I pant heavily, standing and wobbling over the body of the Warlord bandit leader. They're like a cross between Vic's Centurian class and a Berserker, lending bonuses to their troops and fighting formidably in the midst of battle. Well, formidable is a weak word to describe him.

"What did we say about doing unnecessary things?" Kona's shrill voice of annoyance does little to alleviate the pain wracking what was left of my body.

I smile with a tight whince, "That-that was completely necessary. Plus, I saw you readying some bolts to heal me. Speaking of which…" I wave the bloody stumps left of my arms, both above the elbow, and flourish them at the carved mess of my torso. I bend my one remaining knee to emphasize the fact that it is the final, intact limb attached to me. Both Dawn and Kona flood me with healing magic, radiant light forming my limbs and regenerating in seconds.

"Besides, he used a kind of dueling Skill. You couldn't have interfered if you wanted to. Thank you, ladies."

Richter puts his arm around my shoulders, wiping away imagined tears from laughter, "He cut you up with your own claws, bro. How did that make you feel?" He passes me my leg, pretending that my foot is the microphone before it starts to evaporate. When it vanishes completely, he conjures an illusionary one for me to speak into using Prestidigitation.

"You know, Ric. I wasn't too pleased at the time, but, ah, that's the fight game, you know?" My pretend post fight, boxer interview imitation gets a few chuckles from everyone. "But we got him in the second round. He wasn't expecting to be bitten with Shadow Toxin and, you know, I don't think anyone really is?"

"Superb use of the Corrosive Spray in the third round. Very in your face. Tell me, what was going through your head towards the end of the fight?"

"Aside from a dagger? You know, Ric, when you're unarmed in a fight with a much stronger opponent, sometimes you just gotta use your head."

This last quote sends everyone reeling. I literally used my mouth to cast most of my Spells during the fight since he had sliced off my arms early on. Then, as I had him on the ropes, he threw a simple dagger at my head. I turned it in time for the blade to pass through my cheeks.

Visually, I'm a flaming skull head. But I still feel the skin and muscles twitch when I do things like smile or scowl. So, even though visually it didn't look too impressive, I still felt searing pain as the piece of iron tore two holes in my face. As Corrosive Spray was still in effect, it melted the weapon and I had the slag knocked out of my mouth with a right hook.

One less leg and another Shadow Toxin bite later, he lay on the ground fully Debuffed and wide open for attacks. I summoned Blue and we tore into him like a couple of starving zombies. If I had brought her out too early, she certainly would've been killed quickly, at an almost ten level disadvantage to the Warlord. Plus, I wanted to know if I still could since I didn't really have my glove attached to me. It's always good to know all the quirks when it comes to gameplay.

[Quest Complete: Take Me to the Bridge

[Remove the threat blocking both ends of the bridge and threatening its safety. 46/46 hostiles killed.]

[2300XP+40% War Party Leader Bonus

[3220XP will be shared among the party

[3220XP/15 members

[You received 215XP, 20*Gold!]

[34,320XP+40% War Party Leader Bonus

[48,048XP will be shared among the party

[48,048XP/15members

[You received 3203XP, 1*Level 25 Life Crystal, 4*Level 21 Life Crystal, 37*Level 20 Life Crystal, 4*Level 19 Crystal, 1*Gloves of Brute Strength, 1*Chord of Vengence, 1*Longsword of Flash Memory, 1*Scutum of Flash Memory, 1*Bronze Basinet, 1*Simple Bronze Plate Mail, 1*Simple Bronze Gauntlet, 1*Simple Bronze Vambrace, 1*Simple Bronze Greaves]

Three new limbs later, we're back on the road and Richter jokingly exaggerates the details of my duel at my expense. "Dude, why didn't you keep any of the loot? That was some good stuff he dropped."

I add my points to Arcane and shake my head, "Can't, man. Besides the cursed items making it hard to swap them out, you and I have kind of the same build. We're both Arcane and Dexterity. Gotta use gear that meshes with that. Speaking of, are you and Rachel using the stuff from Miss Delvina's?

"She practically gave away those magical items to us. I know Dawn got that Durability shield and I got Blue from her." I also got the Valkyrie book, but I'm afraid to give it to Vic or evn read it. The words "Bloody Angels" can't be a term of endearment.

He nods his head, explaining that they both received a sort of endless supply of ammunition in the form of a quiver called Thorn Garden and bracers called Bracers of Bladeslinger. He brings up the description of his after reequipping it to his waist, "It gets in the way in every day life so I only have it on during battle."

[Thorn Garden. Journeyman Accessory. Waist.

[Supplies 100*Simple Wooden Arrows in a day, refilling at midnight. The arrows created by this item vanish after 60seconds. A total of 500*arrows may be stored inside this quiver. This item will have a constant weight no matter how many items are stored within. It may be possible to upgrade the arrows created by Thorn Garden.]

He explains Rachel's Bracers act in the same way, but with only thirty simple daggers that can be used for throwing or melee combat. He laughs, "Dawn already has upgrading both items high on the priority list. Free stuff is good. Better free stuff is better!"

We gather all of the other items and toss them into one of the crates we dubbed the "Master Junk Pile," comprised of mostly simple items or items intended for scrap. And, until we can get a better understanding of the bronze equipment, they are being spared this fate by being put in a different crate.

[Chord of Vengence. Journeyman Accessory. Belt

[Return 7% of physical damage taken to the damage dealer. Includes damage dealt by Skills. Damage is considered psionic.]

[Longsword of Flash Memory. Enchanted Journeyman Weapon. 2/2

[Durability: 190/190

[Strength/Melee/1

[Base Damage: 12

[+5Willpower

[Set Bonus: Convert damage type of this sword to any type that the Scutum of Flash Memory has stored.]

[Scutum of Flash Memory. Enchanted Journeyman Shield. 2/2

[Durability: 250/250

[Armor: 10

[+5Willpower

[Set Bonus: Stores the types of damage dealt to this shield, except for unarmed, for up to 24hours. ]

Extremely versatile, and possibly deadly, in the way the enchantment works. All someone needs to do is deal damage to the shield in the single digits, let's say maybe by bumping shields, to allow the sword to deal bludgeoning damage. And, as anyone who plays RPG's long enough, damage type can mean a world of difference. What if the enemy is weak to fire damage? Or immune to it?

Anyway, Victoria has become the weapons master of the group, to her great enjoyment. The scutum, proper name of the so called tower shield, is made of a few layers of wood and covered in leather. This is to make it as light as possible since it covers the wielder from shoulder to just above the foot and wide enough to cover the wielder from left to right with room to spare. We're probably going to take it's design and use our own materiels, just like the bronze equipment. Someone was thinking ahead when they bought the tin and copper ore, how bronze is made according to Richter, in the city while we had the chance.

All of us in the group gained a level, many gained two. Dawn and Victoria said they would discuss the possibility of them using some of the Life Crystals since a lot of people in the group are just shy of reaching level twenty, allowing for multi-classing or the level eleven bonus to their class. I think it'd be great but, Serenity seemed uncomfortable, something about absorbing the people's souls. I find it a little funny that someone with a demonic heritage would have an aversion to the devouring of souls, but it would be rude to voice that. Maybe even racist.

It can also lead to Vitality Glutton, a type of sickness one gets if they consume too many Life Crystals. When we, the curious players, asked if it was a Debuff or a Feat, they couldn't agree. The consensus, however, is that it quickly spirals out of control until killing people and absorbing their Life Crystals is the only thing you can think of and you become a target for all kinds of retribution. Good to know, but I wonder if that would have the same affect on players.

A plain, brown carriage overtakes us at a dangerous speed and the fantasy equivelant of road rage fills me in an instant. I'm about to shout obscenities when the noise that trails behind becomes audible and a sniff reveals a red trail speeding off in the distance.

"Heeeeeeeeeeelp…"

"Dawn, I'll be in pursuit of a possible hostage situation on a speeding carriage. Requesting back up," I motion for Richter not to follow and Blink Step a few times to catch up. At the speed they're going, I miscalculate by a few feet and a swooping Sonny pulls me aboard Meteora before I hit the road.

"Ten riders approaching your position, five on each flank," Kona's voice comes in through the Whisper Cuff. I look around, seeing red dots on all of them and confirm their status's back to Dawn.

"Sonny, extracate. Ardy, suppress. Kona, support."

Channeling Spell Division through my battle wand, I target Sonny and Kona, along with Elsbeth and Serenity, the two Nightmare riders, for when they catch up to us. I cast Shadow Toxin, annoyed that Lesser Dragon Force has too high a casting cost to make the list. A curious coincidence awaits upon jumping on the roof of the carriage.

The hijackers driving this carriage have the same set of leather armors as the bandits that attacked the bridge, down to their dark green bandanas. The passenger growls at his partner driving as he withdraws a pair of hand axes from belt loops, "Follow her orders. Make it to their camp."

"Camp sounds fun. Can I play the machete wielding killer that can't be stopped?" He wouldn't get the reference, but it made me grin to myself. I waste a Command Spell on the driver who ignores my demand for him to "Slow." If he were to abruptly stop, it would risk hurting anyone inside or throwing all of us off the top. Instead, we continue to hurtle down the road at a bone jarring speed.

Parrying and dodging attacks is simple enough while dual wielding the battle wand and an arcane shortsword. I use them as a misdirect, however, and sneak a Roundhouse Kick in, poisoning and sending the bandit flying off the carriage. I expend the shortsword as a Homing shot, knocking the closest rider off of his horse. Three more go down from arrows and lightning bolts, the rest are protected by their magic shields. We get the same protection from their return fire when Kona puts up a dome around the carriage. Confused, the driver tries to increase speed and I cast Sleep on him, grabbing the reins. Knocked out, I lean him back so he doesn't fall out and slow the carriage down.

By then, Sonny is returning from dropping off the two hostages inside the vardo. Dawn gives us the okay to engage, asking us to keep at least two of them alive for questioning.

"Tying one up as I speak," I call out, securing the knot on the unconcious bandit.

"Archbishop Wissinger's asking you to keep the horses safe, but protect the carriage only if you can." Her order nearly causes me to roll my ankle from messing up my jump off of the roof. She sighs into all of our ears, "Their names are Olivia and Gardenia. Please, please, please watch over them."

We can hear her eyes roll and her teeth grind and it makes us exchange knowing smiles, "I am a Cleric of the Forge! Not the Light! If you're so concerned about them then you can--"

Our raucous laughter is cut short by the arrival of the riders and the sudden appearence of Blink Stepping assassins with the same leathers as the others. With the element of suprise gone, along with smaller chunks of our HP than one would expect from suprise attacks, I nimbly dodge two attackers as I sprinkle three Healing Breezes across the battlefield and update Dawn on the situation.

"No need to rush, boss. Weak assassins, around level eight to ten. Cloth face masks, poison damage, and… What are those called again? Those assassin weapons. The punchy knife thing. Give me that." I forgo arcane weapons and focus on claws, Critical Stabbing an arm off at the elbow and following it up with an Echo Strike to the chest that turns into a double tap.

[You deal 287 slashing damage!]

[You deal 187 piercing damage!]

[You deal 100 arcane damage!]

[You defeated Unknown Assassin!]

I pick up the weapon, calling out, "Katar," and cast Arcane Bolt in Rifle mode, doubling the speed just in time to blast an assassin targeting one of the horses. "I like it, gonna practice with it." Although the weapon is simple, it's Dexterity based, so the weapon deals a decent amount of damage and I finish off the horse thief by jamming the triangle shaped blade through the assassin's chest.

For a class that exemplifies speed and stealth, a straight up fight is not the optimal place for them to be, unless they're up against four casters and an archer. Of course, Sonny and I are only casters by title, and Elsbeth is a Ranger well versed with rapiers, of which she has two, shiny, new ones. Kona keeps herself and Serenity safe under a dome of arcane energy while the Infernus chains lightning Spells.

The battle is taking longer than we expected. I look over at Elsbeth and, she too, is breathing with her shoulders. Other than her, I can't see the others past the assassins. The ground is slick with blood and viscera. Each attacker that I put down looks very much alive and fresher than ever every time I turn around.

"The vardo is being swarmed. Fall back. Fall back," Dawn growls in our ears. I look around for El as I fend off another fresh batch of killers. Somehow, our enemy wedged themselves between all of us, multiplying, making us islands in a sea of hostiles.

"Damn it all." I Blink Step into the air above the battle, point out El, and shout, "Get El, Sonny!" I teleport a foot away from my previous spot to stay in the air, just in time to see the arcane dome shatter like glowing glass. A high pitched and furious yowl rings over the din of battle and I make my way instantaneously.

I Assassinate the first person I get behind and seperate his head from his neck, hurling it into an assassin's chest who happens to be standing over the body of Serenity. My body flashes with intense heat and biting cold seeing her lying on the ground. My vision tunnels, going black and closing in around the whole scene. The scene is too familiar. I couldn't help then. I was too slow. I was too weak. A terrible fury boils inside my chest and throat.

The bandit catches the head in alarm and I use the reprieve to run up and pierce the sides of the catcher's head with all of my claws except for my thumbs. He still isn't dead, so I cast Healing Breeze around us, only partially aware that it might help Seren. With my fingers still inside his head, the wounds try to close around them and the wailing of the poor man is unearthly. The battle stops to witness the depravity of an angry Traveler.

"You look thirsty…" He stares wide eyed in horror as my body shifts into a rippling, liquid form. He shuts his mouth, his nose remains open and hydraulic pressure from an invading liquid forces his jaw and lips apart.

Dysphagia.

As someone who works around drinkers, this word is uncommon, but the definition is all too familiar. In simpler words, it's when something goes down the wrong pipe…

His esophagus contracts in erratic spasms, and his lungs violently try to aspirate, but I flood him with every ounce of my being. And then, without further thought, I dismiss my water form.

[Partial return to form! You receive 65 damage!]

[Vital Spot! You deal 890 rending damage!]

I burst the man open from the inside, taking a bit of damage since the part of me in his lungs wasn't fully connected to the majority blob in his stomach. I don't care. Kona is drinking Mana Potions and using her bolts to heal Serenity. Covered in blood and viscera, I search the battlefield for my next target. A gentle touch on the shoulder is so jarring that my reaction is a hard flinch.

Elsbeth has her hand on my shoulder and points out that the enemy is recoiling from us, unsure of what to do next. For a group of murderers and thieves, they aren't as hardened as I would have thought. Sonny is sweeping a floating Meteora, trying to fend off any random attackers. I glance down at Serenity who, lucky for them, is stirring. We ensure our rainbow bars top off with whatever potion we need to consume and El helps Kona assist our friend up off the ground. We reposition the Nightmares between ourselves and the carriage.

As they shake themselves out of their stupor, I let loose a mighty yell, followed by the minute roar of Lesser Dragon Force and summon the swirling Beacon orb. I have both hands charging an Arcane Bolt Spell each, set to Shotgun.

"Now… where were we?" I threaten with a grin.

Some of them try to Leap on top of us, some try to Dash forward, a lot of them actually wait to see what we do. Meteora slices away the runners, while Elsbeth and I shoot down the aerial assault.

"We need to get back to the vardo," I say, chancing a glance at my mini radar. "Kona, Seren, can you make a short, wide path that way?" I point south and they both confirm, readying Spells behind the three of us acting as the vanguard. The enemy is still a little spooked about earlier or something since they don't seem to want to charge us all at once.

I sign the letters for "Spell then drive" in front of El and Kona and we inact our plan. El takes the carriage as Kona and Serenity board the Flying Broom. Sonny and I fend off the hoard. With what I believe must be a severely high level of concentration, Sonny continues waving Meteora with slashing motions while she withdraws her Sonnivaria and starts playing. I get her attention just long enough to tell her to mount the other Nightmare and we speed off after the others. Unable to divide her attention that many times, Meteora simply flies above her as she rides and plays notes when anyone gets in range.

The area around the vardo is just as big a mess. The feel and smell of the carnage is too real to be some sort of illusion. When we pull up, horses unharmed but carriage not so much, we combine forces with Dawn, Vic, Richter, and the soldiers.

"What the hell happened to you?" Dawn asks incredulously.

"Sorry, boss. We had a bunch of these ninja knock offs attack--" she cuts me off, pointing at my face.

"No. What happened to your flame?"

"I don't know, I can't freakin see it, remember?" We look around and no one is fighting. "Okay, I might have jumped inside a guy and burst out of his chest like the xenomorphs in the Aliens movies, but I don't know what that has to do with my flame color."

"You what?!"

The sea of hostiles parts and two figures walk toward us. One of them, a tigris Faunus under a squat, conical, bamboo hat and dressed in the red and black, silken robes of a samurai, has both of her paws on the grips of dual katanas at her waist. The other solicits a groan from all of us.

[Minor Quest Update: Holy Melee + Revenge Too]

[Major Quest: Holy Vengeance

[Protect Archbishop Remy Wissinger and Cardinal Sendo Germaine from Julissa Korsigono and the Fallen Oaks Guild 0/2. Recapture the escaped Father Chameleos 0/1.

[Reward: 500XP per party member, 1*Jester's Box, 1*Rook Chest, ???

[Failure: All party members will be lowered to -150(Despised) reputation ranking to all Clerics of the Light, Clerics of the Skyline, and/or the Fallen Oaks Guild.]

Father Chameleos watches us pass around coins to each other in disgust, "What do you think you are doing?" He grips his staff tighter with each word.

"Sorry, padre," I answer him, holding up a single Silver coin, "We had a bet going. Who would be behind this particular attack? Honestly, I was hoping for someone else, but I had my money on you and the Faunus." I hold my hands out as if I'm tipping scales, "Ninjas, Samurai. Just kinda made sense, you know?"

"Wha-" He clears his throat, "Gambling aside, what on Arc happened to your flame? It's- it's showing through your hat and… it's black?"

I groan, flipping the silver coin back to Dawn who snatches it out of the air, "Thanks, Father, I thought she was kidding. Guess a fool and his money are soon parted. Oh well. Shall we get this over with? The ground's soaked with a blood and we've got places to be."

Dawn shouts a command and we create a half circle formation in front of both vehicles, the Nightmares safe in their cards. With the remaining forces behind the two NPC's, it looks like two small armies itching to do battle.

"You are quick to shed blood, Ifrixian. You haven't even asked for our terms," the Faunus purrs. Her raspy voice and the way she slinks and paces catches my attention.

"Terms?" Dawn interrupts me before I can answer, which is good because I probably would have stammered something unintelligible. I regain my composure, holding my Arcane Shield in front of Richter and myself from our far right position on the line.

Julissa tips her hat up, revealing a fresh scar and missing fur running down from under her left eye to her stitched collar. She points a thumb at Father Chameleos, "We wish to offer this one as trade. He doesn't have the information we've been seeking." The words send the priest into a silent rage and the rest of us into confusion. "All we want is to talk to the Archbishop."

Dawn tightens herself at the center of the line next to Victoria, "That doesn't sound like a fair trade, like a Plat for a Copper." Father Chameleos can hardly believe how the two of them speak of him like he isn't even there. Before he can stop sputtering, Dawn speaks up again, "Tell you what, let's parley. You seem like a reasonable Faunus."

"After you slaughtered scores of us in a situation you horned yourself into, you ask for diplomacy?" Her words are harsh, but the purr in her voice as she speaks is giving us mixed signals.

"We can just wipe the rest of you out. That's the easy way. Or we can work out a deal. We were under the impression that Father Chameleos was an ally to you, but it seems that was just a rumor."Our guards are still up, not faltering for even a second. Julissa glances lazily at the priest who finally realizes his position in this.

"He is not who we thought he was. Put down your arms and we shall do the same." For the first time, her paws leave her swords and cross over her chest. Her pale orange and black striped tail swishes around in lazy, looping movements.

With shield and Thunderstruck stowed, Dawn approaches Julissa with her hand out. The Faunus looks at her, amused, and uncrosses her arms.

I appear next to Dawn, Arcane Shield raised above her head and bursting with purple light, something that only happens from an attack.

[Arcane Shield blocks 42 damage! -42MP]

A black sword materializes as if being quickly filled with color from a faucet, the sword's wielder also appears. The attack dismissed his Stealth Skill and before any of us can react further, Julissa Quickdraws both blades, severing the failed assassin's head.

"Do not dare to act without my orders again, or I shall let the Travelers have you." She wipes her blades across the still standing body and it finally drops as she stows her weapons. "Now, where would you like to conduct this meeting?" Her eyes find their way to me and they take their time appraising my entirety, a low purr coming from her direction. I can't see her from where I'm standing, but I get the feeling that Vic is not too pleased with what the Faunus is doing.