Forum Thread

~ Lunaris Belladonna ~

Now Playing: Chopin - Marche Funèbre (Funeral March)

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"Those Snavians sure can't tell the difference between their shoulders and their [REDACTED]s. I came all the way from Tilon to here, just to see humans with disproportionately small brains freak out over a few magical rocks? What an absolute waste of time," Lunaris mumbled to herself apathetically.

Making her way to the dock, she overheard a conversation on a supposed elf being taken to the Glen Dungeons 'unfairly'. An overwhelming feeling of artificial excitement possessed her right at the spot.

Such inconvenience. I suppose I should explore the dungeon.

Summoning and mounting a Phantasmal Serpent, she immediately made her way there without hesitation. Moments later after arriving at the outskirts of Briar Glen, Lunaris noticed a large red blotch that stood out from the usual verdant terrain like a sore thumb.

Hm. How interesting. This forest will surely be fun to navigate.

She ignored it and continued onward, and her sanity proceeded to immediately shatter. The serpent dissipated, but fortunately the soft grass cushioned her fall.

Opening her satchel of Gruesome Vexations with extreme force and a manic laugh, dozens of exhilarated Sanguine Emanations rushed out, devouring and crushing the forest while creating a mess of wooden splinters and leaves. Only after a minute or so did Lunaris regain her sanity and coerce the Emanations to return to her satchel.

Well, that took a wild turn. And look - some are wandering not too far away. I suppose it's about time to appease myself with some bloodshed.

The sky proceeded to rain lightning onto the forest. May the trees rest in peace.

As the cacophony of lightning began to die down, the attention of the armored soldiers immediately switched from whatever they were originally looking at to Lunaris. A muscular, towering individual strode to the elf with haste. Presenting himself as a Military General of Snavia, he demanded to see Lunaris' licenses and credentials.

Hm, hm. The test dummy desires murder, it appears. How curious. But I am in no place to decline, am I?
...
It appears that I keep my sanity this time. Well, I suppose I should begin.

Conjuring a fake license, Lunaris handed it to the General. She wasted no time silencing his soldiers with a spell and impaling them with magical stakes summoned from the ground. Just as the distracted General glared at her fiercely, she nullified her silencing spell. The suppressed, ear-piercing screams of the impaled soldiers were released all at once.

With a flick of her fingers, a massive amount of deadly Chemical magic was embedded into the General, setting him alight with caustic fire. The General's futile cries for help reverberated throughout the forest as his flesh burned and his entrails melted. Satisfied with her little massacre, Lunaris sealed the bodies of the impaled soldiers with freezing resin and left the macabre remains of the General for the next person to see. She continued to make her way to the Dungeons, smiling to herself.

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✬ Arioch Riverenza ✬

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"Heyyy, mister orc. Do you like sedatives? I bet you do~ Here, have a very sedative-y dart~!"

Arioch immediately shot a (surprisingly accurate) dart tipped with catalyzed passionflower juice at Shurkul's knee. He giggled to himself and stuffed the pistol crossbow back into his scabbard.

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]|I{•------» αιкαяι ισηαяυ «------•}I|[

~_________________________________________________~

Aikari was walking along the isolated path "Thank god I am done with that." She spoke to her horse, Venus. "We almost got attacked by angry wolves!" She decided to have another hunting trip. She mounted her horse and galloped into the unknown.

~_________________________________________________~

It was a tough journey since the ground was muddy and not stable enough for a horse. Venus kept moving, though, and pushed through to finish the hunt. They finally made it home, and Aikari scrubbed the mud off of her horse's hooves.

~_________________________________________________~

The house was quite giant, with a dark blue door and log walls. Inside, there were 2 doors ahead. One to the stable, and one to the master bedroom. And there were 3 doors to the right, a guest room, a kitchen, and pretty much everything needed to live. She decided to switch to alternative attire. A white long-sleeved shirt, with a pale brown jacket. She dressed in long jeans, and some suitable trainers.

~_________________________________________________~

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Shurkul

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Oh. What a cute kid. Was his first thought.

Oh. I've been poisoned. Was his second.

Well, the kid had a bit to learn. Humming a cheerful tune, Shurkul withdrew the dart from his knee, and placed it on the table. "Hey, Elf Lady!" he chirped. "Can I get some alcohol for this?"

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Winthrop Airaldii

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The square was desolate at sunset. Winthrop scooped up her skirts and hurried down the street. She tsked at the sounds of a fight in an alley. May the Fae help their souls, she thought.

It was a shame that their creations should come to this. Foolish, foolish, wasting the life their creators had given them. Forsaking their purpose for simplistic ideals that no other Old-World society would've ever believed in. This was what Snavia's so called "higher life" was?

A scream came from the alley. Full of fright.

Perhaps the victim had died.

Perhaps the killer would be in the Gallows soon.

She would enjoy the sight. A pathetic human being, writhing in their bonds, screaming and trying to escape justice. Magicless, pathetic, worthless.

But for now, she hurried down the street and made a sharp right turn. She had found her apartment. These streets really were too empty.

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✬ Arioch Riverenza ✬

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"Your face is kinda easy to read, you know~ Which part of 'sedative' do you not understand?~" Arioch chirped, feigning condescension.

"Ehhh, whatever. You'll feel all calm and relaxed soon~! Probably."

Cursing at himself internally for not using the strongest possible sedative he could find in the wild, Arioch discreetly grabbed a vial labeled 'Valerian Root Extract: SC-Catalyzed' (the root is very real).

This should do the trick.

It'd be too bad if I wasted this.

Drinking up all the remaining apple juice, Arioch carefully dipped a dart into the vial, coating it with the extract. Pretending to play with his pistol crossbow, he subtly loaded the crossbow with the tipped dart.

"Crossbows are really fun weapons to use, you know~," he said before shooting the extremely sedative dart at Shurkul's arm.

What was the reason for making the orc go to sleep again?
...
I think I forgot. Oh well...

Just to make sure that whatever plan he had that required Shurkul to pass out worked, Arioch took the vial and splashed it all over the orc without a second thought, releasing the putrid scent of valeric acid in the process.

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𝑳𝒚𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑽𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂 • 𝑨𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒏

"Counting boudies like sheep to the rhythm of war drums."

Pacifico - Ugly Casanova

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
1:01 ───ㅇ───── 2:31

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b'lyth official . male . fae/owlin hybrid . 24 . mentions of the mayer, the dœmon, eris

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It wasn't hard to tell by the time Lysander set foot on the solid Snavian soil; nobody had expected any member of the B'lyth to arrive early. It gave the corvid some freedom to poke around in silence, the branded B'lyth sigil on his forearm carefully tucked inwards to avoid detection. His hands tucked deep into the pockets of his trench-coat, the corvid carved a quiet path down the street with a regal, controlled gait, his path almost inevitably towards the prison. A few creatures on the way, humans mostly, flashed him a dirty look or two — Owlins were not a very well liked species regardless of where you went given their history with the water fae — but he kept his gaze forward. Anger boiled in his gut, instincts urging him to use his gifts and remind them all of what he was capable of, but he didn't. His talons flicked in a restraining gesture as he grasped for patience. No, picking a fight was not what he was here to do. What sort of fae would he be if he lost control at the slightest of glances? He had higher standards. Occasionally, the corvid had to tilt his head in order to maneuver around an obstacle on his blind side; occasionally, he bumped into

The sun bore down on his ebon pelage, bringing with it a wave of burning heat. Scowling slightly, Lysander wove into the shadows to take advantage of the shade. The corvid's orders were simple this time, and for this reason, he insisted on going alone. He had never been one to accommodate for a group setting, and to work with others was to invite trouble and wasted time. Perhaps he was wrong to be so arrogant and dismissive of the others. By virtue of the rugged work any of them did before being trusted on a solo mission, some level of skill and competence was automatically required of them. Unfortunately, the corvid could only take so many snide remarks in a single day before he lost it and lashed out with his talons. Just one of the many reminders of the ways this odd curse seemed to be ruining his life. A single train of thought hummed in his mind, a single name.

Eris Everlast, the human girl. She's the one you want, your target, your prey. Somehow the word human aroused a slight whisper of doubt in his mind — human with magic seemed highly unlikely and with the skill to carve runes? Forget it. She had white hair, so what? You could never quite take rumors for what they were; news passed down along so many mouths lost the element of accuracy fairly quickly, and news spread around was up to the speaker's whims. In short, people shared what they wanted to. Thus, his motives did not lay on torture or sadism, but on the desire for investigation only. If he wanted answers, true answers, and resolve on what to do next, he needed to go to the source.

Sweeping into the dungeon front, his wings dragging on the ground, Lysander tried to hold his breath as he descended inwards. The prison was a pit of mold and rot, and the stench hit him head-on. Worse still, the claustrophobic confines of the cell walls pressed in on his sides, reminding him of the narrowing tunnel. His throat choked up painfully, breathing hitching as unwanted memories swarmed to the surface.

Soft, tittering laughter...a warm hand lazily moving down his shoulders...two brown eyes alight with malice as they surveyed him like a piece of meat. He swallowed it. Not now. This was not the time and place for Cado's memories to come up again.

He reached the cell and stopped short.

Gone.

No, Impossible.

The chains were slack, the door open.

Like she had traipsed out the door under the guard's noses.

They had promised he'd find her here, and she wasn't.

How had the mayor, this stupid mayor, failed to keep even a human child alone in the cell until the B'lyth sent someone? Foolish indeed! Teeth bared and feathers bristling, Lysander hissed sharply in disgust, the cells echoing with the trembling, inhuman reminder of his wrath that soon led to a series of (appropriately derisive) remarks about a people who couldn't contain a human child for even a day. The sound was still in the air when he had turned on his heel to leave, mind calculating. No, a simple human child would not have been able to escape - maybe she was elven after all - so the best course of action, for him at least, would be to start with observation.

About a half-block down the street, all of Lysander's senses went on alert as something pinged his senses. You see, among the few types of benefits for being Owlin, one of them was magical detection. Like a foxhound to the rabbit, magic was his scent, the trail he would follow. And what did he sense, rapidly receding? Daemon magic.

With an increasing sense of urgency, he followed his senses, instincts on full alert.

Hunting for the human girl with a trained methodism. And for answers.

Emika Tenshi-Smith
The trio, now quartet, spurred their horses to head towards the mountains. Emika was smiling a bit as this happened. A bit of chaos to this seemingly monotonous quest~.

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Eris Everlast
Eris was equally startled. She had kept her head down to avoid being recognized, but it seems it was unnecessary. She no longer looked like herself. Was it the doing of her daemon friend? Most certainly...

~ Lunaris Belladonna ~

Now Playing: Beethoven – Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement

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A long walk, many conjured magical vanes, and a few teleportation spells later, Lunaris found herself at the entrance of the Glen Dungeons, with, thankfully, most of her sanity intact.

Such a ruined structure, no different from the slums of Asteriinyx. Atrocious.

As she entered the Dungeons, resisting the magical dissonance and putrid stench of the inner chambers, an elongated, fluffy object - the feather of an Owlin, caught her eye.

An Owlin feather here of all places? How intriguing...

Exploring further but finding neither any other items of interest nor the supposed elf, Lunaris rolled her eyes and left the dungeons, mumbling about 'false rumors' and such.

Outside the filthy Dungeons, she applied a species-locating spell onto the Owlin feather and affixed it to a magical compass. Pointing towards the highlighted tracks of an Owlin, Lunaris began to follow the tracks while slowly sipping a viscous magic-restoring liquid from a glass flask. Her insides churned and twisted as the magical sludge made its way into her stomach, but she gave it no thought and went on.

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Shurkul

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Shurkul blocked the arrow with his bracer. "Not quite!" he said cheerfully. "One attempt on my life is enough for me." Gotta commend the kid for trying, though. "You've done really good, except- whoops-"

Mistakes were made.

"ACID! ACID! THAT'S VERY MUCH ACID!" He swerved around the bar, yelping in terror. "MY ARM BANDS! MY ONE IDENTIFIER AS AN ACTUAL ORC!" He hid under Faelan's counter.

[Timeskip to them communicating like sensible creatures?]

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Brooksook Myel

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The carriage set off at once. Brooksook listened intently for the sounds of other creatures. With a twinge of fear, she sensed a pool of magic beginning in her ears.

She slammed her hands over them. The magic ebbed away, draining into her core.

They wouldn't come back.

They wouldn't.

She peeled them back. "Don't say anything," she muttered to Eris.

The air rippled around Eris. The daemon must be moving. But it seemed to settled back into her arms.

Brooksook turned away, her arms crossed, and stared out the window. Briar Glen wasn't a big town. They didn't have long to go before they left it.

[Timeskip?]

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Suko Nobu

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The party swerved up the mountain path, the thundering of horses hooves echoing behind them. Suko didn't dare look back, instead batting away branches and leaves before they smacked into her face.

"Get off the horse!" they ordered. "NOW!" Without waiting for a reply, they rolled into a tumble on the ground, breaking through the bushes.

The horse vanished. She didn't look to see if either had listened to her.

Suko loaded her crossbow and waited.

Along the treeline birds twittered. A pair of wrens nuzzled one another. Off in the distance, an Owlin screeched, its mournful cry echoing through the valley. All kinds of birds lived here, even the fierce kind. Like the predators, like that itsucan, who's beak could deliver a fierce bite. And not just to the small animals it considered it's prey, like there-

Horses burst through, and the itsucan was sent flying.

Suko fired at the lead rider.

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ℱ𝒶𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒟𝒶'𝓁𝓎𝓃𝓃

ꎇꍏꍟ꒒ꍏꈤ ꀸꍏ'꒒ꌩꈤꈤ

Faelan swore.

"Never again-" She grunted.

"-am I letting random idiots into my tavern." She leapt over the bar, and raced at Arioch, a dagger in each hand. One was just under Arioch's chin, just scratching his neck, and the other was pressed at his side.

Faelan's purple eyes glinted angrily.

"You come into my tavern-

Harm my guests...

And cause chaos."

She sighed.

"You think I'm gonna be pleased with that, huh?"

"Fix this...mess. Heal the orc. Now."

✬ Arioch Riverenza ✬

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Arioch stuck out his tongue and giggled innocently.

"Soo-rry, eheh~," He responded cutely. "You're concerned over nothing though~ Valeric acid is, like, as acidic as black coffee. Besides, I could douse the disgusting vomit smell with enough baking soda. Not that I would, though~"

Appease the bartender. Now.

"Sooooo, what confidential documents can I steal for you? Preferably ones that involve arson~?"

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ℱ𝒶𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒟𝒶'𝓁𝓎𝓃𝓃

ꎇꍏꍟ꒒ꍏꈤ ꀸꍏ'꒒ꌩꈤꈤ

Faelan lifted her eyebrows.

"Oh? What's this?

I don't supposed you have any information, relevant to- I don't know...bounty hunters? Asking for a friend of course- but I don't suppose you have anything useful?"

✬ Arioch Riverenza ✬

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"Confidential information on bounty hunters...? Hmm..." Arioch hesitated for a moment.

Don't give her it. It belongs to you, and you only. Now think of an excuse.

Arioch proceeded to blurt out quite possibly the worst excuse he could come up with.

"Wait, what are bounty hunters again? Mercenaries?"

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ℱ𝒶𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒟𝒶'𝓁𝓎𝓃𝓃

ꎇꍏꍟ꒒ꍏꈤ ꀸꍏ'꒒ꌩꈤꈤ

Faelan sighed.

Her blade pushed harder against his skin, this time drawing blood.

A small crimson teardrop ran down Arioch's neck.

"Stop playing. I know that there's something in that little brain of yours, a snippet of useful information that you're not telling me~" The blade pressed against his side was now pressed against Arioch's temples. The cold metal danced along his skin.

"Now, will you tell me? Or will I have to...force them out of you?"

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Shurkul

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Oh boy. This was going downhill fast. "So... is calling the guards still on the menu?"

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✬ Arioch Riverenza ✬

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"Wh-what? Of course not! Unless you want the guards to die, of course~! Heh." Arioch yelled.

He turned to Faelan and said, feigning excitement, "You won't get the information you want if you kill me anyway, you know~ Besides, I can't really take what you need if you're so close to me."

Does appeasement even work? Did I really think this through? Oh well, I guess I'll hand it over...

Waiiiiit a second...

Realizing that the elf could just kill him and take whatever she wanted, Arioch immediately took hold of his pistol crossbow once again and activated its Chemical magic enchantment. As the handle began to warm up, his mind subconsciously wandered to different topics.

I'll just...burn myself alive if she kills me, I guess. It can't be too bad, can it?

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ℝ𝕒𝕫𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝕃𝕦𝕩

X

𝕬𝖘𝖒𝖔𝖉𝖊𝖚𝖘 𝕴𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖗

"Good and evil lay side by side"


Villain by Stella Jang - English Cover

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
1:35 ───ㅇ───── 3:47

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He was worried. Very worried. The situation was getting out of hand. He could feel the ground rumbling as the man behind them wipe out half of the army, yet missing those who managed to escape his death spell. Raziel had already readied his rapier, though he hardly believed the thin blade would outmatch the swords. It was better then sitting around and not being ready and armed at all at least.

Though the mountains prove to be advantageous for the group, it certainly means the other side would be the same. High grounds are the ideal spot for archers and long ranged weapon users so it was no surprise when the small group was met with flying arrows straught at them like heavy rainfall. Raziel steered the horse clear from it while defletcing a few with the quick swipes of his weapon, though the incoming wave of soldiers were going to be more of a difficult feat. He gulped.

They were doomed... No.

He shook his head and steeled himself again. He was done being a baby, it was time to grow up and face the wrath of the unforgiving world. No more fear, no more hesitation.

Then came Suko's command.

Raziel looked back in time for them to jump off and dissappear into the bushes, their small figure easily blending in and their green hair soon out of sight, matching the shade of the leaves. It would be difficult to find them with how stealthy they are. He was glad to know that they would be able to find a way to safety. Now he had to think of him and Erika. Though he assumed she was already preparing to follow suit with Suko, he didn't get the chance to make sure as an arrow found a spot on his horse's leg. Panicked, the animal bucked and threw Raziel off, tossing the light boy somewhere further off to the edge of the mountain. He didn't manage to grip onto the rocks so he tumbled down and ended up landing in a thorn bush, much to his dismay. With silent yelps and grunts of pain, he shook himself out, dropping on the grass, exhausted and worn out. He could hear the usual bustle of people, a sign of a nearby community, he sat up.

Were they close to the village already? Ignoring the stings, he stood and brushed the dirt of his clothes. With how quiet it was, he was probably away from the fighting area, but he held his rapier out just in case. More importantly now, though, he had to find the others. Was Suko and Erika alright? What about Asmodeus?-

"Hey"

The sudden voice made the boy jump and extend his arm with the rapier. The person was quick and managed to avoid the blow, strongly gripping his hand and causing the boy to drop his weapon.

"You stupid idiot, don't just point your sword like that without looking, you could've stabbed your own allies," Asmodeus warned angrily. Raziel was washed with both the feeling of relief and the usual concern. Good,he thought, he was still alive.

Which meant there was a still a chance for Raziel to get murdered in his sleep. He diverted his attention to the drippinng liquid on the man's arm, his eyes widened.

"You're bleeding!", he pointed out. Asmodeus didn't do much as a shrug.

"And?"," he replied. He wasn't given an answer as the boy took his bleeding arm and dragged the man over to the nearest water source they can find, a stream which was probably connected to the village somehow. There, his wounds were cleaned and treated with a kit the boy brought along in his satchel. Asmodeus observed the boy the whole time, noting how shaky Raziel's hands were as they wrapped the cut with cloth.

"You surprise me, boy," he started, breaking the silence. Raziel tied the knot on the finished wrap.

"Why so?", he mumbled back, looking at man in the eyes and feeling that same chill from before, the usual coldness of Asmodeus's gaze. He still can't get over it, still can't stop having a shiver dowm his spine from it.

"You know I'm a criminal. You know I'm here to kill you. You very much know the rewards you can get for turning me in.

"And your point is?"

Asmodeus let out a laugh. Funny how he's a scholar but can be so stupidly dense.

"I'm just surprised you're treating me. I thought you would've let me out here to bleed to death. Wouldn't that be a weight of your shoulders?"

Raziel considered his words before he answered, packing all the tools back into his satchel while he explained.

"I have this weakness that I just can't bring myself to think that every bad person can change. I still see everyone as a friend, no matter how they evil they can be," he said. He looked up at Asmodeus, who seemed to be very focused to his words. "I just want to believe that everyone is a good person and are only bad because they were treated lowly. I want to believe that I can change those who have gone down the wrong path if I believe in it, if I treat them right," he continued with a nod. "That is my dream," Raziel ended. He watched for the man's reaction. Surely enough, Asmodeus's lips curved into a smile.

"It's wishful thinking boy, you can't change every rotten apple out there," he stated. Raziel sighed.

"I know," he simply admitted. The man got up from the log he was sitting from.

"But you said exactly what I expected you to say. You're just like him, aren't you?," he said, getting a confused look from the boy. Asmodeus shook his head. "Eh, it's nothing. For now we better find you friends, if they're alive. Ought to be around here somewhere," he said, diverting their attention. Raziel nodded in agreement and got up from the log.

"Are you really going to work with us? With me?" Raziel asked. Asmodeus walked ahead of him.

"Maybe? Maybe not. Who knows?" he answered as he walked towards the knee high bushes.

He was just like him, as he expected. Maybe that was why he was hesitating. Whenever he looked at the boy, he couldn't help but see a glimpse of the man who had shown him there was still some good in this world. He let out a mental smile.

So Raziel is your little brother, isn't he, Raphael Lux?

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Shurkul

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"Ouch." Shurkul winced. "So... we're fighting, then?"

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Suko Nobu

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It ran straight through the man's eye. Suko grinned, turning her bow to the second.

"Hey! Hey, what's wrong?" the man called. He gasped- and then he fell silent. The back riders skidded to a stop, and at that moment, the loose bodies tumbled off the horses.

The screaming started then.

Suko grimaced, reloading. They were soldiers. They signed up to die, not to be heroes.

"There!" She realized with a start that the soldier was pointing to her.

Oh boy.

She fired off, giving up on subtlety. But the man was expecting the shot and dove to the side.

---

Title: Finally I get around to doing something here

Aiyaki Kuzko

As soon as I got home, all of the adrenaline left my system as I contemplated what I'd done.

Great job, me. Now you have to start investigating something you know nothing about.

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Suko Nobu

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Suko rapidly paled.

"Well... crap." Then she was dogpiled by what must've been twenty soldiers.

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ℱ𝒶𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒟𝒶'𝓁𝓎𝓃𝓃

ꎇꍏꍟ꒒ꍏꈤ ꀸꍏ'꒒ꌩꈤꈤ

"Hmph. I guess you're right. For once, anyways." Faelan sighed and walked a few steps away. "I guess killing you won't solve anything. How unfortunate."

She looked around at the destruction of her tavern, and felt a twinge of sadness.

"Althoughhhh- if I can't kill you, I can still cause you immense pain. Does that sound fun, boy? Pain, or you hand your info over."

"Where did you say the source of the info was from, again? Elfish?"

She sighed.

"I'd pay double for that.." Faelan muttered.