World Walk

[lostfaith]

Laurelle got proggressively sloppier as she continued drinking, but she was successfully pulling ahead of Taras, slowly but surely. "Demi," She said. "I am NOT duelin' you next af'er this. Jus' wanted to make sure that was clear. I'm not THAT goo'." She drained another mug, putting her just ahead of him. "Givin' up yet?"

 

[Kreska]

"Mmmmmmmm, you suuuuurre, L'relle?" Demi asked in response.
"Of— Of'en, when y'give up, the real road t'winning was righ' un'er yer nose all 'long," Taras said defiantly. "An' I am sure as 'ell not—" he braced himself against the table as his mug made a large splash, spilling most of its contents. "... goin' down when vict'ry's righ' within my grasp!"

Some time passed. Laurelle drank, Taras drank, and they drank again. Demi fell asleep on Laurelle's shoulder, wrapped around her arm, but still they were drinking. Neither side willing to forfeit, the clashing forces were determined to win on the field of decisive battle. By the time Demi woke up, she wasn't sure what had happened, although she didn't really mind not knowing. Taras was still over the table, his face in a bowl that he had found somewhere to catch all the upchuck, which he had evacuated himself of immediately after the battle had wound down. It was clear that everyone had had entirely too much to drink, sprawled out like so many victims of some unseen typhoon that had blown them across a million miles.

Demi stared at the ceiling, which seemed fairly plain, and tried to remember what she'd been dreaming of. It had been some people... Laurelle? Laurelle was one of them, she thought. Her father had also been there— where was that man now? She seemed to recall going somewhere her friends from the academy requested she go to with them, but that wouldn't explain the presence of either Laurelle or her father. They had been in Estillia, but not in Asimi. But then, why would the academy folk be in Tavus? Had Demi even been anywhere else? Was the place based on a real Estillian woodland or was it just a fabrication of her mind? It looked like Estillia. But if it was a woodland, there were also buildings... And what time was it? Confused, she sat up very slowly and tried to concentrate on her dream, forgetting more and more of it as she thought harder and harder to get her mind off of the hangover.

 

[lostfaith]

Laurelle took it as a sign when Taras accidentally knocked his mug over when he had clumsily stood up. A sign that she had won. Knowing they had been equal up to then, she struggled through half a mug more to seal the victory, then had promptly passed out, falling out of her chair and almost pulling Demi with her as she did so. She groggily awoke later, a little time after Demi had. The thief unsteadily pulled herself to her feet, leaning on the table. Mostly in control of her senses again, she picked her chair up and sat down. Anyone else would have had a horrible hangover after that episode, but pain wasn't really the light mage's thing. She grinned at Taras' slumped form. She nudged him just hard enough to hopefully wake him up, and mildly stated. "You lose." Her expression was one of enormous satisfaction.

 

[Kreska]

"Bullshit," Taras stammered as he woke up, although it seemed more as though he was talking in his sleep than talking to Laurelle. He slowly pushed the bowl away from his face, wiping it with a hand and wishing for all the world that he had a cup of water. "'Though it may seem all is lost, only he who admits no defeat knows when he is truly defeated.'"
"Looks like he's still drunk," Demi murmured, Taras's quotation seeming absurd to her. "Still thinks he's a sage."
"'And yet one pays respect to an honorable foe in telling them that one is defeated, much in the same way one pays respects to a cherished friend.'" He staggered up, sweeping an arm in a grand gesture... comically slowly, thanks to the hangover. "'In this way, the code of honor is preserved on the battlefield.' The day is yours, Laurelle, having garnered divine favor in a truly miraculous victory in this border skirmish..." He stumbled back into the chair, clutching his head.
Demi chuckled.

 

[lostfaith]

"Awe," Laurelle said with mock sympathy. "Does your head hurt, Taras?" She grinned devilishly. "Like I said, never challenge a seasoned thief to a drinking contest." She leaned back in her chair, folding her hands behind her head. Just then, Skye stirred. The knight sat up unsteadily. After a moment of taking stock of the fact that she was, indeed, still alive, she said. "Well. I'll be damned, Laurelle. How can you drink so much?"
"Practice, and a few secrets." The light mage put a finger to her lips. "When you're infiltrating high style parties, there's usually a lot of alcohol. I learned to resist a lot of drunk, because making myself look like a drunken, giggling old noblelady when I'm really in full control of my senses is an excellent disguise. People stop paying attention to you after you 'pass out.' Then I'd get up and skulk away and no one would question anything, and I'd be dismissed out of hand when something valuable turned up missing. It's a pretty nifty trick."

 

[Kreska]

"Woww, L'relle, you're amazin'..." Demi said before clearing her throat. "Hey, did that sound like I was still drunk?"
"No," Taras answered, laughing. It hurt. "No need to— torment me, now... Someone poke Demi for me, will you?"
"Hey— let a person relax, now," Demi replied, scooting her chair away. "I'm trying to remember this weird dream..."
"Uh-oh, she's about to start talking about her dreams," Taras murmured dramatically. "I bet somebody's got a sonnet coming on, don't you?"
"Taras!" Demi stammered, blushing. It seemed that her rare moment of not blushing had ended. "Listen, it's just— you know, the more you try to remember a dream you forget it..."
"'Never find by happenstance, but observe on your own terms. Never forget in complacence, but discard in security'," Taras quoted yet another proverb quite obnoxiously. "So no, I don't know."

 

[lostfaith]

"...Hey." Laurelle said. "I just thought of something. We got those copies of the research from Hawke. We haven't looked at those yet. I have them in Prismsphere." She looked at Skye. "You mind warping out with me so we can grab them and come back here?"
"Sure, that's fine." The knight responded. She vanished abruptly, the light mage following her a second later.
The pair reäppeared just a couple minutes later, Laurelle carrying a sheaf of papers. She cleared the table of the alcohol, bottles, and cups, spreading the papers out. They detailed magical formulae, the secrets of a ritual spell supposed to increase one's connection to their Focus. It was all pretty advanced stuff, totally over Laurelle's head, but the Ritual itself was relatively simple and had pretty easy to find material components. "I say that next time we're at civilization, we hunt this stuff down and see what we can do here."

 

[Kreska]

"Demi." Skye and Laurelle being gone for the time being, Taras knew that this was a rare chance to talk one-on-one that he had with Demi.
"What is it?"
"I— well... Look. I'm not sure what about me you think has changed, but—"
"Is this about Laurelle?" Demi looked away blankly.
"What? No, it's... It's about you, Demi," Taras answered, getting up to move back into her field of vision. "I don't know exactly what you think of me, but..."
"Laurelle and I have known each other for just as long as you have, Taras!" Demi was clearly being moved to anger rather quickly.
"Again, Demi, it's not about Laurelle," Taras said, raising his volume as well. "I'll be honest: I do think you're a beautiful person. I especially can't resist the sight of you with your hair down like that. You keeping it that way?"
"Forget it, Taras!!" Demi was yelling by now. "I'm not some trophy whose sole purpose is to be won by you! I am NOT YOURS!"
"Let me finish!" Taras said back, deftly dodging the slap he'd seen coming. "I was about to say—"
"NO!" She approached him further, grabbing his collar. "Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it!"
"Demi, listen to me!" Taras found himself chasing her to grab a hold of her arm. "Demi, I wanted to tell you that I respect you."
"You... what?" Demi murmured.
"I just don't want you to be afraid of me, Demi," Taras said. Now he was the one tearing up. "I—" He cleared his throat. "I wish you and Laurelle all the best, I really do." The words were the most painful ones he'd ever had to speak in his life. "I never saw you as a prize, Demi... I saw you as a friend."
"Taras..." Demi stopped struggling after Taras relaxed his hold, heading back to the table area. "I— dammit, look. Now you're making me cry..."
They both laughed.

Demi and Taras acted as if nothing happened, though it was somewhat clear to see that something had. Noöne had seemed to mention it so far, however, with Taras back in his place at the table rubbing his eyes and Demi stretching nearby, the two feigning tiredness as the reason for their red eyes. They were pretty tired, but because Laurelle and Skye weren't stupid they would probably wonder what had happened as soon as they saw their face. Mostly Demi's.
"Well, imagine that," Taras said, looking at the schematics. "I figured the reägents would be some strange obscure ones, but I actually have a lot of these already. My dimension's the stubborn sort, so I use rituals quite a bit."
"How about we check off the ones we already have, then?" Demi suggested. They would find that between Taras and her, they already had about half of the ingredients to use to follow the schematics' instructions.
But then what would Laurelle and Skye assume had happened during their brief absence?

 

[lostfaith]

Laurelle did raise an eyebrow at Demi's face, but decided not to mention it. She didn't know all the details about the situation with Taras, and if she was being perfectly honest, she'd prefer to keep it that way. It was past Demi as far as she knew, and for all the thief cared Taras could cry his heart out if he still wasn't happy. Cold, perhaps, but thieves weren't known for their kindheartedness.
"I don't have any of these." Skye said. "Zephyrhome's pretty easy to modify and I'm not scholar so Rituals have never interested me much."
Laurelle took another look down the list. "I have a couple. I break into other people's dimensions a lot, so I have a fair stash laying around. I have to cast a lot of Rituals." She put in. "That doesn't leave too much we don't have, so they should be easy to find. And we have plenty of cash to spend." She looked around the room idly. "It's probably still night outside, but I'd prefer to camp under the stars, so are we ready to get out of here?"
"Yeah." The knight answered. "Let's go. I'll take first wa--"
"You," The light mage grinned. "Need to sleep off your hangover. I'll take first watch and you can have second."
"I--Fine."

~

The morning dawned clear and bright, the sunlight filtering down through the thin, sparse, clouds to touch the weed-choked, rocky valley they had camped in. Laurelle woke first and set about making a simple breakfast of oats, a stock that was plentiful. It was a good a travel ration, but it did get dull after a few weeks on the road. The thief found her eyes kept circling back to the exit of the cavern, sitting high up on a ledge with a steep slope leading up to it, and her mind wandering back to her ordeal, and she regretted not finding a spot where they wouldn't have line of sight to it. But despite the horrible memory, some good things had certainly happened there too. And the underground city was fascinating. I somehow doubt it would be a great locale for a honeymoon, though. Laurelle joked to herself, letting her gaze slip back to Demi's slumbering form, laying placidly in the tent they had shared. Skye and Taras had taken individual bedrolls. It was probably about time to wake them up. The light mage reluctantly stepped back to their tent and shook Demi awake. "Hey," She said quietly. "Breakfast is ready." As her friend slowly came back to the waking world, she went to wake the others. Skye sat up as soon as Laurelle stepped near her, revealing that she may have already been awake. She had a tired smile on her face, which gave the thief hope for her mood that day. The knight seemed to vary from happy-go-lucky to brooding and depressed from day to day.

 

[Kreska]

"'kay," Demi murmured, nodding before going through her morning routine of stretching and yawning. She left the tent in time to see Taras already awake as well, groggily walking into the camp area from wherever he'd been. "Morning," he grumbled, obviously not a morning person. "The path ahead's pretty unremarkable. Dunno about you three, but it's great news to me." He muttered a thanks to Laurelle before spooning himself some oats.
"Forgetting anything, Taras?" Demi asked playfully as she procured a small bag of something from her pack, which she had retrieved earlier last night.
"What are you talk—" He cut himself off as Demi dropped some cinnamon in his bowl. The only knight of Estillia who needed cinnamon in his oats, he thought, humiliated for the time being. "Now you can eat it," Demi told him, smiling.
"... Thanks," he stammered as he withdrew the bowl and dug in before anyone could put anything else in it. I'll humor her for now, only because it seems like she put a lot of thought into that. "Things have been fairly uneventful this morning," he said through the oats. "That's good."
"Yes, nothing of note happened," Demi affirmed, nodding. "I, uh, I mean— I didn't have any more weird dreams," she hastily added after remembering that she hadn't been on the night watch that time.
It took all of Taras's willpower to prevent himself from spitting out the oats as he instead swallowed them suddenly. "You never did get to writing that other one down, did you?"
"I— quite indeed," Demi said, nodding again. "I think I'll decide the verse layout on the road today..." Having probably just clued in her other two best friends to her closet-hobby, Demi opted to shut up and also started eating breakfast.

 

[lostfaith]

"I had a weird dream." Skye said. "I dreamed that I was in Zephyrhome, but I could see the earth below me, a long way down. I jumped, and when I landed, I realized the ground was actually Vada. Then I picked a random cave to explore, and the tunnel led to Prismsphere. Then I was attacked by laughing haunters with rainbow colored fur which exploded into smoke when they died." She had a totally baffled look on her face. "I have no idea what the fuck was up with that dream."
Laurelle laughed. "Prismsphere can be a pretty scary place. Just try the mountains if you don't believe me."

When they had finished eating, Laurelle packed up the tent and they were on the road again. The barrens ever so slowly gave way to a picturesque, grassy hill country dotted with trees. They didn't encounter anyone else along the way, which probably wasn't uncommon given the state of the Fragments. After several hours of travel, a city could be seen on the horizon. However, something was off; there were several pillars of smoke rising from it. "What happened there...?" Skye wondered aloud. As if the gods had deigned to answer her question, the curve of the knolls soon gave up the figures of several people traveling with great haste down the road toward them. Laurelle hailed them as they approached.

"Hey," She called. "Are you folk from that city we're coming upon? We're traveling that way, and it would be nice to know whether or not we should give it a wide berth."
The man in the lead stepped forward as the group slowed down. They were all wearing black cloaks and he had a sword belted to his waist. He pulled down his hood to reveal a curly mess of dark brown hair. "Hail, friends." He greeted them. "We are indeed coming from Borok, the city behind us. Fleeing from it would be a better word, actually. The Warlord Hendricks has attacked the city with his horde. Last I saw, a scholar named Fen had rallied the fighting men there around him to beat them back, but they weren't having much luck. I would recommend avoiding the place; it's a warzone back there."

"Thank you, friend." Laurelle responded politely. "I'll talk it over with my companions." However, the name "Fen" had caught her attention. Hawke had been paid by a scholar by that name, and had said that he was researching permanent magical items. This could be an opportunity.

"It's your business, but it's not my fault if you end up on the end of Hendricks' sword." He pulled his hood back up and his group parted around them, continuing back down the road.

 

[Kreska]

Skye's description of the dream reminded Demi: she still had absolutely no idea what lay beyond the clouds of Vada. How funny would it be if it was Zephyrhome up there and Prismsphere down in the caves? She suppressed her thoughts after realising that if people's dimensions were tangibly, not just dimensionally, connected with their friends', then that would almost certainly mean that Vada was linked with Iceflow, Taras's realm, in the same way somehow. Maybe.

After the traveler said his piece and left, Demi asked the obvious question. "What are we going to do?"
"I already know what I would suggest," Taras replied, "but I'm not about to suggest it because I know that then we would have to defy that suggestion almost immediately." To get near the city at all, he surmised, would be a truly silly idea as well as an unwise decision, but so would have been many of the unsure situations that the group had been in. It seems the approach to adventuring's very similar to strategy, he mused silently. One-third preparation, one-third reäction... one-third dumb luck.
"He mentioned a Fen," Demi said. "He did say 'Fen', didn't he, Skye?"
"It's a pretty distinct name," Taras pointed out. "And it sounds like you know him, so... all in favor, I'm guessing?" Between Cygnus, the lost Mageian city, and now Borok, they certainly were encountering a diverse host of cities on the road to Magus.

 

[lostfaith]

"Not to be confused with the Estillian king." Laurelle smiled. "...But it is a relatively common Estillian name. The key is he said that this Fen's a scholar." She explained. She told Taras about Hawke and how he had been working with another scholar studying magical artifacts, named Fen. "You know how useful that kind of research could be? To everyone, not just us. I don't think I'd like to risk him getting killed here, and we need the supplies anyway."
"So we should find an entrance that isn't blockaded by this Hendricks guy, find our way to Fen, and help him break this siege." Skye said. "Easier said than done, but how could he refuse helping us if we save his ass? I'm up for some combat." She grinned devilishly.
"Let's just be careful." The thief told her. "We're not going to rush the front lines and get ourselves killed. If we approach this with a little strategy, we may able to break their ranks and force a rout without too much bloodshed. But specific planning won't do us any good when we don't know the whole situation, so we need to get going as soon as possible if we decide to help." She looked at Demi inquisitively, waiting for her opinion.

 

[Kreska]

"'Everyone'," Taras echoed. "Quite the charitable mind for a thief."
"All we have to do is find a gap in the bandits to get into the city and find Fen," Demi said. "We've been through worse stuff than this already. Let's get going."
She wasn't sure if she was right, though.

 

[lostfaith]

"We're decided, then." Laurelle said. "Let's move with all possible haste." She marched at a brisk pace designed to retain stamina without sacrificing speed, and the group ate up the distance between them and Borok. As they got closer, it became apparent that the city was walled, but the front gate was broken and lay in splinters. Several soldiers could be seen on the battlements as well as just beyond the shattered gate, eyeing them warily across the distance.
"We're not going in that way." The thief said. "Let's circle around."
Maintaining a safe distance from the walls, they examined every way around Borok. The city's walls were not extraordinarily high, perhaps fifteen feet, and what of the buildings they could see were either burnt or still on fire. Some were tall, but they appeared shodily built, built slip-shod with wood and thatch and held together with tar. They burned very well. Some of the taller buildings that could be seen were stone, and they were quite a bit more resistant to the inferno, but certainly not impressive. Eventually, Skye spoke up, pointing.
"There. There's a door in the side of the wall. It's pretty small and probably barred, but nothing we can't handle."
Laurelle followed her gaze and saw it. It rested at the base of one of the few stone guard towers, apparently providing a way up from the outside. There was noöne at the tower, but it was still sure to be heavily defended, if anyone was around this district. "I'll go first." She said quietly, going ahead of the group and slinking toward the door. It was, indeed, locked, but she carefully cast a spell that splintered the wood and split it in twain, causing the ruined halves to fall around her along with the board that had barred it shut. Inside was a stairwell leading upward. Gesturing the rest of the group to follow her, she ascended it.

Reaching the top of the guard tower, they got a better look at the city. There was open combat in the streets, thugs in metal armor fighting a ragtag force of mercenaries, mages, and anyone else who could throw a fireball or swing a sword. It was clear the horde hadn't broken through to the western district yet, and the buildings between there had been pulled down to construct a firewall, leaving little cover for the advancing force, which was being peppered with projectiles from the roofs as they attempted to siege the district. In the center of the western half was a stone building that towered over the other buildings in the city, and from thier vantage point several people could be seen standing around the top of the belltower jutting from its center. "That looks like a base of operations." Skye said. "We'll probably want to head there."

 

[Kreska]

Going along with the group, Demi hastily tied up her hair once again, since it wouldn't do for it to get in the way flapping about during battle. She reached behind her for... the empty void where her staff used to be. A pang of sorrow pierced her for a moment, but she resolved to deal without a weapon for the time being, glad that she at least still had her light armor.
"We should travel in one general direction once we descend back to the ground," Taras observed, knowing that the group would almost definitely have to run across the city rather than make their way through some burning building. "Between the chaos and the smoke, we shouldn't be taking a convoluted route through this place. Might be able to skirt around the wall until we get as close to that base as possible, but assuming the whole town is overrun we'll run into more guards the closer we get regardless."
"Halfway around the wall, then through a side street?" Demi suggested.
"Skye and I will take the front. A strong wind should blow away blinding smoke; a cold rain will prevent it from fanning the flames directly in front of us. A light ward will shield us from anything that jumps out of the blaze to surprise us, and lightning will serve to pick off anyone who cares to get in our way." Taras smiled. "I think it's fairly clear which role belongs to whom by now."
"Are we up for it?" Demi murmured. But what we really need is a little confidence. "Well... What am I saying? Of course we are."

 

[lostfaith]

Laurelle chuckled a little at Taras' layout. "Things never go quite to plan," She commented. "But it's as good as any as far as initial ideas go." Carefully drawing her daggers from their places at her hip, the thief wished now that she was wearing something a little more practical than her traveling dress. As dresses went it wasn't the worst thing she could have chosen, but...
Skye nodded, drawing her sword. "We'd better throw up wards." She said. "I'd worry about the sound, but..." She paused so that the staccato of repeated magical surges, varying in sound and length, could be heard as they wavered through the air. "Yeah." Her fingers flickering in movements that had to have been difficult with her gauntlet, she cast her spell. With a rush of arcane power, an incandescent oval of pale blue light coalesced around her form, shrouding her in the protective energy of a magical shield. Laurelle similarly encased herself in a pale pink ward. The knight stepping in front of her in line with Taras, they marched close to the city wall at a cautious pace, eyes out for soldiers.

The smoke clouding the air made it difficult to see or breathe, and sometimes they had to rush through a patch of it, holding their breath. The sounds of combat were never far, ranging from the surge of magic to the metal-on-metal clash of sword against sword. The smell of burning flesh was also omnipresent; in addition to offensive fire magic, it seemed that not everyone hade made it out of the numerous blazing buildings in time. Laurelle looked sick, although it was more because of the disgusting disregard for life than any the smells and sounds themselves. The screams were the worst, to Skye. As a soldier, you never quite got used to the agonized voice of a dying enemy. Or a dying friend. She tried her best to put it out of her mind, comforting herself with the thought that they were here to put an end to all this madness.

"I see something!"
The voice came out of the smoke, drifting on the wind to reach their ears. Skye set her feet, holding her sword in a defensive stance. She held her breath, not wanting to give away their position if they were Hendricks' men, but out of the clouds of soot walked several armored men anyway. The armor was just chain shirts and they carried an assortment of weapons; three men, one of whom had a broadsword, one a hand-axe and shield, and the last a longspear. They didn't wait to ask questions before they charged at the sight of unfamiliar people bearing weapons. Skye gritted her teeth and ran out to meet them.

She made a beeline for the shield-bearer, slipping past a swing of the broadsword and pushing her Focus forward to discharge a gust of wind that not only cleared the area of smoke but whipped at her target, pushing him back and almost knocking him off his feet. As she rushed him with her weapon, he yelled an incantation and a spear of ice materialized, hurtling through the air toward her. It smashed into her armor, shattering and throwing fragments into the air, but didn't have enough force to stop her. The man desperately raised his shield, and the clash of metal rang out through the air. But before he could counterattack after blocking her attack, her gauntleted hand came around his shield and smoothly sailed into his face as she cast another spell. At point blank range, the blast of wind was devastating, blowing him off his feet and scattering his armaments around him.

Laurelle stayed behind Taras, concentrating on casting a pain spell, her hands dancing in the intricate movements of the lengthy arcane process. The other three could handle their assailants in the meantime, and if they hadn't downed them before her spell finished, then her spell would.

 

[Kreska]

Taras muttered an incantation to keep up the freezing rain that he had summoned. He would fight defensively as cover for Laurelle and Demi so he wouldn't have to use too much magic. The broadsword wielder rushed him while the spearman stayed back to thrust obnoxiously from out of Taras's range. Parrying the sword's initial slash with his own, Taras moved to ram a shoulder into the swordsman to knock him off balance but found himself stopped by the spear thrusting its way in front of him, barely missing a spot in his side where there was a gap in his armor. If that spear had stricken just a fraction of a second later... Good thing it hadn't. Backtracking, Taras swept his sword through the air in an intimidating gesture, sword glancing against the enemy's sword as the spearman attacked again, only gashing Taras's armor but still forcing him to stumble back another step.

Demi, her spell prepared, ran up behind Taras to summon a blob of ball lightning. Her spell-casting was surprisingly animated in lieu of a staff, looking almost like a dance or martial art as she went from a fist cupped in a hand to holding out her arm that would normally be holding a staff, folding the other tightly beside her as she finished her incantation. The crackling purple orb of electricity materialised between the two enemy fighters, shocking them and forcing them to break formation as they dodged to either side. Demi pursued the spearman, casting a more basic bolt of electricity as Taras continued going after the sword-user.

 

[lostfaith]

Skye started to ram her sword into her downed opponent's chest, but at the last second thought better of it and instead yelled a wind spell that smashed his head down into the pavement, throwing blood into the air as the impact broke several of his teeth. He slumped, unconscious. She turned to the spear-man, who was still reeling from Demi's attack, dashing up beside him and smoothly slipping her sword into a chink in the armor protecting his back. The screeching sound of metal on bone could be heard echoing in chorus with the man's screams as his weapon fell from his limp grasp. He dropped to his knees as the knight set her boot against his back and pushed against his stiffening body, pulling her sword with both hands. With a wrench, it came free, throwing blood everywhere. Like there wasn't enough of it already.

The sword user backed away from Taras in a defensive stance, speaking the incantation to a ward and protecting himself with a shimmering pale red oval. He made an overhead feint with his sword held in one hand, but his left flickered out below it in the motions of a spell that sent a curtain of flame roaring through the air, crackling and hissing as it shot toward the knight.

 

[Kreska]

A clouded Skye, a large silhouette formed behind her by the blaze as the screams of the man on the ground paved the way for blood to paint the air, as if a calligrapher's brush had fatally slipped out of its place. Skye's hair tossing itself upward and then downward again as she freed her blade from the enemy's flesh: it was quite a sight.
It was a messy battle. Demi knew it would be.

She snapped back to reality when the hiss of steam overcame the sounds of death as a blanket of fire roared into Taras's freezing rain. It was a stalemate between the elements, neither side seeming to gain much ground in those few seconds. Clasping her hands together before flourishing them once more, Demi added her own element to the storm, holding her breath before skirting around to throw another bolt of electricity at the shielded swordfighter.
She should have stayed where she was.
The incantation for the spell she was casting forcing her to let out her breath to speak it, Demi felt her lungs begin to fill with smoke almost immediately after. Gasping for breath— no! What was she doing gasping for breath when it was smoke? Her senses of sight, hearing, taste, and smell overwhelmed, she staggered, feeling truly numb to the world. Trying to re-situate herself, she leaned against a wall—
It collapsed.

Demi found herself in a heap of stinking something-or-other. Letting out a pained cry, she felt herself filled to the brim with adrenaline as her heart raced to keep up with the feeling of lightness. In spite of all the other noise, she could hear her blood rushing anyway. She propped herself against the pile to get up, but withdrew her arm and screamed as she realised that it was burning. The flames were already licking at her clothing: if she rolled off, she would burn herself, and if she stayed put she would be burned.
Another man's scream, and then someone was standing over her: the enemy swordfighter? No, Taras. Grabbing hold of Demi decisively, he yanked her into the eye of what remained of his rain storm. Although it was a harsh landing, Demi was thankful for the semi-solid raindrops pounding against her, drowning the fire and washing away ashes. Her robe tattered, the gloves underneath Demi's bracers practically peeled themselves off, the fire having converted them from comfortable silky cloth to a disgusting ashen silt. Shivering momentarily as she stumbled to her feet and out of the rain, Demi found her balance against Laurelle, feeling somewhat guilty due to the fact that Laurelle was likely the only one left in the party who wasn't completely filthy. After steadying herself, she began moving onward with the group, resolving to take things in stride.
She tried not to think of the fact that many if not most of the supplies inside her pack had either been burned by fire, dirtied by ashen silt, or soaked through and frozen by rain.