Upon returning to the outpost, the crystals were almost immediately taken from them by what appeared to be a Dwarven craftsman. With barely a word to the recruits, he took their items and began processing them into whatever he was working on. Varkasan never did understand the way the Dwarves worked when it came to their machines, potions, or even simple crafting. Though it did interest him, and he considered studying it in more detail whenever his duties did not keep him busy. After having a filling meal (in which Zalfn commented on how Dys could probably consume a week's worth of field rations in one day), they were led back to their sleeping quarters, which Varkasan was pleased to see was now a large tent. Bunk beds were already set up inside for them, as well as other pieces of furniture, and a corner for keeping their belongings in. "It seems like they're pampering us a bit too much. This is quite a lot of convenience for being a frontier outpost. But then again, after everything that's happened, I guess we could all use something to smile about. No telling when our next hardship will come upon us..." Varkasan thought to himself. After stripping off his armor and weaponry, and depositing them on the storage area, he made his way to the bunks wearing a white sleeveless shirt and shorts. He was sharing a bunk with a recruit he had seen in training, but wasn't really acquainted with. He was an older-looking fellow with balding hair who didn't seem to say much, but had the decency to vacate from Varkasan's bottom bunk and climb up to the upper one. Varkasan tried to make conversation with the recruit, but only managed to get the name "Hyner" out of him. Any other questions were answered only with silence. Varkasan took this to mean that Hyner didn't wish to speak about himself much. Nor did he show any interest to Varkasan's stories. A bit later, the heat seemed to start getting to the recruits, and Alicia even stripped down to her underwear, much to the surprise of a number of recruits. Though they were just as fascinated with her sudden undressing as they were with the odd tattoo she had on her stomach. Varkasan had caught a glimpse of it once during training. He remembered accidentally tearing her clothes at the belly during weapon sparring. After apologizing and asking about the mark she had on it (as he first thought it was a scar), she revealed it was a family tradition among them. Varkasan thought it was a strange one, but had the politeness to keep his opinion to himself. Eventually, he himself could barely stand the heat either and removed his shirt as he wiped the sweat off his body before trying to get some sleep. It helped somewhat, but if the temperature kept up until tomorrow, they would be baking inside their armor. He shut his eyes, and heard someone pass by his bunk, muttering "...can't believe someone took all the damn wine... Supposed to be ours... Never should've trusted Ulrich to watch it... Blooming idiot..." It said. Paying it little mind, Varkasan went back to sleeping. He knew he would need his energy for whatever awaited tomorrow. The next day, they were given their breakfast, and a new name for their unit: Team Aegis. It felt special to be given an official name recognized by Overlord Levran himself, but Varkasan knew they would need to live up to it as even their new captain, Aela, trusted them to grow into respectable warriors. They had a new assignment as well: they were to locate and raid a nearby cavern being protected by swords-for-hire, and confirm whether or not any illegal activity was taking place there. It sounded simple enough. "But then again, our bandit ambush mission sounded simple too... And it became anything but simple... Varkasan thought. As easy as this sounded, they needed to be ready for anything. One tragic defeat was painful enough. After the briefing had finished, they had went to retrieve their gear and arm themselves. Varkasan put on his Guardian armor, latched his shield on his back, and sheathed his sword. Thankfully, the heat had somewhat subsided and being inside the armor wasn't so punishing. He also packed some water and dried meat for the journey. Some troops were making idle chatter while waiting until their team was fully armed and ready to move out. "Ready to burn down some more brands, Team Aegis?" Alicia asked them in a joking manner. Though not a lot responded well to this attempt at humor, it was surprising to see the stone-cold Alicia trying to make merry. Dys supported her statement and clapped her strong hand on the girl. "I like the sound of that, Alicia von Eternus. Team Aegis, I know we've been through a lot, but we can get better for it. We are better for it. The horrors we saw... that's the reason we're fighting against the tyranny of Magic, right? They cannot be allowed to use lives, even the lives of bandits, as nothing more than playthings. Mages!... Mages, or bandits, or mercs, we'll teach them all what it means to be a Luminous Knight. We live to protect, and we live to serve. We'll be smarter, craftier, and more aware of the dangers of next time. We'll make our fallen proud, and our living prouder!" The Dwarf woman said with an energetic Dwarven salute. Varkasan saw Freiya sitting on one of the supply crates, grinning at what was happening. Though he couldn't tell if it was happiness or amusement. Either way, he added his own voice to raise their morale. "Indeed we shall! Together we will bring honor to the name: 'Aegis' and we will traverse even the entirety Altea to bring all who oppose her to justice!" He said with force as he raised his fist into the air. It was almost as if they were getting ready to charge into a bloody war, even though they were just going for a half-day trek and raiding a mercenary camp. But nonetheless, Varkasan thought it best to treat even the simplest of duties seriously so that they do not forget the importance of their role as Luminous Knights. Besides, half a day of walking was long, and keeping the morale up would be important to make sure no one got tired or lagged behind too quickly.

The sun was riding high as the high as the white marble walls of Kaosbund came rising out of the horizon. Ru could almost imagine the city in grander times, with those walls pristine and shining, guards patrolling the walls and travelers entering through the gaping maw of the gates. Now, however, the once-polished stone was dark with grime and creeping plants, only occasional hints of its former grandeur poking through. Trees encroached its boundaries, as if trying to hide the proud ruins from the rest of the world. It was somewhat disconcerting, entering the dead city. They passed places which had once been bustling, now home to stale corpses and old bones. [i]There was fighting here.[i] Ru thought, as they passed the remnants of an ancient battle. Further evidence could be seen in how some buildings were crumbled beyond what time and nature could do. Ru paused for a moment, to examine the armor the two sides were wearing. He couldn't recognize the insignia on the red troops, yet the others seemed reminiscent of the Luminious Knights that plagued the modern world. Perhaps they had been the downfall of this once proud place? Passing the bodies, they eventually found themselves in the city square, a statue of a regal looking woman standing over them. Despite the wear and damage it had suffered over the years - perhaps even centuries, it was still an imposing sight. "Well, this statue sure makes me feel small and insignificant, that's for sure. Guess that was the entire point." Eddy's comment seemed to make the statue stand a bit taller, as if to prove a point. Ru shook his head, clearing the idea from it. "Or to boost the ego of Empress Eternus here. I'm pretty sure the two go hand in hand." Saying the name, it sounded oddly familiar. Ru was sure he'd never met anyone of that name, doubly so that he hadn't relieved any such person of their possessions. But he was certain that the name von Eternus existed outside of the long dead place. As the sun was getting near the tops of the cities walls, they looked for some place to rest, eventually finding what must have been an inn of some sort. The place was pristine, held together by enchantments that obviously didn't age as the rest of the world did. That they had found a resting place for the night, as well as plenty of food, was a welcome relief, yet the knowledge of these enchantments didn't sit well with Ru. If the enchantments had stayed intact on this inn, what else could be lying in wait in the city? Ru was a first hand witness that not all magic was benevolent, and he was worried that lingering elements of the battles that happened here before could end up latching onto them. After all, wasn't that what the scars were? And YME had mentioned traps. Suddenly, he wasn't sure how well he would be able to deal with them, if those traps contained enchantments. Certainly they would? Fortunately, Ru's worried thoughts were interrupted as someone found the wine cellar. Soon, he was hardly capable of taking anything seriously, and thoroughly enjoying the respite. The food, drink, and company was marvelous, albeit somewhat strange on all counts, yet unfortunately it was not to last. Eddy, obviously a bit intoxicated, called Misala out, rather loudly, and rather bluntly. The rooms exuberance vanished, as all eyes turned to the woman. Her tirade, breakdown and abrupt exit into the night left the mood of the inn considerably sobered, and people slowly went off to claim a room. Eventually Ru joined them, being sure to stuff his bag with some of the better looking foods first. As he laid down in a bed softer than any he'd slept in since...probably ever, his thoughts turned to the mysterious assassin. Misala had been hard company while they'd been travelling. Although she wasn't completely averse to conversation, trying to read anything from her was like a blind man trying to read a book, and while that made a bit more sense after this window into her past opened up, it left even more questions. Some newfound purpose? What was that supposed to mean? She wasn't the most well liked among the group, and while her tirade might have won some sympathies had it ended earlier, the mention of that new purpose of hers would only serve to make people more curious and distrusting. Why even mention it then? More frustrated thoughts went through Ru's head until he eventually drifted off to sleep. Returning to consciousness was a slow process this morning. The surrounding comfort kept trying to lull Ru back into oblivion. Eventually, however, his stomach won the day, and after a wash, he headed down to see what food the inn decided to serve for breakfast. Several were talking of Misala's breakdown, headless of her... well, apparently not headless of her presence, as Misala appeared to be absent from the table. Ru finished eating, pocketing a few colorful fruits which had been rather exquisite, before heading back to the rooms to see if he could find where Misala was. Everyone else seemed to be accounted for, in some manner or another, but Misala couldn't be found. This worried Ru somewhat. While he was worried she may have ran off, he doubted she would be in any danger. She was part of the group however, and while she hadn't been great for revealing conversation in their travels, she had certainly been competent and she knew a great deal about what they might be facing. Ru got the impression that travelling with her would greatly increase his chance of survival. Another thing worried Ru, and that was the chance that she hadn't just ran off in distress, but that it was calculated. The story seemed genuine, as did the distress, but that didn't mean she couldn't turn it to her advantage. Misala was working some odd angle, that much was obvious, and with her so obviously gone, a nagging voice in his head kept warning Ru that Misala would use this chance to work against them somehow. Changing into soft souled shoes to better mask his footsteps, and re-affirming all his armaments, Ru headed down to the main room of the inn. He'd checked the bedrooms, and was certain Misala wasn't inside the building, and he'd decided it would be best to try and recover her. Besides, it would be interesting to explore a new city for once, even if it was a rather dead one. Still, he'd rather not head out alone. "It seems as though one of our members has gone missing." Ru announced. "I'd like to try and find Misala, and would welcome any company to help me do so." "Good ridance if she's gone. Brought nothing but trouble on us, with those monsters and secret plots." Jerem weighed in with his opinion. A rather stout mage who had been badly harmed in the chimera attack, he seemed to blame Misala for all misfortunes that had befallen them since they set out. The man was a perfect example that magecraft provided no immunity to ignorance. "She is a member of this party, and I'd rather not lose any more than we have. Besides, think of the bonus if she makes it back alive." The comment about the gold gave Jerem some thought. He was a man very easily swayed by gold. "I'll ask again, does anyone wish to join me? We can get a good look at this city while we're at it."

The remarkably comfortable beds let the Jackals fall asleep easily. The drinks they had also helped as well. However, each and every one of them dreamed the same dream, as they figured it out in the morning. In the dream they saw themselves walking down the strees of Kaosbund, in it's pristine condition. They were alone in the dream however. Something called to the dreamer, guiding them. Arriving near the palace, there was a large dome-like structure to the left, heavily fortified. However, the city was empty, and the gates to this structure were open. It lead underground to a massive circular room, with another circular room in the middle. It was all chained up, the massive magical and mundane chains connecting at the massive door, all locked and double locked via various means. The dreamers felt the compulsion to open the door, and felt themselves somehow undoing the locks, one by one. As they opened the massive door, the dream ended before them being able to see what's inside. Waking up, the Jackals grouped up to discuss the rest of trip, and the weird dream they had. It is then they figured out they all had the same dream. Even worse, Misala was missing, majority of her things still near her bed. Without much choice, The Jackals decided to look for her, most likely near the vault in their dreams. The path towards the palace took the most damage. Corpses increased in number and density, so did the damage to the nearby area and the path itself. When they finally reached the palace, they only found it in ruins. With near literal hill of bones at the entrance. Much more detailed and extravagant armor on the defenders made it clear it was the Royal Guard, making their last stand, literally. They blocked the entrance with their bodies, and slew many attackers. It seemed that their stand ended when siege weapons were used. As expected, the dome structure was there, still standing strong. It was only then that The Jackals noticed that the main city defense was not focused on the palace, it was focused on this structure. This structure itself was far more sturdy than anything else in Kaosbund. Something extremely important was locked up there. Descending down the stairs, they found Misala there sketching something in her notebook, which she always had on herself. It seemed it was some sort of diary, but she never talked about it. Just like in the dream, the circular room in the middle was constricted with both mundane and magical chains, connecting in the middle to be locked up with various locks. The locks themselves were protected heavily with magic. The door was even sturdier and heavier, one that would need several men to even open or close. Misala looked nervous, copying the various symbols on the wall in her notebook. Her confidant and calm visage was not there. She seemed anxious, distressed, hardly able to focus. "You're finally here. Good." she said nervously. "The goddamn whispers in my head are driving me mad, but I gotta copy down this writing. At the very least, after we are all done with Weisstraugh, I can find out what the hell is this and how to deal with it." Whispers? The rest of the Jackals stayed quiet for a moment. Sure thing, they could hear faint whispers, but you had to focus hard to even hear them. Misala however, was far more heavily affected. Discussing the place while Misala finishes copying the ancient writing, they finally decide to leave this place alone and continue their task. After leaving Kaosbund, Misala seemed to return to normal. In about two days, they finally reach Weisstraugh. Payday is not far. Trekking through the forest and nearing their destination, Team Aegis came upon a clearing, with a large group of well-armed people guarding it. There were some minor fortifications as well, acting as makeshift walls. In the back was the large cave entrance, as reported. The armed men quickly noticed them and quickly grouped into a formation, with shield bearers in the front, spearmen in the second row, and archers in the back. In the very back was their leader, who coordinated their movements. These people were no bandits holding a weapon for the first time. Their weapons and armor were of high quality, and their stances showed experience and training. They also well as a team, and moved as one. While the mind-controlled bandits were no match for even a fresh paladin, these people will be a significant challenge. "Time to earn our pay, boys!" their leader said to his men, then switching his gaze to Team Aegis. "Hmm, seems you're the rookies that kicked Seth's ass. Oh he's going to be so mad when we bring the boss your heads. I can't wait to see the look on his face!" the man, who also appeared to be a mage, taunted them. However, they were not advancing. The mercs stalled for some reason. Moreover, the reports said there should be twice as many of them here. Aela was suspicious. Team Aegis started to notice something odd, the blades of grass near them being stepped on by something, footprints appearing in the dirt. Without warning, Aela unleashed a blast of Luminosity from her, a warm breeze for the team, and fiery burn for the mercs under invisibility trying to flank them. Receiving minor burns from their enchantment being dispelled, they quickly grouped into a formation. "Plan B, pincer attack!" their captain commanded, and the team found themselves out of formation being advanced towards from front and rear. They needed to break their formation, and Aela did just that. She charged towards the front formation swinging her greatsword horizontally, knocking back the shieldbearers and anyone behind them. A gap in the formation, just what they needed. As the fight began, both sides quickly dropped their formations. It turned chaotic. Aela was taking on 5 people at the same time and winning, others were outnumbered roughly 2 on 1. Their captain and a mage supported them from afar, imbuing their weapons with fire, frost or lightning. The mercs made sure to block any attempts on reaching their captain, and the captain himself used lightning to intercept Luminosity projectiles used against him. "That invisibility cloak is Seth's trick. You met him once already. A brat, but a pretty damn skilled brat, and he taught me this as well." the merc captain continued his speech. "Mimel is quite scary and intimidating, but given what she had to experience, I can't blame her. Watch this paladins, it's gonna be amazing!" he said, as he switched the enchantments on the mercenaries to something shadowlike, just like Mimel's claws. Suddenly, the mercenary weapons became incredibly sharp, easily slicing through the paladin weapons and shields. A few members of Team Aegis already lost their weapons trying to parry with them. And even though the paladins continually burned off the enchantments of their foes, their captain would just put them back on. "And this is one of the favorites of the Boss Man himself." A faint hum could be heard, as suddenly any attacks made towards the mercs glanced off their path, as if some invisible force surrounded them. While luminosity could pop the protection, it would be quickly reapplied and the mercs themselves didn't just stand there - they tried to push every advantage they've got, however slight. It became a battle of attrition, as each side couldn't really strike anyone down any opponent by themselves. [This difficult battle forces Team Aegis to improvise and come up with new ways to break the stalemate they will soon lose. Every member of Team Aegis can either learn a new basic spell/technique or improve an existing one.] The battle was won, finally. Everyone was tired, and only their captain remained. He threw down his weapons, and proclaimed his surrender. "I surrender, and I will cooperate. On one condition - my men get a proper burial. They died because of me, therefore it is my duty to face the consequences. But they deserve better." It was an unexpectedly reasonable request, to which Aela agreed. Shackling his hands and posting a few recruits to guard him, the rest scoured the hideout for evidence. It wasn't very big, but it contained various documents, maps and plans, as well as a few captive paladins, relatively unharmed. One old map grabbed the attention of Team Aegis, where a place called Weisstraugh was circled over, with "Top priority" written nearby. After taking everything of interest, they buried their opponents, as per deal, and headed back, both with the prisoner and the freed paladins. When they arrived, it was already clear the paladins were expected. They also worked for the mages that attacked them. Unlike the bandits, however, those people were well armed and well trained, and Alicia knew how a proper stance looks like. The mercenaries were stalling for some reason, however, and despite their threats, did not advance. The answer to this mystery was discovered when Captain Aela removed the invisibility from the other half of mercenaries trying to move behind them. Were they always invisible? Were they waiting out of sight just in case? It was not a time to think, but to act, and Alicia prepared to do just that. With a display of inhuman strength, Aela broke through their front formation in one blow, allowing Team Aegis to rush through, breaking any manner of organized fighting among both sides. Their captain, who was also a mage, supported them from afar, and any attempts made by Alicia or anyone else to hit him with a Luminosity projectile were prevented by a defensive blast of lightning, which he seemed not use offensively. Upon seeing Alicia's weapons and stance, the mercs in front of her instantly adopted a defensive stance, while trying to flank her. "Cute, a Sioretto user. Come on, give it your best shot, see if you can get through our shields before your rampage timer runs out." the mercs taunted her. And they were right, to fight a Sioretto user one must weather the brief burst of prowess. After that, Sioretto is far less effective, especially against an experienced fighter. And they knew it well. There is nothing she could do to go through a shield unless her opponent's try to attack, and it was clear that they won't. The various enchantments on their weapons didn't help either, though thankfully, Alicia, unlike her teammates, wasn't the one being attacked. Fire would heat up and burn anything around the weapon, frost would freeze it, and shock would send a powerful jolt of electricity down the opponent's armor, shield or a weapon. For Alicia, however, it was more like an angry stare contest, as they slowly walked around, trying to get into Alicia's blind spot or otherwise distract her. The first one to make a move loses. The one in front of her with a spear was constantly poking from afar and behind his shield, offering no chance for retaliation, distracting her as his buddies are trying to flank her. The others on Team Aegis were fighting fiercely, yet unable to take each other down for good. To turn the tides, their captain changed the enchantments on their weapons to something very similar to the magical claws the girl mage used. Almost as deadly as the real deal, it seemed to cut through any metal with ease. It changed nothing about Alicia's standoff. However, she had an advantage - she was learning their movements, however slight. The patterns of the spear-man. There was a potential gap in their defense, she just did not have a certain tool in her arsenal. A distraction. Even a moment of distraction could win her the fight. When he pokes with a spear, his shield moves a bit, obscuring his vision to the side. But Alicia can't move to his blindside THAT fast. Unless... Luminosity. In a lot of ways, it's just like regular light. It is a light source, it can either warm or burn, or blind. Blind... That's it! Conjuring up a Sword of Light, Alicia points it towards their leader, fooling her opponents. Focus. It was time to focus. The timing has to be precise. The spear-man pokes again, for a slight moment covering up the vision of his left. Alicia dashes to that side, launching the Sword of Light towards the face of the spear-wielder and then detonating it in such a way it emits a blinding flash of light. This gives her a precious second of confusion, allowing her to hit the merc in the neck. Next up, the two who previously tried to flank her, using the trusty sword and board style. They knew she was on a timer now, and if she does not manage to deal with them until it's up, she's done for. But Alicia already had a tool to circumvent that. The mercs would expect her to use the same trick, trying to attack from the side while they are blinded. They would try to turn slightly to the side, to be able to protect their flanks quickly. This would leave them very slightly vulnerable to a frontal assault, but it was all Alicia needed. "Let's go!" she said to them, detonating two more Swords to blind them while rushing towards them, they reacted as expected, allowing her to finish off the rest of her opponents. 5 seconds. It took five seconds to accomplish that. Now the remaining 55 seconds were to be used to help the rest of Team Aegis, seeing as the mercs were now protected by some kind of barrier. ... The battle was over. Their captain, the last surviving member surrendered, only asking to honor the men that served him in return. "Honor, huh? Never would have expected that." she mumbled quietly. Up next, raiding the hideout, she grabbed anything that looked important. Some paladin prisoners were also found and freed, relatively unharmed but tired. They looked really relieved, as they didn't expect anyone to find them anymore. Burying your foes felt odd, but it also felt right. Morality aside, both sides were doing their jobs to utmost of their ability. Unlike the various stories of evil outlaws and cutthroat mercenaries, these people were almost like them, just on a different side. After all of that was done, it was time to go back. Their first mission as an official team was a great success. It felt good, and despite being exhausted from the battle, everyone was in high spirits. [Alicia learns [Blinding Flash]. This ability allows her to detonate a Sword of Light to produce a strong flash of light, temporary blinding opponents. Just like with shatter, this spell has dramatically reduced magic negation capabilities.] Eddy has never ever slept this well in his life. These beds felt divine. However, the dream, which he could remember clearly after waking unnerved him. Gathering up with The Jackals early in the morning, everybody mentioned that wierd dream they had. ALL of them had the same one. And Misala, of all people, was missing, with her things still near her bed. And there was only one place where she could have gone. "I don't really want to get closer to that vault door, if it is actually there, but I sure as hell don't want to leave Misala near it either. Let's go find her." he suggested to The Jackals. The closer to the palace they got, the more devastation their saw. This is where the majority of the fighting took place. The palace itself, grand and pristine in the dream, was now totally and utterly destroyed, with what appeared to be the Royal Guard's bones blocking up the now ruined entrance. "Well they sure were fanatical in defending their Empress. Wonder what she did to inspire such loyalty." Eddy commented. He never bought the stories that every mage that lived back then was utterly evil. Heck, Eddy himself was a mage, and he met plenty others. They were people just like anyone else, with the capability for both good and bad. But history is written by the winners, even if that was a very pyrrhic victory. As in the dream, the dome-like structure was there. It stood the test of time rather well, however, being much more heavily fortified than even the palace. Taking the stairs down, they found Misala in the chamber, as well as that vault from the dream, exactly as they remember it. She had her notebook or a diary with her, copying the strange writings on the walls. Eddy didn't even bother to ask why. What surprised him, however, was the whispers Misala was hearing. Focusing, he could definitely hear it too, but it was faint and you had to actually try to hear them. But not Misala - she was losing her cool and collected appearance quite fast. Turning to the rest of Jackals, who also started to explore it, "So, what do you think is behind that door?" he asked. The Jackals gave their guesses, but no one really wanted to find out. They all uniformly agreed , including Misala, that it should remain closed. "You know, I don't really like her trying to find out more about it either, but as a hunter, I agree. You are better off knowing something and never using that information rather than the other way around." he defended her. "I'd like to believe that no one is stupid enough to open a door that was locked up hundreds of years ago, especially with locks like these." Some discussions and arguments ensued, but when Misala was finished, they all were glad to leave. Picking up some supplies from the magical inn, they all left Kaosbund. Weisstraugh was just a few days away now. Leaving also helped Misala return to normal. Trying to deny it as hard as he could, Eddy felt, in the back of his heart, that they will return here, and sooner or later, those locks will be broken.

I thought so. Steven thought, letting an arrow fly into the eye of a mercenary. It had been a nagging feeling in the back of his head all morning, and when they arrived at the cave, it only confirmed his suspicions. The wooden walls and the formation proved it. They were expecting the paladins. The leader’s speech also added some more context. He was associated with the 2 mages from the bandit massacre. Seth and Mimel. The mention of a boss rang true with Steven’s deductions. The mages were part of a semi-large group of some sort, with at least several mages who were very strong, and they seemed to be very rich, somehow. How else could they pay for all of these mercenaries? It was likely that there were more, but judging by the mage’s speech alone, there were at least 4 very powerful mages, the one in front of them included. The group of mercenaries had split up their forces, the other half coming up from behind, invisible. Thanks to captain Aela, their ruse was discovered, but Steven wondered why there was no recon. Surely it would be more efficient to have shadows investigate the area, enemy numbers and any other information they might have gotten their hands on. Some pre-emptive reconnaissance would have certainly identified the mage, and they might have been better prepared as a result. Regardless of that, they were in a chaotic fight now. Captain Aela was too busy fighting to give orders, and the paladins were quite outnumbered. To make matters worse, the mage kept enchanting the mercenaries’ weapons, renewing them every time they were burned. Steven was up against a wall, so to speak, having ranged exchanges with the enemy archers. Right now, he was one of the few archers in the unit. He could support the team only by doing this. Steven ran through locked bodies, running and grabbing the lowest branch of a tree, using his momentum to spin around and land on top of the branch as arrows thudded into the wood where he was seconds before. He quickly drew an arrow and activated arrow of light, spying an archer knocking an arrow in Steven’s direction. Steven shot first and split the archer’s shadow arrow with a sizzle, the arrow flying straight into the archer’s bow. It split through the wood and dove into the heart, instantly killing him. Steven jumped with 2 arrows in his bow, aimed at an arc as 2 more arrows thudded into the wood behind him. He let loose and the glowing arrows flew upwards and then back down towards unsuspecting victims. The arrows split in mid-air, forming a deadly rain of light arrows thudding into several archers and mercenaries. This won’t do. Alex said, launching another arrow of light. This time, it fizzled out and bounced off of the mercenary’s invisible protection. Steven shot again and it hit home before the protection could be reapplied. So far so good, but he was running out of arrows. He had to end this quickly. Steven ran to another tree, putting several bodies between him and the archers. He deftly climbed the tree, mindful to stay out of sight, and climbed to a high point, looking for the leader. He spotted him a little away from things, casting magic on all of the mercenaries. Steven drew his bow back and aimed upwards, an arrow ready to rain death. He released the bowstring and it flew, splitting again to rain glowing arrows on the mage and his entourage. The invisible barriers popped and fizzled as the arrows landed, and Steven grabbed another arrow and drew back. He released again, firing at the mage’s throat, but it was repelled again by the invisible barrier. Steven went for another arrow, but his hand came up empty. Steven turned his head back in panic and found that he didn’t have any more arrows. He drew his dagger, stabbing it into the bark beside him and using it to slide all the way down the tree as arrows thudded into the wood above him. Having no more options, he put his bow on his back while he slid down and drew his other dagger, dashing into melee combat. He activated sun’s blessing on his body and weapons and ran in to slash a mercenary already engaged by another paladin. Using the momentum from his sprint, Steven did a small jump and spun, slashing at the back of the mercenary’s neck. The first shot slid off his barrier, but it also negated the barrier as Steven’s other dagger sliced through the man’s nape, ending his life. Steven ran through the chaotic battlefield leaning forward and low, making passing shots at the mercenaries around him, deactivating their shields. But he had one job to do, and his quarry revealed itself soon. Another archer, wreaking havoc on allied numbers. His back was turned, so Steven jumped onto it, wrapping around the mercenary’s torso with his legs and sinking his knives into his neck in one smooth movement. Sun’s blessing burned away the shield on contact, allowing Steven a clean shot to instantly kill the archer. Steven jumped off the dead mercenary and ran out of the fight, careful to not garner attention. A shield bearer rushed into view, intent on engaging Steven, but he wouldn’t get his way. Steven grabbed the top of the towering man’s shield and used it to vault himself above the man, landing on his head and jumping away, into a clear area. He landed into a roll and continued running, making for the outskirts of the battlefield. There was a reason for this. Steven thought as he ran, thinking of a way to combat the long range of the archers and also a way to put the mage out of commission. He couldn’t always combat them with Melee, he had to fight range with range. The archers were spread apart, so he couldn’t deal with just dashing around trying to find them all. He swung around a tree again, climbing around it to put it between him and any archers. The problem was, Steven didn’t have any arrows. He thought of going down to retrieve some, but in the heat of things, it would do him more harm than good. But Steven had an idea. His arrow of light coated his arrows in Luminosity, but it was different to Sun’s blessing, which he could also coat his arrows with. It was more flexible, and it was less opaque. It felt more solid than sun’s blessing did, so maybe… Steven sheathed his daggers and concentrated on his hand, like he did with his arrow of light. A glowing light appeared in his hand, and Steven willed it to form in the shape of an arrow. Behold, the light bent and sharpened to form a new arrow of light. One that didn’t need a solid base. He willed it to change experimentally, and the arrow bent left and right. Just how he wanted it to. Perfect. Steven thought, drawing his bow. Now to test it. He drew back the bowstring with the arrow on it, experimentally. It moved with the bowstring, which was good. Then, it was time for the moment of truth. Steven carefully jumped onto an adjacent branch and took aim at another archer, drawing back again, and stilled for a moment to set his aim. His arrows usually went straighter with arrow of light on, so he aimed directly for the distant target. He released it and the arrow was flung by the bowstring, flying straight ahead. As it contacted with the mercenary, its size shrunk as the mercenary’s protection was cancelled but sunk into the archer’s chest. The archer bent double in pain and Steven shot another arrow of light, piercing the unfortunate man’s skull. It works. Steven thought, descending from the tree to dodge some shots. This would change a lot of things. Steven shot a few more archers in the chaos. He’d done a lot against them and they’d suffered a lot of casualties from Steven’s hand. But it wouldn’t end the battle. Steven shot another 2 arrows at another archer who was killed on impact. There weren't that many archers left now, and the rest were being attacked by other paladins. But there were still quite a number of mercenaries left, which only accentuated the need to kill their leader. One thing that Steven noticed was that the lack of need to draw from his quiver allowed him to fire faster, which was useful. He could also apply his other abilities to it, which was also useful, and he had an idea on how to put these characteristics to use to end the fight. Steven dashed to yet another tree, climbing near the very top of it and took aim at the mage, once again. But he shifted his aim upwards slightly, and shot. The shot flew straight, but Steven willed it to curve down and split, making a circle of light arrows around the mage. His retinue was startled and fell back, away from the arrows. Their shields went down as they were hit by the glowing arrows. “I have you now.” Steven whispered to himself. He quickly spawned two more arrows with more mana than usual and shot with perfect precision. The arrows flew straight into the mage’s arms, and Steven willed the extra mana to bloom into roots of luminosity, shutting down the mage’s use of his arms. He didn't kill the mage, as the battle was winding down around them. They would need his information, if he would give any. And Steven didn't really want to take any more lives today. He could see the mage’s flesh sizzle and he knew it was effective. His magic would be down for now. His retinue was quickly defeated and the paladins surrounded him. It was done. They had won this fight. -------------------------------- Instead of guarding the mage or exploring the cave, he helped to bury the bodies of the mercenaries. It was an unexpected but welcome request to Steven. He couldn’t guard the mage without feeling guilty now, and he wasn’t really in the mood to look for evidence. He felt like he didn’t really want to kill people, so he buried the bodies as a form of penance. In fact, he felt bad that he’d mostly shot people who weren’t paying attention to him. He’d shot a lot of people in the back, and the people he’d hit with his knives were already preoccupied with other recruits. So even though he was tired, he buried the bodies, as if in apology for the trouble he’d caused. He dug a pit for one of the archers and removed an arrow from the dead body’s heart. This was the archer whose bow got broken by Steven’s arrow. Steven took the arrow and put it in his quiver, and then put the body in the put and piled the dirt onto it. Packing it down, he offered a quick prayer and moved on. Steven continued burying the bodies, and he felt lighter after each one. The bodies had been buried and Steven stretched, energy drained. He’d used a lot of mana in the battle, as well as a lot of Stamina. He was sure most of the other recruits were drained as well. All in all, it had gone fairly well, considering the situation. The mercenaries had a 2 to 1 advantage as well as a somewhat powerful mage, and the element of surprise. The captain had helped a lot by opening up their formation, as well as fighting 5 people at once. Steven felt like they handled the situation well, as their wounds weren’t too in the end. The fact that the mercenaries were expecting them was bothering Steven, but he was too tired to think about it right now. They would likely rest when they got back to camp. The group of paladins packed up and went north. [Steven upgrades arrow of light and attains the ability to form a light arrow without a physical arrow. This new ability takes a bit more mana but flies extremely straight and is more malleable as he doesn't need to worry about breaking the arrow. He can pack more mana in it to add more energy that can be manipulated.]

Eventually, the search was organized and they headed out to find where their missing Misala had ended up, perhaps getting a good look at the city as they did so. Small discussions popped up amidst the group as they travelled, heading unconsciously towards the centre of the city, and the palace. An often recurring topic was that of an odd dream someone had experienced the previous night, often with others chiming in about a similar dream. Finally, with the group stopped, a poll was taken to reveal that not only had they all had similar dreams, but that their dream had been the same. It came as no surprise then, that the group had been following the paths set in their sleep. The further they progressed, the bodies kept piling higher and higher, as if to show the defender's last stand. This was not the palace, but towards the great dome which stood untouched, traces of gold leaf shining through grime. Recalling the dream, Ru idly wondered whether the defenders had been trying to keep whatever was locked up locked up, or to keep it free? The dream had a malicious feel to it, as though whatever had been - was still locked up in there was meant to stay there. As the dream had led them all there, it was hardly a surprise when Ru entered the Dome and saw Misala. Ru threw his arms up in an exaggerated motion, scoffing at the sight. "You know, it would have been nice to leave a note or something, rather than just disappearing like that. We--err, some of us...were....worried." At his words, Misala turned to look briefly at the group. Her face, rather than maintaining a cool, calm mask, looked cracked, lines of worry snaking their way across her forehead, and an intense look in her eyes. Ru's voice trailed off after seeing the state Misala was in. Her uncertainty scared him more than any of the whispers she pointed out, more than whatever was locked behind that door. There was a lot more at work here than Ru could see, and he didn't like that. Contrary to popular belief, what one does not know is often what gets one killed. Ru had the feeling that if he stayed here too long, those unknown things would come out looking for fresh prey. Unfortunately, Misala seemed intent on copying stone markings, as opposed to staying alive. "Well, hurry up with your copying so we can get out of this place." For lack of anything better to do, Ru gave the room a walk around, then, considering Misala was still writing, walked it a few more times. Always he kept being drawn to the locks in the center of the room. Ru could remember opening them in the dream. The precise mechanics of how it was done was a tad fuzzy, but locks were something Ru was familiar with. I bet I could open them. he thought after all, locks aremeantto be opened..... He caught himself, hand hovering over a large metal lock, interlaced between chains. The whispers seemed more prominent in Ru's head, though he couldn't quite tell what they were saying. "I wonder what's behind that door....?"He lowered his hand, letting the question hang in the air.