Fantasy Saga of the Nineteen Islands

[Dominaiscna]

As soon as Keenan left, Isolde settled down with one hand tentatively rested on the side of Bluebell’s neck, finger tips making comforting stroking motions on the soft, short fur of the dog. Quietly, she took a sip of the water before refocusing her attention on the flickering flames of the fire. However, this time, she was not lost in her thoughts. Instead she listened out for the conversations around her, remembering the very reason she came so far - to find Kadri.

At the nearby table were several people, all of which looked very different from one another. When another person entered into the tavern, Isolde’s head turned slightly in his direction. There was something very... off about him. The scales around her neck seemed to tingle as he stepped into the room... but she did not know why... was he also a lineaged? But for some reason, she felt her skin crawl. There was something very dangerous about him.

Athanas

However it was not his entrance that caught really piqued her interest, but rather his first words to the woman at one of the nearby tables. “Kadri Laar? I’m here for the...” That very same name had been uttered by Keenan. It seemed they were all linked somehow. Isolde looked at Kadri subtly under lowered lashes, biting her bottom lip as she thought. She debated whether or not she should approach Kadri... but as fate would have it, while she was arguing internally with herself, hushed words were exchanged and in a flash of lightning, the girl was gone.

It dawned on her that she had no idea where that person is now... she’d seen her whisper something to one of the men near her.. but hadn’t caught what had been said. So now she did not know how she’d find the person again. But on the bright side, at least now Isolde knew she was indeed a Lineaged.

A sloppy lick to her cheek brought her out of her ball of stress and Isolde looked down to see Bluebell tugging on her sleeve before trotting away. “Bluebell...? Where are you..” From the dog’s behaviour, it seemed like she wanted for her to follow. At this she remembered that Keenan had mentioned Kadri... hence Bluebell might know where the woman disappeared to. Hence, she got up after a pause and followed the war dog. However she stopped as soon as they reached the door, watching the dog trot through the rain to the stables. Despite having calmed down, the mere sight of the pouring rain sent nervousness prickling across her skin. However... she felt that she had to follow. And after a few seconds of hesitation, she did.

Pulling on her boots and wrapping her hooded cloak around her, she ran through the rain to the stables with her bundle in hand. Upon reachin the wooden structure, she dashed inside, her hands shivering with the feel of cold rain on her skin. However once inside. She came face to face with several new people, of which Keenan was one. However she had yet to see the other woman.

SilverFlight Baconhands zCrookedz

 

[Baconhands]

Kadri held the amulet in her hands, looking over it for a moment, silently apologizing to it in her head. It had to be done, to at least give them a buffer of time before the Triumvirate found them again. They were ruthless in pursuit, it appeared, though she had basically left a huge check on the map stating that she was indeed in this town. She let out an annoyed sigh - she was determined not to make such a mistake again; Aezi had worked himself to the bone, almost killing himself the last time she had summoned him without even demonstrating even a widget of tiredness. Kadri supposed he was still a horse after all.
The lineaged took to a stance and focused. She closed her eyes, "Tule, Aezi."
With every syllable uttered, thunder roared overhead, and the symbol glowed exponentially brighter with each letter pronounced. When the last syllable left her lips, lightning sparked in the heavens, casting a shadow in the sky of a winged horse. The light of the symbol became blinding, even for Kadri, and she shielded her eyes. With one last thunderous roar from the clouds, Kadri opened her eyes. In front of her stood Aezi, a horse that seemed to radiate power and grace in its perfectly white fur. Its eyes were similar to Kadri's. However, great wings were folded against its sides, constructed entirely not of feathers but lightning. Its hooves crackled with white and blue energy and occasionally purple bolts danced across the fur.
Aezi brayed, casting an inquisitive yet nervous glance at Kadri that seemed oddly keen.
Kadri started stroking his neck tenderly, "I know, I know. There's a few more this time but we'll be there a while."
As the others entered the stables, Kadri led him forward to meet them. "This is Aezi. He doesn't take insults lightly but won't hurt you unless you try to hurt him and he can definitely hurt you."
This statement seemed to cause Aezi to extend his wings in an almost threatening manner that was definitely fueled by some kind of pride within the Pegasus. "We'll be using him to get to the Salts."
@every1

 

[SilverFlight]

Keenan turned to the man who had addressed him, taking in both name and man with a questioning look. He nodded finally, "Well met. I don't suppose Kadri gave you any information on how we were getting out of here?"
Zephyros joined them very soon and asked something similar.
"I don't see any horses." Keenan replied uneasily. He had an awful feeling this 'method' of leaving was going to involve magic.
Isolde joined them soon after and Keenan gave her a look of pure puzzlement.
"You should be inside where its warm...look, um, Isolde, I'm not sure its entirely safe to be with my particular party at the moment but--"
He cut himself off as Kadri appeared, clutching the amulet in both hands. What happened next he would remember well for years to come: The roar of thunder nearly drowned out the words she spoke and the amulet glowed like a white-hot brand. Keenan pulled his shield from his back, running to Isolde and throwing it before them both. A flash of light nearly blinded him and when all was done, the stable fell still.
Keenan peered over his shield tentatively, and nearly fumbled it as he saw what had been called. His jaw dropped.
This entity had taken the form of the most fantastic horse Keenan had ever seen. He eyed the crackling ribbons of pure energy neatly folded by the stallion's sides, almost like wings.
So entranced by the beautiful creature he almost didn't hear Kadri's warning.
"..Wha..we're all going to ride...isn't he, you know, not to be rude but...a little small for all of us?"
It was at this moment Blue took the opportunity to trot in from the rain. She had been staring at something outside and looked back over her shoulder, then at Keenan.
"Blue's seen someone approaching the stable." He interpreted, getting ready to draw his blade. "If we're going to go, we should do it now."
Baconhands zCrookedz Athanas Dominaiscna

 

[Baconhands]

Kadri allowed the party to all take it in for a moment before Keenan's warning (or as he called it: his interpretation of the dog's sign language) about an individual heading into the stables came. The lineaged looked around at everyone, "If you're coming with me, make sure your touching the Aezi."
Another moment was allowed, a precious couple of seconds to let all those who wished to join to get into position before she decided it was time to go. She envisioned the map of the Nineteen Islands, focusing on the giant island in the centre. Her vision enhanced the colonies, and gazed down upon the salts. A second later, her focus began shifting towards the coas-
Thud
A crossbow bolt lodged in her shoulder.
She resisted crying out, instead shouting, "Now Aezi!"
Kadri wouldn't admit it was a panicked reaction but it nonetheless was. All that were touching the great Pegasus were essentially stuck to it, large amounts of force generated by some form of magnetic field holding them in place. The Pegasus' wings spread wide and proud, flapping once. Blinding light once more.
As the light faded, the group found themselves surrounded by unending salt flats. It was dusk, the last vestiges of the sun just barely clinging to the cloudless sky as the night finished its conquest. There wasn't a plant in sight, nor any settlement or cover.
The static that kept the group in place was released. Aezi appeared fine. Kadri glanced to her right shoulder; the bolt was buried a few inches into it.
"Well... this hasn't been the... most optimal start."
11254man Dominaiscna SilverFlight Athanas zCrookedz

 

[Dominaiscna]

Much to her relief, Isolde’s eyes found Kadri. However the woman was grasping something in her hand, an amulet of sorts, and before she could so much as formulate a question in her head, a blinding light and thunderous roar came from the direction of the woman. Immediately, her hands shot up to cover her ears from the incredibly loud sound and her eyes squeezed shut to hide from the light, but the brightness seemed to disappear as fast as it has come. Opening her eyes slightly, she found Keenan before her with his shield held out protectively.

However she had no time to express her gratitude as things just kept picking up pace. A magnificent winged beast stood before them, its beautiful body rippling with magic and power. At the sight of it, Isolde unconsciously took a step back behind Keenan. However, she could not tear her eyes from the creature. So entranced was she with the fantastical beast that she barely registered anything..

So when she snapped out of the daze, all she knew was to touch the horse if she was joining them. Though it was probably the stupidest thing for her to do without knowing what was going on, Isolde didn’t have enough time for rational thought and stepped out to reach the horse. However, before she touched it, something urged her to look back and her eyes fell on Bluebell.

“Wait, Bluebell!” Without thinking, Isolde moved towards the dog, away from the horsel. Bending down, she beckoned to the war dog with open arms. Bluebell caught on quickly and immediately ran towards Isolde. Immediately she slung an arm around the dog, reaching behind her to touch Aezi. However her fingers only felt air. She was a few inches too far and already, Kadri was forming the words for the command on her lips. Desperation took over and she leaned forward, feeling the tips of her fingers brush fur. And all turned white.

Baconhands SilverFlight

 

[SilverFlight]

"Wait, touch that?!" The beast was brimming with magical energy. It made Keenan feel like he would get roasted if he tried, but the urgency in Kadri's voice galvanized him and before he knew it Isolde was already moving.
There wasn't time to think. There wasn't time for anything but moving forward and reaching out toward the horse. He felt his hand press against its flank, fur so soft he barely felt it.
He heard the sound of a crossbow fire and then the stable vanished. The sensation of being flung through space by magic was something Keenan would never want to repeat. It made him feel like his insides were turning in on themselves and before he knew it he was stumbling in the dust-ridden and cracked expanse of the salt flats.
He looked about wildly for a moment, still half-expecting the crossbowman to be waiting for them, but there wasn't a soul in sight save for them.
He cast about at the others, his eyes settling on Isolde and he blinked for a moment.
"You..." Then his eyes trailed down to Blue. "You brought my dog. Thank you." He sounded genuinely grateful to her.

Blue gave a distressed yip which made Keenan turn and that's when he saw the bolt sticking out of Kadri's shoulder.
He sucked in a breath. Gods that looked painful.
"You weren't joking about the Trium-whatevers. They play for keeps." He closed the distance to her, turning her gently toward him with one hand to inspect the wound.
"Clean entry. I can get it out without much more damage. Sit down."
Keenan set the satchel onto the cracked ground, rummaging through it for the medical supplies he had thought to purchase.
"Can anyone make fire? I'll need hot water."
He gave Kadri a half-smile that told her he was about to say something smart: "The wound shouldn't go septic if you keep it sterilized. Least we have all the salt we need eh?"

Dominaiscna Baconhands

 

[Athanas]

Destrian was about to question Kadri as to how she planned to get them out of here, when, without any warning, Kadri began casting something. The flash of light from the incantation was so bright that it blinded him for several seconds, leaving him wishing Kadri had given them a minor warning first. When his vision cleared, he came face to face with a winged stallion, That appeared to be glowing with magic.

Destrian had seen quite a few curious things in his life, but a Winged horse summoned from an amulet easily surpassed all of them. He instinctively took a step back, his stress rising further-he could feel the heat from his chest quite clearly now, and his hands had started shaking slightly, not yet cause for major alarm, but surely it would be wise for him to calm himself as soon as possible-, he merely mumbled "Uh, I don't really think it can hold all of our weight. Perhaps we ought to have-" his voice trailed off as he noticed the new person that had entered. She looked..Familiar? Destrian was certain he would remember anyone with such unique hair, yet he couldn't place her. She appeared to regard him with something that resembled fear. Destrian felt even more uncomfortable. She could very easily have recognized him, and was merely waiting for an opportunity to call him out. His stress only got worse from there, as he also noticed a hound enter beside the girl. He took another step back: From his experience, all dogs seemed to do was bite you when you least expected it. And this one was a warhound, no less!

While he very much would like to stay and sort out who's who and who's what, Kadri urged him to touch the Horse. Although he, under normal circumstances, wouldn't even have come close to approaching something that looked like it could very easily kill him, his stress prevented his prudence from stopping him. And so, he grasped the horse, silently praying he wasn't evaporated.
Sure enough, the day hadn't ceased to have surprises in store for him. He heard a bolt fly by-An Assault!, But it was too late to do anything apart from just attempt to turn towards the crossbowman, before he was whisked away by the magic. He stood up, gasping, his mind desperately trying to find even a modicum of sense to cling on. He eventually managed to calm down enough to realize that they were surrounded by salt fields. Everyone was there-Including the dog, something that made him rather displeased-, but Kadri appeared to be hurt, bolt lodged in her shoulder. Destrian actually smiled a little. Finally, a chance for him to be useful. He extended an arm, and a small orb of purple energy appeared in his palm. He concentrated on it, and, after a few seconds, it got larger. Satisfied, he reabsorbed the energy he had just enhanced, and moved forwards.

Stepping next to Keenan, he gently motioned for him to stand aside. "Save your medicine. I can treat such a wound". He drew a large hunting knife from his belt and looked at Kadri. He raised it, but abruptly, as he remembered that his companions had no idea what he was about to do."Fair warning: This might seem a tad unorthodox, but do not worry, I've done this numerous times in the past".
Turning towards Kadri again, he said:"Okay, I'm going to pull out this arrow, then patch up the wound. This will hurt. Ready? One, Two, Three!

With a swift movement, he yanked the arrow from Kadri's body(something that, under normal circumstances would cause further damage, but at this point he did not care much), and, with the same motion, he stabbed himself in the leg. Pain surged through his body, and he screamed in agony, but he managed to ignore it and continue with the procedure.his energy now surging in his free hand that had just dropped the arrow, he firmly grabbed her head and redirected it all towards her shoulder. The wound began to glow a very bright purple, then immediately began to mend itself, the energy taking the form of flesh and blood and replacing the lost tissue. In a few seconds, Kadri's shoulder looked like it had never been hurt.

Destrian would very much like to congratulate himself but he was too busy being in severe pain. with a smaller burst of magic, he encased his own leg in energy, although it was clearly considerably weaker. Still, it had a visible effect: The bleeding stopped quite fast, And upon closer inspection it appeared that his wound was very slowly mending itself, too. Sadly, the pain had inflamed his stress. He let out an audible groan, now feeling the heat grow nigh-insufferable, the scales on his chest glowing with extreme brightness for a split-second, before he calmed down again, although his hands were still shaking, and he could still feel the heat-any more stress and he would be very hard-press to resist. He remained kneeling, hoping the others weren't noticing his very evident lack of stability.

SilverFlight Baconhands Dominaiscna

 

[11254man]

Oliver was admittedly shocked by Kadri's rather flashy exit. He'd stumbled back at the blast of lightning, though he caught himself rather well, considering the weight of his armor. She had gone in a flash, both in the literal and figurative sense -- proof enough of the relic's legitimacy. Oliver blinked a deliberate few times, gauging whether or not he'd simply imagined it by way of exhaustion.
After recognizing that Kadri had indeed teleported her way out of the room, Oliver turned to the newest addition to their party. The man seemed already to be within Kadri's head, as he deftly described her intentions. Upon the man's notion of 'agents', Oliver simply nodded and turned away. Without second thought, he moved briskly to his drink, which still sat across the room. After attempting in vain to polish off the tankard (in fact, spilling more than a little bit down his beard and across his breastplate, he slid the picture up under the lip of the helmet, before in turn sliding it back over his head. It occurred to him then that he wasn't entirely sure where the stables were, and was even less sure of a safe passage there. Well enough I ask that Destrian fellow, he thought to himself, turning back to where he'd been standing. By the time Oliver had situated himself, however, Destrian had already made his exit. Oliver breathed a sigh, looking to Kadri's table to see if anyone still remained there. "Of course not," he said, a deal louder than he thought he had. He glanced back to see a man who he'd not earlier paid any mind too shoot him a dirty look on his way out the building. Oliver was no fool, at least by his own accounts, and recognized near immediately the intentions of the man. He took a few seconds to let the man leave before trailing behind him.

He quickly found that skulking around in metal armor -- even metal armor covered lightly in cloth -- was something he was unwilling to consider easy. However, the rain and rather brisk pace of the man he'd been stalking made it a deal more manageable of a feat. As they rounded corner after corner, Oliver caught sight of a faint glow from around where the man had finally stopped. He heard the sounds of wonderment from around the side of what he now recognized to be the stables. The man he'd been tailing pulled from his coat a crossbow, which he fired before Oliver could get but a word out. "Don't!" he yelled -- as if the agent would have listened. He heard a cry from the party. "Now Aezi!" Oliver charged the man with the crossbow as a blinding flash of light took the man off-kilter. The agent turned to see Oliver just as the knight bore down on him. In a single swift movement he queued and fired the second bolt, skewering Oliver by his left arm. Even having been shot, Oliver hit the man over, throwing a solid, metal-gloved punch to the man's face with his undamaged arm. And like that, the skirmish was over.

The bolt had rather solidly lodged itself into his upper arm. He didn't dare pull it out, though it hurt to merely bend it at the elbow. He'd had worse. A few weeks and a decent apothecary or the like would get him all patched up. Even so, Oliver grit his teeth at the notion of effectively losing an arm for the next while, before turning back to the man who now lay soundly unconscious on the ground in front of him. He gave a chuckle at the would-be-assailant's state, lightly kicking the man upside the head. Oliver recognized then the party still awaited his return. The business of restoring his health was for the future. Seeing as it was the now, he resolved to proclaim himself savior of the party, get a round of applause, and go with them then to their first destination: The Salt Flats.
Oliver stepped out into full view of the stables, knuckles pressed to their respective sides. "Fear not, I've come to the res-" He trailed off, locking his eyes with the empty ground in front of him. He had a feeling the party's exit was spurred on by more magic, though he wasn't quite sure exactly what that magic entailed. "Just my luck," he muttered, turning back to the unconscious assassin. He'd been left behind, and henceforth hadn't a clue what to look for in regards to this magic or to Kadri herself. At this, a realization dawned, and his morose expression turned to a smile of rather dubious intent. "But even my luck takes the occasional turn," he began, talking in obvious vain to the agent before him, "It seems as if we're going to be securing ourselves a voyage to the Salt Flats. Perhaps then you can fill me in on what you're doing here." He slung the unconscious man over his shoulder. Years of moving stone and wood having done far more to prepare him for carrying something as light as the agent he'd found himself with now. And with that, he strode off through the pouring rain.

(I have absolutely no clue what he's going to be doing for the next many posts, seeing as this is obviously a long journey [from the map's layout, at least.] And once he gets there I have little doubt that you'll all already be onto another area. Sorry I posted so late? Also, if you want me to change any bit of this to fit future narrative then do not hesitate to tell me to. I know I went a little big with this post.)

 

[Baconhands]

Keenan's rapid response to aid Kadri did somewhat reassure her - what didn't reassure her was Destrian's actions. He was correct in his statement - his actions did hurt. The lineaged was very convinced that he might be trying to kill her. Until he used some of his magic to heal her. It was odd magic, like the stuff you would find in the stories used to frighten children, the ones that told of blood magic. A fable of course, this was more likely magic of Awramaar than some sort of demonic incantation, but it still unnerved Kadri, who watched him carefully. She paused after she'd finished healing, nodding somewhat in appreciation though she was ultimately very wary of it - she'd never seen something like that before and was curious where he learnt how to do it.

Kadri counted the number that had come with her and Aezi; there were only three. No Zephyros and no Oliver. The lineaged sighed and glanced at the Pegasus, "Go back for them. Look at most for five minutes, if you don't find them or if they don't want to come, you come back no later than that."
11254man (This means you can use Aezi in your next post if you so wish)
The Pegasus bowed in understanding before it unfurled its wings and flapped them once, vanishing once more with a crackle of lightning and thunder.
The lineaged looked to her companions, "I'm sorry. I would've gotten us to a town but we had to move quickly. If that crossbowman had been more accurate I think at least one of us would be dead by now."
Kadri looked around; there was a newcomer she hadn't been introduced to, "I don't think I caught your name. Did the dog bring you?"
Dominaiscna
She waited for a response and then looked around at the endless salt flats. She had no idea where she was. Somewhere in the Salts, obviously, but there was no point of reference - no land marks within sight and no civilization. She wanted Aezi to take them somewhere near the coast - she doubted he would be able to transport so many people there without doing serious damage to himself without letting him rest.
"Right, suggestions on what we should do?"
@Everyperson

 

[Dominaiscna]

When they arrived, it took a few moments for Isolde's eyes to adjust to their new surroundings from the blinding light of Aezi's magic. While remaining clutching Bluebell, she looked around yet all she saw was barren landscape. However... there was something about the infinite nothingness that stretched on for forever around them.. something familiar... and when whatever it was clicked in her head, Isolde felt her blood run cold. She vaguely remembered them heading for the Salts... and there they were. Her hand closed into a fist, knuckles turning white with strain as old memories played in her head.

A chill seemed to settle over the group, ghostly and unnerving.

However, Keenan's voice brought her out of her head and her pale blue eyes flickered over to him. In response to his thanks, she offered a wavering smile though was not able to completely meet his eyes. After all, she was bad at hiding things... her eyes always betrayed her. At that, Isolde realized she was still partially crouched on the ground with one arm around Bluebell. Hurriedly, she straightened herself, letting go of war dog. Instead she tried to distract herself with the scene before her. It seemed to work. The magic that Destrian used was fascinating....and unnerving to say the least. Though Isolde was growing uneasy, at least she herself was not the source of her nervousness.

Once Kadri was healed and did a roll call of their group, her stormy eyes fell on Isolde. She mentioned the dog bringing her and Isolde bit her bottom lip. Well... it was actually the other way around.. but she wasn't completely wrong. Nervousness prickled along her skin as she realized that.. it was time. "Sort of.. um... Kadri, my name is Isolde.." she started and felt terrible at how soft her voice sounded. Her hands were clasped together in front of her to keep them from fidgeting as she continued, "I also received your notice... however, I'm here for a different reason. ...I ... I need your help."

Her gaze flickered away from Kadri for a moment, lowering to the ground. She fought the urge to look at Keenan, thinking back to when he had said she was a good person. Would his opinion of her change?

Her eyes lifted to refocus on Kadri. "I am a lineaged of ...Selta," she finally said, "I have no control over my magic which has resulted in me hurting people I care about... and I came to find you.. hoping that you could help me."

Athanas Baconhands SilverFlight

 

[SilverFlight]

Keenan obliged, standing back to watch Destrian, a little relieved that there was someone who knew some form of healing magic. He tensed however as Destrian raised his knife, hand going instinctively to the sword at his belt, but he relaxed again after the explanation, though he remained tentatively questioning. What happened next shocked Keenan almost to the point of inaction. He heard Destrian's cry and moved a pace forward, stopping himself mid-stride. Was this part of it? Some strange form of blood magic? Keenan dreaded to think, but whatever it was it was healing their unlikely leader. It had clearly drained Destrian too and upon finishing, Keenan reached down and clasped the other man's shoulder for a brief moment, offering support and giving him a nod of respect.
Athanas
The situation seemed to be calming now and Keenan stood away, allowing himself to breathe.
Kadri was well enough to begin planning their next move at any rate, so he offered his thoughts:
"The problem with magic travel is sometimes you don't know where you end up. I studied star charts when at school, so as soon as I can see the stars, I think I can tell you roughly where we are. Then it's just a matter of walking until we find a landmark that will lead us to a town...unless there is a magic locating spell someone knows?"
That last bit was hopeful, but he doubted even magic could solve this problem so quickly.
Baconhands

The focus of the group shifted then, to Isolde, who was standing beside Blue. The dog made no attempt to go anywhere else and this surprised Keenan.
He listened intently to her story. To say he was caught off guard was perhaps a bit of an understatement. Here was no delicate maiden in need of help. She was a mage.
Undoubtedly his expression changed in that moment to one of wariness. Mages were dangerous when they were in control. He didn't want to think of one out of it.
"Didn't you school like other lineaged? To learn your craft?"
His eyes flicked to Kadri with a question: "Can you help her?"
Dominaiscna Baconhands

 

[11254man]

Oliver had not gotten far by the time the beast arrived. A bright flash of electric light did little less than blind him for a bit. The man fell from his shoulder, hitting the ground with a 'thud'. "What in the-" Without a moment of delay, Oliver drew his sword. The horse whinnied, taking a step back. Magic. of course. Oliver took a second further to realize this was likely the mode of transport for his friends. The wings were a rather solid indicator of such. Oliver breathed a sigh of relief, moving his sword back through the cloth-laden scabbard it'd called home for the past decade. He looked down then at the assassin, though what he found wasn't perhaps an indication of a perfect situation. Staring up at Oliver was a loaded crossbow.
"Huh..."
Oliver dropped back, the crossbow bolt flying up into the air. The Pegasus brayed, running its foot across the ground. A warning, Oliver supposed. The assailant, within a moment, had already locked in another bolt. Oliver lifted his hands into the air, looking through the rain at the strange beast, though speaking to the assassin. "Listen to me," Oliver said, "I'm relatively sure that thing can kill us with its mind. I vote we try not to kill one another for now, and head to wherever it takes us."
The assassin responded in a rather obvious manner. "Why would I do that?"
"I'm not entirely sure why, but you're obviously after the relic, right?"
"That is correct."
"And this was the thing that took them wherever they are, right? I only ask because you saw it while you were... actively trying to shoot them," Oliver motioned back to the horse.
"It was."
"Then it'll probably take us there, too."
"And then I'd be killed by the girl I just tried to kill!"
"Well you'd be killed if you tried to kill me now too!" Oliver yelled, now staring at the Agent.
"You don't know that!"
"Neither do you!"
There was a beat of silence, punctuated by the heavy rain of the stables. Both were relatively sure the beast knew what they were saying, as it was now suspiciously eyeing the duo. The assassin gulped down a breath of air. Oliver let a sharp breath out his nose, attempting once more to appeal to the assassin.
"I'll tell them not to kill you. Just... don't try to kill them, for the time being."
"Or what?"
"Or you'll be in turn by the horse with wings, I assume."
This rather quickly disarmed any argument with which the assassin could respond. After another break of silence, the agent finally spoke up, though only by way of a mutter.
"Fine," he said.
"Fine?" Oliver mimicked, moving slowly back to his feet.
"Fine!" The assassin echoed, pulling his crossbow away and moving too to his feet.
"Alright."
Oliver and the assassin both rested their hands on the horse's back, preparing to saddle up. However, before they were able, they were thrown through space, landing -- confused and rather terrified -- in the middle of a barren wasteland: The Salt Flats.

 

[Athanas]

Destrian was a tad surprised when Keenan actually hoisted him up. From his experience, when people witnessed his, rather bizarre, type of magic, they had a tendency to get quite startled. He clasped the proffered arm and helped himself to his feet, trying to not put weight on his injured leg. He looked up at Keenan with a look of Appreciation."Thanks for that". Something, however, Kadri's question wasn't as camling. Their great leader had no idea where to go? This most certainly wasn't a good sign. Then again, who was he to judge? After thinking it over for a few moments, he proposed
"I believe that using the magical horse might be a good way to get our bearings here. It won't need to teleport: We can just point it in a direction and see if there is anything there. Should it find either a town, or the cave that we need to go to, we can march there. I believe I have a few days worth of supplies in my pack, and I'm not against sharing. Conversely, we can just try to start marching without scouting first. Either can work."

He stood silent for a moment,thinking if there was perhaps another way to go on about this. he huddled his arms together, a feeling of cold washing over him. Truly, the situation was starting to get complex...
Abruptly, he paused. This was the salt fields. Why was he feeling cold? He looked around, spotting the girl-Isolde? He was sure he'd heard Keenan call her Isolde- clasping her hands together, clearly struggling with something. Destrian was about to ask what was going on, but she managed to shake herself out of her stupor before he had the chance, the cold subsiding once more.

His suspicions were confirmed when she spoke to Kadri. His brow furrowed with worry as he realized what she was implying. A Lineaged of Selta with no control? That was abound to be much more dangerous than him, due to the mere nature of such magic. Of course, he certainly wasn't one to speak, but still. This one would require caution, lest he end up an icicle.
"Selta? And you have had no training? Wow. That's.." he was about to say dangerous, but caught himself"..Intresting."
"I'm a lineaged of Awramaar myself. Just...throwing that out there, so that you know that what you witnessed back there wasn't anything...demonic. He was quite uneasy as he spoke. He was potentially more dangerous than a demon, but there was no need for any of them to know that.

Almost as if arriving on queue, The winged horse returned, bringing Oliver and the assassin along with it.Oliver! You made it. And you brought company. Who might this fellow be...?. He moved to help them on their feet, but stopped dead in his tracks. The man had a crossbow slung across his back, and a quiver from which some arrows were missing. He looked quite similar to a man he had seen in that tavern, that Kadri appeared to be quite wary of.
Destrian put two and two together and arrived at a very alarming four.That's the Assassin!, He yelled.

Summoning his magic, he took a hasty step forward, purple energy engulfing his arm. The assassin, of course, understood what was about to happen and attempted to draw his crossbow, but he was still dazed from the teleport. With a swift thrust forward, he shot out a small orb of purple energy, hitting the man directly on his forearm. The latter dropped his crossbow, crying in pain, clasping his now-injured arm. Destrian Ignored the pain from his injured leg and charged at the man, hitting him in the face with a well timed blow. The other, in his desperation, attempted to retaliate. With his uninjured arm, he drew his own dagger, slashing at Destrian's sides. He managed to inflict a minor wound, although not deep enough to be cause for worry.

He couldn't have made a worse mistake.

Destrian backed away, growling in pain. He let forth a yell,as purple energy formed all around his arms. He appeared to have forgotten all about his injury, and instead charged forward, a ferocious battlecry leaving his lips. The assassin attempted to strike again, but his fear of this new threat, the madman that didn't appear to feel any pain, made him miss. Destrian ceased the opportunity, grabbing the man's remaining good arm and disarming , in a display of strength that clearly wasn't all-natural. He let forth a flurry of punches, causing the man to drop to his knees.
He looked up in shock, trying to somehow reason with this monstrosity that had come out of nowhere
"No, please! I surrender! I surr-"
"OH, SHUT IT!" Destrian grabbed the kneeling man's face and bashed it against his knee, smashing his nose and causing him to fall backwards. The man tried to flee, but Destrian grabbed him, tossing him back down. He secured the terrified man by the throat, and drew his hunting knife.
"Hope your assassin buddies offer you a good burial, because I certainly won't." He raised his knife, ready to finish the man off...

Dominaiscna Baconhands SilverFlight 11254man

 

[Dominaiscna]

Once she'd spoken, Isolde waited nervously for what Kadri would say. However, Keenan spoke before her. At the sound of his voice, she turned to look at him and immediately regretted doing so when she saw the wary expression on his face. The air chilled.

He hadn't looked at her with such eyes until he knew that she was a Lineaged... a magic user... a dangerous person. At this point, she had no right to even feel surprised or disappointed... instead, Isolde felt...she didn't know what she felt. Lowering her eyes so that no one could meet her gaze, she started softly, saying "No I.. I never..." in response to Keenan, her voice trailing off.

Another man spoke up, the one whom had healed Kadri.. and whom she had gotten a bad feeling from. Isolde vaguely remembered him being introduced as Destrian... undoubtedly she had heard it either at the tavern or at the stables. He expressed his surprise at her not having had any training, stalling slightly before concluding that her situation was "interesting". The pause hadn't slipped past Isolde. The silence between his words were loud, hinting at many other adjectives that had crossed his mind before he'd found the safest one to use.

The air chilled a little more.

However, all attention was drawn to the entrance of Aezi with two other men and Isolde too found her eyes moving to look at them. In seconds, Destrian had launched himself at one of the men whom had armed himself with a crossbow. Their fight was brutal and the longer it lasted, the bloodier it got. Destrian was also getting more and more violent. Red blood flecked and dusted the sandy ground beneath the other man as he was beaten by the lineaged. Isolde's hands were shaking as she watched, trying to tear her eyes away from the scene before her, but she was frozen in place. And the air was rapidly growing colder.

As Destrian lifted the blade to deliver the final blow, Isolde saw the man's face... his expression. She did not know who he was, or why he was there.. or anything, but in that moment, he looked just like that bandit in the icy rain... staring death in the face. Without thinking, she dashed forward shouting "No! Don't!" Her hand shot out, making contact with Destrian's arm just as he brought it down with blade in hand. Ice erupted from the point of contact as her magic poured into Destrian. His body chilled rapidly and his blood froze to almost crystals as the ice magic circulated within him. Within seconds, he'd stopped moving, frozen to the spot like statue.

Isolde gazed up, shaking, as her mind registered what she had done. She flinched away from poor Destrian, face pale and hands shaking. What had she done?

11254man Athanas Baconhands SilverFlight

 

[Baconhands]

So many things happened within such a short amount of time that Kadri felt overwhelmed by it. First of all was the introduction of the newcomer, named Isolde. She needed her help learning to control her abilities. Where had she grown up that she hadn't learned to tame them as a child or an adolescent? What was Kadri supposed to answer? She could be honest - she didn't know. When she was being educated they tended to separate the lineaged students based on their lineage in order to teach them spells that they didn't naturally know. But... perhaps answering honestly is not the best course of action - it appeared Isolde was only here to get help, and if Kadri informed her she couldn't help, then perhaps she would leave. Kadri didn't want that; it meant less help, and it appeared help was in short supply as it was.
Kadri slowly nodded, "I can help. But now's not really the time. Once we're... in a better position... maybe in a town with some water nearby where you can practice on that." And maybe there'll be a book there that I can read to help me touch you, she added mentally. Dominaiscna

Two solutions were soon offered to solve the lost situation, one from Keenan, which Kadri did prefer to the alternative offered by Destrian. Not wanting to put Aezi under more stress, at least for today. However, the benefit of using Aezi is that they moved quicker. Being stranded in the salt flats wasn't an ideal situation, and despite the reassurances that there were indeed supplies, Kadri didn't want to risk dying of dehydration. However, this wouldn't be an issue once Aezi was ready to go. It was only a moment after this thought had passed that Kadri realized she'd misunderstood his statement - unfortunately, Aezi wasn't a compass, which was now what Kadri was understanding from Destrian's proposal.
"If you can direct us, Keenan, that would be greatly appreciated. We need to be heading... West, I think. That will take us towards the coast; it's where most of the settlements are."
SilverFlight

Aezi soon returned, two guests in tow. While Kadri originally assumed that it was Oliver and Zephyros, it was instead the Oliver and another. Hope made it's way into her mind for a moment, until she saw the symbol on the man's arm and immediately Kadri was suspicious of Oliver's motivations. Why bring him here? It appeared as if the problem was being dealt with by Destrian, in a manner lacking finesse. Kadri debated intervening. There was a pause... wait... if Destrian killed him, then they couldn't get any information out of him!
"Aezi!"
The Pegasus began moving, wings spread in an intimidating manner. And yet after Isolde began casting the Pegasus stopped. It looked at the statue of Destrian curiously.
Kadri approached the frozen Destrian with a similar curiosity in her eyes, "Well... how does he get out?"
Athanas Dominaiscna

"Hopefully he can't," the Triumvirate member said, clearly relieved. "Clearly he's a deranged one. Not like you reasonable folk. Whom I'm certain it would be an absolute delight to have a conversation with. Cause, as I'm sure you understand, I'm just doing my job."
He stood up, taking a step backwards. Aezi moved to stand behind him, wings still aloft threateningly.

 

[SilverFlight]

Keenan wasn't prepared for the reappearance of the magical horse, nor for the assassin that had followed Oliver with him.
Destrian was ready however and fell upon the man without mercy.
Instinctively Keenan wanted to stop the brutality, but his years of military training in the king's service had taught him about assassins. They were better off dead.
Unsure if he should intervene he looked to Kadri for a que, however it was Isolde that stepped forward first.
The air about them chilled, his shield came up without a thought and he watched as Destrian was frozen, leaving the assassin free.
"What have you done?" Keenan voiced her inner thoughts, but the look on her face made him hesitate. His features softened and he took a step toward her.
"It's all right. Try to breathe," he soothed gently, slowly reaching out to her.
"You can't hurt me while I'm holding this shield, all right? Just, calm down. You didn't mean too. It was an accident. We'll get Destrian out of this...but we need you calm first."

The voice of the assassin made him turn with an angry scowl. "Blue, hold him."
The dog snapped into action. Gone was the half-smiling lackadaisical expression, and it was replaced by one of complete focus, fixed on the assassin. If he tried to run she would chase him, if he attacked she would bite him. Between Blue and the horse, he didn't have many options.
"Kadri, can you do anything for Destrian?"
Keenan was still trying his best to calm Isolde, magic was beyond him and he hoped the lineaged had an answer.

Dominaiscna Baconhands Athanas 11254man

 

[Baconhands]

Kadri shook her head in response to Keenan's question. "I don't think I personally can. Honestly I've never seen somebody with an ability such as that before, especially one that isn't consciously used." The lineaged sighed, noting that they couldn't really go anywhere, without great difficulty at least, with Destrian in his current situation. However, Kadri wasn't one to look on the worst side of things. "I suppose this gives us an opportunity, at least, to try and get some information out of our unwanted guest," she said, her stormy eyes snapping to the Triumvirate agent.
The agent hadn't tried to run when the dog was loosed on him - he saw no point in attacking either. This was hardly a situation he'd been expecting to be in, especially since it appeared nobody was willing to converse, only interrogate. He put his hands up, apparently surrendering, ever aware of the creatures behind and in front of him.
"I'm willing to cooperate. There's no need for violence." The man was stalling for time, how long he was trying to get even he wasn't sure.
In the distance, he could see something moving along the flats, heading from East to West. It was far away, but whatever it was, perhaps when it got close enough it would provide him an opportunity to escape.

It only took a few moments for Kadri notice this object as well. Could it be hostile? That was frighteningly plausible. Who knows what the Triumvirate could do? Maybe they tracked all of their agents through some form of spell... maybe they had an Aezi of their own? Paranoia was clearly the motivator of the day and Kadri was happy to act. Another lineaged in a fight would be a big help. Destrian was still frozen. Maybe... just maybe...
It was a crazy idea, but one she was going to commit to. A familiar feeling made itself known in her scales as sparks of lightning danced along them, running towards her hand. They began to build into a ball of pure energy. "Zibens spēriens." She uttered.
The ball leaped from her hand landing only a bear few inches from the frozen Destrian. The energy released was immense, practically knocking the wind out of Kadri in a single second, and it created a significant amount of heat, right next to Destrian. Soon enough, the ice began to melt away.

 

[11254man]

Oliver was rendered more than a little dazed by his sudden teleportation. By the time he'd found himself able to think with any semblance of clarity, the assassin was almost dead, a rather angry -- and rather frozen -- man was standing over him. a red frost Oliver could only assume to be blood coated the frozen man's hands, and a rather frightened girl stood by him, shaking as if she'd seen a ghost. Oliver looked over to the assassin, who shot him a dirty look. Oliver returned him an aloof smile. It was then that the others descended upon him. After the assassin staked his innocence, Oliver decided he should do his best to make sure the man wasn't killed. "Don't be frightened. He is, in fact, quite cooperative," Oliver said from his comfortable seat amongst the bed of rock. He went to push himself up, but unwittingly let out a yelp as he fell back to the ground, his arm alight with a searing pain. Even with his eyes forced closed via shock, the pain had been a sharp reminder off the bolt still lodged in his arm. He let himself lay back against the salt, muttering with eyes still forced shut, "Mostly cooperative."

 

[Athanas]

Destrian certainly had not expecting to be frozen on that day. Then again, it had been a day full of surprises. He would've been terrified, if he actually had time to think before the frost reached his mind.
He blacked out, the organs in his body ceasing to function, a look of fear stuck on his face.

Thankfully for him, and unlike what he had thought would happen, he did not remain a frozen statue for long. He felt a wave of heat washing over him, thawing his brain first, then the rest of his body. Sadly for Destrian, his entire body defrosting in that order caused him no small amount of pain, as he went from freezing to nearly-burning in seconds. He collapsed on the ground, another pained howl leaving his lips. When the pain had somewhat subsided, he looked up at Isolde. Surprisingly, she appeared to be even more shaken than he was. He merely shot her a hard look-the type that said:We'll talk later, and then scanned the area for the assassin. He did not appear to have gone far, hounded as he was, both by the Pegasus and the Warhound. He turned to Kadri, a small, purple orb forming up in his hands.Any reason in particular we're keeping him alive?"

 

[SilverFlight]

Keenan looked around from trying to reassure Isolde, then glanced at Kadri.
"What sort of information do you think we can trust out of the mouths of enemies?" He cautioned.
It was then Destrian began to thaw, completely unharmed, and Keenan, relieved, decided to chalk it up to 'magic' as the explanation for it. He felt he'd be doing that a lot from now on.
"I'm afraid I'm with Destrian. Leaving him alive would only bring our enemies closer to killing us."
He had been trained to deal with assassins, it was always dangerous to let one go. Many had guild reputations to keep. Killing was simply business for them and most made it perfectly clear that either their target died, or the assassin did. Keenan did not feel like dying in the near future.

 

[Dominaiscna]

Isolde was frozen to the spot, her eyes fixed on Destrian's fearful expression. She'd lost control of herself... again. As the reality of their situation and her actions came crashing down, she started hyperventilating, her eyes losing focus slightly till a voice tore her attention away from the frozen figure. It was Keenan's. He was speaking to her, she knew that much, but it took a little while before his words started reaching her. And though she tried to listen to his words and calm down, she involuntarily flinched away as he reached out to her. Despite the chaos and panic inside her head, she chose to focus on his voice and willed herself to believe in what he was saying. Fortunately, his words seemed to work and she felt herself calming down slowly.

Seconds later however, Isolde felt herself thrown back, stumbling slightly as Kadri fired a ball of lightning at the ground near Destrian's feet. The blast radiated enormous amounts of heat and energy. She blocked her face with her hands to shield herself from the bright light but after a few seconds, she lowered them to find Destrian lying on the ground - notably not as frozen as before. He let out a pained groan and threw her a glare which she flinched away from, but that moment of fear was washed away by a sense of relief - simply because Destrian was alive.

11254man Athanas Baconhands SilverFlight

 

[Baconhands]

The assassin didn't see any sort of viable strategy that would get him out of this predicament alone. Indeed, it appeared as if the only safe way for him to get out of this was to continue acting diplomatically until help arrived; in this case, it was the rapidly moving object running across the Salts towards them. His eyes fell on Isolde. So far she was the only one who hadn't directly stated whether he should live or die. They were pleading eyes, practically begging her to side with Oliver and Kadri. He said nothing, he hoped his pitiful expression would win her over. Dominaiscna

Kadri didn't want this assassin to be the rift that broke the party apart basically before they'd even started, and she considered changing her mind to support Keenan and Destrian. On the other hand, why couldn't they try to wring some information out of him? Surely they would all benefit from knowing more?
Before Kadri could respond, however, the object skimming across the salt flats was upon them. It was a small ornate oak ship, about 12 metres long, 5 metres wide and 3 metres deep. The ship had a single cloth triangular sail in its centre that rose a few metres up. The object hovered three feet above the ground with a gentle hum, coming to a stop with salt thrown up in the air immediately behind it.
A voice, soon accompanied by the scarred and grizzled, yet playfully curious, face of a woman dressed in a loose-fitting white tunic and black trousers, yelled over the side, "I would imagine you're not from these parts! Do you need a lift anywhere? We could head East to the mining networks or West to the colonist settlements for the right price."
Kadri paused, raising an eyebrow, "Mining networks? Underground? Have they all been explored?"
The supposed captain of the ship grinned a frugal grin, "East it is."
A ladder lowered itself to the ground, inviting everyone on board.
SilverFlight Dominaiscna 11254man Athanas

 

[Athanas]

Destrian realized very quickly what this assassin was trying to accomplish. He had seen Isolde's merciful tendencies and wanted to exploit them. Determined to not let this happen, Destrian enlarged the orb, but just before he actually shot it, a flying ship appeared right in their midst. Destrian was seriously taken by surprise, switching his focus towards the flying craft-but he calmed down slightly when he realized that this crew didn't appear to be hostile to them. If anything, they appeared to be a transport ship- built for rescuing weary travelers that might have gotten lost in the salt fields. He extinguished the energy and turned to the man once more. If he were to blast the assassin to shreds in front of the ship, then it would be entirely likely that the crew would be alarmed. Instead, he approached the terrified man, putting a hand on his shoulder. He spoke in a low voice.

"Today appears to be your lucky day. If I butcher you, it's really unlikely that these people will give us a ride. Just hand me your stuff and we're set"
"M..My stuff? But I'll never-"
Destrian merely grinned at the man, a wide, psychotic grin. The man merely took a step back, a look of utter terror forming on his face. With a swift move, he emptied his pouches and holsters and handed the items to Destrian.
"Everything's there, okay? Just.. don't kill me. Please!"
He checked the items. There was a shortsword, a few spare crossbow bolts, some papers that he decided he would read later,a waterskin, and a small pouch of coin. He smiled. At least something good was coming out of this unfortunate situation. He looked up at the assassin again."Now that that's settled, get the fuck out of here. The Woman said that the towns are in the west, so get moving. If by any chance you actually make it, you didn't see us. Godspeed."
He turned, about to leave, but he caught Isolde's fearful expression. Surprisingly, he found himself feeling almost bad. There was no way that this beaten down man, with absolutely nothing, would even make it half a mile in the desert."Why.. Why do I care about what she believes? Why do I care about an assassin of the enemy?"Destrian thought about this for a few seconds, but no answer came to mind.
Turning around, he tossed the waterskin back to the assassin, who now seemed slightly confused himself."This should buy you a couple extra days. If you still can't make the hike, then you probably weren't cut out for this kind of job."

With this now dealt, Destrian advanced on Kadri, stopping only to pick up the man's dropped crossbow-old habits die hard, after all."That seems like our ticket out of this bind. I vote we get on. Paying shouldn't be an Issue." He held up the recently acquired pouch,for all to see.

Dominaiscna SilverFlight Baconhands 11254man

 

[SilverFlight]

The ship surprised Keenan almost as much as the would-be assassin had, for it too seemed to come out of nowhere.
He left Destrian to deal with the man, now penniless and weaponless in front of them.
His eyebrows vanished into his hair as Kadri accepted the captain's invitation to climb aboard just like that.
"You don't think it's just the slightest bit suspicious that there is a vessel that just happens upon us in the middle of the desert with the offer to take us anywhere we wish to go?" He asked Kadri quietly.
But caution it seemed wasn't in their leader's nature, and Destrian did have a point: The trek across the salt flats with no shelter and very little water likely would be life-threatening. Suddenly he felt bad for the man they had now granted that fate. Keenan wondered if killing him here would have been a greater mercy.
His eyes flicked to Isolde and softened. The assassin made decision when he took the contract, and Keenan had better people to look out for.
"I suppose we don't have much of a choice."
All the same, as Keenan moved to help Isolde and Kadri climb aboard, he kept an eye on their unlikely rescuer, and one hand on his blade.

Athanas Baconhands Dominaiscna 11254man

 

[11254man]

Oliver moved his head from its place against the salt, looking near half-heartedly towards the ship which had so quickly approached them. "Wonderful..." Oliver muttered, to no one in particular. He'd not taken as well as he might have liked to some of his new 'companions'. The lack of restraint displayed by the situation as a whole -- not helped in the least bit by the metallic protrusion lodged in Oliver's arm -- began, ironically enough, a rise of anger from within him. He stew away in his mind for more than a moment, letting this rage fester in a way it might not otherwise have. As Keenan weighed the convenience of the vessel, and Destrian was no doubt continuing to harass the assassin, Oliver pushed himself to his feet, blindly ignoring the searing pain it brought about. He stared at the ladder, moving his gaze back down to his arm, and back then to the ladder. He let out a long exhale, lowering his head and letting his eyes fall closed. The world seemed intent on breaking him in a rather expedient fashion.