The doors of the Taxis HQ flew open. Rushing out the door was Amaiah. She was nearly falling as she stumbled her way down the stairs whilst holding a bottle. A glowing elixir. Its green yet blue light was as if the sun melded with the colors of the ocean and was reduced to a liquid form. Its brightness was contained however but the radiance one could feel from it was like the sun. Washing over everyone's aura who came under its light's influence. Amaiah did not seem concerned with such matters. She came before everyone who was outside to see.

"I've done it!" She cried triumphantly with the elixir raised up. "This is a true elixir of life like no other! By studying the uniqueness of the decay I was able to find something capable of reversing it. Anti decay? I'll name it after this land. Gaia's Nectar of life! But don't drink it.." She presented a small dosage the size of a single drop. "This alone would be enough to cure a vicinity of around 10 meters. This will no doubt aid in resurrecting the fallen and healing the lands." She turned to Dremmick. "You could surely use-" "Hold it!" Shouted Lucius from the doorway as he approached. "I don't think so. These Alliance members are fools running an errand no royal of Vrondi should be a part of. It's partially suicide to face the Wyverns at their territory." He uttered with each step.

He came to Amaiah and held out his hand. "The bottle." He demanded. She looked unsure and darted her eyes around to find help. None were going to stand against Lucius. "I will use this as a bargaining tool for the other nations. To keep them in line as we hold the only source to their cure. I do plan on distributing it. But wisely." He smirked as she seemed unsure of what to say. Then she finally opened up to speak with a determined look in her eyes. "Not much is needed. Besides I think I was only able to make this due to the power of one of the alliance members." She managed to let out. Lucius chuckled. "That would likely be Ami. She influenced this whole damn town. It's amazing really." He said looking around at the change in scenery.

@Jollan

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^{@Jollan @Rai @Brithwyr @drewccapp @Lotrix Molick}

---

Finally things were starting to calm down. Not only the strange healing pulses were starting to stop but it seems that the fight also came to an halt after clearing that misunderstanding. Nailah could both see and hear the locals cursing the foreigners for bringing chaos to the city. In part, Nailah could understand. Even if they had brought good things to that small town, was it worth almost it's complete destruction?

Obviously, the locals weren't the only ones unhappy with the situation, as the scythe woman eagerly made them know how unsatisfied she was with a commentary. Nailah, in the other hand, simply waved to the scythe woman as she rolled her eyes, showing her claws with a mischievous expression and showing her tongue.

After both Galland and the scythe woman went to the inn, Nailah was finally free to continue hugging the cute Lynn...

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Nailah said after Lynn said she couldn't breathe, shifting her position so she was standing behind her, gently putting her arms around her neck and shoulders in a comfortable hug. Even the way her ears folded down as she spoke with that cute sheepish tone was so incredibly adorable Nailah couldn't simply let her go yet.

"Is that better, honey?" Nailah asked, gently resting her head on Lynn's shoulder.

The way Nailah was hugging Lynn, she could feel the softness of her skin and the unusual warmth coming from her, certainly more than a normal person, but she wasn't hugging her as tightly as before. It was obvious that she was trying to make it as cozy and comfortable as possible for Lynn, maybe in an attempt to get to hug her for a bit more.

"So... I'm assuming you're also with the Alliance, right?" Nailah asked, a bit curious on why such an adorable girl was going in such an obviously dangerous journey.

"Oh, you're with the hot girl I saw on the bar earlier!" Nailah said, looking to Siiga and waving to her with a discreet wink, being careful so Lynn wouldn't realize it.

"And who is the pretty little guy with you two?" Nailah asked, turning her head as she looked to Bonnie, waving to him in a cute way.

"He looks so squishy and adorable too!" she said, laughing.

"Are you collecting them? Lucky girl..." Nailah asked Siiga, turning to her with a mischievous grin, giggling as she pointed to Lynn and Bonnie?

But before they could even answer, or before Nailah could say anything more, they were interrupted by two new arrivals.
One of them, a black haired seraphim with a very unique eye color, matching his halo and wings had a small pseudodragon with him, which seemed to be very talkative and very excited.

His name was Aeden Demavend, and his companion's Nyph. According to his explanation, he came in response to the quest. Maybe another one who would join the weird group that they called the Alliance?

The second new arrival was a tyro woman with very unique traces. Nailah didn't knew exactly which race she was mixed with but she knew that she definitely wasn't a pureblood. Some of her features reminded her of Lynn, who she was hugging right now though.

Her introduction was much more direct and... brief than the seraphim's. Simply asking if they were here for the quest with a rather loud yell, she silently awaited for their answer.

"Oh, so you're joining the Alliance as well?" Nailah asked, looking to both new arrivals curiously.

"You guys just lost the fun." she said, looking to all the destruction around her with a chuckle.

"Well, I still haven't introduced myself so at least you guys arrived on time for this." she said with a mischievous grin and a giggle, obviously teasing them for being late.

"I'm Nailah, a Priestess of the Fallen Goddess. It's a pleasure to meet you, especially you~" Nailah said, looking to the two new arrivals and then to Lynn, gently rubbing her face on the girl's cheek with a singing tone.

"You have quite an unique eye color... Can't see I've seen many people with such beautiful eyes before." Nailah said, locking eyes with the black haired seraphim before turning to the tyro hybrid woman.

"And you... You're quite something yourself! I'm quite curious... You're a mixed blood, just like me, aren't you?" Nailah asked, looking to the woman with a curious stare. Even if to some people talking about their lineage might be taboo or uncomfortable, Nailah simply asked that to the tyro woman without any reservation.

To say that Lynn was a bit embarrassed would be an understatement. She was sociable, sure, but when it came to physical contact, especially with people she didn't know, she was a bit on the shy side. Nailah had finally seemed to release her, at least momentarily. Suddenly, two arms reached around and gently wrapped themselves around her neck, with the woman's head resting on her shoulder. Lynn's body stiffened as she felt the woman lean on her, Lynn's tail wrapping around herself as she tensed up. Her ears, which jolted up in surprise initially as Nailah had reached around her from behind, had now began to droop a bit as she felt uncomfortable with the situation. The woman had a warmth about her, and she could feel her body against the skin on her back. Lynn had turned red due to all this and she was unsure what to say further, her eyes darting to Siiga and back to the ground a few times as if asking for some sort of help without wanting to be rude to the point to actually ask her to let go of her, or making Metis, who she knew was watching from somewhere. feel like this was a threat of some sort.

Nailah then asked who she had arrived with so she did her best to introduce them. "Th-that's Sigga and Bonnie," she was able to get out. But before anyone could seem to officially introduce themselves, two newcomers had arrived. Nailah had introduced herself to them, however, all the while still hanging off of poor Lynn. When Nailah finally introduced herself and rubbed her face against Lynn, she couldn't help but look down at the ground and sheepishly push her fingers together. "Its a...uh..nice to meet you as well!" she responded with bashful smile, trying to act at least somewhat normal. Why was this person all over her!? Even people at home that she loved dearly were never this attached, and she only just met her!

Aeden's attention eventually shifted to the pair in an embrace. As Lynn introduced herself he could tell they were strangers. He crossed his arms as eventually Nailah turned her attention away from Lynn and let go. He smiled briefly at Nailah's compliment, but his expression returned to neutral fairly quickly as he noticed from the defensive posture of Lynn that Nailah's embrace may very well have been an assault. He could tell that at the very least she was unused to such aggressive physical affection. His eyes settled on Lynn with a calm expression. He did not owe her anything, but few things in this world were as unforgivable as unwanted sexual assault.

"Are you alright?" Having been forced by the Therosi to breed with other races, Aeden had great empathy for such reactions. He imagined she would respond in the positive as it seemed no harm had been done, however one could never assume, and so a confirmation would clear everything up. In the instance she is not alright he would see about getting an appropriate apology from Nailah.

Nyph plodded up to Nailah and looked up at her. "You seem really friendly, Nailah! Do you hug all strangers like that?" He finished his question with a curious head tilt.

@Jollan@13org@Rai@Lotrix Molick@Brithwyr

---

Shye could vaguely here voices over her as her conciousness blurred in and out over time. Eventually however, there was silence as the voices seemed to move elsewhere. Her body felt sore and she felt that she was on some sort of thin pad as a makeshift bed. Nix rested on her stomach, curled up, but keeping an eye out on the things going on around her. Shye felt weak, like she could barely move. Any movements she tried to make brought about a little pain, some of the after efffects of the poison. She wasn't sure how she got here. Last she knew Nix was trying to cut her loose from some vines and she blacked out. Did someone....actually save her?
As Mason entered the tent, he smiled at the woman as she began to stir, "It's good to see you're awake......" he chuckled as he pulled a chair up to the side of the medical bed "In fact, I was just coming to see you.... Are you well enough to talk? There's a few things I'd like to ask you." Shye was surprised my Mason, she attempted jumping up to confront him, hands heating up, getting ready to try to run, but a pain went through her as she tried to move. This surprised Nix as it jumped up and chirped at her. Shye noticed that Nix didn't seem too disturbed by the newcomer, which was odd. She relaxed a bit, but she was still a little tense as she struggled to sit up. She met Mason with a look of suspicion, unsure of what would come of all this.

Seeing the woman attempt to quickly sit up, Mason sighed as he continued with a friendly tone, and warm smile, "Please don't strain yourself, I'm not here to hurt you-- quite the opposite in fact; I'm here because I want to help you. Oh! I haven't introduced myself yet! Mason Drake: Aion Knight." he said with a short bow.

"Now, the reason I'm here is because my companion claims you to be an agent of the Dolofon.... Even if you ARE with the Dolofon-- well, that honestly doesn't matter to me. What I saw out there wasn't an assassin, I saw a a woman risk her life to save a child. Now, believe it or not, I'm some clueless knight talking out my ass.... I was a Neroan slave for seventeen years before the Aion rescued me. I'm well aware of who my companion is-- and honestly, Dremmick is a good person; just as you are. I also know that the Dolofon are notorious for forcibly recruiting new members just as much as they are assassination..... When I look at you I see a victim, not a killer. WE CAN HELP YOU-- I WANT to help you. But I can only help if you're willing to open up to me." he said as extended his hand to her with a smile, "So, will you let me help you?"

Nix crawled up onto Shye's shoulder. Shye looked at the man's hand, unconciously withdrawing slightly when he reached out to her. Her eyes actively searched him head to, analyzing him, studying his face looking at his body language. In her line of work, a smiling face and an easy touch could very well just be another trick. She kept her eyes on him still, unanswering, not unlike a wild animal that was cornered as her eyes looked from side to side every once in a while for a possible way to escape. Clearly, the woman didn't trust him yet.... Mason's bright expression turned crestfallen as he prepared for the leap of faith, "I see you still don't trust me........ To prove to you my words are true, I will put my own life at your mercy." he solemnly stated as he undid the strap that secured his sheathe to his back. Slowly, he held out both sheathe and sword in submission to the woman, a small bead of nervous sweat forming above his brow.

When Mason held out hos weapon, disarming himself, Shye attempted tryibg to run, she slid off the bed and went to run, though when her feet made contact with the ground a bolt of pain and yet numbness caught her off gaurd as if her legs were asleep with many needles prickling her. It was the last place they removed the poison, as they worked from the top of her body and down, checking vital organs first, so it had still been recovering. She fell to the ground silently, her face twisting for a moment in lain as she met the ground and tried to struggle to get back up. She was finding out that running wasn't an option. She was too weak to escape.

With a sigh, Mason crouched down and attempted to help Shye to her feet, "I told you I want to help you, there's seriously no need to run..... Please, even if you don't trust me, at least stay here until you're fully recovered. I was barely able to convince Dremmick not to kill you after I pulled you from the thorns... If you try to run now, I don't think I'll be able to stave him off a second time."

Shye's face was a bit surprised at what he had said about savibg her as he helped her up. Her legs were not yet strong enough to stand, so she sat in a seat instead. She gave hom another look-over, this time not as critical as before. She then took a deep breath as she calmed down and met him eye to eye, as if she was ready for his questions. "I'm glad to see you're finally willing to hear me out...." Mason said as he helped Shye into a chair before settling himself in one across from her, "So, you DO work for the Dolofon correct? If so, why? You clearly don't seem like the type for such a gruesome line of work." Shye's eyes seemed to go distant for a moment as she nodded. As for why, she couldn't speak for an answer, and remained silent.

For a moment, Mason seemed puzzled by her lacking response, but almost like clockwork, a realization seemed to 'click' into place within a few moments. "Can..... Can you not speak?" he asked with a concerned look as he began undoing his gauntlets. Shye, only a little surprised that he guessed so quickly, lifted her right hand to the choker around her neck and shook her head with a sullen look. With a soft clang, Mason's gauntlets fell to the ground as he took in Shye's response "Well this complicates things....." he mumbled in pity. Slowly, his gaze drifted down her form until falling upon her clawed hands. Mason's eyes lit up with an idea! Hastily he began pulling back his sleeves; revealing the skin on his forearms "Here, you can use your claws to write responses on my arm... Don't worry about hurting me though, I'm told I heal pretty quickly." he responded as he offered his arm to be Shye's Canvas. "So, do you have a name?"

Shye was taken back by the offer as her arms pulled back waved in front of herself, trying to rejec the idea. Surely therenwas a writing implament closeby if that was his intention. Writing into someone's arm not only was odd, but it seemed like a good way for someone to keep information or take advantage of her being distracted. Plus she didn't like the thought of carving into the person if he truly wasn't any threat. "Oh wait, I'm such an idiot..." Mason chuckled as Shye frantically rejected his idea, "Sorry, I'm still getting used to having paper and witing implements readily available." he mused as he rummaged around and procured a quill, ink, and (partially used) scrap paper before handing it to Shye.

Shye took the quill, and oddly enough, even though she had her clawed gaunlets on, which covered her own claws, her writing was exquisit and proper, like a noble herself. She simply wrote, "my name is Shye." "Pleased to meet you Shye-- I must say your handwriting is astonishingly good! Now, I understand it's going to probably be tough to talk about, but why do you work for the Dolofon?" Mason softly inquired; careful not to sound like he was prying too hard, he knew firsthand how painful old memories could be.

Shye clutched the quill as she thought about her son. She couldn't mention him. It would be too dangerous. She inaudibly sighed as she shook her head, not wanting to answer. She was too afraid to. She was already treading thin ice. She had failed to eliminate Dremmick, and she has been found out to be Dolofon on top of that. A sense of worry swept over her and her hands started to tremble. "If it isn't something you're ready to talk about, I don't blame you." Mason said in a soft, saddened whisper as he took note of Shye's noticable discomfort regarding the subject. Any shred of doubt that he had made the wrong decision in saving this woman melted away in an instant; this was a person he could-- no, he WOULD save from such a cruel fate. "Well then, I suppose I shouldn't bother you any longer... I assume that you'll need something to bring back to your 'handler' to prove you achieved at least some measure of success correct?"

Shye waved her hand as she thought about what the she needed from them. She wote on the puece of paper and went to hand it to him. She thought about something else however and took the paper back, adding something to it.

'That would require me to take a few heads I'm afraid.'

'How much do you know of curses?'

Mason's brow perked up with curiosity, now they were getting somewhere. "Well," he huffed, "Curses fall moreso under Dremmick's realm of expertise...... However, I AM familiar with curses meant to keep difficult slaves in line. But for the most part I just do this-"

A small, black flame flickered around the tip of Mason's finger for a moment, leaving a deep burn in it's place. "Why do you ask?"

Shye timidly reched to her choker that held the top of her dress up, reaching behind her neck. She placed her other hand above her chest to hold the dress up as there was a faint clicking sound. She then pulled the choker off which reveiled what looked to be an intricate tribal tatto that went around her neck. similar to ones used on slave to silence them, yet much more detailed. It even had it's own aura around it, which normally wouldn't be visible with the normal silence curses used on Therosi slaves. She then looked up with a pained expression, not sure if she should be showing him this. Eventually, the discomfort set in and she put the choker back on, squirming in her seat a little.

Mason rubbed his throat almost in remaniscence as he leaned in close to examine the Tattoo as Shye uncovered it; his breath nearly tickling her neck. " I've certainly seen many curses very similar to this, but this is perhaps the most powerful and unique." Mason grumbled as he leaned back from Shye; that certainly explained why he had yet to hear her so much as breathe. "I don't know if it would work, but I can attempt to remove it if you'd like. Unfortunately, the process would be increadibly painful, and I can't gaurentee that it would be successful."(edited)

Shye thought about what he said. She knew it was a long shot and she was a bit apprehensive about Mason's suggestion though. She wan't sure if she could trust him enough to tamper with the curse. It was a vulnerable part of the body and she was still unsure of Mason's true intentions of rescuing her, even if he did just tell her the truth. Kindness was not something she was used to recieving, making her very skeptical of it. Shye locked eyes with him for a moment. If he truly meant what he said, she may be able to speak. It was something she had dreamed of since she was cursed, but was never sure if it was possible. She slowly nodded, wearily accepting the offer.

"Alright then-- if you'd remove your choker and lay face down on the medical bed, I can get started" Mason calmly explained as he stood up and began to remove the rest of his armor. While waiting for Shye to prepare herself, Mason gathered supplies for this medical endeavor; a filled waterskin, a needle, medical thread, a wooden spoon, and a blood transfusion kit. Slowly, he took a deep breathe and approached Shye, "Are you ready to begin?"

Shye looked at the bed nervously. If he wanted to kill he, would he have not just left her to die? Why would he want to help her. It didn't make sense. Was he trying to lure her into false security ti get answers from her? Could this alliance somehow actually help her? She was able to stand on her own, but something in her was saying something was off. It may have just been an instinct built up over time, but she was having a hard time trusting him. Nix seemed to be just fine though, and she usually picked up on people's spirit quite quickly. Was she just being overly critical? Shye was again unsure about the situation. She nervously undid the clasp and slowly laid down as she was told, honestly terrified of what the possibilities were. But if she could talk even for a moment, it may be worth it.

As he stood over Shye, Mason took several deep breaths to calm his panicked nerves. What if he failed? What if he killed her? Shaking his head he cleared his thoughts, he could do this! First, he pushed the handle of the wooden spoon in front of Shye’s mouth before emptying some of the waterskin’s contents onto her neck ”Bite down on that, it should help with the pain… Now, whatever happens, try to stay ABSOLUTELY still, otherwise I might seriously hurt you…”
Holding a small, steady black flame on his fingertip, Mason carefully began the tedious process of removing the tattoo. Though he was no Taxis healer, or Magoi scholar, Mason had seen similar curses enough times to get somewhat of an idea as to how this one was structured. From the looks of it-- unlike most others of it’s kind, this one’s complexity seemed to lie within the fact that it was ‘layered’, not in the figurative sense, but quite literally in fact. By looking closely, Mason could just barely make out slight differences within certain sections of the tattoo; specifically that it was comprised of several separate patterns, each at different depths within her skin. Thus, Mason lightly brought his black flame to Shye’s moistened flesh, slowly destroying the uppermost layer with his all-consuming flame.
The first thing Shye would notice as Mason began the process, would be the smell of burning flesh; not her own, but that of someone else. As the flame began to brush her skin, it would carry with it a short lived feeling of numbness-- only to be followed by the feeling of thousands of tiny creatures ripping away at her, every sense screaming DANGER!

Shye initially took to the pain remarkably well, but the reason why may soon make itself apparent. Behind all the grace and beautifuly seemless skin that masked Shye's true abilities, and hidden by her long black hair, were scars made by lash marks from years past. Soon, however, the pain really started to set in, and she couldn't help but struggle as it felt like her flesh was being ripped from her neck. Thoughts of doubt instantly flooded her mind, telling her to fight back and free herself. Her fist closest to Mason started to ball up, heat energy rippling from it as she was getting ready to blast him off of her and attempt running until she could faintly hear anlther sound. It was a woman screaming in pain, faint and foreign to her that she hadn't noticed that it was her own voice poking through the curse here and there. It was not yet free, but it could be barely heard, hardly leaving her mouth before it died off. Tears strted flowing from her eyes as she bit down on the spoon, breathing heavily. Nix started to panic and wasn't sure what was going on and started crying out to Shye.

Beads of sweat began to pour from Mason's face as he tried to maintain his composure, he could tell he was causing Shye so much pain, but he couldn't stop yet; even as the flame crept further up his hand, he had to at least finish the first layer. Thankfully, he was already more than halfway done, "Alright, I'm nearly done with the first layer, I just need you to hold on a little bit longer. Can you roll over for me?" he shakily asked as he pulled away from Shye for a moment. Shye laid there, breathing heavily for a moment before complying. She flipped around slowly, one hand holding the top of her dress up. Her eyes were closed in pain as tears continued to fall down her porcelain cheeks. The wooden spoon she was given already had deep bite marks in it, and her breaths came ragged and quick.

The longer Mason stared at Shye's pained expression, the more guilt he began to feel, so much so that he couldn't bear to look at her face for the rest of the ordeal. Leaning in close, Mason held her chin still with a firm, yet gentle grip while he painstakingly scraped away the rest of the layer. What seemed like at eternity of careful work, was in reality, a few begrudging moments. Releasing his breath, Mason collapsed to his back, exhausted both physically and mentally. "There, I'm done." he sputtered between pained gasps, "D-Did..... Did it work? How do you feel?"(edited)

Shye laid there, unable to speak. However, unlike before, there were audible sobs from the pain. But even Shye heard them, and although she was in pain those sobs would slowly turn to tears of joy. She could hear herself, her own voice! Her voice, though trembling from the ordeal, was absolutely beautiful, like that of a soft crystal bell. She tried to say something here and there to respind to Mason, but it was odd. Now that she actually could talk, she couldn't find the words to say to thank him, so instead, she jumped up and embraced him, unfortunately not even thinking of how the top of her dress was currently unsecured.

Stumbling to his feet as he heard Shye finally start to make sound, Mason (who hadn't been wearing anything beneath his armor and padded shirt) suddenly found two supple masses of warm flesh pressed tightly against his bare chest. Yet, as if oblivious to that fact, he wrapped his arms tightly around Shye as he cried joyfully himself. "How cruel a soul must be to rob the world of such a beautiful voice..." he quietly sobbed. Though he had been doubtful near the end, his efforts had borne fruit, and what was more; he FREED this woman. Swaying side to side in embrace, Mason wished that this feeling could last forever..... However, in a few moments Shye would notice something very warm trickling down her back.

Shye noticed Nix was pecking and pawing at a piece of charcoal on the ground when she felt something running down her back. She backed up a bit from Mason and her faced turned bright red as shs realized her top was down. She gasped as she turned around and lifted the top of her dress up, though when she tried to reclasp the choker, she couldn't as the flesh on her neck was still in pain. She turned back to Mason, looking him over, though now with one hand holding her dress up at her chest again as the other pulled some of her hair behind her ear. "I, uh...apologize....I wasn't thinking.... How did you-" she started to ask until she saw his hand. "Oh! Your hand!" She exclaimed.

"Huh? There isn't anything wrong wi-...... OH, THAT..." Mason stuttered as he looked at his heavily charred finger; about half of which was now on the floor. "Its fine, I'm sure the Taxis healers can reattach it..." he nervously chuckled as he bent down to retrieve the lost half before pocketing it and wrapping his bloody stump with gauze to stop the bleeding. Procuring some Taxis burn ointment from a nearby medical kit, Mason rubbed it between his hands before approaching Shye, "Besides, your needs come before mine... As long as I'm able to help, I'm always ok." he whispered as he gently began to massage the ointment onto the burns around Shye's neck.

Shye was silent while he rubbed the ointment on, lost in thought and trying to take in what just occurred. "Why?" she finally asked. "What is your goal in helping me? Why should my needs come before your own? You don't owe me anything," she said just above a whisper as she looked at the ground, a confused look in her eye. "Because," Mason whispered as he paused to gently lift Shye's chin; his eyes gleaming with hope, "Good people don't deserve to suffer.... Especially not in silence. And if I must suffer in exchange for their freedom? Another scar is a small price to pay."(edited)

This continued to bring tears to her eyes, this was almost to much to believe was real. "Your sympothy is wasted on me I'm afraid....I can't escape what binds me. I'm not a 'good person', only an assassin.... I can't afford to fail..." she said looking down at her claws, seeing nothing but them bathed in crimson even though they were currently clean. "like you said...good people don't deserve to suffer. I have someone who counts on me to do unspeakable things....I pray he never knows...." sh said, her voice lowing in a hushed tone.

"I disagree, the person I saw entangled in the thorns, was the savior a child. The woman that I'm looking at right now, doesn't like killing. Yet is forced to carry forth with such unspeakable acts against her will... A kind soul suffering for the sake of another...." Mason continued as he finished applying the ointment, now starting to loosely wrap bandages around the damaged flesh, "Even the strongest chains can be broken Shye, such is the way of this world... No matter how the darkness binds you, light is always sure to trickle in. Regardless of what you claim, you are no assassin. An assassin would have attacked every time I turned my back, or gutted me the moment we embraced... But you did nothing of the sort, be true to yourself Shye; this isnt who you are."

If he only knew how many times she had killed when she embraced someone. He body was just as much a weapon as her claws. "I was supposed to come here to kill Dremmick....and you. Dispatching any alliance members who got in the way. If I fail a mission... they will take my son away..."

The moment he heard her mention the theft of a child, Mason's gentle expression froze, twisting into one of cold disgust, "W H O?" he coldly asked as his hands began to quiver with anger. "The Dolofon...When they...recruited me. It was after they had found my son in Sunfire orphanage in the lands of Vrondi. They haven't taken him. But they made it very clear that they are there, waiting and watching. They don't stop me from seeing him, if I am able to get there between contracts. If I don't complete my tasks..." she said, trembling a little, "they will kill him." Nix hopped in her lap, noticing Shye's emotions and trying to comfort her. She pet the small furred dragon. "His safety is why I do this. Its selfish, taking innocent lives as long as the innocent life you cherish is safe. But he is the few things I have left, I can't let it happen."

Each passing moment made Mason more and more distraught as he listened to Shye's cruel fate. Careful not to crush Nix, he came forward once again wrapping his arms around the woman. Quiet tears fell from his eyes as he buried his face into shoulder, slowly trying to regain his composure "H-How much time did they give you?" he weakly asked.

"Three more days." Nix chirped at him for disrupting her cuddling, but was otherwise unphased.

Mason paused for a moment while he thought of a plan, "Alright," he whispered as he slowly pressed Shye gently onto the bed (still being careful to avoid hurting Nix) as if he intended to make love to her, cautiously glancing to the door. But in reality-- he was ensuring that the Dolofon didn't have an Intel agent planted nearby monitoring Shye. Passionately Mason made small, gentle kisses from her shoulder, up her neck, until finally stopping at her ear (who knew reading lord Ero's book would actually prove useful?). His hands glided across her curves, caressing her softly as he pressed into her. "Late tonight, I will travel to the field on the southern outskirt of town. You will attack me, and I will 'burn myself to death' trying to fight you off-- leaving you unable to collect my head." he continued to whisper as he kissed her chest and moved to the other ear "By some odd coincidence, an unknown man will show up at the gates of Vrondi, and visit the orphanage before disappearing with a certain child.... Only for you to disappear soon after, likely killed when confronting Dremmick. Then, this unknown man and some strange woman will run into each other here in Pearl.... The same village where a young knight was stabbed in the gut after trying to bed an Assassin he'd just met in a Taxis tent..."

Hoping that Shye had caught his drift, Mason shot forward, stealing her lips with his own as he braced himself for what was coming.

Shye was more than taken by surprise at the knight's sudden movements to the bed. She had turned beet red as he pressed himself against her, Nix hopping out of the way. When he started kissing her up from her shoulder to her neck, a tingling washed over her as he made his way up to her ear, goosbumps appearing as he whispered to her. Even though she was listening intently to his plan, she did somewhat get caught up in the moment when he kissed her, actually reciprocating it for moment in earnest before she drove her claws into his gut. She pushed him away from her as she clicked her claws together, calling Nix to her as she reclasped her choker to her neck, covering herself back up, and bolted out of the tents. Luckily, it seemed there was a fight going on outside that attracted everyone's attention as she made her escape.

Dremmick, Lucious, Aeden

Dremmick was surprised to see the doors to the Taxis HQ burst open just as he arrived. Out strut the Amaiah, the scientist who he had met earlier with an interesting potion in her hands, one in which had a power that he could actually feel even though he wasn't even quite yet in arms reach of the thing. His eyes actually seemed to brighten up by the item, intrigued by how she may have made it. This may mean that it could be mass produced and distributed without the need to cart around a holier-than-thou royal everywhere. Plus they could cover more areas rapidly.

It didn't take long though before that glistening pain in the ass came out to take it for himself interupting the two before Dremmick had a chance to respond to her. Dremmick held a hand up to Amaiah and then gestured for her to leave. He cut his eyes over to the stuck up man, words unwavering. "Actually, it was me... " Dremmick said as he stepped between the two, giving Amaiah the chance to leave. "This is not yours to take. 'Bargaining tool'? You only wish to spread this cure to the ones who submit to being under the heel of your boot. That's not how this works. I was aware that in the event of forming this alliance that we were to show the nations that we need to come together to defeat Nuxta. You know, the one who's forces have now attacked this town twice within the past few day? What you suggest would do nothing but create more division and many unnecessary lives lost." His voice was low, and his hood and muffler were down, not hiding behind it anymore and meeting the man eye to eye. "It....stays..." he said defiantly.

Lucius looked at Dremmick in the eyes. A cold glare was set like a patient cat waiting to pounce when the moment was right. He did not waver at the sight of his bloodied clothes and the smell of sweat and vigor. His arm.. Lucius began to feel the presence coming from Dremmick. "What do you plan on doing with it? Parading around with it as you are is madness. Our King is a humble being despite his great power and wisdom. He asks his royal family to guide him in matters such as this. And so I will do this. For my King." Lucius placed a hand on the hilt of his blade. "I warn you one last time alliance dog. Out of my way." His lips quivered with a twitch of anger despite his cool demeanor. "Or you will face my divine blade."

"Don't make me laugh, you do this for yourself, not your king. I would rather see it distributed wherever it was needed, creating alliances with the other nations instead of creating a resource war with them as your asinine plan would have it. If your king takes advice from people with as little foresight as the likes of you, I'd wager him to be a bigger fool than you are, should that be possible." Dremmick knew he was probably saying all the right things to piss this guy off. The way Lucious's lip quivered as he placed his hand on his blade told him that much. As Lucious gave him one last threat, a very unnerving and wicked smile cracked across Dremmicks face. He then called Lucious out on his challenge,"Come... try your luck."



"As you wish." Lucius's well trained arms flung the blade from its sheathe in one swift motion. Moving before the blade was released was best. But having full knowledge of the blade's length was the issue. Though his blade was pretty standard and seemed to be a bit below three feet. However as the blinding light of the blade was released into the open its length was very hard to read. It was in fact somehow a foot long than its own sheathe. Indicating the blade was made or enhanced by divine light. This revelation would be too slow to come to onlookers, or to one facing this blade from short distance. Aiming to raise the blade up from the armpit he sought to sever Dremmick's arm from the bottom up to the shoulder. That arm. I'll have it. Lucius thought.

Dremmick watched his movements carefully, waiting for him to undoubtedly make the first move. Sure enough, he did and Dremmick was ready though his stance still seemed casual. Dremmick's first attack was a breath of fire directed towards Lucious's face, to catch him off guard and disrupt his opening attack. Dremmick would use that opportunity to evade with a sidestep and twist his body to put his weight behind an attack to Lucious's side. A blood spike formed on his fist as he drove a punch to his kidney, even if it didn't pierce through, the spike would extend out to push him away.

Since the dawn of the descendant era the Sol have been the considered the most feeble, save for the seraphim. Their love of peace was soon changed to a coupling of defending oneself and others. In doing so they formed an easy to use spell. A coating of a divine light barrier surrounded his entire person. Briefly as it were, it was visible for a moment as it made contact with the fire. With a firm mind Lucius knew what could harm him and not through training and studying of his own bloodline. Though he was not often out in battle he was considered special in a combat sense. His blade did not waver, seeing the flames as nothing more than a petty attempt to spit in his face.

Dremmick noted the man use a barrier to get through his fire and in that instant changed his coarse of action while he sidestepped. Lucious's blade met Dremmick, though not where he planned, instead the blade sliced Dremmick across the chest, which made his sidestep tumble into a roll, his arm leaving some blood on the ground as he did so. When he came up from the roll he was already swiping hos arm up, a heavy spike of crimson punching up from the ground from where he was. He didn't let up there however as he was punching forward toward Luciousnas her stood up, another crimson spike erupting forward toward his target from his arm. As he fought however, Dremmick was also releasing a crimson mist into the air, concentrated around where they were fighting, but safely away from bystanders.

By now those watching were backing away, some demanding they stop but forced to the side by Lucius's knights who were, if anyone escalated the situation, would draw their own blades. Lucius controlled the plants that were scattered about in front of the Taxis HQ. A vine came from the ground to wrap around Dremmick's leg. "Blood magic...?" He was slightly surprised by this. Narrowly avoiding the spikes by leaping left twice while facing Dremmick. "A Therosi among the alliance is shameful." He looked at the blood mist. "And your magic is worse than the Magoi's."

"I don't need their magic, " He grabbed the vine that wrapped around his leg, an ghostly silver aura appearing at his arm and streaming from his eyes. The plant wilted and he easily broke from it, the dipping his hand into the ground, plantlife dying around him as he pulled life energy from it and his arm started to glow whit hot once again. He smirked at the comment about this mist as it thickened. The mist wasn't loose control of his ability, but rather the opposite, control of a cloud of his own blood, with the ability to create weapons or restraints anywhere in his area. Normally this would also mean breathing in his blood could become hazardous as he could then attack from inside of his victim, but the barrier kept him from that, for now anyway. Lucious would notice that even though there was a deep slash across his chest from where his blade struck, it didn't seem to be a bleeding open wound, there was just a line of crimson that seemed to be there instead. It should have been deep enough to be fatal, yet the man stood in front of him as if still waiting of his next move.

Lucius could feel the vines depleted life energy. It's very essence drained by Dremmicks 'vile' magic. "Tch." He spat in disgust. Raising his blade he aimed it toward Dremmicks position. The mist of red not obstructing his view enough to hide the necromancer. "I've had enough of your putrid magic." His blade flashed a bright light. Causing most onlookers to flinch and close their eyes. His blade extended out in that flash and aimed to pierce through Dremmicks shoulder. Lucius would hold it there, if hit, for moving could cut Dremmicks body in two. So he presumed.

When Dremmick saw Lucious raise his blade, he had an idea of what he was planning, he shot a crimson chain out at Lucious's feet. As soon as the blade of light surged forward, he pulled himself in towards Luscious to close the gap. The blade impacted his shoulder, but as he reeled himself in closer to Lucious, it sliced its way out and away, leaving what looked to be as if someone chopped down onto his should a good three or four inches. As his body got closer to his enemy's, however, Dremmick kicked off the ground, sending him rapidly into the air and above Lucious. Dremmick knew if he unleashed the stored energy in his arm on a flat plane towards Lucious it would hit bystanders, but from above, there was nothing but Lucious and the ground as Dremmick, upside down in the air looking at Lucious, unleashed the energy in his arm to hit him with a concussive blast of energy at nearly point blank range.

When the chain hit his leg he smirked. "You're like a corpse." His blade reached Dremmick's shoulder and as it did he began to pull in. Lucius had to plant his stance wider to stay balanced under Dremmick's weight. His blade's retraction was as instant as its extension. Dremmick was kicking off just as Lucius twirled his blade, spinning his wrist. Severing the chain as Dremmick aimed to use its momentum. Though he did get some air from his tactic. Lucius saw a clear setup for his opponent to attack. With a lowered stance Lucius rolled forward. Just as Dremmick's aura spiked to expel it out as his concussive blast. With the force of it tossing the dirt and debris in the air like a cloud of dust behind Lucius he raised to his feet to face Dremmick. Prepared to evade further.

The dust kicked up from the impact was thick enough to hide Dremmick's body. There was a haunting chuckle that came from the dust. "Interesting choice of words," he said as he came slowly walking out of the dust, appearing from it like a ghost. He held his right arm out and then clenched it into a fist, he had finally bought enough time to make the mist dense enough for his next move. Suddenly, the now very dense mist quickly conformed around Lucious's body, making a perfect shell of himself, fitted so that it would restrain him from moving. It was a thick crimson shell that had hardened into place. Long spears then formed from the remaining mist and set themselves in places around the shell, fusing to it, and prepared to impale their target in multiple places should he resist. "Stand down. I will only tell you once..." he said, a murderous look in his eyes. If he was supposed to be some sort of hero, he definitely didn't look the part.

For a few seconds Lucius seemed trapped. However even a child could sense the aura flaring beneath the veil of blood. Resonating with intense light Lucius's blade ate away at the blood that coated it. "That was my line earlier..." Lucius muttered, displeased by Dremmick's lack of creativity. The coating of crimson began to crack as light broke through it. "I'd break free all at once." Lucius began to say as his aura flared, filled to a higher capacity than it would be. Spending time sunbathing was how most Sol gained enough stamina to emit their many spells and manipulations. Thanks to Ami however Lucius was charged to a capacity he rarely experiences. "But the debris could hurt someone." The coating cracked and crumbled around Lucius's right arm which held the blade. He pointed it towards Dremmick. "You've yet to touch me." The red broke off around his eyes. "Do you not have pride? Even corpses carry badges of honor." He chuckled. "End this charade. You have no hopes of beating me."

"Only difference is...I meant it." He moved his hand down, and each of the spears drove in to pierce through, each of them driving to break the barrier and then drive into Lucious. Dremmick hated barrier users, they always loved to talk about how they are untouched as they hide behind a barrier, the look of their faces after it crumbled with a blade in their gut was usually worth the hassle though. His arm took its enlarged form with the thick blade-like claws at the end. He moved to Lucious's back left side as the spears continued their work, giving him a harder angle to work with when he had the chance to move his arm a bit. Thanks to his concern for the people and not breaking out at once, the chucks of hardened blood seem to just float back up to him and remold back into shape, fighting to restrain him. He drew upon the life energy in the plants around once again making his arm glow. "Now, how about that barrier?"

Dremmick surged forward spinning around to get momentum as he landed a backhand strike with his arm, releasing half of the stored energy along with it, creating a small concentrated blast at the point of impact instead of a large concussive wave like the other times. The blast was nothing compared to the one he tried to smash him with earlier, as a blast like that would continue through Lucious and into the people watching. Dremmick made sure to concentrate the energy into one spot though in order to try to punch through the barrier and knock him back.

The spears moved in to strike Lucius. But given their short distance their momentum was weak. Their only hope was to drive into him through spins or constant force. "I pity you ignorance." Lucius said beneath the red. The spears pierced and freed Lucius faster than if he broke free on his own. Patience was a valuable cost it seemed as Lucius's own protection was not needed for the start of Dremmick's attempted skewering. Once the coating was weakened Lucius swiped around with his now freed arms indiscriminately slicing away the spears in a speed that left light streaks similar to a second barrier. It was just rapid slashes, but it acted as a deterrent to any attacks. Even one physical wave Dremmick launched, hitting Lucius. However he would suffer a few swipes from Lucius's whirling blade. Afterwards however Lucius would be skidding, but not knocked over. His barrier reaching its current limit.

Aeden glanced behind him as he head a loud boom in the not-too-far distance. It distracted him slightly from the conversation already going on, and he certainly had plenty to pay attention to here with this group of strangers. A second blast occurred moments later which now had his full attention.

”Nyph,” he called out to his comrade. ”That explosion was not far from here. Can you see from here what caused it or where it’s from?”

Nyph bobbed his head in compliance and flapped his wings to get airborne. The psuedodragon soared overheard. ”Looks like there’s a fight by one of the nearby buildings! Lots of dead plants! Looks like something drained them of life! This fight looks serious!”

Aeden rolled his eyes at Nyph’s last comment. He had no idea what a non-serious fight looked like if they even existed. Every fight he had ever seen was a fight for one’s life or well-being. He turned toward the direction of the sound he heard before looking back at the strangers. ”Looks like things might not be over. Lead the way, Nyph!”

He jogged back to the road and before long came up to a crowd. This did not look like a continuation of the plant raid that he just missed out on. This battle was more of a duel. He pushed his way through the crowd and as he made his way to the front his eyes quickly homed in on the traces of blood magic. His hand found its way to the handle of his sword as his attention settled on the duel.

This blood magic was unlike anything he had ever witnessed as a slave. This blood magic was honed for battle. Aeden watched the fight carefully. He held back the urge to charge in recklessly and strike the blood mage, but his guy told him to maintain extraordinary caution. In the back of his mind something told him it did not make sense for a Therosi, an enemy to be here and openly acting like this.
He glanced at the person next to him. "What the hell is going on?"

When Dremmick's attack made contact, he noticed the barrier shattered. He took a few hits to his cursed arm as that's what he hit him with, but there was a wild look in his draconic eyes that held a bloodlust that yearned to be quenched, pushing through the pain of the deep slashes. The pieces of the shell and broken spears liquefied and reformed themselves and started flying towards Lucious like a salvo of arrows, never aiming for the head, but looking to hit his body from multiple directions, some moving to pin his right wrist to the ground so that he couldn't move his sword. Any that missed or were deflected would back off to make another go. Dremmick was slowly approaching. He was a ghastly sight. He was getting weaker and he knew it. soon, he would be at his limit unless he wanted to spread his curse further. His concentration on the salvo left his body to bleed naturally, wounds opening up again, though the more critical ones were left sealed. Wounds from years of fighting like this when it came to tougher enemies. He had already faced one tough foe today, and then this. He may be wrong for what he was doing, but he didn't care. He knew the kind of man this was. If he wasn't beaten here today, he would do what he wanted with the elixir, and many people would suffer the same fate of this town for no reason more than the worries of some self entitled noble's politics. He wouldn't have it. He needed to die....he needed to die....he needed to-

Dremmick, NO!

Dremmick stopped walking as he heard the voice inside and his arm shot up with a clenched fist, breathing heavy, dripping blood from all sorts of places. All the sudden the barrage stopped, with one spear lined up directly between Lucious's eyes, only inches away.

"The elixir.....stays.....with her...for everyone." he said raggedly. Any of the spears that made contact faded into mist and back to Dremmick, save for the one in Lucious's face.

Aeden did not feel the need to wait for a response from the crowd. The savagery he expected from a blood mage appeared in the maddened expression of the blood mage before him. Aeden pulled his blade from its sheath and started to step forward to intervene before a killing blow could be struck. Even so caution was greatly called for. A feral blood mage was a threat even when pushed to their limit.

Then he saw something that amazed him. The blood mage stopped his killing blow. The words he heard from the ragged breaths of the man caught Aeden slightly off guard. A blood mage acting for the good of everyone? This was certainly an interesting twist. He would have to keep watch of this man and see if over time there are any ulterior motives, but he doubt that anyone could be dishonest in such an exhausted state.

The victor of the duel was clear. Aeden sheathed his blade once more as he scanned the blood mage carefully in an attempt to read his body language. Aeden had stepped out into the open space enough that he definitely had garnered some attention, and he would definitely have to commit to an action toward the pair before him. The idea of standing with a blood mage personally disgusted him, however something about the noble made the idea bearable.

Aeden took a deep breath and stood next to the blood mage facing the noble. ”Whatever your aim is I doubt you want to degrade yourself by continuing this.”

Lucius was not often wounded. But when he was he found it curious. Studying his reaction as he failed to cut all of the arrows. Having to perform a roll to avoid a few, only to be struck in the top right shoulder and in his sword arm. He grimaced as his pale skin began to flush. He pulled the arrow out of his right arm, his biceps leaking with blood. Though he was prepared to reactivate his defenses he took notice of how it was too late. He thought this as he looked at the spear Dremmick was holding to him. A clear seraphim stepped to his side. But as it approached the knights Lucius had under his command stepped forward with blades half drawn. Stop Lucius commanded telepathically to his knights. He was knelt from the pain of removing his own arrow. But the wound began to heal as plants beneath his armor emerged from the ends. Healing herbs and lots of them. "It seems this one has many friends in the Aion. Perhaps I was wrong about this.. corpse of a man." Lucius learned amongst many things that in combat there were words unspoken. Though as a telepath he could hear utterings from his foes mind.

Rising to his feet the Vrondian royal watched as Dremmick was only moments away from falling apart. He would simply wait until he collapsed from depleted aura and lock him in a cell. But he found new motivation. "If you Aion can keep this creature in check. Then perhaps I will allow this expedition to carry on with that elixir. However..." Lucius searched the crowd for Amaiah and pointed her out. "You will return to Vrondi and make more of this elixir. It's far too dangerous here." He ordered. She looked at him wide eyed under her glasses. "I suppose I can do that. It is my home after all." She placed a finger to her lips in thought. "But my things are all here." Lucius sighed. His wounds healed he approached the Taxis HQs doors. "I'll have a team of strong Gaians ready by tomorrow to bring your necessaries." With that said him and his Knights began to walk back into the HQ.

Aeden raised his brow at the noble. ”Friend is too strong a word, but I can say for sure his actions are unlike that of a Therosi blood mage. So not an enemy is far more appropriate.”

He took a breath as the noble suggested he keep the blood mage in check. ”Right.” He sounded somewhat defeated as he wondered exactly what he had gotten himself into. Strangers that casually assault strangers with affection that may or may not be wanted. Blood mages that acted completely different from what blood mages should. This Alliance made for strange bedfellows.

As the noble entered the Taxi HQ, Aeden faced the blood mage. ”You’re an interesting one. I’ve never seen a blood mage stop himself while in a frenzy.” Aeden paused for effect. “I will make one thing clear: I hate blood magic. I hate it because I hate the Therosi. I do not believe you are Therosi. At least not anymore.” Aeden grit his teeth at the thought and then relaxed. ”I am Aeden Demavend, Aion Knight, now let us get you someplace you can rest so I can heal you.”

Aeden gestured to Nyph who was soaring above keeping a watch over the fight. The pseudodragon landed a few steps away with a gentle woosh. Nyph tilted his head curiously as Aeden. ”I’ve never seen you do this before! Have I been rubbing off on you after all these years?”

Nyph sounded way more pleased than ever before, and Aeden just rolled his eyes.

@Jollan@Rai

Nailah's immediate question didn't seem to take Tali by much surprise. In fact, the curiosity seemed to bring a smile to her. "Very astute observation. I am mixed blood, a hybrid of a pure Tyro mother and a pure Lassa father. My name is Talise, Tali for short. I am Magoi trained, though independent. It is a pleasure to meet you." She walked to within an arm's reach of the others, motioning for her servitor to come as close. Her warming aura would easily envelop the others, causing a noticeable rise in the ambient temperature.

Her servitor followed without hesitation and stood behind her, staring at the others with an eyeless gaze. "Do you have orders for me, Mistress?" Tali shook her head and crossed her arms as she looked among the others. They were quite the ragtag group. "I will assume we are all here for some reason. I highly doubt a messenger would seek me out and offer artifact rewards if it did not need my knowledge." Her clawed gloves tapped along her forearms, not impatiently, more out of being antsy and wanting to know what was going on.

Dremmick stayed standing as long as Lucious was in eyesight. Once the man went inside of HQ, his body faltered. The once floating spear moving to him so he could use it to prop himself up. His left arm was slack for now and he felt weak. He had pushed beyond his limits today, engaging three powerful enemies. He didn't know what was going on in this town, but he was sure that he arrived here with a group. There was an awkward quiet after the battle. Dremmick didn't look for an praise, but he was a bit surprised that it was quiet. He started to walk off when he heard the Aion knight that arrived behind him start to speak.

When he mentioned healing Dremmick he was already shaking his head and turning away. "Don't bother. If there is anything I don't need more of today its another high and mighty seraph and someone trying to heal me." Dremmick honestly didn't know who they guy was or why he was here, and didn't have any reasons to talk to him in his eyes. Right now, he knew he just needed to rest, and be away from all this insanity. He knew he nearly lost control, almost giving in to the voices in his head. Had he not heard that one voice however, this whole thing could have ended a lot worse. He wasn't in the mood to talk. He wasn't in the mood to eat of drink as many people were doing now that things have settled once again. He just needed to rest....

He was using the last of his strength to hold himself together, that his body soon did collapse on him, the crimson staff falling to the ground and liquefying as he hit the ground, out cold, the remaining life energy in his arm dissipating into the air.




Allard was a bit surprised by Nailah's reaction to seeing the lassa girl though, before he could make a joke about it, two new arrivals approached them. One was a seraph knight, the other a tyro girl.

Lynn waved her hands in front of herself when asked if she was okay. "I-I'm uh, fine, my name is Lynn by the way," she said sheepishly. "It seems we were too late in dealing with the threats here. What happened?"

Allard looked to the young girl and answered, filling them and the newcomers in on what was going on. "I am Allard, we were attacked by some sort'a plant summoner using poisonous plants spurred on by Ami's healing ability. It seems ta be gone now as I don't feel his aura which spiked a moment ago. It looks like things are fairly clear now, save for tha overgrowth. Now that it doesn't have direction though they seem ta be behaving like normal plants." It wasn't even a minute after he said that when the group heard a loud boom close by.

"What was that?" Lynn asked her ears perking up as her eyes widened slightly. Both her eyes and ears directed themselves towards where the sound came from, concentrating to see if she could hear anything else.

"Not sure, maybe its someone clearing some plants," Allard said and then turned to Tali, "Our main goal, though when we leave here tamorrow is ta-," then there was another blast that interrupted him. "Or...maybe there is still some trouble. We should go see." The seraph knight was the first to head out, moving ahead of the group as his dragonling led the way. "Quick ta act, that one."

@Lotrix Molick@drewccapp@Guy0fV4lor@13org@Brithwyr@Rai

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^{@Jollan @Rai @Brithwyr @drewccapp @Lotrix Molick}

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"Oh, so her name is Siiga? Good to know..." Nailah said, waving to Siiga after Lynn introduced her. Nailah could feel Lynn was embarrassed, but that very fact, her sheepish smile and her looking down and fidgeting her fingers as Nailah spoke only made her even more adorable.

"The cutie over there is Bonnie, right? Hello, pleased to meet you!" Nailah said, with a kind smile looking to Bonnie

The new arrivals were also interesting themselves, but Nailah couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when the first thing Aeden said after Nailah introduced herself was asking if Lynn was ok. His dragonling also seemed to be awfully direct with his questions.

"Not everyone. She just looks so adorable that I couldn't help myself. Your words hurt though, Aeden." Nailah said, looking to him with a piercing stare for a brief moment before going back to normal as the mixed blood tyro replied to her question.

"Talise! I knew you had a bit of Lassa blood!" Nailah said, with a kind smile to the tyro mixed blood after she introduced herself. Without any doubt, she was much more pleasant than Aeden. Nailah had no previous experience with the Magoi, but the mention of that name made her raise an eyebrow.

"I am a mixed blood myself. Half dragon. Not something really helpful if you lived in Fotia though... Ironic, right? Tyro and Dragon blood..." Nailah said, with a chuckle.

"Oh, don't ask me about my parents. I don't have the slightest clue about who they were." she said, shrugging, treating it as it was nothing important.

Before Nailah could say anything more though, an explosion and sounds of battle interrupted the group's brief meeting. Aeden was the first to run towards it without even looking back after asking Nyph about the direction.

"I don't think I like him that much..." Nailah said with a piercing gaze towards Aeden after he turned back and ran towards the sounds of battle.

Turning to Lynn, whom Nailah had already let go, she let out a kind smile.
"I'm sorry for being so sudden, my dear, but you simply were so cute I couldn't help myself!" Nailah said, with a giggle to calm down the girl.

"You shouldn't be so shy though! It's not like it wasn't comfortable, right? Also... There's nothing wrong in sharing some affection. People are just so cold, distant and hostile nowadays..." Nailah said, with a smirk, teasing her before turning to Allard, who had just finished explaining what did Lynn and the others miss regarding the gigantic plants & etc.

"I guess we indeed should see what's happening..." Nailah said, rolling her eyes after hearing Allard, calmly walking towards where the sound came from.

Arriving on time to see the ending of the fight between Dremmick and a weird, pompous noble guy who was escorted by a number of knights. Differently from Aeden, who rushed and put his nose where he wasn't called, instead of doing anything, Nailah simply watched, seeing what it would happen.

Despite Dremmick's state, it seemed like he was the victor at the end, even though the noble walked out of the confront almost unscathed. While Nailah didn't know why they were fighting, it was clear that the noble guy would have what he want be it one way or another, seeing how he left escorted by his knights.

Whoever that Aeden was, Nailah didn't like him one bit... He acted too high and mighty for someone who had just arrived... For the first time since she met Dremmick, she agreed with something he had said about Aeden being a high and mighty seraph. Needless to say, she also hated that noble knight whom Dremmick was fighting against the second she put her eyes upon him.

"I'm surprised! For the first time since I met him, I can agree with something Dremmick said!" Nailah said, finally stepping in, walking towards Aeden and Dremmick. Neither of them were able to sense her presence before she announced herself though.

"Hm... I wonder if it was the irony or the surprise after hearing that I agreed with him that made him pass out..." she said after Dremmick fell unconscious, poking his cheek with her claw.

It was made clear through Dremmick's hard fought victory that the alliance had capable members. Ones backed by the Aion and strange magic users. No doubt their abilities were being run through the crowds and on the words of the messenger dragons who soared through the night to deliver word to the mountains.

Dear - Queen of Gaia Allo Niscent. The alliance arrived to town pearl and made their stop there. Deciding to wait until morning to begin their journey for the mountains they began making their presence known to the towns people. One by record breaking in their strength tournament. Two by attempting to bed a few of the local waitresses. Further than this they attempted to heal everyone in the town using what is now known as a very powerful rejuvenating aura emitted by a Vrondi royal among them. Ami Lovegood is her name. This however came with negative results and casualties though all financial and medical. Ami's aura went unchecked and made the vegetation grow out of control. A mad man used this as an opportunity to overrun the town with poisonous plants. However with the rejuvenation of the towns guardians he was quickly dispatched. Furthermore an elixir capable of undoing the decay spread across the lands was created, though very little of it exists. Further attempts to produce more will likely yield success.
From: Pearl's Elder

The people cleared the town's streets. It was time for a nights rest and to deal with what was left in the morning. The inn was still accepting service for food and rooms. Their outside walls scratched and covered from the bottom up in a thick portion of vines. But the inside was still just as clean and inviting. Their tables and chairs, stairs and ceilings, doors windows, beds and even baths were larger than usual. All to accommodate their large Oro guests who lived in this town and the one over. The bard within Savvan's inn was strumming a gentle tune. As he himself seemed almost falling asleep. A drink in his hand and unaware of the troubles outside.

The presence of the guardians seemed to be the most reliable source of defense this town had. As no guards patrolled like in other towns. A simple quiet place this was.
@Jollan@Lotrix Molick@drewccapp@Guy0fV4lor@13org@Brithwyr

As the group approached where they heard all the commotion, it seemed that the fight was just finishing. Allard wasn't sure what the fight was about, but it seemed to be a hard fought victory, with the winner looking worse for wear than the loser. Lynn approached Dremmick's unconcious form, sitting sidesaddle on her staff, and started to check over his wounds as Nailah sat there poking him. Her face turned pale and her ears lowered at the sight. "His wounds are grave...and his skin..." she mentioned about the cursed flesh that was now exposed, "Did that knight really do all of this to him?" she asked. Looking towards the Txis HQ doors.

"I doubt it. He was fighting that summoner as well last I heard." Allard said as he was walking up. Allard's brow furrowed. The man was bleeding quite a bit, but a number of what looked to be heavier wounds were not. "It's almost as if this young man is holding himself together by his magic." he commented as he looked at Dremmick. "Alright, we should get him to his room I guess, let him rest."

"B-but what about his wounds! We should get him treated!" Lynn protested, but Allard was already shaking his head.
"He said he didn't want a healer. I guess he knows what he is doing. I would guess that healing doesn't help him much considerin' tha state he is in even though Ami was bathing tha land in healing energy." Allard replied.

Lynn nodded, though she wasn't sure about it. She summoned a stream of water from her jar that made a puddle beneath Dremmick and then gently lifted him up off the ground. Already there were streams of blood flowing into the water, and before too long tainted the color red. Lynn looked back to Siiga and the others, unsure about this, but followed them to the inn with him in tow. Along the way, since Dremmick was unable to control it, his tail slid out from under the sash that he kept it wraped around himself and hidded. the color of its scales were a deep dark crimson red and the underside of the tail was gray as charcoal. It surprised Lynn as it fell out at first, not sure what it was. her head tilted slightly, "Did he, uh....always have that?" She knew about his missing horns from looking at him earlier, and there were some odd stumps where it looked like wings used to be when she looked him over a moment ago, but she thought he may have lost it when fighting at some point. but... why would he be purposely hiding a tail?

Nyph stared at Dremmick as he fell unconscious. He then turned his gaze toward Aeden. Looked back at the unconscious man. Finally landing his gaze upon Nailah who had followed after them. He then started to giggle almost uncontrollably. ”He called you ‘high and mighty’, Aeden!” He rolled over onto his side. ”’High and mighty!’ They don’t even know you and they already think you believe you’re better than everyone else!”

Aeden’s face turned pink with embarrassment. After eighteen years of being teased by Nyph he hoped that he would have been able to deal with anything thrown at him at this point, but the damn pseudodragon still found weak points here and there. He could handle strangers making snap judgements of his character, but when a comrade like Nyph started to poke fun at it like this it became a struggle to maintain composure.

”Eighteen years,” Aeden slowly stated with some effort and a chuckle. ”Eighteen years and you still get me good, Nyph.”

Nyph caught his breath and rolled over onto his feet. ”Oh that was great! We needed that. Too much time on the road really wears you down, Aeden!”

Aeden smiled and chuckled a bit more. ”I guess it’s to be expected.”

He already knew he would be risking a lot just coming here. He had no expectations that his presence would be appreciated. Then his smile turned into a full grin. ”I’ll have to do better for next time.”

He considered the unconscious Dremmick as Nailah poked him like a cat does with a dead mouse. He would have preferred hearing the man’s name from the man himself. The wounds he carried were incredible. Aeden felt a strong urge to get to work healing the man as he was confident his power to heal was certainly up among the best. Even so, he wanted to respect the wishes of Dremmick to not be healed, even if the comment was more made to be an insult directed towards him.

”How is he still alive with all these wounds?” At this point Lynn arrived with Allard with their own questions and comments. Lynn used water magic to lift his body and shortly after a tail flopped out. It was certainly puzzling to hide such a thing, but Aeden really did not know how to react to it. On one hand he did not exactly trust the blood mage, and this only added to that distrust. On the other hand he imagined he may actually have a good reason to do so. Plenty of the slaves he helped become free made great effort to hide their identity and change who they were, so it was not a particularly unusual sight for him.

Some of this Alliance seemed to be a reasonable sort, but the variety of personalities would make things difficult. Who could he trust? Who would he have to be careful of? He felt Nailah was one he would have to be wary of. He was sure she would not seek to harm him directly, but her actions seemed to him as someone that could care less about anyone but her own interests. Lynn and Allard seemed to have good heads on their shoulders. Dremmick, well, he had no idea what to think of Dremmick. How many others were there? What were they like? Allard already mentioned another healer by the name Ami.

Nyph hovered above them as they slowly transitioned toward the inn. He said nothing as he watched the group with intense interest.

It was the sound of the hymn that brought a call to those who enjoyed the most dire of hunts. Though rare to find, the night gave meaning to the word ghastly. As new beings emerged from the dark corners of the forest. Once happy to remain dormant and feed once every few years now, sensing the decay of the land, are making efforts to feed whilst there remains a meal to be had. A gift left behind from Nuxta and likely a plan of his. An issue that was usually dealt with by hunters now increased ten fold. Many hunters, as skilled and wise as they were, succumbed to the contact made with these rare and frightening creatures. A creature stepped from a burrow deep within the earth. Its many heads snapped ferociously at the nights air. With multiple noses it searched the forest for a viable meal. The fluids dripping from its hunger left a trail. Though moving in silence was hardly its purpose. It quickly made its way across the forest towards the greatest source of aura it could find. The town of Pearl.

Corrupted Teju Jagua

Though its plan was to feed. A gargled cry was let out from the creature. It's black blood dashing across the trees and thorny bushes that were scattered about Gaia's forest. A silver glint of a blade could be seen as a slender figure swept across the ground for another strike. The beast's reaction was enough for the hunters pursuit to be fended off, as he quickly evaded with even greater speed. But it was all that could be done to avoid the swipes from this feral creature. Dashing stones and dirt as debris with its furious strikes. Despite this the battle was rather quiet for its beginning. Directly between Onyx and Pearl it was a good distance from both to be heard outright.

The Hunter

Interlocked in the beginnings of a duel of survival both beings contested for who was hunting who. The 15 foot tall, 28 foot long beast with multiple heads. Or the Six foot tall hunter. In the moonlit night the glistening of this beast's fur could be seen. Jewels, gold and silver. Rare stones all scattered about its fur and its scales were dark in the light, but clearly covered in silver. Once a fruit eating protector of treasure and the forest now a meat hunting savage worth more dead than alive.

Nailah simply watched as Lynn used her water magic, making a puddle beneath the unconscious Dremmick lifting off the ground. He was indeed in an incredibly bad state, but for some reason, neither Dremmick himself wanted to get healed neither the others wanted to get him treated, other than Lynn herself. Probably it had something to do with his strange blood magic he was using earlier, but Nailah wasn't certain. And she surely didn't want to be the one to test that hypothesis.

Without anything better to do, Nailah simply followed both of them. While they were making their way though, suddenly a dark crimson tail appeared from under Dremmick's sash. After hearing Lynn's surprised commentary, Nailah couldn't help but wonder... Didn't she see some weird stumps on his forehead when Lynn turned him? There was also strange scars on his back... With that tail now, things became even more strange... What exactly is Dremmick?

"I don't trust him... He has far too many secrets..." Nailah said, looking to Dremmick's unconscious body and to Allard and Lynn soon afterwards.

Truth be told, he wasn't the only one Nailah didn't liked that much. Aeden, the strange newcomer was another one. Although it wasn't due to the same reason as Dremmick. It was more of a personal thing. She didn't like at all how Aeden acted, almost as if he believed to be more important than everyone else, more capable or more responsible... Sure, he had just arrived, but his first impressions on Nailah weren't very good.

"So... what are you going to do with him?" Nailah asked Lynn and Allard, obviously referring to Dremmick.
Everything around that man was just so... strange... He was hiding things and Nailah would definitely know his secrets. Whether he wanted or not..

Before Nailah could say anything more or even Lynn and Allard could answer though, a loud, strange howl cut the night coming deep within the forest.
Anyone that heard it could immediately say it wasn't a normal creature. It's howl somehow sounded... different. It was almost as it sent a chill down their spine as they heard so.

Immediately turning her head towards where the sound came, Nailah quietly listened without emitting a single sound. Her eyes pointing towards where the sound came, almost as if she was trying to draw a straight line to the origin of said sound.

"This is not a normal animal..." Nailah finally said, after a few moment in silence.

Lynn looked to Dremmick floating in the air next to her. "I guess all I can do is set him in his room and go ahead to our own rooms. Maybe he-" but Lynn was cut off as a loud howl filled the air.

Allard looked up at the sound of the howling. He was stunned for a moment. "Everyone, inside, now," he said. "Something isn't right. I will go see what it is. It could be another attack, but it could very well be a hunt. Either way it is not safe." Allard said as he turned, about to make his way in the direction the sound was coming from. His large wings spread out as he prepared to take flight.

Aeden and Nyph looked south when they heard the roar. Something like that could only be considered dangerous. Surely, it was a beast hunting prey in the forest. Surely, no one would be dumb enough to enter the forest at this time of night. ”What are the odds of a beast like that entering the city? I can’t imagine too high.”

He was not too keen on going galvanting into the forest after a mystery monster. Flying at night would be too dangerous for Nyph as he could not see in the dark, so asking the pseudodragon to scout the situation out would be dumb as well. Defending the city from the rampant plants was one thing, but the city would have its own defenses against an exterior attack like a monster.

”Allard was it?” Aeden recalled the quick introduction before he quickly rushed into what he thought was more problems with the plants and turned out to be duel. ”I agree with you. The odds are the city has its own defenses against a wild beast, and I can’t imagine someone being dumb enough to enter the forest at night.”

He noticed the big man was starting to head off towards it. "I'm sure you're capable enough to handle most threats, but is it wise to charge off into something unknown when we don't even know if it's a threat?"

"No," Allard simply replied, "But who is ta know what it is if we all just wait for it ta arrive. Someone could very well be in danger out there, and if not, then all is well. This is Gaia. We are it's defenses. I will return." Allard wings lifted himself off the ground.

Aeden felt great respect for Allard’s courage. He nodded firmly at the man’s response. Before Allard got too far, Aeden called out. ”Very well. At the very least allow me to cast a protection spell on you. Just in case the beast or whatever is one of Chaos. Better safe than sorry. I will keep watch here with Nyph and anyone else that cares to help.”

If Allard allowed he would cast Protection from Chaos on him quickly forming the protective rune, so Allard could head out as soon as possible. "It should last an hour provided it doesn't take too much of a beating."

Nailah rolled her eyes when Allard said for them to get inside. She didn't know exactly why, but the deep wounds on that scythe woman from earlier seemingly weren't enough to tell Allard she could protect herself. Even if she wanted to protest though, it would be useless as Allard was already flying away.

After a quick exchange of words with Aeden, who casted a protection spell on Allard as he flew away, Aeden turned to Lynn and Nailah, saying he would stay there to watch over the town. Maybe that Aeden guy wasn't that bad after all... Even though he acted like that a bit earlier...

"Say, Aeden... Can you know when your spell is broken? Or if Allard gets hurt? Or any way to know how things are going?" Nailah asked. While she didn't really wanted to go, if something happened with Allard because she let him go by himself, she would feel guilty.

"I don't really want to go, but if Allard gets hurt because I let him go by himself I would feel a bit guilty." Nailah said.

"Well... I doubt Allard would lose to a random beast... Should we go inside, my dear?" Nailah asked, turning to Lynn.

"While we wait for him to return, you can ask me anything you want to know about me and in return I'll do the same to you!" she said, laughing to the girl.

"You too, Mr. Shiny Seraphim." Nailah said, looking to Aeden, raising an eyebrow with a brief smirk. Even though she was teasing her, it was obvious that he was considering giving the man another chance.

"O-okay." Lynn nodded to Nailah. "Siiga, could you get me some fresh bandages? We could at least wrap him up for now." she asked as she went ahead to take Dremmick inside, dropping Dremmick off in his room, on the bed, which she made sure to remove the mattress beforehand leaving him the board beneath it to sleep on so as not to ruin the mattress and sheets. When finished dealing with him she came back out and sit at one of the tables with the others. Lynn stayed silent at first though because she wasn't sure where to start with the questions.

Siiga nodded, quickly rushing to comply. It wasn't much, but even the littlest things could make a big damn difference.

Aeden shook his head to Nailah’s first question. ”I’m afraid not. I can see the effect end very easily, but I would need to be there to witness it.” He had seen the magical effect created by his protection spell enough to know if it was working or not thanks to his Divine Sight. “If you pay attention to the rune you’ll see it disappear when it ends. Beings of Chaos cannot touch him while under its protection, so a mindless beast should not be a problem.”

He could go further into detail about the effects of the spell, but he was not entirely sure he could trust Nailah fully. While she was no enemy she was still a stranger to him. While he made an effort to tell the truth and only the truth there was a danger to saying everything. He chuckled when she poked fun at him calling him “Shiny Seraphim”.

”Oh! Oh!” Nyph bounced up and down as they entered the Inn and sat at a table in the lounge space. He landed on the center of the table with wide excited eyes. ”What’s your favorite thing in the world? I love adventure!”

Right now, it was everything Bonnie could do not to rip his own eyes out his skull. How had he thrown his lot on with this ragtag band of misfits?

Oh yeah. Her. He scowled meaingfully at Siiga, who smiled and gave him a thumbs up in response.

"Is that whit we're doing noo? Sharing wee stories like a bunch a' schoolgirls at camp?"

Lynn's ears drooped a little, "Well, I mean, its probably good to know each other a little more...I guess." She said, the last part being just a little above a whisper. She looked Bonnie up and down, noticing his clothes. Even though she cleaned them, they were still rather rough looking. maybe she could do something about that later. She looked up to psuedodragon to respond first before the others in order to keep the conversation going. Good conversation helped keep people's minds off their troubles after all. "Well, I guess...I like to sing when I can," she said with a small smile.

"Do you? I need to hear that sometime" Siiga smiled, ignoring the soft thud that was Bonnie banging his head against a wall "I like to travel, and get in touch with my, heh, inner animal"

Nailah quietly heard as Aeden explained a bit about the spell he casted on Allard. Even though he had said he couldn't know what exactly was happening, he couldn't know if the spell was broken or not, so if something happened with Allard, they would know nothing about it.

"I'm waiting for a while. If he doesn't come back I'll go after him.." Nailah said, turning to him with a serious stare.

As Lynn started bandaging Dremmick's wounded body, asking Siiga for help, she agreed in getting to know each other a bit more. Even though she was still awfully shy, Nailah would make her less shy in time. She just needed to know her a bit more.

Nyph, Aeden's companion, was as happy and cheerful as always, bouncing on the table as he said that he loved adventure. Nailah couldn't help but giggle at the small pseudodragon.

"You're quite an energetic little guy, ain't you?" Nailah said, giggling as she gently patted him.

In the other hand, Bonnie seemed like he was about to kill himself. Nailah still didn't understood the boy at all... Why was he so grumpy and angry for no reason at all? Did he want to go as well to the forest? That small boy?

"I do think you would really like Dremmick... You're starting to sound as boring as him... A cute boy like you shouldn't be so grumpy~" Nailah said, playfully touching Bonnie's nose with a giggle.

"Oh, do you sing Lynn?" Nailah asked after she heard her.

"I would really like hear you singing sometime! See? Even Siiga wants to hear it too! Come on, Lynn! Don't be so shy! Act a bit more impulsively!" Nailah said, laughing as she encouraged Lynn to sing a bit, with a kind smile to her.

"Your... inner animal?" Nailah asked Siiga with a chuckle. By her reaction, she obviously misunderstood what she meant by that.

Bonnie was seriously about to break this girl's fingers. Who did she think she was? He oughta smash her lights in! "Hey! Hands off the merchandise!"

Siiga had to giggle. It was kinda like being back at the old gang. Just kicking around, relaxing, having someone almost get killed and acting like there was nothing wrong... Lots of old memories. She smiled, sure, but the air around her palpably saddened. "Anyone want drinks? I'm buying."

Aeden actually had to contemplate Nyph’s question. What was his favorite thing? Was it the Aion? Until recently he really did believe in the cause, and even now he would make an effort to free slaves of his own free will, but was the Aion really his cause? It was definitely Mirror’s cause, but he no longer had as much vigor about it as he did. He had spent almost half of his life working with them. Something caused a disconnect for him.

”My favorite thing?” He wondered with some weight in his words. ”Is being free.”

Lynn smiled a bit more, "Oh I would love to sing for all of you sometime! I grew up singing around the infirmary and then started learning siren songs to help soothe the patients." Lynn then heard Sigga mention paying for drinks. "No need, I can summon water from my rune if anyone is thirsty!" Lynn said, not even thinking about the fact that Siiga probably meant alcohol.

Aeden enjoyed the atmosphere of the group. It was very different than the team he was a part of while working with Aion. They were not bad people, and they were even enjoyable to spend time with, but there was a limited variety when many of them were ex-slaves themselves. This group was interesting. It was even exciting.

Drinks were offered and Aeden considered for a while, but he had a responsibility lingering. With Allard risking his life to investigate a beast he did not feel right drinking when he felt he may be needed. He actually started to hate the idea of wasting time in here when there were teammates at risk of harm. Stranger or no, how could Aeden enjoy himself in a tavern while someone he cast a protection spell on was out there?

Aeden let out a deep breath and stood up suddenly while looking at Nailah. ”I can’t sit here anymore. Let’s go check on Allard.” He turned and headed for the door muttering to himself. ”I’m so stupid. If he’s in danger and I missed a chance to be there to heal him…”

As soon as he stepped through the door he started sprinting south toward danger. He wished his ethereal wings would allow him to fly. As he grew closer and heard the sounds of crashing he slowed down and came to a stop when he saw a charred figure rising up and approaching a beast that was in conflict with several other people including Allard. ”Fucking hell that’s one hell of a monster.” He drew a Protection from Chaos rune on himself and drew his blade.

"Oh~ He's so cute when he's mad!" Nailah said after his clear protest to her touching him. That boy, even though cute had quite an attitude for his size... Not that it would stop Nailah, of course... Teasing him was really fun for her to stop like that.

Siiga also seemed to be enjoying herself by being around the others. Nailah was about to ask if they wanted to drink something, but Siiga was faster.

"Hey! I like the way you think girl!" Nailah said, winking to Siiga with a mischievous smile.

"I would gladly accompany you for a few drinks." she finished.

Differently from Bonnie, who seemed to pretty much hate all that, Lynn, was slowly opening herself, especially after Nailah mentioned she would like to hear her singing, which made Lynn really happy, going as far as talking a bit about her past and mentioning the songs that she learned siren songs to soothe the patients on the infirmary she grew up in.

"Oh please do! I would be really happy to hear them!" Nailah said with a kind smile to the Lassa girl.

Unlike Siiga though, Lynn was simply too naive regarding certain things, as it became evident when she mentioned there was no need for Siiga to get any drinks since she could summon water.

"Silly Lynn, she was talking about alcohol!" Nailah said, laughing, pinching Lynn's nose.
"Do you drink, my dear?" she asked, genuinely curious. Honestly, Nailah couldn't imagine such a sweet and pure thing like Lynn drinking alcohol, but it never hurts to ask.

That small reunion was indeed really pleasant, but Aeden's deep breath, suddenly standing up and staring at Nailah made her remember about Allard. Even though Nailah trusted Allard's strength, she could agree with his words. Sitting down and doing nothing while he was fighting was indeed really annoying...

After a long sigh, Nailah stood up, looking to Bonnie, Siiga and Lynn.
"We might have to leave the drinks for another time... Allard is taking quite some time to return... Something must have happened." Nailah said, looking to the group.

"Stay here with Siiga, Lynn. She will definitely protect you if anything happens. Oh, and Siiga, wait for me before you start drinking. Something tells me you might be a great drinking company!" Nailah said, laughing as she walked out of the Inn.

Lynn was about to answer when Aeden stood up to leave the room, followed shortly by Nailah. Lynn looked a bit disappointed in the two's quick departure, but she understood why they had to go. Shye looked to Siiga, "So, uh...how is...'drinking'. I've always heard it could be bad. But everyone always seems to be in good spirits when they do. Where we lived, we were underwater so we could see any lassa patient. We never really had to drink anything. On special occasions, when we went to the land area of Tearia, We would get different juices from the local fruits as a treat, but that was kind of few and far between." she said, reminiscing a bit about home.

Nyph hopped onto Aeden's seat when he rushed out the door. "I'll keep your seat warm, partner!"

He hated flying in the dark and knew he would not be much of a help if he could not see. Nyph made a great scout, but a terrible combatant. He lifted his head at the mention about drinks. "Drinks! I like drinks! Drinks are fun! Drinks help make interesting stories! What drink are you going to start with?

In a rare moment of politeness, Bonnie refrained from snapping at the two thickos. Well, be honest, the real reason was that he wanted a drink himself and insulting the people with the money was no way to endear yourself. Siiga, meanwhile, explained with the patience of a saint "I mean we're gonna get some beers and ciders, kick back and relax. You two in?"

Lynn nodded with a smile, "Sure! I think...but...just one. I'm not so sure about it yet. Oh, or I can get a cider! That's just juice, right? I can't remember last time I was able to have juice from the surface." Lynn was quite excited, as she could enjoy a rare treat while they had their drinks!



Shye didn't slow sown until she was in the forests south of town. There was a clearing that Mason had wanted her to meet him in, so she decided to make her way there. It was already nightfall in, though Shye was still able to see fairly well in the low light, picking her way through the forest carefully. after a while, she had made it to the clearing in the forest. It was decent sized, enough for what they had planned, but she wasn't comfortable watching for him in the open moonlight. She made her way to a tree at the edge of the woodline and easily climbed up it, finding a comfortable spot to sit and wait for Mason.

As time passed, Nix curled up on her shoulder for a nap. Though it seemed like neither of them would get much sleep. In the woods, they could both hear it. There was someone moving around throughout the forest, humming some sort of chant. There was a shiver in her spine at the sound of it. Who else could possibly be roaming around at this hour in the night? Surely that wan't Mason making all of that sound. And that humming, like an old chant of sorts. It wasn't long before she heard a rumbling, which got Nix's attention as well. Just as soon as she had heard it, a large creature rushed past her heading straight for pearl. Shye held on as the force of its passing rocked the tree she was in. She looked on wide eyes at the trail it left behind. "What the hell was that?"

Mason coughed up blood as he trudged through the dark. Though the already exhausted Taxis healers had tried their best-- they couldn't fully heal the wound Shye had given him; only having enough power to reattach his finger and stop the bleeding before bandaging him up. Normally, wounds like this would heal up in a day for Mason, but right now he was already nursing a third degree burn, and he didn't have that kind of time to wait. Step by step he marched on through the forest, flexing his partially healed finger as he went. Though it was pretty stiff and continued to hurt, it was at least somewhat usable by this point...

Mason froze in place as a deep, angry growl sent chills down his spine.

After several tense seconds, the young knight sighed in relief as he realized it was just his stomach. Since when did he get so hungry? Tragically, Mason's hasty departure caused him to neglect packing any food for snacks, and now he was paying for it. In an effort to take his mind off the hunger, Mason decided look for a flower or two to pick along the way for Shye as a gift. Oddly enough, the only flowers he came across were wilted and dying.... Was there something wrong with this forest? Every passing moment began to make Mason more and more unsettled as he neared the clearing, as if some dark presence was stalking him, creeping ever closer. Then he heard it-- snapping teeth, a whirling blade, and massive footsteps crashing against the ground; something was fighting here. Drawing his chaos blade, Mason charged toward the commotion; unsure of what awaited him.

Garrett's low, yet loud hymn would continue, in fact, as the sensation of knowing there was something charging, wailing, and blitzing its way towards his approach made his ritualistic incantation grow with zeal and fervor as he knew he would soon meet his goal, a spike in his current power through the conflict fated to cross his path in these lovely, corrupting woodlands. The chant was crisp and clear to those around him, he wanted it to be heard by the large thundering beast and anything that would interlope in his penitent journey of bloodseeking. It seemed the beast was already in a conflict, per chance of another hunter, or perhaps the mischievous members of his retinue that utilized their free will regardless on whether they have thought through their actions for the best possible outcome or not.

Garrett did not in any occupation of his status or roles wish for the boons of his journey to be squandered off to any other who did not seek the same effects of the kill. His gait became more hurried, he wished only a cut on whatever large, and powerful beast was running rampant this night, the consumption of such, would render The Blighted Knight more powerful from the consumption and absorption of the monster's essence. His hurried pace would lead him directly towards the conflict at the present, a hunter making great attempts to stop a beast from charging directly into town and killing everyone. Perhaps his incantation lured the beast in the direction of the city, or the hunter himself's attempt to slay the beast angered and expedited the large, corrupted, incorporeal monster's original plans out of anger. The chanting did not stop, now Garrett was on track on subduing the beast, catching onto it's movement and preparing himself to claw into the side of the beast and stop it in it's tracks.

"Hm..?" The Hunter looked underneath his hat to see two new arrivals. One nearly glowed in the dark as his seraphim wings and clean resonating armor reeked of a Aion knight. Whilst the other was nearly the opposite. Sporting dark armor in an intimidating fashion. This hunter tilted his hat to the newcomers. Though they may not see it through his back steps that sent him out of harms way by several feet. His blades moved with technique and precision as it made contact again with the beast, only swiping one of its several heads after it attempted to close its jaws onto him. The beast seemed to be unable to move elegantly with all of its heads attempting to move one way to the other. But with one foe it was easier, now with three it found itself mostly stationary. It let out a loud howl from a handful of its heads. This howl was a declaration that it will be taking this battle seriously. More than just hunting, this was survival for both sides.
The beast's many eyes began to give a fiery glow. Their movements more controlled as they seemed to be undergoing a sort of trance. Their aura spiking. The aura of an ancient creature like no other that roamed these forests. It was menacing, hungry, and deep. Unleashing like furious rays of sunlight from its eyes were direct beams that burned all it touched. The many heads focused the beams in all directions. Trees began to be cut down and set aflame. The battle was getting more serious. The hunter suffered an injury as he miscalculated the timing of their constant rays. He did find a counter, firing an arrow into the face of one that was trying to aim at him stopped it as it closed its eyes to wince. Disrupting its focus. Patting down the flame on his coat the hunter wondered if the other two were even still alive.

The beast seemed to be conflicted with itself. It's heads were not in unanimity on what the beast needed to do. This was perfect. It's wild and reckless abandon remind him quite of some of the untactfully sensed members of his team, more so knowing it was destroying without consequence in account for it's energy, health, or surroundings. It was likely concerned with its wellbeing however, seeing as none of these powerful sunbeams the beast shot from it's many eyes was hitting itself. That meant one would implore themselves to get closer to the beast to avoid hurting themselves from the powerful magic beams. Blight implored himself in such a manner, keeping low, he roadied himself quickly to the beast's side, if anything, finding the source of the blackened blood would prove to drain the creature faster knowing that it wasn't going to attack itself. He eyed the trail of ebony blood as it glistened in the moonlight as he rushed the creature, he was moving towards the wound which caused such a trail, all he needed was to touch the fresh blood in order begin what he needed to do.

Garrett clung to the creature, particularly, he clung to a part with ready access to the beast's painful wound a claw moving with swift fervor to stain his gauntlet. The stain itself was all he needed, the blackened blood that clung to his already blackened gauntlet began to bubble, it was no longer a stagnant ichor that remained where it fell, it started to defy Newtonian physics, magically floating over the gauntlet which dirtied itself to begin the process of consumption, it became a magnet that held near Garrett's knuckles, where one end was siphoning the blood from the wound of the beast, and another end, was transplanting the gathered, blackened essence straight into one of the slits of The Blight's helmet.
This wasn't normal blood. It felt more blighted than the man himself, corrupted by unworldly power, as if the beast's lifeforce was thrown into a pit of insanity. manipulated, prodded, and shaped into a beast with no remorse for anything, it's only goal to destroy, to feed, to rid the world of everything besides itself.

That essence, that power, regardless of how abyssally corruptive it was, was flowing straight into Garrett's body as his ritualistic, cultist-like chant began to grow more, more pained.
Absorbing just the sliver he did was enough to drive an inexperienced hunter mad with the twisted power that was flowing into them. Garrett was reminded of the power he was bestowed when he had the craziest idea to consume the first beast on one of his patrols as a fledgling knight. It was all coming back to him. The beast he fought was not the killer of his fellow men, rather, it was him. Mad with the corrupting power from these beasts. It was something he could not deal with at the moment. He noted that problem. He was going mad. His mind was a jigsaw puzzle thrashed by a toddler, a dark, twisted, incorporeal toddler of immense power. His cloth began to redden, his mind was only on taking the power of this beast to become stronger. That's what he wanted. Strength. Power... Destruction. His helmet would soon split, breaking off, and dropping onto the forest ground, in replacement was a sleek black helmet, seemingly the same color as the blood he consumed, a large, red spike poked out of the helmet, it glowed with hunger, soon, his arms and legs would be replaced with similar armaments, red spiked littering the new, blackened, incorporeal armor, the gauntlets that seemed human soon became large, red claws, sharp enough to cut the antennae off a bee, cordoned off by more, black, corruptive armor. The chant was now a scream, either of pain, or hunger for more power. It was overwhelming. Blight continued to siphon the blood from the beast, now making an attempt to use these furious claws to tear more wounds into the beast as he screamed at the consumption. He couldn't find any passive-aggressive quips to say in his head that could describe his thoughts at the moment. It was only to feed.



The intensity of the essence that flowed through Garrett from the blood seemed to make him go mad. A clear influence derived from the black blood. A sign of Nuxta's corruption. Once a young Nayu tried to drink this blood but found herself sick and ill because of it. Physically harming this fluid was to the body. But to one who fed for power rather than sustenance they would find the corrupted blood to be worthless. Unless it was the blood of a immortal beast. Whatever exact consequences this knight will undergo for consuming such a thing is to be seen in time...

Shye was nervous the whole time after seeing such a creature pass by her. but it wasn't until she heard the howl that she got really worried. It was from the direction of the town. "Mason..." she said quietly. He should have been here by now. Did the monster find him? Did he lie to her for some reason? Did she accidentally kill him? She shook her head to clear her thoughts, waking Nix in the process. She looked in the direction of the trail the beast took, and with a deep breathe, she jumped down from the tree, and followed the trail.

Mason's eyes widened in horror as the beast's howl vibrated through the air, nonetheless the Knight continued his charge, as he couldn't do anything if he didn't get in close..... As it's eyes lit up, Mason knew something was coming, and readied himself to dodge whatever was coming. The moment the beams of light shot forth, he took the air; saving his body but clipping his wing on a separate beam causing his speed to falter for a moment-- as he nearly fell to the ground. Thankfully, a knight clad in black armor jumped upon the beast; distracting it.

But something was off; that man quickly turned into a screaming, crimson-covered monster, brutally ripping away at the beast as it feasted upon it's blood.

Whatever was happening; Mason was going to stop it. After this man-creature finished killing the beast, he would no doubt move on the village, and cause further slaughter. Shooting even closer the many-headed beast, Mason swung around and landed on the creature's back. Igniting his sword with his dark flame, Mason plunged his blade into the creature's back and held on for dear life; it was time to end this. "Smother" he whispered as a dark cloud enveloped his eyes. All present; even Mason himself, (within 20 meters) would find themselves suddenly robbed of sight, sound, touch, smell, and even taste. A sickly black flame enveloped the seraphim's wings-- slowly eating them away. Alas, the ground all about the monster began so spout pillars of this dark flame; disintegrating all it touched, and leaving naught but grey ash in it's wake.

While in the air Allard nodded his thanks to Aeden as he turned in the air and headed south. By flight, it wasn't too far before he could see where the fighting was taking place. He looked down and saw the chaos ensuing. Allard saw the black fire from above and dove in, shaking the ground with his landing. He looked to the hunter next to him and nodded, then continuing with his regular chant, Allard's limbs started to glow, prepared for battle. Allard saw Mason on fire on the creature's back. "Mason! Hang on!" he shouted as he flew forward. He noticed his senses greatly dulled as he got close, wondering if it was the creature's aura that had this effect. The heads of the creature blocked his way to Mason, however. Allard dashed in , going below the monster and slamming into it with its fists, but the monster didn't seem to react at all, as if it wasn't feeling a thing.

Garretts rapid and tenacious form, and Masons reckless forward motion was a shock to the Hunter. As he watched to see the outcome. It was a bit too linear. Backing away at the sight of their invasion he sensed a risk he did not want to take. The beast was formidable. It's many heads choosing what to do as they saw fit. A few ending their fiery gaze as wounds formed on the beasts hide, the much smaller Garrett clawing away.

In the madness Garrett was scooped up by one of the jaws. Clasping down around him to grip onto what it could and swing him around like a toy in a pets jaws. It was only the attempted spell of Mason that would stop the creature momentarily. However unknown to Mason who had never battled a beast of this caliber not all the heads were affected by all forms of his spell.

Not one but two heads made a grab for Mason after he cast his spell. Unknown to his senses he was grabbed and tossed to the ground. One of the beasts heads suffering from the flames of his wings burning inside its mouth before it threw him down. Then pillars of flames erupted from below. With randomized direction it came up from below nearly everyone. But not directly under them. The flames flying up and burning trees as it began to harm all others near. All except the Hunter who leapt to the side and merely watched.

The beast snarled and stepped several meters backwards as it attempted to regain its focus. But many of the heads were disoriented.

Allard saw the three head coming at him, instead of jumping back, he jumped forward, ising his wings to quickly get out of the three heads that were on a collision coarse where he was standing. Sliding into a stop, he rolled around and jumped straight back at the three heads, aiming to strike the cemter on in the jaw, and then take a stance to wait for the other two heads' reaction, his wings now starting to glow as well.

The more the beast fought with them the more injured it would be. His armor sizzled and cracked from the flames Mason so carelessly used whilst allies were fighting. The more pain he found himself in, the more he knew he had to fight, to force all the pain away with more blood, whoever or whatever it may come from. All Blight could gander at the moment was to continue to slash and beat his corrupted claws against the monster. His roar was on par to the beast's as he continued to wail in a blood lusting rage, the more wounds he placed on the beasts's head, neck, or body, the more strands of blood would stream into the maw of the corrupted, horned helmet he wore whilst in this state. The more he consumed, the more wild his blows would be, the bigger his claws would be, the more he wouldn't feel the pain of being thrashed about by the maw of one of the beast's heads, it was a battle of endurance now. Something Blight was known to have, especially without recognizing the pain he was in.

As he was flung off of the beast's back, Mason's head struck a rock, promptly causing him to pass out. Without Mason actively maintaining them, both the immolation and smother were no longer in effect. The black flames slowly faded, revealing Mason's wings to be horribly charred, and black. For several seconds he lay there unresponsive; perhaps even appearing to be dead.

But this was not the end.

It started with a twitch, a shudder, a spasm, and then there was nothing..... The seraph slowly rose to his feet and brandished his blade once more. With a slow movement he relocated his shoulder with a 'POP' as he strode toward the beast almost casually; his expression concealed by shadows of the night. As the warrior approached the Teju, a subtle shudder began to overtake him, slowly gathering more and more intensity as small sparks began to bounce off the the hilt of his blade every so often.



After Allards display of perseverance he was lucky enough to land a blow on the center head. Damaged but not out the center head seemed dazed. The claws of the beast went for Allard. First the left then the right finally the second head made a bite from above.

The constant thrashing of Garrett was enough to turn this burned creature into a clever one in comparison. Though they knew not it's limit to being affected by lower spells of amateur casters.
With another fiery glow the eyes of these beasts began to reform. Their sight regaining through a focused aura igniting into over several rows of destruction once again. With little means of avoiding their renewed sight Garrett who was deaf, blind, and numb was pummeled by multiple rays. These were also directed towards Mason as he approached confidently.

The Hunter looked to Aeden who had appeared from the forest. No doubt from Pearl. " Hm.." He tilted his hat.

As the beams rushed towards him once again, the young seraph suddenly broke into a low sprint; strafing around toward the Teju's back. This time however, the few beams that struck his charred form; though tearing a rather sizable hole in his right wing, did little to faze or interrupt him. Closer and closer he slowly drew; his body shaking wildly as small, erratic arcs of electricity began to race across his armor.

Allard used his wings to guard the impacts of the claws, shoving them away with ease, thoigh the claws did rip into the webbing of his wings as he knocked them aside. The head that went to strike him, however, may fair much worse. When it came down, he grabbed the jaws between his hands, and pushed to force it apart to break it. Once completed he would attempt holding on with one hand as he drew his heavy blade in his right hand and swinging down to lop off its head.

The head of the beast was harder to cut off than expected. It only being cut deeply by the swing but enough to render this beast head nearly incapacitated. It was the other heads too focused on Mason that let it happen. However it took only one head to fend off Garrett who was still affected by the spell Mason cast for a bit longer. Though his resistance increased due to his consumption of the beasts blood.

It was two free heads that were aiming to Garrett now to Allard. Unleashing their fiery gaze at Allard simultaneously. While the others prepared to bite into Mason as he drew into range.



As soon as she was outside, Nailah saw Aeden sprinting. Starting to run herself, she quickly caught up to him.

"I'll be going ahead. Be prepared for anything." Nailah said, with a neutral tone as she dashed into the woods, disappearing into it.

Tracking where Allard was wasn't difficult as the sounds of battle echoed through the woods. Arriving on the place where the fight was going on, Nailah suddenly stopped, raising her eyebrows after seeing the scene in front of her. It was a complete mess... Not just one but two monsters were fighting against each other surrounded by Mason, Allard and a strange hunter Nailah had never seen before.

One of the monsters, a beast with many heads with a frightening size, fought with reckless abandon against all who stood in front of it, including the other monster, a corrupted monstrosity, clad in a dark armor and using it's corrupted claws to attack the beast. Both the beast's howl and the corrupted creature's screaming chant, coupled with the noises of spells being cast and flesh being ripped create a hellish music, which was echoing through the forest turning that scenery a lot more disturbing.

Arriving a few moments after, Aeden also seemed to be surprised by what he saw. Even though Nailah was the one who said to be prepared for anything, both of them couldn't help but be surprised at the chaotic scene in front of them.

Just as Aeden drew his blade though, Nailah simply extended her arm, stopping him. Simply rushing in amongst that chaos was a terrible idea. The beast was already a dangerous enemy, but if that wasn't enough, the lack of coordination between those who were fighting it and the crazed corrupted warrior made it even worse. Nailah didn't know if the corrupted warrior would attack her or not, the only thing it was certain is that it was completely focused on the beast... for now...
"Don't rush. Everyone there is pretty much just mindlessly attacking and casting spells without even coordinating with each other. Being hit by one of them by mistake won't be just probable... It's almost certain..." Nailah whispered to Aeden, as she walked away from him, suddenly disappearing behind a tree.

Walking around the battle site, silently stalking it's prey almost like a predator would to to it's prey, Nailah carefuly analyzed the battle. The beast was the biggest threat right now, just before the corrupted warrior. Since the other monster was so focused on fighting against the beast, it would be wise to use that to her advantage. Let both monsters wound and tire each other, that would give her enough openings to attack and disappear shortly after. But first, she should calmly analyze her target. The beast was undeniably strong. It's sheer size, strength and endurance weren't it's only weapons, the many heads, it's powerful jaws and it's ability to fire a beam from it's eyes.

While silently walking around where the fight was going on, hidden by her ability and the trees, Nailah saw as the beast fired those beams. It was truly an devastating attack, but at the same time, gave her an idea. The beast couldn't possibly use that attack again if it had no eyes to use... Getting close enough was the problem, especially with so many people throwing attacks at the beast... Even with Nailah's agility and speed, the chances of her being hit were pretty high. Cutting it's heads also seemed to be effective, but that wasn't an option for Nailah, who fought using her claws, talons and tail. She would have to be smart about it. Fighting a big creature like that was different than fighting a descended...

"A weak spot...?" Nailah mumbled to herself, carefully analyzing the situation while still moving around silently, looking for openings.

Undaunted by the heads that lay in wait to strike, Mason drew even closer to the beast; the shuddering now nearing a violent level. The smell of Ozone clung to the air as the arcs of electricity continued to grow, coursing through the air around Mason as they licked the ground. Just as he neared the beast's range, Mason stopped just outside it's striking distance; almost as if taunting the creature.

Aeden raised an eyebrow as Nailah raised her arm as if to hold him back from charging forward. ”It seems you’re used to people charging into battle without a plan of action. I am so sorry.”

While he was only briefly surprised by the beast itself, the real surprise was the mess of the battle going on before him. ”If we can pull back the injured so I can heal them while those at near one hundred percent hold it off I am sure we can come up with a good plan to deal with this monster.”

He realized at this point he was effectively talking to himself as Nailah had left him to carefully observe the beast. He bristled slightly before shaking his head. "Well this is going to be easy."

Blight was no longer in the sopor that he found himself to be due to poor communication and bad teamwork overall, he could see, he could hear, he could feel. All of his senses were back. They all pointed towards pain, suffering. He had to fight. But he had to think. The only way to win against his own devices was to subdue the overwhelming taint of the corrupted blood he consumed. Think Garrett. Think. Why are you losing this fight? He shouted in anger, louder than the beast's pained howls. It was mostly of pain, but of realization on the idiotic thing of not harnessing the power as it comes. The worst thing to do with an abundance of anything that is volatile is to let it fester and leave it to it's own devices. What Garrett. What Blight needed was a counterbalance, to equalize the immense power that he was receiving, his eyes looked around for an outlet, everything was a dark shade of red, he was seeing through blood, either of his, or of the beast's, he was in pain, being thrashed about and scorched by the beams of the corrupted guardian.
Of course. The movement was too much. He hated the feeling of being waved about in the maw of a beast. He hated those burning eyes. He had too much blood going into him he couldn't properly siphon the essence out of the blood at a reasonable rate. He had to do something spontaneous, something big, something that would return control of his bloodlust. He gauged himself, propping his large red, blood-shapen claws against the fleshy interior of one of the beast's mouths, giving him room away from the crushing power of the jaws as he prepared his attack. The large, magnetized and magical siphoning orb of blood shot away from Garrett's person, over the beast itself. If Garrett needed something powerful to get him in control, he'll use what his mind believed was a brilliant idea in killing and taking over the beast and its powers. The orb became a flat sheet over the length of the beast's body, continuously draining what is inside of the beast, in a sense, he was going to give it back to the beast. In another form. It started to rain black blood, but not a heavy, quick rain, a slow, procedural rain, that emitted from the sheet of blood, it wasn't rain, large, blood-shapen spears from the black corrupted ichor, sized like those a statue overlooking a river would wield, in girth and in length, once formed, they would shoot down, into the body or whatever the physical embodiment of the beast was, impaling or stabbing through the beast, in order to hold it in place, hopefully stabbing into the neck of the head that was thrashing the poor blighted knight about.

Allard was about to pick up the neck of the incapacitated head of the beast to guard from the fiery beams, but just as he did a dark spear pierced through his left thigh, making him drop the creature, shouting in pain from it and now the beams hitting him in the chest. He quickly covered himself with his wings, rather taking damage there than anything vital. At that moment he pulled the spear out of his leg, and then bursting from the cover of his wings, he would throw it at one of the heads, while making a swing at the other with his blade. If he could knock these two out without getting impaled further, he may be able to get to the man who was trapped in one of the other head's teeth. "HOLD ON, I'M COMIN' FOR YA!"

Shye could hear the battle raging on as she had approached. While she was using the trail that the creature had taken, She had split off into the trees as her doppelganger continued ahead. The doppelganger ran full tilt toward the fight until she arrived to the scene, sliding on her feet to a stop, the tails of her dress and dust kicking up in front of her briefly from the sudden stop.. She then maneuvered into the tree line herself. This way she had a sight on the creature from two different perspectives, looking for a the prime opportunity to either move in or watch Mason, but something felt off to her as she watched him. She let out a light gasp as she saw his wings charred to black, Nix letting out a small chirp of worry about all the commotion. She would have moved in already, but there were dark spears raining down on the creature. Although she was highly skilled at evading, she doubted she could make it through that unscathed.

With a bloody roar the beasts many heads let out cries of pain. Impaled by the spears from above the beast released Garrett and was planted in place. It's many heads were not entirely unharmed. Two heads were impaled by the neck. They were dying slowly but were able to still release a fiery glare to the first foe they could focus on. Allards size made him an easier target.

The beams cutting the spears he launched and deflecting heating his blade up immensely. One being hit by such a blade being cut with a sizzling wound. However the handle of Allards sword would heat up. With three unpained heads able to move they began biting and clawing at the spears, bending them and breaking them. It would be free soon enough.

With the monster both distracted, and restrained, Mason stepped forward; his body jerking wildly as electricity surged around him. He lunged toward the base of the nearest neck, aiming to drive his blade into the creature. Energy burst forth through the sword the moment contact was made, causing a deafening explosion and blinding flash-- leaving horrid second degree burns all down Mason's arm.

Everything was going to Garrett's impromptu plan. It was a very haphazard plan that was relying on the right pieces to move into the right place, as if it were a real-time action chess game with no pause for decisions. As the beast threw his body away from the pained maw, he used the momentum to guide himself towards a tree, movement, speed, movement. Movement would be perfect for the plan Garrett was coming up with on the spot. His clawed, corruptively armored feet connected with the bark of one of the trees in this clearing, like a swimmer kicking off to boost their approach back, he slammed enough force against the tree to fracture it, shatter it, even, with the amount he required to shoot himself back towards the beast, spiraling due to the position of his feet during his jump back, spinning, in particular, towards it's chest. This wouldn't be enough to pierce the beast, maybe stab it, but that wouldn't do much. Garrett you bastard, think further ahead, what can you do? My thoughts exactly. The orb zoomed back to Garrett's being, but not to stay in one place, in fact, it began to swirl around him as he zoomed in mid-air, quickly spinning around his being, adding more and more force to the spiral motion he was performing, as if he were a screw, spinning towards a plank of wood to pierce through, with enough spinning force, the screw wouldn't be just a screw, when they pass through the object they pierce, they would be considered a drill. That was Garrett's plan, to drill through the beast, his arms were raised in front of him, the sharp, spinning claws perpendicular to the Beast's body as he shot towards it, the sooner this thing was dead, the sooner Garrett could collect himself better.

Allard swapped his blade to his left hand so it wouldn't burn anymore, then proceeded to bring the blade down on the other head, hopefully taking it down as well. but there still more that turned their attention on him and unleashed their gaze. He tried guarding this time until he could move forward to attack, but he couldn't hold out. At that moment, his divine protection spell burst, and anything that wasn't hitting his arm or his blade seared in pain as the beams cut full force into him. He was able to reach one more head, and with a mighty war cry, concentrated his shadow skill to his right arm as he bashed it in the face. The burning continued for only a moment more as something else with a sickening ripping sound made impact with the monster.

Two impacts, one after another rocked the beast back, breaking the spears as it fell back. A mist of blood from its hulking size cams pouring out. Black with a crimson tint under the moonlight. One of the heads were blown a hole into it and incompacitated. While the side of the creature was deeply pierced by Garrett. Yet it was not dead. Now freed from its cage and bleeding profusely it began moving in a blood crazed charge. Attempting to trample over Garrett and towards Allard. Its four remaining heads now freed began firing their flaming glares at everyone near it. One to Allard. Two to Mason and one on Garrett. Though the beams moved about wildly. Cutting down the forestation and threatening to hit Aeden and Nailah. The Hunter avoiding the scene as trees fell around them. If they made the wrong move they would be hit.

Just one focued on him, he could handle this. Allard used his arm to guard the beam, which would have worked if it wasn't going crazy, and with each step he made toward's the creature, he could feel everywhere the beams had hit him before. The beam veered of coarse, cutting down a tree, and he quickly braced himself. Allard's body started to glow as his power spread throughout himself, something he wasn't sure he could do fully. He caught the tree stopping it from falling, he grunted with effort as he turned towards the beast, it's beam coming back to hit him again briefly across the chest as the monster writhed out of control. This made Allard stumble for a moment with the tree in his arms before rearing back, similar to how he did in the throwing tournament, his power moving to his back and arms as he put his body into it. He then lurched forward, slamming the tree down on top of the monster.

Shye, seeing that Mason was targeted by two of the beast's heads, ran into action, her and the doppelganger bursting from the tree line coming in from different sides. With much grace and agility, she weaved across the battlefield as if she was a piece of the chaos itself, seeing where things would land and where the beams would most likely travel based on its movements. while erratic there was a light pattern of movement. Shye used her claws to gain purchase and climb up to the two heads that were focusing on Mason, holding on with her legs. Once there, she would ball both her fists up, creating a charge, and slam both of them down on its head, riding the propulsion from the blasts off it's neck and back to the ground. which semed to be just in time for a tree to crash over the monster as well.

Garrett was not relenting, the beam seared into the shoulder-plate of solid, blackened blood-steel, causing another, forest-shaking shout from the bloodzerker.. He had the beast right where he wanted it. He jammed his claws into the wound he created, keeping himself clung to the beast's body as he tugged out what seemed to be a thick enough cord within the body of the beast. He was not wasting time. He tore out a tubular organ from the beast. He snipped the ends off with the sharp ends of his claws, holding the newly acquired organ like a garotte. He used the body of the beast as his own path to make it to one of the attacking heads, jumping onto the base of it's neck and wrapping the corrupted blood-spurting organ donation, all the while the orb siphoning the blood of the beast continued to get larger and larger. He was getting impatient, the more he let the orb lay complacent, the more he would lose his own mind. He tightened the hold of the organ around the beast's neck, essentially strangling it as he allowed the orb to raise up over the beast one more time, the process of another wave of blood-crafted spears incoming as he preoccupied himself with violently choking out one of the heads.

Aeden paced around the chaotic fight. He made a great effort to maintain a safe distance from the battle. He was quite fascinated by the beams of energy emitting from the beast itself, but he could not remain distracted by it for too long as they swung around due to a couple large blows by Allard and the others. Light on his feet, he made a serious effort to avoid being struck dancing around gracefully as he heard the snap of the trees around them as each beam ripped through them.

He then saw an opportunity and with some concentration summoned a spear of divine energy. Not pure to his disappointment, but raw elemental divinity. While he had the basics of this spell it proved difficult to train as even with his powerful bloodline he found it a challenge to create a true Divine Spear, so a Blessed one would have to be enough. Only with further training would he be able to push his limits further, and he would only achieve that through real combat like this.

Another errant beam singed Aeden's sword arm as he launched the spear with a well-exercised throw toward the monster as he found an opening at a decent flank he felt confident he could avoid hitting allies. He was certainly within the thirty paces needed for the spear to sink in although the elemental divinity would evaporate shortly after dealing damage. The pain hardly bothered him although it did hurt, and he did not even bother healing the damage as he needed to conserve his energy for the job to come.

He could see many of the people fighting the beast were injured in one way or another while a single hunter appeared to be simply watching the battle. Aeden decided to change tack and keep an eye on the hunter while avoiding taking damage, so he could be fully ready to heal those in need of it.

No one was dying on his watch tonight. Not if he could help it.

Shooting forward, Mason ducked under the oncoming laser; narrowly managing to avoid the initial beams. Electricity crackled across his blade once again (albiet much weaker than the longer charged attack) as the young knight leaped into an upward slash; aiming cut from throat to chin on the head that Shye hadn't attacked. Planting his foot on the beast's neck as he reached the top of his swing, he thrust himself away from the Teju just in time for the tree to come down on top of it.

Despite Nailah being carefully analyzing the situation, things were only going from bad to worse, since apparently, none of them knew how to cooperate with each other. They were honestly, as big of a threat against each other than the beast and the corrupted warrior were to them. Nailah had already lost count of how many times they wounded allies with their attacks. The last area attack, made by the corrupted warrior made Nailah lose the perfect chance to hit the beast as it conjured a rain of black spears made with the blood of the beast, hitting everyone, including Allard.

"As if those laser beams weren't bad enough, I have to deal with these idiots..." Nailah thought to herself, rolling her eyes after a long sigh.

Almost like the beast could hear Nailah's thoughts, as soon as she thought that, the beast proceeded to use the lasers once more, hitting pretty much everything around it, including cutting a lot of trees around the area. Evading the beams and the falling trees was not difficult for Nailah, but with that last attack, she had completely given up on that battle.

"THAT'S IT! I GIVE UP! Kill yourselves for all I care... I will sit right over here and wait till either you're dead and I have to clean your mess or to carry the survivors back to the inn." Nailah said, suddenly appearing from amongst the fallen trees around the are where they were fighting and sitting on a tree stump with an incredibly irritated expression and a piercing gaze to all of them, including Allard who had a lot of wounds covering his body. For anyone who took a look at her expression, it was clear that they would have an earful after the beast was dealt with.

"I could be drinking and relaxing now, or even getting ready to sleep, but no... I had to come over here and babysit you guys to be sure you would come back alive... I actually lost the count of how many times you guys hurt your own allies by using your powers without thinking! Are you actually trying to kill yourselves?!" Nailah asked, putting her palm on her face while slowly shaking her head in disappointment.

She could easily understand why the hunter was simply watching the fight without getting close. Whoever he was, he knew that going in right now was simply begging to be killed... by friendly fire...
Honestly, Nailah would even have tried to put some order at all that, but she was too frustrated with what was going on. For god's sake, Nailah wasn't a soldier or something like that, but even her knew better than to simply attack wildly without any planning or consideration with your own allies...

A few meters away from Nailah, she the hunter standing still, watching the entire situation unroll together with Aeden, who didn't seem to compeltely trust the hunter yet.

"You guys don't want to sit down? It might take a while for this to end... Honestly... At this point I'm really hoping that they get really hurt and wounded. I don't want them to die, but they need to learn a lesson.." Nailah said to both men, clearly frustrated as she pointed forwards two other stumps which were recently cut by the beast's laser, right next to hers.

After the simultaneous efforts of everyone at the scene no one was killed and the beast, a heap beneath a fallen tree and a pool of black blood flowing outwards. Affecting the natural surroundings with a decaying scent. But unmoving otherwise. Appearing dead, many of its heads bloodied and disfigured. It's organs hanging from out of its glistening hide. The Hunter soon approached the fallen creature. He cut and then reached into its chest and began to yank out a beating core. It's circular shape emitted a pulsating energy. Crimson blood flowed from this core. Blood that glowed in the night...

Garrett stood atop the collapsed, deceased beast's corpse, stabbing his claws into the deceased body of it. All until The Hunter would remove the beating heart from the beast, the fresh smell of a crimson, magical essence enrapturing Blight and his attention. He paused his mindless stabbing of the beast, turning and hopping off the beast to approach the hunter, and the heart, a single claw pointing at the heart, demanding it to be surrendered to the bloodzerker, as the only noises he could make were grunts, pants, and rough groans at the Hunter. His other claw splayed open, ready to swipe at whatever was in front of him were he to be provoked.

Shye was currently back in the treeline again, while she somewhat knew of Mason, she didn't know these others, save for that one woman, the one who snuck behind her last time. Both her and her doppelganger watched to see how the events unfolded, though it was also at this time that her doppelganger faded away due to her running out of time, So now Shye watched alone. She wasn't sure if she should walk out right now, not trusting any body else that was there. Nix, who was flying above, Dove into the woods and took a roundabout way back to Shye's shoulder, to keep people from watching it go straight to her.

Allard Sheathed his blade before falling to a knee, grunting with the exertion. New wounds spread across his body, and not all from the monster. His breathing was heavy, the wounds were deep, but even without medical care, he should make it. Though, now that the adrenaline was starting to wear down, the pain from the wounds were setting in. He watched the hunter pull an odd prize from the beast and the dark knight went to him, claiming it was his. Now, normally, Allard would agree with the dark knight that since he participated in killing it while the hunter watched, the hunter had no right to it. But he wasn't sure about the dark knight. An evil aura seemed to flow from his being, his ferociousness evident in his technique. Allard then looked over to Mason, noticing he seemd quite rough as well. Looking around further he saw Aeden and Nailah had followed. Allard then may have done something a bit odd to some considering the situation. He smiled and started laughing heartily.

"So you actually came anyway?" Allard leaned back and landed on his back against the ground, laying out his body. "When I got here tha fight was already goin'. I saw Mason and this other knight with their hands full an tried ta help 'em, bu got entangled with the beast m'self." Allard breathed heavily for a few moments. "Didn't think they'd be rainin' spear down on top 'a me though. At least everyone is safe fur now." he said as his breaths got slower as he calmed down. "Can't imagine what stirred it up. It could've easily done a number on tha town." Allard sat in silence for a moment before he remembered something he saw during the fight. "Did anyone else see some twin lasses attack at that last moment, or was I hit a bit too hard on the head?" Allard was unaware that his shadow arm was showing. It was pitch black, darker than the night around them, with wisps of dim, pale red and black trailing off of it randomly here and there. He was so used to his glove being there and wrapped up in the fight, that he didn't notice it missing as he laid there.

Aeden remained wary for a few moments after the beast collapsed. Another beast-like creature continued to tear into the corpse before it started growling at the hunter. Aeden took a few moments to realize that the other beast was actually a person, and the others were not attacking him. He looked over to see Allard fall to a knee. The charred person he carefully looked at and finally saw the Aion armor he was so familiar with.

How could a fellow Aion be in such a state? They were trained to be much more careful to avoid receiving as much damage as he appeared to have taken, and Aion field-healers like himself were trained even harder than that. The only conclusion he could make was the young man was very newly recruited. Allard laughed and mentioned something about Aeden and Nailah coming after all, but all else of his chatting was lost on Aeden as his attention was on his fellow Aion.

From his quick assessment it appeared that his fellow Aion was in the worst state out of everyone present, so he approached.

”You’re in serious shape,” Aeden placed his hand on the shoulder of his fellow. ”My name is Aeden Demavend. I am an Aion Knight like yourself. Let me heal you these are some serious wounds.”

Ignoring Aeden completely, Mason approached the hunter; his eyes locked almost hypnotically on the glowing core. Stepping past the black knight, it was clear that he was either completely oblivious to the threat of the bloodzerker, or entirely unafraid of angering the maddened warrior despite his current injuries.
"May I see that core for a moment?" he asked in a low, gravelly tone as he held out his uninjured hand to receive the core.

Aeden glowered at the other Aion for a few moments. He considered for a moment chopping the back of his head with a bare hand to get his attention and then chewing him out, but he felt the cost-benefit was just not worth it. Not only did his fellow Aion ignore him though, he in spite of his injuries approached the hunter whom was right next to basically what amounted to a feral man, and he then asked to inspect the core of the monster just slain for some odd reason.

He could not fathom such an injured fellow walking up next to an obvious potential threat and asking for something said threat had an obvious desire for. Aeden had no need for unwarranted disrespect and someone so willing to walk into a volatile location while in absolutely terrible shape clearly had no interest in being healed. He turned away and headed to Allard.

”Looks like your concerns were correct about this danger,” Aeden commented with a neutral expression. ”Good instincts to investigate this. I hope the protection spell did its job. Still you could do with some healing.” He prepped to cast his Cure Wounds. ”Ready to get fixed up, Allard?”

After a great deal of effort, they managed to kill the beast. Unfortunately, they were all still alive despite their efforts. The hunter, whom understandably stepped away after the others arrived simply went to the beast to take out it's core while the corrupted dark knight simply kept mauling it even though it was already dead. Nailah didn't know exactly why no one seemed to even care about the other monster, but they all stopped fighting as if the confrontation was over. Nailah couldn't help but keep looking at the core the hunter had pulled out of the beast. She wondered exactly what it was... Especially seeing how it was pulsating with energy and crimson blood flowing out of it.

Allard, whom was in a sorry state after being pierced by the black spears, attacked by the beast and his friends alike, finally noticed Nailah, sitting down on a tree stump. Laying on the ground, exhausted and wounded, Allard finally talked to Nailah, saying how he didn't expect to be struck by the spear and that at least everyone was safe.

Aeden also noticed how bad everyone's state was. Although it made Nailah really annoyed that the first one he cared about was Mason, another Aion knight... Despite that, was helpful that he had come with her, Carrying Allard back to the inn wasn't something Nailah was looking forward to... Of course, she was much stronger than a normal woman due to her dragon blood, but Allard was still REALLY big and REALLY heavy...

"Sure Aeden... The only one that matters for you is the other 'Aion Knight' Isn't it?" Nailah said, looking to him. When Mason completely ignored his words, walking towards the hunter, Nailah couldn't help but let out a smirk. He really deserved it. After all, Allard was literally laying on the ground exhausted and he went for the Aion knight first...
"That is what you call safe?!" Nailah said, getting up and walking towards Allard with a piercing stare.

"Look at yourself! You're all wounded! And at least HALF of those wounds were made by your OWN ALLIES!" Nailah said, putting her hands on her hips and leaning forward where allard was laying down.

"I can't believe on how STUPID you are sometimes! Could you at least think a bit better before just rushing towards an enemy without even caring about your own safety? Honestly, I'm surprised that you guys are still alive." she continued with the sermon, now extending it to the entire group as she looked at each one of them with a really scary expression.

"Simply going around casting spells and attacking mindlessly without even caring for your allies! I could have easily blinded the beast... It could be much, MUCH easier if I did so, especially due to it's laser beams... But if you guys think I would jump in the middle of that chaos just to be hit by an ally, you're all nuts. In fact, I'm GLAD that I didn't. You deserve every single scratch and wound you guys have right now, I would say it's not even enough! No wonder why the hunter simply stood watching when you guys arrived." Nailah continued. Looking to every single one of them, including Allard.

"And you guys don't even care finishing what you started." Nailah said, pointing towards the corrupted warrior as it pointed its claws to the hunter, demanding the heart.

Before she got near it though, she heard Mason completely ignoring Aeden and walking towards the hunter, asking with a rather strange tone for the Hunter to hand that core to him while completely ignoring the corrupted creature pointing it's claws at them, obviously in a hostile posture. Honestly, after seeing how the group handled that fight, she didn't trust them that much in any dangerous situation.
The second she got nearby Mason and the Hunter, she simply pointed up to the black blood, still floating and ready to drop more spears. That coupled with the creature's hostile posture should be more than enough to make them realize the situation they were in right now.

Using Mason and the Hunter's bodies to cut line of sight with the creature, she seemed to simply disappear the second she walked behind them. With her eyes fixed on the creature, she dashed around the group, getting behind the creature.

If anyone paid enough attention to the creature's general direction, they would see Nailah's claws ominously reflecting the moonlight, contrasting with the dark forest behind them. It wasn't hard to imagine what she was going to do. It would be one single, swift strike to the back of the creature's neck

After the core was freed from the mound of flesh that remained from the fallen beast the Hunter was the center of attention. At least for those craving power. "Hm?" He looked up to see the dark knight ferociously eyeing him and his possession. Then approached the seraphim right after. The complaints of those around him was of great necessity. But hardly adhered to. The Hunter looked at the two with a cold stare. "If ya want this core. You'll have to trade me this beasts entire luxurious hide. Only thing that'll be worth tha same." He didn't seem fazed by the odd and beast like nature of the two. "But you two... you've been bitten and it won't do ya any good." He put his blades away, forming an x on his back.

He drew his crossbow. "Might be best I do ya a favor and stamp out the curse."

Blight stopped. He could hear words. Understand them. Something was wrong other than the fact he was a hulking beast. His claws dropped to his sides, tips marking the ground. He nodded. He couldn't speak. Not yet. His armor, corrupted as it was from the essence he already absorbed. He could only grunt that he understood he was, at the moment, cursed. He raised a claw, pointing at the beast, then to the heart, then to his chest. It was a signal of a confirmation of a trade, and confirmation he was ready to get de-cursed through the most rudimentary of means. His mind was back to him, more so that the fact that the beast was dead and he could take his time absorbing what he could from the blood before discarding the remaining, unusable substance.

"Take the hide." Mason responded coldly, "I have little use for it regardless...." Slowly, the hole in his wing began to close, little by little, as the conversation continued. "And what might this curse, as well as 'stamping it out' entail?" the young Seraph asked skeptically as he watched the hunter procure his crossbow, "Regardless, I will not leave until that core sees my hands at least once. After that, do with it what you will."

Allard smirked up to Nailah. "Not dead is safe in these woods at night." He sat up, and used his blade to help pull himself up to his feet, sheathing it once he stood. "My arrival spared them many injuries as well, probably fatal ones. Though, I could have been better off with out some of tha....help... as it were."

Aeden walked up to him inquiring about his protection spell and offered his aid. "It worked well for a little while, though it broke after a few hits from this beast. Hold off for a moment though with your healing spells, I want to make sure this is over..."[/color] he said as he watched the three discuss who was getting the core. It surprisingly seemed to be going well, despite the threats the hunter made with his crossbow, it seemed that they were still negotiating, the corrupted warrior slowly calming down from his berserk state. It was shortly after this however, there was a glint of something behind the coruppted knight that caught Allard's eye. When Allard focused on it, he could barely make out Nailah's form, though once he knew he saw her, she seemed to appear clearly to him. "Nailah, wait." Allard said, in a low tone that carried well, one hand slightly raised in a 'hold on' type gesture. He didn't know who this man was yet, but he wanted to know who he was at least before anybody tried to attack him.

With a low unamused chuckle the Hunter replied. "This curse is new and more dreadful because of it." He lowered his bow after seeing the wing slowly heal. He took out the arrow. Eyeing Garrett beneath his hat for a moment before placing another arrow, one a bit thicker and all ebony. His crossbow had enchanted writings all over its sides and was reinforced with steel. He pulled the arrow back the bow ready to fire.

"No cure found yet. Beyond death. A gift from tha lord of death.." He revealed his own wound which was black and spreading. "You'll become a husk of ya former self. Mindless. Sometimes mean, most of the time pathetic." He pointed to the blood of the beast on the ground with his bow. "This curse is spreading throughout this forest now. I hoped to kill tha beast with less bloodshed... ah no matter." He tossed the core into the air toward Mason and Garrett, giving it hang time as he stepped toward the carcass. "It's yours. I only need the money to get a special someone somewhere safe before this curse spreads throughout this world." He pulled out his blade and knelt down. Carving away at the silver scales.

As the core was tossed in the air, Mason shot off the ground and grabbed the pulsating orb.... Only to land and examine it for a moment before tossing it to the black knight, much of it's glow lost save for the blood itself-- almost as if something had vanished from it. Mason scoffed as he treaded off toward where he had intended to meet Shye, "A curse is of little threat to me-"

With a shudder, Mason's voice returned to normal, as if nothing had ever been wrong in the first place, "Go to Pearl, there is a woman there that can free you from the curse. I'm sure she'd be more than willing to help."

With that, Mason walked off into the dark of the forest..... Alone.

Garrett held his large corrupted gauntlet out to catch the bloodletting heart, the black sheet he was consuming losing integrity as it starts to rain blackened blood over them, Garrett now focusing his power to absorb the glowing blood. His helmet, finally, splitting in half, and deconstructing, rather, instead of being destroyed at the rejuvenating power of the fresh source of blood, fastening itself to his shoulders as if preparing itself to be put on and locked in place at a moments notice. He can finally breathe fresh air, and smell. Smell blood rain. His face was laid bare to the world and those who had no clue who was behind the helmet. Now they could see it wasn't a beast, nor some random Gaian corrupted by a beast's blood. It was Garrett Everard, the pathfinder of the retinue. He looked around, blood red markings ingrained atop his skin, revealing the more ritualistic side of the hunter of the alliance.

"Ah. Perhaps that was what this beast was after. A cure." He muttered as he tossed a silver scale into the forming pile of others he was carving out. "Too bad it didn't make it." He chuckled. The black blood rolling off his hat from above.

Shye was a bit farther down the path, waiting for Mason to meet up with her. Nix got his attention by flying out to him and then returning to Shye. Shye honestly wasn't sure what to think at the moment. For one, Mason was heavily injured, and for another, something didn't seem quite right with the way he was acting before. It wasn't like the person she met in the tent. Was he faking for some reason, either with them or her? She held her judgment in words, though a look of worry was on her face. "Are you...alright?" she asked, glancing at his arm and back up to him.

Allard watched as the knight revealed himself to be none other than the man tasked to guide the alliance group along their path. "Garrett? It was you under that armor this whole time? But hold on.... wasn't he out with Raquel? When did he leave out here? Where was Raquel now? Allard's face darkened as he looked at the man, pushing past Aeden. "Wait.... Why are you here? Where is Raquel?" he asked hurriedly. The girl was like a niece to Allard, her and his daughter being close friends before the incident. If he was here, then that could have meant the whole time they were under attack, he couldn't have been sure if he was by her side. "Tell me. Now."

Content to generally watch and wait, Tali kept to the skirts of conversations, keeping an eye out for oddities. The howl, though, got her to react. To her servitor, she gave an order. "Stealth. Observe and report upon next contact." Her servitor gave a salute of some sort before following the order and disappearing around the corner of the building.

Tali then watched the debacle of a guy with obviously too much machismo going to check out the howl. "You know, for a defender of the area, he sure wants to abdicate his post for the sake of glory. I cannot agree with his desire for a fight. After all, the best fight is one avoided." She went into the inn and found a chair close to the hearth, finding some more comfort in the heat. She cast a spell of protection on her equipment before setting her bare feet within the flames to enjoy the fire.

Aeden scanned the forest around him while Allard suggested he hold off with his healing until they knew for sure this was all over. Wise enough words. Even so, the break was a obvious opportunity to take some advantage of healing. He grasped his burned arm and healed it thoughtlessly. The injury was not that serious, but distractions caused by it could be nothing short of lethal in the right circumstances.

He spotted wisps of energy down the path the Aion Knight walked and then his eyes settled on the Aion Knight himself. Something was very very wrong. He could not see it before with all the lingering essence of magic spread throughout the battlefield, however now that the man was farther from the mess he could see it. He concentrated his vision on the aura around his fellow and could tell there was something not right. Something that did not belong.
”Shit,” Aeden cursed and then he muttered to himself. ”I can’t spite him for being a dick to me now.” He shifted in place showing signs of discomfort as he considered how to approach him again. He probably could not just walk up to his fellow Aion and say, “Hey something’s messed up with you that shouldn’t be”. ”Sometimes I wish these eyes would show me something other than what’s truly there.

He jogged after his fellow Aion and when he caught up he called out. ”Whoa, whoa. Hey I’m not going to let you just walk off without some medical attention, kid. These are some serious wounds, now let me heal you.” His tone said he was not going to ask another time.
He then noticed on the other side of the Aion stood a woman. A woman with a wispy magical aura wrapped around her neck. He stared at her neck for a few moments instantly recognizing what it was that was around her throat. He had seen the same thing on foolish slaves that spoke too loosely. He looked away from here and closed his eyes counting down from three to help him calm down from those awful memories.

When Aeden arrived just behind Mason, Shye quickly withdrew herself into the shadow of the trees closest to her. She knew he saw her, and he was still staring right at her, but she wasn't sure about him either. He seemed to be allied with Mason, as he offered to heal him. Maybe that would be a good thing. No, this was bad. Their whole plan was ruined before it even started. Shye looked at the man from just behind the shadow of the tree next to her, her eyes and Nix's eyes faintly glowing in the darkness as she inspected him. One thing she noticed, was that he didn't seem to be directly looking at her face, but slightly lower, as if he was directly looking at the curse on her neck. Shye remained silent as she slowly backed away, unsure of what to do now. Should she run? Find Mason in the morning? Stay and risk being seen with the Alliance, but letting Mason look a lot less suspicious to his allies? Her eyes darted back and forth between Mason and the newcomer.

Holding his head as he approached Shye, Mason responded groggily, "I..... I don't really know what just happened...... But I feel..... increadible."

Seeing Shye's concern as he looked up, Mason flashed her a weak smile as he nearly tripped over his own feet. However, before he could discuss what had happened, someone else came from behind, spooking Shye. In shock, Mason stared directly into Shye's eyes, giving her a wink "Get ready to run." he whispered..... No one could find out about the plan. "I FOUND YOU ASSASSIN!!!" he yelled as he lunged toward Shye sloppily.

Garrett turned his head towards Allard, a new, glowing crimson orb now orbiting Garrett's head as he absorbs the flowing organ's pumping power, rejuvenating his thought process as he did so, it was a lingering madness in his head, however, like the constant reminder of entropy that would force him to devolve at a moment's notice of complacency. He coughed up a thick black substance, the remainder, of the emptiness of what he consumed before, he spat it onto the ground beneath him. "Raquel is asleep in my complimentary inn room, dearest winged guardian." He had to think a moment as to why his concerns would be of that lovely woman. Well, he just did go completely psychopathically uncontrollable in a fight. "The only problem she faces now is exhaustion. She is as healthy as she can be." His head then turned toward the direction where a crowd left off to, towards a deeper section of the forest they found themselves in. "My dear Allard, do you not think it suspicious to move Further into the Forest after a conflict like this one? It would be much preferable to head back to town to purify their wounds, and rest up in the event further conflicts were to arise." His ears perked towards the sounds of yelling. It would be anybody's bet to go see any more problems that would be arising. He waved Allard to follow him as he began a rushed journey towards the shouts of an Assassin in the woods, especially one that would be of concern to the alliance.

Aeden reopened his eyes and noticed the woman was backing off slowly. He could see her body language was uncertain. He gave her a sympathetic smile as he did not recognize her as an enemy. Then the Aion yelled out while clumsily lunging forward calling her an assassin. Something about the pause he had beforehand tipped him off that he was trying to distract so she could escape.

He stifled a laugh. ”Seriously? What kind of fool do you take me for? Her body language is more of that like an ex-slave than any kind of assassin. Look if you came out for a tryst late in the night then fine, but damn it all to hell I am not going to offer to heal you again.”

He then muttered to himself. ”Where in the hell do they look for recruits these days?”

Shye, while a little startled by the comical and slow attempt at trying to have her run away, was met by nothing but a chuckle from the other knight. He thought that Mason was coming over here to see a woman, that could work. She looked between the two, her yellow eyes settling on Mason. "Perhaps it...may be best if I took my leave..." she said quietly. "You are hurt and need the help. I'll...be in touch." she said as she tried to choose her words carefully. With that she would attempt to leave deeper into the woods.

Allard nodded, exhaling sharply. "Alright. As long as she is safe, I thank ya for making sure of it." Allard couldn't rightly say anything about her 'partnering' with him though, as he wasn't in a position to do so...but still. He wasn't all to ecstatic about it. He calmed down though, until he heard the shout as well, following Garrett over to where Mason was.

Realizing he'd only fucked up more, Mason hurried after Shye, "I'm fine, don't worry about me getting healing-- I've had far worse wounds, and there are many who need such care far more than I do... with a pause, Masons voice became a whisper, I'm sorry about tonight, but apparently the beast infected me with something, and I need to get it fixed before I go, lest I risk spreading the curse"

Just managing to catch up to Shye, Mason put his hand on her shoulder, "Please, find me in the morning. I swear upon my life to you that nothing will stop me from saving you and your son....." he pleaded with a sigh before giving her a quick hug; even wrapping his charred wings around the woman before sending her off, "Now go...... and Shye, stay safe." he said with a warm smile as he turned to head back to where the others were.

Aeden gave the Aion a doubtful look. While he believed that he had experienced worse as Aeden’s own personal experience with injuries was far worse as well, but he had a hard time understanding the disinterest in being healed. Then there was the curse. Perhaps that was the messed up thing he had seen in the man’s aura. ”Fine you don’t want healing I won’t waste the energy on you, but something is not right with your aura. At least let me diagnose it after I’ve healed Allard.”

He then turned to face Allard and saw both Allard and the formerly-beastlike man approaching. ”Everything’s fine, the young man’s just embarrassed about a late night tryst in the forest. Must have been why he came out here in the first place.” He looked at the stranger and smiled. ”So you must be a part of the alliance, I am Aeden Demavend, I recently arrived to join as well.” His eyes turned to Allard. ”Alright, lets get somewhere safe to heal you up. It would be… unpleasant to be attacked by another beast right after a fight like this. Most of you are exhausted and it is late.”

Garrett shot ahead, his eyes tracking the departure of a highly prolific individual in the woods this night. He was tracking the faint tracks on the moistened turf that was the forest floor, and the faint.. Scent, similar to what Garrett could recollect as the same perfume or aroma his mother put off as she worked in the kitchen to feed his younger self. That was of no import at the moment. What was of import was the fact the team was letting an assassin go free without any formal form of questioning or declaration of allegiance. Women were not on a pedestal to be passed off as common, weak, fodder. They were as capable as men, even more so as assassins, seeing as the mindset of passing them off as weak was common among men, even most women. He was going to stop that shady individual. Bring her back for questioning, maybe utilize her assets for the better of the alliance as a whole. He was a blur to those around him, the power exerted from the absorption still running within his empowered veins.

"Wait just a minute, dear stranger!"

Shye had given Mason a short bow before running off into the woods. It was a moment later that she heard something following her. Once noticing this, she began to pick up the pace, trying to lose the crazed crimson knight, remembering what happened not too long ago, she had no desire to speak to him. All she had to do was lose him, as she wasn't too keen on fighting at the moment, and she could then go about finding a safe place to camp up for the night.

Speed was not the only factor in a chase through the woods. There were obvious paths anyone would take, and winding shrubs and bushes that obscured pathways where any would exist. At the best case scenario, he could chase her like a sheep guided into a pen, at the worst case, it would be a competition of endurance. Garrett sped up, his clawed, blood-forged armor legs doing the work of forcing himself forward, while at the base of his protective soles laid lovely, flat sheets of blood that would slam and bounce themselves against the ground as the clawed foot hit the ground, increasing the speed beyond his normal limits. At an even worse case scenario, he could summon a set of blood spears to keep her in one place.

"Stop running! We need to speak! "

Shortly after Shye looked back and noticed that he was ever so slightly gaining on her. So suddenly, as a tree passed between them, there would be two of her and they would split off into different directions. She was fast on her own naturally, though she could be faster if she used her thrust from explosions. This unfortunately, would do nothing but lead him to her though. so she continued.

Garrett was losing his patience, more-so that he had to give chase, now he had to chase two of the same person. This was a trick. Her smell was distinct, and any reproduction was a reproduction. Just like hunting a single beast among the stench of the entire pack, he was dead locked on the trail he was going for. He did not want to take chase in the first place, stopping an assassin who was running away took precedence. He was fast, but wasn't catching up soon enough. Blood was fast, if he was able to hold a beast in place with the manipulation of blood, and the viscosity as well as all other properties of open-air blood, he may be able to make some sort of blood-lasso. That was perfect. A blood-lasso. Blight flexed his claws, the orb of crimson blood hovering around him, still transferring incorporeal powers into him, split into two, thick streams, both towards each of the unknown absconders, their plan was to latch around the legs of the runners, and get them to, well, stop running. They shot forth, faster than Garrett's attempts to run after them. They were going to grab onto something of flesh or cloth, and that would seal the deal. Once that was done, he would reel those thick strands of blood back to himself, nothing is worse than making decisions that have a chance of him losing. He also really liked having the blood he had ready for consumption.

Both Shye and her doppelganger were in mid leap when she felt something jerk on her leg, causing her to crash to the ground an roll, her momentum carrying her a few yards till she hit a tree. They were both then unceremoniously dragged back to the direction they came from, back together to where Garrett was. Shye and the doppelganger acted fast to burn away the blood around their leg, both getting up and preparing themselves to fight now that he had caught up to them. It didn't seem like they could outrun him. The man didn't seem to be in his right mind, seemingly a lust for blood controlled his thoughts. His blood magic reminding her of the atrocities that she would sometimes witness from the Therosi or Dolofon when on a few missions. She was afraid that this may be one of them, hiding among the alliance. Did he know about her? was he trying to get rid of her for failing so suddenly? She had three more days, surely that wasn't it. Thoughts rush through her mind trying to figure him out. the image of his attack on the monster not to long ago still vivid in her thoughts.

Garrett stared at the women. The orb of blood seeming erratic from the overuse, as if it were about to fall apart. He felt a pain in his chest, the pain nostalgia gives an individual when they realize of the past they have lost. She reminded him of his mother, the eyes, the smell, it almost brought a few tears to his eyes.

" Do not run. It is making your situation worse for yourself. "

That enough could have cause more questions to run through her head, or answer some that may or may not be true to his true character within the alliance. He opened his right clawed hand, offering it over to the woman.

" You may explain yourself now, or I can tie you up again and wait until we get back. The latter, may not be as forgiving in nature. "

The way Garrett spoke, especially in this situation, was very obscure to those who were not taking his words at face value. Where was back? There would only be one way to find out. There was also another problem with this encounter. She was in the battle. She saw him at such an enraged state. She was probably terrified at the speculation of what he would be doing to her.

" I... I was not in the right mind back there. But that gives you no excuse to run as you are smarter than you appear. It just makes your own case even worse. "

Shye didn't dare speak. As far as she knew, if this was Dolofon or Therosi, her curse wasn't supposed to be broken, if even for a temporary amount of time. She remained silent. What else could she do? Shye simply shool her head to Garrett. What did he want from her? Should she try to run again? Could she make it back to town like this. The two waited for Garret to make a move, refusing to accept his hand in thinking that if could be a trick.

" Do not play with me. I know you can speak. My ears are keen. Only two women have spoken in this forest, maybe three, counting there are two of you here. "

He eyed the two of them. He held his opened claw where it was. Now that he had her where he wanted her, he could be as patient as a saint with how he interacted with her and her would-be twin. They were fast, they knew how to cast some fierce magic. They could prove useful to the cause were they to be conscripted. He sniffed the air.

" Speak. I may be more forgiving for your running away after being called out as an assassin if you were to do so."

"What do you want from me?" one of them replied lowly. "Who are you?" the other asked. Their bodies were both tense, ready to move at any second.

Aeden turned as the beast-man brushed past him to give chase after the woman. He watched in silence and horror as he used blood magic to capture her. He stared with a light glower as he watched the beast-man pull in twins of the woman and started to interrogate.

He glanced back at Allard. ”Are you fucking kidding, two blood mages? You guys have two blood mages. Dremmick doesn’t seem the type to be a Therosi at least through my first impression of the guy, but this guy? Is he good?”

Allard shook his head, "I know little of Dremmick myself save that he is a strong fighter. He proved that much today. This is tha first I've seen Sir Garrett use such magic. However, he is a knight in service in King Vrondi's castle. I would imagine that he is held in good standing." Allard's arms were crossed in thought as he waited for the outcome. he then turned to Aeden, "If ya don't mind though, while we wait, you offered ta help heal our wounds before? Would make tha trip back a bit easier, I'd say."

Apparently ignoring the corrupted warrior, Mason and the hunter were still discussing about them being cursed and trading the creature's hide for it's core. Just as Nailah was almost to attack the corrupted creature though, she heard a familiar voice telling her to wait. It was Allard, that had his hand raised, asking her to stop. Nailah didn't understand why stop, but since it was Allard who asked, he surely must have a reason. Thanks to him calling out to her in a low tone too, Mason and the corrupted creature havent noticed her presence. Standing still, she simply watched and heard to see where that was going.

Apparently, the creature whom they were fighting against was cursed. Those affected by it would become a husk of their former selves, either becoming a mad beast or simply a pathetic creature. According to the hunter, the only cure was death. While Nailah didn't know exactly how much about that was true, she was glad that she didn't fight against the creature. Even though they had someone who could dispell curses in the group, Nailah didn't want to try her luck. Unlike the hunter, who was too preoccupied carving the beast's hide and the corrupted warrior, Mason was quick to simply throw the beast's core to the corrupted warrior and simply walking away further inside the forest, alone. Aeden, who saw Mason walking away, also went after him. His expression was... different, almost as if he had seen something different... Something... wrong... Maybe if Nailah was on a bit better mood, her curiosity would have made her follow Mason, but right now she felt like she had enough of dealing with all that mess and wanted simply to go back to the inn...
Just like Allard said though, waiting before attacking the corrupted creature had paid off. As it held the creature's heard with it's corrupted gauntlets, not only the black blood above them disappeared, but the corrupted creature started to become more descended in appearance, revealing himself to be a descended, the same one she had seen a while ago on the inn, the same one that stole the waitress from Siiga. Giving a few steps back to avoid getting dirty from all that black blood, Nailah simply crossed her arms, watching when it became clear that there was no more threat.

Judging to how Allard reacted after seeing the man's face, Nailah assumed he was also a part of the Alliance. Even after knowing that though, it didn't change the fact that Garrett smelled like trouble... Especially on how he went berserk and became that strange, corrupted creature. Allard too, didn't seem to be that glad with him immediately asking where the waitress who was with him was now. Garrett, much unlike his previous, mindless and corrupted form, was quick to calm down Allard, carefully telling him that Raquel, the waitress that was with him was safe, resting at the inn. Just as Nailah was already thinking that they would head back to the inn, Garrett also mentioned the strange fact that both Mason and Aeden had walked further inside the forest, soon after those words, all of them were able to hear a yell coming from inside the forest.

"Oh no... Not again! You will go back to the inn with me Allard. There is no reason to-" Nailah said, finally revealing her position with an exhausted and annoyed sigh.(edited)
Much to her despair though, Before she could even finish her sentence, Allard had already followed Garrett further inside the forest.

"Why couldn't we simply ignore them and go back to the inn?" she muttered, as she reluctantly followed both Garrett and Allard.

He looked at her. It seemed she really could talk. It seems he wasn't as mad as he first thought as he came to from that blood-fueled rage he was previously in. He beamed a smile, his assumptions were correct.

"I am Garrett Everard. A Knight, Pathfinder, and impromptu leader for the Alliance. Though I may not look as such at the moment. I want you to explain yourself and your situation. No woman would run after the fact at being called an assassin, she would plea for her innocence. Nobody would let you go off on your own unless they struck a bargain with you. Either you require help, or you are performing seditious, unforgivable acts against our troupe. If you are as innocent as the others have made you out to be by letting you pass back through the woods, then you may prove helpful for us as we may prove helpful to you. "

Aeden hesitated as he glanced off toward the distant figures. He then started to heal Allard as he suggested, but even so, the thought of a slave having been caught by someone that used blood magic did not settle well with him. ”Girl was collared. Strong curse. Looked like it was still somewhat active. Stuff that like is used by blood mages that don’t want their slaves to talk… ever.” He paused while he focused on healing a burn from the beams. ”Although Garrett probably won’t see it.” Aeden pointed briefly to his neck with a free hand. ”There’s an aura around her neck. Seeing something like blood magic will only make her less interested in talking.”

Aeden paused again. The entire time he spoke his voice sounded disturbed. ”The collar may have been broken and her voice freed, but the curse is still there and will probably come back into full effect eventually.” He looked over his shoulder towards Garrett and the woman. ”The Aion could probably remove it with time. I don’t have what’s needed with me. I don’t blame her for running. She probably doesn’t know who to trust.”

With that Nix came flying down, not yet landing on either shoulder. It chirped at her, but this time in a specific pattern. With it, she nodded andd tapped her claws togeth twice, signaling it to land on her shoulder, the shye to the left of garrett fading away, leaving the one to his right. the signal meant that Nix didn't see any Dolofon itt recognized in the immediate area. Though she still didn't want to talk here, you could never be sure. "I...can't." she replied uneasily glancing around the forest and then back to Garrett. Especially not to him. "Do what you must." she said, her resolve hardening. There was still a chance she could escape him if she could knock him away from her. She couldn't trust Mason completely to do the task he told her. The others in his group needed him and would take him back. She would have to go. she would have to take her son elsewhere, and pray that she was never found again. She balled her fists, energy gathering in them and heat raiating heavily from them as she prepared herself. "But I can't go with you...." she simply said.

When Nailah arrived, the first thing she heard was Aeden obviously irritated, complaining that they had not one, but two blood mages on the Alliance. Unsurprisingly, they were both people whom Nailah didn't trust not even one bit, Dremmick and now, Garrett... Other than Aeden, Allard, Garrett and Mason though, Nailah saw two identic women, whom looked exactly like the woman she found spying on them after they met with Sophia. Not even trying to understand the scene, she simply ignored the fact that Garrett was pointing it's claws towards the two women while interrogating them and simply walked to where Allard was.

"Can we not? Please? I'm already tired of dealing with inconsequent idiots... I just want to go back to the Inn, drink something and rest..." Nailah said, with a piercing look to Allard after he asked Aeden to help him with his wounds.

"I am not going to wait for you anymore. If you want to sleep in the forest by yourselves, go ahead. I'm done with all this." she said, warning both Aeden and Allard.

"I am going back to the inn. You two do whatever you feel like doing. I honestly don't care anymore." Nailah said as she simply turned back and started walking back to the inn.

Garrett furrowed his brows. Staring down the woman and her 'hardened resolve', he clenched his opened hand, thinking that he could just wrap a thick blood noose around her and knock her out, tie her up, and question her when she is incapable of retaliation, he opened his hand when he realize that would not help any situation whatsoever.

"You are very quick to jump to your own conclusions. Stop. I am not going to fight those who do not need to be fought. Stop casting that magic of yours and talk to me. That is all I am requiring, you can whisper it into my ear if you don't want the owls to hear us. If you truly took in what you saw me as earlier you would understand not even a curse would stop me if I were to get angry. Here we are. In the woods. Calm, and collected. If you would like, you could tell me everything at the inn. The problem is. You need to not act as hostile as you are now. There are many things I need to address myself at the Inn with the rest of the retinue, and I would prefer to save an exhausting trip."

Shye breathes seem to calm down as she listened to him, energy disipating from her hands. She considerred what he had to say. Maybe sh could taka risk, if anything, if she went now, she could escape while their guard is down. She nodded to him, relaxing a bit. "Alright...I'll go..."

Allard looked to Nailah as she started to walk way. He turned to Aeden, taking notice of his healing abilities. "Thank you, you truly have some skill here." he said inspecting Aeden's handiwork. "I'll go as well. Keep an eye on things here. Don't let it get too out of hand. I'll make sure she gets back alright." He then continued to follow Nailah back to the inn.

He didn't say much to Nailah on the way back, leaving her alone in her anger. She wasn't entirely wrong, though Allard knew if he hadn't shown up, things could have been worse. When they got there however, as he saw Nailah go off to where she would sit, Allard went to the bar. He then approached where Nialh was sitting with two huge tankard's of something strong. He set one down in front of Nailah and sat down with his with a long sigh, taking a long draft of his drink. "So...." he started. [color=9ACD32]"Not quite what either of us expected..."

Aeden smiled at Allard’s compliment. ”Thanks.” He had mixed feelings in regards to his healing magic. On one hand he was proud of his talent in regards to it, but on the other hand it reminded him of the continued torture it allowed the Therosi to put him through when he manifested the ability to close wounds. He took a deep breath as he calmed himself down from those stressful thoughts. When am I going to stop being imprisoned by my memories?

He waved as Allard and Nailah left, and he approached Garrett and the woman. The woman had a small dragon on her shoulder. Again, he gave her a sympathetic smile, but as his attention turned to Garrett his face returned to neutral. ”Everything good here?” His tone was wary, as even though Allard had vouched for Garrett, Aeden decided caution was the greater decision to take around the stranger.

Even so, he could not let the slave woman be alone with a blood mage. ”Allard and Nailah are heading back to the Inn. Best we head back too.” He looked at the woman with a slightly worried expression as he escorted them back to the Inn. ”Whatever chains you’re held down by it’s best not to break them alone lest you strain yourself.”

Garrett looked to his new addition of the return party. One of the Aion. He was there. His suspicions were understandable in coming to see what was going on. His clawed hand closed, returning to his side, nodding towards the unnamed woman to follow him as he turned towards the direction back to the city, where all the others had left off to. It would be a wonderful trip full of silence on his own part as he contemplated exactly how this situation could be utilized for his overall scheme for the night.

"Aion. I will assume you are a conscript or volunteer for this Alliance seeing as you so willingly heal strangers with no regard of payment from them. I was previously not in the right mind, and will explain everything to the entire retinue known as the Alliance when we return to the inn. We will also be addressing how the Alliance should be functioning, seeing as unspoken rules have only gotten ourselves to go behind our own backs and betray our notions of trust. What I need from you for this is, when we return to the inn, to gather those of the Alliance you know of, and inform them to gather those they know of, seeing as I am very sure we have received some additional help, including yourself. We will be convening at the large round table of the ground floor. We will, of course, speak of everything covered tonight this following morning, but things need to be said, and things need to be decided. "

He kept a wary eye towards the cursed not-so-mute assassin that was supposedly following the other two to the inn.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT! A tooth cracked in half in Mason's mouth as Blight raced after Shye. As much as he wanted to stop that crazy bastard, that would only make the situation even WORSE. At this point, Mason had little doubt that Garrett was a double agent; between the blood magic as well as NOT being targeted by the Dolofon OR Therosi-- something wasn't right. However, there wouldn't be enough evidence to convince the party of this unless he shared his conversation with Shye. One path would lead to Garrett informing the Dolofon of Shye's insubordination, and the other would lead to the party turning against Mason. The conniving bastard had set quite the trap to protect his cover; for now, Mason would just need to bide his time until he could plan something to counteract such meticulous scheming. A grim expression fell over the young Aion knight; he needed to act as if he knew nothing of the situation, lest he put Shye into further danger.

As the others began to walk together back to the inn, Mason wordlessly slipped into the group; inspecting his wing as they walked. Oddly enough, the damn hole was nearly gone........ Exactly what the hell happened out there? Mason wondered; honestly, he could barely remember anything after leaping on the creature's back. But that could be addressed later, as the safety of both Shye, and her son was currently on the line.

---

Neither Nailah nor Allard said anything on their way back to the Inn. Honestly Nailah just wanted to relax and forget everything that happened. As she arrived, she went immediately to the counter to get something to drink. Gods knew how she needed something strong to clear her mind...

"Just what have I gotten myself into...?" she thought to herself, lowering her head, resting it on the table with a long sigh. Exhaustion, not physical but mental.

As she raised her head, about to ask for a drink, Allard did so before her, ordering two huge tankards. Judging by the smell, it was exactly what she needed, something strong.
After taking a long draft of his drink, he turned to her, commenting about what just happened.

"Don't even get me started on that... I have no words to describe my frustration..." she said, taking a long draft of her drink as well.

"You all are honestly a bigger threat to yourselves than the very beast that you were fighting against. I'm amazed that you all are still alive or even how you guys are able to call yourselves an 'Alliance'... Can you guys really trust yourselves?" She asked, raising an eyebrow with a piercing stare, talking not only about Dremmick and Garrett but if they could trust one another to work as a team in a battle situation.

Lynn after seeing Nailah return, lazily lifted up a hand and waved to her. "Naaaaaailaaaah, you're back! See siiga, I knew it! They would be back eventually..." around her were quite the number of empty glasses of what used to be cider. It seems they had started without her.

It was then that she heard a familiar voice calling for her. Turning around, Nailah saw a very 'happy' Lynn, surrounded by a large number of empty glasses. Despite the fact that she was slightly disappointed for them to not have waited for her, she couldn't help but be surprised on how different Lynn was after drinking. Did Siiga say something to encourage Lynn to drink...? Honestly Nailah couldn't even imagine that such a shy girl liked to drink in the first place.

"Lyyynnn... I need a huuuug..." Nailah moaned, lowering her head on the table and raising her arms as if asking for a hug.

"Oh no ye don't!" With a fearsome cry, Bonnie leapt from the shadows and plonked himself directly between Nailah and Lynn. "Ye can just stay right there, where there's nae funny business gaein one between ye twa!"

Now Siiga didn't know what to make of that display. Bonnie probably thought that he was defending Lynn from some sort of predator, which was weird, considering he couldn't stand the sight of her, but whatever. But Siiga couldn't resist taunting Nailah, and while Bonnie had his focus squarely on the big girl, she leaned in and gave Lynn a biiiiig cuddle.(edited)

Lynn's eyes showed surprise as her cheeks flushed red, though she was smiling. Maybe her face was red from the drink? But she was assured by Bonnie that it was just juice.... Is this why She wasn't allowed to have a lot when she was younger? everything seemed a bit fuzzy, and like her movements lagged behind slightly. "Bonniiiie, I'm fine see? I can hug!" she giggled as she returned the hug with Siiga.

Now there was a sight to see. Two beautiful young women, pressing their soft, nubile bodies against each other in front of the whole bar, arms locked in a passionate, drunken embrace that would...

Where was I? Oh yeah, Nailah. Siiga was grinning a mile wide, eyes locked on Nailah. See, that slut didn't know who she was fucking with.

"For someone who looks so cute, you're surprisingly irritating, rude and impolite..." Nailah said looking to Bonnie with an annoyed expression without even looking at him as she drank more from her tankard.

Even after Nailah heard Lynn saying she was fine and could even hug, Nailah simply didn't feel like looking back, still resting her face in her hands as she slowly drank from her tankard. She didn't need to look back to know what was happening. Siiga was probably hugging to provoke her.

"You should be worried about Siiga... Getting Lynn drunk so she could have her all for herself... I wouldn't be surprised if she tried something weird with Lynn tonight... Look how she is rubbing herself all over Lynn... After all, she is probably still feeling horny after being rejected by that waitress and watching helplessly as Garrett walked away with her in his arms." Nailah said with a mischievous smirk and sharp eyes as she threw her head back to look at both Siiga and Bonnie, obviously provoking them.

"Hnnng~" Nailah moaned as she stretched herself on the chair.

"Silly boy... So naïve..." Nailah said with a sigh, drinking the last bit of alcohol on her tankard.

"I'm only rude and impolite cause I stop ye getting what ye want~" Holy shit. Was that ivory!? Yes! The first time today, Bonnie was actually doing a no-joke, honest to god smile! The beacons have been lit! Gondor calls for aid!

"But ye forget, missy, is that ah've seen yon twa the-gether, which means ah know how they are aroond each ither. But ye... Ye're a wildcard, ye are, and a pretty skanky one at that."

We'll just brush over the fact that Bonnie was literally a prostitute for several years. Hey, I never said he wasn't a hypocrite
As for Siiga, well, she'd heard enough insults to grow a bit of a thicker skin than that. And in response to Nailah's insults, she gave Lynn a kiss on the cheek

"She's just jealous that it's not her getting the hug" She said with a grin "Although who she's jealous of, that's a real mystery~"

Lynn's eyes opened wide and her ears perked up when Siiga gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She giggled with a winning smile. Normally she would be embarrassed by all this show of affection, but she was a little too far gone to think about it. In a not so great way of defending Nailah, Lynn tried saying something for her on her behalf, not knowing how much they were at odds with each other, and barely able to make out anything Bonnie was saying. "She can have a hug if she wants one! Nailah is a nice person, I think.... though she gets handsy really quick though! Oh! We could doooo....a group hug!" she said, raising bothe arms in the air with a big smile.

Allard watched the young Lassa with a raised eyebrow before looking to the others. "Young lass, I'd believe you might need ta sleep off yur drinks," he said chuckling a bit himself before downing the rest of his tankard. He looked over to Nailah. "Oi? Done alreaddy I see, well, I'll have ta fix that!" He said as he picked up both tankards and went to get more.

When Nailah heard Bonnie calling her skanky she simply looked at him with a piercing stare before staring at her empty tankard once more.

"Bonnie, you should really keep your mouth shut... You're much more pleasant to have around when quiet..." Nailah said as she waved her hand dismissing Bonnie as just an annoyance.

"You're really not worth my time. Go play with someone else and leave me alone. You're not worth my time." she said, with an annoyed sigh to Bonnie, before hearing Siiga's voice once more.

"What? Jealous? Of you?" Nailah asked, laughing as she looked to Siiga when she heard her saying that she was jealous of her hugging Siiga.

"Jealous of someone so sexually frustrated that she needs to make an innocent, naive girl drunk in order to have some affection?" Nailah continued, looking to her with a cruel smirk on her face.

"After all, the only one I'm really jealous of is Allard, who still has something inside his tankard... Well... had a second ago..." Nailah replied, looking to Allard a few seconds before he gulped down what was left inside of his. If she was in a better mood, she would definitely take that chance to continue provoking Siiga but right now she couldn't care less about them.
Just as she said that though, Allard ordered another full tankard of drink for Nailah after suggesting that Lynn should stop drinking. While it was definitely amusing to see Lynn acting like that, she couldn't agree more with Allard.

"I do agree with Allard. My dear, you should really stop drinking and go cool your head. A sweet and pure girl like you shouldn't be drinking like that... Or letting someone push you drinks until you get drunk." Nailah continued, talking with Lynn just like one would talk with a younger sister or a daughter.

"Thank you for the drinks, Allard, you're quite a sweetie." she said, with a smile to the gigantic man, playfully pinching his arm before she took a sip from the new, filled tankard.

When Lynn mentioned a group hug though, Nailah raised an eyebrow, turning towards Siiga and Lynn.

"Not on a good mood for that, I'm sorry. Maybe another time. After all, I wouldn't like to take advantage of you when you're drunk." Nailah said with a cruel smirk on her face, teasing Siiga once more.

"When you feel safe enough around me to give me a hug or to let me hug you, then I'll accept your offer." Nailah said, looking to Lynn with a kind and motherly smile.

Wait, she was leaving him alone? Oh sweet merciful Buddha, all his Christmases had come at once! No more of that insufferable, pathetic attempts at 'teasing' him, just peace, quiet and the knowledge that he didn't have to watch his back. How his eyes lit up when he heard that she didn't want anything to do with him!

"Yer serious!? Fucking YALDIE!" the boy whooped and punched the air. "Fuck it, ye all want a round!? Ah feel like celebratin'!"

Siiga rolled her eyes at the boy's antics, but at the very least he wasn't sitting there with a sour face anymore. He was so much cuter when he was smiling. She tossed him a small pouch and told him to go wild, but make sure it was for the table, before turning to look at Nailah.

"She's an adult, she can make her own decisions. You're just frustrated cause she chose me over you" she kicked her feet up on the table "But it's okay. I can understand your frustration. Must be hard getting rejected by underage boys, hmm?"

[Garrett and the rest of the group make it back to the inn at this time]

"It would be easier for us to help you if you said something while we weren't in the public's eye, or near any peering, untrustable ears."

He turned himself towards the nameless woman as they walked to the inn. Awareness was one of many Garrett's talents, taking great notice as one of the suspects of a seditious plot entered the group. His eyes would train on the winged male making a piss-poor attempt at sneaking into the returning party.

"You are not off the hook, either. You let this questionable individual go, without any relay of information of who they are or if they are truly an ally. You did more harm than good for this woman if that was your goal, especially knowing there was more than just you in these woods."

He sounded like a stern father, scolding their children on a long trip back home after noticing the problems they made during the trip away.
It was a wonderful feeling in Garrett's head, and even more what he would be saying to the entire team, a recreation of a true alliance's rules and regulatory statements.

Lynn seemed a little let down from all the arguing. "I'm fine....I'm just.... a little tired is all....I think..." Lyyn slidd a little down in her chair but then sat up as the fighting continued, trying to get a word in to ask them to stop but it wasn't working. All she could do was stit there with a worried expression and watch the insults go from one to the other. There was some odd notion in her head that this may be her fault, most likely her not being able to think right, she was never drunk before and this was quite an odd feeling. It seemed managable enough though. "I'm sorry to cause so much fuss...mmmaybe I should go ahead to the room.." she said. Though as she went to stand, everything semed to turn upside down and she started to fall out onto the floor, a bit of a cartoonish flail as she tried, and failed, to regain balance, hitting the floor with a little yelp.

Aeden listened to Garrett as they made their way to the Inn. He seemed quite wise now that he no longer appeared feral. He spoke well and eloquently. Aeden could see he could be an excellent leader, but he would have to see how he operates among a group as diverse as this one. ”You speak well, and I certainly agree that ground rules should be laid out. I understand that battle was not something planned by most of us and as a result it was absolutely chaotic, but it also clarified a need for everyone to come to consensus about how to function as a group.”

He glanced back to the woman again as they made their way into town and headed toward the inn. Understandably, she was silent and worried. Mason was not in much a better state it seemed. The scolding of Mason by Garrett was interesting as from what he could tell they were not that far apart in age. Age was a tricky thing when it came to descendants though after all he looked about the same age as they did as well, and he knew of descendants that were older than he was that looked his age as well.

When they entered the inn, the scene before them was to be expected. Noisy. Drunk. A party. ”Nyph? Where is Nyph?” He glanced around the table the group now sat at and found the pseudodragon sleeping underneath the table with his head stuffed into a pewter mug. He sighed and stepped over to an open space at the table to pull his friend out from under the table and pick him up. The mug slipped off Nyph’s head as he left the floor.
He considered joining the party for a few moments, and he also considered suggesting they start coming up with a set of ground rules right away, but after everything that happened tonight he really had no interest in being a wet blanket. He looked at Garrett with a serious expression. ”I get it that getting the ground rules laid out is serious. Now is not the time for that. I’m getting a space so I get put Nyph to bed. We aren’t going to get anywhere with that chaos going on right now.”

Nailah heard as both Bonnie and Siiga continued with their pathetic display. Siiga trying to provoke Nailah and Bonnie... Honestly, Nailah had no idea of what that brat was trying to do. Was he trying to sound funny? For her he was just being pathetic. Anyways, she was just ignoring both of them right now. After all, she wouldn't gain anything by arguing with them.

To make things worse, Aeden and the others were back from whatever they went. Things were about to get even more annoying and irritating.

"Ugh..." Nailah grunted, annoyed and exhausted.

"Hey Allard..." Nailah said, leaning her head on his arm.

"Can we please go somewhere quiet? I'm really frustrated with all that happened, exhausted and it's just too noisy here... To make things worse, both Siiga and Bonnie just won't shut up..." she said with an exhausted tone as she started using her charm on Allard while being careful to talk low enough so just him would listen to her.

"If it's not much to ask, could you give me a back massage? I just feel like my head is about to explode and alcohol is just not helping..." Nailah continued, looking to him as she waited for an answer.

Oh, ignoring her, was she? Pfft. Siiga would see what she had to say about this.

"Oh please. We both know the only reason you're so pissed off is because you never got to hear Oh, Nailah! I love you~!" This last part, by the way, came in a loud impression of Bonnie's voice. Apparently loud enough to make others turn and look at them. "Well, unironically, I mean."

But when Lynn hit the deck, her demeanour changed. She jumped to her feet and was there like a flash. "Lynn! Are you okay!? Christ..."

Though try as Garrett may to provoke a damning response from Mason, he would quickly be shown that the young knight; though arrogant, was FAR from stupid, "You are a fool to think that we are free from surveilance sir Blight-" Mason stated coldly as he stopped and turned to Garrett, "The shadows have eyes.... Or are you perhaps trying to divert attention from your recent antics? Quite a convenient opportunity, no?" Once again, Mason continued to the inn alongside the rest of the group, disgusted with the so called 'leader' of the newly formed alliance. However, the moment he entered the inn, Mason was appalled to see Lynn on the floor; heavily intoxicated, with Siiga looking over her. "Alright..... Who's amazing idea was it to give Lynn alcohol?" he groaned in frustration.

Garrett nodded towards the more, jaded Aion.

" It will be in the morning then, enjoy your night. "

Garrett gave Mason what seemed to be a death stare. Assuming he had any intention to divert the attention from what he had done, whereas Garrett knew to himself he would be doing quite the contrary in the meeting he would have loved to occur tonight in order to save the Alliance from any further self-destruction on unwarranted suspicions, sedition, or infighting. They were at the inn now, and he couldn't outright flay the man in front of all these people, he didn't want to hear screaming or fight any of those who wished to protect the runaway slave-turned knight-without-a-code.

He would let this transgression against him and his own person for the remainder of the night. It will have to wait until the meeting he were to call in the morning, where a collaborative effort would be made to put in place enough change to keep the Alliance afloat.

His attention then turned to the nameless assassin, something had to happen to her that kept her in check for the rest of the night, he offered his hand to her.

"Fortune is favoring you tonight, miss, who has yet to give me her proper name. Your fate will be decided tomorrow. But you will not be going anywhere. Captive assassins leave any second of complacency guards would give them. We are taking a seat, out in the open, in public, where neither of us can be doing anything suspicious besides drinking or eating. It would be good time to sway me or convince me about the situations you have found yourself in. Keep your head on your shoulders, and reassure me that you aren't guiding any of the Alliance members astray. It will be a grand old time."

Shye looked to Garrett after she heard him chastise Mason. What Mason had to say only seemed to increase her discomfort. If Garett would notice, Shy'es movements were very graceful, much like a noble. It was subconcious to her because that was how she was trained to move when growing up, engrained into her being through many harsh lessons. She neatly sat down in a chair, she thought about crossing her knees until Nix jumped down from her shoulder and into her lap, curling up in a ball, but her eyes and ears still on alert. She nodded to what Garrett had to say and would every now and then glance over to Mason. Until Garrett found it to be the appropriate time to talk, she simply sat there quietly with Nix, stratching or petting the furred dragonling.

Aeden stepped up to the receptionist. He had enough of this night. There was just too much going on. Too much unpleasantness, and too much noise. Right now, he just wanted to relax in a room and pass out in the comfort of a bed. "I'll have a single if you have one." He paid what was due, got his room key, and made his way to his bed. He unpacked what little he had and removed his armor. Nothing worse than sleeping in your armor even though he was used to it due to some missions requiring constant vigilance. He placed Nyph on a pillow and laid down on the bed next to the unconscious psuedodragon.

"Buddy," He commented as he started to fall asleep. "This might be the hardest mission we've ever been on..."

Allard nodded to Nailah, feeling like that may be a good idea to him. "Oh, I might be able to manage something." he said cracking his knuckles, because somehow all his fighting today has yet to be enough to pop them. "Its been a long time, but I'm sure muscle memory will kick in." He then went to pay for two single-bed rooms, to which the barkeep informed him that there was only one single-bed left, bt they still had plenty of two-bed rooms. This caught Allard by surprise. He most certainly couldn't afford two two-bed rooms.Allard went ahead and bought a single-bed room for the night, remembering that Nailah told him not to buy her room, just her stew earlier in the day. He complied and went ahead to go to the room, opening the door to let her through first.

The rowdy group was beginning to stir up the late night customers who were traveling traders. Many chose to sleep in tents than spend on an expensive Inn's room. The food however was worth buying and after the confusion in the town, the new arrivals, and the bloody roars out in the forest they needed a few ales themselves. Drinking shamelessly with all eyes on the alliance members who filed in. Two seraphim was enough to gain the regulars attention. But the others were clearly from all over the lands. Armor, attire and dialect be damned. Their natures screamed diversity.

Tali grabbed a meal and was eating it rather quickly as she needed three of it. People stared and gaped, which was normal for her. After all, a woman of her build normally wouldn't eat enough to drop a grown man. She resisted the urge to make remarks or jokes about the awe, for she knew that they were her allies and deserved politeness. Her meal took relatively little time as she was not eating it for flavor. She had just wanted a hot meal that wasn't made of rations.

Upon finishing her meal, and hearing more than one thud behind her, she turned to see Lynn, one of the ones from earlier, practically floundering on the floor like a pathetic, drunken fish. Her movements were clearly not ones of an experienced drunk, so this must be infrequent or her first time. The Tyro/Lassa woman let out a small huff, some volcanic ash streaming from her nose and a puff coming from her mouth. She stood up and walked over to the poor thing, bodily lifting her up, carrying her bridal style. "Are you sober enough to tell me where your room is? Do you even have a room?"

@Jollan