The Forgotten Zodiac

Verolen promptly fell over, unsteadied by the spell that he was unused to. "What the-..." He spluttered, climbing to his feet again. "Good grief..."

"Don't make so much noise," Rush frowned at them. "We don't know if there are human patrols or not. There probably are, so shush."

"Right, sorry," Verolen stood and brushed himself off, his eyes falling on the scales that were still growing up out of his friend's skin. "That looks painful..."

"It is. Just leave it, they'll stop growing eventually. Now shush!" Rush hissed.

Bermuda looked around, listening carefully. The group was still huddled close as they listened for sounds that preceeded an attack, but, almost miraculously, none came. Israel relaxed his guard. "Which way?" he whispered.

"This way, come on," Bermuda said, pointing to their left. If Israel had really thought about it, he would've known that anything giving off the smell of smoke had to be human...

Verolen already transmuted his cloak into a sword, ready for pretty much anything. He did look a bit jumpy, though; he hadn't fought anything in awhile, it was understandable enough. They moved forward slowly, keeping low in the tall grass, staying on full alert in the case that human patrols really were around.

Soon enough, they had come within sight of the human settlement. There were one or two demons about, but they were not demon soldiers. No, in fact, in appeared that this area of the settlement was devoted entirely to the slave trade.

"Wait up, we can't go in there swords-swinging. It'll be the death of us all." Verolen interrupted, his voice hardly more than a whisper. "We need a plan..."

"Turn me in," Sylas said at once, before he could stop himself. "Dysonius will...probably drag me out somewhere for a punishment. You all can find and save me, we'll question Dysonius and get out before anyone else finds us."

"No way," L'arc said, voice rising a little. "We can't just... no, Sylas," he said softly.

Bermuda hesitated a bit. "It would work, though..." L'arc whirled on the Oceanid Prince.

"It's a horrible idea! He could get hurt!"

"He's willing, isn't he?" Bermuda fired back.

"It's fine," Sylas shook his head. "I can take it. Really. Besides, Bermuda can patch me up, right?" He smiled a bit, setting a hand on L'arc's shoulder. "We have to help Byrne and Verdi. That's my main concern right now. A few flesh wounds are pretty meaningless."

"I... if you're sure..." L'arc conceded. Bermuda gave a quick nod. "Of course, I'll be able to heal you."

There was a pause, then Bermuda spoke again. "So... do you just want to... wander in?" he asked Sylas, gesturing to the city. "I mean, I don't think it'd be good for any of us to make an appearance...."

"What about me? I could take him in, don't you think?" Eve piped up. "They wouldn't know me, would they?"

"There you go, I'll just go with Eve," Sylas nodded. "She's right about them not knowing. Here," He handed his bow to L'arc, but held onto one arrow; he dragged it in a line across his forehead, and then down his arm. He smeared the blood that welled up, making it look much more serious than it was. After that, he handed his quiver to L'arc as well. "See?" He smiled still. "Blood makes things convincing. I'll act injured, so I don't have to pretend to fight you, Eve."

"Alright, good. Verolen, can you make me a rope?" Eve asked. When the other demon did, she tied it off and placed it around Sylas's neck. "I promise not to jerk, okay?" she said. She then stood. "Come on, then."

L'arc still looked unsure, but said nothing as the two went off.

"Relax. Let's try and figure out which exit Dysonius is most likely to take," Verolen said, patting L'arc on the shoulder. "Otherwise, we have to trust that Eve will take care of our Sylas. I trust her, anyways."

The march into the city was uneventful. Sylas had learned from previous experiences how a slave should walk. Head down, eyes locked on the ground, feet dragging slightly. Silent and obedient.

((I must hug Sylas now.))

"Trust her? You barely know her!" L'arc fired back, only to be hushed by Rush again.

Israel hopped from one foot to another. "I could scout around from the air. I'll just look like a big crow," he offered, looking to Verolen for permission.

Eve looked around, waiting to be noticed by someone. She directed her gaze to a group of humans conferring among themselves, and cleared her throat.

"Where is Dysonious?" she asked, her voice taking on a dark, serpantine tone. "I need to speak with him. Tell him I've brought his human back."

((Don't suffocate him. :T))

"Well...don't linger for too long, or people will think something is up," Verolen nodded. "And if you see anyone with a bow, get away as fast as possible."

The human looked at her up and down, then glanced over to Sylas. "He's in the main hut," The man jabbed his thumb towards the center of the camp. The human grabbed Sylas by the chin, forcing the boy to look at him. "Well I'll be, it's the sharpshooter forest boy. Where'd you nab him at? These wounds look fresh..."

Israel nodded, and stepped back, away from the others. He took a deep breath, and slowly his form began to warp. There was a small burst of light, then he took off, in raven form. He ascended a good distance before beginning to circle above the human town.

Eve only smiled slightly. "Now, that would be telling, would it not?" she asked rhetorically. She gave the rope a slight tug, then headed towards the large hut. "Come, boy. Your Master awaits."

She stepped in the hut, standing just inside the threshold of the door. "Dysonious?" she asked, regarding the human. "I am Eve, a soothsire. I have brought something for you," she said, grabbing Sylas's shoulder and pulling him more into the room.

"Hm?" Dysonius looked up from his writing. His eyes narrowed, and he stood. "So, how much were you expecting me to pay for this? Twenty gold pieces sounds fair, no?" He counted out the money and put it in a small leather bag.

Without warning, he drew his sword. There was a flash of silver, and the thrown blade protruded from Sylas' back; stabbed through his gut. Dysonius stepped forward and dropped the bag at Eve's feet, smiling. "Thank you. I now have that much less to worry about," He said while Sylas fell on his side, gurgling weakly.

Eve's tongue flicked out once, the matallic taste of blood  filling her senses. Her eyes slitted at once, then darted up to Dysonious. "Why... would you do that?" she asked, her voice almost a hiss.

((Ohmigosh.))

((I got bored.))

"Feh. I knew he was coming. His friends are probably lurking around nearby, perhaps even surrounding the city as we speak. You have your money, why are you upset?" Dysonius looked at her critically. "Perhaps...you were with him?" He questioned, eyes narrowed. His hand moving towards a shortblade he had on his desk; it was behind a stack of books, so Eve wouldn't be able to see it, but his intentions were pretty obvious at this point.

Sylas gurgled again, apparently trying to drag himself back out of the hut. He wasn't sure where it would get him, but he only knew that Dysonius was the last person he wanted to be near at this point in time. But he couldn't really move much at all with the sword in his gut. He settled for moving behind Eve, staying on his side and starting to sob weakly. He should have listened to L'arc...

((L'arc is always right. o3o ))

Eve's eyes narrowed, and she took a step back. She knew she had to get Sylas out of here, but on her own...? Her eyes scanned the room quickly for something, anything that could get them out of this.

((Always and forever.))

Dysonius hesitated for a moment more, then threw his shortblade. Throwing blades was obviously one of his better skills.

Rush, in the meantime, was eager to...well, rush in. "They're taking too long," He growled in impatience. "We should at least be trying to get in. Or circling the perimeter, in case Dysonius tries to run. Sending just Sylas and Eve was a stupid idea, if you ask me."

The shortblade bounced off of Eve's shoulder where it hit. The soothsire's skin was quickly turning to scales, her body lengthening in size as she started to shift into her serpant form. She coiled around Sylas once or twice protectively, not being able to help him any further at the moment.

L'arc nodded to Rush. "We can't just sit here doing nothing. I'm sick of doing nothing," he murmured.