All:
Shadows surround a small band of warriors on the outskirts of the swamp. The men and women gathered have been called together by a desperate message sent to all major cities in the area, requesting the help of all available mages and fighters. Deep in the swamp, the land is infested with mysterious insects that have appeared from seemingly nowhere. Tiny gnats fill the air and devour the bodies of unlucky stragglers. Giant, poisonous bugs lurk in the water and in the foliage, attacking everyone on sight. The locals fear that the insects will not be content with only the swamp, and will soon move out to civilized locations to bring terror upon the citizens. This must be prevented at all costs.

Once all who wish to help have arrived, the party will set out to fight these insects and discover why they have begun to plague the area. The fate of the Swamp of Shadows lies in your hands.


OOC to All:
The rules of this topic are very simple. Everyone is invited to join in the thread. There are no rounds or turns like in the war. Everybody is free to continue posting, but try not to get too far ahead of the other members in the plot, or post many times before others have a chance to respond. The topic has a plot and the DM will move it along according to the actions taken by the characters. Once a few people post, the party will move out and encounter various challenging enemies. Don't hog all the glory for yourself, let others have a stab at joining in the fight. Godspeed, and good luck.

The low lying fog that surrounded the group had seemed to get thicker over the last few minutes. Serius Orlo stood silently slightly to the right of the centre of the group. His blade was drawn the longsword hung lightly in the air Serius was told that these bugs attacked quickly so he wasn’t going to be wasting time drawing a blade. His clothing and hair had become damp in the thick combination of fog and mist. The swamp was treacherous filled with creatures of all kinds that would test the group to its limits. He readied himself to enter the battle, Preparing his mind body and soul!

Sophia stood in the center of the group, looking very much out of place. She was still a young girl, and equipped with nothing more that a dagger and a few simple spells. What she was good for though was healing. she held her dagger tight in her right hand. with her other she fidgeted, playing with a strand of her thick black hair, trying to calm her nerves. Her breathing was short and rapid. She knew why she was here though, she was one of the few that where willing to deal with the threat that they where opposed with. The deeper reason for her being here though was that she was trying to find her purpose and thought that this could be it.

They were a motley band of adventurers, those who had volunteered to enter the festering marshlands, a place where ancient horrors lay in their damned slumber beneath the murky waters. 'The Swamp of Shadows', as it was called, was the breeding point of vicious insects that had been terrorizing the marshlands and surrounding countryside. These insects had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and it was up to the group of volunteers and hired mercenaries to find out where they were coming from, and how to stop their infestation. The group held both fighters and wizards. Some looked to be little more than common folk, while others looked equipped for war; professional adventurers who had jumped on the chance to prove their worth, and gain a bit of coin in the process. A shadow approached the group from the direction of the dirt road they had left behind shortly before, to rest and wait for others who wished to join. The shade was tall and lithe- appearing seven feet tall in the mist and shadows- the sides of his form swaying to the side as he walked, his legs, long and clothed in black, moving with easy strides over the supersaturated, mossy ground beneath. He made no sound as he walked.

Coming into full view of the group, he stopped, and regarded them. There was a large, wide-brimmed hat on his head, its edges dripping with moisture. A crimson scarf was wrapped around his face and neck, leaving only his eyes exposed, one blue and one green, both bright in the darkness, seemingly glowing in the mist, so full of life were they. A black cloak draped over his shoulders and hid any weapons or items he may have been carrying with him. In all, he was an intimidating figure, and an experienced adventurer would deduce from his strides, and the way that he scanned the group, taking everything in at once, that he was a powerful fighter. The man was Sartana, a man not of this plane of existence, and a demonhunter by trade. But that had little to do with why he was here.

Sartana's eyes fell on the more interesting members of the group, sizing them up, and drawing any conclusions he could from them. There was power in knowledge; anything that he could learn from these people would be invaluable. He turned to the marsh, satisfied. A faint light glew in the distance, and he tilted his head slightly, watching it hover above the bubbling, fetid waters of the swamp. It was a 'Will o' the Wisp', a mischievous creature that Sartana had first encountered in the abyss many years ago. He watched it with a slight grin on his face, enjoying its colors. The creature could mesmerize travelers into following it. Sometimes it would lead them to their doom. The creature was too far away to work its magic on the demonhunter, but he wouldn't have been affected anyways. Such weak magics didn't effect him anymore.

Cracking his neck, Sartana looked into the waters, being sure not to stand too close. The chemicals of the swamp had made the water opaque; he couldn't see a thing past the grimy surface, where a few bugs buzzed, and bubbles popped. These insects, they were able to reproduce outstandingly quick, or they're being transported here by another means. Perhaps they were here the whole time, only to be awoken and invoked by some outside force? He was unblinking as he thought, and breathed easily behind his scarf. They would find a way to stop these insects- he was sure of it.

As high as the creature stood, the dense fog still veiled her eyes. Close around her were the strangers from all around the land who all met up for the same purpose; to come to the aid of the people. Not too long ago there were postings talking of strange manifestations of nature hidden deep in the swamp and they who lost their bearings of territory. The article described the creatures to be vexing and poisonous, and quite possibly deadly. These creatures much resembling insects had begun to wreck the marshland and were versed to move on to the city if nothing had come to stop them. All of Arda's bravest were summoned, the young, the old, the capable. Being of large stature, compaired to most other mammals, Kestrel was almost forced to go, though complied and went of her good will.

Not that long ago she was walking the border of the dry land and crossing into those of the wet. She could tell the difference of the area from how the land treated her arrival. If it were alive, the hospitality it would of showed was close to nothing. The muddy earth sucked her feet in often and at most times the serpent would fail to see a low lying swamp tree and run into it or trip over it, causing it to dirty the silver hairs that it worked hard to preen daily.

Wet earth swallowing her steps often and nature's wooden children constantly grabbing at her ankles, the young dragon was soon enough covered in the wet caking earth. Normally at this instant the serpent would open it's wings and fly, as that was no challenge, though seeing as the feathers had now all clumped together and the weather was no condition to fly in, Kestrel thought it best just to keep trudging now wondering why she ever agreed.

As she ventured deeper into the bog the serpent realized that it only got worse from then on. Gnats swirled around her head and backside, and Kestrel constantly had to move her tail just to be confortable. Often she'd open her massive wings and blow a few strong gusts of air to clear the insects away. Ears twitching and flopping she shook her head a few times and craned it upwards, away from the soggy earth. Now perhaps the insects woulnd't be that bad of an annoyance... though the assumption was more than less likely.

Pawing through the maze like pathways of sinkable and non sinkable earth, the dragon of light had stopped shortly as she saw a small grouping of humans up ahead. Perhaps those were the braves whom were going to help the lands by extinguishing this blight. That was then and this was now.

Kestrel hadn't any time to talk to any of the individuals that made up the group but could tell they were some of the most differenciating people you would find in all of Arda, and now having a dragon in their party would just make that statement a lot more believeable. She stood amongst them, their heads just about shoulder height to her, being like this for quite a few years she was used to the size difference of the friends she made... but she could say confidently that she had never met any of these people before.

Having a strong sense of emotions of the characters around her, Kestrel could tell some were pumped and some scared. The one to the right of her, a man clad in armor, seemed like he was ready for anything. And the woman just in the center seemed as if she rather not be here at the moment. If she were to place herself in a grouping of feelings you would find her in the column 'easily frightened'. Since her childbirth she was always afraid of the outside world but steadily overcame it due to her larger size than that of the worry. She could usually scare away a threat with her girth though she had a feeling that it would be different this time. Blinking a few times to clear her thoughts and to rid the bugs that came too near her eyes, Kestrel began drawing her legs up to her chest and back down to the ground again, as sign of worry. She was trying to prepare herself for the dark path ahead. With her and these strangers.

The Dragon opened her wings and cast them over the party, to help a little with sight and a little with the wetness issue. Atleast now she felt assured that they would be somewhat dryer.

While all the volunteers and fighters huddled together in a large, unorganized pack, Winter sat aside from the rest on an old, rotting stump, tightening the belts that held her boots on her feet. She glanced up briefly at the fighters, she couldn't really see herself fighting alongside a group, she preferred to fight alone, but since the people delivering the message has sounded that desperate she gave into it and joined the band of fighters. She finished what she was doing and let her foot fall, she looked out over the swamp and over the marshy ground keeping a close eyes on everything within her vision.

Since these insects were wild and untamed it would be difficult for her to sense what they would do next, therefore she had to rely solely on her reflexes to help her battle the large hordes. She didn't fear them, nor did she feel anything else for them, they were merely another form to be destroyed by her and the others joining the band of fighters. She sighed and stood up, pulling the strap of her crossed scabbard higher up her shoulder as it began to slide down slightly. She didn't like just waiting here for something to happen, her fingers were itching to take control of her katanas and battle against the enemy upon them.

And who knows, she thought to herself maybe I might enjoy myself.
A ghost of a smile crossed her face, but her eyes remained as cold as ever. She wasn't here for the fun of it, but now that she was here there wasn't any harm in having fun whilst doing what she did best. She looked up again at her companions, it could have turned out worse, but so far the only one she saw as impressive to her eyes was the taller, darker figure. She'd seen people who hold themselves like he did, quiet but confident. She turned her attention back to waiting for the insects, she was still a good few feet away from the rest of the fighters but she didn't care, when it came to battle she made her own rules.

I hate this place. I hate the fog, I hate the stench, and most of all, I hate the bugs!

Fidelity’s thoughts formed a bristling alloy of curses and maledictions as she wildly slapped her black gauntlet at a rampaging mosquito for the umpteenth time. Relieved of the pest for what she knew could not be more than twenty seconds, she looked at the group of bold adventurers pacing ahead in front of and beside her. She could not see far through the mist, as though the nebulas had formed an impenetrable cage around them. What they stepped upon seemed most like an enormous puddle of solid, dark green tar that marked the transitional stage between woods and morass. All around her, shadows – big and small - moved in unison, carefully making their way to the edge of the Swamp of Shadows. Few of the gathered band appeared to know each other, and even fewer found the audacity to speak in more than a whisper. Now that they were drawing so close to their initial destination, the true task at hand would commence, and Fidelity knew that none were actually looking forward to the assignment that stood before them. Nor was she.

When she’d originally found out how many gold was on offer for what had appeared like simple pest control, she’d grasped the opportunity with both hands. Now, with her red cape and ivory garments soaked by the moist fog, and her old, rusty armor parts bearing down heavily on her lithe frame, the young albino realized that there was only so much that money could buy. She shivered as she thought that they had not even reached the core of the problem. They’d sure noticed it on their way here. A great wasp had decided to make a bedstead out of the waterfall of white hair that streamed over her shoulders. Shame still burned on her face when she thought of how paralyzed she’d been, until a sympathetic old wizard had taken pity on her and fried the winged horror with a casual flare from his bony fingers. There had been creeping caterpillars, burrowing beetles and more mosquitos than there were leaves on the trees surrounding them. Her shiver turned into an uncontrolled tremble. The worst had yet to come.

The group halted its journey. Around her, the fog seemed to diminish, only to be overtaken by an infinity of grasping shadows from which the swamp had procured its moniker. As if that wasn’t enough to convince Fidelity that her greatest nightmare was about to take form, sharp pungencies of rotten plants and things her stomach did not want to think of ran amuck through her nostrils. Tears formed in her dim, red eyes and she swiftly grasped the reassuring grip of the longsword sheathed by her side, to aid her in repressing her fears. She told herself that it was only the fact that she did not know what was to come, and not the ugly insects themselves, that frightened her. She could sense what those standing around her thought when they saw her self-doubt; silent ridicule, briefly interspersed with a gleam of pity. She shifted inside her dark pauldrons, letting go of the sword – her self-hypnosis had worked. Partly.

While they waited for a more detailed explanation of what to do, Fidelity eyed the small band around her; most of them she did not know. She was in awe as a lustrous dragon appeared over them, but took her eyes off it long enough to see some of the other companions by whose side she would combat the plague: a young woman that seemed equally uncertain as her, a bulky warrior with armor and all, and then a turquoise-haired woman, sitting atop a treestump as though she were completely calm. Bored, even. Her eyes scanned the edge of the group, and fell still upon a man that was a shadow himself; his face was almost completely invisible, and that was not due to shadow or fog or any other natural circumstance; he seemed to conceal himself behind the ragged hat and scarf he wore. A loner if she’d ever seen one. Somehow, that thought discomfited her. Should they not all stand together against an enemy that could cause these vermin to procreate so exceptionally fast, that was very likely beyond humanoid proportions? She took her eyes off him, knowing that as soon as the group fell apart, she would be the first to make the long sprint back to the nearest town.

As thewindy air rose briskly, Kestrel closed her wings around the group more tightly so as not the let the warmth or dryness escape. It was pretty hard to do when some of the members were strewn acrossed the marshy grounds. It seemd as the day wore on more and more travelers came to partake in the extermination of the dangerous pests. Kestrel herself felt a little more comfortable as more and more people swarmed in, though she felt extremely out of place with all the humanoids.

Now as the party started to fill in she looked down and started to observe the figures with her calm beryl eyes. A woman with light blue hair was sitting in the distance while another woman started towards the group. She was interesting enough, Kestrel had to admit and so were the other members. Her eye was caught indefinately to a lonesome stranger who had just stood there away from them and soaking wet. He wore a hat of black leather and a dark red scarf. It covered his face and yet one was only allowed to see his eyes. Extending her middle left wing to the woman which had just arrived, she smiled in the process and nodded her head in a way that acknowledged of her arrival. Trying to huddle them together as much as she could she turned her head back to the girl that sat upon the mottled dense wood. Kestrel couldn't help but think the woman was uncomfortable and so opened her other mid wing to show her that she was more than welcome to seek shelter under her.

Turning back to the man that was as mysterious as the shadows in the forboding swamp, Kestrel looked back at him again and studied him with interest. "... I understand that we are all different and have no previous encounters with another, but I atleast want to get on the right foot with all of you people." She paused and took another glance at the woman on the log and then back at the man... seeming as if she was talking to him. "So I'll start with the introductions then..." She paused briefly and stared at the rest of the group with soft gentle eyes. Adjusting her wings to more fit the party she continued. "My name is Kestrel Fayul and I'm sure you're all here for the exact same reason I am." She stopped and looked around the members again giving them a gaze that seemed to peer into their very souls. Unlike most, It wasn't harsh but a look that gave the feeling of understanding. If they were more than likely to group together then they would have to atleast get along, and Kestrel wanted to make sure she was on everyone's good side.

Looking back at the cloaked man, she was certain he would be the one to give his name last... but all things happened in time and that at the moment was all that Kestrel had.

Sophia didn't like the swamp at all. She hated the darkness and she hated the wet. She would much rather be in a pub or even back home, but she knew that home wasn't an option anymore. She wouldn't think about that anymore though. There was no need to make a bad situation worse.

Sophia watched as more and more people found their way into the moist dark swamp and into the group. The more people that came, the less nervous she became. Her tight grip on her dagger loosened more and more.

She turned to get acquainted with the faces she would be fighting beside. She was a curious girl and liked to know everything about anything. She was not near accomplishing this though, as her life had barely started.

She stared at a few metal clad men, looking right at home in this dark scene. her gaze soon diverted to the blue haired woman on the stump, who looked calm as ever. She went form person to person trying to study each person. To her you learn a great deal about a person in the first five minutes of knowing them.

What really caught her eye was the large dragon. Sophie had not seen many of these and felt a bit relieved that it was on her side. She listened to her talk and thought to herself " Finally someone breaks this wretched silence..."

She opened her mouth next, her voice a bit shaky " It is very nice to meet you Kestrel. It is nice to meet all of you, but would have most likely been more pleasant to meet you all in a place a little drier...I am Sophia Lockhartt."

The Swamp of Shadows. It was the one place in the Misty Forest where the fog thinned, allowing any hapless adventurer who wandered into it to see where he was going. An inexperienced traveller might feel relief at the thinning of the fog, but a more experienced one would immediately feel dread. The Misty Forest, that mind-boggling maze of fog and tree, was hardly anything compared to the darkness that lay at its heart. Dark things lurked in the murky waters of the swamp, weaving in and out of the thin strands of trees that had the tenacity to grow there. Raven had been to the Swamp of Shadows once, when the shapeshifter had gotten lost in the mists, and she didn't care to repeat the experience.

However, the shapeshifter didn't quite feel up to denying the messenger's plea either. The message had sounded desperate, sounded like they had no other options. Since the messenger had managed to reach as far away as Estolad, Raven guessed that their need must be dire indeed.

And so the shapeshifter had ridden across the Salquedor Grasslands, leaving her mount in Lomedor, along with her more recent familiar, the Ehtele'mele bunny known as Aranel. She only took one familiar with her into the mists, the white wolf Aegis who had gone everywhere with her since she had found him.

Now, however, as she stumbled through the trees, swatting away bugs with an irate hand, the shapeshifter found herself regretting her hasty response to the messenger's letter. Aegis snapped at the mosquitoes irritably, his white fur already damp from the mists. She had ventured into the Misty Forest before, but had never noted an insect infestation this great.

A group of people had already assembled ahead of her, noted Raven as she stepped into the Swamp. Her eyes roved over them, assessing the strength of her new allies. One of them was a man who appeared prepared for anything. She wondered if that would stand up to the first attack of their foes. Her gray eyes then landed on a woman about her age who seemed slightly unsure. There was another man, hiding in the shadows. There were two more women--a light haired woman who had just arrived, and a turqoise-haired one who looked calm and composed. Finally, her eyes landed on the last member of the ragtag party--a dragon.

It was an odd assortment of people, and Raven found herself wondering how all of them were going to face the challenge ahead. She arrived just in time to hear the dragon begin to speak, introducing herself as Kestrel Fayul and saying that she wished to get off on the right foot with everyone. Raven listened as the young girl she had noticed before also spoke up, introducing herself as Sophia Lockhartt. Raven couldn't help nodding in silent agreement at Sophia's comment about meeting in a drier place.

"Kestrel and Sophia," she said, more to herself than to everyone else in the group, "I'll keep those names in mind. My name is Raven Silverflame, and this is my familiar, Aegis."

She gestured at the white wolf before turning back to the group.

It had been a bad day. It had started just after dawn in Ondoland's already bustling market square, where Vaul had been rudely interrupted from his breakfast by a town crier; calling for 'able-bodied men' to help rid a forest of some beast. The promise of gold as a reward had been enough to convince the paladin to offer his services. He may be a warrior for good and truth... but money was short these days. So off he had traipsed with a rag-tag band of mercenaries, vagabonds and adventurers.

A mere four hours later, Vaul's situation could not have been different. His party had never reached the rendezvous point. Instead a luckless adventurer who had taken it upon himself to guide the party but apparently too sure of his own directions, had stumbled, quite literally, into the hive structure of what Vaul could only describe as 'hornets from hell'. One of the many species' of gigantic insects that called the swamp their home was now swarming over the poor soul. For a few horrifying moments, Vaul and the rest of the band had stood in shock as the adventurer had been torn apart by dozens of huge mandibles and punctured by venom coated stings from all directions. Within minutes the man had been reduced to a shrivelled husk of his former self. The venom had literally eaten him from the inside out and the insects had eaten him from the outside in. But things had been far from over... the hornets had turned on the rest of Vaul's party.

Now it may be prudent to add something at this point. When one stands still in a bog for more than a moment, one tends to sink slightly. And when one has sunk... running for one's life ceases to be an option for a good few minutes. Unfortunately for Vaul and his travelling companions... this had become the case. The insects had set upon them like ravenous monsters; tearing flesh from bone and injecting corrosive venom into many of the band. It was only Vaul's armour that had saved him from the same fate. After a minute of desperate struggling and flailing, Vaul and a few survivors had managed to free themselves and flee from the horrific swarm.

Another hour passed and eventually, Vaul and the two surviving mercenaries (the only other two who had thought it necessary to bring thicker armour, despite the heat) had picked up the trail to the rendezvous point. It had taken only twenty more minutes after that to reach their original destination.

Vaul and the two others stepped into the semi-clearing where they were greeted by the sight of the most abstract band of... hunters would be the desired term... but whether it applied here was highly debateable. Various humans of all shapes, creeds and genders; a dragon and what appeared to be some sort of angelic being all seemingly ready for their mission. Then again, Vaul must have looked a bit of a sight himself; a six foot seven, one-eyed (the other being covered by a strip of cloth) warrior; clad in midnight black and silver armour; covered with insect gore and carrying a huge blade in one hand and the carcass of one of his insect assailants in the other.

Looking at some of the assembled group, Vaul thought it best to introduce himself before they decided to cut the introduction out of him. "I expect we're in the right place. I'm Vaul and these two burley gents behind me are Egel and Karak." Vaul looked at the thing still dripping in his hand, "If anyone wants to meet one of the locals..." Vaul threw the dead insect in front of the group, "... here's your chance. Any questions?"

It had been a bad day... and it didn't look like it was going to get any better.

Day or night, this forest and everything in it was a shroud for vampires. Many that chose not to take up residence in the underworld or the land of the dead chose to live in the misty forests during their days. It’s fog gave them a perfect cover and filtered out the light to a point that they wouldn’t combust, however they did get a fair tan in some places and every now and then in a freak accident they would go up in flames but that had only happened twice to Sere’s knowledge. But what had brought her here, two things chiefly had done the trick. Money and a meal, she could easily get paid for helping rid the area of infestations and if all went well she could possibly get a meal or two in and blame it on the insects. One thing she didn’t plan on was being late, she rushed into the forest unaware of where exactly the meeting place was. After a few failed attempts of finding the exact spot she just happened upon it ironically, in this shroud however she didn’t appear to be very vampiric. In fact today she took on a different form entirely.

She was a blonde haired, Elvin maiden today, she wore a traveling dress and cloak both of which where a dirt like brown. She was once again without shoes but she didn’t mind it, and hopefully it was not completely obvious to the others around her that the mosquitoes avoided her. Not one landed on her, and compared to the others she seemed to have some sort of insect repellent built into her body. This however was due to the fact that her blood was of no use to them and therefore not a legitimate food supply. She edged forward into the group’s line of sight making herself known by jogging up to them. Once getting into their midst she tried to catch her breath and placed her hands on her knees and bent over apologizing and explaining in between her breaths for air. “So sorry!” she paused for air and then continued, “am I too...” once more and again for air, “late to help.” She chose the words to help instead of to get paid so that she didn’t sound like she was as conceited as she really was.

She finally caught her breath and looked at each of them in turn. In this form she had her hair short, and her eyes were a green blue, she didn’t appear to be out of the normal except for maybe the lack of bugs feasting on her flesh. “It took me a while to find everyone, this fog is just so darn thick. I couldn’t see a thing and then I remembered that I can separate the fog with this spell that I just mastered.” she smiled as she said it tossing her hair around like a the ditzy girl she was supposed to be.

Serius Stood silent looking out towards the dark swamp the lifting fog now taken place by the dark shadows seemed to become ever darker by each passing moment. The mist let off but the damp still lingered around the group. Since he turned round many had came, a young women who seemed eager to get it done only so she could get out, a dark shadow of a man had been the next to enter the fray of the clearing this man seemed experienced just by the look of him, Next to enter was a mystical creature a dragon of Life its white coat seemed pretty soaked by the wet winds though its presence was slightly comforting at least some of them could get away with the help of the dragon, the next to be spotted by Serius was a small light blue haired girl who was sitting on the outside of the group over away from the bulk of the men and women who had assembled here, her presence was one which was hard to predict.

Turning around furthermore his armour and cape slightly rustled with the movement, another had entered another woman this time silver hair was the point of the day, she seemed like she did not like where they now stood. Soon the Dragon above them broke the silence within the group, introducing herself as Kestrel Fayul and wishing for everyone to great each other. Soon the young girl would reply introducing herself as Sophia Lockhartt. Names were always a help to call out to warn them in the future. Another woman then entered the fray of the group, her hair shifted easily in the win even though damp as everything else seemed to be. She answered the dragons call Raven Silverflame. Looking around he saw the group fill up the space they were standing was getting fuller and fuller they would soon have to move on. Then a large man soon entered the fray followed by another two men, the first thing Serius spotted was the carcass in his arm smiling under his cloak at least he knew for certain one could kill. He went by the name of Vaul, another paladin in his own right the vision of holiness was positioned over his body. Finally another woman entered the group she looked like an elf Serius hadn’t seen one of them in a while. She was worried that she had missed her entrance but she was in time.

Stepping forth into the group, Serius spoke “No, You are not too late. And the more help the better.” He took a few steps off to the right towards the tree then reaching high for a straight branch he sliced at it with his sword taking it from the tree. He then turned back to the group to introduce himself. “My name is Serius Orlo.” Placing his blade in its open scabbard he knelt down to pick up the stick which he had just taken from the tree. “I think the darkness is getting to much, so let’s shed some light on some things. He passed his hand over the end of the stick and cast the magic of light upon the stick, it soon took light shining out bright in the darkness. Holding it upwards to allow the most light to shine to the whole group, he then drew the blade with his other hand. “Do we wait for anyone else or is this it?”

A deep voice broke the rigid quietude, sonorously feminine yet not humanly so. Fidelity was confused at first, turning her pale head in all directions but not being able to distinguish the source of the sound. Of course, the white dragon might have obscured the… but wait… Her jaw nearly dropped as it dawned on her. The dragon was talking. As the multi-winged creature introduced itself as Kestrel, Fidelity quickly ferreted out everything she’d ever heard or read about dragons, which, to her dismay, was not awfully much. Mostly stories of how they devastated villages in the countryside with their weapons of wicked flame, only leaving humanity at peace when such unfortunate settlements would offer their finest virgin for the drake to devour. Young princesses that would later be saved by gallant kinghts. Fairytales and prejudice, because of all the warriors and mages gathered here, the female dragon certainly seemed the most amicable, at least when one judged her by solely her words.

She felt the mythic beast’s azure eyes scanning over her, and silence between two introductions fell in such a synchronized fashion that Fidelity could have sworn it’d been choreographed. “I’m Fidelity. Pleased to meet you, and as pleased as you to be here.” Not the most optimistic of words, but she saw no need to lie about how she felt. Her introduction had been very brief, to the point. She hoped no one would ask for her surname. Although her adoptive father was not notorious on Arda-wide scale, many bore bad memories of encounters with the Fallen Angel that had saved her, and she wished not to awaken those in a time where standing together could mean the difference between life and death.

The last fragments of the outlandish group seeped in from all sides, as though born from mist and shadow. None of them looked any more conventional than the folk already gathered; she discerned two women amongst the newcomers - an elf, out of breath from her journey, and a black-haired huntress with a white wolf by her side. She turned around and jumped backwards when she was faced with the carcass of what seemed to be a mutated, mutilated crossbreed of a gnat and an oversized beetle lying in front of her feet, only narrowly repressing a shriek of terror. She looked up at the shadow that loomed over the gruesome, dead insect. A behemothic frame took most of her sight away, and one dangerous eye fearlessly scanned the environment alongside a blind eyepatch. She shivered involuntarily, and silently conceded that she was glad to have such a man on their side. Her vermillion eyes scanned ahead, into the gloomy veil of darkness pervading the swamp. Actually, she was glad with any ally she had.

With the silence finally broken, many others seemed to cast aside the hindrances that had impaired them from speaking earlier. More introductions rolled through the fog, and she made sure she could connect each spoken name to a face. In the past, she’d discovered that a cryout for aid was thoroughly more effective when the name of the plead’s target was included in the screech. She capriciously prayed that the verbal inaugurations would last forever, so that they would never have to depart into the murky darkness of the swamp, and so that the voices of human beings could take her attention off the ravenous echoes and viscous slithers that the shadows exhaled from all sides. The light that one of the well-armored fighters created was only a small solace, and her dark thoughts refrained her from replying to his query. Although many of the folk around her appeared able-bodied and willing to fight this plague, be it out of a yearning for gold or ethical principality, Fidelity knew that the group might very well be separated through the numerous encounters with crazed bugs, and that she might be forced to fight all alone. She couldn’t help it. She was terrified.

The concordant killer has learned about the plague of insects from his previous visit into Lomedor where he had to take care of a job of sorts, mainly eliminate a demon who was hiding among humans, held and protected in the most criminal part of the city. After the spring festival was over, the grand city turned back to its normal self, and its people each to their job. Matters that had always threatened the city returned as well, one of them was this plague, seemingly coming from the swamps where it has been lost control over the number of the insects, strange breeds of insects were seen to emerge, apparently mutated or they just came from another plane, or other places of the world. Something was indeed strange in that swamp, so a desperate word has been sent to all major cities throughout Arda, requesting for brave men and women alike, fighters and mages to fight this plague.

Dispater overheard a couple of people talking about this plague, and decided to go investigate the matter himself, not because of the gold or other wealth he could gain from this adventure, but out of sheer curiosity. He was on a constant thirst for battle and knowledge about creatures of different planes of existence. He didn’t plan on teaming up with anyone, he was not a very social creature, and his appearance didn’t help him with that either.

He was sitting on one of the ancient trees of those growing in the swamps, with his back leaned against the massive trunk. He had his Infernal Sword in one of his hand, as the other one had its long and wicked ebony claws running along the sharp steel, an unsettling sound was produced by the friction of his fiendish claw with the steel. He was amazed at how many people had gathered in order to deal with this threat, however he seemed very apathetic and didn’t look at any of them, he just watched them with the corner of his eyes, everyone seemed human in appearance, and like always he would not fit in. He was standing up to 8 feet tall, and could be easily taken as a fiend from either hell or abyss with scarlet skin and emerald glowing eyes, yet he had a pair of massive feathery wings, dusky in appearance, resembling those of a celestial being. He was a concordant killer, not many heard about them, a creature of contradictions, oppositions and most important Balance, infused with both celestial and fiendish essence. Upon him there was a full arsenal of weapons, two greatswords one enchanted and one a simple piece of still, a dagger made entirely of silver, able to inflict a lot of damage against vampires, werewolves and those of undead kind, and a customized chakram forged by himself, and last but not least a polearm, namely a Dragon Harpoon. He was a hunter and needed all the nifty weapons he could get.

He noticed the even more massive frame of a dragon approaching, a pleasant surprise to his eyes, since some familiar faces were showing up into those swamps, he could never forget the figure of that unique dragon, yet he didn’t say anything and just continued sharpening his claw against the Infernal Sword. The adventurers shared their names with each other, and Dispater could hear them from above, yet he didn’t exchange one word with them.

Winter could feel numerous stares pointing in her direction; however she stayed where she was, preferring not to interact with the other member despite the dragon's silent offer. Cold wasn't a problem to her since her blood was half frozen anyway, meaning that the irritating blood sucking insects avoided her. As far as she could see most people in the group seemed nervous, frightened or other emotions similar to those felt before war, however a few were able to keep their cool. She was surprised to see that the dragon wasn't one of these people.

She looked back out over the swamp, ignoring most of the attempts at socialisation, it wouldn't matter anyway seeing as most of them would probably never see each other after this, and it may be possible that not all would survive. She looked round at Vaul's entrance and stared at the crumpled form of the bug on the ground. She found the thing curiously unintimidating, however since it was dead it had probably lost most of it's verosity since its life ended.

She closed her eyes and leaned against a tree, waiting for the call to battle, she was growing bored by all this waiting and nothing but talk from her other companions. She heard the sound of footsteps on the damp marsh, sounding barefoot, and the panting of a person who was quiet defiantly out of breath. Winter looked up again and spied the elf, just arriving; however she just shrugged the greetings off again. She didn't volunteer to make friends with a dozen people at a time, she had come here for one purpose, to test herself and see if she was strong enough to face him once more. Once again she glance into the mist, keeping a close eye on the beasts about to swarm out and straight onto their swords, arrows, daggers or whatever weapons these people had produced, despite her lack of magic she was still willing to take them all on.

The Swamp of Shadows was a notorious blackspot upon the map of Arda, none would dare travel there except for the most brave or fool hardy of folk, and even then those that heard the tale thought they were mostly likely not of sound mind or body.
The swamp itself was a atrmentous land, chasms of great caliginous waters, bubbled and brewed a foul miasma that radiated through the air of such an abhorrant place of existance.
Titanic corroded trees lay flat upon the mire like fallen men with no burial chamber to call their own, as the trees that still stood, their bare branches clawing through the air, askance and obscene in appearance, stood over the fallen trees, reaching out for whatever more they could take.

It was not hard for Arlen to see why such work had to be done here in the Swamp of Shadows as he approached through the abashing overhang of foliage that gripped at his clothes like a naked begger, though he free'd himself from their rake like grasp and pushed through them, swinging his longsword cutting himself a clear path through the trees though the macabre mists that veiled the floor and defiled the air was something that he would have to endure, though he wished that he would rater not.
Stalking through the overgrowth his eyes darted between the darkness of the trees, great leviathan like insects scuttled and coiled about the braches, their barbed mouths opening wide to a baleful sight.
Ignoring such creatures for now Arlen continued onwards to the randevouz point, where he was too meet his fellow adventurers.

As the Swamps foliage began to grow back somewhat, Arlen's ears detected the sound of voices, floating clear down the wind more distinctly than anything else that he had heard prior in these swamps, he assumed already that quite a host of adventurers had already gathered and that he would be in the last few if not the last person to join such a quest.
He outstretched his arm and pushed aside more overhanging branches and he finally saw the rest of the group, some stood ready and prepared for battle, whilst others seemed at ease, possibly the more experianced of the group, especially the man in the wide brimmed hat, who Arlen could not help but eye suspiciously as soon as he saw him, after all they were here for the same cause and so his suspicious thoughts were laid to rest.
Arlen's eyes drew themseleves to something which he thought he would never see,a towering white dragon, he believed himself to be upon foe already though his sense of curiosity came into place and he wondered why no one else was attacking such a beast.
The dragon may be on our side aswell he thought calmy to himself.

Bowing down low, sweeping his arm across his chest before the group in his humble purple robes, he stood back up and addressed the matter of his identity.
"I am Arlen Elderson, Wizard and i assume we are all here to slay the beasts at the heart of this neglected mire?"

She smiled at Serius when he talked to her. He looked a little rough around the edges to her, but it may have just been the darkness intruding on her vision. Well that’s actually impossible, since vampire’s have great vision day or night, light or shadow. Still she didn’t take a huge notice of that before saying, “Well that makes me feel a lot better.” she kept on smiling even after he made the motion with his hand and arm to light up the stick. The sudden shift between darkness and luminescence made her wince in pain, letting go of her shift for a moment. Her hair darkened slightly but quickly returned to it’s farce blonde color. Her fangs became apparent and then went away, and her lips pursed as she used her hand as a from the light. She let it down after a moment still smiling but otherwise she was ignoring the fool who stood before her, after all it was all an act to her and everything that she was there to the others in the group was a fallacy. A big lie that she created to fool them all into thinking she was everything she was not. She was not living but dead, she was not blonde but brunette, and she most certainly wasn’t an Elf she was a shape-shifting vampire.

She turned her back on him as he began talking to the group as a whole, it further lead to her dislike for him. He was too confident, self electing himself to give orders and boss everyone else around. Long ago she had vowed that everything that she did would be in her own best interest and that she would do what she wanted not what another person willed. A glare graced her face contorting the beautiful Elvin features into something dark and ugly for a minute or so. But after it had past she turned back around about to say something to him about what she felt but instead she stopped halfway and turned back around looking rather foolish. She trudged away from him, already tired of his personality, if she was going to be here she thought that she might as well find someone of wit. Instead she encountered another newbie, He announced himself once more rather foolishly and cockily to the group as Arlen Anderson. She rolled her eyes thinking within her own mind ‘What a fool, if I’m stuck with people who seem to be clones of each others on this trip, I’m going to be nothing more than a bored and hungry vampire.’ Instead of even greeting him she sourly turned once more and happened to notice the dragon for the first time, she had ignored it before because she was too focused n getting there before the sun hit the skies earlier.

They were already into a conversation and putting on a rather lame good girl routine she edged over to them, she sniffed the air lightly and silently and instantly got the race information on each of them. Each race’s blood had a slightly different smell and chemical content. Humans had high concentrations of copper, dragons of iron, and elves of some foreign metal with no name. she smiled before saying, “Hi, finally I found a few other girls, some of these guys are a bit...overbearing.” she said it in such a shy way that it almost sounded innocent, but really in her minds she was taking down everything she could in her mind. Even though she was trying to place herself into the conversation she eyed the group slightly. Her vision focused in on Vaul, and her interest was piqued. He was one of the few guys in the group that were even decent looking and suddenly she knew without a doubt that if he was indeed part of this party then she could have a little fun. Or at least something to keep her from being completely bored.

Sartana stood a good distance from the group, and was now turned so that he could watch the waters and the people of the group at the same time. There were quite a few adventurers now, and he was confident that they'd have little trouble dealing with the insect infestation. His eyes wandered to the form of a white, feathered dragon that stood with its wings outstretched, sheltering a number of the heroes that had come to investigate. The dragon was something to behold, such was its splendor; the demonhunter had never seen one like it before- he wondered if it was the familiar of some adventurer here. He had heard of wealthy individuals who rode dragons as mounts. The hum of insects and bubbling of marsh waters was interrupted for a moment by the voice of the dragon. Sartana lifted an eyebrow at this.

It talks in common? The demonhunter thought to himself, looking at the creature, having little knowledge of dragonkin. She was introducing herself, and breaking the uneasy silence that surrounded the band of heroes. Sartana watched as one by one they spoke up, revealing who they were. It's as if the dragon's voice had been a beacon in this dark swamp; a number of adventurers appeared out of the mist after she spoke, entering the group, a few introducing themselves. One brought with him two warriors, and was quite tall, with a band over one eye. The demonhunter crossed his hands over his chest. Looks could be deceiving; he had killed more than one man who bared the marks- and stature- of a ferocious warrior. Not that this mattered- he wouldn't be fighting any of these people today. He hoped.

There were several individuals of the group that seemed to stick out in the mist. A young girl who had the look of a wizard about her, and another who sat at a distance from the group with strange blue hair and matching eyes. Another woman (the demonhunter was surprised that there were so many) stood with an anxious look on her face, two dim red eyes looking through the group, and white hair cascading down her head. She had the look of a vampire, though Sartana couldn't sense if she was one, like he usually could. Odd. He thought to himself. A woman had appeared with a white wolf at her side moments earlier, introducing herself as she approached. She had black hair, gray eyes, and an aware look about her. Not a moment after her, another woman had appeared. She was elven, and walked with a clumsy edge- something that disturbed Sartana. Elves were known for their fluid strides and lithe forms; this girl had neither. He watched her carefully. At the edge of the group, the demonhunter watched a shadow on the edge of the mist, watching the group. He eyed it, and searched through his mind. A Concordant Killer. He looks familiar- yes, the one that fought with Sanzan and I against the demonhive. He must be here looking for adventure as I am. Sartana thought with a smirk, his eyes moving down to the swampy mass at his feet. Something was squirming beneath the murky waters, disturbing the bubbly sludge at the top. He figured it was time to move closer to the group, now that the creatures of the swamp were taking notice of adventurers.

He approached the main portion of adventurers, wrapped at three sides by the dragon, Kestrel, and her long, feathery wings. They reminded Sartana of an angel's wings. He stopped next to the group, and waited a moment, sliding his hand out from under the safety of his cape and pulling his scarf down, so that his voice could be heard easier. His tanned chin held a small deal of stubble on it, from lack of shaving, and a few scars ran across his cheeks- one long, deep scar being most prominent, and running horizontally across the bridge of his nose.

“My name is Sartana.” He said, pausing for a moment, and looking through them. “I look forward to working with you all.” His voice was somewhat strange, and not of Arda. There was a slight metallic tint to his words, a flare at their raspy edges, that left him with a peculiar, mesmerizing accent. He didn't do this on purpose. The demonhunter had come from a different world that spoke roughly the same language, luckily, only with minor differences. Pronunciation was one of them. His eyes wandered to the mighty dragon before him. She was quite tall, and the only beings matching her height that Sartana had seen were demons in the abyss. He wasn't intimidated by her size; the dragon was here to aid them, and he was glad they had such an ally.

Adjusting her wings to better suit the now growing party, Kestrel had softly nodded her head in coordance of the speaking members. Some gathered in towards her and some stayed where they were. Neither bothered her in anyway seeing as people often did have different traits and feelings about them. An interesting fact was when it came down to pealing away the hard exterior of people and looking at them for what they really were, Kestrel seemed to be a pro. Being a sentient creature capable of three different languages and from a more intelligent descent than most of her kind, she was able to sense the different changes in moods in most humanoids. This turned out to be rather helpful when it came down to the mysterious ones.

The new comers were as interesting as the ones that had been here previous, and it only started getting more strange from there. But even as strange as it was, Kestrel was still the most bizarre of all of them. It wasn't everyday that most people had seen a relatively large dragon capable of speech and hospitable feelings. She had a certain air about her that had usually captured the eyes of many. One of her many assets that brought this assumption about was that she was covered in illustrious white fur and adorned with six large grandious wings whos feathers seemed as if they were dipped in molten silver. She almost looked like a celestial guardian sent from the heavens but the truth was she was just a light dragon whom had lost her way from her clan many years ago and wandered in the parts of this land where her kind didn't roam. Blinking a few times to clear the fog from her eyes once more, Kestrel looked to a certain traveler whom Seemed to be as strange as the blackness in the eastern sky at night. He had only one eye showing and seemed to be carrying the hard skeleton of an insect creature. Moments after he met with the group he tossed it down in almost a non chalant manner. Kestrel recoiled a little and drew a step back from the still twitching enmity. Shaking her head she looked back at the man who declared himself as Vaul. It looked as if this was what they were going to be facing and from the looks of it, Kestrel truthfully didn't want anything to do with it. This was one of those time she was glad people couldn't tell what she was feeling, though if one looked close enough one could see the mark of digust on her visage.

The night continued to creep on slowly and as it did so more and more people filed in. Kestrel's head spinned to see so many different people and races all at the same time. Though seeing as she was the biggest she had the idea that most assumed she would be the one to guide them through the night. What little light was casted throughout the marshy swamp was all contained in her silver strands, so she seemed to glow when no light was present. She was the beacon for these people and she needed to stay strong and hopeful if she wanted to keep this lanturn like aura around her... She mustn't lose hope like last time...

Her eyes drifted down to her left leg where she whinced slightly from reoccuring memories. There upon her ankle was a crescent shapped scar that had now just started healing from a few weeks ago... the wound itself held an interesting story and with it the story of a new made friend. His name was Dispater and as frightening as the tales were about him... he truely was capable of feeling.

As true to her word the last one to speak was the man that intrigued her the most. He had a look that was unlike any other, wild and untamed... a flame that went on it's own, unkindled. Turning her head towards him again she looked at him once more eyes now locking on to his. The blue orbs looked at him with interest and if he himself looked into them, he could see his own reflection in their wake. She nodded again acknowledging his account and secretly she seemed to lower her head a little more, showing him a great deal of respect. She didn't know why but this certain characteristic about him made him seem noteworthy. She took a small step backwards as he walked closer to her and the others, those who remained under her watchful wings. Her neck craned back some to get a more focused look of him. Slowly he began taking the scarf off that covered his face in mystery. She looked at him again and was more taken aghast by the man's face. It was rugged with many battles but at the same time it held a handsome appeal. Looking back at the wings upon her back she adjusted the upper left one and craned it just enough so it could keep the others dry and this new aquaintance covered as well. Unfortunately for Kestrel she was taking all of the rain with no guard. The silver strands that covered her face drooped from the water and were matted from the moisture. Still calm though, she blinked as if she had no feelings of remorse for herself even as the rain continued to patter upon her head.

Finally scoping the land for any more people, her eye was caught by a figure that rested in a near by tree, to her gladening surprise it was a friend that helped her not too long ago... Dispater. With a soft smile she nodded her head upwards towards him to signal her knowins of his presense. Now turning back to the group she cleared her throat and began to speak. "Well it was very nice to meet you all. I can say that with as many of us here there will be a very good chance that we can survive this trek as well as aid the swamp with minimal difficulty... though that statement could aswell be very wrong..." she paused and took a look back at the now still carcas. It was large for it's size and that's what worried her. "Thanks to Vaul, we have a general idea what we are going to be up against... I suggest we stay in a pack to avoid being picked off or lost." her words were strong and they bellowed throughout the clouded swamp with a brave tone and with a leadership like quality. "I know I am the largest one here and I realize that I would be the hardest to probably kill off if such were to happen. Please know that I will aid you in anyway possible. My other suggestion to you all would be to please keep close to me. I will kill anything that treatens you or I" she again surveyed the crowed around her and gave a nod of positive influence. "If you are ready please, follow me." The lantern of the group began to move at a very slow pace and with it she watched her steps carefully, though being careful she made sure to wait for the others.

Raven looked up at the sight of three more men entering the clearing. One of them, the very tall man with a strip of cloth covering one of his eyes and covered in insect fluids, appeared to be their leader of some sorts. In one of his hands was a blade. In the other was the carcass of what looked to be a giant insect.

The shapeshifter listened as the man introduced himself as Vaul before tossing the insect carcass at their feet. She recoiled out of instinct, taking a step back to avoid the still wriggling carcass. Her eyes widened as she glanced at the thing in the middle of the muddy ground. So this was what they were up against then?

She looked up from the insect carcass as what appeared to be an elven woman joined them. Raven was not one to take appearances as they were, however, being a shapeshifter herself. She watched as the young woman jogged up to them, placing her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. Raven had seen elves before, and had always known them to have a certain grace to their movements. Even the clumsiest of elves was still slightly more graceful than most humans. This elf’s movements could hardly be considered fluid and graceful, strange since dark and mysterious as this place was, it was still a forest and elves were famous for being at home in forested areas. She listened as the elf began to speak, saying that she couldn’t see a thing in the fog. This only fared to heighten Raven’s suspicion, since elves were also well known for their superior vision. It was then that Raven realized that the mosquitoes, the pests that had been plaguing the group ever since their arrival, seemed to steer clear of her.

She turned her eyes to the man that spoke to the elven girl. She had noticed him before, but had not really paid him much attention. She watched as he sliced off a branch from one of the trees, introducing himself as Serius Orlo. She wondered briefly why he had done that when there was plenty of deadwood around the tree, but then realized that most of the deadwood was damp and muddy from the fog and wouldn’t function as well as fresh wood. She watched as he cast a spell on the branch, making it light up. The light flared around the group, chasing away the darkness that hung around them.

”Nice work, she commented, turning to him. Some of the larger insects had fled at the sight of light, while the mosquitoes and other small creatures flocked around it, drawn to the sudden brightness. She watched as the larger insects retreated to the shadows for the time being.

Something else apparently didn’t much care for the light, noted Raven as she turned her eyes towards the ‘elven’ girl. The so-called elf raised her hand to shield her eyes from the light, and just for a moment, Raven thought she saw a flash of fangs, and thought that the elven girl’s hair seemed to darken. Her eyes narrowed at this suspicious behavior but her attention was soon drawn away as the light-haired girl began to speak, introducing herself as Fidelity.

Another person made himself known to them—a bald man with green eyes who introduced himself as Arlen Elderson, saying that he was a wizard. She turned to him in answer to his question.

”Your assumption is correct, wizard,” she said.

She turned her eyes back towards the ‘elven’ girl as she made her way towards them. Aegis took a sniff at the air before beginning to growl softly at her side. Raven’s suspicion heightened even more. Elves were known to get along with animals, even ones like Aegis.

”Yes, I suppose they can be,” said Raven, turning to the elf, ”I’m Raven, by the way. And you are?”

Her attention turned to the mysterious man who she had noticed earlier. He was now walking towards them, and as he reached them, he pulled down the scarf that was covering the other half of his face. She listened as he introduced himself as Sartana, taking into account that his voice seemed to have an odd accent to it, one that she hadn’t heard before. She had also noticed Sartana watching the elf. Did he notice it as well?

She turned back to Kestrel as the dragon spoke again. She seemed confident that they would be able to get through this. She nodded as the dragon began moving, falling into step behind her. As she walked slowly, she matched in her mind the names and faces of her new allies. Kestrel was the dragon, and Sophie was the young human girl she had noticed. Then there was Vaul, the man who had thrown the insect carcass towards them, Fidelity, the light-haired woman, and Serius, the man who was carrying the lighted piece of wood. Arlen was the bald wizard, and finally Sartana was the man with the strange accent. A few members of this party, including the strange elven girl, had not yet introduced themselves. She had also noticed another figure watching them, although she had not paid it much attention, except for the fact that she was wary of it. She was not sure if it was friend or foe, but whatever it was, it would come to light in due time and if it didn’t, then it probably wasn’t worth her attention.

The shapeshifter distanced herself from the odd elf, inching closer towards Sartana. She wondered briefly if he had noticed something strange about the elf as well, he seemed the type who noticed such things. When she was close enough, she lowered her voice so that the people around them would have difficulty hearing.

”There’s something odd about that elf,” she said, ”I think you’ve noticed it too. Have you?”

She couldn’t be sure of her own suspicions yet, however if someone else had noticed as well, then perhaps there was something to be suspicious about after all.

Sartana walked to the side of the dragon, at her left. His footsteps left no imprints, and made no sucking noise as the other adventurer's feet did, as they sunk into the wet, mossy ground, nearly getting stuck in the process. His boots were enchanted to keep one's motions fluid as they walked, without getting their feet stuck. He seemed to walk on the air a millimeter above the ground, the back of his black cape dragging slightly behind him. The air was beginning to thin as the night went on and the mist cleared ever so slightly. The demonhunter had since pulled his scarf up around his face to ward off the insects, and pulled his hat low, with only his eyes exposed. He watched the dragon from the corner of his eye. It was big, over twice his height and even taller if her wings weren't tucked beside her. Such size was going to be a disadvantage against the smaller groups of insects- of course, even large insects to the humans would be very small to the dragon. They would need to work together. He turned his head behind him, to look over the rest of the group again. There were quite a few people. So many adventurers; will our numbers be more of a burden than an advantage? Considering our lack of leadership, besides Kestrel, I wonder if we shouldn't split into two groups to better search the swamp, and ease the burden on the dragon. He turned forward again and smirked under his crimson scarf. Yes, splitting up in a marsh full of deadly insects and His Lord knows what. There's an advantage.

He turned his head slightly as a figure stepped into line next to him, walking at his side. It was the adventurer with the wolf, and the sense of awareness in her eyes. If his memory served him correct, she had introduced herself as Raven Silverflame. She spoke up in a barely audible whisper, and Sartana tilted his head a bit to hear her. She mentioned the elf that the demonhunter had been eyeing earlier, and how she was strange. Raven asked if he had noticed it too. He lifted his head back to its normal height, watching the marsh ahead of them. “I have. Don't worry yourself with her, though; if the elf has another form, it will be revealed soon enough.” He said in a low voice, still looking forward. “Shapeshifters are not uncommon in Arda,” he said, turning his eyes on her, a glitter in them. “Right?”

The demonhunter knew there was something strange about the elf. He knew there were oddities about most of the adventurers here. But, on the other hand, he was rather odd himself. There was no need to worry about such things at the moment; there were far, far more important things to be thinking of, such as the task at hand. They were likely to be up against an overwhelming force of vicious insects, creatures that had appeared out of nowhere and attacked the surrounding countryside, stripping common folk to the bone in their hunger. That was something to worry about. A ditzy elf was not.

He picked up his pace a bit, taking longer strides on the marshy ground. Soon the demonhunter was at level with the dragon's head, but far enough away to give it walking room. He didn't talk at first, instead watching the ground, or turning his eyes to a floating orb that swept about over the water's form. After a moment, he turned his head slightly, tipping his hat so that he could look at the dragon's head, which was far above his own. “Those were good things you did back there; first introducing yourself to break the silence in our motley bunch, then taking lead like that.” Sartana said in his deep voice, sounding somewhat friendly, despite the darkness in his voice. “That's what we needed, you know: a leader. Who knows how much longer we would have sat there in the mud if someone hadn't stepped up.” He said, turning to look forward again. The dragon was very interesting; engaging it in conversation would be very good for the demonhunter. Knowledge was invaluable.

Looking on either side of her to make sure everyone was close, Kestrel turned her head forward again now quickening her pace slightly. Her expression was that of an almost a dull quality. She groaned slightly as the rain repeatedly hit her head and ran over her eyes, it was a wonder the poor creature could see with all the wet fur in her line of vision.

Adjusting her head slightly to the left, her ears tweaked themselves so that they could more easily detect the noise that was coming from the girl to the right of her. She listened in silently so as to not let the woman know she was evesdropping... it wasn't like anyone could tell as she always kept her eyes infront of her that whole time. The conversation wasn't anything too intriguing just an assumption of a fellow member. Pondering the thought that this woman could have been 'different' in some way her pensive cognition was interupted by the bizarre accent of the man right beside her. so Sartana, you seem to know much more than said... I have to admit... you are an interesting person...she thought. Her eyes swiveled towards his direction and made contact with his now covered face. He seemed to be shielding off the bugs and oncoming moisture which both equally seemed to vex him. Within a matter of seconds he adjusted his hat and looked up at her. She in turn, lookin down upon him. "Those were good things you did back there; first introducing yourself to break the silence in our motley bunch, then taking lead like that" Kestrel's eyes seemed to soften as a small grin turned the corners of her maw. It seemed now that she didn't mind the rain as much or the small gnats clinging to her sodden fur. Lowering her head a little more so that it was more level with his she listened on. "That's what we needed, you know: a leader. Who knows how much longer we would have sat there in the mud if someone hadn't stepped up." The creature chuckled softly at his remark. It looked as though this traveler wasn't so bad after all...

Shaking her head to rid herself of the insects that now found shelter in the fine hairs that covered her she turned her head towards the marshy path once more. "Well someone had to do it... and by the looks of it... I don' t think anyone else in this ragtag team would have done it." she ended her sentance with a light hearted tone, tongue carfully punctuating each syllable to near perfection. "As for leader ship goes, I'm not much of a leader. To tell you the truth, Sartana, I'm quite afraid..." Her voice trailed off softly as her sentace came to an end. Lowering her ears she looked down at the dampened earth that now had laid claim to her paws. "I only did it so the others might feel more inclined to do this task... But you, you must be fearless." Her eyes trailed back towards him again as she began to study the expression on his worn face. "... I envy your courage, Sartana. Keep it with you, we're going to need it." and with that she slowed to a stop, making sure that everyone was in toe.

Since his initial introduction, Vaul had remained quiet; half listening to the remaining introductions but, more than anything, his eyes (well... eye) focused upon the 'elf'. It may just have been a trick of the light in this haunting swamp, but for a second Vaul could have sworn the 'elf' had... fangs. There was overall something not right about her; the way she moved, acted and spoke. It was all almost correct. As if it was all trying to accentuate flaws in her character. If the girl was not an elf then it posed a number of possibilities... most of which were not favourable. She could merely be a shape shifter which wouldn't be a problem. Vaul had befriended many shape shifters in his life... or it could have just been the same one many times over... it was hard to tell with them.

But the problems could arise if the woman was a fell creature such as a shade, vampire or demon. Most of which were not noted for their social abilities. It was true that some were friendly enough; just doing what they needed to survive... but most of their kinds took pleasure in despotic and deviant acts of cruelty; thriving on the fear and darkness that they had dominion over. But whatever this woman turned out to be... Vaul was going to keep a watch upon her.

The large light dragon began to speak of heading out and then, like the others, Vaul fell in behind her. Deciding he wanted to keep a close eye on the suspicious woman, Vaul moved closer to her as he walked, coming up along side her.

"A rarity for an elf to venture this far into the Swamp of Shadows, is it not? Then again, I suppose, how often do half-blind paladins tread these paths I wonder?" Vaul half-laughed, with genuine humour in his voice. Although he had been near fatally attacked earlier and was potentially walking to his own demise, Vaul was calm and unconcerned. After witnessing the horrors of the Great War, he found very few things rattled him. "As I mentioned before... my name is Vaul. What might I call you?" Vaul asked the supposed elven woman.

Winter noticed that the large dragon, attempting to shelter most of the party, was beginning to advance slightly and talking to the demon hunter. Winter stayed where she was for the moment, since she didn't see any need to move she wasn't going to waste her energy for it, since she'd need every ounce of it in a few moments. She didn't care if they came to the insects or the insects came to them, the whole party could leave her behind for all she cared and she could set off by herself. She noted that a few more people had arrived after the elf, so she wasn't that late, a Mage had entered soon after her and Winter also noticed the presence of a tall, demonic figure nearby too.

She gazed ahead, solemnly, thinking over the different members of the pack, assessing the advantages they'd give, the disadvantages and how ready they were, she guess of course that the dragon would be a huge asset for both assault and defense, and maybe a few of the mages had healing gifts, some of the warriors looked very battle hardened, and ready for these kind of events, others like the shape shifter, she guessed, were skilled with magic. She felt a slight pang of jealousy at this thought, since she was incapable of the art herself. This was going to be a very strange adventure indeed, not just because of the giant insects swarming in the forest.

She stood up and closed her pale finger around the handle of the katana over her left shoulder, she didn't see herself as fitting in with the rest of the group either, but that didn't bother her since she preferred to rely on her own strength and not the power of magic, minions, or companions. She stood where she was and waited for something to actually happen, poised to draw her weapon at the slightest sign of danger or insect.

Sophie looked to the ground to see the carcass of the insect. It didn't bother her as she was a necromancer, A wielder of the dark arts, and bodies where something quite useful to them.

When the ditsy elven girl joined the ground she gave her a smile and a nod. She didn't suspect much, just another person joining the group. She then turned her head when the dragon began to speak again. It was finally time to get going.

She walked fast enough to stay beside the dragon, not wanting to fall to far behind it. She was a wizard not a warrior, and didn't want to be in where the danger was. For the most part, she joined for the money.

Sophia gripped her danger tightly, letting it hand at her side. With her other hand she held the strap to her back, that hung loosely over one shoulder. She took careful steps, not wanting to step into anything that could be in this disgusting swamp.

She knew this would be a new experience for her. She had grown up wealthy and spend much of her time at charm schools, magic schools, and learning household tasks. She never thought of being in a situation like this. She never thought she would be walking through a swamp. She also never thought she would see such a diverse people in an area as small as this. This would definitely be a story to remember, if she lived to tell it.

Replying to Raven who had been the first of the group to acknowledge her, “I go by Aliera...” she however did not say much more. This was due to the woman who she was talking to having had her attention drawn away. It was by a man that she thought she recognized from somewhere but it didn’t plague her thoughts. As they moved away from her she let them talk, her ears had grown used to hearing the slightest of noises in a dark tomb, this swamp filled with buzzing was not very much different for her in that aspect. Displeased that the dog had growled at her she quickly flitted her glance about the group and while they were all busy with each other she looked the dog in the eye and opened her mouth, instead of showing her elf teeth she showed her vampiric fangs. It would have been enough to scare most dogs and mortal men, she tightly shut her mouth not wanting to be discovered just yet. They were goody too shoes, the lot of them, and she didn’t want to have to mess with them.

Sere put on her best smile as she could as he Vaul came up behind her. Even though moments before she had experienced a mixture of emotions, slight resentment that they were already talking about her from what she could here. Even in their best of whispers it was only a formality to her, their whispers were like normal speech to her. Then there was an emotion that was somewhere between wanting to shove her finger down her throat because of all the happiness around her and jealously that she could not partake in it. However she pushed all those things to the side as Vaul came up to her side and when he spoke she was quick to reply. Saying with wit, “You could call me many things my good sir. You could call me anything, and for you, I would respond...but if you could call me anything at all I ask that you call me Aliera.” she stopped for a moment and then re-pronounced it, she had been speaking eloquently but quickly and she wanted to make sure that he understood it. “Al-ee-heir-uh” she sounded it out to him trying to make her words hang in the air.

“So it was you who brought that rather large...bug” she attempted at saying, not knowing what exactly to call it. To her insects where small creatures that annoyed the hell out of mortals and animals. Insects were spreaders of disease and plague...that thing was not an insect. It was far to big and it smelled of no other monstrosity she’d smelled before. However she continued on, trying to keep his, him being Vaul, attention. To her experience men were typically the same, you bore them even a bit and they wander. So you had to do what you had to do to keep their focus. “Well in any case, regardless of what it was, you have given us a glimpse of a future. I ask you what kind of a man could have such power in a sword...I have my assumptions and here is one of them. The kind of man it takes to do such is brave, kind, and perhaps already taken?” she was flirting with him raising her tone at the end of her assumption or answer to indicate that i was more of a question than anything else.

The grave voices of final introductions cut through the mysical haze. Fidelity stared aimlessly at the sludgy soil near her feet, but even there she could not find refuge from the insect-hiding shades that frightened her, for her boots appeared to stand on solid darkness. At the doorstep to the moment of depart, she attempted to feel calm, repeating the same mantra as the great, white dragon made ready to lead the mottled band deeper into the swamp – she had knowingly applied for this job, she would do all in her power to finish it, she would leave this murky morass, and she would get her gold. Still, she did not open her mouth to talk to any group member, fearing that her nauseating anxiety would cause her to regurgitate what little she’d eaten today. Very much aware of the rusty stains on her old armor and the polished but low-quality steel by her side, Fidelity fell in line with the other adventurers as they trudged into the shadows’ moist embrace.

Although tense in every sense of the word, their initial journey was not marred by insect assaults. Despite that unfitting peacefulness, the buzzing in the distance drove the albino to the edge of reason, and the lurid wriggling that echoed ever more closely quickly drove her to quicken her pace, to walk with the white dragon. She viewed Kestrel as the most powerful ally amongst all participants, a feeling that had been amplified when the snowy dragon took the lead of the expedition – an act about which anyone had yet to complain. As she eyed the drake’s pristine wings curiously, a rather large mosquito fizzled right next to her ear. Already edgy due to the nature of their assignment, she briskly caught it with her left hand and clenched her iron-clad fingers together. A horrible squish followed the sound of something breaking beneath the pressure she excercised, as though she’d snapped a small branch. She opened her hand, and a second later wished that she hadn’t

The insect's volume was far beyond even the most oversized mosquito's she’d ever seen – in fact, Fidelity wondered whether this wasn’t a new breed of blood-sucking ravagers altogether. Disgusted, she cast the mushy carcass back into the shadow. The fact that she could hear it land told enough of the winged beast’s unnatural size. She shivered, impulsively walking closer to the dragon and the one whom she was talking to. She vaguely recognized the man that had introduced himself as Sartana mere moments ago; when he’d told them that he looked forward to working with them, Fidelity had instantly thought him a liar, but as they drew closer and closer to the source of the insect infestation, she sincerely hoped that the rough man had spoken the truth. He, too, appeared undisturbed, walking across the osmosing grounds so casually that the young swordswoman could have sworn his feet did not touch the surface.

”… the truth, Sartana, I’m quite afraid…” she picked up the tail of a grim conversation between the shady man and the alabaster dragon. Fidelity suddenly wished that she’d remained in the back row. This Kestrel was admitting to fear? A mythical beast like her? She tried hard not to listen to the remainder of their dialogue, but also could not bear to focus her hearing on the insectoid racket in the distance, which left her torn between two evils. She ended up hearing both Kestrel’s gloomy admonition and the hideous rattle of a small hive of beetles on the other side of a small, caliginous puddle to their left. Not wanting to be described as a contemptible eavesdropper, she moved closer to the free space beside the dragon’s head. Although the dragon walked inbetween them, she could clearly see Sartana’s frame marching at Kestrel’s other side, and close to him the silent woman that had introduced herself as Sophia Lockhartt.

“So… ehmmm,” she started softly, her words aimed for none of the two in particular. An uncomfortable silence cut her monologue in two. Could she address a dragon with ‘miss’, or was there a special etiquette concerning these creatures, a code of conduct that she was ignorant of? She decided it best to just let her doubts meander from her lips, and not to place the burden of speaking truth upon someone in particular while asking whether she was travelling toward her doom. “Why are these bugs so aggressive? Even in swarms, they’re known to flee from humans, or at least ignore them unless they feel threatened.” Her knowledge of the wilderness provided enough examples to support her statement, but she did not bother speaking them. She sighed, weary, fearful. “And now, they’re seeking to devour us, and maybe our cities… It’s completely unnatural… It almost seems… planned, synthesized somehow… Don’t you think?” she acquitted her ominous mutterings. What she’d actually wanted to ask was will we be able to stop this infestation and, more importantly, get out of this wretched swamp alive? But she did not pose her burning query. For one, because she suspected that neither Kestrel nor Sartana could provide her with an answer, or perhaps because even if they could, Fidelity reckoned that any honest response would do little to raise her already rock-bottom morale.

The demonhunter turned and watched the dragon as she spoke. He was not surprised that she was fearful. It was natural, and good. Fear heightened the senses and put one’s body on alert. They would be needing such advantages. He was glad Kestrel had not alerted the rest of the group of her fears, however; they needed a strong leader right now, and some would view fear as a weakness. Sartana welcomed fear in place of brash cockiness any day. He didn’t move at her ‘compliments’, but merely watched her, his multicolored eyes bright in contrast to the dark shade of his hat and clothing. “Courage, and much more, will be needed in the coming hours, Kestrel. It’s doubtless that you’re the right one to lead us, and as I’ve seen, leadership takes importance over skill or ‘courage’. I wouldn’t denounce your fears- they are rational. Hold them tight.” He said, turning away from her to look forward again and think.

Someone approached from the other side of the dragon, and Sartana turned his eyes on the woman. Fidelity- that’s what she introduced herself as. I wonder if there’s more to her name. He thought, turning slightly to view the strange-looking woman. From what he could tell, she was human, yet her white hair and strange eye color rose his suspicions that she was something more than that. From what he could see in her strides and body language, she seemed to be rather anxious, and frightened. She spoke up, addressing both Kestrel and Sartana, obviously wanting to let out some of her doubts. She had a good point about the insects, and the demonhunter was sure that she was correct. He spoke up.

“I agree, it is strange. The insects seem to have a driven intelligence that directs them to attack humans, or other civilized races.” He said from under his scarf, though his voice was loud and deep. “It seems that there may be an outside force acting upon the insects. What it could be is up to speculation, but it's likely malevolent, and intelligent, given the attack patterns.” He said, looking forward, glad to share his thoughts. Anyone's opinions may open up routes of thought that the demonhunter had overlooked. He looked up at the dark sky, hoping this would be over soon.

***

There was nothing soothing about the incessant buzzing that surrounded the group. The croaking of frogs, regularly a calming melody of nature that the demonhunter enjoyed, sounded twisted and ominous in the Swamp of Shadows, as if the amphibians themselves were cursing the adventurers for disturbing the sanctity of their home. Glogging of noxious gases reaching the water’s surface enveloped the group- along with the occasional splash, as an unseen marsh dweller took to the water at the sound of footsteps. It was unpleasant, but the voices of the heroes in the swamp lightened the dark mood in the air, and blended a small deal of hope towards the dismal mission at hand. Sartana’s eyes slid over the water at his right. There was an area of water unlike the rest; not murky or excessively mixed with the dirty swamp plants. But most of all, in its lucent state, he could glimpse what lay beneath the waters.

They were deep- very much so, with smaller patches of rocks and mush sticking up from the blackness below. There was no telling how deep the waters fell. The demonhunter had heard rumors that a great subterranean lake lay under the swamp, nearly a mile deep, unimaginably dark with creatures who fled at the slightest hint of light squirming and tainting its slimy waters. Something twisted under the water, white and translucent. It lay on one of the underwater mounds, a few meters from the water’s surface, tattered remnants of what looked like bandages turning slowly in whatever current passed through the depths. There were remnants of a human body in its center. There was still skin on the corpse, if such a disgustingly gaunt and transparent wrapping could be called skin. It’s eyes- open and dull, despite the blue of the iris- turned, and glanced, slowly moving, and lifting to make eye contact with the demonhunter. He made the mistake of looking at it. A chill ran up his spine and hit full force into the back of his neck. He didn’t miss a step; did not blink. Sartana looked away. His head ached.

There are worse adversaries to fight than insects. I would like to say we’re lucky. He thought to himself, bringing his right hand up to touch his forehead, as a burning sensation erupted in his skull, and passed, fading away into nothing. Years of fighting abhorrent creatures of the abyss had toughened Sartana’s mind, and soul. Mind control techniques- such as the one that had just been attempted upon him by the undead sea creature- did not affect him. He watched from the corner of his eye as the underwater figure disappeared. He wished they had time to stop, so that he could study the apparition, but they needed to act quickly. Already the swamp was rising against the invaders.

Winter hung back as the rest began to set off, talking amonsgt themselves, Winter half sighed and lowered her arm due to the lack of things going on. She stood where she was, watching the others advance slowly and nervousley, she could see the fear in their steps and the determination in others, she could easily guess those who would be ready for any signs of danger first and those that would jump at mere false alarms. It was a very mis-matched party and certainly not one that she would usually team up with.

Since her arrival, when the venture had begun, she had kept to herself and not bothering with trying to socialise, as far as she could see they were here to do a job not make friends. She couldn't care less if they left her behind, or if the insects attacked her when she was by herself, she would prefer to battle on her own streangth alone. However since the party were advancing so slowly, there'd probably be an insect attack before they were even out of sight. She looked up and saw the one called Sartana looking at something in a pool of water, it was just out of her angle of vision and by the time she'd glanced in the direction he'd turned away.

She considered for a bit just staying behind and hunting the insects for herself, not to take the glory or money, but to prove her own abilities to herself and those who might see it, but the letter had said a team of fighters, and not one alone. She sighed completely this time and followed a few feet behind the rest and looking very out of place, since she used no magic, had different preferences to everyone else, was much paler and colder and also had pupils that were always permentantly two thin / short slits surrounded by a sea of ice blue. She definatly wasn't anything like anybody else.

From this distance she could see the dragon, Satana and one other conversing between themselves, while the elf spoke to Vaul. She stayed the same distance behin the rest and because of this heard nothing of the conversations, merely the squelch as she pulled her boots free from a fresh match of marsh, and even if she could she couldn't care any less for them.
Something had better happen soon, she thought looking up between the tree branches otherwise I'm going to grow too bored.

Raven couldn’t help but smile at Sartana’s choice of words. It was true that shapeshifters were not uncommon in Arda, seeing as she happened to be a shapeshifter herself. Still, there was something in the way he said it that made her wonder if she knew about her abilities of if his choice of words had merely been a coincidence.

”Right,” she said in reply.

The shapeshifter watched as Sartana stepped forward, beginning to talk with the dragon. She turned her attention back to her other companions. Aliera seemed to be making conversation with Vaul at the moment, while Kestrel, Sartana, and Fidelity were talking as well. She saw Sartana glance off at something in a murky pool of water somewhere in the swamp but by the time Raven passed it, whatever it had been was no longer there.

Raven glanced around her, taking in her surroundings. She did not like this place, nor did any of her companions apparently. A mosquito buzzed near her ear and Raven swatted it away, but her hand didn’t come into contact with a small insect as she thought it would, but with a creature about the size of a small bird. The shapeshifter turned her head, thinking for a moment that it might actually have been a bird, and her eyes widened slightly as she took in the form of the unnaturally large mosquito in front of her. If the mosquitoes were that big, then she could only imagine the size of the larger insects, such as beetles and cockroaches. She was suddenly glad that Vaul had shown them what they were up against, otherwise they would be fighting blind in this forsaken swamp.

Aegis growled from beside her and Raven turned to him. She had learned a long time ago not to immediately dismiss the wolf’s suspicions, since Aegis had managed to help her avoid a lot of nasty messes in the past. The shapeshifter assumed that the wolf might be growling at one of the insects, but her guess was wrong. The white wolf was growling at Aliera.

Raven placed a hand on her familiar’s head to quiet him. There was something strange about the so-called elf, but at the moment that was the least of her worries. Aegis shook his head, but not for the purpose of disengaging her hand, rather, for the purpose of shaking off several insects that decided to cling to his fur. Raven removed her hand, allowing her familiar more freedom of movement, before continuing to look over her new allies.

The turquoise-haired girl that she had noticed before was walking at the rear of the party. She had not introduced herself, nor did she seem to want to make conversation with any of the others. Raven walked over to her, Aegis at her side.

“Are you all right back here?” she asked the girl. ”You shouldn’t stay too far behind.”

It would be very easy to get lost in a place like this, noted Raven, and it would be very hard to find someone else again or even notice that they were missing. It would be in all their best interests to stay closer to the group.

Sophia listened to the group, staying quiet herself. She did not like to be the center of attention. She liked to sit back and listen. That was the best way to learn. She began to hear speculation about the elf girl that was in the party. Are we going to turn on one another already?

She then looked back to see the turquoise haired girl in the back of the group. She was either very brave or very foolish to linger so far away from the rest of the group. It was not like she had anything to prove, unless it be to herself.

She then studied Sartana's face. He was looking down at the murky water. Sophia turned in reaction to examine what made his gaze linger for so long. As far as Sophia could tell it was nothing.

The sound of buzzing filled her ears as mosquitoes and other bugs constantly flew about. Sophia had never been to the swamps and would most likely never come back. There was nothing to like about this place. The wildlife was dangerous and disgusting. The ground was wet and muddy. The waters where murky and ,as far Sophia knew, uninhabitable.

She walked on with a gut wrenching feeling in her stomach. Waiting was the worst part of any adventure. Foreboding was usually worse then the actual danger itself. Worry could conjure up any illusion and mess with any mind. She longed to see one of the living insects that they chases, hoping it would clear her mind that was cluttered with worry.

All:
You have traveled deep into the Swamp of Shadows, but your true challenges are just about to begin. The irritating insects swarming around you is nothing compared to what is soon to come. Vaul has given the party a good taste of what they should be expecting, but not even he knows what lies beyond as the heroic group continues their journey.

After all the extensive walking, the forerunners of the group spot just up ahead a peculiar sight. Two beaten paths are immediately evident to the eye, and it is clear that the paths have been man made, nothing that would naturally occur in such an inhospitable place as the swamp. One path, which leads off sharply to the right, is coated with drops of blood and shriveled plants. Death itself has seemingly tread this path. The mud here is deeper and a weary traveler is more likely to succumb to the bog. The other trail, which continues more or less straight forward in the direction that the party was currently traveling, is not much different, but the blood has been replaced instead by drops of what appears to be animal feces. Oddly, the insects on this trail seem to be more concentrated than they had been previously, and more so than on the other path.

The courageous group has encountered a fork in the road. Both options present clear danger, and both have a mysterious feeling to them as they should technically not exist. On the other hand, the option is available to tread through neither man made path, and stick to the more rugged natural surroundings. Whatever the case, it is clear that the group has some decisions to make. Foul play is in the air, and no one but this small band of protectors is here to uncover the mysteries of the swamp.


OOC to All:
So far, I've been really pleased with the activity and the level of writing in this topic. Keep up the good work. And remember, your actions directly affect what happens in the swamp. Good luck.

Soon the group came across a fork in the road. Sophie stared down each of them, getting the same feeling from each. One was blood stained. She feared that if they went down that road the blood that fell on the ground would be their own. She then looked down the other. It was littered with animal dropping. The insects where much more concentrated down this road.

She spoke quickly, before any of the battle hardened warriors spoke. She was sure they would pick the blood-stained road, in hopes of a fight. This was a foolish choice to her " It is obvious which road that we should take. We need to keep going down this road..." she pointed to the road littered with feces while she spoke " We where hired to take care of the insect problem and nothing more. As you can see the bugs are swarming greatly along this road. The other is has no signs of bugs, just blood and mud. For these reasons i think it is clear which road we must choose!"

She was comfortable talking in large groups. Because of this she would sometimes become a little pushy and force ideas she felt strongly about onto others. This choice was one that she felt strongly about. She used logic in her thoughts. She knew that any number of great beasts that lurked in the swamp could have caused that blood. They did not even know if that blood was human or just an animal that was hunted.

She then sat their and waited for the others thought on this predicament. She would not stray from the group if they picked the other road. She would be able to do nothing on her own. But at the same time, she would try her best to persuade the stubborn minds.

Vaul stepped carefully through the swamp in the wake of the light dragon, always keeping a close watch on both the surroundings and the woman who walked next to him. It was as she walked that Vaul came to his conclusion about her. She was very beautiful like most elven women but Vaul had long since learnt that appearances could be deceiving. As she stepped through the difficult swamp ground the colour of her hair fluctuated and, up close, it was easy tell that she was no elf. That and the fangs he thought he had seen earlier lead to only one conclusion... but he would not judge her... yet.
“You could call me many things my good sir. You could call me anything, and for you, I would respond...but if you could call me anything at all I ask that you call me Aliera...Al-ee-heir-uh” She re-pronounced her name after a short pause. Was it his imagination but was this dark creature flirting with him? Vaul ignored it for the moment and listened once more as she began to speak again.
“So it was you who brought that rather large...bug? Well in any case, regardless of what it was, you have given us a glimpse of a future. I ask you what kind of a man could have such power in a sword...I have my assumptions and here is one of them. The kind of man it takes to do such is brave, kind, and perhaps already taken?” With this obvious question Vaul laughed quite heartily. Vaul had never believed himself good-looking and often found it hard to talk to women but here he was, in the middle of a deadly swamp, flirting with this false elf.
Still laughing slightly Vaul began to respond. "Brave? Bravery is measured in many ways. I may not shy away from a battle but I am no braver than a simple man working every day in a bustling city to earn enough money to feed his family. Kind? I have spent too long in the dark to ever be considered kind. I have tried to atone for my past sins but I still have a long way to go..." Vaul thought for a moment then decided how to approach the woman's last question, "As to your last question... no I am not taken... not for MANY years now," Vaul inwardly winced slightly as he thought of his long dead wife, then continued in a light tone, "I have a terrible habit of... out living those I get close to. Though you may not think it from my appearance, me being human and all... but I have wandered this land for well over a century... but then again, that is still young for one of your species..." Vaul leaned extremely close to her ear and in a whisper, barely audible for the woman to hear, let alone the others in the group, he spoke again, "... Vampire."
Vaul flashed a still genuine smile towards her, to show that he was not concerned by this fact then stepped ahead to see why the party had come to a halt.
One of the other females in the group was indicating towards a fork in the road and it seemed she wanted to take the route that was not smeared with blood. A wise choice... but Vaul was not known for wise choices.
"I agree with the lady that the majority of our party should continue down the path before us... but I would like two able volunteers to accompany me down the right hand path to scout for other possible routes. Who is willing?"

The words barely phased her as if she hadn't even heard him. She merely slighted a smile as they progressed on, she wished she could of held onto the lives she impersonated after they were sapped of their life giving blood. She managed to live a couple of days as a sort of queen and more than ever she wished she could have been someone like that now. but she continued on smiling even after he sped up to that Sophie. They party seemed to come to a stop as it came to a fork in the road, she almost seemed to launch herself in the direction of the blood creamed path, the result was that while she did end up going forward she positioned herself awfully close to the fork on accident. She realized her mistake to late and tried to make herself appear more natural there to no avail, instead she seemed to look less natural. But even through all this she could not help it, the bloodied path seemed so intoxicating and when the opportunity to explore it much more she quickly raised her hand and her face lit up. She walked forward a bit to bring more attention to herself, whereas only moments before she had tried o make herself as invisible as possible.
“I would be more than happy to accompany you down there, blood bothers me not in the least. I’m quite accustomed to it actually,” it was aimed at Vaul more than anyone else, to confirm what he had said earlier almost. And the marvelous thing about it was that he seemed almost not to care, not to treat her like a monster, and for a few moments her purpose for being there changed. It changed from the horrible story of blood, insects, and pain to that of romance, helping people, and nothing about money. But it was as if a veil had descended over her and that once it was lifted she refocused her mind. ‘I am here for but few things, and they are to get some money, and have a good meal. Nothing more and nothing less than that, not to fall in love with a half blind stocky cursed human.’ making him seem more horrible than he was tends to be interpreted as cruel and it is. But in her case however it was to make him seem less appealing than he was to her. She often used things like this to refocus herself. She made everything seem so much worse than it was just to make her life seem more linear. How Pathetic.

She resumed her previous masquerade and took on her face and mask again. She still looked eager to go, but she looked as if she was purposefully diminished and somehow darker and glummer than before. She still smiled but she looked at Vaul the general figure not at Vaul the man with a sapphire blue eye, wonderful if greasy white hair, she instead saw Vaul the stereotypically the rude, gruff, and gross man. Once again, How Pathetic. But it did help her to rearrange her thoughts.

The fog intesified as Kestrel continued her way, paws creating giant land marks that were soon after filled the seeping moisture. Everyone was behind her and was in check, so far... this was good. If there was one thing that worried her more than anything, it was the fact that if she lost them she knew most likely there would be no return. She whinced out of spite from her own pessimistic thoughts, if there is anything that I don't need right now, that would be worry. Just got to keep optimistic... that's they key... Walking soundlessly except for the constant slosh of the mud between her paws and the others, she heard the light scuffing of boots nearby to the side of her. Continuing to keep her head straight forward she only merely turned an eye towards the sound. Close behind her in toe was the woman called Fidelity. She was a soft sight dispite her motives. Kestrel had almost a jealousy of humans... They looked so beautiful.

As the white haired woman drew closer she seemed as if she was stumbling on a word or perhaps two. Closing her mouth she seemed to have regained her composure. "Why are these bugs so aggressive? Even in swarms, they’re known to flee from humans, or at least ignore them unless they feel threatened.". The woman paused as if to think. Kestrel agreed with her theory and nodded in agreement wondering herself why a usually solitary and docile creature (as docile as they could possibly be made) would now suddenly change what had been concrete in nature's book for so long. Not long after, the woman spoke again. "And now, they’re seeking to devour us, and maybe our cities… It’s completely unnatural… It almost seems… planned, synthesized somehow… Don’t you think?" Grunting lightly, the dragon seemed to agree whole heartedly. Your questions I'm not sure I could answer... but I can agree with you, something does seem terribly wrong. she thought. Her eyes took on the role of worry, or grief... She hoped that things wouldn't get any more worse than they already were.

Walking on she turned a head towards the man who lived himself as a shroud. Unlike his grim appearance his words were that of a much needed light. What were once dark caverns of doubt in her mind, now seemed to brighten ever so slightly. Hanging on to each one of his words, the dragon's face looked shocked as she heard what she would have never expected from him. " I wouldn’t denounce your fears- they are rational. Hold them tight." Kestrel nodded in solemn agreement and glanced back at the demon hunter once more, her respect for him was much more than any she had met thus far. Not only was he wise but he was skilled. Two things that were sure to help the group in their quest. Traveling forward she had no mind of anything until a hard vibe hit her. As usual she was the first to pick up the frantic message; one of fear. Glancing to her right she looked at Sartana examining him closely with a gaze a mother would give to her sick child; worry. After a few moments though, he seemed to make whatever bothered him go away. She guessed he was used to it from the many battles he had faced. Walking a few more steps forward Kestrel squinted trying to clear a visible path from within the fog. Just up ahead some ways was the most interesting sight the dragon had yet to come across. What lay ahead of them were two forked paths, one that was off their current course and one that set almost directly infront of them. The one on the Right strewn in blood, the left with the excrements of the natives. Either way none of them looked very welcoming. Closing her eyes she sighed deeply... This was just getting harder the further they went on... Her suspicions, unfortunately, were coming true.

She stood quiet as the others talked amongst themselves. She listened on until to her horror the words 'split up' seemed to find their way into the conversation. She had a relatively content look that now just changed in the blink of an eye. Her fear only worsened... She didn't mind staying in a close knit pact and if they split up the chance of fatality could rise. She pawed at the earth beneath her in a angered type fashion, it was hard to face her fears though the way her face was set it didn't seem like she was even mildly vexed. Vaul the one cloaked in the midnight robes was the first to claim the path he wanted... and he wanted to take the blood covered path... Feeling unsure of herself, Kestrel meandered to the path that seemed to be already set infront of her. "Then I wish the best of luck to you Vaul and the rest of you whom decide to follow him." Her words ended with soft voice and with hap-hearted feeling. She felt almost like a disgrace to her kind but she knew she probably wouldn't stand a chance agianst the creatures that were now aliens to their own lands. "I on the other hand will take this path.. any are welcome to come with me. Kestrel glaced quickly at Sartana almost as if to beg for his assistance, and then looked away... partly from her own shame and partly from other reasons. Scraping at the ground she looked down at her own feet and had to fight back the urge to vomit. Between her toes was a perfect specimen of a bug's handiwork... still fresh... A splendid parting gift

Sophia contemplated a bit more. She did not know if Vaul thought this all the way through. She was not afraid to be the voice of reason either. She took a deep breath and began to speak once more

" Do you think it wise that we split into two groups? If we do this, the chances of death is greatly increased. We would be taking our small motley crew and dividing it into even smaller groups."

She tried to get Vaul and the elf girl to come with the rest of the group. She feared they where making a foolish choice that could effect the whole group " We could investigate this rode first, seeing where it leads. If we do not find our gold at the end of the rainbow, we will just walk back and take the bloodied path.

She tried to sound as confident as she could. At the very least she would get all of the ideas out there. Sophia liked to have a well thought out plan. She was not the most adventurous person and did not like to take risks. Instead she liked to take well calculated actions and think before she acts " Those who run are sure to fall"

She took another step closer to the insect infested road. The buzzing could be heard from a fair distance away. There would be no way to block out the vexing noise that these little demons created.

She then turned back around to face the group, seeing if they were to go down the path together, or split up into two smaller groups. She was happy she put her two cents in, but at the same time wanted to sit down and debate the next action. She knew that this would be impossible to do, as time was of importance.

Winter looked up and noticed the shapeshifter nearby her, as well as her Wolf. Neither bothered her, but she felt the answer was obvious, to herself at least.
"I don't like to mingle," she replied simply, she looked up at Raven but her expression didn't change "besides, I'd be more conserned for them..." she indicated the more nervous members of the group.

She didn't speak after that, and carried on walking with the same blank expression on her face that never seemed to betray any emotion at all. It wasn't that she didn't trust the shapeshifter, or the rest of the party, it was that she didn't feel it neccissary to try and socialize when there was a job that she had to do. After a while she noticed that the party stopped, she carried on a few paces until she was able to see the fork that they had come to.

She looked down the path that went ahead of them, since it was laiden with less pleasant things than she'd prefer to cope with she overlooked it and turned her attention to the second path, although this one gave no more comfort since it was trewn with blood.
Let's see, we could either choose a path of pain, or a path of death. She considered the choices before her and came to her conclusion.
However a few members of the party were clearly against splitting up, she noticed it was those who were more nervous about the mission, and suggested taking the less bloody path.

She ignored their siggestions and walked forwards, ending up close to Vaul, she looked over at him with a look in her eyes that clearly stated I'm coming too. She looked back down the path, it was unpleasant, no doubt about that, but it was always the most unpleasant trials that gave the better rewards. She waited for the other members to make their decision about which path to go down, she guessed that most would choose the other path than the blooded path.

The demonhunter's footfalls were silent and well-placed as he walked next to the feathery dragon, with Fidelity at her other side. He was glad that there were some thinkers in the group of adventurers. On more than one occasion he had worked with brash, overconfident fighters who would rush blindly into the face of danger. Many times nearly meeting their doom if it had not been for the demonhunter's quick thinking. The group he was working in now was diverse, each person with their unique strengths. This was quite an advantage. His eyes drifted from the muddy, pool-filled trail at his feet, up to the edge of the clearing, where the road clearly split. Coming to the fork, he studied the trails; one was littered with blood, while the other had feces. Some choice we've stumbled across. Sartana thought to himself, looking at the ground. The watery marsh in front of him, to the middle of the trails looked most pleasing; his boots allowed him to walk on water, anyways. But, still, there was strength in numbers, and he didn't want to leave the group to fend for themselves.

One of the women, Sophie as he recalled her name to be, immediately spoke up in a confident tone, announcing that the obvious choice would be to go down the path littered with poop. The demonhunter lifted an eyebrow. Such a distasteful choice; blood or poo. I would certainly choose neither. He thought, though he didn't respond to the girl's logic. The man with a cloth over his eye, who was about Sartana's height with a more bulky look, stepped forward, and announced he'd be going on the blood path with two others. Sartana watched him. Good. While splitting up would reduce our chances of surviving a mass attack of insects, we can't ignore the fact that that blood could be a human's. What if there's someone alive, taken by the insects that way? Surely we'd put our necks out further if it meant the possibility of saving an innocent life. That, and the demonhunter was glad 'Vaul' had volunteered to go in that direction, and lead the small band. From what he could tell, Vaul and himself were the strongest fighters here. They would need to e