Forum Thread

ℱ𝒶𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒟𝒶'𝓁𝓎𝓃𝓃

ꎇꍏꍟ꒒ꍏꈤ ꀸꍏ'꒒ꌩꈤꈤ

Someone get rid of my cat please.

Faelan gave a gasp of alarm, stepping backwards suddenly. Her hand flew to the dagger in her pocket. There was an orc on the floor, bleeding. Stabbing, perhaps? Faelan sighed, she wasn't the biggest fan of orcs, being an elf and such, but she should help the poor creature. Maybe they'd eat the cat for her.

She walked over to the orc, and prodded it with a boot. "Holy moly- that's a lot of blood." Faelan winced. "I need a lot of medical supplies....and alcohol. For myself as well- this is going to be nasty."

"Déjà you rat, get yourself down here and keep watch on the orc- if you're good, I won't cook you!" She yelled. The cat screeched and scampered into the room, piercing blue eyes staring at the bleeding orc.

"Good." Faelan sighed, and went to grab some bandages.

Nats Morrow's POV

Nats grimaced, and darted after them. "YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE HER AWAY!" they yelled. But... what could they do about it?...

Oh no, oh no, oh no... this wasn't good at all. "I meant it. If... it turns out she's guilty, I'll take responsibility. Full responsibility." It's better me than her. ...I guess.

---

---

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Shurkul

---

Eh? A lot of blood? Who's?

Oh. Mine. I'm bleeding out on the floor of this poor person. Well, I hope I don't ruin this carpet. It's a very nice one.

"You're pretty," he informed the cat. "I want to skin your pelt and put it beneath a fireplace. Fireplace-" he yawned. "Fireplaces are nice. Don't wanna get them too warm- unless you're an elfy or something. Then you'd want a cat pelt. I want a cat pelt, though. Cat pelts are good-"

His brow furrowed.

"Knives aren't, though. Where am I, anyway?" he strained his neck to try and see the room.

---

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Brooksook Myel

---

Brooksook's mouth moved without her realizing it.

"That's just it. They can do anything they want." Haven't they proved that, time and time again?

---

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Narrator

---

The Mayor stared at the child. Displeasure twisted his features. "Very well. You will have until the B'lyth arrive, a week from now." He turned away and walked with the guards, vanishing into the Mayor's building.

It attached to the Glen Dungeon, a horrible place, especially for a magic-sensitive child. The whole place reeked of death. Elves, Orcs, and Humans alike had met their fate there, made into the blood stains which dampened the moldy walls.

You could die, simply from the smell of the place. And a death could easily be faked, if the life it belonged to proved inconvenient...

And now, Eris Everlast was being dragged into it.

With the entire town of Briar Glen turned against her.

---

ℱ𝒶𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒟𝒶'𝓁𝓎𝓃𝓃

ꎇꍏꍟ꒒ꍏꈤ ꀸꍏ'꒒ꌩꈤꈤ

On a second thought- don't skin the cat.

The cat screeched at Shurkul, swiping a claw at the orc. It scampered off, yowling for Faelan's attention.

"WHAT IS IT, RAT?" Faelan yelled angrily. She walked into the room, holding juggling alcohol, bandages and a dagger in her hands. "Oh- it's awake. Great." She sighed. "Check if it's armed, will you? I'll give you extra mice if you do it, Deja-"

She sat cross-legged next to the orc. "This will be painful. I'll make sure of it. It'll teach you for almost breaking down my door. I like that door."

---

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Shurkul

---

"Eh? A door? But- I was being chased!" His lip wobbled, and he rounded his eyes, begging for mercy. "Pleeeease, don't hurrrtttt meeee-"

Then he noticed the newcomer was hot.

Frick.

"You're hot!" he chirped.

Smack.

His head hit the ground. He was now unconscious.

---

Eris Everlast
Eris couldn't believe it. Someone believed she was innocent! Her thoughts of gratitude were torn when she was dragged into the Glen Dungeons. She tensed but was forced to keep walking by the guards. She could feel her magic within herself burning piercingly cold. Oops, it was never mentioned before. Eris Everlast did indeed have magic. Her ties to magic blood dated centuries back, to the point that her family believed there was no magic blood in either of their bloodlines. Eris had learned to hide her magic, not knowing that withholding her magic could very well harm her. As she was led to a cell, she could feel her magic writhing inside of her. She could almost feel the presence of the passed on individuals who had been here before her. It scared her...

Emika Tenshi-Smith
Emika watched as the disgruntled mayor stormed off. She smirked a little behind her cleverly placed hand. She soon frowned though, looking over to the man who had spoken up about finding evidence that the girl was innocent. Perhaps... She could assist him in his quest? "Getting chummy with the local playthings, are we~?" a voice mocked within her head. Emika grimaced but wasn't deterred. She moved through the slowly dissipating crowd, determined to help for once in her life...

---

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Suko Nobu

---

THROW YOURSELF AT THE CUTIE!

Unfortunately, Suko underestimated the effects a crowd might have on throwing yourself twenty metres across a square, and smacked into someone else, who WAS MOVING FOR THE CUTIE AND BLOCKING THE ROAD LIKE SOMEONE EVIL.

"EEEIIEIEIEIIEIEI!" Suko screeched.

---

ℱ𝒶𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒟𝒶'𝓁𝓎𝓃𝓃

ꎇꍏꍟ꒒ꍏꈤ ꀸꍏ'꒒ꌩꈤꈤ

Faelan blinked. "...what?" She murmured, stunned for a second. She shook her head, "What a weirdo- probably hit their head too hard, poor lamb. Seeing things, eh? What do you think, Deja?" The cat mewed. "Yeah, I think so too.."

She sighed. "I'll clean their wounds in the meantime, and wait for the orc to wake up." She poured herself a glass of alcohol. "Go catch a rat or something, Deja. Shoo." The cat hissed and scampered off.

Faelan cracked her knuckles. "Time to clean a stab wound. Fun."

---

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Shurkul

---

Shurkul came to consciousness gradually. Information limped into his brain. He frowned, burrowing further into the ground. Something was burrowing into his ribs, which wasn't information.

Hmm.

It was like a finger, jabbing in. But sharp. Like a knife. Was there a knife in his chest?

"Oh," he realized. "I was stabbed. Yeah. That's right."

And then it hit him.

The cat.

The pretty girl.

And-

Ha! I'm so smooth! He'd told her exactly what he'd thought! She must've been so flustered! Bashful and gasping, that delicate hand fluttering over her face, rubbing away heat. And she'd shrugged it off, all to treat him.

She saved his life!

Heck yes, perfect romance origin story. He felt delight erupt from his core. "Yes!" He jerked upward and promptly collapsed. "Oww...." he groaned into the floor.

---

𝕬𝖘𝖒𝖔𝖉𝖊𝖚𝖘 𝕴𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖗 • 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕯𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖑

"The gates of hell open at the sound of my laughter~"

Envy Baby - English Cover (Trickle)

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
1:35 ───ㅇ───── 3:47

---

Asmodeus, surprisingly patient, listened as the guy rambled on. He raised his free arm in the air once he had finished.

"Whoa, dude. I honestly didn't catch whatever nonsense you just said. I'm a street killer not a god damn philosopher, goodness grief, speak easier English will ya'?," he groaned. "And you're not entirely wrong. I can handle any weapon, but yes I'd prefer smaller blades. Though such tiny weapons don't scare the bravest of street devils," he answered, still tinkering with the giant blade with his fingers. The sharpness of the steel had left several bleeding cuts in his palms, the sting almost satisying to Asmodeus as he felt the power coursing through the sword.

He didn't get this man's logic. What's the use of such beautifully crafted sword when you don't use it? Weapons themselves were made for combat. Asmodeus could almost feel the thirst for battle in the blade, a longing for such high position.

However, something about the sword didn't sit right with him. It felt different than his countless ones stashed in his vault. In constrast to his hoard that reeked the crave of bloodshed to the man, this one was mellow. He thought about it for a moment before nodding at the man.

"This sword isn't as great as the others. I guess I can find a reason to pass it," he said as he returned the blade to the poor nails that hold it onto the rotting wood. Asmodeus almost recoiled in disgust.

"Seriously? This is the best way you can treat such a blade? It's awfully depressing to look at. Then again, with the state of this place, I'm not surprised," he tsked. "A blade like this demands some respect, a bent nail on rotting wood won't do it any good. In fact, I'm dying to turn this place around," Asmodeus complained. He turned back to look at the an with a smile.

"Say, I could help you improve the state of this poor building. I've got too much gold on my hands anyway. How about it? It's not like I'm always this nice on regular days," he offered, still holding the blade. "Though, if you're not going to accept my help, I'm afraid I'll be holding onto this sword until I'm satisifed it's resting in a place fit for a king," he added. Yes, he may be disresepctful and ignorant towards humans, but no one messes with his deep love and passion for swords. "Then again, you look like a stealthy thief. I can tell you do it more for tricks. Why is that?" Asmodeus asked again, the curiosity poking at him.

---

ℝ𝕒𝕫𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝕃𝕦𝕩 • 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕒𝕣

"I am dreaming. Still dreaming"

Birds of Time - Enna Alouette

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
1:35 ───ㅇ───── 3:47

---

Raziel was still not pleased about where the child was going to have to wait until the week was over, but he was more worried about the short timespan they were given. He had a week to gather evidence, a week to prove her innocence and get her out of that living hell. He turned back, about to go to his location as planed to the borders before meeting the child afterwards to collect a blood sample for testing-

"Hey! Hey! Can I join you?"

The voice rang through the crowd before he heard a screech that could make the boy's ears bleed. He looked to the direction of the scream to see the green haired girl staring right at his golden eyes. He cocked his head in confusion at her sudden outburst.

"I-I'm sorry, was that directed to me?" Raziel asked. He highly doubt it was for anyone else since she was almost gwaking at him, fighting the crowd to go to his direction. The boy, with too many things to think about, was terribly confused.

---

ℱ𝒶𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒟𝒶'𝓁𝓎𝓃𝓃

ꎇꍏꍟ꒒ꍏꈤ ꀸꍏ'꒒ꌩꈤꈤ

She groaned. "Just stay still. Unless you want to be in pain, then be my guest." Faelan muttered. "The wound'll take a while to heal, so I suggest you get up from the floor and sit down on one of the stools, I have customers arriving and I'm not gonna lose them because of an orc getting stabbed." She snapped angrily. The mushrooms on her hair wobbled violently.

"Glass, now blood? Ugh-" She crouched down and started mopping up the orc blood on the floor. "Wooden floor as well, for goodness sake.

She frowned. "Wait, who stabbed you? What stabbed you?"

I should've asked this question ages ago-

"Why did they stab you? Someone really doesn't like orcs or what?" Faelan muttered. She was puzzled. "Huh. Maybe the stabber could still be around. What did they look like? Ugh, this won't help with the customers."

Asmodeus had struck a bit of a nerve, both with the mention of the rather derelict style of the building and the mention of Chervil's more casual use of his skills. He frowned, pondering the offer before hearing the other man ask about his skill with picking pockets, a brief look of astonishment settling across his brow.

"Well, I-... I don't know.. I suppose I just found it more rewarding to see someone's face when they realize they've been marked dumb, rather than using it to make a living."

He shrugged, brushing off any further answers and letting them drift into the silt below. He still seemed intrigued by the offer of redeeming the abandoned fishery, glancing around the room before nodding slowly.

"I'll take your offer, of rebuilding this place. I could do it myself, but it would take a long time... Good material isn't exactly easy to steal, and I wouldn't know how to process a log into boards."

He cautiously extended a hand, eyeing Asmodeus carefully. Every movement was calculated, every calculation carefully considered. This would be a good boy to have at hand, his analytical eye was sharper than most. Any alarming situation, any unforetold issue, Chervil would be able to process it in an instant and react.

"Chervil. Chervil Bartholomew. And you are?"

---

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Suko Nobu

---

"Yep!" Suko clapped their hands together gleefully. The boy seemed confused, which only delighted Suko all the more. What a sweet guy! Suko loved him immediately and forever. Before he had a chance to say anything else, Suko strode towards him and took his arm.

"A super awesome quest to save the life of some poor, sweet girl?" Suko brightened. "Who wouldn't want to be a part of that? And with you, too?" To boop the nose or not to boop the nose...

Eh, heck it.

Boop!

---

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Shurkul

---

"Customers?" Shurkul's world crumbled to nothing. "Y-You mean- you don't care about me? You didn't think I was the most beautiful orc in the world at the first sound? Or- or-" he sniffled.

Oh. The elf was far too good for him.

He sniffled loudly. "I will never forget this! I swear to remember my unattractiveness for the rest of my days, and never presume that an elf is in love with me ever again-" he paused. "You aren't, right? I- actually, yes, I should answer about the stabby thing, shouldn't I?"

---

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Brooksook Myel

---

She breathed out, deeply through her nose. It was safe. Yes, this was safe. If the child were proven innocent, she would be safe.

If not-

She dug her palms into the scratchy fabric of her dress. I'll need to take a trip. Somewhere far, far away. Somewhere I could never be reached by anyone.

Safety.

Freedom.

The two went hand in hand, for her.

But what options did she have? Leaving Snavia? How could she abandon the only world which had embraced her? The only one which believed her, and told her she could be a human and not a monster?

Anywhere but Tilon.

Anywhere but Tilon was all she could choose.

Brooksook turned on her heel and stalked away from the square and the screaming of blessed, blessed blessed- human children.

---

---

In the Glen Dungeons...

---

The guards hauled Eris forward, shoving her into a cell. Chains wrapped around her ankles, tripping her. The guards practically roared with laughter.

One stepped forward, eyes dancing with glee. "You won't get away with this, elf," he hissed. "Your kind will pay for what you've done to Snavia. You'll never rule over us again, you hear me? You'll never take my-" his breath caught, and his expression shifted into a sneer. "Never mind. I doubt you care anyway."

He turned his back on her and the door clanged behind him.

She was trapped, and the guards were leaving.

---

ℱ𝒶𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒟𝒶'𝓁𝓎𝓃𝓃

ꎇꍏꍟ꒒ꍏꈤ ꀸꍏ'꒒ꌩꈤꈤ

"Elf, what? In love with you? Have you hit your head too hard, or what-" She groaned. "Nono. I just need customers so I can run my business, you know?" Faelan shook her head. "Just, get up you blubbering baby- sit yourself on a stool and I'll get you something to drink."

"And cut all the unattractive crap, alright? I've got a headache and the last thing I need today is a stabbing and a weeping orc, alright?" Faelan snapped.

She paused. "I'm sorry- I shouldn't be so annoyed with you, you've been stabbed, for goodness sake. Ugh." The elf shook her head and went to get a drink.

"And- you're...decent, for an orc, okay?" She called from another room. Faelan coughed and shook her head, returning with a drink. "Drink up, and answer my questions, otherwise you can go find yourself another bar."

---

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Shurkul

---

"I didn't hit my head!" Shurkul protested. "You're just really nice and- huh-" he thought for a second. "I did hit my head, didn't I?"

He chuckled awkwardly.

"Whoops. Okay. Silent- now. See you." He pushed himself to his feet and promptly stumbled in blinding pain. "A-Ah- thanks-" he accepted the drink, and staggered to a stool. He collapsed, and watched her, sipping quietly.

---

Eris Everlast
Eris winced as she tripped on the chains. That hurt... She flinched as one of the guards hissed words at her. Why did everyone think she was an elf?! Her family had always prided itself in being a non-elf lineage. Then again, her magic... She did turn curious when the guard hesitated on one of his sentences. What did he fear losing? At least the guards were leaving her alone... It gave her time to think and reflect on her life and her abilities. How and why did she even have magic? And what could her magic do???

---

Emika Tenshi-Smith
Emika hesitated when she saw another person with the man who had volunteered to save the little girl. She wasn't a fan of social interaction to begin with, why did there have to be another?! She gritted her teeth and continued. Once she was near the pair, she spoke, "Room for another on this quest?"

𝕬𝖘𝖒𝖔𝖉𝖊𝖚𝖘 𝕴𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖗 • 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕯𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖑

"The gates of hell open at the sound of my laughter~"

Envy Baby - English Cover (Trickle)

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
1:35 ───ㅇ───── 3:47

---

The man let out a satisfied smile on Chervil's agreement, shaking his hand, sword resting on his shoulder.

"Asmodeus Ichor. It's a pleasure to work with you, Chervil," he replied. He didn't know if he was talked about a lot here compared to his outskirts so he wasn't sure his name rang a bell in the thief's head. This was a golden opportunity for Chervil to turn him to the authorities and earn wealth that would be able to literally rebuild the entire abandoned section of the capital, with more gold to spare.

That is, if he was stupid enough to even try.

"Well, one thing is that my treasures are stored all the way to the edge of Snavia and we'll have to go there to get them," he sighed. He found the only place in the dilapidated building that didn't look close to a crumbling disappointment and gently placed the sword down. "And, besides, I have some unfinished business to take care of. I hope you're prepared to watch bloodshed," he giggled mischievously. He listened carefully to the commotion in the square, his inhumane senses telling him that the 'star of the show' had already left as activity began to slow and the vibrations and noise of the crowd dropped.

But he could still sense his prey. Raziel was still here. He could hear the soft twinkling of the boy's glasses from miles away. He looked back at Chervil, raising his hood to conceal his face, though not enough to cover his evil eyes.

"So, we ready to go?" Asmodeus asked.

---

ℝ𝕒𝕫𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝕃𝕦𝕩 • 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕒𝕣

"I am dreaming. Still dreaming"

Birds of Time - Enna Alouette

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
1:35 ───ㅇ───── 3:47

---

The sudden actions of the girl shocked the boy, almost making him flinch in surprise as she stood on her toes to touch his nose. Though he tried to suppress it, the blood had rushed to his cheeks and turned his beige skin a soft shade of pink. He pushed the rim of his glasses up, trying to hide how flustered he was.

What in Cloudian's name is going on.

"W-well, I guess I could use your help," he mumbled. Doing this in a week will not be an easy feat and the boy could really use the extra hands. "Where are my manners. I'm Raziel, nice to meet you," he introduced. He was about to outstretch his hands for her to shake when another person came up to him. Though he was confused as to why these two people randomly decided to join him on a suicide mission, he didn't want to question them any further.

"Sure, I'll need all the help I can get. Thanks a lot," he said with a warm smile, though it masked the underlying fear he was going through.

He could almost hear the taunting voice in his head.

Two more people to hunt. Two more people to kill

Asmodeus. He wasn't out of the man's grasp yet. Even when he didn't see the man nearby, he still couldn't help but feel wary about every shadow cast by the buildings that could've hidden the waiting predator, ready to pounce when the time came. He hesitated to let the two newcomers follow him.

But he couldn't say no, especially to the green-haired girl. She had a fire burning in her eyes that he couldn't bear to extinguish by pushing her away. Reluctantly, he decided to allow these two to follow him.

Though, if Asmodeus came close, he won't hesitate to shove them away, no matter how harsh it may be.

"You best get home and prepare for a journey because we may not be returning for a few days. I have to take care of something real quick," he told the two as he left them, his eyes worriedly hovering at the two before he made his way to the two corpses lying on the ground, doing the usual ritual whenever those who protected him died.

He gritted his teeth as he wrapped the body of the two guards, the memories of the time they spent together flooding before they vanished into dust, stored deep inside the boy's mind. His golden eyes burned in silent anger.

He won't let Asmodeus kill them that easily.

---

---

---

Suko Nobu

---

"Suko Nobu!" Suko chirped. "That's my name! Yours is super pretty!" They beamed at him, but he was already turning away. An ugly feeling rose in their chest.

Turning away?

Why?

Was he...

Suko's nails dug into a sweaty palm.

"Welp! Sounds good! Time to pack." Suko nudged the new girl. "You coming? Betcha I can break more kneecaps than you can while we're shopping for warrior thingies!" Were the two related? Suko had no idea, but to be honest, did it really matter?

Suko stuck out her tongue at Raziel's back, then turned to her new bestie who looked somewhat constipated. "So? Yay or nay?"

---

---

Narrator

---

But the grimy cell offered no answers to Eris' questions. The silence permeated the stale air. Nothing but death could come from this place. Silent, endless, torturous death.

Then a squeak sounded. A tiny pink nose poked out of the rafters. Black beady eyes blinked at Eris.

A rat.

---

Emika Tenshi-Smith
Emika was surprised by the girl's strangely bubbly nature, and slightly adverse to the sudden nudge and interaction. Just who was this...what was their name?...Suko Nobu? She forced a smile and spoke, "I believe the villagers wouldn't appreciate us breaking their kneecaps before our quest even begins. Though I probably have more... techniques in doing so than you do." She said with a wink and a smirk. Inside she screamed at herself. Who the heck says something like that?!

---

Eris Everlast
Eris lifted her head at the sudden squeak. She looked for the source and found it; a rat. "Of course there are rats here" she bitterly thought to herself. She suddenly had a thought. She looked around for guards. None in sight. She turned her attention back to the rat. Perhaps... She could use it to test her magic???

---

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Suko Nobu

---

Suko perked up. She's flirting with me! Alas, someone with good taste. "Yesyes!" Suko chirped. "But I have an excellent skill in sneaking up on people..." they leaned in close- "And thennnn..." she locked eyes with her. "...then.. boop! Kneecaps stolen!"

Suko giggled, ducking away from her. Kneecap theft was fun. Very, very fun. And this cute, disgruntled girl was even more fun to mess with.

"D'ya still wanna make it a challenge? I won't hold back on you!"

---

---

Narrator

---

The rat's paw flexed. It took a hesitant step forward onto the pipe. Its whiskers twitched as it stared at her, waiting for her first move.

Then another step.

Another step.

The tail trailed behind it, dabbing in drops of water, and sending them splishing down on the floor.

Plink.

Plink.

They were much too loud. Were they enhanced? By magic? But how was that possible, in a cell with only a rat for company?

---