Meglumar was wandering around this strange new town. So many new sites! So many new faces! How strange it all was! How far had he traveled from home now? Well, this place was quite a bit east and north from where he came from, but the exact distance was lost to Meglumar. But then again, it was not surprising. He may have the skills of a paladin and the knowledge on such things, but he was still not used to being so far from home!

It seemed like most of these buildings were homes and the like, but he could see what he thought were shops and maybe an inn around him. Ah, how wonderful to see such things! There was no inn in his town, and shops were amazingly small. This town, to Meglumar, was a glorious place of wonder and mystery, despite it not being too different!

His hooded cloak up, and his typical mask on, he wandered around, wide eyes with curiosity. True, there were a lot of people, but most did not seem to pay him any mind. Soon, though, he bumped into someone. "Ouch! Oh, my apologies..." He muttered out, to the person he collided with.

Linea walked down the streets of Estolad, her hands in her pockets as she scanned the crowd. Work as a mercenary was rather slow this month, which meant that it was time to dip her hands into someone else's money pouch. She frowned slightly, looking around for someone that looked gullible enough. To say she was bored would be an understatement. It had been nearly a month since she had had a decent fight and she was never really one for sight-seeing.

She looked around her, her blue eyes finally landing on her latest victim. He was hiding his face and his hair, for what reason Linea couldn't guess. Maybe he was horribly disfigured, or perhaps he was just weird like that. Either way, she didn't particularly care. At that moment, her eyes were fixed not on his mask, but on the money pouch hanging from his belt.

Looks like I'll have dinner after all... she thought, continuing her assessment of her latest moneybag.

Her eyes landed on the sword on his belt. So he was a warrior too? That would mean she had to be careful. That would also explain the mask. Maybe he had been scarred in battle, or maybe he was just really wanted. She allowed herself to wonder if he had a bounty on his head, and if so, how much was it worth? Well, if she ended up getting caught, at least he might prove a decent fight. She continued to make her way towards him, bumping into him. At the exact moment she bumped him, her hand made its way towards his money pouch, deftly unfastening it from his belt and slipping it into her own pocket.

"Ow! Watch where you're going!" she shouted angrily, brushing past him and continuing down the street. A small smirk appeared on her face as she walked away. Well, that was easy enough...

"Again, a thousand pardons!" He said, nervous. He just HAD to run into another person, didn't he!? Oh, how he HATED dealing with new people! And worse yet, he might have hurt this person! Oh, how horrible! What to do, what to do?! Well, aside from try to stay calm and fail horribly, of course. He made sure his mask was fastened, notcing he was dealing with a female. Oh gods, if his mask fell off....it would be just like the last time....Oh the horrible agony.....

"Are you injured at all? Might I take a look at any wounds you have incurred?" He was so worried. He was out of money, so he couldn't get her to a healer and pay for her to be healed. Oh no....if she were to press charges or something...he could be thrown in jail! Then how would he be a paladin!?

CURSE THOSE THIEVES WHO MUGGED HIM BEFORE HE WENT INTO TOWN! They claimed to be beggars helping the needy and puppies, but now it was apparent! They were thieves, vagabonds, con artists! They may have damned Meglumar to eternal failure! How he had failed his father.......Oh how he failed him and his mother!

Wait, his mother, right! She taught him healing magics! Thank goodness! If this person is hurt, he can help! Of course, he had to wait on this girls response. Please be ok, PLEASE BE OK! He found himself thinking. He just wanted this incident to be over.

Oh great...he just had to be one of those guys. He had to be one of those people that couldn't mind their own business. That at least chased away thoughts about him being wanted. Scarred in battle, maybe. Horribly disfigured, maybe, but she doubted he was wanted, and if he wasn't wanted...that would mean no bounty even if she did manage to beat him up which would mean that unless there was a lot of money in that pouch, which felt way too light for that to be the truth, she would be broke again by the next day. Fantastic. Whatever god or goddess out there was looking at her probably had a great sense of humor.

Obviously, she was being sarcastic.

"I'm fine, sheesh, get the hell away from me, dammit!" she said, attempting to continue her walk through the streets.

She needed to get away before he discovered his lack of money pouch and called the guards or drew his sword. Or maybe she might as well steal the sword, since he didn't look like he had that much money on him anyway. It wasn't like she needed another sword. The one she stole the first time was plenty. But hey, one never knew how much a sword would fetch and it certainly seemed to be more money than this.

She doubted he would miss his sword. After all, he seemed to be another traveler who probably stood up for the same self-righteous ideals that her idiotic sister did. Or maybe he would miss his sword, but either way she didn't care. She was a thief for crying out loud. It was also possible that sword had sentimental value. Yeah, he was probably sentimental too. Sentimental idiot who couldn't mind his own business. Yeah, that was definitely it. She definitely didn't want anything to do with sentimental idiots who couldn't mind their own business.

So...to figure out a way to get close enough to that sword. Maybe she could...no...that wouldn't work. How about...no...well then...no...Ah, heck with it! She dashed forward, grabbing the sword and attempting to make a run for it.

What the heck? She was moving towards him...she was moving towards...HIS SWORD! NO! He could not allow that! He pulled his sword off from his belt, hilt and all, and tried to smask the girl over the back of the neck. "NO! MY SWORD! NOT YOURS!" He yelled out angrily. He was already "robbed" Once today, this girl was not going to make him a fool! And moreover, she was not getting this sword!

He then noticed his money sack was missing. Oh joy! A criminal! Normally, he'd not like this, but this meant she was probably wanted for crimes! If he captured her and had her arrested, maybe he would get some money! and maybe, just maybe, he would be one step closer to being a true paladin! Yes! This must be a gift from the gods!

"Fould criminal! How dare you try to rob a noble paladinIn training! Have you now honor?" He said, taking a few steps back, grabbed the hilt of his sword. Whether or not the hit landed was not his concern. He threw the hilt off the sword. This was good. Too good. Maybe his tendency for bad luck was finally over!

"I shall defeat you, and take you to the authorities!" He said, happy, probably due to all this optimistic thinking. "Justice is my blade, and your feeble attempts to steal it has sealed your fate!"

He reacted quicker than Linea thought he would. She turned her head just in time to see the sheathed sword attempting to smack her in the back of the head. No way. That would not do. If she got hit there, she would get knocked out and that wouldn't be a good thing. As quickly as she could, she ducked, the sword ruffling her hair and pulling it slightly but otherwise not doing that much damage. She released the sword quickly, jumping back and drawing her own.

Just great. He was a paladin. The gods were really looking out for her today. Once again, she was being sarcastic. As if she hadn't heard enough of that talk from her father and sister. Sheesh...honor? Honor had gotten her father dead, and as for her sister...well, she didn't want the so-called 'honor' that Lynette had in the first place. That made him a sentimental idiot paladin who couldn't mind his own business and who loved the sound of his own voice. Fantastic.

Well, at least she would get her wish for a good fight if he was that fast. She hoped he wasn't as stupid as he sounded though, or this might be over fairly quickly.

"Oh shut up already!" she said, swinging her sword as he threw his sheath at her.

The sword pushed the sheath aside, making it hit some girl selling flowers in the head. She'd have to rob the flower shop once it was done, before that girl came to. Linea stepped forward, thrusting her blade at the so-called paladin. If it connected, this was going to be over really quickly, and she would spend another day running from the guard but oh well. Not like she ever thought things through anyway. She wondered how much money she could get if she robbed the guard that came after her.

Shut up? Like he'd do such a thing! As his father had taught him, an annoyed enemy is one who will make mistakes. He sidestepped the attempted stab, and used his own sword to make a quick slash at this strange thief. "Ya know, it's always a shame. I try to find a nice place to help people, and I meet thieving people. Why can't people just stop being stupid and take care of themselves without breaking the rules? Rule breakers are always so weak...unable to win the right way...."

He then began to look around at his surroundings. Great. People were starting to notice and either observe, or run. A scene was the last thing he wanted. How troublesome! He knew he'd have to fight for people eventually, and that he would have to deal with them, but still! He wasn't ready to deal with this many people in conversation yet!

Sweet merciful gods, let this end quickly with as little chaos as possible, I want to be able to buy a meal tonight!" He thought, already planning his next attack. Ugh, this is why he hated fighting with women! It was harder to fight fair, and he had to protect his mask and cloak.

He sidestepped her stab, the clear metal of her blade thrusting through the air beside him. His own sword slid in an arc, coming towards her side. She quickly turned, parrying the blow with her right arm barely a few inches before it came into contact with her skin. Linea jumped backwards, a small smirk appearing on her face. Preaching idiot or not, she had to admit that the guy was good. It looked like she would be getting the fight she wanted after all. Hey, maybe the gods, if they were really up there, were looking out for her after all.

That was until he started preaching again. She frowned, her hands gripping her blade tighter. What did he know anyway? What did any of them know? He was just like her sister, and in Linea's mind, she was fighting Lynette again, on a cold autumn day when she was eleven years old. Never mind that the paladin in front her was probably male. Never mind that she was now sixteen. Never mind that the swords they held were real and no longer wooden. Her mind was taking her back to that fateful battle with Lynette Miran on that autumn day.

"Shut up!" she shouted, running forward and slashing her sword towards his chest area. "You don't know me! You can't say things like that! You're just like my stupid sister! Gods, I hate paladins!"

Paladins...always thinking that they were right and that everyone else was wrong when they didn't follow what they said. Paladins...always bragging about their 'code of honor'. Paladins...always stuck in their stupid ideals that never served a purpose to help anyone other than to make them feel like they were in the right. She hated them. After all, it was their fault that she had become who she was today, and she was putting all her anger behind her sword, forgetting about the crowd gathering around them.

It was just as his father said. An angry, annoyed enemy is an enemy who does not seem to think attacks through. A shame, though. From what this girl was spouting, he could not help but feel sorry or her. She obviously had some bad experience with paladins. A shame. But this girl was out to take his life, and his money. And that he could not allow.

He saw as she rushed at him, slashing at him. He raised his sword, and parried the blow, following it up with a kick at her chest, hoping to knock the wind out of her, hurt her, and keep her back, all with that one motion. People were more valuable alive. After all, while Meglumar may not have been a bounty hunter, he could probably still turn in bounties, and live bounties payed out more. Though, this may let her slip out of his hands, leaving him penniless for another day.

".....Hmm, you may be right." He said to the girl. "Don't know you, so maybe I can't..." he said, scratching the top of his head. "But, then again, you did try to steal my sword. So I do have to take you in for that. It's justice for myself in this case. Probably justice for the people you have wronged in the past and who you will wrong in the future. But, first I have to beat you, capture you, and get you to the authorities....oh, this will be so much work.....and I don't even know if I'll be payed....."

Meglumar realized now this was probably not going to net him any cash. How could he capture someone with only a cloak, a sword, and his minor healing magic?

Her slash was parried by his sword and in that instant she realized that she had made a mistake. His foot connected with her chest, sending her sprawling backwards and landing on her rear in a not altogether graceful manner. She tightened her hold on her sword so that she wouldn't let go of it, her left hand instinctively going to the area where his foot had hit as she gasped for breath. She forced herself to straighten up, her sword hanging limp at her side as she brought herself shakily to her feet. Her eyes, bright blue eyes that she and her sister both shared, found the paladin and held him in an icy glare as he continued to speak.

He spoke of justice. He spoke of turning her in for her crimes, and yet like everyone else he spoke of money. That was why she hated paladins. They pretended to be so great but like everyone else they wanted money and fame. It was sickening really. They were all the same, wearing the mask of kindness and justice just as he wore a mask to cover his face, just because they couldn't accept that they had their own faults inside. Just like Lynette...just like her father...

She spat on the ground in front of her, looking up at the paladin with hatred in her eyes.

"Don't f***ing preach to me about justice! Not when you need money just as much as I do! Don't talk as if you know everything! F***ing self-righteous paladins and their stupid ideals!"

Someone like you shouldn't call herself a daughter of a paladin...

Her sister's voice was ringing in her head again, that voice that she spent three years trying to shake off. Why wouldn't Lynette Miran go away?!? No matter how many times she spent trying to shake off her voice, her sister's voice was still as strong as always. It was driving her insane, as if she didn't have enough to deal with already.

((OOC: Wow...first character I've ever had to censor...))

OOC: Good, that means I am doing my job!

BIC:

Meglumar sighed as heard hear the rather vulgar response from the young girl. "And you kiss your mother with that mouth? My goodness, What did a paladin do to you to make you so prejudiced?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion. It seems his kick did it's job. She wasn't charging at him slashing wildly. Either she was still winded, or she was calming down.

Calming down, though, was the unlikely part. Her eyes were filled with hate, it seemed. A shame. Oh well, as long as she was like this, he had a moment. He moved over to the girl who was struck by the reflected sheath, and held out his left hand to the girl's forehead. His hand glowed slightly blue, as the bump from the sheath vanished.

His hand reached down and grabbed it's sheath, and he re-placed it on his belt, his sword still drawn. Looking around again, it seemed more and more people were taking notice. Oh joy. He re-adjusted his mask, making sure it would not fall off. This was likely going to be a long fight, and if he had his mask fall off in the middle of it, it would be a horrid mess.

He turned back to face the girl. "A shame....if just would have not tried to rob me, this entire fight could have been avoided......despite all your hate to us paladins, no matter the reason, you seem out to hurt anyone and everyone in your way, so long as it benefits you. Such selfish actions, such criminal actions.....It would not matter if I was a Paladin, a Ranger, or even a Barbarian, This would all be the same. Hmm, maybe it's not really Paladin's you hate, but people with more morals than you? It would not be unreasonable for you to try and use Paladins as a scapegoat....Ah, but I lack knowledge on you, don't even know your name, I just know that you are a thief. So I guess this can't be helped, now can it?"

"I killed my mother the day I was born so don't you dare drag her into this!" shouted Linea, glaring at the masked paladin.

It wasn't like her father didn't constantly remind her of that while she was alive. No, she was never neglected. Instead, she had been constantly treated like a baby by their father. She had never been given the same amount of trust that Lynette had. She had been practically treated like a useless little girl who would never grow up, her father's little darling, all because she looked like the mother she had killed on the day of her birth.

And Lynette had been no better...

She took the opportunity to catch her breath as the paladin went to aid the girl, taking in slow breaths until she was sure that she could breathe properly again. She wouldn't let him win. She had to end this quickly. The guards would be here soon, and she needed to get out of here before they arrived. Getting caught would only mean eventually ending up facing Lynette. She needed to keep moving.

"Shut up!" she shouted as she continued to talk, "I couldn't care less about your f***ing morals! You're all the same aren't you?!? All you paladins thinking you're right!"

She charged forward again, but this time she was ready for any tricks. Linea slashed her sword at him, knowing that he would parry it. The moment he did, she would twist around, aiming a kick at the side of his head. Nobody ever told her that this had to be a fair fight, and besides, he started the kicking. She knew she would have to leave before the guards came to break up the fight, but that didn't mean she was leaving without leaving a mark on the masked paladin.

Meglumar sighed. Such a sad past, from what she had said. A shame this had led her down this path. "Such a sad thing, I see. Such anger and sadness, I feel sorry for you." He almost didn't want to win now. Winning against such a person, forcing them into prison, it might have been right by the law, but still...it was not right to the person.

this person then went onto say all Paladins were the same. Yep, still prejudiced to paladins. A shame. It could not be helped, could it? This once was such a headstrong, rash, and self assured person, she would probably not listen to Meglumar at all. it would take a non-paladin, and a better person than he.

"If that is what you choose to believe, then fine." He said, parrying the blow. "T'is a sh-GAH!" He did NOT see the blow headed to his head. He flew back a few feet, his head colliding with the wall. He was down on the ground for a moment, not moving. He then got back to his feet, parts of his mask crumbling off and falling to the ground.

He turned, the last of his mask falling off as he rubbed his chin. "Ow...OW...that was a damn good hit.....way too good....but, to be expected." He said with a sigh. He then realized: He could feel the air on his face. He seemed to freeze, as he felt his face. No mask..... He looked to the ground. Pieces....of...the mask....OH GODS NO.

He suddenly panicked, pulling part of his cloak up and using it to try and hide his face, but failing miserably. "No...no...NO!" He muttered. Oh gods, why now, WHY HERE!? This couldn't be worse! His Naiad blood...his "gift" that his mother passed on to him, Why, oh WHY did he have to wear the mask his mother gave him! He could have bought a helm with his money earlier in the last town, but no! No he was broke, mask less, and helm less! He gulped in fear and confusion. What could he do now?!

A triumphant smirk appeared on her face as she felt her foot connect with his head. That was one paladin she managed to shut up for a few moments. Unfortunately, there were probably hundreds more to go. She straightened up, regaining her momentum as the masked paladin hit the wall. If anything, the old man had taught her some useful things, and one of those were that people had more than a sword that they could fight with if need be.

Linea moved towards him, readying her sword to finish the battle while he was still disoriented. Of course, that would mean she would have to flee rather quickly afterwards, what with everyone watching them and stuff. After all, they wouldn't just let a paladin-killer free. Now if the paladin had killed her, it would be a different story. They'd call it self-defense or some such nonsense. Well, he attacked first. If he had just let go of his sword, it would be a different story. But who listened to the thief's side? Anyway, she really didn't want to get arrested. Otherwise she'd either get sent to prison, get executed, or have Lynette barge in and be the hero.

...yeah, she'd probably take execution over that happening.

She was about to attack when the paladin stood up, the pieces of his mask falling away. Linea stopped midway towards him, her sword remaining frozen in the air. Green eyes pierced right through her blue ones, holding her in one moment in time. His hair was blond, falling up to his shoulders and moving just a little bit in the wind. One thing was certain, he sure wasn't horribly disfigured. It had to be illegal for a guy to be that pretty. Why was her heart pounding like this? Why exactly couldn't she look away? The heat rose to her face as she stood there, trapped within the spell.

Gods damn it. Gods damn it all to hell. This is just horrible. He placed his face in his hands. What to do now? I was obvious from her freezing she was affected. Curses, why could he not control this "gift?" He was half human, it should not have been this strong! He began looking around for something, anything to hide his face with. AHA! A stray, abandoned potato sack! PERFECT!

He moved to it quickly, and used his sword to slice in two eye holes. This was kind of demeaning, but....well, it worked, didn't it? He forced it over his head, and pulled his hood back up. OK, that SHOULD do it...oh gods, they felt like ruining his day, didn't they? How could this get any worse.

"Umm...yeah...Miss...whatever your name is....Please, oh PLEASE forget you saw anything, M'K?" He asked, nervously. He prayed this young woman had a strong mind and will, if she did, she could have overpowered the effects from his naiad "charms." "There was a reason why I wore that mask...I'm sure you understand it now."

Well, maybe SOME good would come from it. Maybe now what with this, the fighting could stop. He placed his sword back in it's sheath. He then saw the crowd around the small "show" they just put on. Wait...SHOW! Of course! This could solve BOTH their money problems. it would require lots of luck for it to work.....maybe all this bad luck would compensate for it?

"Ladies and Gentlemen! We hope you enjoyed this small performance!" He yelled out. "It was a pleasure to put on this act out here, and we hope that you will remember it for the rest of your lives." He said, sweating bullets beneath his bag. It seemed the crowd was buying it! They were cheering and throwing money out for them! THANK THE GODS, IT WORKED!

"Well, looks like that little fight may have just solved BOTH our money problems." He said to the strange girl.

The spell was broken the moment the potato sack descended over his face. Linea found herself suddenly brought back to earth as she tightened her hold on his sword, facing him. For some reason though, her heartbeat refused to slow down as a slight blush made its way onto her cheeks. What was that? Some sort of enchantment spell? She frowned, glaring at him once again.

"What the hell did you do?!?" shouted Linea, glaring at him. She ignored his words about forgetting what she saw. It wasn't like she even cared what she had seen in the first place! She wasn't going to let herself be tricked by something that simple! She could fight it off...

...or could she?

The face she had seen earlier made its way into her mind and her grip faltered for just a second before she readjusted it again. She needed to stay focused. She was still in the middle of a battle with someone who had every intention of arresting her. If she was arrested, she would probably end up facing her sister. Heck, if she was arrested, the Concordance might even have her killed in case she decided to spill some secrets for sympathy and dying or meeting her sister weren't exactly on her agenda.

Suddenly, the paladin turned towards the crowd, saying something about a show. What was he talking about?!? What show? The crowd seemed to buy it though, because they immediately began throwing money at them. Linea glanced at him out of the corner of her eye for a moment. She was pretty sure paladin's couldn't lie. This was dishonesty on almost the same level as her stealing for crying out loud, but because he was a paladin, they immediately believed him. It was unfair!

...But it was also money. She quickly gathered up some of the gold coins, stuffing her pockets. Looked like she was having dinner tonight after all, although she now wished she didn't owe him anything.

Meglumar also grabbed a few coins in midair, and pocketed them. Looks like something came from violence after all. Still though, after the shock of seeing so many people, he felt sick about lying. But....well, it was for the greater good in this case, right? The fighting stopped, both had enough money now to not be poor, and the crowd was entertained.

He sighed, and glanced at the girl, who seemed angry, yet over the spell...for the most part. He sighed. He moved over to her, and whispered. "Not my fault. Half Naiad. The second you broke my mask, you opened a can of worms, so to speak. My apologies...though, it may very well have solved both our problems." He said, pointing to the coins around them. "As much as I dislike lying, at this point...it's to keep the peace and stop us from killing each other or breaking any more masks."

"Anyways...since you have not stolen anything, only ATTEMPTED to steal, and since the situation seems to be resolved in everyone's favor, why don't we just stop the fighting, forget taking you to authorities, and move on with our lives? Whatever you can nab from this should keep you from stealing for a long while, right?" He asked.

Ugh, this cursed potato sack was a pain to see through...but, t'was better than dealing with someone under his Naiad "charms." People under that state scared him to death! It only happened a few times, but the results made him fear for his life and sanity. What use could these blasted powers be to a Paladin?!

Meanwhile, high above the small village...

A metalic craft streaked through the sky, leaving a bright red streak of burning matter in it's wake. To anyone observing from below, it would seem almost no different from a shooting star...except that this particular star is alot bigger, and seems alot more long lasting. Inside of it, however, a black lizard like creature struggled to regain control of the falling hunk of metal.

Most people, most sane people, would have long abandoned the ship the moment it's shields failed, as an unshielded craft of it's tonenage could barely hope to survive rentry in one piece. However, for Elfee Resanath, abandoning the craft is not an option. For one, the planet which he was entering is not on the charts, which meant that this planet is undiscovered and is possibily primitive, in which case this failing engine might be the only chance of him ever returning to his kind. For another...well, the craft is way too deep in the atmostsphere to attempt an escape attempt. Even if he did somehow manage to get the escape pod out of the molten slag of a hatch it is in, it would probaly instantly melt in the extreme heat around the craft. Instant death for him.

The lizard like creature looked out from the half clouded windscreen, looking frantically for a large body of water. If he was able to cool down the external temperature of the hull fast enough, there might be a chance that enough of the equipment remained in working condition for him to construct a tracking beacon, or even better, construct an escape craft. However, it seems as if fortune is not on his side today, as no possible spot was visible through the windshield. However, he did manage to spot a small village. It looks like he was right in his deduction that this was a primitive planet. Under normal circrumstances, he wouldn't have payed much more attention to it than that, if it wasn't for the fact that it seems to be getting larger and larger. In other words, he is heading directly for it.

He paniked then, and pulled hard of the wheel in hope of changing his course. Unfortunately, he used a tad bit too much force in the process, ripping the already weakened wheel directly from it's axis. With no way left of steering his already damaged craft, he could only watch helplessly as the 2 ton hunk of metal bore a path straight through the middle of the village, comming within several inches of Linea and pulverising a house in the process. Hopefully, no one was seriously injured, thought Resanath before the lizard like being was tossed out of his seat from the impact.

Now the paladin with a potato sack on his head was moving closer to her for some strange reason. Linea raised her sword to halt his approach, but the gesture was half-hearted and he reached her anyway. She should have been angry at this, but for some reason she was not. Instead she was strangely...flustered? What was wrong with her today?!? He was a paladin for the gods' sakes! He whispered something to her and she found that it was hard to concentrate on the words.

Gah!!! What's happening to me?!? thought Linea.

It now seemed like a tempting thought to punch herself in the head a few times...maybe a few dozen times until she snapped out of it. She fought to listen to what he was saying, if only to get her mind off whatever it was on in the first place. Okay, so he was half-Naiad? That explained it. Now he was saying something about her not stealing anything. Why was he whispering? He had to be really close to her to...whisper....The heat rose to her face again despite her better judgment and her stomach lurched for just a moment. What was going on here? Was she still under that stupid enchantment?!?

Before she could even process what was going on and what was happening to her now, a huge mass of what appeared to be metal fell from the sky just a little bit away from her, making her jump backwards and grab her sword. The hulk of metal crashed into what appeared to be a house, but considering that there didn't seem to be any smell of burned flesh or screaming people it looked like the house was empty. What on Arda was that thing?!? It could have killed her...and the paladin too but that wasn't important. It could have killed her!

"What the hell?!? she shouted, staring at the thing in front of her. The crowd around her began screaming. Apparently, they knew that this was no longer part of the 'show'.

Meglumar saw the mass of metal crash by the girl. WHY was he not surprised at this? "I guess this is the gods punishing me for my lie." He muttered, thinking that to be the case. Just what WAS this thing that nearly crushed the thief? Could it really be something from the gods? It DID come from the sky, right? Maybe it was a weapon from an invading army launched out from a distance? Or a teleportation spell gone horribly, horribly wrong?

The list went on and on. Weapon from demons? No, no, not likely. If that was what it was, the metal object would have exploded. Was it....was it some sort of giant metal egg? Nah, that was too ridiculous, who ever heard of a giant metal egg?! What else could it have been? An offensive spell that went off target? Meglumar was out of ideas.

So, it was down to god item, demon item, spell gone wrong, weapon, or egg. Any could have been right, he supposed. He put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and approached the object. Whatever it was, it could have killed someone, and as he was still a new paladin, he knew nothing on healing the dead. He had to try to discover it's purpose, and get it out of town. If it was a weapon, it could be ready to explode with arcane magics of some sort.

"Gods...protect these people from whatever this metal monster is." He said as a small "prayer," hoping that the gods would do something if this was some sort of destructive item, and he failed to stop it. Was this what real paladins dealt with? No wonder most died young! But, he could see why they chose to be paladins. To be able to protect the masses from this. Still though, he had a feeling this was going to end badly.

Resanath quickly picked himself up from the ground as soon as the ship stabilised, and rushed towards the exit. For starters, he was in a burning ship in an atmostphere of possibily reactive gasses, meaning there is a chance that the ship would blow up. Even if it didn't blow up, the smoke was starting to cloud his nasal passages, and if he didn't get some fresh air soon, he may very well die from smoke inhalation. With that in mind, he then proceeded to trigger the emergency hatch, which is basically a bunch of delayed shaped explosive spells placed around the side entrance that would forcibly launch the door outwards in the event where the main controls failed.

Suddenly, a 2 meter wide portion of the ship burst outwards from the ship, revealing it's smoking innards and a rather tall lizard like creature. This probaly would have been fine had the metal portion not been directly in front of where Meglumar was, and it happened directly after the pseudo Paladin uttered his ultimately unsucessful prayer to the gods. Not that Resanth knew any of this, though. All he cared about was getting out of the smoked filled interior of his dropship before it start filling up his lungs. He stepped of the ship, coughing slightly, enjoying the clean air that filled his lungs, before noticing the screaming and shouting that filled the area. Obviously, his arrival had attracted alot of attention, and not the good kind. Then again, considering where he landed, and what he destroeyed, it would be hard not to.

Linea couldn't help but laugh derisively when Meglumar's prayer to the gods was answered by a huge slab of metal heading straight towards him. Served the half-Naiad paladin right. Still, her eyes couldn't help but be drawn towards the hulk of metal, and whatever came out of it. Her eyes narrowed as a figure stepped out from the burning chunk of metal, her hands tightening around the hilt of her sword. The creature that stepped out looked...lizarian? That was the closest thing she could compare it to. She couldn't quite be sure what it was. She had never seen anything like it before.

Suddenly, it occurred to her that the lizarian, or whatever it was, was probably in control of the huge metal thing that had nearly crushed her. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at this, glaring at him...it...whatever it was. If it hadn't landed on the house, it would have landed on her! She would have been as flat as that house if it had. Anger suddenly flared up in her and she pointed her sword at the creature.

"Why don't you watch where you're crashing those things?!?" she shouted.

She ran forward, her sword raised to slash at the strange creature. She was pretty sure no one would mind if she took out something that smashed a house, so she supposed she wouldn't be running from the guard anytime soon. Besides, Estolad would probably pay her if she took the thing out. After all, it did just smash a house and terrorize the townspeople. Then again, this went beyond money. This time, it was personal. Nobody crashed a huge lump of metal near Linea Miran without getting it. She'd have to deal with the paladin later, if he survived getting hit by that thing.

...for some reason, she hoped he would...

Aw crap. This was going to hurt.

*THWAM*

Meglumar was smacked with the heavy slab of metal, and thrown backwards, landing on his back. That one motion almost knocked him out. Luckily though, he was able to keep himself awake. Still, though, he naturally wasn't going to be getting up immediately. He was able to see some sort of creature crawl out of the metal thing. It looked lizard-like, but not exactly Lizarian. Just what WAS this thing?

He then heard the thief. She yelled out at the creature, and dashing at it with her sword. Not too surprising, the thing was inside the metal thing that nearly crushed her. Still, though, he couldn't help but wonder WHY this thing crashed here. Was it an attempt on someone's life after all? Or an accident? Just what in the name of Lucifer's green pajama feet was going on, exactly? Was there even a rational explanation any more?

....Oh well, it couldn't be helped now, now could it? This thing almost killed someone, and destroyed private property. Meglumar would have to try and take this creature into the proper authorities......If he could stand up. He tried, and at first felt his back just hurting too much to move more than a few inches. Did that slab of metal break his back?!

No, wait, there we go. Meglumar thought, moving a bit better after a moment more. He was not in top shape, but it could have been much MUCH worse. He shook his head, trying to get his bearings once more. At least the potato sack was still on his head. He'd need some more time before going after the chaos-causing creature, though. "Ok, world...stop spinning for a second...please..." He muttered, starting to get sick to his stomach.

Resanath was still trying to clear out his lungs when he heard a loud voice just a few feet away, which made him turn towards the source. The source turned out to be a ...bipedal creature waving a pointy sharp long object, I guess, shouting something which was obviously directed at him. The...creature was shouting in a language which he couldn't understand, but the meaning of those words couldn't have been plainer. Especially since....it was rushing towards him in an obviously hostile manner waving something that is probaly made to kill stuff. Crashing on an unfamilar planet, losing his ship, and now having one of the natives after his neck. This is definetely not his day.

In anycase, Resanath barely had time to react. He threw himself backwards, barely avoiding the scything blade, and colided against the hull of the wrecked ship. He quickly held out his hand, and attempted to communicate with the obviously enraged indivisual. "Chill. I mean no harm." Of course, this is spoken in his native tounge, and to Linea, or anyone listening, for that matter, it would probaly sound like a cross between a warbler and a screaming duck....or in other words, total nonsense.

Her sword cut through the air in a swift arc, narrowly missing the lizard-like creature as it threw itself backwards. She glared at it, noting with a slight triumphant feeling that it was now backed up against the metal. With a little bit of luck, she could prevent its escape here and maybe earn a little money for killing the lizard-creature that smashed this house and...depending on whether there were people inside or not...possibly murdered the family living there. If she got enough money, she'd probably be fine without taking another mercenary job for a few weeks.

The thing raised its hand, emitting sounds that sounded something like a duck being strangled. Was it trying to speak with her? If it was, it wasn't doing it very well? Was it even sentient to begin with? In any case, the meaning of its words was completely lost on the enraged thief, not doing anything to halt her attack. Instead, she shifted her weight, lunging forward in an attempt to stab at it.

She heard the annoying paladin behind her mention something about the world spinning. So he had survived the metal after all? Why did she feel relieved over that?!? She wasn't supposed to feel relieved about the life of a single paladin! Heck, her own guild constantly targeted them! She knew she'd probably have to finish that battle someday. Preferably somewhere with less people in a place where nobody would find any bodies. The Ered Annon Mountains were a safe bet. Hey, maybe the desert too.

At the moment, however, she had to take her attention off the half-nymph paladin and focus it back onto the lizard like thing that had attempted to kill her. If her stab didn't hit, she would have to try something else to finish this quickly, before the paladin regained his senses and did anything to interfere. She had no idea why he might interfere, but paladins tended to interfere in everything.

Meglumar shook his head constantly, until finally, his head stopped spinning. He placed his hands on his own chest, knowing he needed to heal himself before going after the lizarian thing. "God's, give me strength." He muttered, saying the chant his mother had taught him to heal himself. His hands glowed with a blue light, and he could feel his body losing some of it's pain.

He looked on at the thief's attacks. By the gods, such a violent attack style. He had a bad feeling about this. Fighting angry is sometimes good, but fighting like this would just end up getting the girl killed. Meglumar couldn't have that, now could he? He began to move towards the two, his hand on his sword. It would take him a few moments to get there, though, so if the girl got herself into to much danger, he might not be able to help her.

This is not good. He knew that the creature would most likely not understand his language, but he had hoped that the native might have been able to understand the meaning of what he was trying to convey. Obviously he had been wrong; in actual fact, judging from her response, he might have very well further enraged it. In anycase, with the creature still bearing down on him with the metalic weapon, he had no choice but to respond with more physical means.

He grabbed an iron rod that was sticking out from the hull, one of the support beams that came loose during the crash, and wrenched it free from the wreckage. The rod was oddly hexagonical, and was just slightly over 2 meters than. Hardly an ideal weapon, but it this situation it would be more than enough. He ducked down low and swept the rod along the ground in a wide arc, which would have swepted the enraged creature's legs out from under it's legs if it made contact, or at the very least for it to retreat. Hopefully, this would serve to be enough of a warning for the creature to think twice about resuming it's attack on him. Hopefully.

Before she could even get close enough for her stab to connect, the creature grabbed a metal pole from the wreckage, sweeping it out in a wide arc. Linea quickly jumped backwards. She didn't intend to be caught off-guard the second time today. Her feet hit the ground and she turned towards the creature, now wielding a makeshift staff. That, at least, answered her question about sentience. A creature intelligent enough to wield a weapon probably knew how to communicate too, even if he was stupid. Still, it wasn't like she cared to talk to him. Talking wasn't in her job description. She didn't get paid to talk, and although she wasn't getting paid for this, it was still a battle.

She stared at the lizard-like creature, weighing her chances. She was fighting against a weapon with more reach than her sword, but if she managed to get in up close, it wouldn't be as effective as it was now. He was just reaching the end of his swing. With a weapon that long, there would be a slight delay before he could attack again. That gave her her opening.

Before the lizard-man could ready his staff for another attack, Linea charged forward, attempting another stab. She shifted her weight, putting all of her weight behind the thrust. She wasn't playing around anymore. Despite everything that may have happened between them, her father had trained her, and he didn't train her poorly. If anything, she guessed that her years spent fighting as much as she possibly could had put her at an equal level as Lynette, who used to be stronger than her. Linea didn't know how much her older sister had improved in the years since they had last seen each other, but it looked like the younger Miran wasn't far from reaching her goal--surpassing her sister.

In the end...she would finish that battle with Lynette. For now, she just had to stay alive and continue getting stronger.

Meglumar unsheathed his blade once again. It was slightly funny, how just a moment ago he was fighting a thief who tried to steal his sword. Now he was somewhat, possibly, not quite but almost, fighting on the same side as the thief. What's even crazier, is that they are fighting a strange being who crashed into town in a burning metal thing, not unlike a sea-faring ship. Who was fighting with a steel pole. And quite well.

Still, though, despite the thief's anger and violent fighting style, the moves she was making now actually were very good for fighting this beast. But, if for some reason, the beast being was faster than they were, she'd be in for a great deal of pain. That steel pole looked like it would hurt a great deal!

Meglumar sadly knew what he had to do as a paladin. He did not really like it, but he knew it had to be done. He moved toward the girls side, his sword in s defensive position. If the foreign creature tried to move in for a second swing, he would block it, and the creature would be left wide open to Thief girl's sword.

.....Meglumar almost wish he knew everyone's names in this. Regarding people as "thief" and "Lizard thing creature monster" were not very effective, now were they? Chances are it would speed up his thinking process in all of this, but, well, it would be too foolish to ask for their names in the middle of a fight. The foe seemed to know not the common language, and the thief......well, She was likely to insult him and other paladins or something like that. so for now, Lizard and Thief would have to do for what he knew them as.

Resanath swore softly as the creature avoided his initial swing. Looks like this fight would not be an easy one. As if things wasn't bad enough, a second combatant entered the fray, wielding a similar pointed weapon. This one was mostly similar to the first combatant in body structure, except that he lacks the two nubs of what seemed like flesh on his chest. A different gender, perhaps? Or perhaps an offshoot or mutation. Or even maybe both. Given the time, and perhaps more favourable circrumstances, he would no doubt have strived to find out the truth. However, he had neither of those luxuries, something which was brought back to him when the pink haired female resumed her attack.

Resanth considered his options. He was still recovering from his initial swing, and even if he managed to get it back up in time for a second swing, the second combatant would no doubt have blocked it, leaving him open for a stab. Obviously, not an option. He didn't know many spells, and those he knew were mostly for convenience, like "Clean teeth" or "Boil water", neither of which would be of any help in this situation. All his equipment was smoldering in his wreckage of a ship, and even if it wasn't, the was no way to make use of them. The were only two options left now, one was to flee, the other was to...well, neither of them had much of a chance to suceed, and he would rather die fighting than running. That said, he took the latter.

He rushed directly at the offending creature, weapon and everything. Suicidal, most would say, and in a way, it was. But he had other plans. Just before his momentum brought him within range of the weapon, he jumped, right up and over the creature. Assuming everything went as planned, he would swing his pole at the creature while he was midair, hopefully doing enough damage to put it out of the fight. Of course, if he failed, he would land directly between two possibiliy enraged combatants, and death would almost be certain. However, in this situation, it's a do or die thing. Either he suceeds or he fails. There's nothing much to think about. No, nothing at all...

Instead of defending as she thought he would, he charged in. Linea frowned at this. Either she was overestimating his intelligence, or he had something planned. She didn't halt her attack though, just in case he really was stupid. She was going to win this fight. After all, fighting was her job. This was just training for the real thing. In the mercenary business, losing fights meant losing money. Losing money meant going hungry, and that was never fun. So her solution to that problem was not to let herself lose if she could help it. So far, it seemed to be working all right, as she wasn't in any danger of going hungry. Or maybe that was the thief business.

Either way it looked like he wasn't just suicidal. The moment before he entered reach of her blade, he jumped in the air, attacking from above. Linea quickly threw herself to the side to dodge it. She moved a little bit faster than she was able, and she found herself falling towards the ground. She landed on her stomach, throwing out her arms to stop her head from hitting the ground.

Damn that lizard... she thought, pulling herself to her feet as quickly as she could.

He moved quickly, for a strange creature that couldn't speak simple Adunaic. It looked like this battle would be a lot longer than she hoped. Still, he was trapped in between her and the walking potato sack who she had to admit seemed to be fighting on her side, so it didn't look too good for him. Wait...he was fighting on her side? The heat suddenly rose to her face as her cheeks colored a light pink. The heat of battle...or something else...? Her heart was pounding faster again, and it wasn't from the adrenaline rush. She readied her sword, preparing to strike.

Holy crap, the lizard was suicidal, it seemed! Running head on like that, it was a fools trick! But, wait, no! He evaded the attack, and almost beat her with the pole again. She was able to dodge, luckily, thought it was certainly close. At least now they had the squid faced freak surrounded. He could try to fight, and he'd lose. He could try to run....and admittedly, he might be able to escape. If he managed to repeat the same kind of moves over and over.

Considering how easily it seemed to dodge the attack Thief had attempted, this creature was a natural acrobat. It was going to likely be a dodger, not a blocker. It was a good thing then, that he was out numbered he could be hit as he tried to dodge. Unless this thing was super nimble, in which case, it would probably realize the fight would be useless, and try to run. Which would be somewhat good, but not as good as capturing it.

He moved toward the monster, and slashed with a single, horizontal slash aimed at his mid section. If it struck, then good, one criminal down. If it missed, maybe Thief could handle it well enough as it dodge rolled away? It wouldn't be too hard, right? As he moved in for the slash, though, he saw girl's face turn pink. Gods DAMN IT ALL TO HELL. Was she STILL affected by the momentary glance?! She must not have had any sort of mental training at all, if she still was affected. He hoped she could handle herself for a moment longer, and that she could keep herself together.

His bad luck was working overtime today, wasn't it? This was all just a set up of epic bad luck proportions, not other answer could suffice!

For the second time in so many seconds, Resanath swore again. The creature somehow managed to dodge his attack. Fortunately, it seemed as if it was in too much of a hurry to do so, and promptly lost her balance, landing flat on the ground. Correction: nearly flat. The creature managed to use it's front limbs to break it's fall. Either way, it didn't make a difference, as there was now a slight chance for him to leave with his life. That was the first thought on his mind when he landed after the maneuver.

However, he couldn't. Fleeing meant abandoning his ship, and he couldn't abandon what could possibily be his only way of this planet. Admitedly, the wrecked ship would probaly be too damaged to even fly again, let alone be spaceworthy, but there was still a slight chance that there would be enough left for him to construct a new craft. As well as that, without the magitech engine, he would have no hope of ever reaching his kind within his lifetime. In other words, escaping isn't an option. Not yet, anyway. He gritted his teeth as he realised this fact, before rolling forwards and under the blade of the second combatant.

He rightened himself and quickly whipped back towards the pair. Frankly, the fight isn't going very well, and probaly would never be so long as he is up against two combatants. He had to either take out one of them quickly, or run. But, as stated earlier, he couldn't flee yet. Desperate, he attempted another attempt at conversation, this time with more actions, and slower speech. He once again held his hand out. "Wait." He shouted towards the advancing pair, Of course, his language still sounds like a warbling duck, and he isn't exactly a charmer either. Quite the opposite, in fact. Still, he clentched his lower jaw together, his cultural equalvalent of crossing your fingers, and hoped that this time would be more sucessful.

The paladin struck, swinging his sword in a horizontal slash towards the creature. He wasn't bad himself when it came to fighting, for a paladin that was. Wait, why was she appreciating his fighting style?!? She didn't have time to appreciate his fighting style! What she needed to do was to do some fighting! Preferably now, while the thing was distracted! Why was he hiding his face with a potato sack anyway? It wasn't like she hadn't already seen his real face to begin with. Linea frowned. She was losing focus again. She needed to focus on beating the strange lizard to a pulp.

She ran forward, tightening her grip on her sword again. The lizard rolled under the paladin's attack, however it didn't strike at him. Instead, it extended its hand, saying something in what she thought was his language. Was he trying to talk? Too bad for it, Linea wasn't the talking type of person. When she was told to fight someone, she fought them regardless of what they said. It was a habit she had picked up to make sure she didn't starve to death as a mercenary, or become a totally inefficient fighter. In the end, this thing was no different from the people she had been told to fight, sometimes kill and she didn't give a damn what it was trying to say.

She slashed at the creature, a diagonal slash starting low and getting higher. Hopefully it would be too distracted trying to talk and would not notice the blade heading towards it from behind. That, at least, was what Linea was banking on. There was a small smirk on her face as she moved. Over the past month, she had been bored to death with no mercenary jobs and no decent fights. Now it looked like she had finally found two worthwhile opponents, and she wasn't letting them out of her sight.

Good, the thief was striking now. Maybe, just maybe she WAS recovering after all. If they two of them kept up this pace, the lizard would fall. The lizard, though, seemed to be doing something with it's mouth and warbling out. Was it trying to talk? Or cast some sort of spell? Meglumar assumed it to be the latter, as he was in a fighting state of mind. For all he knew, the lizard was trying to call down another metal thing from the sky to kill them! And while he was trained to give up his life if needed, he would prefer winning and living here, and also ensuring this part of town is NOT crushed by steel things from gods only know where.

He charged in behind the thief and moved to her left as she slashed, and then moved in front of her to deliver a second, quick blow to the alien. He too struck with a diagonal slash, this one in the opposite direction and instead of low to high, he slashed high to low, gripping his blade with both hands. Hm, maybe he should start to think about investing in a heavy and powerful two handed sword some time. He found himself using two hands to increase his long swords power all too often. Still though, they WERE rather unwieldy.

As Meglumar finished up his slash, he quickly glanced up to the alien's eyes. Hmm, they were strange. Maybe it wasn't a complete lizard. As he was half human and half naiad, perhaps this being was half lizarian and half demon. A shame he could not sense such things. He just so inexperienced, that it was almost comical! He couldn't even sense evil yet! Truly, he was a very, very strange Paladin.

Resanath swore once again as this attempt at conversation went as well as the first one did. In other words, very badly. Both of those creatures not only paid no heed to what he was trying to say, or even regarded his actions as trying to communicate at all, but instead proceeded directly to attack once more. Resanath resigned himself to a fight, raising his pole in a defensive manner, but before either of them even came within range, something happened. Something really loud, and really flashy.

That something took the form of the fire within the wrecked ship reaching the main engine core. Of course, a main engine core is something that stores lots of reactive substances, and converts it into magical power when active. When something like that is heated up...well, you can guess what happens.

BOOM!!!

The wreck of a spaceship exploded with such force that it would most probaly send all three combatants flying, not to mention level a few of the surrounding houses and send loads of metal pieces similar to the one that smacked the potato sack head in the face, except on a much larger scale. Like, really large scale. Convinently, it also happened directly after his failed attempt at conversation.

In anycase, Resanath was hit by one of the flying steel plates, which sent him sprawling the the ground a few meters away from the blast point. On the up side, the squre plate shielded him from most of the magical backwash and shrapnel that the explosion threw up. On the flip side...well, a piece of metal that large hitting you at high speed has gotta hurt. Like alot. Amazingly, he was still concious, though the world was very wobbly all of a sudden. He pushed himself back on his elbows and placed his hands on his temples, willing the world to keep still.

Her attack didn't even have a chance to hit. Before she could get near enough for her sword to even touch the strange creature, there was a huge explosion. The hulk of metal, it seemed, had decided that it wasn't through messing with her yet and had exploded outward, sending out large pieces of metal into the surrounding area before she even had a chance to react. In an instant, houses were leveled and she was pretty sure the screaming around them had gotten a whole lot louder.

In the next second, however, she wasn't in much shape to be sure of anything. A sheet of metal, blown off from the huge ball of metal that had nearly killed her earlier, crashed into the thief, sending her hurtling backward and crashing to the ground a few meters away. She skidded across the ground, finally coming to a stop against the still-standing wall of one building.

Linea remained where she lay for a moment, finding it hard to breathe. She winced, struggling for breath as she lay against the wall of the building. She clenched her teeth, making a quick assessment of the damage. There was a weird pain in her chest when she breathed. Did she crack a rib or two? Yeah, probably. Not to mention the world around her was spinning like crazy. She looked around, her vision blurring for a second as she struggled to find her sword. That stupid lizard! The moment the world calmed down he was going to get it!

Wincing as pain shot through her body from her sudden movement, Linea wriggled out from under the piece of metal. Her sword had landed in the wall beside her, thankfully. She was beginning to think she might have to pull it out of some unlucky villager's head. Causing trouble was fine with her, but she had relatives in Estolad, so it wasn't a good idea to do it here. She struggled to her feet, pulling her sword out of the wall as she looked around for the lizard. When she found him, he was going to wish he had died from the impact!

Meglumar was launched back, more or less in one piece. He looked around, in shock. People were injured, and in horrible ways. By the gods.....What did that monster do?! Meglumar's face paled behind the potato sack, as he scanned the horizon. People were dying in front of him. What could he do?! He needed to save them! He was a paladin, for the god's sakes! He could not just stand here, and do nothing! But he didn't know of any magics that could help him! What could he do now?! Pray, maybe? Yes, praying might do something, the gods were kind...weren't they?

"Oh gods...save this village...if not for their sakes....for mine...I'll do anything..anything to protect these noble people!" He muttered, praying with all his heart. A moment later, he felt an immense pain, and he fell to the ground, unconscious. He suddenly gained a deep wound to his chest! Strangely, though, a healing "wave" of light seemed to envelope the injured....healing their wounds! Did his prayer really end up working!? But...at what cost did it happen? Or was it maybe something more? Some sort of subconscious directive that took a hold on Megumar?

Either way, though, the people seemed to quickly be healing. Even Linea and the lizard would fine their wounds and pain leaving them! Perhaps a miracle, perhaps not, but who would care? Who SHOULD care? They were safe! Meglumar, briefly regaining conscious, looked around. He looked down at his chest, and saw the blood. "But...wait....then...." He then saw the people standing up. ".....Oh...well." He muttered, his head dropping to the ground. He was in rougher shape than ever, die to whatever happened. But still, he couldn't help but feel happy seeing the people recovering. Just one though occupied his mind as he fell once more into unconsciousness: How?

Suddenly, Resanath's head was filled with an incredible clarity, and the world suddenly stopped spinning. The alien creature blinked once, supprised at the sudden clarity of his mind, before getting back onto his feet, chucking the metal plate aside at the same time. He flexed his arms, and noticed that the wounds that were inflicted by the explosion were rapidly healing. Magic? He glanced around. All around him, those few who were curious enough to gather around the spaceship where rapidly having their wounds healed. Perhaps the civilisation weren't so barbaric after all, if they were able to hardness magic like this. However, this thought vanished the moment he set his eyes on the spaceship, or what was left of it.

"Oh no." He gasped. Unlike his previous attempts at communication, this one was perfectly understandable to anyone in the vincinity. Appearently, the magic discharge had immitated the effect of a universal transalator. Not that Resanath knew any of this, though. All he cared about was the smoldering crator of what was once his beloved Horiotis.

There wasn't much left of the ship after the explosion, if it even could be called a ship right now. What little that was left lay around the village in pieces, smoldering and burning. The metal plate which colided into him was probaly one the biggest pieces of the ship left. It's over, he thought. I'll never go back to them again... He collasped back onto the piece of metal, cradling his head in his hands. His last chance of rejoining his race was in pieces.

No, This isn't the time to lose yourself. He shook his head, clearing it. It was then when he noticed the person with the cloth mask on the ground, or more accurately the pool of red liquid around him. Blood? It was of a slightly different color, but there's little else that would make sense. Had the spell not worked on him? Or is he the one who casted the spell? There wasn't a way of making sure at this point, all that mattered was that if he didn't receive medical attention soon, he's probaly going to die. He stood up and walked towards the fallen warrior. All this was all his fault, after all. Even if he had attacked him previously.

Was it fear?

Linea wasn't sure to make of the emotion that suddenly coursed through her body when she saw the potato sack-wearing paladin fall. All she knew was that for one moment, for a reason that she couldn't explain, her world slowed down. Time and people raced past her, voices and sights blending into a blur of sound and color as time slowed to a standstill. Then, the world sped up again, and she was healed. Completely healed, to be exact, with the paladin lying in a pool of his own blood and the lizard creature walking towards him.

"Get the hell away from him!" she shouted, the words leaving her mouth before her brain could even form them.

Linea Miran tightened her grip on her sword, running over towards the fallen paladin. Her father's words echoed in her mind as he seemed to teach her again what to do in an emergency like this. She pointed her sword at the lizard, a look on her face that clearly stated things would be trouble if he came a step closer. Her blue eyes scanned the wounds, taking into account the extent of the damage. This was bad. He would need emergency medical attention, but first, she would need to stop the bleeding.

In an instant, before she even had time to process her thoughts, she had removed her cloak, pressing it to the wounds to stop the bleeding. She didn't know why she was doing this, or why she cared. Linea didn't particularly care about anything. When she left home and left her sister, she decided that she was going to do whatever the hell she wanted to do and the whole world could just forget about it. So why now...? Why was she doing this now?

Ah, forget about it! She said she was going to do whatever she wanted to do and right now she felt like helping out. So what?!? Her life was her own business. Next time, she would kill the paladin.