Re: The Arcanica Role Play (Here)

by **Spyduck** Thu Apr 06, 2017 11:10 pm

49/2/1337 9:15

The wind was whistling past the jagged rocks of the mountainside. Bhohb sat in the mouth of a small cave, looking out over the azurian landscape. The day had only just begun but yet he felt exhausted, almost paper thin. Letting his mind and body seep in the arcane winds of the mountain he slowly regained some kind of his old corporeal and ethereal presence. After just a day of climbing up the mountain range his stalwart companion promptly went to sleep just so that she could start to moan, sweat and throw herself around in her sleep. Left with little choice Bhohb drew some pentacles around Talia and their gear. A direct teleportation across this distance was dangerous, but he couldn’t afford to drag his friend through a different plane in this condition. Now he sat, regaining his strength whilst guarding them from intruders. Heavy rain clouds swept in from Pandora and soon Azura was hidden in the torrential rain. Soon thereafter Talia stirred and suddenly awoke with a yelp. She was pale, sweaty, her knees weak and her breath heavy. (Mom’s spaghetti) After both banter and some invigorating breakfast they both sat and watched the rain.
Talia broke the silence,
“It’s getting worse…. I dread sleep… and myself…”
Bhohb sighed and patted her on the head.
“I have been keeping a close watch over your internal struggles, I can keep you safe for the time being. But you are right in that we must find a solution to this predicament.”

13:30

Soon the clouds had moved down into the lowlands and were swiftly dispersed by a warm front. In the distance you could see the ocean and even further away to the south a large forest cluttered the horizon.
Bhohb jumped up on his feet.
“I have an idea!” he turned to Talia and drew forth a large bolt of thick linen cloth from his satchel, “Can you sew me three obtuse triangles, about this wide?” Bhohb stretched his arms apart as far as he could reach.
Talia looked at him for a long moment before shrugging dejectedly.
“Sure, my parents were both tailors so that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Whilst Talia got to work with the cloth Bhohb summoned a red and two green imps. The red imp immediately started to comb his long mustache.
“Sockmuncher, listen up!” Bhohb barked at him. “We have an important mission ahead of us and you are our second best tracker and you know that Carlston is on his holiday!”
Bhohb continued to brief his subordinates, striding back and forth across the cave in a quite military manner. Talia sat further back in the cave with a candle, cutting and stitching the cloth so that it wouldn’t tear when used. A few minutes later they all stood on a ledge outside the cave. Bhohb held his scepter, waving it around as he gave orders.
“Ok, I’ll go through this one more time. Sockmuncher, you’ll go to the capital and find the target, when you find her you report to Seth, and no grooming, understood?!” The red imp saluted. “Seth, you go to the capital with Sockmuncher and wait until he finds the target, then you’ll place a transplanar beacon and return home.” The tall green imp glanced at the red one and looked disappointed. “Ankleman, you go to the forest and set up a beacon as well.” The second green imp tapped the ground with his pegleg.
Talia held up the cloth triangles and waved at the rest of the group.
“What did you want these for?”
Bhohb snatched them up with a mage hand and started to glue them to the backs of the imps with shadow magic. With a snap of his fingers they stiffened into hang gliders.
“Time to fly.” He whispered under his breath as he threw the imps of the ledge, one after the other.
“And now we wait.”

50/2/1337 20:00

“Sockmuncher!” Bhohb was berating the small imp for his tardiness. “You said you found her several hours ago?!” The imp looked down at the ground, mumbling excuses in impish.
“You did what?!” Bhohb screamed. “Dressed her hair?! You were supposed to report to Seth! You did report to Seth, right?” The Imp looked away, whistling nonchalantly. Bhohbs fingers shook as he unsummoned the imp.
“Dream lady, we gotta go!” He yelled to Talia who was nursing a mug of coffee.
“Go? Go where?” she said, hiding her cup from the Hobbit.
“To destiny!”
Bhohb jumped at Talia and grabbed hold of her nose. Suddenly the world shifted around them and they found themselves in an alleyway. Bhohb turned to Talia again.
“You go that way and I’ll go this way. Just ping me if you find something.”
“Whu-” Talia stood alone and confused as the Hobbit rushed away with surprising speed.
“I guess I’m going this way then.” she sighed.

22:49

Bhohb rushed back and forth across the streets, probing the surrounding area with his mind. Not a single trace of this magical girl that he had seen in the loom of fate could be found this night. As he rounded a street corner he saw Talia again but before he could talk to her a loud booming sound bellowed out over the city as a great spiral of water rose over the city and exploded in a heavy shower of rain. Talia turned around to Bhohb and smiled smugly.
“Found her!”
A minute later they could see three great dragons lift up above the roofs of the city and fly away towards the forest.
“Ankleman!” Bhohb exclaimed. Swiftly he grabbed Talia’s nose again and a moment of whirling and shifting in the cosmos later they found themselves in the forest. The pegleged imp greeted them with a wave whilst smoking a sailor's pipe. “Ble-rue he”
Talia waved back but as she turned to Bhohb he was already gone, just as if he had been swallowed by the darkness.

23:15

“Down there.” Dazairi pointed at a small hill just inside the forest. Setryn slowly descended to the forest floor. The hill had fewer trees than the surrounding area and you could see more of the sky from an elevated position. A few minutes later Dazairi was sitting with her three dragons, just looking at the stars.
She said to her friends, her family, “What care I for the vitriol that people spew at me when all I could ever need is right here.”
Someone grabbed her hand and a sickly sweet voice responded right next to her.
“Yes, quite romantic indeed, now kiss me!”
Dazairi jumped several feet of the ground and let out a shriek. Next to her stood a dark figure with unblinking featureless, white eyes.

by Tucker789 Sun Apr 09, 2017 5:22 am

50/02/1337
18:45
Bristie was being tended to by some of the Knights finest handmaidens. It appeared to Bristie that the leader had developed some sort of affection for her, as he kept bringing her more stuff, and making excuses to talk.
Having decided on a dress that allowed for both free movement but still looked pretty, Bristie was having her hair done.the braids on the left side of her face were being undone, though she pleaded not to, but she had to fit the part- blend in with the crowd. As for weapons, she was allowed to carry her two small blades, granted they were concealed, and the rest of her gear was held in a inconspicuous chest just off the east wing off the main building. She had not seen the man who she had been travelling with for the past couple days, not for several hours at least. This disappointed her, for she felt like the two had become friends, at least for her part. She knew he would be at the ball, but could not interact with him.
The maids were trying to engage in conversation, but Bristie was on edge, and didn’t give much in the way of replies. She was nervous. Within days of leaving her home, she was already swept up in some grand scheme to capture this Dragon Priestess- that is what the knights kept referring to her as. Nervous about the mission and excited to see a dragon, Bristie kept fidgeting with her dress, pulling strings and twisting buttons.
20:00
The party had started, and now Bristie was feeling a bit closed-in, pressed by so many people. Never before had she felt this way, and she was constantly startled when people would come up to her to talk. One lady offered her a drink, which she accepted but never drank- it smelled funny.
Finally discovering that there was a second floor overlooking the main room where everyone was gathered, Bristie retreated. Finding next to no one there, she sat at a table and sighed. It was then when she realized she was sweating profusely. Looking around to see if anyone else saw this, she stood back up and headed for the doors leading outside. The guards let her out, and she hurried away to a fountain she had seen coming in. when she got to it, she began splashing water onto her face and rubbing the cool water across her neck. As she did this, she heard a muffled cough nearby, and she looked over- there was a couple standing there staring at her with looks of disgust on their faces.
“What?” she began “I was hot!”
They did not reply, they only turned away and walked off.
“Strange people” Bristie thought, and she went back inside. There were even more people now, and she had a harder time making her way back upstairs, only to find that it too had been occupied since she had left. Now, Bristie was downright uncomfortable, and the ‘corset’ she was wearing was starting to hurt her. She loosened it a bit, and then suddenly her dress began to fall down.
“Damn this thing! What idiot designed this?!?” she swore in her head as she barely kept the whole thing from falling down, attempting to tie it back up herself. She little show had caught the attention of several men, who stood nearby and watched, all with the strangest expressions Bristie had ever seen. Raising a fist to gesture at them, the left side of her dress fell, almost revealing her. The men choked at this, some began laughing. Bristie flushed red, knowing full well what they were hoping for- and had almost gotten. She made her way to the east wing to get her real clothes, and throw out these crappy ‘fancy’ clothes.

Dodging several people as she made her way through the crowd, almost knocking over a servant who was following a lovely lady in a green dress, and finally kicked open the doors to the east wing- which were fortunately empty. She let the doors close, then spread out her arms. The dress hit the ground, and dragged her undergarments down with it- but Bristie didn’t care, she was used to this. She looked around, and was pleased to see she was still in solitude, then proceeded to where she had stashed her belongings. Cracking open the chest, she was again pleased to see they were all still there. Within seconds, she was dressed again, and was loading her weapons back in, when she heard a ringing sound coming from the main room. The music that Bristie had actually been enjoying stopped as well- and Bristie realized she had completely forgotten her mission. She grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows and sprinted down the hall. She again kicked open the doors back at the end of the hallway, but instead of proceeding into the main room, she took a right and went upstairs. Some man was giving a speech downstairs, Bristie didn’t much care what it was about- until he finished it with “Dragon Priestess”
Bristie stopped dead, and turned to look. There she was, the lady in green that she had passed earlier. All eyes were on her as well, and Bristie figured it would be the perfect opportunity. Knocking a bow and drawing it, she aimed right at the lady- but then the man who was speaking stepped between them, blocking the shot. She dropped her bow to her side and looked to see if anyone had seen her- and fortunately no one had, but she did see many guards preparing their weapons.
Looking back at the floor, she saw the man had begun leading the dragon priestess to the dance floor. Bristie was utterly confused at this point- had there been a change of plans? She looked for the man with whom she had been making plans with before, but he was nowhere in the room.
By now, many couples had joined in with the dance, and music was playing. Bristie was distracted by the dance at first- having never seen anyone dance in such a manner, it intrigued her. As suddenly as the music started, it stopped- and a battle ensued. The guards Bristie had seen preparing on the sides jumped the Priestess- and then suddenly a massive dragon appeared.
This time, Bristie actually did drop her bow onto the floor- as well as her jaw. Everyone Jumped back in fear, but Bristie’s heart began racing in excitement. Suddenly there was another dragon- and then again! She could not believe it, three dragons right in front of her! The crowd began screaming in fear, making their way to the doors in panic, as more knights poured in from the wings- luckily none had been in the east wing.
One dragon had raised a man up in a ball, and pretended to bite him, causing him to piss himself in fear, and another had begun rampaging through the knights, knocking them aside and tossing them away.
But not killing them.
That bit intrigued Bristie. If this lady really were in league with some demon, then she would have no qualms or hesitation killing every knight in the room- but instead the Priestess climbed onto the back of one of the dragons. One of them sent a gust of wind and knocked all the knights onto their backs, and then proceeded to blow them towards the exits.
“She’s planning on escaping!” Bristie realized, and grabbed her bow, and made for the the staircase, then into the east wing. There were people clamoring to get down the hall, but Bristie nimbly dodged between them and made her way to the chest, where she grabbed the last of her belongings- leaving the dress, and its related items, on the ground. A wave of water came down the hall, launching the last stragglers out through the final doorway- Bristie included, but she was nimble and quickly got to her feet, she turned around and suddenly there was all chaos ensuing as a tower of water spinning in place destroyed the building, but yet not hurting anyone. Making her way along the path outside of the ruined building, she saw three dragons take off into the sky.
“Not so fast!” Bristie thought, and swiftly transformed into a raven, and took off after them. The speed in which she caught up with them surprised her, and Bristie was merely twenty or so meters behind them. She maintained this distance, until their path tapered off and they aimed for a nearby forest. There wasn’t much tree coverage where they landed, but she was still able to find a nearby tree to land on, and she watched them.
They talked for a bit, then appeared to nestle down for the night, her dragons surrounding and protecting her.
“I should wait till morning…” she thought, and returned to her true form. She began to settle against the tree, as she was quite used to doing, when suddenly a scream caused her to nearly jump out of the tree.
“Get the HELL away from me to creep!” the Priestess screamed, her dragons getting between her and a small little man who, even from this distance, creeped Bristie out… and made her uneasy.
“Oh come on, you sure you don’t want a kiss? You seemed so lonely… these big lizards can’t be that fun of company!”
The biggest Dragon tried to stomp on the little man, but he seemed to sink into the ground, then pop up a short distance away.
“Come on now, is that any way to treat your friends?”
Another dragon shot a jet of water, and again the little man seemed to sink away and reappear.
Then Bristie saw it, a demonic little creature hopping around the little man briefly, then scampered off as the biggest dragon shot a bolt of lightning at the man, who again slipped away.
At this point, the Priestess had once again climbed onto the back of a dragon, and lifted off. The other two followed shortly after, laying down suppressive fire at the little man, keeping him busy until the Priestess was out of sight, then they jetted off to catch up. To anyone else, it would have looked like a scared bird had taken flight during the skirmish, but Bristie had readied herself and followed the Priestess.
They were headed back to the city, a notion that confused Bristie, but she followed anyways. Her thoughts drifted to that little man, and the tiny demon that seemed to be with him. Surely, if anyone were to be demonic or working with demonic forces, it was that man. The fact that the Dragon Priestess fought the little man proved that she was not what the Knights said she was. That thought made her angry, she wanted to hit something- but then realized she was just a bird. Shaking her head, she cleared those thoughts and looked back to her target, who had just started to descend.
They were a ways outside the city, and it looked like the walls were closed for the night. The Priestess was huddled around her dragons, saying words Bristie couldn’t make out, and then one by one the dragons disappeared- save for the last one, who turned into a smaller version of itself. The Priestess pulled out a black cloak, surrounded herself in it, and pulled up the hood. To any normal person, she might’ve blended in with the darkness, but Bristie’s eyes were used to this, even more so as a raven. She flew overhead, keeping her in sight but flying short distances, keeping her own distance from the Priestess.
The outer wall of the city wasn’t too terribly protected, there were several openings in which someone could slip in- the Priestess took one such route. Making her way down alleys and roads, she found herself outside the gates of the inner city- which were still open. Many people were coming in and out, the inner city didn’t seem to sleep even at night. The guards couldn't care less about who came in and out, as long as they followed the rules while within earshot. One mumbled a quick “behave…” to the Priestess as she passed, but she didn’t miss a beat and continued on, not noticing a raven following above her.
The journey ended at a nice cozy two-story house in the more ritzy part of town. The Priestess pulled out a key and unlocked the door, and Bristie could see no more. She dived down towards a window, only to find it closed. Circling the house and finding them all closed, she flew up to the roof. There was a stone chimney which she landed on, and retook her true form. Looking down, she didn’t see a fire, so she morphed again into an animal- a possum this time. Agile vertical climber it was, she scrambled down the stone and into the house.
Bristie saw an elven woman in a nightgown walk past holding out a dimly glowing magic lamp, she was headed down a hallway towards a bedroom. Once she was in, she closed and locked the door. Bristie scurried about, now taking the form of a fox. Using its sense of smell, Bristie followed the hallways down the way the elven woman had come, and found a room, door still open. Ever so silently, she made her way into the room, rounded the corner, and lept onto a shelf. Looking over the room, she saw a familiar green dress laid out across a table, some other garments tossed around, and a lovely red-haired woman laying in the bed, a small dragon nestled next to her.
Bristie felt awkward watching the Priestess in such a manner, but also realized it would probably be better to wait until morning to approach her, Bristie didn’t know what to say anyways. She curled up into a ball on the shelf, hoping she would go unseen until the right time- then the dragon lifted its head.
"Dazairi wake up, someone is in the room with us."
The priestess shuffled around a bit, and lifted her head. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room. The dragon had stood up and was also looking around.
“Creepy Hobbit, is that you?”The Priestess asked to the darkness, but there was no reply.
Bristie’s ears were back, and she tried to remain still. How had the dragon sensed her? And if he had senses her, how did it not know where she was?
“Whoever is there, show yourself! If you don’t, I will have my dragons bring you to me forcefully!”
The dragon took an intimidating look when it heard this, tiny sparks cracking around it.
Out of the inky darkness, a fox leapt onto the bed. It stood at the end of it and looked simply adorable. The Priestess clambered out of the sheets and crawled over to greet it, but it took a few steps back- and its body began to morph.
Suddenly there was Bristie, crouched at the end of the bed. The Priestess’ hand was halfway extended to pet the fox, but now she pulled it back, and her dragon rushed forward to get in between them.
“Fear not Priestess, I am not here to hurt you, I do not come as your enemy.”
“I find that hard to believe”The Priestess replied, reaching for a book to her left.
“My name is Bristiandie Fordelva’al, you may call me Bristie if you prefer. I am a Huntress from the Sanctuary of Panovia.”
“Greetings, I am Isabella. What do you want, Bristiandie?”
“I want him.” and Bristie motioned to the dragon. Both the dragon and the lady seemed shocked. The dragon was surprised someone wasn’t afraid, and the lady was annoyed that she wasn’t wanted.
“You can’t have him!”
“I’m sorry, I don’t want to keep him, I wish to talk to him. I wish to commune with him.”
“You… what?”
“I’ve never met a dragon before, I want to know what they are like, learn all I can about them. I wish to be able to become like him someday- like how I had taken the form of a fox just a minute ago.”
“Well I’m sorry but we won’t be staying. You can go find yourself a different dragon to… commune with.”Isabella had taken on a highly aggressive tone, and Bristie was beginning to worry if she could actually get through to her.
“Please, let me join you. You won’t even notice I am there, as you didn’t notice I was when I followed you here.”
“You did what?”
“I just want to- no I HAVE to do this! There will be no other chance to meet a dragon unless I join you. Let me prove what a valuable ally I can be.”
“And what skills do you think you can offer me?”
“I can act as a guard, or hunter. I know how to forage for food if we ever need to eat, and I can infiltrate places and track people very well. YOU would have never known I was here until your dragon sensed me. What does that tell you about my skill?”
The Priestess looked at her dragon, her brow furrowed.
“If you let her join us, you wouldn’t have to call upon us to protect you. I know how much those spells drain you, you could save yourself that trouble in the future.”
The dragon spoke up, having eased up his protective appearance. Bristie nodded, but she didn’t know what he meant.
Isabella looked back and forth between Bristie and her dragon, until finally she sighed and nodded.
“Alright, you can join me- but you have to stand on your own! I will not see to your needs, you’ll have to supply yourself. And if you get left behind, I’m not coming back for you!”
Bristie’s heart leapt with joy, she wanted to run up and hug her- and the dragon as well. She calmed herself, and simply said “Thank you.”
“Thank Set, he convinced me.”
Bristie reached over to the dragon and stroked its head softly, and whispered “Thank you, Set. I’m sure we will become good friends!”
Suddenly a chill went down Bristie’s spine- and she could tell why. Changing form into a panther, she charged down the hall after a small demon who had been watching them. Grabbing it in her mouth, she bit down until she heard a crack, then bit down harder. The demon stopped struggling and went limp, and Bristie returned to the room and spat the dead thing onto the floor. Retaking her true form, she motioned to it.
“See? I have already slain a spy of that small man who harassed you before in the woods.”
“Aww… that was the one that did my hair…” Isabella looked sad, then looked back at Bristie “How do you know this Imp was working for that Hobbit?”
These words confused Bristie, but she figured it out quickly, and replied “I saw another one running around by that… Hobbit when you were escaping I figured where there was one foul demon, there were more.”
“He was really nice to me earlier… I didn’t know he worked with that creepy Hobbit. Hopefully he won’t be able to find us here now, at least not until we leave. Do me a favor, show me what you can do and keep watch over the house tonight, make sure no more of these Imps are crawling around…”
Bristie was so happy, she didn’t even take notice of her dismissive attitude. With zeal, she began patrolling the house.

by Shogun Hidora Sat Apr 15, 2017 6:45 pm

51/2/1337 11:00

Balthazar, Zack and Zero were on horses, riding quickly across a desolate plain in the north of Pandora.
"When are we going to rest?" Zack asked Balthazar. "We've been riding all night."
"We're almost to Relhan," he replied. "We'll rest there after we've talked to the next witness."
Ahead, they could see the village in the distance, a large plume of smoke rising from the centre.
"That's not a good sign."

As they neared the outskirts, they noticed a large amount of soldiers, some carrying stretchers out from the village, others keeping watch over the surrounding area.
"That's strange. There's never usually this many soldiers in these parts."
"Those are Dark Empire soldiers," Zero observed. "Looks like they were in some kind of battle here recently."
"That would explain all those corpses."
"Smoke too."
"Halt!" a guard stated, as a small group of soldiers approached them. "State your business here."
"We're looking for someone who lives here," Zero replied.
"Sorry. Entry here is forbidden, by order of General Oberon."
"We were sent here under orders from the Emperor himself."
"Very well. May I see the seal then?" the guard asked.
"Of course," Zero replied, reaching into his cloak. He produced a piece of parchment, handing it to the guard. He looked at it, then handed it back to Zero.
"See that these men are assisted with anything that they require," the guard stated to the others around him.
"Thank you," Zero replied. "Told you that would be useful one day," he whispered to Zack.
They dismounted, and three of the soldiers led their horses to the stable, while another escorted them to the town square.

As they entered the village, they noticed that there were several holes dug in the streets. Several soldiers were there, dragging corpses from the holes and placing them on stretchers, to be carried out from the village.
"What happened here?" Balthazar asked, as they walked past one such hole.
"I don't know exactly," the soldier replied. "We were told to march here from our garrison on the border, and when we arrived we found a regiment of Black Legion troops, buried up to their necks in the streets. We were then ordered to hold down the village, and work on removing the bodies."
They entered the town square, and noticed the source of the smoke they had seen earlier. A large bonfire was burning, a figure tied to a pole in the centre. It was burned beyond recognition, but they could make out what appeared to be the remains of a bowler hat on its head, which was quickly consumed by the raging fire.

The soldier led them to a figure on the other side of the fire.
"Gentlemen, this is Captain Tobias. He'll assist you with any request you may have," the soldier stated, before turning back the way they had come.
"How may I help you?" Tobias asked.
"Just a few questions about the status of your mission," Zero replied.
"Very well."
"Firstly, what's the fire for?" Zack asked.
"We captured a demon this morning," Tobias replied. "We believe he was responsible for what had happened to the Black Legion regiment. He was beheaded, and his corpse burned."
"I see."
"Also, we're looking for someone who lived here. Aedryn. Is there any chance you could take us to him?"
"I'm afraid not," Tobias replied. "He tried to escape custody, and was shot by an archer."
"Shame. The Emperor seemed to think he was important."
"Please forgive me," Tobias replied, bowing to them.
"These things happen. I'm sure the Emperor will be pleased regardless. Now, if you would be so kind as to find us a nice inn or something, that would be appreciated."
"Of course," Tobias replied. He then called over another soldier. "Take these gentlemen to the inn. Make sure they're served adequately."
She bowed, then turned and led the three to the inn.

The entered the inn, then turned and walked towards the bedrooms.
"I'm afraid there's only two rooms left. My apologies," she said, bowing.
"I'm sure these two won't mind sharing," Balthazar said, a sly grin on his face. The other two seemed slightly annoyed.
"Very well. They can have this room then," she replied, opening the door to a room. "Yours will be down further," she said, leading Balthazar further down the hall.

15:00

Balthazar, Zack and Zero sat around a table, finishing the last of their meal.
"So, what now?" Balthazar asked. "Since Aedryn is dead, who else is left?"
"Let's see," Zero replied, checking the list. "Three names. Isabella, Faraduin and Viktor."
"Which of those is closest?"
"Viktor. He runs a gang in the capital. They're notorious for kidnapping and experimenting on unwilling victims."
"Very well. We'll go for him next. Prepare yourselves."
"I'm getting some sleep first," Zack said, yawning.
"Very well," Balthazar replied. "We'll leave tomorrow morning."
"That's fine," Zero said. "I had some other business to attend to today anyway. Didn't we, Zack?"
"I guess..."
"Just make sure you're ready tomorrow."

by Seamoose Thu Apr 20, 2017 8:42 pm

51/2/1337 15:15

Before leaving the tavern Zack turned around and glanced at Balthazar who was already watching them carefully. Noticing he wasn't averting his gaze, Zack decided to simply continue out a bit suspicious of what Balthazar might be thinking.
After being lost in thought about it for quite a while, Zack finally realized he never knew where they were headed with Zero, so he decided to ask.
“So, where exactly are we going?”
“Oh, we’re just gathering some information.”
A bit confused as to why Zero asked for Zack to come along when he was already tired, he couldn't help but glare at Zero with disapproval.
"Stop staring at me like you want to say "Can I leave then?" I could always use an extra hand when it comes to this man."
Sigh..."So where are we going anyway?"
“Oh, it’s not too far from here. It’s just a little town called Blightbane. You’ll see it's quite lovely.”
"Judging by the name...I highly doubt this."
"Trust me, it's not as bad as it sounds. By Pandoran standards at least."
"If you say so, you're the Pandoran expert apparently."
"You'd be surprised." with a curious grin Zero walked ahead of Zack and left him curious, but didn't think of responding to any further questioning so Zack simply stayed quiet.
“There’s a person I know there who has some information that could be useful to us.”
“Ah, so you’re going to blackmail them.”
“You don’t have to put it that way...I'd like to think of it as...persuade him.”
"And I'd like to think of you as the hole between the buttocks."
"Now you're just being rude."
"I'm being you..."

And so they carried on their path until arriving at the aforementioned city. It was just as Zack expected it to be, but the look he saw on Zero's face, the look of excitement and a happy look, the kind of look you'd usually give off after seeing something nostalgic, left Zack rather curious once again about his friend and his past, but it was for another time. Now they had to scout through the town and find whatever Zero wanted and seemed like he knew exactly where to go. Zero was walking with a confident step navigating through the various alleyways and finally stumbled upon a little shop tucked in the very corner of the secluded part of town. They entered the small shop only to see a man hunched behind the counter fiddling with his wares. He stood up surprised at the sudden appearance of customers. Being in the secluded part of town he did not meet many customers, some days no one would even visit, but this time there were. Zero gave Zack a signal to follow his lead and he began talking with the shop keeper.
"Ah the smell of rum, booze, more booze and corrupted scum. Better named: Viktor." At the sudden mention of that name the shopkeeper quickly headed to garb his weapon but was immediately stopped by the dagger that pierced through his shirt and was now stuck on the wall.
“Now, now, we don’t mean any harm. We just want to talk, like civilized people.” Zero looked expectantly at the shopkeeper for a sign of confirmation and the shopkeeper seeing this just silently nodded.
“Good, now that we’re all talking calmly and peacefully I would like to ask you a few questions concerning your boss. Where is he, how is he doing you know, the usual.” The shopkeeper begrudgingly started talking about Victor explaining where’d he’d been, where he is currently etc.
"You're being oddly cooperative, the kind of cooperative that usually winds you up dead. But that's not my call to make, so for your cooperation...I'll only take your...money." Zero picked up a pouch of coins and tossed it at Zack who was seemingly in awe at the amount of information they gained by a simple threat.
After getting outside Zack was still a bit concerned about how smoothly this went.
"Why did he seem so scared?"
"Because he was being threatened obviously."
"People don't break that easily by simple words, he seemed like he knew you...like he was afraid of you."
"People usually are."
"Why exactly? You don't seem as threatening as everyone seems to think of you."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Zero began laughing, a very innocent laugh at that. "Let's keep you on this side of the spectrum then, wouldn't want to end up where they are. Some things aren't worth finding out."
"I suppose..." Zack hesitated to continue the conversation as he felt he was going in territory that still wasn't worth exploring fully. He was still curious, but decided not to go further into it as it wasn't his place nor was it safe to explore territories he has no information about.

51/2/1337 17:05

by SergeantTurtle Mon Apr 24, 2017 6:33 pm

50/2/1337
After being teleported to the forest, Talia felt like she was going to be sick and rushed towards a nearby bush. She could not see but she could hear a loud scream and some other strange sounds. When she lifted her head she could see the group of dragons take off and fly away once again. She stumbled over to the site where Bhohb was standing with his hands on his sides.
"What did you do?" she asked angrily, pale faced and out of breath.
"I just wanted to greet our friend. What can I say?" he said surprised.
Not having made a single noise since the start of this journey, Sorodona suddenly bursted out of Talia's backpack and started flying towards the other dragons direction.
"Sorodona!" Talia shouted as she ran after her a small bit, only to stop when she realized she was too fast for her.
"They are heading towards the town again."
A long silence ensued, as they just stood there with straight faces, looking in the direction that the dragons went.
A smirk slowly developed on Bhohb's face and looked at Talia.
"I've got an idea."
She slowly turned her head towards the hobbit with a disinterested look.
He reached out his hand, ready to grab her nose once more.
Talia came to her senses and felt her stomach turn inside out as she rushed over to another bush.

51/2/1337
"Now I wonder where a dragon priestess can hide in a big town.." Bhohb said as he scanned the streets.
Even though most people had gone inside by this hour, he still had his hood up not to draw too much attention.
"You done yet?" he said, looking over at Talia, hunching over a barrel.
"Uuuuggh....." she grunted, looking back at Bhohb with a tired face.
"Hmm... why do I feel a prescence of an imp?"
Bhohb started walking down the dimly light street, slowly followed by his ghost-like companion.
He stopped at what seemed like a normal house and swiftly dragged Talia behind some bushes under the hallway window.
"What are we doing here?" she whispered, looking around to make sure no one was walking on the street.
"For some reason, one of my imps are in this random house. Not sure if he found some food that he wanted to munch on or...." he stopped as he looked into the window and saw an elven woman walk past towards another room.
"Why would..." he thought as he saw a random possum landing in the fireplace. It looked around the room for a bit and within seconds it had tranformed into a girl and immediately after, into a fox. A giant smile rose on the hobbits face, the same time as Talia's jaw dropped.
"A shapeshifter, I haven't seen one in ages!" he bursted out excitedly.
The fox sniffed the air, went up the spiraling stairs and seemed to follow a certain smell.
"Wait here." Bhohb said as he morphed into a goo and went to the upstairs balcony to continue his investigation. Following the fox, Bhohb soon found the backside of the house and none other than the dragon priestess' bedroom. Noticing this, he immediately went back to Talia on the front of the house.
"I think I found out why the imp is here. I must say, they are smarter than they look." he said proudly.
"Isn't that Sockmuncher?" Talia said and pointed at the imp in the hallway.
"Now I'm starting to think he's liking her instead of just doing his job. I'm not sure if I should be proud or dissapointed." he said with a puzzled look on his face.
"The dragon priestess is here?" Talia turned her head towards Bhohb with a joyful smile.
"Yes, it apprears that not everyone wants her head."
"Did you find Sorodona?"
"No I did not, I'm sure she's fine. She's probably resting somewhere in the vicinity."
As they turned back to look at what the imp had in mind of doing, they saw a panther swiftly grabbing the imp by the neck.
"Wh-what? No!" the horror on Talia's face was indescribable. In a second or two, Sockmuncher was lifeless and dangling from the panther's jaws.
"NO!" Talia shouted as the panther bolted back upstairs, with the imp still in her mouth.
Talia fell to the ground hands shaking and tears poaring down her face.
"Well that shapeshifter was not as nice as I would have believed." Bhohb said with a more serious look on his face.
"Are you okay? It was just an imp, really."
"I....I'm going to break her." Talia felt a chill going down her spine, followed by a burning sensation emanating from her back.
"I will CRUSH her skull and RIP HER BODY TO PIECES WITH MY TEETH!" she started ripping the ground underneath her, taking roots and stones with her.
"Oh boy.." Bhohb stepped away a couple of meters. Talia rushed up to the side of the house and was just about to slam it with her fist when she was grabbed by a tendril. It wrapped around her arms and anchored her in the street.
"Listen, I think you should calm down a bit." Bhohb said with his hand controlling the tendrils.
"LET ME AT HER! THAT BITCH IS MINE! I WANT TO DRINK HER BLOOD!"
"You really take to this rage thing easily don't you?"
"RRRRRRRR- LET ME GO OR I'll SLAP YOU SO FUCKING HARD YOU'll BE HALFWAY TO ALBUQUERQUE!" She snarled as she was starting to rip the cobblestone from the street with her strength.
Bhohb realized that this was going to go out of hand quickly and jumped on her shoulders.
"Nope, not here." he said and tried to grab her nose.
"NO YOU DON'T! G--GET OFF M-"
With a swirl and a bright light, they were gone.

They now found themselves in the forest once again. Bhohb had distanced himself from the now furious Talia. Rising to her feet, she threw both her shield and sword towards the hobbit, who easily dodged both.
"YOU DID THIS! YOU RUINED...EVERYTHING!" she screamed at him as a black, purple mass was rooting her feet to the ground.
Quickly spreading through her body, the substance was now restraining her movements. She could feel her vision getting blurry and slowly fading.
"BHOOOOOOOOOHB!" She screamed before she lost her consciousness. The mass started forming limbs and grew in size. A great shadow blocked out the light from the moon and caused the surrounding living things to die. Bhohb now stood face to face with the drooling jaws of a horned, demonic, dragon-like creature.
"Holy cr-... you know that explains alot to be honest." Bhohb said with not much of a surprise.
The creature swooped its claw towards the hobbit, simultaneously mowed down two trees. Bhohb quickly sunk under the ground and relocated, but didn't have much time to recover as the creature charged him and plowed its claw into the ground where he stood. Another swift change of position and he was behind the beast. Being used to disobedient demons on the loose, Bhohb did not break much of a sweat. He just raised his hand towards the demon in a strict fashion.
"Do you even know who I am, demon? I am the 7th time winner of the trans-dimensional demon-limbo championship!...And the Patriarch of the 5th plane of hell’s-"
"I know very well who you are... warlock." the creature bellowed, slowly walking towards Bhohb and contaminating the ground beneath itself.
"I should thank you, really. You are the reason I finally found the dragon blood. All those centuries spent in the dimension warps, only to find a certain someone meddling with powers far beyond their own understanding. You did all the work for us." The beast flaunted a smile with clattering teeth.
"You're a powerful demonologist, hobbit, and I cannot allow you to interfere with our plans. This world will be ours and you've done your part, now PERISH!" the creature spewed out a wave of purple fire that engulfed the forest. Feeling the vibrations of Bhohb under the ground, it followed him through the forest and tried to burrow through the ground with its claws. Bhohb emerged from the ground and dodged the beastly jaws with a swift backflip.
"JUST STAND STILL! YOU CAN'T STOP ME FROM SUCCEEDING ANYWAY! I HAVE POSSESSED ONE OF THEM, ILL HAVE THE OTHER SOON ENOUGH!"
Bhohb looked at the voidspawn and saw a shining gem on it's chest.
"Luckily, I'm not only a master of demons, I have some tricks up my sleeve too." he said with a wink and snapped his finger..
The amulet that had been given to Talia earlier started chaining the voidspawn to the ground, immobilizing it.
"RELEASE ME YOU WEAKLING! DO YOU KNOW WHO I SERVE!? HE KNOWS THE WAY TO THIS WORLD!" The creature screamed and bellowed with the rage of a thousand suns.
"Please, do send him my regards." Bhohb said smugly as he interlocked his fingers, stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles.
His hands was engulfed in dark magic as he raised his palms towards the gem in the middle of the beast's chest. Out of his hands came a vivid purple ray that pierced the creatures body.
"NOOO! NOOOOOOOOO! I WILL RETURN FOR YOU- YOU...AAAAHHHHHHHH!" the voidspawn evaporated like burning paper.
All that was left was a calm silence, smoke rising from the scorched trees and an unconscious girl. As the rain started to pour down, Bhohb went over to Talia and saw the little traces of the infection slowly wither away. The gem of the amulet which she kept around her neck had now lost all color. Bhohb took the amulet from her and put it in his bag.
"This gem have now served its purpose, but we are still far from done."
He turned her over and saw the back of her shirt burned away by the glowing tatoos.
"Hmm.. I may have screwed up before, but I have an idea." Bhohb smirked and grabbed her nose one last time.

Bhohb slowly put down the unconscious Talia with her back facing the front door to the house where the elf, shapeshifter and ultimately the dragon priestess were staying for the night. Making sure no one were on the streets, he knocked on the door and hid away in the shadows across the street. After a while, he could see a light in the window and soon the door slowly opened. He pulled up his hood and started walking away in the pouring rain to find a place to rest, as he heard a loud scream coming from the house.
"I said I had a plan, I didn't say it was a good one... What am I saying? My plans are always good!" he said, laughing to himself.

by **Cookie** Thu Apr 27, 2017 4:41 pm

51/2/1337 02:37

"-Come..."

"A voice...?"

"-Come here..."

"Who..."

"-Come back home...please...we're waiting."

-Who are you?! Where are you?! -Dazairi began looking around her surroundings, but no matter how far she looked all she could see was the white void surrounding her with no end. The voice seemed to be echoing from somewhere. A calm soothing tone of a woman, but all it did was agitate Dazairi as she couldn't find where it was coming from. -Where are you?! Tell me!

In the distance a figure of a woman began forming. She had beautiful long black hair, a stunning figure and she slowly began turning to face Dazairi. As the woman turned Dazairi was feeling a sense of nostalgia, despite the woman having no face, only an outline of a smile that seemed like a bad drawing from a child. Dazairi began running towards her, she didn't know why, but she wanted to catch her, hold her, she felt like a lost child, but then she realized she was. Looking down at her hands she realized she was only a child, but the woman didn't wait for Dazairi to get a good grasp of the situation, she began walking away slowly, but she was holding another child's hand. The child looked back at Dazairi, but once more no face to be recognized only the dark colored hair falling over one of her eyes.

Dazairi started running after them, she was afraid, she didn't want to get left behind, but she fell and with that the woman and child had gone out of sight and left Dazairi alone in the silent white void.

-Why?...Why did you leave me?! -Dazairi's voice echoed through her head as she woke up from her horrific dream only to be met by eyes filled with concern.

Not knowing how to react to the situation, Bristie simply went up to her in a more cuddly form to try to ease her mind. The scream she heard was far too loud and concerning to be anything good, but she didn't know what to ask or how to ask it. All she could do now was be simply cuddled by the almost weeping Dragon Priestess. Noticing this side of her,
Bristie felt even more like this person wasn't any harm to anyone, she was sure now, all her doubts slowly faded.

-Are you alright?

-I...don't know...a woman.

-A woman? -Set felt a bit of curiosity build up in him and a fair amount of concern.

-I saw a woman in my dreams...she...she was with this child...at first she was begging me to go with them...but then she left...her face...I...I can't remember it at all...I can't remember anything... -Dazairi let go of the transformed little kitten now and simply curled up feeling afraid and sad.

Hearing the scream Vera walked over to the front of the room, but never entered. She simply stood outside concerned listening over on the conversation. She was about to go in when there was several knocks on the door. Vera's skin jumped as it was far too late at night and hearing about this strange dream made her feel very uneasy. She was about to go down to open it alone when another elven woman walked out from Isa's door.

Bristie hearing the loud knocks on the door felt like it might've been the evil hobbit again.
-Shall I go check on it? -Bristie asked at the Dragon Priestess, but she got no replies. Feeling a bit awkward, she received an answer from the dragon that she should and with that she went downstairs to open the door. Slowly opening the door she noticed a girl with torn up clothes lying on the ground in the pouring rain. Bristie didn't really think before she acted and simply picked up the girl and brought her upstairs feeling concerned for her health now.
-Guys!

Hearing the call from Bristiandie Set looked over to Dazairi who was still curled up and not moving from her position. He patted her on the head and told her he'd go check out the situation. Receiving only a small nod for confirmation,
Set went out of the room to where Vera and Bristianie were now and he looked over at the girl lying on the sofa.
-Who is this?

-Doesn't matter right now, little one. Right now we must change her clothes and warm her up, it may be summer, but being left like that could cause a serious fever. - Vera with no time to waste ran to her room to find any sort of clothes that might warm her up and ran back to the room. Looking over at Set, she felt like he shouldn't be looking and simply eyed him down until he understood. After he finally turned there was a loud sound coming from the chimney.
-Wonder what that was...

-Hopefully nothing of concern.

-It came from inside of the chimney. Might be another imp. -Set walked downstairs to await whatever was planning on coming out from the fireplace as he wasn't really welcome upstairs at the current time anyway.

-Now...help me change her clothes.

-What? -Bristie suddenly got flustered.

-I can't lift her up by myself properly, I might wake her. It'll be far more gentle and easier if you helped me.
Now pick up that side and I'll remove her clothes. Hopefully she's sound asleep... -Vera looked over at the confused and flustered elf feeling a bit of confusion as to why she's so embarrassed. But somehow they managed to do it. -That wasn't so hard now was it?

-I guess...

Dazairi wasn't moving still, she was sitting there lurking through her memories, but not finding anything.
"When did I see your face...why did you try calling me...ugh...my head hurts." She felt frustration not being able to remember, tossing away the covers she sat on the side of the bed covering her face with both hands. At that moment she started hearing something dripping. She uncovered her face and only saw that her arm was dripping blood drop by drop. She looked around in shock and saw that her sheets were covered in blood as well. Her tattoos were now soaked in blood and she was looking around for where to find something to stop the bleeding, but couldn't find anything. She then tried running over to the door to start feeling faint in the head. Tripping over her own footsteps she reached the doorknob, but...it wasn't opening. She continued to try to open it, but it just wasn't budging and she banged onto the door with no response.

At that moment the window had broken and shards of glass flew by her as a gust of wind began filling the room. As shards flew by her, they cut her in several places, one being her right arm that she used instinctively to block the shards. Moaning out in pain she noticed a figure at the window. The figure had warped in front of her pushing her against the wall and holding her by the throat.

-Weak mortal.

As fast as the figure had come in, it was gone. Leaving Dazairi sitting on the ground in the corner feeling like her life was going to end at that moment. She closed her eyes once more and curled up in the corner she was closest to only to be startled by someone barging through the door. It was the panther and Set was on her back. They looked around and then saw her sitting in the corner.
-Set...

Looking at her directly in the eyes he saw the fear she was feeling, he wasn't aware of anything, but decided this had gone far enough already. He went up to her and looked her in the eyes once more, but this time he was looking into her memories. Noticing the figure she had witnessed he looked around at the room which was in perfect condition unlike what she was seeing. There were no windows broken, the door was unlocked the entire time, her arm was completely alright and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but something was trying to get into her head. He felt outraged, but interrupted by the loud sound once again.
-Bristiandie, look after her. I'll go up the fireplace and see what this noise is.

Not clearly understanding the situation, but feeling like she has to do something, Bristie simply agreed and patted Isabelle on the head. She really didn't know what was going on, but the fear in her eyes made her even more concerned.

-Say...have you ever seen a demon...?

-No. I haven't. Why do you ask? Did you see one?

-I wish I hadn't...All these illusions, I don't know what's real right now...

Bristie couldn't understand her, but simply tried to sympathize with her, but suddenly there were loud thud sounds and suddenly a sound like something crashed from downstairs.
-Let's get you back to bed for now, seems Set found the intruder.

-Intruder? -Dazairi felt confused hearing that there was someone else other than her and Vera in the house now. Feeling concern she build up some courage in her. -I want to see who that is.

-But...the dragon told me to get you to rest.

-The dragon also knows very well I wouldn't listen to him. -Dazairi finally cracked a smile, barely visible and shaky, but it was a smile she felt.

Dazairi noticed the confusion in Bristiandie, but couldn't be denied of anything, not by her and so they slowly walked downstairs where Vera was standing in shock.

-Vera? What's wrong? -Dazairi walked over to the awestruck elf and looked over to the fireplace where she couldn't believe her eyes. Set was standing next to another small dragon. The dragon looked more feminine and her scales were far lighter almost white. -Set?

-Ah, are you alright now, Da-Isabelle? -Stopping himself on time, he managed to conceal her name. -I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine, Sorodona. Seems she's with our visitor upstairs.

-She's upstairs? May I go see her, please?

The dragon had spoken to Dazairi directly as if she was the one in charge of this home, not knowing how to reply she simply nodded and watched as the small dragon climbed up the stairs.

-How...wait what is going on here? Guest? What? -Dazairi felt confused as she wasn't aware of anything up until now.

-Let us wait until she's done, once she's back she will answer to you herself.

Dazairi simply nodded and then looked over at the awestruck elves who seemed to be very shocked to see another dragon roaming around freely. Realizing why, she simply shook off her feelings and went upstairs. After a while had passed, Sorodona came over. The small dragon sat next to Set, who was sitting next to Dazairi on the sofa and sighed in relief.

-Well...I think it's about time you explain what's going on here.

-Yes, of course. I'm Sorodona, an elder storm dragon, the same as Setyrn. I've known him for quite a long time as we were both sent to this world together. But due to an incident we were separated. It is quite nice to see you again,
old friend.

-Likewise. It's been far too long.

Before continuing with her explanations, Soro kept in mind what Set had told her earlier about Dazairi's condition right now.

-I've been traveling around with my human companion for quite some time now, but we were never sure what we were looking for. Right now it seems she was eager on locating you.

-Me? -Dazairi was a bit confused as to why everyone seemed to had taken an interest in her all of a sudden.

But before Sorodona could continue with her explanations, a paper ball had flown in and directly in the back of the head of Bristie. But the paper ball wasn't only paper. It was a rock covered in a paper and the back of the elf's head had started bleeding from the impact.

-Ouch! What the?!

-Oh my! I'll go bring something for your head! -Vera got up and ran downstairs.

Dazairi went over to the rock and picked it up. She unrolled the paper and on it was written."I'll be back soon! You better behave there."Confused Dazairi left the paper on the small table and sighed.

-I'd suggest leaving the explanations for tomorrow...or some other time, if that's alright with you? I'm not feeling up for this anymore... I'm exhausted by everything that's happened.

-As am I...I apologize again, Vera...we've caused you a lot of problems.

-Well...it's not everyday I get to have a sleepover with a shapeshifter, two dragons and the infamous Dragon Priestess. I wouldn't accept those apologize, I'm completely content with your presence and events, but I am concerned for you, Isa, your health seems to be varying. Take better care of yourself! -Vera had patched up the back of Bristie's head now and walked over to her room then realized she wasn't going to sleep there tonight. -Now...everyone to bed. It's far too late.

After being shooed out of the room by Vera, Dazairi, Bristie and Set went to their room and Soro went towards the other room where the person was lying. She still hadn't seen who she was, but her curiosity wasn't big enough to disobey Vera right now, nor did she have the stamina to continue with her night adventures. She felt sick to the stomach,
but knew she couldn't stay here anymore and cleared her mind.
-Set, Bristie. Tomorrow early in the morning, we set out. We won't have much time to rest, but we will do with what we have.
We have to get to our goal soon, Set. I don't think we're going to have more time to waste anymore.

-I disagree with this. You need to rest. Your mind is being attacked by something, you shouldn't be pushing yourself now.

-I understand your concerns, but this isn't the time to be lounging around waiting for me to feel better.
I could be attacked again tomorrow and the day after, I'm not safe, sitting here won't fix it. I know you want to look after me, but...we mustn't stop. Not now, not here.

Set couldn't reply to her anymore, he didn't know what to say, so he simply looked down and laid down onto the pillow next to her.

-Bristie.

-Yes? -Feeling a chill run down her spine after being called over, Bristie couldn't help but sit up straight in her fox form as she was about to lie down to sleep.

-I know you wouldn't agree with these plans, but we're heading out to the elven forests. I know what you'll say, those are forbidden grounds, but hear me when I say that the history of the dragons lies somewhere deep in those forests and caverns that you elves deny access to. It's a risky bet, we may even get hunted down, but are you willing to join us?

Looking down Bristie realizes what it means to trespass into those ancient grounds. It's a crime she wasn't willing to commit, but the fact that she saw determination, admirable determination in the eyes of Isabelle as she spoke of the history of dragons, she felt assured that that might really be where the dragons could reside.

-I am. I will join you. I'd like to learn more about these creatures myself.

-Good, thank you. We've only just met, but I'm glad to see you trust me. -Her serious tone and look soon lit up into a lovely smile and Dazairi turned the other way and covered herself with the sheet, trying not to overthink things,
she closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep.

51/2/1337 04:54

by **Spyduck** Sun Apr 30, 2017 5:27 pm

51/2/1337

3:30 ish

Bhohb stood in the street under a dome of shadow, writing a note on a piece of paper. He then wrapped the note around a rock that he’d found. Taking careful aim at the wall of the building in front of him he threw the rock which passed through the wood paneling and even through the wall he could hear a yelp of pain. He then ran away into the night.

*

Have you ever thought of the benefits of being really small? Well, there are basically none, unless you have a wellspring of dark power raging in your soul of course. Now shadows, shadows are really good to make stuff out of, if it’s dark, and you are magical, and you don’t care about societal norms. ANYWAY, when it’s raining and you are small and you find a barrel and you fill it with magical shadows that allows you to float inside it, then that barrel makes for great shelter and temporary residence. Good? Good.

6:00
Bhohb walked out of the inn feeling refreshed after sleeping in a warm bed. With the help of some shadow tendrils he swiftly made his way up onto one of the nearby roofs. The rain had stopped and a fine mist lay over the city. With some impressive jumps and flips he soon found a good spot for what he had in mind. Below him was a small, round fountain, gurgling in the quiet square. After having climbed down from the roofs he proceeded to draw several lines on the stones of the fountain with a piece of chalk; an outer and inner circle, lined by runes representing the eight cosmic elements and a complex geometrical matrix. Bhohb stepped into the middle of the fountain, seemingly impervious to the water, and withdrew his scepter from his satchel. As he raised it to the sky a bolt of lightning struck down and in a blinding flash the mage was gone.

*

Bhohb walked up a steep path winding up a tall cliff. To one side of the path there was nothing but air and the occasional cloud floating by. Far below him lay a grand city nestled in an enormous crater. As Bhohb reached the top of the cliff he faced a large black ziggurat, squat and menacing. Bhohb walked up to the doorless wall and also through it. Well inside he made his way to the central chamber. The room was huge. Several floors with balconies and connecting stairs lined the tapering structure above him. In the ceiling there was a large glowing pentacle that bathed the room in red. Bhohb walked up to a small basin in the middle of the room. There didn’t seem to be a square centimeter of this basin that wasn’t inscribed with symbols or patterns. Bhohb detached the bottle from his belt and started to pour a clear liquid into it the bottle kept being poured for several minutes until the basin was almost full. With a snap of his fingers, Bhohb created a spark that ignited the liquid and from the flames a voice sounded.
“Hello, this is the secretary of Lord Khaa. To whom am I speaking?”
Bhohb answered without his normal syrupy tone, “This is Bhohb, tell our master that I’ll be sending a priority package in about an hour. This could be a 5th level threat.”
With that said he extinguished the flames and let his bottle siphon the remaining liquid from the basin. With motion of his hand a yellow imp appeared. The imp was slightly smaller than average but its two most noticeable features was the silver eyepatch it wore and a wicked looking dagger that it wore on its back.
“Ah, Carlston.” Bhohb exclaimed. “I’m sorry to summon you during your holiday but this is very important. I need you to bring the scroll of fate to Talia so that she can show her new friends. I’ve left a trail inside so that they won’t get lost. Bring Seth so that he can pull them out when they’re done.”
The nodded once and stretched its hands out, awaiting the magic scroll, but as it was handed over to him Bhohb felt like he needed to specify the mission slightly better.
“Ok, Carlston. There is this mean druid who can transform into stuff. Yes I know that she can’t take you on and that is why I’m sending you. But I think that the best way to approach this mission is witt and charm, alright?”
The imp tried to give him a winning smile but failed miserably.
“Ok, I need to go to my laboratory and do some research on this,” Bhohb held up the now dull gemstone. “and you need to get going”

by Tucker789 Sat May 06, 2017 10:42 am

51/2/1337 04:54

Bristie didn’t sleep well, a sick feeling kept coming to her, like when she had sensed the imp, only worse. She got up, and strolled upstairs to where the strange woman was resting. In her normal form, she slowly opened the door. It had slipped her mind to try to heal her when they found her, probably through the excitement and confusion of the night. Soro lifted her head as bristie entered, but bristie whispered she was only here to try to help. Regardless, Soro rose up and watched Bristie intensely, catching every motion she did.
Bristie raised her hands over the woman, and suddenly, the feeling returned. Holding back from vomiting, Bristie muttered “Sorry for disturbing you” and rushed out, leaving the door open. Vera had been walking down the hall as Bristie ran past, and closed the door before going to check up on her.
“Bristie, are you okay?”
“Something… something about this woman makes me sick.”
“Well I know she’s not like us, but there’s no need to be-”
“That’s not what I meant. Whatever caused her to be left in her current situation, it was demonic. I felt a similar way when I killed the imp in your house.”
“There was an imp in my house? Did it make a mess anywhere?”
“I think I got it in time, but it was like that, but much worse. I’ve been feeling sick since I helped you with that woman earlier, as if just being close to her was making me ill. And just now, I tried to heal her, but I felt it again! I don’t know what to make of it.”
“Well maybe something demonic happened to her, and that’s what you’re sensing. Here, I can give you some herbal tea to help you sleep, if you want.
“I’d like that very much, thank you.” Bristie gave Vera a weak smile, and Vera returned it, then left to go into the other room. After a few minutes, she returned with a tray, two cups of steaming tea on top.
“I couldn’t sleep either, I was already making this. It’s quite strong!”
Bristie nodded and took one cup. Breathing in the vapors, she noticed all the different herbs in the drink, though she did not know the names for them. She made a mental note to recreate it with her own herbs, for future use.
“Again, Vera, I’m sorry for the disturbances tonight. I had no idea this was going to turn into a whole ordeal! I thought it was just me following Isabella, but turns out there’s more going on. I uh… whoa that is strong!” Bristie’s eyes had already begun to droop. She looked over to vera, who was attempting to place her cup on the table between them, and barely made it. Leaning back in her chair, she silently whispered “too much… hebabababahhh…” and fell asleep. Moments later, Bristie was asleep as well.

52/2/1337 undetermined time.
Bristie’s eyes opened, but she could not move. Around her was fire, but she did not bother to look at it. Her eyes were fixed straight up, at a bearded man looking back down at her.
Suddenly she was small, infantile even. Her tiny hands grabbed the man’s beard and pulled, he winced in pain a bit but smiled.
“You’re okay sweet one. You’re safe with us.”
Bristie was picked up and rested against the man’s shoulder. Behind him was fiery ruins and death, but these concepts meant nothing to Bristie.
As the man ran off, Bristie could see a figure following. Large, dark, Angry. Such fury pulsated from the figure, but only Bristie felt it. Even though the man was running, the figure gained on them, and a shadow reached out to the baby. Bristie screamed, and the shadow dissipated.
“What ever is the matter, sweet one?” the man held bristie in his arms, looking down on her once more.
Bristie looked up at the man, and her fear was gone. She giggled and reached for the beard once more, but he held her hands in one of his, and sang her a lullaby.
The memories faded, sealed away in Bristie’s mind. Years passed in the blink of an eye, and when Bristie once again opened them, she was older. In her hands were a bow, she was making her first kill. She missed her shot, and the deer ran off into the woods. Bristie stomped her foot, the tree branch on which she was hiding shook.
“Easy now, you mustn’t get frustrated. Not always will we strike true, but in time it will coma as naturally as breathing.”
The man was standing on the forest floor looking up at her.
“It doesn’t make sense! I was aiming RIGHT at it! How could I miss? The bow must be broken!”
“You may have been aiming at it, but did you aim right?”
“What?”
“There are many things you must take into consideration, before making your shot. Did you take a moment to make sure you didn’t miss anything?”
Bristie turned away and slumped down against the truck of the tree.
“You have talent, young one. At this age, not many could boast to have your level of skill. In time, you will be able to calculate all of these things in the moment it takes to see, but that is still a long way off.” He paused a moment as he looked upon her, seeing her still quite flustered. He gave a quiet sigh and continued “Now, can you tell me where the deer went?”
Bristie tilted her head up, a single tear had managed to sneak its way onto her face, and she did not wish for him to see. She closed her eyes to let it slide away.
Bristie’s eyes opened once more, she was a grown woman now. Racing through the trees, intent on finding the source of the disturbance she had heard about from the animals.
It was a man, being savagely attacked by Azurian Wolves. Each greater than a bear, charging the man and tearing flesh and clothing off with their teeth or claws.
These wolves were violent, many times they did not care for eating their prey, they tortured them for sport.
Coming flying out of the trees, she knocked and let loose an arrow right into the wolf that was charging the man, and struck it in the shoulder. The wolf fell to the ground, and the others turned to face their new quarry.
Bristie was ready, her spear out in front of her. The wolves circled and attacked, but Bristie was always three steps ahead, dodging one and cracking another over the head.
After many wolves had fallen to her, the rest ran off. Bristie turned her attention to the man slowly dying in front of her. She rushed to him, held her hands over him and muttered a prayer in ancient Azurian. Her hands emitted a soft glow, which rapidly grew brighter, encasing her hands and forearms in a bright light, and the man as well.
As soon as it had appeared, the glow dissipated. The man sat up, and began feeling around his body. He was sore, but very much alive.
“T-Thank you so much! You, you have to be an angel!!”
Bristie held out her hand for the man to grab, and hoisted him up.
“The name is Bristiandie, but you can call me Bristie.”
“Bristie, pretty name for such a pretty girl. Oh! My name is Brenneth… just Brenneth.”
“Well, Brenneth, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Now, we must go, before they return. I do not wish to kill more than I have already!”
“Right… uhh, lead the way!”

8:36
“Bristie, let’s go!” Isabella was waiting at front door. Bristie was still a bit groggy from the tea, but she was scrambling around gathering her stuff and some things Vera had given them for their trip, with the promise they would return and tell her all about it.
“Right, I’m coming! And she came flying down the hall and almost barrelled into Isabella.
“I hope you have this energy the whole trip, we’re going to need it.” she commented, as Bristie picked up a couple things she had dropped… again.
“I’m sorry, I’m not normally like this! I just had trouble sleeping and Vera gave me that drink…” Bristie turned to motion to Vera, who was half asleep in her chair again. She gave a weak little wave and dropped her arm.
“Whatever. Lets just go.” and she opened the door. Bristie said goodbye to Vera for the fourth time, and closed the door behind her.. Though it was early, there were already a few people out on the streets.
“Looks like flying off here wouldn’t be the best idea. Let’s find an alley with less eyes on us.” Isabella said, and motioned to their left. They started towards it, then Bristie caught a familiar scent on the wind.
“BRISTIE!!” A man bellowed behind them. The group stopped, and turned in place. Isabella leaned over to Bristie and whispered “I thought you didn’t know anyone here…”
“I don’t.” Bristie replied, and looked over to the man walking towards them. He had a hood over his head, but as he stepped closer, Bristie recognized him.
“Brenneth?”
“Brenneth?”
“Brenneth!”
“Brenneth.”
“Bristie, WHAT are you doing here?”
“What are YOU doing here?”
“Why do we only ask questions and never answer them.”
“COULD YOU STOP YELLING SO EARLY IN THE MORNING?”
Vera had poked her head out of her front door, then saw the group all standing together. Isabella was impatiently sighing loudly and tapping her foot and Brenneth was pulling his hood down and glaring intensely at Bristie, who only looked at him with unbridled curiosity.
“Maybe… maybe we should go somewhere private, Bristie?”
“I’m sorry, but we were about to head out. I’m sure your business can wait.”
“Isa, please. This man is my friend, let him speak.”
“We don’t have the time! I wanted to be gone an hour ago!”
“Okay, head out first. I can catch up to you, just tell me where to find you.
Isabella sighed, then grumpily pulled out a map, then unfolded it. Talking quietly to set, she decided on a destination, then pointed it out to Bristie.
‘Here, meet up with us here. We can wait, but we won’t wait long. Be quick.”
Bristie nodded, then turned to Vera, who was still poking her head out.
‘Okay, fiiine. Come on in, again.”

8:46
Bristie and Brenneth settled down in Vera’s house again, in the bedroom Bristie and Isabella had slept in the night before. Bristie was pacing back and forth as Brenneth spoke, describing how he had managed to track her to the city.
“When I got to the trade village of Amposte I heard rumors of your the Dragon Priestess, and i knew I would be able to find you in the vicinity. Did not expect to stumble so blindly across you… but I have been fortunate like that in the past.”
“I see. Well I would like to go back, but even more so I want to finish what I have started here. You see, I have an opportunity to commune with an actual dragon! No one has seen one in… well I’m not sure how long, actually.”
Brenneth stepped up to her, though he was slightly shorter than her, he still gazed into her eyes.
“Bristie, that woman you were with, I can only assume she is the dragon priestess I’ve heard about. And If she is, you might not be safe in her company!”
“Her name is Isabella… I think. Heard her dragon almost say something else in reference to her, but he stopped himself. They didn’t think I could hear that, but as you well know, my hearing is particularly exceptional.”
“See? She’s hiding something! You owe the lady nothing, so just abandon this quest before you wind up in trouble. I’ve already heard many stories about her criminal activities, and I know very well how these people can act, even to their alleged partners.”
“You see, Brenneth, most of what I have heard turned out to be lies. I don’t sense anything evil or bad about her. She could be hiding something, but then again, don’t we all have secrets?”
Brenneth sat down at the edge of the bed, and motioned for her to sit next to him.
“I have a story to tell you, maybe it might convince you of the dangers you are facing if you pursue her.”
“Okay… but make it quick, she won’t wait for long.”
Brenneth sighed at her sarcastic tone. He was used to her impatience and stubbornness, but it never ceased to bother him. Over the time they had known each other, he had gotten used to letting it go.
“Alright. After we met, you asked about who I was, but I refused to answer. I guess, I can tell you once and for all who I really am… or rather, WHO I really was.”
Bristie looked keenly at him, sensing his serious tone coming on.
“A few years… well actually let’s go further back than that. It was… twenty or so years ago, I was a young lad who became infamous for what I did. I killed people, I hurt people, and though it might not make sense right now, those aren’t the worst things I did.”
Bristie had a look of horror come across her face as she heard this, but continued to listen.
“Bad, yes, I know. See, I was a different man back then. Some would even say the man I was died. I was well-known, well sought after. Before I had gotten to that point, I had travelled to the five greatest sword masters in the land, each taught me all they knew, and when I decided I could learn no more, I killed them. One after the other, they all died by my hand, and i went out into the world. Many challenged me, many more died. Many bounties were put up against me, and non were claimed. By the end, no one even dared to try to fight me. City guards looked the other way, Great generals showed respect, and kings treated me as their equal. My name was well- known throughout the criminal underworld, and up until a few years ago, I was essentially a major figurehead, people came to me looking for work like I was their ringleader. So, not only did I kill and hurt people, I sent others to kill and hurt people, and more. So, when i tell you that there are bad people out there, you have to understand just how bad.”
Brenneth stopped, he fidgeted with his hands and stared at them for a while, Bristie also remained quiet for a moment, then piped up.
“So… what happened?”
“You’re wondering how someone as allegedly skilled as I claimed to have been, suddenly turned into a monk who couldn’t fight off a pack of wolves?”
“Well… they were big wolves.”
“Indeed.” He paused. Giving a hefty sigh, he continued. “You see, there was a job. I was given it because no one else could do it. Me, and one other man… Elf, rather. I was mad, having a second accompany me was not something I lightly agreed to, and my employer had failed to mention it. Should have known then it was a setup. The Elf was named Aedryn, a lightning mage of… impressive skill. You see, we were supposed to kill some important lord in Pandora, but before we arrived, we were surrounded by guards. I thought it was no problem, I thought we had it under control… until Aedryn turned to me and the guards moved at me. I was furious, I went to draw my blade… but it never left the sheath. In the half a second it would’ve taken to pull it out and cut him down, he snapped his fingers and I was struck by a bolt of lightning. I never even saw it coming! When i came to, the guards were gone and I was laying in the clearing paralyzed. I could breathe, speak a bit, but my extremities were locked down.”
Brenneth pause again, took a sip of a drink Vera had provided him, and continued.
“I was expecting him to gloat. I was expecting him to arrest me. I was expecting something else… but he just sat next to me and we talked. We talked about people… people I had met. People i had hurt, or killed, and their families. I don’t remember how long he talked, I remember the sun setting and rising again, perhaps even a couple times. I wanted to kill him, at first. But then i listened in. there was a man, dont remember his name. See, he was a farmer, and I wanted money. I robbed him on a bridge, beat him senseless and took all his coin. He was going to town to buy seeds for his farm, new rotation and all. Because that was all his money, he couldn’t plant for that season. His neighbors tried to help, but come winter they were all snowed in. When the family was found, they were dead. Some had frozen to death, others had starved.”
Brenneth became choked up, but continued.
“Then, there was a lord. He was a rich lord with a big heart, fed all the poor around the Pandoran capitol. He was in the middle of setting up a public fund for housing and feeding the families, even getting them work. While he had supporters, once I killed him they all backed off. The poor around the capitol died, and the other lords began tightening their coinpurses.”
Bristie reached around him and rested her hand on his shoulder, and leaned her head against his. He responded in kind, a tear escaping down his face.
“There were more… so many more…” and at that he could not contain himself.
“Whe… when he was finished, he helped me up. He helped ME up. The… the man who was laying there before was dead, and I took his place. I kept nothing, not even the name. That man is dead, and left to rot there. I left my weapon, my armor, my money. I did keep one ring… it was important to my family. Aedryn never collected the bounty on me, he said his reward was seeing a great evil purged from this world. He told me of a place I may go to seek redemption, and I went there. I had no idea where i was going, but when i met you i knew I had found it.”
Bristie blushed at this, and a smile grew across her face.
“I’m glad it was you who stood up in that clearing, and I’m glad it was you who made their way to me. You have been a dear friend ever since we met.” and with that Bristie gave him a hug, and released him. “But that does not dissuade me from going… though it does make me cautious about who I should trust.”
Brenneth stood up, and stretching out, he turned to her and said, with a smile “Then I have succeeded to some extent. Not everyone has good intentions, and some will try to use you. If you must go… keep an eye on that girl.”
Bristie nodded, and made for the door. As she reached out for the handle, she stopped. Brenneth saw this and asked “Is something wrong?”
Bristie nodded, and released the handle. She turned to Brenneth, her expression turned grim.
“I… I really can’t keep this to myself anymore… but there’s another reason I am leaving.”
Brenneth looked at her for a bit, worry coming over him.
“I… I’ve never mentioned this to ANYONE… but I know I can trust you. Let’s have a seat again.”
Brenneth nodded and sat back down, and Bristie returned to her seat as well.
\”You remember, it was last fall… Master Mairriye had a bunch of us go through through that meditation lesson, trying to reach our innermost self and all that nonsense?”
“Yeah, I remember. I found it quite relaxing, but you seemed agitated. You were gone for three days after that, and were excluded from future sessions, by your own request.”
‘Yes, well I believe I saw something from my past then. It wasn’t much, but I could see a village, and it was on fire. The flames were dark, blackish even. And there was… anger. I remember seeing a figure, and it was angry. I don’t know what it was directed towards, but it made me uncomfortable.”
“Why didn’t you mention this before?”
“Because of what I’m about to tell you. You see, I left the sanctuary woods after that, I kept travelling into unfamiliar territory. I then stumbled across the middle of a murder. Three men had tied another upside-down from a tree and were bleeding him out. I tried… I really tried to free him, but the three others were VERY very skilled. No matter how I tried to attack, they repelled it. They were about to strike me down when…” and she drifted off. She looked straight ahead, as if she was a thousand leagues away, her eyes filled with horror.
“Bristie? Bristie what was it?”
“I… I brought my arm up to block his weapon… but it wasn’t my arm anymore. It was black… and wicked. Evil poured off of it like smoke. The weapon was made out of Elvensmith Startsteel, but it never even bit into my skin. In fact, I crushed it in my hand like it was paper. After that, I lost control, the anger from before was released… I screamed in my head, but it wasn’t enough. I could see what my body was doing, but I could not stop it. I did not just kill those men, I tore them apart. Slowly. Even the man hanging from the tree. When it was over, I regained control… but it was too late. I tried… I tried to heal them, but I couldn’t… I had done too much damage. I was able to bury them, plant seeds in their graves and make them grow… create life from their deaths… but I havn’t been the same since that day.”
Bristie had been fighting back her tears, but they were streaming down her face now.
“I guess this is a day for the waterworks, eh?” Brenneth joked. Through her tears, Bristie let out a pained laugh, but it did not last long.
“Brenneth… Something happened to me, in my past. Something evil and demonic has influenced me… and the worst part is, is I can’t remember! At night, I have trouble sleeping sometimes. I can sense the presence of evil too. I don’t know how following Isabella will help me, but after I heard about her, it was the first time I had forgotten about that day. In fact, at the door there I had only just remembered it. No offense to you, but it’s as if you coming here brought those memories with you.I can’t go back, not now.”
“You’re hoping getting caught up in some crazy adventure will make you forget about it again? You’re hoping if you never go back to the sanctuary, those memories will stay buried?” Brenneth seemed slightly offended, but Bristie did not catch on.
“Yes! I think it might just all go away… if I never see you again.” She did not immediately understand how those words had sounded.
“Bristie… I would not be able to carry on, if you were not there. Ever since you saved me, you have been the one thing keeping me going. You were always so positive, so cheerful. Seeing you, it made me forget what horrors there were, hiding just beneath the surface of my own thoughts. Bristie, you gave me LIFE again. If I didn’t see you again… I couldn’t go on like I am now.”
Bristie stared wide-eyed at Brenneth, suddenly realizing what she had said, and slowly figuring out what he had said. Brenneth grabbed her hands, and turned to her. He looked into her eyes for a moment, and whispered “Bristiandie… I am in love with you.”
Silence. Bristie looked into his eyes, and him into hers. Suddenly, he pushed forward, closing his lips on hers. Instinctively, she grabbed his shoulders and was about to push back, but was overcome with the emotions. Her eyes closed, and she reciprocated the kiss. His hands were brought up to her face, and he gently caressed her there, slowly sliding his hands back, intertwining his fingers in her hair, Her hands were resting on his hips at this point. Though it had only been a few moments, hours seemed to pass for her, until it was interrupted by a tray being dropped and Vera yelping in surprise.
“Oh… OH dear! I- I didn’t mean to… i uh… I was… I’m gonna go now. Sorry! I thought you had left!” she stumbled out of the room in haste, tripping over herself and looking highly embarrassed. Bristie and Brenneth had released each other, looking down at their own hands and chuckling slightly.
“Kind of awkward for our first kiss, eh? I uh.. I’m sorry, that was a bit sudden. I don’t know what came over me there, I just-”
Bristie held a finger against his lips, making a “Shhhhh” sound and leaned in for another kiss. This one was shorter, but it held so many unspoken words. When they released each other again, Bristie stood up.
“I’m sorry Brenneth, but I must go. I… I didn’t realize what i meant to you… I’m really sorry about what I said.”
“Will you come back?”
“Will I-? Yes. In time. But for now, I must go, I have to see this through.” she turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm.
“Bristie.”
“Yes?” she turned back to him, and saw he was taking a ring off his finger.
“Make it a promise. Promise me you will return that to me. And when you do, promise we will be together.”
Bristie broke another smile, her face flushed red again. She took the ring, and held it in her hand. Engraved in it was a wolf and a dragon, chasing each other in a circle around the outside of the ring. The eye of the wolf was a sapphire, and the eye of the dragon was an emerald.
“It’s uhh…. It’s a symbol of my house. All my family had one made for them at birth. I was supposed to marry into another wealthy family and continue the line… but that won’t be happening, seeing as who I was is not essentially dead.”
“It’s beautiful… but what are you giving it to me for?”
“As a promise. I will give you this ring now, and you have to promise you will return it to me.”
“Why… why not just promise I’ll see you again?”
“Well… this way you will have something to remind you of your promise. Every day you will see it and remember.” as he said this, he closed her hand around the ring that had been resting in her palm. “Take it, and keep your promise.”
Bristie gave a sigh and nodded, putting the ring into a pouch along her side. This time, she really did get up to leave, not hesitating. Brenneth stood up as well, but waited for her to leave.
As Bristie walked towards the door to leave the house, she encountered Vera once again, who hastily apologized for walking in on them again.
“I’m so sorry, I hadn’t heard anything for a bit, I thought you two had left! Please forgive me!”
Bristie simply laughed, and held Vera by the shoulder in a playful manner.
“Vera, there is nothing to forgive. It was… it was funny to say the least. Don’t worry about it.” Vera smiled in reply, then went to open the door for Bristie to let her out. They once again said their goodbyes, and Bristie walked out the door.
Bristie began walking down the street. It had become much busier now, many people passing by. Bristie dodged between them and made her way to the entrance of the city. As she walked, she couldn’t help but notice most of the people out were guards. More specifically, they were guards wearing a similar emblem to the knights who had hosted the ball that was intended to trap Isabella. When Bristie noticed them, she caught a familiar scent on the wind, she recognized the scent of the man who had accompanied her to the city from the woods.
“I can’t let him find me, he would ask too many questions!” she thought, then quickened her pace. She heard footsteps speeding up behind her as she quickened. She took a turn down a different street, and saw more guards.
“Stop, Bristiandie!” Shouted a voice, the voice of the captain who had been in charge of the setup to capture isabella. Bristie turned and saw him, with a contingent of guards behind her, each drawing their weapons. “We have you surrounded! Stop right now and speak with us!”
Bristie WAS surrounded, but it did not mean she had to stop. Spinning in place, her cloak morphed around her body, and suddenly her body took the form of a great eagle. She shot up from the street, leaving behind the confused guards and captain.
“Now, I need to find Isabella.” She thought, and proceeded towards their arranged meeting place.

9:24
Brenneth had waited for Bristie to leave. His desire to try to persuade her to stay with him still burned strong, but he knew he could not follow through with it, so he had let her go ahead of him. He finished his drink, and walked out of the room. Vera was still waiting for him, and jumped up from her seat when he came out.
“I can take that for you!” and she reached out to take his cup and plate.
“Vera, I must thank you for your hospitality. I am surprised you went out of your way to host strangers such as myself and Bristie.”
“Well, Mr. Brenneth, I must admit, it wasn’t out of selflessness. I have been very… lonely for a while.”
“Excuse me?”
“I live in a house that has upstairs and downstairs bedrooms, yet only one person resides here. It begs to reason that at one point more people lived here. And there were, many people living here. It’s just… they left a while ago, and it has been dreadfully quiet ever since. Until they return, I will always be happy to assist those needing a place to stay, as long as they behave themselves.”
Brenneth nodded in agreement. “Well, Vera, I must be off. It has been nice, and the drinks were excellent. Perhaps I will return again.”
“You and your friends are always welcome, have a safe trip!” and with that she closed the door behind him. Brenneth set out for home, still replaying his last few moments in his head.
“She loves me too…” He repeated over and over in his head, hastening his journey home.

53/2/1337
12:52 PM
Brenneth had finally arrived back at the sanctuary. He was met with questions about Bristie’s whereabouts, but only gave simple answers.
“She’s on an adventure” or “She’s spending time exploring the world” he would reply, as he made his was into the main building. Walking up the steps, he threw open the doors. Six men were waiting inside, gathered around a table. Spread open on top of the table were scrolls, books, and maps. Around the room were several Guards, a shield and spear held against themselves, standing at attention. The men looked up to Brenneth in unison as he entered.
“Ah, Brother, come in. Guards, please leave us, and seal the door behind you.” The guards nodded, and getting into formation, marched out of the room. The last two in formation turned and closed the great hefty doors, and turned a handle on the outside, which dropped a large metal bar across the doors, preventing them from being opened from the outside. As it fell, a shimmer of magic spread across the door and around the outside of the building- it was a spell that prevented anyone outside the building from seeing or hearing inside.
“Come, brother. There is much to discuss.” the man who had spoke the first time spoke again. His long, greying beard and two shining silver eyes showed from inside the darkened hood he had drawn. They others shared a similar appearance, minus the beard.
“What is going on? Has something happened while I was away?”
“Indeed, Brenneth. Why did you not bring Bristiandie back with you?”
“She uhh… she persuaded me to let her go.”
“You mean your feelings for her got in the way, and you caved in to her wishes?” another man spoke up. The first man told him to hold his tongue, then continued.
“Brenneth, we must know all you heard from her and witnessed out there. Leave nothing out.”
Brenneth sighed and told them what Bristie said, leaving out what she had told him in confidence. When he finished, the others muttered to themselves for a little, but the man spoke up once again.
“Are you sure that is it? Did she not tell you something else, something she may not have wished others to hear?”
“Yes, but she told me in confidence. I can’t break my word so easily.”
“Brother, Bristie’s life may be in danger.We need to know what she said if we are to help. What is more important- keeping your word or saving her life?”
Brenneth had been pacing back and forth across the room as he had been retelling his encounter. The others had taken seats. Upon hearing this last part, brenneth sighed and moved towards the table, and pulled out a chair. He leaned in over the table and looked intently at the others, and told them of Bristie’s attack in the forest last fall.
The room fell silent. One man cracked open a book and began rustling through pages, and the others looked back and forth to each other.
“Brenneth. We must ask you once again to find and retrieve Bristiandie. This time, you MUST bring her back. Not only is her life in danger now, but we fear this whole world could be put into jeopardy.”
“Surely, that is a bit extreme?” Brenneth almost scoffed at the sound of what the man said.
“Indeed, it is not. Yeealahr, bring me that book.”
A younger hooded man stood up, walked to another table where the old man was pointing, and brought back an ancient tome. The old man cracked it open, and muttering to himself, shuffled through the pages.
“Ahh… here it is. The Usari. Brenneth, you must read this, and understand the implications.”

by Shogun Hidora Sat May 06, 2017 6:47 pm

52/2/1337 12:00

The three dismounted near the cave entrance.
"Why have we stopped here?" Balthazar asked. "I thought he was in the city."
"He is," Zero replied. "This cave leads to a cavern beneath the city. Very few know of its existence."
"I doubt that. Seems far too obvious."
"The cave, yes. The cavern, no. The entrance is quite small, and difficult to find."
"How do you know so much about this anyway?"
"I have my ways," Zero replied, a smirk on his face.
"Very well. Lead on then."
Zero produced torches from the bag on his horse, and lit them, before giving Balthazar and Zero one each. They then made their way into the cave, which quickly made a sharp turn to the left, sloping downwards.

"So, this White Rose you're in is a group of assassins, yes?"
"That is correct."
"And you all meet in some sort of headquarters from time to time?"
"Yes."
"So you must know the one who killed my parents then, right?"
At this, Zero looked at Balthazar. "Straight to the point I see..."
"Who is he?"
"I can't tell you."
Balthazar glared back at him. "Maybe I'll just have to torture you for it then."
"That would be rather pointless on your part. Even if I did know, torture would not be enough to get it out of me."
"So you don't know?"
"Correct."
"But surely you've at least seen him there?"
"No."
"No? How?"
"Simple. He's not one of us."
"Not one of you?"
"Yes. He left long ago."
"But surely someone knows who he is then?"
"Everyone who did is dead. I thought you of all people would have known that."
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"You never wondered why he came back for your sisters?"
"So you can pry into my personal business, but you can't identify a member of your own group?"
"Easy," Zack called out. "That's enough."
"Just find us that cavern," Balthazar said, turning away from them.

Ahead, the cave reached what appeared to be a dead-end.
"Stand aside," Zero said, moving ahead of them. He reached the end, and started feeling along the wall.
"Found it!" he called out, reaching his hand into a small hole in the wall. He then cried out in pain, and Balthazar and Zack both drew their blades.
"Got you!" Zero called out, laughing. He pulled out his arm from the hole, which was perfectly fine.
"This isn't the time for games," Balthazar sternly replied, as he put away his sword. "Did you find the entrance?"
"Of course," Zero replied. He then reached into the hole, and turned something inside. Beside him, a section of the wall swung out, revealing a hidden passage way. "Follow me."

They entered the passage, and noticed a strange glow around them. Looking up, they found the source: glowing crystals on the roof, lighting their way.
"Shouldn't we have found someone by now?" Zack asked, as they continued down the passage. "This feels like a trap."
"It's fine," Zero replied. "I doubt they'd be expecting anyone hostile coming down here anyway. No-one knows how to open the entrance except them."
"So how do you you know then?" Balthazar asked, glaring at him.
"I told you. I have my ways," Zero replied, shrugging.
"Suit yourself."

They came to another door at the end of the passage, this time easily visible and made of wood. Balthazar pushed it open slightly, and peered through. "I can't make anything out. Be careful."
They opened it wider and entered the room ahead. The crystals here were a lot dimmer, and they couldn't make out how large the room was. They continued forwards, noticing the occasional pillar on either side as they went forward.
"Welcome." They heard a voice, seeming to come from all around them. "I've been expecting you."
The crystals lit up, and they could clearly see their surroundings. They were in the centre of a large cavern, held up in several places by large stone pillars. Around them in every direction were mercenaries, about 30 or so altogether. At the far end of the room, opposite the one they had entered in through, they noticed a large solid steel gate, with several smaller doors on either side. To one side of the far wall, standing next to a group of levers, was a man with a short grey beard, dressed in a white coat.
"My name is Viktor," he called out to them. "But I'm sure you knew that already." He then gave a signal with his hand, and two more mercenaries came out from one of the smaller doors, dragging another figure with a bag over his head between them. They brought him to a space between Viktor and the group, then put him down and lifted the bag from his head. It was the shopkeeper Zack and Zero had seen yesterday.
"Now I'm going to teach you what happens to those who dare to cross me."
The mercenary on the shopkeepers right then drew his sword, and severed the shopkeeper's head.
"Take him to the workshop. I'm sure we can put his body parts to good use." He then gave an evil grin, as the two mercenaries dragged his body back through the door. "Now, kill these three, and bring them to the workshop when you're done."
The mercenaries surrounding the group then charged towards them, swords, axes and hammers in their hands. Balthazar and Zack both threw knives at them, killing a few, before drawing their blades and charging at them. Zero just stood where he was, observing the other two at work.

The mercenaries were quickly taken care of.
"Impressive," Viktor said. "Truly, you live up to the legends." An evil grin then came over his face, before he continued. "But I doubt even you can stand against my newest creation!" He then pulled one of the levers next to him, and the large gate began to open. From within, they could hear growls, as if from some strange beast. They then heard heavy footsteps approaching from the darkness within. A black figure emerged, a head taller than any of the others. It appeared to be human, but clad in some strange armor, made from a single solid piece of black metal.
"Behold, my creation! Now go my knight, and destroy these fools!"
The knight sniffed the air, then, noticing the scent of the intruders, charged directly at them, blades coming from its arms as it did. It swung at Zero, but was blocked by Balthazar's sword.
"I'll take care of this creature," he said, pushing back the armoured figure. "You two go for Viktor."
"Right," Zack replied, and they made their way to the opposite side of the room. The knight, however, turned towards them, and charged. Balthazar threw a knife at it, but it simply glanced off the knight's armour. He then ran towards the knight, swinging his sword at it. It, too, simply glanced off the armour. However, it did distract the knight from the other two. It swung its arm, sending Balthazar flying acroos the room, slamming him into one of the pillars. It then charged at him, but he quickly rolled away, and the knight broke through the pillar, causing the roof above to fall onto it.

Noticing that Viktor had started to run towards a door on the opposite wall, Zack threw a dagger at him, pinning his coat to the wall. He tried to pull it out, and succeeded right as Zack and Zero reached him. He kicked Zack away, then began to run past them, towards Balthazar and the knight.

The knight broke out from under the rocks, then charged at Balthazar. It lunged towards Balthazar, arm blade held out. Balthazar quickly ducked, and the knight stabbed the wall instead, burying it's blade deep into the rock. Balthazar then swung his sword at the knight, but it simply swung it's arm around, knocking Balthazar back again. It then managed to free its blade, and swung around, leaping towards Balthazar, who was still on the ground. Balthazar put down one of his swords, then gripped the other with both hands and held it up. The knight then landed on the sword, impaling itself. It gave one last gurgling cry, then went limp. Balthazar rolled it over, then pulled out his sword, wiping the black blood onto the knight's corpse. He then turned to go towards the others. Hopefully they'd managed to stop Viktor from escaping.

Viktor had only managed to go a step or two, then just stopped running. Zack and Zero then saw the point of a sword exit his back, sending a spray of blood out as well. They then heard a laugh, and a cloaked figure materialized before them, red glowing eyes staring out from his white skull mask. His right hand was holding the handle of the sword that had impaled Viktor.
"Really Five? Can't just let us have the glory this time?" Zack called out to him, annoyed.
"Five?" the cloaked figure replied in a deep, sinister voice. "Don't worry. I'll be paying him a visit next." He then held out his left hand, and a sword materialized in it, which he then swung up, decapitating Viktor. "Naturally, I'll be killing you two first." He then held out his hands. As he did, the two swords vanished, replaced by a two-handed axe. He then swung it towards them, but it was knocked out of his hands by a throwing knife from Balthazar, who was running towards them. "Run!" he called out, drawing his swords. Zack and Zero then began to run away from the assassin, towards the entrance they had come through earlier.
"You again!" the assassin called out, summoning his two swords again. "I'm going to enjoy putting you down for good this time." He then charged at Balthazar, and their swords clashed.

Zack looked over his shoulder, and noticed that Balthazar was fighting the assassin. "We have to do something."
"There's nothing we can do," Zero replied. "We have to go now, or his sacrifice will have been in vain."
"I'm going to help him."
"Zack!"
"Look out!" he called out to Balthazar, as he threw knives at the assassin. The assassin, however saw them coming, and summoned a shield, blocking the knives.
"You'll pay for that, you insolent dog!" he yelled, and summoned several swords around him, sending them flying towards Zack. Zack then ran for cover behind one of the pillars, but was still hit in the leg by one as he ducked behind cover. Balthazar, enraged further by this, began swinging harder and faster at the assassin, but still couldn't break through the assassin's swords.
"Good," the assassin said, seeming to enjoy Balthazar's intensified attack. "Let your anger build up. Know that it will be your doom!" He then summoned another sword, sending it towards Balthazar's leg, slicing it as it passed through. Balthazar stumbled, but quickly recovered, charging more furiously at the assassin. "It doesn't matter how strong or how angry you get. It will never be enough to stop me!" He then summoned another blade, slicing Balthazar's other leg. Balthazar dropped, but then picked himself back up. "Why do you persist with this pointless endeavour? You cannot save these two, just like you could not save your precious family. You cannot save anyone from me!"
"Enough!" Balthazar became even more enraged, and charged at the assassin, both swords held up for a strike. The sword in the assassin's left hand vanished, and was replaced with a spear, which he stuck into Balthazar's stomach. Balthazar coughed up blood, and his swords fell to the ground. The assassin then pulled out the spear, and dematerialized it, laying his other hand on his sword. He then raised it up to decapitate Balthazar, but was then sent flying back by a large boulder flying towards him. It carried him with it, and slammed into the wall of the cavern, before crumbling away.
"He won't take long to recover," Zero said. "We need to go now."
"No," Balthazar replied, struggling to his feet. "I'm going to finish this now!"
He managed to make it to his feet, but then collapsed back onto the ground, passing out.

Zero walked over to Balthazar and slung him over his shoulder, before picking up his swords. He then walked over to where Zack was, and helped him back onto his feet. They then walked out the entrance, where Zero then put down Balthazar.
"Put your hands here," he said to Zack, pointing to the spear wound. He then stood up and cast a spell, bringing down the roof of the cavern behind them.
"He needs help soon," Zack said. "He's not going to last much longer."
"Looks like I have no other choice then," Zero replied. He took a glowing stone out of his pocket, and began inscribing a magic circle on the ground around them with it. "There's a monastery in the south of Azura. Best healers in all the lands. They'll be able to save him." He then chanted in an ancient language, and there was a blinding flash of light. When it faded, they were gone.

53/2/1337 00:00

The city was quiet. No-one dared to be out at this time of night with Viktor and his gang roaming the streets. The only movement came from the occasional animal. One such animal, a pure white cat, had just spotted a mouse, and began chasing it down the street. The street began to shake, and then burst open, a large sword coming out of it. A cloaked figure rose up from the hole, standing on a shield. The cat hissed at the figure, who walked over to it. He then summoned another sword and sliced the cat in half, before disappearing.

by Seamoose Sun May 14, 2017 9:34 pm

After a moment Zack found himself next to Zero and Balthazar in an unfamiliar place. The entirety of it looked like it was made of wood, but before he had time to analyze anything several spears approached to his throat. Looking around he noticed they were elves and in confusion glared at Zero who was responsible for this. Zero picked up on his confusion, but didn’t respond directly to him.

“Hello there, uhm, before stabbing us could you possibly assist our dying friend? I was told to come back here anytime I was in need of healing.”

Zack wasn’t saying anything, but they weren’t moving their weapons away from them just yet and he felt that this was wasting time and putting Balthazar’s life in more danger than it already was.

“Look, whoever you are, whatever you may think of us, I don’t really care. But please help our friend before he bleeds to death in front of your doorstep!” Zack yelled out a bit causing slight aggression from them, but they soon calmed down as a man walked over with a long grey beard. He looked over to them and without a single word only had motions signaled them to take all three inside. Zack was in no better condition, but his life wasn’t in danger. When they went inside to get healed he received a warning from one of the healers.

“You may experience a bit of discomfort or hallucinatory effects. So I advise you keep your eyes closed for this as it may lead to unwanted effects if you move too much.”

“Okay…” Zack a bit hesitant laid down on one of the beds and looked over to Balthazar who was surrounded completely unlike Zack who was being treated by a single person. “Is he going to be okay?”

“We do not know yet. We can only hope that his will can surpass whatever he may see as these effects take a toll on your mental state. But we will try our best.”

Receiving only a vague answer Zack closed his eyes and as he was told he began seeing strange things in front of him. Nothing was making sense to him as ravens flocked around Zero and after blocking his view Zero was now Balthazar and once more no one stood there.

While Zack’s dreams weren’t as logical, Balthazar’s were direct. Finding himself in a snowy plain he observed his surroundings until he saw a figure in the distance that seemed unrecognizable. He was hidden behind a fierce blizzard storming through the area, only shadowy outlines that peaked Balthazar’s interest in the figure. He started slowly making his way through the blizzard only to be pushed back completely where he started. After a moment’s notice the blizzard had stopped and Balthazar could finally see the man standing there was his nemesis, the reason he is where he is and before him were dozens among dozens of bodies impaled on spears. Many faces Balthazar had wished he had forgotten, but lurked in the back of his mind, the faces of his old companions, his friends and his family.

“You’ll pay for all of this…”

“I’m afraid you’re the only one paying and not even with your own life. You bring death with every step you lead, you bring suffering and harm to all those around you yet you never submit and learn. You are the true monster here, your selfish actions for revenge is leading everyone to their deaths, just like it will lead those two.”

The assassin motioned behind him and Balthazar closed his eyes and took a long breath before turning his head to find both Zack and Zero still alive and well running over to him. He wanted to call out that it’s too late, that this is a trap, but all he could hear was the laughing of the man who was about to sever their heads before he woke up in a cold sweat. Looking through the room he noticed he was in an unfamiliar place, but his wounds were almost fully healed. The visions he saw were no joke to him, they weren’t something he could brush off as a dream, they were going to happen one way or another and he knew the only way to stop it was to get far away from them.

After swiftly packing his bags and grabbing his swords he was about to leave when a familiar face lurking behind the door closed it in front of him.

“Well well, what brings you fully geared, but not fully healed in such a rush to leave?” Zero smiled jokingly, but he was met with a serious expression that made his smile soon fade to a serious glare.

“Move, I have no time to rest.” Balthazar tried pushing Zero out of the way but he walked in front of him now and Balthazar was taken aback. His glare sent a chill down his spine, but he was eager on leaving and he knew he was bluffing.

“You see, that’s exactly what a person who needs rest shouldn’t be saying when his wounds could reopen with a single swing with those swords of his.”

“Move.”

“I don’t think so.”

“If you had such power to get us away, why did you not use it on the person who almost killed us all?”

“You have no filters do you? Always directly to the point…sheesh, how am I supposed to answer that when you won’t even tell me why you’re leaving?”

“Not that you were planning on revealing your reasons anyway.”

“Busted.”

“I cannot stay here much longer, it will put you both in danger once more. This is something I must do alone.”

“Ah the martyr approach to things, very honorable, but you see it’ll get you killed before you can do anything.”

“I’ve handed him more lives than it should have been. It should be just mine, yet so many die around me.”

“So you feel the need to avenge every single death by waging war on a man out of your league singlehandedly once again. You won’t win.”

“At least you’ll be alive to witness it.”

Zero was a bit annoyed, but he had no way of putting it through Balthazar’s head that he needs them. Without anything else to try to convince him to stay, Zero moved out of the way and let him pass.

“Well enjoy your own death sentence.”

“Thank you. But you should really stop hiding things at least from those who are trusting you and aren’t fully aware of your capabilities.” Balthazar turned his gaze towards Zack’s room and then quickly walked off making sure Zero noticed.

“I’ll get back to you on that one, bud.” Zero turned his gaze towards Zack’s room as well pondering through his mind how he’ll possibly explain this to him in the morning, but with the thought annoying him enough he just decided to go back to sleep.

In the morning Zack felt like he had the worst headache ever after all of the things he had to witness in his sleep passed by. He got up from his bed and walked around noticing that everyone around him was either sharpening their weapons or picking out armor. After walking around a bit and being stopped by several healers along the way asking how he is, he found Zero outside on the roof relaxing. He swiftly jumped up to him and looked around the vast forest area. It seemed to Zack like it went on to the end of the world as there was no boundary in it.

“Oh hey sleepy, how was the dreams?” Zero jokingly said as he motioned for him to sit down.

“Have you ever been stabbed through the gut 147 times?”

“No…”

“Well I have, just this night actually. I lost count at some point, but I think it was that estimate. So how’d you sleep and what’s the news on Balthazar? He any better?”

At the mention of Balthazar, Zero sat up. He looked dumbfounded for a moment and then laid back down.

“Oh that guy. He left this morning secretly.”

Zack was about to throw a tantrum, but decided to follow through Zero’s cool and chill act after realizing he had seen him.

“Not that secret if someone knew about it then.”

“I guess, but it’s me after all. Nothing of interest can really sneak by me.”

“I see…but how did he leave if he was such an interest to you?”

“I let him leave.”

“Why?” Zack was getting a bit irritated.

“He wanted to, not my place to stop a man that determined.”

“Determined to do what exactly? Ditch us?”

“As much as I’d love to pry into his business, he had that look on his face that even if I chained him down he’d want to leave. So take it this way and don’t pry into places that can’t be cracked unless you break the entire thing.” Zero set up with a serious tone in his voice.

Zack wanted to continue, but he hadn’t heard Zero be so serious in a while, not even when they were fighting that man was he this serious. Backing off the topic Zack saw some men leaving fully armored and prepared.

“Wonder what’s going on here.”

“I was waiting for you to get up so we can go investigate.”

“I assume by investigate you mean “our” way of investigation.”

“Precisely.”

“Alright, let’s get to business.”

After both of them jumped down from both sides of the building they began looking through the rooms. Zack looked for any sort of documents or paperwork, but after finding nothing related to that he decided it was time to eavesdrop on people. He started listening in on conversations about what was required and how to be fireproof. But then the man spoke of dragons and confused Zack. He thought for a moment what it could mean and realized it was something Zero had mentioned before and decided he heard just about everything he needed to and met with Zero who was already waiting on the roof for him.

“You’re quick.”

“No, you’re just slow.”

“Very funny.” Zack’s sarcasm made Zero chuckle.

“So what did you find out? I heard they were going on a rescue mission.”

“Rescue mission huh…maybe from dragons as they mentioned those several times over.”

“Could very well be our next target on the list.” Zero said excitedly as things seemed to have worked in their favor.

“Our next target huh…Balthazar should hear of it really. He isn’t aware of any of this and he’s still on the same mission as us.”

“I’m curious when your strange attachments to people will stop. But who am I kidding, you’re emotionally attached to a rodent.” At the sound of that a small white creature crawled up from Zack’s shirt and jumped onto Zero’s face attacking him. “Okay okay! Who’d expect you to be hiding in a man’s shirt, you perverted rodent!”

After watching Zero be furiously attacked by Weiss, he called her back petting her head. He devised a plan with Zero on how to get themselves involved in this and went down to talk with what seemed to be the leader, but Zero stops by some other people and starts a conversation with them.

“What’s all the gear for? Surely you can’t be attacked not this place.”

“We’ebeheadin out to bring back a certain stray of ours.”

“Stray? Didn’t know your place could have those. You all seem like a well organized family.”

“All too kind of you, stranga and she ain’t really a stray, she just loves to wonder off in sign of adventure. Damn kids these days.”

“Everyone usually does when it’s their calling or something like that I hear.”

“Well, her calling is going to get her in a lot of trouble where she’s headed. Blasted Dragon Priestess had to show up and cause a scene.”

“Dragon Priestess? THE infamous Dragon Priestess of Pandora?”

“Aye. And she’s leavin with our girl from the capital, headed somewhere west of there.”

“You know that’s just who we were searching for.” Zack cut into the conversation, but was quickly met with a knife. In response to it Zack jumped back and got in a battle position.

“How do you outsidas know about our Bristie?”

“Bristie? Wasn’t the Dragon Priestess’s name Isabelle?”

“Who bloody cares about some high and mighty dragon lady. What do you folk want with Bristieiz my here question?”

“Nothing actually, we want Isabelle, not Bristie.” Zack tried to reason with him after loosening his stance. But that wasn’t enough to not attract attention from higher elder as they almost started a full blown fight.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“A more uncivil misunderstanding really.”

“Explain.”

After Zero began explaining the situation to the old man, he understood their reasons and then allowed them to join their expedition to finding the group both had interest in. Zack seemed uneasy about things, but soon made up with the elven man who almost cut his throat and it seemed like they were best buddies. But right before heading out he asked Zero a favor.

“Could you do me a favor once we head out?”

“If it doesn’t involve payment I probably won’t.”

“Jackass.”

“Hehe. Well what is it?” After receiving a letter from Zack and a small leather bag, he was told to take it to Balthazar. “How do you expect me to find him?”

“As you always say you have your ways.”

“I have got to stop using that, you sound so uncool saying it. I don’t want you picking up on it.”

“Do you really think you sound that cool?”

“Waaaaaaay cooler than you.”

“Just go will you.”

“On it.” With that said, Zero focused on a certain location where he assumed Balthazar would be. Once he was in front of him, but a bit in the distance, Zero cast an old spell he found very useful, time stop. He walked over to Balthazar and stuffed the letter in the side of his backpack and the herbs as well and after it was done he simply walked behind him and vanished.

Balthazar kept walking forward until he felt like there was a presence behind him, but when he turned his head, no one was there. He pulled his guard up, but also assumed those two might be following him, with nothing more keeping them together he continued his journey alone.

After a moment passed, Zero was already back before him.

“Sometimes I really do believe you’re just too fast to be human.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad to me. Come on now, let’s get ready to go.”

“Wonder what dragons are like?”

“Well, assuming the story books are true, they’re twice the size of your house, about 15 times your age and are carnivores. So pretty scary.”

“Sounds like a really fun person if she’s able to be living among those creatures.”

“You never know, she could just be a dragon in disguise too.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m just saying.”

by SergeantTurtle Mon May 29, 2017 2:53 pm

51/2/1337 11:39
Talia woke up due to the sun shining in her face and slowly started opening her eyes. She found herself in bed, in an unknown room. As she looked around she could see the beautiful wooden interior and the open window, giving the room a lovely smell of flowers.
"You know..." Talia was startled by a voice at the edge of the bed.
"For being such an athlete, you sleep alot." Sorodona eyed her with a smirk.
"Sorodona? Where are w- Owww!" Talia tried sitting up straight in the bed but was met with a crushing pain in her limbs and back, forcing her down in bed again.
"This is the house of a very lovely elf, Vera. She and a shapeshifting druid called...Bristie I believe.. helped you inside. You were lying unconsious outside the entrance. So what I am wondering is... what happened to you?"
"I... to be honest I wish I knew. Last thing I remember is a faint memory of someone murdering Sockmuncher and I just snapped after that. Everything else is a blur. But when I found out who... wait did you say a shapeshifter? Did she live in this house?"
"Yes, a very potent one aswell, she had a very broad spectrum of animals she could turn into. Apparently she traveled with the dragon priestess."
"She's the one who killed Sockmuncher! I don't care if she's a part of the dragon priestess' company, I'm going to..."
"Don't hold grudge against the druid, Talia." her ranting was interrupted by Sorodona's strict voice.
"She did what she thought was right... for you, a demon might not be that special since you're traveling with that... Bhohb person. But for someone with no knowledge or interractions with demonic powers before, they see it as a threat. Besides, she tried to heal your wounds. Unfortunately, you were reeking of some weird demonic energy and she... ran out of the room."
Talia's anger diminished and she calmed down with a long sigh.
"You have not spoken to me in a great while... why now?"
"I don't do unnecessary chatting and I usually only talk to people related to dragons, which I did not believe you to be. But I...I've met the dragon priestess. You two have more in common than you might think. Matching tatoos, the same face, almost same eyecolor..."
"How can we be that alike? How is that pos-"
"You're twins." Sorodona said straight out without any hesitation.
Talia just stared at her dragon companion in silence.
"What?" she finally replied with a low voice and a raised eyebrow.
"Yes... so I... I assume I owe you an apology for not... giving you the answers you were looking for, Talia. "
"What do you mean?"
"You are wondering what the dragon tatoos mean... those are indication of a dragon heritage. I assume you've heard about those of dragon blood?"
"A bit yes, such as the dragon priestess?"
"Correct. A long time ago...after the great dragon war... the dragons were entombed in the mountains by human magicians. A few humans however, did not agree with their fellow kin. Years after the war, they helped the dragons break free from the mountains. As a token of gratitude, these chosen ones were granted a gift, the gift of dragon blood. These powerful half-breeds became the guardians and emissaries of the dragons. Up until this day however, people have thought the dragons gone from this world, sent away by the dragon blood to keep them safe. But no one truly knows where they've gone. And the dragon blood vanished shortly after too... with no trace, until the dragon priestess arrived. I followed you in hope of finding her myself. But at the same time... I knew that there was something special about you. Now when I'm thinking about it, dragon blood always came in pairs. The norm was that a dragon knight and a dragon mage would marry and continue the bloodline... but you girls are a special case."
"So you're saying that I'm a dragon knight?"
"I would assume that, yes... with your strength and fighting capabilities and the fact that your connection with magic is like a horse trying to use a stove."
Talia muttered in an irritated manner.
"However... what I first thought was a rampaging warrior, is actually the uncontrolled power of the dragon knight."
"So... how do I control it?"
"I don't know... but I know someone who might."
Talia slowly sat up in the bed, listening attentively.
"The dragons who trained and gifted the dragon blood their powers, known as the ancients, have shrines dedicated to them. There are two shrines on the continent, one is the shrine of Yinros and the other is the shrine of Yangmungar, named after their respective ancients. I know where Yinros' shrine is located and hopefully he'll lead us to where his brother is located."
"Why do we need to find Yanmur- whatever his name was?"
"Yinros is the mage-lord, he has knowledge and wisdom no other dragon has. He's the master of the dragon priests and sorcerers. His brother Yangmungar, however, is a different story. He's the more unrefined of the two and his ways of teaching can be... questionable. I suppose that's what the dragon knights needs, but I still don't like it."
"You think he'll be able to help me?"
"I actually think he might be the only one who can at this point. Dragon blood needs training as they are raised, but you haven't had anyone to teach you. Your sister met Setryn, which helped her on the way without the need of Yinros. But you... I didn't meet you until you were an adult, and even then I still didn't believe you were dragon blood. I am sorry."
"Don't be, Sorodona. You have already given me so many answers, I should be thanking you."
Their chat were interrupted by an elf standing in the doorway.
"Sorry for interrupting you, but how are you feeling?" Vera asked with a concerned look.
"I'm still a bit sore, but I'm getting there." Talia replied, gently massaging her back.
"I'm not going to bother you, but I wanted to give you some tea and bread. I figured you would be hungry." she said and put down a plate with the food.
"Thank you so much. Mind if I ask though, why are you so caring of strangers?"
"I usually don't get alot of visitors, having people to take care of and socialize with is wonderful. Your sister was very kind... so I figured you would not be much different. By the way... your shirt was ruined when we found you, so I gave you some of my clothes. I couldn't repair your own clothes tho... but I made you some new ones. I even used the same scalemail that you had on your sleeves. I must say, that material is really interesting to work with." Vera smiled and started walking back towards the door.
"I... I don't know how to thank you, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
"Since I persume you are going away, please do come back and visit anytime. That's all I need, nothing else. I'll leave you to rest." she said and walked down the hallway, vanishing from sight.
Talia picked up the bread and started munching. Sniffing the tea, she could smell something really interesting.
"Is this...healing brew?" she said curiously, taking a sip of the hot drink.
"Probably, she's a real miracle worker when it comes to brewing."
"So... what now?" Talia said, redirecting her focus to Sorodona.
"Now... we go find the Shrine of Yinros." she said, looking out the window and smiling.

by **Cookie** Fri Jun 02, 2017 5:05 pm

51/2/1337 16:27

Dazairi and Setryn had been walking for what seemed several hours without Bristie in sight or anywhere near them. They grew worried, but didn't turn back nor wait. They had waited for a while at the exit of the city, but after hearing horns and guards rushing everywhere, they decided to run while there was still a chance having faith that Bristie would catch up to them as she said she would. They had walked for so long it was time they took a break and Dazairi sat down on a rock and sighed, but as she sat down she got startled right away by a touch on her back.

-EEEK - she jumped up in a defensive stance and noticed it was Bristie who had begun laughing loudly. - Not funny...

-Hahahaha, I'm terribly sorry, but that sound was adorable. Quite unlike the mighty dragon priestess everyone fears.

-I'm not a monster. I'm still a human. -Dazairi fell into a pout and a bit of an angered pout. She's been hearing the same stories about her being a monster for so long, it grew boring and insulting, but she remained calm as Set was watching her hoping to reassure her and she felt a bit calmer. -So what was all the commotion back there? We heard so many guards...

-Ah yes...sadly I was spotted, but I managed to escape on time before they could follow me in one of my forms. So I doubt they could be tracking us here. -She snapped back into reality after being stuck in her thoughts for a moment. -And I'm sure we're safe, but where are we headed again?

-Western side of Azura.

-West...wait no! That land is forbidden!

-we discussed this yesterday. I MUST go there. That's where all the clues I've gathered lead to. And I didn't come to Azura, make a criminal out of myself and nearly die to stop when I'm so close. -Dazairi eyed down Bristie who felt a slight intimidation from the determination.

-What is it you're looking for anyway? -Bristie asked with a lowered voice.

-Who I am. -Dazairi looked away, but she knew her answer would confuse Bristie as she didn't feel like asking again.

-I understand. I understand you too well. -Bristie lowered her head knowing that feeling all too well, she couldn't believe that this person before her was in such a situation. She seemed untouchable yet it seemed like she was just as broken, she wondered now if she seemed like that to others as well. -Very well. I'll join you on your mission, I still need to complete mine and I hope you'll help me with it.

-Gladly. -Dazairi gave her a smile as they started picking up their things again to continue their journey.

52/2/1337 03:45

The night sky was chill, but the eagerly eyeing down on the fight unfolding underneath it.

-Bristie to your right! -Dazairi called out as she parried an attacker coming from her side as well.

Quick on her feet as well, Bristie repelled her attacker coming from her right as she turned and elbowed him in the face, but she saw Isabelle was stuck in a bit of a bad situation and ran over to help her out. Within minutes as soon as it started, it ended. Before them laid in pain 7 men.

-Alright. Start talking. -Dazairi picked up one of their swords and began walking to each and every one of them.

-We ain't saying anything to yer pretty faces. -The man then spat in the direction of The Dragon Priestess only to be met by the lethal claws of a panther causing him to wet himself. -Or...or maybe we will! We were sent to assassinate ye...

With a pleased and happy look on her face, Dazairi pet Bristie on the head and got a very loving purr out of the large cat and looked down on the man again.

-Who sent you?

-Not sayin. -The man's answer led to a violent scratch onto one of his companions and a glare from the cat towards him again.
-OUR BOSS! IT WAS OUR BOSS! HIS MAIN CAMP IS PAST THE NEXT TOWN HERE! OTHER SIDE OF IT IN THE FOREST AREA! I SWEAR!

Receiving a whole reply, Bristie turned back into her normal form and Dazairi dropped the sword on the mans face hitting him, but not impaling him.

-Thanks. -Smiling at them with a sly grin, Dazairi walked away with Bristie in the direction the man mentioned. -Alright, let's pay the man who ruined my beauty sleep a little visit.

With an agreeing face from Bristie, Dazairi summoned over Set in his small form and they walked into the town noticing it was fairly trashed and some places seemed like they were recently burnt down. Walking through the streets in the middle of the night they didn't notice much, but they decided to wait for the morning hours to come up for them to question the situation a bit.

13:53

But expecting Dazairi to wake up on time was impossible even if both Set and Bristie desperately tried, so she continued to sleep during the morning hours and finally woke up to find the two of them sitting next to her.

-What are you two doing? -She looked at them puzzled but they returned the look with a glare.

-I wish sometimes you'd at least understand your age...

-How does one sleep so soundly through so much noise... -Bristie was confused.

-Don't know, you guys probably didn't try hard enough to wake me up... -Dazairi giggled and caused a massive backlash reaction.

Ignoring their mad reactions she got up from where she was lying in the forest right outside the town and they finally went in to explore and ask around. But the reaction of the locals wasn't as they expected, as soon as they were seen the locals ran towards them either begging for help or telling them to run it wasn't safe here. Some noticed Dazairi who she was and saw hope. They offered her large bags of coins to save them, they thought she was a criminal as expected and expected her to do anything for money. Their faces were desperate and Dazairi couldn't resist helping them out, they had to settle a score with the man anyway, but she felt rather insulted so she got up on a stand after being almost suffocated by the locals and screamed out.

-DO IT YOURSELVES! Do it yourselves you weaklings! I'll lead the way, but if you don't follow me, I'll rip his head off and keep it for myself. I won't tell you anything of what happened, you'll have to live with the fear of the unknown. So either do it yourselves or die being cowards. -Dazairi jumped off afterwards and ran with Bristie away from there to a less crowded area, but after awhile she was met with faces who were willing to join her fight and she smiled.

22:24

After finally setting up a proper plan, they headed out to attack the bandit base. The fight with the bandits went smoothly and Dazairi was in no hurry to summon her dragons as she wouldn't need them in this fight. Bristie however seemed distracted looking in different directions and not into the direction she was supposed to. Dazairi didn't pay much mind to it until the battle finished and Bristie had still been frantically searching for...something. Dazairi went over and put a hand on her shoulder and asked her finally.

-What's up? What's wrong?

-I...I sense something. Something demonic again, it reeks it's far too close as well. We shouldn't be here, Isa. -Bristie turned and grabbed Isa's hand and started walking away.

Noticing how much fear she felt, Dazairi wasn't willing to protest and simply went along as they simply vanished from the victory party without a trace.

53/2/1337 04:23

They were in no hurry for a rest as Bristie kept rushing them to move away and Dazairi finally felt too tired and simply stopped.

-Do you even sense it anymore?

-No...but we should make more distance just to be sure.

-The more you talk the more paranoid you sound, look you need rest. Whatever it is, it's not going to follow us, unless it was after us, which I hope it isn't, but we can't keep going without rest. I'll keep watch, just get some rest. -Dazairi patted her on the shoulder as she simply nodded in agreement still looking around.

Despite her paranoid behavior being due to demonic activity, her frantic watch finally met with a shadowy movement in the trees. She gestured to Isa who wasn't really too concerned with it, but Set was.

-Child. We are being followed. -Set whispered to Dazairi as she was trying to set down something to lay on and felt the annoyed sigh in her shoulders.

Looking around she finally noticed it as well, slight, but still visible, a figure was definitely present in the tree. Letting out another sigh, she called over Bristie to help her raise the blanket up and as they raised it together making sure it blocked the view of the figure, they let go and sprinted forward. Bristie made sure she wasn't in her form and into a squirrel who climbed up and followed Dazairi from above.

Tracking her movements, but also following the shadow as it jumped across following her. Noticing there's no way this person is just any ordinary scout, she finally saw bits of blood drip from his shirt.

-A wound? -She thought, but had no time to rethink it and jumped down to Isabelle and told her what she saw. -The person is bleeding. Some previous wound I'd assume on his stomach.

-I have an idea. -Dazairi whispered Bristie as she jumped down from her shoulder and they suddenly stopped. Dazairi began chanting and soon Setryn appeared in his actual form. With quick steps while under cover from his size, Dazairi swapped her cloak with Bristie and watched as Bristie jumped onto Setryn's back. With that she hid behind a tree hoping it'd work out and the shadow would follow them. She held her breath as the footsteps stopped right above her. Her heartbeat skipping out of her chest and soon the footsteps continued ahead after her dragon and Bristie as she finally let down her guard and sighed in relief. As she sat there she soon began dozing off into a dream.

-Hold on tightly, she can't maintain a connection like this for too long. The further I go from her the more the chance for me to simply disappear.

Bristie wasn't listening to him clearly, she was amazed, in awe as she was riding the back of a dragon for the first time. She felt envious of Isabelle who does this quite often and simply enjoyed every moment of it, but soon snapped back into reality as she still had a plan to follow and meet up with Isabelle in front of the guard towers leading into the forbidden forest.

53/2/1337 05:02

by **Spyduck** Wed Jun 07, 2017 6:59 pm

52/2/1337 1:00

“What do you mean you didn’t follow them!”
Bhohb was standing in his Stygian office speaking with Carlston who was smoking a pipe.
“Muer ler, gurble gat. Gawlda njah.” said Carlston stiffly.
“Well, I guess if they split up it’d be hard to follow them, but why in the nine hells would they do that?!”
The imp shrugged. Bhohb shrugged back, swept up the magical scroll and rushed out into the colonies. Running through a mass of imps who all waved at him as he passed he ended up in a large circular room with spongy yellow walls. With a gesture he summoned his scepter and threw his satchel on the floor. With a point and a word the satchel open and spit forth a large standing mirror.
“Ah the mirror of HOXOH, lovely. Now let’s see if remember how to do this.”
Bhohb quickly revolved three times on the spot and in his stead stood a familiar red haired lady. The girl gazed intently into the mirror and soon the reflection changed to the image of the same girl walking through a forest with a dragon stuck under her hood.
The voice of the hobbit passed the lips of the figure in front of the mirror.
“Yes, quite good indeed.”

53/2/1337 22:15

With the smell of brimstone Bhohb appeared with a flash in the middle of the forest. He quickly scanned the area for sentient life, with his enchanted vision, and found his quarry. Noticing a nearby flower closing up in his dark presence he cast several spells upon himself. Now appearing slightly transparent he slid through the undergrowth like a spectre until he happened upon the party of the elf, the dragon, and the girl. Surveying the area for a while he soon noticed a third party following the women. This individual certainly didn’t have the same aptitude for stealth as an arcane master as himself and was soon noticed.

A short while later Bhohb was delighted to see how the elf and the dragon flew away to draw the mysterious observer away from themselves. The dragon priestess was well hidden but couldn’t escape the gaze of Bhohb. Whilst she was dazing off in the undergrowth Bhohb simply slipped out from a nearby tree next to her.
“Yo”
Dazairi let out a yelp and jumped to her feet in surprise. Bhohb chuckled evilly.
“Don’t worry my dame, just like last time we met I come to offer my aid”
Dazairi swept up behind a tree. “Aid my ass! Get away from me you filthy midget!”
She started chanting the words to summon her guardians but decided against it. With Setryn so far away she couldn’t risk him being de-summoned and dropping Bristandie.
“Woah there fella, take it easy.” said Bhohb in a completely non-reassuring tone. “If I wanted you dead you would be. Not that I’d want that, you are a special case after all. I’d probably keep you as a pet.”
“PET MY ASS” Dazairi spun around the tree to punch the hobbit but ended up stroking him across the cheek instead.
“I’ll gladly pet your ass.” answered Bhohb with a smug grin on his face.
Dazairi looked at her hand with disgust. “Wha- what did you do too me?!”
Bhohb snapped his fingers.
“Just some precautionary charms, don’t worry. I’m actually really hurt. Didn’t your sister tell you about me?”
Dazairi frowned. “Sister? What are you talking about?”
Now Bhohb frowned. “Talia, the girl that looks almost exactly like you?”
Dazairi shook her head. “Not ringing a bell.”
“The girl with the ripped clothing. Back covered with glowing tattoos. You took her in before you left town.” Bhohb was getting frustrated at this point but suddenly realized something.
“Wait a minute. That stinky elf was standing guard, wasn’t she?”
Dazairi nodded.
“Well look at this, first she murders Sockmuncher and then she conspires against me by hiding your sister from you, typical elf behavior.” Bhohb kicked a rock angrily.
“Wait a minute.” Dazairi responded with narrow eyes. “Are you talking about that spying imp? Are you that demon Bristandie was talking about?!”
“He wasn’t a spy! He was my envoy! And now he’s dead. I even told him to find you and come back, but noooo. He apparently liked you. What the hell is it with imps and liking your family?”
Bhohb was stomping back and forth across the forest floor. A second later he turned to the young lady with a slick smile.
“How about introductions? I am Bhohb, master of the powers of darkness, extra-planar conqueror, demon lord.” Bhohb extended his hand for a handshake.
Dazairi just looked at his hand.
“I am Da... I am Isabella.”
Bhohb whipped out a scroll from his clothing.
“Ok Isabella. Here’s the deal. When I traveled with your sister I noticed that she was being hunted by an ancient monster thing who was locked inside a distant dimension. The monster needed access to the draconic power that runs through her veins. Now it got a bit hairy but I sorted it out. She should be safe for the time being. But I don’t think you are. The monster thing might send his minions for you, so I wanted to give you this gem so that I can banish the thing if it starts to manifest in your psyche. Have you had bad dreams lately? Ah no matter.”
Bhohb handed over a gem to Dazairi who stood there, dumbfounded.
“Whuuuuu….”
Bhohb opened the scroll and showed it to Dazairi.
“Here have a look at this.”
As Dazairi leaned in to read the scroll she could feel someone slapping her in the back of the head and a falling sensation.

Dazairi looked around and found herself in the scroll of fate, just like her sister some weeks ago. Her eyes went wide with amazement as she tried to fathom the grandness of the white room filled with the strings of fate. From a distance Bhohb called her name.
“Over here, slowpoke.”
Dazairi ambled over to the creepy hobbit who was pointing at a string.
“Here, touch this.”
Dazairi reached over and touched the string. Suddenly her mind was filled with pictures, pictures of herself.
“Now you see that your string forks further up here, touch the other string.” Bhohb instructed.
With a touch of the other string visions of a woman brandishing mighty arms, bearing an unmistakable resemblance to herself filled her mind.
“Woah, is that my sister?”
Bhohb smirked at her and pointed at a point where dozens of strings were converging without touching each other. And with that Bhohb grabbed hold of Dazairi’s clothing and dragged her out into the woods again.
Dazairi felt faint and sat down. Suddenly her eyes went wide.
“SET.”
Bhohb waved his hand at her.
“Don’t worry, I kept the link intact. Now do you have any questions?
Dazairi was unable to speak from the traumatic experience.
Suddenly a portal popped up next to Bhohb and burped out a letter.
“Oooh,” said Bhohb “From the demonic council.”
He then sat down himself and snapped his fingers upon which Carlston appeared.
“Carlston, could you go and hunt down something to eat for us whilst I read this letter?”
Carlston drew the big knife from his back and ran into the forest.
Bhohb looked at Dazairi.
“So, Isabella. Why do you travel with a random elf who kills harmless creatures indiscriminately and hides important information from you?”
07:07

by Tucker789 Sun Jun 18, 2017 5:56 am

53/2/1337 5:36
Bristie and Set landed a ways away, feeling like they more than likely succeeded in drawing away their pursuer. They stayed there for a while, hoping the person would come out of hiding, or attempt something, but it was quiet.
"If she needs help, she can summon one of the others, right?" Bristie said, trying to reassure Set, who did not reply, just grunted in acknowledgement.
Several minutes passed with nothing happening, so Bristie struck up a conversation with Set.
"So tell me a bit about yourself!" she blurted out, barely able to keep herself somewhat restrained.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"You, I'd like to know about you! Or, Dragons in general. You see, my shape-shifting powers come from me doing what I call 'communing' with animals, understanding who they are and why they do what they do..."
"Bristiandie, Dragons are much more complex than animals, I'm a bit offended that you would think of me as such.
Bristie looked down at her knees, as she was resting against a tree, curled up so that her knees were chest-high.
"I know, I'm sorry if I offended you, I just... I don't quite know what to make of you yet.
I... I never really learned much of the world beyond my home. I only learned what my mentors taught me, Always told Dragons are make-believe and demons are going to try to kill us at any given moment, things like that."
Set gave it a moment, and let out a hefty sigh, one that felt rather like a strong gust of wind, kicking up leaves and parting the hair that was covering Bristie's crestfallen face.
"Well young one, as you can see, we are NOT make-believe. I'm sure your mentors meant the best for you, but there is much in this world that they left out. You see,
there used to be many dragons, hundreds- no thousands! We lived alongside the other races peacefully, often times acting as guardians or mentors..."
He droned on for just under an hour, but to Bristie it could have been days, she was so entranced by his tales. He stopped after one story, and a grim expression came across his face.
"What is it?"
"Something is wrong. I felt her presence disappear suddenly, then come back.
"What does that mean?" Bristie asked, standing up, and looking the way they had come
"It means... we must go back. I knew I shouldn't have left her!"
Set rose up from the ground, and with a mighty wing-beat, jetted off in the direction of Isabella. Bristie transformed into a great bird, and followed the hasty dragon back to his companion.

***

52/2/1337 23:34
Brenneth was in shock. Between when he had discussed what happened with him and Bristie in the capitol, and when he awoke from a short rest, half the soldiers had begun gearing up to hunt Bristie down and bring her back.
At first, Brenneth thought there was an attack happening, but upon interrogating a few guards, he learned what was really going on. Not only were they going, but two others would accompany them. The two strangers, Zack and Zero, were searching for their friend, who they believed to be in the company of Bristie's current companion- the Dragon Priestess.
Brenneth had returned to Heradahn and Mairriye to discuss recalling the troops, and allowing himself and the other two to search for Bristie alone. Brenneth didn't like the idea of a bunch of soldiers bringing Bristie back like some criminal.
No one really knew Bristie's dilemma, in fact Bristie herself couldn't comprehend her own situation, too much was being kept hidden from her.
What Heradahn and Mairriye had told Brenneth, in an office behind closed doors. He had learned so much from them, the things they knew about Bristie was astounding. Brenneth knew the danger she was in, but he couldn't force her to come back, to stuck there and live out her life like a prisoner.
"Then teach her!" Brenneth had said to the two masters. "Teach her how to control her abilities, not keep hiding it from her, especially now that we know it wont work!"
"Its not that easy. She's not yet at a stage where she can master the spells we would teach her. Every emotion she portrays is a conduit for possession, the one flaw in the enchantment her people put on her before they died. That's why she has to come back, every minute out there is a possibility she could be overcome, and if she were to lose control, there are not many people who could even stand up to her."
"She's that big of a threat?"
"More than you know. Her people sealed their power away because THEY were too afraid of the damage it could cause, coupled with the unknown power of whoever is trying to gain control of her, she's too big of a threat to let loose.""But if I could bring her back, is there anything at all you could do? some... magical artifact or spell?"
"There might be. I recall reading of an amulet that, among other things,
could ward off any form of possession. Granted, we do not know whether this is true or not, since said amulet has not been seen or heard from for... over a hundred years.
"But that does not mitigate the problem her powers could potentially cause. Even if she had only the intention to do good, you know as well as I what power can do to people, Mairriye." Heradahn turned to speak to the woman on his left, who had not said anything until just then.
"But its a start, right? If I bring her back here, and we all look for this amulet together, would that be enough?"
Brenneth looked at Heradahn and Mairriye, who looked at each other. Speaking softly to each other in a language Brenneth did not understand for a few minutes, they turned back to Brenneth and answered him.
"very well. For now, we will call off the troops, but we will discuss this further when you return."
Brenneth thanked them both, and turned around to leave, eager to tell the two who were waiting for him outside the good news.
"And you WILL return, will you not?" Heradahn called out, just as Brenneth grabbed the door handle. He turned to look at Heradahn, who's expression was hidden from the light, but still radiated concern and seriousness.
"Yes, I will try my best. Thank you again, masters." And before another question could be asked, he opened the door and made his way down the hallway.
He had no intenetion on forcing Bristie to return, He merely intended to tell her all he had learned, and let her figure it out herself. It was her life she was choosing, after all, and Brenneth felt wrong trying to push her along a path she did not want.
He stepped outside, The guards closing the doors behind him. Low-hanging branches from the giant tree glistened with droplets from a slight shower that had passed through while he was inside. Down by the pond, he saw his two new companions sitting next to some bags.
"Guess they've already packed, or were just going to leave without me..." Brenneth thought to himself. They were talking with a Nymph, who for her part looked on edge, as she did not recognize the two men. Zack seemed to be transfixed on the Nymphs bare chest,
but Zero seemed to be engaging in conversation normally. Brenneth found it odd how they were conversing with her at all, since the Nymphs normally shielded themselves from the sight of men- for obvious reasons. He figured one of them must've known how to lift the spell, most likely Zero, seeing as he had been there before.
"Alright you two, leave the poor lady alone!" Brenneth walked up to them, calling out to them from across the courtyard. The Nymph looked at Brenneth, and quickly made her way to him, as if looking for protection.
"Oh, we weren't harming her. I was just asking her what it is like, living in these woods away from society, and...
The Nymph cut him off and retorted in her native language, then looked at Brenneth.
He rested his hand on her shoulder, and replied "He's okay, he wont harm you. He just doesn't understand why you hide yourself away from people like him."
She replied, again in her native language, but the words sounded harsh and filled with anger, and she hurried off to the other side of the courtyard, and disappeared into the trunk of the great tree.
"Look at that, you made her mad! What did you say to her?!?"
"I just said she was a very... attractive lady. And that i liked her home,
and asked her to tell me about it..."
"I wouldn't expect you to understand why, but they do not like to be called attractive, in fact they don't like to interact with men at all. You see, back when they were more populous around the world, Nymphs and Dryads like her were often used in... not so very nice ways..."
"Oh... oh god! I had no idea! I didn't mean to make her think I wanted to... you know... Oh god!"
Yes, well having such a 'perfect body' like they do, has not led them to have a very good time. It's why they hide, to avoid.. awkward stares like Zack here."
"I.. I wasn't staring! i was just... I.."
"Riiiight, you were totally not drooling at she leaned over to collect some of that water." Zero laughed, and received a slight punch from Zack in return, which made him laugh more.
"Alright, guys, we need to head out now. I'm assuming you packed all our stuff here?" Brenneth interrupted him, and gestured to the bags.
"Oh, yes that's all of our stuff, your folks here were oddly generous to us, we got food, medical supplies, all sorts of cool gear..." Zack started droning on, pulling out some stuff and showing everyone.
"Thats cool, but we should really get going. That dumb idiot probably didn't take those stuff i gave him, probably face-down in a bush out there." And with that Zero shoved the stuff back in the bag, and hauled it up. "Lead the way, Brenneth!"

53/2/1337 6:47 AM
Brenneth had taken them out on a main path at first, but after an hour or two, they diverted westward, into the thick of the forest. Zero and Zack grumbled and talked to each other, quietly. Brenneth overheard some words, pertaining to their lost companion and 'teleporting', but Brenneth pushed their chatting out of his mind, and focused on the compass.
The compass was not a normal one, it was enchanted to follow a specific item to which it was enchanted to- which in this case was the ring he had given Bristie. He figured that sooner or later, he would have to find her, for whatever reason, now he was happy he did, as the compass kept moving.
Recently though, for about an hour the needle had been position to a specific direction, so Brenneth was hopeful she was just sleeping.
"Which way is it now?" Zack called out. Brenneth had been lost in thought,
walking in the general direction of the compass needle for quite some time. He had been thinking again on what heradahn had told him, and he was worried about Bristie, how she might react.
"Its just..." he flipped up the lid of the compass once again "West north-west of here... but south a bit."
"What?!?" Zero called out, his face showing utter confusion. "Do you not know how to tell directions on a compass?"
"Look, it makes sense to me! i'm not used to saying the directions out loud.. just, follow me."
The others shook their heads, and followed along, mumbling to each other again. Brenneth was looking at the needle more intently now, as it started twitching, meaning they were getting closer. As he watched, the compass started pointing further and further north.
"Hold up..." he said, stopping suddenly.
"What, realize that 'N' stood for 'North'?
"Wha..? no, I already knew that, thanks. no, they're on the move..."
"Wait, really?" Zack and Zero ran up, and looked at the compass. "She's moving fast!" Brenneth looked up into the air, suddenly coming to a conclusion, and sure enough, there was a large figure in the sky- a dragon. Following closely behind, was a smaller bird-like figure.
"She must be in a hurry, if she's using her Roc form. Come on, we need to follow them!"
And with that, the three took off into the direction the dragon was heading.

53/3/1337 7:13 AM
Bristie and Set had arrived around the area they had left Isabella. Around them were bodies- bodies wearing the emblem of the Dusk Knights.
"They somehow followed us! but how?!?"
"I am not sure, but where is she?" Set asked, pawing over some of the corpses. They looked as if they had been cut into by swords- meaning someone else had killed them, not Isabella.
Bristie took the form of a fox, using her heightened hearing to listen into any movement around her, and gave a quick bark at Set, then dashed off into the woods.
The dragon followed, keeping an eye on the surroundings. The further they went into the forest, the more bodies there were, some seemed like they had been blasted with some sort of magical spell, others cut to shreds.
Further into the woods, Bristie came across a lone man. he had a black mask on, and two swords lay at his feet- he was breathing heavily and holding his side, where blood seemed to be rushing through.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" Bristie asked, the man did not know what to make of her,
for at first she was a fox, then suddenly a woman.
he tried to grab a sword, and stand up, but screamed out in pain "I... gah!" the effort of standing seemed to only hurt him more.
"Hold still, lets see if I can close these wounds..." and Bristie kneeled down next to him, closed her eyes and concentrated. A warm glow emitted from her hands, spreading across the man's wound, but nothing happened at first
"Its no use, other healers already tried to... wait what?" He looked down,
and puled away his hand. Before his eyes, the wounds sealed, healing from the inside-out.
When she had finished, Bristie collapsed onto the ground, her whole world spinning around her. She reached out for a branch that she could've swore was in front of her, but her hand did not seem to be able to reach it. The man finished checking himself out, and stood up. He was so astonished, he did not right away notice the girl fidgeting on the ground, nor the Dragon that had poked his head through the trees.
"WHERE IS ISABELLA." Set roared, scaring the man, causing him to jump back, and trip over a root. "WHERE IS THE DRAGON PRIESTESS!" Set stretched out fully,
pushing aside smaller trees and snapping limbs off the others. A shower of leaves and branches fell to the forest floor, falling over the bodies.
"I didn't do anything to her! Her and the little man ran off... that way!"
The man pointed in a direction, and set looked. He could make out some figures running between the trees, and set off that way.
The man jumped back to his feet, and kicking away some branches, he picked up his swords. "Bastards got a lucky hit on me, I.m going to finish them..." he growled to himself, and followed the angry dragon through the woods.
Bristie had finally come back to her senses, only to find she was alone.
Suddenly very concerned, she called out for Set, but there was no answer. her heart raced, and she scrambled around, looking for some sort of trace. Following along the path of broken branches and giant footprints, Bristie hoped to catch up to them. Her head was still spinning from exerting so much effort to bring the man back from near-death, she couldn't conjure the strength the transform into even a sparrow, to try to get a birds-eye view. Limping from tree to tree, she kept calling out for Set or Isabella.
Finally, she was answered by a rustling bush, and Isabella jumped out, as if she were trying to escape something.. or someone.
"Isa!!" Bristie called out, and ran to greet her, overcome with joy to find her friend alive and well. Her friend, however, was not as happy to see her.
"You!" She yelled, stopping Bristie dead in her tracks. "WHY didn't you tell me?!" Her face was full of anger, and she stormed up to bristie, who steadily backed away, simply saying "Uuuuhhmmm..."
"You KNEW I had a sister, and you KNEW she came to us, but you didn't tell me?!?" Isabella's face was dangerously close to Bristies, even though she was shorter. Bristie continued to mumble incoherently.
"Why would you keep that hidden? WHY didn't you say anything?!?"
Bristie finally snapped out of her confused state, and blocked an incoming slap from Isabella
"What are you talking about? I Didn't even know you had a sister, didn't you say you were and orphan?"
"I thought I was, until Bhohb told me everything, like how you were withholding information!"
Who is Bhohb, and how could I withhold information I don't even know about?
"You mean to tell me you had no idea that girl we had at the house the other night was my sister?" Isabella had started calming down, seeing the sincerity in Bristie's eyes.
"I swear, I did not know who that was. I figured, that when you left without wanting to see her, you did not care who she was!" Bristie grabbed Isabella by the shoulders, and looked her dead in the eyes. "I am not hiding anything important to you from you, I swear."
Isabella calmed down completely, and once she let out a sigh, she was wrapped up in a hug by Bristie. Feeling a bit crushed by Bristie's arms, she let out a small "oooof!" and patted Bristie on the back, hoping to be released sooner."I'm just glad you're okay! I see that you seemed to have survive the attack well enough..." she said, as she released Isabella. Isabella took in a few deep breaths and stretched out her arms.
"Oh, yeah i didn't have to do much, thanks to Bhohb and... that swordsman, beltyzar or whatever. they fought off the Knights while I hid... I didn't want to summon Set, in case you were riding him..."
"I CAN fly, you know..."
"right... I keep forgetting that's a thing you do, sorry. But its no big deal,
there weren't to many and the rest are running away right now anyways. "I came back this way because Bhohb dropped his scroll..."
"Who is this... Bhohb?"
"I'M Bhohb, you bitch!" A voice came from the treeline, and out emerged a small creepy-looking man.
"You murdering murderer! WHY did you have to kill Sockmuncher, and now Carlston!"
His face was filled with rage, and he stomped his way towards Bristie, a scroll clutched in his hand.
"I uh... sockmuncher? what's a sockmuncher? and why am I being blamed for everything!"
Bhohb strode up to Bristie, but he was small, and only came up to about her stomach. He looked her dead in the eye, his head stretched at an odd angle, looking almost straight up and said "Not a WHAT, a WHO! He was a good friend, under my employ!
And yooouu just had to go and kill him. Now, I find Carlston dead in the woods, and lookie- YOU'RE HERE TOO, ACTING ALL INNOCENT!"
"I haven't killed anyone! I mean... there was that imp I killed that was spying on us in the middle of the night..." Bristie was struck with a sudden realization "I remember you! You were there that night, in the woods! you creeped up on Isabella and made her go back to the city!"
"I would say 'creep' is the appropriate term here." Isabella spoke, stepping away from the angry hobbit and confused elf.
"Shut up, I don't creep! not my fault you don't have perfect situational awareness!"
All three suddenly jumped around, when Set's giant head broke through the trees, with the black-haired swordsman following close behind.
"Its safe to say, they were all chased away. Counted 12 dead though..."
"From over there, I counted more of them dead back there. No need to thank me." He pointed into the direction Bristie had been coming from when she ran into Isabella.
"Would have preferred you NOT killed them. Now I have That on me too now..." Isabella returned Set to his smaller form, and gave a sigh of relief that he no longer had that constant drain on her.
"You're saying you would rather keep scaring them off, not send a clear message? Thats just asking for trouble later down the road."
"Better than people thinking I'm some sort of demon or something. I don't like it, not one bit."
"I try not to care what they think about me..." He stopped, seeing Isabella roll her eyes and turn away. He looked over to Bristie, who was locked in eye-contact with the angry little hobbit.
"I must thank you, again, for helping me. I don't think I've ever felt better in my life!"
and he stuck out his hand to Bristie.
"Hmmm...?" Bristie asked, not fully paying attention, but replaying what she heard in her head. "Ah, yes, the heal. Its no big deal, I just like to help where I can!"
"Except when she murders people."
"The name is Bristiandie, but you can call me Bristie." and she shok the man's hand.
"Balthazar, and you should show me that simple heal some time, it was a lot better than what those monks could do..."
"Monks? oh, you mean the Sanctuary? I thought I recognized that work.
No, I have tried, but it seems that, just like my shapeshifting, its something not many people can do..."
"Well, I guess I better just stay near you than, in case it happens again..."
"Stop flirting already!" Zack called out from the treeline. Everyone turned to look, as Zack, Zero, and Brenneth came into the light.
"Brenneth!" Bristie called out, and ran to greet him, embracing him in her arms, slightly crushing him in her happiness. "I'm so happy to see you again!"
Isabella gave out a chuckle, knowing exactly what was going on between those two, despite Bristie not saying anything.
"Man, you gave us a scare. thought you'd be dead out here if y-" Suddenly Zero stopped talking, and looked over as Isabella.
"Uhmmm.... what are you looking at?" she asked, changing to a more agressive stance
Zero did not answer, but suddenly rushed her. Bristie attempted to intercept, but he seemed to slip right past her, and grabbed Isabella's arm. The next second, they were gone.
"Hey, you ass! Where are you going?!?" Zack called out, dashing into the woods. It took a second for everyone to realize isabella had just been kidnapped, it happened so fast, then Balthazar took off after Zack.
Brenneth, we have to get her back!" Bristie called out. brenneth nodded,
and took off after Zack as well, who would be the most likely to know where Zero went off to with isabella. Bristie turned to follow him, but her arm was grabbed.
"Not so fast, little bitch. you've still gotta pay for Sockmuncher and Carlston!"
"What are you going to do, little man, bite my ankles?!"
"No, bitch, I'm going to murder you like you did the others!" Bhohb stepped back readying a spell he knew would leave the giant elf as a smoking crater.
"Bristie reacted to this by knocking an arrow, shooting it at the small man,
but he seemed to slip right around it. She tried again, and again, but each one failed to hit its mark.
"What..?" she asked herself, and the little man laughed and evil sounding laugh.
"You're no match for me! I haven't lived all these years just to be killed by some mundane thing like an ARROW!" he continued to laugh, even as Bristie charged him with a spear. His laughing suddenly died, as he looked directly at her, and said calmly "No."
Bristie was knocked backwards, her weapon flying out of her hand. She Whispered a spell to herself, one of the few she knew, and launched a ball of fire at Bhohb,
Who seemed to deflect it with a different spell, and it dissipated in the sky.
Bhohb's face was glowing with evil intent, as he readied himself. the thought of seeing the elf bitch annihilated for good was making him giddy, and with a yell, he released the spell at her. A blast of energy streaked towards Bristie, who held her arms out in front of her, as if it would mitigate the blast.
There was an explosion, and lots of smoke. Through it, one could hear Bhohb laughing- then suddenly stop when he saw Bristie still standing, unscathed.
"WHAT!" Bhohb bellowed, and conjured another spell. as he spoke the words, it exploded in his hands, sending him flying backwards and crashing into a tree.
"No... NO!" he said, as he slowly clamored up.
"You reeeally shouldn't do that to my girlfriend, demon." Brenneth spoke,
his hands making arcane gestures, and speaking under his breath.
"Bipth!" Bhohb yelled, jumping to his feet "Uoi bomma papth doo!" suddenly he stopped, and looked at himself, making the realization "Waaaba doop tomah toob?!?"
"Simple tongue-twisting charm. To keep you from casting any more spells." Brenneth walked up to Bristie "Are you okay?" he asked, helping her to stand up.
"yeah.. I'm fine, thanks to you. how did you learn to do that?"
"Heradahn. I took an oath of non-violence, but that doesn't prevent me from preventing it. Protect you from that blast, stop him from making more spells, the usual."
Bristie gave him a slight hug, then walked over to the hobbit, who was muttering to himself, and looking around for something. She grabbed him by the shirt,
and hoisted him into the air.
"You tracked her before, many times. I want you to help me find her again, do you hear?"
There was no reply from the indignant hobbit., only him crossing his arms and grunting.
Balthazar burst through the bushes again, grumbling to himself, then seeing the group standing there, he called out, with a sigh "I couldn't catch them. Zack seems to have disappeared as well!"
"Well maybe you can help us here. Grumpypants seems to know how to find Isabella, but he's not being helpful... seems to think I killed a couple of his imp friends.
"Imp? I think I killed one back there. Had a big ol' knife with him. thought he was with the Knights!"
"Habbah blurp baptap bloo!!!" The hobbit began squirming and kicking at Bristie, who dropped him in reply.
"Alright." Balthazar said, drawing a sword. "Tell us how to find her, or I'll start cutting into you!"
The hobbit sighed, closed his eyes and concentrated. after a bit, he reopened them, and there was a glimmer in his eyes- and he simply said "No."but before anyone could react, they were all blasted backwards. Just as with Zero, the hobbit was no longer there.

by Shogun Hidora Mon Jun 19, 2017 7:59 am

53/2/1337 04:25

Balthazar looked down from the tree-top at the two figures below. An elf, who seemed to be searching for something, and a hooded figure, who was currently finding the best spot to lay down her blanket. The elf then stopped looking around, and stared in his direction for a few seconds. Had she seen him? No, he was too well hidden for that. She then looked around again for a few seconds, before turning and whispering something to the hooded figure. The hooded figure seemed not to care about whatever was said, but eventually turned around and looked in Balthazar's direction. The two then lifted up the blanket to hide themselves from him, before running away, deeper into the forest. Balthazar followed, jumping between trees. Eventually, they stopped, and Balthazar could hear one of them chanting. Suddenly, a dragon appeared, and the hooded figure climbed up onto its back, before taking off and flying away from him. Balthazar jumped onto the next tree, noticing a pain in his side as he did. Looking down, he saw blood seeping through his shirt. He realized that his wound had reopened, but, seeing as there was nothing he could do about it now, began following the dragon. The dragon was much faster than he though, and it eventually flew out of his sight. Realizing that only one of the two had actually been on the dragon, he turned back to look for the elf. Perhaps she could tell him where the Dragon Priestess had gone.

As he drew closer to the spot the dragon had been summoned, he could hear what sounded like some kind of argument, before it suddenly went quiet.Dropping down from the trees, he scanned around him. There was no sign of anyone nearby, but there was what appeared to be some kind of scroll laying on the ground. He walked over to it and bent down to pick it up, but it was far too heavy to lift. He then heard the sound of a branch being stepped on, and quickly ran behind a tree on the edge of the clearing. He looked out from behind the tree, and saw several cavalry riders entering the clearing, each one wearing a black hood with a symbol on the back. Dusk Knights. The one at the head raised his hand, and they all stopped, before dismounting. The leader then pointed at the scroll, and another walked forward to pick it up, but failed.
"I told you to pick it up!" the leader yelled at him. He then tried again, but still couldn't lift it.
"I can't!" he replied. "It's too heavy!"
"Move!" the leader yelled, pushing the other Knight out of the way. He then tried to lift the scroll, but failed as well. He then turned, and began giving orders to the rest of the Knights. "Spread out and take positions around the scroll. Stay hidden until I tell you to attack."
"Attack? What's going on here?" one of them asked.
"That scroll is a Dimension Crystal. It can't be moved because the owner is currently inside it. So we're going to wait for them to come out, then deal with them."
The Knights then began moving into the trees, finding places they could stay hidden, while still being able to see into the clearing. One of them, holding a pike, approached where Balthazar was currently hiding. As he came around the tree, Balthazar put his hand around the man's mouth, before stabbing him in the chest. Balthazar then gently placed him on the ground, before tearing off a piece of his cloak to wrap around his wound. He then noticed an imp standing before him, and, seeing as it was most likely sent by the Knights to keep watch around them, swung his sword at it, cutting its head off. He then turned back to the clearing, watching and waiting.

07:07

“So, Isabella. Why do you travel with a random elf who kills harmless creatures indiscriminately and hides important information from you?”
"A very good question," the captain called out from the trees. "I'm sure we'll get the answer eventually. You may not like how we get it though."
"Who's there?" Isabella called out, looking around.
"You know, we never did get to finish our dance," the captain said, as he walked out into the clearing. "Such a shame really. Kill them both."
At this, the Knights who had been hidden charged out into the clearing from all directions. The one closest to Isabella had raised his sword to slash at her, but then fell to the ground, a pike lodged in his back. Isabella looked up, and saw Balthazar charge out from the trees, swords drawn.
"How dare you interfere!" the captain yelled at Balthazar, as he charged through the Knights towards him. "Kill him!"
Archers then emerged from the trees, firing arrows at Balthazar, who simply deflected them with his swords. The other Knights then charged at him, and he began cutting them down, but more kept coming from the trees.
"Run!" he called out to Isabella, as the Knights continued to swarm the clearing.

Isabella tried to move towards Balthazar instead, but Bhohb grabbed her by the hand and began pulling her away. She then turned, and they both began running away from the battle. However, some mounted Knights came from the other side of the clearing, and quickly caught up to them. Bhohb chanted, and tendrils came up from the ground, wrapping around the Knights and pulling them into the ground. Noticing more infantry following them they kept running, Bhohb firing various magic spells at them as they did.

"Retreat!" the captain called out, as Balthazar kept slaughtering the Knights that were charging at him. "We'll deal with him later!" At this the Knights began pulling back, and disappeared into the trees once again, leaving Balthazar standing there. He then began moving towards the direction he had seen Isabella go, but was slowed by his wound, which had opened up even further during the battle. Eventually he felt faint, and fell down at the foot of a tree, his swords falling at his feet.He then put both hands over his wound, trying to stop any further bleeding, and felt himself beginning to lose consciousness. He noticed a fox before him, then his eyes closed, and when he opened them again, the elf that had been with Isabella was there instead.
"Oh my god, are you okay?"

08:00

"Alright." Balthazar said, drawing a sword. "Tell us how to find her, or I'll start cutting into you!"
The hobbit sighed, closed his eyes for a few seconds, then opened his eyes again, replying with a simple "No." A large blast of energy then radiated out from him, blasting them all back. Balthazar quickly sprung back up, and leaped at where the hobbit had been, swinging down his sword. But he simply hit the ground instead. The hobbit had disappeared.
"Damn it!" Balthazar called out, stabbing the ground. "Now what?"
"Wait a minute!" Bristie exclaimed. "I can still smell her!"
"What?" Balthazar asked. "How?"
"Dragons have a very specific scent. I can smell one nearby."
"That must be her then. Lead on!" Balthazar called out, as he and Brenneth began following Bristie into the woods. They walked through dense trees for a while, before finally emerging into another clearing. In the middle of the clearing stood a girl with long black hair, dressed in full plate armour, talking with the dragon perched on her shoulder.
"Who are you?" Balthazar asked her, drawing his sword. "What have you done with her?"
"That's her sister," Bristie replied, gesturing for Balthazar to lower his swords. "I must have picked up her scent instead."
"Well, where is she then?"

13:41

Dazairi awoke, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling for a while, before turning around and noticing the face close beside her. Zero.

by Seamoose Wed Jun 21, 2017 3:34 pm

53/3/1337 7:47

Zack followed alongside Zero and Brenneth, but as soon as chattering was heard, Brenneth rushed ahead. Following his pace, Zero and Zack saw the situation, there were several people talking, seemed like an argument more than a chat to Zack, but he didn’t really care to distinguish it as his job right now wasn’t eavesdropping.

"Stop flirting already!" Zack called out from the tree line. Everyone turned to look, as Zack, Zero, and Brenneth came into the light.

Zero turned to Zack and laughed, he felt as if he’s been influencing him a bit too much.

"Man, you gave us a scare, thought you'd be dead out here if y-" Suddenly Zero stopped talking, and looked over as Isabella.

"Uhmmm.... what are you looking at?" she asked, changing to a more aggressive stance.

Zero did not answer, but suddenly rushed her. Bristie attempted to intercept, but he seemed to slip right past her, and grabbed Isabella's arm. The next second, they were gone.

Zack was stuck with confusion as his ally just vanished before his eyes with the target, but in his hand he noticed a small handwritten letter, saying to act it out and lead them in an eastern direction. Zack hid the letter right away and looked over towards the west, he knew what Zero was up to, so he played along, but he knew he’d face a tough opponent in this game as Balthazar was also in his league of stealth. Trying to calm himself the best he can, he began.

"Hey, you ass! Where are you going?!?" Zack called out, dashing into the woods and just as he suspected, Balthazar was on his tail. He quickly began going faster and faster, but a bit too fast for his own good. He couldn’t keep up with his own speed. “Shit if I keep going like this, I’ll really be in trouble…” he thought to himself, but he then realized Balthazar was heavily injured still, he never completed his treatment and those herbs weren’t all too effective, yet he was moving so swiftly. Assuming his wounds were healed off, Zack cursed more to himself, but noticed a possible escape. He saw a rather small cave up ahead with several bushes to the side of it. Revising what his master taught him in his head he leaped off the tree branch and swung off the branch in front of the cave propelling himself towards it.

Balthazar noticed Zack had swung right into the cave and stopped right onto the branch Zack used to swing off of. He analyzed the situation thinking it’s a possible trap and proceeded with caution and swords drawn. Upon closely investigating the cave he realized there was nothing to be found there. Confused for a moment Balthazar went outside to notice that there was a large bear approaching. The beast began growling with discomfort as Balthazar seemed too had invaded its home, but from the corner of his eye he noticed a bush rustle and he quickly dived towards it only to find himself in the face of a small rabbit and a lot of broken branches.

“I doubt this is your doing…Tsk.” picking up a branch and tossing it aside in anger, Balthazar simply ran from the beast that charged at him only to notice the back of Zack jumping away and signaling him something. With a furious expression, Balthazar simply kicked away the bear and headed back to the three sudden appearances.

With hope that he dealt with Balthazar correctly, Zack ran towards the direction Zero was telling him and soon enough found himself right before them. Noticing the thrashing of a girl from the distance Zack simply landed next to Zero from a nearby tree and reported in.

“Well, they’re dealt with.”

“Knew you could do it, buddy. Now…carry her, she’s being a really big pain.” Zero who was holding her in his arms simply tossed her over into Zack’s arms as he flinched and almost dropped her and causing Zero to burst into laughter. “Some man you are.”

“I’m not used to carrying things this heavy you know…”

“Woah there, don’t insult the lady like that. You might get your head bitten off in the future. Either way, I hope we find somewhere safe to hide out for a bit. I’m sure we’ll have company soon, right?” Zero looked at Zack with eyes peering right into his mind as if he knew exactly what Zack did.

“I told him, don’t worry. He should know where we’re heading, at least the general direction.”

“Great! Now…for our little damsel here, we need to get the primary information out and later on have a reunion party!”

“Reunion….party? Wait, what do you mean reunion party?” Zack looked at Zero with utter confusion and soon the thrashing from Isabelle stopped. He looked down at her and she was staring directly at him almost wanting to address the sudden choice of words herself, but her tied up mouth wasn’t going to let any words slip out.

“Long long ago, back when I was still a wee young child, I used to know a certain person, a certain orphan living in the orphanage near my own home. And that’s basically where I know her from.” Zero soon stopped speaking, but Isabelle began kicking again trying to make him talk.

“I don’t think either one of us here believes that’s all, Zero…” Zack looked unsatisfied, but was interrupted by a band of Dusk Knights who surrounded them; the amount was increasing and before they realized it, they were circled in by at least 50 men.

“So nice of you to finally bring back my lovely priestess, assassins.” A man had stepped out, his hair was tied back and his elven ears peering up in delight, such delight it almost disgusted Zack. Looking down at Isabelle he noticed she was completely calm and glaring at him herself.

“My my if it isn’t the prestigious band of small time thugs who got very lucky. How’s the glory of asking for help constantly treating you?” Zero dove right in with insults and they seemed to hit a nerve right away as the man walked even more forward almost in arms reach of Zero who grinned.

“You dare insult me, child?”

“Yes, but I also dare to take you hostage.” Zero swiftly dashed towards him jumping into the air as he grabbed his arm and twisted it backwards bending it and bringing him down to his knees. “Now…order your goons to make a path for us or your head will be the only thing they get back if we don’t make it out of here safely.”

“Agh! Curse you! All of you! Lower your weapons!...LET THEM THROUGH….” The twisting pain from Zero’s grip was too much to bear for him as the troops listened and let them simply pass through.

“Great…now a few little favors…one: don’t follow us. Two: Head east from here, you’ll find a nice bunch of people you’d love to meet. And three: Don’t attempt to send anyone on a suicide mission or I’ll personally shove his intestine down yours.” Zero glared at him then released him with a smile.

Zack simply followed after as everything seemed to had worked out and he realized Zero was carrying around some sort of key.

“Is that what I think it is…” Zack smirked.
“You bet, get ready for a nice warm bath, Dragon Priestess. Oh wait, you don’t like being called that, but you don’t like to be called much of anything really, so I’ll wait till you tell me what you call you for real.” Zero looked away then and continued forward.

Zack was then slowly tugged at by Isabelle who was gesturing for him to let her off to walk on her own. Zack didn’t seem to see a problem with that as long as her mouth and arms were tied so he cut off the cloth around her legs and set her down as they continued forward.

53/3/1337 10:03

Reaching a city, Zack noticed Zero was still casually walking forward until finally he vanished out of sight. Sighing he turned to Isabelle who was confused.

“He’s going to go find the residence for the key. Don’t mind it. Speaking of which, what was all that about? You better help me get some answers from him.” At his sudden demand Isabelle simply nodded back as she was more than happy to cooperate on that topic. “To be honest, I don’t think we should’ve kidnapped you, but it’s probably because of your pasts. If he’s gonna randomly kidnap people he should let the other victim a.k.a ME, know why…”

“You two seem to be enjoying yourselves, but do so soon enough in the mansion. I found it.” Zero came back to notice them both laughing and tried very hard to keep his condition from showing. Gritting his teeth together under a pained smile and clenched fists he moved forward slowly attempting to cover it up, but as they got spotted he grabbed them both and just like that froze time once again and fell down on his knees coughing up blood. “Tsk…reached my limit already…? One more push I guess…”

Before realizing it Zack found himself in front of the mansion with Isabelle next to him and Zero lying on the side of the door covered in blood. A sudden rush of anxiety crept around Zack’s neck as he rushed over to him and looked closely to find any sort of weaponry or anything possible, but he found nothing and his worry only grew more.

“Zero…what the hell is this?!”

“Ah…damn, didn’t want to talk about it really. Can we get inside first? I promised already to explain everything, guess this is also part of that…heh…” Zero looked over to Zack who was frantically looking for the keys and soon felt a warm set of hands on his face from the other side. Looking at him with piercing blue eyes was Isabelle who seemed concerned about his condition as well. “You worrying about me makes this seem pitiful really, you’re almost in the state I am…”

Dazairi felt a bit of sadness as she swallowed down and wanted to do something, but simply continued stroking his cheek gently as best as she could with her tied hands until she heard the door unlock and ran inside first looking for a bedroom. She found a large king sized bed in a bedroom furthest down the wide and decorated with self-portraits hallway.

Zack carried up Zero and heard muffled yells and followed them down to the bedroom. Putting Zero down gently Zack sat down and looked over at both of them who were now on the bed. Isabelle was sitting next to him still tied up and Zero was barely keeping his eyes open.

“You know…I may not have it as bad as you…but damn do you guys love using me as a donkey, carrying all your crap all the time or you even…” Zack’s comment caused some laughs, but Zero’s laugh soon came along with blood and Zack quickly regret making him laugh. He got up to close the door and then untied Isabelle completely. “Sorry again for you know…”

“It’s safety, understandable.” Dazairi looked at them both and then kept her gaze locked with Zero’s for a bit. “You…”

“You too.” Zero chuckled at her sudden reaction.

“Both of you…” Zack again causing an unpleasant atmosphere, but this time he was met with irritated gazes instead of laughs to which he could only try to comply and realized he wasn’t meant to be here for the time being. “I’ll just…go tie down all the maids or something…maybe find something to steal, you guys want food? You probably need some medicine? I’ll go…do that…yeah”

With slow and awkward steps Zack left the two alone as Dazairi finally reached out and slapped Zero across the face.

“That’s for suddenly taking me.” She raised her hand again tears dripping down her face now as she slapped him again with a bit more shaky motion. “That’s for tying me up…”

“Hey…don’t cry.” Zero got slapped for a third time.

“That’s for lying to me!” Dazairi fell onto the side of the bed right next to his arm as it slowly patted her head. She got up again and looked him with eyes full of sadness and thankfulness as she gently slapped him again barely able to see she couldn’t tell where she was aiming, she didn’t want to hurt him anymore either so her strength left her arms. “That’s…that’s…for…leaving me alone…”

“Hey…come here…it’s okay…it’s all okay…” Zero took her closer as she just lied there in his arms for a moment. “Understand…I had no choice, I’d bring you trouble as I always did. I didn’t want you to go through any more.”

“That’s not for you to decide…”

“Your pal would have my head if I didn’t do it.”

“Set?...” Dazairi got up in surprise and shock as she attempted to summon Setryn right away.

“Wait, don’t!” Zero tried stopping her, but her chanting was too fast and before he could do anything she collapsed on top of him. He sighed as he petted her head and looked around trying to ease his mind from all of this, but looking back onto her he finally could find some peace of mind to focus on. “Idiot…”

Zack then peaked from the door as he noticed Zero was tucking in Isabelle and looked at her with eyes Zack had yet to see from Zero. Finally being noticed, Zack entered in and stood at the door looking around and finally had to speak his mind.

“Look…I’m not going to try to pry into your business, but I need to know at least something.” Zack looked directly at Zero who was just meeting his gaze.

“I know. I’ll tell you some of it at least. I can’t tell you everything to be honest, it’s not right of me to speak about it. But I initially didn’t want to look for her because of your sudden interest in the list. I heard from a contact of mine that a certain Dragon Priestess was popping up and around and when I saw her name on that list, I knew it meant I had to go see her again. First it was blind coincidences, but then it seemed like too much coincidences to not assume it’s a certain.” Zero paused to see if Zack was paying attention.

“I see…You could’ve told me, you know. I’d still be likely to follow through. Truth be told, I didn’t want to go on this journey for fun either. I assumed it’d lead me closer to the man I’ve been searching for, a man who killed my master.” Zack clenched his fist and Zero repaid the gesture with more details.

“I didn’t think you joined a shady organization like this just because you wanted to do small time work. Everyone who joined, wanted information, contacts and this was the best place for it, your master knew well to guide you here. But my journey wasn’t as such, I didn’t have much of anything other than information anymore. No purpose, no goal, no anything after I abandoned her.” Zero sighed. “I met her before joining The White Rose. I met her in a really strange way, but I finally really met her a year after. We joined the same team, same work line, but…things happened my jobs changed from hers and soon after…I…left her without her knowing and the first thing she ever learned about me after that disappearance was how many people I had killed. I thought ever since my mistake I couldn’t look at her in the face anymore, but just now…right now…oh man…I regret everything…”

Zack didn’t feel like asking more, he simply sat at the side and looked away knowing full well, Zero was crying.

13:41

Dazairi began opening her eyes. She kept lying down staring at the ceiling thinking to herself: “Ah…an unfamiliar roof once again, unfamiliar bed…unfamiliar room. Is this really real I wonder…I’m not just waking up from a nightmare or something and soon I’ll see Bristiandie running towards me. No…further back…before the stupid knights happened…just me running away pursuing a silly legend and story. It might even just be a story, chasing a fairytale for my entire life, who knows if I want it to end though, because that’s all I have left to search for…” Looking to her side Dazairi saw a face far too close to hers and stood still in shock, but then after a moment noticed the shape of the face, the hair color, the scent, the nostalgia rushing through her as she ran through her memories and soon her shock turned to awe. Not moving away but observing she finally got a chance to watch him open his eyes up. He looked up at her and didn’t avert his gaze, but neither wanted to say anything.

Zack was sitting in the lounge and decided to go check up on them and noticed from the door, Isabelle had her eyes opened. Thinking it was going to be funny, he decided to sneak in and managed to get right in the middle of the end of the bed and sprung up.

“Morning.”

Almost completely red in the face Dazairi wanted to chant out a summon for Set, but instead decided to throw a pillow at him.

“What the hell?!”

“Be glad…be very glad there was a pillow…” Zero glared in the direction of Zack as he was stuck in a throwing motion.

“Hey hey why are you so upset…?” Noticing the pillow had a dagger stuck into it Zack started yelling at Zero. “What was that for?!”

“You deserved it, dumbass.”

“YOU ALMOST STABBED ME FOR WAKING YOU UP!”

“I WAS ALREADY AWAKE!”

“Oh…” Zack regret his actions right away realizing he saw a reflection of something once he noticed Isabelle at the door.

“Dumbass…” Zero was furious, but somewhat happy.

Dazairi was sighing and realized she hadn’t asked what happened at all and what’s going on with all this.

“Alright, someone explain to me, why was I kidnapped in the first place now? Surely it wasn’t cuz of nostalgia?”

“A bit of a complicated story, but you deserve to know I suppose.” Zack sighed looking over at Zero who was completely content with this. “Basically you’re a crime suspect in the abduction of the Astral Princess. Your name is in a wanted list and well here we are. That and Zero just wanted to-“

Before Zack could finish his sentence a pillow flew aggressively towards his face knocking him down and with that Zero jumped out of bed and walked over to the drawers looking for a comb.

“Astral Princess…? Wait I haven’t been there in far too long. When was she last seen?” After hearing the details from them Dazairi finally recalled the situation. “I was there, yes. But left a week earlier…I had a bit of a curious tingle from the library and they had found out my identity due to me requiring an escape.”

“Wait so why is your name on the list then?” Zack was confused.

“Most likely to be found and brought in or killed.” Zero added in and caught their attention. “What? Have you seen your bounty lately? It’s skyrocketing as one of the highest ranking criminal threats nationwide.”

“That bad…” Dazairi looked down in disappointment and was quickly brought back to her senses as a brush struck her lowered head. “Ouch!”

“Your hair…” Zero coughed and looked over at Zack.

“So wait, this doesn’t make sense. They just wanted her head, why go through the trouble of getting a messenger killed for it? Why not just send out a wild man hunt instead?”

“They still require reliable manpower. Balthazar is famously known for his work being trustworthy and reliable. Just what the Kingdom was hoping to find, even if it’s in enemy lines. But that sort of desperation means that it’s likely impossible to find her by any normal means anymore.”

“Meaning she’s taken for political reasons?” Zack looked at Zero who simply nodded in reply.

“Then we have to find her, right?” Dazairi’s sudden curiosity in the subject was confusing the two. “What?...Is my hair still bad?”

“No…just, why worry about that? They want you dead.” Zack seemed confused.

“Because the princess was a good friend, despite their hostile attitude by the end of my visit there.”

“I see…so this is simply a personal thing to you now?” Zero looked at her.

“Yes.”

“Alright then…we go looking for a princess again.” Zero’s sudden answer threw Zack completely off guard.

“You know…I assumed you’d talk her out of it, not bluntly agree.”

“I know her longer, that look of sureness isn’t going to change whether you, me, her dragons or a god himself came down to try to convince her otherwise so just have to accept it as it is.” At his answer Isabelle laughed and made him smile that nothing’s changed with her yet, nothing at all…

“Then it’s settled! We’re heading out first thing tomorrow!” Dazairi raised her arms in victory.

“I’m going to go pack my things…we need to wait for them to take the bait anyway…” Zack crawled out of the room slowly.

“Bait?” Dazairi was confused.

“Yeah, he sent your friends on a wild empty chase towards the eastern side of the continent.”

“I see, by the way…” Dazairi got up after combing her hair down and put the brush away. “Zero? Really?”

“What? Don’t like it? I find it original.” Zero laughed. “Better than you, Isa.”

“No way…no way in hell!” Dazairi laughed as she realized that this was just like back then, just like in her memories, just like…old times…

Zack was packing his things sighing as he realized he finally learned a bit about his companion, but this wasn’t something he’d thought he’d learn. He looked onto his knife and wondered if this was all his master’s idea somehow, but that wasn’t likely as he laughed off the idea.

53/3/1337 15:23

by SergeantTurtle Sun Jul 09, 2017 8:48 pm

51/2/1337
Talia walked out the door and onto the busy street, the newly remade shirt and new cloak given to her by Vera fit her like a glove. She turned around and nod her head at the door in which Vera was standing.
"Thank you for everything, I don't know how I am ever going to repay you. And that brew you made..." she stretched her back to feel that most of her pain was relieved.
"Again... please don't thank me. I love to help in any way I can, this world is cold enough as it is. Just promise me that you will return and share your stories with me."
"Why of course, hopefully when my sister can be seen in a city without risk, we will come back. Otherwise... we'll find a way."
"Goodbye Talia, good luck with everything. And be careful."
Talia put on her hood and hid Sorodona under her cloak, highly resembling a certain wanted person.
"Goodbye Vera." she smiled and started walking down the street.
Talia had been given directions on how to get to the eastern gate and quickly traveled through the city, with a number of weird looks on the way. Hoping to catch some attention with her outfit, this was more than enough. Rumors would spread that someone that looked like the dragon priestess was in town and that would hopefully bring off some heat from her sister. After exiting the eastern gate without problem, she carefully checked that she wasn't in sight and picked up the pace. After a couple of minutes, she hid her cloak in her backpack and continued the journey towards the eastern coast with Sorodona on her shoulder.

After walking for a couple of hours, they soon reached the sandy shores of eastern Azura. The water was reflecting the radiating sunlight, creating a beautiful scene as only heard in stories. Talia stood awestruck at the edge of the forest, just barely touching the sandborder.
"This is beautiful." Sorodona sat straight up and admired the beach.
"Maybe the world isn't as cold as Vera thinks?" Talia looked at Sorodona with a smile.
"Hm." Closing her eyes and enjoying the sun, Sorodona gave a short but agreeing answer.
They sat down and rested for a couple of minutes, listening to the soft waves and embracing the warm wind. The beach was completely empty except for the occasional bird. Talia looked out over the ocean and saw a water current going alongside the waters edge, rather than towards.
"Don't you think the water is behaving a little weirdly?" Talia said, following the watertrail with her eyes.
"Hmm? Why yes... that's where we're going."
"Just straight out there? Into the ocean?"
"No silly. Lets move, we'll just walk along the beach until we reach our destination."
As the sun began to set, they started walking in the direction of the current which became stronger and stronger. As they went up a hill they could hear the roaring sounds of waterfall and on top of the hill Talia was in shock to what she saw.
"Is that..."
"A maelstrom." Sorodona grinned as she looked down at the gaping dark-blue hole surrounded by a swirling vortex. The maelstrom had cut its way through the hillside, causing a plateau to form around it. The roaring sounds and strong winds kept everyone away from this deathtrap.
"WHY ON EARTH ARE WE HERE!?" Talia had to hold on to a tree in order to keep balance.
"WHY DO YOU THINK!?" Sorodona looked up at Talia that looked back with an uncertain look, which quickly turned into a terrified expression.
"NO.....DOWN THERE!? YOU EXPECT ME... TO JUMP DOWN THERE!?" she looked back and forth between the maelstrom and Sorodona, who still looked at her with a grin.
"NO WORRIES. I'LL JUST HANG ON IN HERE!" she crawled up Talia's leg and into the satchel. She popped out her head with a happy expression.
"LETS GO BUDDY!"
"ALREADY?! ISN'T IT A BIT EARLY!? I MEAN....ISN'T THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO BEFORE..."
"Hmm... NAH. GO!"
"THIS IS SUICIDE!"
"OF COURSE NOT! JUST REMEMBER TO AIM FOR THE MIDDLE, OR YOU MIGHT GET SMASHED BY THE ROCKS!"
"NOT HELPING!" Talia slowly got closer to the edge of the cliff and looked straight down.
"MAY I SUGGEST A RUNNING START!?" with that comment, Talia grunted and took a few steps back. She readied herself mentally and slapped herself in the face.
"GOOD! MAYBE IF YOU PUNCH YOURSELF, IT'LL BE GIVE A BETTER EFFECT!" Sorodona mocked Talia's way of pumping herself up, but Talia just continued to crack her neck. She took several deep breaths to calm her nerves and grabbed the satchel in her arms close to her chest.
"REMEMBER TO HOLD YOUR BREATH!"
Talia looked down on her dragon companion with a frown, looked up towards her destination with a determined face and started dashing towards the edge. Her right foot landed right next to the edge and she sprung from the ground with a powerful leap. She closed her eyes and everything felt like it was in slow motion, until she opened her eyes and looked down. She was right above the eye of the vortex and started falling with a rapid pace. She breached the surface and everything calmed down after a while, except for the immense force that pushed them further and further down. Talia opened her eyes to see nothing but darkness around her, feeling the panic starting to rise. Her lungs started burning as she slammed her back into the rocks, losing her breath.
"Is this really how it ends?" she thought, holding on tight to the satchel and closed her eyes.
Before she knew it, the roaring sounds of waterfalls came back and she was pushed through a hole in the rocky wall. She couldn't see anything but felt the powerful waves smashing into her and before she knew it, her head was above water. She took several deep breaths and felt the fresh air fill her lungs once more, but she now noticed that they were sliding down a slippery rock slope at high velocity. Trying to recover from the turmoil, she had a hard time keeping her balance.
"WHOOOOOOO HO HO HAHAHA!" Sorodona was laughing with the wind in her scales.
Talia still out of breath noticed the slope ending a bit further ahead.
"Is...is that..."
"END OF THE LINE FRIEND!"
"You have got to be kidding me."
They were thrown high into the air, only for Talia to come crashing down into the pool of water beneath them. Sorodona was hovering above the water, waiting for Talia to come up. After a while she emerged with a gasp and started swimming towards solid ground. When she reached the edge of the rocky ground she paused, trying to catch her breath while holding on. When she opened her eyes she saw the beautiful cave with vivid blue lights that reflected on the waters surface, giving it a crystalized shimmer. The cavern was decorated by nature itself, in form of exotic light-blue plants.
”Woah.” Talia crawled out of the water and admired the scenery with shimmering eyes.
”I’d say it was worth it.” Sorodona shook off the water from her scales and started walking around the cave. She soon found what seemed like a continuing cavern system.
”Come on, this way.” She walked through a small cavern entrance and Talia was right behind her. The narrow stone corridor seemed to lead to nothing, but after a while, she saw the bright blue light in the end of the tunnel. What waited for them at the end, was something no mere man was ever going to see. Waterfalls, stone pillars, the beautiful bright blue glow, the exotic fishes, the statues and murals of the dragons… and the dragonborn.
”Welcome to the shrine of Yinros.” Sorodona said proudly and looked at Talia, who was still looking like a child on christmas. As they started walking further into the gigantic cave, they felt relaxed and as if they had no problems in the world. This was a place of peace and clarity. They arrived at a massive pool which didn’t look like the others, it had a gradual depth increase and had a special green blue tint to it. After hesitating for a bit, Talia started walking out in the pool until the water reached her knees. Sorodona sat by the edge of the water and eyed her with joy. A massive shadow developed in the pool and Talia took a few steps back. The water erupted in a fountain of water which knocked her down. As she was sitting in the pool, she wiped the hair and water from her face, after which she saw what the shadow actually was. In front of her was the upper body of an enormous creature, whose head almost touched the roof of the cavern. Its claws had struck the water around Talia and she clearly had its full attention. Talia looked up to the mighty water dragon and tried to get some words out.
”A..are you..?”
”Before I discuss my heritage and name with you, I will need to know yours.” The giant dragon’s deep voice echoed in the cave as he leaned in closer towards Talia. After a brief inspection, he moved back and his voice bellowed once again in a powerful but kind fashion.
”Step deeper into the pool of clarity young one, share me your knowledge.”
Talia stood up and hesitated for a bit. She looked back at Sorodona, who nodded without worry. As she moved deeper into the pool, she felt more and more relaxed.
”These pools create a link between your mind and mine. In return of your knowledge, I shall give you mine.”
Talia took some deep breaths, closed her eyes and put her head underwater. At first, she didn’t feel any different. But as time went on, she felt as if her head was melting and spreading out in the water around her. All of a sudden, all of her feelings came rushing forth. All the memories, good and bad were all shown at the same time. All the pain of people she hurt and the monster which had haunted her dreams became more real than ever. Everything slowed down and she felt like she was on the brink of death. Everything was black, the only thing she could see was a mirror. She looked intensely at the mirror as it all of a sudden shattered into million pieces and the jaws of a purple-black dragon closed around her.
She rushed out of the water, lightheaded and acheing. She fell backwards down on her knees and tried to regain her senses.
”Hmm… I thank you, Taliana. And I feel the horrors you have experienced. I persume I owe you some information, which I gladly share with you."
"Did you call me....Taliana?"
"Your full name, yes. And as promised you gave me yours, I will give mine. My name is Yinros, the second dragon lord to teach the dragon blood mages how to control their powers. We magelords are the essence of wisdom and intellect. When my father, the first magelord, died, he was given the privilage of letting his offspring be the new dragon masters. His older brother agreed with this descision, but his younger one, Korus, protested. He tried to scare me and my brothers into letting him be the magelord. Unfortunately, the shrine did not take lightly on his actions and corrupted the waters. His mind got twisted beyond saving and we had to banish him to another dimension. I have had my beliefs that he might come back somehow, and now my thoughts have been confirmed. I believe that you bear the mark of Korus.”
Talia had regained some of her strength and was now listening intensely.
”The mark of Korus?”
”I can feel his evil intentions inside you. I have had dreams of this dimension he resides in, the fiendish voidspawn that he commands to ruin worlds and take them as his own. One of these voidspawns has made its way here, to you.”
”Wh…why me?”
"The voidspawns search different planes of the universe in search of weak hosts to take over. In this case, you have not learned to control your dragon powers. Which in turn gives you a weak mind and an easy target for one of these creatures. This has happened before, to another dragonborn. Luckily, Korus didn't have enough time to find his way here. The dragonborn knew what was going on, and wouldn't let any evil into this world."
Talia was disgusted by the fact of some creature living in her mind, controlling her will whenever she went out of control.
"Well...help me then!" she shouted in frustration and fear.
"I'm afraid... I can't do that. I can give you knowledge, but you need my brother to teach you how to control the power. Seek out Yangmungar, his shrine is located on the western mountainridge of Azura. Once you are there, your inner fire will lead you the way. Tell him that you wish to prove your worth, and do not back down no matter what. Once you have dealt with this intruder of yours, find your sister. Find her, and bring her here. And Taliana, hurry. I fear for our future."
"Don't worry, Yinros. We will secure the future of the dragons and the dragonborn." Sorodona suddenly spoke up and was met with a friendly smile from the gentle giant.
"You are much smaller than I remember Sorodona. Does Taliana not feed you enough?"
"Very funny. If I were my regular size, you wouldn't be so cocky, old fool." Sorodona smirked and was instantly blasted with water.
"I will send you to the surface using something we dragons call.. Yar'gon. The usual transportation that the dragonborn used here a long time ago."
"Oh? What does it mean?" Talia positioned herself where Yinros was pointing and Sorodona crawled into the satchel once more.
"It's a form of reverse waterfall."
"Wow, those exist?" Talia looked at Sorodona with a smile.
"Yes, I believe you humankin call them.. geysers."
"What?" Talia looked back to Yinros with a confused expression.

52/2/1337
The ocean was calm, the birds were chirping and a young boy was playing on the beach. All of a sudden the ground started shaking and out of nowhere, a geyser erupted in the middle of the bay.
"WHIIIII HIHIHAHAHAHA!" Sorodona's laugh could be heard from miles away.
"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIII-" Talia's scream could also be heard, but was cut off just before she reached the water's surface with a splash.
After they reached the shore, the boy was staring at them with an open mouth.
"What are you looking at?" Talia said with a grumpy tone when she walked past him. The kid didn't care and kept on looking as the girl and her dragon companion walked into the woods with soaked clothes.
"I'm never going swimming again....EVER!"

After a couple of hours of heading west, Talia's clothes had dried up and the cheerful nature of their adventure had returned. All of a sudden they arrived at a part of the forest which had been scorched, everything was dead and ashes were spread across the area.
"What...happened here?" Talia stopped and took a quick look around.
"Probably a forest fire, quite normal this time of year." Sorodona didn't take the situation as seriously as Talia would have hoped. They continued walking until she hit something metallic with her boot. She kneeled down and brushed the ashes off the metallic object, which revealed itself to be her sword. She tried lifting the handle but was met with half a sword with metallic shards falling out the other end.
"My.... my sword!" Talia tried to locate all of the pieces in the ashes and hold them in her hands, with great failure.
"Talia... Talia!" Sorodona shouted to her human companion, who stopped collecting the pieces.
"I know that sword means alot to you, but I don't think you want to be remembered by what might have happened here."
Talia looked further down the forest to see fallen trees, claw marks and ripped ground. She was suddenly filled with guilt and disgust.
"We have a new life ahead of us, it's time to leave the past in the past. That sword will bring you nothing but pain."
Talia rose from the ground looking at the half broken sword in her hand.
"Perhaps you are right, Soro. But I will still keep this part of it. Not only because I need something to defend myself with... but because this will keep me from making the same mistakes. And remind me of what is important is life. The edge of the sword may be gone, but I can still protect people with this." she sheathed her sword and looked one last time at the ash-filled forest before they continued their journey westward. They stopped along the way to rest and recover.

53/2/1337
After a while of walking, they were suddenly interrupted by sounds of battle and screams. And in the distance they could make out the outlines of a giant gray creature.
"Setryn." Sorodona put her senses to max because she knew that something was wrong.
"Someone's coming, HIDE!" she ordered Talia to jump into a nearby bush, where they waited. All of a sudden, a group of armed soldiers passed them by.
"Where are they going?"
"I don't know, but they are not dark imperials, that's for sure."
They kept on hiding for a while and they believed it to be safe for now. They kept on walking down the path where they had seen Setryn, but was quickly caught out by two people that came from behind the trees.
"Who are you?" the swordsman asked Talia, drawing his sword. "What have you done with her?"
Talia backed up, wondering what the man was talking about. Something seemed familiar with him.
"That's her sister," the girl replied, gesturing for the swordsman to lower his swords. "I must have picked up her scent instead."
"Well, where is she then?"
"Are they talking about my sister? Why wou.... is that the shapeshifter?" Talia whispered to Sorodona, slowly moving her hand towards her sheathed sword.
"Yes, I believe it is."
"Then why isn't my sister with her? And who is this.....no." Talia drew her sword and shocked the two companions.
"Dark Empire FILTH! And you! Don't think a second I will trust you!" she shouted, pointing her sword at Bristie.
"Now... WHERE'S my sister?!" she continued, holding her sword with both hands.

by **Cookie** Wed Jul 26, 2017 2:15 pm

54/2/1337 15:00

Dazairi was sitting around on the window pillows in the upper floor bedroom as she looked outside into the town. The mansion had a nice hill view of the town and the people seemed very lively here despite the heat at the current time. She never really found the weather a bother as she's gone through so many interesting and climate different zones that she grew thicker skin. But her thick skin wasn't very effective against an inner chill and being alone as she was currently, she felt uneasy. She looked around feeling like there's something there, her fear of the same demon appearing again just like at Vera's place was terrifying to her. Her calm expression took a grim turn as she saw the sky outside turning darker and the scenery bellow melting away. She was about to start panicking when a touch on her shoulder snapped her back and made her nudge slightly.

-Did I scare you?

-No...I... -Dazairi looked away from him then looked back to him finding an ease in her mind. -Just something bothering me a bit, nothing too major.

-Well if it's bothering the almighty dragon priestess it must be something devastatingly evil. Or hunger. but I think both are close to each other in your book.

-How are you even alive with that kind of attitude...

-I tend to be very lovable. Don't you agree? -He looked through her face hoping for an agreement.

-No. Not at all. -Her answer crushed his very soul and he fell dramatically on the ground in front of her trying to act out his pain. She giggled slightly at his sudden over exaggeration and he quickly got up again and looked at her happily.

-Well my job here is done. My lady is laughing once more. -He bowed politely in front of her, but she interruped him and hit his chin upward again and kissed him. She was still sitting down on her knees on the window pillow reaching his height with her posture, but the kiss lasted for far too long and he began losing his balance and had to stop. -I think...I saw the light for a moment there. It was pretty...and had red hair...

-You're too much sometimes... -Dazairi laughed hoping to forget the events that could've occurred and decided to stay close to him to avoid the haunting feeling.

They went downstairs again, Zeref had mentioned he had made a lovely meal with his companion for them and they were about to sit down to eat. As they sat down a cloud of smoke began forming in the center of the table. Dazairi looked at them and their expressions weren't changing, she assumed this was their doing and simply tried accepting it, but suddenly a very familiar looking hobbit appeared onto their table. The three of them were set aback, Zack even falling from his chair at the sudden man on their table and Zeref tried running over to Dazairi who was crawling up on her chair in a curled position.

-WHAT THE HELL?!

-FEAR NOT FOR I HAVE COME TO RESCUE YOU, DAMSEL. -The hobbit struck a heroic pose and offered his hand in the direction of Dazairi but he soon noticed the surrounding she was in was very tame and not hostile towards her. -Wait...what.

-You can keep standing there if you want...but don't move your leg to the left you'll step on her food. Or to your right you'll step in his food. Or anywhere really...

Bhohb suddenly realized they were peacefully dining together and no one was having any harmful intent towards the girl. With that out of the way he simply bowed in an apologetic manner and disappeared once more.

-Let's...pretend this never happened.

-Yup

16:00

Dazairi was calmly washing the dishes as she noticed a tall hooded figure approaching their hideout. She quickly ran over to the others and informed them and they assumed it was simply Balthazar who managed to find his way here. Zeref and Zack still took cautious approaches towards the door as the knocks began. They opened it slowly and before them was who was expected to arrive.

-Didn't expect you to take this long. Aren't you all about precision and you know...being super fast?

-There were some complications along the way. -Balthazar took off his hood to reveal several bruises and cut marks all over his body. He went inside and glared down at Dazairi who was simply standing there without any restraints. -Why is she allowed to roam freely?

-Is that really any way to speak to the person who's going to be giving you your ride? -Dazairi was angry at his sudden rude commentary, but Zeref decided to cut in and give him a brief explanation.

-She won't do anything. In fact, she's going to help us track down the next target. You see...she isn't even aware of what happened, turns out they just wanted her dead so they put her head on the list as a kill target.

-Does that mean we'll need to kill her to finish this mission?

-I don't know about you, but I don't feel like killing someone's lover over a stupid bounty.

-Lover...? -Balthazar looked at the room confused as he saw Zero's hand slowly slide over to the dragon priestess's and held her closer. He sighed at the sudden turn of events as he didn't bother looking further into it, but someone insisted on explaining.

-If you're as confused as I was. The short version is...he's the reason she revealed her identity to the world basically, from what he told me. The star crossed lovers oh how romantic...but then he did this stupid thing and left. So we're here like this now.

-More or less... -Dazairi felt a sudden strange tingle in her stomach as she heard a knock on the door. -Let me.
They attempted to stop her, but she simply gave them a chill and calm stare as she opened the door to see an almost exact same looking person as her looking back at her. Her long black hair being the only real distinguishing feature separating them from being almost identical. She was frozen solid looking across for some sort of memory or ability to recall her sister, but nothing helped. All she knew was she felt the need to hug her tightly and she did. She held onto her for a bit and then let her go as they both went inside.

-You again!

-This isn't by my will what so ever or you'd be dead a long time ago.

-I should've ripped you to shreds when I had the chance...

-But in doing so you would've awoken the demon in you. Have some self control! -Sorodona popped out from inside Talia's cloak and defused the situation only slightly as everyone else seemed rather confused.

-Bad blood?

-Can't think of anything else... -Zack looked around and the more he looked at the two identical figures standing next to each other as they made their way to the living room to sit and rest he couldn't help but ask. -So you're obviously twins,
but you don't seem to be interacting much.

-This is...actually...my first time seeing her face to face... -Dazairi looked over at her sister slightly confused and couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness arise in her.

-I can believe that. You never even told me you had one. You were an orphan as far as I knew...

-I was. I lived in Pandora my entire life and I wasn't part of any family. I found Setryn at a young age and he's been my family since.

-Pandora...? I was raised in the Dark Kingdom.

-What? That's strange...

-Separated at birth and handed in different directions so you never get to meet. That's rather tragic. But seems fate had other plans for you two.

-Seems so... -Dazairi was about to get into a deep thought and speak out, but the door slammed open once more and more familiar faces stormed in as they kicked in a dusk soldier across the hallway. -Bristie!

-It only took a kidnapping, several hours of horrible chases and a person being kicked through the front door of a home for you to address me as Bristie! I'm happy!

-Very detailed memory...

-Excuse the intrusion.

-You already intruded. Doesn't matter anymore, come over.

-Wait...why is everyone so cheerfully seated down?...

-It's...complicated...

17:00

-I see...that's the situation in the outside...

-We must find her. I won't let anything happen to her.

-I'd like to finish my mission as soon as possible and get on with other things. So if you could all decide the plan.

-Well the four of us are obviously going together.

-Four?

-Us. -Zack pointed at Isabelle, Zero and Balthazar along with himself as they sat next to each other in order.

-Wait...I'm not coming?

-Sister...uhm...-Talia felt slightly awkward addressing her in person as such now, but she swallowed her shyness up for another time. -I had something to speak to you about in private.

-Oh? -Dazairi was surprised but the sudden interruption and got up as she walked away to a different room with her sister who was carrying around Sorodona.

-If you may...I'd like for Setryn to hear of this as well.

Dazairi felt the seriousness in her tone and decided to listen to her and summoned Setryn along to the conversation. He was fairly aware of the situation as he was listening in on everything.

-Hello there, old friend. I knew you'd be listening, but I require your input on the matter as it is very important in this dangerous time...

-Whatever the matter, we are all currently watching. Speak your issues freely, friend.

-It concerns their training and progression. Their current capabilities are marvelous and Dazairi seems to have a solid grasp on her capabilities. But I'm afraid it's not going to be enough to hold back the dangers furiously attacking their minds.- Soro took a pause and noticed their grim expressions, mostly shown on Talia and Dazairi as both seemed to have been able to understand her point. -They aren't prepared to face those demons yet, Setryn, you and I both know this fully well. If nothing is done...we may lose them.

-Hm...-Setryn paused and looked over at Dazairi who was simply holding onto him in her hands as he pondered. He sighed nonetheless and looked back at Sorodona. -I understand your concerns. I am fully aware of her condition and inability to hold them back anymore as well.

-So take her to Yinros already! Her mind is in danger! Her life could be threatened at any given moment.

-If it were up to me, I'd do as you asked, but in the end her decisions are the final mark and final say to the situation.

-Setryn, this matter does not call for such childish behaviour.

-Do you doubt them, Sorodona?

-What?

-Do you doubt their abilities to handle themselves? I do not know much of Talia and her progress, but I am fully aware of Dazairi's and she is in no immediate danger. I am responsible for her life, if it were to happen, I'd personally stop it and if I do...I'd take my own life as I failed to protect hers.

-Set... -Dazairi simply listened as she recalled all the times she's heard him say she wasn't doing good, she was slowing down her training and her studies. She feels a sense of regret for wasting time and now that it has gotten to a point of her requiring protection, she feels at fault and doesn't want to be in this situation. -I'll do it.

-Child... -Sorodona's face lit up with happiness as she looked over at Talia who also threw over a smile.

-But... -Their expressions worsened as the sentence wasn't complete and she continued. -After I save and return my friend from harm.

-Dazairi!

-I foresaw this before you even spoke.

-Will you be okay that way?

-I'm not a little kid, I can take care of myself. Besides...being cooped up in a temple or something will be boring. Might as well enjoy my freedom a bit longer before going in there for who knows how long.

-He wasn't so bad. I met him just yesterday.

-You already met him?! That's so cool...you're getting ahead of me now... -Dazairi laughed and her sister followed her.

-Then keep up slowpoke! Go save your friend first though.

-Taliana!

-What? It's her choice anyway. I won't stop her. Besides, she seems determined enough that I don't think anything could stop her.

-Quite observant. Do you share the same similarity as her in that regard? -Setryn poked at Talia who quickly smiled mischievously and looked away.

-Is this settled then? -With quick nods and regretted "yes"s they went back to the main room which seemed to be in a heated situation from something. -What's...going on?

-I will murder that Dark Empirian!

-Don't be upset at someone who's never even done something.

-You're all the same.

-That's offensive, elf or are you even that?

-Do you want to die too?

-Woah woah! Calm down! What's happening?! -Dazairi's presence soon stopped everything at hateful glares flew across the room and Talia simply slid behind her sister as she was also a Dark empirian and the way the elf addressed them just now might've caused an unease.

-We were discussing how the other countries functioned and what the main political powers were and how they did things. As the elf wanted to come along.

-Wait she did?

-Wait you really didn't want me to come along?

-No...no such thing...I...didn't want to drag you away from your home into unknown territory unless you agreed to it.

-Riding dragons, fighting my own kind, rescuing you, even being around you is already very foreign to me.
So what's the worst that could happen?

-That's lovely optimism, but you almost cut off our heads for telling you that the Dark Empire uses elves as slaves.

-And I might!

-I don't think they do it if they already told you they don't, Bristie...

Dazairi looked at the awfully heated situation and simply clapped her hands together and began pointing at them. One by one and addressing them.

-You, you, you, you and me, we're going on an adventure. He can come too if he wants. He's your boyfriend after all. -Dazairi pointed at Zeref, Zack, Balthazar and Bristie as they simply looked around hoping to find a reason why her sister isn't pointed at.
-We're going to save the princess and then we'll see what happens next. I don't know how much we'll be together afterwards,
but at least for this mission we're stuck together and I hope you understand what the word "together" means.

-Loud and clear, right Balty? -Zeref poked at Balthazar's nerve as he knew he was willing to go solo at any given moment during this entire thing.

-If it must happen so, then very well. -Balthazar looked away feeling the urge to slice apart Zero who was smirking devilishly at him.

-And I'll be on my way now as I don't think I have the time to join you on your little adventure. Sorry.

-Can't be helped. Hope you don't die there.

-What do you think they'll be doing there?!

-From what I've heard...a lot of things. Be careful. -Dazairi teased her sister, but then smiled gently hoping for her save journey. With a smile of the same feeling and a light hug, they went separate ways as Dazairi went back inside to discuss the entire plan and situation with the others who seemed very dysfunctional. She looked at them and saw a bit of hope in the situation and knew she had to hurry with her own demons as well as she didn't know how much longer she could contain them and wanted to learn what triggers the sudden emerging.

55/2/1337 01:00

Dazairi was feeling uneasy in her bed as she tossed and turned and finally got up from her dream. She had to get as much rest as possible, she saw the time on the large clock in the hallway as she made her way down the hall. She slowly opened each door to find everyone in their rooms sleeping peacefully and then she landed across Zeref's room. She went inside and simply sat next to the bed looking at him hoping to ease her mind. She always thought he looked like a completely different person when he was asleep, always so quiet. She looked over to the window for a moment and felt his hand slowly slide onto hers when she turned back she saw him awake.

-Sleep. Sorry if I woke you up. -Dazairi whispered.

-I've been awake since you opened the door.

-Very jumpy.

-Well when you're in this line of work...you have to be aware of who's trying to get near you...but...- he got up slowly and pat her head. -What are you doing awake?

-Couldn't sleep...

-I see... -they sat in silence holding hands for a while, but then he decided to break it again. -I know you've got your own troubles. I know there's something bigger going down, but know I'll stay by you even after this. I don't want to leave you again.

Dazairi gripped his hand tighter as she felt a sudden fight back of tears in her eyes, but she quickly lost as she broke out in tears. He quickly started wiping them away and hugged her. She looked up at him and started the whole story.
-Well...you've always wanted to know my real name so...I know Set will never approve of it, but...my real name is Dazairi.

-Pleasure to finally be acquainted with you, Dazairi. What may be your worry though, love? -He pat her head as he listened closely to her. He felt her heartbeat going crazy and tried to calm her down. -I won't hurt you. You don't have to be afraid of me...

-There's this thing...that's trying to get inside my head...that's trying to use me...I'm so scared... -Dazairi broke into tears again as she held onto him tighter and continued explaining herself.

But her explanation was cut short as she soon began falling asleep from all the excitement and fear that overwhelmed her.
His gentle and warm grip around her made her feel at ease quickly and she simply let go as she soon found herself in a deep sleep.

Zeref continued stroking her head as he looked outside at the full moon and tried thinking of ways to make this all stop for her, but wasn't aware such a thing could exist as he tried sleeping himself, but he couldn't help but worry about her now even more as the burden she's feeling isn't something easy to carry and she's doing it anyway.

05:00

The hallway clocks began ringing as everyone slowly started waking up. Dazairi as well woke up feeling drowsy and warm, she looked down to see she was lying on top of Zeref who was holding onto her closely. She woke him up gently and gave him a small kiss as they spoke for a while and got up and went to get ready. The plan was set into motion. The shops begin opening at 7, so they'd go buy supplies for the trip and set out at 8 exact. Everyone had their own list of things to gather up and soon set out to do so. The town was heating up as well it was a very busy day and everyone was already up as shops opened and people circulated. The team was already set out in town and Dazairi sat at home as she was the main suspect and couldn't freely walk through the streets, but taking the opportunity, Zeref rushed back to the house to her and they spent their time quite well together before the others could gather.

8:00

They waited outside the forest as Dazairi summoned her fastest dragon Egio who was pleased to see many faces.

-You all ready to save a princess?

-Get on with it please.

-I don't like him, can I drop him off at some point if he makes me angry?

-Maybe. We'll see.

-Are we even allies?...

-That's to be seen in action, my dear swordsman.

-I love her when she does that... -Zeref simply whispered over to Zack who was simply laughing at Balthazar.

-I think you love her when she does anything at this point...

-She can do a lot more than you think.

-Like?

-That's best for you not to know if you wanna live.

-What's that supposed to even mean?

Feeling as if she's been spoken about, Dazairi tossed a glance at Zeref who simply winked at her and she smiled pointing at his shirt which wasn't properly tucked in and he quickly pulled it back in as they all got on top of Egio slowly. Dazairi loved sitting on his head so she went up to him and sat down as the others simply tried different methods of sitting and tightening down with cloth or rope not to fall off and as they did, he set off.

55/2/1337 08:08

by **Spyduck** Wed Aug 02, 2017 10:10 pm

54/2/1337 16:00

Bhohb wiped the jelly off his foot on the hallway carpet, grumbeling to himself.
“Myeh, I don’t need rescuing. Myeh, don’t step in the food. Pfyeh.”
At the end of the hallway he entered a room in which a large desk was placed in front of a stained-glass window depicting hellfire. As he sat down a well-dressed goblinoid poked his head in through the door.
“My lord has received an answer from the demonic council, shall I bring it and other correspondence?”
Bhohb waved his hand in a motion of agreement. A small stack of letters and scrolls were brought and spread out over the desk, the letter directly before him emblazoned with a fiery symbol. With a sliver of darkness protruding from his finger he cut open the envelope and started reading with his mouth tightening in a concerned expression.
“Subordinate Lord Bhohb, I have brought your concerns to the council upon which an investigation was conducted. The demon council knows nothing of this being. Nothing was found, either in our lore or by our attempts to discern the current location of this challenger. A bulletin has been posted and the realms of hell is made aware of the situation. If you are deemed to be of use you will be kept updated on the situation. Be assured that we do not look kindly upon this creature challenging our authority.
Lord Khaa~”
Bhohb put down the paper and was about leave but another letter caught his eye. A stylized “seven” was printed on the paper.
“Well well, mr. Astral King summons me…” Bhohb whispered under his breath, his mouth turning back to his usual grin.

55/2/1337 10:00

The sun shone upon the polished black tower sprouting out from the astral cityscape. The rays reflected around the cylinder and made it seem like the tower was aflame unless you looked at it from the side from where it blocked out the sun. From there it looked like the tower was sucking in the surrounding light because of the corona the sun spread around its silhouette. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the tower from clear skies and soon a short individual clothed in the robes of the astral magi stepped out onto the balcony at the towers top. As he looked out over Astral he counted the seven other towers around him, six of the same size as the black tower and a single huge tower protruding from the palace grounds.
Bhohb pulled down the hood of his robe and leapt of the balcony, plummeting to the paved road below. Just as he was about to hit the ground a black globular mass appeared under him it not only absorbed the impact but also bounced back, sending the hobbit lying towards the palace at a breakneck speed.

Staring out over his kingdom the astral king Muliphien Veritate [Mulfy-en] was less than content. The king was a broad shouldered man with brown hair and a meticulous beard, some streaks of grey running through it. His robes were heavily embroidered with magical symbols and it almost seemed alive as it billowed around him. Despite his best efforts his daughter had still not been returned from wherever she was held captive. At first he had sent out diplomatic envoys to ask the other kingdoms for help and information, without any fruitful answers. Then he’d sent out two of the astral magi as well as hiring numerous mercenaries and adventurers to find his daughter, yet none had returned, one of the magi had even gone missing. As he watched over Astral he noticed a bluish dot approaching. At first he was stunned but then he conjured a crackling shield of magic around himself. The projectile crashed into to the palace garden and produced a huge cloud of dust and debris, the king watched it tentatively as guards came running. From the dust exited Bhohb whilst brushing of some dust from his robes.
“Ah my king Mulf, just who I was supposed to be spoken to by.” Bhohb said with a grin, bowing slowly to the king.
The king was silent for a short while, but decided to dismiss the guards that had gathered.
“Yes, Lord Magus Bartleby, I need your help.”
Bhohb nodded in agreement, “Yes you do, your majesty.”
The king stared at Bhohb intensely, annoyed by the interruption from this small and smiling man.
“As you know, my daughter is missing. Kidnapped for a ransom most likely. Probably by the Dark Empire, those bastards!” the king cleared his throat before continuing. “I sent two magi to gather intelligence and many other parties are searching for her at my orders, the problem is that I stand here, weeks later, without an answer. Oh, we also lost contact with one of the magi. We sent her to personally meet with the headmasters of Pandora. Those old coots refuse to talk with me.”
Bhohb interrupted the king once again.
“So you want me to save my “colleague” and find the princess?”
“Yes”
“I want something.”
The king’s eyes had a certain fire to them as he answered slowly.
“What.. may that be…?”
Bhohb smiled even wider.
“Oh just the shadow beast crucible from the royal vaults…. and…”
“And?”
“And access to the heavenly library.”
The king stayed calm but you could tell by his eyes that he was like a coiled up snake ready to strike. The king answered with only one word.
“Fine”
And then he walked away, whispering over his shoulder as he passed the hobbit.
“You better bring back my daughter, Bartleby of Shade, or I will have your title and your tower.”

by Tucker789 Sat Aug 12, 2017 10:37 pm

53/2/1337 9:13
Before Bristie could even react, Balthazar and Talia were at each others throats. Balty didn't seem to care for Talia's tone, and Talia didn't seem to care for Balty.
"Guys... lets just- lets just talk this out, okay? no one needs to be fighting, we're all here for the same reason!"
"Bristie." Balty stopped fighting with Talia for a second, and caught his breath. "Shut up." Before he could continue, Talia jumped at him again, knocking them both to the ground.
"Talia! You must stop this nonsense! Tali- are you listening?!?" Sorodona yelled at the girl- but Talia was out for blood, and was not,listening.
Before Bristie could attempt to talk to them again, a push by Talia sent Balty bowling into her. She landed on her butt, dropping several of her belongings.
"Ah dammit, why'd you have to do that for.." she muttered as she crawled around trying to pick her things up. Behind her, the tussle went on, both slowly getting more agitated. Balty had both swords drawn, but Talia seemed to be holding her own quite well- "perhaps Balty isn't going all out?" Bristie thought, tying her knapsack once more- when suddenly a stray kick from Talia hit her on the head.
Bristie hit the ground again, but only Brenneth seemed to see, as he ran up and helped her up.
"My circlet.." she mumbled, feeling it missing from her head.
"Oh, here it i-" Brenneth startet to reach out for it, but Balty's boot almost landed on his hand "It's dangerous with these two fighting like this- we should get further awa... Bristie, are you okay?"
Bristie was holding her head, the pain began swelling up, bringing tears to her eyes, and her hands were shaking. She looked up at Brenneth- but he noticed her eyes looked different, they were a darker color.
She jumped up, and ran between the two as they back away from each other.
"Bristie, I said get out of the-" but Balty never finished his sentence as a swift kick from Bristie landed right where his wound was- though it was sealed up, it still bothered him.
Bristie followed that kick up with a roundhouse at Talia, catching her on the side and knocking her flat.
"You bitch, I'll kill you too!" Talia yelled as she started to get up, but Bristie stood over her- just long enhough for Talia to look into her eyes, then Bristie brought her fist down on Talia, knocking her senseless in a single blow.
Balty did not like being kicked by Bristie, and as she finished off Talia,
Balty swung at her while she had her back turned- but his sword caught only air and suddenly he was face-to-face with a bird, which suddenly turned into a very angry Bristie who swept the legs out from under him. Balty hit the ground with a thud and as he opened his eyes he saw the blurry image of a large bear- which promptly pinned down his arms and legs.
Bristie in her bear form brought her face close to his, and let out a loud roar.
It echoed through the forest and caught the attention of a few passing people, who changed direction to investigate.
"Al- alright, you win!" Balty managed to wheeze out. Bristie stepped off him,
and he sat up, massaging the area's she had been standing on. "I... I didn't realize you could change form that fast..."
Bristie did not reply, even after she returned to her normal form. Her head was still in her hands, and she rushed to Brenneth, who promptly comforted her.
"There, there. Here's your circlet back, its a bit damaged but its still quite beautiful- more so when its on you." he smiled and placed it on her head, and tidied up her hair to cover the bent parts. as he finished, he planted a kiss on her forehead. "Are you okay now, not as mad now that you've taken it out on these two?"
"I... I'm fine now I guess." Bristie turned to Sorodona to apologize "She might be a bit upset that I did that... do tell her I am sorry, I didn't mean for it to go that far."
"It's quite alright... honestly this is probably better." Sorodona noted the confused look on Bristie's face, and added "Nothing, don't worry about it."
Bristie nodded, and turned to Balty to apologize as well, but when she turned around he was not there.
"Eh? where'd he go off to? Is he mad he was beaten by a girl?"
"I dooon't think 'girl' applies in your case, Bristie. more like beaten by a monster.
"Monster, eh? should skin you and mount your head like a trophy!" A voice called from the treeline, and suddenly a dozen armed men appeared- more dusk knights.
"Haven't we kicked your asses enough these past few days? How do you keep finding us anyways? oh..." suddenly Bristie had an idea "I know, one of you will probably know where to find Isabella!" she called out as she readied her bow for a fight.
"You're not gonna find your friend, cuz you are gonna die here!" the lead soldier called out, and as if on cue, the others charged.
Talia was still out cold, and Balty was gone- only Bristie could fight now-
as well as Sorodona, but she did not seem to be taking her large form for the fight. Bristie was able to let off a few arrows, scoring several hits, but she was still promptly surrounded.
She did not have the time to simply aim to disable these men- she knew this was a life or death situation now, so she changed her mood accordingly. Throwing her bow aside and picking up her spear, she took the fight to the soldiers head-on. They offered no real challenge, other than numbers, but Bristie still did not let her guard down.
Taking the form of a panther, she mauled three men back to back- causing hesitation in the others- which gave her time to transform into an elk- and rammed them. Some had dropped their weapons, and as they watched this one woman slaughtering their companions, several ran off- but Bristie caught them all promptly- as a bird she dropped in from above and skewered them with her spear. She left only one alive- but he was injured, an arrow protruding from his side. Breathing heavily and his voice whimpering, he begged for his life.
"I'll let you live, but you're gonna show me where the Dragon priestess is."
"I- I don't know, I swear!"
"Shame." Bristie spoke in a darkly calm voice, as she pulled a dagger and grabbed his man parts "Guess if you are going to die, you wont need these."
"P-p-please..." he cried, tears running down his face. he tried to shuffle away, but Bristie held him in place. "I- I don'[t know where she is, we were sent this way to find that out. Our leader though- he knows! I'm sure of it!"
Brenneth grabbed Bristie's arm and pulled her aside.
"What are you doing to that man? We don't need him, your tracking skills can easily allow us to locate Balthazar- and I know as well as you he knows where she is." he whispered to her out of earshot of the man.
"Do we now?" Bristie looked at Brenneth, but his face seemed worried.
"I'm just messing with him is all. i won't actually kill him. But how do you figure Balthazar knows where Isabella is?"
"I uh... people like him just know things, and they have their secrets.
He might not know where she is, but i'm sure he has an idea. Plus, he knows the two that took her, they are his buddies- so chances are they staged this all and are meeting up somewhere."
"You put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?"
"Maybe... but it makes sense. Why would they want to go searching for him,
just to abandon him. Doesn't seem right to me..."
Bristie nodded in agreement, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Talia stirring. Sorodona watched over her during the fight, and now gently nudged her to wake her up.
"Just play along with me." She simply said, and walked back over to the soldier. "Okay.
Take me to your leader."

54/2/1337 14:39
Bristie, Brenneth, Talia, Sorodona, and the captive man made their way through the forest,
over some hills, and arrived at a sprawling town with a large mansion on a hill. Bristie decided it was time for a rest before the fight to free Isabella- Brenneth had gone into the town to find food.
I really am sorry you know, I didn't realize imps were like that."
"Mhm..."
See, I was always taught that demons like them were evil, and should be killed on sight, like vermin. To think someone would think of one as a friend- that hadn't crossed my mind.
"So you've said..."
"Isabella is a lot easier to talk to than her sister..." Bristie thought to herself, as she glanced over at the very grumpy Talia.
"Well, I'm going to go check on Brenneth- its been a bit since he left, gotta make sure he isn't lost of something.
"Have fun with your boyfriend..." Talia said as Bristie walked away. She looked over at the large mansion- and couldn't help but think her sister could be sitting in
there, looking out through a barred window right at this very hill. After several moments of silence and staring, Talia got up.
"I'm going. Hope that elf girl doesn't mind- but what do I really care what she thinks." and she started towards the town, taking a different route than Bristie took, to avoid her.
The captive soldier now sat alone, tied up and gagged, at the top of the hill.

54/2/1337 14:56
Brenneth had been out of contact with her for some time. He knew if he didn't meet up with her, she would come looking, and he knew she could track him better than anyone.
Why did it have to be this town, and why now? He had seen her sign as he crossed over the hill, and made any excuse to get away from the group- and away from that girl.
by hell, Bristie was a nuisance, always clinging to him and acting all sobby and teary. Brenneth was sick thinking he had to suffer through it longer- all for the good of the master of course. Leading her on, pushing her to continue this journey- though it pained him to act the part of a helpless monk, it was all for the good of the master.
for the good of the master.
Brenneth cursed those words in his head- always present and always haunting him, ever since he was bought.
He stood under a archway, blending into the shadows. People walked by and took no notice of him, which is what he wanted. Several minutes had gone by, and finally someone stopped next to him. She was a lovely woman- silver hair and an incredible body, the woman every man dreamed of meeting. Brenneth was disgusted at the sight.
"Out of all the people, its you."
The woman walked up to him, and gave him a kiss on the lips- pressing her body up against his. Brenneth pushed her away and spat on the ground.
"What's that matter- oh what are you calling yourself now, Brenneth was it? What's that matter, don't like women like me? prefer ugly young girls like that Usari you have basically stuck to you?"
"No, I just don't like You, you damn whore. How many men have you slept with now? I bet if you could have children, you'd double the population of this entire world.
"Oh, but men are so easy to infuence- all you have to do is make them think with this!" as she spoke, she grabbed Brenneth by his parts. Once again, he pushed her away. "So cold, as always..." she said, sounding a bit more sad.
"Cassandra. Why are you here? I don't have the time or patience for your stupid games."
"Serious then, very well." Her voice changed from seductive sounding to dark and commanding. "Master wants a status update. Why have you not acted on the plan yet?"
"I AM acting on the plan, there's just been a delay. For some reason, her memories are not intact, they are scattered and fragmented. Until i find out why, I cannot proceed without fear of a setback- like the setback you caused when you preemptively tried to assassination her."
"That was a miscommunication error- the dumb orc didn't follow the plan.
Master made me suffer for it, I had to find a new body because the old one was beyond repair. Now, I want to avoid going through that torture again- but if you do not step up your game, you will be the- GURKK"
Cassandra suddenly stopped talking, as Brenneth's hand closed around her throat, and started crushing it. She battered at his arm- which had transformed. Instead of human-like flesh, his arm was now black and scaled, fingers were now powerful claws that dug into Cassandra's flesh.
"Do not threaten me, bitch. I could kill you with a single word. This is MY operation, it will proceed by MY decree. The master is patient, he can wait a while longer."
As he finished, he released Cassandra, and she fell to the floor. She gasped for air, and cursed Brenneth in a foreign tongue. Brenneth responded by kicking her onto the floor again,
and stomped her several times. Suddenly he stopped, and listened in to the sounds around him.
"Great, she's coming. You might want to see to that arm, if you want to keep the disguise going." Cassandra sneered, standing up fully again. "But before I go...
have you been with her yet? You seem to be really playing your role well- so well that we are starting to"
"Belaxs." Brenneth spoke, and suddenly Cassandra was gone without ever finishing her sentence. Brenneth looked around, he could sense Bristie was close by, but he still had time. Emerging from the shadows, he caught a lone man walking down the street with an armful of groceries. The man screamed in terror- but it was silenced by Brenneth-
who proceeded to dig his claw into the man's chest. Sparks of black energy wrapped around his claws, and suddenly the man began to shake violently- seemingly aging on the spot.
Magically muted, the man screamed in pain for none to hear- until he did not have the energy left, and his life had been sapped away by Brenneth.
With a human hand again, Brenneth pretended to be picking up the food that was dropped,
as he muttered a spell to conceal the dead man's body.
"There you are! Man, did you really drop our dinner?"
"Yeah... I know. there was a rock in the road and I tripped- I'm just so dumb sometimes..."
"It's okay Brenneth, nothing was really damaged. little dirt on the bread,
but that never hurt anyone. C'mon, Talia is being grumpy and I don't want to be alone right now.
Seen only to Brenneth, the dead man's body slowly disintigrated into ashes,
and blew away in the wind.
For the good of the master.

54/2/1337 15:28
Brenneth and Bristie had reached the hill, and found only the tied up man there. He mumbled under the gag, bouncing up and down. He seemed overjoyed to not be alone anymore.
Bristie removed the gag and shoved a piece of bread in its place, which the man happily chewed.
"I can't believe it... she just ditched us! Maybe I was just a bit much for her..."
"I don't think it was you... she probably didn't want to wait. It IS her sister,
after all."
"And MY friend! Hey bobby, where did the other girl go?"
The soldier nodded towards town, his mouth too full of bread to actually speak.
"Alright, up you go." Bristie hauled the man to his feet, and pushed him towards the town.
"Show us where to go!"

by Shogun Hidora Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:31 pm

55/2/1337 14:30

The dragon landed a short distance from the edge of the city, out of sight of the guards patrolling the wall. Dazairi leaped down from the dragon's head onto the ground, while the others slid off the dragon's back in various stages of exhaustion.
"Remind me to never do that again," Zack said, lying on the ground.
"How could you not want to do it again?" Bristie asked, excited. "It was amazing!"
"It was uncomfortable," Balthazar replied. "Perhaps if there was actually something to hold onto..."
"You can't just go sticking your swords into everything," Zero replied, smirking. "Some things may not enjoy it."
"At least you'd stay on there then..."
"Right!" said Dazairi, approaching the others. "Balthazar and I will go to my guild house, while the rest of you will go and find us all rooms in the tavern."
"Why me?" Balthazar asked, clearly annoyed.
"Easy," Dazairi replied. "That way you don't try to run off, or anything else stupid like that."
"I'm coming too then," Zero said.
"Me too!" Zack called out, springing to his feet.
"Sorry, but I doubt they'd take too kindly to one of the White Rose walking into their headquarters."
"Well, why are you going then?" Zack asked, puzzled.
"Simple. I'm in their guild too."
"How many guilds are you in anyway?"
"I can't remember actually. Somewhere around thirty I think..."
"Can we get going now?" Balthazar asked, getting more annoyed by the second.
"I suppose so," Zero replied, faking a look of disappointment. At this Dazairi desummoned the dragon, and the group made their way towards the city, splitting up once they had passed through the gates.

15:30

"So why are we going here anyway?" Balthazar asked.
"There's a mage here who specializes in tracking down individuals. I'm going to ask her to find the princess for us."
"Won't the Astrals have tried that already? What makes you so sure that you'll be able to succeed where they've failed?"
"I gave the princess a magical necklace last time I saw her. The stone in it contains a magic spell that enables the mage to track it easily."
"Why did you give it to her in the first place though?"
"I felt like I owed her something for all her kindness, and that was the only valuable thing I had at the time."
"I see."
"Wait here," Dazairi told the other two, as they approached the guild house. She walked up and knocked on the door, waiting a short time. Having received no answer, she tried again, but still no-one answered. "That's odd," she said, before starting to push open the door.
At that moment, an explosion blew apart the guild house, sending the three flying back. Balthazar quickly got to his feet, and noticed a short figure emerging from the blazing wreckage, four imps following closely behind carrying someone in chains. "Well, that didn't go quite as expected," Bhohb said, brushing rubble from his cloak.
"You again!" Balthazar called out, drawing his swords. Noticing him approaching, Bhohb opened up a hole in the ground. He the jumped through it, the imps following closely behind, before sealing up the hole behind him.
"Damn it!" Balthazar yelled, sheathing his swords.
"I'm going to see if anyone's still alive in there," Dazairi said, running towards the house.
"Wait for me!" Zero called out, running after her.
"Fine," Balthazar said, following them.

They walked up the stairs into the main hall, and noticed a large metal sphere in the centre of the room. Dazairi walked over and touched it, and it melted away into the ground, revealing several mages within. "What was that all about?" Dazairi asked them.
"He came here earlier today, asking that we release the Astral mage we were keeping prisoner. After we refused, he decided to just take her by force instead. So we blew up the house, hoping they'd be killed in the blast."
"Guess that didn't work out quite the way you'd hoped," Zero said.
"Is Lilith safe?" Dazairi asked.
"I think so. She was in her room when the explosion happened. I don't think the fire has reached there yet."
"I just need her to find someone for me is all."
"This wouldn't have anything to do with those Astrals, would it?"
"We're looking for their princess," Balthazar said. "She's been kidnapped."
"I'm quite aware of that. The question is, who let you in here?" the mage replied, turning towards Balthazar with a threatening look.
"Perhaps it would be best if we went outside now," Zero said, gesturing for Balthazar to follow him. "Let's leave Dazairi to her work."

18:30

"What's taking so long?" Balthazar asked, clearly annoyed by the delay. "I thought Lilith was supposed to be the best at this."
"These things take time," Zero replied. "Be patient."
At that moment, Dazairi emerged from the guild house. "Unfortunately, the fire destroyed Lilith's supplies, and she won't be able to get more until tomorrow."
"So we're stuck here for another day then?"
"I suppose so, yes. Is that a problem for you?"
"Depends," Balthazar replied, scanning the rooftops around them.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with what happened to Viktor, would it?" Zero asked.
"Perhaps."
"I wouldn't worry about it. Even if he did somehow survive, I doubt he'd be in any shape to fight us at this point."
"Still, he's been through worse and survived, so one can't be too careful."
"We'll just make sure to keep watch at all times then. Speaking of which, we should probably go back and tell the others what's happening."
"I suppose so," Balthazar said, as they turned and began walking towards the tavern Dazairi had told the others to go to.

After walking for some time, Balthazar noticed a shadowy figure moving along the rooftops. He stopped, and drew his swords.
"Something wrong?" Zero asked, looking at him.
At that moment, the figure dropped down to the street behind them, before signalling. Seven other figures then dropped down as well, surrounding them. All were White Rose assassins, their leader wearing a white skull mask.
"Why are you here, Five?" Zero asked.
"Well, if it isn't the traitor himself!" Five laughed. "Where's that other vermin you keep with you? Run off like the coward he is, no doubt."
"That's none of your concern," Balthazar said, pointing his sword at the assassin.
"Well, if it isn't the Dark Blade himself," Five said, before laughing. "I've been looking forward to settling things with you."
"I'd like to see you try."
"My pleasure. But first, we're going to have a few words with the girl here," Five said, gesturing with his dagger towards Dazairi. "Take her." At this, the other assassins moved forward, reaching for Dazairi. One laid his hand on her shoulder, then suddenly had his arm severed by a sword dropping from above. "What the hell?" Five exclaimed, as the others looked up and around to see where it had come from. Another sword appeared in mid air, moving towards Five, piercing through him and landing on the ground. Five moved his hands to cover the gaping hole through him, but was quickly impaled by two more swords, and fell to the ground lifeless. The other assassins then began to run away, but were swiftly cut down by another barrage of swords from above. Deep laughter then rang out, seeming to come from all around, before a figure materialized on the rooftops above.
Seeing the figure, Balthazar quickly reached into his cloak, drawing knives, and began throwing them at the figure, who simply summoned a shield to block them. He then dismissed the shield, and summoned two swords, before leaping down at Balthazar, who quickly brought up his own swords to meet the assassin's.
"Run!" called out Balthazar to the other two, before charging at the assassin once more. However, the assassin began summoning more swords, sending them towards Dazairi. Seeing this, Zero raised up a fire barrier to shield them, while Dazairi began to summon her dragons.
"A little faster perhaps?" Zero said, feeling the shield beginning to weaken under the constant shower of blades.
"Just a little longer," Dazairi replied, before returning to the summoning. Zero quickly looked out over the shield, and saw Balthazar and the assassin still fighting, neither one able to gain any advantage over the other. "Done," Dazairi called out, as a dragon appeared behind them, towering over the buildings. "Go Ishryn!" Dazairi called out, as the dragon began to breathe fire at the assassin. The assassin simply summoned a large shield to protect him from the flames; however, this did stop the shower of blades heading for Zero and Dazairi. Exhausted, Zero collapsed to the ground, and Dazairi rushed over to help him back to his feet. "I'm fine," he said weakly, sitting on the ground. "Help Balthazar." Looking up, Dazairi saw Balthazar still fighting, and began to summon another dragon. The dragon appeared on the far side, and began to breathe fire at the assassin, who simply summoned another shield. However, this caused the assassin's swords to disappear, and seeing this, Balthazar kicked him back, sending him flying into a wall. The dragons then stopped breathing fire, and the shields disappeared.
Balthazar began walking towards him, readying his swords. "For my family," he said, before swinging his sword at the assassin's neck. However, a sword came flying towards his, knocking it out of his hand. The assassin laughed, and threw down something at the ground which created a thick cloud of smoke. When it cleared, the assassin was gone.
Enraged, Balthazar punched the wall, before walking over to his sword, which he picked up and returned to it's sheath. He then turned, and saw Dazairi holding Zero, who was unconscious. Balthazar picked him up, and slung him over his shoulders, then helped Dazairi to her feet. They then began walking towards the tavern where the others were staying, which wasn't far from there.

20:00

Balthazar laid Zero down on the bed, and Dazairi laid down next to him. "I'll go and tell the others," Balthazar said, moving towards the door. "Try to get some rest if you can, but make sure you're ready to leave as soon as possible. It's not safe here."
"But what about finding the princess?" Dazairi said, getting back up onto her feet. "We can't leave yet."
"Would you rather die then?" Balthazar asked sharply. "Because that's what's going to happen if you stay here."
"I can't just turn my back on her," Dazairi replied, a defiant look in her eyes.
"I'll see what the others think then," Balthazar replied, leaving the room. "Maybe they'll have some more sense about them than you."

56/2/1337 02:00

The others had agreed to stay and help find the princess, and so Balthazar had decided to sneak away during the night. Perhaps they'd be safe then. Opening the window, he began to climb out onto the roof.
"So much for a group decision," Dazairi said, standing on the other side of the room.
"Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" Balthazar replied, annoyed that she'd caught him trying to leave.
"He told me you'd try to leave," Dazairi replied, staring at him.
"Zero? Perhaps he should have told you that you couldn't stop me then."
"He did say something like that, but I thought I'd try anyway," she replied, moving over to sit on the bed.
"I can't stay with you. It's not safe."
"Can't be any more dangerous than being alone, can it?"
"Not for me. For you. All of you."
"Because of that assassin we met earlier?"
"Yes. He's been hunting me my entire life, and he's already killed enough people that I cared about. I can't risk losing anyone else."
"So your brilliant plan was just to avoid having to care about anyone else entirely?"
"Pretty much."
"That sounds terrible."
"Like you're one to talk."
"I may not have many human friends, but I still have my dragons. I can't imagine having to be without them."
"Then you know why I have to do this."
"So what, you're just going to charge off by yourself, probably to your death, so that you can somehow avoid someone else dying? It's not going to work."
"Perhaps, but I have to try."
"And what about all those others who have already died? You're just going to let that all be for nothing?"
"What could you possibly know? You've never had to watch your family, your loved ones, die in front of you, again and again, until there's no-one left."
"No, you're right. I haven't."
"Exactly."
"I haven't watched my family die, because I never knew them. They left me in that horrible orphanage, and there I was raised. If it wasn't for Setryn rescuing me from that hellhole, I'd probably be dead now."
"I'm...sorry to hear that."
"So don't you dare act like you're the only one who's been forced to be alone. Going and getting yourself killed won't solve anything. Besides, the assassin is after me too, or did you forget about the whole list and everything?"
"I hadn't thought of that."
"If anything, you leaving actually makes it less likely for us to be safe. You know you can't beat him alone. None of us can. But if we work together, all of us, we may just be able to do it."
"Very well," Balthazar replied, closing the window. "It does make more sense anyway, when you put it like that."
"I'm quite impressed," Zero called out, appearing in the doorway. "I have to admit, I didn't think she'd be able to make you stay."
"You should know by now that I'm capable of more than I appear to be," Dazairi replied, smiling at him.
"Fair point," Zero replied. "Well, I'm going back to bed now. One of us has to be up at a reasonable time." At this, he winked at Dazairi, before heading back to his room.
"Very funny," she called after him, before getting up and following him out.

13:00

The group were assembled in the dining hall, except for Dazairi, who had gone to see Lilith. They had ordered lunch, and as they were finishing up, Dazairi came walking in. "We've found her!"
"Well, where is she then?" Balthazar asked.
"According to Lilith, she's in the deserts of Draga'an."
"Draga'an? What could she possibly be doing there?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Zero replied, smirking.
"Fair point."
"Well, let's get going then!"
"We're not taking the dragon again, are we?" Zack asked. "I'm still feeling sick from last time."
"I really don't understand why you have a problem with it," Bristie replied. "I find it amazing!"
"To each their own I suppose," Zack said, shrugging.

14:00

The cloaked figure looked out from the edge of the clearing, and saw the dragon take off, flying towards the south. "Perfect," he muttered to himself, before turning back towards the city.
Bhohb made his way to the guild house, which the mages had already nearly repaired. Standing on the roof, he slipped down through one of the few remaining holes, and made his way to Lilith's room. Noticing her in there, he entered, then turned and locked the door.
"Back already?" she asked, before summoning metal chains from the walls, which wrapped themselves around Bhohb, locking him in place. "No matter. Soon you'll be too dead to cause any more trouble."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Bhohb replied, before melting into the floor beneath him. He reappeared behind Lilith, then waved his hand, causing the chains to wrap around her instead. "Now, let's have a little chat, shall we?" He then pulled over a chair, and took a seat. "I'm told you can help me find out where the Astral princess is. Care to share that information with me?"
"Go to hell," she replied, spitting in his face. "I'll never tell the likes of you anything."
"No? We'll see about that." At this, Bhohb took hold of her, and she found herself in a large lake of fire, burning figures screaming in pain all around her. The heat started to burn her skin, and she too began to cry out in pain. "Well, you did tell me to go to Hell," Bhohb said, shrugging.
"Fine! Fine! I'll talk!" Lilith replied. "Just get me out of here!"
"As you wish." He then took hold of her again, and she found herself back in her room, completely unharmed. "Now, where exactly is the princess?"

by Seamoose Thu Sep 28, 2017 10:53 am

55/2/1337 15:00
While the group was tending to business in the city Zack spotted a very peculiar man who caught his interests. He wanted to go talk to him but a hand quickly grabbed his shoulder.
“Where do you think you’re wandering off to?”asked Zero curiously.
“Look I really need to do this, I might have found a guy that can help me find my master”
“Hmmm, are you sure this is the guy you’re looking for?”
“Probably, I dunno. But I’ll never know if I don’t confront him”
“Alright, alright. But what are you gonna do if the others get suspicious about your disappearance?”
“Oh, that. Don’t worry about it”.
Zack took up a talisman and started chanting some words. Suddenly he threw the talisman on the ground and from it emerged another Zack.
“This lil’ guy will make sure I don’t get found out.”
“Wow, I’ve never seen you use this trick before, I thought you just knew how to fight.”
“Well, you have to know some tricks if you’re gonna be an assassin. You can’t just rely on your strength to pull you through everything”
“True, true.”
“Btw this guy can act like me for the most part, but make sure he doesn’t get into fights otherwise he’s gonna turn back into a talisman and I’ll get found out.”
“Got it, I’ll keep you covered. Don’t worry. Just make sure to come back as soon as possible.”
And so Zack wandered off trying to catch up to the mysterious figure that caught his interest, while Zero was left to care for the Zack clone.

Zack managed to catch up to his target and noticed him entering a bar. He proceeded to enter the bar and was greeted with a dreary atmosphere and the overwhelming smell of alcohol. Upon further inspection all the customers looked like rugged mercenaries looking to drown their worries in alcohol. Zack noticed his target, he was sitting at the bar counter getting ready to order a drink. As he was about to order Zack quickly jumped in and offered to pay for his drink. The man got confused for a bit but quickly calmed down.
“What do you want?”
“Oh, I just want a bit of information that you might have” Zack produced a pouch of coins from his jacket and discreetly pointed to it.
“Quite blunt aren’t you.”
“I prefer to call it efficient.”
“Let me see exactly how much you got in there”
While the man examined the contents of the pouch, the barista put down the drink he ordered. When the man finished examining the contents of the pouch he put on a slight smirk, grabbed the drink and chucked it towards the back of the bar hitting someone in the head. A huge man stood up and started to yell,“Who the fuck threw that?!”
The man who Zack was talking to pointed to the rogue, “This guy, right here!”, and pushed him into a crowd of angry people and moments later all hell broke loose. As Zack fell backwards, he rolled onto his feet and with a swift skip he mounted a nearby table. The huge man ploughed through the room, pushing several patrons of their chairs, and swung a large cudgel at Zacks head. Zack dodged nimbly and leaped at the man’s head, planting his feet squarely in his face. The man tipped backwards slowly, like a felled tree. Standing on the man’s face he looked around. Several tables were flipped over and one had been split by the strike from the large man. Angry mercenaries started to surround Zack but suddenly the huge man rose from beneath his feet. Losing his footing, Zack held on the man’s face, covering his eyes. The man tried to throw Zack off but his large muscles prevented him from reaching his back, where Zack hung. The crowd started swinging clubs at the rider but were unable to hit the man swinging around. Instead they hit the huge man who went berserk and swung his cudgel all around him. Waves of grizzled old men fell to this whirlwind of crushing blows, and as they started to thin out Zack reached into his clothes and produced a small iron dumbbell, which he struck into the raging man’s temple. Zack jumped off of the man’s back as the giant fell towards the floor. With a wink and a smirk he flipped the stunned barman a gold coin.
“For the drinks.”

Outside the bar Zack climbed a nearby house. The fight had only lasted for about three minutes but his target could already have vanished in the city. Jumping from roof to roof he soon caught a glimpse of the man’s clothing, turning into an alley. Zack followed along the rooftops to intercept the man. Zack dropped down from the rooftops in front of the man.
“Hey, what the hell was that, I asked you to give me info not to throw in an angry mob to fend for myself.”
“Hee, so you managed to sneak out did you? You’re quite slippery aren’t you? Okay, then follow me for a bit”
“What, no explain to me why you did that!”
Zack walked and talked with the man who seemed to almost ignore him.
“Alright that’s enough, what the hell is your deal?”
“Well, let’s start off things with a simple introduction. My name is Xander and I’ve been ordered to kill you mister Zack.”
Xander begins to throw his knives at Zack, which he manages to barely dodge.
“Wait, I still don’t understand what’s going on, why were you ordered to kill me?”
“If you want to know that then we’ll talk after the fight, if you survive that is.”
And so they began fighting, each throwing knives and blocking the others. Zack managed to find cover and hid behind it for a bit trying to think of a way to stop this stalemate. Xander saw this as an opportunity to get closer and lunged at Zack trying to stab him in the throat but another Zack appeared behind Xander with a knife at his throat.
“Hah, guess you got me.”
“That’s right now start talking.”
“Could you get rid of this knife first, it kind of makes me unwilling to talk.” Zack then pulled the knife closer to his throat “Or maybe it makes me more willing to talk. Hmm, what to start with, well, I guess we should start with the most important part first huh. Your master is alive and well.”
“What?!”

16:00
In the distance Zero saw how Zack’s clone started to disappear. Balthazar and Dazairi were focusing on something else and missed Zack form disintegrating behind them. After a couple of minutes Balthazar asks Zero,
“So where did your friend go?”
Zero shrugged, “He needed a beer to settle his stomach, dragon riding y’know.”

by SergeantTurtle Tue Oct 17, 2017 12:10 am

55/2/1337
The breeze was gently caressing Talia's skin as she walked through the forest, the sky was bright blue with small cloud tufts. The sun broke through the treetops, illuminating the green grass and moss. The two companions decided to take a small break, sitting down by a tree that overlooked a small lake. The water was glistening in a mesmerizing fashion and Talia couldn't help to think back on the day before. The feeling of regret struck her, that she should have gone together with the group, atleast stay a while longer. Yet, she was relieved. Relieved to know that her sister actually existed and was safe. Even though Talia herself did not find a good connection with the group, Dazairi did in one way or another. Perhaps...she had not given them a fair chance? Her sister wouldn't team up with a dark imperial without reason would she? Lost in thought, she was startled by a nudge in the side.
"You thinking about anything in particular?" Sorodona looked up at her curiously.
"Well..I...kinda."
"Don't worry, we will see them again. As I told you before, we got a new life ahead of us. Alot of new people to meet, who all have their own flaws and strong points. But if what Yinros said is true, then we need all the help we can get."
"What would I do without you?" Talia pet her dragon companion and stood up.
"Right then, lets get going." she said as she threw her satchel over the shoulder and Sorodona climbing up the other shoulder.
They continued westward towards the great mountain ridge between Azura and the Astral Kingdom, following the river towards their destination. Even though Talia had no idea how to actually find the shrine, she trusted in Yinros that she was led on the right path. Even Sorodona had no idea where the entrance was located, apparently she haven't even seen any of the infernal dragon lords.
After having traveled for a couple of hours, the sun started setting and they decided to make a campfire. The river supplied them with plenty of food and the broken sword served as a perfect hunting tool. They sat around the campfire, eating and enjoying eachothers company. After a long while, they decided to spend the night under a big tree which had the perfect shape for sleeping. Shortly after laying down, they both fell asleep to the sounds of the night.

56/2/1337
Talia was quickly woken up by the sudden sounds of crows and flapping wings in the treetops. Although the clouds had thickened, she could still see that the sun had just gone up. Looking further into the forest, she could see a deer running east as if something had startled it. She picked up her satchel, used her sword to poke out the ashes from the campfire.
"Lets get going, I don't think it's safe here for much longer." Talia said to Sorodona who rose from her slumber, shook like a wet dog and reluctantly climbed up Talia's arm.
They continued their journey as planned, but not without paranoia. Something had scared those animals, and judging by their direction of escape, they were heading straight for it. The clouds covered the sky and a thick fog started to form in the forest. Despite the fog, they could make out the mountains in front of them.
"Almost the-" Talia interrupted herself when she saw some dark figures moving in the fog. She quickly hid behind a tree and hoped that the figures had not seen them. Even if they were friendly, she didn't want to risk anything. They slowed their breathing, keeping as quiet as they possibly could and listened. Small twigs breaking, the ruffled sound of cloth touching the ground and the leaves. Talia could hear the sounds coming from behind the tree to her right, slowly moving towards the left. After making sure that they were far away, she slowly peeked from behind the tree. The six figures wore rugged, hooded robes and slowly walked north in a crippled, unnatural fashion. Their tattered cloaks had a strange mark on their back, something that Talia swore she could have seen somewhere else. All of a sudden she felt a sick, strange sensation in her chest and stomach. They checked their surroundings to make sure no one else was present and quickly walked towards the opposite direction of where the strange figures were going. As they were walking, they saw the same symbol engraved into some of the trees. Those trees that were marked, slowly started losing their leaves.
"Who were those people?" Talia asked as she touched a marked tree.
"Tribesmen who lives in these woods? I am not sure myself, unfortunately." Sorodona was inspecting another tree and walked over to Talia.
"But this mark is... familiar to me. And why would the tribesmen who lives in the forest, destroy their own home?" She picked up a leaf, rubbed it with her thumb and threw it back.
"Hmm..." Talia looked further into the foggy forest and saw the trail of fallen leaves.
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm sure Yangmungar can wait... we need to figure out what is going on here."
"Follow the fallen leaves?" Sorodona asked as she once more climbed up her companion's shoulder.
"Follow the fallen leaves."

The following hour was surprisingly quiet, barely any animals and the wind was nonexistent. Slowly the fog started to dissipate as they made their way to the mountain ridge, where the trace seemed to end.
"Now what? There are no more trees." Sorodona jumped off Talia's shoulder and started walking along the edge of the mossy rock wall. After a couple of meters they found a place which seemed suitable for climbing and without hesitation they began their ascent. The fog had cleared up but the rocks were still a bit wet, which made it a struggle to get a good grip. They eventually reached a small plateau where they could rest.
"Phew... this feels like that time we went from Pandora to Azura."
"Atleast this time you don't have the extra weight." Sorodona said and smirked.
Talia snickered and looked out over the forest.
"I wonder what that old tool is up to."
"Probably some weird magical stuff that we have no- hey.. LOOK!" Sorodona walked over to the edge of the plateau looking north. On the cliffside there was a strange pathway leading further up into the mountains.
"Is that what I think it is? How do we get over there?"
"I don't know... fly?" Sorodona started flapping her wings and did a small leap.
Talia was eyeing the wall and tried to figure out a way that she could climb to get to the pathway. She then stretched her legs and arms and went as far back on the ledge as she could, facing north.
"Are you gonna do what I think you are gonna do? Because if you're thinking of doing what I think you are gonna do I don't think you should do it." Sorodona looked at Talia with worry.
"There is a rock sticking out from the wall over there. If it's not loose, I can jump over there and grab on to it." Talia readied herself for the jump and started sprinting. Flying through the air she immediately regret her decision as she noticed that she didn't jump high enough. As her fingers barely scraped the underside of the rock, she started falling. But not for long as her upper body slammed into another ledge further down, stopping her from certain death. Being close to sliding off, she took a new grip and tried to pull herself up. Despite the struggle, she eventually succeeded. Sorodona gracefully landed beside her with a scared expression.
"Are...are you okay?"
"I'm...I'm fine..." she stood up slowly and held her hand over her ribs. She looked up and groaned to see that they actually landed on the pathway which they were aiming for.
"Hhaahaaaha... I... I actually did it." She smiled at Sorodona with a nervous laughter.
"Could you not make it more crazy than it already is?" Sorodona gave Talia a furious look and started walking up the pathway with Talia following shortly after.

After walking up the pathway they eventually stopped at a small cave entrance, where the path seemed to end.
"Think this might be it?" Talia examined the entrance.
"I'm not sure, seems a little bit too...boring? I expected a big entrance with lava or something."
Talia looked up at the sky, noticing that the sun was setting.
"We might as well make it a shelter for the night and continue our journey tomorrow if that is the case."
As they walked into the cave they had a hard time seeing what was in front of them. But the further they wandered through the surprisingly dry grotto, they started seeing a reddish glow fill the darkness. They got to a big room, which was brightly lit up. Upon further inspection, they saw a big gaping whole in the middle of the room which was the source of the light. Slowly making their way over, they noticed cracks around the hole as if it had caved in.
"This is amazing, what is it?" Talia walked closer to the edge and looked down the rocky slope that followed.
"I would say that we hit jackpot." Sorodona walked up to Talia's feet and looked down aswell. Suddenly the ground beneath them started cracking and the edge of the hole crumbled. With one fast movement, Talia grabbed the edge and was now hanging above the slope.
"Think I can get u-" Talia was not able to finish her question before the rock which she was grabbing got loose and she fell onto the hard surface below. Sliding down the slope, in a not so comfortable way, she had not much time to think before she smashed into the bottom of the chasm. Once more she slowly got up, frustrated and in pain.
"Why... in the name of... WHY did they make the entrances to the shrines the most dreaded thing in the universe? If this even IS the shrine!?" She shouted towards where she had come from, seeing Sorodona descend slowly.
"Simply because no simple man should be able to tread to these places. And I can see why." Sorodona looked around the chasm, amazed.
"I'm getting a feeling of deja vu." Talia was amazed by the architecture and the flowing lava rivers. It resembled the shrine of that of his brother, but.. hotter. They passed the bridge over the lava river and found themselves standing in front of a gigantic, flaming gate.
"Is this what you were expecting?" Talia smiled at Sorodona who was awestruck by the sight, which soon turned to a horrified expression.
"Yes... but not that." She jumped down from Talia's shoulder and walked over to an odd wall. Talia followed, not sure what she meant and got the same sick feeling as before.
"That mark."

by **Cookie** Sat Oct 28, 2017 3:02 am

55/2/1337 15:34

Dazairi was packing up her things properly and tightening them onto her belt as the others gathered up finally. Set had summoned himself onto her arm and they all climbed onto the back of Egio as he started flapping his wings and took off without a problem,
After a few minutes there was complete silence as everyone simply sat around and looked at their things or down at the scenery,
Dazairi started wondering what the land of Drag'han was like as it was the first time she'd ever gone so far south. The land seemed to be closed off from others as not much is ever known about it.

16:00

Dazairi heard a sound come from the back of Egio and looked back to see that Zack was suddenly missing. Hearing the poor excuse from Zeref it was clear neither Dazairi or Balthazar were buying that lie, but she didn't feel like poking into that situation too much as it wasn't really important to her now. She looked over at Balthazar after he had a bit of a private talk with Zeref to the side and finally decided to speak to the man who was tagging along with them.

"So, Dark Empirian trying to help the Astral King, sounds fishy."

"It's not about sides for me, it's about the payment and the information behind it. I don't intend to do anything more than required.

"Really?"

"What's the use of lying to you now?"

"Fair point, but I'm just curious what information you could possibly gain from a rescue mission."

"You'd be surprised what people don't notice."

Dazairi still didn't feel like she got much out of him, but she decided to persist in his life and try to figure him out.

"Ever had a family?"

"All dead now." Balthazar said bluntly, but noticed the sour and sad expression on her face and looked away.
"But, yes, I did used to have a family once."

"I'm sorry for asking...I didn't mean to..." Dazairi was cut off by Balthazar shaking his head and she felt terrible now for asking. She started wondering if the reason he's so interested in this is revenge, but didn't want to ask anything more and soon the place went to silence again, until Zeref came up behind her and held her close and a smile grew on her face once again.

56/2/1337 23:57

The dark sky was illuminated with thousands among thousands of stars and it gave off an amazing view as Egio announced they were approaching Drag'han territory. The dragon soon went into lower altitude and started becoming hyper.

"Dazairi! Dazairi! We're gonna be in a desert! What do you think lives here?-"

But as soon as he finished his sentence, Egio vanished from under the group. Bristie turned into her crow form and Dazairi started chanting out to summon Set, but as soon as she finished, he didn't appear and she continued falling down and they all crashed down into the sand. Dazairi soon got up and looked around noticing everyone was either stuck into the sand or cleaning it off their clothes as they were getting up. A hand came to help her up and it was the only one who didn't crash.

"Thank you, Bristie."

Happy and surprised she got called Bristie by Isabelle, she smiled far too happily and walked away to see if the others needed help too.

"I'm all down for unexpected things, but...this is isn't one of them."

"Are you alright?

Balthazar shook his head at Zero's remarks and kept dusting off sand. "If he has the energy to make those horrible jokes, he's fine."

"Don't be rude! Besides we don't know what even happened."

"Well, we know for sure, something's wrong with our Dragon lady."

As everyone turned their attention to Dazairi, she wasn't paying them any back as she was still trying to chant out any kind of dragon to come out, but it wasn't working. She looked back at the path they came from and started wondering what happened.

"Are you possibly out of energy?"

"Not possible...I wouldn't be up if I was, he simply vanished...I don't know what happened.

"It's almost like something blocked him."

"Blocked him?"

Surprised by Balthazar being the one to respond, Bristie simply looked away. "I mean her, not him."

"You mean like a magic cancellation spell?" Brenneth finally spoke up after he was helped up by Zero.

"Magic cancellation spell?"

"Oh yeah! They taught us about those! A spell able to cancel out any other type of magic, but those are specific...and it needs a caster."

"Meaning we might've been followed here." Balthazar started looking around as he raised his guard up.

"There is also a possibility it's a force field. A large barrier meant to cancel out magic." Zeref spoke up and drew everyone's attention, but as he attempted casting magic, he could easily use any type of spell and suddenly his idea was completely denied.

"Isa, do you know any other type of magic other than summoning?"

"Well, Setryn tried teaching me a fire spell, but I always was terrible at it."

"Try using it."

With enough convincing, Dazairi finally started casting the spell and it was going good until she lost focus realizing she can cast magic and it exploded in her face causing a bit of a burn sensation on her face. "Ouch..."

"Let me take care of that." Bristie instantly went over and healed her up as everyone around was once again confused.

"So there are two possibilities it seems. We are either being followed and her ability is specifically being targeted or this entire place is covered in some sort of anti dragon barrier."

"Considering the news I've heard about Drag'han, the second is more likely. This is the country of anti-dragons.
Seems like they are true dragon slayers and it's possible they are protecting their country this way. But we shouldn't rule out the possibility of being followed." Everyone looked at him in agreement and he walked over to Dazairi and held her close hoping to cheer her up somehow and not feeling useless.

"Well...at least we made it, but where are we exactly...?" Dazairi picked up and looked at her map and started searching through it.

"No matter where we look, we'll enter the desert. But we'll end up at the ocean side if we just follow the line straight ahead!"

"Easier said than done. It's easy to lose orientation in the middle of the desert, we also need shelter through the midday times, it's impossible to cross then."

"Well if we're assuming it's a barrier, we'd be near the border, but where exactly...

"I made Egio follow the main roads towards the country so, we should be around this area." As everyone started giving input on which direction to go, they noticed Brenneth was gone. Bristie started panicking and looking around in her animal form, but she couldn't even get a scent of him anymore and wondered where he could've gone, until they felt a horrible rumble under them. "What the..." Everyone was on high alert and soon a gigantic worm came out and Brenneth was blocking it's attacks.
"WHAT IS THAT?"

"Doesn't matter right now, we need to kill it." Balthazar along with Zero jumped towards the large creature and slashed at its front, but the skin of the creature was barely scratched and soon they realized there was no weak spots to hit.
Then Balthazar jumped onto the creature and ran up to the front of it, it had no eyes, a large worm, but the top of it near the mouth was soft as Balthazar cut into it and started pulling down causing the creature to thrash around and get enraged.

"Brenneth stay here with Isa! Protect her!" Bristie turned into her panther form and jumped up onto the beast as well and started stabbing into it along with Zero and Balthazar. The two then suddenly looked at each other and turned vertically and simply dragged their swords down the beast until they got stuck and they held back onto them trying to stay on.
It was an effective move, the creature soon went under again and after a while, everything went back to normal and everyone grouped up. "I think we're safe...I don't sense it anymore."

"Well...hopefully. What was that anyway?"

"We'll find out soon, once we reach a town or city."

"Well according to this map, that will take a while, so get ready guys, we're going to have a very fun time together!"

Everyone seemed on edge from what happened and Dazairi was feeling terrible for losing her ability and hoped she could handle things with her physical abilities. They started heading towards a cave area that was near the border and hoped to find something or someone there.

57/2/1337 01:21

by **Spyduck** Fri Nov 10, 2017 4:03 pm

56/2/1337 20:00

The soothing hum of soft music was lying like a warm blanket over the subterranean room. Candles were lighting up the a stage and a small group of tables, their light casting flickering shadows on the red walls of the small cave. A trio of imps playing instruments not unsimilar to a contrabass, a piano, and a drumset, spread a jazzy melody from stage, entertaining the guests in the room.
“Quite good, aren’t they?” Bhohb asked his two lady guests sitting on opposite sides of the table. “I had them train in this place called Aleran. Horrible people the Alerani. Brilliant, but horrible.” The lady to his left, the surly Pandoran mage, Lilith, ignored him and made a mocking face towards him.
“They are lovely lord Bartleby,” answered the other lady, a young, blond woman, dressed in a snow white, flowing silk dress. “and this coffee is amazing!” she brandished her cup as to underline this statement.
“Yes indeed, it’s a special blend. Grown by my subjects and roasted in the flames of purgatory.” Bhohb answered courteously. “But now I think we should get down to business. Lady Alyss, I’m sent on a mission by ol’ kingo himself, just like you. Unlike you, however, I did not get captured by some second rate Pandoran guild.” lady Alyss blushed at this comment and hid her face behind her hand. Bhohb continued, “Since we now know the approximate location of the astral princess, thanks to our grumpy arcanist here, we actually have a real lead to follow. Now I’m not sure I should bring you ladies along as you both don’t seem to have had any good experiences in this pursuit, so far.”
The lady in white rose quickly, her chair falling down behind her. “Oh please lord Bhohb, you have to let me help you. I can’t stand being locked up in my tower making thunder stones all day.” she clasped her hands pleadingly.
“Alright, alright, but we do it my way. Ok?” the young lady nodded. Bhohb smiled a wicked smile and opened his belt pouch and made it wide. “Then get in the bag.”

22:00

Having saved his colleague, which would increase his influence in Astral, Bhohb now set is eyes on the princess. As he strolled down the tunnels of the brood pits he could hear the angry screams of his Pandoran captive cursing him and the imps to hell. “She really shouldn’t speak of hell so lightly”, Bhohb thought smugly, to himself. Soon he turned into the room where he had used the mirror to locate the dragon priestess. But instead of getting the mirror he opened his satchel and withdrew a strange looking carpet. One side was a sandy beige and the other side was a light blue. With a snap of his fingers he summoned a yellow imp.
“Oh, yes, could you bring the infiltration unit and tell them to suit up for the desert.”
The imp made a few gestures with its hands and gurgled back, “Mergle meh luen?”
With his face in his hand Bhohb clarified. “Desert, as in sandy wasteland, not ice cream.”
The imp nodded and ran away. Soon a group of imps dressed in sand coloured robes snuck into the room.
“Good, we’re all set.” Bhohb said to himself, and in a flash the carpet, imps, and hobbit were gone.

23:50

Bhohb was hovering with his imp troupe over the peaks of the mountains between the Astral kingdom and Drag’han. Despite it being dead of night, his white, unblinking eyes saw much. For example a group of people riding a dragon.
“They’ll land here soon….”, he mumbled under his breath, shivering a bit with anticipation.
But to his surprise, they didn’t. As they kept flying towards the dunes Bhohb’s face changed expressions many times. But as the dragon after a few minutes simply disappeared from the sky, he laughed loudly.
“Time to save the day”

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