Once Kayla had been awoken and filled in on the situation (and promptly declared her excitement to be on a quest), the new party of four made their way out of the hiding space. Hanso revealed that it had been abandoned by the Thieves' Guild around the time of the Second War of Darigan and Meridell, before Kanrik's men had re-discovered it and put it back into use. As the new Master Thief, Hanso was privy to all of these little hiding spots, and was sure to make good use of them on his new task from the Faerie Queen.

As the rain picked up and Hanso was forced to pull up a hidden hood on the coat he wore, the situation uncomfortably reminded Agent of the clandestine trip to the borderlands between Meridell and the Haunted Woods, which had started all of this. Thankfully, the rain was now no more than a light drizzle; no sleet, no thunder, nothing to make the trek too unpleasant. Yet the constant commentary from Hanso did wear thin. "So," he said, "Do you think spies get too much more of a bad reputation than thieves?" He was either trying to start up a friendly conversation, to get a rapport going with the faded blue Zafara; or, a realization of just where they might be going in the Haunted Woods had given him diarrhea of the mouth from nerves. Either way, Agent didn't think it courteous to leave him hanging.

"Well, it's hard to say," she said in her soft voice. "It depends on whether you think it more unseemly to steal material belongings, or vital information. Spies never seem to gain any trust once they're outed; nor are double agents welcome in either the state they've turned from or their new 'allies'. Though, I should hope that arrogant, feathered swine Kass never once placed his full trust in me." A finger to her lips, she had to fight back an uncharacteristic smirk. "Those who betray their old masters are just as likely to betray their new masters. My home always will be Meridell." She gave an even look over her shoulder to Hanso. "I did not mean to go on quite that much of a tangent. I hope you'll excuse me for monopolizing the conversation." She turned her gaze to the front once again.

For a while, neither Hanso, Brynn, nor Kayla spoke. Then, the Ixi thief tried to speak surrepticiously to the orange Kougra close astride him. "I'm beginning to think," he whispered, "That this lady is quite witty for a Neopet of Meridell." He snorted back a laugh, nimbly dodging Brynn's elbow. Though, as she gave him a slight smile, Hanso continued. "I'm just not sure," he lowered his voice further than before, "That I want to head near the Brain Tree. That thing makes me woozy looking up at it." He watched Brynn's face. She stared back at him for a while, before just slightly raising an eyebrow. Hanso sighed; "I'll stop my complaining," he said, defeated.

Smile returning, Brynn whispered back to him, "Relax. The Brain Tree is cranky, but it's not an evil being. There are a lot of other beings to worry about. For instance, I do believe I hear the leathery wingbeats of a cantankerous monster approaching!" All of the other three flinched at how Brynn's voice was elevated to a shout. Then, the entire group cringed and went to one knee as a horrible scream erupted above them. Brynn narrowly managed to draw her sword and slash a certain winged dagger out of the air.

Foul wings carrying it back to the weapon's master, the dagger was snatched with a huff. The hateful, red and green eyes, the sickly beige fur, the almost venomous look to her red nails, it was all terribly familiar. Even if she'd added a spiked choker and fingerless black gloves, there was no mistaking that descending figure. Vira screamed again: "Who are you calling a monster? Or perhaps a better question is, the hell are you all doing in these Woods?" She cut Brynn off in mid-sentence, with a yowl of "No solicitors!" Vira threw her dagger again, and this time, it did a swooping curve around the side to try and pierce the Kougra knight's neck.

An expert parry sent the dagger whiffling into a tree. Vira howled with rage, clenching her fists and ducking her head down. Out from her body rippled a ghostly, pale Aura, which departed her form and arced down towards Brynn. However, Kayla swung her wand quickly, and a mighty spark of golden light sent the attack careening into the dirt and grass. By now, Brynn was caught between Hanso's 'advice' and Vira's caterwauling.

"You stripey asshole! I hock a loogie in your general direction!"

"Seriously, Brynn, throw your sword! That always works!"

"Your mother was a Meepit, and your father stank like a Snorkle!"

"You know, I normally wouldn't suggest this, but I'm betting on her being dumb enough that we can distract her with shiny coins!"

"I did not just hear you say that! Bitchboy Ixi I will slap you with my wings! Let alone what I'll do to that filthy kanigghet!"

"Hey, that 'filthy kanigghet' is my gir - "

That was the point when Brynn snapped, and grabbed ahold of Hanso's jacket. With a growl, she spun once, twice, and hurled the wailing Ixi thief right up into the air. Vira's next curse was cut off by Hanso's backside colliding with her face. They both were sent plummeting down into the nearby trees; Hanso screaming for dear life, Vira shrieking indignantly. Panting, Brynn ran after the falling figures. Agent and Kayla shared a look of confusion, and then took up hot pursuit.

The trio found Hanso's legs sticking out of a bush, and Vira hanging upside-down from a treelimb with her tail and one hand; her other hand was pressing down onto the hem of her already fairly skimpy skirt, and the blush visible through her fur made the why apparent. "Dammit," she seethed, "Don't any of you pricks try to look up my skirt!" Hanso made a muffled wisecrack, but Brynn whacked him on the back of the knee to shut him up. Soon enough, Kayla's magic had successfully maneuvred Vira out of the tree with her dignity intact.

Still, that left the matter of what an ornery little imp Vira was. Only Kayla was shorter in height amongst those present to the debacle, but Vira's explosions of cussing and insults brought much heartache while Brynn and Hanso walked her out of the thicket. They both made sure not to release her arms until she was out of steam, for the most part. Now, she just sat on the dirt, refusing to look at them. Brynn and Hanso muttered in hushed tones, pointing from each other to Vira and back again. Eventually, Brynn scowled at Hanso, and made her way up to Vira. "Er, Miss Vira," she began awkwardly, "Why did you see fit to attack us? We're on a very important mission, and the Haunted Woods itself could be in danger." She went to lay a hand on Vira's shoulder.

"Don't touch me," Vira snapped. Brynn sighed, and drew her hand away. Eventually, Vira felt so inclined to share her reasonings. "Everyone here's on edge," she said sourly. "After Nox went and got himself whacked, none of us have felt so inclined to trust a traveling party comin' into our Woods. Then, that weird blue thing behind the Brain Tree went Korbatshit nuts, and Edna's had to put up tons of wards behind ol' Orange Matter McOakwood. Hell, she still has to buff 'em up every damn time someone comes to the Brain Tree for a quest, and she's had to relocate there!" When a thought dawned on her, she looked up to scrutinize Brynn. The way she chewed the inside of her lip with a suspicious squint to her eyes was almost adorable. "You happen to be here for that thing?" As soon as Agent went to speak, Vira screeched, "I'm talking to the Kougra!" The blue Zafara shook her head exasperatedly.

At last, Brynn was able to respond to Vira. "First of all, I apologize for what happened to Nox," she said softly. Vira scowled, and scuffed the heel of one boot in the dirt. "But yes, we're here for that artifact. I presume that Kayla and Edna together could keep it dormant, until a contact of ours can seal it for the time being." She watched Vira's ears perk upwards. So, she pushed her advantage by saying, "I'm sorry for calling you a monster. It's something that no one should assume about another person. But, would you join us, and help us out?" Brynn gave the most winning smile she could muster. "We'd be happy to count you among us as a hero, if you do." A hand was offered to the mutated Acara.

In a way that was far kinder than anyone had seen from her for years and years, Vira smiled at Brynn, as well. "Ya got a deal," she said, taking Brynn's offered grasp. Pulled to her feet, Vira then said, "But we can't go without the Big Guy." She pointed at the group, in turn from Brynn, to Hanso, to Agent, to Kayla. "Hero, Lancer, Chick, Smart Kid," she pointed to herself, "Aaand Sixth Ranger. We still need the Big Guy." Everyone had just given up on understanding Vira and her nonsense by this point. Then, they all crumpled to their knees as she screamed, at the top of her lungs, "Balthy, git yer ass over here now!" For a moment, even the wild Petpets were too shocked to make noise.

Then came the thudding, caucaphonous footsteps through the brush. With a single punch, a snarling mountain of cobalt blue fur busted through an impossibly thick cluster of thorns and branches. The gigantic Lupe roared, "What in the hell is going on here?" Balthazar leveled a sulfurous glare on Agent, Brynn, and the others.

This was until Vira flit over to land with her legs over his shoulders. She tweaked his ears affectionately, saying brightly, "Y'know that blue thing that's causin' trouble for Brain?" The blue Lupe nodded carefully, trying to not buck Vira off. "We're gonna help 'em dispose of it! We'll be heroes, man!" She squealed gleefully.

Balthazar perked his ears up. "Will we be big damn heroes?" Vira shrugged, then nodded in agreement with that idea. "Well damnation! I'm in!" He and Vira raised their fists, both hooting and hollering with approval.

Now feeling like she needed to take a bath to get all of those oaths out of her fur, Agent shook her head exasperatedly.

This entire affair had simply gotten out-of-hand.

End of Act Two