Arneth Sen's Story

Sara, a maid to Lord Dyatt, stood outside his study. She waited for his permission to enter and bring him his lunch. Upon hearing his acknowledgement she went in. To her surprise the Lord's oldest son, Erik, was with him. She hadn't planned on him being there, but improvised almost instantly. Sara locked the doors to the study noiselessly and turned around to carry the tray of hot food to the nearest table.

"What's it today Sara?" The Lord asked without looking up.

"Something tasty today my lord, something tasty!" Sara said as she approached Lord Dyatt.

Leaning over the Lord, Sara froze as a hand had rested on her lower back. She stood upright and spun around to see Erik grinning devilishly.

"Come on Sara, Father needs to be left alone."

Turning away from him Sara blushed and said, "N-no...please, I just need to ask your father something."

"What's the matter Sara?" Lord Dyatt asked as he turned to her.

Now facing her the kind smile of Lord Dyatt never left his face until Sara's blade had severed his head from his shoulders. Erik grabbed Sara's hair, but found it shortening through his fingers and Sara was no longer Sara at all. Sara was Lord Dyatt now, his father. Erik fell backwards, but was caught by his father and pulled upwards into the very blade that had killed his real father.

Erik gasped and gazed with horror into the imposter's eyes who said, "Shh my son, it's time to sleep. Go on, lay down..."

Erik lost consciousness as blood pooled with his fathers across the study. Lord Dyatt sat down in the blood of his two victims and began cutting bite size pieces from them. He gagged at the taste, but a craving within him was satisfied and a feeling of pleasure overcame him entirely.

Lord Dyatt had eaten half the faces of both victims when a knock came to the door of the study.

"Yes?" The lord called out.

"My lord! Come quickly, Sara's been murdered!"

"Impossible! Who could have done this?"

"We have guards searching the castle, may we come in? We need to secure your room."

"Wait, I am very busy, let me tidy up and I'll be out shortly."

"Isn't Erik in there, have him tidy it up."

"I'm no servant!" Lord Dyatt spoke with Erik's voice.

"Y-yes my lord, forgive me."

"We'll be out in a few minutes, just let us discuss this." Lord Dyatt called back with his voice.

"Yes my lord."

Lord Dyatt ate as fast as he could. He consumed his victims until he was sick, but had hardly made a dent past their necks. Lord Dyatt stood up, pushed open the window of the study, stripped the victims, and threw them out the window. The blood he sponged with their clothes and set them on fire. Lord Dyatt kicked open the doors to the study where two guards jumped in surprise to see him.

"Lord Dyatt? Is everything alright?"

"NO! The assassin came in my room! He set my study on fire and jumped out that window! Take a look!"

The two guards rushed to the window as Lord Dyatt maneuvered down the corridors he'd traversed as Sara. As he turned the corner he was a guard and as the guard he proceeded further from Dyatt's quarters. Soon the area would be madhouse of guards and officials. The guard became a young nobleman who continued deeper into the palace district, he spat Lord Dyatt's blood on the ground and kept walking.

Lara Dales, a young priestess, approached the guard captain Kamlin. She stood at a height of 5' 1" with bright blue eyes and long dark brown hair that reached to her lower back. Her mace hung from her belt and a shield was tightly tied to her bag on her back. She smiled politely before saying, "Excuse me sir. I-Is this the group going on the king's quest? I couldn't help but overhear mention of it."

She looked at those following the captain and felt small as a mouse beside them while waiting for the Captain's reply.

Kamlin

The Guard Captain was about to show Randi the Royal Writ with Bliston's name on it, which would have cleared up that matter at least, when Bliston began growling like a madman.

"What the seven hells is this?" The demon snarled. "No one said anything about a fucking paladin being a part of this!" Kamlin opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a quiet voice at his side.

"Excuse me sir. I-Is this the group going on the king's quest? I couldn't help but overhear mention of it." A girl said, hardly looking like the sort the King needed to rescue his daughter.

"Yes, but..." Kamlin started but was interrupted yet again by the demon's ravings.

"I am asking if you honestly are thinking of making me work shoulder to shoulder with one of these damned zealots. Because I get the distinct feeling, that we will not be getting smoothly."

"Now, just listen here, if you cannot work-" Kamlin tried to interject.

"W-what, what is the meaning of this! Why is a man like him in our group?!" One of the others, the young boy he'd questioned earlier yelled. "I refuse to accept it! He is a monster! And look! He himself does not want to work with us!"

"SILENCE!" Kamlin finally yelled. "You are all here for the same purpose, if not the same reasons. Whether renown, money, power, or honor guide you. You are all here to slay a dragon. It is not my problem whether you like each other or not. There is something bigger at hand and you would all do well to Remember. That. Fact." He turned to the group at large, never before had he seen such a large group of misfits and weirdos. A true adventuring group if he'd ever seen one.

Lara was frightened by the guard captain's shouting and stepped back from him. She forced her fading smile to remain before gripping the amulet that hung from the silver chain around her neck. She coughed to clear her throat and stepped forwards to listen to the captain. She took in the group and hoped she wouldn't be refused to join them.

"I-I'm not afraid of any dragons...I would be a valuable addition to your expedition." She said nervously.

Taethion watched as the group demonstrated their skills to this woman. He was surprised to see Asha and Gale fight each other but then again, it seemed this was the only way to leave this dark and damp prison. He knew they were skilled and had no fear about their eligibility. Then came the last to be judged and Taethion felt something was off about him. Ever since he saw him in the streets he has never spoken a single word. This man has given no hints or clues as to who he is. A complete enigma and when the young woman expected him to demonstrate the only thing he could muster was a simple phrase.

I...Dig

Taethion noted his voice was odd, and deduced a probable cause. He may be a foreigner and it would explain his strange attire and the accent in his voice. He must not know Londean and therefor has been unable to communicate, simply because he cannot understand us. Yet, it would seem he is able to read body language and actions and maybe understand a few words. Apparently he tried to demonstrate his skills but the young woman wanted combat prowess. To fulfill this, she engaged the beaked mystery man in a duel. The foreigner demonstrated he has skill and must have been a soldier at one point due to his stances. Yet, the show of skill seemed to drag a bit too long for anyone's liking. When it would seem the duel was not to end anytime soon, both the woman and the foreigner stopped. Taethion was confused by their sudden stop, was she satisfied? It seemed so strange to stop in mid assault but his answers were answered when Iator stepped up.

He must have used a spell to complete their duel before anyone got too serious. Taethion was glad it was over and it would seem the young woman, Randionalia, was the leader of the King's assassins. A very prestigious title, and her skills seemed to solidify this claim. As they finally left the confines of the jailhouse, they were being led to a place where food can be found. Upon the streets the group received stares, which isn't too surprising considering they stick out like a sore thumb. Taethion noticed a woman with green hair pass them but didn't pay her much attention. Along the way the Captain of the Guard returned and with a new addition to the group. The man was massive, far too massive to be a normal human being. There was something about him though, something familiar, as a certain aire hanged about him. He had wished he was more proficient in alignment perception like Ser Quincy. He could detect good, evil, and even neutral auras that surrounded every being. Still it didn't matter, even he said you couldn't judge a person by their auras, people can surprise you. When they etched closer however, this familiar man seemed to possess that same ability. He could sense the holy magic coming off of Taethion, something that he didn't have control of either.

The man quickly shouted his complaints about working with a paladin. Already, Taethion felt a twinge of insult over his words about Paladins. He called them all zealots when he knows that just wasn't true. Even more surprising, the boy Adrian shouted at the big man and even called him by name. Bliston Ascor. Ah yes, that's true! He knew he recognized him from some where, and he felt a bit ashamed to have not seen it sooner. Bliston is very famous in these parts, and is know for his brutality in warfare. Some say he is a war hero but most people just demonize him for his lifestyle choices. Obviously carrying around dismembered heads as trophies is one of them. He could understand the young boy's outrage towards this, Bliston, and even his unfair accusations and slandering was making the paladin boil with anger. He was beginning to shake when the Guard Captain spoke up ending the shouting match between Bliston and Adrian. During this time, Taethion didn't even notice the timid woman that walked up to the Captain, his mind was focused on Ascor.

The Captain did speak the truth, the real reason any of them are here is for a greater purpose. The Dragon is a threat to these lands, and Taethion was tired of seeing the monster ravage the Kingdom. On his journeys he has seen the destruction left in the wake of the Dragon. Entire towns razed to the ground, whole farms of livestock devoured, and many lives taken by the accursed Dragon. The Dragon's far reaching crimes are even affecting the people of this city. People are living in poverty and it's running rampant across the Kingdom of Londe. Taethion has even heard of the suffering of neighboring Kingdoms, who have also lost things to this Dragon. Yet, none of them seemed interested in helping, at least the Dragon isn't living some where in their lands. Still this Bliston is standing over him and was very aggravated. He looked prepared to take Taethion's whole head off and add it to his collection. His eyes bore down into his and Taethion hasn't yet to move, with his anger beginning to rise. If this giant of a man doesn't back off soon, he may just lose it. Then came this nagging, pestering thought in the back of his mind. His mind was transported back in time, to his childhood, as he remembered a lesson from his master.

______________

"Taethion, you become far too angry sometimes!" "How many times have I told you that anger is a pathway that leads to sin?!" He spoke, scolding a young boy after he was caught in a scuffle with the local kids.

"But Grandpa Quincy!" "They spoken ill words about you and insulted your very religion right in front of me!" "How can I not act upon anger when I know they're wrong?!" The boy shouted, tears began to roll down his eyes. "I don't like people hurting you, even though your not there, that doesn't mean the pain never happens." He spoke in a whimper.

The old, grizzled, man then spoke with a sigh, "Taethion, I told you to be strong against such attacks, that swords and magic are not the only weapons at people's disposal." "Words can hurt just as much and cut just as deep as any blade, yet we cannot allow ourselves to be defeated by these weapons." "We are Paladins, Guardians of the Faith and Seekers of Peace, have you forgotten about that?"

"No..." Taethion grumbled.

"No mumbling, boy." Quincy sternly spoke.

"Sorry sir." Taethion spoke up. "I'm sorry about all of it. I was just trying to defend you, because you told me to always defend those that can't do so for themselves." "You weren't here to defend yourself, so I did, and I just don't understand what I did that was so wrong?"

"It's not about what you did but how you went about it." Quincy spoke. "There is a fine line between good meanings and good works." "You can have the most, purest of intentions in the word, but if your actions do not reflect them, then it means nothing." "All you have done is add another link in the chain of sin, making sure it will continue to bind all life for eternity." "Anyone can say they mean well, but only good deeds will separate the truth from deception." "So remember, my boy, when conflict arises, when people seek to hurt or destroy you, you must never forget that you are a warrior for peace." "We do not create conflicts, we help to resolve conflicts, we do not encourage sin, we discourage sin, we do not seek chaos, we seek peace." "Never forget that the world needs more people who can think, who can learn, who can love, and who can forgive...there are far too many people who perpetuate hate, death, and violence in the world." The old and haggard man spoke. After a long drawn out sigh he shouted, "Now for your punishment!" "I expect you to carry these two bags of rice all the way back to the church!" Quincy spoke as he placed the large, burlap sacks filled with grains of rice upon the boy's shoulders.

"But these are too heavy!" The boy cried.

"Nonsense!" "If you want to become a Paladin, then you cannot be stopped by a menial task such as this!" "Now up the hill, go on, get on with it!" He ordered. The boy only groaned as he made the difficult journey from Gilfried back to the church.

____________

His memory receded in the back of his mind as he looked up at Bliston. Bliston may have noticed that his eyes were closed and his head lowered for a few moments. Taethion looked right back into his unforgiving eyes and then spoke, "If that is how you feel about Paladins then I'm sorry, you must have not met very decent ones in your life time." Taethion spoke. His voice very calm and his expression cool and unhampered by Bliston's words. "If it means anything, I hope your opinions may change someday on our journeys together." "That is of course if you do not mind working with the likes of me." Taethion spoke, he wasn't seeking approval from Bliston, just letting him know he doesn't feel as strongly about him as he to him.

Day 1

Surely enough, everything went wrong all at once. The daemon noticed that a paladin was among the group heading off to battle the dragon and promptly went into a rage, while a boy started shouting about how the daemon was a greedy murderer. In the meantime, a priestess tried to join in, but the chaos made sure she wouldn't get an answer. At this point, the green haired maiden watching them started to wonder if she would have to use her powers right now just to escape.

Just when everything seemed lost, the guard ordered for the chaos to end, reminding them of their task, while the paladin stepped forward and clarified that he didn't hold the same animosity towards the daemon. Would this solve everything?

It probably doesn't mean a thing to that daemon, the girl heard Pirika muse. He looks strong enough to take on a bunch of those people at once; one person's words aren't going to change that. Especially if it's the words of someone he hates.

We'll just have to see, the girl replied, taking the last bite of her peach and tossing the pit away, not caring where it went. In the meantime, though...I think I'll go see them about that dragon quest as well.

Completely blocking out her familiar's protests and "You'll be killed!" comments, the girl walked straight up to the paladin, her hood still just high enough so that her eyes could be seen. "So, you all are going off to slay a dragon?" she asked, keeping her voice low. "If you would be so kind, I would like to accompany you."

Covering her head with her wing, Pirika heaved out what would be a bird's equivalent of a long sigh.

Bliston held the stare with the paladin for a time. Then, as if some unknown condition had been satisfied, he straightened himself fully upright once more. No longer looming over the holy warrior like an angry bear, the outraged expression he had worn seemed to recede into on of mild distaste.

"I doubt that." His vocal tone was more neutral this time around. Finally relenting entirely, Bliston disengaged from the already dissolving confrontation by backing away and returning to his starting position by the side of the watch captain. He only briefly took note of the two new comers to the group before settling into a detached observing stance.

Adrian was taken aback by the guard captain's words. He knew that slaying the dragon is important and can saved thousands of lives, but he still just can't accept Bliston being part of the group, but he just hold his anger in and stood there in silence with his head down, but his glare remained fixed on Bliston. He looked at Taethion hoping that he would agree with him since he was the one insulted by Bliston, but much to his disappointment, he simply accepted him calmly... Adrian wanted to say a word, but he couldn't find the right word to say, once again he remained silent.

Bliston finally relents on his seemingly unstoppable quest to destroy Taethion. His words didn't seem to have much affect on the infamous warrior as he responded rather bluntly to his comments. Despite his flippancy to trying and reach some sort of reconciliation, the behemoth of a man went back to the Captain's side. Taethion then looked down to his side to see that girl with green hair from earlier. Did she just ask to join our party? Taethion thought. Taethion looked back at the others, all who are older and highly skilled combatants, well except for Adrian he looks about this girl's age. He wasn't sure about having kids partake in this quest, after all they will face many dangers and not all of them will probably be the Dragon. Still he looked back at her and with a sigh spoke, "Well I'm not the one who assembled this team," Taethion looked towards Randi who would probably just ask for her level of skill, instead he had a different question to ask, "But if you won't mind me asking, why do you want to go on such a dangerous quest?" Taethion asked looking back towards her. His face was bit long but that was to be expected from just surviving the wrath of a titan.

Bliston shifted a glance towards the elf. "Just like that?" If he had eyebrows they'd be quirked. "I'd assume that we'd be given provisions for the road. A means of transit?" While Bliston was fine walking, in fact a necessity for him since horses and he didn't exactly mix, but anything as simple as a cart drawn by a pack animal to carry their supplies and belongings in would be a major aid. "Will you at least tell us our heading?"

Day 1

When asked why she wanted to slay the dragon, the girl remained silent for a few moments. "Well, who knows? It feels like my instinct is doing all the speaking for me," she mused, taking one of the peaches from her bag and holding it in her left hand. "You know, it's pretty hard to go about this land without having heard about the destruction that dragon has caused. So it could be that I wish to help kill it so it can do no more harm." The peach was tossed into the air, only to be caught by her right hand. "Perhaps I want to kill it because I want a quick shot at glory at a young age."

At this point, her calm eyes focused back on the paladin's own visage. "But, the main thing is, I want to become even stronger...not just with my magic, but as a tamer. And something tells me that taking on the dragon is my best option for that."

...you are a disappointment on so many levels, Pirika groaned mentally.

Ignoring her, the girl asked, "Is that enough of a reason for you, sir? Or do you think I'm just a raving lunatic at this point?"

He's got that tired look, he definitely thinks you're crazy.

Just...just...ugh, shut up already, Pirika.

Iator

The Prophet had kept his peace during the proceedings, finding it much more interesting to simply watch and see how things would unfold. He was majorly impressed with the Guard Captain and Taethion, both of them seemed to have a handle on disabling a volatile situation. He was also interested in the three newcomers. There was Bliston, of course, any traveler worth his salt knew of that half-fiend's exploits. But the other two... One screamed of magic. It was as if her entire form was constantly blown by the wind. Her bird held much of that power as well. The other, the priestess, didn't seem quite right. Something about her was off, like Gale first seemed, but different.

Eventually he spoke up. "Honestly, only people with skill or fools would join this quest. The fools would learn quickly that this is not something to be taken lightly and would leave. The people with skill will not be dissuaded. There is no point in testing people who want to help you on your quest."

Kamlin

The Guard Captain was pleased to see that things had quit escalating. He bowed his head subtly in Taethion's direction, thanking him for not causing a scene. He looked at the priestess and the girl in the hood, "Yes, this is the group that will be taking the KIng's Quest. I agree with the gnome, either these people are skilled enough to join or they are fools." He smiled at the priestess. "And they do not look like fools to me." He heard Bliston's complaints and nodded. "We will be giving some horses and a wagon, if that will help, and they will have supplies for your journey. I feel that it is the very least I could do since I will not be able to join you. As for your heading, I believe Randi is in charge of that."

Randi looked over at Bliston and shook her head. "Our supplies have already been prepared by the king. I just need to stop by the castle to inform him of how many are attending the mission and he will have them prepared in an hour." She looked over the people who have volunteered. "So that would make... nine, including myself." She nodded and began heading in the direction of the castle. "You, ground breaker." She said, indicating Adrian. "You said you are hungry correct? Any who require food or other physical preparations may come with me and have something at the castle."

Randi talked about their needs in their journey, but Adrian barely paid attention as his mind wasn't present. Adrian just silently followed Randi, he didn't even looked at the girl who is to be the new companion in the quest, he haven't looked up yet after his outburst. Adrian, despite being a powerful warrior, he is at the stage where he is easily affected by his emotions. He needed to cooldown, he let his emotions overcome him. There was something more important than his hate for Bliston, but he couldn't stay down after knowing he was that Bliston Ascor. He probably lost his appetite along with his steam.

Pravus

He tried to keep track of her movements but as she jumped up onto a crossbeam the rim of his hat blocked his upward line of sight causing him to lose sight of her. Before he could reacquire sight of her an arrow pierced through his hat and imbedded itself right next to his left foot. It seems she wasn't as unequipped as I had assumed.

As he was about to look up to where the arrow came from a snake grew to great size inside the room. There was little time to think as the snake was prepared to strike so he reached back and grabbed his shovel, bringing it forward in preparation to fight this enchanted beast. He had dealt with enchanted animals before but at the time he was in possession of fine tools of war, all socketed with warrior gems which granted him unparalleled skill in spear fighting. His skills were so enhanced by the gems that he once had put his spear through the eye of a swooping drakin, a lesser species closely related to dragons but smaller and far easier to tame, piercing through the back of it's skull sending it toppling down.

Of course before they could engage the small fae looking person had obviously cast a spell over them. He lost the desire to fight anymore, looking forward to being done with this nonsense more than anything else at the moment. Once his opponent ceased her assault on him he simply set his shovel back up on his shoulder while he examined the hole she had made in his hat. She spoke to the others and the kid from earlier spoke some and then she spoke again and then it seemed everyone was making their way out. He was not keen on lingering inside a jail seeing as how he had a duty to fulfill elsewhere and these people were keeping him from it so he followed the assembly out from the prison on his own initiative.


As they left the jail the group was stopped once more by a large half-breed accompanied by the captain. Many telling details of the man gave away his heritage to him. The sight of the partly demon man clad in armor like so wasn't much of a surprise to him. Tiatha extended the right to citizenship to any city who surrendered to the empire so long as they agreed to obey certain rules which maintained peace throughout and payed an extra tax for the first five years of their membership in the empire. There were quite a number of half-breed's who lived as ordinary citizens even in Sed, though their numbers were far fewer than the number of humans there. There were also many more who were kept as slaves. The empire wasn't very picky about who they took as slaves. The only people the guards protected from being taken as slaves were citizens who payed their taxes. Everyone else was free game for slavers.

It seemed that Pravus's rather laisserfaire attitude towards the looming armored character was not shared by the others though as the kid was brought to boil by his mere presence. The half breed was also agitated and it almost seemed as though conflict was inevitable until the captain and the golden haired armored man spoke, their words seemingly calming the lot of them.


Some of them joined to do good and help the people, some for more self centered purposes. Pravus on the other hand didn't even know he was on a quest to slay anything other than the occasional undead who's soul needs liberating. Currently the group was heading a large castle, a hard to miss fixture in the center of town which looked large and protective. The castle could not even compare to the architectures which call Tiatha home in any way. It seems this society is quite primitive indeed. He couldn't help but wonder just where he even was. 'Londe' Was about as close to an answer as he'd received since he arrived but that was hardly informative.

Did the castle hold anything that could possibly help him figure that? There was only one way to figure that out. He silently followed the group like he was it's shadow, saying nothing and doing nothing but still there. He hoped that once he was in there he'd be able to find anything that could solve his current problems.

Bliston sighed in annoyance. Well, so far this wasn't the most charming of prospects. But he had made the time to come this far so it wouldn't do to back out on this job already just because of a few grievances on the initial outset. He had be able to make do with less, and hopefully this lot would prove more competent than the impressions given.

He looked down over at the green haired new comer. She looked... small. And frail. Truthfully he thought her the least likely to be of any use. The gnome at least, by virtue of what he knew of them, might posses some magical talent and be potentially old enough to have experience in it. But he had yet to see anything of this child that spoke of the same. In his eyes she reeked of untested mettle.

"It might not be my place to say," Bliston said to her as he started to walk past her. "But you should go home girl. This venture is going to be too dangerous for the likes of children." He briefly directed a stare at the back of the farm boy, but made no other attempt to make that sound outwardly accusing. Simply, he was stating his thoughts on the matter and nothing more as he strode away.

He walked a little ways a head the group at large, already capable of seeing the castle in the distance and finding himself able to navigate his way there on his own. He was going to need to visit the palace anyways in order to iron out the details for this contract and see exactly what it was that he was getting into.

Lara joined the group and smiled to Kamlin as she said, "Thank you for letting me go with you. Honestly I've never been in a fight, but I have training and my services as a healer will be more valuable. Actually, the sight of blood makes me dizzy, but this journey will change that I'm sure."

As she walked with the group she kept a distance from Bliston. This was the first time Lara had seen a Daemon before. The stories she had heard of them made Lara uneasy, but she fought to keep a strong demeanor in Bliston's presence. She walked close to Kamlin and dangled her hand against the mace on her belt. As she walked her mind went to Iator and glanced in his direction a few times, but she couldn't help it. This was Lara's first time being in such odd company, Sylphine and her bird had also caught Lara's eye. Overall Lara enjoyed the company of her new comrades, but couldn't find the confidence to speak to any of them except Kamlin. He was a Guard Captain and that made her feel safe talking to him.

Kamlin

The Captain eyed the girl as she walked next to him. "You know, this is a dangerous quest. A dragon is no small beast and combat with it will likely be deadly. Are you sure you want to put yourself at that kind of risk?" He looked at the others, foolhardy, veterans, brave. Except for the younger members, this group looked combat worthy, the young priestess didn't really fit in at all.

Day 1

The daemon's comment made the girl bristle slightly, but she forced herself to keep a calm face. "I appreciate your concern, sir," she replied, doing her best to kill any sarcasm in her voice, "but I assure you, I...we won't be a burden upon you at all. I very well might be the youngest person here, and my body might look frail, but I'm still useful. My partner and I can pull our own weight." A bit belatedly, she realized that the daemon was already walking away. "Wait, are you even listening t-ugh, he's already too far away."

Great. Next you'll be talking about how you can take the dragon on solo, Pirika thought, rolling her eyes.

You know, it's times like this that I wish I could just mute you out whenever I pleased. The girl turned to the guard, still keeping her voice as respectful as possible. "And I'm aware how dangerous the dragon could be, sir. But I'm still willing to take the risk. And finally, this most likely sounds cliche, pointless, and exaggerated, but...I want to do this for-" Here she gestured at herself and the bird on her shoulder. "-our very existences as tamer and familiar."

The green-haired maiden didn't think anyone would believe it if she tried to elaborate why their "existences" depended on this journey, especially because her reasoning was still based completely on her own intuition. So instead, she just finished, "I think I've gotten across everything I can convey with words. Do you still want anything else from me?"

The Paladin listened closely to the girl's reasons for wanting to join this quest. Taethion supposes those reasons make some sort of sense, but the girl seemed unsure herself as to why she wishes to do this. Although her final reason had the most resonance within the Paladin's mind, as he could relate. She wants to test herself and become stronger, which was something he strived to do himself when he was young. He recalled his many training sessions with Grandfather Quincy, and often he would pester him for a true test of his skill. More than not, he would deny him, saying that seeking conflict where there is none is foolish. Still, he can expect her bravery for volunteering, most people wouldn't waste their time doing even that. Then Bliston appeared and spoke his thoughts on the matter. As much he didn't want to admit it, he was correct, and Taethion felt similar.

This quest will be absolutely perilous and everyone here might not survive it...including him. Yet the Green-Haired Girl surprised him with her determination as Bliston's words didn't seem to deter her. This brought a small smile to Taethion's face but was it really his place to allow her on this quest? Well, it seems the King is accepting just about anyone to kill this Dragon, a sign of desperate times to be sure. It seems she has finished speaking her piece, and while Taethion in not sure about what she can do to help, it would seem she is alluding to some hidden power. "I am impressed that you held your ground against Bliston, most people would have been easily intimidated by him." "Maybe you are brave enough to face what we face, although I am not sure if I could recruit you, but I suppose that doesn't matter, considering the Kingdom is accepting any and all volunteers." "In the end it is your decision and while I believe it may not be wise, I will not object to it and will welcome you to the party." Taethion finished speaking on the matter. He wasn't sure quite what he was saying but something about the girl's words made him hopeful. Yet, he would keep a watchful eye on her, after all Paladins are there to help.