World Tree MUSH

     It's a small, rural town in the countryside of Demacia that our heroes find themselves today. All the buildings are of wood and stone construction, with faded paints coloring their walls and signs, and nary even a pane of glass to cover the windows. It's the usual assortment of establishments one might expect, mostly scattered single-story homes with a tavern, a smithery, and an inn, the only two-story building other than the mayor's house. Around the edges of the town are fields of wheat and the occasional other vegetable, such as cabbage and potatoes, though they're looking a little more scorched and broken than they should.

As the mayor explained, this would be because of an annoying little terror by the name of VEIGAR who has been plaguing the town for the last month, striking every few days to try to burn down their crops and steal their livestock, at one point even daring to come into the town proper to fill the blacksmith's forge with True Ice... only to realize, apparently, that it was simply regular ice. All in all, more of a nuisance than a true threat, but the town guards have never been able to arrest him.

That is why you are all here today, brave offworld adventurers! If ordinary men of the blade cannot put a stop to this menace, then surely champions with powers beyond the ken of mortals should have what it takes, no? And yes, yes, you will be rewarded quite handsomely if he is taken care of, indeed. Now, as the sun sets, Veigar is expected to make another attack on the town, though where he will strike and how he plans to cause mischief tonight remains a mystery...

A small town, surrounded by crops, even if it's a little more in disrepair than usual... that's sharply familiar to Ysuran. Which was likely one of the reasons he picked this job up. That and because these people honestly need help. He doesn't intend to ask for much as a reward anyway.

As the sun's setting he's leaning against the central-most building in the small town, looking in the vague direction of the sunset. 'Vague direction' because... well, his thoughts are turned inward. His book is clutched in still hands, and he's trying to remember something...

Though it would be hard to tell that at first glance, because he's all covered up with a black hooded cowl. The only reason his face isn't completely hidden is because he's got his head tilted up just enough.

It's not just his appearance that might be worth noting, however. He has that magical feel about him... a dark magical feel. Those sensitive to such things might be able to sense the air of death that hangs around him.
Hopefully he hasn't made the locals TOO nervous...

    When Dante got the news about this little gig, his curiosity was piqued. He hadn't heard much about this little hamlet, but that's generally the way these stories went; Small sleepy town attacked by bad guys, a small band of heroes defending it to their last breath, John Sturges stuff. Guess that made Dante the Steve McQueen.

    He's openly got his greatsword out, carried on his back because screw you, it's magic. Recognizing Ysuran, Dante approaches the elf and gives him a big pat on the arm. "Heard about the town's troubles too, huh? Who do we talk to about that, anyways?"

    It's a town not too dissimilar to Mist, or Baron's outskirts, or even the little glens that dot all over the land of Hyrule. The kind of town that Rydia of Mist is most used to as she rides in on her trusted chocobo. She's probably an odd sight. When most people call for offworld adventurers, they don't expect a small, very green child to show up. Yet here she is.
    "So you're saying he's more of a nuisance than a threat?" The girl mutters as she hears the briefing from the mayor as she eyes the other two that answered the call with her. Dante, son of Sparda, she knows well enough. But Ysuran is an outlier the child has never met before, and the magic that lingers around him feels dark. Yet if Dante openly greets the man in such a friendly manner, she'll not think too much about it. For now.
    "... You mean you didn't speak to the mayor already?" She asks incredulously. Because... Freakin' Dante.

     Just as the sun's last rays disappear over the horizon, and the nightguard begin to make their rounds with torches lit, off in the distance there is another light that appears. This one isn't the light of a torch flame, instead more of a pale, ghostly blue with a dark center. In fact, those who cannot sense magic or do not have eyesight keener than normal may not even be able to perceive it at first.

That is, until it's joined by a small violet light... then another, and another, and dozens more, drawing nearer by the second. The sounds of many marching feet soon become apparent, and as this small army approaches one of the farms on the edge of town, their own lights and the lights of the guards who go to face them illuminate their forms: Terrifying, horrific, nightmare-inducing... short people in purple robes, some carrying crystal-topped staves while others are equipped with simple stone shields and hammers.

None are larger than a child, yet they are clearly of inhuman origin as the light shining upon them reveals they have no faces, only black voids with glowing white eyes inside of their hoods. And in the numbers they have, they easily overwhelm the guards and begin storming into the town proper, bashing at anything that gets in their way with their hammers or blasting with their staves, setting a few small fires and knocking holes in the walls of some buildings. One sign is even shattered into splinters.

And at the back of their formation is one even smaller, barely clearing three feet when taking his tall wizard's hat into account, a creature in blue and purple robes with metal gauntlets and boots, carrying a wicked-looking staff as he urges his minions on. "Yes! YES! Storm the town, my little ones! Show them NO MERCY! I, VEIGAR, the master of cosmic evil, will make them bow to me before the light of dawn! Smash, loot, burn! And then TAKE THE MAYOR! Mweheheheheheheh!" he gloats, yellow eyes shining amid the black fur of his face, no other details visible beneath his hat.

Ysuran is actually startled by the pat on the arm. "What...?" He blinks, then Dante's words register. "The mayor." He looks towards the house of said public official. "There is a... an imp of some kind. Veigar. He comes in to... at least make an attempt to wreak havoc, but his antics never seem to amount to much more than minor chaos. Annoying, nonetheless. They've not managed to bring him to justice."

He nods. "A tiny being, committing minor antics, but always managing to slip away before he is caught," he observes. "It smells of dark magic. Perhaps he is some evil sorcerer or wizard's familiar. He may only be scouting for his master, and using the opportunity to cause trouble -- as these beings are wont to do."

Rydia's arrival on the back of a large (probably) flightless bird gets a blink from the necromancer. He regards the creature with confusion, before Rydia speaks up. He offers a bow of his head. "Not to worry, young miss. I've filled him in on the details as they pertain to this matter."

It's worth noting that he has kind of a raspy, higher-pitched voice. It marks him as someone who doesn't speak much. But it lacks the 'evil' sounding undertones, and he doesn't at all sound like he's resisting the urge to break into an evil cackle. In fact his voice has a real warmth to it. So that probably helps a little.

It'll be the spark of dark magic that draws Ysuran's attention, and he'll probably depart without too much ceremony, and run to the place he can sense that magic from. Literally -- he has a spell that makes him able to spring really fast for a short distance. "This way!" he calls to Dante and Rydia as he zooms off.

A pause as he beholds the tiniest army of evil that he's ever seen! For now he's going to try to scatter and panic them -- a hand aimed in the direction of the army and Words spoken to invoke Fear! That might make it easier or harder if it works, but... well. It's also a good way to vague their strength of will.

>> SUMMARY[Ysuran Auondril] >> Ysuran casts FEAR at the tiny army of SUPREME EVIL!

    Dante looks quizzically at Rydia. "Briefing? I was just told there were bad guys to kill. Just got here." He says defensively, shrugging at her. "Dunno what else you want, I was uh..." Reading smutty novels on the way to town in a carriage. He had to kill time somehow between the vine and here.

    "Imps, huh? A little shrimpy compared to the demons I usually hunt. Must be extra annoying if they're offering pro-bono for his ugly mug."

    Of course, the little bastards make themselves at home, and Dante sizes them up. "Typical. Like nails on the chalkboard." He mutters, before rushing towards the implike bandits.

    He starts things off with a dropkick, aiming right at the mug of one of the impish bandits. Poor thing's gonna be tasting shoe polish for months after this, if he survives.

    Oh good, Ysuran seems the responsible sort, if he's already filled Dante in, as Rydia hops off her chocobo and ties him off to the nearest post she can find.
    "Right so--"
    So Veigar shows up then and there, with a small army of underlings that start sacking the town.
    "..." Rydia is silent for a long beat, just staring at the minions that are about as tall as she is... This is...
    "Uh."
    On the one hand, this has to be the least intimidating army of pure evil Rydia has ever encountered. On the other hand they are being a legitimate threat despite the fact that she isn't all that scared.
    She actually has to spend a beat scratching at the back of her head before Ysuran bids follow to protect the mayor.
    "... I'm just. Gonna follow him now." She decides.

     Veigar, as it happens, is quite surprised to see defenders of real power in the town, much more capable than the usual guards. After a few moments of stunned silence, he waves his staff at them, firing off a couple bolts of dark magical energy as he bellows in his screechy, high-pitched voice, "FOOLS! You dare to stand against ME, the darkest terror the universe has ever known!? Know now that once I have slain you, you will not know the peace of oblivion! I will SWALLOW YOUR SOULS, forever to digest in the blackest pit of my eldritch stomach!"

The minions, however, prove much less confident once Ysuran's Fear spell goes off, causing the forwardmost wave to promptly scatter in terror. Some simply knock themselves out by running into walls, while another meets its untimely end at Dante's boot heels. Yes, they're... not exactly the most durable little things, though there's a certain jingling sound when they fall, almost as if they're sacks filled with coins. That's just silly, though.

In any case, those who arrived after the vanguard show no signs of acknowledging their fallen comrades, instead moving immediately to attack the assembled heroes with their hammers and little scorching balls of violet arcane energy. It seems they're quite stupid though, as they make no attempt to take evasive action or even stay out of the way of each other's attacks... though it looks like they don't need to, as the little magic missiles turn out to arc *around* their allies and home in on their targets.

That may make things trickier.

    Dante looks confused as the minion just evaporates into gold pieces. Not that he'll pass up free money per kill. "Oh, hell yeah! Rent's gonna be no issue this month!" He says, before swiping out his sword against more of the minions. He chops and slashes, impaling a few minions in a dashing thrust before he knocks one into the air and switches to his pistols.

    Machine-gun fire blasts the little creep into bits, causing a shower of coin on the battlefield. Dante'll have to hoover this stuff up later.

Magic missile is probably the most standard spell Ysuran... actually DOESN'T know. Magic functions oddly from his world; given he's a necromancer, that he has ANY evocation spells is a wonder. But he knows OF it!

But this also calls for strategy on his part. Dante's demonstrating quite effectively that these things aren't living. So it's likely that much of his toolkit, being focused around drains and necrotic energy, wouldn't work against them.

But there is something that will. These things are still a very real threat, particularly to the townspeople. And these things have already taken a few lives. A couple of the guards have already fallen. Ysuran has to move fast to avoid getting smacked with several darts -- and he gets winged by a few either way -- but he has an idea.

Once he's reasonably out of danger, he reaches out to the fallen with his magic. The evil sacks of gold aren't his targets, though -- animating constructs if the purview of the artificer, not a necromancer -- the fallen guards are. His cowl begins to flutter slightly in a breeze that doesn't exist.

"Hear me, fallen souls," he begins. His voice is quiet, but the magic he's using seems to amplify it. "Hear me, and rise anew, that you may defend this place in death as you defended it in life...!"

    "I... I am so confused." Rydia admits.
    Between Veigar making threats and his minions turning to literal gold coins whent they die, the Summoner is just baffled. Not that this stops her from unslinging her bow and knocking an arrow into place and unleashing it at the nearest minion. The girl is a sureshot with a bow as she leaps over a waist-high wall. ... Well it would be waist high for most adults, for her it's pretty tall and takes some scrambling to get over, in order to avoid the magic missiles.

     One by one the minions fall, slashed into pieces, ripped apart by bullets, filled with arrows, and even set upon by the raised dead of vengeful guards. As they collapse to the ground, their robes spill more and more gold coins, littering the dirt and grass with bits of shiny yellow metal gleaming in the starlight (and the light of magic missiles).

"W-what!? No, no, this can't be happening! Did I read the scroll wrong? Did the dragon I slew have inferior gold among its hoard? Impossible!" Veigar whines, dropping to his knees as he watches his mighty army fall before him, wave after wave. Some of the houses even have onlookers poking their heads out through the windows and doors now, eyeing the spectacle... and some trying to suppress laughter at the little sorceror's plight.

"Where did it all go wrong? I went to so much effort to find that scroll, gather the materials, cast the spells... all rendered futile in mere MINUTES!" he shrieks, sounding on the verge of tears as he pounds his oversized gauntlet against the dirt road. "How could it all have fallen apart so easily?"

Ysuran is not taking any chances. This Veigar guy is clearly serious about this, whatever he's doing. Is there even a reason? Good time to ask.

So he starts to approach the tiny, desparing sorcerer. "...Why?" His voice is surprisingly kind. "Is there some reason you are doing this? What do you hope to gain from it?"

    With the minions numbers tapering off, Rydia will... Have to scoop up some gold for herself later. Right now the more important thing is Veigar himself as Ysuran attempts a gentler approach.
    She decides to follow the necromancer's lead as she slings her bow over a shoulder.
    "These people don't really seem to have all that much." She points out. "You're just kind of making it harder for them and they're going to like you a whole lot less if you keep it up." She notes. "Do you really have to do the evil sorceror thing? People tend to like good sorcerors more."

    Dante's Gun Kata is very strong, and he moves with immense swiftness as his pistols blaze away. His guns go from target to target, spraying bullets everywhere as he makes himself a neat pile of gold pieces. By the time the numbers dwindle, Dante's already getting himself a few bags worth for payment. Maybe a little extra, booze isn't cheap after all.

    "You probably wasted way more resources than these people have? Do you even know the name of this town?" He asks aloud, before realizing something. "...do -we- know the name of this town?"

     "I am... the master... of evil..." Veigar says between sobs, tears dripping onto the road beneath him, the claws of his gauntlet gouging furrows into the dirt. "Yet they do not fear me. They call me annoying, some call me... *cute*... but never 'terrifying' or 'monstrous' or things like that. I do so much to strike fear into their hearts, yet my phenomenal cosmic powers are not enough. Why? What do I lack? What did my master have that I do not?"

The mayor, dressed in his finest (fraying) robes of office, steps up while Veigar is sharing his sad little monologue. "Ahem, why, I do believe you've broken his spirit. He should be easy to bring in now, though it's a tragedy that he managed to kill a few of our guards. Those are the first actual fatalities caused by his antics, believe it or not." With a broad grin, he throws his hands out to the sides to gesture at all the gold on the ground. "In any case, it would seem you've found your payment already. It certainly saves me the trouble of digging into the town's budget, although if you wouldn't mind sharing a little with us, perhaps we could breathe some new life into this place. Why, yes, we may even find ourselves on maps soon enough, marked in bright, clear letters: The Town of-"

Another bolt of dark magic strikes the mayor square in the chest, knocking him back several feet and sending him sprawling on the ground. His robes are smoldering, but thankfully he doesn't seem to be dead, merely dazed. However, as the swirling sparks of arcane power surrounding his staff's head show, Veigar is not yet ready to give himself up. In fact, his eyes are glowing even brighter now, furiously burning like hot coals set in his fuzzy face.

"Nobody needs to know the name of this town. No cartographers will put it on any map. There will be no point, because as of now, I have decided this town will NO LONGER EXIST!" he shouts as angrily as his tiny lungs can muster, standing up and raising his staff to the sky. A series of shadows appear on the ground, and should anyone look up, they may notice some purple dots of light appearing in the sky, growing larger and larger... are those *meteors*?

Ysuran almost feels sorry for Veigar, honestly. Even if his aims are skewed, it is kinda sad that he's so badly dismissed. He remembers being wordlessly turned away from Evereska, without even being told why. It's a different kind of dismissal, but it's still a sound dismissal.

Yes, Ysuran's even capable of feeling pity for Veigar!

Well, that is, right up until Veigar gets serious, and blasts at the mayor. And summons... METEORS(?!). Then the sympathy has to take a backseat to practical concerns.

The necromancer moves to the mayor's side and tries to help him, while directing his newly-raised guards to focus on Veigar. He also calls to all the looky-loos, "Get back inside!" His voice becomes a hiss when it raises much above a normal speaking tone, but it's able to be heard and understood.

    Dante dismisses the sorcerer's sob-story, rather disinterested given he just tried to sack a whole village. "Oh, cry us a river." He mutters, eyes rolling to the back of his head as he turns to the mayor. Just in time for a blast of magic to hit him right in the chest, and suddenly no more mister nice guy.

    Dante stares up at the air, and it registers. "Oh boy, time to go."

    He opens up on the meteors themselves, trying to make them much, much smaller projectiles. Small problem is, they're gonna be way more numerous.

    Hands on her hips, Rydia is definitely going to be helping herself to some of that gold as the Mayor comes out to congratulate everyone on a job well done of stopping the tiny terror that is VEIGAR.
    "Still kind of sucks that we had to make him cry..." She muses.
    Right before the mayor eats an arcane jolt of dark magic to the chest and the tiny terro calls down...
    "... Meteors..." Rydia breathes.
    On her world, to summon a meteor is the strongest form of Black Magic there is.
    But the child doesn't run for cover. Instead she rushes right for Veigar himself in a full on dead tilt of a sprint. Before she leaps...
    Flinging herself into a full force leap, she makes to flying tackle the tiny terror to the ground and... Slug him in the face as hard as she can. And if she gets that first punch in? She'll haul off and do it again. And again and again with all the might her tiny body can muster.
    "Call them off! Call them off now!"

     The undead guardsmen soon eat a few more of those dark magic blasts, knocking them back as well while Veigar slowly retreats, cackling madly the whole time. "Mwahahahahah! Yes, this town will soon be nothing but RUBBLE! Scorched craters with nothing but the scattered debris of your homes and livelihoods to tell anyone you were ever here! FLEE! Run for your lives, scream for the fear that you may lose them as well! Hahahaha!"

The people do as Ysuran says, heading back into their homes and barring their doors, while the mayor groans and sits up with a hand tenderly placed on his chest. "Ooogh... felt like getting slugged by one of those pit boys..." he remarks, then coughs a bit.

In the meantime, Rydia has pounced on Veigar and started pounding his face into the dirt, knocking his hat off of his head and leaving his cat-like face exposed in the starlight. "Heheheh, there's no way to call them off once they've been summoned. You're all doomed! DOOMED! HAHAHAHAHHA!" However, he changes his tune rather quickly as Dante starts shooting the meteors mid-fall, splintering them into smaller fragments. Some are still large enough to puncture the roofs of the buildings, and a few strike the ground with enough force to kick up some dust and leave small craters, but the cries from the residents seem to be more of surprise than pain at least. The other fragments pelt like rain, though those that find unprotected skin are still scorching to the touch and will likely leave scars if not dealt with quickly.

"N-no, it can't be..." Veigar mumbles again, his eyes shrinking to little yellow dots as he stares off into space, a trickle of blood running from his nose. "Not again..."

While the rain of smaller, still dangerous particles happens, Ysuran asks the mayor quietly, "Can you stand?" Before advising in a concerned tone, "You need to get inside as well. Even with the smaller debris, it's still quite dangerous."

This will be more easily illustrated when a smaller, but still smoldering, piece of the debris hits Ysuran's robed arm and the fabric starts to smoke. He'll put it out quickly, but it's a good sign to get inside.

If he needs to help the mayor into his house -- more likely just 'a nearby house' for the time being he will. Rydia and Dante seem to have the meteor situation in hand. For the trip, Ysuran removes that slightly scorched robe and puts it over the mayor to escort him into cover nearby.

    Dante seems to have the meteors handled, and he slaps a rock out of the air without a thought before he watches Rydia pound away at Veigar. He's made of sterner stuff than some stupid falling rocks, after all.

    "Rydia, hey. Hey kid!" He calls out, after judging Veigar to have had enough of a beating. He wanders over towards the two, and Dante reaches with both arms, guns stowed, and then he pulls Rydia close.

    Then he hugs her. "Enough. ENOUGH, okay?" He barks suddenly, "We're done, he's finished. Nobody's hurt. Now come on!" He says, fighting to pull Rydia free and hoist her up, carrying her towards the nearest source of cover.

    Rydia... Doesn't have much of anything in hand. Save for Veigar who she is busily pummeling repeatedly, pausing only briefly when the littler dark sorcerer says that the spell cannot be called off. "Nngh...!"
    Reeling her fist back to resume the beating, it's Dante that snags her off of Veigar. She tenses at the hug, unused to the physical contact, before she's hoisted and ran toward cover.
    "I'm not done with you, you!" She shouts. "I'm not done with you!"
    Kitten has claws.

     The mayor is quickly taken care of, thanking Ysuran repeatedly between labored breaths as he's escorted back to his house with a protective robe now around him. "Yes, thank you. It would seem we underestimated him after all..."

Veigar, however, doesn't respond to anything further from Rydia *or* Dante pulling her off of him, too busy quaking with the utmost terror his body can express. "No... it can't be... not now..." he mumbles, before suddenly scrambling back to his feet, grabbing his hat and yanking it down onto his head, and hurriedly scampering off toward the nearby fields, disappearing into the wheat. "He's coming... he's coming! I'm not ready! None of us are ready!"

A few moments later, the wheat rustles once again, and from it emerges... not Veigar, but a tall, muscular man dressed in an incomplete suit of ancient iron armor, his upper arms bare, legs clad in silk pants and leather boots with iron greaves, and his head wrapped in a tattered old purple monk's hood. A short, scruffy beard adorns his chin, and his face is illuminated by the soft blue light emanating from a crystal bulb-shaped vial slung around his neck. It's not just the light though- his skin is also a pale blue, and his eyes utterly lacking in color.

Approaching the offworlders, this strange individual jams the blade of his flat-headed shovel into the dirt and leans on it, regarding them with those lifeless eyes. "So I see. You are the strange presence I felt." he casually states, scratching at his beard with his free hand. "You did well to fend off the yordle sorceror. Those talents may be the very thing I seek."

    Dante doesn't let Rydia go until he's -certain- she's cooled off. Until then, he just holds onto her.

    As the mysterious individual shows up, Dante just kind of watches with an arched brow. "Careful, he'll eat you alive." He says, watching Veigar run off.

    Setting Rydia down, Dante just sizes the guy up. "Uhhh huh. So what do you want? Don't tell me this was just a roundabout talent hunt."

When Ysuran returns to the scene, Veigar seems to be panicking about something. Or, as the elf soon discovers, someONE. Possibly the strange, blue-skinned guy that appears in the wheat?

He's not sure what to make of this guy... particularly because though his magical senses alert him to a familiar energy... it also alerts him to something not so familiar!

He tilts his head at the man's words, though. He nods to Dante's words, adding, "...Indeed. What need would you have of 'talents' such as ours?" he inquires. He's not offering, no -- he's questioning. That said he's also trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Since, well. He's been doubted plenty because he's a necromancer and uses the Shadow Weave.

    Rydia is still kicking and flailing up until Dante sets her down. The small girl gives a petulant huff. But there goes Veigar running off into the wheat and Rydia takes a beat to smooth out her robes and compose herself. Just as a new figure approaches.
    And he says they may have the skills he seeks.
    "... And... Who are you exactly?"

     The strange man remains silent for a moment, then nods. "Ah, yes, introductions. It has been a long time since I spoke with anyone... living." he says in a gravely tone, then seems to think for another second or two before answering. "The dead do not often care for names, merely purpose. I shepherd wayward and restless souls, returning them to the ground from whence they came. I am the rift between life and death, the thin divide between breath and the grave. The singular bastion which shields the world of the living from the forces beyond. My name, when it matters, is Yorick."

Another pause, his gaze drifting into empty space before he focuses on them again. "However... I am weary. For a thousand years and more I have wandered, returning the dead to where they belong, clinging to life by the barest thread, through sacred or profane means I cannot claim to know. Yet as I tire, the unnatural forces I face continue to grow stronger, year after year, claiming more and more souls to bolster their armies. I use their own power against them, but it will surely overwhelm me one day, perhaps even soon. For this reason, I sought talented champions, few in number yet great in skill and power, to lend aid to my cause. For you see..."

He gazes off into the night sky again, where dark stormclouds are building up on the horizon, a peal of thunder rumbling across the fields. "The Harrowing approaches."