Re: The Woods of Invernesse

[Fira]

Thorb's face lit up with joy. "Oh, wonderful! The last member of our party has awoken! Now I can speak without needing to repeat myself." He cleared his throat and began to answer the questions flying around. "I'm sure this must be a terrible shock for you, oh noble heroes. I would have prepared a much more suitable welcome for you, but unfortunately I was not sure the spell would work, so I left it rather bare bones, I do hope you forgive me."

Thrishika groaned. "Oh, get ON with it. Enough of your godforsaken ceremonial speech."

Elijah looked skeptical. "What do you mean, spell? Magic isn't real."

Thorb looked rather shocked for a moment, then reclaimed his emotions and nervously chuckled a bit, completely ignoring Thorb's annoyance. "Oh, heh heh. Magic is most certainly real, and in fact I'm...a little surprised you don't know that. The Lepidra are supposed to have a bit of magic power, certainly enough for simple spells, and you have one as your master. Surely she would have told you about it. Anyways, the spell I used I found while hunting for mushrooms. A sinkhole had opened up and I found a chest in it. The spell was within, written into a book. It was a summoning spell for use in a time of great need, and this certainly is a time of need if there ever was one."

Thrishika rolled his eyes. "Blah, blah, blah, Thorb. You didn't even answer the original questions."
"I was just getting to--"
"Allow me. Thorb tried to summon some ancient legendary heroes even though the book didn't state that was what he was summoning. He was trying to find folks who could stop this sickness going around, the corruption. It's an incurable disease that basically rots your brain out and turns you into a monster within a week or so of getting it. He thinks YOU GUYS are the heroes. Are you? Who the hell knows. I personally doubt it. There. Was that so hard, Thorb?

Thorb sighed. "You strip all the excitement from every story I try to tell, Thrishika..." He shook his head. "Well, fine. I shall skip all of the excitement and just tell the basics. Like Thrishika said, I summoned you all here in order to combat the corruption. The disease has destroyed our unified kingdom and reduced us to tribes and savagery, which we have been living with for about 50 years now. If it continues like this, I fear the danger and darkness within the world will result in even our society's fall, and then all will be lost. I have been trying for a long time now to find a way to combat the corruption, and this time I think I have done it." He grinned. "This is why you are here. You have been reincarnated into these bodies from the afterlife and with your help, the age of corruption shall finally end! If legendary heroes cannot stop this, then surely all is lost. But I have faith in you."

Emily couldn't handle this. "But we're not legendary heroes! We're just kids! Ordinary kids, brought here and turned into monsters. We're not from here. We're not from anywhere in this world or in your afterlife. I'm from St. Anthony. Not...wherever this is."

Thorb blinked, deeply confused. "...I have never heard of any St. Anthony, neither in modern times nor in any of my books of ancient history. You must be confused from your sudden transport." He coughed. "So, uh....Any other questions?"

[buulord]

Aaron scratched his head. "Yeah so...assuming I believe this is actually real and I'm now some kind of snake bird bird hybrid, how exactly are we suppose to fix this corruption thing? I've known about it for less than a minute and you guys seem to have a much better handle on it than any of us. Oh yeah I'm Aaron, also from St Anthony by the way, nice to meet you people."

[Fira]

Thorb seemed a little taken aback by the question. "Well, I mean, that is...a very good question, and...I'm sure we'll figure it out along our quest! Yes, that's it. That is the point of a quest after all, I mean. Heh heh..." He sighed, completely at a loss. "Okay, fine. You got me on this one. I have no clue. But...we have to try! We have to at least try! This disease came out of nowhere, and I am sure that if we look hard enough, we'll find the thing to stop it!"

Thrishika gave him a look. "And what makes you think these...heroes...are going to want to help you?" he murmured. "You're not even sure they are heroes. For all you know, and from what I've seen, these are just children on the cusp of adulthood that you tore from their homes. Homes you don't even know the location of. Face it, Thorb. You've gone in over your head. And this time, I don't think there will be anyone here to save you."

Thorb squeaked. "Wh-what? Thrishika, what are you saying?"

Thrishika growled. "I'm SAYING this so-called quest is futile! You don't have any heroes! The heroes you keep going on about are long since dead, and if you had paid attention for five minutes whenever someone told you about magic, THERE IS NO SPELL THAT CAN RESURRECT THE DEAD. Once again, you've dabbled in powers that you have no right to dabble in, and are attempting to include me in your messes." He panted with rage for a few seconds. The atmosphere in the area was drenched with awkwardness, and Thorb simply sat there, completely frozen. Thrishika exhaled, regaining control of his temper. "...I've had enough. You've ruined my reputation long enough, and nothing I say will get through to you. I'm not adding another syllable to my name because of you. I'm done. Take these kids home, and solve your own problem this time." He stood, and strode out of the house, not bothering to close the door behind him.

Thorb deflated, a look of mingled terror and grief on his face. He'd done it. His last friend, gone, not even bothering to shut the door. He was truly alone now. He buried his face in his hands. "Oh, gods..." The awkwardness was palpable now, and everyone felt extremely uncomfortable.

Elijah shifted uncomfortably before finally speaking up. "I'm deeply sorry for your, um, loss. I think I'll just...take my leave now. Thanks for, um, answering our questions, and all that." He stood up and started to walk out.

"N-no! Wait. Please." Elijah stopped obediently and turned to look back. Thorb had taken his face out of his hands. He sighed, his eyes downcast. "Thrishika was right. He's been right this whole time. I've been a fool. Let me come with you, at least. I can help...take you home. These lands are dangerous. I can get you outfitted with proper supplies and then act as a guide." Elijah looked at him skeptically, but then glanced at Emily. She gave him a look, and he quickly nodded. Thorb exhaled a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "Th-thank you. I don't think I could bear being in this place for long after that...incident." He gave a watery smile that was altogether unconvincing. "Well then...We should probably leave sooner rather than later. Our local general store should have what we need for our journey. Perhaps we can get a couple of rucksacks, maybe a few bows and arrows, along with our food supplies and waterskins.."

Emily spoke up, a bit confused. "Um...But where exactly are we going?" And what about our clothes, aren't they a little..." She broke off, looking down at herself. She'd completely failed to notice that her dress was not the same as the one she had been trying on back in St. Anthony. This one seemed to be made of a thick homespun cloth, dyed with rich, earthy colors. The necklace she had been wearing had become one of real metal, with the stones turning from cheap plastic to slightly less cheap dyed glass. She looked around at the others and saw their situation was much the same. Their clothes fit in much more with a fantasy setting than anything back in their own world, with denim turning into leather, and any cheap fabric morphing into the homespun cloth she herself was wearing, probably a result of the same spell that turned them into monsters. She murmured to herself. "...Oh. Never mind about the clothes."

Thrishika looked a bit confused for a moment, as he did whenever one of them mentioned something that was beyond his understanding. He remembered the girl's original question, though, and quickly thought of an answer, responding with a small smile. "Ah, your question is much easier to answer than the lamia boy's was. We shall travel to the king. Nobody has heard from him for a few years, but I'm sure he's been working tirelessly. His spellcasters are the best in the whole kingdom; one of them has to be able to reverse the spell I found in this book and return you to where you came from, even if I've never heard of it. The only hard part should be getting there. We're at the northern border of Invernesse, and getting to the very center of the kingdom, even back in the old days when the roads were good, took several weeks. In this condition, it could take months." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, a little upset at himself for getting them into such a predicament. "But, as Thrishika said, this is my problem, and I assure you I will do everything in my power to reverse the damage I've done. You will get home safely, I promise you that."

Emily beamed, and the atmosphere lightened considerably at the good news. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all. Thorb nodded to himself, pleased that he managed to lighten the mood, and turned to go get something. He returned after a few minutes with a small leather backpack and a threadbare pouch that jingled merrily. "Since we're not coming back to this place for months, now seems the time to use this. My father intended this to be used to build my home and get the needed supplies for when I settled down and got married, but that is obviously never going to happen. We'll use it to buy our supplies instead. I just hope we have enough..."

Emily perked up. "Oh!" She reached for the back of her neck to unclasp her necklace. "I don't know if this will be worth much, since it was just some cheap costume jewelry back where I came from, but I don't need it and I'd rather have the supplies." She pulled it off and handed it to Thorb, who seemed taken aback by the generosity.

Thorb examined the necklace, stunned."Oh, my...This is real silver...The gems could be real or just glass, I can't tell, but the metal alone should fetch a good price. Thank you so much, with this I'm sure to have enough for all of our supplies." He smiled again, and this time, it was genuine. "Let's go to Thokerin's, then. He's the most trusted storeowner in the city and he's sure to have exactly what we need." He opened the pouch and gently placed the necklace inside before reclosing it and putting it in an inner pocket of his robe. Emily beamed, pleased to have helped so much.

~~

After a short walk through the same cold, quiet city they had found when they entered, Thorb still greeting every troll they passed (though he was ignored), the ragtag group made it to the general store, a wide building made of logs with a fine shingled roof and a heavy oak door. The sign above had strange glyphs in it that none of them could read, but Thorb assured them this was the right place. Thokerin was a rich man, and the rich often used archaic versions of the troll glyphs to mark their homes and businesses. Thorb knocked smartly on the door three times, then pulled the string of the brass bell next to it and waited.

"Who wishes to enter my store at this hour of the night? Is it beast or fellow troll? State your name!"

"It is Thorb, a fellow troll, and I come bearing gold and guests!"

"You're a liar, Thorb, if I've ever seen one. Your family is as poor as the dirt you live in. The only gold you would have is either fake or not meant for my store. I've told you before that you won't get anything from me no matter how much you beg, now get out!."

"No, father, wait. I think this time he's not here to beg. Let him in and hear him out."

There was a long pause before the oaken door swung inward. A much larger troll stood in the threshold, at least 6 feet tall with a medium-length grey beard and the fat, round belly customary to the rich. He stared sternly at Thorb, but looked genuinely surprised at those that were with him. "Now who would want to be YOUR guest, Thorb...?" he murmured to himself before standing aside to let them pass. They entered the store gratefully.

A large fire burned in a grey stone stove at the center of the wooden floor, protected by a metal grate that surged with magical energy. The walls were lined with shelves, all of which contained items that were neatly marked with a price. There was food and paint, nails and lumber, chalk and herbs, potions and other sundries, and in the back, rucksacks and waterskins. Behind the counter, if one could find a view that would let them see behind Thokerin (for he was very large), there hung whole pig carcasses and tanned hides, as well as a large spit that slowly spun over a roaring fire, cooking some chickens and unknown small animals. A set of spiral stairs also ran behind the counter, probably leading to a loft where Thokerin and his family lived. The whole store had a delicious odor from the cooking animals and the sweet smell of the lumber used to build it, and was very comfortably warm from the firestove in the center. However, though the surroundings were sumptuous and distracting, Thorb was most concerned with the figure in the center, none other than Thrishika.

Thrishika spoke first, and it was hard to tell whether he was proud or angry at Thorb. His father had retreated behind the counter, content to let his son handle the problem of these guests while he listened in. "Thorb, you have a ridiculous amount of nerve, barging into this store this late at night. I was this close to letting Father kick your sorry butt out. Yet...it seems my departure was exactly what you needed to come to your senses, if you have them with you. Why here, though? Father doesn't like you, you know this, and all of the other stores are open much later, even if they don't charge as fair a price as ours."

Thorb responded sheepishly. "I wanted to ask your forgiveness, even if I didn't get it. I was an idiot. A dirt-addled, pig-brained idiot, no less. I've finally realized that. Losing your last friend does that to you, I guess. Could you help me, this one last time?"

Thrishika crossed his arms, giving Thorb the same stern stare his father had. "If that's all you wanted, I can tell you you're wasting your time. I may forgive you, but stating the obvious isn't going to make me help you, especially since you have no money. Father was right about that, you're as poor as the dirt you live in. Any gold you have probably is fake, or not intended to be used in this store."

Thorb nodded and pulled out the pouch of money. "Well, it may be the former, but it's certainly the latter. This is the last thing my father did for me before he died. The entirety of his life savings, intended to be kept until I had a bride and needed to build my home. But we both know that's not going to happen, don't we? Leilera would never have me, and she's the only one I have eyes for. I'm going to use this money to try and reverse the damage I've done instead, starting with you. I'm going to spend this buying supplies for these folks whose lives I've derailed with my selfishness, and I want to spend it at your store."

Thrishika looked offended, and for good reason, for that sort of money was never supposed to be used for anything other than the purpose it was given, especially since it was the last request of his elder. He was just about to protest when Thokerin cut him off. "Aah, let the idiot do this. He'll have no peace until he does, and it's obvious he ain't comin' back to the village until he sees this quest through. Ain't that right, Thorb?" Thorb nodded, blushing a little, and Thokerin laughed heartily. "Aah, you're an idiot, but you're a persistent idiot with a good heart. Alright, lemme see that gold, then."

Thorb hurried over to the counter and placed the pouch on the polished wood. Thokerin opened the pouch delicately and poured it into a wooden bowl. He pulled out a magnifying glass and started picking up the gold pieces and biting them, setting them aside in two piles. He was wordless while he worked, and Thrishika went off to go rearrange the shelves and check the stock. A few minutes passed, and Thokerin leaned back, the gold arranged in two neat piles and the necklace still sitting the bowl. "Well, you'll be pleased by this. A little less than a quarter of your gold is fake, which is the usual. The necklace has glass gems, but it's real silver and that should add one more gold to your total. Overall you have about 47 gold, which is probably more gold than you've ever seen in your lifetime. Not enough for a good-sized house, but enough to build you a better shack than the one you live in. And definitely enough for whatever supplies you need. Maybe even for a couple of swords left over, depending on what you buy." He filled the pouch back up with the real gold and left the fake gold alone, except for one or two coins which were just colored silver and were still worth something, and handed it back to Thorb.

Thorb turned back to his companions and grinned. "Things are looking up! I'll let you guys pick out your own rucksacks and stuff while I go haggle over the food we need. You guys should only need one or two gold each so I should have more than enough to fill our packs. I'll check back with you when we're all set, then we can go back to my home and spend our first night together."

Thokerin, unwilling to be outhosted, called out. "No, no, that will not be necessary! I shall be the host for your last night before you leave, and let you have a fond memory of our village before you go out into the wilds. It's the least I can do for all of this gold."

Thorb blinked, then smiled and bowed in thanks. "Then it's settled. We'll stay here. Everyone, pick out your supplies and come by the counter when you're ready."

[buulord]

Aaron slithered his way toward the items on display. He was still a ways off from what you might call 'graceful' but he had managed to learn to move fairly well on his new snake tail. Adapting to the unexpected was a must for anyone learning to fly and it was something he prided himself on. If there was something he could never get use to though, it was conflict. He had felt immensely awkward during the exchange between Thorb and Thrishika back at Thorb's house. Some of it went over his head but what he got had made him want to just slither into a hole until they were done.

Chuckling to himself at his word choice, he picked up a fairly worn bow. "This looks pretty good."

[Fira]

Elijah grew steadily more annoyed throughout the whole exchange. This drama was none of his concern and was only wasting his time. He was grudgingly pleased at the troll's about-turn in intentions, however. This was much more suited to his needs. He had worked out on his own that this wasn't a dream, as much as he wanted it to be, and that he was stuck in this stupid world for an indefinite period of time. He was determined to leave as soon as possible. Invernesse was unhealthy for all involved, Emily in particular.

He wasn't sure what was going on with his emotions, but he felt a near-obsessive need to protect Emily. Maybe it was hormones. Maybe it was stupid robot shit. He just didn't know. But he didn't bother questioning it, deciding to follow his gut. Emily's breakdown earlier, while blissfully brief (he had to admit he was impressed by her mental strength; recovering that quickly was unheard-of), was deeply worrying. Thus why he was following her like a lost puppy. If anything else happened, he figured he could prevent as much damage to Emily as possible if he stayed close to her.

Emily, meanwhile, was blissfully unaware of the robot's internal monologue. She didn't mind having Elijah as a shadow, since he stayed out of her way for the most part and she was having too much fun to care when he did get in her way. She couldn't read any of the labels on the shelves, but for the most part she recognized the items being sold. Sure, there were a few dubious packages in the back that she was unsure of, but there was more than enough to keep her occupied in the store.

She was busy admiring a well-carved walking stick when she noticed the rucksack in the back. She gasped and put the stick back, walking hurriedly over to it. It was exactly her taste, a simple brown backpack with yellow flowers embroidered with thick string on the front flap. The flowers were also on the straps, which deeply pleased her. She wanted it-- no, needed it-- and checked the price tag with her heart in her throat. It was only 1 gold (fairly expensive for a rucksack, but good enough for her purposes). She grinned widely and picked it up off of its hook, holding it close to her body possessively as she went to look at the other products.

Elijah paused for a moment at the rucksacks while Emily was busy admiring her selection. He quietly grabbed the largest one that was there, which, at 75 silver, was a bargain compared to Emily's. Being a tireless robot had its perks, and he was fine with being the group's pack mule if it meant they would travel faster. He followed her over to the other shelves, content with his decision.

[Captain]

GODDAMNIT. GOD. FUCKING. DAMNIT. FUCK THE FUCKING FUCKS WHO FUCKING THOUGHT THEY COULD FUCKING FUCK WITH THE GODDAMN KING OF THE FUCKING CITY; THE GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING SAVIOR OF SENSE AND NON-FUCKING-RESPONSIBLE BULLSHIT FUCKING SCENARIOS THESE FUCKING ASSFUCKS FUCKING BULLSHIT PULLED ALL THE FUCKING TIME LIKE THE FUCKING COWARDLY FUCKS THEY FUCKING ARE, TAKING THE FUCKING--

The mental screaming went on and on as Hope tried to loosen the ties on his wrists. They'd taken his knives. Fucking ALL of them. And the ties fucking HURT. And the trunk was hot and the blood cuts stung and his eye was fucking swollen and the sound of the road was too fucking loud for him to think and--

They slowed. Hope froze for a second as he tried to figure out what was going on. A moment later, the car turned to the left. They were inside some place, then, not just driving on a fucking endless road. He freaked out and continued to scratch at the ties. There was no way to reach his feet to free them, so he was stuck trying to free his hands. With his fingernails. The fucking bastards.

The car was going quite slow for a while before Hope noticed. It stopped and he could feel his heart drop as the car doors opened. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.

The trunk door opened, barreling sunshine into Hope's eyes like a goddamn bullet. He instinctively tried to struggle, but found it absolutely useless. He was half-carried, half-dragged across the rough concrete. The alley walls seemed to mock him as he attempted to scream through a dry gag. His throat fucking STUNG, but somebody had to be able to hear him. SOMEBODY.

He was thrown bodily onto a pile of trashbags. The head of the city's piss-poor mafia raised his gun, his two men taking point behind him to either side. "Nobody fucks a Marconi and lives to tell the tale." Hope's heart was racing faster than it'd ever raced before. He knew this was the end and no fucking way out. No way out, no heroic death, and certainly no way to make it hold meaning. He did the one thing he could think to do and screamed into the cloth louder and harder than he'd ever before. And then -- red. Swallowed up immediately by the sticky black embrace beyond.

-----

Work sucked, but that was nothing new. Two customers had gotten ornery as all getout that their favorite brand of cigs was out. "Not my stupid problem, you imbeciles." he muttered under his breath. Completely due to the manager who'd failed to order that brand AGAIN. And had instead gotten the one nobody ever bought AGAIN. Like the moronic asshat he was. As always.

Aaron sighed and glared at the clock, daring it to move faster. The sooner he could get out, the better. The sooner he could leave, the sooner he could get something to freaking eat, since he hadn't eaten at all that day, which would mean the sooner he could stop shaking and could get back to coding. The app was almost done, which meant he might be able to get some spending money and stupid Tank Reporr would eat his words about 'small-town nerds never making it anywhere in life'. Not that that would make Aaron feel any better, since revenge is a simple, small-minded reaction to piss-poor attitudes from others. Aaron held many 'base emotions' in very low regard. Including depression. Which sucked.

So did work. And he had another 5 minutes to go. Within a moment, two minutes of that time were occupied by the couple who came in looking completely out-of-state, ordered ice cream, and then proceeded to spend the next 90 seconds deciding on flavors. Part of Aaron wanted them to take longer, so that he could leave as soon as they were done. The rest of him considered creating the ultimate death ray. He had the knowledge, he knew how it would work, and he'd already built a few smaller bits of it.

The lady ordered Butter Pecan and Lime. The man ordered Strawberry and Avocado. Why there was even an avacado-flavored ice cream in stupid existence was beyond Aaron. Why people would think such flavors would go together was just as beyond him. The people paid for their ice cream, though, and Aaron handed it over with a mental wish that it would turn out to be a poisonous mixture and the world would be less two morons.

Finally, the clock pointed to 2pm. Without waiting for his replacement to even get there, because who gave a goddamn, he clocked out and left. There certainly weren't enough people in the town to reasonably replace him, and he did his job well. As well as he could, to his capabilities, anyways. Not that it really mattered, anyways.

He beelined for the nearest Mexican place and ordered a hardshell turkey taco and five bean burritos. He got himself an iced tea and picked a spot by the window, fully intending to enjoy his meal. Unfortunately, he never got to take a bite.

-----

"DROP THE MOTHERFUCKING BASS"

Loud pulses of blaring bass action berated the masses below. It wasn't even a rave night. Wasn't even a Friday night. Or a band night. Or a night at all, even. Or any sort of any special anything. Except that Bobby K was in the house, and that was reason enough for the house to be packed to the gills.

The beat switched up and Bobby closed his eyes and let the damn thumps wash over him. He could feel the music. This is why he did it. This is why he got in the action to begin with. And once he did, there was no turning back. He became what the people wanted and the people wanted what he was now. A subtle noise caught his ear and he opened his eyes to see a girl at the request corner.

"SUP?" he called out over the music. She'd said something, but he didn't know what. She shouted something and he read her lips enough to know which song she wanted. He nodded and yelled back "I'LL WORK IT IN, K?" Without waiting for a reply, he added "AWESOME."

The beat was about the same. He lined it up and set it to take over at the bridge right after the BA-DA-DUDUDUDUDUDUN-TADA-DUN bit in about 30 seconds. It came through as smoothly as expected and the crowd went wild. He got a few cheers his direction that he could make out over the quiet bit before the peak of the chorus. He smiled. There was literally nothing else he'd rather have been doing right then.

[Fira]

While the others were busy in Thokerin's shop, the summoning circle on the hill at the edge of town activated once more. If one were nearby, the energy pooling in the area would have been nearly unbearable. The magic was so intense, it was pooling into a visible blue glow that sparked and crackled dangerously. This was much more magic than anything Thorb or anyone else could have sparked. It condensed and soon took on a recognizable form. The new lightning elemental was hurled outside of the ring to make room for the other new arrivals. They appeared almost simultaneously to the naked eye, though the demon was lucky enough to be freed from the spell first by a margin of only few seconds.

He was tossed just as unceremoniously as the elemental, except for one key difference: when he landed, his horn grazed the surface of the ring, wiping part of it out and breaking the spell. Whatever form the last person took was lost for good. The remaining magic was spent trying to retrieve him from his own world without killing him. It succeeded, but only barely. A pool of yellow slime glopped up from the very center of the summoning ring and settled in place, a pair of closed eyes floating up from the viscous liquid to return to their proper place.

Had any of the three new arrivals awoken right at that instant, they would have spotted a hunched bundle of black and blue feathers retreat into the trees, spooked by their sudden appearance. The forest was quiet, for now, and the city in the valley nearby was alight with numerous fires and the soft glow of magic-powered lamps.

[Captain]

"Bluuhhhhhhh..."

The three awoke around the same time, each slowly coming back to cognition. Hope was the first to recognize the visual change.

"What the FUCK is THIS!?" His tail whipped angrily as he tried to get a good glance of it. He was instantly distracted, however, when he noticed his hands. "WHAT THE FUCK!?" He took a step backwards and jumped when his tail brushed his own leg, managing to lose his balance and fall rather unceremoniously on his rump. Instead of getting up, he remained sitting there, staring aghast at the newly bloodred-skinned body. "WHAT THE LITERAL FUCKING FUCK!?"

"How terribly articulate..." Aaron mumbled, eyes still closed. He didn't seem to be altogether there mentally at the moment. Quite possibly checked out for the time being, but his... now rather gelatinous body was still intact.

"Yeah, but I freakin' get it." The voice was warped, as if filtered by a cheap electronic voice modulator set on high. "I feel like I've woken up in some sadistic little pissant kid in chemotherapy's mind." He looked like a dozen bolts of lightning flitting around and forming a vaguely humanoid form that couldn't manage to stand completely still. "I mean, where the fuck ARE we, Ferngully? Wonderland?"

Aaron opened his eyes slowly. "Watch your words. You've alerted us to the fact that you are a bigoted abliest piece of--" he spotted the flabs of gel right in front of him and stopped abruptly. "AAAUUUGH!!! What is ON me!?" It took a bit to piece together that it wasn't simply something on him, but... rather his own physicality. "AAAUUUUUGHHHH!!!!" He took a moment to try and accept it, but as if it wasn't enough, he repeated the sentiment. "AAAAAAAAUUUUUGHHHHH!!!!!!!"

"Calm down, Gloops." Hope slowly pulled himself to his feet, grateful somehow that he wasn't the only strange shape here, nor the only one to have suffered some sort of transformation. Aaron was not taking this so calmly.

"CALM DOWN!? DO NOT TELL ME TO CALM DOWN, YOU OVER-INFLATED MONGREL OF BLEEDING BULLSHIT! YOU HAVE A HUMAN BODY! YOU CANNOT TALK! I HAVE--- I'M---!"

"The opening villains of just about every RPG ever?" The lightning figure offered. Aaron froze.

"Bobby?!?"

Bobby pulled a salute that seemed only barely visible to the other two. Lesso of a salute and far more of a glitched jerk. Bobby, though speaking at a normal speed, seemed to be stuck in a high-speed existence, where every single movement was sped up by several thousand percent.

"BOBBY, WHAT THE HELL!?"

"I dunno, man..."

There was an awkward silence while the three slowly and silently explored their apparently new bodies. Hope took a moment to lift his loincloth and check what was underneath. He seemed satisfied. Aaron simply kept moving quite slowly and watching how the light reflected off and through his translucent self. Bobby figured out he could "flit" around, moving at top speeds from one place to another. He interrupted the train of thoughts from the other two with a sudden, "Hey, look! Civilization!"

The others gathered to the edge of the hill and looked down. There was indeed some sort of crude town at the foot of it. Bobby was already haltingly flitting down the hill. Hope gave it a glance and shrugged. "Okay."

"Now, hold on! Hold on!" Aaron pleaded. Hope turned around to see Aaron backing up towards the circle. "Got an issue, Gloop?"

"I can't go there!" Hope raised an eyebrow. "No, I mean, LOOK AT ME!!!"

Hope snickered. "Yeah, well, Buzzy's already forgotten the image he's holdin', so I'd recommend bucking the fuck up and moving on. Who knows, it could be a town of gloop, though I doubt it. So get moving."

Aaron just glanced at the town before turning his gaze to the ground. Either the dirt became REALLY interesting, Hope decided, or it was pointless to continue talking. "Fine, then. Don't." He made his way down the hill slowly, as if expecting the ground to hurt his bare feet. It clearly didn't, but that didn't avert his caution.

Aaron took a moment of deliberation, but clearly decided it was far more worth it to follow the others than to sit atop the hill. He looked around in clear sad frustration before taking it to the trees and following as fast as he could manage to slide.

[Fira]

The feathered figure peeped out from its hiding spot in the trees, curious at some basic level deep within its warped and broken mind. It uttered a short "Caw!" before clambering back down from its perch and slipping back into the dark embrace of the trees, not wanting to risk its flesh on simple curiosity.

~~~

The town, now that Thorb wasn't passing through it, had livened up considerably. Life was a bit more subdued at night than in the daytime, but the citizens were still confident of their safety and walked freely around outside of their houses without fear. Most of the stores were closed, save for one. Thokerin's shop, the tallest building in town, was usually the first to close, but tonight it remained open, if one judged by the lights still on in the windows and the smoke still steadily pouring out the chimney. How strange.

A few trolls paused in their business at the sight of the three figures, for visitors this far north and in these times were extremely rare. However, when they saw what exactly the visitors were, they took no time in scattering. While the elemental and the slime were both mere nuisances, the demon was far more than that. Local superstition placed demons at the top of the "things to avoid" list, and for good reason, as they were known to be cruel brutes that would not hesitate to do evil if it meant they could fulfill their own goals that much faster. Trolls were quick to flee, and they did so now, all of them flitting into their homes, shutting off the lights, and barring the doors, praying that the demon would have mercy and spare them.

In a very short time, the town was just as deserted for the three newcomers as it had been for Thorb's group. The only building that stayed open was the general store, its lights still shining invitingly.

~~~

Emily had finally finished her shopping, pleased with herself at how well she had done. Though the items in the store had all interested her, she'd managed to restrict herself to the essentials. Along with her rucksack, she'd picked out a nice canteen for herself and a warm knitted blanket in case she needed to camp out along this trip. She had also found a pair of soft leather pants to protect her legs, since her dress didn't offer much protection there. She'd even managed to stay below budget, with five silver coins still left after all was said and done. Or at least, she HAD managed to stay below budget. Emily had noticed that she had enough money for it, and decided to splurge on one of those dubious paper bags, curious as to what they contained. The label was a mystery to her, but the bag she had picked out was nicely decorated on the outside and she deeply hoped it held candy of some sort.

Elijah had also finished his shopping, picking out a blank book and a pencil as well as a pouch of glowing stones, which, after a quick check with Thorb as he passed by, were sure to only glow and nothing else. He also picked up several bars of soap and a few fabric washcloths. For some reason, everybody always seemed to forget hygiene whenever they went on trips, and it infuriated him to no end. He was a little disappointed that there were no toothbrushes, but at least bathing would be assured with these supplies. Lastly, he grabbed a bow and as many arrows as he could buy with his remaining money, along with a leather quiver that had long enough straps to fit Emily's wings through comfortably. He doubted he would need any sort of weapon to defend himself with, and a bow seemed like a good choice for keeping Emily safe and out of trouble. It would be a nice present, he reasoned.

Matteo, meanwhile, was still trying to decide, not sure if he should buy a bow, one of those bags of sweets, a new shirt, or any of the other items in the store. He was completely overwhelmed. He had enough trouble trying to decide on a rucksack, let alone all of this other stuff. He slithered wildly around the store, his tail knocking a couple of things off their shelves. Elijah glared at him disapprovingly, but he paid the robot no mind, thankful that he wasn't coming over there to chew him out on being "inefficient", or some shit. It wasn't his fault that there was too much available in this store.

[Regina]

April tried in vain to pick up two coins for herself, but to no avail. Her tail dropped in unison with her ears as she let out a high-pitched whine. She wandered around the store, navigating the spaces between the shelves and other monsters, despite being able to float through anything. She tried again to pick up a rucksack, but the poor werewolf's furry hands went right through the bag. She kept trying again and again with different objects, but found that they offered no resistance. She passed right through the supplies and the shelves and the walls and even the people around her.

The girl let out a short, low howl full of dismay. She could no longer deny it: she was dead, and a ghost. With her head low, she wandered off to the corner, not caring where she was going, passing through a very shocked August and bemused Lacy.

Lacy, meanwhile, was having a field day in the shop. She went to get a rucksack and was oddly pleased to find one made out of dark leather with ingrained patterns that looked almost like spiderwebs. She grinned as she realized that it came with extra straps that were especially strong and tight, so it would stay closed even when she crawled upside down. She filled it with all the necessary objects, and on the way snagged a small necklace and stealthily placed it in her vest pocket.

Upon finding a flask, she smirked; that meant that the alcohol must be somewhere. She eventually found it in a large barrel; she cautiously opened it and stuck her finger in the liquid, then unceremoniously tasted it. Yep, that was alcohol. She gleefully filled the flask with the delicious drink.

Marcy was having no trouble getting the basic supplies, as well as a blank spell book for writing down proverbs and riddles (as well as ideas for pranks) and a pretty ring made of silver. For some reason, the ring smelled intoxicating, but she assumed that was because of the magic of the shop.

As she was organizing her bag and counting up her leftover money, she caught sight of something that sent chills down her spine: dolls. Their crude, blank eyes stared right into her soul and made her freeze in fright. It took her a moment to regain her thoughts and turn away, hurriedly shuffling out of their line of sight.

Ian wasted no time in getting a large bag of sweets before even glancing at the bags and other supplies. He shied away from the other teenagers, wanting to interact but too shy to talk to them. He looked at the bows and arrows, but they didn't feel quite right. He wanted a weapon, but the ones available didn't suit him. He combed the shop another two times, but couldn't find the spear that he was looking for. He was simply wandering, looking lost, when August swooped down to help him.

August had finished his shopping relatively quick, and saw the poor boy and wanted to help.

"What's wrong?"

Ian flustered, not expecting the sudden exchange.

"W-Well, I, um, I wanted a spear but they don't have any here..."

August smiled at Ian, happy to help.

"No problem. I'll go ask for one!" He was off before Ian could process what had happened, and soon returned with a fine water-resistant wooden spear with a hard metallic head.

"I'm August, by the way. Who are you?" And with that introduction, Ian had made a friend.

[Captain]

The town seemed abandoned. It was rather clear that people lived there, but certainly nobody was in sight.

"Hey, what freakin' gives?" Bobby asked. It wasn't only Hope who figured out that something was wrong, then. "I... don't know..." He was hesitant to say that, though. And for good reason. There seemed to be a memory tugging at the corner of his mind that perhaps could have explained this all. He just couldn't... grasp onto it. Something that caused him pain to think about.

Something snapped and he froze. He'd been shot. He'd been screaming and he'd been shot. Bullet to the head. He'd actually felt a split-second of electric heat before the black. But... the black hadn't lasted, had it...

"Helloooooo!" Bobby was still flitting about. "Hey, is anyone there? I don't bite, I promise!"

Hope frowned. He'd get back to this. There was something to uncover. He just knew it. But in the meantime, there was very obviously stuff to take care of.

[Fira]

Matteo, after several excruciating minutes of searching, managed to finally  decide on what he wanted to buy. He picked out several bags of candy and a canteen in addition to his bag and quickly moved to join the others. He paid for his things, pocketing the rest of the coins. Thorb looked them all over approvingly."Does everyone have what they need? Wonderful." He gave a short nod to Thokerin. "We've gotten our supplies, so I think we'll be done for the night. We should probably work out where we're going to be staying..."

While the two trolls discussed the arrangements for the night, Thrishika had busied himself by clearing up the shelves and replacing the items Matteo had knocked down, all the while thinking. There was something that wasn't right. He was sure he was forgetting something important. Something about magic...
"Oh, no. Oh, god no. Thorb!"

"There won't be any stealing going on, I can promise you that, and-- Eh? What?" Thorb broke off his discussion and blinked at Thrishika in surprise. The other troll looked angry, which only increased his nervousness. "What? What is it? What's wrong?"

Thrishika gritted his teeth, angry at himself for forgetting. He spoke quickly. "Did we erase your magic circle?"

Thorb furrowed his brow, trying to remember. "No...I don't think so. Why does that matter?"

Thrishika growled. "Because, you idiot. That spell will continue until its energy runs out or that circle's erased."

"...Which means...?"

Thrishika sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. He'd forgotten how dense Thorb could be. "Which means, there are more "heroes" coming. Which means your group is getting bigger. Which means there is a huge problem." Thorb still looked a bit confused, which just made Thrishika groan. "Don't you get it? That spell is going to continue. Which means more "heroes" are going to get summoned, probably are getting summoned as we speak, and that means this company is going to get a lot bigger and more difficult to supply."

Thorb gasped, finally comprehending what he had done. "Oh, gods...What do we do?"

Thrishika was at a bit of a loss. "Well, it's night now. Far too late to go running back outside to erase it. There's nothing we can do except wait and hope the magic runs out before this group doubles in size. We should go and find the others before they get attacked. I just hope it's the townspeople attacking them and not the forest beasts..."

[Captain]

It took a bit. Bobby remained flitting around, shouting at the top of his lungs. Hope seemed lost in thought, barely recognizing the location. Aaron sighed. Of course it was up to him to point out the obvious.

"Yo. Bozos. Lights."

Without even the slightest acknowledgement of the insult thrown at him, Bobby swung around. Spotting the singular establishment with any sort of sign of life, he dove for it and attacked the front door. Unintentionally, of course. Instantly, there was a writhing mass of electricity on the ground in front of the door.

"Nice going, McFuckwitson." Hope sneered. "Although maybe it got their attention..."

[Fira]

The sudden thump from the door made everyone jump. Thorb exhaled, recovering from the startle. "...I wasn't expecting any guests." He looked at the others for confirmation and walked over to the door uneasily. With a shaking hand, the troll turned the knob and pulled the door open. His eyes widened, and with a small wheeze of terror, he slammed it shut, leaning against it with a horrified look on his face. "Th-there's a..." He wheezed again, unable to finish.

Elijah gave him a look of disgust. "Rude." He pushed the frightened troll aside and calmly opened the door, looking right at the motley trio. He was entirely unimpressed. "And you were scared of these bozos?"

Emily peeked out from behind the robot. She looked up at him skeptically. "Not everyone is made of metal like you, Elijah. I'm a little nervous."

Matteo peeked out from his other side. "Oh. Hello there, big scary demon dude. You here to tell us about our lord and savior Lucifer?"

Elijah scowled and elbowed the naga off. "Get off of me." He sighed and resumed observing the newcomers. "Considering how strange you three look, I imagine you're from St. Anthony like the rest of us?"

[Captain]

Bobby zipped back a few feet once he'd gotten on his own. "Yeah. We are. How'd you know?"

Hope scoffed. "Speak for yourself. I'm from Minneapolis."

Bobby chuckled. "Huh. You never mentioned that. What brought you to St. Anthony, then."

Hope gave him a glare that would have set asbestos aflame. "My DEATH."

Bobbly flinched. Or maybe he was simply standing still. It was hard to tell. Aaron saved the awkward moment by intercepting. "Okaaaayyyy... Conversation for later. First up, yes. We look weird. Yes, we're from St. Anthony." He gave Hope a sidelong glance with that that suggested he hold his tongue. "And most certainly YES, we are here to tell you about our lord and savior Lucifer."

Hope glowered. Aaron continued anyways. "All joking aside, though... what the fuck? Since you seem to have more information than any of us three."

[Regina]

April's werewolf instincts had been going crazy since Bobby first started yelling. Her hearing was still significantly superior, despite her ghostly form. She had been on high alert, reading to protect her pack from any threat. Her tail was bristled and her nails sharpened and extended. When Bobby hit the door, she barked once and growled, slowly stalking her way to the door. She almost lunged at the trio, but stopped when it was revealed that they were more of them.

At that information, her tail began to wag, recognizing friends. She tilted her head when Hope mentioned his death.

"You're...dead, too?" She was cut off by Lacy.

"Heh. We do know more, but it isn't going to make a whole lot of sense. Basically we were summoned here because we were supposed to be legendary heroes to fight some disease that's killing this world."

She paused to get a better look at the boys when her face lit up with recognition.

"Hey!" She slid up to Bobby, getting as close in his personal space as she physically could. "I've seen you. I've been at your DJ sessions. I gotta say, I've gotten my best hook-ups from that."

She glanced over at Hope with a hungry look. The demon wasn't so bad, either. She would have to hit him up too, but one thing at a time.

[Captain]

Hope spoke before Bobby could. "What do you mean 'dead, too'?" He sized her up and down. "You certainly don't look dead."

Bobby intentionally zapped her with a minute amount of electricity, completely ignoring Hope. "You know me, but I certainly don't know you. What's your name, then?"

Aaron stared agape at Bobby. "DID YOU MISS THAT ONE ACTUALLY IMPORTANT PART???" He shook his gelatinous head in frustration, unfortunately closely attached to the rest of his body. No visible neck, so the whole form swayed from the motion. He didn't seem to notice. "Something about summoned here? Legendary heroes? Sickness? What?! Further explanation is required." He bounced up and down, as if a trampoline bouncing itself. "May we come in?"

[Fira]

Elijah chuckled a little, pleased at the abuse given to the spider girl, and stepped aside. "Of course. Take care not to touch me, though. Lightning and metal don't mix well."

Once everyone had entered the room, Elijah shut the door gently and turned to face the new trio. "Spiderbitch here does a shitty job of explaining, so allow me. These creatures here are called trolls, and the one in orange, Thorb, summoned us here to fight this thing called the corruption, which is apparently a disease that destroyed their entire world. Apparently, despite the fact that none of us are from here or have any idea what's going on, we're expected to know what the hell we're doing and stop this disease. Obviously. Thankfully, Thorb finally got some sense and instead is taking us home. We're going to see the king so his magicians can do some powerful magyyks and this whole thing will be over with." He said all of this rather quickly.

Emily sighed. "You forgot to mention that this trip is going to take weeks, maybe even months. And now that these three are here, we're going to be burdened by all of these extra mouths to feed and three less packs to carry the food."

Thorb frowned. "Uh, two, technically. Elementals are incorporeal like ghosts. No rucksacks allowed on those...But if anyone has extra money, we could probably get a couple more packs..."

Matteo sighed. "Man, I was gonna save this. Fine, have a gold." He tossed his coin to Thorb, who nodded gratefully and hurried over to the hanging packs, still a little nervous around the demon. He picked out two simple, unadorned bags and paid for them, with two silver left to spare. He handed it back to Matteo, who did not look pleased in the slightest. "Thanks. I guess."

He handed the packs to elijah, who simply sighed before passing them over to the demon. He paused for a moment, then took one back and gently pushed the other pack into the slime boy's back, wondering if it would stick. "So, are we all settled now? Questions, comments, complaints? No? Good."

[Captain]

Aaron frowned. "Possibly less than two. According to numerous RPGs, both tabletop and digital, slimes are capable of receiving nutrients from anything." His frown deepened. "I'm not hyper to attempt to eat a log, but it could help, perhaps."

Bobby was still occupied with eyeing the spidergirl. What he saw in her, Hope had no idea. He turned his gaze back. "Okay, so first up, I'm not a burden. I'm not saying I don't want to be a burden, I'm fucking stating that me, myself, and all that I am are not a burden. Therefore, don't fucking worry about me."

He assumed a somewhat defensive stance. "And who the fuck says we're all going on this 'mission'? So there's a corruption that's killing things. Great. Who says we're these 'legendary heroes' mentioned? Because, while I'm positive I'm capable of holding my own in a battle..." he glanced at Aaron. "Others, not so much."

"All that segway aside, though," he continued, "there's still absolutely nothing mandating that we do go on this mission that could apparently take months." He nodded to Emily, visually indicating that he'd heard her. "I, for one, want to find my fucking way back A.S.A.P. Got some... unfinished business to attend to..." A glint in his eyes implied some quite dark intentions, but his questions were spoken.

[Fira]

Just as Aaron had predicted, the pack was slowly sucked into the slime and began to dissolve. Elijah recoiled, surprised. "Well. At least we won't have to worry about feeding you. Jesus christ." He addressed the demon next, pretty irritated. He hated when he had to repeat himself. "That IS our mission, dumbass. Thorb's taking us home after a miraculous change of heart. Trust me, nobody rational wants to be here. If anyone does, you can rest assured they are out of their fucking minds." He grew steadily more angry-sounding as he spoke, and Emily looked at him with concern. With a glance at her, Elijah exhaled and continued in a calmer tone. "I want to go home. We all do. If you don't, then don't come."

Matteo grumbled quietly to himself off to the side, upset at the loss of the rucksack. "49 silver, wasted..."

[Captain]

Elijah's bristliness pushed Hope to the edge. "And exactly who the fuck specified that the way back was only through this 'mission'? I certainly don't recall any of you mentioning that, or is that just a fucking assumption?" His tone grew even colder as Aaron took a shuffle backwards, the dissolving pack suddenly forgotten. "You're taking a tone with me that supposedly puts you not simply with more knowledge of the situation than me but on a higher level. Back. Down." There was an inkling in the back of his head that he was maybe misinterpreting the situation, as always happened when he got really angry, but he ignored it. As usual.

He turned to the troll. "Since you seem to be the one who 'summoned' each of us, could you perhaps do a bit further explanation? Such as why each of us, and why none of us are fucking human right now. A load of what the goddamn quest includes might not be too unappreciated." The tone had abated from bordering on rage to a flatline of heavy irritation, a skill that he'd developed quite well over time. "I feel like I've walked into a goddamn nerd convention where they're getting pissed I'm not playing along." The last bit, he realized, he'd probably said to try and smooth things over a bit somehow. A few more lines sprang to mind, but he quelled them instantly. It was worth it to see how these people would react. If he did go on this... adventure, he'd see far worse than anything he could bring forth here. From all of them. A taste of that could prove to decide if he would join.

((ooc: i really don't know why Hope just went berserk, sorry <_>...))

[Regina]

At Hope's comment, April opened her mouth to reply, but shut it in confusion. "Didn't look dead"? But how? She was-

She took a moment to glance down at herself. While it was obvious that she was transparent outside, the lighting of the shop made her appear solid. Oh. She would have to tell him that. She was about to speak but Aaron cut her off.

The shock to Lacy's system certainly caught her off-guard, but it luckily didn't hurt her. She was surprised by the rapid beating of her heart that was caused by the zap. She blinked, at a momentary loss for words. She came back to earth when she heard Bobby's question.

"The name's Lacy." She tried to say more but was interrupted. She responded to Elijah's insult with a nonchalant hair toss and a shrug in a "yeah. So?" kind of manner.

Meanwhile, Marcy was trying her hardest to not completely lose her shit at Aaron's appearance. It was rude and without tact, but she found his whole being just hysterical. She had to bite her lip very hard to prevent a laugh from bursting from her mouth, and when the rucksack sank into his slimy back, she almost lost it entirely. She was forced to cover her mouth with her hand, silent laughs making her sides shutter. Tears welled up in her eyes and poured down her cheeks. She took refuge behind August, too distracted to pay attention to the argument.

August, however, was far from smiling. Something about the demon made him very set on edge. His angel side was telling him that Hope was very bad news. Slowly, he unfurled his wings and folded them behind him, making himself look bigger and more powerful. His eyes narrowed as he tracked his natural foe's every move.

When Hope suddenly started arguing, April was on red alert. While she recognized the new arrivals as some of their own, it didn't mean they were part of her pack. And she did not appreciate a newcomer yelling at her allies. Her teeth and nails elongated and her hair and the fur on her hands and elbows got longer and coarser. She bent down and creeped towards Hope, snarling and growling in a way utterly inhuman.

April wasn't the only one upset by the demon's outburst. August had to fight the urge to throttle him. It was a good thing that Lacy stepped forward, or else he might have attacked. She sauntered over to the middle of the situation, acting as a mediator.

"Whoa, whoa. Easy there, hotshot. We told you all that we know. We're not holding out on you. The trip might take long, yeah, but shouldn't you be glad for that? You're dead, same as puppy over there." She gestured to April, who stopped growling and threw up her arms in a "why-are-you-bringing-me-into-this" way. "You'd think you would be grateful for another few weeks of life. Now, you and metal-boy should both calm down, because clearly, getting angry and shouting at each other is the best way to communicate and exchange information."

[Captain]

Hope started to burst back, but suddenly and without warning, a memory was triggered. And so specific, it was as if he was transported.

Waking up on heated cement. Or so it felt. Opening his eyes, he saw he was laying atop coals. Dark brick-colored, they weren't red, but certainly far from being cold black. Or cold at all, for that matter. He pushed himself to his knees slowly, allowing memories to rush back. His hands had been tied. He'd been on his back on a pile of trash with a gun pointed at his forehead and not a damn thing to do about it. Then the shot was fired, and now he was free to move about. The skin on his hands looked charred, but aside from that... normal. Without tattoos. This was all wrong.

He got to his feet and looked around. There were three figures standing there, one impossibly larger than the other two, who stood about his height. The appeared to have inhuman-colored skin. One was a dark green, another a deep shade of indigo. The large one, easily twice the size of the others combined, stood an inky black shadow, just barely visible in the darkened arena Hope seemed to be standing in. None of the figures seemed ready to volunteer to talk, so Hope took another few seconds to scan the room.

Arena was an apt term. It was vaguely circular in shape. Symbols and carvings were littered about, but it looked as if some catastrophe had taken place. Clear statues had been bashed into the ground by gravity, and pock-marks had been scored across the floor. There was some kind of a halo of light around, a simple dark red glow, but nothing seemed to be emanating it. Satisfied with his once-over, Hope turned to the figures expectantly.

After nothing for a good 30 seconds or so, he folded his arms and settled back. "So? You guys awake?"

"Yes." The one on the left simply said. Nothing more.

Hope waited awkwardly for more, but when nothing was forthcoming, decided to prompt them further. "So... care to tell me what's going on? Since I clearly remember dy--"

"Silence." The one on the right snapped. "We are deliberating your fate."

Hope bit back a snarky response and turned to investigate yet more, figuring it was probably better to not piss off the beings who may or may not have saved his life. Somehow. Something about the place didn't feel... human. Normal. Average.

...earthly.

"Ferryman or reaper?" The voice spoke. Hope turned. It'd been the one on the right. The one on the left raised its head. "There are also openings in ushering."

"No." The big one boomed. Hope took a step backwards. The place had shook with that one word, he was sure of it. "This one is not suited for any of those tasks." The arena shook further, and Hope wondered if the large one's speech had caused the destruction around.

"...then where would you suggest, big guy?" Hope asked. He knew it really wasn't his place, but he certainly didn't want to have his fate decided by others. Not without some sort of standing up for himself.

The large one was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke, his voice seemingly louder than before - a command. "Collections - STF Beta."

The two smaller figures nodded and raised their hands. Hope was halfway through a step backwards, when he felt himself hurled to the ground. The ground heated under his skin, and he felt the downward pull turn into something almost painful, simply by itself. Added to the intensity of the coals growing ever hotter, it became almost unbearable. A scream grew within his lungs and tore its way out of his throat without so much as a thought from him. The ground cracked, and without so much as a warning, gave way. A swirling madness of fire and smoke snatched him from where he'd been a second before and gripped him tight in the center of a sudden whirlwind. The pain ebbed to nothing but a dull roar as he watched his skin and muscle get ripped from him in paper-thin chunks, swirling around him for mere seconds before they dissolved in the heat. 'So this is the end...' he thought, and closed his eyes. Somehow, the whirling tornado grew faster, and threatened to end his very being. Despite that, he could clearly feel a sort of swelling taking place. Like a growth that was rapidly spreading across him. And then, the wind slowed and he felt himself rising. He opened his eyes to see the stones of the arena floor pulling back into place above the pit and becoming solid footing once more. Then, most unceremoniously, he was dropped.

"Rise. Rise, and see to your tasks." The large one rumbled. Hope had no more time than to raise his head then for the surroundings to flicker and die. He found himself in the alley, a few glowing figures visible through walls. Simply no time to catch sight of anything more than that before he was once again torn from the world and blackness took him.

He snapped from the memory back to the current, as if physically thrown back a pace or two, almost off his feet. He found himself breathing hard. "What... the fuck???"

[Fira]

Elijah had been busy formulating a good retort, but after the spider cutting him off and...whatever just happened to Hope, he really wasn't in the mood for any of it. He sighed, frustrated. "As much as I hate to admit it, Spiderbitch has a point. This pointless argument is wasting our time. Neither of us have any idea of what we're talking about. Thorb, would you kindly explain what the hell is going on before we end up killing each other?"

Thorb, already on edge from the demon's sudden appearance, only grew more frightened when the clash of tempers took place. He attempted to say something. "Ah, erm, um..." His attempt failed.

Elijah groaned. The day wasn't even over yet and he was already sick of everyone in the room. Luckily, Thrishika was much harder to scare than his companion and quickly stepped in to take his place. "Thorb is out of commission....for a while. I'll take over for him. You guys cannot possibly be from here if you have no idea what the corruption is or how our world is running these days. Which leads to two options: either you really are heroes, which I doubt, or Thorb yanked you from an entirely different dimension with that stupid spell of his. If that's the case, there is no possible way you can get home."

Elijah blanked out, his eye screens flashing to a dark blue. Emily's antennae drooped along with her wings. Matteo had broken out of his funk long enough to catch the last few words. "Wait, wait, hold up. You're saying that we're stuck here? We're stuck like this forever? WE CAN'T GO HOME!?" He stared at the troll incredulously, frightened.

Thrishika sighed. "That's just how it is. Old magic is dangerous, especially if one doesn't know its purpose. Thorb was an idiot for thinking he could handle it." He furrowed his brow in thought, speaking slowly and carefully. "However...there may be a way to get you guys back where you belong. We can reverse the spell. If we want to do that, we need someone with a much more advanced knowledge of magic than anyone here. The only one who could have that knowledge is the king's head magician. He's your only hope at this point."

Elijah filled in the missing pieces. "So...the only chance we have of getting out of here is going to the king and hoping his magician can help us. The king lives in the center of Invernesse; so will his magicians. But with the corruption, order has collapsed and the only path is extremely dangerous and it could take us months before we get there. However, it is literally our only option. Did I get all that?"

Thrishika nodded. "Yes. It's either you go on this quest, or you die after a lifetime here. Considering how important you place your home, I think the choice is obvious. Don't you?"

[Captain]

Aaron's eyes were darting between Thrishika and Hope "Uh... cool, then. If there's a chance, I'll take it. I don't want to be... this forever."

He looked over at Bobby, who was still a little distracted by the spider-woman. "Hm? Oh, yeah. Sure. Goin' on quest. Funtimes."

He had to actually hit Hope to rouse him from whatever thinking he was doing. "Well? You coming or not?"

Hope grimaced. "...fine. But only because I need vengeance." He looked back at Thrishika with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Make sure that, if they get us back, they get us back EXACTLY as we were when we were grabbed. EXACT reversal, no estimation. I'm not ending up just some human walking the earth. Not when I've got far more at my disposal than that..."

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