The earthy scent of the forests, and the decadence of ancient magic was still upon him as Jumper came to rest at the gates of a mighty city. He possessed no flesh, or blood, to draw the hunger of the predators. Further he possessed no coin, and only modest finery, so the same could be said of the highway men who roamed these roads. And so, Jumper's return trip from the place of his birth, to the cradle of this civilization was uneventful. After all, the most dangerous thing to him in all of the forest, and the plains that followed, was the cradle of magic from which his own life sprang.

He had ran to get here. Ran the entire way. He ran with purpose and without exhaustion, through day and night, to the only place he could remember being out in this far flung frontier that was not the town of his grandfather. He followed the roads built by mortal hands and found they were not as he remembered them. The city was not what he remembered. What was supposed to be a modest mercantile settlement had grown to become the massive capitol city of this land, and even as he stood on its edge he could not see its end.

He took a moment to compose himself before allowing the road that carried him here to lead him further in. What was a rocky path through the forests had long since given way to cobble in the planes, had now became masonry in the market streets. On the city's outskirts was a familiar site: a bazaar where merchants and traders whom did not possess property in the commercial districts, nor the permanence of presence to secure such locations, were allowed to conduct business. Here currency was more of a suggestion than a requirement, and it was here in this affluent bartering economy that Jumper would blend in and begin his search.

While the familiar sight was calming, it was not the reason for which he had come, as he had come in search of information. Though information is a valuable resource, and not something he had anything to trade for, it was also free and in the air to someone who could silence themself long enough to listen, and still themselves long enough to watch. He watched the people as they moved through the market. He mingled and listened to their conversations while browsing their goods. He studied them. Immersed himself in their daily concerns while observing their attire and demeanor, determining their class, and likelihood of possessing the information he sought.

There was something specific he was on the hunt for and, as surly as his own tabard's crest still remained, so too did the crests of his targets identify themselves. It was the Order of the Crescent Sun that brought him here, and he had just identified one of its agents. He could see little good coming of approaching them immediately, and decided instead to observe them using his small stature and unassuming presence to mix into the crowds and their routine. To follow them. With luck they would lead him back to their temple or sanctuary and he could finally get some answers. Answers to whom these Crescent Sun were whom so flagrantly co-opted his father's sigil and banner.

A banner under which much war had been waged.

“Very well then.” Serena said, chugging the rest of her drink. She disappeared into the tent with her bag, curling up and closing her eyes as she rested against the covered ground. She pretended that Veronica did not wake her up when the knightess trudged her way into the tent herself.

Serena awoke slowly. Veronica was not there. This was likely to be quite the morning. She grabbed her flask again, took a drink… well, tried to. There was nothing left. She wasn’t at the cathedral anymore; she wouldn’t be able to order her special brew any time soon. Maybe she could find something in Twilight Fields, if she was lucky…

The warrior touched up hair and makeup by the reflection of her sword before she left the tent. It was rather early in the morning, the sun only barely rising above the horizon. She found Tirnea by the fire, and by the sound of it Veronica was off “training” again as well.

“I hope you found a good night’s rest, Tirnea,” Serena said. “Would you like me to prepare breakfast now, or shall we wait until-” she was cut off by the burst and crackle of flames, which were quickly cut off by a wave of Serena’s hand and a strong yet soothing gust of wind. Veronica poked her head out from behind the tent.

“Or shall we wait until we reach town.” Serena finished, her voice ever so slightly more firm. She turned her gaze to her student, who looked down in some form of apology.



“WHAT YEAH THE REPORT’LL BE DONE IN TWENTY-” Rebecca said, awaking suddenly. Her energy suddenly faded as she adjusted to the situation. She did not fall asleep at her desk. There was no coffee. There was no extra reports to finish. Wait… there was no coffee. Damn it all…

Rebecca rose to her feet with a yawn. How in the world Chambala managed to be so awake was an enigma to her; she’d gone to sleep after the researcher did, as far as she knew. Maybe it was another trick of hers. She’d have to ask later.

The researcher threw on her coat, slapped on her cap, adjusted them both, and carefully checked on her case before slinging it over her shoulder. Even if she hadn’t slept all that well, she was going to make some real progress today. With any luck, she’d get to see her hometown, turn in her report, and get ready to head back to the comfort of her lab and her study before the day was done. Rebecca took some of the food she had stored away and began eating as she left the room, trying to get those gears in her brain turning the way they were yesterday.

“I’m ready,” Rebecca said to her friend in between bites. “Did they say where we were supposed to meet up?”

[Calieo]

"They are slow, you're right. The sun has already risen, I said we were leaving at dawn, this is wasted daylight," Calieo grumbled, her mood a little soured now. This dried meat was not wholly terrible though, quite good in fact, and that mellowed everything out to an extent. Still she stood in place, scanning the streets, tearing chunks from the quickly disappearing piece of meat. Soon she was on her last bite, and still there was no sign of the others. "Fine, I am done consuming. You and your horse should be sufficient aid," the knight announced over her shoulder to Denise, not bothering to look back before starting to march briskly forward.

Currently on a side street that had led towards Amelia's home, it was a short walk to the road that led through the village and south. As soon as she made the corner the knight was met with the sight of the fur clad woman standing just outside a fairly large structure with several windows, and quickly she was joined by the mousy looking one. "Oh. Two of the three, not bad," she muttered, quickening her pace to go confront the two who were only a few buildings away.

"Good, you revealed yourself just in time, I was prepared to leave without you," she greeted as she drew near, her tone commanding and possibly a little cheerful. Without breaking her stride she briskly walked past Chambala and Rebecca, motioning with her hand that they were meant to follow.

[Tirñea]

Sitting silently in the chilly dawn, Tirñea had found time to warm herself somewhat by bundling herself. The dry air thankfully had meant little dew, meaning it was just a mater of trapping her body heat best she could. After a while she had brought herself to eat, having a piece of the flatbread her mother had packed and finishing it only a short while before Veronica emerged from the tent. The knight revived the fire using her own conjured flames, but didn't stay long as she quickly became engrossed in whatever practice she had been so wrapped up in yesterday. A short while later Serena emerged, and she briefly assessed the state of the camp before asking if they were prepared to leave.

"I am ready for leaving now," Tirñea answered, pushing herself to stand though remaining wrapped in her blanket. Her one hand kept the cloth bundled around her, while her other hand held her staff which until now had been laying beside her. "As soon as you is ready," she noddded, smiling before returning her attention to the fire.

“Very well then.” Serena said, easing up somewhat as she and her student packed up their belongings. The fire was extinguished by a sharp gust of wind before they left. Veronica sighed, trying to clear her head. That was supposed to be how you did it; let your thoughts be occupied by nothing but the warmth of sunshine or gentle admiration for the beauty of the night sky. She had trouble with this, and it was one of the few problems that Serena or even Aegea had no wisdom for. It only ended up frustrating her even more. She noticed that Tirnea seemed to be having trouble dealing with the cold. Perhaps she didn’t pack warmer clothes? She’d have to ask after they got to town.

The journey to the capitol city of Twilight Fields was somewhat refreshingly uneventful. But not dull, at least to Veronica. She was in familiar territory, and she took more passion in taking in the sights and smaller details of her surroundings. Of particular interest to her was the bridge leading across the river separating them from the city. She told the rest of the group of how, on the occasional night or uneventful day in her youth, she would come to that bridge to practice singing, her sister often pretending to study nearby in an attempt to avoid getting roped into joining her. Serena would prefer to stand silently, staring off into the grand tower in the distance or the flowing waters of the river.

The city itself was fairly normal when they finally reached it. Well, normal for Twilight Fields. The various Crescent Sun acolytes and officials moved to and fro alongside animate suits of armor, but they were all on their usual business. The observatory tower that served as the Order’s base of operations stood over the rest of the settlement, a clocklike face denoting the phase of the moon and prominent stars and constellations for the night. A set of guards stood at the tower’s entrance; two mages and two suits of armor, the latter armed with spears and a longsword sheathed at their sides.

“It’s a nice city,” Veronica said. “Just be sure not to rock the boat. Especially if it’s about the faith.” Her teacher frowned, masking her contempt.

“Well,” Serena answered. “We will need to prod around somewhat if we are to find that vampire… May as well start asking for more information.” She moved onwards, scanning everything she saw for something that might hold promising information. She hoped that this would not end up being a wild goose chase.

As the first rays of sunlight pierced over the tops of the rolling hills, trees, and buildings, casting a long shadow from the Twilight Tower, Autumn awoke within her room in the cozy inn that she’d paid for a night in. Keeping the sheet wrapped around her she slipped out of bed and padded over toward the window. Peering out, she was instantly reminded of how very far from home she was. Mages walking through the fields conjuring mists to water the crops, suits of armor that tirelessly trudged in routine patrol patterns; more a reminder to stay out of trouble than actual law enforcement without their casters present. Having come from a land where such things were outlawed for all but the nobility, the sight of such open use of magic was discomforting.

Magic was such a volatile thing. How quickly it could destroy, an incantation to incinerate a house. A wave of the hand to flood a field. Changing the natural flow of weather to call forth lightning. Such things were best kept hidden away and never used except in times of great need.

Turning away from the sight before her, Autumn thumped lightly with bare feet against the cool wooden floor until she reached the bedside. She cast the sheet from her body and stooped to start collecting her discarded clothing. Truly it looked as though someone had exploded on the spot; leaving their attire behind. As she found missing bits of her garments she slipped into the familiar, comfortable cloth and silk, well worn and rough around every edge. There was no note under her door so she assumed that no employers were interested in her services. All the same, she started to don her armor.

It took nearly a half hour to get every last strap looped and latched together in a sturdy, tight, snug fashion. The leather layered under more cloth and a cloak covering not just her body but her travel pack as well. Taking inventory of her gear, Autumn pulled out her daggers, smiling fondly at the symbol carved into the blade’s base. A reminder of home. She then checked on her smooth blue crystalline short swords before hiding them back in their scabbards so that they were less conspicuous. After everything had been inventoried and strapped to her person, the 5’ short woman was nearly doubled in bulk from everything. Particularly the travel pack.

Taking steps toward the stairs, she started down them with the familiar sound of wood creaking in protest and leather soles slapping against a hard surface. The clanging of her gear against itself echoed out as she rounded the corner and faced the counter at the back of the main room. She made her way over towards it with a casual gait, figuring one last hot meal before hitting the road would not go amiss. Even if her coin-pouch was getting a little light. She slipped off her pack and set it down in front of a bar stool as she stepped on one of the supporting rungs to get up into it.

The soft creak of wooden counter and stool managed to catch the ear of the innkeeper, his head now visible through the little window that led to the kitchen behind the bar. “Be with you in a moment,” he called out, his head disappearing from view. Only a few seconds later he came around the corner of the doorway at the far end of the bar, a half loaf of bread and a small plate of butter in his hands. Hastily he shuffled down the aisle behind the counter, his mass quivering as he rushed by. At the far end of the bar another patron was now eagerly aware of the inn keeper’s return, and thanked the portly fellow as he set down the bread and butter. Autumn blinked a few times as he came around and walked right past her, glancing down the line and taking note of the customer seated in the corner. Normally she would’ve noticed something like that, but mornings were not her forte’.

A smile and short exchange of words, then he’s left his customer to their meal so he could approach Autumn. As she watched the rotund innkeeper waddle back towards her, she put on as good a smile as she could. He’s a little less urgent this time but still maintaining a brisk pace, and upon reaching her pulls out a small pad of paper and tiny pencil, both objects dwarfed in his comparatively meaty hands.

“Good morning, ma’am, breakfast choices today are as follows; boiled eggs however you like ‘em, pork rind, beef tongue, bread, and butter. Meat is two gold, everythin’ else is one,” the inn keeper recited in a very practiced, autonomous way. He didn’t seem fully awake yet, staring blankly down at his notepad with one eyelid lower than the other. When his head started to droop, a quick shake refreshed his attention and brought it to meet Autumn’s face. Though it took a moment for him to process it, he registered the face from the previous night and forced an expression like he was trying to remember something. Autumn hadn’t put on her mask yet- so it didn’t surprise her when it took him a moment to recognize her.

As the man rattled off the offerings on the menu, she tapped her lip in thought and then spoke up, “I’ll have two eggs. Hard boiled is fine. And… oh sure, bread and butter as well.” she announced to him with a friendly enough smile. Her accent was sure to remind him that she wasn’t from around here. As she waited for him to write she dug into her bag and set three gold on the counter, sliding it as far as her little hand could reach. By comparison to the innkeeper, she truly looked tiny.

“You were… lookin’ for work, right?” the inn keeper confirmed as he gathered his payment. “Somethin’ up your alley; I’d have wrote it down but the fella was weird about it and said I had to remember it. Actin’ like the paper offended him. That bein’ said my memory’s not the best at this hour, but I think he was lookin’ to track someone down. You can wait here and see if he comes back, or go out and look for ‘im. Really short fella with scruffy hair and a patchy beard dressed in rags, so not hard to find. And before you ask, he does have money, I made sure of that,” the innkeeper explained, slowly becoming more alert as he worked to recall what he could.

Looking up interested as he actually seemed to have something for her, Autumn leaned in a bit as he seemed to be struggling to remember. As he described what, to her, sounded like a vagabond of sorts she seemed… unimpressed. Still, coin was coin, and she was short on it these days. The worst that could happen is that she finds a bad job lead. Well, ideally that would be the worst thing possible. As she squinted to think on her best course of action she decided she’d stick around through breakfast and see if this short man in rags with the patchy beard would return. If not, she could set out on a full stomach and everything packed for the road in search of him.

Bread and butter was served first, a soft and doughy half a loaf paired with a sizeable square of soft butter. A short while later the innkeeper returns with a pair of eggs in a bowl, both still steaming and in the shell but already cracked around the middle to make them easy to open. While Autumn ate, a second attendant arrived and went behind the counter, chatting briefly with the innkeeper before the later removed his apron and left to do something else. One other person orders breakfast in the time it took Autumn to eat both of her eggs and nibble on some of the bread; a quick look around to her left revealed no sign off the man the innkeeper had described. Just as she turned to get down off her stool, a fairly loud and raspy voice sounded from the seat directly beside and just behind her.

“Hey skinny, where’s the big fella’? I gotta ask him something if he’s finally awake,” the stranger croaked, addressing the inn attendant who was busy cleaning glasses. Jumping as the deep voice rasped behind her, Autumn spun with one hand still grasping a piece of bread, the other instinctively reaching down and grasping the handle of her closest dagger. As her eyes searched for the source of the voice, she glanced down some and blinked, spotting a very ragged looking man seated atop the stool. He was very short, at least a whole foot shorter than she was, which was quite the feat!

Other than his height he looked quite regularly proportioned for his size if not a bit bulky. His clothing seemed a little oversized, a pair of heavily worn brown shorts and leather vest with many tears, both meant for someone quite taller. His lack of clothing left his wealth of brown, almost black, body hair exposed, a considerable amount covering his forearms, chest, stomach, and legs. His skin is a deep shade of olive like he spends too much time in the sun, and blends with the hair covering his head and face which is only a few shades browner. His hair is bristly and stands on end making his head seem twice as big as it is, and partially obscuring the random patches on his face where beard hair simply hasn’t grown or was removed. On his back he carries a shield, also meant for a regular sized person, the circular shell almost giving him the appearance of a turtle. While heavily worn with many dents and a few gouges, the shield looks quite sturdy, and is decorated with a crescent moon on one side with stars covering the rest of the dull steel surface.

Letting go of the blade as her cloak flowed back down over her body and obscured the handle, Autumn sighed and apologized, “I’m sorry, you startled me. The innkeeper? He’s just in back last I saw.” she offered to the man not realizing he had been addressing the attendant who was now behind her. Though before he could turn she lifted her free hand, “A-ahh, but wait- Are you the one looking for a scout..? The innkeeper described someone that matches your appearance and said that they were looking for someone… and I find myself in need of work. Would that happen to be you?” she asked as plainly and politely as she could.

The man’s face scrunched up like he’d just eaten a lemon peel, and after a moment he opened his eyes from a squint and slowly turned his head to look at Autumn. He briefly glanced her up and down, unscrunching his face into a toothy smile that revealed far better teeth than his assumed lifestyle would suggest.

“That is in fact... why I had to speak to him, I guess he can stay asleep,” the man choked, a cheeriness in his tone beneath whatever weighed on his voice. Briefly he glanced around, the inn’s lobby fairly empty at the time, and satisfied with the lack of people he nodded before turning back to face Autumn. “So, what I’m gonna tell you may sound ridiculous. You’re the first person I’ve offered this job to, I’ve been making rounds at 4 other inns” he began, amused chuckles mixed with his raspy breathing, “Not too long ago I was walking through the Iron Sap Woods, beautiful place by the way if you’ve never been, but I found something there that demanded my attention. Weird underground fortress straining under the force of a thousand shackles meant to rip it apart, and at its center there was something drawing in magic. I found it, and expecting a crystal or artifact of some sort I find a wooden child! No idea what to make of it but it both concerns and interests me, and I followed it all the way here. I want to keep an eye on it but have other maybe more urgent matters to address, which is why I’d be willing to buy you as a set of eyes. I’ll pay you in advance, and further with any usefulness you provide me with.” By the time he’d finished babbling he seemed out of breath, lifting his arm and meaning to cough but just wheezing heavily instead. “Are you interested?” he rasped, his cheeriness replaced with a tone as stern as stone.

Autumn stood there for a few moments, a bit dumbfounded. She could pick up on the little tells that there was more to this man than just some wandering vagabond. The notable symbol on his shield, his teeth, and the way he spoke and held himself gave it away. While what was coming from his mouth sounded like madness, in truth she only had a few questions. “A… wooden child, you say? Like the suits of armor that walk around the town here?” she queried, “Alright. That shouldn’t be… too hard to find. I imagine it would stand out quite easily among common folk.” she mused, glancing around for a moment as she thought, “If I find this… thing. This wooden construct. What do you want me to do? Where will I know to look for you?” she asks with a tilt of her head, shifting her weight onto one leg as her hip popped out to the side and her arm angled to rest her palm upon it.

The man’s toothy grin returned, and there was renewed eagerness in his otherwise tired voice. “Easy to find, maybe, since you know to look for it, but it wears a cloak and being as tall as a child it’s unassuming in a crowd. I trust you to find it, and what I’m asking is that you keep an eye on it. There’s a lot of magic pent up inside that thing and I’m worried as to what that could mean, so if anything bad happens, that’s when you should reach out to me,” the man explains, removing his shield as he does so to reveal the drawstring backpack it was attached to. Muttering to himself he opens the top so it fits his arm and begins digging about blindly. “I have…,” he trailed off, going silent again as he continued rummaging, “This bag of gold, silver, one sparkly rock, and a few demon fangs,” he announced, producing a brown purse stuffed to the size of an apple. “This is what I can pay you for now. Find the wooden boy, observe him be that from the shadows or by it’s side, and should anything concerning need my attention you can summon me with this,” he explained, putting the bag of mostly coins down then reaching into his vest. From a hidden pocket near his chest he produced a seed, large enough to be from a tree with a single wing attached to its casing. “Plant this only when you mean it. I’ll show up quickly but I can’t teleport unfortunately. And before you properly accept know that I do not take being cheated lightly. However if you prove to be useful wealth will find you in more ways than gold,” the man concluded, grinning cheekily as he placed the winged seed beside the bulging but small purse.

Reaching over towards the countertop upon which the items sat, Autumn carefully picked up the seed and inspected it, arching an eyebrow slightly, “Er… Right. Find it, keep a close eye on it, keep it out of trouble- and if trouble happens, plant this seed. I assume that includes anything trying to attack this… construct.” she said more as a passive statement than a question.

“Well if you find yourself capable of keeping it safe instead of waiting maybe a day or more for me to show up, know that I’ll reward the extra effort. I’m mostly concerned about emergencies inherite of a potentially volatile well of magic that is literally walking around,” he explains, speaking in an overly sarcastic, joking manner that contrasts the stress buried just beneath his calm visage.

Passing the seed to her off-hand, Autumn turned the open palm of her right one toward him with a nod, “I accept. Where should I start looking?”

The man lights up immediately, all at once replacing his bag and shield while leaping up to stand on the barstool. Eagerly he grasps the extended hand with both of his, shaking it vigorously whilst hastily reciting his thanks, “Thank you for this; have faith in me for I have faith in you. Now if you’ll excuse me I have elsewhere to be.” Blinking as the man so vigorously shook her hand, Autumn finds herself having to reach up significantly as he jumps up onto the barstool in his excitement. A few more shakes and he lets go, bouncing off the barstool and landing into a near full on sprint for the door. He makes no sound though, no wood creaking or thumping in protest to his actions as he slips out the front door almost unnoticed by anyone else in the lobby.

After she shakes hands with him and listens to his jovial excitement, Autumn finds herself equally shocked as he simply dashes out of the building with nary a sound to his step. Standing there for several moments, Autumn reaches up and checks the bag and winged seed. Yes. They were real. This was not a dream. Shaking her head she stowed the seed carefully in one of her belt pouches on its own, sliding a clasp shut to keep it tucked away safely. She then counted the 20 gold and 17 silver, as well as the shiny rock and demon fangs. Staring at the latter two for a moment curiously she simply tied the bag shut again and stuffed it into her backpack before hefting it and turning to walk out of the door in search of this ‘wooden child’.

“No they haven't.... , but I've got an idea on where to look at for....” Chambala was just about to move and point the direction she had in mind when they showed up. The golem riding lady and the goldie woman, still annoying as she was last time. Chambala was really wondering what was going in the head of that one. Lacked any common sense that anyone would learn just by growing up. Heck, Chambala grew up in the forest with her family and only rarely got to cities still she's got how the world works.” Sure...” She said, slowly following after the goldie woman.

“Well someone sure has an idea of what she wants...” She said to Rebecca with a shrug and sigh.

“You do know that you need a guide to show you the possible cross spots across the river if they are usable.” She called hastening her steps ever so more. It was weirdly amusing to see someone who appeared so self centered and arrogant, but probably not being in the exact same way as she appeared. Chambala's instincts told her that Calieo holds secrets. Probably really big secrets that in some way the huntress didn't really want to find out. Call it a hunch, but there was a huge chance that whatever she was into, was too big and dangerous. Probably enough to lead to immense danger and challenges to face on her way.

“ The first possible spot where it might be possible to cross the river would be about 2 days from here/ Not certain to be usable though. Most such spots are rather unreliable as they depend on drought mostly.” She explained, enjoying the softness of her fur coat as they walked. She was heavily loaded with all her luggage, but it wasn't beyond her limits. She knew how much to buy and how much she needed. Besides this was just the last stocking up before the winter. She had stocked up on provisions many times during the previous months. She was going to get home now and probably not leave the forest and her home until spring.

“So Rebecca what brought to to this side of the river if I may ask?” Chambala walked over to her new friend and asked with great curiosity.” Since you're heading on the other side there are a few logical conclusions which while I won't pry anymore if you wish me to, I do am curious.”

“You know depending on where winter catches us, especially the danger is of the early snow that sometimes hits. If it comes, we might be forced to move a lot slower or even take shelter somewhere along the way until the weather settles.”

[Tirñea]

After having seen two cities already the sheer wonder of such sights had diminished a little, but still Tirñea was fascinated by the massive stone tower that loomed over the entire city of Twilight Field. Though much of the tower was a large but simple stone column near the top an assortment of faces with hands were on display, and they were crowned with a dome that protruded something that looked like a giant spyglass. Though at first glance one would assume the faces were clocks, upon more careful inspection Tirñea realized these faces told something other than time, many decorated with either stars or other things in the sky. Amusingly the tower itself was also almost like a giant sundial, with the shadow it cast over the rivers that bordered it's dominion stretching out quite far. The use of the thing at the top though, that still confused the Piñuran, and she contemplated it's purpose as they drew closer to the city.

The bridge leading over the river was done in a similar style to the tower, plain stone, but it was wide and well constructed with plenty of space for what little traffic there was. As she crossed, feelings of unease and distress that were not her own clouded her mind, and she realized Sierpe may have gotten his nose wet in the earth near the riverbed. Once they had crossed she'd had to take a minute to put away her blanket, and then once the attention wasn't on her she smacked at the earth with her staff at three points like a triangle. Then she used the small end of her staff to quickly stamp at the ground another 3 times. The first command was like calling Sierpe's name to get his attention, and the second was to command that he stay deeper underground. Bringing him under a city wasn't ideal, but she couldn't leave him waiting at the bridge. Hopefully he'd do no harm.

Soon they had arrived, the streets busy with carts and people all going about their days. Knights in armour marched about alongside important looking people dressed in robes here and there among the crowds, their numbers notably plentiful in at least this part of the city. The clamor of it all must be quite confusing from underground, so every few steps Tirñea was certain to stamp her staff down particularly hard against the stone while she walked. Serena was determined on setting to work, and she started off at a hurried pace, clearly expecting to be followed. Tirñea turned to Veronica and smiled, hoping to gain her attention before she rushed after her teacher.

"Excuse me, Veronica, you do know this city, yes? While we are here I am need to buying some supplies. Where should I go, and where can I meet again later?" she inquired, hopeful that some sort of market or bazaar was nearby.

“Are you sure you wouldn't want me to come with you?” Veronica asked excitedly.

“Hey Teacher!” Veronica called. “Can I show Tirnea around town?” Serena stopped in her tracks for a moment, and put a hand to her chin.

“Very well,” Serena said. “We are likely to find more if we split up, anyways. We will meet back in front of the tower when we are done. If I am not back by sunset, then I want you to proceed without me. I will get myself out of trouble. If you are not back by sunset…”

Serena cracked her knuckles with a tense, deep breath.

“Then I will be very cross with whoever is responsible… Make sure to have fun, you two.” Serena gave a quick wave before she left.

“Well then,” Veronica said as she waved back. “What were you looking for, specifically? Trade’s Orbit sells a lot of general goods, but Siderite stocks enchanted weapons and such, and Stardust is a good place to go for clothing. If you want to get something to eat too, there’s a big tavern called Harvest Moon that gets produce straight from the farms, and there’s this Tour de Rouge-style cafe that I thought was really nice before I left for The Choir.” The knightess paused for a moment.

“I’m probably going a bit fast,” Veronica realized. “But you’ll probably find what you need there, right? There’s a more general marketplace, but it’s more of a hassle to shop there if you ask me.”

---

Serena frowned as she made her way throughout the city. She honestly doubted that she would find much of note yet; the fop would likely make himself known when he pleased. It was a decent excuse to find herself something to eat and drink, at least.

Though Serena understood the Crescent Sun’s fanatical devotion to destroying demons far better than most, she could not help but find this culture… offputting. A half-breed like herself simply could not exist here, especially one so foreign.

But this was the place where she had met Veronica for the first time, so perhaps she could admit it some sort of sentimental value.

She spotted some sort of inn or another. Serena had eventually learned how to read Abbalic, but something about the way they wrote around here threw her off. She found it better to ignore it unless she had to.

Serena spotted someone coming out the door. Someone short. Something about her eyes… was she Foji? Maybe not quite. All her gear gave Serena the impression that she had a good head on her shoulders, maybe even knew something. It looked like she had business to attend to, though.

“Oi,” Serena said. “Do you know if the food in there is any good? I do not come here very often.”

---

Rebecca just kind of shrugged as Calieo continued being brash. She’d gotten used to it by this point. The researcher had to wonder if this person even knew the river existed in the first place, let alone that she might need help crossing it. The idea that they might need to spend another two days getting over there wasn’t exactly ideal, though.

Then Chambala asked her why she was over here.

That was fine. She’d rehearsed this like a million times, what did it matter if she phoned it in on her espionage course? She had this down.
“Well,” Rebecca explained. “I work a lot with one of the sages from the Twilight Fields. They keep good records and know their stuff when it comes to magic, so I kinda study under her. She’s friends with one of the spiritualists around here, and she wanted me to deliver a parcel for her, so that’s what’s got me over here now.”

It had a grain of truth to it at least. But Rebecca held back a sigh; she needed to change the subject if she wanted to avoid any follow-up questions.

“Speaking of which” Rebecca said as she turned her attention to Calieo. “Hey Miss Sunshine, what brings you all the way out here?”

A worthwhile question, at least. If she was from the mountains or Twilight Fields, like her name suggested she might be, then why wasn’t she looking for her artifact over there? Even Rebecca’s own surveys hadn’t turned up anything as important as that.

---

The agent that Jumper had found was an older woman. Well into her sixties, with wrinkled skin and a glistening white head of hair that went down to her shoulders. Her robes were faded, but very ornate, capped off with a long, beautiful rosary of yellow and blue agate beads that looped around her neck, mingling with a necklace showcasing an impressive number of demon fangs. A sword sat in a scabbard hung around her waist, though she was accompanied by a pair of knights wielding halberds, the blades obviously modeled after the crescent moon.

As she made her way throughout the city, it became apparent that she was of a rather high status. Citizens would notice her robes and rosary and get out of her way, usually followed by a ceremonial greeting. May the heavens light her path indeed.

She eventually came to the central tower that overlooked the city. The guards at the courtyard gate stood aside when the trio approached. spears held in an upright, dignified manner.

[Tirñea]

Veronica's enthusiasm to join her had taken Tirñea by surprise, though she quickly warmed up to the idea while the knight spoke with her mentor. Once they had waved each other goodbye, Veronica went off listing places worth visiting. Her voice was a little rushed in her excitement, and Tirñea failed to understand any of the names of these places. A few were explained well enough that what they were called didn't mater, so she at least had an idea for where she may want to start.

"I am wanting, two things," Tirñea began to explain as Veronica started leading her off somewhere. "The first, I need- a um... tent! Yes, a tent. Second, maybe a warm clothing. For my arms," she listed, looking at her exposed limbs and shuddering a little. The air was still cold, not near frozen like at dawn, but still not warmed by the sun's rays. Here in the city it was better, but to Tirñea there was still a noticeable chill in the air.

Veronica navigated the streets quickly and confidently, Tirñea trailing just behind her and casually bringing her staff down on the ground harder than she needed to. There was plenty of movement in the streets, more than enough to confuse Sierpe, but thankfully her staff had been designed with it's purpose in mind of communicating with a creature that couldn't see. When striking the ground, especially on stone, the sound of the steel resonates clearer than most things. This plus their shared link always gave a vague sense of how close they were to one another.



The shopping trip had been fairly nice, and with Veronica there to help her Tirñea managed to find what she needed and at what she could assume were fair prices. She'd had about 45 gold pieces, but now with a tent, bed roll, new bag to help carry them, and a cozy brown sweater, she was left with three gold and two silver. The need for a new backpack had been unexpected, but her little drawstring bag simply wouldn't be comfortable to wear holding her new gear so she'd had to trade it in. It wasn't that she was unhappy with her purchases, quite the opposite in fact, but she hadn't expected to spend so much on the first leg of her journey. The currency here was different, and she'd assumed she had more than what she actually had.

"I can't thinking of anything else I need," Tirñea announced as they left the clothing store, adjusting her bracers over her new sweater. It was a similar colour to the leather vest and bracers she wore, and was fairly warm which made her happy. In fact besides the haggling, most of the short shopping trip had been quite fun as Veronica's enthusiasm for the city made her good company. "What should we doing now?" Tirñea asked the knight eagerly, feeling more prepared than earlier which had her looking to do something.

---

[Calieo]

Now being on the move, Calieo's mood was already improving as they drew closer to the boundaries of the settlement. The fur clad woman started talking to her about a river, the river, which did hold the knight's interest. Two days was a lot of time, and she wasn't even sure if it was possible to go that way which made her opinion less valid in the knight's eyes. Calieo thought about what had been said for a moment, long enough for Chambala to drop back and begin talking with Rebecca. As the structures of the settlement became fewer and started giving way to fenced land where animals roamed, Calieo was brought out of her thoughts by Rebecca's disrespectful address. Calieo shot a look over her shoulder that could melt steel at the use of such a ridiculous way to gain her attention. She was prepared to yell, but thought better of it and bit her tongue to keep from shouting.

"My name is Calieo," she hissed, letting the hostility evaporate from her voice before she continued speaking. "And what 'brings me out here' is a missing thing, shaped like this," she paused to frantically outline the object she'd already tried describing countless times before, "and I don't know anything else about it because it's missing! But it's very important, and the beast that guards the pillars said it was stolen and the thief SMELT OF ASHES AND DIRT!" She was screaming now, her irritation from earlier having built on itself as she spoke into aimless anger. She finished her rant with a roar of frustration, kicking at the ground and swinging her shielded arm to stab at the air. She needed a moment to calm down after that, having stopped walking and was just left staring at the sky. The weather was better today, patchy clouds but most of the sky was blue if only a little grey. Her temper cooled just as quickly as it had flared, and when she spoke again her voice was calm and even.

"Then so I thought, ashes and dirt? Well ashes are what civilizations turn to, and dirt is where the green emerges, so I left the mountains in search of dirt." When she'd finished talking her attention was once again on the road, and she offered Rebecca a sneer before beginning to walk again, "Now here I am, surrounded by dirt! But I much prefer dirt to water, speaking of which, fur woman, after thinking about what you said I do not want to cross the river. I've seen where that water comes from and I do not want it to see me."

@bobert778 @lavulman

Sage was lost.

He had been flying around for a little while with Tarfal, just trying to look out for anything he could help with. Unfortunately, it didn't appear that he would be finding much, having seen little other than forest and fields. Sure, maybe if they went a little higher, he would be able to see more, but Tarfal still wasn't amazing at flying for extended periods of time, so being too high could leave them in a less than stellar position should he get too tired.

Which was exactly what happened next.

"Tarfal, are you alright?" He called over the wind, getting a short, low grunt in response. "Alright bud, lets set down by that river."

As he spoke, he pointed to a large river, further along which he thought he could see a town of some kind. It was far though, and seemed like it might take a while to walk to. Still, he frowned and shook his head when Targal tilted his head to look back at him, letting out a short snort.

"No, you need to rest." He chastised the wyvern. "You've been flying for nearly a full day. I'll be fine on foot. I promise."

Still, the wyvern kept looking back at him, wings continuing to beat, and Sage sighed.

"Alright, well if you land here and rest, I'll bring you back some pork, assuming they have it at the butcher."

He rolled his eyes with a chuckle as he immediately felt Tarfal angle himself into a glide to the ground.

"Yeah, alright, glad to see I can still bribe you when you're being stubborn!" He said as they made it to the ground.

Naturally, that comment apparently lost him the right to get off Tarfals back on his own, the teenage wyvern instead tilting his back until Sage just fell off, landing flat on his back. Still, it wasn't anything the young man hasn't expected, and while he failed to land on his feet, he managed to manoeuvre himself so he wasn't winded.

Mostly.

Grumbling, he stood back up and looked along the river. He figured the walk might only be a few hours, now that he was looking at it from the ground. With a nod, he turned back to Tarfal.

"Alright, I might be a day or so, so keep a lookout. If you see people and I'm not with them, you know the drill."

He began to walk away, before turning back to face the wyvern.

"And please, for the spirits sakes, don't eat any livestock this time! We don't have much money left for our own food, let alone to replace someone else's!"

And with that, he began his walk to the town properly.



Sage was lost.

He's finally made it to the town, but it was different than others. It was... big.

Most of the other settlements he'd been to had been decent sized villages, but it wasn't often that he'd visit a proper town. There was so much to explore, and so many corners to turn. He'd even lost the river at some point, constantly getting turned around and redirected by the many buildings.

Eventually, he found himself in a marketplace of some form, which he supposed was good. Honestly, he'd probably have preferred an inn, but you could always find a few colourful characters in marketplaces too. He might even be able to buy the pork for Tarfal here, if they turned out to have some.

And if he could figure out where the butchers were.

Looking around, he failed to see any signs that indicated where the butcher was. What he did see, however, was a pair of women walking through the marketplace. One of them, probably some kind of melee fighter from her appearance, seemed to be quite knowledgable at travelling through the markets, so that was the directions down.

The other one though... She caught his eye for a different reason. The way she cared herself, her equipment and clothing, it all told him that she was most likely a mage of some kind, although he had never seen attire quite like hers. There was something else though, something which interested him even more. He watched carefully how she brought her staff down to the ground while walking. There must have been a reason she seemed to do it just that little bit harder than necessary...

Closing his eyes, he reached out to any nearby spirits, most of which lived in the earth beneath the streets. While they were currently too weak to do anything physical, they did tell him what they felt.

Vibrations, beneath the earth! Two of particular note were the staff tapping the ground, and those of something far greater, burrowing beneath the streets and following the tapping.

As he opened his eyes, Sage grinned, and walked up to the pair.

"Um, excuse me?" He called out. "I think I'm a little lost. I'm looking for a butcher, and you seem to know your way around."

He then looked to the mage girl directly, smiling in a way he hoped didn't look annoying.

"I'm also looking for talented mages, preferably ones with familiars. Would you be annoyed if I walked with you?"

Denise chuckled to herself at the rumbling grumble from her sister about being called a horse for the millionth time. She stretched out a hand and gently patted the side of the golem. Most of its emotions were reduced to an ember, but even an ember can flare to a fire every now and then. "Calm down now. She's a special being. We have to keep her safe and alive, for our benefit." Denise spoke quietly and softly, trying to make sure that Calieo could not hear her. It felt like she spoke to herself just as much as to her sister. If their plans failed then they were most likely dead. And it was this early into a long and arduous trip. She had to keep her hope and dreams up. Everyone is replaceable after all.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when Calieo spoke up. "Hm..?" Denise looked up and noticed some of the people they had travelled with. The weird yet interesting one was missing, such a shame. But there was nothing to be done about it. One less person to get in their way should things turn sour.

A deep sigh escaped from her lips as she walked up to join the rest of the crew before passing them and walked next to Calieo. She really was demanding wasn't she? But in a weird way Denise liked her. There was like, a calling after she touched her soul. It was hard to explain why she felt like she did. But she was guessing because Calieo was a special entity as well.

She was listening in on the conversations that was being had around her. It was interesting indeed. The logic of Calieo was....too extreme. When she heard ashes and dirt her heart froze for a second until she explained her reasoning. The description was spot on for her father. Or anyone in his service for that matter. He lived in a world of ashes and dirt. The fact that she had inherited his ashen skin didn't make things better.

"There are other ways to get around crossing a river." She spoke up quietly. "There are always walking back to the source and around it. Wait, or create a drought." She chuckled. "Or my golem can just toss us over before joining us on the other side."

"Sureee!" Chambala replied to Rebecca with a big innocently calm and reassuring voice as she patted her friend's shoulder as if to say that it's okey. It was pretty easy to see through Rebecca right no and the fur clad woman was actually quite amazed her friend ended up suriving whatever her goal was." It's okey, I know your's been a long and dangerous journey too! I will protect you on the way back!" Chambala nodded a few times before returning her gaze to Calieo. Chambala was getting a headache every time the goldie opened her mouth.

"Good luck with that then." She stated." The place that one's leading you to, you've got to pass across A LOT OF WATER. Hard to not be see by it then." She half shook her head in decision to not care about Calieo anymore. Nature was alive and Chambala wouldn't be surprissed if something was tied to water... after all believing that the nature was a living breathing thing made her always leave her mind open to possibilities. She used that to often see interesting traits within the wild where she lived. By studying the clouds and air, you could sense what weather would happen for example. Everything appeared tied in some way, but she was not going to claim she understood it really. She mere noted it existed!

"Hey, to throw any of us across this river, would leave the person landing on the other side with rather hurt legs..." She couldn't help her self finally and rolled her eyes. She'd have no troubles with proper enchantment activation, but to throw them acros the river would require good amount of physical strenght, a pretty decent angle and no matter what angle you fell, you'd be hurt. The propositions going around were getting more and more absurd.

"Fine just stick to following hte river south... you'd get by the sea eventually by following hte direction after reaching the lake, but you'd still have to cross one of the river's branches that come from the lake there unless you plan to lengthen your journey by good few weeks more. Anyhow down around the lake we should either find a raft to take us across or a good proper crossings." She explained. Been a long time since she was in that area all the way south on the west side of the lake.

Having set out in search of the wooden boy, Autumn scoured the city for a full day and night before finding her mark the following morning. Assuming that he'd spent the night somewhere out of sight, she tailed from the shadows. She was careful not to take her eyes off of him, slinking along and keeping herself tucked under her hood and mask to remain unassuming. Her small size was a benefit, as she did not stand out quite as much as larger folk tend to.

She followed Jumper not knowing his name, his intentions, or what to expect, but as she tailed him day after day, she noticed that he seemed to be tailing something himself. The thought amused her as she spent day after day in a train, following a long distance behind Jumper as he followed after the living mage patrols that made their rounds in the town's busy streets.

Days stretched out into a week, and again into two. Still, Autumn saved her coin and spread it out as much as she could, only spending for meals twice a day, and sleeping out in the cold where she could find a safe spot to settle down. The wooden boy's predictable patterns of following the guard made it easy to find him again when she woke. Still as the end of the second week rolled around she began to grow tired of following an unremarkable target. It started to become hard to believe that he was really a font of latent magical energy waiting to explode. On the night of the 2nd fortnight from when she'd started, Autumn slipped into the very inn that she'd stayed in previously and ordered a room. She only had a few of her coins left from her payment, and with a sigh she decided that in the morning she'd set out to find her employer.

When she awoke, she headed down, skipping breakfast entirely as she slipped out of the door of the inn with a wave to the innkeeper. She was done up for travel, to be sure. Armor and weapons strapped to her figure under a traveler's cloak and silk mask. A light pack strapped to her back as well.

Slipping through the doors Autumn was about to turn when a voice called out to her "Oi" the person exclaimed at her. Turning and blinking as she was asked about the food within the inn, Autumn paused and looked the figure up and down. There was something about her. The way she was dressed in silks that looked very much like kimono of her homeland... and her eyes. Was she Foji? She certainly didn't sound like it.

Stunned for a moment, Autumn called out from under her mask in return as she realized the very tall woman was expecting a response. "U-uh. Y-yes, actually. The prices are a bit high, but the food is hot and well made and the service is quite fast." she replied. her voice would give her away. Her heavy accent. She herself was definitely of Foji descent, at least... partially. She very clearly spent a portion of her life there at the very least.

Autumn waited to see if the woman had any further questions, then turned and slowly walked toward the front gates of the town. She was distracted. Why would there be a woman from Foji here? Of all places. In some ways she looked exactly like the women from her childhood home, and in other ways she looked nothing like them. She was so tall, and her voice was so harsh. She had nearly forgotten that her objective for the day was to hunt down her employer and see what he wanted her to do. She certainly couldn't keep tailing the wooden boy any longer without more coin. She'd starve.

As she passed through the gates, lost in thought she was rudely interrupted as a cacophony of clattering hooves and rattling wood rushed toward her. Shouts to get out of the way as a man chasing after a runaway wagon barreled toward her. Turning around slowly, Autumn's eyes widened as she saw the beasts of burden charging right for her in the threshold of the main gate. She didn't have time to think, she simply reacted. A flash of darkness exploded like ribbons of shadow all around her, enveloping her body and whisking her away from the danger. She didn't have time to watch where she was going as she dashed through the shadows at break-neck speed, slamming into the fence along the road just outside of the city of Twilight Tower.

The impact rustled her pack and the pouches on her belt, the flap of one in particular popping open as the seed she'd been given to call the short man in rags fell from her pocket and into the mud at her feet. Not knowing that it had done so, she turned and stepped directly on the sturdy tree seed, burying it deep into the soil beneath her feet. Planting it. She stood atop the planted seed, not aware of what she'd done as she turned and started cursing in Foji at the cart driver as he ran through the gates after the runaway cart.

She didn't even pause long enough to realize that anyone who was watching her would have seen her 'teleport' from in the way of the wagon to the side of the road in an explosion of shadowy ribbons that faded quickly in the morning sunlight.

Veronica felt quite pleased with herself. At least here, she could feel that sense of clarity and authority that she often felt she lacked. It was nice to have someone ask her what they should be doing next for a change.

“Well,” Veronica said. “I was hoping to grab a bit more to eat before we started up the search proper…” her thoughts were cut off by the appearance of a strange man. Even with his robes there was something wirey and wispy about him. He reminded her of her sister… or perhaps even her grandmother.

Veronica tilted her head as she finished looking the boy up and down. Mages with familiars? An oddly specific thing to look for, she thought. Then again…

“Funny,” Veronica mused. “We were looking for a certain mage ourselves…” Was Ashley even a mage? Or that girl? Their powers were so strange.

“I don't know of any mages with familiars,” the knightess continued. “But I can help you find a butcher, sure.” she tucked her hammer under her arm as she offered her free hand to the stranger.

“The name’s Veronica by the way,” she explained. “And that’s Tirnea. You know some magic yourself, I’m guessing?”

---

Serena gave a quick smile as she watched the woman stutter out an answer. She was from Foji, all right.

“Thank you.” Serena said warmly. “Take care out there.” she watched the lady leave for a bit before she eventually began to head inside herself. She couldn’t wait too long, or she might find a reason to stop herself from having a drink at this hour.

And like clockwork, she heard the horrible sounds of a commotion. Hoof noises. Horse noises. Some sort of clattering. More cart troubles? Serena rushed outside, naginata at the ready. She looked around as the cart went along. Looked around for any trace of them. She only saw the woman from before, and the way she cloaked herself in shadow as she sped out of the way of the cart, bumping into the fence and dropping something from her pouch for her troubles. Serena’s eyebrow raised at that. Was she really from Foji? Though she supposed that there wasn’t any reason to follow the Emperor’s laws so far from the country if one did not care for them. Serena certainly didn’t, when she was young.

She scanned the area for any actual threat before she finally relaxed, smiling as she watched the lady curse at the cart driver. She supposed that confirmed where she was from, if nothing else.

“I think you may have dropped something.” Serena said with a half-smile. as she approached the woman, looking at the dirt beneath her feet. “Should I tell you take care again? You seem to have given that fencepost quite the beating.”

---

Rebecca’s eyes widened somewhat when Calieo snapped at her, the researcher’s hand reflexively raised in front of her own mouth. The outburst was almost funny and cute, if she wasn’t also armed and waving her weapon around like a maniac. Still, her rant contained something of interest.

“Well,” Rebecca muttered. “That sounds like Nethergate, I guess…” she shot Chambala a questioning look as the fur-clad woman patted her shoulder. Did she not believe her? It didn’t seem like too big of a deal, either way. The discussion turned towards how they were actually going to get across the river. In particular, if they could simply throw each other across.

“I think if you just threw someone across the river,” Rebecca said. “You would end up with a lot of unwanted attention from some soldiers making sure no one gets any funny ideas about sending troops across the stream anyways… In fact, it’s a pretty good idea to stay away from the river until we’re a good ways downstream from the bridge.” She could maybe talk herself out of trouble alone, but she didn't have the slightest chance of being able to explain away her travelling companions to any Loyalitat patrol with the slimmest spark of intelligence.

She straightened her cap and put a hand to her chin as she tried to figure things out. If push came to shove, she could maybe just shoot herself across to safety with her launcher before she found a patrol or limped her way back to civilization, but one slip could just as easily leave her in the river. This would all be so much easier if the Choir just waited to press forwards into Loyalitat until she got back…

Rebecca let out a sigh.

[Calieo]

Once the subject of the water had been brought up, it begun a debate as to how they should continue forward once they reached water. All that mattered to Calieo was that they were currently moving forward, though she did her best to mind what others were saying. Denise offered a few suggestions, which prompted the fur clad woman to interject and further the conversation. Only when the attention had been drawn from the two of them did Calieo respond to Denise.

"I walked from the source, I worry I've already roused suspicion, and I do not want to cross the river," the knight huffed, doing her best to avoid emotion and focus on keeping up her rather hasty walking pace. Attention once again on what the others were saying, Calieo was pleasantly surprised to find that their blathering actually accumulated into something useful: a vague idea of a plan.

"Yes, we will continue South, as we are doing!" Calieo hollered over her shoulder in agreement, her mood a little better as their party continued further from the settlement. Soon the road turned rougher, the grass seemed a little greener, and slowly the path curved and slid away from the first of many sloping rises.

---

The Falken village gone from sight, the journey into the grasslands wasn't too difficult as the trail ducked between the hills rather than went over them. To leave the path and reach the top of most hills could take someone only a handful of minutes, but often once finished the climb there isn't much to see but more hills like your own. Every few turns the road will lead through a shallow gorge or valley, though often all their is to see is grass, taller stalks of grass, and dirt, much like the rest of the road.

After travelling for a few hours, the trail curves around a fairly steep slope, and around the corner a towering corridor of grassy earth opens up into a large, sunken valley surrounded by sheer cliffs on either side. At the far end of the valley, just on the edge of sight, it seems the land slopes up and out onto more hills rather than cliffs, though there's no discernible road visible. With no road running through the valley either, whether or not this is still a beaten path is no longer clear. The valley overall is quite flat, and in the distance on the left side what looks like a lake can be seen; a mirror of the sky in a sea of knee high green.

---

Having stayed towards the front of the group by keeping up a relentlessly brisk pace, Calieo for the first time since leaving the village stopped walking. She didn't seem out of breath or tired, but instead looked onward, perplexed by the sight before her.

"There is so much of this stuff, and it keeps getting taller," she declared to nobody directly, kneeling down to grasp as the tops of the grass. Sloppily she gathered a few stalks in her fist, and tore the tops away from the rest of the grass before pushing herself to stand again. Her expression difficult to read, Calieo opened her fist and began poking at the blades of grass she'd collected. Then she leaned in to sniff them, followed by a lick, then a fit of spitting when the grass stuck to her tongue.

"Someone, what is this green and why does grow so quickly? It was very short when we started walking," the knight called out, looking back at the rest of her companions.

---

---

[Tirñea]

Hanging onto Veronica's words, Tirñea hadn't even noticed the man in robes approach until he'd spoke up. At first glance she'd assumed he was a frail old man due to his hair, but she quickly forgot that idea when she got a proper look at his face. He seemed quite cheery, though perhaps that was just him trying to be polite considering he had interrupted Veronica. Initially he only wanted directions, but when he spoke to Tirñea directly what he said unsettled her. Tirñea felt her stomach knot, the question being so oddly specific that it caused her to shy away from him by half a pace. Veronica of course wouldn't know why she should distrust this man, and went on to engage the stranger in conversation before introducing herself and Tirñea.

"Hi," was all the Piñuran had to say, quite curious as to what the stranger's answer would be when Veronica inquired about the use of magic. Magic could explain a ridiculously specific inquiry such as his, as it seemed to be the explanation for most things that lacked any sense, but even then Tirñea was assaulted by a flurry of worrying thoughts. If Veronica didn't trust him she wasn't showing it, so Tirñea decided to distrust him for the both of them, and made a point of not returning his smiles.

As the dust swirled around in the wake of the runaway cart, Autumn ceased her shouting as the man ran past her after his belongings. The cart came to a stop a short way down the road and the man managed to catch up with it out of earshot. With his footsteps long since past her, Autumn sighed and looked around. She hoped that not too many eyes had witnessed her ability, though in a town filled with magic, she hoped people would pass it off as some kind of spell, even if that wasn't the truth.
Sighing in relief that she was intact and hadn't partially embedded herself in the fence post, Autumn turned and blinked as the woman from before rounded the corner of the gatehouse and approached her. As she was informed that she'd dropped something, she glanced down, checking herself over. she turned and dumped her pack on the ground. Her waterskin still seemed to be attached to her bag. As were the various bits of camping gear. She opened the lid and rummaged around for a moment. Everything seemed to be in place. Gasping she stood up and reached down, checking her weapons. They were all still in their sheathes, although one of blue crystalline short swords was partially exposed causing a glint of blue to shimmer up into her eyes; a mistake she quickly corrected with a shove to seal it back in it's scabbard. Best not to show them off unless she really needed to.
Confused, the woman shifted to checking her pouches one by one. Her smaller coin purse was still there. Her rations and smaller flask was still present. She went along her rather ample hips checking each and every pouch until- Her hand passed over the open flap. She wracked her brains trying to remember what was in that particular pouch. Then she gasped for the second time. Quickly spinning in place she started looking all around, lifting her bag from the spot where she'd set it down and even grasping the fence to peer over the other side in the grass. "Oh no... oh no no no no no, where did it go?!" she cried, looking frantic. She had no idea that she'd trampled and buried the seed from earlier in the mud, and with all the foot-traffic at the main gate, there was no telling where it might be sunk into the mud.
Cursing again, this time in abbalic, she kicked the fencepost in frustration and then sighed, "Great. Now what am I going to tell him...?" she asked rather rhetorically. She'd nearly forgotten that Serena was standing nearby. When she turned and saw the tall possibly Foji figure standing there, she blinked a few times. "H-hey wait, you. D-did you see where it went when I dropped it?" she asked hopefully. Though- she doubted it. between the smoke and dust that the cart kicked up and the flurry of movement, it would be a miracle if she did. She didn't hold her breath. At least- not at first.
The realization suddenly hit her that if she saw her drop something- she saw her shadowstep. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Serena over the black mask that covered her lower face. "W-wait. What all did you see..?" she asked, somewhat nervously. It was almost as if she didn't want anyone knowing what she was capable of. Like she had some reason to hide it like a closely guarded secret. She stood upright again, her cloak flowing down around her body mostly except for the raised hand halfway between the two of them with a tense but nonthreatening posture, palm down and fingers outstretched. She swallowed hard and waited to see what happened next. Six years in these strange lands and she still couldn't be sure of what to expect from anyone so far away from home.

@lavulman@bobert778

"Oh, I know a little..." Sage said, almost a little embarrassed by what his socially deprived brain decided was praise. "I know enough to fulfil my duties as a sage, although I'd definitely like to learn a little more."

He looked to the girl who he was sure was the partner of the creature beneath the ground, one eyebrow raised even as she continued to glare at him.

"So wait, does that mean that creature under the ground isn't your familiar?" He asked, confused. "I was so sure you would be, considering the way the spirits said you were leading it around with your staff. Unless that was just a coincidence, in which case we may need to prepare for a fight..."

Denise laughed. "Isn't that part of the fun? With your body I figured you'd be while enough to survive without too many scratches." She tilted her head towards Chambala. "If nothing else you can flap your arms and crow like a bird." There was other ways of course. Like create a raft and make a makeshift steam engine with her powers. Denise herself could easily get past, but not the rest.

Rebecca though brought up a point that Denise did not have to worry about, soldiers were easy to charm. A normal patrol were nothing, a camp though would be harder. "South it is." she sighed deeply. She had not went this way last time. Last time she had just crossed the river without any care. Besides, who want to show off their cards for free?

This would be a long trip she figured and hopped into her golem. Once up there she sat down and wrapped her legs around its head and closed her eyes. She might as well practice while they were traveling. When she opened her eyes again they glowed a dim red and the swirls in her eyes formed up into a five pointed star.

She looked around her. The others near her looked dofferent now. I'm her eyes She could see an outline around them. A glow from within them which radiated outwards. Calieo shined like a star. No surprise there. Chambala had a beast roaring within her. No surprise again. Rebecca though was an enigma. It was just a book. A book that was open when she was not looking and closed when she glanced towards it. Strange indeed.

Denise looked away from the group as she felt a headache encroach on her mind. Soulsight was useful, but she could not use it very well. She closed Her eyes again and when she opebed them her eyes switched again. This time the lines looked like a flame. They moved on their own as if they were alive.

She could feel the heat as ten small fireballs appeared around her head. They started spinning faster and faster. With a motion of her hands they expanded and started slowly circling her head clockwise. With another motion they moved fuether away from her head as they expanded again. With a few more motions they started picking up the pace.

They stopped expanding when they were fist sized and then started shrinking again until they were no bigger than a keyhole. While they shrank they flowed towards her, when expanding, outwards. It was like a little dance of flames. After a little while they alternated their patterns so that some were big and some small. After that she started making them dance around her. A perfect exercise to control your powers if she may say so herself. She got so absorbed into her training that Denise shut out the rest of the world. She could only see the movements of the flames around her.

Veronica’s gaze narrowed into a frown as she tried to process what this sage had told her. A beast hiding under the earth? Well that was new... In all her years living here and in Tour de Rouge, she had never once heard of such a beast.

“Is this some sort of con or something?” Veronica asked, shifting her hammer to a more ready position on her shoulder. If it was she could only hope he got the bright idea to find a mark in some other city; The Order usually took such silver tongues as a tithe. He didn’t look like such a shady person, but maybe that was the whole idea… She wished Serena was here, she had a knack for this sort of thing.

---

Serena tilted her head as the girl searched her belongings. How thorough. She didn’t seem to remember where she left whatever object it was that she dropped, however.

“I believe it landed somewhere over there?” Serena offered with an unsure frown, pointing a finger at a certain patch of dirt. “Or perhaps I am wrong, it is hard to be sure… Was it important?” She looked back at the woman when she was asked what exactly she saw.

“Well, that cart came at you and I saw you…” She moved her hand in a circular motion as she tried to remember the right word to describe it. “Warp? Yes, I saw you warp out of the way. It looked like quite the useful talent.” She was rather confused by how nervous this woman was about it. They were not in Foji, and the powers did not seem demonic in any fashion similar to her own.

Unless, as Serena suspected and the woman’s weapons and skills suggested, she was some sort of assassin. Her look of confusion turned into an icy glare for just a fleeting moment before it returned to something more neutral. Perhaps she would need to warn the Order before she resumed her search.

The discussions weren't really the most productive considering they still reached for the solution of simply walking downstream though not directly by the rifer of course, but they still more or less used it as a guideline to keep the direction straight from afar. South, that was the direction to walk to, luckily there were no stupid soldier patrols or anything to hinder them so far as they walked. Still Chambala doubted it would be completely uneventful all the way there. After all there were some areas they were going to pass through that were completely out of human presence of decades if not centuries. Especially those parts of the forests south. Dangers lurked within and while she was content that she can navigate and survive with little difficulty because she lived all her life in the forests and she had seen a lot of mandess that only nature, twisted and menacing nature could produce.

"We are already far off the regular paths..." Chambala commented when Calieo commented about the grass." As further away from villages and settlements we go, the bigger the grass will get. There are no animals that are being brought here to graze on the wild grass. Still keep an eye out tall grass is usually a good hiding place for things such as snakes. If anyone gets bitten tell right away, so I can treat your wounds immediately. Some poisons are incredibly lethal." Chambala mentioned, still keeping to the direction. All in all it wasn't completely without a pathway south.

" We are in luck.... it's not the dry season. If this was the summer and all the grass was dried up, one spark from our resident pyromaniac and we wouldn't be able to make it away." Chambala said, noting that Denise was now literally playing with fire. It showed quite hte control from what she could tell. Direct magic abilities weren't her expertise all things considered, but it was pretty. Though when she thought of that the very greeness of the grass was curious. This place must have been keeping warm, because at some places the grass and tries were already turning yellow and brown in preparation for the upcomign winter. Well there was still time, she just though it was rather interesting since this palce kept green longer then it must mean it was good for crops also.