[center][h3][color=B22222]Somewhere in the Desert[/color][/h3][/center]

With Bert looking on from on high, Amaya and Fleo crashed into the ground.  The impact partially freed Fleo from the grip of her ice, but it didn't do much to improve her situation, for the second that she hit the earth was the second she, and the Ice Dragon Slayer as well, began to sank into Bert's treacherous Sand Tumult.  All because of a small misfortune in an intense moment, things suddenly seemed bleak for half of Powder Keg.

Of course, with the sand wizard's eyes on the girls below, the action ahead was lost to him.  Even if he had been fully intent on fighting Nolan, his bag of tricks would have been useless against the combo attack's rocket-powered speed.  As the Ash God Slayer picked up speed, however, so did the adrenaline rushing through Bert's system, slowing down his perception just enough to fully and coherently understand that his curtain call had been issued.  It was in this moment that Bert knew how deeply he'd screwed up, and in that bare instant, he felt a greater sorrow.  [i]Lights out, then.  It was a pretty good life.  A pity I that history will only remember me as a killer, when I was really just a killer's pawn.[/i]

Then the Rising Sabre, wreathed in searing ash and glittering ripples of violet, sheared cleanly through him.  Its infernal heat allowed it to shear through flesh and bone alike, though with enough deviation that the huge cleaver exited through his collarbone rather than the top of his head.  Without a second passing, every grain of sand in the vicinity suddenly lost all magical property, and the sand castle crumbled.  In a grand landslide the sand fell, degenerating into nothing more than a dune speckled with ice.  Lucas and Nolan fell to earth, but there was no sign of the remainder of Bert's body; buried it was in the sand he had wielded in life.

Lying on top of that sand, though, were two curious objects.  One was Bert's hat, discarded in the battle, and the other was a strange little artifact.  Though the size of a pine cone, it was teal in color, and on closer inspection turned out to be a carved fish, glowing brightly, though every second that glow faded.  When the light had died down completely, the statuette melted away into mere water—a soggy patch on the sand, soon to evaporate into the impartial sun.

In a burst of sand Fleo jumped to her feet, shaking the coarse grains from her hair and spitting them out.  [color=C2B280]“Yuck!  He got me again!?  This guy's a major douche canoe.”[/color]  After clearing her face, she looked around, still hyped up for a fight.  [color=C2B280]“Where'd he go?  I lost sight of him after he grabbed me....did we win?”[/color]  A grin appeared on her face.  Evidently she hadn't seen anything.

[center][h3][color=d8bfd8]Nero – Guild Hall[/color][/h3][/center]

Nero turned toward the source of the voice.  Penny, though easy on the eyes, gave of the impression of tenacity, and her assertiveness to judge him poorly didn't discredit the notion.  Fortunately, the genie's smile weathered opposing forces with greater fortitude than many seawalls the continent over.  [color=d8bfd8]“Hidey ho!  People are a lot like food, you know.  You can't really say something's awful until you try it.  Otherwise, nobody would eat turnips at all!  Uh, not that I'm trying to defend turnips...they are pretty awful.  Maybe not a good example, heheh.  But cursing him?  Never!  To use power without reason is to make power meaningless.  Funnily enough, a guy I knew once said that before being cursed.  Bottom line is, eventually I'll earn some money, and then I'll pay.  Not many places give you food before saying the price; I'd hate to lose access to this one.  Hell, I might get three meals a day for once!  Wouldn't that be hilarious?”[/color]

So saying, Nero eagerly removed a small vial from his pouch and poured a drop of it into his water.  He waved a hand over it, muttering, [color=d8bfd8]“I summon the power of the Law of Embodiment,”[/color] and the entire contents of the cup transformed to match the drop, becoming a dark yellow-green liquid.  Of this Nero drank deeply, and sighed in satisfaction once done.  It seemed that he fostered no commitment to further conversation with Penny.