Valkon

Into the Land of Twilight

Rezello

---

With business in the library concluded, the group made their way back outside the abandoned building and returned to their camp, taking a more direct path than during their approach - enabled by the magic of the scroll they had acquired keeping the phantoms at bay.

Ah, leaving Lasse already. It's too bad we didn't visit any of the sections I was familiar with. Another time, perhaps.

You going to tell me what we'd find there?

No.

Upon their return, they found that several of the workers in the camp had disappeared, leaving behind only one rather panicked individual armed with an axe. Though there was no immediate signs of a struggle, the man that remained was ranting about something he referred to as "the shrieker" taking the others into the forest. Once more, the party set out from the camp, Forbann staying behind to keep watch - assisted by a spell of Fia's - and guard the survivor.

Following the tracks left behind by the missing men, the party made their way through the forest until they found one of the men, lying on the ground, mutilated. Before he could be treated, a sudden melody began a short distance to the east, an ethereal song in an unfamiliar language. Despite the man's wounds, he managed to stand, entranced by the music and shambling towards its source for a brief time, only to be interrupted by a swift blow to the head from Roxas. The song carried on, its words resonating with an arcane power; though the party endured its disarming enchantment, it was clear that the disappeared workers were not so resilient, and that the source was responsible for their current predicament.

Soon enough, it had revealed its presence, appearing as an exceptionally light-skinned elven woman garbed in a white dress, floating past the boughs of the trees above as she made her approach. The strength of her song grew as she moved closer, though it was not yet strong enough to overcome their mental fortitude. Though the spell compelled Rezello to trust her, to consider her as a friend, lay down his arms and forget the details that didn't add up; how the edges of her tattered dress sat motionless while she drifted through the air, as if they rested upon something unseen beneath. How the porter they had found before, who momentarily was drawn toward her spell-song, had been torn open, as if attacked by some vicious beast. How she used such magic in the first place, as if there may be some reason for the group not to trust her otherwise.

As Rezello focused on these details, bolstering his mind against the magic, Carnatia slowly moved forward, her approach into melee culminating in a rapid succession of attacks; a thrusting strike from her rapier into a hidden cluster of eyes, revealing a monstrous spider that the elf - whose appearance more resembled a corpse now that its song's effect had been dispelled - had been attached to; a slashing blow from Gray Flame into one of the spider's front legs, the sword lodging itself into the limb and being pulled from his grasp; explosive black flames, courtesy of Fia; and a plunging attack into the creature's head from Engelbert. Moving towards the leg opposite the one Gray had attacked, Rezello lifted his hands above his head, summoning his newly acquired warhammer in a flash of sliver light as he brought it down in a mighty swing.

At the same moment, the spider turned. Had he been quicker to attack, or more used to the weight of his new weapon, he might've struck the leg he had been targeting, but as he began his attack it was already gone, and now he was in the path of the turning body. Without time to think, he reflexively pulled himself and the warhammer away, its great weight carrying him backwards as he stumbled to the ground, just managing to drop below the spider - and briefly pinning himself to the ground under the weight his weapon - before it started to flee, trees knocked aside by its charge. Returning the warhammer to his armory, he quickly got back to his feet before summoning his spadone and giving chase.

Into the Land of Twilight

Rezello

---

Placing a hand on the metal shaft of the golem's warhammer, the characteristic silver light of Rezello's Armory spell extended out from his palm and engulfed the weapon for a few seconds before seeping into it. He smiled at the first new addition to his collection, grabbing it and pulling it from the shattered stone grasp of the slain construct. Holding it in both hands, he gave the weapon a few swings as the others explored the next room, getting a feel for its weight. Meanwhile, Vesemir had brought a sealed scroll out of the workshop and into the library; Rezello hadn't seen him come in and begin reading the incantations written on it, but it was difficult not to notice the effect that they had on everyone nearby.

Deciding he had done enough practice for the moment, Rezello shouldered the warhammer and walked into the workshop to see the others looking at or discussing various weapons that had been stored within, with the occasional appearance of what seemed to be an arcane projection of an elf explaining the items. At one end of the workshop, Tillius had acquired a fine-looking partisan spear, while an ornate silver bow rested along the wall opposite. Rezello managed to catch the tail end of one discussion that at this point had involved most of the present members of the party, regarding a dagger and accompanying skull, both made of crystal, and the apparent difficulty in transporting it - some curse-like aura emanating from the skull, from the sound of it.

It was a pity Armory didn't work on magic items, or else Rezello could've held on to it that way. Then again, even if it did, there was always the chance that its interaction with cursed items would be... unpleasant.

Into the Land of Twilight

Rezello

---

Rezello barely made it in time, circling to find the golem from the side just as it passed by. A precise blow found the back of the knee, a familiar crimson lines spiderwebbing from the point of impact before it summarily frizzled and died. The resulting impact resounded in a satisfying dull thud, the metal striking stone and found it wanting.

The golem still continued forward, but an increasingly discordant grinding noise echoed from the joint and at the third step something snapped. It stumbled, the damaged knee missed a beat and the following iced heel found the ground at an awkward angle, slipping uncontrollably instead of finding a measured landing.

It fell heavily onto its knee, one arm catching the ground to avoid fully dropping.

Rezello took a step back from the golem as the impact of his attack took effect; though the outer shell initially remained intact, the concussive force of the blow resonating within had evidently damaged some internal mechanism as the struck leg stumbled and ground itself into a collapse. Before he had even readied another attack, the foreign swordsman burst towards the golem, emanating some unknown, malignant force; whatever power it was that burned within him, he transferred it to his curved blade before plunging it through the golem's torso. Though the 'wound' left behind from the attack was small, the internal damage it had caused - and continued to cause - was evident enough.

As the golem crackled out some distorted verbage, the damage it had taken rendering its speech incomprehensible, more attacks made their way to the golem. A flurry of arrows into its exposed internals from Roxas, a spray of misted frost from Fia, a thrown javelin from Tillius, and a rush to strike from Carnatia.

A moment of prescience willed Carnatia to duck really low, an instinctual reaction from her combat experience as the mirror images charged forward. A titanic counterblow whipped mere inch over her form, passing through the illusory fighters and the pillar they used as cover, shrapnel of stone and gravel loudly bouncing off Rezello's armored form.

Rezello lifted an armored hand to cover the exposed portion of his face from the incoming shattered stone; the rest of him was protected well enough to prevent the shards of rock from doing any serious damage, but it didn't take much force for a direct blow to the head to knock someone out, or worse. Coincidentally, the golem had, in the meantime, taken a pair of strikes to the head; one magic-dispelling thrust from Carnatia's rapier that fragmented its glowing crystal eye, and a powerful shot from Gray Flame's bow that had shattered it completely.

Despite the damage, magic energy continued to build up throughout the golem, some managing to bypass the hole in its torso while the rest spilled out in sparks and flames. Roxas put up her barrier, the edge of which just managing to reach Rezello as it engulfed roughly half of the party, Fia making her way into the barrier after taking an avian form. Of the four that remained outside, Carnatia was the least protected against what came next; she rushed the golem, landing a decisive blow on the golem's head.

Though it could no longer build up energy, it still had enough charged to release a powerful beam attack, the shattered fragments of its crystal eye producing a labyrinth of fragmented energy blasts, several of which briefly struck Carnatia before being intercepted by the recovered Engelbert, his armor absorbing the magic attack as he threw the golem to the ground and held it there under his boot until what energy it had left was extinguished. The guardian of the workshop lie defeated, body mangled and reserves drained.

As the dust of battle settled, Roxas went to heal the wounds Carnatia had received from the golem's final assault, Tillius offering something to her, presumably the healing-enhancing brooch they had found in the abandoned home before. Meanwhile, Fia went to extinguish the flames that had engulfed one of the bookshelves. Rezello released his weapon back into his armory, its form engulfed by a flash of silver light before disappearing. He stepped over to the 'corpse' of the golem, inspecting the warhammer it carried; if none of the others objected, and it didn't carry any lifespan-enhancing enchantments or other such magics that would prevent it from entering his Armory, he considered taking the heavy weapon for himself.

"Are we cataloguing this library, or shall we move to the next room? I recall daytime is allegedly quite dangerous here, we dont have that much time." Said the knight at their boss, sword now secured where it belong. Sunrise was still a few hours away, but there's a lot of books to go through not to mention more potential security measures. His attention momentarily shifted to the golem. "We can probably borrow the hammer to force entry if the door isn't opening."

"Probably better to finish what we came here for and decide on that afterwards," Rezello commented, looking around. "Wouldn't want to end up encountering another surprise or two and exceed our limit." As much as he wanted to scour the collection for information - it was his reason for joining the party, after all - acquiring the knowledge he was pursuing would be pointless if it meant dying in Lasse.

Into the Land of Twilight

Rezello

---

The morning star swung true, smashing the Captain's helmeted head and sending his already bent posture to slam down against the paved ground. The morning star's protruding spikes penetrated the metal helmet, and for a while, remained stuck on the captain's head until Rezello yanked it free.

It felt real; the impact, the recoil, the sensation when the spike hit the captain's head. The feeling when you were sure that man's head was already caved in like a watermelon. Yet, no trace of blood could be seen as the captain lay unmoving before him, and then for a while, all Rezello could hear was the cacophony of dark whispering that suddenly intensified, voiced by begrudging, shadowy spectators.

As if conforming, That the blow was fatal, the captain was dead, and there was no mistake in that.

Rezello stared down at the corpse of the captain as he pulled his weapon from its crushed head, its spiked end showing no traces of the flesh and bone it had shattered. His focus on the body was soon broken by the sound of the whispers that surrounded him, and as he turned to join the others - who had just finished off their own group of attackers - the burning city around them was flooded with light. The whispers faded as the glow engulfed everything around them, and as quickly as it had enveloped their surroundings, the light disappeared and the party returned to reality, with wounds and fatigue the only evidence of their clash with the phantoms.

While Vesemir checked on the returned, Gray Flame suggested they press on, his warnings of fading respite quickly evidenced by the sudden howling of winds, upon which travelled otherworldly moans that seemed to eminate from the nearby buildings. Without hesitation or question, the party moved forward, making their way through the ruins towards their goal. as they moved out of the denser sections of the city ruins, the presence of the shadow-phantoms seemed to thin, restricting themselves to the interiors of the abandoned buildings that lined their path. After some time, they reached the library.

This ought to be interesting. There were rumors of the hidden contents of Lasse's library even in my time, but I never had the opportunity to look into them myself.

As the party - minus Forbann, who remained behind to guard the entrance - made their way through the building, Vesemir began another speech, recalling events surrounding the invasion of the city by the prince of Isrion and his attempt to assault the library while civillians took refuge in its walls. Rezello recalled something he had learned in his youth - Isrion, one of the old human kingdoms prior to the unification that created Westernant. Scheel was built on lands that were once part of Isrion; recalling the phantom captain's accusation that he was a traitor, he wondered if there could've been some connection between the two, or if it was merely a coincidence.

That train of thought was broken when the party reached a locked door, which Vesemir opened with a small, thin rectangle; some form of key - enchanted, most likely - of a design Rezello was unfamiliar with. The door opened to a large chamber that was in remarkable condition, given the length of time it must have gone neglected. At the opposite end of the room, guarding a doorway that seemed to be their destination, stood a statue of an imposing armored knight, wielding a warhammer of solid steel. A single crystal was mounted in the center of its unusual helmet, resembling a single eye, and as the party discussed how to deal with it, the crystal lit up, a combination of magic and intricate mechanisms coming to life as the golem awoke.

Ah, a golem. Classic defense construct. I'd let the others focus on the precision strikes against that crystal, and as long as its attention is focused on your companions, put your strength to good use and try to find some openings in its defenses to break through before it slaughters all of you.

With a flash of light, Rezello's bec de corbin was once more in his grasp, turned so as to strike with its hammer head. As the spirit in his mask advised him on what to do, he had already begun moving to circle behind the stone warrior while its attention moved between Carnatia's illusions, Engelbert, and Fia. "As long as its focus is elsewhere", he spoke, winding up his weapon for a swing, "I'm going to try to find a vulnerability to exploit." Though he knew little about fighting golems, he knew plenty about fighting armored humanoids, and if the exposed areas of plate armor translated to weak points in the golem's physical defenses, the back of the knee would make for a suitable opening. With one leg already slowed by Fia's frost magic, he aimed his strike at the knee of the other.

Into the Land of Twilight

Rezello

---

The deflection by Rezello was perfectly timed, the Captain had his arm raised above his target, leaving a gap in his armor under his armpit exposed. The blunder was quickly identified, but not quickly rectified, and as he was about to retreat from his awkward stance, a swing from a spiked heavy mace crushed his right ribs.

The sheer force from the blow pushed the dark captain sideways, stopping his advance, and now he was retreating, staggering to gain some distance, left hand clutching his crushed ribs. His red eyes were still fixated on the goblin-masked knight. Huffing and grunting as he struggled to keep himself from falling.

He still clutching his sword with his right hand, yet his posture was crooked. He was just two strides from Rezzelo's striking range, and clearly vulnerable.

Rezello straightened his posture after his riposte struck true, watching as his phantom opponent was forced back and his resulting struggle to maintain his balance as he made an attempt to retreat. In his current state, Rezello could potentially leave the wounded captain behind and join the others against his subordinates, but there was no guaranteeing that he wouldn't push past the pain of his shattered bones and attempt to muster a final stand, or have some kind of hidden trick; a last resort to use against them if left alive - for what measure of "alive" he could even be considered.

Better, Rezello reasoned, not to leave any loose ends. Advancing towards the captain, messer angled and ready to block any desperate attacks he might try with his longsword, Rezello raised his morningstar in the air and swiftly brought it down upon his staggered enemy's helm.

Into the Land of Twilight

Rezello

---

Should Rezello look back to face the fallen rider, he would find him immediately crawling all four like a dazed beast, while his horse, still awkwardly trotting, mindlessly rushed into the profound darkness behind him and gone.

Two red eyes of his stared fiercely at Rezello, and he abandoned his bloodied hatchet for a longsword that rang as he drew it from his side. Then, with sheer hatred, he lunged forth, uttering words in a fashion that was more similar to shrieking and hissing rather than speaking.

There he cried: "Traitor! Here, your fate will be sealed!"

The strike was coming, wide yet powerful, seemingly intended to decapitate Razello with a single swing.

Rezello felt the magic flow through him as the surge of electricity stunned the captain and his steed; with his opponent dismounted, their primary advantage over him had been taken away. As the captain lunged, a powerful but clearly telegraphed slash incoming, Rezello's weapon flashed sliver as he swung what was now a messer in his off-hand to deflect the captain's longsword up and over his head, shifting his stance to put as much distance between the blade's trajectory and his neck as he reasonably could.

Continuing the momentum of his parry and dodge, Rezello moved his other hand - now wielding his morningstar - to strike at the captain, his weapon seeking the gap in armor between the torso and underarm.

Into the Land of Twilight

Rezello

---

With the purpose of their detour into Lasse revealed, Rezello took some time to remove his armor and prepare his weapons for the coming venture. Combat was something they'd be looking to avoid, but it was always pragmatic to be ready for it. When his work on his equipment was complete, he lied down to rest, getting what sleep he could before night arrived.

Rezello awoke to another dinner cooked by Engelbert, consuming his share of the meal before donning his armor as the others completed whatever preparations they had left before their excursion into Lasse. Soon, the party set out onto the main road once more, this time on foot; Vesemir took the lead, wielding a lantern carrying a flame that seemed just barely bright enough to light the pathways underneath them. The night was quiet as they walked, the silence broken only by the sounds of their footsteps, the metal plates and rings of armor gliding against each other, the occasional rustling of loose equipment; the ambience of a march typically drowned out by background noise, accentuated by the cold air that surrounded them.

Some time passed before the silence was broken by Vesemir, the light of his lantern intensifying as it illuminated the ruins they had just arrived in. As its aura repelled the darkness around them, silhouettes of shadow remained, forms twisted in agony as they faintly cried out. Heeding the warnings of Gray Flame and Vesemir, Rezello tried to maintain his focus on the lantern the latter carried, though his attention was ultimately taken when its light revealed a massive tree before them with several corpses - or phantoms of corpses - hanging from its branches.

Realizing too late what he was looking upon, his vision was filled with a flash of white as he tried to avert his gaze. As it faded and his sight returned to him, what was once silent darkness surrounding the party had become engulfed in the mixed crimson and scarlet of fire and blood. A group of men stood beneath the tree, cackling as they admired the carnage. Gray Flame and Vesemir had vanished, but the light of the torch remained, the path between it and those who had been pulled into this illusory reality barred by the corpse-makers.

Nanashi and Carnatia were the first to act, the former rushing past the soldiers and into the light at incredible speed while the latter moved more cautiously, drawing her rapier in preparation for an attack that never came. Another figure had also appeared, a horse-riding captain, who seemed not to notice her as she slipped past him and into the light. Those remaining, however, were not so lucky.

While making her way around the soldiers along with Tillius and Fia, it seemed Roxas had become injured. Some form of healing magic had been used on her in response to the wound, though it didn't appear to be her doing. The work of one of the party members outside the illusion, perhaps? Regardless of the cause, the light that had engulfed her as a result of the spell had drawn the attention of the captain and his soldiers; while the soldiers moved to attack Roxas, Tillius, and Fia, the captain charged on his horse towards Rezello and Forbann, wielding a blood-stained hatchet. Rezello held out a hand, a long line of silver light manifesting in his grasp before changing into his bec de corbin, the knight lowering himself into a defensive stance as he readied to counter the captain's assault, streaks of lightning magic running down his arms and into his weapon.

Into the Land of Twilight

Rezello

---

"I did hear what had happened to the city of Scheel yes, though as you did not bring it up yourself, I suppose it's neither here nor there. Regardless, I recognised your armour, it's gladdening to have a knight of the famous Sten Corps with us for this expedition."

At least one member of the party knew of Scheel, it seemed. Her comment about the "famous" Sten Corps came as a bit of a surprise to Rezello; he wasn't aware they had such a reputation, though given most of his time in Westernant outside of Scheel was spent traveling across the untamed frontier and the bulk of his adventuring years in Varenheim, perhaps it was one limited to the parts of Westernant he hadn't visited.

The foreign swordsman was the last to introduce himself, having at some point changed from his ragged travel clothes and half-mask into an ornate black article of clothing, a style of robe Rezello was unfamiliar with. He spoke of things and in terms equally unknown, but if he was even half as capable as he claimed to be in the parts that Rezello did understand, his versatility would no doubt prove invaluable.

Meanwhile, Tillius had gone upstairs to check on Roxas and Vesemir. Truly, he was the bravest among them. Given that he didn't immediately return, Rezello figured that he was either handling the situation well, or had already been struck down for his efforts. Whatever his fate may have been, the topic of the trinkets soon came up again. Vesemir emerged from the stairs shortly after, suggesting that it was only right for them to take them... and leaving a substantial-looking sack of coins atop the mantlepiece as a form of payment. As much as not taking freely available magic items seemed a waste, none of them were of particular use to Rezello so he decided to leave the dilemma to those that would actually get something out of them.

With that matter seemingly settled for the moment, the others still downstairs had begun discussing bathing orders - with some overlap in the turns being suggested by their newest member. If light could pass through the gaps in Rezello's mask, the edges of a slight smile might have been visible in response to the reactions - or lack thereof, in Forbann's case - of her proposed partners. Adventurers were as varied as they come, but such interactions - made in jest or otherwise - seemed almost inevitable whenever substantial enough parties formed. Perhaps not always so quickly, though.

While those conversations were happening, Vesemir had unfurled a large map on the table in the middle of the room. Announcing a detour, he pointed out some eastward ruins that they would be passing through before continuing on their way to Nuria.

The ruins of Lasse? I... interesting.

Interesting? How?

It's... well, nevermind it for now. Do your thing, plunder ruins, I'll tell you if it becomes... relevant.

As quickly as it had emerged again, the presence of the spirit of the mask disappeared from Rezello's mind. Trying to pry more information out of it would be useless - he had tried plenty of times in the past, and nothing he could do could compel it to speak to him if it did not intend to.

With their plans for the morrow established, Engelbert set out to procure them a meal. After a surprisngly short time of waiting - briefly interrupted by the discovery of kitchen rot and relocation of meal preparation - the great Chef-Knight, Vanquisher of the Vegetable Vanguard and Bane of the Beef Brigade, returned with the spoils of war: stew and hardtack. Perhaps a simpler meal in a more civilized setting, but compared to typical travel rations it might as well have been indulging in a banquet. The lower half of Rezello's mask moved with his jaw as he ate, allowing him to do so unimpeded without removing it. Despite the increased size in the gaps while doing so, which should have allowed at least some light in, the lower half of Rezello's face remained fully obscured in shadow, stew and hardtack seemingly disappearing into a black void.

As Gray Flame pointed out the firewood in the kitchen, he nodded in thanks; though his flame did not require a substantial amount of magic energy to continue burning, it did require him to remain conscious. Taking a few pieces of firewood, he set them within the cyan flame before holding out an open palm towards it. With a twist of his hand, the flame turned white, the previously pristine chunks of wood now starting to char as the flame gained the property of ignition; closing his palm, he extinguished its magic, the white flames flickering out of existence as they left behind an ordinary, mundane wood fire. Finding a place near the fireplace to sleep, Rezello removed his armor, stacking it in a pile nearby.

---

In the morning, Rezello awoke as breakfast was ready; donning his half-plate and brigandine once more, he quickly ate before climbing onto one of the available wagons, watching the path ahead of them as they continued on their journey. The next day or so was mostly uneventful, save the wood carving that Roxas gifted him - a charm for her shielding spell, apparently, carved in the same shape as the pendant he wore.

Soon enough, they reached what must have been the true border of the Twilight Lands, a thick wall of woodland pierced only by the road they traveled on, which despite everything was in good condition. Maintained by some sort of magic, surely; any mundane construction would have been engulfed by the surrounding vegetation after seventeen centuries of neglect. The caravan continued on until their horses could progress no further, moving to take one final stop in a nearby glade before they reached the ruins of Lasse.

As Rezello took in their surroundings, a particular chestnut tree caught his attention; he could've sworn he had seen the same tree earlier, though given the caravan had been following a road with neither loops nor forks he reasoned it must have been his imagination. Before he thought too much on it, however, Vesemir announced his intent to journey into the nearby ruins that night. While nighttime excursions were hardly a rarity among adventurers, it was usually for the purpose of infiltration, theft, or other such things requiring stealth. Exploring ancient ruins was not typically among that set of actions. Engelbert was the first to express confusion, with Gray Flame providing an answer that ultimately raised more questions than it had settled.

As if to provide a distraction from "the Phantom", Carnatia raised the question of the unusual tree. Gray Flame seemed all too eager to provide an explanation for that question and pointed out that it was not a case of illusionary magic, with Fia joining in on observing the tree. He had Carnatia repeat some sort of incantation, which upon doing so revealed the tree's true nature as an Ent. While Carnatia and Fia itneracted with it, Gray Flame returned to Vesemir's side, elaborating further on the Phantom that he had mentioned before. Creatures more visible at night, infesting the ruins. Given the way he talked about avoiding them, likely not something they would survive a hostile confrontation with unscathed.

Into the Land of Twilight

Rezello

---

Rezello stood and moved to rest his weight against the nearby wall, giving a nod as the others expressed their gratitude for the flame now burning within the fireplace. Introductions began soon after, initiated by Engelbert, and followed by the red/orange-haired noblewoman. Shortly after Carnatia's introduction, the elven woman who had spent much of the cart ride playing a flute emerged from upstairs with an armful of various items, apparently having done some investigating. Tensions stirred up as Engelbert questioned her motives for doing so, clearly causing the elven woman offense, unaided by Fia's quip about "looting" the seemingly abandoned home. Something in the stack of items had apparently caught the veteran knight's eye, as he had moved with Gray Flame to another room to converse about something.

After Forbann got his introduction out, describing himself as a "ferromancer" - a form of magic that Rezello was unfamiliar with, though it sounded like a powerful and versatile art - Gray Flame returned with Engelbert following, chastizing Roxas. Though he offered a chance to explain herself, it was evident that she was having none of it. Meanwhile, the party's latest arrival and their youngest member introduced themselves, a sorceress and an artificer, respectively. The latter also revealed herself to originate from Helvetia, a country Rezello had heard much about in regards to its technological progress, which explained the strange looking weapon that she carried in addition to her rapier.

Rezello watched as Eve focused on the elven blade and the items Roxas had collected, analyzing and describing each. The sword, one of a set along with its twin mounted above the fireplace, bore a simple enchantment of durability; a useful feature, though not tempting enough to Rezello to consider taking, especially as the enchantment would render it incompatible with his own magic. The other items, as expected, were mostly mundane trinkets, and of the two that held magic properties, only one of them struck him as something that would have been worthwhile to take with them. Almost immediately after they were identified, Roxas collected them with a swipe of her arms, providing a particularly brief introduction before marching back upstairs, Vesemir - who had just moments ago entered the room - following shortly after.

The orcish warrior introduced himself next, a former officer of Westernant's military. A veteran of the battlefield; while such experience did not always translate directly to the conditions of adventuring, it would certainly prove invaluable for a group as unusually large as theirs was - especially if any other more last-minute stragglers decided to show up. Meanwhile, Fia and Carnatia had begun pressing Gray Flame about a secret he seemed to be hiding; some knowledge or insight into two of the items that Roxas had found, a pair of pictures.

Shifting his weight as he took a step forward, Rezello began his own introduction. "I suppose I'll go next. My name is Rezello Fulsteel-Ashton. I was trained as a knight in the city of Scheel, in the northern frontier of Westernant. For those of you know, well, you know, and for those of you who don't... in the interest of time, it's not a story I'll go into now. Suffice to say, as of ten years ago I am no longer in service of the city. As for my capabilities, in addition to my martial abilities," he holds out a hand, a silver light tracing a line outwards from it before becoming a spadone greatsword in his grasp, "I have some... limited ability to use magic."

The sword is engulfed in silver light once more, shifting downwards in his hand before disappearing to reveal the sword has been replaced by a bec de corbin. "Aside from this spell, and the flame I produced earlier," The polearm shifts into light again, the line of silver splitting in two and one of the halves quickly moving into Rezello's free hand, the line in his left hand becoming a messer sword and the one in his right a morningstar, "I can also encase myself in a shell of lightning and resist being moved against my will." His weapons turned into light one last time before fading away, returning to the pocket dimension the armory spell stored them in.

Into the Land of Twilight

Rezello

---

With a speech from Vesemir and a quick dismantling of the camp, the expedition had officially begun. Rezello took his place in the caravan, sitting in the second wagon; he watched as civilization gave way to wilderness, the forest engulfing the convoy before long. Though he had spent much of his early life living near the Twilight Forest, he had never dared venture within; the people of Scheel knew all too well the danger that lie across the waters of the Leize. So far, though, the forest almost seemed peaceful.

As if the mere thought of it had jinxed them, the initial calm quickly gave way to storm, and with the passage of time it only grew worse. Rezello pulled the hood of his cloak on over his head, watching the skies; it didn't take long for grey to give way to rain, and rain to thunder. The caravan soon was headed back towards a house they had passed recently; while such weather didn't normally bother Rezello, the intensity of the storm was beyond any that he had experienced in the past. Besides, even in a weaker storm these would have been no conditions for carts and horses, and there was no way he was going to separate from the group this early on.

When they arrived at the house, Gray Flame and Vesemir were the first to the door, checking for occupants before letting himself and the rest of the group inside. Taking a moment to wring out what water he could from his cloak before entering, he gave the living room he found himself in a cursory look-around before making his way over to the empty fireplace; some of the others, including a scarlet-dressed woman who had apparently entered shortly after him, were discussing the lack of wood. Kneeling in front of the opening, he loosely clasped his hands together, concentrating arcane energy in the space between his palms. "Don't worry about the wood. There's no need for it," he spoke, opening his hands to release a concentrated, cyan-colored flame that quickly expanded to fill the fireplace.