Kor Secret-Fire's Story

"Eeuugh"

That was almost a word. The hangover, it seemed, was getting better.

Kor Secret-Fire contemplated life as he lay face down in what he prayed was the mud of the stables. His head was trying to burst, his stomach seemed to be brewing fresh vomit and his tongue felt at least two or three sizes bigger than it should have been. Something unpleasantly damp was lying across his head, flapping soggily in the morning breeze.

"Bleeeaagrh..." he muttered, in an almost conversational tone to the ground. Despite his current condition, Kor smiled mentally. He knew today would be a good day. After all, three facts lay firmly in his throbbing mind. Firstly his innate defenses against poison had not only allowed him to win the drinking contest, but were quickly working away, getting the alcohol out of his system. Secondly, he had finally reached the source of the rumours he'd been hearing. New warlord, new venture, lasting peace for all. Such things were always too good to be true, but Kor was always drawn to them like a moth to a flame. Finally, and of all things, most importantly, he had avoided paying for any of the many, many drinks he had consumed the night previously.

Kor inhaled deeply and instantly regretted it as his stomach protested. The hay filled stench of horse dung lay heavy in the air, mixed with the sharp tang of vomit and at the very least, four other unpleasant smells which he did not want to identify. Steeling himself, he cracked one eye open. Then, puzzled, the other. He wondered stoically if this time he had actually, literally drunk himself blind. His vision was... beige.

Slowly, realisation dawned upon him and he reached toward his face and removed the wet velum pamphlet that was stuck to his face. MISTAKE! Daylight flooded intrusively into his milky white eyes and spurned to sudden action, he rolled and threw his arm up to shield himself from the sun. "ffffuuuuuuu..." He hissed, and pushed himself into a sitting position. Glancing down at the pamphlet in his hands, he found it soiled almost to the point of unreadability. Thankfully, enough was legible for Kor to make out that not only did the velum relate to the tales he'd been chasing, but was an official call to muster. "This is my lucky day!" he exclaimed to the onlooking horse in a stage whisper "I have my introduction!". The horse did not reply.

Pausing only to dunk his head in the rain barrel and again to vomit, almost daintily into some hay, Kor set out from the stables and soon was passing beneath the trees of the nearby forest. Before long, he found himself approaching the main doors of an imposing castle tower, where a lost young girl looked to be asking for directions. Stifling a yawn he parked himself a short distance behind the girl and waited for the attentions of the doorkeeper with the startling colour eyes.

Dasin raised her head from the crude map she had been inspecting, drawn by Yuki when she had told him to go and do something useful. He'd drawn it from his tower, detailing the area around the castle. It wasn't that it was bad map, just she didn't see how it would be of much use. Things changed so often in their world with towns being built and destroyed so often no-one really ever bothered to draw them anymore. There was bunch of them sitting in the stores from the old days, but Dasin reckoned they would be more use as kindling for the snows than actually giving them information.

"Then maybe you should have called one" she said evenly, Charnel wasn't her favorite conversation partner but he was the most useful in this aspect. They often went for days without speaking to one another, each working in their own way to achieve their goal. "We can't sit here like this much longer, the flyers and the rumors we spread" she noted "It's going to start getting the attention we want but..." she sighed, she had hoped for a few more powerful warriors than they had gotten. They had gotten a few volunteers, fit for no more than guard duty and cannon fodder. If they were attacked by stronger foes they were dead in the water. "We need to increase our strength" she said finally pushing the two sheets of paper over to Charnel.

They were detailed in a writing they had developed themselves over the years, the first detailing a request by the village to the west asking for help with a goblin horde. "Sounds like Hobs" she commented. Hobs were a type of goblin, small and annoying and little problem for the likes of the staff of Castle Yuki on a one to one situation. The problem with Hobs is that they all traveled in groups and could overwhelm people easily. Nasty little things who loved destruction, especially blowing things up. "We could gain allies of the village, a few more people to man the walls, access to stores and merchants and apparently the Hobs have dug something up. Then the other, a Water Magi request, sent it to me in an orb". Dasin had received a message in an orb of water from an unknown Magi yesterday night. The paper detailed an argument between two Magi, one had stolen something from the other and he wanted it back 'under any circumstances', the payment was anything you could take from the Magi your were stealing from. "If we accept this one he'll send details of where to go and a way in without notice. What are your thoughts?"



Yuki peered at the young girl questionable. It seemed rather odd that a little girl would want to fight. He pondered at how she had come to be here and what had she suffered to get to this door. He was rather surprised by her blazing eye colour, but quickly decided he liked them. As an owner of an odd pair himself he liked seeing others the same. Blinking down at her he wondered what to say and then Dasin's words came to him.

"I believe the correct honorific is "Lord" not Sir" he commented with a grin, looking up to see a running Ghostman come towards them. He had always liked Ghostman, having traded with the caravans before. Formidable fighters too, Yuki didn't doubt he also want to join. He offered the gentle man a soft smile as a welcome. "Oh!" he said softly, he had been on the way to the war room. And it wouldn't do to keep Dasin waiting, she'd gotten quite bossy the last few months. Without saying another word he turned and walked towards the war room, seeing Dasin and Charnel he smiled strolling up to them. Never did it enter his mind that in this fortress that he had just left the door wide open for the recruits to let themselves in, and this somehow might be a bad idea.

Aiden growled as the man turned away and left. She was not a little girl she was serious about fighting but......she wasnt sure if she should show them all what she could do. Aiden turned to see a Ghostman not to far away from her. Her was looking down at her to, most likely thinking she was a small lost girl to. Aiden's infamous temper was starting to boil high. They thought she was weak, pathetic just like everyone else did. She hated being under estimated, it majorly ticked her off. Dark clouds started to gather over the castle, loud thunder cracking loudly. A large gust of wind blew hard as rain started to pour from the sky, lightning and thunder sounded loudly. Aiden's blazing gold eyes changed to a brilliant orange, her large canines lengthening until to pressed into her plump bottom lip. Rain soaked through her clothes wetting her burning skin, making steam roll off her in large clouds.

Calm down! She commanded herself. She has never been easily angered but the memories of all the people whom have scorn against flashed through her mind. If she didn't calm down soon she knew she would hear the tell tale cracking of her spine, a sign of her tail wanting to grow but she wouldn't let herself get that far.

"My Lord I am no small child, i could greatly benefit your cause" Aiden's voice was slightly growly but she kept it as stoic as she could. She didnt want to step into the Castle, it wasn't her domain so she had no right to enter. Dragons were very respectful when it came to each other's territory. Aiden became alerted when she heard the pounding of heavy feet against the earth and she shot around the see the same three hunter's exit the forest, the dark hounds growling and snapping at her.

"There you are Dragon!" the Red headed male Hunter snarled as he let his hounds off their leashes. The beast's charged forward two stopping at the Ghostman but the other four charged at Aiden, large pearly teeth flashing as another bolt of lightning crack.

"I can't catch a break" Aiden growled silently to herself as the beasts neared.

"Dragon?" Kor glanced wildly towards the sky. While no dragon appeared in evidence, there was something odd about the sudden shift in weather. "Bizarre, it was sunny a mo-" His observation suddenly was cut off by the force of an angry dog barreling into his chest. With reactions born from years of combat he twisted, sending the hound careening off him and into the dirt. As the rest of the pack came bounding down the trail, Kor cupped his hands together to summon a stream of dust to cloud their eyes.

Nothing happened. "Bloody rain" he cursed as the fat drops pouring down prevented the dust from reaching most of the hounds. Four scarpered past him towards the little girl, while the remaining one advanced, growling as it blinked and shook its head violently. Kor slid his scimitar from its battered sheath. He had no real wish to kill the dog, but if he was to save the little girl from the pack there was not much choice. Ghost and dog leaped towards each other. A flash of steel, a spray of blood, a strangled yelp. The hounds head rolled in the dirt as Kor watched in distaste, spun on his heel and pelted to the girl's aid, blade glinting.

The first dog, forgotten, picked itself up, shook, and then raced after him.

Aiden growled loudly as she unsheathed her sword, channeling heat into the blade until it glowed brightly then in a flash the blade was covered in the bright red blood of the now dead hounds. Her eyes deepened to a blood red as her fangs passed her bottom lip and her nails sharpened. Sheathing the blade, Aiden removed her black gloves as her nails lengthened from delicate to deadly.

Her inner dragon craved the split blood, wanting more. The dark part of her mind flashed images and memories of her past, the anger she felt, the rage, the feelings of just having enough of everyone calling her weak. She didnt need help. The storm grew wider and worsened with her boiling anger, her eyes flashing over to the Ghostman whom seemed to be coming over to help her. Help she didnt need.....nor want. Then everything seemed to go quiet as a loud crack echoed through the tree's. No it wasnt thunder. It was the sound of Aiden's spine lengthening, her skin breaking and a long, deep blood red tail ripped through her clothes. The bone white spikes were coated in blood as Aiden suppressed the urge to scream and cry in pain.

NO! it wasnt meant to get that far! The last time she popped her tail......well she couldn't remember all she knew was everyone was dead afterwards. Her wings struggled against the tape she had put around them, wanting to spring to life, her bodies nature urges pushing her forward.

Shit, no.

In seconds Aiden had the hearts of each of the Hunters in her hands. It was her way of killing them quickly for she had done it so many times before. But she knew more of them would always come. Her blood lust subsided as her tail receded back into her body, her features going back to normal but instead of her normal gold eyes Aiden's eyes were an bright ocean blue as she through the hearts onto the ground. The rain poured from the sky, washing away the blood.

Yuki grinned at Charnel as he came up to him. He had always liked the Lich and felt even if he fell that the necromancer would continue his work, he did seem highly motivated. Both Dasin and Charnel did alot of the work around the castle, Yuki's main job being to stay calm and provide an intimating presence when required for the past few years. It seems even the words 'Demon Lord' were enough to keep smaller bandits away. "Yes, I agree." he said almost at once. The goblins did sound a lot more manageable.

"Dasin can you contact the Magi, tell him we are contracted but we will be accepting his quest. More information...would be nice" he said with an inward smirk. Both dreading and relishing the chance to leave the fort and do battle. The goblins should be the perfect test for him.



As Charnel spoke with Yuki, Dasin took note of the odd weather that came and went quickly. 'Great, exactly what we need is an immature Magi' she said to herself. Though as the men spoke she became aware of noises that were drifting down the hall. Battle noises? In the Castle? She walked slowly to the door of the war room, unsheathing her scythe from her back restraints and Yuki gave her commands. "Of course my Lord" she answered completely distracted by the possibility that someone had broken into the fortress. Peering her head around the corner carefully she saw at once that the front door was wide open. And the source of the stuggle appeared to be on their doorstep though no-one had yet entered.

Dasin took a second to take a deep breath before turning around and giving Yuki a scathing look. That idiot had done this, she could tell by the stupid look on his face as the realization seemed to dawn on him. "We shall speak about this later!" she said hurriedly and ran to the front door. The sight was one to behold. Rain washed down in the sky as a woman, who clearly would had been covered in blood if not for the downpour, and a ghost man stood in the rain. The man at least looked perplexed. She turned her head as a lone living death hound attempted to jump at her, and with a whirl of her scythe it was living no more.

Stepping out into the rain she looked upon the devastation outside the door. They had almost certainly been Hunter's, what with the hounds, an educated guessed told her it was the girl they had been after not one of the nomadic GhostFolk. She strolled up to her keeping a few feet away, but in range of the scythe, the rain pouring from her horns, her face set like ice. "You brought death to our door." she said slowly, evenly, her magic mark ached as it did when it was being used around her. "And a storm so it seems. So what exactly am I to do with a wanted and possible unstable young woman like yourself? You do realize we have a demon lord in these walls? I do not require having to keep an eye on a second." The girl clearly had power, but it was up to Dasin to weigh up the pros and cons, Yuki was already something they needed to prepare for, an erratic teen was something they could do without. "Give me one good reason to invite you into my hall, both of you." her voice was thick with displeasure, similar to a mother giving out to her children for having done something stupid. But nothing was going to stop them from uniting this world, she was determined to slay any in their way.



"Ah yes" he muttered quietly as he suddenly remembered. "Charnel, we have new recruits" he said beaming down at the Lich.

Charnel stared at the young lord for a few seconds. "...Why you didn't think that that wasn't important, I will never know. Is that fighting?" (when Dasin killed the last dog) He said, getting up and investigating. He turned into the bloody mess. "Oh dear..." The blood wasn't what surprised him, oh no. He's seen enough of that in his lifetime. But the young woman standing there, holding the hearts of several men in her hands, when it looked like she ripped them straight from the rib cage... That took some serious strength.

"Give me on good reason to invite you into my hall, both of you." Charnel realized that Dasin was talking, and barely caught what she said. He shook his head.

"Perhaps an explanation is in order before you jump to conclusions. And perhaps you have forgotten that death is sleeping inside the walls anyway?" He said, referring to himself. It would be unwise to anger such a powerful creature, especially when it can rip through bones as easily as it just did. He turned to her. "What exactly happened out here?" Charnel said. He was ignoring the ghost man, mostly because he didn't look that interesting.

Two guards stood outside a minor fortress, staring out into the ink-black night. Their prince was locked away safely inside, which was exactly where they wanted him to be. The guards were patrolling the area around the gate, making sure that there would be no rival lord attempting to gain any sort of power or edge with an attack during the night--there were plenty of those that would send an army to take this little small parcel of land, they knew. Roving nobodies, organized hordes, even the crazies as they called them had all taken a shot at trying to seige the castle, but it was all for naught. The defenses were rather strong, after all--it had taken two generations of builders to build and fortify the walls to the strength that they were today.

The guards wandered about on their patrol, oblivious to the figure that was scaling the wall behind them. It stuck to the shadows, almost blending into the scenery as the patrol passed overhead. The figure paused momentarily on its climb, taking a quick second to wriggle in place before moving on ahead further up the wall. In the moonlight, one could make out one, two, even three slender chitinous legs quickly gliding up the wall.

Idle chatter from above, from between the patrolling guardsmen. The figure heard it pass its position before it climbed over the edge of the fortification. Quickly scuttling behind them, it bent over and bit down on the neck of one guard, leaving two sizable marks with a drop of sickly-green liquid sizzling quietly on his flesh. A second later, the guard seized and fell over, twitching slightly and eyes somewhat glazed over. His partner pulled out his weapon, whirling around with weapon drawn and hoping to find whatever had caused his partner so much pain. Behind him, however, was nothing but the wind and the sky.

"Sh-Show yourself, f-fiend!" The chill in the air was either finally getting to him, or he was scared out of his mind. He did not notice, however, the tail end of a monstrous creature barely poking out from behind the wall he was supposed to be protecting. With a near-silent thwip, a long strand of what appeared to be silk stuck to the guard's ankle, followed by another and another until several dozen strands seemed to coalesce themselves into a rope. By the time he looked down to see what was happening, he was pulled to the floor and dragged off the top of the wall in a screaming fit.

"Shh... Keep quiet or she'll eat you..." a soft feminine voice cut through the darkness as the guard wriggled around from the rope around his ankle.

"W-W-What? Eat-t-t-t m-m-m-m-me!?" the guard's eyes grew wide as the figure of a young woman leaned out of the darkness. She appeared slender and pale-gray in the limited light, but there was something enchanting about her form, even with the dark hair covering her face save for one yellow eye and half of her smirk.

"W-What... are you?" the guard gasped, paling as two long slender legs emerged from the darkness--the legs of a massive spider. His jaw dropped as she pulled her hair back, revealing not one but four other yellow eyes staring intently at him.

"I am death."

The creature bit down on the guard's neck, feeling two fangs quickly pierce his flesh and inject the venom into his body. It would only take a few second to get the full effect she needed, but soon the guard was limp and seizing like his partner. She, however, was feeling rather peckish--it had been an entire day since she had eaten last. Besides, this lord had asked her to perform an assassination in his name and what had he done for her in return? Attempted to have her killed? No, she needed to send a message--killing him outright would never do... unless, of course, she was contracted to do so, then she would have fun with him...

The guard currently ensnared by her web was first to be completely encased in the stuff. Out of sight of any other guards, she stuck him up on the wall before biting into his neck once again and drinking the fluids that began spilling out from the open wound. After a few minutes of this macabre spectacle, the guard was completely drained of liquid, nothing more than a husk of petrified flesh and web. The guard she had bit before received the same treatment--why let a good meal go to waste?

With these husks completely drained, she made sure that they would be visible when the sun finally came up. Her deed complete, the creature scuttled back out into the wilderness, knowing full well which direction to go to find one Castle Yuki. One of her agents had informed her of rumors of a meeting of those that would wish to unite the world under one rule. If this was the case, why was she not invited? Perhaps they were afraid of her, which was completely logical--it's not every day that one meets with a drider, let alone one that runs one of the most successful assassins guilds in the land. She felt it time to make her presence known to whomever might be waiting for her there and let them know what they were getting themselves into without her there.

After travelling for another day and night (and also stopping to feed on another victim or two), the drider came to a rather imposing castle. She had heard that this place was run by a demon lord. She found this rather amusing--a creature of entropy and chaos was attempting to bring order to a world that had none. Did they think that it could be done? Regardless, she was here now, and the least she could do was to infiltrate--

Or perhaps she would not have to infiltrate after all. A group of creatures stood at the front gate of the castle, speaking to themselves as if in some sort of club. The smell of rain was in the air, but was there a storm that passed through here recently? It seemed so, but the drider had not seen anything like on her travels...

Regardless, she clambered up the side of the castle wall, out of sight of the others before crawling around the corner and merely waiting above the gate, observing the group and waiting for someone to announce her presence. If they did, she would probably be invited in--if not, then she could always sneak in after them...

Aiden stiffened when a female join them outside. She giggled quietly to herself seeing the fact this everyone is seeing her as a 'young' girl when really she was older then the lot of them.

"How about disarming your enemy with a creature they have never faced before?" Aiden said quietly. She knew she wasn't completely stable with the mix of her emotions and her powers but she wouldnt cause anyone trouble. In her species she was still only a hatchling. When another person join them, his voice much calmer and gentler then the woman's Aiden relaxed. If she was going to join them she needed to tell them the truth so they could trust her.

"Well you see.....umm......These Bounty Hunter's are some of many that are after my hide because i guess i'm worth alot to someone out there, I'm not wanted for being a bad person but for just existing in general. I guess my ancestry is legendary and powerful and i am the only one of my kind......i....i....i'm a.....d...dr..agon. And i had to kill these men or they would have tried to kill me and everyone else here" Aiden explained, she hated admitting what she was, she scared herself sometimes with the amount of power she possessed.

"My name is Aiden Hunter and i'm one-hundred and eighty years old and the only dragon to exist in the world" Aiden said softly but then her senses kicked in, feeling another person join them. The scent of blood and silk traveled into her nose and Aiden looked up to see a half woman half spider creature had joined them. Aiden's night vision saw her perfectly hidden in the shadows. Aiden's eyes shifted from blue to gold again.

"Hello up there" Aiden greeted the spider woman.

Kor kept his usual smile on his face as he wiped the blood from his sword. Inside he felt troubled. First the little girl turned into... something scaly. Now she was claiming to be a dragon. There were no dragons left in the world, all Ghostfolk knew this. And wasn't Aiden a boy's name?

Staying silently smiling, he listened to the others talk. Better to look amused and mysterious than say something stupid Kor decided. He had to make some sort of impression after that display, so he might as well try and not look completely outclassed.

Hearing the girl-thing call out a greeting, Kor followed her gaze. As his eyes fell upon the thing above the door, he strongly considered turning, walking through the forest and going home.

Remembering that he had no home to go to was probably the only thing to stop him. "Time to make an impression" he thought, and strode purposefully to the two figures in the door. Deliberately ignoring the monster girl beside him, and horrifying spider shape in the shadows above he went to one knee and presented his scimitar to the horned woman. "May blade and blood are bound to your cause" he intoned, offering the traditional opening of a Ghostfolk mercenary.

As he awaited a reply, he debated with himself whether he would regret her acceptance.

Her brow furrowed as she felt the starting of a new and violent headache. Just an hour ago she had been fretting that they were not strong enough and now she was surrounded by what she could only call powerful idiots. She absently wondered if they were more trouble than they were worth but threw the notion from her head quickly, Dasin knew they couldn't survive without a greater army and now they had enough to split their forces and complete both their quests. She should have been happy, instead she felt concerned.

Information flew at her like bullets from a gun. The girl was a dragon, the last dragon, not only would she be powerful but a great resource as well, almost as useful as Yuki. Her unpredictability though was an issue, as were her apparent mood swings. She'd have to keep someone strong with her- her eyes slid over to Charnel, he had certainly calmed her down. And then her attention went to the spider above them. Dasin would have been a fool not to know who the creature was. Tales of a spider that moved in the shadows were well known- though most hoped it to be a tale. She doubted the woman had come to kill them, having not even sensed the beast climb the walls they would have already been dead had she wanted them so. Unless she was the type to taunt with her prey.

"May blade and blood are bound to your cause". Gods, she had almost forgotten about the ghost man as he knelt at her feet. This one at least, this one she would happily accept. The nomadic folk of the caravans were a loyal race once bound. It was an easy choice to make as she too went down on one knee to the ghostman. "As my house and trust are now yours to hold" she replied in the traditional response. Standing up she signaled to the man to do the same as she wiped the mud from her knee.

"I suggest we take this inside" she expressed to Charnel, taking her own advice and slipping into the hallway, a last glance up upon the arachnid on the walls.



He slammed the heavy oak door behind with more force than was necessary only too glad to be out of the boy's presence. Taking deep breaths he attempted the slow the beating of his racing heart- even seeing a demon such as Kaito frightened the Magi greatly, not that he would ever express that to the beast. Taking a overly large brass key he locked the door with a heavy click and walked up the winding stairs, up through a trap door to his ground floor. He threw some carpet over the now sealed opening and considered the matter dealt with. He wouldn't have to deal with that thing for another few hours at least. There was no way it could escape anyway, not with his master after making those chains.

Anyway he had much more pressing matters to attend to, he had just stolen a rather interesting specimen from an unwary Water Magi and was rather looking forward to getting his tools into it. A smirk broke out on his face, in three days time the boy would be moved, he would be rich and his master would grant him more power than he dared dream. In three days Frenus Tot would be a name creatures feared.



He actually quite liked his map. Maybe he should make more he pondered, hearing someone come in from the rain.

Aiden glanced nervously turning her head towards the Ghostman who first looked at her in disbelief the his expression went stoic and he ignored her. Aiden didn't blame him though, everyone thought either dragons never existed or they were all extinct. Especially not a dragon like her. While when dragons were alive each dragon had power over one element but Aiden somehow controlled all of them. She didnt know how to bring up that little piece of information. Slowly she followed after the horned woman, clutching her satchel tightly, something she did when she was unsure about something or someone. Three things of great value to her rested in the satchel. She was born with them around her neck, she doesnt know what they do or mean they are just of great value to her. Something of her past.

Item 1 , Item 2 , Item 3

The drider sat up on the wall, listening intently to what the ones below her were discussing. One young woman in particular--well, she appeared to be rather young until she introduced herself to the group and explained that she was over one-hundred-eighty years old--had claimed that there were bounty hunters chasing her because she was a dragon. If that were the case, it might have explained the idea of a storm having hit the area, but she would have to have a bit more proof than her word.

"Hello up there," the aforementioned young dragon--Aiden, she had said her name was--called up to the drider, eyes flashing gold for a brief moment. Perhaps this Aiden had seen her after all; if she had, then she must have had some rather keen eyesight. Another man looked up after Aiden had called out to her and seemingly paled, although he was rather pale to begin with. She noticed too that he immediately turned toward another young woman with two large horns growing from her head and offered her an elaborate greeting, perhaps something to take his mind off of her form. There was another figure there but it did not seem to pay her any mind.

She debated whether sitting above the gate was the best idea, considering she had been seen already, but she would receive differing looks of horror and fascination whether in the shadows or in the light. When the horned figure, however, turned up to look at her, she seemed to recognize what the creature on the wall was and eyeing her with extreme caution. This was good--the horned woman understood who she was and what she was capable of. She was a smart one indeed.

And then the invitation. There was in fact an invitation to enter the castle after all. She was slightly disappointed that she would be able to simply walk in without any struggle or sneaking, but at least she would be going in. As the horned woman looked up at her once more, she smiled wide, displaying teeth and then two retractable fangs. It payed to intimidate the tough ones, especially those who knew of her and what she was truly capable of.

Slowly she stretched her eight legs and crawled down the castle wall, making her way toward the supposed dragon-woman. She turned toward her and smiled wide, displaying teeth once more.

"A dragon, you say... How interesting..." she mused, placing a hand up near her forehead. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, then..." She brushed away the hair covering most of her face, revealing the four other golden eyes. The drider was unsure as to whether this would intimidate her or not, but if this Aiden character had not heard of who she was before now, then it was highly doubtful that her little display would. Still, she did enjoy playing with the minds of others, as it provided her with a sense of entertainment. She would also keep an eye out for the horned woman; the drider had little doubt that she could be dealt with if she was to resort to self-defense.

A spider woman? huh!
Aiden had heard rumor's about a deadly spider woman but even so she wasn't scared of her. As she can remember spider's rely on toxins and the webbing and as a dragon that made her immune to alot of toxins, not all but most and it took alot to infect her, that is if the woman could even get her fangs into her blood stream or skin at all for the scales laying just under neath her flesh exterior can only be cut by dark magic or an enchanted sword as Aiden's own. Sensing that this woman was trying to intimidate her Aiden lengthened all her teeth to a fine point and flashed the woman a big, innocent smile, silently informing her Aiden was armed as well to.
The woman looked at her like many of the other's did, in disbelief so to prove her point Aiden removed her cloak and jacket, showing off the womanly curves that were well hidden and also the scales on her hand and the birth marks on her body. The to make an even bigger point Aiden used a sharped claw and peeled back and piece of vulnerable flesh to reveal the dark red scales underneath then watched as the skin almost immediately healed back.

"Is that enough proof for ya?" Aiden growled
"I'm Aiden and you are?" she said polity to the spider woman.

Charnel watched the strange individuals move themselves inside the building. He was somewhat unnerved by the drider, but he knew how useful one could be. He knew this was one that he had not worked with in the past. After all, that one was a male. But that was trampled at the excitement he was feeling when the dragon girl showed her birth marks. He knew that she was the real deal, a true dragon. He walked behind her. How unfortunate that the drider was accompanying her.

"I'm Aiden, and you are?" She said to the drider.

Gah, the insolence! He brushed past the two. He really wanted to confront her, to see what she could really do, but he knew that might be a bad plan, considering the time and place. That might make her want to abandon them. Still, it really ticked him off. He walked up behind Dasin, and somehow managed to get his mind on a more preferred subject. "Dasin, with our current numbers, I believe that we may be able to split our forces in a much more safe manner, should they decide to join, of course, but I sense that they shall." He'd call it gut instinct if he had any guts. "All we have to do now is to determine their strengths. I don't think that we have to test the Dragon that much, but the ghostman and the drider may have some hidden talent we are not aware of." He was sure that the drider was an assassin that was living in the area nearby, but the castle is quite isolated, so the rumor may be false. Of course, Charnel did not really listen to rumors much. He personally doubted the ghostman of anything abnormal physically, perhaps he was a genius? Doubtful, but one could hope.

They entered the room they were using for their war council, Yuki was still sitting there, looking over one of his maps. "Sire, I believe that these new... Recruits will assist us greatly." He said, moving back to his seat and sitting down. "We have doubled our number and our strength, by my estimation. She-" He indicated the Dragon as they entered the room behind him. "-is a dragon." He couldn't help but let excitement in his voice.

Charnel watched the strange individuals move themselves inside the building. He was somewhat unnerved by the drider, but he knew how useful one could be. He knew this was one that he had not worked with in the past. After all, that one was a male. But that was trampled at the excitement he was feeling when the dragon girl showed her birth marks. He knew that she was the real deal, a true dragon. He walked behind her. How unfortunate that the drider was accompanying her.

"I'm Aiden, and you are?" She said to the drider.

Gah, the insolence! He brushed past the two. He really wanted to confront her, to see what she could really do, but he knew that might be a bad plan, considering the time and place. That might make her want to abandon them. Still, it really ticked him off. He walked up behind Dasin, and somehow managed to get his mind on a more preferred subject. "Dasin, with our current numbers, I believe that we may be able to split our forces in a much more safe manner, should they decide to join, of course, but I sense that they shall." He'd call it gut instinct if he had any guts. "All we have to do now is to determine their strengths. I don't think that we have to test the Dragon that much, but the ghostman and the drider may have some hidden talent we are not aware of." He was sure that the drider was an assassin that was living in the area nearby, but the castle is quite isolated, so the rumor may be false. Of course, Charnel did not really listen to rumors much. He personally doubted the ghostman of anything abnormal physically, perhaps he was a genius? Doubtful, but one could hope.

They entered the room they were using for their war council, Yuki was still sitting there, looking over one of his maps. "Sire, I believe that these new... Recruits will assist us greatly." He said, moving back to his seat and sitting down. "We have doubled our number and our strength, by my estimation. She-" He indicated the Dragon as they entered the room behind him. "-is a dragon." He couldn't help but let excitement in his voice.

Aiden blushed at the attention she was getting from the one man. She wasnt one for attention but he seemed curious about her and of course she would answer any questions he wanted to know.

"Umm i dont know what you want us to say but since you weren't outside i shall repeat myself, I am Aiden Hunter but i also go by Blaze, i am one-hundred eighty years old and a dragon, as a dragon i have enhanced speed, strength, sight, hearing, smell, night vision and all of that. I have never entered my full dragon form before because i am still what is known as a hatchling, i am immune to most toxins and the scales that are under neath my flesh can only be cut by certain things. Umm there's still alot i dont know about my own kind, but most dragons have control over one certain element but it might benefit your knowledge that i.....can control all of them. I also know every language even those that have been dead for years and i can read ancient text" Aiden said stoically, hoping that it was all the information they needed to know for it was the only information she could give.

Kor snorted as he watched the pissing contest begin.

"All of the elements?" he thought, "Ancestors bones, what rubbish!"
Without a word he followed the minotaur through the arch of the door and into the cavernous entrance hall beyond. The imposing man with red eyes who had opened the doors seemed nowhere in sight, but at least these two seemed to be in some position of authority. Relief flooded Kor as a pair of guardsmen saluted the minotaur. It would have been rather embarrassing if he had offered his services to what turned out to be a kitchen maid. Keeping pace, they strode down a barrel vaulted hallway which opened up into a ballroom. Or what should have been a ballroom, for it had obviously been heavily converted, with maps covering walls, tables pulled together and the occasional weapon rack. The whole place seemed half ruin, half war-camp, but for all that it was obviously clean and ordered.

There was the red-eyed man, pouring over one of the maps. From the smile on his face, he certainly seemed pleased by what he saw. Good news from some battle front perhaps? A new trade agreement? Maybe it was just a rather nice map.

The drider was amused by the display that the dragon-woman had given to her. Why go through such great lengths to prove her heritage, especially when she could have shown her skill on the battlefield as well? At least the drider did not have to hide her form like Aiden had to, something that the other robed figure found somewhat unnerving about her. She had gotten used to this new form long before--in fact, she almost pitied the two-legged creatures walking along the ground as she took to the wall and followed the horned woman around toward another room.

"I'm Aiden... and you are?" the young woman asked after her display was finished. This did bring up an interesting dilemma for the drider--there was no one outside of her cabal who had actually heard her real name before, so the very idea of some outsider asking who she was both intrigued and disgusted her. Perhaps if she could convince this dragon to join her guild, then she could know for sure... There might very well be the possibility of that happening, considering the amount of strength she had bottled inside... It was all dependent on whether or not she could convince her that the people that may be hunting her down deserved to be exterminated...

Before she could answer the question, however, the robed figure cut between the two of them and began to talk to the horned woman, hearing something about herself and the ghostman in the muffled conversation. Curious as she was, she soon came to a large room that seemed very spacious and luxurious, or it would have without all of the logistic equipment set up everywhere. Right away, the robed figure approached what she assumed to be the lord of this castle. He was tall with bright red eyes--

Red eyes. The same as her people. Suddenly she felt paranoid, feeling the need to climb the wall and scuttle up to the ceiling, letting her hair hang straight down toward the floor. With a quick flick of her abdomen, several strands of silk stuck to the ceiling, allowing the drider to lower herself slowly and surely toward the group below her. Again, she would take any additional intimidation factor from this act, but it was mostly to prevent herself from lashing out against the lord already, something that she felt would be an inevitable fate between the both of them.

The robed figure explained to the lord of the castle about the dragon--for some reason, he seemed totally enthralled with the idea of a woman who could breathe fire. On top of that, Aiden had gone off and began to explain her entire life's story to him once again. If she was the last of her kind and she wanted to remain hidden, she was doing an awfully poor job of doing so. The drider shook her head as the silk held her in mid-air.

Eventually, her descent brought her down next to the horned woman. The drider's five eyes were level with the horned woman's, and she turned to take another look at her, hoping to catch her off-guard once more. Despite her tought exterior, this one looked as if she was rather skittish of the drider... something that she might be able to use against her in the future...

Once the necromancer had left her side and scurried over to Yuki, Dasin went to sit the opposite side of her lord, letting the others file in behind them. She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at Charnel's excitement over the dragon girl. As far as Dasin was concerned although the girl could prove valuable she had thus far only proved how naive and immature she was. Which was odd, considering the girl claimed to be hundred and eighty years old. What had she spent this entire time doing? Telling people she was the last dragon and wondering why she was getting chased? Dasin allowed herself a little smile at her own personal joke.

And then there was the drider, who was currently making a mess of her ceiling. She clicked her tongue in her mouth, almost wanting to order the woman down but pursed her lips instead. She had no intention of causing a power struggle with the woman like the poor attempt that had happened out in the hallway between the arachnid and dragon-girl. If they were allies she would just have to get used to her, but that did not mean for one moment she liked having 'The dark whisper' in her halls. Saying that she didn't like having Charnel around at first either.

Wait, she still didn't like having the Lich around. But he had proved useful a hundred times over. Using some of Yuki's breathing exercises she attempted to calm her mind as the dragon, apparently called 'Aidan' told her life story once more. Opening her eyes she became aware that Allauniira had made her way over to her. She hated how easily the creature could sneak up on her, and damned her own senses, her right hand tightly closing over her scythe for just a moment before releasing it. Minotaurs weren't exactly known for hunting spiders. No less master assassin spiders. Counting her blessings she had managed not to attempt to swing her scythe at the beast she leaned forward to Yuki.

"And the Ghostman" she said pointedly marking the man's existence, who, quite frankly seemed the most sane here. And she dearly hoped he wouldn't turn on his heel and walk away. "Of course, she needs no introduction" she added leaning back and looking at Allauniira. "It would appear we have a celebrity in our mists" she expressed evenly to the woman. "I only know you from names of the shadows thought, Vemon's embrace, I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure of your name. Mine is Dasin, the man in the black is Charnel and in front of us is Lord Yuki, the ruler of this castle." This introduction was for everyone, but most of all Dasin was anxious to get on with their plans. The two pieces of paper detailing the missions sat in front of Charnel, she motioned to him to send them over to her.




Yuki regarded each of the newcomers in turn with the same small smile and subtle nod. He acknowledged Charnel’s excitement of the dragon but didn’t share the Lich’s enthusiasm. He considered it must be rather lonely being the last of any kind of thing. But it was nice to see the necromancer so happy about something. The drider had taken up residence beside Dasin, he felt an odd sensation looking at the creature, he had a feeling he could beat her and almost wanted to try. Something about the woman wanted to make him cut her in half. His red eyes became a slightly deeper shade of crimson while he passed the concept in his mind , an inward smirk playing across his face. The ghostman looked like a nice sort of fellow altogether, after all Yuki had caught the man looking at his map, he wondered if the man thought it was any good.

Standing up he brushed his dark hair from his face, tucking the strands behind his pointed ear. "I welcome you all to my home" his voice carrying across the room as he felt something, or better someone familiar. "And I welcome you back, Hayato" he said turning his head to the door, his exclaimation loud enough to make it down the hallway to his former ally's ears.