The City: One Year Later (Dark Fantasy Epic) (Open, Started) (Interest thread for applications!)

[The Zango]

A few days after the meeting...
Acelle

"I've made quite a mess. I wonder if there's a launderer around..."

"You know you can always track down the Green band for assistance, all my men are under strict orders to assist any Stain members they come across" declared Acelle, as she emerged from the shadows next to Jaq, her hood and mask down, revealing a broad smile stretched across her face. She hadn't seen Jaq in a good couple of months and it was good to see her friend, though he had been a hard man to track down, as she had spent the last few days visiting all of her Red Stain contacts, digging for information on a particular 'Hawk' being sent after targets.

The search had been significantly harder than it had used to be, as the Red stain no longer trusted her as much as they used too, as the information that she held could be used to compromise them if she was ever captured, which lead to the delightful clause in her 'leaving contract' that if she was ever caught, she would either have to commit suicide, or be declared an instant traitor, which would involve alot of assassins being sent after her, alot of former friends.

However, finally she came across a Stain informant that had previously sold some information on a certain Upper district business man to a young lad who fitted the description Acelle provided, from then on, it was a simple matter to track down the target, who was already known to the Green band, and follow him until Jaq acted, which brought them to where they were now.

"Nice execution, though I would have used a couple of smoke and bang bombs, no use in risking yourself just to look good when your taking out a few guards, there are always people who need your skills and who need assistance, they wouldn't be very pleased to find you were gutted on a petty contract" continued the assassin, her tone indicating that she had something to ask of him.

Korad

"I can't take this fucking waiting Jinso! God-damn! You know, I actually envy the mages right about now, word is that some've um can teleport themselves to places in the blink of an eye, imagine, from one side of the continent to the other in the blink of an eye! Fucking bastards" spat Korad, as he flexed his arms and shifted his legs uncomfortably in the back of the carriage where he and Jinso sat on their way to Cerol district. The third of their number, a man that Korad had never met before, one Will, would meet them upon their arrival, though that seemed to be an age away.

Korad had never been one for waiting.

Spoiler: OoC @Petron and Korat

At this point, either of you could advance the story to have Jinso and Korad arrive at the meeting place with Will, I don't mind who does it

 

[Hussmann54]

"Our next step is to dig" Lazlo said. "I want to find more like us. As talented as we might be, we are nothing compared to this threat."

The thief stopped, suddenly realizing this had been largely acting on impulses. " Asael, tell me, where do you stand in all this? Im curious to know what I might be getting myself into."

 

[H20 Pirate]

"With me you'll most likely be stepping into trouble, but I'm sure trouble is never far behind you either" spoke Asael with a grin as he looked around to get a sense of the open world again, "I never cared to stand for anything once, unfortunately now I need that sense of purpose I left forsaken" explained the Cynic with a business like tone, his grin disappearing as he looked the Gentleman Thief dead in the eye.

"This world is drowning in it's own decay, and we could let it, but I say we change this world, with patience and proper planning, we could rip this city straight from the grasp of the Noble's and the Extremist's they fight, you and I could attempt to install true balance to this Sullen City" spoke Asael a confident smirk developing on his face, unaware of how this idea, or whatever it was came to him.

"It's just a thought, I'd rather let it die, mean's we do a bit less digging for individual's like us" remarked the Cynic with just the right hint of sarcasm, his smirk remaining a constant, the true point of where he stood in this sad world already made.

 

[The Zango]

"Unfortunately I've tracked you down on some business related matters, you see, we need help" replied Acelle, a slight hint of embarrassment and regret in her tone. It felt bad to track down Jaq whenever she needed help or favors, and every time she did so, she promised she would not do it again, or at least visit him for the enjoyment of his company once in a while, alas, that had yet to occur.

"Walk with me" continued the assassin, as she disappeared into an alley-way to her right, where they could hopefully walk and talk away from the prying eyes of innocent bystanders, or worse, Upper district guards.

 

[Hussmann54]

Lazlo nodded his head slightly in agreement. "What say we get out of here and into someplace warm eh? We have a place rented out for a while."

The two started walking. "I assume you werent alone in getting locked up. Any friends you have might be valuable, as Im sure we probably will have similar goals."

 

[DragonofDecay86]

Damien stood over the charred corpses of two guardsmen from Eren Douab. There was little left of their bodies other than ash and what little remained of their weapons. Damien had lost sight of Aberon and Edward during their little scuffle, but he could now see them clearly over what little remained of the squad of thirty soldiers they had encountered.

Aberon stood with his knife, it swirled with a dark purple aura, and jagged shards of rock could be seen in nearly every soldier that he had killed. Aberon glanced over to Damien, and nodded his head, which was more than Damien had received in their walk up to this room.

Edward sat on the edge of a table that appeared, for the most part, unaffected by the chaos that had just occurred in the room. Charred corpses surrounded him too, but some were more than just charred. Parts of their flesh had fallen off before their deaths, their brains turned to mush while they were still alive. Edward had a smirk on his face, and stood up when Damien looked at him.

"Do we not exceed your expectations of us Damien?" Edward asked, walking over to Damien and using a minor wind spell to clean off his gauntlets of the blood that had recently covered the surface.

Aberon walked over to the others, and stood with his arms folded while he waited for Damien to speak.

"You do indeed seem more powerful than last time Edward, and you seem quite powerful yourself Aberon. What do you say we travel together for sometime, at least until we figure out what we are going to do about everything that's been going on recently." Damien said, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"Damien, I'm sorry to say this, but you don't know just how bad it's gotten on the outside do you?" Edward said, launching into a quick overview of what has occurred in the year Damien has been locked away inside Eren Douab, "it get's worse though. I don't believe Kid is dead. Although he may have appeared to have been destroyed in the Abandoned West Coast, I sensed an energy leaving that place that was unlike anything I have felt before."

"Are you telling me that against all odds, Kid survived the resulting explosion?" Damien asked, shock clear in his voice as his eyes opened with swiftness.

"You survived didn't you? Myra survived as well, and so did I. I myself should have died, and I accept that fact but some higher power must have kept me here for a purpose. We need to band together now more than ever, which is why we truly came searching for you." Edward said, his voice hinted with a seriousness Edward was not normally known for.

"Very well, let us leave this place now though. One teleportation shouldn't drain too much from us if we pool our magics together. Were should we go first Edward?" Damien asked, looking at Edward for direction.

"We should head North, to the district of He'val. The people in the North regard mages in a higher aspect than they would here, and we should have no problem starting research on darker magics there. We can send for Myra once we set up a base camp or something, but we don't want her to involved in this, especially if Kid is still alive." Edward said, thinking mostly to himself at this point.

Damien nodded almost to himself, and the closed his eyes. In the next second all three mages were gone, with nothing but a trace of green aura to show anything out of the ordinary had happened...

 

[H20 Pirate]

Asael felt rather eager to rest in a room not built from cold stone as he followed alongside Lazlo, making certain that he kept an equal pace with the Gentleman Thief, "sadly I was not alone, my old party was made up of a banished Noble Lorel Ion, his Companion's Velen and Itsuka, a mage named Damien Matthews, and the Information Brokers Marco and Kain" explained Asael recalling the names that were imprisoned mearly a distant year ago.

"We were taken during a little escapade in Amphira, after that I only saw glimpses of them in Eren Douab, and considering the fact that the place was in the process of going straight to hell when you arrived......" spoke Asael with a distant attitude that hid a certain amount of concern for his old band of adventurers, "....They're either dead or alone and scattered about the surrounding districts, and that's if they're lucky" continued the Cynic accepting the grim reality of the entire situation as he and Lazlo continued to walk.

 

[ServebotFrank]

(Kain, Eren Douab)

In the distress of the crowd the soldier's horses knocked them off. "Now!" Kain yelled as he leapt off the roof and mustered what strength he had to run. He jumped on a horse and pulled Marco up in front of him. "Hey my horse!" One of soldiers shouted as Kain galloped through the destroyed wall into the district of Ferela. For a moment Kain thought he and Marco were home free, until he heard a sinister yell, "Run all you want Kain! I'll find you! You, after the!" Nier yelled as the Hunter leapt over the wall and gave chase to the galloping horse. As Kain turned toward an alley the a ring of fire surrounded him and within a second the horse was in flames before falling over dead. He rolled around to put the fire out before grabbing Marco and struggling towards a bar.

After breaking into the pub Kain surveyed the room for an escape or something to use against the Hunter. He laid Marco down behind the Bar and started pouring the alcoholic drinks around the room. As he heard the Hunter approach the door he grabbed a candle and jumped behind the bar and waited. The Hunter kicked the door down and sniffed loudly for Kain's presence. He sniffed and approached the bar. Come on. Come on. Come on! The Hunter clasped it's hands on the bar and Kain jumped up and shoved the candle on the bar. The fire shot up and spread around the room and the Hunter tried to stop the fire from spreading on it's body. "Come on Marco!" Kain shouted as he grabbed Marco and jumped out the window as the building caught fire and small explosions littered the sides. Exhausted, Kain lost consciousness.

 

[Korten12]

Lorel---

Lorel stopped dead in his tracks ?The South ? are you kidding me? Did you lose a bolt in your head during this year??

?No time to do debate! We can?t go to the North as we would meet lots of resistance. We must go to a Southern Port and take a boat to the North. It?s the only way.? She continued to run despite him.

As they continued, they kept going higher and higher, and eventually on a much higher floor stopped. She looked around and turned down a hallway. Down the hallway, Lorel stopped, noticing a door saying: Armory.

?What is it?? Asked Malina who was ahead.

?The armory with my clothes and such, and weapons.?

The door was unlocked due to the crisis and people constantly getting stuff from it. Inside weapons and gear filled the rooms, many weapons from other mages and such, though from the corner of his eye saw his and Itsuka?s outfit. They had no time to change, so he took a leather bag and placed them in it. Also he notices a small dagger and decided to take it.
He had lost the sword as they ran up to their current floor. Lorel held it backwards so the blade was inwards, and then left the armory. Surprisingly inside he noticed none of Velen?s gear was around.

Outside they continued down the hallway until they reached a door with glass window on it. Opening it, they were outside. The breeze felt so good, and seeing the sky ? blue in all of its glory felt great. They were high up, and if they jumped no doubt would die, no magic, unless an ultimate mage used their magic. Though all on the side of the building where stairs so they began to head down them.

Jinso---

Since it was a few days after the meeting they arrived at Cerol.

?If you can?t wait- then let?s go.? Going through Alleyways they arrived at the building. Seeing two guards outside, he threw a smoke bomb that blinded them for a moment. Rushing up, Jinso took out his mace and wacked it over the head of both of them, and then as fast as he did that, dragged their bodies into the alleyway without letting anyone see.

Once that was done, they busted the doors down ? not stealth like compared to what originally he did.

?Come on! Let?s go get our man!?

 

[Hussmann54]

Lazlo came to the entrance of the Inn.
"Well Im sure after whats happened tonight, things will only get worse." He wore a grim face, not of pessimism, but of realism.

Walking up to his room he opened the door. Estell was inside with nothing but a towel on. She scrambled to her feet from a recliner.
"Estell!..."
"Sorry, sorry. Didnt expect you back so soon!"
"Ive been gone for hours, what are you talking about?"
"Uhhh nevermind."
Lazlo shook his head, "So yea, thats Estell."
She gave an embarrassed sort of smile and shook Asaels hand nervously.

 

[H20 Pirate]

Asael followed Lazlo through the Inn and nodded in agreement with the Gentleman Thief's statement about things getting worse, it seemed the only realistic path that that the world's plot could follow.

Reaching the room and it's inhabitant Estell, the Cynic found himself troubled as to what expression would fit this slightly surreal situation, so he settled for a calm grin as he shook Estell's hand, "it's a pleasure, and don't worry about this conversation finding it's way back to normalcy, I don't foresee that happening for a while" spoke Asael with a smirk making eye contact for a few seconds before subtely studying the room.

 

[Hussmann54]

Lazlo shrugged and walked over to a table and leaned over it, planting both arms on it. "Make yourself at home Asael. We have the room for a week."

The room was rather more a suite. It was considerably larger than most, with two small bedrooms on the side, and a sizable parlor connecting them. The wall were painted a soft blue with a few paintings here and there. A small bar in the corner offered a selection of different alcohols.

Lazlo looked at a map of the district. On the far side was another of those "Reclaimation" camps. He debated trying to make a prison break. Considering the stunt he had just pulled at the first one, then the outbreak at Eren Douab, security would probably be tight as a drum.

"We cant go for it, Estell." He said as she re-emerged from the bedroom, hair still wet, but fully clothed again.
"So what now?"
"I have no earthly idea. We are running blind."

 

[H20 Pirate]

Asael nodded as he went about the room, examining one of the paintings strewn about the suite's blue walls, "nice place, it really has that "I'm not sleeping in a cold cell anymore" type of vibe to it" spoke the Cynic as he made his over to the table Lazlo was leaning over, listening intently to the conversation he was holding with Estell.

"We can't say the next few days won't be interesting, and if we put my logic to use I would start by keeping my ears to the street, see if any interesting individuals or parties find themselves needing, we just need an opportunity to either gain influence over others, or diminish the power of those we don't want expanding" spoke Asael with a business like tone, putting his studied mind to good use.

"But as for right now, I could use a bath and a mirror, so could I a point to the direction?" asked the Cynic feeling rather awkward, considering the fact he must look out of place in a suite, being dressed in prison clothes and not exactly as clean as he would like to be.

 

[The Zango]

Korad

Following closely behind with his crossbow, Korad quickly and fluidly entered the large building and began doing clearing maneuvers, his finger on the trigger of his prized wooden crossbow, his eyes narrowed in readiness.

This was the warehouse of Natel Anders, an infamous crook, scoundrel and worst of all, informer for the occupying upper district forces, if anyone was likely to know where Curtis was kept, it would certainly be her. Korad had run into the woman before and he knew he could make her talk, just like he had all those years ago. However, right now, that wasn't the problem, the problem was the five hired thugs advancing towards them, weapons raised.

Korad let a bolt fly from his crossbow and by the time the deadly tip of the bolt had lodged itself in one of the thugs chests, sending him reeling backwards whilst he desperately hyperventilated, trying to get some air into his punctured lung, the crossbow had been returned to its sling on Korads back and his scarred black steel sword was being unsheathed.

"WMake it easy for yourself Natel, call off the thugs and give yourself up!" shouted the man as he charged forwards and engaged two of the goons, leaving the other two for Jinso.

Acelle

"You remember Curtis? The man who started this whole Green band business with me? He's been taken and we need to get him back, not just because he is a friend, but because if Commandant Fischer makes him talk, the entire movement could be jeopardized" replied Acelle with a grave nod, her tone mirroring the dourness of her voice.

"Our numbers are thin and we need as many blades on our side as we can muster, my men are trying to gather recruits and we have the assistance of a small detachment of mage hunters, but we cant afford to wait. The longer we delay, the more information the Commandant could be getting and the slimmer Curtis' chances of rescue are

We can pay you, but not much, will you help us? And I assure you, the Green band will be forever indebted to you. I will be forever indebted to you"

 

[Korten12]

Lorel---

?You know Malina, I never understood where you Vampires came from.? Lorel asked as they went down the stairs.

?This isn?t the best time- but I guess I can tell you as we go along. Back in 5242, during the first major City war, Professor Albon Von, was in a bit of a wreck and his district was going to fall. So in an attempt to secure that, he looked over old legends of ancient beasts, and saw Vampires. Being humanoid they seemed to be the easiest to create. Getting volunteers of families of his district, he began to experiment. Knowing full well what the side-effects could be,

?At first he was just going to give them the strength of Vampires but decided to add some other parts to make it more ?authentic? but didn?t add things as foolish as: burning in the sun, and such things like that. Also we aren?t technically dead like the legends speak of. Our heart beats as normally, so does our blood flow, but our skin was modified to be paler.? She spoke with almost enthusiasm.

?So then I can assume that the district survived?? asked Lorel.

?Well of course it did ? its Upper District after all.?

Lorel stopped. ?Wait ? Upper District? Then why didn?t we learn of this in our history class??

?It was kept under wraps, the idea of human experimentation was looked down upon as it is today.?

In the distance they could see the soldiers from Upper District flooding into the area of Eren Douab. Mages that were former prisoners helping the attack. As they descending down they began to think of a plan to get out of the Eren Douab area, it was surrounded by walls. They stopped for a moment, a door opened down a bit more and came out Upper District mages. Once they saw Lorel, Itsuka, and Malina, one placed his hand on the railing and the stairs began to shake. Behind them the stairs began to fling off.

Malina jumped forward down on the mages, one shot off a fire ball but she dodged in. Landing on the man she ripped his throat out and then sliced up the other mages. But the stairs continued to fly off.

?Let?s go!? As quickly as possible they descended down, but then it began to quicken and Lorel found himself no longer on the stairs. Malina turned to see him falling but they could do nothing to help him. Wind began to blow by his face as they fell, Malina tried to go faster as if to reach the ground before them.

In the air he began to take his knife to get off the cuffs, but nothing was working.

Come on? come on?!

Then suddenly something came over him, red lines over his arm began to appear like snakes. Blood from them flew out, then as if strength lost came back ? he brought up his arm and then back down onto one of his cuffs and it shattered, and then he did to the other. His magic began to flow out but not in a good way, suddenly huge amounts of pain.

More red lines began to appear over his arms and face, and blood squirted out. ?AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!? he screamed.

Bringing out his arm, he used wind magic to blow Itsuka next to him who has separated in the air, and then put her over his shoulder. The ground was getting closer with every second, and Malina wasn?t going to make it. Suddenly his magic didn?t work, he tried to slow them down, he wasn?t an ultimate mage, but he was going to attempt something but no magic was coming out, but blood was.

In a second, they hit the ground, but the only pain that was coming out was from earlier, smoke filled up the area but when it cleared, it was Lorel, standing with a huge crack in the ground. Blood was stilling coming out, and his body began to give out. Just before that he took Itsuka?s cuffs, and broke them. Immediately he noticed the results, her eyes opened and began to calm down to her original green glowing color and her breathing began to normalize.

?Lorel..?? She spoke still tired.

But he couldn?t respond, as he just fell over to the ground, just as Malina was arriving.

Unknown Location ? No Specific character---

Three and women sit around a table, much like the Nobles but also very different. The room dark, and barely able to make out the setting.

?So according to this letter, Eren Douab will be attacked. If not already has been.?

One of the women chuckled. ?Does it matter??

?No ? it doesn?t for the most part. But remember, 1, we had some interesting captives there.?

?You mean like that Velen fellow, but wasn?t he released?? Another man spoke.

?That?s true, but it was Mar who asked us to let him out. I wonder what that man is planning. But no that?s not who I was referring to.?

?Who was it then that you were referring to 6?? Asked the women.

?Ma?sho Kinshi, from that name alone you should all know now.?

One of the other women stood up and slammed her hand against the table. ?Ma?sho? You had him there and you didn?t tell us? Ma?sho Kinshi, the man with the ability to bring the end of all of us here!?

?Former member of the Mage Hunter Council, Number 9, I thought he vanished??

?Nope ? and now he is going to be let loose. But don?t worries, I already told Number?s 3 and 7 to go after him, that is why they aren?t here. But alas it doesn?t truly matter, he has been rotting in there for over thirty years, his memories probably fail him and he has from reports descending into insanity.?

?If he does remember??

?Then we might all die ? but he doesn?t know of the new Eren Douab in the Southern Mountains??

 

[Hussmann54]

Estell pointed to a side room door. "Bathroom is right there"

Lazlo looked on the map further. He really wanted to bust the second reclamation building, but it was too great a risk.

Spoiler: ooc

not much to say ATM

 

[H20 Pirate]

"Thanks" briefly spoke Asael as he made his way into the bathroom, quickly preparing a hot bath so that he might wash away the stink of the prison, it wasn't a moment after the water reached the perfect temperature that the Cynic undressed and took his place in the ornate tub.

As he bathe he took a moment to let out a sigh, fetching a hand mirror he had placed on the rim of the tub, examining for the first time in nearly a year the face he called his own, again counting the scar on his eyebrow and another smaller scar that had gone unaccounted for on the right edge of his lip, taking a second to stare into his own cold eyes to see a shameful drive that had begun festering long before Eren Douab.

 

[ServebotFrank]

(Marco, Ferela)

Marco woke to the sounds of explosions and fire. Ash was falling down on his back as he found the strength to stand up. The pain from the stump on his left hand was gone but it was hardly happy news for Marco. He slipped in and out of consciousness when Kain carried him so he was aware of the situation. Better get Kain out before more Mages arrive. I have no choice but to go even deeper in the organization for help. The Shadow Agent is where we must go.

Marco limped over to where Kain laid and shook him awake. "Marco? You're awake?" Kain muttered. Marco whispered back, "Yes Kain, you did well in getting us out of the prison but we need a place to go, and I have an idea." "But we have no where to go Marco! They'll be after us even more then ever now!" Kain argued at Marco's answer. Marco hung his head before replying with his optimistic idea, "I think we must go to the Shadow Agent." Kain looked at Marco with surprise in his eyes, "How can we do that? No one knows who he is! Even his men are hired through agents." "Think about it Kain. The Agent is the best Broker in the city. He probably has essential information that could help us. Not to mention the fact that we need information now more then ever. Last time I looked into the Agent his base of operations is in the South, but that's all I know."

Marco hoisted Kain up and they walked out into an alley to look for an area to rest.