Valdearg traveled steadily on through the mist, barely able to see two feet in front of him. He continued forward, watching out for any holes in the ground waiting to trip an unwary traveler. He knew the destination that he had in mind, but he was a bit apprehensive about when he would arrive there, if ever. He had come with a single purpose in mind, to battle the monster of the Lake of Darkness, but he was beginning to think that he was hopelessly lost. He had traveled for several days now, and he still had no idea how much further he had to go to get to the lake.

He waved his arms a bit, still trying to get used to this form. It wasn't often that he chose to travel as a human, but he decided it would be better if nothing that lived here knew that he was here. He knew that eventually, he would have to change back if he intended to battle the monster, but for now, he stayed as a human. He didn't know it, but he didn't like much like a real human. His hair was a bright red, that came down to his shoulders, but the problem was, that his hair was too bright. His skin had a slight reddish tinge to it, that normally wouldn't be seen, but in the surrounding mist, it was easily identifiable.

He looked around, listening for the sound of any creatures approaching, but doubted he would be able to hear much, mist and fog had a way of deadening noise. Finally, he came to a break in the fog. There, less than twenty feet away, was the Lake of Darkness, it's surface undisturbed by any creature or wind. He watched for any sign of the monster, but could see none. It was more likely he wouldn't see the monster until it was right on top of him, but he would do his best to fight back in hopes that he could win.

Ace slowly walked through the mist. His hair was black and as ussual long and messy. His black winds filckered slowly as he walked. His balck tail was wrapped around Reya. Draco sat perched upon his shoulder. Bruno walked close to Ace in the form of a black panther.
"Why are we Here again? ....Because I wanted to check it out. Why did you have check out even after hearing about the monster of the lake? ....you actually beleive that?... Yes. ...... Hey what's that in the distance over there? I can't tell because of the mist. Shed a little light on the prolem why don't yah... oh, forgot about that hehe I'll do it then," Draco and Ace conversed over the telepathic bond. "Get over here Bruno," Draco called in Draconic. Draco casted a spell and Bruno beagn to glow witha blue light. The light hardly helped imrove visiblity. "Well atleast I tried. Looks like well have to get closer," Draco sent to Ace's mind. Draco then turned his attention to Bruno and began to talk of Bruno's fights in the arena. They continued to walk closer to the lake.

Valdearg had been about to transform back to a dragon, when he saw a light suddenly appear out of the corner of his eye.By the time he had turned to face the light, it had winked out. He then noticed some figures coming out of the fog and prepared to defend himself. It was then that he heard the strands of a conversation, and he relaxed slightly, mos tof hte creatures that live here didn't speak the human language, so he could rule out it being one of them. He watched as the shapes materialized out of the fog, wondering what they were doing on the edge of the Lake of Darkness. He decided he might as well get the greeting out of the way, if they were to attack him, they would do it eventually. He might as well try to stop them from attacking him before they started. "Hello adventurer, what would someone like yourself being doing in the Misted Hills?"

A woman had been travelling through the hills concealed in what looked suspiciously like monk's robes. The cowel covered her face, save for whisps of fine silvery hair that peeped out around the bottom corners, but the rope belt and sheath which carried daggers showed a defined waist that was most definitely female. The pack across her back had little in it aside from a variety of mysterious parchement, scrolls, and books; and the traveller carried in her hands nothing more than a staff.

Her walk had a determined stride as she pushed through the mists, seemingly oblivious of her fellow travellers. She hadn't even noticed them untill she was nearly past, when she stopped short and turned. It was the magister from the academy who called himself Ace, and a man she had never met before. Nodding in acknowladgement, she removed the hood of her cloak and shook a mane of ivory hair loose. The man with Ace...there was something peculiar about him that she couldn't put a finger on; his skin tone and hair hinted towards a sort of humanoid but there was something oddly familiar none the less. "Hello, Ace," she said quietly, and turned to the man beside him. "And...er...I don't seem to know your name," she said uneasily, shifting her weight to her other foot. Should she tell him her name? It was rare for her to share her identity with anyone, she only had with Ace as part of her profession. Her strange eyes shifted to and fro from both of them, and then around her futily into the mists, and she breathed the fog in deeply. Something about the area and being unable to see what was around her made her terribly uneasy.

As Ace made his way out of the mist, he caugh sight of Valearg and heard his question. "What a wacko, he answered his own question. Surely an adevturer could not be out adventuring. I swear some people have no inteeligence nowadays, but just to make sure...," Draco thought to Ace before probing Valdearg's mind. Ace noted that the man's hair seemed far too red, much like his own at times. His skin had a strange reddish tint. There was something strange yet familiar abut him, but ace couldn't quite figure out what it was. "Adventuring ofcourse," Ace said sarcastically as he streched out his back wings. He smiled,"and I suppose you are doing likewise." Bruno sat down and looked back towards the mist to see Liannas quickly race past them. "Hello Liannas," Ace returned with a smile. Ace was curious as to why Liannas, but he did know very little of her. He wondered if the man before them would tell him their name, if not Drao could and would drag it out. Draco kept his attention focused on Valdearg and Bruno blankly watched Liannas.

Valdearg looked at Liannes with a surprised look, wondering what she was doing here. He nodded to the figure she had identified as Ace, and decided to introduce himself. "Hello, my name is Valdearg. It is a pleasure to meet both of you." Valdearg turned his head to look at Liannes, picking out his next words carefully. "You many not know me Liannes, but I know you. You met me once before, in the city of Talas. It was raining in the middle of the night, and you were by yourself, when I came along." Valdearg wondered if she would remember that night, it had happened recently, but it seemed like she had seemed a bit preoccupied at the moment.

He looked at Ace, wondering what he was really doing here, "adventuring" didn't really explain that much. He watched his two small dragons with interest, wondering what they were thinking about. He noticed one of them was staring at him, so he stared right back at it.

*Kore, being on this trail for more than three days, was wearing the endurance of Kamahl down to only a bit. Periodically they would stop and take a breather, but Kore was hunting for the beast that lurked in the Lake of Darkness.

Many a time word came to Kore that students from the acadamy would disappear after a trip to that place. He not being one for letting things just happen, he decided to take matters into his own bloodstained hands. Penalia would have come with him, but he told her to watch Lilith((his baby psuedodragon)) while he was away.

The day was getting darker and the seemingly never-ending mist just continued to billow out of some unknown source. When vision was blurred enough to lose where your hand was if it was held in front of you, Kore dismounted Kamahl, patting its side and telling him to be civil.*Now Kamahl, you stay here while I check this out. *His hands were clasped onto Kilgorin and his two-handed sword respectively. He wandered around, curious as to where this all might lead him.

Turning three hundred and sixty degrees every several steps, he accidentally bumped into Valdearg. He quickly turned around and was about to draw one of his weapons when he noticed it was no monster he incountered. With a heavy sigh, Kore let go of his weapons and soon saw two others seemingly with this person he bumped into. He nodded and bowed down* Sorry to bother everyone, but I'm looking for a beast that has been slaying my students. I was told to go here to find it...would either of.....Ace?!*Kore said as his eyebrows furrowed.* What in Hades are you doing here?

"As you now know my name is Ace. It is a pleasure to meet you," Ace said with a forced smile. Ace noted that while Valdearg had introduced himself, he had yet to say why he was here. Draco didn't like people staring him in the way that Valdearg did. He resisted the urge to teach him a lesson. Instead he scanned over Valdearg's surface thoughts. He was begining to like what he saw. He wanted to read the mind of a real dragon. He wanted to know many things. from them, but Draco would get to his own desires after taking a better look at the surface thoughts of the dragon.

Master Ace was not too surprised to see Kore out here. He was one who like the dark arts though he prefered to keep to necromancy. His reason for being here was far from Ace's though it was possible that some of the missing sudents of the Academy had failed on their venture to the lake or rather on their venture out. "You say that like this is a place that I shouldn't be in. Surely one such as I can't be here to study strange mist or prehaps even the lake," Master Ace said hotly. He was infact here to chack on something said to be at the Lake, but it was not infact the monster.

Liannas was made somewhat uneasy by Ace's stiffness, almost as if it was hostility. But this man...Valdearg? It took a moment to register, but then the strange hair and odd hue of his skin made sense. She nodded in firm greeting. "Yes, I remember you. Nice to see you again," she said in her ever-quiet voice, glanzing down at the thin piece of gauze wrapped around her hand to keep the scab from opening up again. For the time being, she said nothing else- she was an observor, not a speaker, and watched quietly as this new man approached. He was lean and strongly built, and judging by his haste seemed to be on an important mission of sorts. Her thoughts were soon answered as he spoke of the monster- something she knew of vaguely from rumors that milled about in her short time in Imythess, but was not why she was passing through the area. Ace seemed to grow even more irrate, though he did a relatively poor job of concealing it.

She stepped back for a moment, the tension between the three men around her helping her in her wish to remain somewhat obscure. She was a creature of habit, one that never wanted to be noticed, but her appearance unfortunately always gave way to that. Some were intrigued by her oddly pale complexion, never having seen an albino before, others were perplexed by her different coloured eyes and the tattoos and scars that littered her body. Wrapping the cloak she wore tighter around her body as if in protection, she leaned on her staff and simply watched them.

Valdearg watched as Ace and Kore conversed, surprised to hear that Kore was here for the same reason that he was. He hadn't expected anyone else to be foolish enough to come and try to fight the monster. He looked over Kore, determining whether he should reveal why he was here or not. He could use Kore's help, and Ace might also agree to help, just to humor them. "Well Kore, it seems that you and I are here for the same reason, you see, I also came here to slay the monster that lives in the lake."

He waited for Kore to respond, noticing that Liannes wasn't taking a very active part in this conversation. He supposed that Liannes wasn't very talkative, from their conversation on the street of Talas, she didn't seem like much of a people person. He just hoped that she wouldn't be harmed in the fight to come, he wouldn't be able to deal with himself if something happened to someone else on his quest. He decided that if they agreed to help him, then he would protect them as best he could.

He turned to look at Ace once more, preparing to ask him a question that a person with any sense would say 'no' to. "Ace, why don't you come to the lake, and help us defeat this monster?"

Ace seemed to quickly gain control over his temper. He should have read up a little more on the monster. He expected that by now some random doer of good would have already vanquished the beast. He was expecting his mission to have few difficulties. Ace watched as Liannas observed the conversions and gave little more input than required. She had seemed the quiet type, but Ace recalled her as much more talkative at the academy of magic. Ace smiled at Valdearg's invitation. Ace knew that if the monster still existed it would be a hinderance to his own goals. The monster would have to be removed first. There was no way around it. " I suppose we have nothing better to do. We'll join you on your quest to slay the monster," Ace smiled this time it was true and not forced. Bruno smiled as he got up to start walking around. He liked the idea of figthing the monster a lot. It sounded a load better than what Ace had said they came to do.

Liannas watched as Valdearg seemed to look her over calculatingly, and fought making a remark. She was by no means helpless; those who knew her well and her history usually feared her. Her specialty was throwing knives, and she had once even been informally dubbed "the deadliest woman in the world with a knife." With a sigh, she dismissed the gaze somewhat bitterly and again focused on the conversation at hand. There was little for her to say, she had merely been passing through the area, and she was a woman of few words especially when faced with more than one person. "I will join you," she said quietly, her piercing gaze shifting from Ace and focusing on Valdearg. What made her say it, she didn't know, but she would join them none the less. She needed to delay her arrival at the village where she was to meet him, and this would be the perfect opportunity to do so without actually having been lying. The overall situation seemed a little strange to her, however- Ace's tension and then sudden lack thereof towards Valdearg, this new man Kore's arrival, and Valdearg's cool analysis of her all made her wary.

*Kore looked at the three of them as they talked amongst themselves.--Four to take this monster....it sounds like this will be too easy...-- He clapped his hands together, then rubbed them slowly.* Well then, if we are going to join forces to take down this beast of the lake, we must be well prepared, right.

*By this time Kore was already trying to size up each participant here, wondering how he could create a formation good enough to catch the beast by suprise. He looked at them for a moment, then his eyes went down* I can't think of anything useful that hasn't been tried already...hmmmm...this "thing" is more trouble than I had expected. I'm open to other ideas other than just rushing this monster from four sides.

*He looked at who was actually going to participate- Two men with draconic features, an elf, and himself. He wondered how they would fare in combat and if they'd utilize teamwork or try and win solo.*

Valdearg had been about to make a remark when Liannes had said she would be joining them, but he stopped himself. From what he remembered, she had been able to take care of herself, he just didn't know if she had ever fought something like what they would be facing. Valdearg thought about the battle that lay ahead of them, not liking the odds. They had two spellcasters, a knife fighter, and he didn't know what Kore did, so he didn't know how much of a help he would be. If you want me to, I think that I will be able to help more than what you would think. I believe I could draw enough of the beasts attention to myself in order to allow you'll a good chance of attacking."

Valdearg wondered what Kore would think of that. He might think that Valdearg was crazy, but then again, he didn't know that Valdearg was a dragon. If a dragon couldn't draw the beasts attention, Valdearg didn't know what could. He hoped that the fight would take as little time as possible. The longer the fight took, the more chance there was for a mistake to occur and someone get hurt.

*He looked at Valdearg and now knew why the draconic features were present* Hmm...I had a feeling that you were a dragon of sorts. A distraction would prove quite useful, allowing me time to prepare the spells neccessary to launch an offensive on it.

However you must excercise extreme caution, this beast has killed many of my advanced students, most of which I've taught myself. *He looked towards the lake and drew Kilgorin. He then glanced back at Valdearg and smirked* I'm ready whenever you are. Ace, and you too, elf- any help you can provide either to distract the thing or help in destroying it would be appreciated.

*Suddenly he heard a large roar that came from the direction of the lake and he quickly shifted his attention towards it. A grim feeling came upon him as he knew that the roar wasn't good* He may know we're here....everyone stay as quiet as possible.* He licked his thumb then held it up to the air, determining the direction of the wind.* Ok, we are still downwind, but be careful, this place is known for ever-changing weather conditions.