Summer 4999, 24 Guromoth

It was unseasonably hot in Gasha. Even at what should've been the coolest part of the night -long before sunrise but after most reasonable people were abed- Oswall was sweating profusely, which had him cursing just as profusely.

The small island province had been buffeted by an out-of-season typhoon, washing away three small fishing villages and barely missing the capital, and now it was suffering from the worst heat wave in recorded history. "I'll have to grow gills if we stay here much longer..." Oswall grumbled, further cursing the magical storms triggering these catastrophes. 

The Rogue struggled to light his smoke, "Of all the pointless showboating..." he growled to himself, eyeing the streets of Five Points leading to this tiny hub in Gasha's capital city.

He didn't need Ryuuko's warning whistle when the contact finally arrived -the stupid man could be seen clearly. "Attempting to sneak, pompous prick?" Oswall whispered, "Stick to what you know, boy, and leave the real work to the professionals..." As if the young noble's demand that they meet here, at this time, wasn't enough foolishness, he was also wearing a pure black cloak -probably velvet- that did nothing to hide him properly.

Rolling his eyes, Oswall called, "You know, if you really didn't want to be seen you would wear something closer to dark gray or brown, nearly black, but never true black. AND if you really didn't want to be overheard, you would meet in a busy pub, or the middle of a market." Os waved his smoke dismissively, raising his voice further, "The area's clear, I made sure hours ago." 

The noble managed to resist snapping until he was close enough to hiss in an angry whisper, "And what would you know about it?" 

"More than you, obviously," Oswall grumbled, taking a pull on his smoke, the glowing cherry enough to light the young man's scowling face in his dark hood. To be fair, Oswall knew why the boy wanted to keep his involvement quiet. They'd tried looking for this information openly, and predictably, found nothing. None of the noble or Mage victims wanted the kingdom to know what, exactly, had been stolen. Meaning their possession of such things was most certainly illegal. Hence the backdoor reward for any information pertaining to the thefts.

The noble huffed, glancing over his shoulder as if he really thought he might have been followed, "I have what you want, and more, but I'll need more for the risk-"

"That wasn't the deal." Oswall interrupted, "You have the info, and you're here, so the danger's over on that front." He let the implied threat hang unspoken between them, blowing out another puff of smoke over the noble's smug face. 

He didn't take the hint... Waving the smoke away, the fool tried a different tactic, "Oh I have it, and I know others who would pay dearly for it, and for information on you. The kingdom Paladins would be very interested to know that someone like you is looking for information like this..." 

Oswall struggled not to laugh in the boy's face, instead, he called the noble's bluff, "The Paladins won't pay you jack shit for anything. If it's as damning as you say, then it's your duty to hand it over to the authorities." 

The noble crossed his arms petulantly, "I need more. This is some dark stuff, I could-"

But Oswall was done playing, "It's too hot for this shit. Lord Groager, you will be in trouble if you don't tell me what you know. Trust me, you have no idea what you're playing with-" 

Groagar turned pale below his sea tan, "Are you threatening me?"

"Do I need to?" Oswall countered, watching as the young man's parlor turned to an angry splotchy red.

"No deal!" Groagar snarled, turning on his heel and stomping back the way he'd come. 

Oswall sighed, flicking his smoke away and calling after the fool, "You really think we don't have people watching the exits?" 

Groagar spun back, his hood falling down, "You said you'd be alone!" 

"And you said you'd bring the information." Oswall shrugged again, "Looks like we're both liars." Os stuck his hands in his pockets and started towards the young man at a leisurely walk. The noble's eyes darted to all the exits like a cornered rabbit. Which -to be fair- was an apt comparison.

Taking pity on him, Oswall warned, "I recommend you don't go back the way you came-" Immediately the boy turned and started running, right for the road he'd entered from. "I warned you..." Oswall whispered as four of his companions exited the other roads and started for the panicking noble. 

Too busy looking over his shoulder, young Lord Groagar didn't see the sixth separate from the shadows before him. He turned forward just in time to run face-first into an open palm, his legs flying out from under him. Momentarily airborne, Groagar hit the ground flat on his back with a resounding smack.

Oswall cursed, breaking into a jog, "Damn it, Shon! Don't kill him!" 

Shon rolled stunning blue eyes, stepping back from the noble to make room for the Cleric of Soleil as she slid on her knees to the fallen man's side.

Alena sighed in relief as Groagar groaned, winded but very much alive. "He'll live," she declared, but still shot a glare up at Shon, who looked away, running his hand over his black hair and partway down the ponytail, now nearly to his waist. 

Ryuuko, its scales dark brown and leaf green in the summer, flew down from the rooftops to land on the noble's chest, twittering a pseudodragon giggle.

Druid Ebonwing snickered, crossing her arms and tilting her head down at the young fool of a noble, "Do you think it was all posturing? Or do we finally have something here?" 

Archmage Ranito huffed as he jogged to catch up with the others but managed, "It's most definitely something. The question is if it truly pertains to us?" 

Sir Tristen, Paladin of Saint Giorgos, grunted in agreement, adding, "We're about to find out. Lord Groager, you are under arrest for withholding information from a kingdom-sanctioned investigation..." The noble groaned again, trying to roll over, and Tristen finished, "... into Warlock activity in Gasha."

The noble fell back again, shaking his head, eyes wide in terror, "No! NO! No Warlocks, I swear! I swear by Horsa's power. By Saint Giorgo's justice! I-"

"We'll see," Sir Tristen interrupted, gesturing to Shon, who hoisted the terrified young man up with one arm, while Oswall came forward to cuff him.

"Should've just taken the money..." Os whispered in Groagar's ear, then for good measure, "I warned you not to go down this road." Ryuuko whistled in agreement and the noble whimpered as they led him back to the Temple of Saint Giorgos.

***

The common area in the Temple of Saint Giorgos's living quarters was well furnished, with two couches, a long coffee table stretched between them, and a proper table with chairs for cards or eating. Ten private rooms lead off this communal area, but none of the team was ready for bed just yet. 

Shon was adding the finishing touches to his sketch of young Lord Groager when Oswall collapsed onto the couch across from him with an overly loud sigh. Shon didn't bother to look up. "So. What's the odds this actually leads to something?" the Rogue asked the room at large. 

Alena came over to smack Oswall's legs off as he threw them up onto the coffee table and cleared her throat to get Shon's attention. He looked up with just his eyes and she smiled warmly, lifting a steaming cup and asking, "Tea?" 

Shon went back to his drawing, but Ryuuko whistled in the affirmative for him and nipped his ear. Shon ran his hand over his hair, before placing his pencil in his book, nodding in reluctant gratitude and taking the tea. It stopped steaming in the sorcerer's magically ice-cold hands. 

Alena's smile grew wider, then disappeared as she turned to answer Oswall, "The Firewyrm wouldn't have led us here for nothing-" she started, but Rantio interrupted with a snort from the table.

The Mage didn't bother to look up from his notebook, saying only, "And what was that Wyvern three months ago?" 

"A wild goose chase, that's what," Ebonwing finished the thought, vaulting over the couch to sit beside Oswall. 

Shon took a sip of tea in silence, but Alena planted her fists firmly on her hips and glared at each in turn, "It was a dangerous creature that needed to be destroyed."

Ebonwing waved a dismissive hand at the Cleric, "Agreed, but that doesn't make her sending us after it any less of a trap." 

Oswall huffed, chiming in, "If I remember correctly, she called it a surprise 'gift.' To keep us from getting bored as we chased our tails trying to find the Warlocks." 

Shon ran his hand over his hair, praying to Hengist for them to change the subject. 

But the gods didn't listen to enlisted soldiers, and Ranito continued, "To be fair, the Wyverns are some of the most dangerous creations of the Warlocks. It will probably be our job to hunt them -after the wyrms- along with all the draken, and drakwalves the kingdom over."

"Don't forget the leviathans and drakes," Ebonwing piped up again, "they're more on par with the Wyverns."

Alena sighed, apparently giving up her defense of the fire dragon now co-ruling the remaining Warlocks. She sat primly beside Shon and said, "To think such monsters were created. Not truly the evil remnants of dragons of the sky, earth, and sea..." As the Temple of Saint Giorgos had taught for millennia.

"Aren't they though?" Ranito asked, finally looking up from his notes, "They were created in an effort to restore dragons, they possess dragon blood and characteristics, though mixed beyond usefulness-"

"So, what will it be this time?" Oswall interrupted before the Mage could go on a tangent about the uses of pure samples. Samples he could only get from the few remaining dragon bone and scales after their extinction five thousand years ago... And of course, the five mixed dragons created by the Warlocks... Os continued, "It's Gasha, so my money's on a leviathan. The drakes are mostly extinct anyway."

"Money?" Ebonwing asked with a smirk, reaching into her bag and pulling out five gold coins, "Put it where your mouth is, Os, I'm betting it's simple draken this time."

Alena groaned at the both of them, "Seriously? Gambling over something that might very well be serious? What if it's another Sorcerer smuggling ring? We know the young Sorcerer Apprentices have gone missing..." 

Ranito snorted again, standing and pulling out his own bet, "If by 'Apprentices' you mean indentured servants. All evidence points to them just running away." he set the gold on the coffee table, "I bet that this is something, but nothing to do with us. The Firewyrm is most likely throwing Sir Tristen a bone. Giving him a law to enforce and people to arrest in general, perhaps to distract from the Warlocks working elsewhere." 

Oswall snickered, "That's a safe bet, since we know laws have been broken." He fished out five gold from a hidden pocket in his shirt and smacked them down on the table, then grinned at Alena, "pony up Al. We've got leviathan, draken, human trafficking, and unrelated law-breaking," Alena whispered a prayer but rather than argue pulled out some money for the bet. Oswall turned his wicked grin on Shon, "What about you ice-man?"

Shon downed the rest of his tea and attempted to go back to drawing. Ebonwing and Ranito groaned "come on..." and Ryuuko crawled down from his shoulder to lay in his book, hissing at its other half. Shon attempted to prod the little dragon -the size of a large barn cat- off his journal only to have it curl its claws threateningly at the edge of the pages. Shon sighed, running a hand over his hair again to give himself time to think.

He'd felt a sense of dread throughout the last year. Every day growing just a little heavier. Shon looked up to see four expectant faces and grumbled, "Something worse." far worse...

Ebonwing and Alena spoke in unison, "Worse than a Leviathan?" "than smuggling children?"

Oswall rolled his eyes, "Way too subjective, soldier boy, how do we even decide if-"

But he was interrupted as Sir Tristen marched into the room and barked, "We're leaving. We have a solid... what are you doing?" The Paladin didn't wait for an answer, eyeing the gold on the table and pinching the bridge of his nose, "Seriously?" 

Ebonwing turned in her seat to ask, "We have a lead? On what exactly?" 

"We've got a pool going for-" Oswall started, but Tristen snapped his fingers to interrupt again, 

"Don't bother, no one could have expected this. Now get your-"

"You'll have to explain anyway Sir Tristen, just get to it." Ranito interrupted, crossing his arms and tapping his foot beneath his robe, "Some extra gold will go a long way in replacing components." 

Oswall and Alena watched Tristen expectantly and Ebonwing tilted a curious head at the Paladin, only Shon standing in solidarity with their commander. 

They'd been working together long enough that Tristen knew when to choose his battles. He sighed, moving for Ranito's abandoned seat and falling into it. "Lord Groager had quite a bit to say..." Tristen met the eyes of his team, deathly serious, "Rumors amongst the victims' houses say the Apprentice Sorcerers were all seen in the company of a mysterious woman with facial tattoos," Alena took in a gasping breath and Shon sat back down, "some said it was a woman with black marks on her cheeks and others said they were red-" 

"They can't both be here!" Ranito declared, dropping his crossed arms and pulling out his notebook once more. 

Oswall and Ebonwing exchanged looks while Shon held his breath and Alena asked, "Where are we going and why?" 

"And what about the stolen books? Oswall added. 

Tristen answered Alena first, "We are going to Port Harnor. On Lord Groager's way to meet with the Staff Sergeant, he was waylaid by someone he couldn't identify. She held a blade to his throat from behind and told him to tell us to go there before tomorrow evening if we want answers. Apparently, she radiated enough heat to notice through his cloak... As to the stolen books..." Tristen hesitated, taking a deep breath, "They were histories on intelligent undead, liches, and the like."

Shon closed his eyes, Ryuuko and Ebonwing hissed, Alena gasped, Oswall gaped open-mouthed at the Paladin, and Ranito nearly dropped his book. Fumbling to catch it the Mage stuttered, "liches? You think they'll try and make themselves undead to continue their research?"

Tristen shook his head, "How else will they continue their work? If we are to believe the Firewyrm, then they've stopped recruiting new Warlocks." 

Ryuuko hissed again, though if at the idea of such unholy monstrosities or the use of the Firewyrm's title, Shon didn't know. He opened his eyes to see everyone watching him. 

As one, Ranito, Alena, Oswall, and Ebonwing all pushed their small stacks of gold toward him. 

*** 

It took the rest of the night and entire morning to reach the modest town of Port Harnor by noon. Despite the lack of sleep and dreadful implications presented by the stolen books -or perhaps because of them- the rest of the team talked the entire way. They seemed to feel the need to get their opinions out in the open. As if any of them could hope to predict what verifiably insane magic users would do from one moment to the next.

Sir Tristen was convinced the Warlocks planned to become liches, compounding their sins against mankind. Archmage Ranito was unconvinced that the books stolen would give the necessary information for the complex ritual required. Alena and Ebonwing found hope in Ranito's assessment but had no argument against Tristen's fear that such could be the Warlocks' intention regardless. While Oswall had taken up Ranito's dropped theory that this was just a diversion cooked up by the mischievous Firewyrm to keep them distracted.

Shon didn't voice his opinion. Though he didn't believe the wyrms -neither of whom were Warlocks- would allow their followers to become intelligent undead; he also believed they wouldn't have warned the team if there wasn't something to be concerned about. 

The others talked themselves in circles until they reached Port Harnor, at which point Oswall changed the subject, "Well, if nothing else, this confirms they have spies in the Guild. How else would they know not to use one of their gates directly on the island?"

Ranito frowned, nodding in agreement and mussing, "I expect that is why the Waterwyrm herself is here. With her power, they will make quick their escape to the open ocean where they can open a portal undetected." 

"Nice to know the new Warlock alarms work at least," Ebonwing said with a shrug.

Alena sighed, voicing her disappointment, "Though Gasha is the only province both small enough and with enough Mages to cover the entire island."

Tristen grunted, but straightened his shoulders, attempting to find hope despite his own insistence on the horror of Warlock liches, "It may only be the larger cities now, but the Guild is working to improve the range and the kingdom is funding the manufacture and installation of the devices. Soon no Warlock will be able to channel power from the outer plains without our knowledge and immediate reaction."

Shon continued to hold his tongue. He considered the time and resources spent on the endeavor a waste. There were magical storms wreaking havoc across the land; it had been Shon's hope that the kingdom would focus their effort and resources on that issue. After all, they'd already formed this very team for stopping the Warlocks and their experiments.

Presuming that the wyrms would attempt to escape by boat, Sir Tristen led the group through the bustling and sweltering seaside town to an inn near the docks. There, they each got their own room and slept the afternoon away in preparation for the hunt that night.

Shon spent most of the time meditating, layering figurative ice over his emotions, detaching himself from the future conflict. Once comfortably numb, he managed to doze until it was time to go. 

He didn't need Alena's knock, opening the door just as she was raising her fist, an occurrence common enough that the young Cleric wasn't even surprised. Ryuuko whistled a greeting to her and Shon silently adjusted the strap of his bastard sword across his chest. Alena glanced up at the sword, a soft frown marring her expression as she asked, "You're worried... Do you think Tristen might be right?" 

Shon too glanced at the sword over his left shoulder. The crystal pommel that blocked his magic from manifesting swirled a pale cloudy blue. He sighed, adding another layer of detaching, numbing, ice, and answered, "I don't know." before passing Alena to wait for the others outside.

He'd been honest, but in his case, the uncertainty wasn't distressing. In Shon's opinion, their team had proven to be the most capable the kingdom had seen since before its foundation. If they were confronted with something like a lich, even a Warlock lich, Shon was confident in their ability to destroy it. 

Feeling its human's smothered emotions, Ryuuko crooned softly from Shon's shoulder and nuzzled his cheek, sending images that only made things worse. Sensing the pseudodragon's intentions to comfort him, Shon sighed, reaching up to pat the little beast. It wasn't its fault that Shon was so torn... He added another layer...

Exiting the Inn, Shon found himself in a blanket of fog so thick he could barely see the ghosts of lights from the nearest windows and street lanterns. Such twilight fog shouldn't have been an unusual occurrence in a seaside town, except that it made his skin tingle.

Shon moved aside as the others followed him out, Alena and Tristen's armor clanking and Oswall cursing, "Damn, it's as thick as Eb's soup out here." 

"Aw... thanks Os," Ebonwing smiled.

The Rogue shrugged, teasing, "Everyone has to be good at something."

"Magic," Shon grunted, stopping the playful banter in its tracks.

"If our resident Sorcerer can feel magic in the fog..." Ranito started, 

"Then the Waterwyrm is creating it." Alena finished the thought.

Ebonwing whistled, impressed, "Makes you wonder if she's been going easy on us."

"The Firewyrm likes to claim as much." Oswall chipped in, speaking over Ryuuko's hiss at their continued use of the titles.

Tristen growled, ordering, "Druid, Staff Sergeant, take point. The Vicar and I will follow at a distance. Archmage, a muffle if you please? You and the Master Sergeant will stay in the rear."

Shon ran his hand over his hair and took up position beside Ranito.

"You got it, boss," Oswall said, disappearing without a sound into the shadows and fog. Ebonwing gave a two-finger salute, then transformed into a cat and followed.

Alena and Tristen waited patiently as Ranito chanted the spell to silence the clinking of their armor, whispering as he finished, "Do you honestly believe we will be able to take them unawares?" 

"We should try at the very least," Alena answered,

while Tristen grunted, "We are to bring the wyrms into custody." 

The cat that was Ebonwing yowled from the fog and Alena and Tristen started out, their armor significantly quieter. Shon and Ranito watched until their silhouettes were barely discernible, then took up the rear.

They made their way to the pier, past the large shipping vessels where the creaking of wood and lines, and the soft splashes of an unseen sea soon accompanied the swaying of obscured lanterns, like spirits lost in the mist.

It was apparently too much to ask that the appropriately ominous ambiance be maintained, because Ranito whispered, "I see he isn't taking any chances with you tonight." 

Shon gave the old man a short grunt while Ryuuko hissed at the observation. Shon supposed he should be glad Tristen wasn't ordering him to stay at the inn and polish silver.

They followed the barely perceptible sound of their companions' armor and the occasional yowl of a cat towards the smaller fishing boats, where the docks were cramped and the wood worn and splintered, catching the hem of Ranito's robes and causing him to curse nearly as colorfully as Oswall. 

Shon shushed him, squinting through the fog at a particular light that wasn't swaying with the waves.

Apparently the pair ahead noticed too, because Tristen whispered, "we'll need proper illumination, Vicar." followed by Alena's soft chanting.

Stopping short of joining the two holy fighters, Ranito prepared his own spell, pulling out a small iron rod. Shon did his best not to assume what the Mage intended to do with that component. He didn't know true magic himself, -even his Sorcerer magic was sealed- but Shon had worked with the Archmage enough to know at least two spells that used an iron rod.

Soon the chanting stopped, his companions holding their spells at the ready for Tristen's order. Shon strained to hear over the lapping of waves against wooden pylons but could only barely make out the mumbling of voices. Ryuuko squeezed four sets of talons on his shoulder and Shon gave a slight nod before the little dragon took off, gliding silently toward the light suspended unmoving above the water.

Closing his eyes, Shon reached for his familiar and experienced its senses. Ryuuko glided from pylon to pylon, until it reached one close enough to see four figures on a small fishing vessel, illuminated by the floating flame. Three were children, young teens between thirteen and fifteen -the runaway Sorcerer Apprentices. The fourth was a woman with metallic bronze hair and black scaled stripes pointing up from her jaw to her slitted dragon eyes, the Waterwyrm.

"Why are we waiting Mistress?" one of the children asked in a whisper, crouching down in the boat and hugging her knees. 

 The Waterwyrm sighed impatiently, but her annoyance wasn't with the girl, because she answered, "Because my sister wishes to speak with the kingdom representatives." 

"But they'll arrest her! and us!" one spoke far too loudly, earning a shush from the other two. 

The Waterwyrm just brushed her hair over her shoulder, answering simply, "They will try."

Beyond the boat a cat yowled -Oswall and Ebonwing were in position- and Tristen called out, "By order of the King of Daanlin," he lifted his cudgel, glowing purple in the fog, "you are to surrender what you have stolen and return with us!"

With that, Alena let loose her spell and the area was illuminated as if day had come to this one spot alone. Shon opened his eyes, the area was still covered in thick magical fog but he could at least see the silhouettes of the ship and its occupants with his own eyes. Ranito pointed his iron rod, whispering the last trigger of his spell. The Waterwyrm stiffened, locked into place by the holding spell. The fog began to dissipate noticeably and Shon hid any sign of relief he could still feel that the spell hadn't been a lightning bolt.

But that relief was short-lived as Ebonwing transformed into a great golden eagle and dove for the ship. The children dropped to the deck, screaming and covering their heads, and a great wall of fire erupted from the edge of the dock, separating the team on land from the boat. Ryuuko gave a startled squawk, taking flight to avoid the flames while the line of fire itself curved, heading straight toward Ranito.

The top flared up to block Ebonwing's dive and the Druid back-winged quickly but still singed her wing tips. Spiraling to the ground, she transformed back into a woman, shaking her hands in pain.

Concentrating on maintaining his hold on the Waterwyrm, Ranito didn't notice the fire coming for him. Shon grabbed the Mage by the neck of his robes, jerking him around to the other side and lifting his arm as a shield. The fire hissed against Shon's cold skin, making the ice sorcerer feel warm. Good enough to hurt. 

"Oops." a musical voice rose above the Waterwyrm's hiss as Ranito's spell broke with his focus, "Sorry, Eb, I thought you would dodge that."

On the pylon opposite the team, the most beautiful creature that had ever graced Daanlin stood perfectly balanced on one foot. Her shining golden hair was as long as he remembered, all the way down her back to the top of her hips. Her pale skin was striped with three lines of scarlet scales across her right cheek, matching the set on her left hand and another hidden by her right boot. Shon knew all too well how all those stripes merged to snake around her sumptuous body.

This was why he needed to be numb, it was the only thing allowing the Master Sergeant to focus.  And yet...

"Lily," Shon breathed her name, thinking desperately, Please don't fight... Don't risk this... Run with the others... But like every other prayer he'd made over the last few days, this one wasn't to be answered either. 

Lily, the Firewyrm, tapped her stick -about a foot long- absently against her upraised knee, smiling at each team member before her, all but him.

Ranito growled then shouted, "You apologize to her? What about me!" he patted the side of his robes and angrily straightened his collar, glaring at the woman who'd led them here. 

Lily waved a dismissive hand, "You put a holding spell on Rose." clearly such an act voided any apology she might've had for nearly cooking him. "Anyway, now that you're all here- whoops!"

Somehow managing to find the only shadow in the magically lit area, Oswall dove for Lily from behind, platinum manacles glinting and poised to capture. But the nimble woman wouldn't be taken so easily, backflipping off the pylon she smacked Oswall's outstretched arm with her weapon, then kicked off his back, launching herself further away. She spun her stick as she landed, and it extended into a full-length quarterstaff she now held at the ready.

"Okay, NOW that you're all here, I have something I wanted to tell you," she said, circling carefully around so the team was between her and the small boat.

Please, Lily... don't do this... Shon thought desperately, turning to keep his eyes on Rose -the Waterwyrm- while the others focused their attention on Lily. 

"If Warlocks weren't enough, now liches?" Tristen accused, "After we trusted-"

"Awe... you trust me? How sweet." Lily interrupted with a smile that disappeared into a glare, "and a bald-faced lie. You just want to capture us for more experiments. You'd rather the world be torn apart than-" 

"What are you planning, Firewyrm?!" Tristen demanded. 

With a snarl Lily spun her staff over her head, then slammed it into the dock, sending out a circular wave of fire that stopped just short of burning their boots, "I have a name, Paladin!" she swept her other hand through the air in frustration, shouting past them to the boat, "Get out of here, Rose, I'll let you know when I'm ready for a pickup."

Shon grit his teeth, stepping toward the fire still blocking the others' way. Rose met his eyes for only a moment and shouted to the children, "Cut the line!" lifting her arms. 

The sea rose with her gesture, swelling up and hissing out boiling steam on contact with the wall of fire. The line holding the little vessel to the dock stretched taught as it rose above the planks and one of the children quickly did as commanded, cutting the rope and freeing the boat. Rose pulled her arms in and the wave carried the ship out to sea as she shouted, "Make it quick, Lily!"

"Druid!" Tristen barked at Ebonwing, who grimaced, but crouched, preparing to leap after the retreating dragon.

Lily let her shoulders go slack, groaning to the sky theatrically. Her wall of fire flared with the motion, making Ebonwing hesitate, even glancing over her shoulder to see the Firewyrm glaring down her nose. "Just because I don't want to hurt you, doesn't mean I won't..." Lily warned, then she smirked, "And considering you've got three healers, and plenty of practice with Shon-" Lily didn't glance his way, but Shon looked away anyway, "-I think I can go as hard as necessary."

Ebonwing took a deep breath, but faced the water again, preparing to follow orders with one last glance at Tristen. The Paladin was watching the boat retreat, grinding his teeth in frustration before holding his fist up to stop Ebonwing's transformation. 

Lily sighed as loudly as she could, the fire dimming to only about waist high. She started to grin, but then Tristen pointed his weapon at her, demanding again, "What are you plotting, Firewyrm?" and the smile vanished.

Beside Shon, Ranito was chanting a new spell. Oswall had recovered and was slowly slinking his way around to try and flank the fire Sorcerer once more. Ebonwing turned her back on the water, then transformed into a great python. Even kindly Alena lifted her shield, shifting her heavy mace in one hand. 

"Me?" Lily asked, "nothing I'm going to tell you." despite her casual attitude, Lily eyed each drawn weapon, then jerked her staff, producing blades on each end, "though it doesn't look like you want to hear what I do have to say."

Before Ranito could finish his spell, Lily pulled her fire-wall in, condensing it to a point just above the Archmage's brow, and let it explode. It wasn't a large explosion, only about as big as the Mage's head, but Ranito's spell still ended prematurely in a string of literal curses disrupted by foul language as he fell back to pat out his singed eyebrows. 

Shon turned his back on the inevitable, clasping the Archmage's face with his icy palm to put out the fire. Ryuuko landed on Shon's shoulder, crooning in his ear, but it wasn't enough to block the sounds from behind. 

Lily laughed, her voice moving further away, "None of our Warlocks will ever become undead, don't fret. This was just a trip to replace some stolen books. I figured-" she grunted, then growled, followed by a crack that made Shon flinch, and a string of self-muffled scream-curses from Oswall. When Lily resumed, her voice was even further away, and above them,  "-that you would appreciate the opportunity to arrest someone." 

Burn soothed, Ranito pushed Shon's hand aside with a shiver. Shon turned back to see that Lily had scaled the nearest wooden storehouse. Haloed by five balls of floating fire, the dragon woman smirked down at the party, "There's really nothing left for you to do is there? We've already given you all the criminal Warlocks; those that could, have gone home; and those that can't are being kept occupied far away from anyone they could hurt."

Alena looked up from resetting and healing Oswall's broken arm, "If that's true... Then you know what we have to do? Please, we don't want to fight you."

Shon could only imagine what Lily was going to retort, she didn't have a chance to do more than open her mouth before Tristen shouted, his armor glowing purple at the seams, "I let you go once before, Firewyrm-"

The conversation further devolved as Lily's fires flared, lighting the dock like dawn come early, "I-" one fire sped towards Tristen, hitting the ground where he'd been standing, "-Have. A.-" another two fires, these hit his shoulders, the heat deforming the metal, "-Name!" The last two flames exploded into burning rain over the wooden buildings and docks. 

Ebonwing did nothing to help the breakdown of talks, transforming back into a woman to scream at Tristen, "Just call her fucking Lily, Tris!" 

"Don't patronize me!" Lily snapped, then stood straight. Taking a deep breath to calm her temper, she spoke in a deadpan, "We're done here." and snapped her fingers. The little fires now all around them went out, billowing thick smoke. Between one blink and the next Lily was gone.

Again.