Skellbrieg (GG/WV Location)

@killer_instinct: It did not matter what Scarlet tried,the orc could barely hear her that time.But something did not felt right.Deep in his soul,he fought an inner battle to take control.A sudden thought about his father,laughing at him with a bloodied knife on his hand.That gave him enough strenght,he instantly took control of the construct.

"Run!" he said to Scarlet,the difficulty of maintaining control was immense.

He knew he hadn't much time,so he used the remaining seconds to tackle towards both mages that posteriorly hurt him.

@demolitionguy:

Frozen, Scarlet found herself torn between helping her friend and actually running away from him. Suddenly, Orba vaulted out of the air and knocked the armor mage to the ground. Kabuto protected a heavily wounded Kamina from further damage brought upon by the insidious Zephrys.

"Vor'zhul! Kick their ass!" Scarlet shouted over the din of battle.

"Quite the terrifying friend you have there, pon," Orba chirped, his bulbous blue form bouncing despite having landed.

"He's one of the best in our guild, the Band of the Ivory Skull. He's definitely stronger than those two idiots you have toying with him," Kabuto said, his faith in his friends shining through.

"Oh? Pon," Orba continued.

Scarlet donned her Earth Titania armor.

"That's right. Your knight guild is nothing compared to the bonds we have made over the course of time. Our comrades, our adventures together, make your fear of the unknown and your blind faith less than insignificant!" She retorted angrily, bringing the earthen hammer to bear.

Kabuto readied his staff magic, prepared for the next round of intense fighting.

"Then stop talking and prove yourself, pagan, pon."

---

"Brother, he knows!" Balthasar panicked, sending blades of hardened light down in a rain upon the Juggernaut golem.

"Stop, Balthazar! Remember, we can always leave him to slaughter everything else in his path!"

"As always, you are wise, brother! Let us disembark!"

But before the two mages could escape, the Juggernaut's fist exploded the air around it with the sheer heat of its body, crushing the air molecules and spattering the water droplets into a thunderous sonic boom. The shadow and light mages fell from the sky like defeated mosquitoes, but they did not surrender just yet.

"Brother, time to use that spell!" Balthazar suggested.

"No time for Orteus' approval! Open: BLACK HOLE!"

Compressing the darkness around him, Zazamell created a dense sphere of energy - denser than anything he had created before - and sent it to orbit around Vor'zhul's golem. Intense bolts of black lightning were the least of the empowered orc's problems, as the sheer density of the Black Hole spell caused his golem to erode with each passing of the sphere around his head.

"Behold, the anti-golem spell! Taught to me by Orteus himself!"

"After this, you're just as good as dead orc-boy!" Balthazar screamed happily.

But just as the Black Hole seemed to be working against Vor'zhul - for better or for worse - a bolt of golden lightning crashed down from the heavens, ripping the battlefield apart in pure energy. The bonds between the spell Zazamell had cast disappeared. The true master of electricity had finally surfaced in this battle.

The storm clouds gathered over Arthas Mor - Zephenias Stern had arrived!

@_cerberus_:

"My name is Jishad. The emblem of the royal family is not mine to touch," he opened a satchel and gestured for Stella to drop it inside.

Come, I will take you to the guild of the Coiled Viper. There, you will be safer than out in the open."

@killer_instinct: Stella nodded "As you wish Jishad" she caressed the emblem and gently placed it inside the satchel before taking a few steps back to looked at the burial of the prince one last time.

@killer_instinct: (Go ahead and post as Stern,I know you want to. =P)

@demolitionguy:

(Nothing you want to add? :P)

@_cerberus_:

The assassin opened a sort of teleportation magic, revealing the front door to his guild building through the other side.

"Besides, if we were to pursue that imp - there is a camp of around one-hundred over the next hill. You are certainly skilled to take out four of them without the others noticing. You'll fit in perfectly here."

@stern: (Nah,just do what you have to. =P)

@stern: Stella became hesitant Magic...she thought, Stella's past experiences with magic had given her an uncomfortable and slight paranoia of it and she remained motionless as if she's seen a Demon.

@demolitionguy:

"S-S-Stern!" the two mage brothers squawked.

"Yo, you've made a big-ass mess here. Forcing the Juggernaut out of a Berserker mage. Bringing Orteus and Gaiseric into one place. It's all so troublesome, for one little girl, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it is a bit much," Balthazar replied.

"Well, that's where you're wrong. Any family of the old man's is family of my own. And you've just made Lily cry. I don't like any of you,"

In a vicious flash of lightning, both Zazamell and Balthazar were incapacitated.

"Is that the lightning dragon?" Zephrys stammered.

"P-Perhaps coming here was a mistake, pon,"

"You idiots," Kabuto groaned. "You're scared of a small fry like Zephenias?"

"Better than you are, sh!tty ninja!" Stern barked from across the battlefield.

"That's my line, man!" Kamina shouted back, staggering to his feet despite his heavy wounds.

Scarlet, meanwhile, stood there slightly confused by the trio's unorthodox way of communicating. She simply raised her earthshaker hammer and brought it back down on an unsuspecting Orba, knocking him flat. The fat blue man rolled back to a standing position, bleeding from the trauma inflicted.

"W-We need to retreat, pon,"

"Agreed," Zephrys used her reflective magic to raise portals over her comrades, intent on bringing them to the safety of the Holy Knights' guild building.

"I don't think so," Kabuto decided, his staff magic now taking full effect. One of his staffs - the azure tail - sprung out of the ground and swallowed Zephrys in a miniature typhoon, smashing her against a rock and knocking her unconscious.

Panic set in on Orba's end. He kept his arms up, ready to dispel anything coming his way. Unfortunately, he did not account for Kamina's stubbornness. Smashing into Orba's bloated body with his beast transformation magic, Kamina took out the deputy commander with a single hit. Things seemed to slow down after that, but the Holy Knights along with the main Inquisitorial agents mysteriously vanished. Gaiseric returned after his battle with Orteus saying that the gravity mage called for a retreat and gathered the "necessary" comrades he needed for future encounters with the Band.

"Sounds bad," Kabuto murmured as Chaela healed his broken arm.

"Ta~da!" the letter mage chirped, having been the go-to cleric for after the battle.

Mongol had reverted back to his default kitten form, groaning with the strain of having beaten Ezekiel. The pockmarks on his body from the explosion mage's sorcery were still evident even at that diminutive size.

They were all huddled in front of Vor'zhul's tent, waiting for him to awaken from Chaela's healing spells. Even Stern decided to stick around and see the famous Berserker mage for himself.

@_cerberus_:

Jishad turned back around, his wiry form holding the portal open. He seemed confused to match Stella's uneasiness.

"Are you okay? It is more than a hundred miles to the guild building, this is the fastest way."

@stern: "It won't close on me as I'm crossing and cut me in half right?" she asked disturbed at this unnatural feature but she took a few paces closer.

@_cerberus_:

"Here, I'll hold it open for you. If it falls down, it cuts me as well," Jishad said reassuringly, propping the portal up with his body. "What is your name, anyway traveller?"

@stern: "Stella Moons-" she skipped across the portal almost appearing to teleport to the average humans naked eye "hine" she ended her sentence as fur stood up in her body and her heart beated rapidly.

@_cerberus_:

"Pretty," Jishad replied, still holding the gate between planes of reality open. He leaped through and landed about a yard in front of Stella. The portal closed at his command and he walked to the front door before kicking it open.

"I'M BACK!"

"Oi, welcome home you SH!TTY ASSASSIN!" A much larger man punched Jishad across the face.

"Back at you, you smelly oaf!" Jishad replied with a kick.

"Jishad's back!" A third assassin chimed in. "You owe me 60,000 jewels," he said to a fourth sitting next to him. "No way!"

"You swore on your mother's grave!" "She's not dead yet!" "Oh, but you're about to be!"

Friends - no, more like brothers and sisters - playing around like any family should.

This was a real guild.

@stern: The orc wasn't resting on his tent,not even trying.He had packed his spare clothes and armor,sheathed both swords,sealed his packs.The hardest part was to come,his abrupt,sudden decision would get his friend's upset or even worse,but what he had done was unacceptable.First his father,then the Red Lion Knights,now Gaiseric.From three factions,he betrayed three leaders.

He took a deep breath and slowly walked out if the tent,holding his belongings.Staring at the ground and ground only.

"I'm leaving the Band for good." he spoke on a sad tone,sighing right after.

@stern: Despite being welcomed Stella Moonshine felt intimidated almost immediately and muttered under her breath "they could end up sitting on me with out even knowing I was there" she examined the environment for a quick escape should this be a trap after all she was a lone female in a foreign land.

@_cerberus_:

"Don't worry," a feminine voice chimed in from next to Stella.

"This happens all the time. This is how they express their gladness from when one of our own comes back from a dangerous mission. It's how they bond. They're more like rambunctious little boys than men, eh?"

"My name is Aresha. I am this guild's master."

@demolitionguy:

Gaiseric was the first to pounce. He did not say anything at first, simply held Vor'zhul in an embrace.

"You need to stop blaming yourself. You fought well. I can understand that you want some time alone. Just don't say you're leaving us forever. We're a family,"

He squeezed a bit harder, tears coming to his eyes.

"And family doesn't leave anyone behind!"

Patting the orc's back, he parted the hug and backed away, an honest smile on his face. He raised his hand with his index and ring finger extended like a V.

"From now on, this means that we won't forget you. No matter where you are, we are always watching. You're not alone in this world and you don't have to feel that way. We'll meet at Dream Haven one day. I swear it!"

@stern: Stella got started and nearly sprinted to the nearest point of high ground but controlled herself at the last moment WHY IS THERE MAGIC EVERY WHERE!?! she thought while her mouth said nothing her eyes revealed what she was thinking

"Um" she paused as she tried to regain her former composure "nice to meet you Aresha?"

@_cerberus_:

"I should be saying that to you. It is a rare day indeed that we see cat-people such as yourself. There is rumored to be a pantherman in Midland named Mongol, but you are the first I have seen in Rhushan for a while. I heard your name was Stella Moonshine? That is a beautiful name."

@stern:

The orc contained himself,he would not cry,he could not cry.He felt blame,all those lifes,all taken by him.He hoped confinement would help.As both backed,the orc followed his path.Every second with the Band was a year of torture on his mind.As his last friendly act,he handed Gaiseric his warhammer and patted him on the shoulder,a fading smile at his face.He kept walking towards the unknown.

Turning his head back and tilting it affirmatively,he spoke for the last time.

"We will meet again,Band,I give thou my word."

The same instant where he finished the sentence,he vanished.A lonely figure,now lost between the shadow,with no certain destination.

Stella twirled a lock of her hair with her armored gauntlet as she replied with a blushed face "Thank you, you have a beautiful name too"

@_cerberus_:

"Thank you," Aresha said, admiring Stella's smile.

"Oi, Aresha, who's the new girl?" one of the assassins remarked.

"You just noticed her, Bosho? Are you that slow?" Jishad inquired.

"Shut up you!" Bosho dug into Jishad's head with his knuckles with an atomic noogie.

"They're all orphans, brought together to make the king's elite assassin guild. We've made it into a family we can proudly call our own." Aresha continued, watching the playful fighting with a grin and a laugh on the verge of her thin lips.

@demolitionguy:

@warsman: Stella's smiled dissipated as she remembered why she went here in the first place she turned and whispered to Aresha having (Stella's) back face the Assassins "Do they or you know?"

@_cerberus_:

(I'll reply tomorrow :D)

@warsman: (Okay :D!)

@_cerberus_:

Aresha nodded slowly, a faint glimmer coming to her eyes.

"Once Jishad stepped through the portal without the prince, we knew. This guild will not survive in Rhushan if the king found out that we failed to find his son before the imps did. The honor of the Coiled Viper would be stained forever."

@warsman: Ohhmmhm, I can't be a tick and squeeze off of them now after what Jishad did for me Stella thought before replying back "Is there anyway I can help at all?"

@_cerberus_:

Aresha thought for a moment.

"Old documents tell of a safe house in the Sfiflheim Mountains to the west. I don't know if it's there and we're unfamiliar with Midland. You could help guide us there if negotiations with the king go sour."

@warsman: "I'll try, but not really used to traveling with others" she raised her hands and opened the palms while wiggling them left and right "not that I don't want to help, just that I won't be doing such a great job"

@_cerberus_:

"I think once you find out the character of who you're traveling with, it makes it easier to undergo a journey." Aresha smiled, gesturing towards the guild members who had forsaken fighting in favor of cleaning up after themselves - Jishad and Bosho included.

@warsman: Stella gave a curious yet at the same time adorable cat look "Merow?" it wasn't the word but the sound that she said in a curious tone of voice.

@_cerberus_:

Aresha couldn't help but laugh.

"I think you'll fit in just perfectly."

@warsman: Stella did not reply she just gazed at her new allies I'll fit in puuurfectly? she thought

@_cerberus_:

The royal messenger stepped foot on the doorstep to the guild building. His clumsy steps were more than enough for a novice of the Coiled Viper to hear.

"Stay here," Aresha gestured, becoming serious suddenly.

A moment of conversation passed between the two before the messenger left in somewhat of a hurry. Aresha stood with her back to the door.

"The king doesn't even want an audience with us. He has recognized our failure and wants us out of Rhushan by tomorrow."

@warsman: "erm, what do I do now?" she asked after Aresha returned.

@_cerberus_:

"We go..."

She raised her fists, suddenly excited.

"On an adventure!"

The other guild assassins gathered around her, raising their fists into the air too.

"AYE, MA'AM!"

@warsman: "yay!"Stella said softly but her voice was drowned out by everyvody else during the AYE,MA'AM!

after they finished "okay so we go right now?"

@_cerberus_:

"Yup. There are armed guards coming down from the palace to evict us if we don't get a move-on,"

"YOU COULD HAVE SAID THAT FIRST!" The guild members shouted in unison, awestruck by their guild master's sudden airheadedness.

"Jishad, open a portal to the Rhushan border please. Everyone exit in an orderly fashion, no lollygagging!"

@warsman: "Cats first!" Stella teased playfully as she got on all fours preparing to jump through the portal in one bound before the others got their chance to cross.

@_cerberus_:

"Oi, no fair!" Bosho roared, tumbling after her and ending up rolling down the hillside.

"I said in an orderly fashion, Bosho!" Aresha shouted.

"He probably couldn't hear you with all the fat in his head,"

"I heard that Jishad!"

"Quiet! Come on, everyone, one at a time,"

Everything seemed fine and dandy until it was Aresha's turn to cross. The door to the old guild building burst open with the soldiers she mentioned rushing inside prepared for a fight. Instead, all they got was Jishad and Aresha making disrespectful faces at them before vanishing to the other side.

"Serves them right, breaking my door like that!" The guild master huffed.

@warsman: "so ....where are we goin?!" Stella said getting up and jumping around playfully as if she had fleas.

@_cerberus_:

"To Sfiflheim! The home of the mountain giants."

@warsman: She stopped and stood on two feet while crossing her arms "I have no thoughts in where that can possibly be"

@_cerberus_:

"...Eh?" Aresha sighed.

"I'm sure we can find it, though. Let's get away from the border, first of all. C'mon Coiled Viper! Let's move out!"

@warsman: Stella followed silently.

@warsman: @_cerberus_: Freedom and happiness was something Vor'zhul did not felt anymore.His abrupt leave caught everyone off guard,even himself,he hated the idea of leaving,but it was a necessary evil.The natural scent of the forest was praiseworthy and nostalgic.It made him remember of home,the Band.No foolish man survived to tell how he did get near Sfiflheim,he had passed a hard time,which he prefered to forget.

Hours after exploring the sward,he halted for a while,redeeming his breath.Gamboling towards the mound,he begun to climb it,rock after rock.The cold was unbearable,he was jaded,all the odds against the Orcish Demon.Yet,his stubborn nature would make him go on,overcoming everything nature threw at him.Ere his upswing to the summit,he found a small cave.With bloodcurling strenght,he impulsioned himself forward,reaching said cavern in a matter of seconds.

"Tis where I rest today."

And he did rest there,he made that single cavern his shelter.Where he confined himself.Weeks had passed since he left the group,he trained every single day,disregarding weariness and trying each time harder.His fighting abilities had clearly improved,slowly,he augmented his abilities.The magic was starting to get mastered,but no spectacular result was achieved.

For food,the orc used his swords to hunt down any animal on the forest.For bathing,he usually went to a rill three times a week.He's life was peaceful and quiet.On his spare time,he composed his own chanson about his deeds.A trifling habit,but it yielded sad tone songs that kept him from forgetting his main intent.

"Up high,on the rangy mountain's chill

Lies a beast which mind is wrath ill

Measureless mistakes hunt his soul

Betrayal,deaths,all were his foul

Now he confines,a dark cavern is his lair

And with all his vigor,contains the ire

A noble orc,banned by his own tribe

Which life was sold by a small bribe

Fought and defeated many foes

Tried to sink in money,respect and hoes

But that was not enough,he claimed for vengeance

Old ties were broke,was formed a new alliance

Together with the Band he fought

Part of a family he was,leastways he thought

Many clashes won,a worthy soldier he proved to be

But he hid more than eyes could see

A legendary powers,considered a myth

Awaken by his iminent death,his certain defeat

A two sided blade it turned out to become

When allies were killed on the battle tone

Now he lies alone,isolated from the world he can harm

On the lonely cave,embracing death on his life."

The sorrowful howl over the form of a descant was heard,day after day,echoing through the troubly lands of Skellbrieg.

@demolitionguy:

A month passed by so quickly in Skellbrieg. People fought. Arguments turned into bloodbaths. Countries locked in a stalemate of growing hesitation to act plotted for the worst, for it would inevitably come. The countdown to the Eclipse left no surface unchanged. Evil had awakened in earnest.

Stern had been following Vor'zhul for such a month, watching him change into a strong, isolated figure much like himself. But, he saw the same loneliness, fear, and uncertainty. The flecks of doubt and anxiety ruined an otherwise perfect warrior. The Electromagnetic Superstar glided down from his position in the treetops, landing next to the orc as he finished another series of training exercises.

Their initial silence would have to be broken sooner or later, and Stern had been silent for several weeks now. He made it a priority to speak his mind.

"You didn't have to leave, you know."

@_cerberus_:

The same amount of time passed for the members of the Coiled Viper. Aresha had already found the safe house thanks to Stella's quick intuition and sly instincts, but it did not yield the same results as the old documents of the guild foretold. Food and drink had long ago been pilfered by roaming orc raiders or giants native to the Sfiflheim Mountains. Though they had found a new house, it took more than just a few idle days to turn it into a home. With a combined effort, however, they were making progress.

Jishad had journeyed with Stella in search of food.

"Such strange foliage," the Rhushan assassin murmured, pushing the low branches out of his face. "I will never become accustomed to all of this green."

@demolitionguy: @stern: "Back in my homeland there was a lot of green" she walked up to a strange plant and began removing leaves from it "it's odd how there are so many different plants all over the world, I thought my home land was all of it until I left"

@_cerberus_:

"Eh? You sure that's not poison?" Jishad inquired about the leaves, knowing some herbology but not enough to make him an accomplished green mage.

"Where do you come from?"

@stern: Stella rolled her eyes at the first question "Come on Jishahd, you know I know my alchemy...heck I've been doing this since I was practically a kid!" she placed one of the leaves and her mouth and swallowed "yup definite healing herb"she stuffed all the leaves into the pockets of her outfit and replied to the second question "I believe well where I was most Feline's believe it to be the birth place of all Feline Civilization, I thought it was just a bunch of phewie but it did explain why only Felines were the only race there"

@_cerberus_:

Jishad snickered, knowing he had successfully annoyed her.

"A place where there are only cat people? I suppose it's off-limits to normal humans, then?" Jishad shifted his attention to the left, throwing out of his daggers and hitting a deer in the throat.

It fell down without so much as a squeak. Jishad proceeded to lift it over his shoulders, having proudly earned the guild lunch for the day.

"What made you go to Rhushan?"

@kabuto_: This question had been asked to her by different members over her time with them at least a dozen already but this was the first time Jishad asked her, she always replied with the same answer not angry but calmly "To be honest I don't want to talk about it, let's just say I don't want to be going there for a while"

Stella looked at the deer and licked her lips for being a small Feline she had one of the most voracious appetites due to her fast metabolism eating an entire turkey by herself once in a minute "nice throw with the daggers, you need to show how you do that" Stella complimented as usual it was sort of her thing now that she's been with them for so long.