Komugi traveled from Gludin to Gludio by Gatekeeper spell, but then took the month-long journey to the Elven lands on foot. It was slow and lonely, but she was thankful for the peace and quiet away from humanity.
Feeling the urge to socialize with someone one chilly evening, Komugi pulled a piece of parchment from her travel pack and jotted down the words "I'm ok, but I'm lonely" on it. Putting away her ink quill, she then pulled out a black sack and made a face as she reached within it. Withdrawing her hand again, she grimaced as she opened it. Nestled in her palm was a wiggling black thing that resembled a slug. This was a strange creature created from Black Magic of Zaken's design. He'd given them to her when they parted after the Garden of Eva.
Putting her fingers to her lips in the motion she usually did for the first part of the Kiss of Eva spell, she shut her eyes and said a line that Zaken had made sure she memorized. Komugi's lips became a blood red in that instant, as if she had lacquered them. Holding the hand that held the wriggling slug close to her mouth, she pursed her lips and blew gently over it. The red seemed to flake off with her breath, and attach itself to the slug. The thing froze, and then began to bubble as if its guts were boiling inside of it. She dropped it to the ground calmly, and watched as it turned into Sairon, one of the demon-possessed dolls that helped protect his island.
"Take this to him, will you?" she asked it, holding out the paper. Resembling a little girl in a red dress with blonde hair cut into a short bob, Sairon was one of the more agreeable things living in Devil's Isle. Usually she had smaller dolls accompanying her, but with Zaken's magic, Komugi was able to summon her alone. Sairon's neck made clicking noises as she tilted her head at the paper. She reached up, her joints clicking like clockwork, and took the paper from Komugi's hand. Then she spun quickly and took to the air, zooming off into the night sky like some sort of bizarre helicopter.
Several hours later there was a heavy thud in the darkness just outside of the range of her campfire. Komugi stood, her heart thudding in anticipation. Her blanket fell away from her shoulders as she quickly attempted to make herself presentable. Her anticipation quickly turned to embarrassment, and then to anger as the figure that emerged into the firelight was not Zaken, but a skeletal man. His skin was taut and dry, and stretched across his bones. There was no flesh beneath his skin, but he still had eyes despite the fact that his sockets were visible beneath the grayed skin.
"Tillion..." Komugi said flatly as the undead man jaunted up to her with a grin on his face. "What are you doing here, that message was for Zaken."
"Zaken's indisposed at the moment, so I took the liberty to come and keep you company." He said smugly, sitting down near her fire and grabbing a handful of the popcorn she'd made for herself for dinner. He reclined against a rock and folded one bony arm behind his head as he flipped a piece of the food into the air and caught it with his mouth. Tillion was Zaken's chief mate from his plundering days, and lived on the opposite side of Devil's Isle. Zaken had introduced her to him while he tutored her in swordplay, using the man as a training dummy despite his protesting. He'd taken a shine to her after that, and whenever Zaken wasn't around her, he was sure to be there, trying to get her attention.
"If he's busy then I could've waited." Komugi said through clenched teeth. Tillion tilted his head slightly as he chewed with his mouth open, giving her his smug grin again. "Why are you reading his mail anyway? That's really rude." She glared as she sat down, pulling her blanket back up around her shoulders.
"I don't think he'll notice. Like I said, he's busy." Tillion said with a grin. "It's about time you made yourself known though, I think Zaken gave up on you." Komugi gave him a look of horror as he launched another piece of popcorn in the air.
"What do you mean 'gave up on me'? He knows very well that I'm studying to retrieve my sister!" Komugi snapped at him.
"He gave you those summoning worms to keep in touch with him. Not my fault that you only use men when they convenience you." Tillion shrugged, launching another piece of popcorn into the air. Komugi hissed like a cat and glared at the popcorn while it was in the air. Ice instantly grew around it, and it smacked Tillion on the forehead with a loud crack. "OW!" he cried, leaning over and holding his forehead. "Oh come on Komugi, don't be like that!" Tillion whined, looking up at her. "I just managed to grow some more skin, too!" Where the ice had hit him had ripped the skin apart, exposing bleached white bone beneath.
"Leave Tillion, you're pissing me off." Komugi growled, burrowing into her blanket.
"But you said you were lonely!" Tillion protested, reaching for more popcorn. Komugi stomped her foot on the bag and dragged it across the grass towards her.
"Not lonely enough to want YOUR company." She glared from the depths of her blanket, her head visible only down to her nose. Tillion frowned at her in a pouting manner, trying to muster up a pleading look. Komugi only glared, unphased by anything he could throw at her. In life perhaps he had been attractive and maybe Komugi would've reconsidered keeping his company if he were still as such, but his personality far outweighed anything else, and she hated the man with a passion. Tillion finally stood, realizing that she wasn't going to be moved.
"Can I at least take some more of that popcorn with me?" he asked.
"LEAVE." She snarled. Tillion raised his hands and backed into the shadows backwards. Not moving until she was sure he was gone, Komugi sighed and relaxed. "What's the big idea being busy, Zaken?" she mumbled into the night air. Summer had faded halfway through her journey across the Neutral Zone, leaving a chilly fall in its wake. Although forever insisting to herself that she'd never fall for anyone past a cuddly fancy, Komugi found herself missing Zaken's embrace, even the one he'd put her in while feeding on her. They'd only kissed once, and she felt as if it were unfair that she couldn't get more than that. Her eyes snapped open as she realized what she was thinking, and she glared into the darkness, annoyed. "It seems I only have my choice between Dark Elves and vampires these days. Why can't I have normal relationships with people?" she asked no one, and then fell heavily onto her side and stared into the dancing flames of her campfire. Cocooning herself into her blanket she sighed one last time and shut her eyes to sleep.
Komugi continued onward, and within a few weeks she crossed the bridge into the Elven Forest, and began walking towards the Sylph Waterfall. She could see it in the distance casting up a misty rainbow. The water was said in history to once have healing properties, but now it flowed with toxins from the Sea of Spores in it, making it dangerous to consume without boiling it first. It was said that the Sylph Waterfall's change had formed the Swampland, but no one knew for sure if it were true or just the Dark Elves trying to not admit to destroying their own land.
It took her a day to travel the expanse of land, and reached the lagoon the waterfall emptied into by noon. She blinked in surprise as a group of four men met her vision.
"Hey, it's the fuzzy bunny rabbit!" Vlad said cheerfully as she approached. The other three looked over their shoulders with large eyes and then cursed. Komugi sighed in exasperation and lowered her head to shield her vision with her hand. They had been urinating into the water openly.
"You guys are pigs when there are no girls around." She said bitterly. "And what's with this fuzzy bunny rabbit crap?" she glared at Vlad.
"You're not going to tell Cesa are you?" a light elf that Komugi had never met before whined, his lower lip trembling.
"But you're so innocent looking, just like a bunny rabbit." Vlad explained, ignoring the Light Elf. "You probably taste good like one too, mind if I have a bite?"
"What are you guys doing here?" Komugi asked, putting her hands on her hips. The last two men facing the water were both Dark Elves. One had crouched to the grass in horror, but the other finished what he was doing and turned around after making himself decent.
"I thought that was your voice." Terebel said with a grin. "Komugi, right?" He glanced down at the Dark Elf with crimson hair next to him. Komugi realized it was Amari's back that she was looking at, and sighed in exasperation as she turned her back to give him privacy to make himself decent.
"I need to speak with the Witch Wimere about something." Komugi said loudly to be heard over the roar of water.
"Thank you." Amari said, fixing his robe.
"Funny, we're here to kill the Witch Wimere. Want to join up?" Vlad asked as Komugi turned back around.
"Why are you killing her? What'd she do to you?" Komugi asked with a frown. Vlad shrugged and motioned towards Terebel, who was climbing up on a rock ledge to scout the area for any one who wanted to bother them.
"I'm always up for a good scuffle, but it was this guy's idea for us to all go up against Wimere. He's been so desperate for a bit of money that he's been taking on odd mercenary jobs for almost a year now. He found an old wanted poster for Wimere in the Temple in the Elven Village so…here we are." He finished.
"I need to make the forest safe for my tree blessing." The Light Elf stated with shining eyes. Komugi lifted an eyebrow at him as he gazed into the sky with hands clasped underneath his chin.
"Who's the head case?" she asked, jerking a thumb towards him.
"That is Celleriant." Amari said, folding his arms around his staff. "You'll have to forgive his quirks, not only is he a tree hugger, but he's also married with a child. We pity the effect it's had on his head." Amari shook his head sadly as if being married with a family was the worst thing ever.
"My little tree blessing is as beautiful as his beautiful willow of a mother!" Celleriant said to no one, his eyes still sparkling. "Ah~ how I miss them!" he sniffled and wiped under one of his eyes.
"Alright, it's clear! Let's go!" Terebel said loudly, jumping down from the ledge. "Want to come with? We'll let you do your socializing before we lop off her head, no worries." He said with a smile. Komugi lifted an eyebrow as the group began walking along the path around the lagoon that led to a cave behind the waterfall.
"How's Narlafayn?" she asked, jogging to walk next to the Bladedancer.
"She's doing better, actually." Terebel said, not looking at her. "She and Vuylay left to finish up their tasks to move up in the world." There was something hard in Terebel's tone of voice as he spoke that struck her as curious.
"I'm surprised he let her out of his sight, he's been keeping tabs on her as if she were some sort of rare pet." Amari snickered from behind them.
"Yeah well, I figured spending some time apart will do us both good." Terebel muttered. Komugi barely heard him as the waterfall's roar grew louder.
"You have a fight with her?" Komugi prodded, always loving to hear some good gossip.
"Nope, nothing of the sort. We're actually getting along better than usual." Terebel responded lightly. He ended it with that sentence, and moved on ahead of Komugi, leaving her confused.
They entered the cave as quietly as they could, the only sounds inside that of water dripping from somewhere deep within. It was dark inside, and Amari quickly whispered a fire spell to light the end of a branch he'd brought with him.
"Mind giving us some of those enhancing spells you have? We're just working on Terebel's magic dances and Celery's magic songs, so we could use them." Vlad asked. Irked that she was getting held up, Komugi sighed and cast spells upon the men as quickly as she could. Her spells, called buffs, were useful to enhance people with magic for a temporary amount of time. They were highly sought after spells, and knowing them almost always guaranteed her safety in any hostile situation. Good Prophets were a nearly rare commodity, and an intelligent enemy would keep one alive, even if it meant holding them in captivity for the rest of their lives.
"Who's there?" a strong voice asked from deep within the cave. Komugi, halfway through reciting her final buff spell on Amari, stopped talking to stare into the darkness with large eyes. The voice was female, and had a rough edge to it.
"Just some boys looking for a hot chick." Terebel responded happily. Amari made a disgusted noise and put a hand to his head and Vlad scratched the back of his head.
"I thought we were going to kill her." Vlad stated loudly. Terebel turned to hush him with a hiss.
"Leave, or I will kill you. I wish to be left alone!" the woman's voice came again, angry.
"Forgive their impudence, they are but immature children." Komugi called out now, stepping in front of Terebel. "Forgive me for being bold, but are you the Witch Wimere?" Although rarely used, Komugi had excelled in her studies on formalities. Healers usually ended up being in the employment of kings and lords, so all Mystics were given a strict course in etiquette.
"Aren't we older than her by like…at least thirty years apiece?" Vlad mumbled to Amari.
"I'm not immature." Terebel glared, sticking his lower lip out in a pout.
"Who wishes to know?" the voice called in response after a moment of thoughtful silence.
"I am Komugi, a mere scholar studying the ways of the world. Might I partake of some of your vast wisdom?" Komugi said back, squaring her shoulders in an attempt to make herself look older.
"Partake of your vast knowledge?" Vlad snickered. He put his hand on Amari's shoulder as he laughed, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Shut up!" Komugi hissed at him. There was the sound of scraping in the darkness ahead of them, and they all fell silent, watching the inky blackness intently.
"If you wanted to partake of my knowledge, why did you come with men who bear arms that stink of blood?" the voice came again, this time closer to them. Behind her, Komugi could feel Terebel stiffen, the air around him changing as his Dark Elven bloodlust began to rise.
"As I said, I am but a simple scholar. These men are my bodyguards, employed to protect me as I travel through the land." Komugi said maturely.
"Is this the same girl we came in with?" Amari asked Vlad in a low voice, raising an eyebrow at the back of her head.
"Good actress, ain't she?" Vlad answered in an equally low tone, bobbing his head up and down. Komugi squinted as something gleamed in the darkness as the owner of the voice moved.
"Yes, I am Wimere." The voice finally answered. "I will speak with you, but only if you leave your entourage at the entrance. I do not trust men."
"You heard her boys, stay put." Komugi commanded them as she shouldered her travel pack.
"Going in there alone is very stupid of you, you realize." Terebel stated. "You can't seriously trust her to not harm you."
"Yeah well, my information retrieval is a bit more important than your sudden sense of justice, so go amuse yourself by peeing in the river again or something." Komugi said, waving her hand to brush them off.
"Wimere knows something about dimensional travel?" Amari asked, raising his eyebrows in interest.
"Uh yeah…something like that." Komugi responded, handing Celleriant her duals. "You look like the most trustworthy out of these guys, hold those for me." She commanded him. He had been silent the entire time, staring into the darkness fearfully. Now he looked at her with the same wide eyed stare, and obediently took the swords from her.
"Hey! I'm trustworthy!" Terebel huffed, pouting again. Komugi eyeballed him as she passed, lifting an eyebrow.
"Yeah, real trustworthy. The bloodlust is so thick over here that it's almost tangible. I think you need to go take a cold shower or something." She said flatly, walking away from him and into the darkness.
"She does have a point there, I'm feeling rather antsy myself because of you." Vlad said professionally, patting Terebel on the shoulder.
"What's got you so on edge anyway?" Amari asked, walking to the mouth of the cave and sitting down. "You've been like this since…wow, since before Celery tied the knot with Cesa. So that makes it…over a year now." Terebel cleared his throat and shifted on his feet.
"Nothing." He said lightly, adjusting his gauntlets.
Komugi walked carefully through the cave, which was so dark that she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. She had been walking for a long time; the boys' voices had long since faded into a distant echo.
"Are you here?" Komugi called, holding her hands out in front of her body. She sensed another presence in front of her, but she couldn't tell if it were a wall or a person. Her toe hit something on the ground and she fell over, landing on something rank and soft. Something squished as she pushed her hand against whatever she fell upon, and she could feel goo surrounding her fingers. A light suddenly flared to life, and Komugi yelped as she discovered she'd landed upon a partially rotted body of a Light Elf child. She flew backwards only to land on another squishy form, and screamed as she discovered it to be another body, this one indiscernible. She pushed herself to her feet and looked around in panic as another light flared to life, revealing her to be amidst a pile of bodies.
"Do forgive me for not cleaning, I wasn't expecting company." Wimere's amused voice came. Realizing that she'd put her hands through the chest cavities of the corpses, Komugi made disgusted noises in her throat and wiped her hands vigorously on her skirt. "That disgusted by the natural process of things I see. You must be a Prophet." Komugi stepped away from the bodies as quickly as she could, and raised her
head to look at Wimere.
She sat on a plush red throne, stroking the head of a female shadow servitor that floated nearby her. Her hair fell in soft, wavy clumps over her shoulders, and was a black sort of green, like the leaves on the trees of the Dark Forest. Strange, wing bone like appendages grew from her shoulders, and curved around the shape of her head almost giving her the appearance that they were horns instead of the starts of wings. She wore a strange black dress that barely covered her breasts, leaving the underside of them fully exposed along with her torso. The dress came together again at her waist, providing cover for her body there. There was a mirade of buckles and straps around her waist, which definitely whispered of Dark Elven fashion sense. Her skin was a purple sort of white instead of blue-grey, however, and her legs had grown longer than her body should've allowed, giving her a very warped appearance.
"No problems…love what you did…with the place…" Komugi said in a distracted voice as she glanced around the cave. The light came from blue orbs that swirled above torch pillars placed on either side of Wimere's throne. There were cargo boxes pushed into the corners, and old tattered furniture set about the cavern in some sort of mockery of a home. The bodies of those Wimere had killed were piled against the
far wall, that Komugi had unfortunately stumbled upon. They did not stink, surprisingly, and she figured that Wimere's magic was preventing it somehow.
"My patience is a very short line, child. What did you want of me?" Wimere asked without expression. "You should feel grateful that I am feeling socialable today."
"I actually wanted to um…learn about you, Miss Wimere. Your story, how you became how you are now." Komugi lied, hoping her smile seemed genuine. Wimere's eyes narrowed slightly and she pursed her lips. "I um…feel that you are wrongfully feared…and that I would um…like to help people understand the pain you feel." Komugi was pulling words from the top of head, and glanced quickly at the pile of bodies while she took a seat on one of the storage crates.
Wimere regarded her silently for a moment before breaking out into sultry laughter. "I am wrongfully feared? Now I know that you lie to me child, but I am far too amused to kill you. What is it you really seek?" she reclined in her chair as she spoke, watching Komugi with an expression of dark amusement.
"I am being honest…" Komugi shrugged, leaning her head over to scratch her neck. Wimere's eyes suddenly widened and she bolted up from her seat with a look of horror.
"What is that on your neck?" Wimere demanded, striding over to Komugi with frightening grace. Komugi slapped a hand against her neck as if killing a pesky bug there and blinked in confusion at the demonic Witch.
"Nothing's on my neck." She said with a frown. "I had an itch, is that so wrong?" Without a word Wimere grabbed Komugi by her arm and pulled her off of the crate. "Hey, let go!" she shouted, straining against the inhuman grip the woman had on her. She gripped the back of Komugi's head at the base and clamped her mouth over the girl's neck. Komugi groaned loudly and struggled as the woman ran her tongue over her skin, shuddering in disgust at the feel of it. "LET GO OF ME!" Komugi shouted. Wimere changed her grip and clutched the girl around her throat, then slammed her against the cavern wall.
"The kiss of Zaken! How dare you have that upon your body and still live!" Wimere hissed. It occurred to Komugi that she was growing taller, and began to take on a resemblance to the Bloody Queens of Dragon Valley. She narrowed her eyes and brought her face in close, hissing softly under her breath. "I see…you are infatuated with him." It was now that it occurred to Komugi that Wimere had been casting a spell on her all of that time, a spell that would open up Komugi's thoughts to the Witch like a book. Wimere chuckled deep in her throat. "Yes, you are a smart one. Not many people know of that spell….only those who have somehow known Zaken know that a spell like that even exists." Komugi choked and gripped Wimere's arm, cursing at her with all of her might in her mind since her vocal cords were being crushed. "You are a nasty one…who are you to Zaken, tell me!" Wimere demanded.
"Piss off." Komugi rasped. Wimere snarled like a beast and squeezed her hand, causing Komugi to gasp loudly for air. Wimere's eyes bored into Komugi's, and she could feel the Witch's spell prying open more of her mind. Wimere's eyes widened and she gasped lightly as Komugi was forced to recall the night after Sharmin was taken, when Zaken had first kissed her in the reef.
"So….he really did forget me." Wimere whispered, tears welling in her eyes. The moment of vulnerability passed quickly and she growled loudly as she reclaimed her grip on Komugi's neck. "What could you have to offer to Zaken that I could not? You, a flat-chested CHILD! I lived with him on the Island; I took an interest in his view of the world and studied Kurikups' magic! Did I not show my utmost devotion to him by giving up my humanity? Did I not abide by every desire he wanted?" she shouted.
"Probably got tired of clingy, old women who can't think for themselves." Komugi managed to get out with a cocky grin. Wimere stared at her in silent horror for a moment before letting out a screeching scream like a child throwing a temper tantrum, and flinging the smaller girl across the cavern. Komugi hit the wall on the opposite side of the cavern hard, and fell to the ground like a doll. She pushed herself up and began coughing, putting a hand to her throat.
"Kill her!" Wimere shouted, and a skeleton wearing heavy blackened armor that made a beeline for Komugi joined her servitor. The servitor was knocked away by a discharge of energy that formed a ring shockwave, hitting the skeleton in the head and knocking him on his back.
"YAY!" Vlad exclaimed happily, running into the cavern. His face turned from childish glee to a dark and sinister expression an instant afterwards, and he brought his swords around to hit the skeleton as it pulled itself back to its feet. Terebel and Celleriant ran in after him, and ran for Wimere, who backed against the wall with large eyes. Amari walked into the cavern calmly, and helped Komugi to her feet before focusing on Wimere and shutting his eyes as he cast a spell.
Wimere was stronger than she looked, and she had cast a spell that thickened her skin to an almost armor-like property. Celleriant went running for her first, shouting a battle yell, and was flung across the cavern by one flick of her wrist. Komugi helped him to his feet again, and cast a quick spell on his head, where landing on a rock had wounded it. Amari cast a spell that looked to be a razor blade of air, and it penetrated Wimere's magic and cut her deeply on her arm. She screeched at the feel of it, and then let out a loud gasp that belied on a scream as both of Terebel's swords went through her stomach.
"Aw man, you've been getting the fun part way too much recently." Vlad said with a pout. Wimere stepped away from his swords, pulling them from her own body with the movement, and pressed a hand against the wound. She fell against the back of the cavern, and slid to her knees.
"How can this be? My magic was taught to me by Kurikups himself!" Wimere gasped, staring into the air with large eyes. She focused on Amari, whose spell was the first to penetrate her magic. "Who are you?" she asked breathlessly. Amari did not answer her, his face hidden in the shadow cast by his hair. Wimere looked down at the wound in her stomach and coughed, gout of blood coming out to match the flow pumping out of her body. She looked at Komugi, her eyes clouding over slightly. "You, beloved of Zaken…" she began.
"Beloved of Zaken?" Vlad repeated, looking at Komugi in surprise.
"I cannot tell you anything of him. Not because I don't want to tell you, but because he never spoke of himself to me. In a way, I suppose, I was just like you." Wimere chuckled slightly, and then winced in pain. "Magus Kenishee…." She drew in a gasping breath, her blood pooling around her in a great circle. "The Magus…she is the one at fault for telling Zaken of the treasure…I am sorry…but that is all I know…" Wimere's voice faded as she spoke, her eyes transfixed on nothing in particular. Her jaw dropped open as her body relaxed with death, and her eyes rolled up slightly in her head. She made a truly horrifying picture, and Komugi winced and looked away, trying to will the image away from her mind's eye. Celleriant put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and she opened her eyes to see him smiling gently at her.
"I hope you got what you needed from her, because she's very dead." Terebel stated as he rummaged through her belongings for the proof that he'd killed her.
"Don't you feel any remorse?" Komugi snapped, finding her throat unexpectedly seizing with tears. She didn't know why she felt so sad all of a sudden, after all, Wimere had just tried to kill her.
"Should we?" Vlad asked, raising his eyebrows at her.
"When I look at that pile of bodies in the corner there, I definitely feel no remorse." Amari spoke up, his back facing Komugi. His voice was hard and pensive, as if Wimere's words to him had affected him somehow.
"We've lingered amongst the dead too long, let's get back out in the fresh air." Celleriant's gentle voice spoke up. Komugi took the swords he held out to her, and she spun on her heel without a word and walked back out and into the sunshine. She wasn't sure what disturbed her more at this point, the fact that Wimere was Zaken's ex-girlfriend, or the fact that she'd just assisted in killing someone.
They returned to the village by opening up the Gatekeeper scrolls, and Celleriant was greeted by an enthusiastic blur of pink. "Darling!" a Light Elf that Komugi could only assume was Cesa proclaimed happily. "I missed you so much! The Mother Tree was worried sick about you!" she said as she pulled away.
"Oh no, I should go apologize for worrying her!" Celleriant said. Komugi stared at him speechlessly, not believing that the pair was serious.
"Let's go right now!" Cesa said excitedly, grabbing his hand.
"Alright!" he beamed. With that they took off for the North Gate, towards the Mother Tree.
"Is that their secret code to go make out or something?" Komugi asked Terebel as he passed her.
"Nope, they're seriously going to go hug that tree." Terebel said. Komugi's eye twitched as she looked back towards the North Gate.
"Hello, I don't think I know you, but I see you're in Haibane." A voice came. Komugi turned back around to find a blonde light elf holding a chubby elf baby on her hip looking at her intently. She wore maroon doom robes, so Komugi assumed she was a spell caster of some sort. "My name is Lavinia."
"Komugi." Komugi responded, finding that she liked the aura around this Elf. She seemed mature and down to earth, and this appealed to her. Komugi looked down at the baby with big eyes as he reached out and began patting her chest armor right on her breast.
"Waverly, behave!" Lavinia scolded, pulling the boy away. "I'm sorry, my nephew seems to like armor a bit too much." She apologized sheepishly.
"That's fine…" Komugi said slowly, lifting a protective arm to cover her chest. Some boys started early, she guessed. "Celery's kid?" she guessed as Lavinia motioned for her to follow.
"Yeah, and my sister Cesa's." Lavinia said with a sigh. "She's always leaving him behind when she wants to go talk to those dang trees. He cries every time he sees one, so she leaves him home when she's got the urge to chatter." They passed a large tree in the center of the village, and Waverly suddenly broke out into a loud wail. "See? Every time."
"Think he hates trees?" Komugi asked with a smirk, and Lavinia laughed aloud.
"Wouldn't that be something!" she said, patting the crying baby on the back.
A tall, muscular woman with short cropped blonde hair suddenly emerged from a house as Komugi approached it with Lavinia, and sniffed the air like an animal. Her eyes lit up in an almost childlike glee, and she bolted from the door and towards the Gatekeeper. Komugi's eyebrows raised as it appeared the woman was running straight for Vlad with the intent to hug him. She skidded to a stop a few feet away from him, and knelt to the ground in a bow.
"Good puppy. Did you behave while I was gone?" Vlad asked the woman, patting her on the head like she were nothing but a dog.
"Yes, I only injured a few people, not killed." The woman announced happily.
"Good girl." Vlad complimented, patting her again.
"What the fu…" Komugi began, watching the display in disbelief.
"Yeah, that's about what I felt when I first saw it. That's Emixia; she's a half-Orc Dark Avenger." Lavinia explained, opening the door of the house. "Narlafayn says that she's got a normal side, but she came in with Vlad the other day and all I've seen is this weird pet obedience towards him." Lavinia sighed and shook her head. "Some part of me wonders if she made herself like that because Vlad is so bad at handling women." She muttered.
"Creepy." Komugi said with a shudder, wondering how anyone could find Vlad attractive. He wasn't bad looking per-se; she'd learned that he had some Dark Elven blood in him and that helped enhance his looks. He just had too twisted of a personality that she was shocked anyone could get past to find him desirable. Leave it to anyone with Orcish blood to do the impossible. She thought blandly.
Komugi stayed the night with Lavinia and her sister Mune, and learned that Narlafayn had just come out of her shocked state with surprising gusto. It was like she just woke up one morning with new determination, and had packed up with Vuylay to set off to complete her tasks to become a Temple Knight. When asked if Narlafayn and Terebel had gotten into a fight, Lavinia began to snicker, but did not respond either way to the question.
"So I heard that you've not been having any luck finding books on dimensional travel." Amari said the next day. Komugi looked up from where she sat on the steps connecting the lower part of town with the upper, a book she'd borrowed from Lavinia in her lap. Komugi frowned and sighed heavily as Amari had just reminded her of her lack of luck.
"If only I had access to the Ivory Tower…I'm sure they've got tons of books." Komugi grumbled, kicking her foot against the step.
"I have access to the Ivory Tower." Amari said lightly. Komugi's head snapped up quickly and she stared at him wide-eyed. Satisfied that it got her attention, Amari smirked triumphantly and stood up to his full height. "I could get you in if you'd like."
"Let's go!" Komugi exclaimed, jumping to her feet.
"Where are we going?" Vlad suddenly asked, walking towards them. Emixia tailed him a few feet behind, glaring and growling at the Light Elf townsfolk that passed them.
"Ivory Tower." Komugi answered before Amari could.
"Splendid! Let's go!" Vlad said, rubbing his hands together.
"You realize that's the LAST place you want to go, right?" Amari stated flatly. Vlad gave him an expressionless look before patting Emixia on her head without even looking at her.
"Yes but, I've got a watchdog now." He stated. Amari sighed heavily and put a hand to his forehead.
"Do what you like; I'm not pulling your ass from the fire any more." He suddenly sounded tired, as if Vlad's statement had drained all the energy from him. Komugi shut her eyes into a thin line as they
made their way towards the Gatekeeper. She had almost thought things would be normal for once, as Amari was more mature and level-headed than most Dark Elves. But now that Vlad and his….pet…were accompanying them, she knew that it would be far from normal. She just hoped they could behave themselves long enough for her to get what she needed from the Tower.