Fledge Northstar jumped out of the way as Artix shot a beam of light at their opponent, an awkward assemblage of "Spare Parts" left by necromancers. The beam hit the creature head-on (she thought—she wasn't sure if it had a head) and it fell forward onto the dirt paths of Moonridge. The last human town in Doomwood Forest was under attack by undead forces; although Artix especially was eager to enter the Necropolis, the pair first needed to help battle the monsters.
"Artix, Skelemancer!" The girl realized another undead stood behind its fallen comrade.
"You've got this, Fledge!" he called, charging at a different target with a grin. He was right; slashing with her light-aligned daggers, Fledge whirled around the Skelemancer; before it could even strike back, her baby wind-dragon Tyloria blasted it into a pile of dry bones.
Snarls made the Celestial Angel's feathers and the hair on the back of her neck tingle; she spun to face a pair of Bloodwolves; the first lunged, but a quick slash of a dagger rendered it lifeless. Unfortunately, she missed the second wolf when she sprung at it, however, Artix swung his sword and took care of the problem.
Fledge turned to thank her friend but suddenly a blob of green slime collided with the left side of her upper body and face. The force knocked her to the ground; Artix leapt over the Angel's body, yelling "You just got Necro-SLAMMED!" In a matter of seconds the monster disappeared in a splash of goo.
"Are you alright, Mistress?" Tyloria put her head close to the Angel. "Please don't be hurt. At least, don't be so hurt that you can't feed me."
"I'm fine," Fledge replied in Draconic, sitting up, though she knew her entire left side would be bruised from the slimey blow, the remnants of which stuck to her hair and Rogue leathers. Gross, she thought. "I'm glad my safety is one of your top priorities," she said sarcastically, amused as Tyloria turned away with a hmph. The girl stood and spoke to Artix in the common tongue, "A certain silly, winged reptile would like to go back to camp now because she'd rather not eat the remains of your killings, Artix." She tapped a boot against the Skelemancer's skull.
His face fell. "But…we've only slain one wave of them…" The Paladin slumped over like a sad child not allowed to play outside on a sunny day.
"Well, now that I think about it, someone else forgot to take his potions to the battlefield," Fledge reminded him.
"Alright, that is true," he admitted. He started in the direction of the war-camp, adding "I hope the other heroes have come closer to finding out the reason for the attacks."
They arrived at the same time as another group of heroes; the majority reported to Artix immediately, heading toward his tent to record anything of significance, however Fledge noticed a sullen young man was hanging back, leaning against a pine. He wore simple Mage robes, had tanned skin, and brown hair, not as light as hers but not as dark as Artix's, that hung slightly over his forehead. A short beard edged his sturdy jawline. His sky-blue eyes met Fledge's gaze as she approached, she noted his face was tinted green slightly.
"Are you alright?" she asked. "You look like you could use a health potion."
"Gladly," he answered; the Rogue grabbed one from her backpack, and he downed it in two gulps. "Thanks," he said as his complexion visibly returned to a normal state.
Just to be on the safe side Fledge started to say "If that wasn't enough, I could use Angelic magic-"
He spoke at the same time she did, "I've used Angelic magic-"
They halted mid-sentence, realizing her gray wings and his golden-brown pair were slightly unfolded. After a moment of silent blinking at each other, they burst into laughter. "Looks like Angels aren't all that rare on Lore after all!" Fledge exclaimed. When the laughter subsided, she suggested he finish his thought.
"I've used Angelic magic frequently in most of the waves I faced today. My mana was running low, so a fellow party member gave me a potion. I don't think it was one of Alina's potions; it didn't taste right. Anyways, it was making me queasy inside, but that's when you appeared," he grinned. "Thanks for making me feel better. I'm Talon Swoopingeagle. May I have your name?"
"Fledge Northstar," she replied, unfolding her right wing and nodding slightly, a casual Angelic greeting, and returned the smile. "Usually I don't have necro-slime covering half of me, but well, I just got back from the battlefield," she laughed awkwardly, trying to brush back her slime-coated bangs.
He returned, "No, it's alright, I've got some goo on me as well. Maybe we all do from fighting." He paused in thought, then added, "I might be able to magically remove it from your hair..."
"Really?"
"Yeah, just bow your head a little towards me, and I'll see what I can do." Once she did as he asked, Fledge felt cool water soaking her hair, a pair of hands carefully running across her scalp. "It's just a little water magic," Talon explained. "I'm just an average mage."
A few minutes later he said, "Done. I got most of the necro-slime out, although you might wanna take a bath later to be sure." He used one of his long sleeves to dry her hair.
"Thank you so much," Fledge answered, "I'm just surprised you volunteered to help me. Apart from Artix, Zhoom, and Tomix the SoulWeaver, not a lot of guys talk to me, actually," she smiled shyly.
He leaned against the pine again, raising an eyebrow. "That's strange, I don't see why a guy wouldn't want to talk to you."
Much to her relief, Talon didn't notice her blushing soft pink, as he turned towards approaching footsteps. "Ah, Artix, sorry I didn't meet up with you and the others. Any news?"
The Paladin smiled, "It is alright, and yes, I have news to share! It appears we have defeated the last few waves of the opposing forces! Now, we can finally discover the reason for the undead attacks!"
Just then, a furry blue moglin carrying a skull-topped staff waddled past the trio, to stand a few feet away with his ragged cape facing them.
Fledge was the first to address the newcomer, "Zorbak?! What are you doing here?"