Name: Charisse  Race: Human 

Ht: 5’6, Wt: 130,  Sex: Female, 

Archetype: Rogue

HP: 7 / 7  Mana: 0 / 0

Stats: 

Physical: 2, Moxie : 3, Spiritual: 2, Luck : 3, 

Agility : 3, Magic : 2, Mental : 2, Energy : 2.

Relevant Skills: Archetype - Awareness, Stealth - Hide, Stealth - Move Silent

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Bright light tried to burrow its way into Charisse's skull. Confused, she briefly wondered why her basement was so bright. The carpet was cool. "Fuck me," she said as she opened her eyes and sat up. She was in a clearing, "F," a hand wrapped around her mouth, muffling the rest of the curse.

"We are safe but need you to be quiet." Todd's voice whispered in her ear. 

Turning around, Todd and Jax stood nearby, armor blackened and burnt, faces smudged with dry blood and streaks of sweat. Jax smiled and walked a dozen feet away, leaning against a tree while peering around it.

"Sorry, thought I was back in the glade," Charisse said.

"It's ok; we got away," Todd said.

"What happened?" Charisse took in the clearing; they were sitting on the edge of it. The thick forest behind her, slight movement above her, from someone in the branches. Her backpack and sheathed shortsword lay nearby. 

"Jax's aura makes the king mortal. Your strike and a hit from Jax caused did real damage. As he cried out in pain, some soldiers emerged from the trees. They covered his retreat, and a few gave chase as we fled as well." 

"He knew us, well, not exactly, but he knew," Charisse said.

"Mark gave it some thought; he wonders if one of the demands of Furcas was for him to take us to the king to kill him." Todd gave a glance to the right. Leaning against a tree, Mark stood watching thirty feet away.

"Damn, that's a good request, now, but not when we first start the game." Charisse chewed on her cheek a little before stretching. "I'm glad I didn't die, but if I do, next time, try to continue without me. I'd hate to be the reason forcing everyone to backtrack." 

"No," Todd said. His face grew hard as his jaw clenched, and his brow lowered. "We are not leaving anyone behind. Wouldn't surprise me if Furcas only allowed those in attendance a trip home." 

"One last way to screw us over." Charisse shivered as she pondered, being stuck in this world alone. "Did you lose the soldiers then?"

"Kind of, invisible fields of energy tend to discourage pursuit, at least the speedy kind." 

"Now what?" As she said the words, her energy evaporated. "Will the villagers be safe?"

"Not sure, no plan has been made; we were waiting for you. I think we have Jax tell the villagers the king hired the goblins. Maybe help them find a different location on our way to Tremain."

"Hopefully, since they weren't there, they'll suffer no blowback. What about the Haltheen people?" Charisse mulled over the people hidden in the mountain.

"It'd be a week there with so many people and stuff. If they didn't agree, or if we couldn't find them, it's another week or so back." Todd shrugged and rested a hand on Charisse's shoulder. 

"We're missing something. Why would he have goblins attack his people?" Charisse closed her eyes as she tried to find an answer.

"No clue, maybe they laughed at him when he was not king? I don't even know if the village was there four months ago. The whole place seemed recently built and temporary."

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"What are we waiting on then?" Charisse put her backpack on and grabbed her sword.

"Reggie is looking to see if there is a cleric aura or something he can use as well. From the surprise in the king's tone, I'm guessing previous versions never tried using the Paladin aura against him." Todd glanced upward.

Charisse followed his gaze, up in the tree tied to the trunk, Reggie sat on a branch. 

"So, we could be here for hours?" Charisse glanced around to find a comfortable place to keep watch.

"He said he was only going to look in the Archetype description and index. He'll review the spells available to him at a later time when we're not in danger." Todd looked up toward Reggie. "He was worried King Dick would still be hunting us and figured half an hour to do some research."

"How long has he been up there?" Charisse looked around, scanning the nearby clearing.

Across the clearing, the trees didn't move. No out of place shadows, tree branches bent at odd angles, nor glint of light off of metal. If she hadn't known there was a group of soldiers looking for them, Charisse would have felt at ease. 

The animals of the forest near them had not started making noise again. A gentle breeze rustling through the trees and waving the grass, and a faint murmur was covering up the sound of footsteps. Charisse kept looking around, glaring and scrutinizing each leaf and shadow. 

"I'm going to scout around. If they are waiting for us, I'd rather know." Charisse softly said. She looked at Todd. "Too quiet." 

"Alright, don't wander too far," Todd glanced at his wrist, then sighed. "Just try to be back in ten minutes." 

Crouching, her head was still higher than the wild grass in the clearing. She would have to crawl for it to offer any cover. Working her way around; instead, she kept to the trees and brush, even walking more in-depth into the forest to avoid an exposed location. It took minutes to cover a dozen yards, soon Charisse guessed ten minutes had passed. 

Looking back in the direction of her friends, Todd was quickly visible next to a tree. Light glinting off of Jax's armor gave away his position. Mark and Reggie were completely hidden. Even with the knowledge of where Reggie was sitting, she still couldn't make out his form in the tree. Across the clearing, movement in a tree. Focusing on that point, she was able to make out a foot on a tree branch. 

Feeling successful, Charisse moved away from the clearing by going deeper into the woods. Once she was sure she wouldn't be seen, she ran toward her friends. To avoid surprising anyone, she started singing Baby Shark in a soft voice. Where she couldn't remember the verse, she made it up.

"Really," Mark said from behind a thick branch that hide him completely. He stood up and gave a little wave. The tree looked like it had been struck by lightning, but it still grew, the split becoming a massive branch.

"My nephew loves that song. It was that or the Badger Badger Badger song." Charisse replied.

"Todd's been worried, says it's been longer than 10 minutes." 

"Yeah, is Reggie back yet?" 

"Yep, he found a Sanctify ability, but it takes an hour for every 100-foot square."

"Damn, anything else?" 

"I'll let him explain." 

Mark hopped down from his spot behind the tree branch. Charisse walked over to him. There was no branch or place for Mark to stand behind the branch. Reaching her hand up, she felt a field of force 

about six and a half feet up. 

"Really?" Charisse said, raising an eyebrow at Mark.

"It works," Mark shrugged as they walked toward their friends.

As they approached Reggie, Jax, and Todd, the massive grin on Reggie's face gave Charisse pause. Charisse held up a hand to stall any speaking until they were close. 

"Before you say anything, I believe we are being watched, but they are across the clearing. Even so, we should cover up mouths and whisper." Charisse said.

"Gonna look like Coach at the game," Todd said. He held up his hand to cover his lips. "I want you boys to do an old flea flick, and watch out for outside; they have happy feet." 

Everyone laughed, except Jax. Reggie grabbed a leaf and held it in front of his face. 

"Single Wing Sweep, and protect that damn ball!" Reggie said.

"God, I miss football," Todd said. "Though doubt, I'd be playing QB, not tall enough to see over everyone anymore." Todd's face and voice lowered as the words escaped him.

"I don't," Jax said. "Reggie, you were going to say?"

"Yeah, there is a Sanctify ritual where we can create a permanent aura of good in an area. It just takes time, but would be effective in setting a trap." Reggie smiled as he paused.

"Awesome, if they don't know about that ability, we could trick them into thinking Jax is nearby," Charisse said, then she glanced at Reggie's still massive grin. 

"I can bring back the dead," Reggie said. He held his hands out to the side and looked up toward the sky. 

"That is cool, but will it work on us?" Charisse said.

"Not sure, but it could be useful," Reggie said. "Any volunteers?" 

"If it didn't involve having to backtrack and waste time, I'd volunteer," Todd said.

"Really, why?" Mark said.

"Changing Archetype could be cool," Todd smirked and started strumming an air guitar. "Wild stallions!" 

"Oh god," Mark sighed then turned toward Charisse. "Let's go scout and see if they are still around. Perhaps we can find a way back to the villagers." 

Charisse nodded and followed Mark into the woods, away from the clearing. Charisse took the lead, working to guide Mark through the least noisy path. After watching and hearing Mark stomping through the woods for a few minutes, Charisse paused near a tree.

"I'm hoping you had some other motive to come with me for scouting, other than to announce to everyone where we are," Charisse said.

"That obvious?" Mark said. He looked to the ground and shuffled his feet a little, making more noise.

"Yeah, what's up." Charisse glanced around to scan the area. 

The trees and forests were still. Animals were still silent; even the wind seemed to cease blowing, causing even the leaves to be quiet.

"King Richard is gonna see our group coming from a mile away," Mark said. 

"Yeah, I've been trying to come up with a solution."

"I didn't get a chance to see if a fireball would work where normal weapons didn't." 

"Somehow, I'd think he has already prepared for that." Charisse chewed on her lip for a moment as an idea started to form.

"What about encasing…" Mark was interrupted by an abrupt hand movement from Charisse.

"No one expects the Spanish inquisition," Charisse whispered.

"What?"

"What if we start a religious movement or revolution." Charisse's mind started grasping at new threads of ideas that came to mind. "One led by paladins, to rid the world of all evil. The priests tasked with sanctifying everywhere."

"King Dick would just leave, though," Mark said.

"That's the point; if he has to leave the place he has fortified, he'd be forced to either redo defenses or be more vulnerable." Charisse nodded her head.

"It'd also mean an army wouldn't surround him." Mark smiled and nodded his head. 

"In the end, we also leave the world for the better with paladins guiding and ruling the populace," Charisse said.

"Didn't the Spanish Inquisition fail, though?" 

"Yeah, but they didn't have divine warriors with a direct connection to the gods of good. I think it failed due to corruption, something we wouldn't have to worry about." Charisse said.

"Not everyone is going to become a paladin." Mark looked to where they'd left their friends. 

"Maybe, but at the moment, it's probably the best idea and leaves the world better off than when we started. If for at least a few decades." Charisse said.

"You think these people are real?" Mark scratched at his chin. 

"I'd rather think of them as real than to not be wrong," Charisse said. A memory of children huddled, scared, and frozen with fright as goblins ravaged their town came to her mind. "God's help us all if these people are real."