The newly-formed Team Powder Keg, comprised of Nolan Waltz, Fleo Plector, Amaya van Isis, and Lucas Ryder, set off toward the desert in a magic carriage. After arriving at the deserts edge, they parted ways briefly to gather supplies and intelligence for their journey. While Lucas found a secluded spot to deal with his own demons, Nolan gathered both vittles and horses for the journey, and Fleo discovered a little about the rogue mage—namely, that he had professed upon passing by the town that the deaths of his guildmates had been the work of an amorphous, abominable water monster. Upon entering the desert and tracking the wizard down, the Team determined him to be “Kalahari” Bert Cunningham, S-class, and out in the desert to escape the water monster's influence. After witnessing a dripping that nobody else saw, however, Bert became convinced that the Phoenix Wing mages were merely the water monster in disguise, and commenced his attack. The battle raged for a short time, during most of which a lack of coordination gave the sand wizard the advantage, maneuvering the Powder Kegs' abilities against one another and using his own magic to create a massive sand castle for him to utilize. In the end, however, a desperate cry from Amaya caused him to pause, leading to an attack from Fleo that focused Bert on her and Amaya long enough for the boys to perform an ingenious combination move that left Bert in two halves and his castle crumbling down. Taking his hat with them, Powder Keg left, but behind it, a mysterious water wizard with the power to make himself invisible gave Bert an epitaph, one that revealed that he had been the one who drove Bert insane, before disappearing.
That sound good?