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Glendale sighed and gave up trying to coax the girl Nelly out of her hiding spot and befriending her. Clearly if she had made it this far into the forest and group, she possibly was more than capable of looking after herself.

A stone throw away, Glen heard Pentre offering Janella the opportunity to pick practically everyone and anyone at her service. Janella of all the possible people! As if they had not had enough encounters, frictions, arguments, bickerings and run ins with that drow.

Robin and his crew of bandits did not mind Janella at all, in fact, overall they welcomed her and they often actually had helped each other out, from time to time, but... Glendale... in particular... did have some animosity towards her.

Janella was a thief, an accomplished thief and a masterful impersonator and she seemed to get away with murder and to take the lion's share whenever it came to stealing, and Glendale... being a thief too... did not like competition or having to make do with picking among the leftovers she didn't want.

Make matters worse, not only had they stumbled into the accursed drow yet again, by pure bad luck and unlucky chance, but out of Pentre's offer to choose from among all those powerful knights and skilled rogues, Janella saw it fit to pick him of all people.

Oh they do say revenge is best served cold. Perhaps, she was taking revenge for the latest encounter.

It takes a thief to catch a thief and it had been Glendale who had betrayed Janella back in the city, helping the wealthy lords trap the drow and catch her red handed in the first place. He hadn't done it out of spite, but he had accrued a large gambling debt and it was the only way to pay up rather than face torture and death.

Back then, when he saw the drow in chains and shackles, dragged to the dungeons, Glendale had counted on those lords to lock her up and toss the key, mayhap sending her into exile far far from Albion, seeing how angry they had been with the drow's thefts. But no, he was mistaken, not only she had escaped imprisonment, but also she now had to be the one in charge.

If she ever found out it was Glendale who caused her downfall, her arrest and the loss of her bag of holding, he would be in serious trouble. She could run him ragged with exhausting petty errands or set impossibly never ending hard chores and there was nothing Glendale could do but obey her down to the last dot.

Had she figured out his intervention and masterminding of her capture?

The thought of that made Glendale a tad nervous, enough to swallow hard. A low curse escaped Glendale's lips at being the one of the two chosen ones and an unhappy complaining muttering followed right after, when the drow called Glen and Rufus over to resume the journey.

Glendale left the bag of fruits and nuts on the ground, resting the pouch against a tree bark for the girl Nelly to take whenever she chose to come out and hurriedly jogged back to the group, to report for duty under Janella's orders.

Occasionally, he glanced at Rufus who looked around uncomfortable and weary, almost paranoid at being so close to the undead dog and the young witch. She may be little but it surely was bad luck and a terrible omen to travel with a witch of all possible people. Robin also followed them, a little further away, being the third chosen one, the backup.

When Naga took out the ruby, Glendale quickly glanced at the gem in her hand. Temptation crept in his mind of snatching it right out of her hand whilst she talked away, but, there was some honour among thieves, so he contained his urges and made little to no indication of having noticed the gem, walking quietly behind Janella.

When she cast the spell, that made her change appearance altogether and then twirled, Glendale wolf-whistled at her, having a keen eye for beauty and the ladies as well as treasure.

"Goodness me, Jan, with these looks you could lure your way to the lord of the manor's presence very easily" admitted Glendale now drooling over her, not at all minding her company in the least and changing his mind about her skills altogether, impressed at the impersonation she had been able to pull off.

"Seems I misjudged you altogether. Perhaps... we ought to get acquainted again, darling, looking like that... I would follow you to land's end and beyond" admitted the cheeky easy going thief.

Janella twirled playfully and Isabella watched, openly giggling at the playful display. She eyed her enviously several moments afterward. What she wouldnt give to have been able to transform into a pretty elf child growing up, maybe things could have been different.

A silver piece didnt sound like a lot....honestly Isabella figured continuing to rob corpses would probably be more profitable, but the work didnt sound dangerous, and her affection for another blue skinned being, particularly one that could potentially teach her to hide it, dwarfed any monetary value Janella could have offered.

Isabella didn't hear what naga said, and stared at Janella with a confused face when the conversation seemed to change. It was when antagonizing Pentre was mentioned she made a quick glance at Naga, figuring whatever Janella was talking about likely dealt with her. The only other conclusion she could draw, was she didn't want to work for the military or government now.

"Umm....I don't mind," she said then looked forward and stalled on her next question for a few moments. "....Do you think-" she began, pausing a moment and continuing to look towards the ground in which she was walking, "Do you think...you could turn me into a fair elven maiden too....?" Her hopeful eyes turned up with a slightly dropped jaw and stared up to Janella awaiting an answer. "Maybe Lucas too?" she shrugged. Honestly if she could transform Isabella, even for a time, the girl would have a far easier time simply dropping Lucas for now. Sadly she didn't quite realize how big of a spell she was likely requesting.

In her focus on the transformation, Isabella remained unaware of Rufus' discomfort, but Glendales interjection was certainly noticed. Her eyes moved to him as he swooned over Janella now, and while she didnt truly understand all of the implications of what he meant, the interested attention he applied to Janella served as positive reinforcement to her that being a fair elven maiden was indeed a good thing. A very good thing, even, far better than being an estranged blue human girl with an affinity for the dead.

Glendale looked down at Isabella at the question

"Look, little one, I don't know how much you know about magic, but, having lived at these woods for a while I know for a fact that drows and elves can only make enchantments upon themselves, not others. They are very good at hiding and disguising but it doesn't last forever and it certainly won't work on you... unless you are a drow or an elf, which you are not, because you do not seem to have pointy ears" explained Glen

"Transformations and enchantments like that need very powerful sorcery... many witches and sorceres may not be able to do it for you, or if they do manage to change your looks, the enchantment won't last long.

Since you look more dead than alive, it probably needs a necromancer or something that much more powerful, one who deals with dark magic and the dead... and fortunately those are few and very rare to find one. I havent seen any in decades" muttered Glendale

"I can help with your dog though... if you like... we can put a muzzle which hides most of the face and cover its back with a small strapped blanket of sorts, like the horses have on the back... it will look almost like a normal dog" offered Glendale hoping to have something positive to offer after shattering the girl's hopeful question

"Want to share some berries? I grabbed loads earlier along the way here... I can give you some so you are not as hungry" offered Glen as friendly and generous as he was reckless

In his haste for leaving the woods before nightfall, Lancelot slurred the horse enough that it bolted altogether causing the man to struggle to control the beast which crashed into a rider found further up ahead

Having been unseated, Lancelot regained his footing and looked startled at the rider and her lame steed.

"my goodness, I am so sorry, I didn't see you or expect you there... here... are you hurt?" Asked Lancelot concerned, not having expected anyone else in his path

Nightfrost was humming softly to herself as she walked with her horse, hearing galloping nearby. She turned just in time to be crashed into and a small yell of surprise escaped as she managed to quickly regain her own footing and grab ahold of her steed’s reigns so that it would not run off again. The hood of her cloak fell down to reveal her face and her long, braided hair fell out of the hood and across her shoulder.

“It’s alright sir, I-I’m ok, sorry I-I should have gotten out of the way.” She looked up at him, her voice laced with a slight Irish accent as she spoke. “I’m not injured, luckily your horse stopped quite quickly.” Offering a soft smile to him, she decided to ask out of curiosity “If you don’t mind me asking this, where are you heading to in such a hurry? I-I don’t mean to be rude but it’s rare to see knights in these lands anymore.” She guessed he was a knight from his attire

((Lol idk how else to describe the accent so I’m just putting Irish))

Janella did not suspect that Glendale had betrayed her. She suspected that someone had tipped off her targets, but she wasn't aware of who it was. And it was a matter for a later time, one she'd try to seek out when she got to return to the city. Glendale only elicited an eye roll and a scoff when he flirted with her. "I'm not interested in some clumsy human's attentions when I've enough money to rent a room at an inn. This is merely a guise so that I can enter this town and not draw unwanted attention."

The half-drow shook her head whenever Isabella asked if she could enchant her as well. "I can only disguise myself, for twelve hours a time, once every twenty-four hours. It's kept me out of a lot of sticky situations." Her eyes widened a bit, an idea seemed to occur to her. Plunging a hand into her bag of holding and rummaging for several moments, she took out a hat. "This is an item I've always found a bit redundant, it's a hat of disguise." The hat itself looked plain, it was black with a brown rim. "You can disguise yourself with this, but the hat has to stay on. If it falls off, the disguise will vanish. I will give it to you, if you agree to spy for me. It can be your first weeks payment, perhaps?" her long-fingered hand held out the hat so that Isabella could try it. "Many sorcerers and witches see such a thing as bothersome, since they could cast an enchantment upon themselves and they have to wear the hat the entire time they want to be under disguise. I'm not sure if it's power is affected by whether the wearer is alive or undead. But you had the ability to manipulate the Radahan earlier so you can likely use this as well."

Janella had some plans for Isabella. She wanted to know about that book, and she saw a young magic user as someone with useful abilities she might be able to influence. "Glendale is clever enough to help disguise your dog. No one will try to get too close to a dog that has a muzzle. You'll have to think of the race you'd like to be when you place the hat on your head." She took a roll of bandages from her pack that they could use on certain parts of the dogs legs, to help further disguise any unsightly wounds. The more inconspicuous they were, the better. The mixed elf could not see the town just yet, but she could see smoke from chimneys curling into the sky in the near distance.

Whenever Naga took out a gem and asked if it would get her a meal, the half-drow's eyes brows shot up. "I imagine that will get you many meals," she commented. She wondered where Naga would get rubies. Even Janella wasn't brazen enough to try and steal from the sorceress, not under the current circumstances. "Most carry coins as currency, not gemstones, but I doubt anyone in the town will protest even if it might surprise them."

"hey, elf, can you tell me how much food my ruby is worth?" she holds out her ruby to janella, who she could see through the disguise of with ease, she always found disguise magic a bit troublesome as it all depends on the mind of the user. She did not use it because she was afraid that she would turn into a monster worse than she is, which would basically ruin the entire thought process as she could not hid with it, but now back to the ruby, it is a pretty good size one in the fact that it was much larger then one of Naga's hands. She waits for a reaction as her hair moved a lot, never quite revealing her horns, but it has come close on a couple occasions. She still had not been to this town before though, so she thought asking someone who might have been here before would be good, sure, she spends a lot of time around the town, but she has had no reason to ever come here. She was quite obviously hungry, almost looking as though she has not eaten in days, which she normally does not eat all that much, so someone saying that is not that surprising, but today, her appetite was large and she really wanted to eat something good that was also filling"and after i buy food, what else do you think i can buy with the rest of the money left over" she now just hoped janella would not tell her the worth is useless here, or janella just took it and used it herself.

The disappointment spread across Isabella's face quickly as both Glendale and Janella explained there was nothing to be done about changing her own looks. Her head turned forward once more and hung towards the ground, "Oh..."

Her head hung there listening to further explanations, and only looked back to Janella when she pulled a strangely plain hat from her bag. As the drow explained what it was for, her eyes quickly widened, and her gaze snapped from the hat to Janella's now beautifully elven face as she offered the hat to her.

The girl was sold immediately, whatever the spying entailed, she would do it. "Okay!" she exclaimed excitedly and reached out with one hand and snatched the hat into her hands and held it before her. She marveled at it several moments with her opposing hand still clutching her slightly oversized book to her chest, meanwhile the naga asked repetitive questions to the elf, the context of which Isabella paid no attention to in her excitement for her new thing.

She slowly and tentatively raised the enchanted hat high, pushing the worries aside that, as a witch herself, she was not yet capable of creating such a thing.

Gently she set the hat onto her head and awaited the effects.

Deep in Isabella's mind, she always wanted to simply fit in. As her town was comprised of nearly all white humans, that was what she had genuinely desired being until this moment. As she lay the hat upon herself, she couldn't shake Janella's own transformation from her mind, and the reaction she had recieved because of it. It was not only a step beyond simply fitting in by attaining a coveted beauty by her own perception, it was also more 'fitting in' than a random human child who wasn't blue might be.

An elf, just like Janella, that's what she thought of in the moment she donned her new cap in the hopes it might work, that's what she wanted to look like.

She felt the related sensation of the magic in the hat working, either that or it was the excitement in her tummy that fooled her into believing she felt it. Looking down at her arm shortly thereafter....was like a miracle.

The blue flesh that was there faded into the ivory white she had longed for, and her face lit up as the spell took hold of her entire body. Skin, ears, clothes, hair....everything on the child changed with a single exception.

The necrotic looking tome Isabella held still tightly to her chest, the Maleficis Mihi. In all of its ancient power it was clearly immune to illusionary effects, and while the rest of her sparkled with a freshly polished vigor, the tome remained unphased, almost absorbing the light of the childs glow into the pit of its darkness.

The excitement was intense, and despite the fact she really didnt like the idea of muzzling Lucas, the thought was driven from her mind and she hopped up and down in excitement looking down at her arm still.

Turning to Janella, she reached her free hand out and attempted to take her by the forearm lightly, swinging it back in forth in wild exuberance with a large smile on her face, "Thank you! Thank you! I'll be your spy forever!" she shouted, probably a little louder than a newly recruited spy should have been calling out.

She stalled her movement, seeing the approaching buildings in the near distance, and held one arm out and twirled away from the group, stopping with one arm out, and the other grasping the book now more towards her side than before.

"How do I look?" she asked the group, then before an answer could be given, she dashed over to Glendale unable to hide that smile and snatched a few berries from them, shoving them into her mouth.

"What do we put on Lucas now?" she asked with a mouth full of berries.

Janella grinned to herself when the girl accepted the hat in trade. With the hat, she'd be an even more useful spy. Her eyes did widen whenever she was thanked so enthusiastically, the half-drow was not used to people expressing any gratitude to her. Then again, she rarely did anything nice for anyone else. And when she did, there was always a reason for her doing so. Like now. The hat itself even changed forms, to complete the disguise. As Isabella gained a new facade, the hat transformed into a hood and cape that tied at the front. It was much like what many elven girls wore.

"The deal is struck, but let's try to be a little more discreet about it once we're in town," she snickered. "We can say that we are cousins or sisters, aunt and niece, I'm fine with any of them. People will assume we are related." The two of them would attract attention in a mostly human village, but not the kind of attention that involved a mob with a noose. "If anyone asks, we are traveling scholars from the land of Synnoria. With that book, no one will question the story too much." She got into her pack and pulled out a couple of rolls of bandages. They were stained, but clean. She handed them to Isabella. "You can wrap these bandages around the parts of Lucas that a muzzle or the blanket does not cover."

The mixed elf looked down at the ruby, plucking it from the sorceress' palm with nimble fingers. She held it up to a discerning eye, tilting it to look for flaws. "You could sell this to a jeweler and get enough money to eat for days, and pay an innkeeper to have your own room during your entire stay. I'd buy traveling supplies. A kit for injuries, rations, tools, flint, a hatchet, a pocket knife, a tiny comb and mirror, a bar of soap, seasonings and a small skillet, those are some of the things I start out with." She was suspicious, some of it showing in her expression and mannerisms. The sorceress struck her as odd for a number of reasons. "I don't know if a jeweler in a small town like this would have enough money to pay you proper for it, though." The sorceress had riches, but she seemed like she had not been eating well. She handed the ruby back, not wanting to blasted by some spell.

People had noticed their approach and were waving. Janella lifted an arm to wave and call back. Some of the men had bow and arrows, though they weren't notched or raised. The half-drow was relieved to leave the forest, knowing surface elves would have been following her movements. She had been aware of others in the distance, having heard or felt some sound. Those concerns were fading from her mind now, she was looking forward to warm food.

she happily takes her ruby back. "I don't eat much as I spend a lot of my time alone, studying up on spells, although I know the benefits of having a full stomach, I am just to focused on my work, so when I am not working, I am very hungry." she smiles, now knowing the price of her ruby, she did not carry her diamonds or any other jewels with her as she always thought that one would be enough, although not always correct, it always helps her in the long run. There are some jewels she keeps just for spells and other jewels that she holds onto just to sell them as the need arises. She had not been born of wealthy blood, but she knows jewels are worth a lot due to the nobles, which is useful information. She has always been seen as dangerous, even by her own allies, but no one knows who she is currently, so she hopes she is not currently seen as dangerous."hiding your pup will not be much of a challenge using those bandages, I can wrap him for you if you like, little one" She pops her neck and waves to the waving people, knowing being friendly was the right move in this case. she would put the ruby now back in her pocket and continued her walking.

Lancelot looked at Nightfrost

"I was here at the forest, on duty, now that my charge has dismissed my services I must return back to the barracks for further night watch duties, after a short break at the tavern.

It is unwise to travel these forests in the dark... pray tell me what brought you this far out? and where are you headed?" quizzed Lancelot slowing his pace to match hers, making conversation

"My horse had ran off and I needed to retrieve them sir. Now that I have, I'm on my way home to a shop within the town." She explained as she talked with the knight, "I sell artifacts, and other little findings from travels."

Bringing her hand into the small pouch attached to her belt, she brought out a piece of quartz with two points on the top of it, "I know this isn't a good example of all my work, but this is something I had found recently. I make stuff like this into jewelry." Offering a soft and friendly smile to him, she put the quartz away.

The now elven Isabella paused and leaned her book against Lucas as she affixed the bandages to him in an effort to keep his obvious wounds hidden. She somehow doubted this was going to work the way she was hoping, after all it wasn't as if a few bandages and a muzzle were going to hide the obvious fact the dog was undead. Nor was she unfamiliar with just how welcome most undead creatures were in civilized areas. Still, she loved Lucas, and in her elated mood she fooled herself into thinking this was going to work. It had to....after all, everything else was going so well!

"Sorry," Isabella giggled out as she approached Janella with a big smile still donned on her face. Looking up to her, Isabella hadn't completely realized she felt differently about the drow. This was almost certainly the result of the her gift of disguise, something Isabella had held a strong desire for all of her life. She felt far more comfortable with her now, and whether it was a mistake or not, the subtle belief she could trust Janella developed subconsciously in her mind.

The child reached out in an attempt to take Janella's arm in her small hand, halfway between her elbow and her wrist while leaving the other arm wrapped tightly around her book. So long as the drow allowed it, Isabella would gently and playfully swing Janella's arm back and forth as she looked up at her with a twinkle in her eye. "I always wanted a big sister...." the girl said in a hopefully suggestion, laying her preference out for Janella to hear.

After several moments of watching, Isabella's eyes were finally caught by the townsfolk, apparently gesturing their greetings to the group she was a part of. For once in her life, she was excited to see the welcome greetings of an incoming town. Her smile persisted throughout now, and her hand slid down from Janella's forearm and attempted to wrap her fingers within those of her drow 'sibling', intending to approach the town holding hands with her new sister.

Janella used the bandages to cover the worst portions of the dog. She thought the villagers might think the dog was very sick, if the disguise was good enough. The mixed elf did not have any more magical items that could cast any glamour, and she likely would not have used them on an animal. She was experienced with disguising herself, and applied some of the same skills to the dog as she bandaged the legs and other wounds. She then put the blanket over him, knotting it under his belly so it would stay in place. With the muzzle, they might be able to pull it off. "If anything, the dog could stay in a kennel and you could take him out at night, when people can't see as well."

She was surprised whenever Isabella reached out to take her arm and swung it back and forth in a playful manner. The disguised half-drow allowed it. Janella was used to hostility at worst and contempt at best when it came to treatment from surface folk. Children usually darted off at the sight of her, unless she was paying them to spy for her of course. She felt haunted memories rising up within her at the mention of her sister. Images of Ashera, of the small ritual room deep within the compound of House Aldurael, flashed before her mind. "Well then we'll say I'm your big sister," she told Isabella with a mischievous wink. This was going very well for her, she saw the child as being a potential great asset for her.

Replying to the sorceress, she said, "I've known of many sorcerers and the like who would work themselves beyond their endurance, and either collapse from hunger, lack of sleep, or both. Humans will do it especially, as they don't have long to live." She looked at the sorceress as she said this, wanting to see her reaction and confirm some of her suspicions. Either way, the elf sounded matter-of-fact.

As they came into the town, she looked to see if the sorceress and the men sent along by Lord Knight Pentre had kept up well. Everyone needed to be on the same page, and they all needed to look respectable. She looked around for Dorian as well, the townsfolk might be suspicious if the group showed up at the same time as a man had taken a walk out into the forest and disappeared. Janella averted her gaze as the sorceress put the ruby in her pocket, telling herself to resist the temptation. Trying to steal from magic users was like poking a bear with a stick, unless the circumstances were very specific and in her favor. She waved to the townsfolk, they were welcome and asked many questions about what was happening abroad. Janella's accent changed so it wasn't harsh, just lyrical and smooth. She introduced Isabella as her little sister, and told them that their dog was very sick and might need a quiet place to lie down.

*leaning against a building in a nearby alleyway Yuri would wake up after a nap and see this going on instantly recognizing the undead dog as a Husky as she’d had one as a friend once herself she decides to just watch as she doesn't want to startle them*