"Curious. I've never seen a merchant who so readily abandon her livelihood to the hands of complete strangers. Was the smell of the knight that intoxicating?"

The Gyoubu Danuki shrugged, appearing not to catch the jab. "Definitely intoxicating to my Salamander employer." She replied. "She paid a pretty penny to help her snag The Incubus Knight, you know? Didn't know there's be rivals though, but I suppose that really shouldn't be a surprise considering the target." Putting her hands on her hips, she continued. "That said, that shouldn't be a detriment to business, you know? I'm still setting up shop in the capital and you can come buy stuff from me anytime."

"I assume you're just gonna sell them shoddy goods to sabotage them?" Katelyn piped in.

"Sorry, boss, but you're gonna have to pay extra if you want me to get in the way of love." The tanuki monster shrugged again.

"Anyway, this is Vanessa. I've hired her to help me with Aun." Iskah decided to introduce her Dark Mage ally. "Well, it's more like she answered my fliers at the promise of a reward."

"That's also called 'hiring'." Rie pointed out.

"Whatever!"

Katelyn the Masked Salamander then wrapped a friendly arm around Vanessa. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Vanessa! Cool hat, by the way!" She remarked. "May the best team win, eh? I hope you're playing for keeps 'cause my group isn't going to let up until I get to duel Aun." She told the Dark Mage.

Iskah picked up on a word in the last sentence. "Group? There's more than you two?"

"Yep! I've got, like, four companions including Rie!" Katelyn happily replied.

Vanessa looked at the tanuki girl with a very deadpan expression. Which is tos ay she was expressionless. Apparently, the merchant had already forgotten that, back when they made camp before reaching this city, the dark mage had explicitly stated that she wasn't carrying around any money... ANd while she was fine trading one thing for another, she doubted that sort of thing would fly in a big capital city, with big fancy shops that needed to make big fancy profits.

Then the other lizardman, who was a salamander piped up. Then Iskah introducted Vanessa. An odd choce in the majin's eyes... Considering this person was her supposed rival for the affection of that runaway-knight. It seeemed rather counter-productive to reveal any sort of information to your opponent. But perhaps they weren't really enemies, and more just... Frenemies? It was hard to tell, and she didn't honestly care that much either. All she needed to know was that now there were further obstacles that were going to get in the way of her finishing this job quickly. Swell.

Next the salamander approached, clung to the dark mage and made some friendly banter as if they were all good buddies and life-long chims who regularly hung out at a local pub and talked about which sports-ball team they thought were gonna demolish the others' team.

"Thanks." Vanessa stated, rather non-comittedly. She didn't mind talking to or being chatty with folks, not at all. But this was, in her eyes, an opponent and a contender. As such, she really didn't feel like being all smiles and hand-shakes. After all, if this salaslut and her team succeeded in obtaining Aun, then Vanessa would fail. Which meant breaking her promise to Iskah, and also meant she wouldn't get her reward from said Iskah. That wasn't going to happen. Not an option.

Then she recalled soemthing. Something about Salamanders and Lizardmen. She smiled at whatever it was she'd remembered though. But it wasn't a good smile.

"Hunting a single man with a pack of half a dozen... I thought I'd heard somewhere that you salamander-girls were very keen on the whole honor and fighting fair-schtick. Guess those're just rumors after all, huh?" The dark mage said, lyrically and upbeat. She then turned to Iskah. "Well then, are we done scoping out the competition, or do you want to see the rest of this one's crew before we leave? She said, aiming a backwards thumb and lazily pointing with it at the masked rival.

"Hunting a single man with a pack of half a dozen... I thought I'd heard somewhere that you salamander-girls were very keen on the whole honor and fighting fair-schtick. Guess those're just rumors after all, huh?"

"Oh, those kinds of Salamanders do exist. You know what we call 'em? Single!" Katelyn then laughed out loud at her own joke, but Iskah and Rie only sighed.

"Well then, are we done scoping out the competition, or do you want to see the rest of this one's crew before we leave?

"Leave? Isn't Aun just at the orphanage?" Iskah sounded genuinely confused by Vanessa's question.

"Orphanage, huh?" Katelyn immediately picked up on the detail. "Well, don't mind if I do!" The Salamander patted both Iskah and Vanessa on their shoulders before speedily taking off to Pagras' orphanage, where the latter two met with The Incubus Knight earlier.

Rie boarded her wagon and was about to go follow before realizing that Iskah made no other move despite Katelyn heading out. "...He's not at the orphanage, is he?"

"Nope." Iskah shrugged. "There are children to sell toys to, though."

"...I'll go get my boss." Rie tugged the reins of her horses and the wagon took off at a steady and gentle pace. The streets of Pagras was still full of people after all and the Gyoubu Danuki knew there was no point trying to salvage the situation for her Salamander employer. "I'll see you two around. Don't forget to pick up the saddles of your magic horse."

After doing so, Iskah turned to Vanessa with a satisfied smirk on her face. "Well, best get moving before Katelyn and her crew catches on. Aun should be at the capital which should only be a day or less of travel from here."

Once the salamander and tanuki were gone, Vanessa met Iskah's smirk with a big old grin of her own. She then let out a jovial laugh. Not particularly long or anything, but a genuine display of true amusement.

"Well now, I had you pegged for such a stick-in-the-mud. But look at that, I suppose even good girls can do it sometimes." The dark mage... Praised? Was it praise? Perhaps more like a back-handed compliment? Well, whatever the case, she seemed to have enjoyed the lizardman's little deception. She probably would've glomped onto and patted the other girl on the head, going: 'Good job!' if it wasn't for the latter's seemingly disapproval of being coddled and/or touched.

At the mention of moving on though, Vanessa nodded. After a bit of moving around in the crowd of people and a few bumping into's and sideways glances, sh eventually found the saddle of her phantom steed. Good thing nobody had had the audacity to pick it up and steal it. She didn't exactly carry saddles around in her magic bag and, with no money on hand, it wasn't like she could afford to buy a new one. Perhaps the tanuki wasn't the only one who needed to keep a closer watch on her things.

Regardless!

With a few words and motions, their trusted and magnificent friend was back in the world of the physical. It neighed quietly, trotted over to Iskah and nuzzled the lizard-oppel's cheek. Apparently, it had taken a liking to her. Or perhaps this was a different summoned beast entirely and it just had certain preferences? Regardless, it was good that their ride was going to be loyal, gentle and docile - would make the trip a lot smoother than if it had been wild and rambunctious.

"Awww, he liikes you~" Vanessa stated, holding her hand lightly to her lower lip, with a big goofy smile on her lips.

After the light teasing, she did begin work on getting their horse ready. Fixing the saddle, adjusting and securing the reins, making sure her focus and concentration were fine and that there were no immediate or obivous flaws or hiccups with her su mmon. Once everyhting was green-lit, she climbed ontop the mount and extended a hand to Iskah.

"Well, no time like the present. Let's get moving before your friend realizes the only thing at the orphanage is your boy's lingering stink and a gaggle of his little siblings."

"Well, no time like the present. Let's get moving before your friend realizes the only thing at the orphanage is your boy's lingering stink and a gaggle of his little siblings."

Iskah stroked the summoned steed as it nuzzled against her cheek. "...Yeah. Let's."

The Lizardman-Dark Mage duo set forth. It took them a day of travel before finally reaching their destination...

---

---

"Here we are. Linirea, Ortus' capital."

Iskah and Vanessa trotted to a stop at a hill overlooking the aforementioned capital. The sprawling, metropolitan city was vast and situated next to a great river, befitting the capital of a kingdom. The stone walls looked quite high, even from this distance, and farms, workshops and homes flowed out of the city walls. The most prominent sight was the castle that sported unique blue roofs in the middle of the city, the seat of Ortus' royalty.

"We're entering from the south, and Wayland Keep is at the western part near the river." Iskah said, but not pointing it out. Spotting the keep from this distance was futile anyway. There were plenty of large buildings but only the castle stood out in appearance. "Hopefully, the guards don't recognize me when we approach."

Of course, the first thing that Iskah and Vanessa encountered upon descending the hill and onto the southern outskirt town of Linirea was a patrol of four city musketeer guards stopping them. "Halt! You're one of those lizard monsters that's been harassing The Incubus Knight!"

Iskah cringed from atop the horse. "Err... Yes, I am." She answered honestly, albeit reluctantly. "Wait, why am I singled out--!"

"We have orders to bar your entry should you continue harassing The Lot Knight." The musketeer guard cut Iskah off. "Are you here to harass The Incubus Knight?"

"Uhh... no?" A bald-faced lie from a shrugging Iskah.

The guard shrugged and the tense encounter suddenly relaxed. "Good enough for me. You may pass." He then suddenly raised his hand to stop the two monsters. "Before I forget, try not to cast too much spells in the city especially flashy ones. With the war against The Order flaring up again, anti-magic sentiments are on the rise again. Careless casting of magic inside the capital might set off a riot, something me and the other boys don't really wanna deal with."

"We'll keep that in mind. Thank you." Iskah was unnerved at the warning since magic was Vanessa's main strength.

"That also means no summoned beings either." That caught Iskah by surprise, and she sheepishly looked at her Dark Mage partner to see what she would do.

"Aah... These humans and their walls..." Vanessa sighed at the sight of the sprawling, massive city before them. Though why she was pointing out the walls in particular was anyone's guess. Perhaps it was a nod to the fact that, against spellcasters such as herself, it didn't really matter how tall you built your walls. Or, perhaps it was a reference to the abilities of flying monsters being able to just by-pass them with ease? Or perhaps she was just claustrophobic and didn't appreciate being encricled by vast, towering rectangles of solid-ass stone.

Regardless, Iskah relayed what was next and they trotted down towards the city with the blue-roofed castle...

... Untill they didn't.

A group of bro-dudes sporting amazingly dashing hats appeared before them, and stopped their advance. They asked a question which any normally intelligent individual would've just denied... Except this honest-to-a-fault-cinnamon bun of theirs blurted out the honest truth. You could almost here Vanessa facepalm internally. She could trick a salamander into running off, but against town guards she spilled the beans? Way to have the priorities backwards.

Still, the gentlemen in charge of the city's safety were convinced by that ... Really unconvincing reply of the lizardman... to let them carry on. Which was a relief. Having to freeze these guys solid in a block of ice, or trapping them in a bottomless bog wouldn't make for the best first impression. Or, at least, so the dark mage imagined.

But then, just as they were about to set off again, another stream of words spilled out. A string of verbal vomit that made a vein visibly appear on one of Vanessa's temples. She slowly turned back towards the musketeer who had uttered it, a shadow cast over her eyes and a smile on her face. It was not a good smile.

"Oh-ho... I see... Well then... We wouldn't want to break any local rules."

She didn't so much say these words as setthingly force them out between her clenched teeth. While Vanessa would've normally shrugged this off and gone about her business regardless, there were two very major factors that forced her to comply with this OUTRAGEOUS demand.

The first, of course, was that she was currently in Iskah's employ. As such, she couldn't afford to do anything to jeopardize the girl's chance at success. At least not until they were inside the walls proper and closer to Aun. Getting into a conflict when not even inside the city yet was less than productive.

The second, was the mention of The Order. While Vanessa would've gladly told this man where to shove his fabuluous hat any other time, the fact that The Order was brought up got her to still her tongue. The last thing she wanted to give those guys any sort of help or benefit. And if casting magic would cause people to go bananas, and thus make things more favorable for the jerkwards who what were the worst of the worst, then Vanessa vwould - begrdugingly - have to be on her best behavior and play nice. For now.

Thus, she slid off the side of their astral mount, waited for Iskah to do the same, and then with a snap of her fingers, caused the horse to vanish a cloud of sparkly green... Sparkles.. She then looked over at her companion, still with that same shadow over her eyes and smile on her face.

"Looks like we're walking from here on then. Good thing we aren't in a hurry to get a room at a decent inn or anyhting, right? We wouldn't want to spook the locals with our man-eating summoned horse after all." Vaessa's comment was anything but mature, and nothing less than an obvious, scathing remark about their current situation.

But, given her fondness for magic, and the fact that she seemed to use it for everything in her everyday life, one couldn't really fault her for being... Upset...

"Looks like we're walking from here on then. Good thing we aren't in a hurry to get a room at a decent inn or anyhting, right? We wouldn't want to spook the locals with our man-eating summoned horse after all."

Iskah could only laugh sheepishly, sympathetic to Vanessa's magical plight but can do little to the city guards' orders. "L-Look, they said we can still cast magic. Just... not anything grand and flashy like... a lot of your spells." Well, at least the Lizardman tried her hand in consolation.

The city guards said nothing more to Vanessa's sarcastic remarks and resumed their patrol, allowing the Lizardman and the Dark Mage to enter the capital and head towards Wayland Keep.

Nothing major happened to the duo as they walked through the bustling streets of Linirea, only that the crowds became thicker and thicker as they passed through the walls. Unlike in the other Ortusian towns and villages, Iskah and Vanessa spotted monsters walking with the crowds. No one noteworthy, just monsters like Holstaurs and Kobolds. They even saw a stall selling general goods, managed by a crew of Goblins. This crew even had a couple of people browsing their wares. Perhaps because of this, Iskah seemed more relaxed here than in the previous towns.

The walk continued being quiet until the duo encountered a commotion in the streets. A small crowd had gathered and blocked the duo's way, before something darted to the air and hovered there. It was a pink, angelic figure holding an equally pink bow. Heart-shaped decorations adorned her revealing clothing. Short, pink hair, brown-skinned with a white cap, she was undoubtedly a Cupid - a servant of the goddess Eros.

"You are all in pain! The Goddess only wishes to bring levity in your trying times! Do not let your hearts be fully darkened by the war! Lest they become as dark as The Order's whom you fight!" The Cupid declared to the crowd before flying away. "I shall return..."

The city guards accosting the Cupid all shook their heads and told the crowd to disperse. Iskah could only sigh at the scene. "I think I already said this before but ever since the Chief God and The Order betrayed Ortus, divinities and their servants are no longer welcome in the capital because of their association with The Chief God. Eros' Cupids and Houris, Bacchus' Satyrs, the whole lot. The royalty thinks they could be spies for The Chief God." The Lizardman then bit her lip. "To be told that your feelings and convictions aren't real, I know all too well..."

"Anyway, we're getting close to Wayland Keep." Iskah changed the topic. "Got any plans in mind? I know we're restricted in magic, but something like invisibility is totally fine. Also, if we can nab Aun in one fell swoop, then that's worth getting thrown out."

Vanessa pouted, then puffed her cheeks. Then she gave Iskah an unamused stare after the lizardman's comment about her spells being 'flash'y. But, the grumpy dark mage nontheless followed suit and joined her compatriot as they left the rude dutiful guards behind and entered into the city proper.

It was a ... City... Yup. Sure was.

Nothing special, nothing impressive and certainly nothing noteworthy. Stone and wood, as usual, and streets full of people. The sight of monsters did bring Vanessa's mood up a little - perhaps the playboy-knight's words about the locals being overly suspiscious of monsters were exaggerated? After all, there were a lot more of them than she'd expected. ome were even peddling wares at a street-stall, and had actual customers too! Of course, this could've just been the result of morbid curiosity from the locals and nothing more.

The streets got tighter and the throng of pedestrians got thicker. An unfavorable combination. Though, as they proceeded ontowards their goal, their journey was momentarily delayed. Some kind of ruckus up ahead prevented them from advancing. And that distrubance was caused by... An angel?

No, wait... Vanessa recognized that appearance. Well, not the appearance of the individual who was causing their momentary stop, but rather the general appearance of what they were. A messenger of Eros, Goddess of Love... Huh, so they ere trying to bring their religion to a place like this? Didn't seem like the locals - or at least the local peacekeepers - were too impressed or welcoming to the idea of becoming faithful followers. Eventually, either to not cause further commotion or because of other reasons, the angelic archer left, allowing the foot-traffic to once again start moving.

As Iskah spoke up, Vanessa gave her a sidelong glance without actually turning her head.

"There's a very clear difference between not having your wants or desires acknowledged, and trying to make everyone around you conform to your views and ideals. You can, for the most part, get whatever you want in life, so long as you don't expect everyone else to be accepting or supportive of those wants." Vanessa then smiled in a strangely knowing, but also somewhat somber, fashion. 8color=lightblue]"After all, sometimes not even those we thought closest to us can accept what we want as individuals. That's when we've gotta decide just how important what we want actually is."[/color] The dark mage stated.

At Iskah's second bit of talking thoough, Vanessa let out a short, but meldoical and jovial, laugh.

"Well, last time I tried to be nice and hold back, so as not to harm your precious prince... But, he didn't seem to have any compulsions about playing rough or dirty." Vanessa turned her head to look at Iskah this time. A big smille on her face. A worryingly big smile. "So, if we're only here in town to nab him for you, I don't see any reason to hold back this time around~"

...

Apparently, her plan seemed to most likely invovle not upholding the agreement with the guards they'd met outside the city...