No Time for Arguing! Head for the Showdown! (2Gen, Invite)

[KingOfDoma]

"Well, for one, they're EVERYWHERE, for two, th-OW!... they bite, and for three, I don't think it'll be much longer before they eat all of YOUR food!

"Personally, I don't care what happens to it, but I figure you guys need to eat to live, so I thought I'd do something nice..." With that, he swatted one far into the forest, like a golfer slicing a drive into the rough.

"Now, are ya gonna help or keep berating me?"

[Besyanteo]

His ears flattened against his skull. To claim he was berating the zombie was a bit excessive. Actually, considering his town, it was very excessive, but he could still let it pass; The man was obviously irritated to begin with.

So, squirrels. A mess of the damn things. Magic was right out: As he'd realized earlier, it just wouldn't be a feasible deterrent with the skills he possessed. They either needed an illusionist. He briefly considered asking Cerene to make a few flame spurts, but they were still in the woods: Only trouble would result from that, for sure. Michael certainly wasn't an illusionist... But what about cantrips that worked LIKE illusions? It was better than nothing, right?

"Ok... I've got an idea. Here goes!"

Without further ado, he pointed towards just about the center of camp, and started drawing invisible symbols in the air with his fingers. As he did, dim lights came alive in the area he concentrated on. They grew brighter, and started to make a low hissing sound. The multicolored lights don't form any kind of cohesive image, though one might compare them to fireworks... maybe a lone spark candle.

(For those wondering: Yes, I'm totally stealing Prestidigitation right here. =D)

[Archmage]

Zeke had seen many strange things over the course of his life, but this was certainly up there on the list. Why had so many squirrels chosen to mob the camp? Perhaps something was drawing them here, or else the local wildlife was currently experiencing a bout of temporary mass insanity. The situation was entirely too stupid to warrant the use of significant force. The squirrels were no serious threat, no matter what Goren claimed. A few squirrel bites were nothing, and they had adequate food. He figured that even if the squirrels consumed every edible the party carried that Zea must've brought along at least one other capable hunter for the trip.

"This is some weird shit," quipped the Valthi. Michael was doing his best to create some sort of squirrel-scaring illusion, a distraction wrought of noise and light. He figured there was no sense in trying to contribute to the chaos until he could judge what effect Michael's spell was having. Firing into the air would certainly make a lot of noise, but if noise were sufficient, Michael had the situation covered. It wasn't worth going to a lot of effort to frighten a few furry animals.

This is some dumb shit, too, he thought. I'm not pest control. Killing rodents is totally beneath me.

[KingOfDoma]

As soon as the hissing and popping commenced, the squirrels began to scatter. They milled over everything like rats from a sinking ship, even going so far as to crawl over feet, and in Goren's case, entire bodies. Some remained at the periphery of the camp, but the majority of them vanished into the wood.

Goren brushed himself off, being creeped out by the rodent's scaling of his person. "Yee," he sneered, "let's hope that's not a recurring event..."

[Besyanteo]

Once the squirrels have retreated, he lets the spell drop; No need to keep the messy light show up any longer.

"Well, that was fun."

[KingOfDoma]

The tall, green haired fellow chuckled to himself, observing the action in Goren's camp. "Oh my..." he said, wiping away a tear. "That was... so amusing, boys. How on Gaera did you get that Lure charm onto him?"

"Blowdart, believe it or not", replied Linus, chuckling himself. "Never saw it bloody coming."

"You're joking. And you went undetected."

"Dead man's got a keen eye, but not that keen. And even if some magicky feller were on the watch instead, me and this charm together have enough astral energy to make a firefly glow."

"Amazing. And how were you going to retrieve the squirrel that bit him?"

Ripley piped up, a bit worried. "Well, that's the thing. We made sure that a LOT of them bit him, so we'd have a big sampling to pick from."

"... and? How were you going to retrieve the squirrels, then?"

Both Ripley and Linus hemmed and hawed for a moment. "Um... that's the other thing... we... don't..."

Vaelyn finished their sentence. "Have a way to catch the squirrels outside of chasing them down. Brilliant." Vaelyn stood from his vantage point on the ridge, and looked down on the pair. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but your lives depend on you being able to find and capture a rodent. Get going. NOW."

The men sort of half-saluted their defacto leader, and started descending to the bottom of the valley, one of them calling, "Here squirrely squirrely squirrely..."

Vaelyn sighed, plopped down again, and pulled the cork from a bottle, sighing. "Can't find good help, I guess..."

---

"Speak for yourself, buddy. They were all OVER me."

Goren looked around at his compatriates. "Well, as long as we're all awake, should we all get going?"

[Kai]

"That was weird is what it was," Zea replied. "And I know weird. I spend my whole day being weird, and that was fucking bizarre."

Zea, being a dedicated researcher of the nefarious, unnatural, and depraved, could think of no explanation for what had just happened. She knew it wasn't anything that she'd done, since never in her life had she attracted something like this. If they'd been the ghosts of squirrels, it would have been freaky in ways that were familiar to Zea. But no. Live chittering frantic rodents.

But you see, I told you. It wasn't me. Promise. Cross my heart and hope to be exorcised. Your heart? My metaphorical heart.

"But uh..." Zea blinked a few times. Usually confident and lately somewhat morose, Zea was too confused to be either. "That... that sounds... good. Let's do that."

Once everyone had pulled their belongings together--and once it was clear that no more squirrels were forthcoming--they set out on the road once more. After about twenty minutes the dazed and baffled atmosphere around the group began to lift, and Zea's thoughts turned to other matters. Before she'd gotten distracted by the odd magical quirks of Goren's nature she and her father had been discussing something she hadn't anticipated he'd be interested in. Her.

Of course, it wasn't an unpleasant surprise. Zea just wasn't accustomed to receiving attention of that sort from the living. The only people curious about her, concerned with her, and interested in her tended to be dead. Zeke wasn't under any real obligation to her, since he barely had reason to think of her as his own, however she herself might feel. Perhaps the fact that he'd said something meant that Zea wasn't doing as good a job hiding her problems as she hoped.

It was bound to become apparent eventually, but the young priestess had been betting on the dreams and doubts and anxieties letting up the further she got from Doma. Didn't pan out. She hadn't gone far enough, and it wouldn't stop until the distance was too great to turn back. Zea wondered if there was such a thing as a distance too long for either of them to cross, but it didn't really matter. James wouldn't follow her. To his credit he'd tried once, but she'd made sure the boy would not repeat his mistake.

Was this a mistake? Bringing her friends with her. Letting Zeke come along. She'd made her first trip to the surface alone. Did she really need the protection of allies, or was she just trying to forestall the inevitable moment when she'd have to choose between life and death, between the living she loved and the dead who needed her? It was becoming harder to deny every time that future weighed down upon her and she pushed it away, unwilling to face it. She didn't need them with her. She just wanted them there. They made her happy, even if she knew that they couldn't stay.

Zea had changed so much since she'd left home.

It wasn't all bad, but many of these changes were complicated in ways that could interfere with what was really important. Cosmically important, not just important to her. They were interfering already. If Zea really possessed the unshakeable faith she'd always thought she had, she would have stayed in Doma. She would have stayed where she was happy, secure in the knowledge that whatever happened--whatever terrible sacrifices she might have to make--it was for something more important than the wellbeing of a handful of mortal creatures.

The deeper the dreams dug into her mind, the clearer it became that Zea wasn't ready to make those choices. Even if it meant preventing herself from doing her duty, she would remove herself from the situation while it was still salvageable. While they could still walk away whole and healthy and normal. She could take her strange and dangerous brand of devotion someplace where it couldn't bleed out and infect the lives of those she loved. She would keep her duty, but even her father had chosen her safety over his own obligations. Hedging his own ability to fulfill his duty, Zeke had chosen her instead. Zea knew now that he'd been right, though she hadn't truly understood it then.

Since her early childhood, Zea had grown up understanding death better than life. Even if she couldn't have put it in words, it was life she was trying to choose now, for them if not for herself. It was painful for her and cruel to the others, but it was right. She owed them this, even if they never understood it.

[KingOfDoma]

Goren's beady red eyes were shifting around. He searched around the periphery of the road, watching for signs of movement. Ever since he was assaulted by the squirrels, he felt jumpy, ill at ease, as if they would return. One of them had even taken a bite of his leg, breaking the skin. His only relief was that, to his understanding, he couldn't catch rabies. In any event, fear was his current master.

... movement. He knew he saw that leaf move. They could be preparing to strike. Slowly, he moved his position in the group from on the outsets, next to Zea, to in the middle, with Michael between him and the danger.

Better him than me... besides, he'll just come back to life, right?

[Besyanteo]

If Michael had noticed Goren's change in attitude and marching order, he showed no sign. He continued to walk along with the rest of them. When the silence persisted too long, he even broke into song... Not a song in common, but it had the jaunty tune of some sort of marching song.

[KingOfDoma]

Heh heh heh... Goren thought, in a mock malicious manner. Strike, my pretty... eat his skull! Gnaw on his flesh! Shove an acorn up his... eh?

There was, in a moment, a much bigger rustling in the bushes. Goren quirked an eyebrow, keeping watch as the foliage quivered and shook. There's no way they're coming in force again... are they?

And then a portly guy popped out of the briar.

He seemed an average enough fellow. He wore a grey knit cardigan, a newsboy cap, and somewhat dusty tan pants and shirt. Had he much in the way of pigment, he might have been described as rosy cheeked, and seemed the kind of fellow who would enjoy a good pint, a good tale, and the warmth of a well-stoked fire. He was smiling large, as in his possession, he was holding fast onto a squirming, clearly angered squirrel, who was lobbying hard for its freedom. "Oh no you don't, little fellow," the jolly old boy said. "You escaped my grasp once, but now, you're... mm? What? What's the problem, Linus, I caught 'im! Now Vaelyn'll... oh."

Ripley stared with vague fear at the group on the road. His mouth opened and closed for a few moments, before one word escaped his lips.

"Bugger."

[Kelne]

Cerene's contribution to the squirrel situation had been limited to dissolving into a fit of giggles. She'd eventually gotten over it, though the incident certainly left her in a cheerful mood, and inclined to hum along in time with Michael's marching tune.

Given time, she might have started joining in on the chorus, undaunted by such minor considerations as knowing what the words meant. As it was, they were interrupted by a random man pouncing on a squirrel.

The group were once again subjected to a fit of mad giggling.

[Besyanteo]

Michael, while not giggling in time with Cerene, did smirk and stop his jaunty tune for a moment. In spite of everything else that had happened on the journey so far, Michael didn't attach any especial significance to the appearance of this man and the squirrel. He continued forward, pace uninterupted since the appearance of the man.

"We won't ask if you don't tell."

[Kelne]

"Aw, c'mon," Cerene said, giggling momentarily under control, "I want to know."

[Besyanteo]

Michael smirked and said in a fairly obviously joking tone: "Well, make me a liar why don't you?"

He turned to the portly man holding the squirrel again, still smiling cheerily.

"Alright. So... What're you up to, and why do you look like a beholder just floated out of the tree-line?"

[KingOfDoma]

"Um..." Ripley's stare continued unabated. "Y'... y'see..."

The "bush" seemed to strike the reubenesque fellow in the leg, and after a a confused "what?", began to confer with it. The bush seemed to have several interesting opinions, because as the two argued, it seemed to win its side. Ripley started to turn back to the group, then to the bush one last time, in what seemed to be an effort to petition its help, then stood to face the group. The "bush" finally stood to join him.

From the brush stood a gangly fellow, thin where the first was fat, tall where the first was short, with facial features that would be only slightly unfavourably described as "rodent-like". He wore a simple blue vest over a white shirt with rolled up sleeves, accompanied by dirtied black pants, and he seemed to be underwhelmed by the hoopla caused by his friend.

"What we're doing is trying to find out what happened to YOU folk."

[Besyanteo]

Well, wasn't that just a whole new level of strange. Not quite sinister yet, but Michael didn't like the way the second man had continued to hide after the first one was exposed. Still, that wasn't proof that anything was going on either, really. It was just very convenient that they should know that the group had had a squirrel problem earlier. Only a few hours earlier. Out in the middle of the deep wilderness. After they'd been attacked only just the other day. Yeah.

His face and tone changed markedly, from mirth to cautious suspicion.
"Huh. That's reassuring. ... How long have you been watching us, then?"

[Kai]

Zea watched the others attempt to chitchat with the strangers who'd crossed their path. Somewhat wrung out, Zea found that her usual interest in the oddities of surface people was flagging the longer this journey continued. Her bored and somewhat annoyed expression was a sharp contrast to the amusement of Michael and Cerene.

Good. Let them deal with these squirrel-herding idiots, Zea thought. Dearest... her familiar began, his voice in her mind tinged with concern. Aren't you just the slightest bit curious? Well, why should I be? John withdrew, taking his concerns to himself. His Zea was an inquisitive creature, and her lack of interest in this was troubling. Had he gone too far?

On another day, Zea would have been more concerned with proving what sort of necromancer she was: the social and friendly and benign sort. That wasn't the choice she'd made, though. If the space between Zea and her own life were to be increasing, she certainly had no time or room for strangers. So she watched with one hand on Azrael's flank, violet eyes silently following the movements of these two men. If they were dangerous, perhaps she would be forced to kill them. If they were merely a nuisance, they would inevitably die some other way. The only real difference in consequence was the date of death, and at that rate why should Zea care what they wanted or what they did? They were dead already, depending on one's perspective.

[KingOfDoma]

"We haven't. We actually didn't want to disturb you guys, which is why HE is gonna get it when we get back to our boss," Linus stated, punctuating the word "HE" with an elbow to Ripley's ribs. "We were actually following the fuzzy little fellow in my friend's hands.

"But first, allow me to introduce us." Linus bowed low, noticed Ripley standing tall, elbowed him once more, and watched him mimic his motions. "My name is Linus Stedmore, and this is my associate, Ripley Helms. We work for an... eccentric benefactor by the name of Vaelyn. He's a magical type, lots of power, keeps us on a tight leash. Anyways, he's convinced some magical ... hiccup caused the squirrels to go berserk. Says the same thing happens in Doma City all the time. So, he sent us out to find one of the little buggers. We know THIS little fellow was involved becaaaaaause..." Linus pointed to the squirming rodent's mouth, "he's got blood on his face. Bossman said they'd have taken chunks out of one of you. Now, whose blood is that? Mm?"

(The rest to come tomorrow...)

[KingOfDoma]

Goren, smiling and helpful, raised his hand. "Yeah, me! Little bastards must have thought I was a giant-sized acorn!"

"Oh... really?" said Linus, inquisitively. "Is there any chance I could, um... look at the wounds? Bossman would..."

"Yeah!" Goren interrupted, eagerly. "Um... yeah... got me here on my arm. Take a look."

Slightly hesitantly, Ripley exited the foliage at the side of the road, and took Goren's forearm in his hands. What he tried to not advertise was that the forearm itself was far more interesting than the squirrel bite. Ripley put all his effort into making his fascination in the realisticness of Goren's necrotic flesh translate into fascination with the contours and nuances of the nip. Vaelyn will be quite pleased...

"Thank you, sir," Ripley finally related once he was done his examination. "My master will be quite intrigued with all this information. Now, if you'll excuse us," he said, once again elbowing Linus in his ribs, "we'll be taking our leave. Good travel to you all... and stay away from the wildlife." Ripley then began to disappear back into the woods. Linus, still feeling too shocked to speak more, began to walk backwards into the brush, stumbling a bit as he went, and finally disappeared as well.

Goren felt up his arm, as if it had been grabbed by the grim spectre of death, its fingermarks leaving ghostly impressions on his skin. He knew those men wanted something from them, but what he wasn't sure. He just knew life would be easier the less time they were there...

[Archmage]

"That," remarked Zeke, "was the dumbest thing I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot."

The mercenary stretched out his arms idly, trying to work out a bit of stiffness in his joints. This whole scenario was entirely too nonsensical for his tastes. Granted, he had seen some weird things in his day, but this was just ridiculous. Squirrels run amok because of an irresponsible wizard? And why so much interest in Goren?

As far as Zeke's eyes (and other senses) could work out, Goren was way beyond dead, and it was apparent almost immediately. The fact that Tweedle-fat and Tweedle-thin wanted to play amateur medic for a walking corpse was so impossibly stupid that there was no way that they had done it without an alterior motive. They just couldn't have overlooked the man's condition. Something was wrong here. But there was nothing Zeke could do about it at the moment, so the only conceivable course of action was to try to find humor in the absurdity of the situation.

"We oughta keep moving. Shit like killer squirrels and killer squirrel-chasing freaks isn't worth our time. At this rate, old age'll have us deader than Goren by the time we get to the Netherworld."

[KingOfDoma]

"I'm not THAT dead," Goren spat out indignantly. For some reason, the way Zeke referred to him made him feel less human than usual. He had worked hard, for YEARS, to keep himself as normal as possible. If there was one thing he wanted, it was for the wheels of society to keep turning despite his condition. He knew what he was, what he was capable of if he let himself lose control, and yet every day, EVERY DAY of his life was filled with the task of keeping that nightmare as far away from reality as possible. The last thing he needed was a reminder of his condition...

"... I'm just... I don't have heartbeats like normal people, OK? Now can you drop it?"

[Kai]

Next to Zea, her familiar drew himself together enough to manifest. Zea was not interested in paying attention to him, but perhaps her companions would provide more suitable entertainment.

"Now, now, Goren," John chided. "We must be patient with Mr. Mazuo. Not everyone is as tolerant of us as my dear Zea," he added with a wink, grouping their enemies and critics together in a single sweep. John knew it was not precisely fair. Solis' mistrust of him, while it wounded his pride somewhat, really was utterly different from Zeke's unfamiliarity with Goren's existential anxieties.

It was an oversimplification in more ways than one. After all, Goren had once been alive.

"But Mr. Mazuo is correct. Troubling ourselves over the oddities of squirrel-hunting mortals is not getting us any closer to home."

Home. Soon these people would all be gone, with the possible exception of Zea's little curiosity, this Goren entity. They would be home, they would be alone, and John would finally have her to himself again. Even her father would finally lose interest and return to the surface where humans belonged. Then there would be no more distractions.

Everything would be perfect. He just had to put up with them a little longer until they disappeared from his world one by one.

[Kelne]

Cerene had been frowning in the direction of the departing pair. She certainly hadn't heard of rabid squirrels attacking anybody back in the capital. And although it was possible that it could be an issue nonetheless, she had her doubts.

Speaking of the untrustworthy, here was John again. As a ghost, he creeped her out simply by being about. And the fact that he was always around, just invisible, really didn't help. Nor was he the likable sort on his own merits. So Cerene didn't feel all that inclined to just cave in to his wishes.

"Oh, there's no rush," she said, "In fact, I think we can afford a little side-trip. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to know what those guys are really up to."

[Besyanteo]

Michael, meanwhile, was no more impressed with their bad acting than he had been when he asked his question; Whatever they wanted, they going to significant lengths to not talk about it, and doing a bad job of it.It obviously involved Goren; Michael had, apparently, died defending Goren once already this week. Doing it again didn't sound like fun.

"I'm gonna have to disagree with you Cerene. Let's get out of here and hope we don't see them again."

[Archmage]

"That," replied Zeke, "falls strictly into the 'total waste of my time' category, and I'm gonna have to step up and say 'no fuckin' way.' Michael and I are on the same page, here."

He contemplated the situation for a moment. It was always possible that the squirrel-wranglers meant the group harm, or that they meant Goren harm in particular. But this was an issue only if they managed to catch the group off-guard. If he stayed alert, it was unlikely that anyone would be able to ambush Zea and her allies.

"I can move ahead of the group," suggested the mercenary, "and keep an eye out for trouble. Won't hesitate to snap a few necks if I spot anybody staging another sneak attack."

[Kai]

"You certainly could do that," John agreed. He grinned and raised his eyebrows, showing off the increased intricacy of his expressions. "I could go with you."

Zea cut him off sharply. "John."

"What?" He replied, the air of a wounded martyr returning to his voice. "Forgive me for trying to express a little support, dearest."

"Thank you. So much. But I really don't feel like waiting back here while you guys have The Talk or something."

"Hm." With a little smile John fell into pace with the group, offering no further comment. Evidently choosing to err on the side of courtesy, John remained visible and imitated the forward steps of the group. Just to prove he could. Zea simply rolled her eyes.

[Kelne]

Cerene shrugged cheerfully, clearly outvoted, "The nays have it then," she said, "In that case, onwards."

[Nakibe]

"Eh," Solis answered, finally pulling his mind away from the questions he had on what those dreams meant that kept him awake at night. He really needed to sit down and actually analyze them, figure out whose they were... "It IS rather curious that they happened about isn't it?" he commented. "Though you're right that its probably not our concern."

[Kelne]

Sidestepping the question of who was going to be leading on through the woods, Cerene shifted forms and took to the skies. The canopy meant that she wouldn't have as good a view of anything lying in their path as somebody on the ground, but another viewpoint wouldn't hurt.

It also gave her the opportunity to circle a bit and see if she could spot the direction their squirrel obsessed visitors were traveling in. It would be nice to have a little warning if they were going to cross paths again.

[Besyanteo]

Michael felt Cerene's sudden departure might be a hint that they should talk about moving less and actually get to it.Nothing for it now if they wanted to keep up with her: It was time to go. Michael started forward again.

"About haw far from the Border are we now, anyway?"

[KingOfDoma]

Vaelyn waited patiently for his twinned twits to return to their headquarters in a rather personable forest cave some ways off from their intended quarry. Somehow, he knew deep down that "hideout" was a more appropriate term, but he'd rather call it something with a bit more dignity. After all, dignity was something that was self-assigned anyways. The lowest bum could walk tall and not be looked down upon by the common rabble. It was the only way he could reconcile living in such squalor and being who he was; a being of nobility, power, even grace. Despite that, anyways, the castles would come someday. His queen would take her rightful place, and he would be rewarded for all his faithful service. Yes... the time was nearing...

"Sir! Sir!" Ripley said, running in. "Sir, we've got one! We're sure it's one, there's no doubt in my mind!"

"Oh? Bring it here."

Vaelyn took the rodent in his hand, and for moments, watched it squirm. "You kept it alive?" he mused, snapping its neck. He then opened its mouth, and smeared its blood on his finger, examining it carefully, and then smiled. "Excellent. You've done well, boys. I'll..." His jaw stood open for a moment, and after quickly depositing the squirrel and the blood in a handkerchief, he approached Linus, looking him over, as if he held a great secret on his person.

"You... you were in his presence, weren't you?"

Linus almost didn't know how to respond. He knew he might get in trouble for admitting he'd been seen by him, but he had to take the risk that his lord might actually be pleased. "I... examined him, sir. Him and his friends didn't really get wise to what we were up to, I don't think, but... he's... it's amazing, sir. Barely smelled a thing, and he felt just like a person."

"He IS a person, Linus... just a unique one. Remember that. NOW!" Vaelyn said excitedly, rubbing his hands together. "I suspect you boys want to get your reward."

"Oh, yes, yes, yes, master," Ripley said, extending his hand. "I would like my reward, please, yes..." Linus did the same, looking as expectant as Ripley.

"We have done well," he inquired, quietly. "Haven't we?"

Vaelyn took both of their hands in his. "Yes, boys, you have done well. And for your good work... I am taking two months from your lifespan."

Ripley and Linus' eyes became white and opaque as the transfer began. It was as if their veins were connected to Vaelyn's, and their vital cargo was being diverted from its natural flow, and into their master's body. Vaelyn just smiled as the two men got weak in the knees. As their bodies became limp, Vaelyn slowly lowered them to the ground. "Decent work, men... decent work."

The time was nearing, Vaelyn knew it. He only had to wait, and it would be his.

---

The party made some good headway toward their goal that day. The border was mere miles away, but darkness set in before they could make the final push, so they had to make camp a couple hundred yards from the road, in hopes of staving off any other uninvited visitors.

Goren, once again, sat in a tree, surveilling the area. At points, he felt like he was nodding off, and he didn't know whether to be intrigued or frightened by that concept. Sleep was always an enemy to him, even before his change. He loved the ability to always be aware of his surroundings. For the things he did, he always wanted to be on the ball.

For some reason, his vision was getting blurry. There were wisps of something flying through the air, and... wait. That was -

Goren turned in his tree, and looked to the south, and saw a bright orange glow through the trees. Immediately leaping from the tree, he let out a shout to his comrades:

"FIRE!"

[Kelne]

"It wasn't me! I swear!" Cerene jolted upright at the cry, still not quite fully conscious. It took her a few moments to grasp the situation, but when she did, she quickly began packing up her possessions, muttering to herself in some foreign tongue.

"Pmau upi vsm qtrbrmy gptrdy gotrd. Hah!"

[Besyanteo]

Michael jerked up in a similar manner, though unlike everyone's friend the Phoenix, he didn't have much of anything to say; He just got his things together quickly while looking around to see if anyone had failed to rouse at the initial warning; He'd never been in one before, but he'd heard plenty about forest fires. If half of them were true, the didn't have much time or chance left, now that it was already as close as it was.

Of course, there's always the hope that he'd heard wrong.

[Nakibe]

"Ehwha..." he slurred as he arose to consciousness slowly. Hey, look... those are some pretty sparks... oh. Wait. Forest fires.... WHAT?!? "FUUUUCK! FIRE! FIIIIRE! EVERYONE GET UP NOW!" Solis yelled as he hurriedly started stuffing his books back into his pack. This isn't good... I knew I should've figure out SOME sort of way to control fire or water or something he berated himself, as he wracked his brains for some way to make sure that they didn't get caught in the blaze.

[Kai]

Goren's first shout went utterly unnoticed by the young necromancer curled up on her blankets, thoroughly lost in a drug-induced slumber. Feet stirred the dirt around her as the rest of her allies pulled themselves up and prepared to flee, and still she lay fast asleep. The dreams had been bad, and Zea just wanted to sleep. Now and again she just needed to sleep.

Zea!

They pulled their things together, and tried to wake one another, helping to ensure their escape from... from whatever was happening. Azriel pawed the dust nervously, huffing and snorting in agitation at the smell of smoke.

Zea! Wake up!

Solis screamed, and something in his voice must have penetrated the artificial sleep Zea had driven herself down into. She stirred a bit, but didn't rise.

John dove down into her mind, emptying out the dreams he knew as well as she. The problem wasn't in her mind, though. The problem was in her body, in her blood. The belladonna. John blinked into vision, standing over her. "Michael!" he cried, too frustrated and hurried and anxious for honorifics or even to move his lips as his voice shouted. "I can't wake her."

[Besyanteo]

Michael didn't have time to be disturbed by the sudden appearance of the spirit, or the way he didn't manifest movement as he spoke. That wasn't important. What was important is that he could see he was right; Zea wasn't moving. She seemed to be breathing just fine, but she wasn't getting up and going anywhere under her own power.

He left his half packed things where they were and went over to Zea. He skipped right to slapping her cheek once. Not hard enough to hurt her seriously or leave marks, but anyone that was simply a heavy sleeper ought to come right out of it. If not, well, she came here with a horse, and it hadn't fled in terror just yet.

[Kelne]

Cerene had intended to be the last one out, making sure that everyone was away safely, and they hadn't left anything important behind. Fire, after all, wasn't a great worry for her, and she was the fastest moving in any case. It looked like her instinct had been a good one, even if they were finding out before people started moving out.

"What's the matter with her?" She asked worriedly.

[Kai]

Zea's eyes flew open at Michael's slap, but she didn't look at him. She seemed to be staring at something of great import, but behind Michael there was nothing. Just the camp. She took a sharp breath inward and whispered in a rushed, barely-coherent urgent hiss, "The front. The front is only poetry. The truth is on the back."

John was baffled by the words, but understood the source well enough. "Fantastic," he said angrily. "She's listening to them and not us." Insolent spirits, choosing now of all times. But then, at the root of it this was John's fault. He'd have to be more careful about her sleep in the future, not create a need for such extreme measures. Without so much belladonna driving her back into unconsciousness, this might have happened at another time. But oh well. Live and learn.

"They always hide it," Zea continued. "But you won't be fooled now. It's on the back."

"Damn it all," John said, recovering enough of his composure to move his mouth as he spoke. He pressed his fingertips to his forehead and shook his head. "Must we play the babbling mystic now? Get her up. We need to get out of here."

[Archmage]

Zeke had snapped awake at the sudden cry from Goren. Nothing he could do about a fire. Everyone was scattering as quickly as possible; panic would mean the death of the group, but there was a huge difference between panic and urgency. But Zea wasn't running around with the others. What the hell was she doing, sleeping through a forest fire?

"I can't wake her!"

Shit. What was going on? Cerene and Michael were struggling to wake Zea, who was lying on the ground, babbling incoherently. This was the sort of behavior Zeke had been before. The woman was delirious. Either she was ill, and the sickness had come on incredibly quickly and with no warning whatsoever, or she was drugged. The latter seemed more probable. He wasn't sure why she was drugged, but sober people woke up when their friends started slapping their faces and shouting.

Where was Azrael? Zeke glanced around, looking for the horse. There, he thought, spotting Zea's mount. The horse was doing a remarkable job of remaining calm in the chaos of the forest fire.

"Cerene, Michael!" Zeke rushed over to his daughter, the warmth of rapidly approaching flames on his face. "Get out of here, I'll take care of her. Can't say the same for all her stuff. Grab her bag for me, if you want!"

The mercenary knelt down, casting a sideways look at John. Look at me revel in my corporeality. Lot of good your insubstantial ass is doing for her when she needs you the most. He grunted briefly, sliding his arms under Zea and lifting her up over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. "Got her," he announced. "You guys get the hell out of here!"

Zeke threw his daughter over the back of her horse, affixing her to the saddle and slapping Azrael on the flank. "Yah! Get her out of here!"

If nothing else, Zeke thought, at least I could be here for my daughter this time.

[Kelne]

Cerene frowned. Something about that first sentence... Well, now wasn't the time. "I'm going ahead, to see if I can find somewhere to take refuge," she said, "Failing that, I'll create a firebreak." After all, the forest was going up in flames anyway...

Cerene wasted no time getting airborne, scanning quickly for anything which would provide a modicum of safety.