The Azure Citadel

[Izaneus Phortea]

Izaneus stood high next to the man who rudely grabbed him by the collar and thrust him into the blackened sky. Carrying him into the night with barely any chance for the young Wizard to get a grasp on his situation. Yet even so. As he slowly gained his balance on the branch he stood upon. Which he believed could snap at any moment. He couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief being away from Elise. He cared for the vampire. But sometimes he couldn’t help but…

He sighed out. One hand holding tightly to the base of wood that kept them both hidden and safe from breaking their necks from the fall… Well, Gildarts would be fine. But Izaneus was slowly learning that he was far too underprepared for these things. There was so much yet he had to learn…

He already wanted to sigh again. His thoughts kept drifting from one depressing topic to another. Did he enjoy the act of learning? Of course.. But… he couldn’t quite explain why it placed a weight on his chest. Why everything going on made him want to curl into a ball and rot away.

But it did.

It did.

“Hey, you payin’ attention?” The elder mage spoke roughly. His eyes, not leaving the cave they’d been eying for a few minutes now.

“Not really..” The heir muttered back. Which made Gildarts raise an eyebrow, grabbing the younger one by the arm and pulling him closer to the branch edge. Something that Izaneus was not particularly fond of. “Wh- Are you trying to make me fall??” he near shouted. But tried to refrain due to the fact that this was supposed to be a “stealth” mission.

“Look down there. See?” Izaneus wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be seeing. Gildarts had already seemingly spotted whatever it was that they… “ What..?” He whispered, as his eyes focused themselves to better view the sight in front of him. There was a large amount of spacial energy coalescing in front of the cave entrance. Whirling about in a circular motion that slowly drew in its surroundings. Through his innate vision. Izaneus could see the destination that it led to. Which was alight with torches. Orange and yellows splashing on well constructed walls.

It was a spell. A portal of some kind. But that wasn’t all..

Izaneus watched as a small squirrel exited harmlessly through the portal from the cave. Trodding gently over to the tree he and Gildarts currently stayed on.

“Ahh, I know that look. You’re getting it now.” He heard the other Wizard speak his approval. Almost feeling the grin that he wore. Izaneus huffed softly in response. As though that was supposed to be difficult.

“So is that how the Dragon distinguishes guests from intruders? But then.. What allows the guests to go through the gate..” He wondered aloud. His eyes glowing their faint Azure hues in the orchid darkness, as they squinted in a futile hope to help him think better. Gildarts stayed silent, save for a faint hum. As though waiting patiently for something. Which, Iza couldn’t lie, Mildly irritated him. Why was he simply sitting there waiting for him to figure the answer out? Izaneus wished he’d done more work on the source of the mind. That way he’d be able to learn exactly what Gildarts was thinking. If he was.

However. One thing was for certain. The mage was powerful… This was proven throughout many steps of their journey, he also had a fair bit of experience about him. Yet even with all of Izaneus’s study into psychology. He couldn’t get a glimpse into Gildarts mind. Other than he was troubled, and the magic that surrounded him was no benediction. But more of a malignant curse… There was always a faint wisp of ambient power about him.

Izaneus, as per usual, was once more lost in thought. That he didn’t notice the convoy creaking to a halt. With the whines of the engines that supported its movement.

However, luckily. There was another set of eyes on that branch. Which flicked about. Watching for the movement of their other companions. They were a competent bunch. If violent. Gildarts quite knew that there was little chance of them being spotted this late into the game. Yet.. even so. He couldn’t help the faint feeling in the back of his head like something was amiss.

 

[Elise]

Meanwhile, half a mile away, the caravan truck grumbled to a stop outside the shimmering rip in spacetime. Elise and Edos listened as the drivers exited the cab, murmured, and groaned as they stretched their stiff limbs. A faint whiff of cigarette smoke through the truck's canvas indicated that the guildsmen were in no rush. Still, someone or something would be pawing through the cargo bed soon to retrieve the shipment, which meant that the vampire and leonin had to make some tactical decisions.

In typical fashion, Gildarts had split the party. But this time, he had taken the second-smartest person in their little gang with him. She could only assume that some sort of giant, cataclysmic explosion was imminent as the crash mage brought the full might of his brute force and ignorance to the problems in front of them...

...not that she was knocking that. Sometimes, brute force and ignorance was the perfect skeleton key. It had certainly sped things along back at the Guild depot. Now, however, they were up against something that was both crafty AND a fair bit stronger than they were. If they leaned too heavily into their destructive abilities, this dragon would outwit them. If they took things too slowly and deliberated, Tyretlethen would bring the mountain down on their heads.

First of all, they needed information. Elise tapped the top of her backpack, and Greenstripes groggily poked his gooey mantle out of the top of her bag.

"Keep an eye out." she whispered to the big cat. Edos nodded, and drew one of his hatchets, keeping his glimmering, feline eyes fixed on the back of the cargo bed. Elise sat down, and closed her own eyes, allowing her senses to extend through the little terratopus as he slithered from her satchel. Seeing through his eyes, she looked up at herself and lamented at the state of her makeup before the familiar scuttled off through the cracks in the back of the cab. Soon enough, the slithering mollusk was on top of the truck, in the open, cool air of night, and taking in the scenery.

Directly in front of them, of course, was a the swirling portal. An arcane gate of some kind, no doubt with a host of divinations and enchantments built into it. It was projected onto the face of a sheer, dusty cliff wall that rose almost sixty feet straight up out of the desert floor. There were one or two groves of trees nearby, but the stone itself was barren. Beyond this natural rock wall, a tower seemed to rise right up to the very moon. It was a towering, sandstone structure at least a thousand feet high. Warm, fiery lights flickered out of natural windows cut into the cylindrical structure.

There was...technically nothing stopping them from flying straight over the wall and right up to the dragon's top floor. But Elise had to assume that any attempts at such hubris in the past had been rewarded with a wide array of deadly traps and security systems.

Just then, there was motion inside the portal gate. A dozen gaunt, clattering humanoid shapes shuddered outwards from the magically connected hallway. Elise sighed in disgust.

"Skeletons..." she said aloud, even though she couldn't hear it from Greenstripes' perspective.

The boneheads took rickety, uneven steps towards the two drivers, who had gone still as statues. At this point, the third convoy truck began to pull into the clearing. Its headlights illuminated the empty, gawking sockets of the undead servants in eerie contrast. Greenstripes watched as the other truck drivers shut their vehicle off and dismounted. The second driver, evidently more experienced with this run, clapped the other two on their shoulders and laughed mockingly.

"Ah don't let a coupla dry bones get you spooked, boys. Tyretlethen keeps a good, tight leash on his little ghouls here. They're just here to take the boxes inside, that's all."

So...Tyretlethen was a dragon AND a necromancer to boot. Hammuzi could have mentioned any of these details ahead of time! The veterean Guildsman whistled to the animated bones and pointed to the trucks, commanding them to retrieve the cargo. Elise opened her eyes, bringing her focus back into her own body. Edos crouched, anxiously, in front of her, still ready to intervene with anyone entering their hiding place.

"Okay. Okay okay. Edos there's like six undead skeletons coming to lug the boxes inside. We need to...shit..." Elise said, wracking her brain for ideas. Could they drive the truck through the gate? No, it wasn't big enough. Fight and kill everyone here!

...and give themselves away to the dragon. No. Hypnotize the guards into letting them pass? But then the skeletons could not be hypnotized. She blinked as she watched Edos, who was rapidly ripping one of the crates open and throwing the contents onto the floor around them.

"What are you doing?!" she hissed. Edos pulled his head out of one of the drab boxes and motioned inwards.

"Get in. The skeletons will carry us inside!" Edos said as quietly as a lion could. Elise rolled her eyes.

"What with the cargo scattered all of the floor? Boy, they're not that stupid, we-" Elise started, but then cut herself. Skeletons and most basic undead were, in fact, completely that stupid. They had been ordered to carry boxes in; it wasn't their job to check and take an inventory of the contents. If the convoy men were too lazy to do it themselves, no one would notice until it was too late.

Probably.

"Actually, you're completely right, my fault. Let's cuddle." Elise whispered. She scooted over on hands and knees just as Greenstripes sloshed back into her knapsack. Edos squeezed in after her, which was...pretty cramped. He did smell better than she was expecting, though. Was that eucalyptus oil in his fur? Okay.

Edos did his best to pull the lid shut behind them, but it was far from perfect. Some long, tense, breathy moments passed as they waited to be picked up by the unsteady hands of long dead servants. Eventually, though, the lifting did come. At first, the box was noisily pushed along the floor of the truck bed.

"Gonna need some more hands for this one!" a Guildsman called. Bone palms and fingers went clickety-clack on the wooden hull of the box, right next to Elise's face. Sure enough, though, the boneheads managed to start lugging them towards...well...Elise had to assume it was inside.

Hopefully.

Now she just had to hope that Izzy and Gildarts could figure out a similar solution that was, you know, discreet and savvy.

"Ah shit."

 

[Izaneus Phortea]

Hm, see. That was an issue.

Watching the Undead minions of Tyretlethen carry the Cargo inside. The blonde Wizard desperately racked his brain for anything regarding a plan. How were they supposed to sneak within when all they really had going for them was a shitty vantage point and a worse method of entry?

The boy stared off in silence for a few seconds. Before exhaling a deep breath. His eyes focused slowly on their surroundings. Okay. Dragons are crafty by nature. Entering through the cave system was likely a bad idea. If that was a viable entrance. But the skeletons… there wasn’t any particularly strong force sustaining them… there was, however. The ever lingering signature of Draconic influence among them… Was it a dare?

The thought made Iza’s hair stand on end. No, he didn’t dare. “Hey, we need to get in there, preferably soon.” He spoke quietly. To which Gildarts hummed with thought. “Well, my abilities are anything but subtle Kid. I got one or two tricks up my sleeve, but..”

Yet another pause as the two deliberated. Where Izaneus took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. Illusions would be his friend here. Of which he knew a few. But none he could activate at a distance. He watched the Skeletons shambled around, grabbing crates of cargo from each truck. Which. Did get him thinking.

“Well this is going to be rather stupid…” He sighed outward. Turning to Gildarts. “What are those tricks?”

---

Just a few moments later. A barebones (yes) skeleton crunched against what vegetation there was around. Crouching and creaking as it did so. Moving behind one of the nearby guild cargo trucks. It’s head peeking around the corner. Where it watched one one more undead thrall follow and stumble out of the whirling gate. The guard watching it do so, stiffening, and clenching his weapon evermore tightly.

“Not fuckin right I tell ya’...” He speaks. Sluggish in his movement to point to the truck behind him.

The being behind the truck took a look at the treeline. There it saw Gildarts however faintly, through the glow the magic around him took in an effort to make sure that the illusion supporting the guard’s influence stayed strong, stable, as it stumbled toward its own position.

The plan was simple. Make it seem like there was an extra skelly. Not too difficult. But the simplicity made it all the more nerve wracking. The sheer number of things that could go wrong here were rather… plentiful. Putting it mildly.

Yet all the same did Izaneus, wait for the illusory form of the skeleton to reach his position. As it did so, and walked out of sight. For the most part. Regardless. Izaneus then stood up in his disguised form. Walking and grabbing a crate. Huffing under the weight it housed.

He didn’t dare speak. Fearful of the consequences if he were to be caught.

Slowly, he shambled out, and conveniently, the weight made it all the more easy to appear disjointed and uncoordinated. Though. That wasn’t exactly an effort in any case.

However, Izaneus couldn’t help but peek at a small wisp of ambient power emanating from one of the crates nearby. What kind of things were they bringing in here?

He’d never thought to ask. Yet, quite a few of these things held… some form of power. At least. Regardless. That wasn’t the main problem here. He had to make sure he wasn’t… “OI.” Called one of the guards, from nearby. Causing Izaneus to pause in his step. “Ye don’t talk about me mum like that.”

For once, Izaneus praised the stupidity of security. For as he crawled through the portal with his crate. He was more than sure in that moment, he’d been caught.

Now all there was to do.. Was follow the rest of the skeletons… drop the cargo off, and pray Tyretlethen hadn’t made him out as soon as he entered.

What could go wrong?

 

[Elise]

Alright Elise, let's review the situation here.

You are currently stuck inside a cramped cargo box with a big, sweaty lion man being carried by clattering skeletons. The box that was supposed to be full of artifacts and knick-knacks for a blue dragon necromancer, whose magical lair you are currently infiltrating.
It's the middle of the night, miles away from any method of escape, and your other two allies are, as far as you know, stuck outside for the foreseeable future.

What exactly does one do in this situation?

"Hold tight, Edos. Just chill. Be chill." Elise hissed as the leonin mumbled and adjusted his muscular bulk within the confines of the wooden crate. They could feel their weight being buoyed along by the silent, bony laborers, and it felt like they were moving...down? Yeah, like down a shallow flight of stairs. Her mind raced for a moment, trying to consider her options. It was impossible to work any spells inside the cramped confines of this box, but just waiting to find out their fate also seemed silly.

Wait, where was her buddy?

Elise reached out once more to tap into Greenstripes' senses, simply to find that the familiar no longer existed. Hm. So something had either killed him or...ah, of course. That arcane protection over the main gate probably had dispelled the spiritual magic binding him together when he tried to sneak through. Oh well. She'd have him summoned up again soon enough.

That still didn't help her immediate situation though. She silenced herself again, and let her normal heightened senses take over. Even with her vampiric sight, she could barely see anything inside of the pitch-black box. But she could hear...water? Yeah, gently running water, lapping against stone. Even as she listened, Edos half whispered to her.

"Smell that, dark one? It smells like...a pool." Edos huffed. He paused to sniff at the air, chuffing softly. Elise could feel his whiskers tickling against her calf. "Yes...chlorine. A swimming pool, perhaps." he purred.

And indeed, Elise could smell it too. The distinct chemical tang in the air could hardly be anything else. Just as she was about to try and make sense of this information, the crate was dropped to the ground with an unceremonious bang, which startled even the predators hidden within. She was pretty sure she had made some sort of pathetic yap as the box hit the stone floor; hopefully these skeletal porters hadn't noticed.

...which apparently they hadn't. Edos and Elise breathed quietly as the sounds of clattering, bony feet echoed through this underground reservoir. From the sounds of it, other heavy boxes were being deposited here. Eventually, the sounds of heavy lifting subsided, and the stowaways figured that their chance to abscond deeper into the Citadel had come.

Just as they began to shift and extract themselves, however, they froze. Something hard and metal slammed into the lid of their container -- a crowbar -- which swiftly pulled the cover away. Edos and Elise froze, caught and entangled amongst eachothers' limbs, as a singular skeleton stared down at them.

A long moment passed.

"Well? Make it snappy." the grinning skull quipped. Elise blinked, then grinned as she fluidly pulled herself free from the box. She surveyed the room briefly as Edos unfolded his hulking form behind her. It did indeed seem as though they had been deposited in some sort of underground swimming pool or atrium. It was a pleasant little oasis in an otherwise arid rock formation, and sized to accommodate a fully grown dragon, of course. Most importantly, they were alone.

"Not bad, not bad. But how did you hold the spell intact through the gate barrier?" Elise said, slapping Izaneus on the shoulder through the glamour. The skeleton tilted its head slightly.

"Maintain? I didn't notice anything interfering with my illusion when I passed through. Is that what you mean?" the younger wizard queried. Elise only responded with a small frown. Apparently her guess about the barrier's function had been incorrect, but then, where was Greenstripes? What had really happened?

"We shouldn't linger here..." Edos growled. He had his bow drawn, with several arrows clutched in his right paw. The big white cat-man's tail swished and flicked irritably as he continued to peer around at the shifting shadows cast by the glittering blue water.

"You right, but..." Elise said. She trailed off as she looked at the available paths to them. There was the long entrance hallway they had come down, of course. Then there were two side hallways to their left and right, and then an overhead tunnel which seemed to be for ventilation...but it was awful big...

"Ah. The dragon's path." The hunting cat said, tracing a clawed finger towards the skylight and further up into the darkness. Fair enough. But that still wasn't the information they needed to find somewhere to get their bearings and get some damn spellwork keyed up. Elise stared at their choices again. Everything was the same, nearly featureless carved sandstone, with no signage or writing to indicate which way was which.

Then again, they were technically in someone else's house.

Oh wait.

Elise flexed her hands a few times and rolled her head around. Sure enough, she felt sluggish and slowed down. The vampire had entered someone's house uninvited, and now the curse was taking its toll on her. She growled softly as Edos and Izaneus noticed her discomfort.

"Can someone ELSE make a damn decision for once?" she snapped.

 

[Izaneus Phortea]

“Elise?” Izaneus questioned, still disguised, the form through which he appeared made his concern perhaps come off wrong… or the vampire was just irritable. Izaneus couldn’t tell, Elise slapped his outstretched hand away with some force, causing the boy to massage the area affected as his intellectual superior glared at him. “Plan, get one going??” She spoke with annoyance laden in her voice.

Iza took a step back as he nodded. Restraining his instinctive thought to gulp down whatever anxiety he had in his chest.
“Alright… uh…” he stammered, looking and spinning in place for a moment before Edos placed a large paw on his shoulder, causing the younger boy to look upward, and see the lion-like face stare forward, tail whipping at the ground. “We must climb, swiftly.” His deep voice nearly growled in agitation. Something about this place was... Gnawing at the two of them. Something Izaneus himself was either oblivious to or…

As he began to think this, a swift overbearing pressure weighed in on his chest, causing him to stumble over the nothingness from his position, before just as swiftly retreating… or passing by them with nothing more to show for it. Turning to Edos, who now had his fangs bared in a reflexive response, and Elise, who wasn’t fairing much better than himself. Iza concluded that Edos was correct, they couldn’t stay here. Slowly he felt his feet moving in the direction Edos stared so intently, trying to find whatever the Hunter spotted with such ease as he scanned the stonework, melding ever so fluidly into wild rock formations. Were these just.. Conjured? By the Dragon? Izaneus himself could do similarly… but, with his abilities. There would at least be some indication of tampering, such as bricks not aligning perfectly. But…

There it was, entire corridors of perfectly sculpted stone.

Izaneus had read about Dragons. Their abilities, their myriad spells of ancient wonder, the like of which rendered all he was moot. Yet for all of their tales regarding Destructive unending power, Iza hadn’t read one of elegance. It was curious.. In that regard. He wondered, briefly, why that was as he, and the two E’s slowly moved from the first staircase towards the other.

He felt the air rush into his lungs from his nose.

Once more he found his thoughts drifting to the end. Now drawing ever closer, or so he hoped. As they climbed the spire sculpted to fit the Draconic liking of Tyretelthen. The youngest of their trio turned back to see Elise still clutching her head in annoyance as they scaled the seemingly never-ending stairs. Izaneus couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrow as he watched the vampire through the side of his eye, a faint cold in his chest, followed thereafter by the hulking frame that was the Leonin in front of him. Sniffing. Before his hulking frame curled into a crouch, moving forward with experienced focus. His footsteps making nary a sound.

Turning around to face his followers, the Hunter turned to Izaneus first with a look which the latter couldn’t decipher in time before the former pointed behind him, and moved left in a crossed path. Towards an orange glow… translucent lines flying from the Hall. Which caused Izaneus to shift uncomfortably as he moved forward, Elise in tow, breathing as deeply as she could to stave off… whatever it was she was facing. Izaneus knew little about Vampires… Well, he’d learned more since meeting her. But he supposed he really needed to study more, and learn more about the worlds and their inhabitants…

The thought brought the thought of his and Elise’s first reunion to mind. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant memory… He was utterly helpless against her. She’d held him still while all he could truly do in response was bluff.

…Perhaps it was because of this that he couldn’t identify the tightness in his chest, maybe it was all they were doing to get Rean back… though he was aware that there was more to it..

He was distracted briefly by a creak of the door. Before he found himself left behind, Elise having gone forward without him… probably sometime while he was just.. Sitting in thought, in the middle of incredibly dangerous territory. Surprised to not have been chewed out quietly for his lack of action. Izaneus began to move forward himself. Peering around the left hallway in the crossroads they wandered to. To see Edos and Elise in some kind of… armory? Was that what that was? He couldn’t quite tell.. The glow of magic that came from the area.. In swaths of green.. And a little bit of purple. Izaneus surmised, though… he couldn’t tell which power they heralded.. He could barely make out the green to be sickly in nature. Necromancy, to be sure.

Well… if nothing else, that was probably what he had to look for, when finding the Necromancer Dragon.

A breath of air later, Izaneus turned back to the two other rooms… inconspicuous in nature… save for the gentle shimmering on the center of one of them, which was.. Strange.

Normally anything Magical in Iza’s senses, appeared as colorful brushstrokes in his vision as wisps from the lingering power that wafted off said Magic. So this was.. Slightly surprising. The gentle shimmering continued, and Iza would have spent a great deal of time staying there, had he not felt a rock pelt the nape of his neck. Turning, he found himself the center of attention for an Irate Vampire and increasingly anxious Leonin. Neither of which was particularly beneficial. So instead of lingering, and trying to decipher whatever it was that the door had. He moved towards the left hallway. Which had been decided upon as the agreed upon destination. By majority.

Elise quickly tapped her toes against the floor as Izaneus approached. “Y’know, I thought the looming presence of actual Dragons would’ve kept you more on your toes Izzy.” The Vamp hissed unpleasantly, arms uncrossing as she sighed following his lack of response.

“Look, we need’ta get up and out Asap… huh..” She wondered, her brow furrowing further in annoyance. “Y’know, speaking of we. Where’d our third mage get off to?”

Once more, Izaneus had no response, save to shift in place and cross his own arms. Where had Gildarts gone off to? “I… I don’t know, last I saw him he was helping me get through the initial checkpoint…” he spoke, causing the Vamp to groan as quietly as she could while also letting some steam out.

“Course we’re down a man… that’s just peachy isn’t it? Whatever, if he shows up, cool. If not… Fuck us, I guess.”
Izaneus couldn’t help but nod. He hoped Gildarts would arrive. But if not… well, they were far too deep to just turn back now. So it was do or die.

Having been left out of the conversation long enough, Edos announced his displeasure for their current Idling with a hefty breath of air from his nose, followed by a short, and commanding. “Come, we must make haste. Any further time spent dawdling is a minute closer to our demise.”

This thought went across his companions well enough. As all three could do little but agree that a Dragon’s lair was perhaps one of the most dangerous areas to snoop in. Yet here they were…

Slowly they crept further through the rectangular room. Careful of making more noise as they crept closer and closer to the doorway leading them forward on their current path. Silently, Izaneus wondered whether or not developing some form of divination would assist in future ventures such as this… if, perhaps. Not as deadly as trying to steal from a Dragon unimpeded. However.. It was the stench, that first made Iza wary as they moved closer to the next room.

They then found that said room was the hoard of bones and decay that must have supplied all of the Skeletons. Below.. And with Necromancy being favored here.. It was all too possible that hoard would become their tomb if even the simplest of mistakes were made… or so they assumed.. It was also possible the Dragon was far too cocky in his own reputation, that he simply didn’t bother with any defenses aside from the entrance.

“I don’t see any Magic… are you picking anything up, Elise?”

 

[Elise]

"Give me a second..." Elise said. The vampire withdrew her grimoire from her backpack and began to leaf through it. Izaneus, understandably, moved to crane his neck over her shoulder but she turned away from him with a self-conscious hiss. Damn did she really just do that? Her nerves must really starting to really come loose.

"I smell...death, yes. But something else, I cannot place it." Edos rumbled. His nose was twitching constantly as he eyed the bone pit, keeping watch while the wizards played with their books. Elise also perked her nose up, allowing her vampiric senses to take in the stagnant air of the pit, and cocked her head.

"No Izaneus, I don't see any magic..." Elise said softly. She touched her hand to the smooth stone wall and licked the tips of her fingers, before spitting violently onto the floor. She slammed her book shut with a snarl and hunkered down in a guarded stance. Izaneus gave her a pained expression.

"...care to share?" he sighed as he did...something defensive looking with his arms.

"It's salt. Tyretlethen has this whole tunnel system laced with alchemical salt of some kind...messing with binding magic. That's why Greenstripes didn't make it in..." Elise grumbled. Her eyes continually flicked over the edges of the room, looking for any indication of the interior structure or architecture that could be exploited.

"...that doesn't make sense though, not completely..." Izaneus conjectured, "...the undead creatures require binding magic to function, and they seem to be fine-"

"So write a paper on it some time! We're sitting ducks here in this stupid bone room..." Elise snapped back, but was herself cut off as Edos cleared his leonin throat.

"The dragon stirs bones to move, yes? Perhaps this pit is not for dumping, but for...building materials." he said, stroking the beard of his blonde mane. Izaneus and Elise looked up at the lion simultaneously, then over at the pit with dawning comprehension.

"Do you suppose it responds to a command word, Elise? Or freshly applied magic?" Izaneus said, pacing towards the rim of the charnel pit.

"Command words would be awful flashy, so if I were a dragon, I'd spring for it." Elise said, tilting her head in consideration. There had to be a way to deduce the words used to shift the bones into the proper configuration to proceed, but that would require the exact kind of binding ritual that the salty air was inhibiting.

"Oh...clever." Izaneus chuckled, arriving at the same conclusion. Elise glanced over at him and they shared, if even for a brief moment, a conspiratorial grin between peers. It was at that moment that both of the wizards froze on the spot and stared at an empty space just behind Edos' head. The Leonin stared back at them with a perplexed expression, then behind him. The clammy, sandstone hallway was still clear as far as he could tell.

"What is it, my friends? You look as though you've seen a ghost." Edos chuckled nervously.

"You're not totally wrong." Izaneus said softly. At that point, even Edos could begin to tell that there was now a presence within the room. Something unnatural and malicious had joined them inside the room of the bone pit, which doubtlessly meant that Tyretlethen was starting to catch onto their presence within the Citadel. Elise did her best to squint her smoldering eyes at the spot near the archway where a powerful magical signature was presenting itself, sampling the flavor of magic lingering there. This was not necromancy...

"It's a suffocator! Edos, move!" Izaneus said, moving forward to intervene as the Leonin suddenly found himself bound up in a whirlwind of choking winds. He roared in protest, attempting to draw his hatchet, but the elemental spirit had even his immense muscles bound tight as it began to draw the air out of his lungs.

"Shit shit shit, uh...Kan Sehr!" Elise shouted. She threw her hands in the formation of a sigil towards the spirit gripping Edos. The antimagic sliced through the air, and the unseen elemental surrounding the Leonin pulsed with a purple light, shuddering for a moment. It was just enough for Edos to gulp down a fresh breath of air and writhe free from the arcane grasp...but not enough to permanently dispell the invisible air elemental.

A tense moment passed as a breeze began to kick up inside the room. The spirit was whipping around in the air so quickly that her occult senses could hardly pinpoint it, but...

"Izzy, run run!"

 

[Izaneus Phortea]

The wind angrily whirled and whistled in response to the Arcane interference posed by Elise, Edos having just enough time to scramble out of its range. Scratching against the stone they walked on to do so.

“Run where??” Izaneus shouted back, eyes focused on the whirling mass of air that slowly began the process of reforming, fighting against the destructive sigil Elise had thrown forward.

“Anywhere Dumbass!!” The vamp responded in kind.

The Wizard could barely voice his confusion before Elise and Edos both bolted down a separate corridor in the upper corner of the room. The quiet brush of wind swirling behind his ear caused him to do similarly. Dashing down the room filled with necromantic power, strong enough to make the boy retch. Though he had no time to.

As he passed the corridor entrance, he spun himself around, seeing the elemental slowly inch its way towards him, still recovering from Elise’s spell. Something Izaneus resolved to mimic in his own spellcraft later. Having something that could dissolve magic like that…

He could focus on the particulars when he wasn’t being chased by such a dangerous being. Izaneus thrust out his hand, calling to the stone to rise in a wall, to close off the corridor, to at least give them time to plan out their next move. However, as he reached himself towards it, he felt the magic touched rock refuse his call. He pushed more of his power towards it, and felt it give way, but only a touch. Just a stepstone being brought upward, and in no way the amount he needed.

Well that made things annoyingly difficult.

Closing his eyes, Izaneus focused on the area in front of him, his hand still outstretched. He molded the magic both surrounding and within himself to form a shimmering barrier, preventing entry from outside the corridor, a makeshift wall of force that held as the Suffocator pressed itself against its edge menacingly. Staring at the Wizard who created it. “Elise!!!” Iza shouted, feeling his power being tested. It wasn’t particularly difficult to hold the elemental back, the real issue came in attrition. He would exhaust himself sooner or later with this direction. Thus he had no time to spare.

The vamp appeared behind one of four doorways as quickly as her name was called. She stared at the spellcraft before her, before jumping into action, Edos behind her.

“Well done Young Magician!” He bellowed, his experienced features contorted into a toothy grin something Iza wish he could have given back. “Thank you… but I’m really not sure how long I’ll be able to hold this-” As though to emphasize his words, the suffocator slowly pressed its way through one of the uneven corners in the cubed entrance. Before Iza morphed his power in such a way that his conjured wall morphed to slam itself against said corner, denying its access in the process.

Elise studied the area with greater care, Izaneus could see the stress well in her eyes as he focused.

Finally after moments of silence, She turned back to him.

“Hokay Izzy… can you change that wall anymore? What’s the extent you can change its shape and size?”

With barely any focus to spare, the Young Elf replied as quickly as he could. “A bit… the shape and size don’t matter to much but…” His voice strained, and his expression similarly taxed. Izaneus briefly took a breath, before pointing to a nearby brick of stone, nothing particularly stand out about it, thus earning him a quizzical look from the vampire.

“Twenty feet.” He spoke, slowing his breaths as best he could. “It has to be within twenty feet of me, any more and I just…”

A surprising impact on his back caused the wizard to step forward and whip his head in the direction it came from, only to see a smirking vampire.

“Alright, when I give the signal, I want you to lower your wall for a sec, then, try to trap it in, Capiche?”

Iza could only nod in vague confusion as Elise began to form the power required of her spell. Her eyes fixed upon the air elemental staring at them blankly, simply waiting for the moment Izaneus would falter. Thankfully, however…

“Okay Izzy.. drop it just a smidge…” She spoke, stepping back, and prompting Iza to do similarly with a swing of her head.

Following her lead, and taking a breath before doing as she asked, Iza turned his head towards her as he dropped the wall’s height just a smidgen so that the suffocator could get through, only to see virulent destructive spellcraft writhe in her hands.

Which she then flung forward in a slashing motion. How hadn’t he seen it before?

“Kan Sehr!” She shouted, flicking her attention to Izaneus as her spell struck their foe, causing it to recoil once more, stunned as the magic holding it together struggled to not unravel.

“Alright Izzy!!!” She shouted with urgency, though Iza needed no more signals. The wall quickly morphed, as it was far easier to manipulate what currently existed, than create something new altogether.

It formed and shifted around the paralyzed summon, before trapping it in a spherical prison, shimmering and holding firm with Iza’s abilities.

It would be a minute before it was able to escape now. But that aside, this was far more manageable than the wall previously… at least until it started struggling.

Wiping a bead of sweat from her undead brow, Izaneus slapped her conspirator on the back as she strode over to the previous room once more

“Hokay! Hold it as long as you can, but hurry up! We’ve got a ritual to get goin!”

Iza smiled slightly, before nearly reeling as another hand, this one larger, softer, and harder. Swatted him in the back. “Well done young Wizards! I applaud your ingenuity! Come now, no time to waste. It is still dangerous to linger.. I imagine more-so now that we’ve a minion of theirs…”

Once more, as though fate decided to emphasize the importance of this, the elemental began struggling in its prison, and Izaneus grunted as he focused his might to hold it.

This wasn’t sustainable, he knew. Elise too had to know this. But for now… it would suffice.

He hoped.

 

[Elise]

“Alright. Alright alright alright…” Elise hummed to herself. She licked her lips, somehow chapped even through their heavy application of black lipstick. She glanced over at Izaneus, who held the suffocator at bay, then at Edos who was standing helplessly at the ready for…something.


Then down at the giant bone pit in front of her. Damn, she really wished Greenstripes was here to help her with this ritual. She knelt down on the salt-encrusted flagstone and began to trace chalk lines on the ground, trying to feel the flow of magic through the chamber…trying to feel how the room wanted to be spoken to.


Nothing. The alchemical salt was laid down too thick. Elise stood back up and clutched at the back of her head in frustration. It was the classic wizard’s corner; what good was a magician who couldn’t work magic? I mean, there was always plan D…which was just blasting their way to the artifact chamber. But that would definitely get the dragon’s hackles raised.


Elise glanced over at Izaneus straining to keep the elemental restrained, and the leonin chieftain staring at her with increasingly frantic eyes.


Screw it. They were in danger either way.


“Kaprik Ohrn!”


Elise threw her hands towards the far wall, across the bone pit and flexed her fingers aggressively. The solid sandstone facade became white hot for a moment before blasting apart into hundreds of smaller, jagged hunks. The force of the expansion sent a rumble of power shuddering through the floor. But, regardless, there was now a hole that led straight through the wall and into the adjoining room.


“Let’s go! Let’s go!” she shouted as she scampered and picked her way across the bony piles underfoot. Edos grabbed Izaneus by his hooded scruff before hurtling across the entire pit with a single fantastic leap, causing even the vampire’s eyes to go wide for a moment. Poor Izzy yelped aloud as they flew through the air and tumbled into the gap created by Elise’s breach spell.


She released the magic after they had finished scrambling through, causing the previously scattered shrapnel to crunch back into place, as if the breach had never been there in the first place. They stood, gasping for a moment, and taking stock of the new chamber they were in.


Tyretlethen, however, seemed to be quicker on the uptake than she had anticipated.


All at once, the hallway flickered with ripples of blue, static lightning. Hairs on their necks stood up, as the air filled with a sinister hum.


“Tao Ruhs!” Elise choked out. A shimmering barrier of gleaming magic crackled into existence over their three heads, just as a tremendous lightning strike clapped down out of the ceiling itself. The gleaming ward was strong, no doubt…but this was the elemental power of fully grown dragon. The crystalline barrier shattered under the thundering assault, sending the three intruders sprawling in all directions.


Laughter, reptilian and leering, rippled through the air as they slowly picked their smoldering bodies up off of the staircase they had stumbled upon.


“Well well…what little rats have scampered into my domain now? Thieves? Meddling Wizards? I wonder…” the voice rumbled.


Edos bristled his mane and growled softly as he glanced around for particular threats. As far as anyone could tell, they had simply landed on a staircase somehow attached to the bone room at a hidden point. The question remained, though, up or down?

“I think-” Izaneus began, but Elise clicked her tongue.


“I agree. We’re in over our heads. We should cut our losses and leave.” she shrugged. Edos seemed to consider the merit of this statement, but Izaneus stood aghast at the senior wizard, scowling at her with shock.


“...I will NOT abandon Rean. I made him a promise, and I intend to-”


“Die for him? Come ON Izzy, you knew the kid for like…two months and taught him a cantrip or two. What about you? Don’t you have a whole-ass life to live?” Elise snapped, cutting him off again. This seemed to curtail any immediate response from Izaneus, but it didn’t stop his lip from curling in contempt. As the panting silence filled the sandstone staircase again, the Tyretlethen’s taunting hisses oozed from the walls once more.


“Oh MY…is your little cohort fracturing at the first sign of-”


“SHUT UP.” Izaneus barked at the disembodied voice. So surprising was the nobleman’s genuine fury that the draconic suzerain did, indeed, shut up. He returned his gaze to glare into Elise’s smoldering, vampiric pupils and he took a defiant stride towards her.

 

[Izaneus Phortea]

By the time he reached her his mouth had opened, and his voice came forward more fluidly than it had in any of the time they'd spent together, save perhaps, at the hotel where they'd all first gathered."What IS it with you? Why do you always try to..." A brief pause of silence as Izzy tried to find the words to his thoughts filled the room with a greater tension, accentuated by the silent staring contest between the two mages.

Eventually, Izaneus took a breath, closing his eyes to refocus himself before he spoke once more. Opening them just as Elise moved to utter her own sentence.

"Elise, please let me speak."

A moment later, Izaneus looked to his peer and took another breath, the silence aside from the reverberating powers of draconic presence deafening. His heeded request allowing him to calm himself all the more for their situation.

"I don't know what you went through, aside from what little you've told me, and I understand that it's been more than hell for you. But you keep trying to paint yourself as being so... unfeeling and cold. You always try to tell me that you're just... some... undead monster. You're harsh, you're quick to temper, and you're violent."

"You don't get to hold some moral high ground over me Izzy, lest you forget, you were the one who made this whole thing happen." Elise spat, her fangs just barely showing under her lips.

"Yes, you're right, this whole thing is my fault. Okay? I admit that. I FUCKED UP." The younger Wizard shouted, channeling all the rage he could. "I brought the kid into a lair. I ripped him from his home with promises of magic, and threw him STRAIGHT into a torture chamber.... gods only KNOW what's happening to him right now.." His voice uneven, skipping tones and breaking, Izaneus could only continue in the wake of Elise's stunned silence..

"Okay? I get it! But what I'm saying is that throughout all of this, you've been here. You've been helping me. You helped me organize this, you went the miles along with me, helped me find what we needed to get here. You're not the monster you paint yourself to be. So just... WHY?? Why are you so intent on following through with it?? With letting yourself sink deeper and deeper?"Izaneus flung himself around, to slam his fist, now bloodied from the impact, again, and again into the stone wall. The mixed sounds of sobbing and shouting melding into each other. Before they stopped a few moments later replaced with defeated breaths..

"Do you remember my first apprentice? The one I told you about?" He spoke quietly, eliciting a short nod from the vamp.

"Turns out.. she's dead."

The silence that followed those words as Izaneus turned around, a melancholy smile plastered on his face, was almost worse than the air elemental that attempted to rob them of their breath.

"Our last night at the hotel.. I uh.. I was eating, when I heard her name be called out on Dante's Abyss.. I turned around just in time to see her beheaded." Elise attempted to open her mouth, but couldn't make any words out before Iza continued on.

"So now.. I've got two reasons to save Rean.. the first. Being the kind of person I want to be. Yes.. I fucked up, and I'm continuing to fuck up.. but I want to be someone that's honorable.. dependable.. intelligent. Even if I'm none of those at the moment. The second.. is because I just... can't lose him. Okay? I can't.. Elise.. just like I can't lose you, either. So if you want to..."

Taking a breath, Iza did his best to straighten his sagged shoulders, "You can go. But I won't. If you do.. I hope you realize that you can be kind, that you have talent I really wish I had. That you aren't a monster."

A few somatic gestures as Izaneus called forth restorative powers to his hands, righting the injuries he inflicted on himself moments prior.

"If you're leaving, I really.. really hope you become the kind of person you want to be, and I'd like you to know that I admire you, and... thank you, for saving me. For talking to me, and for being there for me."

The last of his mind spoken Izaneus started to head down, making progress lost as they were battered by the draconic lightning. His limp an evident token from that piece.

 

[Elise]

“Hey…man…wait up…” Elise grumbled. She hesitated for a moment before trotting down the steps after him. Edos padded along silently after, his pawsteps barely audible on the natural hewn stone.

“Izzy I…I didn’t mean it like that, I just…” she continued as they descended the staircase into blind darkness. She bared her pointed teeth in exertion as she tried to find something comforting to say. She hadn’t really clocked just how deeply attached Izaneus had been to that…apprentice chick he’d mentioned to her all those months ago. But she wasn’t completely heartless to his grief–

Wait.

Oh shit, she wasn’t completely heartless.

Elise swallowed a hard lump in her throat as she was now faced with the prospect of both having to navigate Izaneus’ feelings as well as her own existential panic. Let’s be real; the fact that she wasn’t the absolute alpha-bitch, take no prisoners, villain she wanted to be had been eating at her for almost a decade. Deep down, she was still a nice, generous young lady who had been the savant of her academy class. A Straight-A prep who had wowed all the teachers and pleased everyone she met.

Fuck, Elise concentrate.

“Izzy I care about you too, and I don’t want you to self-destruct out of…guilt for some broken promises.” the vampire strained. The nobleman continued, unperturbed, down the circular staircase.

“Hmmm…promises and responsibilities are of great importance though. I admire our elven wizard for his loyalty.” Edos purred.

“I do to! I-” Elise stuttered, before grunting petulantly and grabbing Izaneus by the scruff of his robe. He glared at her reproachfully for a moment before seeing just a slight glimmer of moisture in her eyes.

“...you’re going the wrong way. I felt a heavier magical presence upwards.” Elise grunted, before proceeding to drag him along by his sleeve. Izaneus yanked his sleeve back, but fell in behind the stomping vampire. Her footfalls fell impressively loud on the steps as she marched in her platform boots.

“Stop staring at me.” she hissed. Now Izaenus couldn’t help but smirk.

“How else will I follow you?”

“Don’t sass me, juice box.”
Another minute of clomp-filled silence passed before Elise piped up again.

“...Look I’m just thinking man…if we’re gonna piss off a dragon in their own house, why not just double back and fuck over Hammuzi? He can’t be any worse than Tyretlethen.”

At that, there came another crackle of electric energy along the hallway, prompting all three of the adventurers to take their various defensive positions. But rather than a crack of thunder, they were assaulted by a howling strain of reptilian laughter.

“HAMMUZI? That’s why you’re here? Oh ho ho ho hooo~” Tyretlethen squealed. The laughter carried on for another moment, wherein the three partners stared at eachother with silent expressions of readiness.

“You know, I was originally going to extract some fun out of you through bloodshed and despair, but, your little emotional displays and quest have charmed me, such as I understand it. Come, why don’t you meet me in my garden, and we can…discuss our options…”

As this was said, a twisting, masked specter drifted out of the walls, to which Edos instinctively fired one of his oversized arrows at. The projectile tore through the specter’s center of mass, causing it to waver and hiss slightly before drifting back into shape.

“Thiss wayyy…to the gardennnn…” the spirit moaned, gesturing up the staircase. It floated away for a few feet as Edos, Izaneus and Elise exchanged more surreptitious glances. The vampire offered a worried sneer, to which the younger wizard simply shrugged his shoulders in resignation. They looked to Edos, who gestured to them.

Elise gestured to Izaneus. Izaneus began to follow the specter.

Edos and Elise sighed nervously, but followed.

A few minutes later, the trio arrived at what looked like, for lack of a better term, a day spa out in the open air. A large, delicately carved sandstone archway led out into the dark Cevanti night air. Deep trenches were cut in the rock, where pure, clear water lapped at the edges of the tiled pools. Palms, flowering bushes, and fruit trees blossomed in luxurious abundance, flirting with spanish moss and bromiliads that jostled pleasantly in the midnight breeze.

There, in the largest pool, reclining in the manner of a napping lion, layed an immense blue dragon. He was not the smooth, sleek, crystalline predator like Hammuzi. Tyretlethen was stocky, rugged, and covered in sharp spines with a massive golden horn adorning the top of his snout. Gleaming yellow eyes studied them as the specter led them to a set of lounge couches, near the edge of the largest bath.

Another breeze passed through the pools before the dragon spoke.

“Sooo…you’re here on some…underhanded errand from my old nesting partner eh?” the wyrm hissed. Elise and Izaneus shared a look. Things were suddenly much more clear.

“We are, yes. Forgive our intrusion…we are confronted with the choice of irritating one powerful dragon or another…” Izaneus started. Elise caught him as he trailed off.

“...and the other dragon has a friend of ours locked up, so…”

“So you had to try. I may not empathize…but I do understand.” Tyretlethen crooned. He shifted his bulk in the waters, and a small wave of frothing water washed over the edge of the pool. Elise instinctively pulled her feet up before the water could touch her feet; a detail that was not missed on the elder dragon.

“Ahh, so you are a vampire. How fascinating…wait…I think I know you two…” Tyretlethen said. The blue dragon craned his neck forward to get a better look at them both, his breath washing over them in warm, ozone puffs.

“Yes…I saw you on the holo net…Dante’s Abyss. Veterans of Karl Jak’s little war game, are you not?”

“Hah, well, hopefully that display didn’t sour your opinion of us.” Izaneus said, pinching his nose and shaking his head winsomely. Elise jabbed him with an elbow. Tyretlethen responded by tilting his head in an upsettingly cryptic gesture of draconic ambiguity. Edos, who had been patiently silent on his employers’ behalf up until now, cleared his throat with a feline rumble.

“Suzerain Tyretlethen, I am Second Chief Edos of the White Plains Pride. Let me first of all, thank you for your clemency and willingness to hear of our tale…”

Tyretlethen nodded politely as the Leonin continued.

“...And to that point, allow us to offer transparency, in exchange. I was hired by these two spell-workers to locate an artifact said to be in your possession, and not by the dragon Hammuzi. Allow me to be the first, nonetheless, to apologize for the infringement of your sovereignty.” Edos concluded. He knelt down into a deep bow, placing one of his giant paws on the cool stone. Tyretlethen snorted, and reared back.

“Ethical thieves are thieves all the same! You beg my forgiveness? Is that it?” the dragon seethed. Edos kept his eyes fixed on the water, but spoke with loud confidence.

“I beg of nothing from anyone. I make an apology. Simple and true.” the chieftain growled. Edos and Izaneus stared down at their bulky companion, each struck with a unique wash of concerns and newfound respects for the white-furred brawler. Tyretlethen chewed on the lion’s words for a few moments before slithering down deeper into the water.

“...so what is it that Hammuzi has sent you after, anyway?” the wyrm puffed.

“Something called the Lore Shards-” Izaneus started, but was cut off by a blast of laughter from the blue tyrant.

“Is that all?! Of all the countless treasures in my halls, he sends you questing for sentimental trash?!” Tyretlethen roared. If it hadn’t been for the overwhelming mirth beaming from the dragon’s face, Elise would have been sure they were about to die.

“...well, they seem to be worth a lot to him.” the vampire shrugged. Tyretlethen laughed again; it was a throaty, booming rasp that echoed violently around the sandstone baths.

“Ha! He was desperate to keep them after we split nests! They are no more than a handful of psychic trinkets, holding ancient elven legends. I simply chose to keep them out of spite, for how much he doted on them. What a pathetic little wyvern.” the dragon bubbled. His tail curled up out of the bath, and whipped around in the air thoughtfully. A delicate splatter of fragrant water dripped across the three thieves’ faces as Tyretlethen chewed the situation over.

“...how about this then. You may have the Lore Shards and return them to my ex’s lair…but not before I lay a scrying enchantment on a few of them. I’m sure that old eccentric has plenty of secrets I’d like to peek in on. So. What say you little thieves? Care to add betrayal to your list of crimes?”

 

[Izaneus Phortea]

Izaneus turned to Elise with a surprised, elevated expression, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he turned back to their ‘host’. “That.. would be most agreeable! I…” Stumbling over his words, Iza turned to Elise, who couldn’t help but shoot the Elf a small smirk as she inhaled through her nose, and with herself contained, turned to Tyretlethen, and was about to speak before the Dragon once more spoke, his thunderous voice reverberating around them. A single claw lazily raised as it did so. Causing both mages, and the Hunter besides them to tense. Eliciting a sadistic smile from their host.
“In exchange for these amenities. You will never return, unless formally invited by me — Which will.. Very likely never happen. Am I clear?”

To this, Edos spoke up, raising his head to meet the slitted eyes of the dragon in the radiance of the pool below it. “ Your terms are very agreeable, Sir Dragon. As soon as you place your spell, you may consider us gone.”

As though to affirm this decision, the Leonin turned to his contractors, receiving an enthusiastic, though short, bow from Izaneus, as well as a restrained nod from Elise, who turned to Tyretlethen just after. Who stared in silence for but a short moment, before lifting its claw, and from nothing did thin, spiked, glowing pieces of memory arrive. No flash of light, no telltale signs of magic. Even from Iza’s attuned sight. How had he..?
An elbow from Elise reminded him he needed to focus. After all, the dragon could still just as easily decide it wanted them dead…

Yet, as the figure raised its scaled claw, marked in some places, as well as the rare scar on its body. Its ethereal light washed over the shards in question, before withdrawing almost the moment it arrived. “It is done. Take your trinkets and leave, you know what shall happen if I were to find you here once more.” The beast promised law in its eyes.

Then, without warning, the lore shards flew towards Izaneus, Elise, and Edos. Stopping just short of batting them in the forehead. Where each grabbed as many as they could until none hung in the air before them any longer. The Draconic power around them never lessened. Izaneus, through this foray — found himself writing on the subject later.

“Dragons are dangerous and the most intelligent among them are truly unpredictable. I have no doubt that the Drake Lord holds in his court the most noble of Draconic creatures. But the ones I’ve been subject to have been malicious and selfish. If I were to ever meet another, I merely hope they hold the sparks of humility and empathy.”

For now however. It was time to depart this cursed place. The psionic devices in hand, Elise, Edos, and Izaneus himself slowly made their way down the way they’d come. A hundred feelings and thoughts running through the first, and last in that ordering.

“Hey, Elise?” Izaneus sounded, the hint of curiosity in his voice as they exited the tower. The night sky and its silent hum lighting the area with starlight.

“‘Sup Izzy?” The vamp responded,

“If… you don’t mind, would you like to study together for a bit? Once we get Rean back, and.. All of that unpleasantness gets put behind us.”

In response, Elise inhaled through her nose, and turned towards the Horizon, specks of golden radiance gently warming the cold blue that was the night sky. Dawn was coming soon.

“..I’ll sleep on it, that okay with you?”

A soft nod, and a similar smile to go along with it, The trio found their way out of the fire, away from the frying pan, and, perhaps for once during their venture. Able to relax. Now they just had to find shelter before the sun rose…

 

[Elise]

As the trio made their exit from the citadel outskirts, it became upsettingly apparent just how close they’d come to being completely fucked by their own hubris. As they stood in the dusty clearing, just a hundred feet from the quietly hooting jungle treeline, Elise place her hands on her hips and hissed through her fangs.

“...wow we really had not plan for getting back outta here huh.”

Edos and Izaneus nodded in grim agreements as they surveyed the distinct lack of Guild convoy trucks, which had already departed in the time they’d been creeping around inside the sandstone fortress. The elven noble stared down at the faintly shimmering, pinkish shards of crystal in his hands, and sighed softly.

“Edos. I know we didn’t hire you for this but…how many days do you think it would take for us to get back to Markov? Or perhaps the nearest outpost?”

The leonin purred pensively and stroked the blonde mane on his chin.

“Hmmm…three days…perhaps four. I suppose it depends on how handy you are in the bush…” he rumbled. He looked down his snout and the punk-goth vampire and the foppish, string-bean nobleman and purred again. They all knew the answer to that question.

“Well okay, maybe we’re not the best. But Izaneus and I roughed it over volcanic badlands for a few days in a row before we came here.” Elise said puffing up slightly. She resisted the tyrannical urge to add ‘how worse can this be’. No sense in jinxing their considerable progress so far.

As it turned out, it could be much worse, and she was glad she decided to hold her pierced tongue on the matter.

Between incessant, stinging insects, overpowering muggy undergrowth, and of course the occasional patrol of shuddering, vorpal Akata beasts, the trek to the nearest Pilot’s Union forward base proved to be an ordeal of sweaty, trudging misery. If there was a story to be told about it, Elise and her two partners were ready to forget it by the time they came in sight of the Union base’s perimeter fence.

What was refreshing, however, was that at this outpost, they could simply walk right up to the main gate and beg for refuge, rather than infiltrate from the treetops. The fact that they showed up after sundown struck the smartly uniformed pilots as a bit odd, but the haggard looking troupe were clearly not stricken by the affliction of the Unmaking. As per the laws of King Dulmare, anyone seeking respite from the shattered wilds of Cevanti was to be given safe harbor inside Markovian aligned holdings.

Elise even managed to rise with the sun the following morning, though she stayed inside the blessedly air conditioned and dark interior of the bunk building, to wish Edos farewell as he gathered himself for the trek back to his pridelands.

“If ever our paths should cross again, know that my bow and claws will defend you both.” Edos said with a wide, fanged smile. With a sudden lunge, he swept down and squeezed both of the wizards tightly, causing them both to choke and wheeze as they tried to embrace his bulging form in return.

“Don’t…forget…your…payment…” Elise wheezed as she wriggled out of the predator’s grasp. Edos furrowed his brows as she fiddled with her satchel, fishing around for fungible money to pass onto the leonin. Izaneus also gave the vampire a perplexed look: they hadn’t made a single coin worth of stolen loot from Tyretlethen’s lair. Paying Edos anything at all meant digging into her own savings to fulfill their contract.

Edos held up a single, great paw and shook his head, bidding her to stop.

“My small-fanged friend, there is no need. Our deeds were mighty, and our quest was worthy. The tale I bring back to my people alone will win me the chiefdom for another season…and the coin of Markov brings little comfort in the wilds, afterall.” he chuckled. Elise nodded her head from side to side, but relented and tucked the satchel away.

“Well…alright. If you ever make your way back into the city, there’ll be a package on hold for you at the central Guild shipping room. A couple of strength and healing potions, from me. The least I can do.” she smirked. Izaneus blinked for a moment, then followed suit.

“And a dagger! Enchanted to keep its edge, no matter what it cuts. It is the least we can do for you, Chief Edos.” Izaneus said, with a gracious bow. Edos reared back to his full height and bellowed out a yawping, roaring laugh, which caused several of the nearby Markovians to jump in their various seats.

“So be it! But promise me this, spell-claw. You get your boy back from that dragon! No more trickery or games!” Edos boomed. He poked the younger wizard’s chest with a heavy, clawed digit, and it was everything Izaneus could do not to stumble backwards. All the same, he grinned up at his new friend, and offered his hand.

“I promise.”

Elise quirked a wry eyebrow, but brushed away her skeptical instincts with a small roll of the eyes.

“I promise too.”