Aubria's eyes widened. She knew of some sorceresses that transformed, but never to make themselves uglier. The woman was still as confusing as ever.

"Give what to you?" Aubria hissed, now becoming slightly angry. She stood in a defensive stance..

The woman approached menacingly, You know full well what I want. She glared. Do not try to triffle with me child. She reached a knarled hand out, pointing one finger at Kelris, who still appeared dazed.

With a look, an unseen energy traveled from her pointed finger to the Orc. His body jerked and he fell over sideways.

Her eyes traveled to those assembled. Anyone else have something to add? Her attention back to Aubria. Are you going to give it to me or are you and your friends going to suffer?

Aubria stared at the fallen orc, then held up her hands in alarm. "Look, most of my stuff I left back at the tavern. I probably can't get you what you want anyways!" Mentally, Aubria checked to see what she did have on her besides her clothes- the disk hanging from her neck, one of her tools in her pocket, and the bag hanging from her neck. Somehow, though, Aubria doubted the woman wanted any of that.

Aubria warily eyed the ring of fire surrounding them. She didn't have a way to run, not now, and she had to force herself to remain calm.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:53, Wed 30 Dec 2009.

That was it.
Before this point, Tauri had been pointing the gun stiffly at the wicked woman with a fearful grimace, but whatever she did to Kelris finally snapped him. As the orc fell to the ground, Tauri pressed his finger down on the trigger and held. Everything around him began to vibrate subtly from the high-frequency waves the weapon was emitting.
His hand was trembling slightly, but even he didn’t know if that was just from the gun’s vibrations or from fear.

She humphed, sighed, rolled her eyes and was about to speak, when she felt the effects of the annoying man's gun.  She hadn't been expecting that.  Not from that one.  Of course, she hadn't expected those two to come along for the ride.

She let out a blood curdling howel and with flare filled gesture of her hand... disappeared. The ring of fire, however, remained.

Aubria felt odd vibrations around her and realized they must be coming from Tauri's gun. Despite her dislike of Tauri, she couldn't help but smile at him and nod in thanks. "Hey, could you turn that thing off now?" Aubria shouted at Tauri. She look warily at the flames remaining, thinking of how she could get rid of them.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:32, Wed 30 Dec 2009.

Well that was a little dull. Max sighed looking between those assembled.  She nudged Kel with her toe, the Orc groaned, so she both let up and left him alone.

So girly, what is it that she wants?  She asked turning her attention to Aubria.

Reluctantly, Tauri peeled his finger away from the trigger and the humming stopped.    After a moment in the moon, Tauri finally realized what had just happened. I didn't kill her, did I? He lowered his gun and checked the largest dial on its side. It's only at seven, so there's no way it could've made her vanish like that. Funny. He assumed it was some of the strange, impossible, magic stuff that was going on around here.
Impossible was just about right. So, if this wasn't possible, then it wasn't real, right?
A dream? Maybe, but probably not.
Hallucinations were more likely.
Well, just in case the wicked witch of my imagination comes back... He twisted the dial up a few notches, and then flicked at the safety before slipping it back under his belt.
"Better yet, anyone have marshmallows?" The warmth from the fire was aggravating, so Tauri figured they ought to get some use out of it.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:00, Thu 31 Dec 2009.

Aubria shrugged, flipping her hair back. "I honestly have no clue. Either she has the wrong witch or what she wants is back at the tavern." Looking down at the ground, Aubria realizes she recognizes a small withered plant at her feet. "Hey, that'll help with putting out this fire," she said partly to herself, crouching down and yanking out the weed, roots and all. It was frail enough that Aubria crushed it into a powder with her hands. Flinging it out at sections of the fire ring, including right next to Tauri, she mumbled, "Pyronius Reversum." Most of the fire died, but some sections still were lit weakly.

"Hmm...nevermind." Tauri said as the majority of the fire died, and the slightly cool air began to reclaim the area. Tauri shook a bit of dead whatever-it-was plant off his shoe before stuffing his thumbs in his pockets and tilting his head up slightly. With a teasing air of royalty, Tauri began to pace along a burned out section of the fire ring, following the arc of darkened earth with his simple black shoes.

Aubria rolled her eyes at Tauri, then knelt by Kelris. "Oh, I hope you aren't dead," she mumbled, checking for a pulse right under his chin. Guilt flooded through her, watering her eyes slightly as she thought about how she'd persuaded him to tag along.

The fire's disappearance is short lived.  After a moments hesitation, it flares back to life, it's flames higher and stronger than before....  It barely misses Tauri, whom presumably had the good sense to jump out of the way...

"He isn't." Tauri said, taking a quick glance at the orc before resuming his pacing.
Of course, he didn't resume it for long, as the ring of flames burst back into life, and he threw himself backward, landing hard on the dirt.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:20, Thu 31 Dec 2009.

For a witch, you don't seem to... um bright. Max growled.  Listen girly, this isn't your little home town.  The orc will be fine. He's alive.  Think.  What does she want?  What could she want? Max demanded more than a bit impatiently.

Now Aubria was ticked at the blonde woman. She jumped up after affirming Tauri's words that Kelris was alive and shot at her, "I DON'T KNOW, OK?! I don't know why she singled me out, why she dragged us here, or what she wants! I don't even know how she knows me!!!" Aubria panted, digging her fingernails into her palms. "Nothing I have could possibly interest a sorceress anyways. It's all witch magic," she finished in a calmer, but still angry, tone of voice.

Max scowled.  She was rotten at this.  But she once had a job where she had to deal with a small child.  Once.  It hadn't gone well... but still.

Look. She said trying to be calm and not sound like she was ready to trottle the girl. Clearly She does think you have something that she wants.  Let's start at the top... what DO you have with you?  A little bobble maybe?  Some... What did girls call things? Some pretty ...hair thingie?

As long as the girl was not going to think of possibilities this was going to be difficult.  For a moment, Max considered focusing her attention on the fire, but for now, the fire was keeping them safe as much as it was trapping them.

Aubria huffed, then replied with a sigh, "I have my broom I fly on, a bag full of potions and powders, this powder that I have," she held up the one around her neck, "this communication disk of mine," she pointed to the golden disk around her neck, "and my wand." Aubria pulled out a wooden cylinder out of a deep hidden pocket and pushed a button on it, extending the wand to its full length. "Sorceresses don't need any of that stuff for magic like witches do. I don't even have any powerful gems that a sorceress would want to boost her power."

It was only when he gained enough breath to push himself to his feet that he realized that his backward thrust had not only gotten him out of the range of the flames, but out of the fire circle altogether, and now--with the flames even higher than before--all the others had become dark silhouettes behind a wall of flame.
"Hmm." Giving the heated plumes a wide berth, Tauri paced around the cylindrical flames, thinking on what he should do next. Being outside the circle didn't strike him as much better than being in it, assuming what the woman had said about this being her world was true. Wherever they were, Tauri wouldn't be able to find his way back home, or to the tavern, for that matter.
Some of the others here seemed proficient in this strange magic stuff, especially Aubria. One of them would probably have a solution to the location problem, if they could just get rid of this fire.
His gun was useless. It started fires, but didn't put them out. The only thing he could thing to use was water, but he wasn't even sure it would work on this magical fire.
Still, worth a try, wasn't it? Still skirting about the edge of the fire ring, Tauri began glancing around the trees, looking for a stream hiding among the darkness.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:08, Thu 31 Dec 2009.

Alright... She frowned, thinking and went to turn to Tauri to ask his thought.

Max swore realizing where the man was. This is worse than baby sitting. She muttered, and tried to take a calming breath.  She had an out cold orc, little miss muffet and now Smartass the missing.  And to top it all of fire.

Hey... you... gun boy. She shouted over the flame.  What do you see?  She called over, hoping that he was standing in a stream and mentally reviewing the list of items Aubria has mentioned.

"Not much, and nothing to use on the fire! This really is a weird place." Everything looks dull. Tauri thought as he ran his finger down the trunk of a stale tree. And dark.

Max sighed again and looked around.  Why had she followed them?  She could have stayed back at the Tavern....  She could transform, but ... no that was not needed.

Can you walk through it? She called over the flame to Tauri.

Alright... She looked at Aubria.  What does your ...communicator communicate with? She asked and walked over to the flame, but not real close.

"The fire? You've gotta be kidding!" Tauri was sure the CEA had some sort of suit that would weather the flames, but Tauri's body certainly couldn't. Rangeproof vest? Check.
Flameproof? No check.

Aubria snickered and was glad to be rid of Tauri, at least temporarily. She wasn't sure if this other lady was much better, though. Something about her seemed unnatural to Aubria.

"Oh, I can use this device to communicate with anyone I know," Aubria replied simply, holding the disk on her palm. "I usually use it to keep in touch with my best friend Sami and my mentor." Aubria kept a curious eye on the woman as she waited for a reply.

Max scowled.  That didn't seem worth while for their host.  She turned again to consult with Tauri and remembered he was otherwise occupied.

Okay... think, she told her self.

Alright.... Pi... She pasued, glancing at Aubria and growled in exasperation again, Pee on it. She shouted to Tauri and turned her attention back to Aubria.Alright, so you got this communicator... and some dust.  And a broom....  You got any jewlery?

Tauri laughed at Max's comment, and somehow, that tossed the whole situation into perspective.
Home was soooo terribly dull compared to this, so really, who wanted to go back? Surveying the surrounding forest again, he noticed something odd. In a single direction, the black seemed impossibly dark, as if some scientist should photograph it and give it a whole new name. Just one more thing for the kids to learn. That made him smile even wider. Since, as far as he could see, he was isolated from the others, he might as well go for a little explore.
In what direction?
Well, the only one that was different, of course, and that would be the darkest one. So, weaving his way between the tree trunks, he began walking toward the pitch, occasionally looking back to keep the dampened orange glow of the fire in view.