“O-oh? Melvin. Yeah, you’ve mentioned it. My condolences, I seem to be out of it after an eventful night.” A heap of exhaustion was carried about her dreary voice, but she had managed to force a smile onto her lips- it came out as a half-smile. For a seemingly bad arsonist at first, she could not blame his cause, as he explained why innocent lives had fallen for the bettering of a future that has already gone awry. It was Her own fault was not being about to douse her guilty conscience for possibly having to take lives. Although she much preferred stealing anything but a life, Deimos would have to ponder over this and over time, gain more trust.

It feels odd to see a bed kept together well, after so many nights on the streets and cheap motels. She thought as her fingertips brushed against the doorknob cautiously before creaking the door close, so that the dark room would still be partially lit by the light of Melvin’s lantern. With a sense of tension, she walked gracefully over to the bed, sitting down onto the mattress. When the thought of how normal people slept light of clothes, Deimos stifled a chuckle and shook her head- just armor worked better instead. A minute later, her green boots sat next to the nightstand, on which her cloak was neatly folded with a cross bow stuck in-between it’s silky folds. Sleep hung heavily on her eyes, even her fingers had moved to grab her flute in a sluggish manner. The instrument seemed to hum to life as she sat on the bed, placing the instrument to her lips. She played a quiet, sorrowful tune on her flute, her fingers moving with years of experience as she produced a piece that danced with emotion. This was no normal song, it’s sound brought rejuvenation and heavy relaxation void of concerns to anyone within ear range. By the end of her song, her back, supported by old pillows, was slumped against the head board. In the next couple of blinks, she saw darkness.

---

“What the hell?” Deimos jolted upwards in bed, her heart nearly expoding until her mind washed her over with memories, reminding her of recent events. She sighed into her hand- Oh yeah, her life was different now. Leaving behind the clothes that she had removed for sleep while setting her flute on the table, she pattered out into the hallway. “Um….Leader-boy?” She called out to him darkly, if she had just been a stranger entering his place, her voice in the way she’d always carry herself screamed darkness & suspicion, as if she had another motive. “I don’t know how long it has been, but I’d feel bad for raiding your food supplies, but I’d also feel bad if I drug the authorities back here if I went to grab something.”

The light from the rising sun pierced through a small hole in the window's curtain, beaming straight into Luke's closed eyelids. The heat from the sun affected his sleep by engulfing his dreams with flames. In the dream, he stood over two unmoving bodies that were covered in burning debris from the burning house. Luke's face had an emotionless expression as the fire around him did not spread near him or burn him. "Mom!" A voice yelled from not too far away. "Dad!" A young red-haired boy burst through the nearby door and was shocked to see the bodies stuck under the burning pieces of wood. The boy tried to use his amateur ability of controlling fire to extinguish the flame, but the fire was too wild to control for his ability. "No!" The boy exclaimed as he fell on his knees in front of the bodies. Luke felt a presence in the room and looked up over the flaming bodies. In the corner of the room was a mysterious figure wearing a plague doctor outfit. Luke's emotionless expression vanished and was replaced with anger. "Sect of Maxwell!" He screamed and with a wave of his arm the fire and bodies vanished; leaving only the thaumaturge and Luke in the room. Luke brought up his right hand and it began to catch fire. "I'll burn you like you did them!" He screamed and ran towards the dark figure.

"Haah!" Luke's arm was extended towards the ceiling, opposite of the bed he was laying in. He quickly extinguished his burning hand and got out of the bed, hoping he didn't start some sort of fire. His clothes were hanged on a hook across the room, leaving him with only a black shirt and shorts. Revenge shouldn't be on my mind.. Luke began to think, scolding himself for his reactions. Dad wouldn't want that... Luke began to get dressed and left his room, going towards the lobby area. He had a good night rest, even though he had gone through a rough dream. He thanked the ladies who worked at the Inn for letting him stay and hoped to see the Elf who had paid for his room. It wouldn't be right to just leave after getting a free room like that. He hoped to pay her back and thank her for thinking about him.

Instead of sleep time elapsed in intense meditation. It would have been impossible to catch a nights rest in this town after the events which had recently unfolded thus the reason her armor remained on. Under normal circumstances she would have been able to drift off into a deep slumber on the pleasant futon laid atop shiny bamboo flooring. This quiet moment was also spent practicing the Revitalize fonic hymn she had been trying to master for a little while now. Back at home before her status was revoked elves never ceased to notice how much dedication, and time Lumen spent on practicing Thaumae. Obsession to better oneself held true to the elven culture and she certainly acknowledged this fact, though there were many elven qualities Lumen rather overlap with other qualities instead…especially since the council became extremely iron-fisted.

Lumen’s eyes slowly opened after a few hours suspecting the time to go fourth was nigh. A polite voice sounded from the opposite side of the screen informing her that a bathing room was now available. A sweltering bath seemed perfect before another lengthy trek to follow her intuition on the burning temple. She picked up her withered staff and made way to the area, prepping before stepping into the crystal clear water, and spending roughly twenty minutes soaking in the relaxing natural spring. After this ritual of cleansing was finished she dressed, casually entered the lobby with pink tresses still damp, and instantly locked eyes on the man from yesterday. Stopping for a quick second in surprise he had decided to stay before closing the distance between them.

“I see you stayed.” Her voice remained just as hollow as the previous night. “There was no need for you to interfere yesterday though your attempt was successful in luring the Knights away.” Not a proper thank you but if he expected recognition or thanks for return that was the best he would receive from this scorned elf.

As Ashe awoke that morning well rested he began getting dressed,starting with his,pants,and shoes.as he dressed he considered the day ahead,he had already decided to help the to women if he could,and he also needed to sell some of the goods he'd acquired on the road.as he began to get his shirt he thought about what he should do in the future.He obviously couldn't fight,and travel forever.At some point he'd need to find a place to hang his head,the only question was where?At that he sat down on the bed looking out the window on morning sun pondering the future,when he suddenly recalled the past.He thought about the few months he spent with Kyah before she was killed,it was kind of rough at times but they made it through,and of course he always had her there to comfort him during the bad times.It was only two years ago but it felt like another life.As Ashe reminisced on days gone by he leaned back onto the bed,closing his eyes picturing her smile,and her gentle touch,and her long beautiful hair. Honestly she was the only good thing he could remember at this point."I always wanted to give you something in return Kyah...i wish i could see you again,at last once" he thought,with a sigh he stood up deciding he may as well finish getting dressed.
As he fastened his hood he stood in front of the mirror to make sure his features were hidden,satisfied he turned around,and grabbed his bag slinging it over his shoulder.Looking in the mirror one more time before leaving the room he was pleased by the fact that even though he was little more than a vagabond at this point his clothes hid the fact well.he had two rather expensive sets of clothing,and a few other more common sets,he was wearing a rather expensive hooded coat with a nice shirt under it,and tailored pants with hand made boots at the time.They were a gift from a kind rather well to do man he had helped in the past,he always made a point to keep as clean,and well groomed as possible.
With that he walked out of his room to the lobby area,asking the inn keepers for a meal,intending to eat before helping the two he met the night before.As the in keep went to prepare his meal Ashe noticed the red haired man from the night before in the lobby,not wanting to seem rude he decided to at least greet him.
with that he walked over to him stopping about four feet away saying "good morning,have a good rest?" attempting be as pleasant as he could while wearing his hood.

“I don’t know how long it has been, but I’d feel bad for raiding your food supplies, but I’d also feel bad if I drug the authorities back here if I went to grab something.”

"Huh? Why're you asking me?" Melvin raised an eyebrow and scratched his head, feeling weary from spending this whole time planning the team's next move. "Since you're a member now, you should have access to the pantry as well. There isn't much there, such as crackers and soup, but my guys are restocking for our trip tonight. Ah, speaking of which..."

He returned his attention to the map for a second. The desk was littered with notes, used quill pens and a small trash can brimming with crinkled papers. "I think I figured out what we're gonna do tonight. I'll brief everyone during the trip, but basically we're heading for Aoli's chapel to the west and taking it down. The plan probably sounds painfully simple to you, but I have to consider weather conditions, the enemy's security measures, any current events going on, and our members' skills before finalizing our movements."

Melvin let out a huge, unrestrained yawn (that could probably be considered rude to Deimos) and stretched, rubbing his eyes of exhausted tears. "Goddammit, I feel like a leech has sucked my brains out... It ain't easy being the boss of a resistance movement. I'm used to this sort of stuff since I have to stay in hiding all the time, but that's usually for my own survival. Thinking about everyone's safety is really tough. Of course, I've considered you for the attack on Aoli - none of my buddies have a Lorelei Thauma, so it'd be a real bonus if the two of us could communicate long distance like we did last night."

"Oh it was no problem." Luke replied to the Elf while reaching in his pockets for money. He pulled out a sack of Gald containing the amount needed for a night stay at the Inn. "I just wanted to repay you for my room." As he talked to the Elf, a hooded man approached them from the side, greeting them. Luke assumed it was one of the people that were with the Elf last night, however the man's face seemed different then....'normal'. Though he was a bit hesitant, Luke wasn't going to turn down the Dark Elf's greeting. "Uh yeah. I rested well last night. I hope you did too." Luke gave off a friendly vibe. Even though the man was different then 'normal', he wouldn't discriminate.

At that Ashe noticed the elf woman standing next to the red head,turning to her with a slight bow saying "thank you for the room,i would have been on the street last night had you not been so generous.i should receive a payment today for my last job so i should be able to pay you back later today,but until then can i buy you a meal?"
At that point Ashe new better than to be in anyone's debt. The bandits he'd killed the night before had a price on their heads,and he would be picking up the money a in a little while,so he could see no reason not to repay her.

Mobius did not sleep well, and got up a few hours later. He growled something and decided he needed to freshen up, doing so he got dressed in normal clothing rather than his armor, and slid his swordstaff onto his back and walked into the entrance of the inn. He looked around noticing a few people, a man with red hair, and a few other people and walked over to the inn keep, paying him for some food and sat down, his dreary eyes looking over the other people around. He was surprised that there were so many here all of a sudden, when did they get in? He thought he had been the latest to arrive, when his food was brought to him he ate and drank in silence, listening in to the others. He was intrigued by them, something that didn't really happen anymore. He may just miss the company of other people. "Hey, what brings you all here anyway if you don't mind me asking?" He raises his voice a little, non threateningly of course and get's up walking over to the others.

Lumen nodded to the dark elf bidding them good morning but refused to take the bag of glad from the crimson haired man. With one thank you after another the slender elf began to visibly tense and straightened her back a bit in discomfort. Healing back at camp deep in the woods often garnered acknowledgement from various types of people but this was different in a way. Those injured folk had nothing to offer in return and the current flood of repayment put her in an awkward situation—at least to her. Blinking her radiant eyes a few times in a subtly overwhelmed state she then shook her head twice before responding.

“There is no need. Your payment will be wasted on me.” She stated plainly.

After this little adventure concluded she would go back into the forest and any leftover funds would be stashed away like before. These men seemed to require the currency in everyday ventures but she simply had little use for it. Their kind attempts were soon overshadowed by the sudden inquiry of a human male. Lumen turned her head toward his direction with little interest at first and watched him approach the group. The gauntlet shield combo worn by him snagged her attention however, and she became instantly impressed by the craftsmanship. There were two things that Elves appreciated more than themselves and that was Thaumae and the art of crafting—and that was a lovely piece of equipment.

It did not seem wise to begin divulging into the exact reason that brought them here especially since they did not know his reasoning to greet them out of the blue. Lumen walked over to the older woman waiting by a podium from yesterday and began writing a note. The paper listed the next location the elf planed on heading to but could not risk staying longer due to the growing interest this little group kept acquiring. She mentioned the temple in Aoli out of a suspicion that the arsonist would most likely stop in succession. To prove or disprove her hunch she planned to pay a visit hoping to find the culprit who insisted on stirring trouble.

“Please give this to Lianne when she awakens.” The tall elf politely said before heading toward the inn exit. “My visit here is finished and there are other sites to see…if you’ll excuse me.” Her words were cryptic and she had no qualms with anyone deciding to join though they had spent too much time in this place. The Knights would be searching for the group soon and she wanted to be a good distance away by then. Her hand slid the screen door open to begin heading toward the location safe for discussing any further plans—if anyone else was crazy enough to join.

It wasn't too long since Lumen left and the time when Lianne walked out of her bedroom, refreshed after a good, though short, night of sleep. She was all dressed up as when she arrived at the front desk to inquire about breakfast... to be surprised at being handed a letter addressed to her by a certain elf.

"Oh Lumen, you truly are an early riser..." Mumbles the Half Elf with a little smile as she opens up the letter and scans its contents. With the location of the meeting place in mind, Lianne set out into town to only take a slight detour to ask if there was a bounty on the arsonist before heading to meet with Lumen.

As Ashe watched the elf woman walk out the door he thought to himself "well,may as well see how this ends" and promptly followed her out the door
catching up to her then simply matching her pace not really sure of anything to talk about he simply said"i hope you don't mind if i tag along".

Luke pocketed his sack of money and watched as the elf left the Inn. The hooded man walked passed Luke and he could see another glimpse inside his hood, though all he saw was darkness. Guess I was just seeing things... After they departed another person from yesterday's incident rushed into the lobby, picking up a letter then proceeding to the exit. All that was left was Luke and the man with the shield-gauntlet. "I'm just touring the place. This is my first time in Sord." Luke answered the man. An easy lie to hide his affiliation with the Zenterr military. Speaking of which...what was my destination again? Luke was on his way to Aoli before getting side tracked by the burning temple. "I plan on traveling to Aoli, but I don't know which way to go.." Of course he really knew where to go, but he's just making his illusion of being a tourist more convincing. "Do you know where it is? Oh where are my manners, my name is Lucas. But people call me Luke." The crimson-haired man gave a smile and loosened up his cloak to shake his hand, revealing his sword.

As Ashe walked along side the elf woman he suddenly realized he didn't even know her name,at that he decided it best to ask.Not wanting to be rude he considered whether or not it was actually a good idea to ask,he didn't really know anything about elves to be honest.He had spent most of his time with humans,and the occasional half elf,and
needles to say those groups never told him anything about them.She had never asked his name nor he hers, was it rude to ask? And at this point no less? At that Ashe decided to simply ask,and be done with it "I believe i forgot to ask your name,and offer mine.I'm simply known as Ashe, and you?" he said annoyed with himself for putting that much thought into it.

Mobius looked at the red haired man, now the only one here with him he in turn shook his hand "I'm Mobius, and yes I could take you Aoli, I'm a mercenary, not very well known but that means I haven't made enough enemies with the underworld I guess." He says a small smirk on his lips. He notices Luke's sword and looks quizically at him for a second "That;s a nice sword...guess you'd need it if you're touring, you any good with it? I could give some pointers while we're on the road as well...maybe not with the sword but by how bandits might attack a swordsman I mean." He says, honestly he wanted to check back with those others as well. "Might be a good idea to get a group together of people who are going to our destination as well, more people...with weapons at least, tends to keep bandits and ruffians away. There may be the more idiotic ones that will go after hard targets but they would be easily dealt with as well." He suggests, it was sound reasoning...and a sound plan for him to either get more money, or just to understand why these people were here all of a sudden.

Lumen placed the withered staff in a holster located on her back to free both hands while walking the grassy terrain. Izumo during this season was quite beautiful and that is precisely why she stays in the forests in the midst of lush green canopies. It would be a shame for the troublemaker to cause a war, and during the battle destroy the wilderness in the process. She had no loved ones to fight for and placed the hinterlands at her core to uphold with the highest regard instead...otherwise she would have nothing. This journey had already pushed her out of her comfort zone a bit, and it had not even begun. There was no telling what would transpire but she planned on following through to the end, and sacrifice everything—even herself at the end of the day if need be.

The dark elf soon caught up to the determined elf and decided to try small talk during the otherwise quiet trek. “It is not for me to decide your destiny. If you feel it necessary to join me, I will not refuse the company.“ Although her words were blunt and hollow her tone remained soft. She felt a bit surprised that the man wanted to know her name, especially after experiencing her distant personality on several occasions. In another time she would have brushed off his inquiry with a rude statement but had gotten past inequity, and was constantly learning to alter her bias traits. “My name is La’Etherina Lumen Niava Elanil.” The lengthy name rapidly flowed from her mouth like water down a stream. Now that they were properly acquainted she decided that he might as well be given the details of their destination. She stopped suddenly by a cherry blossom tree and looked directly at her company, making direct eye contact with him for the very first time.

“Aoli is the location I seek. There is another temple located there and I suspect the arsonist to try and destroy it. I intend to stop this vermin at all costs. Seeing as you joined me knowing what may lie ahead I can only assume you know how to fight. Is that correct?”

Ashe was a little caught off guard at the sudden stop,but as she explained the situation Ashe simply nodded his head.He thought quietly for a moment looking back at the last two years,and responded saying "Yes i can fight,that's basically all I've done for a long time.If it gets violent I've got your back ".
At that he decided change the subject saying "but there is one thing...while your name is lovely,i don't believe i could recite it's entirety in the middle of a fight.
Do you have a surname you go by,or an abbreviation?".

I guess a little company wouldn't hurt... Luke thought. "Thanks i really appreciate it." He said to Mobius. "Oh this old thing?" Luke took his blade, still in it's scabbard, and showed the full thing to Mobius. It was the last sword used by his father before he passed away. After finding it, Luke modified it so he could use it more easily by replacing it's iron covering with silver to make it more conductive with his Volt Thaume. His father fought with Eflame Thaume so the sword was already modified to excel with fire-based Artes. "It's nothing special.." Luke said as he put the sheath back on his side, the cloak hiding it perfectly.

He extended his arm towards the exit, signaling that he'd like to continue their conversation on the road. "I suppose we could find others to travel with. Maybe the Elf from before is going the same destination as us." Luke said as he walked towards the exit. "As a mercenary I'm sure you'd like a payment for this journey." Luke took out the same sack of money he intended to pay the pink-haired Elf back with and showed it to Mobius.

Mobius nodded "I'll fetch my armor and provisions." He says walking up the stairs and grabbing up a couple of packs and putting his armor on, switching from his regular clothing and folding it neatly and putting it back into his bag. He came down a short while later and nodded at Luke, "shall we get going?" He asks and heads for the door opening it and stepping outside. He raises his other arm up, the claw like gauntlet blocking the sun from his eyes he sees the other people already walking away as well, but waits for Luke to come out and maybe make the first move on these people as he knows them already.

Luke took a look at Mobius, now dressed in his armor and ready for anything. "Now you look like a mercenary." he said with a friendly smile on his face. He walked out of the Inn with Mobius and was greeted by the sun that woke him up in the morning. After looking around for a few seconds, Luke spotted the hooded man and the Elf by a cherry blossom tree. He began to approach them, waiting for their conversation to end before talking. "Any chance that you two are going to Aoli?" Luke spoke with a friendly tone. "Me and my new acquaintance here are heading there." He nodded towards Mobius, introducing him.