Shifting Sands

COJISTO

"Only the usual legends... a dark presence, beastmen, people going in and never coming out... I'm sure you've heard them, too."

The pair emerged from the dense growth of trees to find themselves on a forest path that extended left-to-right as far as the eye could see. ...Which wasn't far, with the dense fog that was starting to roll in. It seemed the fog had reawakened Moakley's fears a little.

Moakley: P... please tell me you know where we are... and where we're going...

"Of course I've never heard of them, Joe, I've only just arrived.

"And I know exactly where we are. We're here in... This forest. I'm sure it has a name, but it pails in comparison to a name such as Cojisto!" He exclaimed loudly, being met with a slight echo. "As to where we're going, we're going in this direction. Forward. We've gone too far forward to go backwards. Are you having a problem, good sir?"

Amber turns to Horace. "Didja see that?" she whispers to him. "I think we should go that way. She takes out her bow and follows the path towards where the leg disappeared.

Now that the battle was over, Wade felt the waning effects of adrenaline and the dark spell Furor leaving his body. It filled him with a small sense of emptiness to lose that feeling of intensity. He knelt over the fallen bandit who was barely clinging to life. Looking into the man's eyes, Wade was unsure of what he saw. Fear, anger, remorse, a plea for mercy? None of it mattered, for the man had chosen his path and Wade held no pity in his heart. He thrust his blade into the man's chest, hoping to give him a quick death.

Once he was sure that the man had taken his last breath he would help George loot and dispose of the body.

COJISTO

"Well I have kind of been kidnapped, an- HEY!" Moakley was cut off as Cojisto dragged him forward, past the path and into the undergrowth on the other side.

They continued walking for another minute, the fog growing thick around them. Cojisto began to feel a little unnerved. Or, at least, he thought this was what being unnerved felt like. He'd never actually experienced it before. He turned to ask Joe, who he assumed was an expert at feeling unnerved, what it was supposed to feel like, but he stopped short.

Moakley's breathing was shallow, and his eyes were glowing red.

AMBER

The two edged cautiously down the tunnel, but it seemed the man was moving much faster than them, as they never caught another glimpse of him.

...That is, until he leaped out at them from an obscured side tunnel, causing Horace to shriek in fright. The man before them was almost feral-looking. His hair was wild, he was covered in dirt, and his clothes hung off his body in tatters. But most disconcerting of all was the fact that his eyes were glowing bright red.

He just glared at them for a minute, gasping in short, ragged breaths before finally speaking.

Feral Man: Who... who.... WHO?!

WADE

Wade plunged his sword into the man's chest, ending his life.

+25 EXP, +15G, +Tonic of Speed

George picked up the bandit's bloody corpse and tossed it off the path, down a ravine. He walked back up to Wade, brushing the dirt of his clothes.

"Nice job," he said. "Now let's go catch up with the oth..." His voice trailed off as he turned to see Shadow and Lug being held at swordpoint by a group of five bandits. One of them stepped forward.

"Shame about Ricardo, there," he said, "But, sacrifices must be made." Wade glanced around: there was currently no sign of their reinforcements.

Bandit: Now hand over your gold and your weapons and maybe we'll let you live.

"Huh," Cojisto said with a frown. "Joe, your eyes are glowing red! I've seen this before, Teetering Wilson had that before. Went mad. Are you about to go mad? Because I've come to enjoy your company slightly more than a normal person."

Cojisto paused.

"Do you need another Serenity spell?"

"I guess I'm a renegade..." Dyviltsi thought, "... again."

"I better turn myself in, or stick around and look for the actual culprit." He looked at the guard and wondered if he was dead. He certainly looked dead. He then looked at his bloody spear, and chuckled. "Yeah, that would definitely go down well."

Without another thought, Dyviltsi turned and ran like hell, applying his last Herb Extracts as he went. He knew of one place where a wanted man wouldn't garner much more attention than anybody else. If he got out of Palmira, Dyviltsi would head south, to Graw.

COJISTO

Moakley didn't reply, so Cojisto decided to cast Serenity for the hell of it. To his surprise, it actually seemed to work... for a moment. Moakley's eyes stopped glowing, and he stared at Cojisto, terrified, for a brief second.

But the spell just wasn't powerful enough, and suddenly Moakley was gone again, his eyes ablaze, and his teeth bared in a menacing grin. Cojisto noted with trepidation that they looked razor sharp. He didn't think Joe's teeth had been razor sharp when they first met.

He didn't have long to ponder, though, as Moakley took a menacing step forward.

DYVILTSI

Dyviltsi made it out of the country without incident. He set his course south, hoping to lay low in Graw.

OOC: This is quite a long trip, so you're getting a traveling penalty here. You'll arrive on my next post. Also, for turning down the Sidequest, you are now Wanted in Palmira. If by chance you happen to clear your name, this status will be removed, but for now, I'd steer clear of that country.

"Oh my, what big teeth you have, Joe." Cojisto said with a frown on his face. He was legitimately worried for his new friend. He grabbed Joe by the shoulders and cast another Serenity spell. "Snap out of it, Joe! Remember your wife and kids back home! And your little dog, Drunken Scotty! And your pet snapping turtle Justice! Don't leave them like this!"

Cojisto didn't expect this to work, so he also readied to use Flash, just in case of battle.

There were very few options available to Wade. The bandits did not seem overly impressive, but they still outnumbered him and George more than two to one. Surrendering his weapon wasn't an option, Wade was all to familiar with the practices of the common thief. He could run, he held no attachment to the mercenaries and he was fast enough to have a chance. It was risky though, he'd likely have a greater chance simply fighting.

"I am willing to cooperate of course, only a fool wouldn't see when he's defeated. I need you to guarantee my life though. He gestured toward the hostages, "You obviously don't want a fight any more than I, so let's work something out. I need to be able to trust that if I surrender my weapon I will buy my life, what assurance can you give me that you will not simply cut me down when I am defenseless?"

He wouldn't be entirely defenseless of course, he would still have his wooden stick, but he really didn't want to rely on such a weapon. As he waited for the bandit's response he hoped that the other four would arrive soon. If things looked bad though he would kill as many men as possible and escape if the chance presented itself. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

COJISTO

Once again, Joe's eyes went back to normal, and he stared at Cojisto in horror, but only for a split second. He quickly turned feral again. Moakley lunged at Cojisto, but the Pugilist stepped out of the way and let loose a Flash spell.

The sudden light stunned Moakley, who cowered for a second, growling and covering his eyes, before turning tail and running into the woods.

OOC: Follow him?

DYVILTSI

Dyviltsi slipped into Graw unnoticed, doing his best to look casual. He strolled into the bar, which was little more than a hole in the wall, and sat at a back table to catch his breath.

"Didja hear?" A voice came from his right. It wasn't directed at him, but the gossip-y tone of the voice piqued Dyviltsi's interest. He didn't look over, but continued listening.

"Hear what? If you're gonna talk to me about the he-said-she-said's of those rich bastards again, I swear I'll slit my own throat."

"If yer that inta bloodshed, ya might be interested in this tidbit, then! Ya know the Kamara brothers? The ones in Klint?"

"Those arrogant pricks? Anyone from this part of town knows that family, and I can assure you, none of us think highly of them."

"Tha's just it, though! Apparently Mr. Kamara kicked the bucket a couple weeks ago, and now the brothers are fightin' over his land -- literally fightin'! They each got their own personal army roamin' the farmland, takin' potshots at each other! And there's talk that they may end up duelin' ta the death ta settle it!"

"Okay, pipsqueak, I gotta admit, you've got me interested for once. Those assholes are gonna end up killing each other, eh? I may have to take a walk up to Klint to see this one for myself!"

WADE

"This is a robbery, boy! You want assurances, you'd best look elsewhere! But if I were you, I'd do it to save my friends!" He brought the sword closer to Lug's neck.

Wade glanced at George to see that he had begrudgingly thrown his sword to the ground. There was still no sign of their reinforcements, however, which was troubling.

Cojisto stood still, his hand cradling his chin as he thought. He wasn't shocked, quite the contrary. Any feral creature would run at the very sight of a large blinding light. It was common sense, something that Cojisto had in spades.

"But what caused this transformation, and why isn't it effecting me? Obviously, I'm too much adventurer for this thing to handle. Do not worry, feral-thing-that-makes-things-feral, I forgive you for your cowardice." Cojisto began walking forward, he could still see Joe. "Joe! Get back here!" When it became clear the man wasn't coming, the Pugilist began running.

"Glide!" He cast at the man's left shoe, the direction towards himself. He continued walking forward.

Nodding, Dyviltsi left the bar. "So, we're going to kill them both and take the land, right?" a voice whispered. He ignored it.

Usually Dyviltsi would have to find someone particularly dodgy to buy stolen goods. Luckily he was in Graw, where everyone was particularly dodgy. Or so he hoped; how long had it even been since he was... home?

"I'll hit the armoury," Dyviltsi thought, glancing around at the wolves into whom's den he had ventured. "See if the proprietor wants to buy some Dankronian armour."

COJISTO

All of a sudden, Moakley stumbled, his left foot flying upwards behind him. His shoe came flying off of his foot and rocketed towards Cojisto.

OOC: You now have a shoe flying at your face, but Moakley has been slowed down; you can probably catch him at this point, but you'll have to deal with his shoe first.

DYVILTSI

A small bell over the door tinkled as Dyviltsi stepped into what passed as an Armorer's in Graw. The burly man behind the counter turned as Dyviltsi entered.

Shopkeep: Aye, what kin I do ya fer?

"Armour," Dyviltsi stated, patting what he was wearing. "Good stuff, Dankron-made. The uniform was designed by Jorges himself. I'm selling. Are you buying?"

"AH!" Cojisto yelled. "Shoes! My only weakness!" He feigned fright before calming himself down and scoffing. He attempted to catch the shoe, which he would equip if it counted as a Household Item. If he did end up catching the shoe, he would then work on catching Joe.

If battle were to happen, he would meet it head-on. Because he had to teach this housebreaker a lesson.

With George abandoning his weapon the already slim chance of winning through force went away entirely. The situation hadn't changed, Lug and Shadow were dead men unless reinforcements arrived. If George chose to die as well that was his decision, but Wade would not simply surrender his life for the sake of some men he had just met. He hadn't lost hold of his reason though, keeping those men alive was important for his own survival. "Perhaps a coward would see the wisdom in your words, but the simple truth is that I cannot trust you. You don't want to fight me anymore than I want to fight you, I will give you what you want. Remove your blade from his neck and I will surrender my weapon. There is no need for needless bloodshed."

Wade had already decided that if things took a turn for the worst he would see the bandit leader die at the end of his blade. It was perhaps not the rational decision, but it was a far more satisfying one. The longer it took for those reinforcements to arrive, the more likely it seemed that they wouldn't at all.

COJISTO

Cojisto managed to palm the shoe flying at him with ease, then proceeded to run over to Moakley, and put a foot on his back, pressing him to the ground. Joe struggled beneath his foot.

DYVILTSI

If the armorer had questions about where Dyviltsi had acquired his armor, he didn't ask them. Instead, he just looked the Cavalier over with a discerning eye, and nodded.

Armorer: Hmm... 350 gold.

WADE

The bandit leader considered Wade's words for a moment, then slowly lowered his blade, motioning for his comrades to do the same. He still, however, had a very firm grip on Lug.

Bandit: There. Now drop your sword.

Cojisto lowered himself so that his knee was placed on Joe's back instead, putting more weight on the man. He grabbed Joe's hair and pulled his head back. "This is going to hurt me significantly less than it's going to hurt you, fortunately," Cojisto stated before slamming Joe's head into the ground. "Begone, foul demon thingy! Begone and never return! Or at least tell me who you're working for!"

"Tell me! Who does Number 2 work for!" Cojisto yelled, knowing that he would always be Number 1 and everyone else was stuck in the player 2 position.

If interrogation didn't work, he would back off and do one of two things. If Joe fights, then he'll fine. If Joe runs, then he'll do his best to follow.

Dyviltsi didn't hesitate to reply. "Five hundred," he demanded, staring into the armourer's eyes. "Anything below four would be an insult."

COJISTO

At Cojisto's question, Moakley suddenly became lucid.

"I work for no man!" he snarled at the Pugilist, causing Cojisto to recoil in surprise. His voice was deeper than it had been, and slightly raspy. As Cojisto backed off, however, Joe turned, snarling, and leaped at him.

OOC: The battle will be up tonight; I'm at work right now, and since Tiger was just waiting on a simple reply, I didn't want to hold him up.

DYVILTSI

"Well, I wouldn' wan' ta insult a customer now, would I?"

Armorer: 400 gold, then?

Wade let his blade fall to the ground, not to far from his own position. If the bandits jumped to the attack he would be able to reclaim his weapon before they closed the distance on him. Especially if their first instinct was to execute the hostages. He was almost out of cards to play, but there was still ways to stall. "There you go, now lets take this easy. Say what you want and we'll give it to you." He had a feeling this entire farce would soon come to an end one way or the other.

"I'd suggest four-fifty, but I can't really be bothered. Four-hundred it is. Thank you for robbing me."

With nine-hundred gold, Dyviltsi would potter around the town and buy a Herb, before heading to the Magic Shop to upgrade Deluminate to level five. If all went well, he'd head to Klint and ask around at the tavern for information.

---

+400G / -700G, -Dankron Guard Uniform, +Herb, +Deluminate V