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"...There might be a way for me to transport us outside of the room... Since I doubt we'd be able to go directly into the room..." Valda said slowly, thinking about everything that they could possibly do to deal with this situation. They were running out of options, so this hopefully was their best shot at not dying hopefully due to vampires. Since Luna's Room wasn't exactly the best place to be in this sort of situation after all.

"I would recommend you all don't really move, alright?" Valda said with a slight nod, as she felt her magic at work, and the power flow through her hands. After a moment, she Transported everyone in the room to being right outside of the Queen's Room. "Come on," she said, nodding at her sister as she opened the door and grabbed Ahote by the arm, dragging him inside of the room now.

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"The witch is the woman known as Fleur, she's caused me some problems in the past, and she is not to be underestimated, no matter what, she's a powerful adversary, especially for a Midgardian. That stone in her hands is a bad idea flat out... I knew I shouldn't have let her keep it... I should have done something to get it away from her..." he said, feeling a bit guilty and shaking his head. This did feel like it had been his fault, if he hadn't let Fleur keep the stone, then maybe she wouldn't be somewhat of a threat and they'd only have to deal with Loki.

"These stones Myth... They shouldn't be messed with at all, and if multiple stones are appearing, I fear for what might happen... I don't want you to get hurt, but I also know better then to try and tell you no... So we'll see about catching up with Halley then... Guessing dad doesn't know much about what's going on?" he said, adding that last part with a slight laugh to try and lighten the mood even a little bit. He started heading out the door, "To the Bifrost then... My mother can easily be trusted with Halden Myth, don't worry..."

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"...I'm no princess," Sylvi said, her voice sounding a bit cold and distant as she said the words. It was true, after all, she had run away from home in order to not have to be stuck ruling a country when she was older. That was the thing, she had always been a bit of a free spirit, having a love of traveling, she hated being stuck in that castle. Now she had freedom to do whatever she wanted, be whoever she wanted, and now here was some creature that was essentially throwing her old life in her face. "I never will be..." she added, staring at the vampire as Tate managed to get him away from her.

Now, Sylvi never generally was considered one to have a temper, but this was definitely the last straw, and she whirled around to face Amarantha, "How about you go do something useful for once instead of just deciding to be threatening and all trying to intimidate that thing! Honestly not wonder bad things happen to the royal family if you are the one in charge of security! Did you honestly think that the creature would just surrender or something? He attacked the prince when there were several people around, so do your job and get the prince out of here!" she snapped, venting all of her anger from the vampire towards Amarantha.

Then she heard the screams.

Those things were biting people, and that certainly was not a good thing, and she saw another one heading for Myrus, "Like I said, get him out of here," she said again, before she charged at the creature, slicing at him with her rapier. Her first attack didn't seem to do all too much to him, but her next sword swing severed his spinal cord. With how fast these things were healing, she doubted it would be down for long. However she hoped that Amarantha would have some common sense to go get Myrus out of the area!

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Luna looked towards Ahote for a moment when he said that there were vampires outside of her room and in the hallways, she had heard them as stories but she didn't know anything about them aside from those. She knew that werewolves lived out in the woods as well, which she assumed that they came from there. "We need to get Myrus then he isn't safe alone.." Luna said softly as she stood up and looked over towards her sister as she bit her bottom lip and nodded slightly. She had been in her sister's room numerous times in the past as well, and when their mother was alive as well, it was the safest place for them to be right now as well.

Once her sister used her magyk and they were right outside of Valda's room Luna quickly ran forward and entered her sister's room looking around it as Valda dragged Ahote into the room as well. Luna then started to worry about Amarantha as well who was most likely out there as well, going back as she started to remember the conversation that they had. Luna's paranoia started to get to her as she nervously fidgeted around looking at her sister and Ahote.

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"I nearly forgot about that story as well, that one is the only one I like only because it was really hilarious." Arnora said with a slight laugh as she looked towards Halley for a moment. And then Cuyler came into the room seeing her sword, which was a gift from her mother during one of their private training sessions. Which protected her from the cold, as well as freezing anyone who ended up getting attacked by it. "Thank you." Arnora said looking over towards Halley and smiled a bit towards her.

"Looks like we get to go home for a bit." Arnora said towards Cuyler as she remembered leaving Ahote behind on such short noticed and wondered if she would end up meeting him there again. Arnora strapped her sword across her back as her clothes changed to a set of Asgardian armor. "Lets hit the road then." Arnora said as she started to leave the palace lounge and made her way towards the Bifrost bridge.

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Cuyler was in a decent mood until Halley uttered two words. Two little words that Cuyler thought he could handle hearing and cope easily enough with. Thia started to trot along beside Halley as she moved to leave the room but it seemed Cuyler wasn't able to move for a moment.
”The Castle?” He shook his head, stealing himself for a moment. The man had fought creatures ten times more powerful than him and won. One place was not going to throw him off his cue. Even if his one, true love was down there. He shook his head again before he ran forward to catch up to the girls. What was in the past, should be left in the past but Cuyler should know the past has a tendency to come back at the most inopportune times.
”Okay the Castle. Well, it has been six months but at least we have a decent idea of the lay out. Should give us a bit of an advantage there. Now we just have to think where is the one place Loki would hang out or hide something valuable.” He thought as they walked, a mental map forming in his head of his time within the Castle.
”There’s Snake Slipway, it’s a residential area but houses more of the shady types. Oh, or Gothyk Grotto perhaps. It’s a shop that is known for their unique items and ah, more intense patrons. I sold a couple things there once. We might be able to get some information about a unique person such as Loki. He does tend to stand out.” Cuyler was mostly thinking out loud but also hoped his suggestions would be taken into account. If anything, it would knock a couple places off of their list. The Castle wasn’t exactly small.

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Amarantha slipped the protective ear pieces into her ears while Antonjie walked forward, gathering the Vampire’s attention from Sylvi. Apparently the thing knew he would have to fight if he followed Amarantha’s initial invitation to join her, so he continued to stalk Sylvi until Antonjie was able to subdue him. Sylvi meanwhile, no longer under immediate threat, turned and started yelling at Amarantha. Apparently she didn’t understand Amarantha’s body language when she initially beckoned the Vampire to follow her, and leave Sylvi and Myrus alone.
Meanwhile, Myrus’s guard, Lennox had moved forward behind the Prince and laid hands on the Prince.
“Time to go Your Highness” Lennox said. He slipped one arm around the Prince’s waist, grabbing one of the Prince's arms and hosted him up onto Lennox's shoulders and turned. “You’re my extra eyes. Let me know if anything comes after us.” Without so much of a warning Lennox started running with the Prince, dodging as much of the fray as he could.
The rest of the guards in the area immediately jumped into action, defending the citizens as best they could while trying to get them all to safety. It was chaos and everyone would be able to hear the screaming and fighting. May the Gods be on the Castles' side.
Amarantha pulled a set of knives from her belt and the blades gleamed in the firelight. ”Well it is a very good thing I had the decency to train people to protect the royals when there is more than one of them under my charge hmm?” She didn’t have the time nor the patience to deal with Sylvi’s opinion of her.
Turning away she focused her sights on the closest Vampire and let a dagger hurl towards it. She hit her target but it didn’t go down the way she imagined it. The Vampire she hit happened to be the one Antonjie was in control of. Well, if it wasn’t paying attention to her before it was now as it turned and charged Amarantha. It managed to get a hold of her neck and bite down. Amarantha yelled in frustration. She flicked her wrist which contained her hidden gauntlet and thrusted up between the fourth and fifth rib, piercing his heart; however, that didn't seem to bother nor phase the Vampire.
”First you don’t bite me where I can at least get a little pleasure from it and now you don’t have the decency of having a heart to stop beating?” Luckily, Amarantha felt no immediate effects from the Vampires bite. She flicked her wrist again, retracting the hidden knife and placed hands on the Vampire’s head and quickly twisted, effectively breaking his neck. The thing was still not dead though and now looked like a wanna-be headless horseman. (Nearly Headless Nick, is that you?)
Amarantha twisted her face in disgust. What the hell were these things made of? Still. If bones could be broken, why not break every single one until the thing was limp. Amarantha charged the thing and grabbed onto it’s wrist, pulling and twisting its arm as she went in hopes to dislocate the shoulder before she would shove her knee against the elbow joint and sever that as well.

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Ahote tensed, hearing the fighting going on behind the door and looked at Queen Valda, praying she had the solution. And she did. He relaxed momentarily while the Queen used her Magyk to Transporte them all outside the Queen’s room. They didn’t hesitate to all walk into the Queen’s bedroom. Titan and Ahote were both permitted inside since they had direct contact with one of the royal bloodline.
Titan secured the door and withdrew his sword, planting himself in front of it. Luckily this room seemed to only have one entrance so there were multiple areas that would need to be secured. He could focus all his attention on the front door.
”Alright. You two stay here. I’m going to go see if I can slow some of these things down and buy us more time,” he said and made his way to the door, walking past Titan.
Ahote really wanted to know how these things got here in the first place and why they were here. With all his research, they weren’t native to this land and it didn’t make much sense for them to be here. They looked like average people though, so it wasn’t surprising they were able to get past the initial Castle defenses so easily.

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Myth smiled contently to herself, "Good, I trained you both well then." Confident she would now be included, she tickled Halden before she carefully handed him over to Runa. It wasn't that she doubted her mother-in-law's ability to nurture children, it was her own mothering instincts of having someone else do her job. She didn't like that in any scenario.

She followed her husband towards the door. "Granted I only know of Fleur on the one occasion she helped me birth our child. And she saved Antonije. I am sure the stones are dangerous and should be safeguarded, but is she all bad?" She did not know her husband's last event with Fleur. She only knew her to be feared by all, but was it warranted?

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Yes, it was.

After all, Fleur had just snapped the neck of Agatha. She felt the crown placed upon her head, now signifying her right to rule. It was one step closer in her plan. She would need to take her new forces and go over her future plans as well as update her home. She had one other goal in mind, one other ally to gain if she was available to help.

As she came down, she was met with Asha. Fleur knew of her from before. She was not a witch, but a wizard. Fleur immediately guarded herself. She didn't trust anyone outside of her coven anymore. "Spare me the pleasantries, Asha. I know not why you are here, but you have traveled a long way. I see you are unarmed with only one guard visible. If this is an attempt on my life, I should warn you I will not go down easily. If there are other matters you are here for, I ask you to allow me passage further down to see to my newly acquired troops to let them know. Afterward, we can discuss matters over tea."

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The Queen's Room...

Once they were all inside of the Queen's Room, the ghost of Queen Meliscente Appeared. She had the same vibrant ginger hair as her daughters, though her mannerisms and demeanor were far more similar to Luna's than Valda's. That much was to be expected of course - Luna had been raised in court like her mother had been, while Valda had been brought up in the Forest by the Wendron Witches. "Valda, it is not appropriate to bring men into this place," Queen Meliscente chided. "Your brother would be one thing but these... these servants?! They're beneath you. And what would people think, knowing the company you keep?"

Whether or not Ahote would be permitted to leave the room would ultimately be up to Titan, as he was guarding the only exit they knew about with a sword. Princess Luna would notice a slight draft in the room, but it wasn't coming from the door. No one else would, so maybe it's just a hallucination... But what could the draft be? Valda and Titan would have their eyes drawn to the Unstable Potions and Partikular Poisons cupboard. It had been there since before even Valda and Luna's grandmother could remember.

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With Nyx's spinal cord severed, the vampire was having a few problems with walking. One of his feet seemed to drag slightly, but that didn't stop the creature from continuing to attack Sylvi. In an awkward forward tumble, Nyx clasped onto Sylvi with his hands and continued to tip forward. His teeth sank into the skin on her upper shoulder and he was about to begin to drain her of her blood, when there was a resounding scream inside of his head. "NO!!!!!!!!!!!"

Antonije covered the distance between them in a split second, pulling his Fyre-Making Charm from his pocket and he shouted the incantation, lobbing it at the vampire. Nyx was set ablaze and let go of his grip on Sylvi, allowing Antonije to pull her away to safety as Nyx screamed in pain. He didn't know why, but the Magykal Fyre caused the vampire to crumble into ashes, only the fangs remaining on the ground a moment later. "Sylvi? Are you okay?" Antonije asked her softly, using his telepathy to speak directly into her mind. "I think a vampire bit you..."

Being carried by Lennox, Myrus was getting a pretty good view of all of the destruction going on. The Palace Guard had managed to get the civilians mostly clear, though there were still two pockets of them left at the Palace Grounds. There were dead guards on the grass as well, with only three of them left alive besides Amarantha and Lennox. "Th-there!" Myrus exclaimed, seeing Erasmus right in front of them. The vampire bared his fangs and hissed at Lennox.

"I see you have delivered me a meal - thanks!" the creature taunted, pulling two back handed swords and sliding into a fighting stance. He wasn't close enough to strike Lennox yet and was more or less daring the guard to move forward. Moving backwards would put Lennox's precious cargo closer to the heart of all of this violence and chaos.

As for Amarantha, she succeeded in dislocating Oliver's shoulder, but as she went in to sever his elbow joint, the vampire grabbed onto her tightly and used her momentum to bring them both to the ground. Amarantha was on top of the creature, his mouth stained with her blood and he grinned up at her. "You're one of us now, so stop fighting," Oliver boasted. The bite mark on Amarantha's neck was completely gone, as if it had never been there. Her senses were heightened, as was her strength, and there would be an immense pain in her mouth - pain like she had rarely ever felt before. Coupled to that pain was a sense of hunger and need - a sense of bloodlust.

Close to the boat launch, the last member of the Palace Guard attempting to protect the civilians there was slain. Julien had drained him entirely of blood, letting the pale corpse drop at his feet. "This was too easy a job," he commented to his friend, Nicolai. The other vampire nodded in agreement. "I don't care though, we're getting paid to do this."

There was a mist of purple as someone Transported to the area. Wearing a black cloak, the hood covered the figure's face, though purple-yellow eyes peaked out from underneath the brim. "You have failed the Castle," Violet, one of two famous vigilantes active in the Small Wet Country Across the Sea, warned the vampires. The air was thick around the woman as she took a breath, feeling the Magyk pumping through her veins.

Punish them... a voice whispered in her mind. They have failed the Castle... Kill them... Burn them... Destroy them all...

The purple Magykal aura around her became Darke. "Melt," she cast, pointing at the two creatures. Slowly, the vampires became warmer and warmer, until it was so hot that their skin started to ripple. Their blood was boiling and their eyes turned to puddles, dripping down their face as they then sagged to the ground. The vampires clothing mixed with the melted flesh, coated with blood and muscle and gut, until there was just a pile of liquified monsters and shiny white skeletons remaining.

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Asha brushed off Fleur's comment about the guard, since she didn't have any guards there with her. She figured that it was a veiled way to refer to the power source she wore around her neck, the jewel that guided her Magyk and granted Asha the position of the most powerful wizard on the planet. "If I was here to kill you, you would know it," Asha answered. She was confident that she would be able to kill Fleur if needed, but she doubted it. The woman was not the most conventional force of good in the world, but she had heard that Fleur helped to save the Castle six months ago from Chthon, the elder god of chaos.

"I am here to instruct you of the path you walk on - as a holder of an инфинити стоне," she explained. "As long as we speak soon, that is no problem. It is not too long a distance to return to my country," she winked slightly. Asha must have figured out some way to travel across the world instantaneously, something that not even a Transport could accomplish. Magyk had limits on distances that could be traveled, with even the Badlands barely being in range of the Castle. To travel across continents... Asha must have discovered something huge.

Asha stepped aside, allowing Fleur to walk down the mountain. "After you, Witch Queen."

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The Bifröst...

"A lot can change in six months," Halley commented, taking Cuyler's advice with a grain of salt. Heimdall hadn't been able to see Loki, and supposedly, no one in the Nine Realms was supposed to be blocked from Heimdall's sight. The difficulties Runa and Klara had had in tracking Loki - or whoever had stolen the Tesseract - didn't bode well for this just being as simple as going to Snake Slipway and knocking on doors. "And don't forget, Loki can disguise himself to look like anyone," Halley reminded him. "He could even look like you."

The trio didn't take too long, leaving the Palace and then heading across the Rainbow Bridge. Heimdall was there at the end, holding his sword at attention and he bowed his head slightly, greeting the demigods.

"Princess Halley," Heimdall greeted. "Master Cuyler and Mistress Arnora... The All-Mother informed me that you would need to travel by Bifröst. Do note that if you are in mortal peril and wish to open the Bifröst, if I judge that doing so would endanger Asgard and the Nine Realms, you will be left to die."

"Of course," Halley responded. "We need to travel to the Castle of the Small Wet Country, if you would open the Bifröst."

Myth and Bruce's Home...

Runa shook her head at Myth, taking Halden carefully. "No one is all good or all bad," she said softly, thinking back for a moment. She had made some horrible choices in her life - evil ones, even. "As for Fleur, though... I believe that there is more good to her than most believe," she finished. She knew the bad that Fleur had done, but from what Runa could tell, it had been for her coven - her family. Wouldn't she have done the very same things, had their roles been reversed? At any rate, once Myth and Bruce are out the door, they'll want to hurry to get to the Bifröst - they should be able to get there just in time this round to see Heimdall chatting with Cuyler, Arnora, and Halley.

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Seconds ticked on and the scene around her only grew to a more heightened, emergent frenzy. But her eyes kept locked on the movements of the attackers of the palace. Here. There. Opening. Closed. Mona sipped her cider again, no sense in having a dry throat just because these asshats were drying out other people's throats. Ah. There. A particular vampire was near her person and she swiftly flicked the stone sphere toward him. Unfortunately, this did not go as planned.

She must have positioned her hand incorrectly but rather than hitting the creep, it instead landed upon the food table. In a single moment, the table and all of the delicacies that lay upon it were in raging flames. Mona's heart fell and she wanted to cry. All of that food. Gone. It was a sad day to be certain. Rather than spend too much time on this she rounded on the vampire, more annoyed now than she had been at the beginning of this fight.

Downing the last of her cider she marched forward. With a toss of the cup into the flames, she was upon the man who dared not be currently burning. She blamed him for this waste of food. She reached out a slim, small hand and clasped his wrist. He looked down at her, their eyes locked, and she used Grasp to ensnare his mind. "It would be doin' tha right t'ing to walk inta them flames. Be a gift ta us, it would." When she spoke her voice had an odd inflection and undercurrent to it as the Magyk entwined itself with her speech. The creature nodded numbly, broke from her grasp and went to lay on the burning table. "G'boy," she said with satisfaction. Her eyes now sought out her next target, a new marble in her grasp.

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Valda looked over at Luna and nodded her head slightly. She was worried about her brother being out there by himself, but she wasn't sure how it could help for them to go out of the room now. They would be in danger the instant they took one step outside of the room, and she didn't want anyone with them to potentially get hurt by the creatures. "Maybe you shouldn't go off," Valda said softly to Ahote, not really wanting him to get hurt because of the vampires in the palace.

Hearing her mother's voice, she let out a bit of a sigh, not very used to her mother deciding to make any sort of appearance. Of course she'd choose now of all times to make comments, "First of all, who cares about the company I keep, people know I'm weird already. I was raised as a witch, so it is understandable. Secondly, why did you decide to make comments about it? After all, we are sort of running from Vampires at the moment, so this room was the most well protected place I could think of." Valda said, glancing around the room a bit, looking over at the older then dirt cupboard. Wondering if it had anything useful within it.

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"...Saved him you say? She saved him that once, but one good thing does not make up for everything else. Her witches are just as bad as she is... One of her witches, Constance, was the one who essentially adopted Antonije before I had the chance to, abused him and essentially used him for his gifts. Fleur did nothing to help him out with that at all. Then when I went there to get him away from the coven, and to essentially have Marya and Medea not be a part of that coven any more, she basically used that stone to try and basically knock me away and make it so that I didn't go back there or something. It took a lot of my power to just get Antonije out of there! No matter what you two may think, she can't be trusted, at all," Bruce said, a bit coldly. It was quite clear that Fleur doing one good thing did not make up for just about everything else she has done, "Oh, then there was her trying to turn the Princess Luna into a witch during Queen Valda's coronation. So forgive me if we don't exactly see eye to eye about her."

He said nothing as he headed over to the Bifrost, not looking over at Myth after that rant. This wasn't something he was used to, having something, or in this case partially someone, he feared causing problems and mayhem. Bruce wasn't going to admit it openly that he was afraid of Fleur, or more of what she could do with that stone, but it was the truth. He saw his sister over at the Bifrost, and waved slightly at the group. "Hey there Heimdall. Halley, Myth and I are joining you all on your trip to Midgard." he said, addressing his sister.

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Sylvi felt the vampire bite her shoulder, and she didn't even have much time to react at all to it before Antonije was beside her and caused the vampire to turn to ash. "...I feel fine, my shoulder is just a little sore..." she responded to him, not really sure how to react to everything that had just happened. "I knew a vampire once, his name was Steve, and he was actually a really nice vampire for the most part, but he wouldn't stop talking about gardening... Though that was odd considering he never was able to really be out and about in the day time, at least not directly if he didn't have his pink umbrella, a cloak or something..."

She glanced up and saw the vampire, Erasmus trying to attack Myrus. Sylvi did not just risk (and actually got) bitten by a vampire just to see the Prince end up dead or turned or something! With her rapier still in hand, she raced over that way, hoping to buy some time for Lennox to get Myrus away from the chaos. She managed to slice the vampire's arm, however she started getting a weird feeling, more of two, and one of those feelings was definitely sending up red flags in the back of her mind. "Um... Tate? I suddenly had the urge to rip the vampire's head off... And that is not normal thinking..."

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Luna jumped slightly when she saw her mother Appearing before them, she had not seen her mother since she was alive, and she had never appeared before her either. Knowing though that her mother was dead she did want to hug her, as she started to scold Valda for allowing Ahote and Titian into the room. "It's great to see you again mother." Luna said as she gave the former queen a soft smile, as she looked towards Ahote. She wasn't sure if that was wise at all or not to leave the room with the vampires running around the hallways, Luna rubbed her arms slightly as she started to feel a slight draft.

"You should totally check that out over there." The Voice said in her head, as Luna felt the urge to follow it though she was hearing voices in her head, she knew that the draft was actually real. As Luna started to approach the Unstable Potions and Partikular Poisons cupboard, she started to inspect it for a few moments before Luna decided to open it. The next thing she knew she had been Transported to an old cottage. Luna then started to freak out as she quickly made her way towards the window there, as she looked out she was in the Marram Marshes which were a good day or two from the Castle itself.

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Arnora looked over towards Halley for a moment, wondering if she should mention what had happened to Arya to Cuyler, though it wasn't really her position to say anything. Even if she was Cuyler's friend she didn't want to make him upset or anything either as they started to make their way towards the Bifrost which wasn't that much further now from the palace itself. Arnora stopped and bowed her head towards Heimdall and gave him a slight smile. "You are always a ray of sunshine like always huh?" Arnora said towards him, though she had traveled a lot through the Bifrost since her time in Asgard.

Arnora then turned her head and noticed Bruce and Myth coming up as well seeing them and smiled, as she gave a nod towards Bruce as well as Myth. "Welcome to the party." Arnora said, while looking over towards Halley mentioning Loki and nodded slightly tracking would be a bit harder then. "When we are there I could try the tracking again, to get a better feel where he exactly is if he is there at any of the locations Cuyler mentioned."

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Myth could understand Bruce's point of view, but she also held Runa's view too. Not everyone was pure evil. She would have to see for herself though and this trip was the best way to do it. She reached for Bruce's hand and squeezed as they left. "We'll tackle it together then." She would do her best now. She had a lot to fight for, more than she had in the past.

Once at Bifrost, she saw the others. "Hope that's all right. Strength in numbers. What's the gameplan exactly?"

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Fleur had to give the woman credit then. "If you were here to kill me, it would not end well for either of us. Let us leave it at that." She walked down, expecting her to follow. She had to have something huge in her arsenal then if she made such a long trek. Something she could use.

Once down, she would find Agatha's people and address them. "I have battled your leader and have come out victorious. You can go see for yourself and bury her if you wish, but there is precious little time. As our laws decree, you are now among my coven and I treat my coven as my family. I know you will not trust me, not at first, but that matters little. What matters now is to get ready for battle. Once you have prepared yourself I will need a representative to give me the total numbers of your people and what specialties they have. Children will be protected along with our own. If anyone is bold enough to try to take me on, I welcome efforts but your strength should be saved for the greater enemy as I plan to lead you all to a glorious future."

She settled in a tent awaiting the wizard. "You wanted to instruct, I believe. So instruct."

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A lot has changed in these last six months. Cuyler glanced down at his mini arsenal of weapons and Asgardian army. No longer was the simple boy of the Land of Lost Nights, moving from port to port to sell his wares and learning about their unique items. He listened to Halley’s words, appreciating the review of Loki and just who they were dealing with. They would have to be on their guard and if they got separated they would have to challenge each other. If Loki could really mask himself as one of them, it would probably be his best option.
”Pleasant as always Heimdall,” Cuyler greeted after his usual speech. The four of them weren’t left alone for long and Cuyler smiled as he saw Bruce and Myth approach them. Cuyler wasn’t upset by the notion of more people joining. To him, more people meant more backup and they could cover more ground.
”Myth, I barely recognized you without the little one attached to your hip,” he teased her. He gave her a side hug before he smiled warmly at Bruce. He still fangirled over the man but was at least contained.

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Lennox stalled in the middle of the path towards the Castle. There was a fire on one side of him, vampires on the other and a vampire in front of him. He slowly bent to the ground, sliding Myrus off of his back before he rose, unsheathing his sword and made ready to fight an immortal thing. They were on their own and Lennox shifted his weight, ready to defend.
“Prince Myrus, if you find it in yourself to use your gift at any point, I encourage you to do so,” Lennox said kindly before he went forward and struck the vampire. He made his mark but the vampire made no reaction. Lennox skipped back one step, leaving enough room behind him to protect Myrus still but defend from the vampire as well.

Meanwhile, things with Amarantha could be going better but it could be much worse. She now had the vampire pinned underneath her and felt an increasing amount of raw strength and power. Couple that with her pre-existing strength and skill and Amarantha felt damn near unstoppable. The only problem seemed to be a pain in her jaw and the need to cut someone open and fill her mouth with the liquid that flowed from it. It seems when she was bitten, she was turned as well. What an interesting predicament. Amarantha held on tighter to the vampire below her as the change over took her.
”It seems I am. What a mistake that was on your part,” Amarantha noted. Amarantha was a fighter, she didn’t give into anyone or anything unless it was by her design. She leaned in, moving quickly and fangs dropped as she neared Oliver’s neck. The shift in weight though made it easy for the vampire to flip her over and have her pinned to the ground. Amarantha hissed in annoyance, sounding much more menacing now. She shifted, moving her knee up to kick the thing in its groin but it didn’t even seem phased. It was like hitting a wall with pillows.
Annoyed Amarantha looked around her, seeing a vampire on fire that seemed to turn to ash before their very eyes. The food table was also on fire. Antonjie was with Sylvi now, Lennox and Myrus were cornered and there were many dead bodies on the ground. Including Amarantha’s guard. She glared and looked back at Oliver. She went slack, relaxing a bit and stared up at the vampire curiously annoyed.
”Well since I have you, mind telling me what you are doing here? A little far from home, isn't it?" It was a common thing she did in training, teaching a few people as well. A little misdirection, pretending to be weak and admit defeat by going slack and the attacker would think they won. This was particularly true when it came to the male ego. She only hoped vampires suffered from that same affliction. Dangerous thing hope. Amarantha knew very little about Vampires but she did know they didn’t belong here. Screaming and yelling filled her ears. The smell of burning food, blood and salted tears filled her nostrils. Everything was turned up, including the sensation of clothes rubbing against her skin and the vampire pressed down on top of her. The vampire still didn’t tightened his hold on her so Amarantha didn’t wait any longer. She shifted, pushing her arms against him, using him as a counterweight and rolled them back over so she was on top and could stand up, getting away from him.
She was now beside the food table that was Magykally burning. Without hesitating Amarantha kicked the leg of the table, shattering it and the table collapsed sending burning food flying and rolling across the ground. Unfortunately it missed its intended target. She pulled out another knife and stared at Oliver before she started shouting for those around her to hear.
”Magyked fire!” Her voice carried and she hoped there were enough in the area with the ability. ”Use it on them and they will die.” Amarantha was at an impasse. If she used the fire, it could easily be turned on her and she would die. She had no Magyk of her own but she did know of something that was born with it. It was reckless and stupid but unless a miracle occurred in the next few seconds, Amarantha was going to the barracks.

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Titan put a hand out, stopping Ahote from going any further. What was the point? They were here, safe for the moment.
“How about we think of a better plan rather than, ‘let’s go out and see what happens’ ya?” The Queen shared a similar sentiment and Ahote turned around, ready to argue and just go. He was expendable, they were not. A ghost then Appeared and Ahote was seemingly unfazed other than the fact this ghost was scolding Valda for letting men into her room. Ah, this must be the mother. Queen Meliscente. Ahote took to a sweeping bow, hoping to show a sign of respect to the former Queen.
”No ill will is intended I assure you.” There was a flash before he could say anymore and Ahote turned just in time to see Luna’s hair vanish into a cupboard. He blinked a few times, shocked.
Titan walked over to the cupboard, ignoring the others in the room. He examined the outside of it before he opened it up and was transported as well. He appeared behind Luna and quickly went about examining the room. “What do you see,” he asked Luna as he searched.
Ahote looked away from the spot where two people now vanished. There was no telling where it went or what waited on the other side. It might not even take them to the same place but there was a chance. He turned and looked at Valda. ”Go,” he instructed. There was a kindness but demand in his voice still. Ahote was still expendable but Valda wasn’t.

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The Queen's Room - the Palace, the Castle...

Valda's mother didn't seem too happy with her daughter's response. "Honestly, my dear, this is why there were riots when you took the throne! Appearances are critical. If people judge you as being strange or unusual, they may decide to assassinate you." Queen Meliscente pursed her lips slightly and didn't pay much attention to Ahote, deeming him not worthy of her time. She was a rather strict and formal Queen of the Castle back in her day, so it was understandable. "And vampires? That is what you have guards for! Your job is to stay here and be seen with dignity - not running around with strange men to and from danger! Tsk!"

Queen Meliscente then stared at Valda. "I should have made your sister Queen. What a disappointment my children have turned out to be."

The Keeper's Cottage - Draggen Island, the Marram Marshes...

Titan and Luna would find themselves in a cramped, circular cottage deep in the Marram Marshes. There is a staircase heading up to a second story, as well as to a basement. There aren't any signs that anyone has lived there recently, with dust covering a majority of the surfaces. The food stores have gone rotten and moldy, though there are some supplies for making potions and the like lying about. Perhaps a witch has lived here?

Luna would have faint memories of her mother mentioning something called the Queen's Way - a secret passageway that allowed her to visit the Keeper. Of course, Meliscente hadn't shared much information about it beyond that with Luna, claiming that she would tell her when the time was right. Sadly, Meliscente died before that could ever happen. There are some portraits on the walls here of distant ancestors of Luna's, including Queen Esmeralda - one of the nicer queens in Castle history.

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Violet took in a breath, looking at the scared and frightened civilians. They were trembling in fear, no doubt from the strange yellow coloring to her eyes. Whether her perception failed her or not, Arya didn't see them as civilians at the moment. Any of them could have been infected, turned into more of those creatures. She couldn't risk allowing their plague to spread to the rest of the Castle - she had to defend this city. She heard Amarantha's cry about using Fyre to destroy these creatures. "Pure Fyre, Burn higher, Make a Pyre, A True BoneFyre," Violet chanted.

Fyre licked up from the ground around the feet of the civilians she targeted, with the poor victims serving as the kindling. She had Ignited them and there was no remorse in Violet's face as the civilians screamed. Whether or not any of them had been vampires, that would not be certain until the bones were examined. Violet then turned her back on the flames, glancing forward to see who needed her assistance next. She spotted Amarantha and her eyes narrowed slightly. Kill them all... Kill them... Cleanse the Castle with blood and Fyre... the voices whispered.

Antonije was having a hard time keeping a clear grip on the mental connection he had opened between himself and Sylvi. It was like her mind was changing rapidly, turning into something different and new. His heart was filled with rage and darkness as he instantly realized exactly what that must mean - the love of his life had become a vampire. He took a slight breath, his blood feeling ice cold and everything around him faded into background noise. "I failed you..." that was the only message Antonije was able to get through, before the connection broke off.

However, he wasn't going to just wallow in self pity. He darted forward towards Erasmus, the vampire that Lennox and Sylvi were dealing with. He didn't care what happened to Prince Myrus. The boy was a bonafide damsel in distress and not worth his time. Without his Fyre-Making Charm, he didn't have any decent weapons on him except for his mind. There were a few gears in his pocket and he pulled them out, putting his fingers through them in order to make makeshift brass knuckles. "Ја ћу те зајебавати!!!" he screamed, having no regard for his own safety.

He got in between Myrus and Lennox and the vampire, tackling the beast to the ground expertly. Antonije pulled back his fist and started to punch the creature repeatedly in the face, not even caring if he himself got bit at this point. Someone had to pay for this. And while it didn't even hurt the vampire, Antonije's hold on Erasmus kept him from getting up and attacking the others.

Prince Myrus took a deep breath and he nodded at Lennox. He started to focus and he rushed over to Erasmus and Antonije, trying to avoid getting hit by the mad mutant by accident, and the energy started to appear around Myrus' hands. He touched the vampire's clothing, charging it so that way it would become a bomb, and Prince Myrus then darted backwards. "You need to let go, he's about to explode!" Myrus shouted at Antonije.

Antonije didn't stop. He didn't seem to hear the prince.

Over at the burning table, Oliver chuckled slightly, impressed with Amarantha. "All will be revealed in time," he told her. "You needn't try to protect them anymore. They'll kill you for what you are. Your family will abandon you... And you'll only have us to turn to," he bragged. For Amarantha, the bloodlust would be increasing in intensity. She would be able to hear the heartbeats of those around her clearly and the noise would only make the hunger worse. For Sylvi, however, the pain in her mouth would spike as a pair of fangs shot out - and oh dear, her boyfriend's neck is looking like an excellent snack right now...

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The people of the Witch Country more or less reacted with relative... nothingness to the news that Fleur had killed Agatha. No one had really liked Agatha and people didn't get too attached to the Witch Queen, due to the brutal process of succession. Some Witch Queens in the past had only been on the throne for a few days before someone came along and defeated them in combat. Regime changes were frequent, but the structure of their society never changed so it wasn't too much of a worry. The battle looming ahead? That did spark a few whispers in the crowd.

Inside the tent, Asha the Magykal remained standing. "If at any point I am covering too much information, please stop me," she asked Fleur. She didn't know how much Fleur knew about the power she possessed. Performing a mild trick of illusions, Asha conjured images of six stones in the air up above them. One of them was the Time Stone and another was the stone Asha wore around her neck.

"When life was breathed into the universe, six инфинити стонес were created, each of them representing a part of existence... Reality, Mind, Soul, Space, Time, and Power," Asha paused slightly. "You have the Time Stone, one of the more fragile ones... Its use threatens to tear apart the fabric of reality and existence. I Felt when it was used to kill Queen Meliscente and I Felt its use again now, leading me to you."

She paused again, wondering if Fleur would just dismiss this or not. "I am not here to take the stone from you," she began again. "I simply ask that you use it responsibly. We already have an issue with the Displaced - people and places and things brought through time by accident from the last user of the Time Stone... If you use it too often or on too large a scale... The universe could crumble, wiping all life out of existence in our world... Perhaps even in the multiverse itself."

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"Prince Bruce," Heimdall greeted. Halley coughed slightly and looked at Heimdall, giving him a slight wink. "Pardon me - Prince Brucey," he corrected himself. There was a slight flash of light and Heimdall had a gold coin appear in his hands thanks to Halley, which he then pocketed. The fate of the universe was in their hands but that didn't mean she wasn't about to mess with her little brother. Nothing was going to keep her from doing that. "And Princess Myth," he said, giving a bow to the only full blooded Midgardian present.

"The current strategy is to travel to the Castle of the Small Wet Country Across the Sea, where Arnora was able to pinpoint Loki's whereabouts. Once there, Arnora may be able to get us a more precise location. Our orders are to retrieve the Tesseract as the primary objective - capturing Loki is a secondary one," Halley explained to her sister-in-law. "Remember, we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves. It isn't our place to meddle in Midgardian affairs," she then gave a pointed look towards her brother. He had done a bit more than meddle.

Once Halley finished giving instructions, Heimdall opened the Bifrost and they were transported via the rainbow bridge in a rushing, exhilarating beam of light. It was by far Halley's favorite way to travel. Once landed, they would find themselves in the courtyard outside of Wizard Tower.

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Valda was not too thrilled at being lectured by her mother, especially considering what she had just said. It made her not really want to go anywhere, but to sit down on the bed and curl up somewhere after that. She knew that being the Queen of the Castle was not something she should be doing, she knew that her sister was probably better off doing the job than her, and she was going somewhat insane. The problem came from hearing someone else say it to her face, especially her mother, and she didn't know what else to do. "If that is what you think mother, then maybe I was better off being left alone in the woods with the Wendron Witches," she said, before she headed towards where Luna had gone, the hurt was evident in her voice, but her facial expression was neutral.

"You better follow after us Ahote, got it?" she said, looking over at him, before she went over to the cupboard. Glancing a bit at it, she stepped into the small space, and found herself where Titan and Luna were. "What is this place? I never knew that that passage was even there..." Valda said, glancing around the cottage, not too sure what to really make of everything at the moment.

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"Really Halley? You just had to bribe Heimdall into saying that? Honestly you're lucky I don't punch you for that," Bruce snapped slightly at his sister, more then a bit annoyed by her teasing. He generally was the one in the family who tended to get teased more then the others, it probably had something to do with the fact that he was the only boy in the family, but still. It did tend to get a bit on his nerves that when they were supposed to be doing something somewhat important his sister still teased him about things.

"...You also say that it isn't our place to meddle in Midgardian affairs, but might I remind you that we still are part Midgardian. As well as the fact that usually history has taught us that when Loki is involved we generally have to deal with Midgardian affairs, so mind getting off your high horse and stop pretending you are better then them. So let's go to Midgard, and usually trying not to stand out makes you stand out, which you wouldn't really know considering the fact that I'm the only one who actually goes to Midgard usually out of the four of us!"

He had a bit of built up anger, namely because when he had spoken with his mother and Myth about Fleur, neither one of them had seemed to realize just how bad things were if they didn't do something about her. The fact that no one seemed to care about it and just deciding to give her a bit of a free pass on things was the dumbest thing he ever heard of. Add on the fact that Halley was teasing him again and you have a bad mixture of emotions and thoughts running through his head.

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Sylvi was just confused by what was going on, and she looked over at Antonije, hearing the last words that he had spoken mentally to her. She wondered what he had meant by that, as it had been her choice to fight the vampires, not his. It would have angered her if he had tried to stop her from attempting to help out the prince. There was pain in her mouth, and she felt the fangs with her hand, a bit confused by what sort of thoughts were going through her mind at the moment. Namely the thought that she wanted to attack Antonije and bite him.

Hearing Myrus say that Antonije needed to get away from the vampire, as he was about to blow up or something like that, she was fighting back the part of her mind telling her to bite Tate. However, she didn't want to see him get hurt, and before she really knew what she was doing, she tackled him, pulling him away from Erasmus, and instead, she pinned him to the ground. Sylvi looked him in the eyes, a bit worried that she wasn't going to be able to fight back the urges, but was glad that for the moment she was able to. "Tate... Calm down... I-I-I don't know what to do anymore... I don't know if I can fight against it..." she said softly, she was scared, and she didn't know what to do anymore.

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Mona heard the call of the only person she could call anything close to a friend here. She rushed as quickly as she could toward the woman, ignoring the heat of the burning table. Perhaps it would help keep these creatures at bay, stopping them from getting too close. Her hopes for this were not high though. As she moved she pulled another Fyre Marble from her belt pouch. She rolled it carefully in her hand as she came to a stop at Amarantha's right side.

"Oi lassie looks like you could be usin' a helpin' hand," she said with a kind grin. She had not yet noticed the fangs in her friend's mouth. Her attention was on the creep who was advancing toward them. Mona held the marble up, preparing to flick it at the bastard. "A hunters bow, me hand be primed. Let me aim be true and tried," she murmured the words to her spell and released the marble. It flew fast and hard before it hit its mark and exploded into flame. The vampire burned and Mona was feeling pretty darn proud of herself. With a smirk, she turned to Amarantha and held out two of her marbles for her. "Take 'em, they'll light up soon as they hit whatever they be thrown at. Oi, what be wrong with ye teeth girlie?"

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Luna looked at the rotten and molded food stores that were in the cottage, as she turned her head to look at Titian as he joined her, and then a few seconds later so did her sister Valda. She closed her eyes and sighed a little bit, as she looked around a bit more, seeing the pictures of some of her ancestors that were on the walls. Luna then turned towards her sister, as she remembered a little bit of what this place actually was. Luna looked up the flight of stairs to the second level, and decided to go up the stairs to see what was up there as well.

"I believe that was the Queen's Way, it was a secret passage way so that the Queen of the Castle could meet with the Keeper, whoever that is." Luna said softly as she didn't really know what this place actually was either. "That's all that I know, mother would know more about this, we are also in the Marram Marshes, a day or two walk away from the Castle." Luna said to her sister, having a feeling that she didn't really want to visit their mother again.

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Arnora looked over towards Myth and smiled towards her. "The more the merrier." Arnora said towards her, surprised that she didn't have the little baby with them, which was probably a good thing as well. Then she watched Halley as Heimdall greeted both Bruce and Myth, and then her bribing him to calling Bruce, Brucey. "Oh I am so calling you Brucey now as well." Arnora said with a slight laugh while Halley briefed on what they would be doing for the two new comers. She didn't really want to go against orders either unless it was okay with Halley while Bruce did some ranting about getting into any Midgardian affairs, even though she was half Midgardian as well.

Then the Bifrost was opened, she always did enjoy traveling that way as well with Cuyler and the Warriors Three, and then a few seconds later they were now in the courtyard just outside of the Wizard's Tower taking in the sights again. "It's great to be back again." Arnora said as she looked towards Halley and the others. "Could I borrow Loki's knife again please?" Arnora asked Halley, even though they were in the same area and she had just used tracking to try and find Loki she wanted to use it again just to get a more accurate reading.

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Cuyler was smiling slightly, stretching out as Halley relayed the information to Bruce and Myth. He chuckled to himself at the nickname and then Bruce’s protesting. He slid closer to Arnora and whispered to her.
”Twenty on Bruce.” The Bifröst then opened and he moved away from Arnora before he stepped forward and was pulled into the rainbow. It had taken him awhile to get used to this sort of travel but he had grown fond of it. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to go back to simple boat travel but he did miss it.
Cuyler looked around, familiarizing himself with the area once again and sighed. A part of him had missed this place. The beacon that was Wizard Tower shadowed over him. He looked up further, seeing the sky and the stars. They looked completely different on Asgard. Cuyler inhaled, smelling familiar scents plus the distinct one of smoke.
”Does anyone else smell burning?” Thia growled her ascent, having shifted into her wolf form the moment they touched down. Her ears twitched and she shifted uneasily as she picked up distant sounds that Cuyler couldn’t hear.

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Lennox jumped back when Antonjie came rushing forward and jumped the vampire in front of him. He quickly looked around him, scanning for more vampires before he refocused on Myrus. He put his sword away and walked to the Prince as he expertly charged the Vampire with enough power that would cause him to explode. His warning to Antonjie went unnoticed thought. Lennox placed a hand on Myrus’s shoulder.
“We have to go,” he urged the Prince.

Amarantha’s eyes sparkled as she watched the Fyre be lit; however, it wasn’t around who she had been hoping for. Her eyes darted to the mysterious woman who started the blasted thing and she clenched her fists. Innocents were burning and although Amarantha didn’t normally care for that sort of causality, this was somehow different.
She looked over at Oliver, deeming him not a threat at the moment and growled at him.
”Shut it.” She turned from him and moved to go to Violet when Mona came into view. Amarantha clamped her mouth and looked away, fighting the desire when Mona threw a marble at Oliver. He lit up quickly and Amarantha relaxed. Thank the gods it worked. She received two more fire marbles from Mona and spun them around in the palm of her hand. Mona made comment on her teeth and Amarantha glared at her a moment. The pulse in Mona’s neck was strong and Amarantha forced herself to look away.
”It seems I’ve been compromised but my job is far from done yet.”
She walked away from Mona, making her way to Violet. As she walked, the beating of hearts became very loud in her ears. The smell and taste of fear, of blood enhanced and only continued to escalate her need for blood. It was beginning to drive her mad but still Amarantha resisted. She reached Violet and shook her arm. ”And just what the hell do you think you are doing?! Vampires need to burn, not…” Her words were cut off as the woman’s features came into focus underneath the hood. It couldn’t be, but it had to be. Her daughter said she would be coming back.
”Arya, you’ve returned,” she said plainly. She remembered all of Apollo’s words suddenly and didn’t know how else to talk to a person who had suffered from memory loss.

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Ahote was stunned with the Queen’s venomous words to her own daughter. He had never experienced such treatment of parent to child before. It was horrifying. Ahote stood tall, glaring down at the former Queen. He moved over when Valda walked past him in such a way that showed this woman that he would protect Valda, as a supposed servant would do, no matter from whom.
He turned his head when Valda addressed him, bidding him to follow. In all honesty, he hadn’t intended on following. He was determined to keep them safe and if he followed through, what was to stop the Vampires from getting in? He didn’t know where Myrus was. Perhaps the Prince had been taken down and now a Vampire was full of his blood and could walk into the room, rendering them all defenseless. And if he went, who was to stop them from getting to the cupboard the same as they had?
Ahote said nothing as he watched Valda disappear. He looked back at the late Queen and frowned.
”You only see glimpses, things you desire. The Queen, your daughter, is stronger and well equipped for the dangers of this world. She has already surpassed you,” Ahote said confidently.

Titan ran a finger across the table, pulling it back and wiped away the film of dust left on his fingers. He opened cupboards and quickly closed them, finding dead vermin or a disturbing smell. If they were to stay for any length of time, they would need to find food. And water. He watched the Queen appear and then shifted and crossed the room to the stairs before Luna could reach them. He climbed them first, checking every nook and cranny before the Crown Princess stepped foot on the second floor.
He still wasn’t sure where they were but it seemed the Princess had an idea. That was a start. Titan descended the stairs again and looked about the room, trying to jog his memory if he knew anything about the Marram Marshes.
“If we stay here, we will need to get supplies. At the very least water,” he said and looked towards the window.

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Myth heard Bruce. She really did understand and she wasn't about to underestimate Fleur by any stretch, but she had an inkling, one she shared with Runa, that Fleur wasn't 100% evil. Some, yes. She bit her tongue though, she knew Bruce would not listen or care. Instead, she focused on the here and now. Accepting the hug from Cuyler. Not only did she get a new family, but she reconnected with her old one. Cuyler was a reminder of where she came from.

"It took every ounce in me not to bring him with, but he's in capable hands." She joked before following the others. They soon came to be outside of the Wizard's Tower, along with the memories. "Umm, speaking as a Midgardian here, I very much wish to be involved in their affairs." She sniffed when Cuyler pointed out burning. "I don't sense it, but I have a bad feeling about this."

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Fleur listened, hands folded under her chin. It was easy to see how this could all be taken as hogwash. But she did hold a stone to bend time. What really intrigued her was the news of the other stones. Imagine what one could do if they had them all? She put a mental note on that for later. "You assume that I care about the fabric of time not being messed up. It's not that I don't, but I have the means to enact my revenge and take my rightful place on the throne. If the Time Stone aids in that, I will use it as I see fit. I will take caution though. Wouldn't want the multiverse to rip in twain."

She wondered something. "What else do you desire really? I can understand wishing the fabric of time to hold in place, but surely you did not need to travel all the way here, Magyk or not, just to warn me of that. Is there something else?" Yes or no, she would be done with the girl and would then make plans to head back. She had a date with the Witch's Road.

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Asha genuinely smiled as Fleur said that she would be careful when using the stone. "I am glad to hear it... Should you create any more of the Displaced, please contact my brother or me. We have been resettling them in the Big Wild Land," she explained. The Displaced needed a lot of handholding at first, since most of them spoke archaic languages and had no idea what the world was like now. Some of them could easily pick up their trade again and for others, their line of work no longer existed. She had been hoping to find a way to use the House of Foryx to send them back to their proper times, but it was a game of roulette as to when the house would take someone.

As Fleur asked if there was something else, Asha's smile faded. "What do you dream of, Witch Messiah - Witch Queen?" Asha corrected herself. "I hope your dreams are happy... Perhaps you dream of love or power..." her voice trailed off for a moment, as Asha's eyes took on a far away look to them. "... I dream of the end of the multiverse from the бесконачни каменци." She then shook herself slightly, rising to her feet. "I must be off," Asha said, before handing a smooth coin to Fleur. "If you are in danger or Feel another stone... Press it and I will know. I will come." (Add this coin to your inventory)

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The Queen's Room - the Palace, the Castle...

No one is coming into the Queen's Room just yet, so that is a good sign. If Myrus has died, then the vampires just haven't known to try it. This makes sense - the room can only be entered by those with Royal Blood and they are also the only ones who can even see the room. To everyone else, the doorway just looks like another bit of stone wall, with no idea what is being Concealed there by powerful and ancient Magyk.

Understandably, Queen Meliscente wasn't too thrilled with Ahote's words. "If my daughter needs a servant such as you to attest to her merits to her own mother, then she has surpassed me only in failure." And given that her daughters had left through the Queen's Way, Meliscente saw no reason to stick around much longer and she disAppeared. Ahote would no longer be able to see her. Outside of the room though, screams are coming from the corridors.

The Keeper's Cottage - Draggen Island, the Marram Marshes...

Upstairs, Titan would have found a bunch of beds with worn blankets and sheets on them - enough for a large family to live in the tight but comfortable space. If they do end up staying here, the room seems to be well insulated, so heat won't be too much of an issue even with winter looming. Unfortunately, he won't remember much of the Marram Marshes, not even recalling the name of the island they are on in particular. He will know that the Marram Marshes is one of the most dangerous regions in the Small Wet Country Across the Sea, tied for the most dangerous with the Badlands.

Brownies for instance are native to this area. Red-eyed creatures, they invade homes and drag people down into the Quake Ooze, a substance like quicksand but far deadlier. The island that the trio are currently on seems to be half sunk into the Mott, one of the large watery areas of the Marram Marshes. If they want to get back to the Castle through travel, they're going to need a boat - or to find out how to work the Queen's Way to return.

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The vampires in the immediate vicinity of Mona and Amarantha were dispelled - with the exception of Amarantha, of course. Whoever had sent them and ordered this attack unfortunately was still a mystery and so far, none of the vampires had been taken alive for questioning and interrogation. As a strategist, Amarantha would definitely want to have at least one of them captured - this could just be the start of something bigger and the Castle is clearly woefully ill prepared for whatever may be coming.

"Girl 526, you have failed the Castle," Violet said calmly, as Amarantha grabbed her arm. But as Amarantha got a look at her features and then used Violet's given name, the vigilante faltered for a moment. No one had called her Arya that she could recall - it was a hint of the life she must have forgotten. This woman had known her, no, this wasn't a woman anymore... She was a vampire, a vile monster that endangered everyone in the Castle with each breath she drew. "I am not your Arya," she responded, steel in her voice as she tore her arm from Amarantha's grasp.

Violet had heard about the commander of the Palace Guard from her vigilante partner. She knew that Amarantha came up through the Young Army, a vile organization that preyed on children. She needs to pay for that sin! the voices yelled in her mind as Violet slid one foot back, readying a fighting stance.

"Transfix," Violet cast, immobilizing Amarantha in place. She would, however, still be able to speak. For whatever reason, she hadn't gone straight ahead to casting a Fyre and burning Amarantha alive. Perhaps there was something of Arya still in there - or perhaps she had questions for the Palace Guard commander. "Name your successor."

Meanwhile, as Sylvi knocked Antonije out of the way, Erasmus' clothing exploded. But rather than kill the vampire, the explosion instead tore the creature's body apart. Erasmus' head landed west of Sylvi and Antonije, landing in one of the flower beds of the Palace gardens. His arms, legs, and torso were strewn about among the plants as well. The poor gardener the next morning, having to deal with a bloody mangled mess in the flower bed.

The more horrifying thing, of course, was that the head was still moving. Erasmus hadn't died from the explosion.

Antonije still couldn't feel Sylvi's mind, but he noticed that Violet was there. He was angry that she hadn't come soon enough to save Sylvi. His adoptive father didn't even seem to care that they were fighting for their lives as well - he certainly hadn't appeared from Asgard to come and help. Something snapped inside of his head and Antonije stared up at his girlfriend, hearing her words but they were distant. He mostly heard the blood pounding in his ears and he knew what he had to do. "It's going to be okay, Silvija... Just close your eyes," he said softly. "It'll all be better soon."

Myrus nodded slightly at Lennox, before observing the destruction all around them. While he hadn't killed the vampire, the head seemed harmless on its own. He then noticed the innocent civilians and the Palace Guards struggling to defend them against the vampires, with almost all of them either dead or turned - it was hard to tell the difference from this point. "...Lennox, I want to help them," Myrus said. "I, Myrus Marcellus, relieve you of your duties," Myrus said.

He was coughing and was pretty winded as Myrus forced himself up and went as quickly as he could over to the two guards fighting the two vampires. His eyes were filled with purpose and determination as he went over there, picking up a sword that one of the guard had dropped earlier and he started to charge it. He wasn't going to just let others die for him. Luck must have been on his side as he thrusted the sword forward, plunging it into Asphodel and he let go. The vampire exploded, much as Erasmus had, with the disembodied head falling at Myrus' feet.

"Kill one head and two more grow back," the vampire taunted, its voice incredibly hoarse from being beheaded. "The Castle will bend the knee."

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Halley had ignored her brother's remarks about wanting to punch her. She was used to Bruce threatening violence after she teased him. Of course, she could easily warp reality so he ended up having no nose or something along those lines, but she wasn't going to use violence or her powers without just cause. Dying the tips of her hair pink through Chaos Magyk was the most rule breaking she did. However, her brother and his wife both needed to be reminded just why they didn't meddle with Midgardian affairs. "The Midgardians think that we are gods. If we are to come down from Asgard and handle every little petty squabble and fight, to end every war that they begin, then we are allowing them to give up agency. They may not be strong, but they are not weak. They can handle their own affairs," she reminded her brother sternly. She then handled Myth's comments. "You can intervene, Lady Myth - but not on behalf of Asgard."

She then took Loki's knife and handed it to Arnora, allowing the tracker to attempt to pick up the trail once more. If that didn't work, Halley did know of an item found in the Castle that they could attempt to use - a device called Sleuth. If they pressed it to Loki's blade and recited the incantation, it would lead them to the Asgardian. Of course, Halley didn't know how the device would work given that Loki tended to shift form to suit his own purposes.

Halley detected the scent of smoke in the air as well. "The smoke is probably from... oh, some celebration or something," she said dismissively, not seeing anything that would really alarm her or make her believe that there could have been more to it. Unless Loki or the Tesseract were on fire, she didn't really care all too much about the flames. She had brought Cuyler's friend back to life a year or so ago not out of the goodness of her heart, but mostly to make a point. She wasn't the evil chaotic force that most assumed her to be.

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"...Well at least we aren't in the Castle anymore, though how we ended up way out here is a bit beyond me... That is kind of nice though, it means that hopefully we won't have to worry too much about those things following us... But it does make me worry... Maybe we should see about going back or something after Myrus. If those things were attacking us, then there is a chance that he might be out there and targeted as well, and I don't want to see him get hurt at all..."

She was worried about her brother as she glanced around the cottage where they had found themselves. Valda didn't know what to really do about this entire situation. She didn't know too much about the Marshes, mainly only the basics about them. However, when Titan mentioned finding water or supplies for them to be able to stay there for a little while. For the first time now since she had been brought to the Castle in the first place, she sort of felt at home. "I can see what I can find, shouldn't be too hard, there has to be a few things around here that we could use," she said simply. "For once I can actually say I know for a fact what I am doing."

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Bruce's eyes flashed with anger, and in one swift motion he moved his fist and it slammed right into Arnora's face with a very loud crack. "Don't you dare call me that," he snapped at her, and Arnora's nose was now severely broken. Like it flat out did not look too much like a nose or something anymore, and Bruce honestly didn't feel like he cared too much about it. Her own fault for basically teasing him or something when he was already in a bad mood. She had deserved it in his mind, and then he whirled around to face Halley. "And last I checked oh sister of mine whose a stickler for rules, our dear aunt the All-Mother of Asgard is perfectly fine with us meddling in affairs on Midgard, so saying that doing so would be breaking the rules is a bit of a stretch, even for you."

His eyes had a slight flame to them it would seem, however it was unclear as to whether or not it was from anger or if he was using any of his abilities. Bruce turned his back to them, and tilted his head to the side, almost as if he was hearing something. "Also, if you are so smart Halley, you'd know that last I checked, yes today is supposed to be Bonfire Night if I'm not mistaken, however there are a few uninvited guests who came to the party that I'm going to go see about helping to deal with. You said they can handle their own affairs, however you also know that sometimes there affairs as you put it can cause problems, do you not recall the stories that our uncle Thor and our grandfather told us of their time on Midgard? The uninvited guests in case you care our vampires, so I'm going to go deal with them since I know I can be helpful, you can tag along if you want, but I don't care anymore," he said simply, before he took off running towards the Castle Courtyard, where he had sensed the chaos coming from.

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Sylvi looked at Antonije, a bit confused as to what it is that he was talking about. Everything would be over soon? Like what did he mean about that? The pain in her mouth was bothering her, but once again, she was fighting back the part of her mind that was telling her to bite him. It was becoming more then a bit of a problem for her, and she didn't know how much longer she'd be able to fight it off, before she did end up biting him and drinking his blood.

Her eyes widened with understanding when she realized what it was that Antonije was thinking about, what he was going to do. He was planning on killing her, and himself. "W-W-Wait Tate, I-I-I know what you are thinking and don't do it..." she said looking at him. She wasn't going to close her eyes or something, she wasn't going to listen to his words about everything being fine. Sylvi could most definitely tell things were not going to be fine at all! Especially since this would likely result in both of them being dead.

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Luna took a few more steps until she was at the top of the stairs her eyes started to scan around the room seeing the number of beds that were there. It did look pretty comfortable if you replaced the worn out old sheets that were on the beds, she didn't want to sit on some of these old looking beds. Luna headed back down the stairs to the first floor. She didn't want to leave the house it was probably the safest place for them right now, but Luna was also really worried about Myrus as well.

Luna looked towards Valda for a moment. "Is there a way that you can teleport back?" Luna asked her sister Magyk was way beyond her as well and she didn't even understand any of it. "I'm really worried about Myrus.." Luna said softly as she looked around the room once more as she adjusted her dress. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Luna asked her sister, as she looked around the room once more she didn't want to see what lurked outside either, knowing the stories of the Brownies that lived in the marshes as well.

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Arnora looked towards Cuyler and smirked a little bit, but she didn't say anything, as she was about to accept the knife from Halley Arnora turned around, letting out a loud cry in pain, as she fell down onto the floor. She quickly held her nose as it started to bleed really badly, and it felt like her face was on fire. She couldn't really even breath through her nose now as she tried her best to stop the bleeding while looking up at Bruce. "You didn't have to punch me.." Arnora said between groans in pain, but she didn't fight back as much as she wanted to.

Arnora didn't really know what the holiday was that they were mentioning as Bruce decided to go against the orders of his sister and making his way towards the smoke over at the Castle. Arnora then reached for Loki's knife with her free hand, as she tried to stop the bleeding on her own. "He does have a mean right hook.." Arnora said softly.

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Shrugging at the other woman's defensiveness, Mona let it go. She watched her a moment as she approached someone standing before a pile of burning bodies. Their conversation did not seem to be a happy one but at least it did not seem to be fighting so likely not something Mona had to worry too much upon. She instead turned her attention out to the next set of targets she should be going after. Her eyes scanned over fires until they landed on the crown prince and a couple of guards fighting against what had to be more of these creatures.

Immediately she set out across the lawn, it taking some time for her to run from the complete opposite side of the battlefield. She paid no mind to Mavis' corpse as her attention was completely on helping Myrus. She held a marble in her hands, her last one. How would be the best way to utilize it? She didn't want to burn any innocents or waste it. She didn't have much time to think about this as she came to her destination. Calling out another targeting spell she threw her last marble at Venus.