Wait! The voice screched and the woman appeared behind the group.  She was still looking like an ugly old hag.  They are mine.  Give me what I want and I shall help you back.  Go into that witches house and it will be certain death. She glared.

After a moment, he voice softened and she spoke to Aubria, You don't want anyone hurt, do you child?  Just give me what I want and all will be well.

"Oooooh, no, I'm not giving it to ya, lady," Aubria shot at the hag sorceress, adjusting Kelris's weight slightly on her shoulders. "I'm not giving you all that power so you can cause chaos and havoc!" With her free hand she clasped her golden disk protectively. The jewel is far too dangerous in the wrong hands, she thought with determination. Mentally she prepared to hand Kelris off entirely to Tauri and fight the hag if necessary. "Cinder, Tauri, we gotta head inside the house," she whispered lightly so only the two men could hear her.

He stands up, facing neither and both of the witches.  He raises his hand into the air.  The sudden flare of light is almost blinding as the flame on his hand kicks up and turns white hot.  Heat radiating can be felt by all.

"No fraggin way hag.  If I sees ya again, I teach you whole new world of pain for I rip out yur heart."  There is another pulse of heat and flash of light as he extends his hand towards Marci, the bones of his fingers breaking through and forming claws.

The gun may be frightening, but he could do oh so much more damage with a touch.

Fools. The woman hissed and shrunk away.  Then looking at the other and back to the group she laughed.  An evil, gleeful laugh as she shrunk back away from the fire, allowing them  freedom to enter the house if they were so inclined.

"C'mon, punk, let's go," Aubria whispered to Tauri, poking his foot with hers and gesturing towards the house with her head. The hag sorceress's laugh creeped her out, and she trusted a fellow witch, if the sorceress had correctly called her such. She began walking slowly towards the house, she and Tauri carrying the orc still.

Looking at the other resident of this world, Cinder shakes his head.  "No, I don't trust dis one neither."  His hand balls into a fist, the claws digging into his own hand.  Drops of blood sizzle and evaporate in the heat, leaving a sickly sweet smell in the air.

He steps towards the 'woman' and sizes her up.

This woman has watched the proceedings with a hint of a smile.  With Cinder's approach, she draws her self up taller, but her arms stay folded across her chest and she remains in a crooked stance.

We was just settin down to dinner.  I bet yous hungry.  Nana's a good cook. She spoke to Aubria.

"That would be good, thank you," Aubria said to the woman with a nod after glaring slightly at Cinder. She trudged forward a bit more, still slow as she and Tauri were weighed down by Kelris. "Our friend Kelris here," she shrugged her shoulder to gesture to the orc, "also needs care- he was knocked unconscious by that crazy sorceress lady." Aubria still had a hold on her communication disk as well as supporting the orc.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:24, Mon 25 Jan 2010.

The woman smiled and stepped aside,  gesturing for Aubria and her friend and the orc to enter.  I'm not surprised. She cast a triumphant smile to the old hag that had shrunk back, but was not gone.  She met the other's eye for a moment. Don't you worry none. She glanced to Tauri. There's a room yous can put him in, with a nice soft bed inside on the left.

Max caustiously took a few steps forward watching Aubria and Tauri heading up the townhouse steps. Fools rush in... She muttered.  Glancing at Cinder she stepped up nearer him, but she wasn't too happy about being too near him. This is bad. She said matter of factly, still not sure if she was going to follow or not.

Tauri had taken a couple baby steps toward the house, mostly because Aubria was walking that way, which was pulling Kelris' arm against his shoulder. At the same time, he was thinking on Cinder's comment, and Max's, when it came. So far, everything he'd encountered in this world had been hostile, and he wasn't sure there was enough evidence to assume that this...whatever she was...would break the pattern. She seemed nice enough, but so did a Venus Fly Trap to a fly.
"Aubria," he said quietly, stopping his progress forward and hoping she would do the same. "Are we sure we can trust her?" Heck, the lady herself and her house might just be another clever illusion, courtesy of the warty wicked witch.

"I..." Aubria paused, biting her lip. "I just have this sense about things. Attuned to magic and all that jazz," she replied to Tauri, stopping in her tracks when he did. She looked up at the seemingly kinder woman and said diplomatically, "It seems that my party does not trust you like I do. Is... there a way that you can prove you are not like... evil?"

The woman looked at the assembled crew, her eyes squinting.  The moths which fluttered around her gave off a sronger glow, and hovered a bit further away.

I offered ya my home, food... I ain't got nothin' to prove to yous! She snorted glaring at each being assembled.   I ain't makin' yas come in.  I offered, yous can accept my hospitality or not. She huffed with an indignant shifting of her shoulders.

You KNOW what I want, girl.  And you KNOW it is rightfully mine.  That witch is not your friend. Give me what is mine, and I will send you home. The woman called out from behind.

"Tauri, take him, get him inside, now, Aubria whispered, slowly sliding Kelris's arm off her shoulders. She slipped the gem out of her disk, along with some of the sand inside it, and faced the old creepy hag. Instead of replying, she closed her hand with the gem inside it and placed her other hand palm down on top of it, fingers outstretched. "Nice try, demon spawn... JUPITIOUS!" she shouted fiercely. Lightning shot out of her fingertips directly at the sorceress hag.

The spell from Aubria flew thru the air and then stopped, almost as if it hit a force field and disappeated.  Fools, the woman muttered.  I speak the truth... and yet you trust her?  You will get what you deserve. She snorted.

Max gave an exaggerated sigh.  She leaned a bit closer to Aubria in order to speak quietly, What do you really know about either of these two? She asked.  You think you figured out what the ugly one wants, but do you know why she wants it?  Is it really hers?... I don't mean to question your witchy-ness. She smirked at that, But it seems to me you might be a bit quick to take action here?

"It's not hers, I need to return this gem to the Council," Aubria said quietly in annoyance. Only Cinder and Max could clearly hear her. "She has evil intentions for the power that can be unlocked with this stone, and believe me, it'll make her powerful beyond belief. I've barely scratched at the amplification abilities the stone holds." She still held her hands in the same position and shouted a new spell.

"TERRIUS!" Boulders the size of smart cars hurled themselves at the hag from, verging in at all sides.

Sparing a glance at the new witch woman he shakes his head.  "I no trust yur skank ass but at least ya aint fugly."  He turns towards the hag and starts to walk slowly towards her.  "I told ya wat I be doin to ya."  He lets the gun drop to his side as he approaches her, ignoring the boulders flying around.  His eyes glow with their own fire and his body starts to spasm slightly, as he makes more minute adjustments.

The old woman sighs and shakes her head.  You know so little, foolish girl.  But then I suppose I was young and foolish one day.... How I got to be here. She snorted.  The rocks flying past her, but she made no attempt at retaliation.   If anything she looked sad and resigned.

"Yes, I know little," Aubria said calmly, lowering her hands and replacing the gem within her disk. All the sand she'd been holding had vanished, and she still glared at the hag sorceress. "That is why I travel- to learn and see new things. But, as little as I know, this I know for certain: You can never have this sunstone, for I need to return it to its rightful place where it can never be found."

Now the woman's eyes showed anger clearly, It's rightful place?  It's rightful place, little girl is with me!  Her upset was clear as she glared at Aubria and the entity behind her.

That stone was stolen from my family long before you even existed.  The self aggrandizing, selfish justifications for the theft have caused my world to be... THIS! She tossed a snort and her hands gestured.  The darkness to reign in fear and chaos, creatures like THAT one. She pointed to the woman in the door way To work their evil.  Rightful Place! She spit.

And you are no better than the rest.  You travel She said snidely, But you don't even try. You "see new things" but only with your blind eyes.  So you learn nothing. She shook her head in disgust.

I would not mourn what is about to happen to you if it did not mean the fate of this world will be sealed forever... because of the pettiness of a little girl who thinks she's so worldly and knows it all. The anger was fading to sadness.  Certainly not for the girl, perhaps for the others, though it would be their choice to follow, but a despire of self pity.

Aubria simply stared at the woman with wide eyes. "That's a lie. The stone was taken from a sorceror of my own world centuries ago because he corrupted the stone and tried to cover my world with darkness and demons! It's not even a genuine sunstone anymore!" Placing a hand over her disk, she murmured, "Come to think of it, I'm rather surprised that I was able to do anything with it."

Suddenly, the orange gem set into her disk began to glow slightly, and Aubria thought, Oh, shoot, Zahura must be trying to contact me. I am so dead, whether by this hag or Zahura herself!

Silently Aubria hoped that Cinder, who appeared as if he wanted to attack the hag, would attack her soon. She figured that would simplify the situation by a lot.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:46, Wed 27 Jan 2010.

Cinder continues to walk straight at the hag, no obvious changes are made to his body but he does make a couple of twitches and he starts to move faster, much faster.  Closing the remaining distance at a very fast sprint.

Max watched the scene unfold.  Wait. She said to Cinder, catching up with him in long fluid inhuman movements.  Coming to almost block his path, she cast a glance in both directions at the witches, and spoke to him softly,