Hello everyone, sorry about not updating. I had papers to write for class and a ton of homework and exams to do before Spring Break. My school work will be lighter from here on out so I should be able to update on time. Anyways I'm trying out writing in third person, comment if it works or if first person was better. Also Triple Release because of how much I missed!

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(3rd person)

A heady heavy fog lingered in the ashes of the spectre.

From where the fog started, there were four people. two males and two females. One of the males was on the ground.

“Are you alright?” Gale asked, reaching his hands out to the man that was lunged by the spectre.

“I’m fine,” said the man as he stood up on his own, “anyway what are you doing here kid? This place is for criminals you know.”

“Does that mean you are criminals as well?” Gale asked, dodging the question.

He scratched his cheek and said, “Fair enough, my name is Asher von Claude. And no I’m not a criminal just got on the bad side of the prince.”

The man was robust and tall. You could see the leather armor he was wearing contour to his muscles. A wide sword was hitched to his back along with a silvery shield. A black orb was held in his hands but he immediately put it away inside one of his pouches on his waist.

“Thank you for your aid,” said one of the females. She was wearing the same type of leather armor that Asher wore only this time it accentuated her feminine figure. She would charm many a man if not for the fact that she exuded this cold aloofness. Her stance was that of a seasoned warrior and she carried the same armaments as Asher only much more suited for her size.

“My name is Ophelia Yuna. Thank you for saving us, child,” she continued.

“Yes thank you,” said the other woman. She had voluptuous breasts and an hourglass figure. Her armor was barely covering anything and could be argued if it was even armor at all. She held no weapon but her gloves had some sort of crystal embedded onto them.

“Now if you could just help us find the altar that would be great,” continued the woman as she posed seductively.

Ophelia looked aghast and Asher looked like he was looking at a particular spot until he came to his senses and introduced this woman saying, “This lovely lady is Ellen Krass. She is a most powerful mage with us. And as she says, we would appreciate any help from you.”

Gale was stunned at the sight, not really knowing what to do when a woman does these kinds of things but upon hearing Asher again he recovered his wits, “I see no reason why not.”

The four then became a group to find this altar that they were looking for.

As they were searching for a place to rest Asher explained why they were looking for the altar. “The altar is the only way for us to get out of here. They throw criminals into this gorge and tell them to find an altar that would take them back up.”

“It should’ve been very easy but this guy just happened to make the prince angry,” said Ellen.

Asher scratched his face in embarrassment and continued explaining, “The job is easier to do with a group as the monsters here generally avoid groups but because of this orb they seem to come by even more often.”

“Then why not get rid of it?” asked Gale.

He shook his head and said, “I can’t. The prince ordered that I return it to him after I return.”

“I’m tired!” complained Ellen, “Asher carry me!”

Asher complied and even though it looked to be cumbersome he had this expression of bliss.

It took them a few hours to find a suitable cave. This was hidden between two high walls such that it would be difficult to notice unless you knew what you were looking for. The ceiling was fifteen feet high with green and blue mold scattered throughout the walls. Several stalactites hung above.

Asher dropped Ellen down and proceeded to get firewood. Gale was also about to go find firewood but Asher stopped him and Ophelia went instead. Gale and Ellen were then left at the cave.

“Hey kid,” said Ellen.

Gale looked up at Ellen. She was laying in a way that all her curves could be seen.

“You’re a mage right?”

Gale nodded and before he could say anything, “That’s great! Make it cooler in here, it’s too hot!”

“Can’t do it?” said Ellen with a smirk, “Maybe you should think twice about being a mage. You obviously can’t be one if you can’t even make it cooler in here.”

Gale was about to say something when Asher and Ophelia came back.

They began setting up a fire and prepared food for everyone to eat. Gale was inconspicuously moving further into the cave and when the others noticed he said that he was just going to explore.

Ellen rolled her eyes while Ophelia said that she would go with Gale and Asher would stay to make food.

The inside of the cave was wide enough for their party of four to go through unimpeded. And with a light search they were able to tell that the cave continued on farther and farther. They didn’t need to use a torch as there were some mushrooms glowing along the walls that lit their path. After finding a path that led downwards they started heading back to the fire.

“What are you here for?” asked Ophelia.

“Stealing,” lied Gale remembering the reason of his actions, “you?”

“My parents are rebels. The kingdom sent me here as an example to my parents.”

“Is there a problem with the current monarch?”

“Problem?! How can you! A citizen of the empire not even know what’s going on?!”

Gale shrugged his shoulders.

Ophelia sighed and said, “Well, you are just a kid. The current king, Aer Claudius Remas, is a tyrant. He has seized control over the aristocracy and they are literally under his watch. He would get rid of the nobles if not for the fact that the country would not function without us. Almost all the nobles have to follow what he says even if it means sacrificing the land, people and cities. Why, just before I got sent here, he enslaved an entire city simply because he needed more workers for his temple. The city is gone now, attacked by its own military. We are doing all that we can to stop him but even then it doesn’t work. That’s why some nobles are becoming a part of the resistance.”

“It seems that the humans have an internal war going on. Good thing the demons haven’t found out yet,” said Arc to Gale with telepathy.

“What about the guilds?” asked Gale.

“The guilds?” Ophelia frowned and said, “they too are part of the resistance but because they are considered a foreign entity they are unable to do much. Plus citizens of king Aer are forbidden from joining the guilds when he came into power.”

“And the prince?” asked Gale thinking of Asher.

“I think that is a prince of another country. There are four major countries and I think Asher comes from the neighboring country, the kingdom of Casidius. By the way, Ellen and I come from the Remas kingdom. I’ve heard the prince of Casidius is named Elias but I can’t remember.”

As they got closer to where they left Asher and Ellen, they heard some soft sounds. The two started taking cautious steps and when they turned the corner, they saw a most captivating scene involving clothes strewn across the cave floor.