Random Encounter! DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN NA NA NA NA DUUUUUUN!

[paradigm]

The village was small, little more than a speck on the map. In the grand scheme of things, nothing would be accomplished by destroying this village, but orders were orders. Some might have called him impetuous and rash, he preferred the term 'ambitious.' An opportunity had arisen and he intended to take full advantage of it. A job this simple, with this much renown didn't pop up every now and then! This was the chance of a lifetime! A chance to prove himself to the Ipssimmus! He would not fail!

Hands held high, an incantation sped passed his lips, and a fireball followed suit. A small merchant's stand burst into flames and the young mage continued forward.

A look of resignation had settled into his place. Not a pleasant job, but still one he would fulfill.

Devlin pulled the hood of his robes up and began chanting.

Nowwhere's the church?

[arctyrra]

From around the corner of a nearby stable, a small head peeked out, no more than four feet from the ground. Wide green eyes watched the robed man produce a ball of fire from thin air and then set the fire upon the merchant's stall. The little girl came out from behind the wall to better see the flames, tugging absentmindedly on her mousey brown hair. She wore a dirty linen dress that was somewhat too large and showed her to be no more than a poor peasant, but that was really all one could find in this town anyway.

She noticed the man turning away from his former preoccupation, and so she ran after him, her bare feet almost noiseless upon the dirt. She reached his side and, without hesitation, tugged on his robes to get his attention.

There was no fear in her eyes as she searched the face under the hood.

"Are you a monster?"

[Morgan]

On bended knees, gloved hands pressed together at the palms, with her head bowed in silence. It was in reverie that the Isélyrian native sought the wisdom of her Gods, their unseen hands having guided her so far from her home to find the purpose that she'd sought. Keileigh had found that purpose when she'd joined the Rosinder Eastern Defense Force that had been created to monitor the borders of Muhir to the east and to prevent enemies from invading the lands that belonged to Rosinder. And it was because of them that she'd found herself in this small community, a pit stop of sorts, on her way to rendezvous with the rest of her team.

"Keileigh," a hushed whisper broke the silence. A single lid opened, the eyeball within rolling until it captured the sight of an elderly man whose white hair poked out in frantic disarray.

"I must apologize for having disturbed you, however," the cleric was trembling, his hands wringing together as her fumbled for his words, "there's been an incident. An accident near the marketplace."

Keileigh closed her prayers with the standard gestures of the Isélyrian prayer; her fingertips pressing against the fore of her brow, then her lips and heart, and finally to return to her brow as she mouthed the words, "With thought before I speak, my heart and mind."

The cleric waited, though he was obviously distressed as signified by the twirling of his fingers and the beads of sweat that dotted his face. Keileigh rose to her feet and motioned for him to continue as she moved for the exit, "What sort of accident?"

"A fire, m'lady," he followed her down the center aisle that was skirted on both sides by low benches. As Keileigh reached the doors, her hand reached for the poleaxe that had been stored away.

Exiting the Church, Keileigh issued instructions for the cleric then bounded down the stairs and headed towards the marketplace to investigate.

[paradigm]

He was taken aback by the girl at who had approached him.

"Uhno!" He asserted, his mind momentarily taken from the task at hand.

Shooing the girl away with one hand, he charged a small orb of fire in the other. Promptly hurling it at another building, Devlin scoffed.

"Get lost kid! I don't wanna hurt ya, but if you hang around I won't have much choice."

What was the name of the group that hired him again? He was supposed to make sure that he sang that name at the top of his lungshrmif only he could remember what it was.

[Morgan]

Navigating the back alleys of the village, Keileigh sought the quickest route to the market square. As she rounded about the corner of a red-bricked building whose faded blue sign hung crookedly above its door, she caught view of an elderly woman whose face was illuminated with the orange glow of the fires that were quickly spreading.

Spotting Keileigh, the woman glanced over the warrior female's attire and rested her eyes briefly on the polearm. Quickly, or as quickly as an elderly woman could, she scampered up to Keileigh, clinging to shoulders as she feverishly began chattering, "Did you see him?"

"See who?" Keileigh shook her head as she scanned the empty roads, a hand drawing up to gently pry the wrinkled hands that held fast to her.

"The man. The one what started them there fires. I saw him! With my own eyes, I did!"

"What man? Where did he go?" Still, Keileigh's attentions were focused on the streets of the town. A group of young men carrying empty buckets ran by, heading towards the marketplace near the center of town as their leader barked his orders.

"A man! Of great power!" The woman reattached herself to Keileigh, squeezing her in frightened desperation.

"Cera?" The woman tensed at the sound of a young man who stepped out of the building.

"Cera, please," he repeated as he approached her. Hands gently rested on the woman's forearms as he pried her from Keileigh, "Cera, come inside."

The man protectively drew the woman away from Keileigh. "I am sorry, m'Lady. Please, pay no mind to her," he explained as he turned to guide her away, "Time has not been so kind and she sometimes says things she doesn't mean or sees things that aren't there."

Cera looked up at him with that elderly expression of senility that begged for belief, "But, I did see it, Percy! I did! I saw him with my own eyes, I did!"

Percy shook his head as he cast an apologetic glance at Keileigh, "I'm sorry."

"But, I saw it! Please," a frightened look passed across her face as she pled with Keileigh, "Please, you must believe me! I saw it! That fire . . .it leapt from his hands, it did! Such power! A devil, he is! A devil walks amongst us, I tell you! Woe to our people! Woe to our lands! Woe to our Gods!"

Percy sighed and Keileigh, resolved to offer the woman a bit of comfort, spent a warm smile as she nodded, "I believe you. Where did you see him, Cera? Which way?"

Relief spread across the woman's face in the form of a smile as she clasped her hands on either side of Keileigh's face. Cera drew the woman's face closer, her wet, sandpapery lips staining those cheeks with a kiss before she began to wail, "Oh, Dies Faustus! Oh, lucky day! Thank you! Thank you, dear!"

A long, thin finger shakily pointed in the direction that she had last seen the man walking, "He went that way. Please, stop him."

Percy shook his head and tugged gently on Cera, "Alright, Cera. Let's go." The couple disappeared into the house as Keileigh followed the old woman's direction.

[jacu66]

"where am I" an unseen voice wondered. Just then the viewer saw a robed man running through a flaming village. As he reached for his scimitar he realized he was in his shadow form. Someone had called him here but who, and why.

[Morgan]

At that precise moment, a small furry creature zigzagged through the town. Its body was a dull yellow with brown patches that streaked across its backside while the tips of its pointy little ears were stained the deepest of ebony. Small round red circles blushed its mousy face. And as is zoomed across the town's ground, little eddies of dust were left to spin alone like old hags dancing around a cauldron before the creature ground to a halt, frozen in its tracks as it stared at the being who so clumsily reached for a scimitar.

It twitched its nose and tilted its head as it tasted the evening air.

"Fuka?"

Electricity seemed to pop in the air, the creature's palate left with a sour aftertaste which it obviously did not like.

"Fuka, fuka?"

Its rump began to wiggle as the animal seemed to concentrate.

"Fukayuuuu!"

A burst of energy sparked from the creature sending out huge jolts of electricity whose blue fingers seemed to dance across the air, wont to latch onto the scimitar wielder.

[jacu66]

Just then the lightning struck the viewer in his shadow form fusing the powers of the lightning with the dark powers of the scimitar. "Hello there little guy. What are you doing out here all alone? Say do you need an owner?"

[jacu66]

then something caught his attention. The viewer looked around and scooped up the little thing and looked around. "Who goes there" he said