Hello.

Hey.

HEWWO

ALSO I'M REALLY SORRY I DIDN'T REPLY AT ALL TO LAST WEEKS I A) DIDN'T REALISE YOU REPLIED AND B) HAD NO MOTIVATION TO WRITE ANYTHING
I'LL BE GOOD FOR TONIGHT THOUGH AAAAAAHHHHHHHH

Alrighty then, @King

(King) Dude, it's fine. I wasn't even expecting you to reply on the old one, I just thought we'd be continuing it today.

I gotta check the last session as usual, so if anyone else knows what's going on and wants to start, feel free!

Alright, I think I know everything that's happening now.

( @King you saw where Dianne and Fred spoke to Doggo squad, right?)

{Vitis shakes his head.}
"No fool, tapeworms are like this super gross parasite that lives inside of you and feeds off of you. They live in raw meat, so that's why you gotta cook stuff really well."

( @Aggron
Ah, yeah, I'm pretty sure I did-- I'll check back anyways)

Crowley stared at the frying pan, his expression hovering somewhere in between disgust and fascination. 'Uh, OK, I guess I'll do that then. I mean, I'm not scared of some stupid parasite, but I'd rather die in a COOL way.'

Vitis: "Yeah, you're thinking of all the times you ate some weird shit and wondering if you have worms now, aren'tcha?"

Crowley shook his head. 'Nope. I haven't eaten anything that weird in a long time. And even if I did, I bet I wouldn't get worms. I ate rotten meat once when I was a kid, and THAT didn't kill me.' Noticing that the sausages were cooked, he found a couple of plates and began to divide them up.

@Aggron/Radiant
Ango had stared at all the new people with suspicion, not particularly trusting any of them at all.
"Hey, I'm not the only one injured. Keenan nearly died. Twice. Probably three times if I'm honest. And my mum needs seeing to."
She crosses her arms with some difficulty, wincing as pain shoots through her bad arm. Toby whines softly and leans against her leg.

"Woah, hey! I did not! It was only one time, when I got crunched by that massive thing in the orphanage! At least I was able to get healed by Dark Br- uh...you-know-who!"
He protests.
"Anyways, we're all pretty banged up. If someone could show us the way to the hospital that'd be real nice."

(King/Aggron)

'I can,' said Ivy. 'Unless Dianne doesn't trust me to show you the way.' She shot a glance at the necromancer, waiting for her response.

{Dianne looks at Ango with an unamused expression.}
"Fine. All of y}ou, this way."
{She then turns and begins to walk for the hospital., expecting them all to follow.}}

@Radiant
"If I told you I think I'd be killed on the spot."
Mortikai's arms cross, though his answer was telling enough.
"I think we're in a little bit of a break period at the moment. He doesn't bother me while I...recover, and he doesn't use me for anything."

Wendigo's knowing smile dropped. 'Well, I'm just glad I'm not in your situation. It doesn't sound like much fun. So, are you on your way somewhere?' He glanced around the city, which was very quiet with no citizens around.

Ivy huffed in annoyance and followed grudgingly. Frederick also followed, after a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure Wendigo was still around (the hydra's huge heads were visible from almost anywhere in the city).

{Dianne caught Ivy's huff and turned to her as she walked.}
"Ivy, it's not that I don't trust you, I'm just going that way as well. You don't need to huff at me."

{Vitis takes his cut of the sausages and goes to find some bread.}
"Rotten meat, huh? I thought you were a crow, not a vulture."

'I did no such thing,' Ivy replied quickly, trying to cover up for herself. 'I /never/ huff. That would be childish.' She then subsided into silence and made no further complaints.

'I kinda didn't have a choice,' said Crowley. 'It was just after I left my parents, and I was living on the streets with no money. I found the food on the ground, and I ate it. It wasn't that bad, really.' He shrugged. 'Is that bread? Pass me some.'

Dianne:"Ivy, my hearing is a lot better than most. Please don't lie to me."

@Aggron
Nodding, the girl takes her mum's hand to lead her with them. She glances around, a little unnerved at how much more grand the city was to Shacklestone. It certainly wasn't something she was used to, keeping her gaze straight ahead for the most part.

Keenan falls in line with Ivy, smiling warmly.
"Take it that you're not a huge fan of our local dead-raiser?"
He says in a slightly hushed tone, putting his hands into his pockets.

Toby sniffs curiously at Frederick, noticing how he had a similar scent to Jed. Maybe they were both strange dogs, but he wanted to be a human more? He couldn't think why, since Jed seemed to have a lot more fun being a dog.

'Fine, I did,' said Ivy irritably. 'I'm sorry, OK?'

Ivy looked at Keenan, a little surprised to find him talking to her. 'Oh, no, it's nothing like that. I'm just bored, I guess. I'm one of the only /humans/ here, so sometimes it feels like everyone has important things to do except me.'

Frederick paid no attention to Toby, continuing to walk without looking at him. He wasn't really a dog person, or an animal person for that matter.

@Radiant
"I was going to head over to the hospital, but...I don't think the people who I want to meet there would want me there too much. I'll probably just wander around, see what comes back to me."
He manages a smile, though there seems to be...something...behind it.
"Trust me, my position is something I wouldn't wish upon even my worst enemy."

Wendigo eyed him curiously. 'I can't say I understand what's going on, but you don't know for sure that they won't want to see you. Did you mess with them somehow? Maybe you can make it up to them. You seem like a decent guy, to me.'

{Dianne gave Ivy a look that said she didn't appreciate the tone, but simply said:}
"That's all I wanted to hear."
{Walking into the palace towards the infirmary, Dianne walks ahead to get Steve.}
Dianne:"Steve."
Steve: "Oh, you're back. Everything go well?"
Dianne: "More or less. I brought back some survivors who need medical attention."
Steve: "Ok. I'll be right out there."

{Vitis hands Crowley some bread.} "Huh. So, if I recall correctly, you tried to murder your brother, your parents kicked you out onto the street, and you had to eat refuse to survive, right?"

'They didn't kick me out,' said Crowley, beginning to make himself a sausage sandwich. 'I left of my own free will. Nobody wanted me there anyway, and I didn't want to be near my sissy little brother, so it was a win-win situation.' He took a bite, and then spoke with his mouth full. 'Well, except for the part where I ate weird cr.ap, but that only happened a few times.'

As Dianne walked on ahead, Ivy and Frederick stayed with the rest of the group. Ivy leaned against a wall, folding her arms and looking a little bored.

{Vitis nods, eating his food.} "I get that. But like, your parents didn't even offer to help you with food or nothing?"

Crowley snorted. 'Like I'd accept help from THEM. I was glad to be independent. I stayed far away from their place, and they never even knew where I was. They STILL don't know where I am.' He continued eating his sandwich with the table manners of someone who hadn't eaten in days.

{After a few minutes, Steve walks out to the group with some other doctors.}
Steve: "Ok, fellas, this way for treatment."

Armin was following Steve. 'How do we know these guys aren't working with Sargon or Dark Brink?' he enquired, looking out towards the new group.

{Dianne walks up from behind Armin before Steve could answer.}
"The majority are civilians, but the boy is one of Brinks. Although, I doubt he's stupid enough to try anything. Armin, I need to speak with Jerry. Once I fill him in, we're going to finish this. Tell the rest and be ready to leave."

Armin looked startled, but then nodded. 'Alright. I'll let the others know we're leaving. I don't know if you'll be able to talk to Jerry, though. He was on drugs the last time I saw him.'

{Vitis gives a thoughtful look as he ate.} "Hm. I wonder what they'd do if they found you. I wonder what they'd say."

Crowley didn't answer for a moment, concentrating on his food. Then he said quietly, 'I dunno. Maybe they'd be angry. Or maybe they'd try to make me come back. I wouldn't kill them, unless I had a good reason to. But if I ran into Lucifer again, I'd DEFINITELY kill him, the little brat.'

{Dianne nods.} "I'll see what I can do."
{With that, she walks off to talk to Jerry.}

@Aggron/Radiant
"Huh. That's pretty dumb. I mean, your species should have nothing to do with how important you are."
Keenan frowns slightly, then shrugs.
"Just go and get involved if you think you're getting ignored. Assert yourself!"

Ango looks up at Armin, overhearing his comment about Dark Brink.
"You don't need to wonder."
She pulls back her sleeve and bloodied bandage, showing the faint mark of the spirit.
"I'm Mortikai's kid, not that he'd been that great of a parent, and Keenan's one of those dudes too."

In response to this, he puts his hand up to get the attention brought onto him.
"I'd like to add that I only really listen to Mr. Mortikai, due to recent events. So, um, please don't stab me or anything."

{Vitis finishes off his sandwich.} "Hmm. I guess that depends on the type of parents you have. If they really care about you, the latter probably. As for your brother, they probably wouldn't want you to kill him."

{As Keenan said that, a centaur approached him silently from behind.}
"I'll be watching you, boy."

@Radiant
He laughs, though it's not a happy one.
"Judging from the reaction my own daughter gave me, I'd say she'd rather see literally anyone else than me. I figure she blames me for everything bad that's happened to her, and...she's pretty much right. I could try to reconcile, but it'll be a long winded process and I don't think any of us involved are stable enough to start that right now."

'Mmhmm...' Ivy's expression turned thoughtful. 'I think you're right. I should try harder to be helpful around here. Just because I don't have magic powers doesn't mean I'm useless! What ARE you, by the way?' she added, not sure what Keenan's species was.

Armin started to leave, then paused to eye Ango and Keenan. 'Well, I personally wouldn't want to trust someone associated with Brink, but I'm not going to start stabbing any of you. That would just be cold-blooded murder. Besides, if Dianne thinks you're OK, then you probably are.' He then walked off, ignoring the centaur.

@Aggron
He yelps, spinning around and taking a few steps back, a small arch of electricity sparking up his arm.
"Hey! I was tasked with makin' sure this lot stay safe! The only reason I'd have to fight anyone is if they're gonna get harmed!"

'Well, duh, of course not,' said Crowley. 'They love the little idiot to pieces. But I'd like to kill him, if I ever get the chance. Or at least beat him up a little. As payback for... well, existing.'

'So what ARE you going to do? In the long run?' asked Wendigo. 'You can't really just wander around this place forever.'

Vitis: "Just for existing? Harsh, don't you think?"

{The centaur just glares at Kee and walks away.}
"I'm going to hold you to that."

{Steve walks up to Ango and kneels to her level.}
"Hi there. My name is Dr. Garvey, but you can just call me Steve. What's your name?"

'Hey, I was an only child for nine years. Then that stupid kid turned up and took all my family's attention away from me. Of course I hate his existence.' Crowley ate his last bit of sandwich and brushed off his hands.

{Meanwhile, Dianne arrives in Jerry's room. He was awake now, sitting up in bed.}
Jerry: "Hey, Dianne. Everything go well at Shacklestone?
Dianne: "Yeah. Sargon's army is now non existent. How about things here?"
Jerry: "We won, but a few of us took some hits. Me included..."
Dianne: "I see that. Look, I know you wanted revenge on that maniac, but we're running out of time to catch Sargon. I'm going out there with everyone else and we're going to end this. If you were-"
Jerry: "It's ok, Dianne. I get it. It's better if you rid the world of him without me. I'd just be dead weight. Just...do me a favor. When you, or Armin, or whoever finally gets him, make that bastard /suffer/ for what he did."

As Armin walked out of the palace, he beckoned to Frederick, who unquestioningly followed him. Once they were both outside, the older vampire turned to address his son.

'We're going to the eastern mountains to hunt down Sargon.'

Fred looked up at him. 'Have you considered that there's a tribe of very territorial dragons living there who won't let a large group pass through?'

'Well, we're going to talk to the chieftain and try to get onto their side. If that doesn't work, we'll find a different way.'

'Alright. If you're sure about this. I'll go tell Wendigo, shall I?'

Armin nodded, and watched for a moment as Frederick walked off to find his friend. //Sometimes it's hard to believe he's my son... or used to be my son. We don't even know each other. Ah well, it doesn't really matter. It's good enough for me that's he's still alive.// After a moment's consideration, he headed back into the palace.

{Vitis nods but remains silent. He finally understood why Crowley was such an attention seeker.}

'Well, I don't know about YOU, but I'm gonna go outside and see what's going on. I really wanna try and sneak into that royal palace.' With a grin, Crowley headed for the exit.

{Vitis grins and follows.} "Ok. I want to see what's there too."

Once outside, Crowley ignored their stolen car and instead began to make his way to the palace on foot. 'They might not let us in,' he said, 'but I'm going to try just walking in, and see what happens. If they throw me out, then I'll find a way to sneak in.'

Vitis: "Sounds like a plan."

As they approached the palace, Crowley laughed. 'Ha! I don't even see any guards in the doorway. This is gonna be easy.' He stepped through the door and into the entrance hall, gazing around with interest. 'Woah, this place has some expensive-looking decor.'

{After talking with Jerry, Dianne walks out to the front of the palace. Seeing Armin, she approaches him.}
"Ready to go?"

'Yeah, I think so,' said Armin. 'Everyone else should be ready, too. I just told Fred and Wendigo what we're going to be doing.' He looked past Dianne as though expecting to see someone else with her. 'Where's Jerry? Isn't he coming too?'

"He can't." {Dianne says bluntly.}
"He's human. It'll take too long to heal."
{She seemed like she wanted to continue, but then spots Crowley.}
"Odd. How'd he get in?"

'That's not good. I'm sure he'd have wanted to come.' Armin turned to see who Dianne was indicating. He didn't recognise Crowley, due to only seeing him in dragon form before. 'I don't know. There was a guard at the city gates, so if he's part of Sargon's army, he couldn't have managed to get in.'

Crowley walked past, eyeing the pair suspiciously. 'What's your problem? I'm not hurting anyone.'

(I probably have to go now! I'll sneak in one last reply if I can, but otherwise this is goodnight.)

"You tried to hurt me, remember?"
{Dianne says while glaring.}
"Just behave yourself, and we won't have any issues, got it, rat?"

(Ok, see ya!)

Crowley stuck his tongue out at her. 'Whatever. You can't MAKE me do anything.' With that, he continued to explore the place, not paying much attention to anyone.

Armin looked back at Dianne. 'What about Eliza? I guess if Jerry's too injured to come with us, then she probably is too.'

{Dianne just glares at Crowley and Vitis, then turns back to Armin.} "Yeah, I got a look at her. She's not going anywhere. It's just you, me, Fred, Wendigo, Ivy, and twenty-nine draugrs. Think that's enough to put Sargon in the ground?"
{As she finished, the Old Man and Sarah walked up.}
Old Man: "We're going too."
Sarah: "No one shoots my nephew and niece and gets away with it."

Ivy walked over as well. 'So, I'm coming? Great! You wouldn't manage without me.' She grinned.

Armin looked around at everyone. 'Yeah, I think that's enough,' he said with a hint of mirth. 'What's Sargon got on his side, anyway? Himself and a decomposing dragon who wants to sleep with him.'

Just then, Frederick showed up. 'We're ready,' he said calmly. 'Wendigo will be there when we need him. He's just having a conversation with Mortikai right now.'

"Fine." {Dianne says simply.} "He'll catch up when he can. Titan will be enough." {With that, she walks outside to Titan and shifts, waiting for everyone to get on.}

As everyone climbed up, Armin said quietly, 'So do we have a backup plan for if the dragons decide not to grant us an audience and instead decide to just kill us? There's hundreds of them, we won't be able to fight them off.'

Ivy was examining her gun, making sure she still had ammo left. Frederick hesitated for a moment, looking like he wanted to wait for his friend, but then climbed up without argument.

{Dianne thinks for a moment.} "I don't think they'll travel too far outside their borders, so in the case where they're openly hostile, we retreat and regroup at Shacklestone. If they follow us there, we don't risk civilian casualties. From there, I'll figure something out. "

'Good idea,' said Armin. He then subsided into thoughtful silence, drawing his sword and resting it across his knees in case he needed it at a moment's notice.

'I hope you can fly really fast, then,' muttered Ivy from the back of the group. 'Because I feel like hundreds of wild dragons, who AREN'T carrying people on their back, could outpace us.'

{Dianne takes to the skies, soon after followed by Titan.}
Dianne: "Titan is faster than he looks, and I can handle myself in a mob."
(For future reference, who is on Dianne and who is on Titan?)

(I'll say that Armin and Ivy are on Dianne, and Fred is on Titan.)

'I'd like to see you try to handle yourself against a mob of /hundreds of dragons,'/ Ivy said with a note of disbelief in her voice. 'You don't have freakin' superpowers.'

Fred remained silent as Titan took off, thinking about what might happen when they reached the mountains.

{Dianne doesn't answer Ivy. After a long while of flying, Dianne lands at the foot of the mountains, just outside their territory lines. Titan lands a little ways behind her.} "Now, we wait."

The mountains were as silent as a tomb. It didn't look as though any large creatures lived within a hundred-mile-radius, let alone anything as big as a dragon. Ivy gazed around at the landscape, quiet for once.

'Does anyone have any last words?' muttered Armin. 'Not trying to be morbid or anything, but, just in case we die doing this.'

(I'll control the dragon tribe, just a heads-up.)

(Sounds good to me.)
{Dianne snorts.} "I have no plans to die here today."
Old Man: "If I die and you don't, Armin, promise me you'll leave Eliza alone."

Armin considered this for a moment. 'Well, I won't promise to never talk to her again. That's up to her, you know.'

Ivy folded her arms. 'I'M not about to die, either. But if I DO... make sure you tell everyone that I was brave! I want to be remembered as a hero!' She twisted around to look across at Titan and Frederick. 'What about you guys? Any last words?'

'I don't see the point in that,' said Fred calmly.

Titan: "If this form is destroyed, I will not cease to exist. Any words I speak will not be my last."

Armin spoke up: 'Well, if I die out there... Dianne, don't even try to bring me back. I'd rather be dead than be a zombie thing. No offence to Titan, Wendigo or Magnus, of course.'

Just as he finished speaking, a distant roar echoed across the mountains.

'There's definitely dragons out here,' muttered Ivy. 'I wonder if they already know we're here...'

{Dianne looks up and stays alert.}
"Eyes up. This could go either way."

(The next post may or may not be kinda long, so I'll write it when I have more time.)

(Alrighty! Looking forward to it.)

In the centre of the mountain range was a large cave. Two wild dragons dived out of the clouds and landed directly in front of it, favouring each other with a quick nod before climbing inside.

The cave was dimly lit with flame-torches mounted on the walls. As they stepped forwards, the shape of something huge and spiked slowly came into view in the shadows. Raising its head, the dragon chieftain surveyed the two lesser dragons with a solemn expression. He was easily forty feet tall, with moss-green scales, long white spines, and a large curved spike on his tail.

The lesser dragons bowed, and then one of them spoke up in their own language. 'A group of strangers just appeared outside the mountains. They aren't inside our borders, but they seem to be waiting for something.'

'How many?' the chieftain growled.

'We had to stay far away to watch them unnoticed, so it's hard to be sure. But there were definitely two large dragons, and one of them had three heads.'

'Three heads?' the chieftain echoed. 'What kind of an abomination is that?'

'Do you want us to remove them from the area?' asked the other lesser dragon.

(Continued...)

The chieftain mulled it over for a few seconds. 'You say that they're waiting for something. Well, let's go and find out what they're waiting for. Then we decide whether to drive them away or not.'

With that, all three dragons left the cave. Stepping outside, the chieftain threw his head back and let out a tremendous roar that was sure to be heard everywhere in the mountains. From miles away, another roar rang out, seeming to be a response to the chieftain's.

Five minutes later, a group of dragons flew down and joined him. They were all different sizes and colours, with the largest being thirty feet tall and the smallest being only ten feet.

The chieftain spoke to them briefly in his own language, and then the whole group took flight, heading towards the edge of the mountain range where Armin and Dianne's group was situated.

(Continued...)

'They're coming,' said Armin warningly, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he watched the dragons approaching.

The chieftain landed first, followed by all his subordinates landing just behind him. Standing motionless, he gazed down at them with an unblinking, intimidating stare. He said nothing, content to wait for Dianne and Armin's group to explain their presence.

(Done.)

{Dianne steps forward, unintimidated. She bows respectfully before speaking.}
"Greetings. We have come, not to cause trouble, but to humbly request audience with your great chief."

The dragons were all silent for a moment. Then the chieftain spoke up, in deep rumbling tones, in the common language.

'I am the chief. My name is Viridi, in our language. Who are you and why do you request an audience with me? You are the first large group of outsiders to brave our territory in decades, and you will be the last if you give me enough reason.'

The other dragons stayed quiet, though a few bared their teeth or lashed their tails in a silent display of power.

{Dianne replies, looking the chief in the eye and ignoring his entourage. There is no fear in her voice or eyes.}
"Great Chief Viridi, we have come before you to humbly request safe passage into your lands to pursue an enemy. This individual and his subordinate are vile creatures, lacking both pride and honor. They have caused irreparable damage to the surrounding settlements, along with destroying my home and slaughtering my friends. This affront cannot go unreciprocated." {She then bows again.}
"With your permission, Great Chief, we seek to enter your lands, vanquish our foe, then leave peacefully, having avenged what we lost."

'Who is this enemy you're seeking? Is he perhaps the one responsible for the razing of Shacklestone?' Viridi asked. 'We might be isolated here, but we still hear whispers across the land. We know that Shacklestone was destroyed by an army led by a vampire named Count Sargon. Is he the one you seek?'

This time, Armin spoke up before anyone else could. 'Yes. It's him.'

Viridi's gaze flickered to Armin, then back to Dianne. 'I was under the impression that Count Sargon's goal was to turn all humans into vampires and kill those who resist. Why would he come here, to my borders, where only dragonkind live?'

{Dianne stood up from bowing.}
"Our allies decimated his army and soundly defeated him. He likely fled here in the hopes that we would not pursue him past your borders."

A few of the dragons standing around spoke up in their own tongue. The chieftain turned and answered them, then turned his attention back to Dianne. 'We have not heard anything about his army being destroyed. Maybe it happened too recently for the news to have reached us yet.'

One of the other dragons spoke up again, and Viridi listened before adding, 'Very well, you may search our mountains for your enemy. But I and my dragons will accompany you. You will go nowhere without us. Start looking.'

{Dianne bows once more.} "Thank you, Great Chief. We accept your most gracious offer."
{Turning to Titan, she speaks to him in her native tongue, one Viridi and his vassals would not understand. After which, Titan's rib cage swings open, allowing Dianne's fabrications to exit.}
Dianne: "Spread out! Find them!"

'I'll go take a look around, too,' said Armin to Dianne, shifting into his hawk form and taking off. //One question,// he asked telepathically, //what should we do if we find them? Kill them in the field, or take them back as prisoners?// As he flew away across the mountains, two dragons broke off from the main pack and followed him.

As the draugrs spread out, one dragon came up to Viridi's side. 'What monstrosities are those?' she growled in their own tongue. 'Dragons with multiple heads that carry more monsters inside them. What kind of Dark Magic is this?'

Viridi shook his head slightly. 'I will talk to them as they search. I find this kind of magic disgusting, but it doesn't affect us. Only what happens inside our borders concerns me.'

Meanwhile...

It was too much to hope for that Sargon and Ana hadn't heard all of this dragon roaring and flapping around. Ana crept to the entrance of the cave, gazing up at the sky in horror as Viridi's tribe flew overhead at tremendous speed, on their way to talk to Dianne and Armin.

'Master... something's going on...'

Sargon came to stand beside her, watching the dragons pass by. 'I have never seen the mountain tribe flying anywhere in such a hurry, let alone in such a large group. Clearly, someone has entered their borders uninvited.'

'What if it's our enemies? What if they've found us?!'

'Stop panicking, Ana,' said Sargon calmly. 'I have told you that, with the power Brink gave me, I can easily escape at any time. And you have nothing to fear, being what you are. Even if Dianne or her minions finds us, we will be in no real danger.'

(83rd RP room... I wonder if we'll ever get to 100.)

{Dianne looks to Armin and speaks.}
"If they attack, kill them. If they surrender, I think the Sovereigns would prefer a trial before execution."
{With that, she heads in one direction with Ivy, Magnus, in a new fabricated form, goes with Sara and the Old Man. Titan walks off in a third direction, and the numerous fabrications spread across the hills.}

(Who knows, we might.)

//Gotcha,// Armin replied, and then flew out of earshot. //I wonder what they'll do when we find them?// he thought, briefly entertaining himself with images of Sargon and Ana running away screaming in terror. //No, they'll probably put up a fight.//

He landed on a cliff and took a moment to look around. He couldn't smell any hint of vampires nearby, and to his disappointment, Dianne's draugrs were blocking out his ability to smell if Ana was around.

Ivy had her gun ready, gazing around for any sign of Sargon or Ana. She was obviously going to shoot if she even caught a glimpse of anything that looked like them. 'This could take a long time,' she murmured. 'These mountains are freaking huge.'

Ana continued to watch from the cave mouth, with her Cloak spell activated, just in case someone flew past. Sargon kept to the shadows deeper inside the cave where he wouldn't be visible from the outside.

'What's out there?' he asked after a few minutes.

Ana curled her lip in disgust. 'The dragon tribe... And I can smell zombies. Lots of them. I-I think there's too many for us to fight. Maybe we should get out of this cave and sneak away before they corner us here...?'

Sargon shook his head. 'That's not necessary. There is a reason I chose this particular cave for us to shelter in.'

{Dianne was walking around, searching and smelling the air. While it was true that her Draugrs saturated the area with their smell, they all had been embalmed, giving them a distinct chemical smell. She knew that while all of her minions had been properly treated, Ana had not, so she was looking for the smell of an improperly treated corpse. Catching a slight whiff of it, she begins to head in Ana's general direction.}
"Stay alert. They could be anywhere."

Ana was still watching out the cave mouth anxiously. Meanwhile, Sargon was using his summoning magic to conjure up two weapons; his usual thin sword and a sharpened wooden stake.

Armin was flying over a section of the mountains when he suddenly caught what smelled like a dragon's scent, mixed with a draugr's. He wasn't close to Titan, so he knew what it had to be. With a nasty grin, he dived to the ground and shifted back to human form, drawing his sword in the process.

'I know you're there, Ana.'

(Continued)

Sargon emerged from the cave entrance. At the same time, Ana un-Cloaked, suddenly becoming visible again. 'You!' she screeched, infuriated.

'You and your master have been out here for a while, Ana,' said Armin. 'What have you gotten up to while you've been alone together - or do I not want to know?'

Before Ana could retort, Sargon stepped calmly forwards, brandishing his dual weapons. 'I suppose you think that because you've brought Dianne and her creations with you, you have a chance. But you're wrong. My army might be destroyed, but Ana and I have no intention of dying here.'

Armin just shook his head exasperatedly. 'Look, I just want this to be over. Can you stop with the cliched movie dialogue and get on with it?'

Without waiting for an answer, he leapt towards Sargon, swinging his sword. As the two vampires began a vicious swordfight, Ana hung back, unable to use any magic without risk of hitting her master by accident.

{While Armin and Sargon fight, a centaur catches sight of them. Howling into the wind, it alerts everyone of Sargon and Ana's presence. Hearing it, Dianne and Titan begin to head for the fight.}
"We found him!"

Ana jumped in fright as the centaur's howl echoed across the mountains. 'Master!' she cried, starting to back away.

'Go to the back of the cave!' Sargon replied. 'There is an escape route that you can take.' Just then, Armin managed to get past his defences and carve a deep cut into his arm. Sargon began to retreat backwards into the cave as well.

Seeing her master in danger, Ana snarled and summoned her magic. 'Excruciate!' she yelled, knocking Armin to the ground with the spell. Immediately, she and Sargon turned and dashed inside the cave, whereupon they both disappeared into a dark tunnel at the back. It seemed that the cave was much bigger than it looked from outside, and was connected to some sort of underground tunnel network.

Viridi and several of his dragons followed Dianne and Titan. 'I hear fighting,' the chieftain muttered in his own tongue.

'I smell magic,' said the female dragon who'd spoken to him earlier. 'Be careful.'

{Dianne landed in front of the cave.}
"Go! Bring them to me!"
{At her command, the draugrs begin to enter the cave, barreling down the tunnel.}
Magnus: "Two kids gon' die tonight!"
{Dianne then approaches Armin.}
"Are you ok?"

Ivy jumped down from Dianne's back as she landed, and without waiting for anyone to stop her, she plunged into the cave after the draugrs, her gun drawn.

'Fine,' Armin groaned, starting to pull himself slowly and painfully to his feet, using his sword as a crutch. 'I didn't see that coming.'

Viridi landed a short distance away, gazing at the cave with narrowed eyes as if he were trying to remember something.

Meanwhile, inside the cave, the underground tunnels seemed to be constructed like a maze. Lots of passages disappeared in a lot of different directions. When the draugrs reached the first crosspaths, it wouldn't be immediately clear which one Sargon and Ana had taken, unless the draugrs had a good sense of smell.

(After the next 1-2 posts, I'm gonna halt this until Saturday, just to give everyone else and their characters time to catch up before anything else happens.)

(Ok.)
{The draugrs looked down each of the paths and stopped, listening down the corridors. Dianne nodded and shifted to human form.}
"We should proceed with caution. They might be waiting to ambush us in there."
{After that, she enters the cave.}

(Actually, I just remembered that I won't be around Saturday. It should work out though, it'll give King time to catch up.)

(No problem! We'll just do what we can on Saturday.)