The City of Slechteur

This is the new capital of the Legion's territory, a few miles southeast of Virulai as the crow flies. Here one can find some of the most amazing rarities, although most according to locals, are "nonexistant." The buildings and shelters leave much to be desired, but they seemed to give hope to the poor that soon things will get better. Their leader, Christophe Linkiel, a radical political activist who in ages past had fought alongside Emperor Bourgian I, believes in true freedom and liberty for all the Gods beings, no matter race or money, but also believes in a "greater good, for which individuals themselves are not necessary to achieve. Nearly all the members of the Legion reside here at least some of the time, although some remain hidden and away from the main cities. It is wise to remember that liberty comes with a price, and though the streets are safe, the alleys and much less so.


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K and Dare entered the somewhat dilapidated main square of the city ignoring the few looks they gained, obviously from those only visiting. The locals knew of their diversity; it was what made them united in rebellion. As they passed the many wares of the crowded market, the former spy in Keara knew that someone would be following them. However it wasn't a rare accurance, by far, and so she thought little of it except for the fact that they had just left a possibly compromised situation. With only a light tap on the shoulder, K turned in a whirl of cloth and headed down an even more crowded alley, leaving Dare to fend for herself.

Dare didn't even seem to notice, although this was only an illusion. She had a knack for keeping secrets, even the nonverbal ones (especially those, really). She continued on course past shouting merchants and wandering eyes beneath dark hoods, knowing full well where to rendezvous and that she would need to fight on her own if it came to that; it had been a long time, and the thought of a good fight made the savage grin to herself.

Andri followed the pair into the square, dodging and weaving through the crowd. While her illusion made her unable to be seen, it certainly didn’t stop her from being tangible, and she knew that these shady market-goers would not take kindly to being knocked into, especially someone that they couldn’t see. However, this was not as easy as it would seem. Between getting through the crowd, keeping track of the women she was following, and obtaining her illusion, she was splitting her attention in more directions than was wise. She wished Rani would hurry up; she could use another pair of eyes.
Taking stock of her illusion she found that it was still solid. Satisfied, she sped up a little… and nearly crashed into a cloaked merchant. Only the agility born and honed by many years of running hurriedly through crowded streets saved her from the impending collision. But this had still cost her: her illusion had faltered, leaving her completely visible for about half a second, and as she recomposed herself and looked up, she saw that she was now only trailing the wild-looking woman. They must have suspected that someone might try to follow them, and split up in order to throw off pursuers. Cursing herself for her second slip-up of the day, she continued to follow the savage, taking more care to watch her step.

Enzeru had been the first, and maybe only one in the busy market to notice Andri's illusional mishap. He kept an image of her in his mind's eye and followed the path the seemingly invisible girl took, staying as quiet as he could as he trailed her, one of his hands absently moving to a dagger on his hilt. Something was suspicious about her and he wasn't about to lose her path.

Dare grunted, maneuvering through the mass of shouting buyers and sellers. A glance over her shoulder told her that another was follwing, farther off but definitely on the trail. Two hits already...this was shaping up to be an interesting day indeed. Swerving to the right, ducking between careless bulk of thoughtless slum, she headed out of the marketplace to a bit more peaceful part of town--but such a move also made tracking her much easier as well as obvious to those around her. However, after a life of curious and frightened stares everywhere she went, Daresciethna has grown rather used to being obvious.

Slightly surprised at the actions of the savage woman, Andri continued to follow her. She wasn’t sure what the woman’s intentions were by coming out into the open, surely she must realize that it made her much easier to track, but right now, Andri wasn’t going to question it. She decided to take it as a sign from the gods that she was headed in the right direction. Maybe this day would not continue the way that it had started, and take a turn for the better.

The northern edge of town was much more open than the rest of a generally cramped and makeshift city, which rose behind the small trail of people heading down the most desolate road out of civilization. Although the salty scent of sea water drifted lightly in the air from the breezes to the east, the reality was that they tread dangerously close to Virulai Forest. All the same, the savage woman kept going, passing the thin gnarled trees that seemed to thicken as they walked, growing more cruel in appearance. All that could bee seen ahead was darkest green and shadow, and in only a matter of moments Dare had disappeared into the silence.

Andri followed the strange wild woman into the shadow of the trees and hesitated. All of the stories she had been told by her parents as a child, huddled around the crumbling and pitiful fireplace that had been their only source of heat, flooded her memory. The haunted Virulai Forest, filled, as the stories said, with malevolent spirits and evil witchcraft, the cursed forest that people entered, never to return.
Shaking her head, she thought to herself I’m being silly. Those are just stories meant to frighten children, to keep them from entering the forest and getting lost. Stories that belong to another world, a different life… one that I left long ago. Taking a breath, she stepped into the shadows after her quarry.

Enzeru cursed a bit under his breath as he looked around, having seemingly lost his chase, Andri, into the forest. It didn't take him long to notice she had been tailing someone as well, but he didn't know who. He looked back over his shoulder at the edges of the city again, cursed with a deep breath and turned back to the forests. He gripped the handles of his daggers and ran after her.

Following Andri’s unique magical scent had led Rani to the shadow of the Virulai forest. Looking up at the dark and imposing trees, the earth spirit felt as if his old home was a weight attempting to crush him. He couldn’t go back, he had been banished. But Andri couldn’t handle this forest on her own. The human stories, even if somewhat exaggerated, were not entirely untrue. This forest was perilous, full of things so dangerous and terrifying that not even the demented human imagination could conceive them. He had to go in. His fascination with humans is what had driven him from his home, and now his devotion to a human was forcing him back. Dwelling on the irony of the situation, Rani entered the realm that had once housed his former life.

The forest was strangely quiet. There was no rustling of the leaves, nor the steady beat of wings from birds and insects, nor any thrum of life that one would expect. Nothing but dead silence. After a few tense minutes, a soft low groan-like sound hummed from the trees nearby. Without any other warning, the savage woman dropped from the trees with a low battle cry, thrusting a freshly sharpened spear towards the apparently dangerously naiive woman that had followed her into the forest.

Moments later, her companion charged from the coverage of the forest toward the second follower; K recognized him from earlier has they left the building, sitting idly in one of the trees. She wasn't certain that he had meant to follow them specifically, but in any case he posed a threat simply by being there. With a deftness only a thief and spy could manage to pull off, she pressed a clean dagger to the man's throat--soft enough not to kill, but firm enough to ensure he would not soon forget its presence.

Andri instinctively threw herself to the ground, avoiding the spear. All pretenses at her illusion were gone. She was completely visible and hopelessly vulnerable on the forest floor, with the savage woman towering over her. She stared up defiantly at the woman, almost daring her to continue her assault. While Andri knew she was unarmed, the woman didn't have to know that.

Enzeru's muscles tensed under the point of K's spear, watching her face, his hands held up, empty, in defense. "I'm no threat to you." he said softly, the hints of a smile under his eyes.

In the pause Dare felt the presence of yet another, perhaps spiritual being. It distracted her senses, but only for a moment as she whooped loudly, again thrusting the spear at Andri. Her teeth were gritted and eyes blazing with excitement; she knew better than to think of this as a game from K's reprimands, but all the same she loved the fighting.

K's dagger tightened against the yielding flesh of the man's neck. "Oh, really? Perhaps, or not. But you are a fool for following all the same, especially to this forest. Attempt anything, and you will die." Her voice was steady and deathly calm. It was easy to tell she had done this many times before.

Enzeru looked back at her, straight in the eyes, not moving a muscle. "I would never. As you said, it was a fool's errand to follow into this forest, but it was not you I was following. It was her." he said, his eyes moving past her shoulder to focus on Andri and Dare fighting in the back. "Clearly, you both have the advantage here. I'm like a rat in a trap and just as defensless."

Rolling to the side to avoid the spear for a second time, Andri knew that it was just a matter of time before that spear found its mark. She couldn’t keep up this dodging game forever. She was racking her brains, wondering if she had enough time to conjure an illusion to distract the woman, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye that made a grin creep across her face. She had just seen a flash of gold in the trees behind the woman, and a vine-like plant was growing at an alarming rate, snaking right towards the woman’s feet...

Dare could sense the surge of energy, but was confused by its direction; if it was the woman, the sense would be before her, but this was right behind her and very close. She growled loudly, peering into the trees intently to find the energy's origin. Confused by the magical waves she felt, Dare resorted to her last line of defense, and in a whirl of brown feathers she was gone.

"Shit," came K's whispered response, and with a final glance at her captive she ran towards the snaking roots and let the dagger fly. Although she couldn't sense the magic as her fled campanion had, it was obvious that the vines were being manipulated; she knew the dagger wouldn't kill them, but perhaps it would buy time. "Why are you following us?" she questioned quickly, turning on Andri.

Still staring at the spot where the savage woman had vanished, Andri responded, “I am following you to figure out what the Hammer has planned for the two of you. I know that meeting was to plan some sort of attack on the Immaculates, and I want in on it. Plus, I don’t like being kept in the dark, if something is going on, I like to know what to expect. If the Hammer is planning an attack on the Immaculate base, I’d like to know about it.” She shifted off of the ground into a kneeling position, shifting her gaze to the vines that Rani had used to save her. They were still growing, despite the woman’s attempt to stop them, however even though they were growing faster than any plant should, they had slowed slightly. Rani was not backing off entirely, but he was seeing where this situation was going before resuming the attack.

K glanced behind her at the vinesm wary of them. "What do you expect? He's not the Hammer for nothing. We wants this to be a hard hit to the Immaculates, but with as few people as necessary; it would add insult to injury, and he likes that." She peered through messed bangs at the woman before her, measuring her up. "I can only take those I trust. And with you and whatever that is--" she gestured behind her, "--I don't think you're my prime candidate."

“That is an Earth Spirit who happens to be a close friend of mine,” said Andri, “And as for whether or not you can trust me, well you won’t know that until my loyalty is put to the test. I honestly can’t believe that the Hammer thinks he can deliver a ‘hard hit’ to the Immaculates with just a shapeshifter and a woman with some knives. Not to underestimate your obvious skill, but there’s a difference between two unprepared pursuers and an entire enemy city.” Turning her attention to the man who had been following her, she said “Speaking of unprepared pursuers, how do you fit into all of this?”

"You wouldn't know what you're getting into." Enzeru said from his position at the tree that K had previously pinned him to. Instead now he leaned against it lazily with his arms crossed over his chest lazily.

"Being a friend of spirits in the Virulai is not necessarily a good aspect of your being," K remarked, exasperation clear in her voice. "The Hammer has few he can trust, but me. I am skillful enough, he knows, and I won't deviate from my mission as others do." She paused a moment, thinking. "These woods are dangerous to walk alone, or even in pairs. Even I'm not smug enough to pretend otherwise. If you need to pass through here, I'll take you with me; if I think you're trustworthy, then maybe you'll be able to help me after all." She cast a glance at Enzeru, conveying the message to him as well, for as much as she hated company, she kew the forest just well enough to know that any farther in with only the two of them and they would both fall off the face of the earth.

“Fair enough,” Andri replied, and giving Rani a mental message that the situation was under control she got to her feet, dusting off her father's cloak as she did so. Rani appeared at her side as if he had never left it. “I guess you’d like to know who you are traveling with; I know I would if I were in your shoes. I am Andrisa Namorné and this is my aforementioned Earth spirit friend, Rani.” She looked at the woman and man in turn, hoping that they would reciprocate the formality, she didn’t like traveling with complete strangers, and names were a good spring board to go off on.

Enzeru shrugged slightly, as if it didn't care to him one way or the other. "Enzeru Gomoshi. Angel if you wish; It's what all the children have known to call me by." Turned his glance to K and raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "But you should know me by now, seeing as how we're working together."

K gave Enzeru a curious look, trying to think if she had met the man before. The way he said it would imply that he had known they were going to be there, making him less an innocent bystander than she had presumed. For the moment, though, she decided to push back into her mind for later. Taking two fingers in his lips, she whistled loudly, the sound bouncing through the forest like a stray ball. As if she had done nothing, she said, "I'm Keara, but most call me K when they know me. And my caompanion--" There was another flury of feathers coupled by a strange yelp of a noise, and the savage woman had reappeared, brandinshing her fallen spear; she paused her attack, however, at K's outstretched hand. "This is Dare'sciethna, but there's no need to remember it. She'll understand when you're speaking to her. But don't test her. She doesn't know true friends."

Dare growled lowly, bristling at the strangers they had apparently made peace with for the moment. But K's orders were taken to heart; she wouldn't attack unless K allowed her, or ordered her, to do so. Still, the savage couldn't see why they wouldn't simply kill them and continue on.

Andri looked warily at the spear in Dare’s hand. She didn’t quite trust that the savage wouldn’t continue her attack upon her now that she had returned. But it seemed as if K had some sort of control over Dare. This comforted Andri slightly, but not much. “Alright then,” she said, “Now that introductions are finished, should we continue on our way?”

Rani looked around at the group that they were now travelling with. The woman called K seemed strong and skilled, and there was a magical aura radiating around the shapeshifter. She intrigued him the most, he had never encountered a human shapeshifter before, she would be interesting to observe. The man, Enzeru, hadn’t done or said much, and Rani wasn’t sure what to make of him. He wondered if any of them had the skills and resources that they needed to make it out of this forest alive. Only time will tell, I guess he thought. He knew one thing for certain, he would make sure that Andri came out of this territory alive, no matter what it took.

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