She could still sense the laughter of South outside of her house, even though she made sure to soundproof her walls, but East was good at keeping things bottled up within her. There wasn't exactly much she could do, after all. There weren't any proper ways of indirectly damaging or humiliating someone who never stuck in one place and had no lasting attachment to anything. Perhaps if she asked West to cook her up a laxative or something... Putting away those thoughts for the time being, the witchmother turned around as she heard Aiv close the door. There were more important things to unravel, after all. Was he reaching his rebellious phase already? [b]“So, what's the problem this time, Aiv?”[/b] There was a hint of disappointment in her tone, seasoned with concern. Whether that concern was sincere or not wasn't something that the Sword Skill user could tell. He shrugged, a neutral mask.[b] “Don't involve me in your problems, East. Clean up your own messes.” “Oh? But if I were Annette...”[/b] She trailed off, stopping as she saw him poised to respond. [b]“Annette has nothing to do with this. Unlike you, she's an individual who isn't representative of thousands of Talze Uterans.” “Though even as an individual, she's effected by what happens to the masses. What I'm asking of you to do is to stop a war before it happens, and in return, you'll be ensuring her safety as well.” [/b]Her eyes glinted, catching a momentary sign of irritation in Aiv's features. He paused for a moment, before muttering, [b]“It's not like you're incapable of that yourself.” “Oh, what's that? I couldn't hear you.” “I said that you're a lazy brat who can't even be bothered to settle her own problems without involving others.” “That's harsh, Aiv,”[/b] East smiled, [b]“I'm not really a fan of this abuse-play, you know?” [/b]It was calming though, as the almost-routine bickering of the two started to get under way. She felt the world outside was disappearing, and all that was left was the words exchanged between the two. [b]“Reality is harsh.” “But you owe me for helping Annette and that cute little demon child of her's settle down in my territory, right?” “I paid the debt in blood and talentium.”[/b] He didn't say what both of them knew: that he would have done that regardless of whether or not East would 'reward' him for it. [b]“Then how about...as payment for this request, I'll let you do anything to me for a single night?” “You haven't hit puberty yet.” “Oh please, Aiv, I'm mentally a grown woman.” “With a child's body.” “Is that a no then?” “Yes.”[/b] She pouted. [b]“Boo.”[/b] --- Against all of Rilolia's common sense, the bare slope of Hanzen Mountain wasn't cold, but comfortably cool. The vampire had followed along with the group, as they adopted a more disciplined formation, with Lyra in the lead. Apparently, the human girl was a remarkable mage, one that Chad believed could shield them from whatever had created those pits the first place. Yet there was still doubt in Rilolia's mind as she passed by one of them. The hole was sealed by a grid of iron fused to the granite of the mountain, whilst the depth of that hole was indeterminable, even with a vampire's superior ability to discern through the darkness. All she could smell was the musky scent of death, one that bore none of the sharp tang that came with the spilling of blood, but instead, was filled with despair. The people who had died in this 'prison' had long given up on life before their bodies failed them. It was a sad place, but, on the positive side of things, it gave her magic something to work with. She doubted that Lyra, however accomplished she may be, was strong enough to defend against whatever had punched such perfect holes into the ground, and now, more than ever, she wished for the protection of Dead Gear. This whole thing would have felt safer if they were doing this under the cover of darkness, protected by the shadowy bulk of a God of War, with an escape route that was secured in the shape of an operational airship. But they had none of that, and her nerves were getting to her as they got further up the mountain, as they were reaching closer and closer to where Lenz marked as Vance's cell. There were still no guards popping out of nowhere, no sudden attack by a group of elite assailants. Perhaps, just perhaps, they came at a good timing then? She briefly allowed that hope to chase away the butterflies. And then, just as suddenly, reality crushed those hopes. --- Her men climbed well, making not a single sound as they scaled the side of the mountain. They were ready to engage by the time she had narrowed down the amount of people that the small group could be interested in targetting. There were no signs of them stopping, not until they crested over the summit, which was 'reserved' for the latest acquisitions of Hanzen mountain. And amongst those people, there was a single individual that had the best chance of lasting in those conditions. The God Slayer, a Sword Skills user who no doubt held physical fortitude that was above that of normal humans. Well, now that was confirmed, she knew which name to put onto the death certificate. With a flourish of her pen, she recorded the name of the criminal onto a piece of parchment, before turning her thoughts to her allies. [i]Ladies, start off with a round of lightning, right up on the summit. Focus on disorientation. Knights, engage right afterwards. The girl in the front seems to be the leader. Prioritize her.[/i] An influential sympathizer? A former lover? A long lost sister? She cared for none of those worthless relations between Vance and that woman. With that, the woman began a second correspondence, this time to the pilot of the Einzershalt, to stand ready for a bombardment. There was a rumble in the distance, but she disregarded that as well. --- The sewers of Koestace, like the sewers of most cities, were places that were seldom patrolled. After all, when one was utilizing a series of tunnels that were created from the icemelt rivers of the higher peaks of the mountain, there was little need for any sort of protection. The amount of illumination in those dank tunnels was zero, and the slick nature of the stone made it almost impossible for anyone to scale up the steep slopes. Even if there was a climber would dare such a venture, they would also have to deal with the torrents of water that plummeled whomever attempted such a climb. Through the sewers, it was largely impossible for one to sneak into the capital of Koestace, even though it appeared to be such an unguarded and obvious entry way. However, those were problems that Lenz didn't have to deal with. The silver-haired man had no need to travel through the sewers. He didn't even need to come into close-distance to Koestace. Instead, he was sitting on the top of a tree, in the forest of Hanzen Mountain. In one hand, he held a map, a detailed one that showed the entire cave systems of the mountain that Koestace was built into. Truly a labor of love by the mapmaker, even though he had admitted it was rather outdated. In the other hand, he held a clear flask. From within, a thick liquid rested, it's color masked by the pulsating light that emanated outwards. Uncorking the bottle, he noted once more, how devoid of scents the liquid was, before tilting it over his mouth, just enough so that a trickle of that liquid could ease over the lip of the flask and fall onto his tongue. Just a drop. That's all that was needed. And then, Lenz's entire body felt as if it was burning, filling up with sensations that caused both pain and pleasure as his mortal body reacted with this new fuel. His heart pounded at thrice the normal pace, his skin whitening from the heat that was gathered within him. For a moment, he thought that he could hear a voice, but he cast that aside, focusing himself on containing the pleasurable, painful energy that was gathering within him. A single drop could cause so much pain. He definitely would experiment on the entirety of the product on himself. Slowly, those pains subsided, and as he relaxed, the man could feel a new store of power within himself, separate from power that was his 'own'. A stronger resource that made the efficiency of his own strength pale in contrast. Through the eyes of a man who was changed, yet remained the same, Lenz looked at the map of the cave systems once more, and cast his power outwards. The earth began to rumble as he tore new caves into the mountain, constructing a three-dimensional magical circle inside the object that contained all four of the cardinal elements. Today was going to be another productive day. --- Tipping his hat towards the two that arrived, Captain Escellar reciprocated Fion's look of bemusement, showing no sign of displeasure or disapproval of his lack of an arm. [b]“Heard that the magic part of Sword Arts was correlated with the movements of the sword,”[/b] he said, [b]“But I guess you can substitute that by pretending that it's a wand.”[/b] He already knew that it was Fion Seyour, a fellow new member of the Sidosa Board, that stood before him, but the elf decided to let Eldren introduce that fellow. A wind magic user could be useful, if the rift-beast they were tracking had truly flown away, and not been teleported by some third party to a safe destination. It'd also serve as a method of test for this new airship model, after all, to see whether it could truly weather the storm. However, as Eldren spoke of Fion's feats in Burrow, the town that was destroyed during the same day or night as the Cykes attack, Nysieg Escellar arched an eyebrow. So Fion was present during the attakc on Burrow? The one that most likely involved a powerful witch or mage, who held the power to call forth and bring down massive storms, as well as summon part of a nightmarish beast? Well, he had no prior problems with allowing a talented Sword Arts user to join their backline, but now, he was glad. [b]“Burrow, was it?”[/b] A thoughtful expression creased his fine features. [b]“Fion, do you believe that the same witch, or group of witches that destroyed Burrow also struck Cykes?”[/b] Eldren seemed to be indulging in the lady beside him, after all, and Nysieg sought no need to interrupt his old friend's ventures for getting a new friend. Anyways, Sarah had always kept the mage on a tight leash in the past, so he could understand the need for him to let loose. Even though it wasn't the most appropriate of times for that. The red-headed, red-eyed woman, her hair bundled up behind her head and tucked into her hat, wondered why the Captain held a man that looked like a homeless wanderer in such high regards. She also wondered why he made expressions that appeared more appropriate for an adolescent girl than on a grown man. And even before that, she wondered why she felt that the smidge of jealousy in his dark brown eyes was present not because the captain had been speaking to her, but because she had been speaking to the captain. Could he be a man who sought the company of other men then? Well, she would admit that the respected hobo's taste in men was good. The captain cut a rather dashing figure, after all, framed a shiny, high-tech airship and in his almost-regal captain's uniform of black and gold. Though he didn't have a single hair on his chin, there was still something that was strong and fresh about his appearance. His yellow eyes were intense, burning like frozen lightning, whilst his scars only enhanced his visage. She turned her gaze back towards the hobo man, with his square jaw and scruffy, dog-like hair, before replying curtly, [b]“We haven't met. I'm Aelitha Velm of Bakery Town, serving as Captain Escellar's co-pilot onboard the [i]Firebird[/i]. And you?”[/b]