"Ah, then well met, miss Mara, miss... I still don't think I have your name," Tyron admitted while looking at Raena. As they explained the monster and the reward, Tyron couldn't help but notice the two young ladies looking at his sword, and at one point, the lady whose name he didn't know exclaimed something about it. "Ah, I hope my blade isn't bothering anyone," he spoke before setting it down into the grass. "It's simply a bit unwieldy to sit like this with it strapped to my back." He laughed a little bit after the statement, before picking up the weapon with both hands and slowly putting it on his back as he stood. "Though I suppose that one should not be sitting about if things are dangerous as you all say."

Once he'd stood up and brushed some errant grass from his pants' leg, he looked between the three. "Miss Caelyn, miss Mara, miss... Booming voice?" He tried to think of something quick to call Raena, and no doubt failed miserably. "It may be prudent to find your beast, preferably before it finds us."

"Miss Mara, I'm not looking to take the reward. I was only teasing ya. I am here for it, but for my own reasons. I had planned on giving the reward to someone who was needin' it. That's honest word."
Caelyn at that moment realized she really wasn't thinking with a well thought plan. "I truly don't know that I can defeat the beast by myself but, if I failed I figure I'd have died trying to protect good people. Isn't that our purpose for being here? To be as good as we can, and save those who are needin' it? Sorry for the rant miss..."
Caelyn returned to her inward thoughts as a very jubilant girl dropped down from a tree. "Woah! What the hell?! How long have you been there?! You gave me quite a scare....um.. I don't know your name either."
Tyron's idea was not lost on Caelyn. "Aye, I'm not trying to doubt any of your abilities but going up against a monster with what little information I know isn't my finest moment. I'll be willing to lend a hand to you guys if you'll be needing it."

Veragwen nodded, "I'll let you know if I hear of him." she said as she started to work on another villager. She smiled over her shoulder, "Well, you could help me bandage up the wounded for now. You could talk to them too. They might have some information for us. When we're done I'll show you to my place. For now you can set your things over there next to mine." She said, pointing to her own pack before returning back her patients. "I'd take you to my place first, but these people need help as soon as possible."

Raena stared at them. The nerve! She had said her name about half a dozen times already! .. Wait.. she had remembered to say that out loud and not just think it really loudly, right? Either way.. "Raena. My name is Raena." And with that she proceeded to braid a small section of Mara's hair while the others talked.

...

...

"Anybody want toast? For some reason I'm craving toast.. We should go to town and get some toast... and oranges.."

"I'm afraid I would be a horrible hand at that task. I am usually the one inflicting wounds, not healing them if you know what I mean... I don't want to be an extra burden and harm these villagers by mistake." Nayash laughed as she spoke the words. It was true, she was a fighter, not a healer, and she worried that she'd make the wounds infected or that shed accidentally traumatize the victims more or accidentally pull the bandages too tight.

She waved her hand at Veragwen as if saying "don't worry about it" then walked over to the corner of the tent where Veragwens equipment was placed, and carefully placed her hammer to the side, leaning against one of the beams. Then she hung her pack over it, as well as her thinner poncho. This way she could easily travel lightly from person to person to interrogate each and everyone. Hopefully without being too frightening.

She walked outside the tent to find someone that seemed to have gotten out of the battle more easily than others. Someone who had already had their wounds tended, but hung around to support the other victims, or for support themselves, and spotted a brown haired man leaning against one of the town houses. His arm was sprained to a pin, and hoist up around his neck for support. Nayash assumed it was a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder. Other than that he looked relatively unharmed, so she approached the man, and pulled the best suportface she could. It wasn't really sucessful.

"I heard yo-"
"Leave me be. You have no buissness in Sele aside from the price money. You have no hope of suceeding. It is the devil itself, it will devour us all!"
He paused and with a shaky hand he pointed at Nayash, and his eyes turned wild. Nayash tried to back away and show that she meant no harm, but he continued.
"It was YOU! You were probobly the cause why it's here to start with! You and your desert witchery, surviving on nothing. you summoned the beast to take over our town! WITCH!"
"No, sir, I came to this town to help with the beast, that is true-"
"Speak no more! You are a liar and your words are poison!" The man stood up with a bit of trouble and took a step towards Nayash, to wich Nayash just turned around and started walking away. The last thing she wanted was to become an extra issue, and she didn't want any commotion, so she chose to avoid it.
"You!" he continued babling behind her, but she ignored him and decided to try her luck further away down the street. Perhaps, if she was lucky, find someone who wasn't as traumatized by the monster.

Veragwen was working on another patient when she heard a commotion outside closeby. She stood and ran outside to see what it was. She looked around and grasped the situation pretty quickly. "Owen! Is that the way you speak to visitors? Small wonder we don't get any. Go on home. I think your mother still needs some medicine." she said, handing it to him and shooing him off.

She turned to Nayash, "Sorry about that. Owen tends to be very....superstitious and connect dots that aren't really there if you know what I mean..." she placed her hand on the woman's back and turned her back inside the clinic. She grabbed her things and motioned for Nayash to do the same. "I'll show you to my house, I guess. Someone else can finish up. The seriously injured have already been tended to."

As they walked, Veragwen looked at Nayash, "So tell me...What do you know about this man you're after? What did he do that would make you chase him so far?"

Astharoth-Posing as Armond

Astharoth rode into Seles on one of the King's horses dressed in royal drapes and hopped off of the horse as he came to a slow stop in the center of town. "I'm an Lord Armond advisor to King Zeke!! Who among you are the ones who shall slay the beast plaguing this village?!! I say step forth and i shall take you to the castle!! We shall speak to you of this most dire situation and of your reward once you have come to the castle with me!! Is there no warriors among you who seek the reward?!! If you wish to come with me back to the castle then i shall await you outside the village to the east of here at the entrance to the woods!! I shall wait for who ever may slay the beast at the entrance to the woods for one hour!!" Astharoth got onto his horse and started to stroll through town looking out the corner of his eye to see who may follow him, he wasn't absolutely sure if the warrior from death frontier would follow or even if they were still there or not but he had a feeling with his announcement that some may come to the woods east of Seles Village, as he made his way through Seles Village he finally left and made his way to the woods where, like he had stated he would wait for the warrior or perhaps warriors who would be the ones to slay the beast plaguing the village and collect their reward(s) at the castle.

The villagers of Seles started to gather the injured and move them indoors, the sun was setting, and everyone in the village knew what that meant. The creature would strike again. The guards within the city rushed around fanatically, assisting the injured as well, along with making reports to Veragwen. Once the sun had completely set, there were no villagers outside, only what was left of the Seles guard. Tonight seemed to be quiet, too quiet. None of the forest spoke like it usually did, another clear sign the beast was near, but where would it strike from? The south? Maybe the east? It was all a guess by this point, for the creature had no particular pattern when it attacked. The guards were on edge for what seemed to be years, but were in all actuality, hours. Finally a noise could be heard that broke the stillness of the night, was it the creature, or was it something else? The bushes at the northern entrance rustled, then emerged two scouts that had been sent out days ago, both barely able to stand. They collapsed as they reached the border entrance, several guards coming to their aid, but arriving too late for one of them. The other only had minutes to live, so they rushed him to the captain, where he spoke before Veragwen would be able to ask. "It's coming...the beast...it's...it's...a giant...scorpion...hide too thick...like steel plates..." he said a little above a whisper. He passed moments after that, and for a few more, there was silence again. Until fear started to spread, and it spread quickly, eventually the news of a giant indestructible scorpion was known. Then panic set in, "A giant scorpion?! How are we supposed to beat it when we can't even pierce it's hide?! Seles is doomed! I say we make a run for it, it's not worth it to stay here and die like dogs!" one guard shouted. There were resounding agreements from most of the other guards, "I don't care if it IS our duty! I'm getting out of here before I'm scorpion chow!" shouted another from the rear.

As the shouting intensified, it drowned out the approach of the scorpion. The man who had shouted from the rear shouted in pain now, and as the others looked to see why, that was when it became evident the scorpion was now upon them. Flicking it's tail, it sent the previously attached guard through the air, causing him to land just in front of Nayash. A shrill shriek from the creature was all that was heard before it shot forward with blinding speed, snatching up unfortunate guards and severing them in half with it's incredibly sharp and powerful pincers. As the remaining guards fled, several stayed to fight the beast, firing arrows and using their lances. However, just as the scout had said, it's hide was far too tough to pierce with any weapons. The arrows deflected harmlessly away, while the lances snapped, breaking under the force of their wielders' thrusts. It truly did seem that Seles was doomed, it would take a miracle to stop a monstrosity such as this, and in this day and age, miracles were far and few between. The beast hissed at several lances and lowered it's tail, poison spraying out from the stinger's tip. The lances instantly began to corrode, along with their wielders. The scorpion spun sharply, letting off another stream of poison, killing a few more guards and destroying a large wooden shrine that had been in the village for as long as anyone could remember. The beast shrieked again, this time setting it's sights on the pair of warriors, Nayash and Veragwen. It snapped it's pincers, then charged towards them.

Marmalade smacked Raena away from her hair and quickly removed the braid. It was too late, the hair that had been woven was now in tight waves that made her hair look strange. Marmalade scowled at the girl and was about to say something when she heard a ruckus coming from Seles. Shouts and screams. The beast had attacked while they were sitting pretty! With a loud curse, Marmalade started running toward her new home. She wouldn't let it be destroyed without a fight!
"Come on! Its attacking!" She yelled back to her acquaintances.

When she arrivedat the eastern entrance, the monster had shown what it truly was. A scorpion. There weren't scorpion in this area. Where did it come from?! There was a small hesitation as she stared up at the monster, but it quickly faded as she noticed it was charging civilians. Marmalade lifted her scythe and ran and jumped on the scorpions claws and brought her scythe down hard. Her blade did little more that scratch its hard shell. Realizing it was going to take a more tactical approach, Marmalade made a swift exit as it raised its claw and slammed it down.
Now it was after her. The only thing that ran through her mind was, 'Oh crap.' There was no chance for a second thought as at swung its tail down to her. She was able to move out of the way, but only just as her mind registered the attack late. She was definitely going to need some help.

Having seen the woman run and heard the noise that she had, Tyron followed behind, soon seeing the giant scorpionlike beast and blinking. "I assume this is the monster you came here for?" He asked with a neutral expression on his face. "I can see why it would be something of concern..." He drew his claymore from the sheath, taking wielding it with both hands to deal with its imbalanced weight.

"... Hmmm..." He observed the scorpion's moves, and when it struck at Mara, he thought to run forward, but when she dodged, he held off. "We should try to sever the tail! He exclaimed, moving off to the side so that if the scorpion came at him, it would expose its tail to the others, then he slammed his sword into the beast's armored hide.

It did about as much as anyone would expect, only sending shakes through his arms, but hopefully annoying the monster into paying attention to him.

After their introductions were cut short by a HUGE beast, Caelyn's face sprouted a grin in fierce determination. "Yeesh! That's one big bug!" Caelyn said as she charged. Mara was nearly pummeled by the giant claw. But Tyron stepped in with his giant sword and shook it back. The beast really didn't like that one bit. One thing that Caelyn noticed though was the beast was pretty sluggish with its claws. She had a feeling that the creature's speed was in the form of that nasty tail and its acid. She quickly weighed over her options, her kukris wouldn't do much to hack through that tail as thick as it was, so she was useless there. "Hmm.. where do I come in on this fight." She had gotten very good with her daggers, but this was going to be a whole new level. Caelyn decided that her best options were to use her agility and help keep the beast distracted. "MARA! Go for the tail, I am goin' to work on keepin' his focus on me." As she was running Caelyn pulled a rope from her pack and tied it off to one of her daggers. It was a trick that Kyden had taught her. "Its not a pretty as a bow and arrow, but sometimes you have to make do." he had said. "Tyron, we need to kite this, share its malice so neither of us get overburdened. If I open up a shot for you take it. I will watch your back, we will have ta work together!" As she finished tying her bow-line knot around her dagger she let it fly right toward the only soft flesh she could think of, the eyes.

"Or it could attack already." Veragwen sighed and cursed under her breath. "Please hide if you don't want to risk gettign hurt, Nayash." she said before slipping on her shield, unsheathing her unique blade, and charging the beast.

She saw a few others fighting the beast. "I thank you all for coming! This may very well be Seles's last stand. Let's make it count!" she shouted. She wondered if anyone had any of those attack items like a Burn Out. She had used those to fight it off the past few times. "Anyone have an attack item on them? They work somewhat better on it. I think I used all mine up fending it off the past few nights."

Veragwen charged it the scorpion, it thrust it's tail at her. Vera had too much momentum to stop, but she was able to divert her course enough that with her shield she simply bounced off of it. The force of the blow knocked her off her feet and back a ways. She caught herself with her hands and turned it into a flip to land on her feet. "Perhaps, we could lure it away from the village so it can't hurt anyone else. Who knows, maybe we could find something that could hurt it!" she said, slightly winded. "Like a nice cliff, or a tree...."

The scorpion shrieked again, snapping it's claws at Veragwen, though missing her completely. It appeared that all of it's attackers had only managed to infuriate the beast even further, which wasn't a good thing, considering it's size. It's attention drew to the flying dagger, which was deflected away as the beast used it's pincers to protect it's only weak point. After the deflection, the scorpion swung it's left pincer at Caelyn. just managing to graze her midsection. The creature then did something odd, it stopped it's movements and stood there, as if waiting for something. Moments later, it turned it's body to the forest and began to retreat back into it, only to stop at it's edge. Then it began to strike the forest itself, as if it had gone mad, several trees falling. After a few more minutes of this, there was a dying shriek heard, then the scorpion fell limp. What few guards remained alive checked the beast, "Captain, it's...dead. There's no marks of a fatal blow, nor any indication there was an attack item used." one called. As the villagers gathered around the entrance, whispers began to spread, how could such a beast exist? Several villagers began to stare at Nayash, whispering again as they did so, until one finally spoke up. "It was her! She brought that creature with her from the desert! Owen was right all along! She's a witch! Kill her! Kill her now!" Eventually many began to repeat the same thing, the mob of villagers starting to close in around the warrior. The guards that had been examining the scorpion came to Nayash's side, "She couldn't have brought it here, she fought against the beast as well! Do you not think she would have had something to easily beat the monster with and used it at some point?! No, she's innocent!" one of the guards said.

From the shadows of the trees, a man in black robes watched the commotion, a grin on his face. Throwing his hood on, he slowly stepped out of the shadows near the scorpion, everything was going according to plan. "From the netherworld, I return you to your body, unbound by death. Rise again, scorpion of the desert, and be known now as the Death Scorpion. Now go, kill them all." he chanted, placing a hand on the scorpion's corpse. Once he was done, he retreated back into the woods to watch his new pet. The scorpion's brownish-yellow hide instantly changed to black, it's jaws now dripping with the deadly toxin it's tail once had. It slowly rose before letting out an earth-shattering shriek. The villagers turned and saw the creature had risen, then began to flee, causing mass confusion and panic. The black scorpion lowered it's tail, and from it came a black mist that filled the town. Those who were caught breathing it in instantly collapsed and withered away into dust, while those who held their breath found the mist didn't disperse, it remained. Eventually, people started to collapse, unable to hold out for much longer. The black robed man smirked, placing his hand over the unique stone embedded in the hilt of his sword, "Without the power of a Dragoon, you cannot survive. So long, Seles, just one more stepping stone to my ultimate goal." he said, turning from the scene. As he walked away, he was unaware that the stone was glowing, as if calling out. Within the mist, a black glow was seen, as if responding to something.

Marmalade stopped as the creature ceased its attack on the people only to move toward the forest and start attacking the trees. She raised an eye brow. This was wasn't normal..
There was a cry from it and it... died? What is going on?
It wasn't long before the people started blaming some poor woman for the monster. This made her roll her eyes. That woman wasn't even here this morning. What could she have to do with the scorpion.
"This one looks like one in Tiberoa, from the barrens. Not Death Frontier." She shouted to the towns folk, hoping to calm them, even just a bit.That was when she hheard movement over by the scorpions corpse. It was moving! Instead of the lighter colored shell, it had turned black. And now it was turning back towards them. This is not going to be good.
"Run!" Marmalade shouted before being engulfed in a black vapor. People were collapsing and disappearing. Turned to powder in the toxic cloud. She held her breath as long as she could and just as she was about to take a breath of her death, a dark light consumed her body. She looked around, the light was everywhere. She could breathe! Doesnt that mean she was dead? The light faded as quickly as it appeared. Marmalade looked down to see she was floating. A small gust of wind tousled her hair. Wings? What is this?
Wait. She could use her wings to disperse the cloud of poison. With a few strong beats of the wings the mysterious gas was blown away. Marmalade smiled and looked down. She was clothed in armor. Was.. was this the legendary power of a Dragoon? No! It couldnt be. Those were long gone!
...it didnt matter. This scorpion needed to be dealt with before she started getting too excited.
She lifted her scythe, which had turned into a more fearsome version of itself. This was her only chance.
"Let's make it count." She said under her breath.
With the wings, Marmalade was able to move far more quickly than ever. The speed helped her as the new black colored menace had also picked up its pace as well. It attacked with its claw, trying to put her off balance followed by a strike with its tail. She had expected this, it may be more deadly, but it was still as predictable as a normal scorpion. With an easy swipe of her weapon, the tail was severed from the scorpions body. There would be no more black mist coming from it.
The scorpion reared back and stumbled, its legs crushing several old buildings. Most of which no one could remember the use of.
Marmalade smiled, the beast would bleed out in the forest, dying like a true monster.. but what was this feeling? Something inside her wanted to make the final blow. She struggled against the feeling, but it was no use. Marmalade raised her scythe and flew toward the now weak creature. Her body seemed to have a mind of its own as it brought her weapon above her head and then down into the beast, easily cutting through the carapace, and killing it. That feeling... she didnt like it. Like her mind left her body and was replaced by something or someone else. She shuddered.
But, Marmalade was Marmalade and she was herself.

Suddenly tired, Marmalade landed in front of the scorpion. The light surrounded her once more and she held up her hand. She wasn't conscious long enough to be surprised at her mother's strange gem that was now tightly grasped in her hand as she collapsed where she stood.

Just as Nayash passed the tent-opening to talk to someone on the other side of the road Veragwen stuck her head out, and told the man off. Apparently his name was Owen, and based on the way that the woman spoke to him, he wasn’t fully clear in the head. Then she turned to Nayash and spoke in an apologetic tone.

“Sorry about that. Owen tends to be very… superstitious and connects dots that aren’t really there, if you know what I mean…” She placed her hand on Nayash’s back and led her inside the clinic once more.
“No need to apologize” Nayash said and followed Veragwens lead, and picked up her pack as well as her weapon once more.
“I’ll show you to my house, I guess. Someone else can finish up. The seriously injured have already been tended to.” Nayash nodded, although she felt like she had torn Veragwen away from where she felt most useful, and felt a bit of guilt over the incident outside. However she said nothing and followed the womans lead throughout the town towards her home, which would also temporarily become her home whilst she stayed there.

She noticed that the towns people had started to move their elderly and their injured on the streets and she had a quick glance at the towns clock. It was reaching the late afternoon, and she knew the sun would soon set, and rather fast at that. Then Veragwen spoke once more and Nayash snaped back to focus.

“I know that he wears black, covers his face when he can. When he feels confident he seems to be wearing a leather robe, or cloak rather than anything else, and he has a sword of a kind. More than that is unknown. .. “ she started, then the woman wondered why she was after him. “I was tasked by the elders of my village to find the man whom had committed crim-“ She was abruptly interrupted as a well-dressed man rode in on horseback through the town-streets shouting out a message of the king.

“I’m Lord Armond! Advisor to King Zeke!!” he started and Nayash focused on his words. He spoke of the reward that had been promised and prompted more unfortunate and inexperienced souls to fight the monster at dusk by the forest behind Sele. He spoke big then continued his preaching on the way towards the town boarders, and more and more people followed behind him, probably encouraged by his words.

Nayash thought about following him, herself, as the two continued to walk towards the home and then decided against it. Propaganda had never helped her for courage. Quite the opposite, it had disrupted her focus and her keen senses of the battle at hand. And as the sun was setting, her senses started to get more and more keen. Something was not right, and she slowed down in her steps.
The atmosphere had changed as the sun had gone lower on the sky, a sense of dread and nervousness now spreading across the village.

The guards were shouting to each-other nervously, and then suddenly all hell broke lose. The formation started to break at the north end, and a guard broke out in a panicked scream only to abandon post. Immediately Nayash dropped her pack on the ground and grabbed her weapon with both hands, only to moments later hear the sickening splat of a man thrown by the beast right before her feet.
“Or it could attack already.” The woman beside her sighed and prepared for battle, then told her to stay behind to stay safe.
“Oh hell no, fighting is what I do.” She said and then followed Veragwen in the charge at the beast, staying only a few meters behind. As she shouted to whoever stood their ground against the beast, Nayash focused on the potential weak-spots of this oversized scorpion. As for all the scorpions, she knew that the tail-movement had to be limited, and that the armor was layered. If one could at least barge open one of the scales or whack its joints, then they could reach the softer flesh of the scorpion. An alternative was to get the belly of the beast, however she saw no way of being able to flip it. Then the scorpion struck at them.

Quickly Nayash slammed her hammer end to the ground to change her course of her momentum opposite to where Veragwen managed to doge the tail. She saw this as a chance and the second the tail end hit the ground she used her momentum to swing the hammerhead around to slam the poison pocket with the more pointy side in hope of rupturing it , however it she seemed to only scratch it.

She swiftly repositioned herself to get a better view when a younger woman with orange hair and a tail jumped up on the scorpions claw as it retracted its tail. It shook its claw up and as she slammed her weapon of choice, a scythe onto it, it proved once more that the armor of the beast was thick, something Nayash already knew. Seconds later a few more people from the north enterance appeared and they seemed to be communicating with eachother, however Nayash couldn’t make out what they said over the trampling noises and the shrieks.
Suddenly its movements changed and Nayash knew that Veragwen was in danger:
“Watch out!!” She yelled, Then suddenly it snapped at Veragwen and swung around to go for one of the followers of the orange haired girl gracing her midsection. Then it stopped. It seemed to be waiting for something and once it began to move, it moved completely out of pattern.

Systematically it turned around towards the entrance and then rushed towards the forest and furiously whacked at the trees, before a final shriek came from its body and it fell limp.

“What the….” Nayash uttered in disbelief. It must be a trick. Either that or it’s cursed by a spell of some kind, because Nayash couldn’t remember seeing any wild scorpions in her village act this way. A man shouted from the far end of the forest, and once the words reached her, and reached the village by breaking the silence, villagers started appearing from their homes. They were scared, but curiosity and word that the beast was dead, took over. One by one they inspected the damages, and once they saw the desert creature of a beast, they connected the dots that Owen had layed out.

Whispers started spreading around her and more and more raging and scared eyes turned to Nayash, together with pointed fingers. The voices of the crowd started to go louder, blaming her, but she knew that it wasn’t her doing. She deflected it as terror running through the villagers veins. It wasn’t till the villagers started to close in at her that she placed her hammer close to her, although in a casual manner as to prove her point of innocence, but being ready if needed to be.
“I am not the one you are seeking!” she stated, but knew her words would fall to deaf ears. Someone they trusted needed to step up for her, and suddenly a few guards had appeared near her.
“She couldn’t have brought it here! She fought against the beast as well! Do you not think she would have had done something to easily beat the monster with, and used it at some point!? No, she’s innocent!” One of the guards dictated over the voices of the angry mob before her. Then she noticed it.

A dark hooded shadow emerged from the woods. He mumbled some words unaudiable to her, but immediately she knew. Illurath. A necromancer.
“No. No no no... ! Necromancer!!“ Nayash called out, and took to arms, quickly dashing through the crowd towards the beast. No, not the beast. But the man in control of the scorpion and she came quite far before mass hysteria broke out. Before she reached the exit of the town however , a black mist soaked her and her bearings. Immediately she covered her mouth and held her breath as best she could while still bolting towards the exit.
Nayash’s vision was starting to turn hazy as her oxygen was running out, but she didn’t dare to take a breath just yet. And just as the world started to s pin for her, she dashed out of the town and into fresher air. She took a deep breath and collapsed to the ground gasping for air. Rushing and holding your breath was never a good idea ,but this time it had been no choice.

She shook her head a few times, suddenly feeling incredibly different. She felt ill, yet more clear than ever, and she felt like her goal was in reach once more. She knew Illurath had been here, she knew what he could do with death. He was a wielder of a bejeweled stone, and at this moment he was wearing the leather hood.
“Shit. Why the hell did I not notice earlier. “ She cursed herself as she grabbed a hold of her hammer once more and dashed out into the forest to go after him, not thinking twice about the village. It was a desire in her growing stronger, to find the man behind her years of search. A thirst for his blood, and yet a strong repulsion from being too close. She disliked it, but it drove her forward, and soon she was in the forest running once again after the target of her past.

It all happened so fast that Caelyn could not even calculate everything. First she was hit by the scorpion's claw, which feels like it may have broke a rib or two. Then, when she recovered from that, the scorpion was killed by a black robed man, only to be brought back again? Strange she thought to herself. That was all loopy enough but what happened next, that was something Caelyn NEVER expected to see. A black cloud of mist descended upon the town, and disintegrated those few that were unlucky enough to get near it. Something blew all of the mist out just as fast as it came, but she couldn't quite make out what. After a few moments, Caelyn realized it was Mara, and she was flying? And as quickly as the amazing spectacle started, it was over. "MARA!" Caelyn tried her hardest to get to her as she saw her collapse to the ground, but try as she may her breathing was becoming labored. All of the dust that had been stirred up plus the tightness on her chest. She felt something wet come through her cloak. "Crap." She said as sank down to one knee. "Someone help Mara, she is down. Also, has anyone seen my dagger?" It was getting even heavier on her chest. But she knew she couldn't black.... *thud*

Veragwen watched as the events unfolded with raised eyebrows. And then she saw the mist. She couldn't do much to protect anyone from that so all she could do was look after herself. She took a deep breath before it hit her and dropped to the ground, holding her breath for as long as she could. After a moment she was pretty close to having to suck in the mist for air, but it somehow dispersed very quickly by a bright light. She got up and sat on her knees as she caught her breath and watched...Mara? seemed to be her name kill the black scorpian. "That armor...There's no way..."

She head heard the stories of the Dragon Knights, the Dragoons. Mostly vague stories, but the descriptions matched the armor that Mara now wore. How did she get a hold of one of those stones? As far as she knew they've been gone for centuries.

Veragwen shook her head, bringing herself out of her thoughts, stood up, and looked around for injured. There seemed to be a great many of them. She wasn't even sure they could cure the poor villagers that had inhaled some of the mist. "The beast is dead....but it may have taken Seles with it anyway..." she said on the verge of tears, "Some protector I am. I couldn't even protect one person out of everyone here!" She shook her head, "No...no is not the time for that. First, I need to treat and save who I can."

She looked around again and spotted Caelyn first. She did what she could for her, then moved to Mara. She seemed fine, just unconscious. She nodded and moved on to the next person she saw. She didn't see Nayash anywhere, though. Where did she go?

Raena pouted after having had her hands swatted away before everyone seemed to rush off in a hurry. Standing there, topaz eyes blinking, she shook her head. "Crazy people. Why would you go after something that will try to kill you? Am I the only one with common sense around here? .... damnit I'm still craving toast..." And with that she headed towards the town at a leisurely pace.

...

Stopping just before the edge of the clearing she could tell there was a huge commotion going on. Instead of rushing forward to take a look, she easily scrambled up a tree to get a better view, muttering to herself. "Good armor... acid... stabby tail... claws... These people are nuts.. Do they want to die?" Raena simply chose to sit back and watch quietly for a while. After a few minutes the large scorpion came towards her general direction and started to attack the trees in front of her. With a small "eep!" she immediately turned tail and monkey'd her way back a few dozen yards. By the time she turned around, the scorpion had started to turn black and was releasing a mist in the town. "See? This is why you don't CHASE monsters... crazy people... With a sudden flash of light, the scorpion fell and the mist was gone, though she couldn't make out who or what had killed it nor where the light had come from.

After a few moments, Raena spotted a man in a black robe walking from Seles. Hooking her legs around her current branch, she let herself fall upside down again, blue hair dangling almost to the ground. "Hiya! Are you the one that killed the scorpion? I really couldn't see very well from he- oohh that stone in your sword is really pretty! Where did you get it?"

Tyron seemed slightly puzzled by the turn of events, though as Mara went through her transformation, he sheathed his sword. He made his decision as the mist began to clear from the air. "I'm going to see if there are any survivors." He spoke as one of the others went to help the now unconscious girl. He looked to the woman who'd checked Mara and seemed to be somewhat unnerved. "You're a healer, are you not?" He asked calmly. "I'm going to do my best to help the injured to somewhere safe, but I don't have any actual skills. Where do you need me to get the injured?" He asked, already starting in the direction of the village as not to waste any time.

Astharoth

Astharoth heard the cries of the townsfolk in Seles and started to run back to see what was going on, though he suspected it was the beast that was plaguing the town's doing in which the cries were being made for, as he got back to Seles he saw many dead guards and towns people, he did what he could to assist the injured as best as he could to get them to safety while the other warriors fought the giant scorpion, it was his priority at the moment to help the injured get to safety, he allowed the rest to fight the beast and then the beast and the warriors ventured out of town he saw a bright light come from outside of town, he had no idea what it was from just that whatever it was it had made the beast cry out and then suddenly everything became silent once more, once he finished helping the injured he ventured outside of town to the one who slew the beast. "Are you the warrior in whom slew the beast plaguing Seles?" Astharoth looked at Marmalade with curiosity, seeing that she was passed out now though he would have to ask her once she woke up, he walked over and picked her up and started to carry her back to Seles to lay down in the inn. "I'm sure she was the one that killed it.. I mean she was the only one around it when it was dead there wasn't anyone else around it anymore.. I'll ask her once she wakes up.." Astharoth sat by Marmalade's side while she slept watching over her silently as he fell asleep sitting up straight in his chair.