A feeling of grief.

[2-in-1]

(This takes place right after the history written in my profile)

(feel free to join in at any time)

(open to everyone who wants to join.)

Venus awoke with a confused look on her face. She knew she should be happy because she had completed her quest with the help of her dear friend, Delta Retla, but in the process, she had lost delta. She was wondering how it was that she survived where Delta was nowhere to be seen. after brushing herself off, she limped back to town to get some rest. As Venus started walking, she realized that she had no idea which way the town was. Having nothing better to do, Venus lay back against a stone and waited for someone to find her.

[Cyrus the virus]

Interesting, Luc thought as he gazed down at the woman below, sitting against a rock. What would she be doing alone in a place like this?

The mage couldn't deny her beauty as he floated overhead, levitating in the middle of the air. His green eyes explored her frame, trying to see what it was that was so unfamiliar about the woman. Perhaps unfamiliar isn't quite the word... There was something mystical about her, but Luc didn't sense any kind of magic or enchantment, and she sure didn't show any of the mannerisms of a doppleganger.

I didn't come here to socialize, I came to learn about these ruins... But I suppose speaking with an attractive woman couldn't hurt.

Luc dropped down to her and gently landed on the ground, his boots barely making a sound as they touched. He gave a half-smile in greeting and saluted her. "I am Luc Kraus, a mage of some reputation and power. Are you... Alright?" he asked.

[2-in-1]

Venus gave a weak smile to Luc, but it was obvious that she had been crying. "Like, nothing is alright. I don't know, like, where I am or, like, why I even am still alive. My friend, she, like, died in a battle trying to protect me, but there is, like no body. Like, not even a trace of her or her weapon is left. I don't, like, even know the way to the nearest town."

At that point, she started to cry. there was not much else she could do until she knew something about her whereabouts.

[Cyrus the virus]

"Just relax," Luc said. "I'm sorry you lost your friend. What's important now is getting you back to town. Get up and come with me, alright?"

Luc manifested a seat from the air, a transluscent green vessel, and had it go toward the woman. "Don't worry, this chair will carry you along with me as we head back. Once we get you some help for your wounds, we'll see if we can find your friend. If you haven't seen her body, it's possible she is still alive. Don't lose hope."

Patiently, Luc waited until the woman was ready to climb onto the seat.

[Master Kilon]

You’re letting the heat get to you. “Iamnotlettingtheheatgettome.” The grumpy gnome panted angrily, angry enough to rip his hat up for getting him lost. The only thing that saved the hat was a troublesome bald spot, which the hat had stated him to have had but which he firmly denied the existence of, and the worry of sun burning.

The fact was the hat knew a bit too much about everything for Garet’s tastes, mainly because he felt it necessary to state his opinion. In this case, his opinion was that Garet had been walking around in the sun for too long and had begun to imagine things. Garet on the other hand was convinced he saw a meteor of fantastic color shooting across the sky to the north. The sight of it had caused Garet to start sprinting after it so he could be the first to discover and obtain the meteorite just after impact. This was mainly because in his early years at the academy there had been rumors that meteors are small planets that had been pulled to a larger planet. Given his probably size advantage over and residents of a meteorite he could rule it and proclaim himself Supreme Highlord Emperor of Luno(because he spent a great deal of time coming up with the name of his imaginary kingdom), add a permanent levitation spell to it and then he can also call himself the Ultimate center of the solar system, Luno 1. As much as he detested it, for the sake of Luno he would run quite a ways, which would take quite a while on his short legs.

Closing in on where he had seen the meteor going, the magic wielder was sorely disappointed. He watched as his “meteor” descended to the ground and looked nothing like a planet at all. In fact it looked a lot like a human. Nevertheless, it certainly looked solid and even if he couldn’t call it Luno, he could at least prove that it wasn’t a mirage.

“I’mgoingtoprovethatIdidn’tjustimagineit. You’llsee.” How are you going to prove anything, I certainly don’t see any astronomical event. I’m only going to believe you when you touch it. Let’s make a bet, if you’re right and it’s real, I’ll let you wash me. “ButwhatifIamwrong?” If you’re wrong, which you are, you have to say, “Hat, I was wrong and you are right, you’re always right, and you’re the absolute most magnificent and glorious hat ever.” And then you have to shave your head. “WhydoIhavetoshavemyhead?” Because, it makes me itchy. “Buthowcanyoubeitchy,you’reahat.” Enough! I am because it is, now do we have a deal or are even you convinced of your insanity? “Fine,butonlybecauseyou’refilthy,andyousmell,alot. ”

Having committed himself to it, Garet had no choice but to attempt to prove that he could touch it, breaking into a sprint and running headlong after the meteor/planet/mirage and pulling out his staff and swinging low at the human-like figure’s legs, an imitation of a great slayer of trees except a staff instead of an axe.

[Cyrus the virus]

"Gah!" Luc cried. Suddenly struck just below his knees, the mage could not help but fall forward and land kneeling. The unexpected sting was horribly painful, but was nowhere near as deadly as the glare Luc shot behind him.

He expected a following strike, but none came. "You'd better have a good reason for striking me, gnome! Make sure your reason's good, or you'll regret ever meeting me here!"

And indeed it was a gnome, Luc could tell. Though he had only met a handful of the kind in his 30 years of life, he could hardly forget the first encounter he'd ever had with one: a situation similar to this one, when a gnome had whacked him over the head with a wooden mallet, thinking he was a monster. After that moment, the image of the gnome had been burned into his mind. Though they were different in appearance, at least in the details, Luc could tell it was a gnome with just a passing glance.

Luc sneered in repulsed disgust, and got up while favoring both calves. "Forget it, just get out of my face. I don't have time to deal with any gnomes today, so consider yourself lucky that I have this woman to tend to. Run along to your little dirt hole, or whatever it is you tuck yourself into during the daylight hours."

That's when a startling revelation hit him. He didn't know where the closest town was. He had simply Windwalked his way to these ruins from Radasanth, teleporting miles and miles in only minutes. "Uh, wait," he said, trying to catch the gnome's attention before he could scurry off as Luc had 'ordered' him to.

The mage turned to face the gnome, even got down on one knee so as to be at the same eye level as him. "I'll forgive you for your... attack on me, if you can tell or show me where the nearest town is."

All the while, the chair of wind floated before the weakened Venus. Though it looked frail, the enchanted furniture would indeed hold the woman and carry her where Luc willed it to.

[Master Kilon]

The dull thud of a successful blow was sweet perfect music to Garet. The music of victory. Victory because mirages couldn’t be hit, and because the hat was wrong. In sheer joy he broke into a gnomish war dance, in his excitement the movements looked closer to a standing seizure, and he briefly considered letting out a cheer but was dissuaded after deciding not to be a bad winner.

“AHA, itisreal! Youknowwhatthismeans,don’tyouhat? Washingtime!” You dope, pay attention he’s saying something to you. “Ohno, you’renotgettingoutofthis,wehadadeal.” Pay attention! I think he’s yelling at you.

Trusting the hat, at least for the moment, the conjuror gnome brought himself back to the material world in front of him, to find a human kneeling down and talking to him at almost equal height. He seemed to be asking for directions, but was under the impression that he had been attacked. “First, Ididn’tattackyou. Itwasanexpirament, whichwassuccessfulthankstoyourparticipation. Congratulations, ithasbeenproventhatyoudoinfactexist, youhavenoneedtoworryaboutbeingafigmentofsomeoneels e’simagination. Youshouldproblybethankingmeforthat, it’saproblemalotofpeopleareveryworriedabout.” He probably didn’t understand anything you just said. You need spaces between your words like normal people talk, most people can’t and don’t want to talk like a gnome. They talk like I do. “Youmeanyoutalkthatslowonpurpose? Amazing, thisentiretimeIthoughtitjusttookyouthatlongtothink ofthenextword. MaybeyouaresmarterthenIthoughtyouwere, butproblynot.” I am not even going to respond to that. Are you going to answer him? Make sure to slow your words down.

“Well. . . the . . . next . . . town . . . is…” Garet made sure to take a breath between each word so that the human could understand him as well as talking loudly in the way many people do so that foreigners can still not understand a word. But as soon as he started, it occurred to him that he had gotten lost in the excitement of the meteor, and had to whisper to himself and ask the hat. “Hat, whereisthenexttown?” …Maybe west? Even though the hat wasn’t very certain that wasn’t going to make a mage by the name of Kilon sound like he wasn’t absolutely undeniably sure. In his most confident and trust earning voice he proclaimed, “It’s . . . west!”

Having solved the meteor’s directional trouble , it was time to get down to business. “Hat! Yourtimehascome. Prepareforethegreatdesertwashing!” With that statement he ripped the hat from atop his head with a flourish and held it directly in front of him with water beginning to sprinkle from his fingers to great fear that radiated from the hat, unleashing the mass of tangled untamable whitish hair that Garet claimed to be cursed. As soon as the mint enhanced water began to poor from his hands all over the hat, the hat began to writhe in obvious pain while sending mental curses and screams at Garet.

The human had been near forgotten, not to mention the still unnoticed woman laying against a rock a short distance away. But the hat was clean, probably for the first time since its creation, and it smelled incredibly fresh, sitting miserably atop the conjuror Kilon’s beaming visage. Only as he looked around for people to compliment him on how good his hat looked did he notice the woman who looked like she could use some cheering up. Walking over to her eagerly with the idea of making her feel better Garet introduced himself, “Hello . . . there, . . . have . . . you . . . seen . . .my . . . hat?” Pointing eagerly to the garment atop his dome, the idea that it wasn’t as exciting and joy inducing to others as it was to him, was non-existent.

[2-in-1]

Venus stared at the chair, wondering how it could support her weight. Was this guy a practical joker? When Luc spoke to her telling her that her friend might still be alive.

"Like, I wish that were so, but she, like, would have most likely found me by now if that were so, I think."

Right after she said this, someone whacked Luc with a staff. She had to smirk a bit at the irony of it all. He had become the target of a practical joker in her eyes.

Soon afterwards, she saw the two talking, it was during this moment that she decided to humor Luc and attempt to get into the chair when he got back.

When Luc got back, so did the gnome,and he asked her how she liked his hat. A question which to her was a little odd.

Venus examined the hat carefully. It didn't look any different than a normal hat, but if he liked it, that was all that mattered.

"It is, like, nice, I guess." she said in a depressed voice after a while. Was this guy trying to make fun of her too? She couldn't tell.

Afterwards, she got into the chair that she had been given, expecting it to break.

"Ohmygawd, I guess there are still, like, people in the world you can depend on. Thank you, Luc. Now, let's, like, get going."

[Master Kilon]

It had taken a moment, but Garet had gotten the answer he wanted. The young lady had said it looked “nice,” which meant that he looked good in it. It also meant something else as well. Unable to keep from rubbing it in, the excited gnome unleashed truth in a light ecstatic voice, “Ha, didyouhearthathat? Shethinksyourugly. MaybeIshouldtakehershoppingtolookforanupgrade?” It was all he could do to finish his thought verbally albeit incoherently from his almost fit-like giggles. I heard that I looked nice, which I am certain doesn’t mean ugly. Barely able to recover himself and gain breath, the mage was quick in explaining his reasoning. “ShesaidnicebecauseyouwereontopofmeandImadeyoulook better, afterallIamanaturallyhandsomegnomebeyondcomparison . Justaboutanythingwouldlookniceatopmagnificentlybul bouscranium, whichisthecasewithyou.” Once again bursting into a fit of laughs that nearly brought him to the ground, Garet was unable to voice further verbal assaults on his hat.

Upon full recovery of his body and relishing the ashamed silence of the hat, a rare thing indeed, the conjuror spied the female he had inquired previously, floating miraculously in the air. On a second glance, the fact that she was sitting in a near invisible chair came to light, but she was still none-the-less floating in the air. Which meant she had control of magic. And all gnomes know that there is only one type of female that controls magic. Pointing a pudgy finger at her ferociously and shouting, “Witch!” The magical word that never failed to bring to memory the lesson of rude people becoming frogs until they have learned their manners or kissed a princess. “I . . . demand . . . that . . . you . . . turn . . . me . . . into . . . a . . . frog . . . at . . . once.” The process of taking a breath between each word left him feeling light-headed and slightly dizzy, but just as excited about what he was about to become. Fairytale had it that when a frog was kissed by a princess they always became the tallest and most handsome gnome regardless of what they looked like previously, that and they became the king of the kingdom. The kingdom that would soon be renamed Luno.

It occurred to him then that a witch wasn’t going to use her magic for just anyone, it would probably take some kind of bribe or trade. Thinking about what a woman would want most, Garet came to one conclusion. Even though it seemed good to him his hat usually had good input, “Hat, I’mgoingtogiveherabribe, whatdoyouthinkshe’dwant? Althoughyou’dobviouslyofferyourself, sinceyouwoulddoanythingtohelpme, Idon’thinkshe’dlikethatsinceshe’swaytoostylishfors omethinglikeyou. Sowhatshoulditbe” It is a credit to the hat that it was even able to catch some of it, let alone fully understand it and be able to respond. Ha ha. Why don’t you give her a bald spot? Oh wait, that’s unique to you. Malicious deep voiced laughter ringing through his head, Garet couldn’t respond for fear the bald spot was true, after all the Kilon line did tend to bald early except the women, which got hairier as they got older. Seriously, I would try some kind of chocolate. Your aunt Fruity must be carrying at least 100 pounds of it in at a time, big boned my rim! Finishing with what could only be described as a mental snort/hiccup, the hat had a point.

Shuffling over towards the witch mounted chair and near tripping on his robe snagging on a protruding rock, Garet prepared his offering. Opening his hand palm-up, a cherry formed, slowly surrounded by a rich cherry flavored jelly, walled in by luscious dark chocolate, sprinkled with a small amount of sugar crystals. It was quite an elaborate dessert, but it wasn’t everyday you tried to convince a witch to make you into a soon-to-be-prince frog. Kilon the frog was still a long way from Kilon the Supreme Highlord Emperor, but it was just the beginning.

[Cyrus the virus]

Luc nodded rapidly as Venus climbed into the chair. He was trying his best to ignore the river of words that was spouting from the annoying gnome's mouth, and having no luck at doing so. How could he ignore that!? It was too quick, too attention-grabbing. The geomancer nearly jumped for joy when the woman finally got herself into the chair, because it meant that they could leave.

He moved past the gnome, even shoving him a little so that he could get to Venus. Luc didn't care about the dessert the gnome had somehow concocted, nor the pleading words that came from the creature. "Let's get out of here," he urged the woman, for he wanted nothing more than to do just that.

So Luc jumped just an inch and the wind caught him. West is...this way, he thought, and the chair holding Venus was brought along with him at a swift, but safe, pace. They had only been flying for a few moments when he turned in mid air to look at her. "The creatures you meet in these places, hm?"

"We'll get you to town, have a doctor take a look at you, then we can come back here to look for your friend. If anything, we can find her body and you can give her a proper burial. Nobody deserves to spend their afterlife wandering," he said, before taking a glance at the ground. "No human, I should say."

[Master Kilon]

Before he even had a chance to exchange his candy for a future in royalty, the human he had proven into existence interrupted him. It was clearly a hostile action, stepping between the mage and the witch and actually pushing him. It was one thing to interrupt, maybe he didn’t know he was doing it, but pushing was just too far.

The push was just strong enough to make Garet lose his balance. After great arm waving, the inevitable fall happened, spraying a great deal of sand everywhere. The indignation! Nobody knocked a Kilon over and got away with it! Quickly forming an egg, an especially old and discolored one, he chucked it at the man the best he could. Unfortunately the man had taken to the air again and the witch was going too, in a second out of throwing distance and barely avoiding his rotten projectile.

Seeing them shoot off towards the west was disheartening, for Kilon the frog would never come to be. He briefly considered giving chase, but such exertions were below him. Perhaps in time when he was the ruler of everything, they would come to him for something, and he would barrage them with rotten eggs then. If he remembered them. Maybe he’d see them again, maybe he wouldn’t, only the hat knows.

[2-in-1]

When they got back to town, Venus looked confused. She didn't recognize the place at all. The sign seemed to indicate, (Though, Incorrectly) that the town's name was fallien, though. But how was it that she was so far from where she had been?

After a quick stop at the healer, she decided to take a look around. As she had feared, she still had no idea where she was. Eventually she went back to where Luc was waiting.

"so, is this where you came from?" Venus asked out of the blue. "If so, would you know of any good resteraunts? because I am starved."

[Cyrus the virus]

Fortunately enough, the town that they came across happened to have a magical healer - truly a luxery and a lucky break for the two travellers. As she was off getting better, Luc spent some time in town wandering, gathering a bit of information and getting a feel for the town. In truth, Luc had only been on the Fallien continent once in his life, when he heard a rumor of an artifact of interest being there. The rumor ended up being nothing more than fabrication, and the mage was gone within the same day.

Now, it turned out that they were in a city where Fallien's horses were bred, and as Luc spent more time exploring and talking to the residents, it became clear that one of Fallien's most proud exploits was it's horses. It was all quite interesting, but not of any use, to the mage.

Luc met up with Venus again at the entrance to town. She looked a lot better than earlier, a lot more vital and healthy, though the geomancer could still see the emotional pain she carried with her. "I didn't come from here, no, I came all the way from Radasanth using a spell of mine.

"This place is called Suravani's Oasis. I'm not sure where we are, really, but I know we're on the Fallenien continent. I saw a place to eat while you were getting healed up, so just follow me."

Luc led the way down the main road, stepping into a building at the side of the road. The inside was musky and dark, the perfect hole for travellers to fall into and lose their money. Luc had experience in places like this, and after ordering himself a meal the mage made his way to a free table where two seats were available.

[2-in-1]

As Venus sat down at a table with Luc, she brought up a point that was bothering her for quite some time. "Why were you in the area, anyway? I have a feeling that it was not because of me."

After they ate She looked at him again. "You sure you want to follow me? I doubt we will find my friend's body. It might have been tossed way off in the distance, you know."

[Cyrus the virus]

"Indeed I was not there for you," Luc explained as his meal arrived, a plate of unknown meat and some vegetables. "I was hunting for a relic that I'd heard rumors of, and also checking the balance of the elements in the ruins. It's sort of a hobby I've picked up recently, something to do in my spare time."

He ate for a few moments before Venus spoke again, and by that time he was finished. She was skeptical about finding her friend's body, which made Luc a bit wary. She doesn't seem to want to look for her friend's body, but why could that be? Did she... Murder this friend?

Luc waved the thought away, though didn't forget it completely. "If you don't want to look for your friend, that's fine, but I have to get back to the Ruins anyway. If anything, you would be following me."

The mage stood and rubbed his stomach. He left some gold on the table and looked to Venus. "I'm getting some rest before I set out. Use the night to think about what you'd like to do, and I'll meet in the Inn's parlor come sunrise."

With that, he was off to the Inn for a night of rest before returning to the Ruins.

[2-in-1]

Venus went to the inn to get some rest. She would have gladly gotten a good night's sleep, but instead she had a dream of the fateful day that she lost her friend. She was seeing everything all too clearly.

The wizard blasted her with a shot of magic trying to finish her off, Delta jumped in the path of the shot, Venus attempted to protect Delta with her magic, A bunch of colors started shooting everywhere, the wizard moaning in pain, every little detail brought back to her in one twisted nightmare. But, this dream didn't end there. The dream shifted to a scene of a mysterious figure in a blue robe chanting some kind of spell in front of the dead body of the wizard and the wizard coming back to life. the dream then switched back to the tower she and Delta had killed the wizard in. She was pinned against a wall by the now undead wizard and he shot a blast to her stomach at point blank range.

Venus awoke with a start, almost giving herself a heart attack, and screaming her head off for about a minute before she finally realized it was just a dream. Looking back on it, though, it seemed more like a premonition than it did a dream. She had to get Luc and tell him about her dream, she thought as she looked at the clock. 1:37 AM. On second thought, it could wait until the morning.

She decided to try to get back to sleep, but found impossible to even close her eyes without the last part of the dream replaying in her mind. at 1:39 AM, Venus gave up on sleeping and decided to practice her swordplay.

[Edward Judorne]

Edward Judorne was the prince of a city called Sirvano. He was the protecter of a kingdom that needed to remain hidden. He was... On a vacation?

Yes, that's right. Edward Judorne was tired of staying in one place for so long, so he decided to take a one day vacation to Fallien. After a long day without much excitement, he decided it was about time he headed back to Sirvano. Just when he was on his way out, he heard a scream come from the inn. Not one to pass up an opportunity to help someone out, he rushed to the inn to help. As soon as he got to the door from which the screams were coming, the noise stopped. Not knowing what else to do, he waited, thinking for a while, trying to figure out why the screams stopped so abrubtly. Was the woman who screamed murdered? If so, why didn't the murderer come out? Was he imagineing the screams? He doubted it.

After a little more thought, he started hearing the swooshing sound of something being swung around. Not waiting another minute, He barged in with his weapon drawn.

"Alright. What seems to be the trouble here?" Edward yelled out angrily.

He looked around and was suddenly confused. There was only a single person in the room. a woman to be exact. She seemed to be practiceing her swordplay.

"Sorry to barge in like that," Edward said, a little embarassed. "I thought you were in trouble."

"So, want somebody to spar against?" Edward added as an afterthought.

[2-in-1]

As Venus practiced her swordplay, the door got busted down, and an adventurer with a rapier and a cape burst in and later on explained that he thought that she was in trouble. She could not understand where he had gotten the idea, but she could tell by looking at him that he could probably be trusted. When he asked her if she wanted to spar with him, she couldn't help but let out a weak smile.

"Like, ohmigod. you have got to be kidding me. That thing would, like, break under the weight of my sword." After a moment of silence, Venus continued. "I do, however, need someone to talk to."

Venus then proceeded to tell the mysterious man about her dream.

[The Bard]

Amoroth played a low tune in the corner with his eyes closed. He felt the presence of the Inn someone was practiceing with a sword and others had been drinking. Amoroth brought his hand up to pluck another string till a loud bash came thourgh the door. Amoroth slammed his hand down in shock and broke the 'e' string. Enraged he yelled at the person who had just rushed in.
"What the hell is a matter with you! you made me break the 'e' string one of the most sweet sound makers of music!". His chest had been moving rapidly from breathing heavily and looked around. Eveyone had been staring at him so he thought quick. Amoroth sat down and hid in the shadows drinking his froth from the ale.

[Edward Judorne]

Edward just looked stunned. He had never heard such a horrible tale in his life. This woman thought it was a premonition, and Edward was getting the same feeling. Suddenly, Edward remembered something.

"Well, since there is no immediate trouble, I will leave for a short time. There is something I need to do."

With that, Edward left the woman's room and went down to the streets. It didn't take long for him to find the person he was looking for. It was an angry looking elven bard that he had bumped into by accident on his way into the inn.

"Sorry about earlier, my good man. So, how much would it cost to repair that e string?" Edward said reaching for his wallet.

[2-in-1]

Venus decided to go and find Luc. Things were getting stranger and stranger. Some mysterious man had talked to her about her problems and then left as quickly as he had come in. As she left her room, Venus realized that she didn't know which room Luc was in, but after checking with the bellboy quickly, she finally Found herself in front of Luc's room, knocking on the door and yelling out "Hey, Luc, you awake in there? I need to talk to you."

[Cyrus the virus]

Luc slept a dreamless night and awoke to a dark, humid morning, where the sun was held behind a blanket of clouds and the air was thick and heavy. He'd slept through Venus' screams, but awoke easily to her calls as he was already prepared to awaken. The mage mumbled a bit and turned in his bed so that his feet hung off the edge, and with closed eyes he replied.

"Hold on, I'll be out in a moment!"

He forced himself up and got dressed slowly. Never a morning person, Luc cringed as he imagined the cold water of the room's basin hitting his face, but sucked it up and dunked his face in anyway. The sensation revitalized him quite a bit, and when he finally exited his room to meet with Venus, it was with a genuine smile.

"I hope I was quick enough for you," he quipped, though it was mostly a joke. "What do you need to talk about? If we're to find your friend and give her a proper burial, we should get going pretty soon."

[2-in-1]

"Like, let me explain this in the quickest way possiblethough, like, I doubt it will be quick. My friend, Delta, and I were hired to defeat an evil wizard who was threatening to destroy the town. We had been adventuring together for, forever, so, of course, we like thought we could take on anything. We were, like, dead wrong though. When we finally got to the top of the wizard's tower and faced the wizard, We were getting tossed around like ragdolls. Eventually, the wizard threw some sort of magical spell at me. Delta, not wanting me to die, dived in the path of the magic in an attempt to give me a chance to escape. I didn't want her to die, though, so I attempted to deflect his spell with a spell of my own. I, like, clearly remember hearing the wizard scream out in defeat before I blacked out. That is, like, the story of how I lost my best friend."

Venus paused for a breather.

"Tonight, I had this dream of all that happened that day, but,like, it didn't stop there. I saw in my dream, a blue-robed man who was, like casting a spell on the dead wizard's body, and then I, like, saw my own death at the hands of an undead version of that wizard. I think that it was more than just a dream, but a hint of the future, and I am scared for my life. I already told one other person about this, He said he would be willing to help. Could you please help protect me too?"

[Edward Judorne]

Edward Judorne, having not gotten an answer from the mysterious bard, decided that he would head back to the room where Venus was staying. If the bard needed to, he could follow, but right now, he thought venus needed him more.

Finding Venus's room empty, he decided to wait just outside the door for her return.

[Cyrus the virus]

Luc listened to Venus as she spoke, trying his best to understand her. She had a tendency to repeat a certain word, even when it wasn't necessary, but despite that Luc got everything she said.

"A wizard, hm?" He thought aloud. "I have quite a bit of knowledge on this. Undead wizards, a second man casting over the dead one, you say? It sounds as if the second mage used some kind of spell to bring back the first one, turning him into a Lich.

"It's possible, but there are a million magical spells, so it's impossible for me to tell you what exactly happened," he said. "I will help you" he decided. She needed him, and after all, he was curious.

"Just stay with me and you will be safe. I have more than enough power to protect us both."

Luc moved past her and into the hall. Looking down the corridor, he spotted a man standing before the door of the room she'd slept in. It seemed a bit too fortunate, but just in case, he leaned in toward her and asked, "is that your wizard?"

[2-in-1]

Venus looked down the hall.

"That is, like the person I told you about. The other person willing to help me. He, like, must be wondering where I am. You know, though, I, like, still have yet to ask his name." Venus said thoughtfully. "He is, like, a nice guy, though. Want to, I dunno, like, meet him?"

After she finished speaking, Venus went over to where the man was waiting.

"Excuse me, sir. We, like, haven't been properly introduced yet. My name is Venus Dimone. What is yours?"

[Edward Judorne]

Edward just looked at her strangely for a second. He normally introduced himself right away, but it seemed that this time he was in such a rush that he had forgotten.

"My apologies Madam, I merely forgot. My name is Prince Edward Judorne of... a town you have never heard of called Sirvano. Don't ask me where it is, though. It needs to remain a secret. I do have a question, though. Am I the only one to have heard your screams? I suspect that this might be a big problem if we are the only two. After all, if I understood your story correctly, you are lucky to be alive after you took this guy on in a two on one battle and now he has some help. Mind you, I am still willing to help you, but I fear for the outcome if we were to go alone."

[Cyrus the virus]

"Don't worry about that," Luc said as he approached the two. "I'll be with you, and that should be more than enough help. I only need you to lead the way, Venus."

He looked sidelong at the other man, one who was obviously as captivated by Venus' beauty as he was. Along with getting back to the ruins for more exploration, Luc was in this for something else as well. It wasn't the desire to help or protect the woman that drove him to aid her, but her physical beauty.

He looked at her just briefly, long enough to get a good glimpse of her backside. He could impress her with this 'good-guy' stuff and his magic, he knew, and it was just a matter of finding the right opportunity.

"Whenever you're ready," he said.

[Edward Judorne]

Edward looked the man over. He looked like the type that could be of some assistance. "So, what is your name, sir? We need to know each other if we are to be traveling together." Edward said calmly. "In case you didn't hear the first time, my name is Edward Judorne. I hope that you got enough sleep, my kind sir, because I hope to move out as soon as possible."

After a a few seconds, Edward spoke up again. "I will be waiting downstairs. Come and get me when you are ready to leave"

[Cyrus the virus]

"Ugh," Luc replied in annoyance. "Luc Kraus. Nice to meet you. I got more than enough sleep," he replied quickly, not particularly happy about having the other man along in the first place. Being alone with Venus was a much more preferred scenario, but there was no point in arguing with the woman; it would make his motivation far too obvious.

He followed down the stairs, making no attempt to step lightly on the wooden stairs and possibly awakening some of the Inn's residents. The downstairs area was empty, save for the woman who worked at the counter. Even so early in the morning, she had the responsibility of getting up to take keys from residents. Luc threw his onto the counter and walked on by without even a word of thanks, pushing open the Inn doors and coming out into the humid air.

"Shit," he muttered. "Couldn't have good weather, either?"

He cursed again, far too low for the others to hear, and then spun to face Edward and Venus. "We make for the Ruins. If you'll all come stand by me, I'll take us there."

Luc waited, and when the time had come, the ground below them broke apart and became a large platform and slowly hovered in the air. They would land in the Ruins in less than ten minutes.

[Culix]

Meanwhile, at the ruins in question, an inquisitive young boy was snooping around. The purple-crowned lad yawned and blearily rubbed his eyes for the umpteenth time. "Dreh..." he mumbled, "When the world's in my pocket, I'm phasing out this '2 in the morning' nonsense. This part of the day's just too unplea--" The boy was interrupted when he walked into a wall.

"Ow!" Jannin cried, bringing his hands to his face and wincing a bit as he fell to the ground. The unexpected collision roused in the boy a deep-seated annoyance and rage against large, sturdy objects that, unobserved, lay in his path. In turn, this annoyance and rage roused the boy himself. "I'll be doin' away with those, too..." he grumbled, picking himself up with the staff in his right hand, allowing his left to tenderly massage his forehead's new bump.

The lad's irritation was heightened slightly when he recalled the reason for his presence: ancient rumors about some power at the ruins. Sure, a great many people had searched and found little, but none of those people had been Jannin. However, getting a chance to explore the area in solitude had proved difficult. From experience, he'd gleaned that the ruins were quite a popular destination. After all, what were the odds of finding two mages in as many days at such an isolated location? Probably got some kinda waiting list or time-share thing, he'd reasoned. One with aspirations of becoming a villainous mage generally considers himself above such petty proceedings. Thus, Jannin had devised a way to circumvent the presumed organizational method: visit at some ungodly hour when most lesser men were getting their beauty sleep.

The flaw in his plan had become apparent when he'd caught himself trying to slip off to dreamland on the trudge over. Just because you're surrounded by sand doesn't mean you've gotta give the sandman the time of day, the lad chided himself. This sleepiness had prevented Jannin from doing much actual investigation, but the surge of energy from the bump on his head seemed promising. "Right," he told the early morning desert, "No time to be angry at the weirdo and the flyin' guy. You've got work to do!" And so the boy set to examining the ruins, not sure what he was looking for, but convinced he'd know it when he saw it.

[2-in-1]

As Venus looked down at the landscape wizzing by, she realized that the platform was moving quite fast. (I wouldn't dare bore you with her thoughts during the ten minutes it took them to get to the ruins)

As they approached the ruins, Venus looked down and chuckled as she saw a small human wandering around the ruins. At first, Venus thought that the kid was drunk. After a while, though, she realized that the kid was struggling to stay awake.

After they landed, Venus looked at him and, in a concerned voice said "Hey there short stuff. What is your name? You know, you, like, might want to leave this place while you still can. This place will soon be a very dangerous place to, like, stay. If you want to, like, rest, There is, like, a city to the west of here."

Looking back to Luc and Edward, Venus said "This way! The tower is This way." pointing to the north.

[Cyrus the virus]

Luc noticed the Tower as soon as it was in view, and when he felt that it was too dangerous to soar any closer, he landed the platform, bringing the three adventurers safely back to the unmoving ground. A talented wizard could blast a platform out of the sky, but unless he was a prying one, he would not see them coming from the ground. Sometimes it pays to know a thing or two about magic.

At ground level, there was a boy with lavender soaked hair, certainly a strange person to come across in Ruins that were said to be haunted, but then again perhaps not. Luc looked him over quickly, but didn't give the child more than a passing glance. He wanted to urge his partners along, to leave the boy behind the way they'd left the gnome behind earlier, and thankfully Venus seemed to share that idea.

"Leave the boy," he spat to Edward, thinking that maybe the more helpful of them would try and stay to make conversation. Luc simply didn't want to waste his time.

Suddenly he felt it, the presence of some sort of magic he didn't recognize. It was powerful and coming from the direction that the tower was in. Just the sense of it was enough to make him want to drive forward. He was thirsting for it the way a scholar thirsts for knowledge, but the mage managed to hold himself back from flying directly at the structure, beginning a brisk walk.

[Edward Judorne]

Edward looked back at the kid. It was not very often that he had seen someone as young looking as this kid was. "Hey, Kid. Sorry about the way my comrades are talking down to you, but unless you can prove that you can actually do something worthwhile, I am afraid I have to agree with them. sorry." Edward pulled out his rapier before he continued speaking. "However, if you want to show me your stuff, I am ready for you."

[Culix]

"Ble-whazzle?" the lad asked the strange visitors, finding himself drifting off again just as they arrived. A part of him was angry at the interruption, as he was convinced he'd been on the verge of some great discovery, but getting upset seemed too much of an exertion. So, staring somewhere off to the side of the formerly airborn trio, he tried to sort out their statements. Hmm... That chick sounded kinda... insincere, somehow, he thought, turning his eyes to Venus. The boy couldn't quite remember what 'insincere' meant at that moment, despite thinking of the word, so his sleep-addled brain incorrectly interpreted her words as a threat. Ah! She's trying to intimidate me! "You, like, might want to leave," "This place will soon be a dangerous place to, like, stay..." She's saying she'll hurt me if I stick around! Well, nice try with subtlety, lady, but I'm not goin' anywhere! As for her statement about resting, Jannin presumed this too had a malicious bent: She's planning to lug my corpse all the way to Suravani's Oasis for burial! Who even thinks such things? The boy clutched his staff as though it were a comfort blanket -- apparently forgetting about his "relative omnipotence before such lesser beings" -- and then looked surprised when she began to leave.

Huh... That's odd... he observed. He also noticed something peculiar and familiar about the taller of the two men just behind her. Before he could put his finger on just what it was, the man hissed to his shorter companion, "Leave the boy," after giving the lad a fraction of his attention. How dare he! Jannin thought, immediately becoming a mite incensed. He abandoned all attempts at helpful thought to carry on his mental tirade. I deserve to be thought of as a desert flower: a rare and stunning occurence in an otherwise drab, arid land! You don't simply take that for granted and move on! You stick around to appreciate its splendor, sating your hunger for glorious sights until I decide you've had enough! Jannin's thoughts of anger were derailed when the shorter man seemed to issue a challenge. Err... he thought, his angry expression softening a bit.

... I really must be sleepy. What kinda guy randomly asks someone to a duel five seconds after clapping eyes on 'em? Better ignore him... And so the lad did just that, turning away from the three to look through the area a little more. Maybe I'll find the big secret in a second... The odds of that were not with the boy; many centuries' worth of magical researchers, many with far more expertise than Jannin, had failed to turn anything up in the sand-lashed ruins. Then again, stranger things had happened.

[2-in-1]

Venus was just about to complain when suddenly a black shadow came out of the bottom of the tower. The ritual had begun and Venus soon realized that the black shadow was not a shadow at all, but 8 fiends that were rushing towards them and hundreds more that flew towards the town of Suravani's Oasis. About 3 winged fiends rushed towards Venus and 5 others spread out to attack everyone else. (Two on Edward, two on Luc, and one on Culix.)

"Hey, Kid!!!" Venus yelled out as she dived behind a pile of rocks and sliced off one of the wings of one of a winged fiend and two more crashed against the rock "I would run if I were you!!"

[Cyrus the virus]

Luc would have been content to be on his way without further dealing with the boy, but as Edward spoke, it become clear to the mage that they would not be hurrying along as he'd hoped. He was going to growl at the man, demanding they be on their way immediately, but a scream from Venus brought his attention elsewhere.

Demons, manifestations; whatever they were, they were fast. Luc was too slow to weave a form of defense or attack as a flying shadow came upon him, knocking him from his feet. Another was quickly upon him, extending a clawed limb to rip his stomach from his body. But when its reaching talon hit him, it met a steel-like resistence as Luc's Stoneskin blocked the attack.

The mage got up before they could circle back and strike at him again. "What are these? Where did they come from?" He asked of noone in particular. And how would his companions know, anyway? Still, he needed to get the questions out.

The demons came back at him, the leading one tearing through the air to grab at him. Before it got too close, Luc delivered a punch to the ground, and in response a spire punched through the ground ahead of him, impaling the demon. It squirmed and thrashed, apparently very much alive despite its terrible wound, but could not remove itself from the spike.

Luc reacted to the second one, stepping to the side as it passed by. The creature managed to reach back with its hind leg and claw at him, but all the demon accomplished was removing a layer of Stoneskin. Luc followed its flight by turning and watching it, and sent a flurry of wind arrows after the shadow.

The creature went down quickly, hammered by a dozen small arrows. It seemed to vibrate quickly, or perhaps it was convulsing. In a small explosion of dark mist, the creature was suddenly gone. Luc looked back to the impaled one, and it too disappeared in this fashion.

"Strange beasts," he grumbled. "Crafted from this strange magic I'm sensing, no doubt. How interesting."

[Edward Judorne]

Edward was too busy with the child to notice the demons coming towards him, yet luck, it seemed was on his side today. As Edward knelt down to Culix's level to try to talk to him again, both of the demonic beings that were after him flew over his head. Seeing this and thinking quickly, Edward fired off one Electrical Missle at each of the demons and then used his rapier to slice one in half and stabbed the other one when they dropped to the ground.

Edward noticed that the one that was stabbed was still struggling, so he sent an Electrical Missle through his rapier destroying the demon.

[Master Kilon]

A certain gnome mage by the name of Garet Kilon would not be discounted so easily. Sure, they may have left him in the desert, given him the cold shoulder, but nobody escapes from him. Soon enough they had come back into the desert, and sure enough he was right there behind them; following, watching, waiting for the precise moment to make his move.

They’re going to hear you. This is ridiculous, you’re awful at sneaking, just listen to that noise. Don’t step on that branch! You are an idiot. Sure, he may not have been the best at sneaking around in the night unnoticed and was making novice mistakes, but the hat didn’t need to run him down like it did, making him even worse. “Willyouknockthatoff? You’rebreakingmyconcentration.” It took all the willpower he possessed to quiet his squeaky voice and it caused him to break yet another branch.

Fortunately he was still far enough away from the growing group to make some mistakes without alerting them to his presence. Kilon was a mage first and foremost, and as such sneaking was not one of his better skills nor was a priority for him to improve upon. Through an extraordinary feat of patience he managed to follow the group for the better part of ten minutes, his restrain not extending to his rapidly tapping foot and twitching fingers which moved of their own accord, allowing him to spot his opportune moment, his revenge was to be at hand.

Demons of some strange sort were flying at the adventurers with the first demonic onslaught dismissed easily, providing a distraction that enabled Garet to act. Time was short and he needed to get there two minutes ago, looking as the slightly banked sand slope and idea forced its way into Kilon’s great round skull. Acting immediately on first impulse he brought the spell to bare, it felt like he was being stretched and squished and pulled inward, sliding rapidly town the slope on his stomach without moving so much as a grain of sand, a gnome on his own personal ice slick. It only took a moment for him to come up just behind the group, flying into the air with a flourish off a slight ramp and he conjured a ball of food so old and rotten that it was positively rank; something that smelled so strongly that he feared the stink would permeate his clothing and skin, and then he launched it from mere feet away with all the force his miniscule body could. The stench emitting projectile of immeasurable foulness flew perfectly at the man in green’s head; probably the best throw anyone in the Kilon line had ever pitched. Revenge wasn’t best served cold; it was best served embarrassingly and by unbeatable wit.

[Cyrus the virus]

Having defeated the two shadows that had been menacing him, Luc Kraus was not prepared to deal with the projectile. Thankfully, the final layer of his Stoneskin spell was still in place, absorbing the attack before disenchanting. Around the mage was a foul smell unlike anything he could think of, and with a disgusted noise he spun about and set eyes upon the gnome.

"You," he growled, and for all the mage knew, the annoying gnome was somehow behind the demon attack as well. Perhaps even an accomplice of the wizard they were seeking. "Don't you learn?" Luc roared, stepping toward the moving gnome.

In a rage, Luc manipulated the earth just in front of him to break and rise up. A wind current picked up, fueled by his anger. A reflection of the frustration within Luc, a small twister, chunks of rock and stone within, had formed. Without even the slightest hesitation, the twisted tore forward toward the gnome. Luc hoped it would end the annoyance.

[Master Kilon]

From what little Kilon could see with his blurred vision as he had knocked off his glasses, justice had been served. Curbing his enthusiasm Garet managed to recover his glasses and gaze upon the now stench ridden human who had pushed him too far, smiling at how the man would smell positively rank for days. Before he could break out his victory speech, detailing how he was supreme and would conquer his opponents and how magnificent he was and such an impeccable specimen of gnome breeding never existed before him nor would there after, did he hear the man’s response. It was a simple declarative statement of surprise, his recognition of the astounding figure that was the mage Kilon.

“Yes, itisI. Thename’sKilon, rememberthat. OnedayIwillruleyou.” I told you about the spaces. Or do you have the memory span of one minute. You’re dumber than your bald spot. Although he was tempted to restate himself with the spaces as it was a very, very important statement, but great men never repeat themselves and from then on, neither would Garet. If you wanted to be great, you had to act great, you had to feel great, you had to become the essence that is greatness.

Suddenly the ground began to crack, the wind swirling in an unnatural direction and speed. His first thought was that it was a simple desert sand storm, but in a sand storm the wind blew in only one direction. Looking at the crumpling ground beneath him, realization struck him immediately. The man was doing something, something that was causing all this and there was only way in which he could be doing it, magic. It was the kind of magic Garet had seen before, simply cantrips that manipulated certain things, in this case certain elements, and while it was certainly useful magic it was never something that he had taken the time to become very proficient at as it lacked the theatrical flare or the immense usage of power.

Since the wind was strong enough to lift several of the increasingly large rocks into the air it was rapidly gaining speed and power and mages became little more than moving living rocks and it didn’t take long for one of the rank of conjuror to lose his footing. First, sliding along the ground in a close circular pattern and ducking rocks or deflecting them with his pole, he was eventually lifted completely airborne and turned upside-down and all over the place in wild flailing positions. In desperate fear Garet reached out for the closest thing he could find, a small boy that didn’t quite seem to be part of the group and of which he hadn’t stalked, his short stubby arms reaching out in a desperate attempt to cling to something stable.

[Culix]

"Hey, Kid!!! I would run if I were you!!" Again with the veiled threats? Jannin wondered with a sigh. It was hard enough to focus on deciphering the ruins' age-old secret without some random passer-by shouting things at him. In frustration, he turned to shout at Venus. "Can't you just go aw..." The lad trailed off as the massive shadow of the demonic horde caught his attention. Huh... Funny, the things you miss when you're sleepy, passed lazily through his head. The subsequent surge of adrenalin ensured it would be the last lazy thing he'd do for a while. As one of the bat-winged monstrosities broke off from the herd and made for him, he brought his staff up into a defensive stance, setting both hands around the middle and hoping to block with the ends. This yielded... interesting results. Instead of swiping at him, the creature seized the staff's ends in its claw-like hands and lifted him off the ground.

That... That's it? I mean, it could have at least gone for my fingers. I mean, all I've gotta do now is let... Hmm... In the time it had taken Jannin to get through his mental rant, he had reached an altitude at which letting go would be most unsafe. He would survive, in all likelihood, but he might well break a leg on the sands below. This realization brought on a bit of panic: the beast could let go at any moment. Fortunately for the boy, lifting had been born of a single flash of intellect from the mind of an otherwise dull-witted creature. It knew that getting the lad into the air with his stick and dropping him would cause death, but, in mid-flight, it had decided that it rather liked the shiny bauble at the end of said stick, and didn't want to risk damaging it. So, it faced a conundrum far too complicated for its miniscule comprehension.

Jannin, meanwhile, had ample time to put his relatively prodigious intellect to work. Hope ya don't mind if I commandeer this, Scaly, he thought with surprising cheer. With a bit of exertion, as he'd not done too many chin-ups, the boy pulled most of his upper body to the top of the staff, rather than dangle from beneath. He then noticed with a smile that their trajectory was now heading at a downwards angle, rather than an upwards one. The demon, lost in thoughts of how to kill the boy while claiming its prize, didn't notice; if flapping its wings and leaning its body in just the right way had caused it to go upward every previous time, what could possibly change that? Having shifted the weight forward, Jannin gave himself a mental pat on the back -- as a physical one would have been disastrous at that point -- before scooting on his elbows over to a spot fairly close to the creature's left claw. Soon, he noticed the ruins swing back toward his center of vision and returned to the middle, leaning forward again. He aimed for a particularly large stone.

Around this point, the demon noticed the subtle change to its flight plan and began screeching in terror. As nothing more life-extending occurred to it, it continued to give its godawful swan song, while Jannin showed himself out by letting go. The young mage's landing had little grace, but certainly held more than the demon's: the scaled abomination collided with the rock at a 90-degree angle. After the small explosion of dark mist, the boy heard a clatter and watched his staff fall to the ground. Triumphant, the boy stood and dusted himself. "Victory!" he would have announced, had a gnome not tackled him from his left. "Dah! Hey. Hey! Let go of... Dah!! Get off!!" Each of these remarks corresponded, in turn, to the following actions: reacting to the tackle, noticing the gnome with a death-grip on his leg, insisting the gnome remove himself, beginning to rephrase the idea should the creature not understand subtlety, pausing at the sight of the approaching tornado, reacting to the approaching tornado, and repeating with new gusto his original wish to the gnome.

[2-in-1]

Venus looked over her shoulder. Her companions seemed to be fighting each other. "Like, what do you people think you are doing? Are you here to help me or not? There should be, like, enough enemies to fight along the way, so stop this nonsense NOW!!" she said unable to shake the feeling that yelling was the only way to get their attention.

After looking around, She focused her attention on the little man that Kilon had grabbed. "Sorry, I misjudged your abilities. Would you like to tag along?"

[Edward Judorne]

Edward looked over at Kilon.

"You won't be ruling anything if you don't let go of the kid. Both you and Luc are just acting Childish. I understand you want to come along, but please don't start fights with us."

Edward then turned to Luc "And you, you Shouldn't waste your magic like that. If you keep this up, you won't have any magic to use when you really need it."

Edward paused and then addressed both at once.

"Now please stop all this ruckus immediately!!!"

[Cyrus the virus]

"Hmph," Luc mumbled in response. "My magic doesn't run out, fool. As long as I breathe, I will be able to manipulate my magic and cast spells, unlike some idiot spell user who needs to read a book."

With that, Luc began to make his way toward the tower in the distance. None of them could tell when another wave of monsters would be sent, and Luc didn't want to stick around and wait to be overcome by a force of them. Helping Venus was his goal right now, and the others didn't have a place in that plan.

Not yet, anyway.

[2-in-1]

Venus started following Luc.

"If anyone wants to come, they had better come now. That means you, Mister Kilon."

As she continued down the path to the tower, another wave of monsters came from behind her and grabbed her, and before she knew what was happening, they flew towards the tower with her in tow.

[Edward Judorne]

As Edward started towards the tower, he heard Venus scream. A whole herd of those winged demons had come up from behind her and were flying her to the rooftop of the tower. There had to be at least 20 of them, and they were already high enough up to drop Venus to her death, but the seemed intent on taking her to the tower. 50 more monsters were flying past, but all of them only seemed intent on focusing on Venus. Edward figured that these things must have snuck up on them during the unexpected battle between Luc and Kilon.

"Hey, Luc? We appear to have a problem." Edward yelled out, pointing at the sky.

[Culix]

The tornado began to fade and Jannin's sense of impending doom followed suit. The gnome also calmed down, making it quite easy for the lad to slip free.* With a sigh of relief that was deeper than normal, celebrating both the end of the twister and his leg's liberation, he smiled. He then made his way toward his staff, chuckling and thinking of his victory. Heh... I can handle a dusk-winged ugly, a tornado, and a... weird, hairy guy in a stupid hat. And all this early in the morning! What else've ya got for me, world?

His answer turned out to be an offer to join a strange group to parts unmentioned. Hmm... the lad reflected, Can't think of any threat 'tag along' might be... And if I don't get one right away, there can't be one to get. Jannin nodded at his take on logic as he scooped up his staff. Too bad for her I'm busy with these ruins. That demons swooped through the area on occasion clearly meant nothing to him. Before he could inform her that he'd be passing, his eyes chanced on something just to her left and in the distance. Though hard to see, the black tower stood a ways off and ended in a point, as though it hoped to pierce the early morning heavens. Huh... I thought she'd said something about a tower... Oh! These guys must be adventurers, off to loot that place! Never thought I'd actually see something this cliche, but it works for me. Heh... Think I'll join 'em. If I've heard right, they usually pick up some handy stuff! "Sure," Jannin finally answered cheerily, "I'll come with ya." It occurred to him that joining their party meant leaving the ruins, but he quickly justified this: Not like they're goin' anywhere.

Venus, however, was. Just after the taller of the two men -- I know I've seen him somewhere before... -- mumbled something Jannin was fortunate not to hear, the young woman was scooped up at an almost cartoonish speed by a small flock of demons. "Dah! Those things came outta nowhere!" he remarked as the kidnappers took off for the tower. Hmm... Well, as long as I'm there, I might as well help her out. Bet I'll get a bigger share of the take this way. Confident the exploit, like all others that knew his involvement, was destined to succeed, he began walking with a smile. Noticing a tone of concern in one of their voices, he 'consoled' his new allies, "Well, let's get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can save her."

* It's been quite a while since Kilon posted, but I have to presume this little bunny is alright. If not, I'll be happy to change it.

[Cyrus the virus]

Luc wasn't yet ready to abandon his attempt to slay the gnome, but when Venus was plucked from the ground like a spring daisy and carried off, the mage learned that he was foolish to have let his anger get ahold of him. If he had been more aware of his surroundings, perhaps it would have been possible to stop the winged horde from capturing her.

Angered, Luc turned to Edward. "I know we have a problem, fool![/i] he growled, before breaking into a run toward the tower. He wanted to soar up to where the demons had taken Venus, but again, Luc was worried that the tower's wizard could simply fry him if he exposed himself as such an easy target. The primitive-feeling dash was all he had.

The door to the bottom of the tower wasn't near strong enough to withstand the blast of wind Luc sent at it. The wood splintered and cracked, before eventually giving way and tumbling down to reveal a dark doorway. Without thinking, Luc dashed through it and into the base of the tower. The bottom floor was small and uneventful, as the only thing worth mentioning was the beginning of a spiraling staircase.

The mage had no time for such methods, and created a torrent of wind below himself, which gave him the ability to effectively fly. Luc made a straight line toward the top of the tower, looking up as he flew as fast as he could. A light seemed to appear, and Luc originally thought it to be some lamp at the top of the tower. Unfortunately for him, however, it turned out to be a massive fireball, tumbling down the tower to intercept him.

"Coward!" Luc roared up to where he hoped the wizard could hear him (and undoubtably, it had been a wizard who'd created the massive ball of flames), but his voice was swallowed by the flames.

His flight stopped, and Luc focused all of his power to build up a powerful wind, which at his command, blew upward to meet with the fireball. The inferno's movement slowed, but the incredible magic could not be doused by any simple gust of wind. Desperate, Luc pushed harder to increase the wind's power, and little by little, the fireball shrunk, until the entirity of the projectile suddenly disappeared. Either the spell had dissipated due to the time it was present, or the wizard has called for it to cease.

At any rate, Luc levitated to the staircase. He was midway up the tower, but it was apparant to him then that he could use the help of Venus' friend, and anyone else that had decided to come along. This wizard was no pushover, even to the mage.

So he sat on a stair and waited for the others, who would likely need to walk up the stairs. Luc worried to himself about what could happen at the top of the tower, but just as the grey stone around him stood strong, he would not give up.

[2-in-1]

Before Venus knew it, she was in the tower. Sure, it was where she meant to go in the first place, but she never wanted to get tere like this. She was hanging in a cage on the 70th floor of the tower when she saw something that made her blood run cold. It was like she was reliving her dream. Right in front of her was the man in the blue robe. She was watching as he was chanting a spell. At first the spell seemed to be the source of the black winged demons, but she soon learned it was a spell of ressurection. Soon the dead wizard got to his feet, opened the cage and pinned Venus to the wall with one hand.

"My winged beasts tell me you didn't come alone. I should have known you wouldn't. To bad for you, you won't be alive to see your friends die!!!!" the dark wizard laughed a wicked laugh before the final part of the dream came true. "Here, let me give you an example of what I will do to your friends!!!"

The undead wizard shot a huge fireball straight through Venus's chest with one hand while pinning her against the wall with the other. With a huge flash of light, Delta appeared where Venus had been.

The undead wizard fell on his back, almost stunned before getting to his feet. Soon he started laughing. "This? This is why your body was never found? I can't believe it!!!!!!!"

The blue-robed man turned to the undead wizard. "Hey, Venerus. We have a powerful looking mage coming our way. What do you want me to do?"

The undead mage, Venerus, tossed Delta to the blue robed man.

"Lock her up. I don't think they will recognize her. I will take care of this whelp, myself!!!!"

As Delta got locked up, she screamed. How was it that the wizard that had killed Venus was still alive? Hadn't she killed him? This had to be a dream.

Meanwhile, Venerus shot a massive fireball down at the mage who was flying up at him.

The blue robed man looked at him.

"Are you alright? You aren't at full power yet."

Venerus looked questionably at the man.

"I know that!!! but it should be enough to hold him off for a while."

[Edward Judorne]

As Edward entered the tower, he looked up. He noticed that all the floors were broken away, all the way up to the 69th story and even the 70th story had a medium sized hole burnt through it. The next thing Edward noticed was that on the stairs about 30 or so stories up, was Luc. Edward climbed up to where Luc was before sitting down.

"You know, Luc, I didn't see anything on my way up. Do you always take care of your foes without leaving a trace?"

Before Edward got his answer, the tower shook and, as if it were a living creature, started to repair itself. Suddenly golems started to come out of the wall.

Edward swore loudly realizing that he would have to go back for Jannin.

"You go on ahead, Luc. I am going to go back to help the others reach our floor."

[Culix]

((Note: 2-in-1, the character is Jannin, not Culix. Just thought I'd mention that. I probably should have pointed it out the first time, but... Bah))

After barking an insult at the shorter man, the taller individual took off for the tower, running far more quickly than Jannin had given him credit for. Well, nice to see these aren't the type to sit down and whine about a mishap, the lad thought cheerily as he began his own run. Soon, however, he noticed the young woman's acquantance pulling ahead of him. Grr... Blasted limbs... Lengthen, confound you! he cried at his legs, which, heedless, grew no longer.

With some distance left before Jannin reached the tower, his eyes widened as the older mage blew apart the gates with a blast of wind. That guy... he thought, slowing his pace. He was at Falrenia! Almost got in the way of my prince impersonation, too, the meddling jerk! For the record, Luc did no such thing. And the other day at the ruins... That flying guy I saw... That was him, too! Stopping for a moment, he shook his head. Bah... That hardly matters. You can demand to know why he's been stalking you later. For now, inside! So, just on the heels of Venus's other companion, who had easily passed him by this time, Jannin sped up to the tower.

The boy was a tad surprised by the interior. He'd expected all seventy floors to have... well, something on them. Instead, the entire building looked more like a giant hollow cylinder with a spiraling staircase along the sides. What, did the builders get this far, say "Good enough," and then just stop? Wish I knew who they were, so I can avoid 'em like the plague when I want my palace built. Jannin wished they had at least installed a guard rail as he began the climb of many, many stone steps. He paid no mind to the half-elf ahead of him, as he was too busy justifying his tagging along: Again, they've gotta give you some reward for helping out their friend. Besides, floor number eighty looks like it's actually... well, a floor. Maybe there's eighty floors' worth of treasure up there. Yeah. That feels right. Granted, eighty floors' worth of treasure would probably be too much for a single floor to handle, from a structural standpoint, but such a thought did not appear to bother Jannin.

What did bother Jannin was Edward's claim to Luc, then about a hundred steps from the kid's position, that he would "go back and help the others" to reach their floor. In a huff, the boy told him, "Your future lord and master's havin' no trouble with the steps, thank you very much! Look back once in a while, why don't ya..." The lad was quick to heed his own advice, as a golem chose to come out from the walls at that moment, the groan of moving rock announcing its presence. "Dah!" the boy shouted at it over his shoulder, stumbling up and away from it, quickly nearing the woman's two allies. He then noticed that a few more had appeared further up the stairs. Coughing, and hoping he could still save face, the boy said, "Well... I could take these rocky horrors out easy enough, but I think I'd rather see... uhh..." Jannin fished for a name and came up empty. So, smiling and pointing to the familiar man he'd seen manipulating the wind with magic, he finished, "... Sir Gustalot take care of it." The lad then tacked on a bit of encouragement: "Annnnnd go."

[Cyrus the virus]

Edward arrived shortly after Luc sat down to wait, looking as if he was tired as well. The mage kept silent as Venus' other ally spoke, focusing more on catching his breath and readying for the fight that would undoubtably take place above. A sound of strange grinding stone came from behind him, causing Luc to quickly rise and turn, laying his eyes upon a trio of golems that had appeared from seemingly nowhere.

From behind him, Luc heard Jannin speaking. It took him a second, but the mage soon realized it was him the boy was talking about. Looking back, Luc cast an eye on the lad and smiled just a bit. He was, after all, just a boy. Might as well give him a show.

With that, Luc turned to the golems before him, who were almost upon him. Holding out an arm, Luc gained hold on the stone beings, and with a thought, tilted them just to the side so that they toppled off the stairway, dropping like stones to the bottom of the tower.

Turning, Luc did the same thing to the golem behind the group, using minimal effort to manipulate the creature off the ledge. With the monsters taken care of, Luc nodded to his allies, even the one that had pursued them into the tower for some reason. "Easy enough, now we get to Venus!"

With that, Luc turned and began to run up the rest of the stairs. He was in fairly good shape for a man who never needed to walk, especially when motivated by the need to rescue a woman. They would be at the top of the tower in no time, and hopefully not too late to rescue her.

[2-in-1]

The blue robed man looked over at the undead wizard. "Sir Venerus, they are progressing way too quickly. We may have to retreat for now."

The undead mage looked the man over carefully. "Are you a coward? If so, leave my sight NOW!!!! Otherwise, get out there and buy me enough time to reach full power."

The blue robed man didn't even hesitate. "Yes sir!!!!"

With that, the blue robed man went down the stairs to battle the group.

When he made it halfway to the party, he paused. "You fools!!! Do you dare challenge my master?!? You shall pay for your insolence with your blood!!!!"

The blue-robed man started to float and charge up power.

"Now you must DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

As the man yelled out the last word, the stairs started to collapse.

[Cyrus the virus]

Looking up, Luc could see where the stairs ended, leading onto the top floor of the tower. The vision motivated him to run even faster, taking two steps at a time with the aid of his ability to levitate. Before he could reach the summit of the massive spiral staircase, a man in blue robes emerged from the floor above and proclaimed the death of three coming men.

A sudden quake at his feet made Luc nervous. From the the robed man was levitating, the steps began to collapse and fall down the massive hollow tower. Laughing in crazy glee and triumph, the wizard turned and went back to his master, leaving the heroes to fend for themselves.

"Come on!" Luc demanded, running across the stairs to meet the growing gap. He seemed a mad fool, darting toward a plummeting death, but in truth Luc was the essence of confidence.

As he reached the edge, Luc held his hands out to the stair he stood on and the one beyond it, catching the stone before it could plummet too far. Luc was tugging on all his power, for even the steps behind him desired to fall carelessly to the bottom of the tower. But Luc's focus was great, and the next stair that crumbled was one just behind Edward. They were now near the top of the tower, on a series of a dozen steps, no way upward or downward.

Beads of sweat began to form on his young forehead. Using all of his power and energy, Luc hardened the very wind around him, creating a ramp of sorts that led from his current position to the small ladder that led up to the top floor. Carefully he stepped forward, upon the light green wind. If he didn't have his own knowledge of his power, Luc would never have had the courage.

"It's safe," he said carefully, holding the weight of all three of them, the stairs, and the walkway of air on his fragile mind. "But be fast. I don't know how long I can hold these things... Just come along!"

He stepped to the ladder, but didn't dare climb until his two allies were up safe. As safe as the top floor of a mage's tower, with two powerful wizards waiting, could make them.

[Culix]

Once the tower steps began to crumble, Jannin was understandably rattled. However, he quickly recovered and began darting up the steps as quickly as his legs would carry him. This action had less to do with Luc's encouragement that he move than it did with the boy's desire to save face; No way am I lettin' this stalker outdo me! If he can charge blindly into death, well so can I! Reason may have also contributed to his apparently suicidal course: if all a tower's steps are beginning to fall, up is as good a direction as down. And nevermind the lad's unreasonable conviction that he would one day conquer Althanas. A petty thing like falling down a tower couldn't possibly do him in.

Luc had impressed Jannin by sending the wizard's golems plummeting to their individual dooms. However, he went beyond that and actually earned the boy's respect when he suspended the stairs and created a path all the way to the top. Wow... That just... Wow... was all the young man could think. His feelings of awe and reverence didn't slow him down, however. Jannin scarcely heard Luc's warnings about the platform's longevity, he was so busy scurrying up it and the ladder beyond.

Which made the boy the first of the three into the tower, eliciting a gasp from the blue-robed one and a glare from the other. After pulling himself up, he panted for a few moments; charging up a collapsing tower is enough to tire almost anyone. However, Jannin soon enough put his healthy lung capacity to work and rose to his feet, dramatically pointing a finger at the man in blue. "You!" he shouted, cutting off any remarks the pair might have had, "I've got a bone to pick with you!" His eyes rolled over the more skeletal magician and he hastily added, "No pun intended." Clearing his throat, the boy then continued quickly and forcibly, denying anyone the chance to get a word in edgewise. "It's bad enough you tried to kill us. But what really galls me is that ridiculous send-off you spouted our way! Ya shoulda just calmly delivered a witty, or at least relevant, line, and brought the tower down around us!" He dropped the finger. "The enthusiasm wasn't bad, but the situation just didn't call for that much rage! I mean, I doubt I could've contained my laughter, if I hadn't been in mortal peril." It then occurred to Jannin that he might well still be in mortal peril. So, he decided to stop dispensing tips on what he considered the finer points of villainy and get to the point.

The boy coughed. "Anyway," he segued, "we're here ta take out the pair of you. Oh, and save that girl," he added, gesturing at the young blue-haired woman in chains at the back of the room. Jannin's brow briefly furrowed as he wondered if her hair had always been blue. Keeping his eye on the prize, he shrugged. A damsel in distress is a damsel in distress. As long as I get my share of the loot, everything's good. "So..." One incantation and hand movement later, a healthy fireball flickered into being in Jannin's right palm. "Let's get to it!"

[2-in-1]

Venerus started laughing, and as he laughed, he grew skin. He was finally back to full power. Venerus now had pale white skin, red eyes, short, black hair, and an evil smirk across his face.

"What is that thing in your hand supposed to be, anyway?" Venerus said with a grin. "If you think that will hurt me, then try it.... but before you do, How about I give you a little lesson, myself."

Venerus shot a huge blast of water at Jannin in an attempt to douse the flame and knock the brave lad unconcious in one fell swoop.

[Edward Judorne]

Edward rushed up the stairs and knocked Jannin out of the way at the last second. Although Edward knew that none of his powers were close to good enough to defeat this undead beast, he decided to at least buy time until Luc could get into the room. Thinking quickly, Edward shot an electrical missle into the water stream in order to send a shockwave through it towards Venerus.

Venerus, however, wasn't amused by this at all. As soon as he recovered from the shock, he snapped his fingers, and the walls started to grab at Edward and Jannin. The blue-robed wizard then joined the fray and started rapidly tossing fireballs at Edward.

Edward fell to the floor with scorch marks on his cape as the wall started to drag him in.

[Cyrus the virus]

Each step on the platform of wind delivered a knocking pain to Luc's head, as if each distribution of weight on his magical walkway was bringing him physical pain. In truth, that was exactly the case. His magic was exhausted from these past two days, but Luc knew he could push himself much further before the pain would become unbearable. Hopefully, all of this would be over soon.

Edward followed Jannin up the ladder, and instantly Luc let his hold over the stairs and the walkway die, so that just as the transluscent wind faded, the stairs collapsed down the huge spire. The sound of impact was far away as the stone met the bottom of the tower, and it would have frightened the mage if he wasn't capable of flight.

He caught his breath and climbed the ladder as quickly as he could, reaching the top floor just in time to watch Edward tackle Jannin aside as a beam of water burst past, slapping into the far wall and spilling onto the floor dramatically. Luc's eyes danced about the room as he tried to get a grip on everything that was happening. He didn't see Venus anywhere, but there was a girl with blue hair chained up. Had these two wizards done something to her?!

The mage got to his feet just as Edward went down. A massive grey hand was protruding from the wall, and had grabbed the warrior to drag him in. It was powerful magic, Luc knew, but nothing he couldn't deal with.

Question was: Did he even want to save the nuisance, Edward?

He didn't take too long to contemplate it, given the situation. He concentrated hard and lifted his hand to the strange hand, and almost immediately it melted into mud, leaving Edward rather messy, but safe.

The walls had hands elsewhere, but Luc didn't bother himself with them, instead focusing on helping Jannin to his feet. The two mages, so unlike each other and yet so similar, stood facing the two evil wizards, who each seemed to grin with the very essence of confidence.

"Fancy yourself a wizard, little man?" Called Venerus, the one with strange limbs that seemed to lack any substance beyond bone and skin. "Now that my power has returned to me, I'll show you true magic!"

Venerus threw a hand forward, and a spear of ice seemed to appear instantly and fly at him. Luc kept his cool and focused, and a split second later a stream of water slapped him in the chest. He had melted the spear without much effort, bringing a look of shock to the wizard's face.

Luc smiled. This would be his first true battle against a wizard.

[Culix]

Standing at Luc's side, Jannin frowned at the droplets that splashed into his face from Venerus's failed offensive. They did bring him back into the moment however; while the dark wizard's earlier gush of water would have surely struck without it, Edward's tackle had disoriented the lad. Otherwise, his pride would never have allowed Luc's aid in returning him to his feet. The boy then noticed Edward by the wall, somewhat burned, but covered in mud. Wonder how that happened... After deciding it wasn't that important, he noticed with mild annoyance that his fireball had flickered out, went on to regard the groping, wall-bound hands with a bit of curiosity -- Probably shouldn't touch 'em -- before arriving at what he felt truly mattered.

"Uhh..." Jannin regarded Luc, "No offense, but shouldn't the future world ruler be fightin' this guy?"
"Ha!" cried the man in blue, "A chatty cicada like you's hardly fit to rule Master Venerus's bunions!" ... What!? the boy asked himself as he turned a look of disbelief on the undead's underling. He... used cicada as an insult... Does that even work? And he insulted his boss, too. ... Or maybe they just really know each other. ... Wait, can the undead even get bunions? I mean, he didn't even have skin a second ago... "I... You-- Y'know what? For an insult that weird, I've just gotta take you out." Even Venerus seemed put off by his minion's words. Without moving an eye from his chosen quarry, the boy side-stepped across the invisible line dividing the four and the tower in twain. He told his fellow mage, "Windwalker, have fun with Skully."

When Jannin had delivered his advice to Blue Robe, he hadn't really taken much interest in the man's appearance, focusing instead on speaking with a commanding air. However, he couldn't help but make a few observations as he prepared to square off with the strange-mouthed individual. Bad hair... Worse teeth... Awful fashion sense... Jeeze, I almost feel sorry for this guy. Jannin had apparently forgotten that the man before him could bring down the steps of a tower with a moment's concentration. Blue Robe, meanwhile, had not forgotten this important fact, and smiled at it. As Jannin began his approach, the crony said, "If that fireball's the best you have, then there's going to be quite a defeat today."
"Yep," the boy answered cheerfully, "My spell's all I need to hand that defeat to you." Yeah! Great trash talk! Sure, with this guy, it's like punchin' a baby, but still!

With a light growl, the man extended his right arm and focused. Within the moment, three stones from the wall behind him wrenched themselves free, allowing a bit more of the Fallien sun to shine in, and hurtled toward the intrepid youth. Jannin, in turn, chanted another flickering flame into being in his right hand. Tightening his left hand's grip on the staff, he moved forward slightly and adopted a defensive stance. One whizzed by him easily enough, smashing itself against the rear wall. The boy actually managed to parry the smallest one, sending it skittering across the floor to his left. Heh... Cake. The third projectile then made contact, a bit of lingering mortar slamming into his left side quite hard. Guh... Spoke too soon... Never one to let himself appear weak, Jannin kept the wince practically inaudible, and turned the resulting grimace into an offputting grin. Doing his best to ignore the pain, he moved forward. Time ta put this loser in his place.

[Edward Judorne]

Edward was happy to be freed of the wall's grip, but there was still something that was bothering him, though he couldn't lay his finger on it yet... getting up from his rather messy situation, he noticed Jannin challenging the blue-robed man. Edward brushed himself off and looked over at Luc, he seemed to be fighting Venerus. At least that was a good match-up, but he was worried about Jannin, who at this moment had just gotten hit by the third projectile.

The blue robed man shot a glance over at Edward. "Please tell me that your friend here is stronger than he looks, I want a challenge."

The blue robed man took out a huge chunk of the wall with his magic and tossed it at Jannin. Edward had enough of this waiting around, as he jumped up onto the huge chunk of wall, sending it crashing to the ground just inches away from Jannin. Edward then jumped off of the wall section and attempted to slice blue-robe with a downward slash, but instead, blue-robe tossed another wall chunk in his face knocking him back to the ground.

Venerus was still caught up in the battle with Luc, but he was not too busy to look over at the other action. "2 on 1? how unfair. Let me fix this problem." Venerus said with a laugh as he shot a projectile that looked like a fire dragon at Edward. Edward barely dodged the shot, but the projectile obliterated the wall shattering it into nothingness. Blue-robe then started to summon two gargoyles from the floor. With his eyes glowing red, he pointed at Jannin sending the gargoyles after him.

[Cyrus the virus]

Luc, despite his sudden desire to want to protect those he was fighting alongside, decided to let Jannin handle his own end of the battle, including those gargoyles. The geomancer avoided them and ran at Venerus, the one with barely any skin and a pocket full of spells. Luc formed a blade of wind from the air and sent it forward, but the wizard merely knocked it aside with a similar weapon, laughing horridly.

But it had been a ruse in the first place, as Luc drew his blade and sent a stream of flames at Venerus just as he closed in. The wizard threw his hands up, but the fire seemed to engulf him anyway, slamming into the far well and melting it away. Luc stopped and laughed, but as the flames dissipated into the air, he was shocked to observe Venerus still standing there, triumphantly puffing his would-be chest out and chuckling. "You amuse me!" He called.

The wizard then invoked a hailstorm, bringing it into existence with a simple bit of arm-waving and a single word. The spell only worked just above Luc's head, so thankfully the others were not in danger. To Venerus' displeasure, each bit of hail was melted seconds before slapping into the shoulders and head of the mage.

"You amuse me," Luc mocked, bringing his sword about to slash, sending a wave of flames at the wizard.

To Luc's surprise, Venerus leapt backward and through the new hole in his tower, soaring into the sky. The mage fumbled with his sword, sheathing it awkwardly, before following. The sky was windy and dark as Luc followed him upward, high and above where the tower's reaching point ended. There, two wizards locked eyes.

"You are a skilled one!" Called Venerus, his crooked face locked in a grim smile. "Why don't you join me? My apprentice is but a child learning simple cantrip spells in comparison to you!"

Luc laughed in response, rather heartily as well. The sentiment brought rage into Venerus, and he sent a soaring bolt of lightning at the floating Luc. Surprised and dimwitted, Luc had not expected to be presented with a spell he could not handle. The bolt struck him hard and sent his muscles twitching, his head pounding and his pores smoking. When it was all done, Luc felt completely exhausted and hurt, and he was fairly sure something inside of him had ruptured.

But he fought through it, staying afloat and conscious. Venerus laughed as loudly as he could, as the wind blew through him and made his skin sway disgustingly. Focusing hard, the wizard formed the beginnings of another bolt of lightning, knowing Luc could hardly muster anything to deal with it. "No second chances! Those who laugh at my offer die," the wizard declared, sending his bolt spiraling through the sky to reach for the mage.

The bolt passed right through him, continuing onward to strike into the base of Venerus' own tower. The impact shook the massive structure, but all Venerus could concern himself with was where the mage had gone.

Luc was having a difficult time navigating his Windwalk for such a short distance, but by sheer force of will, he brought himself back into solid form just behind Venerus, who seemed to detect his presence and begin to turn. Luc was too fast, however, as a wall of wind formed just above to wizard and pelted him downward toward the ground. Venerus cried out in shock and tried to maneuver himself around the wall, but it was pushing him down too fast. Soon he reached the ground, where he did not crash down, but instead fell into a pool of mud. Using all of his remaining power, Luc hardened the ground so that it turned back into solid dirt, with Venerus buried somewhere far beneath.

The tower didn't look very well as Luc re-entered it. The foundation was beginning to crumble from the lightning bolt's hit, and it would not be long before the entire structure collapsed to the ground, burying all who were within it.

The mage did not even check for the other wizard Jannin had been fighting previously, instead choosing to run toward Venus, who was still shackled. She looked remarkably different, Luc noted, but he knew it was her, somehow. At least, he hoped. Luc did not attempt to free her, however, but instead placed a single hand upon her shoulder. Looking toward the others, he bellowed. "Grab onto me, now!"

His intention was to Windwalk himself and his three allies back to town, but his grip on consciousness was waning, as was the solidity of the tower. If they did not come to him quickly, he would have no choice but to leave without them, lest he and Venus both topple with the now useless tower.

[Culix]

The number of times Jannin had been saved by his companions was really beginning to wear on the boy. Certainly, without these rescues, he would have, respectively, fallen to his death, smashed against the wall behind him, and been completely crushed by the piece of wall before him. But the lad nevertheless resented his allies for it. Had Jannin been the type to examine his feelings in a tense situation, he'd have reached the conclusion that he was really just mad at himself for needing their help. Because he wasn't that type of person, he simply turned his anger, fed by his recent injury, on Blue Robe. In spite of the gargoyles rising from the floor, he charged past Edward toward the more experienced mage.

Venerus's apprentice knew he was shot; he'd simply thrown out too much magic that day. With his master regaining strength, he'd had to do the lion's share of the earlier demonic summonings. Combining that with the large fireball, golems, tower collapse, and the other spells he'd thrown at the intruders made for an exhausted mage. Jannin's assault made the apprentice realize just how exhausted he was. When the gargoyles blocked his path, the boy didn't miss a step; he swung his staff horizontally, hoping the collision of beaked heads would buy him some time. To the surprise of the lad, the follower, and presumably the gargoyles, the gem of the staff, guided by only one hand, slid easily through both demonic skulls. As one who rams a seemingly sturdy door to find it made of paper, Jannin was briefly disoriented. Still, his momentum carried him forward, past the beasts who crumbled into small piles of black sand. "No..." Blue Robe whispered. He took a few steps back, bringing him near the large hole he'd torn in the tower's side. Sensing this, he looked back on what would have been a beautiful stretch of midmorning desert under other circumstances, and more specifically at the large drop just behind him. Desperate, the man tried to wrench another stone from the wall for the boy's head. But the gargoyles' weakness truly showed how spent his powers were: he couldn't jostle even the smallest pebbles.

Jannin noticed this weakness, and his rage subsided a little; he simply couldn't remain that angry at someone so pathetic. In its wake, rational thought returned. Or at least as rational as the lad's thoughts ever were. You've got him now! He's backed into a corner! Well, at least as much as someone can be in a circular... err, formerly circular room. Uhh... Anyway, ya know he's weak. Now it's time to show him that. Smirking, Jannin told the man, "Won't be needing this..." as he casually tossed the fireball over his shoulder. It gradually faded as it fell, giving off a final, faint glow as the ember touched the floor. Blue Robe trembled, a bit from fear, and a bit from rage. "You brat!! I'm Lord Venerus's chosen pupil! There's no way you can defeat me!!"
"That's funny," the boy answered, halting his advance, "'cause I think gravity says otherwise." Excellent quip! his mind cheered. Jannin stood only a few feet from the older mage, who stood mere inches from the great fall. Alright, this is it: all ya gotta do is give 'im a little push. I mean, look at him! He's totally frazzled. He couldn't defend himself if his life depended on it! ... Which I guess it does. So... Do it! As the boy took a step forward to carry this out, another voice piped up. Wait. Maybe you shouldn't. I mean, he's so pathetic. It's not worth the effort. The lad paused.
Whajeh...! What effort!? All ya gotta do is blow on 'im! It's easy! Both hands gripped the staff.
But why bother? This place's missing so many walls; the roof could collapse any minute now. Jannin apparently didn't consider his escape plan a topic worthy of debate.
So we agree on something. He's got two options: death by collapse, or death by shovin'. So why not just push him off? You think you're gonna become the evil overlord of this world by playing nice-nice and lettin' everyone save you? No; you are gonna kill a lot of people. So what's one? The boy tightened his grip on the weapon and took another step.
... Wouldn't it still be pretty villainous to just laugh, and leave 'im with the humiliation? Again, a pause.
Huh... Well, I gue-- No! That only works if they're gonna live long enough for it ta mean something! Ya gotta--

The internal dialogue was cut short by a loud crackling and a violent shake of the tower. Venerus's spell sent Jannin to the floor, where he was almost crushed by a falling chunk of ceiling, while Blue Robe managed to keep himself up by grabbing a remnant of the tower wall. "Ha ha!" the man shrieked with dark glee, "Do you see now!? Lord Venerus just killed your friend! And guess who's next!" A cry of shock from the skies of Fallien wiped the smirk from his face. Propping himself up, Jannin guessed: "Lord Venerus?" Horrified, the apprentice turned outside in time to watch the undead mage forced downward by a great column of air. "No..." he shouted. "Master!!" He stood and watched as the earth swallowed Venerus. And then jumped after.

As Blue Robe plummeted, he may have believed he was performing his final act of loyalty; it was possible his collision would free Venerus from the depths. But it was not to be. Luc's magic had made the ground harder than normal. Instead of breaking the master's tomb, the tomb broke the apprentice.

Jannin rose to his feet without taking his eyes off Blue Robe's former spot. ... I guess there was a third option, he thought without mirth. He had never actually seen anyone die before. One part of him thought he shouldn't care, while another part couldn't help it. I didn't know him. And he was tryin' to kill me. It's not like I even did anything. I've got no reason ta feel bad about it. ... Still... The boy was spared further thought at Luc's return. Still tired of depending on his comrades, Jannin would have preferred blowing him off, but another lurch of the tower told him that wasn't an option. "Right, right. Let's get going," he said, hurrying to Luc's side.

[Edward Judorne]

Edward watched in surprise as Luc won his battle with Venerus, and Jannin defeated the blue-robed man, but he also knew the danger of staying in the tower any longer.

"Alright, let's get going." Edward said as he grabbed on to Luc.

As soon as they arrived in town, Edward finally realized what had been bothering him. The town had been overrun by the flying shadow creatures they had fought earlier. The buildings were in ruins and there were dead bodies strewn everywhere. It didn't help that Luc had worn himself out. Edward grabbed Luc and ran towards the ruins.

"Come on you two," Edward said "We need to find a place to regroup."

[Cyrus the virus]

Edward grabbed him. Luc reached out to snatch Jannin's hand. The tower began to crumble. Before they could be dislodged from each other, Luc's spell activated, and all four of them turned to wind. The others did not stray, however, as wind probably would, but were led by him as he held them in his mind. They flashed through the broken wall of the tower as it began to fall, crumbling in dramatic motion to hit the ground on top of where Venerus had been swallowed.

They whisked through the sky as wind, able to observe the ground passing below as they flowed seamlessly through the clouds. Luc focused on Suravani's Oasis, and before long they arrived in the center of town, forming into solid figures once again.

"No!" He cried as he witnessed the figures. Edward grabbed him to try and drag him back toward the ruins to regroup, but he tore his arm away angrily. "Go with him," he said to Venus, moving past her to give a clear line to the fighter.

The entire city was overrun with the beasts, which ravaged the town as if they were in their own personal playground. Venerus' death had not sent them away. Luc would not leave to regroup while they continued to kill the innocents. The mage didn't fancy him a hero, but such sights infuriated him.

"Go regroup, then. I'll stay here!" He tore the flame sword of Slykrit from its sheath, the long blade glowing red as his magic flowed through it. Luc could feel his mind sway with even that minor ability, but did not falter. He was a pure novice with swordplay, but he'd waste no time fleeing while Suravani underwent this assault.

[2-in-1]

Delta looked at the ruins of the city and had to agree that there was no way that they could find a safe place to stay there. It would be suicide just to try it with all the monsters around, but at the same time she could not let the mysterious man who bested Venerus and saved her fight the beasts himself. Especially since he looked extremely worn out.

"Sorry. If he stays, I stay"
_____________________________________

Meanwhile...

Venerus got up and pulled himself out of the rubble, extremely weakened. The only thing that saved him from death was a magical barrier he put around himself at the just before he hit the ground.

"You win this round, wizard..." Venerus said under his breath coughing up some blood. "...But it will take more than that to defeat me!!!! I CANNOT DIE!!!!!! I made sure of that." Suddenly Venerus started sucking in all the nearby shadow creatures (Including all except one of the ones in the ruined city of Suravani) using the dark energy they provided to heal himself.
_____________________________________

(Ok, Culix, Edward, and Cyrus. one more post each should do it for this quest. We will continue the story in a seperate quest.)

[Culix]

Urggh... Jannin thought amidst the fading pangs of a mild nausea. Guess that mage guy just wanted some human contact before he died... Don't know why he wanted some from me, though. This musing, while odd, held no remotely sexual intent. He paid no attention to the conversation around him, believing another topic far more important: his presumed demise. Demons everywhere... wails of torment... and fire, too. All around a ravaged city. Funny... I didn't think there was a hell. Almost immediately, the lad changed his mind about where he was. For one thing, the sky was a shade of blue and growing lighter by the minute, rather than a sea of swirling black and red smoke. Further, nothing was even on fire; the flames came from Luc's ignited blade and, to his disoriented eyes, the rising sun behind the city. Jannin wondered at how he could have made such a mistake, before recalling that the older man had definitely used a spell right before the tower went down. That's right. He turned us into wind and... Oye... Recalling his then distant stomach pains, the boy decided something: If a mode of travel involves turnin' my body into one of the elements, it's one I can do without.

After remembering the previous moments' events and reaching what could be considered a personal truth, the lad noticed one detail he'd yet to explain away: the demons. Jannin then noticed that quite a few had taken an interest in the city's new arrivals and had begun their approach. He spun his staff for a moment, and then adopted a confident expression and a defensive stance. Having noted that his companions seemed to be taking up arms, the boy's pride refused to let him back down. Okay, working out what they're doing here can wait 'til after they're dust. Coincidentally, this happened for all but one of the demons mere moments after. The many creatures dissolved into black powder, as Blue Robe's gargoyles had, and swirled off over the desert sands. Jannin exchanged a look of confusion with the remaining monster. "... Well, that's convenient," he observed. It was a completely inane statement of the obvious that added nothing to any intelligent conversation. But the lad had always wanted to say it.

"I think you can handle him," Jannin told the others, moving to a grassy area. "I'm gonna take a break," he added. Considering what little he'd done relative to Luc, "From what?" would have been an appropriate question at that point. He seated himself to watch the show, deciding he'd ask why Luc had been stalking him afterwards. The lad then noticed how incredibly comfortable his chosen spot turned out to be, which, with the feeling of relief that spread across his feet, made him realize how exhausted he felt. But why? I mean, all I did was spend half the night walkin' through the desert and starin' at a buncha rocks for some reason, run at and up a giant tower, while its steps fell down around me, face off with two magic-usin' yutzes, get turned into wind while the tower colla... Whew... Listing all those things is makin' me sleepy... Jannin's eyelids grew heavy. Think I'll take a li'l nap... Blue Robe's death, a source of such uncomfortable confusion mere moments before, became a distant memory as he began to drift off. A sudden flash of greed jolted him partway back to consciousness. "Oh, yeah..." he mumbled, "Just leave my reward over... there..." The boy made a broad gesture as he flopped onto his side, already into a much needed sleep.

When he awoke, he would care about a reward's absence from his side about as much as he would care about his failure at the ruins. Until they next came up, the lad had a tendency to put unpleasant things from his thoughts after a good rest. For this reason, the death of the blue robed apprentice would likely get no contemplation. However, even if he didn't acknowledge them, Jannin was still affected by all that happened to him. One could only guess what effect the demise would have. At that point, though, the lad's only concerns were the whims of his dreams.

[Cyrus the virus]

A group of three creatures swerved in the sky and flew down at the mage, who couldn't imagine doing anything beyond some simple tricks with his magic. Through his battle with Venerus, getting the group across the collapsing stairs, and teleporting all four of them back to Suravani's Oasis, he was exhausted. It took a good effort to simple engulf his blade in flames, something that would usually require the most minimal of focus.

The first shadow fell quickly to the blade, gripped awkwardly in both hands of Luc. The sword, though only as strong as steel, seemed to penetrate the dark figure easily due to the flame. Even a sloppy swing did the trick.

The two other beasts came in fast. One was too wide to strike, but the other's dark appendage slashed through Luc's right shoulder as if it was nothing. A sharp cry rang out from the mage as he went to his knees. This barbarian combat was harder than it looked.

"Fuck," he spat. He looked back at the others; Jannin was lying atop a grassy area of ground, and a primal urge in Luc told him to kill him for his unwillingness to fight on for the city.

He didn't like it, but Luc realized that he was completely hopeless without his magic. His sword winked out, reverting to the simple red hue it usually was, and he sheathed it quickly. "I can't fight like this. My magic is my strength. I don't like it, but maybe regrouping is the best option."

Looking back at the city, the thought of abandoning the fight sickened him. It was all but destroyed, but surely even an hour's worth of rest would make sure it had been pummeled into rubble. Still, he could see no other real option.

Cursing, he turned toward the others. His shoulder ached, but it was a shallow cut. Without his magic, more wounds would surely come. There was no option.

[Edward Judorne]

Edward watched in awe as Luc and Venus took a stand against overwhelming odds, suddenly he got confused when almost all the dark creatures dissapeared. For a split second, he thought he felt an extremely evil energy, but he ignored it for the time being.

after a short lived battle, Edward heard Luc admit that a retreat may just be the best option.

"Well, I guess that settles that," Edward said as he walked off to the ruins. "How about we come back tomorrow to finish these things off."

[2-in-1]

Ok then... I will submit the thread now.

[Dissinger]

Overall:

I would have to assume 2-in-1 and Edward Judorne would be the same person, for the reason that so many story elements were introduced by Edward. Now, I will apologize for the length of time it took me to judge this, as various problems arose during this time. However, I still believe I can give you guys the judging you deserve, and atop all this will award you each a bonus 200 gold for your patience.

This all said I will let the judging speak for itself, as a lot of what I want to say can be addressed here.

Onto the judging!

Introduction: 3 I know its tempting to try and link a quest with your history. more so for a starting character. My problem here is your introduction was simply you continuing exactly as if nothing had happened; it was more of a mid post than a true introduction. An introduction needs to grip the writer and help make them interested in the story. This problem some what extended to Cyrus and Master Kilon, who had little to go off of. When you begin the next story, make it seem able to stand alone while bringing us up to speed. I would suggest reading the first page of any serial book, which will give you a good idea of how you can continue a saga and still give an introduction.

Setting: 2 Other than the occasional mention of Sand, and the horse comment Cryus gave, I had no feeling it was truly Fallien. I even felt that the towns name was Fallien and that this was in other regions. Sorry, but I would suggest adding a bit of the culture into your posts as well as the scenery, saying sandy ground could mean anything. Especially when Luc is changing it into mud. ;)

Strategy: 4 There was a few brilliant insights of strategy, and a few hack and slash been there done that things. I do however have to credit Cyrus for giving me a feel for Luc's limits. Thank you for giving me that. Culix also got a bonus for giving me a plausible explanation for our megalomaniacal future world Hegemon defeating a wizard vastly more powerful than him. I would suggest varying things up, and get hurt a bit more. You're ont he cusp just plan it out a bit better.

Writing Style: 3 Going from Culix and Cyrus to 2-in-1 was a difficult transition. Towards the end you fixed that problem as I feel 2-in-1 finally hit her stride. My main problem was the use of Like in dialogue more than 50 times through the thread. It made the sentences choppy and forced even if they held good information. I also noticed a few sentences were choppy in general. I got the he did this, then he did that. He is doing this now, and the flow was not there for those awkward passages. If you'd read it aloud you can catch such awkward phrasings.

2-in-1 I also noticed a few of the more easily caught spelling errors. Not capitalizing the first letter of a sentence and sentence fragments were the pertinent ones. I would suggest using a word processor to help you catch these things, and also to get a good feel for how to make your writing flow.

Rising Action: 3 Very little rising action occurred until the wizard's duels. I just could not get a feeling of tension for the story. A lot of it was forced and thick, along with the way some characters seemed to do more their own thing hurt the tension by cutting it short when it began and stifling its growth.

Dialogue: 1 I know I rarely am to give out one this low, however I feel that the Dialogue here was often forced. Luc came in with some alright dialogue, but ultimately the problem came in the villains. It was very B movie, "I will crush you under my heels because I'm evil and can do such things". This tied in with character, and I will address the other half there. The "Like"s that was thrown into casual conversation like that also hurt this category.

Character: 3 More often than not the characters were flat. Blue robes had no name as far as I could tell something that I felt hurt as he was a main villain of the story. Other things were Luc’s apparent attraction to Venus which I felt was abrupt and began with him checking out her butt. In the end there wasn't much development of character. Luc was still the childish adult; Venus was still a valley girl who casts. Jannin was my megalomaniacal water baby, and Edward was the sword toting brute.

Climax: 3 The climax was supposed to be the locking up of Venerus. What ended up happening was you kept going with no real emphasis on the event giving it finality. No moments peace, nothing. The tower was collapsing but you could have easily teleported down to the bottom then walked off. Instaed you jumped into town and gave me no feeling of finality.

Conclusion: 2 You gave me a bit of a conclusion but it read more like the thread wasn't done, it was only now starting to wind down. This was hurt by rising action and climax, but that was the end of the thread, and I got no feeling of closure. Just because this is a serial thread, doesn't mean you don't have to tie up loose ends.

Wildcard: 7 I could tell this was an honest effort. So I will give you these points to try and offset the bad parts I gave you. Don't feel discouraged guys, you gave an honest effort. My job is to show you how to improve.

And the verdict is…..

31!

Spoils:

Cyrus the Virus gets 1405 EXP

2-in-1 gets 320 EXP

Culix gets 385 EXP

Edward Judorne gets 275 EXP

Master Kilon gets 180 EXP

The Bard gets 75 EXP

Everyone (except The Bard) gets 200 gold found at the ruins as they return. Apparently the earthquake had unveiled a chest previously thought scoured.

Any EXP rewards given are based off of the new equation. Any questions regarding what was said can be addressed to me via PM or AIM SethDahlios.

[Zieg dil' Tulfried]

EXP and GP added!