"Curious. I've never seen a merchant who so readily abandon her livelihood to the hands of complete strangers. Was the smell of the knight that intoxicating?"

The Gyoubu Danuki shrugged, appearing not to catch the jab. "Definitely intoxicating to my Salamander employer." She replied. "She paid a pretty penny to help her snag The Incubus Knight, you know? Didn't know there's be rivals though, but I suppose that really shouldn't be a surprise considering the target." Putting her hands on her hips, she continued. "That said, that shouldn't be a detriment to business, you know? I'm still setting up shop in the capital and you can come buy stuff from me anytime."

"I assume you're just gonna sell them shoddy goods to sabotage them?" Katelyn piped in.

"Sorry, boss, but you're gonna have to pay extra if you want me to get in the way of love." The tanuki monster shrugged again.

"Anyway, this is Vanessa. I've hired her to help me with Aun." Iskah decided to introduce her Dark Mage ally. "Well, it's more like she answered my fliers at the promise of a reward."

"That's also called 'hiring'." Rie pointed out.

"Whatever!"

Katelyn the Masked Salamander then wrapped a friendly arm around Vanessa. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Vanessa! Cool hat, by the way!" She remarked. "May the best team win, eh? I hope you're playing for keeps 'cause my group isn't going to let up until I get to duel Aun." She told the Dark Mage.

Iskah picked up on a word in the last sentence. "Group? There's more than you two?"

"Yep! I've got, like, four companions including Rie!" Katelyn happily replied.

Vanessa looked at the tanuki girl with a very deadpan expression. Which is tos ay she was expressionless. Apparently, the merchant had already forgotten that, back when they made camp before reaching this city, the dark mage had explicitly stated that she wasn't carrying around any money... ANd while she was fine trading one thing for another, she doubted that sort of thing would fly in a big capital city, with big fancy shops that needed to make big fancy profits.

Then the other lizardman, who was a salamander piped up. Then Iskah introducted Vanessa. An odd choce in the majin's eyes... Considering this person was her supposed rival for the affection of that runaway-knight. It seeemed rather counter-productive to reveal any sort of information to your opponent. But perhaps they weren't really enemies, and more just... Frenemies? It was hard to tell, and she didn't honestly care that much either. All she needed to know was that now there were further obstacles that were going to get in the way of her finishing this job quickly. Swell.

Next the salamander approached, clung to the dark mage and made some friendly banter as if they were all good buddies and life-long chims who regularly hung out at a local pub and talked about which sports-ball team they thought were gonna demolish the others' team.

"Thanks." Vanessa stated, rather non-comittedly. She didn't mind talking to or being chatty with folks, not at all. But this was, in her eyes, an opponent and a contender. As such, she really didn't feel like being all smiles and hand-shakes. After all, if this salaslut and her team succeeded in obtaining Aun, then Vanessa would fail. Which meant breaking her promise to Iskah, and also meant she wouldn't get her reward from said Iskah. That wasn't going to happen. Not an option.

Then she recalled soemthing. Something about Salamanders and Lizardmen. She smiled at whatever it was she'd remembered though. But it wasn't a good smile.

"Hunting a single man with a pack of half a dozen... I thought I'd heard somewhere that you salamander-girls were very keen on the whole honor and fighting fair-schtick. Guess those're just rumors after all, huh?" The dark mage said, lyrically and upbeat. She then turned to Iskah. "Well then, are we done scoping out the competition, or do you want to see the rest of this one's crew before we leave? She said, aiming a backwards thumb and lazily pointing with it at the masked rival.

"Hunting a single man with a pack of half a dozen... I thought I'd heard somewhere that you salamander-girls were very keen on the whole honor and fighting fair-schtick. Guess those're just rumors after all, huh?"

"Oh, those kinds of Salamanders do exist. You know what we call 'em? Single!" Katelyn then laughed out loud at her own joke, but Iskah and Rie only sighed.

"Well then, are we done scoping out the competition, or do you want to see the rest of this one's crew before we leave?

"Leave? Isn't Aun just at the orphanage?" Iskah sounded genuinely confused by Vanessa's question.

"Orphanage, huh?" Katelyn immediately picked up on the detail. "Well, don't mind if I do!" The Salamander patted both Iskah and Vanessa on their shoulders before speedily taking off to Pagras' orphanage, where the latter two met with The Incubus Knight earlier.

Rie boarded her wagon and was about to go follow before realizing that Iskah made no other move despite Katelyn heading out. "...He's not at the orphanage, is he?"

"Nope." Iskah shrugged. "There are children to sell toys to, though."

"...I'll go get my boss." Rie tugged the reins of her horses and the wagon took off at a steady and gentle pace. The streets of Pagras was still full of people after all and the Gyoubu Danuki knew there was no point trying to salvage the situation for her Salamander employer. "I'll see you two around. Don't forget to pick up the saddles of your magic horse."

After doing so, Iskah turned to Vanessa with a satisfied smirk on her face. "Well, best get moving before Katelyn and her crew catches on. Aun should be at the capital which should only be a day or less of travel from here."

Once the salamander and tanuki were gone, Vanessa met Iskah's smirk with a big old grin of her own. She then let out a jovial laugh. Not particularly long or anything, but a genuine display of true amusement.

"Well now, I had you pegged for such a stick-in-the-mud. But look at that, I suppose even good girls can do it sometimes." The dark mage... Praised? Was it praise? Perhaps more like a back-handed compliment? Well, whatever the case, she seemed to have enjoyed the lizardman's little deception. She probably would've glomped onto and patted the other girl on the head, going: 'Good job!' if it wasn't for the latter's seemingly disapproval of being coddled and/or touched.

At the mention of moving on though, Vanessa nodded. After a bit of moving around in the crowd of people and a few bumping into's and sideways glances, sh eventually found the saddle of her phantom steed. Good thing nobody had had the audacity to pick it up and steal it. She didn't exactly carry saddles around in her magic bag and, with no money on hand, it wasn't like she could afford to buy a new one. Perhaps the tanuki wasn't the only one who needed to keep a closer watch on her things.

Regardless!

With a few words and motions, their trusted and magnificent friend was back in the world of the physical. It neighed quietly, trotted over to Iskah and nuzzled the lizard-oppel's cheek. Apparently, it had taken a liking to her. Or perhaps this was a different summoned beast entirely and it just had certain preferences? Regardless, it was good that their ride was going to be loyal, gentle and docile - would make the trip a lot smoother than if it had been wild and rambunctious.

"Awww, he liikes you~" Vanessa stated, holding her hand lightly to her lower lip, with a big goofy smile on her lips.

After the light teasing, she did begin work on getting their horse ready. Fixing the saddle, adjusting and securing the reins, making sure her focus and concentration were fine and that there were no immediate or obivous flaws or hiccups with her su mmon. Once everyhting was green-lit, she climbed ontop the mount and extended a hand to Iskah.

"Well, no time like the present. Let's get moving before your friend realizes the only thing at the orphanage is your boy's lingering stink and a gaggle of his little siblings."

"Well, no time like the present. Let's get moving before your friend realizes the only thing at the orphanage is your boy's lingering stink and a gaggle of his little siblings."

Iskah stroked the summoned steed as it nuzzled against her cheek. "...Yeah. Let's."

The Lizardman-Dark Mage duo set forth. It took them a day of travel before finally reaching their destination...

---

---

"Here we are. Linirea, Ortus' capital."

Iskah and Vanessa trotted to a stop at a hill overlooking the aforementioned capital. The sprawling, metropolitan city was vast and situated next to a great river, befitting the capital of a kingdom. The stone walls looked quite high, even from this distance, and farms, workshops and homes flowed out of the city walls. The most prominent sight was the castle that sported unique blue roofs in the middle of the city, the seat of Ortus' royalty.

"We're entering from the south, and Wayland Keep is at the western part near the river." Iskah said, but not pointing it out. Spotting the keep from this distance was futile anyway. There were plenty of large buildings but only the castle stood out in appearance. "Hopefully, the guards don't recognize me when we approach."

Of course, the first thing that Iskah and Vanessa encountered upon descending the hill and onto the southern outskirt town of Linirea was a patrol of four city musketeer guards stopping them. "Halt! You're one of those lizard monsters that's been harassing The Incubus Knight!"

Iskah cringed from atop the horse. "Err... Yes, I am." She answered honestly, albeit reluctantly. "Wait, why am I singled out--!"

"We have orders to bar your entry should you continue harassing The Lot Knight." The musketeer guard cut Iskah off. "Are you here to harass The Incubus Knight?"

"Uhh... no?" A bald-faced lie from a shrugging Iskah.

The guard shrugged and the tense encounter suddenly relaxed. "Good enough for me. You may pass." He then suddenly raised his hand to stop the two monsters. "Before I forget, try not to cast too much spells in the city especially flashy ones. With the war against The Order flaring up again, anti-magic sentiments are on the rise again. Careless casting of magic inside the capital might set off a riot, something me and the other boys don't really wanna deal with."

"We'll keep that in mind. Thank you." Iskah was unnerved at the warning since magic was Vanessa's main strength.

"That also means no summoned beings either." That caught Iskah by surprise, and she sheepishly looked at her Dark Mage partner to see what she would do.

"Aah... These humans and their walls..." Vanessa sighed at the sight of the sprawling, massive city before them. Though why she was pointing out the walls in particular was anyone's guess. Perhaps it was a nod to the fact that, against spellcasters such as herself, it didn't really matter how tall you built your walls. Or, perhaps it was a reference to the abilities of flying monsters being able to just by-pass them with ease? Or perhaps she was just claustrophobic and didn't appreciate being encricled by vast, towering rectangles of solid-ass stone.

Regardless, Iskah relayed what was next and they trotted down towards the city with the blue-roofed castle...

... Untill they didn't.

A group of bro-dudes sporting amazingly dashing hats appeared before them, and stopped their advance. They asked a question which any normally intelligent individual would've just denied... Except this honest-to-a-fault-cinnamon bun of theirs blurted out the honest truth. You could almost here Vanessa facepalm internally. She could trick a salamander into running off, but against town guards she spilled the beans? Way to have the priorities backwards.

Still, the gentlemen in charge of the city's safety were convinced by that ... Really unconvincing reply of the lizardman... to let them carry on. Which was a relief. Having to freeze these guys solid in a block of ice, or trapping them in a bottomless bog wouldn't make for the best first impression. Or, at least, so the dark mage imagined.

But then, just as they were about to set off again, another stream of words spilled out. A string of verbal vomit that made a vein visibly appear on one of Vanessa's temples. She slowly turned back towards the musketeer who had uttered it, a shadow cast over her eyes and a smile on her face. It was not a good smile.

"Oh-ho... I see... Well then... We wouldn't want to break any local rules."

She didn't so much say these words as setthingly force them out between her clenched teeth. While Vanessa would've normally shrugged this off and gone about her business regardless, there were two very major factors that forced her to comply with this OUTRAGEOUS demand.

The first, of course, was that she was currently in Iskah's employ. As such, she couldn't afford to do anything to jeopardize the girl's chance at success. At least not until they were inside the walls proper and closer to Aun. Getting into a conflict when not even inside the city yet was less than productive.

The second, was the mention of The Order. While Vanessa would've gladly told this man where to shove his fabuluous hat any other time, the fact that The Order was brought up got her to still her tongue. The last thing she wanted to give those guys any sort of help or benefit. And if casting magic would cause people to go bananas, and thus make things more favorable for the jerkwards who what were the worst of the worst, then Vanessa vwould - begrdugingly - have to be on her best behavior and play nice. For now.

Thus, she slid off the side of their astral mount, waited for Iskah to do the same, and then with a snap of her fingers, caused the horse to vanish a cloud of sparkly green... Sparkles.. She then looked over at her companion, still with that same shadow over her eyes and smile on her face.

"Looks like we're walking from here on then. Good thing we aren't in a hurry to get a room at a decent inn or anyhting, right? We wouldn't want to spook the locals with our man-eating summoned horse after all." Vaessa's comment was anything but mature, and nothing less than an obvious, scathing remark about their current situation.

But, given her fondness for magic, and the fact that she seemed to use it for everything in her everyday life, one couldn't really fault her for being... Upset...

"Looks like we're walking from here on then. Good thing we aren't in a hurry to get a room at a decent inn or anyhting, right? We wouldn't want to spook the locals with our man-eating summoned horse after all."

Iskah could only laugh sheepishly, sympathetic to Vanessa's magical plight but can do little to the city guards' orders. "L-Look, they said we can still cast magic. Just... not anything grand and flashy like... a lot of your spells." Well, at least the Lizardman tried her hand in consolation.

The city guards said nothing more to Vanessa's sarcastic remarks and resumed their patrol, allowing the Lizardman and the Dark Mage to enter the capital and head towards Wayland Keep.

Nothing major happened to the duo as they walked through the bustling streets of Linirea, only that the crowds became thicker and thicker as they passed through the walls. Unlike in the other Ortusian towns and villages, Iskah and Vanessa spotted monsters walking with the crowds. No one noteworthy, just monsters like Holstaurs and Kobolds. They even saw a stall selling general goods, managed by a crew of Goblins. This crew even had a couple of people browsing their wares. Perhaps because of this, Iskah seemed more relaxed here than in the previous towns.

The walk continued being quiet until the duo encountered a commotion in the streets. A small crowd had gathered and blocked the duo's way, before something darted to the air and hovered there. It was a pink, angelic figure holding an equally pink bow. Heart-shaped decorations adorned her revealing clothing. Short, pink hair, brown-skinned with a white cap, she was undoubtedly a Cupid - a servant of the goddess Eros.

"You are all in pain! The Goddess only wishes to bring levity in your trying times! Do not let your hearts be fully darkened by the war! Lest they become as dark as The Order's whom you fight!" The Cupid declared to the crowd before flying away. "I shall return..."

The city guards accosting the Cupid all shook their heads and told the crowd to disperse. Iskah could only sigh at the scene. "I think I already said this before but ever since the Chief God and The Order betrayed Ortus, divinities and their servants are no longer welcome in the capital because of their association with The Chief God. Eros' Cupids and Houris, Bacchus' Satyrs, the whole lot. The royalty thinks they could be spies for The Chief God." The Lizardman then bit her lip. "To be told that your feelings and convictions aren't real, I know all too well..."

"Anyway, we're getting close to Wayland Keep." Iskah changed the topic. "Got any plans in mind? I know we're restricted in magic, but something like invisibility is totally fine. Also, if we can nab Aun in one fell swoop, then that's worth getting thrown out."

Vanessa pouted, then puffed her cheeks. Then she gave Iskah an unamused stare after the lizardman's comment about her spells being 'flash'y. But, the grumpy dark mage nontheless followed suit and joined her compatriot as they left the rude dutiful guards behind and entered into the city proper.

It was a ... City... Yup. Sure was.

Nothing special, nothing impressive and certainly nothing noteworthy. Stone and wood, as usual, and streets full of people. The sight of monsters did bring Vanessa's mood up a little - perhaps the playboy-knight's words about the locals being overly suspiscious of monsters were exaggerated? After all, there were a lot more of them than she'd expected. ome were even peddling wares at a street-stall, and had actual customers too! Of course, this could've just been the result of morbid curiosity from the locals and nothing more.

The streets got tighter and the throng of pedestrians got thicker. An unfavorable combination. Though, as they proceeded ontowards their goal, their journey was momentarily delayed. Some kind of ruckus up ahead prevented them from advancing. And that distrubance was caused by... An angel?

No, wait... Vanessa recognized that appearance. Well, not the appearance of the individual who was causing their momentary stop, but rather the general appearance of what they were. A messenger of Eros, Goddess of Love... Huh, so they ere trying to bring their religion to a place like this? Didn't seem like the locals - or at least the local peacekeepers - were too impressed or welcoming to the idea of becoming faithful followers. Eventually, either to not cause further commotion or because of other reasons, the angelic archer left, allowing the foot-traffic to once again start moving.

As Iskah spoke up, Vanessa gave her a sidelong glance without actually turning her head.

"There's a very clear difference between not having your wants or desires acknowledged, and trying to make everyone around you conform to your views and ideals. You can, for the most part, get whatever you want in life, so long as you don't expect everyone else to be accepting or supportive of those wants." Vanessa then smiled in a strangely knowing, but also somewhat somber, fashion. "After all, sometimes not even those we thought closest to us can accept what we want as individuals. That's when we've gotta decide just how important what we want actually is." The dark mage stated.

At Iskah's second bit of talking thoough, Vanessa let out a short, but meldoical and jovial, laugh.

"Well, last time I tried to be nice and hold back, so as not to harm your precious prince... But, he didn't seem to have any compulsions about playing rough or dirty." Vanessa turned her head to look at Iskah this time. A big smille on her face. A worryingly big smile. "So, if we're only here in town to nab him for you, I don't see any reason to hold back this time around~"

...

Apparently, her plan seemed to most likely invovle not upholding the agreement with the guards they'd met outside the city...

"So, if we're only here in town to nab him for you, I don't see any reason to hold back this time around~"

Iskah was unnerved by Vanessa's big smile that wanted to unleash the grandest spells imaginable on their target. Still, a single swoop to get Aun out of Wayland Keep and out of the capital would be worth breaking all the rules for. "A-Alright. Just keep in mind that if we fail, we're probably never setting foot in this place for maybe a month or worse, half a year."

The duo soon reach Wayland Keep, a relatively small castle situated next to the river. It featured its own walls and from what Vanessa could see, it contained a large courtyard or backyard to the side of its structures. Likely, the main training grounds of the Lot Knights. One of the more notable structures inside Wayland Keep was a tower that Vanessa could feel magic emanating from. Probably where the knightly order kept their spellbooks and magic scrolls and the like. Speaking of magic, Vanessa could also feel anti-magic wards from various points in the keep. Although, they could just be the weak ones that the Dark Mage could sense.

"Well, here we are. Wayland Keep." Iskah said to Vanessa, as the two monsters gazed at the place. The entrance to the keep consisted of a set of tall, wide and wooden double doors that led into the main hall. "Is going inside to say 'Hello' gonna be a part of your plan?"

"Well, I could certanly give them a big welcome if I blew the gates off their hinges, but that seems counter-productive when we've come all this way to grab someone BEFORE we make a stink." Vanessa laughed, amused at Iskah's question about how they were intending to proceed now that they stood face to face with the Castle of the Lot Knights.

The first thing Vanessa did was close her eyes however, reach one arm out infront of her, causing a small, semi-transparent circle of blue light to appear and slowly rotate counter-clockwise.

"Detect: Magic. Eye of Oros, grant me sight." A slightly more verbal and lengthy incantation than Vanessa's usual one or two-word spells, which may indicate just how much more advanced it probably was when compared to the ones she'd shown Iskah and Aun prior.

However, instead of a being flash or massive surge of spectacular lights and natural phenomenon... The circle simply... Disappeared? Vanished, like a popped soap bubble. Of course, the spell hand't failed - it was just that, unless you were a trained mage or one of the very magically inclined species of the world, you were very unlikely to even notice what the spell's effect was.

When the small circle 'popped', it released a dome-shaped wave, that spread out in all directions, washing over both the castle keep and the city and areas to the side and behind of both Iskah and Vanessa. Like a scan-line at a cash register, or soemthing similar. In any sources of magic, items that contained magical energy, individuals with particularly potent mana or magic constructs/wards/devices were now being 'scanned' by the dark mage. In her mind's eye, thaey would appear, both in their shape, their location, their facing and their purpose or properties. Of course, the spell didn't give her a full, three-dimensional map or anything like that, but any sources of sorcerous qualities would now be known to her. And knowing where and what she was dealing with before going in, well, that was half the hard part right there!

Those who were magically sensitive would be able to sense that ... Something.... had just passed them by. Sort of like when you can feel that someone is looking at you from afar, or you get that feeling that someone or soemthing's staring at you from somewhere. However, without knowledge and training in spellcraft, and more specifically in counter-magic, that was all you would be able to sense, and it would've only lasted for the briefest moment. If you were trained in magic though, you could probably do some kind of counter-divination to locate the source and origin of the spell. But again, what were the chances that a bunch of human knights had that kind of caster on their payroll?

Anywho...!

Vanessa opened her eyes again and looked to Iskah.

"Next, we just call on my little helpers again." The same spell she'd used in the town before, the dark mage unleashed her myriad little ... Bug... bird... familiar... things! However, instead of letting them zip off as she'd done before, she made sure to gather them all around herself... And then;

"Mass Invisibility."

And then, Vanessa was gone.

And so were her little minions.

Come to think of it, Iskah wasn't there either.

They'd gone invisible! Completely invisible! Which... Come to think of it, might not be too pleasant for the unprepared lizardman, seeing as, she couldn't see herself anymore either. Like, if she tried to look at her arms or hands or feet, they weren't there anymore. It was like she'd become a disembodied pair of eyes, floating aboe the ground. It could be ... Unnerving... to first-time victims.

Vanessa seemed fine though, cool as a cucumber and not saying a peep. Other then making some kind of motion - which made the air swoosh a bit - and then, the sound of the little magic drones taking flight and disappearing off into... nothing... Even though they were already unseen... So... Theyu became more... unseen... Uh...

"There we go. Now we just wait for them to find Aun and for me to suss out where to go, what and who to avoid, and then we'll be in and out before the day's over."

Vanessa disemboided voice spoke up out of nowhere. Hopefully, iskah wouldn't do somehting silly, like throw a panicked fit and run off somewher or in some direction... It'd be a major headache to try and find her again... At least until the spell wore off.

"Detect: Magic. Eye of Oros, grant me sight."

It was revealed to Vanessa that Wayland Keep was more magical than it appeared. Protective wards and detectors were practically everywhere, and the notable tower contained the most amount of magical energy. As for the inhabitants, the Dark Mage detected that there were about two dozen people inside the keep that were magically-attuned. And they were all looking at her direction, having immediately sensed Vanessa's spell. Despite that, they all seemingly elected to ignore her and continue with their duties. They likely knew that Vanessa wasn't there for them and thought that whichever Lot Knight that was her target could take care of it himself.

"Mass Invisibility."

"Whoa. This is pretty weird." Iskah remarked at not being able to see herself because of the invisibility spell.

"There we go. Now we just wait for them to find Aun and for me to suss out where to go, what and who to avoid, and then we'll be in and out before the day's over."

Vanessa's wisps infiltrated Wayland Keep, and went along unhindered even though probably half the keep knew they were there. It wasn't difficult for them to find Aun; they only had to zero in on the only thing that emitted Demon Energy in the entire castle. They found him in one of the buildings, in a large chamber that appeared to be the dining area since there were a lot of tables and the table that Aun occupied was filled with cups. Getting to this place required getting past the main hall and past the courtyard, and past a lot of the knightly inhabitants.

The Incubus Knight was not alone, there were several other Lot Knights with him including a couple who were magically-attuned as Vanessa detected. They seemed to be discussing something quite serious.

"I found your hubby. Seems he's having a bit of breakfast with some other strapping gents." Vanessa relayed the sighting of Aun to her employer in her usually playful tone. "Still, there're a lot more defenses here then I'd originally anticipated. No mattter, we'll just deal with them as they get in our way. C'mon, follow the leopard bug~"

As Vanessa said the final line, Iskah would notice that a small, beetle-shaped insect suddenly appeared some feet infront of her. It looked just like a regular-ass beetle, except that it had some dark specks or spots on it. An unassu8ming bug otherwise, which weren't likely to draw attention. However, whenever Vanessa moved, the little critter started to crawl, or used its wings to take off and fly-hop a short distance, following in its summoner's footsteps. Likely, this was a means to keep Iskah appraised of roughly where the dark mage was, and where to go, as the lizardman would otherwise not have been able to, y'know, actually see where her coimpanion was or were going.

The bug was also clever enough it seemed, as it avoided landing infront of any of the patrolling knights, and tried to crawl or move in places where they weren't actively looking. Not that most people would even care if a random insect was buzzing about, but you never knew. Perhaps someone at the keep had a fear of bugs? OR thought it might be a khepri in disguise?

Still, Vanessa pressed on, staying surprisingly quiet. Her goal was to get to the building where Aun was having his little chat with the other men. As for any wards or other magical obstacles that got in their way on the road there...

The dark mage would attempt to weave her own magic into any obstructing ward and either briefly disable it, or overwrite it - thus effectively allowing her to set the parameters and conditions for it... Which, obviously, would just be changed to not react to either her own energy and presece, or Iskah's. Failing that the ward couldn't be disabled or converted, she'd go with the brute force option of simply dispelling it. Naturally, Vannesa being a dark age of some decades, was pretty well-versed in magic, so unless these wards had been set up by some old-as-as-earth archmage or prepared by some famous hero, chances were good that she could manage them.

As a back-up though, she'd tell Iskah that if anything were to happen, such as causing one of the wards to go off and alerting the entire castle to their presence, the lizardman should just stay quiet and keep following the leopard beetle, as it would lead her to her knight in not-so-shinining armor.

Hopefully though, all would go well and the dark mage could accompany her ally all the way to their destination.

Then they just had to blow open some doors, catch a man and then be off into the sunset!

Vanessa and Iskah infiltrate Wayland Keep, with the small conjured insect guiding the latter towards its master all the way. The keep was a spacious castle with most of its residents being fully-armored Lot Knights. Despite being in their homebase and in a state of relative relaxation, all the knights the two monsters saw were wearing helmets. Vanessa would notice that each knight seemingly has his own unique helmet. Iskah wanted to explain more about the Lot Knights to her Dark Mage companion, but their stealth required silence.

The wards inside Wayland Keep were surprisingly simple and easy for Vanessa to bypass, disable or modify them. A little too easy, in fact. Perhaps these wards and detectors served another purpose other than keeping out monsters? Iskah was no mage, and so was of little help in this regard and completely dependent on Vanessa for these 'obstacles'.

The two monsters soon reach Aun's position. They were in the keep's rather huge mess hall, sunlight shining from the windows but the ceiling chandeliers were lit still, but only Aun and a handful of other knights were present. Aun, like the other knights, was wearing his helm - a maned Corinthian helmet - that completely concealed his head. If it wasn't for his energy signature, he would have been completely unrecognizable.

"...So is everything clear?" One of the seven Lot Knights present said, addressing the rest of the six. He wore a brown cowl that concealed his head into shadow and he spoke with an accent like those from the snowy steppes.

One of the knights raised his hand, a knight with a unique helmet reminiscent of those Caliphates in the East. "So it's just us three? Me, Dreams and Inky? No spellcaster on us?" Iskah perked up at the mention of 'Inky', Aun's name in the order.

"We have no reason to believe the enemy forces near there have any heavy spellcasters. Still, Sir Inky is capable of handling anything magical should the situation arise." The cowled knight replied.

"Ohhh, this is gonna be like those times there were three of us, Dance." The knight named Dreams immediately began to reminisce about the aforementioned times. While the conversation wasn't exactly over. This knight had a simpler helmet, yet still unique in the room.

Aun, meanwhile, stayed silent as he contemplated the mission given to him. Iskah, too, was silent, wanting to hear more about this mission. Vanessa can join in listening in too, the Lot Knights in this meeting seem oblivious to the two monsters' presence. But so far, it appeared Aun the Incubus Knight would be going somewhere if he wasn't nabbed today.

Vanessa raised an invisible eyebrow at the rather underwhelming intricacy of the keep's wards. Were these things really meant to keep unwanted intruders out? They seemed almost too simple, which hinted at one of two primary options: The first being that their purpose was in fact just a deterrent, and they weren't actually meant to be anything more than a nuisance or very basic alarm-system for the Lot Knights. Alternatively, they were a trap. though in what regard, the dark mage couldn't say. She couldn't sense any hidden or concealed wards or magic cicrles elsewhere in the castle and there didn't seem to be any human mages on monitoring duties. Honestly, it all felt a bit too lax. Was this really a military facility? Then again, they probably weren't expecting someone to just come waltzing in, looking to cause trouble all while being unseen.

Still, Vanessa did make the call not to tamper too much with the Ortusian magic wards. She opted to simply take command of them and alter them to not pay any mind to herself or Iskah, while leaving them as they were otherwise. After all, her lizardman employer had competition, and if taht masked Salamander and her foreign tanuki-merchant cohort showed up here, well, let's just say it'd be good to have a heads-up. Not to mention having all the Lot Knights focus their attention on those two would be quite preferable. Not to mention, altering the wards of a kingdom's military without proper authorization may or may not be considered a rather outrageous act of law-breaking, and Vanessa wasn't exactly keen on ending up in a court under charges of sabotaging a country's military power.

Regardless, the two monsters continued on towards their destination with no real or important interference!



They were in, and Mission Impossible's theme music started playing.

the pair got closer and closer, eventually standing mere feet away from the gathered knights who were all seated at a table and discussing... Something... All while wearing their helmets. Indoors. Wait. Why would you wear a helmet inside, indoors when you're not under attack? Sure, you did it when you were on duty or whatever, but this was a mess hall wasn't it? Who the heck kept a face-concealing helm on their head while in a place meant for eating!? What was wrong with these men? So silly.

Still, before springing to action and pouncing upon Aun like a paack of starving jackals, Vanessa actually took a minute to simply observe and listen to their conversation. As well as scope out the surroundings and the room itself. After all, she didn't want to get flanked by soldiers hiding in the corridors or foyers or other nooks and crannies that might not be immediately obvious. The men were seemingly discussing some topic about sending Aun and some other knights to some location, without the aid of any spellcasters. It was rather hard to grasp if the one knight who voiced the matter was actually concerned about that fact, or relieved. His behavior was a bit... Mixed..

Still, Vanessa wasn't here to listen to the tactical plans or strategies or troop movements of the Lot Knights. She was here to nab a man, for another girl. And that was exactly what she intended to do. The little speckled beelte that had been leading Iskah this whole time suddenly took off from the ground, flying onto the table where the soldiers were gathered around.

And then it exploded into a blinding white flash that bathed the entire room in illumination so bright that you might as well think someone had lit an entire barrel of magnesium on fire. Fortunately for Iskah, it seemed that Vanessa had taken the time to control her little magic familiars from earlier, and as soon as the bug-turned-flashbang lit up, the little winged bug-bird-things dropped their concealment and positioned themselves infront of Iskah's eyes - well, her entire face to be exact - and momentarily shielded the lizardman from being as blinded as everyone else likely would end up.

Once the brief flash ended, the familiars zipped away up into the ceiling, to stay out of reach of the Lot Knights, whereas Vanessa had now also broken her invisibility, standing a small distance away from the gathered gentlemen, staff in one hand and a big smirk on her lips, looking straight at the Incubus Knight.

"Hello boys~ Don't mind me, I'm just here to grab someone real quick, so don't feel the need to stand up or anything." Her voice was charmingly playful and free of any malice or hostility. It more sounded like something a slightlky mischievous girlfriend would say when she barged into her boyfriend's 'boys only'-night... Or something along those lines.

What Iskah would notice though was that her invisibility had not yet been broken. Which likely meant that the dark mage intended to use herself as a distraction to get the attention of the gathered soldiers. Which left the lizardwoman to do whatever she felt was the best course of action for herself. Now, optimally, Vanessa's plan was to just subjugate or render Aun unconscious or stunned, grab him and then get the heck outta Dodge, but she somewhat doubted things would go that smoothly. Instead, she opted to prepare herself for a fight, and if any of the other knights, or indeed Aun himself, were to make any moves or take any action against her, she'd be sure to return the favor in kind with a nice little binding spell. The good thing about being indoors? There wasn't really room to do a lot of fancy jumping and moving about like when running down a wide open street. Plus, walls and ceilings could serve just as well to create obstacles or hindrances from.

And if any of these fine specimens managed to get too close... Well, she could always use a 'Blink'-spell to short-range teleport somewhere else in the room.

The stage was set and the game was about to begin! The dark mage, still looking straight at Aun, gave him a wink.

"You're coming with me~"

"Ahhhh!"

"Dance! Hold me!"

The flash of light blinded all the knights in the room, everyone except Aun who managed to cover his eyes just in time. Almost as if he was aware of the magical insect the entire time.

"You're coming with me~"

As the other Lot Knights recovered, the Incubus Knight faced Vanessa alone. His helmet concealed his face, but the Dark Mage could feel his intense gaze at her. "This isn't amusing anymore, Vanessa." He said to her, humor absent in his tone. "I'm off to a mission far away from here. Somewhere full of danger. Please, I'm begging you. Just take Iskah away from here and find her another man. There's plenty out there." He tried reasoning, nay, begging the Dark Mage. "If not for your sake, then for Iskah's."

Upon getting their bearings, the other Lot Knights pulled out their pistols and aimed at Vanessa. The cowled knight asked first. "Another suitress, Inky?"

"Working for one. You remember the Lizardman Iskah?" The Incubus Knight replied. "She managed to hire a helper for her... cause."

"Then pay her off then. Double the price! How much is she working for anyway?" The cowled knight cried out.

"I already tried. She was furious at the offer." Aun recounted his and Vanessa's earlier talk. "She's an honorable Dark Mage."

The cowled knight was in disbelief. "That's... a first. Never thought I'd ever meet one."

"Neither did I-- Huh?!" Aun was suddenly lifted into the air, seemingly by telepathy but it appeared the still-invisible Iskah has opted to simply seize her target and hightail it out of there. It was a testament to Iskah's strength that she could lift a fully-grown knight in full armor seemingly without effort. "Iskah! What are you--"

*CRASH*

The invisible Iskah and the still-shocked Aun hurtled out of one of the windows in the mess hall, leaving Vanessa with the other flabbergasted Lot Knights who were still aiming at the Dark Mage. "S-Shouldn't we be going after Sir Incubus?" Sir Dreams asked. "Or, you know, fighting this Vanessa woman now?"

"We're not exactly equipped to fight a monster." Sir Dances replied. "I mean, these pistols will hurt but only if the bullets manage to hit her, and we each only got one shot."

The cowled knight released an audible sigh. "I'm glad you two are polite enough to explain all that to her--"

*SLAM*

The doors to the mess hall slammed open and in came a very peculiar knight: This person wore the clothes of a Zipanguese onmyoji but wore a very knightly great helm. He pulled out a paper talisman, like the ones that Vanessa purchased from Rie, and accurately hurled it at the Dark Mage. Vanessa could feel powerful magic from the small piece of paper. It might be best not to get hit by any of those.

Vanessa was unabashedly amused by the outbursts and cries of the Lot Knights as they were blinded and bewildered by her little trick. She found further amusement in their back-and-forth with one another, as well as their blatantly boneheaded honesty in regards to their own weapons and chances at combating her.

But, her amusement was short-lived. Before she could make any witty retorts or coy, flirtatious insinuations, the door behind her flung open -- and in came a strange sight. A man, dressed like a foreigner, but with the distinctly western-styled helmet of a local knight. What's more, this new arrival wasted no time in hurling ... Paper? Pamphlets? At Vanessa's general location.

Wait.

Those weren't pamphlets.

Those were those Zipanguese talisman-scroll-thingies she'd bought from the raccoon-girl! Except htese felt... Dangerous... Which meant they likely wouldn't induce sleep or some other minor, gentle effect if they landed.

Which, of course, meant only one thing.

Don't get hit by them.

As she'd been prepared to use her magic to relocate if any of the already-assembled knights were to charge her, Vanessa was equally ready to get out of the path of this newcomer and his attack. With a quick word, the dark mage seemed to glow bright white, shrunk and then took on the form of... Lightning? A crackling beam of energy? A thorny line...? It was hard to say exactly what it was, since it lasted less than a moment, but whatever she turned into, this compressed form zipped past the knights and their pistols, ending up behind them, far in the back of the room, and then quickly regrew into Vanessa's full form. Any attempts at shooting or slashing or punching the magic line would be futile, as it would've just adjusted itself to arc around, over or under any and all obstacles or threats.

So, when she reformed fully, Vanessa clicked her tongue, though not in a very serious fashion.

"And here I thought I was going to get to play with some honest-to-goodness gentlemen, and then you had to show up and ruin it all." The monster said in a mock-upset tone. "So uncouth, are you really a knight? What kind of chivalry is there in attacking a dainty woman from behind?" She scolded... Apparently thinking herself dainty and weak.

She tapped her staff at the floorboards beneath her feet a few times and straightened her hat, then narrowed her eyes at the gathered men infront of her.

"Now, while we've already gotten what we came for, I can't well have any of you try and chase aftger and interfere. So, I guess I'm going to have to stay a bit longer. Don't worry, I'm very gentle." She said. ALthough her voice was sultry and playful, her eyes were those of a mischievous cat, preparing to toy with a helpless bird or mouse that couldn't possibly get away from it.

Her staff than gave off a quick pulse, and a strange, brilliant aura or glow engulfed the dark mage. It stuck and clung to her like tape, surrounding her figure in a greenish-aqua outline with a faint luminance. Apparnetly, she'd cast some sort of shell or protection spell or something on herself... Or maybe she was just CHARGIN' HER LAZER inbefore unleashing it!?

"GAle, blow."

Her words came clear and without hesitation. Her arm outstretched, a large sphere of wind quickly formed infront of her open palm, swirling and whirling and... Other forms of... Rotation... Before bursting like a balloon in the direction of the knights adn unleashing a powerful, contineous force of howling wind. Smaller objects that weren't heavy enough would surely be flung into the air and hurled at the poor men as makeshift projectiles, while those who were unsteady on their feet or not particularly heavy would find themselves either being pushed back or perhaps even knocked off their feet. Also, any attempt to throw further talisman or amulets would probve quite difficult in this condition - less said objects could cut through magically conjured winds.

... Which of course, would be very plainly obvious to see, and would thus cause Vanessa to simply relocate herself again to a new angle.

She chose a wind-based spell because it wouldn't actually cause much of any actual harm or damage to the poor knights. Nor would it cause much of any damage to the room and interior as a whole. Sure, some things would be flung around and some smaller items might break or get banged up, but on the whole the keep's interior would remain largely unharmed.

Still, getting very strong winds blown into the slits of your helmet was probably not a pleasant experience, and trying to move forward when wearing heavy armor would be a slog. This is what they get for their little sneak-attack!

The raven-haired sorceress just hoped Iskah would be able to subdue and get what she wanted out of that incubus quick and without complications.

The knights all raised their arms to cover their heads from the strong gales of Vanessa's wind magic. The cowled knight, upon seeing the tables and chairs and benches get flung all around the mess hall, could only cry out. "Nooooo! I just had those fixed!"

While the other knights were soon blown away by the winds, the onmyoji knight spread out five pieces of talismans in front of him. Despite being mere paper, the talismans floated firmly in the face of the gale and protected their caster from the winds while not being blown away themselves. He then slammed a sixth talisman on the wooden floor which unleashed a shockwave that dispelled magic. His floating talismans lost their magic because of it, but it also stopped Vanessa's magical gale.

Without missing a beat, the onmyoji knight drew his katana and released three more talismans to the air. These three talismans then began circling him, awaiting their master's command to be activated and Vanessa could sense binding magic from these papers. The onmyoji knight then charged at the Dark Mage. He definitely had a plan in mind besides mindlessly attacking the Dark Mage head-on.

The other knights, meanwhile, watched their Zipanguese compatriot fight while hiding behind the fallen tables. "Get her, Writes! Make her pay for all the damaged furniture!" The cowled knight cheered.

"Oh\ Oh, my." There was a gentuine sound of surprise to Vanessa's voice when the foreigner-knight slammed his paper slip onto the ground and dispelled all magic in the area. The dark mage hadn't expected these Zipanguese 'scrolls' to have that sort of power, but now she somehow felt a even more pleased about having bought some of them from that little tanuki earlier. Still, now wasn't the time to concerned about whether she had buter's regret or not, because there was a man charging at her with a friggin' katana in his hands!

Also, that cowled knight was gonna get it for daring to cheer on this guy on! What sort of man doesn't cheer for the heroine!?

Still, while she could've chosent o use offensive magic to blast the fellow awy, or to at least make him back off or change direction, Vanessa still didn't want to actually hurt the poor sod. Nor did she want to cause any actual, lasting damage to the keep itself. Thus, there was only one option left. With a smarmy smile, she aimed her free palm down towards the ground infront of her.

"Grease."

A strange, brown-ish phere gathered infront of her hand, before flying off down at the floor... And exploding! .. In a wet... splattery... kinda gooey way... An equally brownish ... Oil? Sludge? ... Demi-liquid, started to spread from the point of impact, coating the floor and any neartby furniture that hadn't been knocked away by the gale earlier. If this man wanted to reach the sorceress, he'd have to either make a really, really, really long leap, or hope his footwear had some kind of anti-magic or friction-retaining enchantment. 'Cuz if they did't, stepping on grease was almost worse than stepping on ice.

... But, just in case he soemhow did manage to traverse the field of slippery goop, she made sure to stay on the ready. Ready to side-step or jump either left or right, should she absolutely need to.

Also, for everyones sake, Vanessa really hoped none of the other knights would have the bright idea of using fire, or shooting one of their guns or something like that. Because they last thing anyone wanted was for this oily substance to get ignited by a random spark and set the whole room ablaze!

I wonder how my little lizardman's doing...

"What the--?! Grease?! Nooooooo!!!"

The cowled knight wailed while the onmyoji knight was taken by surprise, quickly slipping into his ass as he continued sliding towards Vanessa. He dropped his weapons and the floating talismans fell as he slid and seemed to be out for the count as he slid harmlessly past the Dark Mage.

But then, Vanessa felt a slap on her butt. It appeared the onmyoji knight had a parting gesture as he slid past the Dark Mage. Upon looking, Vanessa found a paper talisman sticking on the butt cheek the knight slapped. The writings on it quickly glowed purple and Vanessa found herself quickly drained of magic and energy. So much so that she found herself unable to even stand up and could barely keep consciousness. And just like that, the Lot Knights prevailed over Vanessa the Dark Mage.

The cowled knight immediately went up to Vanessa using his saber to keep himself standing up from all the grease. "You! Once you get better, you better summon a whole pile of gold bars for everything you've done here!" He began ripping onto Vanessa.

But then, a sullen Aun appeared from behind him. "...I'll pay for all the damages she made." He said, placing a hand on the cowled knight's shoulder. "I'll also help Sir Cleans clear all of this up."

"Inky, come on. Can't we have this one? This is the fourth time this month." The cowled knight retorted.

The Incubus Knight tapped the shoulder a couple of times, a sign that he was brooking no argument. With a sigh, the cowled knight walked away. Aun then crouched to address the weakened Vanessa. "Iskah's waiting outside. We'll escort you to her. Boys, let's give her the Inky Farewell Ceremony!" Aun motioned for the other Lot Knights present to join him who replied with cheer.

Vanessa then felt a pair of hands grab each of her limb and she was lifted up. The onmyoji knight who achieved victory over her appeared before her and threw five talismans on the greasy floor. The papers didn't touch the floor, merely floating an inch above it. Blue magical energy emitted from them, connecting to one another until the circular center became completely blue. A teleportation portal. "HEAVE! HO!"

The Lot Knights tossed Vanessa into the portal.

---

Vanessa was deposited outside Wayland Keep, near where she and Iskah first became invisible to infiltrate the castle. Her Lizardman client was there, sitting sullenly on the street. "Vanessa... Do you know what happened?" Based on her voice, probably not anything good. Right? "Aun... FOUGHT ME! HE FOUGHT ME! YES!" Iskah exploded with happiness, laughing in triumph and seemingly caring little that Vanessa had just been defeated by the Lot Knights.

"Do you know what this means now, Vanessa?!"

[quote=@PaulHaynek]





Vanessa had let out a surprised "Ahnn~?!" when her butt got smacked by the man who came sailing past. Initially thinking it just a petty gesture of 'Well, if I'm gonna slam into the wall, the least you can do is let me feel up your butt!'-deal. However, after the slap, a sudden drowsinessx came over her, and she felt herself get weaker at an alarming pace, the dark mage knew something more was afoot here. Looking back, she spotted the little slip of paper that had been attached to her (shapely and squsihy) rear end. While many monsters would've been outraged or had their pride hurt, Vanessa just smiled.

"You cheky devil."

She couldn't muster much more than that though, s she felt so drained and woozy now that she had to get down into a sitting position. She didn't recall much more beyond that for a bit. She thought she heard the voice of Mr. McStudmuffin, as well as the cheers of the other men in the room, but it was all mostly just a garbled mess. Even when the armored soldiers came and each grabbed a seperate limb and hoisted her up, she didn't have the enrgy or presence of mind to even make a joke about 'four of you at once? Oh my~', or something of that nature.

And then, she was unceremoneously plopped into a transport circle.



Plopping out on the other side of the circle of magic, Vanessa felt herself land on her butt. This small bump shook her senses back to at least demi-consciousness and she tried to stand with wobbly legs. Using her staff - which thankfully hadn't been confiscated as recompense for the dmagae cused to the castle - the dark mage slowly got onto her own two feet and looked around, a bit bleary-eyed.

Reaching back, she fumbled with her hand for a bit, before finally finding the culprit of all this and, just as one does with a bandaid, ripped at it. However, in her weakened state, it was more like a tug, and it took a few tries before she actually managed to yank the damn thing off her (supple) cheek. Only then, as the magic-sucking, monser energy-sealing talisman was removed, did Vanessa finally begin to realize where she was and what had transpired.

But, before she could make any real comment about it, she saw an excitable Iskah. Initially, things looked like they'd gone poorly, which would've been a big set-back for the sorceress. However... Then the little one exploded into a big smile and announced happy(?) news.

"... I... Do not... But I'm... happy for you....?" Vanessa's words were a bit slurred and her voice a bit unfocused, as were her eyes. If one didn't know any better, she might've sounded and appeared to be drunk. "But I can't wait... To hear you tell me... All ... about it..." She added, taking a few breaths inbetween her words. Her arms were both resting ontop of her staff and she was slightly leaning forward. It was fairly clear to see she wasn't her usual self at this point. Still, she managed to smile at Iskah nontheless.