---

Dremmick spun around at hearing the thumping of bows firing off arrows. Unable to bring his blood magic out in time to block the arrows from hitting his horse, he instead hung off the side off it, blocking the arrows with his back. Two arrows hit him in the thick boiled leather chestpiece he wore. It was enough to stop the arrows from doing any major damage, but the still pierced about a centimeter in. He rolled off the horse and into the water, not registering that his hood had fallen back, showing his head from the nose up for the first time since he has been with this group. He was facing off two of the bandits coming in on horses, pulling out his large karambit and rope dart. He started spinning the dart around as the first bandit rode up, taking a clumsy swing with his sword. Dremmick threw his dart out in front of the bandit and rolled low under the attack, the dart however, went into the man's neck, and he instantly tried grabbing at it. Dremmick pulled on the rope, yanking the man off the horse, dislodging and catching the dart as it returned to him. The horse seeemed to go straight to land and ran off, not caring for its fake master. The second rider he was facing has a bow and was sitting up in his stirrups, knees bent to adsorb the shock of riding for a steady shot. Dremmick sheathed his knife and prepared three crimson throwing knives with his blood magic in his right hand, bandages turning red at his hands at it's use. This time, when planned to throw his dart, he didn't aim for the rider, he was going to throw it at his horse's front legs, tripping it up and sending the rider sprawling before he could fire his arrow. However, the horse fell before he could throw it, launching the rider a bit past Dremmick. When the bandit stood up, he was hit by the three crimson throwing knives, one hitting him in the leg and the other two in the chest. Dremmick looked to the horse as t scrambled to get up right and noticed something in one of it's hooves. "Caltraps," he shouted, "Get the horses out of the water!"

He turned to face more bandits that were coming from behind them, the way they came, when everyone heard a roar and it started to get dark. Confused, the other bandits were caught off guard looking for the source in the now darkness, only to hear another bandit scream as the catlike monster attacked, but Dremmick ignored it for now and moved in, sliding between them. When he spun around to face their backs, he swept his hand in front of himself, and when ever his hand lined up with one of the bandits, a crimson spike darted out of his palm and back in, stabbing the three in rapid succession, creating a hole in the bandages at his palm. Each of the bandits dropped fairly quickly, and Dremmick pulled some of their life energy from them, making his arm glow a pale grey again. With this turn of events, he wasn't sure what was going to happen. There were still more bandits that he could make out at a distance, his eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness, though not yet tuned to it completely, but his focus was now on the water spirit that came out of the lake to calm the large cat monster. Dremmick clicked to his horse, to bring it back to shore and quickly check it for wounds and caltraps, healing anything with his stolen life energy, and keeping an eye out for any more fighting or whatever was going to happen with this new threat. After dispersing the life energy, casting away the glow, he pulled the arrows from his back and tossed them on the ground, using his magic to stop the bleeding, but careful not to actually heal himself. Thanks to the darkness, however, he could see something glowing a little ways past the stream, like a fire. He wasn't sure what it was, but he didn't want to stick around and find out.

Lila Moriarty

^{@Rai @13org}

As Lila heard Mirror's words, her hatred only grew bigger. She knew exactly who he was right now, his real face. It was almost that for him, only the fact that someone was a Nayu was enough to kill them and treat them as beasts... It was the same with Lila... It always was like that... He and the other seraphim always tried to suppress her real nature. She was seen as a monster just because she was a Nayu...

His words... All the things he was saying only made the fact that he didn't even see her as a human, but as a beast clearer. Just as he said himself, he wanted to 'tame' her. That her very blood was something wrong... But from all the things he said, maybe the one that made her even more angry was his last words before he fled...

"I hope you know what you're doing. The Aion will be your enemy. I will come for you." Lila heard him saying.

"You always treated me like a beast, a monster to be tamed... All the Nayus are like that to you, am I wrong? The Seraphim are so superior, so much better." Lila said, her voice filled with anger.

"The Aion was never my ally. I was a slave. Only a tool on their hands. You who stole me from my family and created me as nothing more than a weapon... To you, I wasn't anything more than a beast to be tamed..." Lila continued.

"Throw as many as you want at me. I will show you the bloodthirsty beast you have created..." Lila said, looking directly to Mirror's eyes as he disappeared on the portal. She wanted to be sure that her words would be marked on his mind. She wanted to be sure he knew that she wouldn't hold back if he ever tried to interfere on her life again...

Even after Mirror was gone and there was nothing more left at the banquet hall other than dead corpses and blood, Lila still couldn't stop trembling with rage and hate... It was the first time she was experiencing such intense feelings... Luckily for her, Anui was there at her side.

"It's over. He's gone now." Anui said with a soft voice. But instead of embracing her, he grabbed her arm with a firm grip as he looked at her with a serious stare, almost like he was trying to analyze her. Lila couldn't hide her disappointment and her shock when she saw him looking at her like that. He didn't trust her. It was just like the others...

"The others will grow suspicious. Lila. Come with me." Anui said, leading her down a hall away from the banquet, down a spiraling stair. After a moment walking, they were able to hear their own steps echoing. They were truly alone. But the silence didn't help one bit on Lila's mental state. After she saw Anui looking at her with that expression, grabbing her like that... A lot of things were passing through Lila's mind as they walked silently.

It was Anui the first one to break the silence, after they reached the end of a corridor, opening a wooden door that led them to a strange cave, illuminated with a strange blue coloration.

"Please tell me everything.." Anui said, as they arrived in a lake, with a blue neon tree standing in a small isle right in the middle of the lake. Sitting on the only boat that Lila could see nearby, he waited for her to take her where the tree was.

Even though the scenery was really breathtaking, Lila wasn't able to appreciate it at that moment. She had other, more pressing thoughts on her mind. Upon sitting on the boat, she turned to Anui, looking at him with a serious expression.

"You don't trust me, do you? You're just like the others... Why do you look at me like that? After everything that I said to you..." Lila asked, obviously angry at him.

"You want to know everything? Fine then!" Lila said, as tears started rolling down her face.

"I was raised by the Aion to be a weapon. Nothing but a tool for them to reach their goals. I killed many people for them. It didn't matter the race, age, sex... I simply obeyed orders for a long time. Oblivious to the fact that I wasn't an orphan like they told me, but I actually had a family I didn't have a purpose, nothing to live for and so, I simply followed their orders. They brought me here and told me nothing but for me to 'be ready'. I never knew that all this would happen. You know the rest." Lila said, looking down with a mix of sadness and anger on her face.

"When I got here, I heard about the Moriarty family. I still don't know what happened to them exactly, but I can imagine. Mirror was the one I always served. Oblivious to the fact that he stole me from my family... I never cared about that before but now I know his true self... Treating me and every other Nayu like beasts to be tamed. Nothing more." Lila completed.

"Why have you brought me here?" She asked, still with the same expression.

It was clear to Anui that Lila was emotionally unstable at that moment. After so many things happening, after all that she experienced including being able to see the world with her own eyes and after the feelings she suppressed for so long exploding on her mind like that... He could understand why she was overreacting like that when he grabbed her like he did before... At that moment, Anui was her only emotional support. The only thing that was keeping her from going on a murderous rampage. He was the only thing that stopped her from entering the banquet hall before and slaughtering everyone she saw... He had to thread carefully at that moment. Normally, Lila wouldn't be like that, but she was passing through some pretty radical changes on her life and on her mind.

---

Sophia

^{@Rai @13org}

Sophia might be the Dragon of Knowledge, and in fact she was much more different from other dragons, both in physiology, character and temper, but it didn't matter how much the Grimorium Verum had changed her nature as a dragon, small bits of it still remained there. As soon as she heard queen Allo's words filled with nostalgia, pleasure and admiration on her voice. Sophia couldn't help but give a motherly smile towards Queen Allo. Sophia knew that she was telling her the truth. It wasn't like her voice and the way she was looking at Sophia could lie. Sophia felt like a child was looking at her with admiration, with it's eyes shining with curiosity and excitement.

"Any question you might have, you need but to ask. I will be happy to answer them." Sophia said, with a soft, warm and motherly smile towards Queen Allo. Even though Sophia had to mind her words and her reactions on that place, for obvious reasons as she didn't trust most of the queens and kings there, Queen Allo would certainly have noticed Sophia's warm smile towards her.

Unfortunately not everyone was that excited with Sophia's presence. While Sophia herself knew that not everyone would be happy to see her, she couldn't help but look towards Magnixx in the eye before continuing. Some didn't display any particular reaction, some simply nodded at her, others, like Magnixx, openly expressed their dissatisfaction. But for Sophia, it didn't matter that much. She wasn't there to make friends or allies after all...

As King Vrondi started talking about his confrontation with the enemy, Sophia carefully heard him. A masked man wielding lightning... Powerful enough to keep up with King Vrondi... He certainly wasn't a normal descended... She looked as he displayed the path their fight took with light. After King Vrondi returned, many of his warriors were slain and his armor, gone. Obviously, the masked man was only fighting with him to divert his attention. Their true goal was indeed Vrondi's armor...

"Penetrating the armor is possible... But I need to have more details regarding this very armor. There are some spells and rituals that can render something virtually indestructible... But those spells and rituals themselves are not. It is merely a way on how to approach and how to attack said armor." Sophia said, thinking.

"I know that said armor is a treasure for your kingdom... But I need to know more details about it." Sophia said, looking at King Vrondi with a serious expression. She knew that he maybe wouldn't want to reveal the secrets behind his armor to kings and queens from other kingdoms, but he had no choice. If the enemy had his armor, they should know how to defeat it.

(Deleted)

Mason Drake

---

@Jollan@Rai@geurls
Just as Mason had originally expected, surveying the land made him feel much better. Soaring high in the sky had a way of calming his nerves; the tension that had been building within his body slowly began to dissipate. As Mason continued to glide about, his now carefree mind began to wander. The soft golden light of the midday sun illuminated the vast landscape below, this was the first time such a beautiful sight had graced Mason’s eyes. As a slave in Nero, the world he had come to know was darkness, cold, imprisonment, and pain; a tormented existence, a far cry from the warm, free, and vast world now before him.

Warmth. That word pulled Mason into memories of the past, a past not quite free of pain, but one before he knew the true meaning of pain. Closing his eyes, he saw small group of young seraphim slaves huddled in the corner of a cold, dark room, a soft light radiating from the center of their tightly knit forms. The source of this gentle warmth was none other that the hands of a seraphim toddler that had an array of infantile nub-like horns sprouting from its head. Between the child’s palms floated a pale flame, reminiscent of a star in the night, it was this flame that gave the children their only consolation, warmth. Though this memory was not to last, as images of fire, death, torture, and pain raked Mason’s mind. As he fell deeper and deeper back into the darkness of his past, a loud yet frantic voice broke his trance;



Suddenly snapping back to reality, Mason realized his party had been ambushed! An arrow grazing his cheek as it whipped past him. ”Shit!” he hissed as a single crimson bead rolled down his cheek, dodging the flurry arrows that followed. Without warning, a sheet of darkness fell over the area around his comrades, and for a moment, the arrows ceased. Through the dark sheet, he could barely make out what appeared to be Dremmick felling a group of their sudden assailants, but a pair on horseback remained.

Bringing his wings close and entering a dive, Mason drew his sword, igniting it with a black flame. Swooping down nearly all the way to the ground, he opened his wings once more, halting his decent, but continuing his momentum forward towards the men on horseback. By the time they realized their impending demise, it was already too late. Looks of horror came over their faces as they raised their swords in vain to protect themselves. In mere moments, blades became puddles, and a pair of bodies on horseback rendered headless. Lifting back out of the darkness, Mason prepared to make another strike, only to be startled by a mighty roar.

@Rai @Jollan @Guy0fV4lor


The quaint village was cute, if you could call it that. It composed of less than a hundred, that was for sure. But it still had shops, as it was at crossroads. Waltzing along the streets, she had her hand at the ready to summon Callisto’s Kiss, incase a futz came about. Stopping at a butcher, the pungent odor of meat washed over her. Ilya loved cow, though Faina was too young to eat many of the bones whole. She took her order, a cow and a fatty pig.

“Hah, who ya feedin far? A family of Tyro after a long day ah work?” The butcher asked with a smile, and a jolly laugh. Looking at her stature, he went to offer a hand. “Looks like ya need a bit ah help. I can get my son to-”
“That won’t be necessary,” She hissed, squinting her eyes. Tyro. The butcher looked on awkwardly, putting his hands together. “Ah, aight lass! I’ll… Bring em out,” He said, like it was a suggestion to himself, slipping into the back room. The one other person in the shop, who resembled the butcher, had big bloody gloves on and an apron way too large for him. And yet, he looked at Ganymede like she was the strange one. She was fine, he was the one making assumptions.

She walked out of the store with two huge cloth sacks over her shoulders as she held onto their ropes with a hand, reeking of meat. A few people watched, but many just didn’t want to question it. Reaching the edge of the village, she called for two of her companions. Dumping the contents on the grass, the bloody midsections of a cow and pig sat waiting there. Sure, they could hunt, but they needed to get going. Once they swallowed their meals, they were off.

Sitting atop Ilya as he crept swiftly along the lands- as a gigantic basilisk should- pushed wind into Ganymede’s hair. She calmly looked through her map as the mountain showed itself along the horizon. Picking her head up, she saw Faina ahead of them, watching out for any dangers. Nuxta had given a good description of where the artifact was, but she was preparing for it not to be easy to get to. Climb a mountain? Sure. But that wouldn’t just be it. Something was surely guarding it. Sighing, she rolled up her map, and lay on her back as the skies shifted above her. While she loved getting to go out and do good work for Nuxta and Ghara, she hoped it wouldn’t take too long. She needed to be back to help with the encroachment. Soon, everyone would be happy, there would be no wars, no suffering...
-------------------------


Feeling her ancestors answering the call, she used her ears to fight, which came naturally. Despite her pool of energy having been offered for this darkness, it almost made her more eased. They were in her turf now. Many sounds were around her, from yelps and cries, but she focused in on her foremost enemy. The suction of water as he pulled himself up, to the shifting of ground as he stood. Bashing her shield into him once more as he lifted himself, he tumbled back down. Hearing his gasps, she raised her sword, and drove the blade down through his arm. She was caught off guard by a gargantuan roar, shattering the corners of her spell.

Light flooded back in for a few blinks, before darkness took over once more- albeit less of a pure pitch black. It’s like she could hear a heart stop; one of the bandits was ripped to shreds. Before she could do anything else, singing was heard. She was unsure of what to do, so she let go of her spell for good. Like breathing for the first time with brand new lungs, the weight of what spell she just cast. Seeing one more bandit cowering in fear, she put herself infront of them, facing towards where she heard the beast.

She was at a loss for what had just happened. Two bandits were alive, along with her allies. Most importantly, a lion ent stood before her, water nymph behind it, trying to calm it with her song. Constance’s tense shoulders released, though she did not back down yet. ”Do not ease yourself yet, my friends! Stay on guard!” Her eyes pierced into the lion’s, watching intensely. Wherever it was from, whatever it would do, it had eyes on it from all corners. The little snake popped up from her armor, watching in interest at the fearful lion. ”We don’t want to hurt you, big guy,” she whispered, hoping that it would somehow hear her. The nymph continued singing, as she stood like a wall, readying herself for the possibility it wouldn’t totally work.

"You don't trust me, do you? You're just like the others... Why do you look at me like that? After everything that I said to you..." Lila asked, obviously angry at him.

"It's not like that." His face showed a slight wince as if he had been stabbed. He looked tenderly into her eyes as he spoke. He was nearing desperate for her to not feel negative towards him. As they walked he kept a watchful eye on their back. None followed, not even a guard. The blood and bodies would take days to clean. It was a humiliating thing to be ambushed by the Aion in the Kings home.

Lila continued. Anui listened with a look of remorse as her pitch grew less beautiful and more hostile and unhinged. Also with the shaking of sorrow escaping through her voices soul.

"You want to know everything? Fine then!" Lila said, as tears started rolling down her face.

"I was raised by the Aion to be a weapon. Nothing but a tool for them to reach their goals. I killed many people for them. It didn't matter the race, age, sex... I simply obeyed orders for a long time. Oblivious to the fact that I wasn't an orphan like they told me, but I actually had a family I didn't have a purpose, nothing to live for and so, I simply followed their orders. They brought me here and told me nothing but for me to 'be ready'. I never knew that all this would happen. You know the rest." Lila said, looking down with a mix of sadness and anger on her face.

Anui nodded briefly and awkwardly. He seemed unable to function entirely correctly when Lila was angry at him. Though he did his best to listen while opening the doors to the underground lake. He let Lila follow as she stomped her feet in frustration. Anui's posture lowered as he seemed to bow to Lila in apology. Before stopping at the boat and turning to look at her with a serious face as if he was too hurt by what she said to be afraid of her hurting him.

"When I got here, I heard about the Moriarty family. I still don't know what happened to them exactly, but I can imagine. Mirror was the one I always served. Oblivious to the fact that he stole me from my family... I never cared about that before but now I know his true self... Treating me and every other Nayu like beasts to be tamed. Nothing more." Lila completed.

"I see.." Anui said turning to look at the glowing tree afar. She did not seem to notice it upon entering but its light was the only source of it within this underground lake. Luminescent fish swam within the waters. Though their light was their own.

"Why have you brought me here?" She asked, still with the same expression.

"When I was old enough to understand my purpose... I would come here to be at peace. The still waters and the soft white light of the tree. It was my only comfort away from my heritage." He turned to the boat and began to walk to its rope keeping it anchored to the shore. "This tree is ancient. It is said to be one of the few natural sources of twilight." He pulled the rope up and off a wooden fence. Then he turned to Lila. "What you went through.. What he did. It means nothing to what we have. With you by my side I can inherit the throne and put an end to the Aion. I will do this for you, I swear it."

As he spoke he gently approached Lila and grasped her hand. Tenderly he looked into her eyes and placed his lips on the back of her hand before interlocking fingers and walking her over to the boat. "You are Lila Moriarty. Reclaim what you have lost." He lifted his arm to help her balance while stepping onto the boat. After she was on he stepped on and sat looking at her. He grabbed two rows and began to pull them forward and back. The boat moving gently towards the tree. "I apologize if I seemed as if I did not trust you... Never has a royal betrayed another for an Aion. So I knew. But it could have been that you were not a Moriarty and a Nayu of low blood who WOULD kill us. Now knowing what I know... I feel as though I cannot rest until your pain is avenged. I have never known.."

Anui's head lowered as he spoke. A calm sadness enveloping his vocals. "I never knew.. What it meant to be what I am, who I am. Until I've met you. Now my purpose is clear. Protect you."

---

"Any question you might have, you need but to ask. I will be happy to answer them."

Allo nodded in respect. "We will have to discuss privately later. I'm afraid now is a time for serious discussion. A matter to be resolved here and now, in a way." She spoke with a relaxed tone. As if she was talking cordially but her straight sitting and stone like expressions gave a aura of how serious she was. It was not a time, in her narrowed eyes, to reveal too much her love for Sophia and Dragons in general.

"Penetrating the armor is possible... But I need to have more details regarding this very armor. There are some spells and rituals that can render something virtually indestructible... But those spells and rituals themselves are not. It is merely a way on how to approach and how to attack said armor." Sophia said, thinking.

"Well Sophia I will have you know it is made of the scales of the Dragon God who ruled over your kind long ago. Even you were under him at one point. His hide was said to be impenetrable by forces beyond our understanding. Yet which kind of force was not specified." Vrondi spoke with a pondering hand and an equally ponderous expression as his hand met his chin.

"I know that said armor is a treasure for your kingdom... But I need to know more details about it."

"As said it is made from the dragon god. How it was created is a secret of the Divine who created us. Perhaps it is the secret to the ancient gods power that allowed the Divine to slay him and carve his body into gifts for each king and queen of the land." Vrondi looked up at the ceiling of this room. It had a painting of past kings and queens discussing at this table, always with Vrondi at the end. "This is unlike ever before. We must delve into the secrets of the far past to solve a recent issue. This is why I have tasked a group of warriors to find an ancient sight seer who lives her days in peace upon the mountain of Vrondi. She will be able to give us eyes into the past."

Allo turned to look at the others before speaking. "It must be hard to spare your forces for such a trivial thing." She spoke up, Magnixx nodding in a halfhearted agreement. Eyes lowered. "Fotia has forces to spare. My men make good soldiers and are available for employment if you so need them." He said with a smirk as he looked Vrondi in the eyes, then to the others in a motion to forward it to them. None accepted and Vrondi shook his head. "The band I sent out are formed from all over this land. They will be the beginning of the new allied forces. With each of your agreement they will fly a banner under all of our names. To assemble exceptional talent across the land. With this we will begin the first step to unified power!"

The room clapped, Allo, Magnix, Tydra and their followers. However Sleeth remained ever so silent whilst sitting arms crossed in his chair. A frown on his face. He did not seem pleased. "Unification...? What nonsense.." He silently whispered.

---

A gentle song seemed to echo in the minds of everyone within and near the waters.
She looked with large eyes and a petite head and frame at those who stood before her and her beast.
Her song became more erratic.
She looked at Constance with a blank stare and she slowly moved between her and the beast.
Slow she walked.
With a graceful step that saw her feet stepping on the surface of the water.
Before Constance she stood. "We have a pact with the Sol to keep our waters pure. They have failed us."
Her voice rang like a bell in their ears.
"As such we will clean our own waters for now. How do you plea for transgressing on sacred land?"

@Jollan@geurls@Guy0fV4lor

---

The Cave entrance was elevated around the north east if facing it from Vrondi. It was direct from Nero. Once inside one would find it to be similar to a castle. Stairs and places to keep things such as storage rooms. It would then lead to a bridge.

This led to another entrance which led to another hospitable place. With spiraling stairs that lead to a room.
In this room were many mystic orbs. Brimming with mysterious forces. There an old woman would be sitting with her hood on. Rocking back and forth in her seat while whispering into an orb. The sun's rays shining down from above glass ceiling to decorate the room below with a cascade of bright colors.
"So what brings you here?" She would ask the first to enter her room.

Constance eases, her lips pursed as she hears the nymph. Mind racing as she tries to come up with something, she knows something will have to have some stupid luck here. Giving a quick glare to Dremmick who totally wasn’t the one to kill five people while practically standing in the waters, she moves her shield to the side, and kneels. The practically whimpering bandit behind her doesn’t seem happy about that, but at least they still have a meat shield in front of them.

“I am honored to meet someone such as you, but I am deeply sorrowful to have tarnished your waters to meetl ike this. But, do not blame Sol for our crimes. None of us are Sol residents…” She looks to her allies, her face hardening. “I am the only Sol here. Blame me, not them.

---

Dremmick rolled his eyes at the Siren's request. As if he would know what the Sol made oaths to, much less care. They didn't have time for this, not to far upstream, a plume of steam started to rise, slowly tuning into a cloud of steam as he could only guess what had just happened. Confirming his suspision, a large lion-like beast with a mane of fire had made its way into the stream, creating a haze of steam around it, though it didn't seem to be worried in the water. Fire billowed from is mane and legs and along its back to its tail.

Dremmick's eyes narrowed and he turned to his allies. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He could have left as soon as they were out of town, but something about that promise from King Vrondi still gripped him. "Mason, you're a people person, keep our siren guest company." He saw two of the bandits, who were just immobilized by fear get some confidence back in their eyes. "Constance, make sure those two bandits don't run off, but I really only want one alive. Keep Mason protected....I'll take care this thing."He turned back towards the beast, "Or not, your choice." With that, Dremmick started walking toward the fire lion, adjusting his muffler down and leaving his hood off. They were about to see a lot of his magic so he figured there was no point in hiding. They will take him as he is or leave him after this, either was fine by him.

He called out to the lion,"you ready to do this or are you gonna have me make the first move?" The creature let a low rumbling growl at his slow approach before letting out a fiery roar and charging toward Dremmick, "Alright then."The stream was low here and offered a fairly easy land to run on, so Dremmick in turn started sprinting toward his target. The fire lion leaped out landing fairly close to Dremmick who had just rolled to the side. The beast turned and unleashed billowing fire from its mouth right on top of Dremmick, who produced a crimson shield to block the flames, but the big cat wasn't stupid, when is saw this, it reared back its massive paw, nearly half the size of Dremmcik and slammed against the shield. It shattered the thin shield and threw Dremmick into the air, but he had his rope dart ready and threw it, anchoring himself back to the ground. His body jerked as he stopped midair and then dropped back into the stream, however, this hit knocked him where he wanted to be, in the clouds of steam just behind it. The big cat looked around and tried to smell and hear him, and striking at the shadows in the steam. Dremmick, however, had been busy in the steam, letting off a crimson mist of his own that turned the steam red. The irritated lion roared once again, tired of searching and let out a hot jet of fire from ts mouth and swept the area around him. It then saw another shield like before and pounced on it and then bellowed out more fire onto that spot. when it stopped to see if Dremmick was there and dead, there was nothing there. "Over here!" Dremmcick shouted from behind the beast. It spun around to see Dremmcik with his bandaged arm in the air, tears and holes in the bandages of his arm.

At that moment Dremmcik clenched his right fist, and all the crimson mist formed into multiple long slender spears hanging in the air. "Perish," he said as he swung his arm down ward. The fire lion tried to move but it was too late. mutiple spears skewered through it and pinned it to the ground, but that wasn't enough to kill it. Dremmick made one more run, catching one spear that he didn't attack with in the process. Pinned but not yet defeated the Lion roared once more, sending out it most intense flames yet towards the assassin. Dremmick then used the spear to pole vault up and over the blast and landing on the creature/s back. Dremmick then fromed a spike around his hand and stabbed the monster in the back. Each of the spears seemed to sink into the monster but not through it. In retaliation, the bit cat erupted into flames, but Dremmick was faily drenched at this point and had just a moment to finish the beast off. Drawwing all the blood magic from the spears to a central point in the monster, Dremmick started to make another barrier, inside the beast. "It is over for you," he said as he then rapidly expanded the barrier. Being not truly organic, this caused the beast to explode in a fiery explosion instead of a bloody one and disperse its flames. Upon the explosion, it shattered the barrier and send Dremmick flying back, landing back into the rocky stream close to Mason and Constance, hopefully not landing on any more cal-traps in that spot.

Dremmick got up slowly. He was covered in a number of burns and getting practically punched through the air by the beast did a number on him as well with some gashes and bruising, not to mentioin the amount of blood he burned though having to fight a creature that large. He ended up falling back down on one knee, breathing hard trying to use what magic power he had left to slow the bleeding. "See?.......Nothing to it," Five men and a fire beast with no way to drain life energy from it, his body was protesting, but there was still the threat of the siren and her pet. Luckily if they were a problem, he may be able to attack them through necromancy at least. He wasn't even concerned with the other two bandits at this point, especially the third who was a whimpering mess next to Constance.

---

"I am honored to meet someone such as you, but I am deeply sorrowful to have tarnished your waters to meetl ike this. But, do not blame Sol for our crimes. None of us are Sol residents…” She looks to her allies, her face hardening. “I am the only Sol here. Blame me, not them."

"The blame of the Sol remains on the King. If he is incapable of keeping his peoples promises then he should be the one here apologizing. Never the less the majority of you are not Sol and the ones responsible.."

As she spoke the flaming lion attacked and was immediately intercepted by Dremmick.
As the dragon man and the summoned flames did battle the Nymph watched on.
She placed a hand on Constance's shoulder after reaching out gently.

"I see."
She sank into the waters and emerged before Dremmick.
"You have spilled the most blood within my waters and you hold no pact with the King."
Her body began to grow a few feet taller as she looked down at Dremmick with narrowed lids.
"The ones to blame for harming a guardian of the forest. Tell me it was not you."
Water levels began to rise around Dremmick slowly encasing him in a circle of water.

Dremmick:

"Responsible for what? throwing caltraps into your water and waiting to murder anybody coming across and spilling their blood here in the process or me who defended my group and killed them first. Your pet spilt a good amount of blood in the water itself."

"I'm no Sol, nor do I have any bond to you to uphold someone else's promise of that of which I have never heard of."

The water levels continued to rise.
"Insolent."
The waters formed around Dremmick began to spiral.
A whirlpool was under Dremmick's feet and the mud of the running waters sucked at his soles.
After knocking Dremmick over the Nymph turned.

"For slaying those responsible I will not feed on your essences."
She began to walk away, with each step she sunk into the waters.

She returned to the beast and took from its lifted paw a metallic spike.
After tossing it away she pet the creature smiling.
The beast then left, returning to the jungle.
She herself vanished into the waters.
@Jollan

---

The nymph encircled Dremmick in water, but he held a strong gaze, eyes locked with hers as she approached.

"You have spilled the most blood within my waters and you hold no pact with the King."
He body began to grow a few feet taller as she looked down at Dremmick with narrowed lids.
"The ones to blame for harming a guardian of the forest. Tell me it was not you."

"I'm no Sol, nor do I have any bond to you to uphold someone else's promise of that of which I have never heard of. The bandits were the ones who placed those caltraps in your water, planning to spill our blood. I have no fault here for defending my group. If I recall, your pet there spilled a good amount of blood itself," Dremmick responded, nodding toward the beast.

"For slaying those responsible I will not feed on your essences."

Dremmick cocked an eyebrow at this but didn't say anything as the water lowered around him. He watched as she pulled the metal from the beast's paw and then as they both left. He pulled some wraps from ones of his pouches and replaced the bandages that covered his arm. when finished, he put his hood back up and went to his horse, which he was a bit surprised to see that it was still waiting on him. He checked on it to make sure it was still alright then turned back to the others, waiting on them. If they had at least kept one of the bandits alive, they could use him to track down their leader, who he had guessed was that tyro girl at the bar as some of the bandit's faces were familiar. If he refused, he could just kill him once they got out of the water.

@Jollan



Constance looked into the nymphs eyes, blinking as she quickly moved away. She watched down the river as she rose above Dremmick and… went away. Smoke was moving towards them in the air, as Connie’s muscles tensed up to be more thick than Dremmick’s goddamn head. Looking back at the bandit, still shrunk behind her, she gave a glare to say ”Watch me, because if you leave I'm giving you this same treatment.” Storming downstream, she didn’t care for watching out for caltraps as she walked across to meet him at his horse. Once she met him, she instantly pulled him up by his shirt, her grip made of iron.

”Are you kidding me? I’m going to throw you in this goddamn water so hard you’ll be wetter than your mom’s pants when she thought of mating with a dog. How stupid do you have to be to do shit like that, AFTER she told us we put blood in her waters?” Her fist tightened on his collar, somehow. Her teeth grinded together as she glared daggers into him. ”What kind of shit are you compensating for by killing people struggling to survive, failed by a system? Your head is so far up your ass you could see your ovaries. Goddamn, all you're showing me now is that you'll be our weak-backed link. You would’ve been luckier if she DID kill you, because now you’ve got to stay alive with me, you dick.” Finally, after staring in his eyes a few seconds longer, she drops him. Turning away, she stops before walking off. ”If you need healing, you better sit your ass up, and help us get the other horses.”

Walking back to the bandits- hey, that guy was still sitting there- she takes out her sword from the brute. The man had been sitting there, strugling a bit, but thanks to his shitty armor the chainmail stayed stuck. Looking to the two alive, she takes a breath, and puts her chin up. ”Who do you serve? What purpose do you hold to send a milita after us?” She crosses her arms, looking over to Mason for a second, assuring he was ok. Thank her ancestors, the spell did it’s job. She looked back to the bandits, her eyebrow perked.

---

Dremmick's eyes narrowed and became dark, He was trying really hard not to put a knife through her jaw to her skull to shut her up. He went ahead and climbed on his horse. "The only compensating I'm having to do is trying to keep up with your bullshit pacifism that will do nothing but get you and everyone around you killed. A failed system? Please, they have failed themselves. These people thrive on killing and stealing from others. They want a life like that then they shouldn't be surprised when someone turns the tables on them and has had enough. If what you saw was too much for you then go back home to suckle at your mother's teat, there is no place for you out here. I put my life on the line just now because you couldn't handle it." He let out a sigh and shook his head. "I won't be making the same mistake again. I don't need your magic, I'll take care of myself. Get your own damn horse."

After as much as he just did for them, that ungrateful useless woman has the nerve insult him like that. He's killed people for far less. He watched as she....interrogated the other bandits. If you could even call it that. He found her choices in phasing peculiar. 'Who do you serve', and 'malitia', please, they weren't that complex. Simple bandits following whoever hits the hardest, nothing more. He already had an idea who and where she was. That Tyro girl was probably already at the cave while they wasted time here. But he wanted to see exactly how far her interrogation would go. He noticed that when she asked them question, the bandits would nervously dart their eyes to him and back to her.

Mason Drake

---

@Jollan@Rai@geurls
Though the party had managed to easily dispatch the thugs that had ambushed them, Mason felt as if the confrontation with the water spirit came far too close for comfort, and the infighting between Constance and Dremmick did little to ease his mind.

Decending to the ground next to Dremmick, he watched Constance begin to haphazardly 'interrogate' the captured bandits; ”Who do you serve? What purpose do you hold to send a milita after us?”

She was pathetically bad at it; intimidation was far from her strong suit. As the interrogation continued, Mason noticed that their eyes would keep moving between Constance and Dremmick, one of the bandits however, kept glancing toward the mountain nervously. Mason was hit with a sudden realization; this was merely a distraction, someone else sought the artifact and with all the time wasted, they were likely already upon it.

"Shit!" Mason exclaimed under his breath, the success of the entire party was suddenly at stake, resting on the brink of failure.

"Dremmick, take the map, I've already memorized it, and you two will need to catch up to me, there is no time to waste!" he hurriedly explianed as he shoved the map into his companion's hand before launching into the air, headed in the direction of the cave.

Calling Lulu to his side, Mason matched the horse's speed before mounting her from the air. There was no time to spare, he needed to reach the cave NOW.

We return now to Those Wacky Bandits, starring Siiga.

Rather than wait for her clueless gadabouts to catch up, Siiga ploughed on. No point on lagging behind waiting for a load of drunk chumps to catch up. Besides, the sooner she got there, the sooner the Artifact was hers.

She moved surprisingly fast considering she had no mount. Maybe now that she had cast off her drunken companions, she didn't have to stop and start every thirty steps. The terrain was familiar to her as a bandit, forest making way for rocky outcrop. She marched on and on, ears sensitive for the sounds of horse hoofs while her eyes scanned for this cave.

She found it on the northeast side. It looked pretty unassuming, but experience told Siiga that didn't mean anything in the long run. Entire treasure troves were buried in the back of seemingly unassuming caves, so it paid to check out each and every dusty hole with a fine brush just it make sure it wasn't hiding the Holy Grail. And although this wasn't hiding any grails, it was hiding something equally as impressive.

A long rocky bridge stretched out before her, leading to a castle like structure at the end. Siiga knew better than to question the logic of the storage areas for magical artifacts and didn't bother asking questions as she toddled gormlessly along the bridge. Her hand was on the hilt of her blade the whole while, expecting some hidden guardian to rise from the floor and pound her into luncheon meat. No such fortune, and instead she wound up in a room with a spiral staircase. Boy, whoever designed this place was really overthinking it. What happened to the old "hidden nature sanctuary" method of hiding mystical bullshit artifacts? Some trees, a river, maybe a waterfall or some crystals... why a massive castle inside a cave? It was like someone had an image that they really wanted to use and just built the place to specification without rhyme or reason as to what would be logical.

But whatever, if it had the artifact and those knights werent here, then she was quids in, right? That's what she thought as she went up the stairs.
But this place was cliche central. Some old biddie in a hood sat over an orb and whisper into it like a gypsy. She couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"So what brings you here?" Asked the Gypsy. Siiga shrugged, her hands still firmly on the hilt of that sword.

"Looking for a magic artifact. Was told it would be here" she said candidly.

A breeze came into the room, despite it being cave. Little hisses, and then the steps of high heels.

”You too?” A voice queered. If Siiga was to turn around, she’d see a tiny person with a big scythe. It was quite easy to get there, actually. No wonder there was someone else. But, who sent the people to get this artifact…? Was information being spilled from her King and Queen? Ilya and Faina slithered in behind her, uninterested in the conversation, just here for a dark room to sleep in.

Siiga spun on her heels, almost drawing the blade there and then. Her eyes narrowed at this newcomer. Who the hell was this? “What the fuck? Where did you come from?"

Sighing, she sat on her haunches, very apathetic to her. ”Special orders from my King. What brings you?”

"Not letting magic artifacts fall into the hands of a king" Siiga glowered, still not quite ready to let go of her weapon. If push came to shove, she'd need to grab the artifact and run.

Ganymede tilted her head, then she figured what she was saying. ”Oh, oh no. Not that type of King. I despise Kings. He’s a god, rather. Ever heard of Nuxta?”

No, she had not heard of Nuxta. Why the hell would she have? Gods were worse than kings in Siiga's eyes. What's the point of all that power if you don't do something good with it?

She stands, a bit more interested now. ”He’s taking down other Kings. They will exist no longer, not able to give orders of pain and suffering, Race will not matter. In his eyes, and the Basilisk Queen’s, bandits will be treated like citizens. Children will all have food. No more agony.”

"You're tryna get on my good side" Siiga raised an eyebrow. "You know I'm a bandit, somehow.”

Her eyebrows knit together. “You are? I figured you were a revolutionist with your speech. I was giving an example.”

"Most civillians would have been disgusted at the idea of giving bandits amnesty. Literally the only people who support it are bandits themselves. Which means you're not exactly operating within the law either"

”No, I'm simply for peace and equality. You're overthinking this. I'm telling you my purpose. Bandits often do not choose to be one, but are forced to be for survival. That's it." She sighs, lobbing her head to the side, and striding towards Siiga. Not in an aggressive way, but like old pals. ”I'm not in some cruel game to fake this on you for some idiotic reason."

"I never said you were. But now thats you've said it, I think you are." Siiga had a smile a mile long on her face. It was hard to read. Was she suspicious, curious, friendly, hostile?

”Why? Why would I do that?" She frowned deeply. ”What incentive do I have? You could make a break for it with the artifact, no matter what I say. Nuxta likes the artifact, gods know why. It doesn't matter to me." As she said this, she wrapped her braid around her neck like a scarf. "It's chilly in here."

“I dunno. But if there's one thing I've learned, its that you never trust someone who likes bandits." Siiga's smile never faltered. "So what's your angle here?"

Turning to her, she tugged on her upper lip in a face of 'really?'. Shrugging she turned to look at the old woman just sitting there, ever so patient. "All right, thats your opinion. I guess my angle is...? I don't know exactly what you mean by that."

Caught between the old lady and the newcomer, Siiga's eyes narrowed. In truth, she didn't know what she was after. The orb? The old woman? Something else entirely? She didn't like that there was someone else here, and she especially didn't like the old woman's ghostly hands.

"Look, if you want to fight, that can be arranged. But I'd rather not." Siiga's tone hardened. "There are knights coming. I don't know how many, and I don't know in how many waves. But they WILL be coming here, looking for that artifact. And although I'm happy to put some of the king's chambermaids to the sword, I don't want them hurting a distinguished lady like you."

"So if I were you, lady, I'd hide. Hide that artifact, then hide yourself, before they get here."

Mason Drake

---

@Brithwyr@Rai@geurls
Mason rode through the wood as fast as his steed could take him, low branches whipping his face and cutting his cheeks as he zoomed past tree after tree, his pace unfaltering. Though the ride took mere minutes, it felt as if it had stretched an eternity, as Mason reached the mouth of the cave, he swiftly leapt off Lulu's back "Stay here girl!" he nervously commanded as he sprinted into the cave.

As soon as he stepped foot inside the cave's vast interior, his worst fear had been confirmed; SOMEONE ELSE WAS ALREADY HERE, and from the sound of it, more than one. Swallowing, Mason raced toward the voices, going all about the cavern before reaching a bridge that led to a spiral staircase. Drawing Stonefang (the name he had come up with for his new blade), he flew up the staircase only to come face-to-face with three individuals; a small Oro girl covered with tattoos and wielding a large scythe, a Tyro that appeared to be a bandit, and a strange, tall, old woman, with spectral arms protruding from her back.

Unsure of what to do, Mason took a combat stance, his stare shooting from figure to figure, ready for whatever was to come next.

She looked at the old lady from alllllll the way down to 5 feet. Rolling her eyes at the speech, she looked at Siiga. [color=E4583C]“Last chance. I’m not here to let her fall into King’s hands at all, not even Nuxta,”[color=E4583C] She quirked a smile towards her. What a cutie.

Someone came in from the back, but she took her time to turn around and face him. He looked young, and fresh, though a bit winded. Poor kiddo, his mission would fail. “You’re here to bring it to Vrondi, no? Then sorry, no negotiations.” Looking to Siiga, she winked, pulling off the red cloth on her scythe to reveal slashes of dragonic text, handing her cloth. “Use this, dear.”

Instantly, the visible markings glowed. She took a huge breath in, her eyes turning to slits. Like an explosion in her mouth happened, she blew out massive amounts of toxins. The air turned a dark green, the small amounts of sunlight coming in being tinted. The fumes covered all sight of Ganymede, and her Basilisks started to slither in.

—————————————



She didn’t listen to Dremmick, because she simply didn’t care. Whatever he was saying was a waste of breath, as he weakly tried to defend himself. After eyeing the mountain, Constance had the same idea as Mason.

She turned around, going to find Kou. Before she ran off, she looks back at the bandits. They were cold and wet, but alive in the least. [color=FFE4E1]“I hope you take this as a lesson to turn your lives around,” She says, before grabbing her shield from the bank, and running towards the horse.

Kou was in wait, a bloody hind. “I’m sorry boy,” She said, taking a deep breath. She lifted her hand, and the best she could do was to close the skin. “You’ve got to hold out a little bit longer, ok?” As she mounted the horse, her armor soaked, but they were both alive. Mason sure seemed in a rush though. Even if they did get the artifact first, what were they to do? Go out the one entrance and outrun them despite having used all their energy getting there?

Kicking off, the ride took a while as Kou resisted a bit, but he seemed to trust Constance. Considering the injury and energy levels, they made it in record time. They had already been so close. Dismounting, she let Kou off to find some water to comfort him. She was about to walk in, when the sound of something similar to a water pump leak appeared. And... Hisses? She stepped in cautiously, her shield at the ready. And then she was hit with it.

A green smoke-ish substance hit her, curling around her shield like tendrils. She instantly started coughing mad, she she fumbled to find something to cover her face. Pulling hard on the protective shirt from the chain mail, she ripped it off- or at least some of it. “Mason? Mason!?” No, no, he had to be alive. Trying to push forward, dots invaded the corners of her eyes. But she had to push on. Eyes watering, she tried to call on something inside her to find him. Like an ancestral connection? Blood? She didn’t know, but she did know it was all she could rely on. Like calling out into the void, she spoke his name in her mind. ”Where are you?”