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[color=DEB887]"I believe it will be a good idea indeed for you to come with us, Mr. Fei."[/color] Anki nodded as she responded to Fei's hope that he will be allowed to travel with the group. [color=DEB887]"As for food... Alas, I had unfortunately brought none with me. I have no need for sustenance, and I failed to anticipate the... Hmm?"[/color] She paused, feeling the rush of wind that somehow felt unnatural. It didn't at all felt like the usual strong gust of wind that can happen while one were traveling through the mountains; this one felt like someone or something had caused it. [color=DEB887][i]Most peculiar.[/i][/color] She thought in her mind. [color=DEB887][i]It felt like that time the Lord of Zephyr demonstrated her wind magic... And if that was any indication, then that most likely means...[/i][/color]

It was then that Srikandi suddenly shouted, mentioning the need for the party to move away from where they were as she had sensed danger that was likely due to a dragon heading to where they were. Srikandi's own words would then be interrupted when her sense proved right indeed, a young yellow dragon had descended from the sky, roaring and causing a brief storm of snow to be thrown around in its wake. The creature was young and small for a dragon, yet it was still a dragon nonetheless. Anki stared at the creature while brushing off some of the snow that had been thrown towards her, analyzing the creature curiously. It was technically not the first time that she had seen such a creature, as the four Lords of Elemental were all capable of conjuring mighty creatures shaped after these beings. Her instructor, the Lord of Gaea, once constructed a massive gigantic dragon made out of stones and earth; a feat that Anki hoped to be able to perform herself one day. Regardless, the creature facing the party had intrigued her. A dragon, alive and breathing, looking just like the description Anki had heard and read about many times before.

Anki remained calm, her posture relaxed with her scepter remaining at rest on her left shoulder. She had also heard and read that dragons, while often aloof and arrogant, are typically far from barbarians. And more than anything, they were people just like humans and the other races. Thus in Anki's mind, there were logically not a reason yet to believe that this young one would suddenly attack her and her companions. Her continued observation of the creature were then paused as Srikandi whispered to her. [color=50c8ff][b]"Anki... Anki. Can you silently prepare a ward spell? Like a magical shield that can protect us? Please make it as discreet as possible. I don't want to tip the dragon on what we're preparing.[/b][/color]

Anki caught on to the need for discretion, and thus simply responded back to Srikandi with a light nod. She took her scepter, holding it vertically in her right hand with the bottom of the scepter touching the ground. Preparing a spell silently was easy enough, and defensive measures were her specialty as the Scion of Gaea. The element of earth boasted some of the most powerful defensive magic, after all. Even as the dragon combed through the dead Kobolds, Anki gathered mana into Ur Terra. When the dragon then turned its attention towards the party at last, Anki simply continued what she was doing. Even as it yapped and proved the stereotype of dragons being arrogant, Anki merely stared at it calmly. She felt no dread even facing such a powerful being that had stated itself as potentially hostile to the party. This lack of fear were not born out of overconfidence or arrogance of her own; it was simply because Anki had never faced great danger before and her lack of experience meant that she didn't possess any instincts warning her of the danger. Most of the time this would be disadvantageous, but for this encounter her lack of fear proved beneficial as it allowed her to continue constructing and preparing her spells unhindered by worry and fear.

Still, she needed more time. The dragon had stopped talking now after stating its ultimatum. In that span of time, Anki had finished preparing two layers of magical defenses. The first was a spell called the Ward of Yggdrasil, which when triggered will create a green-hued near transparent magical barrier around the party; exactly the kind of ward Srikandi had suggested for her to create. The second was a spell called the Walls of Jörð, which when triggered will conjure thick and tall walls of stones to emerge from the ground that will protect the party in case the Ward of Yggdrasil was not sufficient. The third measure, she's still in the process creating.

Fortunately, Catherine then took the initiative to act. The truth was that the alchemist's discreet smirk flew right over Anki's head as the former then took a step forward and started offering her potion to the dragon. Regardless, it brought Anki the time she needed. As Catherine cunningly laid down her own scheme against the dragon, Anki finished her preparations of the third spell, the Thorns of Aranyani. This one, when triggered, will cause numerous thorny tendrils to explode out of the ground under the dragon, clutching at it and entangling it in a sea of thorns and vines. It likely won't cause any serious damage to the dragon, but that was not the purpose of the spell. Instead, Anki's intention with the spell was to hinder the dragon's movements and actions, thus allowing her allies to make use of the opportunity.

[color=DEB887][i]Perfect. All prepared without error. How interesting that what the books mentioned about dragons and their penchant for dramatic speeches are true after all...[/i][/color] Thus Anki finished all her preparations. The three spells were ready to be cast and all she needed will be to unleash it. It took her a great amount of focus to basically reserve three spells like this, and thus she missed Catherine's nose tapping gesture as the alchemist finished her own trap. Fortunately, the potion wouldn't have affected a living construct like Anki anyway.

Anki's attention was now fully on the dragon, watching its every move. The moment it reacted with aggression, Anki will immediately trigger her spells. To silently signal to Srikandi that her spells were ready, she casually reached out with her left hand, tapping Srikandi's upper back lightly twice with her index finger.

[@Kumbaris] [@13org] [@Shirly Swad]