Time: Morning
Location: Sun elf village bathouse
Interactions: -
Ambiance: Amphitrite bathouse


The reflection of a pale skinned young woman could be seen on the undisturbed surface of the water. Her long hair was gathered on top of her head, a white streak ran through it, breaking the darkness of her precious locks. Her expression was sour, while she studied every inch of her reflection under the lights of the bathhouse lanterns. A pattern of scales started at the nape of her neck and trailed down her spine, they glistened in the dimmed lights. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized her womanly shape, fearing that too would one day lose its luster. There was no one inside with her, she had insisted that there would not be a soul to see her. It wasn't a matter of modesty, but rather vanity. The white strand of hair was a thorn in her eye, and she couldn't stand to look at it. Frustration took hold of her and she grabbed a wooden bath brush from the marble floor to throw at her reflection, breaking the surface.

The remains of the dye she'd used to blacken her hair swirled around the water. With a heavy sigh she lowered herself onto the floor, kneeling next to a small stone slab. It was used as a makeshift table to hold an assortment of bottles and jars. The contents remained a mystery, the glass was dark and none of them were labeled. A mortar and pestle stood ready to be used. Nur started the arduous process of creating a special dye to hide her grey streak. She had been searching for months on end, only to come up empty handed. It was like no one had ever heard of this before. An aging succubus whose powers were slipping away.

The sound of stone grinding on stone stopped after she finished her work. The result was a thick dark paste, which smelled surprisingly much more pleasant than it looked. Nur edged closer to edge of the pool so she could see what she was doing. She pulled out the pin holding her hair together and let it trail down her shoulders and back. Her hands separated the strands and she stared at the grey hairs anxiously. Was it spreading?, or maybe she was imagining it. Wanting to deny the truth Nur began to smear on the dye with vigor, covering parts of her hair that didn't need it. It stained her hands and shoulders, smearing her alabaster skin with streaks of black.

Footsteps were approaching, she could tell by the pace who was coming. There was a knock on the heavy doors, and some quiet whispering among the two men standing outside. Someone entered, his steps echoing through the room. He approached the woman, but kept a respectful distance. The man watched, appreciating his view. He bit his lip, trying to contain the train of thought his mind was taking him in. Nur glanced over her shoulder, barely acknowledging his presence. Her expression remained indifferent and she resumed what she was doing, scooping up some water from the pool with a pitcher. She started to wash her hands, letting the water drip down into the basin she'd positioned in front of her.

The man tugged at the neckline of the shirt he was wearing, and wiped some perspiration of his forehead. He cleared his throat in an attempt to speak.

"My...l"

He was swiftly cut off by Nur's displeased voice. The woman turned to face him, holding the pitcher in her arms. She looked like one of the many statues of the aquatic spirits and goddesses looming over the bathhouse visitors from their marble pedestals.

"Haldir, didn't I tell no one was allowed to get in?" Haldir sighed, displeasing her had become the bane of his existence. Nur had reduced him to a mere shred of his former self. Now anything he did, everything he thought about was in some way connected to this woman. He remained quiet, there was little he could say. It was a comical sight, to see a dark elf of his stature, fearsome and clad in a full set of armor act as if he'd disappointed his general.

Nur swayed over to his side. Haldir held in his breath when she looked into his black eyes. He forced out his next sentence, spewing out the words in quick succession.
"My lady, the amora awaits..." He hoped this news would ease her displeasure some. He couldn't stand her being angry with him, it felt like a constant ache in his heart. Like he could lose the thing most precious to him at any moment.
"We should make haste..." Haldir added carefully.

Nur merely raised her brow, and slightly pursed her lips. She extended her hand toward him. He took it gently into his own, kneeling down to hold it against his lips. He felt a ripple of desire pass through him, until it was violently interrupted by a steady stream of water down his neck. Nur poured the entire contents of the pitcher right onto his head. He quietly gasped. His wet hair covered his eyes, and he didn't anticipate the slight push Nur gave him. He lost his balance and fell down onto his backside. She dropped the pitcher next to him, the clay cracked when it hit the marble.

"It's a good thing I tell you what to do, not the other way around."

The succubus retrieved her clothes from the water bearer and exited through the doors, leaving behind a wet and anguished Haldir.

Bowyn thought on Zephyrin’s response to his question, and it struck him as strange. It was hard to imagine the winter fairy would care so little about her own people. About the other races he could see, their village had always been more focused on their own problems. The winter fae had enough to deal with that the problems of the rest of the world certainly paled in relation. But to be so casual about the suffering of her own people, his people, even the coldest of his kind had to feel something for their own kinsmen. Instead of pushing it further Bowyn shrugged as she moved to follow with them. He gave a quiet chuckle as she picked up one of the discarded bottles and made a face after drinking from it. If the other winter fairy was going to start drinking he might as well too.

”Do as you please.” He said taking a drink from a bottle as Zephyrin began following with them.

They walked through the morning into the afternoon, and Bowyn was grateful for the relative quiet of it all. Whatever danger had caused the smoke they’d seen never caught up to them, the forest was quiet and just calm enough to give him a break from thinking about the danger of his own situation. He wondered how close to the fire Torvi or Belle might have been, whether they managed to stay together or if they had managed to find worthy traveling companions. He hoped they were not alone in the forest, he felt guilty that he hadn’t stuck closer to them. He drank from his bottle to try to keep these thoughts just in the back of his mind. He didn’t really want to feel anything but the comforting numbness of alcohol. The afternoon sun beat down on him, the alcohol compounded this, leaving him uncomfortably warm and slick with sweat. He didn’t like being so far from the cold but he tried not to think about it. Missing the cold made him miss his home, and the company of another of his kind only made it worse, a nagging reminder of where he came from. Even though the alcohol only made the heat worse he kept sipping from the warm bottle, making his mind focus more on walking, on not stumbling or appearing as intoxicated as he was. It kept him further from the places his mind wanted to drift too. Eventually he noticed Zephryin staring at him in a way that expected something from him. Did she want his alcohol? He was not sharing, and she already had her own bottle that she seemed barely able to stomach.

“Why is she looking at me?” He asked Boreas, who sat upon his shoulder, watching those around them.

“I believe your new friend is hungry.” Boreas replied, having heard Zephryins stomach.

“Why is that my problem?” Bowyn whispered back to the bird.

“She looks young, perhaps she has imprinted on you. You are it’s mother now.” Boreas replied, the look in his eyes clearly showing how amusing he found the situation. Bowyn choked back a laugh.

“That’s not funny.” Bowyn said, shaking his head. Boreas’s attention turned and the bird’s gaze became fixed upon an aerial figure. Bowyn turned and watched for a few moments, though staring at the winged figure made him slightly dizzy. Once it was closer he recognized it to be Elthrael as the moth fairy landed on a nearby branch.

”Oh? Couldn’t find anyone better? He asked, though he had learned by now not to expect direct answers from Elthrael, but riddles instead. Kenia didn’t stop to chat when Elthrael showed up, so Bowyn didn’t either. He found it more than a little strange that Elthrael kept disappearing, but at this point he could hardly bring himself to really care what the moth fairy was up to. It was easier to just follow Kenia’s lead, there was less to think about, less taxing on his mind. He saw Kenia reach for a dagger and turned to see another approaching them. Bowyn rolled his eyes, but before he had a chance to offer a sarcastic and unhelpful response Kenia was inviting the stranger to travel with them. He supposed he should be more concerned that he was no longer aware enough of his surroundings that random elves were sneaking up on him, but just by looking at her he dismissed this new elf as being about as dangerous as the prey Boreas hunted. He shot Kenia an annoyed and confused look, he had thought they were on the same page about keeping the group smaller.

”Better keep up elf, we’ve already left behind those who couldn’t.” He said, continuing forward and not bothering to look back over his shoulder as he spoke.

”The elf is coming with us?” Boreas asked, studying the elf more intently than Bowyn had.

”Seems likely, based on our luck today.” Bowyn said.

”I have a good feeling about this one, be nicer.” Bores added. Bowyn rolled his eyes but Boreas had been right when the bird had been nervous about the winged demihuman at the ball so maybe the bird had better judgement than him. Bowyn turned around and gave a mock bow to the new elf.

”I’m Bowyn, it is so great to meet you.” He added with a false smile before looking back to the merlin perched on his shoulder. ”Better?” He asked the bird whose beady eyes looked unimpressed.

Terneus Andros

It was with a shaky vision that the governor found himself going in and out of conciousness, the sight blurry. What had happened to him? Oh that's right. The last thing he had done was to eat those godsforsakened apples. Some unsavorable forest scoundrel had unfairly done this to him. How dared they do this. Terneus felt his focus slowly returning, and when it did he remembered he was on the ground. How non-graceful for one such as he, to be crawling amidst the maggots and the peasants down there. He knew not what was worse, the experience itself or that someone would see him in this state. The humiliation enough could be potent enough to even harm him.

Speaking of harm, it was then he realized that his body was aching and stinging, not only in his own face but everywhere. But at least he had managed to get some rest. But what were those red dots that were all over his arms, had the poison caused some kind of skin affliction to him? There were so many of them. But that didn't add up, since he had long sleeves there was no skin to be afflicted there. It was then he noticed that the dots were moving, and it wasn't his blurry vision making it so. Ants! Red ants! An ant army was fully away at biting and making his body into their next thing to bring to their hive.

"AHHHHHHH!" The governor exclaimed as high as his vocal cords allowed him as he realized his dilemma, thinking quickly and remembering what to do when on fire. To lie down and roll, and luckily for him he was already one step ahead as he was already lying down. The elf quickly rolled over from side to side, kicking up dirt and leaves along his path. Even going so far as to roll right into the soft and gentle foilage that were the nettles. The numbing and stinging sensation of the nettles mixed with the ant stinging as if they were tag partners in a fight. Or how his face got along so well with a mirror.

The elven governor cursed aloud and threw himself up on his feet, shaking and touching his attire to rid himself off any ants, to such a degree the once so finely dressed man didn't see the soft and smooth stone in front of him, causing him to fall into the nearby spring. In some stroke of fortune, the elf found himself in a spring to relieve himself of his temporary setbacks. He coughed as water fell down his body as he ended up on all his fours in the spring.

"Ughhnnn..." He groaned, but he was disappointed as he wanted to curse, to blame someone for this misfortune but he was too weary and at this rate the only person he could blame was himself. And that was certainly not an option. With a stinging, and now drenched attire the elf got out of the spring and made his way towards the hut. There had to be something to eat in there. The doorway was blocked by some form of vines, it took the governor abit of strength to conjure light to cut away the branches and roots blocking his path, and then he allowed abit of light to shine on him to lighten the interior.

It was a small hut. Very unlike his own mighty tower of oppression, but surely it must have something the elf could eat. He began to throw away various furniture, or at least he thought they were. Until he found a storage room and within it the elf's eyes lightened up, first in a sense of joy but soon followed by anger. There were at least thirty different brands of alcohol and various dried elven food within it, but worst of all he recognized them. These were -HIS- brands! His missing shipments that was coming from the cheap work labor the fairies provided. Some thief had raided his caravan and now the gods had delivered him justice.

"Hah! Take that you lowly thief, you steal from me and now I am taking back what's duly mine!" He had forgotten how sore his throat had gotten, but the mixture of joy, anger and a feeling of revenge was too much to contain. The elf grabbed a bottle of his favorite wine and bit into the cork with his teeth, pulling it lose and sweeping a third of the bottle in a single go, while pocketing his mouth and pockets with the dried meat and fruit. Never had the 'emergency' supplies tasted so good to him. This was truly a sign from the old elven gods that the unworthy were to be delivered to him, and he would cast due judgement on everything under his magnificence.

Once the silverhaired elf had filled himself on food and drinks, he grabbed a sack and filled it with as much supplies as he could. After all this wasn't stealing, it was divine retribution. The only thing he wishes was that he had some fire with him so he could light up the hut, if it wouldn't damage the forests. The dilemma. Long have the fairies and others considered them their own, but Terneus knew deep inside that all forests, more or less belonged rightfully to the elves. Those of his kind. The best ones.

While consuming the drinks, which alleviated his thirst and the stinging pain in his body, it also added an extra -push- to his leg movements as he searched the hut about who the culprit could be. That's when he saw a drawing on one of the walls. It depicted a kind of fairies which not even Terneus recognized, or at least he thought so on first glance. On each side of the oddly drawn fairies were more familiar kinds, the forest fairies and the winter fairies to name two. He knew those well enough. They made decent servants, even if they were both physically and mentally weak. At least they knew their place under his normally prisine boots.

The lightly buzzed elf looked abit closer at the odd drawing, why had someone made such a odd drawing of fairies killing each other. Those weird fairies in the middle being the focus. It was then he recognized some characteristics, they weren't completely identical to something he had seen not too long ago. But it did make him realize.

"That creature which shamelessly attacked me on the balcony were one of these things?! This is it's home?! That does it! I am tearing it to pieces! AHAHAHAHA! Isn't justice SWEET! This is payback for what you did to my carriage!" The elf screamed out inside of the hut, shooting his beams of light in all manner of directions, severing much of the plant furniture within. Even the plantlike pillars. And it wasn't until he heard the creaking sound that he realized his error. He cut off the supports of the hut. "Oh.."

The hut crumbled in unto itself, but more importantly and unfortunately on himself.

Valok found Malachi to be perplexing, this was far from what he expected from a light elf, especially one so against Aklenroth. If this was some sort of trick then Malachi was an excellent liar, but nothing about his tone or demeanor seemed deceptive. He thought about what Malachi said, and it was hard to even imagine a world in which the dark and light elves could live peacefully alongside each other, and alongside fairies and demihumans as well. His people clung to pain just as tightly as they clung to hatred, it was part of them, it gave them strength. But dominion over darkness had been a gift to the dark elves from the goddess Halastra, one given in compassion to ease suffering, and they now used it to inflict pain. Dark elves had lost their way, and perhaps The Great King had as well. Valok found it difficult to imagine Aklenroth as something fallible, someone who could allow himself to be as lost as Valok had found his own people to be, but the King had ruled for a long time. Maybe to have a better world they needed someone to rule who was not burdened by the pain of the past, and willing to forgive present wrongs. If that was something Risa’s rebellion stood for that was something he was willing to try and fight for.

“If a better future is truly the goal of this rebellion, it will have my allegiance. Many of my kind are too far lost, but for those who aren’t they need a better way. You are not what I expected of light elves, and if this is what you, and the fairy Risa, fight for, I’m willing to fight alongside you. Maybe we can show our people a better way.” Valok said as he firmly shook the hand offered by Malachi. He had not expected this, to find himself willing to follow a light elf, to find him amicable, to accept a rebellion against The Great King. Rather than the doubt and dread he was expecting to find on this journey he felt something warmer. A feeling vastly different than the fires of hatred when one faced an enemy. For the briefest moment he didn’t feel the cold and consuming hollowness, as he thought about a better world, the possibility of it, the warm feeling lingered. Was this what hope felt like? Like the stories of dark elves from long ago, first inspired to fight for Aklenroth on the promise that they would thrive even in exile. The hope of something better, and the feeling it provided seemed like something worth following, enough to try.

”I am called Valok.” He added after Malachi had introduced himself. The light elf directed them to walk closer to the trees and further from the open skies and the brightness of the afternoon sun. Valok was grateful to be closer to the shade, his vision was better here and it was comforting to be near the shadows cast by the trees. They didn’t walk long before Belladonna prevented the group from traveling further, stopping to ask a string of questions. Valok had not noticed any signal from Malachi for this to happen and he wondered if it was common for light elves to allow their subordinates to act in this manner. He kept quiet, not having been addressed with any further questions and not wanting to speak out of turn. Her suspicions seemed focused on Myra and Mathias who were looking for the demon’s companions. He waited to hear there answers, wondering if the three Myra had named were demon’s as well.

Time: Afternoon
Location: Outskirts of Roshmi
Interactions: @Helo@Tae@Potter


“Personally, I am not looking for a fight either but you should watch your tongue with the insults putting me in line with such an abhorrent race.” She said before sheathing her sword. ” To clarify, I am a devil from a different plane. We have been at war with the demons for thousands of years. Either way, tell me what is the name of this place.” She questioned the group.

“Mel come here, don’t bother them, and stay silent.” She demanded motioning him towards her shoulder with her finger. He had been moving towards Corvina’s fire with eagerness and joy. Mel frowned and silently moved to her side.

Once Melzor was silenced, she addressed the others again, “I am Ezeri and this is Melzor.” She gestured to the imp by her shoulder, who gave them the middle finger in greeting,“and this here is Anzu.” She said pointing to the abyssal chicken at her feet.

“The scent of a demon lingers here in the air, if this sorcerer you speak of happens to be a demon it may be best I follow for the time being.” Ezeri wasn’t one to offer help, but she knew little of this world so engaging with the inhabitants would be the easiest way to attain information.

Valaeon scratched the back of his head as he watched the young demihuman known as Minothea walk away with what he hoped was well-deserved amas. He recognized her, but could not recall if he had ever held a conversation with her.

"I shall do my best, young one!" Valaeon replied from his seat on the ground as he waved. "Good horns on that one. They will grow to be splendid someday. Not as grand as mine, but still something to be proud of!" He took a breath before addressing Carneylus seriously. "What was all that about. You gamble with children now? And you beat people up?" Valaeon stood up and glared at Carneylus with ferocity. His nostrils flared.

"I am disappointed that you failed to invite me to this battle! How could you be so selfish?! And to think I was going to share the good news of our future allies…" As ridiculous as it was, Valaeon remained somewhat serious. He placed a hand on Carneylus' shoulder and then let loose a jolly laugh. "Luckily for you, I forgive rather easily! Our friends have made it out of the city safely and they aim to come here. Right to us! I guess you really are lucky… hmm, but you lose bets… hmm. I guess that makes ME the lucky one!" Valaeon was on ten.

---

Kuroi was ready to engage the enemy the moment he saw an earthy prison envelop him. His hand reached out to grab his wakizashi once thrown to him, almost flawlessly grabbing it by the hilt as he kept his eyes on the enemy the entire time. His eyes narrowed as he heard the feminine voice devolve into that of a raspy cheat who wished to lure them all to his death. Nothing had surprised him in this encounter up until green blood began to spew from the enemy's mouth. His eyes widened as he quickly scanned the area, making sure all his companions were still within his gaze before looking back at their enemy. Both a miracle and a curse to have witnessed their opponent felled by someone else, who else could have been watching them? As the body dropped into the filth-ridden water, Kuroi let out an exasperated sigh, his exhausted eyes tracking the shadowy figure for as long as they could until it disappeared.

A part of him wanted to pursue after the figure but knew he too would end up as a corpse if he attempted to fight again in this state. He slowly lumbered over to Ayita, collapsing up against the wall near her. With a puff of breath, he glanced up at her and gave her a nod of thanks. His anxiety did not lessen in the slightest, yet he knew if he did not rest now he could not go on. He dared not lay his eyes upon Torvi after wounding her, only giving her a quiet sorry before he returned to his feeble, almost crippled state. Closing his eyes, he pressed his hand up against his covered nose and mouth, trying to control his breathing and ignore the stench that still penetrated his makeshift mask to some degree.

Myra listened to Mathis' comforting words with a slightly worried expression. She did hope Darius and Artemis would be fine. After the confusion on the ball, she also thought that it would be very unlikely that they would return to the castle... right? At least Myra wanted to think that was the case, but if she wanted to meet her friends again, staying with Mathis, Belladonna, the blonde and the dark elves was the safest bet. After a short time thinking, she looked at Mathis again with a brief smile, indicating everything was fine.

When Mathis turned to the blonde elf, asking if he knew where the others were, Myra turned towards both of them, tilting her head as she heard them carefully. If they meant that they wanted to find Darius and other people she knew, then Myra could probably try to help by tracking their scent but still, she couldn't follow their trail if there was no trail to be followed. Not only that but the city normally was already a confusing place for Myra with all the strange smells and noises, after the confusion it would be certainly even harder for her to track a specific scent. Due to those reasons, she decided to simply stay quiet and listen to them.

The blonde elf then began explaining how it was very likely that the others who were going against Aklenroth would meet in the closest port town. Nodding to him as she listened carefully, she stood quiet as he continued his explanation, saying they should get a carriage for the River Kingdom, which apparently was the 'closest port town' he was talking about.

After he was done, before they could do anything, the girl, Belladonna, suddenly moved in front of the group. Looking to both Mathis and Myra herself, she asked about Darius, Artemis and Skar, once again asking about that 'allegiance' thing. Myra simply tilted her head, confused about what that word meant before turning to Mathis, waiting to see if he knew how to answer that. Regarding who were them though, she could try to answer.

"Darius, Artemis, Skar!" she said enthusiastically, counting on her fingers as she said them before patting her own head and looking back to Belladonna with an innocent smile.

---

---

It was very well past noon. A tinge of annoyance bubbled in her chest as Bowyn showed no signs of stopping for lunch. He should have started fishing by now! The brooding winter fairy had clearly noticed her staring at him, but he had completely ignored her and instead turned his attention towards the merlin perched on his shoulder, speaking to it in a hushed voice.

Zephyrin stomped her foot with every step, visibly annoyed about his lack of concern for her empty stomach. How could this man be more compassionate towards a bird rather than one of his own kin? Especially one as beautiful as she. Although her beautiful white hair flowed down her hips in a tangled mess, she looked beautiful all the same. With a proper bath, polished jewelries and a new dress, she would look even more perfect. If he had met her in better conditions, he wouldn't be subjecting her to such poor treatment.

As Zephyrin was about to speak up and protest, a male voice cut through her misgivings, one that could only belong to the moth fairy. Zephyrin looked up to find him standing on a tree branch, and her face lit up as her thoughts drifted from fried fishes to fresh apples. Elthrael arrived at just the perfect moment. But before she could ask him to work his magic and provide her with food, the arrival of an unfamiliar young woman had captured everyone's attention.

Zephyrin's eyes widened in surprise at Kenia's response towards this newcomer. She had expected a much colder response from Kenia, but she easily seemed willing to invite this stranger into the group. Upon closer inspection, this young woman also had elven ears. Perhaps Kenia was simply being biased towards her own. Now, if only a certain someone could show her the same generosity. Earlier this morning, he had the nerve to threaten her after feeding her! Zephyrin's eyes drifted towards Bowyn, and with an irritated groan, she crossed her arms.

After allowing herself a few more moments to sulk, Zephyrin fixed her expression and gave the newcomer a bright smile.

"Hi! My name is Zephyrin. What's your name?"

---

Baraian Paladice

The battle with their unknown attacker had further drained the four sewer warriors of their strength. As if things had not been bad enough to begin with travelling through the reeking place they found themselves in. Kuroi had pushed himself hardest of them all, and now he seemed unable to lead them. The dark elf quickly considered the options and decided they indeed couldn't afford to stop. Their attacker was not alone for certain, they had to continue onwards.

After all the success of the rebellion lied with these humans, and they had to be brought to Belle and the others. That was surely the only way to defeat the lich.

"We have to keep moving... help me pick him up." Baraian said in his monotone voice, but with a hint of urgency. "We cannot stay. We have to continue..." The dark elf stumbled over towards Kuroi and Ayita and reached down to try lift Kuroi by his arm, placing it around his shoulder.

"If we stay here we will not last long. We will become afflicted by illness, our wounds will fester and ultimately more foes will show up... We must seek refuge in the forests, only there will they lose trace of us." He explained in a hurried manner, looking over towards Torvi. "Best dress the wound as soon as we can." He gritted his teeth as the pain of his still weakened arm made it's presence known. His eyes soon afterwards darted to Ayita. "You lead the way...I cannot defend you alone. We need him." The dark elf nodded towards Kuroi.

Carneylus Creznek

Carneylus looked as if he had been struck by an arrow of accusation when Valaeon addressed the fact that there had been a gambling thing going on.

"I.. well... when you put it that way..." Carneylus began to rub the back of his neck slightly. "I think it was more she betting with me than the other way around... uh.. beating people up? You make it sound alot worse than it is. It was just a spur of the moment." Carneylus looked at his draconic friend, and he attempted to look sincere despite the fact that he had beaten up those dark elves pretty badly. The duo's conversation was soon interupted by the young girl which was moving back to them at quick and angry steps.

"What a load of crap! You meant to do them in from the start you sleazy flying dog! And I am no child! I am fourteen years old! Also did I hear something about my horns?!" She pouted, pointed and stared at Valaeon as if his next words were a matter of life and death, that or being bullrushed by a raging bull in pint size.

Carneylus felt a slight drop of sweat fall down his neck as the conversation proceeded forwards. "Ahaha... oh that's right. I think I kind of did beat them up. Sorry for not letting you know about it, but I didn't want to beat them up that badly. They just happened to be harrassing the merchants. And if what you are saying is indeed so, we should prepare some room for them to rest at and provide food." The winged man said in a thoughtful manner, as he reached one of his hands up to his chin, looking Valaeon over.

"For who? Don't tell me you are with the reb-!" The young girl began to speak, but was soon silenced by the winged man, which had reached down and placed a hand before her mouth, just managing to keep it close for a brief moment before she bit his hand, causing him to losen the grip.

"Hands off! Old creep!" She snarled and cussed, but seemed to calm down quickly. "I knew you were dumb, but that dumb? Wow! But I get it! I won't tell anyone unless they pay me a big fat sack of amas... And you better buy me dinner later just to be sure!" Minothea gave a smug and sly grin to the duo, there was a big hint of playfulness on her face but also signs of understanding.

Elthrael Vol'Kerno

Kenia and Bowyn's comments on his return had been less than joyful, it didn't take an expert to see or hear that. But despite that, the moth fairy prefered this company before what the other seemed to offer. He didn't know who it were that Elsea travelled with, but the possibility of her lighting things on fire was making lingering with such a group a less appealing thing. While he felt he could still deal with her, there was absolutely no gain in fighting her. She was the kind of person which didn't submit unless you broke her spirit alltogether, which in itself would make her less effective for killing thch.

Elthrael set his attention on Bowyn after having given Kenia a soft snorting sound in greeting. He landed next to Zephyrin, while still keeping his eyes on Bowyn.

"You could say that. I simply do not prefer to keep company with humans which cannot control their powers. What was causing the fire was a reckless human girl, which I've met before, and seemingly she had three new companions after her former had their individual misfortunes. The girl in question while possessing a power capable of harming the lich, she cannot kill him. Those who aren't controlling the power are in turn controlled by the power. This flamehaired girl, Elsea is the kind which burn all the bridges, ultimately leaving her with nowhere left to go." While he had noticed the newly arrived girl about the same time as the rest did, he chose to not focus on her until he had addressed Bowyn, but now as that was over he scanned the new arrival with his golden eyes as he stood next to Zephyrin.

'A travelling trader through this forest all by herself and without anything to trade with? Hmph.. just how dimwitted do you take us for girl? You are here for another reason. I wonder what that is...' He thought as he silently observed the girl as Zephyrin was introducing herself to the newcomer. The golden-eyed fairy knew well enough to never approach anyone asking for directions while holding a map. It was a commonly used ruse of tricksters to pickpocket or sneakattack others, he wouldn't fall prey to such a thing. If this girl was foolish enough to attempt such a thing in this company however was doubtful at best.

"Ahh... a trader on a little stroll through the forest of bewilderment all by herself hm? I am Elthrael. Afraid I cannot help you with that map issue however... but you are free to join this forest parade of the jolly she-elf. Ever heard of it? They say it was invented by the most sourest of elven women." The moth fairy added in a smug manner as he threw a side-glance towards Kenia's direction.

'Getting lost despite having a map? Thinking she can fool us into believing she's some kind of trader without goods? Either she is a great deceiver or the biggest fool yet. Good grief...' The moth fairy thought and smirked, while keeping his eyes in the direction of Kenia. "But do let us get a move on, there are things which need to be confirmed. Also..." Elthrael smirked as he took out two apples from his robe, throwing one each towards Zephyrin and Clara. "Eat to live, or live to be eaten. I guess either one works, one is more prefered than the other though."

Time:Afternoon
Location:Forest
Interaction:@Tae@Helo@HowlsOfWinter@Dezuel


Clara's expression lit up. They were going to let her travel with them? She had struck the jackpot. Perhaps asking for help with directions while holding a map seemed kind of silly but she doubted they'd figure out she was human so quickly. Besides, what was use was a map if you didn't know where you were on it? Either way, the stupider they thought she was, probably the better. Dumb people never brought much trickery. She cheerfully turned to Kenia, rolling up her map and putting it away as she did, "Oh thank you. That's very kind of you! I'm very new to traveling in the woods. I ran into some big spiders and I lost any idea of which direction I was going."

The fairy male didn't seem as open to inviting her and a tinge of guilt filled her especially as he spoke to her. "If I'm any burden, I can just travel on my own, just need a good sense of which way I'm going. Or at the least, I can offer you some of my food or some amas in return for helping me-" She noticed his bird and broke off. That's so cute. He's talking to his bird!

She gave him a bow in return when he bowed, but she could tell his words and smile seemed a bit forced. She couldn't tell for sure, but judging on the tone of his last statement, she had a good hunch he wasn't looking for company. Even so, she was really excited to talk to actual fairies."It's really nice to meet you too, Bowyn, and it's nice to meet your cute little birdie! Though you don't have to show me any good graces if I'm not wanted here. " Clara could be awkwardly too forward at times.

The female fairy also spoke to her and her smile grew, "Oh hi Zephyrin! My name's...Arwen! " She pulled out a name from Lord of the Rings, knowing quite well no one was probably named Clara in Avalia. Zephyrine seemed sweet! Maybe they could be friends.

The last fairy spoke to her introducing himself as Elthrael. She had overheard a bit of what he had been saying before and she had heard him talking about mentioning humans in a serious manner, how if one couldn't control their power, they would be useless, and it is why he parted ways with some flame-haired girl. Clara wasn't sure how she felt about that, considering they had been summoned here to help save Avalia. Any difficulties should be a burden they'd be willing to bear, wouldn't it? Nonetheless, she decided she'd find out how things worked once she found more rebels. She wasn't quite sure if she had done just that yet.

"Hello Elthrael! What a nice name."She greeted him. She wondered if he was a fairy-like the other two or if there were just different kinds of fairies. "Forest parade of the jolly she-elf, hm? Sounds fun but it doesn't sound like someone sour would come up with it."She shrugged after her statement. Clara blinked as he threw her an apple and caught it. "Thank you so much, this is so sweet, but I have some food so if she's hungry I'll just let her have mine too."She smiled and handed her apple to Zephyrine to let her have two.

“My apologies, I intended no insult. I have never met nor heard of devil’s before but if you're an enemy of the demon that was just here then it is nice to meet you Ezeri. I am Cadence of a Thunderstorm.” Cade said, relaxing some as the self proclaimed devil returned her sword to its sheath. Cade was still wary of her offer to join them, while the apparent demon they had just encountered was clearly no friend, Sakura was both a demon and a friend to him. He didn’t want to lead another to the port town if there was a chance Ezeri would try and harm Sakura. But much like the demon they had encountered at the ball, the demon in this forest was not something he knew how to fight, and if this devil had experience fighting demons she would be of great use.

“Excellent suggestion, let’s keep moving.” Cade said in response to Cora’s suggestion. He struggled to shake off some of his coldness towards her, relieved to hear her become more reasonable once again. What he couldn’t shake however was the words the false Shadow had spoken, even knowing it had come from a demonic enemy. Their purpose is only to destroy. He had seen the destruction, the lack of self control to wield power responsibly. Even in good people such destructive power, gone unchecked, would have devastating consequences. He remained unusually quiet, though he kept a close eye on Ezeri, unsure of what the motives of this strange creature and her unusual companions were. The sooner they got to the port town the better, he needed the help of someone like the elves, to better teach these humans control over their magic.

O'Ner Faister

TIME: Afternoon

LOCATION: Forest outside Roshmi

INTERACTIONS: @13org Myra, Malachi @princess, Belladonna @Potter

He thought that the group would run into Darius, Artemis, and Skar sooner or later. Faith seemed to bound them together; or so he thought from what he saw thus far. The only he could do at the moment was gain the trust of the others; which now seemed to be harder than he thought. Their suspicions of everyone was quite frustrating. He stopped for a moment staring at Belladonna. Her questions were quite annoying; he would need to think about how he could answer. One wrong answer could put him in the hot seat; and the group could be weary of his presence. “Firstly I do not know if you people had caught my name; but it’s Mathis. To answer your second question I got his staff from my late wife. And finally to answer your third question; this staff can do lots of things. This staff is a tool for me to perform my magical spells.”

Most of what he said was true; when he was alive his late wife gave him his staff. And the staff itself he had to use to perform his spells. But since his death he did not feel it was necessary to use a staff. He hoped that his answers were clear enough that he was a ally.

Time: Afternoon
Location: Forest Near the River Bank -> Port 10/ River Port
Interactions: @FunnyGuy


Vaeril watched the battle between Darius and the frog with intrigue. The frog got away barely with its life at the conclusion of the interaction. He gave a slight chuckle at the dancing comment, wondering why he had thought of that. It was nonsensical. As if on cue, Darius took on a more serious expression, bringing up the important questions.

“No, we will not kill anyone, unless I say so.” He told Darius looking around for anyone that could see the two using his magic to enhance his eyesight. “It seems we are in the clear.” He paused a moment before opening a small light portal similar to the one he had done in Roshmi.

”We are leaving for the port now.”

Vaeril then grabbed Darius by the arm and dragged him through the portal with him immediately arriving just outside the port it was visible through the trees.

“Welcome to River Port. Some call this port ten since it was ten on the list of ports built in recent years, but its official name is River Port.”

Location: River Kingdom
Time:Evening

---

Risa yawned as she laid on Kyran’s chest. She gently ran her hand over his arm as she let her mind wander. She hoped to get to the port by tomorrow evening at the latest and get a meeting area sorted. All she had to do was go collect Artemis with Kyran then hopefully they could all go together in the morning. She couldn’t wait to see Elsea again finally.

It felt like her mind was desperately trying to run away from the negative events of the night, but nothing could get away fast enough, not even the bliss of being with Kyran at the moment. She supposed it was better they talk about what had happened and get it over with. Risa decided to let Kyran fill her in on his story first as hers was quite overwhelming.

”Kyran, what’s happened to you since the ball? You were gone when I looked for you.

” Honestly the last thing I remember after the ball was Elthrael taking you. I panicked and I can’t remember anything after that. I woke up in a cave with strange creatures.” Kyran replied, “Did Elthrael hurt you, what happened then?”

”How peculiar. I was so worried about you.”She hugged him tighter, ” I was so happy to see you safe.” She sighed in reply to his question, shaking her head, ”No, but I did end up breaking away from him. His intentions did not seem any good and he didn’t care to help me look for you and Elsea. I ran into Artemis, if you recall her, and then we traveled together. We split up this morning and traveled separately to the River Kingdom to fetch new clothes and supplies. I tried to meet up with her tonight and…” She broke off, swallowing hard. Determinedly, she kept herself from breaking down in front of him and said, ”I found my brother instead. He’s alive but… he’s wrong.”

Kyran tried to wrap his head around all of the stuff he was being told. “Artemis is alive? Helio is alive? What do you mean by wrong?” He hugged as his more animalistic senses kicked in noticing she was a bit disturbed by something that had happened.

”Artemis is alive.” She confirmed. Though Risa was sure Helio had killed Dionaea, she decided to not bring up Dionaea for the moment. She wasn’t sure if he knew she was dead and it was best they saved the mourning for another time. ”She’s fine. She’s at the healing center. I’m afraid she might have gotten hurt so I’d like to go there soon to check on her. I’m awfully worried. But Helio stabbed me and beat me. His eyes were… scary. He could manipulate dark magic. I’ve never seen a fairy do so before.”Her voice started choking up.

Kyran held her close petting her long hair, “I won’t let him hurt you again, I am so sorry, Risa, that you had to go through all of this.” He was visibly upset by what he was hearing. His protective instincts were kicking in as they always did when it came to Risa. It physically pained him to know she got hurt and he wasn’t there to help her.

”Do you think there’s any way to help him?”She asked sadly.

“I am not sure honestly not until we end up finding him again. I can’t accurately confirm or deny any possibility but my mother always told me not to give up on those you love so I wouldn’t give up on him yet Risa, he could be hurting inside as well.” Kyran thought about this inside his head but came to the conclusion that he would possibly need to kill him if he tried to kill Risa before he thought of a possible resolution to perhaps save him.

Risa nodded and said, ” That makes sense. He must have gone through terrible things to end up like that. I wish I could have done something… But we have to continue on for the others. Elsea is counting on us to find her again and I just gave a speech inspiring a rebellion so we have to get to that port and prepare as soon as possible.”

“Let’s rest now, it is late; she is likely asleep in the healing center. You had a traumatic night. We will leave in the morning as soon as you want.” Kyran assured her cuddling next to him.

Time: Evening
Location: River Kingdom
Interactions: @princess Helio
Vibe: Six Feet Deep

---

The touch of the dark fairy now in front of her sent ice through Azriel’s veins, but she ignored the warning and smirked up at Helio. Any sane person would be trying to get away from the man immediately, but Azriel wasn’t entirely sane. Even she could see that about herself and admit it, though she didn’t see this as a problem. Some insanity could be good at times, especially when it helped minimize fear.

”So you did see that.” She giggled and bit her bottom lip as she gave him an impish grin, playing into the dangerous flirtatious game he’d started. She then took on a worried expression. ”Oh please don’t tell on me, Helio. I’ll be a good girl from now on, I promise...” She said in an overly exaggerated pouty voice as she placed a hand on his chest suggestively, but then giggled as she pushed him back and continued, ”or maybe that’s what I want. Either way I think you should do whatever tickles your fancy.” She winked at him and turned to start walking away as she’d gotten the answer to her question, but then she stopped and turned back around to look at him. ”Oh and perhaps I helped your sister out because now she owes me a life debt. Think of all the fun things I can do with that, it’s just thrilling!” She flung her arms out wide for dramatic effect and giggled again.

”Be a doll and tell Umber I said hello, would ya?” She blew him a kiss before spreading her wings and taking off into the night sky.

---

Time: Afternoon
Location: Forest
Interaction: @Helo Bowyn @Dezuel Elthrael @HowlsOfWinter Zephyrin @princess Clara

---

Elsea. It had been one of the fire users then and he just let her go. Kenia narrowed her eyes at Elthrael for a moment as more alarm bells rang in her head. Elsea was a kind girl and from what she knew she wouldn’t burn a bridge with an ally unless they really pissed her off and proved dangerous. From how Elthrael spoke it sounded as if the potential bridge between them had been burned and that was concerning for Kenia. This made her trust the moth even less and he was beginning to tread on dangerous ground. For now, however, she had to let it be and would deal with things later.

She hadn’t missed the look Bowyn gave her and she knew he deserved an explanation, but she needed more facts before she could explain everything. ”I know how it looks, but I’m begging you to just trust me on this one.” She leaned in and spoke quietly so only he could hear, praying that he’d be able to discern what she meant. Things weren’t all as they appeared with this newcomer, but she needed time to cement her suspicions.

”It’s a pleasure to meet you, Arwen. I’m the sour elf that Elthrael speaks of. You can call me Kenia.” She told the woman with a grin before adding, ”Just try to keep up because as I told the others, I stop for no one.” Even if she was a human and Kenia would do what she could to keep her with them until she knew her intentions, she was still adamant on not stopping. She didn’t doubt the girl could keep up, but if for some reason she couldn’t then Kenia would have to accept it and keep going. She had to make sure the others were safe.

Time: Afternoon
Location: Near the coast
Interactions: @13org@Helo@Potter@Eviledd1984


"Nice to meet you, Valok."

Valok's words were satisfactory to Malachi. He saw him be a useful ally and even found his personality to be better than he thought he would. As he went to continue leading everyone on their way, Belladona spoke up and moved in front of everyone. Though he was impressed she was taking some initiative and wasn't a puppy that just followed him mindlessly, he did not find it to be necessary. He had planned to get more information slowly through the journey, gaining some trust and getting onto more pleasant terms with them to ease information out better. Her questions, though legitimate and on his mind as well, were not going to be answered. He stayed silent and let them answer and let Belladonna find this out naturally.

Myra gave the same answer as before. Mathis introduced himself and gave as vague and hard to pick apart answers as his first. It was going to be like picking up crumbs only to never find the source. Though the information proved interesting, so it wasn't a total waste. "Magical spells" was as vague as it got and it was cause for suspicion. Malachi didn't think this man seemed threatened by them, so there was a chance if this indeed was a foe, then provoking them could potentially be dangerous. He was confident enough of his magical abilities and knowhow to feel secure engaging in a battle with Mathis if this were the case, but he wasn't confident that the others would come out safely, so he preferred to go about this peacefully and intelligently.

Malachi moved to take Belladonna's shoulders. He gave her a look. He forcefully, but gently, turned her around and then gave her a gentle push to start walking forward. "No more stopping. Talk and walk. Let's go."Malachi clapped his hands after Mathis had spoken and started walking ahead again, motioning for them all to join.