The coming of inappropriate sound signaled to Marianne that her subject had arrived. The girl had to stifle a giggle as she sensed both Harley and Hazel in the room with her. She had made sure the other two couldn’t sense her and so she waited further from the Black Devil to finally leave. Once he did, she waited even more so underneath Hazel’s bed.

Better to have her eventually discover her hiding spot or make her presence known in the darkness of night. Honestly, both options sounded just fine to her and she got all giddy inside just by thinking about it. Yes, she would have fun studying Hazel’s eyes up close.

Harley would then reappear next to Solanne of all people. The Crimson Hound turned to him with a raised eyebrow before grinning. She had been watching the fight between the newbie and the guy who copied her style. All in all, it was interesting to say the least, if not repetitive at this point. Seriously, when were the missions going to start?

“Sup Junior. Whoah, that’s new,” she commented on the tail. “Hmm, well as long as your hair doesn’t start turning gold, we’re all good,” she snickered to herself.

"I don't know why it would..." Harley eyed Solanne curiously for a moment before shrugging. Harley looked back at his tail, grinning boyishly as he made it swish and whip around. "I can show you how it works." Harley said with a mischievous, perverted lick of the lips. He was sure he'd get punched for it, but it was worth it in his demented little brain. Harley looked at the tree that was providing his shade, grabbing a leaf idly from it and picking it apart piece by piece as he spoke, "Hey, sugartits, wanna go for a walk?"

Of the many reactions Adrian had planned for, standing still like a brilliant idiot was not one he had anticipated. Such a stance did not offer any openings for him to take advantage of and he knew better than to underestimate a man as seasoned as the Phoenix, even when momentarily blinded. A precious few seconds ticked by as he formulated a new plan, strafing around his opponent the entire time to keep control of what little flow of the battle he still had.

The iconic scowl left Adrian’s face. As preposterous as it looked, pulling back Whisper’s drawstring always relaxed him. Planning was one of the few things the tactician enjoyed and he found the process of shooting a bow symbolized that quite well.

He steadied his breath and found his target. The plan would work or it wouldn’t, it was as simple as that. Thus there was no room for any more concerns or hesitation. With a small slide he stopped his strafing and raised Whisper, taking aim. His fingers relaxed as he made his final adjustment. It had taken him the better part of a month to get used to the outrageous power the bow had, but now compensating for it came to him naturally.

Saying the arrow flew would be a gross understatement. It was fired like a bullet out of an Earth Kingdom gun, but true to its name, Whisper barely made a sound as it took off. The arrows he used had to be specially designed to handle the force they were put under, but otherwise they didn’t look all too different from a normal one. That is, except for the small vial of water attached to this one.

Isen’roy may have minimized the target Adrian had to work with, but he was competent enough to hit him right in the thigh if he didn’t move or block it.

Your move big guy, he thought, already reaching for another arrow.

Of the many reactions Adrian had planned for, standing still like a brilliant idiot was not one he had anticipated. Such a ballsy stance did not create any openings for him to exploit and he knew better than to underestimate someone as seasoned as the Phoenix, even when momentarily blinded. A precious few seconds ticked by as he formulated a new plan, strafing around his opponent the entire time to keep what little flow of the battle he had left.

The iconic scowl left Adrian's face. As preposterous as it looked, pulling back Whisper's drawstring always relaxed him. Planning was one of the few things the tactician enjoyed and he found the process of shooting a bow symbolized that quite well.

With a small slide he stopped strafing and found his target. The plan would work or it wouldn't. There was no more time for hesitations. He steadied his breath and raised Whisper, taking aim. His fingers relaxed as he made his final adjustment. It had taken him the better part of a month to get used to the outrageous power the bow had, but now compensating for it came to him like breathing.

Saying the arrow flew would be a gross understatement. Rather, it was fired like a bullet out of an Earth Kingdom gun, but true to its name, Whisper barely made a sound. The arrows it used were specially designed to handle the tremendous force they were put through, but overall they didn't look too different from a normal one. That is, except for the vial that held a deceptively large amount of water attached to this one.

Isen'roy may have minimized the target Adrian had to work with, but he was competent enough to hit the red warrior in his thigh closest to the archer if be didn't move or block it.

Your move big guy, he thought, already reaching for another arrow.

A flood of relief flodded Hazel now that she was extricated from her rather awkward situation. She was slightly confused when Harley had said 'have fun you [b]two[b] but she shrugged it off. A wave of lethargy hit her, and she felt overwhelmingly attracted to the surface of her bed. She fell against it with an audible 'plop' and sleep found her.

There were barely any signs, any sounds or indication that Adrian had shot his arrow.

There was only a tiny whisk from his bow; so soft it could barely be considered a whisper. Isen'roy instinctively sensed the imminent danger and acted accordingly. He tilted his blade ever so slightly to create an angle. It wasn't that Isen'roy didn't believe in his own strength, it was simply years of experience telling him to not underestimate his foe. Adrian was not a pushover, he noticed that several moments after the fight began.

Regardless of powerful the penetration force of an arrow, if it contacts an angled surface, the majority of the kinetic energy would dissipate as it is redirected away. That was exactly what happened. The arrow bounced off and headed in the direction of Ashaad.

With that, his vision returned and Isen'roy had full view of Adrian who was preparing to fire a second arrow. He made a beeline towards him. Regardless of whatever barriers he could conjure, Isen'roy was confident he could blow them away if they were created that hastily. Simply charging towards him also accomplished similar effects as the actions he made earlier; he knew exactly where the arrows would come from.

@Against This@TheDarkTemplar

Ashaad had been watching the fight since its beginning and as it progressed he found himself slightly impressed with Adrian's archery skills. That was until his arrow flew towards him and punctured a hole straight through his flask. Ashaad stared at the flask as the last of his Qatar-Shan Fire Wine flowed onto the ground. "Five year old Fire Wine...", Ashaad let out a sigh of anger and frustration before tossing it aside. The fight had lost his interest now as he stood up from where he sat and began to walk away from the area. His weapons had become dull and were in desperate need of repair and so Ashaad headed over to the blacksmith. From what he heard the smith apparently provided modifications to weapons and armor, "Proper armor would be a welcome change from these old rags". Ashaad would never ask those he helped for coin, instead only a few things he needed to survive, most of the time it was food, medical supplies, things of that nature. Items of comfort or improvements to his arsenal we're rare, in fact his entire outfit was from an assortment of assignments he had taken. After years of wear and tear it was time for a change in attire.

A wave of annoyance returned to Adrian's expression. Had Isen'roy parried the arrow the way he anticipated, the vial would have shattered and coated his blade in water he could manipulate. Had he dodged, the Phoenix would have made an opening he could exploit. But instead, whether through instinct or dumb luck, he once again chose the correct course of action and left the archer with little to work with. And now he's charging. Awesome.

With his gambit in shambles, Adrian dropped his bow. Not because he was giving up, but because what came next would require a great deal of maneuverability. With a flick of his wrist, a throwing blade appeared in his left hand. He rolled his shoulders and let out a long breath, preparing himself for the stupidity he was embarking on. Then he did the unthinkable.

Adrian started running straight at Isen'roy.

@Animus

Harley's not too subtle innuendo would earn him a solid punch to the face. A solid, flaming punch to the face. It was up to him to dodge because Solanne would not slow her momentum down just for him. The nickname though at least gave her a chuckle. At least he was trying.

"Sure thing Junior. It's obvious but you're so cute when you try to be cool! Getting tired of my sis and want to try your hand at an older girl?"

Harley teleported to the other side of Solanne, evading the punch idly before continuing, "Solanne, you're so violent, bit of a turn-off." He smirked and drew a little heart with his tail in the air, "Besides, you know Hazel is my one and only." He thought for a moment. "Unless you've got plans for me?" He added with a grin.

"Me? Violent? Eh, I thought you were into violent chicks," Solanne replied with a shrug. "Ain't that the reason you're so lovestruck for our resident princess of destruction? Besides, I'm way out of your league Junior. Unless you're looking for a one night burning," she added with her own grin.

By now she was walking beside him along a path around the campsite. He had wanted to talk to her so she figured it was either some advice he wanted or something really stupid. She was betting on the latter.

"Anyway, is Solomon around?" Harley asked, glancing around for the giant chivalrous bastard.

"Don't know. He hasn't shown himself much since our last mission. Probably out weightlifting some horses again."

"Oh, well... when he gets back, wanna kill him?" Harley asked as if he was inviting her to tea.

"Not particularly," Solanne said. "If we did, the Word Weaver would probably get pissed at us. Did you really just drag me out here to ask about your killing fetish?"

"No, and it's not a fetish, I seem to have a fire fetish, though." He said in a contemplative manner. "And I just wanted some quality Solanne time, you're my second favorite, you know?" He grinned devilishly, poking her ribs with his tail.

"Is that so? Man you're so cheeky," Solanne replied, giving him a friendly punch to the shoulder. "But I'm afraid a bit of flattery isn't gonna work so easily for me. I'm like, what, five years older than you? Besides, wouldn't your flame princess get jealous seeing us together?"

At once she snatched his tail up with a vice grip, clencing it ever tightly. With her free hand she lit her index finger on fire and gingerly brought it close to the skin but didn't burn it outright. All of this, she did with a smirk.

"Unless that's your plan, y'know? Make her jealous of me?"

"Oh Atros, please don't!" Harley squeaked, holding his hands together in a prayer-like pose, giving Solanne big puppy eyes.

"Man you're so easy to tease. But sure, I'll let you go," the Crimson Hound said, slowly releasing her grip on Harley's tail. "Didn't think you of all people would be a sub."

"Sub, who you calling sub, old lady!?" Harley asked indignantly.

Solanne's answer to that particular quip was a crack of her knuckles, the air arround her spiking up in temperature. Her grin remained but it was obvious Harley was pushing her buttons.

"Hey now, I said I was only a few years older than you, y'know. And besides, you're totally a sub Junior. You practically let Spell Spitter walk all over you."

"Yeah...but that's cuz she's hot. Literally." Harley shrugged, not wanting to get roasted by Solanne, and decided instead to change the subject. "So, how's Mari?" He asked with a polite grin

The Crimson Hound took a moment to ponder his words before sighing. The flames died down and she crossed her arms, giving the boy an amused look. Of course, she wouldn't leave him with too many broken bones and it was always easier to tease him more than anything else.

"You should probably look into a new fetish then," she suggested. "It seems like every fire girl wants to kill you. And that's probably better than invoking Marianne's wrath. She'd rather do...other things with your body."

She left what those things were to Harley's creative mindset.

Meanwhile, back in Hazel’s tent, the creeping Marianne practically giggled herself away as the other girl soon fell into a slumber. The dark mage had to bend lower to avoid getting hit on the head but it was worth it for her research to continue. At last, she sensed the other girl resting, heard her breathing slow to a crawl. Marianne quickly crawled out of her hiding spot and loomed over the other girl curiously.

For a moment or two, she took the time to stare at the other one who had claimed Solanne’s affection. Reaching out, she gently brushed her fingers across Hazel’s eye-lids and carefully opened them to reveal the sleeping iris. With a wide grin, she leaned over the bed and revealed a small, pink tongue from her mouth.

She was going to directly lick Hazel’s eye and study the following reactions.

As Hazel awoke she felt an odd, somewhat painful, yet not entirely unpleasant sensation. It took her a moment to register what was happening as she shook off the grogginess. Something is attacking my eyeball, was her first thought. Then she figured out what was going on. Of course, Mari is at it again. What came next was an instinctual reaction, not something done on purpose: Hazel spontaneously combusted. One can only hope Mari got out of the way in time. The flame quickly spread to her bed, and Hazel began to take steps to control the blaze.

"Mari, I like you, but you really shouldn't surprise me like that!" The girl said angrily.

The fire was quenched almost as soon as it began, but Hazel's sheets were now thoroughly scorched.

"Fire! Fire!" The panicked call interrupted Kelsier and Miles's catching up. They looked up, and quickly identified the yeller. Kelsier ran to him, "Where? Where is it?" He demanded of the man. "I-I saw a smoke coming from inside a tent over there." Dammit, with the tents this sloppily placed a single fire could send half the camp up in smoke. "Miles!" Kelsier barked. "On it!" He replied.

They could see the smoke billowing up in the air and they followed it. When they got there they prepared to put it out. Then, suddenly The smoke cut off and only small wisps of it remained. "What the hells going on?" Miles muttered. Kelsier asked a person who had been there when they arrived, "Was anyone inside the tent?" "I don't know." The man replied. Miles ran to the tent and went inside. What he found was so bizarre it took him a moment to realize what he was looking at. There were two little girls, one with an eye patch and one lying on a smoking, smoldering bed.

Well, this really was interesting wasn’t it? Marianne giggled happily as Hazel self-combusted into a plight of flames, sending the tent and bed on fire. The roaring blaze was of course brought under control as Hazel belted out angry words to the dark mage. Marianne was unfazed by the hostility, a knowing smirk rising all the same as she crept closer to the other girl.

“What’s this? So you really do like me after all Miss Faker? How very interesting to note. I knew I made your heart burn with passion, but never could I imagine something as spontaneous as this little stunt.”

Then Miles showed up to stare at the both of them. Marianne noted his appearance and even gave him a little wave. The tent was definitely ruined alright and it was doubtful Hazel would be sleeping on anything else soon.

“Hello Mister,” Marianne said to Miles politely before turning to Hazel. “There’s no need to worry Miss Faker. With your tent gone, you can spend the night in my room! It’ll definitely open up numerous opportunities to study the rest of your body.”

“There’s no need to worry Miss Faker. With your tent gone, you can spend the night in my room! It’ll definitely open up numerous opportunities to study the rest of your body.” Miles blinked in surprise at the small girl's grisly words said in such a cheerful tone. He wasn't sure what to say, so he simply asked, "Are both of you young ladies unhurt? He looked from the creepy girl to the girl on the burned bed. Just then, Kelsier came in. "Miles, what's going on? Is everything all ri--." He too stopped in surprise as he beheld the odd scene. "Am I... interrupting something?" He asked casually.

A woman sat inside her personal carriage as it was being driven by one of her servants. The carriage was quite large in fact, being capable of holding four people comfortably with room to lay down. Inside she lay on a bed of some of the softest cushions one could find in the sand sea. Beside her lay a tray of fruits and a goblet of wine, which she sipped and ate from. Along with the woman were three children, two girls and a boy between the ages of ten to fifteen. They were all hers, of course, as the woman's profession was not kidnapping but banditry. The woman's eating was halted along with the carriage which came to a sudden stop as soon as the sounds of fighting broke out. A battle had ensued around the carriage but as quickly as it began it had ended with the sounds of men being impaled with swords and spears. A man, one of the bandits, opened the rear door of the carriage and stuck his head in. "My Lady, we've captured the convoy with some hostages!", the man bowed his head as he spoke, not daring to look his mistress in the eye after he interrupted her as she ate. "I shall see them, perhaps they will be useful in life and death", her words were responded immediately by the sounds of men moving outside.

The woman exited her carriage to find twenty corpses scattered across the sands. Those that survived the encounter, merely ten, were put to their knees with their attacks resting swords upon their shoulders. The woman grinned with contempt in her eyes as she turned to speak to one of her underlings, "Captain Jothar, bring out my children. I would have them tested".

"At once, my queen", Jothar quickly moved to the carriage entrance and called inside, "Valoya, Therian, Nilara, your mother requests your presence". Shortly after the children exited the carriage and walked over to their mother. Valoya, the eldest, was all too familiar with the sight of a battle's aftermath. She had been exposed to it the longest out of her two siblings and was relatively unphased by the sight of the bodies. However that did not mean she was interested in it, in truth she cared not for battles as that's what her mother's men were here for, to fight so she wouldnt have to deal with things such as this. The promise of her mother's bandit clan was something Valoya looked forward to with each passing day. Power was her only goal, and with her mother's bandits at her command Valoya hoped to be even more notorious than her mother.

Therian, the middle child, was more than excited to see what had happened. There was something not right about the boy. He loved violence and was eager to take part in battles once he would come of age. His mother often called him "my little bandit" as he would always try to sneak away with the men when they set up camp. Despite his violent nature he never laid a finger on his family, he was always careful towards them making sure not to harm them if they play fought. As for prisoners...that's an entirely different matter, Therian would attend the interrogation sessions and would often suggest torture devices to the interrogator when the time came. All in all the boy was a monster.

Lastly was Nilara, the youngest of her siblings and the only one with affinity to magic. Nilara was probably the most normal of her siblings. She was playful, reckless, and generally a troublesome child with the mischief she'd get herself into around the camp. But Nilara was not innocent, as soon as her mother discovered her gifts she put them to use. Nilara was taught in the ways of necromancy, she was used in combat since she was seven years of age, and she would even perform rituals at age nine. Now she was her mother's favorite execution device. Not only to show the power she wielded through her children but to make Nilara stronger in the event should her other two children fail to succeed her.

The woman spoke to her children with a voice as motherly as a general to his troops. "Which of you will question them?", she asked looking to Valoya who yawned in disinterest before looking away. Therian was first to speak, "I will!" the boy stepped forward towards the prisoners and looked them all in the eye. Some of them whimpering in fear and others met his gaze with anger in their eyes. "Do you know who I am?", Therian asked trying his best to show authority in his words. One of the prisoners answered, "The son of a raider whore!" his insult was quickly punished with a hit to the head with the hilt of a sword from of one of the bandits. "I am Therian Varentia, son of Irialli Varentia, Queen of The Cursed Ones Clan, and if you wish to live you will show respect!"

"Fuck you", the same man spoke again and the same sword hilt struck him again.

"Since you seem to be the bravest of your comrades you shall be the one i receive answers from. First, when is the next convoy scheduled to be sent out. And before you attempt to insult me again remember where you are"

The prisoner stopped himself once he felt the warm touch of the sword against his neck. Blood covered the blade and dropped onto the man's clothes staining it a deep red. A moment of silence passed before the man spoke again, "Next week, but since this one won't make it they will wait a month before sending it out on a different route"

"Which route?"

"From Qatar-Shan to Sekteph and from there to Ahtar"

"City names alone are useless, we need route details!"

"I don't know the route details I've never had to go that route!"

"Don't lie to me!", Therian raised his hand to signal to the executioner to raise his sword. The threat of death quickly squeezed out the truth from the man. "There's a small oasis village between the Qatar-Shan and Sekteph! The convoy stops there to resupply on water!"

Therian turned to his mother who grinned with satisfaction before nodding to her son to return to her side. "W-wait! I told you everything, will you let me go?", the man's once stubborn persona gave way to reveal his true frightened state of mind. Irialli spoke this time to him but addressed all prisoners when she did, "Yes you did answer my son's questions but sparing your lives was never an option. Before you would have been slain by my men and that would be the end of it but you insulted my son and myself...and so a fate worse than death awaits you". The prisoners began to beg, some pleaded with her to serve as slaves, others simply cried while uttering words made unintelligible due to their crying.

Irialli knelt beside Nilara who looked at the fearful men with pity. Her mother had a smile om her face which didn't surprise Nilara as she knew what was about to happen. "Now, my love, just like last time. Make your mother proud", Irialli spoke with genuine care for Nilara in her voice. Strange seeing the current situation was anything but a tender moment. Despite the fact that Nilara didn't exactly want to do this she complied, defying her mother was not an option. Nilara's hand glowed green before becoming enveloped in green flame. She extended her hand outwards towards the prisoners and the green fires spewed forth bathing the prisoners in fire. They screamed for mere seconds before death came for them. Their ordeal was not over as the flames on Nilara's hand became like lightening which struck every corpse on the battlefield. The hearts of all the corpses glowed green so brightly it was as if an emerald sun had been placed in their chest cavities. Once the spell was complete thirty corpses rose from the sands and stood amongst the bandits. Irialla's clapped and hugged her daughter who was anxious to go back into the carriage. "Jothar, put the new members in the supply carriage. If there isn't enough room then kill the extras, have the men search for a spot to camp, away from the battlefield and off the main road. We don't want guard patrols running into us at night", Irialla spat out commands before entering her carriage with her children.

Nilara awoke from her dream. Ones such as this were not uncommon for her. What was uncommon was the reason for her being awake. Someone thought it was smart to scream outside her tent about a fire. "That fire better be pretty fuckin' big for you to wake me up..", Nilara groaned as she got up from her bedroll. Sticking her head out the tent entrance she found that her guards were still there, or was it another couple taking this shift? Either way she wasn't getting out through the front as usual. Pulling out the stake, Nilara crawled out the back and began to head towards the pillar of smoke.

Kazeharu had been sitting against a tree since his talk with Amadeus. He had decided not to drink, mainly because he didn't want to draw attention to himself in a camp where everyone was a seasoned warrior who can cut him does or a skilled magician who could burn him alive. "Damn, I'm gonna be bored for awhile." He sighed as he polished his blades. "I don't think anyone HERE will buy any of my swords, they probably all have their own personal weapons, dammit." He sheathed the sword and knocked his head against the tree, "How the hell am I gonna make money here."

"I got an idea." He heard someone say, he looked over to his left and saw Amadeus standing there.

"Yo, Mini Swordsman!" He said with a wave.

"Please don't call me that."

"NOPE!" Kazeharu said with a chuckle, "So you said something about money?" He said with a raised brow.

"Yeah, I realize that we don't really know when my sword will be finished so you are probably going to be hanging around the camp for awhile. So since you are here, might as well make yourself useful"

"And how will I do that?" He asked, not really sure what the younger man was going to say

"Be my assistant." He said with a smile, "I'm guessing you are at least decent in fighting right?" He asked

Kazeharu nodded a bit, "I can hold my own against most enemies."

"Good, all you would really be doing is helping me in small tasks and going on missions with us, you won't really be fighting all the time but you will be assisting me." He explained

The samurai thought about it for a bit "I don't know."

"You're getting paid"

"Deal!" he said as he shot up. "From now on I'll be your assistant, Mini Boss." He said as he ruffled the boys head.

"Please stop calling me 'Mini', it's degrading." Amadeus said as he kicked the man in the shin.

"Awe, why not? That's what you are right?"

"Then Boss works just fine, I'd rather you not mention my size" he said a little embarrassed

Kazeharu noticed the gesture, "I keep forgetting that you're a badass warrior, you seem so ... Normal, like you belong in a library studying history instead of making it.”He said took out a pipe and lit it, taking a few inhales before blowing out the smoke. “Well compared to the other people here anyways. I mean, your teammate Solanne kinda looked like a badass." He said with a kinda goofy smile, inhaling another puff from his pipe while remembering the 'beauty' he had saw previously that day.

"Solannes really just the tip of the iceberg, I got a teammate who causes earthquakes when he's mad, another who has a reputation for incinerating everything on the battlefield with ease, including teammates, and the last one recently grew a tail." He said

Kazeharu shivered a bit, "Well when you're surrounded by monsters like them, no wonder you're looking for more weapons. How the hell do you keep up with them?" he asked

Amadeus’s eyes glowed slightly behind his eye before they dimmed again, “I was actually no help at all during our first mission, I’ve actually been training nonstop so that doesn’t happen again.” He said with a confident smirk, it was true that he had been training both his mind and body, training his magic and swordsmanship while also studying everyone else’s fighting styles using Ethos’s Eyes.

"Well whatever." He said in a sort of bored way, "Say, if I'm gonna be working for you, that means I'm gonna be working with your teammates to right? Including the beauty?"

Amadeus sighed, "I swear, you're just as bad as Harley." He said while he rubbed his neck.

Kazeharu gave a goofy smile "Hey man, what can I say. I'm a sucker for beautiful wo-"

"FIRE!!" Someone yelled, interrupting Kazeharu.

Amadeus and Kazeharu looked at each other for a second, "Damn, are we being attacked?!" Kazeharu asked alittle panicked.

"Probably not, not many are ballzy enough to attack an encampment with the 42 strongest warriors in it. My guess, either Harley pissed off Solanne, Marianne pissed off Hazel, or literally anyone pissed of Isen'roy." Amadeus said in a sort joking way

“... Isen’roy is the tough looking red haired guy?”

“Yep”

“... Hazel’s the tough looking red haired teen girl?”

“Yep”

“... And Solanne is the tough looking red haired beauty?”

“Yep”

“... Red heads are scary."

"Welcome to the Blight Retaliation Encampment" Amadeus said jokingly

"... I bet 20 bronze it’s Isen’roy.” He bet as he took out a small coin pouch.

Amadeus’s eyes glowed behind his bangs as he used his power to see who’s tent it was “I have 30 on Hazel.” He said with a smirk

“Deal.” the samurai said as the two began to walk towards the fire.

Hazel sprung from the smoldering bed. Her tent had suddenly become a hive of activity, and there were probably more people coming, and she was very embarrassed to be caught in this odd situation with Mari. Her face was rapidly turning red.

First she addressed Mari "Fine, fine, fine, I'll stay wherever," Then Miles, "We're fine! We're both fine! Nothing to see here!" She cried out. Then Kelsier came in, and asked if he was interrupting, she cried out again. "Yes! Certainly! You're all interrupting, get out of my tent, we're fine, go, leave!" As more of the 42 began to fill her tent, drawn by the fire, she realized all efforts to make them leave were futile.

She shook her head and huffed. It seemed to Hazel that her luck had been tremendously bad since she had left the Sky Kingdom. Things like this seemed to keep happening, and she was always making herself look stupid. It almost was enough to make her miss her prison-like home.

“Wonderful! Let’s be sure to go right away lest we have any more interruptions.”

Marianne latched onto Hazel with a death grip. For the first time, the fire user would finally experience the gripping, albeit painful touch of the dark mage. The Corpse Collector began to pull her new subject with her in exiting the now completely charred tent.

Along the way, she politely greeted each person that decided to stick their heads in other people’s business with a smile and a death threat. Said death threat was spoken in the brightest and most courteous tone she could manage. After all, she couldn’t forget her manners.

“Good morning to you all. Ah, I’ll be sure to take all of your eyes once you eventually perish in battle. Until then, please maintain healthy body regulation so that your organs can be in pristine collection when I study them tonight. Farewell for now.”

Humming to herself, the dark mage continued her happy trek. Funny. For some reason everyone seemed to avoid putting their tents near her own.

Hazel had no choice but to allow herself to be dragged along by Mari, but that doesn't mean she wasn't quickly sent into her seemingly typical state of nervousness by the unexpected contact. Her face was burning red as she was dragged away.

"R-R-Right now? B-b-but I have to go... Uhhhh..." Hazel paused, unable to come up with a serviceable excuse, and then sighed, "I don't have a choice, do I?" She lamented glumly. As Mari addressed the crowd Hazel merely smiled and waved, unable to muster up any sort of other response for those in the crowd she knew.

Mari quickly absconded Hazel away towards her own tent. Hazel laughed nervously, "Geez, you sure live... uhhh... far away from everyone else." Hazel's mind wandered to the delights that likely waited in Mari's tents. Her head was filled was vision of grizzled corpses, dismembered body parts, offal hanging from the tent's canvas, and an innumerable amount of other 'treats'.

Kelsier turned to Miles. "Well, that was interesting." He said. Miles nodded, "Something about that one with the eye patch just...didn't feel right." "I know what you mean." Kelsier replied. He turned and frowned at in the direction the two girls went. "She is probably a necromancer of some sort. And the other one was a strong fire-mage." Miles shot him a look, "Wait, this is the part where you astound me with some mystical bullshit reason that explains how you found out." Kelsier gave him a slightly rueful smile. "Yeah, necromancer's magic can be felt in their aura, something about messing with the dead tends to leave a mark. Eyepatch had shown every sign of it. Redhead was obvious, nothing short of a fire-mage could make, survive, and snuff out a fire that quickly. Speaking of fire," Kelsier said thoughtfully, "Its a shame about the mess here. Maybe I can fix it." Miles looked surprised, "I thought you said you can't manipulate certain objects." "That was three years ago, this is now." He closed his eyes and breathed in and out, slowly gathering his magic and concentrating. Miles watched on in astonishment. The burned bed and part of the tent slowly unburned, the fire winked back into existence, but the flames burned downward and shrank instead of growing. Soon the bed and the tent looked like it had before it had burst into flames, complete with the blankets arranged like someone was sleeping under them. With a sigh, Kelsier relapsed the magic and surveyed the results. As soon as he stopped, normal time resumed and the blankets fell flat. "Incredible." Miles breathed "That's something you don't see every day." Kelsier stretched and started walking out of the tent "Come on, lets go." He said. Miles shook his head and followed him out.

Hazel would be pleased to see that yes, Marianne’s tent did include all the wonderfully morbid items she expected the dark mage to own and possess. Though there was an emphasis on eyes as always, the floating orbs lying still in sustained jars of…something.

“Yes, the others seem to find no interest with the more subtle aspects of the human body,” she answered Hazel’s statement while leading her further into her domain. “Ah, but not to worry Miss Subject. When I poke and prod the camp occupant’s bodies tonight I’ll cast some hexes on them so they can enjoy the wonders of their own body too!”

That…was disturbing to think about in itself. It spoke wonders on what sort of activities Marianne had in mind for the rest of the camp to experience at night. Then again, it was probably best to not consider the thought. Ever.

The eye-patched girl led Hazel to her bed, practically dragging and placing her atop the sheets. Then she went off to retrieve some wonderful tools to use on Hazel while the sun was still high. Some hexes were most potent when the light was strongest. That was because the curses lasted longer when paired directly with its opposite.

“I’m back,” Marianne called out softly.

Strangely enough, all she had with her was a writing utensil and a sheet of paper. Putting them aside, she closed the distance between them once more and oh so happily invaded the other girl’s personal space and privacy.

Then she just stood there, knowing smirk all across her visage as she waited for a reaction.