Time seemed to have slowed as Adrian rushed Isen’roy. There was a big ball of “something doesn’t feel right” knotting up his stomach, but the archer couldn’t quite place his finger on where it was coming from. That was of course until he realized that the noise that had been creeping into the background was in fact the sound of a battle. Not the stupid sparring match that he had found himself involved in, but one where lives were being lost.

With little more than a glance, it was clear that the Phoenix had noticed as well. Adrian gave him a silent nod, acknowledging that they were done here, and immediately made a pivot and sprinted for his bow. Ears strained, he tried to piece together what the hell was happening, but all he could hear was shouting and some ungodly noises that he could only assume were coming from the camp’s invaders. Adrian quickly scooped up Whisper with one hand and checked his quiver with the other. 

“Eight normal arrows and four vial ones. Awesome,” he grumbled, kicking himself for wasting some on Isen’roy. But just as he was beginning to wonder if there truly was a battle going on, Adrian rounded the corner and came face to face with what had to be the most hideous amalgamation of things ever. The glowing red eyes and claws attached to its absurdly long arms were the first hint that this was one of the things causing the ruckus. The second one was that it was currently in the process of disemboweling one of the rank and file camp soldiers. Without breaking pace, Adrian released an arrow with a soft “thrum” and pierced the things neck. He then continued on his way to the center of the camp, which was where it seemed like people were making their stand.

Except life, like usual, didn’t want to cooperate with his plan. The Velulu that he had just poked a hole was coming straight for him. How something that big and lanky could move so fast was a puzzle Adrian couldn’t waste time sitting on. So instead, he aimed to correct the problem rapidly approaching him and fired another arrow. This particular one had a vial on it and as it began its journey to the Velelu’s jugular it cracked. 

“Hystros diffuses,” he intoned, causing the water in the vial to break out of its confinement and spread out in a flat arc along the shaft. “Glacialis,” he finished, the water now freezing into impossibly sharp ice.  The spell finished just as time, as not even a heartbeat later the arrow that now resembled a spade passed straight through the monster’s neck, taking the head with it. 

As he retried his arrow next to the Velelu’s head, he noticed the black blood seeping back into the creature’s skull. “Yeah, that's normal,” Adrian muttered, hating the hunch that was forming in head with every ounce of his being. Putting his increasingly poor mood aside, the archer continued on to his destination.