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Lyra didn't know what was happening. All of a sudden, the guards with their shiny armor and swords were closing in on them. "Wait! What did we do? We just want to talk to the Queen!" Lyra backed up, and in doing so, lifted her staff off the ground a few inches. The guards stumbled, and some of them fell. Lyra stared at her staff, which was now buzzing like it was in the shop. "Did you see that?" she said to Vil. She stared at her staff. She had never been one to use magic, but this looked like it had some. The guards came closer and closer, and their swords reflected the light, almost blinding Lyra.

I grab a knife from under my shoes and hold it to their throats. They dropped their swords and fumbled away, "What the hell? Why did they start attacking us?" I looked around and more guards came in through the door. I was ready to start attacking, but then a woman came form an isle in the corner. "Lower your swords! We have guests, must you make me look like a fool?!" Said the woman, my jaw dropped, it was the queen herself! The men put away their swords and I backed away and kneeled(It won't tell me the proper spelling, sorry if it is spelled wrong... ). She walked to us and simply raised her hand, "I am Queen Haelga, queen of the Kingdom of Wood, please, no need of a kneel, I know why you're here." I looked up and she motioned the guards to leave. "Wha- How?" I said, she stops me and smiled, her dress was not 'poofy', or had many jewels, it was green, simple and had a golden belt at the waist. Her hair was red and her skin pale, her eyes were green and shined like emeralds in the light. "Please, I know about everything going on in this city. I know about the wolves, the strangers coming into the Tavern and the fact that I must clear the city before anyone gets hurt, or worse." I stood in awe, how did she know all of this? Oh wait... The people in the tavern... Damn. I it slip out and the next thing I know, four kingdoms know. I look up at Lyra, then at Randle, then back at Haelga. I was scared that she was going to deny the request we had, but if she did, that would make her look like a bad queen. I mean, who just sits and sips tea while her kingdom is being destroyed by a whole pack of Wolven Beasts and bandits? "Sadly, I can't evacuate the kingdom." I shot up and looked confused, "My alliance with the King of Ember... Has died. A couple days ago, his men were attacked by some hunters of another kingdom and it was on my land. He blamed me for their deaths and announced that if I were to step foot in his land again, there would be a war." I put away my knife when I realized that the people had nowhere to go. "What are we to do now?" I ask, she shakes her head and puts her hand to her chin.

The queen didn't look anything like Lyra thought she would. She didn't act like it, either. "Of course, there is another option," Lyra said, looking at the queen. "We could just attack them. How strong are your men?" she asked Queen Haelga. She thought for a moment. "The wolves are very strong. We might not be able to just overpower them. Is there anywhere else the people could go?" she asked the queen. "Or any way we can convince the King of Ember to let us evacuate on his land?" She looked around at the gray walls, feeling defeated. Come on. All your ideas are trash.

"I had a feeling you would say that..." I whispered to myself. "Have you seen the people here? Even the guards, none of them would have the strength to kill at least one of those Wolven Beasts! And training them won't do either, we are at a time limit." I tell Lyra, then I look at the queen and realize I had just insulted her people AND guards. "I-I mean-" I start to apologize, but she interrupts, "No, you're right. My people have never had the proper training for this kind of stuff, and lately my guards have gotten lazy, but that idea of yours, the second one, that one could work. Although, I can't step foot on his land, war is the last thing I need right now... but you, you could! You look like the type of people who can get their hands dirty and not complain, I like that. Do me a favor, please tell the King of Ember, King Xeilius, that I need to move to his kingdom for a couple of days, and tell him why. I hope he understands, and if he doesn't, then do whatever it takes to get him to let us in. His kingdom is east of here, not too far away. It would take a couple hours to get there and maybe more if there is trouble on the way." As she was explaining the deeds of this journey, I started thinking the worst. 'What if we don't make it?', 'What happens when the Wolven Beasts do arrive? Do we have the strength?' I knew we did, but there were too many 'What if's'...

Lyra glanced around, nervous. She hadn't expected that they were going to actually do it. She saw visions of herself and the group getting viciously slaughtered by the soldiers. But the kingdom was in danger, and she might be able to settle down here, once the tension resolved. She swallowed, and looked first at Queen Haelga, then at her companions. "Okay. We'll do it," she said, trying to suppress her fear. "Um, we should probably ask Dylan to come. He looks to be a good fighter."

Dylan soothes the vixen with his gently touch, remembering when he would do this to Laydrin. She'd be in agonizing pain and he'd lay yet down, softly caressing her hair. Dylan would hum a soft tune from an old song and she'd fall asleep. Now it it's just a habit. If someone, usually female, is hurt he will pet their hair to sleep.

He starts to hum the gentle tune subconsciously. When he looks down at the girl, he see's a little girl in need of help, not a woman who is getting better.

As they walked down the path through throne room's lovely gardens. Despite not being fond of people who tried to help her out, Queen Haelga did care about flora and nursed them if there were her children. Difference was that these strongly scented flowers and lush shrubs didn't walk off into the middle of the night to hang out with passionate and rather violent moonshiners. They were just plants. They grew, flourished and watched.
The three adventurers-to-be were approached by one of the Queen's Wraith butlers when they approached the empty throne, who told them in his fancy accent that Her Majesty was attending other matters and that they had to wait. Randle sighed and turned around, walking back to a pale, dark green crop close to the fountain. Rigningblom. Their juicy leaves were favored to accompany the stringy pieces of jerky and the luke-warm mash during a traditional Firnland Hill diner.
His large hand picked an oily twig from the shrub and rubbed out its crisp, sweet scent. It smelled like home. Like a place he never wanted or could return never. Never ever.

When Randle was done inspecting the gardens, he decided to watch and overhear the conversation between the Queen, Lyra and Vil from afar, as he didn't want his presence to spoil the meeting. But he grew bored after a while, and as he heard that their next assignment was to beg for space to set up a refugee camp, he was confident this interaction needed a little Randle-logic.
He stepped out of the shadows and into the graceful, dim light beams shining through the narrow but fancy windows. The Husk's face was stoic, his brows were furrowed, which made his silver eyes like two intimidating, enraged pearls. He wasn't angry, just disappointed with Queen Haelga's fleeing-over-fighting'ish attitude. The city walls were meant to protect them. If they went out to seek refuge in the Kingdom of Ember, the Dires could snatch them one by one on the way.
"I beg your pardon, Majesty, but I hope you're aware that those stone brick walls of yours are built for a reason. If you lock down the main gate and tell the citizens to hide in their houses, no-one except those who fight the Sage Dires will get hurt. We'll go and meet this Xeilius fellow, sure, but we'd rather convince him to send us a few of his men so they can attack the Dires in the back while your men defend the city." She'd approved the plan if it weren't his. He knew that and that frustrated him. Some people were so embarrassed by their human errors that they kept on pretending like it wasn't their fault. "I've been in the Woods, my lady, and I can promise that these folks won't outnumber yours. The only thing you need to do is to make sure that civilians stay and hide behind the city walls, so that those mutts have no-one to munch on."
The sleuth glared at the rest of his party for a moment, hoping that they would realize his idea would be more tactical and at the end of the day, would keep more people out of the Sage's hairy clutches.

"You think that I can stay with you guys? Rose asked them all

I looked at Randle as he spoke. "That is a good point." I mumble under my breath. The queen listened and sighed. "Yes it is..." I looked at her as if she needed to say something more than that. "Fine. I will do this, but you still must do your part and convince Xeilius that he must help me in this state." She said as she crossed her arms. "I will send guards around town to gather strong men. My guards have been disappearing for some reason and I know we will need the strength of mercenaries and land-striders quite like yourself. Everybody else will be kept in the barrings underground." Haelga nods to a group of guards and they set out to the kingdom. The butler frowned a bit in the back, I glared at him. He had something wrong with us and I don't know what. I look at Randle and nod, a way of saying that his plan was a good one. The queen walked back into the isle she emerged from and the butler followed in her steps. "Somethings not right with that butler." I say in a hushed voice to Lyra and Randle.

Foxy limped over to Vil and almost fell down again

Queen Haelga's fair-skinned face furrowed for a bit, and said rather stiffly: "Fine. I will do this, but you still must do your part and convince Xeilius that he must help me in this state. I will send guards around town to gather strong men. My guards have been disappearing for some reason and I know we will need the strength of mercenaries and land-striders quite like yourself. Everybody else will be kept in the barrings underground."
Finally, there were getting somewhere! A worthy leader would choose duty over sentiment, and despite the bitter glares he got from her now and then, she agreed with him. But there was something else going on in the court. Randle had noticed before that Vil couldn't keep her eyes of the Wraith butler when he first approached them. As it was unusual to see a non-hostile undead up close, he hadn't paid any attention to what could've been wrong about the man, but a certain tension was rising in his stomach, which made him feel uneasy. He knew that his instinct never lied.
There was something wrong about the Wraith and his intentions.

When they left the castle, the cool drizzle had turned into a slow-moving thunderstorm. Every now and then, silver claws of light ripped across the sky, with the roaring thunder echoing in the mountains beyond the Woods. Randle took a deep breath and inhaled the petrichor. How he loved that earthy scent.
"Something's not right with that butler," Vil whispered to them. Queen Haelga used to have trustworthy men around here, excluding the avian vassal, who was only after the money and luxury, though he would never even think about hurting Her Majesty, of course.
"Haelga's got some pretty tight security, but yeah, we have to keep an eye on him," Randle responded, talking in the same soft tone. The last castle guards let them walk by, and by the time they reached the end of the stairs leading to the square, Randle was soaking wet. Luckily for him, his trench coat was more or less water-resistant, but his undershirt and pants surely weren't. The Husk wiped some raindrops off his brow and turned his grayish head to his companions. "You guys can go ahead a little if you want, or purchase some stuff for the journey. I'll fetch Dylan and make sure one of the maids will look after our injured dame."

Dylan picks her up gently and lays her back down. "Your not well. Stay in bed." His voice is kind and soft.

Lyra turned to Vil. "While Randle fetches Dylan, let's go get stuff for the journey," she said.

I nod to Randle, "I will be a minute, I am going to get some weapons." I say to him as I walk in the opposite direction of the small party to a blacksmith. I look over their supply of fine steel and strong wood. "Hello, milady. Lookin' for something in particular, or browsing?" The Shield-Maiden asked me. I look up at her dark skin and navy blue eyes. Her dark green hair was up into a messed up bun atop of her head. "Very nice weapons... Do you have anything light, but deadly?" I ask the woman at the desk. A hound came from another room and sniffed me down. Its fur was dark and rough and its eyes were dark. "Ah, I see. I have some things of the sort..." She calls the dog to her and goes into another room. I look over at a beautiful bow. It had shard edges and jewels engraved to the handle. I picked it up, but it was quite heavy. I needed something light and a bow would work, but I don't like range weapons. Although, they are good at certain times, like hunting or killing an enemy without them knowing. "The woman came back down with a wooden crate and slammed it upon the table. "Whoops, anyway, this is most of what I have in the 'light' department. Some are more complicated than others, and others are more of a 'one-time-use' kind of thing." She pats the crate, allowing me to search through it. I look into it and it revealed many sharp items. I looked at a pouch of throwing knives with elvish handle work, they were light, but I was not interested in them. Another thing was a short sword with an ebony handle. "If you don't find any of it suitable, there's more upstairs." The Maiden said, I looked up and nodded as I stretched my back. I walked upstairs and opened a door revealing another large room. It had many more weapons and shields, along with armor. I noticed something on display that caught my eye. It looked like a staff, but with both edged sharp and knife-like. I picked it up and practiced with it for a moment, but when I held it out with force, it made a clicking noise and it transformed into a bow. I screamed a little and dropped it, the Shield-Maiden must have hear me because she rushed into the room. "A-are you ok?!" She asked as she walked to me. "Oh, looks like you found Reim. My dad had made that, worked on it for ten years before putting it on display. Many people wanted it, but he couldn't part with it... The damn thing drove him mad. He worked so hard on it, even ma couldn't touch it without him being overprotective of it. Sometimes I thought I thought he loved that thing more than me." She picked up the bow and forcefully pushed it out again, like I did, and it turned back into a staff. "You can have it. To many bad memories for me to want it. I'll sell it for a quarter of what it's worth. 250 gold?" She asked and let it touch the floor. I debated for a moment... It is light, and quite powerful, but also large. "Ok, I'll take it." I hand her the money and she hands my the bow along with many arrows. I fit on the quiver and hold the staff as I walk out.

"I'll be find" She said back

She tried to stand up again

The heat of the deep orange fireplace felt pleasant on his leathery skin when Randle stepped back into the Rusted Anchor. Even with the imminent threat of the Sage Dires lurking behind the walls being unknown to most people in the Kingdom, the relaxed, comfortable spirit had died out ever since the cult had dropped by. Most of the regulars sat on their own now, staring at the bottom of their cup without even remembering how they used to enjoy the sweet mead their old friends had poured them, or how they used to laugh and sing and tussle.
Like most animals, humans knew too when something terrible was going to happen. They couldn't explain it to each other, because people who predicted disasters in the daily life were either dubbed melodramatic or drunk, and yet they felt so cold and afraid of what might or might not happen in the future.

In complete silence, Randle retrieved his crossbow and strapped it to belt he wore on his sturdy shoulders, and then walked up the stairs, still keeping an eye on the flustered boy behind the bar. He felt it too, but there was more to him than met the eye. The Husk considered asking Vadr about the kid some other time - he knew a man in distress when he saw one -, but more important issues clouded his mind at the moment.
After opening the wooden door to the vixen's room, he witnessed the fox-tailed youngster stroking the dame's head, very gently and caring, as if she were very precious to him. Great. Now the guy actually had a reason to stonewall their expedition.
"Ah, sorry to interrupt your intimate adventure, but we've got another one across the bow. We're moving out in a bit, get your things together and meet us at the city gates," he said, mildly smirking as he found disrupting those chummy encounters a rather awkward thing to do. "And don't worry, I'll fix you a maid on the way out, dame." He nodded politely at the wounded vixen. Not wanting to linger around their room any longer, Randle then closed the shaky door behind him and went down the stairs, sending them a maid with minor healing experiences along the way.

"Now that's quite a weapon you have there," Randle greeted Vil as he ran into her at the entrance to Shield Maiden's. The changeling wielded an experimental knife-rod hybrid, seemingly constructed by a master of the forge. And one with serious budget too. Cold rain glistened on the clear, solid metal and even the material the staff itself was made off showed signs of great quality and craftsmanship. "I hope you didn't have to sell your tail-.. or.. arm.. for it?" Humans and humanoids had expressions of their own. Despite speaking the same language, there was a difference in their speech when you listened closely.

"Am I able to come with you guys?" She asked them

"No darling. You need to get better. I'm staying here with you. Just calm down." His voice is kind and loving, as he only wants the best for this poor girl.

I laughed a little, "Ah, no. It was quite cheap for what it was originally sold for though!" I told him, holding the weapon with both hands. I touched the blade and flinched when it pricked my finger. I sucked on my finger and went across the kingdom, telling the stray kids to head to the palace along with everyone else. Soon, there was a crowed at the entrance of the palace and people trying to get in as fast as possible. I helped the children get in, along with the women and animals. Some of the men were trying to do the same, and others were going in, pushing others aside. The guards kept saying the same thing, "No pushing!", or, "Watch it!". People were getting panicked and I was afraid they would make too much noise for the Wolven Beasts to hear. I walk to the others once I got as many as I could inside, "We should go to Xeilius now. I help as many as I could, some of us should stay behind in case the wolves come early. I am going to scout ahead, get the She-Fox somewhere safe!" I run into the woods and put the staff/bow onto my back. I run through trees and silently walk around, hidden by tall grass and rocks, I had a dark grey cloak on from finding it still in the Tavern. I was crouched and my blade was hidden, I hurried every traveler to the kingdom when I saw them, telling them the same thing, "Get to the kingdom of Wood now, if you don't then you wont live long enough to regret it." in a hushed voice. The rain was pouring harder and harder by the second, I was thankful that I grabbed the cloak when I saw it, it kept most of the water out. I hid behind a rock right in front of the entrance of the wolven beast's den.