This new person seemed too good to be true. A wide grin, not monstrous, and also wearing a respectable outfit. This isn't the usual criteria to a Morden-hired person. Tanythe caught on almost immediately, and kept his index finger on the trigger to his elven crossbow. A glance to his allies soon came, they didn't seem more bothered. "Well? Mind if I come onto one of your horses?" Gaius asked, but before any of the three horse-riders could answer, he found himself climbing up onto Pergos' horse.
"So... uh... Gaius? What's your shtick?" Pergos would ask him, turning his head to make eye-contact.
"Should I start walking again?" Børrn asked, tugging on the chains as the three horses stumbled forward a few clops.
"No no, not yet my friend, I want to know,"
"Alright alright, I'll tell ya. I'm just a good fighter, I suppose. I'm sure my old boss called me a Banneret, or whatever," He shrugged, and would glance to Børrn to start. Reluctantly, the giant began his walk.
"Banneret? As in leader?" Colette asked.
"Wait, did we get assigned you as a leader? No way, we've been doing this gig for a year!" Pergos objected, crossing his arms. In his defence, Gaius rolled his eyes and shrugged.
"I haven't been told anything. Look, I'm just as out of the loop as you four are," This made Tanythe scoff, this person could not be trusted, right? Although, he did seem more 'happy' than the average Morden sellsword, maybe he was actually a good person? Tanythe shuddered to the thought, his track record included Valarys, so it mustn't have been a good one overall. Once Børrn started walking though, he gave up on those thoughts, sticking to keeping watch in case they'd be ambushed. Anything could happen, anyways.
 Travelling in silence was odd for Tanythe, he did not like it at all. Mostly, his banter with Pergos, or acts of mutual reassurance with Børrn, hell, even talking about any random topic with Colette could keep him entertained for hours. With this wrench thrown into their system, it practically ruined his experience. It felt like an eternity for the poor half-elf to even make it across the fields they were passing through. Once day had broken into dusk, the group set up camp. "Look, as much as I enjoy thinking to myself, it's not fun. We should probably talk more on the road, y'know?" Gaius had stated, making a campsite by himself with enough space for all five of the adventurers. Tanythe gave a look over whilst setting up the horses to a nearby tree, with enough food to keep them well for the night. He glanced to the other four members to his recently changed party. The only one even bearing Gaius attention was Pergos. They did look similar, too. Tanythe shook his head, refocusing on tending to the animals. He wandered back over, getting into his tent as soon as possible. "Long day, I'm going off early," He mumbled, removing his cowl once he had made it inside, and closed the tent's exit. Inside was a sleeping bag, at the ready. Slumping down, Tanythe felt his eyelids grow heavier with each waking moment, and would begin his many attempts to sleep. Although, this'd be thwarted by the others, who began to talk to their new ally. "We barely looked away, and when we came back, you had sleeping tents at the ready? How?" Børrn would ask Gaius, his gaze going over each of the varying sizes in tents.
"Well, before that Guildmaster plucked me into this group, I was gifted that by my General! Well, actually... it's more that he gave me a key, and that key led to an abandoned beholder cave. Inside was this!" He lifted up his sleeve, showcasing a bracelet that held a survival icon on it, which was emitting a gentle green hue. "Tapping this means I can bring in basic camping supplies, pretty nifty, ain't it?" A gasp of wonder came from Børrn, Tanythe could tell it was him by the curious noise.
"Right. But, wait... a beholder cave? Where about are you even from to get that kind of luck?" Colette's interest was piqued, leaning in to hear better. Her foot tapped against the ground, Tanythe grabbing his secondary set of padded armour from his backpack, to use as a pillow, and to muffle out the noise. It barely worked.
"I come from up north, well, every direction from here is technically north, when you think about it. But I come from Scyllia, they had a beholder problem a while back. Lucky me, I get one of the few caves that survived in the Capital's growth, lucky me," He chuckled, and continued on with his stories. Finally, something that could get the ranger to sleep.
 Once his consciousness came back, Tanythe found himself sitting atop a tree much larger than any other, towering over the rest of the forest. A gust of wind blew past him, causing some medallion to slip out of his hand and fall down to the ground. "Still up here? You haven't made your way down yet, disappointing," A deep voice echoed, Tanythe turning quickly on his heel to face a much taller individual.
"My apologies Sir, the branches below seemed too unstable, and a fall at this level is certainly-" He was quickly interrupted, with a lunge forward. Tanythe lost his balance and fell back, being caught by the amateur longbow on his back.
"Excuses are only said by those late to Death's Door, don't join their queue," He uttered, before swinging him back up onto the wooden platform. Breathing heavily, Tanythe would use his longbow to stop himself from losing balance. "I can expect you to be at least on-par, right, Elderwhisk?" The much larger figure would go to kick him down the central hole. "On your way down, pick up your trinket," Just as the foot would connect with his back, Tanythe felt the breeze end, and the chirps from below cease. He turned, seeing this similarly dressed person frozen in space.
"Jeez, he seems awful, how are you holding up, Tanythe?" A feminine voice rang out in his head, which made him stumble to the side.
"Huh? Wait... this is... a dream... huff..." He wiped his face down, hearing the voice much more clearly after a few moments. "Tinka? That's you, isn't it?" Tanythe swung his body around, desperate to find his new ally anywhere. But, with a single gust of wind, the ranger found himself reopening his eyes from a blink, to find himself in a simple plane of emptiness. Just a blank grey across the ground he was on, the sides, and up above. All that was with him was Tinka, staff in hand.
"This is me, yes. Lets make this quick though, this is exhausting me," She was breathing heavily, a ritual being below her, with strange markings across the rim. Her hands trembled, one resting on her knees, the other keeping a firm grip on her spellcasting focus.
"Why're you doing this?" Tanythe asked, just in case there was something to worry about. Although in return, this just got a chuckle.
"What? Can't a poor girl check up on her favourite hero of the lands?" She'd slump back a bit, causing Tanythe to jog forward.
"I don't often dream, Kirkwill, are you making a dream for me?" He'd ask, getting down on one knee to help her shaking.
"Dummy, everyone dreams..." She took a minute to reclaim her breath, a single bead of sweat dripping down her face. "I'm just making you remember this one, except I haven't done this in well over a year, unfortunately," She let out a nervous chuckle, whilst Tanythe would gaze about.
"Just a thought, we should do this once every few days, just to update one another, right?" He offered, slumping down to the ground. "But, if this is painful, then don't do it," He put a hand onto her shoulder to comfort her.
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Don't worry. I'll stop this soon," She took a deep breath, before doing some final markings on the ground. "One minute left,"
"you know, this is good for me. Means I get longer time away from that Gaius person. Such an idiot," He groaned, but this caught Tinka's attention.
"Oh? He sounds familiar, I'll look into him. Until next time, my hero," She gave a final grin, before Tanythe swung upwards, in his tent, it being the break of dawn.
 He got up, and positioned his spare outfit set in a pile, casting on it for it to be cleaned. He changed soon after and got out, to scope out their surroundings. "Oh, didn't think anybody else would be up this early," He glanced to Colette, who was sharpening the head of her glaive.
"It gives me something to do. Thank the gods that the new guy is asleep," She tossed away the sharpening stone she was using back onto the rest of her equipment. "Walk? It'd give me some time to get used to this sharpness, if you don't mind," Tanythe nodded after a short moment, grabbing his crossbow for defence as Colette would go to the edge of their camp, beginning their small walk. Next to their camp was a small stream, trickling down from a higher point in the small marshes that they were next to. Tanythe had to keep off his cowl, breathing slowly. Even at the break of day, the temperatures were slightly less bearable than usual. Each step made thick imprints on the mud, and made loud squelches, alongside Colette talking about her old life, but to Tanythe, it barely made sense. "But then that is when I met THE Pontiff, not just any regular cleric, both him and his clergy of madmen,"
"Sorry? Wouldn't you be dead?" Tanythe soon caught onto what she was talking about. It must have been a different holy person than the one of Ebermold, or even the South Pole, for that matter.
"Actually, that's when Morden plucked me from my kingdom. Lucky, right?" She chuckled, before suddenly stopping. "Hey, Tanythe? Down there, you see that?" She prodded the edge of her glaive's handle into the mud, showcasing a paw-print much larger than the both of them. Tanythe sunk down to his knees in a quick panic, as he made quick glances around into the large trees about them.
"Colette. Go back to the others, please, I'll handle this," He stated, brandishing his crossbow, for defence.
"What is it? Are we in some sort of lion's den?" Colette asked, her glaive being brought back up into her ideal fighting stance.
"No no, one track, and it's much larger. Lions live in groups, make yourself look larger, alright?" Tanythe ordered, pulling back the wire needed to actually fire his weapon. "We're in a tiger's domain now, don't try to kill it. If anything, it'll get more angry," He climbed up onto one of the trees, gazing upon the land, soon finding a set of low-hanging trees and a cave. "Over there, it'd be over there, just, go back, okay?" He called down, looking down at her. Colette glanced up too, and let out a loud yell.
"Tanythe!" She reached behind her, and threw a javelin up to a large tiger, behind her friend. It pierced its forearm, which was about to strike down Tanythe. He made a swift turn, looping his magical rope along the tree as he swung down, the tiger then lunging down, to try and rip past his leather armour. It ripped out large chunks, the ranger's blood dripping onto the muddy ground. Colette dashed forward, striking the giant creature's back, before picking up Tanythe and retreating. She ducked away from attacks, before placing her wounded ally next to a log. "Stay here, got it?" Colette ordered, before going back to fight the tiger. She would also grab onto her buckler shield, lunging towards the striped behemoth as she engaged in a standstill between her recently drawn armament and the claws of the creature. She then leaped over the beast. about to drive her glaive into it's back, but just as the blade was about to enter it's body, a crossbow bolt struck the tip of the weapon, causing Colette to strike the ground instead.
 She glared upwards, seeing Tanythe, loading another bolt. "Colette, stop," He called over, as she'd try again, this time Tanythe simply grabbed one of the slabs of meat he kept, throwing it on over. The tiger crunched into it, avoiding another attack. "Why are you defending it? We got attacked by it!" She yelled, her breaths growing heavier. Tanythe would dive forward, between the beast and Colette. "Listen, we're in her domain, we need to leave. Now," He raised his hands to try and stop her. With a final breath, she made a glance at the tiger, before drawing her weapon.
"You really can be a handful sometimes," She had walked off, wiping some dirt off of her plated armour. Tanythe turned his body back to the Tiger, seeing its wounds. He stepped forward, slowly, bringing out another slab of meat for her. He edged on over, seeing the laceration on her back. "Hey, it's okay, let me just see what I can do," He etched a rune onto his palm, afterwards, about to start communing with the creature. He felt as if it was necessary to save her from any further damage. After all, it was their fault on what happened. "it's okay, don't worry," The ranger was inches away from making contact with the much more docile creature, about to aid her. Then, unknowing of the other Adventurer's presence, Tanythe saw a beam of flame pierce through the tiger, killing her in an instant. His face dropped, and he turned his face up to where it originated. It was Gaius, a firearm in hand. "That was close, wasn't it? You're welcome, by the way," Slumping to his knees, Tanythe stared at the body, in dismay that he spent all of that time, that bloodshed, on a now completely lost cause. He grabbed his equipment, and headed up the hill to the others. He kept going onwards to Gaius, standing eye to eye to him. Equal in height, and in firepower, yet so, so different. Then, he threw a single punch, across his face. The blue-haired warrior stumbled back, holding his bleeding lip.
"You don't get to 'save' me, Gaius. You just killed her, and I had it under control!" He yelled, removing the bolt from his crossbow as he paced on over to his steed. Børrn was already waiting for the others, ready to get moving. Their new 'ally' would simply chuckle, wiping the light blood from his face, as he got ready as well. Back to their travelling, once again in silence.
 The image of the dead tiger stayed in Tanythe's mind, his eyes lingering on the rope in his palms, keeping him on his mount. Upon realising he was staring down, the ranger lifted his head up. Midday, now. Really, was he staring off for hours? He needed to blow of steam, probably. Wherever he was going next, he'd need a distraction, and a hell of a big one at that. Luckily for the still-injured warrior, it was in front of him. A large, iron gate stood before the adventurers, surrounded by turreted, stone walls. Built between the cliff face that was just nearby, as well as having a duo of guards by the gated door soon after the gate. Not much else could be seen, the glass on a few of the towers that pierce the clouds above. Pergos hopped off of his steed, striding up to the two guards. "Gentlemen! We require entrance, could you two do us a favour and let us poor travellers inside?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips. With closed eyes, and a confident smirk, he would then be met with the blunt end of a spear, striking him back. He landed onto the ground, coughing lightly as he held his now-bruised chest.
"Payment. We don't let nobodies on in," A low voice muttered. A hand was directed out, open-palmed. "A fee to get in, a fee to get out," He continued on, stepping down to the parties' level. Pergos flinched, getting up onto his two feet.
"I remember when Granairg wasn't so preppy, don't you lot?" Pergos turned to face his allies, smacking the back of his hand as a bundle of gold flew through the air, and landed in the open hand of the guard. His spear was driven back, as the gateway to the Castle swung open. With access, the party walked inside. Past the high wall, and treated to a lifeless ground, set with large crates of supplies on them. Børrn took a small peak into one, finding some machinery parts. He grabbed onto one quickly, fidgeting with it as they walked through the barracks for the castle. Soon coming into a large hall for the castle, decked with dining tables and large, metal chandeliers. The giant reached up, flicking it as it swung. A throat was cleared on the other end of the hallway. "Can you tell your big friend to not do that?" A low voice uttered, a heavily armoured warrior walking down the steps. Taking off his helmet to reveal a man, scars across his face. The iron mask slammed into the wooden floor, into a wedged position, as if it had been dropped there many times already. More steps were made to the adventurers, and he stood over most of them. "Sit down, will you?" He pulled out a chair, sitting in it himself.
"Of course, of course. We're just looking for refuge. You're working for Morden's Guild, right? If you need to have a look, his guidelines say we can stay here free of charge," Pergos smiled, eagerly sitting down. The stranger nodded slowly, unaware on if Pergos was 'bullshitting' him or not. "Which means... you lot owe me around ten gold pieces, alright? I expect them by sundown, tah," He chuckled, and glanced to his allies. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go off to my bed for the night," Tanythe sighed, his eyes instinctively rolling at the confidence from his friend.
"Apologies about him, he likes it when he thinks he's right, even if he isn't," Tanythe excused him, chuckling nervously after that as a growl emitted from the man. The stranger slumped back down in his chair, folding his arms slowly.
"Assuming you lot are more... polite than him... could I ask when you'll be leaving, and what we may need to provide?" He asked, as Colette would glance to the other three adventurers, and then began to speak.
"We indeed are, and we'll only be here for a day or two, tops. For materials to provide, just a few meals and a room each will do. If not, three rooms will do," She suggested, as Tanythe gave a small, yet assuring to his ally, nod.
 "Hmm... fine. So be it. Make yourselves at home, adventurers," With that, the stranger turned around his chair, and walked back off to a backroom.
"Before you go, I'd like to thank you... erm..."
"Hammond. General Hammond. It's my pleasure," Hammond replied to Colette, giving her a smile as his hand pushed the wooden door in front of him, and he left. Gaius slapped his hands against his legs, and stood up. "Well. If you lot don't mind, I'm going off to get a drink, wherever they keep them here," He strode off, and Tanythe let out a sigh of relief. Colette glanced over, and leaned against the dining table they were just sitting in. "Something wrong, my guy?" She asked, as Tanythe focused onto her. He took a sharp, deep breath, preparing for an answer.
"No no, not at all. Just the new guy is a bit of an asshole, isn't he?"
"Yeah, I see why. Eh, Morden probably has a good reason to why he's sticking about. Just let him do what he usually does. I mean, you know about the Brigadier's, right? They got given this total louse, and after just a few months, that 'louse' became one of the few people who can live between the spaces in the Abyss. Striders of the Abyss are hard to come by, and they made that happen! Just think on what we can do with that guy, alright? Alright," Colette patted Tanythe's shoulder, and grabbed her gear. "We'll talk more tomorrow, okay?" Without being able to give a response due to the onslaught of information. He hadn't even heard of Brigadiers before, so he was stuck in a silence, before then going to speak. Unfortunately, Colette already left. His gaze turned to Børrn, who had been sleeping against the dining table for the last few moments, practically when he just sat down. "Just me, then," He spoke to himself, before trotting off down a side hall, to go find himself something to do. Castle Granairg was a big place, especially for somebody like Tanythe. Usually a tent or a study did him just fine. However, this place gave him too many 'ideas', per say. Wandering down an exposed street, he found himself taking a glance to a cooking station. He took a peak into his bag, finding those ingredients from before he left Dallbert at the bottom. "Sir, mind if you can do me a favour? Make something out of this by sun fall, and bring it to the main dining room. Thank you," He placed a gold piece on the countertop next to the cook, and the stranger gave him an affirmative thumbs up. The half-elf continued down the pathway. Soon finding himself by a small hut, arguing coming from inside. His glance went across the small building, finding a wooden sign stated something in Draconic. Nothing that Tanythe could understand. The arguing though? He perfectly understood.
 He peaked inside, having to avoid a small puddle by the window. "You're such an idiot. Nythe's not responding, Grainarg will kick us out soon. Luciean Automages has gone silent as well. We're doing utterly horrible for us," A thick-accented voice came from inside, belonging to a halfling. A dark grunt could be heard, and a thick sword, even thicker than the accent on the shorter fellow.
"You could always move your product properly. Instead of relying on has-beens who rely on Morden's pay check, you can do what normal adventurers did. Or used to do, properly." Tanythe scoffed, he still did proper jobs, right? With a small sigh, he'd move on, unexpectedly having his bowstring tie to the small bell next to the door. It rung. How foolish of him, the one time he hadn't taken a moment to figure out what to do. Hopefully the two strangers would believe it to be the wind. "Oi. Anyone out there?" The thick voice rang out, tiny footsteps arriving to the door. Tanythe took a deep breath, and to see how he could slip out of having to talk with them. He was not so lucky though. The door opened quickly, and the short fellow was glaring up to him.
"My apologies, I was just walking through," He tried to clear up, hands staying by his side as he'd turn. He took two steps, unsure on if he'd get sway that easily. A thick gauntlet landed on his shoulder, gripping it tightly. Blood seeped down his arm and stained his clothes, and Tanythe was turned around. A large-built, armoured individual stood towering over him. "He's a member of Morden's lackeys. Probably listening in," It mumbled, stepping back into the tavern, before placing Tanythe down on a chair. "Keep yourself seated, or else," The halfling hopped onto the chair opposite of his captive adventurer.
"Listen, pal. You're wearing a Nythe outfit, I see. So what? You're gonna kill us? Just because we missed out on paying you lot?" His question echoed in the empty tavern, and the armoured one tossed over a spear.
"I can assure you both, I am no longer with the Conclave, just a passer-by. Just let me go, alright? No need for any further trouble," Tanythe stated, glancing to the door. He tried to keep his sleeve hidden, it had Morden's symbol branded on it. Out of the way, hiding in plain sight is what he was going for.
"Oh no, we know you gotta work for somebody! That's why you're here, ain't it, big guy?" The stranger looked up to his ally, giving a wide grin. "Oh, where's my manners? Name, right? You can call me Enzo, and who are you, Nythy?" He asked, pointing the spear to the neck of his captive adventurer. Tanythe looked down to the floor, staying quiet. "Not a talker, eh? I'll teach you to respect me, you sick half-elf," Enzo had spat on his boot, stepping on over to take off the cowl. "Regardless, you're with them. And we'll stay here, just waiting. Hear me?" He continued on, and on.
 Once the useless thoughts in Tanythe's head dispersed, he glanced to Enzo. "Are you done talking yet?" He asked, giving a light chuckle. Enzo, now infuriated, stormed on off to a fire place, grabbing a hot iron that was lodged between the logs and coals. He walked back on over, muttering curse words to himself as the larger adversary lifted away the hood from behind Tanythe, the red-hot iron inching closer and closer to his pale skin.
"If you won't talk, then I'll just make you beg for it to all be over," He simply stated, edging closer the metal.
"Well, if you gave him a chance to talk, he'd have probably done so by now. With all the talking you did, you'd be doing him a favour regardless on killing him,"
"Shut it, you. I already have one dickhead in here with me, and there's no space for two of them here," The more talkative of the two smacked the hot end against the knee-plate of his ally's armour, inching it closer to Tanythe afterwards. During this time, the half-elf managed to loosen up a bit, and had one of his bolts up his sleeve. Ready to unveil his attack, his ears perked up upon hearing the chime of the same bell he had disturbed early. Hopefully this was Børrn, or any of his friends. The door squeaked a little, before being kicked down by one of his allies. It took the half-elf a minute to get used to the light shining directly on him. Once the pain left from behind his eyes, he saw Gaius, weapon in hand, pointed to Enzo. "Hey buddy. Now, that's my Guildmaster's subordinate, so step away from him, and let us leave, alright?" He ordered, Enzo having no choice as he dropped his iron rod, looking down out of subversion. "Good. Come along now, 'Nythy'... Børrn won't shut up, and I'm tired of hearing him talk," Tanythe would slowly get up, glaring back to the two adversaries, before then leaving. He could've left himself, why'd he wait for somebody else, let alone Gaius? Alas, he's out now, and that's all that matters.
 No words were exchanged to each other, between the two adventurers, as they made their way down the walkways, and back to Granairg's living quarters. It was only when Tanythe got back inside, he realised that his cowl was removed. Dirt got onto it, plus there was singes from the hot iron from before. Only now did he see the two imperfections as well. "If you don't mind, I'm going off for dinner. I saw that some baker brought in some food. Finder's keepers, ay?" Gaius had looked up to his ally, getting no response. "Oh well, hopefully you'll show up later. Maybe fix up that hair of yours too. You look like a hermit," Gaius let out a chuckle, Tanythe thinking for a moment about what he said. His hand ran up the side of his face, feeling the stubble. Lucky enough for him, his room was mere paces away. It was written on a sign near him. "Heading off to your room already, Elderwhisk?" A familiar voice called from the opposite side of the hallway. Tanythe glanced over, seeing Colette looking over to him.
"Oh, no no. Just wanting to check it out, I'll be out soon," He lied, glancing inside, seeing a large bed next to a bookshelf. It certainly did pique his interest, to see what all of the books were about. He gave a small nod to Colette, with a smile, as he closed his door. Tanythe immediately made a quick pace to the bookshelf, a wide smile forming on his face. His longbow went to his bedside, as did his crossbow and their respective quivers. Before going to examine all of the books, he grabbed his own from his bag, and stacked it at the edge of his bed. Then his attention turned to the books in front of him. Fiction, studies, journals, all filled with fields of knowledge and interests that Tanythe had. His fingertips trailed over every book there, soon sliding one out. Sitting down on his bed, he opened up to the first page, and soon trailed the second, third, and before he realised, he was halfway through the book. Glancing up, to the window, he had seen the sun beginning to set. It soon donned on him that he was tired, and that his eyelids were getting heavy. Tanythe lifted himself up, putting the book he was reading back on the shelf it belonged to, and made his way on over to a basket in the corner of the room. Removing his outer layer of leather armour, he slid a plate of elven, flexible body armour out of the way and lifted up the side of his shirt, glancing at the start of a wound. His other hand reached over to the book in his bag, taking it out. A deep breath came from Tanythe, as he began scrolling through the pages. Blight's Apocrypha.
 Leaning against the study table, he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out some pouch. The pouch would then be opened, emptied out onto a table. The contents were simple, some small jar of a red liquid and a powder. Glancing back to the text, he read through one paragraph, taking a handful of the powder. Tanythe took a minute, and then lifted the side of the shirt further, staring at the infected wound of his. Pulsating a bright orange, with red veins in it, he applied the powder before rubbing the liquid on. The stinging made all of the movement in his body come to a standstill, before he was able to recuperate himself. Then, he grabbed a roll of bandages and tied it around his waist. Each time it went over, a hiss of pain came from his lips, before finishing up, tugging down his shirt. Tanythe glanced up, on over to the window. It was a clear night sky, despite some strange dust having built up on the windows. Upon looking closer, it seemed to make an uncanny resemblance. Something he's seen before. Unable to figure out where it came from, he opened the window slightly, and scooped up the powder, before putting it in a vial he had. Thinking to himself, Tanythe's main focus was making sure his blight could dissipate, and also to defeat Luciea. Yes, Luciea. He had almost forgot about her, how she built herself up as this powerful being, integral to a city, before then just disappearing. Gone. It bugged Tanythe dearly, how could somebody just leave? If Morden did so, he would've definitely been caught out on his departure, but not Luciea. Not her.