The Lands of Galderia

Day 1

Just as Sylphine disposed of that last lizardman, she heard the clashing of metal ringing out once more. But what she saw was a little girl fighting the dwarf from earlier--and doing ridiculously well, to boot! And, as if things couldn't get weirder, the little girl transformed into some kind of beast, while the dwarf somehow doubled in size. "What...the hell..." she muttered, not sure if what she was seeing was actually happening.

Abruptly, she sensed some sort of energy being released, and the transformations reverted, leaving the dwarf and the little girl in their original forms. Gazing in the direction from which that energy was released, she saw it was the gnome from earlier, accompanied by the rest of the party. Already, Taethion and...the priestess...were being asked to heal the dwarf and the girl, and Bliston was interrogating one of the lizardmen about something or other.

What are you waiting for? Go tell them about what you saw her do! Pirika urged.

But though Sylphine was still mistrustful of the priestess, she knew she didn't have much to go on, and the only two people whom she had had any interaction with whatsoever were standing right next to that woman. There weren't many other people who would believe her...the gnome seemed affable enough, right? No, no...this should wait for later. Seeing her hesitance caused Pirika to let out another long sigh, but this one was much more annoyed than before.

She lifted up her staff, which appeared to dissolve into fragments of emerald light and scatter away on the wind. Once it had vanished, she walked over to the others and raised a different question, not to anyone in particular, but rather to the party as a whole. "Shall we bury them now?" It was a custom in practically all parts of the land, wasn't it?

Pravus

As Pravus dug combat waged on around him. He saw lizard men getting killed left and right. The dwarf in his rage had attacked the girl and they both traded blows before growing larger. Looks like I'll need to dig a bigger grave. He started expanding the hole when Iator interfered with their fight like he had done with his and the Elven woman. He just shrugged, putting a bit of dirt back into the hole and patting it into the wall with the flat of his shovel. The pit he dug was about six feet deep and wide enough to accommodate the number of fallen he needed to bury. Gripping the ledge of his pit he pulled himself from the earthen mass grave he had made for the reptilian raiders.

He walked with purpose towards the nearest body. The ground was wet with blood, clinging to his boots in the form of reddish mud. The wind which at this point was highly excited from the use of the wind mage's magic blew against his cloak. It billowed with the shifting of the air yet thanks to the ties along the seem it did not open. He reached down and picked up the gruesome corpse, hoisting it onto his shoulder. Taethion and the other girl were tending to the two enchanted warriors who were here before them but what the half-breed was doing caught his attention more. Much like back in the wine cellar with the maid he could understand the language the lizard man and the half breed were speaking. The range of this amulet was impressive, he had to wonder if it had any linguistic limitations at all.

"Shall we bury them now?" The wind mage asked to no one in particular. He was already one step ahead of her, carrying the dead body back over to the grave he dug. He dropped the body in as gently as he could given the circumstance but the landing for it was still a bit rough. He could be more careful with the bodies but seeing as how there were quite a few more to carry over he could only spare so much care for how well he drops the body in and remain practical. He could only be so gentle with these bodies without sacrificing too much speed. He had a process for burying these bodies quickly without sacrificing his care for their state which he had honed through repetition. It's worked for him so far so he kept on track, turning from the pit and going over to retrieve another body. Whatever else could be said of him, he definitely knew how to dispose of corpses.

Adrian looked over to Sylphine, still crouching on the ground. "Yeah... that would be good. I couldn't protect their lives, maybe... we could at least give them a proper burial." He said with a slightly pained expression, still clinging to his idiology, as he was unable to do much. He was disappointed despite having the two he simply knocked out, run off upon waking up and remained alive. In the group's eye he was probably too naive and was unfit to go on a quest where he might have to kill sentient life.

He looked over at the corpse and saw the bird masked man carrying them to a grave he dug. He can see his respects for the dead and he didn't wait for the other's response as he slowly stood up and walked over a corpse as well, carrying it toward the grave and gently put it down as he reached downward until it is placed atop another. "Sorry." He said to the corpse. Thought he knew that no sorry or making up for it will do any good. He carried another one over, saying the same word again.

FOOL! You forgot to use soul protect! No wonder you've gotten curious stares! Activate it now! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Lara thought to herself as she helped Taethion with the wounded. Her medical supplies were in her backpack and she worked quickly and efficiently on the wounds of the dwarf. While she worked she glanced around at the group. If anyone was looking at her then she had to assume they knew too much about her. She had no intention of killing any of her comrades, but for the future of her life and of her family's lives she had to do something. Lara's eyes met Sylphine's and she stopped scanning. She had no innocent smile, no sign of friendliness on her face. She was covered in blood and her eyes would seem to almost pierce through anything as she continued applying bandages, but never looking away from Sylphine.

"Taethion, do these bandages look okay? On this deep wound?" Lara said, looking away after several minutes of silent staring.

Lara still beat herself up over not having her soul protect spell active, she did now. Any curious eyes would detect a human soul, but she couldn't help but worry that it was too late. Sylphine had to be one who could detect that, so Lara would have to keep an eye on her.

A light enveloped Lana and she felt the strain on her throat ease up, though it was gradual. Looking up, it seemed to be a paladin of some sort - she'd ask why he was helping her, but it seemed like a dumb thing to ask. That was just what paladins did, right? She looked up and saw the dwarf being treated as well, narrowing her eyes. As the light did its work, Lana warily picked up both of her blades, scowling.

"You may want to rethink that," she said, her voice hoarse but understandable. "As far as I'm concerned, he'll attack you once you're done helping him. He certainly didn't give it any thought when he came charging at me with his axe like a maniac."

Jor

The dwarf watched curiously as a human ran up to bandage his side and his head. He would have pushed her away but since he had not asked for the help and since his migraine was highly distracting, he relented. He shook his head slowly as he began to remember everything that had happened during his rage. The girl he had been fighting spoke up, warning against helping him.

"Th' lass be right." He said, slowly. "'S not wise to be helpin' someone who fought wi' ye." He looked up at the girl, who had brandished her weapons. "If ye be wantin' ta keel me. Ya best do it nae."

"So, what is a band of swamp striders doing this far from the wetlands?"

The lizard man took a few pained breaths to steady himself. He shivered a bit, blood loss and the rain not doing a great deal to improve his health. "The humans," He winced a bit "grow weak. The dragon has wounded their warriors. We thought -urk- we thought too..." Sensing that the pain was making it more difficult to speak for the lizard man by the second, Bliston cut in. "You thought to reclaim some lost territory, and so you sent out this little band as a meanings of scouting what strength the human tribes still had."

The horned man had thought as much. With the dragon going about and trashing the various nations and holdings, it wouldn't be two difficult too believe that some would take this as a sign of weakness on the kingdoms part. Bliston had already heard rumors in the last year that some of the savage folk were growing bolder in their attacks.

"We, wanted to..." The lizard man wheezed and coughed a bit. "... break free f-from..." The lizard man wheezed. A hard and ragged breath escaped its throat as it struggled to intake air. Bliston simply stared down at the dying creature, his face impassive. "Do you want me to end your misery?" He asked with a lack of any readable emotion in his voice. The lizard man stopped his wheezing and looked up at the darkened sky to watch the rain fall down on his face from above. Then, with a grimace, he closed his eyes and nodded. Bliston made no sound. He simply reached out with both hands, one covering the lizardmans mouth and nostrils and the other wrapped around his throat, and quietly smothered the swamp strider.

A moment passed. And then Bliston stood up. Giving only one last look towards the cooling body of the lizard man, he returned to the rest of the party.

"If ye be wantin' ta keel me. Ya best do it nae."

"That will not be necessary, sir dwarf." Bliston took to leaning on one of the downed wagons in a resting position just a little bit away from the others. "It would be a bit of a waste for us to do so." Turning to Taethion, he asked "will they be well enough to travel soon? I would rather we all get out of this rain before one of us catches cold."

Pravus

As he collected the bodies of the fallen though he did not seem as much he was in fact listening in to the half breed's conversation, though quiet as it might of been in contrast to the sound of rain and others talking.
How interesting. He thought. One that would construct as imposing an image as he would show such mercy.

When the half breed was done snuffing out the lizard man's life he came for it's body as well, bringing it to the grave to join it's comrades in death. He saw the young man who first drew his interest helping with bringing the bodies to the grave. In a sense it was a bit admirable, the young man taking responsibility for the loss of life which transpired here. As the boy spoke apologies to each one he brought he could tell he was not accustomed to the company of death and perhaps a little naive. still, he knew fully well that his respect for the dead did not fall on deaf ears. Even should they leave their bodies the departure to the afterlife was not an instantaneous process. Their souls were well aware of what happened to their bodies since it was still a powerful link to the world of the living even after death. He knew this since this principle applied both spiritually and magically, a principle which bore great significance to necromancers. During his time serving in the military he couldn't help but learn a thing or two from working alongside the battle mages who served in his legion, regardless of his feelings towards their practices.


Before too long the bodies were secured in the grave. He noted the one who's body was clearly eaten from. Having seen more forms of death than almost everyone he could tell very clearly just how each of these people died. He had observed the battle well enough to know that neither the dwarf nor the girl ate their opponents at any point and the half-breed didn't even arrive to the fight which eliminated them from the list of suspects. The wind mage and the young man who helped him bury the bodies were obviously not the culprit since one was both flying the entire time and seemed physically ill at the sight of blood while the boy seemed to despair at the very death of those who'd of gladly killed him. The holy man would be a real surprise seeing as how he was given powers directly from his deity, a deity who didn't sound like one who would accept such rituals. With those possibilities eliminated until further evidence was found that left the swordswoman, the shapeshifter, the erratic acting priestess and Iator. The list was narrow but still much too large to rightfully make any direct confrontations.

He filled in their grave in little to no time, his proficiency in burying the dead definitely shining through. He pat the earth flat and even with the bottom of his shovels head to make it look better. Turning to one of the trees he spied a branch which looked about right for his purpose. He brought his shovel high up above his head and chopped down, cutting the branch from the free with one swing. Raising his shovel up again he chopped the branch into two pieces and then discarded the smaller half which had most of the smaller twigs and branches from this piece of wood. He took the piece of wood which he had chosen and stabbed it into the ground where he had buried the lizard men.

Reaching inside his pouch he produced a rather small stone with a single rune carved onto the face of it. It was an emberstone, a stone with a very simple enchantment which could make the stone become very hot, hot enough to start a fire with. "Light" He spoke in his native tongue the emberstone's word of activation. He didn't have to worry about the stone's heat hurting him but he still held it with some care as he didn't want to slip up and wind up setting his cloak aflame. He brought the emberstone in contact with the very tip of the top of the stick and held it to it. Within a few seconds the stick started to sizzle. Within a couple more there was a loud snap! The sound was the sound of a small mote of flame which was born and was now feeding upon the stick for fuel.


It was all part of the burial ritual, the burning stick taking the place of a torch which would normally be lit for the deceased and placed at the head of their grave. It was supposed to symbolically represent the sun, the great torch in the sky which the Light Keeper lit, shining it's life bringing warmth down onto this world. In his religion the sun also doubles as a beacon for the souls of the dead to seek out so they can find their way to the gateway into the afterlife, hence the torch.

Standing just outside the freshly buried ground he stood before the grave. He drove the head of the shovel into the ground next to him to keep it from falling to the muddy earth, letting go of the handle so he could assume his position and say his prayers. He brought both arms across his chest, touching both shoulders with the opposite hands. He lowered his head so that his face looked to the ground, the beak of his mask gently resting against his sleeves.

"Joined together in death you must all seek what will be, leaving behind that which no longer is. May the light guide your way so that you may seek what you are owed."

He called out his prayer with solemn conviction, speaking these parting words in the language which first conceived of these prayers: Tiathan. With that their funeral was finished, performed to it's conclusion. It was his hope that their spirits understood that they needed to leave this mortal realm and find the afterlife which calls to them. Though the rain would soon snuff the fire of the makeshift torch he had crafted for what little time it burned he hoped would be enough to light their way.

Day 1

The words that came from Adrian's mouth baffled Sylphine for a few seconds. You failed to protect them...? The lizardmen? But everyone else was supporting the dwarf...what were you thinking? Shaking her head, she noticed that the masked man was carrying a few corpses towards the hole he had been digging. So he had been making a grave, instead of helping them battle...what a strange man. Oh well, who was she to judge him right now? They hadn't exchanged a word.

The girl pointed her hands towards one of the corpses, summoning a very gentle air current. The corpse was lifted a few inches into the air, and she placed it carefully into one of the graves. It wasn't that she was worried about dirtying her hands by handling the corpse, but rather dirtying the corpse with her hands. As soon as this endeavor was finished, she started to repeat the process with another.

Pirika's eyes snapped to the side, and noticed something. Heads up, Sylphine, she warned. That priestess, she's giving us some sort of death glare. Sylphine's eyes glanced very briefly up while she was guiding the corpse, and she saw the supposed holy woman staring straight at her coldly instead of paying attention to the people she was trying to bandage up. This is definitely proof that something's messed up about her, the bird thought, letting out a growl through her beak.

Definitely. But who's going to believe me? Sylphine replied, continuing the work. Just act natural. Right now, if we try anything, we'll cause a huge ruckus. I definitely will consult Taethion about it when I get the chance, though. Instead, she called over her shoulder. "You know, instead of gawking at me respecting the dead, you should be paying attention to your work. We wouldn't want your patients to die in treatment, after all." Surely enough, from that single glance, she knew the bandages had been applied poorly in the priestess' fixation on the emerald-haired maiden.

Before long, all the bodies were placed in the grave. Seeing the one which had been partially devoured sickened Sylphine, and she had to avert her gaze, leaning on a tree for support. She watched as the masked man covered the hole, set up a makeshift torch, and set it aflame, speaking prayers in an unknown language. It was actually quite fascinating to watch...but at the same time, it just made this man even more strange. He wasn't from this land at all, to be sure...

Bending down in front of the grave on one knee, she bowed deeply and whispered her own prayer of sorts. "What was born from nature must eventually return to nature. Sleep well, and reunite with the earth who gave you the gift of life once more." If there was any god her village worshiped, it could only be nature itself.

Standing up, she turned to Adrian, whom she had noticed had been apologizing over and over to each corpse which he had carried...it honestly bothered her. Wondering what to say for a few moments, Sylphine finally started to speak. "I know this sounds cold, but don't forget, they've killed people in the past too. If you can still ask for forgiveness and grieve for them while knowing that, then your hate for the daemon becomes a bit hypocritical." She waited for his response.

Taethion could the fruits of his spell working on the girl with the curious powers. The Priestess asked for him to see if the bandages were sufficient. The Paladin took a look over towards the Dwarf but before he could speak the girl muttered a warning. He wasn't sure what caused this ruckus but it seemed the Dwarf assaulted her first. The Dwarf then did nothing to defend himself instead admitting to her claims. He then proposed the most outrageous proposition to kill him. After the mess the party went to aide this Dwarf he wasn't about to let anyone kill him, especially since they risked their lives. Bliston came in time to discourage the very action, and for once, he can say he fully agrees with the half-demon. He then asked if they will be well enough to leave, expressing his concern over the weather.

"Ah yes the girl should be fine, and as for the Dwarven warrior," Taethion paused to check the bandages, he was a bit surprised she didn't use any healing spells, "Uh, while field dressing is an admirable skill to have, we haven't the time to wait for these wounds to heal naturally." Taethion spoke. He then began to mutter words to himself again and in about the same amount of time he finished, as a light began to envelope the Dwarf. His wounds healed quickly while the deeper ones naturally took more time to mend. Eventually the lights will disappear and he should feel right as rain. "Alright I am finished here." Taethion spoke. He noticed the rest of the party were disposing of the dead, placing them in a mass grave. By the time Taethion finished it appeared they were done. He wished he could have assisted but his place was with the living, after all there is an old saying in the order,Save the Living, Honor the Dead. He could see the Foreigner performing what he could guess at to be some sort of funeral ritual, he must be something of a Religious Man himself. The rain continued to pour more and more, "I suppose we should be moving soon, lest we catch our deaths out here." Taethion spoke as he looked towards the injured party. "Will you be needing some assistance to the wagon?" "I do not believe we have enough mounts here for everyone, unless anyone is willing to partner up?" Taethion spoke addressing to no one in particular, well except those who have horses.

Lara

Lara knew she had poorly placed the bandages and as she inspected them she adjusted each bandage. She turned to Taethion and said, "I'm sorry...it's the only wound care I know. I don't have healing experience with magic. Where I come from we rely on this style..."

She looked back at the dwarf and said, "I hope your wounds heal quickly. I'm sorry I don't know any magic."

Lara packed her gear back into her pack and looped her arms through the straps. She gave Sylphine another glance before approaching Iator and telling him, "I feel like everyone is watching me. Is there something I've done wrong? That girl, Sylphine keeps looking at me and you seemed annoyed with me earlier. If I am becoming a burden please tell me so I may change my ways."

Lara was finally aware of the blood all over her and scratched it off like dried skin. The constant looks made her anxious and she wasn't sure if it was real or simply paranoia.

Randionalia came in from the side upon horse back and regrouped with the wagon. She broke off from the group earlier to scout ahead as well, and provide back up in case there happened to be more raiders. Seeing as how the group decided to break off and help the Dwarf despite going against better judgement. Her position was hidden and gave her a clear vantage point to watch the entire battlefield. She particularly watched for more Lizardfolk, since she knew of some of their tactics. One of which being they sometimes entrap their enemies and then flank them. She worried about a possible counterattack, but this area wasn't particularly humid, making it odd for her to see any Lizardfolk. It must have been a small raiding party, and seeing as how everyone managed to kill most of them, she felt a little more confidence in this group. Even though the Lizardfolk are a far cry from a Dragon.

She watched as Taethion performed healing magic upon the two warriors whom she saw duke it out. She didn't recall many of their names, but she knew of Bliston, who suggested they move on with their new acquaintances. Randi would have been against bringing complete strangers upon a quest given to them by the King, but seeing their great combat potential she would allow it. Any help is for the good of the Kingdom. "Yes we better start moving eastward, I want to reach Andril before the week's end!" Randi shouted out to the party. She was more than ready to get on with the quest.

Adrian watched as the bird masked man buried the bodies and stabbed a stick on the ground over it and set it on fire. He doesn't know what kind of custom it is, but he simply watched it burn in the rain, without blinking an eye until it burn out. He turned to Sylphine as she commented to his naivety.

"No, I do hate him, but I only want him to repent for his sins. I don't want anyone dead, I have no right to wish for it."

...was he being serious? Even Adrian couldn't have not noticed the people from the caravan who had been killed before they arrived. "Do you realize how many people have performed the same 'sins' in this world?" Sylphine asked, her voice rising just a little. "The way you phrase it, the only one who has done so is the daemon. No, the lizardmen committed the same act...and, to boot, you saw that I committed it today as well. So why haven't you lashed out at me yet, even after you made your beliefs clear in Beystead?"

"No, I know there are killing on every part of the world, but who are we! to say who deserves to die and whose not! Every crime deserves redemption other than being executed, as they are all people who have emotions and people waiting for them!" He responded in an serious tone, to show how much he values life, but not necessarily mad.

Where was he going with this?! "We entered the battle to prevent the lizardmen from killing the dwarf," Sylphine reminded him. "Even though he didn't need it, we weren't trying to execute them for what they did; we were trying to prevent them from committing the same act again!"

"I entered the fight to stop both sides from killing each other!" He responded to her. "Must they be stopped by ending their lives?! Is that the only way you believe they can be stopped? Is-!" Their argument was cut short as Bliston appeared.

Bliston heard yelling behind him at some point. Turning to see what the fuss was this time he spotted the farm boy and the bird girl kneeling in the dirt over a freshly upturned mound of dirt. I took him a few seconds to realize what it was, before he noticed the lack of lizardfolk corpses. Further behind them he could see the quiet man with the shovel erecting a makeshift grave, causing Bliston to snort a bit. He pushed off from his resting place and walked up next to where the brats were having their argument, and called out "You do know that Lizardfolk eat their dead, right?" He sifted the weight of the great club on his shoulder, before finally deciding to just set it down for the time being. "Also," He said, this time regarding the people closer to him, "I'm not sure which of you did it but next time could you take more care to finish off your opponents? I found one of the buggers bleeding back among those wagons there and had to strangle him out myself." He scratched his chin a bit "It's quite rude to just leave someone half dead like that."

Sylphine was about to retort again, when the daemon abruptly entered the conversation. The mention of the lizardfolk eating each other caused her to have the unpleasant memory of the priestess' actions, but she forced the thought down hard and hoped it didn't show up on her face. "What did he...that lizardman, I mean...try to do?" she asked, wondering why the daemon killed him.

Bliston eye'd the mage girl. "He was lying on the ground holding his cut gut." He didn't really see why she would be asking that.

Realizing she had misunderstood (she interpreted the daemon's words and thought the lizardman had caused trouble, whereas the daemon meant that the lizardman had been suffering and he had killed him out of mercy), Sylphine coughed a bit awkwardly. "Ah," she said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Well, um...I'm quite sure I finished off all the ones I took on, but I'll...be more careful next time all the same."

Adrian didn't know what to say. Bliston killed someone suffering with its wound. Was it right to end its life? was there no other way to end its suffering, but killing it? No, mercy and killing can never go together and no matter the motive, it's still murder, but was it right to keep it living only to suffer?

"Good." The daemon replied curtly, and walked away.

Jor

The bandages came off as Jor received the effects of the healing magic. "Ach. Ye hae ma thanks lad." He said, standing. He placed his fists knuckle to knuckle in front of him and bowed in customary dwarf fashion. He turned to the girl. "It was nae ma intent ta attack ye lass. When ma blood gets to flowin' Ah cannae help meself."


Iator

The gnome was now eye to eye with the girl, thanks to his pony. He stared at her. "If you want to talk about that, then I suggest you speak with me in private." His eyes narrowed and he lowered his voice so that only she could hear him. "And don't come to me with a pretext of innocence. I can see through your...facade."

(Double)

Lara

"Then let us speak in private, I have nothing to hide from any of you." She said as she walked to a gathering of trees and leaned against one of them.

She waited for Iator and thought over her words and it was when Arneth had realized that Lara would never have done this. Damn! I can't be Lara anymore, I shouldn't have let my emotions keep me from seeing my consistency errors!
Arneth wouldn't be Lara anymore, how Iator would receive his secret would be the only factor deciding if Arneth would kill Iator or not.

"Not your intent, huh?" Lana murmured, looking over toward the dwarf. After a few moments of silence, she sighed and looked the other way, shaking her head. "Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore." She listened in on what the others were saying, too. Resting one of her blades against her shoulder, she caught wind of the argument between the green haired girl and the boy, frowning visibly. He's gonna be one of those types, isn't he? she thought sourly.

"Hey, boy," she said aloud to Adrian. "The world doesn't revolve around you or what you think is right. You can think whatever you want, but the moment you try to push your self-righteous garbage onto other people is the moment people are gonna start tuning out, so I suggest you keep it to yourself." A gloved hand suddenly pushed down on her head and she nearly instinctively lashed out with her sword to slash it away - only a slight twitch was visible from that response and its restraint.

"Now, don't be like that," Gale grinned, tousling her hair. "He's still a kid, let him have his way. Maybe he's on to something, you know? It's not such a bad way to think."

"Don't touch me," Lana said quietly, narrowing her eyes and tightly gripping her blades. Still smiling, he put both of his arms up as a sign that he won't do it again.

"Alright, alright, no need to get mad," he replied. Just from touching her, his magic responded and reassured him that his guess was just about accurate. So, there really are Vasquerans left around here, he thought. I suppose I'm not about to kill her for her power, but it's interesting to know.

Asha slowly walked about, taking everything in and silently absorbing what she heard and saw. As a natural observer, she was incredibly perceptive of everything that happened around her - the words that were used and the tone they were used in, body language, facial expressions, everything was analyzed and stored in some capacity, not actively, but passively, her usual thought process being enough to break down all of the information into simpler, easier to understand elements.

Resting with her back against a tree and her sword sheathed at her side, she said just loudly enough for Iator to hear, "If she doesn't want to talk, you shouldn't force it. Not that I'll interfere if you decide to, I'm sure you have your own concerns, but perhaps you understand the stress of trying to keep a secret. Personally, I don't think she means any harm, but if there ever comes a time..." Her thumb slightly pushed the sword up until the base of the blade was barely visible. Her cold, calculating gaze was fixated on the two of them momentarily as though she were looking right through them. "...Well, I suppose I'll know." She turned her head away and lightly closed her eyes, adjusting the weapon back into its sheath. "But now is not that time. Again, it's up to you. I just thought I'd share my thoughts; it's not such an unfamiliar scenario, after all."

Adrian looked at Sylphine again. "Sylph, I know I might be naive and I don't intend to drop it. And just so you know, I'm not as mad as you are right now." He said one last comment to her with the same serious tone. He looked over to the little girl, and listened to her comment which is just as cold as Sylphine's was. "No, I'm not forcing my opinion on anybody. I do believe that no one deserves death, but I know that for some, it is necessary for them to give death, and it is out of necessity that we (the group) will kill a dragon." He replied back, unfazed by her cold comment. "And aren't you younger than me? Calling me boy just sounds strange." He said, relaxing his voice as he scratch his neck. Thinking he finally said what he wanted to say. Not feeling that much catious to the girl the was once on a death match with the dwarf.

"Oh, it's strange, is it?" Lana responded, rolling her eyes. "Do you want me to call you a man? Because that is something that you are certainly not. Isn't it even more strange for a boy to think that he should be addressed otherwise?"

Meanwhile, Gale had transformed his arm into golem fists, carving out massive pits in the road with his hands, leaving them large enough so that the rain couldn't simply wash away his mark in the land. After he was done, he flicked the mud on his fingers away, taking a step back to observe his work. "Well, this is as good a time as any," he muttered to himself. "Was pretty easy this time since the dirt is all wet. Maybe if I'm lucky somebody'll see it." What Gale had carved into the middle of road was a symbol used by the Weavers, the traveling mage's guild that he'd been a part of for years before they were promptly separated by as massive conflict with another party. He'd been meaning to get back in contact with them but without any real way to do so, he'd been relying on leaving messages to leave a trace of where he had been. Its effectiveness was questionable, but it was better than nothing.

He groaned as he think of a comeback. "Hah, nevermind, can you just call me by my name? It's Adrian, Adrian Retter." He sighed as he introduced himself to the girl. "May I ask your name, oh fair mature lady?" He asked with an almost dead tired irritated voice. "Jeez she looks so young and cute and what's with this personality?" He mumbled to himself as he looked at her, being atleast a head shorter than him. He sighed again.

"Lana," she murmured, resting her arms over her knees. "And you can drop the sarcasm unless you're trying to tick me off." She pushed up one of her blades so it rested vertically in the mud. "Because if this is going to be a problem, I'd rather settle it my way..." Her gaze scanned the figures around her and she lifted the sword up, slamming it back into the ground until the blade was halfway through the mud. "...but I guess your friends wouldn't appreciate that, so you've lucked out this time. And it's raining." Lana's eyes shifted warily back to the dwarf. What was his deal anyway? "Hey, dwarf," she called, still bitter about being attacked out of nowhere. "I'm not about to walk over there and cut your head off just yet, so you mind explaining what that was all about?"

Taethion

Taethion turned towards the Priestess and spoke, "It's quite alright." He didn't want to see her upset just because she couldn't perform healing spells. Even though that prospect seemed strange to him, but then she wandered off and spoke to Iator. Taethion didn't mind as he turned back to the Dwarf. Taethion then bowed back at the Dwarf with a slight chuckle. "It wasn't any problem, it was just my duty." He cheerfully spoke. It seemed both of them were healthy enough to travel. He decided to walk towards the heart of the group as he called out for his horse. After a whistle Herod came trotting up to Taethion as he mounted him. He could hear the intense argument as he rode up and stopped before he could come into contact with the mass grave. "Are you fellows alright?" "It sounds like you guys were having quite the argument." He spoke concerned. He noticed Gale dug up something but he wasn't quite sure what it was he was doing.

Randionalia

The Elven assassin rode up beside Taethion and spoke, "Yes they were arguing and at a most inconvenient time might I add!" "We haven't the time to waste on this matter, I'm sure it can wait until we find a suitable place to stop and leave the rain for the night." Randi spoke with a huff as she turned eastward, readying her horse to move down the road. "If all of you are quite finished messing around, it seems our injured are back on their feet and the burial completed, I see no more reason to waste anymore time in this place!" She spoke with a bit of annoyance in her voice. She has no idea how long that Dragon is gonna keep the Princess alive, they can't waste any more time if they can help it.


Taethion then nodded, they have a job to do still. They needed to get moving.

Pravus

Having finished his service to the fallen here he turned to the rest of the field. The others argued for a while with each other, the shapeshifter was busy digging holes in the ground and the elven woman was just returned. Quite frankly he didn't care in the slightest about what anyone was saying or doing at the moment. Their problems were not his problems. The rain lightly came down, running through the hole in his hat like a little faucet. He looked up to the sky, the rain wetting the beak of his upturned mask. He could feel nothing but in his thoughts he was downcast. He missed the smell of rain.

"If all of you are quite finished messing around, it seems our injured are back on their feet and the burial completed, I see no more reason to waste anymore time in this place!"

He turned, looking over to the elven woman as she beckoned to the group. He was on the same page as her, already moving on over to the wagon. He was well dressed for enduring the forces of nature but he was fairly certain there were those in the group who weren't. With a motion the horses which pulled the cart were set to walk again. He followed right alongside the cart, the mud on his boots making each step of his heavier as he trudged through the muck which the trail was starting to become. Of course this did not slow him down any as there was no effort in pulling his boots from the mud with each step. His state of undeath made traveling much easier as he could never fatigue no matter how harrowing the path becomes.

Taethion watched as the party began to assemble for departure. He watched Randi preparing to move while the Foreigner tended to the wagon. During the hustle to move onward, Taethion looked back to the Dwarf and the Girl. He worried about their current situation and didn't feel comfortable just leaving them here. "Um, wait!" He spoke up, "What about the Dwarf and the Girl? Are we to leave them here? I find it a bit senseless that we rescued them and healed their wounds just to leave them here for whatever fate decides." Taethion spoke.

He presented an honest truth to the matter. Randionalia could see that leaving them here would be a pathetic outcome, considering the risk they took. A risk she believed should have never been taken, but nevertheless it was. She wasn't about to let their precious time and manpower be for not. She looked towards the Paladin and spoke, "Yes I see your point...and I suppose leaving them here will be an ill move on our part. We haven't enough horses for everyone but they may ride on the wagon."

Taethion then responded, "Alright then what are we going to do next? Are we to bring them to some sort of shelter for the evening?" He asked.

The Elf had first considered that would be the plan but she decided to make full use of this venture. Since they risked their lives for them, they are at least a bit indebted to them and what better way to pay of that debt is with a chance. "No, I have considered a better plan, how would you two like the opportunity to help the people of this land?" She asked the Dwarf and the Girl.

Still sitting, Lana rested her hands in her lap and looked up at the elf, blinking through the rain. "If I'm needed somewhere, I'll go. I have nothing left anyway."

The Dwarf cocked his head to the side. "Ah owe nothin' t' the people of this land, beldarakin. Wha' do ye want from me?"

Randi looked at the two strangers and nodded in response to the Girl's answer. She looked towards the Dwarf narrowing her eyes, not in anger, but in contemplation, assessing the warrior for what it's worth. "No, but the people will owe you, from where I stand you have two options. Option One: we provide you some shelter for the night and the following day we part ways and never meet again. Option Two: you can join us on a quest given to us by the King of Londe himself and be handsomely rewarded. Someone with your skill with an axe will be very helpful on our mission."

"The king, is it?" Lana said with a pained grin as she folded her hands together. "I guess the empire just hasn't spilled enough of our blood yet."

The dwarf thought a moment, his hand on his chin. "Th' opinions o' jarghin, beldarakin, and humans mean nothin' t' me. Teell me what yer mission be, though. Ah'd consider it."

Randi narrowed her eyes again. She sort of rolled over the Girl's contemptuous words, being not the only person to have grievances with authority. The Dwarf however surprised her some, she supposes he isn't the "soldier of fortune" type she assumed him to be. Still, her patience with both the rain and the Dwarf were running thin as she sought to indulge his inquiry. "We are here to locate the Dragon that has been terrorizing these lands and put an end to him! Not only that but rescue the Princess whose abduction I'm sure you've heard of." She quickly spoke.

"Ye be fightin' a dragon then?" The dwarf spoke, seeming surprised. "Ai dar." He said nodding. "Ah will fight wi' ye."
Randi then nodded in response to the Dwarf. "Well if that is your decision, then welcome to the party. If there are any belongings that weren't destroyed or stolen by the Lizardfolk, gather them up now. Otherwise we will move eastward on to Andril." She spoke turning her horse as she finished.

Jor holstered his axe on his back, checked his belt for his daggers and joined the wagon.

Lana followed after him, putting her blades away to free her hands and climbing up through the back.

Taethion then smiled after hearing Randi accepted them on board. He then rode up next to the wagon, "Well glad to have new faces, welcome!" He spoke rather cheerfully. He then sat in wait for the caravan to move.

Iator

The gnome looked at Asha. "I agree there is a time and a place for everything. This may not be ideal but it is necessary. Thank you for the advice and," He nodded to the weapon, "for your...zeal." He turned and rode his pony away from the main group towards Lara. He cast a quickened, silenced, and stilled spell upon himself and his pony as he approached. He spoke to the 'priestess' in hushed tones.

"Your secret." He said, looking at her. "You are not who you claim to be. I can respect that. Seven hells, I can admire it." He said with a little chuckle at the use of Bliston's catchphrase. "But I need to know if you will be a danger to this quest."

Kam

The mage sat cross legged, chanting softly over a vial of red liquid while three different clerics stood over the bodies of the deceased. In the meantime, Kam inspected the escape routes that the assassin might have taken. None of it made sense. There was no indication that the assassin had jumped out the window, but there were guards in the hallway that did not see them leave.

The clerics spoke up. "Lord Dyatt was killed by this servant." The first one said. "The son says that he was killed by his own father after his father had been killed by the servant." Kam stood dumbfounded for a moment before it became clear.

"A shapeshifter." He said, his eyes wide. "What did the servant say?"

"She was killed by an unknown man with dark hair and eyes, average in height. " The last cleric said.

"Then we have a description, though with a shapeshifter that may not matter." He said, shaking his head in dismay. He looked at the court mage. "What did you find?"

"I have a bearing on where they went and a distance from this spot." The mage said, "The assassin has left the city towards the east and is about half a day's travel away by horse."

Kam looked outside to where it was raining. "The Hunters..."