Fantasy Howl's Flying Castle (Finished! ---Whoo! (*＾▽＾)／)

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]" Flying Castle, At the foot of the Misty Mountains "[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 18px]J[/SIZE]ames tapped his finger on the table thoughtfully, looking at Echo and Serena. He gave Renee a chance, so why not let these two prove themselves? There was still a couple of days before the group headed out.


"If the two of you prove yourselves in battle and if you're okay with cutting your antlers, Echo, and dyeing your hair Serena then you can come." he said after a while. "We're in the wilds now, there should be some monsters we can practice on."


He gave them a patient look as he explained that it wasn't because they're girls. "I got these from girls." he said showing them the large burn marks on his left leg and some healing scars on his face and arms from Conchita Chinita the fiery Spanish fencer and Nancy Caroline the cat-shape shifting druid.


"I don't want you two to come, because as far as I know you two have had no combat training and we will be facing dangers in this journey. Everyone who's coming can fight or can do something really useful --- Johnny can summon a war beast and he knows how to survive in the wilderness, Seifer's one of the best archer's in the academy, Seth knows how to get in and out of a place without notice and steal things, while Renee is an alchemist and archer. What can the both of you do?"


@Katsuya

[SIZE= 14px]OOC || Characters || Interest Check[/SIZE]
​

 

[Katsuya]

-They can fight? At the foot of Misty Mountain-
​

Renee perked up when James asked if they can fight and grinned a bit. He's...actually going to give them a chance. Silently excited, she watched Echo grip on her antlers with a blank look on her face while Serena looked contemplative, tapping her finger on her lips.


If he wants to see then...


The blonde looked over the red headed fawn who looked back at her and simultaneously nodded once before looking back at James.


"Test us then. We'll show you what we can do. Right Echo?" Serena asked, not caring if she dyed her hair. The dye will fade away in time and it's not like it's permanent. Besides what girl wouldn't want a change in her looks from time to time? It'll be like wearing a costume but with just a change of hair color. Though she flinched when James showed his scars, not expecting to see them and those were from girls too...Geez, they were vicious! 


"Yea, you mentioned monsters to fight against. How do we find one or two to battle and show you?" Echo asked, her green eyes burning from determination on proving a point. It was the same flame Johnny saw when she scared away the group of girls who were teasing him at school. She didn't mind her antlers being chopped off; The red head has done that before when she was younger. She would snap them off by hand and walk around with uneven stubs on her head.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]" At the foot of the Misty Mountains "[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]I[/SIZE]'ll talk to Seifer, see if he's willing to scout out the area and find some monsters. But for now, let's go outside so you two can impress us with a demonstration."


James brought along Princess Mia, Johnny, Seth, and even Seifer to help judge the fighting capabilities of Echo and Serena. They were all standing under the giant trees of the forest, Seifer looking like he had better things to do than this and was yawning looking bored,  Princess Mia with a servant holding an umbrella over her head giving Serena a knowing look as though she knew the violinist had this in the bag; Seth was looking doubtful, but interested, while Johnny was looking anxious.


He had not wanted Echo to come either, the assassin's poison still fresh in his mind.


"All set?" said James. "Go!"


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-At the foot of Misty Mountains-
​

Renee stood under the tree with the judges and her brother, knowing what Echo is capable of but she wondered what Serena will do...'Guess we'll see...' She thought, her wings fluttering a bit.


Echo and Serena faced each other, ready to start: Echo stood tall with her head held high and Serena had her violin ready to play. As soon James said 'Go', the red head yelled out her spell, first to strike.


"Flora Flagellum!"


The large roots nearby the judges sprouted explosively from underground, wriggling out and headed straight to Serena who started to play a very high paced song. "Springen!"


A glowing spell circle appeared under her feet and she jumped a bit only to bounce sideways in time to dodge the multiple whips from the roots. Once she was far away and landed on the ground, she played a different tune, one that sounded passionate with a Hispanic beat.


"Walpurgisnacht" A summoning circle appeared, growing to a medium sized. A dressed lady with four large flower petals where her eyes should be showed up, curtsying to Echo while giggling in greeting. 


"Let's go, Foo!" Serena cheered. She continued to play the passionate song, the summons grinned in glee and spun around. The layers of her dress and her hands shooting out fire balls and practically made a ring of fire around the pair, burning the roots that was reaching them. Echo glared, her green eyes lit up from the fire that's coming as she harshly stomped the ground. "Terra Firma!"


A huge wall of dirt rose up in front of her and the judges, blocking the fast spreading fire that rode on the roots and let it dive over the flames, putting it out. Then she got out of hiding, stomping the ground in warning before she charged towards the summons, her antlers aimed at her. Serena yelled out.


"Foo, dodge it!"


The dancing summons giggles in response, spinning around to dodge Echo's attack which separated the two. It gave Echo a chance to punch the blonde. In turn, Serena readied her violin like she was handling a baseball bat and whacked Echo's fist, pausing the hit midway. The two was at a stalemate, slightly glaring at the other...


Until Echo grinned at Serena, quickly grabbing her arms with one hand and tossed her high up in the air. The blonde screamed in surprise before playing the fast paced song again, the burnt roots that were still up and not turned to ash glowed from the spell circle that floated on top of it, making it look jelly-like. She bounced from the jelly roots and flipped over gracefully to land on the ground safely. Then she switched songs again, now very loud and screechy tunes ring in the air.


"Magie Melodie!" Glowing white music notes rolled out from the violin, swirling around the violinist first before swirling around Echo. The red head covered her ears, cringing from the noise! Augh! It sounds terrible and it hurts her ears-!


'Think! Think!' Echo peered over the area before finding a huge boulder that's nearby and ran to that, climbing the smaller boulders under the large one with ease. The annoying music notes followed her, though they dimmed when she ran further from Serena, now easier to handle with. The red headed fawn puts her hands under the huge rock, lifting it over her head and harshly tossed it over to the blonde violinist, crushing the white notes in the process.


As her blue eyes widened, Serena yelped when Echo tossed a boulder that's bigger than a train trolley and played the fast paced song, bouncing away from her spot in time to dodge the rock. 'Too close! Too close for comfort!'


"Foo!" The dancer spun towards the red headed fawn as she jumped down from the mountain of rocks. Just when the summons let out another ring of fire, Echo stomped the ground again, creating a dirt barrier, climbing over it as fast as she could and jumped off, stomping on the summons like she would do in her river dance. It poof-ed away, a hot cloud of smoke indicating that the summons couldn't stay anymore from Echo's strong drop kicks. Though she didn't expect Serena to whack her head with her violin. That hurt-!


"Ah-Hah! Gotcha! Whoa-!" Echo grabbed her arms again, spun around a bit, and tossed her with a bit of her strength...


To where James is standing at-!


"Look out!" Echo warned loudly, her green eyes showed panic for both of her friends.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]" At the foot of the Misty Mountains "[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 18px]J[/SIZE]ames, startled, attempted to catch Serena. "Oof!"


"Ooh, love on the battlefield." snickered Seifer.


Instead of caught, it was rather like James cushioned her fall when she crashed into him, and they both fell on a heap on the forest floor. "Ow . . ." he looked like he got the wind knocked out of him, and shook off the leaves and Serena's blonde hair that had spread across his face. "You. are heavy." he wheezed.


Meanwhile, Seth was smiling, amused at Johnny who was standing dumbfounded, gaping at Echo. "B-blimey . . . I had no idea . . ." Johnny muttered. He approached her and clapped both hands on her shoulders. "You are wicked, scary strong." he said, looking very much intimidated. There was nothing for Johnny to worry about after all, she was waaaay stronger than him.


Princess Mia was clapping and so were some of her servants who were watching, Sir Benjamin, and Vioatola too who were on the Balcony. "Good show, that was amazing!" they were saying.


"Good, not great, could be better." shrugged Seifer, unimpressed. "I'll see how you two fare against a real monster." he turned to the princess. "My lady, I'll head into the forest for a while, I'll be back in a few hours. And with bow slung across his shoulders, he climbed up one of the towering giant trees and disappeared into the canopy.


"You're both strong." grinned Seth, "But I'll reserve judgment after you've fought real monsters too. Where'd you learn how to do that Echo, Serena?"


@Katsuya

Spoiler

(1-2) James success = 3

 

[Katsuya]

-At the foot of Misty Mountains-
​

"I'm so sorry, James! I didn't mean to land on you." Blushing pink, Serena apologized, quickly getting off of the dark haired Pendragon. As she was standing up and gave a helping hand for James, Echo got shy from the compliments, blushing red like a cherry.


"Th-thank you....my father thought it would be a good idea to train me while growing up. So he'd take me to his morning runs ...and juggle rocks at me." It was horrifying! Her father would always grab her PJs, pick her up, and force her to run with him. Then after running around their whole backyard and the forest nearby, he would casually toss a rock or two or five and they weren't small rocks.


They were big as the coaches that horses pull everyday in the streets. With the horses still attached to it! She had to dodge them to survive and practiced on tossing back to her father. Which is also scary because the man would punch the rocks and the smaller ones would fall on her head...


"U-um! Di-did I scare you?" She asked to Johnny, a bit worried that she terrified her...her...boyfriend... Her face turned redder than before. Then Echo felt someone pat her back and turned around to see Renee smiling. Ah! She smiled! Yes!


"Nice job Echo. You too, Serena." The winged teen winced when her brother caught Serena and ran inside to get an ice pack for his stomach. She passed the cold item to her brother, rolling her eyes at Seifer's comments. It's better than their fight at school and at least, they didn't lose by opening their big fat mouth...She really has to stop thinking about him-! For goodness' sake!


It's been two weeks already!


"Oh thank you!" After making sure James was okay, Serena curtsied.


"My mentor taught me magic while teaching me how to play violin. He figured that I might as well protect myself too." Her mentor was a bit of a nutter, living in a tree-house that has a pole in the middle of the studio. Apparently that was for his exercise: Pole dancing...Everyday, the weirdo of her mentor tells her to show emotions through music and to just let it flow out like a river. Which she did...and almost burned his house down by summoning an uncontrollable Foo. 


Ever since then, her mentor introduced her to magic and she has worked in the palace for the royal family after mastering her summons. It was a strange moment in her life, but Serena never regretted it...except the house burning. She regretted that.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

​

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]" At the foot of the Misty Mountains "[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]Y[/SIZE]es, but remain the way you are or stronger, Echo, so that you'll be safe." said Johnny earnestly. "Blimey, who'd have . . . I never . . . wow . . ." he muttered touching and squeezing her arms in wonder. They weren't muscley at all.


　


"I know, Serena, it's okay." said James, grasping her hand as she helped him up. "You have to watch where you're throwing, Echo!" grumbled James, rubbing his chest. Merlin's beard that girl was strong. He did not see that coming. "You two are skilled, but I'll reserve judgement after the real fight too. Oh, thanks, sis." added James, gratefully taking the ice pack from Renee.


 Seth laughed when Echo told the story about her father and Serena told them about her nutty mentor. "They sound really cool! Can we --- me and Sen ---- meet them someday?" he asked the two ladies.


　


As James held the ice pack to his chest, watching everyone talking, he thought about how they were going to work together. The princesses protectors are going to be a team. More than power, working together and following tactics that will maximize everyone's full potential, keep them safe, and not use up their resources is more important. As a summoner who battles by commanding different creatures, each with their own gifts and drawbacks, James knew the importance of this very well.


　


Musing about this, he began to sort them in his mind. Seifer is clever, highly skilled, likes showing off, but will not risk his life for anyone and is likely to flee when things get tough. He should be the first to be deployed in the battlefield when morale is still high all around and should be paired with someone he can rely on to protect him so that he will not run away.


Johnny is afraid of girls, he shouldn't be in a fight against females, but if Echo is on the frontlines he will brave it even if it's difficult. It's also very likely that if Echo gets hurt, he will not follow commands. James has read that in war, enemies would shoot to wound instead of to kill. Doing so would cause another soldier to come and help the other and in that way the enemy has lowered the fighting efficiency of two soldiers instead of just one.


Renee is stubborn, overestimates herself sometimes which leads her getting hurt. That could be countered with information, tell her what she's really up against so that she can fight not only with all her strength, but also smartly. She knows no fear when it comes right down to it, so the frontlines would suit her well.


James continued to think about this all through out the day as they waited for Seifer and spent his time studying  and drawing the spell circle of the next creature he was going to summon: a 'Maori', a tier two water elemental that is similar to a manta ray in form. Calcifer rested the flying castle by a narrow shallow river where Sir Benjamin began painting Frey who frolicked in the waters with Butters and Meatballs. James worked wherever Serena practiced her violin, saying that her music calmed him and helped him focus.


His books, parchment, and quills lay on a blanket on the ground. His glasses were on as he read and took notes as if he was in the library of the Sorcerer's Academy. By his side was a mug of tea and a plate of sandwiches.


Meanwhile Seth continued to talk to Echo or Serena asking them for more stories about Echo's dad and Serena's crazy mentor. Johnny was doing his own study too, sharing James' books as his things had been left behind inside his tepee back in Kingsbury. He was studying how to summon a yeti, his first tier three war beast, which can throw arcane frost at foes, freezing them or slowing them down.


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-At the foot of Misty Mountains-
​

"I'm sorry, James...I'll be careful next time..." The red head apologized to James.


Echo's face turned red when Johnny squished and touched her arms, smiling silly. "O-okay...I will." She's glad that he's okay with her being strong despite his fear and followed his advice: She started to juggle three boulders in the open space, possibly entertaining Seth and anyone else who wants to push her limits by suggesting other things to juggle with.


"No, I can't lift the castle. My dad could do that though. You can come over anytime you and your brother want, Seth. Just let James and Renee know so they wouldn't panic." Echo answered, tossing the large rocks up in the air and catching them again in a cycle.


She continued to tell stories about how her dad wrestled with a bear and now kept it as a pet, always ready to wrestle him any day and weather. Oh! and the one time he got whipped badly by her aunt Melody for not realizing that he destroyed her fruit garden to make a fruit castle. All that fruit...for her mother.


"Sure! Just...be careful if he starts striping to his underwear...It might be his pole-dancing time." Serena shuddered at all the memories of her mentor who did very...nimble positions while on the pole.


She practiced her violin nearby the giant tree where the others was judging at, standing on one of the larger roots. Her face is still pink from James' unintentional compliment, playing the song she based on the oldest Pendragon sibling.


In the meanwhile, Renee is sitting in one of the high branches of the giant trees, sketching out her thoughts and writing down what she needs to carry and how much she can take with her. She changed just to get up here and really enjoys the view, for an artistic and safety reasons.


The winged teen looked below her before returning back to her sketch of...Seifer's profile. For Merlin's sake, when is he going to leave her brain? Renee groaned loudly in frustration as she shut her sketchbook and puts it to the side, now glaring at a random branch. 'Bloody trolls...Now what I am going to do?'


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]" At the foot of the Misty Mountains"[/SIZE]
​

 
​

"[SIZE= 18px]O[/SIZE]h! Juggle me, juggle me!" said Seth excitedly, running up to Echo. "Throw me as high as you can, Echo! Like you're trying to pitch a home run at the moon!" This kid had daredevil hype.


"Um, be careful you two!" said Princess Mia nervously. The maids and butlers had made a crude shelter of sticks and leaves where they were smoking, salting, or drying the meat and fruits the princess and her guardians will be taking for the journey. She was helping them, mostly under instructions as she did not know how it was done. It would take two days to finish, if weather permits.


Madam Curie had woken up and was on the balcony of the castle sipping coffee and reading a book. She still gave the princess disapproving glances now and then, but as usual did not comment. She was going to travel with the group too as she wanted to be escorted to her nephew's villa in a city the group would be passing on their way to Dalaran.


Meanwhile, James was amused by Serena's stories about her mentor. "So, did you also exercise by pole dancing, Serena?" he teased light-heartedly.


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

[SIZE= 16px]-Serena Lock-[/SIZE]
​

"Yea, sure. Just curl up into a ball." Echo made sure to put the boulders aside so she doesn't hurt the youngest Pendragon. As soon Seth was ready, Echo easily lifted him up and tossed him high enough for Renee to see her baby brother in the air.


"Seth?!" Renee yelled in surprise, going on all fours as she watched him be tossed up by her best friend. Each time she throws Seth up in the air, he keeps getting higher. "...How is it, Seth?" The winged teen asked loudly, going with the flow and tries to not worry.


Serena accidentally played the wrong note, a loud and high pitched screech as a result from being taken off guard. Her face turned red as she stared at James with an embarrassed look.


"N-no-! I would never-! I mean-!....-sighs-...once and only because he blackmailed me to dance with him on the pole as a partner for his group party." She explained, trying to remember where she left off.


"His group won a local competition so he wanted to show off and have me play my violin while pole-dancing...one of many weird experiences ever."


As Echo caught Seth again, she gathered all her strength and throws him again. The red head made sure that he stayed safe from the branches and leaves.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]" At the foot of the Misty Mountains"[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]W[/SIZE]heeeeeeee! This is so much fuuuuuun!" yelled Seth gleefully in the air. "You should try this, sis, it's like I'm flying! Higher! Higher! Hahahahahaha!"


Seth probably wasn't going to stop until Echo got tired.


Meanwhile, James looked to the side, imagining what pole dancing while playing a violin looked like. His ears reddened a little.


"So . . . you stripped and just used your legs?" he asked uncertainly, smirking. "To pole dance in front of guys during a party? . . . So you're actually okay with that --- not that there's anything wrong with it. That's-that's a good thing." he added jokingly, yet still looking like he was thinking of something indecent.


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Serena Lock-
​

Renee pondered for a bit before changing and jumped down. She's curious and asked Echo if she could toss her up too...which she did, now juggling the Pendragon siblings easily enough. The winged teen laughed along with Seth, screaming in glee.


"You're right-! This is so much fun-! Hahah!!"


Serena played another wrong note, taking a deep breathe before resuming the song.


"I was blackmailed. I didn't strip. I had shorts on...and there were mostly women in his group. He was the only one who striped and they were okay with it." She shrugged, her face turning red as she closed her eyes to concentrate on her song.


"He's my mentor...I'm already used to his quirks by that point." Her calm and collected song slowly changed into a timid sounding one like she's really shy about something.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]" At the foot of the Misty Mountains"[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 13px]"[/SIZE][SIZE= 18px]A[/SIZE][SIZE= 13px]nd . . . did you like it?" asked James, now covering his mouth and sniggering. Serena's expressions made her fun to tease.[/SIZE]


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Serena Lock-
​

Serena tried to not frown in embarrassment, her reddened cheeks turned as bright red as Echo's hair. She's really close. She's close to finishing her song and then she'll walk away and swim. Swim in the cool looking water. That's fun: cooling her head down with cold water.


"...It's as fun as watching my mentor in his underwear..." was her quiet response, the song's notes went high pitched.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]" At the foot of the Misty Mountains"[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 13px]"[/SIZE][SIZE= 18px]I[/SIZE][SIZE= 13px] see, so. . . you find watching older men in just their underwear fun?" asked James, still amused, wondering how far he could tease Serena until she got annoyed or slapped him.[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 13px]This was so surprising. He had no idea she'd like pole dancing. He thought she was as innocent as most of the girls around here.[/SIZE]


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Serena Lock-
​

She played another wrong note, a high pitched one and she couldn't withstand his teasing anymore. Puffing her cheeks, Serena slightly glared at James, stopping her performance.


"No-! I don't find watching older men in their underwear fun! Sure his underwear is hilarious because of the heart or turtle patterns, but still-! Not! Fun!" Serena did not care if she yelled loudly, she's had enough of his teasing.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]" At the foot of the Misty Mountains"[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 18px]J[/SIZE][SIZE= 13px]ames accidentally let out a laugh before he could press his hand firmly to his mouth to stop himself. That was probably not a good thing, but Serena had looked cute for a moment with her cheeks puffed up like an owl, that he couldn't help himself.[/SIZE]


He cleared his throat, nodding and attempting to look abashed. "I understand, I understand. It's not fun." he was still covering his mouth, though, as if he was hiding a smile. And his eyes were still crinkled in surpressed mirth.


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Serena Lock-
​

Serena heard his laugh and she didn't appreciate it. However his laugh sounds really nice...but still-! Squinting her eyes and not believing him, the blonde decides a different approach.


"Sure. Laugh it up, James. Now imagine your mentor in his underwear doing something strange. I'm sure it won't be pretty."


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]" At the foot of the Misty Mountains"[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 18px]A[/SIZE]t this James did laugh. "You're right, it'd be pretty funny." Imagine stern Professor Magnus pole dancing in class in just his underwear, while still wearing his serious expression. Busting out the moves while deadpanning the class.


James cleared his throat again. "Ahem, anyway, back to work." and he continued reading, pullng the book up so that it hid his face.


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Serena Lock-
​

Raising an eyebrow, Serena waited a bit for more of his teasing as she watched James cover his face with the book and wondered why. So jumping down from the root, she used her violin bow to push down the book to see his expression.


"What? What is it?" She asked curiously, tilting her head a bit.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]" At the foot of the Misty Mountains"[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]W[/SIZE]hat's what?" asked James in an innocent voice tilting his head in mimic to Serena's. He had apparently been hiding his amusement.


"I'm just reading my book, the subject . . . makes me happy, that's why I'm smiling. See it's a Maori." and he attempted to distract her by showing her a water elemental, glowing silver white in the shape of a manta ray in the ocean.


"So you just carry on with your violin now. I believe you. Pole dancing older men in their underwears are not fun to watch."


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Serena Lock-
​

"...I swear James. I hope all your bacon burn." Serena deadpanned, her face turned red again as she prepared her violin to play. The song she based on James changed into one that has a playful tune, one that's having fun teasing someone.


Echo watched their interactions with a grin, watching the pair with a knowing look. Someone's having fun~ She might not be able to hear what they are saying, but based on James' teasing face with Serena's red one, it's clear as day...that they are having fun somehow.


"Heads up, Echo!" The red head quickly caught Renee before tossing her up in the air again, doing the same for Seth. "Guys! I should stop now to let my arms rest for a bit!"


"Alright!" Renee agreed, falling down again and was caught in her best friend's arms before standing up on her own. Then she caught Seth too. "Did you have fun?" Echo asked to the lonely twin, smiling warmly.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- Seifer Rathmore -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]" Flying Castle "[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]Y[/SIZE]eah, totally, thanks!" said Seth, looking windswept. "Let's go at it again later, okay?"

***
​

 
​

[SIZE= 18px]A[/SIZE]t around three o' clock, three hours after the people in the flying castle had a lunch of boiled crabs, smoked fish seasoned with lemon and salt, a bowl of branch-like seaweed with chopped onions and tomatoes, and a jug of cool fresh water from the river, Seifer came back announcing that he had found the perfect opponent for the, "two novices", as he called them: a grim.


"Don't know what a grim is? I'll tell you. They're evil spirits, " Seifer was saying as he hungrily ate some left over fish and tomatoes, "evil spirits that take hold of corpses and live out the last days of the deceased over and over again. Their strength depends on the corpses they possess, I found six that have taken hold of the corpses of a pack of murk wolves."


Murk wolves looked like ordinary wolves, except they had the ability to blend into shadow, blurring their silhouettes, making them hard to see.


"I saw the pack wandering in the Bulgog Marshes two hours from here on foot. We go there now, we can hopefully come back before nightfall. What say the both of you?" he looked at Echo and Serena tauntingly. "Too scary? Would you like me to find some swamp slimes instead?"


James was up for it. Grims were sometimes accidentally summoned by conjurors, if things went bad he and Johnny could exorcise them from the wolves and send them back to their realm.


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-At the foot of the Misty Mountains-
​

"Alright Sir Rathmore, enough with your silly taunts." Serena replied calmly, checking on her violin strings. She's not falling for the archer's obvious attempt to piss them off, but she will agree to fighting the Grim. If that's what it took...then so be it. Besides James teased her enough as it is-! She's not letting Seifer have fun in that either!


Echo sighed before drinking the last of the fresh water in her cup and put the cup down on the table. Well...she's ready if Serena is.


"Okay...Whenever you're ready, lead the way, Rathmore." was the red head's answer, not caring enough about his taunt either. Renee could tell by her tone of voice: it was deadpanned. She giggled quietly, covering her mouth with her hand as to muffle the sound. She was sitting beside the river, sketching again only it was a drawing of a smiling Seth falling down from the sky with Sen right beside him. She misses her other little brother.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- Bulgog Marshes -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px] " Dice Battle! "[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 18px]T[/SIZE]he hike to the Bulgog Marshes was damp and cold.


Seifer led the way around the foot of the Misty Mountains at a slow and wary pace, vigilantly looking here and there with his bow always out and an arrow knocked ready. He had told them to wear something that would blend in the forest and would protect their legs from the scratches of all the stinging plants and young trees that covered the forest floor, and taught them to keep to the underbrush, where their silhouettes would be broken by the outline of the plants.


He didn't allow James and Johnny to ride their mounts, saying that they needed the exercise. 'You warlocks have such little stamina." he noted. "You two better start doing push-ups too, or you'll be helpless out here without your wands."


James didn't have the breath to talk back. He was out of shape. Johnny was doing much better, but they were one of the last who arrived at the stinky marshes, panting while holding walking sticks, and clutching a stitch at their sides; Seth had no problem keeping up and had avoided the underbrush altogether. Instead he travelled by leaping and wall-running above them on the twisting trunks and branches of the giant trees.


At around five in the afternoon, they rested on the driest place they could find in the marsh, a piece of rotten fallen log, drinking bottled water and swatting away hordes of mosquitos. Seifer went ahead to scout out the location of the grim murk wolves and came back to stealthily lead the group through the wet muddy swamp to the edge of an abandoned wolf den where the smell of rotten flesh permeated the air. There in a clearing littered by boulders were six undead wolves re-enacting the last day of their possessed corpses.


They haven't seemed to notice the presence of the group. Seifer gathered them all to a huddle. "So there are six of them, that's one for each of us, the last one for two in case it all goes bad. I say we separate the grims, so that Echo and Serena can take on one each, and then the rest if all goes well. We'll just be keeping the rest busy if we can. If it gets too much, then we'll have to do what we think is best. Everyone ready? Go."


Seifer went first, acting as bait to get the wolves attention. They snapped and growled at him in warning, tendrils of shadow emanating from their coats as they moved to the shadows that blurred their forms, making their vital spots difficult to discern; James and Johnny summoned and mounted the guardian spirits and together charged into the middle of the pack, scattering them.


"This one's yours!" Seifer yelled at Serena, running towards her away from a skeletal wolf that was chasing him; "Echo, over here!" yelled Seth pointing down at an undead wolf that was snarling up at the twin who had climbed up a boulder.


@Katsuya