“Karas! We're leaving!” shouted Tanin the moment he spotted the Goliath in the corner, “Go grab whatever you own, and let's get going.”

“You're leaving already?” Reginald's eyes grew wide, revealing a sparkling pair of sapphire coloured irises.

“Unfortunately, it seems so,” rumbled the pale giant as he stood tall whilst Little Mother squeaked at the sudden movement before hiding under his hair once more, “Just be sure to spread the story around. Wouldn't want this to be swept under the rug, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh don't worry about that,” he frowned with an incredulous look, “Something like this will no doubt ruin his reputation, and when it reaches the ears of those at HQ, he'll be stripped of everything he owns before tossed away like yesterday's trash.

“Gods, Karas. I need a drink.” To which he stood up and sauntered out of the building in search of said drink.

After which the robed giant stood tall once more, both equally bemused and befuddled by the Bard's words. Bemused because it was an interesting reaction; befuddled because it wasn't what he expected. Instead, he believed the Elf would be drooling over such a story, regardless of its truths, but went the opposite direction.

Make no mistake, Karastak didn't have a doubt the other would retell the tale with his own spin on things, but still... “Why did he have such a reaction?” he muttered towards Azazel as she made her way back to his side.

“[The Bard?]” her eyes drifted towards the backside of Reginald as he waltzed out the front door, lute in hand, “[Probably because he's an Adventurer, and everyone follows the rules to the best of their ability. So if someone like Grayson, who is a Guildmaster, breaks one of the many rules, then of course he'll be upset.]”

“I guess so,” he muttered in response, moving off towards Clarissa just as Tanin appeared with his hand out for his badge. Whereupon he pulled it out, but placed it into the feline Beastwoman's hand that appeared whilst giving a raised eyebrow towards the Elf.

“So,” she drew out the final syllable of the word, “which quest are you taking now, Karas?”

“An escort mission to Rosenburg,” he responded, hooking a thumb towards the green robed Elf to his right, “I'm apparently to make sure he gets there, and Grayson's the one who requested it.”

“Okay then,” she beamed. That is, until the words sank into her mind, and her eyes widened greatly before shouting, “YOU'RE GOING TO ROSENBURG?!”

The whole of the common room ceased their words, as they turned towards Clarissa and the pair before her before returning to their own conversations. Whereas Clarice dashed over the counter, hugging his leg whilst crying, “Nyo! You can't go!”

Karastak, on the other hand, had a clouded expression upon his face, one that caused his eyes to become shrouded. For he was loathed to see a child upset, and gently peeled her from his leg before lifting her small frame into his arms in order to give her a brotherly hug. One which was received by her wrapping small, thin arms around his neck whilst burying her face in his large shoulder. Whereupon he rubbed the girl's back slowly, his staff resting against the counter as he mumbled soothing words to the upset child.

“You can blame Grayson for my departure, but I'll do my best to return after completing this quest, alright? I'll even bring back some gifts. How does that sound?” he smiled warmly down upon the sisters as the youngest pushed herself up from his shoulder with several tears leaking from her eyes.

“Promise?”

He felt his blackened heart melt from such an expression, and proceeded to wipe away her tears with a blackened thumb, “Promise.” After proclaiming thusly, he set her down with a gently scratch on the back of her neck, which she purred lightly from the attention before scampering off to complete whatever task she might have.

Tanin, on the other hand, gave him an incredulous look before closing his eyes, shaking his head, and sighing. To which the giant glared down whilst saying, “Children are children, Elf. Their minds are fragile whilst growing at her age, and since she enjoys my presence, it would be wrong of me to simply disappear without the promise of return.”

“Bah,” was all he said as he pulled off his Mithril badge and handing it over to a wide eyed Clarissa. Of whom stared down at the magickal metal with the image of a Unicorn and a tree etched upon the surface. “Girl, add Karas to my Party.”

“She has a name,” rumbled the Goliath, who glowered down upon the other, “and it's Clarissa.”

To which he rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers in front of the Beastgirl's face, causing her to leap back with widened eyes. “Huh?”

“Add him to my Party,” he spoke slowly, pointing up at the one next to him.

“Um... okay...” Thus leading her to place the silver badge upon the Mithril one, before handing both to their respective owners, “There. Done.”

“Good,” exclaimed Tanin, who turned to leave, “Karas, make sure you have everything-”

“All that I own is here.”

“Very well, then meet us outside in an hour. We'll leave then.” After speaking thusly, he exited the door, leaving Karastak, the sisters, and the common room full of Copper and Silver Rankers behind.

*****

“Is he in your Party?” asked Grayson, eager with anticipation as he and Tanin looked upon the Mithril medallion.

“Yes,” responded the Elf with a small smile, believing this would reveal who Karastak really was, “and now it's time to see Karas's stats. !”

Upon casting the augmented spell, , the pair frowned as the party roster appeared with first Korin, followed up by the Halfling and the twin Wolfwomen along with each of their portraits. However, below these was another slot, one which had the portrait of the Goliath, but next to it was something strange. One which they knew was supposed to contain a Status screen, instead held a string of words, but could not make out anything within, even with Tanin's .

K͖̯͎̂̌̆ͥ̔̿̈a̷̛̞̣͍ͪ̉̅͝r͇̰͓̬̯͊̽ȃ̑ͨ͢҉̩͔̤̲̝̭s̛̟̺͉̯͙̮͔̗̾ͨ̃ ̛̯̺ͩȉ͎͚̤̬̜ͫͩ̑ͦͅs̛̜̘̄ͤ̌ ̸̢̙͇͍̬̱̞̊ͥͭ̑̈̎ͥ̚͜ͅṋ̛͓̗͔̤͉ͣ̉ͪ͋́̆ỏ͇͉̠̫̭̯͚̊͋̒͒͑̄ͤͅt́̇ͤ̌ͦ̌̚͡͏̱ ͚̭̜̖̳̬̙̠̌̄ͩ̓͊͌͝aͩͥ̔͂̄̀ͥ̍͏̡̼͙̯͕̱̯͕̞͙ ̨̢̰̥̥̰̘̘̰ͦ̈́̔̇̊̍̏ͧ̇p͛͒ͧͨͯ͋͞͏̦͈̗̻̩͈̺͉a̷̛͖̯̓̂ŗ̵̗̹͚̺͎̺ͩ͋̏̑́͛̾̐̇t͖̙̤̉ͪͬͥͯͥ̕͜ ͓̪̊̎ọ̧͓̹̮͒̊͐̍͌̂f̱̺͍̠̩̫̐̉̈́̃̉͢͡ ͨ̈́̽ͧͬ́͏͕͉̳̺̘̯͘T̵̲̦̬͇̲̍̏ͬ̈̂͊ͫ̀͡e̎̏͞͏͖͍̦̪̬r̯̪̤̦̀ͥ͛ͧ͘͠r̴̖̮͙̜̘͎̅͋̈́̓̔̊̔͒̌ā̸̲̟̭̩͇̓ͬ͜ͅ'̶̘ͯ͒͋̄̈sͩ̽҉̹̪͖̭̳̳̻̳ ̷̦̼̣̲̙ͤͬ̾͌ͧ̎́̎͜S̸͋ͣ́ͮ͛ͩ̽̓͢͏͓̬͎̱̰y͙͇̤͇̗̳͔ͨͫš̬͇̲̬͇͍͐t̨͎̞̯͎̳͕̞̮̑̑ͨ͌̌͑̒́ȩ̛̹̗̺̜͍̰̠̼̃ͤ́͌̔̑ͭͦm̡̲̪̾̆̽̾͆̅ͥͧ.̸̡̲̯̂ͦͪ̍̏͋̑ ͉̖͓̱̎̒ͧ͆̿̃͑̌̽͠P̵̄̂͋̒̽̏҉̺̝l̜̫̥̠̼̗͈̾ͣͧ͌e̹̾͗ͨ̐a̱̫̱̭̯̪̳̓͗͌̄ͭͫͦ̏̄͘͞s͎̠͈̪͖͙̤͌̌ͨ̈́̔̊̊͊͡e̶̸̢͔̘̦̪̥̞̮͖̲̿͋ͥͯͧ̏͒̎̂ ̹̣͉̠̪̣̭̙̲̓̈ͦ̂ͫ͐͊̓c̜̗̣̟̻̀ͪͦͥͭ͋̇͘ơ̶͙͔̖̲͓͚̦ͩ͋̐̚n̷̟̰̖̭͍͚̞͚̗ͭͦͬ̈́͋̇̌́͝t̪ͩ̓̿̽ͫ̿̃a̞̽̾̔̎́̚͢c̬͔̘͊ͯͯt͉̰̱̩̭̗̙̓̐́ ̗͎ͪ͒̅ͯ̊ͯ̐͠t̲̩̙͔̮ͦ͑̆ͫͩ̈́̄̚ͅh̡̡̫̙͓ͨ͑͗ͤe͉̐̀͝ ̨̨̞̼̪̜̩̰̑ṅ̶̨̯̪̗̺̊ͨͧͪͪͭę̘̱̦̆ͣ̀ͥ̀͟á͈̙ͫ͋ṛ̦̣͍̫̟̦ͤ͗͂ȩ̢͇͓̘̺̩̙̱ͮ̑͛͛̍s̪̖̰̍͌ͩ̋̄͌͛̈́t͈͕̞̤̤̋́̋̾͘ ̘͚̤͎̫͓̖̒͒̉ͬ̊͝A̓̎̎͘͏͕̣̞̬͚̻̩͞ͅḑ̵̯̺̲͓̞̦͕̱ͯ̄ͩ̅ͫͦͫ̀m͈̪ͯ̌͊͡i̴͈͕ͦ̈ͩ͡n̖̠̽̉̋ͨ̀i̖̱̰ͩ̋̚s͍͚̟̥̠̘ͣͫ̊̃͡t͔̝̑̍̈́̓͋̈r̢͙̱̤̠̤͉̘̀̊̌̾̀͌ͧͬ͝͝ą̹̭̹̥͕ͧͣ̈ͧ̎͑͡͡t͗̾͑҉͕̝̥̦́o̼̰̯͗ͯͫr̨̡̮͓͓͗͛ ̶̷̟̣͍̜͓̠͖̣͋̀̊͋͂ͬͫf̙̗̗ͦͧ͘͘ơ͒̒҉͕̬̼̱͖͡r̵̠̺̹ͧ͒

*****

Within the middle of a black Void Space slept Azrael, a girl akin to Azazel, but her complete opposite. One who had hair the colour of virgin snow, wore an equally white dress with pink flowers dancing upon the hem, had skin the colour of alabaster, and eyes as dark as pitch. Here, she gave a sigh as a delicate finger danced across a blue screen which overlooked the city of New Wair where her favourite race lay within.

Well, to call them her favourite would be a stretch, as they had a special bakery which always unknowingly sent a dozen of the first batch of cakes to her. This was due to an agreement struck between her and the first Hero she had summoned. Of whom bribed and promised her delicious and wonderful cakes sent every day, if she were to protect the Humans of Terra. Upon agreeing to the terms, she helped them win a past war, and she received the cakes.

Now, after a thousand generations past, she still received them, and continued to watch over the bakery as though her life depended upon them. However, her casual glance down upon the world was interrupted with a blaring, . Of which caused the whole of her Void Space to be bathed in a flashing colour as bright as blood.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!” she howled to no one in particular, “Command!”

“[Awaiting Command],” spoke a monotonous, yet feminine, voice.

“Command, what the hell is going on?”

“[Scanning, please wait...],” to which she waited for what seemed like an eternity, until Command returned with, “[WARNING! UNKNOWN ERROR HAS OCCURRED! PLEASE STANDBY!]”

“What the ever living fuck is happening?!” she glared at the world around her, searching for someone to strangle. However, it was at this time that the first dozen cakes from the bakery down below appeared. Of which caused the anger to melt away as the red lights faded away, resulting in her Void Space to resuming being as dark and as black as pitch whilst she sat and ate the cakes with a great and beaming smile upon her features. All other matters were of little consequence, as long as she only had her cakes.

*****

“You really are leaving,” whispered Dean as he, and the sisters gathered around Karastak. Behind him and upon horses, were Tanin and company who were to be his new group mates, “Why do you have to go?” This was spoken aloud, as Clarice sobbed into the Goliath's right shoulder whilst Little Mother nuzzled her cheek.

“Mr. Karas,” Clara was trying to hold back her own tears as she gazed upon the other, and held up a burlap duffel bag, “This is for you. Some treats for Little Mother, and some extra clothing for yourself.”

To which he smiled softly and took the bag, then placed it down whilst bending forward in order to give her a small hug. One that caused the eldest of the trio to stiffen, before leaning up against the slow breathing chest of the giant. After which his arm released her, whilst the other set down the child who was still very much upset.

As for Clarissa, she held up a small bundle wrapped in oiled parchment, “It's for you,” her tone contained some shyness which was strange, and he raised an eyebrow. After which he smiled, tentatively took the wrapped item, and gave her a light pat on the head. Of whom gave a slight purr from the attention before slapping her mouth with both hands in startlement. Thus leading him to rumble out a soft laugh as he turned to a very angry Dean.

“Why do you have to leave?” he demanded, showing that he still had some boyish youth left in him, despite being 19 summers old.

“The Guildmaster is afraid,” rumbled Karastak, who turned his gaze behind his right shoulder to glare up at the figure in the third floor window. One who ducked back in once they realised they had been spotted, “He's afraid, and our friend will speak of it by this evening. By morning all will know, and by week's end, his fear will be known to all within Orley's territory.

“So look for him, and protect him, Dean. He will need it when others find out the source, and seek to silence him. Understand? And if he asks for assistance, give it to him as a favour from me.”

“What?” the four frowned.

“What do you know that we don't, Mr. Karas?” inquired Clara, still frowning.

“You will know when you will know. For now, just keep an eye on our friendly neighbourhood Bard, okay?” he squatted down in front of Clarissa, rubbing her head, “Can you do that for me?”

“Yep!” she beamed, her eyes red from crying and even had a trail of dried, smeared snot around her nose.

“Good girl,” once more was another rubbing of her head from himself, “but now I must leave. Though it may be some time before I return, know that I shall return. I keep my promises, after all,” he grinned and lifted the burlap duffel bag, gently placing Clarissa's present inside atop some garments. It was then placed over his left shoulder as he held out his right. Whereupon his magicks condensed into a cylindrical shape before extending to his height and took the shape of his staff.

After which he turned and trudged off towards the awaiting party and declared, “I am ready.”

Priscilla pointed towards something behind himself, “There's a horse waiting-”

“I do not need, nor want one,” came his voice in an arrogant tone, “My magicks will allow me to keep up, if not exceed, the speed of a galloping horse.”

“Hah,” barked Korin, “I'd like to see you try. A Goliath like you won't be able to keep up with Nightmare.” His hand lightly pat against the left side of his dark haired stallion. One which snorted whilst shaking his head as though in agreement.

“Is that so?” grinned Karastak, “Then how about a race?”

“What's the wager?” the Human grinned with anticipation.

“I follow your orders for the duration of the quest, if I lose, but if I win,” an odd and malevolent glint entered the left corner of his eyes, “then you are to follow mine.”