Suspicious activity...

[Anonymous]

Vincent gazed up at the road before, a simple dirty road with deep tracks. Tracks that had been covered up by dust, rock and slag, but not natural vegetation. Had the innkeeper been entirely truthful, the forest would be another right turn, about twenty minutes of straight walking and then another right turn. After that it would be clearly visible to his right, had the man explained. Vincent hoped the make had been honest, he did not want to return. The sound of travelling merchants and farm animals soon died out behind him as Vincent progressed further down the road. Soon he was left alone with the sounds of the forest, birds chirping, a bush rustling here and there, a daytime owl oddly out of place.

It was something of a rare occurrence for knights to be out on their own, and it would have been even stranger still had Vincent been specifically ordered to go seek this out. The man was here on personal business, cleaning up nooks and crannies throughout the kingdom. Granted this was an actually an extension of an earlier mission, something he had heard from a bandit they had arrested not too long ago. Strangely enough the man had chosen to be captured instead of leading them on a wild chase into the woods. A few hours later Vincent had "persuaded" the man to share his reasons such an easy capture.

"Just a little bit further now..." The man spoke to himself quietly. Thinking out loud was a bad habit and not something any soldier should be indulging out in the field.  The innkeeper, as predicted, had been giving out false information. The road had taken the traveller to nothing more than a forest clearing, despite following the directions the road had not brought the supposed crypt into clear view. Knowing that dangers may lurk ahead, the stalwart defender continued. Each step grew more confident than the last and Vincent pushed aside branches until they became too thick to move. The forest swallowed and enveloped the tiny human, taking the visitor into a world of darkness.

Daylight became scarce as Vincent pressed on, thick wooden arms and green leaves only let through small rays of light here and there. Unlike your ordinary forest this one lay completely silent. No birds were audible, not a singe hare rustling through the bushes, not a single thing. The mute forest looked more and more hostile with each passing moment. "Silent as the grave..." Vincent thought and looked about, keeping his trusted sword and shield ready. Something stirred in the bushes not far away and caution surged through the lone soldier. Who, or what?

[Anonymous]

It had been a boring day, and not a very normal one.

The normal part had been that it was boring...and the boring part was that it hadn't been very normal. At least, that's how it was gong to be remembered today. If things had been fun and exciting, than it would have been a normal day, but that was not the case. No, today was boring and not normal, at least, it had started out that way. A routine investigation into finding some bandits had turned into nothing but a stroll through the woods. Not that there was anything wrong with it, other than being boring, but it felt like there was something...wrong about the whole thing.

Like the fact the inn keeper had decidedly lied about there being bandits here.

When there was time, a return trip to that innkeeper would have to be made. Some strong words would have to be said, and feelings would need to be hurt, and eventually someone would have to end up apologizing and buying an awful lot of ale to make all that hurt go away. Not like the ale did anything, but it tasted nice and it was fun to pretend that it actually did something. One day she'd actually end up getting drunk, when she wasn't what she was now, which was to say, enjoying the now normal day.

"Hyah! Ain't got nothing on me lil critter!" It was a holler, to what, and from what, that wasn't exactly clear. The person hollering was decidedly female, perhaps a little uncivilized but definitely female. What had been hollered at though, simply squealed angrily. What burst from the bushes was something completely unexpected. This world didn't have even an approximately proper name for the person, nor would they for several hundred years no doubt. The young woman, her long brown hair tied back in a pony tail, situated underneath a strange long brimmed hat, was sweating heavily as she stopped running to face the bushes. She wasn't a city dweller though, her bronzed skin and muscular upper body definitely led one to believe she was from the country. The only question was which country? She wore a strange tunic, one that had no sleeves and a generous v collar that showed her sweat soaked cleavage.

She was a rather confident looking woman, her brow was knitted, and her strange eyes, each only white with a feather silhouette dotting the white landscape were set in stone. Her mouth was twisted into a confident grin as she suddenly got into a wrestling stance. "C'mon you fur bellied bastard, you think yer gonna take me down? Haw! You haven't wrassled my brothers, now they're a force!" She yelled her insult out in her strange accent. Her long leather boots sunk into the ground as a squealing came from the bushes, preceding a large wild boar that charged out through the thick brush. The creature looked rather enraged, tusks covered in froth and eyes wild as it headed right for the woman.

She was not in any danger. It was quick, her hands grasping onto the tusks and holding on tight as the creature tried to shake its head and flail its legs to get some traction. It squealed as the woman just grinned, holding onto the beast easily. With a surge of her muscles though, she suddenly began to twist her upper body a little to the left, and the creature gave a cry as it was suddenly upended, sent spiralling onto it's back to the woman's side. It flailed pathetically before it managed to right itself, taking off like an arrow while squealing in confusion and perhaps even embarrassment. "Yeah! You better git you little sow! Iffin you ever want a rematch you come find me an' well dance again!" The woman called out to the pig, shaking a fist in triumph. "That'll learn you to mess with a Savaros!" The creature gave out one last squeal before it disappeared out of earshot. A large grin was on the woman's face as she dusted her hands off together, turning to suddenly notice that she had a visitor.

The man could clearly get a better look at her, especially her face. A long scar made a road down her face, down from her forehead, across her right eye, and ending just above her small plump lips. Said lips turned into a slightly disarming grin, though her unnerving eyes, pupils and irises made up of feather silhouettes stared unblinking at the man. "Well hell, Ah didn't think there'd be anyone in here!" She cried out in her folksy good natured way. "What's a tin man doin' all the way out in this big ol' forest?"

[Anonymous]

What an odd forest, it was as if the trees themselves were reaching in to try and strangle him. Perhaps the forest itself was nothing more than a state of mind and the reason for the darkness was not due to any unnatural growth and the forests deformed wooden inhabitants, but rather something else. Getting lost in various trains of thought could be dangerous when in such a place, the chasing of ideas and theories was best left to a quiet workspace in the safety of his private abode. Thinking too much about this and that was an easy way to get yourself into a hunter's trap, trip over a branch or simply walk headfirst into one of these many branches.

Sudden and abrupt noises snapped him out of deep contemplation and the soldier quickly jumped back. Cautious and alert eyes scanned the entire area and searched eagerly for the source of this odd sound. Seeking cover and scouting at the same time was quite the feat when wearing armour and though he had chosen not to bring a helmet, the breastplate did more than its fair share of making the man feel like beans being boiled inside a can. "Hello?" Vincent shouted and moved to pierce the pushes and finally get a glimpse of this ruckus. Navigating through his forest was a challenge unto itself though and coupled with the heavy armour, it was only a matter of time before these hops and skids would earn him a new bruise of two.

As the woman wrestling a swine came into view, had anyone ever seen such a distraction, Vincent braved feats of agility that simply would not be possible. "She can't be trying to bring the thing down, can she?" He pondered and tried to hop through a thick thicket and onto the final branch, out into the battle arena. His metal-clad right foot lost its gripping and hooked onto deceptively crooked root. The Serenian metal-man fell forward, only to come face-front with another branch. This caused him to somehow shift direction and instead of falling down, his feet slightly twisted and eventually the entire man came tumbling down onto his side.

"I'm all right! Hold on!" Vincent shouted through the enormous struggle that was simply standing up. With some effort the young man finally managed to right himself, hacking through the roots in a single swipe. Damn shrubbery made him look like a recruit wearing battle garments for the very first time. "This has bruise written all over it.." He thought glumly, raising a gauntlet to feel the sore spot on his forehead. Good thing the surrounding area hadn't been covered in poison vines or some such, that could've had truly disastrous results. It became painfully obvious that the woman had not been in any particular danger. Despite boars that were somewhat renowned for being especially boar-y, she had prevailed with a little effort.

The woman had screamed a name, Savaros. Vincent had a good idea who most families of note were, in fact he had a very good idea of who most families in Serendipity were. This woman did not seem to belong to any of them. Certainly not any noble house, those he knew personally. "Pardon! Madam, My name is Vincent Yates. And I am looking for a crypt, have you seen any nearby?" Vincent did not simply blurt out his question, but took a knee and posed his query quite royally. The introduction came with a proper bow, just like one would expect from a man with pedigree upbringing.  Knights gonna knight.

[Anonymous]

Clearly that innkeeper was either very bad at giving directions, or very good at giving the wrong ones.

Whichever one was the case would be worth investigating later. For now the current investigation took precedence: one that Alicia had happened across by chance not too long ago. It was odd how quiet the forest was. Usually there was at least a bird or few singing and a few other signs of life, but thus far, nothing. Total silence prevailed, as well as increasing darkness as the thick trees blocked out the sun.

These were conditions in which Alicia thrived. An expert at silence and maneuvering in darkness, she would only contribute to the silence as she made her way through. Her ears were kept sharp for any unexpected noise that might tell her of the presence of others. After all, if someone was intentionally giving bad directions toward a group of bandits, a trap of some sort certainly wasn't out of the question.

It was then that just such a sound would catch her attention. Someone - a woman - was shouting in a strange accent. Staying low and out of sight for now, the rogue creeped toward the noise. In a place like this it was better to be safe than sorry when encountering random people. As she drew closer, she could hear some sort of squealing. Okay, so maybe it was just a person wrestling a pig.

Then in the distance another, more familiar voice came. From a safe spot she watched as the man stumbled onto the scene, stifling a giggle at the sight. It must be hard to maneuver through the forest in all that armor, but even still falling like that couldn't have been his proudest moment. The two noticed each other; the strange woman gave what seemed to be a friendly greeting, and Vince was...well, being Vince, showing a level of propriety that seemed a bit out of place here.

Not that she was surprised.

Hearing him state his purpose revealed what she had suspected: his target was the same as hers. This made her happy in a way. It wasn't often that she got to work with her brother. Hell, she didn't even see him that often.

"It's funny," she said casually, stepping out from her hiding spot so the other two could see her. "You wouldn't think a crypt would be so hard to find." Once she had their attention, she shot Vincent a bright smile and a little wave. "Heey, big brother!"

[Anonymous]

During the fight, she largely had to ignore the young man tromping around in armour. Though he was making an awful ruckus, one of her eyes simply rolled around in her head to get a better look at him. For most people, they couldn't do this. The eye was attached to a stem and all that, made it impossible to literally roll your eyes into the back of your head. This woman however, didn't have the exact problem. Her eye was free to roll and move in any direction that she so chose. One eye focused on the problem at hand, the other focused on a problem that might arise.

He didn't seem all that threatening. It was hard to keep focus on both things at the same time, more so since the boar was the clearer danger at the time, but she was rather amused by the fact that the man tripped and stumbled. Served him right for wearing all that armour in a forest, and then trying to run in the armour. Wasn't the brightest one in the forest was he? Ah well, he'd learn eventually right?

His well being wasn't really a concern at the moment to her. The boar was the pressing matter. Once it had been dealt with though she could turn her attention more to the young man who was trying to make himself out to be a knight. She wouldn't deny that she admired his courage, it got her skin a little flushed just thinking that there was another person playing hero out here! Course she had only stopped the boar from picking on some smaller critter for eating its leaves but that was still a heroic victory in her mind.

And he was a gentleman too! Not that she cared much for that polite bowing and scraping crap, but the fact that he was acting so nice made her smile a little. Though, being called Madam was slightly insulting. She was a Miss at best! Nary a wrinkle on her after all, perfect as the day she had turned twenty something! Oh that was ages ago. Still, she was old enough to be a madam, but darnit she didn't like to be called that.

The girl knew that if she had been one of her brothers, she would have spotted the hiding woman long ago and would have prepared for it. However, she had been too focused on different things to really worry about what she should have done. Fact was she was slightly out of her element. The usual large belt with holsters that went around her waist was missing, and her thick duster was also missing, having left it back by some trees as to not get them dirty.

"Hold on there lil lady, I haven't had a chance to introduce m'self." With that she turned on her heel and quickly darted into the bushes. Theatrics was what she did best. It only took her a few minutes to return, her entrance now preceded by chiming metallic noises. She stepped out of the bushes in her proper garb, the garb she had gotten so used to, and the garb that got her odd looks. A strange black coat was on her person now, the thick material went all the way down to her boots and was lined with buttons up the front. Not that she bothered to do them up right now. A black belt was hanging through the holders and wasn't bound around her yet. A thick brown belt was now around her waist, a large buckle at the very front of it had an ornate rose and feather design on it. One couldn't see them, but there were strange sheathes on either side of her hip, holding some strange looking weapons.

"Tha's rightly better. Names Vortexi Savaros, of the Savaros. Adventuress and Heroine for hire. Whether it's bandits in a forest, a landowner trying to run his neighbours into debt, or a cat up a tree, you can always count on Vortexi Savaros." The woman reached up to her hat, that large stupid grin still plastered o her face, and she tipped her hat to the siblings. "Now, what's this about a crypt in a forest? Awfully strange place ta find something like that here."

[Anonymous]

Before this odd woman could return the courteous introduction, something interrupted the newly acquainted pair. A familiar voice, one that Vincent had not had the pleasure of hearing for quite some time now. It was none other than the family's slightly discoloured sheep. The rather homely looking long-haired girl. Her height, just like that of Vincent, was not particularly impressive. In fact neither of them had any odd physical traits or sharply distinct features. To tell them from another one would have to get up close and notice the details. Granted, Vincent's body had more than a few marks, such stood his testament to battle and the righteous cause.

Vortexi almost cut their reunion short and then hopped into the bushes, apparently looking for something. Vincent paid the woman no heed for the moment and instead lugged over to his sister. "Beloved sister, you return. And how you've grown!" Vincent exclaimed jovially, the man's face positively beaming. With decidedly less effort than earlier, he eventually spanned the distance between the pair and lifted up his younger sister. Compared to the armour and daily exercise, the young woman was as light as a feather. There was a nagging suspicions that she might not take too kindly to being treated as such, but the price of a loving family was high. Ruffled hear, pinched cheeks, unwarranted kisses and occasional tosses into the air. It wasn't easy not being an orphan.

No more than a few moments after their joyous reunion, did the woman step out of the bushes,  unveiling her full attire. It was unordinary to say the least and the garments did not seem to have its origin in any port or town Vincent could think of. A savant in the tailoring arts might notice other unusual things and an expert of history might have other things to say about the uses of the leather and when it saw the most frequent use. Vincent on the other hand thought of nothing more than its application in combat and whether or not the amount of protection offered would offset the amount of desired freedom. Female soldiers always gravitated towards less encumbrance and more mobility. Robes had never been useful for much except concealing weapons and projecting that nomadic look.

She introduced herself as a heroine for hire but judging by the tone of her voice, Vincent figured that it might as well have been called Champion of Justice or Protector of the Weak. "A pleasure, Miss Savaros. And from where does the esteemed heroine hail? If I might be so bold" He asked. Perhaps the attire was nothing more than a trend among the youth or perhaps the belonging of a small and well hidden clan. They certainly did not belong to any of Serendipity's rivalling nations.

[Anonymous]

Well, that was...odd. The strangely-dressed woman said something about introducing herself, and then disappeared. Not that Alicia was particularly complaining; at least it gave her time to reacquaint herself with her sibling. Speaking of which, he seemed already on his way to meet her, dropping much of his formality along the way. She quickly found herself snatched from the ground. "Hey, put me down!" she said, but it was through laughter as she returned the embrace. She'd expected something like this, really; the two kept in touch by mail but it wasn't that often that she showed up in person. Especially not in a place like this, although that was just a lucky coincidence. "I see you haven't lost any strength!"

It was only a moment later that the strange woman would return, clad in more leather and more belts than before. Everything about this woman was unusual, really - her attire, her attitude, her name, even her manner of speech. However, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She was lively, if a bit flamboyant in her own way, and she seemed to be a friendly sort. Indeed, Alicia could see herself getting along with her well.

But then, with most introductions aside, it was back to the matter at hand: finding the crypt deep in the forest after having been given bad directions. "Yeah, funny that someone would go to the trouble to build a crypt out here. I'm guessing you got the same bad trail I did, huh?" the question was directed toward her brother. "But at any rate, there's supposed to be some bandit activity around it, and well, we can't very well let that continue, can we?"

[Anonymous]

She definitely liked the attention that she was getting from everyone. That's what happened when you wore an outfit like her own. It got you noticed. Plus the noise that her boots made were awesome! These people had yet to get into the idea of spurs, and she didn't wear them with animals. It gave her no pleasure. Now, if someone wore them when riding her that would be a whole different story! That however was a completely different matter that these fine folks didn't need to hear about.

After all, there was a lady present!

"You may be so bold Vincent, but Ahm afraid that Ah can't rightly tell you. Last people down south that I tried ta explain my presence to wanted to bern me fer being a heretic an' a crazy person. Wasn't mightily neighbourly of them, but ah can understand their reasonin' I suppose." She was definitely a strange woman wasn't she? There was not a whole lot to her, she had an honest face for the most part, a bit mysterious with the large grin of course.

At the words of the other woman however, Vortexi pulled from her belt a strange metal object. It resembled a pistol from Connlaoth, however it was so much smoother and well designed. It was smaller too, and as she held it up to run her hands along the cylindrical barrel and spin the chamber, nothing seemed to fall out, whereas usually black powder would. "Now hold on a minute, where I come from, we introduce ourselves to strangers that we're gonna work with." She clicked the chamber back into place and lowered the weapon. "Two of you seem mighty acquainted, 'fraid I'm the odd pony out here then." If there was one thing that Vortexi didn't do, it was trust people that didn't give their names.

[Anonymous]

Alicia casually remarked on Vincent's strength, and boy wasn't that the truth. They were not the muscles of a man who would engage in rigorous training for show, they were the muscles of hard work and strenuous military exercises out in the sun. "Not nearly strong enough Alicia, not nearly strong enough" Vincent replied, feeling that the comment came out as more sombre than intended. Perhaps it couldn't be helped, considering the nature and meaning of the statement. At this point it was no longer the weight of the armour that slowed him down, but the hassle that came with a midday sun and boiling breastplates. It was to this end that the man had laid careful enchantments on the gear, so that it would actually be viable to not clad every part of his body. The enchantments would at the very least provide decent protection against magic as whatever part of enchanted gear he donned, could always stretch out its field a few inches.

Many a soldier had yearned for any kind of magic that would reduce the hassle and weight involved in these protective garments, Vincent dismissed them without a thought. "It is not just the weight of armour you feel. That is the weight of responsibility. The weight of every single man and child who believes in the Serenian Army!" The mans voice would echo across fields of trainees and rookies who had not yet proven themselves in proper battle. The horde of young and uncertain who would one day be thrust forward onto the killing fields in the name of religion, conquest and patriotism.  

Vortexi chose to not share the name of her birthplace, as was her prerogative. She didn't strike him as a foreign spy or intruder, pursuing the matter further would be pointless. "Very well. We are both Serenian." Vincent replied proudly, placing a tight fist over the mark on his breastplate. Apparently some people had not taken too kindly to her answer and run the poor woman out of town. If someone had tried to treat Vincent that way, he might not have been as understanding. Alicia ushered them towards their common goal, but Vortexi halted the pair once more. She produced some sort of gun and directed her attention at Alicia. Once again his sister had foregone some of the more base formalities.  

"This is my sister. Alicia Yates." Vincent shared on behalf of his sometimes not-so-polite sister. At the same time he offered a slight nod to his kin, to queue for a royal curtsy. He doubted that she would take the hint, or heed it if she did. "With such matters out of the way. How about we move along. If there is something here, then it is certain to have taken notice of our presence." Vincent replied casually and gripped his weapons. All things considered, whatever lurked about was bound to notice the sounds of pig wrasslin' and armour collapsing.

[Anonymous]

Alicia never was good at giving introductions. One of the earlier lessons in etiquette as a child was regarding giving proper introductions, and therefore that was one of the first lessons she decided intentionally to forget. "Right, sorry," she said with a friendly grin. She caught the nod from her brother, and her look turned into one that said you're kidding me, right? Clearly she was not a fan of the curtsy. "I'm Alicia, like he said. Good to meet you, Vortexi."

But then, back to business. Having finally seen the odd woman's weapon, Alicia was immediately wary. She was familiar with the Connlaothian firearms, having had to venture into the nation on a few occasions. It wasn't a place she liked to be, despite the relative ease of hiding her own magic using ability. Still, while this device looked similar to Connlaothian weapons, it was just a bit off. Maybe it was a recent redesign? Either way it suggested that this woman was possibly Connlaothian.

However, if that was the case, she was a long way from home and was acting remarkably friendly.

While this did warrant an extra bit of caution, Alicia wasn't about to start making accusations. After all, Connlaothians didn't tend to be subtle or secretive about their hatred of magic, or of their nationality. Perhaps the weapon was stolen, then? Maybe she would have to ask where she got it later; for now, her brother had raised a good point.

"He's right," she said. "Wild pigs aside, it's way too quiet out here. Could be something around that's shutting everything up, and if there is I'd rather we find it before something finds us."

[Anonymous]

"Ah hope yer talking about yourself an' your friend cause I'm not what ya are." In honesty, she had no nationality to herself. It wasn't exactly something she like to share with people. Yes, she had a false life that she had once believed, but she knew her true creation had been implanted. That everything she was had been written out a very long time ago. She wasn't going to get caught up on that right now, because at this time, she was totally able to do what she wanted. Ain't no pesky Gods round these parts to disturb her.

"An' a pleasure to meet you too Alicia. Well now, tha's more like. Always good to introduce yerself because then everyone will be able ta say 'That's the hero, Vortexi Savaros, that saved our village.' An' then ya won't be lost to history." Oh yes, she was a little bit of a delusional one wasn't she? She would never be forgotten, it was one of her goals really. She really wanted to be remembered forever or at least for many generations at least. "Aw, ya'll be worrying for nothing! Hard ta sneak up on me." She said as she reached up to her eyes and tapped on her right cheek. As if by cue, her eyes began to roll around in the socket like loose marbles.  "S'like havin' eyes in the back of m'head, but better." She focused them forward and grinned goofily at them.

"So you in search ah bandits too? Or was there somethin' bigger than a piggy to wrassle out here?" She was getting a little antsy, her adrenaline had just gotten pumping when that stupid pig had run off.

[Anonymous]

Thought recent events might have made them currently unaware of it, or rather make them forget, Vincent was absolutely certain that they had all felt something when entering the forest. Something in the air, something not quite natural. The pair had not joined him on the earlier excursions in the nearby area and were not quite up to speed. "There's something far more malicious than Bandits lurking around here..." Vincent muttered. The man took a few cautious steps around and examined the area. He stopped and focused as a few moments flew past. A moment more and he had located the general direction of the...uneasiness that this place exuded. It had to be the direction of the crypt, not a shred of doubt in his mind concerning the matter.

"We were hunting bandits and highwaymen no more than two days ago. We chased the remaining few along the roads and eventually they reached the edge of this forest. They chose capture and execution, rather than going in." Vincent spoke whilst leaning down and running his gloved hand through the grass. A strange sensation surged through his hand, despite the layer of steel separating them. These bandits had not been simple ruffians letting merchants pass after loosening their purse. Murder when there had been no need (was there ever?), and worse done to many. Hard criminals, choosing to surrender rather than braving these very woods.

The lengths through which Vincent had been forced to go in order to make one of them speak. There were certain things Vincent knew his sister would not have the stomach for. "The only thing the bandit told me, was that they gladly chose death over the alternative these forests offered." No more than a second after finishing his sentence, a foul and powerful wind threatened to tip them over. The wind's howl reminded him of a similar wail he had heard many a time. It was the type of cry often running across the battlefield and hospitals alike. "The sound of someone begging to be put out of their misery" Vincent thought, keeping his recollections hidden deep within. There was no need to further frighten his two temporary comrades-in-arms.

Vincent looked around and took another second to focus his senses.  He carefully closed his eyes and listened. It's not a magical skill, but not something one can easily be taught either. It wasn't necessarily the stench of death that lingered, but the smell of unnatural life. The forest was breathing in a way that simply disagreed with him. Suddenly the powerful roots and branches of an old oak whipped up into the air and threatened to slam down on all three. The branches had perverse veins running along them, flesh integrated into wood. The trees branches looked like an abnormally long biceps being stretched and twisted in inhumane directions. Vincent was unable to shout out even the most bare of warnings as a thick vine shot of the ground and wrapped around his neck.

[Anonymous]

Alicia stifled a giggle. Vortexi seemed to go on a lot about being a hero. She wondered how much success she'd actually had in that regard. At least there were a lot worse things to obsess over; the world needed more people who would rather be a hero than a villain, especially in the case of those who were more than just talk. Whether that was the case here or not had yet to be seen.

That eye thing was weird too, but it just added to the list of oddities about this woman.

Her brother's words would once again snap her attention back to the task at hand. So it wasn't just bandits they were after, but something dangerous enough to scare a group of them off. It didn't really take that much to outdo your typical group of bandits, but that didn't change the fact that some groups were disproportionately fearless. It was odd, then, that they preferred capture over entering the forest, especially when capture meant execution.

Apparently whatever was here offered a fate worse than death. That was particularly worrying, but perhaps worse was the thought that Vincent had apparently planned on handling this problem alone. When the agonized wail cut through the air, Alicia froze. Her brow furrowed as she thought of the implications of this voice. Her hand rested on the hilt of her dagger.

It was time to get serious.

Just then, one of the trees moved. The rogue quickly tumbled out of the way of the swinging roots and branches, only to see the vine wrap around her brother's throat. "Vince!" came her worried cry as her dagger immediately left its sheath. She darted forward, ducking and rolling beneath another swinging branch before bringing the dagger up with all her might. The edge of the sanctified blade shimmered with magics that would make its edge more keen, ensuring that it could slice through the offending vine where one wouldn't normally use such a small blade for such a task.

[Anonymous]

"Could be one of mah brothers...Ah heard tell of a strange man in a hat with odd eyes." Vortexi commented as she caught the soldier's mumblings. Yes, whenever she heard about a strange man in a hat with odd eyes, that was usually a brother of hers. Granted, the likelihood of actually being on the same planet as one of her kin was slim to none, she still was sure that she'd heard a couple of murmurings. If it was Rift, she'd bring him to justice, if it was Nexus, she'd...hug him and then scold him. He wasn't far gone, but he enjoyed things a little too-oh! The tin man was talking again.

Vortexi scoffed rather un-lady like at Vincent's comment. "Sounds more'n'more like they jus' wanted ta give into justice finally." She was no longer controlled by such things, and as such she was very glad that she could speak about justice and truth on her own terms. It made for a better life in her opinion.

Again Vincent talked and Vortexi paid some sort of attention. It felt different in the forest suddenly. A moment ago it had been all pig wrassling and bowing and introductions, rather fun stuff...but now it was...a whole lot different. It felt cold, her skin crawled slightly, the hairs on the back of her neck slowly rose up. It felt like when one of her brother's leered at her. Wrong. Just wrong. Her hands went to her belt immediately, grabbing her guns carefully. Oh she was going to need them she felt...this could not be good at all.

The wailing didn't help to calm her nerves, or to stop her from cocking back the hammer of her gun as her eyes began to spin around, looking for anything of interest. One of them went on full work, looking to cut through the forest and see if anything was lurking, while the other simply let her see her immediate surroundings.

She hadn't had time to yell anything, as a tree suddenly began to move. This wasn't exactly new for her. She'd seen things like this before, a madman with necromantic powers wasn't something new. However one that also had druid powers was kind of new! She was almost excited about that...but she did realize that the man wasn't around, so this might have just been a guard...or that wailing had been a spell.

No time to speculate though! Like a nimble acrobatic, Vortexi tumbled backwards out of the way of the large tree, grinning slightly to herself. This was great! Something bigger than a pig! She wasn't going to wrestle it though...she was good but...not as good as a tree. One hand put away a revolver while the other brought the barrel up to aim at the tree. The noise of the weapon as it fired was loud, and it would echo through the forest a good distance. Her shots were careful, precise, and thanks to her now free hand, rapid as she used her hand to cock back the hammer and pull the trigger in a fluid motion.

One had to be fast to survive as a gun fighter after all.

[Anonymous]

The tree whipped its branches at an incredible speed. The pseudo-organic monstrosity was fast and had not Vincent's friends moved with such unmatched agility and precision, nature's arms would have broken at least two or tree bones in his body. Vortexi unleashed  a barrage of quick, yet somehow carefully aimed shots towards the tree. Alicia responded in the way one would expect, she protected her older brother. Though things had gone from eerily unsettling to dire in no more than the blink of an eye, the team had responded and reacted quite well.

Bullets and blade punched through and ripped apart the bark-flesh of their opponent and more wails threatened to rupture their eardrums. A light red liquid gushed out of the trees every gaping wound to accompany the frightful screams of agony. Vincent shivered for a few seconds but never dropped his guard. "Don't get any of this stuff in your mouth or eyes!" Vincent warned them. More vines shot up from the ground, but the soldier knew that this was not the appearance of another foe, rather the desperate last ditch effort of a dying foe. Fully prepared this time he allowed the tree to break its fragile fingers on his shield and leapt forward in order to deliver the hopefully final strike.

Having bought themselves a few moments respite, Vincent unwound a quick second and drew his breath deeply. "Thanks to you, I'm only sitting here with a few bruises instead of splintered bones..." He said earnestly. It was best not to consider the alternative to being physically beaten by these things. Creator knows what would  have happened if any of those long and slender branches had injected them with anything. It became painstakingly obvious that the trios little ordeal was far from over. A sneaking whisper soon began all around them. Its location became impossible to pinpoint as it seemed to come from the very trees and bushes themselves.

"Whyyyyyy have you come here? Traveller...Son of Light.....Daughter of Light?"

Long before either of them could even considering responding with anything short of a grunt, did the voice fly into a loud uproar. A dark and terrible voice boomed out across the forest. "Blood for blood! Make them serve!" The voice commanded and the diseased flora obeyed. The forest's very trees moved to the side and opened a clearing, exposing the crypt in the midst of this diseased land. This moss-covered sepulchre lay about a hundred feet ahead of them. It had been unexpectedly close all along. There were hordes of green humanoid creatures, each and every one with the same blank soulless stare. The trios obvious goal lay deep down in the plagued dark.

[Anonymous]

This situation just reached new levels of not right. Was this tree bleeding? It certainly seemed capable of feeling pain, at least, as its vine was severed and Vortexi's strange weapon barked as loudly as the tree could wail. Alicia couldn't help but be splashed with the tree's "blood," but with her brother's warning she covered her mouth with her arm and turned her head away, just in case. The tree tried for Vincent again, but was stopped by his shield and finished off shortly.

With the forest no longer attempting to kill them for the moment, Alicia shot her brother a grin. "Whatever would you do without me around, brother?" she asked teasingly. However, immediately after a new voice sounded out, not belonging to any of the three. Alicia's grip on her dagger tightened as she searched for the source to no avail; the voice seemed to come from all around. 'Blood for blood' wasn't entirely unexpected, somehow, but she particularly didn't like the sound of 'make them serve'. Did someone plan on turning them into mutant man-trees, too?

Regardless of what the voice wanted, Alicia wasn't about to let it happen; she had a brother and a stranger to protect. The forest itself parted, revealing their destination as well as a number of green plantlike people. "Well, Mr. Booming Voice," Alicia stated as she took a step forward. She spun her dagger around into an underhanded position. The blade was held before her; holy energy flowed through it, forming a modified barrier spell with a very specific shape: that of a shortbow. She drew back on the 'string' of the bow, causing a shimmering arrow of light to materialize between her fingers. "Thanks for showing us the way in," she concluded as she let the arrow fly, aimed for the forehead of the nearest creature.

"Even though it's probably a trap," she then muttered quietly, readying another arrow and firing again. "What do you say we clear ourselves a path?"

[Anonymous]

This ranked fifth on the most disgusting things she'd ever laid eyes on in her life. A bleeding, screaming tree. Horrific? Not so much. She'd seen half human half tree things before, but with faces, all too aware of their predicament and screaming and hollering for help...but she ain't never seen 'em bleed before. So it ranked a bit higher than that. With the accompanying help of her friends though, they seemed to have this quite under control. Was just a tree after all! She really wished she had prepared a better shot for all of this though. If she put some of her powers behind it, she was sure she could...ah! What was being yelled!

"Yeah, thanks fer the head's up, I'll try not ta get the weird tree blood on me! Never coulda guessed!" Vortexi called out over the screaming wails of the tree. She was teasing of course, but hey, did he think she was stupid? She knew and saw enough of weird things in her life that the blood of a tree folk monster was not something you wanted to ingest. She may have sounded like a country folk, and sometimes even acted like one, but she knew she was doing usually.

She wouldn't lie, tad disappointed that the tin man had managed to finished it off. Then again, she didn't exactly know where to shoot the damn thing. Didn't have a head. Just a lot of body. Brain coulda been anywhere, if it even had one. That's why she hated magic sometimes. Just didn't rightly make a lick of sense when it should have. "Aw shucks, t'weren't nothing tin man. Glad ya made it through it though." He had after all, gone through the worst of it. Being strangled and all wasn't fun. In this situation. There were some others that she wouldn't mention where it was.

Something new caught Vortexi's attention and she looked up. Traveller? Really? They all got fancy titles and she was traveller. Oh she was going to have to shoot whoever owned this voice and made sure they passed on the fact that she wasn't just a traveller. She was the born child of order and justice! Not just some traveller.

She barely had time to really register that thought when it screamed something about serving and blood. "Ahm usually one fer serving, especially when there are whips and chains involved, but ah don't think this is gonna be one of them times." Vortexi said as she looked to the suddenly opening brush. This wasn't that good.

"Ah reckon we'd probably hafta." Vortexi said as she drew her other gun. No need for rapid firing here. She'd actually hafta do a lot of aiming. "Let's see if we can't dispatch these poor bastards and find ourselves a creepy voice owner!" With that, both pistols were raised and shots began to ring off. Funny how she didn't need to reload, though one might notice that patches of grass and dirt around Vortexi were slowly disappearing.

Gods she loved her power.