"... I... Do not... But I'm... happy for you....? But I can't wait... To hear you tell me... All ... about it..."

"Oh gods! I forgot this is the first time you've been through this kind of thing!" Iskah quickly went over to be Vanessa's support in standing up, also revealing that this was probably a frequent occurrence for the Lizardman. "Have you removed the-- Oh, you have. That's good, that's good. You should be in recovery mode now." She continued. "Some rest and food should get you back to normal. Let me take you the tavern I usually go to when I get booted."

Iskah began to help Vanessa walk through the streets of Ortus. The human citizens could only spare some pitying glances at the two monsters, but Iskah was too happy to notice any of them. "The Lot Knights are pretty good at ejecting monsters from their premises, aren't they? I bet they could even keep out the powerful Sabbaths with those energy-draining spells of theirs!" She remarked with an encouraging laugh. "But we've done what we came for and that's all that matters."

---

The tavern was only half-occupied by patrons. It was too early in the day for the drunks to do what they do best in this establishment. For now, only travelers and early lunchgoers were present. None of them paid much attention to the newly-arrived Iskah and Vanessa. Upon finding a table, a large human woman in a chef's outfit immediately strolled up to them.

"Iskah! It's been a while since I last saw you. The usual?"

"Yeah. And make that two!"

After the porty waitress left with the order, Iskah turned her attention to her drained Dark Mage companion. "A full course meal should get you back in tip-top shape. And we can stay here until the next day if you want."

"As for me and Aun, he actually fought me! And he actually won! Do you know what that means?" Iskah beamed happily at Vanessa. "It means I am now duty-bound to propose to him and attempt to marry him by any means necessary. No more attempts at talking and convincing. We are now free to just nab him whenever we're ready." The Lizardman sighed contently. "Then when we accomplish that, I'm going to take him to bed and we're never gonna sleep for a week straight. Then I'll be pregnant with a strong child and he and I will raise him into a powerful warrior and then we'll..."

Iskah will rattle on if no one stops her.

---

Vanessa was grateful for the help in walking, and she probably. When As they plotted along, and the lizard-girl commented about how great the Lot Knights were at expelling monsters, Vanessa wanted to make a comment on how there'd actually only been one of their rank who was good at that... The rest had been quite useless, to be frank... Which made her worry slightly about this nation's future, if their supposed great knights couldn't even handle a lone, rogue intruder... But, she decided to keep such comments to herself for now.



Sitting down at their tavern, Vanessa felt the fagigue in her body. The black-haired sorceress removed her large hat for the first time since she and Iskah had met, putting it on the table infront of them. She made a tired, elongated stretch and 'hnnnnngh'-sound, arching her back in the ... moderately comfortable... wooden chair. Thankfully, Iskah had been the one to put in an order, as the dark mage hadn't even noticed the portly woman in the chef's attire who'd strolled up and talked to the lizardman.

And the floodgates opened and Iskah began to talk.

A lot.

It was remarkable in a way... The dark mage couldn't recall the other girl ever being this chatty during the entierty of their travelling together thus far. Maybe she was the type who only liked to talk when it was something that directly related to herself in some way? Or maybe she was just really excited about getting her man? .. Wait... Getting...? She hadn't... Gotten him...?

Vanessa sat up as straight as she could on her chair and looked at Iskah, a face full of weary confusion, as she held up a hand in a 'stop' or 'hold it' kind of manner.

"Woah, woah... Slow down there, honey... You said... YOu said you fought and lost... And you're only now going to propose?" Vanessa's words and voice were tired and labored, as if trying to talk after having run as fast as she could for a 100 meter dash or something. "I thought we came to the keep to get you your man, right here and now... But, now you're... Saying we'll have to do this all over agagin...?"

Though tired, exhausted and enfeebled, there was an unmistakable tinge of irritation to Vanessa's tone. The kind of annoyance one might have when taking a child to a candy store, but the kid couldn't make up their mind and just spent minutes upon minutes waffling back and forth and never actually picking something... Until the shop closed. And you had to leave. And the kid started crying because it didn't get any candy, because they spent too long deciding... She wans't angry or furious or anything, but Nessa definetly didn't look amused by this revelation.

But perhaps she was just grumpy because of the lethargy and she'd perk back up when food arrived...? Maybe? Possibly? Hopefully?

Or, perhaps Iskah would do well to consider her response... It didn't seem her dark mage companion had even heard the part about possibly staying the night though. She was, understandably, more concerned with the whole; Not actually getting hitched with the incubus-deal at the moment.

"Woah, woah... Slow down there, honey... You said... YOu said you fought and lost... And you're only now going to propose? I thought we came to the keep to get you your man, right here and now... But, now you're... Saying we'll have to do this all over agagin...?"

Before Iskah could answer, the two monsters' meals arrived. Two large dishes of assorted fishy delicacies, from classically fried ones to grilled ones with vegetables and seasonings stuffed in them. It didn't look like it, but Iskah seemed to have seafood as her preferred meal. The Lizardman can only hope that her Dark Mage companion shared her tastes.

But despite Iskah's mouth watering, she answered Vanessa first before even grabbing a utensil. "Well as you know, Lizardmen duel potential mates to gauge their strengths. If the Lizardman wins, that's that but if the potential mate wins, then he is the Lizardman's destined one and will propose marriage immediately." Iskah happily explained, even if this didn't really answer Vanessa's question. "And Lizardmen won't take 'no' for an answer, we'll keep bugging our destined mates until they say 'yes'."

"Like what happened to me!" Iskah continued, not a very good sign for the beleaguered Vanessa. "Buuuut, we're skipping all of that 'no' stuff and jumping straight to outright kidnapping him. I'm pretty sure he'll be adamant in his chastity until I introduce him to the pleasures of the flesh." The Lizardman finished. "I would've just taken him then and there... but he is the better fighter between us soooo, he managed to get away."

Finally grabbing a utensil, she said her last sentence before digging in. "Err, sorry if we have to do all that again. But I swear to you, this is the last mile, Vanessa! After we take him, we're home free and you'll have your reward!"

Iskah didn't seem intent on continuing her pursuit of Aun for the night. However, Vanessa can opt to go solo for the time being and nab The Incubus Knight once and for all.

---

"Given how ... Determined ... You've been in specficially going after this Incubus Knight, I'd thought you'd already challenged him before now." Vanessa replied when Iskah explained the customs and behavioral tendencies of the lizardmen.

She could imagine a number of reasons for why the girl was pining for this particular piece of man-meat though. His magical energy was rather intoxicating and he wasn't bad to look at either. Plus he was an apparently chaste incubus, which was a rarity in and of itself, and something no small amount of monsters would surely love to ... Break in, so to speak. But, the dark mage felt no compulsion to push the topic further. Partly because she didn't really care that much, and partly becaus she was still just completely wiped thanks to that foreigner knight with the Zipangu amulets.

The raaven-haired sorceress showed no sign of elation or disapproval when her food was placed before her. Either she was too tired to care or she just wasn't that picky of an eater. The dark mage did appreciate getting some food in her though, and could visually be observed to look less tense and drained the more she ate. As far as the food was concerned... It was alright. Nothing amazing or jaw-dropping. Your usual tavern-faire meal, at least as far as Vanessa's unrefined palet was concerned. She did appreciate the additional of herbs and spices thoug, seeming more fond of those bits than any of the rest that came with the meal.

"Ah, that really hit the spot." She let out a satisfied sigh once her plate had been picked clean. Remarkably, the sorceress had surprisingly good and refined table-manners, eating very elegantly with her utensils. Perhaps an echo or remnant of her time as a human? Regardless, after dabbing her lips with a small napkin and then neatly folding and placing it down on her empty plate, she looked over at Iskah again. "I suppose we should rent a room then, if we're to hunt down your hubbie again tomorrow. I'd like to get some actual rest in before we try again."

Vanessa stretched, arching her back and reaching both arms above her head, causing her... Very immodest endowement to rise and be flaunted as she did. Then she let out a content 'aah'-sound, before continuing to speak.

"Just so we're clear here though. The enxt time we go after your boy, I may use more force. As in, he may actually get a bit banged up if he doesn't come quietly." Vanessa's expression and face were measured but serious, which was unlike her usual happy-go-smiley-all-the-timey look. "He's far too skilled and powerful to be reined in with methods that'd work against common humans, and his unwilling and unyielding personality means we can't treat him with kids-gloves if you're serious about nabbing him." The dark mage paused, leaning back in her chair a bit and gently rubbing her left temple. Then she looked back at her employer with a smile. "Of course, I've got no intention of causing any long-lasting or permanent damage, so don't worry. Just keep in mind that we can't keep playing nice with him." She gave the other girl a silly, playful wink, which was much more in tune with what Iskah had seen of the dark mage up until now.

--- Elsewhere ---

"Hunh...? Where'sh thish?"

Something stirred in a small wooded grove outside, but not too far from, Linirea. it rose, having been hidden behind a fallen over and now-hollow log. Inside and around said log were several bottles of various brands and labels... They were all empty though. With an elongated yawn, followed by an inelegant belch, followed further by a smacking of the lips and scratching of the head, the risen figure looked around their surroundings with sleepy eyes and a puzzled-but-sleepier-still-looking face.

"Now... How'd I end up out 'ere again..?"

Was this the dawn of a new challenger, the arrival of a potential ally, or just some random-ass drunk waking up after a night out on the town? Only time will tell...

"Of course, I've got no intention of causing any long-lasting or permanent damage, so don't worry. Just keep in mind that we can't keep playing nice with him."

"Yep, we can hold nothing back now." Iskah nodded at Vanessa's words, having no problem with the Dark Mage taking off the kid gloves. "Aun is very much aware what comes next after defeating a Lizardman so he'll definitely be resisting harder against us. The Incubus Knight won't go down easily, so we'll have to give him our best shot!" The Lizardman raised a tankard.



Iskah paid for a two-bed room where she and Vanessa could stay the night. They will need plenty of rest if they were to take on a vigilant Incubus Knight the next day. However, their slumber was interrupted by noises in the night. Heavy steps fell on the roof of the inn, stirring Iskah and Vanessa awake. But the Lizardman snapped awake, for she also recognized the energies likely making the noises.

She sprang up and immediately went over to Vanessa, shaking the Dark Mage to fully awake her and explain what was happening. "Vanessa! Vanessa!" Despite the urgency, Iskah still used a hushed tone. "It's Aun! He's here! Something's wrong!"

Confident that Vanessa would follow, Iskah left the room and made her way to the inn doors. While also making sure to make as little noise as possible. No doubt the commotion was already waking people up, but Iskah was instinctually polite. Once out of the inn, the Lizardman quickly turned her gaze to the rooftops. Immediately, she spotted two silhouettes running across the city's rooftops; One chasing the other.

One of the silhouettes was too dark to recognize, but Iskah knew him to be Aun as his energy signature could not be mistaken. The other silhouette glowed a bit of orange as if she had embers stuck on her body. "Oh no. Katelyn..." Iskah muttered. Her rival Salamander was now here, and chasing her beloved Aun. "We've got to stop her and rescue Aun!" The Lizardman declared to Vanessa, whom she assumed was with her.

Being jostled awake suddenly, and rudely, Vanessa let out an elongated yawn, sitting up stretching her arms above her head, before looking around the msall inn-room with tired, unamused eyes. She hadn't exactly fully recovered from their little escapade earlier that day, but there would apparently be no rest for the wicked, as her employer suddenly burst out of their room due to the noises made from the roof above their heads.

"... You're coming straight to us, and so soon? Couldn't you just have gone with us when we came to pick you up earlier then, boy..." Vanessa muttered in a grumpy, sleepy voice, rubbing her eye with one hand. Apparently, she was not a morning person... Or at least, not a 'fresh and perky right after waking' sort of girl.

She recognized the aura and energy signature of the man on the roof almost instantly. After all, it was very distinct. Still, if he was going to jump into their laps and present himself on a silver platter, who was she to complain? Getting out of bed - finally - the dark mage strolled over to the nightstand near the bed, plucked her hat and plopped it onto her noggin', before grabbing her staff that'd been placed to lean against the nearby wall. Now fully geared up, she too exited the two monsters room and porceeded to exit the establishment.

She arrived just in time to hear Iskah's comment. It would seem their rival had caught up with the two and was now trying to get a leg up on them. The dark mage wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brow.

"He really likes running away from his problems, huh?" The sorceress commented, watching the Incubus Knight flee from the orange embers of the other reptilian monster girl. Still, now was no time to make witty banter or snarky one-liners. Turning to face Iskah, the dark mage held out a hand and spoke clearly.

"Enhancement: Superior Physical Boost." A bright, golden glow shone from Vanessa's hand and then raced out of it, leaping to iskah and into her. The lizardman could feel a surge of energy, as if she was being pumped full of adrenaline, steroids and brand-name energy drinks all at once. "There you go, sweetness. Now, go, I'll follow and lend you support." Saying that, Vanessa straightened her posture, closed her eyes, took a breath and spoke again in aa clear tone. "Enchant: Finite Flight."

A teal-ish aura engulfed the wizardess' hands, before travelling over and spreading across her staff. Then, placing it horizontally in mid-air, just at pelvis-height, Vanesas porceeded to seat her tush onto the item, as if it were a witch's broom. Since she hadn't fully recovered yet, and since she'd given Iskah a rather powerful buff to the lizardman's physical attributes, she didn't want to risk casting a 'fly'-spell on herself. Instead, having a 'flying tool' that'd have time limit on flight would have to suffice. After all, they just needed to get onto the rooftops too anc get inbetween the Salamongrel and Aun. Which Iskah should be more than capable of leaping into with the help of Vanessa's magic, and Nessa herself could lazily just float up and over in pursuit of her ally whenever she decided to go.

"There you go, sweetness. Now, go, I'll follow and lend you support."

Iskah watched as the golden glow jumped from Vanessa's hand and into herself. Her body felt light and powerful, catching up to Aun and Katelyn felt like it would be a piece of cake. And it was when Iskah launched high into the air with but one leap. "Thanks Vanessa!" The Lizardman yelled as she landed on one of the roofs of the cityscape. Now seeing the chase clearly, Iskah took off with incredible speed and almost instantly catching up to the chase.

Vanessa followed behind Iskah, sitting on her flying staff like a classic witch. The two lizard monsters plus Aun bantered as they each chased the other across the rooftops of the sleeping capital.

"Guys, it's literally midnight! I'm getting deployed tomorrow!" The Incubus Knight cried out.

"All the more reason to catch you now, Aun!" Katelyn replied, undeterred.

"Leave him alone, Katelyn!" It was Iskah's turn to speak. "I've already fought him and lost!"

"So? What's that got to do with me and my feelings for him?" The Salamander responded. "Little help here?!"

The last sentence was actually a call for help. As if from nowhere, a pink, winged figure joined the chase. On a closer look, Vanessa recognized this figure as the Cupid from earlier this day. The one who left on a tantrum from a human crowd. Who would have guessed she was actually part of Katelyn's team?

The Cupid did not seem to notice Vanessa, as she nocked an arrow into her bow and shot it at Iskah. But the arrow was magical, as it split into three pink orbs of magic. They were most probably harmless, much less lethal, but they looked like they would definitely impede Vanessa's Lizardman client.

Vanessa watched as her lizardman employer took a mighty leap onto the rooftops above, and proceeded to slowly rise on her staff and follow suit. It appeared that masked salamander from the other town over was here to stir up trouble agian, as she was unmistakably chasing after Iskah's would-be-destined-one. Which made sense, as the fiery lizardgirl had declared her intentions quite clearly back when Vanessa first met her. Still, it seemed a bit underhanded to goa fter someone at night... At least Iskah and herself had had the decency of trying to win the guy over during daylight hours.

But now wasn't the time to worry or concern oneself with the moral dilemma of the when's and the where's, there was a chase to be joined. More specifically, there was a love-struck maiden to protect. And protection she'd need, as the salamander woman called for reinforcements, and someone answered her call! A winged herald of the goddess of love suddenly appeared, in all her glorious ... glory... ANd was now not-so-gloriously trying to shoot Vanessa's boss with magic projectiles from her bow.

"Oh no you don't. Shield!"" Vanessa exclaimed, reaching one hand forward as she aimed for Iskah.

A translucent, barely visible dome (or sphere that also went underground?) suddenly engulfed iskah - though the lizardman would likely not even notice it herself, as it didn't impede or hinder her sight in any way - appeared and surrounded Iskah. This was a low-tier spell, unable to do much but offer a bit of extra defense... Except for its one odd characteristic. It was incredibly good at absorbing incoming magic projectiles. Things like magic missiles, chromatic orbs, mana-infused arrows and any other lower level spells or magical shots would find themselves absorbed and dispersed by this simple spell. So, as long as the Cupid wasn't shooting Iskah with some kind of high-powered magic attacks, which would be a strange thing do do while chasing someone in a densely populated area, atop of buildings which could easily be dmaaged by such an attack...

Now that her boss had some kind of protection, it was time to deal wtih the wing-flapping nat though.

Swivelling on her staff and getting a better viewm of the target, the dark mage elevated herself a little further off the roof and focused her eyes. Adjusting to the dim and gloom of night, with the starlight from above and the street lamps and braziers from below. She studied the angelic monster's course and speed, her motions... Then raised her arm and hand again, but this time not aiming at Iskah, but at the avian archer.

"LIghtning Bolt."

Magic gathered in her palm, sparks of electricity sporadically bounced out of her palm like a coil or frazzled, exposed wire. Mana gathered and then, with speed beyond speed, a flash of bright, intense light was let loose, racing forward in a slight arc, aiming to lance the heavenly messenger of Eros with its shcoking touch. As tore through the air, it left behind a faint smell of ozone as it burned the air around itself. The cupid would only have a moment to both spot and then immediately dodge the spell, less she get zapped.

Naturally, Nessa wasn't putting all her mana into the attack. If anything, it'd be like being hit by a more intense stun-gun or something. Not enough to kill or cause any permanent damage - other than what may come from the angel falling from the air and onto solid ground below - but enough to definetely hurt.

She did make sure to stay focused though, not just on the Cupid, but also on the Salamander, as well as the area immediately around and below her. After all, there was no telling if this angel-girl was the only member of her entourage.

Iskah noticed too late the incoming magic orbs heading towards her. She closed her eyes and braced for impact, only for the orbs to never hit. Upon opening her eyes, she saw that the pink orbs were now gone and there was faint dome surrounding her. Even moving with her as she traversed the rooftops of sleepy Ortus. It was no mystery to Iskah on who casted this protective barrier. "Thanks, Vanessa!" She yelled as she continued on towards Aun and Katelyn, unimpeded.

The Cupid spotted the lightning bolt aimed at her, and made no attempt to evade. Instead, the angel covered herself with her pinkish-white wings. It was enough to block the weak bolt. "Hmph. So the Doppelganger Lizardman has an ally herself." The Cupid smirked, now knowing that this catfight between two reptilian monsters involved more parties than themselves. "Let's see you handle this!"

The Eros divinity fired two arrows, neither was aimed at Vanessa much less Iskah. The two arrows embedded themselves in two opposite roofs. Their tail ends then glowed and glowing pink lines emerged which then struck out very quickly towards Vanessa on a broom. The Dark Mage would know that these were some sort of magical ensnaring whips. Harmless, of course, but if Vanessa was impeded now then she would be unable to provide further support to Iskah.

Meanwhile, Vanessa also saw Katelyn tackle Aun near the end of the rooftop that lead to a square. However, Iskah also tackled them and they all fell to the waters of an unfortunate Ortusian fountain of very basic design.

[quote=@PaulHaynek]





It would seem that, contrary to popular beliefs, flying-type monsters weren't weak to lightning... Who would've guessed? That monster manual must've been written by a complete quack... That, or angels just got to be naturally resistant towards elements that came down from the heavens. Oh well....

It would seem that Iskah had managed to catch up with her rival and future fiancee though, as they all went tumbling down into a fountain together. A bit of water sports? Well, at least it was nighttime, so there weren't any on-lookers. Hopefully. Otherwise they might all get arrested for public indecency. That said, Vanessa raised an eyebrow when the Cupid fired off her dual arrows, which then morphed into... Whips? Vines? Strange... She'd not seen a technique like that before. It seemed they had some kind of binding or restricting quality to them. If she was really unlucky, they might even have some kind of magic dampening or abosrbing properties. Not that it mattered. The dark mage's attention and interest didn't lie in trying to fight the winged messenger of Eros after all.

Instead, the sorceress gave the cupid a big smirk.

"Are you sure it's me you should be focusing your attention on?"

With that line said, before the whippy arrow-vines had reached her, Vanessa's head turned to the fountain again. Raising one arm, an icy azure circle of magic manifested infront of her open palm.

"Icicle Rain."

As the words left her lips, the ring of magic patterns flashed, and unleashed a hailstorm of sharp, pointy - and most importantly - frozen ice spikes that rained down towards the fountain where the trio of contenders had crashed. Why was she opening fire on her own ally? Simple:

Iskah wasn't actually a lizardman, and she was protected by a shielding spell taht nullified magic projectiles. Aun was an incubus, was wearing armor and - given what she'd seen of his skills in the previous city, prior to the orphanage - he could handle himself against magic. Which left the salamander. Not only had she just now falllen into a big gulp of water, but her kind was the type to get stronger and more ferocious the longer a fight went on... But at the same time, she was an actual reptiliant monster, one aligned with fire to boot. Which, of course, meant that being drenched in below-room-temperature water, and then being bombarded with shards of biting cold arctic origins wouldn't exactly do her any favors.

Vanessa thus made absolutely no move to avoid the incoming wrap-attack of the angel, focusing instead on pelting the fountain - and the general area around it - with her frozen projectiles. Indeed, ont only was Iskah shielded by her own magic from before, but she also had the physical enhancement buff. This, coupled with the water-logged salamander now also coming under attack by chilling cover-fire would hopefully be enough to allow the doppel-lizard to overcome her enemy and win the day!

... Or something like that...

... Could just be that Vanessa was too tired and feeling a bit lazy to deal with these sorts of shennanigans this soon after having had to fight the Lot Knights... You never know.