Akerfield was never the most important town in Theia, really. Nestled somewhere vaguely in the middle of the great kingdom of Asteri, it was little more than a small farming village that had for some reason grown beyond its bounds and ended up being three times the size it really needed to be. Still, it was a decent enough pitstop on the way to Bel-Ensia, where any adventurer worth their salt ended up in search of, well, adventure... And thus, a young Masalan swordswoman had found herself in a tavern called The Black Unicorn, and was currently faced with one of the most difficult decisions of her life.

"Aaaah... The kittycattle ribeye... Or the house special hotpot?" To be perfectly honest, as a Masalan Jolokia could probably have eaten both and had plenty of room to spare. But unfortunately for her, the coinpurse her swordmaster had given her as part of her graduation present had grown rather light lately, and she only had enough money for one. "I wanna try both though..."

Her grumbling echoed throughout the tavern, which seemed strangely empty. Usually, such a place was a hotbed of activity, as adventurers knew that the best place to find quest leads and travelling companions were taverns. It was why so many famous adventuring parties first met up in a tavern, really. And yet today there was barely anyone here, with only a few other travellers keeping to themselves in the corners of the room, few of them looking suited for the adventuring life. Actually, the entire town had been oddly quiet when Jolokia arrived, but the Masalan hadn't really given it much thought. She wasn't really much for thinking, after all.

"I wish I had more Suns... My tummy really wants both of them..." The Gold Sun was the standard coin used in Asteri, with the smaller Silver Crowns being used whenever change was concerned. And unfortunately for Jolokia, she only had six suns left, enough to buy one of her chosen dishes but not both.

It was during her lament that an old man, his beard trailing out from the hood that covered his face, burst his way into The Black Unicorn, his breath short as he buckled over in exhaustion. It was as though he'd ran all the way across town to get here, really.

"ADVENTURERS!" he yelled as soon as he got his breath back, his hands raised to the air in desperation. "Great Aster, Lord of the Sun and bringer of light, I implore you! Please, please let there be adventurers here this morn! I'm willing to pay any price they ask if only they'd help me!"

Jolokia spun around in her seat so fast that you'd be forgiven for expecting to hear a sonic boom, her eyes wide and almost sparkling. Anything? Maybe, just maybe, she'd found her (quite literal) meal ticket!

In one corner of the inn, a figure even smaller then the recently-arrived Masalan sat, arms folded as she leaned back in her seat. She was short, incredibly so, and she wore a black hood. Her pale features were soft, and she had red eyes and deep black hair. Her body was clad in a jacket, and on her hip a shortsword(or rather, for her size, a longsword for someone of her size) hung. On her back was a finely crafted bow of black wood, and a quiver of equally dark arrows. Her crimson eyes were fixed across the room, glaring daggers at a rather large man. he'd said she didn't belong here. That she was far too young to be in a bar. What, did the idiot not know what a Nem was?!

... To be fair it wasn't likely he'd met one before, but... really?! She was armed and everything! Arufi Cannehn sighed deeply. To think, she'd come here for a pleasant meal and some work, and some idiot had gone assuming she was a little kid... some of the big folk were really stupid! And on top of that, there wasn't anyone who needed her services around here. Not a single person. No-one needed an archer? No-one needed someone versed in the sword and the bow? Really? Arufi grumbled to herself in her native tongue for a few moments.

It was at that very moment that an elderly man burst in the front door and bellowed his need for adventurers.

Well then. Illa-Nem was looking out for her after all.

Arufi hopped to her feet and immediately approached. Naturally, she wanted to see what sort of job he had in mind.

The old man beamed in joy as both Jolokia and Arufi approached him. He hadn't even expected there to be one adventurer in town, so to find two was a godsend. Making a note to give an extra large offering to the Church of Aster later, he held out his arms as his voice boomed out unnecessarily loud throughout the tavern.

"You must help us, brave travellers! Though you have clearly come from far," he intoned, as he noted their unusual appearances, "We, the humble people of Akerfield, implore your aid! For you see-"

"So you'll give us anything if we help you?" Jolokia cut him off, her crimson eyes practically the size of saucers as she leaned eagerly towards the old man, her long green ponytail bobbing frantically back and forth. "Like... Like you'll buy me the ribeye and the hotpot?"

The old man... Was not sure how to respond to this. The girl was clearly a Masalan, there was no mistaking it. The red eyes, those pointed ears, the ever-so-slightly noticable fangs... It had been a long time since he'd met one, of course, but he'd always remembered them as being rather wise and contemplative, albeit a bit too overeager once they got going with anything. And, well... Whilst he remembered their vast appetites, he was sure that food wasn't the only thing they thought of. Maybe she was just delirious from hunger. Yes, that had to be it.

Still, he felt it was wiser to speak to the Nem first. Whilst many in these parts would mistake such a small girl for a child, someone as learned and well-travelled as himself could immediately recognize a Nem when he saw one.

"It is... Rather unusual to see one of your kind, Netuyem." He couldn't help but use the full name of the Nem race, even if it made him seem somewhat pretentious. After all, a venerable soul such as himself had to keep up appearances. "We are desperately in need! Night after night, our fair town of Akerfield is placed under seige by... By unnatural forces! They... They keep taking away our children to the mountains! My... My dear, sweet daughter disappeared last night, and... And I must beg of you, in the name of Aster, and of your Ila-Nem and..." He took a moment to turn his attention back to Jolokia, who was still staring expectantly at him, her eyes wide and her smile gormless. "And your Tamarind, I beg of you... Please, help us!"

The Masalan wanted to be paid in food? Wouldn't money make more sense? Inwardly, Arufi sighed. Was she going to be stuck with this idiot? Well, hopefully she was smarter then she looked... so far, at least. Her attention swiftly turned to the old man, and his explanation of just why he needed some adventurers. The Nem allowed herself a smug smile. Here, here was someone who knew what she was! Not like that stupid drunkard... Even if he was using the full name of their race for a reason the tiny girl couldn't begin to understand. Of course, moments later, her smile faded swiftly. Something was stealing children?

"... This time, it's on me," she said, simply, "There's no way something like that's getting away with it. I'll get the kids back, don't worry."

She paused for a moment, and turned to look at the Masalan. Her expression could best be described as 'empty-headed'. Was she really an adventurer, or had she just picked up a sword thinking it was something to eat? Judging by how she wanted to be paid...

"... You can come along too," Arufi said, simply, "But don't do anything stupid or I'm leaving you behind. We can't risk those kids' lives."

"You... You seriously wish to do this without any reward?" The old man grasped Arufi's hands, shaking them rather vigourously. "May the blessings of all the gods be upon you! And... And I assure you, gallant young Masalan," He repeated the gesture to Jolokia, who gleefully shook back, "I assure you that I shall buy you any meal you wish if you bring back my daughter!"

"Any... Meal...?" Jolokia didn't need to be told twice, although she had to stop for a moment to wipe the drool off her chin. Any meal! That means she could have not only both the ribeye and the hotpot, but... But dessert too! There was no way she was going to turn down this quest! "Alright! Let's go, tiny Nem person!"

---

The eastern borders of Akerfield somehow seemed even more deserted than the rest of town, as though people were actively avoiding being in the shadow of Crystal Mountain. Despite the name, it seemed to be made of the same kind of rock as most mountains, although apparently the name was a loose translation of the old elvish name for it. Supposedly, the ancient empire of the High Elves used to have a settlement here, which was another reason why the townsfolk tended to avoid getting too close to it. But as Jolokia and Arufi approached the base of the mountain, it became apparent that there was even more reason to avoid it now, as standing sentry on the only passageway up were some rather pale, skinny looking soldiers. Incredibly skinny, really, so skinny that their bones seemed to be in plain view. So skinny, in fact, that they lacked any kind of flesh at all. Their eyes were little more than glowing pools of sickly green, and their armour and weapons were caked with rust. Thankfully, the bony sentries didn't seem to be paying much attention to the oncoming adventurers, doing little more than standing silently.

Still, Jolokia had already drawn her sword. The surface of the blade gleamed as though it was brand new, almost blindingly so as the sunlight reflected off it.

"Aw, just look at their swords!" she sighed, giving the sentries a critical glance. "They're all... Beat up and rusty! It's so sad that someone would treat their swords like that..."

Arufi looked away as the old human shook her hands.

"H... hey, it's only because they're kids," she protested, very careful not to look directly at him. Jeez, this was kind of embarrassing. "A-and it's a one time offer!"

With that, the Masalan had already headed off. And so Arufi was quick to follow her, hoping, silently, that the other girl was less of an idiot then she looked.

---

Arufi couldn't exactly deny that her knowledge of these parts where... flimsy. She was more used to the further south regions, though she had spent little time in the desert homes of her people. As a result, her knowledge of Crystal Mountain extended to 'elves were here once' and that was about it. Her knowledge of skeletons, however, was rather more robust. At least in terms of what would actually be effective against them. Her bow was not counting among these things, unless she could hit places that would knock them apart. Which, frankly, was unlikely even with Arufi's faith in her archery skills.

"I'm more concerned about how they're on their feet and walking," the nem commented with a sigh. Really? The Masalan was more worried about the state of their weaponry? "Unfortunately a bow's not much use against a skeleton, so we'll have to take them out up close. This means we're probably up against a necromancer, so I'm sure it's going to smell just lovely in there."

Jeez, that sword was bright... Arufi placed her hand on the hilt of her own blade and swiftly unsheathed it. It was a rare example of Nem metalworking, something they were not frequently known for doing. Arufi wasn't certain of the specifics, but she guessed much of the work was still done elsewhere and it was only brought to completion by her kind. As proud as she was of other aspects of her race, metalworking wasn't their strongsuit. She couldn't deny that. What was notable was the gentle curves and dots of Nem script on the flat of the blade, running up the side.

"We'll take them out nice and quickly. Their armor looks frail," she added.

"That's silly, tiny Nem person! Skeletons don't get up and walk like that!" Jolokia crossed her arms and nodded sagely. "Technically they're Skellingtons. Otherwise they wouldn't be walking."

The Masalan knew she wasn't exactly the sharpest sword in the armoury, but her swordmaster had made sure to try and teach her at least something other than how to hit things with a sharp chunk of metal. One of the few things that had actually stuck was proper terminology, and thus she was reasonably sure that skeletons were just piles of dead bones, whilst the undead monster form of them were specifically called Skellingtons. Then again, her swordmaster also claimed that she'd met the founder of Asteri, fought an epic duel against the Dreadmaster herself, and that goblins kept sabotaging her cooking, so anything she said should probably have been taken with a pinch of salt.

Unfortunately, Jolokia was too naive and, well, stupid to do so.

"But anyways, um... Quick is my middle name! Well, not really, I don't really have a middle name but um... Um..." It took a moment for her brain to get back into gear. "...Charge! Raaaaah!"

And with that, a green blur sped past Arufi, and in what seemed like the time it took for the Nem to blink five of the Skellingtons had already been reduced to a pile of lifeless bones on the ground. It didn't take long for the others to start moving, and as one raised its sword to strike Jolokia a flash of gleaming steel cleaved its way straight through the rusty weapon... And the Skellington's ribcage, causing it too to crumble, the undead creature now simply being dead-dead. But now, several more of the undead began surrounding Jolokia, seven in total, their corroded weaponry raised with malicious intent...

Arufi stared blankly at Jolokia for a few moments, and then, quietly, brought her palm to her face. Skellingtons? What? Was this some kind of children's story? Frankly, the Nem couldn't tell if she wasn't taking this seriously or if she was just that big of a goofball. Increasingly, she was leaning towards the later. Moments later, however, the Masalan girl had charged... and quite frankly made an impressive show of it. Maybe all the deficiency in her brains was because it had all gone towards fighting with a sword. Those skeletons had never stood a chance, their swords and armor falling apart under the blows of the glittering sword, their bones sliced through like they were nothing. Unfortunately, this left her surrounded.

It was time for the Nem to make her move.

Breaking into a sprint, Arufi dove from her hiding place. Her sword flashed, cutting through one skeleton's spinal column and causing it to collapse in a useless heap on the ground. The others turned swiftly towards her, the nearest one raising a rusted shield up as well as a crumbling axe. Arufi grinned.

"As if that trash-"

With a single blow, she shattered the shield into rusted fragments.

"-Means anything!"

The skeleton's attempted counterattack ended with the Nem girl slicing apart its back, as well, the bones clattering to the ground in a heap. Another stepped up behind her, and the small adventurer ducked as a sword swung over her head. Pushing off the ground, she drove one boot into its ribcage and took its skull with a flash of her blade. Twisting in mid-air, she cut downwards, right through the chest of another advancing skeleton. Both fell uselessly to the ground.

She moved far faster then the remaining two did. One had its legs sliced off at the knees, the other lost its hands, then its entire upper body.

Dust fell off of Arufi's gleaming blade as she flicked it to the side.

"You're not the only one who gets to show off," she said, with a rather smug smile, glancing up at Jolokia.

As Jolokia's sword swung through the air, it made a quiet whistling sound, a sound that came to an abrupt halt with the THUNK of the blade impacting with the skull of the last Skellington. With one smooth movement, she pulled the sword out and smoothly slid it back inside its scabbard as the undead foe crumbled to the floor.

"Hah! You were really cool, tiny Nem person!" she chirped ecstatically as she bounced from one foot to the other. She just couldn't seem to keep still anymore. "And... And your sword looks awesome! Lemme see, lemme see!"

Unfortunately for her, however, her jubilations were interrupted as a loud voice echoed throughout the mountainside.

"MOST IMPRESSIVE, YOUNG WARRIORS! YOU HAVE GAINED MY INTEREST!" Crystal Mountain itself seemed to tremble as the voice spoke... And as it trembled, a hidden entrance opened up further along the passageway, right in the side of the mountain. "DARE YOU ENTER MY MAGICAL REALM!? I, THE GREAT MELKHIOR PYRITE, WARLOCK OF CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN, AWAIT YOUR ARRIVAL!"

"... Hm, well, I guess you can take a look," Arufi said, shrugging lightly, her ego swelling rather rapidly at the praise to her abilities and her weapon. She raised the glittering blade, the Nem script on the side almost seeming to emit its own light for a few moments. "Iaesh is my family's-"

Aaaand then the voice of some blowhard nearly blew her eardrums out. Why was he so loud?! What did he get from being so loud?! Aaah, kidnapping children was bad enough, but now it sounded like he had a ego the size of the entire planet and all of its moons simultaneously. Waving her hand at Jolokia, she began to advance into the darkness of the mountain. Well, apparent darkness. To a Nem, this was fairly effortless to see through. Arufi recalled having to adjust her schedule to comply with others and be more active during the day to get more work. It had, really, sucked terribly for a long time.

"Come on, Jolokia, let's shut this blowhard up," Arufi said, simply.

Distraught at having lost the chance to get a better look at Arufi's sword, Jolokia felt that she needed to give this warlock a piece of her mind, and so she followed the Nem inside the mountain.

For a while, it really was dark. But after a few minutes walk that all changed, as the cavern suddenly burst into light. The mountain had been hollow, and the roof was like a ribcage, sunlight creeping through the cracks to illuminate the inside. But even simple sunlight wouldn't have led to something as wondrous as the sight that Jolokia and Arufi were met with, as they quickly found out just why it was named "Crystal Mountain". Indeed, the inside walls of the mountain were studded with crystals, the entire cavern a veritable treasure trove of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, amethysts... Gemstones of all the colours of the rainbow as far as the eye could see, the sunlight making them glisten and sparkle radiantly. Rising from the ground stood great gleaming spires, and the light reflecting from them made it seem as though the cavern was glowing gently and peacefully... And right in the middle, across a narrow, natural bridge across a gaping pit, stood a mighty elven citadel.

It was unlike something either of them would have seen before, for unlike the architecture of humans, Masalans or Nem it looked less like it was constructed and more like it had been grown from the crystals themselves, with almost organic looking spires towering up like slender fingers reaching for the sky. It had been well documented how the High Elves appreciated natural beauty above all other things, and few things could make this more apparent than the glistening interior of Crystal Mountain and the eerily beautiful towers that stood at the center.

"Oh wow..." Even Jolokia was left almost speechless, unable to do anything more than gaze in awe for quite some time. "It's just so... So pretty..."

"... Well, that's a sight I've never seen before."

It was hard to explain in more depth then that. Shimmering crystal, seeming to have grown into architecture, filled the cavern. It was a scene that the Nem girl had never been able to even conceive before. It was nothing like the white domes of Nem architecture, or the varying styles she had seen before in her adventuring. No, the crystal citadel was unlike anything Arufi had seen before, and she felt breathless at the glittering sight.

However, now wasn't the time to be taken in by the scenery. Shaking her head, the dark-haired girl swiftly turned to face Jolokia with a firm nod to herself.

They had a job to do, after all.

"We can't let ourselves get distracted," she said, "Ila-Nem knows what that warlock has waiting for us, after all. We need to keep moving and keep our eyes out for anything that looks suspicious."

With that, she began to head further inward. As pretty as their scenery was, there was no time to waste. They had to save those kids.

"Oh, um..." It took a moment for Jolokia to snap back to attention. It was just... So pretty... She could hardly tear her eyes from the glittering crystals. "Um, right! Gotta save those kids and get back before the lunch rush!"

The gormless smile return to her face as she made her way across the bridge, although she had to stop every so often to let Arufi catch up. Not only was the Nem being far more cautious than her, but even Jolokia, standing at a grand height of five foot two, had much longer legs than the childlike Nem. Eventually, they reached the entrance to the elven citadel, their trek strangely unchallenged even as Jolokia blithely step inside.

"Huh, I guess the elves were really going for a theme here!" she chirped out, whistling in admiration of the interior decorating. The walls of the cavernous entrance hall seemed to be covered in bubble-like crystals, each glowing ever so slightly in its own unique hue whilst... Something shadowy moved inside them, although at this distance it was hard to make out just what it was. The ground was, naturally, made of immaculately polished stone, and at the center of the enormous room stood a gigantic staircase, wide enough for three kittycattle bulls to comfortably walk side by side with room to spare.

What was most strange about it, though, was that for the lair of a supposed necromancer it was so... Clean. There was no sign of any decay, and not a speck of dust marred the flawless crystal construction. And the smell... Rather than the scent of stale blood and rotting flesh, it smelled... Almost pleasant. A little like lavender, even.

Watching Jolokia stop so often was a little bothersome. Arufi could move plenty fast! Only, well... it was stupid to just mindlessly charge ahead right now, wasn't it?! She had to be cautious!... Including about those bubbly crystals. They were pretty, but... it almost looked like something was moving inside of them. Even so, the view of the citadel's interior managed to be breathtaking regardless. That staircase was even larger to the Nem then it was to Jolokia, given their perspectives.

Her eyes traveled up it for a few moments in silence. In spite of their scenery, the archer didn't like this one bit. Why was their advance so unchallenged, exactly? What was going on here? She felt like there was some kind of trap just waiting for them. Arufi was careful to look their surroundings over, every inch, before finally speaking her mind.

"I don't like this. Something's strange here," she commented. The smell, too, was odd. It didn't smell anything like what one would expect of a Necromancer's lair.

Aside from the stairs and the bubble-crystals, the room seemed... Safe, or as safe as it could possibly be giving the situation. Even the bubble-crystals didn't seem to be much threat, aside from how off-putting those small, Nem-sized shadows were; the shadows seemed to huddle up as Arufi approached them. It was as though they were frightened of something.

"Guess the only way to go is up, huh?" suggested Jolokia, as she awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. She'd been eyeing the stairs the entire time, and were she someone less dense you'd be forgiven for thinking she was intentionally trying to avoid looking at the crystals. "Bosses are always at the top of the tower! Or at the bottom of the dungeon I guess... Um, you get what I mean, right?"

"... Yeah, there's no-where else that I can see," Arufi said. Her eyes had come to rest on the bubble-crystals. Just what was inside of them? Every time they came near, it huddled up, as if it was frightened... there was something disconcerting about it, but it was hard to say what. After a few moments, the Nem girl made up her mind.

"Before we go up, there's something I want to check on," she said, simply, before walking over to one of the crystals. Leaning closer to it, she peered at the surface, watching the movement inside. So just what was in there? She hoped to find out by doing this. Disconcerting or not, investigating anything that looked strange around here was something she felt was absolutely necessary. What if it turned out to be some kind of clue to where the kids were?