Heylo!

(I'll drop a quick reply here.)

Sargon thought about it, then nodded. 'I think I understand why he would choose us to be scouts. We certainly have an advantage in that area.'

Armin shrugged. 'Alright. I guess it's helpful to have a backup. So, is that everything?'

Ana grinned back. 'True, very true... How many other magic wielders like me are in the army?'

"One last thing." {The wolf pelt guy goes to some racks on the wall and pulls off two crossbows.} "You'll need these too. Not too effective for killing draugrs, but their masters are a different story."

"The are quite a few, but fewer than the standard soldiers, as it goes with all exceptional things. There are always fewer phoenixes than sparrows." {The mage chuckles inwardly at his analogy.}

'Crossbows?' Sargon took one, inspecting it thoughtfully. 'Thank you. I'm sure they will be helpful.'

'So,' added Armin, 'where do the draugrs' masters usually stand? Are they always near the draugrs, or can they control them from a distance?'

'And I'll be the greatest of phoenixes,' said Ana, looking pleased with the comparison. 'Well, I guess I'd best be off, if that's all? Thank you for the help.'

"Depends on which necromancer it is." {Says the wolf pelt guy.} "The two that showed up last night have a very forward and direct approach, but others will be a bit more sneaky. And any necromancer doesn't have to be near their minions to control them. They could send them halfway across the world if they wish."

{The mage bows courteously.} "You're very welcome, my dear. Just stay in the city and the king will call for everyone once he's ready."

Ana raised her hand in a casual salute before hurrying away. Not able to see Sargon and Armin in the crowd of people coming up to collect their equipment, she left the castle and started back towards their house instead.

'That's not particularly reassuring,' said Armin. 'I guess we'll have to hope they're nearby when the draugrs show up, otherwise we'll never be able to stop them.'

Sargon glanced around. 'I imagine Ana must be finished by now. We ought to go and meet up with her, if there is nothing more to be done here.'

{As Ana was walking, Biceras came up from behind. She was dressed in thick, heavy plate armor and a large warhammer on her back.} "Hey, Anastasia! So, what'd you get assigned?"

Ana glanced back over her shoulder and grinned when she recognised who it was. 'Battle Mage!' she said proudly. 'How about you?' she asked, eyeing the enormous hammer.

"Light Keeper!" {She said with glee.} "Basically, I get to use the light weapon. Apparently, they chose me because the weapon is heavy and I'm very strong."

{The wolf pelt guy waved them off.} "Yup, just hang around for a bit. The king will call when he's ready."

'Wooow, you're so lucky,' said Ana in a tone of envy. 'That must be one of the most important jobs in the army!'

Sargon raised a hand in farewell, and the two vampires walked away. Not seeing Ana talking to Biceras, they left the castle and headed out onto the streets.

'Well, I think this is going to be interesting', said Armin. 'You know, I never imagined YOU working in someone ELSE'S army...'

'It is necessary,' Sargon replied. 'We may not stay if it becomes too dangerous, but I want to find out more about the conflict happening here. If we can help these people defeat the Will of Death, then we will.'

"Yeah, but it's way more dangerous." {Biceras says, rubbing the back of her head.} "I'm going to be a major target for those zombies."

Ana considered this. 'But surely the undead things won't even be able to come near you if you're holding a light weapon.'

"That's the hope. I don't know exactly how the weapon works, but from what I understand, I'll just need to keep them in front of me." {Biceras gives a worried look.} "I guess I'll find out, huh?"

'I'll watch your back, if you like,' Ana offered. 'I don't know if I'll be nearby, but I'll try to keep an eye out for you.' She considered adding that her priority on the battlefield was to protect Sargon, but decided not to say that.

"If you're nearby, that'd be appreciated. But, I think we're all going to be assigned to 'squads', so there's a possibility that we might not be near each other."

'Hmm... I wonder where I'll be, then,' mused Ana, feeling a bit worried. 'I'd like to be able to stay near Sar - near my friends, too. But maybe they'll just have to fend for themselves. Besides, I heard that they're going to be scouts, so they probably won't be anywhere near us.'

{Biceras nods.} "I don't know. Well, I'm sure you must want to meet up with them, so, I'll leave you to it." {Biceras then waves, and starts to walk away.}

'See you around!' Ana called back cheerfully, then quickened her pace, hoping to catch sight of the others soon.

She spotted them just as they were approaching Sargon's house, and ran a little to catch up. 'My Lord!' she exclaimed. 'Did everything go well? You're going to be a Scout, aren't you?'

Sargon inclined his head. 'Yes. And what are you going to be?'

Ana grinned widely. 'A Battle Mage! I'm going to be using my powerful magic to help bring down the enemy! I think it must be one of the most important positions in the army.'

Armin sighed. 'We're never going to hear the end of this now.'

'Very well, Ana,' said Sargon. 'We ought to prepare. We may be called into service at any time.'

(Do you want to do a timeskip to the next event? Sargon's lot don't have anything important to do at the moment.)

(Yes!)
{It took a few hours, but the plans were made, the new recruits were sorted out, and the walls were repaired. It was time to strike back. A local with a bell in hand was walking through the streets with a bell, yelling out that the king was ready and for everyone to report to the castle.}

Sargon was outside the house at that point, waiting for a signal. As soon as he heard the bell ringer, he telepathically summoned Armin and Ana to him, and the three of them hurried through the town to the castle.

'I wonder what's happening? Are we going to Carthage now?' Ana mused out loud as they approached the castle.

Sargon didn't reply, his attention focused on finding out what they needed to do.

(Lolololol I mentioned twice that the guy had a bell in hand. XD
I really need to stop typing when I'm tired.)

{Arriving at the castle, there was a commander up high, yelling out instructions, and ten beetles stationed nearby, with ramps leading up to the structures built on their undersides. Each structure had a number painted onto it.}
Commander: "Everyone, walk to the front of the castle. There are papers posted on the wall, listing your names alphabetically, along with a number and a commander. When you see your name, go to the beetle with the corresponding number and get inside the structure.}
(The papers say the following for your characters:
Sargon; 5; Danse
Armin; 5; Danse
Anastasia; 7; Clayton)

(I've done that a few times too. XD)

Hurrying over to the wall where the many papers were hung up, the trio set to work locating their names and the names of their commanders. Suffice to say, Ana was not impressed.

'I should be with you!' she whispered. 'I can't go off by myself and leave you all alone--'

'You will obey what the king has decided, Ana,' said Sargon coldly. 'And I expect you to obey whatever orders are given to you, too. I will see you after all this is over.' He took a final look at the paper, then strode away to the beetle marked with the number '5'.

'Well, this is going to be interesting,' said Armin as he followed, gazing up at the huge creature. 'Some of these things tried to kill me before, I hope they don't try it again.'

The two vampires began to ascend the ramp up to the structure.

Ana was still lingering in front of her paper, as though she could make the number 7 magically change into a 5.

{As Ana was lingering, Biceras came up behind her and slapped her on the shoulder.} "Well, look at that, bug 7 and commander Clayton. Looks like we're in the same squad!"

{As Armin approached, the beetle spoke to him telepathically.} //We do not like you, but right now, we need you, as you need us. Do not fail us on the battlefield.//

'Huh?' Ana looked around, blinking in surprise. '...Oh! It's you!' She was still disappointed at not being in Sargon's squad, but she supposed being in the same group as someone she knew was OK. 'Well, let's go and find this beetle then.'

Armin hesitated on the way up the ramp. //Uhh, alright. I'll try my best not to.// Climbing up into the structure with Sargon, they both looked around to see what the interior was like and who else was inside.

{Biceras nodded and walked for bug 7. Inside, the beetle's structures were made of wood and metal. The ceiling had handles to hang on to and each corner had doors leading to the ballista turrets. Other than that, the main bay didn't have much in it. The place was packed with the soldiers who were assigned to these bugs. Once inside, soldiers near the doors began to retract the ramps and close the back. The beetles began to spread their wings in preparation for flight.}

Sargon and Armin exchanged a glance, then reached up to take hold of one of the handles along the ceiling. 'Did you remember to bring all your weapons?' Sargon asked.

'Of course I did. What kind of idiot do you think I am?' Armin looked up at the ceiling. //You'd better not crash and kill us all.//

//Shuddup. I fly good.// {The beetle responded, almost childishly.}

//OK, buddy. I'll believe you,// said Armin, rolling his eyes.

Sargon was gazing around the bay. 'How long do you think it will take to get there?' he asked to no-one in particular.

{Before the beetles took off, the commanders in each bug made themselves known.}
(In bug 5.) "Ok, everyone, group up in your squad. It won't take long to get there so we need you all to get together now. I'm Danse, that's Hayden, and that guy over there is Macgruder. Let's go."
(In bug seven) "Ok, time to group up. Everyone who's with commander clayton, step this way."

After hearing Commander Danse's speech, Sargon and Armin both made their way over to him, remembering that they were both supposed to be in his squad. 'I wonder what exactly's going to happen once we get there?' Armin muttered. Sargon made a tiny shrugging movement, indicating that he wasn't sure.

Ana, who had gotten into Bug 7 by then, immediately went over to stand near Commander Clayton. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Biceras was still there.

{Biceras was there, giving Ana a thumbs up. With everyone onboard and the back closed up, the beetles took flight. After a shaky takeoff, the beetle's flight stabilizes and they fly off towards Carthage.}

(The next bit is going to be long, so please bear with me.)

{Meanwhile, at the necromancer HQ, Dolorus was hanging out in his throne room when a draugr bird came through the window.}
Dolorus: “Well, hello there! What news do you bring?”
{The bird mutters something in his ear.}
Dolorus: “What’s that? High King Magnus is mobilizing a force to retake Carthage? And he has the Akhetian light weapons with him too? Well, this won’t do, now will it? Thank you, Mr. Pecky, you always bring me the best intel.”
{With that, the bird draugr flies away and Dolorus goes to address his necromancer underlings.} Dolorus: “Ok, people, Magnus wants Carthage back. Get your shet together, ‘cause we’re gonna stop him! Thirty minutes, smoke ‘em if you got ‘em!”
{As all the necromancers scrambled to get ready, Dolorus went to his upper chamber.}
Necromancer: “Hey, Delilah, be kinda embarrassing if Magnus takes back the city, right after you just took it. After all, Dolorus likes you the most. Maybe more than just friends or-?”
{He’s cut off by a violent string of swears and terrible insults from Delilah, followed by a hatchet being thrown at his head. The other necromancers keep clear from her while the instigator ducks his head and runs off, laughing at her outburst.}

{The inside of Dolorus’ upper chamber looked drastically different from the rest of the hallowed mountain. It was bright and colorful, decorated and embellished like a palace. Floating through the halls, he goes through a double door. On the other side was a young girl. She had black hair with a streak of red through it. She was wearing a beautiful dress and playing a tune on a lute. It was clear that this girl was well taken care of, but by Dolorus? The evil serpent that wants to wipe Ferros of all life?}
Dolorus: “Stella, my darling, whatever is that beautiful tune you play?
Stella: “Oh, it’s just something I made up.”
{She puts down the instrument, smiling.}
“Are you here to play music with me again, Father?”
Dolorus: “Oh, I’m sorry, my sweet, daddy has to go. I just came to say goodbye.”
{Stella looks down, looking sad.}
“Oh. When will you be back?”
Dolorus: “Soon, my dear. Soon. Be a good girl, and whatever you do, don’t leave the palace.”
Stella: “Of course, Father, I know. I won’t.”
Dolorus: “Bye, my sweet.”
{After that, Dolorus leaves with his necromancers, bound for Carthage.}

{Meanwhile, the beetles close in on their destination.}
Danse: “Ok, group up! As soon as those gates open, be ready for anything. We might be landing on the outskirts, but I don’t want anyone getting caught off guard. Let’s go!”
Clayton: “Form up! Biceras, you’re on point! Anastasia, you’re our support. You see any magic or projectiles coming at us, deflect ‘em! The rest of you, protect the light keeper!”

(Done!)

Ana smiled evilly and nodded. 'I'm ready,' she said, and began to draw magic from the air around her, gathering it about herself in preparation to cast spells. The magic did not appear visibly, but it formed around Ana in a kind of invisible aura, making the air feel charged with power like before a thunderstorm.

Sargon kept hold of the ceiling handle and waited for the beetle to land. Armin, meanwhile, was addressing the beetle directly. //You see anything unusual in there?//

Beetle: //What, you mean the hordes and hordes of corpses? Naw, that's normal for us.//
{Immediately after, the beetles land and the doors open.}
Danse: "Moveout!"
Clayton: "Let's go!"

Ana immediately leapt for the door and charged down the ramp, still gathering yet more magical power around herself, prepared for whatever might attack them now that they'd landed.

Sargon and Armin also hurried outside, each drawing their blades as they did so.

{Outside, there was nothing. Just trees and grass. Behind them, however, was the city, maybe half a mile away. The commanders rallied their squads and vacated the beetles. Once off, the commanders all started to give orders.}
Danse: "Ok, we march for the city! Armin! Sargon! Shift and go scope out the city, find us a way in! Report back in real time!"
Clayton: "Let's March!" {With that, all the troops start to march for the city, the beetles bringing up the rear.}

Looking slightly disappointed that there was nothing to fight, Ana began to walk with the rest of her squad.

Armin nodded and shifted into his hawk form before taking off towards the city. Sargon followed a second later, assuming the form of a large peregrine falcon.

//Be careful. The enemy army might be keeping a lookout for scouts,// he warned the younger vampire.

//Yeah yeah, I got it.//

They approached the edge of the city and began to circle overhead, trying their best to look like regular birds while they inspected what lay ahead.

{The city itself was fairly big. In the area that Sargon and Armin approached, there was a large hole in the perimeter wall, just like the one they repaired in the capital. The inside of the city was littered with corpses and draugrs alike, with the draugrs standing, motionless and inert.}

//It's a city of the dead,// said Armin, almost in a tone of awe.

Sargon was quiet for a while. Then he said: //Come. We cannot spend too much time here. Let us go back and tell the commander what to expect.//

With that, he spun around and began the return journey. Armin followed closely behind.

After a few minutes, Sargon spotted the troops marching below and swooped down to land, shifting back as he did so, near Commander Danse. 'I bring a report,' he said quickly. 'The city is filled with draugrs, hundreds of them, standing as if they're waiting for something. It seems that the enemy leader knows of our approach and has begun to prepare. We also noticed a large hole in the outer wall. We could potentially use it as a way to enter the city, but it may be a trap.'

{The commander nods.} "More than likely. The king wants the bulk of the force to charge the breach, but our squad and a few others are going to circle around and scout the waterfront. The both of you, fly out there and use your telepathy to tell us what we're up against."
{Danse's squad, with a few others, went west along the wall, while Clayton's went east. The rest went right for the wall, attacking the draugrs.}
Clayton: "Eyes up! We're on a special task. We need to get to city center."

(I was reading some old TDS RP's and I realized
Ardens is kinda a dick. XD)

(XD Was he that bad? I don't remember much of anything in TDS.)

'Got it, commander,' said Armin, giving a rather unprofessional thumbs-up before he shifted and took off again. Sargon eyed him with mild annoyance, then gave chase.

//We need numbers,// he said. //How many draugrs are in there?//

There was a pause while Armin tried to estimate. //I'd say several hundred. Not sure, really.//

Sargon just sighed and flew closer to the city to get a better look at what kinds of enemies were inside

'Why do we need to get there?' Ana asked.

{The waterfront Sargon and Armin were ordered to inspect had its fair share of draugrs as well, but most had run off where Magnus and his men were assaulting the breach. Nothing all that noteworthy other than that. However, there was the feeling of being watched..}

{Clayton looks to Anastasia.} "It's on a need-to-know basis, private. Move out!" {The platoon continues its approach to the west waterfront.}

(Actually, looking back at that RP, he was that bad. XD
Case in point, consider this scene I had all but forgotten.
Mac had attacked Crowley in one of his curse-fits, and Ardens was talking to the king, defending Mac's case. Mid conversation, Erwen saunters up and says:
"Your just trying to keep that burning gecko in power!"
To which Ardens replies:
"Excuse me, I am trying to have a conversation with your father! Don't you have anything better to do? A book to read, or a chambermaid to harass, perhaps?"

He basically just accused his own prince of using his royal stature to try to force himself on the servants of the palace.
XDDD)

(Wow. XD Now that I think about it, I remember there being quite a lot of disagreements between Erwen and other people. I don't think anyone liked him very much. XD At least not until his father died and he sorta matured a little.
Ardens was pretty cool, though.)

Ana rolled her eyes while he wasn't looking, but obeyed. Keeping an eye out for anything dangerous that she could deflect, she moved with the rest of the group around the edge of the city.

//It's not as crowded as I expected,// remarked Armin. //I thought there might be lots of zombies waiting in ambush.//

//There may be something we're not seeing,// said Sargon. Directing his telepathy back to Commander Danse, he reported: //The waterfront is quiet. There are some draugrs, but most of the army appears to have run to defend the breach.// After saying this, he turned back to Armin. //We ought to go down and investigate more closely.//

The two vampires flew down and landed on a nearby wall, where they waited, gazing around alertly for signs of anything out of the ordinary.

//Kinda feels like someone's spying on us,// said Armin after a moment, ruffling his feathers uneasily.

{Finding their way into the city through a gap in the wall, Danse's company enters the waterfront. They walk a short way in before more draugrs appear from the buildings and aqueducts. It seems Sargon and Armin were right.}
Danse: "Form up! Light Keeper! Don't open the lens until they're in a group!"

{As Clayton's group entered the waterfront, a similar thing happened. However, there is a higher concentration of dragon draugrs attacking Clayton's group, and the draugrs attacking Danse's squad consists mostly of abominations and centaurs.}
Clayton: "Here they come! Hold fast!"

(I'm glad to hear that. I honestly wasn't sure if anyone liked Ardens at all. After all, he was pretty mean. XD)

(Sometimes mean characters are fun, if you can write them well. I have a lot of them myself.
I still prefer Dianne when it comes to 'mean characters' though. XD)

//Here they come!// said Armin, flapping his wings and screeching a warning as the swarm of draugrs began to appear. Still standing on top of the wall, he shifted back to human form and pulled out his crossbow. 'This might not kill them, but it might slow them down.' Beside him, Sargon nodded and also shifted back. However, he didn't bother drawing his crossbow, instead conjuring several knives around himself and preparing to throw them at the draugrs.

{As The swarm approached, Danse's light keeper used their ight weapon. The light weapon was of a fairly simple construction, being a metal box with a lens that was lever activated. Pull down the lever, and the lens opened, flooding the place with an intense light. As this light hit the draugrs, the fell and began to writhe, rapidly turning to ash. As this was going on, a wave of sickening aura comes over Armin and Sargon. Behind them, floating and grinning, is Dolorus.
Dolorus: "Tsk, tsk, spies? In my wonderful necropolis? Shame on both of you."

{In Clayton's group, Biceras was using her light weapon on the steady stream of draugrs trying to attack them from the front, but some of the dragon draugrs were working their way around the group. From behind, one lunges at the group.}
Clayton: "Ana, watch out!

(Really? Interesting. Why Dianne over Ardens?)

Both vampires turned quickly when they heard Dolorus's voice. 'Who are you?' said Sargon. He still had two of his knives levitating beside him, ready to throw, but he held them back, not knowing if they'd even cause any harm to this creature.

'Hey, are you stupid or something?' Armin snapped. 'That's obviously Dolorus. Remember that orc guy mentioned he was a giant snake?' Taking a step forwards, he raised his crossbow to point at Dolorus's face. 'Are you here to fight?'

Ana gasped, nearly fell over, and then remembered to activate her magic. 'WARD!' A great transparent shield materialised, covering the part of the group that the dragon draugr was diving towards. The two collided a split second later, and the dragon was rebounded off the magical barrier.

(I just find Dianne more interesting, I guess. She seems to have a more complex backstory and emotions. I don't know so much about Ardens.)

{Dolorus chuckles, looking right at Sargon.} "Your friend is right, I am Dolorus." {He then looks back to Armin.} "Oh, no, no, no, I'm not here to fight. //She// is."
{At that moment, the wall they're standing on shakes violently, as Delilah rammed through it, causing it to collapse.}

{As the dragon draugr was deflected, Biceras turned and used her light weapon to destroy it.} "Yeah, nice one, An-" {She's cut off when a tendril, seemingly made of tree roots, wraps around her ankle and starts dragging her across the ground.} "AH! Ana, help!"

(That's true, huh? Ardens, despite the long run of TDS, didn't really get an emphasis on his backstory, while Dianne's character has been more thoroughly explored through the events of Shacklestone. I think this is because when TDS started, it was my first time doing a dedicated RP, and I hadn't figured out Arden's background completely. But, when Shacklestone came around, I had a better idea of the world Dianne came from and her background and motives.)

'What do you mean--' Sargon began, but was interrupted by the first shakes of the wall beginning to collapse. On instinct, he shifted into his falcon form and leapt up into the air before the whole structure was destroyed.

'Hey, isn't that the dragon Ana was fighting?' Armin said, as he also made his escape. However, he didn't bother to shapeshift, instead simply jumping down to the ground, making sure to stay on the opposite side to Delilah.

Ana pulled down the shield and turned around just in time to see Biceras being dragged away. With a growl, she raised a hand and threw out a small ball of concentrated magic, aiming for the tree roots. //That should snap them!//

(Yeah, that's true. It might have also been because TDS wasn't an especially organised roleplay from what I remember. I didn't plan a lot of things in the RP either, since I never really knew where the plot was going to go.
I can tell you've put a lot of thought into Dianne's backstory, though.)

{Delilah roared at the pair, but, noticing the light keeper from Danse's squad, she dives behind a building before the light can touch her. Dolorus grins right at Sargon before doing the same.}
Dolorus: "Really? This 'Ana' fought my most favored vassal and survived? I would very much like to meet this, 'Ana', and test the true extent of her mortality."

{Ana's magic snapped the roots, freeing Biceras. However, as she was getting up, more roots came and pulled the light weapon from her grasp, disappearing underground.}
Biceras: "No, no, no! Shet!"
{Not a moment later, a massive creature erupted from the ground in front of the group. It seemed to be made of tree roots, formed into a massive ball with eyes and a mouth, and tendrils spreading beneath the ground. It opened its mouth, and a rather tall and thin necromancer walks out.}
Necromancer: "Pests! You have lost your weapon. Concede!"

(That I have. And yeah, the plot for TDS after a while just became "who's Maldius going to f$ @k with next"? Oooooh, so overpowered! XD To be honest with you, Ardens was originally going to be quite a bit like Dianne is here, as far as his draugrs and powers went. But, I had to give him major buffs to combat Maldius.)

'I'd like that,' Armin called back, as the pair both hid behind the building to avoid the light keeper. 'Could you maybe finish her off for me?'

Sargon threw a cold look at his subordinate before saying, 'How do you intend to defeat us? We have light weapons. You cannot protect yourselves against them.'

'Dammit!' Ana hissed, clenching her fists. She wasn't sure whether to be angry at Biceras for dropping the weapon, or angry with herself for being too slow. In an instant, she had shifted into her dragon form and begun to advance upon the necromancer, glaring down at them from her massive height, teeth bared. 'Do you think we need that stupid light thing to beat YOU?! You're just a necromancer! I could tear you apart!'

(I stopped understanding the plot of TDS after a while. XD Yeah, I understand that. Nobody's characters had any chance of beating Maldius. That's why I eventually dropped out, because I was getting frustrated at how Maldius could do whatever he liked, and nobody could stop him.)

{The Necromancer raised a hand, causing roots to rise from the ground in tall tendrils.}
Necromancer: "Without that weapon, you cannot defeat me. Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine."
Biceras: "So, you took the weapon and you have a root monster, so what? Ana's right, we'll just tear you apart! There's two of us and one of you!"

{Dolorus' laugh reverberates through the empty city.}
"That weapon is only good if you can hit us with it."
{The light keeper runs for the building, only to find that they both disappeared. Turning back to the group confused, the keeper shrugs.}
Danse: "Hey, don't turn your back on-"
{It seems that Delilah simply shifted to human form and entered the building to avoid detection. Shifting back to dragon form, she breaks through the building, forcing a portion of the wall down on top of the keeper, trapping him and the weapon under brick. Delilah then turns to the group, advancing menacingly and growing.}
Dolorus: "Ahahaha! I'm sorry, old man, what were you saying?"

(Yeah, that's what I figured. I had seriously considered leaving after he killed Kremos , just on a whim. I stayed because I wasn't going to just let Lilly have their way like that. I decided to play their game, but do it better.)

'Come on, Biceras, let's finish this idiot,' growled Ana. She flared out her wings in a threatening gesture and gathered more power, surrounding herself in an aura of charged power. 'Unless you to lose all your limbs, you'd better think about backing down.'

Without giving the necromancer time to consider this, she blasted some of her power straight towards him, aiming to destroy all of the tree root tendrils, just as she'd done before.

Sargon gripped his dual swords tightly, scowling at Dolorus while trying to keep an eye on Delilah at the same time. 'Perhaps we don't need that light weapon to defeat you...' There was a metallic sound, and four long curved daggers materialised around him, two on each side, levitating.

Armin tugged on Sargon's cape. 'Uhh, boss, I don't want to interrupt whatever you're planning to do here, but I really think we need to cut our losses and run.'

{As Ana's blast contacted the necromancer, he turned into a smokelike mass. As the blast went past, however, it succeeded in severing all the tendrils, much to the enragement of the tree root monster. Biceras lunged forward and swung her warhammer at the necromancer after he rematerialized. He stepped back quickly to avoid losing his head.}
Necromancer: "Actually, it's //two// against two."
{At that moment, flaming chains bound themselves to Ana, and started to pull her away from the fight. Ardens had appeared from behind.}
Biceras: "Ana!"

Danse: "Don't even think about it, private!"
{Said Danse in response to Armin's remark.}
"Deserters will not be tolerated. Form up!"
{The remaining soldiers in Danse's squad grouped up, facing Delilah.} "We can beat her if we do it together!"

'Biceras!' Ana snarled. 'Take care of the necromancer!' Whirling around, she sent another blast of uncontrolled power towards Ardens. At the same time, she used her remaining stored power to activate her Ward barrier. She wasn't sure it would work, though; the shield was normally used to deflect attacks coming towards her, not to throw off chains. She hoped that, if nothing else, the blast of magic would hurt Ardens.

'Oh god...' Armin muttered. //OK OK, fine, we'll all throw away our lives here.// Drawing his sword, he also turned to face Delilah. Suddenly, there was the sound of metal whirring through the air. Sargon had released his four levitating knives and sent them flying towards Delilah.

{Ana's ward breaks Ardens' chains. To avoid the blast, Ardens leaps aside. Biceras nods, but stops for a moment when she sees Ana's assailant.}
"Ardens..."
{She turns to the necromancer with a snarl.}
"Get out of my way! I don't have time for this!"
{Ardens shifts and looks up at Ana, waiting for her to make a move.}

{Delilah charges the group. Sargon's knives hit their marks, but they either hit her armor, or are so small compared to her, she just ignores them. She breathes a storm of fire on the group, but their battle mage puts up a ward to keep them from getting fried }
Danse: "When she stops, the ward's going down. When that happens, hit her with everything you got!"

Ana didn't wait a second before charging straight at Ardens, roaring. As she ran, she pulled more magic out of the air and held it about herself, ready to cast another spell.

Sargon considered for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully and summoned some more weapons - this time, two long swords, each hovering on either side of himself. If he managed to hit Delilah between her armour plates with one, she would definitely feel it, even if it didn't cause serious damage. He held the blades ready and waited for the mage's ward to come down.

Armin sheathed his sword and pulled out his crossbow again, hoping the bolt would do more harm to the giant dragon than a mere blade.

{Ardens charges as well, fire building in his throat. The two dragons are roughly the same size. This matchup will be decided by skill.}

{Delilah's fire subsides, and the mage drops the ward.}
Danse: "Now!"

{Biceras tries to rush the necromancer, but is caught by all the root tendrils. Immobilized, she struggles against the roots while the necromancer starts to gloat.}
Necromancer: "Look at that, another simpleton, baffled by my superior magic. What, did you think you could win this through brute force?"
{Biceras just gives an angry look.} "You have no idea. First, I'm going to rip apart your little tree monster, then I'm going to shove the pieces right down your throat!"
Necromancer: "I don't think-"
{He's cut off when Biceras shifts to her dragon form. Her new form is massive, even bigger than Delilah. Her shift tore apart the roots holding her in place. The necromancer is surprised by this and jumps back, gawking. Now free, Biceras begins to torch the place with her fire breath, destroying the roots.}

As the ward came down, Sargon released his two blades, which shot like bullets towards Deliliah, aiming for any unarmoured areas. Armin fired his crossbow. //This is such a bad idea, she's just going to kill us all, these tiny weapons aren't gonna hurt her.///

As the two dragons came close together, Ana darted her head forwards and clamped her long jaws around Ardens's neck, trying to immobilise him. Once she had a grip, she started tearing at him with her front claws. She was so intent on her prey that she didn't hear any of the commotion going on behind her as Biceras destroyed the tree monster.

{Sargon's blades hit their marks, eliciting a cry of pain from Delilah. Armin's bolt, however, bounced off her chestplate. Enraged, she pounces upon the group, shattering the mage's ward as they tried to put it up. Her landing shook the ground, and she stepped on two squadmates in the process. She then snatched up the mage in her jaws and ripped them asunder with ease.}

{Ardens grunts as Ana locks with him. Her attacks are painful, but his armor holds well. He breathes fire down on Ana's back and digs his claws into the base of her jaw. From there, he starts to pull, trying to dislocate it, and force her to release.}

{Biceras pursues the root monster, catching half of it as it tries to retreat underground and tearing off a good portion. However, the necromancer managed to escape within his root monster. Seeing that he fled, Biceras makes her way towards Ana's fight.}

(Gotta say, that comic you did,
Sargon's face is perfect XD)

(XD That's his face of 'it's time to get rid of Ana and hire somebody else'.)

'Look out!' Sargon called, a few seconds too late, as Delilah had already torn the mage apart. He began to retreat backwards, getting himself out of her reach, and summoned another blade, firing it at her. //Armin, at close range you may be able to--// He broke off upon seeing a hawk taking off into the sky. //Damn you, Armin! Coward...//

Ana's naturally flameproof scales deflected the worst of the heat, but upon feeling Ardens pulling on her jaw, she released her grip on him to prevent him dislocating it. With a snarl, she retreated back a couple of steps and stopped, eyeing up the other dragon, waiting to see if he would make a move. A faintly mocking grin flickered on her face.

{As Armin flew away, Dolorus flew after him, quickly overtaking him and stopping right in his path.}
Dolorus: "Oh, hello there! Where do you think you're going? No one leaves."
{As Sargon distances himself from Delilah, Danse pulls him aside.}
Danse: "Hey, you said on your paper that you could summon objects, right? That weapon is still under those bricks. Think you could get it?"

{Ardens snarls, lights his claws on fire, and thrashes his tail on the ground. All the plants around him start to die off. Biceras catches up and stands next to Ana.}
"Ana, let me handle him. That other squad looks like they could use some help."
{She looks over at Sargon's squad, getting wrecked by Delilah.}

Armin came to a halt as well, hovering in mid-air in front of Dolorus. //I leave when I want to,// he replied. //Are you going to stop me?//

Sargon considered. 'I can try,' he responded. Concentrating, he thought of the light weapon buried beneath the pile of rubble, and with a snap of his fingers, he summoned it. The weapon suddenly appeared in a burst of light, floating in the air a few feet in front of Sargon.

Ana snarled, but nodded. 'Make the old fool suffer for me,' she hissed, then turned and galloped away to join Danse's squad. 'I'm only leaving because Lord Sargon is in danger!'

{Dolorus gives a devious smile.}
"Yes."
{Like the snake he is, Dolorus strikes out, biting into Armin's wing. and retracting. His bite seems to have been laced with some kind of poison, as the bite begins to decay up and down Armin's wing, causing terrible feather loss. Armin is force to shift, or lose the wing entirely, given his small stature.}

{Danse looks to the weapon, then to Sargon, then back to the weapon, then back again.}
Danse: "What are you waiting for!? Use it!!"

{Biceras nods as Ana runs to Sargon's aid. She turns back to face Ardens, who is advancing with flaming claws.}
Biceras: "Ardens. C'mon, man, you don't want to do this."
Ardens: "Yes I do. It is my destiny."
Biceras: "You don't actually believe that, do you? This isn't you! You're not-"
{Ardens lunges at Biceras, causing her to leap to the side.}
Biceras: "C'mon, Ardens, you have to work with me here!"

'And how would I know how to use it?' said Sargon coldly. 'I am not Light Keeper--'

Suddenly, a yell exploded across the battlefield, emanating from the large blue dragon that was charging frantically towards them. 'NO ONE TRIES TO KILL MY MASTER!' Ana screeched, before throwing herself at Delilah.

//Argh! Dam.n you, snake!// Armin struggled for a moment to stay airbourne, but realised quickly that Dolorus's bite was poisoned and he was losing the use of his wing. He shifted back to human form and immediately, of course, began to fall, given that he was a hundred feet up.

{Once Ana had jumped at Delilah, she snarled and pounced as well. Biting the back of Ana's neck, she starts to maul the smaller dragon, like a dog with a chew toy.
Danse just gives Sargon a bewildered look.}
Danse: "How would you-What? You just pull--And--how thick are you?! Oh, for god's sake, I'll just do it!"
{Taking the weapon, he uses it, shining the beam at Delilah. When it hits her, Delilah shrieks, drops Ana, and bolts for the cover of the buildings.}

{Dolorus falls with Armin, laughing the whole time.}
Dolorus: "Oooh, that ground doesn't look very soft! This is gonna hurt, vampire boyo!"

Ana crawled away, bleeding from a few places, but having no serious wounds. The light weapon had driven Delilah off her in time.

'Master,' she gasped. 'Are you OK?' Sargon ignored her; his attention was focused on the buildings where Delilah had just disappeared, waiting to see if she would attempt to come out again, or if she was going to flee.

A second after Dolorus said this, Armin hit the ground just behind one of the buildings. The impact broke several bones, including both of his legs, but didn't kill him, as he was a vampire. He lay there facedown for a moment, gasping and groaning in pain. Unable to stand, he waited to see if Dolorus was going to finish him off. //What a way to go...//

{Dolorus loomed over him, grinning his twisted grin.}
Dolorus: "Aaawwww, what's the matter? Widdle birdy broke his wing? And his legs? Ahahah! I think I'll just end your cowardly--ACK!"
{Danse had caught sight of Dolorus and pointed the weapon at him. In response, he flew upward in a writhing fashion, and hid behind a building. As soon as he was safe, he poked his head around and hissed at Danse before fleeing.}

{Delilah did not reappear. Either she had fled, or she was hiding. Danse walked over to Armin, inspecting his wounds.}
Danse: "Sargon, scoop him up. We don't leave men behind."

Sargon folded his arms. 'He deserted us at a crucial moment,' he said coldly. 'He left us and ran away.'

'Oh, but we can't leave him here to die,' said Ana as she approached. She limped over to Armin and crouched down. 'He's useful sometimes.' With a bit of help from Sargon, she succeeded in pulling Armin onto her back. 'But if he deserts you again, I'll kill him personally.'

'I'm glad to know you all care so much about my wellbeing,' Armin muttered sarcastically.

Danse: "Yeah, he did. And I think he's paid for that mistake. Next time, stay with the group, ok Armin?"
{He looks to the sound of a crumbling building. It seems Magnus' force had nearly pushed through to this part of the city, at there was a beetle, not far away, stepping on a building. He then looks to Biceras and Ardens, fighting in the distance.}
"We should assist her. Let's go."

Ana also looked to where the two huge dragons were locked in combat, and chewed her lip worriedly. 'Yes, let's help her. She took over fighting him for me so I could run and help you guys.'

{Biceras, strangely enough, wasn't fighting with Ardens. Rather, she was just avoiding his attacks.}
Ardens: "You...look familiar? Did you come from a town I wiped?"
Biceras: "No."
Ardens: "Ah, I must have killed your family, and now you want revenge. Well, fret not, you will join them soon."
Biceras: "No, damn it, Ardens, you know me!"
Ardens: "I know, but I...just can't place it..."
{Biceras stops and looks him right in the eye.}
Biceras: "How could you forget? My god, Ardens, what have they done to you? You...you used to be such a gentle person! And now, I finally tracked you down and..and you joined some crazy, genocidal cult? Killing entire towns of people? This isn't you!"
Ardens: "Bah! You never knew me! And it's not genocide, it's balance! It must be done!"
Biceras: "No...no, I won't believe it! You're still in there, I know it! Damn it, we grew up together! We laughed together, we played together, we //fought// together! Do you remember none of that?"
Ardens: "Impossible! Everyone I grew up with was taken from me! Caught or killed by slavers! You lie!"
{Biceras shifts back to human form and walks toward Ardens, taking off her helmet.}
Biceras: "Not all of us."
{Ardens' fire extinguishes, as he stands there, frozen and dumbstruck.}
Ardens: "It...it couldn't be!"

{Danse nods and starts moving towards the fight, However, he's puzzled by their conversation.}
"Does she...know that monster?"

(Hey, Radiant, so, I just found out that I'm going to be out all day tomorrow. As for the Shacklestone RP, I may not be there at all, depending on if the place I'm going has any kind of wifi. If it doesn't I'm going to miss the entire RP. If it does, I'll be able to RP for the full duration. It's kind of a coinflip situation, just letting you know ahead of time.)

(That's OK, thanks for letting me know. I'll post Shacklestone as normal today. Then, if you're not there after a while, I'll post a regular RP/chat room for everyone. Just to cover every possibility.)

( Cool. Thanks for understanding. :) )

Ana peered at the two of them, the huge dragon and Biceras, now a human, with a confused look on her face. 'She DID seem like she recognised him earlier,' she remarked.

{Ardens shifts back and approaches uncertainly.}
Biceras: "It's me, Ardens. Please, stop this...stop hurting people...just...come home."
Ardens: "Biceras..."
{Ardens stood right in front of her. But, before they could do anything more, a blur appeared and struck Ardens. It was Magnus. He cut through Ardens with his mighty blade, causing him to roar in pain.}
Biceras: "NO!!"
{Ardens shifted and fled, bleeding profusely. Magnus jumped after him, but gets swatted down by Ardens' tail.}

(Sorry for slow replies on things, I've been sick. I'll respond once my head is working again.)

(Don't worry about it. It's more important that you recover.)

(Reply: Thank you for the birthday wishes. :D)

'Hey!' Seeing Ardens injured, Ana dashed forwards, still in her dragon form. 'What are you doing? You could've let them finish talking at least!' She looked in the direction Ardens had fled, then turned to Magnus instead, trying to see if he was injured.

Sargon came after her, but stopped a distance away, just watching.

{Magnus got up, unscathed. With an irritated look, he turns to where Ardens had fled, then he turns to Biceras.}
Magnus: "What were you doing? You can't hesitate against these monsters! You're lucky I showed up in time!"
Biceras: "No, you're wrong! He wasn't going to hurt me! I was so close to convincing him to-"
Magnus: These things can't be reasoned with! He was just waiting for the right moment to kill you!
Biceras: "No! Dammit, I knew him, long before this crap started! We grew up together! I don't know what's wrong with him, but this isn't-"
Magnus: "You are out of line, soldier. Whoever it was you think you knew, he's not there anymore. If you really want to help him, you will put him down, without hesitation!"
{Magnus grabs the light weapon from Danse and shoves it to Biceras so she takes it.}
"Is that clear?"

Ana paced forwards, putting herself a little behind and to the side of Biceras, and let herself glare at Magnus a little. 'You're an asshole,' she grumbled. 'What if she really WAS able to bring that guy back? What if he's NOT all gone? Imagine how powerful an ally he'd be if he were on our side!'

//Ana, keep in mind who you're talking to,// said Sargon sharply. //You don't want to have an argument with him.//

{Magnus looks up at Ana.}
"Criticize me all you want, but you've only just got here."
{He turns and starts to walk away.}
"If you saw the atrocities he's committed, you'd be on my side."
{As Magnus left, Biceras broke down sobbing. She fell to her knees, leaning on the weapon, in a slumped posture.}

Sargon just stood and watched Magnus walk away, not sure how to react. Meanwhile, Ana stepped up to Biceras, still in her dragon form, and stretched out her neck to gently nudge Biceras's shoulder with her muzzle. 'Hey, don't worry. You might not have lost your chance. You might still be able to get him back someday...'

{Biceras looks up at Ana, tears in her eyes.}
"W-what I..what if he's right? What am I supposed to do then? I...I don't...I don't think I have it in me to...to kill...oh, God...I can't kill him. I...I just couldn't..."

'Oh, don't be so silly. You saw him, right? He recognised you! He wasn't trying to kill you! If you can just talk to him again without any interruptions... I'm sure you could convince him to leave this cult...'

{Biceras leans up against Ana's muzzle.} "I hope you're right..." {She says softly.}
"He's the real reason I'm here, you know. I've spent years trying to track down all my friends and family. I did find them. Each time, someone pointed me to either a graveyard or a bone pile. He's all I have left.."

'Mhm... how exactly do you know him?' Ana inquired curiously. 'Is he a sibling, or a friend, or something else?'

{Biceras wipes her eyes and starts to stand up.}
"He was a friend. We grew up together. Well....when we got older, we kinda...had a thing. I can tell you the whole story later, we should probably get out of here."

(Re: Well, I suppose Pugna is random in that he's not apart of any major rps. Yeah, he is a bit like Crowley, isn't he? I kept thinking that as I was writing him. XD)

Ana eyed her curiously for a moment, then nodded and drew back. 'Alright. We'll talk about him later.' She glanced around to make sure Sargon was still nearby. 'Are we leaving now? Wait, did we take the city back already or not?'

{Biceras looks around. The remaining Draugrs were in full retreat, and the necromancers were nowhere to be found.}
Biceras: "I think so. Looks like we won. Let's go see what the commanders say." {Biceras starts to walk for the nearest beetle.}

Ana hummed quietly in acknowledgement and started to follow. As she did, Sargon fell into step beside her, walking more quickly than usual to keep pace with her dragon-sized steps.

'Did you hear anything she and Ardens said to each other?' he asked.

She shook her head. 'No... not more than one or two words. But from what I saw, she really was close to convincing him. He wasn't trying to hurt her when I saw them together.'

'Hmm...' Looking thoughtful, Sargon fell silent. He wondered if there were other people in Dolorus's army besides Ardens who weren't what they seemed.

(This room's getting a bit full again. One of us should make a new one quite soon, but we can keep using this one until we do.)

(Ok. Do you want to post it, or should I?)

{As the group approached, Magnus, his commanders, and a few beetles were grouped around something. Magnus turned, and beckoned the group to come closer.} "You four, come here. I want you to see this." {the crowd parts to reveal a large puddle of dark red liquid.}
"Do any of you know what this is?"

Ana leaned down and sniffed at the puddle. 'Blood?' she ventured cautiously. Sargon had stopped a few feet away, letting her go on ahead. He seemed to still be lost in thought.

Morgana: "Sure looks and smells like it, doesn't it?"
{Magnus motions for her to back away.}
Magnus: "Don't touch it, soldier. That there is a curse. You touch it, you'll die."

'How would you know that?' questioned Ana. 'Have you seen this before? Or is there some way to tell?'

Magnus: "Yeah, we've seen it before. It's nasty stuff."
Morgana: "Plus, since when does blood react like this?"
{At that moment, one of the weapons on the beetle is opened, and the light contacts the puddle. The puddle makes a shrieking noise as the liquid quickly evaporates, revealing a half decayed body in a ditch, soaked in actual blood.}

(I can post it, unless you want to do it.)

Ana and Sargon both took a reflexive step back at the strange noise that came from the puddle.

'Eww... there's a rotting body in there!' exclaimed Ana, pointing a claw at it, rather unnecessarily. 'Why?!'

Magnus: "That's its origin. It uses corpses to spread."
{As the weapon is turned off,, after a minute , The curse began to ooze out of the body. }

(You do it.)

'Ugh...' Looking disgusted, Ana stepped further back to make sure none of the blood or cursed stuff touched her. 'I hate necromancy.'

'Why is this here?' Sargon asked. 'Was it meant to be a trap?'

(I'll post a room either today or tomorrow.)

{Magnus shakes his head.} “No. When Delilah took this city, she unleashed this curse upon the garrison to weaken their lines. This poor bastard likely wandered and died in this ditch. Then, the curse multiplied and filled this ditch.”

Ana just shuddered and averted her gaze from the body. 'So, are we finished here, or are we all going to keep staring at it a while longer?'

Magnus: “We’re done. My mages will quarantine this area of the city. Danse.”
Danse: “Yes, my liege?”
Magnus: “Clayton is taking care of a special mission. You’re in charge of the remnants of his squad. Take them and patrol the perimeter.”
Danse: “Yes sir. Let’s move!”
{With that, Danse starts to walk away.}

Ana and Sargon glanced at each other, not sure where they were supposed to be going now, then started to follow Danse.

'Eww, that was disgusting,' said Ana with a little shudder. 'Curses and dead bodies... I mean, I LOVE dark magic, but that's just going too far. Don't these cult people have any taste?'

Sargon ignored his subordinate's low-pitched ranting, still thinking about Ardens and what might have happened to turn him into a monster. On Ana's back, Armin was keeping quiet too

{Biceras walked next to Ana, also quiet. She seemed a bit down, given everything that happened.}
Biceras: "...What am I supposed to do?" {She says quietly to herself.} "That...back there...What even was that? Did he do that? How could he...Be apart of all this..."

Ana gave a small growl, just to let Biceras know she was there and could hear everything she was saying to herself. 'There's no point in worrying about it. Next time you see him, you can try to find out. Until then, there's no point in asking those questions, because nobody knows the answers.'

{Biceras nods.} "You're right, Ana. I should stop fussing over it."
Danse: "Eyes up. We have a straggler."
{Danse directs their attention to a centaur, cautiously hiding in a building.}

Ana and Sargon came to a halt. 'Are we going to kill it?' the witch dragon whispered.

Danse: "No, we're going to invite it to tea. Of course we kill it!"
{Biceras rolls her eyes and walks forward, using her light weapon to destroy the draugr. However, when she turns to say something, a very long metal arrow flies from the side, impailing her left arm and pinning it to the wall. Biceras cries out in pain, dropping the weapon, before another metal arrow flies in and pins her left leg to the wall, eliciting a blood curdling cry from the poor girl.}

Ana let out a howl and leapt in front of Biceras, activating her Ward spell to protect her from any more arrows. At the same moment, Sargon drew his crossbow and fired a bolt in the direction the arrows had been coming from, aiming to hit whoever had been firing them.

'Dammit! We need help over here!' Ana snarled. 'Medics? Anyone?'

{Sargon's bolt flew through the dust and smoke, and hit something metal. Through the cloud walked a tall, metal being, holding a massive bow, notching another arrow.}
Danse: "Pugna!"

Sargon paused for a second, then nocked another bolt and aimed his crossbow at the creature's head. 'Are you allied with the Will of Death?' he asked expressionlessly, not moving even though Pugna was carrying a huge bow and was obviously not afraid to use it.

'Who is this?!' Ana growled, not impressed by the creature's appearance.

{The being loomed over Sargon, keeping its bow down.}
"I, am Pugna the Mighty. I am not with the Will of Death. I am an Akhetian. "
Danse: "Pugna! We forfeit the challenge and forever acknowledge the superiority of the Akhetians. Now, leave us alone!"
{Pugna chuckles darkly.} "It's not going to be that easy this time, Danse. I'm here on official orders from Akhet. That..."
{He points to the light weapon.}
"Does not belong to you. I am here to reclaim it. Surrender it, unless you all want to join your friend on the wall."
{He motions to Biceras, still pinned to the wall, struggling painfully and fruitlessly to free herself.}

'Do you want to see the world overrun and destroyed by the Will of Death?' said Sargon, keeping his crossbow trained on Pugna. 'For that is what will happen if we hand over the weapon to you.'

Pugna: "The fate of this world is no concern of mine. Not my fault if you're too weak to defend it."
{Pugna states coldly.}
"Last chance, surrender it or die."

Sargon took his gaze off Pugna for a moment to turn and give Danse a cold look.

'You are the commander here. Aren't you going to say anything?'

{Danse wears a face of anger. He approaches Pugna, greatsword in hand.}
Danse: "Pugna. If we relinquish the weapons, we relinquish our lives to the Will of Death. If we don't, you'll kill us. Exactly what do we gain from this?"
Pugna: "Time. You get to live a little longer before those zombies rip you apart. I get you want to extend the length of your meaningless lives as long as possible, but let's be honest, none of you matter, and none of you amount to much more than dust in the wind."
{Danse just glares at Pugna.}
Danse: "Sargon. Go get the king. Tell him what's happening. Ana. Help me scrap this glorified automaton. As of right now, I believe we're at war with the Akhetians."
{Pugna laughs, his deep voice resonating within some hollow space in his body.}
Pugna: "Poor choice, meat bag."

Ana bared her teeth is a vicious grin and started to move forwards. 'Poor choice? You're nothing but a scrap of metal with an ego.' She drew magic from the air and gathered it around herself in a crackling inferno. She sent a lightning bolt of power towards Pugna, in a preliminary attack.

Sargon didn't stay to watch what might happen next. Shifting into his falcon form, he took off over the city to where he thought Magnus was.

(Yo, I'm going to take a short break from RPing (mainly because it's my birthday this week and I might be busy). I'll post a new room for this RP at the weekend, and we'll continue then. There probably won't be a Shacklestone either.)

(Ok. Happy birthday and enjoy your break! :D)