While Locke might have washed his hands of this dirty business –quite literally, Artemisia was getting the impression—Artemisia had gone through hell to save the people of her city in the past, and perhaps even slightly beyond it. If some adventurers came to her in peace to save a dying companion, who was she to refuse such a request? Besides, unlike Locke, she took no particular notice to the lizardman, except that it was still rare to see one of his kind around these parts.

Approaching the unconscious knight, she kneeled down over him, a light glowing between her palms as they hovered over him, letting positive energy flow back into the elf as she casted her healing spell.

Artemisia was quite quickly distracted from thus mundane task, however; she didn’t even hear the conscious big tiddy elf when her attention was taken away by the sudden lightshow atop the tower that the rest of her party had been ascending. Had they reached the top, or found the star? Regardless, it seemed like something was happening, and before she knew it, the elf, her summon, and her lizard companion were off, leaving her and an unhelpful Locke with the sleeping knight. The elf’s departure seemed to be accented with screaming though. Artemisia didn’t know what was up with that, and she wasn’t going to pry.

Right, might as well continue healing.

And that she did, until she was interrupted again. This time, by another large breasted girl in indecent looking clothing, spewing nonsense about some sort of acting and, apparently, book-keeping related topics, from words that she picked out of the strange girl’s word salad. Artemisia replied to her queries with a deadpan tone, although she raised an eyebrow as Kaze returned, being a bit more handsy in his own concern than she thought was necessary.

“Are you okay? Words require context to make sense, I’ll have you know. Who are you and how did you get here, anyway?”

It seemed almost nothing short of a miracle that an adventurer like her had made it this far, acting like nothing less than the village idiot.

“Are you okay? Words require context to make sense, I’ll have you know. Who are you and how did you get here, anyway?”

The young horned girl was snapped out of her inner monologues by the voice of this other woman. It seemed these were either very committed roleplayers indeed, or something else was very, very wrong here. Although frusrrated - and now also slightly concerned, after the lizard had touched her - the young girl felt irritated that none of her own questions had been asnwered, but perhaps by playing along for a bit would open these people up to more 'meta' questions... She sighed.

"I guess you can't see my name either then. Haah, fine. I'm Serafaye, I was fighting Severanoxis, by myself, over in the Herculon Gorge just ... Moments? ago. As to how or why I'm here, I dunno. Suddenly I was up in that tower behind you, and I don't know why or how I got there." She stated, as plainly as possible. She looked around briefly, taking another once-over of the surrounding ruined cityscape.

Now of course, neither the Herculon Gorge nor Severanoxis the Elite Siege Hydra World Boss actually existed in Oublioth, so these names would mean nothing to those who heard them. Natrually, the names of the places in Oublioth didn't exist in Oubliette Online either, so such exchanges would be mutually unenlightening.

"Uh...huh."

Cecilia watched the celestial maiden fall, apparently not beholden to the same gravity that the rest of them was. Like a normal person, she shimmied down the four-story drop with rope herself, bouncing against the wall as she descended. Plenty of thoughts were going through her own head now, but in the end...there was some incongruities here, weren't there? Artemisia seemed alive though, and Locke existed too in his Locke-ish way of not saying or doing much of anything.

Interesting, really...

"Well, let's keep it simple and hash things out then. Dunno where the Herculon Gorge or Severanoxis is, but right now, we're at the Forgotten Ruins, north of Palagria. One week back, a falling star struck this area, and most of the adventurers, such as ourselves, went off to investigate, either at the behest of Palagria or just, cause, y'know, ain't every day we get to see a falling star." Cecilia took a swig of water from her skin, before offering the obviously confused star-maiden a cookie. "My group got here first, looked up, and found you in a crystal. Hit it a buncha times to break you out, and there you go!"

Her eyes flickered briefly towards their surroundings once more. The sound of battle had definitely died down now. Worse comes to worse, they'd have to go crawling through the way Annabelle came in. Sucks for Arte's horse and lizardman, really.

"So hey, maybe whoever you were fighting banished you to another plane? Or maybe you died, and this is what happens when the divine perish? Who were you calling for anyways? Your attendants?"

The horned girl, now revealed to be named Serafaye, stood utterly dumbfounded and stared at the woman who was offering her a cookie. Nothing of what this spunky lass had just said made any sort of sense. Palagria? Falling Star? Crystal? And how could she not know about Herculon Gorge or Severanoxis? Was she roleplaying some kind of resh-out-of-the-oven scrub adventurer? And what was this whole thing about a this falling star, and a week ago? It'd just happaned less than a few minutes ago! The girl did however reach out and take the cookie offered - onlyto realize something.

"No trade window, or confirm or decline buttons?" She muttered to herself, as she looked at the tiny baked crumbly sweet in her hand. Raising her head, she looked at Cecilia with a contemplative expression. "Banished to anothe world, or killed, huh? While it's true that I was just about to be hit by the Omnistorm, even if I'd died, I should've resspawned at the Temple in Tarrtais, not here. And banishe dto another world? That's a bit ridiculous, don't you think?" Although she dismissed the idea, once she held up the cookie and took out a bite form it, Serafaye's entire being froze.

Her eye shot wide, her body seemed to enter a state of complete paralyzation and the cookie she had just taken a bite from slowly slipped from her fingers and fell onto the ground. For a moment she said or did nothing. Couldn't say or do anything. But then, a soft, trembling voice left her lips.

"I... I could... I could taste that." Her words almost quivered, as if the sensation was so alien or intrusive that it shook the young girl down to the very core of her being. "How... How's that possible...? There shouldn't be any way to taste anything... And the... Touching...? Wait." She suddenly lurched forward, with incredible speed, towards Cecilia. With swift motions, both her arms came up and then.

Squishies~

Both of her palms now firmly planted on Cecilia's cheeks, the horned Serafaye began to very gently tug and massage the other woman's cheeks. Her eye was as wide and full of both amazement, confusion and even fear, all at the same time, while her mouth formed a small 'o'-shape as she proceeded to half-assault, half-molest, half-investigate the girl, before letting go before long. Holding her hands infront of herself, she stared at her own palms and fingers for a bit.

"...I can... Touch you...? Feel your... Your avatar... Your skin's so soft... But, why? How?" Serafaye seemed... Agitated and confused by this sudden realization...

To others, it seemed as if an issue of poor communication. Annabelle surmised that many of the things this 'Serafaye' was talking about was half made from the language of the gods, or perhaps this 'other plane' as Cecilia described it. But the longer that Serafaye continued to act with clear confusion and bewilderment, the more Annabelle felt that the girl was ultimately simply sick and manic. She'd never heard of an 'Omnistorm' or 'Severanoxis'; they certainly seemed like words to describe something truly awful or powerful. Had she been cursed or afflicted in some way?

Annabelle had, of course, made it down much the same way as Cecilia, and approached Serafaye after she'd spontaneously groped at Cecilia's cheeks. Forgetting the lizardman's attempts at touching her, Annabelle shot for Serafaye's hands, grabbing them tenderly in her own if she would let her, and spoke with a soft, caring tone.

"Did this 'Severanoxis' hurt you? Do you need the healing of a mage, perhaps? You look so very bewildered. Hysterical, even. I do not know what it is like to be 'Serafaye' in her home plane, but you seem like you need help in ours," she said with a worried smile. "My name is Annabelle. We can help you figure out what is going on, if you would have us."

---

With a bright flash of light from above, the advancing members of their makeshift party must have found something. To Locke, the light that emerged was unlike anything he'd seen. It was powerful. His eyes could usually see through magic. Whatever it was, Locke was unable to peer beyond the light. No, it was more powerful than that. It physically pained him. He immediately closed his eyes to avoid the light, placing his hand over his mask to stop more.

The radiance only meant bad things. Now, every crew in the ruins knew exactly where to find the relic. The thought of which annoyed Locke. More danger.

With a great sigh, he took a spot relaxing against a wall. They'd haul out whatever the treasure was then leave. Hopefully, with Locke no worse for wear.

Or maybe they died. Though, the scream of "what the fuck" did make it seem that something was still alive up there.

Soon after, a figure slowly descended from the hole. A new person? Did someone get the treasure before them? No, Cecilia and the others came out soon after. They were friendly, at least. More confused, if anything.

The arrival of the other fat-filled girl spoke of bizarre things and the rest of them attempted to make sense of it. Unlike the rest of them, Locke wasn't exactly interested in making sense out of everything or caring of the sudden realizations that the confused girl was making.

"I'd hate to ruin everyone else's mood," he delivered out in an inauthentic, uncaring tone, "but that light just marked us for death. Leaving these horrible ruins is probably in the best of all of our interests."

Kaze had tilted his head when she recoiled. Okay, no fever otherwise she'd have fallen on her ass. He wasn't exactly well-versed in human body temperatures, but he knew they were always warmer than himself. Aside from being off her rocker the girl was apparently fine physically. Possibly. Who knew, he only knew how to take a body apart not actually fix it don't judge!

She went on to introduce herself, with a bit more of her strange lingo to start it off. Serafaye? Interesting name for a strange woman. Then she went off to talk about strange places while fighting...the fuck was a Severanoxis? Reaching back he pulled a thick folded paper from his pouch and unfolded it. It was a map, a very extensive one judging by the scrawling words for locations, drawn in landmarks, etc. "Never heard of this Herculon Gorge..." He muttered out as he scanned his map.

When he finally pried his eyes from his map he witnessed the strange girl playing with someones face. Making his eyebrow raise up slightly. Reaching out he poked Serafaye's own cheek, making the softness squish up. "What was that about not just touching people?" He questioned, honestly mammals and their no touchy weirdness.

Finally the jester spoke up about the group needing to move out since the 'treasure' had been found. Folding up his map he tucked it back into his pouch before stretching his limbs. He had rested up enough that he was fully charged up again. "I'm ready to go when everyone else is. Judging by the sounds combat is dying down...but which side won though is the question." He said, both adventurer and imperial had gone for the groups. So it'd be a fight to get the hell out of the ruins as well.

"I don't particularly mind though?" Cecilia replied, as Annabelle intercepted Serafaye's hands. "We're both girls here, after all~"

And while the spellblade's skin was soft and warm, owing to a combination of genetics and sleep, the star-maiden's skin was also nice. Soft, yet firm, and refreshingly cool, accompanied by a strange, sweet scent. Made her want to taste her, just a little bit. Later though. Locke wasn't having any of this, and the unconscious elf-knight was up too. Taking a couple steps back away from Serafaye, she cracked her neck, loosened up her shoulders, warmed up her calves, and said, "Probably imperials. Adventurers are prone to fighting each other too, and Galanon isn't the biggest bully in this region for no reason. Arte, can you ride double with Serafaye? And Locke, scan ahead for us with your little girls?"

She shifted into a running stance again, ready to take off.

"I'd say our best bet is just to punch through one of the alleyways, skip over a wall, and run...east? West? Pick one, I guess. Uh, three of you people. Can y'all do that?"

What the fudge-nuggets!? I can totally feel her skin! I can actually touch and feel her! ... She's really soft, and smels nice... Wait! No! Damnit Doug, pull it together, man! Now's not the time to for that. I needa figure out just what the hell's going on an- Eh?

Suddenly, the woman in the minimalistic clothes came on over and decided to grab Serafaye's hands. The dracokin blinked a few times, confused, as she listened to the woman, who she had met and been itnroduced to earlier, speak and reintroduce herself again. Granted, it wasn't like Serafaye had paid all that much attention to the talks and greetings up in the tower just earlier, but something made the ex-Oubliette player feel like she was being treated like a mentally impaired person. Still, the fact that Annabelle had grabbed onto her, and Serafaye had been able to feel it, was confirmation that this phenomenon wasn't just limited to Cecilia and her cookies.

Before she could respond to the implied need for mental aid however, Serafaye's cheek was poked and squished. This time by the same lizard-bro who had touched her forehead before. He said something snarky about the no-touchy-feely comment from before. What an ass. Couldn't he tell she was trying to figure something out? Hadn't he heard and observed her rather confounded reaction to both taste and touch? He was probably some snotty brat, likely in middle school who wanted to act like a cool kid.

The guy in the fanciful, flamboyant get-up also spoke up. Saying something about how their doom was sealed and that they were all going to die shortly. What a bundle of laughs this guy was. Totally the type you'd bring along to a party or hang out willingly on days off. Was his name Buzz Killington? That's what Serafaye decided to call him mentally from now on in any case. The girl whose cheeks she had squished and gotten a cookie from earlier also spoke up, about something called a Galanon and Imperials and bullies... It didn't make much sense. She also rqquested the boring-looking woman with the horse to give Serafaye a ride... Which was ridiculous, considering Serafaye could probably walk faster than that mangy mare could gallop.

"Uh... Thanks but I think I can walk just fine." The sorceess stated, off-handedly and apparently preoccupied with her own thoughts.

Okay, let's see. I fought Severanoxis, got hit by the Omnistorm right as the server shut down. Then, suddenly, I was in a tower, surrounded by weirdos who claimed I'd been stuck in a crystal... And that some strange light had rained form the sky, seven days ago... And that strange light was apparently the crystal I was stuck in. So, if they're not pulling my leg and this is all some strange, well-plotted prank, that would mean I've been stuck in a stasis-like state for seven in-game days? Serafaye placed one hand under her chin and tapped her own cheek with the finger of her other, deep in contemplation.

But none of 'em knew about Severanoxis, or the Herculon Gorge... The lizard-guy even pulled out a map! ... Too bad I didn't take a look at it... Then again, it could've just been a blank piece of scroll for all I know, and he was just pretending to have somethig on it. Still, if they don't know about Sevnox, they'd have to be brand new players, but why would anyone buy Oubliette Online and make new characters just as the game's about to be shut off for good? That doesn't make any sense either, and this location.. I've never even seen anything remotely like it before. And my HUD, hotbar, health and mana bars, the player names that should appear over each avatar's head and no verbal commands working... Plus, these freaks all keep saying and spouting out names that don't mean anything or sound familiar at all, like Paladina or whatever, or Gamelon and shit... Her brow furrowed and she looked to be in even deeper thought than before!

Now add the fact that I can actually feel when somebody touches my avatar, or my avatar touches them, and the fact that I can taste something I eat... And smell others BO.... I can't force a log off and I can't open any tabs or menus... In fact, I can't seem to access anything game-related at all, not even my own inventory, skills tab or spellbook... So, given all of this, and what all of these goons have been telling me so far, the answer is... She closed her one eye, concentrating so hard, so intently and so single-mindedly that the world around her seemed to vanish altogether, leaving the girl alone in a black void with only her thoughts!

... No. That's... No, that's impossible. That's something that only happens in those weird, out-dated japanese cartoons and comics... Right? That sorta shit can't happen in reality, it defies... Well, Iunno, SCIENCE! Or something? Quantum-physics and algebra and stuff! You can't just suddenly go from one reality to another! That's... That's absurd! It's not possible! No, this is... A lucid dream. Yes, a very lucid, very real, very... Very... Wait! But, if that's true... And I'm really somewhere else... Why am I... Why is my voice so... High? I diidn't have a deep voice or anything in the real world, but I'm pretty sure I didn't sound like... Oh... Oh no... No, no... Nononononononononononono...

Serafaye's lone eye suddenly shot open. Her face was pale, and she was sweating. Profusely. Her entire body quivered and shook, like she was having a mini-seizure. Her arms fell limp along her sides for a bit, before she suddenly swallowed, very markedly. With a trembling hand, she lifted her arm up and, with an almost overly cautious motion, reached and laid a hand on her own chest. As soon as her fingers touched the soft, squishy, firm and perky substance that was located there, Serafaye's already pale face when even paler... if that was even possible. She looked at each of the people gathered around her, before letting out, in a squeaky, timid and hesistant voice.

"Uhm... Just... Just to make sure... Am... uh... Am I... Am I a girl...?"

The question was rather redundant.

Unfortunately, none of the nearby companions would have time to answer, unless they did so at once and without pause or thought. For not more than mere seconds after Serafaye's inquiry, the gathered group of misfits could begin to hear something unsettling. The sound of footsteps. Many footsteps. Many footsteps walking in uniform tact. That wasn't the sound rough and tumble adventurers, running around a dungeon looking for treasures, made. No, this was the sound of well-disciplined and trained soldiers, marching. And by the sound of it, their steps were getting louder and louder, nearer and nearer. The noise came from all directions, but was most noticeable to the west and north, sounding less prominent to the south and even lesser than that to the east.

Regardless, it seemed that the Empire had finally deemed themselves in control of enough of the Forgotten Ruins to begin their push towards the center. Whethher any adventurers and mercenaries from other places still remained was a mystery and uncertainty. Still, it wouldn't be many minutes before this orchestra of marching footsteps would arrive here in the main royal plaza, and by then, the group would likely be completely surrounded. If they wanted to avoid facing the entire force of the Imperial army sent here, then they would likely need to get a move on.

Serafaye, meanwhile, seemed far too busy trying to come to terms with something internally, to even notice the noise that the marching, oncoming soldiers were making...

---

By the time Yinha managed to get herself up, her angel back near her, and a 'Feather Fall' sort of spell out to get back down the tower to follow the crowd, the High Elf felt herself becoming a bit tired with the constant movement. At the very least the other elf man was alive, and awake at that, while the strange girl that had been up there seemed to ramble on about places that...frankly didn't exist? That in and of itself was something confusing to her as she silently listened on, trying to think back on maps and such she'd seen before. That and the strange terms that seemed to be in some other language or from some other place were odd as well. Argh. It was all so confusing as it was, and Yinha for a moment wished she was back in the High Elven Capital to get into the libraries there right now. At least she could put names to people better after all of that talking.

Though there were other, far more pressing matters to attend to.

Though as the masked man talked of leaving, and another girl mentioned Imperials, and the Lizardman talked of wondering who 'won', Yinha let out a small sigh. Yes. Between the undead and all of this, it wasn't as if she'd forgotten the situation...though it hadn't been on the front of her mind at least. You know, when re-surging past issues and a near dead ally and getting mobbed and trying not to die in a collapsing building were taken into considering at a rapid pace.

The sound of marching soldiers was also a big indicator of things as well, really.

Yinha walked over to Serafaye as she gently grabbed the woman's hands together in her own, after mentally sending her Guardian to scout ahead as well, before looking the odd woman in the eyes and ensuring she got her attention.

"Yes Miss Serafaye, you are a girl. I know not what this has to do with your arrival, but we must get moving right away before we are surrounded! So please, let's all get moving!"

Maybe she could snap the girl out of it with a plea to focus on the immediate situation here? Or not. She had no idea if it would work, but Yinha simply wanted to get her moving as well before they would all be trapped here. Then maybe they could talk about her confusion and things like...wondering why she was a girl? It was like this girl was from another plane, or had gotten memory jumbled by some kind of magic.

If Serafaye wouldn't come along, and the other's took off, the angelic mage was determined to drag her away if she had to! Innocent lives didn't need to be lost in this...enough were probably dead already anyways.

So, her name was Serafaye. A strange name, to be sure, but the girl was spouting some even stranger nonsense. What was a Severanoxis, and where was the Herculon Gorge? Artemisia knew her geography very well, and not just for the local cluster of countries, either. She had never heard of that place before.

It was rather more likely that this girl was seriously delusional or mistaking some discount romance novel for reality. She didn’t really believe any of the nonsense about another plane or reality that Cecilia suggested, either.

It was even more strange when Artemisia’s companions and Serafaye started touching each other.

Artemisia didn’t actually have a problem with a bit of skinship. It was not like she wasn’t innocent of it herself in the school baths in better times…

But there was a time and place, and Locke was the first to point it out, and Artemisia was all too kind to add on to that.
“Unless you have some amazing power up those ridiculous looking sleeves of yours, then we should be leaving.”

Shifting her gaze from Serafaye back to Cecelia, the merchant girl frowned. “I could, if either party acquiesces. The way I see it, neither she nor I would find that arrangement agreeable.”

She shrugged, before quickly following up, the sounds of suspiciously uniform footsteps approaching in the distance. “My intuition says to break east. There seems to be less resistance coming from that side.”

With that, she remounted her horse, ready to get a very quick move on, but not before giving a long stare at the star girl.

“And yes, you are a girl.”

...

...

...

... Welp! That sure was disheartening, not to mention grossly upsetting. The elf, with the boobs the size of watermelons - which by no possible measure of reality could be real. Seriously. Look at those things. If that wasn't silicon, there was some kind of universal injustice going on here! But enough about that, getting back to the dismay oof confirmation. Serafaye looked utterly baffled at the buxom elf's statement that, yes, in fact, Serafaye was a girl.

So, I'm not just in another world, but in another body? Well, technically Serafaye is my property, but c'mon! n situations like this, ain't I supposed to be a generic, average-looking guy who gets swarmed by beautiful women who all want to get with me because... Reasons? I mean, if this turns into some kinda reverse-harem I'm gonna be so miff- Oh. Oh no. No. Wait. No. No! Shit! I'm stuck in the body of a gorgeous, busty, nubile young girl with big boobs and child-bearing hips! I'm probably fertile as fuck too! Crap! What if some guy comes onto me!? SHit! What if some guys try to gang-rape me in some old alley!?! WHAT IF I START GOING THROUGH PMS!?

Apparently, priorities in Serafaye's mind were slightly different tot he ones of those around her. Still, at the snippy comments from Artemisia, Serafaye likely would've retorted with some back-handed insult, or told themighter-than-thou girl to pull the stick shoved in her ass out. But, being predominantly focused on her own issues here, she didn't exactly pay much attention until the sounds of horse-hooves began to clop rhytmically. Raising her head, from her own hands, which had been rustligna nd massaging her temples previously, the dracokin finally picked up on the approaching noise.

We're not the only ones here? The hell.! That's not the sound of some gang or small group! Those are waaaaaay too many footsteps! Damnit, can't stay here... And thes guys are like, no help at all. Look at them! They looked as if they've only just cleared the tutorial-section! Can they even fight or defend themselves? Wait, maybe we don't need to fight... These fools are the only ones who know anything about me being in that crystal. And even then, it's only like, four of them! If they all keep their yaps shut, maybe we can just talk our way out?

Pondering the possible ways to escape the inevitable confrontation that was to come, Serafaye began heading eastward as well, walking at a brisk pace. Ironically, she seemed to move faster than what her motions suggested, it actually looked a bit unnatural. But such was often the case when you had magic items equippe, in particular ones that enhanced your movement speed.



"Captain! Scouts are reporting that they've spotted individuals at the center of the ruins!"
"Any sight of the fallen star, or treasure?"
"No sir! So far they've only seen a small group of what looks to be adventurers."
"Hmm... They might have already claimed the prize, and hidden it on themselves."
"Sir, your orders?"
"Right. Begin putting spearmen in the backalleys and narrow streets leading into and away from the main plaza! Make sure to stop anyone who attempts to leave. If they resist, kill them! Otherwise, capture them and bring them to the General at the west gate. Send this order to the other forces approaching the center as well!"
"Yes, sir!"

The ,essenger bowed and ran off, leaving the captain with his red-plumed helmet to keep watching as his men advanced, in orderly and tidy formation. Well, as orderly and tidy as was possible on a cracked, pot-hole-littered road full fo fallen debris, crumpled columns and archways, and broken-down pillars and walls. They would shortly reach the final stretch before marching into the Royal Plaza of these Forgotten Ruins.

Less than two minutes later...

[center]Central Ruins, eastern Main Road

Thwock!

"Message for you, sir!"
"Mm, good."

A shaggy Imperial captain took the piece of paper that had been relayed by arrow. Unfurling it, his beady black eyes read the note, grumbled something and then crumpled the letter into a ball before tossing it over his shoulder.

"All troops, halt!" He bellowed.

At once, the eastern forces stopped dead in their tracks, still and silent, awaiting their new orders. The captain scatched his bearded chin, surveying the area ahead of them, before speaking loud and clear.

"Spearmen, take up positions in the alleyways and narrower streets. Point your spears in towards the city center. Don't let anyone pass. The rest of you, hold this position and form a solid wall, shields and swords in front, archers behind. Anyone coming this way is to be stopped! If they don't surrender, or resist, eliminate them!"
"SIR!"

The booming respojnse of the soldiers sent a slight echo down the otherwise empty main road ahead. The noise of clanking and clinking metal as the soldiers fanned out and began to set up their new formation was underway. Soon, anyone who tried to take the narrow backstreets and alleys to avoid the main road would find themselves face-to-face with Imperial lancers, forming a tight and prickly obstacle like an overgrown porcupine blocking the way. Those who tried to leap from building to building or run along the roofs would find that the archers down below ere not hesitant at all to loose arrows upon anyone trying to bypass the blockade.

It was now just a waiting-game for the Empire. No matter who came, or which direction they went, unless they could fly or turn invisible, they'd eventually run into the Imperial Army... And then, it'd be checkmate! ... At least, that's what the Imperial Officers believed.

"Am I a girl?

Well that certainly settled it in Annabelle's mind. Serafaye had been mentally afflicted in some capacity. She had not an inkling of how to undo the curse or confusion, but that was hardly the most pressing point at the moment anyways; the rest of the suddenly inflated team was already heading out to escape the ruins, or otherwise was prepared to do so. Annabelle nodded down to Carpenter and made into a brisk jog, making sure to keep pace but not to exhaust herself too thoroughly at the start.

Carpenter morphed into the shape of a small canid creature, its limbs lithe and long, and easily kept alongside Annabelle's movements. Serafaye's strange walking speed caught her attention for but a moment, but she dismissed it as just another feature to the heavens-sent girl. No doubt they'd all come to understand a good deal more quirks and powers the girl had. While she was confident Serafaye's power exceeded her own, her strange behavior and confusion worried Annabelle as to her usefulness. If they encountered soldiers, would Serafaye even be able to muster a single spell?

Annabelle kept towards the front of the group as much as she could, eyes alert for any other adventurers or soldiers skulking in the corners of the ruined city. If there was to be a fight, she wanted to be the first to take them on; getting Serafaye out was her top priority then. Something about her introduction and confusion felt familiar...

There was a desire to see to it that Serafaye didn't suffer a kind of fate she had herself all those years ago.

---

Cecilia's request was responded to with the summoning of the sky-blue wind fairy. With a wave of his finger, it spun into existence with a playful flip. Another silent order came from Locke in the form of a simple hand gesture. Pointing to the sky and quickly looping around. As much as he didn't like taking such orders from lowlanders, the circumstances surrounding it made his visceral reaction meaningless. It helped that he was going to do it anyways.

With a slipstream forming ahead of the fairy, it went upwards to survey the area. With a quick loop, the fairy came back down, giving Locke a shrug before sitting on his shoulder.

"We've been surrounded." A certain callous venom laced his words, him being an odd type of angry about not leaving earlier. "Army's on the main roads. Swords and archers. Spearmen on the side roads and alleys. Appears as though we have to fight our way through. Shame."

He didn't quite care at all for the womanly escapades that the others had. Even if they weren't in mortal danger, he still wouldn't care. He was, however, interested in whatever the new arrival... The older, new arrival? Black hair, red-eyes' summon. But again, this would have to wait until they were no longer pursued by an entire army.

And he went with them east, looking to use the side roads. After all, he still wanted to get the hell out of there first and foremost.

Kaze stretched a bit more as the strange horned girl seemed to be having a mental existential crisis going on. Those were some interesting faces she was making, were all humans and elves malleable like that? The myriad of women in the group proceeded to let her know that yes, she was female. The big mammaries were a bit of a tell along with rather wide hips made for birthing. Still it was time to get moving, and off people went. The crisis girl moving strangely, going faster than her pace should indicate. Weird but magic was a thing.

Shrugging those huge shoulders he followed along behind the group. The half-baked paladin was up front with...a summoner swordswoman? Was that what the strange shadow canine thing was? Whatever, magic was a curious thing to him. He didn't practice magic himself, what he had been doing was ki based. His own spirit and life energy being made to do something more beneficial than just being there.

Still he kept up with the group, mainly staying near the angelic summoner. No one had really introduced themselves yet, and saying 'hey you' was too damn vague to get someones attention. "What's your name, little miss? I'm Kaze." He rumbled questioningly to Yinha while also simultaneously introducing himself.

Aside from introductions, he was at the back just in case the Imperials got smart and tried to pincer. It was a big place, but those bastards recruited any warm body they could it seemed. Although he honestly didn't know the combative make-up of the group. Only the Paladin up front and the Light wielding Angel summoner next to him.

Spearmen, hm? Cecilia meditated on the situation briefly. Proper military would form a wall, wouldn't they? But would they patrol the streets, or would they remain as a barricade? Illusion magic wasn't her own specialization, and it didn't seem too likely that they'd have anyone capable of casting invisibility on the entire group.

Oh wait, Locke had his smoke! And he could make things quiet too!

"Hey, Kaze," Cecilia said, slapping the big lizardman on the back. It was easy enough to eavesdrop when everyone was travelling in a group, after all. "How tough ya think you are? Can you break walls and such?"

If they went through the side streets, and Locke and Kaze could combine to silently break walls open, slipping into ruined buildings without being spotted, while the summoners cause distractions in every which way to pull the attention of the spearmen, perhaps they could actually get out without drawing any blood?

Contingent, of course, on whether or not all this warrior's bodybuilding was for function or for form.

---

As the horned girl finally began to run, much to the elf's brief relief, Yinha also began to follow behind her as quickly as she could move. Though the movement of the one in front of her was a little 'unnatural'. Then again, this person was ultimately so very strange already it was like she'd fallen from the sky of another land. Frankly it was almost like they were from another plane or world, at least based on the odd terms and even odder mannerisms she used. Also being surprised she was a girl? Ugh. All so odd and strange as it was, however, the sudden sound of the 'thwock' of arrows met the elf's ears. Then a flood of images came, just as she felt her connection to the Guardian sever. Flashes of armor, the sight of archers, Locke mentioning being surrounded, and-...oh.

"Agreed with the man in the mask! There's also archers trained on the air above us! ...My name is Yinha Karathros, by the way!"

The High Elf shouted to the rest of the group as she moved eastward with them, giving a very hasty introduction at the end as an afterthought. Though even as the hooded girl seemed to ask Kaze about smashing into walls, Yinha herself was simply unsure what the woman running around in her underwear could do up front either. Speaking of which...the elf found herself coming to a certain realization as that thought crossed her mind. Why was this Annabelle just running around in her underwear, didn't she know this was a battlefield?!

Lightly shaking her head side to side, trying to get onto the task at hand, Yinha then looked back towards the hooded girl who had spoken to Kaze.

"Ah, miss, Do we want to risk the buildings collapsing on us potentially though? Won't the noise draw attention?"

One big crash back at that ruined chapel, and the building had begun to come down. Not that it wasn't the doing of that old man necromancer somehow, but at the same time it did bring in the question of how stable most of these buildings were. At least to her mind.

It wasn't like she couldn't make a shield to try to help, but since they were surrounded it wasn't like most options were preferable in this case. Though she was curious about the newcomer, since in retrospect it seemed the young horned girl had gotten off the tower rather nicely and...basically magically. Hmm. Maybe she was getting desperate already due to the dire situation, perhaps, but her inner mage was curious about all of these things and just hoping for some potential extra firepower in this rather bad situation.

"Miss Serafaye, I know we just met but would you happen to know any magic that could help us right now?"

It seemed to Serafaye that their hasty departure, spurred on by almost every single individual person in their little makesgift band of merry... Folk... Had led to a situation where nobody was actually sure exactly where to go, or how to go about it. The woman with the strange, red, amorphous blob and skant clothes, along with the elven paladin, were bringing up the front - seemingly hell-bent on pushing forward.

Meanwhile, the Angel-summoning elf with the huge rack, along with the big lizard-bro, were trailing behind at the back of the group. The stuck-up woman on the horse was trotting away at her own pace, and the masked masquerader Buzz Killington, and his apparent girlfriend, squishy McCheeks, were talking amongst themselves. Well, the lady with lilac hair was talking, the masked dude was mostly following orders and relaying infromation.

K-whhishp~! Serafaye made a mental, whipping motion with her hand, but restrained herself from doing so physically.

Soon though, the spunky cheek-squisher fell back a bit and started talking to the lizard macho. Apparently, she had come up with some brilliant idea, which involved massive amounts of infrastructural damage... Just how that would work, Serafaye didn't know. It didn't seem very... Safe... Nor very secretive... If these Imperial-folks that they were all cackling about had truly taken up positions, wouldn't they just spot any crumbling buildings or knock-down of walls? The dracokin shrugged mentally.

Unfortunately for the group, the Imperial Army wasn't exactly standing still. Although their spearmen were holding the alleys and backstreets with their walls and rows of sharp, pointy sticks, the soldiers on the main roads - not just the eastern one, but the north, south and western ones as well, were still advancing. And at this point, the northern-most forces had already reached the plaza that the group of misfits had just left behind. Already they began to scour and secure the area, sending troops into the empty ruined buildings around the area and beginning to close off the alleys leading in and out of that spot.

When the high elf with the remarkable jubblies called out for Serafaye, and asked a question about what the dracokin could offer, she was given nothing but silence. Serafaye couldn't rightly answer. She hadn't tried to cast any magic, but she couldn't seem to access her spells, and it wasn't like she knew how to do so naturally. If therre was no menu, no tab, no list, no hotbar or no icons to tap or select, then how was she supposed to cast anything? Yes, she knew alot of magic, probably more than any and all of these guys combined, but she couldn't actually cast any of it. Thus, the question was left unanswered - prentending like she hadn't heard it.

At the same time, the eastern main force drew ever closer to the group, and the sudden holler of a voice, catching the attention of the little squad of adventurers, notified them that they had been spotted.

"HEY, YOU LOT! STOP RIGHT THERE! "

The voice belonged toa young man in his mid twenties. Luckily, for now, he was alone. Apparently, he must have been an advanced scout or something, as he had suddenly appeared out of one of the alleys that the group had passed by. The group now likely only had a few seconds to make any sort of decision. Would they try and silence the man, before he could alert any of his allies? Would they try to run and loose the scout? Would they stop to negotiate? Whatever the case may be, whatever they did next, would surely decide what direction and means they would be using to escape from this place.

Serafaye herself froze at the man's voice, turning her head to look back at the man in the standard-fair Galanon soldier-equipment. She raised an eyebrow and blinked a few times.

"What is this? More noobies? Is this some kind of tutorial-area?" But her thoughts quickly caught up to her, reminding her that this place was most assuredly not a game-world. Which led the girl to let out a quiet 'meep', before looking around nervously.

Oh shit! I forgot! I can't access my inventory! Or my spells! How am I supposed to fight if I get attacked? Can I even fight!? Wait! Oh crap, what if I get hurt? I can't see how much life I have now! I could DIE!! Crap, crap, crap! C'mon you guys... Do something about this! You're the natives! Was some of her thoughts at the present time.