Alfen looked at Darren, surprised that someone like him would know about Reynir and even more so when the man claimed to know where Reynir might be. Alfen had known Reynir for years and even he had been unable to find the man despite his best efforts. Darren was not known for taking many investigation jobs and he was not arrogant enough to pick one that most considered a hopeless search in a desperate attempt to gain some reputation among the other investigators, and yet he claimed to have solved a mystery that puzzled even those closest to Reynir. Alfen felt jealous of the man's ability, assuming he were telling the truth, but also angry at himself for not working harder to find his friend.

"You know where Reynir is?" Alfen asked, eyes a little wider than before. "How? Where is he?"

Darren straightened his hat, grinning as he looked at his rookie level associate. "Why, it's elementary my dear boy!" he teased, and his grin grew a little wider when he saw Alfen scowl. "Reynir has kept to himself leaving almost no trace for almost seven years, but you may recall that the recent bandit incursions along the southern ridge have been getting out of hand lately? The attacks on villages and caravans along the Firaxian border?"

The group nodded slowly, some raising their eyebrows in curiousity. Alfen was particularly intrigued, leaning in closely to Darren.

"There have been rumours of a cloaked man, almost seven feet tall, bringing those bandits to justice. They say he fights them alone and uses his supreme mastery of earth magic to defeat them with ease. You all remember the reason Reynir left the guild, right? It only makes sense that he'd start trying to dish out justice personally, and the description matches him perfectly," Darren replied, his eyes still fixed on Alfen. He knew that Alfen and Reynir were close enough to be brothers despite their differences, and that even he had not seen Reynir since he vanished.

Darren then turned his attention towards the magitech users. "I suggest we split up; one team goes to find Reynir and the other goes to settle the situation with Reeves Lana. If these two brothers decide to finish what they started then, with all due respect, I doubt one man will be able to face them alone... even one with your skill, Crossbones," he said.

Monarch folded her arms, taking extra care with the scythe-like claws. While the arm felt perfectly natural to her she still often found herself catching her skin on them. "And would you organise the teams? I do not appreciate a stranger coming in and disrupting what little organisation we have here."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Darren replied. "How we do this is up to you. It was merely a suggestion."

Running her finger across her cheek, Mona contemplating her options for a moment. "Crossbones, you are free to speak with Lana and deliver the news. I trust you to handle it respectfully and to garner as much support from the man as you can... And you, Darren. Go with him. I do not trust you enough to bring you along with us to find Reynir, but I believe you have some history with the Lana family and I hope you will put that to good use."

"Aye, I've worked with his son on a number of ocassions. It is worrying he never mentioned his he had a daughter though...but we will get him to help regardless!" Darren said with a tone of confidence and determination. He took out his pocket watch, watching carefully as the hands moved.

She turned her head to Alfen and Anna. "You two will come with me," Mona added, biting her cheek softly. "We will need you, Alfen, if we are ever to get the help of Reynir, and I do not trust the mages or the monsters of the southern badlands. Their illusion magic is powerful, and anyone who might be able to dispell it is more than welcome. We will need your help, Anna."

Alfen fist pumped the air. "We recruit Reynir then we get him to track Rita and save her! The best plan!" He shouted with vigor and excitement. 

The pixie smiled and made a mock salute, fluttering up higher until she managed to reach eye level with the magitechnician. "I'd be happy to help! Anything that might be able to help find Rita."

As Anna turned around, Alfen gave her a high five. She reciprocated it, although the sight of a hand as tall as she was fly at her faster than she could fly made her whelp in surprise. "I know Reynir. His tracking skills are great! If anyone can find Rita then it's him," Alfen said with confidence in his voice towards his friend. "He was always great at playing hide and seek too. We should go as soon as possible!" He suggested, containing his enthusiasm.

Darren was more reserved and calm. "Don't rush into things, kiddo. You need to take control of your spirit more." Darren retorted to Alfen. "But I think it is best we leave as soon as possible. From what I know of Raldo and Kazan, neither of them are known for their patience."

"Agreed," Mona replied, fastening her staff to her back. Her attention turned to the small party that would be accompanying her. "The quickest way to the Firaxian border is on foot. No caravan travels that far south without good reason. We will pick up supplies in town and move on as soon as possible."

Darren nodded. "We can catch the next train, it's atleast a day to Reeves' Manor. Well, I think it's best we converge to this point when we are sucessful or not. Until then, see you soon!"

[center]xxx[/center]

Both Kazan and Raldo had made it to the Keep, walking up to the decrepid gates of what once stood a grand manor, now reduced to withered ruins. Rita was still unconscious from the effects of Raldo's spell and he dragged her alongside him. "Orus will probably be expecting us, yeah?" Raldo asked his fiery partner. Kazan barely nodded. "Geez, Kazan. at least show some interest."

As they drew closer to the ruins they noticed the young hooded woman sitting near the entrance with her legs crossed, waiting for the pair to arrive. Her name was Minerle and both Raldo and Kazan hated meeting with her. "Well, you guys look no worse for ware," she said, almost sounding disappointed. "Who's the girl? didn't Orus tell you to take out Monarch and Crossbones?" she asked, pointing lazily to the unconscious Rita.

Kazan simply grunted, giving Minerle a passing glance before turning away again. "Where's the clown, and the living pile of shards?" Kazan asked, ignoring the woman's question entirely and refusing to even make eye contact. Minerle simply smirked. 

"The Jester is out on a personal matter. He'll be back shortly, or so he said to Master Orus. Zyle is around, as usual," she replied within a second of his inquiry. 

Kazan turned around, looking at Raldo. "So what now? what use is this girl to us? " Kazan crossed his arms, looking directly at his partner. "Aside from trying to recruit her to our cause? Luring those sheep here to give us the home field advantage ofcourse!"

Minerle sighed. "Master Orus will not like that. This could potentially compromise our anonymity," she said to the rather unhinged Mage as he placed Rita down.

"She is also Rita Laana, the daughter of Salazar Laana. That is a name you should be all too familiar with, Minerle." The voice seem disembodied, and whistled in from all around them rather than from one location. It carried a metallic tang that made it sound unnatural, but the sound was all too familiar to them.

Minerle smiled. "I'm quite aware of her family. Though I only met Henry. He never stated he had a sister." she said as she looked at the young mage still unconscious. "poor, pretty little thing being dragged her by these brutes." 

At the manor gates tiny lights began to gather, fluttering gently in the breeze as more of them joined the collective. They sealed together in mere seconds, the light coming from them turning almost blinding, but starting from the head down they formed the shape of a human being. His hair was white and his eyes a pale blue, and he wore remarkably fanciful cream silk robes. He smiled the moment his mouth formed, and took a few short steps towards the rest of the group.

"And so the mongrel appears, it seems" Kazan whispered under his breath. Raldo was still fascinated by Rita, staring at her, before his attention returned to the group.

"I would congratulate you on the capture of a member of the Laana family if you had actually followed the orders that you had been given," the man said, nodding his head slightly. It was the closest he would give to a hello.

"Speaking of mongrel mages, why didn't you stop Monarch at the meeting? You could've ended it right there." Kazan grew increasingly annoyed at both Minerle and Zyle. They both enjoyed taunting him more than actually doing their own work.

Minerle laughed. "It looks like the so called "pure bred" sorcerer is getting worked up, Zyle," Minerle taunted.

This only pushed Kazan further. A fiery blade burst forth from his hands, white hot with rage, and he took a few steps closer to the woman before him. "I should just kill you, and the glass mage here."

Minerle's smirked quickly turned from playful to sadistic, but neither her nor Zyle moved from their position, unaffected by Kazan's threat. "You can try, but not even your might can escape my illusions," she replied bluntly.

Zyle was silent, although the faint triangles that patterned his body glistened the faintest blue, showing that his magic was indeed in effect. Kazan felt a blade edge rest gently against his gut, and immediately he took a step backwards.

"Calm down and stop this tantrum at once. Especially you, Kazan. I am tired of you picking fights."

The voice came from above. A figure landed gracefully between the three mages, lowered gently by his magic, intervening before the situation escalated. He stared daggers at Kazan and Raldo who quickly backed down. "From what I gathered you have failed the task. Not beyond saving though, thankfully. We at least have a resource we can put into play. Rita Lanna is so far away from home. I wonder why? surely she would be tutored by her own father?" Orus asked, directing them at nobody inparticular.

"She's a Witch, boss. She used some curse spells," Raldo answered.

"Interesting, indeed." Orus replied, noticing that the young girl was starting to stir. She would wake in a few moments. "Tell me who we will be dealing with. Everything we know about them," Orus inquired to Kazan.

"Monarch and Crossbones were leading the group but they were accompanied by two others. There was a little pixie but she was so far useless during the fight we had. She ran at the first sight of trouble but she seemed to be able to create illusions. Mona has managed to make contact with Alfen Van Dragoon and drawn him in as well." Kazan said. He spent the next few moments giving his leader the full report, recounting the events of the battle and his assumptions on their next move.

Orus turned to Zyle once he had finished listening. "I want you to deal with Alfen. Your style will greatly counter his. I will inform the Jester that it will be his job to deal with Monarch. Kazan, you get Crossbones. Hopefully you will be able to stand up to him this time. And my lady, Minerle, you will investigate and eliminate the pixie whoever she is. We must also prepare for any additional allies they bring with them to reclaim Rita." Orus explained, both his hands behind his back.

"It will be a long and hard journey to shape Edonia into the greatest exclusive nation of magii in history."

[center]xxx[/center]

The weather along the Firaxian border was tempermental. In the days the sun stood high in the sky, forcing a sweltering heat upon those that dwelled below, and the nights were as cold as the furthest reaches of the far north. The change in climate from the northern and southern half of Edonia was almost overwhelming, and was far from natural. Caused in part from the sheer amount of primal magic that plagued the lands and corrupted the natural order of things in the south, and these badlands stretched all the way from southern Edonia to the furthest reaches of Firaxia.

Most agreed that the storms were the worst part. The usually dry red cliffs were soaked with rain, flooding the canyons in an instant only to dry up again in the next, and lightning cascaded across the sky for as long as the storm lasted. One of those storms raged this night, sending torrents of rain down from the heavens to beat against the dry earth below it.

Along the barren ridge of the northernmost canyon, two figures cautiously made their way along a slim cliff that led down to the bottom of the cliffs. Their hands clung tightly to the rock wall in front of them and they did their best not to look down or misplace their steps, 

"Are you sure this is the right way, sis?" one of them asked. "I can't sense big bro anywhere?

The winds here were strong and it fought against them fiercely. One wrong move and they would go tumbling over the edge in a matter of seconds.

"We need to get to high ground, Ando. You did say your sense ability works better that way," the female figure suggested.

"I would've felt his energy by now, He isn't here, Lia," Ando replied.