Ever since the King continued his control on the land; war erupted.
The small town of Port Vale was luckily one of the untouched areas.
The town didn't have a lot, a couple of food stores, a black smith, a church and a bookstore. Hidden in one of the very few alleyways of the town sat a hidden gem of sorts, a small magic store full of books and treats.
That store contains a young-looking Blind magic user, Ashton.

Ashton paced around their work space. The Kings Guard had just finally left to go to another town. Ash kept out of sight and out of sound whenever the Guards entered town. They didn't need the trouble, they didn't know the King knowing they existed.
They looked out the window, thinking back to those letters they had sent out, in hopes of finding 4 helpful adventurers to help them in their quest.

---

Now with the Kings Guard gone, a figure moved along the treeline around the city.
This small flimsy piece of paper had found its way to this large beastperson, she wasn't sure why it came to her, but she had it now.

She stood properly, the light shining against her dark purple scales. She folded her wings behind her back as she looked around. The small town was just starting to wake up. Gaia knew that if people saw her, they'd freak out. Not everyone was used to seeing Unknowns around the area, especially not large Dragon-people.
She moved to grab the tattered cloak she had carried with her off the treebranch it hung on; now was the time to enter the town.

Vadym had hoped for finding some kind of settlement in order to have several days of rest before continuing a journey that never seemed to end. Port Vale however, after having had some first looks at it, appeared to be on the very borderline of acceptability for the battle mage -- and that was taking into account the fact that the king's men had just left the place already. With that annoying bunch of people around Vadym would probably have tried to find his away around this town.

A tavern was found quickly and without the difficulty of choice -- there simply was just one tavern renting rooms in Port Vale. Vadym made sure he'd have a place to stay for the night, then continued to venture deeper into the arrangement of buildings. At least there seemed to be some more basics available: food stores and a blacksmith very always good to have. Then something stopped him: A small piece of paper lying on the ground. Apparently someone had disposed of it since there was no obvious source to be seen in the area, and it had become so wet and dirty already that 'deciphering' was a more appropriate term then 'reading' when Vadym decided to pick it up.

It was saying something about four adventurers for some kind of quest. They should gather at... that was the part where damage had taken the greatest toll. All Vadym could read was that the place had to be some kind of magic store. Well... shouldn't be too hard to find in Port Vale, should it ? There hardly could be more than one of those around here.

Gaia slunk out of the shadows, her ears perked up as she listened for any sign of other person around. She looked at the piece of paper again, A magic shop. She thought before she fanned her wings out slightly, her impressive wingspan making a large shadow on the ground. She relaxed before she moved along quickly, her stomach gave a snarl- Finding wherever she needed to go would have to come later, first she had to sate the appetite.

She moved to tilt her chin up to the sky, breathing in slowly and her tail swayed. She followed her nose, literally, to find where food was.

---

Untying himself was going to be a lot harder than escaping the Guards, Blake realized.
He had slipped from the Guards pretty easily, everything he had still intact and everything. He looked at the ropes tying his hands together with a frown.

"Rightio." Blake spoke to himself, "This'll be... Fun." He looked around, he knew that the city of Port Vale was close, which was good, but explaining himself would end up being rather... Difficult.

Vadym had a not so comfortable time trying to evade the almost ubiquitous amount of dirt that was lying on the streets, rotting and waiting to be dilitued and washed into the sea with the next rain. That dress of him had not been that cheap after all, but never was it in so much danger than in a town like this. The mage almost considered using some kind of spell to alleviate the task, but what would the people around him say ? According to his experience by far not every commoner was open-minded with regard to such things, especially in regions where education was a more rare thing to be seen.

Still Vadym made it, only his shoes had turned into a pile of mud. Carefully and with eyes wide open he knocked against the door, hoping that someone was still there to respond.

---

In the meantime some strange happened near Port Vale's only church... Just like with many other sacred buildings people had not been hesitant to attach weird looking statues to them. Grotesque creatures of fantasy that looked horrifying, but actually were meant to demoralize and scare away evil spirits. Those arts of work were meant to cling to the walls forever, but unknown to most people very few of them didn't. Now the night was coming and one of them separated itself from the high spire it once had been mounted on. A hulking beast that didn't come crashing down since it unfolded giant wings, now gliding through the dark skies with almost disturbing silence. It would try to roam around the streets this night, trying to find out more about its environment.

The door creaked open as it was pounded on, the shadows of the street being struck by the rays of soft, warm light from inside the store.
A large hanging jar, filled with moving light; potentially fireflies or something magic, hung from either side of the door.

The store was stocked with shelves against the walls, the floor space in the middle of the store was bare, covered by a large navy blue rug.
A large counter sat near the end of the room, a pair of doors seeming to lead off to other places. Behind the counter was a large cabinet that hunt open, revealing the shelves inside and on the walls, stocked with different coloured vials or stones.
The air of the Magic store was light and full of warmth. A figure sat behind the counter, their head down as they focused on the book in their lap.

---

Gaia's ears twitched as she heard what sounded like knocking. She had gotten to the Inn, but people looked at her out the windows, and she heard the doorbolts lock in place to keep her from entering.

The dragonwoman let out a low grumble as she moved on, she guessed it was time to find the magic place, she'd go hunting in the morning.
She walked along quietly, knowing she was getting the glances through the windows.

---

Blake flexed his hands quietly, trying to see if he could untie his hands himself. He frowned as he couldn't, flexing his wrists a bit more before he sighed, walking into Port Vale, past the Old Church before he saw the Gargoyle leave his spot.
"Fuck!" He swore, moving to hold his hands up to cover his mouth, he didn't mean to be so loud.

Vadym dared to clear his throat somewhat artificially in order to get the shop owner's attention. "Erm... excuse me ? I have something for you..." The mage was quite straightforward: He simply put the piece of parchment he had found onto the counter and tapped onto it with his index finger in order to indicate what he was referring to. "Did you write this or is this merely the intended rendezvous point ?"

Silently, but no less scorchingly hot something came to Vadym's mind: What if this was just a fake ? Some more or less bad joke intended to annoy the shop owner by luring random people to his place in large numbers. Or maybe even an attempt of sabotage ? Vadym now expected pretty much anything between 'I don't know anything.' to a full scale rant and tried to prepare himself mentally. At the same time he, of course, tried to get a good view at the shop owner. If he was the author if this parchment indeed Vadym wanted to know who was about to hire him... not every contractor was trustworthy after all...

---

The enormous shadow that had separated itself from Port Vale's church now was almost invisible against the already dark sky. Despite its size it hardly made any noise as it tried to glide as much as possible instead of flapping its wings, also it flew at high altitude. It would take until later in the night for the creature to come down and wander. Too many people were still roaming around on the streets that could spot it and become afraid or, even worse, call to arms.

Ash looked up at Vadym as he spoke, his silver eyes trained on him carefully.
"It is both." He stayed seated behind the counter. "I am waiting for at least 2, maybe 3 more to arrive as well." He motioned his hand to the note, the edges rippling with magical energy. "I got them to find the best travellers they could find."

Footsteps echoed from the outside, Ash's eyes moved to the door before his eyes narrowed.
Gaia paused at the door, her tail swaying before she moved to push it open. She pushed her head through the door quietly, locking eyes with Ash and glanced to Vadym.
"Ah. I see I am not the first." She said as she slipped into the magic shop.

---

Blake watched the shadow disappear and shuddered, moving into the little town a bit faster.
"I need to get these off somehow.." He said as he entered the town properly. He looked around to try and find somewhere that was open or that would help.

"Well, I'd not be so sure if spreading a simple piece of parchment on the street would only attract the best ones, but personally I've come here with the very serious intent if picking up that job you're offering. I'll try to do my best." Vadym spoke slowly, but seriously. He was partially busy thinking already and that was quite obvious, but still he didn't break his visual focus onto Ash.

Then Ash entered, causing Vadym to turn on his heels and starting to inspect her briefly.
"Hm. It seems now we're already two. So one or two more and we're ready to go, right ?"
Vadym approached Ash and stretched out his large hand, smiling gently.
"Sorry. I probably should have introduced myself first to you: I'm Vadym, mage. And you ? I'm curious..."

---

While circling in the air and waiting for the last rays of light to disappear, the gargoyle had no true path to follow. He wasn't aware of any Blake and that this certain guy was getting the impression of being pursued by the enormous flying creature, he just was waiting. However and probably to both their fortunes light was fading away rapidly now and the gargoyle started to reduce his altitude gently. When the last light was gone he landed on an open and empty path a few dozen yards away from the village, his eyes being able to penetrate the night. Now he'd need to take care of the candlelight coming out of more and more windows, but this was a rather minor issue. Also he'd have to be careful about his incredible weight causing thudding steps in the mud...

He did not expect anyone to roam the streets currently, at least he had not spotted blake. So as the gargoyle entered the village carefully an unexpected encounter could very well occur.

Ash smiled at Vadym's first words, moving to speak before Gaia entered. He inspected the Dragonwoman before he turned back to Vadym.
"They are not simple letters master mage." He said with a small, slightly cheeky, smile. "I am Ashton Gias, please just call me Ash." He continued before his eyes rested back on the beastwoman.

Gaia stayed back and listened, her ears drooped and eyes narrowed in the light around them. She tucked her wings further into her body in order to stop herself from slamming her wings into things.
"As you may sense, Master Mage." Ash said, returning his eyes onto Vadym, "I am also a magic user; although not in the way you are. I am a Mystic, in fact, the last mystic."

---

Blake saw the beast disappear, part of him relaxed, while the other part just worried that he was the beasts next prey.
He moved into the village, looking around quickly but noticed all doors and windows were closed.
"Musta been the beast..." He uttered out loud with a frown, "Now how am I going to get these cuffs off."

"Hello Ash!" Vadym reciprocated the greeting before pondering about the other words. "Not simple letters you say ? Well, I think that depends on your point of view. For the average reader they obviously are intended for giving the pattern of their distribution they so far must seem to be. So would you like to introduce me deeper into the reason for their existence ? I'm not entirely sure who the last mystic is and what his deeds might be ?"

Now Vadym truly was curious. One could see how he concentrated much more on Ashton than on anyone else in the room, including the precense of the dragon woman who clearly was outstanding in her own right as well.

---

The gargoyle was a humongous beast, leaving behind deep, clawed traces in the mud of the roads that had the potential to leave people behind in fear the next morning. However he too was bound to the force of gravity and thus couldn't avoid this to happen without flying, but he couldn't to anything else while flying. On the plus side for some people it might be rather ease to keep track of him for Blake...

Now the gargoyle too encountered one of the mysterious parchments that still happened to lie around. He wasn't a good reader though, so deciphering and understanding the meaning of the message would take a considerable amonut of time.

Ash only grinned at the Mage's words, "To others they look like a normal poster." He said gently, "I am still waiting on others, but I can definitely explain myself more than once."
He moved to stand up from his chair, his hand moving to touch the counter. As he walked around he kept his hand on the counter, making sure he didn't bump into anything else; Not that he needed to, his magic showed everything around him almost as perfectly as what his eyes would, but he was used to doing this around others that didn't know his full magical abilities.

Gaia watched Ash with a sway of her tail, she listened to his words but stayed silent. She glanced towards the Mage as well but didn't want to interrupt anything that was about to happen.
"Have you heard of the Mystic Order?" He asked with a small tilt of his head.

---

Blake followed the pathways into the city, he tried to rub his cuffs against anything he could to break the metal. He moved to chew at them with his teeth for a moment, he frowned before he pulled away. He was about to swear before he heard footsteps again.
Ah! Help! He thought before he moved around the corner, seeing the back of the Gargoyle.

The Male froze up completely at the sight of the beast.
"Oh my god." He whispered to himself, "Holy shit why is it here...?"

Vadym watched Ash, his hand in particular as he kept it in firm contact with the counter. It slowly dawned upon him now that the owner of this shop might in fact be blind or otherwise impaired in his eyesight, but if so the way Ash moved around was admirable. Vadym took a small step backwards to make sure Ash wouldn't accidentally bump into him.

"The Mystic Order ?" it came out of his mouth. Vadym's eyebrows were arched and for a moment he looked at Gaia as if to check if she might know more about it. So far he had considered himself to be a very experienced magic user, but he definitely could not recognize this name.

"No. I have not... What is it ?"

---

The gargoyle slowed, then almost abruptly stopped dead in its deep tracks. Hadn't he just heard something ? His feet were producing a rather considerable amount of noise despite his efforts to remain as silent as possible, but his ears were fully devoted to the task of picking up anything suspicious. Nobody was allowed to see him, so detecting any villager's activity in advance was a very important thing.

The beast turned around and just started at the male now in front of him. He was screwed, right ? Well... probably if that guy would start screaming now. Should he silence him ? A dangerous move since Blake seemed to be much faster than he was on his feet.

"Who are you ?" he started questioning. The gargoyle tried to keep his voice low, but still it was more like a rolling thunder. He almost felt stupid for his humble attempt to start a dialogue, but if it worked it could avoid disaster, couldn't it ?

Ash stopped about a step away from Gaia, looking up at her with narrowed eyes.
"I didn't expect that my posters would gain the interest of someone much like yourself." He stated, Gaia's tail swayed slightly with a flick of her ears.
Ash seemed to smile gently before he looked towards the mage again.
"The Mystic Order is a magic order that spans back millennia." He started before he gave a bit of a frown, "Not that they are around anymore, one of our own took most of them out, save for me."

Gaia stayed silent, she hadn't been introduced properly but that didn't matter at the moment. "I have heard brief things about the Mystics." She started, catching Ash's attention, "They were spoken about in everywhere I have been; Strong Mages, blessed by the Stars with their powers. From Restoring to Elements and everywhere inbetween- bar from Necromancy."

---

It. Spoke. The beast just fucking spoke to Blake.
Blake was terrified, stopped in his tracks. There was a lump in his throat at the sight of this beast.
"I..." He started shakily, "I mean you... N...no harm." He replied, trying to match the beasts low voice. "I doubt I can... do much with my hands tied..." He lifted his wrists to reveal the restraints.

"M...My name.. I...Is Blake." He started, finally answering the question.

"One of their own ? That's... interesting to say the least." Well, under the assumption that Ash was speaking the truth and not just some humble rumors and fairytales he had picked up somewhere while in a stupor Vadym could only wonder whe he had not heard about a millenia-old organization earlier. One that had quite literally destroyed itself in particular one might add.

"Alright, the Mystics." Vadym continued, not feeling the need to point out his lack of knowledge yet. "So what would we be tasked with in particular ? Maybe its more efficient to start asking this way and to dig into the lore from that point onwards." the mage added.

---

The man seemed terrified, terribily terrified. The gargoyle was somewhat aware about how he must have appeared to other people, but what made things really bad was that, on most occasions, he failed utterily to explain that his personality was a different one. And one could certainly argue if releaving one of his giant, razor-sharp claws was the most adequate thing for trying to appear harmless...

"Your hands are tied ? Well, that can be fixed I think. If you'd like to show this device of constraint to me ?" Each of the gargoyle's words was a little thunder, he could only hope that this unexpected need to speak would not wake up any of the villagers already sleeping.

"It's a long story." Ash said quietly before he looked to Vadym, "We need to take down a lich." He said with a glance to Gaia, he stayed silent as he looked over her before he frowned slightly.
"I am still waiting on two others... If they come here that is." He started before he looked towards Vadym again, "It requires Travel, but it will save millions of lives. What do you two say?"

Gaia swayed her tail quietly, listening to whatever Vadym had to say about this.

---

Blake listened to the beasts words, it was requesting to see the rope around his hands...
His legs stepped forward on their own, he held his hands out shakily. "I...It's only rope... B...But, I... Uh... Can't untie them." He said with a small smile.

He hoped that the Human clothes he wore, wouldn't give off the scent of him being anything but.
He gave a weak smile to the beast, his entire body quivering; but he was slowly settling down.
"Y...You're massive!" He said, almost splurting out to avoid too much silence.

"What I say ? Well... I'd say that I'm not worried about traveling, but more about the lich. Have you even a glimpse of an idea about how difficult it can be to take down a lich ? I'd say that four people are the absolutely and bare minimum we'll require and that is only if all of those four are very talented to say the least. In some way or the other at least..."

Vadym could only wonder why not more ressources were to be allocated to that task. Had the administration really become so rotten in these lands that nobody but some small private trader cared about this ?

---

"No, you're tiny!" the gargoyle answered more spontaneously then very well thought about. In immediate retrospect his words probably only helped to aggravate the situation.

"Well then, let's see..." The gargoyle grabbed the rope tying up Blake's hands as carefully as he could. It barely took more than a very easy looking movement for his claw to split it into two much less restricting pieces.

"That was easy. The question is... who did this to you ?"

"He will be hard to take down." Ash said with a small nod, not looking at Vadym. He moved to poke his head out of his door quietly to look around, sending a wave of magic through the alleyway and through the city.
He stepped away from the door to face the other two slowly, "Then we will take five, Myself, you two and two others." Ash stated quietly, "The Lich..." He hesitated, "Is an ex friend of mine."

Gaia's ears pricked up at his words, before drooping backwards as her eyes narrowed. She focused on Ash now, her tail flicking slowly.

---

Blake flinched at the Gargoyle calling him tiny, he almost regretted giving his hands to the beast before the rope snapped quickly.
A sound that echoed through Blake's hidden, yet slightly pointed ears. "Thank you." He said as he moved his arms to relax his tense muscles on his shoulders.

The next question hit him heavily, almost causing him to flinch backwards.
"Right." He said, clearing his throat to speak. "That's... Uh... A pretty personal question don't you think?" He asked with a weak laugh.
Oi. Tell him. A voice hissed through his head, causing him to flinch again before he gave a small sigh.
"Guards." He said, "It was all a misunderstanding! They were convinced that I was an Unknown!"