Dallas Is About Fifty Miles That Away...[Ariella/Job]

Job Name: Shaking Off Shackles: Part IV
Job Rank: B
Job Location: Reim
Job Rewards: 200 xp, 15,000 Huang
Job Overview:
The fourth target is the Shashkire Shetters, a group of bandits that kidnap farmer's wives and children in Reim's eastern countryside. You have been provided with a map that gives the location of their camp and a rough estimate of their forces.

Spoiler:

---

The afternoon after the events of the Twisted Sisters, a courier arrived with a letter for Azix. They had arrived in the middle of a pleasant conversation with Carmen, mostly small talk, while they shared a cup of tea. He took the letter upstairs to his room before opening it up after wishing her good luck on her next mission.

X,

Please stop by at your earliest convenience.

-S

Several people knew Azix by the name of Xenos, one of them being Serene. She was a contact he had met through Garret and one he had promised to take out five rival slavers. So far he had dealt Karma to three, The Black Tower, Pigeye Pallus, and The Twisted Sisters. Compared to their depraved and cruel operations, Serene's seemed innocent, from the little he had seen of her.

Interested to see the reason for her summons, Azix changed into his usual loose black clothing, cinching a dark-brown leather belt at his waist. Loops hung off the belt which he used to secure his Staff of Refractions on his left, and the scabbard of his Deviant on his right. He threw a faded black cloak around his shoulders and fastened it to hide his weapons. He slid his eye-patch over his left eye before wrapping a cloth around his nose and mouth, tying it behind his head. He slid the letter into a pocket of his cloak before leaving the house.  

---

After arriving in Remano, Azix headed to Serene's office, where he had met her previously. A guard stood outside the front door, watching Azix closely as he approached. "I hope the day finds you well, good sir."

In a quieter tone he whispered, "The name is Xenos, I received word that I was to be seen?"

The guard looked at the man. "Yes. Your name is clear, you may enter. Let the woman at the reception desk know why you are here." The guard wouldn't stop Azix from entering the building, and simply kept an eye out for any others who would attempt to enter without permission.

Azix nodded, continuing past to enter the building. Inside he found the receptionist and explained that he had received a letter to see Serene.

The woman he spoke to had a scar upon her arm. It seemed to subconsciously bother her, as her hand brushed across it when she looked up and spoke to Azix. "She'll be available in twenty minutes. She's in the middle of a meeting."

Azix gave a slight nod as he took a seat in a chair nearby. He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes to wait patiently. He expected having to wait, last time had been the same. After a few minutes of  waiting he opened his eye a tad to watch the receptionist absently brush her arm.

The woman went back to work as Azix sat down and waited. There were other women there as well, and a few men, most of which were diligently working on various bits of paperwork. The time had passed and a guard walked down the hall and back into the reception room. Two men and a woman Azix had never seen before left the building. They seemed to have been from Heliohapt, judging by their tan.

Azix kept the curiosity off his face as he watched them pass by. Having always been a fan of the Heliohapt culture, as well as a diplomat to their country, he noticed the familiar skin tone. He turned his focus to the guard as he was motioned him to follow. The guard led Azix down the hall to Serene's office. The magician entered behind the guard and gave Serene a small bow, "Good afternoon, I trust you have been well?"

"No, not really." Serene sighed, rubbing her forehead. "But that's not important. I've been hearing that there have been recent assaults on certain slavers, and that they've been removed from the board." She spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, drumming her fingers on the table, she gauged Azix's reaction.

Azix frowned at seeing Serene troubled by something, "Oh? Does it have something to do with the three Heliohaptens that just left?"

Serene seemed upset at the mention of it. Perhaps, just a little bit, Azix had made a mistake. She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. She began to speak through gritted teeth. "I suppose you could say that... Those... BASTARDS!" She slammed her fist down on the table, punctuating her anger. "600,000! GONE! INCOMPETENT..! ARRRRGH!" As if remembering there was someone else in the room, she recovered her demeanor. Rubbing her forehead again, she sighed. "Look, I'm rinsing my hands free of the slave trade. The return was good, for a time, but the risk is too great. I'll keep my ear to the ground, though, and my contacts are of course free for your... Organization to use." Something seemed... Off. The letter had come earlier, and there was no way of her knowing the news if she had just heard it from those three. Her original reason for calling him there must have been something else.

Azix blinked at her outburst, he was torn between asking what had happened in Heliohapt, concerned about the country, and dropping the subject as it had distressed her. "I apologize for prying into a touchy subject. On the other hand, excuse my forwardness, but I feel better knowing you are ridding your hands of that profession. After what I have seen...let us just say, I am happy for you."

He paused, focusing at a distant point on the wall. He spoke in a whisper,"I still plan on removing the other....trash. Their actions disgust even me."

Serene nodded. "My people deciphered the transaction logs you brought to us. I know you've already recovered the one you were searching for. I may not have been the best owner, and may have dipped in the darker side a year or two back, but..." She shook her head, deciding to drop the subject. "I appreciate what you've done. It's as you say." She paused again. "You know, I almost forgot. I have a gift for you. Consider it my 'thank you' for doing this. Originally I intended on paying you, but the... Group from before gave me some interesting things that I think you would be able to make much better use of. I'm not interested in such trinkets, but they thought it would be enough to placate me." She pointed to a table to their left which had some sort of carpet and a box. If Azix looked, he would note the magical circles on them.

Azix approached the table with a brow raised, "Is this what I think it is?" He picked up the black carpet and unraveled it, stretching it out. It was nearly the length of him and he pondered wearing it as a cloak. The magical symbol and his experiences when he freed Garret from the prison told him it was a magical carpet. He folded it in half vertically and draped it over his shoulder.

Inside the box he found a black glove with a magical symbol stitched in white on the back. He slipped it onto his hand, it was a perfect fit. Azix wasn't sure what the glove did and planned to test it out at a later point in time.

Turning to Serene, he bowed again, "These will be of much use. I sincerely appreciate these gifts. You know how to make a magician happy~" He smiled underneath his face mask, it reached into his eye. "If anything befell anymore slavers, I hope it would make you happy as well."

Serene shook her head, as she was still trying to come to terms with all that took place. She rung a bell and a man came with a bottle of alcohol and a glass, which he set on her desk. "I'll need something much stronger than this for today. Bring a case."

The man nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

When he left she opened the bottle and began drinking straight from it. Looking back at Azix, she lifted a brow. "Did you want any?" When he declined, she shrugged and provided parting words of encouragement. "Give 'em hell."


Azix nodded, "I hope to give them much worse."

Gift:

---

Three Days Later

Azix had spent the past few days getting the hang of flying his magic carpet around the countryside at night. When he had learned to fly with his magoi, he was unable to move as fast as he could with the carpet. He devised a way to store his cloak discreetly by rolling it up and strapping it to his back vertically in an knot that he could release quickly. He rolled it loosely so that it wouldn't bulge from underneath a cloak.

He had also visited a pair of magicians in an apothecary to see what his necklace and glove could do. He had worn a disguise to hopefully throw them off his trail if they decided to follow him afterwards and steal his possessions. Thankfully, they were a friendly elderly couple who were happy to assist him, for a price of course.

Azix had learned that his God's Necklace had the power to heal even fatal wounds if imbued with magoi. His brow raised when the husband made an off-hand comment that it can bless a person with holy light. The wife informed him that his Slicing Caress could do two things when imbued with magoi; cut someone with a touch or create razor sharp strings.

Azix wasn't sure what to make of his luck in finding getting these items, but it seemed fate was preparing him for tougher times. With his new magical tools, Azix looked into the future with a more hopeful outlook.

---

Four Days Later

Azix flew fifty meters over Remano as he aimed his Magic Carpet to descend in an alley near the Grumptoes shack. He wanted to check in on the Grumptoes and give them their weekly pay. It had been a week since he had last seen them, so Azix was curious to see what Lavicus had to report.

The carpet came to a stop a foot off the ground and Azix stepped off. With a fluid motion, he grabbed the carpet and rolled it up, securing it behind his back underneath the cloak. On his right hand he wore Slicing Caress, with a matching black glove on the other. He also had God's Necklace hung over his shirt.

'I wonder what Ariella has been up to', the thought crept in to his mind as he approached the shack. He was surprised to have thought of her, it seemed she was growing on the illusionist. He wondered if it was that he felt more comfortable with her darker complexion, reminiscent of the Heliohaptan skin tone. He shook her from his mind as he gripped the handle of the door and opened it.

[190/1500 words]

Ariella laughed loudly at Lavicus, taking a sip of water before shaking her head in disbelief. She had spent a good amount of the last week getting to know all of the Grumptoes, but Lavicus had been the most welcoming by far. He and several other Grumptoes were sitting around a table with her, snacking on the cheeses and fruits she had brought by, telling stories about themselves and jobs they had done. It was turning into a regular party, but she was sure to frown at one of the kids that tried to bring out wine. They had some surveillance planned for later and she would not want to have anyone inebriated for the venture. She set down her water before standing up.

“I got one for you… I have a tail!”

She snickered at the looks of disbelief on the faces of her fellow Grumptoes and Lavicus demanded to see it or he would never believe her. She stood and turned around, lifting up the bottom of her cloak and skirt so the others could see the bottom few inches of the tail twitching about as she explained.

“My brother played a prank on me as a kid and we never managed to get rid of it!”

With her back to the door, and the hollering of the other Grumptoes, she did not hear the door open as Xenos walked in.

[233/1500]

"My, my, what a pretty tail you have~" Azix let out a laugh at being greeted by the sight of Arilella bent over, skirts raised, with a flicking tail.

Octovius howled in laughter, "She's the coolest!"

"She even brought food," Leo managed to say through a mouthful of food.

Tyrion sat with his chair balanced on two legs as he attempted to peek further up her skirt. He looked up to see Xenos give him a knowing look and sat back up straight. "H-hello, Xenos!"

Azix winked at Tyrion before looking to Lavicus who flashed a smile and nodded his approval of the dark-skinned girl. "Ariella has visited often and gotten to know the gang, she seems to fit in."

"It appears so. That is good news to say the least." Azix said as he sat down in a chair and grabbed a few pieces of cheese. "I'm glad you are all here, actually. Ariella and I have a few missions to complete. After that, we will begin training."

Jacques had been quiet since Xenos arrived, but at the mention of training his face lit up. The rest of the boys shared his enthusiasm, chattering amongst themselves. Relief passed through Lavicus, with Ariella joining and training, they could refocus their efforts.

Azix turned to Ariella, "I hate to break the party, but I have the next target. Would you care to be an arbiter of justice once more?"

[428/1500]

When Ariella hear Xenos’ voice, she stood up and dropped the end of her skirt quickly, turning around with a furious blush. She had gotten caught up in the moment of hanging with the boys and had not thought about how it might be perceived. Her cheeks stained red, she refocused on his words, trying to force the embarrassment from her face.

“I apologize for the little party, we were just relaxing before an evening of surveillance. But I am definitely ready for a job.”

At the groans of disappointment from the other Grumptoes, she laughed and shook her head.

“Don’t you boys worry your pretty little heads. I shall do surveillance another night. Time to go play Lightning Strike of Justice!”

She laughed again, snagging an apple from the table and bit into it as she walked over to Xenos. She was eager to prove herself once more as a valuable asset. Finally, it seemed she had found a place where her skills might be appreciated. She did not dare risk that, not after the note she had received. Talking around the mouthful of fruit, she looked up at Xenos, the triangle of metal around her neck glimmering slightly.

“So, another set of traders? Where we off to, boss?”


[433/1500]

Azix chuckled and gave her a teasing look, "Lightning strike?" His manner became serious and he turned to Lavicus, "I would like a full report on how you judge the strengths and weaknesses of each of your team. Also," he pulled two bulging sacks of huang and tossed them to Lavicus, "Here is this week's pay and some extra. I've come across some extra money and since you shared the wealth, I am too." He pointed to the God's Necklace that hung from around his neck. If they looked they would notice he was wearing new black gloves and his right glove had a symbol stitched into the back of it. A magician familiar with the symbol would know it was a magical tool.

Standing up he bowed to the Grumptoes, "Good night and stay safe." He motioned for Ariella to follow him as he exited the shack.

Once outside, Azix slipped the Magic Carpet out from his cloak, sending magoi into it. It floated a foot off the ground and Azix jumped onto it, holding out a hand for Ariella. "It'll just be a quick trip into the countryside."

[618/1500]

Ariella eyes the gloves on his hands, wondering at the magical symbol on them. She had seen her fair share of magic tools, between her wanderings into Magnostadt and the artifacts her parents had, so she wondered at the power this one held. It was finely crafted, and the symbol was done with the utmost care, that much she could tell, but some of the writing was not easily recognizable. She shrugged the thoughts away and chuckled as she followed him outside, eyes widening as he unrolled the magic carpet. She had seen one, once, in Magnostadt, but had never ridden on one. She was slightly nervous, but also eager as she took his hand and gingerly stepped onto the floating material. It was sturdier than it looked, which she was glad for, but did not want to press her luck on balancing.

She tucked her legs under her, the last two inches or so of her tail visible as it flicked about the edge of her skirt hem. “To the countryside, eh? This should be interesting. What are we looking at this time? Another cloud of gas? More sadistic women wanting to slaughter us? Creepy feral sub-humans?” She asked the questions almost teasingly, though her curiosity about the job was genuine. Years of aristocratic training had taught her to never be truly serious. As a woman, you could be funny or clueless, but showing true concern was not expected in general social settings. True concern was for behind closed doors in the privacy of your own family home. She let her face settle into something close to serious, with an edge of playfulness, unsure of which direction she should be going.

While her face was a perfect mask, her mind was fully focused on the possibilities of the job. The last job had been strenuous and she knew she could not afford to be careless about these matters. If she were to continue to be an asset to Xenos, she would need to show that she had value for him. Little girls playing at magician did not tend to inspire confidence in people. As she waited for him to explain the details of the job, she idly fidgeted with the end of her tail, a subconscious action she had never really broken from childhood.


[828/1500]

When Ariella sat down and got comfortable, Azix directed the carpet to move forward and upwards till they were fifty meters above the ground. After setting an easterly course he turned his head, "Not exactly. Our target is a group of bandits by the name of Shashkire Shetters. They plague small farming villages by stealing wives and children to sell as slaves. While they may not be the Twisted Sisters, they still are despicable."

He looked up at the clear sky, pleased to see the stars shimmering above him. It was a beautiful night and he hoped it was a sign that it would be an easy mission. A shooting star streaked across the sky and he pointed to it. "The hidden beauty of the world astounds me sometimes..."

He turned his body so he could look at her without straining his neck, "The boys seemed to have taken a liking to you. What is your opinion of them?"

The journey would take about an hour, during which Azix would converse with Ariella if she continued the conversation. Otherwise, he was content to enjoy the view in silence with her. When he noticed they were getting closer by the landmarks, he signaled for her to get ready. "There should be a handful of grunts and then the leader, Dallas, with his lieutenant, Dakota. Dallas is a large burly man with a giant hammer, he should be handled with caution. Dakota uses an odd fighting technique, attacking with his limbs wildly."

Seeing a campfire in the middle of a ring of trees, Azix angled the carpet into a descent towards an area a hundred meters away. They landed close to the tree line and Azix stood up first, offering his hand to Ariella. When she stood up, he rolled the carpet up and slid it back into the strap on his back. Staff in hand, Azix motioned for her to follow quietly as he crept closer to the camp.

From within the trees Azix heard shouts, they had been spotted. Azix muttered a curse and he pulled her behind him as two Volleys of arrows rained out of the treeline. Several of them bounced harmlessly off his Borg as he prepared his Vanish spell. Orange Rukh fluttered to form magoi around the two magician's bodies rendering them invisible. He had hoped to avoid using the spell, it did him no good to grow reliant on a single spell, a crutch that could become a weakness.

He whispered for her to follow and handing her a section of his cloak to hold as a guide. Azix led them between trees, pushing limbs out of the way as he tried his best to be silent against the leaf-littered ground. Scanning his surroundings he spotted two archers with their bows nocked and at the ready. Azix moved through the trees around the two until he was within range and sent five Fragments of Light hurtling towards them. The one on the left took a fragment to his neck and the other archer took two to his side. The other two fragments missed and hit trees, but the archers lost their will to fight, running off in the opposite direction of the camp.

He led them till they were a few meters from the edge of the woods, peeking through the trees at the camp. Three more archers patrolled the perimeter of the camp, searching the woods for signs of their allies or foe. Behind them, a large man with thick muscles stood by the fire with a war hammer slung over his shoulder. Across from him a thin man sat lazily in a chair carving a piece of wood, flicking the chips into the fire.

"If you make noise and lead the archers to the right, I'll hold off those two until you are finished." The mission had gotten off on the wrong foot, but now he hoped to turn it around by splitting up the forces. He trusted Ariella would have no problem dealing with them and as long as she stayed within thirty meters he would stay invisible.

[1304/1500]
[260/300 magoi]

Spoiler:

Ariella nodded as he described the details of the job, taking note of the gorgeous display of stars but not allowing herself to become too distracted by them. While it was definitely a favorite past time of hers, she did not want her mind to wander before an incoming fight. When he asked about the boys, she grinned and shrugged.

“They are young, but capable and dedicated. They adore you, see you as some sort of Savior from their less than desirable conditions. You have done good things with them, but for their own safety, they definitely need some more training. Basic combat skills, evasive techniques, how to blend a bit better. But they are all quite fun, and welcoming, too.”

They chatted quietly during the trip and she was glad to have a distraction. Though she was not scared of heights, she was not used to moving about like this, especially so far from the ground. The conversation helped to keep her calm during the trip. When they landed, she took his hand gratefully, her legs a bit wobbly from the adrenaline of riding the carpet. Once she had stabilized, she followed him, frowning at the volley of arrows. When he disappeared in front of her and handed her his cloak, she gripped it and followed, starting to get the hang of the spell he used to make them invisible. She made sure to keep her footwork light and delicate as they moved, not wanting to make noise to alert the others around the camp.

At his whispered direction she made a soft sound of agreement before dropping his cloak and using her hands to carefully direct her away from the group slightly. Once she was about ten meters to the left of Azix, she intentionally let her foot fall on a branch, snapping it and drawing the attention of the three archers guarding the perimeter. The men stayed fairly spread out, making her hope of using her Electric Field die, but they were still close enough together for her to use her Chain Lightning. She murmured to the rukh and she ran through the edge of the woods, avoiding the stray arrows being shot at her before turning and raising her wand, directing the rukh to cast Chain Lightning at the three men. The spell arced to the first man, striking him and making him fall before she directed it to arc to the next man and then the third, both of them falling as well. She knew the attacks would draw attention, but she hoped the Xenos managed to keep the two other men around the fire distracted.

[Magoi 190/200]
[1269/1500]

Ability Used:

As Ariella went to distract the archers, Azix crept out of the woods towards Dallas and Dakota. The sound of a branch snapping under foot signaled the start of Azix's plan. While the archers moved up to the treeline looking for the source of the noise, Azix quietly jogged up to the campfire. Dallas held his warhammer at the ready, one hand held beneath the hammer and the other at the base of the shaft, his eyes watching the archers. Dakota had stood up after putting the carving knife into his belt, his eyes scanning the treeline in its entirety.

Just before Dakota's eyes passed over Azix, he released the Vanish spell on himself, but continued to sustain it for Ariella. Dakota blinked in surprise before shouting, "To your right, boss!" As he shouted, Dakota ran towards Azix and leaped into the air with a Straight and Easy.

Azix had been casting Makihige in preparation for the attack, but Dakota was fast. The three-hundred and sixty degree kick met Azix's Borg with a strong impact, shattering it just as the shadow tendrils began forming in a coil around Azix. The orange magician let out a gasp, bringing up the tendrils to pierce into Dakota, one stabbing into his leg and the other near the base of the neck. Dakota crumpled to the ground from the attack and Azix let out a breath of relief.

Dakota's attack had happened so fast, Azix momentarily forgot about Dallas, the bigger threat of the two. The seven foot man had maneuvered a meter behind Azix with an angry scowl on his face. He had watched his lieutenant's attack fail and stood there a moment after Azix had taken Dakota out.

With a quick motion he threw his hand forward aiming to snatch Azix's arm to perform a quick combination of his abilities; Tear Got Too Strong, Too Fast. Dallas would grab the magician's arm and quickly throw him onto the ground at twenty meters per second, quickly following up by slamming the giant warhammer down onto his chest at twenty five meters per second, aiming to crush the heart. The combination would be deadly.

Azix was facing the other direction and didn't see the arm flashing forward...

[1500+/1500]
[215/300 magoi]

Spoiler:

Ariella wasted no time after taking down the archers, moving quickly forward at a run as she saw Xenos’ invisibility fade away. He was trying to distract the men while she took care of the archers, which she was grateful for. She gasped in concern as she saw one of the men shatter his borg but Xenos took him out within the next span of a breath. And that was when she noticed the other man, the one with the war hammer.  He was approaching Xenos from behind, the magician oblivious to the danger as he took out Dakota. She ran as fast as she could, throwing her body against Xenos to knock him to the side, without his borg he would be defenseless against an attack. She still had hers and would be able to withstand the grab the man prepared to engage in.

While she might still have had her borg, she was not prepared for the sheer strength of the man. She lost her breath as he grabbed her, flinging her up and slamming her into the ground with tremendous strength. Her borg shattered around her and she gave a grunt, not realizing that his attack was two-fold. She struggled to ask the rukh to prepare her Numbing Spheres, but before she could formulate the spell, she saw a massive war hammer coming down on her. Before she could roll away, the hammer slammed into her chest, crushing her rib cage and stealing what little breath she had remaining. Her heart could not withstand the pressure of the attack and gave out. Her eyes widened as she could feel something inside squish in an unnatural way. Her vision faded out and she wondered why she would be closing her eyes with an enemy still at large. The light dimmed from her eyes, the brilliant golden hues burnishing to a rusted brass as her chest refused to raise and take breath without her heart pumping blood to it. Her entire body went limp like a dolls and she had one last thought.

It’s too quiet~

[Magoi 190/200]
[1500+/1500]

"Umpf...," Azix was pushed forward as something hit his back. He spun around, finding his balance and looked in shock as he saw Dallas fling Ariella to the ground like a rag doll. Horror turned to rage as the brute slammed the warhammer into her heart. Dallas looked surprised that he had grabbed the female mage but it did not matter. One less was a good thing in his eyes.

Azix's voice thundered, "BASTARD!" With the use of Makihige, the darker side of him had been tickling at the back of Azix's mind. He had ignored it, but watching Ariella take a fatal blow made him lose control. Shadows filled the orange magician's mind as he sustained Makihige's tendril and sent them forward into Dallas' chest. His assault pressed on as Kage Youshiki was cast at the bandit's feet. Fifteen tendrils writhed from the shadowy seal, braiding together to form one large tendril that wrapped around the bandit's throat and began squeezing tightly.

The bandit struggled to free himself, taken off guard as he had been hit just after slamming the warhammer down and had not recovered in time. Dallas gasped for air as Azix stepped closer, stopping just in front of Ariella's corpse. He raised his eyes from her body and burned his hatred into Dallas' skull.

Azix cast Twist Reality, summoning one large illusion of a shadow creature. It had several pairs of arms and legs, writhing limbs that formed together into a point. The creature flew forward, piercing into Dallas' chest, tearing through skin and muscle to crack the bones around his heart. With a cry, Azix leaped forward, magoi poured into Slicing Caress. The glove began to shimmer as it bestowed Touch Of Blades to Azix.

Azix extended his right hand forward with a piercing motion and stabbed it into the wound caused by the illusion. His hand passed between the cracked bones to cut into Dallas' heart, with the force of Azix's weight behind it. He landed on top of the bandit with a thud as Dallas' limp body his the ground. Standing up, Azix looked at his crimson stained glove in amusement before wiping it clean on the man's shirt.

Seeing Ariella's body, the rage subsided into grief as he rushed to her. There was no life left in her eyes and he screamed in frustration. His sloppiness had gotten her killed, why did she try to save him? Frantic, Azix searched his mind for something to do as his God's Necklace slipped free of his shirt and flashed in the moonlight. Cursing himself for forgetting about it, he gripped it tight, pouring magoi into.

A bright light formed around them, blinding Azix as he raised a hand to cover his eyes. He heard Ariella gasp as the light subsided and looked down in awe to see her wounds completely healed. "Ariella? Are you alright? Don't do that again!" He reached down and hugged her to his body for a moment before he realized what he was doing. His reaction to her short death was unusual, what did this girl mean to him? How had she managed to make Azix feel so protective already?

[90/300 magoi]

Spoiler:

Ariella came around slowly, the world fuzzy for a moment. As she realized she was being hugged tightly, she was being gently put down just as quickly. It took another moment to realize her lungs need for breath and she took a huge gulp of air, the panic from moments before rushing back to her brain. Her head whirled around wildly, searching for the man with the hammer before seeing what must have been his remains, horribly mutilated, laying on the ground. It finally occurred to her to look up at who had been hugging her, realizing it was Xenos and she gave a wobbly grin. The realization of what must have transpired flooded her mind, loosely grasping that she must have died, the phantom pain of the hammer smashing into her still lingering as she rubbed her chest.

“Don’t do what again, boss? Just… Just got a little… uhh… ow… dying hurts.”

She tried to use humor to lighten the situation, not ready to deal with the whirlwind of panic swirling about. She pushed herself up and pulled down the front of her cloak, checking for any evidence of what had happened. Finding none, she would have tried to convince herself it had just been a nightmare, except for the panicked look on Xenos’ face. She tried to make her smile more stable before reaching out to pick up the wand that had fallen from her grasp.

“Don’t worry, boss… I had your back!”

Azix let out a relieved chuckle and shook his head. "That you did. I owe you one now." He slid the God's Necklace into his shirt once again before producing the Magic Carpet. He quickly looked at the bandit's bodies before stepping on the carpet with his hand outstretched for Ariella. Seeing the vibrancy of life once again in her golden eyes put a smile to his face. "How about I show you the beauty of the world? I think we've had enough...mess for tonight."

Ariella gained Azix's trust and complete respect with her actions. Putting her own life on the line for him was something he didn't understand. The past several months had been filled with people trying to kill Azix. There was only one other person he thought would stand by his side and that was Garret, it was rare for Azix to find someone like that. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he now saw her as a friend, another ally to fight back with against the world.

[exit]

Ariella grinned at the offer, settling comfortably onto the carpet, pleased to have a distraction from the overwhelming thoughts of dying. She was not sure what had driven her to try and protect him, she barely knew him, but she yearned to keep him safe. Maybe it was the acceptance he had provided or the lack of judgement on her person. Regardless of the reason, she was happy to have a friend she wanted to protect and would not have to worry about back stabbing and treachery. Upper Society was full of nothing but deceit and her whole life had been spent watching every word for fear of the repercussions. But she could finally relax, at least around one person. She grinned over at him.

"Know any good place for watching the stars in all their shining, shimmering splendor?"

[exit]