The United Merchant States

(Entering thread)

Laron walked a while, headed east looking to the sky, he checked the sky, worried about it raining on him. He thought to himself as he headed further east, he knocked a few people out of the way, yelling for them to move.

After some walking, an entrance arch came into view. It led to a rusty, worn down town that appeared to have been forgotten by the world. Most houses were built out of sturdy wood, but one could easily see missing wall boards, warped roofs, and hanging doors. Not a single soul could be seen in the area, and most people simply ignored it as they walked by. Every now and then, a curious child would stare as they passed by, but none have been brave enough to step inside.

"I wish I could fly right about now" he said as he continued to walk through UMS with a slight bit of irritation, he hadn't a clue about about how far he had to go, only that he had to keep going. He constantly had to bash threw crowds to get to where he needed to. He was struggling to get by them, but he made progress. He initially thought he was taking to long, cursing under his breath he decided to move them other ways. He picked up the temperature in his hands to where he wouldn't have to push them, they would just stand aside. As he finally made it out of the crowded area he was in a more calm place. He walked through a little more easily, he grew tired of fighting to get to a fight.

Out of the shadows, a group of rough young men shrouded in cloaks approached Laron in a circle. Since there was hardly anyone around, they didn't have to worry about witnesses.

"Hey there, tough guy. You look like you're a little lost. Why don't you take your little attitude and walk on out of here? It's bad to get caught in the wrong side of town." One of the group called out shortly before emitting a deep snicker. He exposed the end of a shining blade from his cloak, itching to jump on the stranger.

Laron grined, he'd been waiting for this."Ha ha ha! You made a big mistake challenging me!" he held out his hand and instantly a flame grew, holding it in his hand he asked, "now who wants to feel the wrath of the fire man?" He asked as he made fire grow in his othere hand, he knew his fire was limited to damage due to his body temp, but he could give a punch with it considering his build as well as his ability. He figured he should try and learn how to control his temp more so he can keep from over doing it and end up killing the people.

(Rage: neutral body temp 92 + 4 - 2 = 94/2 = 47 degrees worth of damage.)

The man who spoke dashed towards the stranger, keeping his body low and the blade close to his body. When he was only a foot from the fire user, he swung out his arm, showing that the blade was connected to a device on his wrist. It shone like polished steel and had an edge that looked like it could easily cut through bone. The other thieves crouched down, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

Laron watched as the foolish man dashed at him, keeping the blade close to him. He waited for the man to come with in striking distance. When the man cam a foot from him he swung out his arms to show a weapon on his wrist. He quickly brought his hands together and sent a fire ball to the man's chest with enough heat to burn him. He hoped to only disable him, if he killed him he may end up in trouble.

The man saw the fireball a split second before it came close to burning his chest. He quickly turned his body and spun on his heel to barely evade the attack. The fireball still came into contact, scorching the man's cloak and part of his shirt.

"So you're a magic user, eh? That makes you all the less welcome around here. I'll make sure you're never able to use those powers again! Get 'em, boys!"

The circle all moved in unison, opening up their cloaks to reveal the same weapon as the man. The head thief jumped out of the way while the rest of the group shot out their blades from different directions. Each blade was attached to a cord still connected to each device.

More anger developed in him, he looked down on people who gang up on people, it was like a crime to him. "Ok, tha's how you're going to play this game." He stepped back, sending a wave at the men, he could easily take them one, but he was ordered not to get carried away.

(94 -2 = 92/2 = 46 degrees )

He really wanted to do aas much harm as possible but if it came down to it he was ready to take a life. He powered up his hands with fire that ran through his body like an aura, the difference was that it stung a little. His facial expression completely changed in to a more mug look, his eye brows lowered as far as they could go.

(Rage: 92 + 4 -2 = 94)

"I wont hesitate to melt you all!" He said with a burning passion, he was able to burn the air around him to the point where they would feel the heat vaves flow from him, making it hard to look in his direction.

(Rage: 94 + 4 = 98/2 = 49 degress )

The bandits staggered back slightly after feeling wave after wave of heat. They retracted their blades back to their devices and shielded their faces.

"What do we do, boss?" One of the group said. "We can't touch him when he's so hot!"

The leader spat out a swear and thought about what to do. The only way to weaken the guy would probably be water, but the rain hasn't started and there wasn't a pint of water in sight. The thought of retreating crossed his mind, but he couldn't back down now, not to some magic user.

"Alright, boys. It's time for the cloak and dagger formation!"

The group each took off their cloaks and held them up. They then charged toward the stranger all at once.

"I don't like killing but you guys are making it hard not to. Tell you what, the foolish that decide to come with in two and a hlaf feet will be burned to a crips, the smart will take the chance to retreat." Fuled by anger he took the aura surrounding him allowed it to flow freely, long enough for it to go about as far as he wanted it. He took control back, then he brought it back to form his aura.

(Rage: 98 + 4 - 2= 100/2 = 50 degrees)

He looked at the men, his eyes looked like they were glowing with anger, red filled them. He grew tired of such a boring fight, men who would rather fight one man as a group as opposed to fighting fair, it was bad enough he couldn't use a weapon, but they all had weapons which would do nothing more but slow him down. He raised his left leg then slammed on the ground; he did the same with his right leg as well.

The group was unsure of what the fire user was doing, but in only a moment, the thieves would have the advantage. When they came close, they jumped on the man, trying to smother him with their cloaks, spurred on by their will to take down their strong opponent.

Really, he thought to himself as the men tried to cover him up but ended up burning their cloaks on his aura, he gave them a warning, now it was time to incinerate. He watched as the mens cloaks were burnt as it came in contact with his aura . He knew he didn't have much time before it rained or snowed. He knew he would have a huge problem then.

(aura maitained: 100 - 2 = 98/2 = 49)

The leader watched as his group's cloaks burned to ashes, and the group began to burn as well. The thieves ran around madly, trying to swipe the flames off of their bodies. The fires were small, but they were painful, nonetheless. Without any water to put out the fire, the men fell to the ground and squirmed until their bodies were no longer engulfed in flames. That left the leader standing all by himself, afraid and in shock. He slowly backed away, holding his hands up defensively.

"H-hey, man, don't come any closer, okay? I...I've got some p-precious metals from that..that Ferrum guild; schematics too! They're worth a lot of money if you sell them to the right person. I'll give you the metals, the schematics, anything as long as you don't kill me!"

Laron's eyes began to revert back to it's normal color, his body didn't suffer as much as it would of should he of had to keep going, but he figured it would hurt them anyway."See, was it really that hard, I probably shouldn't say this but I don't plan on killing. I would like for you to bear arms for the Ferrum guild, you owe me that much as well, we could use a few skilled fighters." He said as he kept his temperature up, just to make sure he didn't try anything funny.

The man didn't understand why this stranger would recruit him into the guild that he stole from, but he was still scared for his life. "D-deal. From now on, we fight for that guild of yours. Come on, boys! We're heading out! And hurry!" With that, the leader and his gang took off running.

Laron let his aura disappear as the men ran away, he then grabbed as much of the supplises as he could then brought it back home to turn in his gatherings. He didn't know if the men were really going to help them or if they would betray them, if that happened he was prepeared to take them on himself as it was his fualt. He knew that they could handle themselves in a battle with their weapons as well as with their teamwork.

(Left the thread)

[Attn: Carriage]

Soon, a worn and dirtied railroad came into view on the left side of the carriage. In the distance a large steam engine came into view along with the following cars behind. A small group of people in official uniforms were seen walking about the lifeless train. When the carriage pulled up to the train and its inspectors, one man in particular payed close attention to the arrival. He walked up to the carriage, dressed in the same police outfit as the others.

"This is it." Chance commented. He shrugged Laron several times so he would wake up.

"I assume this is the carriage carrying the Ferrum group, yes?" He opened the door wide, waiting for the team to step out. He spoke in a calm and confident voice, smiling warmly.

[Attn: Janos, Carriage]

The investigator jumped onto his toes when he saw a man behind him. He took a moment to collect himself and straighten his clothes. "Well...this train here was robbed approximately 5 hours ago by a mysterious group of bandits. What we know is that they stole the cargo by uncoupling the cars and literally lifting them up off of the tracks. It may be possible that the robbers in question were magic users, but it's difficult to say. The only witnesses on the train could say that they found the cars next to the rails with all of their contents gone. Before that, all they could remember was a tall man in a hooded cloak and a sharp pain in the back of their necks."

[Attn: Carriage group]

"I'd like to see it as well." The officer replied. "They could have also used magic to enhance their physical strength. There are many possibilities for these bandits if magic was involved."

When Chance was asked what to do, he looked to the officer. "Do you have any idea as to where they headed?"

"We found a couple carriage tracks and horse hoofprints in the ground leading pretty far from here. We sent a team to track down the men, but...we haven't received any response. And it's been over an hour since we sent the guys. That's why we asked for your help. Not only would you be helping us out, but you would also be helping yourselves."

The officer took a quick look at the group of guild members that were sent. "You all seem like a capable group. Your guild accepts magic users along with non-magic users, right?"

"Correct." Chance said flatly. "Well, if we no longer have business here, then we should be on our way tracking down those guys."

"Hold your horses!" The investigator said with a bit of a laugh. "Some quite important was found in that train that might interest you." He snapped his fingers and another, innocent looking man in uniform arrived, holding a crumpled piece of paper. He handed it to Chance and went about his business.

Chance flattened out the paper and read it thoroughly. He paused for a moment. "It seems that our culprits are working for someone. Whoever it is promises a hell of a lot of money. The only kind of money that rich people own, or...no, it's ridiculous."

Chance folded up the paper neatly and placed it in his pants pocket. "Alright, then. We'll be off. If you find something new, let us know. Back in the carriage, guys. We're going after our culprits."

"Don't forget me and my men." The investigator said. "We could find more clues wherever the group is hiding. The name is Atticus, by the way. I apologize for not introducing myself earlier."

Chance sat in his seat, deep in thought. He adjusted his glasses and glared out the window while the carriage speedily followed the track, followed by two other carriages full of policemen. When the group of carriages came to the end of the trail, they were at a large, dusty warehouse in a remote area. The hangar doors on the warehouse were tightly shut and wide windows were found on each side.