Neal leaned against the trunk of a tree on the out skirts of the city. He could easily feel the rough bark through the simple cotton shirt he wore. The clouds drifted lazily across the clear blue sky. He often found himself wishing that he were a cloud. Then he could just spend his days floating peacefully across the sky with no memory of the past, and no thoughts of the future. His mind began to drift along with the clouds, when he suddenly felt a punch on his shoulder. He staggered forward a few steps from the unexpected blow. Catching himself before he planted his face in the grass he turned to his assailant while rubbing his shoulder.

"That hurt," Neal spoke in a voice that was almost completely devoid of emotion. His brown eyes conveyed no indication of pain, anger, or amusement, only indifference. The man who had punched him came out from behind the tree. His face was lined with wrinkles, and his once jet black hair was now faded almost completely grey. Much of the muscle mass that he had developed in his youth was gone, and now the tanned skin of his body was hanging in lose folds. The man looked every bit of the fifty-eight years that he had spent in this world. However, his eyes betrayed his secret. They were blue and clear as the most pristine lake in all of Eä. They glimmered and danced in their deep sockets, reflecting the fact that, though the body was old, the soul was still young. The man's name was Orion, and he had been a swordsman of some renown in his more formidable years. Now, he served as another member of Lienick's elite personal army.

Lienick was a wealthy merchant who operated out of Lómëdor. He was a man who believed the gods owed him everything, and he intended to collect. He had become so wealthy by intimidation, blackmail, and assassinations. Of course, he never preformed any of these acts himself. That was what his personal army was for. He had a large network of moles, thugs, and thieves to make sure he stayed one step ahead of the competition. Most of the time, those men were sufficient to get a competitor to back down. Occasionally, it became necessary for Lienick to enlist the aid of his elite soldiers like Orion and Neal.

Fortunately, today wasn't anything too intense. It was going to be a simple matter of intimidation against some merchant named Wick. A message had been delivered to Wick's office saying that if he wanted his indiscretions to remain secret, he should come to this spot at noon. When he arrived, either Orion or Neal would verbally threaten the man about spreading the word about the his adulterous nature. Orion had the years, and consequently the experience, to turn a phrase to its most intimidating interpretation. That way worked for some, but, sometimes, they needed to be confronted by something more. Though Neal didn't have the experience, the silk tongue, or the intimidating physique, the flat way he spoke, and his dead eyes were often enough to unsettle the kind of people they dealt with. As a last resort, they could draw their swords and force the man's cooperation. However, Neal had found, over the years that he had been serving Lienick, that someone who quelled under the threat of force was more likely to do something desperate.

"Here they come," Orion raised a gnarled finger and pointed down the dirt path. A breeze picked up and stirred the grass. The folds of the approaching merchant's ornate robes billowed in the wind. "He's got a dagger hidden his robes," Orion spoke out of the corner of his mouth. Neal gave a slight nod to indicate he understood. The man stopped about four feet in front of the pair. He was about five foot four, with a rotund belly, and was completely bald. He sported a big, bushy mustache under two small, watery eyes. Neal thought it looked as if all of the hair on his head had migrated to his upper lip and had decided to take up permanent residence there.

"Are you Wick?" Orion inquired.

"I am," Wick replied.

"Then I suppose you're aware of why we're here," Orion stated.

"I am, and I find your claims outrageous!" The Wick's face started to turn red and his little black eyes looked like two lumps of coal in a furnace. "You can tell you're employer, whoever he is, that he can't scare me with the lies!"

Orion took a threatening step forward, his hand on the hilt of his beloved rapier. Neal looked on, nonplussed. Somewhere deep down, he heard a voice trying to tell him that what was happening here was wrong. Years ago, he might have listened, but now...

"She's a beauty isn't she?" Orion said, as the merchant's eyes flicked to the sword. "I just had her sharpened, unfortunately I haven't had a chance to do a test cut..." Orion let the last words hang in the air. The insinuation wasn't lost on the merchant. Beads of perspiration formed on the man's forehead, he began to reach inside of the folds of his robe. Before Orion or the merchant could react, Neal had his katana unsheathed and pointed at Wick.

"I wouldn't advise reaching for that dagger," Neal spoke. The merchant was clearly rattled now. His hand dropped back down to his side.

"Alright, alright! Tell your boss I'll do whatever he wants! Just don't kill me!"

Orion laughed heartily while approaching the man. He clapped his hand firmly on the merchant's shoulder and spoke, "Kill you? No sir. I believe we have come to equitable terms. Someone will be in contact. That is all."

Wick turned quickly and fled back to the city. Orion turned back to Neal. "Good work, boy." He reached into his own robes and pulled out a bag of gold crowns. "Let's celebrate! My treat."

"I'll pass."

"Alright, suit yourself."

Orion wandered back into the city. Neal returned to the tree, and slid down to sit in the grass. He sat his weapon down next to him. As much as he tried to resist it, his thoughts drifted to Elizabeth. She had been lying in that suspended state for seven years. Every time Lienick paid him, he immediately took the funds to the healer. However, it was never enough.

"The prices of the items fluctuate. It can't be helped." That was what the healer always said.

Neal was beginning to think that he would never save her.

'Maybe it's for the best," he thought. 'She probably wouldn't like what I've become. Maybe it's for the best...'

His eyes fluttered shut, and he fell asleep.

Mind if i join? (I know it says open to all but I still like to ask anyways :angel: )

Soaring over the city of Lomedor Kazul continued to watch as the people below wen't on with their lives. Kazul didden't care much be he noticed that quite a few were stoping and pointing up torward him while staring. Most though would just continue along which is what he perfered. When watching the humans he perfered to be ignored. As Kazul reached the edge of the city he would tilt to the side and turn around heading back over Lomedor. Some he found himself in a daze as he flew. Watching at this hight while fun he would have liked to be much closer. What he wouldn't give to interact with one, or at least see one up close. He knew though that he would never be able to enter into a city. For one thing her was way to large to do so, and he never knew where those dragon slayers would be. Growing tired Kazul turned off and began to fly away from the city and torward the annon mountains. He thought of looking for a small snack and then resting up in his cavern where he wouldn't be disturbed. AS he neared the edge of the city though he saw what looked like a lone tree on the outskirts of the city. Flying a bit lower so he could see under the tree he saw a single human under it, and he seemed to be asleep. Gudgeing how he looked and the odds of him being a dragon slayer Kazul thought he might be able to get a closer look. Slowly coming down he hovered a few moments a few dozen yards away from the tree and landed softly. Keeping his eyes on the human he saw that he was in fact asleep and even better he didden't look anything like any of the dragon slayers that he had ran into in the past. Slowly walking up to where he sat Kazul lowered his head so that one of his eyes was looking at the stranger. He was really suprised that he had not awoken yet, but was glade since this was the closet he had been to a human that wasn't trying to kill him. Now wanting to leave and pass up such an encounter he backed up a bit and sat down a few yards away. He would wait here till the man awoke, then see what would happen.

Raven, in eagle form, watched from her perch on the tree as the dragon landed. She had been tempted to reveal herself earlier, as the two men were threatening the merchant, but common sense told her to wait and see how things would turn out.

The shapeshifter watched as the dragon landed, it's wings stirring up a gust of wind. The man was sure to wake up now.

The shapeshifter spread her wings, drifting down onto the ground behind the tree. She shifted form, becoming her human form once again. Raven fit an arrow to her bow, stepping out from behind the tree. She pointed her arrow at the man on the ground, making a gesture of peace towards the dragon.

"I want answers," she said, "What did you do to that man, and why?"

(You're both more than welcome to join. Thank you.)

Neal's dreams were tormented, as usual. Whenever he fell asleep, he was haunted by the images of the peoples' lives that he had helped ruin. Not only them, but he was also visited by the angry friends and relatives of the victim. For the most part, he had grown accustomed to the various appariitions that haunted his sleep. Most of the time, they were the people who he had a hand in blackmailing. As the years wore on, they didn't bother him too much anymore. However, there were still somethings that bothered him even now.

He had been forced to kill many people over the course of his employment, and their spirits were always the most angry. Fortunately for him, they didn't visit too often. But, the nap under the tree just happened to be one of those rare visits. As the souls of the dead shrieked their outrage, Neal was trapped in his own head, surrounded by spectres of those who had perished by his blade, as he tried to beg them for forgiveness and explain the rationale behind his actions. Of course, they wouldn't listen. They closed in, determined to drag him to the grave with him, and there was nothing he could do...

Neal snapped awake, sweat dampened the front of his shirt, and he was gasping for breath. His normally static eyes, which usually revealed nothing, were wild with the fear that could only be aroused by facing one's darkest inner turmoil. As if the nightmare wasn't enough, he woke to find himself under the the scrutiny of a great blue dragon, as well as having an arrow pointed at him. The young girl, she couldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty, who pointed the arrow at him had asked him a question, however Neal took a moment to force away the last remaining memories of the nightmare. Death didn't scsare him as much as facing his own inner demons, in fact, maybe if he died he would be released from his anguish. But then, who would save Elizabeth?

Once Neal had sufficiently calmed himself, he raised his hands to prove he had no intention of doing anything drastic. His brown eyes had once again cut of any expression of emotion, and when he spoke it was with his usual indifference.

"I didn't do anything to that man. If you saw our meeting, then you also saw him escape completely unharmed. We had a simple conversation, that's all. As to the why, it's simple. I was told to." As Neal spoke, he rose from his position on the grass, careful to make sure that his hands were still in plain sight. He struck by the oddity of the situation. He and Orion had done a thorough search of the surrounding area to make sure that the merchant hadn't hid anything, or anyone to interfere with the meeting. They hadn't found anything suspicious. So how had this girl been observing their dealings?

More importantly, what was this dragon doing here? He was certain he could take the girl if he could get to his katana, but if the dragon was assisting her in some way, it would be suicide for him to try. Right now, he was better served by trying to see exactly what the pair was after before he tried to pulll anything on his own.

"Tell me," Neal addressed the bow girl. "What business do you have with that man?"

As Kazul watched he could see the man twitch a little in his sleep. Whatever was happening he must be having some intense dreams. He thought of waking him but decided not to, he wouldn't knew his reaction to being awoken by a large dragon. As he waited another stranger showed up as well. Kazul had seen the eagle eailer resting on the tree but thought it was just that, an eagle. He only knew it for what it truly was when it shifted into a human form. Already Kazul envied this creature being able to shift between forms. If only he could he would be able to watch humans, and even interact with others as one. But still it was best not to dwell on things that wouldn't be. As the shapeshifter fit an arrow Kazul snorted a little to show that he noticed it. Kazul didden't do much besides that. Kazul continued to just sit there are the shapeshifter began asking questions. When the man answered Kazul learned a bit more about the situation. He seemed to be working for someone else but for what reason was unknown still. When the guy asked his question Kazul began to wonder what man he was talking about. He had not been watching before and it seemed that the shapeshifter had. From what he could piece together the man under the tree had most likely meet someone here before falling asleep. From his answers that man had already left unharmed, other then that he had no idea what the conversation was about. Since no questions had been directed toward him he kept silent till he decided to remark on something he had been thinking about. "Well you two just seem to be filled with questions don't you?"

"Business with that man?" asked Raven, "I've never met him before. But I don't like people who threaten others, especially not because someone told them to."

She recalled what she had seen of the conversation. Her vision in eagle form was much sharper than her vision in humans, allowing her to see what was happening, if not to hear it.

"Your friend threatened the man with his sword," he said, "The man fled in terror. Do you deny that?"

She did not lower her arrow as the dragon spoke. Instead, she turned her head towards him slightly.

"I have questions because the scene that I witnessed was very questionable," she said, before turning back to the man.

Dimly, she wondered where Aegis, her familiar was. She had left the white wolf behind before transforming into eagle form. No doubt he was still catching up.

"Like it or not," Neal replied. "It's not your business."

Neal continued to run through his options. He still couldn't make a move with an arrow pointed at him. Fortunately, he did manage to learn that the dragon and the girl weren't working together. At least, not yet. He still had no idea how the dragon would react if a fight broke out between the two.

"I don't dispute those facts. The man was indeed threatened, however, it was a neccessary part of our negotiations. The man was not listening to reason."

Looking out of the corner of his eye, he located his katana. Unfortunately, there was no way he was going to reach it without the arrow finding him first. And, the girl didn't look like someone who would miss. Neal was surprised when he heard the dragon speak. In his little village, he had never run across an actual dragon before, and he had no insight into their behavior or capabilities. He had enough knowledge to realize that it probably wasn't a good idea to ignore the massive beast.

Neal turned his gaze to the dragon and spoke,"I just want to know why this girl feels it's her right to intrude into something that is not her concern. Especially when she knows nothing of the circumstances."

"Not my business, huh?" asked Raven, her voice taking on a slightly sarcastic tone, "Thank you for clearing that up for me. I'll remember that next time I'm traveling and I see someone getting attacked by a monster. It's not my business, so why should I mind?"

She watched as he glanced around, no doubt trying to find his katana. The shapeshifter drew back the string slightly, in case he tried anything funny.

The shapeshifter glanced warily at the dragon. If a fight broke out, what would the dragon do? As of now, she had no clear idea as to the dragon's intentions.

As the events before him began to unfold it was easy to tell that these two had very different personalities. The man seemed darker somehow. The type that would do most of what he was told to do. The shapeshifter on the other hand was the opposite. It seemed to care about people that she didden't knew and helpful in nature. Either way Kazul hoped that a fight wouldn't break out. If needed he would at least be able to keep the two apart. As he watched though the man began to look around quickly. Thats when Kazul saw the katana on the ground nearby but out of reach of the weilder. Moving his tail around he placed it upon the katana traping it over his tails massive weight. Kazul then turned his head to the shapeshifter and kept his eyes on the bow. If it was fired he would have to react fast. Thinking of what they had said he now knew what had happened before he had gotten here. It seemed that there was two men and one had threatened a third. He had gotten away but the act of it upset the shapeshifter. Everything seemed to come down to each others business. The man had said it wasn't her business but I dought the man being threatened would have minded the help. All there was left to do was to wait to see what would happen.

Neal listened to the girl's sarcastic reply. She didn't understand what was going on here, so he would have to make her.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Neal began. "What if the man being attacked by a monster had been a thief and murderer who had just returned from killing innocent children? Would you be so eager to help him then? I doubt it."

He couldn't understand while people went around throwing themselves into harm's way for no reason other than some foolish ideal like goodness. After all, it had been an act of altruism that had led Elizabeth to lying in a bed, just barely clinging to life.

'If only I had understood the circumstances back then, she wouldn't have ended up like that.'

Neal continued to address the girl. Though his voice remained steady and calm, he couldn't help but feel a small amount of anger at the girl. Maybe it was because she went around touting the same ideals that had ended up hurting Elizabeth, or maybe it was because her ideals reminded him of her. Either way, he didn't like what he was feeling.

"You have no idea what kind of acts the man you desperately seem to want to protect was involved in. He was a thief, an adulterer, and a murderer. Now, because of the chat that we had with him, he will never participate in those acts again. Who's in the wrong now?"

This conversation was beginning to wear thin for Neal. This girl had no business interfering in his life. She knew nothing of what he had been through, what he had done and seen. Yet, she had the ego to pass judgement on ]him? It was outrageous! At that moment, he made up his mind to end it now. The girl was expecting him to go for his sword. Maybe, if he made in a feint towards the swords and then, quickly changed direction, she might loose her arrow in the wrong direction. It would take her a second to notch another arrow, and in that time he knew he would be able to grab hold of his own weapon.

Just as he finished formulating his plan, he was unexpectedly interrupted by the dragon. His large tail came down on top of his katana. There was no way he could lift the massive thing, let alone before the archer girl was ready to fire another shot. His plan was ruined and now, he was back where he started.

"So, you are working with the girl?" Neal asked the dragon. "That's extremely unfortunate for me. It's not as if I want to hurt either of you. I haven't received any orders to kill a young girl or a dragon. You're deaths would be pointless for me. So why don't you just move aside and let me continue my business?"

"I wouldn't be eager to help him if I knew his history," said Raven, "But I wouldn't be so eager to leave either. By doing so, I'd be stooping to his level, wouldn't I? But, now that I think about it, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't fight him about it later."

She sighed. Now that she looked at it, perhaps she was the one in the wrong. It wasn't like her to back down, but...

A memory came back to her. She had been in Wilwarin Inn, minding her own business, when Kithara had come rushing into the door. Several people were behind her, weapons drawn. They had come to kill Kithara.

What had she done then? She had held an arrow to one of them, Aegis at her side, and warned him that if he made any move, she was going to shoot. Wasn't that pretty much what she had witnessed. Had someone who had not seen the fight or not known what it was about had caught sight of her, that someone would have assumed that she had bad intentions. That someone might have confronted her, and she would be replying in basically the same manner as this man, that it wasn't his business.

With a small sigh, she lowered her bow.

"All right," she said, "You have a point."

After hearing what the man said in his defense Kazull stood up to his full height of sixteen feet tall. He knew that the man would not have stood much of a chance against him though the point was to not get into a fight with either of them. Kazul was after all trying to keep the piece. And after his explanation of what had happened he though of at least giving him the benefit of the doubt. Moving his tail again he pushed the sword in his direction now easily in his reach. "Perhaps you'll fell better with this, and to point out I'm working with no one here, I'm simply trying to keep the peace. Pick it up if you must but think before you try using it I doubt you could kill one such as me at the moment" Kazul stated moving his tail back to where it had been before all of this happened.

If what the man said before was true then perhaps the shapeshifter and even himself were to quick to judge the man. Though as he thought about it one question began to form in his mind. One that he could not easily bat away. " If he was all you have said he was what makes you think he'll stop, he might just continue in spite of your threat?" And then what...will you pass judgement on him?

Kazul didden't move an inch more. What began as simple interest in a human had turned out of become quite a problem. Now all that was left to do was to wait and see how each reacted. Either way Kazul always knew to hope for the best, but expect the worst.

It seemed that his last words had proved effective in pleading his case, for both the archer lowered her bow, and the dragon allowed Neal access to his katana. He bent down and picked up the scabbard with his left hand, he certainly felt more comfortable now that the weapon was back in his possession. However, he really didn't have any intention of hurting anyone. Of course, the dragon made a good point, there wasn't much he would be able to do against that massive beast.

"Listen," Neal began, addressing both the girl and the dragon. "I'm not asking you to like what I do. Just know, that I have my reasons for doing it."

His brown eyes swept over the pair, watching them each in turn, but then coming to rest on the young girl. There had been a time when he would have been standing right beside them, completely in accord with the ideals that they held. However, that had been a long time ago. The girl was young, and she still had alot to learn about the world. She would soon find that her lofty ideals would be in direct conflict with reality. She would learn, as he had, that the world was not divided into a good and evil. There only existed varying degrees of evil. No one did anything purely for the benefit of others.

'Not even me.'

True, he was working to save Elizabeth's life, but he also wanted her back. Only the gods possessed the ability to give completely unselfishly. That was another lesson she would learn in time. The dragon spoke again, and Neal didn't hesitate with his answer.

"If he attempts to continue his ways, my employer will know, and if he so orders it, then yes, I will pass judgement on that man."

Raven sighed, slinging the bow over her shoulder once again. She returned the arrow to its quiver. She didn’t really have the intention of remaining long in Lomedor. Things always happened to her whenever she visited this city and she was not really feeling in the mood for a fight.

“Look,” she said, “I’m not sure if I really agree with you, and I’m not sure if I disagree all that much either. But I didn’t understand what was going on, so I guess I shouldn’t have jumped into it. That sort of stuff always gets me into trouble. And, besides, we all know that this city is more than a little twisted.”

She frowned, not really used to making apologies. She found it was a task that she didn’t enjoy in the least. Raven found herself contemplating leaving it at that and heading off, but she had pointed an arrow at him while he was sleeping. She let out another small sigh.

“What I’m saying is, I’m sorry. I guess I should have listened to the full story first.”

She held out a hand, hoping that the man wouldn’t hold a grudge. She had no desire to make enemies.

“So, let’s put that behind us for now. What’s past is past, anyway. My name is Raven Silverflame. And you are?”

Even in the outskirts of Lomedor, I get into some sort of trouble… noted Raven, remembering the many times that she had entered the city. Twice already had a fight broken out in Wilwarin Inn while she was in it, and once a fight had broken out in the city proper. Perhaps the city was just bad luck.

Neal watched as the girl finally put away her bow. He was relieved that they managed to avoid coming to blows. A fight with her was not something he was interested in. Killing her would have no merit in the long run. Though he had killed many people before, it had always been under direct orders, and been in accordance with his desire to save Elizabeth. Killing this girl would have been alot more difficult to justify.

"You're quite right," he replied. "I can respect your desire to help people, but you really should try and gauge the situation better before you start aiming arrows at people. This city is full of degenerate scum, and it's often impossible to tell who's cause is just based on first glances."

Neal noticed that the girl was having a little trouble in continuing the conversation. He didn't quite comprehend exactly what her problem was, but, with the rash manner in which she had acted, she probably wasn't the type to second guess her actions. Now, here she was in an awkward position where she had pointed an arrow needlessly at a sleeping man. It was probably very uncomfortable fo her.

"You seem to have learned your lesson, and no harm came of it. So, apology accepted."

Neal clasped her hand firmly in his own, gave a quick pump, and then released it. With that, the matter was settled. At least, he hoped it was. He would hate to make an enemy of the girl, if it could be avoided.

"My name is Neal Trion. I'm in the employ of one of the merchants of Lómëdor. Nice to meet you, Raven Silverflame. Where were you able to observe our exchange? My partner and I scouted the area thouroughly prior to the meeting and came across nothing suspicious. And, what is your relationship with the dragon? He says you two aren't working together, so was it just happenstance that you both should come across me here?"

Kazul lowered himself again. He didn't need to be at his full height anymore. They other two had seemed to make up and the women had lowered her bow. The chances of a fight breaking out now were low. Kazul wouldn't need to worry about either of them. But it seemed that the one who introduced himself as Neal was still unsure as to the girl and himself were working together. 'I was just around and a little curious, I've never been or seen a human this close before."

As Kazul sat there watching how each of them reacted to each other Kazul began to think of how much longer this would continue. It had seemed to come to a dead end. It seemed that each of them would be going there own separate ways. Even though Kazul was happy enough to at least see the human and speak with him. He even had a close look at a shapeshifter. Perhaps he would see more of that when she got bored enough to leave. But till then Kazul waited to see what would happen next. Kazul began to hope that something else would happen so that the three of them would stick together longer so Kazul would have more time to observe the to of them and how the reacted to each other when they weren't about to kill each other.

“It’s nice to meet you, Neal,” said Raven, withdrawing her hand. She smiled slightly. “I hope first impressions aren’t as lasting as they say. And, as to what you said about Lomedor, I couldn’t agree with you more.”

She paused, waiting for the dragon to finish speaking, before she spoke as well. She turned to the dragon, nodding slightly.

“Actually, I haven’t seen many dragons up close myself,” said Raven, “Half-dragons, yes, quite a few of them, but never a full-blooded dragon.”

She sighed, remembering for a moment the half-dragons she had encountered a year ago. Silnimare…Chrono…and Blaez…

She lingered on the last name for a moment recalling that time when they had both met in the Temple of Balance. She frowned, letting it slip back into her memory. There was no point in going back to those times now. What was past was past. She turned back to Neal.

“And, in answer to your second question,” she began, with a small smile, “I am a shapeshifter. I watched your meeting from the tree while in eagle form. As you know, eagles are known for their keen vision, but not their hearing. While I could see everything you were doing, I wasn’t able to hear what you were saying.”

She paused, waiting to see how he would react to her revelation.

Neal returned Raven's smile, and he quickly decided that she wasn't a bad kid. Just a tad bit over zealous in her pursuit of the good and just. He couldn't fault the kid too much for that. Neal listened as the dragon explained the simple reason as to why he was present. It made for perfect sense to him, for he was deeply interested in the dragon as well. Though the Misty Forest was home to many elves, his small village rarely saw anything more than humans. The mythical creature that now held his gaze was something that he had only heard stories about in his youth. To see one now was truly a phenomenal experience.

"I see," Neal replied to the great beast. "I've also never before encountered a dragon. Or a half-dragon."

Neal decided that it was alright to share a bit of his history with these two. Neither of them appeared evil, and it was nice to have someone other than Orion to talk to. Though he respected his elder's skills, he did not like the way Orion conducted his business. It was always as if the man enjoyed inflicting pain and terror on people. Once, Neal had asked why Orion served Lienick, and he had simply said that it was fun.

"I'm from a very small village in the Misty Forest, at the foot of the Ered Annon Mountains. For the most part, we never leave our village, so I don't have much first hand experience with the numerous races that exist in Arda."

He was still watching the dragon as Raven explained how she had managed to spy on the meeting. It took a moment for her words to register, and once they did, it was impossible for him to hide his shock.

"A s-shapeshfter?! That's incredible!"

Neal was pleasantly surprised by his luck today. For him to stumble upon two creatures which he had only, until this point, heard about in legends was a wonderful blessing.

"That's simply amazing! Can you take on any more shapes? How long can you stay in one form? Is it painful when you change shapes?"

The questions exploded from his mouth before he even knew what was happening. He was acting like he had done as a child when a new group of adventurers would wander into the village to prepare to enter the mountains. The kind ones would always share stories of their travels across the wide expanse of Arda. For kids who were born, raised, and likely to die in the exact same house, these stories were like nectar from the gods. When Neal realized the rudeness of his constant inquires, he took a breath and composed himself.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to be rude," Neal spoke as he calmed himself down. "It's just that I never expected anything like this to happen to me. If you don't mind, could you tell me a little more about yourselves? I mean, to be visted by a dragon AND a shapeshifter, it would be highly inappropriate for me not to attempt to learn a bit more about you two."

Raven’s smile grew wider at Neal’s surprise, as she tried to keep herself from laughing. This was the usual reaction she got when she told anyone about her ability. She guessed that it couldn’t be helped.

“I don’t mind at all,” she said, in reply to his apology, “I’m used to this sort of thing. In theory, I can take on pretty much any shape, but whether or not I get it right depends on how practiced I am at that shape. Usually, when I take a shape for the first time, I mess up and I end up with something that looks really strange. The shapes I’m best at are the eagle, the wolf, the dog, the snake, uh…I’m getting better at a mouse shape. It’s good at getting into small places. And, well, I’m okay at another human shape too, but I can’t hold it for long.”

She paused for a moment, before moving on to his next question.

“As to how long I can hold one shape, again, it depends on how good I am at it. I can hold wolf, eagle, and dog shape for a good amount of time, since I’ve been using those since childhood, especially the dog. Snakes and mice are a bit trickier. Usually, I can only hold them for a few minutes, so I only use those when I have to. I can usually alter my appearance for about an hour, but it gets tiring after that. Right now, this is my natural form.”

“And, no, it’s not painful to change forms. However, since a new form requires a lot of concentration just to hold, I do get headaches when I’m trying out an unfamiliar form.”

She smiled. It wasn’t often when someone actually asked her to explain. She actually found answering the questions a nice change from the usual. Some people just looked at her like she was going to change into something that would eat them, and then walked away.

“Is there anything else you would like to know?” she asked.

"Simply fascinating," Neal said, as Raven answered her questions. He was quite impressed by the capabilities of one who appeared so young. Maybe she doesn't age like normal humans. Something else he was curious about, however, there was something more pressing on his mind. This girl seemed like she had been around Arda quite a bit. With abilities like hers, there probably wasn't a place in all Arda that she couldn't gain access to. In those travels, perhaps she had come across some information that could be useful to him. Such as information regarding the healing arts.

Neal had been paying the healer for years now, yet, he still had not managed to compensate him enough for him to fully heal Elizabeth. Orion had hinted that Lienick had been putting pressure on the healer to continually deny Elizabeth treatment because he knew that, once Elizabeth was healed, the pair of them would leave Lómëdor, and return to their own village. Lienick couldn't afford to lose a vluable asset like Neal, so he had been making sure that he would never be able to pay enoughto save Elizabeth. Neal had suspected something like this was going on, and Orion's information just served as confirmation of his own suspicions.

Though, he was now sure he was being used by Lienick, it didn't matter. He had covertly been searching for another healer who could perform the procedure. Unfortunately, it was apparently a very complicated procedure that few men could perform. The healer whom he had already gone to was the only one in all of Lómëdor who was capable of the task. If he defied Lienick now, he would be sealing Elizabeth's fate, and everything he had done up until now would have been for naught.

It seemed that someone had heard his cries for help, and sent these mythical creatures before him. If anyone could help by pointing him in the direction of a healer, or mystical item, it would be creatures of legends themselves.

"Please," Neal began. "There's someone very dear to me. She's been terribly wounded, and she is just barely clinging to life. If you've heard or seen anything, rumors, stories, anything, that could point me to something or someone who could save her. I would be eternally in your debt."

Walking around the outskirts of the town Jasmine was almost ready to head toward the Annon mountians. She had seen much of the city and expect for a few mishaps it had been rather enjoyable. She hadn't bought anything expect for a small map of Ea and she wanted to continue on her journey. Pulling the map from her pocket she unrolled it and held it up so she could see it more clearly. The best way to go would be to cross the Salpuedor grasslands while stopping in the village of Estolad. From there she could enter the Misty Forest before entering the foothills of the Annon mountains.

As she lowered the map however she saw a sight she thought she would have never seen. A dragon was sitting on the on the outskirts of the city with two other figures. Jasmine had only heard of Dragons in storybooks and a chance to see one was too tempting to pass up. Making sure she had everything and began to walk in their direction. Once out she glanced back at the city of Lomedor, she wasn't sure when she would come back but after making it to the Annon Mountains she would have to make her way back here again. Turning around again she headed in the direction of the dragon.

As Jasmine had come close to the dragon it had taken off before she could do anything. Thinking that the two that had been talking to it might know something about it. Walking up to the two she spoke, "Hi, my name is Jasmine, I'm a paladin, was that really a dragon that took off?"

"I'm sorry but it's beginning to be a bit more crowded then I like, perhaps we'll speak again" said the dragon.

Raven turned around, watching as another person arrived on the scene. She nodded towards the dragon.

“Yes,” she said, “Perhaps we will.”

The dragon flew off, it’s wings creating a large gust of air. Raven turned to the newcomer as she approached, introducing herself as a Paladin named Jasmine.

“Hello, Jasmine,” she said, “Yes, that was really a dragon. My name is Raven, by the way.”

She smiled at Jasmine by way of greeting before turning back to Neal. His question about a healer intrigued him. She wondered what kind of wound this person had that made it so difficult to heal.

“Is it an ordinary wound?” she asked, “What I mean to say, is it a wound of the flesh, such as a wound inflicted in battle. I have a bit of skill in the healing arts, but I can’t help you if it’s a special kind of wound, like a magical wound.”

As Jasmine stood there she looked over the two of them. The women who had greeted her introduced herself as Raven. She had also stated that it was a dragon that had been here before. Jasmine shock here head. She would have like to meat a dragon but at the moment she felt she shouldn't dwell on it. Looking at the man he had dark skin and short black hair. He had yet to speak since her arrival.

As she thought about him that was when Raven spoke up, “Is it an ordinary wound? What I mean to say, is it a wound of the flesh, such as a wound inflicted in battle. I have a bit of skill in the healing arts, but I can't help you if it's a special kind of wound, like a magical wound.” So somewhere there was a person whos most like injured. She had directed her questions toward the man so it was most likely someone her knew.

"Who is injured, i also have experience in medicine, I might be able to help" Jasmine stated as she waited for a response. Looking around she didn't knew where this person might be. She might be back in the city but what if this person was further away. Either way she felt responsible to help even in the slightest way.