The excellent adventure (Open to all!)

[Anonymous]

The desert winds were hot and dry, gently tossing a few loose grains of sand long the surface of the dunes. A figure stood waiting, wrapped up in a long cloak, hood pulled low over his face to protect from the wind and sun.

Mikhail hated having to wait. But there wasn't much to be done about it. He had posted ads and spread the word. He was looking for mercenary types, adventures. There was some creature out there in the desert, rumored to be waiting at the very mouth of hell. Though Mikhail was less then sure about that tidbit. But there was some immortal monster out there. And he needed its blood.

But he wasn't stupid. There was no way he was going to make it through that dessert alone. There were plenty of things out there already that would pose a challenge to a lone traveler, let alone some legendary monster.

So he was going to hire some people to help him. Which was sort of a win-win for him. They would help him slay the monster and he could collect the creatures blood. And often the types that were drawn to the mercenary life had magical abilities of their own. And might be persuaded to part with some of their own blood for a small price. Or, you know, just take some if they get killed.

He glanced up at the sky, checking the time again. He hoped people would arrive soon. Even the edge of this dessert was less then pleasant.

[Anonymous]

At first when Guise had heard about someone looking for mercenaries and adventurers to help slay a beast he hadn't paid any mind. He dismissed it as the usually type of thing you heard people gossiping about, meant to reel in idiots who had time and lives to waste. That was until he realised he was once such idiot.

     Recently he had spent his life wandering, doing odd things here and there to earn some money. His life didn't have any direction, he was trying to forget his past, but it wasn't that easy.

     Still his life only really had value to him now and he was bored and with plenty of time to kill. So he had decided to partake in this unusual quest. Well not really that unusual, but for him it was certainly a first. He could only guess what other type of people would be on this expedition.

     The desert today was a little windy but not too bad, crossing it shouldn't be difficult. He gazed at the horizon; it was quite pretty once you got past the fact it was sand for miles around.

     Then he saw a man stood amongst the sand that was being lifted into the air. That must be the guy who had posted the advertisements, or at least someone who had applied. No one else would be stupid enough to stand in the middle of the desert like that.

     "Hello," Guise called to the man, "Might you be Mikhail Elhurios?"

     As he got closer he could see that he might have been mistaken. The man standing in front of him looked frail and sickly, not at all like a warrior or treasure hunter. It was a wonder the strong breeze didn't blow him away.

     "I am Sorcerer Guise Dawn, at your service."

     Maybe introducing himself as 'Sorcerer' was little reckless and pompous but if it was Mikhail; he might as well let him know what kind of power he commanded. He even had a sort of speciality as every sorcerer did, his was possession. Not the most moral power but he only used in small doses. He remembered fondly what her power had been, shadow manipulation. It didn't seem that strong until you saw her use it. You soon wished you'd never questioned her ability.

[Anonymous]

Those little flyers had shown up just in time to catch the attention of one shape-shifting troublemaker.  Cassara had been on her way out of town, wondering why in the nine hells she'd come all the way out to the desert when she'd spotted one.  Something about wanting fighters to kill some legendary beast or whatever.  Sounded interesting.  And promised a reward.  And there were bound to be a few touchy personalities attracted by this proposition, that she could annoy once things got underway.  Lovely.

So.  She was making her way towards the cloaked figure on the horizon, her pack thumping against her back as she sprinted across the sands.  Unlike that guy, Cassara was dressed rather lightly.  A simple sandy brown tunic, some dark brown pants, and a rather worn pair of boots made up her outfit.  It wasn't like she needed protection from the sun.  The woman never burned, her dark skin simply got darker.  She was made for arid climates like this.

Sliding to a stop in time to hear the sorcerer's greeting, she brushed her hair back in place, retying the red bandanna that held it out of her face.  As she did so, she looked over the duo and grinned.  "Heh.  You two're gonna burn out here, ya know that?"  Not that she truly cared.  Just testing the waters.  "'m Cassara.  I'm here about that monster."  She wasn't too concerned about fighting said monster, even though she carried no weapons.  Fighting in hyena form was much easier.  Speed and strength, and teeth, were her weapons.

[Tally]

The first thing Cade did upon arriving in Essyrn was to hunt down a busy tavern on its main street.  He'd traveled far enough and long enough that he was used to being The Foreigner by now and one truth was universal no matter where you were: the best place to take the pulse of any city was wherever her citizenry went to shed off the grind and sweat of the day.

The tavern was loud and hot, thick with patrons local and foreign alike, and no one paid him much mind.  It gave him the chance to look and listen, and soon he found what he was looking for in a group of caravan traders taking their ease at a table.  He insinuated himself into their conversation, bought them a round, and before long he not only had a lead on a job, but a bit of bartering and a little extra coin got him proper desert attire and a ride on one of their camels.

The caravan route brought them right past the meeting place posted for the job.  Upon cresting a dune, the gathering came into view.  One was already there and two were approaching.  Cade called out a thanks to the caravan leader at the front of the line and hopped off, trudging the rest of the short distance himself.

Back in the city he had shed his usual dark clothes at the insistence of his hosts.  His skin would burn without protection, they said.  Now, under the crushing heat, he was grateful.  He was dressed in the long-sleeved tunic and light, long pants typical of the Essyrni.  To keep the sun off his head, a wide strip of cloth wrapped as they had shown him.  Another attached across the lower half of his face to keep flying sand out of his mouth, leaving only his eyes visible.  Every piece of clothing on him was white to reflect the heat away.  The hilt of his sword jutted up over one shoulder.

He caught the names Cassara and Guise Dawn on the wind as he approached, which left the other as Elhurios.  A strange lot this job had gathered.  They had better pull their own weight.

"Cade Arkes," he said, eyeing each of them in turn.  "Are there any more?"  Four was a decent number for this sort of work and he'd just as soon get on with it and get paid.  He didn't for a second believe there was any 'monster' out there.  Gossip had a way of exaggerating things.  Usually monsters turned out to be just large, clever predators.  Still dangerous, but nothing out of the ordinary.

[Anonymous]

Pravat's orange eyes combed over the ads on the bulletin board in the tavern. Her kept getting stares from around the bar. It could have been his five fox tails, or his ears twitching around on his head, turning different directions to catch different pieces of conversations. This looked like a very interesting little ad. A monster? Adventure? Two things that always called his name. Why wouldn't it?

However the desert was not something he liked that much. He was wearing a set of light yellow robes that were almost white. His eyes were squinted and his mouth curved down into a frown behind a silky black and orange bandanna he held in front of his face. His feet were sinking into the sand. Perhaps his eyes were bigger than his stomach this time. He laid his other hand across his chest over something hidden in his robes. A small white ball on a long metal chain around his neck. It seemed to be glowing in the dark of his robes.

He finally saw the group of people he had been looking for. It had gathered a few people that looked promising. He gave a small smile. Hopefully this would be worth the trek out here. He neared the group and stopped looking to the different people.

"I'm Pravat. So we have a monster do we?" He gave a wide warm smile as he slid his bandanna off and tied it around his wrist. "I'm the Kitsune." He smiled a little wider. He loved to brag.

[Anonymous]

Perfect. Mikhail couldn't help but smile at the collection of mercenaries. Even if his information was wrong, which be doubted, there was a Kitsune, a Sorcerer, and a young woman with lots of confidence and not so many weapons. And Mikhail had learned that tended to mean someone with interesting blood.

He greeted them all with a nod and a hello as they arrived, but he didn't feel like going over everything more times then he needed too. And there seemed to be enough of them now, so he might aw well start.

He pulled the pale hood back enough so his face was much less obscured. He didn't look much like the adventuring type, thin and almost frail looking and he was missing on of his eyes. But he smiled happily at the group, "Now that we seem to have gathered, let my introduce myself. I am Mikhail Elhurios." He wasn't sure how many of them would recognize then name of the Adelan noble house, but he didn't really care much either way, "And we are going to kill a monster."

"Not just any monster. According to the legends around here, she has always been trapped in the desert, a mortal woman punished by an angry God. The legends aren't all clear about what she looks like or what her powers are, but they all agree that she is huge and monstrous and kills anyone she can get too."

The noble held up a glass vial, "We aren't so much interested in killing the monster as I need it's blood. And the easiest way to get it is to kill it. So no doing anything to it that will prevent me from harvesting the blood." He slipped the vial back onto the leather harness he wore across his chest, covered in similar vials, though most of those were filled with various dark liquids, "And from what I've heard, we are going deep into the heart of the desert to find her. But it is likely to be a place that isn't on any map, never seen by those that fly overhead. Her prison is guarded by many other fierce beasts as well. If you want to turn back, best do it now."

Then he smiled, "And your payment will be received once I have the blood safely back here."

[Anonymous]

[OOC I re-wrote this three times I still really hate it >.<]

Guise had right; the hunt had attracted some strange people. There was a girl who appeared fairly normally except for her pink eyes but had an aura about her so was obviously a mage of some kind. Then a man appeared who he would have taken for Essyrni if his skin had been more tanned. Last of all was a Kitsune, he certainly hadn't expected to see one of those especially with the heat, fur and sun didn't mix usually.

     The mage woman, Cassara said they pair of them would burn, he was mostly covered though, and it would be the heat that bothered him more. He was a sorcerer though in command of both water and wind magic, it would be no problem for him. She was very tanned so obviously used to hot climates, that would give her an advance but it wasn't as though the hunt was a competition. Not that he knew of anyway.

     When Mikhail introduced himself, Guise then realised that his name sounded familiar, the house of Elhurios was one of Adela's noble houses, as the Dawn family and the Caerace family were. That was behind him now however, he had been cast out when he dared to fall in love with a woman from the rival house of Caerace.

     As Mikhail explained the quest Guise couldn't help thinking the story was a lot of rubbish. Sure he had magic but an angry god turning a mortal into a monster? It didn't sound very plausible. The monster could be real, or just a really intelligent beast.

     That it was their blood Mikail was after was interesting, maybe he was alchemist of sorts, and he seemed to be carrying a few other vials of said liquid as well. Though he didn't look like a warrior or adventurer it was possible he was used to such strange quests if the other vials had anything to say about it. He was unfazed by the prospect of dangerous 'monster's and neither was Guise. Being a sorcerer, he didn't fear anything unless his magic and sword were useless and he doubted a monster was immune to magic.

[Anonymous]

She grinned widely as the kitsune introduced himself.  As if she'd needed him to clarify what he was.  She could smell on the air around them.  Fox.  "Pleased ta meet ya, my vulpine brother."  Said in a low voice, meant only for Pravat to hear.  She liked seeing the surprise on others faces when she shifted into her natural form.  So, no spoiling the surprise for the others just yet.

She smiled and winked at him, her expression practically screaming 'I have a secret, teehee', before shifting her attention (and shifting her expression to one of neutral interest) to their ...host?  Cassara wasn't sure that was the right term, but whatever.  And he was after the beastie's blood?  How interesting.

...Deep into the desert?  Dammit.  She hated traveling in human form.  If it really was far, she'd end up shifting before they got there, just to speed up the trip.  Ah, but wait.  The others wouldn't be able to keep up with her like that, would they?  Meh.  "How far into the desert are we talkin' about here?  An' why are you after blood anyways? Ya a vampire or something?"  She brushed her fingers against one of her pack's straps idly.  She was already itching to get going.

[Tally]

((OOC: fashionably late again)) x3

Cade's eyes landed on the latest arrival and widened.  Tails?

Never minding that this person...thing...had tails in the first place but what could be the purpose behind having five?  What, one just wouldn't cover all the necessary tail responsibilities?  Seemed to him that they'd get in the way all the time.  They must be a bitch to keep clean and flea-free.  Half a day out in the desert and they'd probably be matted with sand.

But enough musing on the practicalities of having to care for fur in a desert environment.  Their contractor was speaking.  Cade looked out into the direction they'd traveling, calling up a map in his head.  How long would the trek take them?  Sand dunes stretched on farther than he could see, but then the desert could play tricks on the eyes, especially over long distances.  The pay for this job had better be worth the misery or traipsing out there.  And then traipsing back again.  Maybe it was just Cade's overly suspicious nature, but it occurred to him there was nothing stopping Elhurios from leading them out into the desert, getting what he wanted, then making off and leaving them to struggle back on their own.

After this Cade would have to make a point of traveling back up north to the civilized world.

Then the vial came out and the sight of it and Elhurios's casual mention of collecting blood sent gooseflesh prickling along Cade's arms in spite of the heat.  More vials covered the harness across Elhurios's chest, and Cade took a fresh look at the others, his eyes moving to each in turn.

A sorcerer.  If he had known one like that might be here he might have passed on the job.  That was one thing he missed about Connlaoth—no mages to deal with.  Elsewhere in the world they seemed common as rodents.  He'd never bought into the hysteria plaguing most of Connlaoth regarding the evils of magic—he'd seen far too much evil of mundane folk to lay corruption at the feet of mages alone—but he still kept a wary eye when working with sorcerers and their ilk.  Few men could command the kind of power mages did and not be tempted to misuse it.

Cassara looked normal enough, and yet she carried no weapons.  That alone was telling.  Cade was beginning to feel like the eye of a storm, a single point of normalcy surrounded by the bizarre.

His eyes shifted back to Elhurios, squinting as a gust of wind stirred sand up into the air.  The trailing ends of all the cloth at his head and waist all picked up in the wind and streamed out like banners.  "Show us the money first."  He'd encountered his share of men who tried to worm their way out of paying.  Experience had taught him to either demand to see the full amount or collect half upfront.  "Else how will we know you even have enough to pay?"

[Anonymous]

Pravat was letting his eyes slide over the other people in attendance. It was a very interesting group of people. There didn't seem to be many simple brawlers. There weren't a lot of weapons around. Hopefully they weren't going to put themselves in a bad position this way. Pravat could fight a bit, not extensively however. He was more about illusions, fire and psychic intrusions. Hopefully this...lady who was now a monster wouldn't be able to deflect magic.

His eyes turned to Cassara next. He heard her 'vulpine' comment and he arched a brow. A slow smirk was appearing on is face and he patted her shoulder and winked back at her. Another kitsune! This would make the trip more interesting. Another Kitsune meant more powerful illusions generally, this would certainly be an experience.

His eyes turned to Cade after that. This man certainly had experience, Pravat was far too distracted by the idea of an adventure to even think about that right off. He cursed in his mind for being so lazy. He nodded in agreement with him and then his eyes went to Elhurious.

"That is certainly a fine idea Cade."

[Anonymous]

It was interesting watching the ragged group watch each other. They all seemed to have little surprises, well, other then the swordsmen. But Mikhail had learned not to judge things on appearance. Though he had the feeling...Cade was it, that his blood would be of little use to him. But hopefully his sword would come in handy in dealing with the monster.

The human seemed pretty smart as well. Pity. Dealing with idiots could be so much easier. But that was alright. He had no intention of keeping them from their pay, he had plenty of money and getting to impress his father was worth what quite a bit to him. Reaching into one of the pouches attached to his pelt he pulled out a bag, "To make this fair, you get half now, half later. Keeps us all honest."

And it made sure they had extra incentive to keep him alive. They wont know how to collect the second half if he was dead. He handed each of the members 10 coins. He was lucky, there was only a bit left in his purse. Good thing more people hadn't shown up, or he might have to have them....fight or something to see who was going. Though that might have been fun.

As he handed Cassara her coins he gave her a wide smile, revealing wickedly pointed canine teeth, odd to see on such a frail looking humans face, "And no lovely lady. I am not a vampire. Though I suppose I am a bit like one, though I don't drink the blood." He paused then, for what he hoped was dramatic effect, "I just use it."

He was quite curious as to what she was. The kitsune was on his list to see about getting blood from, maybe the magic user. But that would wait until after, if he could get the blood free, that was much better.

After handing the last one the money, Cade, he gave another smile, "10 now, 10 later. Is that acceptable to everyone? I would like to get going. From what I have gathered the monster is a few hours into the desert."

[Anonymous]

[OOC Guilt-worthily short o.O]

There certainly was a lot of mistrust in the air. Guise tended to be easy going and not dislike people until he knew them properly. He didn't completely trust people on a first meeting but he wasn't overly suspicious. Cade obviously didn't trust Mikhail since he asked for the money up front. Whereas Guise didn't really care how much it was as long as he didn't die on the expedition. Which could potentially happen if the monster was strong enough of the other group members were big enough bastards. He doubted anyone of them would kill him, but he was a sorcerer and some people hated them.

[Tally]

OOC: sorry for holding up the line!

No argument from Elhurios on the payment.  That was always a good sign.  Some contractors would do absolutely anything to deny you your pay, and the situation always spiraled out of control real fast as a result.  Cade did the work, he got paid.  That was the way it worked.

Thankfully Elhurios was on the same page.  Even if he was disturbingly odd.

As the coin was passed around, Cade watched and listened in silence, resigned now to his temporary partnership with the rest of them and actually curious about just how they would all fair in battle.  What were their abilities, and how would they all work as a unit?  Cade himself was a front line fighter, always up with the vanguard hacking away at the enemy.  He'd never fought beside a sorcerer before, and had no idea what to expect from Dawn when things turned ugly.  This would be a very interesting battle indeed.  He hoped he could count on them not to be useless.

He hoped he wouldn't be useless considering he seemed to be in the minority here.

Elhurios's sharp, predatory teeth or his talk of vampires and blood might have given Cade pause under other circumstances, but at that point he wouldn't have been surprised if one of them sprouted bat wings from their back.  He was ready to get on with it and get it finished.

Cade only nodded as he accepted the coin from Elhurios.  Even if the lower half of his face hadn't been masked by white cloth, he still would not have returned the man's smile.  For one, he did not intend to get friendly with these people.  It had nothing to do with them.  It was just business.  For another, the heat was beginning to sap all the energy from him, and he hadn't even been standing out here that long.  He was anxious to get moving already, and he echoed Elhurios's sentiment.  "I'm ready.  Lead the way."

He pocketed the coin without counting it.  That was typically bad form on a job, insulting to the contractor and a good way to earn their indignation.

But then, very little about this job was turning out to be typical.

[Anonymous]

His hand extended and let Elhurios drop the coins as he went around the group of people gathered. Pravat's eyes wandered over the money counting it out before sliding his hand into his robes and pulling out a small velvety looking pullstring bag which he loosened and slid the money into. He tightened the string and put it back into the folds of his robes somewhere.

He felt the anticipation starting in his toes. The start of excitement and adrenaline. It always started off slowly, the idea of some sort of adventure and trip. Waiting for something wonderful and exciting to happen. then BAM it hit when things started to get rough...or good even. He just loved that feeling. After all you had to keep immortality interesting.

He adjusted the strap over his shoulder of a bag that hung under his robes and looked around the group again. He hoped most of them would be open to chatting and getting to know one another. One of the best things about a journey, in his opinion, was getting to know the people yo uwere going with. Plus, they were much more inclined to save your behind if you got into some trouble if they knew you just a little bit. Knowing more people also lead to new contacts and new jobs.

Was it time to get going yet? The sun was getting really..hot, as it often did. Maybe once they got into the forest it would be a better more enjoyable climate. He always preferred forests to just about anywhere else.

"Wanna head out soon?"

[Anonymous]

((Sorry about taking so long. I kind of forgot <.<;; Rina's goldfish memory is full of fail and shame. And any ideas about what we should do about Cassara?))

Taking a moment to get ready, Mikhail made sure his hood was pulled down ever his eyes to help with the glare and to pull up the cloth around his neck to cover his mouth and nose. He was not really looking forward to having to hike through the burning desert. And the frail looking noble didn't really look up to the adventure as he started off.

It didn't actually matter to him what direction they headed in. Just as long as it was deeper into the desert. The place they were going was not found on a map, it was an unholy place, where one cursed by the Gods lived. So it look a little bit of skill to find it.

He didn't lead, not wanting to be out in front. He would need a moment to get ready if he was going to have to participate in any fights. But he was hoping that the mercenaries would be able to handle the small fry and he would just have to help with his goal. Using his abilities always drained him.

After a few moments of silence, Mikhail gave a small cough, trying to think of something to say. The idea of tramping around in a blazing hot desert was bad enough. Having to do it in utter silence just seemed positively tedious, "Well then. It seems we are quite the talkative bunch. Are any of you from around here?"

And if he was lucky and got them talking he might get to find out what they did. See what exciting and magical tricks they had up their sleeves.