Divine Inheritance: Chaos

It was well known that neither Tess nor Merrick held any love for the empire and those who supported it, but the two of them could respect anyone who admitted to a defeat, even if she was the daughter of the emperor.

The siblings fell quite as Raven approached them. "I'm not sure what that was about. And for now, I won't ask questions. Merrick, don't think it went unnoticed that you tried to take care of Jaxx when the scythe hit her. Or that I am not aware that you did not have to do that, being that you are only with us because you were hired to be." she paused, hoping her words hadn't come across the wrong way. "If you'll allow me to, I can heal your wounds."

“I’m going to scout the area” Tess said more to herself than anyone else. “Roxanne’s aura is gone, but some of her undead could still be wandering about”. Without another word she disappeared into the woods.

Raven acknowledged Tess as she said she was going to scout the area with a simple nod of her head before the sister disappeared into the woods. Tess reminded Raven of herself in some ways, especially when she did things like that. But she couldn't really put a finger on why that might be. She turned her attention back on Merrick, who she noticed was staring at her. She expected him to say something, so there was a slightly awkward pause when he didn't. Unsure if he was simply still in shock due to his injuries or something, she decided to say something to end the silence. "Yeah... I'm going to go ahead and take your lack of an answer as a 'yes."

She stepped forward raising her hand to touch his shoulder. She paused for a second and made eye contact, to make sure he was aware she wasn't attacking him or anything, before she sort of pushed him backwards to sit down on the stump of the tree that had fallen over during the fight.

Merrick didn’t move of flinch when Raven raised her hand, his black eyes however never left hers. He naturally resisted been pushed back until he realised what she was trying to do. Merrick still didn’t say anything.

"Be warned, contrary to popular belief, healing in this manner is not painless. You will feel things moving back together and it might be uncomfortable. So don't hit me or anything..." without much other warning, her hand glowed and Merrick's burns started to disappear and his wounds began to close back up. Fortunately, he didn't have any severely broken bones so she knew it wouldn't be as bad of an experience. "I know I said I wouldn't ask any questions. And I won't ask anything major except this. What are the odds we see that woman again while you are with us?"

Merrick still remained silent. The feeling of his burns healing and his skin and muscle stitching back together was odd. He looked at his knuckles fascinated by what he saw. Raven didn’t really expect an answer from Merrick; she’d asked the question mostly to distract him from any discomfort. Raven was surprised when Merrick suddenly grabbed her arm and began examining it. She didn’t pull her arm away, but she assumed he was trying to determine how her power was working. That was until he pushed the remains of her burnt sleeve further up her arm. “Huh” he commented. Seeing that Merrick’s wounds had healed Raven took her arm away and stepped back. "Right okay then we'll just have to see when she does. Good talk. Shall we go back?"

“You really did a number on her” Raven had started walking away when Merrick spoke up. It was the first time she’d heard him talking normally to anyone apart from Tess. “If you’ve done what you said we shouldn’t see her for awhile. We should move camp soon though; she may have sent messages to the guild.” Raven was quite as she looked at Merrick with a question on her face. “Before we go back, there is something we should discuss”

(OOC: Hope worked on this post with me)

 

Kable raised his eyebrow as Paige let the stones fall from her arms. It always made Kable uneasy to run into a fellow mercenary, and especially one like Paige. He knew from experience that her demeanor only hid a fierce and ferocious opponent that very few could go up against. And whenever she decided to show up, trouble was sure to follow.

"In answer to your question," Kable remarked, stepping back from the dangling woman. "Not very many womens voices can sound so grating and familiar. Now do you wanna tell us why you're here?"

 

Paige giggled, allowing herself to fall from the tree. She landed on her hands and then allowed her feet to fall backward until they touched the ground. Her body rose to a standing position from there with minimal effort and she spoke as she straightened out. "Oh Kable, you sure know how to flatter a girl don't you." she propped her hand on one hip and rolled her eyes. "To answer your question, mere curiosity brings me here. You know I couldn't help but say hi when I heard you were in town."
Her tone was nothing but genuine, but many who knew Paige well enough to know there was more to her visit than social desires. More realistically, it was curiosity that drove her to seek out Kable. She knew him to be more of a loner. So when she heard he was not only with a group, but specifically who were among his group, she couldn't help but wonder what brought such an unusual group together. Could it be the long missing Lilith Newgate had really returned? In spite of this, she kept those thoughts to herself. For any other reason than just to mess with Kable; which she truly enjoyed doing. "But while we're in the spirit of asking questions, since when were you this social? I always pegged you for more of the silent lonely type to be honest."

 

(Posting for Caboose and I.)

Kable went to answer Paige when Oryx let out a giant bellow in excitement. He shoved past Kable and slapped Paige on the shoulder. "Great Odins beard, is that you really you Paige? It certainly has been a long time!" Oryx sat himself on a stump and started sharpening his swors. "I must say, my body is still as sore as a man hungover from our last scuffle." Oryx looked to Kable as he pointed at Paige. "This little lassy right here is as feisty as a tiger. And as fast as one too."

"I know that all too well." Kable replied. "As for your question, you would be right about me being a loner. Let's just say the pay is better than expected." Kable eyed Paige suspiciously. As much as she seemed genuine, Kable suspected that Paige wasn't there for simple pleasantries. She always had an agenda for seeking Kable out. Whether it was to irritate him to no end or compete with him on a bounty.

"Calm down, Kable." Oryx said, throwing a small pebble in his direction. "Paige here is a lovely lady, and a fierce competitor in the ever-lasting battle to be my future wife! If I had not already sparred with the lovely giantess, I would welcome a challenge with Paige!"

 

Merrick listened to Ravens words carefully. “Make an enemy of the emperor!?” he shouted when she’d finished talking. “That bastard has been an enemy of the guild for years now! He’d be de…” Merrick caught himself before finishing the sentence. He was pacing faster now and he took a few moments to calm himself. This was the very reason he didn’t talk to people. Once he’d composed himself he turned back to Raven. He was impressed to see his outburst hadn’t affected her in the slightest.

Merrick took another deep breath and exhaled. “We may accept their jobs, but don’t make the mistake of thinking we are allies of the empire. But there is merit in what you’re saying. It would be wise not to have to watch for an attack from both the guild and the emperor.” Merrick wiped his face with his hand showing his exasperation.

“Is everything ok, Merrick?” Tess asked coming out of the woods and approaching him. He nodded in response. “You’ve spoken to her?” He nodded again, “So she knows we’re leaving?” “Offered an alternative” he simply said. “Alternative?” Tess asked the suspicion in her voice obvious.

Raven shrugged, "Alternative may not be the right word for it." she interjected, wanting to keep her intentions clear. "I know full well that you and your brother are not loyal to the Empire. And what you do from here is entirely up to you. I am simply stating the obvious." she rested the scythe against the fallen tree next to Tess and Merrick, having lost interest in it. "Having worked closely with the royal family for a number of years, I can tell you both from experience... Atticus is a tyrant in many ways, as we all know. But it is amplified to those in his inner circle..." her tone changed slightly with that last statement, it was much darker, and revealed more about her feelings toward the Emperor than she had intended. Recognizing the slip of emotion, she corrected it instantly. "And his inner circle is exactly where you both put yourselves when you agreed to take a contract directly from him to protect his daughter. If you decide to back out of that now, you'll make yourselves known to him as traitors, regardless of your own feelings toward him now. You will be targets, and be actively hunted by not just the guild but by the army." She paused for a moment, hoping her words would not come across as threats as they were more intended as a warning.

"That said, I do understand your plight." Raven added "My advice is that it's in your best interest to take care of what you need to and leave this country behind for good. Now, as I just told Merrick, I have a good reason to believe you might at least find a clue as to where the Guild may be in the Labiski Desert." The object that she had found tied around the handle of the scythe was still in Raven's hand. She handed it to Tess, it wasn't much. Just a ribbon of cloth with writing in a strange language sewn across it "There was a nomadic group of people that once lived there. These words are a part of their creed..." Raven chose not to reveal how she knew this information, but did remain honest about the location, leaving their decision about the information in their hands "... I don't know how they got a hold of this. But I intend to go to the Desert myself once I know Jaxx is safe. If you decide to stay, you are both welcome to join me and I will be able to help you”.

Tess examined the piece of cloth Raven had handed her. The markings meant nothing to her and she passed the item onto Merrick who after a quick glance handed it back to Raven.

“What do you think?” Tess said to Merrick in almost a whisper. She had no doubt that Raven could still hear the conversation. The softness of it was to show it was a conversation between the two of them. “We’ll stick with them until the job’s done”. Tess raised her eyebrows and looked at him with a question on her face. “What she says makes sense. We finish this job we should have enough to get the clan out of the empire. The desert is a dangerous place, and the rumours say she’s survived the place herself. It wouldn’t hurt to have that expertise with us. Besides, I think there is more to the Archangel than meets the eye.”

“Very well, the area is clear. It should be fine to stay in the area for the night, but I’d recommend moving out at first light, Merrick and I will keep watch until then”.

 

"Oh hey look, Jaxx is back." Gerik spoke, trying to shift the focus away from his conversation with Claire. The stone walls surrounding the girl sank back into the ground as Jaxx approached. "See, like I said Claire. She's just fine... And yikes that is a massive scar. I could only imagine what the other person looks like right now. Are you okay?"

Claire ran up to Jaxx when the ground was back to normal. "Are you okay Jaxx? Are you hurt anywhere? What happened?"

Voltair smiled, partly for his answer with Lilith's question and partly for the realization that she would stubbornly refuse to acknowledge. "What do I foresee? Well let me tell you. Peering into the future I see that when Kable and Oryx return they shall be accompanied by a woman who is... Possibly reaching the start of middle age I suppose? Anyways from what I can tell, this woman will take one look at us and somehow come to the conclusion that you are in love with me. So using that knowledge we would be able to set up this odd fake drama and completely confound her."

While Voltair was obviously telling the truth about Paige being with Kable and Oryx, he couldn't help but add a bit of theatrics to his tale. After all, he wasn't actually able to see into the future. It was always fun to say he could though.

 

Paige giggled, punching Oryx's arm. Though Paige was much stronger than most women, and rarely held back, she knew Oryx wouldn't be fazed by the taunting blow. "Hey now, since when did a previous tussle stop you from getting back into the game big guy? Sounds like this giantess messed you up more than you're willing to admit. Could it be you've met someone special?" she winked, taking note of Kable's suspicious glare and meeting it with pure innocence.

"Pay huh? From a dead girl?" she raised an eyebrow, but kept her easy-going demeanor. Though Kable was quite good at deflecting her personal questions with professional terminology, Paige read more from the answer than she believed he had intended to share. So, Paige in turn revealed she knew more about the situation than she had originally let on "I truly am curious. You two-" she gestured between him and Oryx "-working together is pleasantly surprising enough. But alongside Voltair the 'missing' gladiator and Lilith Newgate the 'dead' princess?" she scoffed "I've seen you both in weird situations but this one is truly unexpected. Mostly because I can't make sense of why... unless it really is Lilith you are protecting."

 

Oryx blushed a bit when Paige mentioned if he had met someone special. "Ah you know me too well las! Always falling for the strongest and craziest there are! Though you be right in that I was holding back. I might come off as a big oaf, but plenty of secrets up these gauntlets eh?" He said jabbing an elbow or two into Paige's side. Oryx could tell that Kable was not as delighted to see the girl as he was. Perhaps Paige's and Kable's history was a bit more sour than his own. "Lighten up lassie! Why you be given this beautiful Valkyrie such a yak in a stable attitude? What a crazy coincidence that we both know her! We can be like, like three eyes on a triclops! Plenty of stories to be shared around the camp fire tonight!" Oryx said with and extra dose of enthusiasm. It was indeed such a strange encounter no doubt, but one he welcomed nonetheless.

Oryx let out a large bellow of a laugh when Paige said such a partnership of extraordinaire people was surprising to her. But perhaps it had been a minute since they had last seen each other, if he believed correctly it was during some battle for middle earth? Or whatever they called it, all he knew there was some uuuuugly lookin guys with some sketchy weird dragons that were all freaking out about some piece of jewelry. "Com'on las! You should know me well enough to know that the more unusual acquaintances, the greater the adventure! I remember this one time I ran into this guy who taught me how to absorb freaking the souls of dragons! Do you know what dragon souls taste like? Best souls I've ever tasted! Though you are correct it has to do with the lovely giantess. We got your typical damsel in distress situation, evil empire, good royalty raises a rebellion, awesome sidekicks including yours truly, being hunted by some awesome baddies, then we saaaaaave the wooooorld. No biggie las, all in a day's work."

 

"I certainly hope it will be." Gerik replied, reflecting back on Raven's words earlier.

"Are you sure you're okay Jaxx?" Claire asked before being pulled away by Gerik.

"Come on you. She said she's fine. It's been a long night for her, fighting off those monsters that appeared. I think it is about time you went to sleep. Especially if we're going to get a move on soon in the morning."

"But Gerik..." Claire started to complain.

"No buts. It has gotten late and you're still quite young. Time for bed. You and our princess here both need your beauty sleep." Gerik turned his head to look back at Jaxx. "Which I suppose means I'll be taking watch. Given that I haven't seen the other two since they went to look for you I can only assume they're in a similar state of exhaustion that you are." He then continued walking to a tent for Claire to sleep in.

-----

"You do... You... You do realize one of them is immortal, right?" Voltair asked Lilith. "Aside from something like the gods I don't think there really is much in terms of threats towards Oryx." He let out a sigh, disappointed that Lilith decided to act as expected and not play along with his little game. "I suppose I'll go with you. Might as well find someway to amuse myself with this woman since you don't want to."

 

As Oryx spoke of their last encounter, Paige nodded and added in the occasional "mhmm oh yeah I remember" and muttered a curse to the mutated midget that she had been contracted to hunt down all in search of some gaudy gold band only to discover that he... or they... or whatever.... didn't even have the damn thing. And the moron tried to eat her for her trouble! One of the worst contracts she had ever taken. Of course, it was around that time she had clashed swords with Oryx for the last time in what felt like ages!
"Interesting..." She was interrupted when Lilith suddenly appeared. Paige had heard her coming, but she was somewhat surprised how close she actually was. For someone so large, Lilith was sure light on her feet. Obviously, Paige had already seen her before but this was her first time meeting her up close and she couldn't help but be intrigued. She was much taller than even Oryx and looked much like the images depicted of the young princess before her disappearance. But what gave away the authenticity of her identity to Paige personally, was her heart. Paige could feel Lilith's resolve, her rage, and her passion. That was enough to convince her, this was a woman who had seen tragedy, and betrayal and was ready to correct it. The conviction was moving at least, but not enough to completely impress Paige. She had seen that kind of resolve before, the truth test was how well it lasted when tested. "Indeed. Though if that's the case you're truly going to hate me, Lilith Newgate. I've been told on occasion I'm quite strange." she tipped her head to the side, looking the giantess up and down with a playful grin before taking notice of the person who had also approached with Lilith. Again, she recognized Voltair from having seen a few of his fights in the arena as well as having glimpsed him only a moment ago. Still, this was her first time meeting him up close and she frowned. Usually, reading people was simple. But from Voltair, she felt nothing. Was he truly as powerful as they said to be able to recognize her power and block her out, or was he something else entirely.... she paused for a moment confused but quickly recovered. "Gosh, it appears the whole gang has come to welcome me. How kind of you to join us as well, Voltair." she winked before stepping back to keep everyone in her view and answering Lilith's question with a sort of mock of a courtesy "My name is Paige. And you could say I'm quite taken with your companion here." she gestured to Kable, the sarcasm rang clear through her playful voice "So when I learned he was in town, I couldn't help but coming by to say hello. It is nice to meet you, glad to see how very much alive you are after all. Though will it last I wonder." that last statement was said as more of a statement than a question.

 

"Come to think about it, there are some things I've been needing to talk to Raven about. In fact the list added up a bit after today." Gerik muttered to himself.

"What?" Claire yawned, too tired to really focus on much.

"Don't worry about it. You just need to get some sleep. Good night Claire." Gerik spoke as he covered Claire up in a blanket.

"Good night Gerik." She yawned as she fell asleep.

"Good night." He replied again before exiting the tent. Looking back towards Jaxx Gerik could see that Raven returned and was in the middle of a conversation with Jaxx. Tess and Merrick didn't seem to return quite yet. It wasn't too much of a concern. They would surely be back before too long. Gerik started to walk towards Raven and Jaxx.

-----

"Voltair!? Where!?" Voltair spoke, pretending to be surprised. He quickly turned around to look behind him. Seeing absolutely nothing notable behind him, Voltair turned back with a look of disappointment. "Hey, that's mean. Tricking me into thinking Aezureth's most famous gladiator was here with us. You really got my hopes up y'know. I hear he's, like, one of the most amazing people ever. I really want to meet him someday." Now, Voltair thought, it was a matter of seeing how long it would take for Lilith to end this childish charade.

 

Paige didn't doubt Voltair's identity for a second, but still his playful personality was almost as surprising as her realization that she could not read him. Still she didn't pass up the opportunity to play along. She answered Voltair, suddenly taking on an expression and tone that could easily be taken as genuine concern or awkwardness "Oh...." her cheeks flushed and she scratched the back of her head "My apologies, it's just you look so much like him. How disappointing you see I always said if I ever met the real Voltair I'd..." her voice trailed off as her playful grin returned and she shrugged "... well I guess it doesn't matter since you're not him after all." she winked. Lilith, it appeared, didn't have much patience for their game though. The giantess joined the conversation, changing the subject while she was at it.

Paige shrugged once again "My lady, I refuse to profess to be anything. You see, I do my best to always do the right thing. But if my profession has taught me anything, it's that no sane person ever does something without believing that very same thing in one way or another." she jumped up as she spoke, grabbing on to the branch that she had been hanging on earlier and flipping up to stand on top of it. From this position, she was making direct eye contact with Lilith. She studied her face "So, by that logic I believe you are doing what's best. For yourself, for your lover,your people, or maybe all of the above. What's in question is weather or not you are right. Because if you are, that is a cause I would like to be a part of, if you and your companions will have me of course."

 

Kable listened closely as Paige conversed with Voltair and Lilith. Paige's slight toyjng with Voltair didn't surprise Kable one bit. It was her willingness to join their journey that worried Kable. For as long as he knew her, Paige had always more been more of a wild card than a follower of anything. She was also known to not work well with others. Kable decided he was going to keep more of an eye on her for the time being.

"Why is it that any time there's a big ordeal going on, you just have to find your way into it?" Kable wondered aloud at Paige, leaving against a tree.

 

Oryx was so excited that Paige practically said that she was joining them on their adventure. Grabbing her around the neck and bringing her in close with one arm, and reaching out and grabbing Kable with the other. He had both his companions by their necks and considering he was taller than both of them, their feet dangled just above the ground. Oryx began jumping up and down as he squeezed tighter. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! My old best friend and my new best friend on the adventure of a lifetime!" He began spinning about in glee while clutching his two companions tight. "If we totally don't die on this adventure, then afterwards we can totally start a band lassies! Me with my awesome beardstrument, Kable you look like you could play a mean lute, Paige do I sense some firey bongo playing spirit in ya or what missy! Then there's this idea for a business I've been meaning to pitch someone, and with the right crew and the right financial backing.... We would take the world by storm.... wait no... By earthquake.... Yes that is way more devastating!"

Perhaps Lilith had hit Oryx's head a bit too hard. The giant man was as giddy as a drunk in a mead distillery. By now both Kable and Paige would be clawing for air and trying to escape the dreaded clutch of Oryx's massive arms and strength. The big guy definitely could get carried away in his fantasies and silliness.

 

Kable struggled for air as Oryx spun himself and Paige around like ragdolls. Kable was pretty sure they were spinning fast enough that both victims of Oryx's hug were smacking into each other. Kable brought his hands up and attempted to pry Oryx's arm away from his neck. "Let go of me, you giant oaf!" Kable roared. Kable was shocked when he found himself out of Oryx's grip and flying through the air. He smacked the ground and rolled to a stop.

Picking himself up, Kable gasped in as much air as he could to get himself straight. Turning back to the group, he massaged his bruised arm and sat down next to a tree. "Now that we have that done," Kable started, perfectly content to let Oryx keep Paige in his grip. "We have the matter to discuss of whether we should let Paige join us."