Its never that easy.

[Tiphis Crom]

It couldn't of been to hard of a job. Stand guard for a few hours, keep any thieves from stealing the orb du-dad and get paid a nice fee. Course it all started about a week ago. He had been walking through a town when a man on top a caramel colored horse approached him asking if Tiphis was looking for work. Of coarse Tiphis said yes and followed the man back to his estate.

The man first introduced himself to the mercenary. Telling him that he was Miltin Filtershin. A art collector of some sort. Tiphis really could careless, he was just here to hear about the job. As Miltin went on about his life story, Tiphis let out a loud cough. "If you do not mind sir, could we get to business?" he said as if he were annoyed with the man already.

Looking at the mercenary a bit shocked he nodded." Yes...of coarse..You see this orb was given to me by my father, and to him by his father. It has no magical abilities but could fetch a hefty price if taken to the right people." Milton explained smiling at the man. "There has been news of artifacts, and priceless art have been being stolen from people all over this part of Avie'ka. We have asked for help from the army but they haven't been able to send anyone to investigate yet." The man wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief made of fine silk. "Please, will you guard it for me? I'm willing to pay you 100 coins a night and another 50 for every thief you catch. Money is no problem for me my friend. That I can assure you."

Tiphis nodded at the man's proposition, the pay was fine indeed, and not to mention the likely hood of a thief actually coming was close to none. Smiling he nodded. "Sure, but i also ask for free meals and a place to sleep when I'm off of guard duty."

Milton was delighted and nodded with out hesitation. "No problem what so ever." and with that Milton took Tiphis up to the third floor of his estate. Following down a long hallway filled with tapestries and paintings of fine art was a door on the left. It was heavily bolted and reinforced with extra wood. Obviously a trophy room. "Within this room is where it lies. This is where you will stay, food will be brought up at dawn, noon and any time you wish. All you must do is ring the trolley with that sting there." Miltin explained as he showed him around the room before leaving.

At the end of the room laid under a glass case, a blue orb that almost seemed to swirl. Coarse the thing was only a piece of art. But it was alluring all the same. Looking around the area he looked at all the different art, and statues he had laying around. All so pristine. So he could see y this would be such a good place for a thief to come. So there he would stay and guard the orb du-dad.

Two days, and not once had a thief came to try. It was almost dusk of the third day and Tiphis sat up against a nearby wall eating a chicken leg and rice with some corn on the side. "You know i could get used to this." He said out loud taking another bite of the chicken leg.

[Moros Rahl]

The sun was just setting as Moros mad his way into the city. A quick glance around revealed that this place was just like all of the others that he had traveled to in this country. Rich, and overflowing with arrogance. With a sigh, the sorcerer quickly found himself a small bench that he sat on as he watched the few shoppers wander from shop to shop.

It was an understatement to say that he didn't fit into the crowd. His shoulder length hair was a tangled, dyed mess and his long brown robes were frayed and smelled of fresh earth. His odd appearance was already attracting strange looks, but Moros ignored them. After all, he had bigger worries right now than what people might think of him.

A rumbling sound brought forth the man's biggest concern. The problem with being in such a wealthy county was that everything was overpriced, including the food. Everywhere Moros had been in the past few days had tried to charge him much more than the meager three copper pieces that lay in the bottom of his pocket. He had hunted what he could, but it was still no replacement for a full meal. There had to be some way that he could get the money that he needed...

The wild-haired man stood up and slowly made his way around the shopping plaza, his eyes catching on the stands here and there covered with food. Of course, the patrolling guards were something that he saw as well, and probably wouldn't take kindly to him stealing. Another sigh escaped his lips. What he really needed was a large amount of cash, something that he could steal in one fell swoop and then spend in other towns. Something like that would probably be well guarded, but the sorcerer was sure that he had what it would take to dispatch the sentries. After all, it took quite some nerve to stand up to the walking dead, and few men had it in them.

As Moros stood eying a shop selling sweet buns, a thread of conversation crossed his ear. There were a few people gathered around, disusing some gossip of some sort. He strained his ears to try and gain any leads on something that would hopefully fill the ever increasing void in his stomach. A grin slowly spread across his face when he caught bits and pieces of the gossip. Apparently, there was a family who had suddenly become worried that a precious heirloom of theirs was going to be stolen. They had tried to contact the military, but no help had been sent as of yet. A plan slowly formed in Moros' head as he turned and started to make his way towards the house that the gossipers had mentioned.

[Alvara Silverleaf]

This small fluttering creature couldn’t stand to be locked up indoors. How Tiphis survived the boredom she would never know. “I have to go Tiphis..” She muttered, standing up on his shoulder. “It’s dark in here and smiles rather funny” She gave him an apologetic look before lifting her tiny body off of his shoulder. “I won’t be long, but I need to spread my wings some.. there sore from not being used” She sighed and led herself through the oversized house. Why did people need such huge things was beyond her.

Making her way out of the door she took a deep breath of the air. It wasn’t really ‘fresh air’ but it was better then the stale air inside the house. She didn’t know how long they had been sitting there.. a couple of days? And the food was beginning to make her sick to her stomach.

With a slight smile she lifted herself into the air to reach to woods that she longed for. Alvara wouldn’t be gone to long, she had already told Tiphis that. But how long was too long? ‘hmm… maybe an hour would be ok’ she thought to herself with a little shrug.

As she flew over the town her sharp eyes caught something small fluttering around a little fruit shop. But, as always, it wouldn’t have caught her attention if it was out of place. Lowering herself she noticed that it was a small bug. “A wasp?” She asked outloud then gave a light screech of happiness when she saw that it was. Of all the creatures in the forest, these were her favorite. They were so small, and could keep up with her. Didn’t take a lot to take care of.

Becoming closer to the shop she let out an angry cry as the people began to swat at it. “Poposterous..” She muttered to herself as she reached for the small creature. The smile that spread across her face when the creature crawled onto her arm and nestled itself in her air as pure happiness. “Yes, we’ll be good friends I think” She muttered when suddenly she was sent sprawling out of the control. “What the hell?” She yelled as she steadied herself in the air.

Looking forward she noticed a man. A man that certainly didn’t belong here in this little town. Deciding it follow him she got a bad feeling that she couldn’t actually place.. As she followed him a little longer the nervousness set itself into her head and made a name for itself. “Oh my gosh..” she muttered, and turned her head to talk to the wasp. “Magick..and not JUST magick… big magick” She sighed, and flew over the man’s head to get to Tiphis.

[Tiphis Crom]

He set the now bare bone onto his plate before guzzling down his goblet of cider. He refused the wine and mead, wanting to be sober if anything was to happen. After all, fighting while intoxicated wasn't the best idea. Didn't want to accidentally fire his cross bow and hit the damn artifact either. That would be funny. He began laughing as the thought appeared in his head.

With a sigh he became somber yet again, watching the door, and then each of the windows. Three different ways for some one to enter. With him right next to the pedestal, or at least a yard near it he sat against the wall watching them, waiting for something to come in. Alvara had left about twenty or so minutes ago, leaving him to his food and quite.

He sat with his right hand holding the crossbow and the other on the hilt of his blade next to him. His right forearm rested on his knee as he cracked his neck and some maids walked into the room taking away his dirty plates and empty goblet. "Would you like anything else sir?" she asked in a pleasant tone. She was young, about sixteen and already working as a maid.

Smiling he shook his head at her. After all he could think of a few things he would of loved to do, but at the moment he was working, and he didn't want any unnecessary collateral damage. Especially such a pretty girl as her. With a nod she got up and left, looking back over her shoulder with a coy smile before looking at her friend and the two ran off giggling.

[Alvara Silverleaf]

Alvara, with her new wasp friend, flew through the window and could tell that her pale face was flushed a light shade of pink..maybe red.

“You should really keep your thoughts on the job” She said in a quick breath, dipping her hand into the cup of cider to have a drink. Sipping it from her hand she wiped the excess on her vined dress before looking at Tiphis. “I’m not sure, but I think we have a big problem coming” She turned her head towards the way the entrance was to the house, wondering if a burglar would actually enter through the front door.

“Anyways” she continued, facing Tiphis again. “I was out and about, ya know, doing what it is that I do when I got rammed into” She said the word with as much anger as she could gather in her small body. “It was rather rude..” She added as an after thought. “Any who, when I looked to see who it was it was this man..” She shook her head. “It was an..I don’t know!” She shook her head and fluttered herself to stand on his shoulder.

“But, the point is he doesn’t look like he belongs here.. his clothes are all ratty and what not” Alvara sighed, taking a deep breath. “But that’s not what I’m worried about, when I followed him I got this… “ She shook her hands to help her concentrate. One things about young fairies is that they have no attention span. “I got this weird feeling and at first I didn’t know what it was. I mean, I’ve never encountered something like that. But, it’s magick Tiphis!” She began to jump up and down with anxiousness. “And not just magick.. What I should be able to do.. maybe it would stand a chance” She shook her head. “It’s big magick Tiphis, and I sure hope that man isn’t coming here..”

[Moros Rahl]

Moros weaved his way through the small crowds as the sun dipped further below the horizon. He came to a stop as soon as he could see the house that was rumored to contain the priceless orb. A frown crossed his face as he slowly looked over the building, as if he were trying to see through it by sheer force of will. Unfortunately, he possessed no such skill, and had no idea what might await him inside.

Running in and throwing fireballs around might be fun, but it'll just end up drawing attention to me... Not to mention it'll light the house on fire. And I have no clue were that orb is hidden away... Hmm... I suppose I'll need some backup. I knew I should have Raised some help before getting into town.

Coming to a conclusion of his inter monologue, the Sorcerer spun around on one heel, marching off away from the house. It didn't take him very long to find the part of town he was looking for. After all, it was his area of expertise, right? Moros ginned to himself as he pushed open the gates to the graveyard. While the expression on his face was one uncommonly worn into such a place, it always thrilled him when he was among the dead.

The dead were proof that everything, all life must come to an end. This was supposedly an inescapable fact, the law that all beings had to obey, whether they be kings or beggars. It was this law that Moros broke, smashed beyond recognition as he warped the world to fit what he found appealing. The dead signified not only the law that they upheld, but the power that Moros used to break that law.

He walked slowly amongst the graves, his eyes flicking back and forth from gravestone to gravestone. Although each undead was theoretically the same, the Sorcerer had a peculiar taste in his minions. Unlike most of his type, Moros disliked the look of decay and rot, and did his best to avoid it. Most of the dead that he placed under his command were of two variates. The first was those who's flesh and sinew had completely degraded, leaving only the bones to command. Of course, most people could easily tell that these were the undead, and so they weren't the best for anything stealthy. The second type was the freshly dead, those who were almost completely devoid of any rot or corrosion. It was this second type that Moros was searching for.

A few moments and some shovel work later he was at the bottom of a mostly fresh grave, crouched over the dead body inside. There was no doubt that this one had died recently. His skin was still intact, minus the wound through his chest, and the body didn't yet smell of rot.

The sorcerer closed his eyes as he focused on the swirling mas of energy inside him, slowly converting it to the dark material that he would need. Slowly and gently he pushed the energy into the dead man, breathing the miracle of unlife into him. After a while the dead man's eyelids shot open, revealing two white orbs underneath. Moros grinned again as he pulled himself out of the gave, the zombie following him. Moros repeated this process twice more, gaining a total of three undead to his small army. Twitching a finger as if pulling on a string, the sorcerer ordered the undead men to come with him as he walked out of the graveyard and back towards the mansion.

[MentalGentleMan]

"Ugh...what happened?" Asked a voice from the floor near Tiphis.

Fingal Wallace had decided to accompany his emposeing Mercenary...ally..on his little side job.

However, when the wine was sent up, he went a little overboard.

Whilst Tiphis was determined to remain sober, Wallace took no such caution in the job.

He had drinking all the wine within two miles, and as a result, had been past out for the past several hours.

He now had an enormous headache.

The factor that woke him from his drunken slumber was all the yelling and the screaming and the noise of the small woodland fairy known as Alvara.

"And...why are we yellin'?" He added as he started to stand up

[Tiphis Crom]

Tiphis let out an eerie grin as Alvara gave him the news of something big coming this way. Then to add some icing on the cake, not only was it big, but it was magical. Something that Alvara was afraid of must have meant something right? With out even looking at Wallace he spoke as if he were a kid on Christmas morning. "Somethings coming.

Pushing himself up from where he sat he placed his sword on his back and brought his crossbow up in a ready position before calling one of the guards that were positioned outside the door. "Yes sir, what is it?" the man asked. He was much to old for this work with a gray beard poking out from under his helm and wrinkled skin under his eyes.

Tiphis shook his head before continuing. "Get all of your lords and ladies into a sheltered area. Keep only one guard outside the door and three inside, then send a group of two to the front door and then the other three in front of this door." He commanded mentally making a counted all ten of the guards, including himself and nodded. Putting so many guards in front of this door would mean that if he did come through the front door, he would see this heavily guarded room.

The old man nodded before going out and closing the door. Tiphis' hand gripped and then loosened around the back of his crossbow. He was excited and couldn't wait for what ever it was to enter. "Perhaps this job won't be as easy as i thought."

[MentalGentleMan]

Wallace pulled out a black violin with an equally dark bow, as well as a sharpened walking stick.

"Any idea who?" He asked, immediately braking out of his Hangover. Wallace played a single sharp note to test his violin. He smirked slightly once he was sure his instrument was in top shape. He was ready.

[Alvara Silverleaf]

Alvara looked at the man staggering on his feet with a disgusted look on her face. She couldn’t stand personalities that just drank themselves away. They eventually turned into nothing and this thought made Alvara hate the very thought of drinking. Wrinkling her nose she started to talk to the man.
“I don’t believe anyone was addressing you” she spat at him. She really hated the man, not because he himself was at all bad, but she didn’t approve of his behavior. He had been drinking almost sense she had met him.

Shaking her head, and the disgusted look of her face she turned back to Tiphis, “And YOU could have more sense than just thinking about stabbing things with her oversized knife Tiphis.” She scolded him. If anything, Alvara couldn’t understand someone who always thought about violence. Wasn’t there suppose to be more to life then walking around and killing everything in sight? “Yes, you moron, there is something coming”

Nervously Alvara flew to the window to look outside again. She didn’t see the man that had run into her, but that didn’t make her forget about the feeling she had gotten when following him. Magick to the extent made her really nervous… it wasn’t GOOD magick either. She sighed, then flew back to stand on Tiphis’ shoulder. “Come here Pralise” She whispered to her pet. At her amusement the small wasp gave her an irritated look before meeting her on Tiphis’ shoulder.

[Moros Rahl]

The trip from the graveyard back to the mansion was an uneventful one. The three undead followed Moros silently, their feet shuffling clumsily on the cobblestone road. He tried to catch his breath as the walked. Raising the undead had took a lot of energy and mental strain. It was one thing to simply bend the will of a pre-existing zombie, but to push the essence of unlife into a body was a draining and complicated process. Moros just hoped he had enough energy left in him to fight.

The sorcerer stopped in front of the mansion, his eyes scanning the building for entrances and exits. There was one door and two windows that he would be able to get through. The obvious route would be to come in the front door, and that was probably where most of the guards would be located. There, and wherever the orb was hidden would be the highest security areas. At least, that's how Moros imagined it. Time to start the attack...

The front door burst into flames, exploding with enough force to rip it off its hinges. The guards standing next to the door were suddenly covered in fire, their screams echoing through the mansion. Within seconds, they were dead. Breaking glass sounded as two undead men suddenly came through the windows, one through each. They stood silently as they turned, looking with dead eyes to find their prey. Seeing a group of three guards, the zombies slowly started towards them.

Moros stood outside the building, gasping slightly at the strain on his pool of energies. Raising three undead and then casting a fireball of that size really wore him out. He flexed his hand, trying to get the tingling sensation that the fire had left out of it. The last zombie stood beside him and tilted its head slightly as if it were wondering what they would be doing.

"Wait. The advance guard will be flushed out by the first two, and then we can see what we're up against. That will give us an advantage." The sorcerer frowned. "And now I'm talking to an undead... Maybe my mind is going."

[Tiphis Crom]

"I can't wait to get home, i mean as soon as i'm off, me and the miss are gonna try for another....AHHHH!!" the guards words were cut off by the explosion that caused the door to blow open. Sending a large splinter into his eye before catching him on fire. Another guard a bit bigger and far better armored. The splinters just bounced off his armor before the flames hit him. Catching him on fire from a bit of his tunic that was showing under his back armor.

A few seconds later the three guards outside the door started to mutter. "What is that thing?", "Is it human?" , "Oh my god they aren't living!", "What are you two waiting for, attack, guard the orb!" the old man Tiphis had talked to earlier could be heard yelling.

As he ordered it one of the young guards drew his sword and rushed towards the zombie coming from the left. Setting it on his side and pointed forward as if he was going to stab the zombie he charged. Just before he collided with it he pushed his sword forward towards the middle of the zombies chest.

As the young man charge the other way. The two older man stood their ground both pointing five foot spears towards the coming zombie. The man Tiphis had talked to earlier kept eying the door. Thoughts of deserting the other two and running away leaped through his head like a coward.

Their screams could be heard from inside the trophy room. "So it begins." Tiphis said ignoring what Alvara had said. It was easy for her to not think about fighting, but this was how he made his living.
Moving forward he brought his crossbow up to a ready postiton aiming at the door. "Alvara, i need u off my shoulder now, don't want you getting hurt." he warned, his eyes never leaving the door.

He could hear his heart beating as the sound of battle raged on outside the door. 'Come on....get in here....i want my turn!' he thought to himself, he could almost taste the battle.

[MentalGentleMan]

"Abit trigger happy ain't ye?" Asked Wallace, laughing a bit.

"And Alvara, dere ain't no harm being kind to one another. Really, I'm rather hurt." He said, addressing her comment causally. In truth, he didn't drink as much as he had been on a normal day. But since he'd gotten onto step one of his goal, he couldn't really help it. He was rather jolly. Besides, with his tolerance, he only got drunk about the same time that most people died of liver poisoning.

"Ya got a match lad? I've got an idea." He asked Tiphis as he but his violin back, be kept the bow, as well as his pointed stick.

(Sorry for the short post...)

[Moros Rahl]

The first zombie looked down at the sword protruding through its chest before grasping the soldier's arms and breaking them in a swift motion. While the man screamed in pain, the zombie slowly pulled the blade out from its chest and made quick work of the injured man, cutting his throat out and ending his screaming.

The second zombie lumbered slowly towards the spearmen, its mind too rotten to think of any other attack strategy than just pushing forward. The speartips jabbed at the undead man, creating wounds that didn't bleed. One of the soldiers got lucky, however, and lopped off one of the legs of the zombie, causing it to fall over.

Moros grinned as he heard the screams of the soldier cut short. He leaned on his staff for another moment before starting his approach on the house, the last of the undead shuffling after him. The upcoming fight would prove dangerous for the sorcerer, seeing as he had already expended his powers and would now have to rely on his mundane combat skills alone.

He stepped through the burnt front door, making sure to walk around the remains of the two guards who had been burned. His eyes slowly scanned the room as he took note of the living and semi-living that were still fighting. One of his zombies was missing a leg and crawling on the ground towards two spearmen. The other was hacking at a door with a sword, and was just about to break through. That must be the room that the orb is hidden in. He thought to himself. The sorcerer tightened his grip on his staff, preparing himself for the fight to come.

[Tiphis Crom]

Tiphis' grip on his crossbow tighten as he started to hear the bashing on the door. Pulling it up so he was looking through the sights he waited. "BAM, HACK, BAM HACK BAM HACK!" the door ached each time the thing on the other side made as it hit the door breaking through the wood. It didn't seem to take long as the hole in the door started to grow.

"Wait for it." He said hearing the screams of the other guards dieing. "Wait for it.." he said again as the door opened a bit more just so he could start to see the thing's head. "..just a bit more.." he said as the door's hole opened even more so just big enough for the creatrues head and a bit of chest to be seen.

'NOW!' he thought squeezed the automatic crossbows trigger letting three of the bolts fly towards the hole of the door, hopeful to hit the creatures face.

[Alvara Silverleaf]

Alvara flew up as high as the ceiling would let her and tried to think as fast as she could. The small fairy wasn't any good at this type of thing, and it was even worse under pressure. Knowing what she should be able to do Alvara reached for the spot between her wings and grabbed her wand and thought about what would help.

With a grin she looked at her little wasp and kissed him on the nose. "No Pralise.." She said as softly as she could. After all, staying calm right now was going to be the key in the anything she had planned on working. "I'm going to try something, and I know that your going to love this"

The small creature seemed to be anxious, and kept looking down at the scene that was taking place but Alvara made Pralise look at her. "Remember what I said about anoyying Tiphis? Well, we have a new target now alright? And what I want you to do is hurt as many of those things as possible"

Calling them things seemed ok, Alvara didn't know what else to call them. Certainly not anything that she had seen before. Shaking her head to keep her mind on track she looked back at the wasp.

"Just stay still a moment, and I'm going to try and.. Well, do something"

Taking a deep breath Alvara pointed her small wand at the wasp. She didn't know how many times she had tried to do this, and it never working. At the same time, she had never really tired and it being life or death. Usually just out of boredom, and when it didn't work she wouldn't try anymore because Alvara hated not being able to do what her mother was known for.

Pointing her wand at the wasp she thought really hard about what it was she wanted to happen, and closed her eyes in concentration. It took a few moments but then she heard a "Oh my god!" near by and it broke her attention on what she was doing. Alvara looked down and saw a blooded up guard pointing to something in front of her. Looking, she saw that Pralise was now the size of a small kitten.

"Yay!!" She said with more happiness then she had felt before. "This is GREAT!" With that she nodded at the wasp and watched as he pin pointed as many zombies as he could. And as he attacked them, she kept her attention on not only keeping him healed but looking after Tiphis as well.

[MentalGentleMan]

Wallace laughed.

"Well dat might work too." Said he clapping. Then he remembered he was under attack. That was more important, though less entertaining, then the giant wasp. He let out a chuckle as he notices one of the lumbering undead come to him.

He sigh as this occurred. "Oh dear. Quite the looker, are we?" asked he. Then his bow sliced clean through one of the legs of the thing.

"Promise not to bleed on my suit, and I kill you quickly." Said Wallace, in a much more refined voice then his own for a moment. Then he made a slicing motion at the thing's head before turning to Tiphis or Alvara. Which either one answered.

"Eh? Were be the Necromancer?" Asked he. If he was eliminated, then the creatures would fall like dominoes.