Game Session #5

[Pikachu]

Told from Lucia's viewpoint. As usual PM any and all corrections to me and I'll make the changes as soon as possible. When correcting me please be as descriptive as you can so I have a better idea of the action you took or what you said.

" " denotes verbal communication
( ) denotes mental communication
' ' denotes inner communication, thinking to oneself

Would have had this up yesterday but my internet was down all day. Just came back up a little while ago. This is the first of a three part log. Hopefully my internet will stay up and I'll be able to get the next part done with. Well, enjoy.
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Still a bit smug about how well my day has turned out so far, things only get better as I hear even more good news over the mind link.

Klavion: (I believe I can call in some support for the rest of the mission.)

Lucia: (It's about time.)

Klavion: (Yes, it took some time for him to return. He was busy finishing up another mission.)

Lucia: (So who's the new guy?)

Klavion: (Juno Revar. He is a member of Star Shadow Unit.)

Lucia: (That’s great... Better than nothing I guess.)

While I would have liked for them to assign more than just one questionable wayfarer, I guess beggars can't be choosers. We get back to the Senator just in time to see her moving on to her next stop. Following what has become my usual routine by now, I fall in line with the rest of the crowd, Tirvan on some rooftop somewhere, Osmium off in some shadow, and Shin following along as discretely as he can.

We arrive at the Golvai Prefecture and similar to her first stop, the Senator begins setting up her little magical booth. Still interested in how her magic works, I take a closer look. It appears that she is using immaculate fire magic to create her props, interesting I think to myself. Now grasping the concept of how her spells are working, I take a step back and return to my boring shadow guard duty.

Seems like a quiet stop for once, nothing happening so far. Glancing around, I check the position of my allies. As usual, Shin isn't that hard to spot. Tirvan is a bit tougher, but now I have a general idea of where he likes to hide. And then there's Osmium, who seems to have disappeared completely. Oh well, I never seem to understand what that guy is thinking anyways. At least I can trust him to take care of himself, unlike certain other party members. Its just good that things are quiet for once... Too quiet if you ask me. Getting just a little paranoid, I channel some mana to my eyes and do a quick magic scan of the area. Nothing... Nothing... Senator... Nothing... Sewer grate... Noth... Wait! Sewer grate?

Turning back to the previous anomaly that I detected, it appears that there is some unusual residual magic on one of the sewer grates. Thinking about this discovery, I'm pretty sure that Valdis doesn't use any sort of magic in its sanitation system. Curious, I casually walk over to take a closer look. Entering the alley, I crouch down next to the grate and take another moment analyzing the magic. Hmm, this is very strange indeed. Here I'm noticing three different elements, fire, shadow, and air all of which have a strong darkmoon stink to them. Making me even more curious is the shadow magic seems very recent, as if it just passed by.

Lucia: (Uh, I think I found something.)

Klavion: (What is it?)

Lucia: (I found some residual magic on a sewer grate.)

Klavion: (Residual magic?)

Osmium: (That would be me.)

Lucia: (Really? Well that would explain the shadow magic... But I'm also seeing traces of air and fire mana as well.)

Osmium: (... That would not be mine.)

Lucia: (Yeah, I figured as much. See anything interesting down there?)

Osmium: (No.)

Thinking about this latest discovery, I'm a bit puzzled as to what could have left this lingering mana. The shadow mana is easy enough to explain, but the other two are quite the mystery. So far we haven't encountered any darkmoon air mana except for Tirvan, and nothing we've encountered would explain the darkmoon fire magic... Aside from me of course and I certainly didn't do this. As I ponder what this could mean, Shin decides that he doesn't want to be left out and mentions that he's coming over to join me and Osmium.

Of course, as usual I'm not all that happy with Shin's bright ideas. Probably the first rule of a stealth mission is you don't want to do anything that will make you stand out. Sadly Shin fails at that rule by just existing, well nothing we can do about that. Second, do not do anything to draw unnecessary attention to yourself. Again Shin typically fails at this too, but fortunately for him he seems to generate some kind of a natural invisibility field when he performs his usual idiotic stunts. One of these days I really should turn him over to a bunch of mages and have them conduct some tests to see if he is generating some kind of... something that makes him invisible to the general public when he performs his less intelligent actions.

Unfortunately science will have to wait as I'm currently busy trying to not draw anymore attention to myself. The last thing I want is for someone to notice that a bunch of us are gathering in an alley, next to the Senator, and get the crazy idea that -we- might be assassins or persons that have ill intentions towards her... Well, they might be right about that second part, but still. Big stupid Vals draw way too much attention for my tastes. Looking over my shoulder, sure enough Shin is slowly making his way through the crowd, sticking out like a sore thumb. Quickly making up my mind to investigate the sewer, I pop the grate and hop down sending a quick message over the mind link as I do so.

Lucia: (I'm gonna go take a look. Shin, keep an eye on the Senator.)

I land on solid ground, a very good thing since I was half afraid that I would end up landing in a pile of feces. Taking a second to regain my balance, I then look around to see if I can see anything unusual... Well, I sure don't see anything interesting. Its too dark to make out much of anything really. Switching my magic detection back on, I take a second look, this time trying to see if I can find anymore hints about the earlier mana traces I noticed. One of the first things I find is a big mass of shadow magic on the wall right next to me. Recalling our previous conversation, I figure its Osmium and just move on. As I'm looking away, it almost looked like that shadow was giving me the finger. Nah, I must be imagining that.

My second find is a lot more interesting than Osmium. Traces of fire, air, and shadow magic seem to follow the underground walkways going pretty much everywhere that the path leads. Spending a little more time, I try to determine how old these traces are. My best guess tells me that some of these traces could be months old, but oddly they haven't disappeared yet. It is almost as if something is coming through and refreshing them. Looking around some more it seems that the last refresh happened maybe a couple of weeks ago. Very interesting, but it still does nothing but bring up even more questions about what the hell is going on down here. Still pondering what this could all mean, my thoughts are interrupted as I hear an unfamiliar voice on the mind link.

Voice: (Hello, this is Juno. What is the game plan?)

Klavion: (Glad you could join us Juno.)

Osmium: (Game? You think this is a game?)

I guess everyone is ignoring Osmium at this point as Klavion just continues as if he didn't hear him.

Klavion: (Well, at the moment we're more of a reactionary force. For the moment just keep a low profile and out of sight.)

Juno: (Well, I'm not very good at staying low, but I'll keep out of sight.)

Klavion: (Very well. Are you familiar with the members of Phoenix squad? I assume you've read their dossiers.)

In a somewhat annoyed tone I respond.

Lucia: (Our dossiers?)

Klavion: (It is merely a physical description so he knows who you are. Juno, perhaps you should describe yourself to the team as well.)

Juno gives us a brief description about himself. Something about being very shiny and covered in silver. Osmium makes a joke about Juno's shiny self standing out, but once again it seems as if no one is paying him any attention.

Shin: (You guys might wanna come up. It looks like the Senator's getting ready to move.)

Lucia: (Ok, we're coming back up.)

Climbing back up and replacing the sewer grate, it seems that Juno must have noticed something because he's quick to report it over the mind link.

Juno: (Do you guys notice something red in the alley?)

Thinking about his question, I don't remember seeing anything red. Of course if he's talking about what I think he's talking about then it means that he might have spotted me. Glancing around, I don't see any silver like thing standing around so I just hold up the finger randomly asking over the mind link.

Lucia: (Do you see this?)

Juno: (... Yes.)

Lucia: (Then that’s probably me.)

Sighing as I get that familiar feeling that I am not going to get along with this guy, probably a good thing this is only a temporary arrangement. I look around to try and find Shin, but I am surprised when I can't seem to find him. Not bothering to worry about it, I'm actually more concerned with how easy it was for Juno to spot me. Of course I knew that any mage worth his mana should be able to pick me out of a crowd without a problem, but this brings up two interesting points. One, that Juno himself is either a magician or has the ability to detect magic. Two, that the senator probably picked me out a long time ago and is probably playing dumb... Or she's just that stupid and carefree that she isn't even checking for possible threats herself, instead blinding believing that her guards will be able to protect her, or that no one would even think to harm her. Personally I hope that she's not an idiot, but hey I've been wrong about these things before. Falling into line, I start following the Senator to her next location.

Randomly as we're heading there I hear Shin report in.

Shin: (I think I'm being followed.)

Lucia: (By who? Where are you?)

Shin: (I went ahead to check things out, and I don't know.)

Lucia: (Well that’s helpful.)

The link goes silent for a bit. Part of me is concerned that someone managed to figure out that Shin is one of us. The last guy I interrogated said that they weren't aware of our faces. How did they figure it out in such a short amount of time? Even if they can hear our link like Tirvan can, we never said anything that would allow them to identify us. My thoughts turn to the air elementalist that should be a part of the Shadow Templar squad, wondering if he had something to do with this. Once again my thoughts are interrupted by Shin as he starts to complain over the link.

Shin: (Oh shit!)

Lucia: (What now?)

Shin: (I'm in trouble. Help!)

At this point I'm just confused as to what the hell is going on. What the hell does he expect me to do about it when he's already at the next location?

Juno: (I just spotted five Val, four of them on top of a building and one in an alley. Two of them just jumped down into an alley confronting the third.)

Shin: (Yeah, that’s me. Help!)

Shin's cries for help fall on deaf ears as far as I'm concerned. I mean really, what the hell does he expect me to do from over here? Shoot them? This is all his fault for going off on his own to check out the next site. Granted he had good intentions, but if dying once wasn't enough to teach him that he's not invincible then maybe a second trip down the river of styx will do the trick. Of course this time he probably won't be coming back since Klavion won't be able to cast that spell again for quite some time... And I'm sure as hell not going to risk my life for his sorry ass. Oh well, them's the breaks.

I continue to keep watch on the Senator and hope that Shin is able to take care of himself. I really don't want to have to be the one to tell Klavion that he got himself killed again... Then again, that might actually be kind of fun just to see the expression on Klavion's face, but still bad since it means more work for me. Yeah, probably better if he doesn't get himself killed again. At least not until this mission is over. Keeping an eye on the Senator, she seems to pause for half a second and glance up at the sky. Following her gaze, I don't see much and neither did she apparently as she continues on her way as if nothing happened.

Tirvan: (Did you see that?)

Once again I hear a familiar voice in my head. A bit puzzled by what he meant, I respond over the mind link. Of course since Tirvan isn't on the mind link and is talking to me directly my question probably sounds rather strange to everyone else.

Lucia: (See what?)

Tirvan: (Some kind of attack from the sky.)

Thinking that this might have been what the Senator noticed, I look back up at the sky, this time activating my detection spell. I notice a glowing silver guy. I guess it isn't that hard for me to figure out that's probably Juno.

Lucia: (Oh him. He's probably supposed to be our backup.)

In an excited voice Tirvan asks.

Tirvan: (We got backup? When did this happen?)

Lucia: (Just now apparently.)

Tirvan: (Ok. Should we go check it out?)

Lucia: (They're probably fine... Well Shin was complaining earlier. Yeah, we should probably go check it out.)

Tirvan: (Ok.)

Thinking about the best way to help Shin, I start making some mental notes of our current forces. Currently Tirvan and myself are watching the Senator. Shin is currently screaming for help at the next waypoint and Juno is apparently backing him up. This only leaves Osmium unaccounted for. I'm about to ask Osmium what he's up too, but before I get a chance too the relative silence of the afternoon is shattered by a thundering explosion as one of Juno's explosives misses its intended target and blows up part of a building instead. Of course I can't see said explosion, but I can sure as hell hear it, and if I can hear it then so can the Senator.

My good mood completely ruined by that explosion, I switch into full battle mode and do a quick scan of the perimeter. I'm not seeing anymore of those Shadow Templar and there's nothing else that might suggest that this is an attack on the Senator. Additionally the explosion that I heard seemed to come from where we are headed rather than at our current location. Checking back to see how the Senator is reacting to this, well she seems more than a bit surprised. Her entire entourage has stopped and two of her guards have this scared shit less expression on their faces. Satisfied that the Senator isn't in any immediate danger, I finish my conversation with Tirvan.

Tirvan: (Should we quicken our pace?)

Lucia: (Yeah, you go on ahead. I'll keep an eye on the Senator.)

Tirvan: (Roger that.)

Tirvan takes off like a bat out of hell, moving at top speed towards the explosion. Satisfied that he should be able to deal with whatever disturbance required the need for big loud explosions, I start screaming over the mind link trying to get some answers.

Lucia: (What the hell was that?!)

No response... Klavion also woke up and started asking for an update which no one paid any attention too. Some time passes and the Senator slowly starts to resume her march towards the Bunsen Prefecture. A little later Shin finally starts talking over the mind link.

Shin: (Ok, the situation is now under control. Thanks Juno.)

Juno: (No problem.)

Lucia: (So what was the big fuss all about then?)

Shin: (Err, I guess I was sort of paranoid after dying once today.)

Juno: (You died?)

Shin: (Yeah...)

Lucia: (So what the hell was that explosion about?)

Shin: (I didn't do it.)

Lucia: (That didn't answer my question.)

Silence... Shin and Juno continue to discuss the battle that just occurred as Shin continues to thank Juno for his assistance. Honestly it's a good thing that I'm no where near either of them right now as I'd probably fry them both for ignoring me a second time. Once they finish with their discussion, they bother to ask how the Senator is doing. I tell them that she's a bit shaken up, but otherwise fine. They ask for an eta and Juno responds before I can. Yeah, really don't like this new guy at the moment, but Shin on the other hand seems to love him. I guess it really is true what they say, 'Great minds think alike.' Or in this case 'Idiots attract idiots.'

Bad times for us, it seems that the Senator was scheduled to do a survey of this area. So it isn't very hard for her to notice all of the more recent battle damage that was just caused by Shin and Juno. I roll my eyes as it seems that both the Senator and her guards seem to be real jumpy now and just wonder how this can get any worse. Recognizing an emblem on the Senator's robes, I sigh again, 'Of course she would have to be the representative from the Bunsen Prefecture.'

Taking our usual positions, I do a quick scan of the area. With things rapidly going downhill, I'm not all that surprised when I spot another group of Shadow Templar. Of course, seeing only the one group does trouble me. Before I can report this finding in, Tirvan sends me a message.

Tirvan: (I have a bad feeling about this...)

Lucia: (Well, I just spotted another group of Shadow Templar. If that’s the feeling your getting?)

Tirvan: (No... That’s not it.)

In the short time I've known Tirvan, I've come to value his opinion. Sharing his uneasy feeling, I quickly start looking around for sewer grates. Just a hunch, but I've had a bad feeling about those things ever since I noticed the magic on the previous one.

Lucia: (Well, in any case keep an eye on that sewer grate near the Senator. Earlier I noticed some strange darkmoon magic coming from one of those things.)

Tirvan: (Ok. I got it.)

Lucia: (So, did the rest of you guys spot the Shadow Templar?)

Osmium: (I see them.)

Shin: (No, I don't see them.)

Juno: (Shadow Templar?)

Lucia: (Well, take a look south west about 300 meters from our current location.)

Juno: (I see them... I see two auras.)

Shin: (What should we do? Should we split up and take them out?)

As I'm pondering our next action, it seems that Juno is more of the take action first and think later types as he flies a little closer and fires off what looked like some kind of magic suppressor beam. I roll my eyes as I see this and wonder what part of discreet he doesn't understand. I glance over at the Senator and see if she noticed, thankfully it seems that she hasn't caught onto Juno's latest outburst. Tired that everyone seems to be asking me what to do, I ask the person in charge what he wants us to do.

Lucia: (Well, what do you want us to do Chief?)

Klavion: (Take out the Shadow Templar.)

Lucia: (So, any volunteers to stay behind and keep an eye on the Senator?)

Osmium: (I've done enough watching.)

I smirk as I hear Osmium's response. Poor guy, he must be dying to get some action since he had to sit the last fight out. Figuring that the others feel about the same, I decide to let them do all the heavy lifting this time.

Lucia: (Ok, fair enough. I'll stay behind with Tirvan and keep an eye on the Senator. Osmium, Shin, and Juno, you three take out those Shadow Templar. There should be five teams remaining not counting their two commanding officers. So don't forget to be careful, this might be a trap.)

All three respond with an affirmative and head off to engage the enemy. Juno flies over, Osmium does his little shadow trick, while Shin begins leaping from building to building, not very subtle at all. Seriously, mages need to study him to discover the secret to his apparent invisibility. Deciding to get a better vantage point for this encounter, I disappear into an alley and fly up on a building adjacent to the one Tirvan's perched on.

As I sit there staring down at the Senator, my mind is running through these recent events trying to make some sense out of it. My instincts tell me that something is wrong with this picture and I'm inclined to agree. Winston said that there were only five teams remaining and given our superior abilities they would be working as a group to take us down. So why only one team? Maybe the rest are hidden out of sight and this is an ambush. Perhaps a ploy to draw us away from the Senator so another group can take her out unopposed. And then there's Tirvan's uneasy feeling. Of course I'm not going to leave him behind to watch the Senator by himself if something is scaring him this badly. Partly because I don't trust that he's on our side just yet, but mostly because he seems to be able to tell when danger is approaching. Similar to how he noticed those snipers before the rest of us did, maybe this guy really can see into the future. Hell that's a power that I've been researching myself for quite some time now. In any case, my gut is telling me that things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get any better. And you know what? Sometimes I really hate it when I'm right.

Suddenly shit hits the fan as another explosion blows away any remaining doubt that bad times are upon us. In the distance where Osmium, Shin, and Juno were pursuing the Shadow Templar a building suddenly explodes when Shin landed on it sending him flying. I turn towards the explosion just in time to see the cloud of smoke rising from the empty space that used to be a building, now in its place little more than smoking rubble. Looking back at the Senator to see how she's doing, it comes as no surprise as she and the rest of the people assembled are only a small step away from mass hysteria and wide spread panic. Sighing I think to myself, 'At least she's safe... For now.' Looking back at the smoking ruins of a building and directing my thoughts to the mind link I try to get some answers.

Lucia: (What the FUCK was that!?!?!)

Shin: (It wasn't me!.. I mean it was me, but it wasn't me.)

As if things weren't bad enough, why did Shin have to go and blow up a building? Maybe this was a trap that the Shadow Templar set up for us. Damn, in hindsight I probably should of had someone listening in on their conversation over the helmet link. As mad as I am about this situation, I don't even have time to think about this as I hear a very nervous and scared Tirvan in my head.

Tirvan: (Uhh... Lucia. We have a problem here.)

If it isn't one thing its another. Looking back at the sewer I told Tirvan to keep an eye on earlier, my jaw drops as I see three ethereal like Eodai float through the opening and into the alley. Of course, what else can go wrong? One quick magic scan later reveals the presence of darkmoon air mana, and a hint of immaculate mana as well. Interesting, while it isn't anywhere near the perfect mix that Tirvan has, these three individuals contain both darkmoon and immaculate mana as well. Checking how Tirvan is holding up, he looks pretty shaken up as his expression is a lot paler than I remember. Great, just what I need, another scared baby to take care of. Looking back at our three new guests, I notice a few other unusual things as they solidify and lose their ethereal status. Probably the most important thing about these three being that they really don't look all that healthy. Actually, they look quite the opposite, barely clinging to life if they're even are alive in the first place. My guess being that they're not alive at all and are instead shells of their former selves. Bloody hell, now I've got a trio of zombies on my hands, and considering their unusual aura probably fairly powerful ones at that. Well, on the bright side I now know what those strange auras I saw in the sewer earlier are now, for all the good that does me... Oh yeah, this could be a problem.

[Pikachu]

Continued from before, still told from Lucia's viewpoint. As usual PM any and all corrections to me and I'll make the changes as soon as possible. When correcting me please be as descriptive as you can so I have a better idea of the action you took or what you said.

" " denotes verbal communication
( ) denotes mental communication
' ' denotes inner communication, thinking to oneself

All spells in italics are incanted in Faerihalirianthyrianial

---

Figuring that I should probably let the others know about this, I quickly send a report over the mind link.

Lucia: (Uh.. Chief. We've got a problem here.)

Klavion: (What's going on?)

Lucia: (A trio of Eodai just came out of the sewer and are approaching the Senator. They share a similar aura to Tirvan's, but the mix between their darkmoon and immaculate mana isn't near his level. Its more as if the darkmoon was overpowering the immaculate... Did I also mention that they look like they're dead on their feet? More precisely if I had to guess they were reanimated corpses.)

Klavion: (But thats impossible!)

Lucia: (Yeah, tell me about it... Uh Chief. I'm not gonna be able to be discreet about this anymore.)

Klavion: (Very well, the Senator's safety takes precedence in this situation.)

Lucia: (Roger that. Moving in now.)

Casting a rapid succession of spells, I begin my battle preparations hoping that me and Tirvan will be enough to hold off these three freaks. "With these flames I craft, a pair of wings that will reach the highest heavens." Orange flames appear on my back and quickly extend forming a pair of dragon like wings. Leaping off of the building, I fly towards the Senator, incanting my second spell mid-flight, "Forged through the sacred crimson flame, come to me my crimson battle armor." Enveloped in crimson flames, I become a fireball for a brief second before the flames fade, leaving my Alundrian styled battle armor behind. Landing between the Senator and the approaching Eodai, I incant my final spell, "My blade is born of fire, unmatched by mere mortal steel." Another flame appears in my left hand, clenching my fist it quickly takes the shape of an Alundrian warsaber. Taking a defensive stance, I spare a moment to glance back at the Senator and smile.

Lucia: "Hi, don't worry, I'm here to help."

Turning my attention back towards the approaching undead, I'm really hoping that these guys aren't as good as I'm giving them credit for. Still, being more than a little cautious I'm not pulling any punches at the moment and channel some mana to my eyes and activate my Dragon's Eye. Faintly through my sunglasses one could see a pair of dark crimson eyes and a noticeable red glow barely hidden by the glasses.

Following my lead, Tirvan lands next to me, creating his familiar matched psionic blades. He takes on a similar defensive stance as we wait to see what these approaching Eodai do. We don't have to wait long as the three zombies approach us, each of them brandishing psionic blades very similar to the ones Tirvan is wielding. Two poor unfortunate souls get in their way and are cut down mercilessly. I mutter a curse under my breath as they fall, but my gaze never wavers from my targets. Studying their combat style, trying to find a weakness... Usually this is what I would be doing if I was thinking straight, but I guess seeing those two bystanders gutted right in front of me sort of broke my usual focus as I'm not analyzing their attacks in detail.

As if seeing those two die wasn't enough, the Senator's honor guard must have gotten the crazy idea that they could do something to stop these things. All three of her guards charge forward intercepting the Eodai before they reached us. As the guards are approaching, a beam of light comes flying from behind us as the Senator casts some kind of a light spell. Her spell hits one of the zombies dead on, but sadly does little more than that. The Eodai that got hit didn't even seem to register the hit. Recalling the spell that I just saw and the following result, my mind races as I try to explain what just happened. My best guess tells me that her spell was completely ineffective because it was designed to knock out opponents rather than kill them. I suppose that makes sense, I've never heard of anyone actually knocking out a zombie before. Hell, I don't even think that's possible.

Sadly Nalivir's guards do little better than the Senator herself. Two of the guards are actually able to land blows on the zombie Eodai, but neither were able to penetrate the Eodai's superior defenses. Seems like these zombies are fairly tough customers. Deciding that I'm going to have to go on the offensive if I want to save these idiots, I quickly move around one of the zombies and make a horizontal slash at his back. Moving faster than I would have imagined, the zombie quickly whirls around to meet my attack, but he isn't quite fast enough as my blade connects and draws blood... Well, I wouldn't exactly call it blood. More of a black ichor like substance and not that much of it either. The stuff smells pretty bad and it's times like these that I'm grateful that I don't have to actually clean my sword. Still, the zombie doesn't seem to register that he was just cut, or burned, rather all it seems I did was get his attention. Yeah, this is pretty bad.

Glancing back to see if Tirvan is having better luck than I am, I see him charging in a similar fashion to what I just did. With the expert swordsmanship that I have come to expect from him, he scores a sweet hit that should have done some good damage. Unfortunately similar to what I experienced, the Eodai barely registers his attack. Even worse it seems that his blade didn't cut quite as deeply as I initially thought it did. It seems that these guys have some pretty tough armor/skin. Checking Tirvan's reaction to this lack of damage, I'm rather surprised by what I see. It seems that he's been spending way too much time around Shin as it looks like he's worked himself into a real battle frenzy. Hell, he looks even worse than Shin does when his blood gets pumping. Oh yeah, this is not good at all.

I don't have much time to think about Tirvan's condition as my zombie launches his counter attack. I see it coming, but I'm not quick enough to avoid it. The best I could do was dodge out of the way so he only nailed my shoulder instead of slicing me clean in half, but damn if that swing didn't have the force of an angry retard behind it. The blade isn't able to penetrate my armor, but that doesn't stop it from knocking me clean off of my feet and sending me flying back several meters. I hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of me and I start seeing stars. Fighting to maintain consciousness, I just lie there on my back staring at the sky very thankful that I only took that in the shoulder. Struggling to regain my senses, I'm unable to maintain several of my spells as both my armor and sword quickly dissipate, quietly thinking to myself. 'And this is why I prefer ranged combat.'

Praying that Tirvan is doing better than I am, I glance over to see how he's doing. Unfortunately he didn't seem to fare much better than I did when the Eodai swung back. Looks like his zombie managed to slam him in his stomach as he goes flying back and starts staring at the sky as well. I can't tell for sure, but it looks like most of his spells faded after taking that hit as well. Yeah, it seems that those guys are really good at knocking the wind out of you. Some backup would be greatly appreciated about now.

Struggling to get back to my feet, I barely make out the Eodai making short work of the Senator's honor guard. One cut apiece and they're on the floor either bleeding or dead. Yeah, I guess that if we didn't do so hot then they didn't stand a chance. My mind suddenly snaps back to reality as I spot one of the zombies closing in on the Senator. Fortunately the Senator seems to fair better than we did and manages to duck under a wide swing. She casts another spell and suddenly several globes of light go flying at the Eodai's face, exploding in a brilliant flash of light. I half smile as I slowly get back to my feet, 'At least she's putting up a pretty good fight.'

Finally back on my feet, I quickly start sending out an SOS.

Lucia: (Shit! This is bad.)

Klavion: (What's going on? Report!)

Lucia: (Remember those three zombies I mentioned. Yeah, they're a lot tougher than I thought. We're in real trouble over here. One of them's on the Senator. Help would be good.)

Klavion: (Damn it! Juno, Shin, Osmium, forget about the Shadow Templar and go assist the Senator.)

As Klavion continues to mutter, curse, and complain over the link, I'm busy recalling my armor and trying to figure out my next move. It's obvious that we're outclassed at the moment and we need to find a way to get the Senator out of here. Looking over at Tirvan, it seems that he's managed to calm down considerably. Getting knocked on your ass does that I guess. It looks like he's having similar thoughts about retreating as he quickly begins flying towards the Senator. It takes me a moment to figure out what he's doing before he grabs the Senator and starts retreating from the field as fast as he can. Yeah, that's a good idea.

Tirvan: (We need to get out of here and regroup.)

All the while some of the other members of the team are asking useless questions over the mind link about what's going on. I don't really have time to be answering such questions as I'm more worried about surviving this encounter. Following Tirvan's lead, I quickly reform my wings and start taking off after him. Satisfied that the Senator is safe for the moment, I give everyone an update on the situation.

Lucia: (Yeah screw that. Running now.)

Klavion: (What's going on?)

Lucia: (We're running. Tirvan's got the Senator and we're getting out of here as fast as we can at the moment.)

I look back to see what the zombies are doing and just sigh as they start chasing us... Moving faster than I would have given them credit for. Actually, it seems as if they're just as fast as I am. Thankfully they're running on the ground and not flying which still means that we have the advantage... For the moment at least.

Lucia: (Two of the zombies are in pursuit. This is not good.)

Shin: (Can I take them?)

Of course Shin would ask that. I suppose that it would be fair to say that I'm panicking at the moment, but I really didn't expect to encounter three zombies strong enough to take both me and Tirvan out with a single attack and fast enough to keep up with me. Looking over at Nalivir, I'm glad to see that she's ok for the moment. On the bright side, at least we're all still breathing at this point.

Lucia: (No! We're retreating for now.)

I really hope Shin got the message, these are not things we want to be fucking with at the moment. Looking back at Tirvan and Nalivir, the Senator looks over at me and starts talking.

Nalivir: "I know not what is going on at the moment, but I hope this will help."

Nalivir incants some kind of enhancement spell and re-enforces the strength of my armor. Smiling back, it's good to see that she at least understands that we're on her side. Out of habit, I respond to her in Faerihalirianthyrianial before checking to see what the others are doing.

Lucia: "Thanks."

Lucia: (Osmium, Juno where are you guys?)

Osmium: (I am currently heading towards your position. Might I inquire as to what you are running from?)

Lucia: (Death. We're running from death at the moment.)

Osmium: (I never thought you to be so fearful.)

Lucia: (I'm not stupid enough to fight a hopeless battle. We should be running, not engaging these things.)

As I'm arguing with Osmium, Juno replies that he is also heading for my position. I continue to argue that we should retreat for now, but it seems that aside from Tirvan, no one seems to share our opinion. Bah! Fools, all of them. Go die for all I care. I spot Shin running over to join us. He looks oddly different, faster, stronger, more powerful somehow. I guess that glowing red aura surrounding was the dead give away. Interesting I think to myself, I've never seen him use this trick before. Unfortunately I don't have time to analyze it as I'm more concerned with the two zombies in pursuit.

I guess that Shin didn't get the message when I said that we don't want to fight these things, but I'm really not that surprised. The short while I've known him, it seems the big guy does like to bite off more than he can chew. Of course I couldn't even begin to understand much less comprehend what the hell goes through his head as the next thing I see him do is run off to the side. That's a funny way to run from the enemy I think... Of course his Val blood would also dictate that he should be charging the enemy. So what the hell is this? Some kind of happy middle ground between the two? I don't have much time to think about what's going through his head as his next action just confuses the hell out of not only me, but everyone else in the immediate vicinity.

Running up to the buildings, I figure he's planning ot charge at the zombies as they get a little closer... Oh how I couldn't be more wrong. The next thing I know, this stupid stupid STUPID Val is grabbing the wall of this building and literally ripping it from its foundation. It takes a moment for all of this to register, I mean even Shin can't be this stupid right? Well apparently I was wrong as we all watch the Val pick up the building. I'm dreading his next action as there is only one reason why he would do such a stupid thing. Part of me is ashamed to have been able to follow his thought process, but the rest of me is mortified that he actually did it. Not surprisingly, Shin hurls the building at both me and the pursuing zombies.

If I wasn't so busy running for my life, I would have fried the guy. You do NOT pick up buildings and then THROW them at undead zombies while I'm in the line of fire... Hell you still don't do it even if I'm not in the line of fire. I mean, they can go ethereal for crying out loud... Well... Then again I doubt that Shin even knows what ethereal means. But this is beside the point. I watch a four story building fly barely four feet above my head and go crashing down behind me, crushing both zombies. For now I'm just happy that the big idiot didn't hit me! Fuck, I almost summoned the crimson moon to block that, though I doubt it would have done me much good. Looking back again I'm hoping and praying that there weren't any PEOPLE inside that building... How they let this guy into the Twilight Watch is beyond me sometimes... Most of the time...

Of course I'm not the only one who isn't too happy with Shin's latest stunt. Osmium starts yelling at him over the mind link as the building flies.

Osmium: What the FUCK are you doing!?!)

Shin: (Buying time.)

Klavion: (What's going on now?)

The building now rubble, I watch as the smoke clears, hoping that at the very least Shin's latest act of stupidity managed to take out our pursuers. Seeing one standing figure, clearly ethereal by the way he's walking out from under the rubble I just sigh.

Lucia: "Well shit."

At the very least, it appears that Shin managed to stop one of them and he at least slowed the other one down. Looking ahead I notice Osmium approaching in the distance and sigh again, knowing that these idiots are going to want to fight these zombies. Further away I hear some kind of noise as Juno breaks the sound barrier and starts flying towards us at top speed.

Now that we've met up with the rest of the team, my thoughts turn to the Shadow Templar that they were supposed to be taking care of. Since they didn't mention encountering any other teams or finishing them off, I have to assume that they might still be out there. I do a quick check of the perimeter to see if I can spot any Shadow Templar hanging around on the rooftops. Though given that Shin just threw a building at the Eodai, maybe the rooftops aren't as safe as they once were. Fortunately I don't see any Templar, which leaves only the one zombie to deal with. Good, at least things are starting to look up.

Starting to calm down and regain my cool, I watch as Tirvan lands, puts Nalivir down, and positions himself between the good Senator and the zombie Eodai. I'm not sure what is bothering him, but he has this torn expression on his face like he's very reluctant to take action.

Tirvan: "... Forgive me, Master. I must break my promise to you."

Break a promise to his master? I don't quite understand what he means by that and I figure that I'm not supposed to either. Incanting a spell that is familiar yet new to me, I watch as Tirvan draws a rather large claymore out of his chest. Coupled with what I overheard, I'm very curious as to how this sword is different from his usual weapon. I'm not sure what he's apologizing for, but if it is because he's using some sort of forbidden power I guess I can sympathize with the guy. Hell I've been doing me best to think of a way to deal with these zombies without resorting to black magic. Though, fortunately for me it seems that now that help has arrived I won't have to resort to such methods. After drawing his sword, Tirvan takes on a defensive stance and seems to be waiting for the Eodai to make the first move.

Shin: (Klavion. We've got a problem.)

Klavion in a very annoyed tone.

Klavion: (I gathered that, what happened now?)

Shin: (Uh, I threw a building at them, but one of them is still up.)

Klavion: (Wait! You did what?!)

[Pikachu]

Continued from the earlier post.

---

Shin continues to try and explain his actions as Klavion, Osmium, and myself start yelling at him telling him what a stupid move that was. Once we're done with that...

Shin: (So what can you tell me about the enemy's weapons?)

Lucia: (They hurt. Don't get hit.)

Tirvan: "They are weapons from my Order."

Shin: (Will they hurt me?)

Tirvan: "Probably."

Lucia: (Yes. Don't get hit.)

Moving to join the rest of us, Shin takes on a defensive stance and gets ready for the lone Eodai to charge. The one Eodai solidifies as he loses his ethereal status, marching towards us. A second Eodai, the one that was previously left behind, also appears, walking over the rubble that used to be a building. Not good.

Seizing the initiative, Osmium conjures a shadow tendril as he advances towards the two Eodai. Grabbing the Eodai by the neck, he makes a slight gesture and the tendril snaps the Eodai's neck in it's vice like grip. Unfortunately even with the zombie's neck hanging at an impossible angle, it doesn't seem to slow down any and just snarls back at Osmium.

Osmium: "I've seen worse."

Man, if it isn't one thing it's another. Well, if everyone else is determined to make their stand here, then I suppose that it won't do me any good to run. Landing next to Nalivir, I decide that it's really time to pull out all the stops and go full throttle. Figuring that the others should be able to buy me the necessary time I close my eyes briefly, focusing my mana and begin casting a spell, "I call upon the crimson flame that rests deep inside my soul. Awaken now and shine brightly with your eternal light. Guide me through the forest of the lost and onto the path of victory." As I'm busy incanting, I begin to glow with a faint crimson light that gradually builds as I incant. I can feel the magic flowing through me as I feel my reflexes quicken and my strength increase. After completing the incantation I am surrounded by a bright crimson glow that gives off the illusion that I am at the center of a burning flame. My burning crimson eyes now visible even through my sunglasses.

As I'm busy casting my first spell, I reach into a pocket and withdraw a small vial. Wasting no time as I finish my first spell, I quickly begin incanting a second spell, "Second heat, spirits of the eternal flame I summon thee. Gather within this vessel and grant me the power to destroy all who might oppose me. With burning hellfire we shall incinerate any who dare to oppose us and scatter their ashes to the four winds." As I'm incanting, I hold a small vial in my left hand. Snapping my fingers part way through the incantation, a small crimson flame appears in my right hand. As I finish my incantation I clap my hands together, breaking the vial and releasing the liquid contained within. The flame in my right hand flares as it makes contact with the liquid, quickly growing and engulfing me in fire. The previous flame illusion grows brighter as my second spell's strength flows through me. Satisfied that my preparations are complete, I turn my attention back to the battle at hand.

Unwilling or unable to wait any longer, Shin charges the approaching Eodai. Winding up his strong right arm as he closes the distance, he throws a powerful straight punch at the Eodai being held by Osmium's tendril. Sadly the Eodai saw this attack coming from a mile away and quickly goes ethereal just as the punch is about to connect. Killing two birds with one stone, our zombie friend frees himself from Osmium's iron grip and avoids our big bruiser's punch at the same time. Damn, these guys are smarter than they look.

Following Shin into battle, Tirvan charges in incanting a spell as he closes the distance. His sword's blade turn wispy clear as Tirvan makes a downward slash at the Eodai that Shin just failed to hit. His new weapon obviously capable of hitting ethereal opponents slams into the zombie doing some good damage. Interestingly little trick he has there, it seems that our friend has more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

A bit frustrated with his current situation, Shin goes on the mind link and asks Klavion is he has had any experience dealing with ethereal beings, more specifically how to fight them. Klavion responds with some general helpful hints, not that it does Shin any good. Left with few options, Shin appears to be waiting for the Eodai to solidify so he can put the hurt on him.

The other Eodai stumbles towards the battle. Judging from his movements, I take a wild guess that Nalivir's earlier spell managed to blind him. Pretty powerful spell too considering it's still in effect. He takes a swing at Tirvan, but Tirvan manages to barely duck under the attack. Two on five right now and one of them is blind, so far it seems that we have the advantage. Of course as I'm thinking this the one we thought Shin crushed with the flying building suddenly walks out from under the rubble, clearly ethereal himself. I think at this point every single one of us was thinking, 'Fuck!' A few of us even said it over the mind link too.

Nalivir, determined to be more than just a bystander begins casting another spell. Suddenly a wall of light appears between Tirvan and the blind Eodai. Defensive magic, the specialty of the light element. It seems that the good Senator isn't as helpless as she first appeared to be. I suppose I should feel a little guilty about how happy I am that Nalivir is being forced to use her magic, but at the same time I'm having too much fun analyzing her spells and determining the limit of her abilities. These spells are a lot more interesting than the simple furniture conjuring spells she was using earlier. Yeah, you could say that I'm in a very good mood now despite the shit I was just forced to deal with. These spells she's using are just fascinating.

With two enemies ethereal and one trapped behind a barrier, I don't have a clear shot on any of them. Well, no matter, this spell I have in mind takes some time to prepare anyways. I begin gathering some mana and molding it as I wait for a clear shot. As I'm waiting Osmium moves closer, looking for an opportunity to present itself so he can murder these zombies.

None of us have to wait too long as the two ethereal Eodai solidify, but before they can act Shin throws a quick straight punch at the Eodai with a broken neck. The Eodai managed to dodge slightly, but still got nailed in the arm and got sent flying backwards into the rubble. Sliding, bouncing, and tumbling across the ground for several meters clearing a path as he rolls. Looks like Shin made his presence felt, though he doesn't look too happy that the Eodai managed to avoid the brunt of that attack. The Eodai himself while he looks terrible now, still appears to be moving.

Seeing one Eodai down, but not out I decide to leave him to Shin and turn my attention to the guy who we thought was burried under the building. Hey, now doesn't he look familiar, he's that bastard who knocked me flat on my ass earlier. Yeah, well now we're playing my game and payback is a bitch. Judging from how effective some of our previous attacks were, it is obvious that these things won't stop just because we broke one or two of their bones or stabbed them in the vitals. Hoping that losing his head will do the trick I call on one of my most powerful and sacred flames, "The roar of time, from the heavens up above where the dragons dwell. Descend now to this mortal plane and smite these unbelievers with your divine might." A small golden white flame appears in both of my hands as I incant this spell. Making a wide sweeping motion with both of my arms, leaving a trail of golden white flames where they passes, I trace the outline of two perpendicular circles. A small flame appears in the center of the two circles and begins to expand and grow until it fills the interior of the two circles which have now become a sphere of golden white fire. Upon completing my incantation I take aim at my poor target and make a pushing gesture with my right hand, hurling this ball of holy fire at the Eodai zombie that nearly knocked me out earlier. My aim is true and I hit him right on the nose. His head is engulfed in holy flames that burn his head clean off his shoulders, the now headless Eodai drops lifelessly onto the ground as his neck smolders. I smile seeing very favorable results, 'This is why I love ranged combat.' Oh yeah, that worked out nicely.

I catch a look of surprise on Shin's face as he notices a ball of fire fly by and destroy one of the zombies. He glances back at me and I can tell that he now realizes that my threats of killing him weren't that far fetched. I suppose that's a good thing, maybe now he'll listen to me when I tell him not to do stupid things. Well, one can hope at least. Shin doesn't have long to admire my fireworks as the zombie he knocked down gets back to its feet and charges him swinging wildly. So wildly that he misses a Val sized target, now that takes real talent. Good job zombie dude.

The other blind Eodai blindly swings at Tirvan, only to connect with Nalivir's force wall. I'm actually surprised that his attack didn't break through and start wondering if this is due to the strength of the barrier or lack of strength on the part of the Eodai. In either case both Tirvan and Shin are spared much pain as it seems that these zombie's combat abilities have rapidly diminished in the short time it took us to retreat to this distance.

One down, one blind, and one on the verge of re-death. I guess that there isn't much for Nalivir to do offensively as she decides to tend to my wounds. Casting some sort of healing spell, she repairs the damage that I previously took. I once again thank her in Faerihalirianthyrianial and continue to watch the battle, looking for another good shot at these zombies.

As impressed as Shin might be with me, I'm also rather impressed with him at the moment. That red glow whatever it is seems to give him a tremendous boost to his offensive capabilities. Perhaps this is what he used in our first mission that caused him to become useless after it wore off. Given the difference between him now and the previous battle I observed, it would make sense that he is now pushing his body beyond his limits which would warrant the previously observed rebound effect. As I'm busy admiring Shin's booster ability, he's busy trying to uppercut the nearly dead again zombie. I'm not sure how but he somehow managed to uppercut the zombie's leg. I guess that he misjudged the distance or something. Either way that still looked like it hurt, but sadly it doesn't seem as if the zombie cared.

Tirvan being the ever interesting individual he is begins incanting another spell and his sword suddenly turns bright blue. He makes a slashing attack against the almost dead again zombie and connects. It appears that this new enchantment on his weapon is a lot more effective, that or the zombie finally reached the limit of its physical endurance as it collapses as Tirvan cleaves his blade through it. And then there was one.

Osmium advances his position a little more and conjures another shadow tendril to attack the zombie behind the force wall. Once again he does his best to squeeze the life out of the zombie with little success. It appears that these zombies are a bad opponent for our shadowy friend as his attacks don't seem to be doing a whole lot of damage. I sense a faint feeling of frustration as he notices that his attacks aren't doing nearly as much damage as they should be.

Suddenly Juno arrives, flying in at the speed of whoa. Taking aim at the only remaining threat, he fires some sort of red magical blast from his shoulder. This being the first time I have actually seen Juno in a fight, I am intrigued to notice that his abilities appear to be the result of magitek and not sorcery. His attack, whatever it was scores a hit on the zombie's leg, though unfortunately it doesn't appear to have much effect.

Shin eager to end this does a flying leap over the force wall, twisting and turning in mid-air landing behind the zombie. Feeling rather confident that this will be the final blow, Shin screams, "This is finished!" as he throws a straight fist at the back of the zombie's head. I'm not sure just how strong Shin is now that he's fully powered up, but that last attack hits the zombie right smack in the middle of the back of his head. I guess it was too surprised to react like it did with me, or being blind it probably had no clue what just happened. The zombie's face is smashed into the force wall, which flares brightly for an instant before shattering as the zombie goes flying through it. Tirvan, in the direct path of the flying zombie screams, "Oh fuck!" as he dives out of the way, the zombie passing harmlessly through his after image as Tirvan narrowly avoids getting hit by one of Shin's flying corpses. An event which seems to happen a lot more often than it really should. I wonder if Shin has ever heard the term friendly fire. The corpse continues to fly across the street and manages to break through at least two more walls before I lose sight of it. Damn, I think to myself, what a hit.

Looking around the now dead battlefield, I can't help but think to myself, 'Damn... That wasn't that bad at all. What the hell happened earlier then?' It is clear that many of us were using our most powerful abilities and our overwhelming victory is the result. Glancing around with a new respect for several of my allies, I watch as everyone starts to power down, or feel the after effects of their powers. Shin falls down looking completely exhausted while Tirvan lets his sword dissipate. Cutting the flow of mana to my spells, I stop glowing as the flames that surrounded me flicker one last time and then fade away as the wind blows. Juno lands next to us as Osmium walks over, not looking all that happy at the moment. Yelling over at Shin and Tirvan I ask if they're ok. They both respond that they're alright. I'm about to check to see how Nalivir is doing when Osmium starts yelling at Shin, continuing from where he left off earlier. Well, so much for trying to avoid talking about Shin's latest act of stupidity. Looking over at Osmium, then Shin, then Nalivir, I sigh. Yeah, this is going to take a whole lot of explaining.

[Pikachu]

Still being told by Lucia, the evil mastermind behind the Phoenix Unit.

Shortening this one because of the extreme dialog that I don't remember word for word so I'm not even going to try. So here is a general overview of what happened so the log is up to date. As usual PM all corrections and comments to me and I'll change them as soon as I can. And as always, enjoy.

---

Osmium continues to berate Shin for throwing a building at an ethereal creature of all things. Of course being fair, at the time Shin probably didn't know that they were ethereal creatures. I only briefly mentioned it over the link. Still, the fact that Shin tore a building from its foundation and then hurled it at two zombies, who in hindsight weren't as dangerous as I initially thought they were, was still a very bad idea. Fortunately Shin seems to be taking this in stride and is keeping his cool. Good for him, but I'm still not sure if the big guy truly grasps the seriousness of the situation he just caused. At best we can hope that this will all blow over in a few days or will be blamed on the zombies, but it's far more likely that the government will just use this incident as an excuse as to why we vigilantes are a danger not only to ourselves, but to the city at large. Looking at the destruction that we just caused, it's rather hard to argue that second point.

Of course yelling at Shin is all well and good, but Osmium has no intention of stopping there. As soon as he's finished scolding Shin like he was a two year old that made a mess of the kitchen, he turns his attention to Nalivir. Osmium starts yelling at her now, insulting her three I's, her intelligence, her integrity, and her intensity. How can she just prance around on her little tour pretending that nothing is wrong? How can she be so blind to the danger that she was just in? How can she so foolishly believe that her honor guard would be sufficient to protect her from those who might wish her harm? He goes on and on about all of the work that we have done to protect her all day long. A few times during this lecture, Nalivir tries to speak up but is instantly cut off as Osmium moves on to another point of why she is such a stupid little bitch. I try to calm Osmium down a few times as well, but am also ignored as he just continues to rant. Honestly I'm slightly jealous but more annoyed that Osmium beat me to the punch and gets to be the one to tell Nalivir that she's an idiot to her face. Part of me wants to join in and insult the Senator, but sadly having both of us yell at her is probably not going to get us anywhere. I've learned from experience that the bad cop bad cop routine rarely if ever works and in this situation you need someone to play the good cop... I hate being the good cop.

Dammit Klavion! Why the hell did you have to go and make yourself useless? You should be the one here trying to calm everyone down and play diplomat. Looking around at the rest of our team, I start thinking about who I should let take charge over this situation and deal with all of these problems. Let's start with the loud one, Osmium seems rather angry at the moment. Given how he's yelling at the Senator it's pretty obvious that he isn't the diplomatic type. Also, given his previous actions, it seems that he won't be the best person to get us out of this in one piece. Listening to his latest insult... Yeah, this one is a dead end. Shiny silver Juno. Don't know all that much about him, but if his short quips over the link are any indication of his personality then he's probably not the best candidate. Also, given that he knows the least about what's happening out of all of us he really shouldn't be doing the talking at the moment. Also, I don't really trust him to deal with this situation properly, he seems more like a follower than a leader. Yeah probably not a good idea to let the newbie handle this. Great mysterious Tirvan. Nope, not happening. As much as I respect and like the guy, I still can't trust him with this. The Twilight Watch started this mission and it should be one of us to take command and end it. Also, he still seems a bit shaken up over something and doesn't look like he'd be up to taking charge in this situation. So then there's Shin... No! Fuck no! He's the idiot who just threw a building at our enemies. Even forgetting that recent fuck up he's already proven that he has none of the qualities required of a leader and if anything he'll just make this situation worse. Ok that leaves... Me... Fuck!

Dagnabit! I did not sign up for this! I did not join the Twilight Watch so I can play baby sitter to a bunch of overpowered fuck mooks whose only skill seems to be causing massive destruction and leaving someone else to deal with the fall out. I currently have one angry fuck mook, one shiny fuck mook, one mysterious fuck mook, and one complete fuck mook under my loose command and they expected us to carry out a stealth mission? No wonder this didn't work out, forgetting the zombies I'm amazed we even made it this far before causing a disturbance of this level. Dammit! It'd probably be easier at this point to just switch sides, murder Nalivir myself along with the rest of my team, and then be on my merry way. And if it wasn't for this annoying conscious and that damned promise to my brother I'd probably do it too. Sigh, I have no idea what the fuck human resources was thinking when they put this team together. Seriously, I don't understand how they ever expected this group to work. Listening as Osmium seems to be finishing up, I sigh again, 'Damn... I guess now I have a better idea of what I used to put Elric through... Sorry bro.'

Accepting the fact that I'm probably going to have to step up and talk us out of this damned situation, I take a cleansing breath and let the Senator speak her piece. She responds with the dignity and grace one might expect from a person of her status, but I can sense a trace of hostility, or is that annoyance in her voice. She tells Osmium that she did expect some resistance during her tour, but nothing like this. She also mentions that while she appreciates our help, she does not approve of some of our methods. Glancing back at the ruined building, I decide to stay quiet and let her move on. She also mentions that we didn't do a very good job of concealing ourselves as she has noticed our presence for quite some time now. Finding that interesting, I make a note of it and let her finish before quickly cutting in before anyone else has a chance to say anything to make the situation any worse than it already is.

The first thing I do is apologize for Shin's latest stunt, trying to explain that he meant well. Trying not to dwell on the subject, I quickly ask her when she first noticed us. She mentions that she saw us, or rather me at the Palthon Prefecture when I was using my detection abilities. Smiling, I nod and try to make a joke about it. Figures, honestly I'd be more surprised if she didn't notice me. Even Klavion should have been able to see this coming. Hell, we both knew that she was an accomplished mage and me being the powerful mage I am will stick out like a sore thumb when placed amongst these magic less peons.

Satisfied that Nalivir seems to be an intelligent and reasonable person, I ask her that since she noticed myself, if she was also able to notice the assassins that were targeting her at the Palthon Prefecture. She seems surprised when I mention this and asks me what assassins. I ask her if she noticed when I left and if she tracked me, she responds in the negative so I elaborate. I drop the name Shadow Templar and watch as she spends a moment trying to place the name before her face pales. Yeah, seems like she finally understands the seriousness of her situation. I mention that this is one of the reasons why my companion Osmium was so angry. I mention that we have already dispatched seven teams for her sake. She says she has heard of them and questions why she would be targeted by them. Thinking about it, she also mentions that she hears that they use powerful anti-magic rifles. I nod and help fill in the blanks of the weapon in question. Suddenly getting really jumpy, Nalivir suggests that we move to a more secure location. Looking around I'm inclined to agree with her.

A short update to Klavion and we are quickly pointed in the direction of a safe house. The six of us head there, as we're leaving I notice that Shin is really feeling the after effects of his power up. So it seems that I was correct when I surmised that this was the ability he used during our first mission that I missed. Very interesting indeed. I ponder this power for a short while, considering the pros, the cons, and how it might serve my purposes before remembering our current situation. Looking around for anyone who might be tailing us, I am relieved to see that we appear to be in the clear. Checking with the others, they agree that it does not appear that we were followed. The first bit of good news since this whole ordeal started.

Arriving at an abandoned warehouse, we are told that there is a secure room in the basement. Wandering down there, we indeed find what we were promised. A simple room that seems secure, furnished with all of the necessities that one might need. Everyone takes a seat while Shin goes to raid the fridge. Returning with what looks like a months supply of food, we continue where we left off.

We continue our discussion about the Shadow Templar. I ask her if she knows of anyone who would want her that dead. She responds in the negative, asking how many assassins are in a team. I give her the answer of two men per team, twelve teams sent not counting two ranking officers. Nalivir ponders this for a moment before saying that she cannot think of a reason why someone would send twenty six assassins after her. I agree that this seems a bit off, and offer my own theory as to the situation.

Lucia: "I agree that this situation doesn't seem right. I've been working on a theory that might explain why you are being targeted by the Shadow Templar and would like your opinion on it."

Nalivir: "Go ahead."

Lucia: "After dealing with one of the previous Shadow Templar teams, I had an opportunity to talk to one of them and was able to learn a few things. One of the more interesting things that we discussed was their mission. They had been given orders for your termination, but they also received additional orders that they were to prioritize eliminating anyone who might interfere above your termination. This struck me as being very strange since most assassins always prioritize the kill over everything else. This suggests that killing you was not the primary objective of this mission and instead they were hoping that someone would interfere with this plan and their true target was who ever interfered. Naturally since we were the ones to interfere we became that priority target. Now this is where things get messy. In order for this plan to work someone would have had to be protecting you from the shadows. If we were not present then their assassination would have gone as planned and you would be dead. As you said there should be no reason for someone to send twenty six assassins just for you. Just one team would have been sufficient and since you still can't think of a reason for anyone to send Shadow Templar after you then this in of itself is odd. Their superior numbers means that they were expecting to deal with an individual or group of individuals that possessed either comparable or superior combat abilities to their own."

Lucia: "Additionally it was well known that you refused anything more than the bare minimum for your honor guard. Less known was the fact that you turned down an offer from Duragar Aetherbane to personally escort you during your stay. This presented you as an easy target for assassination and leads me to believe that you were intended to be bait to draw out an even bigger target. I am not sure who that target might be, but it seems obvious that your death was a mere after thought. Your thoughts on this Senator?"

Nalivir: "That makes sense..."

After explaining my theory, Nalivir seems to make the connection that we were sent by Duragar. Smiling, I ask her who she believes us to be. I'm not sure whether its a good or a bad thing, but she guesses correctly that we are members of the Twilight Watch and that our leader is Duragar Aetherbane. Seeing as how she got it right on the nose I see no reason to lie about it now and confirm her suspicions. She makes some kind of comment on how it makes so much sense now, but I'm busy silently thanking her for blurting that out. Whether she knows it or not she just helped me correct one of my previous mistakes when I accidentally told Tirvan who our leader was. If he didn't know before, he sure knows now. Well, in the best case scenario he'll take my earlier slip up as a sign of good faith and decide to join us later. At worst, I guess you can't blame me completely for the leak now, even though I just told another person our big secret.

Moving the discussion onto the subject of the zombie eodai that attacked her, Tirvan decides to chime in and explains that they were members of his Order. He confesses that he had an ulterior motive for coming back to Valdis. He was to investigate the disappearances of several members of his Order over the past few months. We all give him our condolences and then start talking business. I ask him how their battle prowess compared to their previous selves. Tirvan confirms that they were weaker, yet sturdier. Hearing this confirms another one of my theories, but I keep that to myself. Adding to the conversation I mention their unusual aura that appeared to be an immaculate aura being overpowered by darkmoon magic. Tirvan seemed very disturbed by this, later mentioning that his Order uses primarily immaculate air mana and this is indeed odd. I go on to describe the mana traces that I found in the sewer earlier. Mentioning traces of air, fire and shadow darkmoon mana located all over the sewers under Valdis, some of the trails being months old which would fit with the disappearances. This is where Osmium pops in.

Osmium explains that this might be the work of the Lord of Shadows. Hearing this, a light went on in my head as things start to make more sense. This new information provides some plausible answers to some of my previous questions while raising new ones. Ordinarily I would be concerned that a dark god is now involved, but I'm too busy kicking myself for not making the triple elemental connection earlier. While I'm off in my own little world, Osmium begins to lecture us on the reasons why Zex is probably involved and why we do not want to fuck with him. He describes his motives, his power, and his personal tastes all of which are not good things for us. Some of us have questions for him, which he answers by painting this picture of a big bad god we don't want angry at us. Ignoring his melodramatic descriptions, I have to admit that what he is telling us does make some amount of sense. Actually what interests me more at this point is how knowledgeable Osmium seems to be about Zex. Some of the things he's telling us make it seem like he knows from first hand experience how dangerous Zex really it, but that's ridiculous right?... Right?

Figuring that now might be a good idea to catch Klavion up to speed, I turn my thoughts to the mind link.

Lucia: (Hey Chief, you there?)

Klavion: (Did you make it to the safe house?)

Lucia: (Oh right. Yeah we've been here for a while now. Anyways we've been talking about recent events and Tirvan has confirmed that the zombie eodai we encountered earlier were members of his Order that went missing a couple months back.)

Klavion: (His order?)

Lucia: (Yeah, I mentioned that didn't I? That Tirvan is a member of the Order of the Immaculate Storm?)

Klavion: (No you didn't.)

Lucia: (Oh... Well I just did.)

Klavion: (Argh... Continue.)

Lucia: (Anyways, we've been talking and Osmium believes that Zex might have something to do with this.)

There is a noticeable pause before Klavion responds. I guess thats understandable given what I've just told him. Hell, I'm still having a hard time swallowing what Osmium's been telling us. Why the hell would Zex be interested in screwing with us anyways... Well thats a question for another time. Klavion later acknowledges what I've told him and I start tuning him out again as Osmium continues with his story.

Osmium begins to spin a tale about his past and gives a rather colorful if vague description of his past dealings with Zex. From what I am able to figure out, Zex used to have some sort of hold over Osmium. He either worked for the Lord of Shadows or was some sort of slave, or play thing. He was imprisoned somewhere unpleasant for the better part of a century before managing to somehow escape. I was disappointed that the did not care to elaborate on exactly how he managed to escape from a god's prison dimension as that might be useful information in the coming days. Continuing his build up, Osmium makes the point that Zex has probably figured out that Osmium is somewhere in Valdis now and this does not bode well at all. He says that now that Zex is aware of his presence, he will become a liability to our cause rather than an asset. I'm inclined to agree with him on this point. Having more of those zombies, or worse, something more powerful chasing us in particular is not a good thing. Osmium mentions that it might be best for him to distance himself from us for the time being. Looking at us for some kind of answer, I just shrug my shoulders and tell him to clear it with Klavion before he goes off and disappears.

As Osmium finishes Juno makes some comment about how both Zex and Osmium are a rather creepy pair, and is promptly ignored by everyone except Osmium who just uses it as an excuse to continue talking about how evil and nasty Zex is. Figuring that this part is unimportant, I tune him out and begin going over what I have just learned. Unfortunately some dark god just upped the ante of this little game we are playing and it doesn't look like we have the resources to call at the moment. Considering that Osmium has Zex chasing after him personally, I'm inclined to agree that he should stay the fuck away from us. I have no intention of dealing with an angry dark god right now. Maybe after I find and perfect the Azure Flame, but not a moment before if I can help it.

Reviewing current events leads me to one question that is actually very simple to answer. Looking over at Tirvan I ask him how he is able to listen in on our mind link. Tirvan says that he thought I already figured that out, but I tell him that I would like to confirm my theory. Tirvan spins a tale about how he unlike his Eodai brothers is not naturally telepathic, so Master Tirvakior undid a demonic seal on his soul. It was this process that warped his aura and allowed him better access to air mana. Another effect was the ability to use telepathy as well as pick up on nearby telepathic communication such as our mind link. I found this very interesting, perhaps in the future I should have a talk with this Master Tirvakior. Satisfied that his ability is unique and our mind link should still be secure, I file away the relevant information for future use and begin giving Klavion another update.

I catch Klavion up on what was recently discussed before asking him to hold on. Turning to Nalivir, I ask her what her plans are now. She replies that she is uncertain, the cancellation of the remainder of her tour for sure, but aside from that no plans. I once again extend an offer of protection from the Twilight Watch and this time she accepts it. Smiling, I ask her to hold on and return to updating Klavion. I inform him that Nalivir has just accepted our offer of protection and that we should probably move to a safer location. Klavion agrees and gives me the coordinates for a bigger, better safe house. I also ask Klavion to bring Duragar to this safe house so he can talk to Nalivir and help calm her down. I mention that given what she has seen, I doubt that she is too inclined to trust any of us and a familiar face might be helpful. Klavion makes a small fuss about how Duragar is a busy man, but says that he can probably arrange this because of our unique circumstances. I smile as I hear this, 'Excellent. Now we might be able to call the raise our opponents just made. With any luck, I'll also learn a little bit more about what is really going on around here. Perhaps I'll even a chance to discuss some of the more interesting things that I have seen today as well as pick their brains on the Azure Flame. This is turning out to be a very good day indeed.'

Satisfied that Klavion will take care of everything on that end, I start focusing on my end. Looking around the room, I check to make sure that everyone hears that and everyone except Nalivir responds in the positive. Taking a second to fill her in on what is going on, Osmium gets permission to take his leave of absence from the group. Satisfied that everything should be taken care of at this point, I check to make sure that everyone is ready to move on to the next safe house. Receiving no complaints I begin to lead us to the next safe house while Osmium leaves us to pursue his own path. We wish him luck and all go on our merry way.