Back in the center of Rotaria, a tall young man in a blue robe had been finishing some glyphs.
"There, the sealing glyphs have been placed for Larus Von Dracostein's Grimoire." The robed man responded.
A bronze colored dragon walked over to see his work.
"Good work, as usual, Jared" The dragon spoke, "The Dragon King living under the Drog Kingdom may be more active, his son Voria is part of an Adventurer's Group, officially registered with Cornelius Ironshield's Group."
"I had sent a letter to my dad back at home and got a response about Voria, he's been chatting with Jade, I don't know anything else."
The Dragon nodded and took a look at the lab.
-------
Vayu and Brio, thanks to Brio's Kobold, and Vayu, have managed to make it to Plenty Owls, the smallest city in Drago, not far from the Centralian border. One thing was for sure there were plenty of Owls. A hoot came from Vayu's shoulder. He looked around and found his owl.
"Welcome to Plenty Owls, how can we help?"
Vayu responded, "We're looking for the border to Centralia, and eventually the capital of Formid."
"Ahhhh!" The citizen screamed as a large wolflike creature appeared.
"Dire wolf." Brio sneered, "Let's do this!"
Vayu prepared a wind spell for a matter of when Brio got close to being mauled by this Dire Wolf. Brio had gotten it's attention as the Kobold prepared a spell. At that point, to prevent damage to buildings, he fired the spell to get the wolf to drop a cat.
------
As Cornelius and Grace slept peacefully, next to one another, some things were playing back in Cornelius's head.
Two years ago, Cornelius had been taken in by the village and immediately met the chief, and a shy looking girl, definitely cute to him. The red haired girl popped out from behind her father.
"H-h-hi, I'm Grace," The girl called out from behind the desk.
"Cornelius Ironshield." The boy responded.
The two got along just fine, celebrating when Jared became Archmage together six months later, still not a couple, but changes were coming. It was at this point Cornelius had been preparing for the celebrations at the Rotarian Castle, and it was extremely formal, so he needed a date. He could think of one person, Grace, the girl that couldn't get out of his head. He went over to the Chieftain's tent and asked for Grace.
"Sure," Donald Johnson responded.
The shy Red-haired girl popped her head out of the tent, seeing Cornelius, made her pop out fully, she was trying on different ball gowns, she had a cream colored one with small light green vines going around it. Cornelius was stunned, and knew this girl was absolutely radiant in the dress.
"Grace Kiera Johnson, will you go to the selection with me?" Cornelius asked, worried about rejection.
"I've turned down eleven offers from boys in the village to go with you," Grace whispered into his ear, "so yes, and here's a parting gift."
She then kissed his cheek, leaving him stunned, startled and breathless. He went back to his tent, feeling anxious about the night, worried about what might happen. Eleven boys looked at Cornelius with Disdain, who, for all intents and purposes, was the happiest person in the Settlement. He then got ready, and finished, wearing a big fluffy cloak, a black coat and golden shirt and pants, as standard for members of Clan Ironshield. He then looked outside his tent, to find his date, Grace, standing outside in full view, with her father standing at him.
"Look here, Cornelius, be careful, okay, I will be around the event, as I have business to take care of."
Grace had let her hand out for Cornelius to accept her hand. He took the hand as the two walked towards the Castle. Jade had been assisting James and her other siblings, particularly Max and Kara, as they were about a year old. Grace and Cornelius took in the sights when a slim sixteen year old girl walked out to a balcony, she looked down at the party members as a bugle played.
"I am princess Selina of Rotaria. My father, the king, is preparing Jared Johnson for his new status as Archmage. Among the guests here I spot his parents, and his eight siblings, although do not disturb the youngest four. The rest will be available to answer any questions you may have, although I will need to speak with Grace Johnson after this announcement."
Everyone looked at Grace, who hid herself behind Cornelius. When the announcement ended, Princess Selina walked up to Cornelius and Grace.
"Cornelius Ironshield, when I heard a boy had made friends with Grace, I was ecstatic and utterly floored, thank you, I also need to borrow your girlfriend for a moment."
"SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!!" Cornelius roared, "but if you need to talk to her, go ahead."
Grace went with Selina to the side.
"So, is he your crush or something like that?"
Grace did not respond, except with a really red face, and sudden shyness. Cornelius walked over to check on her when Selina giggled.
"You okay," Cornelius asked Grace worriedly.
Grace gave him a hug, calming him down.
"You two are so cute together!"
"WAIT, WHAT!?" both Grace and Cornelius roared at the same time and blushing.
One month later Princess Selina had been visiting the family for James's Eleventh birthday. She met Cornelius and Grace outside the village.
"Aww, you two are so cute!"
"WAIT, WHAT!?"
"Seriously, when are you two going to get together?"
They reached stutter-blush at that point, and decided it would be best to walk away as the princess went to see the Chieftain.
-------
Brio had been holding off the Dire wolf, with his Kobold familiar. The wolf swatted at Brio, and got annoyed, going for Vayu. His owl had started clawing at the beast's eyes.
"Yoohoo! Stupid blinded dog, your fight is with me!"
The Dire wolf went to attack Brio, but the young man had other plans, and chopped off its leg, which made it angrier, as he finished it off. The creature would no longer bother this town as they got moving, towards the border. As the party moved towards the border, they would get praises of heroism for dealing with the Dire wolf.
"That Dire wolf had been plaguing most of the towns, as thanks for helping us, we'll get you to where you're going, as long as it is anywhere in the Kingdoms." The mayor of the town they entered told them.
"Thank you, we're headed to Formid, meeting up with my cousin and some friends, then back to Akaria to meet with Mother and Father, before we go to raid the barbarian settlement."
"Let us get the carriage moving, hop aboard."
Brio and Vayu hopped on as it left the town, and headed for Formid.
---------.
The morning had arrived, and Cornelius and Grace woke up. Cornelius had gotten up, got some food cooking while Grace got changed. Voria had been awoken to the smell of what Cornelius had been cooking as Grace popped out of the tent, sitting really close to him. Jade woke up, a groggy look on her face as Link and Voria took a seat. Voria looked over, and let her sit next to him. Jade looked at the group, and immediately fell asleep again, on Voria's shoulder. Voria kept his cool and asked a question.
"Why did we take out the sorcerer?" Voria had asked.
"He threatened to turn us into skeletons, and almost killed Grace, and also to make the problem have been rooted out." Cornelius explained, "Link, thank you for helping us last night, I don't know what would've happened if you weren't there."
"I took guard about two hours before you got up, Jade has had exactly an hour of sleep." Link responded, "Let her sleep."
"Link, I was wondering if you would be willing to join us as our healer and fifth team member, after helping us out." Cornelius explained, "We need a healer and every healer in our village has to stay with the village to assist if the tribe needs to deal with a threat. Also, I think you could make a great healer."
"Yes I'll take the spot, let me let my family know." Link responded humbly, and left to talk with his family.
The group, except Jade and Link, would start eating after the food was cooked. Voria had saved a portion for Jade and Link each. He was eating as best as he could, as Grace and Cornelius ate. Back at the house, Link had explained that he got an offer from an Adventurer party and was going to take it, leaving his home for an unknown amount of time. He figured he'd get back after that, and told Roneldus he's to watch the farm. He arrived back at the party, Jade was still asleep.
"We'll get going when Jade gets up." Cornelius responded.
"We'll need to send my registration to Rotaria…"
"My Familiar is summonable to the registration office if you can attach the papers to him." Cornelius explained, as he summoned his familiar.
A short grey cat appeared wearing a satchel. Link opened the satchel and dropped the registration papers, with his and Cornelius's for the pieces that needed the party leader's signature. The cat went poof as Cornelius prepared to clean up what was used so far. It was at that point Jade woke up. She looked at Voria and gave a small smile. He knew she was tired, and let her rest. He had been eating slowly.
"By the way, your breakfast is up." Voria whispered into her ear.
Jade looked at the plate in front of her, and then ate. Voria had started taking down supplies as Cornelius put everything away. Grace had been assisting Cornelius with the clean up of supplies. When they were finished, Jade had got her stuff aligned as they headed out for the Village.
--------
Brio and Vayu's Carriage had arrived in Formid's capital. The two got off the carriage and as they got moving towards a small house, when they entered the house. A female moon Elf with the same eyes as Brio, but long blonde hair. She was wearing robes, and looked at Vayu.
"Uhh, Brio, is this it?" A male voice called out.
"You are a strong one with Magic, mister, no wonder you are here with Brio." The Female explained.
"I am Vayu Silvergale." Vayu responded.
"Ashiel Lavacrest, a Cousin on Brio's father's side." The female responded.
"Jarnor, yes, but he actually has a sense of direction, unlike most of you." Brio sneered, "We'll let Vayu get us into the camp, then meet Mom's spy, and snag the girl who killed ten of their rookies in one night."
"Understood." The male, Jarnor responded.
"What if they fight back?" Ashiel asked.
"Then we fight, except Jarnor, you will take Vayu, and the girl back to Mom and Dad's headquarters." Brio responded, "Under no circumstances should Jarnor kill the girl, I want my parents to take their revenge on her."
"Understood, I'll keep him in check as best as I can." Vayu responded.
"Also, my parents found out the name of the girl they're after, Grace Johnson of the Eastern Tribelands."
"Understood, let's get moving."
The group headed towards the base.
----
When Cornelius and company arrived at the village, it was right about dinner time. The group had been watched as they walked in, due to the fact Cornelius and Grace were holding hands. Voria, Jade and Link were chatting away, the three walking a bit behind Cornelius and Grace.
"Let me guess, did you two finally confess?" A red haired woman asked.
"We did, Mom," Grace whispered into her ear.
Cornelius looked at the Giant of a man that is Donald Johnson. He looked nervous. His nerves were relieved when the giant of a man started laughing heartily.
"What caused you two to confess?" The Giant of a man asked.
"Encounter gone wrong with a Skeletal Frost Giant." Cornelius explained, "It's long back to being dead."
Everyone joined in for dinner. Link was unused to how things ran around the Village. As such, Cornelius, Jade and Grace helped him through it.
"Link, Voria, I was just like you guys three years ago." Cornelius explained, "Grace helped me through it."
Grace had finished dinner, alongside the others, and after her mother and younger siblings started cleaning up, Cornelius took Voria and Link to a large tent near the Chieftain's.
"This is our headquarters, our requests usually come in through the mail, you were our Eighth request, and first out of Kingdom, Link."
"Thank you for accepting my request." Link responded.
As the tour continued, Voria and Jade had gotten separated from Grace, Cornelius and Link. The two had been walking down the path that led to the sleeping tents. She had gotten a bit closer, and looked around, would look at Voria occasionally as he would be looking at Jade, he would brush up very occasionally, usually when he was looking at his feet or at something far off.
"At some point, you want to do something just the two of us, it's kind of nice like this." Voria had been whispering.
"Sure." Jade whispered back.
The sounds of nature had been playing in the background and the two had been listening to that. The two had been chatting, learning new things about themselves and the other.
As for Cornelius, Grace and Link, the three had been finishing up their tour when they had spotted Jade and Voria.
"We separated from you guys three hours ago!" Grace called out.
"We noticed, but it was kind of nice, just the two of us." Jade had been trying to explain.
A scream cut off any words they were saying.
"Let's get to the square." Cornelius called out.
As the group arrived there, a young girl was being attacked by a red and black wolf-like creature.
"Akarian War Hounds." Jade sneered.
The hound had been dragging the girl away from the village when it was slammed into by a boy with a one handed axe.
"I'll handle this one, find the rest and the source!"
The group got moving.
------
Brio and Co got a message, via Brio's familiar casting a spell of Sending, to go for the Village. Vayu knew what the plan was, and he was to keep Jarnor in check. When the carriage had arrived, the fifty Hounds Brio's mother had started their work, and they went into the village looking for the girl in question. Brio started his move, he found a young girl and started interrogating her.
"Where is Grace Johnson!?" Brio spat, "My parents are looking for her!"
At that point, a greatsword had swung behind Brio, causing him to back up from the girl he was interrogating.
"Looking for Grace?" The Wielder of the greatsword asked.
"Show me to her." Brio sneered.
"Can't let you." The Wielder responded, "Can't lose my girlfriend when I just asked her out, and technically, not at all."
Brio pulled out his weapon and prepared to fight. The greatsword Wielder had blocked his attacks one for one.
"This is over," the Wielder responded.
"Are you sure, we have Grace." Brio snarled, "Jarnor, now!"
Vayu looked at the greatsword Wielder, a pang of jealousy on his face. He blew a wind spell to cover their tracks but at that moment, a swordsman cut through the spell. A glowing blade could be seen in the distance from Vayu's Perspective.
Ashiel had been dealing with Voria and Jade, it wasn't going well for the two.
"I suggest you surrender now," Ashiel Lavacrest warned.
"This is over," a voice called out, deadly calm, "The Lavacrest Family sent you, didn't they, for Grace."
Ashiel went for Voria and Jade, only to be intercepted by a massive man. The man's eyes were blood red, and proceeded to swing his weapon. The young moon Elf female tried to attack back, but was intercepted. A screech, not unlike that of a bird of prey, broke through the sky and picked up Ashiel, throwing her back.
"What!?"
A giant hawk had picked up Ashiel and placed her away from Jade and Voria as the massive man charged.
"Brio, Vayu, Jarnor, need help here."
She launched a spell at Jade but the spell was eaten by a black slime.
"What the?"
Voria had blocked the attack, he was a bit angry, and scales had started appearing around exposed parts of his body.
"The Witch of the Midnight Hour." Several other barbarians whispered, "is the female messing up Jade and Voria."
"This is bad." Ashiel Lavacrest whispered.
The three in question had shown up after dropping their target with the fifth person and thinking they had Dealt with the greatsword Wielder.
"GIVE HER BACK!!" The voice of the Wielder roared.
"END YOUR INSOLENCE." Ashiel roared back.
Chaos had surrounded the greatsword Wielder. It seemed hopeless for anyone to stop Ashiel.
"Counterspell."
The chaos around the Wielder dissipated, revealing the Wielder to be someone Jade, Voria, and The massive man knew well.
"WERE YOU THE ONE WHO TOOK GRACE!!?"
"Cornelius is miffed, isn't he?" Two whispered into Jade's ear.
"He's a lot worse than miffed, more like enraged." Jade whispered back.
Ashiel was between a rock and a hard place.
"Get them." Ashiel told the crew.
Vayu fired off a Wind spell to try and slow down any attacks Jade may have launched. Jarnor cracked the ground to slow Donald and Voria, who figured magic was the best choice. Brio went straight for the Enraged Cornelius. Ashiel dropped a cloud to try and blind them. Cornelius got Brio's attention and they clashed. Ashiel got her cloud canceled out by Voria's Darkness, and had gotten close to her. She drew a dagger, but had been disarmed by Voria faster than she could react. Donald slammed Jarnor back into the area the carriage was, with the fifth member and Grace.
"Ashiel, we need to retreat!" Jarnor called out.
"Eat this!" Ashiel threw a dagger.
Said dagger landed in Jade's arm.
"It's poisoned." Ashiel whispered.
The fifth member and Jarnor picked up the ones still fighting, eventually retreating towards Akaria. Cornelius fired a beam of light at the carriage, leaving a hole in the back. Barking could be heard, as a Rottweiler attacked Ashiel. The others in the carriage restrained Grace as it left sight. A Jaguarundi, a Napoleon Cat, and a blue slime appeared.
"I am Arin Walker, a wandering swordsman of the Walker Clan," the slime's owner said.
A grey haired man prepared his slime to take the shape of a dog, Specifically a pointer. The slime began smelling around Grace's scent and when it picked it up, it pointed. The Jaguarundi, Napoleon, and the Black slime, alongside a Giant Hawk, and a Clydesdale horse. A black cat had been wandering around Jade and meowed loudly, as Link arrived to help her. He used water to concentrate his healing on the wound in her arm, Voria's scales had disappeared by that point, but his worry still remained.
"GATHER, RAIDERS, HEALERS ADVENTURERS," Donald Johnson roared through the village, "WE STRIKE THE LAVACREST'S COMMAND!! WE LEAVE TONIGHT!!"
Everyone who could help would be preparing the carts and horses. Cornelius gave off some words of his own.
"I AM ON MY WAY, LAVACREST CLAN," Cornelius roared, "BE WARNED, I AM NOT HOLDING BACK, NOT AFTER WHAT HAPPENED TONIGHT!!"
A beam of light shot into the sky, piercing the night sky.
----------------------------------
At the base that Athena and Ares were, they could see the light.
"They don't stand a chance." Athena would whisper to Ares.
"I'm not so sure." Ashiel burst into the room, "Athena, your move has enraged the Barbarian settlement in Rotaria, that beam of light is from the same source as the one which damaged our wagon. We're dealing with powerful beings, possibly Dragon King under Drog level beings."
"We've got Grace in a cell, we need you down there now, a Rottweiler is preventing us from getting to her." A guard spoke.
"Athena, prepare for anything." Ares responded, "I'll go down and deal with the dog."
Ares grabbed his greatsword and went down to the prison, where Grace Johnson was being held. He chopped off the dog's head, making it disappear.
"Your familiar won't respond for the next three or so days." Ares responded, "You're the one who killed ten of our rookies in one night…"
Grace had been staring at Ares with mistrust.
"And You left no less than six Injuries on our best recruit, I will end your existence right here for your actions against Akaria."
At that point Grace's eyes turned red, a deep voice speaking.
"I won't let you." The deep voice warned.
"This will end here." Ares went on.
He put his sword in Grace's Stomach, which would eventually kill her, but as he removed the sword, the area around the wound turned red and it sealed itself up.
"Interesting, what to do next?"
"I wouldn't try anything." Grace had returned to normal, "The thing you spoke with earlier when you tried killing me was an Asura, about one percent of one."
"An Asura?" Ares continued, "I suggest you surrender your soul to hell."
"I'm sorry, she won't surrender, I can't surrender." The deep voice spoke again.
"Guards, keep poking her until she breaks, I'll deal with her after then."
‐------------------
The raiding party had readied the carts and armed everyone with weapons and such.
"Let's go." Donald commanded.
Jade, her mother, Cornelius, Voria, Link, and Arin led the pack, with carts following behind. The group rode on towards the enemy base, Cornelius glowing in rage.
"Adventurers of the Village," Cornelius called out then yelled, "WE RIDE, FOLLOW THE FAMILIARS, THIS IS THE END OF THE TERROR WE'VE FACED FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, AND THEY WILL SEE IT WAS A MISTAKE!!"
The adventurers, eighty or so, rode ahead with Arin sticking towards the main pack, he watched over the main group.
------------------------
@Clite of Dragonbow is the owner for Voria
@Red Gallade is the owner of Vayu
@DripNinja for Brio and his Parents
@Shikowara is Link's owner
@Moxxie the ultimate imp owns Arin.
(The last section is best read while listening to Berserker's theme from Fate/Zero.)
"There, the sealing glyphs have been placed for Larus Von Dracostein's Grimoire." The robed man responded.
A bronze colored dragon walked over to see his work.
"Good work, as usual, Jared" The dragon spoke, "The Dragon King living under the Drog Kingdom may be more active, his son Voria is part of an Adventurer's Group, officially registered with Cornelius Ironshield's Group."
"I had sent a letter to my dad back at home and got a response about Voria, he's been chatting with Jade, I don't know anything else."
The Dragon nodded and took a look at the lab.
-------
Vayu and Brio, thanks to Brio's Kobold, and Vayu, have managed to make it to Plenty Owls, the smallest city in Drago, not far from the Centralian border. One thing was for sure there were plenty of Owls. A hoot came from Vayu's shoulder. He looked around and found his owl.
"Welcome to Plenty Owls, how can we help?"
Vayu responded, "We're looking for the border to Centralia, and eventually the capital of Formid."
"Ahhhh!" The citizen screamed as a large wolflike creature appeared.
"Dire wolf." Brio sneered, "Let's do this!"
Vayu prepared a wind spell for a matter of when Brio got close to being mauled by this Dire Wolf. Brio had gotten it's attention as the Kobold prepared a spell. At that point, to prevent damage to buildings, he fired the spell to get the wolf to drop a cat.
------
As Cornelius and Grace slept peacefully, next to one another, some things were playing back in Cornelius's head.
Two years ago, Cornelius had been taken in by the village and immediately met the chief, and a shy looking girl, definitely cute to him. The red haired girl popped out from behind her father.
"H-h-hi, I'm Grace," The girl called out from behind the desk.
"Cornelius Ironshield." The boy responded.
The two got along just fine, celebrating when Jared became Archmage together six months later, still not a couple, but changes were coming. It was at this point Cornelius had been preparing for the celebrations at the Rotarian Castle, and it was extremely formal, so he needed a date. He could think of one person, Grace, the girl that couldn't get out of his head. He went over to the Chieftain's tent and asked for Grace.
"Sure," Donald Johnson responded.
The shy Red-haired girl popped her head out of the tent, seeing Cornelius, made her pop out fully, she was trying on different ball gowns, she had a cream colored one with small light green vines going around it. Cornelius was stunned, and knew this girl was absolutely radiant in the dress.
"Grace Kiera Johnson, will you go to the selection with me?" Cornelius asked, worried about rejection.
"I've turned down eleven offers from boys in the village to go with you," Grace whispered into his ear, "so yes, and here's a parting gift."
She then kissed his cheek, leaving him stunned, startled and breathless. He went back to his tent, feeling anxious about the night, worried about what might happen. Eleven boys looked at Cornelius with Disdain, who, for all intents and purposes, was the happiest person in the Settlement. He then got ready, and finished, wearing a big fluffy cloak, a black coat and golden shirt and pants, as standard for members of Clan Ironshield. He then looked outside his tent, to find his date, Grace, standing outside in full view, with her father standing at him.
"Look here, Cornelius, be careful, okay, I will be around the event, as I have business to take care of."
Grace had let her hand out for Cornelius to accept her hand. He took the hand as the two walked towards the Castle. Jade had been assisting James and her other siblings, particularly Max and Kara, as they were about a year old. Grace and Cornelius took in the sights when a slim sixteen year old girl walked out to a balcony, she looked down at the party members as a bugle played.
"I am princess Selina of Rotaria. My father, the king, is preparing Jared Johnson for his new status as Archmage. Among the guests here I spot his parents, and his eight siblings, although do not disturb the youngest four. The rest will be available to answer any questions you may have, although I will need to speak with Grace Johnson after this announcement."
Everyone looked at Grace, who hid herself behind Cornelius. When the announcement ended, Princess Selina walked up to Cornelius and Grace.
"Cornelius Ironshield, when I heard a boy had made friends with Grace, I was ecstatic and utterly floored, thank you, I also need to borrow your girlfriend for a moment."
"SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!!" Cornelius roared, "but if you need to talk to her, go ahead."
Grace went with Selina to the side.
"So, is he your crush or something like that?"
Grace did not respond, except with a really red face, and sudden shyness. Cornelius walked over to check on her when Selina giggled.
"You okay," Cornelius asked Grace worriedly.
Grace gave him a hug, calming him down.
"You two are so cute together!"
"WAIT, WHAT!?" both Grace and Cornelius roared at the same time and blushing.
One month later Princess Selina had been visiting the family for James's Eleventh birthday. She met Cornelius and Grace outside the village.
"Aww, you two are so cute!"
"WAIT, WHAT!?"
"Seriously, when are you two going to get together?"
They reached stutter-blush at that point, and decided it would be best to walk away as the princess went to see the Chieftain.
-------
Brio had been holding off the Dire wolf, with his Kobold familiar. The wolf swatted at Brio, and got annoyed, going for Vayu. His owl had started clawing at the beast's eyes.
"Yoohoo! Stupid blinded dog, your fight is with me!"
The Dire wolf went to attack Brio, but the young man had other plans, and chopped off its leg, which made it angrier, as he finished it off. The creature would no longer bother this town as they got moving, towards the border. As the party moved towards the border, they would get praises of heroism for dealing with the Dire wolf.
"That Dire wolf had been plaguing most of the towns, as thanks for helping us, we'll get you to where you're going, as long as it is anywhere in the Kingdoms." The mayor of the town they entered told them.
"Thank you, we're headed to Formid, meeting up with my cousin and some friends, then back to Akaria to meet with Mother and Father, before we go to raid the barbarian settlement."
"Let us get the carriage moving, hop aboard."
Brio and Vayu hopped on as it left the town, and headed for Formid.
---------.
The morning had arrived, and Cornelius and Grace woke up. Cornelius had gotten up, got some food cooking while Grace got changed. Voria had been awoken to the smell of what Cornelius had been cooking as Grace popped out of the tent, sitting really close to him. Jade woke up, a groggy look on her face as Link and Voria took a seat. Voria looked over, and let her sit next to him. Jade looked at the group, and immediately fell asleep again, on Voria's shoulder. Voria kept his cool and asked a question.
"Why did we take out the sorcerer?" Voria had asked.
"He threatened to turn us into skeletons, and almost killed Grace, and also to make the problem have been rooted out." Cornelius explained, "Link, thank you for helping us last night, I don't know what would've happened if you weren't there."
"I took guard about two hours before you got up, Jade has had exactly an hour of sleep." Link responded, "Let her sleep."
"Link, I was wondering if you would be willing to join us as our healer and fifth team member, after helping us out." Cornelius explained, "We need a healer and every healer in our village has to stay with the village to assist if the tribe needs to deal with a threat. Also, I think you could make a great healer."
"Yes I'll take the spot, let me let my family know." Link responded humbly, and left to talk with his family.
The group, except Jade and Link, would start eating after the food was cooked. Voria had saved a portion for Jade and Link each. He was eating as best as he could, as Grace and Cornelius ate. Back at the house, Link had explained that he got an offer from an Adventurer party and was going to take it, leaving his home for an unknown amount of time. He figured he'd get back after that, and told Roneldus he's to watch the farm. He arrived back at the party, Jade was still asleep.
"We'll get going when Jade gets up." Cornelius responded.
"We'll need to send my registration to Rotaria…"
"My Familiar is summonable to the registration office if you can attach the papers to him." Cornelius explained, as he summoned his familiar.
A short grey cat appeared wearing a satchel. Link opened the satchel and dropped the registration papers, with his and Cornelius's for the pieces that needed the party leader's signature. The cat went poof as Cornelius prepared to clean up what was used so far. It was at that point Jade woke up. She looked at Voria and gave a small smile. He knew she was tired, and let her rest. He had been eating slowly.
"By the way, your breakfast is up." Voria whispered into her ear.
Jade looked at the plate in front of her, and then ate. Voria had started taking down supplies as Cornelius put everything away. Grace had been assisting Cornelius with the clean up of supplies. When they were finished, Jade had got her stuff aligned as they headed out for the Village.
--------
Brio and Vayu's Carriage had arrived in Formid's capital. The two got off the carriage and as they got moving towards a small house, when they entered the house. A female moon Elf with the same eyes as Brio, but long blonde hair. She was wearing robes, and looked at Vayu.
"Uhh, Brio, is this it?" A male voice called out.
"You are a strong one with Magic, mister, no wonder you are here with Brio." The Female explained.
"I am Vayu Silvergale." Vayu responded.
"Ashiel Lavacrest, a Cousin on Brio's father's side." The female responded.
"Jarnor, yes, but he actually has a sense of direction, unlike most of you." Brio sneered, "We'll let Vayu get us into the camp, then meet Mom's spy, and snag the girl who killed ten of their rookies in one night."
"Understood." The male, Jarnor responded.
"What if they fight back?" Ashiel asked.
"Then we fight, except Jarnor, you will take Vayu, and the girl back to Mom and Dad's headquarters." Brio responded, "Under no circumstances should Jarnor kill the girl, I want my parents to take their revenge on her."
"Understood, I'll keep him in check as best as I can." Vayu responded.
"Also, my parents found out the name of the girl they're after, Grace Johnson of the Eastern Tribelands."
"Understood, let's get moving."
The group headed towards the base.
----
When Cornelius and company arrived at the village, it was right about dinner time. The group had been watched as they walked in, due to the fact Cornelius and Grace were holding hands. Voria, Jade and Link were chatting away, the three walking a bit behind Cornelius and Grace.
"Let me guess, did you two finally confess?" A red haired woman asked.
"We did, Mom," Grace whispered into her ear.
Cornelius looked at the Giant of a man that is Donald Johnson. He looked nervous. His nerves were relieved when the giant of a man started laughing heartily.
"What caused you two to confess?" The Giant of a man asked.
"Encounter gone wrong with a Skeletal Frost Giant." Cornelius explained, "It's long back to being dead."
Everyone joined in for dinner. Link was unused to how things ran around the Village. As such, Cornelius, Jade and Grace helped him through it.
"Link, Voria, I was just like you guys three years ago." Cornelius explained, "Grace helped me through it."
Grace had finished dinner, alongside the others, and after her mother and younger siblings started cleaning up, Cornelius took Voria and Link to a large tent near the Chieftain's.
"This is our headquarters, our requests usually come in through the mail, you were our Eighth request, and first out of Kingdom, Link."
"Thank you for accepting my request." Link responded.
As the tour continued, Voria and Jade had gotten separated from Grace, Cornelius and Link. The two had been walking down the path that led to the sleeping tents. She had gotten a bit closer, and looked around, would look at Voria occasionally as he would be looking at Jade, he would brush up very occasionally, usually when he was looking at his feet or at something far off.
"At some point, you want to do something just the two of us, it's kind of nice like this." Voria had been whispering.
"Sure." Jade whispered back.
The sounds of nature had been playing in the background and the two had been listening to that. The two had been chatting, learning new things about themselves and the other.
As for Cornelius, Grace and Link, the three had been finishing up their tour when they had spotted Jade and Voria.
"We separated from you guys three hours ago!" Grace called out.
"We noticed, but it was kind of nice, just the two of us." Jade had been trying to explain.
A scream cut off any words they were saying.
"Let's get to the square." Cornelius called out.
As the group arrived there, a young girl was being attacked by a red and black wolf-like creature.
"Akarian War Hounds." Jade sneered.
The hound had been dragging the girl away from the village when it was slammed into by a boy with a one handed axe.
"I'll handle this one, find the rest and the source!"
The group got moving.
------
Brio and Co got a message, via Brio's familiar casting a spell of Sending, to go for the Village. Vayu knew what the plan was, and he was to keep Jarnor in check. When the carriage had arrived, the fifty Hounds Brio's mother had started their work, and they went into the village looking for the girl in question. Brio started his move, he found a young girl and started interrogating her.
"Where is Grace Johnson!?" Brio spat, "My parents are looking for her!"
At that point, a greatsword had swung behind Brio, causing him to back up from the girl he was interrogating.
"Looking for Grace?" The Wielder of the greatsword asked.
"Show me to her." Brio sneered.
"Can't let you." The Wielder responded, "Can't lose my girlfriend when I just asked her out, and technically, not at all."
Brio pulled out his weapon and prepared to fight. The greatsword Wielder had blocked his attacks one for one.
"This is over," the Wielder responded.
"Are you sure, we have Grace." Brio snarled, "Jarnor, now!"
Vayu looked at the greatsword Wielder, a pang of jealousy on his face. He blew a wind spell to cover their tracks but at that moment, a swordsman cut through the spell. A glowing blade could be seen in the distance from Vayu's Perspective.
Ashiel had been dealing with Voria and Jade, it wasn't going well for the two.
"I suggest you surrender now," Ashiel Lavacrest warned.
"This is over," a voice called out, deadly calm, "The Lavacrest Family sent you, didn't they, for Grace."
Ashiel went for Voria and Jade, only to be intercepted by a massive man. The man's eyes were blood red, and proceeded to swing his weapon. The young moon Elf female tried to attack back, but was intercepted. A screech, not unlike that of a bird of prey, broke through the sky and picked up Ashiel, throwing her back.
"What!?"
A giant hawk had picked up Ashiel and placed her away from Jade and Voria as the massive man charged.
"Brio, Vayu, Jarnor, need help here."
She launched a spell at Jade but the spell was eaten by a black slime.
"What the?"
Voria had blocked the attack, he was a bit angry, and scales had started appearing around exposed parts of his body.
"The Witch of the Midnight Hour." Several other barbarians whispered, "is the female messing up Jade and Voria."
"This is bad." Ashiel Lavacrest whispered.
The three in question had shown up after dropping their target with the fifth person and thinking they had Dealt with the greatsword Wielder.
"GIVE HER BACK!!" The voice of the Wielder roared.
"END YOUR INSOLENCE." Ashiel roared back.
Chaos had surrounded the greatsword Wielder. It seemed hopeless for anyone to stop Ashiel.
"Counterspell."
The chaos around the Wielder dissipated, revealing the Wielder to be someone Jade, Voria, and The massive man knew well.
"WERE YOU THE ONE WHO TOOK GRACE!!?"
"Cornelius is miffed, isn't he?" Two whispered into Jade's ear.
"He's a lot worse than miffed, more like enraged." Jade whispered back.
Ashiel was between a rock and a hard place.
"Get them." Ashiel told the crew.
Vayu fired off a Wind spell to try and slow down any attacks Jade may have launched. Jarnor cracked the ground to slow Donald and Voria, who figured magic was the best choice. Brio went straight for the Enraged Cornelius. Ashiel dropped a cloud to try and blind them. Cornelius got Brio's attention and they clashed. Ashiel got her cloud canceled out by Voria's Darkness, and had gotten close to her. She drew a dagger, but had been disarmed by Voria faster than she could react. Donald slammed Jarnor back into the area the carriage was, with the fifth member and Grace.
"Ashiel, we need to retreat!" Jarnor called out.
"Eat this!" Ashiel threw a dagger.
Said dagger landed in Jade's arm.
"It's poisoned." Ashiel whispered.
The fifth member and Jarnor picked up the ones still fighting, eventually retreating towards Akaria. Cornelius fired a beam of light at the carriage, leaving a hole in the back. Barking could be heard, as a Rottweiler attacked Ashiel. The others in the carriage restrained Grace as it left sight. A Jaguarundi, a Napoleon Cat, and a blue slime appeared.
"I am Arin Walker, a wandering swordsman of the Walker Clan," the slime's owner said.
A grey haired man prepared his slime to take the shape of a dog, Specifically a pointer. The slime began smelling around Grace's scent and when it picked it up, it pointed. The Jaguarundi, Napoleon, and the Black slime, alongside a Giant Hawk, and a Clydesdale horse. A black cat had been wandering around Jade and meowed loudly, as Link arrived to help her. He used water to concentrate his healing on the wound in her arm, Voria's scales had disappeared by that point, but his worry still remained.
"GATHER, RAIDERS, HEALERS ADVENTURERS," Donald Johnson roared through the village, "WE STRIKE THE LAVACREST'S COMMAND!! WE LEAVE TONIGHT!!"
Everyone who could help would be preparing the carts and horses. Cornelius gave off some words of his own.
"I AM ON MY WAY, LAVACREST CLAN," Cornelius roared, "BE WARNED, I AM NOT HOLDING BACK, NOT AFTER WHAT HAPPENED TONIGHT!!"
A beam of light shot into the sky, piercing the night sky.
----------------------------------
At the base that Athena and Ares were, they could see the light.
"They don't stand a chance." Athena would whisper to Ares.
"I'm not so sure." Ashiel burst into the room, "Athena, your move has enraged the Barbarian settlement in Rotaria, that beam of light is from the same source as the one which damaged our wagon. We're dealing with powerful beings, possibly Dragon King under Drog level beings."
"We've got Grace in a cell, we need you down there now, a Rottweiler is preventing us from getting to her." A guard spoke.
"Athena, prepare for anything." Ares responded, "I'll go down and deal with the dog."
Ares grabbed his greatsword and went down to the prison, where Grace Johnson was being held. He chopped off the dog's head, making it disappear.
"Your familiar won't respond for the next three or so days." Ares responded, "You're the one who killed ten of our rookies in one night…"
Grace had been staring at Ares with mistrust.
"And You left no less than six Injuries on our best recruit, I will end your existence right here for your actions against Akaria."
At that point Grace's eyes turned red, a deep voice speaking.
"I won't let you." The deep voice warned.
"This will end here." Ares went on.
He put his sword in Grace's Stomach, which would eventually kill her, but as he removed the sword, the area around the wound turned red and it sealed itself up.
"Interesting, what to do next?"
"I wouldn't try anything." Grace had returned to normal, "The thing you spoke with earlier when you tried killing me was an Asura, about one percent of one."
"An Asura?" Ares continued, "I suggest you surrender your soul to hell."
"I'm sorry, she won't surrender, I can't surrender." The deep voice spoke again.
"Guards, keep poking her until she breaks, I'll deal with her after then."
‐------------------
The raiding party had readied the carts and armed everyone with weapons and such.
"Let's go." Donald commanded.
Jade, her mother, Cornelius, Voria, Link, and Arin led the pack, with carts following behind. The group rode on towards the enemy base, Cornelius glowing in rage.
"Adventurers of the Village," Cornelius called out then yelled, "WE RIDE, FOLLOW THE FAMILIARS, THIS IS THE END OF THE TERROR WE'VE FACED FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, AND THEY WILL SEE IT WAS A MISTAKE!!"
The adventurers, eighty or so, rode ahead with Arin sticking towards the main pack, he watched over the main group.
------------------------
@Clite of Dragonbow is the owner for Voria
@Red Gallade is the owner of Vayu
@DripNinja for Brio and his Parents
@Shikowara is Link's owner
@Moxxie the ultimate imp owns Arin.
(The last section is best read while listening to Berserker's theme from Fate/Zero.)
