Time:Evening
Location:A tiny settlement along the road nearby River Kingdom
Interaction:@Tae


Helio grinned at her expression, taking amusement in her little act. He winked at her as she touched his chest. ”What if you tickle my fancy? Shouldn’t I do you?He retorted playfully, but let her walk away. He raised a brow to her statement about wanting her sister to owe her.

Dramatically he reached around in the air as if grappling for the kiss then tapped his lips. ”You got it, sweetheart!”He watched her leave then turned to go on his way.

He spent some time flying along the river, but he didn’t end up finding the rest of the bodies. Considering they never reported back, he knew they were somewhere in there most likely. He gave up on the task and flew over to sit on the thick tree branch of a large tree that overlooked the area. It was some ways from the main area of the River Kingdom, but there were very small settlements scattered all over the area.

His view overlooked a group of maybe four homes and a little shop that was along the main road. There were sparse amounts of winding street lamps that looked like thin tree trunks with balls of light wrapped up in branches at the top of it. A dim, blue light emitted from the ball.

He took some time to sit there, leaned against the trunk, looking down at this road beneath him. A carriage or two passed in the time, horses galloping.

Risa’s face flashed in his mind as he recalled her always asking to go in a horse carriage as a child and he smirked. She hadn’t expected to see him alive at all. He had to wonder if she had forgotten him. His smirk faded as a hazy

The memory was viciously yanked from his mind before it could continue any longer, the voices distorting.

Pain. Guilt. Confusion… Drowning-...

Drowning in the dark.

Where am I?

Helio gripped his head as his ears began to ring and conflicting flashes of memories and emotions overwhelmed him for a moment. He saw a watery, black fluid around him. The feeling of glass beneath his fingertips as he tried to reach forward. A large, black demon. Umber. Then there was the agony.

I hurt my own sister? Why? Why? Why? Why?!

He suddenly screamed out into the night, a guttural scream of pain. But then, that seemed to be enough. He buried his head for a moment until a feeling of numbness came over him. Detangling his fingers from his hair, he let go of his head and lifted it up. A few chuckles escaped his lips. At that moment, it was as if he heard his own laughter from a distance as he got to his feet. A thought formed in his mind, spoken in pure loathing.

I hope she’s writhing in agony.

Helio glanced at the palm of his hand and watched a black sphere form in it. He watched it for a moment, the flecks of dark energy hopping off it and the active movement of the material. His wings had the same little flecks of matter coming off them. They fluttered as he took flight. He tore his gaze from the orb but kept it in his hand as he made his way over to the settlement he had seen. He landed on the ground in front of it.

The windows of the little fairy huts were darkened and the village was quiet. They were all asleep for the most part. He watched as a young woman emerged from one of the homes with a child and sat on a rocking chair on her porch. She pulled the small child into her arms and began to rock him in her arms as she hummed. Her hair was a shade of pink.

Helio watched with a dead, cold expression. He moved over and finally hurled the dark matter into her and the child. They both cried out and fell off the chair. She crawled back into the house with the child in hand as fast as she could, pulling the door shut behind her.

Roots began to grow out of the ground that only grew in size and began to easily tower over the house. They began to grip the house like a hand had reached out from the ground and grabbed it with its fingers.

Screams rang out. The lights flickered on in the houses and fairies began to peek out.

Helio felt like he was watching himself move from a seat at this point. He might have felt rage at the moment but he wasn’t sure if he ever felt anything. Helio looked up at one of the fairies peering out their windows, launching a thorny shadow covered vine from the ground into the skull of the fairy before dragging them out of the window onto the ground. The body lied still before a flower burst from the chest and erupted into a mass of wriggling vines.

The stench of death and rot began to fill the air and a corpse flower, moving on vines like legs, rose from the earth and began to head towards another house. Manipulating and growing a corpse flower was an ability that only dark fairies could yield in comparison to the other fairies due to the mix of being able to wield both umbrakinesis and chlorokinesis. Aklenroth specifically taught him of this ability, but probably did not have in mind for him to go wreak havoc on innocents with it.

Helio turned back to the house he was crushing before and pumped masses of dark energy into the vines coating the house in a shadow before squeezing his hand bringing the house down onto its base. He laughed with insanity as fairies tried to escape their homes pointing towards them. The corpse flower moved closer grabbing and lashing at them repeatedly before dragging them into itself.

Distracted in terror, a small fairy child bumped into Helio begging and pleading for help. He looked down at the child, meeting her eyes before she began to choke on something. She gripped her own neck in distress. Helio smiled as two shadowy hands emerged from her mouth tearing her jaws and flesh of her face apart. The snapping of bones echoed in the nearby area as the little girl dropped lifelessly at his feet. Helio then stepped on her skull feeling it crunch under his boot.

Helio glanced at the corpse flower. He decided he had enough of the ugly thing. He hurled it into the third house. It loudly crashed into the front wall. Nearby screams made him of the fairies as they ran into the woods, made him turn, and have vines shoot out of the ground beneath them, catching them by their ankles.

In honor of Dionaea, he decided to kill them all in a similar fashion. After all, he had known Dionaea since a young child, it was only natural he should honor her death by making more art in her name. He raised his arms, letting vines plunge into their bodies from all directions slowly and painfully. Blood splattered the grass beneath them.

Helio smiled wickedly, admiring the silence. He turned to stare at the village. His rage felt satiated, but he had one thing he needed to do before he took his leave.

Once that was all said and done, it was time to prepare for his morning coronation.

Unless he says so. Well I guess all that bullshit you put me through was fucking worthless, Malgormuun.

How can you believe that after what you just did to that creature… And not even a word of guidance from me… Besides, pain is just weakness leaving the body, right?

"Huh?" Darius was confused as he heard the demon say something eerily familiar. Before he couldn't really give it much attention as Aklenroth continued.

”We are leaving for the port now.” Darius caught sight of the light portal, and if he was being honest, it kind of reminded him of Doctor Strange.

"What the…" Darus let out as the two stepped through and appeared somewhere else. He looked around quickly at his new surroundings and the port town visible in the distance. While smiling and shaking his head at Aklenroth, he pulled out a memory glass and aimed it towards the view. "I don't know if I should complain that you couldn't do this sooner or if I should just be…" Darius paused a moment as an odd feeling took hold of him. "Fucking hyped boiii! Haha! We made it!" The mournwine he had chugged earlier was beginning to take effect. Thinned mournwine. The human had never been exposed to such a concoction before.

Darius was experiencing a grand wave of excitement as he snapped multiple images of the view of the port town known as River Port before snapping one of Vaeril. He put the memory glass back into his pocket before pointing to his own round ears.

"Come on, hook me up. My other ones wore off! Then we can hit the bar. I'll buy!"

Bowyn recognized the wisdom in what Elthrael said, humans who let their power control them would make poor allies. The madman they had encountered before leaving Roshmi was proof enough of that, and while he didn’t trust Elthrael’s loyalty, his judgement here seemed sound. Elthrael’s usefulness was apparent, as he tossed apples to both Zephyrin and the elf who called herself Arwen. Perhaps now Zephyrin would cease stomping about like a disgruntled child at the prospect of a single missed meal. Arwen was overly friendly, behaving nothing like an elf. Her generosity with the apple and overly agreeable statements reminded him more of his own kind than any elf he’d ever run across. The fact that she seemed so genuinely excited to meet them was both annoying and endearing, like so many he’d known in his own village. Kenia’s comment only furthered his suspicion that this was likely not an elf. He took another drink from his bottle, as its contents diminished it tasted less and less like fire, and simply became easier to drink more of it. But the alcohol was failing him, he was still thinking of home.

“Well, it certainly looks like you prefer your people to mine, but then again, she hardly acts like an elf.” Bowyn mumbled back to Kenia. His speech was slurred, not enough to be incoherent, but enough that it was clear he was far from sober.

”Apparently you’re a cute little birdie.” He said to Boreas, who in turn took the complement by flipping his wings to better show off his flight feathers.

”Boreas likes your compliment. It seems we’re all going to the same place and we’re more than willing to be your guide for amas. Bowyn spoke to Clara, more pleasantly this time. He wasn’t about to turn down easy money, allowing a stranger to walk with them, to what seemed to be the same place they were already headed, was even easier than stealing it.

Valaeon had not expected the girl demihuman to return so soon. He gave her a toothy grin as he tilted his head to show off the horns on his head.

"Eat well and yours will end even better than they already are. Even better than mine! Be grateful to your youth as you have many more years to grow those already impressive horns.!" The dragonborn was always one to be positive to the youth as they would be next to hold the burdens left by the previous generations.

Carneylus' mention of rooms to stay in and food to eat for the arriving rebels caused him to nod in agreement. The girl's inquiry on the subject caused him to put on a serious face. A child knowing this information was troublesome. Her allegiance was fickle at most. He had to inform her of how important it was that she keep the arriving rebels a secret by going down to her level of thinking

"Not a word of this, young one... or I shall bull rush you! Unlike Carneylus I can keep my word!" He lowered his large horns to have them point at her before lifting his head with a smile. "Now let's feast! I will buy! And we will continue planning while filling out stomachs Carneylus! You may come too young one!"
--



Valaeon had worked and ate with Carneylus and his young friend in finding a suitable location for those of the rebellion that might not have a place to stay. They had managed to rent out a few old boathouses a quarter mile out of town. Each had an open bay room and any beds the two could acquire. The living arrangement was spacious but there would be little to no privacy in the bay rooms. It was expensive, but to Valaeon, it was worth it in reclaiming Avalia from the Lich.

He a lot of labor to tend to this morning, so having an extravagant night was off the table. He had gotten wind of a few travelers coming into town. One had stood out simply due to how loud he was. Someone even claimed he was louder than Valaeon… by Bahamut's platinum scales, that would be a person he would certainly have to meet. He was able to get a name.

Legolas… Certainly an elf...

At the moment Valaeon was carrying two large crates stacked atop each other with contents unknown to anyone but himself and whoever had provided him with them. He was headed to the boathouses.

Sunlight burst into the window and blinded Artemis. She forced her eyes open and blinked rapidly to clear the dots in her vision. Why was the sun so damn bright? After they defeated the lich, they needed to have a war on the sun. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Her arms hit the tub beside her and she chuckled. ”Oops.” She pushed herself up. Water splashed around her as she stood up. Cracks sounded as her tail transformed into her legs. She reached for her clothes on the chair near the tub. At the same time, her hair blinded her and she let out a quiet growl. This wasn’t going at all how she wanted it to. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail with her seashell clip and sighed in relief. Finally, at least now that wasn’t in her eyes. She quickly dressed and moved into the other room. She looked around, but didn’t see her companions. She glanced at the adjacent room and rubbed her eyes. She had never understood fairies and the need for open windows and no curtains.

”Asher and Flower, what time is it? And why is the sun so bright?” She yawned. The Healing Center had a few private rooms that connected to a bathroom, which is where Artemis had slept to rejuvenate herself. She frowned when there wasn’t a response. Maybe they had patients to take care of and that’s why they weren’t responding. As she entered the room, she breathed a sigh of relief. They were both lying in separate chairs with blankets over them. ”Oh you’re both asleep. Long day you had, huh?” She laughed as she approached them both. ”Typical fairies, sleeping the day away.” There was no response still. Ashy and Flower were sleeping hard, weren’t they? Did the Healing Center tire them out that much? By the looks of it, there hadn’t been that many patients last night. "Guys wake up. It's time to eat breakfast - your favorite meal of the day!" It was true. She had spent enough time eating breakfast with them and not eating until evening, having been stuffed. She had been looking forward to it with them.

Artemis tilted her head to one side and swallowed. She glanced outside and saw the day had started hours sooner. How long had she been asleep…? She went over to the cup of water she’d drank the night previously and sniffed it. She recoiled as a foul smell reached her nostrils. What the…? Why did it smell like Klura? She had slept 12 hours. Who had given her that drug? Her heart began racing as she stared at her companions. They had glasses beside them as well. She went over and began inspecting them as well. It didn’t smell the same as her’s. On top of that, the room smelled horrible. What was going on? Artemis spoke louder as panic filled her. ”Ashy and Flower, wake up.” She went over when there wasn’t a response. They hadn’t moved even a millimeter. Her breathing hitched as she shook Flower’s shoulder.

Still nothing, and then her head rolled forward. Artemis inhaled and jumped back with shock. Blood began pouring out of her mouth. What was worse was that she now noticed that Flower’s eyes were gone. Where her eye sockets should be was the word ‘treacherous whore’ carved into them. Artemis inhaled sharply and bit back a sharp scream of horror. She watched as the blood soaked the blanket. She slowly reached forward and let out a soft cry of horror. Carved all over Flower’s body was the word ‘traitor’, ‘cunt’, and ‘slut’. Tears filled her eyes as she turned to face Asher. Artemis had to confirm what she thought she already knew. She slowly moved over to him. Gasping for air, Artemis pulled the blanket back and shrieked. The same fate had been given to him as well. The words ‘whore’, ‘traitor’, and ‘bitch’, were written all over him too. He was soaked in blood as well. His eyeballs were gone as well.

Artemis began hyperventilating and crying, falling to her knees. Who had done this? Why had they killed these precious fairies? She gripped her dress as she wailed and then punched the ground. She felt as if she were being strangled. Shock overwhelmed her and she turned to her side and vomited. The room began to spin around her and caused her to lose her balance. She let out a pained scream of grief and horror. Gasping for air, she pushed herself up and scrambled out of the room. She could hardly see in front of her as she ran through the Healing Center. Beside her were beds filled with lifeless, motionless fairies and elves. She thought she was dreaming. This was a nightmare. It couldn’t be real. What monster had killed them…? Was River nearby? Was he responsible? He did enjoy torturing fairies…

Artemis burst out of the Healing Center and tripped over the entrance. She fell to her feet and caused a ruckus. To her horror, there was a bevy of Dark Elves. ”Oh no... Oh no…” She whispered and tried to stand and move away, but they had noticed her. There were fairies all over, none moving to aid her however. They looked horrified as well. ”SHIT!” She turned and spirited away, wiping at her tears. She gulped for air and began compelling herself to calm down. It was an aid she didn’t use often in fear of warping her mind too far. Right now though, it was necessary. She took several deep breaths and inhaled as arrows flew passed her. She cried out as one hit her ankle and she hissed as she stumbled.

”Fuck.” Her voice was quiet as she darted behind a clearing filled with trees and bushes. She found a particularly large tree and jumped behind it. Quieting her breathing, she held her breath and heard the Dark Elves race passed her. She curled up tighter into her ball and listened to them chattering. Her gaze moved to her ankle, which was throbbing. Thorns pierced her skin all over but she was numb to it. She shut her eyes and willed herself to remain silent. To her relief, they passed her, but were ruthlessly destroying the forest in search of her. So much for preserving it, she thought bitterly. Silent as the grave, which she wished she was in currently, Artemis waited. It felt like forever until she finally climbed out of the bushes. The sun had moved overhead, basking the forest in sunlight. She glanced at the forest and guessed it had turned into afternoon now. Her pursuers were long gone.

Nearby, she heard a stream. Still, she had to be careful, as the blood from her ankle would only dirty the river. She glanced down at her dress and ripped a piece of the fabric off. She then gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. It would hurt, but she had to remain silent, or it would all be for not. She pulled the ankle out and breathed in and out deeply. Pain blinded her but she continued. Once it was out, she stored it in her pocket. She’d carve the Dark Elves with it if she found them. For a few minutes she applied pressure to it. Next, she bandaged her ankle and made sure it was tight enough to stop the bleeding.

Sighing, she looked in the direction of the stream. Quietly, she began to crawl toward it, willing herself to quit shaking. She knew they would search the river, so she had to remain inconspicuous. She transformed her legs into her tail and took off swimming, making sure to stay in the shadows and move in the opposite direction of her pursuers. Tears threatened, but didn’t flow. Artemis felt numb as she swam through the stream and in the direction of Port River.

It had been ten days since Leon had jumped through a tear in the space time continuum. A portal into what was very clearly not even Earth, the locals were fairly primitive, and way strange but it wasn’t awful. Avalia had its own perks, the food was certainly better, the people here were a real trip, and well, magic was clearly its biggest plus. Earth didn’t have magic, not like this, and it didn’t have the endless things he had never seen or heard of, so much to explore and experience. Avalia had fresh clean air, land untouched by true industrialization, and endless possibilities. He’d even already made a friend, Lucia, an elf, an actual pointy eared, bow and arrow wielding, awesome elf. And unlike the ones in stories, this elf was generous and friendly. There were certainly worse fates than paling around with a wealthy badass elf. Like being murdered by a crime boss, which was probably how his life on Earth was about to end. Then again an evil skeleton wanted to kill him here so that wasn’t great, and Leon hadn’t even done anything yet.

The other big downside was that none of his tech worked here but Avalia had its own technology to figure out. As Lucia mentioned making something to eat, Leon realized he still hadn’t put the weird oven back together yet. No not an oven, here they called it a fira, and it used solar power to heat things fairly quickly. Minutes rather than the seconds he was used to but he still wanted to figure out how exactly it worked. Just about everything in Avalia either ran on solar power or magic, so there was a bit of a learning curve to what he was used to. As a kid he’d learned the best way, or at least the way that was the most fun, was to take something apart and figure it all out by putting it back together again. It was like solving a mystery, and the fact that nothing around here seemed to come with an instruction manual made it even more fun.

”Ya know, I can see it, you could charm the scales off a snake. Trade and barter must be nothing, then again who’d want to argue with elven Robin Hood.” Leon said laughing as Lucia twirled an arrow and grinned.

”And food sounds great, but the fira isn’t one hundred precent in working order. It will be soon, once I figure out why it keeps making that burnt smell…” Leon said then flashed an innocent smile, trailing off as he thought more about it. He had taken it apart last night, tried to put it back together again but every time it seemed like it was about to work it, the device gave off a terrible burning smell. It was overheating, he needed to pay closer attention to the heating components. He almost had it figured out last night but then before he’d finished fixing whatever it was he’d broken he had a better idea to improve the hoverboard he’d gotten just before coming to the River Port. The hoverboard was remarkably similar to the one he’d had as a kid, and just different enough that it was still fun to make adjustments to, and now it ran much better than before, unlike the fira. Lucia would probably want him to fix that soon but if they couldn’t make food in the house, they might have to venture out into the town. That prospect made him want to put off fixing the fira until later.

”I guess maybe we’ll have to go into town and try local cuisine.” Leon added, and there was really no use in trying to hide his enthusiasm at that suggestion. He wanted to explore the world here, not hide in a house all day.

”Plus if we go into town, we might find more humans, or allies. Then later, more training for sure, gotta level up to make sure a bag of old bones doesn’t kill me.” He continued, and while Leon didn’t normally care for things that took too much work, training was more like fun.

"Hey have you seen… a woman with white skin and long white hair… Like the color of snow! She's this tall, so really short and she has red eyes and um…" Darius frowned as the badger demihuman shook his head.

"Sorry fella. Haven't seen or heard of anyone with such a description… Skin like snow though? A well-dressed beauty with some really pale skin arrived with a elven noble recently, but she had dark hair, not white." The demihuman shrugged, knowing he was not much help.

"I don't think that's her, but thanks anyway." Darius gave him a nod as he walked off. I feel like I've asked half the town… Myra please be okay. No, we'll find each other. Like the first time. Darius sighed. Today was starkly different from last night's festivities.

Upon arriving yesterday, he had hit the bar and told the locals his name was Orland Legolas, a man of adventure who traveled around Avalia experiencing everything it had to offer. It was quite easy due to those he had run into since arriving. He spoke of the frosty haired winter fairies and how he had narrowly survived traversing through Orc Landing, dancing with the Angel of Death, saving mermaids from slavers, and of course roasting the absolute hell out of his "own kind". No elf was safe. Of course the stories were very skewed.

All the while, Vaeril was being Vaeril.

Enduring a hangover was the least of his worries now. He hoped he would find Myra today, but perhaps he arrived here much too soon. We'll find each other and then… I don't know.

He made his way toward the south end of the port town where water touched sand. An actual beach. Not something that Malgormuun conjured up from some old memory or whatever Orc Landing had… Now that was definitely NOT a beach.

Well time for the second thing I planned on doing while I'm here. He removed his jacket, leaving himself shirtless before placing it in the sand. Darius then moved close to the tide before going for a run along the beach. He let tide hit his boots as he tried to move at his natural speed despite the slight extra effort he exerted. I can be subtle and not expose my magic… Come on. Just like the frog, take in the water and then control it. It took several minutes, but he was able to focus on using his magic the way he wanted. Despite his stride being a bit off, he was moving quite fast with soaked leather boots on sand.

Time: Afternoon, Day 2
Location: Cave
Interactions: @13org@Helo@Potter@Eviledd1984


Malachi had found a cave later in the evening and insisted on taking shelter. He allowed them all to rest but went out to hunt for dinner. Whoever wanted to help he allowed to. He didn't end up questioning anyone much further besides asking casual questions once in a while about likes and dislikes. Nothing too eventful happened and some were able to get a good night's sleep, while some of them took shifts to watch over each other. Unfortunately, Malachi woke them early up in the early morning. He was in more of a rush for reasons he didn't specify, especially having not been asked yet.

He was sure if he kept everyone moving they would be there by the evening. But would he trust all of them enough to bring them there?

Now the afternoon, the group once again could be found walking along the woodland of the coast again. "So where are you all from?"He asked, "I was raised in the Sun Elf Village, while it was still the Sun Elf Kingdom." He paused at a spring creek and gestured to it, in case anyone needed water.

Time: Morning --> Afternoon
Location:The Pretty Flower
Interaction: @Alivefalling


There had been no sight of Artemis in the healing center that morning. But there had been something dreadful.
Risa could only stare as she gripped Kyran's arms as the bodies of two fairies were carried out, covered in sheets. There had been no saving them.

Kyran and Risa had kept their place to the side, hiding, listening. When the names were finally spoken out loud, her heart lurched. Flower and Asher had been so very kind. She had known them from her many days in the healing center. Tears spilled down her cheeks, but she kept very still and very quiet. It was mentioned that a blue-haired woman had fled the scene, chased by dark elves, however, she escaped into the stream. Risa wondered why on earth they'd be after her, but at least she knew she had gotten away safely. Artemis must have been hoping to just meet at the port to keep the pursuit away from her. After Kyran had comforted her for a moment, they brought her back to The Pretty Flower to Vereon's home. Vereon had given practically threw himself at Kyran, hugging him and petting his head between the ears. After he had let go and given Kyran some new clothes to change into, Kyran went into another room and Risa took Vereon aside to tell him the news once it was just them.

"Not Asher... Oh please not he..." Vereon had slid down against the wall onto the floor upon hearing the news. "Oh my sweet friend."He buried his face in his hands, his body trembling, his voice full of anguish. Risa moved to his side and took his hands sadly. His head lifted up in reaction and he said fiercely to her, "Ya have to stop this, Risy. We'll all be doomed." He stood up with her and moved to the window, moving the curtain a little, "Look."

Dark elves, way more than there had ever been before, were marching down the street in formation. In the middle of the plaza was a throne of some sort. Risa squinted, the details slowly becoming more clear. "... Hands?"She whispered in disbelief. The blood was still visible on the stumps of the arms. There must have been at least a hundred of them, all put together into a horrific throne. Fairies were peeking out from windows, some coming out from the front doors of shops to watch as the long lost fairy prince Helio emerged from the parade of elves in a large, golden crown. Helio threw charming smiles at all of them, blowing kisses as if he had only been gone a day. He practically danced up to the throne with a big smile and hopped into it, kicking his feet back. He snapped his fingers and a little fairy girl emerged and began to bring a bunch of grapes one by one into his mouth by holding to over his head. "That's my grandfather's crown."She told Vereon, who was at her side.

Risa shut the curtains, her eyes narrowing.

Vereon stared at her a moment then said, "Let's get you dressed. I've arranged for an amora to come for you in about an hour from now. You can't go on it looking anything like yourself."

"Understood. Do your thing."

And that he did. Risa found herself looking in the mirror, wearing an outfit she had never quite imagined herself in, "Ohh.. The socks... This is a lot, Vereon... And it's all tighter than I'm used to. I'm more comfortable in flowy clothing."Risa plucked at the strap between her sock and shorts.

Vereon looked her up and down and whistled, "That means it's perfect...Oh Kyran, come here handsome! Yeeeerrr gonna wanna see this!"He called and then moved up to her, gently rebraiding her hair and then pushing it behind her shoulders. He pulled her hood up and then patted her head. "Now ye come with me."He took her hand with one hand and pushed at her back with the other, moving her out the back door and down the stairs. He opened the door and there stood the others from the night prior, along with Gorgon. The front door to the bar was locked and it was clearly still closed.

Then they did something that surprised Risa. They all bowed, one by one in greeting, slowly until the whole room was bowing to Risa.
She raised a brow and glanced beside her. Vereon was bowing.

Risa's face flushed and she waved her hands back and forth, saying," Oh my, I'm sorry lovelies...My goal of this isn't to be queen. As long as the fairy kingdom and all everyone can live without worry of harm... That's all I want. Besides, my parents are alive as far as I know. I'd just be a princess even so."

"With all due respect, Risa. Take a look at where they are and take a look at where ye are. They're hiding somewhere and have done nothing to protect us. Then ye at yar young age..." Vereon said, making her blink, "Loyally devoted and putting ya life on the life for us. Taking on all the burden on thy shoulders when no one's asked ya too. Ye're the only queen I'll bow to."He took her hand and kissed it.

She stared in astonishment as the room nodded in agreement, still bowing to her. Risa smiled finally and curtsied back with the end of her cape.

"Gorgon has never met nice queen. Always rude to Gorgon." Gorgon interjected. "Risa kind to Gorgon. Friend when he is down. Risa good queen for little fairies. Gorgon help for Risa."

Risa moved over to touch his big hands sadly, "Gorgon you don't have to get involved in all this. Please just find a safe way home and stay out of this."

"Gorgon see death. Lot of death. Gorgon will STOP it. He protects little fairies with Vereon until Risa return. "He told her passionately.

Risa nodded, "Just please, please be careful, all of you. Do not try to challenge Helio. He is unpredictable." She turned to look at Vereon, "Well then, once Kyran joins us down here, the two of us have to sneak our way to that amora and get to River Port as soon as we can."

Skar's horde continued their march southward, avoiding villages, but also taking, robbing, and killing any unlucky wanderer they came across in the wilderness. They stuck to the worn trails that nature aimed to take back, covered in vines and patches of long grown weeds.

There were no more solar boxes uncovered, which meant that information gathering was simply whatever they came across through interrogation or the pocket litter of the unlucky folk.

It was a sudden loud rustling in the brush ahead that caused the large group to halt and draw their weapons. Skar took aim with a newly crafted bow and arrows gifted to her by a group of goblins aiming rise in status from the gesture. To the average sized humanoid, the draw strength needed was near impossible and arrows themselves were comparable to miniature spears than actually arrows in size.

"Show yourself!" Skar shouted. The brush ahead became still before a large orc male wearing crimson red leather stepped out with both hands up and a hardened look on his face. Upon seeing Skar's horde clearly, he grinned slightly.

"Oi! Lookie here! I found me some brethren… well sorta I guess. Gotta odd group actually... Mostly green skins an' some bug wing slaves." The orc kept his hands up to appear as least threatening as possible while he scoped out the large group. He was trying to identify who or what they were, but Skar was way ahead of him. An orc wearing crimson leather and his ability to speak in these parts meant he was a member of the Bloodfang Clan.

In the past Skar remembered her previous clan, the Diamond Heart Clan holding back many attacks from their raiding parties. The Bloodfang used strange tactics that were often effective against her people. Skar was not a fan, but her Warpact would not exist if she had not taken the idea of leading a group of different kinds of creatures from them.

"Bloodfang! Move from Skar path or die in Skar path! Not in mood for talk!" Skar had wanted to reach the desert without coming into contact with the vicious orc clan, rumored to be more formidable than the Northern Clan of Orc Landing, The Unbroken.

"Whoa! Whoa there, Skar... Skar? Now that'sa name! He nodded before letting out a quick whistling sound. "Well Skar, we do wanna talk... Talk about ya riffraff stompin' allover our territory!" The orc kept his demeanor calm, but only because figures crept out from the treeline. Not from just the front either. When she glanced around, she found that she was not only surrounded, but possibly outnumbered as well. "You Diamond Hearts only ever listen when there's a blade at ya throat… But you ain't a Diamond Heart are ya, Outcast."

Time: Afternoon
Location: River Port
Interactions: Darius @FunnyGuy
Ambiance: Naughty Nautical

Nur made a face at the reflection in the mirror of her vanity table, drawing up her nose, as if she was smelling something vile. Seeking refuge in the bedroom, she had escaped the loud mouthed, drunken, fish eaters sitting downstairs in the dining area of the inn. The stench however followed her up the stairs. It was bearable, with the windows drawn open. They had arrived late at night by carriage. The journey from the River Kingdom was long and tiring, Nur had slept in until the afternoon.

Haldir had rented out the most expensive room of the Naughty Nautical inn. Nur had to admit it was worth every bit of his amas. There was a vanity, a bath, a large bed, a breakfast area, a sizable closet, already filled up with all of her clothes. The furniture was made of mostly driftwood, intricate carvings of nautical creatures decorated the window sills and doors. Chimes made of shells swayed back and forth, the wind urging them to make soft clattering sounds.

There was a purpose to her look today, she needed to look demure, innocent, fragile. A convincing damsel in distress. It was proving quite the challenge. Her revealing silk dresses and plunging necklines didn't exactly say "Oh please brave sir, rescue me"
She tried dress after dress, pulling them over her head, tying up laces, turning in front of the mirror. She let out an annoyed sigh, her hands on her hips, still dressed in just her undergarments. She was surrounded by piles of clothes. Nur let herself fall face first into the closest one. She screamed into it, the sound muffled by the fabric. She turned around on her back, facing the ceiling. This was taking too long. She wanted to be gone, before Haldir would come upstairs to check on her.

It was funny, this whole deal with Haldir. Ironic even, in the beginning she barely had to do anything to keep his attention, but as time went on and they stayed together longer, it took all of her demonic power to make him do what she wanted. It took too much effort, and she was worried the overuse of her already unreliable and unpredictable power would have bad effects on her. It was time to let him go. She only needed him to get to River port. Nur reached above her head with her arm, grabbing the first dress her fingers touched. She held it up above her head. It was a pale green silk dress, it had a plunging off the shoulder neckline, but was otherwise decently modest looking. The sleeves were long and the skirt didn't have a slit. She paired it with a tan corset belt. Embroidered vines with small white flowers reached around her cinched waist.

Nur wasn't quite satisfied yet. She took out one of her books, leafing through it until she found a portrait of an ethereal looking princess, the leading lady in the love stories she adored so much. She gazed at the portrait, taking in the way she looked and making her way to the vanity table. "I just need to look more like her and less like my usual self." Nur said thinking out loud. She moved her hair over her shoulder and started to loosely braid it, tying it with a ribbon. It was starting to look like something. She slipped into a pair of sandals, and retrieved a lace parasol from her closet.

She glanced at her efforts in the mirror, a satisfied smirk on her face. Not bad if she said so herself. Nur snuck down the stairs, wanting to make a quick exit, but was caught by the coal black eyes of the dark elf noble. He snapped his fingers twice, and two guards, sitting at the edge of the room got up from their seats. Nur rolled her eyes, unimpressed. She turned to leave the inn, the guards following her outside. As one of them attempted to speak, he was swiftly silenced by the annoyed succubus. She held up her hand signaling there was no need to speak.

"Oh do shut up"

She opened her parasol, nearly hitting them both in the face. Nur walked around the coastal town aimlessly for a good half hour before reaching the shoreline. The sound of the sea relaxed her. It helped her think of the next step in her plan. Nur kept walking along the edge of the shoreline, where the sand met the road. The rebel forces were probably already in River port. The fairy princess Risa was easily recognizable, but she was clever enough not to show her face just anywhere. That would be too easy. Nur had to find one of her allies.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw something move on the beach. She stopped walking, and squinted her eyes to see what it was. It was a man, running shirtless across the shoreline. She shamelessly kept staring, as there wasn't really anything else to see at the moment. He had short black hair, brown skin and looked fit, fit enough to run across wet sand at least. Lets see if he looks as good up close as he does from afar. Nur thought with a mischievous smirk.

Nur lifted up her dress and took of her sandals, tossing them to the guards standing behind her. She stepped into the cool sand and closed her eyes, feeling the breeze on her skin. The wind was stronger at the shore, with no buildings to block it. Nur twirled her parasol and held it in front of her, waiting for a gust of wind. When she felt the wind tug at the handle, she simply let it go. It tumbled across the sand into the direction of her new victim.

Woops, how clumsy of me.

Time: Afternoon Day 2
Location: Forest
Interaction: @Helo Bowyn @Dezuel Elthrael @HowlsOfWinter Zephyrin @princess Clara

---

Kenia had kept the group going until the evening, however she did take a moment at one point to hunt a couple rabbits they’d seen along the way. She was swift with her daggers, hitting her mark with no issues whatsoever. At least they’d have something for supper other than jerky and the apples Elthrael seemed to like to produce, not that he seemed keen on giving any to Kenia or Bowyn anyways. That didn’t really bother Kenia anyways, though, since apples really weren’t good for long term sustenance.

She’d stopped to make camp just before the sunlight disappeared and cooked up the rabbit she’d caught for the group to eat. She still wasn’t fond of Zephyrin and didn’t trust her in the least, but there was another she trusted even less than her and he’d gone off to his own little fortress again like the night before. That was perfectly fine by her as she assigned people to watch again, allowing Arwen to take first watch. She took two watches herself once again, also opting to take the last watch. During one of her watches she took the time to snoop and confirm what she had already been suspicious about. There on one of Arwen’s elf ears was the small symbol Malachi had discovered that indicated the rebels. Just to be sure she silently wiggled the ear just enough, confirming it was fake. She’d made sure no one else was snooping before doing so, however, as she didn’t want to reveal the girl’s secret to the wrong people.

Long before the sun had come up, Kenia went out hunting once more. She’d once more come back with some rabbits and prepared them for the group. She managed to get it all done right before the sun started lightening the sky and doused the fire before waking all in the grouped camp up, telling all to be extremely quiet. Elthrael had gone off on his own and so Kenia had decided to use this opportunity to leave without him. She’d altered the path they’d been taking from yesterday ever so slightly and covered their initial tracks. She even went as far as to stay downwind from the moth man to make finding their scent even harder. She didn’t trust the man, especially now knowing there was a new human in the group, and was incredibly wary of leading him to the port. So while some may think her actions cruel, she was doing what she thought was necessary to protect those she cared about and to protect the rebellion.

Arwen had seemed a little hesitant to leave the moth fairy behind, but she’d complied and Kenia was thankful. She made sure to explain later her actions when the girl had asked. She also had seemed to make the whole group flower crowns and Kenia couldn’t help but find this quite adorable. She gladly wore the crown to make the young girl happy. The only downside, or perhaps it was an upside if you were looking to judge character, to this human was the fact that she seemed to talk a LOT and also hum strange little songs. While it was all cute at first, Kenia had a feeling that by the end of the day it might become quite exhausting.

Afternoon was now upon them and she took a moment to pass out the last of the food she’d made to everyone, especially to Zephyrin since she seemed to be the one most likely to complain when she was hungry. As people were distracted with food, she leaned over to Bowyn. ”I confirmed what I was suspicious of and what I believe you may have been suspicious of last night with our little newcomer. I apologize if my actions in accepting her into our group may have seemed...biased. We now just need to determine where her allegiance lies.” She whispered so only he could hear her while giving him an apologetic look.

After a moment of silence, Kenia glanced to Arwen and put on a friendly face. ”So Arwen, if you don’t mind me asking, where are you traveling from?” Time to see how well the girl knew Avalia and how good of a liar she could be.

The further from town Darius ran, the more he tried to do with his magic. He assumed there was no one to see him take inhumanly far forward leaps. It gave him something excitedly new to practice, which kept his mind off of being at the port where the rebellion was meant to be staged. When he had run far enough away from where he started, he turned around. The humidity was slightly higher than other locations he had visited in Avalia, which caused small beads of sweat to form across his body. Initially, it went unnoticed. Darius was no stranger to sweat, but after several strides, a light bulb seemed to go off in his head.

"Heh… Water." Darius focused on the movement in his arms and legs as he ran back. This time even faster than before as he pushed and pulled the moisture with each stride. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 2. 1. 2….. Like a metronome, he created a rhythm to help him maintain control. He was so focused on counting, when he saw the parasol flying his way… he crashed straight through it and tumbled over into the sand. "Oof!"

Darius rolled over onto his back with a bent crumpled up parasol tangled on his right leg while also lightly covered in moist sand. He looked up at the noon sun with squinted eyes before sitting up to see the destroyed parasol. How lucky am I to trip over the one flying umbrella on an empty beach!? Then he saw the woman walking across the beach, seemingly the owner of said umbrella. His eyes opened slightly wider than usual while his mouth remained slightly agape as he took her figure in.

Apparently, very.

He was too awestruck to acknowledge Malgormuun. A soft breeze attempted to blow sand into his eyes which caused him to wince but also regain himself.

"Hey I'm really sorry about… this." He motioned his hands towards the ruined parasol on his leg. With a bend and a toss, he swiftly removed it. "I can buy another one…" As Darius looked to face her, his eyes met hers and he felt as if he was stuck on hers. "I'm Dariussss's cousin by the way if you know him. Famous elven poet out west... Anyway, MY name is Orland. Orland Legolas." He said clumsily with a smile. He didn't even notice her two guards.

Cade did what he did best when conflict arose with people he genuinely liked, he avoided it and hoped it would go away. It never worked, but he was a stubborn cat and there was always the possibility that it would work one day. Traveling with Ezeri made this easier, she was an anomaly even to Avalia, and whatever information she was willing to share about her home was of interest to him. He kept his focus on learning what he could from the devil and her foul mouthed companion, and on ensuring that they made their way closer to the river port. At night they sought shelter and he hunted alone, hunting allowed his mind to be at peace. He even managed to find a couple of sweet tasting fruits for the humans, remembering Cora’s distaste at the game he’d caught for their breakfast. A small peace offering to further avoid any discussion on her misuse of fire in the forest. Elsea and Cora seemed more bonded than before, and he figured the flame haired human was much more equipped to discuss whatever had caused Cora to lose control than he was. He was more than willing to share food with Ezeri and her companions, and his questions towards her were more focused on demons and how they were best defeated than on her home world.

His relative silence continued from the night and into the next day, and their journey remained uninterrupted by demons. He wondered if Ezeri’s mere presence was enough to ward off the foul creature that had toyed with them the day before, or if it was simply content with the destruction it had already caused. He tried to put the demon out of his mind, his nightmares had already been plagued by it. Dreams of the scenario from the day playing out very differently, dreams in which his mind was overtaken by the illusion, where he killed the humans, where he fought with the false Shadow and killed Ayita, and dreams in which he died consumed by fire summoned by the humans. Each dream left him waking in a state of confusion and panic with a growl half uttered and caught in his throat. Each time he found it more and more difficult to fall back asleep. Eventually sleep proved a fruitless task and late into the night he occupied himself by fashioning two wooden spears and firehardening them. Morning had come with unsatisfied exhaustion, but he had beamed with pride as he presented the gifts to both Elsea and Cora, should they need a weapon, wish to hunt with them, or simply like to use them as a walking stick.

It was easier to ignore conversation the next day, his thoughts focused more keeping pace and fighting off the tiredness in his body. Cade knew the way from Roshmi to the River port very well, he had traveled it many times before and knew how to get there without the reliance on the well trodden paths that weaved through the forests. It was easy to lead the way without having to think too much about it. He stayed as alert as he could manage, no matter how perfect a proper nap in one of the patches of sun that poked through the trees sounded. Eventually they came upon a brook, where the water looked clean enough to drink and fish could be seen swimming beneath the crystal clear waters and several alaberry bushes grew nearby. It was a peaceful spot in the forest, but an ever rarer sight awaited them than the simple beauty of nature, a lone unicorn, it’s coat and mane shimmering beneath a patch of sunlight, stood drinking from the stream with perked ears.

”A grand omen, such a sight is a rare blessing from the gods.” Cade whispered as he spotted the sacred creature, holding his hand up to halt their approach. He was content to wait until the creature chose to leave. Thoughts of exhaustion and demons were gone from his mind in the serene presence of such a pure and sacred being.

Bowyn allowed the mix of alcohol and his talkative companions to distract him as they continued traveling until it started to get dark. He did not volunteer to hunt for dinner, by the time they stopped to rest. He was both too drunk and too tired to care if he ate or not. A few missed meals was nothing to him, but Kenia caught a handful of rabbits for dinner anyhow. He barely ate them, allowing Zephyrin and Arwen to have a hardier share. Boreas of course hunted his own prey, and was far more vigilant than Bowyn during their turn on watch. The night was harder, it was far quieter than the day with others resting, leaving Bowyn alone with only his thoughts and memories. He had finished off what was left of the bottle he had carried with him, and when his turn on watch had ended, the alcohol lured him into a dreamless sleep.

He awoke when Boreas did, as early as the first signs of the sun beginning to awaken as well but before the sky was bright. The hangover itself was horrendous, but dreamless sleep had made it worth it to Bowyn. Kenia wanted to leave the moth fairy behind and Bowyn could understand her point; he was interesting enough but he could only be trusted to serve himself. While the same could likely be said of Zephyrin, Bowyn would not leave one of his own, alone and ill-equipped, in the forest. His people faced enough dangers and as much as he would hate to admit it, he still felt they needed to look out for each other. Arwen had made them all flower crowns, which was a bizarre use of her time but no more useless than his drinking. Boreas however stared at him with annoyed confusion as Bowyn placed the tiny crown upon the bird.

”Your new friend made it, for the cute little birdie.” Bowyn whispered, amused at the merlin’s annoyance at once again being decorated.

”I don’t like it.” Boreas replied, he had after all suffered the indignity of wearing a bow tie only a day before.

”It would be rude to reject a gift, you don’t want to be rude do you Boreas? I’m wearing mine.” Bowyn answered back, knowing Boreas would not want to offend the likely not an elf.

”And you look ridiculous.” Boreas retorted, though he left the flower crown now atop his head alone.

”But not half as ridiculous as you.” Bowyn added, appreciating the levity the simple flower crowns had brought. It was a kind gesture, and somehow made the situation they were in feel less bleak, bringing light to his dark mood. It was a bit fun to look ridiculous; still dressed in fancy ball clothes but now covered in the dirt and muck from the forest, and with a floral crown upon his head and resting against his horns, Bowyn couldn’t help but smile at it.

Later as they paused for lunch, an unnecessary break, Kenia confirmed his suspicions about Arwen. He nodded an acknowledgement at Kenia’s apology, and he understood her hesitation towards Zephyrin’s sudden appearance, but the fact still remained that she had welcomed Zephyrin the coldest out of all them, while showing immediate warmth to one who appeared to be another elf. His own place in her good graces was likely only due to his usefulness and vocal support of the same cause.

”I accept on the condition that should Zephyrin prove to be a problem, it will be one I deal with, not you.” Bowyn responded back in a hushed voice. He had seen how easy it was for her to leave behind those she did not care for, not only the moth fairy but a human and another elf as well. He didn’t expect the elf to be any more forgiving towards one of his own kind, and anything short of outright betrayal, was not worthy of leaving one of kind to death or enslavement. He had little energy to make conversation with creatures that were not birds, but listened in on Kenia’s interrogation of Arwen.

O'Ner Faister

TIME: Afternoon, Day Two

LOCATION: Cave

INTERACTIONS: Malachi @princess

O’Ner walked along with the others; he was not sure that his answer was clear enough for the others. He was starting to become more worried that the others were suspicious of him. Perhaps he would need to further explain himself; with more straightforward answers when given a question. “I was born in a village called Rylen; I lived with my mother and father. But since adulthood, I currently live in Domoros” In reality, he was born in a village near Rylen called Erika. But from the information he learned from his spies; the village had merged with Rylen into a larger community. The only positive thing to come out of that; was his family’s home was not destroyed thanks to him purchasing it. Making sure to repair and clean the house once in a while.

“My father had a small vineyard where he would make and sell wine to the other villagers. My mother had a garden and would grow fresh fruits and vegetables. She uses to make this particular dish with saturated onions, peppers, and deer meat with this amazing sauce” He smiled to himself remembering what his parents would do in the past. He had his own vineyard in his garden; along with his fruits and vegetables. Something he liked to do in his free time was making wine and cooking. However, he and Filip were the only ones who could have the wine and eat O’Ner’s cooking. He thought that Aklenroth and his minions would not appreciate homegrown food and wine.

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


Clara had gotten quite into the traveling yesterday, making marks on her map every so often. She had an easy time keeping up, probably ending up more energetic than most of them, making small talk often and commenting on silly things like pixies and butterflies. Along the way, she made a hobby of plucking daisies from the ground so that once they stopped to make camp, she could make them all flower crowns in honor of their new friendship and to get into the spirit of adventure. After volunteering the first watch, she got to work weaving the daisy crowns. Funny enough, Mothman left at night to sleep elsewhere. She guessed he did not trust them. The entire group actually didn't seem close to each other at all. At first, she had worried about not being accepted into a group that knew and trusted each other, but she fit in quite nicely. The elf woman Kenia seemed very guarded and Clara thought she maybe didn't trust any of them too much. However, she was very nice to her, so Clara liked her.

Kenia woke her up super early, earlier than the other elves had, but thankfully Clara was a morning person and Kenia had breakfast. Though she mumbled, "five more minutes, mom," to Kenia unknowingly when she had not been quite awake yet. Clara was quiet about handing out her flower crowns, smiling simply when she had handed them to each of them. However, when it came to Bowyn, she had also handed him a little baby one for Boreas. It would have been rude to disclude him.

Clara held her last flower crown with a frown as she watched Kenia begin to mess with the path and then they changed course. She took a moment to pay attention to the direction of the wind. Kenia was trying to make it harder for Mothman to find them. He had been kinda strange in nature but she thought it was cruel to just abandon him on his own. It was quite possible he'd find them again anyway since the guy flew and she was sure he would not be happy they did not wait up for him. Reluctantly, she went along with it and decided to just question why later. Good thing they had not traveled over any bridges!

The afternoon came and Kenia began passing out food and she took out her berries to share as a dessert, handing them out, "I got lalaberries! Anyone want some lalas?" She was very happy she recalled the name. Kenia soon called her attention and asked where she was coming from, "Oh! I'm from Sun Elf Village. Was at Roshmi but then everyone started bugging there, so I'm taking my business elsewhere. But I have a question for you too,"

Clara then asked, "Why did we ditch that guy? It's kind of cruel to just leave someone behind to fend for themselves in the middle of the woods. I didn't feel right doing that." She figured Kenia possibly had good reason, but she wanted to hear it.

Time:Afternoon
Location:River Kingdom Plaza


Helio spent the morning doing a few of his chores before ordering the dark elves he had at his disposal to march down the middle of River Kingdom. He wanted everyone to see he was back and he had friends. He blew kisses to his fans as he walked down, especially the girls. Some people recognized him and looked at him as if they had seen a ghost. He hadn't shown his face here in years after all. Thankfully, his beautiful throne made of the limbs of his victims was waiting for right in the middle of the town plaza. It was at the back of a large circle of cobblestone at the end of the road by the famous big tree. He took his spot in it and lounged on it as the dark elves began to then disperse to go off to their positions, besides those he had instructed to be at his side, which was quite a few.

"Hungry."He said simply, snapping his fingers.

A pretty fairy girl, Lamaia, emerged from the side with grapes. Things were going smoothly. He had instructed that he have beautiful women at his disposal to care for him and it actually worked out. "Is it really you, Helio? You were alive all this time?"

"Of course, sugar lips. You really think I could be killed so easily? Look at me!"He gestured to himself, flexing his muscles. He smirked at her, "I am a busy, busy boy, Lamaia, and I can keep you very, very busy."

The dark elf woman standing next to his throne made a sound of disgust, grimacing.

Helio leered over at her, ordering, "Hey. Cut that out." He made a gesture toward Lamaia to keep feeding him grapes after he spoke.

"Why did Aklenroth order this."The dark elf asked in such a dry and bland tone that it was barely even questioning. Helio thought perhaps it was rhetorical and they all had been briefed, but he was going to tell her anyway.

"Aklenroth said, 'Oh Helio, only you, who's so smart and handsome, could be trusted to watch over the River Kingdom and make sure the rebellion doesn't reach there. Stay there and I'll send you reinforcements,' so I was like yeah I know. " Helio told her and took one of the grapes and tossed it at her. The dark elf fumbled to catch it, staring at him in indignation, "See. I'm so generous."

"He definitely did not say that."The dark elf said through gritted teeth.

Helio rolled his eyes, retorting, "So I reworded it but the principle's the same. Now shut up, Pyria, or I won't share any more of my grapes." He adjusted his crown and lounged back, opening his mouth to accept more grapes.