The Demon Lands

(Is this alright?)

Upon hearing Ewart's announcement and the group dispersing, Rowena gulped in slight fear.She refrained from showing any reactions that portrayed enthusiasm or reluctance. Hence, she decided to sit this one out, like she always had. It was not that she hadn't the desire to help them, she had been rather afraid of going outside to face those terrifying demons again. Rowena Heulwen made her way to the room where they kept the majority of healing supplies.

She was already here for two years, and yet she had not built up enough courage to leave the stronghold. She was rather comfortable with healing the soldiers once they had returned. After all, she thought, what use would a healer be in a battle when she would be the easiest to kill? Tales of slain healers in battle were not foreign to her. Shuddering slightly, she continued her way.

The room was full of bandages, potions and also some sharp tools. Why did they need to injure someone to heal them was still a mystery to her, as she examined the supplies. The other healers were there in the room as well. A majority of them had abstained from the mission, though one or two brave ones had decided to go forth with them. Rowena admired their bravery, and somewhat loathed her own cowardice.

---

Ceithan from another part of the room gleefully walked towards Ewart. "Alright! I'm tired of just sitting around doing nothing! Just sign me up, captain! Not all of us are as lazy as we seem to be, you know? And also..." The redhead beamed with pride, as he twirled the sword in his hand. "I've been practicing, I ought to go and give it a shot."

As if the sin of pride decided to turn on him, his sword had flown off his hand and landed on the ground just a few centimetres away from his own foot. Sheepishly, Ceithan picked it up.

"Ahahah...whoops..." Two years he had been practicing swordsmanship, and he was confident that he would be able to go for this mission with his newly acquired skills. Considering this was his first ever mission, he was more than ecstatic for it.

 

((shoutbox so quiet right now might as well write something out))

((italicized dialogue will represent Allouettian; plain dialouge will represent Common))

Sheltered in the darkness of a cave roughly a mile from the rebel campout, Avery lazed about in the near-darkness. Perhaps sensing something amiss, she rubbed her eyes and raised herself from the rough bedroll, glancing about for Morgan. The winged silhouette of her year-long companion cast a shadow along the cave floor next to her. "Morgan?" she called quietly. "What are you doing out there?"

"Watching the sun." Morgan sat down with a quiet crunching noise. "The world is beautiful during the daylight. I wish you could see it."

A long minute of comfortable silence passed between the two before Avery stood as well, dragging her bedroll further away from the cave's mouth in an attempt to hide from the light. "Get some sleep, kiddo. We'll need to be ready to head out by moonrise."

Morgan nodded wordlessly, looking out at the world for just a minute longer before retreating to the back of the cave, moving his bedroll next to Avery's and settling in. Her eyelid flickered open as he laid down, eyeing him for a moment before closing once again. Some part of him wondered if he'd ever understand her as he fell asleep.

 

Apate Swiftwing sat in a tree, surveying the landscape before her. Just like it had been for the past times she had scouted the area, there was nothing there. She groaned, adjusting her wings to fit more comfortably in the branches. The trees of the Drukels were not the most comfortable trees, especially for a species that shouldn't be sitting in a tree anyways. They were even less comfortable when you sat in them for hours without being really told why you were supposed to sit in them and when you could easily be doing something twice as exciting.

"Damn it all." Apate ground out, crushing the thin branch beside her with the force of her tail wrapped around it. "I can't prove my strength here. I can't prove anything here. Hell, there's not even anything to scout here!"

Apate let a small huff of clear-blue flame trickle out of her mouth. The distorted light it cast momentarily broke through her invisibility illusion, but it regained itself just as quickly. At the most, any creature around could have only seen a strange blue spark. Apate honestly doubted that anything was even around to see it anyways.

She briefly considered just flying back to the castle, orders be damned. Then she pictured that halberd, swinging methodically and swiftly as if it had a murderous mind of its own.

Letting out another groan, she settled herself across the branch, looking out over a large chunk of what was probably the world's most boring forest.

It seemed like it was going to be a long day.

Toerga Bloodmoon sat in the castle of Rusadur, his weathered hand slowly dragging the sharpening stone down his broadsword. The monotony of the task helped to drown out the noises and smells of the keep that assaulted his senses. The traits that had kept him alive in the deep woods were now tormenting him to no end.

He drew in a deep, calming breath, the air whistling in between his fangs. Everything here smelled and sounded wrong, tainted and warped. He wished the lazy demon that resided over the place would give him a message so he could get out of this unnatural place. That was unlikely though, he didn't do anything worth telling anyone about.

He let out his breath, running the stone in his hand down the cool metal in time with his breathing. He could see some of the demons looking at him out of the corner of his eyes. Probably wondering what an old wolf like me is doing here. He chuckled to himself. I'm starting to wonder that myself.

Toerga was about to take another deep breath when he saw a small group walk by, coming from the direction Rusadur's throne room. He was about to ignore them, when he noticed the dwarf in the group. She looked as if she was just barely concealing a great amount of anger, and he could smell the rage and unnatural blood coming off of her. The demon who walked next to her, the general if he could remember right, seemed exceedingly smug and smelt as if he was bleeding slightly.

They walked with a purpose, passing the rabble by in an obvious search for someone. Toerga narrowed his eyes slightly. They seemed both important and motivated, which was far more than what most of the creatures around here were. They probably had some information about this infernal war, and any information would be more than he had now. Following them at a distance could probably yield him some of that information, since he wasn't willing to harm anyone for it. Besides, subtlety was the word when dealing with information gathering.

He set the stone down, sliding his sword into its sheath on his back next to his warhammer. The great weight shifted slightly as he got up, hunching down to keep the weapons centered. Even when hunched he stood taller then many of the demons around him, his scarred muzzle obvious above the crowd.

Subtlety. Right. He scoffed to himself, before padding off at a good distance behind the group.

 

The red haired man nodded at his superior before heading outside to train some more. As he made his way out, he spotted Ewart jogging after a certain blond maiden. Rowena, if he recalled correctly. The daughter of the man who recruited him into the resistance army. He almost snorted at Ewart's attempt, knowing she rarely agreed to go for missions.

I hope you know what you're doing, captain, Ceithan thought, Because if our two volunteering healers do end up in some sort of predicament, protecting this lady would be a hassle.

Chuckling to himself, he spun his sword on his right hand as he reached the training area, causing a few complaints from several others who backed away from the spinning blade for fear of injury. After having found a fellow companion to spar with, blades clashed and battle cries echoed .

-------

Hearing her name, Rowena turned to the person calling. After Ewart had finished speaking, her eyes widened at how perceptive he was. Was she so easy to read? She shifted uncomfortably at Ewart's offer, fearing the dangerous outcomes, despite Ewart's promise. Often, she would readily dive into a promise made, but her naivety had landed her almost in the clutches of the forces of the demons in previous encounters.

"Lord Nagamine..." she spoke, albeit hesitantly "...thank you for understanding...I-I will consider your offer and get back to you as soon as I can. " The blond maiden bowed slightly, knowing full well that if Ewart Nagamine had to personally ask someone, he trusted them very much and would be willing to protect them at all costs. She, Rowena, had looked up towards Ewart Nagamine for his prowess in leadership, and hoped that his words rang true. The answer she had given may not have been what he had anticipated, but she wanted to buy herself some time to think about the decision.

 

Apate's ears perked up, the sound of voices reaching her through the forest. Slinking further out on her branch, she saw a small party heading through the woods. She sighed in frustration when she saw that they were part of the demon forces, but perked up again when she saw one of them block a strike by a fellow in her group. She grinned. It was Naomi, she knew that dwarf's look of enraged irritation anywhere.

So the lard lord sent out a search party, eh? She chuckled to herself, her eyes locked on the member at the head of the group. Yup, that's one of his generals. Poor Naomi, still stuck with General Better-than-thou. I should probably trail them, they might have found something interesting.

She waited until they had passed by, and dropped down silently to the forest floor below. Her invisibility spell flickered slightly as it kept up with her movements, but she wasn't worried. Invisibility wasn't the only thing she had in terms of stealth. She dropped into a low crouch, sliding through the undergrowth on all fours and swiftly catching up to the group of demons.

Toerga froze, halting suddenly in the dappled forest shadows. Hoping he was wrong, he raised his nose slightly and sniffed the air carefully. He wasn't wrong; he smelt a dragon.

He began to creep forwards again, tracking Rusadur's group by the sound of their arguing. The smell of dragon was overpowering now, but he couldn't see any of the giant beasts anywhere. They weren't exactly the hardest of species to find, but this one was proving elusive.

Suddenly, he saw a flicker of movement a ways in front of him. Looking closer, he saw what seemed to be tiny spots of scales simply materializing and disappearing. It seemed that whatever was there was using a basic invisibility spell that couldn't keep up with their movement. Even stranger, it seemed like the dragon he smelled was using the spell, judging by the scales.

I've never heard of a dragon that uses illusion-based magic. He thought, confused. Why would a creature that powerful need an illusion?

As quickly as he had seen the disturbance, it disappeared completely. He could still smell the dragon, but that didn't seem possible. There wasn't anywhere that a creature that size could have gone.

He shook his head. I must be going mad. He thought, before continuing to follow the sound of arguing demons. Either that, or the world is going mad around me.

 

Ceithan was just about to make a retort on trying to convince Rowena, when Ewart had left to dispatch three strong men to wait for Rowena in case she should be following. Why bother? When Eqart returned and told him to prepare for departure, Ceithan made a salute. "Right away, sir!" He then proceeded to make sure he had everything he needed. Armour fastened, sword still present in its sheath, boots to run miles in, and a brain he would sometimes take for granted. He was all set.

Occasionally he looked back towards the three men. He hoped the girl would actually be following, for the patience of men is something not to be tampered with. In addition, Ewart had a point to recruit Rowena for this mission. She needed the exposure of a mission.

---
Rowena's heart almost broke to see Ewart's silent plea. As her eyes followed his disappearing figure, she had almost wished she had agreed right away. Then again, the tales of slain healers haunted her still. Leaning against the wall, and sliding down, her thoughts were clouded on her father's wrath and the disappointment of the members if she refused to do her part. Then she tries to think of what would happen if she did. Her dear father might have a change of heart, she hoped fervently....

Her eyes blinked blearily as she had found herself dozing off in her sea of thoughts. Shaking herself awake, she arose with a newly found resolve. She then started to reap the supply room for whatever she could use and leave aside whatever she did not need.

--

Meanwhile, in the meeting hall, the three men Ewart had dispatched were waiting for anyone who would come along. It seemed that there had not been a response, and the supply room they were informed that Rowena was in was as silent as the night. It had been almost half an hour, what was she doing in there?

"What in the name of heaven is she doing in there? It's like waiting for my wife to have a child!" Adalhard, a man hitting his thirties of immensely strong built, with crimson hair and moustache cried out. "She could at least tell us if she didn't want to go, instead of making us wait like this!" His roar caused him to stomp his foot in anger, the clinking of his broadsword echoing in the halls.

"Dear Adalhard, please ease your wrath. She is but a young lady. Surely you have been accustomed to waiting as you have attempted in courtship, no?" Gideon,the next, lithe figure with raven black hair replied, adjusting his sword on his belt.

"My wife is none of your concern! And that little lady be treating us like her servants if we have to wait for her like this!"

"Have you not learnt of patience, Adalhard? Though the silence in the room worries me. "There was a hardness in Gideon's voice, before it turned soft with worry.

"At ease, gentlemen. If she would choose two minutes from now as the perfect time to come out of that stuffy chamber, we would be able to catch up to them by nightfall, at best." The third man, Hjalmar, of light blond hair and a beard, spoke, as he studied the map Ewart left.

Suddenly, the door opened to Rowena walking out of the supply room. She had donned on a white cloak and a determined look in her golden eyes.

"Apologies for the wait, gentlemen. But we should get going, yes?"

Momentarily stunned at her appearance, the three men started to tell her on the routes they were taking before they left for Gandum Fortress.

 

Apate saw Naomi walk over and carve something on a tree, before walking back to the group. Well that's strange. She thought. Why'd she do that? Walking over, she sighed when she noticed what was written.

I see you

"Of course you do." Apate chuckled to herself. "You always were observant." She took a second and pondered another thought. "Or I just suck. Hmm."

She sighed slightly. She didn't want to have to deal with the General, but she could bet that Naomi didn't want anything to do with him either. And misery loves company, after all. She did have to consider that fact that the general would have some information on what Sorush was doing, based on her just being there. The Lords didn't exactly interact well that often and...

Apate suddenly remembered that she was actually assuming that Rusadur would do something about that information. Shaking her head in defeat by her own thoughts she ran to catch up to the group, her invisibility spell fading away. At the last second, she jumped up and snapped her wings out, propelling herself straight over General Rogue to land in front of him.

"General!" She cried with a fanged smile, relishing the rare look of utter surprise on his face. "Fancy seeing you here!"

Toerga was getting tired of following the group. Their conversations consisted mostly of insults and complaining, and they didn't seem to be heading in any thought-out direction. The worrying scent of dragon was also as strong as ever, though there was still no sign of it.

Toerga snorted in frustration. This is useless. Why are such high ranking demons just taking a stroll in the woods anyways? Nothing about this war or its members makes any sense.

He was pulled straight out of his thoughts when a creature suddenly materialized a few yard in front of him. He froze, settling down in the growing afternoon shadows of the forest.

Judging by its scales, it seemed to be the creature under the invisibility spell that he had seen earlier. It was strange, however. It was about the size of a human, but it was covered in scales with a line of spines down its back between its leathery wings. Pearly fangs just poked out from its muzzle, and its grey eyes were angular. It almost resembled a small dragon.

But it seemed off. Its entire body looked sickly, its bones nearly visible under its scales and its shape seeming almost twisted from any dragon he had seen.

The "dragon" suddenly sprinted away, and a few seconds later he could hear yelling from the group of demons. It didn't seem hostile, but he was barely paying attention.

What manner of dragon was that? He thought, stunned. And why was it hiding from the other group? He growled, even more irritated at his lack of knowledge.

He almost hoped for some humans to cross his path. Maybe they would make more sense, at least.

 

Sergeant Thomas Pierce was having a good day. The massive stack of paperwork that had been on his desk in the morning was almost 1/10th of the way completed, and he had only been in his office in the stronghold for eight hours. It was astounding progress. Of course, if he was any good at precise levitation he could have gotten all the forms signed in minutes. Sighing, Pierce put his name on another page the normal way.

It was difficult being one of the few mages in the military, especially when all you can do is combat magic. It wasn't so bad before he applied for a command position and he was constantly able to train out in the yard, impressing the others with incredible magical feats. Now, he spent his time writing schedules and signing forms.

"Such is the life of a military mage seeking command." Thomas though to himself.

Suddenly, knocking at the door jarred him from his thoughts. "Come in," he said, signing another form and putting it aside. The door opened and a scrawny, blonde haired man stepped in.

"Hello, Private Miller," said Thomas.

"Please, call me Tim, sir."

"Only if you stop calling me sir when we aren't in a formal situation."

"Yes, sir," said Tim, grinning.

Thomas just rolled his eyes. "All right, what's on your mind?"

"Uh... nothing much. Just stopped by to see how you were doin'. I guess I'll be going, you look real busy."

"Get back in here," said Thomas, setting down his quill and pushing the paper aside. "You made it all the way into my office before losing courage, Tim. Whatever you want to ask, go ahead."

"Well," Tim said, grinning sheepishly, "it's kind of a stupid question."

"I don't care. Ask away."

"Alright. Y'see, I was guarding the healer's meeting the other day. I couldn't help but notice that the other magic users have a staff, but you don't. Why's that, sir?"

Thomas laughed, causing Tim to chuckle nervously as well. "Jeeze, Tim, why were you so worried to ask me that? It's simple: they like to show off. Here, hand me your spear. I'll show you. Don't worry, I won't damage it or anything."

Unstrapping the spear from his back, Tim handed it to Thomas, who held it in both hands for a moment before slamming the blunt end onto the floor. Sparks danced around him and fire danced along the point of the spear for a few seconds. Stopping the magic show, Thomas grinned. "All of that was completely useless. The other mages like to use their staffs to make pretty lights, but they have no special use in combat."

"Oh," said Tim, crestfallen. "Some of us had been thinkin' that you had some sorta secret weapon or something. Kinda disappointed to know we're wrong."

Thomas shrugged and laughed. "Sorry to disappoint. Now," he said, leaning over the desk and looking Tim in the eye, "what did you really come in here to ask me about?"

Tim's face fell. "I'm that readable, am I?"

"Just to me."

"Ah. Truth is, some of the men and I are gettin' worried. Folks are walking 'round with these blood magic wards, and we got none of them. What happens if we get possessed by demons or something? Or what if somebody else gets possessed and uses blood magic on me? What if-"

Thomas sighed and waved his hand in the air, silently cutting off Tim. "Sorry to interrupt like this, but your fears are completely unjustified. For one, there aren't any demons stupid enough to attack the stronghold with all of us in it. Moreover, very few demons can use blood magic, and no other creature has ever been able to do so at all. Also, you don't need to worry about possession. None of you are magically apt enough to become a target for a demon mage. I'm literally the only person in this command group that could even be possessed.

"As far as the wards go, I'm going to let you in on a secret: it's a scam from the healers. What, you don't believe me? Did you really believe that some chalk in a funny shape on your forehead would protect you from a demon? I didn't think so. Go tell your friends to stop spreading such stupid rumors around."

"Yes, sir!" said Tim, hastily leaving the room. Thomas leaned back in his chair, stretching his tired arms before grabbing another paper and reading.

It was going to be a long day.

_____________________________________________________________


By the evening, three others had come in asking questions about the "evil blood mages lurking about", but he managed to calm their misplaced fears. When a fourth set of knocks came at the door, he considered pretending to not be there.

"Come in," he called out after a moment's thought. Into the room stepped General Doud, Thomas' superior officer.

"Sorry, sir, I didn't know you would be coming by. I would have cleaned up the place a bit," Thomas said.

"Don't sweat it, Pierce. I've actually got some good news for you today." With an overly dramatic toss, he threw a small packet of papers onto Thomas' desk. Leafing through them quickly, Thomas was surprised.

"You want me to lead a patrol around the stronghold? But sir, I haven't finished my command training yet!"

"I like to call this hand-on-training. You'll take twenty men and just perform a normal walk around the stronghold. It'll be a breeze, and it will help you get acquainted better with the men who will be in your direct command if you do well enough."

"Thank you, sir!" said Thomas, excited about his job for the first time in a long while. "I'll do my best."

General Doud grinned and smacked Thomas on the back in a friendly way. "That's what I like to hear! Don't let me down, now. I put in good words for you to get this position, and people will be watching your performance."

"Don't worry, sir," said a confident Thomas. "Absolutely nothing will go wrong."

 

((It would seem that I have put myself in a hole. Shucks.))

Morgan shifted slightly, cracking an eye open and peering at Avery. She appeared to be sound asleep. Perfect. A chance to get out and look at the forest. Slipping out of his bedroll as quietly as possible, he crept towards the mouth of the cave to stare out at the woods once again. Avery won't notice if it's just a little while... A quick glance over his shoulder set his mind to it. He'd give himself... a little while. And then he would come back. Avery wouldn't notice it at all. Just in case, though, he grabbed his quarterstaff before setting off into the woods. A little protection is better than none.

-----

Not five minutes later, Avery woke up, detecting something amiss. "Morgan?" she called. "Morgan?" A quick grope around in the darkness confirmed her suspicions; Morgan had indeed ran off into the forest when he should have been asleep. Curses. Standing up and grabbing her rapier -- her dagger was already stuck in her belt-- she scrambled off into the forest before immediately encountering her first obstacle. Thanks to the limited covering the trees provided her, she could just barely see where the trees in front of her nose were, but if the boy had managed to get himself in trouble, she'd be useless. Gotta look anyways. Gritting her teeth, she sped up just a little bit- until she bumped into another tree branch and forced herself to slow down again. Where'd you go, kiddo?

 

Apate snarled in anger. "Those Resistance cur are fools if they think they can just attack us and get off scot free."

Putting out her claws, she gathered her thoughts, darkness coalescing and flowing between her taloned hands. She grinned fiercely, striding confidently forwards as the already present shadows of the forest seemed to grow, taking into the shape of shifting, nightmarish illusions.

"Let's get after the little cowards. After all, they're what we've been looking for all this time, right? Why bother scouting more when we can just let them lead us right back to their home?" Her grey eyes glinted in the moonlight. "Besides, it's not like they'll ever know we're coming. Night-time's the best for illusions. Moonlight blurring reality and nightmare, darkness tripping you up." She laughed, the sound twisting and distorting as her shadowy illusions rushed outwards, their harmless but terrifying figures snarling emptily. "And it's perfect for you, Naomi. Now let's teach those pests that they should have feared us more."

The nighttime is wonderful, Toerga thought as he padded quietly along. He lifted his muzzle and sighed, the power of the moon above shining down on him. The forest was perfect for a moonlit hunt. He even thought he saw a deer nearby. A little distraction couldn't hurt, now could it?...

Before he could choose what to do, Toerga heard a cry ring out from the demons he had been following. He sprinted forwards, coming to a stop a short distance behind the group. A black arrow protruded from the General's head, and as he fell another arrow was blocked by the one who smelt of unnatural blood. He whipped his head in the direction the arrows seemed to have come from, and he saw a quick glance of the enemy.

Human, but it also smelt of elves. Half-blood? Either way, it's resistance.

The half-elf jumped away when the unnatural one tried to attack it, and Toerga didn't hesitate a moment. He quickly circled beneath them, watching as the half-elf disappeared into the trees and the other demons followed soon after, the forest seeming darker by their passing. He was interested in something else though. Striding up to the corpse of the general, he snapped the arrow in half, bringing it up to his nose. The scent of the half-elf was strong on it, and he took a moment to familiarize himself with it. Striding back to the tree the resistance seemed to have been hiding near, he searched around until he found what seemed to be an unfamiliar boot print.

There was a light breeze rustling the trees, but it wouldn't be much of a problem, the half-elf was upwind anyways. Now that he had his scent, the Resistance couldn't escape the hunter.

His fangs glowed alabaster in the harsh moonlight, his eyes taking on the mad fury of a werewolf who had caught the scent of his prey. Tearing through the woods on all fours, Toerga howled with all his might, drawing ever closer to his quarry.

((Oh, you have Hyrule Warriors? tarryeyes: I was about to ask if it's any good and then I realized. Have you played as best character Midna yet?

Also, I hope I didn't overdue it here. Shit is going doooowwwwn.))

 

((god bless nighttime ily sachi))

Morgan looked up as he entered a small clearing in the forest. "The stars are so beautiful..." he murmured, just staring up at them for a moment. Wait, stars? Oh, no. Nighttime already, Avery'll be so mad... Turning in the direction he came from, he looked down and sighed, gathering his general direction from his footprints and starting the trek back towards the cave. Perhaps if he moved quickly he could return before she awakened..?

Not even halfway there, shouts disturbed the forest ahead. What..? Demons? Looking around briefly, he realized that he would have no choice but to flee if beset by them. Not only that, but the bindings he wore across his chest to keep his wings tight against his back to conceal them disabled his flight. Dropping his staff and fumbling his shirt off, he tore at the bindings and successfully removed them. For now, as awkward as it was, he'd have to go without his shirt if he needed a quick escape. A second check confirmed that the demons were moving relatively in his direction, so he moved at a perpendicular angle to their path in an attempt to get as far out of the way as humanly possible. I'd better not get caught...

-----

Avery felt a slight sense of relief as night fell, granting her sight once again. Alongside it came a pang of worry-- Morgan had been gone for who knows how long, and she had nothing to go by in finding him. Even as the thought crossed her mind, an inhuman cry rose to her left. Good lord, that's probably him. I'm coming, kiddo, I'm coming. She pulled her rapier and dagger from their sheaths and took off the heavy traveller's cloak and bindings she wore to conceal her wings, leaving her in nothing but a loose black shirt in one smooth movement, then turned and started running towards the shout as fast as she could, hardly making a noise as she went. Don't you dare get hurt before I get there.

 

Hiding behind the bushes, Ceithan watched Ewart fire from his bow. He held the sheathed blade, anticipating an upcoming threat. All senses on high, he was now on an adrenaline rush. If they were the demons, he would know that they were up to no good.

But what was on his mind was "When am I going to get some action?! "

---

The day had turned into night for the quartet. They had reached the entrance of the forest without much trouble.

"....something isn't right here... " Rowena spoke, clutching her cloak buckle.

"What has gotten on your nerves, lady? " Adalhard indignantly answered.

"Shhh! " Gideon and Hjalmar silenced them both, and drew out their weapons, Gideon his sword and Hjalmar his halberd. This drove Adalhard to do the same.

Slowly they took up hiding in a nearby bush, to avoid suspicion. Hjalmar checked the map. Ewart's group was stationary, but so were some unfriendly "guests"....

 

Said redhead was about to yell "Yes! Finally!" but what his immediate response instead was "Captain! Your arm!". Ceithan cried out in alarm as he rushed to Ewart's aid. Looking around with his sword drawn, he was hoping that help would come soon.

"I'll get you, you fiendish swines!!" He yelled in anger, getting ready to fight. As he watched the others scramble into position, he noticed Naomi and Apate making a move. This was not good. Even though he had heard of them, he hadn't seen them in the flesh before. Whatever the case was, he would have to strike down as many enemies as let be, as he feared the leader would be crippled a little in the fight.

He struck one upcoming demon with his sword. The blow knocked his enemy down, before the opponent managed to stand up and slash him at his cheek, leaving a cut.

"Dammit!" he cursed once more as he maintained his fight.

----

The three swordsmen and Rowena made slow approaches to the location the others were at. It looked like they had already initiated a fight!

"We have to hurry. No matter what, we have to get there. They need our help." Hjalmar announced boldly.

Rowena nodded albeit hesitantly. She was not going back on her resolve, not when her comrades' lives are on the line.

"If you're worried about being killed, you should trust us." Adalhard spoke to the blond young lady. "Or it'll be a waste of time having Ewart sending us to bring your pretty rump to him."

Gideon and Hjalmar gave him a warning look, but decided not to say anything for now. With that, they bolted to the fighting zone. Upon arrival, they found that fighting had already begun, some blood spills and blades clashing.

"Go aid anyone you can, I'll guard the healer!" Hjalmar commanded to his comrades, who immediately set off to different flanks. Looking back to Rowena whose pale skin had turned to sheet white at the scene before her. Gripping her resolve, she followed Hjalmar into the warzone, preparing for whatever came their way.