Amirix silently walked through the woods, barely noticing as the pine trees around her grew ever more barren and dead, and some even glowing green. It meant she was getting closer to the Necropolis; and that was a good thing.

As the girl in the black robe strode into full view of the huge gate, shaped like a skull, she shivered involuntarily- she hated this place. But she came here anyways, completing quests that would shape the very future of Lore, as well as unlock special abilites, making her possibly the most powerful human in Lore. As Amirix walked up to the Paladin beside the gates, she noticed the eager, determined, and possibly happy look in his eyes. Which, of course, meant that there must be undead nearby. But that was Artix for you.

"Hey, Artix," the Mage said wryly, looking up at the huge Paladin through her lashes. She didn't look up, she never did. She preferred to keep the black hood on her head... well, on.

"Amirix! I'm so glad you are here, there's a wave of Undead Beserkers coming around the west side of the Necropolis!"

Amirix nodded briefly, fingering the onyx jewel at the top of her ivory staff, and silently ran around the west side of the huge gates that led only down. True to what Artix had said, 3 Undead Beserkers were advancing on the south side of the peaceful Willowshire, and at the dead of night? Sneaky little buggers, thought Amirix irritably. She snuck around them, using the bushes and the dead trees for cover, until she was in their path. One Undead Beserker could do enough damage, but 3?

"No further!" called Amirix in a voice that rang with command, suddenly standing straight.

"Aaaarrrrrreeeeeeaaaawwwwooooo!" was the response, and Amirix smirked slightly- she didn't speak Undead. Instead of responding, she set her ivory staff in the ground, the onyx jewel slightly leaning towards them, and in her left hand, held close against her body, she began to mutter an incantation under her breath. As she did so, the 3 skeletons with hammers lined up, hammers ready.

Suddenly, Amirix, with an effortless flick of her wrist, sent a bright ball of nothing but pure light energy at the middle Beserker. He collapsed in a pile of bones next to a hammer, of course. In the same instant, she raised a slightly blued bubble around herself, and awaited the oncoming attack. But unbeknownst to the 2 remaining Undead Beserkers, there was something special about her shield, something that almost no other Mages had; her shield would only repel some attacks. But, for those attacks that landed on her, the same amount taken from her would also be drained from her attacker.

The Beserker on the left swung his hammer, aiming for the black hood edged with white on Amirix's head, but hit the shield and could go no further. Blocked. The second one swung his hammer in a sideways arc, heading straight for her ribs. This would be a powerful blow, she knew. The hammer struck her side, making her sway and gasp, but the skeleton shape, already preparing for another blow, just collapsed. The return damage had destroyed it. Bu in the next instant, the Mage had recovered, and knew her HP to be high still. Her MP was draining fast, however, due to the shield. After the attack by the first Undead Beserker she'd have to drop it.

And here it came!

As the hammer of the final Undead Beserker swung down, Amirix slid to the side at the last second. It would have gone through her shield reguardless. As the minion stepped back for another blow, Amirix gestured at it with the onyx-tipped end of her staff, and a ball charged with energy and electricity spun straight towards it, almost too fast for the eye to follow. But it struck the Undead Beserker straight in the chest.

However, it did not collapse. By some unlucky chance, Amirix's attack had not killed it. And now, the bones of the thing began to glow red, and its grip on the hammer tightened. The young Mage knew it was Beserking- and that was bad. An Undead Beserker, when beserking, could do up to 3 times its usual damage, and within a shorter time frame. Amirix had only seconds to kill or be killed. Shooting out a jet of light that would hold it at bay, if only for a few moments, she muttered feverishly, and within her clenched hand appeared a ball of fire. But it did not burn her, though she felt its heat. She threw it at the glowing red skeleton just as it broke the barrier of light, and the red bone fragments shattered into a pile at her feet, and the hammer landed on top. Also there was a small silver shield, no more than a couple inches in length, that Amirix gingerly picked up and stowed inside her robe. An Undead Slayer badge, and she knew she could get a small amount of Gold from selling it to Artix- he loved these things, which was a mystery to her.

Sighing, Amirix glanced down at her robe, judging whether or not to change anything. Still a black satin Mage's robe, edged with white satin, and a black hood edged with white. Throwing back her right sleeve, the arm that brandished the staff, she saw a long scratch going down her forearm, from the back of her wrist to almost the inside of her elbow. Courtesy of an Aquweevil before she came. But now, Amirix murmured, almost crooned a soft spell to her forearm, and it healed up right before her eyes. Not completely, though- her MP was too drained from the battle with the Beserkers. All it did was scab over, then the scab began to fade, but at least it appeared to be almost a week old. In other words, it would not disable her in the middle of the battle.

Amirix began to walk back to Artix, when out of nowhere a Tog leaped at her. It managed to fix its jaws around her left ankle before she angrily cast it off with a gust of wind, and now caused her a great deal of pain as she walked. But she'd get to Artix soon, at least he had full healing powers, which not every Paladin did. Suddenly, she glanced up sharply as the soft sound of beating wings reached her ears. It was small, whatever it was, and then she realized she knew the sound. Her little baby dragon landed in front of her, almost invisible in the darkness that surrounded the Necropolis gate. The only things that gave it away were its white wing membranes, white horns that were short with its young age, and vibrant blue eyes. It snuffled at her ankle, and then squeaked.

"It's okay, Khadijah," she murmured, leaning down painfully to tap its nose. It was her equivalent of a hug or stroke, and she knew Khadijah didn't really like hugs or lots of petting, anyways. She watched curiously as Khadijah shuffled forwards, towards her injured ankle, and then bumped it with its nose. The spasm of pain almost made Amirix cringe away, but she knew her baby dragon wouldn't hurt her intentionally.

And then the pain ceased.

Blinking in surprise, Amirix leaned down to her baby dragon, and examined her ankle. The skin was smooth and whole, as though it had never been damaged before. She looked incredulously at Khadijah, who was watching her nervously through blue eyes.

"Looks like that Special Baby Dragon Chow is doing its work, huh, Khadijah," she murmured, tapping his nose again. The soft 'thump' of its long, chubby tail hitting a nearby dead tree made her smile.

"Come on, let's go see Artix. Then we can go and visit Lady Celestia and Elysia."