FFCVIII: Chapter 1: Warrior Chosen by the Crystal's Light.

[Snowy_One]

The sound of crashing trees, followed a second by the shattering of a glass bottle of potion and a heavy cry of pain, filled the night air as, a moment later, Thyme stumbled out from the bushes below. Scratches, blood, bits of potion, and glass shards seemed to cover her as she tried to quickly wipe them away before, in a panic, turning around to gather the small bundle at her feet. As quickly as she could she grabbed it and unwrapped it as the warm, orange-reddish glow, filled the air around her, warming it up ever so gently. Faint wisps of ether seemed to flow over the shard, nearly perfect in its form, and down over the cloth almost in a manner akin to mist. Most importantly, however, it was undamaged.

Thyme could already see the occasional flash as, off in the distance, the teleportation pad activated as the first batch of guards warped down to hunt for her. She didn't have much time. Quickly re-wrapping it she looked at the crushed branches and remains of the potion bottle where she had landed. She wouldn't be able to cover it up at all. Jumping from a massive floating city and praying to the primals that she didn't land on a stone with a potion trailing behind her to hit her and heal her just enough to be able to walk again just after was not something she, or anyone really, was experienced at. Looking back over her shoulder as the guards started to fan out in the distance she decided later was the time to worry about such things, despite the small trail of blood and potion it might leave.

That night her 'bed' was little more than a small bush with just enough space under it for her to hide with the shard, still warm, keeping her company. The following morning the truth of the world around her was revealed. As she stumbled up and out from the bush she took a quick look at the land. From the city the world had always seemed to be... weak. Though the greens were upon the trees they were always pale, a bit off, and would turn orange and vanish in the winter. Yet now she could see that the world was more lively than she had once believed, but nowhere near as much as she thought. Limp branches, grass struggling to grow, and flowers with petals that looked starved for water was all that there was around her. As she moved about, trying to get further away from the city, she found a small stream and tried to drink from it only to realize a second later that, despite being 'fresh', it barely saited the thirst in her throat. It was almost entirely dry through and through.

She had no choice though. If what the council of mages was doing was, in fact, real there was little choice. Siphoning the energy from the fire crystal itself, draining the life from the land, it would make far too much dreadful sense. Moving on she tried to find some food. Being on the run meant she had not the time to pack a lunch. Yet no nuts, fruits, fish or... anything... was around. No animals off in the distance, no birds in the air, only a few scarce ants even on the ground. Moving farther away, come mid-day, things were starting to look up. She had heard the chirp from a bird, seen a squirrel dash by, and, the more distant from the city she became, the healthier the trees looked.

Finally, come the afternoon, she spotted the glint of red berries in a bush and, filled with hunger, darted over to grab them. She popped the first into her mouth, then the second, then the third, and then her stomach churned as she stumbled back a bit.

"Poison... berries?" she mumbled before stumbling over to a tree to steady herself as her stomach started to churn.

---

"Alright, Severine," said the guard captain, with a gruff tone to his voice. It seemed this wasn't his first rodeo, though the circumstances did feel more severe. "This should be routine. An item was stolen from the treasury, last night. Nothing too important; fancy jewel," he lied, "but trinket or not, considering the mess the thief made, it'd be folly to let them go so easily. They didn't take a teleporter out of the city, so if they managed to survive the fall, I can't imagine they're very far. You're to come along and provide us with support, with your magic, both on the offense and healing us. Understood?"

Severine nodded. The elf was taking this situation as seriously as the captain, despite it being her first run into a situation like this. She'd been nothing but a learner for the past two hundred years, only ever practicing her magic on dummies, or in classes. To use it against another being, even to take their life with it... The thought chilled her. But with the reward of Magi dangling above her head, she couldn't refuse. Part of her was curious as to why the reward was so high for something so apparently mundane, but the excitement of it all got the best of that logic, and sent it hiding into the back of her mind.

Without another word, just a disgruntled sigh, the captain led her and two other guards through the teleporter, to find the trail of their prey. And not long after, they did. Blood and glass were scattered about the ground, leading away from the site of impact. "Clever. Stupid, incredibly, but clever. Also damn lucky." The captain grunted. "Alright, follow the trail. This shouldn't be that hard, all things considered."

"Right, sir." There was a lot of blood, but maybe the thief didn't know any wind spells, or otherwise gravity dampening things... Which would've meant tossing something along with them in the hopes of landing into it. Any height differences, any rocks, something hit the item on the way... It would've spell tragedy. For their thief, at least. It would have been an easy promotion had that happened, so some small thought happened as to what if, but it was quickly shooed away. I suppose we just follow the trail until we find something, then...

---

Several hours later Thyme began to move again, the berries having finally released their hold on her poor body. Weakly she got to her feet, grabbing the shard, before drawing her sword and quickly slashing and hacking at the bush, slicing it apart and destroying it. She then looked up and realized something. All her life she had been inside the city. Maps existed, yes, but something like 'north' could always be determined by looking for the right building. Not to mention that something like 'basic terrain features' had not been on any of the maps. All the worse since she hadn't grabbed one on her way out. She was LOST!

Quickly stopping she tried to gather herself before thinking. It didn't matter where she went, north, south, east, or west, so long as it was AWAY from the city. What did matter was survival. She didn't have much choice. Looking down at her sides she saw that the bleeding had largely stopped but this wasn't the time for that sort of concern. Well, it was a serious concern, but there would be far more blood if the guards caught her. So, trying to make sure her feet were still steady, she started to move away in the direction she figured was 'south'.

Between her need to sleep, wounds, lack of a map, and recovery from the poison, however, she could already hear some of the guards coming up behind her. She started to move along a bit, trying to be faster, knowing full-well that she was weakened and carrying something in addition to everything else. There was no chance of full-on escape; especially with her poor trail concealment.

Taking a deep breath she turned to face the oncoming guards as she drew her blade. A small flame came to life upon the tip of her fingers as she held the edge, sliding her finger along it as arcane words came forth causing the blade to come alight. Then, slowly, she started to whirl it about. Striking the ground just barely with the tip, enough to cause gashes of fire upon the ground and a trail of fire in the air. No practical use in combat, but plenty of use in intimidation, and she'd much rather intimidate them into fleeing then fight a losing battle.

---

It didn't take long for the signs to steadily pick up. The trail of blood, a destroyed bush, some foot steps. The guards were slowly closing in on their prey, ready to kill on sight. They began to get their weapons ready, swords and shields held poised to defend and then strike. Finally laying eyes on the perpetrator, they closed in, the captain sending his two men to the side, hoping to be able to circle. "Alright, Severine! Time to shine! Get in there and soften her up for us with that magic of yours."

She had been about to go in and start chanting some ice magic, the target not seeming really able to fight, at the moment. Before she could get anything off, fire spouted from the woman's hands, lighting the ground, and causing Severine to jump. The guards were spooked as well, but the captain wasn't having it. "She's just a regular mage! Nothing stronger than what you dogs have been hit by in practice! Don't be fooled by the light show; shields up, advance!" He barked orders and they started moving in on her, ready to strike, fire sword or not.

"Good. Seems like they should be able to take her out. Which means..." The captain smirked, Severine turning to look at him just in time to see him raise his blade.

"What!?" With a shriek, she blasted the spell she'd been chanting at him, out of reflex. He grunted, and stumbled back, the ice taking its toll on him and his armor.

"Lucky brat... But not for long. We've orders to remove you both. No hard feelings, elf, but Hellis doesn't need your kind around!" He took up a fighting stance, shield out and ready to block any further magic, while the other guards still made towards Thyme.

"Wh-What, my kind? What!? What's going on!?" There had never been any... Any animosity... Well, that would've been a lie. The teachers didn't take too kindly to her, and she had few associates. Was this really the reason? Had some higher up just decided to remove her from sight just to get rid of something the city felt was uncomfortable. Without any time to think, Severine pulled her rapier out, holding it up in the one stance she knew. She began chanting another blizzard spell under her breath, hoping that the captain was only skilled in physical combat. This is mad, this is just hysterical!

"Th-Thief!" she called out, taking a few steps back, towards her and the other guards. "So! W-We might have to work together!" She didn't know how else to put it, considering the situation. Whoever this thief was, it was her or certain death.

---

Great. Several guards instead of just one, all trained and equipped, with a mage at their side to boot. An elven red mage at that too. Their shields went up as the red mage readied an ice spell. This was going to be bad! She wasn't going to let it show though! Swinging her blade around into a basic grip she did her best to hide her fear before moving forwards. Striking the shields would be useless and she was far too weak to bash through them, but she wasn't gonna go down! Coming in with a low slide she brought her blade down low, leaving a trail of fire as she tried to hit their shins. Fire and metal danced as her blade struck metal armor, not cutting, but the flame flowing under to meet their cloth.

Right before two of the guards smashed their shields forwards, hitting her firmly in the face and sending her toppling over backwards with a bloody nose.

Grabbing her blade again she turned to the guards only to see something... unusual... happen. The guard captain turned on the red mage. Why? Was it because she was an elf? There were always racists in the city and some claiming anyone not of the mage blood deserved destruction but... but... but she really should have listened more to politics it seemed. The guard captain swung at her only to miss and the red mage to drop back.

"Shoot the shield guards!" she called out as she got her blade ready, hoping the red mage could break the line to let her get past the shields and to the men behind.

---

With the girl getting thrashed about, and Severine getting pushed back by the captain's advances, she'd at least managed to get closer to the woman. And she had a plan! "A-Alright!" There wasn't time to ask and think about any of this. She'd finished getting her spell ready, throwing it towards the shield guards, hoping it was enough to slow them or disarm them. The cold splashed against their shields, knocking one of them, back, the other standing firm, the spell coating his metal guard. Unfortunately, this gave her leave to the captain's advances.

He'd thrown a knife, the blade slicing across her outstretched arm, luckily not getting stuck in it, as she threw out her spell. She recoiled and shrieked, the captain taking safe steps forward on the two mages. The other guard was starting to get back onto his feet, the one with the frozen shield simply holding his ground, for the moment. "What, what now!?" The situation seemed pretty bad...

---

As the line broke Thyme took her chance. The shield was knocked aside, the other one shocked, and an opening was there! No shield to bar her path this time as she charged forwards, the magical blade cutting through the air as she struck one of the guards. Without the metal protection the blade bit deep into his side as the fire caught upon his clothes. Crying out he stumbled back to roll in the ground as the other guards tried to stab Thyme. One blade came up high, the other low, both in the place she would have been if she had fought the guards. Instead she had slammed her weight into one before rushing forwards at the captain, seeking to distract him from the other mage. She lowered her shoulder down as she sprung forwards, slamming hard into his side.

The captain stumbled forwards towards Severine as she connected with her shoulder. It wasn't enough to throw him off balance as he quickly whirled around with his fist smashing hard into her gut causing the wind to be knocked hard from her as she stumbled back towards the other guards.

---

Somehow, neither of them were dead, one of the guards was screaming on the ground, and the other was off balance. Could they win this? Were they going to survive? Only if Severine made a move, and now. Still not thinking, the pulled her rapier up, and closing her eyes, thrust it towards the stumbling guard. "I'm sorry!" she shouted, as the tip pierced his armor, and then him. He coughed, Severine recoiling her strike, as blood began to soak out of the hole she'd pierced, the man falling to his knees as he tried to breathe. She'd pierced a lung with that strike, and it wouldn't be long before he bled out, choking on his own blood. With tears starting to form in her eyes, she turned her attention to the remaining captain, and the other guard, who had finally gotten back to his feet.

He'd dropped his shield, and he was badly burned, but he was mad, and he still had a sword to swing about. The captain wasn't pleased, either. "I should've killed you on the way here! Stupid elf, your race should've died out long ago!" With a quick swing, he brought his fist into her shoulder, knocking Severine off balance, but not enough to knock her over. What did was the flat end of his sword smashing into her arm, sending her over, and nearly breaking the bone. With a sharp cry, she landed hard on the ground, slowly trying to push herself up with her still good arm. "Who's next!?"

---

Thyme didn't waste any time responding. It was a waste of what little breath she had as she stumbled up. Oddly the guards did not harm her. Instead they seemed to be more... forming a ring? Cornering them? Forcing them to fight... Their captain? Were they that confident in their defeat? She wasn't going to question it one bit as she grabbed her scimitar and came about, rushing at the guard captain from behind.

In hindsight, when he said 'who's next', it was clear whom he was speaking to. She swung down towards the leader with her sword alight only to watch as the man came about to parry the blow with his own sword. Moving back into a bit of a better stance Thyme quickly gripped the hilt of her weapon with both hands as his blade came down to strike hers. She could take the weight, doing so being part of being able to swordfight in the first place, at least when she was at full strength. Instead she had to drop down to one knee to take the strike.

She wasn't going to let him get away with that, though, as she quickly brought the blade around in a wide, low, cut to his knees, striking armor and drawing blood as sparks and flame started to catch upon his clothes. In that brief moment of vulnerability, however, his sword came down to stab her hard in the side. Thyme fell to the ground as her saber rattled off upon a nearby stone, clutching her sides.

"See? Not all that hard to deal with a damned thief and a twice damned elf. Maybe we should claim that the elf stole that thing from her just to make her a thief as well." he said as he yanked Thyme up by her hair. "Not that it matters. Get what she stole." he said, pointing to one of the guards.

The guard nodded as he went over to the small bundle of cloth that Thyme had put down before all this had happened. Carefully he started to unwrap it before signing in disappointment.

"It's just a piece of fire magicite. Why would someone care so much about that to offer such a huge bounty?" he asked before reaching forwards to grab it. A loud, thunderous, voice with a burning edge of fury sounded out throughout the entire clearing the second his finger touched the crystal.

"Only the warrior chosen by the crystals light may touch me!" it bellowed out as a brilliant, shining, light filled the clearing causing the guard to fall back screaming and the others to drop their shields to clutch their eyes as well as the captain letting go of Thyme.

---

As much as her arm pained her, she still had wind in her, unlike her unfortunate, new associate, who had been accosted by the captain. With a quick chant, much quicker than her blizzard spell, she fixed her arm, and pushed herself back to her feet. What happened next happened too fast. Severine shielded her eyes as well, but with the guards screaming or otherwise engaged by the spectacle, they had to move. Keeping her hand up, she rushed over to the other mage, grabbed her arm, and started casting to close up her side. "We have to run! Just what did you take-- nevermind, just, leave it and let's get out of here!"

With another quick chant, a cure spell hit Thyme's side, healing up the wound, as Severine got up to her feet and started running off. She hoped the woman would follow her, because they stood a much better chance together than apart, even if the guards would have to split up, as well. Either way, she was off running, not giving her legs any moment of rest.

---

As the wound closed Thyme rushed forwards, her arm swooping down to grab the shard before she took darted off, running as fast as she could. Weighed down by their armor, blinded, and with a dead man on their hands, the guards could not catch them easily. Instead the two ran, and ran, and ran for what felt like an hour. Thank the primals for a decent diet and stamina from sword-fighting exercise!

Once stopped Thyme took a moment to gather her breath before unwrapping the cloth again.

"I... I stole..." she said as she held the shard in her hands. "A piece of the crystal of fire!"

---

Somehow, the woman had grabbed the shard that had blinded the guards, not triggering the same event. They ran, and ran, and ran some more. After what did feel like an hour, Severine finally collapsed to her knees, panting for breath. Her world had turned upside down, in one fateful day. What had been concrete for nearly two centuries had just been ripped out from under her, and that weight finally crashed down, as she started to cry, sitting back on her legs.

Until she heard why she had been sent on this damning mission.

"Y-You... You...! You WHAT!?" Springing back to her feet with a burst of adrenaline, she grabbed the girl by her shirt, shaking her madly. "Why!? Why would you do that!? No wonder these guards wanted you dead! And me, too, for whatever reason! My life's over because of this! You, I... Ugh!" Letting go of her with a harsh groan, she collapsed back onto her knees and sniffled back tears. "What am I supposed to do now...?"

Thyme clutched the shard close to her chest. "I don't know. But... Have you ever wondered where mana comes from? I never did. I thought it was just... part of being a mage. A few nights ago, however, I found out the truth by accident. Our magic, our mana, was coming because the council has been siphoning the power of the crystal off for mana! Not just the crystal either but the very land itself. Did you notice how... lifeless everything close to the city was? Yet became more alive the farther we went?"

She looked down at the shard as she held it in her hands. "How the world outside Hellis is little more than a desolate wasteland and it was only our powers that kept us safe? I did. We all did. Now..." she clutched it close to her chest.

"Firstly, we find some food. Then, I am going to do my best to stop what they are doing and free the crystal once more. My name is Thyme by the way; like the spice."

One revelation after another. A bit much for one day, really. With how shocked Severine already was, it was hard to rev herself up for another one, so she just nodded along with it, sighing. "So you took a piece, and ran, and... Oh, Odin, what have I gotten myself into..." She shook her head, pulling herself to her feet. She had noticed the state of nature around Hellis, as they'd traveled. The signs were there, to back up all of this rambling.

She sighed again. And with a calm motion, offered her hand to shake. "Then, I guess I'm stuck in this, now. I can't exactly go back, not now... This is still crazy. Maybe it'll be a nightmare, and I'll wake up back in bed... But in case it isn't. I'm Severine... I can't say it was nice to meet you, Thyme, but we ended up saving each other, so... Here's hoping we make something of this." They had to, at this point. It was find something out, or get hunted down like dogs.

[Ether]

Ah, what a time to stretch~, L'Veyi noted to herself, as she curled her feet beneath her, lifted her arms to the sky, and pressed out her chest whilst arching her back, letting out a yawn she had held for a good while. Ah, yesterday had been a grand success, the swordsman, Edward, had managed to scare a gathering of rabbits, and herded them straight into the Miqo'te's waiting paws. Biting into a leg that remained from what they had cooked, L'Veyi smiled as the hot animal fat dripped from her lip, letting out a contented sigh.

"This might have been a ragtag little pair up, but we seem to work pretty well together, big guy... though if we continue on our path West, we'll end up reaching Hellis. Blech... maybe we should wait and see if it comes back this way..." She noted, a sour expression on her face. Hellis was not well known for being friendly with people that weren't brainwashed citizens. It would have been nice to come upon a town, too... No use dwelling on it though, Releasing her stretch with a skip and a bounce, the Miqo'te looked over to her travelling companion, before lounging out on her bedroll, and taking in the sunlight that beamed through a clearing in the trees, adjusting her clothing to allow as much of her skin to bronze as she could... if there was one inconvenience to this travelling in pairs thing, it was that she couldn't simply make scarce her top anymore...

"A bit later on we should check those traps to see if they've sprung... there were a lot of rabbits, so we should have a few in those... ooh, imagine if one of the bigger nets or snares caught something big though~ We'd be set on food for weeks~"

[Enaluxeme]

"Can you... Actually, nevermind."

Edward didn't find the sight of the rabbit fat draining on the girl's cheeks pleasant to see, probably because of the bellyful he had the day before.

He didn't want to be rude, and he knew he would have been if he complained about such a small thing.

Not that he could help it though: it has been so long since the last time someone accompanied him in his travels. Sure, he wasn't completely isolated, but still.

It felt almost funny to be called "big guy". Edward was durable, but he saw some very buffed individuals since he left home. Maybe L'Veyi just started adventuring, or maybe she was just making some fun of him.

In any case, the Miqo'te girl was right. Even if they didn't manage to capture the BandelKuar, not having to worry about how to fill your stomach was a relief.

"I agree, we should stay here and watch over the traps. If that moster doesn't come back there's no reason to hunt it down in the first place.

I heard the tip of their tails has the same properties of phoenix feathers, but that's all we lose. Provided that the rumor is true, anyway."

It was too soon to check the traps. Edward sat down on the same log he occupied last night, with his sword and the items needed for the maintenance. While he was checking the edge for any chippings, he started another conversation.

"So, why were you alone anyway? It was pretty stupid for me to wander around on my own, but... How can I put it? You don't strike as capable of holding your own against a group of monsters. Not counting all the unscrupulous people you can find."

[Snowy_One]

Thyme could feel her muscles aching more and more with each step the pair of them took. Last week about this time she had been resting comfortably in bed, the notion of going up a class firmly in her mind and making her heart giddy. Now, she looked back at Severine, she was on the run for her life and the only person on her side was an elf who was wishing sorely that this was a nightmare. A wish she held as well.

"Hey. I know it doesn't mean much now, but you did great back there." she said simply as they walked, Thyme doing her best to spot even the closest notion to a trail. "I don't think I'd have survived all of them. I'd be being dragged back to the city now or worse. What do you think that guard meant though? I mean, well... I don't know. I never thought the mages hated elves, but I never thought so much about... all... this..."

She took a small, uneven, step forwards as her belly gave a loud rumble causing her to clutch her belly.

"Thoughts... Secondary... To food." she moaned out before taking a few more steps forwards. Suddenly the world around her lurched up and out, spinning wildly as a massive, wide, net embraced her, almost catapulting her up off of the ground as she became ensnared firmly in its grasp, spinning around in a dizzying manner.

"Ahhh! They set up traps too? How? When?" she cried out as she struggled to grab her blade with her hands pinned to her sides due to the tightness of the ropes.

[Ether]

"My last group... disbanded." L'Veyi began, not saying much more then that as she continued to lounge. She would have liked to continue, if not for the tug of rope she noticed at her side.

"Something tripped one of the large traps. If it's something big, we wanna get to it before it wrestles free! C'mon, up we go!" The Miqo'te noted, hopping straight onto her feet, and grabbing a belt with her equipment attached.

[Nanami Touko]

Severine hadn't brought many rations with her. The trip was supposed to have been quick. They go out, they catch the thief, they come back, she's eating from home before she knew it. All she had in her satchel was a cut of bread that was starting to go stale. But with the increased groaning of Thyme's stomach, she couldn't hold out on having it much longer. Did great, huh? "I killed someone," she mumbled, unloading her satchel from her shoulder, and fishing around for the food. "Even if I saved you, I still... It was kill or be killed, but... I've never fought before. It's terrifying. I didn't even think about what I was doing, it all just... Happened." That was the scariest part. The fight had simply went, for her. Whether it had been her own instincts or something else taking over, thinking back on the fight had turned it into one big blur.

Thoughts on her thoughts went away as a string snapped; the sound of rope pulling and Thyme being pulled up along with it. "Wha-- traps? But, w-we never set any!" Which meant this belonged to someone else. Severine pulled her rapier out. The blade on it wasn't the sharpest, but it could do with cutting a rope for a trap. She followed the line from where Thyme was dangling to a nearby tree, groaning as it was far too out of reach. I wonder if ice would make it brittle enough to stop supporting her weight... "I'm going to try and freeze the rope. Hang tight." She began chanting, figuring it might as well be worth trying. Not like she'd be climbing the tree any time soon.

[Enaluxeme]

When L'Veyi said her group disbanded, she did so with a sad tone in her voice. Edward was unsure whether to keep asking or not, but something else caught their attention. The rope besides L'Veyi: one of the traps sprung.

Edward quickly tidied up the maintenance kit and followed the Miqo'te girl.

While approaching the trap, the two started hearing something. It sounded like a muffled orison.

Edward was more and more confused, until he managed to get some of the words: pruina and frigidum, mixed with other words he didn't catch. He had no idea what those meant, but he heard those before, and he knew they had something to do with ice magic. Someone was chanting an ice spell.

Finally, the pair got near enough to see what was happening. Two girls, one caught in the trap.

"...What is she doing?" he whispered while looking at Severine, as she finished chanting and casted the spell.

[Ether]

"Well that's obvious. She's trying to break it." L'Veyi replied, as Edward caught up and asked his question. It seems that instead of a nice, juicy meal, they had caught a person... what a bother. Letting out a sigh, and preparing herself to attack if need be, L'Veyi moved to step out into the clearing, giving Edward a light tap on the shoulder, before signaling him to stay back for the moment.

"Aww shucks, and I got all excited that I might have caught a nice deer or maybe a monster to turn in at a guild... I'd appreciate if you'd not break my ropes, I'll let your friend down." The Mi'qote announced as she stepped out from the shrubbery, looking over the two people that they had come across. The one on the ground was... an elf? Didn't see too many of them around these parts... as for the one who got caught up in the net, she appeared to be a human at a glance.

[Nanami Touko]

Well, there was ice on it, now, but unless she hit that ice with something, nothing was going to break. So she was still at square one, without a bow or an easy way up the tree. She sighed. "Alright, I'll just... This could take a moment..." Ready to climb up the tree, as long as that would take her, she jumped a bit as a new voice showed up, stopping her ascent. "Wh-Who are you?" With the guard fight still close behind her, new faces weren't the most trust worthy, off the bat. "You will?" That was good to hear, though. She took some steps back from the tree, but kept her weapon out. "Sorry for setting off your trap." They at least owed the Miqo'te that.

[Snowy_One]

"Can you get me down from here?" asked Thyme a clearly irritated voice as she struggled about in the net, looking down at the Miqo'te. As she jostled and turned about, seeking freedom, the shard of the Fire Crystal, glowing in its unusual hue, became fully visible inside the net by her side.

"Before I set the net on fire or can get my hands on my sword to cut myself loose? You want your net unharmed, right? I want down." her belly rumbled loudly as she tried to squirm some more. She wouldn't set the net on fire, of course, not while she was INSIDE of the net at the least.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Snowy_One

[AnonymousSpeed]

While both Hellion soldiers and seekers of fortune no doubt trailed east after the thief, who, whoever they were and whatever they stole, must have been some horrid burglar of the most detestable form, there was a dwarf traveling in the same direction for a very different reason, spiteful thoughts in her mind and barely trickling past her lips as faint grumblings.

Uncultured...uncouth...unprincipled...unscrupulous! Many other insults beginning with "un-" where spat inside the dwarf's head as she stomped along towards the Empire of Garlinad, fervently polishing a hand canon of her own make to keep her mind off her anger. She'd come to the city of Hellis, hoping to show their leaders her craftsmanship and savvy in order to secure funding for her research, and through that research hopefully bring her people out of the drunken rut most of them had fallen in. Of course, as Hellis was the body which dealt the defeat in war which lead to that depression in the first place, she wasn't exactly keen on going to them for support, but they were a neighboring nation with considerable wealth, making them the most logical candidate, on paper.

But those Hellions turned her away quite literally at the door. Her! Yohanna of the Southern Mount, the most brilliant member of the most brilliant race, had been told to leave at the first gate she'd come across. The guard had told her that they had no need for "grubby, unshaven midgets" in their oh-so-glorious city. For that, Yohanna most certainly gave him a very loud and equally explicit piece of her mind, after which she had to be forcibly led away.

Thus, she ventured off towards the Empire of Garlinad, the second place on her list of potential funders. They weren't quite as scholarly and didn't posses as much wealth, but at the very least they weren't such a damnable people as Yohanna found the Hellions. A heavy pack was thrown over her back, stuffed with blueprints and rations and a tent, as she traveled eastward a grumbling, meter-tall thesaurus largely hidden behind a beard to make men of any other species envious. Facial hair was a dwarf's pride, and so for a dwarf as proud as Yohanna, it was of course bountiful and well groomed.

Some number of hours later, the dwarven woman had calmed down some, her hand canon and its polishing rag put away, and her journey grown quiet aside from the thoughts of mechanics in her mind; One could never work out too many kinks in a design. It was while working on removing some trivial amount of weight from some invention with debatable practical applications that a far but very bright flash of light caught her eye. Yohanna stopped in place to observe it in curiosity, and moments after the distant light appeared, it ceased. Which made sense, typically the brightest lights were formed by bursts, though it didn't at all resemble any natural explosion the mechanist was familiar with. Her curiosity sparked, admittedly not being a very hard thing to spark, she adjusted her course by the slight bit necessary to venture towards the former location of the flash. It would only be a small detour, something Yohanna found she could easily spare the time to take.

It was a few minutes later that something just as curious happened. Two figures appeared off in the distance, charging in her direction. As they drew closer, she was able to make out their armor, revealing them as Hellion guards, and that neither seemed to have any arms drawn. The gap shortened further, and the appearance of panic made itself evident. As the guards came close, Yohanna attempted to raise some inquiry into their plight, but they merely rushed past her, seemingly without a second thought. Looking over her shoulder as they rushed towards the opposite horizon, the dwarf took her hand canon once again and continued forward, each step laced with extra caution.

Not long after that, she arrived at where the light had been, or at least, where she presumed it had been. There was a patch of scorched ground and, more distinctly, another guard of Hellis lain on the ground, blood trickling down his mouth, quite obviously dead. A gruesome sight, though death often meant less to a dwarf than to another race, with coming from an underground alliance where monsters, liquor and black powder were in plenty. Still, not something pleasant to behold and certainly unsettling, but demanding to be investigated. It was quite apparent the light did not cause the fatal blow, a narrow piercing through one lung, which, as far as Yohanna knew, and she was quite sure she knew enough to speak with some authority on the matter, was inconsistent with the effects of bright light.

Also on the sight was a trail of blood, headed further east, which meant the guards who had fled west had likely not been the source of it. Something had certainly transpired, and while it might have been a danger to pursue it, Yohanna decided that she would anyway. If there was any trouble, surely her hand canon would be able to handle it, and if not, there was still her forging hammer which certainly wouldn't be pleasant to be struck by. The scene didn't imply their numbers would be too large either, and, perhaps most importantly, it was an opportunity to sate her curiosity an go on a small little adventure and create some inspiring anecdote to take home with her. So, her weapon drawn and a lead ball in the barrel, Yohanna followed the trail of wet crimson seeping into the dirt further east.

Edited March 8, 2016 by AnonymousSpeed

[Ether]

"I'm working on it, no need to be hasty. If you burn my net after I already said I'd let you down, we might have a problem." L'Veyi replied with an unamused expression, deftly climbing the tree that the net had been set in, and reaching the knot holding it together.

"Also, either be ready to catch your friend, or she's gonna end up with a sore butt. Unless you're like me and'll land on your feet, at any rate." The Miqo'te noted, giving the elf and the trapped human a chance to parse her words, before releasing the net, causing Thyme to fall to the ground.

[Nanami Touko]

Well, the miqo'te was going to let Thyme down, at any rate. That was good. She wasn't of Hellis, anyway, since she was a miqo'te. They had barely anyone other than humans up there. Severine lowered her rapier a bit further, putting it away as the girl said she'd need to do some catching. "Oh, right!" she quickly said with a small gasp, rushing over in time to catch her new friend as the net came down. She wasn't the heaviest, so it wasn't a hard catch. She set her down and let her figure the net out herself, taking a few steps back over towards the tree. "You are a miqo'te right?" The ears and the tree climbing were giving it away pretty hard, but. "Just want to make sure the ears aren't fake, or anything... I've never met any of your kind, so this is a first."

[Snowy_One]

"Yea." said Thyme as she was caught by Severine, surprised that the mage could hold her to easily. Then again, red mages WERE fighters as well as casters. Quickly jumping out the crystal shard popped out onto the ground only for Thyme to quickly dart over and grab it, wrapping it up in the small cloth bundle tightly.

"I haven't seen a Miqo'te. Only mages, humans, and a few elves all my life." she said as she got the shard. "My name is Thyme, by the way, and you seem to be good with traps. It would be REALLY great if you could help us out a bit. You see... We've done some things that has... put us on Hellis's wanted list." she said as she revealing the shard again. "Namely, I stole this."

[Nanami Touko]

"What are you doing!?" Severine said in an exasperated whisper, shoving herself between Thyme and the new girl, hopefully before she saw anything. Her other question could wait. "You stole that and you're just going to show it off to whoever?" she said, still sounding rather annoyed. "What happens if she alerts Hellis to where we are? How do you know we can trust her so easily?" Please don't let this turn into a huge headache...

[Ether]

"That's right. I am, and yes, they are real. I've not met many elves either, surely you wouldn't be too keen on me questioning whether your ears were real?" L'Veyi retorted as she dropped from the tree, landing lithely on her feet, her expression showing that she was speaking mostly in jest, and wasn't truly offended.

"Tempting, but that would involve going to Hellis. Blech... I'd rather not be made into a scarf." L'Veyi interjected, as the duo had their back and forth over this Thyme's willingness to show off her spoils.

"I've no qualms with a thief so long as I'm not the one stolen from. If you're moving away from Hellis, then you may as well join us... oh yes, Edward, you can come out now! Just be aware that these ears aren't for show~ I've better senses then any human, and if you try to steal from or harm either of us, then this cordial relationship turns into your bodies floating down a river~ Seems plenty fair, no?" L'Veyi decided with a smile, turning midway through her speech to call the swordsman out from his hiding place.

[Enaluxeme]

Edward remained in hiding, silent, as L'Veyi climbed the tree to free the girl. She seemed to have quite a temper, but wasn't otherwise a threat. One can't be too sure though, so the swordsman waited some more, watching both the red haired mage and the blonde elf.

As the situation unfolded, it become more and more clear that the two were not harmful. Edward was just about to come out on his own when the Miqo'te called him. Talk about timing.

"Yes, I was about to." He said, while coming out.

"As she said, as long as you steal nothing from us, we are fine with you sticking along. Not that we have many things worth stealing."

As he then was just in front of the spellcasters, he introduced himself with a slight bow, with his left hand on his weapon, ensured at his side, and the right one on his chest.

"The name is Edward, as my feline companion said. She's called L'Veyi. I didn't catch your name?"

He turned his head at Severine as he told the last sentence.

[Snowy_One]

"I have no intention of stealing from you." said Thyme as she looked the two over. "I mean, yea, I stole this, but I'm not a thief. Not like that at least. Just... Just someone trying to do the right thing. Listen, we need to get going soon. There will be guards coming eventually and, if they see you, they'll probably take you, strap you to an iron chair, and cast blizzard on it until your skin freezes to the chair itself. Then cure you so that they can do it all again. I need to find... I don't know... If there is a shard of fire, maybe one of water? Is there a crystal of water outside this land? Or something else like wind or earth? Or someone who has an army? Something that could help what is happening here? If so I need to see them."

[Nanami Touko]

"I wouldn't mind; elves are fairly rare," she said, returning to mostly calm as the situation managed to diffuse itself. Mostly because Thyme relented and stopped herself from revealing any more information about her shard. The cat not wanting to turn them in helped too, so she could breathe easy for a bit. These two seemed fairly nice, and if they weren't on the side of Hellis, maybe they could even sit down and relax for a bit. I doubt you'd send us floating that easily... she thought to herself, before nodding at the swordsman.

"Sorry, again. I've been rather on edge... It's Severine. I'm from Hellis... Though I don't think I'll be able to go back any time soon. But, it's nice to meet the two of you, L'Veyi, Edward." The torture Thyme described wasn't far off from the truth. They'd switch up the magic between sittings so you'd never get used to one kind. It was rather harrowing.

"Other land's crystals? Thyme, you're not..." She didn't want to get further into detail, but this girl seemed set on it. It wouldn't change anything to just take a shard, so it made sense, unfortunately, but... Thoughts were cut off as her stomach also growled. She flushed a faint red and sighed. "Is there any food you two might be able to spare? We're... Both running on empty here."

[Snowy_One]

"Yes. Food... would be really nice." said Thyme with a nod. "I don't know how to pay you back though. I don't have any gil on me seeing as I left in a hurry. Still, some food would be nice as the last stuff I tried turned out to be poison berries."

She then looked to Severine. "And yes, I am. If they're siphoning off the power from the crystal, from the land itself, I don't know how I can't just sit around and do nothing. I don't know what else to do though. I'm hoping that, since there is a fire crystal, there are others and, maybe, the people there or the crystals themselves will rise up to stop this. I know it might mean the end of Hellis but..."

She looked back at the land that was slowly dying near the city.

"If Hellis continues like this it will end anyways. The council must be stopped. I remember the history stories of how a great war against the outside world came around before and, maybe, they'll be willing to rally and fight again. I mean, come on, they can't just willingly sit back and let this happen!"

[Ether]

"Well met, Severine, Thyme. Well, we were just about to check the rest of our traps set the night before. Hopefully the others will have rabbit or deer in them, instead of fugitives, else we actually won't have any food." L'Veyi replied with a chuckle, as she looked around for a moment, before pulling out her short sword and hacking a path through some nearby brush.

"This should be the best way to go to get to them quickly... as for an army or magic crystals, I couldn't say. Perhaps the Empire, or the Dwarvish lands to the South? I've mostly dealt with adventurers and mercenaries, can't say I know much of soldiers or Capitals."

[Enaluxeme]

The group started moving. Edward had nothing against sharing some food with the ladies, but since L'Veyi was the one to lay most of the traps, he didn't want to be the one making the offer.

"I don't think you'll have any luck finding a nation to oppose Hellis. Maybe the Empire of Garlinad, the wind crystal is also there. Unfortunately, you'll be running the risk of being arrested and turned over, becoming a token for diplomats.

If I were you, I would wait a bit before my next move, maybe disguise myself or something.

By the way L'Veyi, we can't just stay here in the middle of nowhere. We should remove the traps and go back in town, maybe find some other work, since the damn thing escaped. Well, if you still want to tag along, that is."

As he finished, they all reached one of the spots where the little rabbit-size traps were. The bait, made of lettuce sprayed with apple cider, was still there, meaning that no rabbit, nor anything else, was caught.

"Nope, no rabbits. You may have more luck with the bigger traps for deers."

[Snowy_One]

"Wait? A town? I thought all those were destroyed several hundred years ago." said Thyme, clearly seeming a bit confused at first before, suddenly, something inside of her seemed to click.

"Of... course not. If the council had been lying to us all this time about so much, why not throw in that the world outside isn't a desolate wasteland as well? I think I'll have a lot to learn about this world for certain. Still, as for this Garlinad empire, if they have a crystal and an army, it's worth the shot. I don't know how to disguise myself though." she said looking over to Severine's distinct red mages clothes and her own, bloodied, damaged, clothes. "Well, maybe a change of clothes first? What are the towns like out here?"

---

Meanwhile, in the nearby town of Farmland #27

Farmland #27 wasn't really a town. Not in the traditional sense that most people would be used to. There was no organically grown community working together, no happy lot of people, or even simple and easy lives. Instead guards patrolled the outside parameter of what appeared to be a series of near-uniform farms with, at the center, a small village that had clearly been 'repurposed' from long ago. Most of it was housing with a small 'center' that contained naught but a few basic traveling necessities. A small inn for the very few travelers permitted inside, a few small 'shops' that sold only the most minor of gear as a chance to earn a few coins from what few outsiders even considered entering, and little else in the way of 'convenience'. There were only two 'exports'. Food for the people in the capitol who didn't even realize the small amounts grown inside couldn't feed the entire city and being one of the very few places near the border where outsiders could even access the nation, if visiting a military town could be considered 'access'.

Edited March 9, 2016 by Snowy_One

[Nanami Touko]

Severine held back another huge sigh, taking a few steps after their cat friend as she started hacking through bushes. "I guess we should find that town, then, and see about where we're headed next... I'm coming with you, by the way, Thyme," she said, turning her head towards the girl. Her knowledge of things was less than impressive. "I'm worried you won't make it further than the next town without someone helping you along... You'd already have died to those guards if they hadn't turned on me. And of course there's towns outside of Hellis. Visitors have to come from somewhere... And where do you think I came from? The elves don't all live there." She shrugged a bit, turning back towards L'Veyi and Edward.

"This monster you're looking for... Would you mind it if we helped you find it? Since we're... Well, on the run, we'll be needing some more spending money. I don't want to steal your mark, so it's up to the both of you, but something like that would certainly be easier with a mage and a spellblade, right?" It was worth asking. They needed work, and a miqo'te along with a warrior would make traveling so much easier. Currying favor earlier than later would be for the best. "And... C-Can I touch your ears?" That was a personal request. "I've never met a Miqo'te, so..."

[Ether]

"Damn, nothing in this one. Oh well, we chased them in the other direction, so I suppose it's not surprising." L'Veyi noted as they came upon the unsprung trap, quickly undoing the snare and storing the materials in a sac on her belt. The Miqo'te snickered a bit as Thyme and Severine had their back and forth, interjecting after a short while.

"I knew Hellis didn't respect people who don't live there, or think they were worth a damn, but they actually tell the kids that we don't exist? I like it even less, now." L'Veyi replied with a frown, before turning towards the elf.

"And we probably won't be getting that monster. We tracked it over this way, and it's gone further towards Hellis. We were already planning to turn back since we didn't want to run into any patrols, but with you guys alongside, we really can't go any further. By the time it's far enough away for us to hunt it again, the trail will be cold." The Miqo'te concluded, before snickering at the elf with a smile.

"You know what, go ahead~ You're not trying to make me into boots or a scarf. But you should expect me to return the favour if you're going to get all petty with me."