The Darkest Shadow Can Be Found

[Sephira]

Sephira took another long draught of the spiced tea, her eyes remaining fixed on the captain of the Mauve Maiden. Suddenly a brittle scream shot out from the darkened maw of a nearby alleyway. The mage noted wordlessly that a moment after the sound lanced across the harbor, the captain she had been observing reacted to it rather normally, a look of surprise and concern flashing across her features. The mage herself broke contact with the subject of her intense focus and turned toward the source of the sound.

Without thinking she cast aside the half-filled mug of tea, allowing it to clatter across the flagstones. Striding forward with speed she plunged into the press of people crowding the entrance to the alleyway. After a moment of struggling to make way she glancing behind her looking for any other members of the Elements that might be nearby to help disperse the crowd. There were none in sight so the mage pushed forward, irritation splayed across her face. Even with the glimmering flame shaped pin at her collar marking her as an Element, no one seemed to care in that moment.

“Move! Everyone needs to clear out!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. Whether or not the crowd listened, Sephira was at least given enough room to make it through into the alleyway itself. She arrived just in time to see woman with a swathe of red hair disappear through one of the doors. She didn’t know who she was but the Element was more concerned with surveying the alleyway first.

Having never worked alone without the aid of another Element, Sephira felt curiously alive. Pacing between the different sides of the alleyway she noticed that an array of apartments lined one side, and a warehouse bordered the other. She softly jangled the door knobs on both the doors leading into the warehouse, with a disappointed sigh she realized that they were locked. Granted no door stood in the way of a rupturer. Noting the rippling mixture of light and shadow under the base of one of the doors, the mage got within arm’s reach of it and turned her back to the entrance of the alleyway. She didn’t need inquisitive members of the public seeing what came next. With her black cloak hiding her form she reached out into the swirl of ambient ether, its touch silken and filled with the buzz of energy. Her grasp of Attunement was not as fine as her control of Rupturing but it was a simple matter to employ Static to distort her frequency and mask any magical energy she was about to use.

Reaching again for the ether Sephira gently pulled the energy toward her fingertips as she splayed them out in front of her, slowly moving her hands apart like she was opening a window. A flutter of excitement echoed from her spark as she began giving the ether form. A soft blush of scarlet light rippled between her outstretched fingers and the ether flowed into her phase portal. She focused on the area just on the other side of the door. Sephira had done this several times before, so she knew with some accuracy how much space existed between the inside and outside face of a door. The invisible portal she was manifesting on the other side of the door would allow her to see inside and hopefully give her a snippet of sound as well now that she had improved her creation of these portals.
With impatience the rupturer waited for the image to appear.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura couldn't miss the captains approach, but didn't react more than a single raised eyebrow as the reclusive captain approached her. When the captain of the Mauve Maiden expressed a desire for Speck to move and cited a deal that she had made with the council that no one be allowed on the ship unescorted, Kura smiled and nodded. "Of course we aren't, captain. Speck likes to high places is all, gives her better lift when she takes off. I'll get her down right away." she said, looking up at the owl and letting out a sound that was, if not identical, very similar to the hoot of a barn owl. Speck lifted off the crows nest and flew out over the town. "Enjoy the rest of the evening, captain." she said, smiling and walking away, Phelan still at her heels ready to turn solid the moment someone tried to jump her.

Of course, Kura trusted the captain and the Mauve Maiden crew in general even less, now. No deal had been made between the Mauve Maiden and the council regarding unattended access on the ship, but there was no need to use the most obvious method of looking around the ship when there were quieter and more efficient methods of learning about the ship. Sev'ryn familiars had the benefit of being invisible, autonomous, and having a psychic connection, they were natural spies. And as it just so happened, Rahmet had slipped up the gangplank onto the ship and was looking for an opening into the underbelly of the ship. Speck, meanwhile, had flown back to her office to retrieve her bow and quiver.

Then the scream started up, and Kura had to decide what to do. After a moment, she walked up to one of the Elements near the docks. "Send word to Militant Broson about what happened here, and tell him I'm requesting that the docks be closed and no ships be allowed to leave until an investigation has been conducted. It's Clyus, so trade won't be interrupted as long as it's not a long investigation. If he doesn't want to, I'm going to try and get this solved shortly." she said as the crowds began to disperse as the merchants left. "And have someone check out that alley, please." she said, looking up at the ship.

As the crowd began to disperse, she heard concerns about missing companions. While they were largely brushed off, Kura looked up at the ship again. Augiery dealt heavily in the slave trade, and it was close to Athart, which did the same, and slave traders looking to make an easy profit would indulge in kidnapping. Combine that with the unclear port of harbor, with the "official" harbor being a safe city, and it all looked bad. Kura snapped her fingers and Phelan materialized beside her. "Phelan, look for scents that go to odd places." she said, staying next to the wolf as he sniffed about. Odds were, he wasn't going to have much luck, but he might sniff up something significant while they were waiting for Rahmet to report in.

[Aegis]

Date here

Both Maxine and Lavana could feel a shift in whatever was rocking to haul them. Instead of moving forward, it was now moving backwards.

"How many ya got for me Marv?"

"Two more. I think my brother got four, sodding bastard, should complete it yes?"

"Yes yes, perfect. You'll get your coin at the usual place and time."

The first voice was the same that talked previously about the job being done perfectly. The second was new, and spoken from behind them. At the same moment Lavana and Max managed to snake their heads out of the sacks, the donkey drawn wagon was tilted backwards. Moments before they were rolling ass over tits into darkness, they could see a bald man's face smiling, his blonde beard braided with beads, and the wink he cast them.

Both women landed with heavy thuds upon hard, packed dirt, damp and cold. The fall was about ten feet, so not the most pleasant of landings was had for either of them. Especially with the various sacks of potatoes that were tossed down with them, raining upon their heads. The bearded man smiled, before he heaved a stone cover over the hole. It dropped down, a fit so perfect the seam nearly disappeared.

And there the pair were, left in almost pure darkness, one naked, one clothed, and a handful of sacks, ropes, and enough potatoes to feed a small military company. But the darkness wasn't true. In the distance, the hazy flicker of a small flame could be seen, fifty meters out. While the floor was dirt, the walls were filled with thick, heavy bricks and crumbling mortar. The air was cold, though not nearly as cold as it was above. There was a bit of dampness here and there, just enough to make uncomfortable for those sitting in it, but not enough to drink or splash with.

The flickering light was shown to be a single candle, placed upon a slightly extended brick, burned halfway down. Past the candle was another, and another. After the third, there was a large, circular room, with candles all around the rim of the ceiling, with three other hallways leading to it, with a fifth hallway with a closed gate. Upon the closed gate, a note tied to a bar, "Wait for the other Soiled Ones to arrive."

A handful of bits passed, until shuffling sounds from the other halls were heard. From the other three tunnels, six more women appeared in pairs. And just as Lavana and Max were, one member in each pair was clothed but unarmed, and one was stark naked. They were only humans. Clockwise from Lavana and Max were a short, chubby woman, the nude one of the pair, maybe thirty arcs, and a tall willowy woman with hair past her waist. From them, the next pair were twins early twenties, dark of skin, dark of eyes and hair, of the same height as Maxine, athletic and strong bodies. The final pair were both of middling age, the clothed one being a woman Lavana would recognize, the other a stout blonde of stout shoulders and thick, strong legs.

It was Sylvia Macklin, the receptionist at the Element Hall in Scalvoris Town. Every Element knew the older woman from her job and her constant need for gossip, and all knew her to be a kind woman. And she looked scared, a newly forming bruise high on her cheek. Excluding the twins, most faces were of concern and worry and fear. The twins though, they looked determined, ready for a fight.

A voice boomed out above them, "Welcome Soiled Ones. This is the beginning of your Purification. Eight of you have entered alive and impure. Four of you may leave, and thus be further purified. Those who remain will be discarded. You have until the candles burn away, maybe twenty bits at most. Decide amongst yourselves how to achieve this end."

And with that, an air of tension instantly became palpable within the group.

Meanwhile Vega was staring menacingly at coat rack. It was a small apartment, and she appeared to be in the entryway, foyer, bootkick, whatever you felt like calling it. The hall led only to the left, passing a single door which many would assume to be a closet door, straight into a kitchen area, complete with a large square table. A small fire was going in the hearth, evident to the redhead that it had not been attended to for several breaks, burned down nearly to the coals.

There was some noise the floor above Vega, sounded like something heavy had fallen down to the planks. It was followed by a male groan of pain. There was some scuffling sounds, and another loud thump followed by another female's shriek. Then thud after thud, like one might expect from a fist hitting a face repeatedly, followed by lower female groans.

"No... No more..," moaned the woman again.

The redhead would find a set of stairs in the corner of the kitchen, which led up to a closed door, unlocked. And on the other side of the door...

The Lotharro sailor was atop the young woman who he was claimed to have followed. They were both naked, writing in ecstasy, moaning and groaning as they rutted like pigs. And both of them were very much into it. Until the woman screamed again, pointing at Vega, attempting to cover her bosom with her arm. The Lotharro man looked back and smiled devilishly. He pulled out of the woman, and stood up off the bed, presenting himself to Vega, eyebrow cocked curiously.

He nodded toward the lass that now hid under her blanket, for this was her apartment, "She was curious what it was like to lay with one of my kind. I assume you are as well?" He moved over to an end table, picked up a pitcher of water, and drank straight from it. Gasping as he finished, "Feel free to join us though. I know you fiery lasses are animals in the sack. Hope you don't mind a bit of a clam bake though. I certainly don't." He then flopped back down in the bed, kissing at the lass's neck, fondling her beneath the blanket, while she stared at Vega.

"Wh-why you... oh, oh ye... why are you in m-m- OH, my house!?"

Meanwhile downstairs, Sephira was peering through the door, seeing that the warehouse was a lot busier than one might expect. There were at least a half dozen teamsters milling about, hauling about sacks and crates and barrels by cart or by arms. There was an overseer standing on some crates watching them all. But near to her portal, she saw a man wearing the same insignia she wore, indicating he was among the Elements. His was a glimmering flame just as hers was. He seemed to be watching it all as well, with crossed arms.

His name was Orric, and he was possibly the most forgettable member of the Flames. He never spoke up, never did anything particularly memorable or heroic. But he did his job well, and never caused any problems. And yet, here he was, seemingly on official duty, but not a duty that Sephira had ever heard being put up for assignment. She could see a few men carrying sacks down a series of steps and disappearing. And the last man's sack... Sephira could just make out a hand barely sticking out of a frayed hole in the bottom of it. But still, there was a locked door, an armed Flame, and a whole host of teamsters in this warehouse.

And Rahmet found his way onto and into the ship quite successfully. The two guards were not especially gifted, so they had no means of detecting his presence. The familiar was able to dip below deck and hadn't found too much of interest. Though in the very last cabin, on a bed, tucked away in the corner, two young women held each other in fear. They were in their teenage years, wearing raggedy clothes, but were otherwise clean. One seemed a few years older than the other.

The younger was speaking, "Do you think they'll ever find us again?"

"No Galia. Never again."

The younger girl, Galia, cried some more, and held the older girl a bit tighter.

The Element Kura approached, nodded at her, and made his way off to find Militant Broson, likely at his home. He was cursing his luck for being picked for such a duty, by Council Woman Kura of all people. She wasn't a part of the Elements. It just didn't sit right with the man. So, he dragged his feet as he made his way for Broson's house, on the other side of town. The man wouldn't exactly appreciate being awoken, but maybe the man could swing a promotion out of this.

One other Element, the newest member joined at Sephira's side, after Kura gave the order for the alley to be investigated. He was green, barely passable in combat, and overall considered too new to be really worthwhile. But he was the backup that Sephira had that was among her ranks. Rahmet returned to Kura, and reported what he'd found, and Phelan did as well, reporting nothing. There were simply too many scents for any of them to truly be 'odd'.

OOC Info

!	Message from: Aegis
	Oooo well done the lot of you. Questions time. Again these are to be private aside from the bonus question to Lavana and Maxine, which will be shared amongst themselves. It may not seem like it, but y'all did really well on the hidden objectives that round Lavana and Maxine - 2 Each PLUS 1 that you both agree to ask together. Kura - 2 Sephira - 3 Vega - 2

Other stuff!

None this round.

[Lavana Tharn]

Tharn

Once again Lavana Tharn was thrust to the ground, right into the pit with a wooshing thud. The mortal born tried to use acrobatics to land on anything but her back and head sacraficing knees, legs and arms and palms. But the bitch was tired, and she felt skin break in scraps on her forarms and knees and across her body. The impact was enough to stop her dead in her tracks for a few minutes, before she willed herself up furious and beaten waiting for revenge.

She took time tending to her wounds as picked up a potatoe sack and looked around. As she continued she looked at the mortar, the bricks there were solid all but one that was shimmied free. And as she yanked it out she capriciously dropped it in the empty potatoe sack. Looked like she could do some damage with this, she thought as she continued rummaging around.

As Lavana continued forward. She saw someone she recognized. It was a woman a receptionist from the elements hall. And Lavana looked relieved like she was happy as all hell to see this woman, shed been thinking about this for quite some time actually. She remembered her time helping Sephira, and she was certainly a sight for sore eyes when she met her. She had this wild smile, as her pearly whites exposed themselves.

Someone said something uptop about fighting for there lives, but it didnt seem dawn or phase her gaze of the woman.

She had been a friend

That brick in that sack wasted not even a trill before it collided into her skull. "Sleepin on the job bitch?"Another thwap of that brick with a cring worthy crunch"I get it, you anandoned your post pork chop"Another sickening crack of that sack and brick in her face. "Hows my sack taste!" Another immediate follow up of the brick whirled into her face so hard her eye litterally fell from its socket. Lavana beat this woman and with every stroke the receptionists face was being pummeled beyond recognition as teeth and bones bust and contorted to brick as Lavana hammered away at her like a savage with that positively lethal tool"Left me huh, let me get raped huh? Fuck you fuck the council and the elements." Lavana spat on that severly brutal scene, looked more akin to a jack'olantern smashed on halloween then a face by the time Lavana was done with her it was was a mix of bone fragments and brain matter abstract art on the walls and the onlookers.

She made an example of her, and her betrayal. Holding her to the gold standard of her violent nature holding her accountable in a methodical manner and made a show of it, a real spectacle of her disposition towards the authorities that were asleep on guard duty. She wanted her adoring fans to just witness her paint this spectacular masterpiece, let that shit sink in and settle.

"Guess thats why shes a receptionist look at those smarts"

She took a minute then another minute laughed and ran her fingers through her hair smearing blood on her forehead , snorted air through her nose her face and body splattered in blood. Taking a moment to relax and breath. " So what do you think Max? These twins there adorbs, maybe you guys wanna play on the winning team." She sort or twirled her sack to emphasis the point. Im not a monster, id feel bad separating ya

"What do you think Max? I'll let you pick and choose. But i think its bad form to kill the kids, up to you though."

Lavana braced her back against the wall, right now she had a murder weapon. And max was an animal, shed let her friend choose but for now she was king of the hill with that sack and brick murder flail.

She didnt handle this well, no not all. But as her breaths steadied she felt free, she just had to work past her nerves and killing was easy.

Vega was right, she should just be herself

[Max]

The familiar voice, however crass, had offered minor relief to the trapped Rusalka when she'd heard it. That relief did little to convince her she shouldn't send a heel into the mouth that persistently cursed at her. She felt someone tearing at the top of her sack, and Max popped up with a newly freed fist cocked back to deliver righteous punishment just as she'd promised. Instead she found Lavana staring back at her. Her brow shot up and her lips were about to voice the woman's name with confusion when they were tipped. The Mixed Blood felt her body lurch forward and then the free fall into the depths of the earth began. Max hit the ground roughly. The air had been extinguished from her lungs upon impact, and she was subject to a bout of wheezing while potatoes pummeled them. Her caramel eyes blinked toward the sky. If she'd the capacity, she would've cursed the face that smiled down upon them before darkness swallowed them.

"Fancy...meeting you here," Max choked out the snark while her ally was busy tending to herself. She shoved herself up and smacked the dirt she could from her arms and legs. While Lavana set to making a clever improvised weapon, the Rusalka coiled up strewn rope and secured it to her hip with her belt. Perhaps it would come in handy later. "Could've made yourself a sack dress while you were at it," she muttered with a shake of her head as she moved to walk side-by-side with a stark naked Lavana through the dark tunnel. Before long they'd reached a large, circular room filled with candles. Her eyes darted about, but beyond the locked gate, there seemed to be no discernible exit to exploit. They were trapped.

The sound of shuffling caught the woman off guard. Her hand dipped down to reach for a blade that was no longer there. More pairs of women like them had made their way into the circular chamber from tunnels of their own. Those entrances were likely sealed like theirs had been. She hardly had time to size up each arrival, the nakedness of some making the task unseemly, before the voice from above echoed out a chilling set of instructions. Her heart sunk. Caramel eyes side-glanced toward Lavana to search for her ally's visible reaction to the words. No way would anyone volunteer to be "discarded." Whether everyone in that room realized it or not, decisions were going to be made with force.

Soiled Ones? You'll be fuckin' soiling something when I find the body belonging to your voice.

Max was considering the others when the sound of a brick crushing an old woman's skull filled the room. Her jaw dropped with surprise as she watched Lavana brutally begin the quelling with an unforeseen brutality and verbal assault. Honestly, the Rusalka was deciding how to navigate around the obvious acquaintanceship between the pair only a trill ago. Whether the crazed butcher had likewise viewed the old woman as a liability rather than an asset and acted from there, or was driven by insanity alone, was yet to be discovered. By the time Lavana's reign of terror was finished, there was little left for those that might wish to identify the body later. She'd seen Merces lay waste to men, but this? This was...gruesome.

At Lavana's prompting, Max tore her eyes from the mess of brain matter to eye those that remained. The chubby and willowy women did little to impress her. The twins were indeed a solid choice. They looked strong and nimble, but most importantly, the look in their eyes suggested they were not ready to lay down and die. The only other living candidate was the stout blonde. Her strong legs suggested some sort of athleticism. Max longed for all three of her picks to become her allies. She could've abandoned Lavana, brushed her off as a loose cannon and help the rest rush her. It wasn't as though she could knock all their brains out before they reached and overpowered her. No one would've blamed her given the appalling murder she'd just committed.

Max felt the weight of the stupid necklace Lavana had given her still on her chest. An inanimate object surely couldn't have any power over her. None but Merces had proven they had the power to soften her heart. Still, the way the accessory rested on her skin had served to remind her of why she was given it in the first place. Maxine inhaled and exhaled deeply before nodding. While she didn't like the idea of anyone else teaming up for their own agenda, she equally loathed the idea of killing one of the twins to exercise the same authority Lavana just had. Likely, rather than obey, she'd have a furious twin biding time to bury a real weapon in her back. A decision had to be made. She'd be damned if anyone else made it before she did.

"We want you two with us," Maxine announced with eyes on the twins. Then she glanced toward the rest of the women present though her next command was clearly not intended for them. "Kill the rest." With an ominous expression Max rushed for the biggest threat: the stout woman with the strong legs. When she was in range she drop-kicked the woman backward into the brick wall. The stout woman ricochet from the hard surface, only to find her body leaning forward in time to catch a vicious right hook that sent her down into the dirt.

Max could've literally beaten the woman to death right then with her bare knuckles. Rather than destroy her hands, she merely kicked the woman onto her stomach, kneeled upon her back, retrieved her rope and wrapped it snugly around the nearly unconscious woman's throat. The Rusalka tightened the loop. The body beneath her struggled, but it didn't last too long. With 2 down, Maxine only hoped the rest of her allies had elected to pull their weight.

Boxcode Credit: Poppy

[Vega]

Having made her way, as quietly as she could, Vega stood outside the door and heard the low groaning sound and the noises of someone hitting another. When she had been making her way up the stairs she had made sure to stand on the outside of the steps, to move quickly and with minimum extra movement, things which she believed helped her when she was trying to sneak around on the ship as a child. That being the case, she'd arrived at the doorway without any bother and then she'd heard what she assumed to be the sounds of violence.

So, in she went, ready to fight anyone who needed a talking to. But what she saw was not, it became quickly apparent, a violent situation. Oh no, that wasn't violence, Vega realised as she stepped in there. Oh. Oh no. She'd walked in on two people having sex? Marvellous, she thought. Maybe that was the scream. Maybe the woman was a screamer. Maybe the Lothar was, come to that; whatever floated his boat was nothing to do with her.

Vega was all ready to apologise, step backwards, close the door behind her die of shame in the hallway, but then the Lotharro abandoned his partner and turned to her, all naked and with his bits pointing everywhere. Well, that was bad and Vega looked at him in the eyes. Only. But then, another one on the red haired women being "animals in the sack" bandwagon. That wasn't at all old. No. She wasn't at all bored of it. Idiot. Looking in his eyes, she raised an eyebrow. "Curious about 'avin' sex with you? I don't think I've ever been less curious about anythin' in my life, love, thanks." She had no bother with obnoxious. If it ever became a professional sport, Vega would be right there. "Besides, you two snuggle under that blanket an' 'ave a nice time. It looked like you were feelin' a bit cold, pet. G'night."

And with that, she left. Made her way back downstairs and out. Stuff this for a game of soldiers, she thought. The scream was probably the woman and she'd just walked in on the rhythmic pumping of a Lotharro's hairy ass. Nope. She was going to make her way back to the Wanderlust she decided, so she started back towards the docks.

[Sephira]

When the image pooled between her outstretched fingers the mage immediately thought that she had reached a dead end. The warehouse was far busier than she had expected, but at first, it’s inhabitants seemed benign in their actions; milling about their workplace as they moved bags and crates about. However just before Sephira decided to close the Phase portal she spied the unremarkable face of Flame Element Orric. The man was surely one of the lesser known Elements as he rarely did anything of note but nor did he ever cause any trouble for the military. He was a face among many, a face that she had barely been able to recall herself. Regardless, the fact that he was here prickled the skin on the back of Sephira’s neck. Why would a Flame Element be overseeing the workers in this warehouse?

Peering through the rippling surface of the portal she noticed a string of workers carrying large bags down a series of steps in the back before vanishing from sight. The very last bag had been torn, revealing a sizable hole. From the tattered rip in the sack the mage could just make out a limp hand dangling through. Sephira felt an unnerving combination of heat and cold race up her spine and into her neck. Emotions of dread and uncertainty boiled just beneath her skin. There was nothing in the Elements handbook about dealing with something like this…

The mixture of negative emotions slowly subsided to be replaced with an indisputable instinct in her gut that she had to get into that warehouse and get to the bottom of this. Footsteps approached from behind the mage and she immediately dismissed the phase portal, allowing the image to fade from view along with any sign of her magic. Turning around Sephira saw that one of the new recruits to the Land Troops was approaching her position. She barely knew his face as he had only recently joined their ranks very recently. Almost immediately her decision was made, she could not guarantee this recruit’s safety if they both entered the warehouse, so the best recourse would be to send him off for backup.

“Soldier!” Sephira said crisply at the young recruit. “I need you to get to the Flame Troop command post as fast as you can. You go straight to Deputy Needwell…no one else…and tell him to bring whomever he can down to this warehouse. Tell him Element Orric is somehow involved in whatever is happening down here, and that I believe there may possibly be bodies being moved downstairs.” The recruit’s eyes seemed to budge out of his sockets as Sephira spoke, the confusion and surprise splayed plainly across his face.

“Let him know that I’m going in to investigate.” The mage said as she took a few steps back from the warehouse and looked up. There was an array of windows marking a loft or second floor.

That was going to be her way in.

“But shouldn’t you wait for him to get here?” The recruit asked with a perplexed expression. Frowning at the woman’s strange behavior as she looked as though she was transfixed with the notion of climbing up to the second story.

“I’m not sure we have the luxury of time.” Sephira said with a half smirk crossing her lips. Her eyes were a deep scarlet as confidence reverberated between herself and her spark. More and more her emotions seemed tangled with the source of her Rupturing; her spark quivering in excitement for what was going to happen next.

“Get moving soldier.” The mage said softly before she jogged backwards to give herself room to make a running start. With a hiss of metal, she unsheathed Wyvern and grasped the saber firmly in her right hand. The Element would need to be ready for anything the moment she entered that building.

Ether flowed into her grasp as she focused intently on the air about fifteen feet above her. Sephira suddenly shot forward, sprinting across the narrow alleyway, appearing to be running headlong into the face of the warehouse. Trills before impact she flexed the fingers of her free hand and a blink portal erupted less than an inch ahead of her. Crimson light flared in the alleyway as the rupture in space emerged just long enough to spill out a flash of radiance. The moment Sephira entered the portal she appeared out of the second bright red portal that had opened just outside the second story window of the warehouse. Her arms were already brought up above the crown of her head to protect herself the moment she impacted the glass.

It happened in a flash, the window shattering; the mage flying through it to skid gracelessly onto the floor of the second story loft. Her entrance had been a bit less covert than she had hoped, but at least she was in.

Shaking shards of glass from her clothes and hair Sephira noted a slim glancing cut along her jawline that she had earned from her reckless maneuver. The memory of Flame Assistant Su'an's scar flashed briefly in her mind, along with the memory of the other members of the Elements that she had encountered her first day at Element's Hall. While Su'an had toyed with Sephira like a cat with string, Ms. Macklin had been kind, and welcomed her with open arms. Silently she hoped the aging receptionist was far, far away from what was happening tonight...

Wiping the thin stream of blood away the Element gained her footing and took in her surroundings. The room was nothing huge, simply a loft containing a few crates and chest used for additional storage. A door led out of the room and hopefully down into the main body of the warehouse.
Keeping Wyvern at the ready in her right hand Sephira crouched at the door marking the exit to the room and slowly turned the knob to let herself out. Would the door be locked, or would there be something waiting on the other side?

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Phelan's results were, unfortunately, not very good. The wolf, despite his best efforts, hadn't been able to find anything. Rahmet, on the other hand, had been much more successful. There was no sign of missing Scalvorins on the ship, but there were two others, Galia and another girl, both injured and afraid. She wouldn't forget them. Speck was winging back too, and she coasted down to the docks nearby, dropping Kura's bow and quiver at her feet. Kura bent and picked up the bow, but while she didn't think the Mauve Maiden was necessarily solely responsible for the missing people, if they'd even gotten involved at all. After a moment, Kura looked back up at the Mauve Maiden, her eyes narrow. It was possible they'd been patsied, but she didn't know for sure.

After a moment, she nodded to herself and looked at her familiars. "Rahmet, look around the area for anything odd at all. Speck, perch on a building and make sure no ships leave. Phelan, you stay with me." she said, before she herself went back over to the alley where the scream had come from, looking for anything unusual. So far, there weren't many clues, but after a moment she approached the door with the light and the shadows, then knocked on the door. "Open up. There was a disturbance in the alley, we'd like to ask you a few questions." she said, putting authority into her voice. She wasn't an element, but she was a council member, so hopefully that would give her enough authority to question, at least until more elements arrived.

[Aegis]

It was over in an instant. While Max was taking her time to strangle her quarry, the twins wasted not a moment. With a side eye look at one another, the pair were fast as cobras. With sharpened nails, and an unexpected finger strength, they each plunged their hands through the skin of the two remaining women's throats. With a twist and a pull, their fingers were withdrawn, and their victims crumpled, gurgling bubbles of blood as they drowned in their own life force. The women licked their fingers clean, and proceeded to walk over to the gate, and waited, without a single word uttered or glance at Max and Lavana.

When the final breath drew from the dead, the gate began to creak open, screeching in its rusted out nature, disappearing into the stone overhead. No voice accompanied it, and the twins shrugged at each other, disappearing down the tunnel, without even a concern in the world that Lavana and Max were at their backs. A few bits of candlelit darkness, the twins, one clothed, one nude, walked along, until they entered another chamber, similar in design and concept as the last one, large, stone, circular with a high ceiling and four heavy, wooden, reinforced doors in front of them, all exactly the same, all unlocked.

No instruction came from the mysterious voice.

The first door opened up into a long chamber, with a balcony offset into the wall, high above the ground, filled with several masked individuals sitting in complete silence and watch. At the far end, another gate. But between the entrance and exit, was something that, to many, might seem impossible. The pathway was obscured by what appeared to be a miniature sand storm. Wind was swirling heavily in the chamber, filled with sand and small stones.

One of the masked individuals raised a hand, and the exit gate raised, and a thwarthide walked out, carrying a heavy wooden club. It was shoved outward by an unseen person and the gate left open. The thwarthide, a being of lesser intelligence and intense hatred for all other creatures saw its challenger and began to charge toward it. But the moment it stepped into the sand cyclone, it began to screech in pain. The whipping stones and sand thudded against it, pricking eyes, cutting skin, heavily bruising the creature. It backed up out of it, and waited. But it could be seen that it still maintained the desire to crush whoever'd entered the chamber.

The second door opened up into a shorter chamber, once more with a balcony full of masked individuals. The gate on the opposite side was already open, but there was a rather obvious obstacle in the way. A pit stretched across the path, twenty feet across, with no visible bottom. The walls along the side of the pit and chamber were completely smoothed down, with no visible handholds. And the masked individuals simply waited.

The third door opened up into a chamber that spewed heat when it was opened, the air thick and stifling. And it was immediately evident why. This chamber had spouts of flame gushing out of the floor and walls at random intervals. Each burst came with a loud rushing noise, and was only switched off for a single trill. And the path to the open gate was a long one. But the flames gave extra light the other chambers didn't have, and the masked individuals could be seen a bit more clearly. And every single one of them wore an Elemental Flames pin.

The fourth and final door led to a series of steps, that descended downward. It was pitch black, but halfway down, the steps descended into water. And continued to descend until stopping at the beginning of the final path. A long path stretched out underwater, with a single light source on the right side of the room. That wall was made of what appeared to be glass, and the masked individuals sat there, watching from safety, accompanied by torch light on their side. And at the far end, another set of steps, with a petite, female mer that just slipped down them and into the water, guarding the exit.

The twins stepped off to the side from the doors, waiting for Lavana and Maxine to make the choice as the self appointed leaders.

Meanwhile, back on the surface, Sephira had just found herself in an unlocked storeroom on the second floor of a warehouse, having just broken through the window. The shattering glass did not go unnoticed, and Orric, the Flame on duty looked to the ceiling over top him. He'd heard the thud of Sephira's weight against the wood. He snapped his fingers, and the five teamsters that remained in the ground floor looked up at him. He held up two fingers, then pointed upstairs, followed by a finger pressed to his lips.

One of the laborers sighed, and carried his crate down into the basement. Two of them broke off from the work, and began the slow, reluctant climb. The one in front spoke to the other, "Probably a damn pantheon again, fuckin' pests. We 'ad two crash in last tentrial."

There was a knock on the door, just as the men reached the second floor landing, pausing at the sound, and at the orders from Councilwoman Kura to open up. Orric obliged, opening the door, though barring any entry. He recognized the councilwoman immediately, "Well met, Councilwoman. How can I help? We've not noticed any disturbance. I do hope it's nothing too bad." He stepped out of the doorway into the street, intentionally leaving the door open to allow her to see in, to see the two teamsters on the ground floor moving around crates and sacks.

Orric had a bad feeling about the councilwoman's arrival, and suspected the broken glass upstairs was not what his coworkers thought it to be. And Orric had survived this long by relying on his gut. "Immortals its cold out tonight, how was the lantern lighting? I wish I'd had a chance to attend." He looked down the alley, seeing another Element approaching. He figured he was coming to check out whatever the disturbance once, which he strongly suspected was pointed at his warehouse.

Nodding at the distant yet coming closer Element, "It's about damned time. That guy is always late to replace my watch, I swear. If you need anything Councilwoman, he can help you. I've got a wee babe at home and a particularly grumpy missus. If you'd excuse me." He tipped his cap at her, and walked over to approaching man, who he stopped and talked to, pointing at Kura and the warehouse. Then he slipped into the crowd, and the newcomer approached Kura, "He said there was disturbance you were lookin' into?"

The teamsters, tired of waiting on their boss, opened the door to shoo the pantheon back out the window. So the look of surprise on the first man's face was quite obvious as he opened the door at the precise moment Sephira gave it a try, and saw her there, crouched, weapon in hand. It took several long trills before the man realized that she was an intruder, he backed up from here quickly, for he was unarmed, just a laborer, "Oi boss! Migh' wanna get up 'ere, some lady just broke in!"

After yelling the alarm, he looked at her, "Iunno who ya think ya are, but this is private property, ya can't just be bustin' in. Ya wait here til the guards get here. I 'ope ya enjoy the mines in Egilrun."

And that was the moment everything went a bit south. A distant shout, from down the steps inside the warehouse, "Oi, git back here ya bitch!" This was followed by a howl of pain, coupled with a woman in tattered clothes sprinting up the steps, with wild eyes, searching for an exit, a piece of broken wood, bloodied now, in hand. She pointed it threateningly at the two teamsters on the ground level, "Git out me way ya fooks! I ain't goin' nowhere's wit' ya!"

The woman lunged at one of the teamsters who scrambled out the way, while the other ran over to a crate, where he grabbed a wooden club. "Don't let her escape! We need her!"

The woman sprinted toward the door that was opened to Kura, eager to get out of the hellhole. A fifth teamster came up the steps, clutching at his thigh that was bleeding, carrying a long dagger, seeing Kura in the door, and recognizing her. "Aw fook."

The woman in her wild escape, sprinted out the door, weapon in hand, and barreled right into Vega, who'd happened to be in the alley after having her own lovely encounter, tossing the pair of them head over heels in a mess of splayed limbs and red hair everywhere. An elbow was wildly thrown at Vega's face, and the woman scrambled to get up, her weapon dropped, as she began running toward the head of the alley, to get out and away from there.

Orric wove through the crowd, when for the briefest of moments, he could be seen by those around him to have stopped. He looked toward a building overlooking the docks, and nodded at a man that was standing there, looking down on all the people. With a returned nod, both men pulled a cloth from their pockets, and tied them around their noses and mouths. The man dipped behind the wall of the roof, and when he popped back up he had an armful of clay spheres. He cocked an arm back and threw the first one, right into the middle of the throng of people that were the remnants of the dispersing festivities.

When it struck the ground, it shattered like an egg, and those closest to it would remember hearing a sizzling sound as a liquid spilled out of them. The liquid almost immediately evaporated into a thick, noxious, yellow cloud. Within moments, those that inhaled the smoke crumpled to the ground like sacks of potatoes and women dumped to the ground in a dark hole. Several more were thrown, including a few into the alley where Kura and Vega were moments before, some onto the deck of the ship. And soon, the entire block was permeated with the toxin to render everyone unconscious. And for Vega, Kura, and shortly after, Sephira, the world grew black.

An indeterminate amount of time later, the three woman would find themselves, in a large stone chamber below ground. They were clothed, armed, and otherwise intact, aside from a splitting headache and the taste of honey in their mouths. Nor were they alone, nor unrestrained. Each of them would find a metal collar clamped around her neck, chained to the floor in front of the seat the woke up. And there were dozens of women in the balcony with them, all equally restrained.

Down below was a raised, stone dolmen in the middle of a dirt floor, with four masked men, each mask reminiscent of the four elements, earth, air, water, and fire. They stood, robed, waiting for something, each of them armed with a different, a mace for earth, a pair of daggers for air, a spear for water, and a sword for fire. Before them, four open gates. What, or who were they waiting for?

And during the wait, more robed men filed into the balconies, entering from a variety of staircases, all masked to one of the four elements, all with a matching weapon. They did not intermingle with the women, preferring to be segregated it seemed. They did not speak, did not react. They simply waited. Vega, Kura, and Sephira were all near enough to speak to one another. And as the effects of the gas wore off, they would find the ability to converse had returned as well.

OOC Info

!	Message from: Aegis
	Three questions each for everyone involved Vega, Sephira, and Kura's answers will be shared with them, while Lavana and Max's answers will be kept to them.

Other stuff!

Next Post: Saturday, March 3rd

[Vega]

Vega was making her way back to the Wanderlust, having grown irritated with this party on the dockside. The Lotharro and his 'companion'had probably gone back to what they were doing previously, although they'd probably be finished by now judging by.. no, no, not thinking about it, Vega determined. Ew. Just ew.

It had been a tricky season for the young redhead and Vega was still a little shaken by the events of the beginning of Cylus. Suddenly just wanting to get back to the Wanderlust and hoping that Arlo was there, the young woman quickened her footsteps, heading towards the ship. Which meant that she wasn't paying, maybe, as much attention as she could have been. A woman ran into her and the pair of them tumbled. Vega felt an elbow connect with her, right in the eye and she let out a yelp as much from shock as anything else. She'd have a shiner, maybe, she thought, but she'd had worse and a lot worse, before now. However, it took a moment to untangle herself and, when she did, there was something very, very odd going on.

At the sound of the sphere thing crashing, Vega turned to look and, as she saw the yellow gas start to billow, Vega shouted at the very top of her voice. "ARLO!! IT'S AN ATTACK!!" It had to be said, she had a good pair of lungs on her. Panic built as she felt herself start to get dizzy and Vega did something which she knew might be important. She pulled the hat off her head and put it on the ground underneath her, so she was laying on it. Not something she'd normally do, she loved that bumblebee hat. But here. Here was where she was. She had to mark it because he would find it.

She knew that even as the world went black around her.

As she woke up, Vega came to groggily. She felt like she'd gotten herself completely hammered on that honey mead stuff the night before and was waking up with the hangover to end them all. Looking around, Vega felt a weight on her neck and lifted up her hand. "Oh, you have got to be kiddin' me?" She muttered, then followed the chain down to the ground and saw there, where it was attached. "HEY! You lot!" Vega yelled, to the non-chained up men in masks. "What's goin' on?"

But she still had her weapons? That was a very special kind of stupid in a kidnapper, Vega thought, and then she moved, sitting on the floor as close to the chain as possible. Examining it, she identified what she thought was the weakest link in that chain and then, depending on what her investigation of the chains showed, she did one of three things. If it looked like it might do it, she'd draw her dagger and insert it into a link before turning it to try and force the link open. If that wasn't what she judged the most likely, she hit chain itself at the weakest point or, finally, if she deemed it the best course, she would turn her sword around, pommel first so that she could batter the chain and break it.

As she started, she looked at Kura, who she knew. Sephira she didn't, but she and anyone else near them would hear. "If anyone comes near me, I'm gonna kill them. Twice if they need it. I suggest you do the same an' for the love of Ilaren's knicker elastic, lets work together. Help me?"

And indeed, if anyone tried to stop her, they'd have a fight on their hands.