<span style="color: #FF0000"><br/>Earlier...<br/><br/>In Fainta city, the Demon capital, Krastyo was strutting through the city of black buildings. Every buidling was connected by red glass tubing. Krastyo was headed to the very heart of the city, where the glass tubes came together in a giant three tier fountain with blood spouting out of the top. A young Almerkian woman with black hair and pasty pale skin sat on the edge of the fountain, seemingly transfixed by the red liquid. An exhausted looking, muscular Brothian stood nearby, his shoulders slumped and his head slightly bowed, almost as though he were about to fall asleep on his feet.<br/><br/>Krastyo barely acknowledged them, a vampire and her blood slave. He took long strides, in a hurry to reach his destination. A large building made of black stones with towers atop it like a small castle was where Krastyo was headed. When he reached the temple, he knealt down on one knee at the door for a moment, before opening and entering it.<br/><br/>"Father?" Krastyo called into the dark building. His eyes adjusted to the dimly lit building almost immediately.<br/><br/>"What a pleasant surprise, if it isn't my son!"<br/><br/>Krastyo turned toward his father's voice. Usually he could be found in the altar room, but instead, he was here in the entrance hall, and had been standing just behind the door. The voice of his father had never sounded so kind, Krastyo's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Yes, well. The second item should be arriving soon, and I wanted to check on the one you are guarding, father."<br/><br/>"It's still here," his father said, sounding sad and tired.<br/><br/>Krastyo suddenly felt awkward. Why was his father acting so... weak? "Good." With that, Krastyo made to turn on his heel and reached for the door.<br/><br/>"Wait." came his father's voice, sounding almost pleading. "How about a hug for dear old dad."<br/><br/>Krastyo was suddenly hit with a ferocious rage. In one swift movement, the hand that had been reaching for the door handle, dropped to his belt, grabbed the handle of a knife, and then aimed and embedded that knife into his father's heart. Krastyo removed the bloodied blade and watched his father collapse with indifference. The rage was gone now. As reason returned, Krastyo reached into his father's leather over coat and pulled out a white orb with an orange hexagon shape carved into it. Krastyo decided the item was dangerous, and decided it needed a new place to stay.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Now...<br/><br/>Krastyo rolled off of Laraine, got out of bed and began getting dressed. He seemed almost completely unaffected, while Laraine was sweaty and out of breath. "Check on the retrieval team for the second item, please?"<br/><br/>Laraine opened her mouth to remind him that it was an 8 day trip by sea, but closed it again, deciding he probably already knew that. Surely the group was on their way back now without any trouble? Laraine's breath evened out and she slowly got out of bed. Krastyo was already fully dressed and had left the room.<br/><br/>Laraine slid a dress on, smoothed her unkempt hair with her hands, and moved to sit in front of a mirror. She used the mirror to smooth her black bangs over her forehead. Then, Laraine summoned the view of the Captain into the mirror, only to find him looking around a partially empty stable looking rather confused. Fear gripped Laraine for a moment, but she brushed it aside. Laraine muttered a spell under her breath to allow her to communicate with the Captain, her voice sounding in his head, "Tell me you have the item and are about to return?"<br/><br/>The Captain, startled, looked around himself before replying, "Well, we had been on our way back with it, but someone has stolen it. Their trail lead here."<br/><br/>"Then they must be on horse back now," Laraine said, though it seemed to be more to herself. "Return empty-handed Captain and Krastyo will decide your fate. I think I know of someone better able to catch them." With that, she ended her spell. Laraine waved her hand and the stable with the Captain disappeared. Her husband appeared in a dark room... no it was a cave, with only flickering torches for light.<br/><br/>Laraine cast her spell again, altered it so that it was Krastyo who heard her voice in his head. "Krastyo, my love, the item was lost by our crew and stolen. However, I have someone else in mind that might be able to retrieve it, and they will move faster across the sea than any ship."<br/><br/>Krastyo's brow furrowed and he muttered, "Damn them!" As his wife continued and made the suggestion however, he looked more thoughtful. "And what have you come up with?"</span><br/><br/><br/>******<br/><br/>Meanwhile....<br/><br/>Morys nodded his agreement. "Aye, we've eaten not long ago, but if you wish to join us it would be appreciated."<br/><br/>TiiLiiqia cleared her throat, and seemed to talk with a growl. "Merry meet, friends. Might you know where we could find a Hollow Root Tree?" While waiting for the reply, she looked past the Anithrope's at the river. It seemed pretty narrow here, and hopefully a tad shallow. Perhaps, with the horses' help, they might even be able to cross here.<br/><br/>Morys looked at Tii with a raised brow, but he was looking at her, really looking at her without her hood on, for the first time. "You're beautiful," he whispered, before he could catch himself. His cheeks heated, and he cleared his throat nervously. "What exactly was that?" he asked her.<br/><br/>"Their language, at least in part," Tii replied in common. "They're not all Anithrope, but the Anithropes are allies of the Elves, and some..." she stopped mid-sentence, as if deciding she was sharing too much information. "I used to see them and speak with them in our trade city."<br/><br/>Morys gave her a curious look, but did not prompt her for more information.