Round robin. WAR OF LORE!

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** August 15th, 2009, 4:05 pm

Skyrate had left once he and Alex had got done speaking and so was not at the meeting in the Star Room. Not that it mattered, though, as he had already told them what he was going to do.

Skyrate appeared in the wilderness near the Mage Arena. A group of revenant Knights were nearby by and started attacking him. Skyrate faded away and they stopped, apparently unable to target even Skyrate's spirit. In a moment a flash of light emanated from the center of the group of revenants and the spirits wailed into the dark sky, never to haunt anyone ever again.

He walked east toward the spot where Karmadin had seen the activity.

___________________________
Tower of The Star, Star Room
___________________________

"It is unfortunate that you will not be able to join us. But I'm sure your journey is for the greater good, and we will not stand in your way. If you need to use any services at the Tower or in Kailenia then you are welcome to them, as everyone here is and always will be. Everyone has heard the story of the Eastern Project and will recognize you. If you have any trouble just tell them you have my permission and they'll let you by." Jason said. There was a certain sadness in his voice as was in everyone's face upon hearing that their good friend Alex would not be able to join them.

"It seems like the army that attacked Lumbridge came from the Asgarnian Ice Dungeon near Rimmington. Commander Conter is going to lead a mission to explore the cave in seven days. The army consisted of Demons of differing shapes, sizes, and strengths, and Black Knights. The most known controlled group of these two is the army of Darkrascal and Lawrence. Though they helped us in the Eastern Project they seem to have turned against us now. We know they have a base in the Wilderness called the Dark Knight's Fortress. What we don't know is how they got their army from there to the Asgarnian dungeon without crossing over Falador or passing the Dwarven outpost on the ice Mountain."

"We know they have a young but powerful mage but I don't think she's powerful enough to teleport an army of that size. Either they really do have an underground tunnel to the Asgarnian dungeon or they have something else we don't know of. Either way we need to investigate their Fortress."

"We're also still unsure of how Varrock and Edgeville were destroyed. Skyrate said he had an idea but couldn't share it with me. It's possible that some power is arising in the East again. We've had to send some troops there in the past few months to help keep the peace."

"Michael and Elise found some activity under Entranna when they went there a few weeks ago and it's likely that's connected to the Asgarnian dungeon."

"I think we need to investigate the Asgarnian cave, the Dark Knight's Fortress, and the East. Unfortunately I have to stay here due to my wounds when I fought in Canafis. I'm not sure if we should go to all three places at once or go to one and then come back and go to the other. Since I'm not going it's mostly up to you guys."

Adbot · **Posted:** August 15th, 2009, 4:05 pm

Alex 43 · **Posted:** August 16th, 2009, 1:22 pm

And that was it. Alex snagged a good handful of some of the cleanest scales Gia had on him at that moment. With that, there no longer was any reason for him to linger there. He had a job to do. One that could spell armageddon on the planet if he was too late. Once again, he forced himself to disregard any thought of whether or not he really was doing the right thing. Time and time again he felt he was being used to no extent by the enemy due to all the strange happenings and truths arousing around him. For all he knew, Sartranomin was truly the evil one, and Zaros was trying to save the planet rather then enslave it.

He said his farewells. A hug was involved, and after a short remembrance of his own strength, Gia's smithing hammer. Alex was escorted out by the majority of the heroes, but what interested him was this stranger, whom he didn't know from anywhere, volunteering to join as well. Ever since the meeting, he had been eying Alex as though he was carrying some sort of disease, keeping his distance while trying to never lose sight of him. At first, Alex figured it was in his nature since he was well-recognized by everybody else as a great warrior, but as he moved down the courtyard to where Venos and Macan awaited his arrival, suspicion gave way to realization.

The look on Venos' face said it all. Upon eying the stranger, nobody could've seen it coming. There was a sudden flash of yellow and everyone was violently thrown to the ground. Everybody, except the stranger, oddly enough, since he was Venos' target.

"WHAT are you DOING?" Alex shouted, leaping to his feet.

Macan sat, unmoved by Venos' attack. The stranger leapt to the side to avoid the tackle, and Venos decelerated so hard that the ground below her tore into a frenzy of flying dirt and stone, reaching all the way back to the tower. Once she had grip again, she charged into a second, more carefully coordinated strike. Another leap to the side by the stranger wasn't enough this time.

Venos' glowing left wing erupted in mid-leap and yanked the stranger off his feet into the air. Upon contact with the ground, Venos curved up and leapt high for an intercept. The stranger, however, was faster, and curved in mid-air to maintain his distance. Nobody, not even this mysteriously powerful stranger, could effortlessly take a physical strike at the speeds Venos was moving.

Distance was fine, thought Venos, I have some techniques for that too. The evening sky lit up with a great blast of yellow lightning shooting from her wings. For a moment, the sight was blinding, but when the light cleared, the stranger landed, unharmed whatsoever by the barrage. Venos held her position in the air, puzzled by her ability not having any effect.

Now it was the stranger's turn. He suddenly leapt right at Venos as she realigned herself in midair and swooped down towards him. He pushed off against her head, seized her by one of her neck segments, and jammed his palm straight down the back of the head. Unable to prevent her natural body movement, Venos curved too far down and slammed headfirst into the ground.

Alex, unable to stop the fight with words, made a dash to Macan, who still sat there as though Venos was still beside him.

"What's WITH her?" he asked, "That's our ALLY she's attacking!"

"Unknown reasoning." Macan said, "Sister Venos contains greater in-depth detection capabilities then myself. Hypothesis is the target possesses a trait that exceeds her suspicions or standards."

Alex tilted his head as he watched Venos leap to her feet, slam her neck joints closed on the stranger's hand, and roll over him with a forward somersault. Once the maneuver was complete, the stranger leapt off, gained his ground, and without pause, struck again.

"Can you at least get her to stop?" Alex asked.

"Proper timing is required." Macan said, "Be patient. Neither will die."

Alex nervously took Macan's advice to hand, not wanting to get her attention while she was in "the mood", and sat down with him. He decided that, rather then panicking from this strange behaviour, that he watch the stranger's moves and learn how to spar with her should the need arise because, to his disbelief, he was winning.

Venos turned her tail into the lightning whip that caused him so much trouble in the cavern and utilized its full potential against the stranger. He dodged it. By inches each time. Even at one point where there was a near miss, Venos suddenly curved it into a lasso and yanked, but the stranger hopped it before it could snare him. Either the stranger possessed some sort of mind reading capability that allowed him to predict the moves, or he was just that seasoned of a warrior that he knew every trick there was out there.

Aggravated that she couldn't make a hit, Venos energized herself with an explosion of electricity. Watching her perform these moves reminded Alex of the fight in the cave. Right now, he would've been crippled and barely able to properly stand, but the stranger, save for a few crushed fingers, was virtually untouched. Venos shot right at him, who leapt to the side, but once again, Alex marveled at her speed. While the stranger was still in the air from the dodge, she landed on the side of the tower, instantly flipped around, and blasted at him again. He couldn't dodge this one.

*WHAM!*

Macan blinked. If Alex had a jaw, it would've touched his feet. A full, frontal head-first charge at maximum speed against an opponent in mid-air. Unescapable, unstoppable, and unforgivable. She had him, too. Had lured him with her whip to that specific location so she could use the tower to pull off that maneuver. It was a beautiful strike!

So why was Venos suddenly sent flying off with an temporary imprint of the stranger's palm on her forehead while he softly landed with his arm outstretched?

She rolled down the hill and crashed into the stone entrance wall, stunned by the blow. What incredible power, Alex thought. Power that really, physically, shouldn't exist. Not in a normal human, anyways.

The stranger, annoyed by Venos, jumped down, whipped out his dagger, and charged at her. He was aimed right at her symbol, and wanted to put her out before she could do anything else.

*CRUNCH!*

The dagger sank in.

Into a large pink crystalline object.

Alex didn't know when Macan moved, but he did. He was suddenly sitting there atop the wall with an enormous wave of crystals jetted out from the nearby ocean wrapped around his fallen sister like a wall. He looked serious. Very serious.

Knowing when and when not to cross an enemy, the stranger withdrew his dagger and walked away.

"Should keep her on a leash." he said to Macan.

Macan said nothing. The wall of crystals molded and formed a giant dragon claw, lifting Venos back onto her feet. She shook her head in pain, looked back at the stranger, staggered, and fell down again. Apparently that hit was too much for her since it applied not only force equal to her own in one spot, but enough extra to send her flying in nearly the opposite direction.

Everybody just stood there, stunned by, if any other word best describes it, the performance. Alex apologized for the mess, wished everyone luck, and headed down to the two dragons. Macan pulled the wall of crystals out of the water, formed them into a large floating platform for Venos, and the three of them flew off into the horizon.

Gia was last one to turn away from the heroes' departure. Now knowing what Alex had gone up against back when they first met her, he gained new respect for the adamantite warrior. Considering they was practically bonded brothers, he didn't think that was even possible anymore.

_______________________________________

"WHAT is WITH YOU?" Alex shouted once Venos regained enough strength to stand on the platform. As they flew, Macan had sank the platform lower and lower until it practically became a boat. Alex assumed it was due to fatigue, but Macan said it was merely faster and easier to manipulate crystal when it was closest to the water. Suuuuure ...

"SHUT UP!" she hissed back, annoyed at the defeat.

"A particular circumstance." Macan mused, "A mortal effortlessly defeating you."

Venos almost looked like he wanted to bite Macan's head off, but she managed to restrain herself.

"He wasn't."

Macan's head tilted slightly.

"You guy's didn't- I can't believe you didn't sense it!" she disciplined.

Alex shrugged, "Well sorry, but my nose isn't as good as yours."

"Not the SMELL!" Venos replied, "The FEEL!"

Alex's head went to the same angle as Macan's.

"... you're serious, aren't you? You were in the same ROOM as him! Geez!" Venos shook her head. She wanted to just laugh at Alex now, but the pain lingered.

"OK, so no mortal could've made a parrying blow like that." Alex said, "Sure, I believe you that he's not human."

"But didn't you feel it?" she asked. After a pause, she looked at Macan with a strangely desperate emotion.

Macan turned to Alex. He spoke in nauseatingly complex words, and Venos rolled her eyes and lay down again, but Alex figured it out.

"Magical energies flow through every mortal and immortal being." Alex translated in his head, "Mortals receive the energies and give them off naturally to maintain balance, whereas immortals and spirits generate it through a more unnatural process. Because immortals therefore receive it and pulse it much more fluently, there are more susceptible to detection of the source and, therefore, other immortals."

Macan knew somewhat of what he was talking about, but it referenced to a speech that Dex gave on majiya. It was only because of this experience that Alex was able to understand him as perfectly as this. And he agreed. Right now, he felt the presence of Venos and Macan around him. Upon entering both their caverns, the same feeling arose over him. The feeling of being watched, almost, except it was a little different.

But Alex didn't feel it. Sure, he was in the same building as the stranger, but he didn't feel the stranger as being any different from anybody else. But now that he thought about it, the stranger was indeed keeping his distance. Could this have been the reason why? It didn't want to be discovered and exposed by Alex. Too late now, since the majority of all the tower's heroes was exposed to a blow too devastating to be explained by natural capability and physics.

Maybe it just didn't want to expose itself to Alex in particular. For all he knew, everybody else knew exactly who and what this stranger was, and wanted to keep it a secret from him.

"So why did you attack him?" asked Alex, "If he was an immortal, or even a spirit like us, simply telling everyone would've generated a result and explanation."

Venos paused for a while. She almost seemed like somebody undesired was listening to her.

"It was ... the same as his." she said.

"Who, ... you mean K?" asked Alex.

Venos shot him an angered look. After all that, it appeared he was back on her bad side.

"I received the detection too while initiating my defensive maneuver," Macan said, "Energy signatures seemed almost too similar to be coincidence."

"So, what, you think that's K in disguise or something?" Alex asked. He didn't doubt the possibility. K did a pretty good job impersonating a couple of Gods not too long ago.

"Not quite." Venos replied, "One cannot change their signature. While it was similar, it was definitely not a match. If anything, that was an agent of ... his."

There was a long silence. Alex was beginning to hate himself even more now. What did K have to gain by sending an agent to help the humans win the war? What was he trying to do? Was this just another little thing to help him win Alex's trust?

"Next ingredient?" Alex found himself subconsciously saying. He didn't want to think anymore. He just wanted to do what he knew he should.

momsrascal93 · **Posted:** August 16th, 2009, 10:18 pm

"What if we went to the fortress and sent a group of star knights to the cave then regroup and head east?" Elise suggested. "It won't be as time consuming as going to each place and our resources won't be too spread out." She said.

"Well first things first, I need a weapon to temporarily replace my missing sword." Momsrascal said.

"I got it covered." Elise said taking out some runite ore she bought days before. She sifted all the impurities out of the ores and fused them into one long runite staff. Some stared in amazement at the child's abilities.

"Will this do?" Elise asked.

"It's fine." Momsrascal said, taking the staff.

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** August 26th, 2009, 10:37 am

"That sounds like a good idea," Jason said, "but I suggest that some of us go to the cave. Perhaps Michael and Elise?"

"That'd be fine with me. I'd rather be in a cave then in a dark fortress anyways." Michael replied.

"I've never much liked caves, so I'll go to the fortress." Karmadin said.

"I'll go to the fortress also." Timrak offered.

"I'm going to the fortress also." Said a voice at the doors. Tenshi had just walked in, with a cleric running up behind him trying to tell him he's not well enough to fight.

"Well it seems we have something in common." Jason said with a chuckle, "Don't worry about him, Heliathar, I think he heals fast like me."

Heliathar, who was of course the cleric, tried to tell Tenshi one last time and then returned to the Medic.

"I'm supposed to watch Lawrence, and punish him when his actions get out of hand. They have, and so now I must fight him, again." Tenshi said in a serious voice.

"We don't want to fight at either place, we're going to get information. If we have to fight we will. We're going to send 10 Star Knights with each group and 15 additional Elduvian Knights to the cave. Momsrascal and Gia, where do you want to go?"

momsrascal93 · **Posted:** August 26th, 2009, 1:05 pm

"I'll go to the fortress." Momsrascal said. "I can trust that Elise will be fine with Michael. I'd rather go to the fortress anyway." She explained. She had both her holy long sword and runite long sword ready since the fortress was now part of the wilderness. Elise seemed doubtful about Gia going anywhere at the moment. Surely an individual of his size couldn't possibly be stealthy enough to go undetected.

Alex 43 · **Posted:** August 29th, 2009, 3:25 pm

"I'll take to the caves." Gia replied with a moment's hesitation.

While stealth, indeed, wasn't exactly his thing, neither was wide-open combat. He was a mid-range fighter, able to easily force his way through smaller battlefields like a battering ram. His presence in the caves would mean a small force is necessary, and therefore, a greater capability for all-around group stealth.

Besides, he was tired of having to watch his own back without Alex riding it.

"Then we are agreed." Tenshi announced, "Everyone, to your places!"

_____________________________________

Macan gave him another string of words that made Venos' head hurt more then necessary as their next ingredient. After a couple minutes of thinking and a half-hour of teasing Venos with the aspect of suspense, Alex deciphered the ingredient to be a special plant he knew grew in some of the coldest regions of Gielinor called the Saphipedal Flora. On its discovery in his adventures, he was surprised that Trollweiss was a mere branch off the species of the plant. This one made its habitat in even colder climates and was far more delicate then any other variation of vegetation he knew.

Of course, he has obtained a few samples to use in some of his experiments, but it was extremely tricky to process them properly. It all had to be done atop their native mountain region - one far to the north and inaccessible by normal creatures, and this sometimes took hours. Even Gia couldn't follow him there when he went to retrieve the samples, and he would sometimes be up there for days, enduring the harsh cold and merciless wind.

But it was all worth it. The Saphipedal Flora was a literal haven for nutrients and could keep a hyperactive mortal alive and jumping for months without food. Once in a while, he would sacrifice one of his collected specimens to add in one of their everyday meals. It did taste horribly bitter, but nobody would get hungry for several weeks afterwards, which meant they could spend more time on other projects. Or simply relax. It made an extremely effective dieting agent, and even Dex lost accumulated pounds with it.

He told all this to the two dragons, both of whom were surprised that he knew about it in the first place.

"I would like to vow myself that, should all become right in the world again, that I will go ... "adventuring" with you." Venos swore.

"A tempting proposition to add upon." Macan agreed.

"I'm going to need some special equipment for this one," Alex said, "We'll need to make a stop back at home before we go."

For a moment, Macan emotionlessly looked proud of something. Alex tilted his head in confusion. Venos then hissed "HIS home" with a sly grin, and the look instantly vanished with minimal tweaks of his crystalline face.

They continued without another word. Venos was not in the mood due to her fight, and Macan simply didn't want to seem stupid after that silly blunder. Alex, however, held his silence for a different reason. A much more secretive one.

He was keeping a secret now from the two. One that will, in due time, unveil itself to his advantage.

______________________________________________

The stop back at the chapel (no pirates this time, thankfully) was brief. A quick lunch ("Was Sister Venos not inclining to share?"), some final preparations ("No, Macan! MY bath!"), and they were ready. Alex met the duo of newly refreshed dragons as they finished stripping themselves of a thin layer of adamantite with a large duffel bag slung behind his back in addition to his herblore pack. He boarded Venos and the duo set off to the north under Alex's direction.

"Brother Allezyamos?" Macan asked, "What contents possess your additional equipment container?"

"Just a little something I'll need later on." Alex said innocently.

This destination was a large mountainous island that stretched above the cloudline and into the sky. One could see it with a telescope from Trollweiss mountain, but due to the harsh conditions shrouding it, it has always been known to all humans as a desolate, unforgiving land that must be avoided at all costs, since none who ventured there ever returned. Alex thought it would be a fun adventure to check it out and worst-case get frozen in for a few thousand years, but he was luckier than that. Sure, it was very uncomfortably cold, and any attempt to light a fire resulted in the instant permafrost of whatever combustible he attempted to light, but it was nevertheless exciting to prowl around unexplored territory in such a dangerous climate.

The journey didn't take long. Soon enough, the water rushing from below them spawned ice blocks until it became a large field of ice. Gradually, the wind got much more harsh, and a heavy snowfall blanketed their vision.

"Get as high up as you can." Alex shouted over the loud wind to Venos. Venos signals with a head-gesture to Macan, and the both of them slowly climbed in altitude. They had entered a danger-zone now. This was no time for jokes.

They tried, but even for them this was difficult. Unable to go any higher due to extreme winds, they were forced to land on the ledge of one smaller mountain. Alex frowned. The smaller ones hardly ever had any of the Saphipedals. For some odd reason, they only liked to grow more in places with thinner atmosphere. Still, there was a possibility he would find a couple.

"Argh!" Venos complained, "This is harsh!"

"Quite ... comfortable conditions." Macan mused with a hint of strain.

"You'll get used to it!" Alex shouted, "Now climb! We must get as high as possible!"

Half pulling themselves up and half holding on to prevent getting blown off, the trio slowly traversed the mountain one handhold at a time. While Alex and Macan progressed nicely, the ever-impatient Venos created her own by blasting away large holes in the ice and frozen rock and used them to pull ahead of them.

"I would suggest you not do that!" Alex called ahead to her.

"And why not?" she called back. The snow and fog was so thick they could hardly see her now.

"You might- arrgh! ... might accidently hit the flowers!" Alex strained to shout from a sudden blast of wind.

"I''ll be careful!" she forcibly shouted back at them.

Alex simply smiled. You're only bringing it onto yourself, he thought.

A couple hours of climbing and scouring the mountainside turned up Flora-less. They continued their corkscrew-pathed ascent up the mountain, leaving nothing but their wake (and Venos-sized holes) behind. Several times, Alex had to sacrifice energy potions to keep the three of them going. Not once did the weather let up, and scraping all the ice off themselves became an every-10-minute task.

"How do you propose we return upon completion of our assignment?" Macan asked Alex.

"Let's not worry about that now." Alex replied. He had already thought about that, and had a couple of ideas to try should his primary one not pull through.

"Would you desire I assist your burden?" Macan offered, but Alex politely declined.

They explored for another 15 or so minutes when Venos suddenly bounded back down to them.

"Do you hear that?!?" she hissed barely loud enough to be heard.

"Yes, it's called a "blizzard"." Alex said.

"NO, you fool, that call!" Venos said, tense and cautious.

Macan looked around, concerned, while Alex listened carefully. No, he couldn't hear it. Again, Venos was more sensitive then the two combined.

"I hear nothing." Macan announced.

"Of course you don't." Venos muttered, disappointedly. The wind picked up again and large bunches of snow pelted them.

"Perhaps you are hearing the wind make strange sounds off the rocks." Alex asked.

Venos shook her head. She didn't hear it now, but she advised they use caution. Alex, simply in disbelief that anything could live out here in this climate, continued without concern.

Finally, after one more painful hour of searching, the reached the top without any sign of even a pedal. It was time to try a taller mountain. But the wind as swift as it was, any attempt to fly over would result in a hard crash. Alex doubted Venos would like anything better.

"Macan, can you create a crystal bridge between mountains?" Alex asked.

"Difficult, due to fact that materials already in solidified state." Macan said.

"Never mind, then." Alex replied, sticking his spear in the ice as a brace and using it to hold himself in place as he pulled a comparatively thick rope out of the duffel bag.

"What's that smell?" Venos asked out of nowhere, sniffing the air.

"Extreme cold does that," Alex replied as he tied the rope to the end of his spear, "Makes you smell things that only exist in your mind. You should be careful."

Holding the other end of the rope, Alex winged his spear into the fog as hard as he dared, almost losing his foothold. It stopped flying forward and Alex yanked on his end. Confident with the strength of friction his spear now had with the next-door mountain, Alex tied the rope to a large thin icicle on the side of the mountain and instructed the dragons to wait until he has fastened the other end to support their weight. For a moment, Venos mentioned unease, but Alex, saying that Gia always uses this kind of rope, had complete confidence in its durability.

This plan went along almost too smoothly. Venos and Macan watched as he climbed off into the distance, and after a while, the rope shook a few times. Macan went first, gripping the rope upside down with all four claws and proceeding to shimmy up and out of sight. Venos, unnerved by how the wind almost picked Macan off the rope, hesitated for a while before finally steeling herself down and following suit. She didn't know how Macan was able to do it so calmly and cool, because once she made it, Alex was telling Macan how upon leaving the rope there, it will form a large bridge of ice in the distant future.

"Time lapse longer then expected." Macan teased despite the circumstance. And the fact he took just as long.

"Aw, shaddup!" Venos hissed, then to Alex, "You know that was horribly unsafe, even for us!"

"The winds never die down here," Alex replied confidently, "Should my spear have come undone, all I would have to do is hold onto the end of rope and let it carry me over to a mountain in whichever way the wind blows simply by sliding down it. Either way, I'd make it to some sort of ground given the rope's long enough."

"And if it isn't?"

"Then I climb the rope back to the rock and try again with the spear. Doi?" Alex sneered.

Venos said nothing. He obviously knew what he was doing from the moment they set foot on the mountain range.

Adbot · **Posted:** August 29th, 2009, 3:25 pm

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** August 30th, 2009, 7:06 pm

Indeed, stealth would be much easier with fewer men. The Star Knights would be armored in full plate and thus moving would be very slow if highest stealth was to be achieved. Though Gia was larger than the Star Knights and couldn't hide in small areas like them his scales provided a natural almost impenetrable armoring which meant he didn't need armor. His scales, unlike even chainmail, did not cling and clank.

Of course stealth in itself was not overly necessary in the caves since there would be a young earth elemental and a veteran nature elemental with them, both of whom were capable of hiding men. However the elementals could not stop the sound so extreme silence had to be used.

"We'll leave in a week," Conter announced as he walked in seeing everyone get up from their seats, "though we could leave earlier if you all are ready. But we should wait until atleast the day after tomorrow so that we're rested."

Timrak and Karmadin left and on his way out Timrak told Momsrascal that they could leave tomorrow night if she and Tenshi were ready.

_______________________________________________

The Wilderness
_______________________________________________

"Works is coming along well." He thought to himself as he stood near a tree watching the bridge be built.

Huge trolls which looked like they were mixed with Black demons were lifting and moving large boulders and trees. They were about 25 feet tall and had horns on their foreheads with dull red eyes and short crooked noses. On each of their backs rode a small gremlin-like imp with horns which made it look equally as ugly as the troll it was riding. The imp was shouting commands at the troll's ears, apparently telling it what to do. Though large and monstrously strong (for they were moving 2-ton boulders with ease), they didn't appear to have much intelligence.

Skyrate walked towards the group with his hood drawn over his face as always. At about 20 feet from the camp he was noticed by a demon which looked much like a human, except that it was about a foot taller, half a foot thinner, and had many small black horns on its head.

"The bridge to Talith-Narr is nearing completion," it said with a hissing voice, "in a week we'll be able to bring the Gormons out from their banishment. Them, along with the Wildakaatiri Lawrence has, will be able to bring all of Gielinor to it's knees."

Skyrate nodded slowly in approval and started walking through the camp to the bridge and continued down it to the end where work was being done, with the demon following him.

momsrascal93 · **Posted:** August 31st, 2009, 8:04 pm

Momsrascal was more than ready to go. In fact, she was almost anticipating it. She looked at Tenshi. "So are you like a holy mirror of Lawrence just as Darkrascal is an unholy mirror of me?" She asked him.

"Something like that." He said.

"Try not to cause Lawrence trouble yet. The last thing we want to do is attract attention." She said.

Meanwhile in the wilderness

Darkrascal layed her head down on Lawrence's chest, continuing to give him a grumpy and dissatisfied stare.

"Stop looking at me like that." Lawrence said. "So we lost. It's really not a big deal." He said. He messed with her ears a little. "**** it! Smile!" He said jokingly. She continued staring and he pulled her tail.

"Nyeeah!" She whined and smacked his hand away. "Don't do that!" She hissed.

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** September 10th, 2009, 6:03 pm

Tenshi, despite having serious injuries when he was brought to The Tower, was now very ready to head to the Dark Fortress. He was examined by the Cleric one last time with the urging of Jason and Momsrascal. He was found to not have a scratch, bruise, or even a scar where any of his wounds had been, to which the cleric responded, "I have mended many adventurers in my day - some having life-threatening wounds - but I have never seen a recovery as swift as yours, young man. I hope you heal just as fast on the battlefield, where the healing abilities of this clinic cannot be rendered."

That night and the next day seemed to take years to pass for Momsrascal. She wanted to get revenge on Darkrascal for stealing her pendant and losing on of her swords. She had both her swords and had reclaimed her pendant right before she fell on the battlefield. When she came back from her death her pendant was not with her and only one of her swords could be returned to her because the other was "in an area too evil for the sword to be summoned from". Momsrascal assumed Darkrascal or one of her minions had stolen these items and brought them to the Dark Fortress.

Finally it was dusk on the Kailenian Islands.

Momsrascal walked into the Armory where Timrak and Tenshi were playing. Playing of course meaning they were trying to disable each other.

"It's dusk now, are we going to leave soon?" Momsrascal asked as she caught both of them off-guard by swinging her staff under their feet, knocking both of them to the padded floor of the combat ring.

"And I almost had you." Tenshi said.

With a chuckle Timrak replied, "Heh, you haven't been around long enough to learn how to counter my defensive tactic." As he turned to Momsrascal he replied, "Yes, Karmadin should have the men ready now."

Timrak nimbly jumped up and offered his hand to Tenshi, who pulled him down and brought himself up. Timrak, to the surprise of Tenshi but not really to Momsrascal, rolled across the floor and jumped out of the ring.

"One thing you must learn when fighting is to expect the unexpected." He said with a bow towards Tenshi.

The trio walked out of the Armory and to the Combat Grounds outside where Karmadin had assembled a team of five of The Tower of the Star's best Rangers: three Elves, one Human, and a Dwarf.

"We've packed 3-day's food rations. If we're out longer than that we'll have to forage which, though things do not grow well in the Wilderness, is not impossible." Karmadin told the trio.

"Everyone knows the danger of this mission and that absolute silence and stealth must be maintained. For this reason we have been asked to test a new type of cloak our Magestresses have been working on." Timrak said as he took a cloak out of a bag by his feet which everyone was sure was not there before. He handed one to each of the eight members and said, "Closing it fully around you with the hood down will hide you from anything except another cape wearer."

"Where's your's?" Momsrascal asked.

"I don't need one. And I'll still be able to see you all when you're hiding. Currently our Magestresses don't know how to hide these cloaks from experienced magic, so it's possible we could meet someone who can see through them. If we do I will probably know they can see through before they know we're there." Timrak replied.

Elise walked down to the group from the Tower and asked, "Is everyone ready?"

Because of where they wanted to go they had to use a Coordinational Teleportational spell, or a Co-Tel. Co-Tels were a new type of spell that the mages at Elduvian had been working on with the Wizard's guild. It was built very much like other teleport spells which brought you to a certain location except that you could choose the exact coordinates you went to, unlike normal spells which brought you to pre-determined coordinates. One downside to a Co-Tel was that since you were going to exact coordinates, you had to know what was there otherwise you'd be combined with the particles that were already there.

The Star Knights had been sure to plan for this, and had picked a certain set of coordinates and sent a group of knights there to secure the area. The area had been confirmed secure yesterday after the meeting. The area was in a gulley behind a large boulder a few miles away from the fortress. Suitable to stay hidden from the towers of the fortress, but close enough to reach the fortress quickly.

Everyone put on the cloaks and picked up their packs. Elise hugged Momsrascal and then teleported the group to the wilderness.

momsrascal93 · **Posted:** September 11th, 2009, 1:15 pm

Momsrascal stared at the fortress in the distance. "This better be the last time I deal with Darkrascal's newly developed, kleptomanic tendencies." She muttered. She kept walking with the group. Her determination was clear to everyone as she was slightly ahead of them.

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** September 23rd, 2009, 1:07 pm

All the members had donned their cloaks around them when they reached the encampment of the Star Knights. After a quick chat with the leader of the camp, Timrak led the rest of the party towards the castle.

"One thing I forgot to tell you all," Timrak said as he donned a hood that matched the cloaks, "is that the cloak's hoods have a voice transportation spell imbued in them. If any of us talk while we have the hood over our heads the rest of us, and the camp leader, will be able to hear it." As he started his second sentence the group heard his voice from inside their hoods rather than outside. "It will pick up even the faintest whisper, so whisper if you need to say anything. We must be as quiet as possible."

"Let's go." He said and led the group closer to the fortress, with Momsrascal barely behind him.

Alex 43 · **Posted:** September 29th, 2009, 2:57 pm

The Asgarnian Cavern. It had been several long years since Gia had been down here. He recalled an episode in which Alex and himself uncovered a series of puzzles down here for one of the clues leading to the Tome of the Seven Worlds. Since then, the place had become a gold mine for explorers and prospectors, and before long, it became a vast network of reinforced tunnels and mines. For a few years, it satisfied dwarven and human curiosity quite nicely. Recently however, the place has been all but abandoned.

He understood that the caverns were networked all throughout the entire Asgarnian underground. At one point, it even hollows out into a large nest containing some rather oddly enlarged, but passive enough moles somewhere beneath Falador. The committee had not allowed it to be completely joined up with the dungeons of Varrock thanks to the border laws, but freelancing miners were not denied a few extra feet in of their own, provided they were not working with the union. It was a somewhat harmless gesture, but as caverns slowly grew out into the eastern regions, it became a public safety concern, and all mining activities were ceased. The mine was closed and barricaded to prevent any further progress.

Gia agreed that the caves would be the key for the destruction, as they would've allowed an enemy force to pass through relatively unnoticed, but at the same time he had his doubts. He knew already that it was this creature who called itself the Unknown that destroyed the towns, but he just didn't want to bring it upon himself to tell anyone. Besides, he couldn't confirm anything until he learned the physical truth. For all he knew, the Unknown and Venos were both part of an enemy's master plan to distract them from their real intentions elsewhere. But for what it had done already, it was one heck of a distraction.

He had to be ready. There was no telling what was down there now. He spent most of his free time practicing his mostly-forgotten sword techniques, fixed his sword's secret capability, and got the majority of the burn stains out of his scales. The symbol remained, however, and because he figured it would distract him knowing it was there like that, he quickly forged himself a large metal dragon-claw gauntlet to hide it. Upon putting it on and admiring his handiwork, he patted himself on the back at how well he was doing. Smithing was a lot better then fighting, he thought, but if it wasn't for having to fight, he probably never would've started smithing to begin with.

So there he stood, in the front of a group consisting of several Star Warriors, Michael, and Elise. Once again, a battle with no Alex. sadly, he felt he would have to get used to it. Plans and formations were decided and practiced, and with one final equipment check, the group descended down into the darkness with torch in hand and White Dragon punching down the barriers.

________________________________________________________________

Several days had passed. The cold did limit Alex's maneuverability and comfort levels, but not his health. Humans would've froze to death by now, but not him. Since he didn't generate any body heat, he didn't have any to lose by being here.

Seeking out the flower was hard enough, but what Alex was really looking for was a taller mountain. Several times he tossed his spear into nothingness, and as a result, they were forced to seek a smaller mountain and traverse from there to a taller one. Twice the company, or rather Venos, slipped and fell a good distance down the icy slopes, resulting in injury ("Argh, my pride …") or loss of time. Macan was the only one enjoying himself, since they were within his element and he seemed quite comfortable. Of course, an envious Venos would always try to ensure that he didn't get too comfortable, which did provide Alex with enough comic relief to drive him onwards..

"Seriously, I can smell something." Venos was saying here and there, "It smells pretty good. Maybe it's the flower."

Alex would always reply with "The flora is scentless, Venos. Besides, you can't smell anything in this temperature and humidity anyways, so keep yourself focused."

"I can …" she would mutter, but then drop the subject.

Alex wondered how Gia was doing. Would he have lasted a trip out here with Alex if they prepared properly? Probably not, but dragons of any type were good at getting accustomed to any kind of weather. Heck, he probably could've taken the King Black or the Lady Horkel with him and they would've made it a few days before suffering frostbite. Alex ran a current through himself to heat up his metal enough to stop the annoying squeaking of the joints.

They kept on going, remembering that they were doing this for their Lord. For their planet. For everyone. Venos didn't let down and kept everyone's spirits up with quick bounds and jumps around the mountain to cover more ground then simple traversal.

Until finally:

"There! Ahead!" Macan exclaimed.

Alex looked with awe. The wise dragon had indeed properly identified a fully blossomed Saphipedal Flora in the midst of the thick blizzard engulfing the area, despite being half-covered in snow, it was thriving brilliantly. Of course, since it was the only flower that would grow in this region, it came as no surprise there, but the fact that Macan spotted it before Venos within these conditions absolutely shocked both of Macan's siblings. What's more, this was not just an impressive specimen. This one was perfect. The most perfect flower Alex had ever seen in his life. Macan had a bit of pride unveiled, Venos had a bit of stress unleashed, and Alex immediately got to work undeterred.

"Keep watch as I harvest this!" Alex shouted over the wind, "Make sure I'm not disturbed!"

No indeed, he doubted they'd ever find a specimen as perfect as this one. Especially since it already took them several days to find one.

"Disturbed?!? By WHAT?" Venos shouted back, looking towards the white abyss. The entire time they were there, they haven't encountered anything that even looked like it was once alive.

"Just make sure!" Alex replied with volume.

Venos shot a quick look of suspicion, but carried out her duty. What sort of strange creature could even survive out in this region? Sure, maybe a plant could grow out here, but a living breathing creature? Even if there was, what would it eat? Ice? Heh ...

Well, whatever it was, though, she thought, she highly doubted it had a taste for stone, metal, and crystal.

Both dragons stood on either side of Alex, patrolling around him in a circle.

"Visual and audio capabilities minimized by inconvenient weather conditions." Macan warned Venos, "Concentration is critical."

"Yeah, don't think I don't know that." Venos replied.

Slowly, the blizzard seemed to die down. The snow kept on forming a thick fog, but the wind slowed to a state in which they could finally hear themselves without shouting. Venos was about to throw out a conversation topic to Macan when it suddenly picked right back up again and nearly blew them over.

"There it is again!" Venos shouted, righting herself and recovering from the shock that she was nearly blown over.

"I still have no audible revelation." Macan said, gazing through the fog.

Venos didn't want to let this matter pass.

"Stay here and guard Alex," she barked, "I'm going to go investigate."

"Unnecessary precaution!" Macan shouted back.

"Just gimme 3 minutes!" she shouted sternly, and jumped into the fog. Macan lost sight of her before she landed on the side of the mountain with a loud *WHAM*.

"Careless individual ..." Macan muttered.

______________________________________________

Alex felt Venos' bounding off down the side of the mountain and smiled to himself humorously. He focused on keeping himself down from the wind and handling the Flora incredibly delicately. The fact alone that the wind died down, but then suddenly increased once more like it did, was the telltale sign.

Ah, he felt it now.

She was close-by ...

This was going to be fun …

______________________________________________

Venos prowled around the side of the mountain like a bloodhound, sniffing for traces of life and listening intently for that sound again. It was definitely an unnatural sound, and she knew it. A loud low tone, almost like a 2-person chorus of females. She scanned the fog, looking for something. A shape, a movement, a small patch of black. Something that would reveal the source of this strange mystery.

"Show yourself!" Venos barked, charging her tail with raw yellow energy and holding it up like a scorpion. At what she thought was a sign of movement, Venos let loose with a few blasts of lightning, but hit nothing but rock. She moved carefully around the mountain, keeping her guard as well as her balance.

Unless she really was hearing things, Venos mused that this was a clever creature to use the fog in this manner. She jumped at a sound and shot more lightning, but it was nothing but a hunk of ice being blown over the side of the cliff. For a moment, she wanted to brush it off as a sign of paranoia, but she reminded herself she heard it twice, and therefore kept alert. Slowly, she made her way back to Macan, moving along the cliff-edge as she side-stepped over the icy slope. No possible way for anything without claws to climb this easily. The White Dragons would be so proud.

"oooOOooooooOOOoOOOOOoooo"

Once again, there it was! It sounded way too unnatural to be the wind. Something was making that noise intentionally! Venos halted, charged herself again, and once more prowled the side of the mountain seeking out the source of the noise. The blizzard blew harder and she was forced to squint to see through the thick blasts of sharp snow and hail.

"Reveal yourself, you!" Venos screamed into the distance. She barely heard an echo of herself, let alone the strange cry. Suddenly, seeing something moving out of the corner of her eye, she spun around and fired a ball of lightning behind her. She hit herself in the tail by mistake, and shook it in pain. She grumbled to herself, thinking that her own tail was the enemy. It was just that the area it was in was darker now, that's all. A silly mistake. Fortunately nobody was around to witness it-

Darker … she turned her full body around. The area was, indeed, slightly darker around there. She wondered why that would be. Perhaps the ice wasn't as thick in that area and she just moved onto a patch of rock. No, that was definitely ice. Maybe it was getting darker because the sun was setting. No, that can't be, since it was above her last she checked. Why then, was the area in which she stood darker then the others? Why then, as she looked up, was the area in the sky where the sun is supposed to be now blackened and expanded? And why, darn it, was it getting bigger by the second?

"OOOooOOOOOOOOoOOOOOOOOOOOoOOoOoOOOOOOO"

Her tail drooped.

"Holy sweet Sartranomin!" Venos yelled out loud, freezing in terror. Nothing heard her, though.

______________________________________________

Jasonmrc · **Posted:** October 11th, 2009, 10:48 am

Barriers indeed, it seemed like no sooner had they broken through one they found another. They became stronger the deeper in the cave they went.

"Well we're definitely on the right track." Michael said as Gia knocked down another barrier which was twice as thick as the last.

"Thurgo said he occasionally comes down here to mine Blurite," Conter said as they walked into a slightly larger hallway, "And there weren't any barriers here then. Pirates also usually live in the caves and surely wouldn't waste the time putting up barriers like this."

Gia broke through another barrier and they saw the former inhabitants of the cave. The next room was large and smelled of rotting flesh. About twenty bodies (they didn't count them all because they couldn't stand the smell very long) lay strewn about the entire room except for the pathway to the next barrier. The bodies wore the garb that pirates usually do, and each one had a falchion or scimitar near him. Apparently they were fighting with something that killed them. Not each other though, they assumed, because the bodies were not right next to each other, except for a small pile of three that lay near the barrier they had just entered.

"Not more than a week old, Sir." Said Raelen, one of the clerics who had come, as he rose after checking a corpse.

"Probably killed as the army marched through here to the surface." Conter replied.

They continued on. The barriers started to take two punches from Gia's left hand until he started using both hands.

momsrascal93 · **Posted:** October 15th, 2009, 8:41 pm

"Wow these barriers are getting stronger..." Elise said. She worried about what they would run into. She prepared some runes for combat just in case and stayed close to Michael.

meanwhile in the wilderness...

Momsrascal's group was getting closer to the fortress. They were very close now. "OK, is there like some secret entrance or something?" Momsrascal quietly asked.

Alex 43 · **Posted:** October 26th, 2009, 12:05 pm

Here comes another fight scene ...

Wooden Barricade VS Very Annoyed White Dragon. Everybody was entertained for a good 30 seconds.

The tunnels had all but collapsed due to erosion. Feebly rotting reinforcements struggled to hold up dangerously loose rock above their heads. They were advised not to touch anything by Gia, and agree on the circumstance that he go first. Carefully keeping his knees slightly bent in case he had to jump clear of a cave-in, Gia cautiously travelled through the tunnel, lighting the way with his glowing white eyes. A few of their troops took up torches for enhanced vision. He pitied the poor human race for not being able to see in the dark.

To their surprise, moving shadows loomed ahead. An eerie blue light was shining in the distance, revealed when Gia momentarily blinked. Their suspicions of the enemy's taking the cavern seemed to be confirmed at first, but after peeking around the corner, Gia was half-disappointed to see some of the native skeletal wyverns had taken up residence within these caverns. This particular one seemed to have been more hollowed out by the creatures, covered in ice to freeze the erosion and keep them reinforced for a good, sturdy home.

Gia wondered. Were they responsible for the bodies? Perhaps not, since they would not have fit through the barriers, nor would they have the smarts to construct them in the fashion he had to break them down in. Gia scanned the area. Avoiding conflict with these dangerous forces of nature would be the best-case scenario.

Unfortunately, the tunnel was only one way, and to continue on their objective involved a direct confrontation with the creatures.

Hoping to avoid a fight, Gia approached them, seemingly unarmed and trying to avoid them. Hopefully they wouldn't see him as a threat and ignore him.

That didn't go very well.

Once one of them noticed him, it bellowed a screech and he was suddenly bombarded by freezing ice-balls from all directions. He let out a blast of lightning to counter the attacks while his allies made themselves apparent by blasting the skeletons with choice spells and weaponry.

The fight didn't last long at all. Stunned by the sudden ambush, Gia had no trouble whipping out his sword, diving into the fray, and disassembling them one by one with several, swift movements of his sword. The last one didn't even consider retreat, and charged right into Gia's blade as it came around. Something cracked, and Gia didn't know what, but the wyvern fell just the same.

He frowned as he kicked the bones of the potential adversaries around, ensuring they wouldn't get up again. They were extinct now, but even in death they bore deadly capabilities. Everybody regained their weapons, and the trek continued.

Wyverns. Ancient creatures that thrived before his time, and seemingly appeared for a while after. Because of this, he had never seen them before.

Gia wondered what they were like alive.

______________________________________________

Macan tilted his head slightly to the right. Clearly that sound in the wind came from unnatural causes. Was Venos frolicking around the mountainside trying to drag his attention over for a prank? Indeed, that would be something she would do, but he was more clever than that. He held his ground within visible range of his brother, occasionally shifting around a 90 degree angle around him to cover different areas. A scraped diamond soon appeared in the ice under him, showing where he had been. It would help him maintain continuity with his task.

For a moment, he took curiosity towards Alex's work, crept up close, and sat there silently overlooking his progress. He dared not ask a question in concern that he might break his brother's concentration. The winds picked up suddenly, and Macan smoothly positioned himself in its way to prevent it from bothering Alex.

"Where's Venos?" Alex casually asked, not taking his focus off the flower. He was hunched over it, completely covering it with his gauntlets.

"Scanning an increased depth of area." Macan replied, pleased he could talk to him momentarily.

"Mmm." Alex said, not really caring enough to translate, "You should make sure she didn't get lost or fall."

"Priority goes to our Lord." Macan shook his head slightly, "Sister Venos' wellbeing can await the completion of your task."

The ground shook slightly. Both spirits turned their focus to what appeared to be the source. There was a long pause.

"On second thought," Macan said, "Venos' presence and capability will increase success percentage. Give me 5 minutes."

"Don't slip." Alex advised, returning to the Flora.

Macan slowly moved into the distance and out of sight, trying not to avert his path away from a direct line towards Alex's position. The wind was picking up again, and he lowered himself towards the ground to minimize its impact. For a moment, he felt the ground shake again, and side-stepped to the right, keeping his direction exactly opposite of where Alex was. Having to navigate back to him in an emergency would prove difficult if he did not perform this precaution.

"Venos! Cease this disciplinary action and reveal yourself!" Macan called into the fog.

A faint black object above him drew his attention. It was expanding in size at an oddly quickened rate. Almost too quickly.

Macan side-stepped to avoid being pummelled by his own sibling, who hit the ground with enough force to violently shake it.

He disciplined her, "I am not amused by your disturban-"

"SHUT UP AND LOOK OUT!" Venos yelled.

Macan turned just in time to bear witness to a large ball of ice making contact with his face.

*WHAM!*

Macan swung his tail to righten himself in midair and land on all fours. Venos was struggling to get to her feet in time.

"Source of attack unknown." Macan analyzed aloud, "Hypothesized source indicated by direction of impact."

Venos wasted no time in firing a barrage of lightning into the fog where the ice ball came from while still half-down. Macan trotted over beside her.

''Advise we keep this adversary distanced from Brother Allezyamos." Macan suggested with volume.

"No duh?" Venos shot him a look.

Macan suddenly crouched and shot a blast of lightning from his tail to break a second ice ball in mid-air. Venos jumped back into her scorpion-stance and moved sideways to distance herself from Macan so they both wouldn't be taken out simultaneously. The wind was blowing at its hardest yet, and they could hardly hear each other even by shouting. Torrents of snow were picked up from the mountainside and blown into their faces. They were incredibly handicapped for this fight.

"Still awaiting visual!" Macan shouted.

"You'll see it soon enough!" Venos yelled back, only hearing the word "visual".

Another ball of ice hurtled at Venos. Aggravated, Venos took it head on and blasted it apart with a reinforced head-butt. Despite her effort, she slid back down the mountainside from the force, but regained her grip just in time to take a second one too awkwardly. If her neck wasn't segmented, she had no doubt it would've broke from the force.

"VISUAL! VISUAL!" Macan was yelling.

She saw it too; a vast dark shape floating ahead of them completely undeterred by the wind. By what it looked like at their angle, it was a giant fat snake with wings. Big wings. It stretched out an enormous wingspan so large that looked like it could carry 10 of it in such conditions. They were directly attached midway down the tail section and spread upwards into some flimsy-looking, but otherwise effective bone sections. The ice balls they have been enduring were coming from what anyone would've guessed to be the torso area, which upon closer inspection, boasted two large claws.

Venos didn't take a moment's hesitation and immediately unleashed her electrical fury upon it. Just when she thought she made contact, it swiftly darted back into the fog at unnatural speeds like a rat shooting into its hole. She jumped back towards Macan, whose eyes were following what appeared to be his guess as to where the creature was.

"Where's Alex?" she asked, almost touching his ear with her mouth.

"Give or take approximately five degrees that direction. Several dozen steps. Higher altitude." Macan gestured with his head, trying not to lose his focus on the enemy.

"You direct me, I'll hunt it down." Venos ordered.

Macan focused for a moment and then fired a laser of lightning from his mouth. Venos shot in that direction, following the laser and not losing sight of it. Unfortunately, it was moving upwards, and Venos just couldn't risk getting airborne in this kind of wind. She fired a few blasts herself in attempt to lure the creature over to where she was, but unfortunately took an ice ball in the back as a result. If she had lungs, they would've had the wind knocked out of them.

Furious at this cheap tactic, Venos started to follow the laser back to Macan. Suddenly, it vanished, and a moment later she saw a stream of attack lightning come from his direction. She rushed back, jumping and blasting through the icy rock of the mountain and was just in time to see Macan, lying on the ground, drive the creature away with a great fan of lightning from the flipper-like prongs on his tail. It flew off again, fortunately away from Alex's direction.

"Gah, this wind!" Venos shouted, "I can't see a darned thing!"

"Tactic is intriguing." Macan shouted point-blank, "Unless proven otherwise, I speculate that this blizzard is no doubt being caused directly by our opponent as a handicapping measure."

"What makes you think that?" asked Venos.

"You are the sensible one." Macan replied, "Feel the wind's intensity differ depending on its distancing."

Venos focused. Indeed, the wind was getting slightly softer, and once it suddenly picked up again, she was just in time to jump aside another, considerably larger ice ball, which slammed into the mountain and nearly made Macan lose his footing. The sound of crumbling rocks were barely heard in the distance.

"I pray that didn't deter Alex's concentration." he shouted.

"I pray we won't have to keep running like this!" Venos yelled back, firing a blast of lightning in response.

"OOOOOOOooOOOOOOoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooOOOOOOOOOOO"

"Above!" Macan shouted.

The familiar shape loomed overhead in a slow, forbidding manner. For a moment, the two dragons hesitated, curious at this strange movement, but once they noticed the ground in front suddenly crackling with ice, the both darted down the mountainside to get away. The ground suddenly shook violently and an explosion of ice crystals burst out from the ground from where they were standing in a frenzy of random spikes.

"That was a poorly coordinated creation of solidified matter." Macan criticized aloud.

"What, you think you can do better?" Venos shouted, trying both to stand Macan up and get him to be serious in one shot.

Macan sat down. In came another ice ball straight for him, but he didn't move to dodge. Instead, a large cluster of ice shards suddenly broke themselves off the newly made structure and intercepted the ball of ice, reverting its course and missing Macan by inches. He then closed his eyes and an eerie grey light enveloped his body, pouring into the air and along the ground like a cool mist. All at once, the ice structure exploded, and four large, perfectly diamond-shaped pillars of ice ominously rose from the ground around it. Once freed from the ground, they shot over Macan and hovered around him like a square barrier, held forward at 45 degree angles like a pyramid skeleton.

A series of ice balls launched from several directions, indicating a rapid-fire barrage from their adversary as it darted around. Spinning the pillars around himself, Macan bashed away at the attacks, showering Venos with small pieces of frozen water.

"Fatigue-inducing maneuver!" Macan shouted, "Recommend aggressive tactic!"

Venos didn't need second telling. She leapt up and gripped onto one of the pillars, swung it around, and clambered up into the edge. Macan flipped it over so it was vertical and held it in front of him, aiming her in the direction he believed their enemy was.

"OOOOOOOoOOOOOOooOOOOOOOO"

Venos braced herself. Macan quickly flipped the pillar around towards himself, and an explosion of ice crystals rocked where Venos was just a moment ago. Venos then used her weight to yank it around again and, spinning her head around, fired a great blast of lightning where the sound came from. Something in the distance vibrated, and the wind faltered slightly.

"SSSSSssSSssS"

Whatever it was that they were fighting, it was angered. Macan spun the pillar again and another explosion of ice blasted it nearly into himself had be not thrown two other pillars in his way. Of course, Venos being right in between, he was forced to flip them horizontally and collide them with the top and bottom of the pillar like a sideways 'H' while she gripped the centre for dear life.

WOOOM!

The dark shape took advantage of this distraction. It suddenly shot overtop Macan, unleashed another ice ball, and without any other option, Macan sacrificed his fourth pillar to take the hit for him. It was blasted by the ice ball and knocked away, where it struck the ground behind him, split in half, and tumbled down the mountainside. In response to the attack, Macan fired a bolt of lightning from his tail at the creature, missing it by inches, and it darted downwards for a better angle.

Seizing her chance, Venos leapt from the pillar right at the creature. It was too engrossed in its need to evade Macan and was unable to prevent Venos latching onto its chest.

"YOW!"

That was Venos. A large field of icy mist from the creature's scaly hide enveloped Venos' claws, and a split second later, they were enveloped in ice and attached to the creature's chest. It shot back and forth, swaying Venos intensely around and preventing her from biting and letting out its loud, low signature cry. She attempted to discharge herself of a power lightning ability, but the icy barrier the creature had on its chest was preventing it from taking any notable effect. Macan, unable to attack for fear of hitting Venos, could do nothing but watch as she endured one of the most intense bull-rides he'd ever seen her do. It dashed, it yanked, it shook, it swayed. Macan couldn't tell which of the two of them was getting more sick from this experience.

After several long minutes of intense chasing them around the mountainside, Macan saw the creature finally slam chest-first into the mountain and fly off without Venos on it. Claws still covered in ice, she forced her shaking body back up from the large dragon-shaped crater, spitting out chunks of rock below her.

She was angry. Macan didn't dare to get close to his sister in this state, so he held down with his three remaining pillars protecting him. Her body exploded in a fury of angry yellow lightning and any loose object nearby was thrown away from the intensity. Roaring, she reared up onto her hind legs and, with a gaping mouth, summoned forth a great orb of energy that spiralled the harsh falling snow inside before turning it to vapour. She then grabbed it with the spike on the end of her segmented tail and jumped back down into her scorpion stance, waving it around threateningly and shooting her gaze in every possible direction.

There was a long moment of silence. The wind didn't change, giving Macan the idea that it was either holding its ground or circling. It wasn't attacking now. Did Venos actually damage it? Was it scared now of her power? Did it get bored and leave?

"SSKKRUNCH!"

Macan closed his eyes in acknowledgement. The creature was smarter then either of them anticipated. Using its flash-freeze ability, it had created a great dome of clear, transparent ice around Venos, just far away enough to not be seen due to the fog and her own blinding rage, and dropped the entire thing on top of her. Because she was focused on standing her ground, it was an easy attack. It was only because he threw the three pillars over himself in a triangle that Macan prevented himself from getting crushed as well.

Her potentially devastating attack dissipated, but it still unleashed enough power to create an explosion large enough to prevent her from getting buried within the ice prison. Nevertheless, she was reaching her limit. The weather wasn't helping anything.

Macan flipped his pillars back into position and sat back down. It was his turn to get serious. Below him, a small circular platform erupted from the ground and lifted him into the air alongside the three diamond-shaped pillars. His eyes were closed and he was illegibly mumbling to himself. The pillars spun around him at an incredible speed, whipping around the snowfall like a tornado.

The creature, keeping its distance, fired several ice balls at different angles, but Macan rotated the spinning ring to counteract each one. There was a sudden explosion of ice in front, but that too was averted by the momentum of the blunt ice crystals. Every so often, Macan flipped the ring vertically and purposely exposed himself briefly, attempting to lure the creature over to closer quarters. Or at least visual distance.

It came. It knew the danger of large chunks of ice impacting at high speeds, so rather then head-on, it zoomed around Macan while firing away. At a closer distance, Macan was much more hard-pressed to deflect all of its attacks. He waited for the right moment, enduring attack after attack, focusing on its pattern of movement. When it turned around, that was when it was most vulnerable. For a split second, it would stop and change direction in attempt to confuse him. That would be its own undoing.

Finally, Macan read a direction change and hurled one of the pillars at it. It made contact, but it only brush the side of it against the wing, and after rolling in midair for a moment, it recovered and sped off. With two pillars remaining, Macan gave chase, no longer concerning himself with the whereabouts of Alex or Venos.

Venos, limping slightly, focused on seeking out Alex and making sure he wasn't in trouble. She climbed around the mountain, trying to sniff out the adamantite armour through the blizzard. The wind wasn't as intense now, but the fog just wouldn't let up. Everything around her was white except the ground. It was like being in some kind of uncontrollable dream-state.

*BAM! BAAAM!*

Something struck the ground hard to her left. She slowly slid down the mountain, scraping her claws against the ice, and encountered one of Macan's pillars lying in a shattered pool of ice shards. While the pillar itself didn't appear anything special, the fact that Macan had encased himself inside it got Venos concerned. Even her incredibly tactical brother couldn't beat the creature. In a moment's pause, the pillar shattered on its own, and Macan stood back up on all fours.

"Enemy at tactical and capability advantage." he said, a note of strain in his monotonic voice, "Recommended course of action: seek out Brother Allezyamos, evacuate the area, and continue the search in more remote area."

"Yeah, good idea." Venos replied, for once agreeing to a retreat, "… but where is he?"

Macan paused, lost in thought, but then shook his head, "Answer unavailable."

"WHAT? You're the one who who's supposed to be keeping tabs on where he is!" Venos shouted.

"Prioritization overwrote obscure, momentarily unnecessary facts!" was Macan's excuse, "Self-capacity at 32% from damage and fatigue variables!"

"Then why didn't you stay behind like I said?" Venos yelled.

"Assets analyzed. Your well-being took priority. Besides, your capabilities against the foe-"

"DANG IT, STOP TALKING LIKE EVERYTHING IS-"

"OOOOOOOOOooOOOOOOOOOoOOOOOOOOOOOOOooOOOOooOOoOoOOOOO"

Both dragons were suddenly hurled back by another explosion of flash-frozen ice crystals and thrown into the side of the mountain. Macan was downed, but Venos didn't want to give up. She slowly struggled to get back to her feet, but a sudden blast of wind threw her back down beside Macan. She saw the dark shape zoom up to them, land with hind legs atop the mountain, and gaze directly into its preys' helpless eyes.

It was then that she finally saw, much more clearly, exactly what it was they were up against. Scales glittered a sapphire blue all along its body, covered in icicles and a thin white mist. Its great bony wings retracted into themselves, seeming dispelling a cloth that held them together throughout its flight and making them much more skeletal. The head was distinctly draconic, but a thick plate made of smooth, spiky ice covered the majority of the forehead like a helmet, exposing only its strangely well-kept mouth. Its enormous, sharp tri-claws, also coated in a thick icy armour, gripped the mountain easily as though it was made out of feathers.

In the midst of the panic, the pain, and the discomfort, Venos felt a twinge of disappointment. A wyvern? All this time, they were fighting a simple WYVERN?

Macan recovered enough to thrust his tail in front, threateningly, but it was quickly knocked aside by an ice ball that spawned and shot out of what appeared to be a hole in its foot as it stood on one leg.

"SSSSSSSSSSSS!"

It attacked. A great spread of icicles appeared from within her mouth. They couldn't move in time. Both of the elemental dragons flinched, hoping that they could endure whatever else this creature was capable of.

It never came.

"That's enough now!"

They simultaneously opened their eyes in shock. There stood the adamantite warrior, between them and certain death, holding his spear upside down with its handle gently against the creature's nose. The ice barrage was gone; self-shattered into millions of pieces. His duffel bag was half-open, partially slung on one shoulder, and once again Venos smelled that strangely pleasant aroma she hallucinated so many times.

Unless Alex had directly jumped in and jabbed it in the nose, which didn't appear likely, Venos noted there was no way he could've held off its advance in such a casual position. Rather, it was the wyvern that ceased its own attack and, to the dragons' surprise, seemed to relax.

"Alex, what's going on?" Venos barked. Alex was surprised to hear her saying his real name this time.

The wyvern moved its head around him and hissed at Venos, but Alex swung the spear in front again as a discipline. He then started talking in words that neither Venos nor Macan understood despite their familiarity. He had told them a while back that he knew how to speak the basics of Ancient Draconyte, but to this day, it was rare to find a dragon that too could do so. The fact that he was speaking to this one in that said language and its responses clearly coordinated to obvious commands showed just how old and wise this wyvern really was. However, it spoke back in illegible growls and barks, entirely different from the words that Alex said. It could understand it, but not speak it itself. In Macan's mind, it was a peculiar circumstance.

Taking advantage of the moment, Venos forced herself up onto her feet. Macan attempted to do the same, but was dislodged in the gathering ice and had to shoot a lightning surge to swiftly melt it. Neither Alex nor the wyvern took notice.

"WHAT is GOING ON?!?" Venos repeated, approaching the duo cautiously.

"Ssh!" said Alex, "No need to shout!"

Once again, Venos bore the expression of a stunned individual. When did the wind stop, she wondered? It still snowed too much to see anything clearly, but at least it was quiet again. They both took a moment to appreciate it.

Alex put his spear down and started rooting through his duffel bag. Their fifth surprise came when he pulled out a large wrapped package hidden in the back and began to unwrap it. Underneath, to their biggest surprise yet, was a large, slightly smoked turkey, seasoned with several select spices and herbs to give it an interesting, if not spoiled smell. The wyvern suddenly tensed up with energetic excitement, waging its tail like a happy dog about to receive its treat.

Venos couldn't help but yell "HAH, I KNEW I SMELLED SOMETHING!".

"Yeah, you did." Alex admitted defeat, tossing the undercooked bird in the wyverns' direction. It was snatched mid-air so quickly that Alex had to pull his hands away to avoid losing a gauntlet. It chewed, savoured, finally swallowed, and expressed its gratitude to Alex with a great big lick on the visor, knocking him off his feet.

"I am currently in a state of confusion." Macan said, "Clarification of the matter is desired and, if not complied, will be forced upon."

Alex smiled. Yeah, there was good reason for this. He whispered something to the wyvern and left its side. It started casually grooming itself under the wings.

"I've told you I've been here before," Alex explained in front of his two now-seated brethren, "The first time, it was exploration and first discovery of the Flora. Unfortunately, I had failed to extract a specimen that lasted long enough to make it back home. The second time, I had devised a theory as to how it worked and attempted it again. But that was when I met Mirral here."

"Mirral?!?" Venos half-shouted. It even had a name?!? And if it couldn't speak, how did Alex know what it was?

"The poor girl is blind, and mostly mute, but very very clever." Alex continued, gesturing towards her. They both looked and indeed saw a strange milky texture within its otherwise alien-like eyes.

"Any attempts to escape it were in vain, and any attempts of combat were, as you've found out, futile. The only way I was able to escape was to sacrifice the lunch my old friend Manya made and, while it was devoured, I made a break for it. I didn't get any Flora then, but I had still gotten away without any permanent injuries. Watching the two of you fight helped me realize what I could've gone through had I not been so lucky."

"Watching"?!? Venos was enraged, but Macan pressed the back of her neck with his tail to get her to stand down.

"The third time I came here," Alex continued, "I was determined to get the Flora. I had Manya pack a double-lunch in case I met her again. And I did. However, for what she lacks in vision, she makes up for in smell and hearing tenfold. Immediately she knew it was me, and in came the promise to leave me alone if she got to taste the offering I had made last time. At the time, I didn't really know Draconyte, but this gave me inspiration to learn it more thoroughly.

Ever since then, I practised my Draconyte and came here once in a while to test it with her, since she was the only creature I knew that seemed to understand it. With someone to talk to and a flavourful taste in her mouth, she allowed me to harvest some of the Flora for my own benefit as a result."

"Allowed as in "undisturbed"?" asked Macan.

"Yes and no." Alex replied, "After a few trips, I began to understand why the Flora grew here and only here in the first place. Not just grew, but thrived. She is practically their gardener."

Both dragons tilted their heads. One slightly more than the other.

"I imagine that even you guys, during combat, figured out she can change the temperature around her. The Flora can only thrive in the perfect conditions that the peaks of mountains can provide. Minimal oxygen, extreme frost, and low humidity. And yet, enough moisture and nutrients within the frozen rock and snow to sustain it. All these factors occurring naturally would've been a difficult coincidence for them."

Venos was skeptical.

"Wait, you said she was the only thing here, and that you only ever came in once and a while. Plus, she's old enough to know the Ancient language."

Alex nodded. He already knew what the question was.

"How did it survive here all this time? What on Earth did it feed upon?"

Alex couldn't help but make a "you silly dragon" gesture.

"The Flora, of course!" he replied, "I really don't like explaining things twice. The farmer lives upon its crops. Venos, you really need to get out more."

Macan softly held back a laugh. Venos squeezed her eyes closed. Part of her wanted to just pummel Alex into an adamantite cannonball and hurl it at the wyvern. Maybe THAT would've damaged it.

"Of course, the Flora have a very bitter taste, as I've told you once." Alex explained, "Though she doesn't exactly "need" my offerings, she accepts them purely for the flavouring. A break from having a horrid taste linger in the mouth. I'm sure you guys understand."

"Why didn't you TELL us she was friendly?" she bellowed.

"You never asked." Alex innocently replied.

So that was it, then. She stood up and readied herself to deck him, but she found herself unable to do it by her own unconscious will. That, and Macan was running a paralyzing surge into her.

"Besides, who am I to deny my siblings and a good friend a bit of fun?" he asked.

It had been a while since she had a good fight like this. The cold, the pain, and the stress all made her feel so alive. She sat back down, relaxed and calm, and Macan withdrew his tail. Although she wasn't exactly thankful that Alex seemingly tricked them into "playing" with the wyvern, at least she didn't feel that cold anymore.

"Did you retrieve the specimen?" Macan asked.

Alex bowed his head, "Unfortunately, the ground shook too hard at one point and I accidentally killed it."

"Then … we have to search for it AGAIN?!?" Venos yelled.

Alex didn't answer. Instead, he walked over to the wyvern, who immediately took interest. After whispering something to her while stroking her snout, it turned around, reared up, and let out its loud long wail into the silent air.

The snowfall thinned. Then it disappeared altogether. The whiteness began to give away and exposed triangular mountain peaks all around them. What met their eyes as it vanished completely was a sight to behold.

Everywhere, all around them, were the sparkling reflections of the Saphipedal Flora, covering each and every mountainside taller then theirs. They were so thick and plentiful that they literally gave their mountains a strange shining blue cap atop their white bodies. Thousands, perhaps millions of this rare, beautiful flower could be seen at the angle they were at, melded together in the distance like a thick sparkling blanket, and without a doubt, they would be able to see a million more from the other side. The wind softly picked up, and the swaying of the pedals game the mountains a slow, hypnotic life to them.

"A spectacular visual." Macan complimented.

"She grows them herself." Alex explained, "Hand-plants them, maintains their climate, and harvests them depending on size and location."

Venos was more interested in getting the facts from Alex.

"So all of this … this searching …" Venos almost stammered, too perplexed by the view to think properly.

"Yes," Alex admitted, "I wasn't searching for the Flora at all. That was easy enough to find. I was instead searching for Mirral. I imagine she was keeping her distance because of all the noisy bounding around that you did."

She flinched. How was she supposed to know?

"Once I'd find her and give her my offering, she would lower the fog and wind and the Flora would become much easier to obtain. Plus, the silence and serenity was an added bonus to aiding my focus. You really think I'd be able to concentrate with such an intense wind?"

To confirm her suspicions, Venos casually looked backwards above her. A lone Flora stood above the ledge, untouched and unhindered. It was surrounded by a perfect diamond, scraped into the ice.

Alex smiled again, approached his sister, and patted her shoulder-blade, "I think this pays for the little episode with the door, Venos. Now we're even."

Venos admitted defeat. She was cold once more.

"Just get that flower and let's get out of here, Allezyamos." she said, turning away and gazing over the mountain range.