Locke may have felt as if he was sidelined by a battering ram, but all Cecilia felt was a light ‘pomf’ against her knee as she rammed it into his ribs. A cushion of air protected her from the impact, and though she may be half-wizard, her other half was that of a warrior. Thus, the fairy summoner went rolling, and Cecilia kept running too, intent on just hopping over him and continuing on, when he… ...wanted her name? Wasn’t the first time a stranger’s approached her, but in this case, they were strangers on a chaotic battlefield, and they’ve literally met by crashing into each other with such violent force that this ‘Locke’ fellow flew a good ten meters back from the impact. Cecilia considered that for a moment, then grinned. [color=FFE4E1]“Cecilia Tonitrus, Fashionista Spellblade Extraordinaire.”[/color] From behind, a third well-dressed individual emerged, as if all the highborn adventurers in the Ruins had been ordained by Fate to rendezvous upon this particular alleyway. [color=FFE4E1]“Dunno ‘bout getting out alive, but I’m definitely still raring for that fallen star. Who’re you anyhow?”[/color] [b]“Hmm.”[/b] Artemisia didn’t get attacked outright on greeting, so that felt like a success. As she approached, she managed to catch the girl’s name, falling silent for a moment as she wracked her brain as to where she had heard of it before. Her face brightened into a mild expression of recognition, recalling a particular dukedom in the kingdom of Illiserev. Fashionista, though? Well, if she was so forthcoming, then she would be, too. [b]“Artemisia de Chauret. Marquise of Estiegnac, or what’s left of it, anyway.”[/b] Seeing nobody hostile, she dismounted for the moment. [b]“How do you plan to get to it? I’m as interested as you are, but I would hardly call myself suicidal.”[/b] With a great exhalation of relief, Locke was safe for the time being. It was lucky he collided with a woman that had at least half a brain. Had he collided with one of those horrid, brainless morons, he would have needed to scramble for his own safety. To Locke, Artemisia was of similar ilk. Their rationales, at least. Safety was in numbers. As much as he wanted to just leave, the storm of arrows and magic outside would have made such an early escape nigh impossible. Heading to the center would be safer. How much safer? Not much, but it was something. Collecting himself, he stood up from his grounded position. [color=EB9B40]“Going above is always an option,”[/color] Locke interjected. The woman from before who hopped the outer walls did bear a resemblance to Cecilia. [color=EB9B40]“Seeing your horse, however, I don’t quite see that as an option for you. This little runt still pulling on my hair is capable when she wants to be. A labyrinth is much easier to navigate when one can lead from above, because leading from above is [i]such[/i] a difficult task that can only be completed by such an incredible fairy.”[/color] He put a lot of emphasis on the last line. Though it was filled with disinterest and sarcasm, the fairy paid no heed to such human mannerisms. With a puff of breath, a twinkle in her eyes, and a great smile, the fairy had been goaded into flying above, looking for any path to the center. [b]“So I see,”[/b] she agreed, also glad that everybody seemed to be on the same page. [b]“I would prefer to find an option to keep it with me, yes. There’s a reason that I brought the horse into the walls, and it’s not because I’m sentimental, either.” [/b] She stopped short of saying that she had valuables in its bags, but the statement was implicit. Regardless, as long as her life wasn’t directly threatened, she would try to keep the horse. [b]“I don’t suppose we could wait out the brunt of the melee here and hold this alley if we can?”[/b] [color=FFE4E1]“Eh…[i]you[/i] certainly can,”[/color] Cecilia said, leaning back onto the heels of her feet. [color=FFE4E1]“I’m here to actually get a shot at the treasure from the heavens, y’know? Feel like once the fighting dies down, there’ll be way more people actually heading to the center rather than not, so that’s sorta like…”[/color] She motioned towards the site of the first explosion. [color=FFE4E1]“...basically going to result in another melee? I’m just going to go run towards the center while everyone else is trynna kill each other myself. If you bunch don’t, well...nice to have a chat, but this really isn’t the time to stay still.”[/color] Artemisia rubbed her chin, taking her time to answer. [b]“That’s fair. I can’t say I’m not still interested in what wonder has fallen to the center of these ruins. But if it turns out to be a ‘simple’ meteorite, which I think likely, I hardly think that would be worthy of our time.” [/b] She looked between the three of them. If it was simply a moon rock, the prize would surely be great, but to her, not worth risking their lives over. But if it wasn’t? That thought ate away at her. It certainly didn’t look like a damn rock when she saw it over the skies. She made her decision, and shot Cecilia with her best coy smile. [b]“But if you intend to clear a path to the center, I’ll surely back you up with magic.”[/b] [color=EB9B40]“And if you got whatever the treasure is, then what?”[/color] Locke had asked, the sky-haired fairy coming back to him with a look of disappointment on her face. [color=EB9B40]“Those armies aren’t going to let you go with whatever it is. Adventurers as a whole aren’t the most savoury type of people. They’d be willing to kill you and then cannibalize themselves. The armies are the same, though they’d actually work together. Speed may be a virtue, but it’s impossible to run through a legion.”[/color] The fairy nodded along to what he had to say, it being in agreement. In a display of his talents, he decided to use a touch of his magic. Nothing large or extraordinary, but something that may be relevant. [color=EB9B40]“Sek omoz.”[/color] A billowing plume of an almost impenetrable black fog rose from his right palm before he snatched what smoke was created, removing it from the world. [color=EB9B40]“Besides, I’m no longer interested in whatever wealth that treasure may bring. My own life is the only thing I wish to keep from here. We go together and it’s still all yours.”[/color] He was actually entirely honest. The wealth that such a treasure could provide wouldn’t serve him in death. Getting the force that knocked him off on his ass would be a great boon to his survival, provided she didn’t stab him in the back. The noble Artemisia was likely some form of mage. If the two of them were to work together, they would certainly lack a frontline. Helpful, but not ideal. There were some hella mixed signals she was getting out of Locke, but hey, if he wanted to go to the center but NOT get what he came here for, that was his problem, not Cecilia's. Tapping her feet against the flattened dirt, the Spellblade shrugged and declared, [color=FFE4E1]"Alright, let's do a spearhead-y sorta deal then, aight? Locke, guide from the back, Arte do your magic from the middle, and I'll just go about as fast as usual. Sound good?"[/color] Artemisia arched an eyebrow at the particularly casual rendering of her name, but shrugged again. [b]“Okay. Let’s give it a go.” [/b] [color=EB9B40]“That means she’s going ahead still.”[/color] [color=FFE4E1]“Yeah, it does.”[/color] Cecilia winked. [color=FFE4E1]“Try to keep up, eh?”[/color] And with that, she was off again, a lilac gale through the alleyways.