Neptune

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. The sound of Natia’s sobs broke Rowan’s heart, and he wished he could do something to wipe them from existence. But his hands were tied in this situation, which only made him feel even worse about the situation. When she pulled herself close, he wrapped his arms around her and held her just as firmly. His fingers went up into her hair, stroking along her scalp as he nuzzled his lips into her hair. He rocked her very slightly, trying to calm her down. He shifted her head so that it was tucked beneath his chin, his body curled around her protectively. He had no intention of allowing her to run off on a ill-planned rescue attempt. That would only result in her own capture. His fingers moved down her head and brushed against her cheek before his thumb gently wiped away her tears, “Natia…” He said, his voice incredibly soft, “I wish I could tell you that he was wrong… but I can’t say that with absolute certainty…” He paused, hating himself for saying it but he refused to lie to anyone, least of all Natia. His fingers moved to her chin and tilted her head up a little before he said, “And I can’t let you go running off to try and rescue her.” He pressed his thumb lightly on her lips to stop any protest that might arise as he continued, “If you try anything, without having any idea as to what you’re doing, all you will do is end up getting yourself captured and enslaved right alongside her. That won’t help her, and will only end up hurting you. As I said; she is likely very heavily armed. No rescue attempt will work, not without very careful planning. And the first step to that is to collect some information. I will do that, later when I have you safely secured in a room at the inn. I can do it without being noticed, and I can do it quite quickly.” He then paused for a moment as a thought occurred to him, “Besides… it could be the case that he doesn’t actually have your kin… he could have said what he said to trick you into attempting a rescue with the full intention of capturing and enslaving you. It would be best if I went to investigate this, alone. I can confirm whether or not he has your kin. If he does, then we will talk about possible options… it will be entirely dependant on numerous factors. If she is heavily guarded then she might be hard, if not impossible, to rescue…” He trailed off with a wince. He knew that he could only stay here the night before moving on, as he had pre-existing obligations. He wanted to make it clear that while he was willing to help Natia, he was making no promises.

Rose flinched as the grip around her wrist tightened, causing pressure on the joint that sent a shard of pain racing up her arm. A soft whimper escaped her throat but she tried to clamp it down, looking up at Anhara when she spoke in a curt tone before Rose felt herself yanked away from the faux comfort of the wall and out of the door where the force of the movement caused her to stumble a few times. With her free hand, she reached out and pressed it against the wall before she fell on it. Her other arm was at an awkward angle, being held by Anhara, whose fingers were like a vice around her wrist. She was forced to push herself from the wall and to turn around as the angle of her arm caused pressure against her shoulder and she was worried that it might dislocate. Her blue eyes settled on Anhara as the girl worded out exactly what they were going to do, as if speaking to a naughty child. She flinched at the girls words, knowing that it was well within Anhara’s will and means to force Rose to do her bidding. Even so, she still shook her head a little. She didn’t want what Anhara was trying to do to her. She knew that every moment that passed, was one moment closer to when the girls father came, a moment that had she had been dreading. While she seemed to have forgotten about him at times, the knowledge that he was coming was always in her mind, causing her skin to crawl and for her stomach to twist. When Anhara yanked on her arm again, she couldn’t help the cry of surprised pain that erupted from her lips as she was pulled forwards towards the stairs once again, her feet scrambling on the floor to prevent herself from falling over, “C-careful!” She yelped as she awkwardly got her footing once again, not wanting to plough forwards into Anhara. She mentally cringed at the thought of how angry the other girl would get if she did that.

Daedrin noted that silence hung between them as Izanagi seemed to be thinking, and he wondered if the man would just come out and ask him. However when the question came, he seemed to be tip-toeing around the subject. Daedrin hefted the pickaxe, swinging it at the rock face and separating more of the ore from the rock before using the pickaxe to essentially kick it back so that it was out of their way. He would have kicked it, but his thigh was extremely painful and it would be best to keep it as still as possible right now. By now, the wound would have a layer of solidified inchor over it underneath the bandage, sealing the wound and preventing any bleeding. It didn’t stop the nerves from flaring up, especially with each pulse of his hearts. He took several moments to rest as he reached up and flicked some of his dark hair from his face, “Mm, born with it. Definitely born.” Daedrin replied, hefting the axe again to continue mining. He wondered how many questions Izanagi was going to ask before finally giving into curiosity. While Daedrin shouldn’t be open about who he was, he knew his companion well enough by now to know that he would keep a secret. After all, the man had been keeping his own secret. Granted, it might make things more complicated when events started moving but Daedrin figured he might be able to rely on Izanagi’s help. When things started moving, things were bound to get chaotic and quickly. Izanagi had already proven that he could handle himself in stressful situations such as the one in Torak’s Mansion.

Daedrin turned away from the corpse to look back at Izanagi as the man asked if he was alright. He gave a nod, a small sharp movement before he looked over to where there was an opening in the cavern that lead deeper into the cave. While it might have been a good idea to turn back, considering his wound, he knew he wasn’t in any danger. The bandage would stop the bleeding, and he was at relatively low risk of getting an infection. He looked down, seeing a hardened piece of what appeared to be resin clinging to his leg just below the bandage where his blood had been. He reached down, and picked it off and allowed it to drop to the floor. “I will.” Daedrin assured Izanagi when the man instructed him to inform his friend if the wound was hurting too much. He then moved towards the gap in the cavern and lead the way deeper into the cave, which sloped its way downwards. The deeper into the ground they moved, the warmer it started to become. It felt rather pleasant, and was quite a welcome relief from the more frigid mountain air. Keeping the torch away from him slightly, he kept his gaze fixed on the walls of the cave as he looked for the telling sparkle of the Kraerhil ore. He observations were broken when Izanagi spoke, asking him about the incident back at the cave-in. He breathed out of his nose in a silent sigh before he replied, “Telepathy. I can reach out with my mind to others. But I don’t do it often. It takes a great deal of concentration to do it properly without harming you…” He paused for a moment before adding, “That is what happened to the cultist. He attempted to attack me telepathically, so I responded in kind.” His tone was a little flat, as he felt rather annoyed that the cultist had attempted something so foolish, “I felt justified in doing so, because his goal was to suppress my own mind, to control me.” He then stopped as he noticed something in the rock face to his side. He brought the torch closer, where it became clear that the light was reflecting off something metallic, “I think we’ve found it.” He commented, although he doubted that Izanagi’s questions had run dry. But they could talk, while mining. He glanced around before he turned and shoved the torch into some loose rocks that were piled close by. It allowed them to use the light to pinpoint where the ore was. He reached behind him and tugged his backpack off of his back, putting it down close to the torch. He tugged his pickaxe from the bag, before he glanced up at the rock face again as he adjusted his grip on the axe, with one hand closer towards the actual metallic tool end, while the other hand was closer to the end of the handle. It allowed him a great amount of control over the pickaxe. He shifted, ignoring the flare of pain that shot up his thigh before he swung at the rock, the metal tip of the axe digging into the ore. A metallic tinging echoed around them as some of the ore broke free from the rockface and tumbled to the floor. Daedrin shifted the pickaxe to one hand before bending as he picked up the ore with a sense of satisfaction, “Ah. There we are.” He then gave Izanagi a slight grin before he tossed it closer to his bags so that he could continue mining.

@Ice Queen Are you alright? We haven't seen you around in a while.

Daedrin glanced up at Izanagi when the man spoke before he returned his attention back to his thigh, tightening the bandage slightly but not enough to completely cut off circulation. He then tied off the ends before looking back up and seeing my friend hold out a hand, the corner of his lip twitching a little in amusement at the derisiveness of Izanagi’s gone. He couldn’t blame the man. He reached up, but instead of grabbing Izanagi’s hand, he gripped the mans arm. With his free hand, he grabbed his sword and allowed the other to pull him up. He winced a little as pain laced through his leg, and wished he could use more reliable healing methods. But he was limited to his natural healing which, while much faster than humans, it was still going to take a few days to sort itself out. With a sigh, he pushed the sword into its sheath, before he glanced around at the corpses with a slight wince. He was glad that Izanagi didn’t seem to be questioning the fact that they appeared to be mutilated by a giant beast. While he wasn’t going to offer up information about himself, he wasn’t sure if he had the heart to lie to Izanagi if the man asked directly. Instead, he directed attention away from the corpses themselves by saying, “Yes. Extremely stupid. It’s a complicated situation. They believe that a man called Torak is a God, but he isn’t. He has a long life span, because he’s a certain type of Sorcerer. But he is no Divine. He is long gone, taken by the Daedra. They believe that I am in league with the Daedra that took their God, which is why they think that my blood would return him. It doesn’t work like that.” He didn’t really confirm whether or not he worked with this Daedra, since he technically did. The man in question was his own father, after all. But that was getting into unnecessary details. He then added, “We killed many of them. Hopefully they won’t be too much of a bother anymore and we can breathe easy. Anyway…” He pushed himself away from the wall with a slight huff before he limped over to the fallen cultist and bent over to pick up to pick up the lit torch. As he straightened, he looked down at the cultists face, seeing the eyes still bulging from his sockets with an expression of horror contorting his features as a trail of blood dripped from both nostrils

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Rowan tensed slightly, the motion unseen by others, when the man reached into his pocket however all he pulled out was a business card. Rowan’s eyes never left the man, his lips thinning at what he was suggesting. It appeared that Natia wasn’t the only Aequu to have fallen into the hands of slavers, except this one had not been as lucky as Natia. He wondered if Natia even knew the one that the slaver had? If they were from the same tribe, then it was quite likely. He was relieved when the man moved to leave. His golden eyes caught the card, and he almost allowed it to flutter to the floor. But at the last moment, he snatched it from the air in a blur of motion. He looked down at it, before turning it around. He then tucked it into his belt pouch, so that he could look into it later. He wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to glean some information about this man and even this meagre information was good. While he couldn’t do anything right now, he fully intended on returning and looking into this man. He heard a muffled sniffle from behind him and he turned around to see Natia crying with her mouth covered. Glenda went to move towards the girl to try and comfort her, but paused when Rowan glanced at her. He shifted a little closer and knelt down on his knees before her. He reached out, gripping her shoulders gently, his thumb stroking against her soft skin, “Natia…” He said, his voice soft and kind. A sharp contrast to the kind of tone the other man had been using. Glenda looked a little uncomfortable, clearly wanting to do something but instead of saying anything, she moved to the door and slipped out to give them some privacy. She closed the door firmly, leaving them alone. When she was gone, Rowan said, “I heard what he said. He has one of your people…” He trailed off, not sure what he could say to comfort her. He knew that, right now, there was literally nothing he could do other than perhaps check out the address and gather some information. He sighed before saying, “I wish I could rescue her the way I did you, but I don’t think that is going to be likely. Due to her value to that man, they will be heavily guarded. I wish I could do something for you… but right now, all I can really do is go and look around the man’s place to try and find her, to see if she’s relatively alright.”

Kaylaen didn’t resist as Shez pulled him closer so that their bodies were flush against each other. He could feel the thin layer of sweat on the other man’s skin, which allowed their bodies to practically glide gracefully against each other. His dark eyes fluttered closed for a moment as he felt Shez’s teeth against the base of his neck, causing a shiver of pleasure to run through him which raced down his spine straight to his cock which twitched in response. His eyes opened a little when he felt a finger trailing down his chest before gliding over his taut stomach. He then felt Shez’s hand against his chest before he allowed himself to be pushed backwards so that he landed on his back. He tilted his head up a little and grinned slightly, “Yeah, I think it was.” His attention was then attracted by a moan from Emma. He looked over at the two of them, and felt his mouth watering when he saw Sophia pinning Emma to the bed and making out with her. It was hot, watching the two woman going at it, and a part of him wanted to simply sit there and watch them. His eyes were glued on them for several long moments before he looked back at Shez, the grin once again returning to his lips as he asked, “That’s a mighty fine sight, eh?” Despite his desire to watch the fine ladies going at it, he had other things on his mind. His eyes trailed down until they rested on Shez’s cock, which had returned to normal. A part of him felt relieved at that, as he wasn’t sure if he would be able to handle that kind of monstrous cock. He was far from being a virgin, but he had never encountered a cock quite like that before and he had worried that something like that would tear him in two. He reached out, wrapping his hands around Shez’s cock, still slick with the juices from the two women. He allowed his hand to move up and down the powerful shaft, before he palmed the tip. He smirked up at Shez, “Come on then, big boy.” He teasingly encouraged.

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. At Natia’s voice softly uttering his name, his soft tail flicked so that it brushed up against her leg a little in a manner he hoped bring her some kind of comfort. His eyes narrowed slightly when the man said that he wasn’t sure if Rowan had big balls, or was stupid. He certainly wasn’t the latter. To Rowan, the only stupid one standing in this room was this human. It was obvious the man didn’t deal with any royal clientele, otherwise he might have actually recognised Rowan. A part of him was relieved, but at the same time he knew that this man likely wouldn’t be so brazen if he knew who Rowan really was. His frown deepened when the man brought attention back towards Natia, before he stiffened a little when he mentioned that he had a favourite new recruit. When Natia stepped out from behind him, Rowan had to resist all instincts to grab her and push her back behind him. Instead, his ears twitched, swivelling around them before focusing completely on the human as his body tensed. If he made any move to touch Natia, he would instantly pull out a blade on the man and due to the fact that Keza’s had faster reflexes than humans, this human wasn’t going to know what happened until he had a blade at his throat. He would not this man lay so much as a finger on Natia. She was too beautiful and pure for him. He didn’t even like the fact that the man could see her. He remained completely still, watching carefully. He saw a glimmer of recognition when the man saw the collar, which suggested that the man had seen it before but that would not be a surprising fact if this man dealt with slaves. His lip twitched a little when the man made an offer for two million for Natia. He heard Glenda gasp in disgust and horror before he felt Natia hide behind him again. His tail shifted, rubbing up against her leg before it curled around the slender limb, almost as if he was holding onto her hand. He tilted his head a little at the slaver before he shook his head. Even if he wanted to have a dealing with this man, he wouldn’t. The man had simply mentioned ‘two million’ which suggested that the man could be attempting to scam him because he didn’t state how that two million would come. It could be two million copper coins for all he knew. His long fingers twitched, itching to curl around one of his blades. Instead, he shook his head, “She is not for sale. Now leave this shop. I don’t need, nor want your money. Don’t bother approaching me ever again and if you even come near her again, I will ruin you.” He said, his voice dropping to a whisper towards the end. His threat was not empty. He had contacts throughout Craethiel and if he wanted to, he could bring this mans empire crumbling down.

As Anhara went on to describe how her ‘daddy’ enjoyed abusing his daughter, Rose felt her stomach twist as it seemed to tie itself into knots. It made her want to vomit all over the bathroom floor. The more the girl spoke about it, the more sick Rose felt. Her expression twisted in disgust when she saw the other girl reach down and begin to rub herself. She stepped back even more, feeling the cold tiles against her bare flesh. It made goosebumps raise across her skin, but that was nowhere near as hair-raising as what was coming out of Anhara’s mouth. She flinched away a little when the girl bent down to be closer. She flinched even harder when Anhara said that she was speaking to the little monster inside of her. Those words made it feel as if a lead weight had settled itself in her stomach. Her lips twisted, but she didn’t respond to it. She couldn’t. Not when she knew that Anhara was speaking the truth. It was one of the reasons she had devoted herself so much to God. To quell that beast inside of her, so that it would never come out again and hurt someone else. She had promised to herself that she would never let that monster out. She couldn’t let Anhara do it. So deep in her horror and self-loathing that she didn’t react to the kiss pressed against her lips. She was only brought back to reality when she felt fingers wrapping around her wrist. Anhara’s hand felt cold, and yet it was burning against her own skin. She gulped a little before looking up as Anhara announced that her ‘daddy’ would be here soon. Despite the tug, she resisted a little, pulling herself back as she shook her head from side to side repeatedly, “No. No I am not ready. I just want to stay here until you and your father are gone.” She said. Rose did not want to willingly leave this room, not with this monster and certainly not to the monster that was coming to her home. She just wanted to hide away and forget that this day had ever happened.

A small smirk graced Ruby’s lips as the figure reacted to her nickname by giving her one in return. One that she rather liked. She couldn’t help but to chuckle slightly but she quietened down quite quickly to listen to what he had to say. The name of the currency made her eyebrows raise a little. It was certainly not something that she had ever heard of. It made her doubt that this money had any real value outside of these weapons. At least she won’t be undecided on what she could spend it on at the very least. Her thumbs ran across the cool metal of the guns as she shifted her weight to her right leg as she watched the figure closely. She wanted to ask what kind of jobs and missions he was talking about, however he clicked his fingers and a rather oversized gun appeared in his hand, which looked rather like the kind of toy gun that her little brother used to play with when he was a little boy. She tilted her head before she scoffed a little at his warning, “Okay, first off, Shorty… is that a fucking nerf gun? And secondly… live fire exercise? As in live ammo?” She lifted her gun and looked at it before cocking her head a little at Shorty, “I’m kind of glad to hear you say that. Training with fakes and blanks isn’t real training at all. I like to get stuck in the deep end of shit.” She smirked a little, “Like a cage fight. I like to get thrown in there with no warning or training. It’s fun and exciting, and makes victory even more sweeter. So, bring it, Shorty. What am I shooting at?” She lifted her gold gun and extended her arm out and aiming it at some of the boxes nearby. She tilted her hand a little so that her gun was sideways before she snorted and straightened it again, because it looked ridiculous. It made her look like a wannabe gangster.

I don't think you're over-reacting. I think you have a valid concern, a concern that I agree with. I do not like this Wank Pass. It's authoritarian. Hide yo butter knives, British guys. Don't forget to ask your local government for permission to wank /s

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. As the door swung open, Glenda was forced to stumble back to avoid being hit with it. Her eyes were wide as the man stepped in as if he owned the place. She opened her mouth to scold him however he thrust the sack towards her which forced her to take hold of it. She blinked a couple of times before saying, “Fine. But please, leave. I am with other customers.” She looked towards her daughter, who was hovering near the open door with an unsure expression. She was clearly too scared to try and step in to resolve the situation. Rowan watched the man very carefully, not liking his attitude. There was something about him that the Keza found instantly repulsive. His hand did not stray far from one of his daggers as he watched the man, shifting when Natia ducked behind him so that she was hidden better. He did not want this man to see his Natia. He was not worthy to see her beauty and perfection. His golden eyes narrowed slightly when the man turned and seemed to see Natia’s legs. There was a certain light to his eyes that Rowan really did not like and he had to resist the urge to growl at the man. At the order, one of Rowan’s eyebrows shot up. There was only one person in this entire world that Rowan took orders from, and that was his father. His ears twitched back a little when he heard Natia’s soft, whimpering voice. He reached back with one hand, gently taking her hands from his tunic. He gave her a reassuring squeeze, silently letting her know that he would protect her. However he couldn’t have her holding onto his tunic if he needed to move quickly. She would either slow him down, or get dragged along with the ride and thus possibly hurt. He straightened to his full height, causing him to be staring down at the human who was at least a head or two shorter than he was. A slight smirk curled at the corner of his lips as he looked down at the man with the kind of arrogance that only those that spent time in a Royal Court possessed. Glenda seemed to shrink back from this, pressing herself up against one of the cabinets as Rowan told the man firmly, “No. She is not yours to see. She is mine. You have come for what you were here for. Now leave.” He said, hoping that this man was not stupid enough to attack. He had numerous advantages over the man such as height, and the superior strength that Keza’s had over humans. Rowan had also been training in martial arts since he was a young boy which he had created himself, and most of his weapons were not visible. While he was dressed like any normal peasant, he seemed to be carrying himself with far more confidence than a simple peasant. It was a silent warning to the man to not step where he was not welcome.

Rose shook her head a little when she felt Anhara’s fingers on her cheek as the girls arrogance once against reared its head. She wasn’t going to listen to anything this girl said about her God. She wasn’t going to let the girl take away the faith that had kept her going for all of these years. Anhara didn’t know that she would disappoint God if she refused to kill her. Rose did not think His forgiveness worked the way Anhara thought. He could see into your heart, and see your intentions. If you asked for forgiveness, while still holding sin in your heart, that forgiveness was never going to come. She doubted that Anhara was someone that God would ever forgive. Not until she turned her back on the Devil and devoted her life to God. When Anhara told her to go ahead and shab her, Rose shook her head a little, wanting to deny this girl what she wanted. Her eyes then went wide as a look of shock flitted across her facial features as she saw the harsh scars and bruises that covered the other girls body. She recoiled in disgust and fear and let go of the knife, allowing it to tumble to the floor. This was crazy, insane. How could get girl get off on this kind of abuse? It made no sense to her. The scars looked ugly, each mark a blemish on her otherwise flawless skin. She felt her stomach clench, threatening to spill its contents, “I… oh this is insane.” She said, backing up until her back was pressed against the wall, “That isn’t beautiful! It’s insane! How can you like that kind of treatment? How can you find happiness in this… this abuse?! It doesn’t make sense!” She didn’t want to be like this insane monster. She didn’t want God to hate her. She did not want to be put into the position where she would have to beg for his forgiveness. She didn’t want Anhara to force her into a life of sin, “Please. Just go away. I don’t want what you have. I will never betray God for you. If you just go now, I won’t tell anyone, I promise.” She begged.

The fingers of Donovan’s right hand drummed against his thigh for a few moments before his eyebrows furrowed a little at the questions that were being given to him. He thought back to when he had first met Charlotte a couple of years ago. She had been the one to initially ask him out, and he had seen no reason to decline her invitation. While he wasn’t one to talk much about himself, she had certainly spoken enough for the both of them. She had never seemed to mind his quietness, claiming that it gave him a ‘mysterious’ quality that she found attractive. He had never thought anything bad about that, figuring she was into the quiet type. Along with that, he allowed her a great amount of independence. He never minded when she wanted to go and hang out with her friends, especially since he knew how much of a socialite she was. He would have felt it cruel to keep her from her friends. Despite the fact that he didn’t have anyone that he considered a friend other than Laura, he wasn’t about to begrudge Charlotte of her own. Despite how different the two were, especially when it came to social occasions, they had always worked around it. He turned his attention back to Takeshi, seeing a look in his eyes that he couldn’t quite grasp. His brows were slightly creased as well, making the man look almost concerned. After a moment, Donovan dismissed it as merely professional concern; perhaps reading too far into things and judging not only him but also Charlotte despite the fact that he had never met the woman. It was his job, after all, although Donovan wished the man would move off of the subject regarding his wife. Answering the man’s question, Donovan said, “We became friends quite quickly, after our fourth date. At least, that is when I considered her a friend. I can’t speak for her, though. We’ve only been married for a couple of months, not long before my promotion. We’ve known each other for about two years now, and we got engaged eight months ago.”

Donovan watched as the pen twitched from one side of the pad paper to the other. He couldn’t see what was being written, but the man seemed to be writing quite a bit down. He didn’t let it show, but he was quite uncomfortable with that fact. He knew that right now, he was being judged on everything he was saying. And even what he wasn’t saying. As well as his body language and perhaps even the look in his eyes. He didn’t like being put under such a strong spot-light. It was one reason he disliked psychiatrists. Their entire career was based upon the judgement of people, even if it was supposed to be for their benefit. Donovan didn’t like that he was being forced into this position of having to sit here and be judged like this. He would have prefered to have done this on his own terms. Unfortunately, the job of a detective was quite demanding psychologically, thus the force required their detectives to have regular sessions to ensure that their work wasn’t causing them any harm. While Donovan was understanding of that fact, he still would have prefered to have approached this man himself. He was brought from his thoughts when the man asked another question. He was about to answer, when Takeshi told him to be a bit more elaborate. He almost wanted to grimace, but instead kept his face carefully blank. The one thing he really hated doing, was talking about his personal life. Mainly because he felt that it should remain private. He was silent for several moments before he said, “A… work party. My partner at the time… convinced me to remain behind for a party that was to celebrate the birthday of one of our work colleagues. Charlotte was there, with one of her friends that worked in the force. Her work colleague introduced us, and we seemed to get along well so we exchanged numbers and went on our first date a few days later.”

The cultist continued to glare at Daedrin after his little declaration. The man then hissed softly, “Then he will have to die if he doesn’t cooperate.” Daedrin shook his head a little, as this man clearly didn’t understand. He then shrugged one of his shoulders, “I did try to warn you. But your accomplices won’t get far with him.” He said, glancing at the three animalistic figures before looking back at the cultist, “I will give you one warning. Leave, and take all of your little friends with you, or die. I advise you take the former option.” The cultist glared hatefully at him before summoning a ball of fire and throwing it at Daedrin who swept his sword from its sheath with a speed far superior to humans. The sword sliced through the ball of fire, causing the blade to glitter as the fire dispersed. The three figures jumped forwards, snarling at him but he poured energy into the blade as he swung it back causing a pulse of energy to erupt from it. It struck them before sending them back into the cave walls with a loud crashing sound, causing the cave to shake around them. The cultist looked a little perturbed by that, frowning over at Daedrin who raised his sword slightly with a cocked eyebrow, “Are you sure you don’t want to take my offer of mercy?” He asked in a mocking tone. “Fuck you.” The cultist snarled before raising his hand and causing a wave of darkness to shoot out towards Daedrin but he darted to the side. The wolf-man jumped at him with a loud growl, his front claws raised and ready to strike. Daedrin stepped back, gripping the hilt of his sword with both hands before raising it into the air before bringing it down. The result was a howl of anguish as the blade cut through the arm of the wolf-man as easy as a hot knife through butter. The stump of the arm dropped down onto the cave floor as the wolf-man collapsed on the cave floor, blood pouring from his arm. Daedrin kicked him away before he was forced to lean back as the bear-man took a swipe with his powerful claws. He really didn’t want to get caught by them. The cultist laughed and said, “You might as well give up, heretic.” Daedrin ignored the man as he stepped back only to sense movement behind him. He turned just in time to grunt in pain as the powerful fist of the troll-man slammed into his shoulder and slammed him against the cave wall. He kept a tight grip on his sword as he then ducked to avoid the punch from the bear man. He rolled across the floor, ignoring the sharp stones that dug into his back. He jumped to his feet before moving back to give himself more run to maneuver. The troll turned and charged towards him with a roar. Daedrin then noticed a faint glowing around him, as his movements started to become faster, which meant that the cultist was casting spells in order to increase their attack efficiency. He darted to the side to avoid the charging troll before he turned to try and move closer to the cultist but found his way blocked by the bear-man. He raised his sword to strike at the creature but it reached out and grabbed onto the sword with a strong grip. Daedrin tugged, trying to pull his sword back from the creature but the grip was too strong. He then let out a growl of pain as teeth clamped down on his left thigh, the sharp teeth sinking deep into his flesh. He looked down and saw that it was the wolf-man, his eyes flickering with madness as he tightened the grip of his jaw. A few moments longer and he would snap Daedrin’s leg off. Reacting on instincts, Daedrin snarled down at the creature angrily before he began to shift form, turning into a dragon. He kept himself relatively small, but he was still larger than any of the beasts. The diamond hard scales caused the wolf-man to let go of him in fear of his teeth snapping in two. Before the creature could move off, Daedrin let out a roar of his own before swinging his head around and down, clamping his own teeth around the wolf-man. The creature let out frightened yelps as Daedrin’s own sharp teeth sank into his flesh. The dragon shook his head from side to side before there was an audible snapping sound as the wolf-mans spine snapped. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?” The cultist screamed, stepping back with his eyes wide. Daedrin didn’t respond to him as he dropped the lifeless wolf-man to the floor. He stood up, his tail snapping out and striking the troll man. With a sickening crunch, the troll-man collided with the cave wall, causing a bloody smear to follow him as he dropped down to the floor. He slumped to the side where he remained unmoving. The bear-man roared and reached out to smack against the hard scales of Daedrin’s chest but due to how hard the scales were, they glanced off of them harmlessly. He turned his head back around to eye the creature with irritation. His upper lip curled up as he snarled. There was a small plume of smoke that escaped his nostrils, curling slightly as it reached up to the cave ceiling. He then struck out with one of his feet, pinning the bear-man to the floor. He tightened his grip, causing the bear-man to howl in pain as he was slowly squeezed. He continued tightening his grip, causing snapping and cracking sounds to emit from the creature before there was a sudden gush of blood from the creatures mouth. Its struggles eased up, and it merely twitched in his grip before finally lying silent. Daedrin then raised his head to glare down at the figure of the cultist, snarling at him. The light from the torch that the man was holding reflected off of Daedrin’s scales, filling the cavern with flecks of blood red light. The cultist was trembling violently, his face pale and his eyes wide at what he had just witnessed. Then the man did something very stupid. He attempted to probe at Daedrin’s mind, to try and break through his defences for some answers and to take control of him. Daedrin didn’t bother defending himself. Instead he struck back, easily overwhelming the other man's mind. His telepathic probe went deep as he allowed the full weight of his mind to fall upon the man. The man's entire life was exposed to Daedrin, allowing him to see every moment of his existence from the moment he was born to this very moment. The cultist twitched, his eyes going wide as he broke out in a heavy sweat. His eyes almost bulged from his eye sockets as blood began to pour from his nose. He then twitched before collapsing to the floor, dead. Daedrin gave a satisfied snort before he shifted back into his tarunoid form. He looked around at the bodies and grimaced before he limped over to where his sword lay. He picked it up before limping slightly away from the corpses and sitting himself down with his back against the wall. He put his sword down next to him, ready for him to grab should anymore of the fuckers turn up. He then turned his attention back to his leg and frowned as he reached out and touched one of the teeth marks which was bleeding profusely. He needed medical attention. He shifted, shrugging off his bag before opening it up and pulling out some bandages. Just before he was to wrap his thigh, he looked up when he heard rushing footsteps. A gentle probe told him that it was Izanagi, and he sighed a little in relief as his friend rushed into the cavern. He nodded slightly to Izanagi’s question, “Yes, I was.” He nodding at the cultist as he began to wrap the bandage around his leg tightly to help stem the flow of blood, “It’s one of Torak’s cultists. He was the one responsible for the modifications to the others. They used to be bandits. It seems that they were after me for my skills as a blacksmith. The cultist, Sarnak, had other ideas. He used them to try and catch me, so they can sacrifice me. They’re under the erroneous belief that by killing me, they can bring their God back.” He said.

Donovan’s eyes twitched from the view of the window back to Takeshi at his response. The blonde male almost snorted. If he could help Donovan actually put up with small talk, then Donovan would openly call the man a miracle worker. His eyes switched back to the view as the man shrugged off his jacket, hanging it on his desk chair before picking up a pad and pen. Donovan watched the man as he sat down, slouching in his chair, looking perfectly comfortable. At the motion with his pen, Donovan sat himself down in the chair indicated. Unlike the other male, he didn’t slouch. Instead he remained sitting straight, as was typical for him, with his left leg crossed over his right. He shifted his jacket slightly so that it was more comfortable for him before he looked over at Takeshi again. His eyebrow raised a little at the comment regarding his stiffness. He had to privately admit to himself that he was feeling tense, but then he didn’t like psychiatrists and he certainly didn’t want one poking around in his head. The last one claimed that the fact that he was so distant from people, was due to problems he had with his parents in his childhood despite the fact that Donovan had always had a lot of respect for his parents, and felt lucky to have them. Thus, he did not have high hopes for this one. The corner of his mouth twitched a little down when Takeshi spoke about addressing his curtness. There was no real mystery behind that. Takeshi was not only a complete stranger, but he was a psychiatrist and tried small talk with him. Granted, he should have perhaps covered his irritation a little better like he had been forced to do while dealing with the general public. It was why he was much more comfortable as a detective, as he wasn’t required to interact with people as much. He generally left it to his partner, Laura. People just saw him as the silent detective that worked in the background. A position he was rather comfortable with. Laura, on the other hand, was very happy to talk to people on his behalf. She was a people person, after all, and couldn’t go five minutes without chatting to someone about just about anything. He glanced down as he saw movement, watching as Takeshi leaned back and crossed one leg over the other as he seemed to get himself even more comfortable. Donovan let out a soft sigh through his nose, tempted to make a dry and sarcastic response to Takeshi’s joke. But he restrained himself, as it was often that people couldn’t tell when he was being sarcastic. And he doubted that Takeshi would cotton on, either. So instead, he concentrated on the question that was asked of him. He really didn’t need to even think of an answer to that, “My parents, little sister… my wife, and my partner.” He replied, keeping his answer short and to the point.

Donovan remained standing by the door for a few moments, watching Takeshi shift back further into the office after his friendly greeting. It had been a light greet, and Donovan noted that the man had a rather good voice. Quite smooth, with a relaxing quality to it. Not high and querulous like the previous owner of the office. Despite that, Donovan wasn’t going to let it lull him into a false sense of security, and he tensed up for a moment before forcing himself to relax. He continued watching as the man casually walked over to the desk, picking up his cup and drinking from it. It was only then that Donovan stepped into the office and closed the door behind him with a faint click. His gaze was drawn to the window, much like the first time he had come here. He quite liked the view of the bustling city beyond the glass pane, without letting too much of the noise in. He was drawn from his gazing when Takeshi spoke again, causing him to look over at him with a slightly raised eyebrow. He then frowned a little. He had not come here for a friendly chat. He had come here for his appointment, nothing more. He wasn’t particularly interested in anything more than that. Still, he wasn’t rude and he wasn’t going to tell the man to fuck off with his small talk despite the fact that small talk was one of his greatest failures when it came to social interaction. It often made people think of him as cold and distant but he just didn’t like talking about mundane things that have no purpose. If he wanted to know about the weather, he could look out of a window, or check his arm computer. It was meaningless, and thus not really worth his time. He allowed his gaze to slide back to the view outside of the window as he replied in a rather stiff manner, “Things are going fine. And there are things I miss, and don’t miss.” It was obvious that he was quite uncomfortable with such small talk and would prefer to avoid it if possible.

Donovan had arrived precisely five minutes before his scheduled appointment, having always preferred to be slightly early than late. He did not like lateness when it came to others, finding it to be quite rude and rudeness was one of his most hated pet peeves, especially in a professional capacity. So he had made sure that he had left enough time just in case the psychologist that he was supposed to see, was free. He had met with the previous one only once before the man had left, and a replacement came to take his place. He had not spoken much then, and he doubted he will feel any inclination to do so this time. As the receptionist directed him towards the office of the man he was meant to see, Donovan wondered not for the first time why he needed to come and see this psychologist. He knew it was regulation for him to see them, to ensure that there were no problems with the officers. But surely if he needed help, he should decide for himself to come and talk to a psychologist? He thought for a moment and remembered the name of the man, as Takeshi Jimenez. He had overheard another officer claim that the man was quite good, and knew what he was doing, making him a good replacement for the man that they had previously. Donovan had lost interest in the conversation after that. He wasn’t interested in knowing what the man had talked to Mr. Jimenez about. He came to a stop when he arrived at an open door, looking into a rather neat and spacious office. He had half raised his hand to knock on the door to announce his presence, but paused when he heard humming. He looked over at the current occupant of the office, and assumed that this was Takeshi. He remembered seeing him around the station a couple of times but they had never interacted. He was a lot younger than the previous psychologist, who had been getting on in years. He was surprised that his position was taken by someone so young. It would explain the other officers claim that the man knew what he was doing. He had to be good to become the lead psychologist at such a young age. He had an unusual appearance as well. Skin that was a rather dusky colour, with contrasting silver hair. It made Donovan wonder if the silver colour was natural, or if he dyed his hair to give himself a more eccentric appearance. He then took a moment to look around the office, to see that it was quite neat and organised. He took a note of the bookshelf behind the man's desk, filled with various psychology books. Nothing that looked personal in the slightest. His eyes then shifted to the desk where he noted that while there were neat piles of files, there was nothing personal such as photo frames. The previous man who occupied this office had pictures of his wife and extended family. Donovan had hated that about the previous psychologist. He had brought his personal life into this office. Clearly he used it as a means to try and endear himself onto his patients, but it wasn’t something that worked with Donovan. The only personal touch this office had were the plants that were scattered about. They made the office more aesthetically pleasing, and more relaxing without being imposing. It was a personal touch, without being too forward. Donovan rather approved of it. Takeshi seemed to keep a professional attachment from his patients while at the same time, appearing to endear himself to them. Already Donovan preferred this man over his predecessor. His gaze returned to the man watering his plants before he knocked his knuckle against the door to announce his presence.

Daedrin let out a sigh of relief when he managed to persuade Izanagi not to bring down the entire cave on both of their heads. That would have been an extremely messy way to go. He felt Izanagi move away from the rocks, and move down the other opening. Only then, did Daedrin pull back his mind. He then turned and looked down the cave before him, using his telekinesis to act as a radar for him, getting a feel of what lay around him. He moved forwards, hoping to be able to find a cave that would lead to the side passage. He knew it might have been best to remain where he was, and wait for Izanagi to come to him but he wasn’t the type of person to sit and wait for rescue. He wasn’t a damsel in distress, after all, waiting for a man to come and save him. It rankled with his pride. So he wasn’t just going to stand there and impatiently wait. He moved down the cave, pausing when he found himself at some kind of junction, with three paths leading away. Telekinetically, he felt down all three of them. The middle one went nowhere, while the left one went downwards, deeper into the earth. The one on the right moved slightly up before going down again. After a few moments of consideration, he turned right and moved through the passage, following it before he came to a stop. Up ahead, he could see light filtering around the corner of the cave, which meant that there was someone already here. It could have been Izanagi, but the light was different than the light he had been using to see in the cave. Cautiously, he moved closer towards the bend, making as little sound as possible. He came to a stop just before the bend, reaching out with his mind to try and get a sense of those ahead. There were four of them. Three of the minds felt strange, almost animalistic. One of them however, was a sorcerer. Daedrin immediately pulled back, but it was too late. The man had already sensed his probing. Deciding to just confront whomever it was waiting for him, he stepped around the door and narrowed his eyes at what looked to be a torch. He moved closer to the four figures until he was standing in the mouth of the cave that lead into a larger chamber. His suspicions were right in that one of them was a sorcerer. In fact, it was one of Torak’s worshippers with a purple rim around his hood. The other three were almost unrecognisable, and it took Daedrin a few moments to realise that they might have been human at one time. But they had been changed and moulded until they more resembled animals than humans. One of them looked almost like a werewolf, standing on two feet, with bulging muscles and sparse, matted fur. It was foaming at the mouth, with long gleaming teeth. The next one along, looked like a mix between a human and a grizzly bear. It was even larger than the wolf, with shaggy brown fur and long arms with sharp claws. The third one looked almost like a troll, but the fur was too thin, and the posture was completely wrong. They were hunched over, almost bending down as its arms dragged along the ground. Daedrin looked up at the cultist with narrowed eyes, “Greetings.” He said in a polite tone of voice, watching the man carefully. The cultist glowered at him, his grip tightening on the torch that he was carrying, “Daedrin.” He said, his tone cold and harsh. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” Daedrin asked, sounding casual as his hand rested itself on the pommel of his sword. The cultist snorted before sneering at him, “I think you know why, heretic.” The man glanced at the three figures around him before looking at Daedrin, “Heh. It also seems that we’re not the only ones with a price in your head. These fools used to be bandits, more after your skills than hunting you for your crimes. They want your skills as a weaponsmith, to make them top grade weapons for use in their exploits.” His sneer deepened, “So desperate they were for it that they agreed to be changed by us. Fools. And now we’re going to use them to bring you down and finally slaughter you. To sacrifice your life to give Torak his back.” Daedrin resisted the urge to sigh before he shook his head, “You do realise that I’m not going to let you do that, right?” He asked. The cultist laughed before saying, “You will. Because if you don’t, your friend will die.” Daedrin blinked at the man before he let out a groan, “Oh, really? You’re being stupid enough to go after him?” He asked, causing the cultist to pause in confusion. Before the man could even ask what Daedrin had meant, the red eyed man continued, “You can try going after him, but I can promise you that you won’t get far.”

Location: Village of Ryn’tur. Rowan found himself unable to tear his eyes away from Natia, admiring just how beautiful she looked in the baby doll dress. It suited her perfectly and he couldn’t help but to smile when she slowly moved over to him. He could see that she was a little unsteady on her feet, but there was still a grace to her movements that the shoes couldn’t rob from her. He couldn’t wait to see her able to walk properly in those shoes. Even a Queen would be envious of how much grace and poise she would have. As her arms wrapped around his shoulders, his smile deepened and he looked at her with warm, golden eyes. His arm wrapped around her, gliding across the soft material as it settled on her slender waist. He pulled her against him, feeling the warmth of her body through the thin material. He couldn’t wait to get her in bed like this. He smiled at her, “I’ll definitely get this for you, my little white lily. I can’t wait to drag you into the bedroom.” He growled softly at her, a sound filled with sexual lust. His ears then twitched as he could hear the voices outside talking in an irate fashion. He turned his head towards the door, frowning a little as he felt a little annoyed. His grip on Natia tightened a little, feeling the urge to push her so that she was hidden from the door. His eyes shifted to the door handle, seeing it shift which caused his free hand to twitch with the urge to pull out one of his numerous hidden daggers. His reaction was caused by his highly strung nerves, as most of the time, even when he seemed relaxed, he was on alert. Glenda moved forwards and said through the door, “I am already with a customer. You’re going to have to wait until I’m finished. Then I will be more than happy to see to your needs.” She sounded a little annoyed herself, clearly not liking impatient or rude customers that just couldn’t wait their turn.

Rose was about to say that free will changed much of what Anhara had said, but the words caught in her throat when the girl reached into her pocket and pulled her knife back out. The smaller girl flinched a little when Anhara flipped it open and lifted it up, causing Rose to lean back slightly to try and get away from it. She didn’t want that blade anywhere near her. While at first she had regarded it with mild fascination, she was now terrified of it. She resisted as Anhara gripped her hand, uncurling her fists and putting the knife into her palm. She wanted to drop it, feeling filthy just touching it. She stared up at the other girls eyes before shaking her head from side to side, “Even if God knows what I am to do, I still have that free choice. I could decide to defy him… and kill you anyway. I don’t know if God would forgive me. And nor do you. No one can know what God truly wants.” She said, thinking it arrogant for Anhara to think she knew for certain what God wanted. For all she knew, God might want Rose to take this knife and slit Anhara’s throat, to rid the world of a satan-tongued smooth-talker. While at first, Anhara’s arguments made her pause, she was now more determined not to allow the other girl to change her mind on the matter of her fate. She then added, “I… don’t care what God wants. I don’t want a new start. I want my life to remain as it is. I already have a home, and a family. I don’t want a new one.” She was even more convinced that Anhara had some agenda, to lure her away from her God. What other reason did she have to try and shake her faith like this? Anhara must be in the league with the Dark Lord. Here to lure God’s faithful away from him. She was determined not to allow Anhara to do that to her.