New Eden; Sieg's Treasure

[Paroxysm]

Offtopic: Continued from - The Days Drag On

[Sage]

Oblivion, Sobiadin's Spire, The Diamond Chamber

Nomidad/Aros

" If we continue on like this, things will get very ugly, very fast."

" I do not like ugly things, Third-In-Command Lady Nomidad. "

" Really? Stop with that, you know I couldn't care less about those nonsense titles. "

" But you've been working so hard, to get the position of Number Two, how could you say that, Naomi? "

" I do my job, can I help it if I am better than the others? "

" You really are quite peculiar, you know that? But I suppose I am as well, I suppose that's why you trust me though, isn't it Naomi? "

" Yes, you are my little twin, to be sure. But you must concentrate. Sobiadin doesn't let us from beneath his thumb to travel to Soul Harvest often. "

" Very well, then. I have figured out the proper way, and kept it from Sobiadin as you have asked. "

" You can't be serious? He only asked you to dwell on it a short time ago. How could you possibly.. "

" Hear me out, Naomi, please! Listen, there are five of them. They weren't all created at the same time but that's the way it is, the others are inconsequential. Naughty-god made the ten prototypes, and when they weren't what he had hoped, he abandoned them... "

" Of course, Sobiadin was one of them, Solaris. "

" Shh! Sobiadin may be gone, but the others here can't hear, either! So he abandoned the ten prototypes, and they stumbled across The Old One. We still don't know anything about him besides that alias, but he lead them to two of the five Gods. We're pretty sure at this point he was hoping that one would destroy the other, or that they would somehow cancel each other out. "

" But then the first deviation from Fate came about. One of the ten sacrificed himself, and so they were able to end the conflict with just the one loss. "

" Right. From this point forward the actions of most of the important parties are pretty well-documented, for a time after that point. They were all grief and atonement, and they set into place the events that led to Solaris being here, and that portal being connected to the Mirror's Edge. Now what should have happened is that the ten should have been destroyed, and whatever of the Gods and the lesser deities they had conjured for their war would become reborn after a time. But the one, he figured it out somehow and trapped one of the God's guardians, keeping him from acting or reviving himself. "

" Yes, yes. This is all common knowledge in that wretched plane. "

" Do you want me to tell you, or shall I conspire with Feires instead? "

" ...sorry. "

" Look, before this final engagement, each of the ten wrote something of a journal. A wicked cross between a memoir and a spellbook containing pretty much everything they were, everything they could do, and everything they had learned. The things took on pretty much a life of their own and could reflect the ten themselves to the reader, visibly. "

" I...how is that...for their time, that's an extraordinary.. "

" I know. But look, I think Sobiadin might have gained some insight into the sacrificed one's mindset after he obtained and read his Ak'Vahr. He became obsessed with a type of mortal catalyst that would allow him to eventually do similar things. He did this metaphorically and literally. First, as you know, he created the Fang. With the help of others of the ten, I might add. And then he created a sister to it. "

" I fail to see what this has to do... "

" And then he took it a step further, Nomidad. He used that sister catalyst to create another catalyst on the scale of The Sacrifice. He started this...he became the first Gartel...on purpose. "

" WHAAAAT!?"

" He did it to create a mirror image of himself to be used as a catalyst, but he lost it. And then somehow others of us started just...happening. Completely by accident. He couldn't figure it out, but he realized when we started going into their world and collecting souls completely of our own will, he was on the right track. "

" This is beyond insanity, Aros. This is...this is unforgivable. "

" There is a process. He almost has a majority of what is required. He needs the books, he needs the Fang, he needs the catalyst, and with us and all the souls we have collected, and the two Gods as hosts, he plans to Ascend to something bigger than anything anyone has ever seen. He never intended to fix us, Nomidad. He's going to burn us like fuel in his pursuit of power. "

" Listen...Aros. Just give me some time. We have time, still, thanks to you. Don't tell the others, and remain blank to Sobiadin. As soon as he's back here, I'm going under the pretense of Harvesting. Wait a while, and then come after me. We will talk to the Descendants. We will stop this. "

" Okay, then. Should I be investigating anything in the meantime? "

" Yes, I suppose you should. See if you can find where to find the other Gods. Maybe we're overreacting. Maybe they'll just stop him for us. Save the competition, right? "

" That's...well, I'll see what I can do, I suppose, but I make no promises! "

" And Aros...be careful. I couldn't have known it would be this dangerous. I'm sorry for getting you involved. "

" I'm afraid we are all bound to this, Naomi. There are no innocents in Oblivion. "

[Sage]

Algeroth, New Eden, Sieg's Stronghold

Sieg/Sobiadin/Cambria


Sieg's empire had grown quite considerably in the time since his defection, and even more after the great cataclysm. It was not such a long time ago that he had developed a Throne in New Eden and froze over the mountain range. His army had developed at an exponential rate, as well as the defensibility of his chosen kingdom. Then there were his machines. Prior to killing the King, he had paid no attention to machines or technology of any sort. But it was so fascinating. Technology was so much more exact and precise than magic. It was fun, figuring out the puzzle and seeing the end product taking it's place. Clockwork was a good theme for an empire.

Deep beneath the earth he had harnessed the steam heat of springs and vents, geothermal energy was one of his proudest achievements. And then there was his latest undertaking, an idea he had based off the Shrine of Qadasha. A floating fortress, equipped with a field that almost completely nullified all outward attacks. A method of magitech capable of completely sapping away kinetic force, removing the potential energy from projectiles and magic alike, and yet a human could walk through it. His prototypes so far had been devastating failures, though sinking his unending stream of resources into the project had allowed for mercurial progress. Sieg felt as though he was simply one very large power source away from making his current dreams come true.

And then there were his minions. The golems were good for manual labor, digging, mining, hauling, and otherwise guarding his other slaves which did the more complicated work, too difficult to program into a golem's functions. And he had found Cambria. A servant so fiercely loyal he could hardly imagine the boy had any will of his own at all. And such talents. Sieg had refined the boy's already-inherent magical potential and Cambria had developed some amazing progress of his own. Lighting fast, control of the winds, sustained intangibility! He'd never seen such remarkable gifts in a non-Descendant mortal. He would eventually age, outgrow his usefulness, and Sieg would absorb him. A fine addition to Sieg's collection of souls.

Just as Sieg turned this thought over in his corrupted mind, Cambria nonchalantly dropped from the ceiling. He landed effortlessly in a kneeling bow near Sieg, and withdrew a tattered shred of paper from his person and offered it up to his master.

" The final page of the Ak'Vahr Gradeus! Delightful! " Sieg bounded across the room to a raised platform where the very tome in question laid open, turned to the last page which was missing. Of course Sieg always knew Cambria's whereabouts, thoughts, instincts, and intentions. Cambria had voluntarily offered to have the procedure done to become a more valuable resource. It was not something that could be explained, by either Cambria or Sieg. The sorceror had come to his village and done unspeakable things, completely overrunning the place with his vast army and incorporating it as but an outpost for his own personal gain. Cambria gravitated toward him, tugged on his belt, and asked if he could help. Sieg marveled at the unique mindset the child had, and slew his parents, taking over the child's upbringing, an act to which Cambria had no protests.

" I shall study this immediately and see what transpires, I may yet obtain a final idea from this ragged old book. Simply marvelous. " Cambria picked up on an almost subconscious dismissal from his master, accompanied with a tugging in his mind that drew his focus to a list, near the door. He was familiar with this process. Sieg would drown himself in all that the information Cambria brought him had to offer, and in the mean time he would be dismissed to his 'chores' around the compound. Cambria was capable of acting as his eyes and ears, so he would simply make rounds to Sieg's more important operations and take in what there was to observe, not needing to report back. Occasionally there was required gentle intervention on his part, directed mentally by Sieg, but he would be almost unaware that it was happening until his hands would come off the parts of a machine, or a bloodied former employee would magically appear, simpering at his feet.

Cambria made no attempt to confirm his understanding or make any other comment, but instead simply turned for the door and began to leave Sieg's Observatory. Just as he neared the door, there was a sharp drawing on the back of his brain, and before any normal human being could have even inhaled a gasp of air, he was at a dark figures throat with blades extended from his wrists, waiting for confirmation to end another miserable life. Sobiadin, as though he had been through this a hundred times, simply looked annoyed.

" Would you care to call off your dog, Sieg? We need to speak. "

" Your own fault for not using the door. You surprised me, and so he reacts as he should! But yes, yes go on then boy. Sobiadin wishes me no harm as of this very instant, anyway. You have work to do. "

Cambria retracted the custom blades and exited without a word, closing the door hastily behind him, stopping to slightly adjusting his mask to deal with the discomfort the pulling caused him. Before he even descended the three floors to his first task, he felt it disappear, a signal that the tension in Sieg was gone, and so he knew that Sobiadin had already left.

" Can't wait until I can stab that thing, damned leech. "

[Sage]

Eastern Algerothian Border, Mondoch Syndicate

Xavier/Dalerem/Dyami

Xavier Gottheit. He had always been a tool, something useful left to someone else's disposal with no real drive or passions of his own. He was fiercely loyal, and protective of his few friends, and he was good at his job. Xavier was born in Bale, Algeroth where he grew attached to his best friend, Alistair Baptiste. At a young age, Serge and Sarah Ravenshield came for Alistair after having learned of his talents. He agreed, on the condition that Xavier be able to come as well, even though he exhibited no quantifiable abilities to speak of.

Xavier took issue early on with the subject of magic. He'd never had the aptitude even other small children had for the simplest magic. He grew up in training and service to the Metsuke, and discovered a short time after his and Alistair's first assignments on their own that he was a Descendant. A Descendant of the most powerful magical family known to Algeroth, no less. He had always assumed that the name Gottheit was for show, a name adopted somewhere along his family lines to seem more important, or to show worship to their false idols. But it had turned out to all be true, and the atheistic Xavier went through an incredibly tough time during his time working for the Metsuke.

But he grew. He developed amazing physical strength, speed, and resilience to compensate for his lack of magical potential, and even seemed to be less-affected by magical attacks. He learned that he was, in his own right, a rarity. Every now and then, within the families of Descendants and humans, there cropped up the trait for an individual to be able to generate wings. Syrus was famous for it, and Xavier was again conflicted about his own body as he came to terms with whether or not he should embrace this. But Xavier soldiered on, for his country, for his friend, and for his King. Then he disappeared during his most dangerous mission, his search for the final fragments of the Fang of Adriel, and it's completion.

Somewhere in the Xexorian night, he managed to finish the Fang of Adriel, but was slain by an unknown force before he could reach his home country. There, he met Trydian Xanathi, and entrusted the Fang to him, his only choice. He couldn't know whether or not it was safe, but he knew he could not allow his pursuers to obtain it. So, with Trydian hiding with the dagger nearby, and being unable to fly any farther, he was caught up to and finished off by a man dressed in all black, who disappeared shortly after.

Xavier crossed planes of existence and met a man named Kataroe Jet who he managed to make his way back to Algeroth with, with the blessing of Sage Warheight and his Descendant, personally. He landed near Mondoch territory, a guild of mercenaries whose loyalties lied with Algeroth, though they did not recognize it's government. He decided to stay there, and not go back to his life with the Metsuke without Alistair, whom had died a few years previously. Normally, this would be unacceptable, though his death had technically released him from his bonds of servitude. Now he found himself wondering whether or not he should be obligated to complete his final mission which he had failed at before.

" It's still there you know, despite all the rumblings. "

Dyami floated around the room on his back, casually twirling wisps of multi-colored magical energy through the air. Xavier glared at the wall while he nursed an alcoholic beverage that made any tavern's liquor look like ice water. He didn't mind Dyami's company, having a demi-god floating around you a majority of the time proved to be useful more often than not. Though he did like to make snippy comments and show off his magical abilities, a trait Xavier clearly resented, but that was Dyami's only reason for doing it beside the mild amusement he got from the act itself. Dyami was a young god, born later than even the mortal Xavier.

" Then why don't you go get it? It would be no problem for a god, and surely you have some vested interest in Algeroth's fate. "

" Fate, fate. What is fate, Xavier? Is it a family of magical savants destined to march us into our Golden Ages? "

Dyami cackled wildly while Xavier tossed a very large, very heavy marble statue at him from across the room, which subsequently flew right through the briefly intangible demigod and made a bird sculpture-shaped hole in the wall, which mockingly let in a gust of cold night air.

" Temper, temper! You know, Naos wouldn't be happy with you defiling a visage of holy significance. "

" Naos gonna come down here and bug the crap out of me too, or is that a duty reserved strictly for demi-gods? "

Dyami burst into raucous laughter once more, propelling him into the wall.

" That's why gravity's there. You should try it some time. "

" Come on, Xavier. Aren't you the least bit curious what became of your sacrifice? I'm sure it would at least be amusing to see the look on your face to see you breathing again. What's stopping you paying a visit? "

" Xexoria is an island now. "

" You can fly. "

" Can I? Haven't tried very hard to fly around since I died doing it that last time. "

" Yes, you can. "

And how would you know?

" Omniscience. I'm a god, remember? "

" Demi. "

" You're going to argue semantics with me? "

" You can fly, too. "

" And so can wyverns, Xavier, but they're not going to go get it for you, either. "

" Why are you even pressing the issue? The End of the World has come and gone, we don't even need it now. We survived. "

" You didn't. "

" Oh, yes. Very witty, Dyami. Regale us with your rapier wit. "

" Us? Someone...you'd like to introduce? "

" Well I assumed...wait. Dyami, is your sister not here right now? "

" She's visiting the folks, as it were. "

" Some omniscience. Dyami, leave. "

With a fizzing noise, Dyami evaporated before Xavier's eyes. He always assumed that Dyani was eavesdropping on her older brother, as she often did. Her favorite power was the ability to become invisible, and so she did so often, more often than not, in fact.

" Those are some impressive senses you have there, Xavier. Most can't sense us when we're standing right in front of them, and here I am attempting to hide. "

That would have been the source of the freezing air. It was the same thing that pursued Xavier on the night of his death, the very being that destroyed him in an attempt to steal away with the Fang. Xavier roared as he flung himself at the damaged wall and completely decimated it. He broke into the night air and unfurled incredible white wings from his shoulder blades. He clearly had no problem with flight, as he stabilized himself easily in the stormy night air over the sea between Algeroth and Xexoria. And there was the one who described himself as 'Number Three' when they last met.

" Xavier so feisty. Dying once wasn't enough, I suppose you want to have another go at it? "

" What do you things want with the Fang? You've already proven you cannot use it yourselves! "

" No, sadly we cannot. But that's none of my concern, all I need to do is hold it, and bring it back to Number One. Regardless, I was after the Fang last time, and also I was supposed to bring you in, and turn you into one of us. "

" Like Alistair! What gives you the right!? "

" I believe he goes by Talis n-- "

" HIS NAME IS ALISTAIR, AND HE. IS. DEAD. "

Dalerem actually became visibly concerned as he briefly lost his control of the wind, dipping several feet in the air after Xavier's rage. He cocked his head as he stared at the man. Xavier's chest was heaving and his aura was visibly shaking and emitting in massive spurts rather than the usual perpetual flow of energy.

" Tell me, Xavier. How is it that you can produce so much aura, produce so much potential for magic and you choose not to use it? "

" I cannot use magic! I have never been able to. "

Dalerem erupted in laughter. The very thought that one so filled to the brim with energy, but seemingly sabotaging his own magic output intentionally, or so his aura appeared.

" Whatever you say, Xavier. I am not here to start a fight, this time. But I have a message for your annoying friend. If they continue to avoid a meeting with us, we will begin killing randomly as opposed to our slow, purposeful operation. We have no value of any of your lives, and we are not afraid to wipe out every servant of Algeroth's pantheon. "

Xavier began to assault Dalerem only to find that he had taken a step back into a wall of black, and was gone. He roared to the night sky and took his anger out briefly on another section of the cliffside, before rocketing off toward the island nation of Xexoria. He would, indeed, meet the Demon King. Xavier knew his only chance of getting at Dalerem was with the Fang. That, at the very least, was worth it.

[Paroxysm]

A lot of things happened

Strange things.

Annoying things.

They were needed.

Necessary, really?

Of course.

The world has changed.

But we were left untouched.

Nothing ever touches us.

It is a blessing …

… And a curse.

We shouldn’t speak like this.

Nothing will come of it.

Everything will come of it.

Right around the corner.

We just have to go.

Today?

Tomorrow?

Yesterday.

^{Has the Zero arrived}

Has the Zero arrived

Has the Zero arrived

It has.

Cizok, Unknown

There was a lone figure trudging onwards; it was cloaked, its body was of average build, of average height, its face obscured by the shadows cast by its hood, and not a thing would have seen it, no matter how hard they looked. It would have been impossible; this thing didn’t have form yet, it wouldn’t have form, not anytime soon, at least. It was never given form and it didn’t mind; it didn’t have needs or wants. It was and it was not.

The cloaked humanoid had no specific mission and no specific purpose, it simply moved, but invisibly so. It was the Zero, but it was also the One. Through it, things could be done, amazing things and terrible things, but, then, it was also useless, those things could be done through its brothers, its sons, and its daughters. No, it was an existence that was negligible, but also one of great importance. It was a conflicted existence, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad one.

^{Time to wake up}

You‘re needed

Good morning

The thing snapped to life, the hood that covered its face was slowly withdrawn, a twisted smile, full of teeth, widened upon its face, and eyes of darkness narrowed within sockets.

“Mine are needed?” It curiously asked aloud, to which it received no audible answer, but such a thing wasn’t needed, was it? No, it knew exactly what the voices meant and so, raising its right arm, the thing clenched its fist shut, drops of grey leaking from its palm, and its smile would increase to its limits. “Understood.”

The droplets of what could very well be the crude existence’s blood, would flow to the ground, without any foreseeable stopping point, and would seep into the earth almost immediately; these drops would increase in size and density, they would draw life to themselves, from the earth, itself, and stretch through the soil, going deeper and deeper as time went on. They were like roots and would act the part of an anchor, for reasons unknown.

“The seeds have been sewn,” it whispered, returning its hood to place, and then continuing its lifeless march as though nothing had happened.

Algeroth, New Eden

A man clawed himself from the snow; there was a black cloak, underneath the snow, but it would only become noticeable after the frozen water had managed to become loose and fall off of his body. Despite the temperature and the cold, unyielding snow; the man didn’t seem all that phased by it, like it was an after-thought. Regardless, he walked a few feet, surveyed the area, ensuring nothing was around, and then he’d stop, pausing just a moment.

An armored arm shot from his chest and would bend to his shoulder, bracing itself, as legs came out, and then the full body of a young woman, a displeasured look upon her face.

“Why do I have to come, stupid?” The woman folded her arms against her chest; the armor she was wearing was heavy in the chest, but near non-existent at her legs, save for the sides of her thighs. The breastplate extended just a bit more than her breasts would have and the metal-plate at her thighs was carved with some odd, rune-like ‘words.’ Her forearms and hands were encased in gauntlets, as well. “It would have been so much easier if we did it the other way, and you know it,” she blew a mass of blonde hair from out of her face, but ignored the snow that was falling atop her head.

“You know why,” a hollow voice came from the stationary man that the woman had erupted from; hollow, but with a tinge of anger behind it. “And we’re not arguing this any further, Adele, you will do as instructed, I can’t focus everywhere at once, and I need your more unique abilities. To do things that I can’t, yes? Comprehend, do you? Very well, glad that’s settled. -- The others are already being transported and then you’ll be given a front row seat,” the stationary man smiled, but didn’t. “Remember, under no circumstance do you release Svadilfari. You know what will happen if you do, A.”

The woman snorted, but was cut off abruptly by the man: “They’re there and waiting. Come.”

The woman walked back up to the man, without another word, and simply walked straight into him; they both vanished instantaneously.

" ... And now for the bang ... "

[Sage]

Algeroth, New Eden

Girl/Aros

Girl woke up, once more, in the tunnels of New Eden's mountains. Judging by the temperature, she assumed she was somewhere in the upper levels. She tried not to look down at her front, which she felt was covered in dried blood as was often the case. She shook her head and held back tears with great effort. She chose not to think about what it was that might have become of Ko, and she could only hope it was not his blood she was covered in, as she had no visible wounds on her person. Why did the thing always hunt her down, and then kill things around her instead of just finishing her off? What sick and twisted creature took so much pleasure in the hunting and torment of another soul?

Girl pulled herself to her feet, and pulled her skimpy clothing close to her body. All she had in the world at the moment was a cloak, a hatchet, a pair of shorts, and the worn boots on her feet. And they were each defiled once more. She turned and held up her hand, and felt the cold embrace one side while a warm breeze wafted weakly from the opposite direction, and she began walking. She would find the connector tunnel to the lower levels, and make her way to the hot springs deep in the mountain to clean up and maybe grab an easy meal from the strange creatures that made the hot caves their habitat. She'd memorized various tunnels around New Eden and noted what several of them had in common. They were always numerous, and seemingly random, but they almost always had the same scheme, as if manmade. There were always levels of them, sprouting from connecting tunnels that served as the gaps between the levels, up and down.

She came across one such connector now, and slid down the slight embankment to her next leg of travel. This particular mountain did not seem to be all that familiar, and she could only guess where she was. Many of them connected to villages on the surface, and she had even discovered strange machines down in the lower levels, miles apart, but the leads and cables that poured out of them bored directly into the rock, and it was impossible to tell where they went. Nearly an hour later, she came across something she had yet to see before. The tunnel opened up into a large open cave, with no way to get down besides fall. It created a chasm between her and the rest of her intended path. She could just barely see the rest of her tunnel across the empty blackness, and she sighed as she looked around for how to get across.

There would be only one possible way, and her head swam as she glanced over the edge before backing away from it, and lowering herself onto her haunches, coiling to spring. With two or three bounding steps she closed the distance to the edge and threw herself across the darkness, surprising even herself at how much distance she managed to clear. She began to panic, however, as she saw her target come up short, and she withdrew and planted her hatchet hastily into the ledge that she had come just short of being able to reach with her hands. This wouldn't be the first time the thing had saved her life, and after pulling herself up, she assessed the precious tool for nicks before praising it mentally and putting it back away. There was but one more short trek and a slide before she found herself at another ledge, and an even stranger room. It was one of the caves, with the springs as she had seen several times before, but it was clearly inhabited, at some point.

The ledge was directly over a large pool of warm water, several feet below, and across the cave there was furniture, shelves, food, supplies, and two small archways leading out of the place, just above the level of the water. She took her time cleaning herself and her clothes, and captured some odd-looking shellfish from the bottom of the pleasingly-warm water. The cave itself seemed to be alive, ivy grew up the sides of it, which blossomed in places into softly-glowing flower buds which emitted just enough light to let a normal person see. As Girl pulled herself out of the water, she felt as though she passed through a barrier of some sort, and indeed, the water droplets on her slender naked frame pulled themselves away from her and dropped back into the water, leaving her dry.

She gasped at the shock of the feeling, like tiny bugs skittering across her skin. It was not unpleasant, but certainly not something she would have an easy time growing accustomed to. She dropped her catch near what appeared to be a fire pit, and examined the contents of the room. There were many books, weapons, and even containers of food and water, some still full. There were a few medical supplies and she even poked around one of the rooms past one of the two archways and found a bed and some coin. On the bed, was a note:

To whomever may seek refuge here,

This was once the sanctuary of a man named Alistair Baptiste. His existence and activities were a closely-guarded secret, which I will not spoil. He was my brother, and he was a man who served his country well. He was a good man, adept at protecting others, figuratively and literally. He left this place to me as I leave it to you, a refuge for any stranger who might come across this place. I ask that if you in turn abandon it, that you leave with only what you need to get where you are going, and not to loot what you do not require, aside from the books, of course, we have no need of them now.

I have come to this place, and prepared to leave and stop a very evil man whom I suggest you avoid. I will lose my life, of this I am certain. But I will do as much damage as possible before I go to meet my brother. Be well, traveler, and if you should choose to stay in this place you have leave to do so. I would only ask that you remember my brother, who made it possible. Also, please go sparingly on the bounty beneath the water, as it is 'their' only food. I actually do not know what to call them, perhaps someone will come along and name them. Also, do not harm them, for they do not not have ill intentions for you, they are just curious.

--Kai Mao Baptiste

Girl stared at the letter, blinking briefly. " What an odd and slightly insane story... "

At the sound of her voice, several sleek forms rushed out from under several pieces of the well-made furniture in the larger part of the cave and bounded up to her, sitting on the bed in the smaller pocket room. At first, she withdrew from the rodents, jumping up onto the bed and backing against the headboard, hands before her defensively. The otter-like creatures took no notice of her pose or her fright and leaped upon her, clinging to her arms and legs, and circling her neck. She held back a shriek as she remembered the note.

" Are...are you Kai's friends? " The creatures held a sly, curious expression as they seemed to contemplate the question, and then detached from her, the two of them slinking to the end of the bed. They appeared...almost depressed, as if they knew what had become of their protector. Girl instantly felt horrid about herself, the tattooed 'ABOMINATION' across her upper back burned as she leaned down. She sat on the amazingly comfortable bed and reached out to the creatures.

" Sorry. I just...I guess I haven't seen anything like you before. I didn't mean to be cruel. " The creatures seemed to forgive her and curled around her knees, lying with her as though she had been their master for centuries. She smiled, and stroked them, as she remembered another thing that had been asked of her. " You guys don't have names, either, I see. Well, I promise I'll think on it if you'll accept my apology. I fished up some of those shellfish you eat, if you want them they're out by the pit. "

The things skittered out of the room, and almost instantly she could hear them batting around the almost-metallic shells of the fireclams. She had not been able to pry them open when she had tried, and she would be surprised if the...whatever they were could do so, either. Girl yawned as she laid back on the luxurious bed. She had never once slept in a bed, and this was an exceptional one from what she had seen in villages and their homes and taverns. She couldn't remember how long she'd been unconscious this time, but she never was able to sleep more than an hour or so at a time, and she didn't know the last time she had felt rested. Her eyes shuddered, began to fall as she spotted the form of a small humanoid out of the corner of her eye. It almost resembled her, except it wasn't naked and lying down, but in her tiredness she hardly knew or cared of the difference.

" You should call them Kai, and Mao. " Aros looked at the note now haphazardly thrown on the ground, her face expressionless. Girl bolted upright and threw the only thing she could reach, a plush pillow at the newcomer, which exploded into tiny feathery bits as it collided with the black-robed Gartel. She shrieked as she pulled the covers up over her exposed form, and realized that all the time she had clutched safety in her hatchet, she had let her guard down the one time it mattered. It was a stupid mistake, this place would have seemed so obviously a trap if she was well-rested and full of food.

" Relax, relax. I'm not here to start a fight...a pillowfight at that. " Aros spit out a mouthful of feathers and faked her most innocent smile. " I'm just here to talk, I'll go if you want. " Aros really did bear a striking resemblance to Girl, and she could not help being intrigued, frightened as she was. " Who...are you? How is it that you can be so familiar of face to me? "

" That is a long, tragic, and somewhat boring story. But, listen. I know something about you. Something important. I have seen your fate, and you are going to die. "

" What is that, some sort of threat? I'm not as helpless as I look, you know. You said you wanted to talk, so talk! Who. Are. You? "

" We really are wasting time, but fine. My name is Aros, and yes, I know all about you. You are a very hurt and very frightened little girl. And you are in danger. Your current course sets you to meet a man. You mustn't go. Just stay here, or something, seems like a nice setup. At least for a while. "

" Maybe I was going to, but I can't stay here forever. The food here won't hold out more than a few weeks. And my name is..." Girl looked away, on the verge of tears again. " I am Girl. But they, they call me Ab-- "

" Don't give me that. Stop hurting yourself by holding on to that. It's on your back, you can't see it, consider it behind you. I know your name, and so do you. If I could speak it, I would; Instead.." Aros picked up the note left by Kai and pointed at it, before tossing it at Girl.

" Look, just because you look like me, and know a lot about me doesn't mean you know everything. Some call me Girl, but I was named by my true family, and that's what they chose. Why am I even discussing this with you, just what do you want? "

" I can't stay, but promise me. If you stay here go South. Stay away from Sieg, and the company he keeps. " Aros smiled, it almost felt genuine and she approached the young girl, who did not flinch away from here, and embraced her, hugging her tight to herself. " Goodbye, Ali-- "

Girl hugged tightly back, she could not explain it, but she felt a closeness to the girl when she touched her. And then she disappeared, seemingly into thin air. Girl suddenly felt a great hollowness in her chest, and gasped as a wave of sadness rushed over her, nearly crushing every bit of residual hope left in her, before the feeling was gone again. She braced herself, knowing somehow not to question what she had seen, and pulled the note closer to her. The man's name had been changed, altered just slightly in the note. It read: Alistair.

She tilted her head nad mouthed the portion. " Alis...Alice. I, I kind of like that. " Little would she know what her mother had really intended for her name to be, how could she have? But then, Aros did. Alice jumped from the bed, running to grab and pull on her split riding cloak and find her little friends. " Kai, and Mao. Your names will be Kai and Mao, and I declare that your species will be called Baptiste Otters. " Alice smiled as her little friends ran up to her, agreement visible in their clever little faces.

[Paroxysm]

“... Og nú til skellur!”

There would be no warning and no chance that their presence would be given away before they wanted; that wasn’t a problem, though. They weren’t meant to stay hidden, not for long, at least, and it would be an obvious goal, too; they just needed to get in and in, they were. So logically, not wanting to stay hidden, they needed to set off an alert, didn't they? They wanted their host to know that he was hosting, did they not? Indeed, indeed!

Several cloaked men clawed themselves through the floors and others from walls; it didn’t matter where they came from, after all. More importantly, however, would be the woman who seemed to stumble out from inside one of the cloaked men, a sadistic smile on his obscured face.

“Never get tired of that,” he cackled as he spoke, but was shut up by the woman’s glare. Clearing his throat, he continued on: “The others are in wait; teams three and four are spawning and waiting to be connected to the network. You know your job, yes? Show them the fury of Isinfier’s exile, why don’t you?”

On cue, the man who had been speaking, slumped just slightly, his shoulders dropping, and he assumed a lifeless stare. Indeed, there was no semblance of life left. He simply stood there and would do so until otherwise instructed.

“Well now,” the woman smiled and reached inside the man she had stumbled from. She’d seem to feel around for a few seconds, awkwardly, but would eventually pull a large, double-edge sword from out of the man. It was a heavy bastard weapon and would have given most men trouble with two hands; however, she held it easily in one. “Time to go a little crazy.”

The woman’s armor would glow and the shine of metal would seem to extend from her armor and move onto her skin, until it would appear as though she, herself, were made from the material.

Bang!

“She’s started.”

Another group of cloaked men stood lifelessly in a circle, surrounding a similarly dressed individual, but the one they surrounded on all sides was a bit more energetic, to say the least. Like the woman mentioned, they, too, were in Sieg's stronghold, but not quite as tangible as the woman and her 'party.'

“She’ll get some attention and the others will probably get the rest,” the man smiled and lifted the hood of his cloak from over his head. His eyes were gaping holes of darkness and his mouth a fanged smile, but these details were unimportant ones. “No, yes. No. No, that won’t be needed. She’ll do fine, but she’s expendable, anyways. We’re looking for some kind of dragon or something. Yeah, I know. A dragon. Can you believe it? Heh. The item should be near it, don‘t know what it looks like, but I‘ve never had too much a problem ‘communicating.’ as you know. The sleeper follows Adele, too, by the way, and he‘ll make sure our investment doesn‘t fall in the wrong hands.”

Their mission was relatively simple, given their resources, but it was by far the hardest they had ever decided to perform. They had no true enemies in this land, but their host would beg to argue, no doubt. They were thieves and collectors and they sought his treasure, or, at least, the treasure of something that belonged to him. They didn’t know for sure, not yet, at least, but they would. The blonde haired woman was phase one of the plan and would make the loudest racket, whether or not they focused on her wasn’t important, but she was also the truest threat in the bunch.

The woman would rip things from the walls and tear apart whatever her hands came in contact with; indeed, her strength was not to be underestimated. Her talents not to be scoffed at; her progress would rattle about the entire stronghold, should it carry the sound well enough, but her true goal wasn’t to destroy the stronghold, she didn’t care about New Eden, or the progression of its local crazy. No, she wanted a fight, and she wanted the strongest of the guards and warriors in Sieg’s arsenal to come to her. If they didn’t come right away, they would when whatever pets they had didn’t return, or she’d go find them, herself.

The other guests in this party were her associates, but even she didn’t know their exact relationship, in its entirety; regardless, they had their own tasks, and if things went right, they’d have the reward they sought.

“Bah!” The woman spat on the ground and dropped a large chunk of something, she wasn’t quite sure what it was, but she had found it and ripped it from its spot. “Ye, ye, and ye!” She pointed at three of the six cloaked men, “I’ve seen what ye can do. Start dismantling things. Make some noise, too!”

They accepted their tasks and would begin to move.

“Come, send some squishies.” She mumbled as she started back on making as much noise as imaginable.

[Sage]

Sieg/Cambria

Cambria grumbled, and assessed Sieg's intentions. Apparently it was not something for him to take care of personally, not until Sieg had his fun in any event. He made his way down to the hallway where a strange girl was running rampant on his master's decor. He simply stood and watched, his iron mask filling with life-giving oxygen as he pulled air slowly toward him. Behind him, water slowly began to trickle down a set of marble steps as the exits slowly groaned and released stone doors which sealed the area directly behind her.

As soon as the hallway was sealed, Sieg appeared at the top of the stairs and drew more water into the room with him, not an attack it seemed but an extremely unusual thing to be doing. " Well, then. I suppose simply knocking is out of the question these days. I suppose the next time I visit the family I'll simply burst through the outer wall and begin tossing bricks and sconces about, seems like a perfectly reasonable and not at all brutish and primitive way to go about acquiring one's attention. Sieg laughed in bursts as he rambled on, casually adjusting his long vest as the water level passed his knees. " I believe this is the part where you tell me what it is you want, why you are here, and all the other such finer points before the room finishes filling up and we are quite unable to converse as pleasantly as now. "

Cambria drew in the final amount of air his mask could hold while compressed, and moved back against a wall to allow Sieg passage. He checked the fit of his bracers, and flicked his palm forward once, causing a blade to swing out, and then retract after another similar motion. He checked each bracer twice before turning his attention to the opposite wall of him.

" Animals. "

[Paroxysm]

“I am knocking,” the woman spat her words out as a means to correct Sieg. Who was he to argue with how she got someone’s attention? Why, in Isinfier, this was how someone said hello, and goodbye. Not her fault Algeroth did things backwards and far more soberly than what she was used to.

The woman looked down at the water that was apparently flooding the room and seemed to chuckle. She didn’t have time to bother with that, though. If it got too much of a problem she’d just have to make a drain, wouldn’t she? Or go somewhere else to cause some havoc. Eh, the day was early.

“Huh, tell ye something? Crazy.” She scoffed from behind an armored hand, but turned her attention back towards Sieg and Cambria, anyways. “Well, boy! Don’t make m’come up there at ye,” she yelled up towards Cambria, her boisterous voice filling the room as surely as the destructive noises had, previously.

Her skin seemed to gleam with anticipation, as she lifted her sword, which had been hanging loosely form her back, attached to a leather sling, and planted it into the ground challengingly. In reply, one of the cloaked men would walk over to where she stood, standing just beside her, in fact, but saying nothing.

She frowned, “ye really don’t think I’ma die t’water, do ye? Gah! That’s no warrior’s death.”

The woman easily lifted her sword from the ground and swung at the cloaked man, the blade would go through the man, but cause no bodily damage. No, instead, before it made its exit, right behind Cambria, would be another cloaked man, randomly appearing it would seem, and the wide slash of the blade would be coming from this man, disappearing as it finished its side-ways arch. Blocking it would have been quite the feat, considering the woman’s strength, and taking the attack would have been fatal, but it wasn’t meant to maim or even wound anyone. Dodge; that was what she wanted.

“I admit,” the cloaked man, who had been used as the gateway for the attack, spoke nonchalantly, and with visible personality, unlike the other cloaked men. “She goes a bit far sometimes, doesn’t she?”

The man smiled and wouldn’t react to any attack given to him, it might have caused damage, or it might have simply went through and been redirected. Was Sieg or Cambria willing to test it? Irrelevant, really.

“How about we leave your name-calling friend to fight my barbaric friend, and talk privately, Lord Sieg?”

The voice of the cloaked man showed no concern for his ally and didn’t so much as look down at her.

“She’s quite the fighter, you know. Might be a good test for your man, here.” He suggested, but half-heartedly. “Of course, she could just keep trashing the place. Not like she’s stuck here,” he chuckled under his breath. “You have to ask yourself, ‘just how did these people show up?’ Yes?”

[Sage]

Sieg and Cambria shared a simultaneous thought and Sieg threw up his hand which caused water from around Adele's feet to freeze and spike up toward her hand in a gesture meant to intercept her, keeping her from following through completely. If it did not, and Cambria felt a break in the wind anywhere near him he would simply become annoyingly unable to be pierced, and then he would take a step away from the danger before becoming tangible again. Sieg's feathers were somewhat ruffled, though he did not look it. His face almost mirrored amusement, in fact, as though he had not seen anything this interesting in too long.

Sieg ignored the girl's talk altogether, and thus, so did Cambria. Instead Cambria addressed the man who seemed to be in charge of the opposite party. " I have no interest in needless battles, my master can tell you I need no 'testing.' It is my job to do his will, and protect his life at the cost of my own. However, my master seems to be enjoying himself, and I would not be in the least bit opposed to fighting for his enjoyment but you will either have to wait or talk here. He does not wish to be left alone with you, and I do not blame him. If I were in your predicament, I would be happy to be granted an audience after your raucous intrusion. "

Sieg smiled, seemingly appropriately satisfied with Cambria's words, though at the end of his statement he appeared almost pouty. " Now Cambria, it's not like you to lie about my wishes to our guests! I would be more than happy to see to our friend here if you would like to play with this girl. But unless I be forced to summon the golems, I would ask that your shy friends in the hoods wait outside. The lodging outside the stronghold is just as comfortable and destructible as my inner sanctum, I assure you. " Sieg raised the water level once more, warningly. Hard to make a drain when he could hold the water in place. Gravity was hardly an obstacle for Sieg's talents, and he was almost dying to get started on what he had learned with the last page of the Gradeus. " After you. "

[Paroxysm]

Indeed, Cambria would be forced to go intangible, as Sieg’s means to stop the woman’s arm would shatter the moment it latched on, and with near ease, too. Regardless, she didn’t seem to mind that the attack had effortlessly gone through him, but she did regard it with some thought, a slight humming sound coming from the back of her throat.

“ … Heh … You’re cute,” the cloaked man smiled at Cambria, but in the most menacingly way possible. It was the look a predator gave to its prey moments before devouring them whole, soul and all. But nothing would come of it; the cloaked man’s attention was focused back to Sieg, a more sincere smile adorning his features, rather than whatever it was he had displayed to Cambria. “I don’t need them to come with me,” he reassured Sieg. “They don’t guard me.”

Truthfully, the cloaked man, in all his travels through Algeroth, had never once displayed a need for guards, the company he kept, as mysterious as they were, never once acted without order, and not even to protect their ‘master’ when the unknown was occurring around them. In fact, they were passive now, even in the midst of what could quite obviously be a life and death battle.

Didn’t matter; the cloaked man, who had taken to calling himself Ito Yuu lately, would take the lead, and go to wherever Sieg wanted to speak.

“Pfft! Smart talkin’ loons.” The woman closed her hand into a fist, opened it, and then wrapped her fingers around her sword’s hilt. More ice cracked and fell off, but she paid it no mind. In fact, the water being raised some more wasn’t really paid any attention, either. No doubt Sieg was a master at his craft and gravity’s control was questionable at best, in a fight for dominance, but there were several ways to get rid of the water and all of which involved making a drain of some sort, but not in the traditional sense.

Shrugging, she lifted her sword to her right shoulder, broad side facing down, and she tapped it lightly in wait.

“C’mon, boy. How long do ye think we have to wait, eh? Just a bit of exercise; it'll do ye some good.”

[Sage]

Sieg followed the man up the steps and down a similar corridor from the one they just left, except that it was much wider, and the temperature change gave away that they were now above ground. Lined along the walls were stone sentinels all perpetually still in the same uninspired pose. Each of them seemed to be slightly different colors, and consistencies. Indeed, rarely were two golems in an an area made of the same materials. Sieg could sense his pulse, felt the liquid life flow through him, with his reaching hydrokinetic tendril senses. He cocked his head as he considered him. He was human, at least, this much was clear from the paths his blood took around his body. All his major organs were there, and functioning properly.

Sieg picked up his pace to a brisk walk, to pass the man as they began to come to a dead end leading to a large, apparently stone, wall. Sieg touched the wall lightly with the end of his finger, and the wall roared to life and began to clank upwards from the ground. Seeing what the walls were truly made of here from this angle would be daunting, to any would-be invader. There were layers and layers of material making up the wall. From magical insulation, to layers of brick and stone, and finally thick nougety centers of iron and steel. He turned and nodded, a bit embarrassed by his own excessive need for security.

" You see, I am not the most popular man. My own family would see me twitching dead on the floor, isn't it tragic? " Sieg feigned an overly-dramatic frown before cackling as he walked into a large workshop. The room was littered with unfinished projects, materials, and the typical unspeakable horrors one might expect to find laying around Sieg's home. In one corner of the room was an uncharacteristically sophisticated sitting room. The furniture and tables were covered in layers of soot and littered with paper plans, but it was not hard to tell that at one point these were the most expensive of luxuries that could be found, all velvet and platinum. Sieg tossed a majority of the plans into the floor and patted one of the chairs, which caused it to billow a thick, dusty smoke.

" Come, sit. Let's talk. " Sieg dusted off some fine goblets and issued forth a stream of fresh, steamy tea from what appeared to be a nozzle in the table itself into a pair of them.

Cambria

The water would have begun to slowly disappear from the room, leaving it only a foot-high when Sieg was clear from sight. Cambria made sure to avoid being anywhere near the cloaked men until they had left, and slowly raised his hand with an open palm and dragged it along the wall, first slowly, then with a swipe at Adele, several feet down the hall. A wall of air drug along the stone and sent dust and tiny fragments of rock in a stream of air toward her eyes. At the very least, she talked like an experienced fighter, and Cambria considered some of the more unconventional fighting methods he had learned from Sieg and readied himself for whatever it was she might have at her disposal to throw at him.

[Paroxysm]

“Yes, I believe your family and--heh--friends have made your popularity quite clear,” the man made a sweeping motion with his right arm, but continued walking. If he felt Sieg probing him, he shared nothing of it, not even the smallest giveaway. “Had I known you were going to simply come out, I wouldn’t have gone through the tiresome task of bringing my colleague into this,” he chuckled as he spoke, “she gets to be a bit too excited.”

After Sieg had offered a seat for the cloaked man, he’d take it graciously, but would not take anything to drink.

“I have a lot of resources,” the man smiled and started to speak again. “You’ve no doubt already become aware of the destruction I could bring, but I am not an unreasonable man and I doubt either of us wishes to expend the resources at our disposal; well, I could be wrong. You might like to, I don’t know you, only what those I’ve met spoke of you, but it doesn’t seem like you’d want to risk this place in needless battle.”

The man shrugged and would wait for Sieg’s response before continuing on.

Outside of wherever Sieg had led his cloaked visitor, would be a bored Adele, her skin still gleaming with the look of metal, but a hungry look did adorn her face. The cloaked men who had been near her had receded into the floor, becoming something other than solid; they were out of phase with reality, one could say. Their presence would not be felt, but they would not grow active, either; unless they were needed and called for.

The other teams of cloaked men, still inside the stronghold, had done the same thing, and would not act unless given specific orders; however, the presence of these men had not specifically been given away, for now.

“Foreplay, eh?”

The woman’s right hand gripped the hilt of the sword that lay across her shoulders, but she didn’t seem to react noticeably to the dust being directed towards her face. In fact, she walked through it, effortlessly, and only the soft metallic clanking of the rock fragments, pelting against her skin, would be heard; the woman walked with ease and self-confidence.

“Ye move like an assassin, boy. You look t’prepare like one, too,” a metallic smile was given to Cambria, but there was a knowing chill to go along with it. “I was never one for fancy tricks or testing m’opponents mettle before the fight,” she’d grow silent as she continued walking towards Cambria; the steps the woman took were heavy, weighted ones. It’d be hard to gauge how much she weighed, but it’d probably be a somewhat large number.

A silver tongue licked silver teeth.

“Pa-te-fa-cio porta,” although she had already activated the First Seal, previously, and mentally; there seemed to be a stir of acknowledgement in the armor and her skin. It glowed.

The woman’s sword was brought down, just slightly dragging against the floor, and no more words were spoken. The fight was about to start.

[Sage]

Sieg groaned in false pain at mention of his situation with the denizens of Algeroth. " Yes, yes. The masses do tend to overreact when you introduce a bit of chaos along the way to accomplishing one's goals. And no, I really don't know the limits of you and yours in terms of destruction. I find it's hard to investigate those whom you've never met before who show up and begin to fling your possessions around in a huff. " Sieg smiled slyly as he leaned forward a bit, setting down his drink, keeping up his cheerful facade.

" Having said that, I do love to keep tabs on my dear brother, and I heard you were able to chat with him. How is the King, these days? "

Cambria maneuvered awkwardly to balance himself on a pillar of air as he was lifted up to the ceiling, and turning a flip to land on it feet first as though he had reversed gravity for only himself. He charged along the ceiling, flicking both his wrists to extend the mysteriously pitch-black blades, which he hung by his sides as he coiled once more to leap at his prey. Cambria bolted from the ceiling and became briefly intangible as he passed through the airspace which Adele would be able to reach and rematerialized behind her without a noise. His proximity was so close to hers during this that their faces literally passed through one another. He appeared behind her and slashed out with as much physical force as he could muster in the air, which turned his body without planted feet to stop him. He did not fear the landing, did not have a thought for what might happen to him after the death blow was struck. He had not met a physical being yet, armored or not, to which this amount of force delivered to this exposed part of the spine would not slay. Then again, Cambria had never been far from New Eden.

[Paroxysm]

The cloaked man frowned, it looked like this was going to be a constant expression he’d have to wear, while in Algeroth, but he supposed that went with the territory. A lot of misunderstandings seemed to occur when he spoke to people in Algeroth; he had, however, believed his grasp for common was impeccable, and it had to be a problem on their end and not his.

“That’s the point,” he returned Sieg’s smile. Either Sieg was blind or he lacked the ability to actively discern potential threats, preemptively deciding what could be a catastrophic level of damage was usually key for those in leadership positions, but maybe disaster prevention was only taught by his organization.

“Seemed lively to me,” he shrugged. “Looked a little cracked around the edges and was as arrogant as I came to expect, but what can you do?”

The woman’s slow walk abruptly stopped as Cambria began juggling himself on his pillar of air; however, it was not a halt that she came to, but a sprint. Adele ran forwards, shifted her body’s weight, turned on the balls of her feet, just as Cambria passed through her, her body twirled in mid-air, her form lifted an inch above the floor, and then she stopped, on the proverbial dime, her sword was brought down, and within the instant that she touched the ground again, Cambria would find his attack blocked with an almost impossible grace, or maybe it was skill; in fact, it could have been both, for all he knew.

At the point of contact, time itself would seem to freeze, if Cambria’s sword was made from metal, or a similar substance, sparks would no doubt be given off from the sheer power placed in both actions.

“Ye can try harder than that,” the woman mocked Cambria as she drove his blade forwards, and then reared her own back, carrying her body in a small, backwards leap. “Silly assassin types,” she shook her head solemnly. “Called me an animal, but you attack the back? Ha, hvernig langt öxl ÉG skiljast, Svadilfari?”

The woman’s voice sounded like a meaty throat choking on gravel, as she slipped from common to Isinfieric, her smile growing in size, but her attention still fully focused on Cambria.

This is a game to her.

Cambria’s attack wasn’t without merit or gain, however. He would at least come to know that, despite her being an obvious heavy-weight, she moved with an almost supernatural speed, and her reflexes were top-notch. Still, at the moment, she didn’t consider Cambria much of a threat, she was playing with him, and would probably continue doing so until her colleague called for her. However, she was disappointed in the lack of knowledge on whether or not she was allowed to continue tearing the place up, as they fought. She didn’t want to push her luck anymore than she already had.