The Forgotten Zodiac

"Settle down, bud," Keir said, holding his hands up in the universal 'I surrender' move. "Ain't nothin' to get all riled up about. I didn't take nothin' I wasn't gonna put back, honest!" He shoved a hand into his pocket, then pulled it back out with a good handfull of coins in tow, along with a few expensive necklaces and trinkets. He put them down on a cabinet nearby, then said "Honestly, ya'll get yer feathers ruffled over anythin', don'tcha? It was just a few small gold pieces."

"We've seen to much to not become upset over small things." Forin snorted. "It's the small things that give us clues." He looked around curiously, frowning. The room really wasn't all that trashed. Just a couple things here and there that Keir probably moved himself. "Aries, what's going on? You said this room was a mess."

"It...it was!" She exclaimed, realizing what Forin was looking for. "It was ruined! The beds were overturned, there were strange marks all over the wall..."

"What is going on?" Relan's voice came from nearby. "Aries, are you okay?"

"Relan!" She wailed, throwing her arms around him. "Thank goodness you're okay! I came to get you and the elder for breakfast, and when I opened the door, there was a huge mess and you weren't there, and I was so worried..." She let go, backing up a step. "S-sorry...I know you don't like being touched, I just...sorry..."

"It is okay." Relan shook his head. "Have you found the elder?"

"No. But the room," She looked towards Forin and Luna. "It's perfectly fine. I don't understand..."

Luna carefully walked around and touched several things, closing her eyes each time as she sensed her surroundings. She even touched Keir on his shoulder, though it was brief, as he was quick to jerk away. Finally, she turned back to them and spoke. "I think it was an illusion of some sort," she said. "Probably from the Artifact. I do remember hearing something about one of them being able to cast illusions... That makes the most sense to me."

"An illusion?" Aries blinked. "I...I see...sorry for alarming you all..."

"No, don't be." Forin said. "Now we know that it's close, at least." Forin shook his head, walking past Relan and Aries. "Start a search. Aries, go wake up Nate and the dragons. They can help us."

"Right," She nodded and moved off, wringing her hands nervously.

"Keir, we could use your assistance. Just for a little while. Here," Forin placed three shining rubies in the man's hand. More still of Toro's blood, not that the thief knew that. "All I want you to do is see if you can't find some clues out in the city. I have ten more of those if you manage to bring back something of use to us."

Keir's eyebrows shot up when he saw the rubies and heard Forin's words, then he nodded and said "Yer the boss. I'll do whatever ya like." He gave a smart salute, then said "If yer serious about that other ten, I'll give my best shot. See ya around." He sauntered out, already stuffing the rubies down into his magical, endless pocket.

Luna watched him go, then looked up as Cynyr walked in. He looked terrible and he said absolutely nothing, his tail dragging the ground behind him. His ears seemed glued in their down-turned position and his single yellow eye was dull. He didn't have his mask; he had given it to Werr, before the king had died. None of them had thought anything of it. Only he had been there for the exchange of the mask, and it never hit him that the Werr they had found hadn't had the mask on or anywhere nearby.

"Good morning, Cynyr." Forin said, his voice a little softer than how he normally spoke with the half-cat. "I don't think you've eaten yet...Relan, please take him to the dining room. Seria and Ophile are there, they'll take care of him." He looked up as a shrill scream echoed through the long hallways. "Luna, with me!" Forin snapped, darting out of the room and towards the source of the screaming.

"Wha--I..." Relan looked from the leaving Forin to Cynyr, then let out a groan of annoyance and tapped Cynyr on the shoulder. "This way,"

Luna instantly snapped to attention, following out right at Forin's side. She really was a good match for him; she was soft and kind, something that was good for the Tartaran, yet she had a tough side and was very strong-willed. And she loved Diana and Luen, which was a plus for both Forin and them. She snapped out her feathery wings from their invisible sheaths and sprang forward, grabbing Forin under his arms and rocketing down the hall at twice their normal speed.

Forin held on tight, watching the castle walls flick past. He saw something that Luna didn't, though; "Luna, stop! Stop!" He yelped, but it was far too late. Luna's momentum carried them right into what appeared to be spiderwebs. And right through, but there they were, lined up one after another. They wrapped around the two of them like nets; the ninth web stopped them altogether and caused them to fall to the floor. All wrapped up in spiderwebs, it was difficult to move.

"Oh! Two more courses for my meal." A voice that sounded as sweet as honey came from nearby. It stepped out into their view; a monster, to say the least. A huge spider, barely capable of fitting in the hallway, scurried towards them. Forin looked around desperately for an escape, but his eyes only found Aries, still screaming, wrapped in webs and stuck on a web above the door to Nate's room, which had webs covering it and preventing any escape. From the banging that could be heard on the door, Nate and the dragons had been trying to get out for awhile now.

"Now then. Don't wiggle too much, dears. This will only take a second." The spider picked up Forin and started wrapping him up better, but he struggled and made it extremely difficult for her to do anything of the sort. "Hold still, I just--hold--fine!" She snapped, and promptly bit down on him. Forin went limp at once, a sickly looking green foam bubbling up from his throat. The spider finished on him and hung him next to Aries (who was still screaming), then moved to pick up Luna.

((Illusion, by the way. :T))

((Meep.))

The Amnairian struggled and thrashed about in the webbing, her heart pounding. She was quick to change to her true form, letting the angelic creature inside of her loose. It burned the webs away and she was able to jump up and stand quickly, flicking her long tail behind her. "You'll pay for that," she spat, her pupils flickering to slits. Her white-gold wings rested in a partially open position, ready to jump and dodge easily. She leapt forward and slipped around behind the spider, pulling out a beam of light that she promptly shoved into its abdomen. "Try making your sick webs now," she hissed, darting around the creature.

The spider screeched and hissed, a hundred more pouring from cracks between the floor and the wall. "If you won't be eaten alive, my children will gladly eat you dead!" The arachnid spat, aiming a sharp jab at Luna's wings before lunging in to bite her.

Luna yelped and narrowly dodged the attack, glancing around quickly. She put her powers out and sensed the spider for weaknesses, then frowned. The spider didn't feel alive. It didn't feel real. Suddenly, Luna's eyes opened wide and she gasped, then flung her light powers outward and called "Break!"

Instantly, the illusion they had been trapped in shattered.

Aries and Forin were on the floor; the door to Nate's room was blocked with a large stone statue. Forin stirred, groaning and clutching his stomach where he had been hit. It had hurt, he had really felt it hurt...but it was gone now. Forin climbed to his feet, wincing a bit. "Luna...are you okay?" He asked, panting slightly, but his concern was diverted to Aries as the nail-biting adviser screamed again. The elder was slumped in front of a statue of armor, the statue's heavy battleaxe driven into his back. He was still alive, barely.

Luna slowly sank down onto her knees, wincing. Her arms tingled with faint needles of pain, but they went away after a moment. She carefully got back up and walked over to Forin, touching his shoulder before moving over to the elder and pulling him off of the battleaxe. She held him gently in her arms, glancing up as Seria ran towards them. She had gotten lost after they had flown off, since they had moved much faster than her. She panted, but ran over to help as quick as she could.

"Good timing," Forin watched Seria approach, still shaking off the numbness the 'poison' had caused. "We have a problem, though. These illusions had to be caused by something. The elder didn't get himself stuck on that axe. The Artifact weilder is close, they have to be." He looked over at Aries, who was still trembling, hugging her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth. "It can't have been anyone directly here, though..."

Seria was quick to heal the elder, setting him down gently before tending to Luna and Forin's cuts. There was a sudden, very loud thud from the blocked door, and a moment later, the rock finally rolled to the side enough for the door to open a bit. Vaira slipped out then, in a very tiny size, and then took a bigger side and pushed the rock back with her head, forcing it away from the door.

Zephyr staggered out, blinking and shaking his head. He had taken a running start and had slammed into the door as hard as hard as possible, forcing the slight shift of the rock.

Boko scurried out, leading along a nervous looking Nate. "Is everyone okay?" He asked around, looking at all of them. "Good...good."

"No. Not good. The...eh...bad guy is still out here. Nearby." Forin pointed out.

"Oh. Crap, Sylas!" Nate turned away and darted down the hall. Boko curled himself halfway around Aries, licking up her tears. She only panicked more at that, which gave Boko more to lick at.

Zephyr shook his head one last time, then was quick to follow Nate, his tail arching around behind him as he galloped after the dragonian.

Luna wanted to stand up and follow them, but she was tired from adrenaline and the use of her powers. She slid closer to Forin, brushing his bangs back and kissing his forehead. She didn't care that Aries was around. It wasn't like the girl knew they were any different from any other human. She had sort of been panicking when Luna had used her powers, so for all she knew, it had been an illusion.

Relan came down the hall next. He was quick to sit next to Aries and make an attempt to calm her down, to no avail.

"Sylas! Sylas, are you there?" Nate banged on the door, but he found it unlocked. He pushed the door open, only to find-- Sylas sleeping peacefully still, Leo sitting next to the resting human. "Oh...oh, thank goodness." Nate sighed with relief. "Sorry, Leo." He shook his head, closing the door again. He stepped away, deciding to keep watch in the hallway.

Behind the closed door, a small chuckle came from a hooded figure. She was obviously female, and pretty as well, but the knife she held against Sylas' neck was a bit...distracting. "He won't be bothering us again. Where were we?" She was holding Sylas close to her, keeping the knife right up against Sylas' neck. One wrong move from either Sylas or Leo would mean death. "I won't ask again, Leohaidus. Go to Cynyr's room and get the artifacts, or your little friend here will suffer."

Leo snarled and spat and hissed, but no matter what he did, he couldn't do anything without getting Sylas hurt. He literally raged silently, a glare firmly plastered in his eyes and his tail flicking angrily. "I don't know where he put them," he said. "I think he might have them on him. If that's so, then he'll never give them to me." He ground his sharp teeth, glaring hard.

"Then you'll take them from him. Do it, or pretty little Sylas here..." She pulled out another knife, cutting through Sylas' shirt and tearing it away. "Will look just like your pathetic son." Sylas whimpered as the knife sank into his chest, cutting away the first piece of skin. "Go on then!" The woman chortled, watching in giddy pleasure as blood splattered on the floor from the deep wound.