Paying the Price

"Lightning magic, huh? Unfortunately I can only use fire, earth, and light magic." said Vermillion "I can only use those elements as they're permanently embedded into Souldrive sphere within my body...also our creators wants to limit on how powerful we can get... Then again, my special weapon Durandal allows me to control the light element as long as I have it in my possession, allowing me to break the two-elemental limit rule that our creators pass down... I wonder who is that woman though...? She has...a very interesting tail it looks like...? But she's awfully human looking as well...kinda like us...? ...Though something about her rubs me the wrong way...but she is helping us, so I should give a benefit of a doubt with her..."

Will stood up from where he was, his eyes red and his fingertips now tipped with claws. He saw a zombie run towards him and waited for it to get close. Just as Will reared back to swing, a zombie came from behind and bit his shoulder, taking a chunk out of it. This allowed the other zombie to take a bite of Will's forearm, taking a chunk from it. Will yelled out in pain as they ripped skin and muscles out from his body like wolves on a fresh kill. Will managed to kill the two quickly, but looked at his wounds, watching them gush blood.

At around this time he decided this needed to end soon. He heard Lilim call out to use electrical attacks on her. Will held his sword up and shouted, "FHUN!" as a bolt of lightning his the blade, his eyes changing from red to yellow. He took off like lightning (pun intended), running through town and slid around a corner, seeing Lilim.


He quickly ran to her, slicing through any zombie in his way before grabbing Lilim by the shoulder, his wound pouring more blood out and he hit her with a massive electrical attack

Organna was starting to pant as she cuts down more and more zombies, finding the fight to be taking longer than expected. She decides it would be best to get back to Merry so she can make sure her stamina is going toward a good cause, and focuses her efforts to doing that. Pixel would be close behind her as they made their way back to Merry.

Merry hears Lilim calling for lightning magic and scoops Elesa up quickly, hugging her close as she gets onto Glitters back, "I've got you, Elesa. Hold onto me. Everything will be ok." she whispers into Elesa's ear, knowing the child had a justifyable fear if electrical energy and that she would panic when the electric spells started to detonate.

With all her allies gathered so close, Merry focuses her efforts more into keeping her healing aura active, wanting to make sure everyone stayed alive while the zombies got inadvertantly weaker due to the healing aura burning them. She kept Elesa held close in a tight hug, hoping Lilim got what she needed to end this fight.

Vermillion notices both Will providing the electricity that Lilim needs to use her Parvati spell, and that everyone in Merrilee's group is gathering around.

"Looks like that woman is going to use her special attack of some kind, now that she has the lightning she needs...hopefully..." said Vermillion as he deeply ponders for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh "...I'm sure I can trust her in taking out all the zombies here in one attack...but just in case I should prepare to use my ultimate spell, Swords of Light... No offense to the lady...think of it as more of a back-up plan..." said Vermillion "Especially if I use this with my current energy levels...it's going to be all over for me... I may not die, but I'll likely be found out that I'm a machine if they revive me somehow... *Sigh* Heroism over secrecy...that's my creed... If they want to know, then so be it, but I can't tell them much, especially where we live...I can't afford to put everyone at risk, even if they're friendly..."

Vermillion gets ready to use his Swords of Light as he raises his Durandal high in the air as it starts to gather power from both Vermillion's internal energy and the natural energies around him. It doesn't take long for the Durandal to start to shimmer before glowing brighter and brighter as the magic building up can be felt by everyone close by. It is going to take a while before Vermillion can use the Swords of Light, however...

Lilim wasn't expecting Will to charge around a corner and suddenly hit her with the energy, but she was greatful for the energy donation. She had believed it would take a lot more to fill her transformation gauge, but she felt the power prime inside her body and she was able to trigger it.

Elesa was caught off guard by Merry suddenly clinging to her, but when she heard the thunder booming off of Wills sudden attack she was greatful for Merry's foresight. Elesa flinches sharply and clings to Merry, shivering slightly as she burrys her face in Merry's chest. Elesa felt a bit spooked for sure, but did feel safe with Merry and was able to keep from panicing.

Lilim's body radiated with the power Will gave her, "Thanks, Hun. Time to give these poor souls a shock." she says as she hovers upward slowly, looking like a bright yellow lantern in the cold dark night sky.

"Parvati!!!"

Lilim shouts as she crosses her arms over her chest in an X in front of her and draws her legs up, then thrusts her limbs open in a wide X and becomes engulfed in the electrical power.



Lilim's form vanishes into the power, only to re-emerge from the power with a new body altogether.



Parvati-Lilim flies quickly to the exact center of the village and begins to become engulfed in white halos that started forming around her waist and expanded out and around her body, where anyone sinsitive to magic could feel the healing power building rapidly. Raising her arms above her head, she shows the pink rose she carries in this form and opens her arms wide, "This ends now... Mediarahan!!!" she shouts before expelling a bright light that radiated shades of light blue, soft green, creamy white, and light yellow. This light would spread all around the village like a flood, the healing effects reaching into every nook and cranny outdoors and instantaneously healing all allies that were wounded but still alive, while every zombie that was caught in the glow could only scream their last as they turned to armor and ashes.

The only ones that would survive this were those of the horde that managed to not be inside the protective wall of the village and not be caught in the light. Those that were left may hesitate to enter now that they had a chance to witness a huge portion of their brothers in arms met with a light that left nothing of them but their armor and weapons, but other than that, nothing but ash.

Such a spell used up Lilim's Parvati form and in a softer and more focused light, Lilim changes back to her normal self. She'd take a knee when her transformation was over, "Phew... Short lived as that magic is... When it gets drained, the exhaustion is real..." she whispers to herself and tries to recover and get back to a stationary hover so she could see if her efforts made a difference at all.

Raven would be with the other Witch's, glancing at the helpers from time to time. Though she was more concerned about the well being of her fellow sisters. She would continue casting spell's to the best of her ability, until eventually their numbers started getting greater in number. However, just when she thought it was going to get worse, to her surprise she heard crackles of electricity, and glanced over to see Lilim transform into Parvati-Lilim. Her eyes widened as the entire village was enveloped in a bright white light, and all the injured people were healed, whilst all the zombie soldiers were reduced to nothing more than ash. When it was finally over, the sheer silence would fall over the entire village, but only for a moment as the witch's start cheering and chattering amongst themselves. Raven was silent, however, and looked around from where she stood. Because Lilim's magic was able to heal the injured witch's, she was able to focus on the stability of the village. Some of the buildings were close to collapsing, and some buildings were reduced to rubble. However the village was no worse for wear, and for that, Raven was grateful. Her next thought was that of her mother, and she would quickly look around, rushing over to her upon finding her and wrapping her in a loving embrace. Her Ladyship would smile and hug her back, running her hands through Raven's hair.

"Are you alright, little owl?"

"Yes...I'm alright. How about you?"

"I'm alright...you know what to do though, right?"

"Yes mother, however you should know I won't be able to partake. I have more important matters to attend to after all..."

"Yes of course. Just be safe, alright?? All of you."

"We will..."

With that, Her Ladyship kisses Raven on the forehead, and she smiles as Her Ladyship goes to the other witch's and starts directing them. Raven walks up to Lilim and offer's her hand in order to help her get back to a gentle hover, before looking at everyone who came to help them. She clears her throat in an attempt to get their attention, before speaking clearly. Though once she did have their attention, she would start getting nervous. She usually wasn't good at this kind of thing, so her eyes go black and Crow takes over their voice as her voice resounds out of Raven's mouth.

"Excuse us, everyone? On behalf of all the witch's here, we would like to formally thank you for the help you provided. You've done a great service to this village, and we would like to show our gratitude properly. The village will prepare a feast for all of you, if you'll allow it. To show our thanks. They'll begin construction on the destroyed houses as well, and when they're fixed your more than welcome to stay here as long as you'd like. So again, thank you. And we hope you'll allow us to express our gratitude."

She says before their eyes go back to normal and Raven takes control of their body. Raven nods in affirmation of everything Crow just said, before gripping her staff and turning around, marching towards the crowd of witch's. She gives a hug to most of them, and gives one more hug to Her Ladyship, before heading towards the gates and walking out of Wellspring. She grips her staff and pushes some hair out of her face as the wind picks up, and she takes a deep breath in before letting it out. After another moment she starts walking, and she can hear Crow's voice speaking to her all around her.

"Shouldn't you have stayed?"

"I probably should have...but the castle has one of our sisters...once word gets back to them that their attack was a failure, they'll kill her before sending more soldiers back to raid us...if nothing else, we need to get her back before that happens."

"I understand that, but what about everybody else?"

"While I'm truly grateful for their help in saving our home, I don't want to involve them in this...infiltrating the castle could get us killed, and I can't ask them to risk their lives for our sister...So we're going, and I don't wanna hear another word about it."

"But-"

"Not. Another. Word."

"Fine..."

The two of them converse before falling silent. With the events of the battle she was already tired, and with the two of them living in their single body, they usually required things in double the amount. So while normally they would feel fatigued, with both of their presences in their body, they were feeling utterly exhausted. They were able to move through sheer determination alone as they marched for the city of the evil ruler.

The bright light emitted from Lilim's Parvati form nearly blinded Lorsch as he watched her do her spell. Through the haze, Lorsch saw the zombies turn to ash and scatter like leaves in the wind. He was shocked, to say the least. He hadn't seen so much death since his days as a member of the Sandscrawl Tribe; unfortunately, the deaths back then were much slower and bloodier.

Once the light died down, Lorsch looked around the village to see the aftermath of the succubus' magic. It appeared that the zombies had completely succumbed to the spell, and the town erupted into celebration. Lorsch heaved a sigh of relief and went over to join the witches in their merriment, hoping that the stressful night would end soon.

Vermillion witnessing Lilim's Parvati spell was very awe-inspiring to him. He was very impressed, but he doesn't want it to go over his head and actually pester Lilim about how she was able to perform such a spell. At least if anything, she prevented him from using Swords of Light spell that would've almost completely drained him of all of his energy, and would've made him unmovable until he had recover some energy...either naturally, or from someone... Vermillion lowers his sword as he looks at the damages to the buildings and everyone, noticing that everyone is fine...though some of the buildings are damaged, especially since Crow has said so in the first place... Speaking of Crow, Vermillion was a bit surprised at him using Raven's body...though he was unsure what actually happened...all that he knows is that Raven felt a little off to him, but he dismisses it as her being normal and okay at least... As much as Vermillion was looking forward to the possible feast that the witches are having in celebration for holding off a zombie attack, he couldn't help but to be worried if there may still be more zombies out there...or that there's any traces of corrupted magic anywhere outside of Wellspring... Not only that, but he needs to go back to his campsite to check on Viviana, seeing that it has been a long while since he left her to her Cultivation Bath. Needless to say that once she wakes up and notices that Vermillion is gone that she'll become pretty worried...

"Hmm... As much as I would love to join in on the celebration feast, I'm afraid I need to get back to my campsite to check up on someone... *Sigh* And it's a bit far too, but I'll manage... However, before I go, I should check around to make sure that there's no zombies around that was missed, especially outside of the village here, and that there's no more dark and corrupted energy anywhere... Better safe than sorry...as the saying goes..." said Vermillion as he then lets out another sigh "A shame really... I actually would like to stay and chat with everyone here...but I need to make sure that everything is safe while I'm gone... And that I have to see if Viviana is awake...I'm sure she's worried about me being gone all of this time..."

Vermillion then starts to roam around Wellspring for a bit before heading outside of the village to check for any missing zombies or pools of corrupted energy. Vermillion's Durandal will be able to easily sense such things out, and will distinguish between either friend or foe, so it won't detect Lilim who is a succubus since Vermillion believes that she's both a friend and a good ally to have around...as to everyone else... In the event that Vermillion couldn't find either any zombies or pools of dark and/or corrupted energy, he'll then leave to head on back to his campsite to check and pick up Viviana.

Speaking of which, enough time has definitely passed as then Viviana finally wakes up from her Cultivation Bath, feeling very refreshed and full of life and energy again after using rejuvenation to restore the forest after it was burned down by the fire. She then gets out and gets dressed, using the bright lighting of the cultivation water in order to help her get dressed in her maid uniform. Once Viviana is finished getting dressed, she then notices that she is basically trapped inside the small earth building that Vermillion has made for the Cultivation Bath as she looks out of the small rectangular slit that he left behind for both her to see and breathe to notice that Vermillion wasn't anywhere...nor that she can sense him close by...

"Odd... Where did my Master go...?" asked Viviana, acting a bit worried, but is more confused

Viviana used her powers of nature to help break down a exit of the small earth house, so that she could exit out to look for Vermillion.

Merry feels Lilim's Mediarahan wash over her and has to temporarily disable her auric sight, finding the healing magic saturated with so much vitality that it blinded her. The only one safe from the blinding effects was Elesa though, who still had her face burried in Merry's bosom for comfort after the noise of the electric energy. As everyone started to celebrate, Organna raised her new axe and gave a cheer of her own, then after Ravens speech she started working on gathering up the leftover weapons and armor, starting a little collection of her own.

Merry giggles as everyone seemed so happy now, and the presence of so many friendly faces had her feeling at ease. Moonlight had her own agenda though. She caught sight of Vermillion looking around like a man on a mission still, and she pranced closer to him to see what the problem was. Unable to speak though, she could only grunt, whine, and purr at him as she fluffed her wings and seemed to show a keen interest in him.

Merry would see Moonlight acting interested in Vermillion and hops off of Glitter, leaving Elesa mounted to him so she could step over to Moonlight and translate her feral language to common for Vermillions sake so it wouldn't appear that Vermillion was just being followed around by some crazy Pegasus, "She's asking what you're doing still so tense and wants to know if you'd like some help. She must think you're getting ready to travel. If you want, you could take her with you for a while. She'll want to come back though, so please don't try to keep her away long term. She's a powerful flyer and an able worker if you have anything for her to do. Oh... My name is Merry, by the way... And this eager Pegasus is Moonlight. Sorry for not introducing myself sooner..." she says as she places a hand on Moonlight's neck and standing close to her, trying not to be up in Vermillion's face and offering him a soft smile as she spoke.

Needless to say that Vermillion was a bit surprised that someone was trying to get his attention, and was really surprised at who was behind him... As much as this would excite him seeing both Merry and Moonlight, Vermillion retains self-control and proper gentlemanly manners as befitting of both an ambassador and merchant.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Merry. My name is Viper Vermillion...a...strange name, I'm sure, but I'm been given this name for a good reason though... Anyway...is that a pegasus...? I thought I would never meet one in my lifetime... In addition, it appears you can understand her? That's quite amazing...

To answer your...or her...questions, I was just searching the area to see if we got all the zombies and/or if there's any pools of dark or corrupting magic anywhere that can be invisible to the mortal eye or lack of magical senses. Thankfully I don't see nor detect any with my holy excorcism knightsword called the Durandal here." said Vermillion

Vermillion shows them the Durandal which is very interestingly shaped sword. The actual blade of the sword is shaped like a long and thin diamond, and the hilt is a six-petal flower shaped. The blade itself is golden-colored as it simmers with power of light...just very lightly for now since Vermillion is not using it's powers...

"The Durandal here is a very special sword bestowed to me by a group of very special people...people that I swore to protect, even at the cost of my life... They really mean that much to me... They made this sword for me so that I can venture out and help purify the world into a happy and peaceful place where everyone can be happy...that's what 'they' always wanted..." said Vermillion as he clutches at his chest, looking very worried and guilty at the same time "I'm sorry...but I can't tell much about them... They're...very sensitive that if something dark or corrupting ever comes in contact with them would put their lives in mortal danger... I cannot let that happen...but they're safe without me being there for them... Nothing will be able to harm them where they are right now..."

Vermillion almost forgot about Moonlight's other question of wanting to assist in helping him get back to his campsite.

"I... I do not want to impose...but I would greatly appreciate this if you could take me back to my campsite that isn't too far away from here... Someone very dear to me is waiting for me there, and in fact she may be awake right now as well. I had to leave her behind because she used her nature magic to restore the large patch of the forest that was burned down not too long ago, and I sensed something very dark and evil that I had to check it out...good thing I did... Thank goodness everyone was alright in the end, and...you were amazing yourself...everyone here is amazing... I'm glad that I have a chance to come here to these lands to meet such amazing people...I'm sure 'they' would be like to see you some day..." said Vermillion as he then realizes that he blurted out something strange about meaning "them" "A-Anyway, it's nothing too important. I'm just a merchant who was just passing by, but I'm also a warrior and ambassador as well."

Needless to say that despite that Vermillion can't say too much about a few certain things, he's truly enjoying this conversation with Merry and her pegasus, Moonlight. Deep down he's very curious about both Moonlight and Merry herself, who's a very powerful elf. As Vermillion happiness grows, his Souldrive, a crystal embedded inside of his mechanical body that is used to constantly pumping out magical energy in order for him to function, starts to pulsate rather gently in response...but it can possibly be felt by Merry and Moonlight if they can sense it well enough...as well as if they can sense that Vermillion, himself, is not a normal human being, but a Homunculus, a machine created to serve a rather higher authority...

Vermillion awaits to see if he can get a lift to get himself over to his campsite fast as Viviana was awaiting for him to arrive.

Elesa clings to Merry for a long moment, feeling the warmth of Lilims spell until it ended. She'd then move to look around as all fell silent and saw that the fighting had stopped. Then came the cheers from the villagers and Elesa would giggle and hug Glitter as Merry got down to see to Moonlight, rather enjoying herself with all the happy people around her.

Lilim listens to Raven and Crow, though as they start to leave the village, Lilim would be hovering behind them a short distance and following them. She knew Raven had everyone's best intentions in mind, but Lilim had a promise... Nay, a contract... To keep. Raven had helped Lilim to restore her magic power, and now it was Lilim's turn to help Raven. The village was just a part of it. Like it or not, Raven was stuck with Lilim under contract until her sister witch, Penelope, was safe.

Lilim in her default form was one of a special few beings that no one really had to worry about getting hurt, because she only had one vulnerable spot on her body, while the rest of her was covered by a natural magical armor that made her skin feel cold and claylike to the touch, and so dense that neither blade nor arrow could lay her open passed gashing her cloths. Raven may realize (or be told by Crow) that she was being followed, and there was sure to be a brief arguement if Raven forgot she and Lilim had a deal. Raven had kept her end of the deal, so Lilim felt obligated to keep hers.

Will almost fell onto the ground, using what he had left to give Lilim the energy she needed to transform. Lilim's healing magic did heal his two bite wounds, but he was still exhausted. He looked at his coat, realizing it was now torn up more than it was, with now two pieces missing thanks to the two zombies who bit him. He grunted and stood up, taking his coat off as well as his shirt, which was drenched in blood and ripped and torn. When he took his shirt off, he revealed his scar covered chest, arms, and back. They looked to be from different things, from blades to lashes. He rolled his shirt up and set it on fire, letting it burn quickly, snuffing any embers left once it was done. He looked over and Saw Lilim and Raven Leave, wondering where they were going.

Raven was to exhausted to sense Lilim following behind her, and after about an hour or two of walking she would let out a heavy sigh, before glancing around. She saw a tall and sturdy tree, before nodding to herself and approaching it, only to ease herself onto the ground and let out a heavy sigh of relief, as she let her weight off her feet. She would open her eyes, only then noticing Lilim, and her eyes widened as she just blinked at her, trying to figure out why she was being followed. She had forgotten during the commotion of the battle, and her eyes would study Lilim all over, before eventually she manages to speak up.

"Um, excuse me Miss...but...why are you following me...?"

"Raven don't you remember? She promised to help you find Penelope and get her back in exchange for helping revitalize her."

"Oh....I guess I'd forgotten about it....sorry, were just exhausted..."

"Wouldn't be so bad if there was only one of us..."

"Yeah, but we don't have that luxury...We'll just have to make do Crow...Anyway..."

Raven glances over to a spot a good distance away from her, and grabs her staff. Remaining seated, she chants under her breath and a small flash of light shoots out from the gem on her staff, and a small fire pit appears on the ground in the spot she had been previously staring at. She nods at Lilim before closing her eyes again, her voice softer than before as it sounded like she could pass out from exhaustion at any minute.

"If you're cold you can use that fire pit to make a fire....Sorry it's so far away....As a Witch, I can't exactly be near fire...I hope you understand.."

"Were not trying to be rude, just cautious is all.."

Lorsch saw the people helping with the defence of Wellspring leave one by one, and after a quick bite to eat, he would take his leave also. Due to tonight's raid, he had deduced that the darkness that Kuthras had shown him was Thesea and it's anti-magic regime. The devastation caused in Wellspring was only avoided due to the combined efforts of many magic users - a luxury most didn't have. It was in all honesty, a miracle that so many powerful beings happened to be in the same area just before a raid. The masses couldn't rely on that kind of luck.

Once Lorsch had eaten his fill, he shifted into his hawk form and flew off in the direction of Raven as he had heard from the other witches that she was heading to Thesea herself. Hopefully, she wouldn't be imposed to his decision.

Merry moves a hand to slowly brush a lock of hair out of her face, "Viper Vermillion... It's good to meet you as well. My Auric sight tells me that there are no further corrupt energies around the area. It appears they've all been taken care of already. But exercising caution is never a bad thing, and I have no place to fault you for it." she says with a soft smile and a slow shake of her head.

She nods her head as he asks if Moonlight is a Pegasus and thst Merry could understand her, "Understanding the language of animals is easy for some. You just have to listen with your Aura. The vocalizations are mostly to display emotions and levels of comfort." she explains calmly. Merry and Moonlight both look to the sword as Vermillion shows it to them, and Merry was able to feel for herself that the sword had an ability to draw in magic power from a source and change it into Light elemental energy.

Merry nods understandingly as he speaks of the sword and the people he was sworn to protect. Then came the question they were waiting for, "Oh, if you've got someone waiting for you, then that's all the more reason. Come, lets get you mounted up and on your way back to her. Moonlight?" Merry says quickly, reaching her hands to one of Vermillions and coaxing him closer to Moonlight, whom stood calmly and allowed Vermillion to get onto her back, "Ok, before you take off, let me just say a couple of things... You can guide her by leaning and putting pressure under your hands. Make sure to keep your legs clear of her wings, those close to her torso are really sinsitive, and just like riding a common horse, you'll have an easy time riding Moonlight if you flow with her and move like she does. Trust in her and you'll be back at your campsite in minutes. Take good care of her, and she'll take good care of you." Merry says before giving Moonlight a soft pat on the side, telling her it was ok for her to go and taking a few steps back.

Moonlight purrs and nods, starting for the village gate and slowly starts to pick up speed. Moonlight waits for Vermillion to begin guiding her before gaining more speed and spreading her wings, quickly leaving the ground and changing the sound of hooves on ground to the sounds of large wingbeats in the open skies. Moonlight would skillfully clear the canopy of the trees and fly above the trees, giving Vermillion a really good view and possibly a visual on his campsite, and Viviana if she was standing put in the open. Flying cut the travel time sharply, and Vermillion eould find himself back with his cart and in Viviana's company in record time.

Back in Wellspring, Organna would be scouring through a couple of buildings and looking for anyone that had gotten trapped or wounded in the onslaught, though finding no one and only acting to make the salvagable resources easier to sort. Merry as well would make things easier on Organna and uses her aura to feel for any trapped life forces within the buildings, gasping as she located a pair of children in one of the ruined buildings and having Organna quickly dig them out. The rubble had omited them from Lilims Mediarahan and they were covered in cuts and splinters, so Merry would see to their medical care herself, healing them up and letting them free to rejoin the other villagers. It made her happy to be able to help after such a terrible battle, and took comfort in knowing things were calm and safe again for the moment.

Vermillion listens to Merry about how she was able to understand Moonlight through the powers of aura...something that can be very difficult for Vermillion to do since he doesn't have much of an aura given that he's more of a machine than human...or the fact that it's difficult for him to grasp the concept on how to do it, though he rather not say this because he wanted to keep his race identity a secret... He then listens to Merry's instructions on how to ride Moonlight very intently as she also explains her sensitive areas, which he takes special care and interest in keeping that in mind. He then pictures on how to make the riding position on Moonlight to make it as comfortable as possible on her as he then understands it completely.

"I understand. Granted our camp is not too far away so I'll be able to return her to you at least less than an hour. Though there may be a chance that I may not come back with Moonlight, in that case I'll send her back to with a letter telling of our location...because...well...I would like to see and meet you all again soon...everyone...

I'm sure the next time we meet...I can tell you our story in person... I'm sure it'll really surprise you and Moonlight, as well as any other companions that you had." said Vermillion with a smile "Though at the same time it'll be very strange and unbelievable... Alchemy and the existence of a mechanical race...would they believe such a tale without actually seeing it for themselves...? I'm sure that'll have to be the case, though we're welcoming of any visitors that we can deeply trust. I'm sure our Creators, the Great Spirits, will understand."

Vermillion puts his sword behind his back as he then gently climbs up on Moonlight in the best position for her, his feet not touching anywhere close to her wings. Though a bit uncomfortable on his end, he gets used to the position in time, and the travel distance is not very far away.

"Okay, this position will do nicely...though a bit slightly unorthodox, I'll be fine that I won't fall off of Moonlight here as long as she doesn't go super fast on me... It's only going to be a short ride after all. Okay, I'm off now." said Vermillion

Vermillion gently taps Moonlight to let her take off in the air as he then directs her to fly forward at a good amount of speed. He enjoys both the ride and view greatly as he does his best to contain his delight in order to focus on where the campsite is at. About 6 minutes of flying fairly fast, Vermillion can see the yellowish glow of the campsite above the trees and close to the river.

"There, I can see the campsite. Though it's behind those trees, I can see the yellowish-golden glow of my fire illuminating the area still. Just a little bit more." said Vermillion

At the campsite, Viviana ponders on what she needs to do... As much as she would want to go out and search for her Master, Vermillion, she can't leave his pushwagon behind...even though it's magically locked and secured... Also it may be dangerous and too dark to walk through a forest at night, so Viviana decides to stay still and await for Vermillion to return...which he soon did as she saw him riding on into the campsite on Moonlight, making a perfect landing. Needless to say that Viviana was very surprised that not only Vermillion came back, but also because he was riding on Moonlight.

"Master, you're back." said Viviana as she slowly walks up to both Vermillion and Moonlight "Who's this? A horse...with wings...?"

"Yes, that's right, Viviana." said Vermillion as he then slowly and gently gets off of Moonlight "This is Moonlight, a pegasus belonging to a very nice woman named Merry. She helped me get back here to you very quickly as she can really fly very fast."

"She's...beautiful... A black pegasus...she reminds me so much of Caroline..." said Viviana

"Ah, that's right, she really does look like her since she too is a black mare...though she doesn't have wings, like Moonlight here..." said Vermillion

"That's okay, I love her all the same, even if she doesn't have wings to fly... Though we only have been away for more than a week now, I do miss both our home, Caroline, and Madeline." said Viviana

"I do too, but we should still stay here and take a look around here, especially now that I've met a large group of people that has caught my interest in both helping and making new friends here." said Vermillion

"Oh, is that so? Can you tell me who they are?" asked Viviana

"I will, but I promised Merry that I take Moonlight back soon. Now that I got you, Viviana, and our pushwagon back, we can finally get on going back to the witch's village to return Moonlight back to her...and then we can get back on the road to the next town or kingdom to sell our wares..." said Vermillion

"Aww...that's too bad if we have to be separated from Moonlight and her companions if it comes to it... I would really like to meet and chat with everyone..." said Viviana, sounding a bit sad

"Well we can meet and chat for a while, but we can't beg them to come with us on where we want to go to next. I'm sure Merry and the others have places to go to as well." said Vermillion

"You're right, I understand completely... Well until we get back to see Merry and the Witches Village, I want to be by Moonlight's side, and keep her company." said Viviana

"Of course...if Moonlight doesn't mind at all, which I'm sure she'll let you walk alongside her..." said Vermillion

"Lovely~ Well then shall we be on our merry way then, back to the Witches Village?" said Viviana

"Yes, let's go." said Vermillion with a smile

Before they started to head back to Wellspring, Vermillion get rid of the campfire first with only a quick snap of his fingers, the golden-yellowish flames vanishing instantly at his command. He then stores his knightsword, Durandal, at a special compartment underneath his pushwagon before Vermillion then gets behind the pushbar as he begins to move on his own at a good pace. Viviana then gently directs Moonlight to follow along right beside them, having more than enough room for the group to travel side-by-side.

"Walking beside a pegasus is so...interesting...and soothing too... I wish I could ride on Moonlight to see and feel what it's like..." said Viviana

"I'm sure Moonlight doesn't mind if you want to ride her...but the problem is that I don't know if she wants to or not because, according to Merry, she can understand her language with the power of aura senses." said Vermillion

"I see... That's something well beyond out of our league..." said Viviana sadly

"True, but then again you do know how to understand what a horse does more than most people, so I'm sure you can figure out what she's trying to say or do through her body language and sounds." said Vermillion

"That's true. I'm sure I can pick up on what she's saying." said Viviana as she then realizes something that she almost forgot that she wanted to know "Oh, Master, I almost forgot to ask where did you went all of this time?"

"Oh, right...I almost forgot to tell you about it... Well first I saw something very interesting that was flying so fast that I wanted to check it out...but then along the way I sensed something dark and horrible that I have to bring my Durandal along with me...that's when I saw something rather horrifying... I saw many zombies attacking the Witches Village as me and many other heroes and witches fought them all off. We eventually managed to succeed in getting rid of them all thanks to a woman using some incredible magic that instantly wiped out all the zombies out of the village and the whole area. Thankfully no one was harmed from what I've seen, and the village hasn't taken too much damage." said Vermillion

"I see... It must've been both terrible and rough to go through..." said Viviana

"Yeah, it was... The zombies were especially gross when you first actually see them in real life out of a book..." said Vermillion

"...I rather not to know thank you..." said Viviana

The three of them continued to walk back to Wellspring, making good amount of time as Vermillion lugging his pushwagon was no trouble at all to him since he's feeding it with enough of his magic to make it lighter for him to move it all on his own without anyone's help...also the fact that he didn't want to burden Moonlight lugging it since he thinks she prefers to fly freely than to lug something heavy behind her or in the air...

Lilim watches as Raven makes a fire pit in the ground, listening as the girl with two souls talked to herself for a moment. She'd let out a soft sigh and hover closer, first lowering herself close to the ground to touch the soil and return the fire pit to its natural state, "The cold never bothers me... But I appreciate the gesture. Here, let me get some fiber together so you can keep warm. I'll carry you to the outskirts of Thesea while you rest. Sadly that might be the extent of my help if we can't get there before dawn... Because right around that time is when my Nocturne Curse will take effect and I'll have to sleep until sundown... I'm sorry that I won't be able to do more, but I'll do as much as I can while I can." she says with a soft smile to Raven.

She'd then move to place her hand gently on the tree and gather some energy from the plants in the area, which she'd use to make the grass grow taller under Raven and slowly the grass would start to wrap around her, starting with her legs it would slowly start to mummify Raven in a warm swaddle, loose enough that it wasn't constricting nor itchy, but tight enough that it would keep her warm effectively.

If Raven objected to the makeshift blanket of grass she was being wrapped in, she could easily tear free of it, as Lilim wasn't trying to bind Raven, only give her a little bit of a makeshift sleeping bag since all she had with her was her dress and her staff. But Lilim had already explained herself so she hoped Raven would let Lilim use her magic to do as she described.

Elesa would be acting well behaved as well, having been left with Glitter in Wellspring, she stretches her legs a bit and makes her own little game of petting Glitter and playing in the hair of his mane, keeping her touch gentle so as not to upset him. She wouldn't let anyone get her down, but welcomed being handed some apple slices so she could snack on some fruit while she waited for Merry to come back.

Raven's eyes followed Lilim as she bent down and placed her hand on the ground, taking a moment to notice that she was returning the fire pit to her natural state. Her brow would furrow as she returned her gaze to Lilim and listened to how she was unfazed by the cold. She would nod slowly, a distant look in her eye before she was snapped out of her thoughts when Lilim mentioned that she could gather some fibers together to keep Raven warm. She would listen and nod to her about what help she would be able to provide, but would almost immediately start shaking her head at the end of it all, rubbing the sides of her arms as the wind rolled through.

"N-No...that's alright...we wouldn't want to trouble you..."

"Thank you for the offer though.."

She says, only to watch her place her hand on the grass. Within seconds, the grass around her began growing to a surprising length. Her eyes widen as the grass starts wrapping around her feet, traveled up to her legs, and continued traveling up the entire length of her body as she slowly became mummified by the grass. And though it was surprising, she had to admit to herself that she felt a lot warmer. To the point where it was relaxing. She looks at Lilim when it's complete and nods her thanks before closing her eyes and letting the warmth envelop her, not yet aware that Lorsch was approaching them to join them.

After flying for a good while, Lorsch's hawk eyes spotted a cocoon shape made out of grass in the distance. As he drew near, he spotted the succubus from before and the face of the witch Raven from inside the grass cocoon. Curious as to what was going on, he swooped onto the ground in front of them and his hawk form burst into sand only to reform as his regular gnoll self.

After dusting himself off from the sand and other muck he had picked up on his flight he said, "Apologies if I'm interrupting... whatever this is, but I believe that you two are travelling to Thesea, correct? If so, I would be honoured to accompany you until we arrive there."

As soon did Lorsch arrived at the scene, Vermillion, Viviana, and Moonlight arrived to see Lilim wrapping Raven up with the tall grass that she was growing. Of course seeing that Lilim was only doing this to help Raven, Vermillion saw and believed that Lilim was actually doing something bad to Raven.

"Oh, there are the two women that I met in the Witches Village...and that one woman...is actually doing something horrible to that one by wrapping her up in tall grass...?! How could she do that?! I'll--" said Vermillion as he leaps over the pushbar of his pushwagon, and was about to charge on in until...

"Wait, Master! This feeling of magic...she's not wrapping that one woman in grass to constrain her, but to wrap her in warmth as the bindings are very loose... She's actually trying to help her, Master." said Viviana

"Oh, is that so? ...I'm sorry...I was just about to attack her over a misunderstanding... I hope she didn't see or hear that I was going to attack her..." said Vermillion, sounding pretty guilty

"It's okay, Master. You didn't know because I'm the only one that can sense these kind of things given the fact that I can use nature magic...though you control earth magic in addition to fire magic, and light magic from your Durandal, so why couldn't you sense it similarly to I was able to deduce...?" said Viviana

"Well I can only control the raw natural state of earth, nothing more than that. I may be able to make the ground and soil nutrient to make stuff grow in, but that's just it. My earth magic doesn't extend further than that, I'm afraid..." said Vermillion

"I suppose... I guess they really make sure that we can't get too powerful with our magic." said Viviana

"Naturally, but it's an understandable risk. Anyway, lets see them for a bit before we continue on back to the Witches Village." said Vermillion

Vermillion, while carrying his large pushwagon, and Viviana, along with Moonlight, travels on up to see Lilim, Raven, and Lorsch resting on a tall tree.

"Hello again you two, fancy meeting you out here in the forest. I was on my way back to your village until I just happened to see you two all the way out here. I suppose you two are traveling somewhere?" said Vermillion as he looks at Lilim "That was a very impressive display of powerful magic that you performed back there. What really surprised me is that you transformed into someone else entirely when you used that one spell. It was a healing spell, right? Since I did sensed that I was being healed and reenergized."

Vermillion then notices Lorsch in his gnoll form as he was familiar to what he looked like before back during the zombie attack, and that he helped him out quite a fair bit.

"Oh you're here too, sir? Pardon, but I didn't get your name...or you two ladies as well... Allow me to introduce ourselves, I'm Viper Vermillion, and this here is Viviana, my assistant." said Vermillion

"Hmm... This woman is very...peculiar... She looks human enough, but has a long tail... Why do I feel a bit of dread coming from her...like she's something...mysterious, but deadly...?" said Viviana, lost in thought