Aeverlest: Legend of the Crystal Flames

[DustinTheWind]

Aeverlest: Legend of the Crystal Flames


Prologue:
Far away, in the land of Aeverlest, legends tell of a Golden Age millennia ago, when the streambeds ran with liquid diamond and gold was as plentiful as fonweed. Life was abundant, poverty was unheard of, food was plentiful, and all manner of ores lay just beneath the soil, ready for the taking. In this age, miraculous advances were made in all fields: science, agriculture, architecture, and smithery. But none of the advances were as wonderful, spectacular, or renowned as the advances made in magic, for it was in this age that the Greatflames were found.

There were flames that had been found before then, of course. Red Flame was the most common, for the average man had long since learned to create it. It was used often: in cooking, smithing, destruction, war, creation of warmth, and entertainment. Green Flame was commonly seen arcing through the sky or pillaring toward the ground when the sky grew black with cloud and the voice of the wind grew deep with thunder. Many wizards and mages were known to utilize Yellow Flame and Blue Flame in their mysterious arts, and there were even a few White Flames and Black Flames known to exist, though few dared attempt to wield them.

These were all Minor Flames, however. The six Greatflames, one for each color of magic, were gargantuan fires; nexuses of arcane power that emanated infinite magical energy which could be caught and utilized by magicians as the lesser flames, but on a much grander scale. Though the power granted by the Flame was limited to the Flame's unique element, the Flames were highly coveted and sought after. None truly knew if they exist, for they were told of in no legend, but rather were first conjured with pen and ink upon the theoretician’s parchment. Even so, the mere possibility of their existence was enough to drive many a mad quest to search for the Flames. Thousands of searches had occurred over a span of ages. All had failed.

It is ironic, then, that the first Greatflame was found not by a wizard or adventurer, but by a simple peasant boy whose name has been lost in the time-spanning channels of myth. This nameless boy, called Clunes in many renditions of the story -- which translates to “Shepherd” in the old tongue -- is said to have lived in the village of Tekka at the base of Pyami Dehim, the Fire Mountain. The story goes that Clunes was tracking down a young stray sheep which he feared may have fallen down a cliff on the mountain slopes, when he discovered a cave out of which emanated a red glow. Clunes believed he had stumbled across the residence of a fur trapper and, since it was growing dark, he thought he would see if the trapper would grant him shelter for the night.

Within the cave Clunes found, not a trapper, but an enormous red fire, burning without fuel and without perishing. Being a mere peasant, Clunes did not know of the Greatflames, and so did not recognize one when he saw one. Hence, the residents of Tekka saw a strange sight that night, as the shepherd came running through the village late at night, screaming like a madman about witchcraft, and seeking the town wizard, who is named Tacti-Kalshu in most of the legends.

When Clunes brought Tacti-Kalshu to the Flame, he recognized it for what it was. Not wishing wars to break out over ownership of the flame, Tacti-Kalshu built a monastery shrine at the cave's mouth, where all wizards who studied the Crimson Arts could come and train close to the Crimson Greatflame. And over the years, the remaining five Flames were found and enshrined similarly: Verdant, Azure, Saffron, Ivory, and Ebony. All found, all enshrined, each in its own way. And so the Golden Age was prosperous and the people were happy.

That is, until the Traal came...

Rules:

* Read everyone’s posts! Not only does this keep us all on the same page, its fun to know your posts are being read and acted upon. Respond to stimuli and events from other players’ posts.

* Avoid writing one-line posts or extremely long posts. A range of 40-300 words is good to shoot for.

* Edit before posting, we’re all here to improve as well as enjoy.

* No God-modding or perfect characters. (Boring!)

* Do not control or kill another person’s character without their express consent.

* If a player is AWOL and holding up the game the character will be NPC’d (or offed) at the GMs’ discretion. If you know you’ll be gone for some time you may hand over your character to another player’s care.

* Don’t flood the thread with long conversations or extensive actions. Give others a chance to post before moving on.

* Keep in touch with the Discussion Thread. I am apt to post meta-information about the world in response to either a question or events, data which may be important for your character to know. Additionally, please discuss any issues in the Discussion thread or PM me with your concerns. Metagaming, talking out of character, and spamming up the story thread is counterproductive.

* And lastly…the GMs’ word is law.

Character Template
Name:
Age:
Sex:
Height: (approximate is fine)
Appearance:
Background: (you must have something very descriptive)
Personality:
Weapons/Armor: (keep it reasonable)
Elemental school: (if magic user)
Socioeconomic status: (Royalty, nobility, warrior, merchant, peasant)

Metadata:
*All player characters are personal acquaintances of Mon Ich, but none have known him for more than thirty years. None have known him as looking anything but his current appearance. None have known him closely. (no childhood friends or anything)

*Human characters are preferred, but others are accepted with reasonable explanation (see my blog for basic information about other races)

*I have a few special rare and hidden skills/curses that I am willing to parcel out but do not want to make public knowledge. PM me or ask me in the discussion thread if interested.

And so it begins...


Seja mon Ich scanned the room. More had arrived than he expected. A large handful of knights and wizards, not merely a small one, stood in the Pyramid's vast central chamber. That's good, he decided. More people here means more may join, which in turn means higher chance of success. He stood up and addressed the group.

"My friends, thank you for coming to such a remote location on such short notice. As time is short, I shall get straight to the point.

"The reason I have called you here is simple: be you wizards or warriors, you are good at what you do. We have need of your skills for an admittedly herculean task. An army would be too cumbersome, and a small appointed squadron lacks the intuition and skillful variety of a band of indirectly hired mercenaries.

"Most of you are no doubt aware of the coming crisis, but for the benefit of those among you with...paltry educations, I shall refresh your memories. Our world is on the brink of a turning point; the dawning of a new age. Soon, the two moons shall come into alignment and a great Cataclysm shall occur. The flow of magic shall change and...yes I see you snickering there. No doubt you believe the Cataclysm is naught more than an old legend. But I assure you, it and the dangers it pose are very real. After this event, the world as we know it will be utterly scarred and destroyed.

"Few of even the greatest civilizations have been known to survive a Cataclysm. Even the strongest nations are disintegrated; reduced into a handful of warring factions. The stress of rebuilding a world is too much for most societies.

"And that is why we need you.

"Scattered across the world are six fires sealed in crystal, one for each color of magic. Once, they were the mighty Greatflames, enshrined and studied for the good of all. Now, they have been lost.

"With the arcane powers in these Crystal Flames, we can heal this land from the scourge that is to come. Our King, Lord Danyu, Ruler of Hani, has personally agreed to this plan.

"Unfortunately, there is great risk in this undertaking. Quite frankly, the King does not count on your success. Death and failure are the most likely outcomes. Yet, should you manage success -- even partial success -- we are prepared to reward you handsomely.

"In addition to the immortal fame associated with reclaiming the Flames, you will be paid with whatever your heart desired. Money, honor, power, arcane knowledge...all these things shall be granted you.

"So, who among you shall take up this burden? Who shall seek the glory of saving our kingdom?"

[edens garden]

Juniper Travaren
Nineteen Years Old
Female

Juniper is 5'2 and slender with a slightly boyish build. Her hips are shapely, but she is somewhat lacking in the bust department. Despite her boyish body her face is very feminine. She has thick dark hair that hits to the small of her back in usually tangled waves. She tends to braid her hair, when it is not tied back in a silver ribbon. Her eyes are large and almond shaped, a startling shade of violet. She has high cheekbones and a full mouth, her faces only flaw (according to her mother) is the nose Lady Travaren kindly describes as "strong".

Character Template
Name: Juniper Travaren
Age: Nineteen Years Old
Sex: Female
Height/Appearance: Juniper is 5'2 and slender with a slightly boyish build. Her hips are shapely, but she is somewhat lacking in the bust department. Despite her boyish body her face is very feminine. She has thick dark hair that hits to the small of her back in usually tangled waves. She tends to braid her hair, when it is not tied back in a silver ribbon. Her eyes are large and almond shaped, a startling shade of violet. She has high cheekbones and a full mouth, her faces only flaw (according to her mother) is the nose Lady Travaren kindly describes as "strong".

Background: The Travaren family has been known for generations for owning one of the finest vineyards in all of Aeverlast. They are only slightly less well known for the males ability to father large amounts of children. Juniper is the youngest child of seven, and her fathers favorite. Her eldest brother Alder is a knight in the queens guard, her two eldest sisters Lilly and Holly married strategically to prominent families, the younger son Hawthorne is poised to take the lordship and control of the vineyard and is betrothed to the queens niece. Rosa, Junipers twin sister, is being trained by Lady Jocelyn Travaren to run the household in preparation for her eventual marriage. Juniper is the only daughter who hasn't been reigned in and betrothed, much to Jocelyn's annoyance.

Personality: Juniper is a free spirit with an insatiable curiosity. She has always been very intuitive, with very strong instincts when it comes to people. Her father, Lord Nathaniel Travaren, recognized her ability from a young age and has brought her to business affairs and social gatherings alike since she was seven. He values her opinion above all others and has always given her free reign as long as she is always ready to accompany him. She has always bee fascinated by people and history and loves meeting people of all walks of life.

Weapons/Armor: Juniper wears no armor, but she does carry an ivory handled dagger her father had made for her on her 13th birthday.

Elemental school: She is mildly talented in the use of blue fire. Her brother Hawthorne inherited an affinity for working with blue fire from their father, the talent passing from father to son in the Travaren line. They use their ability to freeze ripe grapes on the vine, making the highly sought after ice wine the family is known for.

Socioeconomic status: House Travaren is of the minor nobility, owning a small but highly profitable vineyard.

I will have my part of the story for her later tonight!

[Honorius]

Name: Trucido Aer Furtim Velox Neco Fabre

Age: 21

Sex: Male

Height: Few inches under 7 foot

Appearance: Tall Alfar male. Trucido has bright, clean blond hair that he keeps slicked back. He keeps clean shaven and has bright, iridescent green eyes that are framed by his sharp facial features. Usually wears fairly expensive clothing, including an emerald and jade pendant around his neck shaped like a dagger being engulfed by wind and lightning. To keep his Alfar descent hidden Trucido wears his hair so that is covers the pointed tips of his ears.

Background: Trucido is the last surviving heir of the infamous Fabre family. The Fabre were known to the public as a rich family of fast and efficient merchants. But to many, they were much more than that. They were an elite group of assassins and thieves. Using perfected stealth and speed spells through a master of green fire. During the day they were merchants who used green fire to evade bandits and improve their speed. By night they were ruthless assassins who used green fire to hide within the air itself but still attack with the force and accuracy of lightning. Since the country of Hani distrusted the Alfar, the Fabre family was forced to take up a second identity while trading and working in Hani. While in Hani they referred to themselves as the Furtim family, often covering their pointed ears with their hair and using simple green flame spells to disguise other distinguishing features.

That's what the Fabre family was. The Fabre family had owned an entire island. The island sat on the coast of an overseas country, not far from where the emerald flame was located. At least that's where they had lived until the fateful day of Trucido's 16th birthday. The 16th birthday was a very important turning point in a man's life within the Fabre family, so the entire family had traveled to the family estate.

That's when tragedy struck.

Right before midnight, on a night when Lasaur, the smaller of the planet's two moons, was full, just as soon as Trucido's father had finished the ceremonies to induct Trucido into adult hood, a shadow fell over the island. The massive shadow belonged to an immense enraged dragon. The dragon was so large, so powerful, so destructive, so full of raw power, that it destroyed almost the entire island. All that was left was Trucido. No one knows how Trucio survived, not even Trucido himself knows. Few even know that he survived. He is the last of his kind.

Since the death of his family Trucido has studied everything about his families techniques possible. While the main family estate had been destroyed, there were many other family estates that survived. Some of which had extensive libraries detailing the families techniques. Since Trucido is the only heir Fabre left, he inherited everything, a truly massive fortune for any one person to handle. So he handled it. He put a massive fortune of valuables and gold into banks, but he hid the rest of the fortune, the most valuable of the valuables, all of the secret archives, and the majority of the gold, away. No one knows where it is.

Trucido currently has been searching for clues as to how to find and kill the dragon that killed his family. Of course, he spends a lot of his time continuing the family business of assassinations and shipping. His plan; find the great flames, and use the emerald flame to kill off the dragons once and for all. He met Mon Ich through business. Both kinds of business.

Personality: Trucido is a bit antisocial. His attitude is harsh and cruel, and he generally doesn't get along with people very well. Some people would go as far to call him a reclusive a** hole. Although, he does have a nicer, more caring, almost friendly attitude towards those that he knows well and has developed a rare good relationship with. On a side note Trucido hates dragons of all shapes and sizes, no matter the circumstance. He also has an odd hatred for the smaller of the planets two moons, Lasuar. Of course, this is probably due to Lasuar being full on the night of his family's massacre.

Weapons/Armor: Trucido wears no armor to speak of. He wears only the normal, if not very expensive clothes on his back. He does carry a number of weapons though. Trucido carries a wide and varied array of daggers and knives with him at all time. A few are clearly visible on his person, but an outrageous amount are hidden all over his body. He also carries a very special dagger with him at all times, it is the last remaining Dagger of Fabre. An enchanted weapon designed to always return to its owner, never be stolen, and fly through the air like wind and strike like thunder. It also serves as a positive proof of one being of Fabre blood since only a Fabre can wield it properly.

Elemental school: Trucido specializes in green fire. Specifically using it to attain great speed and stealth while using the lightning aspect to add a deadly touch to his attacks and the range aspect to allow for attacks from great distances.

Socioeconomic status: Higher Nobility. Although Trucio himself is relatively unknown, the pendant around his neck is a one of a kind symbol that proves his bloodline. His Dagger of Fabre also does this.

[DustinTheWind]

Name: Seja Donwick mon Ich

Age: Appears around mid-30s, but is known to be older

Sex: Male

Height: 6'4"

Appearance: A fairly tall man in brownish-yellow wizarding robes, sporting a fairly long beard. His hair is a pale blond color, which makes it difficult to determine his age.

Background: For the entirety of this age, the mon Ich family has served the royal family of Hani. The latest in the line, Seja has personally served since the very day of King Danyu's coronation (both the previous King and the elder mon Ich were killed in the same assasination).

A close friend of the king and a skilled wizard, mon Ich has been involved in a number of various missions -- scouting, attack, adventuring, even assassination -- in Hani and nearby kingdoms. As such, he has picked up a number of contacts in the freelance warrior field.

Personality: Tends to have a direct, businesslike personality. Though he is capable of some imitation of the social graces, he tends to skip formalities and get straight to the point.

Weapons/Armor: Wields a gnarled staff, which he uses to focus his magic

Elemental school: Tends to use the yellow flame, but has shown to have better-than-average skill in both the white and black

Socioeconomic status: High Nobility, personal friend of King Danyu


However, mon Ich himself will not be accompanying you on your journey. He is sending...


Name: Thydore

Age: Unknown

Sex: Appears male

Height: 3'5" on feet, 4'8" on hands

Appearance: A squat, imp-like creature with long, gangly arms. Wears ratted old clothes and gloves, but in so many layers that no skin whatsoever is visible. The most striking feature (beside the arms) is its mask; a strange facial facade that seems to simultaneously express every emotion.

Personality: Loyal and energetic, Thydore seeks primarily to please his master first, and anyone else second. Despite this, he gets bored easily and is prone to mischief. The common tongue does not appear to be his first language. He speaks with a high, warbling accent, bizarrely inaccurate grammar, and tends to interject a birdlike chirp, "tgiwliw," in his statements -- a word which none in the party know the meaning of, if any. [Note: this character, grammar and all, was developed before the LOLcat meme. Similarities in grammar are coincidental.]

Background: A servant of mon Ich. That's all you know.

Weapons/Armor: Wears no armor, carries a small dagger

Elemental school: Unknown, if any

Socioeconomic status: Servant of mon Ich

[mobious109]

Name:Zeb Korning

Age:

Sex:Male

Height: 5' 8"

Appearance:White, with thinning blond hair he keeps hidden under his broad hat. His skin is tanned and a bit wrinkly with steel rimed glasses perched upon his nose with a scare from the man who killed his family creasing his cheek, more scars of war hidden under his clothing. He is a thin man but by no means a twig well toned muscle from walking everywhere he goes. His hands show the wear of many years of hard work. He has blue eyes that soften his otherwise hard appearance from years of war.

Background:After a long time as a soldier, during which time he was known as "cunning Korning" for his preference to maneuver around his enemy and utilize speed and mobility more than brute strength, he rid himself of the company of death, more specifically after his wife and daughter perished at the hands of his enemies he vowed the deaths of these men would be the last he causes and he has devoted his life to atoning for what he sees as his sins. Becoming a traveler of the world and a scholar in search of the knowledge of peace learning what he can in his travels and assisting those he meets in any way that he can he is well liked by those who know him. He earns just enough money to get by by doing odd jobs for people in the villages he meets, leaky roofs, squeaky door hinges, and other such things. He believes in the service of others even if it brings great danger to himself for his reputation as a once great soldier sometimes brings him work as a guardian of those who have the money to pay for such a thing.

Personality:A calm collected man most of the time he is not easily aroused. He has a soft, gentle, and soothing voice, quiet but not reclusive. He does however have a very dark part of his soul he prefers to keep hidden the part of him which his humanity was stolen and makes him a man who has seen to much of death. He loves to read and loves even more to teach what he knows to those who want to learn as he has. He is no adviser to a king or noble but instead prefers to share his knowledge with the commoners. He is zealously dedicated to the preservation of life and will not under any circumstances take the life of another.

Weapons/Armor:Zeb carries a long walking staff that he is very skilled with in speed and accuracy. As for armor he has no more than his normal fairly plain clothes and a long brown leather coat to protect himself from the cold and harsh weather.

Elemental school:well versed in green fire allowing him to generally avoid his enemies as apposed to killing them a skill he started to learn in battle allowing him to barley avoid his own death from his enemies on nothing but the speed of his green fire elemental. Also studied in red flame as a complement to his study in green.

Socioeconomic status: A freeman with a extra degree of freedom being that he is not tied to a home or family, but in being a traveler he has not much in the way of riches.

[mobious109]

Whoops age: 46. Wow how did i miss that :confused:

[losthawken]

Name: Rainin Grinward
Age: 30
Sex: Male
Height: 5’10”

Appearance: Rainin is a somber man of medium build, with grey eyes and dark hair. He travels light with only leather armor, and a small pack containing what is needed to survive in the wilds.

Background: Rainin was raised in a small and poor village. He was an excellent hunter and outdoorsman, in addition to working his family’s fields. When a feud between local lords broke out the young Rainin was quick and ready to join in the battle. He was a successful scout in the militia but could never becom comfortable with killing. Upon returning to his birthplace Rainin found his entire village burned to the ground and his home, his family, and everything he had ever known destroyed. Since that dark day Rainin has wandered the lands searching. He searched at first for survivors from his village, but over the years that glimmer of hope died. He now searches for an end to the misery and loss he feels. Selling his services to the most dangerous of hires he has become a mercenary that takes no joy in his many successes or even his own survival. So far none have proved a worth match for his cunning and skill and Rainin continues to seek out the fateful adventure that will give his tortured heart its final peace.

Personality: Preferring solitude Rainin is a brooding dark figure. Brief glimmers of his former self shine through his dry sense of humor, but are quickly quenched by the darkness that follows him. He is slow to anger or passion, but will stop at nothing once properly motivated.

Weapons/Armor: Rainin relies on simple leather armor, and uses a short sword and dagger as his weapons, but in times past was also skilled in archery and the staff.

Elemental school: Rainin has learned a few very basic combat spells but has not ascribed to any particular elemental school. He shows considerable aptitude for magic, though he has never pursued his talent.

Socioeconomic status: Peasant, mercinary (see above)

[abculatter_2]

Name: Alaz Alzidden
Age: 51
Sex: Male
Height: About 5'
Appearance: Scorpion-Clan. Wears black cloth robes which cover his entire body from head to toe, with only a shadowy slit where his eyes are. His tail is black, though he never reveals the rest of his body.

Background: The product of a secret love affair between a beautiful maiden named Kvak and the infamous Sizkin'kva (Sandbandit), Alaz and his mother were abandoned by Sizkin'kva shortly after Alaz was conceived. Soon after he was born, and for reasons unknown, he was taken by an ancient secret organization called Shvvaklacarr (no english translation), which would raise and train him to become one of their own. He soon showed signs of magical ability (rare among the Scorpion-Clan), particularly in an old Scorpion-Clan art called "sandcalling." He was trained among the finest masters of this art, and gained considerable skill in sandcalling. When Alaz turned 20, as was customary among the Shvvaklacarr, he received two young sand horrors (centipede-like creatures which swim under the sands of the southern desert) which would be his servants and companions for many, many years. Several years later, he finished his training among the Shvvaklacarr and became a full-fledged member.

Personality: Mysterious, secretive and quite, Alaz rarely speaks and trusts only his trained sand horrors.
Weapons/Armor: His hands and some cloth.
Elemental school: Yellow
Socioeconomic status: A full member of the Shvvaklacarr.

[DustinTheWind]

Mon Ich nodded at those who had stepped forward. "Very well. Come with me. The rest of you are free to go."

He led the group into a smaller chamber, adjacent to the large hall. It was musty, and smelt vaguely of stale mold. Once again he addressed them. "Do not bother me with your motivations. They are your own business and, frankly, I do not care in the slightest. Now, I do not know where the crystals now lie, but I do have a strong lead: a day's travel north of here lies Pyami Dehim --the Flaming Mountain-- where the Crimson Greatflame was first discovered. A...colleague of mine, Higgen L'lyagi, resides in the monastery there. I have reason to believe he knows where to find the Flame. Now be warned, though he is my colleague, he can be a bit...touchy. He may not easily part with its location."

Reaching beneath the oilskin cloth on a dusty table, mon Ich retrieves a small wooden chest. Opening it, he begins passing its contents, small silver pendants, among the group. "This pyramid has been protected with a memory charm, to keep those not worthy of the mission from remembering its details. These trinkets will protect you from its effects. You may take them with you; perhaps they will prove useful on your journey. However," he warned, "They are both difficult and expensive to produce, so I will want them back.

Any questions?"

[Honorius]

Mon Ich kept the meeting short and to the point. Trucido liked that about him. He had done buisness with Mon Ich a few times, and the man never disappointed. No fluff, just facts and business.

Trucido Aer Furtim Velox Neco Fabre; or Trucido Fabre to most, and Trucido Neco to the people of Hani, had sat in the corner of the room for the first part of the meeting and remained towards the back of the group for the second part.

Any questions?

Mon Ich, as always had done a good job of detailing necessary information for the job, and hadn't left anything important out. So Trucido had only a single question.

"When do we leave?"

[edens garden]

Juniper was so focused on Mon Ich that at first she didn't notice the attention of the man beside her. Her violet eyes snapped to his face as he lifted a gloved hand in offering. Looking down to hide her curiosity she wished she could see more than the glint of his eyes beneath the dark cloth obscuring his face.

"Thank you, sir," she whispered as she accepted the silver pendant. Slightly disappointed she spared a glance around the room, quickly realizing she was the only woman present. Most of the men in the room carefully focused on not betraying their emotions as they listed to Mon Ich. Juniper caught the sad grey eyes of a man in the back, keeping a careful distance to the group. She offered him a brief smile before their host once again caught her attention.

"Any questions?" Mon Ich asked, his eyes briefly resting on each person in the small must chamber. A long silence settled in, each man seeming to wait for another to speak. Just as she stepped forward to break the silence a strong voice behind her asked "When do we leave?"

Turning to find the speaker Juniper was surprised as her eyes looked up nearly two feet before meeting his sparkling emerald eyes.

"My question exactly, my lord," she added, finding her voice. As she felt the eyes of her companions settle onto her shoulders she began to wish she hadn't spoken.

[abculatter_2]

Alaz made no movement as he listened to Mon Ich. He scanned the aging wizard's face, looking for any sign of lying or deceit. Alaz doubted what he said was a lie, though the moment one let his guard down was the moment one needs it most. He focused on the speech, examining every word. When Mon Ich finished, which didn't take long by any standard, he noticed the woman beside him glance his way. She was young, curiosity and innocence written upon her face. He wasn't surprised that she was startled when Mon Ich tapped her shoulder.

He gave her a strange pendant, apparently magical. Mon Ich said this place had a memory spell upon it, though he already knew that. It had been done well, with only subtle clues alluding to it, so subtle that he did not notice them until after he passed within its influence. Mon Ich handed another pendant to him, which he examined first before cautiously taking. At first, it appeared to be a normal pendant, perhaps a trick to make them think they were safe. Though again, ever so subtle clues told him that it was enchanted, though he could not discern what that enchantment was. Alaz decided to do a small test before leaving, and placed the small pendant in a hidden pocket within his robes.

"You may take them with you; perhaps they will prove useful on your journey."

Alaz considered this statement a moment.
That was a little too... foreshadowing...
Perhaps it was a warning? Or some trickery?

"Any questions?"

There is always a question to be asked...

"When do we leave?"

And always an answer to be found...

[DustinTheWind]

"When do we leave?"

Mon Ich nodded. "You may leave immediately. It is still early; with decent haste you will reach the mountain soon after nightfall. I trust you have no other business more pressing than saving our civilization." Despite the sarcasm in the statement, these last words were spoken with a tone of complete sincerity.

"Unfortunately, do to the secrecy of the mission, I will be unable to accompany you. In my stead I send as a guide my servant, Thydore, who awaits you at the pyramid's entrance. Do not be fooled by your first impression of him. He proves to be a valuable companion."

Without a word of farewell, mon Ich turned and disappeared down a dimly lit corridor.

You return back the way you came, through the maze of hallways, until you once again arrive at the entrance of the temple. Here you find a small, vaguely manlike creature squatting in the doorway, a wooden mask obscuring his features. The creature is absorbed in the little game it is playing: it carefully selects stones from the gravel lining the path -- flat, smooth stones without a blemish -- and dexterously stacks them into tiny castles and villages, only to send them flying, scattering with a rapid kick from its short legs.

Looking up, it fixes its hollow, painted eyes upon you and drops its handful of pebbles. "Yes! You are the questers! Yes! Yes! You have found me! You have found me! You have found Thydore! Tgiwiliw!" It makes a strange, chirping sound. "Now we leave! Yes! Now we leave! Now we go! Tgiwiliw!"

Without waiting for any sort of response it bounds off into the bushes, galloping on its hands.

[Honorius]

Trucido found the eyes of a shorter woman looking up at him with oddly purple eyes, quite pretty really, as mon Ich answered his question. As soon as he received his answer his answer, Trucido headed out quickly, the cape that he happened to be wearing flapping behind him.

Once Trucido and the rest of te group reached the entrance they were confronted by an odd, disfigured creature that called itself Thydore. Trucido found the creature quite disgusting really. It's arms were too long, it's mask hideous, it's clothes ragged, it's speech just plain horrible. And that chirrping noise was just annoying. Trucido stood for a moment watching the odd creature bound off before them in an odd apelike gait.

"Disgusting creature." Trucido said before climbing onto his horse which was sitting nearby. The horse was a massive one. It stood at least six feet tall and had a beautiful brown coat with white boots.

"Let's go Aurum." He said to the horse urging it forward at a walk after the creature that called itself Thydore.

[mobious109]

Zeb pondered the "usefulness" of the little pendent as the group followed after the little creature who was now leading the way to the monastery. Everybody in the group seemed to have their own strangeness about them which served to stimulate his curiosity to the fullest.

The young girl defiantly took away from the grimness that seemed to emanate from the other men around him, but from the many people Zeb had met in his journeys he had learned never to judge somebody from the first time you meet them. For all he knew that young girl could be the most dangerous of them all for it is not only how skilled one is with a blade that can make them a valuable weapon.

[Acglaphotis]

[ooc: I'm a bit late to the party >.<]

Name: Neil Erberich
Age: 25
Sex: Male
Height: Barely over six feet.
Background: A performing acrobat in his younger years, he became famous in his teenage years as the son of a posthumously revered painter. His father died unexpectedly, of a disease unknown, as they were too poor to have it diagnosed. After the death of the only parent in the household, he spent a grand total of six months taking care of his two siblings at the age of fifteen, doing odd jobs here and there, before a foreign art collector decided that his father’s paintings were too exquisite to let go unnoticed. This left the family incredibly wealthy, and relieved Neil from his duties as a substitute parent. He enjoyed the money and the social opportunities for a few years, mostly by drinking and sleeping around, and then settled down as a hunter of rare animals for the lazy and wealthy who’d like to have unusual animals lying around.
Personality: Neil is outgoing, extroverted, both easily amused and bored, loves being the center of attention and has a very short attention span. He believes himself to be quite charming. Although he is now a rich man, his father neglected to teach him the subtleties of social prudence, leaving Neil with an often obvious lack of diplomacy.
Weapons/Armor: He uses a longbow, and the occasional dagger when he needs to do close quarters combat. He also finds armor to be too heavy to carry around and use effectively, so he limits himself to normal clothing.
Elemental school: Not much, besides a green flame speed spell and the occasional enchanted arrow.
Socioeconomic status: Nobility.
-------------

Neil examined the rest of his party, as they followed the bizarre creature. It was composed by older men, a couple of stranger men, and a young woman. It was intriguing, to say the least, that the party summoned to 'save civilization' was populated by such different people. Then there was the fact that mon Ich chose to stay rather than come, which made the whole thing stranger and more awkward by not having a common connection between the whole of them. It also made everything more interesting.

He wondered what they would do once they reached the end of their quest, if they ever did. mon Ich had promised, literally, everything they wanted, but how accurate was that? A more nondescript look would have been fine. A floating castle, too. He fiddled with the pendant given to him, regretting that he had brought no book or instrument to kill time. How long would the trip to see Mon Ich's colleague be, anyway? The man in front of him suddenly mounted his horse, breaking Neil's reverie and bringing him back into the real world. Neil then realized he had lacked the foresight to have brought a horse along, and worse of all, he had to carry his bow and quiver by himself. He pondered whether he would have to get rid of some of the trinkets he had brought along from the last town he walked by. But what would he do without extra string for his boots?

[losthawken]

"Yes! You are the questers! Yes! Yes! You have found me! You have found me! You have found Thydore! Tgiwiliw!" It makes a strange, chirping sound. "Now we leave! Yes! Now we leave! Now we go! Tgiwiliw!"

Rainin mounted his horse and prepared to follow the strange little creature. Casting a sideways glance as the others mounted their steeds he noticed that several in the troupe appeared to be the type of wealthy bastards for which Rainin had little use. Having grown on a poor farm Raining knew animals and he knew his horse well. The small painted steed could easily match any of the fancy breeds in the group.

‘Such odd company for a pointless mission.’ Rainin thought. He preferred work on his own and he distrusted most people, especially those that hid their faces. Rainin was sure that there were no crystals to be found, but he was equally sure that there would be risk and danger ahead, the only things that seemed to motivate him these days.

The feet of the horses clopped as they began to fall in line and march into the wild after the amusing Thydore. Violet eyes flashed again at Rainin as the woman passed by, and for a second time Rainin hoped that his surprise was not given away. He hadn’t seen eyes like that since he had left his village long long ago.

Rainin glanced at the naive youth who stood without horse or transport as he passed. He had little respect for the unprepared.

"Hurry up kid," he called, and continued on his way.

[mobious109]

Zeb did not usually spend time in the company of nobility which he figured some of these lot were by their dress and more or less the way they carried themselves not that he had a particular disgust for nobility he just never found them to be good traveling company attracted to much unwanted attention, but he spied a man who rode a small horse like his though the animal appeared younger than his own steed, they had both been through a lot together and he couldn't let the old horse down.

He made his way over to the man, "Hello there." he said to the man as non intrusively as he could; no need to upset somebody who did not seemed to be tied to the traditions of chivalry as these others so full of pomp and panache surly were.

[losthawken]

"Hello there." Said the older, battle scarred man. Rainin had noticed him in the pyramid, and was pleased to be joined by a man of such experience.

"Hello, Sir," Rainin replied. "You seem like someone who's seen his fair share of it."

He leaned in closer and said in a low tone, "How long do you think it'll be before some foe rids us of the pretty faces here and we can get serious about this?"

[mobious109]

"Hello sir", the man replied, "You seem like someone who's seen his fair share of it."

Thank goodness a man of reason Zeb thought paticularly glad he had found the sounder man of the group.

"How long do you think it'll be before some foe rids us of the pretty faces here and we can get serious about this?"

"Yes i have seen, and you may be surprised how useful these pretty faces can be even just swinging their swords can make them worth something, but i must say they do seem aloof." Zeb adjusted his crude glasses again on his nose, and peered through them at the other man, "And since we seem to be talking who are you good sir?"

[losthawken]

"Hmph," Rainin snorted at the idea of their soft wealthy companions being of any use. There was enough risk with the mysterious robed figure from the south,who was certainly not to be trusted, and their peculiar guide. Rainin didn't trust people who didn't show their faces.

By now most of the party was underway following the rapid loping gate of still chittering Thydore. Not wanting to argue with a seasoned veteran, Rainin answered the man's prior question, "Name's Rainin, and yours?"

[edens garden]

As Juniper walked to meet the men her father had sent she passed her companions, meeting their gazes boldly. The doubt she saw in their faces did not surprise her, but she felt slightly disappointed all the same. She had hoped that the extreme variation most of the men seemed to accept in each other would extend to her as well. She was surprised to find the last of her companions kneeling in the dirt digging through his pack, no horse in sight.

Reaching her mare she burried her face in her soft grey neck, sighing deeply. She ignored the expectant looks of her escorts as she gently stroked Silvers mane, checking her bridle as she did so.

"Lady Juniper," Her fathers assistant reprimanded. "You cannot expect me to let you go gallivanting off with this rabble. What ever would your father say?"

"I can and I do, Rhys. My father would say that this 'gallivanting' is the reason he sent me to this meeting tonight. You are letting me go, and you are going to give me your horse to help me do so." The older man scowled, but handed her the reigns all the same. Swinging up behind his squire he led the rest of her fathers men off without a word.

Looking around hoping no one had witnessed the confrontation Juniper noticed, to her surprise, that most of the group was disappearing into the trees after Thydore. Swinging up into Silvers soft leather saddle she began to follow them. As she passed the tall man on foot she tossed him the reigns to Rhys' stallion, grinning when he almost missed the catch.

"His name is Honor," she told him as he mounted. "And I'm Juniper."

[Acglaphotis]

There's a brief moment of clarity after one is surprises which lets one do things like dodging an incoming arrow or fire at a bear who you just realized is charging at you. It comes especially useful when someone throws you the reigns to a horse you didn't expect. Neil barely managed to catch the reigns, almost losing his balance in the process. It was but a moment later when he realized what just happened and managed to respond.

"His name is Honor," She said, as he awkwardly mounted the beast. "And I'm Juniper."

Neil smiled. "Thanks for the mount. I'm Neil, pleased to meet you."

[Honorius]

Trucido was liking the group less and less by the minute. Mon Ich he liked, quiet, noble, straight to the point. But the others... too many of them were peasants, under educated, under trained, far too chatty, and far too confident. The sole girl in their group and the man she had just given a horse too were the only one who seemed to be of any sort of nobility, and the dark clad man was the only one who seemed like he could put up a decent fight.

This group didn't seem like it was going to fare very well.

"You cannot expect me to let you go gallivanting off with this rabble. What ever would your father say?"

It seemed that the girl's guardians agreed.

"Madame," Trucido said as he pulled Aurum around towards the two who had introduced themselves to each other as Juniper and Neil, "I am quite sure your guardians will have nothing to worry about. As you can see, not everyone here is 'rabble'. Trucido Velox Aurum Neco Aer Furtim at your service Madam."

[mobious109]

"Zeb Korning," Zeb answered, thinking that this man was definitely somebody who could be counted on when the moment came to defend yourself but perhaps a bit too eager to get into the thick of it.

"So what do you make of that girl she seems a bit out of place here don't you think?" tipping his head back at the young girl who the well dressed man had fallen into step alongside.

[abculatter_2]

Alaz followed the imp north, to the Pyami Dehims. He knew what and where they were and, if he was alone, could get there by noon. But he wasn't alone, so he had to take the road. He noticed that most of the others had brought mounts, though he paid this no heed. He could keep up as long as they didn't go faster then a gallop.

[edens garden]

Thanks for the mount. I'm Neil, pleased to meet you, he said as he settled into Honors saddle, smiling. Grinning in return Juniper eased Silver forward following their companions. Just as they caught up with the rest of the party the tall emerald eyed man turned his mount, falling into step with them.

"Madame, I am quite sure your guardians will have nothing to worry about. As you can see, not everyone here is 'rabble'. Trucido Velox Aurum Neco Aer Furtim at your service Madam." Juniper nodded graciously, taking in his sleek golden hair and angular features.
"Lady Juniper Aster Travaren, my lord," she responded politely. "Do not listen over much to what Sir Rhys has to say. I would not be here if my father had not sent me. Sometimes I think father pays him just to worry when my mother is not around to do so," she confided, laughing. They rode together in amicable silence for a few moments.

"What I truly want to know is what Lord mon Ich and King Danyu intend to do with the flames once they are found." She wondered aloud, looking to her companions.

[Honorius]

Travaren... The name struck a chord in Trucido's memory. Hadn't his family done business with their family? Yeah, they were esteemed for their rare fire wine. No... that wasn't right... Stone wine? Nope... Trucido couldn't seem to remember from his families records so he opted to stay quiet on the topic.

"What I truly want to know is what Lord mon Ich and King Danyu intend to do with the flames once they are found."

"Does it truly matter what they're intent is? As long as I receive my due I will happy. I have worked with both Lord mon Ich and King Danyu and neither have ever shown any ill intentions." Trucido replied. Of course, Trucido considered assassinations to be nothing more than business. So what Trucido considered "ill intentions" was something that could be debated.

[Acglaphotis]

"I am quite sure your guardians will have nothing to worry about. As you can see, not everyone here is 'rabble'. Trucido Velox Aurum Neco Aer Furtim at your service Madam." The blond man said, having approached them while Neil wasn't paying attention.

The man had an awfully long name, didn't he? Neil asked himself, drifting off in a mental tangent, shutting out the conversation the two were starting. Wouldn't most people simply remember the first or sixth name? What was the point of having more than four names? The man was obviously a noble, going by the expensive clothes and long name. He thought about asking him where he was from, but he found that knowing it would be utterly irrelevant, especially in a quest of this magnitude.

"Does it truly matter what they're intent is? As long as I receive my due I will happy. I have worked with both Lord mon Ich and King Danyu and neither have ever shown any ill intentions."

This snapped Neil back into reality. "Sure it matters. For all we know the could be planning to kill us when we finish their fetch quest. That would be very inconvenient, don't you think?"

[abculatter_2]

Name: Spickla Klukululk
Age: 39
Sex: Male
Height: about 1 1/2' high and 7' long

Appearance: Sand horror. Long, centipede like body with a plate mouth similar to prehistoric bony fish and a pincer one both side of the mouth. Has many legs on the sides of his body which he uses to swim through sand and walk on land, one pair of legs per segment. He was named the Scorpion-Clan word for "Spinach Omelet" after a prophet told Alaz to name him such.

Background: One of the six offspring of Jikumka and Kymul, Spickla was appointed to Alaz at the age of 9. He has since been a loyal, if wily, companion.

Personality: Like all sand horrors, Spickla is cunning, fickle, and free-spirited. Unlike most others, however, Spickla is very loyal to his master.

***

Name: Kov Tok
Age: 38
Sex: Female
Height: about 1 1/2' high and 7' long, slightly smaller then Spickla

Appearance: Sand horror. She was named the Scorpion-Clan word for "Meat Toast" after a prophet told Alaz to name her such.

Background: One of the six offspring of Jikumka and Kymul, Kov was appointed to Alaz at the age of 8. She has since been a massive annoyance to her master and often openly defies him.

Personality: Mischievous, disloyal, and free-spirited, Kov openly defied Alaz and anyone else she can and often gets into lots of trouble. Often picks fights with her brother, Spickla.

[Honorius]

"Sure it matters. For all we know the could be planning to kill us when we finish their fetch quest. That would be very inconvenient, don't you think?"

"My, my. You must be new to nobleness. Fresh blood." Trucido said with a grin. Of course, Trucido never grinned or smiled very well. It always looked... Malicious.

"Lord Mon Ich and the King would only kill us if they felt that we were a threat. So, if we disagreed with their plans and were going to fight them over it, then they might kill us. Of course, should we have no qualms with their plans and our reward not be too hideously outrageous, they'll probably honor us. That is the way of nobles and royalty. Reward your allies and destroy your enemies. Of course, if we feel that we will be killed, there is a simple solution."

Trucdio widened his grin at this point, truly a frightening sight. "We just kill them first."

[losthawken]

"So what do you make of that girl she seems a bit out of place here don't you think?"

"She will probably be the first to go. Mon Ich is usually very strategic, I can't imagine why he would let her tag along," Rainin had no passion but for risk and danger, he cared little about what happened to the others. He looked ahead to where the only two figures on foot were making a rapid pace.

"Our guide-monkey seems to be getting ahead, lets keep up."

Spurring his faithful horse on, Rainin moved in closer to the first of the two ahead of the group. As he approached the heavily robed figure, the horse slowed to a careful trot, and sniffed the air with its ears laid back.

Rainin eyed the man coldly as he encouraged his wary steed onward. He was certainly an odd fellow, and a sense of danger loomed about him. Odd too was how the unfamiliar pair of tracks that Rainin had noticed accompanying the group disappeared once he left the stranger behind.

"Thydore!" called Rainin, shifting his focus ahead, "What can you tell us of this L'lyagi whom we seek?"

[mobious109]

"She will probably be the first to go. Mon Ich is usually very strategic, I can't imagine why he would let her tag along."

Zeb meditated on that for a moment wondering if Rainin really believed that she would go first. He hoped none would go at all, but what can a man do against the power of death?

"Our guide-monkey seems to be getting ahead, lets keep up."

Rainin trotted up ahead towards the guide. Rainin eyed the strange man walking ahead for a moment before he rode on ahead further after thydore.

Zeb pulled his horse back a bit in order to fall in with the royal court that had amassed at the back of the group. "Seems as though we have some bonds to forge" he said quietly to himself as the trailing bunch caught up with him.

[DustinTheWind]

"Thydore! What can you tell us of this L'lyagi whom we seek?"

"He is old. He much old. He much..." Thydore dropped his voice, "...crazy."

"He search for great fire. He search times. Great time, long time. No find. No find. Not nowhere. He grow crazy. He grow...how is say? Paranoid. He am hide in ruin. He am study map. Many map. Old map. Try to find, no can find.

"He attack Thydore. He throw fire. I am singe. He hack sword. I am pain. I not like L'lyagi. I not like. I not like. I have fear. Tgiwiliw."


```````````````````

The rest of the day passed fairly uneventfully, aside from trekking and conversation. As night began to fall, the forest around the path began to clear and, through the remaining foliage, a great silhouette could be seen ahead. Thydore stopped and pointed, making little hops as he did so.

"There it am! There it am! Pyami Dehim! Pyami! There is!" He lowered his finger, pointing now to a cluster of lights at the mountain's base. "There Tekka! There we stay! There we sleep! Tgiwililw!"

```````````````````

The land around the town spoke strongly of agriculture. You see many shepherds herding in their folds for the night, other farmers doing the same with their cows and goats. Crops of all sorts fill the fields: corn, cotton, wheat. Soft candlelight glowed from numerous wooden abodes.

Around the village lay a great stone wall. Once, it's massive gateway must have held an equally massive door. Now, only rotten splinters remained. Beside the door a massive etching in the stone, worn with time, covered in moss, called out the name of the town in an ancient tongue.

Kruenunaut Tekkaon Vigaga
Peaid mon nu Pyami Dehim
Luwet mon nu Wetapyami Arruga
Kreninauin puugor let

Inside the walls, things were much different. The town was old. Even in the waning light, it was clear to the most untrained of eyes. The once proud buildings, lovingly crafted from ancient stone, lay crumbling and disused, many of them abandoned; a forlorn shade of what must have been a bustling town. Every here and there candlelight betrays a still-occupied dwelling, it's living aurora a harsh contrast to the dead city.

[abculatter_2]

Kruenunaut Tekkaon Vigaga
Peaid mon nu Pyami Dehim
Luwet mon nu Wetapyami Arruga
Kreninauin puugor let

The old human tongue... Alaz thought. I never realized just how old this place was.
Alaz could only understand broken pieces of the text, though from what he could glean it seemed to be a welcome sign.

The town within bespoke of its age in crumbling walls and architecture much more elegant then the ramshackle hovels the humans called cities nowadays. Its streets were dark and barren, only the occasional flickering window and shadowy figure provided any sign of life at all. Alaz spotted a glowing inn on the side of the road and slipped in without announcing his leave.

Within the tavern was almost as empty as the streets, a few dim candles flickering over the even fewer patrons. As he walked up to the bar he scanned the faces quickly. Hidden in a shadowy corner was a black-robed figure clutching a half-full mug. Alaz walked to this figure and sat before him.

"Do you have news?" Alaz asked in his native tongue.
"Depends on who I talk to." The figure replied likewise.
"Alzidden"
"It is not I who should have the news, but you."
Alaz hesitated a moment. "I have been accepted for the task and am going to Pyrami Dehim to speak with L'lyagi, who may know the greatflame's new location."
"Is that all?"
Alaz nodded.
The stranger hesitated a moment. "I would have expected more from someone on such an important mission."
"It has only been a day."
The figure went silent and brought the mug up to his mouth. When after a minute he said nothing, Alaz assumed he was done and got up to leave. "Tuck your tail in more." The stranger said as he did so, "it looks like you're a hunchback." Alaz left without comment.

[Honorius]

Name: Scarlatinitia (Scarlet) Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro Ignis

Age: 18

Sex: Female

Height: Only 5'

Appearance: Scarlet, despite being fairly young and short, is marvelously beautiful. Everything about her is pure scarlet. From her hair to her rosy scarlet cheeks, to the lining of her shoes, everything is scarlet. In addition to that though, her body is like that of a goddess. Her form is curvaceous, her chest developed, her face cute. Of course, she rarely acknowledges any of these things. She's very innocent that way. She usually wears some sort of fancy dress, always scarlet, and wears her long scarlet hair down.

Background: Scarlet is actually betrothed to Trucido. The marriage was arranged when both Trucido and Scarlet were young children and is not to be consummated until Scarlet is 21. Scarlet and Trucido have known each other since they were small children, even before they were arranged for marriage. They are close childhood friends.

The Ignis family is best known as being the main component of the royal guard of many kings. The family is extremely adept at using the red flame, almost to the point of it being second nature. The family is also what is probably the largest producer of gems, both magical and otherwise. In addition to that they are masters at creating magic circles, which serve to further enhance their spells abilities. Using magic gems and magic circles in addition to their mastery of red magic they serve as powerhouses in battle. Of course, the Ignis family does have a flaw. While they are very adept in the use of magic and magical catalysts, they actually aren't particularly adept at unaided magic. They know how to use it to it's full extent, and the effects of catalysts are tremendous for them, but they just have trouble actually using it without aid. That's why they have put so much work into gems and circles.

After Trucido's family was killed he ran off by himself, leaving scarlet behind with her family on a mountain very nearby to Pyami Dehim. She has seen Trucido occasionally since then, but he has always refused to allow her to travel with him.

Personality: Scarlet is the exact polar opposite of Trucido. Scarlet is a kind and innocent soul. She makes friends well, loves her family, and is kind to everyone. She especially loves Trucido. While she sometimes feels that Trucido doesn't return the affection, she feels that somewhere way deep down, he really does love her back. She also knows that Trucido is an Alfar, but she doesn't really care. In fact, she thinks the pointy ears are sorta hot.

Weapons/Armor: Her dresses are normally inlaid with magical gems that help to improve her powers and have fire proofing enchantments. She also wears a pair of heavily jeweled slippers that she uses for what she calls "Fire Skating"

Elemental school: Red Fire

Socioeconomic status: High Nobility.

(I'll give her her first post later)

[yellowm&M]

Name:Aaliyah (often shortened Aali) Kimya Mendescoz

Age: 22

Sex: Famale

Height: 4'9

Appearance:Aali is a very petite girl with a very quiet beauty about her. She has shoulder length dark red-brown hair and a fair complextion. Her body is very thin with small, but noticeble curves, and very well muscled beneath her clothes. Her eyes are a brilliant clear blue flecked with gold.

Background: Born into a very noble family, she lived in comfort and luxury for the first 10 years of her life. However, when she was nearing her 11th birthday her family fell out of favor and lost everything, leaving them penniless. Having grown up as nobility, neither her parents or siblings adapted well to poverty. Aali herself adjusted quite well because she had always been a simple, spirited girl who much prefered the outdoors to stuffy court life. She was the youngest of five children, all of which were boys except her. Her father didn't value women at all and neglected her for her entire life or mocked her. Finally having become fed up with her life, she ran away at age 15. She then spent the last 7 years of her life becoming a master swordsman in order to prover her worth to her family

Personality:Aali is a very quiet, very mild girl. She is intelligent and has an uncanny knowledge of what is going on around her. She is very friendly and very loyal, and constantly underestimated.

Weapons/Armor: No armor because she found it hindered her speed and agility, just regular boy's clothes. She carries virtually no weapons save for her sword and one small knife in her boot, just in case.

Elemental school: does not use magic

Socioeconomic status: Nobility, but reduced to a peasent


*because I have no time i will post her first post tomorrow :)

[losthawken]

Tekka, he had seen the tiny barren city from afar on many a night in his youth. Rainin looked to the east, where the remains of his birth village of Colt'ar lay just a day and a half's journey from where he stood. He had not been this close to home in many years.

Rainin dropped to the back of the group. The nobles had maintained their incessant idle chatter about who might kill who and for what motive, and how much they might each be paid for their services. Zeb had tried to make small talk another time or two on the long trip, but Rainin's mood had steadily deteriorated.

Many things about this job bothered him. He was beginning to have second thoughts about joining. He didn't like having a woman on the team. Rainin hadn't bothered with women since he had left home, being to occupied with his own bitterness and loss. Now he found being kept in such close quarters made him... uncomfortable.

The foreboding description of L'lyagi, was also persistently on his mind. Most of his prior missions had involved bounties on minor criminals or at most rebel band leaders. He had seen a some advanced magic in the militia but never encountered a wizard such as what was promised ahead.

And then there was the southerner. He had not spoken the entire trek, and had amazingly kept pace on foot with seemingly no effort. The reclusiveness of the hooded figure exacerbated Rainin's already distrustful nature.

Where was that strange fellow anyway?

[mobious109]

As Zeb rode through the streets of this old city he could not shake the feeling that this was all too familiar, but then again what doesn't start to repeat itself after nearly half a century of life?

The inscription at the gate was written in an ancient tongue only a little of which Zeb could read but no more than the name, Tekka, and something about a greatflame, other than that he knew nothing, and knowing nothing did not make Zeb at ease.

He did however recall something he once read going something like this:"It is in the dark unknown that true bonds of strength are formed." Perhaps this place of ill boding did have it's silver lining. Zeb did not however fool himself into thinking that there would not need to be sacrifice and suffering, and soon. . .

[losthawken]

The wind began to blow gently through the wasted city. Rainin felt its chill as the cold night took hold. Something in that wind beckoned him eastward.

'Perhaps its time,' Rainin thought. He pulled his horse away and began to make his way back toward the city. 'If I push hard I can make it by noon tomorrow. This fools errand could go on forever so I should be able to catch up with the others again soon.'

On his way back he couldn't help but notice a man in black robes leaving a pub near the city gate. At first he thought it was the Southerner, but then, he wasn't sure. It didn't matter anyway. Once outside the gate Rainin's painted horse broke into a full gallop and carrying him toward the memories he had buried so long ago.

[yellowm&M]

The wind was cold against her face in the gathering darkness. Aaliyah urged her horse forward, galloping swiftly towards the old city of Tekka. She had to catch up to the group before nightfall. When she had heard mon Ich, a man her father had formerly done bussiness with, she hadn't believed her ears. The journey he was suggesting was far to desirable to be real. But the meeting he had called had been real and she had wanted nothing more than to join up. When she tried to step up with the group that was joining the quest, she was stopped by a huge man with a heavy sword. He tried to force her out, just like her father, he didn't believe in the worth of a woman. Instead of leaving however, she hid next to the entrance of the chamber and listened to what they said, hearing every detail, her heart bursting with eagerness; she would go and no one would stop her.

Soon the small meeting had ajounred, and the group had all left; leaving her hiding place she snuck into the chamber and stole a one of the small silver pendants that she had heard mon Ich giving out, from the small ouch hanging on the wall. She had then sprinted to her horse and followed the band.

Now, in the gathering darkness she could hear nothing but the wind and the occasional russel, but she new she was close. Pushing her dark hair out her her eyes, Aaliyah urged her horse even faster. Suddenly she heard the faint sounds of talking and horse moving.

"Woah, Jensen" she whispered to her horse, pulling her to a stop. The voices were definately close. Slowly and silently she followed them until she could glimpse the backs of their cloaks. She did not want to suprise them tonight, she had decided to follow them, and meet them in the morning. Quietly she followed in their wake, until a branch broke beneath Jensen's hoof with the a mighty crack in the night air. She froze, staring ahead, hoping no one had heard.

[Honorius]

Crack!

Almost out of pure instinct, Trucido lept from the side of his horse towards the source of the sound. With a crackle of green flame Trucido virtually became one with the wind, vanishing from sight, becoming as quiet as a summer breeze, and as swift as a hurricane. Within moments he was upon the intruder.

Like a silent wraith he appeared on the horse behind the intruder, a blade at their neck and a hand on their sword.

"Explain yourself, now. Who are you and why are you following us. Unless you'd rather die an early death that is." Whoever this person was, they followed the wrong group. Trucido glanced at the quickly falling sun, this person came at a bad time too.

"I could arrange that quite easily. Now hurry up, I don't have time for the likes of you."

[yellowm&M]

"Explain yourself, now. Who are you and why are you following us. Unless you'd rather die an early death that is." Seemingly carried by the wind itself a man suddenly apearred on her horse, holding a blade to her throat and demanding an explaination.

"I could arrange that quite easily. Now hurry up, I don't have time for the likes of you." She let out a small sigh, she really hated people who were demanding. With a shockingly quick movement she had pulled the dagger from her boot and pressed it against the stomach of the man behind her.

"I suggest you let me go first."

[mobious109]

"What's all the noise here?" Zeb called approaching cautiously the two adversaries with daggers drawn ready to kill one another.

Eying Trucido he said, "I suggest you let the young lady be." Zeb kept his distance if these two decided to go at it he did not want to get caught in the middle of it

[Honorius]

"Madame, with a dagger at your throat you are in no position to make demands. Whether you would manage to stab me or not, I would be alive and you would still be dead. A sliced stomach is not fatal, a slit throat is. But, luckily for you, it seems that my... acquaintances would rather that your head remain attached for the time being."

Trucido was annoyed that the others had interfered. If needed he could have slit the girls throat before she could even contemplate stabbing him. He could have shocked her and had her explain herself later. But it seemed that the rest of the group wasn't open to either idea.

Trucido slowly removed his dagger from the girls throat and jumped off the horse. Keeping his dagger in hand and gripping three hidden throwing knives, he repeated his earlier question.

"So, who are you, why are you following us, and what are your intentions?"

[yellowm&M]

"Madame, with a dagger at your throat you are in no position to make demands. Whether you would manage to stab me or not, I would be alive and you would still be dead. A sliced stomach is not fatal, a slit throat is. But, luckily for you, it seems that my... acquaintances would rather that your head remain attached for the time being."

Aali let out an irritated sigh. Another man who had absolutely not idea what she was capable of. Dagger to the throat or not, she definately had the ability to kill him right then and there.

"So, who are you, why are you following us, and what are your intentions?"

"My name is Aaliyah Kimya Mendescoz. I was attempting to catch up to you which is why I was following you. As for my intentions, I want to join your little journey."

[Honorius]

"It would be best for you to explain how you even know about or little journey without being at our little meeting. I will not tolerate spies. Although," Trucido glanced up at the sky, the sun was nearly fully set, and the moon was starting to rise, "I will leave it to the rest of our group to decide your fate. I have other pressing matters to attend to."

With that Trucido turned on the spot and vanished with a crackle. Aurum followed his sent into the town where Trucido un-vanished and entrusted him to the local tavern's stable boy. After that Trucido vanished once more and slipped out of town, silent as a wraith.

[Acglaphotis]

"I will leave it to the rest of our group to decide your fate. I have other pressing matters to attend to." Neil watched the exchange, unamused at the utter lack of common sense the man displayed. If there is something to be learned in the alleys of the most crime ridden cities, it was that one does not jump at the attacker. It doesn't work that way. One waits.

That being said, Neil also thought that changing your mind a couple of words into the confrontation and then disappearing was absolutely distasteful. The party and the woman looked at each other, distrustful for a second, but Neil was the first to make his move. He grabbed his bow and arrow in one hand, and he tensed up the bow, but not to the point where it would break bones.

The arrow flew past by the relatively short distance across them, hitting the tree besides her. "That was a warning shot!" Neil yelled. "Even if what you said was true, what makes you think you can just talk your way into the party? We're not hiring."

[yellowm&M]

"It would be best for you to explain how you even know about or little journey without being at our little meeting. I will not tolerate spies. Although," Trucido glanced up at the sky, the sun was nearly fully set, and the moon was starting to rise, "I will leave it to the rest of our group to decide your fate. I have other pressing matters to attend to."

Before she had a chance to answer, he had vanished into thin air with a crackle. Seconds later an arrow whizzed past her head, missing it by inches. Instinctively her head whipped around toward the man who had fired it.

"Even if what you said was true, what makes you think you can just talk your way into the party? We're not hiring." She glared at him then jumped off her horse and walked towards him, placing her sword threateningly against his chest.

"What makes me think that? Two reasons, I know way more about your little mission than you want me to know; and you're going to find it mightly hard to keep me from joining."

[mobious109]

"What makes me think that? Two reasons, I know way more about your little mission than you want me to know; and you're going to find it mightly hard to keep me from joining."

Zeb sat on his horse thinking about that statement. How much did this stranger know? It may be wiser to keep her nearby so as to keep a watch on her, but he didn't like to have somebody around so quick to draw blades and have at it.

"You might be able to come along with us if you promise to save that blade for the real enemies, and it's not just me you will have to convince," nodding his head towards Niel.

Zeb may have just doomed this mission to fail, but he couldn't help but feel that this stranger was more dangerous out of sight that they were where he could keep an eye on them.

[abculatter_2]

Alaz eyed at the small crowd of wide-eyed shepherds and farmers who had gathered to watch.

In a cold, smooth, foreign accent he said to the rest of his group, "You certainly know how to announce our presence to everyone around us. Now, do you mind hurrying up? I have business here."

[yellowm&M]

"You might be able to come along with us if you promise to save that blade for the real enemies, and it's not just me you will have to convince,"

She nodded gratefully at the man who had spoken. She hated that everyone's first impression of her was of someone who was ruthless and quick to kill, but she had been forced to hold her own.

"How about we all go into town and find a place to stay for the night. Then we'll continue letting you decide if you want me to join you or not in the morning when we can all act like civilized adults."

[DustinTheWind]

"How about we all go into town and find a place to stay for the night. Then we'll continue letting you decide if you want me to join you or not in the morning when we can all act like civilized adults."


Thydore nodded. "I has agreement, yes. Now we rest. Now we sleep. Not fight. Tgiwiliw.

"Now, no need inn. Many people, few house. Many empty house. No need pay, sleep for free. But, very bad. Much dirty. No clean, no food, no bed. Must to sleep on straw. Old straw. Rot straw. Very bad."

[Acglaphotis]

"Straw? As in, the floor?" Neil asked, as the menacing swordsman lost her novelty value. "Surely there must be an Inn around?"

He followed the other nervously into the ancient city. Two members of the party had dissapeared already, under the lightning of the moon, but it mattered little. He looked back at their "new" member, and wondered if there had been others who had spied on them before. What would be the point, though? Wasn't what they were doing beneficial to all? Oh, well. It was useless to ponder these kinds of things.

[mobious109]

"Straw? As in, the floor?"

"The ground is not so bad as you might think, but on the off chance an inn might be better. I'm not to keen on listening to some thin-skinned child complain all the night."

It had been so long since Zeb had spent a night in an inn or in any bed besides a very generous home. It was unlike most people to let a stranger stay for the night. It would be in this situation more likely that they would spend the night in some abandoned home. That didn't make Zeb any more comfortable about spending the night in what was somebody else home before who knows what happened to make them leave.

[DustinTheWind]

The town was run down and mostly deserted, but the party was still able to find an inn. The innkeeper, a portly unshaven man named Binnacorn, seemed happy to have their business, and gladly rented them rooms at twice the normal rate and half the accommodations. Still, mead and a meal were provided, watery and thin as they may have been, and the company spent a decent evening.

It was a beautiful night. Both moons were full and shone brightly upon Pyami's slopes. Occasionally, a few of the adventurers would notice large shapes moving on the mountain in the moonlight, or perhaps hear strange howls and roars, but the locals paid no mind to the phenomena.

"I's prolly jus' onna dem pets o' L'lyagi's," explained Binnacorn through a thick, slurred accent. " 'e go's lossa dem. Weird 'uns. 'ey won' do yers no harm, jussomuch as y' lev 'em alone."

Still, the animal cries were not conducive to a good night's sleep; especially when combined with hard and lumpy beds.

They were awoken the next morning be Thydore's voice, far too chipper for that early in the morning. He was animate about getting an early start and, despite having slept on the wooden floor, seemed unburdened with the bed-induced pains afflicting the rest of the group.

Trucido met them at the foot of the mountain; unwilling to talk about where he had gone so suddenly the night before and why.

Not much occurred for most of the journey up the mountain. An ancient road, originally a path made by sheep, wound up the crumbling basalt soil. Long ago, it had been widened and smoothed for easy access by wizard, yet like the village below it had been long neglected. Now it was deteriorated and precarious, often filled with potholes or eroded entirely.

[Honorius]

Trucido had refused to answer the questions about his disappearance with anything but "I had personal matters to attend to." He also kept an eye on the intruder the entire time. He didn't trust her, and he didn't like her. Of course, he felt pretty much the same way about everyone in the group... He even trusted the giant fire ball that was hurtling around the side of the mountain on a collision course with the group more than he did the actual group.

"That's not..." Trucido stared hard at the fire ball that was hurtling toward them. "Surely it's not, she wouldn't know that I'm here..." Trucido's doubts were erased when the fire ball traced out the name "Trucy" in giant stylized flaming letters and sped towards the group even faster. "Oh god it is." Trucido quickly jumped off his horse, but it was already too late...

Skating on the fire ball stood a young woman, surely no older than 18, entirely clothed in red. From a distance one couldn't even tell she was separate from the fire ball. Moments before colliding with Trucido she jumped off of the fire ball, which then evaporated, and landed in Trucido's arms, nearly knocking him over.

"Trucy!!" She yelled as she rubbed her face into Trucido's chest. "Scarlatanitia! What are you doing here?!" While both were yelling, one sounded overjoyed to see the other, the other... more like annoyed.

"I heard you were near by, and that you were on what looked like some fancy mission thingy. And I wanted to come too, and I missed you, so I came. And I told you to call me Scarlet! That other name is way too long."

"Scarlatanitia, I had told you earlier to stay with your family, not to follow me. You shouldn't be here. Go home."

"You can't make me!" Scarlet was dead set on staying. She matched Trucido's glare face to face. The two sat there for a few moments waiting for the other to let up. Trucido broke first.

"(Sigh)... I guess I can't stop you..."

"Yay!" Scarlet yelled in happiness as she embraced Trucido in yet another great hug.

"Scarlatanitia, this is the rest of the group, group, this is Scarlatinitia Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro Ignis... my betrothed." Trucido almost blushed as he said this, almost. Fabres don't blush. Of course, Scarlet was all blushes and smiles.

What a perfectly happy and totally opposite couple.

[yellowm&M]

The guy who had originally confronted her definately didn't trust her. She could feel him shooting glares at her and she was getting really sick of it. Suddenly from around the side of the mountain came a giant firbeball. She tensed in her saddle, but it flew at the distrustful noble and in his arms landed a woman dressed in all red. Aaliyah felt her eyebrows raising as 'Trucy', the name the girl in red called him, introduced his betrothed, Scarlatinitia Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro Ignis with a definate note of resignation and annoyance.

"Talk about polar opposites" Aaliyah said to the person next to her.

[abculatter_2]

Ridiculous prices, shoddy food and drink (shoddier then human drinks usually were, something Alaz thought was impossible), sub-par rooms, Alaz was almost going to refuse payment and sleep in one of those abandoned houses. And then there was the strange roars and fell bellows coming from the Pyami Dehim, which made him worry about the safety of Spickla and Kov.

"I's prolly jus' onna dem pets o' L'lyagi's," explained Binnacorn through a thick, slurred accent. " 'e go's lossa dem. Weird 'uns. 'ey won' do yers no harm, jussomuch as y' lev 'em alone."
I hope Kov doesn't try to mess with them...

The next day, Alaz awoke to the sound of small footsteps in his room, which he chose for having a window opposite the rising sun, for this exact purpose. Without so much as a rustling of air, Alaz rushed behind Thydore, grabbed his arms, and pinned him to the ground, placing a clawed foot just above the back of his neck.
"You should be more cautious when entering dark rooms," he hissed. lifting his foot.
"especially if you know at least one within it is wearing black."

Alaz then left the tavern attempted to find a restaurant within the immediate vicinity with a price befitting its food and, when he found none, he settled upon using some of his emergency food supply. After waiting for the rest of the group to finish getting up and eating, he followed them to the Pyami Dehim, where they met Trucido, who was suspiciously quite.

Just as they began moving up the slope, Alaz noticed (and noticed he was the first to notice) a giant fireball come from around Pyami and head straight for the group. Alaz's first reaction was defense, when he heard Trucido say under his breath.

"Surely it's not, she wouldn't know that I'm here..."

She?

The fireball suddenly traced out the word "Trucy" upon the sky and Trucido muttered,

"Oh god it is."

In a sudden burst of speed, the fireball was nearly upon them by the time Alaz managed to get even a thin wall of dirt up, which the fireball slammed straight through and disintegrated into a red-robed woman. He watched the woman, who he soon learned was named Scarlatanitia, couple and converse with Trucido.

"Scarlatanitia, this is the rest of the group, group, this is Scarlatinitia Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro Ignis... my betrothed."

Alaz raised an eyebrow.
Betrothed?
He glanced from one, to the other, then back again.
At least she seems to be a respectable fire mage...

[losthawken]

‘The party seems to have grown in my absence,’ Rainin frowned at the tracks leading up the mountain. He would have thought it was following the wrong group had it not been for the distinctive tracks of Thydore. ‘I hope I haven’t been replaced.’

He urged his weary horse onward. Both were near exhaustion from their detour. He had found the place he once called home as little more than a grown over hilltop. He had slept a few hours that night in the small depression in the earth that had once been his family’s house, and dreamed of laughter and joys that he had forgotten long long ago.

As he approached the group he heard a commotion around Trucido. He dismounted and led his horse by the reins. The fair haired royal was shouting and trying to extract an amorous red beauty from his arms. The group stood about him with perplexed expressions on their faces.

Rainin took advantage of the moment and slipped among the ranks of journeyers. He moved alongside a horse carrying an attractive woman in plain peasant’s clothes.

"Talk about polar opposites" she said as she leaned toward Rainin, obviously not noticing that a stranger had joined the group.

“Seems like I’ve missed a few things,” replied Rainin with a smirk.

The girl was taken aback at the unfamiliar voice and nearly leapt off her horse in surprise.

[mobious109]

"My my what have we here." Zeb stared at the woman who had just appeared in a ball of fire an entrance he felt far surpassed it's usefulness. It was at that moment that Zeb noticed Rainin's return. "Rainin, it's so nice of you to grace us with your presence once more, and it seems you have returned at a very interesting pass."

Zeb watched on as the two royals repelled each other in every way possible but seemed physically closer and closer no doubt the woman's doing, with that Zeb had a good chuckle to himself.

"Oh to be young and in love again!" Zeb exclaimed to the group as a jest and with that he could not contain his laughter.

[yellowm&M]

“Seems like I’ve missed a few things,”

Aaliyah started in her saddle, the dark haired man had come up soundlessly in the commotion of Scarlatinitia's arrival. She placed a hand to her heart, taking in deep breaths. Out of the corner of her eye she glanced down at him, he wore light armor and a distant, unreadable expression.

"You could say that. She is apparently his betrothed." Aailyah siad, waving in the general direction of Scarlatinitia and Trucido. "I'm new so I don't know names yet...who are you? I don't recognize you from last night."

[Honorius]

Scarlet hugged Trucido, or Trucy as she put it, even harder as she looked over the group and watched and listened to their reactions. When the older man of the group commented on young love she rubbed her face into Trucido's shoulder and giggled. Trucido's reaction was a bit different... While Scarlet was all blushes and giggles, Trucido was giving out glares and scowls. He was not enjoying this turn of events. How anyone who's beautiful young fiance had traveled a long way just to stay with them and was loving all over them, that was a bit of a mystery.

Scarlet was intrigued by the diversity of the group, and unlike Trucido, she was a noble who actually respected the peasant class. " A noble woman, an old man, a peasant man, a creepy black guy, a peasant woman, and a cute monkey thing. What an interesting little group."

[losthawken]

She is apparently his betrothed." Aailyah siad, waving in the general direction of Scarlatinitia and Trucido. "I'm new so I don't know names yet...who are you? I don't recognize you from last night."

"Oh, I took a little detour and I'm just catching up. Like Zeb says, I'm Rainin. I gotta be honest I don't think this mission is suited for women, but at least you don't look all prissy like the others I see here."

Rainin didn't look back to see the girls expression as he continued on toward the head of the group. As he passed he saw a large red flower. He picked it and began to pluck petals mindlessly as he walked. The petals were narrow and pointed, and carried a sharp smell of exotic spice.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd like to get a move on up that mountain. Its hard tellin how hard a climb its going to be." As he spoke he motioned with a flower petal towards the mountain trail where Alaz stood. "I think Thydore's gone ahead already."

[mobious109]

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd like to get a move on up that mountain. Its hard tellin how hard a climb its going to be."

"I agree with Rainin, we best get a move on." Zeb started after setting a good pace with Rainin wanting to get moving along before the party becomes tied down with more of this nonsense, "We can get to know one another on the way."

Zeb looked over at Rainin and in a gesture that only men that has filled his earth with sweat and blood of honest labor can truly understand he said, "Rainin, shall we lead this 'rabble' up the mountain?"

[yellowm&M]

"Oh, I took a little detour and I'm just catching up. Like Zeb says, I'm Rainin. I gotta be honest I don't think this mission is suited for women, but at least you don't look all prissy like the others I see here."

Aailyah glared at his retreating back. Men and their arrogance! But she bit back the retort that sprung to her lips, she really wanted to avoid another comfrontation, and anyways, they would eventually see what she could do and what she was.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd like to get a move on up that mountain. Its hard tellin how hard a climb its going to be." As he spoke he motioned with a flower petal towards the mountain trail where Alaz stood. "I think Thydore's gone ahead already."

The older man, Zeb, as Rainin had called him, answered back first.

"I agree with Rainin, we best get a move on.We can get to know one another on the way.Rainin, shall we lead this 'rabble' up the mountain?"

She began to follow close behind them. So far, no one on this journey seemed decent, there was a reason she had left her home and she had no desire to be around the same types of people again. Hopefully someone would prove her wrong.

[DustinTheWind]

The conversation is interrupted by a low growl emanating from a nearby patch of bushes. Out of them steps a strange creature.

One glance tells you it's a predator. Its long, muscular back legs and lithe, sinewy body -- akin to that of a big cat, but somewhat lower and broader -- are built for nothing less than speed and power. Its large, egg-shaped head is split almost ear to ear by an enormous slit-like mouth, which bears two massive razor-sharp canines, one of which is broken short three inches from the base, and hundreds of smaller, jagged teeth. Its fur appears to have once been off-white, but now is streaked reddish-brown with volcanic soil and what appears to the blood from its last meal.

And with its short, bushy tail and long stiff ears, laid back in a display of ferocity, it looks somewhat like an enormous, carnivorous rabbit.

At the first sight of it, Thydore lets out a high pitched shrill and leaps upon the nearest horse, clinging sloth-like to its neck.

[losthawken]

"Thydore, take my seat," Rainin called dismounting his horse and allowing the frightened creature to move to the saddle. "He'll keep you safe."

Rainin advanced quickly on the beast, casting incantations as he ran. He was in this mission for adventure alone, and had no inhibitions about risking himself for the sake of battle.

Just before reaching the beast Rainin leapt into the air and removing his short sword thrust it into the ground where he landed. A reverberation shook the ground about him, but it seemed to have little effect. He rose to face the creature with its nasty, big, pointy teeth, and began second incantation. Some in the group would have recognized it as a magic of blue fire.

Rainin paid no heed to the embarrassment such common magic might garner from such a group of mages and warriors. His only interest was in the fight and bringing whatever skills he had to the battle. Adrenaline and danger were what Rainin lived for.

The savage beast took a step toward the motionless Rainin in preparation for its pounce. To the surprise of all, however, the creatures foot sank deeply into the earth and was held fast by thick mud. The combination of ancient field tilling and water calling spells had worked beautifully.

Seeing his adversary bound by its forefoot Rainin rushed forward. The creature snapped its hideous teeth at him, but missed. All the beast could manage was to try to knock the puny human away with its head as he rushed past. Taking advantage of this Rainin leapt onto the head of the creature and allowed himself to be thrust backward where he landed gracefully near its massive hind foot.

With a swipe of his blade the left leg was hamstrung and recoiled uselessly. The enraged beast shrieked its rage with a piercing banshee like scream. Using its good hind leg it leapt powerfully, freeing itself from the mud, and pounced on Rainin.

Pinned by terrible claws Rainin could feel the rancid breath of the creature as it prepared for its finishing blow.

[mobious109]

Zeb saw that the monster had Rainin pinned and there was precious little time to save him. He drew his staff and summoning the green magic he sped to the creatures flank then turning toward the creature he shot foreword with a loud clap almost like that of thunder in the sky and shot himself like an arrow with his staff at the point ready to strike.

The staff hit the monster in the side of the head and drove the creatures skull into the dirt as Zeb vaulted over the creature. The monster's neck twisted it rolls off of Rainin to right itself it's newest attacker out of sight.

"Rainin get up!" Zeb yelled, "And get back in this fight!" Zeb squared up in a defensive stance ready for the creature to attack him hopefully giving Rainin enough time to regain his fighting trim.

[losthawken]

"Rainin get up!" Zeb yelled, "And get back in this fight!"

Rainin quickly regained his feet.

"I'm not done yet!" he shouted with a smile towards Zeb. Zeb was clearly as powerful as he had seemed. Rainin was glad that of all of the others in the troupe, the mighty warrior had befriended him.

The beast had its back to Rainin now and was moving slowly towards Zeb. It dragged its injured hindlimb as it inched forward preparing for its next attack.

Rushing for the other hindlimb Rainin almost regretted that the battle would be over so quickly. But the beast heard his approach and rounded back on him, forcing him to divert.

Rainin on one side and Zeb on the other, the beast prepared to square off against them all as the rest of the party joined in the fray.

[abculatter_2]

When he saw the beast, Alaz made no movement to alert the group. He was originally planning on either letting the creature go and hope it had the sense not to stalk a group of humans, or, if it wasn't so bright, then dispatching it quickly. Though, as it turned out, the creature let out a growl that alerted the rest of the group to its presence.
Stupid beast, He thought as he watched the rest of the group pounce on it.

He saw little need to get involved, until he felt the soil underneath him shake. At first he thought that Pyami, after all these years of dormancy, had awoken once more, until he noticed that it was following a pattern...

Alaz's eyes opened wide as he suddenly recognized both the creature before him and the mysterious shaking, which has begun to get rapidly louder.
Oooooh ****.

He sent an urgent signal through the sand for his horrors to come to him (though he knew only one would show up) and looked at the creature getting mauled to death by the rest of his group.
They should dispatch it soon enou-

Suddenly, with a earth-rending shake, a gigantic, two-story tall behemoth similar in anatomy to the one they've just met came crashing down upon near-by cliff, sending rock and soil cascading downward. The giant loosed a deafening roar as it leaped toward the group and what was undeniably one of its offspring. Without so much as a thought, Alaz began summoning a great wave of sand to, if luck would have it, protect the others from the jaws (and paws) of imminent death.

[yellowm&M]

Aali heard the growl and whipped her head towards the giatn beast. Before she could dismount however, Rainin had begun attacking the beast, injuring it's hind leg, but also getting trapped underneath; whereupon he was rescued by Zeb. Sliding off of her horse, in a wucik, graceful movement Aaliyah, drew her sword and prepared to join the fight. However a great shaking to her left caused her to turn around and see another creature, one that the southerner in the black cloak was trying to stop with a wall of sand.
Changing course mid stride, the leapt towards the new beast and besides the southerner.

"I'm going on the other side."

Without waiting for an answer she dodged around the sand and behind the creature. It didn't notice her precense at first, giving her a split second to leap from the side of a rock and plunge her sword into it's hindqarter. Using that leaverage, she vaulted herself onto it's back. With well practiced moves she slashed at it's face, cutting across one eye, effectively ruinging it's sight in that eye. The beast gave a tremendous roar, and threw her off his back. She hit the ground with a loud thud, and she could feel her ankel twist beneth here. The beast lumbered it's way towards her still roaring in pain. Quickly she rolled out of the way and beyond the safety of the sand wall.

[losthawken]

They had the savage animal surrounded, yet no one made a move. Rainin cursed under his breath, ‘Some team of warriors this is.’

The trees crashing and tremulous thumps of the second beast nearly shook him off his feet. This second creature was clearly the parent and guardian of the first, and if Rainin knew anything of animals this beast would be more savage than the first even without its considerably greater size.

“Zeb, you’re the only other one with any guts around here! We need to finish this one and help Creepy over there with the second!” He shouted pointing behind him to where Alaz was forming a great wall of sand to block the larger beast. “COVER ME!”

Without another hesitation Rainin rushed at the injured beast between him and Zeb. Casting a spell of red magic as he ran, he directed an explosion of fire to burst with a loud bang in front of the creatures face. The beast clawed at its nose to relieve the minor singe. Rainin took advantage of the momentary distraction, slid under its forepaw and prepared his blade for a deathblow that would strike from below and pierce the creature’s brain. He only hoped that his sword would reach...

At the same time the second beast roared in pain as its eye was slashed.

[mobious109]

Zeb saw Rainin about to drive his sword through the beasts jaw and closing the distance rapidly he took his long staff and struck the beast on the head driving it's skull down giving Rainin's blade the extra reach it needed to reach the creature's brain bringing the beast down.

Zeb looked to see the half blinded creature roaring charging down the sand wall that was all that stood between it and the rest of the group. So the girl did have some skill all the better to hold the beast till we can kill it. Zeb was getting to really like Rainin, but no time for sentiments they had a fight on their hands.

"Quit lying down on the job Rainin we have a real problem over there," Zeb said reaching down to help Rainin to his feet, "mother is very angry!"

[DustinTheWind]

The mother creature snarled, crouched and, with an enormous push from its massive hind legs, lept straight through the sand wall, blitzing Alaz as it did so. It looked down at him between her paws and, before he could react, caught him up in her mouth. There was a crackling snap of shattered chitin as she closed her jaws then, apparently deciding he didn't taste good, a sweep of her massive head saw him flung down the mountain.

She then turned to Ali, hobbling away on her twisted ankle, and lunged, not at the girl but at the sword she carried. The beast's teeth, harder than steel, easily snapped the blade, and the creature discarded the useless metal shards. Then, it turned it's attention back to the girl. With one quick snap of its jaws, she was gone; swallowed whole.

With another massive leap, the creature sailed over the heads of the remaining party members, landing beside it's fallen progeny. It sniffed it a few times and let out a wail of despair, then picked it up in it's massive jaws, Ranin's sword still embedded in the child's head, and with enormous leaps made its way up the mountain.

[abculatter_2]

Alaz tried desperately to condense the wall of sand he was working into something that could hold a beast such as this, working it as fast as he could. He was frantic, for he remembered the great legends of old, when his land was still a swamp, of the great monster that now charged forth at them. He remembered the horrifying wounds and gruesome deaths witnessed by those few that had seen it and lived. And when the sand wall burst, revealing the creature, Alaz had only enough time to realize he was about to die.

What happened next was a blur to Alaz, all he remembered was the smell of rotting flesh surrounding him, a sickening crunch, then the feeling of flight.
And the pain. The unimaginable pain.

When Alaz finally regained conscious thought (or, the closest to conscious thought one could achieve in such a state) his first sight was Spickla, rising from the ground beside him and letting loose a wail of despair. Alaz lifted a trembling hand, attempting to sooth the animal. He attempted speech, but only managed a ragged gasp.

Then he remembered the pain.

He let out a cry and looked shakily upon his wounds. His entire abdomen had been crushed, his exoskeleton torn and puncturing his flesh, and several bits of broken glass littered his wounds. He then lay his head down, waiting for either a divine being to come from the heavens or the black shroud of death to engulf him.

[losthawken]

"My Sword!" shouted Rainin running after the beast.

Rainin stopped short as he realized he was being quickly outpaced.

"Damn!"

Surveying the torn landscape he turned to Zeb, the only remaining member insight. "Well, I was wrong, the southerner got it first. But I told you that the girls would be among the first to go."

Rainin started to make his way up the trail again. He stopped near the spot that Ali had been consumed. he picking up one of the larger shards from her broken sword "Shame though, that one seemed to be worth her weight."

Placing the shard among his other things he again turned his attention to the mountain. He seemed to have no concern for the fallen or missing in the group. "Aren't you coming Zeb?"

[DustinTheWind]

Neil swore. These two birds were harder than they should be. Something that large should be an easy target, but these? These were far quicker than they should be by any regard. And they were smart too. They had already knocked out Trucido with a well-aimed rock thrown with their talons, and they seemed to predict almost every shot he could take. But perhaps if they were slower...

"Hey, Juniper! See if you can use one of those ice spells to..." His sentence was cut short by the talons around his neck.

He gasped for air, dropping his bow to pull at the claws, but the more he struggled the more they dug into his flesh. The ground fell away below him, and with a sickening burst of clarity he realized that the eagle was trying to hang him with its feet. Frantically now he began tugging, but to no avail. The eagle was too strong.

A red mist clouded his vision, and all strength left his body. So this is what it's like to suffocate, to die, he thought, his consciousness fading.

A burst of arctic wind. The pressure around his throat vanished. Air, life, coursed through his lungs again. He coughed violently, expelling the old air as fast as he could, taking in as much of the new as possible. Then he was struck by another sickening realization: he was falling. Quickly. And the ground was very, very close.

He struck it hard.

````````````````````````````

Thydore looked around at the carnage and whimpered. "Not continue. No, not go on. We go back. Now we go. We fail, yes. We tell master we fail. Alaz have die. Ali have die. No more have die. We go back."

````````````````````````````

Aaliyah, for a while you are erratically jostled about in the creature's belly as it leaps up the mountainside. As it slows to a walk, the jostling is replaced by a calmer rocking, then stops altogether as the creature comes to a halt. At this point, you hear muffled voices outside but are unable to tell what they are.

Then, the creature vomits you up.

You find yourself lying at the feet of two figures. The first is a human man, dressed in brown wizarding robes, his long beard tucked into his belt. He holds a straight, red-hilted sword, which he is pointing at you. The second is a male Flett, slightly taller, with black fur and green and yellow marbled eyes. The human is the first to speak, his voice dripping with fury, "Tell me, and be quick about it, why you have trespassed on my mountain and murdered my familiar."

[mobious109]

"Aren't you coming Zeb?"

"Rainin we can't leave them there to die, be a man defend the weak if you dare." Zeb stared at Rainin hoping his taunts would prod him to action, but his only action was to continue on leaving their new comrades behind. "Well somebody has to have some backbone between us guess it has to be me."

Zeb mad his way over to where he believed the others had been carried off to hoping he would find someone and that they could pull this band back together.

[yellowm&M]

"Tell me, and be quick about it, why you have trespassed on my mountain and murdered my familiar."

Aali glanced around, trying to gain her bearings quickly. She was covered in the monster's vomit and her sword had been broken into pieces.

"I am not trespassing on your mountain, I was merely passing through on my way to another location." She slid her hand to her boot, appearing to be straigtening it, when in reality she was deftly sliding the knife she hid there into her sleeve. "As for your familiar I am very sorry about your loss, but I didn't kill it. Now I really should be leaving, my companions will be worried about me." She began to stand up hoping she cuold elave without a fight.

[DustinTheWind]

"I am not trespassing on your mountain, I was merely passing through on my way to another location. As for your familiar I am very sorry about your loss, but I didn't kill it. Now I really should be leaving, my companions will be worried about me."

The old man scowled. "Don't bother with the dagger. Do you take me for a fool? Very well, if you shall not say your business to me, I shall say it to you.

"You are a small armed band here to forcibly take the from me the location of the Red Crystal. You were hired by one calling himself Seja mon Ich, who has learned from his past attempts sending his masked freak that stealth is no use here. Once on the mountain, you attacked my familiar despite the warnings Binnacorn surely gave you that it would not attack unless provoked.

"And before you make any attempts to deny this, the signs are clear. You wear mon Ich's damned pendant! You travel with mon Ich's damned monkey! And you climb the mountain far too early in the day to have stayed anywhere else but Binnacorn's damned inn!

"Now, fortunately for you I am about to leave this place and am in too much a hurry to deal with you properly. You may return in a few days and scavenge what information you can out of what's left behind; gods know I've been doing that for years. Or, if you prefer, you may return to mon Ich and tell that bastard that while he has been playing stooge to the royal family for all these years, some of us have been keeping our duties, and I will be rotting in hell before I allow him to just waltz in and take the fruit of my labors out from under my nose!

"Now get out of here, or you'll be going back in the Lagomorph. And I assure you, this time you won't be getting back out the front end."

[yellowm&M]

"Don't bother with the dagger. Do you take me for a fool? Very well, if you shall not say your business to me, I shall say it to you.

"You are a small armed band here to forcibly take the from me the location of the Red Crystal. You were hired by one calling himself Seja mon Ich, who has learned from his past attempts sending his masked freak that stealth is no use here. Once on the mountain, you attacked my familiar despite the warnings Binnacorn surely gave you that it would not attack unless provoked.

"And before you make any attempts to deny this, the signs are clear. You wear mon Ich's damned pendant! You travel with mon Ich's damned monkey! And you climb the mountain far too early in the day to have stayed anywhere else but Binnacorn's damned inn!

"Now, fortunately for you I am about to leave this place and am in too much a hurry to deal with you properly. You may return in a few days and scavenge what information you can out of what's left behind; gods know I've been doing that for years. Or, if you prefer, you may return to mon Ich and tell that bastard that while he has been playing stooge to the royal family for all these years, some of us have been keeping our duties, and I will be rotting in hell before I allow him to just waltz in and take the fruit of my labors out from under my nose!

"Now get out of here, or you'll be going back in the Lagomorph. And I assure you, this time you won't be getting back out the front end."

Aaliyah eyed the man warily, but decided not to push her luck, he was letting her go without difficulty. She would find the group and perhaps come back when they outnumbered this strange man.
"Thank you." She said then backed away until the man was out of site, then she sprinted down until she found a small clear outcroping. Looking down from it, she heard the faintest of voices and ran towards them.

[losthawken]

Rainin was disappointed at Zebs attachment to the rest of the weaklings in the group. As far as Rainin was concerned those that were not dead already were as good as dead considering how they had managed the beasts on the mountain.

Parting ways Rainin continued up the mountain while Zeb went to look for the others. He led his horse along, still carrying the petrified and protestant Thydore.

"I'm not quitting this early. Quite your blubbering Thydore and come along!"

After just a very short way Rainin grew tired of Thydore's jibbering laments, and decided to take a break. He paused on the edge of a clearing and left the monkey creature to calm its own nerves while he surveyed the young tree growth at the edge of the field. Finding a suitable sapling, he made quick work of it with his dagger and began to fashion it into a staff.

Just then Thydore gave 'tigwili' of surprise as Aali appeared from beyond the clearing, looking rather slimy and exasperated, but otherwise unharmed.

[Honorius]

The group had been riding up the moment relatively peacefully when a large rock flew out of the sky from far above and struck Trucido in the head. Now, Trucido is a pretty good assassin. Really good. If it was an arrow, he probably could have dodged it. If it was a throwing knife he definitely could have dodged it. But not even Trucido could have anticipated and dodged a rock flying out of no where and knocking him out.

"Trucy!" Scarlet yelled as Trucido slumped over when the rock hit him.

"Trucy!!!" Scarlet sreamed even louder when a giant eagle swooped out of the air and scooped Trucido up. A similar eagle scooped up the only other noble man in the group.

Meanwhile much of the rest of the group had been attacked by an odd creature that resembled a cross between a rabbit and a cougar. But Scarlet didn't have time for that. She leaped off of Trucido's horse and grabbed the nearby noblewoman whom the other man had asked for help from before being lifted away.

"You're coming with me!" She yelled as she clicked her heals together. As soon as the heels clicked together an array of odd, ancient, and foreign symbols, circles, and inscriptions appeared around them and the jewels in the shoes lit up. Flames sprouted from the shoes and lifted Scarlet and the girl up into the air. Rather than just flying or running in the air, Scarlet actually moved her legs in a fashion similar to ice skating. Pushing forward rather than back. She skated on flame after the birds and quickly caught up with them.

"Take the one on the left!" Scarlet yelled as they approached the eagles. The noblewoman let loose a blue fire spell on the eagle carrying the nobleman while Scarlet hurled a fire ball after the other. Luckily, both spells hit their marks and the two men were dropped. Luckily Trucido fell into a fluffy bush; unluckily, the other man hit the ground hard. Luckily, the bird carrying him hadn't been flying to high, so he would live.

Scarlet quickly skated down to the two injured men, and was followed by the black cloaked man. He flew through the air and landed with a crunch not to far away.

"This mission isn't going well..."

[yellowm&M]

Aali picked her way down the mountain trying to flick the disgusting creature vomit from ehr body, not that it was working very well. Out of all the things that had happened to her, this was probably the most disgusting, but the fact that she came out with only a sprained ankle and some cuts and bruises made her a little happier. she finally came out into a clearing where she was greeted with Thydore's odd 'tiwilli'. Looking up she saw Thydore mounted on a horse looking upset, with Rainin pulling it, his expression irritated and determined. Better than no one at any rate. he looked up at her when he heard Thydore's note of suprise.

"Rainin, where is the rest of the group?"

[DustinTheWind]

Neil groaned. Am I dead? he wondered. No, death wouldn't hurt this much. His whole side was severely bruised at best, and his right arm was clearly broken. He was alive. Unfortunately. An archer with a broken arm was just short of useless, and he could tell just by poking it that this wouldn't heal properly on its own.

He sat up painfully and looked around. He didn't see anyone, but with this rocky, uneven soil it was difficult to see very far while sitting.

"Hey," he croaked out. "Anyone else not dead?"

Hearing an answering groan, he attempted to get up and walk over to its source; and when that failed decided to simply crawl. It turned out to be that man who always wore that cloak. Alaz, was it? He was lying in a pool of what appeared to be blood (though it was black for some reason), and his many perforated flesh was coated with the contents and remains of several broken bottles.

"Man, you're in worse condition than I am. Are you okay?"


```````````````````````````

"Tgiwiliw! Aali! Aali!" Thydore jumped off the horse, galloped over to her, and threw his long arms around her legs in an attempt to hug, chattering with glee all the while. "You not et! You not dead! I much glad! Much glad! Tgiwiliw!"

"Rainin, where is the rest of the group?"

Thydore's chattering suddenly stopped. He untangled his arms from her, took a few steps back, and hung his head in shame, stuttering ashamedly as Rainin explained. "They...uh...er...they...we...they..."

He suddenly extended a pointing finger at Rainin and loudly interrupted him. "He made me! I not want go, not want abandon! He made me!"

```````````````````````

CURRENT GROUP GOALS:

*Regroup (if your character cares)
*Find a way to heal/patch up those who are injured
*MAIN OBJECTIVE - Learn location of Crimson Greatflame from Higgen L'lyagi

[mobious109]

Zeb came into a clearing where he saw Rainin pulling a his horse along and Thydore perched on top chattering wildly and pointing a finger at Rainin. Beyond them he saw the young girl that had been snatched up and somehow released, a story Zeb was not sure he wanted to hear.

Zeb advanced towards Rainin quickly furious at the man who had left the others behind and now stood before him once more.

"Rainin you cowered! You did leave them and curse what gods led me to find you instead of the others!"

[Honorius]

"Ugh... What just happened?" Trucido asked when he came to.

"You and Neil were attacked by a giant bird. But me and Juniper saved you." Scarlet said with a smile. She had her hands laid over Trucido's head, a glowing and humming light exuding from her palms.

"Ugh, where are the others?"

"Neil landed nearby, I'm going to find him in just a minute. The man in the black seems to have been thrown over here too. I don't know where everyone else is. We were separated when you were attacked. Last I saw they were attacking some demon rabbit thingy."

"Demon Rabbit Thingy?"

"Shh. You should rest. I can patch you up a little, but I'm not great with white fire, you know that. I'm going to go find the other two."

"But--" Trucido was cut short by Scarlet. She put a finger on his lips, telling him to be quiet.

"No buts. Sit." Trucido sighed, but he obeyed. He knew that he wouldn't be much help in this situation anyways. He specialized in killing people, not helping them.

"Hey," he croaked out. "Anyone else not dead?"

'Neil must be okay' Scarlet thought to herself. She ran over to where she found Neil kneeling by the black cloaked man. Neil was in pretty bad shape, but the black cloaked man was a mess. There was glass and blood everywhere.

Scarlet ran over to the injured man and knelt down by him. "I can help, I know a little white fire magic." She explained. She moved the man's cloak away from his body so she could see the wounds, but she didn't find what she had been expecting. Rather than soft flesh, the man had hard, chitinous plates. The plates had been shattered in many places and had massive punctures in them. Sticky black blood oozed from the gaping holes.

"Oh my gods." Scarlet said and raised a hand to mouth in shock. "Neil, try to clog up some of his wounds with his cloak. We need to stop the bleeding. It won't do any good if we heal his body and he's already dead."

Scarlet opened the satchel on her side and brought out a few gems. She got up and placed them in a star formation around the odd man's crippled body. She then bent down and began to connect the gems with a circle that she drew with the man's own blood. It probably looked like an occult ritual to the untrained eye. After placing the stones and drawing the circle she inscribed a number of odd and foreign symbols along the edge and drew additional circles and stars around the stones.

Once she finished she stood up and took a step back. "Step back Neil, and you may want to cover your eyes." With that Scarlet began to wave her arms in sharp calculated motions while chanting her own name.

"Scarlatinitia Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro Ignis Scarlatinitia Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro Ignis Scarlatinitia Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro Ignis"

It was an odd sight, a young, pretty girl clothed entirely in scarlet while chanting and waving her arms and standing above a broken and mangled body surrounded by gems and an odd, mysterious circle made from blood and covered with strange symbols. It really did look like a dark, occult ritual. That is, until the magic actually started.

The circle, chanting, and gems weren't just for show. Each was specifically designed to improve the effectiveness of magic. The circle was to concentrate and direct the flow of magic; the gems acted as catalyst to help the magic flow effectively, their position even furthered their effectiveness, pentagrams are natural catalysts; the waving of the arms was part of an intricate dance that helped ones magic to flow out of their body; the chanting helped to focus the caster's mind on their objective and helped them direct the magic through each of the other catalysts, one of the reasons why the names of families such as the Fabre and Ignis are so long and strange is because each part of the name is actually a word of power. Just saying the name has no effect, but when the full name is repeated and magic is flowed into the words their effect is monumental.

After a few moments of chanting a faint point of light appeared over the man's body. For a few moments it just hung there, glowing and humming lightly.

"Scarlatinitia Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro Ignis Scarlatinitia Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro Ignis Scarlatinitia Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro IGNIS!"

Scarlet shouted the last word of the chant and the light exploded into a huge mass of light that engulfed the injured man. The light disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and winked out of existence. The result was a nearly fully healed Scorpion Clansman laying in the middle. His broken shell and punctured flesh and been sealed up, leaving only some internal bruising and a few scars. He'd would probably ache all over, and would be exhausted for a while; but he'd live.

After the spell finished Scarlet fell to her knees, exhausted and breathing heavy. "That should do it..."

[losthawken]

"He made me! I not want go, not want abandon! He made me!"

Rainin shot a dirty look at the little imp.

"Listen Zeb, if the others can't keep up that's not my problem," Rainin didn't like being criticized or being called a coward, but his respect for Zeb made it difficult to ignore him.

"I'm in this for action and for money, not to risk my life for the weak. However, I don't have any interest in competing with you or the others, if they survived as miraculously as Aali did. I'll stay with whatever of the group is left, but they had better not get in the way again."

Rainin rummaged in his pack and pulled out the shard of Aali's sword.

"Here," he said, tossing it to her. "You put up a good fight. I was going to use this as a spear head since my sword is also lost, but I think you deserve it. You didn't see my sword anywhere up there did you?"

[yellowm&M]

"Tgiwiliw! Aali! Aali! You not et! You not dead! I much glad! Much glad! Tgiwiliw!" Thydore threw his arms around her legs in a makeshift hug. As soon as shye spoke to Rainin however he stepped back looking ashamed. "They...uh...er...they...we...they...He made me! I not want go, not want abandon! He made me!" Aali looked at at Rainin then at Thydore. The fact that Rainin had left the group behind was not something she took kindly too. however before she could respond, Zeb came riding up.

"Rainin you cowered! You did leave them and curse what gods led me to find you instead of the others!" He seemed furious at Rainin. Aali was surprised at the amount of anger Zeb had, he always seemed so calm. Despite that, Rainin seemed to be very calm when he answered; only shooting at dirty look at Thydore.

"Listen Zeb, if the others can't keep up that's not my problem," Aali snorted in irritation. Men and their egos! "I'm in this for action and for money, not to risk my life for the weak. However, I don't have any interest in competing with you or the others, if they survived as miraculously as Aali did. I'll stay with whatever of the group is left, but they had better not get in the way again."
He then searched around his pack, pulling out a shard of her broken sword, "Here, you put up a good fight. I was going to use this as a spear head since my sword is also lost, but I think you deserve it. You didn't see my sword anywhere up there did you?"

She caught the shard and smiled cooly at him. "Thanks. I haven't seen your sword at all, sorry. Now lets go find the rest of the group, shall we?" She turned to put the shard in her pack then looked up at Zeb, "You don't happen to know what happened to Jensen, my horse, do you?"

[abculatter_2]

Everything was beginning to blur. Alaz became less and less aware of everything, his mind more and more foggy. He dully acknowledged a dark shape above him, then two. A creeping darkness began to replace his vision.

His consciousness slowly faded, and with it his pain. He was slowly engulfed by the darkness, and began to see memories of times long past. He saw his birth, shadowy figures taking him away from his mother, who was just a blur to him. He saw his infancy among the Shvvlakcarr, his training and schooling, the discovery of his magical ability, the appointment of Kov and Spickla, his appointment as a full Shvvlakcarr member, everything that had happened in his life up to that point suddenly flashed before him, then it reached his current state, and the black void he slowly fell into...

Then, he saw a white light, and heard chanting. Though it was not like anything he had heard before, these words seemed to thrum from the very fabric of reality, an echo so powerful and so subtle that the very universe seemed to obey them. He felt them pull him gradually toward the light, getting closer and closer until...

A flash of white.

Darkness.

Alaz felt hard earth beneath him, and a throbbing ache permeate everything. His brain was sluggish and he felt confused.

Where am I? Am I dead?

He tried opening his eyes, but found that it took too much effort. Suddenly feeling exhausted, he began to sink into unconsciousness. Suddenly, he felt dirt fall on top of him and something beside him moving. A series of low, repeated clicks came from above him, finally encouraging him to open his eyes and see what it was.

He saw the plated face of a sand horror above him, surrounded by a bright blue sky. Within its mouth-pincer Alaz saw a bundle of green herbs, which it was rubbing against his carapace. At first, he thought it was Spickla, until he noticed a small, distinctive scar on its forehead.

"...Kov?" Alaz said in a rough, ragged voice.

Suddenly, she stopped clicking, backed away from Alaz and stared at his face. After a few moments, she dived at him and wrapped around his body, making a loud chichichi sound. Surprised, Alaz patted her back. A few seconds later, another sand horror rose from the ground a few feet away, which Alaz knew immediately was Spickla. After a few moments of staring, he dived at Alaz and joined his sister.

[Honorius]

Scarlet was startled when she saw two massive centipede looking creatures jump out of the ground. She almost hurled a fire ball at them; Scarlet was a girly girl, she didn't like bugs. She would have incinerated the bugs if she hadn't been so tired and if the first thing they did wasn't bring some herbs over to the cloaked man. I made sense though, bugish person with bugish pets.

"It seems they like you quite a bit."

[losthawken]

"You don't happen to know what happened to Jensen, my horse, do you?"

"Last I saw him he was running for cover with were the others." Rainin pointed down the hill. "He seemed like a good horse, I'm sure he's not gone far."

Rainin didn't speak to Zeb, or Thydore on the way back down the mountain, but set a steady pace back down the ancient trail up which they had come. He only spoke to ask a few questions during Aali's telling of her eskape from the lagomorph and her encounter with L'lyagi.

Though he had concern over women being on the mission, Rainin had been taught proper manners and respect. He offered Aali his only spare tunic that he carried, so that she wouldn't have to continue to wear the rather befouled garb she had been wearing upon being consumed by the lagomorph.

Soon enough voices were heard, and the party encountered the recovering half of their troop just below the site of the dangerous battle. It was clear before getting too close that several of them were severely injured.

Rainin shot Zeb an unpleasant look, as if to say, 'I can't believe you're making me stay with these people,' and turned his horse off the path.

"I'll go round up the other horses, looks like we are going to need them." He was sure he was the best tracker in the group, and he needed some space to cool off.

[abculatter_2]

"It seems they like you quite a bit."

Alaz only dully acknowledged this statement, his thoughts elsewhere.
Although most of the memories he had just seen had already begun to blur and fade, one memory in particular stayed clear. His birth, and the shadowy figures taking him away shortly afterward. He tried to think more on this, though his brain was sluggish from exhaustion and shock. Deciding to mull it over later, he fell limp onto the back of his sand horror (ignoring the rather uncomfortable position) and fell asleep.

His horrors who, after realizing he was just asleep, retreated into the earth just below him. After standing guard over him for awhile, Kov eventually decided to go hunting in the immediate vicinity while Spickla tried to find something to do without leaving his watch over Alaz.

[Forgotten_Memories]

OOC: (this looked fun, I had to join in.)

Name: Morius Brood

Age: 23

Sex: Male

Height: 5'9"

Appearance: A slim Alfar male, with golden, tanned skin, and huge eyes of a beguiling silver colour with long, feminine lashes. Long, wavy, and shiny black hair falls down to his shoulders and seems almost weightless. He is clothed in a long, worn and tattered black cloak with red embroidery etched along the edges. He wears an extremely revealing, ripped cloth shirt, showing off his toned physique and tight black leather trousers, held up by a multitude of belts and complimented with high leather boots for his somewhat small feet, with various different straps. He has several runes tatooed on his arms, chest, stomach and shoulders, and a definitive scar cutting vertically across his left eye, which is covered by a black, lined tatoo, with points at each end.

Background: Not much is known about Morius' early life, for he prefers not to reveal it. However, it is speculated he comes from ancient Alfar nobility, although no one can prove this. He is a lone wanderer, who tends to stick his nose where it doesn't belong. He is however, known to have a thirst for romance, and prefers neither men, nor women. He is infamous for an affair he had with one of the princes of the Alfar kingdom, four years ago. Both having been sentenced to death, Morius was unable to save his lover and fled.

Personality: He is extremely confident, cocky, stubborn, and arrogant. He mainly looks out for himself, and keeps his own interests at heart.

Weapons/Armor: He wears Ancient Alfar, silver, gemmed wrist-guards, a great repellent to magic. Also wears several necklaces, and rings gemmed to enhance dark magical performance. He doesn't really carry around any weapons.

Elemental school: Black Fire

Socioeconomic status: None, or unknown.

[Forgotten_Memories]

Hidden inside his own shadow, Morius watched the party climb the mountain, and combat against the beasts. His mind drifted especially to their lack of magical prowess.

He finally dispelled his cloak of darkness, which whipped away in a shimmer of dark flame. Now, he was standing above the black-clothed Scorpid creature.

"My, my Alaz, you seem to have grown weaker. It disappoints me."

A thin smile spread across his face.

[abculatter_2]

From beyond the realm of dreams Alaz heard Spickla chittering quietly underneath him, then faint footsteps, then a strange voice above him.

"My, my Alaz, you seem to have grown weaker. It disappoints me."

He was reluctant to awaken and dive back into his aching body, though if there was one thing he had ever learned from the Shvvlakcarr it was to never turn your back to strange people. Especially if they knew your name.

His eyes cracked opened and gazed upon a strange elf, obscured by illusions that Alaz could only barely tell were there. He glared back, attempting to recognize the face, though failing. He took a moment to consider his options. This elf was an obvious magic user, Alaz couldn't see how that could be made any more clear. Though he could only guess at the elf's chosen specialty, the excessive amount of black gave a less-then-subtle hint. The elf carried no weapons. A pity, they made great opening moves and the face made when one's own weapon is turned against him was priceless. Alaz took another moment to mull it over...

Suddenly, the dirt beneath the elf's feet jerked violently, throwing him off-balance even though he was expecting it. Alaz had noticed that doing so was a bit more difficult then he would have expected and, going on a hunch, punched the elf in the chest instead of knocking him down with sand. The elf fell to the ground with a thud and Alaz's tail was at his throat before he hit the ground. Alaz then struck a fighting stance designed for combating magic users. The whole ordeal took less then five seconds. He then began to speak;

"Who-"

Before he could finish, Spickla shot out of the ground beside the elf, wrapped himself on top of the elf, and sliced his razor plate-teeth threateningly in his face. Alaz's only sign of acknowledgment was a momentary pause.

"-are you?" He finished.

[yellowm&M]

As they walked back to the rest of the group, Aali expained her little adventure to Thydore, Zeb, and Rainin, who asked a few questions but otherwise didn't speak. About halfway down, Rainin offered her his spare tunic, which she took gratefully, glad to have something other than her disgustingly filthy clothes, even if it was quite a bit to big for her petite frame. Eventually they reached the rest of the group, many of whom appeared to be injured, where Rainin shot a look at Zeb that clearly displayed his irritation at being rejoined with the group. Aali felt her eyes narrow, Rainin's self-importance and independant thing was really starting to get on her nerves.

"I'll go round up the other horses, looks like we are going to need them." She was tempted to go with him and make sure her horse was all right, but she was pretty sure that as of right now, that would completely push Rainin over the edge so instead she called at his retreating back,

"Make sure you find Jensen!" then went over to rejoin the rest of the group. Surveying the group she did a double take when she noticed a stranger standing over Alaz. Before she could figure out who he was Alaz had pinned him down and taken a defensive stance. She sprinted over to them, not sure if Alaz needed help or not, but thinking it was better to be safe than sorry. She reached their side her hand gripping the dagger still concelaed in her sleeve.

"Whats going on here?"

[DustinTheWind]

While Rainin searched for the horses and Alaz spoke with the newcomer, Neil fashioned himself a makeshift splint from some nearby branches, but soon opted for a sling when a little practice with his bow revealed that his arm was still useless. When Rainin returned, the party set out again with Aaliyah leading the way. She brought them to the spot the Lagomorph had deposited her, and nearby they found what must be the monastery mon Ich spoke of.

A large section of the mountain had been cut away -- it looked like it had been melted -- leaving a triangular ledge of igneous rock backed by a hundred-foot cliff. Upon this ledge sat a cluster of interconnected buildings. Like the village, most of them were dilapidated and unidentifiable, but some showed signs of halfhearted maintenance. A pathetic-looking garden, occupying a small corner of an old, overgrown field, grew a measly supply of fruits and tubers. The nearest side of the complex was bordered by a wall of similar design to the one encircling the village, branching out from the cliff wall.

As they approached the wall's massive gate, Thydore suddenly leaped from the horse he had formerly refused to dismount and scurried up a tree, stubbornly refusing to set even one foot inside the enclosure.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Who-"

Before he could finish, Spickla shot out of the ground beside the elf, wrapped himself on top of the elf, and sliced his razor plate-teeth threateningly in his face. Alaz's only sign of acknowledgment was a momentary pause.

"-are you?" He finished.

Morius almost felt the Centipede Guardian's teeth slice into his skin, and anticipated the blood which would flow with absolute relish. The devilish smile he had when he first acknowledged Alaz was still plastered on his face as he glared at the Sand Warrior from his apparently defenseless position.

"Whats going on here?"

He could see the girl without having to turn his head and look at her, as a black globe, representing an eye with a white pupil floated by her side. "A scapegoat" he thought. He then noticed there was a dagger concealed in her sleeve, and knew his next move would be difficult to execute - or perhaps not.

In a matter of seconds, Morius' physical form had melted away in a dark, thick ooze from beneath Alaz's seemingly inescapable hold, and materialized from the floating globe behind Aali's left shoulder. He placed his hand swiftly upon her shoulder, and a half moon pendant let loose a strange ringing sound from around his neck as it began to reverberate and float gently.

A droopy black liquid, similar to the ooze he had been replaced with on the ground, flowed from Morius' eyes and ran down his neck, twining impossibly around his arm, and spreading to Aali. She gained a faint black glow, and her facial expression froze, not allowing her to even blink or breathe. He kept a tight grip, but let his stare fall coldly upon Alaz, whose expression was unreadable as he was clothed fully in black, but Morius expected him to have at least a little a hint of surprise.

"It seems I was wrong," Morius' voice was hollow, and seemed distant from the dark fire he was implementing, "but don't try anything fast, or I will end her life." Morius felt the girl try to squirm and fall away. "She's stronger than I thought," he spoke absently in his mind to himself. "I am Morius Brood," he said, and as if by habit, he flicked his hair elegantly with his free hand, "and I know you Alaz, but you don't know me. Although, if I choose to reveal how, it may prove..." and with this, his eyes studied the group nearby cautiously, "...compromising."

"I ask for one thing," Morius changed the subject immediately, and the overly confident tone had also returned to his voice, "allow me to join in on your quest. I have very little interest in the main objective, and I doubt mon Ich would refuse the protection of a Warlock if he offered himself as selflessly as I am."

[abculatter_2]

Suddenly, the man melted away into a thick goop, which quickly slithered next to Aali and reformed into the elf, now injecting her with a black goop.

A shadowshifter... Alaz thought, doing his best ignore the sudden wave of aching pain that replaced the rush of adrenaline. He did have a rather useful item for his kind, though now did not seem the best time to check and see if it had broken.

"It seems I was wrong,"

If you were right, I wouldn't be a Shvvlakcarr...

"but don't try anything fast, or I will end her life."

Alaz wondered what made the elf think that would stop Alaz if he really wanted to kill him.

"I am Morius Brood,and I know you Alaz, but you don't know me. Although, if I choose to reveal how, it may prove... compromising."

At this, Alaz's eyes squinted into glaring slits. How much did he know? How much has he told? How well could he keep his tongue? Suddenly, Spickla, who had been making a growl-like chittering ever since Mobius reformed, charged at the elf.

"Hivch!" Alaz shouted, pulling the sand underneath Spickla backwards. Alaz then told the horror to go underground and stay close, which he reluctantly obeyed. Alaz then turned back to Mobius.

"I have no reason to fight today." Alaz said simply, then turned back toward the path and began walking (rather laboriously) up the mountain. As he did so, he reached into his robes and searched. He soon felt a hard object, which he confirmed to be what he was looking for.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"I have no reason to fight today."

Morius watched as the Shvvlakcarr turned to climb the mountain once more. "Now we're getting somewhere." he thought, and released his hold on the girl, and the dark energy redrew itself into his eyes. He walked ahead, but turned to have one last look at Aali, who had now sunk to her knees on the ground. "A shame, she really is quite pretty."

His eyes lingered upon Aali for a bit longer, and he felt like apologizing for almost having made her a victim. Instead, he turned and clambered after Alaz in all the grace he could muster on such a rocky, uphill terrain.

[losthawken]

"Won't you be coming Thydore?" called Rainin to the little creature hugging the treetrunk high above like a frightened child holding onto its fathers leg.

'Some guide,' Rainin had been very surprised upon returning to the group with the missing horses, which included Jenson. He had never seen a warlock duel before and had been instilled with a fearful respect for the scorpion-clan. The dark elf also made him particularly uncomfortable.

Despite being one of the few left in the group without serious injuries he felt surprisingly weak compared to the others. He had learned that most of the nobles were also powerful magic wielders as well. He had not been much exposed to such powerful types of magic as his fellow journeyers wielded and had decided change tactics and become an observer rather than to push the group.

This seemed to make Zeb happy, and their relationship improved, although Rainin still did not understand how Zeb could act as though the deat hof the weak were not and anavoidable fact. Weakness was what had failed to save his village. Rainin had sworn never to be weak again. For this reason he took a careful approach around such powerful wizards, hoping to learn from their talents.

Rainin paused by the Thydore's tree and waited as the group passed through the gates ahead of him.

[Honorius]

Once again, Scarlet was startled when a black clad Alfar jumped out of the very shadows and got in a fight with the scorpion clansman. If she hadn't been so exhausted, she would have done something. But even when the shadow man took one of their group members hostage, she was still to tired to do much of anything. It made her feel weak, useless, frail. She didn't like it.

Luckily, the black Alfar released his hostage and seemed to actually join the group. Taking hostages, getting in fights, and wanting to join the group? Alfars were odd people. Of course, if anyone knew that, it was Scarlet. Scarlet and Trucido.

~~~

Trucido was sitting back against a big tree when he saw the black clad man from before march past him. The man looked angry, very angry. Not from the expression on his face though, Trucido couldn't see that, it was the way he walked. Soon after the black clad man walked past, another black clad man walked past, except this man was different. He was an Alfar. Trucido could tell by the way he moved, there was a certain spring in his step unique to the grace of the Alfar. Of course, the ears were a dead give away too.

And then Trucido noticed yet another aspect of the man. He knew that man. Or at least, he knew of the man.

"Morius Brood. Morius Brood. Morius Brood. What ever could you be doing way out here? Shouldn't you be out snatching away the heart of yet another prince to be doomed? Oh yeah, you're supposed to be dead. We didn't take very kindly to your... Relationship did we?"

Trucido slid up the tree and stood up. He was feeling infinitely better now. His head was clear, his senses sharp, his reflexes keen. A little rest was all he needed. Knowing that Brood wasn't the most gentle of men, Trucido placed his hands in his coat, gripping two hidden throwing knives and readying a charge of green fire.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Morius Brood. Morius Brood. Morius Brood. What ever could you be doing way out here? Shouldn't you be out snatching away the heart of yet another prince to be doomed? Oh yeah, you're supposed to be dead. We didn't take very kindly to your... Relationship did we?"

Morius only now noticed that the man who spoke was an elf. He should have guessed at his first glance, as the man was obscenely tall to be human, had an elegantly fair face, and hair the colour of sunlight- but he hadn't been paying much attention. Also, what might have thrown him off as he now noticed, is that this particular elf covered the tips of his ears with his hair.

"At least I don't try to disguise who I am, Fabre," Morius almost hissed the name. "And please, get down from there, you look like a monkey. I mean you no harm. As I've told your companion here, I simply wish to offer you the services of a warlock. You will come across several powerful magi, and certainly many magical defenses and boundaries, which my dark fire is all-too-suited-for. My personal interest in the final outcome of this quest is somewhat, different than yours. So, please, allow me to come along for the ride."

Morius offered a mischievous grin to his fellow Alfar, and continued walking to catch up to Alaz.

******
Rainin paused by the Thydore's tree and waited as the group passed through the gates ahead of him.

Now standing in front of the aged gates of the seemingly abandoned, strange town Thydore had lead them to, Morius hung to the back of the crowd, as he knew less of the group, and didn't think they would be too inclined to engage in conversation with him. As he walked under the meticulously arching gate, he felt a certain presence, and a rune on his upper left arm began to burn into his skin.

"There is something awfully disturbing about this place," he thought.

[Honorius]

Brood clearly didn't like Trucido very much. Of course, Trucido didn't like him very much either. Then again, Trucido didn't like anyone very much. But the warlock seemed to be on their side, and they needed the help. Of course, Scarlatinitia was as good a mage as any, and probably stronger than him, but he was right about the black fire. Scarlatinitia was great with red fire, but red fire just couldn't destroy like black fire.

Trucido didn't mind the disguise comment or the Fabre hiss. The man didn't understand. Trucido actually had a reputation and a business to uphold, he couldn't risk his human business partners to be deterred by him being an Alfar, nor could he allow too many people to lean where he was at anyone one time. There were far too many people who wanted the Assassins of Fabre dead.

'Seems like he's on our side' Trucido thought to himself. At least this person was a fellow Alfar and a noble, even if he was a horrible representation of either group.

"Trucy! Are you feeling better?" Scarlet bounded over towards Trucido and gave him a quick check over. It seemed like he was okay. Trucido on the other hand, did the same thing and noticed small bags forming under Scarlatanitia's eyes. She had been working hard and had tired herself. She would never let it show though, now matter how tired she was, she would never show any weakness in front of Trucido. It was in Trucido's nature to abandon the weak, and while Scarlet knew that he would never abandon her, she still refused to show weakness. "Well you look like you're doing well." Scarlet said with a partially forced smile. She clasped her hands behind her back and nodded her head in happiness. She was far to cute, far to kind, and far to strong for Trucido. How could a creature like Trucido be so blessed?

"I'm well Scarlatanitia. You on the other hand seem to be working hard. Come, it's time to move on, you can ride Aurum." Trucido led Scarlatanitia over to the horse and helped her up. He then walked alongside her to the gates where the group had gathered.

"Cozy"

[yellowm&M]

After her little meeting with Morious Brood (her head still pounded from the lack of air, and her body hadn't wuite regained it's usual strength) Aali had ridden Jensen (whom Rainin had luckily found) to the spot where an abandoned monastery stood. As soon as they reached it Thydore scrambled up a tree and refused to come down. Even devoid of magical powers, Aali could feel the eerie, disturbing feeling that clung in the air. She could tell that the others felt it too. Cautiously she made her way into the village, examining the houses and buildings all left in various states of disrepair.

She looked behind her and realized most of the group was still hovering by the gate, the feeling in the air made her not want to hang around by herself. Slowly she made her way closer to the group again, sliding up alongside the tree with Thydore who still refused to come down despite Rainin's reasoning with him.

"Thydore, please come down. You are our guide and we could really use your help."

[losthawken]

"So what say you all? We can wait here until L'lyagi leaves and then scavenge for clues, which I have little hope of finding. We can try to follow the wizard, hoping he will lead us to our prize. Or we can walk right in and see for ourselves what kind of wizard he is and how we can get this done. We are all after the same thing aren't we?"

"Thydore, please come down. You are our guide and we could really use your help." Aali seemed to have the same desire to keep things moving as Rainin.

"Thydore or not, I say we make our way along the wall and find this L'lyagi. The temple is sure to be at the base of the cliff. If he doesn't already, I'm sure L'lyagi will soon know we gotten this far. Unless, of course, someone can magically hide our presence. Let's move slow and quiet and watch our backs!"

Rainin gave Thydore one last pleading look as he made his way to the front of the group. The closer he got to the gates the more the hairs on his neck tingled. It was an eerie place, Rainin wasn't sure if there were any inhabitants in decrepit buildings on the ledge, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Anyone have any better ideas?"

[DustinTheWind]

"So what say you all? We can wait here until L'lyagi leaves and then scavenge for clues, which I have little hope of finding. We can try to follow the wizard, hoping he will lead us to our prize. Or we can walk right in and see for ourselves what kind of wizard he is and how we can get this done. We are all after the same thing aren't we?

"Thydore or not, I say we make our way along the wall and find this L'lyagi. The temple is sure to be at the base of the cliff. If he doesn't already, I'm sure L'lyagi will soon know we gotten this far. Unless, of course, someone can magically hide our presence. Let's move slow and quiet and watch our backs!

"Anyone have any better ideas?"

Neil scratched his head thoughtfully. "Well, normally I'd say we should either attempt to negotiate or simply barge in and take what we came for. However, based on Aali's encounter, I don't think negotiations will work, and most of us are in far too bad a shape to attempt a raid. And yet, following him also seems unlikely. Given the sort of creatures he has guarding his hideaway, he probably has some sort of steed that at best is far too fast and at worst is impossible to track.

"So, yeah. No ideas here. I guess we can go with your plan."

[Honorius]

"I have a plan." Trucido said. By this time Trucdio had figured out that he was one of the only people in the group with any real experience in infiltration. "Sir Brood and I are they only ones in the group with any sort of invisibility or disguise magics, so we will act as scouts. We will infiltrate the mage's lair and search for anything useful. Meanwhile, the rest of you will storm the front. You don't have to actually fight or kill anything, but you need to at least provide a significant distraction. Scarlatanitia can hurl some fire balls, and I'm sure the rest of you have something that's at least a little flashy. Can you handle that Scarlatanitia?"

"Trucy! How many times do I have to tell you? I'm Scarlet!" Scarlet yelled and pounded lightly on Trucy's shoulder. "But yes. I should be able to do that."

"Good. Be careful Scarlet." Trucido said before vanishing with a crackle and a small flash of green. "Come on Brood" Said Trucido's disembodied voice. "I hope you can keep up" The voice said as it rushed down toward the mage's lair.

"Okay guys," Scarlet said to the rest of the group. "We've got to be big and scary and distract the mage and his monsters. So let's go!" Scarlet raised her arm high in the air as she led her horse forward.

[losthawken]

"We've got to be big and scary and distract the mage and his monsters. So let's go!"

"Seems like its been decided," mumbled Rainin.

He had a bad feeling about this plan. It was plain that L'lyagi was a powerful wizard, and he already seemed to know a great deal about the group already. A simple distraction probably wouldn't work against him and considering that most of the group was injured they stood a good chance at loosing members. But he wasn't asked...

"This looks like wizards work," he spoke in a normal tone that was likely not heard by Scarlet over the pounding of her horse hooves. "Aali, why don't we follow but hang towards the back with Neil. He's got an injured arm anyway, and I don't think that L'lyagi will be terribly excited to see you."

He gave Neil and the girl a knowing look, and said in a lower tone, "I for one know only a handful of spells. I would give us away more than add to the distraction. Its up to you, but there might be a sliver chance for diplomacy once the wizards are done."

As he moved forward with the group and waited for responses from Neil and Aali, he eyed the hovels behind the gate closely looking for any clues that could help them succeed.

[yellowm&M]

"We've got to be big and scary and distract the mage and his monsters. So let's go!" Scarelt rushed forwards in pounding of hooves the others following.


"This looks like wizards work, Aali, why don't we follow but hang towards the back with Neil. He's got an injured arm anyway, and I don't think that L'lyagi will be terribly excited to see you. I for one know only a handful of spells. I would give us away more than add to the distraction. Its up to you, but there might be a sliver chance for diplomacy once the wizards are done.""

She though about his propostion with interest. As much bas she hated to hang behind the group, she also didn't have any magical powers to speak of, and L'lyagi...well he certainly did. Plus Rainin was right that he probabaly didn't want to see her face, she might just do more harm than good.

"That sounds like a good idea. I'm great with a sword, but not with magic. Though on the diplomacy front...I do tend to be good at that but I'm not sure that I would be much help in this instance. Still we can see how everything plays out before we decide." She then slipped a hand in her pack and pulled ou the jagged shard of her sword. She slid it into the sliver scabbard hanging off of her belt; it wasn't much, but it was better than nothing until she could find a way to get a new sword.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Come on Brood" Said Trucido's disembodied voice. "I hope you can keep up" The voice said as it rushed down toward the mage's lair.

"Tch," was all Morius said as he watched the handsome elf fade into his surroundings with a flash of green. The best plans come from the alfar, and this one is particularly cunning. I'd better watch out for him. He then stepped over to where the front of the cathedral cast its furthest shadow. The onyx stone imbued to one of his lavishly huge rings shone an impossible black light, and Morius stepped into the shadows, leaving the rest of the party behind. He slid along the shadows of the building, heading with the assassin into L'lyagi's abode.

[Honorius]

As Scarlet marched forward humming a little tune with her head held high and a smile on her face. Scarlet was an innocent creature and still didn't fully comprehend the concept of fighting being potentially dangerous. She had been hurt, her friends had been hurt, she had killed, she had seen allies be killed, but it never seemed to actually sink in. She was far to innocent a being. Now, Scarlet's smile wasn't because she enjoyed fighting, she really didn't care either way when it came to fighting. Fighting wasn't particularly fun, but it wasn't horrible or boring either. It just was. She was smiling because Trucy had trusted her to do something, and worried about her safety. Trucido wasn't a particularly kind person. The only person Scarlet had ever seen her betrothed ever be genuinely kind to was herself. Her father, just respectful; business partners, same; family, he had none; friends, he had none. Scarlet was the only family and the only friend that Trucy had, so she did everything in her power to be whatever she could for him. If that meant a tool, a puppet, a weapon, a doll, a lover, a spouse, someone to confide in, whatever, she would do it.

So Scarlet held her head high and marched forward. Of course, Scarlet didn't grasp the concept that half of her group was not suited for the distractions that they were preparing, so when she noticed that the non mages in the group were hanging back, it seemed like a cowardly thing.

"Hey! What are you guys doing way back there? You should be up at the front of the group! Heads held high! Swords raised high! Voices rising high! We're the distraction! Come on!" As Scarlet gave her little motivational speech she raised her hand high and enunciated each sentence with a little punch to the sky. It seemed that she liked her little speech and made a little song out of it.

"Heads held high! Swords raised high! Voices rising high! We're the distraction! Let's go!" She repeated her knew little chant and pointed towards the cathedral towering before them.

[yellowm&M]

Aali, Rainin, and Neil let themselves fall to the back of the group as everyone approached the temple building. So far they were going unnoticed which made Aali feel better, she would rather avoid a confrontation, she was legitimately trying to help after all. But then she heard Scarlet shouting from the front of the group.

"Hey! What are you guys doing way back there? You should be up at the front of the group! Heads held high! Swords raised high! Voices rising high! We're the distraction! Come on!"

So much for avoiding a confrontaion Aali thought to herself, Scarlet had now started a chant-like song "Heads held high! Swords raised high! Voices rising high! We're the distraction! Let's go!"

Raising her voice above that of Scarlet she said "I would love to be upfront helping, but my sword is broken and my earlier confrontation with L'lyagi makes me think that him seeing me really won't do any favors. I think I can be of more help from the back."

[Honorius]

"I would love to be upfront helping, but my sword is broken and my earlier confrontation with L'lyagi makes me think that him seeing me really won't do any favors. I think I can be of more help from the back."

"What are you talking about? You don't have to fight or anything silly! We're just distracting them. You guys have to stand up front and wave your swords around and yell and stuff. How are you going to be intimidating and stuff way back there? Where's your distracting spirit?!"

[yellowm&M]

"What are you talking about? You don't have to fight or anything silly! We're just distracting them. You guys have to stand up front and wave your swords around and yell and stuff. How are you going to be intimidating and stuff way back there? Where's your distracting spirit?!"

"It went away, sorry. And I don't think effect would be as good with a broken sword."

She pulled the sword shard out of it's sheath and waved it around a bit, it looked a bit pathetic. "See? We want people who look strong and powerful up there for a distraction; not a tiny little red-head with a broken sword."

[Honorius]

"Excuses excuses." Scarlet said as she jumped down from her horse and walked over to Aali. She pulled a small stone from the pouch at her side. It was a tiny thing, nothing special; just a tiny little red gem.

"Look," Scarlet said as she put the stone on the top of the broken sword. For some reason, the stone stuck and held fast. "You don't need a big old sword or giant muscles to look scary. You just need a little fire." After she said that she tapped the stone and whispered "Scarlatanitia" under her breath. Immediately flames burst from the broken sword, forming a newly complete sword of flame.

"It'll only last for an hour, or until you sheathe it, but it'll keep you from whining right? So come on! We're almost there!" Scarlet jumped back onto her horse and resumed her chant louder than ever. "Sing with me!"

[yellowm&M]

Aali admired her new firey sword. Impressive she thought. She could live with this for an hour. She smiled at Scarlet who was climbing onto her horse again.

"Thanks for the sword. It's definately more flashy than the broken one." While she stiill had nagging doubts about facing L'lyagi again she could tell there was absolutely no way Scarlet would let her not participate in the front. With a resigned sigh she had Jensen follow Scarlet's horse, anyways Scarlet was right, they were just the distraction; hopefully nothing bad would happen other than a couple irritated temple dwellers.

[DustinTheWind]

"Voices rising high! We're the distraction! Let's go!"

"Sure," Neil grumbled, "because announcing to the world that we're a distraction isn't counter-intuitive at all. Besides, look at us! Aali has no weapon and a twisted ankle, Tricido's got a concussion, Thydore is petrified with fear, Alaz is barely alive, you're flame is certainly burning low by now, and I can't draw a bow with my arm like this! This is suicide!"

"Excuses excuses," Scarlet said as she put the stone on the top of the broken sword. Immediately flames burst from the sword, forming a newly complete sword of flame.

"Okay that solves one half of one problem, but we still..." he sighed and drew his dagger. "You know what? Screw it. I've had a good life."

With a war cry, the group charged into the courtyard. It was filled with monsters.

The two giant eagles sat upon one of the buildings' roofs, tearing at an unidentifiable hunk of flesh. A wyvern sat uncomfortably by one of the building's doors, numerous satchels and bags tied to its back. The mother Lagomorph lay silent in the corner of the yard, morosely staring at the corpse of her progeny laying on her paws. Two additional creatures were running through the yard, nipping playfully at each other. One had the general appearance of a great lion with red fur, but with a longer face, scaly draconian claws, great black-feathered wings, and a tail tipped with vicious-looking spikes. The second was much smaller, about the size of a dog. Its gaunt body was vaguely mammalian in appearance, but its smooth skin was hairless save for a beardlike patch of fur along the underside of its neck. Its lipless mouth ended in a bony, toothed beak.

As the group entered the creatures all looked up, many regarding the newcomers with curious eyes. However, as soon as the Lagomorph saw the group she let out a furious bellow and charged. The other monsters followed suit.


```````````````````````````````````

As the rest of the party took on the beasts, Morius and Trucido snuck invisibly into one of the buildings. After a few minutes of searching, they came upon what appeared to be a frequently-used study. Various scrolls and papers were scattered upon the desk and floor, and assorted trinkets littered the room. A magical orb, placed carefully on a bronze lampstand, provided the room with a reddish light. The pair entered and began searching the papers in hope of finding a marked map or other such clue.

"You may as well drop the facade. Not all of us are entirely dependent on sight."

Whirling around, the two saw a black-furred Flett standing in the doorway, clad in brown wizarding robes.

"Your companion was advised to leave when she was brought here an hour ago, and I heartily recommend the same to you. Whatever your purpose, I highly doubt L'lyagi will be at all understanding when he finds you here."

[losthawken]

Rainin seriously wondered how someone as talented in magic as Scarlet could be so oblivious to reality. A flaming sword against the most adept wizard of red flame? Then again, she did seem to depend a great deal on those gems...

As the troupe rushed into the courtyard their imminent doom was confirmed by the sight of an entire menagerie of terrifying creatures laying in wait. Rainin’s eye was immediately caught by the sight of the mourning lagomorph. The creature’s one good eye also caught sight of Rainin and was immediately filled with rage.

Rainin looked at the lifeless form of the creature’s child, the one that he had killed, as the beast began to charge. In an instant he realized that the fury of the beast was largely his fault. He had always loved and respected all creatures, and only attacked because he was certain that the creature was a feral monster intent on devouring them.

It would be a narrow escape if they survived the monsters, and then they would have to deal with L’lyagi. Rainin knew what he had to do.

“Try not to kill any of them!” Rainin shouted as he charged his horse to the front of the group. He briefly saw Scarlet beam as though she thought she had inspired his sudden courage, but he paid no attention to her.

Rainin quickly summoned the voice casting charm of green fire his mother had used so often in Rainin’s youth. His voice thundered throughout the courtyard as he charged straight toward the lagomorph that likewise bounded towards him.

“L’LYAGI!”

He narrowly escaped the jaws of the beast as his horse dodged to the side and then cut beneath the beast’s belly. With pounding hooves his steed approached the dead progeny of the pursuing monster. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that it was still there. The hilt of his sword still protruded from the dead monsters jaw.

Leaping from his horse Rainin grabbed his sword and held its bloody blade high in the air as he stood beside the lifeless corpse. The monster was almost upon him.

‘If I survive this, I’m really going to have to learn some REAL magic,’ He thought as his doom descended upon him. Rainin chuckled, ‘Perhaps L’lyagi will teach me.’

“L’LYAGI!” he bellowed the wizards name again.

As Rainin chanted the only other of the two blue flame spells that he knew, the blade he held became frosted and from it a silent vapor drifted to the ground. Placing his free hand on the flat of the blade he forced the now brittle sword against his knee, snapping it neatly in two.

With the pommel of one half of his sword and the broken edge of the other raised high, Rainin closed his eyes and waited for his almost certain death.

'Well, I hope this counts for a distraction.'

[Forgotten_Memories]

Morius stepped out of the shadows of the room, and habitually flicked his hair, which sparkled in the red light as if it were dowsed with gallons of glitter. With a hand on his hip, he regarded the cat-man vigorously for a second. His feline features expressed calmness, although it was difficult to tell, as the race's facial structure and muscle build-up was so different compared to that of the alfar and human.

The rune tatooed on his left shoulder began to pulse now. It had burned harder when they entered the room, and Morius expected it was due to the potent magical orb - he could feel its energies calling out to him, the power which it held was truly lustful. But now he realised the true danger was this Flett before him, clothed in what appeared to be apprentice regalia.

Morius smirked viciously. "What makes you think we want him to be understanding?"

[DustinTheWind]

"What makes you think we want him to be understanding?"

"You have violently trespassed in the home of a powerful wizard and killed one of his familiars, and you are now trying to steal his life's work from under his nose. His understanding is all that stands between you and death.

"But I suppose if you are still here, you do not hold any respect for any of that. Very well, you have been given ample opportunity to leave. My conscience is clear. But do not make the mistake of thinking that I will hold anything back simply because have not directly offended me. You seek to ruin my friend's life, and I cannot let that happen."

With a yell, the Flett quickly extended his arms toward the two. Columns of yellow fire rapidly shot forth from them, aiming directly at the pair's chests.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"But I suppose if you are still here, you do not hold any respect for any of that. Very well, you have been given ample opportunity to leave. My conscience is clear. But do not make the mistake of thinking that I will hold anything back simply because have not directly offended me. You seek to ruin my friend's life, and I cannot let that happen."

With a yell, the Flett quickly extended his arms toward the two. Columns of yellow fire rapidly shot forth from them, striking the pair directly in the chest.

It took him a second to realise what was happening, but by then it was too late. Morius was knocked back into a table with several stacks of parchment and books. Knocking over a mountain of paper, he slid off the table and collapsed onto his side. Pain shot up his arm and shoulder, but the worst was on his chest. It felt like there was a massive weight sitting on his chest, and it was difficult to breathe, let alone get up.

He coughed in an attempt to let out the air trapped in his lungs, as several pieces of paper fluttered to settle on the cold stone floor from the result of his impact with the table. Knowing he had to act quickly, Morius whirled around on the spot, belligerently forcing himself into a kneeling position to face the Flett. With his right hand, he clutched his chest to control his breathing, and extended his left. His cloak magically uplifted itself and the crescent moon amulet which hung around his neck pulsed. The same thick, black liquid began to ooze from his eyes as when he had held Aali hostage. The walls drooped with a black ichor, which covered the doorway like a waterfall would a cave, trapping the three in L'lyagi's study. The red luminescence from the orb began to dim as well.

"I won't hold back either." Morius voice echoed hollowly in the tiny enclosure.

[Honorius]

While Morius was struck directly in the chest by the Flett's attack, Trucido wasn't nearly that slow. Trucido easily dodged the burst of yellow fire and prepared to "Negotiate". Of course, it seemed that Morius also had plans. Using a thick black ooze of black fire he trapped the trio in the room.

"Morius, Morius. There is no need for us to fight." Trucido said in a mocking voice. "Our dear friend has merely misunderstood the circumstances present." Trucido turned towards the Flett, a mock smile on his face. "We are not here to steal your friend's work, we are merely here on business. As anyone can understand, the best price for something is zero. We would have liked to simply discover the information we needed and left quietly, we never intended to steal anything, only learn. But it seems that we now need to pay a price. So you have two options now, you can sit with us and strike an agreeable deal for the information we need, or we can leave with the information we need with the cost of a life or two. It's just business."

Trucido gave another smile and pulled a glowing green dagger that swirled with raw green fire, wind, and electricity. "I am a man of my word, and with this Dagger of Fabre, I swear that should I acquire the information that I seek, no harm will come to you, your master, or either of your lively hoods. Of course, should we not be able to peacefully acquire the information we need... You and your master will have to face the greatest assassin alive, the last of the Fabre, a rogue warlock, one of the greatest fire mages of the Ignis family, and a number of other warriors."

So what shall it be? Do we have a deal?

[Forgotten_Memories]

"...So you have two options now, you can sit with us and strike an agreeable deal for the information we need, or we can leave with the information we need with the cost of a life or two. It's just business."

Morius didn't like the other elf, but Trucido did have a point. Why would they need to kill someone, if they could simply negotiate the information? Maybe because it would be fun, but then again, Morius didn't want to waste such a powerful attack on this wizard, when the much stronger L'lyagi might be around. Black fire was especially draining.

Nevertheless, he didn't let down the drooping walls, but watched the Flett earnestly, as Trucido attempted to come to an arrangement.

[DustinTheWind]

The Flett sighed. "You still do not understand. The information you seek, the location of the Crystal of the Crimson Greatflame, is my friend's life's work. He has spent almost his entire life searching for it, researching it, traveling to the farthest reaches of Aeverlest hellbent on finding it. Now old and approaching death, he prepares is to return to a place he has searched often and where he is convinced it lies. I am fairly certain it is a futile endeavor, yet I shall not betray L'lyagi's trust. He is certainly not about to let anyone take it before him, mon Ich least of all. The two have an...ill history."

"So you have two options now, you can sit with us and strike an agreeable deal for the information we need, or we can leave with the information we need with the cost of a life or two. It's just business.

"I am a man of my word, and with this Dagger of Fabre, I swear that should I acquire the information that I seek, no harm will come to you, your master, or either of your lively hoods. Of course, should we not be able to peacefully acquire the information we need... You and your master will have to face the greatest assassin alive, the last of the Fabre, a rogue warlock, one of the greatest fire mages of the Ignis family, and a number of other warriors.

So what shall it be? Do we have a deal?"

The Flett waved his hand. "Your threats do not frighten me. The power contained in those who reside here is greater than perhaps your greatest imaginings. And yet, I do not wish for the shedding of blood or the loss of life from either party. If you are indeed ready to parley, perhaps an arrangement can be reached.

"Now, L'lyagi is convinced that you have arrived here purely as mon Ich's stooges, but I am not so quick to judge. Tell me, what are your motives in seeking the Greatflame?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaping from his horse Rainin grabbed his sword and held its bloody blade high in the air as he stood beside the lifeless corpse. The monster was almost upon him.

“L’LYAGI!” he bellowed the wizards name again.

"Arrua!" A voice echoed across the courtyard. At once all the monsters halted; even the Lagomorph who glared at Ranin with murderous eyes as it sat quivering with rage. Then, seemingly from out of nowhere, a series of fireballs and small explosions knocked the entire party to the ground. As they struggled back to their feet, the voice called out again.

"So, a warning wasn't enough was it? You had to keep coming, walking to your own deaths. Apparently the rattling wasn't enough; you had to stick your hand in the viper's nest to be sure it was occupied."

L'lyagi emerged from one of the buildings and unleashed another rain of fireballs, knocking the group back to the ground. A few adventurers attempted magical attacks, but the old wizard simply counterspelled without a second thought.

"You miraculously all survived attacking my familiars, and yet you keep coming. Do I have to kill someone to get my point across?"

More fireballs.

"Because I will, you know. I'm not about to let my life's work just slip away like that. The entire world revolves around that crystal, and I'm not mon Ich just cart off with it and do Faces know what twisted things with it.

"Now, I will give you one final opportunity, not because I want to but because my friend dislikes bloodshed: get the nine hells off my mountain and do not return until I am long since gone. If you refuse, you will end the day as a charred and eviscerated mass of ashy tissue no longer even recognizable as human!"

[Honorius]

"Now, L'lyagi is convinced that you have arrived here purely as mon Ich's stooges, but I am not so quick to judge. Tell me, what are your motives in seeking the Greatflame?"

"Mon Ich's stooges? That is a horribly harsh way to put things. No, I don't believe any of us could be described as that. Each of us was promised anything and everything that we desired in exchange for obtaining the great flames. Personally, my plans are strictly personal. The extermination of a certain foul creature from the face of the earth. The others, I don't know. But I know this. Should mon Ich's plans not sit well with us, his plans won't succeed. I am one of the world's best assassins and my betrothed and her family are mon Ich and the royal family's royal guards. With just a word both the King and mon Ich can die within the day. So no, we are not his stooges. We may be pawns in his plans, but he is also a pawn in ours. He has no power over us. So what will it be? Can we agree upon something? Assistance, fame, fortune, in exchange for the great flame?"

***

"Mr. Fireball Sir!" Scarlet shouted from her horse after hearing the mage's threats and warnings and being knocked down by the man's fireballs time and time again. The man was powerful. At least if not more powerful as scarlet at her prime. And while he could rattle off a powerful spell quickly, Scarlet would need to prepare a large magic circle, which was a timely process. She'd have to negotiate.

"We don't intend to harm you Mister! We only want to know where the great flame is! My betrothed needs to find it in order to fulfill his life's goals, and I want to return it to it's home. It's been so long since the Ignis have been able to study it's roaring majesty. We miss it. We don't want to fight! We want to work together!"

[losthawken]

"Now, I will give you one final opportunity, not because I want to but because my friend dislikes bloodshed: get the nine hells off my mountain and do not return until I am long since gone. If you refuse, you will end the day as a charred and eviscerated mass of ashy tissue no longer even recognizable as human!"

'Well it seems like negotiating is out. ' Rainin thought as he tried to dodged a ball of flame, which was tricky as he was still being blocked from moving very far by the enraged lagomorph. 'This guy could take us all on at once.'

"We don't intend to harm you Mister! We only want to know where the great flame is! My betrothed needs to find it in order to fulfill his life's goals, and I want to return it to it's home. It's been so long since the Ignis have been able to study it's roaring majesty. We miss it. We don't want to fight! We want to work together!"

'By the flames! That girl is going to get us all killed! I hope L'lyagi like has a thing for red heads...'

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Mon Ich's stooges? That is a horribly harsh way to put things. No, I don't believe any of us could be described as that. Each of us was promised anything and everything that we desired in exchange for obtaining the great flames..."

Yes, anything and everything.

"my plans are strictly personal."


Morius' were too, and he wasn't about to reveal his motives at present, especially not in front of the elf. Instead, he decided to join in the negotiations with a persuasion of his own. Morius rose from his kneeling position - his breathing had returned to normal, and he placed his arms by his sides calmly. The luminescance of the room emanated back into existance, but the door was still covered with thick, oozing, black fire.

When he spoke, the hallowness had left his voice, and he attempted to sound as friendly as he could, for a change.

"Surely we all seek the flame for a very similar purpose. And I doubt that something so great and potent as the Crimson flame isn't shareable." He spoke the last word as though it pained him, nonetheless producing an amicable smirk.

[DustinTheWind]

"Personally, my plans are strictly personal. The extermination of a certain foul creature from the face of the earth. The others, I don't know. Can we agree upon something? Assistance, fame, fortune, in exchange for the great flame?"

"Surely we all seek the flame for a very similar purpose. And I doubt that something so great and potent as the Crimson flame isn't shareable."

The Flett nodded. "Indeed it is shareable, Alfar. I feared you sought to posses the Great Flames for your selves. However, if you truly seek them for purposes as these, perhaps cooperation is indeed possible."

He waved his hand at the curtain of black fire, dissipating it. "Come with me. Perhaps we can convince my friend to allow you to join us."

***

"We don't intend to harm you Mister! We only want to know where the great flame is! My betrothed needs to find it in order to fulfill his life's goals, and I want to return it to it's home. It's been so long since the Ignis have been able to study it's roaring majesty. We miss it. We don't want to fight! We want to work together!"

The old wizard paused, stunned. "Your name is Ignis?" For a moment his face softened, then twisted back into a visage of anger. "It's a lie! If you were of Ignis' line, if you truly wished for cooperation, why would you find it necessary to attack this place?"

He summoned another fireball in his hand and held it threateningly aloft, but this time did not throw it.

[Honorius]

"Come with me. Perhaps we can convince my friend to allow you to join us."

"Good, I'm glad to see that you are indeed an agreeable person." Trucido said with a smirk. This was good, very good. Maybe they could still avoid any unnecessary violence. While violence was often the simplest and most effective solution, it was not always the best one. It would have been good to get their information and leave, but if they could also gain the assistance of a powerful mage...

***

"It's a lie! If you were of Ignis' line, if you truly wished for cooperation, why would you find it necessary to attack this place?"

"We haven't attacked yet! Our earlier encounter with your pets was unfortunate. We were startled and acted hastily without contemplating the full effects of our actions... We made a mistake. But look! Rainin has come not to attack your pets once more, put to plead for forgiveness!" Scarlet prayed that the mage would see their way. He had to.

"And I am an Ignis! Scarlatinitia Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro Ignis!" Scarlet raised a hand and formed an intricate, masterpiece of a magic circle in front of her, made entirely from fire. Any mage with a knowledge of magic circles or the Ignis line would recognize that this was not a circle for enhancing attack spells, but rather a circle that provided proof of one's family. The Ignis family's circle was very unique, clearly distinguishable from another families in that only Ignis can form it instantaneously without focusing, and... The fire that formed it was white. Not white fire, but white colored red fire. That was how hot and clear it formed. And only the Ignis had the knowledge to form a circle that actually fed itself and made itself rather than another spell.

"Don't you see! We don't want to fight!"

[yellowm&M]

A fireball thrown by L'laygi slammed into Aali's stomach, knocking her to the ground gasping for breath. It singed some of her clothing, but the intent seemed to be to knock them over not burn them.

Why is the distraction always put under attack? Aali thought to herself irritably, she knew it was the point of a distraction of course, but the old wizard was many times more powerful than their most powerful members and especially a girl like her with no actual magic ability. Another fireball whizzed over her head as she instinctively ducked, manaing to avoid it.

When Scarlet spoke Aali felt like she could shoot the girl He's way past reasoning! she's going to get us all killed!

"We don't intend to harm you Mister! We only want to know where the great flame is! My betrothed needs to find it in order to fulfill his life's goals, and I want to return it to it's home. It's been so long since the Ignis have been able to study it's roaring majesty. We miss it. We don't want to fight! We want to work together"

Aali shot a look at Rainin, who was next to her, his face held the same expression hers did.

"If we die because of her..." She didn't finish the sentance.

"Your name is Ignis?" For a moment his face softened, then twisted back into a visage of anger. "It's a lie! If you were of Ignis' line, if you truly wished for cooperation, why would you find it necessary to attack this place?"

Aali tensed up, ready to duck a the new fireball glowing in L'laygi's hand, but he didn't throw it as Scarlet spok again.

"We haven't attacked yet! Our earlier encounter with your pets was unfortunate. We were startled and acted hastily without contemplating the full effects of our actions... We made a mistake. But look! Rainin has come not to attack your pets once more, put to plead for forgiveness! And I am an Ignis! Scarlatinitia Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro Ignis! Don't you see! We don't want to fight!"

As she said her name the redhead created an intricate family cricle made of a white colored fire. Aali let out a silent whistle, not only was the magic impressive looking, but L'laygi had to be convinced by this, family circles were hard to fake, especially one like the Ignis circle. She held her breath, hoping that Scarlet had managed to convince the old wizard, not daring to move or make any sound for fear of angering him again.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Come with me. Perhaps we can convince my friend to allow you to join us."

The apprentice dissipated Morius' trap of black fire as if it were nothing, and motioned for them to follow him.

I may have underestimated him. Morious thought to himself. Nonetheless, he casually followed the Flett out of the enclosure, with his hands in the deep pockets of his trousers, a few steps behind Trucido.

[DustinTheWind]

"And I am an Ignis! Scarlatinitia Aestus Incendia Exuro Aduro Ignis!" Scarlet raised a hand and formed an intricate, masterpiece of a magic circle in front of her, made entirely from fire. Any mage with a knowledge of magic circles or the Ignis line would recognize that this was not a circle for enhancing attack spells, but rather a circle that provided proof of one's family. The Ignis family's circle was very unique, clearly distinguishable from another families in that only Ignis can form it instantaneously without focusing, and... The fire that formed it was white. Not white fire, but white colored red fire. That was how hot and clear it formed. And only the Ignis had the knowledge to form a circle that actually fed itself and made itself rather than another spell.

"Don't you see! We don't want to fight!"

"Your words contradict your actions, and yet..." The old man sighed. "You are indeed of Ignis' line, so I would be disrespecting him if I didn't trust you." He lowered his hand, dispelling the fireball he held.

"Perhaps I have acted rashly. And yet, I do not apologize. I may have acted on impulse, but my actions were completely justified. Ignis or no, you are a servant of mon Ich and came here to steal valuable knowlege."

Noticing the Flett at the doorway of one of the buildings, he motioned to him. "Mount up, Blakkat. We're leaving."

"Higgen, they are not what they appear. They are, or at least claim to be, seeking the flames for their own purposes, not mon Ich's use."

"So?" the old man grunted, adjusting a saddle on the Wyvern.

"They could prove useful. Perhaps we can make an arrangement with them..."

"And perhaps mon Ich will give up playing lapdog for the royals! No, Blakkat, they will only slow us down."

"Then perhaps we could send them another way. Or go another way ourselves. All I ask, Higgen, is that we try to utilize this resource."

"Your bleeding heart has failed to take into consideration that, despite their claims of assistance, they still killed Prolagus. Why should I even give them the time of day?"

"...Ignis."

L'lyagi threw his hands up into the air and turned to the group. "Fine! Fine! Tell me what you're after so I can make my rebuttal specific. And let me warn you, missy, the trump card of your name gets you no further than this!"

[Honorius]

"Fine! Fine! Tell me what you're after so I can make my rebuttal specific. And let me warn you, missy, the trump card of your name gets you no further than this!"

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Scarlet yelled as she jumped off her horse and ran over to where Trucido, the mage, and the kitty were standing. "I want to return the flame to it's original resting place, and Trucy..."

"Trucido," Trucido cut in, "wants to take the flame back to mon Ich, even if i'm just going to steal it back anyways, for the power to destroy... those." As Trucido said this, as he nodded to the near by wyvern. For just a moment, just an instance, his eyes flickered with a savage glow, a killing intent shooting out from them.

"I respect that the wyverns are under your control, but I refuse to travel with them. They are vile, foul beasts that slaughter innocent lives." An image of Trucido's beloved little sister flashed through Trucido's mind. She was only 12. And Trucido loved her more than anything else. But dragons. Dragons. Dragons killed her, slaughtered her. And they did the same to the rest of Trucido's family. They were animals, they were monsters, demons, abominations. And it took every thing Trucido had not to slay the beasts on the spot.

"You have plenty of other animals to ride, but if you ride those beasts I will have to stay behind. Because if I have to travel with them, I will travel with their corpses." Trucido's eyes flashed again, the savage eye of a beast seemed to shine through them. He laid a hand on the Dagger of Fabre at his side as he eyed the beasts.

"Um," Scarlet spoke up, "Trucy has an... aversion with dragons... So could you... Um... ride a horse?" Knowing that her name wouldn't get her any farther, she opened her eyes wide and gave her best puppy face. There were few men who had ever resisted it. Even Trucy had trouble with it. She didn't like seeing Trucido like this. He scared her when he was like this. But this was who Trucido was, and she had always accepted that, even if she didn't like it. She just wanted him to be happy.

"Pwease..."

[DustinTheWind]

"I will not allow any of the Greatflames to come into mon Ich's possession for any length of time, nor will I allow your group to inflict any further harm on my pets. However, if the lady truly seeks to restore the flame, I suppose I can accept your help."

He pulled a scrap of parchment out of a pocket and handed it to them. It's appears to be a map, covered in illegible notes, diagrams, and routes. "The flame is somewhere in the Geld; a vast desert at the south end of the kingdom. Doubtless, the scorpion is familiar with it. On the map I have diagrammed the most probable locations of the crystal, as well as the most efficient routes for finding it. Get to the Geld, look around. If you somehow manage to find it without dehydrating yourselves, stay near it until I show up. Make smoke signals or something. Blakkat and I will search for a colleague of ours in a separate part of the country, and will join you in the Geld after either finding him or giving up.

"There, you won't have to travel with the dragon, and I won't have to travel with you. Everybody's happy. Any objections?"

[losthawken]

"There, you won't have to travel with the dragon, and I won't have to travel with you. Everybody's happy. Any objections?"

Rainin peaked around the obstructive bulk of the lagomorph.

"No objections here," wandering in a scorching desert searching for something that isn't there was certainly a better option than being scorched and then eaten.

[yellowm&M]

"I will not allow any of the Greatflames to come into mon Ich's possession for any length of time, nor will I allow your group to inflict any further harm on my pets. However, if the lady truly seeks to restore the flame, I suppose I can accept your help. The flame is somewhere in the Geld; a vast desert at the south end of the kingdom. Doubtless, the scorpion is familiar with it. On the map I have diagrammed the most probable locations of the crystal, as well as the most efficient routes for finding it. Get to the Geld, look around. If you somehow manage to find it without dehydrating yourselves, stay near it until I show up. Make smoke signals or something. Blakkat and I will search for a colleague of ours in a separate part of the country, and will join you in the Geld after either finding him or giving up.

"There, you won't have to travel with the dragon, and I won't have to travel with you. Everybody's happy. Any objections?"

Aali looked at the map, damn this guy should work on his penmanship she thought to herself, still she was pretty sure it would be fairly easy to figure out after a little bit. She looked back up at L'lyagi

"Sound like a plan, lets start."

[Honorius]

"None." Trucido said as he snatched up the map and began to walk back to where they had come from. He knew that if they didn't leave soon they he wouldn't be able to control himself any longer. "Come Scarlatanitia, it's time to go."

"Coming Trucy" Scarlet said as she curtsied to the wizard and followed after the assassin.

"We're leaving!" Trucido yelled to the other warriors. "Get on your horses now or you'll be left behind!"

[DustinTheWind]

"Sound like a plan, lets start."

L'lyagi nodded, and he and Blakkat mounted the wyvern. "Feel free to take anything you need from the monastery. You were probably going to steal it anyway, so I may as well give you permission." And with that, they flew off.

[Honorius]

"Feel free to take anything you need from the monastery. You were probably going to steal it anyway, so I may as well give you permission."

Scarlet looked around at the group, noticing that quite a number of them were injured and weaponless. While she wanted to leave now like Trucido said, she knew that they couldn't.

"Um... Trucy?" Scarlet asked, looking up at the assassin with her biggest puppy dog eyes. "Can't we wait for just a few minutes? Pwease? We could really use some of the supplies in there."

There was only two things in the entire world that Trucido had a weakness to, dragons (Which was more like an anti weakness), and Scarlet. "No"

But Scarlet just kept looking at him. "No"

She didn't stop.

"Fine. We'll take ten minutes" Trucido said with a grunt. "But that's it"

"Yay!" Scarlet shouted. "Hear that! You guys have ten minutes!"

[DustinTheWind]

Over the years, between L'lyagi and other occupants, the monastery had been stripped of most of its treasures, yet in ten minutes the group was able to scrounge up a small handful of items. In the studies, Scarlet found three crystals -- two whites and a red -- as well as a small number of poorly-labeled balms and potions. There were also a good number of scrolls and tomes detailing different red fire incantations; the simpler of these Ranin collected, the more complex Scarlet. Items inscribed with magical patterns were virtually absent, but Morius was able to find a ring inscribed with what appeared to be a counterspell against ice, which he quickly added to his collection. An understocked armory provided new but apparently non-magical weapons for Aali, Ranin, and Neil (who, realizing his left arm would be worthless until he could find a healer to set the bone, decided he had best develop proficiency in a one-handed weapon.) Zeb found a strong oaken staff with a crystal embedded in the head, likely once belonging to a powerful wizard, which he took in place of his own. In what appeared to be an old jeweler's workshop, Alaz found a small jar of chips, shavings, and dust resultant from the carving of gems and crystals. At best, they were enchanted before carving, resulting in fire-infused sand; at worst they weren't enchanted yet, but could be enchanted later. Either way, they could be valuable. Filling out the collection, the group picked up a number of potentially valuable trinkets to sell, the glowing orb from the study, and a bag of coins -- not a fortune by any stretch of the imagination, but good travel funds.

The rest of the day was spent climbing back down the mountain. Another night was spent in Binnacorn's inn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The party traveled south for two days under Alaz's lead. He appeared to be following no visible landmarks, seemingly guided along the shortest route by another means. The first night they spent at mon Ich's pyramid. He asked few questions, but did spend ample time in another room with Thydore, speaking in an indecipherable language.

The next day was fairly uneventful, save for a rather expensive crossing of the Edu River: an important thoroughfare between the merchant town of Riverport and the capital city of Hancastle.

It is now late in the afternoon, and the party is traveling through a forest. Weary from the day's travels, the group is beginning to search for a place to camp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

le GOALS TEMPORARY:
1: Find a place to camp
2: Develop the scene a bit until something happens, which it will

le GOALS ULTIMATE:

1: Travel to the Geld and find the Red Crystal Flame
2: Find the other crystal flames

[DustinTheWind]

Suddenly, the forest around the party erupts into a maelstrom of light and sound. At the same time, arrows innumerable fly from the foliage at the group. Most of them miss, and none make any sort of lethal contact, but a few find their mark in legs and arms. Two dozen figures leap from the trees and bushes and rush at the group. They wear light armor, much of it mismatched, and attack with great speed and precision, having rehearsed this sort of attack hundreds of times before. Many wield swords and bracers but bolas, nets, and other "capturing" devices punctuate their weaponry.

Among the assailants, three stand out. The first is a woman in a leotard, wielding a pair of long daggers and attacking with very light, fluid motions. As she attacks she throws a variety of flames, mostly yellow, which she controls with uncanny ability, even turning spells of all flame thrown at her back upon the caster. Second is a man dressed in leather armor, but carrying a wizarding staff. Around his neck is a talisman with a single blue gem embedded in the center. Most notable about him are his eyes: while his right one stares fixedly at the ground, the left darts around in an almost feverish paranoia, which combined with a grin spotted by missing teeth gives him a frighteningly maddened visage. Unlike his graceful companion, he swings his staff aloud with clumsy wrath, screaming magical chants and incantations speckled with profanities.

The last is a tall, powerfully built man; a head taller than any other present. Though he carries a large sword, he is every bit as fast as his companions. Unlike the others, his armor is consistently matching and well-fitted, as if it were made for him. In the center of his breastplate is engraved the simple symbol of a clenched fist.

[losthawken]

As the initial surprise of the ambush waned Rainin began to smile. THIS was what he had signed onto this journey for. What better time to try out a few new tricks. The wizard’s armory hadn’t held any swords to Rainin’s liking, and he had found that the sapling from which he had carved his new staff to be of an excellent quality. The trees of L’lyagi’s mountain seemed to have adsorbed some unique properties and made ideal fighting staves. Additionally, the tomes that Rainin had snatched had been very interesting reading over the past couple days.

With some tutoring from Scarlet, whom he still found annoying though helpful, his staff had been etched with ancient runes that spiraled along its length. With a whisper of an incantation the runes began to glow a soft red.

The shadow from behind him caught his well trained eye. With only a moment to react Rainin ducked and twirled his staff. The net above him incinerated instantly in the flaming wake left behind his now enchanted staff.

Turning to face his adversaries he was met with several knocked arrows that were let loose in an instant. Another sweeping motion from his staff and another trail of flame quickly dispatched the projectiles, and Rainin charged into the horde reveling in the chaos of battle.

Spotting what appeared to be the leader of the attacking rabble Rainin forced his way through the crowd, but soon found himself surrounded.

‘I underestimated their numbers,’ Rainin thought to himself. ‘Oh well, the others will be joining in the fray soon. Perhaps I’ll get a shot at one of the big guys later.’

Continuing to duck dodge and attack Rainin’s staff cut blazing paths about him keeping his enemies at bay. ‘Either they are lousy fighters, or they aren’t aiming to kill. What could they be after?’

[Forgotten_Memories]

As the man with the staff fended off several enemies at the same time, Morius rushed to help him. After all, having offered the protection of his black fire, it was his duty really. However, as he was running over, he heard the pang of another bow string, releasing its missile, and by then it was too late. The arrow hit him hard in the left shoulder, and he staggered, almost falling to his right. The impact was particularly excruciating and his arm went numb.

Damnit! Morius' thoughts echoed.

Having been made disoriented from the attack, he didn't hear as the two bandits approached from behind. They flung a net over the warlock, and he tripped over as the ends tightened around his ankles. Enough was enough for Morius, and that point had been reached long ago.

He dissolved his body in an oozing black goop, pouring out of the net, leaving only a bloody arrow left in its captivity. As he re-materialised, his eyes leaked the same black ooze which ran down and twined around his arms, collecting at a point in the center of his palms. Blood ran from the open wound now in his shoulder, but he seemed not to notice it, as if he were in some magic-induced trance.

The two who had previously captured him now stood with their weapons ready, and poised to attack the warlock. They charged at him. Morius waved his hands around miraculously, and spawned an ominous black pool of what seemed like water in the way of the charging enemies. Obviously, they hadn't been able to see it in time, as upon reaching the festering dark hole, the warriors sank into it. Their movement was completely impaired, and as they struggled to get out of it, vine-like black tendrils crawled up over their bodies, dragging them further into the conjured abyss.

Morius sniggered hauntingly, a blood crazed smile spread across his face. He then turned his attention to his teammates, who all seemed to be locked in their own battles. Morius caught sight of the man in leather armor, wielding a wizard's staff, and decided that would be his next target - magic users were his specialty.

[Honorius]

It was an ambush.

After having traveled for so long, the entire group had let their guard down. Even Trucido. And he he hated himself for it. But there was no time to pout or complain now. It was time to fight.

"Scarlet!" Trucido shouted over the din of battle. Their gazes meet, and each knew exactly what the other wanted them to do. There was no need to call a plan, send a message, or communicate in any other way. Both knew exactly what the other needed to do. Scarlet was to cause mass panic and take out the brunt of the main attack force, giving covering fire for Trucido while he went after the head of the attackers.

"Shin! Scarlet yelled as she jumped into the air, but she didn't fall back down. Rather, she hovered in the air, seemingly standing on a fireball coming from her shoes. By jumping into the air she created a target for the archers, many of whom changed their targets and fired. None of the shots would have been lethal, it appeared that they weren't intended to be, but Scarlet incinerated each one anyways. And with the ashes of each arrow, a magic circle began to form in front of Scarlet.

"SigelKen!" She shouted. As she did so an odd symbol flashed inside the circle before unleashing a wave of flame upon a number of the attackers. Hearing a shout behind her, Scarlet narrowly dodged an attack from a sword before unleashing another blast of fire. The sword had managed to put a sizeable cut in Scarlet's arm, but its wasn't anything fatal. She would live.

"StanCweorth!" Trucido heard Scarlet yell as another wave of flame bashed into the assailants. It was hard to tell what the path of the battle would be. While Trucido's group was strong, there were a lot of intruders. A whole lot of intruders. They were badly outnumbered. But as any good commander (or assassin) knows, an army will fall apart once the head was killed. So, that's what Trucido set out to do.

"ZuiGar" Trucido had whispered while Scarlet was causing a distraction. Almost immediately, Trucido vanished from sight and rushed towards the tall man with the large sword. Call it instinct, but Trucido had feeling that this man was the leader. While approaching Trucido cut open a handful of warriors, but stopped when he reached the leader. Trucido reappeared before the leader, a knife held in front of him. Although Trucido was an assassin, he was also a nobleman, and it would be improper to kill someone quietly without first learning their name. But whatever Trucido did, he'd have to do it quickly... The sun was starting to set.

"I hope you're ready to die. I, Trucido Aer Furtim Velox Neco Fabre, will not allow you to continue this." As Trucido said his name a faint glow of green fire grew and crackled around his body. Trucido's body seemed to fade in and out of focus, as if he were part of the wind itself. But more astonishing than that were his eyes. Were Trucido's radiant green eyes had been before, were now the sharp slitted eyes of a beast.

[yellowm&M]

The ambush came out of nowhere. One minute the forest was calm and quiet, and the next arrows and people were pouring in on them from all sides. Aali ducked avoiding most of the arrows, but one still managed to catch her in the calf. She glanced down at it; it hurt like hell but didn't seem to be to deep. With a harsh yank she pulled it from her leg and wadded her pant leg on it in such a way to staunch the bleeding. She straightened up again and saw a few men rushing towards her with swords. Drawing the sword she had found in a dark corner of L'lygi's monastery she marveled again at it's perfect compostion for her. It was sharp, lightweight, and felt wonderful in her hands. The men all looked at her with amusment and triumph as if they had already won. That's right underestimate me, see where that gets you she thought. In a second they were on her. Slashing and blocking they were all down in a matter of minutes looking stunned. Smirking, Aali threw herself into the midst of the battle.

She cut a way throw the fray striking and wounding. Soon her gaze zoned in a on woman in a leotard with lethal and uncanny ability weilding yellow flames and a knife. Making a beeline for her, Aali fought her way closer. A trail of yellow flame flew right infront of her face almost hitting her. Her eyes met those of the woman's, they stared each other down for a second then sword met dagger in a ringing clash.

[DustinTheWind]

"I hope you're ready to die. I, Trucido Aer Furtim Velox Neco Fabre, will not allow you to continue this." As Trucido said his name a faint glow of green fire grew and crackled around his body. Trucido's body seemed to fade in and out of focus, as if he were part of the wind itself. But more astonishing than that were his eyes. Were Trucido's radiant green eyes had been before, were now the sharp slitted eyes of a beast.

His vision failed him; the world was a bleached white illuminated by powerful light, so bright that it hurt his eyes even when they were closed. A dull roar mixed with a high-pitched whine filled his ears, blocking out every outside frequency. His mind was clouded, and even the most basic thoughts escaped him. Even his sense of balance seemed to dissipate, and he found himself swaying violently like a drunkard.

It did not last long - in but a moment his senses began to clear - but it was enough. The leader swung his massive blade like a club, striking Trucido hard with the flat side, sending him crashing into a nearby group of attackers.

"Bind him!" the leader barked at them. "Quickly, before he regains himself!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She cut a way throw the fray striking and wounding. Soon her gaze zoned in a on woman in a leotard with lethal and uncanny ability weilding yellow flames and a knife. Making a beeline for her, Aali fought her way closer. A trail of yellow flame flew right infront of her face almost hitting her. Her eyes met those of the woman's, they stared each other down for a second then sword met dagger in a ringing clash.

As their weapons connected the woman let loose a kick. Aali was sent reeling back but quickly recovered, charging again at the woman, dodging more flames. Again, their weapons met, but this time the woman called out a single word.

"Granice!"

As she spoke, a tongue of yellow fire arced across the interconnected weapons, streaming down Aali's arm. She felt her arm, her torso, her entire body becoming heavy, becoming numb, becoming useless...

The woman let out a chuckle, kicked over Aali's paralyzed form, and turned her attention the other members of the party.

[Honorius]

Dam*. That was all that Trucido thought. He had let his guard down and the leader had managed to incapacitate him in a single attack. Trucido still wasn't sure how he had done it, but it had been done all the same. Now he was pressed against the ground with his mouth gagged and his hands were tied with what seemed to be a flame proof material. Magical flame proof. Trucido had managed to slice the hamstring of one of the attackers before he was captured, but that wouldn't be enough. And with the flame proof bindings, he couldn't even electrocute his attackers, or vanish with the wind. Plus, he couldn't even call for Scarlet.

By now Scarlet had pushed back a number of attackers, many of whom had been badly burned, and a fair number whom had been killed. But there were still more attackers. And Scarlet was beginning to tire. Under normal circumstances, she would have had no problem flinging attack after attack, but with her arm bleeding the way it was, she was tiring quickly. She needed to finish this quickly. Maybe she could take out one of the leaders... She looked around and saw an important looking man wielding a staff. He must be a leader she thought. So she sent a withering blast of heat and flame at the staff wielding mage.

[Forgotten_Memories]

That red mage girl was proving to be quite a capable ally in this battle, as opposed to her betrothed, the assassin, Trucido. She had taken out a large number of the brigand's team, and then hurled a fireball at the mage Morius had been keeping an eye on.

Aali collapsed by his side, completely paralyzed, not even being able to blink. Poor girl, thought Morius, this happens to her a lot.

He suddenly reeled to face the woman who had done this to his companion. There was no debate about her looking threatening as their gazes met. She had her weapons at the ready, and was already advancing. Morius threw his hands by his sides, accumulating the dark energy in the center of his palms, almost instantly immersing them with fierce black flames. He projected his hands forward, and sent the two ebony fireballs twirling around each other towards the woman.

[losthawken]

The green elf was down, but Scarlet was still fighting impressively. The raised hairs on the back of Rainin's neck told him that the dark elf was still working his magic somewhere near where Aali had fallen behind him. The rest of the team seemed to be trapped like he was, surrounded by the horde and fighting furiously.

Rainin had had enough, he knew he couldn't maintain the magic he was using for long. A smile spread across his lips; desperate times call for desperate measures.

He'd been watching Scarlet closely.

"Shin!" Rainin shouted as he leapt upward. He rose high into the air as the orb of fire began to form below his feet. he gloated as he imagined the destruction he was about to bring on his enemies.

The numbness began in his feet and quickly the fatigue spread through his body. The orb of fire flickered and extinguished.

As Rainin's body, drained from the use of such high magic, fell to the earth he knew he would certainly die. His life passed before him; the misery and death he had experienced, none of which had been made right. He watched as he wasted his life in bar fights and petty raids, seeking to drown the grief in his spirit. He saw all of the life he had wasted, and now he would die.

"No," cried out Rainin, now only seconds from impact. "I am Rainin! I will not die this way!"

Energy surged through his body as his mind rejected its own fate. His muscles seemed to pulse with energy. The staff that once glowed with red runes began to crackle with pure white fire.

Rainin felt more alive than he ever had. Flipping as he fell he positioned his feet for the impact. But his staff slid beneath him, its tip touching the ground first and his feet bracing along its length, below his hand. As he made contact a flash of brilliant flame spread along the ground knocking his surrounding assailants off their feet.

The staff flexed under his weight as it braced his fall. Without warning it sprung back vaulting Rainin over the crowds. Landing amongst a group of marauders Rainin immediately began to fight. His staff crackled with white energy. It felt lighter now and seemed to react to his thoughts, moving with blinding speed almost of its own accord. Quickly knocking unconscious the first four assailants Rainin faked a jab at the fifth, expecting to come up short and follow with a second hit. To his surprise however, the staff extended forward and struck the man in the chest pushing him backward and knocking over three other men.

A loud cry alerted Rainin and he spun around to find the blade of the tall warrior bearing down on him.

[mistaj]

Name= Misteria Jessin
Sex = Male.. i think?
Age = eternal
Height = 5ft. 3in.
Likes to kill innocent bystanders everytime he gets into a fight and always cracks a joke when its time to be serious.

[DustinTheWind]

Scarlet looked around and saw an important looking man wielding a staff. He must be a leader she thought. So she sent a withering blast of heat and flame at the staff wielding mage.

The fireball made contact, knocking the man, swearing, to the ground. He quickly stood up again, extinguishing his burning clothes and hair with a quick counterspell. Looking around, he quickly noticed Scarlet hovering overhead and scowled at her then, yelling various obscenities involving her and her fireballs, swung his staff at her. A bolt of blue fire streamed from it, which Scarlet quickly dodged. Several more followed, each of which Scarlet easily evaded or counterspelled. His face now red from screaming, the mage threw his staff like a javelin. As it flew, a cloud of tiny fires surrounded it, spreading out into a thin blue wall. When they contacted, and contact they did from sheer number and area, they quickly caught and spread, engulfing her in a freezing inferno. The staff itself did not hit her body, but managed to make contact with the fireball on which she stood, dissipating it instantly. She fell to the earth coated in inches of ice, unable to move, barely able to breathe. The man retrieved his staff and walked up to her, grinning. "You lose, b****." With a swing of his staff into her head, she was knocked unconscious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morius suddenly reeled to face the woman who had done this to his companion. There was no debate about her looking threatening as their gazes met. She had her weapons at the ready, and was already advancing. Morius threw his hands by his sides, accumulating the dark energy in the center of his palms, almost instantly immersing them with fierce black flames. He projected his hands forward, and sent the two ebony fireballs twirling around each other towards the woman.

As they approached, the woman did not flinch, striding confidently directly at Morius, directly at the fireballs. Then, just before they made contact, she executed a quick, fluid pirouette. The flames immediately changed their directory, entering an orbit around her and, as she exited the spin and entered a sprawled pose, rocketed back at their caster. As they struck, Morius felt his life draining away. He fell, barely conscious, to the ground. The woman looked on disappointed. "Is that it? Pity, I was hoping for a good fight for once."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A loud cry alerted Rainin and he spun around to find the blade of the tall warrior bearing down on him.

Instinctively, Rainin raised his staff in defense. The tall man's massive blade sliced cleanly through and embedded itself in his shoulder. With his other hand the man grabbed Rainin by the neck, kicked him hard in the stomach, and raised him high over his head, holding him there until he was too asphyxiated to struggle.

He loosed his grip on Rainin and looked around, confirming that the entire party had been incapacitated. "Collect the prisoners, horses, and the bodies of the fallen. We make for the Cellar."

[DustinTheWind]

The gang of bandits bound the party, even those unconscious, and carried them deep into the wood. Eventually they came to a small cluster of dilapidated stone huts encircled on three sides by a steep wooded hill, an ancient farming hamlet long since claimed by the forest. From the hill, a thin waterfall trickled into a small pool, bricked up along the sides to increase its volume. At one side of the village stood an old stable to which four steeds were tethered, grazing in the trees nearby: a proud white horse, well groomed and fit for royalty, a powerful black stallion, a swiftly built dappled gray mare, and a sickly old flea-bitten mule. Beside the stable, crouched on the hillside, was the entrance to an old root cellar. Curiously, a plank has been drawn across the front the doors, as if to prevent them being opened from the inside.

At the hamlets other end, a spitted animal slowly spun over a roaring bonfire, surrounded by several copper and lead pots stewing in the coals.A man stood next to the blaze, tending the fire and occasionally sampling and spicing the meat and pots. Throughout the camp, several more men are hard at work. One was mending a shirt. Another was sharpening a spear. Two more were re-thatching a roof on one of the buildings which seemed to have been recently repaired -- it was in starkly better condition than the others. Despite their menial tasks all were armed in some way and as they worked they occasionally glanced about, watching for any sign of danger. When they first spotted the approaching group their hands flew to their weapons, but upon recognition of their companions they re-sheathed them. A few dropped their tasks and sought to assist the newcomers with their burdens of corpses, captives, and stolen goods and to lead the newly-acquired horses to the stable.

"Lads," the tall man, who was apparently the leader, announced solemnly, "I am afraid this has not been the cheapest of hauls. We have lost many a noble gentleman of fortune. But," he added cheerfully, gesturing toward the captives, "The greatest hauls are rarely free! We have collected the greatest lot today in many a day. Tonight, we shall feast well in the memory of our fallen comrades!"

The prisoners were set in a line in the open center of the camp, many of them still unconscious, all still well bound, and quickly relieved of their belongings. Swords, knives, amulets, gems, shoes, capes; everything they owned save for their most basic garments was quickly removed from them by the bandits' dexterous hands and arranged in piles well out of their reach. As this is occurring the leader stood off to the side, speaking with a teenage girl whom you had noticed returning with the group but who was not among the attacking party. She clutched a stick -- too short to be a true staff, too thin to be an effective club, but too long and thick to be a wand -- which she twisted in her hands nervously as she spoke.

"So, uh, did I do good, Boss?"

"Good?" The brigand laughed and slapped her on the back. "Lass, you near saved my hide with that disorientation spell of yours! You're certainly well worth what I paid for you!"

"So does that mean..."

The leader cut her off. "You're fine with the stave, but you're still a new acquisition. The chain stays on while in the camp until I am sure I can trust you not to run off."

Eventually, he finished talking with her and, accompanied by the gap-toothed wizard and the dancing wizardess, approached the line of captives. The wizard immediately began poking through the piles of goods, chuckling to himself and occasionally, when he thought no one was looking (which was never actually the case), pocketing a trinket he found interesting. The other two surveyed the captives, bluntly asking pointed questions about name and lineage which would be followed by them mumbling to each other. When arriving at Trucido, the leader gave a little chuckle.

"Well, what do you know. Looks like the b*****d who got the drop on me was a pine-ear! Go figure that the only man to get the better of me would be less than human." He chuckled at his own joke. "Still, he'll fetch a fine price."

When he came to Morius he laughed again. "Looks like the pineys are just crawling out of the woodwork today!"

When they reached Scarlet the woman, who had previously looked on in a silent act of placid disdain, froze, a look of horror on her face. She glanced at her pile of belongings, then back at Scarlet.

"Grainyn!" she called out. The wizard looked up from his work, dropping Zeb's staff, loudly declaring that he had touched nothing. She ignored him. "Among my belongings is a vial of black tarlike balm and a coarse robe with shackles at the wrists and ankles. Bring them here, strip this girl, apply the balm to any tattoos, scars, or birthmarks, then put her in the robe." A lecherous grin spread across the wizards crooked face, but she quickly rebuked him. "Don't even think about it. She is going to be the handsomest ransom we have seen perhaps ever, and the last thing we need is you violating her and ruining her price."

The leader gave her a quizzical look, but she quickly explained, "This girl is an Ignis. They are a mighty family, powerful both politically and magically and very, very skilled with patterns. We can't take any chances with this one."

"So the robe..."

"A new trinket of mine I picked up in our last trip through Wytchmere. It's a complex patchwork of several difficult weaves, inscribed with runes and asymmetrical patterns to restrict magical flow, and..."

"Sounds like a piece of junk to me. But then, you're the witch and you know your craft, so I trust you know what you're doing." He wandered over to the piles of loot and picked up Llyagi's map. "Peira, what do you make of this?"

She peered over his shoulder. "I'm not sure. It doesn't appear to be any sort of magical pattern, it's far too poorly constructed. Those markings seem to be some sort of writing, but it's not any language I'm familiar with..."

The leader grabbed the nearest prisoner by the collar and shoved the paper in his face. "You! Tell me! What is this?"

[Honorius]

"..." Trucido said nothing while glaring at the man.

"Don't you dare touch Scarlet. If you lay a hair on her, if a single hair in out of place. I swear by the gods. You will not live through the night. None of you will." With that Trucido gathered a little green fire in his mouth and spat in the man's face. The saliva connected with a satisfying splat and a crackle of electricity.

"And that's a map. Any illiterate fool can figure that out. A map to hell."

[Forgotten_Memories]

Morius had very little strength after being hit by his own shadow bolts; if only they'd hit the female wizard. But, her reflexes were quick, and that counterspell was extraordinary. Morius now heavily regretted misjudging this opponent. His eyes were closed as the bandits threw him to the cold earth, bound with rope and stripped of his accessories - such valuable accessories, if only he had had them now, he might have been able to untie himself. But what then? He had heard so many people speaking upon entering the camp, and knew he couldn't take out all of them by himself... not with such dry liveliness.

Then suddenly, he heard a familiar voice.

"So, uh, did I do good, Boss?"

Without thinking, he opened his eyes, and inspected the scene before him. A girl of about sixteen stood chained next to the heavily armored, tall man. She had long, straight brown hair, and green eyes, with pupils almost like a cat's - a gift of the dark fire, some would say. She was a lot taller than when Morius had last seen her, and certainly more, well, womanly, but it was definitely her - Lynne; the little girl he encountered and helped shortly after his exile from the Alfar lands. He taught her about the dark fire, but hadn't seen her for three years. What was she doing here? And was she actually in league with these bandits?

The saliva connected with a satisfying splat and a crackle of electricity.

"And that's a map. Any illiterate fool can figure that out. A map to hell."

There was going to be trouble.

[DustinTheWind]

The bandit leader punched Trucido hard in the eye then wiped the spittle off his face. "Let me tell you something, pine-ear. The only reason you are alive right now, and I do mean the only, is because I will find greater pleasure in the profits from your sale than in snuffing your life out with my bare hands. Don't tip the balance the other way. You may have gotten the better of me once, but rest assured that will never happen again."

He stood up, kicked Trucido in the teeth, and walked off, waving dismissively towards the captives. "Throw them in the Cellar." A handful of soldiers obliged. For a moment, the leader studied the parchment again. "A map, eh? Well," he decided, "if it's just a map it's completely useless."

He crumpled it up and tossed it at the fire, but just as it hit the flame a black-robed figure snatched it out of the air. "Do not be so hasty." It spoke in a strange clicking accent, similar to Alaz's. "What is useless to one may be of infinite value to another."

"If you want it, fine Kizalk, but don't expect to me to let you just leave the band on some foolhardy..."

"Tut tut, leaving was hardly in my intentions. When I am through explaining, you may change your plans on our mode of operation. You see, these adventurers, they are rather stupid. I came across them in Tekka, and one of them divulged what I needed to know. By the way, Alzidden!" he called to the group as they were being tossed into the cellar, "Many thanks for the intelligence! A shvvaklacarr should know better than any that another should not be trusted simply because he is of the same clan!"

That was the last of the conversation the party heard before being sealed into the Cellar.

The inside of the cellar was completely dark and smelled of old roots and wet earth. It seemed fairly large, large enough to accommodate the entire group lying on the floor with plenty room to spare, though exact dimensions could not be determined without light.

A shuffling noise. Someone, something, was in there with them.

[Leaka]

He sat in the cellar. It was hot and muggy and smelled of rotten wood. It was humid and sticky. Antice had gotten use to it by now. No matter what these people wanted Antice wouldn't give into to them. He would stare directly at him with his fiery nature. He looked like a Prince. His rich embroidered clothes were now dirty. And his cape was now a ragged and torn thing hanging from his clothes. The pin that pinned the cape had the family crest on it. And this was what they wanted. To them he was Prince Remulus. And they wanted Remulus to speak of the kingdom's secret ways in, the black markets, the richest. Antice wasn't like that prince. He wasn't a coward and he would protect every secret, even if he died. Which came to the fact that his pale, fair skin was marked by bruises from the rough handling of the people. He may have not been here long, but the wear of his clothes was showing.
The cellar door opened and Antice held his bitter and dark expression. His eyes had become adjusted to the lack of light down here. So he was surprised to see what the men were bringing in this time. New people. Other people who had gotten entrapped by the men. Slavers, is what Antice called them. He moved in the darken cellar a bit to get a better look at a large group. Antice felt hot eyes from one of the slavers and Antice gave him dark eyes back. Antice wouldn't let go of the look till the man left. And when he did Antice stared at the group. Their eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the lack of light down here. Antice wondered if he should speak or shouldn't. So instead he gave out a loud sigh and cleared his throat. The first sign.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Tut tut, leaving was hardly in my intentions. When I am through explaining, you may change your plans on our mode of operation. You see, these adventurers, they are rather stupid. I came across them in Tekka, and one of them divulged what I needed to know. By the way, Alzidden!" he called to the group as they were being tossed into the cellar, "Many thanks for the intelligence! A shvvaklacarr should know better than any that another should not be trusted simply because he is of the same clan!"

Morius had followed Alaz from the desert, curious about the quest he was on. He knew that the Shvvaklacarr had sent him to represent them for Mon Ich's cause. But, he had always thought that it would be Alaz who betrayed the Shvvaklacarr, not the other way around. It was an interesting dilemma, but also an extremely dangerous one; now the map containing the location of the Crimson Flame was in the wrong hands. Not that it had been in the right ones to begin with, but they weren't in his hands anymore.

They were moved underground, and Morius was growing more aware of his consciousness - the wound on his shoulder had stopped bleeding, but the arm was terribly numb again. Their surroundings began to darken. The darkness was Morius' friend, and suddenly he felt cold; a warm, and fuzzy feeling.

The bandits pushed their group in a holding cell, and closed the door with a loud clanging noise. Morius assumed nobody else was able to see anything, but there was someone the room. It was a boy. It wasn't noticeably clear, but the boy was dressed like someone who descended from nobility, and judging from the pin which held his now completely tattered cape, possibly even royalty; like a prince. His face was bruised from beatings he had probably received from the slave traders, but he looked fierce in the eyes of potential danger. Fierce, and frightened. It was kind of cute.

"Who are you?" Morius asked, speaking for the first time in a while. His voice came out raspy and almost as a whisper.

[Leaka]

Antice bit his lip. No word was to come out of lost nobility. He had to keep the disguise up for a while. At least till he found the real Remulus. At least till he didn't need to fill the throne himself. Antice feared the death of Remulus and never gaining his identity back. But now wasn't the time. He kept his eyes, his face, and everything strong. He had learned all the ways of speech and looks from taking courses of etiquette.
"I am Prince Remulus Asbin of the Kingdom of Rundiamiea," he said he kept his words stern, bold and tough, "I am here because the slavers know this and ask for the secrets of Rundiamiea...and I will tell you what I told them, I will not tell anyone the secrets of Rundiamiea as the prince I must protect the secrets...so stop talking to me if you are to ask the same questions."
He paused, gave them another bold and princely look. And softened his expression slightly.
"But if you do not seek the secrets of my kingdom," Antice said with a smile, "I propose we find a way to escape. I'm needed in the world. To protect it. If you are to propose allyship."

[yellowm&M]

Well isn't this just bloody brilliant Aali thought to herself, as they were shoved into a black cellar. She had now lost both her new sword (which she was really becoming attached to) and her dagger, she was tied up, and the map had been stolen from them; today really wasn't shaping up to be a good day. The lost use of her hands was very irritating. Being in this cellar reminded her of all the times her father and brothers had locked her up in their cellar when she misbehaved, which was far to often. It had forever given her a hatred of dark, confined spaces. The door slammed shut on them and all their light was instantly cut off. Teh darkness pressed against her eyes and she tensed, listening instead. She heard a strange rustling in the corner, and she sensed they were not alone. Apparantly Morius sensed it too because a moment later he spoke.

"Who are you?"

The noise in the corner got louder, and Aali could feel her eyes becoming more accustomed to the dark. Dimly in the corner she could make out the shape of a boy.

"I am Prince Remulus Asbin of the Kingdom of Rundiamiea," he said he kept his words stern, bold and tough, "I am here because the slavers know this and ask for the secrets of Rundiamiea...and I will tell you what I told them, I will not tell anyone the secrets of Rundiamiea as the prince I must protect the secrets...so stop talking to me if you are to ask the same questions. But if you do not seek the secrets of my kingdom, I propose we find a way to escape. I'm needed in the world. To protect it. If you are to propose allyship."

Her eyebrows raised, a prince? But she didn't dwell on that fact, it didn't seem particularly important at the moment.

"Well I'm much more interested in getting out of here rather than finding out the secrets of Rundiamiea, so I accept your allyship." She paused for a moment and ran her fingers alongst the ropes tying her hands, they didn't feel particularly complicated. With a small jump she pulled her hand under her feet so that they were now infront of her, rather than behind. "And I think the best place to start would be with freeing our hands. So if someone would like to scoot next to me I bet I could untie them."

[losthawken]

Through the fog Rainin heard voices. His mind began to clear and he opened his eyes to the darkness that surounded all of them. Whether from loss of blood or the extraordinary magic that had come upon him he was terribly weak and felt nauseous.

Trying to move Rainin instantly felt a surge of pain shoot from his wounded shoulder. Even if the pain hadn't been overwhelming, the ropes that bound him would have prevented him.

"Ugghh." Rainin managed to roll over into the nearest person before falling unconscious again.

[Honorius]

"Get off of me." Trucido grunted as he pushed someone off of him. Normally, Scarlet would have objected to his harsh treatment, but she didn't. She didn't say anything. She didn't do anything.

She felt violated. She had been stripped of her clothes, stripped of her magic, stripped of her dignity. She felt horrible. All she did was sit, and stare ahead.

Trucido on the other hand, he was furious. They had insulted Trucido, insulted his family in the process, insulted his race, and they had insulted his betrothed. He had to get out of here. He had to kill them. Kill them all. It was the only way. But first, he had to make sure Scarlet wouldn't find out.

"Scarlet," Trucido said as he moved over closer to her. She merely looked up at him with sad eyes on the verge of tears. "Sleep," He said as he kissed her on the forehead and placed a bound hand on the base of her neck. With a squeeze he knocked her out and laid her down.

"Hey, Princy. Do you have a rock or something? Something hard or sharp. Anything.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Hey, Princy. Do you have a rock or something? Something hard or sharp. Anything."

Morius was watching Trucido as he put Scarlet to sleep. "Well now, that wasn't very nice... although, I assume she could use the rest. Maybe you should calm it too, assassin. Unless you have some extremely elaborate plan for getting out of here, I don't think we can do much..."

Morius was standing in the centre of the room, close to Aali, he inspected the scene; a useless Prince, a weaponless girl who knew no magic, a knocked-out fire mage, an unconcious warrior, several others, and him and Trucido, who were jaded and wounded.

"...not at the moment anyway." Morius threw his hair out of his face - it was wet, and sticky with sweat, and unkempt. "As much as I hate to admit it, we all need to rest. But, these damned ropes are doing my head in... literally!"

He stepped closer to Aali, feeling his hands against hers, "Can you undo it?"

Morius then turned his attention to the Prince in the corner. "You're from a royal family - you must know some magic, what do you specialise in?"

[yellowm&M]

"Can you undo it?"

What did I just say? Aali refrained from saying the sarcastic retort, she already knew that some of them didn't believe she held much worth due to her lack of magic; sounding like a sarcastic brat wouldn't help that.

"Yeah, I can undo it" she said instead. Her fingers began to work at the knots. They were difficult knots, but her nimble fingers still made quick work of them. "Now if you could return the favor that would be great."

[Leaka]

"Hey, Princy. Do you have a rock or something? Something hard or sharp. Anything."

Antice stared at the person who asked him this question. He kept his bold expression and rubbed his two fingers together. He had been pretending to be tied up for a while.
"Yes," Antice said.
Antice ran his hands along behind him, where a sharp rock he had once used was behind him. He took it out from behind him and handed the rock to the person who talked.
"I'm not sure how you're going to use it if your hands aren't freed," Antice said.
He stared at the other person untying herself. She said she'd be his ally, perfect. At least now he had some protection.
"You're from a royal family - you must know some magic, what do you specialise in?"
"I only heal wounds," Antice said, "But you never stated your intentions, are you after the secrets of my kingdom?"

[Honorius]

"I only heal wounds," Antice said, "But you never stated your intentions, are you after the secrets of my kingdom?"

"You're not very smart are you? You just handed an assassin a sharp rock and then asked his group of their intentions. It's a wonder you aren't dead."

Despite his hands being tied, Trucido could still hold the rock, and that was all he needed. He walked over to the door and started scraping between the door and the frame. In a minute or two he would have scraped a big enough cut to let in some moon light. That was just what he needed.

"And we're not after your secrets. We would have already put a knife, or sharp rock, to your throat and busted your face up if we wanted your secrets. If you can heal than you ought to heal the injured. And keep an eye on Scarlet" He said with a nod back at where his betrothed laid.

"Oh, and if any of you touch her..." Trucido stopped scraping for a second to look back at the other prisoners with savage eyes. Inhumanly savage eyes. In fact, they weren't even human. They had slitted pupils like the eyes of a beast.

"I'll tear out your hearts. Just like I'm going to do to our captors."

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Now if you could return the favor that would be great."

Now that his hands were free, Morius grabbed the rope tied around Aali's wrists. A dark energy, invisible amidst the black enshrouding the room, swelled up in his palms, and the ropes disintegrated as if they were decaying fruit. Morius pulled his hands away, feeling the magic throb through the tissue and muscles.

"That's more like it."

"I only heal wounds," Antice said, "But you never stated your intentions, are you after the secrets of my kingdom?"

Morius looked the Prince up and down tastefully, what are my intentions indeed?. "Well, that's perfect, right now I could use some healing on my arm, and I doubt the fellow to my right would be ungrateful for some of your aid as well," Morius motioned towards Rainin, apprehensive to the fact of whether the Prince could see him or not, "...and as for my intentions, let's just say they're on a much grander scale than the secrets of Rundiamiea."

..."Oh, and if any of you touch her..." Trucido stopped scraping for a second to look back at the other prisoners with savage eyes. Inhumanly savage eyes. In fact, they weren't even human. They had slitted pupils like the eyes of a beast.

"I'll tear out your hearts. Just like I'm going to do to our captors."

Morius' runic tattoos began to reverberate, all of them, on his entire body. He normally thrived in the pain, but now had to fight back an urge to wince, and regarded Trucido intently as the elf looked as if he was about to suddenly explode out of his own body - the darkness of this place was the only thing holding him back. Morius had never felt this kind of pain, there was definitely some sort of magic at work; but what could it be, a curse?

[Leaka]

"You're not very smart are you? You just handed an assassin a sharp rock and then asked his group of their intentions. It's a wonder you aren't dead."
Antice bit his lip and gave a dark look to the man.
"I didn't ask you, now did I," Antice said, "I asked the person who I didn't trust much the question."
"And we're not after your secrets. We would have already put a knife, or sharp rock, to your throat and busted your face up if we wanted your secrets. If you can heal than you ought to heal the injured. And keep an eye on Scarlet"
"Well, that's perfect, right now I could use some healing on my arm, and I doubt the fellow to my right would be ungrateful for some of your aid as well," Morius motioned towards Rainin, apprehensive to the fact of whether the Prince could see him or not, "...and as for my intentions, let's just say they're on a much grander scale than the secrets of Rundiamiea."
Antice stared.
"Give me my rock back," Antice said.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Give me my rock back," Antice said.

Morius' head snapped to glare at the Prince, and he held his arm out to block the path between and Trucido himself. "Stay back and heal us, something is about to happen!"

The pain from the tattoos was getting to his head now, invading his mind. He went numb all over, and black ooze fell from his tear ducts, coursing down his neck, around his arms, and gathering at his palms. He no longer felt anything, and the darkness no longer existed in the room, he could see everything clearly. Trucido was scratching at the door with the Prince's rock with fierce determination.

"Fabre?" Morius' voice echoed.

[Honorius]

Fabre?

Fabre

A massive conglomeration of scales, fangs, and fire. No pity, no mercy, no feelings. Just death, violence, murder.

Fabre

An entire family. Strewn across an island, burning, torn, mutilated. Dead. Bodies littered the island and the surrounding sea. Some people were never found, some corpses were never identified. Body parts never found their owners. And the blood.

Fabre

Blood. Everywhere. Blood. Burnt blood crusted onto the ground. Liquid blood running across the ground. Vaporized blood clouding the air. Blood tainting the ocean. Everywhere.

Fabre

Only one Fabre remained. Only one. Left with a vicious power. The only one the dragon didn't kill.

Trucido
Dragon

Because he was one of them.

Light. Just a glimmer. Moonlight. The light from the moon Lasaur. Trucido had done it. His body spasmed as the light seeped down into him. Through his skin, through his flesh, through his soul.

Stay Back

Trucido growled out a command to the group. But it wasn't his voice. It was a deep, resonant growl. Inhuman, vicious, brutal, violent.

The assassins body bulged and twisted as he beat at the door. With every hit his body became less and less human. His muscles bulged, his skin tore, his voice roared.

Trucido beat at the door, punching a hole through the solid wood. Moonlight flooded the cave bathing the group in the creamy light of the moon. And then he changed.

Green fire. Wind and lightning burst from Trucido's body and enveloped him as his body changed. His body grew to a ridiculous size, great wings sprouted out from his back, his skin gave way to iridescent green scales, a long spiked tail extended from his posterior, his face twisted into a vile head of teeth and horns.

Trucido was Wyredraki. An incredibly rare breed of Alfar that changed when hit with the rays of the moon, Lasaur. Trucido had become a dragon.

A savage roar shook the very earth of the camp. The beast that had once been called Trucido surged up through the building, tearing away the entire roof. Wind surged through the camp and thunder bellowed over head. At the same time, wind and lightning whirled around the dragon. A single sweep of its tail tore the top of the building away, revealing the prisoners within. They were free.

Their captors wouldn't be so lucky.

"Grainyn!"

The dragon called out after its prey. The prey that had hurt its love. The pray that it had made a promise to. The pray whose heart it was going to tear out. No mercy, no leniency, no pity. Only death, slaughter, massacre.

[DustinTheWind]

"I only heal wounds," Antice said.

"You're a healer?" Neil asked. "Do you happen to know anything about setting broken bones?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trucido had become a dragon.

The guard at the cellar door stood stunned, unable to mentally reconcile the inexplicable appearance of a dragon. Before he was able to recover, Trucido had dispatched him with a mighty claw.

"Grainyn!"

From his cozy seat by the fire, where a moment before he had been chatting merrily and munching on a joint of mutton, the short wizard whirled around. As soon as he laid eyes on the furious Wyrdrakkus, he bolted into the nearest dilapidated building, slamming and barricading the door behind him.

The leader was less cowardly.

"TO ARMS!" he cried. "EVERY MAN AMONG YOU TO ARMS! Piera, what the bloody blazes is going on?"

"Wyrdrakkus," she spat. "One of them turned themselves into a dragon. Probably one of the alfar."

The leader nodded. "Archers, aim for the eyes and face! Swordsmen, keep your distance but when the time comes, don't hold back; cowardice will not be tolerated! Piera, Lynne, Kilzak, you know what to do. AND GRAINYN! YOU GET YOUR PASTY ASS OUT HERE OR I WILL PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT YOU DON'T SURVIVE THE NIGHT!"

[yellowm&M]

"Holy ****" Aali's eyes were wide with shock as Trucido transformed into a giant dragon infront of them. The whole camp shook as he roared, and she felt intense relief at the fact that they were of the same group.

"Grainyn!" He started towards wizard who immediately fled for cover.

"TO ARMS! EVERY MAN AMONG YOU TO ARMS! Piera, what the bloody blazes is going on?" The leader obviously had a braver spirt than Grainyn.

"Wyrdrakkus," she spat. "One of them turned themselves into a dragon. Probably one of the alfar."

The leader nodded. "Archers, aim for the eyes and face! Swordsmen, keep your distance but when the time comes, don't hold back; cowardice will not be tolerated! Piera, Lynne, Kilzak, you know what to do. AND GRAINYN! YOU GET YOUR PASTY ASS OUT HERE OR I WILL PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT YOU DON'T SURVIVE THE NIGHT!"

Wyrdrakkus, of course. She remembered hearing about them as she eavesdropped on her older brothers magic lessons, not that they had magic ability. Her father thought it was important for them to understand magic, even if they didn't possess it; however this belief hadn't extended to her, so she eavesdropped.

She shot a quick glance behind her at her companions, most of them were injured and in no fit state to fight. It appeared to be only Trucido, Morious, and herself. Well the first thing was she needed a weapon. Sliding behind the large dragon she took advantage of the temporary cover to find the best way to get a weapon. She spotted a man off to the side, still gathering his weapons.

"Perfect" she mutttered, then darted to side and up behind him. He turned around to feel her fist in his face. He stumbled, blood gushing from his nose. Taking advantage of this, Aali aimed a kick at his stomach which caused him to double over in pain. Grabbing his sword from beside him she hit his head with the handle, either killing him or knocking him out. She didn't bother to check, instead she turned to face the force intent on killing Trucido, sword in hand.

[Honorius]

Arrows flew up at the dragons face, attempting to impale his eyes, but the effort was futile. The wind swirling around the dragon blew any incoming arrows of course. The worst they did was clatter of his scales. Foolish. They didn't know the full force of a dragon. They didn't know how to fight one. They could only die.

"Fools!"

The dragon bellowed out at his attackers, swiping out at them. But each time they took a step farther back. At the very least they were intelligent. But they can only dodge what they they can see. So the dragon vanished.

A swirl of green fire and a crackle of static and the dragon vanished. With the wind like it was, it was impossible to tell where it had gone. Had it flown away? Backed up? Stayed still?

The answer came to the captors like a bolt of divine lightning. For just a second later a searing blast of lightning crashed down through the ranks of the archers. At the same time an invisible force crashed down upon the soldiers who had amassed to face the dragon. Blood flew through the air, bodies torn open by invisible claws and teeth.

A vicious blast of air knocked back any other attackers as the dragon turned to face the man who had barked the orders. This was the leader. The man who was the cause of all of this. He was why they were captured. He was why Scarlet had been dishonored. It was his fault.

Bodies crushed under his feet as the dragon turned his whole body to face the leader. It snarled as it revealed it's form, no covered with the sweet blood of it's enemies.

"You"

It snarled.

"You!"

The dragon roared as it reared up and released a surging blast of green fire upon the place where the man stood.

[yellowm&M]

Aali wasn't paying a huge amount of attention on Trucido as she fought but she could see the arrows being blown away from his face and the men backing up with every step he took, obviously they were no match for him. She couldn't spare him much of a glance however as a couple armed men rushed at her. Rather than waiting for them to reach her she jumped up and flipped landing on the back of one and knocking him to the ground. Her sword clashed with the other man's sword and his eyes grew wide with surprise at the force of her blow. Swinging her sword above her head she hit the first man in the head creating a huge bloody gash. Sword met sword again, but he was no match for her skill and in a few short seconds both men were down.

"Fools!" With a start Aali looked over just as the dragon vanished. The men stared dumbstruck around them, with no idea where Trucido had gone. Taking advantage of their suprise Aali struck the men nearest her and a small battle was soon engaged between them. Beyond them men were being crushed under Trucido's invisable body, and Aali thanked her lucky stars again that they were on the same side.

"You"

As the men she had been fighting fell to the ground infront of her, Aali saw the woman she had tried to fight before, the one who had paralyzed her. Pure adrenaline and fury began to flow through her veins. This time, she was going down. Slicing her way through the remaining men she forced her way towards the woman. As she reached her the woman eyed her with an amused look.

"You!"

They both turned to see a brilliant balst of green fire hit the spot where the leader had been. Without a second's hesitation Aali had her sword at her adversaries neck.

[DustinTheWind]

The dragon roared as it reared up and released a surging blast of green fire upon the place where the man stood.

The leader attempted to dodge, but was struck by the side of the flame and knocked to the ground. Almost immediately he was back on his feet, certainly injured but not near to the degree he should have been. He grinned and brandished his forearm at the dragon.

"Recognize these?" he asked, pointing to his bracers. "Useful, aren't they? I'm not sure if they belonged to you or that other pine-ear, but they're mine now. Not that I need them against a coward like you.

"Yes, a coward! Any man, human or lesser, who will not fight another man face-to-face, sword in hand is a coward! Any man who hides behind sorceries and enchantments and giant scaly hides is a coward! Any..."

A blinding light. The ring of white noise. Clouded mind.

In the moment of distraction, the brigand had rushed in and embedded his sword in Trucido's side. Grabbing another from a fallen minion, he swung up his sword onto the dragon's back, avoiding Trucido's counterattack. "You lose, piney." He swung the sword at his neck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Without a second's hesitation Aali had her sword at her adversaries neck.

The woman gracefully slid under the attack, slicing into Aali's ribcage as she did so. She ended the motion with a kick, pushing Aali back, giving herself some distance, then swung her arms inward and out in a slashing motion. Two streaks of yellow aether roared towards Aali.

[yellowm&M]

Aali gasped with pain as he sword sliced through her body. She could feel warm blood beginning to soak her skin. Before she could react the woman had kicked her stomach, sending her reeling backwards and gasping for air. With a fluid motiong she sent yellow fire streaking towards Aali. Clutching her hand to her wound, Aali ducked under the flame and moved toward the woman in one movement. Weilding her sword with only one hand now, she struck the woman's leg and pulled the sword, successfully causing her to overbalance and flip.

[Forgotten_Memories]

Morius stood in place as soon as the dragon was revealed. To be honest, he was kind of expecting this to happen; he had come across the Wyrdrakkus through many studies of black fire and ancient Alfar history. There was so much wind, so much lightning, so much noise. Aali ran forward to steel herself, and Morius yelled after her, "Don't move! He won't recognise you - he's not on anyone's side!" But she had not heard him, and a battle ensued.

Trucido had told them to look after Scarlet, but everyone was either unconscious, unfit, or in the case of Prince Remulos it seemed, scared ****less. Morius considered disappearing into the shadows himself and moving to safety, but alas, that was not an option. Why must I do everything?!

He was quickly by Scarlet's side, picking her up in his arms. "Everybody else - MOVE!" Morius ordered.

They disappeared in a pile of black goop, sliding through the shadows of the night, away from the camp and further into the woods. The lightning had intensified, and there was audible screaming - screams of pain, and of commanding authority. When Morius and Scarlet re-materialised, he set her against a tree, and glanced back at the battle. Trucido, now in dragon form, was fighting the leader of the bandits, who was managing to dodge his strikes and spells.

Morius carefully waved his hands around Scarlet, the dark energy in his palms creating intricate designs in the air. A black tinted-glass cube was conjured around her, which faded to invisibility in a matter of seconds. Now that she was safe, as Trucido had wished, Morius decided to move back towards the battle. He didn't know why he saved Scarlet; maybe he thought he owed something to Trucido for setting them free. No, he told himself, it was because there was no one else to do it, and he did offer his protection upon joining the party.

He now stood at the edge of the woods, the full encampment in view. There was a blinding light, and Trucido became disoriented, open to an attack. He was stabbed, and the leader came at him again. But, Morius had seen the source of magic - Lynne stood by one of the tents, still chained up, and facing the Dragon, waving her staff and undoubtedly aiding her master. Morius transformed again into his semi-liquid form, splashing forwards at incredible speed, and materialising right behind the young girl. He held his hand on her shoulder, and she began to glow with a black light, unable to move. Morius looked at the leader, the liquid from his eyes surging uncontrollably and enveloping itself around Lynne's neck, her face, her body, like constricting vines.

"How much do you value your white mage?" His voice echoed impossibly throughout the camp, audible amidst all the chaos, and directed at the leader.

[losthawken]

A swirl of wind and the loud crash of lightening awoke Rainin, snapping him back to consciousness.

The cold voice of the dark elf called out "Don't move! He won't recognise you - he's not on anyone's side!"

Rainin looked above to see the towering form of the green dragon.

What in the flame's was going on! Glancing around he saw most of his party either still unconscious or taking cover while the Dragon began its rampage. Aali ran ahead into battle.

The dragon attacked the bandits with ferocity before vanishing from sight. Aali seemed to believe that the dragon was on their side, but where was Trucido? Could the green dragon and the green elf... No, that couldn't be.

"Everybody else - MOVE!"

Morious disappeared with an unconscious and bound red haired woman whom Rainin presumed to be Scarlet

Just then something came flying through the raging windstorm and struck Rainin on the shoulder. When he reached down to touch it it crackled with a slight white flame. Immediately, Rainin felt his strength begin to return like warm light flowing up his arm and through his body. The restoration was not complete but it was enough to help him escape. Along with his strength returned the memory of the prior battle and the white flame that had saved him.

His staff! His staff had returned. Or, half of it anyways.

Rainin quickly rose to his feet and grabbed the nearest fallen comrade.

"Come on!" he shouted at Neil, and the stranger that stood beside him.

As quickly as he could he began helping the others to the safety of the treeline. There they found a large boulder behind which they could be shielded from the dragon's wrath.

Aali and Morious were not discernable amongst the chaos of the battle. But a lone figure began to make its way stealthily out of the fray and directely toward them. It carried something in its hands and seemed to be muttering over it. A flash of green lightening revealed the face of the unknown scorpion, and the precious map which it held.

Without a thought Rainin darted from hiding and charged at the villian.

"HAND OVER THAT MAP!"

[Honorius]

"You lose, piney."
"How much do you value your white mage?"

Again. The man had used the trick again. But it wasn't going to work this time. Not again.

The brigand was distracted for just an instant, hardly a moment, but it was enough to strike back. Trucido flexed his wing out, knocking the attacker off of his back. Before the man even had a chance to recover, even role onto his side, Trucido pinned him down with a clawed foot.

Coward? You hide behind armor and a sword, behind the sword and armor of your allies, behind the magic of your allies. I stand here, in my own form. This is no spell, this is what I am. My flame belongs to my body, as does my tooth and claw. You are the coward! Hiding behind the tools of man!

With a push Trucido snapped the man's limbs under his talons.

Scream Coward. Scream!

With roar, a vicious roar, a bone shattering, blood chilling roar, Trucido dug down into the man's flesh.

And it was wonderful.

[Forgotten_Memories]

Well, that was easier said than done...

Morius immediately released his hold on Lynne's shoulder, who collapsed to her knees before him weakly. His trance suddenly ended, and all the pain and tiredness came back to him; the throbbing of the tatoos, the numbness of his left arm, and he could hardly combat it. He felt as if he was going to faint, and he would've, but there was one problem - the dragon was looking straight at them.

Lynne turned to see her assailant, and her eyes widened in disbelief. "M?" she asked him.

Morius didn't meet her gaze, he was staring Trucido in the eyes, it seemed to be the only thing holding the dragon at bay. He carefully knelt down to Lynne's level, and slid his hand around her shackles, applying the little energy he had left to disintegrate the bindings.

"Run." he told her, his eyes still locked with Trucido's, and she did.

[Honorius]

The flash. The light. The dizziness. The confusion.

This was the mage who had attacked him twice now. Attacked him and his comrades. Spells of confusion. Cowardly spells. A coward. An ally of a coward.

Prey.

A familiar man stood next to her, he recognized the man, but it didn't matter who he was. Only the prey mattered.

With a roar and a crackle of green fire the dragon sped towards his new prey. For it's size, the dragon moved at incredible speeds. It could have been there in an instant, but that wouldn't have been much of a hunt.

[DustinTheWind]

Weilding her sword with only one hand now, she struck the woman's leg and pulled the sword, successfully causing her to overbalance and flip.

Gracefully, the sorceress landed upon her palms and flipped upright onto her good leg, stemming the blood on the wounded one with a quick burst of yellow fire. She attempted to send out another burst of flame at Aali with more dancing motions, but when she placed her weight upon the wounded leg she gasped in pain and faltered, sending the yellow fireball careening haphazardly to the side. The woman clutched her leg and scowled. "This isn't over," she sneered, leaping off her good leg into the trees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Without a thought Rainin darted from hiding and charged at the villian.

"HAND OVER THAT MAP!"

The scorpion threw off his cloak and reared to his full height, revealing a massive tail daggered on the end by a vicious stinger, which it stabbed at Rainin.

[Forgotten_Memories]

Lynne had barely moved and the dragon was almost upon them. A darkness was clouding Morius' peripheries and everything suddenly seemed like a bad dream. He next knew he was moving, but didn't feel it, and soon found himself standing in between Lynne and Trucido. He threw his hands at the air, and a transparent wall appeared, much like the cube he had conjured around Scarlet in the woods. It faded to invisibility, and Morius collapsed to his knees, his whole body ached. The beast was before him in all its glory, and he blacked out...

[yellowm&M]

"This isn't over,"
Aali watched the girl leap gracefully into the trees even with an injured leg. Without a moment's hesitation she picked up a dagger lying on the ground next to her and threw it with uncanny skill and precision into the trees. She heard a muffled grunt of pain as it hit the woman, however a slight rustling in the leaves told her that she hadn't managed to cuz any major injury. With a metallic thud the bloody dagger was dropped to the ground and the branches quivered as the woman move on.

With her adversary gone, the adrenaline that had been pumping through her veins disapeared and Aali felt drained. The full pain of the gash in her side hit her then. The hand on her ribs was drenched in scarlet blood, and the second she looked down at it her head began to spin. She hadn't realized just how much blood she had lost; she had been so caught up in the fight, but now she could see her vision clouding and her body becoming weak and uncoordinated. She staggered a few steps forward, her sword becoming to heavy to hold as it dropped to the ground. A step further and she fell over, too dizzy and weak to move.

[Honorius]

What was this? What kind of joke was this? Some fool dared to interfere with interfere with his hunt?! Unacceptable!

With a flick of its massive claw, the dragon swiped the fool out of his way. Ordinarily, it would have killed most any mortal. Luckily for Morius, the shield that he had conjured just a moment before absorbed most of the damage. Of course, the attack was still powerful enough to smash through the barrier, throw the mage aside, and break a few ribs in the process. Of course, the dragon didn't know this. It merely assumed the fool had been killed.

When it re focused its attention on its prey, it found a disturbing sight. Nothing. The mage had vanished. Disappeared. Gone. His prey had managed to escape. The dragon bellowed in rage after the escaping mage, he would follow her, but then the other prey would escape. He couldn't lose the rest of his prey just for her. So he turned back to the encampment to search for more prey.

[losthawken]

The scorpion threw off his cloak and reared to his full height, revealing a massive tail daggered on the end by a vicious stinger, which it stabbed at Rainin.

A scorpion poised for battle was a fearsome sight. Where was Alaz when you needed him?

Rainin leapt aside from the stinger and swung his half-staff at his opponent hopeing for a burst of white flame. The stick moved with unnatural fluidity and speed, but disapointed Rainin by producing no such magic.

Kizalk was fast and formidable, but seemed to be reserving any magic he posessed. While ducking and dodging Rainin's staff some how managed to block every one of the incessent stabs from the deadly stinger. Rainin knew that the only way to fight an enemy with such long range was to move in close. Deadly close.

He readied an spell he had used recently before and hid the flame behind his back as it enveloped his hand. The scorpion struck again. Rainin dodged to the side and moved in, gripping the dangerous tail as it passed. The icy blue flame in his hand passed into the long serrated stinger as Rainin quickly continued forward, spinning to elbow his opponent with his free arm.

Pulling the tail forward he felt the stunned scorpion collide against his back. Only a strong blade could pierce the tough shell of the desert men, and Rainin had no such blade. But he would soon have something honed by nature herself for just such a purpose.

In a swift motion Rainin struck the frozed tip of the scorpion's tail with his staff, easily breaking the frozen brittle exoskeleton. Spinning around he thrust the severed stinger at what he hoped would be the heart of the scorpion.

[DustinTheWind]

Neil swore. Things had gone from bad to worse. Sure, they had gotten out of that basement somehow -- even now he wasn't quite sure how that had happened -- but now there was a dragon running around, attacking everyone indiscriminately. Already it had taken out a few of their own: Morius, Aali, and Scarlet were down, and Zeb, Alaz, and Trucido were missing, probably injured as well. Fortunately, it seemed focused for the moment on the few bandits who remained; most were dead or deserted by now. Best to act before it decided to attack the party again...

Scarlet and Morius were in the relative safety of the edge of the wood while Aali was closer to the actual melee, so she would have to be first. He ran over to her and checked her for large wounds. There was a large one on her side, so he did his best to hastily bind it with a shredded piece of his shirt. He tried to pick her up...no, that was definitely not happening with that broken arm. He would have to drag her.

He managed to make it back to the boulder without being noticed by the dragon. Noticing the man they met in the cellar sitting nearby, he grabbed him by his collar. "You! Prince or whatever! You said something about knowing healing, so do what you can for her! I'm going to get the others!"

[Forgotten_Memories]

Lynne ran as fast as she could. She didn't know where she was going, but he had told her to run. Morius - was it really him? She could barely recognise him anymore, he had become nothing but a distance memory, a dream, her savior... no, he had abandoned her! But, she couldn't help and think of what happened to him; he intervened with the dragon - where did the dragon come from?! Lynne trudged through more bushes, and suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Before her lay a girl, against a tree. She knew the girl. She had seen them bring her in, strip her naked, and clothe her in those magic restricting robes and shackles. The girl looked so peaceful, and was asleep; she looked weak and vulnerable! Lynne stepped towards her, when suddenly her body was enveloped with an inconceivable coldness. She could barely move, and felt herself getting weaker. Lynne stepped back, and the cold dissipated - but its siphoning effects still lasted. She dropped to her knees, eyes on the girl who was trapped inside the invisible forcefield.

A barrier, she thought to herself, only the one who cast it may undo it! It was a dark sort of magic, and instantly she made the connection. Morius. She looked back towards the camp, which was alight with masses of green fire and lightning.

[DustinTheWind]

In a swift motion Rainin struck the frozed tip of the scorpion's tail with his staff, easily breaking the frozen brittle exoskeleton. Spinning around he thrust the severed stinger at what he hoped would be the heart of the scorpion.

The scorpion hissed and staggered back, with one hand plugging his cloak in the wound from which black blood oozed, with the other holding up a crumpled scrap of parchment. "Fine," it snarled. "You want the map? Try to catch it!" It hurled it toward the bonfire and scampered in the opposite direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Neil quickly located Morius and managed with some effort to drag him back to the others, then left to search for Scarlet. He eventually found her deeper in the forest, lying against a tree. Standing over her was a young woman he didn't recognize. Clumsily, he drew his sword with his good hand. "Hey, you! What do you think you're doing?"

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Hey, you! What do you think you're doing?"

Lynne jerked her head towards the direction of the voice. Still on her knees, she saw the man before her, clad in leather, and with a broken arm. A bandit! Her eyes widened, but this would be no problem.

She stood up, noticing instantly to what extent her reactions had been slowed due to the barrier. Thrusting her staff forward, she pointed it directly at the man, and issued the word, "Shah!"

A slash of white fire ran itself across his chest, knocking him backward and off his feet. Without knowing exactly how much damage she had inflicted, Lynne took this opportunity to make a run for it. She made her way through the brush, back to the camp, she had to get back to Morius.

As she reached the clearing, there was a deafening roar and the ground shook, throwing her off balance. She staggered and fell on her right side, fumbling her staff. She looked up, and from here could see a tiny refuge of people behind the trees. They did not look like bandits, and one of them, a boy, had surely been a prisoner. Then she saw him. Morius lay on the ground, unconscious. Quickly grabbing her staff, she jumped up, and ran in their direction.

She knelt beside Morius, shaking him. "M? M? Come on, wake up!" But her efforts were to no avail. She placed her hands on his chest and found that he was still breathing - only faintly, but at least he was alive. She quickly turned her attention to the surroundings. There were a couple of other injured people, and the prisoner boy looked completely perplexed at the situation. She remembered his school of fire was white, and immediately snapped at him, "Hey you! Help me heal these people!"

[Leaka]

"Hey you! Help me heal these people!"
Antice stared at the girl who was calling him. He had forgotten he had never gave them a proper introduction of himself, or maybe he did. He forgot a little about it and walked over to the girl. He stared around at the injured. He felt his face sorta go hot.
He had never performed a healing act right in front of other people. Other then the one he was searching before. It was the only thing this young prince seemed to be embarrassed by.
"Where do you want me to start?" he asked calmly.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Where do you want me to start?" he asked calmly.

Lynne let out an annoyed groan - they had no time for this! She quickly turned to look at a girl who lay in close proximity. A mediocre bandage, made from ripped cloth, was tied around a large wound on her side, blood soaked through heavily. Blood had always made Lynne nauseous.

"That one!" She ordered the boy.

Now she turned her attention back to Morius, and rolled up her sleeves. She once again placed her hands on his chest, feeling it rise gently, fall, and then repeat again. She closed her eyes.

"Helbrede vind dache," Lynne chanted, and her hair was slowly uplifted by a non-existent wind. Her palms on Morius' chest began to glow with a bright, white light - it shone dazzlingly through her fingers. Suddenly, Morius' body jumped upward, as if it were charged with electricity, and the ground below shook, raising a cloud of dust.

Lynne fell backward, and sat on the bare dirt, exhausted and breathing heavily. After a few seconds, Morius jumped up, and turned to spit blood. He then faced her - the blood around his mouth looked black in the darkness, but his silver eyes glistened in the light of the moon.

"Lynne," he uttered, attempting to smile.

[DustinTheWind]

"Shah!"

With a blast of white fire, Neil found himself knocked to the ground. It didn't really hurt, stung more than anything, but it did give the girl a chance to run off. But that didn't matter, the important thing was getting the group together and to safety.

He walked up to Scarlet, intending to drag her back to the group as he had the others, but as he did so he felt the life being sapped from his body. It's some sort of magical trap, he realized, and it was killing Scarlet! He had to get her out of there immediately!

He took a deep breath and ran forward, grabbed Scarlet's leg, and...okay, this was not the best idea. He was barely strong enough to move her. No, barely strong enough to stand. Barely strong enough to...

He collapsed to the ground. No, this was not a good idea at all. He had to get out...too weak....had to crawl......had to get her out.........no strength............. should.....have........ thought..........this............ through..........................................

[Leaka]

Antice was directed towards a girl with a unpleasant none helpful bandage covering a wound. Antice had to focus on this though. It was different working on non royal people. The royal people ordered him to do or said because they share the same power he had to. This was different he was doing this for kindness sakes. Then again someone had to ask him to do it. He bit his lip and then stared at the girl. He had to focus hard on the wound coming together. Together, together, together.
"I ask upon the spirits who breathe life, to heal this wound," Antice began to chant as some gold like wispy magic began to form around the wound, "Heal the wound with your breathe of life and place your hands on hers so that way her life will always be safe with your protection."
Antice saw the wound begin to close up and the girl was healed. He stared at the girl who had originally order him to heal people.
"I am finish this one," he said calmly.

[Lebby]

(I am deleting my posts but i dont know how so im just editing them to this message, sorry if this is distracting)

[Lebby]

(I am deleting my posts but i dont know how so im just editing them to this message, sorry if this is distracting)

[losthawken]

"Fine," it snarled. "You want the map? Try to catch it!" It hurled it toward the bonfire and scampered in the opposite direction.

A green burst of light again illuminated the scene as the dragons rampage led it further into the woods after the escaping bandits. Rainin's heart sank as the only direction in this mis-guided mission soared directly at the flames. As he watched the broken half-staff in his hand tingled with energy, and Rainin trusted it without hesitation.

Throwing the staff with all his might after the parchment Rainin watched and wondered if the magic staff would come through. To his amazement, it did. The staff flew straght as a javelin overshooting the crumpled paper, but tipped suddenly downward connecting with the map as it plummeted to the ground. The staff stuck upright in the ground pinning the precious map beneath it only feet in front of the fire.

Rainin turned to see Kizalk's sinister shadow escaping through the woods. So much for the scorpion-clan, he thought.

Running back to the bonfire to retrieve the map he could see white fire pulsing and crackling irregularly from theverticle staff. As he picked it up a complementary pulse coming from the bonfire caught his eye.

The other half of the his staff!! There atop the pile of burning wood sat the counterpart to the staff he now held in his hand pulsing in synchrony with white flame amidst the fire. Putting the dirtied, but undamaged map, in his pocket he used the tip of the staff he had to flip the second peice out of the flames. It was instantly cool to the touch and the white fire immediately extinguished from both. Rainin carried both pieces with him as he made his way back to the boulder.

Along the way back Rainin encountered a nearly demolished hut, from the wreckage of which the familiar hilt of Aali's new sword gleamed in the light of the bonfire. Collecting as much of his teams goods and weaponry as he could carry he doubled his pace back to the boulder.

There he found most of the group reunited and enlarged by the addition a young man and a girl both of whom seemed busy healing the injured.

"Is everyone accounted for?"

[Honorius]

Strange images flashed through Scarlet's head as she slept. Flashes of green, roaring lightning, something else roaring. Something big, something dangerous. But it was familiar... Scarlet didn't know how though.

More green, yelling screaming, something red. Blood? Something was happening.

An incredibly loud roar jolted Scarlet awake. What was going on? She was still in the magic sealing robe, but she wasn't trapped anymore. She was propped up against a tree. The sounds of fighting and dying were everywhere. Blood curdling screams, massive roars, thunder and lightning. What was going on?

A young man was lying down in front of Scarlet, he was familiar, he was from the group. What was he doing lying down? Scarlet stood, silently shattering the barrier surrounding her.

"What are you doing lying down? What's going on?"

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Is everyone accounted for?"

"All except..." Morius paused for a moment, "Scarlet and Trucido," he finished, staring around for any signs of the dragon. His senses were a bit muddled, but he could hear distant roars of Trucido chasing down the last of his prey. "Oh, and that guy with the broken arm."

Lynne's eyes shot wide. "Broken arm? I think I know where he might be... M, did you cast a barrier around that girl in the forest?"

Morius swept his hair out of his face and thought for a second, dragons hit hard! "Yes, yes I did, now I remember." He quickly jumped to his feet, but then instantly regretted doing so as the surroundings spun around him viciously. "We need to go find her! It's only a matter of time before that dragon comes back to hunt us, and having studied that damned Alfar mutation, I know Trucido has sympathy for only one - his lover."

[losthawken]

...having studied that damned Alfar curse, I know Trucido has sympathy for only one - his lover."

The dark elf swayed unsteadily on his feet as he spoke, he was clearly still muddled and making no sense.

"Settle down Morius, we'll find the girl, just point us in the right direction. But I think you need to rest, your not making any sense. Trucido is an alfar not a dragon."

[yellowm&M]

Aali's head was muddled and confused, she wasn't unconcious, but neither was she quite with it. Somewhere in the distance, past the strange roaring ocean in her head she could hear a voice chanting

"I ask upon the spirits who breathe life, to heal this wound, "Heal the wound with your breathe of life and place your hands on hers so that way her life will always be safe with your protection." Seemingly intune with the voice a wispy, tingling sensation was weaving it's way through her side. She found her mind coming into sharper focus as the intense pain in her side began to decrease in coordination with the chanting.

"I am finish this one," The same voice announced a minute later. The pain her side had dulled to a pulsing ache. She struggled for a moment then opened her eyes and gave her head a slight shake to clear the remaining fog. She could see what seemed to be almost all of the group plus the prince and a new girl who had been part of the bandits group. Pushing herself up, her head began to swim and she forced herself to remain upright. Taking a deep breath she felt her side and realized that the wispy sensation she had fel t earlier must have been feeling her injury, because though her hand came away covered in blood, there was no longer a wound.

"Is everyone accounted for?" Rainin's voice, she was haing trouble seeing him though, her vision was still slightly blurry, obviously she had lost more blood than she had originally thought.

"All except..." Morius paused for a moment, "Scarlet and Trucido...Oh, and that guy with the broken arm."

"Broken arm? I think I know where he might be... M, did you cast a barrier around that girl in the forest?" The woman's voice was unfamiliar...it must be the new girl.

"Yes, yes I did, now I remember. We need to go find her! It's only a matter of time before that dragon comes back to hunt us, and having studied that damned Alfar curse, I know Trucido has sympathy for only one - his lover." She heard the sound of someone stumbling slightly and found her eyes to be more focused.

"Settle down Morius, we'll find the girl, just point us in the right direction. But I think you need to rest, your not making any sense. Trucido is an alfar not a dragon."

Finally she was able to see the group huddled together, talking. Morius appeared to be a bit muddled as well, because he was swaying slightly where he stood.

"So did we get everyone?" She said, finally catching hold of her voice.

[losthawken]

"So did we get everyone?" She said, finally catching hold of her voice.

"Oh Aali, glad to see you're OK. It seems we are missing Scarlet and the guy with the broken arm, I think his name was Nate..."

Rainin set down his armful and tossed Aali's sword to her.

"Here. This time I brought back your whole sword instead of just a shard." Rainin winked at Aali before immediately turning his attention to the missing team members.

"So Morious, where did you leave Scarlet ?"

[Lebby]

Heres my new character, he has been approved of, nice and official like.

Name: Mathias Ballador

Age: 23

Sex: Male

Height: Tall

Appearance: Very rugged, courtesy of a life lived in the forest. He has dark tanned skin, long unkempt brown hair (concealed by his bandana). He is unshaven, and sports a scar across his right cheek. His eyes are blue.

Background: Mathias was born into the Brazen Bandits (The bandit clan that captured the heroes, and that Trucido destroyed). His whole life has been spent kidnapping, robbing and murdering. He had become one of the most respected members of the clan, due to him having lived amongst it his entire life. He knows next to nothing about life outside the forest.

Personality: He has been driven to grief, due to his parents deaths at the hands of Trucido (he loved his parents dearly). he now thinks only of revenge, and holds a bitter hatred for the heroes. When he was young, his parents spun tales that they are living on the edge of a corrupt and oppressive society, and that by robbing from the rich, they were fighting for their own rights. As such Mathias believes that activities such as pillaging, and murder are acceptable. And he whole heartedly thinks that he has been wronged. He now seeks to infiltrate the group, and betray it when the opportunity arrises, and then exact his revenge on Trucido.

Weapons/Armor: He wears a leather brigandine, and wields two shortswords, which he holds in each hand.

Elemental school: Mathias can imbue his swords with blue fire, enabling him to channel frost blasts, and other effects through his swords. This art is known as Spellslashing.

Socioeconomic status: Outlaw

[Lebby]

Green flames licked at the encampment, searing Mathias's face as he stumbled away from the anarchy that had engulfed the clearing. his endurance was waning, as his wounds took their toll, but he managed to stagger, and collapse just beyond the tree line. He groaned in agony as he surveyed his wounds, a deep gash across his stomach signified where the dragon had slashed at him.

With trembling hands he unstoppered his only potion, that had been imbued with white flames. He then hastily poured it along the cut. He hissed as his flesh burned, and the skin knitted itself back together. After that the pain abated, and he was gifted with a moment to regain his barings. And he cried, his tears mingling with the blood that streaked his rugged features. His parents were dead, torn apart by that monstrosity, and his friend were either dead or scattered.

"No," he muttered to himself.

He would not give up and cry like a child. Instead he moved into a crouch, and silently snuck back to the treeline. The chaotic situation in the camp had calmed somewhat, the dragon was no where to be seen, and glowing embers were the only indication that a fire had ever taken place. Mathias looked opposite the clearing, and hatred began to burn in his heart.

The group that had caused all this destruction was slowly regrouping. But as the heroes reformed, so did a rough plan in Mathias's mind.

'He would follow the group, he would join them, and when they least expected it, he would kill them.'

Then, snickering to himself, he melted back amongst the trees.

[yellowm&M]

"Oh Aali, glad to see you're OK. It seems we are missing Scarlet and the guy with the broken arm, I think his name was Nate..."

Rainin set down his armful and tossed Aali's sword to her.

"Here. This time I brought back your whole sword instead of just a shard." Rainin winked at Aali before immediately turning his attention to the missing team members.

She reached out and caught the sword by it's handle. The cool metal hilt felt wonderful in her hand, far better than that other sword that she had jsut used.

"Thanks Rainin, a whole sword is much more useful." She shot him a quick smile.

"So Morious, where did you leave Scarlet ?"
She turned her attention to Morius again.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Settle down Morius, we'll find the girl, just point us in the right direction. But I think you need to rest, your not making any sense. Trucido is an alfar not a dragon."

Morius nodded. For once, someone else was right - he did need to rest. He sat down again, thinking carefully about the night's events. It had become awfully quiet, maybe Trucido was taking a rest somewhere. But, Morius knew he'd be back, and they had to get Scarlet back before that happened.

"So Morius, where did you leave Scarlet ?"

"She's back that way!" Piped up Lynne, pointing in the direction she had come from only moments ago, after having run into the shackled girl.

[losthawken]

"She's back that way!" The slender brunette chimed in. Rainin gave her a puzzled look. Everything had happened very quickly he wasn't even sure what had happened since he blacked out in the first battle.

"Wait, who are you? And what the hell happened? I've gathered that the bandits captured us, and that we escaped when the dragon attacked, but who are these guys?"

Rainin motioned towards Lynn and Antice, while looking imploringly at the rest of the group and quickly handing out the weaponry and supplies he had retrieved.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"Wait, who are you? And what the hell happened? I've gathered that the bandits captured us, and that we escaped when the dragon attacked, but who are these guys?"

Morius rolled his head back and stared at the stars above. If it was another night, he thought, this would be a whole lot nicer. He craned his neck to face the man who had eagerly retrieved their supplies, and this, Morius admitted, he had to thank him for.

"They're both captives of the bandits who we've set free, and the dragon is Trucido! It's a rare Alfar mutation, causing the bearer to transform into a dragon when the first moon is in the sky. I know a lot about it, and have had much experience with a Wydrakkus," Morius paused a moment, and somehow looked incredibly distant, "...the only one he wouldn't hurt is Scarlet!"

[losthawken]

"...the only one he wouldn't hurt is Scarlet!"

"You must still not be feeling well," Rainin replied eying Morious's dreamy stare suspiciously. Morious wasn't one to make things up as far as Rainin could tell. But, people turning into dragons was about as likely as the legendary crystal flames to Rainin's mind. Still the problem of locating Scarlet and the other members was very real and urgent.

"Aali, I'm not sure Morious is making much sense at this point. Perhaps you should stay with him and the other injured, while the girl and I go look for Scarlet. Maybe she knows where Trucido and Nate are."

Rainin nodded at the girl he hoped he could trust. She seemed harmless enough in the dim light of the waning bonfire. He just hoped she could lead him to Scarlet and help him find out what happened to Nate and the others.

[Leaka]

"So did we get everyone?"
Antice caught the words of the person he healed. He turned to her and gave a smile.
"Are you all right?" Antice asked, "How's the healing job?"
Antice felt something in the back of his mind. Was it safe to continue on. He couldn't have them knowing his secret. But he couldn't venture on his own again after being caught by some men by himself. He stared around and they were good warriors. Better use for them, then for him.
"Am I part of the group now?" Antice asked.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"You must still not be feeling well,"

Morius closed his eyes out of annoyance. These stupid humans couldn't understand a single thing. But, before he could speak, the dark-haired man he had heard being called Rainin, addressed Aali.

"Aali, I'm not sure Morious is making much sense at this point. Perhaps you should stay with him and the other injured, while the girl and I go look for Scarlet. Maybe she knows where Trucido and Nate are."

Rainin looked towards Lynne, who stared back in reluctance as she moved slowly closer to Morius. Soon, she was sat right next to him.

"I don't want to leave, M," she whispered.

Morius moved closer, and their eyes met. Morius spoke contently, "As dim as they are, you can trust these humans Lynne, and we need to get Scarlet back - take him to her, if you know where she is. And don't worry, I won't go anywhere. Not this time."

He grabbed her by the arm, and Lynne nodded. She then stood up and turned her attention to Rainin, who awaited her company. "Alright... it's this way!" Lynne began to stroll in the direction she thought she had last seen Scarlet.

[Lebby]

It would not do for Mathias to approach the group beaten and bloodied, and quite clearly dressed as an outlaw. He quietly crept down to a small river, a little deeper into the forest. The cool water not only washed away the blood and grime that marred his face and body, but it also help cleanse his mind.

After that he looked at his stringy hair, slathered with grease. He rummaged around in his pack for a bandanna he occasionally wore. After tying the knot, and tucking his hair under it, he looked at his reflection in the water.

'Better,' he thought.

But not by much, he still has many a notable bruise, and his leather armour was ripped in places. He cursed. If he would be disguised as a nearby farmer, he could lie and say that the bruises were beatings the bandits gave him if he did not supply them with enough food from his crops. But he needed to hide his battered armour, a cloak would do nicely. He walked back to his spot at the tree line.

Some of his foes were moving away, splitting up.

'Thats good, less people to notice me,' Mathias thought craftily.

He looked at the remains of the tent in which his clan had kept stolen equipment. Then, he darted from cover to cover, keeping low and out of sight. He reached the tent with no mishap, inside he found a long thick woolen cloak.

'Perfect,' he thought.

He fastened it around his neck, closed it up, and began to sneak away. However as he passed a rack of swords, he tripped, and knocked it over. The noise seemed hellishly loud to him. He dived behind a nearby stack of crates, and noticed the cessation of chatter amongst his enemies.

'Please don't look over here,' he thought desperately, 'please...'

[yellowm&M]

"They're both captives of the bandits who we've set free, and the dragon is Trucido! It's a rare Alfar mutation, causing the bearer to transform into a dragon when the first moon is in the sky. I know a lot about it, and have had much experience with a Wydrakkus," Morius paused a moment, and somehow looked incredibly distant, "...the only one he wouldn't hurt is Scarlet!"

"Aali, I'm not sure Morious is making much sense at this point. Perhaps you should stay with him and the other injured, while the girl and I go look for Scarlet. Maybe she knows where Trucido and Nate are."

Rainin's suggestion of her staying didn't sound very appealing, she'd rather be doing something; but she still needed to rest a little bit also.

"Sounds good I suppose...though I think Morius is right about the whole dragon thing."

From off to the side the richly dressed prisoner caught her eye and smiled.

"Are you all right?" Antice asked, "How's the healing job?" She smiled slighty back.

"It's all right, it still hurts a little and I lost alot of blood before you got to me; but it's better than before."

"Am I part of the group now?"

"Well I don't speak for everyone...but I don't see much of an issue."

Somewhere behind her Aali heard a small crash. She turned around, confused, but the reamining smoke drifted infront of her, mkaing it to hard to see. She couldn't make out where the crash had come from. Slowly she turned back to face the rest of the group telling herself it was probably nothing; the sound still made her slightly uneasy though and her hand unconciously tightened on her sword.

[Lebby]

Mathias silently slid his swords out from his dual scabbards, and then poised to strike in the event that anyone came over to investigate. Thankfully his enemies must have disregarded the noise. Sighing with relief, he sheathed his weapons then scampered away.

Once he reached the sanctuary of the trees, he lay in wait for the group to move out...

[Honorius]

"What's going on?" Scarlet whimpered. She was scared. She was lost, cold, alone, her friends were gone, her clothes were gone, her fire was weakened, and she didn't know what was going on. But worse of all, Trucido was missing. Where was he? Where did Trucy go? Was he hurt? Lost? Worse?!

Scarlet shook her head in a vain attempt to scatter the disturbing images. Calm down, she told herself. Get yourself together. Your an Ignis! You can do this! The peptalk didn't help much, but it was a start.

"The rest of the group couldn't have gone far, so I should probably start looking," She said to herself out loud. "And I should probably bring this guy with me."

Scarlet grabbed the unconscious man by his arms and began trying to drag him to the clearing. It was slow work. Scarlet wasn't exactly accustomed to carrying heavy weights. Most nobel women aren't.

"You're...huh...huh...Really...huh...huh...Heavyyyy yyyy...Huhh..." Scarlet complained as she dragged the man.

[losthawken]

"Sounds good I suppose...though I think Morius is right about the whole dragon thing."

Rainin stopped dead in his tracks. He glanced back at Aali, with a deeply disturbed look. This journey was getting more and more unusual.

Lynn was continueing into the darkness toward where she had seen Scarlet. Rainin turned again and followed. The issue with Trucido would have to be sorted out later.

[DustinTheWind]

Neil was groggily aware of Scarlet getting up, groggily aware of the sapping force dissipating, but it did no good. He was far too weak to even think clearly, let alone respond to these events. Now she was talking, whether to him or to herself he didn't know. He would just sleep this off like a bad hangover. Yeah, that was the best thing to do, just sleep this...

A searing pain tore through his broken arm, bringing with it a surge of adrenaline. He bolted upright and ripped his arm from her grasp. "Ye gods, woman, what are you trying to do to me!?"

[Honorius]

He bolted upright and ripped his arm from her grasp. "Ye gods, woman, what are you trying to do to me!?"

"Eep!" Scarlet cried as the previously unconscious man lept up, knocking Scarlet on her bottom.

"I'm so sorry! I-I-I was trying to help! I was unconscious, and you were unconscious, then I woke up, but you didn't, and something's happening, but I don't know what it is, and Trucy's missing, and I'm cold, and lost, and scared, and-and-and..."

That was the breaking point. Scarlet couldn't do this anymore. It was too much...

So she started crying. Out right bawling. Sobbing, tears, everything. It really was a heart wrenching sight.

"Wahhh!!! Truuucyyy!!"

[DustinTheWind]

"Wahhh!!! Truuucyyy!!"

"Geez, Scarlet, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I was just...well, it doesn't matter. I made a mistake and I'm sorry." He slipped his arm back into its sling. "I don't know where your fiance is, but I'm sure he's fine. I do know where most of the others are, so let's get back to them and we can put together a search party, okay?"

[Leaka]

"It's all right, it still hurts a little and I lost alot of blood before you got to me; but it's better than before."
Antice gave a slight frown to the answer. He had thought he had perfected the spell, but it seemed the advanced spells were eluding him again. Why did this magical well of spell dry out now and then. It always was strange to him. Maybe...Antice held his position. The kind of face and that kind of posture a prince would have. Some people who didn't understand him, would associate him with being stuck up. Or spoiled.
"Well I don't speak for everyone...but I don't see much of an issue."
He listened to the words calmly and carefully. He gave a girl a dull smile.
"That's good to hear," Antice said.
Antice stared at the group. There was somewhat distress he could feel. Antice wanted to say something, but for some reason he didn't feel much needed. Or even for that fact that he was there in front of people. He cleared his throat as loud as he could.
"We cannot worry about what we cannot find," Antice said, "To find what we look for, we must keep our heads level headed and keep worry at bay."

[Honorius]

Scarlet knew the injured man was talking, and she heard what he was saying, but none of it was processed. All Scarlet did was sob... It was too much. If Trucy was nearby, it would be a different story. But it wasn't even just that Trucido was far away, he was missing. She didn't know where he was. All of her securities were falling apart.

"Wahhh!!!"

"I don't know where your fiance is, but I'm sure he's fine."

Fiance? That's right, Trucido was her fiance. But how could she marry someone who was missing? Would he still marry her after she had been stripped down by the bandits? What if he didn't want to marry her?

As Scarlet became even more and more insecure, she broke down even more and more. It was simply too much.

"WAHH!!"

[Forgotten_Memories]

Lynne moved through the brush at a quick pace, Rainin slightly behind her. It was darker now, as the light of the dragon's fire no longer illuminated the surroundings. She hoped she was going the right way.

"WAHH!!"

A high pitched cry resonated from somewhere ahead. Lynne turned quickly to look at Rainin, "Did you hear that?" she asked him.

But, before she could get an answer, Lynne sprinted towards the wailing noise. Pretty soon she stumbled out from behind a tree and saw before her the man who she'd mistaken for a bandit, Nate, and the girl she'd found lying against the tree, Scarlet - only, now she was awake, and in a complete state.

[losthawken]

"Did you hear that?"

Rainin nodded and rushed to follow the girl toward the direction from which the sound had come. Coming upon the scene Rainin found Scarlet in a dark robe instead of her usual finely crafted attire weaping uncontrolably, and Neil standing nearby desperately trying to calm and quiet her.

Leaping ahead of Lynn, Rainin poised his staves menecingly at Neil, and exlaimed, "What is going on here! What did you do!"

[DustinTheWind]

"What is going on here! What did you do!"

Neil leaped back and threw his hands in the air. "I didn't do anything! I found her unconscious and this draining force thing knocked me out and she woke me up by pulling on my broken arm and I yelled at her without thinking and she broke down like this! Well, I guess I did do it then, but not on purpose!"

[losthawken]

"...Well, I guess I did do it then, but not on purpose!"

Rainin covered his face with his hand and gave a brief sigh. The fatigue and incessant sobbing made every thought laborious.

"Hey, ah.. girl...Can you help Scarlet? " He gestured at Lynn before turning to Neil," Quit your blabbering Nate and lets get going."

Rainin motioned with his staff for Neil to take the lead and let Lynn and the distressed mage follow at their own pace. Now all that was left to deal with was Trucido.

[Honorius]

Wahhh!!!

A cry echoed through the forest. A sobbing, lamenting cry. The cry of a damsel in distress. The cry of easy prey. Turning his massive blood soaked head towards the source of the sound, Trucido slowly began to recognize the sound. It was familiar. Not the actual sound, but the source of it. The voice of the one crying. But who? Trucido's mind was to clouded with blood lust and frenzy to identify it. For a moment, Trucido's self tried to regain control of his body, to identify the familiar sound, but he was quickly pushed back by his own animalistic instinct.

With yet another of his now well known roars, Trucido lept high into the air towards the source of the sound. Meanwhile, the newcomer to the group, the same mage who Trucido had tried to devour earlier, was trying to calm Scarlet down. It helped a little, Scarlet wasn't sobbing anymore, but tears still flowed down her cheeks and she still gave a few small sobs. It was while the newcomer was helping Scarlet to her feet that Trucido crashed down upon the group.

The impact of Trucido's landing knocked down the entire group, scattering them and their weapons. Before anyone had a chance to regain their composure and attack, Trucido reared back his massive head to strike. Just before Trucido unleashed his fury upon the group though, Scarlet screamed. Surprisingly, Trucido stopped.

At the sound of Scarlet's scream, a torrent of realization rushed through Trucido's frenzied mind. Scene after scene, memory after memory, rushed through Trucido's head, reminding him who this poor creature before him was.

He couldn't believe himself. What was he about to do to Scarlet?! What was his intention?

The dragon thrashed it's head side to side in disgust of itself before letting out a cry that was as human as it was dragon before taking flight from the scene. At this Scarlet stopped screaming, and fainted from the shock. Just before she lost consciousness, she had the thought that the dragon's last cry was oddly familiar...

After it's last attack, the dragon disappeared from the camp. After making sure that the area was safe, that the dragon wasn't still around and that there weren't bandits still running around, the group made a sort of make ship camp and slept what little remained of the night. Even though they had someone on lookout all night long, no one noticed a human Trucido slip into camp as soon as the moon vanished and lay a small note by Scarlet as well as her normal clothes.

Scarlet happened to be one of the first to wake up, and immediately noticed the note laying by her.

Dear Scarlet:

I'm sorry that I can't be here right now. I have very important business to attend to. There's a small pack of dragon's near by and I need to clear the path for you and the rest of the group. I'll be back as soon as I can. Take care of the group, I'm counting on you.

Trucido

Scarlet read the note in silence, contemplating where Trucido had been earlier and if he was okay now. I'm sure he's fine, she thought to herself. Yeah, he's handled worse before. The note and the fact that he was counting on her radically improved Scarlet's mood. That and the fact that she didn't seem to be able to remember much of anything from last night. There had been some kind of battle, and she hadn't been able to find Trucido, and something was big and roared a lot, but that was all she could remember.

"Umm... Could anyone help me out of this thing?"

[Lebby]

Mathias silently watched the camp, as night descended, vengefully pondering how he would butcher his foes.

'Now the tall dark haired one, he would shove his own sword so far up his arse, it would poke through his mouth,' Mathias thought evilly.

The sentries changed, as did Mathias train of thought.

'The girl with striking red hair, he would ravage her, the he would cut her pretty hair, and feed it to her,' Mathias hesitated, 'No, he would ravage her, cut her hair, dip it in ****, then feed it to her, and probably kill her to, if only for consistency.'

Mathias nodded satisfied, and waited for dawn.

[Forgotten_Memories]

Morius awoke shortly after Scarlet. He was feeling much better after a night's rest, no matter how grim it was. He made his way over to their pile of inventory, retrieved by Rainin, and started picking out his accessories and cloak.

Once completely armored with his amulets and rings, Morius felt almost entirely rejuvenated. He looked over to where Lynne was sleeping, expressing his silent gratitude. If it hadn't been for her, he probably would've died from internal bleeding. It was nice to be reunited with the girl, and he could now say that having left her when she was younger at that monastery was a mistake.

Morius' eyes next darted to Scarlet, who sat reading what appeared to be a letter. Ah, but where was Trucido? Lynne had described what happened upon finding Scarlet last night, and how she had no clue the dragon was Trucido. Morius thought it best to maybe keep this a secret for now, and let Trucido tell her himself. Also, not many believed him last night when he'd told them the truth, so he wouldn't bother doing so again - it was between the members of the party who had seen the actual transformation.

"Umm... Could anyone help me out of this thing?"

Morius walked over and knelt beside Scarlet, inspecting the shackles around her wrists. He placed a hand upon them, which quickly sparked into black flame. But, it had no effect on the cuffs.

"Hmm, It appears that as well as restricting magic, magic cannot be used to break them," Morius said, pushing his now long, groggy, sweat-dried hair behind his ears.

[DustinTheWind]

Juniper lingered in the camp an hour or so for politeness sake, but the antsy nature of her actions made her true nature plain. She had stated her intentions to leave on the previous night once the dragon had finally left, and now she clearly wanted to put as much distance between herself and the bandit camp as possible. "It's not that I don't like you people, or think I'm better than you or anything," she had explained. "Quite the contrary, I have quite enjoyed spending time with all of you. It's simply that this is far too much...excitement for me. Searching for a lost fire is a grand adventure to be sure; but being captured by bandits with nothing better to hope for than the shame of ransom or a live of servitude is simply something I was not prepared for, not to mention the dragon." Her plan, she went on to say, was to follow their route back to the Edu River and barter a passage from there back to Chateau Travaren. Any who wished were welcome to accompany her -- an offer which Zeb accepted after a great deal of consideration, stating that traveling in a group was a far more restrictive lifestyle than he preferred. He would accompany Juniper to Riverport, then continue on his own way. And so it was with determined strides that the two left the camp eastward in the morning light, for none of the horses had survived the night's events.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Tgiwiliw!"

Thydore bounded from the trees and landed upon Rainin, appearing for the first time since he had fled the initial brigand attack the day before. "You is safe!" he cheered. "Yes! You is safe! I am glad! I am glad! Tgiwiliw!"

"Umm... Could anyone help me out of this thing?"

Thydore lept off Rainin and scurried over to Scarlet, running with his overly lanky arms more than with his feet, pulling a lock-pick from his tattered jacket. "I am help! Thydore am help!"

[losthawken]

"Tgiwiliw! Yes! You is safe! I am glad! I am glad! Tgiwiliw!"

"OOPH!" Rainin woke from his slumber to the weight of Thydore's punce. "Get off you little masked Devil!"

"I am help! Thydore am help!"

Rainin watched as the odd little creature scrambled toward Scarlet. He stood and moved beside them as Thydore worked feverishly at her shackles.

"I can't say I'm not glad to see you, but what are you doing here Thydore and where is your madman of a master?"

[Honorius]

"Oh thank you, weird monkey thing!" Scarlet said as soon as Thydore managed to pick the locks on her shackles. She still hadn't learned the strange creatures name yet. Probably due to it disappearing all the time.

After petting Thydore on the head a little, Scarlet picked up her normal clothes and made her way over to the tree line so she could have some privacy while changing.

"Now no peaking you guys!"

[losthawken]

"Now no peaking you guys!"

While Scarlet sought her space to change, Rainin took the oppurtunity to speak to Morious.

"What about this Trucido-dragon business. Aali says that its true. But how can that be, what could to that to a man? Either way, it doesn't appear that Scarlet knows anything..." Rainin spoke in low tones as he rumaged through his pockets in search of the map that would give them direction to continue their quest.

[Forgotten_Memories]

"What about this Trucido-dragon business. Aali says that its true. But how can that be, what could to that to a man? Either way, it doesn't appear that Scarlet knows anything..." Rainin spoke in low tones as he rumaged through his pockets in search of the map that would give them direction to continue their quest.

Morius leaned closer to Rainin and lowered his voice. "First of all, you have to remember Trucido isn't a man - he's an Alfar. And just like you humans, we have our birth defects. The Wydrakkus mutation is one of them. A small number of elves have it, and when they are hit with the light of the first moon, they transform into dragons."

Morius kept a close eye on the tree Scarlet went to change behind, in case she emerged any second. "You're right, Scarlet has no idea that Trucido is what he is, and we should keep it that way - it's better for him to tell her. The one thing I know however, is that he would never hurt her, not even in that vicious dragon form." Morius stopped speaking for a moment, and looked lost in a distant memory, "The dragon can always recognise its one true love. I believe that's why Trucido fled last night after confronting you guys and Scarlet."

[losthawken]

"The dragon can always recognise its one true love. I believe that's why Trucido fled last night after confronting you guys and Scarlet."

"Fine then," Rainin didn't like secrets, but dragons and lover's quarrels were way beyond what he wanted to deal with. Finally locating the map within his pocket, Rainin handed it to Morious.

"I found this on a bug last night, but I can't make heads or tails of it. I'll get the rest of the group up and ready if you figure out what direction to head."

Turning to the rest of the camp Rainin shouted.

"Come on people, lets break camp! We've got to put some distance between us and the Bandits hideout," approaching Antice he added, "Name's Rainin, are you coming with us kid? We could probably use your skills."

[yellowm&M]

Aali woke up to almost everyone awake. Thydore had returned and was helping Scarlet out of her shackles; after she was released she went off to go put on her clothes. Aalie stood up and stretched, noticing that the ache in her side was almost completely gone now. She shot a smile at Antice.

"Thanks again."

The dizziness had gone too. Reaching down, aali pciked up the sword Rainin had salvaged for her; it felt wonderful in her hand again.

"Come on people, lets break camp! We've got to put some distance between us and the Bandits hideout." Approaching Antice he added, "Name's Rainin, are you coming with us kid?"

Aali walked over to Rainin.

"Should we try and find the horses first?"

[losthawken]

"Should we try and find the horses first?"

Rainin thought for a moment, he was again glad to have Aali, a proven warrior, on his side.

"I'm not sure it'll be worth it at this point, I fear that any the dragon didn't devour are long gone by now." Rainin sighed and thought for a moment more. An orange light was shining around the camp as the sun began to rise higher. Sunrises always made him feel inspired.

"Lynn, do you know where the nearest town is that might be able to shelter us and provide fresh horses?"

[Forgotten_Memories]

"I found this on a bug last night, but I can't make heads or tails of it. I'll get the rest of the group up and ready if you figure out what direction to head."

Morius took the map out of Rainin's hands, and inspected it carefully. He knew where they were when they'd been abducted, and judging from the time it took to bring them here, Morius estimated they weren't far off. Now, all he had to do was figure out which way was North.

Morius closed his eyes, and threw his arms out to their full length. He could feel the wind envelop itself through his cloak, and breathed in the fresh morning air. He then lent his senses to the shadows, and began to feel their movement, and alignment to the sun. By doing this, he would figure out direction. But wait, what was this? Morius suddenly turned his head to the trees behind them. Someone was there, and was watching them, he could feel it. The shadows never lied.

"Who's there?" Morius' voice echoed through the encampment.

[Forgotten_Memories]

EDIT: ***** DOUBLE POST ***** :S


"I found this on a bug last night, but I can't make heads or tails of it. I'll get the rest of the group up and ready if you figure out what direction to head."

Morius took the map out of Rainin's hands, and inspected it carefully. He knew where they were when they'd been abducted, and judging from the time it took to bring them here, he estimated they weren't far off. Now, all he had to do was figure out which way was North.

Morius closed his eyes, and threw his arms out to their full length. He could feel the wind envelop itself through his cloak, and breathed in the fresh morning air. He then lent his senses to the shadows, and began to feel their movement, and alignment to the sun. But what was this? Morius suddenly turned his head to the trees behind them. Someone was there, and was watching them, he could feel it. The shadows never lied.

"Who's there?" Morius' voice echoed through the encampment.

[Lebby]

Who's there?"

Mathias froze, his heart followed suit.

Unable to think of a curse to adequately describe how royally screwed he now found himself, he settled for "Buggernuts" before concealing his weapons under his newly aquired coat.

He then slowly stepped out of the light with his hands raised, revealing himself to the group.

"I mean you no harm! I am but a poor farmer!" He pleaded falsely.

He then breathlessly waited for a response.

[Honorius]

Those giant eyes.

Those massive fangs.

Those uncountable legs.

Scarlet had just finished getting dressed when it appeared. And it was terrifying.

It was a spider. Of course, to Scarlet, it might as well have been a dragon. Scarlet was an arachnophobiac.

"Ahhh!" Scarlet screamed as she ran out of the forest, only to run right into the newcomer, knocking both of them to the ground.

"Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!"

[Lebby]

Before anyone could respond, a rather attractive girl with striking red hair, pelted screaming out of the forest, looking the other way.

Due to her mindless terror, she collided with him, sending them both sprawling in the dirt. Normally a pretty girl lying on top of Mathias would provoke lust, but his hatred still burned brightly so he rolled over, and got up.

"Kill it! Kill it!" The girl squealed frantically.

Mathias glanced to where she was pointing, and saw a very confused looking spider. Mathias casually walked over, and was poised to crush it, when it very politely said, "I apologise for startling that charming woman, but i would prefer it if you did not kill me."

Mathias cocked an eyebrow, "How odd," he thought.

He let the spider crawl up his arm, and nestle on his shoulder. It whispered thanks into his ear. Mathias then turned to the rest of the group, as someone spoke.

[yellowm&M]

Aali stood for a mometn letting the other's conversation wash over her. Poor Jensen, she had always loved that horse, she just hoped Trucido hadn't killed her last night. her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone falling and a frantic scream.

"Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!"

Her head shot up and she saw the commotion was Scarlet...and it looked like she was scared of a spider. Next to her stood a strange new man who she appeared to have knocked over in her haste to get away from the spider. Aali's hand tightened around her sword and she shifted her weight ever so slightly, so as too be in a better fighting stance should this man mean them harm. He looked as if he could be anything from a bandit to a poor farmer.

"Who are you? What is your bussiness here?"

[Lebby]

Mathias found himself being addressed by a shorter woman, clutching the hilt of her sword. She was also rather pretty.

"Who are you? What is your bussiness here?" She demanded.

Mathias cringed slightly, and found his nerves fraying, then scalded himself for his hesitation. However he had not allowed enough time to think.

"I like potatoes!" Mathais replied.

"Bugger," he thought.

Before the woman could elicit a response however, he heard a small voice at the back of his head.

"I know what you want, I know how you feel, I am Chatulio. Now tell this delightful young woman that your farm has been annually ransacked by the bandits for food, and you wish to thank the group for defeating the gang by leading them out of the forest," a disembodied voice that sounded like the talking spider.

He had heard of animals that could talk, but never animals that could invade someones inner most thoughts, he pushed this aside for the moment, the spider made valid points.

"I have been hassalled by the bandits for many a moon. They come and take my food, and beat me just to put me in my place. I heard last nights commotion, and came to investigate. You do not know how thankful i am for you putting an end to their evil. I would be humbled if you allowed me to guide you to your next destination," Mathias said pausing for breath.

He thought it was quite convincing, but would the group believe it?

[Forgotten_Memories]

"I have been hassalled by the bandits for many a moon. They come and take my food, and beat me just to put me in my place. I heard last nights commotion, and came to investigate. You do not know how thankful i am for you putting an end to their evil. I would be humbled if you allowed me to guide you to your next destination,"

Morius folded his arms over his chest, and now stood facing the farmer. There wasn't something right about him - his features were dark, sharp, and sly, and he was wearing an awful lot of clothes... a disguise perhaps? Although, Morius couldn't quite be the judge of this, he didn't look very good-natured either - he silently grinned to himelf. He then looked back at the map Rainin had handed him, and realised there was no way he was going to figure this out. Alright, if this poor farmer wanted to help them out of here, they would have to let him. It was perfect.

Meanwhile, Morius would keep his suspicions to himself, until Trucido rejoined the party at some point, which Morius knew he would. Then, he would ask the other Alfar his opinion - wait a minute, why was he thinking of consulting Trucido?

Whatever happened to being independent? he thought.

He then looked over at Lynne, who was rousing from her sleep. She yawned and noticed the newcomer, who everyone's attention seemed to be drawn to. He was somehow familiar, but she couldn't quite place him. She had heard his story to the group whilst bordering on a state of sleep and wakefulness and figured she'd probably seen him be pillaged and beaten during one of the Bandits' raids. It was a perfectly plausible explanation.

"Alright," Morius said, rolling up their map, "You may lead us out of here."

[Honorius]

"Hold on" Scarlet spoke up. Since Trucido was here at the moment, Scarlet felt like she needed to take over his jobs. Making sure that new comers were safe was one of them.

"We have to make sure we can trust him. He could be a bandit or something. Or a demon unicorn with a fish tail. We have to..." Scarlet scrunched up her face in thought. What would Trucido do? Scarlet thought to herself. Probably just put a dagger to his throat and question him.

"Quiz him! First question! Why are bandits bad people!"

[losthawken]

Rainin watched the chirade and rolled his eyes. The new comer was a little odd, but no more so than the rest of his traveling companions. He was looking forward to talking with a fellow farmer for once.

But in the meantime, Scarlets little game was amusing. Rainin still didn't understand how she could be such a powerful magician....

He crossed his arms and continued watching with a smirk.

[Lebby]

Mathias cocked his eyebrow, 'Was this girl for real?'

Upon closer inspection he realised she was barely an adult, naive and innocent. And perhaps a tad daft.

He thought of an answer that would appeal to her.

"Erm, bandits are... well their bad because they... they smell bad! Yes very bad! And they take my food without asking! No they are not very nice at all!" Mathias chuckled, getting caught up in the hilarity of his charade.

"This is quite amusing, please continue," Chatulio whispered politely to Mathias.

[Honorius]

"Erm, bandits are... well their bad because they... they smell bad! Yes very bad! And they take my food without asking! No they are not very nice at all!" Mathias chuckled, getting caught up in the hilarity of his charade.

"This isn't funny!" Scarlet said as she walked up to the new comer.

"Bandits are bad for that, but they also rape, pillage, plunder, murder, kill, and slaughter. They tear up families and kill the innocent. They ruin lives.

"So half off! Next question, if you're sword fighting with someone dangerous, do you slice the throat open or attack their arms and shoulder?"

Scarlet knew this one would be a decider. Why? Because it was a trick question. No one can get it right. In fact, it was a lesson that Trucido had taught her. The newcomers answer would be intriguing.

Hey, Scarlet isn't just a silly little girl. She's pretty smart.