Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Several days of awkward silence? I hope that was hyperbole eek ))

Waiting near the base of the stairs was, indeed, a surprise. Just passing through the doorway that led into the stairwell, a large, double-bladed axe came striking down towards Joe. The holder of said axe was covered in armour, but for some strange reason the sound of metal clinking was muffled. There was a very vague aura of magic that shone from a short black cape that adorned his full plate.

Seeing the rest of the group he goes around introducing himself to the remaining members. Approaching Merasha, and shaking her hand, he says, "Ah, so you, my dear, are my summoner. Why are you imprisoned? Surely one with such raw magical power, could escape the confines of mere stone and metal?"

Moving on to Talmaya he introduces himself and bows with a flourish, "My dear, you perhaps, practice the lovely art of water magic? Though surely it could never match your own lovely visage."

Addressing Krisa he says, "Such feral grace, such fierce beauty, such prodigious musculature. Truly you are a hunter among hunters. I fear for any beast, sentient or otherwise, that should slight you in any way."

Hearing the sounds of combat from the stairwell, Daras frowns and turns to the rest of the group and says, "I believe our tall friend has found something with which to entertain himself." He adds, with a small grin, "Shall we go and watch?"

The cape lit onto fire with no problem. This caused a bit of panick in the assailant, whose axe hit the stone floor, sending sparks every which way. At first the clang was quiet, but then it suddenly got loud as a blue flash could be seen from the ignited cape. Secondary to the clank of the axe was a high pitched whining noise and a lot of crackling as the magical energy imbued in the cape was released from its destruction.

The guard dropped his axe and stumbled back, putting his hands to his ears in a futile act to drown out the horrible noise. What should have been just a light clink of his metal gauntlets touching the sides of his helmet was an earsplitting explosion of sound. Addled, he was unable to evade Joe's saber as it found its way unto one of the weak crevices of the armour, poking its way into his flesh, but not deeply. Every little sound, again, was many more decibels than he should have been making. Reaching back he tore the ruined cape off and threw it at the ground, watching it burn in blue flames. Finally, the noise distortion stopped.

Still against the wall, the armoured man looked up, his breathing irregular, and for those capable of smelling such things, there was the distinct smell of fear. For those with just regular sense of smell, the stench of urine. "I-it's true... the-there are demons! Please... get back... get back!" A tail swung erratically behind him, a bludgeon-like bony protrusion occasionally rattling against the stone wall.

The smooth introduction of the smallish, plated individual could produce no less than a smile from Merasha, whose eyes almost completely disappeared in the folds of her round, gray face. "Not so... not so... but I will explain once we are out..." Merasha responded. She wasn't about to make the same mistake of appearing incompetent in front of this one. It would be nice to have at least two out of the five behave respectfully towards her. "We'll just head on do-" she trailed off as the sounds a skirmish erupted, and she glanced down the hall. "Impatient…." She muttered under her breath. She gathered herself up and lifted her chin, losing all pleasantness in her countenance as she began to march over to the stairwell, only to be halted by the loud noise. She quickly covered her ears. "What did that fool DO?"

Talmaya stared at Daras as he gave a very elegant introduction. She hesitated a moment to respond, having only stared back at him with a blank expression… or so it seemed blank as all that could be seen were her sea green eyes. After a moment Talmaya offered a small nod. "Such… flattering words are not conventional where I come from…" was all she managed to say in her low voice before her thoughts were interrupted by the noise from the stairwell.

While all the ruckus was happening, there was just a subtle distortion, like a small heat wave, Merasha and Rena. Then, asif cutting their way through the rift of reality, four 3 inch-long throwing knifes appeared in the air, hurling towards Merasha.

Looking at Talmaya, Daras smiles and says, "That may be, my dear, but, where I am from, not only are words such as these used, but in the presence of such beauty they are demanded of me. For, what good is language if it cannot be used to express the joy of such inherent loveliness." Daras barely finishes before the cacophony of sound begins. Covering his ears, he looks over to the stairwell and states through gritted teeth, "Is this what we are going to have to deal with every time he gets bored? If so then I believe we should make sure he is bored very little. That sound could wake the dead!!"

Watching the knifes being deflected by the fairy Daras jumps a little and queries, "Why in the world are there knifes flying from out of nowhere?" Looking at Merasha, "I really must insist that as soon as we are safe, we talk about what is going on, and I won't take no for an answer." Picking up the knifes, Daras puts them in a pouch. "I really think you should use your own magic instead of relying on that of one so young."

Joe winced and used his wind magic to create a sort of vacuum around his ears, such that the noise was only a buzz and a throb and not an overpowering thunder. When it finally stopped, he advanced on the guard with his Saber leading, ready to strike the man down until he began to beg for his life.

"I have no desire to take the life of one who isn't prepared to lose it," Joe said, perhaps the deepest thing he'd said since being summoned. "You're not worthy to die on my blade if you can't even control your bladder." He sheathed the Saber with a final schnikt. "Get out of my sight before I immolate you where you stand."

That done, he turned dismissively away and headed back to the group to warn them that they should probably get out of the area before more guards came to investigate that hideous noise.

Rena gave a deep sigh of relief once she found out that her master was unharmed, and she was happy that she could help. She was about to say that she was glad when she heard Daras' comment. Shaking her head quickly, she said to the polite creature. "I don't mind at all Daras. After all, Master summoned us so that we could help her out, so it's only natural that I use my magic to the best of my abilities while I'm here." She gave him a smile, and then turned around to find that the others had gone ahead. "Wah don't go without me!" She rushed to catch up, and then she watched the rear like she was supposed to. Her attention was extra vigilant now that she knew attacks could come from anywhere at any time.

Seeming to accept Merasha's explanation, Daras hurries to catch up and keeps pace with Rena. "Well consider that even the lowest lifeforms have some manner of conversing. They can only relate the most basic of thoughts, fear, hunger, anger, and maybe sadness. With these the creature can communicate all it needs to survive." He pauses a moment to let it sink in and continues, "Why then would the Gods see fit to gift us with greater cognitive and expressive abilities, if all words were but mere survival tools?"
Glancing back at the man, Daras sighs, "Now that we are all here again, would you all please grace me with your own names? I know Rena's, of course. But the rest of you have left me in the proverbial dark."

Krisa shook her head, both shaking the remaining ringing from her ears and in reaction to the fact that this guard who she would have assumed was supposed to be a brave warrior had lost control of himself like some prey animal and run away in terror. "If all the beings in this world are such cowards, this should be a rather easy job," she muttered to herself.

Following the rest down the stairs, she nodded at Joe's offer to teach Rena wind magic. "And I can attempt to teach you ice and snow magic, though I must admit, I'm still learning the finer nuances of it myself."

She turned to Daras when he began to complain about not knowing anyone's name. "I am Krisafia Tharin, subject of Namaraht, Lord of the Ice Sheets. You may call me Krisa. The others seemed to have trouble with my full name," she smiled a little.