Old World Monsters Act One: Of Pagans

[Comrade Tortoise]

[ita]"They probably wont, but we could sleep in shifts, keeping watch from a rooftop for attacks... not sure how useful at that I will be in a few minutes"[/ita]

[LadyTevar]

Jhelian watched John walk away, feeling unsettled as he went. {Ital} "I do not like this, but it seems we have no choice."{Ital}

[Charon]

The rest of the night went uneventfully. The celebrations had died out again quickly. A sense of dread once again filling the minds of the citizens. They avoided the mercenaries when possible and were polite but eager to finish any conversations they had to have with them. As the last window went dark for the night, the feeling seemed to be that things were more dire, not less.

The sun began to shine over the tall pines that surrounded the town, making some of the damage of last night's battle, namely the explosion just outside it's walls, more apparent. The town was silent however. No animal seemed ready to dare break the ominous silence, and the people moved quickly about their business.

[LadyTevar]

Jhelan had a somewhat sleepless night with the oppressive dread overhanging the town. It wasn't until the middle of the night that she realized the truth of it.

The next day, she sought out Manfred, Francisco, John, Paul, and Agrilos. {Ital} "We are being manipulated," she announced to them. "This horrible dread all around us? It is a Magick attacking the Mind and Hearts of the townspeople, and all within."

[Comrade Tortoise]

Manfred spoke

[ita]"I will see what I can do. I will need both your help Jhelan... and a chicken..."[/ita] Manfred was a bit wild-eyed. On edge, he was nutty again. Well rested, but nutty.

[Marcao]

His eyes opened and focused on the ceiling of his room, a deep breath taken as he sat up and left the bed. It was strange, he did not remember dreaming. He almost always had dreams of some manner or another but yesterday it had seemed as if his body had been too tired to do anything but rest. He pushed the thought aside and prepared for the next day. He spent less than twenty minutes getting ready before leaving.

It was shortly thereafter that Jhelian found him. Her beauty had not diminished over the course of the night but he said nothing. How could he, he had tried to kill her the day before. Worse of all, a part of him whispered in the back of his mind that he may try to do so again. It was certainly not a pleasant feeling. This town was bringing out the worst in him. Jhelian spoke and he listened before he offered his response in his native Italian.

"I suspected as much. I considered an external force was at work during the battle yesterday, it seemed that I could not trust my own senses. I had thought that I managed a way around it but..." His voice trailed of. He had managed a way around his. His defensive magic had kept the influence at bay and thus had allowed him a measure of control over his abilities. Still, what about what had almost transpired? Had that been external influence or internal instability?

He was certain it was the latter even if that knowledge brought with it little comfort. His eyes focused on Jhelian once more as he continued in Italian.

"If it is as you say, do you have a means of tracking who is the party responsbile?" It was beyond his own talents to do so.

[rhoenix]

At this moment, Agrilos simply listened and considered. Though he spoke the language of winds, he did not have the raw power of magic the mages had. After listening to the others, he added his own interjection. "[Italian]In addition to Francisco's question, do we know who it is? It is always prudent to learn about one's enemy.[/Italian]"

(EDIT: Added language tags)

[Comrade Tortoise]

[ita]"I am fairly certain I can, and with yours and her help, I can probably shield the town from this, and other magical effects... at least not those of our own making"[/ita]

Can you really?

It was The Other. Manfred did not respond, not that he had to, for The Other shared his knowledge and thoughts

Oh, the power you have achieved, you can thank me later... and you will

[The Silence and I]

John had risen a little before the morning and set himself to work early. There was much to acomplish. During the night he had prepared his damaged armor for repair--cutting out torn rings and reshaping those which could be salvaged--and he dropped it off at Johann's smithery (either with a note describing his desire that it be repaired, with payment to follow, or a verbal description of such, depending on wether or not anyone was awake at that time).

After this, dressed in his usual travelling outfit, he sought out dry hay or straw for sale, sewing materials and some length of cheap woven cloth, even burlap would do.

This (hopefully) accomplished he retreats to his room once more and begins fashioning oddly shaped objects of the cloth, and stuffs them until they are firm in consistency. Some appear as padding one might wear to soften blows, others are along a similar vein but not quite "right." His hand is accurate and fast but the task before him is large and will require many hours of his undivided attention.

[Charon]

Those who were gathered to watch Manfred work were interupted by the appearance of a tall traveler. The man was covered almost completely in clothing, though his exposed face revealed the lines of age. The traveler's eyes swept over the assembled group and then he smiled as he took another step in, his brown traveling cloak covering him well even as he moved.

"Goodness, and just what have I stumbled across here?" The eyes suddenly gained a dangerous clarity and sharpness. "A group of Monsters masquerading as mercenaries. Very interesting." The older man sat down on the ground then, taking his pack off and beginning to rumage through it. "I assume you have all worked together in the past then? Safety in numbers and all that?" The man apparently found what he was looking for as he smiled and drew out a strip of dried meat, gripping it between his teeth and pulling a chunk off as he waited for a response.

[rhoenix]

As terrifying as the tales told by humans to one another about the horrible and awful deeds of "monsters," the tales some monsters talked about in hushed tones about human Hunters were just as horrifying, if not more so. When encountering a monster, a human may not know what fate will befall him or her. With a Hunter, a monster knows exactly what fate will befall him or her. This is one of those cases where knowledge does not bring comfort.

The aged stranger's questions hung in the air heavily, as a stone being thrown through the air might if it were suddenly robbed of its velocity. Despite the circumstances, Agrilos answered almost...casually, as if the two had met under much more friendly terms at a local pub. "Salutations and blessings to you as well, stranger. I had not met any of these people before yesterday, though I think we all had heard of the strange happenings in this town. If you're willing to lend your expertise, I believe we could use another pair of hands and eyes to decipher what's happening here."

[Comrade Tortoise]

Manfred was not paying attention. He had already started to work. He closed his eyes and uttered an initiator

"Proceum Haraak Navolia oradum envestos" this would create the bounds of the spell, define its area as containing the town and about sixty feet beyond it.