It' a mad mad world [QUEST EVENT]

[Merc]

Arching a brow at Aether's words, Riley gently landed on the roof of the building, looking a bit silly carrying a man larger than herself as though he were her bride. Puffing out a sigh, she resisted the urge to drop him like a rock and instead set him lightly on his feet. "Next time I'll carry you like a sack of potatoes." She warned, though it was hard to tell whether she was joking or serious since she quickly began to stalk the length of the roof.

"Seems coming here wasn't the best idea, after all." She mused, looking at all of the carnage below. With all of the people going completely nuts below, it was hard to imagine that anything of substance would be salvaged from any of the nearby government buildings. Crouching on the edge once more, half lidded eyes scanned the streets. People were dying of the disease, being murdered by the diseased, and just outright erupting into chaos as they began to chant.

 Frankly, she wasn't sure if they were dealing with a disease or some kind of messed up cult at this point, but there didn't appear to be any answers to be found in the decrepit buildings.

"Maybe I should have stayed with the demons. They were more civilized than this..." Riley halfheartedly muttered under her breath, her green eyes looking listlessly over all of the destruction.

Eventually she allowed herself to look to Aether once more. "Well, what now? This seems like a dead end." The infected had disrupted the city at an alarming rate and it was beginning to seem like finding a cure or hints as to what was going on was pointless. What she could do was prevent the crazed diseased from spreading out and harming more people. 

 "Should I just... Wipe out this entire area?" She wondered, fingertips lightly tapping on her knee caps. 

[Kitty Kat Astra]

<Skipping post, you already have all the information needed to continue this thread, and no action was taken>

[Eternal Mage, Aether.]

As we land on top of the roof, and she puts me down gently I'm smirking just a bit. "You were supposed to laugh " I'm not sure if she was joking or not when she let me down. Even if she potato sacks me, I do get a clear view at a certain thing of hers, so I still win in the end. It might be odd in this circumstance that I can tell a joke. However, we've been moving and avoiding people non stop! It can quickly take a toll on us if we're always serious. I did hope I could have made her flutter for a slight second, but I guess there's always next time. Riley don't think this was the best idea. "Perhaps you're right."

I watch Riley survey the area and look at all the carnage around us. Everyone around us is being illogical and incomprehensible. Their actions don't make sense to Riley. Under Riley's' perspective, this all looks like madness to her. So, from the demon world to go back to human world I guess she's forgotten how cruel and evil humans are. Whiles uncharacteristic this is, it's just how it is. "They're lashing out because they're desperate and don't know what to do. Once infected, most have given up everything in life. No one wants to be near them or touch them. They've lost friends and family over the virus and there's no cure. They've given up and in their heads, there're no repercussions." I let out a small sigh and look at our surroundings.

"I'm dying because I'm sick. The government don't know what to do and there's no cure. My friends have left me; my family have left me. Do I just sit here and die alone? No, it's not even my fault, it's the government and other people fault! They're the blame for isolating me, they're the blame for me being sick! What do I care in what I do now that I am about to die? This is what going in their minds, and can we truly blame them?" I can't blame anyway, but it doesn't mean we can allow their actions to keep going. Riley suggests to wipe out the area, but I don't think that's the right thing to do. Just being able to suggest that must mean she's a bit broken. Coming home to all this doesn't help her at all. This might just make her colder. "Well, if they're blaming the government that must mean they're being hunted. So if we watch them, we can pick up an official in the chaos and let's avoid wiping everyone out"

[Merc]

Riley shrugged a listless shrug. "Excuses." She mumbled under her breath - and from her perspective it felt like little more. She hadn't been back to the human world for long but so far everyone aside Aether had treated her like she was diseased, hurled rocks at her, told her to leave, threatened her life, etc, and that wasn't even bringing into consideration the fact that just about everyone that had been depending on her was dead. Most of the people she loved was dead. She had no home, she wasn't sure if there was anything even worth living for anymore, besides to be spiteful.

A weary sigh passed her lips. She definitely hadn't changed for the better, that much she was certain of. Somehow, she felt returning to her home world was sucking away more of her humanity than the demons had.

Lowering herself to sit on the edge of the building, she didn't bother to so much as glance towards Aether after all of his rambling, instead she just shrugged again, even more lifelessly.

"Do as you please." She eventually responded, looking at the chaotic streets below. The more she saw the more she was uncertain about whether or not Onibas was salvageable. The more she was uncertain about whether she even felt like helping all of the people that had already discarded her.

 "I wont do anything." Riley made a point to add, since she hadn't any desire to actually flatten the area, despite her earlier words. Crossing her arms over her chest, she watched the people scurrying about in madness as an idle worry crept into the back of her mind. 
 
 A worry that she was becoming more of a villain than the hero she had always wanted to be. 

[Kitty Kat Astra]

With everything within the city slowing coming to a halt, as the raid was coming to an end due to the daylight hours steadily approaching twilight, the raiders that remained capable, started gathering with all their pillage. Some were carrying people, that were likely going to be new cultists or used as slaves, prostitutes or worse. Others were carrying items like coin, or whatever else they found to be valueable. In short, a large amount of people and items were being ferried out of the city. It was almost like seeing a group of vikings having successfully plundered a city.

The camp itself was a good hours travel away from the city, into the woodland surrounding Onibas. It seemed the raiders were living somewhat like Robin Hood, in trees, huts and whatever else they could've established within the forest for a few months of work.

[Eternal Mage, Aether.]

The last vestiges of the setting sun disappeared over the horizon, the copper hues giving way to a dusty purple scattered with the occasional glitter of a faraway star. The distant skyline stood silhouetted against a velvety sky, the golden dusk enveloped by the twilight sky. As the light ebbed, so did the warmth of the day, until all that was left was the chill of twilight and the promise of a cold night to come.

I look at Riley and see that's she letting her mood go down, not that can I blame her. It's hard to stay in a good or positive mood from all of this. No, I will say it's impossible so that why I'll stay the upbeat one between us. If I let my emotions drag me because how weak I feel, then we might die. I put in a radiant smile onto my face. Hoping that it will calm Riley down and give her emotional strength to keep going. “Don't worry Riley; everything is going to be OK. Once everything settles, maybe Maddox will come back in town? I saw him the other day, but once the outbreak started to happen, he decided to leave town.”

If I can be honest, I just remember about her brother, or I would have mention already. It looks like now was the right time to bring it up. Even if your lover or friends leave you, as long you have family, everything can be alright. So I hope she can find comfort in that at least. I look out into the distance to find some sort of clue, and there I see something. There I see what appears to be raiders? They're gathering a bunch of people and heading out of town. “Let's try out in that direction? It's hard to see from this distance, but it looks like there are some officials with them. So how about we follow the raiders to where they are heading towards, and bust everyone out?”

[Merc]

Riley had always taken comfort in the night sky. It was beautiful staring at a blanket of stars in the darkness, but mostly it just made her feel at home regardless of where she was in the world. She was certain that it had something to do with her magic, but she never gave it too much thought, she just allowed herself to sit back and enjoy the show - even now, with the screaming and chaos in the background, she stared at the sky with a sense of awe that somehow shut everything else out until Aether began speaking.

"Ah, Maddox is alive?" She asked, her voice strained with hopefulness. It seemed too much to ask to learn that her only living relative was in fact still leaving. Apparently he had even managed to leave Onibas before all of this mess started, a fact that made her shoulders sag slightly in relief.

"I guess he brought Atlas to me." She mused, recalling her beloved owl companion who was currently hiding out in the forest nearby the remnants of her old guild. He was safer there, away from the disease and danger of the city.

Frankly, she wasn't sure what would happen if something were to harm him.

Once more drawn out of her thoughts by Aether, she slowly looked in the direction that he had indicated.

Yes, right. She wanted to save Onibas so that she could reestablish her guild and right all of the wrongs that had happened because of her disappearance. She wanted to save the city, not let it fall further into ruin. Sitting around on her ass and lamenting everything wasn't going to help anyone.

Sweeping her legs onto the building and hopping to her feet in the same motion, Riley moved towards the far side of the building. "Lets go, then. We'll follow the rooftops for as long as we can and then try to hide in the shadows, yes? Just follow my lead." She announced, before bounding off to the next rooftop.

Hiding in the shadows happened to be one of her specialties, so hopefully she could teach him enough to allow them to go unnoticed until they arrived...

[Kitty Kat Astra]

Within the city itself, there was nothing to stop them from moving, although they could hear people speaking of a weirdo gravity-magic-woman that had attacked out of nowhere. The gates to the city soon came into vision. Strangely, there was an enormous black crater outside the gate. It seemed as if something large, and incredibly hot, had smashed down right there to blow the whole thing to pieces. Whatever had done this, had quite substantial power...

The crazed raiders were still moving further into the forest, singing and chanting. Though, some were wandering around in the forests, puking blood and vomit, collapsing and giving in. If they went into the thick brush, it was possible they'd get infected simply by coming into contact with something that one of the infected had left behind. Although, going through the main road would mean that they were easy to see, although they'd be less likely to get caught in something they did not foresee.

So which approach did they prefer?

[Eternal Mage, Aether.]

Of course, I follow Riley as we zip through the air. The wind is roaring in my face and ears as we soar. Leaves scatter before us as we pass through the trees. The broad-leaved shrubbery gossiped softly with the wind. We create a tapping noise briefly as land on each building. We do not stay on any building for long and only move forward. Locals that see us must be spreading rumors of us when they see us, but that matter very little to me. I'm worry about Riley over doing her magic and worry she might be pushing herself.

We finally reach the city gate; I only see ruin. The gate has been utterly destroyed with a massive black crater behind. I can tell who ever did this is a capable mage. I can only hope that it's not something we have to worry about. I look over to Riley with concern. "This smells like trouble. We should take a small breather before moving forward?" There's no option in reaching our destination but taking the main road. If we try to be a ninja's about it, we risk ourselves in getting infected and that can be bad. Out in the distance, I can still hear the raiders chanting off, some sort of strange phrase or motto of theirs.

I cannot tell how much further we got from here, but I know the main road will be dangerous. We'll be out in the open, so we might have to move in formation, with her as the vanguard and me as the defense. If we take the bushes and shadows, we might be safer from attacks, but high risk of us getting infected. While I have no problem taking one for the team, it's a different story for Riley. Unlike me, she still has a future and a goal to reach for. While she doesn't realize it yet, she has friends worry about her, me included.

[Merc]

Riley felt rather nostalgic running across rooftops, though she had to admit it felt a little strange having someone following her - or rather, allowing someone to follow her. Aiding them, even.

Her hair flew about wildly as she leaped from building to building before finally reaching the last building and getting close enough to see the city gates.

Well, what was left of them, anyways.

She was about to leap off of the building when Aether spoke up, suggesting they take a break. She wasn't particularly tired that she was aware of, but with adrenaline coursing through her it was sort of hard to tell whether the feeling was legitimate or just a temporary high. Still, he might of felt tired, so she agreed without a fuss and simply sat herself on the edge of the building, surveying the crater that had once been the gate.

"I have a spell that does something like that." Riley announced, lightly scratching at the side of her face as she thought. "I summon a meteor and it smashes into the ground. Leaves a mark a lot like that. I wonder if someone here has the same magic as me..." Kicking her feet idly, she tipped her head back to look into the sky.

"The dark of night gives us both an advantage and a disadvantage depending on how you look at it." Her voiced sounded distant as she spoke, distracted. "Since we can hear their chanting we might just be able to follow them from a distance using the same path that they're using." Biting on her bottom lip, she rest her hands on either side of her, reclining slightly.

"Or I could carry you there, using that same spell from before, but they'll see us coming." Shrugging, she looked to him. "Or we could do something else. I'll leave the decision in your hands."

[Kitty Kat Astra]

<<No action made, skipping>>

[Eternal Mage, Aether.]

Now that we're taking a break, I take a look from off the building and realize just how high we are. We're about three stories above ground, and it's making me a little dizzy, so I take a few steps back. From the ground, it doesn't look at all that high until you're up there. We've been leaping from building to building and now about to jump down.

“This is crazy, I didn't think I be roof jumping or jumping off a building this morning.” I let a soft sigh and stretch out. I look over at Riley and see her hair a mess. I let a small laugh as I realize how silly it makes her look.

Riley comments on the damage to the gate while scratching the side of her face. “I hope not, or we'll be in trouble.” I scout the area to make sure no one else is around so no surprise attacks. “Oh really? That sounds pretty impressive! You should show me sometime.” I have an actual interest in that sort of sight. It's not something you get to see every often.

“With her movement, actions, and how loud they are, doubt we'll ever lose them.” Even from here I can hear them going on about their weird chant. They don't care who hear or see them. They must've given up all life.

“We should fly over there, if I remember correctly, your spell helps us fly pretty fast. At this stage, I'm going to tell you about my magic. My magic controls the flow of time; It works great on none living, none sentient, and even other people magic.” I take a moment to think if I have forgotten anything. “Well, on a small scale, it can work on people. Like before with my spell that can us up for example.” My right eye glows, and I increase the time around us. “If we combine our magic, and fly over everyone. It won't matter if they see us, we'll be much too fast."

[Merc]

Aether, who had been jumping rooftops, was now backing away from the edge of the building as though he were afraid of heights. Arcing a brow slightly, she soon shrugged it off and looked away in time to hear him laughing behind her, though she wasn't sure why - or if she even wanted to know what he was suddenly giggling at. He was a bit strange, so it probably wasn't all that funny, anyways.

He seemed to take an interest in her magic, which she wouldn't terribly mind showing off if the opportunity presented itself, but she wasn't sure she'd get the chance to use that particular spell today. Much like whatever had created the crater in the earth, her spell would cause extensive damage to the surrounding area and had the potential to hurt or kill a lot of people, all things considered.

She listened intently as he explained his own magic, scratching softly at her cheek before crawling to her feet once more.

"Alright then. Let's get this over with." Once more activating her Stellar Body spell, causing her body to glow with yellow light that was understandably brighter in the night, she again swept Aether off of his feet, choosing to carry him bridal style despite the obvious difference in their size.

"Here we go." She announced, leaping off the building and flying though the dark night like a shooting star, following the sound of chanting and twinkle of torches.

[Kitty Kat Astra]

They upped, and they flew. It was a genius tactic in many cases, in that the thick forest would cover off most of their movements from the crazy chanters down below. Though, as they got closer to the encampment itself, what they were met with was exactly like one would expect a tribe to live. A pallisade wall had been errected in a clearing in the woods, with a moveable gateway that had been opened to allow people to enter or leave. Around the entrance, on spikes, were a series of skulls placed on pikes, wearing the caps of the officials, likely sending some sort of message. Stranger still was the near transparent bubble around the camp itself. It didn't seem to effect those entering, not even the few officials that got carried through, but it would easily bring an uneasy sensation to the two mages...

Inside, they could faintly make out some kind of spokesperson or chieftan chant. "...mayor.... .... be sacrificed!... ... Great Raven... ... bless his children!" What they could make out of what little they could hear, could likely be pieced together for the full message.

[Eternal Mage, Aether.]

Riley has lifted me up like bride and begins flying upwards into the sky. With my own magic added onto hers, we're moving fiercely fast. As we travel through, it's a constant whooshing sound in my ears. I was expecting Riley to pick me up like a potato sack, I guess she didn't learn her lesson. Of course, it's not like I don't mind being carried like this, nor do I feel to embarrass about it. I just want to make Riley smile or laugh. Since we've met each other, I haven't seen her do either one. “Senpai, be careful with me. I'm carrying your child.”

Obviously I'm joking, seeing how that's impossible. With me being male and her female and the only physical touching we've had is this, bride style carrying. If I can just get a grin, laugh, or some kind of funny reaction out of her then I'll be satisfied.

It looks like our tactic was a correct one to make to avoid trouble. If we went straightforward on the road we may encounter trouble and wear ourselves out along the way. We may have gotten ambush or fallen in some sort of trap on the way there. “It's a good thing that we're healthy and able to fly otherwise we may have been in trouble in walking down the forest path.” The closer that we get to the raiders base the more grim that it looks.

There are skulls on top of pikes to inflict fear and ward of enemies. Despite the horrible sight that I see, it has no affect on me. In fact, I can only look at it as childish and amateurish. [Of course you do, we seen and done much worse than this.] Tch, it looks like he's awake, and I begin hearing the other voices. However, the volume of the voices are low and gibberish. [Hmp, the moment there is no law this is what happens to man. They run wild and do horrible things! If there is no law, no one can cling to them, and they have no idea what to do.] I shake off his voice and try not to listen to him. Instead, I hear chanting in the distance. From the sounds of it, the major might be killed!