Keith
"SHIT-"
*Arthur instantly recognized the spell as soon as the man had cast the red orbs. He had read it in a couple of magic grimoires. He had seen it only a couple of times before, but knew what it was: Crack the Sky. He knew he only had a few moments before the sphere was cast straight at him, but knew what the spell could do. It was a lightning spell, first and foremost, and the red spheres were conductors of incredible thunder, but they also tracked metallic objects. As he was being pushed down towards the ground, he kept the pressure up, clashing with the elf's staff with his own two swords. In a bout of desperation, Arthur used a surmountable amount of strength all in one burst to forcefully push against his staff, allowing him a significant amount of leeway room to move.*

*However, his joy would soon be short-lived as one of the red orbs became stuck on his left metallic pauldron, and his eyes opened wide in horror as he watched the other orb rise into the air. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he was hit with the projectile, so he scrambled frantically to tear the piece of armor the orb was stuck on off, throwing it in the direction of the elf. This left him with an unguarded left arm, but then again, it was better than being absolutely singed and electrocuted by the encroaching lightning.*

``` No magic cast. 5 mana regained. Remaining mana: 93.75 ```
Amy
*Now would slowly walk over to where Arthur and Vinran were fighting and while he did so, he lowered his weapon, took a good look around the surroundings, casually brush off the dust off his shoulder with his free hand. When he was done he raised a finger, as it about to say something, before pausing momentarily and shook his head.

In a blur of motion, he would raise Iapetus and points it at the drier sections tall grass. With luck, he might be able to burn the whole field of dry winter grass. The runes in Iapetus cackled to life , shaking off the soot and grime. It would unleash an intense fire that quickly ignited the grass into a raging fire.*
Martin
"Like I said, you seem to be wise and we'll connected. What would a meager portion of gold mean to you?"
Charles
The red ball would go flying with the piece of armor that Arthur threw but basically the instant he threw it a red bolt lightning originates from the first orb and blasts the piece of armor at nearly point-blank distance from Arthur's hand. He was at least spared from the direct hit, but excess amount of electricity coursing through the air travel up his arm and he feels his nerves singe in pain. Vinran would look impressed to see Arthur still standing however. 
"I see you think fast. A valuable skill in this line of work..."
He would then see Nox set flame to the nearby flames and he would raise an eyebrow at Nox as he asks his question and laughs wryly
"Wise I am not, otherwise I wouldn't be here now would I. Connected I was, but look at me now... If I had any gold on me I would've gladly offered it, but you can see that I am wearing filthy rags, right? The only payment I can give is information, and I don't know if you will value it, but leaving here and never get involved with this 'boss' ever again is the most valuable piece of information I can give you. And I don't know what you intend to do with setting flames to the grass, but I do know the employee looking after you won't be pleased since he will have to be the one to clean up after you"

He would see Arthur breathing heavily and would look at him with sympathy "Look, I do not want to kill a child like you, especially one who is misguided. If you don't die from me, if you continue this line of work know that you will someday end up like me. Leave, as I trust your life is more valuable than whatever you are getting paid..."
Keith
*Arthur reeled back in pain. His left hand and fingers were screaming out in agony, and he felt his arm go numb as the force of the blast pushed him back towards where he came from, all the while having Rasmus dig into the ground as to prevent him from being launched. He could barely hold the sword in his left hand, so he returned it to his side along with the one he tried stabbing the elf with earlier. The two swords danced and orbited around Arthur, their flames licking the air, hungry for something to burn. Arthur tried moving his left arm; it wouldn't move.

"Fuck, that sleazy bastard got me!" He thought. His left arm unguarded and paralyzed, it would droop from his shoulder socket doggedly, but Arthur decided to get up from the ground and enter a defensive stance. He was still faster than the elf, but his magical skills would definitely pale in comparison. He didn't want to make the first move this time; he had felt incredible strength come from the man after he had his first attack blocked. He knew that Crack the Sky was taxing on one's energy, so he knew he couldn't end this fight quickly as he would usually.*

"Misguided?" Arthur said, glaring at the elf. "Misguided? I do this because I have no other means to make money. I can't find a different way, plus this job pays the most. I don't mind at all working for 'the boss' as long as I get cash in my pocket. Trust me, if I didn't have to do this, I wouldn't-" *He said, biting his tongue. He knew that last part was a lie, as he didn't have to take part in the previous quests, but did so anyway because of the thrill and the adventure he felt. He continued. "I don't care whether I end up like you, because I won't. I refuse to."

*He then turned towards Nox, shaking his abdomen to show his limp arm flailing about.* 

"Help me out here? I can't fucking feel anything in my arm."
Martin
"From what I can see, you are doing extremely fine!"
Amy
*Nox obviously knew that Arthur was not fine. He was probably stunned and had major burns on his appendage. Well, this mission was more about Arthur proving himself to everyone and not the other way around. He would move up to their location, jus out of harm's way but close enough to interfere if it came down to that.*

*He would try to play his luck once again:*
Martin
"The fire is to create noise and scre away any cutters that can be used scrying or that Shapeshifter."
Amy
*Nox could feel the fire spreading outwards in the tall grass where he had originally fired the runes, reaching uncomfortable levels of heat*
Martin
"Who is the one cleaning after me? We what about the Shapeshifter and the woman? I would gladly take information as payment, but you are making it hard for me to accept. Try to make yourself, well, useful."
Charles
Vinran would shake his head in disappointment at Arthur's response and simply turn to Nox with a sigh "I doubt these flames will be enough to smoke out the shapeshifter... Anything I tell you will likely result in you being hunted just like how they're hunting me. Infact they might already be planning to get rid of you two after you deal with me to make sure there are no lose ends. I am not sure which employee is looking after you, but whoever it is they are the ones also responsible for clean up. Granted I don't mind if you cause more work for them, I just don't want a fellow dark elf getting screwed over like I did for getting on their bad side."

*He would look at this staff and then hold it up to you in a non-aggressive manner*

"I can honestly use your help, but the only thing of real value I can trade with a clean conscious, well, as clean as I can get it at least, is my staff. However, seeing how it's bounded to me I doubt it will serve you much purpose. The only other thing I have is my clothes, and well, you can see their condition. You would be lucky to even get a gold for it. I would offer my servitude, but I will likely be a troublesome servant to keep as that would naturally make you an enemy of the boss... If there is no compromise to be made and you won't leave, I guess we will have no choice but to fight"
Amy
~~Nox, with his 2.0 gen speed, hits Vinran with Iapetus, combining for 16 strength.~~

Low battery, Arthur go first, reply at home
Keith
*Sighing with a somewhat exhausted tone, Arthur got up from his knees, his left arm still limp as ever. Although he couldn't move it at all, he did begin to feel a slight pain flaring throughout his arm, which meant that he was gaining feeling of his arm back. He still had the two swords orbiting him, though he wasn't sure how he was to attack. The elf would block and counter any sort of strike he had, and he doubted that ranged attacks would be effective either. Rasmus would not be very effective either, seeing that the elf could effortlessly block his attacks from all points. The only true hope Arthur had was faith that Nox would assist in a further assault once Arthur had recovered, but judging by his reaction to his arm wound, he doubted it would happen. Nevertheless, he turned to Nox.*

"Seeing that we can't back out of this anymore, let's try working together, as cliché and cheesy as it is. We don't have a chance in hell of beating this guy alone, so I'll follow you after you attack. Face it, it's the truth."
Amy
"No, I don't think so."

*Nox would stop circling Vinran and disengage, stepping away and pretending to be in thought.*

"This effort has been too time consuming and complicated for my likings."

*He would then turn away, as if leaving, although he had no intention of doing so. Just out of sight, he would unsheath his dagger and whisper the words that would bring the blade to life and cause it to go dark. After walking two steps away, he would turn and fling the dagger at Vinran's feet, trying to stop him in his tracks. He would then pretend to run, as he knew he could still attack from range.*

```Dark tendrils cast: 15 Mana
135 Mana remaining```
Charles
Vinran would be watching as Nox started walking away. "Odd, I thought your type was the kind tha-"
As you would turn around and throw the dagger, almost by instinct he would shoot a bolt of electricity from his palm and intercept with the dagger, preventing it from reaching his feet. He looks a bit surprised, but would then smirk and sigh "Yeah, figured as much..." 
He would then rush at Arthur's left side. As Arthur's buffs would've ran out at this point, Arthur would now see that Vinran was actually quicker than him in his base state. As Vinran reaches melee distance he swings his arm that is coated with electricity at the center of your body, purposefully angled from the side with your numb arm.
Keith
*Arthur had observed the man's movement from a distance, taking note that Vinran was looking towards Nox instead of him. By this point, his flames had run out of boost, so he decided to recast it once more as the elf shot a bolt of electricity at a dagger Nox had thrown at him, which Arthur had gathered was an attempt to have the man become incapacitated, even if it were for just a moment. The fool, if he could keep up with Arthur with his heightened speed, he could easily intercept any sort of single projectile aimed at him! As Arthur rekindled the flames, boosting his speed once more, he watched in a slight panic as the elf turned and rushed at his left side. Logic told him that he would've been miles slower than the elf if his speed was normal. With the two remaining swords circling himself, he had both swords remain near him, preparing to block a possible attack with the two, along with Rasmus.*

*As the elf came close to Arthur, Arthur attempted to block the elf's swing towards his left arm, still numb at the time, with his two swords. He then would ready Rasmus to block whatever he would do next. He had no idea what Nox planned to do, but he couldn't hold out like this, constantly casting and recasting his spells until he ran out of energy.*

``` Burn Up! Recast. 5 mana regained. Remaining mana: 57.5```
Amy
*Nox shrugged, he didn't really want to use any of his high powered spells until it was absolutely nessecary to do so. Knowing that Vinran would focus down Arthur, Nox decided to use him as fodder to figure out what the skills of Vinran were. Without a care in the world, he took out another dagger and repeated his actions.*
```Dark tendrils cast, 15 Mana
5 Regen
125 mana```
Charles
Vinran would notice Nox take out another dagger, and like last time, shoot a bolt of lightning from his free hand to intercept it once more. While it didn't do much to help the situation, it at least prevented him from fully attacking Arthur. 
As Arthur raises his arm to block the strike along with his two swords, Vinran would drop his center of gravity and switch his target to your hip. Vinran would also with his other hand swing his staff at Arthur's head at the same time as he lowered his center of gravity, creating a heavy blow, but Remus would be able to parry it at the last second with the staff only about an inch away from Arthur's head. However, as with last time, Arthur feels the difference in strength as the staff continues pushes down on him and Remus, digging your feet into the ground. You then notice Vinran's staff glow with electricity as it gets closer and closer to your head due to the lack of strength to push it away. 
"I get the feeling your elf friend isn't trying all that hard... Perhaps he has left you to be sacrificed? Is this really how you want to go down? To have your life be taken advantage of by those who you considered your comrade?"