Knights in the nightmare

[Zorolo]

Monroe watched as Tallia emerged and drew an arrow back. SMiling as he looked at the Tiamat, he prepared to fire off the arrow. Suddenly, a mage appeared as he let the arrow soar, and the most quaint thing happened... the wind shifted and knocked the arrow away. Monroe cursed quietly under his breath as he vanished from where he had been standing a moment before.

Zorlo headed outside as he looked at the black-painted arrow and looked at the tree. "I've seen that arrow before..." Zorlo stated as he looked into the church. "I was hoping to find a cleric or priest or something, but I don't see any here... My sword," he said, looking at the growing crack down the center of his blade, "isn't doing so well. I need to find somewhere and... I think i wanted to help them for some reason... but I'm not exactly sure why. I can't recall. So... you can go wherever you want, I'm heading towards the main church. Somehow, I'm certain those people are safe... odd sounding though that may be," he stated, sheathing his sword and taking a deep breath.

[Kaori]

"why did you kiss me?!" asked Gudrun, "because I wanted to find out if I was dead or not" replied Aida, "let me repeat my question, why did you kiss ME?!"she asked again, Aida simply ignored the question and went to the other survivors, after hearing joshua simply replied "thats what I'd like to know, if I wanted to be revived I would've wanted it to be someplace fancier, its probably that wisp over there" she answered as the wisp simply floated in the corner.

[Zorolo]

"So it seems," Zorlo said as he sheathed his sword and started walking. "So the castle is where we're supposed to be headed, that's where I'm going," the green haired man said with a smile. "I've got some fighting to do," the duelist said as he pulled his gloves tighter and moved his fingers calmly. He felt different... somehow... stronger almost? "Anyway, as much as I enjoy this discussion of girls kissing girls, I think we shouldn't be too concerned with WHY some things happen, but more as to WHY we aren't doing some things... I'm off towards the castle, bye!" Zorlo said as he started off.

Monroe rested his hand on his chin as he watched and listened to the group. "I'm up to my tits in morons. Well, at least I can watch over these tools and see what actions they take. From there, I'll figure out if they're my foes or not... aside from that one dragon-girl. She's naturally an enemy just by virtue of her being. Not sure why anymore, since there are demons now, but I can't quite forgive those animals either. I'll just keep fighting until I find out what to do," the man said as he stood up and was on the move again. Perhaps the castle would give other answers.

[GamerKale]

Vance shut the doors behind them, nicking the arrow absentmindedly. He hopped after the girls. "That's what I said. Do I need to say it again, in Tiamatian? Oh, one more thing." Vance shot around in front of Gudrun and stole a kiss, two in fact. He hummed a tune and spun around, laughing happily. "You taste good, kind of like cheese and crackers. Now I'm hungry. Can I have some more?"

[Kaori]

"why me...." muttered Gudrun as she went to sulk behind the altar, "should we go to the castle now? I think the wisp really wants to go" said Aida as the wisp zoomed after Zorlo.

[GamerKale]

"I'm ready to go whenevs." Vance lied down on his stomach upon the altar bracing his chin with his hands and grinning down at Gudrun. "Well, I kissed you because you were sulking about getting kissed by a girl. Was getting kissed by a guy not more preferable?" He started blancing the arrow on his nose. "Or is it that you'd rather be the kisser not the kissee? If that's so, then you can kiss me. I mean, I know I'm dead and all, but I'm not rotting or anything like that."

[Zorolo]

Zorlo paused and looked at the Wisp. "Oh, hello there. Perhaps I should be following you... after all, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going. After all, this old mind of mine isn't quite right... nor has it been since I woke up, I think. Still, it's fine, all in all. After all, we're all going the same place, I'd presume," Zorlo said as he looked back. "Hey, miss Armor Knight, catch-up! You're duty is to king and country, right? If you don't hurry, you're gonna get left behind, and if anything that's unfolded in the last few minutes tells me anything, it's that something bad will happen if you stay much longer!" the green haired man yelled to her as he adjusted his gloves again.

The hunter, meanwhile, kept his gaze fixed upon these morons. "Foolish, foolish, foolish fools. The wizard's magic stopped my arrow, but that doesn't matter, not one bit. I'll keep my goal in mind, and when I achieve it, I'll enjoy the benefits of victory. After all, I've got demons and dragon-people to kill. I doubt this situation could get much better," Monroe stated with a smile. His blood was boiling now A fight, a fight. That was what would drive him for now. He'd keep fighting until he couldn't fight anymore. After all, it was how he lived... how he died... and how this new life would be.

[nekoryuuha]

Loretta said nothing as she examined the Arrow that had been aimed for Tallia. Tallia, on the other hand, smiled as she looked toward the forest and kept walking. "Maybe she doesn't like Humans and want a kiss from a Tiamat instead. If so, I'll kiss you. I've always wondered if Human girl's lips are as soft as they say!" Tallia said with a good-natured laugh as she followed the Wisp and Zorlo. So, someone wants me dead... again. This should prove interesting, she thought as she walked on.

Loretta pat Gudrun on the shoulder. "Cheer you, young one. Else you have everyone kissing to cheer you up," she said with a warm smile before turning to place down the arrow and walk away. "Anyway, we should probably go, before Zorlo, Tallia, and the Wisp get too far away.

[Kaori]

"come on, any place beats this rundown church any day" said Aida as she motioned for Gudrun to follow, the young lance knight got up and followed, but then pushed her visor down to cover her face, "that should prevent them from trying to kiss me" she thought to herself.

"It's moving" thought the armoured maiden, she then turned around and began to walk the other way......

"have the weapons I ordered arrived Commander Stahl?" asked Prince Nordich as he looked at the ships docked at Fort Drakon's port, "yes my lord, 40 Arquebus' and 20 cannons, my lord if I may ask, why do you acquire such exotic and complicated weaponry when our own forces should be able to hold their own?" asked the commander, "we are at a new era Stahl, I dont want most of my men using things such as swords and shields" scoffed the prince as he left the commander.

[GamerKale]

"Wait up, my legs are shorter." Of course, that wasn't really what was slowing him down, he was used to keeping up with taller people, the real thing slowing Vance down was that he danced a cheerful jig as he chased after everyone and when he had, he started chattering hardly even stopping for a breath. "Hey, Tal, what do you think is making her so depressed? Apparently it wasn't that she got kissed by a girl, cuz I kissed her too and that only seemed to make it worse, and when that didn't work I offered to let her be the kisser rather than the kissee and she didn't take me up on that, so whatever it is it has nothing to do with getting kissed. It could be the being dead thing, but we're basically alive so I can't figure how that would upset her. Maybe she's worried about how her friends are taking her death or it could be that she's hungry. Do you think we still need to eat? I hope we can still eat, cuz there's a lot of delicious things in this world. Like Krusha's mulligan stew. What kind of food will you miss most if we can't eat anymore? I think I'll miss lasagna. Or maybe crawfish. I actually haven't had any crawfish in a while. Last time was when I found my way to this place called Eaglepoint. My Grands took me there when I was little when we were trying to get to your capital. I did eventually get there, but that was when I was trying to get back to Eaglepoint. Did you know that the Stormriders have travelled every part of the world and so we can't actually get lost? We only forget how to get where we thought we wanted to go and instead we end up where we're supposed to be. Where do you think that arrow we saw earlier came from? It sure did fly fast. I've been told that I can fly across the dance floor before. Do you know how to dance Tal? Y'all have dances all of the time, right? But they're called Balls, aren't they? Why is that? Do y'all play marbles during them or something? Or do you throw a bunch of balls onto the dance floor to make things more exciting?" If Vance was actually allowed to keep talking this long he seems to have found a question he's actually interested in having answered, or maybe the lack of oxygen finally caught up with him. Either way, he stopped talking.

[Kaori]

"finally" Aida thought to herself, as vance finally shut up she could now think properly, "well the lance knight managed to eat cheese and had breath that smelled like cheese" well that answers one question but then raised another, "can other people notice us?" she thought.

[nekoryuuha]

"Well! That was quite the mouth-full. You've got quite the set of lungs on ya," Tallia replied to Vance after he went quiet. "But I'm not even sure where to begin with all that. Let's see... No, don't really dance. No, you don't play Marbles or throw balls across the floor during a Ball. And.... " she paused to think for a moment. "I kinda miss eating Cow," she finished.

"Don't you mean 'Beef', Tallia?" Loretta asked as she continued to scan the woods to the side that Monroe fired from earlier.

Tallia shook her head. "No, I mean Cow. Sitting down to eat half a cow is something I haven't done in a while."

[Kaori]

"A cow? raw or cooked?" asked Aida, since she fought in the war against the tiamat she knew little of them other than ways to dispose of them.

[Zorolo]

"Hmm?" Zorlo seemed to think for a moment. A handful of images flashes into his head, but they didn't make any kind of coherent sense. STill, it felt like this question, for whatever reason, was important. "I think she means a whole, raw cow. I remember... a friend... or something..." the man said as he scratched the back of his head. Did he have a friend who was a Tiamat? Was that how he knew? Everything still seemed blurry, but Zorlo preferred to not think about it. "Anyway, don't pester the lady... just because she's not the same as us in life, she's no different in death. We are all in the same boat, so we need to keep it afloat for us."

[GamerKale]

And he starts talking again. How long d'ya think till someone suggests a muzzle? "Really? I had one just last week, I think it was last week. It's hard to say for sure until we figure out exactly how long we've been dead. But yes, last week I had a side of cow. Had to knife fight Darren for the heart and then Krusha went and gobbled it up while we were distracted. Hahahaha! I'll have to attend your next Ball and start making them actually deserve the name Ball. Of course, that means I would have to get some balls to throw. So which kind should I get? Glass ones or rubber ones. I think rubber, because they would bounce more and bouncing balls are much more fun to play with than hard glass ones. Of course, the glass ones would probably be easier to get. Oh, no, I know what we need to do. We get a giant ball as big as me covered in polished mirrors, hang it like a chandelier, and start spinning it around! It'll be so cool! Oh wow, are those licky nuts?" He knocked a bunch of nuts down from a tree and popped one into his mouth. "Anybody else want one? They're tasty." He held the nuts out to the others, and any that remained he stuffed into a pocket for later. The nuts are in fact bitter, but Vance didn't seem to care. "But yeah, I can hold my bweath for a really long time. Only reason I'm a good swimmer. Might not win many races, but I'm the reigning champ of the Ruddybend Marathun. Do you keep your titles when you die? I should think so, records are considered to still be records even when the previous record holder is dead, but people are fickle and I might need to regain my title since I died. Then again, I might have missed the most recent Marathon, I don't quite remember when it was supposed to happen a-gain." Vance's nose twitched as his voice trailed off and he looked up at the forest canopy unhappily. "I hope we get some harsh weather soon. It's so quiet, it's unsettling." He pulled his cloak tighter around himself and walked a little closer to Tallia, cheering back up just as quickly as he had gotten sad. "So anyways, what was I saying? Was it the thing about the ball or the cow or that centipede on your shoulder?"

[Zorolo]

"By the divine light of heaven... this man has a more superfluous manner of speaking than I do. I am far too amazed that he hasn't yet fainted and turned blue, but perhaps a 'Rider of the Storms' possesses unique qualities besides simple control of the weather. In truth, I actually kind of like the fact he keeps us from awkward silence," the duelist said as he drew his sword and pointed it. "ONWARD!" Zorlo yelled as he sheathed the sword and continued their march.

Elsewhere, although a number of the party could hear it, the sound of something banging against a hard substance, either metal or wood, but more likely some kind of lumber given the location of the group. Monroe had been trying to ignore Vance, but his voice had been wearing at even Monroe's great hunter patience. The only relief from what most would compare to nails on a chalk board was the huge gash in the tree where the archer had been banging his head against it. "Okay... I'm better," he said as blood dripped down his face. "Back to the hunt..." he said as he moved farther away from the group to prevent people attempting to follow him.

[Kaori]

while the knights trudged on they were somewhat unaware as to what the wisp wanted in the castle, "why there?" thought Aida, "was it someone from the castle? If so who? And why?" she then dismissed the thoughts as it was confusing her further "so many questions...." she thought, and her training as a hermit usually regarded knowledge and information with utmost importance, now all they knew was that they died and have a strange urge to follow this thing, this wisp.

The armoured maiden stood in before grotesque creatures, the noises the creatures were making were obviously hostile, "fear my blade!" said the maiden as she drew her sword........ Moments later the monsters lying dead, "I must keep moving" said the armoured maiden.

"Hold the line! Hold the line dammit!" yelled the captain as his men kept pushing at the opposing knights advance, "its no good! We cant hold them!" yelled one of the knights, this was a typical scene across the kingdom, loyalists to the king and to the prince fought each other simply over the fact regarding the refusal of the kings men to follow the prince....

"Piche" said a voice to a young woman who was looking out of her window "Jamie?" asked the girl, she looked down and saw him, "thank god you're safe" said Jamie as he climbed up, the two then embraced each other and Piche asked, "how long must it be like this Jamie? Everyday I worry about you, everyday I cant stop thinking about you, please you dont have to keep fighting", "For as long as I need to, besides I'm doing this for you, I'm fighting to protect you" he replied, "Lady Piche! Who are you talking to?" inquired a voice, "I better leave now, goodbye my love" said Jamie as he kissed Piche farewell, he then leapt from the window and on to his horse and rode off.

[GamerKale]

Vance held his staff up and mimicked Zorlo. "ONWARD!" The key differences between them was Vance managed to get a few decibles higher, he didn't put his staff down, and the little man charged ahead of the group. The winds buoyed him up ever so slightly as he hopped over large roots laughing. He stopped up ahead, but not for breath, to shout back at the group. "Come on you slow pokes! I've known corpses that have moved faster than you lot." He burst into laughter and started climbing the nearest tree while he sang, "Yohohoho yohohoho yohohoho yohohoho yohohoho yohohoho yohohoho yohohoho yohohoho. Going to deliver Binks' sake! Following the sea breeze, riding on the waves! Far across the salty deeps the merry evening sun! Painting circles in the sky, birds singing along!..." When the others get close he stopped singing, "Feel free to join in." And then Vance let out another boisterous yohohoho and returned to merrily singing as he jumped from tree limb to tree limb, keeping pace with the group.

[Zorolo]

"Quite an entertaining one, that," Zorlo said with a hearty laugh as he continued along. "STill, I'm a bit sad, we've yet to have a worthy foe show itself... or a foe at all. I wonder what is transpiring where?" the duelist asked as he moved towards the somewhat bothersome little man. Still, even though the rest of the group seemed to maintain the same neutral stance against him, there was another, almost bestial, roar echoing from the forest. "What the devil is that noise?" Zorlo asked.

The almost earth shaking roar of annoyance and frustrating was from Monroe. The anger at how annoying Vance was had finally caused him to snap for the moment, creating a howl that would have scared off even the most proud of non-human animals. For those in the forest, it was no doubt something more akin to the fear of trying to look down a doubtlessly massive foe one cannot see. The cry of mental anguished ceased as Monroe lowered his bow. He knew that killing Vance with an arrow wouldn't work... dammit.

[GamerKale]

Vance hung upside down from a tree branch in front of Zorlo, although he didn't actually come face to face with him. "Oh I wouldn't worry about that. It's just the guy who dropped the arrow earlier. Maybe he's frustrated that he can't find his arrow. Maybe we should bring it back to hiIIIIMMM!" The branch supporting Vance snapped and he fell to the earth headfirst. He said rubbing his head, "Ouchie. I just had a thought. What if we all started wearing helmets, kind of like hers. Y'know all made of metal and sturdy and whatnot. But then again, I think that would clash with the rest of my outfit." He was apparently no worse, nor better, for the fall as he hurried to keep up with the others. "Tangent. I think the forest is starting to thin, does that mean we're getting close? I hope so. Not that my feet are getting tired, but I want to see some big volumous gorgeous beautiful dark ebony cloud banks."