Helena proceed cautiously down the darkened corridor. She gripped a blade tightly in one hand while she listened to the sounds of footsteps ahead of her in the dark. There was the running of their suspicious friend, and the heavy sound of Annabeth’s just behind his with Collette somewhere in between. Her and Athalus brought up the rear of the group, but even then, she knew they had to pick up their pace or their friends might end up in piles of lumpy goo or something like that. And she was not at all interested in the idea of that happening to Annabeth. Her being dead made it very difficult to talk with her after all.

When she came into the more open space, it was just as the body of their fellow student was tossed aside like a dolly, blood following its arc across the room. “Well, shit,” she mumbled, as she took a step back, hopefully not to bump into Althalus behind her. “This...this is going to be awful.”

Taking a deep breath she resolved herself to going in and helping. “though maybe with an actual plan this time,” she said aloud without the rest of her thoughts attached.

Once Leith had finished talking with Bryland, it was time that the baron made his appearance with his son. A child borne of a vampire with the blessing of a god. An impressive thing indeed. After people started gathering, Leith decided to go find his group. As they made their way to the baron, Leith noticed that Lyn looked a bit nervous. As she was glancing between the two Esyire guards he walked up to her.

"You know, you might burn holes in their armor if you stare hard enough," Leith said in a light tone, trying to lighten the mood. "Relax, they won't bite, not unless you try anything violent." He thought for a moment before chuckling quietly. "Out of everyone gathered here that might be the most true thing I said." He frowned. "Unless They're vampires as well. You know, I don't think I've actually seen an Esyire vampire before. How would the albinism affect them, I wonder..." Leith trailed off for a few moments before realizing what he had done and glancing back at Lyn. Ssarak had finished talking, and Meirin had joined him in addressing the baron.

"Anyway, what I was trying to say was relax, and get ready to greet the baron and his family." With that said he walked up beside Ssarak and Meirin, bowing to the baron before speaking.

"But that's enough about us. I do believe a congratulations is in order. It is not often that one receives a blessing from a god. Although, that could mean that you may be under more scrutiny than others now." Leith chuckled. "You said you attended the College. What were you there for; Knowledge, or Magic?"

---

Darius Jura

Darius had been caught off guard by the swiftness and power of the old man. Once the slaughter, there was no other word to describe it, was over, he stared hard at the man. He was certain that what he saw had to do with magic of some kind. His time at the college taught him that anything seemingly out of the bounds of normal people could be explained with magic of some kind. He kept his thoughts to himself as he felt that if the worst possible scenario happened, they would be fighting him. All Darius needed to do was try and figure out what the man did. He followed the group, lost in thought.

Lyn, Hysteria (Djarkel)

---

Lyn relaxed when Keri smiled. She noted the tension slip away from the vampire and caused her own worry to melt, her figure gradually relaxed into a causal posure rather than an alert one. It was a relief she had helped the young vampire not to lose control as Keri seemed to have returned from her bloodlust state and was much more normal now. Lyn’s hands folded over her front while she continued to watch Mei pass by and reach Ssarak’s side before she bowed, then intro herself.

Leith’s words interrupted her attention causing Lyn to turn her head toward him. It seemed he had noted her concern and intimidation over the Esyire, mentioning a good question over the fact if they were vampires or not. She frowned in thought for a moment. Logically she wanted to say no due to the fact that Naga were immune to Aarem’s blessing and couldn’t be turned into vampires, but Esyires were also more human than Naga.

“I’m sorry, but they are bit… scary looking. You would think after being with my godfather, there would be very little that would make me intimidated and worried if they would attack. Especially after the event with my first hunt,” Lyn stated in a cool and whispering voice,[color] “Naga aren’t affected by Vampirism really so I’m not fully sure if Esyires are the same.”[/color]

She turned to Keri, “Keri, when you bit that rogue Naga, did you know if it infected her or not? I know it’s hard to tell really because she went into Malice, but I’m curious.”

The young woman had missed Leith’s look as she noted that Mei and Ssarak took the lead, taking turns to introduce each other. Both had a charisma and ability to be natural leaders, a fact Lyn envied about since it gave them confidence that she lacked. Maybe one day she would more like them and make the world a better place. Her ears caught Leith’s mention about her to relax and get ready to greet the baron and his family, a fact she hadn’t been dwelling on too much until now.

”Well, that’s a pleasant thing to hear and I’m sure she would’ve. The College needs more individuals like herself in order to protect itself from the likes of Eania and their prejudice after all,” the Baron said as he bowed to each student and bent to just above waist high. Unlike the students, it was due to his station within the sociality. Any lower would’ve made him look weak and ill educated compared to the students. This alone would’ve brought unpleasant things upon his family and him, usurping them from power by those power hungry enough to desire their station. Through they wouldn’t dare do so at the current party.

As Mei spoke, the Baron absorbed the woman’s words and seemed to determine if they were genuine or not. For several uncomfortable moments he left silence to linger before he finally broke it, “The College always brought out things in their students that no other place could. Many, myself, have debated if they are good or bad through. I suppose it depends on perspective at the end of the day. However, visiting home despite being elsewhere tends to remind you of where your heart belongs after all and will always roam. Through in a vampire’s case, heart is an ill use of terms since we’re undead.”

He then moved toward Leith’s words, noting both Keri and Lyn still hesitate to approach with a glance. The baron took a moment to think and recall, his eyes studied the white skin and haired individual that resembled a vampire. Only his scent told the baron otherwise causing him to relax, “Mostly curiosity rather than knowledge and magic. I had another way to learn magic, though unlike the college its not free and limited in comparison. It was during the time that Ovak actually dedicated himself to teaching and instead of solely to the arch mage role.”

When the baron finished up, Lyn turned to Keri, “Ready?”

Several Hours later, Unknown Location in Yarosmere.

"We have good news, and we have bad news." Sahra began. The College students had all been rounded up and taken to the back of the cave system, where the two leaders of the Resistance were waiting. "The good news is that we know where your friends are and we can get you to them fairly quickly. It's also highly likely that none of you will be harmed by the 'King' as he invited you here in the first place. Regardless, we'll have soldiers in place to help if anything goes incredibly wrong." She smiled reassuringly. "It probably won't though. Even he's not crazy enough to piss off the world's largest source of master mages."

Mak spoke next. "The bad news is that to get close to him without being grilled by the guards, or worse Yolin, it has to look like you didn't just have a fun time eating most of our supplies," He looked pointedly at Baulder, "or wandering around the caves. Which means we're going to have to beat you. Not severely, but enough that it looks like you put up a fight and didn't answer any of our questions. Then, we'll drop you outside the the palace and you'll be taken to the medical ward and then to the dinner with the King. This will be the first time you or your friends have met him. Be on your guard. He hides his madness and cruelty behind a powerful degree of charm. Don't let him fool you. He would just as soon skin you alive as treat you as a guest. If anything goes wrong, break one of these emblems." He slid a few black stones across the table. They seemed to absorb the light, and were cold to the touch. "They'll alert Sahra that you need help, and she'll send us in."

He waved a dismissive hand. "THat's only if it all goes wrong though. It's far more likely you'll have to stomach sitting with a monster, and then be sent on your merry way the next day to describe the situation to the college. Any questions?"

Sansar, Yarosmere

"I'm sure you're all tired and hungry from the days events, so sit, eat, reenergize yourself!" Yolin declared, ushering them into a room. They had spent the last few hours going from room to room as Yolin droned on about what each purpose served, and the staff there. He was very excited about it, for a reason Aramir couldn't fathom. It had all nearly bored her to death. Regardless, food was being wheeled in in small plates.

"You'll be eating with the King soon, so do try not to fill up. These are just pick me ups, something to wake you up and energize yourselves. THere are washrooms to your left if you'd like to freshen up. I'll be back to collect you after a while." With that, Yolin turned on his heel and left, presumably to go make sure the King's dinner service would be ready and perfect.

Aramir looked around, disinterestedly glancing at the food left by the staff. "Well. The people seem very happy under this King's rule. Aside from the bloodsport, fanaticism, and genocide of an entire race, he doesn't seem to be doing that bad of a job." She offered to their small group.

Althalus, Nox

"Gee, I wonder why. It can't be because you appeared out of nowhere in this treachero-wait where are you going? The other group is dead or dying!" Althalus called after Darell and Annabeth as they both headed into the shadows. He cursed, reluctantly following Helena as the two of them walked towards the sounds of death and murder. Silence grew and stretched out as they approached, making Althalus nervous. Silence was never good after something that sounded as violent as that. It usually meant that whoever had won wasn't going to be distracted by its victims anymore.

Much to his surprise, there were still survivors. Less survivors by the second, he noted as a corpse flew over head and splattered into a nearby wall. Althalus idly stepped the side as Helena stepped back, waving a hand forward and through her in a gesture towards the beast. "Nitemare. Nasty little bastards. Teleportation, prehensile tails with knives on the end of them, and all the power of a warhorse behind those horns. We have an idiot who ran into here blind, a boy with a rapier, Annabeth, Colette, and you. Grab my knives and stay back. Annabeth has the training to not be gutted by this thing, and Colette should be fast enough not to be. Hopefully Daren or whatever his name was knows something other than 'run blindly in' and rapier boy over there didn't just get lucky. Do try not to hit our friends with my knives. They're very expensive and would go straight into vital organs. I'll go see what I can do, seeing as I'm about as solid as a wall of fog."

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak was aware that their time to speak with the Baron was not limitless, so it would be wise to make the most of it. He wanted to be careful to ensure they kept up the friendly tone of this meeting. Their ultimate goal in attending this event was to ensure the Baron would remain an ally to the College. He was being friendly enough, though in political matters, friendly words meant little. Still, he had not thusfar had any reason to believe there were any problems between him and the College.

”Indeed, Lucilia does everything that she can for the College, and Ovak still fills his role effectively. I do not think I have ever been as impressed with another as I have been with the Arch Mage. His appearance is certainly deceiving.” Ssarak responded to the Baron, actually quite genuinely. He still remembered well how the Archmage had managed to single handedly end the single strongest demon attack that Ssarak was aware had ever happened in Tiien. “Regardless, you can rest assured that the College remains, and will remain a sanctuary for any of your subjects who have the desire to learn what we have to teach, living or undead. Personally, I believe that Tiien should be a place where any being who seeks to live in peace should be able to do just that.”

Feeling that he had spoken enough about the College itself, Ssarak decided to shift the conversation at least somewhat more towards the Baron on his people. ”With the demon presence in Tiien, have your lands fared well?”

Helena listened to Athalus, shivering at the ghostly feeling of his hand passing through her. She said nothing about it though because he probably didn’t even know that he’d done it. “You can be general of this battle,” she said, looking at him as she pulled out another knife of her own. “It can’t hurt you, right? Fog walls can’t be hurt. You can see everything without having to worry about yourself. Tell us what to do to make sure we all get out of this.”

Taking a deep breath she headed into the room, slowly, and sticking to the wall. While she knew it could teleport through them, that didn’t mean that it would. But it gave her a safer view of the room as well. Deciding while the beast was distracted with other things and before it saw her, she would see if she could get in at least one or two throws. Which she did just that, praying that the beast wouldn’t suddenly move out of the way and she’d hit friends instead of foe.

There was no time to fear. If there was one lesson Satori taught her about psychomancy, it's that emotions fuel it. Fear can be a powerful source, but it is selfish and will often only serve to delay the inevitable. If Annabeth wanted to run away fear would be helpful. But that wasn't her intentions. She was going to save people's lives; if she was fearful, she wouldn't be successful. No, she needed confidence. Bravery. Courage. Yes, she was concerned about the threat that faced the students and could potentially kill her. But it wasn't fear that made her go forward, her blade drawn, to defend her friends and associates. Today, she would tap into her heroism.

The scene was horrific, even in the darkness. Two dead bodies, two frighten students, and another nightmare. Annabeth remembered the monster well; it was the same creature that attacked them during Lyn's hunt. She did a bit of research after that incident and knew some of the creature's abilities, but she has never seen it since. Gripping her estoc tightly she regretted loosing so many arrows, but she wasn't going to give up so soon. Taking out the crossbow Athalus had handed her Annabeth leveled the weapon at the nightmare and fired at it's flank. She knew the single arrow wouldn't kill the creature, but it should get it's attention. Then she focused her magic on the nightmare: she created a sort of illusion that would make herself seem glowing like Athalus and Darell, while making everyone else a bit more faded. This way the monster's attention would be on her.

If her experience with the beast before was any indication, it liked to use it's teleportation to get a sneak attack on it's targets. So bracing her estoc for it to charge right at her was useless, Annabeth needed to be much more perceptive of her environment. But as fate would have it, such awareness is what Annabeth specializes in. Unlike Ssarak who could defeat Annabeth in a straight duel of the mind and blade, Annabeth's talents lies in her synchronicity in the chaos of battle, or in this instance, against a slippery enemy. Annabeth's passive wide concentration telepathy would allow her to be constantly aware of the position of herself, her allies, and her enemies, while her illusion would ensure that the creature wouldn't try to target them. And if he did, Annabeth would be aware. She did note the slight wavering in her grip; she's been using quite a bit of blood in a short time. She was certain she could manage, but she had made a mental note to conserve her mage blood. The last thing she needed was to suffer from blood sickness.

Gently putting the crossbow onto the floor, Annabeth took on a defensive stance against the shadowy beast. "En garde, vile monster!" Making sure she didn't get in Helena's way as she attacked, Annabeth charged the beast, ready for it to try and gore her or teleport elsewhere.

DIPLOMACY MISSION

The Baron looked over to Ssarak, listening to him with a passive expression. He was no stranger to people putting their own factions in a better light. If one asked other Barons how their lands were, you'd think they lived in the land of the gods. But Sanguine wasn't quite so naive, and he was certain the the college was still recovering from their own demon attack. Which only made the transition to the demons in Sanguine's own land all the more smoother. "Ah yes, the demons... I suppose that's really the most important thing recently, no?" Standing up, Sanguine moved towards Ssarak and shook his hand, leaning in close to speak quickly and quietly. "Demons are among us. Even I cannot stop them alone. I cannot speak openly, however when you leave today ask the maid in blue for your horses. She shall leave you all that I know of the demons. You must leave soon, before the demons realize your business here."

The baron spoke with urgency that Ssarak could well recognize, even if his face wore the mask of a man celebrating mirth and merriment. "Thank you for coming today. You college folk are always a joy to keep. Please, tell Lucilia to send letters sometimes. I do miss our hearty debates and conversations." The vampire lord then dismissed the college students, allowing other barons and baronesses to meet and converse with the man. The rest of the students were free to dine and converse as they pleased, as sure enough there was a maid in blue standing near the exit of the grand hall among other maids. Though she too was a vampire, she was visibly elderly and her uniform was much more elaborate, marking her as a head maid. The party continued without much issues, with only the occasional vampire noble stopping by the group to chat and ask about the college. No fights broke out, and no one at the moment seemed to be actively trying to harm or otherwise bother the college students.

E'nasha Williams ~ Unknown cave, Yarosmere

---

E’nasha answered Summer's question the same way she had when everyone else had asked so far. ”Yes, I'm alright. Thanks for asking.” She wasn't sure she was going to be okay if she ever had to go through that portal again, but for now the urge to throw up had subsided, so she focused on keeping it that way.

She remained skeptical that the sand cobras were truly the only ones unhappy with this situation, even as Sahra told her so. These people had the ability to fight, whereas in her opinion most others didn't. They were in hiding, keeping any complaint they held bottled within for fear of being killed if they were found out. There had to be a way to find these secret rebels, to maybe draft them into Sahara and Mak's group. E'nasha kept these thoughts to herself now though, and simply listened to the rest of the conversation before they were allowed to go off and do their own things.

She decided to go sleep, since it seemed there was nothing else to do at the moment. She woke up a few hours later, just in time for Sahra and Mak to begin explaining their plan. She listened in silence, taking one of the strange black stones from the table once they were done. ”I don't have any questions, but.. No way am I going through that portal again. Please. Just, no.” She knew her complaint would probably be ignored, but she really did not want to experience that again.

Mission: Diplomacy

The vampire mostly toned Ssarak out while he spoke with the lord. It wasn't because she was trying to ignore him or found the man boring. In truth the woman found her curious mind forming more questions for him every day and hopefully when she found the course to ask the Esyire would be kind enough to answer. But right now it was best to leave the speaking to someone else. Someone who could reason with this vampire and not say what was on the mind all the time.

”With the demon presence in Tiien, have your lands fared well?”

When those words passed through the air Keri's eyes snapped towards him. [color=silver][i]”Demons huh? I know my home wasn't it the best of conditions but I never taught demons would come here. Then again humans and vampires do seem to pull in death everywhere they go.”[/color][/i] She thought to herself. When the girl heard Lyn ask a question she seemed to snap back to reality.

“Keri, when you bit that rogue Naga, did you know if it infected her or not? I know it’s hard to tell really because she went into Malice, but I’m curious.”

“Huh? Umm...well honestly I didn't think biting her would work at all Lyn. The reason was more on instincts. I grew up with two brothers when I was still human. We weren't blood related so at first it made things more awkward for all of them, mostly because the couple were used to having all boys, but eventually it become easier. We used to get into fist fights and biting matches. Boy did father and mother hate me joining in. Eventually against my mother’s wishes my father taught me how to carve. He would say it would help with my short temper.” She explained. This was the first time the woman had ever mentioned something from the past. Something that made this seem less dark than they actually were.

She tried to listen to the conversation, noting that the Barron glanced their way, making her body tense up in response. The vampire didn't like this at all but there was no way to get his attention off of the other two without endangering everyone there. “Ready?”

”Not really. I don't know why I came back to this area. Maybe I was hoping to see my village again. To see my old house one final time before saying goodbye once and for all. Now I see this was a mistake. I'm not one for peace. My life was recently created to be chaotic and here I am pretending to be the messenger of peace. Then again I did find some things worth fighting for. Colette, you, the college students, and the college itself.” she whispered mostly to herself. When they were excused the girl stretched her arms even when someone stopped them to ask about the college. Once they left Keri cleared her throat.

”I don't know about you all but I'm ready to leave this place behind. And when I say behind as in never come back here again.”

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

When the Baron closed in with Ssarak to speak with him on much more serious terms than the pleasantries they had exchanged up to that point, Ssarak made a point not to change his mood in the slightest. He kept up the friendly demeanor shared by many of the other guests, but the look in his eyes was just as serious as the Baron’s. He silently nodded in acknowledgement of the Baron’s offer to share his knowledge via his maid, then finally took a step away once it seemed he was finished.

”It has been a pleasure, Baron. May fortune favor you and your family, and if your child ends up with any magical potential you wish to foster, the College will be happy to assist.” Ssarak said as a farewell to the Baron, mostly to keep up appearances in front of the other guests.

It was some time before Ssarak was able to act on the Baron’s offer of help. He did not want to speak to the maid immediately, as leaving the party early, and immediately after speaking to the Baron, could be suspicious if anyone was paying particularly close attention to them. So, Ssarak spent most of the time afterwards with Meirin, observing the people around them.

When Ssarak finally felt that enough time had passed for them to depart safely, he took a few moments to locate all of his companions in the room to send a telepathic message to each of them. He kept it short and vague, in case any of their minds were compromised to any other psychomancers. ”Come, we should get moving.”

There was much that Ssarak would need to do once they were in a safe location. For one, they would all need to collect together their observations to see if anyone had learned anything interesting. As well, Ssarak would have to have talk with Lyn at some point. She had potentially made a grave mistake, and he wanted to make sure she did not repeat it. But first, they needed to speak with the Baron’s maid. Based on his tone during their conversation, he had learned something important about the demons.

On their way out of the room, Ssarak approached the maid in blue. “Excuse me, ma’am. Are you the one with whom I need to inquire about my group’s horses?”

Lyn, Hysteria (Djarkel)

---

“Uh,” Lyn said as she bit her lip. Her head nodded in understanding and for a moment, she became quiet in thought. She had never siblings, despite how often her parents ‘spent’ quality time together, causing her to gain a spark of envy in her heart upon learning that Keri had grown up with siblings. She inhaled, gradually realizing that naturally the grass was greener on the other side of things when someone didn’t have something.

Leith had already headed up to converse with the baron about the time she got her answer. She continued to watch the others finish up with the Barron and didn’t move, seeing the vampire still hesitating. Much like herself, it seemed Keri had alternative motives for coming and seemed to regret her decision now. The younger naga hybrid sighed. She hadn’t intended to bring up terrible memories or cause conflict as she thought about what sort of wisdom someone like herself could deliver to someone much older. In her mind, there was nothing she could say that would matter to Keri. However, it wasn’t worthless to try.

“That’s the funny thing about the past. It never really is left behind, but I wouldn’t know about that. I’m only a year old compared to Colette’s and your age,” Lyn inhaled then continued, “However, I do know one thing: you can’t stay the same forever. Time and experience changes you, even when you’re not paying attention or wanting to. Please keep that in mind, Keri. Even if I’m just a child.”

For the rest of the Djarkel gala, she mingle with each of the barons as she shared Iscariot’s information with her friends. Not surprisingly, she was relieved that Ssarak hadn’t approached her about the vampire. She was already distracted in keeping Keri from feeling agitated through luckily no more psychomancy appeared to be interested in the group. While talking with one of the patrons who had approached Keri and distracting him from engaging her, Lyn’s mind caught Ssarak’s voice enter her head.

”Come, we should get moving.”

She nodded, discreetly, and then excused both Keri and herself from the curious company. They both walked toward the Eysire who was talking with a blue dressed maid about their horses. Not seeing the need to get involved, she smiled politely and waited just a few feet from Ssarak. Through she wore flat shoes, they had been built more for elegance than function making her soles hurt. She leaned again Keri and began to slip off her slipper to rub the ach away since their task was done.


_{@Rtron,@Lucius Cypher, @May, & @Luna}

“Will you get off that? Just because you didn’t literally meet every single student on those flipping wagons, it didn’t mean I wasn’t on it,” Darell snapped back as one by one, the students entered into the room. The scene that greeted them was unnerving for any mortal, the nitemare going after the youngest first and tossed her body. Not at all unlike the real world, Darell thought bitterly, where biggest targets were often children.

Not sure what to do, Darell considering his options when Annabeth placed her crossbow on the ground and stepped into a defensive posture with her blade extended, "En garde, vile monster!”

He had been about shush her when his ears caught Athalus’ comment.

"Nitemare. Nasty little bastards. Teleportation, prehensile tails with knives on the end of them, and all the power of a warhorse behind those horns. We have an idiot who ran into here blind, a boy with a rapier, Annabeth, Colette, and you. Grab my knives and stay back. Annabeth has the training to not be gutted by this thing, and Colette should be fast enough not to be. Hopefully Daren or whatever his name was knows something other than 'run blindly in' and rapier boy over there didn't just get lucky. Do try not to hit our friends with my knives. They're very expensive and would go straight into vital organs. I'll go see what I can do, seeing as I'm about as solid as a wall of fog." Athalus’ voice spoke, giving details on the beast which discreetly impressed Darell. However, he still turned his eyes over his shoulder and flickered a frown at the man’s miss mention of his name.

“It’s Darell and if you had actually been listening when we first met, you would know I am a seeker too. I can do about as much as you can in this and just as vulnerable,” He turned to Helena and corrected her incorrect thoughts over the fact that just because they were incorporeal, didn't mean they weren't in danger here, “While you can’t touch us, that thing can and will kill us. That’s why Noxomancers need to work in groups. The guardians, that’s you, protecting the seekers which is us. We lead you down the least dangerous paths.”

He turned to face the threat, grumbling under his breath, “Is what I say that pointless to everyone?”

The nitemare finally noticed them as its attention narrowed on Annabeth. It pawed the ground and lowered its head much in the same fashion it did earlier, then bolted forward. With each pounding hoof against the stone as it echoed around them and gradually began to sink into the floor. It was plane shifting to Tiien. It vanished in moments and for a while, Annabeth’s psychomancy sensed it wasn’t within the Nox. However that didn’t mean it wouldn’t return and quickly.

Weeping from the older girl echoed throughout the room while she wrapped her arms about her legs and pressed her back against the wall, hoping to protect herself. She was too shocked to move or think in her current situation. Her figure was trembling and head bent down, weeping over her best friend’s death, “She’s gone… oh Sarah… oh gods… why? WHY?!”

Cautiously, the man held his sword in a ready position as he made his way toward her. He gently lowered himself and tried to nudge her upright with a tug at her upper arm. She jerked away, screaming at him, “IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT! GET AWAY FROM ME.”

The man flinched and stepped back as she rose to her feet, her bleary eyes filled with sorrow, rage and pain mingling into pure hatred. She balled her fist with her voice still raised high in volume, “SHE TOLD YOU NOT TO GO THIS WAY. THAT SHE GOT A BAD FEELING FROM IT, BUT YOU JUST IGNORED HER. NOW...she’s dead! She’s gone…”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t.”

“Just get the Inferno away from me. Just… go,” the woman sobbed, her figure crumpled again as she just cried there.

Uncertain about what to do, he sighed then began to walk away. His blade sheathed, thinking the danger was gone, he strolled toward the arriving group, “Hello, I’m Drake. I’m glad you arrived to help and chased that beast away. Who are you?”


Mar, Sansar (Yarsomere): Underground Cave~Unknown Location

Mar had settled outside of the cave system for a time. Her legs stretched out and knee propped up to support her arm, her eyes stared into the horizon as the sun dipped down. The red light spilled across the landscape unlike the eternal twilight back at the college. Athalus would’ve scolded her for what she was doing as she bottled her emotions in a familiar way, something she hadn’t done for a long time. Surprisingly enough, it came with habit and easier than she expected. A fact that worried her. She let the scene slip into the latter hours before she was nudged by one of the Cobras into going back in.

Most the time, she had been daydreaming of just walking out into the desert of Yarosmere in order to see if what they said was true. That all the naga were quickly disappearing and dying in the distance. Her eyes were too dry for anymore tears when she was led back into the central chamber where the two leaders were waiting.

When Mak explained the plan, Mar was concerned.

”I don't have any questions, but.. No way am I going through that portal again. Please. Just, no,” E’nasha protested, like because of her extreme reaction and saying it without looking at the bigger picture.

Mar turned to her then calmly spoke, hoping she would understand, “If they literally walk up to the palace, E’nasha, and drop us off, they put themselves at risk. I don’t know how much you saw, but I was watching. Those Cobras that were set up to help us, likely died or captured because they risked their lives by being there.”

She placed a gentle hand on the younger woman, much in the same fashion she had seen Athalus do to her, “I don’t like the travel myself, but I’m not comfortable asking them to risk more in order for me not to feel sick for a brief time. Would you?”

Not waiting for an answer, Mar then turned to the others.

“Speaking of being uncomfortable, I’m also not too pleased with the fact of being beating up since it will lead to the healer’s cross examining all of us,” Mar moved into the light, letting it illuminate over her features as she continued and leaned in for the two leaders to get a very good look at features that otherwise wouldn’t have been seen from far away, “I share a lot of key traits with Naga, if either of you haven’t noticed. Purely because I am one, but through an incident I don’t have a tail and instead legs. I highly doubt the healers will just ignore the heat pits near my eyes, the fact my pupils slit, my snake like fangs and tongue or my scaly skin.”

Mar’s eyes flickered from Mak to Sahra, before she got to her point, “What happens if their genocidal hatred begins to consider me worth quietly killing? The main reason one of our allies pushed me toward the portal was because she feared I was at great risk to be discovered. I highly doubt a brief examination by trained eyes, looking for injury, will be helping her intentions. Before you ask, my magic isn’t quite strong enough to completely change all my features and retain them for any longer than a few minutes at best.”

Helena blinked as things took a rapid shift around her. “I know that,” she said with a tone that implied that she actually didn't. Or more accurately that she did, but she'd forgotten and spoken without thought. She hated being made to look stupid, especially by little dipwits like him. “It would help if you didn't say it like a know it all,” she grumbled to herself, rolling her eyes a little bit.

As the thing disappeared, she looked around, trying to see if it was going to pop back up again, even as the drama unfolded. Guess no one listens to anyone, She thought with a huff. She waffled for a moment about going to comfort the girl, but decided that wasn't the roll she needed to full now. And there was Collette who seemed much more for that than her that moment. “That's great,” she said to the other man. “But I wouldn't count that thing as gone, so as shitty as it may seem, we need to get moving. Before we're next.”

She turned to look at Athalus first, hoping he'd be the practical one here as well and agree. Then she looked to Annabeth, looking a little pleading that she agree with her as well, hoping that she wouldn't be too emotional about this and try to keep those who were alive, alive still.

E'nasha Williams ~ Unknown Cave, Yarosmere

---

"Well, I actually didn't see anything that happened before we all got here. I was kinda pulled through a shadow portal against my will." E'nasha was being unnecessarily snippy at the Naga, and she knew it. But still, she sighed before turning to face Mar as the woman put a hand on her shoulder, listening as she continued. "I'm not asking to be escorted to the palace itself or anything like that. Heck, maybe the whole 'involuntary' part was why I felt so sick the first time. Maybe this time, knowing what's gonna happen, I'll be ok... or less queasy at least."

She stood silently as Mar continued, a worried look on her face as she realized just how bad the situation could get as soon as they even get there. She waited until mar was done talking to pose an idea to the Naga. "Maybe, you should stay here? Or we could work out a plan to deal with the possibility of being found out." She paused, glancing around at the others in the room before continuing. "They don't know the extent of your magic yet. You could say that you like these traits and so you have them just because of that, and if they ask you to change to be more 'normal' you could tell them that that's just not how it works.. that it would take too long and too much energy to do?"

"Although, that would be banking on the hope that they know nothing about Vitamancy..." E'nasha trailed off as she looked to Mak and Sahra, wondering what they thought.

Annabeth braced herself for the beast's charge. No doubt it's vile horn could pierce her armor, but compared to some of the things she fought at the college, it was no more threatening than a knight on horseback; only a novice would fear his couched lance. Annabeth readied herself to parry the blow and riposte, but that's when she noticed that it began to sink into the ground. It was teleporting, and Annabeth lunged out to strike. Unfortunately she was just a moment too slow and her blade struck only empty air. Then, her magic lost track of the beast. It had plane shifted somewhere else, but no doubt it'll return soon. Annabeth didn't know if it could still sense them when they leave for another plane, but she didn't intend to stay and find out.

Shortly after the beast had fled she heard the surviving students argue among each other. The male with the rapier tried to assist the fallen girl, but in her hysteria she refused his help. No doubt the shock of such a brutal death has unhinged her. After their conversation the boy introduced himself as Drake and inquired about Annabeth. "I'm Annabeth. We're students from the college too. I'm sorry, but we don't have much time to talk. That Nightmare might come back at any moment, and who knows what else might be here." Annabeth didn't let her guard down for a second. In this blasted pit, she wasn't going to. She went over to the girl who was still sobbing to herself, her voice gentle but firm.

"We have to go. You can't die here, she wouldn't want you to die here. Don't let her death be in vain." Annabeth thought about using her magic on the girl, but a twist in her arm told Annabeth that she was already pushing herself with the magic. She clenched her teeth and cursed to herself. She had said that she was going to save these students, weather they wanted to or not. So Annabeth was only going to give this girl one chance to come with her, or Annabeth will drag her if she had to. "Come on... Let's go."

DIPLOMACY MISSION

The old maid in blue nodded her head and led the others back to their carrige. Along the way they were handed their things, and in Ssarak's belongings was a leather bound book. Inside were details about various other barons who have been "compromised" by demonic influences. Whether they were vampires, mortals, or even those who scorn magic, this book had information on those who have suddenly shifted their interest in favor of demons. There was some notes hypothesizing and confirming either corruption or even take over. Indeed, the sheer amount of Barons who had converted or were being pressed by the demonic forces was startlingly large. There was a lot of work the college needed to do.

Afterwards, the college students were whisked away to their next task. They had another party to attend to, this time for a new Baron. His name was Baron Praxis, and he was the new inheritor of the title after his father had passed away a year ago. The students would be attending the party and giving him their congratulations in the form of a gift selected by Lucilia. It was a large ornate ironwood box, with a lock to prevent anyone from peeking inside. The details of what was inside of the box was not told to the others, only that it was emphasized that this box reach the new baron as soon as possible.

It wasn't long until the students arrived to the city. Everyone seemed to be celebrating the raise of the new baron, and the streets were filled with festivities. Stalls selling the best of their goods, children running about with toys, and merriment everywhere. For a land that was suppose to be embroiled in war and strife, people seemed happy. But that didn't mean all was well. As the carriage the students were in was stopped due to a parade, something landed on the top of the carriage. Shortly after someone jumped from the carriage and started to run. For those who investigated, they could see that someone had just stolen the box that Lucilia had asked to be delivered to the baron. The one who stole it was a large figure, about as bit as Ssarak. Yet he moved swiftly. The students must act quickly if they wish to catch the man.

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak did not need much time to react. The moment someone confirmed that their gift for the Baron had been taken, Ssarak started to sprint a short distance, then kicked off the ground to take to the sky. ”Leith, stay and protect Lyn!” He shouted telepathically. Fortunately, the group had only just arrived in the city, so Ssarak was still armed and armored for traveling, and therefore, fighting. If he was able to catch their thief, then he would be in a good position to deal with him.

Though Ssarak knew not what was in the box, Lucilia had made it clear that it was important. It was important enough that Ssarak felt it was not a coincidence that a thief had just happened to grab it. It seemed more like they had been targeted specifically, which put Ssarak on guard. From the air, Ssarak had a distinct advantage in the chase. Apart from stationary buildings, there was nothing in his way, so he could move more efficiently than a ground runner. He would be able to keep track of the thief as long as he remained outside, and searching for overhead cover would limit the thief’s escape options. He also focused on the thief’s mind to determine if there were any wards to break through. If not, he could try to use his magic to alter the thief’s perceptions and trick them into tripping.

_{@Rtron,@Lucius Cypher, @May, & @Luna}

‘How little you know,’ Darell though but resisted snapping back the comment to Helena. Her outburst was unreasonable, purely because he suspected her pride got into the way and made her irked to his re-sharing of knowledge she should’ve recalled. He didn’t have the time to argue since they were under attack. The nitemare could return and ready to burst into the room at any moment.

He watched the man approach Annabeth, as she introduced herself and then walked off to attend to the girl.

Still sobbing, the girl looked up. Her eyes met the speaker trying to sooth her pain as she wiped away the tears. She sharply nodded and reached a hand for Annabeth to hoist her up. The girl was weak in the knees, as expected, causing her to stumble forward upon being lifted up and grip Annabeth’s arm for balance. When she finally gathered her balance once more, she introduced herself and began walking toward the group, “My name is Jessie. We were trying to find a way out, but S-”

Her words cut off from the pain of trying to say the younger girl’s name, her breath inhaled to collect herself, “She said not to go this way and that she got a bad feeling. Drake didn’t listen. He felt he knew better despite what we were taught about the Nox.”

Drake, still guilty about the whole incident, averted his gaze from Jessie. He focused on Helena instead as he listened to what she spoke about the thing possibly coming back causing him to pale in color. For a moment it looked like he was about to be sick, “Oh by the Gods. W-w-well… what are we waiting for? Lead the way out.”

Before any of them could move, a low familiar rumble filled the tunnels. It was the starting of the maze shifting again causing Darell to shout at the others, “Get into the room and grab each other, quickly before we’re separated!”

Meanwhile, if anyone had looked down the hallway then they would see a snorting, charging nitemare heading for those who had managed to edge into the hallway. Drake being among them.


Lyn, Hysteria (Djarkel)

---

Lyn leaned against the carriage interior as she thought over what Ssarak had said to her. Her arms were crossed over her middle while her head bumped with the jarring movement, letting the guilt fill her despite her best efforts to shrug it off. Their conversation had touched on something she hadn’t considered. This made her feel a mixture of an idiot and possible murder, thinking she might’ve risked the Naga’s last remaining numbers with her foolishness. She began to question why she thought she was ready for this trip.

The hybrid sighed, then shifted her arm from her middle and rested her chin comfortably on. Coming into the city, her eyes drifted to the scenery and absorbing it until the carriage stopped abruptly. She hadn’t much time to dwell on the reason when suddenly she heard a loud thump above her. Her eyes to looked upward and she frowned.

Footsteps darted across the roof as she watched a man leap down from the carriage to the street. Lyn pushed her torso out to lean out the window as she spotted him dash down the street with something in hand. Her arms reached up to the upper frame of the window and pulled herself to the top, her head peeked over the roof’s edge to see the trunk was stolen. She cursed in her head as she pulled her feet out to drop to the ground just outside the carriage door.

”Leith, stay and protect Lyn!” Ssarak’s voice ripped through her head causing Lyn to frown, but didn’t stop her bolt into the thief’s wake. She wasn’t about to be left behind since she was nimble enough to join the chase now. Reaching a hand at her side, she pulled one of her non lethal ones and tossed it at the man’s legs.

He jerked to the right, seeming to sense her attempts to pin him, as the dagger busted and entangled the wall it landed at. Unable to waste the time to pause and pick it up, she continued to follow the man’s wake.

Keri stayed still in the carriage, eyes sealed shut, as the noises of the festivities filled her ears. Everyone knew that this land was filled with nothing but bloodshed and chaos due to the everlasting war, yet here it seemed calm. As if they hadn't been touched by the cruel destiny that loomed over them all.

So why did this sight sicken her so much? Was it because the woman had experienced what something so evil could do to a family or was it because no one seemed to even want to acknowledge something could happen in a blink of an eye? No, it was this false sense of happiness that twisted and turned her stomach inside out. A celebration for someone who they believe will bring peace in this troubling world.

This goal was impossible for one person to do. Nothing but a foolish attempt that wouldn't bring any results. The vampire shifted from her spot trying to calm the storm within her own mind. None of this would help the mission but it would bring something else to it. A mistake that would turn a potential ally away from the college, leaving it defenseless when something massive happened again. Something that couldn't be afforded.

When the carriage stopped the woman opened her eyes. Her red eyes glanced around, ears listening for something strange, only to pick up what sounded like a parade. Something which made Keri’s already sour mood a bit worse. Still she kept her mouth shut. When the carriage wiggled a little from side to side the woman mentally cursed at herself. How stupid had she been to let someone just jump onto the carriage and leave without speaking to them? The girl mumbled something under her breath as she grabbed her sword and shield. Her figure worked out of the carriage just in time to see a fleeting figure.

[color=silver]” Shit. When can we have once day which nothing goes wrong. I'm beginning to get tired of this. Every move we make just adds to the list of things to do. Who’s,” shut stated to asked as Ssarak started to get up from the ground. The vampire watched as she wondered how long it would take this man. How long would they have to wait before they could resume with this moronic mission? She quietly listened to the mental message and looked towards Lyn. It seemed as if as soon as Keri looked at girl she sprung into action.

The kid threw a knife at the man, missing him completely, and then took off after the danger. ” So much for her listening. Crap! Lyn get back here!” the woman said running after the three.

Leith stared out the window at the festivities that surrounded their carriage. There was a lot of celebration for this baron, and Leith was curious as to what type of man this baron was. His thoughts were interrupted by a thud on the roof of the carriage followed by footsteps. With a frown, Leith looked towards the other window to see someone jump down from the carriage and start running. Soon it was revealed that the box was taken and Ssarak took after the thief and told Leith to stay with Lyn, who also took off after the thief. Leith shrugged and took after the thief as well, making sure to stay with Lyn.

As Lyn threw her dagger, Leith started gathering water from the surrounding area. Once he had enough, he threw it out towards the thief and attempted to create a sheet of water between the man's feet and the ground. Hopefully he'd slip. Once the attempt was done, Leith scattered the water into a mist to prevent them from slipping on it.

---

Darius helped himself to the food that had been brought in. He listened to Aramir speak her thoughts on the state of Yarosmere. "It is the fanaticism that will be the issue here." Darius tapped the side of his head. "Once fanatics get something into their head, they will not stop. I have dealt with fanatics before. They had little to no care for their lives if it meant that they will help further their goals. Now these fanatics have a country, and more importantly, and army." He leaned back in his chair. "All we need to do is make sure that we do not offend them while we are here."

Helena was glad that someone seemed to listen. But of course, everything was against them and shit quickly got shittier. The rumbling caught her attention and this time she stepped into the room with the others. She grabbed at Drake's hand purely because he was in front of her, and pulled him along with her towards Annabeth and the other girl. Darell was right about them needing to stay together. She just hoped that he and Athalus behind her would be able to keep up as well.

“Annabeth, Collette,” she shouted, looking around for the latter and just happening to catch a sight she didn't want to see again. “Fuckin’ hell, I hate being right,” she cursed.

“Beastie is back,” she yelled to the room as whole. “Get your shit together.”

Location-Nox

Colette gulped and paled as rumbling surrounded them once again. Looking down the hall, she gasped when she saw the familiar shape of a nitemare heading right towards them. Colette looked as Helena shouted her name. She rushed towards the wall in hopes she was out of its charging path.

”We need to get out of here Annabeth, Helena!” Pulling out her rapier, she jumped up in time to dodge the nitemare and arched her weapon towards the beast’s back before swinging her body back to land on her feet behind the ugly nitemare. Normally black was her favorite color, but in the shape like this, it just made the color very ugly to her.

’At this rate, none of us will survive this nightmare place’ Colette felt the stinging sensation of tears building in her eyes, but instantly blinked them away. Now was not the time for crying, she needed to keep her mind focus on the fight for freedom. She had no intention or desire of dying. Gripping tightly to the handle, she rushed at the beast swinging both her arms sideway, her eyes full of intense frustration that did well to hide the fear gripping her non-beating heart.


Location- Unknown, Underground Caves

Summer took the time to sit down and rest up, feeling all the adrenaline from the events finally wearing off, leaving her body sore and tired. She winced as she felt several bones pop and crack. She looked down at her body and saw she had some sand from traveling in the desert littering the inside of her dress.

”I wonder if there is a way to get cleaned up here” She wondered out loud, standing back up despite her body’s protest. She brushed her red hair over her shoulder and began to walk away from the crowd, spring green eyes looking around.

Now that she had a chance to look around, she had to admit, this place was quite a beautiful place. Her hand brushed against the rough texture that she believed to be sandstone, but with almost no knowledge outside the forest and plants. Making a mental note to study more about this stuff, she continued her way, determined to find some place to clean up.

She stopped when she was just out of view of people and sighed. She could easily ask someone, but they all seemed busy and she knew Mar was trying to gain information, so she couldn't go up and bug her about it. She felt lost, out of in a place like this, her element didn't belong in a scolding hot terrain like the desert aside from a few cactuses and yuka plants.

Turning back, she went back towards the people and saw a bathing facility across from her. Wondering how she missed that, she went towards it and hid behind one of the walls, undress until she was just in her undergarments. Not really concerned about getting them wet, she going into the water and sighed. Like a plant, she felt more energetic than before and it was like the soreness vanished.

”Hmm this feels good” eyes closed, she allowed her mind to naturally escape from reality, a habit she learned back when she was trapped for all those years, only to have her eyes snap back open, the haunting image of her parents filling her head. She felt tears build in her eyes. She had no way of knowing if they were alive at all. For the first time, she cursed her powers, if she didn't have to have them sealed, she could have done something to help, but if it wasn't for that...she might not have been found and brought to the college.

In the short time she had been in the college, it had become a home to her. She had people to talk to, fresh, hot meals to eat every day and night and she was learning to control her powers one slow leaf at a time. She wiped her eyes with her dripping wet hand and began to let wash up.

Once she deemed herself cleaned enough, she got out and wrung out her hair and undergarments before getting dressed. She came back into view of people and sat down, choosing to relax before they would leave again.