He stared at the town around them, and he leaned over to where the bears were sitting, patting their head, "This, is the work of a single mage... imagine that expanded."

He looked around them, and smiled a bit, "we were here about a week ago Erwin before moving to our next stop south of here. Let us just hope another fight doesn't break out, this place doesn't need more death."

---

---

Erwin looked at those in front of them, and took out a small flat piece of bread, "Gruel is soup, we are traveling, just ask for bread like a normal person alright little one." he said with a smile, "but move on quickly."

With that, he moved his right hand across his body in wait as he looked at the surroundings, he looked at the soldier, "Do you know where the live? The brigands and traitors?"

The soldier looked warily when the child and his group finally moved aside to celebrate their extra lunch. Then Erwin's queries brought back his full attention.

"Most attacks happened on the road between here and Pesti. Strangely they didn't kill the men. Just tied them up on the trees after they were done plundering all the goods. Nobody knows where they came from, but they always attack from the north. We don't have scouts here, and I can't let my boys wander into the forest chasing after them without any pointers. Can't afford to lose any able-bodied men. Our forces here are already thin as it is."

"But if you don't mind riding back toward Pesti and scouring half of the forest to find them, then be my guest. You all looked like a mean business from what I heard."

And they finally arrived at the city limit. The bridge was ahead and looked shoddily repaired after being subjected to what seemed to be a total bombardment from an artillery not yet known to men.

"And this is where we must part ways." said the soldier, turning the rein of his horse back to Fanghorn. "Have a safe journey y'all!"

Location: Blackwater Estate, North-East Kindeance. - 1 week prior

---

---

After a rocky initial start, Solomon managed to keep the carriage on the road. The bears had managed to climb back into the back, and Thernous appeared to be by himself among among the passenger seating. As the roads were windy, and mostly uneven as new paths were flattened by people and vehicles moving around the large bunches of brambles. Thankfully, the withered nettles were mostly dead, so there wasn’t any risk of them overtaking the new paths. However, the number and size of them probably left most people wanting them gone to procrastinate in actually clearing them.

The camp and the remains of the city were just how Solomon had last remembered seeing them the last time he had come back. He occasionally dealt with Von Kruber’s widow and recovering some of what they could from the city. Now no longer as tall as it was, there were still remains of a giant beanstalk drooped and withered over the remains of the keep. Since the plant no longer supported that side of the building, it has since partially caved in.

Solomon looked at the family with a sadness in his eyes. At the time four months ago, it felt like the party had little choice than to engage the paranoid wizard, Asevor. And that battle had forced some into desperate measures. Were it not for these measures, Asevor might have succeeded in whatever plans he had involving the prince. Losing him there didn’t feel like an option. The cost of all that was the suffering of those, like the woman and her kids. They stood there, begging for food, to help supplement the dwindling stores the refugee camp was barely holding on to.

“It is unfortunate.” Solomon said softly to himself, barely audible to even those in the carriage, “The lives of these people uprooted by political turmoil, and desperation. How the life of one had managed to cost so many.” Solomon kept his head down, as the woman back from the carriage. He waited for Jazdia and Erwin to finish their conversation before he got the horses going once again towards the western bridge.

The bridge was hastily repaired, wooden scaffolding and boards with some of the brickwork rearranged to keep it together as much as possible. Evidence of a new stonework was seen strewn about as the bridge was being rebuilt. The work was adequate enough to cross, but its quality and condition meant it would not last long. Once the bridge is crossed, it would be almost another day’s travel to Strizel’s estate. The first of the party’s explicit objectives.

Varya Chandrar

Varya looked upon the ruins of the town known by the locals as Fanghorn, torn apart by some great calamity. A graveyard of burnt rubble with mossy crumbling walls as its tombstone. He first thought that the town was destroyed by a great conflagration, but something wasn't quite adding up. The great vines that choked the city streets grew too numerous despite the severity of the scorching, and it grew in unnatural ways and angles. Perhaps something more unnatural was at work here. As they walked across the wreckage, at the other side of a stone wall lied a large camp of who were no doubt the former occupants of the once great town. Families, poor, starving, homeless. He can only imagine how great the loss of life was. Varya became melancholic as he bore witness to human suffering, and heavy was his heart to see the humans lying outside their own walls. Had he not a mission to fulfill he might have considered helping these poor people in whatever way he could, but alas he must press onward. As an elf who loved indulging in all the finer things in life, he despised poverty, and it sickened him to see it effecting others by no choice of their own. Why were the King's men so few here he wondered? No doubt many would be at the border in case of war, but dire indeed must the kingdom be if it cannot afford to help those who are in need of it most. Save for a sorrowful look, he kept his composure as he traversed with the others. He had too.

The group was stopped by three malnourished children and a woman in a similar sorry state, begging for food. Varya looked into their eyes, he saw great pain in them, and it hurt his heart. Varya was overcome with pity, and stepped down from his horse to give them most of his rations, fruits, cheeses and breads. Varya's earthing spell significantly reduced the amount of food he needed to get by, which had come in handy countless times in many situations, and was of great use during his scouting missions. It was obvious these humans needed this food much more than him. It was the duty of the strong to endure what the weak cannot. "Here, have these. If you have any leftover, share them with your closest loved ones. Don't let them go hungry tonight. Take care, and may your fortunes change for the better." He gave a small bow of respect before mounting his horse and riding again. After they had passed the poor villagers, Varya rode up next to Erwin. "Sir Erwin, if I might ask, do you know what happened here?"

He looked over to his side, "a few things, to my knowledge several months ago, the bears brother came through. But this looks recent, this looks like a test fire gone off course." he said pressing his lips together, "Artillery possibly."

He looked over at Varya and sighed a bit, "Preparation for war, it's been voted on. Everyone is preparing, that means less of the kings people here, and more local deputies to take over once again. This area has been full of turmoil for a short time, the kings men that were hee have likely been mobilized, and only a small group of soldiers is around because it's where they are stationed."

He rode his horse closer to the man, "things are changing, but... From what I heard, this is new... I know the bear's brother did a lot of damage here... but this is not from him."

The convoy crossed the bridge slowly, for their driver was far from experienced, and the bridge itself, not only lacked proper railings here and there but also had its deck partially destroyed on the sides.

The journey continued. It was mostly a straight path to the west after they left Fanghorn, and the closer they got to the border, the more Jazdia saw things that indicated everything had escalated. Abandoned carts on the side of the road, burned houses on the other, hanged carcasses on a tree, and a pocket of camping area made by weary refugees.

They did not stop, and their only rest was by letting their horses walk at a steady pace before being speeded up to a constant gallop whenever they passed an area Jazdia deemed unsafe.

As the sun was setting, Jazdia reminded everyone to be on their guard and checked on Erwin, to see if he was about to slump down from his horse like a sack of grain. She then had her eyes activated periodically to scan the road ahead, and slowed their overall speed to make sure she didn't overlook anything.

They arrived at the crossroads by the night and looked for a suitable campsite around it for their rendezvous point. The location was a bit high-profile according to Jazdia, but this was the place Fredricus selected for their meeting.

Erwin looked wired at that point, alert, almost too alert as he looked about like a rooster in coyote season. He looked around, and he saw something off in the distance but he did not believe it to be anything but people fleeing. He pressed his lips together, and looked at Varya as he did not seem to enjoy much.

"This is why I shot the ancient... for fears that something like this would happen should someone decide that we were a ripe target that invoked revenge for troubles we caused them." he said, "In a world of men and corruption, there is only law and order, and that has broken down because of the war posturing, those from inside who seek power, for from the mountains to the north seek to pillage these lands while the warriors are away."

---

---

He moved back with the two bears, and looked them both in the eye, "This is a small taste of war... this is what Erwin is afraid of, he will do anything to stop something like this, because it causes disorder for all."

"Weapons of man can do the same as a mage, and without any enchanting. But this is more than just those craters, that was direct artillery, this is just blatant destruction and barbarism."

He slowly made his way into the snuggled part of the wagon he slept in prior, but when the came to the place, he looked at Jaz, "Are you sure this is the place, it is rather open, and in a place that seems relatively hostile? My eyesight is a bit too bad to see the landmarks of the mountain range, and it seems the closer ones I have used more recently are burned down."

Once they had finally left the environs around Fanghorn, the twins finally felt safe enough to venture talking again, and plied their driver and fellow passenger with questions, refusing to take any kind of obstruction or obtuse answer this time.
"We dun seen'd 'nuff ol' timers-- You gotta tell us straight dis time." intoned Lily, with a rather pointed expression.
"--If'n our brudder done all dat, he musta had a reas'n, suh outs wit it!"
"No dodgin' dis time-- Why he o'er grow da damn roads--
"--An what da hell he do tuh 'at taown?!"

Their eyes seemed to glimmer with flashes of yellow-green in the twilight of the approaching night as the failing sunlight caught them just right, adding some intensity to their probing and forceful questions.

"Cedah ain't like dis-- Ain't like hims 'tall! He dun kills peoples!"
"What duh hells ya does tuh hims tuh makes 'im does 'at, an' whuy!?"

Thernous

He slowly made his way into the snuggled part of the wagon he slept in prior, but when the came to the place, he looked at Jaz, "Are you sure this is the place, it is rather open, and in a place that seems relatively hostile? My eyesight is a bit too bad to see the landmarks of the mountain range, and it seems the closer ones I have used more recently are burned down."

"I agree." said the elf, deactivating her enchanted vision as he rode closer to regard Thernous. "I recommend we move somewhere to the north. If the recon team were tasked to be as close as possible with our target, then it would be easier to find each other in that direction."

With Jazdia's instruction, the convoy turned right and rode through the path leading to Stritzel's mansion. It was approximately one and a half kilometers away from the crossroad when they took another turn to the left, through an unbeaten path leading to the forest.

Though there were still ample treelines and vegetation to cover their presence, it was still too high profile. Though she could easily find traversable paths and turns, their carriage couldn't go any deeper into the forest.

Jazdia knew she was taking a chance to set up a meeting point in a location near the enemy's regular route. But either this or at the crossroads, or camp somewhere to the south or west. She hoped they could meet the recon team sooner. If not, they would have to spend the night here without a campfire, and that would not be unpleasant.

The elf dismounted from her horse and approached the carriage. Talking with Solomon before addressing the situation with Thernous.

"So, what do you think? Should we stop here?"

The area seemed suitable enough as a campsite. The ground was relatively flat, but it had no other natural wall save formations of trees on the west and more trees to the south. On its north was another clearing that ended in a small hill with no trees growing on its peak, a perfect spot to watch over the entire campsite and its surroundings.

---

Solomon hoped with winter having passed, the restoration of Fanghorn could continue steadily. At least enough to the point those forced to live outside of its walls could return to the safety of its gates. Solomon’s skill with the carriage was really put to the test crossing the bridge. It was narrower than the sections of the bridge still standing, and more than once did the wheels creep near the edge of the pathway. Thankfully, Solomon was able to finally cross, and the carriage sped away west towards the Stritzel estate.

After the ruined remains of Fanghorn was lost behind the myriad of trees and other nature features, the bear sisters started to bother Thernous and even Solomon about what had happened there. Their pushiness made the carriage drift as they shifted their bodies to focus on the two arguably elderly men with their inquiries. After Solomon steadied the carriage, he spoke.

“It was not just your brother’s doing.” said Solomon, as he twisted the reins in between his hands, keeping the horses on course. “The plants? A friend of mine grew them. The fires? An evil mage. The crater? That is where the mage put an end to himself. No, most of the damage done to that town was self inflicted by outside oppressors. If you want to blame Cedar for anything, it’s providing the seeds and winding the road leading to the city. He only wanted to hinder the evil mage’s routes of escape. Now hold on, I need to focus a little. It looks like we will be stopping soon.”

For the most part, everything Solomon said was mostly the truth. Cedar may have planted the seeds, but it was through August’s power that they started to grow through the night. It gave the brambles a head start until the sun fed them and the magic really spiraled. August was an undead druid in which Solomon befriended long ago. Cedar planted the seeds and their means to grow, but August took over those plants when Cedar visited the keep with the others. It was also Asevor’s decision to incinerate the plants once they grew unruly. It was a decision that truly set fire to the town.

Solomon purposefully did not mention the wild magic rain dance. There wasn’t any point to it. Even had Cedar not cast a localized hurricane, the fires alone would have killed townsfolk and destroy infrastructure. The weather spell could be said to have replaced the damage that would have been caused by fire to that of wind and water. Solomon did not entertain any further questions the girls had, as his attention went from them to the elf archer on the black steed. After Jazdia spoke with Thernous for a minute, she directed them to head further north.

After several more minutes, they were lead off the side of the road, into a clearing near a hill. The trees were thicker here, making traversing farther into the clearing impossible for the carriage. Jazdia came back around and stopped next to Solomon. She posed a question, and Solomon took a moment to turn his head around the potential campsite. Still out of view of the estate, but dangerously close to any of their frequent visitors, the hill looked to offer a perfect vantage point.

“I think this spot should do just fine. I worry about cover though. Should anyone wander by, it will not be hard to miss our carriage. The hill would be a suitable place for anyone to keep watch.” said Solomon.

7:32 P.M.
[Jazdia "Slyph" Crystalspark]
Kindeance Westland Province, Kingdom of Kindeance
[ONE DAY BEFORE THE DECLARATION]
____________________________________________

"That's the risk, indeed. That's why it is important to place someone on that hill to immediately spot an incoming party." she nodded, answering Solomon before moving closer to the carriage, knocking on the door, and saying.

"Remember, we are scheduled to rendezvous with the recon team today. Miss Athena, I believe some of them are your friends so I will need you to stand by here for quick recognition in case they are approaching from the road. Fredricus did not give us a proper sign or countersign we have to trust our eyes. I will take the hill for elevated sightlines. I do not recommend starting a campfire immediately until I give you a clearance. Be patient, if you are hungry I am afraid the hot meal will have to wait."

And with that, Jazdia lit one of the lamps and took it with her as she began the walk to the hill. The night was clear, and the black sky was dotted with stars and the moon shone brightly. She looked up, sniffing the air, it was cool and humid.

Then she heard something buzzed in her satchel back. Her bronze compass opened as she walked, and a certain male voice rang from it.

"See?! I was right! She has Commpass, not that ancient D-3M with that pesky range limitation."

"At least it looked more trendy, you old-fashioned oaf!" replied Jazdia. A small laughter followed suit from the other side. Jazdia let the man have his excitement for a while before pinging him back. "Very unusual of you to dial my device. What's the matter?"

There was a pause, sounded like someone clearing his throat.

"That's very rude of you to ride past Hdur without saying hi."

"Government schedule, you know how it is."

"So even Jazdia Crystalspark bowed to the might of Kindeance bureaucracy now? Wait until I tell Andrei about this!"

Wincing, Jazdia half considered closing the lid. "Cut the chatter, Baker. I don't remember you being such a chatterbox, and this is not like you at all."

"I am sorry, but I just feel so happy to hold one of these things again and make a call through. Remind me of my heydays."

"Should I entertain you with our lingo? I still remember some."

"Appreciate that ma'am, but you don't have to. I have a particular customer that wants to talk to you. Here you go, press this middle button when you talk."

There were small hangups, and several failed attempts to establish a concise connection until the voice could be heard clearly.

"Good evening, Miss Jazdia. Can you hear me?"

Jazdia recognized the smoothness and musical tone in that voice.

"Admiral Silas. What a pleasant surprise." Though she spared a line for pleasantries, the elf knew the effort he made to make this call was not for a mere novelty, so she refocused all of her attention. "I assume you have something I want to hear?"

And she wasn't wrong.

"Yes, it's about Delving Patriarch and your current mission."

Jazdia's brows furrowed in a slight disbelief, but she heard him right. "Go on."

"Under the name of Controller, Jonas Delving was scheduled to visit Stritzel's abode to oversee their current project some two or three days ago. What project, I don't know. But you are there..."

There was a small pause.

"Miss Jazdia, I know you have your orders, and I have nothing against it. But if you managed to subdue him, I beg you, please render him incapacitated. He is a desperate man, and while his sins are numerous and it's not my place to beg for forgiveness, he is still my father, and I wish to see him face a proper trial. I simply ask you to choose the least cruel option at your disposal."

Jazdia felt a sudden comprehension dawned in her. And it felt like a lowblow.

"You can do anything to ensure that he is harmless... just let him live."

"Let's put things in order first, Admiral.' She said, stressing her voice "Everything has to be crystal clear before we agree on anything. Did Fredricus KNOW this?"

A pause, anxious and undecided, lingered for a while. "He knows. I supplied him this information in exchange for clemency for my siblings."

In that darkness, Jazdia stood there with a realization for a while, glancing at the starry sky and taking a deep breath of the clean, healing scent of the forest. Unsure if she should be mad, or feel impressed by Fredricus' stratagem.

And then a weak smile formed on her lips. At least the information came not at the worst possible moment. And she appreciated it.

"I don't know, Admiral. This business about The Delving patriarch... we already have a lot on our plate."

An exasperated sigh could be heard from the other side.

"I can't promise you anything. We are here for a rescue mission, not to subjugate anyone." grimacing, Jazdia continued with a not-so-newly dawned resignation. "What's the difference anyway? If your father gets in the way, we would have to take him down. Plain and simple. But I will see what I can do."

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that."

"I know exactly what you feel. But come on. Who will fetch your father and transport him to Rascade after all the effort to knock him unconscious with probably one less limb? It can't be you. No, unless Fred is insufferably stupid."

"His Highness has an Elite team for such a retrieval mission, led by the Jailer and some court wizards. It is nothing we need to worry about."

"It still takes time for them to travel from there to the Westland."

"They were already on their way yesterday. It seemed His Highness was really confident with your capability."

Jazdia was visibly shaking. "Keep your honeyed tongue behind your teeth Admiral. You will owe me greatly with this one. Twice, in fact."

"And I acknowledge this eternal kindness, and why you did to me and my sister before" he affirmed genuinely. "I will make it up to you to the best of my ability."

The lid was closed abruptly. Its owner yawned, already fed up and exhausted by the entire conversation. With a lantern beside her, Jazdia sat on the grass, contemplating her next move. Bloody Fredricus had overtaken her a few steps ahead.

"Your brother is powerful girls... But not all of this is his destruction, some was at the end; some of it is much more recent past day or two, and the rest is the incompetence of those in control," he said to the bears as he went through several maps and found where they were, and he sighed as he looked around and then at Jazdia.

"My intuition is telling me this area is a trap, and we should keep moving. The bears should dismount and try to smell out any of the magic being used. That artillery back there was similar to what we are going to see if we fail, but it was different, more potent and filled with magical imbuement, much smaller than our artillery, but it seemed to linger like a cancer." he said, looking at his map, "this area can be seen by miles, and places we can't see with clarity. If someone was to bombard us, they easily could without us knowing where exactly they were."

"But... it's a good spot, get off the path a bit, and watch for those we need to, those who we aren't looking for we can follow them in. This is not my cup of tea with the spying, and planning a raid on someone's likely well-armed manor. That is more of Erwins thoughts. But my intuition tells me that here in the relative open is not going to be good in the long run."

Elsewhere, in a distant cell (about 5km away):

A sick, groggy man-bear rouses from a deep, drug induced sleep. Delerium and confusion slowly give way to clarity, as he scans his surroundings for where they have moved him, only to discover that he was back in his cell, next to his 'new neighbor.' Within moments, he discovers that tubes have been inserted into his arms. Instinctively, he tries to smell the room, but is only rewarded with pain, and a foul mouthful of puss and snot.

He hated these things. Hated these treatments. .. hated his new neighbor most of all. ..so insufferably weak... blithering mealy-mouthed platitudes and kindnesses. He hadn't asked for help. Did not want help.

He wanted revenge.

He felt new vigor in his limbs-- a product of the 'treatments'. A product of that sappy sack of bones and hair in the next cell; initially taken by force, but then, taken with only silent reservation.. and those looks. Those hideous, unbearable looks. He did not WANT that fool's help! Not this way, not any way!

In anger, he reached for the tubes, intent to rip them out in angry spite, but the instant he reached for them, SHE stopped him.

He wasnt sure which he hated more; that idiot next door, who couldn't shut up, or THIS WOMAN. The one his mother had hired to help heal his injuries. Who had .. put that fool's blood in him. .. testing her sick ideas on him, despite his refusals.

In a rage, he went for her neck, intent to break it like the spindly twig it rightly was. Two bolts of energy flashed from her outstretched hand in reward for his efforts, sending him paralyzed onto the mat he was laying on. Unable to move.

"Stup... dun.. DUN 'URT 'IM..."

It was that ... insufferable fool.. begging impotently in his stead.. begging for the mercy he would never ask for. How he hated him for it.

The voice gave way to dull, indistinct ringing, then all was dark once more.

Location: Near the crossroads, 6 km from Stritzel's Estate, Western Kindeance.

---

The sun had already set by the time Veronica dared clamber up into the thick boughs of a tall tree, nimble and dexterous limbs executing practiced movements, as she scaled the natural expanse. The faintest glimmer of dying sunlight was still fading on the horizon, as her eyes scanned the lands from above, carefully keeping herself pressed against the tree's trunk so as to minimize her profile and avoid any searching eyes.

Her gaze was aimed East, of course, watching the crossroads from afar, the last glimmers of sunlight to her back and warded off by the watery sensation of her protective magic. It took a while, time spent patiently waiting while the sun set, before crimson eyes narrowed at the distant sight of people taking the main road, approaching from the East towards the crossroads. She thought she spotted a few recognizable faces at the front of the group, but it was a bit too early to tell at this distance and lighting.

According to the plan of Lord Fredricus, the roads leading here would be blocked by divisions of the border garrison and the area thoroughly scoured for enemies beforehand. If all had gone well, enemy activity in the area -at least for now- should be completely absent, leaving only those arranged for by the King to enter freely, a secure place to conjoin the two halves of the King's team of agents. In that case, it was a safe assumption to make that the people approaching were, indeed, those they had arranged to meet with. Of course, the chances they weren't were low...

...but never zero.

The land was shrouded in night by now, the dim light of twilight illuminating all under the gaze of the moon and stars. The small group of travelers had arrived at the crossroads and then moved off the main road a small ways north to a largely flat, cleared out area with only a small, bare hill as any sort of incline of note. From her position, Veronica could see the distant orange flare of some kind of fire being lit, the one holding it making for the hill and placed themself in the wide open.

Risky... but it certainly made the group less likely to be slinking ne'er-do-wells. Never hurt to be certain, however.

Finally secure in her safety with the lack of sunlight, Veronica allowed the watery sensation of her protective magic to fall away, as she closed her eyes and cast a different spell altogether, casting her Sight into the distance. Moments later, Veronica was peering down atop the gathered group of people... some a bit odder than others. Not that she had a lot of room to talk, but still. She spotted three distinctly familiar faces amongst the crowd, which was definitely another point in their favor, along with a new elf, another yokai, two blonde knights -one man and woman- and...

Was that two bears wearing-?

Veronica pinched the bridge of her nose, quelling a growing headache. This was getting out of hand; now there were two of them? Oh, don't get her wrong, she liked Cedar well enough, but let none ever claim he was the most worldly of sorts. The term "bull in a china shop" came to mind, both physically and socially. Inconspicuous? What was that? Could you eat it?

Shaking her physical head, Veronica's Sight refocused on the last member of the group, and her eyes nearly bugged out.

Lord Thernous is here? In person?!

Well, unless the enemy was using some sort of illusory measure and had access to some really confidential information... Having the King's uncle out in this situation was almost absolute proof of their good intentions in and of itself. While she couldn't absolutely write off the chance of Lord Thernous being a traitor, the idea was so unthinkable that she only considered it on the grounds of a matter of course. A shinobi prepared for any threat, no matter how unlikely; habitual paranoia was basically part of her job description. She would have vastly preferred being given some sort of passphrase or having a solid link between the teams that could have been present and dispelled any potential suspicions before they could even form, but as she apparently wasn't afforded that -in her opinion, standard procedure- luxury, she would just have to make do.

Veronica cast her Sight towards the one on the hill, Jazdia, and nodded to herself. The vampire let her spell fade away and quickly clambered down the tree to where the other three members of her team of four were waiting thereabouts. The group had steered off the main path for a while to hunker down out of sight in the trees, observing the designated meeting spot from afar. The two members of Antigone were tending to their horses, the only two the group had bothered with for the sake of speed and subtlety. There had been the consideration of using the summoned wargs of their fourth member exclusively, but if something happened to him, the last thing they needed to be was stranded.

Veronica straightened out her clothes and gave a small smile. "They're here," she stated simply. "Several recognizable faces, amongst which are Lord Thernous Est Eluin, himself. It would be exceedingly difficult to get more well vetted than that." She glanced around their near area with habitual wariness, brief flickers of her eyes searching for potential observers. "Are we ready to move again?"

One of the Antigone members -Charles- loosed a low chuff of exasperation, rolling his eyes, as he mounted his horse, clicking his tongue and giving its side a pat. "I've been ready for hours, but someone-" He shot the vampire a mild gimlet eye. "-just had to go the extra mile for no reason at all." He grunted, as he received an elbow from the other Antigone member, Farris, who had sidled up to him, already mounted on his own horse.

"Liven up a bit," Farris grinned. "Being careful never hurt anyone, especially not when it's something this important."

Charles sniffed. "Some people should have a little more faith in the King."

"Blind faith is a fool's errand," Veronica drawled out, shaking her head. "But let us not concern ourselves with petty quibbles while our mission is at hand." Charles scowled at the vampire's authoritative tone, but a sharp look from Farris apparently stilled his tongue... for the time being at least.

Still, for all the group's inner dynamics hadn't necessarily been the most harmonious thing in the world even from the get-go, their skillsets were nonetheless complimentary. Outside a couple verbal tussles, when it was actually time to knuckle down and get their jobs done, they were each exemplary in their roles, certainly enough so that Veronica had no complaints of actual worth she might feel compelled to voice.

While the attempt to plant a magical geolocator hadn't ended up successful, they had still come away with relatively important intelligence. In particular, three days ago, bound for Stritzel's mansion, there had been a wagon guarded by Delving's Usuals, who -indeed- also seemed to be the primary security for the compound. That time, three days ago, was also the last time anyone had been seen leaving the area either. The presence of Delving's men did not bode well for the noble family's future prospects, especially not after their actions four months ago; another infraction of even slightly similar magnitude could very well be the straw the broke the camel's back.

That aside, however, the actual compound was practically entirely deserted, an ominous sign. The last time anyone had been seen entering was a day ago, a small convoy of two carriages with several horsemen, and all of them had disappeared into what the recon team had eventually deduced was an underground level. Unfortunately, actually scouting out that level at this point was too risky. While Veronica could easily evade anything that the magical ward might offer and was an extremely skilled infiltrator in her own right, she still couldn't turn invisible. Trying to enter a bottlenecked entrance to an underground layer unnoticed wasn't feasible; there was simply no result that didn't end with the recon team's presence compromised, and there was no way the vampire was giving up the element of surprise until they had a lot more people in their corner in the case things went sideways.

Speaking of the magical barrier, Veronica wasn't entirely sure of its full capabilities, only that it at least repelled scrying. She had been extremely careful in her initial probes with her Sight, aiming around the compound rather than directly at it. Even then, she felt a certain measure of repulsion, and she was confident that trying to force her Sight inside was only going to fail, get her detected or both. If the barrier did anything beyond that, she simply couldn't be certain, but there was no sense in taking risks. The Delvings specialized in anti-magic and barriers; it was practically their magical callsign, and this reeked of their work. Though, the barrier felt similar to Asever's work back in Fanghorn.

There had been no sign of either of their targets, Cedar or Stritzel, and with the upper levels confirmed empty by Veronica's personal infiltration with her own anti-magic active the whole while, it was a safe bet to assume they were both tucked away somewhere underground, the latter doing who knew what to the former.
  
Veronica turned to the quietest member of their quartet, raising a single brow at the pale, silver-eyed man, who was largely swaddled in thick clothes that spoke of a life of harsh, northern living in the cold. Admittedly, for all that they'd spent a fairly extended amount of time together so far, she hadn't formed much of an opinion on the young(?) man with ghostly-white hair. Baron Evan Mikkelsen was a quiet sort without much force of presence, and while he was certainly competent at what he did, there were little things that cropped up every now and again, holes in his capabilities that raised eyebrows. Still, she hadn't found him a nuisance so far, and she was increasingly optimistic that would stay the case.

"Apologies for the delay, Baron Mikkelsen; my thanks for indulging my unreasonable instincts." She shot a nod his way and towards the mounted Antigone members. "If you could indulge me again, however, I'd like for us to circle around a bit further and approach from the North. I want the first person to spot us to be Lady Crystalspark, and the small hill should conceal us from the rest of the group until we are in speaking distance with her. We weren't given any clear signal to assert our allegiances, so I'd like to hopefully avoid the potential of anyone doing anything... impulsive."

Farris shrugged, nonplussed. "Fine by me, lady."

Charles just clicked his tongue dismissively but didn't assert a better suggestion.

Veronica glanced at Evan, gaze inquisitive. The Antigone members were ready, and as usual, she would travel on foot, her own sprinting speed plenty sufficient to keep pace with the horses of their mounted teammates, especially across forest terrain in the dark, where they couldn't afford to drive their steeds at full tilt without risking injury. They hadn't set up to wait all that far away, so once they got moving, even with a circuitous route to meet Jazdia from the North, they would easily cross the distance in around five to ten minutes at worst.

The white-haired boy wrapped in fluffy clothes, sitting on one of his three translucent wargs, reciprocated the gaze and simply nodded. As if on cue, the wargs began standing up too, and Evan was lifted up off the ground. He slung his left leg over the warg to sit properly.
"... just 'Evan' is fine." He glanced a bit at Veronica and spoke, with a worry over how mouthful her way of addressing him was, and his own doubts about being called a 'baron', he doesn't entirely know... what it means.

The night was getting late, and according to her pocket watch, she was already there for an hour.

Looking at the camp, she saw no notable illuminations except a few spots of light from their lantern. To think that nobody disobeyed her order was rather surprising if not commendable, considering that some were not on the best terms with someone else, and the others were just in to have their brother rescued.

Back to the matter at hand. Another 20 minutes passed and the waiting had made her rather antsy. She activated the eyes and looked at the grounds beneath the hill, anxious if she missed a small detail. She could not hear the faintest of sounds, or perhaps recognize every bit of change on the soil or foliage, but she had eyes that see through the shadow, and if her target wasn't trying to be meticulously hidden, she would find them.

And she found them, a group of four seemingly conjured themselves out of the darkness. Two riders, no-- three. One was riding something resembling a lupine creature with more of its kind following behind. And beside the strange rider, unmounted yet capable of catching up with their pace on foot, was a familiar woman clad in black. Veronica.

The arrow she held gleamed with purplish light when she cast her magic into it and deliberately slowed down the process, turning the shaft into a signal torch that flared brightly.

She'd be damned if they did not see her.

Varya Chandrar

When night fell and the moon appeared in the sky, Varya formed a right leaning C shape with his arms. "Praise the Moon!" He proclaimed with similar unabashed enthusiasm as his sun salutations. Varya felt a special connection to the Moon, the giver of life, the great farmer in the sky, the silver mirror of the Sun's glory. When it came time to set up camp Varya took off his shoes, feeling the earth beneath him, and set up a ground circle near the limits of his earth sense. He then extended eight lines several meters away from the first circle and molded a second circle lined with small stones as a soft alarm system of sorts for himself. After his mounds were complete he went to the others and offered to help with whatever needed to be set up for the camp.

Not long after setting up his alarm system did Varya feel a slight disturbance in the earth to the north. He immediately went to Jazdia and whispered to her. "Lady Jazdia, we have company making their way up the hill from the north. Identity and numbers unknown." Jazdia reacted nonchalantly. "Yeah I see them. Those are friendlies." Varya didn't know how she could know that, but he saw no reason to distrust her. He then went to Thernous and whispered the same message onto him. He then spread the message to Erwin, Louise, Athena, then everyone else. "We have company approaching from the north. Lady Jazdia has assured me that they mean us no harm." Varya was really hoping it wasn't another "merchant", he did *NOT* want to have another heart attack.

Louise was spent her time ridden on her horse as an outrider in same formation. Made a gloomy expression as she witnessed the tragic scenery of Fanghorn. She remained herself in formation glaring on those fellow party who made an action to gave a relives from one of those citizens. With a little hope that had been given to them, she made a small smile on Erwin and Varya.

As the travel getting darker. She sharpen her awareness with her woodsman instinct. As for arriving the confirmed campsite, she quickly helped her party to made a camp settlement and sorted all the stuffs neatly.

"Can anyone able to heat kitchenwares? We can't able to do with fire as we need to be low-profile.

I'm making a stew for everyone, we have enough ingredients for it." Louise politely asked people from the camp. Preparing the ingredients and kitchen wares. She have a pony tail hair style and unstripped all the armor set leaving with a surcoat, chausses, tabard and cape.

The sisters were many things-- Hairy, large, brazen, .. hungry... , (and strongly feeling the instinctual desire to find mates), but "Deaf", "Stupid", and "Useless" were not among those things.

The silly old man had some very peculiar views on the world that they disagreed with, but disagreement didn't necessarily mean "wrong", at least not completely. Likewise with the seeming bossiness of the she-elf, "Jazdia".

They overheard the pair talking while they were still in the wagon, then bounded out. If there was another risk of unnecessary violence (quite likely from that Erwin fellow, in their opinion), or as the old man and the elf were concerned with (and as the hanging bodies from trees earlier attested to), the potential for genuine, but still avoidable violence-- they would choose to avoid that violence.

That meant falling in, and doing what was suggested of them, and not being obstinate about it.

Rose found herself a nice spot where she could sit, turn around, and look in every direction as needed. 'she can see her colors and lights there just fine' Lily thought to herself, as she sought a way to be useful as well, sauntering toward the cluster of activity that was the pitching of the camp.


"Can anyone able to heat kitchenwares? We can't able to do with fire as we need to be low-profile.

I'm making a stew for everyone, we have enough ingredients for it."

It was the nice blonde girl that had bought her necklace for her. --Sadly still involved with that crazy man with the gun, who was doing his best to sit still, while still twitching with eyes darting around like a madman. Whatever was in that tiny potion lozenge, it was fiercely potent stuff. She hoped to never try any, and hoped her sister never learned how to make it. It did not look like it was a pleasant experience. That idiot should have just gotten some sleep instead.

The cheeky reminder from Jazdia that they should thank the woman for her purchace floated into her mind, and she groaned inwardly. this was NOT how she and her sister really wanted to thank this girl-- It needed to be something more personal, and meaningful, given the very profound usefulness and thoughtfulness of this purchase.. especially for her.. and her condition... But what things were, were what things were.

She heaved a deep sigh, then approached the woman.

"Stew uh?" she drawled. "'At lady, Jazdia uh thinks?-- She not want' fires, 'an uh dun't blame 'er none... BUTS--- E're's a way... Move o'er, let mes sees whut ya gots..."

One of the mechanations of the blue elf man, who's name still escaped her, was clearly the working of a subtle magic of his own, involving dirt and rocks. Discretely, she collected several of the larger ones, and arranged them into what looked like a fire circle, only far too small, and filled in entirely with smaller ones; about the size of chicken eggs, or smaller, leaving no room for a fire at all.

The girl and her boyfriend looked at her like she was crazy, but if there was going to be stew, (and there had better be enough to go around, damnit!) there needed to be heat-- without fire.

She reached into her bag, and pulled out the little charm she had been given, then slipped it over her large head. The chain was not made for something with a head her size, and it BARELY went over-- and felt a little snug around the neck-- but she could feel it there, and could feel the effect almost immediately. It was heavenly-- Feeling the magical endurance she had been forbidden since birth that all her siblings (aside from Oak, but he didn't count-- he was an ass) seemed to enjoy. It was like eating the dangerous red mushrooms in the fall, and feeling like you could fly. (She just hoped it didn't come with the unfortunate downsides of nibbling on one...)

She hunkered down over the odd construction, put her paw like hands over the top of it, sucked in a breath then bared her teeth as she exerted the effort to shape the magic stored in the talisman safely.

The small rocks in the circle grew warm, then hot, then VERY VERY hot, then started to exert a dull, almost imperceptible red glow.

It wasn't a fire, but it would definitely do for cooking a stew, if the girl was judicious in its use.

She staggered up to all fours, shook her head to shake away the dizziness that using magic caused her, then addressed the girl.
"'Ere ya go hun-- Be'er cook 'nuff fer all of us naow! Do'in 'AT work up an appetite!" she chided-- then staggered a bit from the lingering disorientation. The scarab only supplied a store of energy to draw on, it did not ameliorate any of the other effects of using magic.. Like the confusion, or the headaches. But those were WORTH it-- so VERY worth it-- Magic was AMAZING.
"Uh... thinks i's gunna lie down a bit---"

At the same time-- Elsewhere, Rose's attention became fixed on the ... 'wake'... of something rather profoundly disturbing the languid magical haze the grass was exuding. In the distance, at the edge of her vision, something was cutting quite the tummult across the field. The elf woman and long since departed, and moved further out-- and once more, disturbances in that cloud of possibilities stirred, followed by a brilliant purple flare.

She really did not want another "incident" with Mr Moron over there.. and with the elf woman gone, that left only the silly old man.

She groaned, looked over at her sister, hard at work. That pendant on her neck glowed rather brightly to her senses, wrapping her in what looked like an odd shaped bubble of a sort, which she was rapidly consuming, and transforming into a reddish-hinted spray that nestled in among the rocks, settling in among them, in a dazzling display. It really was a shame nobody but her seemed able to view such spectacles-- magic was BEAUTIFUL to watch-- the small trickles converging into huge, glorious flows that their brothers made, with the grass and trees seeming to almost sing in harmony with, were beautiful, no matter what her sister said about it being 'dumb' and 'uninspired.'

Speaking of beautiful-- whatever that tasty little elf boy was doing, it had likewise disturbed the native resting state of the magic. Anyone with vision like hers would be wondering what the hell was going on over there. 'So much for being discrete!' she giggled to herself, then trundled over to where the old man was resting his old bones.

"Dun s'pose ya saw da ligh's did ya, fellar?" she asked politely. "Sommat purdy potent runn'in up our way. At elf-lady seem on toppa it 'dou."