Nakmarr Party: Quick Decisions

[Deosinet]

Deosinet catches up to Troy pretty quickly out in the corridor. He falls into step with the boy, keeping whatever pace he has easily. “He's gone to tell your father. Whatever you have planned, now is the time. I don't know the dragons or the Terrata and if they could hold out against one. There is an elder god of the lost and exiled sitting downstairs watching over his charge. But I don't know if they'd help either or just watch an assassin kill you. So I'm leaving this to your call. I don't think anyone else at this party outside of Arako's inner circle could do anything. Well, Ramina, but she might be high or drunk, or passed out. Her room is over there though,” He points down the wall just a ways when they reach the end. Ramina and Ambrose are the closest aides to where they are now, but the dragons aren't that far either. Either way, Deosinet isn't so sure they have time to explain everything new again to either, so he hopes that Troy picks whoever will join in on the fray without question. Pirates would, dragons might, he's not so sure about Zarvan as he's never had any dealings with him and he's very elusive. Little is known about him in almost any circle.

[Troy]

As Deosinet reaches his side, Troy slows obligingly. But there were still things he needed to have done, and quickly. "The dragons," he stated firmly. "I don't know about the male, but the female can manipulate time to her favor. That alone makes her invaluable. I need the two of them. And I have to finish setting up my circle." It never hurt to have a few precautions in place, and a spell circle aimed to paralyze anything that crossed its boundary with the intent to harm him seemed like a prudent precaution indeed to him.


A frown crossed his face briefly at the news Arako had gone to his father. His pace sped as he headed for the small antechamber where he intended to set his work up. "I have to complete this. Can you bring the dragons?"

[Deosinet]

“Alright, but be careful.” He knows Troy is being careful, but he can't help but say it anyway. Not knowing what Arako is thinking or planning he could very easily mess the boy's preparations up. Arako is always hard to deal with because of his impulses. Deosinet isn't sure which Arako wants more at the moment, the Terrata or some mayhem entertainment. He doesn't wait for a respond, but gives Troy a look where he widens his eyes just a little and half shrugs a shoulder before turning to head out and find the dragons.

A few minutes later Deosinet is near the spot where he expects to find the dragons door and cursing the size of the manner. If this was a normal size house it'd take a normal amount of time to walk from one one to another. When time is of the essence it's very annoying that it takes five minutes just to walk across the manor. It didn't really take that long as the rooms were on the same floor and down the same hall, but it felt like longer. Deosinet is not that powerful of a creature and only on a mortal level power wise. He feels like he's being drawn into a game with larger players and he doesn't know the rules. He walks past the spot he's looking for and then steps back and looks at the little name plaque hanging on the wall. He lets out an exasperated sigh and rolls his eyes a bit. “If you get me killed, I'm haunting your manor til the end of time...” A light sound of Arako's amused laughter responds from the shadows. The door is gone to the dragons' chamber. Deosinet is pretty sure they don't even realize yet, but probably have a door on the other side. This side is solid stone like the door was never there at all.

[Amaya]

Fresh from a bath, Amaya was seated at the vanity. Running a brush through her hair, she regarded her twin with some small degree of worry. Shin's account of what had transpired during his hunt for the killer concerned her greatly. Not for the killer or for the victims, but for him. Her brother seemed on edge and easily angered, neither of which were like him. A part of her suspected that the shadow bees had been to blame for that. Still, at the moment, there were more pressing matters at hand. "Calm yourself, Brother," she ordered quietly.


Placing the brush down, Amaya walked over to where the door was. All of her brother's efforts had been unable to budge it. Ignoring the glare that her twin leveled at her, she moved to place her hand against the door and gave a gentle push, as if testing it. Finding that it wouldn't move, she merely sighed. "Arako, I find this most displeasing," she called to the nearest shadow.

[Shinkiro]

Angry didn't begin to cover how Shin had felt the instant that he found he was unable to leave the room. Of course, their host's constant threats over a situation that hadn't been his fault hadn't really helped his temper. More and more, he was beginning to think Balthazar was right. But his sister would never let him go through with it. Growling his irritation, Shin dragged the talons on his transformed left hand down the door yet again in an effort to claw his way to the other side. "This is ridiculous!" he snarled.



Standing aside as Amaya approached the door, he watched her own attempt to push their door open, snorting derisively as she spoke to the shadows. "You're wasting your time, Sister. We have to tear it down if we expect to get out of here," he told her coldly. He certainly wouldn't shed any tears over destroying a mere door. And if their host took exception to that, then that was just too bad. He should have known better than to try and imprison a pair of dragons in the first place. His talons raked down the door again as he growled.

[Arako]

"I'm sorry, friends." Arako's voice comes from the shadows, though not particularly the one Amaya spoke to, but more like all of them at once. He figures it's okay to show off a bit of his powers when their dragon sights seems to look through the first layers of his illusions anyway. And he figures it's not that big of a show, the injured assassin downstairs could speak through shadows, it's not that impressive of a trick. He does love tricks and to impress however, so maybe later... "But is seems someone is about to let loose another assassin and I just can't have an entire floor threatened by a rampaging reptile again. Half my guests aren't recovered from the last night. So you two stay here and out of the way for the safety of... well everyone else and I'll take care of it myself this time." His tone might be a little too jovial for someone about to go stop an assassin. It's just all so much fun and he wasn't even expecting that much from this little backwater planet. These are usually his most dull of his parties he holds.

He steps out of the shadows and into the hallway next to Deosinet. His voice this time speaks from his vocal cords and not into the shadows with the locked dragons. The sounds of angry scratching on his stone walls can be heard. With a little wave of his hand he decides it might be wise to reinforce the stone with shadow. He thought about sealing the window too, but if the dragons get out and rampage, that might also be fun. No doubt, it'll be Amaya that gets them out. She is impressive and as intelligent as she is lovely. He frowns at himself a little, but then immediately smiles. A lovely distraction for later when there isn't a demi-god level assassin about to be let loose in his party. "I hope you're ready." Too late if you're not ready and more fun also. He then looks at Deosinet and leans forward as if looking for something that can't be seen, "ready to show me who you really are..." He offers a little playful wink, but studies Deosinet like a scientist might study their experiment. He is just having so much fun today, now that the havoc is back partly under his control.

[Deosinet]

Deosinet is not as annoyed as the dragons, but a little so anyway. He too likes to be in the one in control and when he comes to these parties he is reminded how little control he has in certain circles or around certain creatures. He'd been standing there looking at the missing door for a few minutes before Arako showed up, hoping the dragons claw through it and can help. He frowns at Arako's question. He knows how Arako thinks he is, but he's pretty sure he's not the reincarnation of Arako's dead best friend. Even if he were, it's be silly to think he'd one day just suddenly have all those godly powers. This is the body he is in and what it's capable of is all he has access too. Well that and to Arako. He grabs Arako by the sleeve and without seeing if his 'boss' is willing starts to half drag, half lead him toward the antechamber where Troy is setting up. Hopefully quick enough. Arako doesn't like to personally fight and get his hand dirty, but if he's at least there, Trish might show up to fight the assassin herself. They'd risk losing the assassin, but Desoinet is short on time and high powered allies.

[Amaya]

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. It never was. Still, Amaya smiled a little at Arako's cheeky reply. Ignoring her brother's outraged sputtering, she instead shifted all of her focus to the task at hand. Shin was right, of course. It wouldn't take much effort to break through the wall. Most especially if she were to order her brother to assume a full dragon form. But breaking things was so very messy. Stroking a finger along the stone, Amaya walked slowly to the side of where she remembered their door being. "You're certain that you won't reconsider?" she inquired almost absently.



Not that Amaya expected Arako to change his mind. He seemed to be enjoying this little game of his. But she was rather tired of games. And besides, she was hungry. It was high time that she and her brother went to breakfast. Her palm pressed flat to the stone of the wall as she began to murmur under her breath. If it worked, then she would apologize to Arako for the mess later. A smirk slid across her face, silver eyes glinting as her pupils contracted into reptilian slits. Time to see if she could manipulate this stone and reduce it to so much gravel. Shoulders tensing, she gave a small push of magic, attempting to accelerate the flows of time through a space of the wall large enough to serve her as a new doorway.





BRnLZyHx

[Shinkiro]

Falling quiet as he was ordered to, Shin fell back a step and observed his sister. Part of him dearly wished for nothing more than to leave this place and return to Grandfather's world. But Tanek had an interest in this world, and he would be remiss in his duties to turn his back on it. And besides, his sister wouldn't let them leave anyway. Sighing, he let his thoughts wander as Amaya went about her inspection of the stone before rousing as he felt her brush her time magic. Head tilting, he frowned as he noted the weakness of the spell. 'You have to put some muscle into it, Raine," he told her. Coming up behind her, he placed his own hand to the stone to provide said muscle, pushing with his own time magic to aid her.



RTiIwSgX

[Troy]

Spell preparations weren't supposed to be rushed. Rushing lead to mistakes which lead to unpredictable and often unfavorable results. Unfortunately, Arako seemed of a mind that being rushed was exactly what Troy needed. Cursing vehemently beneath his breath, the blond scribbled another sigil to the floor before rising to cover it with a rug. His ward would be useless if it were visible. Shoving a hand back through his hair, he took his place within the protective circle. Slipping a hand into a pocket on his vest, he grasped at the syringe he'd drawn of the substance that would hopefully counteract his father's mind control serum. "Time to take a gamble, Vryce," he muttered to himself. Hopefully Deosinet would return with those dragons in short order, there was no telling when the Terrata assassin would make his appearance.

[Arako]

Arako enters the antechamber with a little stumbling step as he is shoved in by Deosinet. He grins wildly, seeming to find it all in good fun. He stops just in the door and looks around, as if seeing all the wards and preparations that are hidden and not. He frowns a little disapprovingly. "You know I have several master mages at this party, some of them on the local council that runs the city. You should have enlisted the help of a few. Not much can get past a full circle of master mages." More than just the mages could be used to make such a casting circle. He thinks back to the circle they made last night that summoned Zarvan. Though if they had enlisted Zarvan's help then they wouldn't need a circle of mages. Mortals are such shortsighted sometimes. But that's why he likes them. Their short sightings make things interesting and fun.

He looks over his shoulder back toward the way they have come from as the entire manor house seems to shake a little. The walls rumble both with magic and with vibrations from the explosion. He could have further reinforced the wall with shadow, but where would have been the fun in that? He does not seem surprised at all from the rumble or the explosion which echoes down the hall and can be heard from where they are. At least they are not so close they have to breath the dust. He feigns a sigh, "I hinted they should use the window." He looks over to Deosinet as he asks, "Dragons can fly, can't they?"

[Deosinet]

Deosinet moved them quickly down the hall toward the room Troy was waiting in. He used a little bit of his star magic to propel them just a little faster. If the boy dies before they get there to help him, then they lose their only chance to make the Terrata their allies. He does not want to lose that chance. Powerful allies are always welcome, even the ones that only help occasionally. Though they are better if they're also useful. He thinks to himself, as his starlit eyes pierce Arako's back. He gives his godly friend a little shove into the room as a physical show of disappointment in his lack of cooperation thus far. It's true about the mages and they'd have done that if they'd the time. His eyes narrow slightly at their host as if to remind him that their rushing of things is Arako's fault, not their own. Hey, let's do this ohmygodswearedoingitnow. He mocks in his head, but keeps his tongue to himself.

He is still looking displeased, like an exasperated adult who keeps telling a child not to do something but the child keeps doing it anyway. "What?" he replies in mock astonishment."They didn't fall for your obvious trap? The nerve!"

He then looks over at Troy and shrugs an apology. "Couldn't bring the dragons, hope the Lord of the Realm will do."

[Nykolas]

Nykolas was still sleeping on the sofa, curled up on his right side with his head in Zarvan's lap when the rumble of the explosion high above seemed to shake the walls of the manor. His eyes snapped open and then he pushed himself into a sitting position, with all his weight on his right hand to hold him up, his legs still curled up on the sofa. He looks up toward the direction of the explosion but then away again, he can't see anything from three floors down. But he felt the blast not only in the vibrations sent through the stone, but also through the shadow and the general magical reverberations all spells give off. This one gave off quiet a little wave of them. He's still a little tired, as his body and his own magical ways are getting used to the heart of darkness within him and adjusting accordingly. Using it too much before his own grows back could alter his magical signature and tendencies permanently, but curiosity is getting the best of him and he hates just laying around when there is something going on. That Keloshian warrior in him just can't sit idle. He pushes himself up the rest of the way and glances over at his little pixie friend, "This your friends?" He doesn't wait for an answer as he stands to go investigate himself.

[Trixie]

Trixie had curled herself on top of Nick while he slept, much like a pet cat would do. When he stirs she flutters up and hovers in the air near him in her true size of only about an inch and a half tall. She doesn't really have friends here, Howard did. They were never her people, but she went where he went and did what he told her to. Now he's gone and she needs someone new to attach to. Pixies are hive like creatures after all. Not like a real hive, but extremely community oriented. They need a queen, even when their 'queen' is a male human. She can't explain why it was him, she didn't pick on a personal level, the magic did. She lets out a little high pitched sound that is much like a giggle and starts off after Nick. She hasn't picked Nick as her new monarch yet, but he is so easy to bond to on a magical level.

[Zarvan Thuxra]

Zarvan moves his wing away from the boy as he wakes and tucks it back over the back of the sofa. It'd be uncomfortable to be leaning on them. He watches the boy as if curious as to what he'll do but making no direct influence on that decision. I've been around Estieus too long, he's wearing on me. The pixie has voiced a need for a new home, as has a little lost prince. His mind was wandering through fields unseen as he reflected on these things. Rarely does anyone ask him to find them a new home. He normally just seeks out the Lost of Magaellia and brings them home. This is new development for him, but he feels magically compelled to aide them. He had considered himself the Lord of the Lost and he hasn't thought about how that might manifest in unexpected ways. In Lysandra's armies of light, those that fall behind get left behind. Not just left behind, but erased from record to never have existed and their names are forbidden from being spoken again. They are call Lost, and he rounds them up and has united them as one people, but he is not sure the boy would do well among those people. Part of him also feels magical compelled to delegate these tasks to Nick, but he's not sure why. The boy has never shown any leaning toward that area. He dismisses that feeling as just the magics going a little chaotic with all that has recently transpired. He watches his companions head out of the room and if Mael is still sitting there with them, he'll look over at that one in curiosity to see what he'll do as well.

Zarvan has yet to rise. He boy shouldn't be in anymore danger and can draw on the magic of the heart of darkness within himself if he needs to augment his own magic. There might be some unforeseen complications with the magic as it is adjusting, but there seems to be no threat on the boy and many who wish to keep him safe.

[Amaya]

Heaving a small sigh as Shin's magic amplified her spell and caused the wall to break down in a shower of tiny fragments, Amaya shook her head. "I was trying to do this quietly," she scolded her brother. Stepping carefully through the hole in the wall that they'd created, she looked left and right with a frown. Arako had mentioned hunting an assassin. And while she didn't particularly care one way or another over the majority of the guests... 



Damn her sense of duty. It was going to be the death of her one of these days. "Come on. We need to see what's going on." Trusting that her brother would accompany her, Amaya started down the hall with a determined step. It was muted, but she could detect the fluctuations of magic as a mage worked on creating spell wards. For what purpose, she wasn't entirely sure. But that was a step in the right direction, as far as she could tell.

[Shinkiro]

A satisfied smirk on his face, Shin stepped out of the room behind his sister. It might have been petty, but damn if wrecking that wall hadn't felt good. Maybe he ought to destroy a few more things? No, best not. The bastard's apt to have Amaya repay him for it, he decided. As his sister began walking, he fell in automatically behind her. It was second nature at this point. She would lead and he would follow. "I'd almost guarantee that it's his own doing somehow," he muttered quietly. He wasn't keen on the idea of helping Arako again, given that the bastard apparently blamed him over the actions that damn robot had taken. Still, the knight in him couldn't just sit back and let an assassin roam free. Dropping his hand to Shibien's hilt, he frowned faintly. Hopefully this wasn't as messy as last night had been. Heh.. If wishes were horses. Keep dreaming, Sage.

[Troy]

Looking up as Deosinet entered the room, Troy nodded a brief greeting before his gaze flicked to Arako. "I'd have preferred the dragons, but he'll have to suffice. We likely don't have much time left before Father sends his pet after me now." Pulling the syringe from inside his pocket, Troy ran his thumb along the barrel nervously. His own idea or not, it wasn't exactly a comforting thought to know that an assassin of near demigod levels of power was about to come searching for him. But he'd asked for this, so it was too late to have second thoughts. Arako had most certainly seen to that much, at least. 


'If it's the one that I think it is, then he'll be using the shadows. I trust you can handle that?" the blond inquired mildly. He arched a brow at Arako. He had his theories about the man, of course. And he'd be a poor excuse of a mage if he hadn't noticed that Arako commanded the shadows of his manor. So surely the man would know if something was slinking through the shadows and could provide ample warning before the assassin struck. If not.. Well, hopefully his spell circle would prove enough to slow the assassin down so that he could attempt to inject him.

[Mael]

Reclined back in the chair he had occupied since his arrival, Mael had appeared to be dozing. At least, until the explosion. Covering a broad yawn, he slowly sat upright in his chair before opening his eye. "Sounds like someone's having a good time." He gave a faintly vicious grin before coming to his feet. A noise like that meant something big was likely about to go down. And he wanted to be on hand to watch it. If it meant he got to break a couple heads in the process.. Well that just made it all the better. He gave an airy little wave toward Zarvan. "Play nice with the kid." Not that he was interested on what happened to the boy. It would just suck if the kid wasn't there for him to laugh at anymore, that's all.


Shrugging away the niggling little feeling of concern, Mael moved after Nick. "You got an idea on what that was?" he asked curiously. He'd never been much for magic himself. Alchemy, sure. A little bit of elemental manipulation, definitely. But magic? Never had the time or the patience to pick that up. But either way, he wasn't particularly worried over what they would encounter. Not like he had a life to lose. And this would make a nice break from the monotony. Grinning, the one-eyed assassin tilted his head to regard the Keloshian.

[Arako]

Arako grins like an amused adult to a child that doesn't understand what is truly going on. He is the god of this realm, and a god in most and he figures that is a much better ally than a pair of dragons that haven't ascended yet. Though he also guards his power and hides it to give the impression of being a mortal so it's amusing that it works. He starts to get distracted by thoughts about what that pair of dragons might become when they ascend and how much sexier that will make the female, but then just makes a small sound like a stiffed laugh mixed with a sigh. Now is not the time for that. "I have already commanded the shadows to ignore him. They will not respond to his command. However he brought his own with him and it seems that when he is inside his own little realm he can move his door around to where he desires. He's on his way," he comments with a half shrug and then grins like he's having fun again,"do don't fall through any portals. Good luck!" He's not sure how much time they have truelfully because he doesn't know what extra magics the assassin has in his pocket of shadows to get the door moved to where he wants. He's also aware the dragons are on their way as well as two more assassins. "He's not the only one coming, so subdue fast or risk losing him." Then just for funnsies he decides to open a shadow portal in front of the two more docile assassins so they can get here sooner. Otherwise the fight would be long over before they even got up to this floor from where they are and that's no fun. At the same time, a layer of shadow caltops appear in in the hallway before the dragons, about twenty feet deep and spanning from wall to wall. There is some attempt to made to put one right under Shin's foot as he is stepping down, even if it's a bit out of place compared to the others.

rsyctw6F
_{*roll is for the caltrops, the shadow ban on the assassin too strong to roll for}

[Nykolas]

Nykolas is about to answer the other guy coming with, but then a shadow portal opens before them. He could have slipped through the shadows himself, but this one will allow all three of them to pass through to the desired location. He has had Arako's hand inside his chest and knows the feel of Arako's shadows at this point. One of the downsides of being an Arepharis is how easy it is to start 'bonding' to other magic users once your magic has touched theirs. This is why most from the House of Arepharis only work magic with other house members. But here Nick is bonding with a crazy shadow god and an annoying dragon that keeps staring oddly at him. "Let's find out." He responds to Mael, but it's the Veritas that compels him to respond. Without the air drugged, Mael would have gotten silence. Talking annoys Nick too. He steps into the shadows and almost instantly comes out the other side in the antechamber. He gives a little backwards glance over his shoulder, but isn't really looking back with his eyes. Magic sped that shadow jump along. Nick jumping through the shadows would take a beat or two and then there are always shadows that try to tug at him as he goes. His brow furrows just slightly as he looks back to their destination and around the room. He immediately makes out the markings, but doesn't get paranoid as they didn't come out in a location to set off the spells. His next glance is to his little flying friend with just a slight amount of question to his gaze, maybe not enough those that don't know him will notice, but Trixie has known him a long time. They've been through some things worse than this. Well, not injury wise. This is the worse he's ever been injured. Hope I'll get to put this armor to use.

[Trixie]

Trixie can't wait to see what is happening. She feels a bit lost without her monarch and has a strong desire to find a new one. Pixies are hive creatures. They don't have a hive mind, but they gather in colonies and follow a monarch completely, denoting some of their power everyday toward that monarch. For now she is happy to follow Nick around. He's an old friend and she feels a little bad for her hand in what happened, but she could not disobey Howard. She zooms down to his shoulder when he starts for the shadow portal and latches herself onto one of his armor's straps so she can't get ripped off by the shadows. Traveling through shadows when not a shadow creature is tricky, epically when most of them see one as a light magic user when really she's a starlight magic user. Though the relic Howard had was made of light as was his gun. But that was his fear of Nick. She feels a little guilty of that as well because she's told Howard some of the things she's seen Nick do and a mortal has every right to fear the shadow dancing assassin. She still clings to him when they come out the other side, unsure of what to expect and how might be her friend or foe now. She catches his look and gives him a dubious one in return as if to say she has nothing to do with what is going on. Then remember he's lost his vampire powers and probably can't make out her tiny features she gives a visible shake of her little teal colored head.

[Zarvan Thuxra]

Zarvan gets up and moves to follow the other three. He catches the comment about the kid, but it hasn't been that long since the kid left them and he's probably not thought enough about things. This manor is so huge it can take several minutes for a mortal to transverse from one area to another. The shadow portal they step through will close before Zarvan can enter, so if Mael isn't through it before him, he misses out and will have to go the long way or use his own magic. Zarvan frowns and glances upward in the direction of Arako as if his piercing gaze penetrates the manors bricks and shadows to slap Arako in the face. "That's a bit petty is it not?" He sighs and makes his way toward the ballroom where the ceiling is open through all the floors. He doesn't put his wings to use enough still even after all these years of having them and he figures now is a good time to start. He doesn't run so it'll take him a bit to get there. He knowns what the boy can do and with the heart of darkness now inside him, trusts that he'll know well in advance if he needs to speed things up. He's also hoping Arako is a big enough fan to not let one of his musically idles fall.

[Amaya]

On an ordinary day, Amaya might have found the situation amusing. The loss of the sirens wasn't overly distressing, so far as she was concerned. The games had been entertaining up until the first body was found, and her host was delightfully amusing. But that was before her brother had been stung by shadow bees and nearly killed. Now, she was fast becoming irritated with the entire scenario. She was hungry and in need of a nap. She most certainly didn't have the patience for these games at the moment. Coming up short as the caltrops suddenly spread over the floor, Amaya regarded them with cold silver eyes. Ignoring the soft curse of surprise from her brother, she swept the hall with her gaze before releasing a slow breath. "Shin. Change into drake form and carry me across," she ordered her twin imperiously.

[Shinkiro]

This entire situation was irritating. Why had they bothered to even come to this place? Surely Grandfather wouldn't have minded if they'd refused the invitations. He'd never said they had to attend parties hosted by madmen. Shin might have continued his mental tirade if he hadn't stepped on that specially placed shadow caltrop. Snarling a curse, he hopped back a step and moved to inspect the bottom of his boot. The blade didn't seem to have managed to penetrate the sole of his dragonhide boot, but it had most certainly thrown his stride off and nearly made him fall face first into the rest of them. Growling, Shin jerked the caltrop free and tossed it away before regaining his feet.



It took a moment for him to become aware of his sister's order. Blinking, he shot her an incredulous look. "This isn't going to become a habit," he warned her sternly. Best to make sure she knew not to get used to it. He wasn't a damn horse. Shaking the thought away, Shin closed his eyes and changed his form, becoming a golden drake large enough to ride on. Lowering to better allow his sister to climb onto his back, he waited for Amaya to settle before walking forward. At the least, the damned things couldn't penetrate his scales to irritate him further. Trotting quickly, he crossed over the patch of caltrops to deliver Amaya to the other side of them.

[Troy]

There was an uneasy tension in the air. And was it just his imagination, or were the shadows around them writhing? No, it had to be his imagination. After all, Arako had said that the assassin couldn't use the shadows of the manor. Running a thumb along the barrel of the syringe, Troy waited anxiously. It was the waiting that was the worst, he decided. Because he had no idea when or where the attack would come from. If he knew when it would come, he would be much better able to handle the rising anxiety. "I sincerely hope that this won't take long," he muttered to himself. He took a slow step back, placing himself in the center of the paralysis ward. 


It shouldn't be much longer now, right? His nerves could handle a bit more than this. Brown eyes swept the room, pausing only briefly on Deosinet and Arako. And on the bright side, there was some form of help to be had, so with luck, that would be enough to stop his throat from being slit. Troy released a calming breath, attempting to relax a bit. "He's taking his bloody sweet ti--" A shadow thickened before shooting like a spear toward the mage's face. Eyes widening, Troy dropped into a crouch as it whistled over his head and dissolved. "Teach me to open my mouth!" Another shadow began to writhe nearby.

[Mael]

There was no hesitation in the one eyed assassin. The instant that the shadow portal opened in front of them, he moved to step through with that same infuriating grin. Most people from Arcania had a healthy fear of shadows. Mael had never been one of them. All the fun stuff happened in the dark, after all. Reaching the other side of the portal, he took a brief look around to determine where they'd gone before his amber eye flicked to the doorway. Inclining his head toward it, he grinned at Nick. "Sounds like the party's in there. You ready to play, kid?" He could just hear Troy's muffled curse as the shadow spear went over his head. 


Rolling his shoulders back, Mael moved toward the room and let himself in, his single eye sweeping the interior. He made note of Troy crouching in the middle of the room, and Deosinet and Arako off to the side. "Huh. Not your usual way of seducing pretty boys, Ko-ko," Mael commented toward Arako. He'd worked for him once or twice before, and found the man entertaining. Not enough for a full time contract, but enough to bother checking in every once in a while. "Want to tell me what's goin' on?"

[Arako]

As they fly over them each little caltrop burst into a little shadow cloud and disperses. Each one also gives out a little laugh as it does so. The laughs sound quiet mad and are not in Arako's voice, but each one seems to have it's own. What this might mean is anyone's guess. They also only do this as they are passed over and no longer in the way or needed. Under the affect of a shaodw bee sting, Shin may see the added affect of the caltrops bouncing all over the walls, but passing through them probably would not have an affect.

Run46lLx

Meanwhile back in the room Arako looks over at the shadow spike in a mix of amused and annoyed. The boy brought his own. That's all fine and good until he tells his shadows to overshadow those of the assassin. He's not sure he want's to reveals the extent of his power at this moment however. There are others in the room that would be able to tell that is what he did, even if he hide the doing of it. Magic is often sensed and not just seen. Some of it never seen at all.

He glances over at Mael upon his comment about seducing pretty boys. Troy is pretty easy on the eyes after all. Mael isn't bad either. He gives the assassin a little wink before turning his attention toward Troy.

He seems to study Troy as he slowly raises his left hand, curling the fingers and moving them toward each other as he raises it. His hand stops about shoulder high, fingers curled, but not fisted. As he did this, shadows rose from the ground and cocooned around Troy. Light seems to glimmer off it, though more properly it flees the outside layer of the cocoon making it look like polished, solid shadow. “I want him and this is my house, so if you want him you'll have to go through,” he gives Deosinet a little shove with his right hand, “Deosinet.” His eyes are still on the cocoon he made around Troy with his hand in the air as if he needs to concentrate like an average shadow mage.

[Deosinet]

Deosinet looks at Arako a little annoyed and in question when the shadow spike shoots toward Troy, as if half of him expects that Arako sent the spike and the other half is sure Arako could have prevented it. It is definitely the look of accusation. Then the shadow cocoon appears and Deosinet figures that might be close enough. He really wishes his lord would just reveal himself and put an end to things, but he knows Arako finds all this chaos fun. Deosinet on the other hand prefers control over chaos. He starts to look back in surprise when he hears his name and then finds himself stumbling a step forward. He tosses up both hands, palms out. “I'm a businessman!” He exclaims to try and diffuse the assassin from turning on him. He almost added the adjective 'just' in there, but that would have been a lie and not allowed by the Veritas.

[Nykolas]

Nick frowns a little. There seems to be something going on, but he's not sure what or who's side he might want to be on. But wasn't that Troy who just got attacked by shadow and then hidden inside it? Leon is one of Grimm's rivals in this area, so maybe he should default to the enemy of my enemy mode. But then his job with the Grimm's isn't really his real job so he hesitates. He doesn't do anything at this time, but stand near where he emerged. He gives the room a quick look over before going to study with the magical wards with just his bright jade eyes. It's not really his eyes he's seeing the magic with, it just helps to focus the magic to look at it, and likewise he doesn't need to touch anything psychically at this point, though that could help to study things if he decides to act. He is still in full Keloshian assassin gear. Well, almost full. He toned it down a bit since he realized their host had a no killing rule for the party, he just didn't care and was going to kill the one that tried to kill him. Before a dragon beat him to it, that is.

He can sense the dragons coming and the shadow magic exploding around them. He looks over at Arako pretending to concentrate, but he knows he manor is full of illusion and there is magic in the hallway annoying the dragons that also comes from Arako. How many spells can he cast at one time? He's not even looking at some of them.. Of course he gets no answer, but it's habit to speak to his friends that can hear him outside the party. He doesn't realize there is a chance Shin can hear him from when their magic was touching after the shooting. He waits to see who else is involved before deciding what to do. He reaches with his own shadow magic to backtrack the path of the spike that nearly took Troy's head to it's master, though he suspects the master is about to show himself anyway. Probably to attack Arako and distract him. Or Deosinet. Nick has no idea what that man can do, but he'd go ahead and 'fall' for the obvious ruse and kill him to distract Arako.

It's always interesting to see another shadow assassin in work to see how they do things. Nick always keeps himself open to the possibility of learning new tricks, or recruiting new blades into Kelosh. The empire loves to recruit people of power and skill. They even have an entire elite force who have the sole purpose of recruiting. It's not Nick's purpose, but he knows them and can send a name or two their way in exchange for political favors and whatnot.