Flint and Coraline made it to the castle not long after the others entered it. It was dark, and the moon was ominous behind the tall dark trees that surrounded the old church, as if it blanketed the air around them, making it darker and heavier than it really felt. Flint shivered. "Well... charming place." he said to Coraline as he pulled his bow into his left hand. He noted the horses left behind by the main group and guided his horse over there as well, slipping off his steed quickly and silently, leaving the horse unteathered, as he always did.

He took a few steps towards the church when Mishka pawwed at her nose. I don't like the smell from there... do we have to go in? she whined as she crouched low to the ground, her ears down as well.

"Don't be a scared y cat." He said looking down at Mishka.

Mishka glared up at Flint and stood up straight again. I'M NOT A CAT!

Coraline looked up at the structure. The churches to the far east were quite different. Despite them being devoted to the same deities, the architecture was always a product of the land. She felt a shiver run through her spine, making her clench her teeth, "Well I can assure you this place is filled with magic. I can feel it."

The knight climbed off of her horse and stepped up to the doorway to the church. She drew the long sword at her side and slowly stepped in. The door creaked and groaned as she pushed it. As she exhaled, she could see her breath. Coraline looked back to Flint, "You can use your bow in tight corridors, yes?"

A weak gust of wind blew by, taking some leaves and blossoms with it. Coraline couldn't help but notice that things seemed to be grayer outside. Dark magic had its effect on places and Coraline had seen plenty of it, but the sight always made her uncomfortable. "Stay behind me." she stepped fully into the dark church.

Flint looked at Coraline as she mentioned the place filled with magic. He only nodded as they made their way to the dark church. Once inside Coraline asked if he could use his bow inside. "Yes I can." Unlike most archers, Flint had learned to how to fight in close quarters, with his bow, and even shooting within five feet if needed be.

As they slowly walked through the main chapel of the church Flint looked around for signs of battle, having found none it made him slightly uneasy. It was strange that the main chapel was left perfectly alone. The fact Coraline said "Stay behind me." Was a slap to his own pride. He was the one who was supposed to say that to the pretty women. He took a breath about to say something about it, but realized... she was the one with the sword, It only made sense.

He found a torch on the ground and lit it, handing it off to Mishka, as she held it in her mouth, He could not hold it for it would hinder his ability to even fire a bow, and had trained Mishka to do this for him. Despite it being low to the ground, it gave off enough light for them to see within ten feet.

"Well this isn't creepy..." he said softly just loud enough for Coraline to hear him. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and knocked it easily, but did not pull the string back. They came to the fork in the road, the stairs, crumbled now had a plank in place to make it up the stairs. Mishka sniffed around and mentioned Emiliah went left, Fenros and Alltia went downstairs, Marcus went left, and Elizabeth went up. Remembering only those scents.

He then said to Coraline. "The group split into four groups here. Most likely to clear the church room by room." He looked at the ground to see if there was any other clues...of course there were not any. "Where did you want to head to first?"

Coraline looked to the paths laid out ahead of them. "Necromancers prefer secluded and secure spaces. We should head lower, below the church."

Coraline didn't waste any time, in fact, she didn't even wait for Flint to try and argue it. She felt that if he was as good a hunter as his family was out to be, she wouldn't have to worry about his positioning. Coraline took a deep breath and headed deeper into the tainted church. "Flint, tell me what your friends look like before I make any hasty decisions."

Flint raised his bow slightly to be ready, He doubted that there would be anything left if they were following Fenros...he was usually pretty good at clearing witches dens by himself. He looked at Coraline as she asked what his friends looked like so she didn't accidently kill them. "Um....Not dead?" He said with a slight chuckle. "Fenros, my brother looks like a bear with a massive sword, and a white wolf with him. Pretty hard to miss. Emiliah is a tiny girl with a big spear, and bigger attitude with brown hair, Elizabeth has blonde hair and carries a whip." He didn't want to talk much about her... " Marcus, well he has a gotee, short blonde hair and usually carries a shield and sword."

---

Alyssa smiled from the alcove, soon the trap would spring and she'd finally be rid of the 'hunters of Seren's folley'. None of them noticed the runes she'd secreted amongst the rubble, she'd successfully masked the scent of her own blood from the damnable wolves the Digards kept as pets.

As the last hunter made their way inside she completed her spell. Darkness gathered around the ruined cathedral. It continued to darken untill the old stone ediface could no longer be seen. With a scream from the pit and a whiff of brimstone light filtered back into the area. The cathedral though? It was no longer there.

"Surely Lorelai will favor me if I continue what she started." Alyssa sighed as she stepped out into the fresh air. She gazed around the now empty field. With a chuckle she continued towards the castle she'd recently heard about. "Murder my family? I'm fine with that, but try to kill the Dragon at your own risk foolish hunters."

Alyssa let out a wry laugh. "Poor Digards, their infant god has no power in the inferno." She twirled manicly as she walked "There are older things in the darkness than men or gods, they speak to me, and I command them."

Alyssa stooped and removed a ruby coin from her pack. She placed it in a ring she'd made of salt. "Charon, you've your offering now. Make sure they don't make it out would you?" She laughed again. "The lesser demon's should serve, but I do like to be sure after all."

"Oh sweet sister, soon we'll meet. I just want to stand in your shadow, and feel its chill in my heart once." Alyssa sighed. "Then you'll do with me as you wish." With a grin she disappeared into the treeline.

---

As they moved down they found their first corpses on the ground. Already killed.....again. their bodys ripped in half as if with a cleaver, or skulls bashed in. "Definitely my brothers handy work..." he said softly.

Coraline took a moment to inspect the corpses. She heard Flint mention her brother and clenched her teeth, "I see your brother isn't exactly an advocate of a clean kill."

Coraline stepped further into the room and looked around. "I'll admit, your friends are quite thorough. But just in case, we should alert them to our presence instead of stumbling upon them in the dark." Coraline looked to the wolf holding the torch, "Would your brother recognize your hound's howl?"

Flint smiled slightly, not seeing her clench her teeth. "Fenros is more of a brawler/warrior rather than a Knight. He is a freak of nature when it comes to his strength, and uses it to his advantage. Besides his sword is not the best to use down here." He said as an after thought. Which would make sense for the more crushed skulls than cut bodies.

When she mentioned having Mishka howl to gain the attention of their fellow hunters he thought about it for a bit. He was one who didn't really annouce his presence, being more for the silent surprise type. But he didn't have the advantge here, and most likely the way was clear. So he looked down at Mishka and took the torch from her mouth, "Not my brother, but his wolf would. You heard the lady, let Alltia know we are here."

He didn't bother with the fact that Alltia would inform Fenros, who it was exactly...or how Mishka understood what they were saying. Mishka took a breath and raised her head, A loud howl came from her throat. Flint should have been used to it, but with his hightened hearing from his curse, and that they were in tight corradors. It was painful to hear as it pierced their ears.

After she stopped, a few moments passed, maybe thirty seconds of silece. Then, another howl could be heard, it was eriee and far off in the distance. Flint actually understood the howl, and Mishka didn't need to translate for him. "They are in the deep catacombs Currently fighting." He said as he moved forward after giving Mishka the torch again, He raised his bow and readied himself as he passed Coraline taking point. They came to corners and splits in the hall, Mishka would tell him which way to turn.

Coraline ran after Flint, so much for a formation. Her armor had weighed her down and it didn't help that she had been travelling for far too long. The darkness of the corridors and the growing gap between the two of them wasn't helping things. "Flint!" she called out, "We need to stick together! Don't run too far ahead!" she wasn't sure if he had heard her.

"It is too late," came a voice from the shadow as a hand reached out from wall itself, gripping onto Coraline's shoulder, holding tight enough to cause the metal to screech and collapse in the shape of a claw print . "He, or rather you, are already gone," And the world started to spin droping until the corridor vanished and a room with dusty red curtains covering every wall appeared. "And I want to play a game,"

Before Coraline could react, she was taken away. She looked around the room and studied the curtains before hearing the voice talking of a game. She clenched her longsword's grip. She wasn't as fearful as one would normally be in such circumstances, magic had a weakened effect on her and she was expecting a lot of it. "Then I hope you're a good sport with losing." Coraline spoke out to the ominous voice.

Flint turned around as he felt a cold breeze, and the fact that Coraline said don't run too far ahead. He didn't think he was, he was walking slow for her to stay up. He felt a sudden chill down his spine when he did not see her behind him. He pulled back his bow and yelled "Coraline!?!?" He heard only his echo before continue "Where are you?!" He started to back track where he came from, his bow at the ready the entire time. He stopped when he knew he passed the last spot where he saw Coraline.

"Damnit!" He cursed as he lowered the bow and lessened the tension on the string as he spun around again. He then wondered if he should look for her, or continue down. He calmed his breathing and stood there, in silence as he tried to hear Coraline's footsteps. He heard nothing.

Cursing himself again he turned and began to run towards Fenros. Mishka running ahead of him to sense any danger, which there was none. Of course, because Fenros was well..Fenros.

_{in collaboration with @Xathi and @Bright_Ops}



Vivian made her way into Seren's Folley. She was grinning brightly, she loved this town. It was full of hunters after all, and people who sold equipment to hunters, and people who helped hunters with research. Most of all though, there was the 'Witch's Paradise'. The ironicly named establishment had become a haven for hunters of all stripes, and was home to the lovely Sophia and the gruff but kind Bobby.

Pushing open the door Vivian scanned the tavern. A little sparse today it would seem, the regulars were all here, but the hunters were a bit lacking. Had she missed a hunt!? She quickly found Bobby at his usual perch behind the bar and practically skipped over, grinning all the while.

"Another month another couple o' covens eh Bobster?" Vivian took a seat at one of the stools at the bar and began her harassment of her favorite booze provider.

It's been oneof those days.... Bobby was more grumpier than usual after all the shit that happened earlier that day, Flint almost killing Emiliano, though by accident... Emiliano, after Sophie healing him seemed to flip a lid and stab Mat in the hand. Then Emiliano went out to search for Flint, he swore the man might actually try and kill the boy. He had Banned Emiliano from the bar for his actions. Flint...well he might not let him drink for a month. Maybe help Sophie around the place doing some filth jobs. It wasn't much, but it was something...He didn't know how else to handle the punishment...though he knew Flint HATED doing the jobs.

He was sitting on the inside of the bar, drinking some ale as he tried to relax. Suddenly he heard someone quickly come over, suddenly a bright and bubbly voice spoke to him, calling him "Bobster." He didnt even need to look up to know who it was. Only one girl had ever callen him Bobster.

"Vivian..." He said looking up from his cup as he looked at her and smiled. He always had a soft spot for the female hunters that came into his bar. Especially Vivian, always a sunbeam while in this normally dark world. "Wot brings yuu back to Seren's Folley me lass?"

"Your bright and smiling face of course." Vivian flashed her signature grin. "And Sophie's cooking."

She let out a laugh. "I'm here to stock up before heading north, rumor has demon activity in that area, figured I'd map it for the brotherhood before passing the info along." Vivian sighed and rested her chin on the bar. "Where is everybody Bobster? Did I miss a hunt!?"

Bobby leaned back and folded his, twisting his back and popping his his back and releaving the pent up tention in his back. He then turned to his bar tender, telling him to bring out some food and drink for Vivian at her mention for Sophie's cooking. "I doubt it's for me smiling face lass, it's enough to break a mirrior" He chuckled "Though I can't deny about Soph's Cooking." he added with a slap to his belly. He was way out of shape from what he used to be before he met her.

"Indeed! You're a lucky man Bobby." Vivian giggled.

"Aye, yuu missed an interesting one. A necromancer in a town called Silent falls out west." He pointed to the mark board. "But ye always know we got hunts always available. I think they can handle it...I mean nine hunters went."

Vivian laughed. "They'd better!" Her face turned somber a moment. "Although you know I hear whispers. How's Fenros? He ever nail that Von'Strauss bitch?"

Bobby sighed as he leaned closer to Viv, as she knew of Fenros passed already, having worked with him closely before. "Well, speaking of Von'Strauss...She came to me trying to figure out how to kill some nasty vampires that are ancient line. I haven't Fenros yet, best to figure out how to kill these vampires and find out where exactly the witch is. Fenros would be red eye'd bull crazy if he found out she is near by. That's no good for anyone here."

Vivian's face briefly curled into a snarl before resuming its usual cheer. "Yeah, you do know best Bobster. Why she didn't try to gut you I don't know though." She giggled and started on her food - which had just arrived. "I'll stand by him when the time comes, he's pulled me out of enough fires. Besides, I want to see the bigshot witch bleed as much as any hunter worth their salt."

"Yuu'll have ta be careful though." Bobby grabbed an errant glass and began cleaning it. "She killed Hector, an' he was a better hunter than most."

"Meanwhile, what's this about nasty ancient vamps?" Vivian tilted her head inquisitively. "That I could get into."

Bobby just shook his head. "Not a good idea lassy. I 'aven't found enough on them yet. I'll let yuu know when I do though."

Vivian nodded her head. "Alrighty, I'm gonna head out and see what there is to see." She flashed him a parting grin before slamming her ale and walking out the door whistling.

Emiliano was still very pissed. Now not only did he need to find Flint, but now he needed a new place to buy his booze. He was stalking the streets angrily, asking if anyone had seen Flint or knew where he might be. He was taking a break though and sitting at a small inn outside, bemoaning his current situation.

"Is that Emiliano Parisi I see?" Vivian said in her signature lilting cheer. "You're still kicking around? Why didn't I see you at the bar?"

Emiliano snapped his head up when he heard Vivian and smiled, "Your damn right I'm still around, I'm surprised your still kicking!", he laughed as he stood and walked over to her, "Been awhile eh? As for the bar well... banned for a month. Long story.", he grimaced at the thought of it before continuing. "What's brought you here?"

"Banned from the bar!?" Vivian was shocked. "How'd you manage that? Never mind the 'Long story shit' I gotta get details!"

Emiliano rolled his eyes, "Well after an incident involving one Flint Diggard that nearly got me killed I was rather pissed. Some hunter I have not met insulted me about it, I drove my bayonet through his hand and called him a prat... I guess it isn't that long eh?", he chuckled in spite of his situation, "So, now I'm looking for Flint to kick his ass, and a new place to drink for a month.", he shrugged.

In just about any other town on the face of the planet if a man wearing a mask over his face with a weapon that could only described as a fusion of a saw and a meat cleaver resting on his shoulder openly there would have been quite a stir... in Seren's Folley it seemed to be par for the course.

Maybe that was the reason Draco had decided to come here in the first place; To blend in and feel like he belonged rather then stand out like a sore thumb. Glancing out from under his hat at what appeared to be another pair of hunters sitting in front of one of the town's various inn's, he paused only a moment before asking in a tone muffled by his facemask "Excuse me, but which inn would you recommend staying the night in?"

Vivian turned and had to crane her neck to look up at the towering man. "Well, aren't you just huge!" She grinned. "As for the inn? Well I guess that depends on whether you're looking for peace and quiet, or company and easily flowing ale. Right Emiliano? I'm Vivian by the way."

Emiliano similarly looked up at the large hunter and raised an eyebrow, "Well... I'd say Bobbies lace if your a hunter who does not mind some excitement _{or a couple of asshole brothers}", he said the last part under his breath thinking about the Digards. Regardless he shrugged, "Course they are all nice enough frined... whats you neame? Oh and as I'm sure you've guessed from Vivian saying it I'm Emiliano Parisi."

If Draco had any feelings on the fact that his height was being drawn attention to, he didn't seem to show it. Vivian and Emiliano seemed pleasant enough... through he couldn't help but notice that the 'Parisi' seemed to be slurring his words a bit. "My name is Draco and it is a pleasure to meet the both of you... through I would prefer somewhere quiet and peaceful. I do go to such establisments in order to get some sleep after all." It was a poor attempt at humor, but the effort was at least made.

Vivian grinned nodding. "Sure, I getcha Drake." She assigned the man a pet name immediately. "So you'd be wanting the inn right behind us then. Also the townsfolk put up wandering hunters from time to time. What brings you into town anyway? Or you for that matter Emil?" She turned to her companion her head tilted in question.

Emiliano shrugged, "Then yea, this inn should do ya good.", he turned to Vivian and chuckled, "Rumours of a rather large Witch coven and other happening around this town. Nothing special. What about you? Similar reasons, or are you just stalking me?", he chuckled.

The nickname of Drake didn't seem to bother Draco all that much; He had been called far, far worse things before. "Honestly I just heard that there were a lot of hunters gathering here. Didn't exactly hear anything solid about what was being hunted but I've found that there are very few things that can just shrug off a strike from this beauty." A gloved hand went up to softly pat the side of the blade that was resting on his shoulder, a small dark chuckle escaping him. "I will admit that witches are a new one through. Never really bothered going after them before."

Vivian admired the blade. "That marks you as a Russ right? Much more pleasant that your father is rumored to be so far!" She flashed draco a bright grin. "If you're looking for large game then you ought to stick around."

She turned to Emiliano with a somber expression. "One word, that no one's to repeat. Von'Strauss, I've heard whispers. When I get more I'll be riding out from here, with anyone I can get."

Emiliano cocked an eyebrow at Vivian, "Von'Strauss? As in the one who killed Hector Digard? Here? Well... if she is in charge of that coven...", he audibly gulped thinking about it, "We uh... may need more hnters then... ", he looked quizically at Draco, "No Witches really? Strange... people tend to pay more for witches you know. Tougher to kill more often than not."

The mention of his father seemed to make Draco seize up for a moment... before he relaxed once again as if nothing had happened. "I believe I might."

The mention of the name Von'Strauss didn't get the fearful responce that it seemed to deserve from Draco, who instead tilted his head somewhat in confusion. "Never heard of such a family before." He admitted somewhat carelessly. Turning to look at Emiliano at the mention of a higher paycheck for witches, Draco shook his head. "Honestly it just never happened. There is always a big, nasty piece of work of a monster running around somewhere and someone has to go and deal with it while some hunters laze around for their next big payday."

Vivian stared at Draco somewhat blankly. "Have you heard of... I don't know the Black Death that was running about not two decades ago." She continued grimly. "That was ONE pissed Von'Strauss whore, fortunately Hector Digard and company wiped them out years back. Or so we'd hoped, apparently one of the bitches made it out."

Emiliano shrugged at Draco's comment about lazy hunters, "I take whatver work comes to me, beast or witch. I have just found that when I kill a witch I tend to get payed more you know? Maybe you should a hunt a witch or two, get some experience fighting them.", he smiled before nodding in agreement with Vivian, "Oh yea, the Von'Strauss clan were some truly evil eitchrd till Hector got rid of thrm... all but one apparently, And that one was pissed, I heard she hunted him down for many years, seeking her vengeance... crazy woman.", he shook his head despairingly.

The idea that one person (Even if they were a talented magic user) had been accountable to the plague that swept through many of the towns and cities that he had visited at one time or another was absurd. Rolling his shoulders a little, Draco merely muttered "Oh please. The Black Death was not some spell that was summoned by an idiot who didn't understand that an illness that kills humans might backfire on her as well. If anything I suspect that it was something that afflected animals that somehow managed to start infecting humans. A werewolf most likely... the worst of both worlds."

"I hope you're right... but I suspect you're not." Vivian grinned.

"And of course she would be pissed. Wouldn't you want vengence on anyone that slaughtered your family?" It was a simple statement, but it had to be said.

"That I can get, but burned villages? Slaughtered towns? There are some lines only evil will cross, and she's crossed 'em." Vivian said solemnly, before breaking back into her usual grin. "Either way, it'll be a hell of a hunt if you want in? I could use some hunting buddies again in the meantime. The woods and crypts get lonely after all."

Draco had to bite his tongue in order to prevent himself from saying something that would not doubt alienate himself from the fellow hunters; He didn't know how Vivian would take a challenge to her view of the world and sometimes you just had to let things go if you wanted to have someone to talk with at the end of the day.

"But of course. I have never been against having company while on a hunt... If nothing else if normally gave the beast something else to chew on for a change." Draco offered with a dark little chuckle.

Emiliano listened to the two discuss, preferring not to chime in as he really didn't care what caused the black plauge or anything. All he knew was that Von-Strauss killed Hector Digard, and that was enough reason for her to be destroyed. "Well Viv, you can count me in for that hunt as wll. Without Bobby's place I've nothing better to do and I need the coin anyways. Besides, it'll be nice to recconnect after our timee apart no?", really he also needed something to get his mind of his recent slew of personal issues... of course, Vivian didn't need to know that... didn't want her turning against him too.

"Excellent! It's decided then! We're the three musketeers! Taking on more!" Vivian performed a quick spin and struck a riduculous pose. Breaking into a laugh she patted her companions on their respective shoulders. "I say we meet here tomorrow morning. I'll grab something nasty from the hunter's board and we'll get our steel wet? How's that sound?"

"Like it was just another friday." Draco admitted with something of a deadpan tone to his voice. For some reason he could already tell that Vivian was just one of those people who pushes everyone else around them to try and be overly happy and excited about everything...even when they didn't want to. "Maybe something that isn't to far out of the way... A short and sweet hunt to get to know the local area a little before we plunge into the depths of madness and death sounds like a nice change of pace from the norm."

Vivian nodded. "Sure, we can play it that way if you like." She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Wiser probably, I get excited easily, my bad. Get to know each other's capabilities too that way, the inferno and the like will have to wait eh?"

A slender and poised woman stepped into Hunter's Rest, making a careful note to softly close the door, and took long sophisticated strides to a close bystander, and politely asked, "Do you perhaps know where I may find...eh...hunters?" "Well there's a couple outside, out in front. You could talk to them, not to me. I'm busy, go away.", the bystander rudely proclaimed. "Thank you very much, sir!", she said with a dutiful smile as she nodded her head in a slight bow and stepped towards where she entered.

The woman stepped out of the door, seeing the man and woman she had spotted on her way in, and she stepped up into their view. "Excuse me, tall cloaked man and astute pretty maiden..could you two perhaps happen to be Hunters?"

Draco turned to look at the woman that had politely asked if both himself and Vivian were hunters... at least, he was assuming that she was asking them; She was looking right at them after all even if 'Tall Cloaked Man' could be used to describe half the people in town. Clicking his tongue for a moment as he made a show off looking at his saw-cleaver, he managed to a rather comedic tone of mock surprise "By gods! When did I pick this up? Well, it has been a rather long journey to get here so I might turn in for some rest. It was a pleasure meeting you Miss Vivian."

Deciding to drop the mock surprise in his voice, Draco turned to look at the woman who had approched them properly. "Forgive me but I was just about to retire for a time. Maybe we will have the chance to speak again some other time soon through?" Once she had answered his question, he would offer her a small bow and go to properly sign in for a room at the inn.

Things were only going to get more interesting from now on... he could feel it in his bones.

She stared at the man when he expressed surprise at his weapon. It was obviously his, as the aesthetic of the blade matched his own. Then why was he surprised at the presence of said weapon? It was truly perplexing...perhaps he had an ailment of memory loss? She took this into mind as the man continued addressing her.

When he had asked if they would be formally introduced at a later time, she nodded and said, "Of course, sir! " She hoped he did not forget to reunite with her again as she waved him off, and he was gone. She then turned her attention to the lady, and smiled once more.

Vivian beamed at the woman. "I'm a hunter, sure. Name's Vivian." She extended a hand while laughing. "I've been called pretty before, but astute? That's a new one, crazy is the more often used descriptor of my mental faculties."

"Oh um...yes..I suppose so..um.." Was this woman she assumed to be quite learned and sophisticated actually morose and insane? She proclaimed so...mabye it was simply a claim to intimidate her opponents! Yes, that made sense. Perhaps the woman was attempting to intimidate her! Of course! She must have been extremely wise to have immediately picked up on the fact that she wished to be a hunter. So, of course, she would oblige and show her strength! She took the woman's hand firmly, and shook in an extremely powerful grip, while she smiled.

Vivian tried to hide her grimace as the woman nearly crushed her hand. What a grip! She was starting to get the idea that this woman wasn't normal in one way or another. "So, whatcha lookin' for hunters for?" Once the handshake was over she quickly moved her poor limb behind her back. "And I never caught your name!"

The woman was internally ecstatic, as the hunter's request of her name was a possible indicator that her aggressive demeanor had successfully wooed her! She performed a heavy ended bow, and proclaimed, "My name is Bermuda Fenteri Umbrah Tisti Kalizco, Red Interian Knight, of the Kalizco name, and the Yoola Province." After the introduction she stood back up and looked at the woman once more. "But you, if you so please, may call me Berk.', she said with a hearty grin.

Vivian immediately knew the woman was strange, in the extreme. Not that she minded, she was grinning after all. Beaming back Vivian patted Berk's shoulder. "Well met Berk! You're a Knight huh!?" She giggled "What brings a Knight to Seren's Folley?"

"Well, I was ex-...I mean I left my kingdom in search of adventure and righteousness!" Surely the Hunter assembly wouldn't tolerate outcasts and exiles into their ranks! Berk made a quick decision to...stretch her tale a bit, and make it a tad more appealing. "I believe the Hunters make it possible to find such throes of heroism?"

"Indeed! We have all sorts of throes, death throes, heroism, yadda yadda." Vivian beamed happily. "I'm planning something for tomorrow if you'd like to accompany me and mine! In the meantime you should meet Bobby!" She gestured to the tavern across the street and began walking

Berk could not believe what had just happened.

Was it...that simple? A simple introduction, conversation, and handshake was all that she required to join the ranks of the Hunters!? She could not help but feel...enthusiastically disappointed. Yes, she was now, assuming the woman's offer was that of a hunt, into the Hunters, however all the practice in speech and etiquette...was all for nothing? She was lost in perplexity for a moment as she pondered the lady's departing words. Bobby...tavern...across the street. She turned her head in the direction of said tavern and stepped towards it. Time to meet a new face.

She stepped into the tavern, glancing around the room for anyone fitting the description of "Bobby". She could find no said man (or woman, who was she to judge with the name "Berk") resided in the bar. She decided to just let the opportunity present itself, and she sat down next to a middle aged man at the bar.

Bobby glanced up at the new girl who entered his bar. Yet another he hasn't met. Bobby knew most of the hunters in the area, even some a long far away. He Stood up from his seat and hobbled over, wincing at the pain his leg was causing him today. He stopped at the bar just in front of her. "Ello there lassy, Welcome to me tavern. Witches Paradise, where you can get all you need for yer huntin needs. Wot can I do for yuu?"

"Oh, well I suppose I will take a hard brandy on the rocks, if I may ask. I have sufficient funds, of course!" She placed a strange, foreign coin on the countertop and gleamed a smile. "And I was searching for an individual by the name of Bobby, if you so happened to be aware of their whereabouts, sir!"

Vivian grinned and took a seat next to her newfound companion. "There he is! The Bobster himself in the flesh, he's killed more nasties than I've met people. If you're looking for tips or lore, he's your guy." She beamed up at Bobby. "Don't piss 'im off though, or you'll find yourself with nothing to drink and dreprived of his lovely wife's cooking."

Bobby raised his eyebrows at the drink of choice. Normally not a womans style from what he knew of. But everyone had their tastes. She had placed a strange coin on the counter and his took it, felt it's weight and bit it, testing how soft it was. The quallity was far supirior to what this kingdoms normal currency was. And by the weight of it, it was worth alot more than just a drink...per haps a few days for a room. He listened to when she asked where 'he' was.

Before he could answer though, Vivian snuck in and plopped right next to her, introducing him as Bobster. He sighed and shook his head. Before looking to the new woman. Grunting at her intro he then said, "Aye I'm Bobby. This here coin is worth more than a drink lassy. Yuu want the change or do you want food and board for a few nights as well?"

After she answered he would then asked, "Why yuu looking for me then?"

"Oh, yes! I was actually quite confused on where to find proper bedding and rest for the night, as I am quite new here. I thank you for your generosity, Sir...erm...Bobby!" In her mind, she was terrified that she had rubbed the wrong way on the man. First, with the misrepresentation and false recognition, and as well with her strange choice of alcohol. Berk was extremely anxious at this point.

Once Bobby's second question was proclaimed, she looked over at Vivian and smiled. "Well this woman right here kindly recommended I seek your presence, as to a possible escapade of sorts?"

Vivian beamed. "We're buddies now, so I thought I'd introduce her to the finest hunter to mount a head." She laughed. "And a more honest barkeep that most I'd say!"

"Caught up with Emil, and met a pair of new hunters today Bobster." Vivian looked over the hunter's board. "So I thought to myself 'self, why don't we drag them along on a hunt?' I didn't find an adequate excuse not to so we're riding out tomorrow morning or the next to get some work done. With black things on the wind it might be wise to partner up and whatnot right Bobby?" She flashed him a bright grin.

Bobby Smiled. "Just Bobby lass..." He looked to Vivian. His smile vanished."Just bobby." Though he ever doubted that she would never stop calling him Bobster. When she answered his second question he said, "Oh?" Just as Vivian started to speak. Glancing over to her. At the mention of Emiliano his face darkened. Damn fool...

But he nodded, "Fer wot's been going on the last few days, Demon Lord werewolves, and Necromancers..." Unkillable vampires he thought to himself. "Best everyone find a partner." He looked back to the new woman, who held her self so proper. "Ye must be knight I'm guessing? With all your politeness oozing out. It's hard to miss. Second woman knight I've met today...wot a weird thing. May I ask yer name lass?"

"Oh, yes of course!", she said as she bowed once again. "My name is Bermuda Fenteri Umbrah Tisti Kalizco, Red Interian Knight, of the Kalizco name, and the Yoola Province.", she said with the same proper attitude and demeanor as her first introduction. After she eased up, she leaned against the bar and smiled at Bobby. "But you may call me Berk."

"And yes, I am indeed a knight. Although I am not currently a resident of my kingdom, and my official knighthood has been stunted for a stretch." She grimaced a bit and waited for her drink.

"Stunted? How do you stunt a knighthood? Is it tabacco and alchohol like my mom used to say?" Vivian tilted her head quizzically, still grinning. "Well whatever the case, being a normal plebian hunter is fun anyway!"

The bartender came by with the drink and placed it infront of her while Bobby watched her as she rattled off a long name and title, from a land he only heard of. He blinked a few times, wondering if he must call her by her full name, but she added just Berk...Berk he could handle! Vivian asked about her stunted Knighthood. He knew what she might of meant but didn't say anything. "Well we could always use some veteran fighters." He looked to Vivian, "Wot ye going after then with Berk...and Emiliano..." He hesitated for a moment, not watnig to even mention the name and it just came out.

"Oh, simply an...altercation. It wasn't much, really.", she said, an obvious uncomfortable tone to her voice. It was apparent she'd rather keep her reasoning to herself, and leave the cause to wonder.

She peered over at Vivian once Bobby had asked his question. She as well was intrigued by the...festivities that would be taking place later on.

With eyes suddenly on her she colored lightly before leaning over and squinting at the Hunter's board. "Hmmm... Lemme see...." Her grin intensified - somehow - as she evidently found something that pleased her. "Sweet! Look at that!"

Standing she rushed over and pulled down a scrap of paper. "Looks like someone's got a werewolf problem up north near a cemetary! Draco was saying he kinda specialized in wolves, and me'thinks the undead problem could be witchly in origin!" Her eyes practically sparkled as she looked towards Berk. "Whadduya think?"

Berk was ecstatic at the news that Vivian was interested in allowing her to accompany them on the hunt, and could barely contain her excitement as she gleefully exclaimed, "Yes, absolutely yes! I would love nothing more than to join Hunters on an expedition!!" She raised from her seat and could do nothing more than slam her drink down uneventfully and skip out the door.

---

A few days earlier

Triss shoved her clothes into her knapsack, she had wanted to stay until morning, but she had a creeping feeling that she wouldn't last that long. The residents of the town, along with the people of the inn, had been staring her down since she had arrived. They weren't stares of curiosity, as she so rarely faced, but those of fear and anger. They all had something against her, even though they didn't know who she was or where she came from. The thought of them judging her, just because of her markings, made her want to scream. She had never asked for this, she had never wanted to be a witch. She had wanted to be a simple farm girl.

With a silent grumble, she slowly slipped out of her room, careful not to disturb the sleeping guests. She had tucked her nightgown into her trousers, so she was fully mobile. She also had on a pair of ill-fitting boots, that were only about a size off, so she dealt with them. Even if she didn't want to deal with them, what choice did she have? She almost chuckled, but continued to pass down the stairs silently. As she passed the counter, she dropped a few copper coins on the bar, a sort of 'thank you for harboring an evil witch'. The bartender nodded, but didn't touch the copper coins until she was out of the door.

Triss made her way along the streets, the packed dirt making little to no sound underneath her heavy boots. She gazed up at the moon and frowned. The only other people that were out and about were the occasional street whore, and town guardsmen. She recognized a lot of the guardsmen from the bar earlier that day, and most of them gave her dirty looks as she passed. She didn't mind them, and kept walking along as she usually did. However, one of the guards had to be difficult. He walked up to her and held out his arms, pressing them against her shoulders to keep her from walking. She looked up at the guard and sighed, she hated using her power. It made her feel wrong, dirty. She would though, if he gave her any trouble.

Triss felt the piercing stares of the other guards, as they watched the young witch to see what she would do. The guard chuckled, he was taller than her, and looked down at her. She could tell he had a superiority complex. "So, what's a witch like you doing out this late? Going to go sacrifice somethin' for your little spells?" His tone was full of disgust, his eyes dancing with bitter flames. Triss wondered, what had made him this way. He knew nothing about her, and he never would, but he despised her with a passion like no other. Despite her own anger at the man, she felt deeply sorry for him. They would never be the same, they would never understand one another. Even if they did, Triss knew it would be one-sided, no one could love her, or understand her, after she opened their mind.

The guard obviously didn't appreciate Triss' silence, he took her shoulders and shook her, the flames in his eyes dancing in a wicked inferno. "I asked ya a question, you little witch!" he seethed, shaking Triss once more. Triss knew she was on her own, no one would go against the town guard and help her. She would have to help herself, unfortunately. With a mumbled apology she locked eyes with the guard, and in an instant she was in his head. He put up a small amount of resistance, but it wasn't anything she hadn't handled before.

Triss knew her eyes were a vibrant green now, but none of the other town members would realize that. She doubted they had any experience in magic, so they wouldn't be able to see her eye colors shift. Once inside of the guard's mind, she eased her way gently through the wall of anger he had put up. If she went to hard on him too fast, because she knew from experience that when she pushed too fast into fragile minds, it could cause them severe head pain. So ever so gently, she moved past the walls and to the source of his problems. The sight of which made her want to puke.

It was a giant ball of grief, a memory that was welled up so largely inside of him. It was this grief the sent off the waves of fury, which had caused him to act so violently towards her. The memory was muddled, but still very strong. She could hear voices on the inside, booming like thunder which made them harder to hear. Unfortunately for Triss, she had no way of reading into the memories, she could only get a strong pull of emotion from them, and then pull them to the surface. It made things easier on her, not knowing why he had this huge amount of grief deep inside, but it made it harder on him when she pulled it forwards.

Slowly, and gently, she pulled the ball between a rift in his giant wall of anger. In the real world, this probably only took a few seconds, but for her it felt like forever. Easing the ball through, watching as wisps of the grief took the forefront of his thoughts, it was all so exhausting for Triss. As soon as she could, she pulled out of the guard's head. Ashamed by what she had done, she turned away, knowing the other guards would be after her in an instant.

"Susanna!" the guard screamed, his voice cracking. He didn't stop screaming until he was out of air, and by then he was too deep in sobs to care. Onlookers probably shrank back in fear, knowing that this had a tie to the witch in front of them. Triss couldn't walk away, she wasn't heartless. She turned towards the man, watching with a heavy heart as he sobbed. Triss dropped to her knees in front of the man, and held his shaking body. He didn't resist, putting his head on her shoulder. "Susanna...is...gone!" he yelled through sobs, and Triss nodded deeply. "I know, Susanna is gone. She's gone to a better place, you don't have to protect her anymore. You don't have to hide your emotion."

Triss blinked away her own tears as she whispered these thoughts into the man's ear. She felt guilty for this, but hoped it would benefit him in the long run. She stayed with the man, guards slowly but surely creeping up on her. They pointed the tips of their spears and swords towards her, and Triss realized that she needed to leave. She gave the man a last encouraging pat on the back, and fled, running past the guards. They swung at her, but she was nimble and moved around it. She didn't want to fight, she couldn't fight. With a fleeting glance at the man she would never see again, she ran into the night.



Triss panted softly, she had ran as far as she could for the night. She was done, she had no clue if the guards were still following her, she didn't care. Her legs gave out underneath her, and she fell to the ground, on her knees. She thought about the man, the one she had hurt mentally. She hoped he would get better, she clasped her hands together in prayer-something she hadn't done since she left home-for Susanna.

If she wasn't a witch, she would say she was lost, but as she sat there praying for the sweet soul of the guard's dear Susanna, she knew she wasn't. For days on end, she had been following a strong magical pull, like a fishing lure. It pulled her in this direction and that, always leading her to the right places. She never lost track of the pull, it was far too strong. After she was done, she sat with her knees clutched to her chest, looking up at the moon. Something blocked her vision of the moon, a dark shadow against it. It's long wingspan and hoots made it unmistakable. That was her pet owl, swooping down to comfort her as she usually did. Well, truthfully it probably wasn't to comfort her, it was to get food. The owl always knew the right time to do so though.

When the white owl came to a stop, sweeping down in front of her gracefully, Triss already had a ration prepared for it. She stroked the owl lovingly, and watched it as it fed upon the food she had brought out for her. She had never named the owl, but a sudden name appeared in her thoughts, and she knew it was time. "Susanna," she cooed, continuing to stroke the bird. "You will be called Susanna, in remembrance of the poor soul I'll never know." she said the last bit quietly, in a faint whisper that only she could hear. With a hoot of her own, Susanna accepted her name, she swooped into Triss' arms, and sat there until Triss fell asleep.

In the morning, Triss awoke to the absence of Susanna. The owl was a free bird, that only came around when one of them needed it most, so Triss didn't spend any time calling for her, or looking around. She had a quick breakfast, and made her way, deeper and deeper into the forest, closer and closer to the pull of the magic.

Present day

Triss was so close, she had been sleeping in the woods for the past few days, living off what she had left. She couldn't divert, the pull told her to go forward through the woods, and she eagerly listened. Susanna was flying around behind her, and sometimes when Triss looked back her feathered friend was long gone. Triss had no time to care, she was so close she could almost taste the magical energy flowing through the trees.

One more day, maybe just an hour, 'till she reached her destination. Triss started running, her hair flowing behind her as she made her way through the trees. She craved whatever the pull led to, she needed it with all of her being. She thought of what was on the other side, and it made her carry her feet in longer strides. Witches? Friends? Is it my calling? she yelped with glee, and ran all the way until the trees broke into a clearing.

At least, Triss had thought it was a clearing. Where the trees broke sat a castle, in the middle of it all. It was giant, it was beautiful, it made Triss' mouth gape. She looked at it curiously, it was definitely the source of the magic pull Triss had been feeling. She looked around for a way into the castle, shifting her weight anxiously. When she found a way she started to run again, running and running until she made it to the bridge that connected the land to the castle. A hoot behind her stopped her from running right away, when Triss turned around she realized it was Susanna. The white owl looked curiously at the castle, and Triss nodded merrily. "This," Triss exclaimed, gesturing towards the massive building, "this is going to be our new home, Susanna. The magic comes from here."

Triss walked to Susanna, she swooped down so the bird could climb upon her arm. Her arm was covered in talon marks, but that wasn't Susanna's fault, so she never minded it. She stroked Susanna, a smile wide on her face. "This is the place, no more running. No more controlling people, to benefit myself." Triss cooed, nuzzling the white bird against her cheek. With a thrust of her arm, Susanna took off, gliding lazily above Triss as she walked to the castle gates.

---

A collab featuring @Meiyuki and @shagranoz

---

Rebecca was just outside the main gate, getting some fresh air. Nature had always relaxed her. A slight tingling feeling whistled through her body- the presence of magic not her own. She turned around to see a woman with brilliant red hair standing there, and she knew that she was the source of the new magic. "Ah, a fellow practitioner of the arts. Welcome to Castle Bloodrose! I'm Rebecca," she said, curtsying. "Don't just stand there, come inside."

Triss hadn't been expecting a welcoming commitee, so when she saw a lady with decaying flesh on her face, she recoiled instinctively. The girl radiated magical energy, and when she said she was a fellow practioner of the 'arts', Triss felt a bit more safe. "Oh, yeah. Thank you, Rebecca. I'm Triss." She did a brief curtsy, and followed Rebecca inside of the castle. "How did you build this, in the middle of no where, without attention?"

"That, you'd have to ask Mistress Bloodrose herself. I'm new here, so I wasn't here for the construction process. She's a powerful witch, though, to have made a place like this and veil it from hunters." Rebecca led Triss to a small wooden door. "This is Mistress Bloodrose's study. She'll be eager to greet you personally, I'm sure."

Triss listened to Rebecca as they walked, but her eyes wandered over the walls. She was surprised to find that Susanna had come inside with them, but it was comforting knowing that her friend felt safe here. "Mistress Bloodrose? So she heads the castle then?" Triss asked curiously, as they stood outside of the door to the Mistress' studies. It was quite daunting, knowing she would be facing a powerful witch. "So, she's the oldest yes? Does that mean she knows a lot of other witch familes?"

"Yes, she heads the Coven. And she knows many old and prestigous families of witches. I've heard that this coven numbers Von' Strausses and Ruvinas among its members, but I haven't had the pleasure of meeting them yet. They're away on business right now." Rebecca opened the door. "Mistress Bloodrose, a new witch seeks to add her strength and knowledge to our own."

Medusa looked up from the dusty tome she'd been pouring over for the last several hours to see Rebecca and an unfamiliar witch standing in her doorway. Removing her reading spectacles she stood and navigated her way around the small clutter that had piled up during her research. Her study was spacious - although the sheer volume of bookshelves, desks, magical tools, and furniture gave it more of a cozy feel than a luxurious one.

Standing in front of the pair she surveyed the newblood. Smiling she extended a hand. "You have me at a disadvantage it seems. I'm Medusa, what brings you to my humble abode?

Without warning, Rebecca had opened the door to the Mistress' study. Triss froze like a frightened deer, and gulped down her fear. When Mistress Bloodrose walked up to her, and extended a hand, it took Triss a few heartbeats to extend her own and take it. "I'm Triss, and don't mind me saying it, but your home in anything but humble. It's glorious here." Triss couldn't stop her voice from shaking, and she smiled slightly at her own awkwardness.

Rebecca smiled as Triss seemed to be struck by fear. It was always the same, meeting someone more skilled than yourself. "Don't worry yourself, Triss. She doesn't bite." The lich had never actually been inside the study herself, and gazed in awe. It took someone with a lord's power to even own a single book, and Medusa's collection was the most extensive she had ever seen by far. The witch was not only powerful, she had massive amounts of gold at her disposal as well.

Laughing Medusa nodded. "Yes, I assure you I don't bite." She gestured to a pair of leather armchairs in front of her ornate mahogany desk as the returned to her seat. "Triss is it? Well met and thank you for your remarks on our home, I do try to ensure it remains comfortable for all the witches that come to live under my banner. So how may I help you Triss?"

Triss took a seat on one of the armchairs, and rested an arm for Susanna to jump on. It was so nice here, and Triss was glad she had the chance to rest after her long nights in the woods. When Medusa asked her about what she needed, Triss blushed, her cheeks matching the color of her hair. "Well, I don't know actually. I came because the magic pulled me." she felt even more stupid when she admitted this, but when she opened her mouth to think of a different excuse, she closed it just as quickly.

"Indeed. This castle has many enchantments on it, and they naturally draw those with talent towards them. I've been meaning to ask how you laid them, Mistress. Quite a delicate web of spells." Rebecca sat down in the other chair and leaned back, the leather so soft she thought she might fall in.

"Thank you, it was alot of work and research. Going back to the foundations themselves. Runework carved into the base stones, powdered Demon's Bone mixed into the mortar. The delicate balance of the energies was quite the task!" Medusa smiled with pride, it was after all one of her finest accomplishments. "It's been added to over the years, most notably our demonic defenders. Bound here by the esteemed Lorelai Von'Strauss herself."

"Triss, what's your last name?" Medusa replaced her spectacles and retrieved a tome from her desk. "I'd like to see if we can find your pedigree in here."

Triss smiled brightly as Medusa told them about the defenses of the castle, it was secure, and intricate. The thought of being safe made Triss want to sigh in relief, but she would save that for much later. When Medusa turned her attention back to Triss, she froze for a second, but was able to ease back into things a bit faster this time. "Last name? Felminah. I was born to two normal parents, so I don't think I have much of a bloodline."

"Felminah... I don't see it here, no matter." Medusa looked back up at the girl. "Bloodlines have to start somewhere after all. Now, I presume you're interested in joining our coven?"

"Join us, Triss. This is a place that you can make a home." Rebecca gave Triss an expectant look. "We always welcome new blood here. I mean, she even lets the undead in here, and you can't get much more disliked than that." A self-deprecating grin crossed Rebecca's lips.

As Rebecca talked, Triss had to busy herself with other things to avoid looking at the decay on her face. She felt the pressure of joining, and it made the room feel a bit hotter than it was. "I am, I'm very interested in joining the coven. It would be a great honor." Triss knew she was laying it on a bit thick, but she meant what she said. It would be a great honor for her to be accepted into something she never thought she would find. "Is that it, then? No tests?" Triss chuckled at the thought, obviously meaning it as a joke.

Medusa chuckled "No, no tests. You're here to learn after all, a test would defeat the purpose no?" She retrieved her ritual dagger from its sheath at her belt. "There is an Oath however, a simple one. Pledge yourself to your fellow sisters, their wellbeing and defense. Pledge yourself to the betterment and growth of the coven, and to honor those above you and respect those beneath you."

She set her dagger on the desk between them. "Spill a little blood and speak your oath, then you'll be one of us. A newblood."

Triss gazed upon the dagger, its surface reflective. She realized how dangerous this was, signing herself over to a coven. She also realized how much she craved it, belonging to a faction of people like her, of witches united as brethren. "Okay, I think I can do that." she muttered, reaching out slowly to grab the dagger. She bit back a frown, clutching it in her hand.

Triss' palm shook as she held it out in front of her, she decided that she would cut her palm, it would heal the fastest. With a nervous chuckle, she avoided the other witches' eyes, and sliced open her palm. The pain was sharp, but fast, and she saw the line of blood that followed. "I...I pledge myself to my fellow sisters, to the betterment and growth of the coven, and to honor those above me and respect those beneath me." She closed her eyes, afraid she had done something wrong.

"Then welcome to the Bloodrose Coven, sister!" Rebecca was grinning from ear to ear at the Coven's newest member. "Come, I'll show you to the quarters, and you can pick out a room for yourself."

"Indeed, I'm glad to have you amongst us Triss." Medusa turned in her seat and retrieved a red key from a small bowl of them. "Before you two run off, here's your key."

Smiling at the two Medusa placed the key in the palm Triss had cut open. It glowed briefly as it touched her blood. "That should attune itself to whatever room you choose." Returning to her book she waved the two off. "Have fun getting settled, and try to make some friends."

Triss looked down at the key in her bloody palm with the smile of a proud mother, she was one of them now. She clutched the key tightly, and held out her arm for Susanna, who gazed around the room before hopping on. As they left the study, Triss turned to Rebecca with a simple nod. "So, what do you do, if you don't mind me asking."

The duo climbed the stairs to the bedrooms. "Me? I'm a necromancer. I'm not the best one out there by any means, though. Probably the only truly impressive magic I've ever done is... this," she said, indicating herself. "And I was rather motivated for that. One does not embrace lichdom if one has other options. And I'd ask you the same question, Triss. What sort of magic do you specialize in?"

Triss gazed at Rebecca, her eyes traveling up and down the witch's body. Lichdom? What a strange term, Triss figured that she would have to ask Rebecca more about that later. "Me...well I'm not really sure. I do this strange thing, in people's heads. It makes no sense to me, but I break into their heads, and I take their emotional memories and I bring them forward." Triss realized how confusing she must have sounded, and shrugged. "I play with people's heads...make them do things they wouldn't do. Reveal things they wouldn't reveal. It helped me get by."

"Mind magic? Well, that's a new one for me. All the other witches I've ever known manipulate the physical, rather than the mental." Rebecca shrugged. "Be that as it may, I'm sure Mistress Bloodrose has some tomes that will help you master your powers. Ah, we're here." Rebecca indicated a row of doors. "Choose any room you like."

Triss stopped alongside Rebecca, gazing at the doors in front of her. She wondered how many other witches lived here, and what they could do. "I'm sure I'm not that special, you are the special one, being a necromancer and all." Triss smiled lightly at Rebecca, before trotting over to a room. She didn't see any differences between them, so she just chose one close to the end. She watched her key curiously, and pushed it into the keyhole of the door. It glowed briefly, and slid in. Triss brightened, and turned to Rebecca with a childlike wonder in her eyes. "This is all amazing, thank you for showing me to Mistress Bloodrose. I'm glad I can be a part of your coven."

"And the same to you. Come by my room any time you like." Rebecca indicated it with a graying finger. "Doesn't matter whether you want to learn more about magic or just talk, my door is always open."

Triss followed Rebecca's graying finger to a door, and nodded. "Thank you, I'm sure you're a great conversationist. For now, I think I may need some rest. I've been sleeping on forest floors for the past three days." Triss chuckled, allowing the exhaustion she felt to overtake her. She twisted her key and slipped inside her room, giving Rebecca a final wave before shutting the door and smiling. Susanna hooted, and Triss opened the window to let her out. She sank onto the bed, not bothering on changing. With a final, happy sigh, she began to sleep.

Em and Marc

The sudden feeling of being ripped through time and space left Emiliah's stomach churning. Although the Voice had looked mostly skeletal, it felt meaty and clammy and as though something was churning under it's skin, almost like worms or ants.

Athough it only lasted a second, Emiliah would remember it for years to come. Then suddenly she was free falling and a small scream escaped her throat just before landing in the arms of someone.

Marcus had spun around just as Yuri had fallen to the ground. He dropped his sword and shield as he ran to try and grab Yuri's arm. But he was too late. Cursing as he stood back up, wondering what happened when he heard a small yelp from above, his arms were still up when suddenly a tiny beautiful woman fell squarely into his arms.

He blinked a few times, reconizing that it was Emiliah who fell into his arms. He looked up, seeing the same distortion that Yuri fell through, only on the ceiling, dissapearing as he looked up. He looked back down at her and smiled. "I always asked the Lord for a beautiful woman to fall into my arms. I didn't think it would be quite litteral." He said with a wink.

He then noticed the blood all over her, he grew worried, "Emiliah?! What happened?!"

Emiliah used her arms to steady herself by wrapping them around Marcus' neck by instinct. She hung in his arms for a second, processing the last couple seconds of her life. The Voice popped into her mind again. "It...Marcus... the necromancer....I... It isn't human," she said, like a boring fact. Saying it outloud though, that triggered the panicky feeling she had felt in the doorless circle room. Suddenly the air felt thin, way to thin and she couldn't get enough of it into her lungs. She yanked herself out of Marcus' hold, falling the rest of the way to the floor, pulling herself into a ball as she tried to calm her breathing.

After few minutes, she was able to stand back up, wincing slightly as her ring fingers started to pulse and throb. She was able to focus enough on physical pain that it steadied her. "Where...where is Flin- Fenros?" She finally said. "When Mat and I were...shit! Have you seen Mat?" she said, whipping around, looking for her old partner.

Marcus knelt down next to her, looking at her wounds as she tried to calm her breathing. Noting the broken fingers and the cuts on her shoulder. He reached for his shield and gripped the now tattard leather pelt and ripped it off. Pulling a knife out he cut thongs out of it and a big strip. Once she asked about Mat and Fenros he said, "I don't know where either of them are, Yuri suddenly dissapeared into the ground and then you fell into my arms. Other than that, I haven't seen anyone."

He took the long stip and tied it with two other long pieces and slipped it over her shoulder, arossed her chest and down her opposite hip. He then pulled it tightly to apply pressure on her shoulder.

He looked at her fingers. "We are going to have to set these....it's going to hurt."

At least she wasn't the only one being whipped around like a puppet. She was still mildy distracted by her thoughts of Mat and the Voice that she almost didn't notice Marcus dressing her injuries. She felt a blush creeping up the back of her neck and spreading to her face. "You...really don't have to," she said, but stopped when her own argument seemed foolish in her ears. She kept her head down as he finished wrapping her up. Looking down at her lap she said "I'm sorry for freaking out earlier," Her voice was almost a mutter. "I don't want you thinking that I am not handling this and I promise it won't happen again,"

She looked down at her fingers, they already hurt and for nothing. There had been no point in them breaking, and yet she found she wasn't mad at Mat for having done it. "Well, pain will at least remind me the stupid creature hasn't killed me yet," she said, taking a deep breath. "Do it fast," She closed her eyes and looked away, as though not seeing it might make it hurt less.

Marcus said softly, "Better now than letting them get infected and dealing with it after." Once done with her shoulder. When she said sorry for freaking out. "Honestly, if you were perfectly fine, that is when I would be worried." he said in a soft voice. "You just dropped through a hole in the ceiling that's not there, fighting undead horrors..."

He stood up as she accepted that they should set her fingers, walking around till he found the fingerbones of the huge skellition monster they had just slain. two of them and walked back over kneeling down and placing it next to the leather thongs that he just ripped.

She closed her eyes and looked away, when he said, "Hey hey I'm not ready yet." He said in a calming voice as he took both of her hands into his, looking at the damage. He waited for her to relax and look back at him, and as soon as she would he would grip her fingers and pull sharply, in an instant while she wasn't expecting it.

Emiliah let out a little laugh at the idea of falling from a hole in the ceiling that didn’t exist. Although it wasn’t funny in the least, but it was either laugh or cry at this point. Her brain kept spinning around in circles at what she saw. The creature was unlike anything she’d ever faced before and it was powerful.

Emiliah let out a breath, relaxing a little bit. Marc's steady, soothing voice helping keep the thoughts of that…demon away. Eventually she did look back at Marc, her body much less tense. It happened quickly. With two more shocks of pain and a little more screaming, both of her fingers were set. Although not healed and certainly not pain free, they were better than they had been.

Marcus had waited for her to calm down a second before taking the two bones and using them as splints for hers. He used the leather thongs to keep them on, and tied them tightly...he was sure she would have to fight later on.

With another shaking breath, wiping away the tears of pain she couldn’t fight, Emiliah slowly stood up, walking around the room. “Thank you Marcus…I feel fighting fit now,” she said, her voice still quite shaky. To avoid more awkward conversations about her injuries, she chose to explore her new room. It was then that she noticed the giant skeletal creature that Marcus and….Yuri? Must have slain before she appeared. “Well, it looks like you’ve had your own share of fun,” she said motioning to the creature before turning to look that the only other interesting thing in the room. A spear.

A fine looking spear, if a bit old. Emiliah took a few steps closer towards it squinting at it, before brushing her fingers over the wood. “Why do you reccon this is here? More importantly, do you think something awful will happen if I pick it up?” she said, turning to look back

He stood up and moved over to his sword and shield, now revealing his families crest as he used the pelt to tie up the wounds. Making sure his blade was clean he sheathed it while still holding his sheild he turned and walked over to the alter, "It was interesting to say the least." he said as he walked passed the pile of bones to the spear that was on the alter.

He looked over it again, "I don't know. Looks like an old roman spear." Thinking on how it was placed on the alter, and how the alter seemed dark and forboding,while the spear it's self did not. "It doesn't look like it fits here..." He looked around the room, hoping that would be obvious "Perhaps it's a trophy of the undead? And I honestly don't know what would happen."

Emiliah's hand itched to pick up the spear, it was so much...better than her own, even though it was much older, the wood hadn't rotted, the metal head still shined. Although without thinking, she reached out and took it. A spark of...something rushed through her arms, but other than that...nothing happened. "....Well," She said, testing its weight. "That was anti-climatice. I expected something to happen,"

She turned back to look at Marcus, noticing the engraving on his sheild for the first time. She raised an eyebrow at him. "That must be a pain to clean blood out of," Not recognising it, nor thinking much of it other than 'why do people try to make things harder by putting silly embellishments on everything'. "Well, I guess...not much else to do other than...explore more? We need to find Fenros as soon as possible though. Do you know which way he went?"

He reached out as she went to pick it up, but he was too slow. He winced as she picked it up and slowly opened one eye to look around when nothing happened. He looked at the spear himself, through his training to become a knight he had to know a wide base of weapons, though he preferred the sword to anything else. He could see it was an odly fine crafted weapon... despite the fact that it was ancent, and by the looks of it Roman. Which they did make some good weapons but normal spears were not generally well made like this.

She then mentioned his shield, "It's not that difficult...I don't get too much blood on it. " She then jumped to finding Fenros when he said pointed to the door. "He went downwards, It would seem that doorway leads down there. as well. Why do we need Fenros so badly?" He asked, remembering her saying something about him earlier .

"Because he knows how to kill really powerful demons," she said, with only the slightest hint of bitterness in her voice. "And if I had to guess, we've got ourselves a really powerful demon," She tested the spear in her hand one more time before heading over to the door that Marcus had mentioned. All in the all, the spear was so well made that it handled better than her old one, and that was with all her fingers in working order.

Emiliah reached out for the handle of the door that Marcus had pointed out and yanked it open.

The hall behind the door was dark, But a sudden snort could be heard as a humid breeze suddenly blew against them. "Emiliah..." he said hesitently as he unseathed his sword slowly. "Maybe you should shut the door....Just a thought."

Emiliah paused for a second, then looked back at Marcus. "....You might be right," she said, shutting the door quickly. "Maybe we should...go back the way you came,"

Suddenly a demonic Bugle could be heard and the ground seemed to shake and grew stronger as the sound of a heavy beast running to the door grew louder. "Shit...." He quickly moved forward, wrapped his sheild arm around Emiliah's waist and spun away from the door. Not even a second later, the door exploded into thousands of splinters along with part of the stone doorway around it showered the room.

A loud Bugle could beheard as a massive eight foot Minotaur skidded to a stop on its two hoofs. A massive Battle axe in it's hands as it looked around with it's blood red eyes looking for who ever it saw before. It finally saw Marcus and Emiliah standing in the corner, Marcus's sheild up to protect their heads from wood and stone falling onto their heads.

It took a few steps towards them and Marcus lept forward, banging his sword onto his metal shield and gaining it's attention side stepping. "Come after me you over sized Steak!" He didn't need to add more pathetic insults as the Minotaur charged him, And he barely managed to get out of the way, his sheild clipping the battle axe and the power behind it, even glancingly, sent him rolling backwards.

Emiliah let out a slight scream as Marcus yanked her away from the door. A sudden flash of Flint saving her from the cave in flashed through her mind. Only this time something worse was there when the rocks stopped falling.

Emiliah, much to her who disapointment, couldn't do anything when the creature first entered the room...other then...stand there. Watching it with horror filled eye. It was...disgusting, below the waist, it had hairy legs, like a bull. Above the waist and until the head, it had the wide, muscular chest of a man, only to turn back into a slobbering, mucus filled bull head, complete with ring through the nose through the nose and everything. It was covered in hair, but other than that, there was nothing covering the creature.

A second later, she caught her stride Emiliah circled behind it while Marc distracted the creature, calling it forward. Marcus dove out of the way at the last second. Causing the minotaur to crash into the wall behind it, but the creature was back on them not a moment later. The creature then turned its' eyes on Emiliah, the creature charged right at her. Emiliah tossed the spear she had recently acquired, taking a strong stance with her old one. The minotaur charged right at her, spear and all. By all logic, it would have pierced the bull, but its' hide seemed to be stronger than the weapon and it shattered into a million splinters. The bull then caught her with his free hand, liftin her into the air, then slamming her against the wall. All of the air rushed from her lungs and her feet dangled well off of the floor. Her hands reached out to yank out of the beast's hold on her.

Marcus skidded to a stop and, while ignoring the pain, shoved himself back onto his feet. But not before the Minotaur turned and charged Emiliah. It had gripped her with his massive hand and shoved her to the wall. Feet dangling as she tried to wiggle her way out of his grasp. But to no avail. Gritting his teeth he ran forward and yelled, swinging his sword to slice the beasts tendons in his legs. His silver blade tore through the unprotected lower half of the minotaur's legs, nearly cutting the legs off completely.

The minotaur bellowed in pain and feel to his knees, still holding onto Emiliah in his hand as he tried to febbishly swat at Marcus. Who had stayed behind him, and tried to slash at his back, only glancing off despite the strength and silver in it. He took his shield though and slammed it into the base of the minotaur's head with all his strength.

Emiliah could see black spots starting to form in her eyes as her air supply dwindled down to nothing. Suddenly the Minotaur slipped, causing his grip to loosen just enough for her to take a couple glups of air then her feet then slammed into the floor. And she did the only thing she could.

Emiliah dug her fingers into the creatures eyes till they were nothing but jelly. In its rage and pain, it let go of her. Emiliah could already fill the bruise forming around her neck as she slipped away. "Nice once Marcus," Her voice was horse and it hurt to speak. She grabbed her spear. "Tonight? On the count of three? One-Two-Thre," Emiliah attack him from the left with the roman spear, and hoped that Marcus did the same on the right. As soon as they attacked, the beast exploded into bright blinding light.

Marcus tilted his head as if to say yourwelcome, "Well couldn't just let you die." He said as he moved to ready his blade, as soon as she counted down he struck with all his might at the minotaurs neck.

Marcus's blade cut into the minotars neck as he attacked from the right and behind it. But as soon as his blade bit into the monsters skin, a blinding light exploded from the beast. He quickly raised his shield to block the light but it didn't do much as he took a few steps away and covered his face while turning away. The light lasted while the minotaur bellowed one final yell before it suddenly disappeared. After a few moments, Marcus was blind in the center of his eyes. He tried blinking a few times before asking." Emiliah!? Are you alright?! What happened?!"

The light in the room blinded Emiliah. She heard Marcus' question, but couldn't quite make him out. "I don't know, maybe that is just what minotars do?"

"That, is cheating! That is MINE!" Came a screaming voice. And just like that Emiliah found herself in yet ANOTHER room.

"Fucker," she croaked, standing up to look around.

Meanwhile. Marcus found himself wooshed into the dark hallway with Mat, Liz, Yuri, the dead girl, the live girl and Andri. Who was still touching the boob.

---

The giant was left in a tiny, mental box. So small, there was no turning, no sitting up, or moving of any kind. All around there were the thumps of tiny feet skittering across from the outside.

What the... was the only thing Andri had been able to think when that hand grabbed him. That alone had been sufficient to totally scare him so that he could not even remember the words. It had been something like a rhyme of some sort...
When he attempted to move, he kept hitting walls just after the first few inches and no matter what limb or direction he chose. Now he panicked and tried it even harder, but nothing would give way. He was sweating and breathing at a rate that would quickly consume what little air was left here with him in this thing. He didn't even know what it was, the giant could just hear a myriad of things skittering on the outer side of it.

Far above, an echoing voice that was slightly muffed came cutting through. "Andri will forever be remembered as a good friend, a fearless hunter and a man of God," there was a silent pause. "Some of you may ask what lead him to this fate," another slient pause. "He died. He was burried alive. When he was found, rats had scratched out his eyes. Mice had ripped chunks from his skin. It occurred while he slowly suffocated to death,"

The calm words advancing to his ears caused cold sweat to drip from Andri's neck. "You bastard!" he shouted, not knowing if anything he said could actually be heard from outside. Being desperate, he slided to the bottom end of the box so he could start slamming it with as much momentum as he could build up in his extremely cramped position. The assassin couldn't even see what he was hitting, he just hoped that it would eventually give way.

The bottom of the coffin did give way, only to slowly start filling the box with soft, worm filled dirt. Suddenly one of the worms began to speak. "Looks like you are done for eh?" it was oddly cheerful. "That's a shame, wish we could help, but we never do nothing for free,"

A convulsive grin took over Andri's face. It wasn't directed at the worm though. It was the grin of somebody being trapped in a situation that was just too surreal to be comprehended by an ordinarily thinking mind without severe difficulties. The adrenaline rushing through his body did add to his state. He couldn't see it, but he could feel that the stuff pouring through the collapsed wall was soil. From an objective point of view, it was clear that he would die right in here in all likelihood. But being pumped up with endogenous hormones wasn't exactly what one would consider 'calm' and 'reasonable'. He snatched the handfull of dirt he believed the voice was coming from and clung round. "Okay listen you bastard! A necromancer has an interest in intact bodies, so he probably will take away your feast before you have any delight in it! What about me rampaging through your subterranean territory until this air bubble is exhausted anyway ?" Reflecting his spoken words once more caused another distorted grin to appear on the assassin's face. He was attempting to blackmail a bunch of apparently speaking worms that had entered his coffin, hoping that they would be of any assistance in disintering him while he was still alive...

"He let's us eat the flesh," said the worm almost proudly. "Doesn't need it, doesn't want it," The talking worm inched closer so that it was now whipsering in Andri's ear. "But you...you like your flesh, don't you human? And you have so much of it," There was a pauses. "I would like to eat it, but you would like to keep it. Right now, I can eat it, it is my right, but....there is something you can offer that I want. So...Human, wanna make a deal?"

Andri could feel something longish, thin and slippery approach his auditory canal. He moved his head away as far as it was possible in this coffin, but if that worm had the intent to penetrate his eardrum and enter his brain... He could feel that his body had already consumed a considerable amount of what little air was down there, so it didn't take long until he answered in a very harsh tone: "What misanthropic, cruel and abusive thing do you expect me to do ?" It had become clear that this necromancer was a goddamn sadist as well.

"Well, two things really," said the worm, crawling ever closer. "I want out, so I want in. I want to inhabit your body. I promise you, besides my commentary, you won't even notice I am there," said the worm. "And the second, since I can't control the body, you own me a favor, anything I want, no matter what is it. Fail to return the favor, and I'll eat your brain," said the worm. "Have we got a deal?"

"WHAT part of my body do you want to inhabit ? And what kind of favor do I have to expect ? Killing someone ?" To call Andri angry would have been a severe understatement. He was desperate. Desperate enough not to stop listening to this worm.

"Right here, in your head silly," said the Worm, so that the tip of his wormy head was poking just
inside the giant's ear canal. "As for the favor, will, you don't really have a choice but to accept my offer do you. I suggest you not think about the favor too hard," The worm waited a moment. "Maybe if you are nice to me I won't even make the favor that hard for you to do,"

"Just proceed you fucker! I can't stand it anymore!" He screamed, and given his lung capacity one could assume that it was loud enough. His heart probably wouldn't take such stress much longer, let alone his mind.

"I am happy you've come to see things my way," said the Worm before painfully digging its way deep into the man's ear. After the blinding pain had vanished, Andri found himself laying in a dark hallway, with Liz attacking Mat, a small girl holding her dead lookalike and Yuri trying to comfort her. "By the way, giant. My name is Khan,"

For more than half a minute, the assassin was just lying there. He... wasn't in the coffin anymore ? Oh yes, of course... the favor. He couldn't feel Khan anymore, nor could he really move. The adrenaline was draining away and now he was freezing. He rolled from his back to his stomach, pushed his upper body up with his arms and attempted to get on his feet. He couldn't. There wasn't enough strength left in his legs, but he could hear the loose grave dirt falling of his leather armor, whilst the mud, combined with the remains of some worms he had crushed when moving in the broken coffin, stained it. His face was pale as if his body had never been filled with blood and he crawled towards what he believed to be Liz, Yuri and Mat. Should he attempt to risk it having to fulfill Khan's demand or should he just ask for a quick death ? He was demonically infested! In the end, there were only two words he uttered towards them in a shakily voice: "Help me."

Phagora, Alexina, and Taran had slipped around to the castle's eastern walls. There was a postern gate there, and it would provide easy access to the interior. However, Phagora stopped dead in her tracks, holding up a hand to beckon the others to do the same. "Feel that? Some sort of cursed ward. I can't tell what it is, nor how to dispel it. I'm not good with that sort of magic. Alexina, you have any experience with breaking enchantments?"

Alexina lead Phagora and Taran through the eastern walls, her feet light as she leaped from rubble to rubble like a panther. She came to a stop just as Phagora did, even though she was a head of her. She sensed something was off as well... Phagora spoke, and she looked back to her, and answered.[color=00a651] "Sadly I cannot, My shape shifting abilities are the only thing I am and ever was capable at achieving." She looked forward and tried to even sense where the runes were laid, using her animalistic instincts that warned her of danger.

Phagora concentrated again, taking a second look at the web of magic in front of her. "Aha! Yes... mhmm... not bad spellwork, Madame Ruvina, but unfortunately, the thought process behind it was rather abysmal. Get low, if you would. I don't want to have to sweep up your ashes."

Phagora got down into a crouch and picked up a small stone, which she lobbed about twenty feet in front of her. As it broke the magical field, half a dozen large black lightning bolts raced outwards, thankfully over the trio's heads. The half-demon seemed to be a little shaken. "Yikes! The Ruvinas had a lot of power to throw around. I rather hope that they don't get more subtle. That curse was set up to expel all its energy in a single blast, so it should be safe to proceed."

Alexina watched as Phagora as she searched for the runes. Sometimes she wished she had more than just the ability to shapeshift, but even though she tried many times before...she couldn't even perform the simplist of spells, even with Lorelai's help. So she focused her time in strengthing her mind and abilities every day.

When Phagora told her to duck. she simply stood to the side, behind a fallen wall. Though she was expecting something quite large, she still had her heart skip a beat at the black lightning shot over head.

She wondered, who could have ruined the castle in such a state, and make it through traps like this...AND defeat the lady of the castle. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. When Phagora said to proceed, she moved forward, a bit more slowly this time. "I do hope the next traps are something more tangible..."She said mostly to herself. She hated lighting, fire, or waht ever she couldn't touch. She was usually nimble enough to dodge, but still it was all she could do.

She covered her nose at the stench of the undead that occupied the castle...perhaps the others didn't notice it as much, well...they would. but instanious it was enough to make her vomit. She looked around at the ruined castle... wondering where to look for a Library... with all the fire damage, did one even exist? "Any idea's where we should look Phagora? I....don't tend to visit castles much..."

He had wanted to stay with the carriages, but his request wasn't even met with a responce. Just a blank look from Lorelai and an order to go with Alexina and Phagora. However, after what he saw between Phagora and Genoveve, he had a hard time looking the woman in the eye. Instead, he chose to keep very close to Alexina, even stepping on her heals once or twice. Probably to her discomfort.

For the most part, he just let the woman do their work. He would be absolutly no help in any situation that didn't require brutal, indiscriminatory levels of distructive power. There was a faint smell of decay upon the air once they got to the castle, but nothing too awful yet. Taran took a few steps ahead of the woman, silently poking into the nearby rooms, but never trailing too far. He came across a promising looking room. "Hey Alexina, I think the library, or whatever is left of it, is...in here,"

Phagora looked into the room. Yes, there were plenty of books and scrolls, but there was plenty of glassware and magical reagents, all which were in surprisingly good shape. "It's not just a library, it's a laboratory. The Ruvinas were doing some sort of magical research here, but it beats the hell out of me what it was."

Alexina growled a bit after Taran stepped on her heels once or twice. But he seemed terrified of Phagora as if he got too close she would snap his arm off. Soon Taran managed to find the room. And she was even surprised to see everything in great shape dispite the condition of the castle around them...perhaps there was a ward that had protected it.

She looked to Phagora and asked, "Do you sense anything?" She asked as she slowly looked around, At the books, and reading their titles as she ran her fingers acrossed the spines. Looking for anything with 'family history' or'Ruvins'.

"Yes. There's some sort of powerful artifact here, and the energy it's giving off is... nauseating. I'm amazed you can't feel it." Phagora followed the sensations to a box on a bench, wincing as she did so. She opened the box, revealing a mummified human finger, complete with a placard. The witch let out a long, low whistle. "Well, this explains why this room is in such immaculate condition."

Taran entered the room, running his hand over every single thing that he came in contact with. The glass orb that turned red the moment he touched it, the furry ball that started to purr, He struggled for a second as a hole he stuck his finger in clamped down. He pulled his hand away from the object, shaking his hand until the strange little tube released, shattering on the floor. He looked up as Phagora spoke, but the finger meant almost nothing to him. Instead his attention was pulled to a bright, red, glove sitting on a shelf. He picked up and held it up, it seemed so...ordinary to be in this room. Perhaps someone just left it behind.

Alexina flinched as Taran shattered something. she looked over to him as he seemed obvlious to what he just did. She looked over to Phagora as she whistled. Showing the finger in the box, she rememebred something like that in castle bloodrose. something to do with the illusion that hid the castle. So it made sense to her.

"Taran... stop...touching things please." She was afriad the boy would destory everything before they had the chance to find anything useable. But before she could ask Phagora anything she started to hear something... it sounded like shuffling, with the clang of plate metal with each step, and the smell. Alexina held her hand to her nose. The smell was almost unbarable to her. As it smelt of rotting flesh...soaked and molding clothes, rust. She didnt' know if the other's could hear it..."Somethings coming..."She said as she lowered her stance

The first of the undead legion revealed itself in the doorway. Clad in breastplate resplendant with the seal of house Ruvina - a passant black wolf upon a blood-red escutcheon - the creature's rotted hand grasped what was likely once a fine longsword. Behind it the shuffles and moans of its unliving battalion could be heard, each armed with steel and armored in the same. A chill came into the air as witch met undead, something far more evil than simple zombies stalked the moonlit hallways of this ancient castle, and the intrepid witches would meet it soon enough.

Phagora stared at the zombie for a split second in disbelief. The finger's power should have brought an end to any dark magic in the area... though perhaps its strength had been weakened during its separation from the rest of the corpse. Yes, that was it, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to get close to it.

Phagora drew her sword, bringing it up in a defensive position. The edge was keen as a midwinter blizzard, and it gleamed wickedly in the moonlight. Let the dead come in their legions. She was ready.

Taran opened his mouth to respond to Alexina, After all, he didn't do it on purpose... all the same, he put the glove in his pocket and kept his hands behind his back, looking at everything in the room, but not touching anything else. It was less than a moment later that a stomach churning scent entered the room, followed soon by the ones who worn it. They were...dead? And alive at the same time.

Taran, unlike Phagora, was ready to flee. However, the undead army blocked the only path he knew out of the room. He took a few steps closer, standing behind Alexina, his hands balled into tight fists by his side. "W-what should I do Alexina?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.

Alexina growled as she said, [color=00a651]" Phagora! I'm hopeless when it comes to finding what we need. I think you should continue to look for what we came for! Taran and I will hold them off." She gave a confident smile at Taran.[color=00a651] "Taran Follow me, I have a plan. " Looking back to Phagora, [color=00a651]"Close the door behind you as soon as we get through ok?" With that she morphed into a large bull and snorted before charging headfirst into the army of the dead. Not many were able to sneak throught the door as she plowed through them, their metal armor did not much for them as she slammed into them, sending them sprawling backwards and out of the room.

She continued charge, aiming her horns at heads and throats to decapitate them or destory their brain, but what she mostly focused on was knocking them all over and giving Taran room to follow. Once cleared enough and far enough from the door She morphed back into her normal shape, blood started to spill from her as wounds from weapons that happened to be pointing at her as the dead held them could now be easily seen. She gripped one near her shoulder.[color=00a651] "Taran." she said looking back to them and quickly added. [color=00a651]"As soon as I make it out of that window there, I want you to fry these horrors!" She turned into a cougar and jumped through the window, busting the glass out and quickly morphing into a hawk to fly up and away from the window.

Phagora nodded at Alexina and Taran as they dashed out of the room. She knew she needed to find several things, but luckily, the shelves were labeled in such a way as to give her an idea where to look. She quickly swiped a few loose papers into the pockets of her robes, then started searching for anything on the Ruvins.

It took a little longer than she would have liked, but she found a slender tome entitled "Notes on the Ruvin Heritage." The book was so small it was clear that there would be fairly little in it, yet it would still give them an advantage over the vampires. "Hold on, you two. I'm on my way."

Taran followed Alexina's bull form out of the room as she plowed through the undead. Once the door was slammed behind them, he felt trapped. No way back and no way forward. Taran felt a pang of worry as Alexina's human form showed the extend of the injuries, but before he could say anything, she was gone out the window.

That left Taran alone with the horrors. They got close, very close, close enough for a few of them to stick Taran before he was able to focus enough to call his flames forward. Then they exploded. Taking the wooden door down with them and spreading slightly into the library and out the window.

When the flames died down, Taran was alone, even some of the horrors metal sheilds and swords had melted into the stone. Smoke filled Taran's lungs and he spent a few minutes coughing before calling out "Alexina, Ph-Phagora. A-are you alright?" He looked at the fried door, a little bit of panic in his chest.

Alexina could feel the heat of the explosion that came from Taran, though she was far enough away to not be harmed. She heard him call to her and swooped down once the smoke was semi cleared. She morphed just as she entered the window into her human form and landed on her hands and knees. Looking around she saw the molten metal here and there and the absolute nothing left of the corpses. She coughed at the smoke and smell of burnt flesh that remained before standing slowly, leaning against the wall as she looked at Taran "Perfect dear..." She said a little light headed

Before Phagora could rejoin her two fellow witches a dark shape pushed through the wall. A tall black shadow with two small red embers for eyes reached out with a blade, as it approached the witch it suddenly gleamed as it became corporeal briefly and impaled Phagora deep in the right shoulder. The witch screeched in agony, switching her blade to her left hand. She launched a thrust at the shadow's midsection, but it didn't even try to block. It didn't need to. The blade slid right through with no effect, as if the creature was made of air. Phagora grimaced. Fighting an intangible foe with her off hand, and a holy artifact draining her strength? This was going to be rough, to say the least.

Taran couldn't help but feel a little pride at Alexina's complement, a faint blush went across his face. But it faded the second he heard Phagora scream. Almost wihtout thinking, he lept back into the room, just in time to see Phagora stab her sword into a shadow figure, while still being impaled by....a shadow. Taran already had his hand raised and was about to shoot fire, when he glanced behind him and to the front of him. Yes, he could ....burn the creature...maybe, but not with Alexina so close, or Phagora literally attatched to it. "I...Alexina, I don't know what to do,"

Phagora pulled her blade back and wrenched herself off the shadow's sword, howling in excruciating pain as she did so. The blade hadn't hit any major arteries, so she'd live, but the arm would be useless for months, if she ever recovered at all. Another strike swept in, this one aiming at the worst possible spot: her stomach. Phagora's eyes went wide. Had this... thing figured out her weakness? In desperation, she tried to shove aside the sword with the flat of her own weapon, and to her surprise, she succeeded. "We can defend ourselves, but we can't hurt it! Taran, you'll have to burn it. Don't worry about me, better to live scarred than not at all!"

Alexina made her way back to the library only to see phagora being attacked by a shadow. She felt uneasy as she had no way of fighting a shadow, or spirits for that matter. Well One way, but that form was much to large for this room. She looked to Taran as Phagora gave the go ahead, "Taran..." She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it."Just focus on the shaddow, tune out everything else, including your second thoughts. Focus your attack on that one spot." She knew there was no way to get out in time even if she managed to drag Phagora with her out of the room. This was all or nothing, up to him to finally find some control. "I believe in you Taran. Don't be a victim to your powers any longer. Use them to your advantage. "

Taran turned and and stared at Alexina as though she had grown a second head. "B-but...I might kill her," he said, horror written all over his face. But, he could tell by her face that she wasn't going to argue with him. Taran took a deep breath, his fingers fiddling with the glove he'd picked up, almost as though stalling for time he slide it over his hand.

Studdenly a thousand different voices filled his ears, but he saw now one. Almost as though he wasn't the one in control of his gloved hand, he raised it.

Out of a single hand, the furry of fire exploded, hiting the shadow...and Phagora.

There was good news and bad news about Taran's fiery blast. The good news was that the shadow was hit, and hard. A large chunk was torn out of its right torso, becoming tangible as it separated from the body. It hit the ground as a mess of black, sticky goo. The shadow was somehow still standing, but it was reeling.

The bad news was that Phagora found herself caught in the crossfire, quite literally. The flame lashed across the outside of her left hip and thigh, causing her to sink to one knee. Her vision swam, and the only thing keeping her from completely blacking out was the fact that her demonic heritage made her somewhat pain-resistant. "Taran! Hit it again, with all the power you have! Another strike like that should do it!" 'And probably kill me as well' she thought.

Phagora hadn't needed to give the order, Taran was already shooting another geyser of flame in her direction, almost indifferent to her over-all survial. The voices seemed to be growing louder and clearier in his ears. They knew he wanted the shadow thing dead and were happy to help. Everything else was just a perk.

Finally his flames died down with the voices and only a single "Until later then, Taran-son" was left echoing in his ears. It was only after the voices left that he finally saw what he had done. He glanced first at Alexina, not wanting to see if Phagora made it or not.

Phagora was still alive, but hanging on by a thread. Her entire lower body was badly charred. Thankfully, the shadow had been finished, leaving a massive stain on the floor. Phagora reached into the pocket of her robes and felt for the mummified finger she had nicked from the laboratory. It was unharmed. Not surprising, really, considering who it had belonged to. Phagora squeezed it out of her robes, careful not to let actually it touch her skin. "One of you, take it and focus on it. It's a healing artifact, runs on pure thoughts. Kindness, charity, that sort of thing. I literally can't touch it, but it'll still work on me. At least enough to stabilize me."

Alexina quickly had moved over to Phagora, well another good thing...he didn't just explode taking all of them in the blast, but had managed to even focus it a bit. despite hitting phagora. She knelt down next to her and gripped her hands ,holding phagora's hand slightly as she pulled out a mummified finger, explaining what to do.

She furrowed her brow and took the finger into her hand as she tried to think.. when she thought of kindess her thoughts turned to Lorelai...the one woman that had truely been kind to her, especially only a week ago as her mind block had snapped. She thought of her warm embrace and her smile. She thought of how she felt at seeing her. She could feel a warm sensation through her chest as she thought of Lorelai.

It took a while for Taran to turn around, eventhough he knew that Alexina had to be doing something to help the girl. But he couldn't help but picture the burned flesh of the hunting father and son team. He had no urge to see that happen to one of the coven, although the memmory of the father and son brought him.... a certain satisfaction, almost pride. But the emotion felt strange, as though he was feeling it through someone else feeling it.

Finally he was able to turn around. What he saw was...bad...but...not as bad as he thought it was going to be. He rushed over to the witch. "Oh, Phangora, I'm so sorry. I should have...thought. But.... And now I've hurt you," he said, looking miserable. "I...don't think I can even ask your forgivness"

She had no clue who or what Alexina was thinking of, but Phagora could feel the finger's power coursing through her. Her injuries weren't completely healed, but they were lessened. She heard Taran mention how she had he hurt her. "I don't bear you any ill will, Taran. In fact, I'm thankful you did that. Yes, this hurts like the bloody blazes, pardon the pun, but the pain's just a reminder that I'm still among the living." She managed to struggle to her feet, even though she had to use her sword as a cane. "Let's go find the others. They sure can't be in any worse shape."

Coraline held her longsword at the ready. She gritted her teeth, "Come out and fight me honorably." Coraline called to the voice.

That's when she felt the presence of another. She turned to face him and was about to swing her weapon at him. She gave him a look over, "You're no necromancer."

Mat stood dumbfounded as everything had gone black then he was suddenly in the room. He could see someone else there, but didn't even bother to raise his spear in defense. Luckily, she stopped before she hit him and said something that he didn't even pay attention to. Mat finally turned to look at the other person in the room, seeing a woman standing there with a longsword. At first he didn't react until he saw the witch markings on her face, then his eyes widened. Did that thing give him a chance to kill her now? She's here, I can do it now. No, wait, no Mat. It might not be her...

Mat tossed his spear slightly up and got into an attacking position. "Let me ask you something. Was it you?"

Coraline raised a brow, "Was what me? Bringing us to this room?" she shook her head as she held her stance, "No. Seems I fell into the same trap as you did. You're one of hunters that came to kill the necromancer, yes?"

Mat shook his head. "No, I already know who did that," he muttered. "I came here to kill a necromancer and found something much worse. Fortunately, he brought me to you." His mouth almost twitched into a crazed smile then he stabbed right at her chest with his spear.

Coraline flinched as he lunged his spear out at her. At times like that, she was really glad that she wore armor. With her flinch, the spear glanced across her armor, creating sparks. She knew the marks on her face were what led to the attack. Coraline tried to reach out and grab at the shaft of the spear to try and stop him from making another attack, "Perhaps you should talk more before trying to pierce my heart," Coraline snapped at him, "I'm a huntress, you fool."

Mat twisted away before she could grab the spear and stepped near a wall, looking at her for a moment. "Huntress. A witch huntress. Sure," he muttered, visibly shaking now. "I-I can't take any chances, not after what just happened." Mat pulled his flintlock pistol from his belt and aimed it. "I ask again, was it you?"

The red haired warrior rolled her eyes when he shrugged off her comment, "I'm also an annointed knight. I wont fight you." Coraline turned her back to him and looked around the room some more.
"Clearly our real adversary knew you'd recognize the witch marks. We're being pitted against one another. It doesn't matter who dies, they win."

Once again, she was asked a question she didn't understand, "What are you on about?" she looked back over her shoulder and saw that he had his flintlock pistol trained on her. "I came here with Flint Digard."

Mat paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and lowered the pistol, but then glared and pointed it again. "I can't take any chances, how do I know if you are or if you're not the one I've been searching for? I just, need to make sure." Mat was shaking even more now, his head flooding with conflicting thoughts.

"Am I supposed to know the answers to these questions? Because I don't." Coraline shook her head in frustration with the man and approached the curtains. She studied them, "Come to your senses, hunter, and help me find a way out of this place. We can spar in Seren's Folly after if you really feel the need to fight me."

Coraline ran her hand along one of the curtains. The curtain waved gently to her touch and revealed a path behind it. "Here." she said and looked back to the disgruntled hunter, "A corridor. Join me if you want but don't try and stab me again."

Mat was tempted to just fire right then and there at the huntress witch, but he relented and put it away. Emiliah was still out there, he needed to find her. "Very well, you have a deal. I can go in front if you wish," he said, stepping out. "Just please be honest to your word. It's very hard for many to do that these days."

Coraline shook her head, "If you don't trust me, then stay behind me. You wont need to worry about me stabbing you in the back." Coraline didn't wait as she passed through the curtain and into the hallway. She kept her sword up as she slowly advanced down the corridor.

"I'm Caroline Toph. If we're going to be working together then I'd appreciate a name to call you." she said.

Mat followed behind with his spear in hands, his eyes looking over everything they past. When he asked for a name he simply said, "Mat." Everything here felt...wrong, like it wasn't supposed to be here, or maybe because they weren't supposed to be there.

The knight nodded slowly, "Alright, Mat," she paused, "What are your talents? It's good for a team to know one another's strengths and weaknesses. How long have you hunted?"

Coraline heard some movement up ahead and slowed her pace, "Hold that thought."

She crept up to the wall and advanced forward quietly. Her light plate armor clanked but her slow movements dropped the volume significantly. There was a corner up ahead. She appraoched it and peaked her head around the corner. She spotted a figure in priory robes, likely a man who had lived in the church before it was tainted. Coraline didn't say a word, she knew what necromancers were capable of and the entire nature of the place she and Mat were dragged to told her that he wasn't simply a priest.

Coraline looked back to Mat and gestured around the corner. She whispered, "I'm going to get his attention. Stay in the shadows and wait until you're behind him. If he's aggressive, take no chances."

She was about to step out but she remembered something. Coraline looked back to Mat again, "Keep it clean and make it quick. Nobody deserves to suffer."

Mat followed along quietly, his footsteps quietly tapping against the stone floor. Upon seeing the undead Mat gave a simple nod to what she said and slipped next to the wall. Upon her comment of keeping it clean and quick Mat made a slight chuckle. Oh if only you heard what I just admitted to Emiliah and that...thing, he thought.

She shrugged, "None of my concern."

Coraline stepped out into the open and lowered her sword, "Prior," she called out, "Are you alright?"

The figure began to turn slowly. As it's face became visible from the shadow of the corner, Coraline saw that it was indeed an undead. The creature's jaw was handing from one side of his face. There was a massive cleave taken out of his forehead and his eyes were simply to empty pits of darkness. It gurgled and began shuffling toward Coraline's voice. She glanced over to Mat and nodded once before speaking again, "I'm over here. Can you see me?"

The creature diverted its course slightly to come at her more directly. It was blind, so she wasn't too concerned about dispatching it. At least, not until the prior robes fell from its body. As the robes hit the floor, Coraline could see that there wasn't any man left save for its head. Coraline had seen these before, Bone Takers. Dark creatures that stole the bones of their victims and added it to their amalgamous forms. The body was almost arachnid in appearance with several legs and a thorax made of ribe cages. The head of the priest was simply a lure, the read face of the creature was low to the ground. It had four eyes that glowed a color that shouldn't exist. Looking into the eyes to try and discern the color was how it entranced its prey.

Coraline looked at the more manageable, albeit deformed, head of the priest. Bone Takers were challenging creatures, and Coraline hoped then that her new companion was a skilled fighter.

Mat kept quiet as Coraline attracted the bone taker to her, slowly stepping around to behind. The hunter kept quiet and watched Coraline as she nodded to him. Nodding back he made a small step forward towards it. Bone takers seemed quite annoying to take down, and his spear wasn't ideal for fighting one. Tearing it apart was ideal, or killing the right head. Keeping quiet Mat strode right behind the creature before stabbing right at its chest. Right before the spear hit the Bone Taker though Mat suddenly disappeared.

Mat and Yuri

Whatever force that pulled Yuri through the floor, seemed less kind about making sure that another floor was under him before letting his body drop. As though he sunk through the ceiling above and then gravity righted itself, sending him spiraling to the floor.

Where he was dropped was a long stone hallway with the occasional torch every couple of yards that did very little to light the corridor. It was patches of yellow among a sea of black. With something moving through one of those patches of blackness.

Yuri propped himself up on his elbows as his stomach churned, gagging slightly at the residual dizzyness. Pulling the ties holding his collar closed, Yuri freed his mouth to spit before he pulled himself to his feet. Grabbing his scythe as he stood Yuri strained his eyes out into the darkness. His face became grave as he took in his surroundings, and picked out a shape amongst the dark.

As he tracked it, Yuri let his sythe fall into a loose single handed grip. Tensing up he lashed out at the thing, the scythe cutting the air to the side of it to draw it's attention as his other hand shot out to seize it "Tag" was all he said, his voice a low growl.

Mat steadied himself as he felt that his position had moved again, having to hit his stomach to stop himself from puking. "This game is not being very enjoyable..." Mat muttered, standing straight up and flexing before viewing his surroundings, or by the very least attempted to with all the darkness surrounding him.

"I wish I brought that bloody lantern," Mat muttered to himself, then tensed up as he heard something move. He was about to turn when he suddenly saw a scythe cut right in front of him. "Wait, scythe-?" Mat wasn't able to finish as he was suddenly grabbed by a hand. The young hunter almost immediately attempted to stab the figure with his spear when he realized who it was. "Hey wait...Yuri?" He said, identifying the hunter. Wall, put it back up, he immediately thought. "Hell I thought I recognized the scythe. Where the hell have you been?"

Yuri was about to drive the figure to floor as his hand clsoed around it, just as a framiliar voice and face appeared to him. All at once he released his grip, and stepped back with a slight stumble, as his momentum tried to continue him forward. Blinking the tention Yuri had built up bled away as he strained his eyes ageinst the dark "Let's see, slight favoring of one leg and oddly colored spear?"

As he finished that last thought a grin broke out on his face, as he chuckeld slightly, pulling his scythe back to a resting position. "Oh my god, Mat? Where the hell have I been, well mainly fighting moving corpses and mashed together skeleton beasts, and being pulled through solid stone as if it was water." He shuddered at the last thought before continueing, "The better question is where the hell have you been, and where the hell are we now?"

As he spoke the cold feeling in his head washed his thoughts with a feeling of almost... regret that things hadent turned bloody? "Oh shut it you, no one asked."

Mat gave a small chuckle and set the bottom of his spear on the ground so he could lean on it. "Oh you know, here and there. By the way, as you could probably tell, this isn't a simple necromancer we're dealing with, it's much worse. Then again having the news be 'it's much worse than we thought' is basically standard for hunters. That creature thingy running this...knows things, but he does really like games," Mat explained. Yeah, playing real fun games. Dammit Emiliah where are you? He thought. "I was with Emiliah, then a witch huntress girl, now you."

"Been busy then" Yuri chuckled, the action sending a pang from the wound on his side, making him breath out slowly. "Still its good that you at least have some inkling of what the hell is going on, better than fireing arrows in the dark by far." Yuri thought for a moment "you said this thing like to play games? Any idea what kind of..." His voice trailed off as the recent memory of whatever grabbed him came into Yuri's mind, most notably what it had said to him.

Almost immedietly the hunter's eyes darted here and there, looking down the impossably long hall, at mat, back to the hall, to Mat's leg, all the while ice water seemed to replace his blood and his mouth went dry. "Any idea of what game the thing wants to play? beacuse if not I..I think I may have an idea, and you probably wont like it." Yuri finally finished.

Suddenly a cracking, splashing sound could be heard from one side of the hallway, slowly getting closer and closer to the two men. The light of one of the torches showed the floor vanishing into darkness below. The stones falling away piece by piece, with nearly a foot of them disappearing with every blink.

Mat made a small shrug. "He wants entertainment from us I suppose, I think-" Mat turned his head to the sound of cracking. "Well this is as good as an example as any! Run you idiot run!" Without waiting for Yuri Mat began sprinting away from the falling stones.

There was no need to tell Yuri twice, as he turned on his heels and tore off down the hall. He tried to keep pace with Mat, a long string of curses following him "So is this what it meant by tag?" He yelled out to the dark.

Mat had begun to feel the weakness in his leg coming back to him and began slowing to where Yuri had caught up to him. "Oh hell, this is super fun!" He yelled out as he kept running.

From below the the falling rocks, the shining tips of sharp metal stakes. Suddenly the rocks stopped falling and the room got very very quiet. From little further up ahead came a tiny, voice "N-no, s-stay a-aaa-away from me," Just out of the edge of the light sat a little girl and a tiny orange kitten. "Please... I don't want to die," she whispered.

Yuri slowed his pace as the sound of imminent falling and stabbing doom faded behind him. Silently he thanked whatever stars had alligned to give him at least some shred of luck this night. He was about to being asking Mat about what the hell jsut happened when the sound of the little girl crying reached his ears. Immedetily his head snapped twaords the sound, and he stopped. "This just keeps getting weirder" he thought to himself as the girl whispered to, what he could only assume was himself and Mat.

Yuri debated what to do, coming up with two answers to the obvious question of who this girl was. Answer number 1, she was a trap, an illution to lure the hunters to a probably spiky doom (honeslty, The most probable one of the pair) and answer number 2, that she was a victim in all this, some child caught up in a deadly game.

Now, logic would dictate that the probability of the first option being correct would outweigh the second option. Logic would cry out to leave her behind and save your own hide. But Yuri wasnt one for listening to logic in a situation like this, as evedent by him holding up his hands and folding his scythe's blade away. "It's ok" he whispered back to the girl, keeping himself in a non threatening stance as he took a few slow steps twoards her "No one is going to hurt you."

"You can say that, but I can't," came another voice, and two girls, identical to the one on the floor with the kitten appeared from the shadows. One was grinning manically as she lead the other forward, holding her hair back, keeping the girls head tipped up towards the ceiling.

The girl had tears running down her face and seemed frightened beyond words. "Now dear hunter. I will tell you this. One of these two girls is real. One is a monster, the question is, who are you going to save?" Suddenly, the orange kitten behind held by the little girl started to twist and grow, until it was a monster all its own, now holding the girl the same way she once held him.

Mat looked between the two girls, then the demon cat and the girl that was probably a demon too. "Well isn't this lovely?" Mat muttered, glancing over at Yuri. "I don't think this is going to be much of a fair challenge judging by the last obstacles this guy threw at us." The hunter looked between the two girls again. "OK, murder creepy demon cat or murder creepy demon girl? I'll just give you that one Yuri."

Yuri was lost in a panicked thought, his eyes darting between the two girls and the demons that held them. He thought on the question posed, one was real the other fake, and he could only chose one. It was obvious what would happen if he chose wrong. As his face twisted into various expresstions he noted Mat's comment "This once I dont think thats the right answer.."

Mat glanced between the two again and sighed. "Cat is more obvious demon target, girl is supposed to be innocent. Of course, that makes the girl way more dangerous and therefore probably has the real one. But wait maybe that's what we're supposed to think and the demon cat thingy has the real one. Or maybe..." Mat trailed off then shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, screw it. Murder the innocent demon girl that isn't innocent at all!" With that Mat charged at the demon girl and stabbed right at her.

Yuri wanted to yell out at Mat, but somewhere in his mind he knew he was right. This was an unwinnable game, destened to be lost. "Screw it, I like that answer." Was all he whispered as he broke into an involentary grin as he sprung with Mat. His scythe unfolding as he swung it full force at the Cat demon's neck, the cold in his head cackleing away all the while.

At once, both of the demons shifted so that both choices of little girls were being used as human body sheilds. The girls all looked at each other and on of the hostages mouthed something to the other one and was promptly slapped by the demon girl. "No, no, that is cheating," she hummed, but whether to the hunters or the the hostages, it was hard to tell. "No, no, dear hunters, you must pick, it is only fair,"

Yuri spun his blade, as to not hit the now human sheilds, bringing it back to his side. He was obviously displeased by this development "Fair?" he growled, but as the gears in his head turned he adoped a more diplomatic tone "That is quite easy for you to say when you have presented us no information, this is supposed to be a game right? Games, and even riddles to some extent require some give and take to remain 'fair'. Currently we are the only ones giving, so I would say we are owed some hint or some other such thing to keep it fair." Yuri cast a side glance "How does that sound Mat?"

Mat shrugged his shoulders. "Look, this guy isn't nice with his games. If it were me I'd pick someone at random and go with it but probably not the best way to go I suppose."

The little girl behind held by the catdemon suddenly opened her mouth. "It's me, It's me, I'm the monster just don't hurt my--" the catdemon covered the little girls mouth hard enough to leave claw size bloodmarks that bled freely from her face.

The demongirl scowled, yanking her hostage's hair in anger. "Fine," She growled. "I go bored of this game. You have thirty seconds to pick, or I kill both and the girl dies,"

Yuri caught his breath as his heart thudded, it was an impossible choice, even after what the one girl had yelled. He hands shook slightly as he quickly weighed the options "This sint fair, why would it be fair? there is no..." he stopped mid thought "There is no monster is there? They are family arn't they? You gave us an impossible choice, so that no matter what we chose we lose." He affixed the demon girl with a stair "The only monster girl here is you. Your the monster, you and the cat. So for you and the girl your holding, your the monster, and for the cat and his captive. Well thats just fucking obvious isn't it?" His blade twitched as he felt more adrenalin pump into his system, and his body tensed up, ready to spring.

Mat glanced between all the members in the room, ending on Yuri as he ranted towards the demon girl thing. He himself was already prepared to attack and was just patiently waiting for Yuri to finish. "OK OK," Mat said after Yuri finished. "Look, I pick the girl the cat is holding hostage. That's my decision, can I claim my prize now demon girl?"

The demongirl had looked as though she was about to throw a fit. Or a tempertantrum that Yuri was ruining her fun. However, she perked up when Mat spoke. "See, you know how to play by the rules," she said with a laughed. Instead of letting the Catdemon's girl go, she let go of her own. "Alright then, as soon as she is dead, I'll let the other one go," The girl in the catdemons hands started kicking crying and screaming to get out of its hold, while the other girl sat on the floor, looking rather stuned. "Besides, I'm not the real monster, I'm looking at them and you know it," she said, glaring at Mat and Yuri.

Yuri's face fell as the events infront of him transpired, all he could hear was the thumping of his heart, the rush of blood in his ears. "This cant be right, were we wrong?" the thought as his heart beat sounded once "there has to be a way? Right? There is always a way? THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY." he screamed in his mind as his heart beat a second time. "Always a way..." Yuri wanted to belive this, he really really did, his ears burned with panic.

But they didnt burn long. Before a fourth beat whent by the heat was smothered by the cold that begain to fill his head, now without resistence. It whispered to him, it calmed his shaking, until finally Yuri slipped away into a dreamless sleep, his last thought was that "this is a way."

The scythe's head fell to the floor as Yuri rolled his shoulder's his head turning to the demon girl as she spoke. With her last statement a wide grin broke out on his face as Yuri begain to cackle, as if it was the funnest thing he ever heard. He listed for a moment and then flung himself at the cat, his body spining with the scythe into a wide swipe at the things legs, laughing the entire time.

Mat looked over at Yuri as he stopped and suddenly started laughing. "Yuri?" He asked as the fellow hunter charged the demon girl while still laughing. At first Mat wanted to join in, but stopped himself. The demon cat would probably go in for the assist soon and he'd probably have to help out there.

Then Mat drew a long breath, closed his eyes, and thought for a moment. They were breaking the rules, and people running events never like rule breakers. To his knowledge there were other hunters trapped, other people to entertain him. Rule breakers would serve as an example.

Mat slowly opened his eyes, knowing what to do. He stared down at the girl in front of him and said no words, just lifted up his spear and stabbed her in the head.

Elizabeth screamed, a girliish cry that probably ruined whatever reputation she had left. What just happened! she thought, panicking as she fell through the floor of the attic. It had become a sort of smoke around her, and she had been able to fall through it. Now she landed, in a dark room, that was definitely not empty. She was on her back, and she was fully aware of the throbbing pain she felt in her shoulders. The first thing she did was look around for Andri, but he was nowhere to be found. Her gaze stopped when she saw Mat stabbing a llitte girl in the head. "Oh my god Mat what are you doing!" Liz screamed, ignoring the pain and scrambling to get up and rescue the girl. She had no chance, Mat had taken the sharp point of his spear and just stabbed her.

Elizabeth changed tactics, and rushed towards Mat instead. She did her best to push him away, avoiding the point of his now bloody spear. "What were you thinking!" She screamed, singling him out, and not taking the time to interpret the rest of the situation. Did all hunters turn out this way? Or was he a special traumatic case? Whatever the answer was, he still just stabbed a young unprotected child.

Mat looked over in confusion as he saw Elizabeth suddenly in the room too, but even with her there the girl was still dead with Mat's spear going right through her head. He made no resistance as the huntress pushed him away and almost fell to the ground before he stabilized himself with his bloody spear. Mat didn't really have any words to say about his action, and instead just looked over at Yuri. "Yuri! It's over, we don't need to start a fight!" He called out to him.

The Demon girl let out a laugh, holding her sides. "I can't believe you did it, I mean, Master said that you'd do it. He is going to be so proud of me!" She let out a beaming grin, like this was the proudest moment of her life. Suddenly, she was lifted a few feet off the floor and Death appeared near her.

"Yes my pet, you did so well. I told you making them kill one of your sisters wouldn't hurt a bit," he gave the girl an almost loving pat on her head, like a man would give to a dog. "And dear Mat here,has turned out to be such a lovely toy. I am almost tempted to keep you here for me to play with....almost," with that, the pair vanished along with the catdemon.

The remaining girl launched herself towards the corpse of her sister. "No.No.No. Char, no," she cradled her look alike in her lap, rocking her backwards and forwards. After a few moments she looked up at Mat. "You Monster! You killed my sister!"

Yuri's cackleing slowed as the cat demon vanished, his eye twitching as it lost track of the thing. Internally the monster screamed its inane rambleings as it found no target, nothing to unleash itself upon, nothing to keep Yuri suppressed and asleep. Even as Mat yelled it could feel it's influence fadeing, still it had enough to turn to the spear weilding hunter. As Yuri's eyes beheld the spectical before him, the monster felt a flare of plesure, perhaps it would still fight after all.

Outwardly Yuri's fading grin grew as he begain to advance to Mat, his scythe draggin on the ground. But the monster's grip had faded too much, so with every step Yuri's face changed. first his eyes darkened and hardened, losing that erratic spark. Next his grin shrunk, until all that remained was a scowl. As he drew into striking range, all that remained was Yuri, a tired, hurt and livid Yuri.

He picked his scythe's head off the ground and leaned on the shaft, the wound in his side seeping slightly as the excitement had slightly reopend it. He wanted to yell, to scream at Mat. But ultimetly he couldn't fault him to much, there was always a way right? It just so happened that this was the way this one played out. So he kept his distence and instead bent to comfort the remaining girl.

"Help me."
Suddenly there was another voice in the room. A small distance away, lay a very weak Andri.

Elizabeth raised her hand as far as it would go, the pain on her shoulders making her clench her teeth. She was unsure if she would smack Mat, or just use the hand to rub her temples. However she had no time to decide, because a voice appeared just a few feet away. Tensing, Elizabeth's head snapped towards it. What she saw made her relax with relief, it was Andri. She tensed again though as she realized how weak he had sounded. With a glare in Mat's direction, she dropped her hand and rushed to Andri's side. Carefully easing down onto her knees, she examined Andri, worry creasing her face. "What happened to you Andri? Are you okay? Are they close?" She asked, bombarding him with questions. She tried to shield his eyes from the fallen child, but he had probably seen it by now. "I just got here, I'm glad I did. Mat probably would have stabbed you." Her eyes flashed briefly with anger, but it calmed as she focused back on Andri. "I thought you were dead, you can't just disappear on me, got it?"

Mat was wanting to yell out to all of them, put a grin on, flip his spear, or something that would give a response. Instead, he just drew a long breath and stepped back using his spear as support. It hardly fazed him when Andri was suddenly there and Elizabeth ran over to help him. The wall is down, they know who I am. Mat looked down and sat against the wall, putting his spear across his lap. He glanced at Andri and the living girl then looked down again. He supposed that it wouldn't be too hard to kill either of them should there be another twist in the thing's game, it wasn't like he could get much lower after what he just did.

Mat would've stabbed him? If it had been possible, Andri's face would just have become more pale than before. He didn't know what hat happened here, but Elizabeth's words about Mat weren't reassuring. He had seen the child, but he was saturated with own feelings already. "I was buried alive, with worms speaking to me. And then...." Then there was silence. It took Andri quite a bunch of seconds to get talking again. Khan had actually not forbidden him to talk about what happened... "I'm infested with one in my head." The way he looked like at the moment was indicating a few more words: 'Don't tell them, please!'

"OH, That was smart, idiot," Said Khan from inside. "Of all the hosts I could have picked, I had to pick the suicidal one. Grab her boob, or I bite your brain,"

Elizabeth looked down at Andri, her eyes full of concern. What in the world was Andri talking about? Worms? "Andri, once we get out of here, you can tell me all about it. As for the worm in your head, how do we take it out?" Elizabeth reached down, grabbing Andri's head and tilting it for further inspection. "It talks? What is it saying?" She asked, if it was anything like what she had seen, she knew that she had to take it out. She also had to keep Andri calm, but find a way to tell the others without him noticing.

Andri's face started to become distorted again. One could see tears running down his temples. Then he raised his left hand, staring at Liz. "Sorry." he uttered, then accelerated his arm. The way he grabbed what Khan had demanded with his giant hand was quick and short lived, as he retracted his arm again immediately after having made contact. He was totally disgusted of himself.

"Come on, that was the most action you've ever got, I can see it in your mind. Try again, but slower," snapped the very happy Worm.

Of all the parasites I had to pick the most suicidal one. Do you know that the other hunters will most likely kill me after you have forced me to cross certain lines ? He wasn't sure if Khan could see what he was thinking, but better to assume that this damn worm could monitor everything... Already having accelerated his arm again while uttering another excuse towards Liz, he grabbed her again, this time holding on tightly. It felt like an ever increasing pain to him the longer he continued this...

The first time Andri touched her breast, Elizabeth had been quite shocked. He had only held his hand there for a moment, but she knew it was unlike Andri to do something so...irrational. Her mouth gaped, and she struggled to find the words to say, when he reached out and touched her breast for a second time. This time, he held his hand there, and ELizabeth's eyes danced with flames. "Andri, remove your hand, now." She said, making sure to enunciate her words very carefully. Without giving him a second to respond, her hand shot up and she grabbed him by the wrist. Forcefully, she removed his hand, placing it back into his lap. "You will never touch me in that way, ever again. If you try anything, I swear to whatever gods you worship that you won't have a hand."

He was dead. Dead again. Khan had betrayed him as he likely would continue to force him to do things that would very quickly ruin his entire life, if not making other people kill him outright. And he had the gut feeling that he was already scraping along this thin line. He squirmed and started to cry outright. So that was it... his hunter career most likely had ended before it really had started.

At that moment, Marcus dropped into the room, Falling onto the ground letting out a large grunt of pain, as he was right next to both Andri and Elizabeth. He groaned as he slowly pushed himself up. "What the hell?" He said as his eyes continued to adjust from the blinding light he had seen. "Where am I?" He said as he looked at the others...was...Andri feeling up Elizabeth? "....is going on here?" He said, adding to his more general question before focusing on what he saw now.

And Liz was poofed out, but not until after Marcus saw it.

Mat looked over when he heard another voice in the room and looked over to see Marcus with Elizabeth gone. "More games?" He asked, looking up at the ceiling. "Aren't you bored by now?" Mat was certainly sick of the games at this point, but it seemed like they wouldn't end. "What's next?" The hunter sighed and hit his head against the wall, contemplating what to do. His eyes finally settled on the living girl that Yuri was attempting to comfort. Worth a shot. Mat slowly stood up and walked over to them with his spear as support, sitting down in front of the girl. "I'm sorry about your sister, but it was both of you or one of you. I'm just trying to minimize the casualties," he explained, feeling like shit after saying it like that. "Can you help these people at all? Who are you anyway?"

"M-My name is Abigail," She then pushed herself away from him as fast as she could. "And...And you killed Ash. Ashley is dead because of you! You killed her. Charlotte wouldn't have hurt us. Sh-she is just sick okay? She'll get better, that is why we are here. To make Charlotte better," She then fell into tears again, finding the nearest hunter away from Mat to hide behind, which happened to be Marcus.

Yuri was honestly suprised as the hallway suddenly became alive with people coming and going. He didnt know why he was suprised as he remembered his own trip through the floor with a shudder. Taking a deep breath he hauld himself to his feet, and took new stock of the room. There was Andri, who was in some semblence of distress, and Marcus who looked honestly as confused as could be expected.

Yuri watched as Mat tried to reconcile with the small girl, who promptly ran to hide behind Marcus. Yuri took a slow, deep breath "Good to see you again Marcus, always nice to see a friendly face. The same goes for you Andri" he said with a nod, and continued in an oddly calm way "Now that we are all together, perhaps we can come up with some semblence of a plan to find the son of a bitch who is playing us like game piees and drive a sharpened peice of metal into his crainium?"

Marcus was completely confused at what he was seeing, there was a dead girl, and another one who was freaking out rightly so. But before he could ask again what was going on the little girl ran behind him. He knelt down and said in a calming voice. "Heeey. You're safe now, I wont let anyone hurt you." He glared at Mat. What the hell was his problem?! HE KILLED THE LITTLE GIRL?!? That and broke Emiliah's fingers. Who the hell was he?

He then looked to Yuri and said, "Yeah, glad I caught up with you....somehow." looking around still confused at what was going on. "What happened to you? How did I get here? " He then stood up and glared at Mat. "More importantly what the hell is your problem mat. Breaking Emiliah's fingers?! Now killing a little girl?" He raised his sword while placing his other arm, shield and all behind him and holding the little girl next to him to protect her. "I think it's time for you to pay for your sins."

Mat's eyes widened at the little girl's response to his question. Abigail, Ashley, Charlotte, he thought, repeating the names in his head. "Abigail, Ashley, and Charlotte. Abigail, Ashley, and Charlotte," he repeated the three names over and over out loud now and beginning to shake. Mat turned his head upon hearing Marcus yelling at him about his actions, but couldn't concentrate until he saw the raised steel. "Well shit," he muttered, getting up and holding his spear to steady himself. His eyes were on Marcus, but then shifted over to Abigail and the three names began running off his tongue again. "Abigail, Ashley, Charlotte..." Finally Mat stilled himself and closed his eyes, then slowly opened them. "Come on at me Marcus, let's see how you do. Yuri and Andri, watch the girl please and make sure she doesn't kill you." With that Mat held his spear in a defensive pose, ready for Marcus to come at him.

"Are you fucking kidding me." Yuri's responce was a mix of bewilderment and sheer lack of understanding, "You must be fucking kidding me." His eyes moved between the two hunters, only staying a moment on each one before he took a deep breath and moved his way between them. Turning to Marcus he rested his scythe on his sholder and held his hands up "Now before you two go killing eachother like a couple of dolts, les take a moment to catch eachother up, hows that?" Yuri attempted to grin to diffuse the situation a little bit more. "He did kill a little girl, im not going to lie to you. But it was eather that or both of them were going to die. They were being held hostage by a pair of demons, one of whome it seems was their sister as well. But they were working with the pupeteer of this grand marrionette show, and were making us choose between them..." Yuri paused "I lost... my cool for a moment, and Mat made the disition before I could screw up the 'game' we're being forced to play and bring worse consiquences down on all of us." Yuri looked Marcus streight in the eyes "Thats where we stand, and if your going to blame someone, blame the person who forced the hand."

Andri had finally gotten on his feet again, though the way he put his feet in front of each other had nothing to do with the smooth movements he had demonstrated when entering this cathedral. It was pathetic. If pure hatred alone had been able to burn, he would have incinerated himself and Khan within seconds. He hated himself for not having resisted longer, and of course, he hated Khan. The huntress he had got to know just before likely was really pissed off of him now. And he couldn't explain a damn shit to her while Khan could start eating him alive from inside! He heard something about 'either that or both of them were going to die' and it pretty much reflected his own situation. But he just wasn't ready for that final step. There had to be another way to bail him out of this! There just had to be one! He approached Yuri and put his massive hand on his shoulder to get his attention. He whispered: "Yuri ? I ask you to have a close watch on me. Please." That was all he said.

Marcus looked at Yuri and back at Mat, who was seeming like he had a mental break. He was ready for a fight, and he was sure he could take him. Andri seemed lost in his own thoughts and Yuri Before saying "What 'Game?' are you guys talking about? Do you know what's happening here?" As he never met the powerful demon that freaked Emiliah out, or did these things that obviously had messed with the others.

He looked down at Abigail again, promising again that she will be fine if she stayed next to him. He took his shield and loosed the leather strap on the inside, slipping it over his head and onto his back, to hang it there, as he was sure he would have to continue to hold Abigail's hand while they found a way out of here.

Abigail let out a little sob, holding on to Marcus from behind, burrying her face into the back of his shirt. "His name is C-Charon," Abigial's voice came out muffled because of how tightly she was holding on to Marcus. "H-He was Char's f-friend, but I didn't believe her...then another lady came and made him real. He likes games," she said, her whole body shaking with fear and saddness.

Mat gave a small sigh of relief when Yuri explained the situation to Marcus, resting back on his spear. "There's this...thing that is playing his game. We entertain him and we live, that was the explanation. He's much more than a necromancer, much much more," Mat explained, slowing stepping over to them, but then stopped when Abigail began to speak.

"Charon?" Mat repeated. "Sounds familiar but I don't know anything about it, probably should've studied more." The hunter looked right at Abigail and crouched. "But who are you? You and your sisters? Please, I need to know."

"I-I'm J-just.... I don't want to talk to you," she said. "I hate you,"

Yuri breathed a short sigh of relief as everyone seemed to be calming down a small bit. He stepped to the side a bit so that Marcus and Mat could talk without having to talk around him, it was at that point he felt Andri touch his shoulder and whisper his request. Yuri couldn't help but raise his eybrow slightly at the odd request, but still he responded in the same hushed tone, picking up that the gient wanted to keep this under wraps for now. "Sure? I'll do my best." He promised still slightly confused "Anything I should be on the lookout for?" As he asked this he turned slightly so it looked like he was paying attention to Marcus and Mat, as to not draw suspicion to Andri or himself. Well that and he honestly wanted to know what was going on in both.

Marcus looked at Mat and Abigail as he tried to ask her a question. She didn't want to talk to him, very understandable. After she stopped, Marcus glanced at Mat then knelt down, placing himself between Mat and Abigail, so she would still feel protected standing behind Marcus, and know that Marcus was focusing on her. "Will you talk to me?" He said with a warm smile and soft voice. He pushed some strands of hair out of her face and rested one hand on her shoulder. "How did you get down here with your sisters Abigail? Where did you come from? So I can get you back home."

"M-My name is Abigail Smart," she said slowly. "'M from Aurlian. 'M Pa was a farmer and it was just us girls," she let out another little sob. "Char...got...mind sick and...it made Pa...mean to her. So Ma sent us here so she could get better....Only....she didn't get better," She then froze up. "You ain't gunna make me go back to Pa? I don't wanna go back. Here is better than there and here is horrible. Char screamed ....all the time." she let out another choked sob. "I...I don't wanna be by myself," She wrapped her arms around Marcus, and the rest of what she had to say was drowned out by her sobs.

Mat made a slow nod to Abigail and looked away. "Understood," he mumbled then stood back up and looked around them, analyzing over everything around them. The young hunter leaned on his spear and looked out towards the darkness. The three names surfaced to his head again and he repeated them over and over again. "Abigail, Ashley, Charlotte..." Mat grimaced and looked towards the darkness. "What's next Charon?"

Yuri looked out into the darkness where Mat was yelling, not willing to be the one to intrude on Marcus's and Abigail's moment that they were having. As he watched Mat call out into the void, Yuri couldn't help but feel a small bit of satisfaction with at least now knowing their host's name. As for goading it, that Yuri wasnt so sure of, but he kept his distance and his mouth shut. Instead he shifted his weapon into a position that was better to carry or shift inro a fighting stance, no sense in getting cought flat-footed.

"D.... don't get yourself buried alive." Andri stuttered, then listened to the words Mat directed into the void. So, Charon was his name? He went a few steps away from the hunters, trying to make it appear as if he just wanted to move around a bit for relaxation. He whispered again: "Khan? You had your favor. If you have any interest in your host being nice and friendly to you, you better start being cooperative! What do you know about Charon? Don't tell me you've just been waiting since forever next to this coffin for someone to be thrown into it! And we have to agree about the terms of our coexistence!"

"Charon?" said Khan, mulling the name over. "Charon...Charon... Hm..." He seemed to be huming as he thought it over. "Hm, I might have heard the name a time or two...but...how about a please in there? Charon isn't someone to be messed with and I don't give out this information lightly,"

Please ? This worm REALLY asked for a 'please'? Andri didn't know if he should think of this as unbelieveable or outrageous. However... he just required that information. Or no, they all required it. "Please." If that worm was able to read his thoughts, he would find out that Andri wasn't pleased at all with having to say this.

"Really, is being genuine a trait lost to this generation...." the worm let out a sigh. "Fine, he is...well... Death if Death could be properly conceptualized by your tiny human brain. Which it can't," The worm seemed almost pompus. "And this is his home and all of your friends are going to die. But not, I won't let him kill you. Do you know how long I've been without human body? A long time, speaking of, it is about time we left."

"Well... my tiny human brain is now greatly enhanced by your presence, Khan. Listening to him telling him that all but him were going to die really wasn't improving his mood, but: Wouldn't just about every enemy tell you exactly that no matter what the chances really were like? Then Khan spoke again. "Leave? What do you mean? Do you know this place?"

"Oh yes, this is his place. Now, tell me hunter, where do you live and I hope you have a pretty new wife...and nope...nope you don't. It is alright, you have enough funds for a halfway dec....a whore, you have enough money for a whore. Well, hold on to your hat, we are going upstairs,"

A whore? That was what the demon worm wanted for not eating his brain and killing him from inside out? "I'm already in debt for the horse that has carried me to this place. If this hunt won't be successful I won't have enough funds for pretty much anything. So, please... don't ruin it."

"Well, that won't do...Say, that Marcus has money. Just kill him and take it and we can go home. Or I'll eat your brain,"

"To hell with my brain! Before I let you force me to kill innocent people I'm gonna find someone who's willing to drill into my head and get YOU out squeezed between a pair of pliers! And killing your host will send you back to where you came from! Tell me... how long have you waited for a new host ? I've already forgotten about it..." Andri turned his head. He had asked Yuri to have a close eye on him, so now he had to see where the other hunter was.

"You're no fun," snapped the worm.

"Good to hear." Andri replied in a very dry tone. "You said something about going upstairs - I don't see any stairs here."

"Hickory, Dickory Doc," came a voice from the walls. "The mouse ran up the clock, the clock struck one, the mouse ran down," And with that, the floor vanished, dropping everyone down into what only could be described as a throne room for the dead.

Emiliah, Flint and Liz and Coraline

Flint had been making his way through the tunnels for a while now..."Are you sure you know where you are going Mishka?!" He growled as it seemed they were not getting anywhere closer to Fenros. He looked around to see she wasn't there. "Mishka?" He asked as he wondered where she went off too.

Elizabeth reached down to comfort the crying giant, but as she reached she was whisked away to a new room. Her hand hit the ground, and she swore. "Not again, please no more dead children." She moaned, allowing her head to fall so her forehead was resting on the cool ground. She didn't have the energy to look up and move around. So much had happened on this journey, it all felt pointless. It was supposed to be a simple trip, and now they were all locked in a weird game. With a whimper, she collapsed on her side, not caring about the throbbing pain she felt when she put weight on her shoulder.

"Dead children?" asked Emiliah, whipping around to see Liz in the same room as her. Emiliah's voice still ached from the hold that had been on her neck not a moment ago. "Where are there dead children?" Emiliah looked around the room. They were in a large, rectangular hallway with archways that lead to other rooms. Weak sunlight was coming through. "Damn, it is morning already?" asked Emiliah in alarm.

Coraline suddenly bursted through one of the walls with the Bone Taker in her grip. She bellowed a war cry and slammed the abomination of bones and flesh into the opposite wall, crushing the rib cage that made up a part of its amalgamous abdomen. With a distinct metal ring, Coraline drew the longsword that was kept at her back. With one downward slice, she lopped off a bony arm that nearly doubled the length of the creature itself. The Bone Taker let out a muffled squelch of a cry before Coraline jabbed the longsword through the decapitated head of a priest. Bones shifted across the Bone Taker's body to form another clawed arm. It reached out and scraped across Coraline's light plate armor. The knight grabbed the arm by the wrist and simply yanked it off. "Just. Fucking. Die!" Coraline yelled and kicked the real head of the undead creature in. The demon-like skull collapsed and the creature, seemingly held together by magic, fell apart. Bones rolled in every direction.

Coraline was breathing heavily. She took a moment to collect herself before grabbing her other longsword from the breach in the wall. She noticed the others only after retrieving her favored blade. "You're hunters, yes?"

Flint suddenly heard fighting further down the hall. He raced forward about fifty meters before coming to a large rectangular hallway with multiple arches. He noticed that Elizabeth and Emiliah were there, and Coraline had just smashed the Bone Takers head in with her foot. She turned to the others as he was behind them all and asked if they were hunters.

"Yes they are!" He said as he unnocked his arrow and placed it back into the quiver He jogged over to Coraline and paused for a moment. "I was looking all over for you." He then noticed how banged up both Liz and Emiliah were and ran over "Are you both OK? What happened to you?!"

Despite Emiliah looking pretty banged up, he had fallen to his knee next to Elizabeth. He hesitently touched her back as she was still bent over. "Liz...are you alright?" Looking back to Emiliah. "Both of you are alright?"

He then waited for their answer before Looking to Coraline. "These are the ones from the group we were tracking. Emiliah and Liz...This is Coraline, she is a fellow hunter and came to help."

Elizabeth rubbed her temples, too many things were happening all at once. There was shouting, and so many questions she had to answer. A girl named Coraline had barged in, fighting something Liz hadn't taken the time to look at. The only thing that soothed her was that Emiliah was there, she knew that if she tried to die Emiliah would smack her or do something that would put her back in line. She sat up and looked at the lines of light coming through from somewhere. She was glad they were still above ground, but all this traveling was confusing her. They could be in a different part of the world, for all they knew. Turning her attention to Flint, she smiled wryly and gave him a slight nod. "Fine, thanks. I just had a bit of a complication." She muttered, before turning back to Emiliah. "Mat...he killed a little girl. Andri touched my breast, twice. He says he has an ear worm. It confuses me too, so don't ask."

Emiliah didn't have the energy to even try and fight...whatever it was that woman brought in. She was beyond exhausted and everything hurt. And frankly, if she had to face ANOTHER monster, she'd be sorely tempted to just...lay on the floor and give up. Not that she would, she was just VERY tempted to do so. "Mat did what? I mean, he was in a pretty bad way when I last saw him. But he killed a little girl? Was it an evil little girl?" she asked, not even wanting to touch the Andri thing.

Then she heard Flint's voice. She had never heard anything so wonderful or up lifting. "Oh thank god," she said, looking at him. She usually didn't feel that way when a man came to save her. But when it was a man who was one of two people she thought could kill the demon, well... "When did you get her, Flint? You didn't come with us," It was only then that she noticed the woman behind Flint Coraline...or whatever. "Flint! She is a witch!" Shout Emiliah, finding the engery after all to stand. She swayed a little bit on her feet, pointing her new spear at Coraline.

Flint quickly stood up as she pointed the spear at Coraline. He gripped the spear and also held her hip gently as to steady her, from falling. Getting close to her, smelling her sweat and lavender mixed with it. "Emiliah...calm down, she came to help us. I came with her only just after you guys left." He gave a comforting smile to her as he gently lowered her spear tip to the ground.

He smiled more as he looked back to Coraline. "Juuuuust one second." He then wrapped his arm around Emiliah's waist and held her really close to his body while pushing her gently towards one of the entrences.

Once they were out of ear shot he said into her ear, looking as if he was calming her down. "Emiliah... you have to wait for the right opportunity to strike Coraline, She is indeed a witch but she thinks she managed to convince me that she is a hunter. She needs something from down here so she wont attack us. But we will strike first. " He then turned her slightly so he was looking into her eyes, "Do you trust me?"

It took all of Emiliah's will power to stop herself from yanking out of Flint's arms and attacking the witch. But she allowed him to move her out of earshot. When he was done tell her what he thought, she let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god, I really thought you didn't know. Okay. I trust you. Just give me a signal of when I should attack. Maybe.... a word...Um...Cave? Yeah Cave," Then she straited up and walked back over to the group.

"Well...Coraline...if Flint is willing to vouch for you... then I suppose you are okay,"

Coraline let out a sigh of relief when Flint and Emiliah had come back peacefully. She smiled to the two of them and nodded, "Don't let the witch marks be the only thing you judge me by."

The knight looked over to Elizabeth and went to go and kneel in front of her. "Where are you hurt?" she asked as she unslung her pack and opened it. There was mostly camping supplies in it, but no smart adventurer would leave without a kit of first aid supplies. She pulled a small bag out and set it down between them. In the bag were sutures and needles and a roll of bandages. She also had a small vial of healing mixture, made from a recipe her mother had taught her.

Coraline handed the vial to her, "Drink up. It's flavored so you wont cringe." she offered a smile to her.

Elizabeth recoiled as Coraline went to kneel beside her, she covered her wounds with her hands, but quickly removed them as she was offered a vial. If Coraline was truly on her side, and the vial contained a healing salve, then she needed to accept. A part of Elizabeth warned strongly against her taking the vial, but she slowly reached out and took it. "Thank you, Coraline." She said, before uncorking the vial and taking a swig of the liquid inside. She waited a few seconds, but since she felt no ill effects taking over, she took another swig, drinking the bottle until it was all gone. Slowly she unwrapped the cloth that was over her wounds, the dried blood making it hard to peel off. As she unwrapped it, she noticed the crest on Coraline's breastplate, her eyes brightening and the corners of her lips twisting up into a smile. "Ah, you are a knight, it's uncommon to see female knights. Congratulations on your knighthood."

Flint nodded to Emiliah as she agreed and made their signal. Fairly easy to say while they were in these tunnels. He walked back next to Emiliah as he noticed Coraline helping Elizabeth. He looked to Elizabeth and knelt down next to her, finishing unwrapping her bandages before pulling out a bottle of water and splashing some over it before Coraline would start help bandaging her. He would then say, "We shouldn't stay here long, I don't have a good feeling about this place...too many places enterences for us to be surrounded, also, I've been walking in circles around here. Perhaps if we split up we can figure a way out of here?" He looked around at all of them and thinking for a moment. "We will all head down this path here, Ill cover the rear while Coraline takes point. Best if we stuck together."

"Fine," She said, standing up, holding her spear in her hand. Emiliah wasn't sure what Flint was playing at, but she said that she would trust. And besides, they really did need to find their way out. Or to the demon. Witch or no witch.

Coraline looked to the rest of them and agreed, "Very well. Flint," she looked directly to him, "Watch the rear. Elizabeth, you stay behind Emiliah. Emiliah, follow up behind me."

So what you will, but Coraline had an inspiring presence to her. It was clear that her title as a knight wasn't just for show, she had experience. Coraline kept her longsword in hand and looked down one of the corridors. She as about to procede, but something caught her mind. Coraline looked back to the three of them, "I know I'm not exactly the easiest person to trust. But if I were your enemy, I wouldn't be caught up in this mess with you. I'm here to kill a necromancer. Think what you will about me, I'm not here to kill hunters."

Coraline looked to Elizabeth and smiled to her again. She always had a drive to help others, and she was glad that she at least got to do that in this magical disaster. Her eyes then passed to Emiliah, she gave her a trusting nod. The red headed knight then looked to Flint, "I'm glad that we have a Digard here. Do your family proud."

Coraline pressed on down the tunnel. She could feel the stabbing eyes of her new acquaintances. Nothing new for her.

Elizabeth lifted herself up and got into the line order. She knew the room was tense, as it should be in this situation, but she knew it was more of a tension involving the people she was with then what they would be facing. Elizabeth sighed, and clutched her whip tightly, she glanced behind her and smiled lightly at Flint. "What happened to you?" She asked thoughtfully, facing forward to watch the rest of the group but still keeping an ear out in case he answered.

Flint smiled at Coraline's last comment, "Don't worry, Ill protect you all." He said with a bit of bravado and soothing words, clearly joking in his charming way. He knew they could all take care of themselves.

When Elizabeth asked what happened to him he cleared his throat. "Well..." Flint answered softly so only she could hear. "I went looking for a yew branch I could use for a new bow.... this one is fine and all but I need something that can handle my strength." He then paused for a moment. Moving slightly closer to her as he turned sideways, watching where they came from incase. He then whispered into her ear, his words as smooth as honey. "I've also thought about us... I....I can't let us end like that. So when I heard you went on this hunt, I followed after to find you, I told you people can change. And Here I am."

As they walked deeper into the tunnel, A large snake slowly lowered itself from the roof just above Coraline. In an instant, his bow was nocked, drawn back and fired, Sending the snake flying as the arrow pierced the head and stuck it to the stone wall ahead of them. With a door just below it. That was wooden and had metal renforcements on it.

Elizabeth had been waiting for Flint's response, but when she got it she was far from ready. He had stepped in closer to her, and began whispering sweetly in her ear. His breath tickled her ear, but his words made a pleasurable chill run all the way down her spine and back up again. Elizabeth giggled giddily, and was about to respond when a large snake hung down in the path in front of them. She had just started unfolding her whip when Flint's arrow took it out, and she smiled, turning back to him. "Good shot, Flint." She said, gesturing towards his handiwork.

When they started to walk again, Elizabeth glanced back to Flint and pressed her lips together. She made sure to lace her voice with sweetness, and whispered so only he could hear. "Flint, thank you for coming all the way out here to see me, that's very...charming of you." She considered her next words very carefully, afraid of putting off the wrong vibes and shutting him down. "As for you changing, why would someone like you have to change? You're only a few steps off from perfect."

Coraline blinked. She didn't even register the snake by the time it was pinned to the wall down the hallway. She looked back at Flint, "Nice shot." she chuckled, "Keep that up and we'll have these tunnels cleared in no time."

Snake...that was another thing that Emiliah was ready to just lay down and die for. Every step she took was even harder than the last. Perhaps it was because adrenaline had been the only thing keeping her going before, and now that she was feeling a little safer with Liz and Flint about, her body felt that she didn't need it anymore.

Flint had only nodded to them as they praised his shot, it was only ten feet away... wait till they see his longer shots. Liz's next words were confusing, telling him not to change, but he wasn't perfect as he was. He raised an eyebrow as they continued to walk, Whispering again. "Liz...I'm telling you I love you." He then switched gears and then said, "I need you to watch Emiliah. She cant be trusted with a witch around...She almost killed my brother when she found out what we are. I don't trust her enough to not stab Coraline in the back...she is not in the best of mind sets right now. Can I trust you with that?"

Elizabeth tensed as he told her that he loved her, but her muddled thoughts were quickly bombarded as he told her about Emiliah. Her head snapped up, and she smiled happily at her...friend? She had no clue what they were, but she considered Emiliah to be a friendly mentor. When he tasked her with keeping Emiliah in place, she was quite surprised. "You want the drunk to keep her in place? Well, if you think I'm the best for the job, then of course I will." Her thoughts wandered back to him saying he loved her. Her heart danced merrily in her chest, and the warmth she had felt before returned. "You understand what you said, right Flint?"

Flint quickly added as he moved very close to her. "You are not drunk now..." He stated a matter of factly. Then moving forward he added with a smile. "I know what I said. I was trying to say it back before after I punched out Emiliano. And I'm saying it again. Excuse me." He said as he moved forward to Coraline, needing to speak to her as they came to the door, which seemed stuck.

Elizabeth had to keep herself from dancing like a happy fool when Flint came up behind her so close she could feel his chest against her back as he breathed. He told her how he had wanted to tell her he loved her in the woods, and then he left. He simply said it, and left. She frowned and reached out to grasp his arm, but he was already gone. With a grumble, she moved forwards and went to stand beside Flint. "You can't just tell a girl that and then leave. It's not funny, especially if you are doing it on purpose." She faced forward, looking curiously at the door.

Emiliah, suddenly stopped, turning quickly around to face Flint, as though she just remembered something terribly important. "Flint," she said, inrupting Liz without much care. "It...It is a demon lord. Some horrible, twisted, messed up demon lord. And...and it is playing with us," She said, Emiliah wasn't sure why she didn't open with that. "But, you have to kill it Flint. Any moment he could decided that he wants us to be somewhere else...anywhere else. But you have to find it...and kill it," She paused for a second. "You....do know how to do that....right? That isn't JUST a Fenros thing, is it?"

Flint stopped suddenly at Emiliah turning to him, she then started to explain that it was a Demon lord. He was surprised, as his eyes widened. He blinked a few times and nodded, "Yeah, I think I can, I mean, I never really fought one before, But I think i can do it." He said as he looked back to Liz, who seemed down. He gave a slight frown as if to say sorry. "Are you sure it's a demon Lord?"

"Very sure," said Emiliah. "It was just like the night when we fought the demon, do you remember how it just had a ...dark energy around it. Well, tonight I felt the same thing," she said, rubbing her head with her free had, using her spear to keep her upright more and more.

Elizabeth was deep in thought the entire time Flint and Emiliah bantered. She wanted to cut in and add things, but every time she tried she just shut her mouth again and listened. It was a Demon Lord, Flint could take care of it...maybe. The demon lord was playing games with them, Emiliah knew because she had experienced it? That was unclear, but she figured that was the case. A thought popped into her head, she thought about how she would phrase a question around it but keep it vague. "Demon Lords? You two obviously know more about them then me, so I have a question. Can they inhabit animals?" She asked, looking down and fidgeting with her fingertips.

Elizabeth's thoughts started to connect more and more, and she tuned them out as she tried to make things clear. Demon, playing games. Mat, stabbing a little girl. she bit her lip, was that just another game? Why would two little girls be in the middle of a mostly empty room, if it wasn't a part of a demon's game? She pushed that thought aside for now, figuring she had solved it. Andri, touching me...talking worms in Andri's ear. No no no...oh Andri. Elizabeth's lip quivered, was the demon inside of Andri? How would they remove it? She felt guilty about leaving Andri now, all alone. She knew that she couldn't control it, but she felt like she should have done something. "Mat, Andri. Gah!" Elizabeth yelped, clutching her head and shaking it.

Coraline had kept to herself while they all spoke to one another. She didn't know them as well and had no connection aside from riding with Flint to this cursed place. Once they reached the door, Coraline looked back to the rest of the hunters, "If we are dealing with a demon lord, perhaps it'd be best if I were to deal the killing blow." she paused and looked to the two women, "Your assumptions about me are right. I have witchblood in my veins. And I was taught a fair deal by my mother. I can perform the ritual to banish the lord."

Coraline slid her longsword into the scabbard at her waist and drew the other one that was secured to her back. This sword was far more ornate than the one she seemingly favored to use. There were etchings at the base of the blade that read 'Arcadia'. The grip was silver, and the heavy pommel was stylized with a prominent sapphire gemstone. "This was my father's sword. He gave it to me as a reward for my knighting. Hunters from Arcadia hire witches to enchant their blades so they can banish unholy creatures." Her eyes looked past them to the distant pile of bones that were once part of the bone taker.

"It wont defeat the demon lord," she paused, "But it will certainly make it easier."

Flint looked at Emiliah as she explained how she knew by the feeling of the Demon lord she fought. He nodded, "I remember the feeling." He said as he looked to Elizabeth. who asked about Demon's inhabiting animals.

He shook his head, "Some can take shape of animals, such as the Demon Lord werewolf Varoth, but Demon lords would find it below them to possess animals of any kind. They only possess Humans." She then looked as if she was having an internal battle of her own.

He looked to Coraline as she added that she should take the killing blow . Flint raised an eyebrow at her mentioning she could banish a Demon Lord through her mothers bloodline of witches. He felt uneasy about that, For one he only knew of banishing Demon lords through the priesthood. "I can do it." he said simply. "Honestly i would rather we use the priesthood over some witches ritual, less dangerous that way."

Coraline raised a brow and turned to face him. "You still don't trust me, do you?"

She sighed and shook her head, "Do what you will. Banishings are always dangerous. And since none of you know me and seemingly can't get over my heritage, then you lose nothing if it all goes wrong."

Flint took this opportunity to walk directly towards Coraline and placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her about and walking closer to the door so they could speak privately. "Coraline...I trust you, I was saying I don't trust the ritual, there is often a sacrifice that is always a big price to pay." He smiled at her with his most charming smile. "I would rather not lose you to something that can be easily avoided."

Coraline was silent for a moment and eventually shook her head again, "All I'll need is some time, protection, and some of my own blood." Coraline thought on it, "But if you feel so strongly against it, you are welcome to assist me with your own rituals."

Flint glance back at Elizabeth as she seemed to still be freaking out mentally. "All I need to do is chant an excorsism. Holy Oil and silver does the trick as well. " He then drew close to Coraline and whispered. "It took me a moment... but I figured out where the Demon Lord is now. He is with us right now." He looked Coraline in the eyes.

"Just look at Elizabeth...she is having an issue with her head. And when I spoke with her, she didn't know of some things that happened only today...And I mean some major things. that happened between us today "

The knight glanced over to Elizabeth and then back to Flint. "I wont strike unless I know for certain. Test her. Give her your silver." Coraline took a breath, "But don't expect me to attack somebody based off of words alone."

Emiliah watched as Flint lead Coraline away for a moment. Probably to talk to her about not doing something stupid. But there was something else that was bothering her. "....Liz....maybe I am just tired, but....Flint...wasn't there when we fought the Demon wolf," She shook her head. "It just seems odd that he'd agree with me...I misspoke," She shook her head. "So...how do you feel about Coraline? I know Flint doesn't trust her, but for him to let her hang around so long is kinda of odd, know what I mean?"

Elizabeth shook, she had to keep her thoughts in her head, she had to know what had happened. She nodded at what Emiliah said, but kept her head in her hand. "I'm sorry Emiliah, I can't right now. I know things. I think I know, but I can't tell you because...I just can't!" Elizabeth sniffled, pulling the tears she felt back into her eyes.

Flint pulled back and nodded, "Of course... I have to be extra sure myself...but I was letting you know I have a gut feeling about it." He reached into his coin pouch and pulled out a silver coin, he then tested it on his exposed skin on his arm, to make sure it was pure. Sure enough his skin started to burn at the touch of it. He didn't even flinch as he moved away and casually back to the other two.

Coraline stayed put. Whoever this demon lord was, she didn't want to be near it when it revealed itself. She kept Arcadia in her hand and gripped it tightly. Her eyes scanned across the party, "Elizabeth, Flint wants you to carry his silver for him in case things go wrong." she looked to Flint and watched him as he stepped forward.

Flint looked back to Coraline with a very confused look. Almost trying to say, 'why the hell would you say that?' One sure way for Liz, who could be the demonlord, would obviously know what is up. He looked to Emiliah and simply said "In case I lose it in the cave."

Emiliah didn't even wait for Liz to answer before turning her spear on Coraline and attacking. She went straight for the gut, only vear slighty left at the last second, hoping to take out a kindey if nothing else.

Coraline didn't have enough time to defend herself from Emiliah's sudden strike. The spear drove into her plate armor and past the chainmail tunic underneath. The speartip managed to pierce into her flesh but the layers of steel had softened the attack. It was a flesh wound for sure, but not one that would take Coraline out of the job. Coraline dropped to one knee, the spear still embedded in her armor.

She sucked in a breath and let it out as she spoke, "And here I hoped the hunters of Seren's Folly would be different." Coraline gritted her teeth and grabbed the shaft of the spear.

"People claim that witches are evil and that hunters are good. But this display only goes to show they're simply two sides of the same coin."

Using Arcadia as a cane to get her on her feet, she pulled the spear from her armor. The tip of the weapon was bloodied, as was the armor around the wound. "For shame, huntress." Coraline took Arcadia into both hands, "I will defend myself. Strike again if you dare."

Everything had happened, all of it going by so fast. They had asked her to carry silver, she hadn't responded because her head was still in her hands. Suddenly, Emiliah had launched onto Coraline and attacked her. Elizabeth's eyes widened, she was the one that was supposed to take care of her, and keep Coraline safe.

Elizabeth watched as Coraline pulled a spear out of her armor, blood covering the wound. Elizabeth thought about what Coraline had done for her, how she had been nothing but good to the party since Elizabeth first layed eyes on her. She thought of Flint's heritage, how Emiliah said she had understood. It made her feel angry, so with a grunt, she pivoted and took up a place besides Coraline, her stance defensive. "I'm with Coraline, you can't do this to yourself. The things I've seen today, the things you two have seen, and yet we're still attacking each other? You two can continue you're fighting, but I stand with her. Witch or no, she isn't the one we're fighting." Elizabeth held the dart of her whip, aiming it for Emiliah. She was ready to launch the dart towards Emiliah's head, and if it struck true it could cause anything from a massive headache...to, well she didn't want to think of it. She leaned carefully to Coraline, and whispered in her ear. "I don't know the whole truth, but I believe I know something. I'll tell you, if you make it out of this alive. They're both experienced, if Flint joins the attack, we may lose."

"Liz," said Emiliah, closer to a bark. "Get away from her now. I don't have time to deal with...whatever you are on...trying to defend a witch and all. But Flint mistrusted her from the start, I assumed he told you. Now...come back over here. Don't be swept up by her charm speak," Emiliah lowered her stance, ready to spring again at a moments notice.

Coraline gave an appreciative nod to Elizabeth as she sided with her. Her wound stung fiercely but it didn't distract her from the situation at hand. She eyed the tip of the spear carefully and spoke, "There is no charm in what I do, only virtue. Elizabeth was smart enough to see it." Coraline clenched her teeth as her wound stung again, she wished there was still some of the healing potion left.

"Flint tells me he trusts me. So if he is telling you otherwise, then we are clearly being used." her eyes turn to the Digard, "You want us to tear each other part, is that it?"

While the girls started fighting and getting confused. Flint only smiled and took a few steps back, nocking his arrow. He smiled even more as Coraline finally figured it out. "Actually-"

A sudden whistle of an arrow could be heard and Flint was cut short as a bloody tipped arrow slammed through his temple, causing him to crumple to the ground, the wound hissing as the silver burned his flesh.

When the girls would look farther back, at the end of the tunnel about 70 yards where they had all met, they could see A dark figure standing there as he lowered his bow, a wolf standing next to him. After a moment he started to jog closer to them and as he drew near, it was clear that it was Flint and Mishka running to them. Once close enough he asked, "Are you all alright?" he looked down at his fake self which had not moved since beeing shot in the head.

Elizabeth's heart pounded as the fake Flint crumpled, and the real Flint-at least she hoped it was the real one-jogged towards them. He asked them if they were all right, and Elizabeth smiled with a rush of relief. The corners of her lips turned downwards however, when she realized everything the fake Flint had said was...well, fake. She debated over whether it was a good thing, or a bad thing, and decided she would figure it out later next to a bottle of rum.

Elizabeth nodded to Flint, smiling down at Mishka. "Yeah, I think we're all fine. I'm glad you decided to show up." She laughed, and turned towards Coraline. "Seeing as we survived, I'll tell you what I know. Not everything, because some parts aren't mine to tell." She thought momentarily of Andri, and Mat, and what they were all up to. "I trust you."


"Well, I don't," said Emiliah, although she kept her spear on the dead Flint body, as if expecting it to come back to life at any moment. "I can't believe I let that thing...touch me. No amount of baths will ever get that off," She then turned around to Flint, looking him up and down. "And....how do we know that you aren't a fake too?" She said, itching a spot on her arm.

Suddenly the deadflint twiched and lept to his feet, yanking Emiliah back into his arms, holding her tight. "Well, isn't this something," said Deadflint. "You hear of people wearing the same thing to a party, but this is a bit over-kill, don't you think?" He said to Flint, moitioning to himself and back to LiveFlint. He yanked Emiliah closer, taking her struggling blows the way a giant took an ant's. He failed to notice. Instead, he put his head closer to her and made a show of smelling her hair. "Sooo sweet, and just a hint of spice. Such a shame how she ends, don't you think Flint? I know you know. Perhaps I should sample her now before her sand runs out,"

Coraline had a feeling something was off when Flint's wolf wasn't around. She knelt down on one knee again and took a moment to collect herself. She was looking at the floor until she heard Flint's copy speak. Looking up, Coraline saw that the doppelganger had taken Emiliah. She pushed herself to her feet and advanced on the fake. If her plate and chainmail didn't announce her advance, then she'd get close enough to try and kick the doppelganger's head and release Emiliah.

Instead of moving to protect himself from Coralines kick, the moment she made contant, Emiliah and Dead!Flint simply dissolved into smoke, appearing behind them. "Well, dear, that was quite rude of you," he said. "Do it again and I'll send you away. Can't you see that the men are talking?" He shook his head, arrow and all, before turning back to Flint. "Did that old witch give you a time or just the way?"

Flint had taken a step back when he mentioned how Emiliah would end. He didn't say exactly, but that old witch back in the cave a few days ago popped into his memories. He reached into his back pouch, hidden under his cloak, and gripped a vial of holy oil. He didn't know what to say at first, but then Coraline tried to kick him in the head, as he vanished and reappeared, Well it definatly wasn't a shape shifter....it was a demon.

He then said, trying to sound confident, as those 'prophicy's' that the witch had told him about his and Emiliah's death. Came back in full force. desptie him not believing it, there was still that nagging sensation of doubt. He began to speak in Hebrew. "בשם אב אני קורא לו עם הבן שלו ישו להשתמש הכהונה הקדושה אשר ניתנה לי. כדי לגרש להביס את כוחות הרשע.-" As he spoke, he shifted to the torch next to him, waiting for the exact moment for Emiliah to break free so he could throw the oil over the demon and light the fucker.

Deadflint eyed Liveflint with an amused look in his eyes. "Well, it looks like he doesn't want to share. And here I was going to offer him a way to change your fate, well. Perhaps a parting gift will do," he said, mocking them both before turning Emiliah around. He gave the girl one final look before kissing her. The kiss seemed normal at first, Emiliah was so shocked by it that she just...hung there for a second. Then the smoke came. Think and black, more like tar than anything. It came spilling from Deadflints nose and mouth and into Emiliah's. It was then that she started fighting him, pounding on his chest, but it wasn't until he decided to let her go that she was able to escape. Coughing and gasping for breath. "You should think about it Flint. Also, I'm ready now, hit me with your best shot,"

Coraline pressed her free hand against the breach in her armor and felt the slippery blood around the edges. She thought on it for a moment before deciding that it was an appropriate time. It was the fake Flint that feared for Coraline's rituals. While the fake was focused on Flint and Emiliah, Coraline wiped the blood on her hand across the edge of Arcadia and then along the bloodied breach.

She took a deep breath and mumbled something that could only be heard if one was standing right next to her. As long as the demon was focused on Flint, she would have the time needed to complete the witchcraft and imbue her blade. If she were a real witch, this process would be nearly instant, but she wasn't. And she was extremely vulnerable during the channeling as her blood ran darker and darker.

Every so often, the engravings on the sword's blade would glow low with a red hue. Soon after that, the blade in its entirety. Even further after the blade, her eyes would begin to glow red. It was all a very quiet affair, anybody looking her way would see her performing a ritual of the Arcadian Witch Coven.

Flint narrowed his eyes at the demon as he let Emiliah go, as he challenged him to hit him with his best shot. Throwing the oil vial, directly at fakeflint's upper chest, the small glass broke over him. With out missing a second Flint grabbed a torch on the wall and threw it as well onto Fake Flint. Trying to say the words again as he said before. He did notice coraline doing something, though he didn't like the idea of a witches ritual, he was up for anything at the moment if this didnt work.

Elizabeth growled under her breath as she saw Emiliah getting manhandled by the demon Flint. It felt good seeing a vial of holy oil tossed at the demon. She was tensed, but if she rushed for him he would simply vanish, or send her off to a different room. She glanced to Coraline, who had rushed the demon, and held her breath when she noticed the half witch performing a spell.

Elizabeth gulped, but she had to trust Coraline, so fighting the nerves in her stomach she stepped in front of Coraline. Her hope was that she blocked the demons view, all the while keeping the attention off of them and on Flint.

Emilah couldn't breath. The black smoke turned into gunk in her mouth. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't get it out of her mouth. In desperation, she finally tried to swollow it. That...worked. The gunk burned for a moment, then...nothing. She felt...fine. It was only after that was she able to sit up and see the fight starting to unfold in front of her. Coraline seemed to be enchanting her weapon and Flint was attacking the creature with holy oil and chants. Whatever Flint was doing, it seemed to be working, DeadFlint had erupted in flames. His skin was boiling and bubbling and black smoke was pouring from his eyes, nose, mouth and lips and he seemed to be silently screaming. For a moment, Emiliah allowed herself to feel like Flint had done it .He had killed it, just like Fenros would have.

Emiliah glanced over at Liz, who was doing...something. Protecting Coraline it looked like. Suddenly Deadflint was behind Liz, wrapping his arms around her. "No..." She whispered. "No...No, Flint...Flint you....he shouldn't be here, that should have worked," There...wasn't much more Emiliah could do, but watch in horror.

"Hello there, pretty little one. Let me guess, you're the groups mascot. Clearly you aren't here to fight. Perhaps they bring you along to simply calm the rage of battle that a successful hunt poisons the blood with. Tell me, how many of them do you take a night. Four, five? It is just the men, or is it the women too?" Deadflint then turned Liz around in his arms and...much like Emiliah, planted a hard kiss on her lips, spreading the same dark smoke into the girls mouth.

Elizabeth was swept into the arms of deadFlint, and there she was ridiculed. His words made her blood boil, but she couldn't deny the small truths behind them. She was useless in here, she had done nothing but sat around and moped. Accepting those facts hardly made anything better for her, but it made her struggle harder against him as he kissed her. It was no use of course, because as soon as he kissed her she got the same treatment as Emiliah. She gagged on the smoke that filled her mouth, coughing loudly to try to rid it from her mouth. She clung to deadFlint desperately, trying to keep him there, at least until Coraline was finished with her spell. Her throat burned, and her eyes turned red and watery. She knew he could poof away, but she hoped he wouldn't

Suddenly, as though he knew they were planning...something. deadFlint vanished, then sent them tumbling through the floor and into the throne room below.

_{in collaboration with @SillyGoy and @agentmanatee}

---

Genoveve's eyelids slowly began lilting open sleepily from her time spent unconcious after Reyna's poltergeist assaulted her through her callers link. She felt flaring pain in her chest, she guessed a rib or two may be fractured or cracked, and her left shin was extremely sore and felt cracked. Slowly she regained true conciousness, and surveyed her surroundings... and was horrified at what she saw. It was as if a scene had been wrenched from her nightmares.

First of all was Mistress Lorelai, leaned against a tree and unmoving, soaked in gore and viscera. Not far from her lay Vespa's body... completely still and unmoving. And, just next to her, was Elina, who's leg was gone as blood poured from her gruesome wound. Genoveve quickly crawled to Elina, removing a vial filled with a thick black liquid. Saying nothing she tilted the ripped wound up into the air, pouring the viscous liquid all over the terrible wound. It would burn quite terribly as bad as the wound was, but would cause it to quickly form sabs and scar tissue. After this Genoveve dropped the vial and stood to her feet, grimacing at the pain in her left shin before quickly limping to Vespa, who was the closest. She dropped to her knees, gasping in painn before flipping Vespa over.

Her chin, mouth and nose were stained with thick blood, her eyes empty and vacant... Genoveve frantically felt for her pulse. Nothing... Vespa Ruvina was dead... truly dead and Genoveve moreosely looked at her corpse and then to Lorelai... this would crush her mistress. She layed Vespa back down, placing her hands over her chest, and closing her dead eyes and mouth, then pushed herself up with another grimace.

She hopped her way to Lorelai, and again fell with a wincing pain to her knees before her mistress... terrified the two had met the same fate. She felt for, and found her Mistresses still had one and sighed with releif. She removed a small vial, filled with a bright yellow liquid which she shook causing it to glow. She poured it down Lorelais throat and massaged it to swallow, the bright liquid meant to wake her up. She spoke softly to her mistress,"Lorelai? Lorelai? Wake up Lorelai, the land of the dead shall have to claim you yeet."

The first thing that greeted Lorelai in waking was pain, a small comfort, at least it confirmed her suspicions that she'd survived. The second was the stench of rotted flesh, as she still layed in the courtyard surrounded by the wreckage of the undead the Ruvina whore had set on them. The third was Genoveve's faced, framed by her red hair.

"Genoveve..." Lorelai smiled weakly as she pulled herself unto a sitting position. "I'm glad to see you made it, are you alright?"

Genoveve smiled, intentionally placing herself between Lorelai and Vespa's corpse, she would know in due time,"Mistress I am fine, may have a couple broken ribs and a cracked shin but... largely Reyna was unable to summon the force she needed to hurt me seriously... what are you injuries mistress? Elina has been attended to."

"I should be fine, mostly spiritual damage I believe. My shoulder's got a cut I think." Lorelai laughed weakly. "Elina's fine? Good good. Vespa will be pleased." She began looking around from her perch for her sweet.

Genoveve smiled meekly at Lorelai, "It is good to hear my mistress is... uninjured...", she gulped loudly as Lorelai mentioned Vespa. She inhaled deeply, before looking Lorelai in the eyes,"Mistress... I-...", she began to tear up slightly from thinking about what she was about to do,"V-vespa is... she has succumbed to her wounds... I believe she expired from internal bleeding and possibly punctured lungs... I do not know for how long she has been dead but...", Genoveve embraced Lorelai as she spoke, trying to comfort her,"Her soul is beyond my reach..."

"D-dead...?" Lorelai didn't notice Genoveve's embrace, or even her own tears pouring down her cheeks. She'd lost her entire faimily when she was but a girl. She'd traveled the world both above and below, slayed dragons, tamed demons, and slew hunters. All the while with a hollow hole in her heart, a hole that Vespa filled. Her love had made her whole in a way that Lorelai never imagined possible, and now... she was gone. Leaving her alone in the dark again. "Why...?" Lorelai sobbed into Genoveve's shoulder.

"I'm alone again... please, no..." Lorelai continued to wail feebly. She trembled in Genoveve's arms. "I... I can't..."

Genoveve pressed Lorelai closer to her, holding her tightly,"No Mistress, your not alone! Please Mistress I am here... I will always be here with you.", she stroked the others hair slowly, and began to sing. It was a very old tune, and Genoveve had once sung the soothing lullaby often, and it seemed to have that peculiar magic music seemed to have, it was calming. The singing was smoothe and quiet, but sunng directly into Lorelais ear as she stroked her hair lovingly.

Lorelai calmed slightly. "She... was everything to me Gen. How will anything ever be the same?" She pressed her forehead to the younger witch's shoulder. "How will I continue? Who will I fight for now?"

Lorelai was beside herself as she layed her head on Genoveve's shoulder. Genoveve pulled her off her shoulder, looking into her eyes, her own filled with tears as well,"Mistre- Lorelai! Continue for us and her! She would not want you to stop! Fight for the coven, for your sisters... Medu-"

"Medusa..." Lorelai snarled as her eyes regained a grim focus. "She sent us here... AND SHE KNEW!!!" Lorelai screamed.

"She knew that Reyna would not accept us gracefully, but she sent us anyway. Didn't let me finish my research, easier instead to send us to our deaths isn't it!?" Lorelai's eyes met Genoveve's, her eyes smoldered with malevolence. The corners of her mouth curled into a grim smirk. "I do suppose I have at least one thing left to do... Hector took my family from me and paid in blood. What do you think I'll take from Medusa for this?"

Genoveve looked into Lorelai's eyes, and saw the coals of vengeance re-igniting,"Lorelai, I-", and then Yeris cut in,"Stoke her fires Genoveve. This is the ultimate opportunity. She is blinded to see my interference in this, now you can rid us of Medusa and gain a far more powerful companion heh heh", Genoveve could not fight Yeris... and gave in. She sobbed more, and put her head ot Lorelais shoulder for a few moments as she spoke,"She-She-caused everything Lorelai! Your riht I-I-I... don't know what... we could take... *sniff* I want to h-help Lorelai... please!", she sobbed and pulled back, looking into Lorelais smoldering eyes of hate, Yeris making her own appear to mirror Lorelai's, along with an extra twinge of sadness and love... Yeris had never been more delighted.

Lorelai grinned oblivious, in this moment at least, to Yeris interference. "Good, there will be much work to do." One of her hands came up to cup the girl's cheek. "But mostly I want you to keep your head down, can't have you dying on me too can I?"

Genoveve, Yeris helping her form the the correct looks and expressions, smiled as she cried looking into Lorelai's eyes,"I-I will Mistress, I will do whatever you say, I won't let you lose me Lorelai.", she seemed to smile happily as Lorelai cupped her cheek with her hand,"I will... remain by your side, forever and always mistress.", she said looking deep into Lorelais eyes, Yeris adding an extra twinge of desire to her lavender blue eyes.

Lorelai became suddenly aware of Genoveve's lust, and pulled away gently. "For now, let's see to... my love's..." She trailed off. Groaning she tried - and failed - to pull herself to her feet. "It seems you'll have to find the others, or at least keep me company whilst we wait."

Yeris was just happy it was clear the in-road had been made. She saw fit to let Genoveve handle the rest. Genoveve nodded at Lorelai and spoke,"I will stay with you mistress, and help you... deal with all of this...", she sat down next to Lorelai smiling,"I will always be happy to be by your side Mistress... now and forever...", and so she waited by her mistress Lorelai, knowing now that she was the one to stoke the fires of her vengeance.

As for the recently-woken Elina, who hadn't even screamed at the searing pain from Genoveve's unguent, she continued to lay there on her side almost completely numb. She heard the conversation nearby, but pretended not to listen. Instead, she weakly rolled over on her back, awkwardly from the lack of her leg and the wound's dull pain - although she knew none of that yet. Her normally fine tresses were chaotic and caked in blood, sweat and dirt as she craned her shivering neck around. And over there was her sister, Vespa, in the distance. She too was prone, but in a stranger manner, with her hands over her chest and her eyes deeply closed. She looked stiff.

Her lips were dry and cracked. "S-Sister?" she weakly called out.

The two women nearby continued to whisper things to each other. Elina did not know exactly what, but Genoveve's tone of obviously restrained passion and Lorelai's apparent nonchalance of it served to fuel her rare ire. What were they discussing? She could not remember what exactly had happened, but it seemed that everyone was hurt, and Vespa especially so. Why talk, when you could act? Perhaps it would be up to her to heal her sister. Although, she didn't exactly find pleasure in the prospect of kissing another woman for a third time.

So she tried to stand up, and failed miserably. All she managed to do was prop herself on her two dirty hands before immediately dropping on her hip. Elina gasped, and felt a small pain at her waist and a larger one in the core of her left thigh. She was confused, and again rolled herself onto her back, before sitting up. Her eyes traveled down to examine her lower half, and found that her dress had been torn to literal pieces, and that she, indeed, was lacking most of a limb. It was not a clean wound, and the cut was grossly uneven and jagged. Coalugated blood covered most of the stump, but she could see the stark white of bone jutting out from the center. She saw all of this, and her pupils dilated.

Elina did not scream. Instead, she fell back down from a sudden, pounding headache. She slammed her eyes shut. It was too insane to be real. She shook her head. These things only happened to heroes and villains in scriptures and in stories - but never to someone as meek as her, she reasoned. No, she told herself, it simply could not be real.

Genoveve saw Elina, as she sat there next to Lorelai, and she could not simply sit and watch any longer. She told Lorelai what she was doing and again painfully pushed herself to her feet, grimacing on her injured leg and she hobbled towards the mutilated girl. That was when she saw Elina realize she was missing a leg. She shook her head, and appeared to be in complete disbelief.

She eventually reached Elina and with a sharp pain she dropped just behind her, putting her hands on the girl's shoulders and speaking softly to her, "Elina? Elina can you hear me? Its Genoveve, please say you can hear me." She rubbed her shoulders gently in an attempt to calm her down. "You're alright Elina, I have stopped the bleeding in your leg... what do you remember?" She needed to know if Elina had truly severely injured her mind as well.

Elina opened her eyes - yet the red of her irises were literally aglow. "Fool," she spat out. "S-see to my sister. I - am fine!"

Again it was Genoveve who would be forced to break the heart of one of her sisters... she hated this, but lying would serve no one any good. "Elina Vespa... Vespa is gone Elina, your mothers servant killed her... I'm... there was nothing I could do when I regained consciousness her soul was-was already beyond my reach.", she felt worthless again, knowing there was nothing she could have done to save Vespa, the last blood family Elina had.

"What?" Elina scowled - another rarity - and did completely away with noble decorum. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Genoveve gulped before she continued, "Vespa is dead Elina. I think her lungs were -"

"Shut up! Shut up! I don't want to hear about it. You think - what the hell do you think? You know - you know nothing, you God-forsaken-" Elina's voice choked. Between the pain, the dirt, the chill of the night and her sister's stubbornly unmoving form, it was all too much for the sheltered witch. She trembled, utterly confused, and looked towards Vespa. Her shaken mind frantically searched for thoughts and immeidately grasped for the most comforting ones.

"She is just sleeping," Elina said. "You will see. She is too strong. The knight is gone, isn't he? We defeated him, and we're hurt, but we're fine."

"But if Vespa," she coughed, "but if Vespa is asleep, then she must be really hurt. You make potions, right? Go and give her something."

She was in denial, a stage of grief Genoveve knew. She had to be broken from it lest she do something foolish, she hardened her voice only slightly in an attempt to make Elina understand "No Elina, Vespa is not asleep. She id dead Elina. The knight killed her I'm... I didn't see it-"

"Will you shut up, already?!" Elina yelled. Her voice was fierce. Her hands were balled into fists as she lay there, sitting up but lacking a limb. "Give her one of your potions, now!"

"I did Elina! It didn't help! It can't help she's... I can't... I don't have anything that can help her now I-I just-", she interrupted herself as she began to cry again, clamping a hhand over her mouth. She lifted it off and continued, "W-We have to leave soon Elina. The other Witches will come to get us and Vespa and..."

A thunderclap cut off Genoveve then and there. Elina had brought her fist down with magic flooding her veins there. Dust rose and settled around the rim of the small crater she had made. "Shut up," she said again. "You're making my head hurt even more. Just shut up. Just... why...? Whu... what happened to my..."

Genoveve remained silent then. There was nothing else she could say to Elina. She would have to come to terms with Vespa's death on her own, but Genoveve could try to help. For now though, it seemed silence was the most appropriate response.

"Elina...dear." Lorelai's voice was small. "Vespa... She didn't make it. She has fallen." Tears poured down her cheeks once again. "I'm so sorry, but she's dead Elina... there's nothing anyone can do now."

Elina turned to the demon binder. "How- how the hell do you know she's dead? Go to her," she said, in a commanding tone much detached from her usual self. She shook her head. "You accept these things so quickly... it really, really disgusts me..."

Lorelai's eyes narrowed as she forced herself to her feet. Moving over to Vespa a quick check of her lover's pulse confirmed what Genoveve had claimed. "There, no pulse. My sweetheart's life had fled. Are you satisfied Mi'lady?" Her voice dripped venom. "Perhaps you'd like to check yourself?"

She wanted to, oh how badly she wanted to - but one look to the front and it was clear she wouldn't be able to. Elina looked towards Lorelai, who'd always been arrogant, and then to Genoveve, who'd always been so clueless - and then to her sister's prone form. Then, she cast her eyes down.

Her voice was low, almost a whisper. "This life... these people... I hate it."

Shuffling over Lorelai took a seat near the silver-haired Ruvina, the last of her dynasty. Staying angry at Elina had been difficult under normal circumstances, but now? Lorelai was not so lost as to be unaware of the magnitude of the girl's loss. When she spoke again her voice was gentle. "I'm not that fond of them either, but what choice do we have?"

There was a pause. Elina appeared to be deep in thought, and her red eyes swiveled slowly to look into Lorelai's. "I can... think of a few," she said, before turning away and towards her sister. "Is she... is she really dead?"

Lorelai nodded slowly. "...Yes, and my heart with her I'm afraid..."

The realization of grim truth came belatedly, but it came nonetheless. Her denial was surpassed only slightly, before reality came like a deluge from a broken dam. Elina had been weeping for too much in the last few hours, and so she sobbed anew without tears. "W-What? Why? H-How did this even happen?"

Elina, amid her wailing, found enough clarity to say to Lorelai. "No, she can't be dead! I don't believe it. Help me to her."

The demon-binder promptly did so, carrying Elina as she found her legs to be too numb. Lorelai was laying her gently down beside her sister and when those pretty red irises examined Vespa's mutilated form, Elina immediately recoiled and looked away. Lorelai stood straight up, and the silver-haired witch sobbed heavily into her shoulder.

"It's just us now Elina...I'm sorry, but we'll have to be stronger now." Lorelai's tears fought to join Elina's, but she'd had enough of crying. Now Elina needed her, and soon vengeance would require strength she couldn't lose here. "I... I wish it had been me, but I wasn't so lucky."

_{in collaboration with @Meiyuki}



Sousiel made her way over to the treeline that Al was squatted in, preparing his approach. "Heya lazy fuck!" She called out. "Mistress has some stuff for ya." Sousiel laid a long birch wood box on the ground in front of the witch.

"And thus my Mistress entrusts you with her two most prized possessions." Sousiel said proudly, opening the box to reveal Hector Digard's Holy Blade. "This should cut through undead and witches like butter."

Alphonse raised one eyebrow as he considered the sword presented to him. It was exquisite, but there was something about that beautiful silver blade that made him uneasy. He grasped the pommel, and was immediately struck with a sense of blood lust, hatred, and self loathing. He shook himself.

Alphonse whistled. "That's one hell of a profaned relic you've got there." He sheathed the blade again, donning it on his hip, his head swam a bit from the rush of emotion and strength he had suddenly been exposed to.

"And the second of course is me!" Sousiel patted her chest with pride. "I'll be along for the ride this time 'round. Incase you get in over your head."

Al smiled at her. "I'll be glad to have you, you do know how to fight as a cat, as well as a fire demon god wolf, right?"

"Sure thing!" Sousiel's face grew wistful. "Although I will miss being a giant-wolf-monster-murder thingy. The power..."

She shook her head and replaced her grin. "Oh well. What's the plan Al?"

"I'm going to spread out my senses around the walls, if there's any hidden tunnels going through or under them, I'll know. You're gonna sit tight inside of Steve while I check things out. There's a good chance I'll need you down there. You ready?"

Sousiel arched an eyebrow. "You think? Here I was hoping for an empty castle with relics still ripe for the picking. No such luck huh?"

"Not likely." With that, he gestured at Sousiel, enveloping her in the black void of Steve. Alphonse merged with the shadows himself, spanning out his awareness. He swept over miles with incredible speed, he understood the topography of the region, the rivers flowing near the castle wall, the outer construction of the castle itself. What he was truly interested in was, the void below. Specifically the intricate void of earth created by the vast and labyrinthine tunnel system the Ruvinas had evidently constructed beneath the castle. Just as he suspected, one of the tunnels lead out beyond the castle walls, ending in the riverbed of a small creek some miles beyond the castle's perimeter. What he did not expect was the squad of unbreathing forms waiting just inside the entrance under eternal vigil. If this was an escape route, what were they doing at the end? With their attention focussed back towards the castle?

The undead stood at attention, facing into the tunnel, their taut mummified skin held taut over their bones, they bore round shields, and short blades, perfect for holding a position against massive numbers. "Get ready Sousiel, we're gonna break the guys up." Suddenly, within the middle of the squad of undead soldiers, were the rending claws and flashing blades of two trained fighters. Normally, the undead's dauntless programmed discipline and sturdy shields would have been a daunting foe for the two fighters, but with the element of surprise, and forming within their formation, they were able to make quick work of them, bothering them easily to the last soulless man.

Sousiel shook herself and looked to either side once the last of the undead had fallen, realizing where they were. "Why did we bother killing these guys? There's nothing good here."

"Because their presence is strange." Alphonse responded, as he knelt next to one of the shattered corpses. He lifted it examining the runes etched into the bone. After a few brief moments turning the bones over in his hands, and examining the ribcage of one of the soldiers, he suddenly stood and turned to Sousiel. "These haven't been here long. Can't have been more than a month." He shook his head morbidly, then his face split into a smile. "Well, at least Reyna's dead."

Sousiel raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?" she asked nervously.

"These were etched by ectoplasm, a wraithly necromancer. There aren't a whole lot of people who have the skill set and the will and disposition to end up as a free willed, necromancy practicing wraith upon their death. Basically just her."

Sousiel gulped slightly. "Let's hope she runs across Lorelai and not us right?" Grinning again she continued. "At least she's dead, too bad for any hope the twins may have had about resolving their...issues."

"Yeah... I'm gonna let them worry about that. Besides, it looks like the Ruvina left this place already, I think these are primarily meant as a rear guard. Now we have to go deeper and find out what they're guarding against."

Sousiel pouted "But Al! There could be a bloodless blood witch in there!"

[color=ed145b]"Back in the darkness."[/olor] Al said flippantly, as Steve ate her back up. With that he began strolling down the tunnel.

---

[/sub]Further down the tunnels[sub]

Alphonse spread his awareness again throughout the vast network of tunnels. Now that he was one with the darkness of these tunnels, he could sense the presence of more undead within. He destroyed several groups, most of them being smaller creatures relying on ambush and surprise to fell their foes. They were no match for the profane blade that emerged from the very darkness that hid them. Alphonse thought he was doing a great job destroying the profane creatures when he realized that something wasn't right. He swept back across one of the tunnels on his way to another branch, when he felt a familiar presence. The undead creatures were right back where they had been. Waiting for the hapless living to wander by.
"Fuck. Okay, Alphonse, where do we go to find the anchor for a continual animation spell?" Alphonse muttered to himself before he struck one of the hidden undead creatures, this time watching the broken twisted green animus flow through the air, moving down one tunnel like smoke in a coal mine.

"That way." Alphonse followed the trail of ashe, occasionally destroying other undead to get a sense of the direction to the center of the spell. Soon he found himself within a huge chamber, stairs leading up in terraced steps, revealing row upon row of cages. The main dungeons. Against one wall was nothing. Nothing to anyone who was not one with darkness. There, melded into the walls was a massive mummified figure bedecked in heavy armor. Between it's legs lay a massive blade, its pommel held in a relaxed stance in the giants hands.

Alphonse gestured silently in a tunnel off of the main chamber. Sousiel emerged from the shadows, lying down on her side, a bored expression on her face.

"Are we done here yet?" she asked

"Almost, this place is built to bite us all in the ass while we're trying to plumb their fortress.
We need to take out that giant over there to bring it all crashing down."

Sousiel looked into the massive dungeon, following his finger. She squinted, then looked from left to right. "um...what giant? If you're teasing me, I'm taking it out of your blood."

"It's hidden, doofus. I'll rouse it out of it's hiding spot, get ready to hulk out and help me kill it."

"oh, ok." Sousiel smiled in anticipation, it had been far too long since she had had a good fight. Almost more than a few hours.

Alphonse cracked his neck in preparation, the sound of popping joints silenced by his sorcery. He climbed to the ceiling, if he was lucky, he could pierce the giant's skull with the profaned blade and banish this spell without a struggle. He leaped from the air, falling down on the slumbering giant, his blade poised to pierce its skull .

Luck was not with Alphonse that day, as his insides were suddenly filled with a cold silver blade. Alphonse tumbled out of the air, barely catching himself on the skull of the massive giant. He looked up to see a dark shape falling back into the darkness, a silver sword clutched in his hand. Alphonse didn't even have the time to curse though, as the behemoth beneath him stirred, Alphonse leaped from its crown, trailing blood behind him. He landed roughly on the ground in a roll. Not far enough to avoid the massive blade crashing down on him.

The wall of steel never quite reached him though, as the giant stumbled back, after receiving a monstrous beast directly to the vertebrae beneath its ribcage. Sousiel's scaled monstrous form clawed at the giant's bones, cracking bone, trying to focus enough damage on a single segment to sever the beast in two. As she did, the giant reached down and wrapped its hands around the beast, and its own spine, trying to pin her in pace. With the sinuous grace of a cat, or maybe a serpent, she evaded his grasp, but had to give ground. As the two faced off, their battle began in earnest.

Alphonse did not have the luxury to behold the massive spectacle of the two monsters trading blows, as he was busy preventing himself from bleeding to death, and keeping an eye out for that motherfucking cock nobbling wraith with a thrice cursed silver sword...... Never mind that. The presence of the other blade didn't deaden his powers too much, though the cut in his side was preventing him from melding fully into the shadows. He kept his eyes peeled, his awareness of darkness spread out, the only light in the darkness were the flickering flames surrounding Sousiel's body, guttering and flaring with the tide of her battle. If Alphonse couldn't see the shade's next attack coming, he was done for.

There. A glint of light within the shadow, the shadow's silver weapon glinting in the light of demonic flame. It was rushing at Sousiel, who was digging into the giant's neck. Alphonse couldn't get there in time.

That's what Steve was for. Suddenly, the shade's earnest glide stopped, as if clotheslined by the blade it held. There, it's blade was grasped by the muscled hand of Steve: now standing manifested, his body clad in bloody armor. He threw the sword to the ground, closer to Alphonse, taking the shade with it. Alphonse didn't lose a moment, rushing the downed opponent, thrusting with his blade. The Wraith was nimble, and flowed like smoke, receiving only a glancing wound, its ephemeral flesh flaring with deep red light as the profaned blade tasted its form. It tried to skitter away, but Steve was on its other side, flanking the flighty adversary.

The shade reared up, the flowing darkness that made up its body swelling outward, whirling like independent blades of its own, its skeletal limbs stretched out, giving it huge reach. Steve and Alphonse approached the creature warily, each of them eying the silver blade it held in the center of its mass, prepared to strike at any opening. Steve approached first, swinging a sword of darkness into the creature. It blocked his strike, its long limbs keeping him at bay even as Alphonse approached with the profane blade. He struck the creature, rending it deeply, but not a mortal wound, he could not pierce its defenses, always wary of the silver blade. As Alphonse tried to strike true, the shade contorted, parrying his strike with its own blade, and driving both into Steve. The shade grasped the hilt of the sword, and tore outward, splitting Steve the shade in two. The shade had to drop the profaned blade, as it hissed and stung its hand. Alphonse was forced to give ground, as the shade turn on him, the sword it still held darting out again and again. Alphonse blocked its strikes ably with his buckler, but he was giving ground all the time. Finally, Alphonse fell back as far as he could go, his back to the wall. The shade struck out with its sword, Alphonse tried to block with his buckler, but could not raise it in time, it slid past his guard and took the arm at the shoulder. Before the shade could pull its blade free for a killing blow, a dark red light, followed by a silver blade erupted from its core an inch from Alphonse's own heart. As the rest of the shade's body erupted in dark red fire the blade fell to the ground, and Alphonse could see Steve lying on the ground, a blazing stump for an arm that had been used to hurl the blade.

Alphonse looked from Steve to his own arm. "At least yours will come back."

Alphonses could not continue with any more quips, as a savage roar shook the wall near them. The giant's spine had finally been broken, it rested on its rib cage, Sousiel was in its grasp, roaring in pain as the giant swung her by her hind legs into the ground, then smashing her with its other hand. Trying to snuff the life from her as if she were a cockroach.

Alphonse lifted up the profaned sword, and rushed the giant. He leaped once more. This time, his aim was true. His blade pierced the giant's skull, shattering it as it pierced, annihilating the sorceries holding the behemoth together.

With the spell reinforcing the castle's undead finally destroyed, Alphonse took a knee, clutching what was left of his ruined arm.

[color=ed145b]"Hey, Sousiel, are you okay?"[/color

"I-I...Lorelai..?" Sousiel coughed, a trickle of blood forming at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were glazed. "W-where are we?... I-it's dark.."

"No, Sousiel, it's Al. Come on buddy, you're gonna be okay." Alphonse realized that Sousiel was almost certainly not okay. "Here, have some blood, I can spare a few ounces." He tried to shake some blood from the end of his stump into her mouth.

Sousiel lazily chased the droplets with her tongue. "I'm dying... aren't I Al?" Her face paled as she shivered. "I...Don't wanna die..."

Alphonse wrapped his one good arm around Sousiel's scaly neck. "Yeah, you're dying. Sorry buddy. I hope whatever you've got waiting for you isn't horrible." Alphonse spoke clearly, his voice not cracking once, even as tears streamed down his face onto the dragon cat thing's neck. "I'll miss you buddy."

"That old black dark huh?" Sousiel managed a small smile as one of her hands made a fist that never quite reached Al's shoulder. "M-make sure Lady Lorelai makes it out Al...It's..been good." Her eyes fluttered closed for the last time.

Alphonse kneeled beside her for a time. Unmoving as her body dissolved into black smoke which flowed around him. Eventually, he stood, grasping his bad arm, he folded Steve into his own shadow, and limped down the tunnels. There was no light here to shine the tears on his face.

_{in collaboration with @agentmanatee, @Ellion,and @Shagranoz}



Phagora, Taran, and Alexina moved down the corridor, back towards the castle's main entrance. Phagora still had to use her sword for balance, but she was learning to block out the pain to an extent. "Wonder how the others did, but the fact that the undead were that thick in there was not a good sign. Lorelai alone should have torn most of them to shreds, and the others were no slouches either." A nervous look came over the half-demon's face. She was still new to the coven, but she'd grown to like many of her fellow members.

Taran walked closely behind her, fliching everytime she lose balanced. Despite what she said earlier, he still felt beyond guility for her pain. It also didn't help that a small echoing voice in his head kept saying that he should have let her burn to a crisp insiting that it would make him happier than he had ever been before was scared him was that he wasn't sure where that voice had come from, nor what it was doing in his head, because it wasn't a thought he had ever had before. "...I hope she is okay," said Taran, truthfully, he hadn't thought much of the other since they parted ways. "Phagora, are you sure there is nothing I can do for you?"

"No. That finger has done all it can, at least for right now, and I don't think there's anyone here with healing powers." Phagora glanced at the pyromancer. "I meant what I said, Taran. Don't dwell on it. Even my father, with all of his power, can't turn back the sands of time." She didn't want the youngster to obsess over his actions. It just wasn't healthy.

By telling him not to 'obses' over it what she really did was force him to obsess over it internally. When they exited the castle, carnage lay all about. Taran saw a few of the witches, all nursing wounds as bad, if not worse, than Phagora's. To the far left, he saw Elina, she was missing a leg and seemed to be pass out with Lorelai. To the far right, there lay Vespa's body, clearly unmoving. The rest of the bodies were either unfamilar, thus the enemy, or so mangled that Taran was unable to recognise them.

The closer they got to Lorelai, the harder it became to walk. What first started out as bodies every couple of feet, soon turned into a carpet, with then turned into an ever growing, never ending sea of the undeads bodies.

Finally Taran, Phagora and Alexina were able to reach Lorelai, with Taran making sure to support Phagora every step of the way. "Mistress," Taran started, then hesitated on what to say. "Mistress, I... How badly are you hurt?" there really wasn't much else to say.

Lorelai turned towards Taran. Her heart swelled weakly at the sight of her three siblings, they looked a little worse for wear. Alexina seemed to be bleeding from several wounds, Phagora looked singed, and Taran had a hundred yard stare that she hoped would fix itself soon enough. "I... I'm fine, just a flesh wound. As you can see the rest of us weren't so lucky." She turned back to Vespa's lifeless form. Her eyes threatened tears again. "Vespa... didn't make it."

Genoveve had been tending to Elina's wounds mostly, but the appearance of Phagora Taran and Alexina meant she was needed nearer to her mistress... after all if a coup was being planned then Genoveve needed to be sure to protect the drained Lorelai as long as they did not know who they could trust. She hobbled painfully towards the group, trying to make sure and favore her uncracked leg. She smiled weakly looking at them, all seemed to be physically wounded sans Taran who appeared scarred in other ways. She dropped down next to Lorelai before she spoke,"I-indeed we were not all so lucky... Elina is very damaged and will require help moving back to the carriages. My injuries are comparatively minor, despite what my limp would suggest.", she smiled sadly at them and Lorelai. Then she turned to look at Vespa's still corpse and gulped,"And... someone will need to carry Vespa...", she placed a hand on Lorelai's shoulder as she spoke.

"A sister lies dead upon the ground. I hope her killer suffered ten agonies for every one she did." Phagora's face turned hard as stone, and ice crept into her words. "Medusa knew, didn't she? About the horrors that lurked here? That's why we were caught unprepared. None of you were told. She probably feared the growing power of one of you, and sent you to die so she wouldn't be overthrown. In trying to prevent her fears from becoming reality, she has made them reality herself! Let Castle Bloodrose tremble, for we are coming!" Phagora turned to Taran. "You're the only one of us here who isn't hurt, so you should carry Vespa's body. Lorelai, you and Genoveve don't look too bad. You two can get Elina into the carriage. We've got plenty of work to do."

Taran could hardly keep up with the rate of Phagora's orders. "Wait, what?" he said, finally, once her orders had ended. "I'm sorry. I don't mind helping, but you can't know for sure that Medusa knew, you're only guessing," He felt bad, questioning Phagora after what he had done, but he also wasn't ready to go charging after Medusa on the chance that she knew that she was sending them to danger. "I think you are just blood thirsty right now,"

Lorelai turned to Taran. Her eyes held no traces of the Lorelai that was always kind to her younger siblings, or was quick to share a suggestion or comfort. These were the eyes that hunted Hector Digard to his grave. That gazed satisfied upon burning villages and screaming hunters. "Medusa knew, she knew because I knew. She sent me here with you Taran, an unblooded neophyte to the old ways. With Elina, who's too frail for war, and without the resources we needed to ensure victory."

A gutteral sylable conjured one of her many servitors, who scooped Elina from the ground and began to walk towards the carriages. "She didn't know the extent of it, I'm sure. The crime is the same. Reyna and her daughters had bad blood and she knew it, but sent them with me anyway. For that I'll have her head, and my vengeance. Her leadership brought this on us, and what comes on her as well."

"You're just upset because Vespa is dead. I though someone as wise as you would know that vengeance isn't a reason to fight. It isn't going to bring her back. You're just looking for someone to blame and you picked Medusa,"

Lorelai suppressed the urge to rip the boy's head from his shoulders and bathe in his blood for the insolence he'd displayed. "There is someone to blame Taran, that's me. I'm killing Medusa in part because of what she cost me, but mostly before her foolish hatred of me takes anything I might have left from me. Or leads to more uneccessary deaths." She gestured to Vespa. "That could have as easily been you, or anyone else. I'll not let her foolishness cost me, cost us, anymore that it already has."

Genoveve didn't want to, but Yeris had her glare at Taran quietly, a false hatred in her eyes as she looked at the young witch. Sh let Lorelai say her peace before chiming in on her own,"M-medusa is one of the most powerful witches in the coven. If-if she had wanted us to be safe she would ahve co-come along, and left someone else in charge of Bloodrose Taran. Lorelai is right, she has to be removed.", slowly she pushed herself to her feet, grimacing from the growing pain in her shin... walking on it so much was not a good idea. Regardless she tried to help pull Lorlelai up after her,"And I, for one, w-will do whatever Lorelai asks of me... now and uhm.. forever.", she smiled at her mistress innocently enough.

"Mistress Lorelai, when we met, I swore a blood oath to obey and protect you. My life is tied to that oath, so if I am to survive, I must support you in this. But that is not why I do so. My mother taught me that the only friend a witch has is another witch. Any witch who lets a member of their coven die, whether through inaction, incompetence, or corruption, deserves nothing less than the same fate." Phagora climbed into a carriage. "It should not be more than a few days before we return, but that is plenty of time to recover our strength. Let us be off, for the sooner the deed is done, the better."

"I think you are all making a....rushed choice," said Taran, although he could tell his argument wasn't really even worth speaking. "I cannot stop you from doing this and I won't try. And...Mistress you know I mean you no ill will and I don't want you to think horribly of me...but...unless I know for certain that Medusa planned this.....I cannot fight her,"

"We'll all do as we must in the days to come Taran, if you were to fight blindly I'd think less of you, and only then." Lorelai ruffled the boy's hair before heading towards the treeline. "I just hope we never meet on the wrong sides of the same battlefield Taran. I need some time before we leave... to put some things in order. I'll be back shortly." With that she disappeared beyond the foilage.

Genoveve frowned as Lorelai seemingly ignored her hand and simply disappeared. She huffed but decided Lorelai would do what Lorelai would do. She turned to Phagora with a pained smile, "C-could you maybe... help me out Phagora? I think my... shin is cracked and worsening whenever I walk on it... I'd rather not ruin my leg after the battle heh heh... ow.", she leaned against the tree stump, hoping Phagora would help her out.

Phagora's little trinket wouldn't be of much use here. She couldn't use it herself, and since it could only be used for selfless acts, Genoveve couldn't use it on herself, either. That didn't mean she didn't have any options, though. Ripping off the sleeves of her robes, she was able to use a stick to improvise a splint. The bone would mend the slow way, but it wouldn't get any worse in the meantime. Perhaps she could give Taran some instruction in the artifact. That would work. "Get plenty of bed rest and talk to me in the morning. If you have to go somewhere, hop on your good leg as long as you can."

Taran watched as all of the witches went their different ways, exhausted enough to find a quite bench to lay down...forever on. Before he left, he picked up Vespa and placed her gently inside. Honestly, he'd never spoken to the woman before, which was perhaps why he didn't care so much about her death, but it hurt Lorelai and that was enough to make him morn the loss of the witch. He shut the cabin behind him, and went to go find a hole to go hide in.

_{in collaboration with @Wildeyes}



Lorelai paced the small clearing near camp. She hadn't heard from Alphonse yet, and she should have by now. Sousiel either although she was less concerned about that. The cost of the expedition had been far too high, blooding Taran unceremoniously, hours of wasted time, and... Vespa. She closed her eyes against the threat of tears, Lorelai didn't have time to mourn, not yet.

"You better not have fucking died on me Alphonse, I'll... kill you?" She laughed bitterly into the silence of the clearing.

"Oh, no, please don't. I have so much to live for." Alphonses voice reached Lorelai's ears, apparently from no where. She turned around, to see Alphonse standing not three feet away from her, clutching his stump, wrapped in his cloak.

"On second thought, they all require two arms, so go ahead and just end it all." Alphonse held his head up, revealing his neck. "Just make it quick."

"You're not that lucky are you Al?" Lorelai grinned at Alphonse, wincing when she noticed the stump where his arm used to be. She made her way over to him and pulled away the cloak to inspect the damage. "By the hells Alphonse, what happened to you?"

"The whole place was set up for an ambush. I was able to avoid detection by most of the revenants, but if the rest had earned their attention....it didn't look pretty. I sprung the trap, it cost me an arm, and...." Alphonse sighed, "Sousiel's gone, Lorelai. I'm sorry."

Lorelai's eyes widened in a near panic. "She died!?" She retrieved her ritual dagger from its sheath at her hip. "How long ago?"

"No more than a few hours. She fell in battle while protecting me and the coven. She was a good friend to me, for the short time we knew each other." Alphonse maintained a solemn tone.

"She sometimes does that yes." Lorelai replied distracted. She bared her forearm and with her dagger made a long jagged cut along the bottom. Her blood and an acrid black smoke seeped from the wound. "She doesn't get to die until I say so however, so rude."

Alphonse's brow furrowed, as Lorelai proceeded with her apparently dark arts. "Wait." Lorelai proceeded heedless to her friend.

Lorelai pressed against the borders of the world as her blood thinned them. Her voice lifted in the Dragon's Tongue, exalting Sousiel's might and tenacity in that gutteral language of demons that held no words, merely intent. Her blood, which had pooled on the ground beneath her arm, began to boil.

The boiling blood expanded across the ground, far faster than its volume should have allowed. Faint screams could be heard as the inferno yawned open with Lorelai's blood as the medium. All the while her song continued, growing in volume and fervor. Finally Sousiel's arm appeared, reaching out of the now black blood to gain purchase on the world above, the witches nostils were assaulted with the stench of brimstone and fresh viscera as she pulled her self screaming from the pit.

Trudging slowly towards her mistress Sousiel ran her tongue across the cut in Lorelai's forearm, the wound closing at its touch. Her eyes were drowsy and pained as she turned to Alphonse and gave a small wave. "Hey." Before collapsing.

"Sup", Alphonse responded, as she hit the ground.

The blood, and the verge it represented, evaporated back into acrid black smoke as Lorelai ceased her chanting. She stooped over the prone and naked form of her familiar. Removing her cloak she covered the demon. "You don't get to die until I do... Didn't I tell you that Sousiel?"

"It would have been nice if you had told me that you could do that." Alphonse said dryly. Certainly not filled with relief. Nor irritated that he had gone through the emotional rollercoaster of witnessing yet another friend's death.

"You'll have to excuse the fact that it slipped my mind, you know, amid the rest of my responsibilities?" Lorelai quipped back, slight irritation in her voice. She sighed, her voice calm again as she continued. "The others made it out, a little worse for wear, largely thanks to you I presume."

"I'm glad to hear it. Oh, before That slips my mind, I'm pretty sure that elder Ruvina is dead. I'm not sure how, but she's a wraith now." Alphonse's cocky smile was back. "I don't have concrete proof, but the undead in that castle were made by a wraith. There aren't exactly a lot of people who could be a wraithly necromancer."

"I've got your proof. We encountered her and most of her soldiers on our approach." Lorelai's voice was bitter. "The whore just couldn't let go... and now Elina's without a leg and Vespa... Vespa's." she trailed off.

"Is the old bitch at least laid to rest and out of our hair? Or better yet, damned."

"She's left to roam here, for an eternity alone, with no hope of being restored to life through whatever foul ritual she'd devised." Lorelai spat bitterly. "I'll come back here in a century or so, to see how mad she's gone, and laugh at her pathetic state."

"Sounds good and damned to me." Alphonse said with bitter satisfaction. "I don't think I have anything else to report. Do I need to hear anything else?"

"Just that Medusa will have to answer for this... in blood Alphonse. Her incompetence has cost us enough. And me more than that." Lorelai said grimly as she scooped Sousiel into her arms and began to make her way back towards the carriages.

A party with everyone!

The room had a high ceiling, so tall that, in the dim light of the torches on the wall, it seemed to be endless. There were places along the wall where windows might had been, but the were neatly bricked over, merely there to point out the fact that they were closed in.

All along the wall, were fire places, giving off so much heat that the room was beyond sufficating. And in the center, sat two thrones. The first, and smaller of the two held the demongirl, although she was now sleeping, slumped over in the chair. Standing in front of the taller chair, was the Voice, or Death, or Charon or whatever he was going by these days.

To the right of the room, was Flint, Coraline, Liz and Emiliah. Emiliah was sitting on the floor, holding on to the spear to keep her up right. Liz and Coraline where standing next to each other, almost in a protective stance,

To the left stood the group from the hallway. Andri, like Emiliah, was on the floor, too exhausted to get back up after the sudden drop to the throne room put him back on his back. Yuri was still standing close to him, although he managed to keep his footing.

Furthest away from the group was Mat, with Ash's dead body still laying at his feet.

Abby still holding tight to Marcus, peaking around him only to catch sight of her sister. "Oh no, Lotte. What did he do to her?" She made as though she was about to run to her sleeping sister. But stopped after seeing that Death stood between her and her goal. "Please M-Marcus, h-he can't have her... I know she did bad...but... but..... I can't lose her too I can't," Her voice was little more than a whisper.

The only one still missing from the group, was Fenros.

Suddenly a booming voice shot across the the room. "Welcome, welcome honored guest and gate crashers," Said Charon, glaring at Coraline and Flint. "We've had a long day of play, and I don't know about you, but I've had a great time," At that he let out a little chuckle. "But you see, we've hit a little snag here. I don't have time to keep entertaining you. But you are all such fun toys and...you see, I have a dear child now and she needs some friends. So here is my deal," He let out another laugh. "For every person you vote to die, I will let one of you return to your surface world," He let out a laugh. "I'll give you time to talk about it, but the vote has to be unanimous on both ends. Oh...and there is...one more thing," He said. "I do need two volunteers to stay and be playmates for my child. It has to be voluntary and two people must volunteer or the whole deal is off,"

"Stupid idiot," grumbled Khan. "We need to get out of here now, money or no money. I need you to picture a safe place right now, otherwise we could both DIE!"

Andri felt like having been run over by a carriage. The sudden drop onto the ground would definitely add some bruises to him, but that was of no concern right now. He was able to hear what Charon said and he felt it chilling like nothing he had ever encountered before in his tiny life. And Khan ? If the assassin believed it or not, but his opinion did concur with the worm right at this moment. Andri started to mumble again, but not to hide Khan from the other hunters, but to hide him from Charon. What would the demon do if he found out that he was infested with one of his kind, though it was a worm ? "This place is bricked up, locked down and Charon would likely kill me outright for breaking the rules if I attempted to flee anyway. Do I look as if I could just perform magic to get myself out of here and back into the tavern ?"

Mat hadn't been expecting the sudden drop or the room they were in, yet here he was. Grunting, Mat slowly stood up straight and looked around, seeing the other half of the missing hunters that were there, then he listened to Charon's "deal". "Well shit," the young hunter muttered to himself as he looked at all the other hunters for their reactions, then he saw the body that was still next to him. Ashley was still giving the thousand mile dead stare as Mat had never remembered to close her eyes. Frowning, the hunter knelt down next to her and moved her eyelids down so that she looked like she was sleeping if there wasn't a hole in the back of her head. "For what it's worth Ashley, I'm sorry," he said to the dead girl. "You probably don't hear me now, but if I expect what's about to happen I'll be with you soon so that you can. Ashley, I'm sorry that I survived from that witch's glass and had Emiliah find me, that Bobby's wife was able to save me, that I had the idiotic brawn to go on this suicidal hunt, and that I , but that's what happened, and I'm alive while you're dead. I'm sorry for what I did Ashley, but I don't regret my decision."

Another drop, another fall into the unknown, or at least into a larger room. The only thing that made this one ant better than the others was that there was no hand pulling him through the stone like water, a particularly unplesent experence that he would not to repeat anytime in the near future. Landing on his feet, Yuri fought to stay upright and not fall on his back, eventually succeding after a stumble to two. Taking a look around he took a grateful note that all the hunters were finally back together. Of course that could really only mean one thing, which was confermed by their 'host' as he spoke at them, detailing a new deal. Yuri fought the urge to pland the sharpened blade of his scythe between the top couple vertebre of the creature, mainly beacuse he had no real want to be evecerated. Still as he listened to the terms given out before them his face grew grim. His right hand gripped his sycthe's handle till his knuckles turned white as the cold feeling in his head flared in responce to the possiblity of death, or imprisonment. Casting a side glance over to the other hunters, Yuri was sure they were already forming a plan, or a vote, in their head. But his own was awash with a simple want, to get as many out as possible.

Elizabeth scanned the crowd, everyone who had been beaten and battered throughout this miserable journey stood-or laid-before her. Her gaze cut into Mat, and traveled desperately to Andri. She wanted to reach out to both of them, and tell them what she believed hait'd happened. She wanted to apologize to Mat, who had gone through hell, who now had to deal with the death of a child. She wanted to comfort Andri, who may or may not be infested with a demon worm.

The heat of the room made Elizabeth's cheeks flush, and she felt like a trapped animal. She listened halfheartedly to the demon, who talked about murdering the fellow hunters, to save another. He also suggested that two of the hunters would have to stay and be playthings for his daughter. This made her clench her fists and look around, wondering if the others had given up or if they were just as infuriated by this little game they were a part of.

They were already toys, pawns to be slain and broken. Some of them were worse than others, that was obvious. Liz thought of what the demon had said, how he had told her she was a mascot. She thought about how right he was. She hadn't experienced anything like they had, she needed to help somehow. Mustering up some strength, she opened her mouth to speak. “I will volunteer to stay, to be a plaything for the child.” She nodded proudly, her arms crossed over her chest as a challenge to anyone thinking to oppose her choice. “What is her name?”

Flint had fallen on his head when they were dropped onto the floor below them. His ears rang and his vision blurred. Though he did hear Charon booming voice, as if it was in his head. As the others spoke he couldn't hear them. He laid on the floor face down for the longest time. His neck screaming in pain along with his head.

He slowly pushed himself to his hands and knees and held there for a moment while he closed his eyes, clearing his throat. He did hear Liz volenteer to stay behind. He shook his head and spit some blood onto the floor before saying. _"No..." barely managing to speak.

Shifting he pushed himself up to one knee down and his left foot planted as he rested on his left knee. " No one is staying behind...or dying here so others can make it out..." He looked up from the ground and opened his eyes, looking at Death. "Enough of the games. Take me, and let them all go. I know how much you demons want us Digards down here with you." He realized where he was when the words did nothing again to Charon. That only could mean they were in the pit. Where he was useless.

""That's my deal, me, for all of them, and to change fate..." he said a little grudgingly as he glanced over to Emiliah, who looked defeated. His memories going back to what the witch in cave from earlier in the weak said. It looks like she was wrong after all. He would meet his death in"That's my deal, me, for all of them, and to change fate..." he said a little grudgingly as he glanced over to Emiliah, who looked defeated. His memories going back to what the witch in cave from earlier in the weak said. It looks like she was wrong after all. He would meet his death in Hell.


"Well, aren't we feeling special," said Charon with a little chuckle in his voice. He took a few steps closer to Flint before vanishing and reappearing behind him. Charon reach out and placed one of his dead hands lightly acrossed Flints neck. "What makes you think that taking you holds any weight here, or...have you not noticed, I've already got you," with that, Charon snapped his hand around Flint's neck, lifting him off of his feet as though he weighed nothing at all. "If you want to make a deal with me now, you'll have to make it terribly sweet,"


Charon started pacing, as though thinking with Flint still being held up in the air. "I know," he said, tossing Flint across the room so that he landed at the base of the throne. "One Digard is sooo...dull, but two...two I'd be willing to make a deal for," Charon walked closer. "So...what will it be...you bringing me your big brother on a silver platter, or everyone else in this room? Oh and to show my good faith, I'm personally make sure that dear Emiliah's fate isn't what that Seer predicted.

Abby still holding tight to Marcus, peaking around him only to catch sight of her sister. "Oh no, Lotte. What did he do to her?" She made as though she was about to run to her sleeping sister. But stopped after seeing that Death stood between her and her goal. "Please M-Marcus, h-he can't have her... I know she did bad...but... but..... I can't lose her too I can't," Her voice was little more than a whisper.

Marcus looked down at Abby as she held tight to him and placed a hand on her head, stroking it as he tried to comfort her. He didn't think they were going to get out of this one honestly. "Don't worry Ill try." He said simply as he gripped his sword tighter. Flint seemed down and out of it, which was perfect, the one guy they needed to fight a powerful demon. Was laying on the ground.

Suddenly he spoke, trying to offer himself to Charon in their stead, he was about to say no when Charon suddenly appeared behind Flint, raising him from the ground like a rag doll, simply to throw him at the base of his throne like a piece of garbage.

_{damnit Flint...} he whispered as he wanted to help, but knew he couldn't.

Flint grunted in pain as he slammed into the ground and rolled like a ragdoll to the foot of the throne. He tried to push himself back up again, it took more energy this time but he managed to get to his knees again, "You're death... you should be able to snap your fingers and bring my brother here. You don't need me." He said softly as he swayed a bit as the room spun a little, his hand reaching for his blessed dagger behind his back, under his cloak.

"Besides...one Digard is the same as the other...you're not missing out on much with Fenros..." he said as he forced a chuckle.

"Hm, half of the fun would have been with you betraying your own blood for people you hardly know. But..." He snapped his fingers and suddenly everyone was forced together in a circle. "The time for deals is over, the time for voting is now. If you are going to stay with my daughter, you may step out of the circle now. Otherwise, let's send somebody up...and ...down,"

Mat had paid little attention to what was going on when he suddenly was warped into the circle with the others as Death reminded them of the 'deal' when Mat felt his stomach churning and had to bend over and hit his chest to prevent himself from puking. Fortunately, he was able to stop it before it came out. "Oh hell," he muttered, standing back up and looking around, but his eyes fell on Ashley who's body was now far away from the group. "I..." Mat began speaking but fell short, falling upon another memory with his father's head staring up at him. "I can't stay. Please...I need to find her...need to finish her..."

Emiliah stomach was churring from everything that had just occured. The black smoke that ...Charon? Had forced into her lungs seemed to have not nothing worse to her, however, that could have just had been because there was no way to make her feel worse. Even after Charon zapped her to the voting circle, she couldn't find the energy to stand. "I don't think any of use want to stay Mat," she said softly from the floor. "But...we have to vote...if...we have to vote someone up for sure....I vote...one of the children,"

Yuri was honestly getting sick of the teleportations all around the place, one time was quite enough as far as he was concerned. But yet here he was in the circle, with everyone else, and their time for stalling the deal was appearing to rapidly run out. Yuri looker around at the group, most were tired, wounded or both. Mainly both. None of them were in any shape to fight back, save for probably himself, Marcus, Mat perhaps? But what could they do ageinst a foe with total control over this relm. Yuri wanted to shout, to cry out to the hevens, to whatever uncaring eye let this hole swallow them. But he didnt, instead he simply took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he recalled the deal's peramiters "One stays down, one goes up. Two need to be 'playmates'" As he finished exhaleing, Yuri's mind was set, even if the monster was screaming at him to reconcider. "Fuck it" He muttererd a few times, getting progressivly louder "One of the children should be the first up" he said to no one in particular "But for that we need someone to go down. To that end..." he faltered slightly as the monster screamed at him, fanticly trying to gain control "To that end I vote for myself down."

Coraline's blade, witchmarks, and eyes were all glowing a deep red when she had arrived in the grand chamber. To anybody who wasn't present when she was beginning the ritual, it would be alarming. But Coraline didn't take a moment to let the new hunters and huntresses make a snap judgment. She charged at Charon with her sword high. She couldn't track him well, the lord of death was appearing and disappearing to get the jump of each and ever hunter. "Face me, coward!" she yelled out at Death.

Her bellowing challenge seemed to brighten the glow of her blade and witchmarks. Coraline clenched her teeth. Magic was straining for Coraline, she wasn't a full witch and it her body couldn't handle the constant circulation of arcane energies as much as a full witch's could. A sweat could be seen on her brow. Coraline hoped she could end this before the magic's toll would cause her to pass out.

Elizabeth growled when Flint asked to take their places, it would let them go to the surface, but what was the point of leaving him behind? Besides, where would they find Fenros? If the demon couldn't transport him here, then where was he? She cut a steady glare over to Flint, but her glare wavered, showing the sympathy and passion she hid behind it. Everyone was going crazy and going through with the demon’s plans-even her-but here he was being a knight in shining armor.

Liz looked at the demon casually as it asked those who volunteered to be playthings to take a step back. She stayed in place, folding her hands in front of her. She had planned to cross her arms and take up her usual pose, but when she put pressure on her chest it felt like her insides were swimming. She figured it was the black smoke the demon had placed inside of her. She wished she could just cough it up, but it was like tar.

Behind Liz, Coraline spoke...well she yelled. She glanced behind her, and held back a gasp. She had seen the beginnings of Coraline turning red, but now it was extremely intense. She watched the female knight, who obviously craved battle. Liz shrugged, and took a step to the side to clear a path for Coraline. “Coraline, it won't work. You can't kill him. Just vote so you don't die.”

"Fuck this," growled Khan. "We are leaving....say what door did you came in?" said the worm, before taking the memmory and poofing Andri and himself out of the chambed. And right into Fenros.

Flint groaned as death began to make everyone vote. If Fenros was here...they wouldn't be having to do this "Charon..." he said with a horse voice...trying to buy time for Fenros to get here...if he ever did. And perhaps trick Death...." Fine....Let them go...My brother and I for all of them, including the girls....Right now..."

"Well, there is an idea," said Charon, he pulled a ball from mid air and tossed it to Flint. By the time it reached Flint's hands, the ball had transformed into a set of cuffs and something that look a lot like a collar. "I will send you to him and you will bring him wearing those. I can't have him trying to attack me the moment he gets down here, can I?"

Flint look at the cuffs and collar, trying to see if there was a way of placing them on him with out really placing them on him. Fenros was far superior in fightin Demon Lords than he. Father taught him everything he knew. He figured he would aleast figure out something before bringing him back to Death and together they could defeat them.

He gave a discusted look, as he stood up finally looking to everyone. "Before I do this, I must hear you swear that you will keep your promise that everyone here will be freed immediately, unharmed, including the two girls. "

"Very well then," he said. "Go catch me the cutest puppy in the window and everyone but my new doggies get to go home and live...well...live at least a little longer," With that, Flint was poofed out of the room.

"Now, as for the rest of you, who would like to have a little more fun while we wait, say...Mat....wanna make a deal?"

Mat perked up slightly as he heard Charon speak to him, turning to the demon lord and resting on his spear. "Sure, as long as you don't do that stupid 'if' thing and make me harm Emiliah or the other girl," he said. Mat didn't feel too inclined to accept a deal from Charon, but he felt like he should at least hear what the deal was. "Shoot."

"Really Mat, what kind of a person do you think I am...someone who tortures the wrong girl for weeks on end. Oh wait, that is you, isn't it' Death gave a little laugh. "Well, what I want you to do is...ask everyone in the room a few questions. I wanna see how 'light', 'good', and pure all of our dear little hunters are. So get asking and let me know if any of you get to experience what happens when you lie,"

At the mention of the dead witch Abigail, Mat tightened his grip on the spear slightly. If he didn't know any better, Mat would've attacked right then and there, but unfortunately he did. Sighing, Mat looked back up at Charon and said, "You said a deal, I ask your questions for you and have these hunters reveal terrible truths. What's my end out of it? I don't really think the satisfaction of hearing how terrible other people are would really make up for it."

"The name you seek," Said Death. "I'll tell you the name of the witch that you have hunted all these years. No ifs this time. Amuse me and the information is yours,"

Mat gave a slow nod. "Fine..." He muttered, then looked around the group. He could ask any one of them what their histories were, and he bet that several were just as bad as his. Mat ended up on Yuri, who had spoken out to vote himself to stay and die. "Yuri, justify you staying. What have you done that you regret?" He called out.

Yuri looked at Mat, his eyes narrowing as the other hunter begain to play along with the demon's deal. "Justify me staying? Thats your first question? How about this, I should dtay beacuse I'm not a child. Beacuse she at least deserves to see the sun again, and thats the price that must be paid." He paused, his voice queiting as he searched for the words to contiue with "Now as for what I regret, your going to have to be a little more specific, else we might be here a while."

Mat made a small chuckle and looked over at his spear before giving Yuri a response. "Yeah yeah, of course the girl leaves. That's obvious, but why the hell are you the special guy who gets to be the white knight that stays behind. I murdered her sister, I broke Emiliah's fingers over some words, I tortured and starved countless witches and I hardly regret it. Why the hell are you staying huh? Why shouldn't I? Prove me that you deserve to stay here more. I'll enhance my question Yuri, what is the worst thing you have done?"

Yuri glared at Mat, if any were confused before at the scarred man's thoughts, the simple spark of anger that lay in his glare should tip them off. But he did indeed answer Mat's question "I ran. I ran and hid" Yuri's scarred flesh would twitch slightly as he spoke, as if remembering what had happened to it "I let others become twisted, vile monsters, beacuse I ran. I let peoples bones become putty to be shaped, their skin a clay to be carved, beacuse I ran. I was a child yes, but even children, as you and I both saw, know better. Why should I stay? Not beacuse I find this self sacrifice thing all to pleasing to my mind, I can tell you that. But beacuse I already got to run once and I suppose now its your turn. Though I dont know how far you'll get with your gimp leg."

Mat heard out Yuri and gave a slow grim nod when he finished. "I understand," he said, looking down slightly. "It's your time to face it then? But you see Yuri I actually like you, except when you went weird maniac mode that one time, but then again we all have those moments." Mat took his gaze off of Yuri and nodded at Charon then scanned the room again. His eyes stopped at Emiliah for a moment but he kept looking, not wanting to have to ask her. Finally Mat stopped on Coraline, who had met with briefly before. "Coraline the knight witch who murders witches or something like that, been a while so I forget. What is the worst thing you have done to someone?"

It was clear that Coraline wasn't getting her challenge any time soon. Charon seemed to be deadset on the Digards. It was quitely humiliating for Coraline, where she's from, forces of evil would jump at the chance to take her down. The knight clenched her jaw and glanced over to Mat. "The worst I've done? Probably get caught up with a lot of hunters who'd rather try to impale me with their spears than deal with the true threat." Coraline eyed Emiliah for a moment before looking back to Mat, "I'm a knight. I kill with honor and don't do anything that would bring me any dishonor."

Mat arched an eyebrow and glanced at Charon before sighing and looked back at Coraline. "Look, I murder witches which is why I tried to murder you, OK? It's not like I'm a good person, it's what I do and out of it I sometimes save someone. But really, you've never stepped out of line with your precious chivalry and done something to someone? A backstab, an ambush, pull a prank or something? Do you knight witches get any fun?"

Coraline shook her head once, "Not when you're the victim of backstabs, ambushes, and pranks. I keep my oath as an Arcadian knight seriously."

The red glow weakened as the ritual begins to wear off. She didn't have the energy to renew the ritual and fighting now would be a strenuous task. Coraline knew that at that point, she wasn't able to fight her way out of this situation. She had to play along with Charon's game.

Looking back to Mat, Coraline answered truthfully, "I beheaded a hunter who thought he was justified in raping a girl simply for being born as a witch. He said she doesn't deserve the same treatment. So I killed him when his back was turned to me. That's the worst I've done."

Mat looked up and the ceiling and nodded. "Wow, so you are the white knight out of all of us? Your worst thing was for the defense of another, fantastic. Well I'm glad I don't have to delve in your backstory life, I just know that if you want to kill me you will do the whole knight challenge thing before beheading me. That's always nice to know," he said, looking back at her and giving a small grin, then turned his head and looked around the room. With Flint and Andri suddenly disappearing, that made Marcus, Liz, and Emiliah left. "Liz," Mat called out. "I hardly know you, then again I knew no one here until a few days ago, but that's besides the point. I murdered an innocent little girl, what have you done?"

Elizabeth looked at Mat, her gaze cool and steady. The worst she had done? Or was the question more broad than that? She scanned her memories, and shook her head slowly. “I'm sorry, Mat. I haven't truly done anything horrible. I know I have to have an answer though, so allow me some time to think.” She cleared her throat, and tried to reminisce about something she had done. “The most horrible thing I've done, thus far, is leaving my partner alone. I don't think I can forgive myself for that, you personally saw how wounded he was.” She sighed, closing her eyes so she wouldn't display emotion. She briefly considered what would have happened if she had just been behind him, or if she had gone up first. Knowing the demon they were facing, she figured it would have happened anyways.

Mat gave a slow nod to Elizabeth's answer as he rocked his spear back and forth. "Not always the best thing to do, but I suppose we all do it at some point," he commented. "But, nothing can be changed now and it's what's happened." Mat looked over at the last two in the room, Marcus and Emiliah. "Right Emiliah, I guess it's your turn. What's the worst you've done to someone?"

Emiliah shook her head and looked up at Mat, her brain slowly processing the question. "The...worst thing...I've ever done?" She said, her mind forcing a thousand different memories through her head. "I....I" Emiliah's mind suddenly froze on a single moment in time. "There....was this...witch..." She said slowly.




Fenros was covered in blood and guts, surrounded in a large pile of recently redead corpses. His sword was completely crimson, He was sitting on the ground, taking a rest, with his sword's grip resting on his shoulder as the tip of the blade was far ahead of him on the ground. Alltia's white fur was speckled in bood as well. Though it seemed that none of the blood was either of theirs really.

He looked up as Andri as he suddenly appeared infront of him, looking beat up and worn down. He stood up and asked, "Where is Elizabeth? have you seen the others?"He asked because he knew they were partnered up, though after leaving them at the church's fork, he has yet to run into anyone else. "Where did you come from?"

Andri opened his mouth to respond, only to have Khan's angry voice shout from every corner of his head "DON'T TALK TO HIM, JUST SAY YOU'VE GOT TO GO. DO YOU WANT TO DIE, STUPID IDIOT,"

Andri shook his head, dazed by the sudden jump from hell to earth and from the shouting worm. "I-I got to go," he said quickly, turning to walk away from Fenros and towards the door.

Fenros growled as quickly moved over to Andri, gripping his shoulder and spinning him around, and gripping his throat as he shoved him against the stone wall. He then almost lifted him off his feet as he glared at the cowards face. "Tell me now how you suddenly appeared, and what you did with the others...or I swear you wont see daylight ever again you big Coward!"

"YOU IDIOT RUN, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW," shouted Khan. Showing Andri a million ways to escape. But Andri's head wasn't so fuzzy any more.

"Shut up," growled Andri from under his breath. "Shut up," He then looked down at Fenros, his eyes narrowing. "I'm no coward," by now Khan was screaming, making it impossible to string two words together. "Charon...Down....Everyone. Games. Demon Worm...Poofed. STOP SCREAMING!" He yelled, pulling free from Fenros' grasp to hold his head.

Fenros looked at him with a queer look as he obviously wasn't acting like his normal calm self...at least from what he knew of in the last day or so. But then when he told him he wasn't a coward and barely managing to say Charon, and a few other random words. Fenros's eyes widened at the name. He knew who it was, and also knew that Charon couldn't be in the normal world, as clear signs of Death would be around just at his pressence. That would only mean down, and everyone was in the pit. The demon worm didn't make sense till he screamed well...stop screaming.

He allowed Andri to pull away as he was connecting the dots, Apparetnly the was a demon worm in his head, that managed to bring him away from Death. He racked his brain on what he could do to save his fellow hunters and only could think of one thing.

He moved over to Andri and grabbed him again by the collar of his shirt and said, "Alright, Demon worm inside Andri...You take me back down to everyone, or I excorsise you right now."

"Tell Mr. Wolfbreath there that there ain't nothing worse then going against Charon, that is for sure. Punch him in the face and tell him to fuck off," growled the worm.

"Ah...." said Andri. "The worm says...no deal," He said slowly.

Fenros narrowed his eyes and began to speak in Hebrew, begining the excorsism, which would be extremely painful for the demon worm, especiall since he had a physical body, unlike most demons which only just possessed humans. It would begin to push the demon worm out of Andri's head,

If Andri thought that the screaming was bad before, it was nothing like it was now. He was almost tempted to beg Fenros to stop, just to end his own pain. Not only was there screaming, but his ear felt like it was about to explode from the pain of having his worm try to burrow out of his skull. Finally the worm spoke "Tell...Mr. Fuckface to stop. I'll help, with one condition. He is never ever allowed to excorsise me [i]ever/[i],"

Andri found himelf screaming over the worm's screams. "Stop! Fenros. Stop! He is willing to make a deal,"

Fenros stopped as he allowed Andri to take abreath and collect himself. He didn't appologize to Andri for the pain. His eyes narrowed as he imagined what the demon was trying to make a deal for. Once his breath was calmer, he added, "What kind of Deal does it want?" Of course Fenros never ever made deals with Demons. If he did...he rarely actually kept it.

Andri paused for a second. "He says...he'll do it if...you...promise to never tell Charon who did it and...never excorises him," Andri was about to add more when studdenly Flint was dropped in the middle of the room.

Before Fenros could answer Andri, and tell him he wont exorsise him. Holding back the information that he would just have Flint do it when he got back to Seren Falls, Flint suddenly appeared as if him thinking about him summoned him.

He quickly moved over to his little brother and knelt, Seeing his wounds and asked confusingly, "Wh....what are you doing here Flint? I thought you were back in Seren Falls! What happened to you?" He looked him over to see if he had any serious injuries.

Flint cleared his throat, "I came after you guys about a half hour you guys left... " He shook his head and pulled away from Fenros who was checking him. "I'm fine Fenros. The real issue is Charon, he has everyone down in hell, somehow. I don't know how we were transfered but we were. He's been playing games with everyone and now is currently making a deal to send people back, while killing another."

Fenros looked confused, especially after seeing the cuffs and collar that Flint had, who continued, "I made a 'deal' that for you and I, everyone will be allowed to go free. " Fenros narrowed his eyes. "I WASN'T PLANNING ON KEEPING THE DEAL. We have to figure out a way to get back there with out me having to Bind you. He doesnt' want you to be able to fight when I bring you back...which means even though he is in hell, you can still do something to him. "

Fenros nodded., "I Know of something...." He looked back to Andri and said, "You need to bring both of us back now. and place me right in front of Charon. I want to catch him off guard."

Andri was pretty pissed off right now. Being grabbed, shoved around and suffocated multiple times in a row wasn't fun at all. Asides from that, there were a few other things he had to tell Fenros. His voice was calm and cold, both because he was too tired to become enraged and because he intended his voice to be that way: "How about a single one but very honest second of excuse first ? If your rage prevents you from thinking clearly I'll give you a hint: It's the true Andri speaking now. First: Grabbing ME all the time hits the wrong target. Second: If you intend to do with Charon what I think you intend, who's gonna take us out of hell then ? As you've already started adressing me as if I and Khan had already become one and the same entity I'll adopt this just for the moment and give you another hint: ME. And here comes number three and that's a big one: What are you gonna do when all of this is over and Khan doesn't have any more use for us ? The potential for cheating is so obvious that I'm convinced that Khan has already started thinking about possible countermeasures without telling me. Given that Khan has poofed me here in panic instead of greeting Charon with a gentle smile indicates that he, demon worm or not, at the moment is the best ally we have. I don't know if you want to drive him into switching sides or just abandoning the whole scene at the wrong moment!" I don't like you, Khan! But in my mind advocating you currently is the best option to prevent total disaster for everyone. Appreciate that!

Fenros raised an eyebrow as Andri started talking and blinked a few times as he started to try to point out the errors he was making. "First off, grow a pair. What is important now is saving those other hunters. If your feelings got hurt not my problem, this is how I work. Don't like it? Tough luck. Don't dare try to lecture me greenie."

He reached down and picked up his blade, "Don't pretend you know what I'm planning to do, I know very well that we are going into hell and need a way back. But if I know demons...and I do, Death is going to be sending us topside in just a few. " He said irritated.

Flint then raised an eyebrow. "What's your plan then? I've tried to excorsise him twice, didn't even faze him."

Fenros looked to his younger brother. "Father taught me an exorcism that our forefathers used to banish some particularly nasty Demon Lords. More like Old Gods."

Flint narrowed his eyes, trying to remember his teachings from the high priest he was with the last year...nothinig even covered that. But Fenros was the most experienced and soaked up everything he could from father like a cloth.

Fenros looked to Andri and said, "I wont excorsise you, Khan or what ever is inside you Andri. Now or even after the battle with Charon. Now take us back. "

"....Fine, hold on to his nut sack....as for that matter, better grab both of them and off we'll go," grumbled Khan.

Yeah....I'm not doing that Said Andri. He then turned to face the two brothers. "Fine, hold on to my arm. Khan said he take you down,"


Suddenly Flint, Andri and Fenros were in the middle of the room, just infront of Charon. Fenros suddenly swung his massive sword and smashed Charon in the chest, sending him flying backwards into his throne and breaking it. He then started to walk towards Charon as he flipped a lever on his sword, and oil spilt out, and lit on fire. He started to speak Hebrew, his words filled with power.

"NO!" Screamed Charon quickly. "That is CHEATING" Suddenly the room vanished and most of the hunters and Abby, found themselves right outside the church, the sun rising and the air feeling...less evil. In a way that only a fresh sunrise could.

_{in collaboration with @Meiyuki}



It was another gorgeous day at Castle Bloodrose. Rebecca had to wonder if there was some sort of spell laid into the masonry to keep the weather constantly beautiful. More likely than not, she surmised. She was lounging in one of the upper rooms, quietly reading an ancient text.

Clarissa's heels made a steady rhythym against the stone of the castle's corridors. Medusa had just informed her than if and when the time came it would fall to her to slay Alphonse. She supposed that made sense, the man's shadow dancing made him an elusive target for anyone else, while her shadow control gave her an indeniable edge against the witch.

She certainly wasn't happy about it though. Alphonse was one of the few left in the castle that still drank to excess and wasn't... stuffy. Clarissa was running low on friends, most witches were too busy with their studies or projects to just relax and enjoy the scenery.

Finally she spied the woman - probably - that she'd been looking for. Rebecca was a necromancer, Clarissa was hoping she'd be able to imbue some of her sentinels with sapience, or at least something close. Alphonse could step through her sentinels after all, but a 'live' one? Necromantic shades were barred to Alphonse, not her.

"Rebecca?" Clarissa did her best not to cringe at the other witch's decay as she approached. "I'm Clarissa, I was hoping you could help me with something."

"Oh, Clarissa. I've seen you around the castle a few times, but we never really spoke." Rebecca looked up from her tome. Rare was the time she was unnerved by someone else's appearance, rather than the other way around, but Clarissa's horns were just so... disturbing. "That depends. What is it that you need, my friend?"

"They tell me you're a necromancer of some skill." Clarissa took a seat near the lich. "I was hoping you'd help me imbue some of my shadow sentinels with sapience, or empower them in some way."

"Sapience?" This was definitely a project that piqued her interest. Few enough witches meddled in such delicate areas of the arcane, but she had the necessary skill set, even if she'd never quite done something like this before. "Yes, I could bind shades to their forms, but I need to know one thing about them. Are you creations more permanent, or are they discarded and reconjured again when needed?"

"They could be permanent I suppose." Clarissa was starting to get strangely interested in what she thought would be a boring ritual performed by a decidedly unsettling witch. "I've normally discarded them, without sapience there's not really much reason not too right?"

"True enough, but that wouldn't work very well. Every time you resummoned them, they'd be the same dumb puppets again. We'd have to do the same thing over and over again." Rebecca shrugged nonchalantly. "Mind you, I still might have to do that. I'm only talented enough to summon three or four shades at once, so we'll have to do them in batches, if you want an army. You can create the first ones while I get my supplies set up." She began rummaging through her robes, taking out a vial of quicksilver, a black candle, several sprigs of flowering yew, and a hawthorn wand.

"Could you make them somewhat resistant to sunlight?" Clarissa asked as she pooled up the shadows around the room, shaping them into tall humanoid figures. She sculpted four in total, investing far more of her energy into them than she was normally willing to part with in such small numbers. Soon enough four tangible silhouettes of black shadow stood in the room. "That would certainly increase their... shelf life?"

"Hmm..." Rebecca seemed lost in thought for a minute. "No, there's nothing I can do to further armor them against the sun, but they will be smart enough to seek protection from it. Did you want the shades of anyone specific, or should I just bind the first ones I could find?"

"Well, I guess I'd prefer soldiers or fighting people." Clarissa scratch the back of her head a little sheepishly. "I'll be the first to admit I'm out of my depth here, but if it's possible I'd like them to have combat experience."

"A simple enough task, then." Rebecca lit her candle, then poured some of the quicksilver onto a yew branch before sticking it in the fire. Her wand glowed with a soft purple light as she used it to draw mystical designs in the smoke.

Her mind seemed to expand dramatically as her consciousness was transported to one of the many, many afterlives. For this particular job, she preferred to use spirits from Asphodel, the Greek Purgatory. Souls in a heaven or hell usually deserved their fates, but here the dead were condemned to the ultimate punishment: eternal boredom. And to think, there were places in Hades' realm considered even worse!

Rebecca could see the life history of every soul play out as a series of disjointed images. She picked out four whose lives had been marked by war, and said, "I bid thee, return." The ghosts were unmoved, so she spoke louder. I bid thee, return!" She'd gotten their attention, at least, but not their obedience. "I bid thee, RETURN!" That did it.

Rebecca's mind snapped back to her physical body as the four shades appeared around her. From here, getting them to meld with Clarissa's shadows was a simple process of blending soul and darkness. "They will obey any commands you give them without question, but can act independently if left to their own devices."

"That... was awesome." Clarissa had watched the scene play out with child-like wonder. This was re al magic? Why hadn't anyone told her it could be so cool!? She turned to Rebecca with sparkling eyes. "How'd you do that!?"

Rebecca blinked a couple of times in surprise. Most of the time, if people didn't run screaming from her at the top of their lungs at first sight, they did after a display of her powers. Yet Clarissa seemed to be impressed, even interested. Necromancy was, ironically enough, a dying art. Too few witches were interested in the discipline, and some feared it might even become a lost branch of magic entirely. If Clarissa was willing to learn, it could be a boon to not only them, but the entire sorority of witches around the globe."I could teach you how do it yourself, if you wish to learn."

"Really!?" Clarissa's eyes widened at the witch's offer. Certainly secrets so grand as those would be more highly guarded right? Either way she wasn't about to pass up on the opportunity to learn to replicate the feat she'd just witnessed. "Yes please! I'd love to learn."

"Then meet me in my room tomorrow morning, 2 hours after sunrise. You will not need to bring anything but your mind and your discipline. What we will be doing is dangerous for one's psyche, and I wish no harm to come to you."

"Thank you!" Clarissa tossed her arms around the other witch in a spontaneous display of gratitude. Bouncing back to her feet she performed a small spin before heading for the door. "I'll have to turn in earlier than usual then, my shadows work best at night so I've been keeping a relatively nocturnal schedule. Small price to pay for knowledge though I'd say. I'll see you then!" She practically skipped out the of the room.

Rebecca's eyes lit up like fireworks when Clarissa left. She'd gained a pupil, and perhaps a friend. The former was not near as valuable as the latter.

Mat, Emiliah, Fenros, Yuri, Marcus, Abby, Coraline.

"NO!" Screamed Charon quickly. "That is CHEATING" Suddenly the room vanished and most of the hunters and Abby, found themselves right outside the church, the sun rising and the air feeling...less evil. In a way that only a fresh sunrise could.

Emiliah blinked in the harsh sunlight, making out the faces of those around her. To her left, were Mat and Yuri. Her right, Coraline and Fenros. Right in front of her was Marcus, with the tiny child, Abby, holding on to him, sobbing softly.

Flint and Liz were nowhere to be seen. Despite her protesting body, Emiliah forced herself to her feet. A hollow feeling settling deep in her stomach the longer she looked, without seeing her friends. Finally she looked up and Fenros, her eyes aching with either tears of knowing her friends could still be with that thing or from exhaustion...or from....any number of things. "Fenros...what...what happened. Why...why did he let us go and...where is Flint...and Liz?" She really didn't expect him to have the answers to her question, but she couldn't help but ask them.

Coraline was taken by surprise when the dark room turned into the bright outdoors. Her eyes hurt and she quickly lost her balance due to the magic leaving her body. Coraline felt to both knees, her hands on the cobblestone path in front of the church. Her sword, Arcadia, clanged as it fell. Her breath was ragged and she was sweating and shaking from the magical purge the ritual had caused.

"That ritual... For nothing., Coraline clenched her teeth.

Only after the ordeal in the cathedral had passed, the fatigue of a long journey from Arcadia to the hunt in the catacombs had caught up with her. Along with the exhaustion of her banishing ritual, Coraline struggled to remain awake. The struggle got the better of her and she slumped down onto the cobblestone. Coraline didn't even have time to think about what the other hunters would do. Kill her? Leave her? Bring her back to Seren's Folly? None of it crossed her mind. Only rest.

Mat himself was attempting to stop his stomach from puking once again after the group was teleported once more and was very close to failing. “The deal Charon,” he whispered. “Do I get my end?” At that moment Mat felt searing pain on his hand, feeling letters write themselves on it. On his left palm, Mat saw a name on his hand written by his blood. “I have to go now…” Mat said to no one in particular as his eyes stared wide open at his hand.

Emiliah glanced over at Mat, who, unlike the rest, seemed to have come up with a second wind from somewhere. There was a bit of blood running down Mat's hand, but the new injury explained nothing. "Go? Where could you possibly have to go right now?" snapped Emiliah, her emotions a little of the raw side after tonight. "We all almost died, Flint and Liz are missing and you have to 'go now'?"

Andri was done for. That VERY quick ending to the situation down there had come very surprising, but he felt he should be glad about it. For Khan, it wasn't the same thing exactly. Khan ? To make one thing clear: I still don't really like you. But I think everyone here owes you a tiny bit and I won't be such an asshole to let everyone here just ignore that when thinking about exorcising or killing or anything else. Andri felt that this statement wasn't reassuring to himself at all. He knew very well he sucked at open combat where he couldn't use his talent and training for stealth and vicious surprise attacks. So if anyone like Fenros would come around and... No, he just refused to think about it any further at the moment. We must keep a very low profile on this, you understand ? The assassin looked around. Apparently all the hunters where there. Or no... Liz and Flint were missing - but likely everyone had already noticed that. He turned around, wordlessly approaching the horse that would have to take him back to Seren's Folley.


Mat slowly turned to face Emiliah, his eyes giving a sullen look. “Death kept his deal,” he slowly mumbled to himself. “I'm so sorry Emiliah.” His eyes began crawling towards the horses where Andri was already approaching them. “I know I still owe you everything for saving my life and for me breaking your fingers over a false deal, but I need to do this. An actual lead, after all this time.”

"Hm, I shouldn't have to save pathtic life forms to get you to obey and respect me," grumbed Khan, seemingly only half listening to what Andri was saying.

Emiliah glanced over at Coraline who seemed to have passout. She had very mixed feelings about the woman. She hated her for being a witch, but at the same time, she only attacked her because a demon told her to...and if a demon wanted Coraline dead...how bad could she be? She then turned her attention back to Mat, who was following Andri towards his horse. "Are you serious Mat? Your going after her now? I know how important this is to you, trust me. But even you have to see that if you go after her now, you will die, right?"

You were pretty eager to get into on of these 'pathetic' life forms... Andri responded. However he had to admit that the style he was attempting to get on his huge horse indeed was very pathetic. There was just barely any strength left in his body, so he really had trouble climbing into the saddle. When he finally was sitting in place, he turned his head to check what the other hunters did. Tell me Khan. Will you let me sleep or will you wake me up multiple times ?

Mar made a slow nod to Emiliah and looked down at the ground. “Emiliah…” he began but paused and looked her in the eye. “Charon reminded me who I was and that building some fake happy-go-lucky personality wouldn't work in the long run. Believe me I wish I was just a sarcastic bastard who won't stop talking, it'd be much more fun than what I have. You need to find your friends Emiliah, but I need to fill the gap that's made me the maniac you saw in my memories. I don't know if I'll die, but I'll do my best not to if you do yours, deal?”

"I don't make deals with idiots and if you leave right now, that is what you are," Had Emiliah had the energy, she might have tried to stop him. But there was no way for her to...not right now and not with everything else they had to worry about at the moment.

Mat looked at the ground and sighed. “I don't want to leave like this, but I suppose I am an idiot. Find your friends Emiliah,” he said, and with that he turned and started walking to the horses.

Fenros looked around, after Emiliah answered him, he didn't answer right away. He was acutally surprised how quickly Death gave up...he was expecting a very long battle and now it seemed.... like he was unfulfilled. But that quickly went away as he tried to look for his little brother. His mind began to work, if Death sent them all out here...why would he not send them as well? Also , why wouldn't he just keep them all and send them in a pocket in the earth with no way out? He didn't feel that Flint was dead...it couldn't be.

He looked to Emiliah who was arguing with Mat. "Forget about him." he said bluntly. " He's not worth the breath." He said as he figured out that he made a deal with death. Despicable. As he walked back to his horses, Mishka and Alltia came running up to him.

After a brief mental conversation he shook his head and Mishka tucked her ears down and whined. "We should all head back to Seren Falls.... There is no way we can find Flint here... not if death was behind it. He glanced over to the witch hunter, Coraline? His brother briefly mentioned her before being sent towards death. He walked over to her and after sheathing his sword , he reached down with one arm around her waist and slowly lifted her up with ease to and slipped an arm under her legs. Before standing up, his hand under her legs reached down and gripped her sword that was on the ground, holding it backwards as it pointed to the ground.

He then turned and started to walk to the horses as well.

"Look, like I said you're already going to die, but you decide how long it'll take," Mat said, staring down at the tied up witch. At this point the witch had already lost several fingers and taken a few bullets to the chest with no food or water given at all. "Do you know who she is or not?"

Mat's last couple days had been filled with similar methods with him trying to grab any information he could. A name had been his lead, but then he needed to find where. Fortunately Mat had tracked down several canidates that had provided some info after being convinced by him.

His latest target had been a screamer, which made him glad he was doing it in an abandon cabin in the woods, but she didn't seem to be turning over anything new for him. After she screamed again that she knew nothing, Mat finally believed her. "Very well," he muttered before he held up his flintlock and fired at her head.

Outside, Mat's stolen horse waited patiently for him as he did his best to clean up, yet he still had multiple blood splotches on his clothes. "Getting closer now, we're almost there," he said to himself as he attached his weapons to the horse before hopping on himself. Giving a light kick Mat moved on.

Several hours later Mat had remained in the forest following a worn down trail that hadn't seen much use until fairly recently. To his knowledge there weren't many around, but there could possibly be a witch that was hiding out nearby who may have more info on any other witches nearby. He glanced around through the forest until he heard a small snap. Turning to the noise Mat had barely any time to react before creature jumped out from the bushes at him.

The hunter had desperatly grabbed for his spear but barely missed as the thing tackled him off his horse. Rearing from the creature, the horse immediately ran away with all of Mat's items on it. Grunting, Mat did his best to keep the creature from immediately killing him with its teeth and reached for his small dagger on his belt.

The creature seemed to be a mix of both a mountain lion and a bear with the shape of the lion and the strong hide of the bear, seeming to get the best out of both the animals. The mountain bear swiped at him and bit into his arm then tossed him like a ragdoll where he hit a fallen tree. Yelling out, Mat unsheathed his dagger with his undamaged left arm to hold the creature at bay. "Oh hell, this was not how I was planning to go out," he called out to the beast, slowing standing up with his dagger in a defensive pose.

The mountain bear didn't seem phased at all, and instead leapt at him again. It brought Mat down and bit down on his already damaged leg, but this time Mat finally had a weapon. Pulling the dagger up, Mat stabbed into the beast's head several times before it cried out and released. With its anger of it being attacked, the mountain bear leapt at Mat but the hunter slashed right at the best and dug down into its heart, killing it instantly.

Falling on his knees, Mat breathed heavily and leaned against the fallen tree, dropping his dagger and looking around. His wounds had begun to bleed and he was losing blood fast. "Well shit," the hunter muttered.

Saen had slithered her way out in front of Angharad. The lamia's scaly body excelled in rough ground, but she was still panting heavily. "What exactly possessed you to mix a mountain lion and a bear? Not exactly a cross I would have considered useful."

Angharad unlike Saen, seemed as though she had simply been talking a relaxingn walk through the woods, use to long runs after some of her more ....wandering children. "Well, you see, I didn't think I could put together two such agressive animals together without having them rip each other apart, so of course I simply had to try," She then took a few step closer to her Bearlion "Oh, Oz!" She called in a sing-song voice. "Come to mother,"

When the creature didn't move, Angharad's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "Come on Oz, don't be difficult," It was only then that she saw the blood and the spear. "Oz!" she screamed, grabbing ahold of the creature and lifting it's heavy body up from the ground. "Oh, my poor baby. Who could have done this horrible thing to you?" It was only then that she noticed the dying Mat. "Y-You!" She screamed, not really caring that Oz attacked first.

As Angharad shrieked upon finding one of her creations dead, Saen had been looking at the scene, trying to piece together exactly what had happened. A long trail of mountain bear tracks gouged into the ground told the story. "Ang, I think your precious child was the one in the wrong here. See these tracks? The only way Oz could have made a path like that was if he charged from a distance. This poor man was caught unawares and fought for his life. By the looks of things, he's still fighting for it." She ripped off a sleeve of her shirt, using it for a bandage. "Help me keep this blasted man alive, would you?"

Angharad glared at Saen like she was ready to fight her for the right to slowly end the dying hunter's life anyways. Never mind whos fault it was. But in an instant, her face softened back to a more neutral pose. "Of course," She walked over to Saen, ripping her own rags and starting to create make-shift tourniquets around some of the larger arteries. "Hello, are you with the living or the dead boy?" she asked, keeping her voice calm, as though not to startle him.

Mat had to blink more rapidly to keep himself awake and could make out two people approaching him. Upon hearing the question of whether he was alive or dead Mat began to laugh to where he began to sound mad. He slowly flipped his hand over so that the name his father's murderer was hidden and finally stopped laughing. "That yours?" He asked aloud, nodding his head at the mountain bear as they were helping him. "Quite the bastard that thing, completely ruined my plans."

Saen had managed to slow the bleeding significantly. The man was still in danger, but now it was the slow threat of his body wasting away before his blood supply could replenish. She didn't want to answer him and give away the fact that they were witches, so she steered the conversation elsewhere. "What's your name, and how did you come to these woods? Few enough travelers take these roads, and fewer still who can defend themselves as well as you."

Mat gave a small chuckle and moved his eyes over at the one asking him. "Oh, I just was trying to find an old...acquaintance of mine. I believe she lives around here, found out from some other friendly folk along the way," he replied, purposefully leaving out the name bit.

Angharad finally pulled away from Mat, his blood staining her hands, but she didn't seem to notice. "Well, then," she said, rubbing a bloody hand through her hair, streaking it with the sticky liquid. "What to do if you now. Is your...'acquaintance' willing to take you in and care for your wound? If so, let us find them and be done with you,"

Saen shook her scaly head, her forked tongue flicking through the air. "I think not, Angharad. It was your creation that did this to him, therefore you bear the responsibility for his injuries. The least you can do is assist him until he recovers. You owe him nothing less... and plenty more for his suffering."

Angharad let out an overly exasperated sigh, putting her hands on her hips. "If he didn't want to get mauled by Oz, he should have been more careful about where he was walking. He was basically asking for it, besides" she said, proding him with her toe. "Mesdua would never allow something like this in her castle,"

Mat breathed a little slower and looked over at the other girl, giving a small smirk. "Oh, she doesn't actually know me personally, but she knew my father and I was hoping to ask her a few things. It's taken me a while, but I was able to track her to here," he explained, then looked back and forth at them as they spoke with each other. Mat's eyes had finally focused enough that he suddenly saw the scales on one of the girls, which made his eyes widen just slightly. "Well shit," he muttered aloud, feeling for his dagger with his right hand. "Witches right?" The moment his hand touched his dagger Mat quickly slashed quickly up.

Saen took the slice in her right shoulder, and it caught some of her hood as well. Fortunately, her skin was thick enough that it didn't do too much damage, but it was still painful. The lamia opened her mouth, displaying her fangs and venom. She was so tempted to bite him and leave him to die... but she'd already done so much to save his life, it would be a shame to waste her effort. "Really? After all we have done for you, you ssstill decide to attack us? Angharad here may owe you her care, but you owe us your very life. If not for her and I, you would have bled to death within minutes."

Angharad let out another loud sigh before ploping herself on the ground just out of Mat's reach. "Not very greatful, is he?" she said. "Now can we let him die? We've got better things to do then waste our time trying to save this creature...." suddenly Ang's eyes lit up and she pounced ontop of the man's body, sitting like a frog, she used her feet to pin the man's arms to the ground, running a finger under his chin before forcing his mouth open. "Oh...the things I'd make of you," she paused then, looking over at Saen "Or...is that also 'wrong' at this moment?"

Saen's voice dropped half an octave. "Without his consent? It's wrong whenever you chose to do it. I am taking him back to Castle Bloodrose to heal. If he can behave himself, once his strength has returned, he will be allowed to leave, though I will excise all knowledge of the coven from his mind beforehand. Without it, he will be of no danger to us. Should he threaten anyone during his stay, however..." A hand quickly drew across her throat in a universal gesture.

Mat’s eyes dropped to the ground as his attack quickly failed and just made the two hostile. It was a reactionary attack, one that wouldn't have worked at all. As they spoke Mat listened carefully to the conversation, his mind processing it all. Snake girl has a memory power, stay away from her. Other witch can mesh two beings together, very nasty that, he thought. Mat looked down at his dagger and would've ended himself then and there if the witch wasn't on his hands. No, wait! A coven! They're part of a coven! She could be there! With that tought Mat made a small smile and watched as the snake witch drew the finger across her throat. As long as I kill her first, you can go right ahead, he thought, making a small laugh. “It was out of reaction alright? I've had a rough couple past days.” Murdering and torturing witches to find this place. “I would just like to find her is all.”

"I'm sure you would," said Angharad, still standing a top Mat's hands. "And it was a very strange reaction to have towards one who saved your life," She then reached out and grab Mat's ear. "The next time you try to 'react' know that I am not invested in you living and would be much happier using your body for spare part," She then lept off of him, yanking him up by his ear as she did so. A small creature then rushed out of her sleeve and down across Mat's neck, wrapping itself like a choker, and giving a warning squeeze. Unlike a regular snake, this one had thousands of tiny clawed feet, with sharp nails and dug into Mat's skin. "This, dear one, is my lovely child, Merope," she said, running a hand through Mat's hair. "And she will kill you, best not to upset her or me," With that, she gave Mat a shove forward. "If you can walk, I suggest you start, if you need transport, I shall arrange some,"

Saen smiled at the Hunter, for that was what he surely was, even if he hadn't said it himself. Both the carrot and the stick had been waved in his face, now it was up to him to choose which one he wanted. "You can follow me back to the castle. Angharad, if one of your children can convey to Medusa that we will be having an unexpected guest and that she is to offer him hospitality, please have them do so."

Mat cringed slightly as the witch brought him up by his ear then had the creature wrap around him. After he was shoved forward, Mat fell forward and looked around. “My leg was damaged previous to this, but your creature made it far worse,” he explained as he surveyed his surroundings. His spear was nearby as it had fallen near him as he fell off the horse. Finding it, Mat used it to prop him up and hold him steady. “There, and it won't help me much should I try anything stupid with your lovely pet.” Hearing the snake witch use her name Mat remembered it in his head. Angharad, if I should somehow survive killing the murderer first, you're next on the list, he thought, then turned to the snake witch and nodded his head. “Very well, lead the way.”

"My children rarely speak english and My Love doesn't speak animal. It is among her few flaws," Angharad glared at Mat, as though it was his fault that Oz had attacked him, and he was being intentionally slow to make her upset. Whenever he stummbled or flat out fell, she could 'kindly' yank him back to his feet, sometimes dragging or mostly carrying him until they reached Castle Bloodrose. "I'm warning you now, if you are anything less than respectful, I'll be sure to replace your dick with something a lot less fun,"

ll throughout the walk Mat very much desired to stab Angharad in her glaring angry face but he figured the snake-crab creature thing would kill him first, and he'd be just another useless corpse. The hunter gave a slight nod at her command to be ‘respectful’ while there. Respectful? Oh that'll be hard, he thought, making a small chuckle. “Just as long as I can still piss with the thing I think I'll be good. Haven't used it for anything else,” he said, giving a small smile. “But sure I'll refrain from spitting at anyone I see, would that work for you?”

"Don't you have goats?" asked Ang, looking at Mat as though she was seriously concerned for him. Before shaking her head and letting the rest of the trip be travel in near silence until they approached the castle.

_{in collaboration with @shagranoz}



It was a rather dreary day at Castle Bloodrose. The clouds were dark and heavy, although it wasn't raining yet. A perfect day to stay inside and out of the weather. Fortunately, that's exactly what Rebecca had planned for the day.

She had dressed in beautiful lilac robes, and was busy preparing to give Clarissa her necromancy lessons. Various magical baubles were strewn seemingly haphazardly around the room, and a rabbit skeleton lay in the center of some sort of mystical design. There was a knock at her door, and the witch went to answer it.

"Hi!" Clarissa was beaming at the door as it opened. "Sorry I'm a touch late, Medusa had me running around asking questions."

She stepped into the room, taking a moment to examine the peraphenallia in wonder, before her eyes settled on Rebecca again. "Lovely robe! It looks good on you."

"Thank you, Clarissa. Come in, come in." Rebecca took a seat on her bed. "We'll start with the basics. Skeletons are not nearly as complex as whole bodies, and much simpler than the shades I showed you yesterday. I also took the liberty of setting up several foci, to better concentrate your power. Now, you need to still your mind, and prepare yourself for a bit of a psychic jolt."

"Still my mind? Amid all this excitement?" Clarissa chuckled briefly. "I will try my best." It had been a long time since she'd had to summon a true swarm of shadows, or perform any really noteworthy magical feat, but as her breathing steadied she fell back into the rhythym of a trained witch. The room seemed to fade slightly as it slipped from her mind, her senses dulled, along with any roaming thoughts, until finally only the sound of Rebecca's voice remained.

Once she was satisfied she was a prepared as she was going to get she spoke. "Alright. I'm ready."

"Now comes the fun part." Rebecca chuckled a little bit. "Concentrate on manipulating all the latent energy in the room into a single spot, about the middle of the rabbit's ribcage. This forms what's called the Spark of Life, the foundation layer of a soul. You're going to feel a pain in your skull, like an annoying headache, but if you do it right, there will be a bright flash, and then you'll be able to puppet the rabbit with your body. Should you get the bond really secure, you can do it with thought alone, but it's rare to be so successful with your first reanimation."

Clarissa nodded briefly before doing as she was instructed. Closing her eyes she reached out with her will, lightly at first, to feel out the energies contained in the small room. Once she'd gotten a good enough sense she opened her eyes again and began to work. Carving channels in the magical space, Clarissa began drawing the energies towards the rabbit's ribcage. That was the easy part however, as onced they'd arrived came the work of condensing them enough for the spell to take effect.

As Rebecca had forwarned her a small pressure began to build in her head as she urged the energies slowly - but surely - into a single point, directly in the center of the ribcage. Just when she thought she'd got something wrong a bright light, accompanied by a strange buzzing sensation, came across her vision. Surely enough, when the flash cleared, at the center of the runework sat an animate rabbit skeleton.

"Wow..." Clarissa eyes sparkled with wonder, her face split by a bright smile. She waved, causing the skeleton to awkwardly mimic the gesture. Giggling she looked to Rebecca. "How'd I do?"

"Well done!" Rebecca hopped off the bed, clearly impressed. "Don't tell anyone this, but it took until my sixth try to get it my first time. You've clearly got an aptitude for this sort of magic. Perhaps even more so than myself. With a little bit of practice, you could have legions of the undead at your beck and call, enough to carve out a fortress of your own."

A burst of laughter rocked Clarissa back and forth in her seat. "Not likely, I've never had much of a talent for anything useful. I'm charming sure, but that's about it." Once her fit of mirth had passed she gave Rebecca a somewhat serious look. "Thank you though. This is... fun, and rewarding. It feels good to learn something so fascinating."

A somber look came over Rebecca's face. "Few enough witches find necromancy 'fascinating.' All the ones I've met wanted nothing to do with me, even when I was alive. That's why I never joined a coven before. I was an outcast among outcasts. You, Medusa, all the witches here... you're my family. The only one I can really recall."

"I'm glad you came! I've never had anyone but Lorelai offer to teach me anything, and Lorelai's mean so." Clarissa looked around a little sheepishly. "You're really nice, and necromancy has got to be the coolest thing I've seen in years, maybe ever. I haven't the faintest idea why you'd be treated so poorly."

She pointed to the rabbit who - much to Clarissa's pleasure - mimicked the expression. "Dead is supposed to be the end. It's not ressurection sure, but the idea that it can move and act. It's like stealing from the underworld. It's exhilerating."

Rebecca snapped her fingers-or at least tried to. All she managed to do was flick a decent-sized chunk of flesh across the room. "Damn. I'm going to have to clean that up later. And you hit on why I was so ostracized, though you didn't realize it. Even other witches don't think the boundary between life and death is a plaything."

As horrifying as it probably should have been, Clarissa just giggled as her eyes followed the piece of dead flesh. "I guess I can understand that, but aren't we supposed to push boundries? And change things? Oh well."

She placed her arm around Clarissa shoulders. "And the idea that you would be virtually cut off from here, unable to come back without someone to guide you? Most people, even if they have magic, don't want to confront their own mortality. It's only at the end when they realize, 'Hey, maybe the crazy woman who spent all her time with corpses would be really handy right about now.' And by then, it's too late."

Laughing again Clarissa nodded. "No one wants to die, ironic then that they're so afraid of death they impede the witch that may someday turn it back." She sighed. "Isn't that the story of witches though? Fear of the unknown and small minded people pushing us out? Occassionally sending us down dark roads of power just to survive? For every 'black' witch out there there's also a hunter, or a mob, that pushed her there."

"True enough. I was a hero to many back home. Used my gifts to solve a murder that had bedeviled the town watch for a week. But when I got sick..." She shuddered. "I've seen Hell, Clarissa. I knew what was lurking, waiting in the dark to greet me when I died. So I did what I could to avoid that fate. Anyone else in the town would have done the same, were they capable. But they weren't, and they hated me for it."

Clarissa patted Rebecca back in comisseration. "When I was a girl I used to put on plays for my friends using shadow puppets. When the townsfolk found out... We've all heard the story, or a variation of it." She grinned again. "People will always fear what they can't understand, but at least we've got each other, and a coven of good people."

Suddenly she frowned. "That is, if it doesn't tear itself apart first."

Rebecca's eyebrows shot up. Sure, everyone around the castle had seemed rather tense recently, but this was the first time she'd heard that there may be full-blown dissolution of the coven. "Tear itself apart?" she asked, alarmed. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You haven't heard?" Clarissa supposed that wouldn't be so strange. While she had no idea why Rebecca wouldn't be more popular the witch probably knew her own situation better than she did. "Lorelai and Medusa... things are not going well between mommy and mommy. It's looking like it might get bloody, it's certainly going to get stormy though."

"Clarissa... believe me when I say this, you are the closest friend I have in this world, or the next." A somber look came over Rebecca's face. "So when I tell you that I cannot take sides in this conflict, you know where I am coming from. A long time ago, when I was caught using my magic for the first time, I was made to swear an oath that I would never use my gifts to harm anyone. To save lives, rather than end them. Over the years, I've taken that promise into my own heart. I can raise my hand against neither Lorelai or Medusa. Should the time come when I have to make that decision, I would far rather consign myself to the Inferno."

"Hopefully you won't have to, maybe things will blow over, but I've got a feeling that they won't this time." Clarissa's eyes were sad. "I don't want to take sides either, but I've got to stay afloat somehow. I don't want to be caught in the middle alone."

She sighed. "Maybe we'll get lucky, and it'll all finish up before we're called on to make a choice. Although if I have to... I don't know, Medusa seems the likely bet."

"I-I need to leave for a while. Go to the woods, mull some things over on my own. Do not send anyone to find me. I may come back in a few days, I may not. Regardless, I must thank you, Clarissa. For everything." With that, Rebecca turned and departed, heading for a murky and uncertain future.

What a nag is this ? Don't tell me you've spent your coins on that!
It's a horse that can take my size and carry my weight. Sorry if the result of me having to make a choice under these constraints doesn't suit your need for comfort. Doesn't my brain cushion all that movement quite well ? Andri didn't speak as he had found out that Khan was able to understand his thoughts. And his thoughts were filled with sarcasm.
What the hell are you thinking ? I don't need shock absorption! When I will have got you to the point I want you to be and you want to be there as well once you've experienced it, your body will rock like an earthquake! Up and down and in and out! Fast! Ya know ?
The assassin grunted. That worm... YES GODDAMNIT! I KNOW! Stop puking your thoughts into my head! I want to sleep!
I could poof you there... Hell I could poof you to every place you can describe in detail. Sell this struggling beast and invest the refund into something more pleasureable. Is there a house of pleasure in that shabby village ?
No!
But you have a lake, a blacksmith and TWO taverns ? You pathetic hunters pay for the wrong things... Andri was really trying to keep his annoyance at a level that wouldn't cause even more attention to be focused on him. The assassin tried to be well ahead of the other hunters - or what remained of the group that came here. Sometimes his eyes darted behind him to see what they did, especially Fenros. Don't worry about him. Save it for the moment that beautiful huntress returns. The one you grabbed at her boob so absolutely not gentlemanly.

There was a low demonic laughter in Andri's head, but it was loud enough to piss him off even more. When he finally reached Seren's Folley, he was so aggressive that he almost kicked open the door to the tavern's main room. As he was the first to arrive, noone was here yet. The giant went straight for the bar, slammed a few low-value coins onto it in order to pay the absent barkeeper and reached for the next bottle of cheap booze himself. But his hand never got there...
No! You're fooling me! Down in the cathedral, when it was dire and desperate, you cried crocodile tears about all of your little money gone for that nasty animal! And now ? You suddenly have enough left to spend on alcohol ?!
Khan ? Khan you... ? You did poof me out of that tavern ?
Yes i did! That booze will make you lazy, fat, dumb and overall unattractive for a woman. I can't let that just happen. Hereby I demand you to cut your budget on beverages and save the savings for a decent whore now and then!
Andri hatched a plan. If he just pretended the right thing... Okay... I give up. For the sake of you letting me sleep then... May I at least collect the coins lying in there ? Of course... The assassin entered the tavern again, approached the bar, glanced first at the bottle, then at the coins and then grabbed both of them in such a close succession that Khan, instead of poofing Andri with only the coins, took the bottle with them as well. There you go!. He didn't wait for anything, he didn't care for him standing in the muddy street in front of the tavern again. He yanked the cork out of the bottle, took a huge breath and started gobbling the booze as if someone could take it away from him at any moment. That trick won't work twice you bastard!

Andri didn't feel good at all. That chug-a-lug felt like the last bit of punishment his body required to start failing. Hey host... I can't stabilize you... Get to your room, QUICK! Khan's repeated interjections degenerated into strange noises in Andri's perception. And for Khan, the stream of thoughts that once had been quite understandable had degenerated into unintelligible garbage. He dropped the bottle a few dozen steps away from the tavern and never managed to reach his own bed. Instead, the giant dropped next to a tree onto a settle, still covered in crusted blood from that undead beast he and Liz had encountered, mud from the coffin and spilled liquor.

featuring Rebecca, Andri, and Draco

Seren's Folly. Rebecca had no clue who Seren was, but folly seemed an appropriate tern for what she was doing. The undead sighed, prepared herself for a legion of curses and spite, and walked into town carrying a white flag.

Many of the people in town seemed to be at work, which was a blessing for her, though she still attracted many stares and slack jaws. The main tavern was named "The Witch's Paradise." Rebecca could only smile, hoping the name would prove accurate. A man was sleeping off a drunken stupor in front of the entrance, so she nudged him with her foot. "Excuse me, but would you happen to know where I can find some hunters?"

Draco had seen many gruesome sights... often in the aftermath of a beast attack but he wasn't arrogant enough to fail to recognise the blood that was on his hands in turn. However, there was nothing quite like watching a man drink himself into a drunken sleep in public that was quite as pitiful. Some people really shouldn't be hunters if they were ill prepared for the mental toll that it would take...

The masked man had been about to completely ignore the passed out shell of a hunter that had fallen asleep by one of the trees near the entrance of the village and continue about his day in finding rumors of a hunt when he noticed someone waving a white flag... and a lot more rot then any living person was inclined to have, kicking the drunk in an attempt to wake him.

Draco tended to avoid the undead; His talents tended to fare better against supernatural beasts of flesh and blood instead of bone and decay, but he had been forced to tangle with such things before. The fact that it was weilding a white flag caused him pause through... Resting his saw-cleaver on his shoulder more out of a promise of what would happen if this turned out to be a trap, the masked hunter approched the undead woman.

Sometimes it paid to no longer have a sense of smell. "Greetings to you. Might I ask what you are doing here?" He asked, surprisingly civil for a hunter.

Andri had been extremely tired and quite intoxicated when he had fallen asleep, but his shuteye was very far from being really restful. His brain was continuously repeating his experiences in the cathedral. Not so much Charon and not so much undead beasts, but being buried alive. He didn't know if this was Khan's influence or not, and he was just too unable to concentrate to actually ask him.

During one of his more shallow phases of sleep, he felt a disturbance around his leg. A very strange disturbance. Normally, even if the body contact was very short, one could feel each other's warmth. It wasn't the case this time, but perhaps his feelings had become erratic, too. Blinking, he opened his eyes and looked up from where he was lying. His stomach couldn't hold it any more. He had been close to puking multiple times in the cathedral and yet hadn't done it even when he had emptied that bottle in almost no time. But now... was he still trapped in a nightmare ? Couldn't be... everything felt just so real now - and so it smelled, unfortunately. At least the combination of beverage and acid did hit neither him nor Rebecca but the spot in between them.

Andri groaned heavily. There appeared to be another person standing rather close to the being in front of him. "What the hell..." and he started to lift himself in a more upright position. "Who are you and who are you ?" and he pointed sequentially at Rebecca and Draco. He had seen none of them yet.

The giant man vomited, narrowly missing Rebecca. "Charming," she said dryly. She then went back to the masked man. "I am Rebecca, and as crazy and ironic as it sounds... I'm looking to secure the services of some hunters for a very important mission." She leaned herself up against the tree, waiting for them to simply break down laughing. If she was lucky.

Strangely enough, Draco didn't laugh at the request. Saw-Cleaver still on his shoulder, he quite calmly replyed "Well clearly you are. And I have little doubt that the need is dire if you were willing to risk a white flag standing between yourself and a pack of hunters... Or this is merely some sort of ploy and we would be better off striking you down where you stand now. If nothing else, there is no harm in hearing you out Rebecca. My name is Draco." Draco introduced himself with a slight bow, completely ignoring the giant of a man who had made his first impression with bile.

Anyone who bothered to look closely at his face mask might have noticed something strange about it, but it was hard to tell exactly what.

Did you know that I'm suffering from necrophilia ? the demon worm in his head asked. Tell me something I didn't expect... And now please shut up! Khan gnarled. He would not drop this topic, only... shift it to a later point in time when his host would be more susceptible for his words. The assassin slowly climbed to his full 87 inches and took two steps away from his own mess. The good thing: Now that the stuff was out, his intoxication wouldn't build up anymore but start rolling down the gentle slope again.

He didn't laugh. Even through the layer of alcohol he could clearly see that this was serious. Noone would come here and risk his own...well...'life' for just joking around. If the thing that this Rebecca was asking for was real or a carefully designed trap - that was a different story that demanded investigation. For now, Andri mumbled a "Sorry." He became more and more aware that the impression he gave must've been a shame for the entire village, but... None of the other had been infested with a demon in his brain - and he couldn't even demonstrate that because that would probably kill him right away. "So..." he continued with slow words towards Rebecca: "What is your motivation ?"

Rebecca finally noticed that the masked man's face was disfigured in some way. Really, he shouldn't mind that much. I mean, I have half my jawbone showing and I don't feel the need to hide myself. "There's little time or room for delicacy right now, so I'll just come out and say it. The Bloodrose Coven, my coven, marches to war against itself. I'm asking you to help me stop the fighting, hopefully before it starts." The words poured out of her in a nervous rush. She'd never had to actually fight a hunter, much less two at once. If they attacked, she'd swiftly go from undead to just plain dead.

To say that Draco was not amused by the request would have been an understatement. He didn't believe in witches in the same sense of other people; All that a witch tended to be was a medicine woman of some kind that knew how to use nature to heal or harm people who didn't bow down to the local church and was thus demonized... Demon worshippers however was a completely diffient matter.

"Tell me Rebecca, why should we get involved in the fortunes of those who worship and convert with demons? Because you seem intelligent enough to know that if you're calling in hunters to assist with your infighting you know what sort of help we are likely to provide."

Andri's mind was struggling to pick up the speed required to track down the implications of this entire meeting in an adequate amount of time. Rebecca had to come from a coven herself, otherwise she wouldn't have this information. Andri wasn't the one who was eager to kill every witch and other creature right away no matter what. Hell he had been the one who had openly stated that he believed that the hunter's owed something to a demon worm. It all was a matter of finding out what's going on with a certain person first and then making decisions. He looked over to the other hunter, Draco. The mask didn't reveal anything about his thinkings. Pretty clever... perhaps he should adopt this himself.

The assassin was quite willing to continue listening. Even if the entire thing would turn out not being compatible with his own ethics at all - what was the most probable outcome -, it could be quite worth knowing the details of this... civil war ?. But for now, something else struck his mind: "Sorry to interrupt, but we have to get you off the streets right now! There are other hunters here that would probably give a shit about a white flag. Follow me."

The assassin didn't wait long for an answer. He had arrived himself just a few days earlier, but he had spent quite some time on nosing around, so he knew a path that would lead them away from the public road and to a more hidden place.

"Tell me, Draco. Why would you stand idly by with the sort of powers about to be unleashed? Lorelai Von'Strauss is calling up the Lords of Hell as we speak! You realize what that could mean- every living thing for a hundred leagues could well be slaughtered! And Medusa Bloodrose might be stronger still."

Rebecca swallowed nervously. "Hunters are sworn to protect human lives at any cost. I know this. But what you often forget is that witches are humans, too. I'm not here as a witch asking you to save her coven. I'm here as a human being asking you to save lives: witch, hunter, and civilian alike."

When the huge hunter offered to show her to a place where they could discuss things in private, she nodded. "Lead on then, good sir."

Draco was more then happy to take this conversation away from where the more... trigger happy hunters would see it. "You are mistaken about one thing Rebecca. Hunter's are not sworn to defend human lives; They are sworn to end threats to humanity. The importances of human lives is optional and normally left up to the individual hunter to work out." It was a quote of something that his father had loved to teach. While truthfully Draco wasn't a fan of his father's beliefs and to his knowledge favored protecting people more then most, there was no reason to let Rebecca know that.

"And what exactly do you get out of us getting involved in intenal spat of your demon cult? Say we go in and remove the various threats and save the world... where does that leave you at the end of the day?" It wasn't to say that Draco didn't believe that the undead girl cared about preventing massive loss of human life, but sometimes doing the right thing can also be personally profitable as well...

The place Andri was leading Rebecca and Draco to was a rather tiny cave that was hidden below a bunch of small trees and bushes that probably just had starting growing a few years ago. It wasn't exactly near of Seren's Folley, but quite a few yards steeply uphill into the woods.

"Here we are." and he squeezed himself inside the cavern first. It was pretty dark in here, but that would also prevent them from being spotted easily from outside and the environmental noise around them would consume their words. He didn't feel like he had something to add. The masked one had gotten to the point very quickly, something that appealed to him.

The cave was quite comfortable, all things considered. Rebecca sat herself on a little ledge of rock, knowing that what she was going to ask would be harder still. "Then this will most certainly not be a normal contract, Draco. You will be permitted to use any and all non-lethal measures, should you be attacked. Let me stress the key words in that statement. Non-lethal."

"Gentlemen, something big is coming. Bigger than this. I'm not the best diviner, so I don't know what exactly. What I do know is this: witches and hunters will need to stand together soon enough, and we'll need all the strength we can manage. The hunters aren't strong enough to fight this evil on their own, and neither is my coven. Together, though, we might just stand a chance."

"Wait a minute..." Andri interjected, raising his hands as an additional gesture. "To summarize this up: You are telling us to prevent your coven from destroying itself inside out. At the same time you are asking us not to kill anybody and probably even just attack when being attacked ? So... this will be a diplomacy mission ? And... if the thing happens that I would expect to happen when a bunch of hunters approaches a coven whose inhabitans are up to threatening the entirity of humanity with whatever they are building up there... and assuming that the bunch of hunters survives this... What are we then gonna do with the heap of witches that has been taken out of action in a non-lethal way ? Wouldn't the entire thing just start over again when we leave the scene ? That sounds a bit absurd to me, to be honest. You have to provide way more detail." And then it was that his influenced mind finally managed to remember something it had been missing entirely for minutes. "By the way... my name's Andri."

Draco couldn't help but nod his head in agreement with the points that the drunkard had raisen. He also felt inclined to raise a few more. "For starters, you could start by explaining the various sides of this internal conflict... and then explain to us how exactly you're going to convince the demoning worshipping lunatics to stop trying to murder innocent people long enough to actually work out a alliance?"

"The pleasure is mine, Sir Andri." Rebecca gave him a little bow. "I expect you to provide protection for all involved while I attempt to negotiate a settlement between the two sides as a neutral party. If we can gather enough hunters together, we should be able to create a situation where, should either side attack the other, the attacked group and ourselves would be able to easily crush the aggressors side by side. Makes talk more likely to succeed."

"As for the sides of the conflict, I can only speak to one. Medusa Bloodrose is the reigning matriarch of the Bloodrose Coven, hence the name. Several days ago, she received a prophecy from the witches of Clan Seher, informing her that Lorelai Von'Strauss, her lieutenant, will soon betray her. Medusa hopes to defend her place atop the coven. Right now, Lorelai and several other witches from the coven are away on coven business at Castle Ruvina. This may be where the betrayal is taking place. As for Lorelai's goals, I cannot speak for sure, as I have never met her, but I hear that she is defined by her ambition. I presume she wishes to take Medusa's place, for whatever reason."

Andri looked at Rebecca in a very sceptical way. "Or both sides could decide that the trap is working properly and squeeze the hunters in between them. Either because it was really intended to be a trap or because both sides see the opportunity at the same time and give it a higher priority than their mutual hostilities." He made a small pause. "You see the problem ? We have hardly any way to trust what you're saying and you must understand that. Do you have any kind of proof or can you think of a way to acquire it?"

There was a ton of other things now roaming in Andri's mind. Protecting Rebecca from the more trigger-happy hunters when it came to reveal the plan to all of them, for example. Or how to keep in contact as it could be assumed that she couldn't stay away from her coven forever. But the trust issue was the one that had to be solved first, no matter what.

For the first time in a long time, Draco laughed. It was not a pleasant thing. "Are you serious? Is your coven leader really stupid enough to fall for a self fulfilling prophecy?" Shaking his head at the stupidity of the world, he merely muttered "You cannot trust prophecy. Even if the seer giving it cannot lie, that doesn't mean they can't present it in such a way to serve their own interest... and that is provided that it is a real prophecy in the first place. For all you know, this Clan Seher is making a power grab by convining the biggest, strongest cult around to destroy itself by convining the leader that the second in command is out for her job.."

"I have never heard of the prophets of Seher being wrong in foresight. They descend from the Oracles of Delphi, and their name holds as much respect as any royal house among our kind. If it was said by a Seher, it shall come to pass."

"I'm not sure how I can convince you to trust me. The best I can offer is to place myself at your mercy. I presume you have either gold or wolfsbane on you. Let me take them, and strip myself of my magic, save what keeps my in this state. If I am lying, you may kill me. I suggest aiming for my skull or my bloodstone heart."

"[color=00aaeef]If these are the same Oracles of Delphi that told King Croesus of Lydia that he would destroy a great empire if he went to war only to tell him that it was his own after he lost, I am not impressed. Tell me, since learning this information that Von'Strauss was going to betray her, would I be wrong in guessing that Bloodrose is currently planning to strike first and try and deal with the betrayal before it can happen?[/color]" Draco asked, his eyebrow raised as he looked at the lich but continued before an answer could be given.

"[color=00aaeef]And let's face it, if Von'Strauss was loyal before it would be completely reasonable for her to defend herself from her paranoa driven former leader that wants her dead. For all you know, your coven leader is creating the betrayal against her by attacking those your 'Oracles' claim will betray her.[/color]."

Andri was stunned. This undead was really asking him to torture her in order to proove anything. The assassin smirked at Draco. He wasn't very well educated in terms of history, but the other hunter's point was clearly visible: If you want to make a prophecy work, just keep it vague enough until the situation you've been waiting for has arrived and then adjust the details. It was so simple and yet so hideous.

Turning back to the ongoing discussion, he attempted to be polite towards Rebecca, as her offering was something one didn't hear every day and was indeed most likely implicating some sort of good will. "No... sorry. This won't work. It has to be real information. So..." He started thinking. What could he ask ? "Given that the plan includes a big witch-hunter-witch meeting anyway... Would it be possible to speak to Medusa directly ?"

He knew that this probably could be considered very daring, but he also knew that the entire level of planning and discussion they had already reached here was somewhat out of the ordinary.

"Ah, but you haven't heard all the information yet." Rebecca shook her head. "You seem to be under the belief that Medusa sent Lorelai away on her mission to get her killed and remove the threat, correct? That would fit with the facts... if the prophecy hadn't arrived after she left. As far as Medusa knew, Lorelai was indeed loyal. She hasn't had a chance to talk to her since."

"I believe I can arrange a meeting with Medusa in the woods. That's the best I can do. She may or may not allow you into the Castle, so neutral ground will be the best bet."

Draco shook his head, slightly confused by the arguement. "[color=00aaeef]No, I never suggested that the mission was a means to get rid of her... through that isn't actually a bad plan in and of itself. I was honestly expecting Medusa to either try and arrange it that Von'Strauss and those most likely to support her will either die on the way back or full on ambush them once they return to base. Since Medusa doesn't have contact with Von'Strauss, she can't really prove or disprove that there is treason in the air...[/color]"

Twisting his mouth a little bit, Draco looked over at Andri for a moment before saying "[color=00aaeef]Honestly? I think we're going to need to get the opinion of more hunters before we try and set up a meeting on their behalf.[/color]"

"I don't believe that discussing about the purpose of this mission will get us any further. If I was planning a betrayal and would be sent on a very dangerous mission suddenly and just with all my followers and almost noone else I would possibly smell the rat, take a few days off at a place noone can find me and where is no danger at all and then come back pretending that the mission was an utter failure. Or I'd just do the very same thing if I just felt that it was acting against my plans. So there's quite a chance that this entire thing didn't have any effect at all no matter what the correct sequence of events really was. We'll likely never find out so just skip that."

He turned to Draco, with a little grin on his face. "Who said that I intended on doing this on the behalf of the entire hunter community ? We are already discussing and planing with a member of the Bloodrose coven without having asked for permission first. Noone can forbid us to do that as long as we point this matter out as it is."

"I will leave to try and arrange this meeting. I shall return to the The Witch's Paradise tomorrow at sunset. If I am wearing lilac robes, it means that I was successful and shall have more details for you. If my robes are grey, it means that Medusa refused to meet. Regardless, Draco, Andri..." She turned to the two hunters, tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you." She departed the cave, her heart just a little lighter. She had taken the first step on the road to peace, and gotten her foot in the door. Now, it was just a matter of forcing it open.