I will say that I am intrigued by this. It has been awhile since anybody put anything new up on this board so I will give it a whirl. However I am puzzled at what it is I am supposed to be doing. Also some rules as to what my character can and can not do could help as well. Sorry if that sounds nickpicky, but I don't want to jump into this and mar this interesting world you seem to be building. Regardless I AM definitely a player in this!

I thought this might pop up as soon as I posted it, so thanks for letting me know it was NEEDED. I'll edit this post if I've missed anything as I have a tendency to do.

Rules and guidelines will be as follows:
1. You may choose to join any of the noble families, but you can not, however be the head of a family.
2. This is a character driven role play and thus your actions, obviously, effect plot progression.
3. The Wisps no longer follow just the Sforza family, and have become something in the way of contract killers.
4. The Wisps have communal Safe Houses in nearly every city. So be sure to take this into consideration.
5. So far, the known cities of this setting are as follows: Gallia, Brazillia, Venatzia, Ocinius, and Castellum del Rosarius, Toma, Infleci
6. The is no magic in this setting, but there are objects that portray magic. (Much like the Blastia in Tales of Vesparia) They are called Daemonis Cyrstallini.
7. Daemonis Cyrstallini, or Demon Crystals, absorb energy from an ambient source in order to alter reality. This energy source could be anything from a blade of grass, to the user themselves. There must always be a source of energy. This is without exception.
8. Humans, Anthros, and a combination of the two dubbed Shifters are available for character creation. Though there are possibilities for others. If you do not wish to create one of these three, please PM me through the MoFo, or contact me in chat and we can discuss your additional race.
9. Humans are treated as the Alpha race, and Anthros are typically counted as second class citizens. There are exceptions, however, as Anthros may be adopted into a noble family and given that family's name.
10. Shifters are feared as assassins due to a long history in service to the Wisps, and those who are not within the Wisps have a tendency to stay off the "racial map", so to say. By this, I mean they will shift to one race or the other and conceal their heritage, or hide altogether.
11. Shifters have for the most part fallen through the cracks of history. Thus the knowledge of their existence is common assumption rather than common knowledge. There are still enough of them that the would count as a race however, instead of a genetic defect.
12. Any suggestions you may have for the Shifter race should probably be brought up with GemaJinn, as the race is Gem's creation.
13. A Wisp who finishes their training in the arts of assassination, is given a Daemonis Cyrstallini. The effect of said Demon Crystal is of an adaptive type that bonds with it's user. This causes the ability to change based on the users abilities. One that is proficient in stealth will have a stealth Demon Crystal.
14. The Auditore Family has the best weapons, but is the smallest family. Their colors are pale green. They are akin to the Spartan, the biggest difference being that if you're not strong they will MAKE you strong, rather than throwing you away.
15. The Medichi Family runs most of the research into bioengineering. Their colors are deep blue.
16. The Florentine Family runs the most research into medicine and disease. Their colors are Tergo Orange.
17. The Sforza Family have the best cavalry. Their colors are blood red. Are akin to the old Germans.
18. Any character could stumble upon an artifact from the vortex gates. It's also possible that a character could BE an artifact from the vortex gates.
19: Azgarde is a side story of the Foundations Universe.
20. The year on Azgarde is 6E663 Wind. This stands for 663 in the sixth era of Wind. The Wind is a symbolic term associated with visions of the coming era by members of the royal family. The eras from beginning to end are: 1st Era of Home, 2nd Era of Fear, 3rd Era of Revolution, 4th Era of Empire, 5th Era of Stone, and 6th Era of Wind.
. As the saying goes: Enjoy yo' frumpy self!

Okay that works for me. I'll see what I can whip up and post it soon! This really looks interesting!

Ok, but if that isn't enough information for any reason, please inform me so that I can make changes.

(OOC: Hmm...sounds interesting and slightly shakesperean (the plot, not the wording XD) I'm guessing there are anthros and humans involved...but what else? Do the different families tend to be of certain species...or is it that the families are human, while non-Family characters are anthro? Is there magic involved? Technology?

Sorry, for too many questions, i just need to know a little more before I can jump in. XD)

OOC: There are anthros, yes. The families are originally all human, but anthros can and have been adopted as members of them. As far as technology and magic go, there is no true magic as it is traditionally known, but there are devices that simulate magic.

OOC:Should probably just note here that I cleared the whole 'shifter' business with Ramza before putting this post up. Also apologies for the epic length of it!! Anyway, on with the RP!

IC: Alexis cursed as the alarm wailed and the air was filled with the usual shouts that greeted an attack upon the village. An otherwise promisingly quiet evening ruined! Still, she supposed she had better go and see what was happening. She rose from her seat at the table of a village tavern and stretched languidly before making her way towards the exit. One of the many men in the tavern who were quickly downing their final drinks and eying up such women as caught their eye before going in response to the alarm approached her with a knowing grin- before just as quickly stepping back with a look of surprise and fear in his eyes as she passed him. Alexis- or Lexie as she was known to her few close friends- was used to that though, almost everyone reacted the same when they realised she was a Shifter.

Shifters- or Chimera, or Tainted Ones,or whatever people preferred to call them- had originally been part of an attempt by the Noble families, some generations ago, to bring the Anthropomorphic and Human races together- by blending the bloodlines of both into a single hybrid race. The initial results had been hideously deformed monstrosities, who spent their existence in constant agony and who had therefore been culled swiftly by those who created them. A few more tries though had produced individuals with a serendipitous mutation- they could shift flawlessly between a fully human shape and the shape of anthropomorphs. Their own true shape was a little odd though, being far closer to true human than anthropomorphs were, but still with some distinctly non-human traits evident. As an additional bonus, when Shifting, these individuals emitted an aura a matter of inches from their body- not much, but enough to allow their clothing to morph and shift with them, to suit whatever new shape they took on. It wasn't this aspect of Shifters that had gained them something of a dark reputation though. Shifters, thanks to the unique aspect of their nature they were named after, made ideal candidates for Wisps. And so it had become tradition-at least amongst Nobles and ever since the Wisps had gone independent- to send those possessing the ability to Shift to be inducted into the ranks of the Wisps. And what were Nobles, Alexis mused as she made her way down the street, if not traditionalists? That was a- quality- common to Nobles that had blighted her own life.

Alexis paused, her dark musings interrupted by a sight that caught her eye. The Leaping Mare Inn had its door wide open and a window had been knocked out. Curious, she strode over and looked inside. The scene that greeted her immediately set her on high alert. A man she knew as a local huntsman lay on the floor, his throat slit. The barkeep lay slumped and unconscious behind the bar, his chest riddled with darts. From her own training Alexis knew the work of professionals when she saw it- something was very much amiss here. Neither the huntsman or the barkeep had enemies powerful, wealthy or malicious enough to send professional assassins after them, so who had they been after? She strode over to the broken window and looked through. There was a chair outside that belonged to the tavern, resting amongst the broken fragments of glass- glass that had been disturbed. There had been someone else in the bar- they had been the assassin's mark. To escape they had broken out the window, leaped through- and gone where? To avoid disturbing the trail, Alexis left by the door and followed the trail. Soon she came to a charred corpse lying on the ground. One look at it told her it was the assassin- the bandages and now-shredded cloak confirmed it. There was no point in lingering. For one thing, the assassin would have been impossible to identify before, let alone after he- or she- had been partially cooked by the blast. For another thing, whoever had laid the explosives wasn't here. Alexis could see that the trail continued on. Perhaps whoever had taken out the assassin was still nearby? She hurried on as quickly as she could- before coming to an abrupt halt.

The assassin's mark was still nearby- lying lifelessly on the ground about five feet from where Alexis stood. Moving quickly over, she could see that the mark had a single wound to the chest, most probably caused by a sword. Quick and clean, and with a minimal struggle- the mark of a professional. There had been two assassins then, not one. Taking a look at the body, Alexis gasped in surprise. The blonde girl who lay dead before her was dressed in the livery of the Royal Messengers. There was more though, she realised. The glazed, lifeless eyes, were staring off a little to her left- the same direction as her outstretched arm extended. That wasn't her sword-arm either, for the girl's sword lay where it had been dropped, on her other side. Crouching close, Alexis put her fingers close to the dead girl's eyes- almost touching them- before drawing them slowly away in a straight line, marking the probable line of sight. Then' tracing a similar line for the outstretched arm, she turned her head in that direction, gazing along the estimated line. A little way up the street there was an object- barely visible- lying on the ground. Alexis walked over and carefully picked it up, getting her next major surprise of the evening. It was a letter sealed with the Royal Seal. She must be the first person to see an actual one of these in 200 years, Alexis mused to herself. Then she cast a glance back at the dead girl- well, nearly the first. Why hadn't the assassin taken this after killing the girl though? Doing a quick calculation of the time taken to get from the Leaping Mare to the second corpse and allowing that it was recent, Alexis realised the second assassin hadn't had time- the alarm had sounded and the assassin had been forced to retreat. And in doing so, had left behind something the Royal Messenger- for so she appeared to be- very much wanted found. Alexis slowly tucked the letter into an inside pocket of her jacket, before kneeling down to gently close the dead girl's eyes and shift her arm slightly. Standing upright again she said softly, "your message is safe with me girl- whoever you were". 

     Cutting through alleyways and climbing a gutter pipe, the assassin made his was to the rooftops. From here he could see past the city walls and out to the Auditore army. All he could make out from this distance were the outlines of tributes and siege towers. He could hear the shouts of commanders issuing orders to their subordinates, the cries of the wounded as they bled to death, the whistle of arrows flying over the city walls to rain death upon any living creature in their path. Feeling a sense of danger, the assassin leaped from the roof just before a stone crashed through it, bringing the building down with it.

    The fox looked into the rubble to see the broken bodies of the innocent. And turned without a care as he continued on his way. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop he found himself atop a tannery on the east side of town. This will be a good place to hide while I wait for the chaos to cease, he thought.

    But before he could even make his way into the building, he was spotted be a small squad of Auditore skirmishers that had found a way into the city. The men pulled forth bows and drew back their arrows. The fox drew a scimitar from it's sheath on his left hip and readied himself. The men let their arrows fly. The fox deflected three of the five arrows, cutting them out of the air. The fourth missed. But the fifth hit home, striking the fox's gut. Shrugging off the pain, he dashed at his foes, who dropped their bows to take up swords. Swinging his arm behind him, the fox brought it forward again, releasing a hidden sickle attached to a chain that sliced deep into the head of one of the skirmisher. Taking advantage of this, the assassin pulled on the chain, knocking the dead man into one of his fellows and knocking him off the rooftops to his death. Releasing the chain, the fox leaped to the roof where the other three men where and engaged them in combat.

    The first of the soldiers brought his sword down, but this was easily deflected by the fox who then spun on his heel and decapitated the soldier. The second grabbed for the fox's cloak in an attempt to take him off balance. And so, the fox fell. The soldier brought his sword down to stab into the fox, but he rolled aside, slashing in an upward arch into the soldier's stomach.

   There was only one left. The fox could see the fear in his eyes. The man tried to run, but was stopped short as a blade protruded through his throat. He gasped for air as his lungs filled with blood. He looked at the fox in horror, muttering his last word, "Demon..." before falling, dead. The assassin then returned to the tannery and entered the building.

Hector di Medichi was yelling himself hoarse that night. He had almost been ready to retire that night when alarms in the city of Gallia alerted him to his greatest worry: foreign invasion.

Tall, broad-shouldered, and strong as two horses, the man was already hustling out into the city. Arrows were errantly clattering throughout the streets closest to the walls. Hector stood at the top of the bell tower in the cathedral and peered out into the darkness. A noise behind him made him turn around and brace for a fight. He relaxed slightly when he saw it was only a priest.

"Lord Hector, the omens are unclear about what will happen on this night," the priest worriedly admitted.

Hector grumbled. "One omen is best: defending the fatherland."

The priest watched Hector hurry down into the streets. Shortly thereafter, the priest could hear him roaring out orders at the levied soldiers. Hector was soon on the walls with the archers, pacing up and down, shouting when to fire. In his right hand, he tightly gripped a long axe. While he was making his rounds, he swore he could see a struggle on the rooftops a little ways away. It was not a leader's place to leave him soldiers in the midst of battle, but he could not help but wonder what person had single-handedly fought off five skirmishers in the city. He jogged up the walls, hopped down clumsily to a rooftop, and peered at the gruesomely murdered Auditore soldiers. Immediately, Hector felt his blood run cold and he scrambled down the drainpipe of the local tanner's.

"Could it be...?"

     Seeking safety within the tannery, the fox threw his cloak into one of the ammonia vats. The building was empty, the workers probably having ran for shelter when the alarms sounded. Taking advantage of this, the man donned one of the spare worker uniforms. He then looked for a viable hiding spot. After a short while of looking, he found a cellar door. Opening it, he hurried down the stairs and hid behind a set of clothing racks. The sounds of battle picked up as he could hear buildings collapsing in the distance. The cries of the dying. War never changes he thought.

OOC: Well here we go at last! I hope everything looks okay and if there's anything I need to change please don't hesitate to let me know!

IC:
“Well if it isn’t my good ‘ol friend,” the rather portly shopkeeper said with a rotted grin, “It has been some time since you set foot around here Taltae. So what be it? Business or pleasure?”
The shop keeper took a long drag on a small pipe and leaned over the counter top, stroking his thick grey beard. The small shop’s rickety door silently closed shut behind the young visitor as he took a step towards the grinning clerk. He stopped at the counter and sat a small pack he had slung over his shoulder down on the floor. “It’s rather late is it not? I’m surprised you are still open at this hour,” Taltae observed.
“Well what can I say times are a little rough these days. Any opportunity to make an extra bit of gold is what literally gets me through the week. So have you just arrived?” A thick ring a smoke rolled from the clerk’s lips joining in with the thin cloud of smoke hanging in the rafters.

“I merely arrived in town late last night, Meiren. I was ran haggard; as I was. Been spending too much time outdoors, and it doesn’t do the body any benefits. Spent the whole day ‘sleep down in the old inn. Beds aren’t that comfortable, but far more so than hard rock.” Taltae rested his elbow upon the counter and glanced around the small store. There wasn’t much to purchase as it was hard to receive and deliver goods with the whole world a battlefield. Just some common necessities and a few over priced books were all that caught his attention.
“Well I can imagine,” Meiren chuckled making small talk, “S’prised you didn’t wake blown to bits.”
“I do well to avoid the armies roaming about the lands. Their power battles are of little concern to me.”
“That attitude will be your undoing one of these days. You choose to remain out of the war’s way and the war will eventually get in yours!”
“So you’ve said.” Taltae stood up right and unclasped a small satchel hanging around his belt. He placed it upon the counter top and looked at Meiren with a wide grin.
“So it isn’t pleasure you’re here for after all!” the portly clerk chuckled.

“I love you to death Meiren, but when was the last time I rolled in here just for a talk?” Taltae said brushing a strand of his dirty blonde hair behind his ear.
“When was the last time you ever rolled in here?” Meiren grabbed the small satchel and slowly undid the lacing keeping it firmly shut. “So what treasures am I expected to find in here. Something I can sell I hope.”
“Knowing the state of the economy probably not. Not around here anyways. I found those up in the mountains three days ago. Dragon Coins. Two of them to be exact. Not many of them left, not around these parts.”
Two tarnished silver coins rolled out of the bag into the shopkeeper’s hands. A design of a dragon was imprinted on the front side of each coin, still clearly visible despite the aging. Meiren held them up to the small light flickering on a shelf behind him and carefully examined  each one.
“So what do you think?” Taltae said with a hint of impatience in his voice.
“Definitely the real deal. Each one bears the official mark stamped on all currency of whatever day these coins hail from.” Meiren handed the coins back to Taltae, “However, I’m afraid I can not afford these. I’m barely making enough to keep my shop in the running.”
“I’m not asking you to buy them off of me. All I’m proposing is a trade.” Taltae set the coins back down on the counter. “I have ran low on supplies, and my recent lodging has left me with little in the way of currency. Currency commonly accepted anyways. You’ve helped me out in the past when no one else would. I know you have connections, and I know you can make quite a bit of gold on selling those coins in certain circles. Let me restock on my necessities and the coins are yours.”
“Naw, I can’t do that. These are worth way more than my entire stock. I wouldn’t feel I have done right by you by just taking what is clearly your treasure.”

“There’s no need for that. I’ve plenty more treasure where that comes from, and plenty more treasure waiting to be found. I’m heading out as soon as our business here is concluded and I want to be well prepared. The coins are of little loss to me.”
Meiren picked the coins up and clenched them tightly in his hands. A tear began to form in his left eye as he gave serious thought to the offer.
“Alright. I’ll accept Taltae. Times are hard and I can sure use the money! This means a lot to me!” Meiren reached out over the counter and placed his hand upon Taltae’s shoulder.
“You can pay me the difference when you become rich and famous!” Taltae said jokingly turning to grab supplies.
“I sure will! So whereabouts are you heading?”
Taltae unzipped a small pack that he had been carrying over his shoulder. “South. There’s an old Florentine armory that ways, hasn’t seen use in years. I figured I would swing by and see if they left me any goodies.”
“You’re my favorite scavenger!” Meiren said with a smile.
“I prefer treasure hunter.” Taltae quickly finished and zipped his pack back up. What sounded like an explosion caused Taltae to quickly glance over at the shop’s entrance. He looked over at Meiren, but he just shrugged and continued on with the conversation.
“Whatever. Be safe, and don’t let the Wisps cut you down in your sleep!”
Taltae rose to feet, slung the bag over his right shoulder, and started off towards the door. “Thanks you too. Tell the wife I said hi!”
The sentence no sooner rolled of the adventurer’s lips when an alarm began to wail in the distance. Taltae turned back to Meiren and gave him a worried glance.
“Well if this isn’t the biggest case of deja’vu.” Taltae said emotionless.
“I guess you’re still going then?” the shop keep said concerned.
Taltae nodded, and quickly exited through the door out into the street.

He looked off to his right as someone quickly darted into the nearby alleyway. Paying no mind , Taltae set off toward the town gates. He could hear shouts in the distance. ‘It seems some of them has made their way into town’ he thought as he quickly scanned the area to find the best route of escape. He took off in the direction of the inn, the very same inn he rested at the night before. The back entrance led came out almost in front of the south gate, so Taltae reckoned this way the optimal route to take without being spotted. As he approached the building, however, a ghastly sight befell him. A body was lying in the street still some distance from the inn. The corpse was torn to shreds, and was badly burned.

Taltae’s expression turned to disgust as he knelt down to examine the body. He reached to pull back a shred of the corpse’s tattered cloak when he heard footsteps coming from ahead. Taltae quickly leapt down a nearby alleyway, and pressed his back up against the wall. Cautiously he peered out around the corner and spied someone, a female, approach the body. Taltae could tell that she was not a militant, but someone curious as to the current happenings of Gallia. She stopped briefly before the corpse before continuing onward. As she passed Taltae quickly came out of hiding and approached the corpse once more. The woman who had went by just now was looking for something. He didn’t know why, but this intrigued him. As he examined the corpse he took quick notice of the bandages. The person lying here before Taltae had formerly been a Wisp. There had to be no other option. Commoners do not dress in such attire. Taltae began to shudder. Where there’s a Wisp, there’s a mark.

He turned and slowly walked off in the direction of the previous female. It wasn’t long before he spied her once more. She was standing over yet another corpse, most likely the victim of the assassins as the battle waging outside the town hasn’t yet made it this far. He watched as this mysterious woman walked down the street a little ways. She stopped, knelt down and picked up something lying on the ground. Taltae was too far away to tell exactly what it was, but it looked like a scrap of paper of some sort. An explosion in the distance caught Taltae by surprise. He was so focused on this woman that he had clearly forgotten about the battle raging nearby. He heard a building begin to crumble in the distance and began to panic. He had to leave now! He turned to flee, but lost his footing. He fell to the hard ground landing on his right knee with a violent crunch! “DAMMIT!” Taltae cursed as he rolled over on his backside and grabbed his knee. The damage wasn’t great, but it was guaranteed that this was going to hurt for a couple of days at the least. He began to rise to his feet when he noticed that he had caught the mysterious woman’s attention. She was staring right at him.

Hector shoved open the door of the tannery; subtlety was an art form with which he was unfamiliar. At once, the overpowering stench of ammonia made him wheeze and bring a hand to his nose. The nobleman's brow furrowed in disgust at the smell, which struck him as unusually pungent. Nevertheless, he warily continued inside the building and maintained a significant distance from the vats. His eyes shifted from side to side. Nobody was around; perhaps they had fled when the watch had sounded the alarm. This only added to Hector's concern; was he alone, or was somebody watching him without his awareness?

As a general rule, he did not usually participate in games of fox and hound; that was the sort of thing left to people with more patience than he. Right now, though, Hector's overpowering concern about who might be loose in Brazilia had him anxiously inspecting every corner and shadow. Those dead Auditore soldiers...whoever had slain them was a grim executioner, unquestionably, and was no amateur at that. Those Auditore soldiers were rank-and-file boys. They had been outclassed in every way by whomever it was they had met. An assassin in Brazilia gave Hector every reason to press forward; after all, was this an assassin after him? He could not know until he found this person.

There was no sign that anyone had necessarily run in or out of the tannery. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. Still, there was no mistaking what had happened to the Auditore soldiers outside; something had done that to them. If only to be certain, Hector cautiously did one last sweep with his eyes of the room. Nothing appeared out of place. Maybe there was a little more ammonia on the floor than usual, but perhaps that was a result of the tanners fleeing. He stared up at the ceiling, around at the walls, and down at the floor. Was that a cellar door there? Hector approached it like a wounded, vicious animal and prodded it with his axe. When nothing happened, he yanked it open and braced himself. Still nothing happened. He trotted downstairs and slowed when he saw the cellar was a huge warehouse of clothing racks and tanning materials. As much as he could, he proceeded with caution.

      The fox heard the cellar door open as well as the footsteps of the other intruder. He couldn't flee. Any attempt for the door and he would either be seen or make to much noise. Taking short breaths through his mouth as to not be overwhelmed by the sent of ammonia, the assassin peeked out from behind a coat on the rack. He saw the man standing in the cellar doorway, but could not make out any features in the dimly lit room. With all light coming from the other man's direction, he looked as a shadow wreathed in light.

      The fox didn't like these odds. He could fight almost any enemy, as long as he could see them. Without a way to size up his opponent, he could easily be outmatched before he knew it.

      Making sure not to make a sound, the fox took a brief look around the room. There were no other obvious exits in the cellar. There were plenty of places to hide if one weren't moving, but any attempt to shift from one spot to another would likely cause the racks that most of the clothes and tools sat upon to rattle and give away his location. There was also a rather large barrel in the back of the room which looked more appropriate in a tavern or bar rather than in the cellar of a tannery. This caught the fox's attention, but even if there were something special about it, he wouldn't be able to find out with the other intruder standing in the doorway with a clear view of the room.

Alexis whirled around as she heard the unmistakable sound of someone moving close by. Even as her ears registered the sound her mind told her it wasn't the second assassin come to collect the letter she'd just picked up- the rustling of clothing and the footsteps, light though they were, suggested someone who lacked the mastery of stealth common to a Wisp. And she would know, Alexis mused, for in keeping with tradition, the Medichi family had sent her to join the Wisps and be trained as one in her early childhood. The fact that she wasn't even now running around making money by spilling blood was due entirely to her own- inventiveness. There was always more than one way to skin a cat, after all. But who, she wondered, was it who was lurking so close to the ex-Royal Messenger? As she finished turning she heard the distinctive sound of someone losing their footing followed by a muffled but vehement curse. Definitely not the second assassin. Probably not a soldier either- they'd all be running to the gates and walls of Gallia. Perhaps a civilian then, who just happened to have stumbled down this alley at this time? It was the most probable explanation. She focused on the person before her.

Though the shadows of the night made it difficult to see much, Alexis could discern that the individual now seated on the ground and holding tight to their knee had hair that was a dirty blonde colour. He was also male,that she knew from the sound of his voice when he'd fallen. And from the few details she could see of his attire he looked almost like a traveller. If he was then he was an unlucky one, to be caught in the town during a battle and to have sustained an injury that might either slow or stop altogether his attempt to flee the town. Alexis took a few slow strides forwards, so that what little light there was revealed her features more clearly. Her glossy, obsidian hair gleamed in the dim light and her ears- a little too long and too pointed to be ordinary human ears- stood out against it. She smiled, exposing fangs that were to developed to be ordinary human canines and spoke clearly in a momentary silence between the wailing of the sirens and the rumble of explosions coming from the battle. "I don't know who you are," she informed the stranger, "but you clearly aren't the person responsible for this girl's death. But I mislike having strangers lurk behind me. So tell me,who are you and how do you come to be here?"

His increasingly shallow breathing eventually made Hector assess what he was doing. Maybe running blindly down corridors in abandoned tanneries was not the greatest of ideas. It certainly didn't seem like it now, with his frantically beating heart and his concern that every second could be his last. Slowly, he advanced and made sure to glance around often to prevent a sneak attack. He would occasionally push aside a suspicious article of clothing with his axe, but otherwise, nothing seemed out of the ordinary down here either. He was about to leave when he saw a barrel in the corner. The reasoning "it can't hurt" did not apply here, but he was unwilling to let any stone go unturned now.

Hector approached the barrel and reached forward to lift its lid. In so doing, he had his back to the only other person in the room.

    Praising whatever power that may have been looking over him and moved to exit the cellar. However, his skin ran cold as he heard the all to familiar sound of a boulder falling through the air. He ran back toward the nobleman, no longer trying to hide his presence. He reached him just as the rock burst through the rafters. The floor beneath the cellar gave way and the two men fell through a shoot. The two fell for several minutes until they came to an abrupt stop, colliding with a pile of old clothing.

    Shirts, trousers, coats, all manner of clothing, and all drenched in ammonia. The fox crawled out quickly, gagged by the overpowering stench. Scrambling for a nearby bucket, the fox vomited, the smell being to much to handle. After he regained his composure, he looked around him. They were in a small torchlit chamber that was decorated only with a single chair and a small table, as well as the pile of clothes. There were two arrow slits on the far wall from which light shown through. The fox stood to his feet and looked out the window to grasp a hint of where they were.

    He was greeted with a sight he hadn't expected. They had fallen into a large cave system. He could see scaffolding along the cave walls, but no clear inhabitants were in sight. He thought for a second. Perhaps an escape route or a resistance headquarters? He didn't know, and it didn't matter. He looked behind him as the other who had fallen crawled out of the clothing.

Hector was a little slow to rise; after all, he had weighty armour encumbering the celerity of his movement. However, he was not very long in getting up, for the aroma of ammonia was quick to arouse his senses; the smell of vomit added to that. His first instinct was to size up the fox before him, but even he, though a member of the House of Medichi and a veteran combatant, was taken aback by the strange setting. Never before had he seen anything like this place in all the time he had spent in Gallia. Hector looked accusatively at the fox.

"Who are you, and where are we?"

      The fox took a moment to size up the other man before speaking. Heavy armor would make him slow, thought the assassin. But seeing no immediate hostility, he opted to play innocent, rather that attack. "I am known as," he paused in thought, "I am Ale. I worked in the tannery, but that was my first time in the cellar. I don't know where we are sir. Perhaps it's an old mine, or escape tunnel?" The ground trembled as the battle above had apparently escalated. Dust fell from the ceiling to the floor in great wisps. Regardless of use, this chamber was old.

     Ale turned to a door directly to the right of the arrow slit he had gazed from. The door was rusted and gave a fair bit of resistance, but with a kick, it was open. Directly outside of the door was a light weapons rack. He grabbed a shining cutlass from it as well as a dagger and looked back at his would-be companion. "What do you say the two of us work together to get out of this mess, Sir Knight?" offered the fox with a grin, "I don't think we will be able to exit the way we came." Ale seemed to have mistaken the nobleman for a simple soldier.

Ale? Like ale and wenches?

Hector scratched his head and dispelled the silly thought. What puzzled him more was that there was a weapons rack hidden in an unknown chamber of sorts below a tannery.

"Uh, sure. That way seems as good as any," he said, pointing down one way of the cave. Ale nodded and moved silently, almost like a wraith. He kept pace with Hector, never allowing Hector to drop behind him. At first, Hector could not put his finger on it, but something was troubling him about Ale's mannerisms.

"What were you doing alone down in that cellar?" Hector asked, hearing the distant sounds of steel clashing overhead. "Don't you know there's a war on tonight?"

Ale rolled his eyes, though Hector did not notice it. "It had come to my attention, yes."

The reason Hector had not noticed Ale's sarcastic eye movements was that something had prodded his mind. This Ale fellow was nothing short of dubious.

"You haven't answered my question. Everyone else was gone from the tannery except you. Why?"

     Ale looked back at his companion as they made their way along the catwalk. The boards creaked and groaned under their weight. "Well, if you must know, Sir Knight, I was hiding. When the alarm went off everyone else scrambled out of the place and I got left behind. Lucky for you, eh?" said the fox flashing a sardonic smile, "Although I never would have expected a catapult to launch a boulder right into the tannery. My boss will have my hide once you knights win this battle."

    The man didn't seem completely sold on his excuse for why he was in the cellar. Admittedly, it wasn't a solid alibi. For one, he would smell of ammonia even now if he had been a worker in the tannery. That smell doesn't just wash out. He could make the excuse that he was a new worker, but then what would he have been doing in the cellar.

    Another rumble came from the battle above. This time it sent one of the stalactites from the cave ceiling crashing down into a part of the catwalk further down the path they were taking. They would have to find another way out. Normally, something like this would come as no problem for someone like Ale, but he wasn't about to blow his cover. He turned to Hector as the neared the broken catwalk. "I don't think we'll be making it across here. Wouldn't this be a great time for some magic ladder doohickey...?" he said as he looked to the nobleman hopefully. Seeing no immediate reaction from Hector, he sighed heavily.

Taltae stared right at the mysterious woman not sure what to make of her. Her apperance while humanlike, had features commonly spotted on an Anthro. He appearance was meanacing even to a seasoned travel such as himself. He looked into her eyes as the stories began to por through his head. Stories he had heard. Stories that told of such creatures. He had heard these stories throughout his travels, but thought they were nothing more that superstistion. A genetic byproduct of an expiriment of the past. Monstorous hybrid creatures who can blend in with any race at will. Some belived religiously in these creations, while other passed them off as mere tales. Tales told to the little ones to keep a fright in them, to keep them from straying from home. Taltae never believed in such creatures. They were tales, and that was all. Shifters is what they were referred to, and the tales that follwed them usually went hand in hand with the tales of the Wisps. He eyed the dead body before them, them glanced back at this Shifter, a creature who wasn't even supposed to exist.

"Responsible? Are you the one who," he had trouble getting his words right, "I mean, did you kill her? Are you one of them?"
"One of them? No." the creature said coldly gazing harshly at the adventurer, "Answer my question. Who are you, how do you come to be?"
"Taltae Medichi-"

"So you are a nobleman?" she said taking an extra step forward.

"No... well yes if you want to be technical." Taltae stammered as fear began to build inside him. If this woman was a Shifter, then maybe she was a Wisp. If she was a Wisp, then she was sure to dispose of all who had witnessed their actions. Taltae, while not exactly a witness, has seen enough to warrant silencing. Taltae had combat skills, his was trained in the Medichi military after all, but they were inferior compared to those of a Wisp. Those who kill with such efficiency. Those who treat assassination as an art form.

Taltae looked over at the Shifter and took several steps back, looking from the left to the right trying to find any route of escape. "I'm merely born noble. I'm merely raised noble. I cast my nobility off some time ago even if it refuses me the same luxury. I'm just an adventurer, a simple admirer of treaures world wide." the Shifter just stared at him, silently, waiting for the human to finish. Far from the monster described in the tales, she still cast an overpowering sense of fear. Taltae tensed as he awaited any action from this creature. An explosion echoed in the background, and Taltae's mind drifted ever so briefly to his friend Meiren. Meiren was probably underground with his wife and children by now. Meiren was safe. Safe from the Wisp, safe from the war. The war, the war was all around the city. The war was everywhere, yet the only place left untouched from battle is that before a shifter. A shifter, a creature who wasn't even supposed to exist.

 "Are you... are you going to kill me?" Taltae said the fear showing in his voice.

"It would," Hector grunted. He was not sure if that was some kind of invitation to open a magic bag and extract a ladder, but he did not have that luxury. He turned around and started marching in the other direction.

"I imagine you don't have one," Ale said conversationally.

"No."

"More's the pity."

Hector had one hand along the cave wall as he moved, still slightly in awe of the underground chasm. It was massive; the dripping stalactites echoed sonorously throughout the length of the cavern. At one point, he slipped in a puddle and landed on his back. Ale smiled quietly to himself as Hector inartfully got back onto his feet; it was like watching a turtle on its back. After some time walking, Hector groaned in frustration.

"A fine time for me to get lost," he said.

"Now, now; I'm sure your captain won't miss you too much. After all, there are plenty of able-bodied men out there already, I'm sure."

"That isn't the point!" Hector shouted, punching the rock wall in vexation. Much to his and Ale's mutual surprise, the rock was unstable and came loose in split shale. The two stared at the gaping entrance, through which there was a faint smell of ammonia, and then at each other. Ale made a mental note not to get directly in the way of Hector's fists and gestured to the new opening.

"Shall we?"

      Ale stepped past Hector and into the new pathway. The smell of ammonia faint, but still ominously present. Ale's gut wrenched at the thought of falling into another pile of clothing like that they had fallen into to get here. But this wasn't the time to pick and choose his route. His sharpened senses could still pick out the sounds of battle above. Nothing definitive, but the raising of buildings wasn't a silent affair. Not long after entering the tunnel, they came to a branch in the path. One led up, and the other down. "Well, soldier-boy, looks like we go up from here." stated the fox, laughing to himself at his apparent wit.

     "It would seem so." responded the nobleman, unamused.

     However, just as they were about to head up the stairs, the sound of rushed footsteps echoed from that path. Both of them hearing this, Hector went for his weapon, only to be pulled aside to the lower path. Hector started to protest, but Ale hurriedly hushed him. Shortly after having done so, four men and a woman dressed in uniforms that Ale couldn't identify ran past and out the way they had come.

    "Now isn't this odd?" questioned to fox to no one in particular, "Who do you think those 'good' people might be, Sir Knight?" The inflection on the word good had an air of suspicion coiled in it. With his job in this town finished, Ale shouldn't have cared, but something bothered him.

Alexis sighed inwardly- her Shifter nature had proved a little too effective in eliciting the truth from the person before her. Though Taltae's last name and what he had told her about himself piqued her interest. Still, there would be time to address that later- right now she needed to address his most pressing concern. Trying to sound as reassuring as possible Alexis answered Taltae's last question. "If I wanted you dead," she remarked simply, "I wouldn't have bothered speaking to you first. I am, as you doubtless realised, a Shifter, and as you probably fear I have been trained as a Wisp. But I don't work as one. Contrary to whatever you may have heard, those like me do not automatically become Wisps and cold-blooded killers. That is a tradition started by the Noble Families, though it is carried on by many others who have Shifter offspring. There are plenty of things we'd rather do, but the only way we get to do them is by concealing our nature and living as members of another race. For myself I'd as soon be a writer or musician, or even an adventurous wayfarer like yourself. But who'd want to read a book knowing it was penned by a Shifter? Or hear a composition by one? And could you imagine anyone exchanging friendly greetings with one on the road- even if there wasn't a war on?" She noted that Taltae seemed somewhat less anxious since she'd implied she didn't want him dead and that she didn't work as a Wisp. He still didn't look certain though. She reiterated what she had said previously. "I have no plans to kill you," she said evenly, "what you see here is not my work, it has been done by Wisps. Speaking of which, one is still on the loose somewhere, since it wasn't the body just down the road which killed this unfortunate girl. And there's an invasion taking place if my ears don't deceive me. We need to find somewhere safe to wait out the battle- or at least you do after the fall you took," she continued with a nod towards his recently-injured knee, "I need to report what's happened here to my family".

This seemed to stir Taltae's interest- or fear- enough for him to ask another question. "You aren't going to mention me to them are you- and why would you mention it to your family? If you don't mind my asking!" he added hastily. Alexis smiled in what she hoped didn't come across as an intimidating manner. "Of course I'm not going to mention you," she said, "you happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time- as your knee can attest. You've got enough problems as it is I suspect- even if I don't take the present invasion into account. I'm going to report it because, while you probably didn't have much desire to look at the body, it isn't every day a girl in a Royal Messenger uniform gets cut down by Wisps on the streets of Gallia. Even if the uniform isn't real, the fact that two Wisps went after her-and that she eliminated one of them- suggests she knew or was involved in something that someone wanted to keep quiet. Oh and the other reason I'll be reporting it to my family," she added, "is that cast it behind you though you may, you and I have a name in common". Taltae looked startled by this information. "what do you mean a name in common? Just who exactly are you?" he asked. Alexis gave a wry grin as she replied. "Me? I'm the queen of the present century," she said, "I'm the bogeyman, the villain- the black sheep of the family". Having said this she gave a slight bow of her head before adding, "Alexis Lucia Medichi at your service".         

A gasp escaped Taltae's lips, and he almost lost his balance once more. This woman, this Shifter bore the name of a noble family. This Shifter bore the name of Taltae's noble family.
"You... " Taltae beagn then stopped trying to find the right words. He wasn't entirely convinced of Alexis' story, but the fact he still breathed went a ways to backing up her claim. "I mean, I never knew... Well the Shifters, I though they were just a story. Made up. I been around this world and never once have I laid eyes on a creat- I mean an individual such as yourself." Embarassment began to creep in. In all the tales he heard, Shifters were vile creatures. Seemingly born and bred for the sole purpose of killing. However, Alexis probably would object to being called a creature in the same manner an Anthro would.

He looked at Alexis hoping she hadn't caught his slip up. If she had she wasn't showing it in her reply, "We Shifters are quite a rare find. There's probably more of us than you are aware."

Taltae could feel his muscles beginning to relax. Whether he felt it or not, his body knew there was no threat from Alexis. An explosion wailed in the distance, this time much closer than the last. The city was being over run at an alrming pace. He looked over his shoulder up at the night sky. An errie red glow engulfed the entire sky, as smoke rolled smoothly across the heavens blocking out the view of the stars. He listened, shouts down the streets as soldiers cried out in pain. The sound of steel clashing against steel was unmistakable. All this came from what was the South Gate, Taltae's destination. Taltae looked over at Alexis. His instincts told him not to trust her, but something else inside told him otherwise. Taltae knew his instincts and he knew they wern't always right. He wanted to trust Alexis, if only to learn more about her race and her connections to the family. Amongst all else he was curious as to what the Shifter had picked up off the ground.

"Well miss Alexis," Taltae began with a half hearted smile, "I fear the war will devour us if we don't leave the vicinity. My escape route is blocked, and Meiren's locked up tight. What suggestions might you have in mind?" He awaited a response still unsure if he turn and run leaving Alexis and this whole Shifter business behind.

Hector frowned. He disapproved strongly of the idea that there were people running freely below his city without his knowledge and approval. He could not readily identify the people who had passed in the relative gloom of the cavern, but that was of little consequence to him forming an opinion of them.

"Brigands, no doubt. No one but a coward willingly creeps about in the shadows underground."

Ale did have to admit that there was a kernel of truth in Hector's judgmental assessment: it was somewhat odd for anyone to be journeying through underground tunnels while there was a siege on above ground. Presumably, no one else in Gallia knew of these tunnels, so it did not make sense for there to be people traversing these paths.

"I am fascinated by the thought of anyone else who knows of these passages, Sir Knight," Ale said noncommittally. Hector was already coming to another conclusion.

"As am I, and I intend to find out who they are. You coming?" he asked, beginning to stalk down the lower route.

     The ground shook as the battle above began to escalate farther. The path down wasn't a long one. It lead to a room full of experimental weapons, most likely from a Medichi lab. Cannons, muskets, all in early and unreliable forms of production. Ale passed by all of them with little interest. There was something else that caught his attention. A door in the far wall glowed with an unearthly light as a low growling noise emanated from it. As he approached the door, the smell of smoke and ash choked the air. It was hard to breath, but not nearly as hard as breathing in the fumes of ammonia. Opening the door, only slightly, he looked through to see a great engine.It's purpose was hidden from him, but it looked ominous.

    He shut the door and looked to his companion, who was still gazing over the other weapons and devices in what looked to the fox to be rage. "What do you make of this, Sir Knight?" asked Ale with genuine curiosity. He didn't expect any answer to satisfy him. As a matter of fact, he didn't expect an answer at all, but something about Hector was starting to eat at his gut. Why exactly had this man been in that cellar? He had never thought to ask, but then, there had been no point before.

OOC:

For the Info-philes and people with characters that know everything before it happens:

Name:  Archibald Rudolph Kinnear
Birthdate:  February 26th, 1012
Age:  86
Adjusted for Galactic Standard/Base100 Age:  16
Race:  Kydane/Sibken Halfbreed
Species: Kydane Lepoid/Sibken Rodentia Halfbreed
Hair Color:  Blond
Height:  5'3"
Weight: 110lbs
Abilities:   Small frame and being similar to squirrel equates to natural acrobatic prowess. 
Ability Limit:  A chronic klutz.  If he had a third foot it would be a left one as well.
Super Abilities:   Sibken Training in Psionic Powers.  School of Training:  Psionic Healing.
Super Ability Limit:  He only stayed awake for the part about healing his own broken bones.
Tech Gadgetry:  Psionic Chronometer, Dog Whistle, Yo-yo
Gadgetry Limit:  1-5 day charge time for Temporal Usage.   30min-2hour recharge for Psionic Usage.   Dog Whistle... about 30 seconds?  Yo-yo...  till the string runs out.

Appearance:  Before you stands a rather short young man with rather long blond hair.  His race is obviously some sort of humanoid squirrel with tannish brown fur.  He's clothed in a blue cloth overcoat that appears a little too large for him over a t-shirt with some odd language on it, some jeans, and what look like well wore trainers.   His ears seem more round than pointed and don't quite stay at a symmetric level.   He does have rather striking blue eyes but his expression seems laid back to the point of them being half closed.  When he DOES become alert there is a sort of naive childlike wonder to his expressions, as if everything around him is the first time he's ever seen it.  In either laid back or excited moods he just seems unsteady on his feet, like a sudden wind gust would send him head over heels.  Something just seems trustworthy and disarming about him.  Not that he was a danger even if he did try something. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IC:

"Whoa!  HA!  Easy girl... boy... whatever you are!"  A rather nasally almost high pitched voice came from a slight of an opening he'd left when closing the door leading to the rather foreboding looking device.   A squirrel of some sort seemed to be busily fidgeting with any moveable parts avaliable, seemly at random of course.  The long hair and rather small frame made the rodent's gender and age hard to determine.  However something must of done SOMETHING as the tipsy creature yelped and fell back on his rump before shaking a small fist yowling back defiantly, "UNNECESSARY!  I hate machines!"

    Interrupted by the ditsy character that had entered the room, Ale nearly reached for his weapon. However, he stopped just short of pulling out the cutlass. He felt no sense of malice in the newcomer, and he didn't seem to be from this area. As unusual as it was to see the almost frantic motions of the boy, he was reminded of himself a bit. He chuckled to himself and began to approach the squirrel. But before doing so, Hector stood in toward the boy and holding Ale back.

    "I advise caution. He may be an enemy." stated the nobleman, matter of factly.

    "And now he's heard you, most likely, soldier-boy." Ale responded as he moved Hectors arm away. He stepped toward the squirrel and held out a hand, waiting to be noticed. "As useless as you might think it is... I don't think the warrant such fear when they're not even being used. I'll wager that you don't belong down here, little-man. So, instead of yelping at every machine you see, why don't you tell us who you are." suggested the fox. Ale gave a toothy grin as he finished speaking.

"J-j-j-just a minute.  Wait I wanna try something."  The squirrel yanked his overcoat off and pulled an odd looking cylindrical device and some sort of whistle out of it.  "Hold this is sec."  He stately, quickly tossing the coat onto the foxes out-stretched hand without bothering to look at him.  He darted back toward the machine and prodded a few holes with the cylinder, muttering something about needing smaller hands.   "AH!  That's it!"  His eyes suddenly shot open like mirrors as he seemed to effortlessly bounce onto a rather active part of the machine, and grab his device with both hands making it emit some kind of pulse that Ale could swear he felt on more than just an audible level. 

The scrawny towhead bounced down and put his hands on his hips, smiling and very pleased with himself.   He strode back to the fox in a fashion that seemed cocky but still... unbalanced almost falling reaching for the coat, "There, I fixed it.  Thanks for holding my coat, my name is Arc, like a lightning bolt, was just a minor problem with the servos in the secondary psionometric relay.  Nothing I can't handle.  No charge even."

*Rumble*

The teenager gave the machine a halfway look and starting a rather frantic ramble.  "Unless that's not a neurolinking device..."  He paused then gave the fox a rather sheepish yet frightened look, "It's neuro-relay based right?  It's not like temporal or anything...Please tell me it's not multidimensional...the last time I tried it on a dimensional boundary layer wooo...well it wasn't my fault I thought I was supposed to fix it maybe we should run-"

     Eying the coat with a bit of bemusement, Ale handed it back to Arc. "So, you're name begins with an A? So does mine. The name's Ale," the fox introduced himself, "and the tin man behind me is Sir Knight." Ale pointed to Hector.

    "Well, actually, my name is-" Hector began to correct.

    "So it's not transdeminsional?" interupted Arc with a question. The device the squirrel had 'fixed' began to whistle and grown. It blew off steam and then burst with a loud crack. The noise echoed throughout the cave system with thunderous effect. The sounds of curious men and women flowed into the fox's senses. They were about to have guests, and lots of them.

    Ale looked to the boy. "I think some unfriendly types are about to show up. Can you fight?"

OOC: Wow, it feels a bit awkward progressing without waiting for Rapid. :-/

For his part, Hector watched this rapid-fire dialogue rattle off in utter stupefaction. All of this talk of multidimensional transis-wotsis boggled the nobleman, who was comparatively a Luddite. His mind was now being split along a number of concerns. First, there was the matter of the cave; this place was still an enigma, and Hector could not spend all night down here. Second, there was the issue of all of this technology down here. Someone had put it here, and obviously had the intent to put it to use sometime soon, but who? Third, there were the unmistakable sounds of people approaching. He suspected the people who had left these weapons here were coming back for them; that would not do. He readied his axe.

"If you don't want to get hurt, Shorty," he said, referring to Arc, "you better find a corner to duck into or something. I don't think we're going to get a friendly welcome for dropping in like this."

"Of COURSE I can fight.  Who can't?"  He fired off flippantly flinging his coat unto a shelf, noisily knocking over a few broken weapons in the process.

"If you don't want to get hurt, Shorty," Hector said, referring to Arc, "you
better find a corner to duck into or something. I don't think we're
going to get a friendly welcome for dropping in like this."

"Nonsense!  Can't leave you guys a man short."  Even with a better view of the rather bright blue T-shirt he was wearing the words were not of any recognizable language.  And watching the diminutive rodent balling up fists the size of runty tennis balls wasn't a very reassuring sign of their offensive prowess.  "Betcha I knock more out than you, big guy."

     Ale readied his weapons, taking up the cutlass and dagger he had taken from the weapon rack he and Hector had passed on the way here.  The footsteps came closer and closer. The fox estimated there to be about six people coming. Soon after the three had prepared themselves, their opponents arrived. Two of them seemed to be engineers, a human and a feline woman. The other four were the same ones that Ale and Hector had seen before. Now able to get a better look, they were met with two hedgehog men, a human man, and a human woman. Each was armed and ready for combat, but none of them immediately approached.

    Hector hefted his axe to attack, but was quickly pulled back by Ale. "Wait, they haven't attacked us yet. Maybe we can reason with them?" interrupted the fox. He took a step forward as Hector grumbled behind him. "Look, chaps, we just got a little lost. Maybe you could lead us out of here, and we could just forget about this little transgression? Hm?" he offered.

    However, the guards were not impressed and drew their weapons. They charged, the two hedgehogs rushing at Hector and the human man toward Arc. Ale jumped back gracefully as he dodged the woman's opening attack, and with a sigh said, "I guess not. More's the pity."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Meanwhile, on the surface, the southern gate collapsed into a pile of ruin as Auditore troops wearing the pale green of their family rushed in, slaying all who resisted. The siege towers had reached the walls and the town guard were being overrun. The town would most likely fall soon.

"HOLD IT!  Wait waitwaitwait!"  The squirrel yelped out holding out both hands.  "You're a human, you aren't allowed to attack me!"  He flailed backwards and fell backward over a box onto his back still holding his hands out, dodging an attack seemingly accidentally.   "JUST HOLD ON!  I'm Sibken!"  

The human paused, confused and stared at the pathetic sight.  The squirrel jabbed a single thing finger at the human as he struggled to his feet.  "Articles 1 through 6 of the 1206 Ferro-Antares Peace Treaty.  The second Psionic War is over, Humans and Sibken are allies as well as the Kydane, the Cirrites, and the Order of Mesric."

    The man looked at the squirrel with extreme confusion. What was a Sibken? Remembering his place, the soldier shrugged and picked up the squirrel by the collar and looked into scowling eyes. "What in the Holy King's name is a Sibken?" he asked, still curious, regardless of the fight ensuing behind him. He was a bit of a knowledgeable type, it seemed, and wanted to know more.

________________________________________________________________________________________

   The woman took another swing, which Ale deftly dodged, yet again. "You're holding your sword wrong, love." stated the fox with a sardonic grin. He was enjoying himself. The woman grabbed for Ale, but he sidestepped and took hold of her hand. Then, taking hold of her sword hand, stated, "Would you care to dance, mam?" The woman glared and kicked Ale in the stomach, finally making contact. Ale staggered back a couple steps and looked at the woman, just as she brought her sword up and stabbed it into the fox's chest.

    Ale had a look of surprise on his face. He hadn't expected the hit to land. If anything, he expected the woman to move to balance herself, but that hadn't been the case. Ale grabbed the sword hilt. The woman tried to pull it out, but the assassin's grip was stronger than hers. Using the opening, Ale punched the woman in the gut with the hilt of his own blade. The force was enough to knock the woman unconscious. Ale fell to his knees, bleeding.

"Ah, right!  There we go.  Much better!"   The squirrel squirmed a little to try to keep from choking.  "Sibken!  It's my race.  You're a Human.  I'm a Sibken.  We're.... kinda a subset of Kydane.  ...   Kinda.  You wouldn't be so kind as to tell me where I am... and... what year it is."   He paused, grimacing at the fox being run through.   "Also, erm, I think your friend just killed that man."

    The soldier still looked confused. "Kydane?" The boy was squirming a bit to much, and so the soldier had to use both arms to hold him. "Obviously you're underneath the city of Gallia in the old Royal Escape tunnels." stated the man matter-of-factly. The Royal Escape tunnels, these tunnels had seen much use, but were hidden away, and only know by the royal family and a few select nobles. However, the men and women stationed here seemed to be neither. "It's 6E663 Wind." The system of time in Azgarde worked in such a way as to be easily referenced within it's history. 6E meant the sixth era. 663 meant the six-hundredth sixty-third year in that era. Wind represented a premonition made by the King of Azgarde before every year signifying an event to come.

"Royal?  Oh nuts, so of course we're not suppose to be down here.  Wait.  6E663...  uh... That's familiar."  He squirmed even more wishing he'd kept the coat on so he could slip loose.  His voice got a little more panicked as he spoke he jerked his head towards Ale's fallen form,  "Look, I don't suppose you're going to let that man over there live are you?  I can try to help him if you let me down, I'm not armed.  Please say yes because as a former member of the Cirrite Militia I cannot allow  someone die unless they've been proved guilty of committing a level 5 or higher offense.  It's the second tenant and I'm pretty sure fighting you would just end with me in the same condition and there's enough bleeding going on as it is."

     The man rose an eyebrow and looked behind him to the situation at hand. Hector was still fighting off the two hedgehogs and the woman he had com in with lay unconscious on the ground. He then looked back at the squirming form he held aloft. "Do you really expect me to just let you go?" answered the man, "Regardless of whatever codes you may have. I have a job to do, and that job happens to include killing and/or killing you. Feel lucky that I caught you." The man sighed slightly as he looked back to see the nobleman and the two hedgehogs fighting one another. "I'd really rather not be required to end your life, so if you'd stop squirming so much, I'd appreciate it." 

The rodent snorted quietly muttering, "Why do I always end up on the barbaric planets." 

"That's fine, you're using the Nordinian style calendar, so this is probably a fragment race.  Which of course means either I'm REALLY on the fringe or this is before the war.  Either way the FA treaty wouldn't apply so I can tell you the reason I'm squirming is there is a noisomic impact device in my pocket and if you squeeze me too tight it's going to off and this whole room is going to wake up tomorrow with paralyzed olfactory nerves that could last for a week."

    Not quite knowing what the rodent was speaking of, but not wanting to take chances, the man tossed Arc away and into a cannon. He and the two engineers that had come with the group ran past the dying fox and grabbed the unconscious woman and dragged her away. The ran out of sight. The two hedgehogs, having not heard the conversation, continued to fight Hector into a corner.

The youth's blond hair popped out of the cannon, one hand on his head, "That HURT.  Least it was easy enough.  Should know better than to let me talk."  He positioned himself, gripping the edge of the cannon and propelling himself as fast as he could out of the relic and toward a nearby shelf.   As acrobatic as the stunt seemed at first it wasn't a moment later he fell short and landed in a heap in front his target shelf on his chest, hair hanging in the air for a moment before floating down.  

A grumble and several irritated puffs of air later to remove the vision obscuring hair the lanky squirrel floundered back to his feet and snatched his coat, hastily flipping it on and darting toward the remaining fight.  The young man skidded to a halt quirkily to a halt a few meters from them.  "YOU THERE!  Um...  royal, guard, people...  There's a thing in here.  And it's now a bomb.  As in 'Oh God, Oh God, we're all going to die'.  Other guards... they ran.  You might wanna too.'"

     The two hedgehogs didn't even take note of the diminutive figure. They simply kept attacking the larger foe. Meanwhile, Ale grew dizzy as he lost blood. His vision blurred. The iron sent of his own blood washing into his nostrils. He tried to stand. The strength gave from his legs, and he fell forward with a thump. There was a pained grin on his face. So this is it, eh? This is how it ends? What a load of bollocks... he thought as his blood poured over the wooden flooring. He choked out a laugh before he faded from consciousness.

Hector's mouth dropped open. Maybe his two opponents had not heard what Arc said, but he certainly did. It was enough for him to let down his guard temporarily and get his legs kicked out from underneath him. As he hit the ground, one hedgehog dove for the kill. Hector's booted foot caught the hedgehog in the stomach and batted him to one side. The Medichi noble struggled to get up, only to feel the chilling liquid of someone's blood underneath his hand. He pushed himself onto his feet and rammed his shoulder into the other hedgehog's chest, glancing over his shoulder as he went. Ale was on the ground, bleeding from a wound to his chest. There was not enough time to think about it; another rumble from above knocked both him and the hedgehog down to the ground again.

"Shorty, scram!" Hector thundered. He delivered a hard left hook to the hedgehog's eye. The other hedgehog, having regained his senses, pounced on Hector from behind. Arc stared in momentary amazement as Hector twirled around, roaring aloud with two hedgehogs clinging to him. If it were not for the urgency of the situation, it would be comical.

Idea's raced, knocking them out, distracting them... with what?   No end
to items to throw or roll or just topple, but all of that would take
time away from trying to save the other man.  Even with both the psionic
training and limited warden magic he knew it wasn't of sure anything
could help him.  When you're stuck between a rock and a hard place... 
"Swing and hope you hit the weaker rock first."  He said aloud and
wheeled around charged toward Ale, coat fluttering behind him. 

Arccy knew it had been awhile.. possibly years since he tried anything
like that.  He always disliked the drained feeling of using Psionic
ablities, but he HATED the disconnected dis-embodied euphoria pulling
energy from The Art caused.  It was always like a drug.  But he knew it
had to be the latter.  He knew his abilities were weak, and that at
least this way he would have as much energy as he needed... even if the
cost was still not really known. 

He pulled himself but to reality to find he was standing over the fox. 
Blood leaking from a wound in his chest.  He hadn't seen something like
it since the first days of the fighting on Cirro, something he was still
trying to push past.  The fox was already unconscious.

"Guess I don't need the noisomic for ya now do I..."  He muttered flipping the man over and putting his small hands over the wound.  He closed his eyes, and let his mind focus. 

"GODS I HATE IT"  His mind screamed before it clouded.  It was like drowning but still being able to breathe.  He felt stinging and itching all over his body, his hands went numb from as his brain became a conduit for energy not meant to be in their dimension.  Drowning, vision blurred, he could see himself kneeling there, it was so wrong.  How did the Wardens do it?  Hell would this even work?  Please at least let him live, just this once let everyone live.

     Many things passed through Ale's mind as he lay there, unconscious. He dreamed of the days when he was training with his master Magnus Anguis, also known as the Great Serpent. He had no memories of his parents. His childhood before meeting Magnus was a blur. Many thing flowed through his head. The contracts he'd taken. The mercenary band he had joined when he was younger. The prejudice he received from those who thought they were his betters. It all seemed like ancient history. Almost like another person's life. But then, just as he began to fade away, he could feel little hands tugging at his wrist. He looked down to see a brightly glowing child.

     The child giggled and ran toward a far open door. Ale ran after the child, unsure of where he was going in the infinite darkness that trailed before and behind him. He could hear children singing nursery rhymes in the distance, but he could only see the one glowing boy. The boy opened the door as soon as Ale caught up to him. Suddenly Ale found himself surrounded by a white landscape, standing in from of a wall made of pewter skulls, all looking directly at him. The sounds of children singing were gone, replaced by agitated whispers. Ale wanted to run from the wall, but couldn't urge his body to move. Before long a regal figure appeared from nowhere in front of him. "You're not ready to see this just yet." said the figure.

     "See what?" asked the fox, suddenly regaining the ability to speak.

     "Look to the ruins of Castellum del Rosarius." stated the figure as it turned and faded into nothing. With a jerk, Ale was pulled backward, the scenery blurring into inconceivable patterns. And thus, Ale found himself staring at the Squirrel.

The fox moved, the hypnotic flashing in his mind started to fade, and
slowly his eyes started to work again.   Ale stared at the boy for a few
moments, he was literally wobbling unconsciously his oddly rounded ears even more lop-sided than normal.  Finally an eye
opened, then shutdown.  Then the other for a few moments, as if the
light was the sun's own.  When both eyes slitted open and looked down he
groaned a little.  "I dislike doing that.  My head is pounding, my hands and arms feel like pins and needles are prickling through them... and, I'm going... to..."  His eyes rolled upward the squirrel fell over onto the fox's stomach, inches from the still extremely sensitive wound. 

    Ale yelped at the sudden pressure on the wound. He sat up, pushed the squirrel aside, and then stood. He moved as if he felt no pain at all, but he felt it. Looking to see Hector still fighting off the two hedgehogs, Ale picked up his dagger and threw it into the fray and into a hedgehog's sword arm just as he would've struck the nobleman down. The hedgehog looked back at the assassin, who now had his cutlass drawn. The wounded hedgehog fled from the skirmish the way the others had gone.

    Taking advantage of this, Hector through the other off of himself. The hedgehog landed deftly on his feet, but in the process lost his helmet. This revealed the face of a young red furred hedgehog. He was grimacing at Hector. Feinting with a sword strike, the hedgehog brought his shield up to bash in the noble's face.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile on the surface, the Auditore forces spilled into the city. The town guard were having a hard time finding secure positions, let alone fight of the enemy. One Medichi officer was still shouting out orders while fighting off his foes. He was skilled in combat, as the soldiers charging him were felled with deadly efficiency. Soon the Auditore soldiers stopped approaching him. "Do none of you still carry the courage to challenge me!?" he yelled to the invaders. Soon after the challenge was issued, a slender rabbit stepped from the crowd. She was wearing the pale green tabbard of the Auditore Family under a light breastplate. Her fur was a pale beige with strips of brown that mimicked those of a tiger. Her violet hair blew lightly in the blaze induced wind.

     "I will challenge you." said the woman as she readied her halberd and shield.

     The man laughed. "You!?" chortled the officer, "A woman!? You would challenge a nobleman? Preposterous! Learn your place and bring me your general!" Ignoring the man's insult, the woman charged and thrust her spear forward. The nobleman dodged lithely to the left of the tip, and moved to counter. Seeing this, the rabbit pulled back on the halberd and managed to catch the man's gut. However, he successfully dodged back before there could be any real damage. "I seem to have misjudged you." corrected the noble, "My apologies." The man ran up a small wall that was nearby and jumped at his foe. The woman reacted quickly, bringing up her shield to deflect the blow. The officer spun for another attack, which the woman parried with her halberd. She swung her shield at the man, but he ducked, dodging the attack. However, the woman then continued with a kick to the mans chin, knocking him back before she ran the tip of her halberd through his heart.

    Retrieving her weapon, she left the body where it lay, turned, and walked into the city.