a cup of tea (Tebby, open)

[Anonymous]

His little house was in shambles, and the cellar door opened by force, he could hear sounds from the basement. Something or someone where still down there ruffling trough his stash no doubt or taking his notes.

The young mage quickly yet almost like a monkey speeded across the room making no alarmingly loud noises. To him it was a simple task of using the racket of his intruder as an easy cover.
 
Several thoughts hit him, while a mages life was constant danger he had never managed to spend enough time to get one of the usual suspects in life, a rival mage looking to snoop. No, this was beyond his circle of competitive companions he was sure of that.

Listening in on the light footsteps, female perhaps or at least not a brute by any normal means there was a lingering smell, the smell of sulphur and ash furthered his curiosity. Then more footsteps, like a flock of children and a crackling mischievous laughter. Like a choir or a chant perhaps and it left an unnatural echo in the air.

"demons?" he whispered into the air.

"We prefer realm walkers." He barely managed to voice his surprise before a tail wrapped itself around his throat, tossing him into scattered furniture and ending in being smacked into a large broken mirror. Grunting in pain before the next trip sent him upwards into the roof and then flying down to the floor.

"Now that introductions are over, I suggest you lie down quietly and make peace with your gods. I am your killer, nothing personal, just business." He managed to catch her profile. The long whip tail was the only thing exposed as the rest covered in dark linen. Probably to hide her female features so she could venture unseen in Arca.

Even wearing a hood and wrapped her head in black bandages to hide anything too revealing except the low cut hair she was indeed pretty. "Succubus." He managed to whimper out, catching his breath. "Oh you know my kind?" Surely she was probably grinning by now.

He rolled over, and a snap pierced the wood he had been lying on. Her tail was more lethal than a bull whip and she was indeed a master whips man or whatever they called people who where expert at whips.

He rose up to run, immediately regretting it. Taking a tumble forward to make it look like he stumbled in a guessing game of where she would aim next. The air above his head snapped in two while laughter filled the air.

In his short span across demonology, there was a short repertoire of spells within his immediate command that would even affect a succubus he would simply have to gamble that her whip would be used a couple more times.

Casually throwing up a barrier between him and reality, made to reflect physical damage for a time, he had to pick his windows of opportunity careful.

She was quick, snapping at the shield with rapid succession. The sound pierced and attempted to shatter both his focus and interrupt the constant concentration required to maintain it. She wouldn't need to keep it going much longer, he would never have bothered nor had he the capability to maintain such spells for long. Many mages better or older than him did, but his mind was fickle always wandering even without his consent. Her assault revealed the second thing he would need to defeat her. She was a creature of lust and fire, first he would need to stop this constant whip slashing then he would have to put out her fire. Next aw well he did have passions so a banishment spell ought to do the trick.

A bolt of ice froze the demons waist, sending her flying into the wall, she moaned with arousal only to face a hurricane of snow. It was never intended to keep her for long, just long enough to.

A second creature came out from the basement; it was small like a demon child, an imp or some kind of corrupted dwarf. "Here for you, Catch." Its voice as childlike as its size but what came out of those hands where nothing but childlike. A giant fireball, consuming the air and drawing upon unknown power he had never himself grasped. A tinge of jealousy before his entire house turned to an inferno only rivalled by a volcano or if you believed in hell this was a rather nice picture of how it looked like in the imaginations of man.

To any outsiders the house lit up and imploded upon itself. The roof seemingly gone or evaporated in dust while one man stood in a corner, protected by his recently casted ward of flame. The night was still young as something took flight and flew off with whatever it was that they had been seeking.

He found himself caught in the spur of the moment, hurling a bolt of lightning after them before falling to his knees in slight exhaustion. Had they wanted his life they would surely have taken it instead of playing around like that.

Hopefully the noise, sound and light had not brought too many curious onlookers, suddenly feeling a pang of self conscious shame over the fact that he was standing there in just his flameproof skirt. Even his leather boots where singed to the point where buying new ones would cost less than fixing the old leather. "Hair?" he suddenly expressed touching his head in fear of a burnt scalp.

His next move after making sure his hair was not burnt. How fortunate, at least his vitals where intact. Probably an instinct of survival to make sure his vitals would be protected while leaving the feet, hands and outer layer of clothes to be burnt.

Pulling out a burnt pot with great interest, he had filled it with water before leaving the house for ingredients. It was hot to the touch and made him want to drink tea.

[Anonymous]

Damn.

How long had she been walking now? She had lost track after 19 miles. The pain from the yoke digging into her shoulders was blaringly obvious now. What did this even do? What purpose did it serve to have her carry this thing for miles on end? She had nothing to do with them once she got to where her master directed her to go. She would just have to carry them back. She cursed silently.

That old bastard.

Sweat trickled down her forehead and dripped onto the ground. She was out of breath by this point and decided to take a break. The old man would never know. Then again he did catch her when he found out she had skipped out on the last three miles of her 30 mile run the other month. But he never would have found out if that stupid mage hadn't ratted her out. Eh, he would never know if she took a fifteen minute break or so.

She walked over to a tree and set down the yoke and the buckets of water. Her shoulders felt like someone had lifted a giant burden from them...literally. She sighed happily, rubbing both her shoulders and the sweat from her forehead. She hated these endurance training courses, but she agreed to them since they were the only way she could continue to get lessons from her master. Though at this point, she could survive better than most men she knew. But that wouldn't stop her. She would continue her training until her master had nothing left to teach her, which, he said, was never going to happen. She groaned slightly, her breathing still heavy.

She hobbled over to the tree, leaning against it for the moment, allowing it to support all her weight. Maybe she could shut her eyes for a few minutes. He wouldn't know. She shut her eyes, smiling slyly. "Old bastard," she mumbled sleepily, trying to let herself to rest. She slowly slid down the tree until she was sitting underneath it. A few minutes later she was asleep, snoring lightly. It wasn't a heavy sleep, but it was good enough. She would be rested and ready to finish the rest of her walk.

A half hour or so later, she was awoken suddenly. There were loud noises nearby. They sounded like...lash whip? She sat up slowly, groaning as she did so. She rubbed her sore shoulders again, clearly upset that she was awoken. She blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes to focus. But then she heard several more whip cracking. "What the hell?" She heaved herself off the ground, looking in the direction of where the noise was coming from. Who was making so much noise, and why? Eh, it was really none of her business. She would eventually pass where the noise was coming from considering her path lead in the direction of the whip noises.

She hobbled over to the yoke, and got ready to pick it back onto her shoulders when she heard and explosion. She jumped and spun around, looking for where it could possibly come from. She saw smoke a little while off. "What the.." She saw something fly out from where the smoke came from. It was probably some mage having to much fun and getting carried away. Damn mages. She figured whoever they were, with an explosion that big, they could probably use some help. She decided to ditch the yoke and just continue up the road to see what was going on. She could always come back for it later.

It didn't take long for the house...or at least the remains of what may have been a house, to come into view. Her eyes widened. Dang mage must have been having a little too much fun. She didn't understand why they always decided to experiment with their magic like that. Why not use it for something useful like fire dancing or baking...not blowing up houses. She shook her head, continuing to walk in the direction of the house. The place was completely destroyed by the looks of it. What a shame.

Then she saw a figure walking away from the house. He must have been the cause of this whole mess. In fact she was pretty positive, considering the state his shoes and skin were in. He looked like he had decided to take a bath in flames, though his skirt seemed untouched, of which she was thankful. She couldn't help but let out a sharp laugh at the poor guy's appearance. She figured she'd ask him if he needed help. Maybe he could point her to a good place to spend the night.

As she got closer, she could see more details, or at least two large details in particular; his purple skin and his bright orange hair. She stopped walking, tilting her head to look at him. Uhh...yea ok, she was a bit...weirded out. But that wouldn't stop her from helping him if it was needed. "Hey...did you not like that house or something? Because making it disappear or something is a lot...quieter than making it explode." She didn't get mages interest in fire, but it always seemed like no matter where she turned, they were making things blow up. Oh well...she wasn't going to worry about unhealthy fetishes. She just wanted to help him and get on her way. No need to make the Old Bastard suspicious of her again.

[Anonymous]

His trail of thought had stopped as sounds around him nipped at the conscious mind, taking deep breaths in order to get more oxygen into the system. His throat was especially sore, making it hard to steady his breath. Coughing a few times to try and clear up whatever was stuck down there.

He knew it was nothing, simply the side effects of having been nearly chocked to death, easily solved by the warm water in his burnt pot, for that he wanted tea and a cup, eyes leading him down the street.

He caught the worried gaze of a person, noting down the facial features for maybe a future meeting.

His lips formed a smile as he found himself almost on the verge of laughing although the joke was on him this time, recalling that the demon had insisted on being his killer yet failed.

Or perhaps she had not failed but retreated to return once the noise had settled down he could never be sure already thinking on his next steps beyond heading down to an acquaintance for some leaves and a cup to clear his throat entirely.  

"A crowd will gather soon enough, you don't happen to be up for a cup of tea? Just need to get a new set of leaves before.."

He would usually have no intention of dragging people along for the ride but this was no time to be selfish, yet for now he remained hesitant to explain just what exactly had transpired inside the house. "I insist if only so.."

He stopped yet again caught in an afterthought probably related to the person he was chatting up sort of speaking. "Lets start with introductions, I am Bryan, what do I call you?"

[Anonymous]

"Relyks you have gotten in the hole now." Rel said to himself with much irritation "i just had to get my self lost didn't I, I mean come on i have come this way many times befor and never gotten lost."

Then off in the distance there was a loud boom a small shift in the earth and a smoke cloud with what looked to be a small roof

"whats this?" Rel no have had something to distract himself from his own misery "well were there is fire there is trouble, and occasional a demon.

After about a 10 minute walk Rel was near waht seemed to be a house with its roof blown off and scorch marks everywhere "looks like I'm at the source."

Then Rel noticed a figure come out of a cellar so he hid behind a tree that was near by "well there is something you dont see every day, I really have to stop talking to myself." which was a little louder then he wanted

then Rel noticed another figure off in the distance and the first was walking toward it. "I better get closer if i want to know if they are demons or just survivors from the explosion

As Rel got closer he heard on of them say '...Up for a cup of tea' then Rel thought but didn't relize that he was actually saying this not thinking "WHY DOES EVERYONE LOVE TEA, all it is, is a bunch of leaves put into some water to make it taste 'nicer' I HATE TEA, no mater how hard anyone tries i will never like tea!" And it so happens that he was yelling this not saying it quietly as before

[Anonymous]

((It said "open"...))

Flap.

Flap.

The rhythmic sound was quiet as a whisper, steady as a heartbeat. To a particularly attentive listener, it would have sounded like some massive bird; a phoenix, maybe. At least, until they looked up and saw the shimmering, multicolored dragon that was A'shi.

A small leather bag of herbs was dangling from one of her hind paws; it was plump with leaves, roots, and seeds. Overall, she was rather proud of herself; the trip had been profitable, and she'd even found a patch of flowers she'd never seen before. They had a decent smell, and her instinct told her they'd be good for eating. She'd carefully dug out three of them whole, and taken leaves and blossoms sparsely across the whole patch; if she took too many, there wouldn't be enough for later expeditions. They and a few other whole plants would have to be transplanted quickly before they dried out.

Flying on, she wondered idly if they would survive; some plants didn't do well in her home, despite her best efforts to imitate their native climate. She'd found these in the mountains, which would mean thinning the air around them and keeping the temperature cool.

A sudden sound like a whipcrack distracted her from her musing; curiously she peered at the ground below, searching for its source. It came again, several more times, then a sudden explosion and gust of hot air caught her off-guard, missing a beat and tumbling headlong through the air before righting herself awkwardly. She spat a curse; probably some stupid inexperienced mage messing around with spells he shouldn't have (not that she hadn't caused her own fair share of explosions when she was learning academic magic, and there had been a couple of unfortunate accidents with lightning strikes, but she was competent enough now to know which spells would cause something to spontaneously combust). The plants were all right, at least.

She sighed heavily; there was going to be clean-up and quite possibly something that needed sending back to whatever strange dimension it came from. The least she could do was help. Gliding to the ground, she landed a few feet from the remains of the house, and not far from a pair of humanoids, a male and a female. Propping herself on her tail, she surveyed the ruins dubiously. "All the gods, what happened here?"

[Anonymous]

She watched as the man nearly started laughing. She tightened her hands into fists. If he were going to laugh at her face...by Gods she would make sure it was the last thing he ever did. But he controlled himself and proceeded to speak normally to her. Good ridance. She raised an eyebrow when he asked if she wanted tea. His house just exploded and he wanted to have...tea? But when he spoke, she heard the strained sound. Smoke inhalation, or perhaps just lack of oxygen in a sore throat? Either way, getting him something to drink would probably be the best. "Tea sounds wonderful...but, er, what about your house?" She stole a quick glance at the smoking pile of rubble behind the man. Perhaps it wasn't his house and he just decided to blow it up...for fun? Eh. She'd figure everything out eventually.

First things first. Get him something to drink.

"Oh..uh hi Bryan. I am Sakti. Sakti Fosetta." She gave him a sort of half smile. Normally she would have offered her hand for him to shake, but for several reasons, she felt it would be silly. First off, they had already met...sorta. Second, neither one really seemed...too concerned with formal introductions.And lastly, they weren't alone. She heard an outburst from a nearby tree, forcing her to spin around to find out what caused the racket. What the hell? Her hand automatically reached to her bow, though once she saw what caused the noise, she relaxed. It was a thin man, taller than her though he didn't look to strong. She smirked. "If you don't like tea, why don't you start a protest against it? We aren't forcing you to enjoy it."

She turned back toward Bryan, only to find a dragon only a few feet behind him. "Looks like we have a crowd now." She nodded toward the dragon. She felt she should not be the one to answer her question, but she didn't often listen to what she felt. "His house blew up, but no one knows anything else." She glanced back at Bryan. "So tea then?"

[Anonymous]

Rel stumbled when he was being talked to "crap did i say that out loud. or yell it." He shrugged then a multicolored dragon dropped in which made Rel fall backwards and knock the wind out of him even though this wasn't his first time seeing a dragon they never stop to think who might be under them or near them or even scared of them when they land. Dragons always make Rel edgy even though he couldn't die by a flame you never know what breath weapon they have.

"I am actually here because i noticed that this mans roof just burst off and it was the work of a demon. I have had my fair share of them and some even want me dead for putting them back in there place so i want to get rid of as many as i can before one kills me" Rel said in a very confident voice "I'll join you if you have some wine and i look aroud for any demons that have survived that" Pointing towards the burnt up home.

[Anonymous]

A'shi nodded. "Not surprising." She started as someone shouted something, turning and dropping to all fours again. Another human male, dressed in red and with a distinct scent of fire about him (although that wasn't any distinction; what with that explosion, everything within a mile's radius smelled like ash), was the shouter. Something about demons. Hopefully none of them had survived the explosion; she wasn't capable of exorcism spells. If it was a fire demon, which seemed likely, her elemental abilities might come in handy, but that was about it.

She tilted her head. "Demons, did you say? Any idea what type?" Pointedly, she sniffed the air. "Not as if I could tell by scent." Actually, it probably wasn't a good idea to hang around someone who had demons after him, literally or figuratively, but the fire-man would probably be helpful. If only in reconstruction.

Well, it was probably best to find out who these people were. Eyeing the other two humanoids, she asked, "What did you say your names were?"

[Anonymous]

"OH... I guess i forgot to introduce my self I am Relyks Firespinner, or Sharasar ether or would work but just call me Rel i don't have much fancy for formalities. And as for the demon we might have a high level succubus or a low level Balor. although  we could just ask the man who is our eye witness about it while we talk over a drink." Rel said with a little smile on the thought of his sister alone in the shop and worried on where he was

[Anonymous]

Feeling lightheaded as he swayed there, slightly to the left and then towards the right until everything was spinning in motion, like a blur in front of his eyes. He raised a hand while drawing breath, in a vein attempt to stop the buzzle around him.

"I will have to proceed in an orderly and fashionable manner. No need to be rash." Then his knees began to buckle for better or worse. Forced himself to heave and he started coughing seriously. There was no doubt in his mind that a cup of tea would definitely have been spot on, yet that was past him now.

Placing the pot filled with extremely hot water on top of his lips and forcing himself to drink. Some men might have described the sensation but to him it was no different than casting a spell or reading a book

You simply had to let the mind take care of itself while emotions such as fear of getting burnt passed trough. Breathing steam like a madman and feeling himself corrected. Bryan could shake his orange hair like there was no tomorrow.

Things had become as clear as broad daylight for a few moments there, as if he had come to heaven or visited the sun. Then the light in his eyes faded as the world returned to normal, he saw people. Many people like his brain had circulated his memories and dug up every single one at the same time in some grandiose dream where he was the centrepiece.

His hand chopped the air in front of errr Sakti was its name? He honestly was incapable of recalling anything in near vincinity of himself. It was like his mind had started digesting the attackers and noting down the smaller details. "Like a clock."

"Not so for my house mind you. Oh, as for tea I am still up for it if anyone would bother bringing leaves and hot water while I check my basement for clues as to Why, what and who are but minor details at this point." He spoke fast and melancholic, as if his head was not present in the conversation at all. Like they where all passing by in a flash so he had to hurry up and catch them before the wind pulled them away from him.



His hand then fingered the second person near him. "You there with the smell of paperwork and." Huffing disappointingly, his finger still pointing directly at the young mans nose. "Your invited for tea, bring leaves and hot water. I don't take no for an answer, I insist. You can even bring a friend; just don't forget to bring tea and water."

Then he stopped for a second, before recalling he had not set a time or a date. "My place. As soon as possible, ill even have the table set."

His nose caught whiff of something as he wide eyed a creature with wings and leaves. "For me? Your to kind." He proceeded to try to walk yet then suddenly jerked back by his hand who's fingers where still pointing at the young man in robes who hated tea.

Now his eyes where right next to the man in robes, breath still steamy and hot like a boiling bathtub. "If she comes for tea, just bring more water and we will be fine. Come to think of it, my house is in ashes, but what transpired is still fresh. I cant leave, need evidence, clues; it's a puzzle right now that will vanish if left alone and unchecked but you seem like a man of action so naturally you will also bring a table and some chairs from your own house, so sorry to inconvenience you but that's that."

Then there was a short moment of pure silence, silence so crushing that it would make any man speak up if only to break it. Silence so tormenting it would make any man agree to any task at any time.

He knew he had that effect sometimes, and very much hoped to put it to use right there.

[Anonymous]

There was just so much going on. An explosion no one had any information about, a man appearing rather loudly, a dragon coming out of no where. And all she wanted to do was figure out what happened and then continue on her way. But now it looked like she was going to have tea at this man's place, this complete stranger. In fact...three complete strangers. She resisted the urge to grab her bow off her back, not knowing whether or not she would need it. She didn't know what to think, but with all the noise, who could think.

She looked disgustedly at the man...Bryan was his name? Why would he invite these...random passerbys to his house, or at least what was left of it? Shouldn't he be...getting looked at or something. She, for a moment, questioned how right he was in the head after the explosion. Maybe she should tell him she can't stay. But then again, leaving would mean going back to her training, a task which was equally as disturbing as spending the afternoon with these people. And at least with this option, there was free tea involved.

She stood back while everyone settled down, not really wanting to add to the noise that everyone seemed to be making. But then the orange haired man stepped forward and took control. She smirked. Good for him. He seemed like he would be a good match for her. He seemed like the only one who would really tolerate her...wit. She took note of the other two, the dragon and the man in red. Bah...who needed names? The man in red seemed...well she didn't really know. He didn't like tea, she knew that, and he didn't seem like one to keep his opinions to himself. As for the dragon, she seemed like she was able to fend for herself, something she figured based off the amount of leaves she was carrying. Sakti nodded. Resourceful. Useful. Good.

Once all was quiet, she glanced at Bryan. "Need any help searching the house?" she wasn't much of a detective, but if anything was still in the remains of his house...something destructive, she figured she could be of some help, even if only a little. She pulled the bow off her back, feeling much safer with it in her hands and ready to be used.

[Anonymous]

"A succubus?" A'shi asked, turning quizzically to the young mage whose house had exploded... and who seemed to be carrying a pot of tealeaves. It reminded her vaguely of some children's story. Mild oddities aside, "What on earth did you do to get a succubus after you?" Given the nature of succubi, she'd almost rather not know, but it was probably important.

Actually, the mage--she still hadn't gotten his name--was looking a little unsteady. A'shi made a mental note to keep an eye on him in case he should suddenly collapse; it wouldn't surprise her at all. He was.. drinking directly from the pot? Of very probably boiling water? Wasn't his throat getting burned? She shook her head slightly; this human was decidedly strange.

And now he was talking; something about being invited for tea... She wouldn't half mind a cup of tea right now, but weren't there more important things? Like finding out who or what had made his house explode, and why? All the more reason to believe he was delirious.

"For me? You're too kind."

What? She barely had time to rear back, quickly transferring the bag to a handlike forepaw to get it out of his reach. "Hey! What are you doing?" she said. "These aren't tea herbs. They're probably poisonous boiled." Taking a moment, she added thoughtfully, "Actually, I'm not really sure what these particular ones do yet... Need to catch some rats later. Once this whole mess gets solved."

She nodded at the suggestion of the other female. "Good idea. There might be something in there." Without hesitating, she prowled forward and began nosing about in the ashes, sniffing to see if she could scent anything besides burnt wood.

[Anonymous]

After Rel had gone off to get the funiture he was almost immediately lost once again "even if I do find my way back to town how would i be able to find my way back?" Rel said while trying so hard to figure out where he was.

After about a half an hour he was finally able to successfully navigate back to his house tell his sister he was invited to a little 'party' which she did not want to know about "She always makes me have tea when its aroud so I hope she doesn't follow me"

IT took another thirty minutes to find his way back with a whole lot of chairs and about 3 tables (hes stronger than he looks) justin case on might be broken or an exploding one that his sister invented as a practical joke for him "I still can't tell the difference between the two of them they are so annoying" he thought as he got into the clearing

"warning, one of these might explode on you if you put stuff on it so don't blame me if it makes you jump."

[Anonymous]

" Come along now, or help the quite so capable yet awfully put out young mage bring me some tea a new pot and a table," His feet where moving backwards, making it impossible to talk to anyone for a long period of time, so he turned and waved people along. Trusting fate would fix the rest.

"Food for thought, If they are poisonous why did you bring them?" He questioned the air now, unable to look back, returning to his smoldering ruin of a house with but a few steps. "Welcome to my humble abode, not so fireproof as i would have liked but quite alright non the less."

There was a woman already here, dressed in a regular brown leather tunic with swords at her sides, the darker skin suggested she was from the far south of essryn, yet the pointy ears going to each side like beacons of elvish heritage, envied by every mortal man  once or twice before contemplating that perhaps death was the lesser of two evils, existing forever in a cesspool of darkness with liars and muggers for company or blissful eternity as dust in the wind.

The inscribed leather gloves, uneven set of earrings and white painted tribal tattoos hinted at a darker side to her being one linked with Thanatos and her lack of surprised face meant this woman had been waiting for some time. She was holding a piece of coal in her hand, a large leather bag lying unopened on the remains of his burnt down stove.

"I took the liberty of inviting myself in, your door was open." Then she smiled, as if the joke was actually good. "Fireproof basement is the key" was whispered in the air as he strode on unfettered by this woman's presence, he would not allow himself to be thrown of his composure as of yet.

"I never said what it was that caused all of this." Bryan said before jumping up, as he landed a cracking sound was heard and the man vanished down a rather small hole like a human wrecking ball..

More crashing sounds and an Ompfh as he landed on his ass somewhere down there where quickly followed a rising cloud of ash.

(occ: ah hoped id be faster than you Wellhi, could you aw well next posters can read and adjust to it cant we?  my point being that if you leave then write that you left and your next post is the return post. It makes for better readingxd)

[Anonymous]

"Eh?" A'shi looked up and blinked; the red-haired male had spoken. "Oh. Actually, I don't know if they're poisonous," she admitted. "I've never seen this type of plant before, so I took a couple specimens. But the point stands; they could easily be poisonous."

She stepped back involuntarily when she looked up; there was another female here--elvish; the scent would have told her even if the pointy ears didn't. She looked... dangerous. Not immediately so, but definitely someone to be careful of. She didn't seem interested in A'shi; the drake tried to keep it that way, which was a bit difficult for an eight-foot long, iridescent reptile with markings better suited to a neon sign. The elf was talking to the red-haired male--A'shi really needed to learn his name. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but after a bit, the male jumped up and fell through the floor.

A'shi stared, then bounded through the wreckage, peering through the hole into what must have been the basement. "Oy! Are you okay?"

[Anonymous]

Rel then after setting up the furniture went ovre to teh dragon and politely asked "Do you want me to take a look at those herbs i am very familiar with most herbs and other ingredients?" Rel then looking towards the bossy red headed man's fall "i better take a look at what is left of those demons." as Rel went down to the basement to look

[Anonymous]

Sakti followed the man, staying a safe distance behind. She figured she could trust him, but some people were good at acting kind. She didn't really want to risk it at this point. She gripped her bow tighter in her right hand, continuing forward. She glanced at the dragon, happy at this point that she...well didn't give them poisonous plants to eat. That would put a damper on today's agenda.

When they reached the house, she noted the woman standing there with mild interest. She glanced at the man, trying to figure out if she was a threat based on how he reacted. Sakti couldn't read his expression, so she just eyed the lady with caution. Any funny business and Sakti would knock her down faster than she had time to blink, a reassuring thought.

She watched the two of them have a conversation in the house as the man tried to maneuver his way through the debris of the exploded house. The structure didn't look very sturdy, but before she could say anything to him, he jumped and, in turn, crashed through the floor to the basement. A puff of dust blew up from the place where the man had once been. Sakti stifled a chuckle as she heard the man crash to the floor. When she was back under control of her laughing, she walked carefully near the spot where he had disappeared to, careful not to get to close to the fragile spot in the floor. She glanced through the hole, unable to see the man through all the dust. "You ok? That sounded like that hurt." She looked back as the other man returned with tables and chairs. He seemed like he was trying to be an expert at everything. She crinkled her nose and looked back down the hole.

"You know, it would probably help if you had used the stairs. Less painful that way, ya know?" She looked around for something that indicated a door to the basement. She found something she figured was a door and pushed the debris aside so she could open it, carefully walking down the steps to get to where the man was. She glanced around through the dust, unable to see where the man was. She squinted for a moment, allowing the dust to settle until she saw a shape. She walked towards it and knelt beside the man. "I think maybe you need to relax. I hear falling through floors is not a good way to steady yourself after an explosion." She smiled slightly when she said that. She was trying to be sincere.

[Anonymous]

Coughing lightly at the mix of dust and ash eroding his vision yet keeping a tight grip on his breathing spell so it would not choke him right there. People from above asked if he was ok and there came wanderers down his stairs. "What kind of people use stairs when there is a perfectly good hole to jump down into." He proclaimed, having landed rather softly, his delicate bottom cushioned by a well prepared set of pillows, his grandfathers doing.

"It seems the damage was far more than I anticipated, even the basement has suffered greatly, the stone ceiling not helping much at all. My family stored a lot of old stuff here over the years. Family antiques, wizard relics and so on, I often found my father boasting about documents he had found, tracing our lineages way back to the founding of Serendipity. All gone, Poof."

He talked with that distant tune, as if his mind was elsewhere, Bryans eyes where for a moment there directed at the woman, Sakti was her name. Smiling childishly at her worry. "I like you." He said to her, rather than saying something sarcastic about mothers and worrying over complete strangers you had barely met.

The walls where charred, and every item capable of burning had indeed been burnt to a crisp. He had heard them down here when he had returned home, going trough the likely scenario they had come for something.
"We never bothered to write a list of items though, a useless pile of magic junk, like half the town hasn't had enough of that already. I once tried to experiment with this stuff until I managed to summon up a portal to some dark netherworld under my fathers bed once, made for a decent laugh before the slimy tentacle monsters appeared. Not so funny after that."


His mind was thinking, working off his memory of how the basement had been and then the search began for a missing pile of ash, what could they possibly have come for and there it was, top left corner of the giant stone shelf.
 His father had told him after the summoning incident where all the dangerous items laid if only so he would refrain from ever touching them until he had more experience with such things. "Do not bother your mind with dark items from a darker past until you find yourself bored of life." He mimicked his fathers tone mocking the very image of the man who had raised him as he tried to recall what had been there.

At least that proved intent, the assault on his privacy was with purpose. "Now what would demons want with an enhanced dried up tibia from some old witch?" They where servants of a greater power no doubt, he needed a bigger piece of the puzzle to pinpoint it further. Picking up the crystal bowl lying in the corner, a spying orb made to record past events in near vicinity.

"Lets go back up for tea, shall we?"

[Anonymous]

As Rel got near the door to the basement the two searchers immediately popped out which knocked Rel down with suprise "You should really anounce when your comeing out of a dark place you nearly made me burn everything in a mile radius!" Rel said with what wounded pride would sound like if you could hear it "So did you find out where they went or what they were looking for?" Rel then looked into the man's face "Your going to explain it over tea aren't you?"

[Anonymous]

The female seemed to have gotten to the red-haired mage--Bryan, A'shi thought his name was; someone had mentioned it, though she wasn't sure when. They were talking. A'shi couldn't hear most of it; she managed to catch something about a witch's tibia.

Interesting. It sounded rather like some of the things she collected, unless "hoarded" would be a better word. It sounded like it had been taken, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything else down there. She wouldn't steal anything, of course, but there was nothing wrong with having a look. Picking up her pouch--she still didn't trust Bryan with it--she slipped through the hole silently, landing with a small puff of ash.

A quick look around showed a number of assorted objects--some things stuffed, some things dried, some things carved, some things that looked more like children's toys than magical curiosities. It looked... rather like her house, in fact, only her house didn't have as much ash in it.

Something bright in the debris caught her eye. She slid over to it, leaving a trail in the soot. It seemed to be a feather, although it was too large and too brightly marked to be any bird she knew--

No. It couldn't be.

Her muzzle pulled back in a silent snarl, exposing her teeth. This was a feather of her kind. She couldn't tell if it was from anyone she knew, but it was a blood feather--it had been taken directly from a young kirikirin, partway through a molt. This wasn't a loose shed. And it was in Bryan's house.

Someone had some explaining to do.

As she turned, her tail clattered carelessly against a stand that had somehow survived the fire, knocking it and all its contents to the floor. There was a poof and a sound like reality tearing apart.

"Oh, bugger."