Sophitia looked out the window of the lords estate. The few guards that patrolled the yard where fast asleep by now. She murmured to herself " I am lucky my loathsome lord picks his guards by who works the cheapest and not by skill." she prayed to the goddess of the moon to have a safe escape in the dead of night, before opening her window and crawling out.

She had used the dresses the lord bought for her as a rope, taking only the necessities. She landed on the soft ground with a quiet thud, cushioned by the dewy grass. She brushed her dark hair back and looked both ways, the light of the full moon making her silver eyes glow. This beautiful trait came from her being a Aasmir.

Nobody stirred this late at night and she thought she would have safe passage away from this wretched place. She began running gracefully and silently, with the nimble legs of a dancer.

Sophie's foot hit a twig and the night's silence was soon broken with the snapping of the stick. Sophie turned quickly to see the guards waking up " Aye, look over there, It is the lords seer!" The other one began to yell " Sound the Alarm, we have a run away!"

Sophie Smacked her head " Laoura be damned!" and began to run. The guards where quickly catching up to her. One of them threw a spear that stuck into the ground next to her. instantly one of the guards yelled " Careful, she cant see the future if she's dead!" Sophie let her crystal ball fall to the ground, as it was weighing her down. It shattered as it hit the ground.

Sophie now found herself at the gates of Tara, and the guards on her tail. She ran through the gates quickly and through the dim streets. She could not run forever and would have to do something fast. She had no chance in battle though, for she was a Seer and an entertainer, not a fighter. Her hand quickly shot to her side though, pulling out the small dagger she had to defend herself as she ran.

Ahren Elessedil wandered the streets of Taras, his mind elsewhere. At the moment, he had much to think about, but he needed to be out and about, not just sitting in his temple. Though at the moment, no one would recognize him. Thanks to a handy spell he had access to, he looked completely different. Instead of being a winged elf, he was a simple wood elf. He still had the same clothing and equipment, but bows were not uncommon, he should have no problems remaining hidden. Shaking his head slightly, he turned down another street. At the moment, he wasn't really going anywhere, simply walking, ocassionaly making another turn. Now normally, that would seem like a good way to get lost, but that was impossible. If he did become lost, he could simply use the wind to guide him back to the main streets. As if his thoughts had summoned it, a light breeze began blowing past him, carrying the sounds of the city.

With a slight smile, Ahren realized that the breeze was happy. That might seem strange to some people, but then again, they had probably never listened to the wind. A shift in the wind brought him more conversations. Stopping suddenly, he frowned. What he heard on the wind didn't sound right. Cursing slightly, Ahren turned and began running following the wind back where it came from. Anger filled him, anger at those foolish lords who would imprison someone just because they had a gift that could be used. Ahren was going to deal with this, and then he was going to deal with that lord. As he ran, he summoned up the winds, calling them from all over the city. Eagerly, the winds came, swirling together until the force of them would have knocked over anyone else. Thankfully, the winds couldn't impede his progress even if they tried, which they wouldn't. Turning around another street, Ahren stopped when he saw what the wind had told him. The woman running was obviously the seer. "Over here!" Ahren called out to the woman, hoping that she would take his help.

Arthur had still been in Taras for a number of days training with some of the sword masters here he was walking late at night as he always did and came upon a lords manor and heard yelling. He soon noticed a woman whose beauty was beyond compare and that there were guards chasing after her. They were shouting saying not to let ehr get away. One threw a spear at her and that is what started Arthrus anger. He ran quickly and appraoched the gates and saw that the gril had a knife and that a man also came out of the shadows and shouted to follow him and Arthur said," Run quickly these men obviously mean you harm they will be no match for me". He quickly got in front of her and drew Narinlor out of its sheathe the Heron Mark glowed in the moonlight. He smiled and said," Dance with me death I am ready".

Sophie turned quickly too see the man that stood in between her and the guards. She gave him a smile and compassion filled her eyes. She gave him a quiet " Thank you..." before turning back and running again. She wanted to make the distance between the guards and herself further and further.

She then noticed the elf calling to her from an alley off the road. She was hesitant at first, but didnt have many options. She did not trust the fist stranger could take the guards alone, and she knew for a fact that she could not keep running. She trusted her heart, which was a hard choice as she usually trusted only her visions, and followed the man. She grabbed his hand " We have to get away from here!" was all that she could get out, leaning over for a quick second to regain her breath. Her chest rose up and fell back down quickly, her cheeks flushed.

((OOC: I had a little bit of trouble understanding this thread, so if I got any details wrong, let me know. Also, this is my very first post so I apologize if it sucks.))

Shinji happened to be in the City that night. He was not doing anything of great importance, in fact, he had spent the night drinking tavern and partying. However, he had not had enough ale to be completely drunk at this point, in fact, he wasn't drunk at all, he just had a very good time that evening.

All of a sudden, a man in the bar came up to him, and this man was fully drunk. He took a swing at Shinji's head, but Shinji ducked. The man behind got hit right across the face. This resulted in a major bar fight, which was never a good thing. "Fortunately, I'm not drunk right now, and getting into this fight would be of no value to me what so ever, I think I'll go outside now, I've had a good time here all ready anyway."

Shinji was wearing his usual garments, which were all black. His cloak looked like it would be big and heavy, but it was really very lightweight, and he could move around in it with ease. Shinji's eyes were sort of an ocean blue, while his hair was jet black. He stood to be not particularly tall, but not especially short either. On his back, was his Katana, a weapon that he never went anywhere without. He was skilled at using this item.

So Shinji stepped out of the tavern and went for a pleasant stroll outside. He went all the way to the gate of the villedge, and there he saw a beautiful damsel. "Now that is one beautiful wench!" thought Shinji to himself.

But then he noticed that this girl didn't just exist normally, she exited as if she were being chased, in fact, she was being chased indeed. "Damned fools, chasing after a dame" thought Shinji.

"I think I will follow them and see what's going on, I am now very curious as to why she is being chased, so I'll think I'll follow, but I will move silently as I have been trained too, so that I will not be noticed at first"

So Shinji used his ability to move without being heard and followed the guards that were chasing this woman.

But it was then that a few men appeared to have saved this woman, at least, temporarily. But Shinji knew that the guards wouldn't give up this fast, and it did surprise him to see only normal guards, who weren't incredibly skilled fighters, to be chasing her.

"Some guards must have told other ones, because the idea of trying to catch someone with these armored fools is a joke. Perhaps they have also sent some much more skilled ones after her as well." he thought, and he thought correctly:

Shinji, was always very aware of his surroundings, and he noticed some black, hooded figures. They blended into the night well, but not well enough for Shinji to miss them. "So that's the plan, eh? realized Shinji.


So Shinji got on his hands and feet, and crawled. He managed to get behind these hooded figures, who he thought were after the woman, and he thought correctly. They were sneaking up on her, and he was sneaking up on them. Eventually, these hooded figures got right behind the gorgeous woman he had seen. It suddenly that Shinji stabbed one of the three figures on hoods in the back! The other turned around and tried to stab Shinji, but he was too slow, and Shinji tumbled in the air, doing a flip and dodged his attack. Shinji noticed a rope hanging from this person's belt, what luck! Shinji grabbed the rope, quickly, this mysterious figure soon found himself tied and bound.

The third figure was the most skilled though, and managed to escape from Shinji, or so it appeared: He had really just climbed the that Shinji was under. This guard, who had obviously trained as an assassin, jumped down, and was just about ready to capture the woman, but Shinji noticed something, he had dropped his rope.

Shinji very quickly made a lasso out of this rope, and before this assassin could get his hands on the woman, he was lassoed. Shinji quickly tied up this figure.

"Are you alright? You had better leave this area soon, there will probably be a lot more of these guys after you in no time." said Shinji to the woman.

Sophie turned in time to see a hooded man fall to the ground. The fight did not last long, as the assassins moved very quickly, So did the other man however. All that she could manage to get out was a scream when the third of the assassins went for her.

When the attack was done she backed up closer to her first elf that had called to her. She did not see a weapon on him, and the one that had killed the assassins with such ease left Sophie quite nervous. When he spoke his words though she calmed a bit " Yes i think i am fine..." she stepped forward and peeked around the corner, too see the other man fighting the first guards. Laoura had truly answered her prayer for safe travel this night. she looked back into the mans face " yes i agree, we should leave quickly!" a frown spread across her face " I have not been to this town, where is it safe to hide?"

Her voice, that was usually full of elegance and emotion, was now trembling and quiet. Her breathing was quick and heavy, and her body shook out of adrenalin and fright. What frightened her the most was the unknown path that lay ahead of her. All her life she had foreseen what was to happen to her, and had either made a plan to save herself, or had come to peace with her destiny. Now however, she had no time to scry and definitely no time to plan. She was certainly free now, but with freedom came choices, and with choices came uncertainty.

There was thing that Shinji hadn't thought about, and that was why everyone was chasing this woman? What had she done to deserve such a punishment? Such a punishment that even assassins would be sent after her.

"Though I can't say that I know this whole situation, I don't see why this lady should be assassinated, or even taken to captivity, maybe I had better get this straight before I help her out so much. But on second thought, even if she turns out to be a horrible person that is indeed, in need of this punishment, what does it matter? I'll leave it to the authority to decide that. And in the meantime, if it does turn out that she is in no need of punishment, then I will have helped her with noble cause. I think that I will question her later, instead of pressuring her right now. And besides this, I may well be wanted someday." thought Shinji to himself.

When the woman screamed, Shinji quickly put his hand over her mouth and whispered "Shh, the last thing we want to do is attract more of these *curse word* to find us now that we seem to have temporarily escaped them." He used a very soft and polite tone of voice when speaking to this woman.

"I have not been here for very long either I'm afraid. However, if we move quickly, we might be able to escape to the shore for a while if we hurry. It is not our best hiding place but it is far enough away from here. It is the only place that I know the directions too, unfortunately. On the way there we might encounter some unwanted circumstances." replied Shinji.

"Damn, I wish I knew of a better place, but I am afraid I'm offering this woman the only escape rout that I can think of, as I too, am trying to become familiar with these lands. Oh well, the best I've got is the best I've got. thought Shinji

Shinji looked over at Arthur and asked "Are we friends?" and extended his hand, in a casual, slightly humorous manor.

A small sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw the woman turn towards him. That would make things easier, it meant that he wouldn't have to chase her down or use the wind to stop her. He was about to sent out a wind to deal with the guards when another man stepped out in front of them. For a reason that was all his own, the man was helping the woman escape. Well, Ahren didn't want to waste the time it would take for the man to take care of the guards, and he didn't want to risk the guards being killed. Even if they were chasing after a woman, they were only doing what they had been commanded to do. With a flick of his wrist, Ahren sent out a stream of air that would be powerful enough to knock them off their feet. Paying the stream only enough attention to make sure that it parted around the woman's unknown defender, Ahren turned to deal with the three shadows that were hiding from the sight of most people. But they couldn't hide from the very air around them, so Ahren had been able to pick them out as soon as they had arrived.

Before he had a chance to do anything, another shadow appeared and began the work. A quick stab in the back, and some fancy work with ropes, and the three would be assassins where dealt with. Just to make sure, Ahren settled the air above them, holding them down so that even if they managed to free themselves from the rope, they still wouldn't be able to go anywhere. The man in black was quick, but since he was obviously helping the woman still, Ahren wasn't as worried as he might have been. Listening, Ahren gave a small chuckle when the man spoke. "Why don't you let me deal with keeping watch for more of these men? I can handle them easily enough." Turning to look at the half dragon who had first appeared, Ahren spoke quickly but softly, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "It will be easier with three of us here. Honorable Lady, I don't plan on allowing them to catch you again. No one should be kept by a lord simply because they have a gift." Glancing at the other two men, Ahren wondered just what he was getting himself into. "Well, are you going to help me or not?"

OOC: Shinji, in the first post you made, you were a playing your character a little too powerful when you took care of those three men like it was nothing. This is just a friendly, unofficial warning so that you won't get in trouble later.

((OOC: Yes you're right, sorry. Thanks for the heads up.))

Shinji was quite amazed to see a winged elf! He had always thought that they were long extinct, but apparently he was wrong as this majestic winged elf suddenly flew onto the scene.

"I can't believe it, I always heard and figured that winged elves no longer existed. I can't believe there are any still alive? Is this one the last of it's kind, or might they still be alive somewhere. I can't believe it, I simply can't. Honestly, I thought that they were only a myth to begin with, and had never even existed!

Besides that, it look as if he's our ally, for there is no way that those assassins could escape while he is holding them down like that." thought Shinji.

Shinji looked a little shocked as he saw the flying elf. His eyes bulged out, and his mouth dropped. It was clear to see that he had totally unexpected a winged elf to appear.

"If he's at all like he sounds, he is probably a well trained warrior, or at least familiar with combat situations, I don't know this for sure at all, but it looks like I'm going to have to change it either way." thought Shinji.

"Oh, um, yes sir!" said Shinji, sounding a little nervous, but sounding sincere at the same time.

"I wonder if I have just made an ally, or a new enemy. I'll give this winged elf the benefit of the doubt for now, as I am hoping he'll do for me." decided Shinji as he thought about it.

"It will probably be only a matter of time before we have more trouble." said Shinji, "Let's stick together."

Sophie watched in amazement at the way the air obeyed ahren without hesitation. He must have been one powerful aeromancer to be able to tame the wild winds so. the air is free spirited and love to travel wherever they please. being able to tame them was a great accomplishment.

She bowed her head to her saviors " Thank you all for helping me, a stranger." Her silver eyes filled with gratitude " I will always be in your debts, and will find a way to repay each one of you before my life is finished. This I swear." She may not be able to pay them in money, as currently she lives poor, being as she was a slave for about 3 years. She would find one way or anther however.

Sophie then held her head up high " Enough words, we must now take action." she walked out of the alley way and looked down each road " My lord will soon send others too find me. He is a very greedy man and never likes to lose anything."

She gave a glance to each of them and directed the comment to all " Who knows where we must go. I feel anxious being out in the open like this, and would much rather be somewhere secluded and safe." Her gut feelings haven't lead her astray so far, and she was not ready to go against them now. Currently she felt that she must move.

She waited in perfect silence now, for one of them to step up and lead. She waited for them to give their answers and thoughts.

Arthur watched as the girl ran toward the man in the shadwos and noticed three men soon fall to a hooded figure. He smield at the guards and he said," Nice knowing you but it seems you have to go bye". He smiled and then fought them and then the winds knocked the men out and he wondered what it was but it didn't matter. He looked at the men as they lay there unconcious and then went to where the woman was and said," You are safe for now my lady, I can take you to a good inn that I know of where you can be watched closely no one will find you there".

Shinji was, indeed, surprised to have the woman thank him so. It's not that no one ever thanked him, but it was very rare, for many he knew felt entitled to being saved or helped. Shinji realized what a woman of class she must have been that she would even say that she was in his debts. As usual, Shinji's mind was active.

"In my debts? Heh, no. She doesn't deserve to be paying me back for anything, I'm just doing what I feel is necessary. I actually feel privileged to be saving such an attractive wench. Of course, not only is she attractive, but she indeed seems like a person of value to me, as she thanked us all very much for saving her, and is even willing to somehow try to 'pay us in return'. This whole experience has changed my outlook on saving others. For in the past, I have saved many victims, but none seemed so worthy of it as this fine woman. Thought it makes no difference to me whether I would rescue them or not, I must say I feel very appreciated by this young dame. I don't think I've felt this way before." thought Shinji.

Shinji looked over at the half dragon that was there, if Shinji had just seen the half dragon without knowing anything about it, he probably would have thought that it was quite the contrary, but since he did indeed assist is saving this woman, he figured for now he would give him the benefit of the doubt. Shinji was pretty good at giving people the benefit of the doubt when he felt they deserved it.

However, Shinji could still not get over the winged elf, and of course, he had no idea that the winged elf was really a deity, but none the less, he was a winged elf which was incredible enough for Shinji to be in total awe.


"Good lord, what an incredible night this is. It is my first time actually encountering a winged elf, and somehow, not only is he a winged elf, but the winds obey him! I don't know how this could be! I wish I had those spectacular abilities." thought Shinji to himself.

"I don't see any better place to go than an inn that you think is safe, but we must hurry if we want to escape from here. Well, should you lead us there then?" said Shinji to the half dragon.

The night was not too cold, but it was getting darker and darker by this time. The travelers had better leave soon...

Sophie listened carefully to half dragon as he told of the place that they could go. She nodded when he was finished " That sounds like a great idea, lead the way." She was ready for him to take the group to the inn, as they have stood in the open for too long already.

As she waited she played with her bangles, clicking them together. This was to calm herself a little. as the bangles moved up and down they hit each other and made a beautiful clink. as they moved you could also get a very small glance at the brand mark on her wrist.

Sophie soon began to walk, following the half dragon. She turned back around too see that the others where coming right behind her. She took a deep breath of the crisp dark air and closed her eyes. She loved the outdoors. The first thing she was going to do with her freedom was travel, see as many places as possible. She was a gypsy at heart, a wanderer like her mother. The only reason her mother stopped her nomadic ways was because she had fallen in love with a half-celestial who soon tamed her wild ways.

Being settled in a single town though is what had gotten Sophie enslaved. Because of this, she now held the house wife role with much distaste. She wanted nothing more then to have no ties with a single town, but be known to all.

He’d woken up on the docks with a headache that felt like a herd of wild horses charging across a landscapes of drums. It was not a pleasant experience, nor was the first smell of his morning-after breath, laced with alcohol fumes and traces of vomit. Dmitri slowly, shakily got to his feet, and stumbled over to the side of the quay to throw up the few remaining contents of his stomach. Scooping a handful of water to rinse out his mouth, he’d promptly fallen asleep again, his head pounding.

When he woke up the second time, it was early evening, and a city watchman was poking him in the side with the bottom of his spear. It had taken almost half an hour to convince the guard he wasn’t a vagrant, and Dmitri had vacated the premises quickly to avoid any further confrontations with the law.

It was during his wanderings through the town, looking for a new place to spend the night and, perhaps, earn some extra coin, that he had walked into what looked like a jail break. As young girl, pretty in her youth, was fleeing from a group of guards, and as he watched, an unlikely group of defenders set out to protect her. The first figure seemed familiar, a tall, muscular man with a heron-marked sword… The stranger from the desert. He had intercepted the guards that were following her, and, as at the oasis, he had managed to drive them back. Dmitri now suspected that the stranger was not really human, and remembering the dragon flying across the desert, connected the puzzle. A half-dragon. No wonder he was able to outfight human guards so easily—not their fault, really, but he had dragon strength matched with human obsession with weapons, a deadly combination. As the stranger fell back, the girl ran towards an alleyway nearby, to be met by a pair of shadowy figures. Dmitri looked around, and began to creep off in that direction. If nothing else, there had to be a story in there somewhere.

He managed to miss the deadly display by which the roof-runners were killed, but he arrived at the mouth of the alleyway quickly enough to see the winged elf dispatching several of the others. A winged elf, a half dragon, and someone else, probably human, guarding this runaway girl.

Dmitri followed them. This could not help but liven up his night.

Arthur bowed his head and said," FOllow me then and stay close I have no desire to dance with death twice in a night". He smield and lead them on looking around corners making sure no one was there. He waved them to him and he said to the man he knew as the wind master," Master Wind if you could give us a little windy cover it makes us less likely to be seen one can never be to over cautious". He then went ahead his eyes becoming attuned to the darkness. Even though there was no one in the streets Arthur still had his hand on his sword.

Shinji fallowed Arthur. Though he was thinking to himself if he should trust him or not, he figured it was indeed his only chance to trust him, as he knew that he couldn't tackle all assassins as he did so easily before.

"I'm always just a little suspicious of most everyone I meet, however, I think it is my one and only chance this time to trust this half dragon. True it could lead me into trouble, but it could lead me into even more trouble by not trusting him at all. And for all I know, he could be completely trustworthy, and hopefully he is. I am hoping very much to find him one hundred percent capable of being trusted, I just can't be sure yet. So I'm giving him his chance right now as I follow him" thought Shinji to himself.

Shinji walked on, standing somewhat close to the beautiful woman who he had saved. And she wasn't just beautiful on outside, but it seemed she was also beautiful on the inside. Most of the woman Shinji had come across before this were not this way.

Shinji hoped very much that there would not be any complications to getting to the inn. But nonetheless, if there were any, he would be ready for them. Shinji always tried to be prepared for sudden ambushes that would come up from time to time. He gripped his Katana tightly, and was ready to use it in a flash. Shinji hoped very much that he could get a more powerful and more efficient weapon sometime soon, but his Katana had always served him well in the past, and therefor, he trusted his small weapon. But he knew that in the long run it would just not be enough to be his primary weapon, though it could always serve as a temporary one. His Katana was actually sharper than the average one, for he was constantly taking good care and maintenance of his weapon.

But in the meantime, Shinji just followed the half dragon, and remained silent.

Ahren chuckled slightly when the man addressed him as "Master Wind". They didn't know how accurate that title was. Well, they wanted something to hide them, and they would get it. Holding up his right hand, Ahren reached out to the air on the east side of town. Taras was a port city, meaning he had plenty of moisture in the air to work with. Pulling the warm, ocean air towards him, he swiftly formed it into a thick fog that spread to cover the city in minutes. The small group stood in a clear space about 25 feet in diameter. That was so that they wouldn't get lost in the fog. They had asked to be hidden, and hidden they would be. The fog was thick enough to cut with a knife. It would be practically impossible for someone to find them except on accident. "There, some fog to hide us from any prying eyes." A pleased smile appeared on his face when he surveyed his handiwork. It was very thorough, and he could hold it in place all night if he needed to. If this lord was intent enough on finding his seer that he would employ a wizard to try and blow away the fog, then Ahren was going to have to fight to hold it in place. While he doubted that anyone other than a deity could undo this work, he knew that he would have to concentrate on it if he wanted it to stay in place instead of being blown away.

Glancing around, Ahren looked at each of his companions for a second. It would be interesting to see where this would lead. It had been a while since he had come out to the streets, he felt that he was going to receive some well needed action. It would do him some good to get into a fight or two. The smile remained on his face as he walked, so far this had been an eventful night. Feeling the air around him, he felt something behind him. With a small motion he sent a wind back there. What it brought back verified what he had thought. "Someone is following us. It's only one person, so it could just be someone trying to get home." He allowed some sarcasm to color his voice. It was highly unlikely that anyone would be out walking through the fog if they didn't have to. Which meant that this person was probably following them. Glancing at the other two men, he spoke quietly, a small smile on his lips. "Do you want to deal with this, or shall I?"

Sophie sat in the center of the great fog. It was amazing how fast it rolled in. Something was fishy about the Master Wind. He had helped her none the less and she would not question it further for now.

She new that the lord would have sent others to find her now. He hated to lose even more than he hated giving up his precious money. He was definitely a miser and horded money and rarely spent it. This never made sense to Sophie as there was no point to gold if it was never spent. The only time he would spend his money was if he could beat someone. He loved to out host other wealthy people by holding large banquets. He loved to outbid others at actions. He loved to prove that he had the power, and this was exactly what he was trying to prove to Sophie. He had sent trackers and hired mercenaries to bring his oracle safely back. He had not anticipated a deity to be accompanying Sophie though, and for the time being thought had no need for wizards or sorcerers.

When Sophie heard of the follower her grip tightened on the hilt of her dagger. She also stepped back a little, trying to get in the middle of the men, not wanting to be anywhere around the outer edge of the fog. " It is better to be safe than sorry, Someone should definitely go check it out."


Sophitia's heart was pounding inside of her chest. There was nothing she would want more than to be in the inn, away from the trouble that she was causing. She knew though that trouble came fast, and was not easily outran. She knew that her first attackers would not be her last, and that some where probably trapped in the fog as they spoke. The fog made her extra jittery. Sight was something that Sophie held dear. She was blessed with first hand and second sight, and used it like a security blanket. Nothing could sneak up on her. This is what she told herself, but she knew that her sight could not protect her from everything. This was evident in her 3 years of being a slave girl to the lord.

She spoke up once more " if you want, two of you can go. I think that it would be the safest plan. I would hate it if one of you where hurt because of me. Two of you go, and one stay back with me."

Dmitri stumbled into the fog. It has come up suddenly, like a wet blanket that had been dropped from the midnight sky over the world, and it took the limited visibility he’d already had and plunged it into a nightmare of shapes in the darkness and the mist. The last time he’d been faced with something this sudden, he’d been stalked by a vampire, and he held his breath and found a wall. Bracing his back upon it, he softly whispered the phrases for the “Detect Undead” spell he’d been taught as a priest. He waited for a moment, but there was nothing there. He was safe from that, at least, but he knew things could be approaching in the mist. Living things, no less deadly, but much easier to knock out. He gripped his quarterstaff, and twirled it lightly across his fingers. He wasn’t a warrior by profession, but he had been raised for battle, and had been forced to fight his way out of a situation more than once. He would not be easy prey.

Dmitri slid forward, down the alleyway, and at the mouth, sensed the presence of others somewhere nearby. He stopped, and got into a battle stance, staff ready.

“Who’s there?”

Arthur replied to them and said," Master Wind I will gladly give you the Honor of Finidng who is following us, this man may as well I feel I can protect her well enough while you go deal with them". He smield and then looked at woman and said," Step lightly and be quick however is following us may bring more or either they could be friendly".

Shinji was utterly quite shocked at what he had just witnessed, even more than before. It was amazing enough that he had seen a winged elf, even more amazing that this elf could control the wind, and almost unheard of that he could create such a fog. Shinji had never once seen any fog this thick, the humidity was uncanny, but it was indeed a good way of hiding them, in fact, it was an excellent way of hiding from danger. Shinji knew that if he was trying to track someone, this fog would make it nearly impossible for him. Because of this, Shinji deduced that they would probably be safe from most assassins through this amazing fog. But still, it was always good to keep an alert mind about him, this was something Shinji was quite good at.

It was after Shinji heard these words that he decided, he wanted to become a secondary mage someday. It would be in the distant future, but alas, he told himself he would do it. Now of course he didn't think about this for very long, as at the time there was much more to be aware of.

It was then, that Shinji thought he had heard some footsteps other than the ones that him, the half dragon, and the woman were making. Shinji thought that there was someone following them, he had heard these faint footsteps because he was very alert and always knew of his surroundings. Shinji braced himself, ready to move and even fight if necessary. Of course, he would only fight as a last resort, he hoped that he would not have to, and it was possible that whoever was following them meant no harm, but Shinji had to be safe, so in case they were being followed by a soldier or an assassin, he would be ready. He would also be ready to accept the person if they were truly an ally, and not an enemy.

It was after this comment that Shinji realized that he was not the only one who senced that someone was following. "Yes it could be, but we should defiantly not let our guards down" said Shinji.

Shinji did not exactly know how to respond to this question. He thought of saying "I shall deal with it, leave it to me" but Shinji was very unsure about that, even he had to admit it to himself. But it seemed that the woman had thought of a better way.

Shinji replied to the woman: "Yes that sounds like a good idea, maybe the wind master may stay with you so that he can protect you, while myself and this fellow go and see who it is, and what his or her intentions are.", but before anyone said anything, the figure seemed to stumble right into this foggy cloud. He seemed to be muttering some words of some sort, Shinji was not a mage or priest at all so he didn't know that it was some sort of spell.


"So, it looks like we've found the man who was following us, or rather he's found us. He may a foe, but he may also be a friend. I am going to give him a chance before attacking, by which I mean, I will not attack unless he threatens us. I admit I'm feeling a bit blood thirsty, but that is no excuse for attacking the innocent" decided Shinji in his mind.

"How might I be of assistance?" said Shinji to the one who had just stumbled into the fog, sounding a little bit sarcastic, but not in any sort of mocking way.

“How may I be of assistance?”

The voice came out of the gloom, and Dmitri moved back softly towards the wall, with a lone reed torch burning. He fingered the flask of Fire Water that he had saved from last nights drinking, and pulled the torch off of the wall. If this turned into a fight, he would enjoy having a slight surprise to his advantage. He moved forward slowly, and the speaker appeared in the fog.

It was a man, or an elf—probably the latter. He was shorter and much, much lighter than Dmitri, with nut-brown skin and a dark cloak covering his figure. A katana shone brightly on his back. He was in a braced stance, a battle stance. On seeing this, Dmitri considered attacking immediately, but decided against it. There would be time enough to take this man down, if it came to blows.

“I don’t believe assistance is needed, unless you can dispel this fog. Of course, I would ask why you are so tense, and if you happen to be detaining the young woman I saw coming down this alleyway, pursued by guards, we may have a problem.”

Sophie had heard the man's answer. She walked closer to Shinji and called out to the stranger in the fog " I assure you that these good men are not holding me for the guards, quite the contrary actually"

She felt the Fog begin to blow away. She turned to the one that the man called master wind " Are you dispelling your fog?" actually however it was a drunken wizard that was walking home from a tavern. He did not know how dire the fog was in the protection of the group, and used his magics to try and send it away without much thought.

She could also hear a few other footsteps about the area and a bit of yelling. It looks like some of the guards, assassins, scouts, sorcerers, and hunters had found their way. She could hear them calling " I heard voices this way." and " Hurry over here."

Sophie did not know how many where coming for her, and she began to panic a bit. She turned to the winged elf " I beseech thee to hold your fog with all your strength." She then quickly turned back into the direction of the unseen follower " Danger is coming this way, I offer you a hand to follow us to safety or to fight along side of us. Otherwise it would be wise for you to start running"

Sophie tried to talk in a hush voice, so as to not alert the trackers any further of their location. Her thoughts began to race " am i going to be captured? are these good men going to be hurt for harboring and escaped slave? We have to do something fast!"

Ahren felt the wizard tampering with his fog an instant before The woman mentioned that it was being blown away. Concentrating for a second, he pulled the fog back together, holding it in place. It was not very difficult. While the wizard was not weak, he was also not very strong, and Ahren was a god. He was a more powerful spellcaster than anyone except another deity, and this drunken wizard couldn't hope to get rid of his spell. "The fog will hold." That was all he said. Ahren was listening intently, he couldn't spare any of his attention to holding a conversation with these people. Between the winds that he was sending out and what they were bringing back, he was able to pinpoint where several of the guards were. A few were heading in their direction, but they were traveling slowly. The fog was making them careful. With the fog as thick as it was, it was hard for them to see more than a few feet in front of them. He let the other two men worry about the stranger that had appeared. One of his winds had returned, telling him that a group of guards had turned onto their street.

Ahren spoke softly, sending a wind to each of their ears so that only they heard what he said. "We don't have time for this, there is a group of guards coming." Holding up one of his hands, Ahren pulled at the winds, collecting a few of them. Holding what he wanted in his mind, he shaped the wind, moving it out past their little clear space. After a few minutes of weaving, he had what he wanted. Letting his connection with the wind break, he let the wind go. Looking at what he had created, he smiled. A wall of wind was now crossing the street. It was in between the guards and them, so the guards would have to go around. Anyone who tried to cross that area would be thrown backwards. "I stopped them for a bit, but it is going to let them know that we are here. We need to move somewhere else, then we can decide where we are going to go." Ahren watched the mortals, wondering how they would take the news. If he needed to, he would simply reveal himself as a God, and then the guards would leave them alone, but he prefered to remain hidden for the moment.

Sophie's hair blew violently in the wind as the elf created a wall of fierce winds. Her feelings of amazement in the elf were replaced with nervousness. She moved forward " We must get out of here, before they find another way around!" The inn's glowing light could be faintly seen in the fog.

She began running towards the inn over cobblestone streets. She moved with haste. Every step she took the noise of the inn grew louder. She could hear the laughter and merriment in this despairing time. She longed to feel the happiness of the ones inside the tavern.

In her hurry and daydreams she hit a stone and came crashing down to the ground, hurting her arm. She let out a cry of pain and got back up as fast as she could. She ran forward more, cradling her hurt arm.

She finally reached the wooden door. She pressed through it with all her power. As soon as she stepped in she felt safe. A feeling of victory came upon her, like she had finished a race.

The crowd turned to see the new arrival. Most of the folks in the inn where old men that had nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. They stared at the new flushed face that was out of breath. Her windblown hair, her cuts and bruises, and her overjoyed expression, like she had been longing to be in this tavern all her life.

She soon noticed that all eyes where on her. She immediately brought her gaze to the floor and took a seat in the corner, away from the windows. She would now wait for the others, hoping that they would make it ok.