Ardacen lay on the floor, foaming at the mouth and sweating profusely. It took every ounce of trust that Victoria could muster to prevent herself from trying to shake him awake. Instead, she lay him on his back, turned his head to the side, and wiped his forehead and mouth. As dire a situation as it seems, she still finds it a little humorous that Ardacen had found a way to make a flaming skull head look so pitiful. She stifles a laugh when the sounds of rapid footsteps approaching attracts her attention.

From outside the flap, Richter explains that a group from the Rose of the Three Thorns had discovered that the people responsible for Sir Aristeo's death and the deaths of four of their young Hydras was in town. They were also able to learn of their Linqs name and the identities of Ardacen and Richter, who were the ones who snuck into Sir Aristeo's home on the night of his death.

"Damn the bastard," Victoria growls through gritted teeth. She stares down at Ardacen. "He's fucking with us from beyond the grave."

"What do you think we should do?" Richter asks.

"If they know enough about us they might find out we have the Nightshade parked here. Let's set up a proper guard. I don't want to have to go to Baron Andersil for this. Though, if things get out of hand he will hear about it." She uses her hands to cradle Ardacen's. They're not as warm as they should be and he's starting to mumble in his magic induced sleep.

"Damn it. There's about forty or so minutes left of this damned ritual," Vic growls.

"You stay here with Ardy. Serenity, Sonny, and I can take care of some lame adepts. If they're anything like last time… Oh wait… Oh shit…" Richter trails off as the memory of the Bone Hydra comes back fresh and visceral. If Dez and Angus are with them, it won't be a simple matter.

"Position us near the exit. If we have to go, then have someone get us to his manor. They'll let us in if they see me and the Rose probably won't be foolish enough to attack them openly."

"You got it, ma'am." With those words, Richter's shadow races away and Vic strokes Ardacen's flames.

"Hang in there, love. But hurry the hell up, would you?"

****************************************

After clearing all of the Grimvine Puppets, the team of four focus most of their efforts on the lumbering Tomb Blossom. As large and imposing as it seemed at first, its main purpose was to continuosly birth Puppets every so often to use as defenders and healing fodder. The Spriggans that randomly returned to drop off treasure, who were also under the control of the Alraune, became disoriented when seeing the marked changes in their mistress.

The one who was once fair and smooth and lovely to behold, is now covered in small, sharp spikes and rivers of black, viscous fluid that resembles sap. Her face, too, is distorted by a mouth full of green, needle like teeth and furious, pitch-black eyes. She's trying to use the bulk of her roots to crush her attackers but they are much too agile, much too smart for her simple tactics. A Spriggan and its loot are smashed against a wall, killing it, and leaving a ring and loot sack on the floor of the maintanence walkway.

"I've got one more coming up," Dawn yells out. Her new shield is in storage and she's using her Armlet of Sculpting Steel's kite shield for the moment. One of the root tackles nearly broke the new one, along with her arm. She had just gotten it so she didn't want it busted quite so soon. As the next couple seconds go by, Dawn regenerates enough SP to use another Smite and the others give her a little swinging room. She dodges smaller, whip like vines nearer to Luxa and blocks a spikey hammer fist swinging down from the desperate Alraune. She sends the glowing Thunderstruck up into the spot where one would have ribs if one had ribs at all.

[Elemental Weakness! You deal 404 radiant damage!]

Still, a crunch reverberates through her weapon and the air leaves Luxa's body in a short, pained breath. She belches bloody sap out of her gaping, toothy maw and it runs down her chin.

"They… they made us…" she gasps, coughing up more black sap blood as her dark eyes turn a milky white. The rest of her body begins to wither and dry before evaporating in a cloud of pixel dust.

[You defeated Luxa, Black Rose Alraune!]

[Boss Slayer! As the last to attack the boss when it died you receive a bonus!]

[You received 700XP, 1*Ring of Ignis]

It takes a moment for the rest of Luxa's roots and flower to realise that she actually died in the fight as they continue to shift and writhe about the ground. Everyone stays to the side on the maintanance walkway, waiting for all of the bodies and roots to evaporate and picking up all the stolen loot.

[3400XP +40% War Party Leader IV bonus

[4760XP will be shared among the party.

[4760XP/4 members.

[You received 1190XP!]

[You received 1*Dog Eared Logbook, 733*Small Black Rose Alraune Petal, 32*Large Black Rose Alraune Petal, 23*Black Rose Alraune Seed , 17*Alraune Leaf, 470*Alraune Root Piece, 411*Alraune Vine, 1*Corsage/Black Rose, 77*Alraune Sap, 12*Licherite Stone, 1*Apprentice Golem Core]

[Level up! You have reached Level 18!]

[You have 7 Stat Points to allocate!]

Since the Puppets were actually made from parts of Luxa herself and regular skeleton bones, they didn't leave behind any loot sacks. Instead, the current haul actually comes from both Bosses. Since the Tomb Blossom was apparently a golem made from pieces from Luxa, too, they didn't get a variety of materials, but they did get quite a lot of what did drop. They also got quite a few of the rare Licherite Stones though Kona wasn't exactly sure what they could do with them. After cringing when she heard Dawn's pronunciation of the name of the stones, Kona just had to correct her.

"Lich, as in the evil lich, er-ite."

"How the hell am I supposed to know that?" Dawn frowns, but she's not really mad as she goes over the other items they picked up. "It's not my fault we're starting to run into things with ridiculous names. Besides, I'm a Blacksmith. Why should I care if all we got here is a bunch of organic loot."

From the Spriggans, they picked up almost a hundred pieces of Hartwood, a Fey-blessed timber that is good for all sorts of magical things but exceptional for staves and wands. From the Mandrakes, they got the species nonspecific Mandrake Petals, Roots, Sap, and more Seeds. Kona explained that due to her level in Alchemy, they were able to receive the previously unobtainable Seeds and Sap. As one levels up their Artisan Classes or gains similar Feats, one may begin to extract rarer materials as loot. Dawn did have another question, but it was easily answered when she read the terms of the Quest.

Because this is a Contract Quest, it isn't complete until the adventurers return to the guild to turn in proof. Usually, just visual proof of particular loot is good enough and this Quest's just the same. A quick glance at what Luxa dropped and some of the stolen goods should suffice. All except for maybe the logbook. Luxa's final words gave birth to many questions and Dawn had a feeling that if she were to reveal the log book it would be confiscated and her questions might not be answered.

"Alright, let's stay alert while we clear out the other rooms." Dawn withdraws and reequips her new shield that Ardacen had brought back. Instead of adding armor like a piece of equipment should, the Stalwart Round Shield had a high Durability (187/500 currently)which drains as it takes damage, preventing HP loss to the wearer. This would normally make it something that should break in battle as it's being used, but if one were able to swap it out, the Durability could eventually regenerate. Then, it can be used repeatedly.The real downside is that it can only regenerate as it's being worn, like any other piece of equipment.

"Speaking of Ardy, I hope they're doing alright." Dawn muses out loud, following Rachel and putting her Stat Points into Faith, and bringing it up to 70. She decides to wait until later to use her VigeStat Point, but to equip her new ring now. She moves her Storage ring to her left and places the new one on her dominant right, reading the description.

[Ring of Sucrut Ignis. Journeyman Ring

[Requirement: 50Faith, melee weapon in ring hand

[Spell: Divine Flash]

[Divine Flash (5MP+10SP+1Sec) 50feet/ Create a burst of radiant energy from within a target, dealing Weapon Damage + Faith Total radiant damage. Requires knowledge of target's location.]

"Oh, mama this is gonna be fun to use." Dawn grips her Thunderstruck in her new ring's hand, feeling the Spell's availability. "If there aren't any monsters left I'm using this on one of you," she says half jokingly. They all look at her with worried expressions on their faces, but she laughs. "Don't worry, I can always heal you."

****************************************

"Get us out of here!" Richter dodges a pair of magical bolts and returns fire with a couple of arrows. He stops to grip the handrail of the cabin as the vardo bursts out of the stables like a bat out of hell. Three men chase after the vehicle on foot, but are soon outpaced. Any celebration is put on hold, however, as three beastial canines emerge from nearby shadows. Each one is pitch black, larger than a lion, and has three gnashing, snarling heads that barely resemble viscous dogs. The men mount them and give chase.

After passing a narrow intersection, two more mounted creatures join the chase. Conner turns around from his passanger seat to join Richter as he fires magic imbued arrows at their pursuers. Taymin keeps his cool as he drives the horses through the streets of Kes Solomas.

"Shit, I thought they weren't going to follow us," Richter half shouts, half asks. He fires a Double Shot, hitting one of the beasts in the body, dealing some damage, but barely slowing it down. He tries something crazy, as an Arcane Thief, and summons his Mage Hand, a purple incorporeal hand that can be used in a myriad of ways. Richter uses it to grab and hold onto a leg of a rider, stopping him suddenly and dragging him off of his mount.

"Power Shot! Maybe not within the walls of the manor," Conner answers after blasting another rider off as well. But much like Hydras, for every one they stop, two more Cerberus Riders appear to take their place.

The hood fly off the adepts, revealing shaved heads and ritualistically scarred faces. They cast their elemental bolts as they methodically close the distance between them. As fast as the vardo can be, turning corners and empathy toward the public on the road considerably slow it down.

One adept is close enough to leap off of his mount and grab the handles of the door. Ready to rip the doors open, he is thrown back violently as they burst open seemingly of their own accord. Standing in the doorway are Serenity, Sonny, and Mika with an odd looking crossbow.

Serenity casts a lightning Spell that arcs across several of the riders while Mika takes aim with her weapon. The crossbow fires off seven, heavy bolts before she has to drop a wooden box from its center into her storage ring. It's quickly replaced with another and she takes aim at the closest rider.

Her laugh is throaty and malicious, "I knew it would work! Wish I could see what the Elf's weapon can do!" She reloads a third box into her crossbow before gripping the door frame when the vardo made a sharp turn.

With the way most things on the inside of the vardo were nailed down to keep everything stable, everyone did their best to hold on as well. The reserves and leftover soldiers position themselves between the doorway and the citizens while Victoria in the back tries anchors Ardacen and keep his candle upright.

Sonny somersaults out of the doorway, landing on Meteora and surfs it alongside the vardo, hovering higher to speak with those in the cabin.

"Need a boost, guys?" She asks, using her new instrument to blast at a swarm of summoned creatures. Able to target two people, she casts Inspire II and bumps Richter and Conner's Dexterity up by 2%. She casts it again to activate another ability of Inspire, which is to reduce their Regeneration wait times to zero for ten minutes.

The flying creatures are Styrges, a type of imp or small, low ranked devil, with red leathery wings and skin, four arms and two legs ending in barbed hooks, and a head with three, demonic, mosquito like faces. It uses each leathery, needle nose to inject a corrosive liquid into its victims and drink out the melted smoothie that it forms.

The swarm is probably in the several dozens and since the Styrges are about two feet long they're being promoted to top spot priority of the shit list. They may not have a lot of HP, but taking them down while also avoiding being stung or blasted by Spells on a high speed cobblestone ride isn't a walk in the park.

Richter activates his magical bowstring to give his shots a bit more size and power since they shoot out like grey Arcane Bolts with a radiant element instead of just arrows. It eats up MP, but one-shotting the unholy imps makes it worth doing. Richter is shouting in triumph, "Take that, prick face!"

Sonny rides Meteora into the heart of the swarm and activates her Dance, the Lamia Tango. Her entire body glows a marbled red and yellow light as her Armor drops to 1. With her eyes closed, she effortlessly dodges needles and hooks from all directions, feeling the music from within her increasing her Agility by 21, which is about half of what the Armor loss was. The eerie way the Wyvern Sonnivaria somehow creates the sound of two violins playing in perfect harmony is indicative of how it attacks two targets at once. Meteora itself, maneuvers and slices from underneath her as she guides it with her will and continues to dance upon it in an aggressively perfect rhythm. She leaves behind a trail of falling Styrge corpses as she follows the vardo toward the manor.

Inside, Victoria is counting down the minutes as they tick by. She drives weapons into the ground all around Ardacen's body to keep him from sliding around and holding the candle in her hands. There isn't much wick left, but the flame is still burning as bright as ever and the melted wax runs over her hands, cooling into their shape.

She can hear the commotion of battle outside the tent, but she trusts in the strength of everyone to protect the vardo and to get them to the Baron.

"Three minutes, Ardy. You can do it." Her words are prayers spoken over a casket. Although they don't reach him in his mind based hellscape, he knows his body is being cared for and that is enough for him at times.

The last few minutes felt like years as the torture comes in sporadically. They no longer cycle in a pattern, each torture coming in when they're least expected and following the tail end of the one before it. The breaks stopped at the final thirty minutes and the imagery is intermingled with the physical torture.

It all starts to blend, to form one, painful note in his mind. The visions speed by him in rapid succession and the hurt placed on him is a pulsing pressure. Like a hammer driving a stubborn nail, a truth forces its way into Ardacen's thoughts.

It is knowledge in function with no form. Enlightenment, with no way to express it.

The visions blur into a white light and the pulsing pain ebbs away like an ice cream headache. Everything is gone, save for the white space and the feeling that something was learned. Was it the Spell Point? No, it was something more than that.

Perhaps, it is the general understanding that growth can be painful. Some pain is self induced, some pain is imaginary, some pain is forever, and some pain is necessary. He had to face it all, one step at a time, lest he be left on the side of the dark road of his journey through life with nothing but the memories of pain smothering him.

Maybe something like that.

[Time remaining: 00:00:00]

[Congratulations! You have earned a TrigeStat Point!]

[You have received: 1*Jester's Box!]

Before my eyes can flutter open, I can feel the ground shaking beneath me. There are things all around me, keeping me locked into place. Something falls nearby and someone gathers up the objects pinning me to the spot. Arms fly across my chest and squeeze me tight, almost knocking the wind out of me.

"You did it you made it you fucking asshole don't you dare do it again!" Vic rapidly shouts as she pulls herself up, her hands leaning on my chest.

"What-what's going on?" I stutter as the vardo goes over a rough patch of road. "Are we moving?" It's a bit obvious by the movements, but I still ask as a way of catching up.

She pulls me to my feet and she has to hold me as I do my best imitation of a new born fawn. And, just as quickly, I regain proper use of my legs as Vic drags us and explains the situation on the way to the doors. Guess I don't have time to shop for a new Spell considering how long it took me to pick out the lower tiered VigeStat one.

Vic sees the threat before I do, Dashing forward with a Quickdrawn upgraded iklwa. She runs the Cerberus through and jumps back in time to dodge a heavy paw. The beast is looming over an unconcious Serenity, the reserve units casting low level bolt Spells or shooting arrows at it.

Vic summons a shield and tackles the big pup out of the doorway, hitting the dirt and tumbling out of view. I can see other riders avoiding it or jumping over it. My claws are out, but I can't think of a way to commandeer one of the Cerberus or follow the vardo at speed. And then a fun thought hits me.

"Maul." My voice is stern and one of the mounts abruptly turns on its siblings. The sudden interruption causes others to run into the scuffle. Out of sheer pettiness, I also cast my new level three Arcane Bolt in the form of blue fists with middle fingers extending forward. They splash on the pile and only three riders remain.

"This isn't so bad." I fog up my ring with my breath and wipe it on my tailcoat, forgetting one of the main superstitions of battle. "Ah, shit."

A flock of red, demonic creatures flies in through the open doors. About sixteen of these two foot devils make it inside before a break in their invasion allows me to shut the doors on the rest. I slice the wings off of one and split it in two as it flinches from the pain before it can do anything to a confused Serenity who is finally coming to.

Vic has her Ace in her right hand and her violet katana, Ramona's Memory, in the other, "Join the reserves while I help Seren pull herself together."

In the span of a heartbeat, I reappear next to the closest creature and Assassinate it, not needing a second attack to kill it. There isn't much overhead space so they surround the people in a sort of death circle. With a little luck and time, they could've handled all the hostiles if they closed the door at the same time we did. I can see various scratches and minor cuts among the people, but a couple Healing Breezes fix them right up.

I cast two Beacons amongst the group of our people, but the boosts don't stack on each other. Still, an increase in attack speed and Agility for 5 minutes in all of them is the most efficient use of MP, I think, and I get another idea. Since I can one shot these littler critters I'm gonna try Distilling. And, on the third attempt, draining most of my SP, I get a new notification.

[Success! You've distilled a Styrge Core, Level 12.]

[2/3 stored. 0/1 summoned]

I push my luck trying to get another, but no joy and now no SP for Skills. No matter, though, as I Shotgun Arcane Bolt, firing three times in rapid succession into the flying swarm. Bolts of lightning fly in from behind me, further thinning out the amount of Styrges.

"Can you heal the vardo?" Vic taps me on the shoulder and I head out one of the doors. I can see smoke coming out of the right side as I climb into the cabin. Richter, Conner, and Taymin are using the respite in the action to drink Potions and waving me over. I, too, down a Stamina Potion, refilling 50SP on the last gulp. I target the vehicle beneath me and activate First Aid. Nothing happens, not even a dip in my rainbow bar.

"This is gonna take a while." I bemoan the situation as I bring up the vardo's stats before I can cast the first Healing Breeze. (687/1100HP). I heal it and everyone within range for 40HP per 20MP. With exactly (118/286MP), I cast my Spell enough times to heal for 200HP, bringing the vardo to (887/1100HP). The remaining two riders clutch their heads in anguish as Sonny swoops by with her violin. Richter and Conner shoot them down with little effort.

"That'll have to do for now. How close are we?" I ask, scanning the area with all of my available senses. Taymin shouts back ten minutes, but I ask him to slow down. Confused, he hesitates and I let him know that there are no more hostiles coming in from the backside of the vardo. HOWEVER… there is something big waiting for us up ahead. Right away we begin a deceleration, but continue forward. I sympathize with Taymin, he was probably ordered by Vic to get us to the manor and I didn't want him to disobey a direct order from her. The big red dot in the distance of my field of vision, though, was not exactly an alluring sight for me.

Sonny glides back down on Meteora whole Vic and Serenity climb to the top. Vic gives Taymin a questioning raised eyebrow and I intercede, "Sorry, my call. There's something big up ahead. Seems like they anticipated our destination and they're trying to intercept us."

"Shit," Richter moans through clenched teeth, "Another Bone Hydra?"

"No, we'd probably have seen it over the buildings by now. It's big, but not tall." I'm guessing, but it's an informed guess. A shriek of terror followed by riotous screaming with no hulking monsters in sight is a… you know what? I can't tell if that's a good sign or not, but after everyone drinks up we'll be heading over right away.

A grin spreads across Vic's face as she tosses an empty potion bottle into storage, "Dawn got my message. She's on her way now."