing a deep red as the flesh under his skin began squirming. The pain from his bones realigning themselves was gut wrenching and he could feel the skin strain to contain the rapidly growing muscle. The cultist unleashed an ear piercing cry which was drowned out by rising blood as the skin burst open to make way for his new and terrifying body. He was now a large and bulky testament to limitless strength and raw flesh with arms that were twice their original size. The guards trembled in terror as the crimson mass charged through their new hail of bullets unscathed. The hulking beast tore them apart as if they were made of soggy tissues and disposed of their mutilated bodies in his gaping mouth.

The behemoth wiped the blood from his mouth and turned to face the massive steel crucifix that occupied the center of the city, “Do you think there is more flesh to consume near the ground zero?” “Of course, now lets get there before the others eat more than their own share.”

They were oh so close, but the pack must have caught their scent. Just one more block to the crucifix and to the rendezvous point. Brutus shoved the shotgun into the cultist's mouth and unloaded both rounds. The cultist's head exploded, releasing a torrent of blood and brains. Brutus reached into the opened head cavity and ripped out a strange throbbing organ. Brutus stared at it for a short while and crushed it in his hand. The body of the cultist suddenly burst into harmless green fire and all remnants of the cultist vanished without a trace. Brutus smirked and turned turned to his personal kill team, "Make sure you destroy their synapse or they won’t stay dead for long.”

Brutus ejected the two shell as he walked up to the cold and bloody steel crucifix that towered above him. “It’s a damn shame, he was the better man. He deserved better than this.” One of the remaining veteran hunters ran up to him, “Sir the city has been sealed and word is that the purge squads are already on their way.” Brutus scowled as he reloaded,

“Well is the train company holding true to their word?” The veteran nodded, “The Eleven O’clock will be fifteen minutes late, but it will it still arrive. They said that the longer we can hold the station the longer the train will wait. But chairman, are you sure about the deal with the governor, he could use go back on his word and prevent the train from leaving the city.” Brutus smiled, “I doubt he will, after all he will want us alive to fulfill our end of the bargain. Where’s Tellus? We need to hook up to the city broadcasting system.” The veteran hung his head, “He’s dead, got nailed by a bone spike.” Brutus’s eyes widened, “They’re already shifting? Well god damn, they’re getting better at mutating themselves. Well is the radio still intact?”

The veteran nodded and handed Brutus the microphone, “Tellus hooked it all up before he bled out, he said that we needed to get the message out.” Brutus sighed, “Let’s not let his death be in vain,” Brutus turned to face the remaining Hunters with him, “Remember guys the survivors won’t be the only ones hearing it, so lets be prepared for the worst.” Brutus raised the microphone to his mouth and waited for the operator to give him the go ahead, “Attention all living members of the intelligent races,” Brutus paused to listen his voice being echoed and projected by the city.

“Due to the presence of a dark cult the city has been sealed off and placed under quarantine. All gates have been sealed and a magical barrier has been placed around the city preventing any other means of conventional escape. That being said there will be an escape vessel arriving at the central train station within thirty minutes. Due to the violent nature of the cult the train will not be able to stay for very long, that is why we recommend that all survivors make their way to the central station as quickly as possible. To all hunters and contractees, protocol twenty-four has been invoked and the Solarians will be handling the extermination. Utmost caution is recommended against all cultists and it is best to avoid to engagement. And remember, it isn’t dead if the body is still there.”

Hugo quickly gathered his things and hung the heating mechanism on his waist. Felix hopped off Morgan’s shoulder and stared at Hugo, “So what’s the plan?” Hugo inserted a mana canister into the the heater and slung his duffle bag over his shoulder. “The main goal is to get out of the city and not die.”

Hugo pulled out his grenade pistol and picked up one of the supposed corpse. Hugo shoved the pistol into the mouth of the cultist and fired, completely destroying the head. The body soon dissolved into a green flame and Hugo put his away the pistol,

“Hope you folks were paying attention, cause shit just got real. For those who aren't familiar with the concept of quarantine and or the significance of protocol twenty-four allow me to explain. It means that the whole of the designated area will be sealed off and due to protocol twenty-four, the entire hazard area will be deemed a dead zone and all living organisms within the dead zone will be made dead.”

“Usually the GMHO takes care of the extermination, but unluckily for us the Solarians are taking charge. Which means we have to get the hell out of this city. Of course you can test your luck and stay. But in the end you will have make a choice. Do want to be eaten alive or do you want to be incinerated. But hey if dying a horrible death is really your thing then fine by me, I ain’t gonna judge. But for those of you who want to live I recommend that you listen to my every direction. The central train station is about ten blocks from where we stand, we will be able to get there before the train arrives if we don’t attract too much attention. It’s best to leave now this area now while the cultists divert their attention. Gather your things and make sure we’re not leaving anyone behind, after all there is safety in numbers.”