Nayash was walking along the cross country roads.Leaving Deningrad behind her, she headed towards the town of Seles in Serido. There had been posters all over the lands, not only in the country of Seridos, but also in the neighboring countries and she was sure many others would be heading towards a bounty with such high of a reward from afar. However Nayash wasn't interested in the reward itself, although it wouldn't hurt with the abundant amount of money the reward would provide her. It was the dark hooded man who most likely also had been attracted by the sum that Nayash was after. And she had been after him for months. With her goal closing in on her, Nayash did not hesitate to enter the town. Well inside the town walls she was met with many odd looks, most likely because of her wears. She didn't wear the usual Armour. Instead she wore light clothes adept to the sandy lands of the Death Frontier, her home town. The clothing, together with the over sized double-sided war hammer, made her sand out quite a bit, but she didnt mind. If she needed to turn more discreet she easily could. In her pack she had more wears with her, accustomed to colder weather. She had acquired them along her journeys after Illurath. But as usual Nayash only responded with a smile and a silent nod, not caring more about the ogling and proceeded towards her goal, the town hall, to see if there was or had been any gatherings before the quest to slay the beast, and to pass along the news and open peoples eyes to look for Illurath. With any luck she could get this town on her side to find the dangerous and barbaric man

"Kyden I canno' believe you would do somethin' like that!" Caelyn added with a quick blush. He had just walked up behind her and scared her by grabbing her hips. Not that she minded, of course. She had always had strong feelings for Kyden, but they just had never acted on them. The whole town of Rogue knew it as well. The townsfolk would always laugh when they saw the two together because it was something so pure, and such a thing was rare indeed. They both grew up orphans after a tragic accident befell Caelyn's father. Caelyn's mother was unbeknownst to her. Her father rarely talked about her, other than in the times he compared Caelyn to her mother. This game went on between Kyden and Caelyn since they were 15. Now being almost 4 years their relationship had evolved into a more intimate nature. Caelyn was just waiting on the day Kyden would kiss her. Or would she have to kiss him? Either way she thought it would be magical. She had only been dreaming of it for years now. Kyden had taken her in after her father had passed and fed her and protected her. He was only 2 years older than she, but he always was so grounded and together. It was what attracted her to him so much. There had not been a time that she could remember where she saw him lose his composure. "Caelyn, mind meetin' me down by the docks later? I have somethin' to be askin you." Kyden said. Caelyn noticed he didn't make eye contact and kicked his feet a bit. He was nervous. But about what? Her mind raced at the possibilities, and it boiled down to one thing. "He's goin' to be askin' me out finally. That lughead." She smiled amused with herself at figuring out what his intentions were. "Sure, sundown ok? I have some chores to be doin' but as soon as I'm done, I'll come." Caelyn hurried back home to tend to her work. Dusk startled to settle as she was fixing her hair and putting on the only real dress she owned. Her pace quickened as she saw the dock and Kyden leaning on a post under. She slowed to a walk as soon as she was about to come into view of him. "Now, what is it your wantin' to tell me Kyden." She asked innocently. Or she tried. Kyden recognized the tone in her voice, he knew she knew. "Well, we haf been friends a long time now. And.." Kyden was interrupted by a huge tentacle coming out and snatching him by the leg. "No!" Caelyn shouted as she pulled out her kukris and jumped on the beasts tentacle. She stabbed with a fury, blaming this beast for stealing her moment. She thrashed her knives in a fury that she had never known. But soon she found a tentacle wrapping around her throat. Kyden saw it and started beating on the tentacle he was on. He flailed, with all of his strength and managed to get free. He looked up to see where Caelyn was and to go to her... only to see bubbles as the beast had fled out to sea. "Argh!" Kyden shuddered as he awoke from the nightmare that had tormented him for over two years now. He had left Rogue after the accident because he could not handle all the memories. But they followed him as a ghastly reminder of his inabilities. They were constant reminders of what he strived to do away with. While scouring the coast he retrieved Caelyn's kukri's and began training with them. He had come a very long way in those 2 years. He had experience with daggers but these required a certain finesse. He had to make his life have some kind of meaning. But what? The answer smacked him in the face, literally. A flyer behind blown through in the wind hit him square in the face and then dropped into his hands. He looked at it and realized that it was a reward poster for slaying a monster in Seles. He would go. He had to go. "Caelyn, I don' know how right this will make things, but, I will do this for you."

A moment of silence... thats what Marmalade noticed. She could actually hear the low chatter from Seles. It was unusual, but a blessing at the same time as it helped her figure out how to get back to town. Quickly, she stood and gathered up her equipment before heading toward the sound of voices. The silence in the forest was unnerving, she knew something was wrong. The beast must have been on the move. It didn't take long for her to reach the town. In the dusky glow, you could tell just how bad the damage to the city and people was. Buildings sat quiet, their occupants either dead or dying in the clinic. Even at this hour, most towns were still bustling with business. Here, the streets were dead, those still able to move locked in their homes or drinking away the previous attack at the inn. Marmalade knew better than to drink alcohol. Being half merfolk, it could kill her. Her tail twitched in frustration. The inn was probably a good place to start gathering information about the attacks. As Marmalade walked toward the doors, she could hear parents hushing their children's frightened whimpers. A wave of sadness for these folk came over her. 'These kids didn't deserve to live in fear.' she thought until one of the little mongrels threw a half molded piece of bread at her. She knew better than to make a scene, but she also wanted to avoid it in the future. Marmalade sighed and put on her best scary face and glared in the direction the projectile came from. A small group of children stood around a scowling woman. The one who threw the bread hid behind the woman, probably their mother, and Marmalade got an equally sinister look. "Well, that didn't work.." she said under her breath and walked toward the bar. There were a couple people already there, one looked like a competent warrior. The bartender sneered at her as she approached. "We don't serve you finners here." His gruff voice seemed to carry through the room with ease, and the inn became much more quiet. "I am looking for information." Marmalade said while holding up the flier. The man simply grunted and walked away. She rolled her eyes and sat down on the stool.

Kyden walked into Seles, and could have sworn he saw a ghost. A woman walking down the street wielding a scythe that looked eerily familiar. He decided to tail her to get a closer look, and saw people tossing food at her like she was a freak. Kyden's knuckles were solid white from clenching hard. But he kept in the shadows a bit longer. He had to be sure. He saw her walk into the inn, and heard: "We don't serve you finners here." Kyden's eyes went wide with disbelief! It was her! But how. . . "Caelyn! It is you! But how did you escape!? I saw you go under the water." He wrapped the woman up in an embrace tightly. She spun around with a puzzled look on her face. "It's me Kyden, don' you remember me?!"