Esylana: And so, after the horses had had ample time to rest, they made their way back towards the city, albeit at a slower pace. The hot desert sun gave away to nights that were unnaturally cold, as if the weather of the desert couldn't make up its mind which extreme it seemed to prefer. Huddling together against the warmth seemed to help, and there was enough dry brush around to start a fire, and the next day, it was back to traveling the sands, even as the wind picked up in a vicious way. For a moment, it seemed like a sandstorm might overtake them, but then the weather cleared, and they were there, standing at the edge of the ridge overlooking the giant volcano in the distance, pouring the dark smoke and ash, and occasional fire from its ever-crumbling mouth. The sand gave way to glassy obsidian plains that would be beautiful, if it didn't look so inhospitable. The city and palace can be seen in the shade of the volcano, like a smouldering dark stain. The air has a sharp sting to it, and Esylana winces - how were they going to get inside?

CrystalOnyx: -Hildria didn't sleep well, but she tried to hide it as they moved on. The heat didn't bother her as her mind was scattered from the previous days ordeal. She hid her wings as she walked beside Esylana. She sunk into the sand as they moved, but soon they came back to the dark black rock. She could feel the vibrations in the ground as the heat radiated from the volcano. The black skies blocking out the hot sun, the monsterious rock a head as the city came into view again. How anyone could live out here was beyond Hildria's knowledge, but she didn't question it.-

Rheksas: “This place is a dump,” scoffed Rheksas, who rode up alongside them and took a good long gander at the city up ahead. “People actually live in places like this?” Whether his smiling face was one of mirth, haughtiness, or something else altogether was as of yet a mystery: they found there was no telling what this strange mercenary was feeling at any given moment, as that ever-present smirk hid each emotion as they came. There came a pause, then Rheksas bucked the reins of his lizard impatiently. “What are we waiting for? We need to go in there, don’t we?” No sooner had the words left his scar-split lips was he trotting his raptor forward, fully intending to go straight through the front.

Esylana: She was startled at his impatient move, the raptor happily taking off towards the city, while she looked over at Hildria with a nervous glance. What if the Inquisitor was still there? What if the guards recognized them? "Wait, we just...came from there, Rheksas, I think Hildria and I would be noticed if we tried to go in, now," she called, urging her horse to at least try to catch up to the lizard that could quite easily outpace it in only a few seconds.

CrystalOnyx: -The tall woman stayed silent as she followed them, nudging her horse to trot behind them. The breeze from the horse's average movement felt refreshing against her sweat covered skin. Her black hair bounced as they moved, her golden eyes glancing around them as she tried to keep up. The guards would most definiantly recognize her for her large axe as the guards had eyed her once before when they entered the first time.-

Rheksas: Rheksas pulled around to face them, his eyes sparkling with annoyance but his face giving a smug kind of smile that seemed to suggest Esylana was silly just to have brought it up. “You just came from here and yet you failed to activate the leyline?” he chuckled derisively at their ineptitude. “What, pray tell, was your plan for returning to a city where your faces were known? Is there some back entrance I’m not aware of?”

Esylana: She flushed briefly, feeling foolish indeed - but had to remember it wasn't her fault they hadn't made it inside successfully. She pulled out the spectacles from her satchel at her side, and handed them to Rheksas. "Careful with those...you can see the dried up leyline if you look through them. See? It runs into the city, through it, and then directly up to the top of the volcano...if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it's inside the volcano...and from my research, I seem to remember the former ruler of this place, or whatever, being a major arcane lore scholar. I...was hoping he had known where the source was, and would have maybe kept it accessible through some way in his palace." The more she spoke, the more she felt like she was deflating, however. Everything she'd done was guessing and conjecture based on the few lines she'd found here and there about this enigmatic "Lord Shade" fellow. She felt silly, not because she had been trying to infiltrate the place without a plan (though there was that), but silly because she was going on a series of guesses that, as she said them aloud, felt less calculated and more like blind shots in the dark.

CrystalOnyx: -Hildria rode up beside Esylana as she listened to them speak. She glanced over the spectacles and then to the city. Was there no way she could just fly them up there? She chewed on her cheek as she adjusted the strap of her axe. As she did this the blade of the axe suddenly touching the horse starled it. The horse started to fidget and bunk as it was uncomfortable. Hildria let out a sigh and dismounted before the horse freaked out further and ran off.-

Rheksas: Rheksas glanced over at the Valkyrie, briefly wondering how she planned to handle herself with that axe when the worst happened and they were forced to defend themselves. It seemed somewhat on the large side, and he secretly hoped they wouldn’t be fighting men in confined spaces. He waved away the spectacles, however. “I don’t need to see anything, unless they show me a hidden passage into the city,” he said, not even affording her time to give him an indignant look before he and his raptor sprinted off for the front entrance, where he was greeted with two guards none too eager to let him pass. Rheksas came to a stop, trying to chat them down from their weapons but was too far from the group for them to make out what was being said. He wasn’t a very animated talker, that was for sure, but something about his demeanor made the guards relax their, well, guards.

Esylana: Esylana was confused, watching as he rode down and started speaking with the guards. And they were relaxing through the conversation. They had to have seen Hildria and herself by now, too, as well? She looked over at Hildria again, then shrugged as she tucked the spectacles away safely, and then urged her horse down onto the smooth obsidian slope. She was tense, however, and that tenseness was...not helping her vague headache. Luckily, the nausea didn't seem to be an issue, for the moment at least.

CrystalOnyx: -Hildria followed them, but she pulled her horse by the reins on foot. She took her time as she hung back, trying to not attract attention to herself. What was this man doing? It seemed he was just trying to smooth things over, but what did she know. She still looked around for a different way they could get there. She soon stood beside Esylana's horse and spoke to her softly.- "I know it isn't the best idea, but I could still fly us up there."

Rheksas: It was not long before another figure came to greet the trio at the gate, a raven-haired woman in a long mahogany coat tied down in the front with leather buckles. She carried a handaxe on her right hip, tied down in a belt and denoting she was left-handed. Which honestly was her only choice because the sleeve that might have carried her right arm flapped emptily at her side. She all but commanded the guards with a stare, her ruddy complexion giving way to the crinkled mess of burnt flesh consuming the right half of her face, leaving her with one milky white orb languishing between hairless folds across from its amber partner on the other side of her nose. She peeked around Rheksas, taking careful note of the other two women, then nodded to her men at the gate. “Let them through,” she told them, just loud enough for Esylana and maybe Hildria to hear. Rheksas turned on his saddle and waved the two women over; whatever he’d said to them seemed to have worked in getting them this far into the city. Devlin was thrown open to them in a matter of moments, an impatient Rheksas looking to get this quest well underway.

Esylana: Esylana was...quite honestly taken aback. She had been about to pull Hildria aside and ask just how safely it could've been done, when the way opened itself smoothly and quickly. Who was this woman? She seemed to hold a bit of power, to say the least, over the guards. But more importantly...Rheksas had mentioned he had worked for the Empire. The way this was going, it almost felt too easy. -Far- too easy. She glanced again at Hildria, leaning in with a quick whisper, "Keep our guard up...I don't...fully trust this. It's too easy..." She then slowly dismounted, partly from nerves, but mostly because the nausea briefly threatened to rear its ugly head - she'd have to get some herbs to help keep the feelings in place before they left...or perhaps after they left would be better...-if- they left...

CrystalOnyx: -She nodded and followed behind Esylana, leaving her horse outside the gate as she stopped before the guards and the new woman. She eyed the woman's burned face and the handaxe the mortal wielded. She remained neutral as she kept her hands to her sides, remaining silent as she stayed alert for any sudden movements from any of them. Even the man that was with them now.-

Rheksas: Rheksas also dismounted his lizard, having no further use for the thing. “Take care of our rides,” he flashed the guards his winning smile, proceeding after the burnt woman who all but disappeared into the city by the time Esylana and Hildria had stepped through. Apparently, Rheksas wasn’t following her, content instead to leave her to her business of… whatever it was she did. Had she wanted to speak with Esylana and company, she’d squandered that time. Devlin was much unchanged from their last visit, and since there was no ambush waiting for them on the other side of the gates, Rheksas paid the place little mind himself. “Do you know where we’re to go?” he asked the pair as they came up from behind. “This is my first time here, so I’m afraid I’m a bit lost.” Unbeknownst to them, their exodus from the city had sparked a wave of wanted posters for the criminals seeking to interfere in imperial affairs. These posters, however, had mysterious vanished from the main thoroughfare, as if to insure safe passage to those whose faces were already known to the guard. Speaking of which, guard rotation had also changed, and drastically so. Had they spent any time learning the faces of the officers on duty, Esylana and company would find none of them from their previous visit staring them down.

Esylana: "Uh...right..." she once again took the spectacles from her satchel, almost flustered, but...eager to get this over with. She put them on, and looked. The leyline wasn't directly by them, but she could see its shimmer leading into the palace. "Hrm...I guess we...follow it until we can't any longer. And then we'll have to...figure out how to get to the source itself..." She took the spectacles off and looked at Rheksas. "Would we be allowed within the palace itself?"

Rheksas: He shrugged, assuming the palace was one of those big, impressive buildings looming off in the distance. Well, impressive for *this* dump, at least. Devlin already gave him a bad vibe for being located where it was, like trying to trek through to Talur’haman through the inhospitable Land of Thorns. But that was a different place, in a different time. “I suppose we should go ask someone? Can you the lead the way?” he answered.

Esylana: She chewed on her lower lip, and led the way. She went towards what appeared to be the main gate into the palace, or perhaps the inner city. It might not be a palace at all, but rather a fortress, and as she drew near, she realized the latter seemed to be the truth of it. There were four guards, two by the main doors, towering imposingly over the street, and two upon the large steps that led up to these doors. She paused, hesitating, but as she approached, the guards didn't seem interested in stopping her. - Entry into the palace was easy, but what was not so easy was, perhaps, navigating it. It was a winding mess of corridors and halls, though eventually they found themselves standing before a branching off set of hallways, and she briefly looked lost. But as she looked lost, and was about to despair, she suddenly heard it. The faint tinkle of a tiny bell. It came from the left. She followed it, her heart leaping to her throat. And as she walked that direction, she felt the star signs already emblazoned upon her skin flare up with a painful pinch - she was going the right way, she knew it. And for the next hour, it seemed, she would pause, listen, and whether Rheksas and Hildria heard the tiny soft bell was not an issue, for she did hear it, and she followed it, each step getting harder as the starsigns already upon her grew "hotter" and more painful. The nausea was coming in slow waves again, but she ignored it, just as she ignored the growing headache. Weaker women...a weaker woman might stop here and not continue. But she couldn't afford to be a weak woman. She willed herself to be strong. Left, right, and finally...a dead end. A long hallway that just ended in a dead end. She stared at the wall, and reached out towards it hesitantly. The heat was radiating off the wall before her, surely whatever was beyond was very close to the heart of the volcano. "I think...it's on the other side of this wall..."

CrystalOnyx: -Hildria followed them, the tiny tinkle of the a bell ringing in her ears. She had no idea what it was or what was making it, but she stayed behind Esylana. She could see the sickness taking over the woman, but she knew the mortal was stronger than most. As they came to the wall Hildria scanned over it, there didn't seem to be a lever or a button.- "Get back." -She said to them and waited for them both to step back. She pulled her axe from her back, taking a firm hold of the mahogony handle and swinging it back. With all her might she slammed into the wall with her axe, breaking the stone as it crumbled around her. She was soon in the next room with dust and stone adorned in her hair and over her tunic. Her axe wasn't hurt by this, not even a scratch on the metal.-

Rheksas: Rheksas followed them dutifully, taking in all the twists and turns of the labyrinthine passageways in the palace. Strange that they went ahead unmolested, but these sorts of things almost always ended in an ambush. Once they’d finally found the dead end with the leyline pulsing on the other side, Rheksas followed Hildria’s lead and pulled out his sword just for the hell of it. No way was he going to approach a wall and start bashing like a madman, though. Just as the wall was fully crumbling away, the group heard a voice from behind them. “You know, you don’t have to do that. I could have just opened the wall for you.” The same woman approached from before, flanked on either side by hyena-men wielding halberds. They wore little but leather strips to their furred, spotted bodies, leaving only roughshod pants and bare, clawed feet. A confusion of pipes and ducts zigzagged into the next room, festooning the ceiling with a network that could only reasonably extend into the outside world somewhere. The ground gave way to open roots and what seemed a frozen or dried-up tributary, a noxious fog emanated from the stagnation of it all. Seeing them settle in, the maimed woman introduced herself. “I know what you are here to do,” she said, not introducing herself at all. “Tell me: why should I allow this? What gives you the right to interfere in imperial policy?”

Esylana: She was not well. The headache was now a pulsing mass of pain that started to make her regret doing this, but she held on to what remained of the crumbling wall, looking at the source. There it was. It was so crowded...but there it was...she was so close, when the woman's voice cut through the air like a blade cuts through flesh. She turned and looked in her direction, swallowing heavily. The hyena furkin were a shock. They were non-humans...who -was- this woman? But she mentioned Imperial policy...she worked for the Empress, then... "I'm...here to return the magic to the world...the Land is dying...this has to happen," she tried explain, trying to gather her thoughts. Why did she have to be suffering an attack at this very moment?

CrystalOnyx: -Hildria shook off the rubble and replaced the axe on her back. She held out a hand to Esylana to help her through the wall. She soon tensed as she heard the unfimiliar voice of the woman who was at the gate. Hildria stood tall as she saw the unusual furkin next to the woman.-

Rheksas: The women stepped closer, but Rheksas went to bar her path. The hyena-men stepped in front of her, halberds pointed in his direction. “Lady, move your fur-freaks before I skin them alive and wear them like coats,” said Rheksas, taking the Sword of Grudges in both hands and pointing it forward at an angle, the tip resting in a front guard meant to mock the reach afforded by his enemies’ weapons. She graciously stepped between them, ushering them behind her. No move was made to grab at her axe. “I am Allegra Steel-Hag, of the Imperial Council. I run this hole called Devlin, and if you truly think returning magic to this land can help us, I will not stop you. However,” she sucked in her teeth, the lines on her face tightening, “you play with fire, woman. The empire wants you dead, and any treachery on your part will be answered in kind. Do as you plan to do but know that the moment you turn on us, the whole of Devlin’s might will fall on you and your friends.”

Esylana: Esylana looked at the woman, but then looked back at the fountain. It was broken, just like the others, and she found herself scanning for the missing piece. The matted mess around it made it hard, and she briefly feared it had truly been lost in a place she couldn't reach it. But now, as she had started this journey, and it was slowly turning towards its end, she found it easier to find the missing broken piece, it seemed to call to her, and it was only natural to lift it into her hands, and press it into place, completeing the broken starsign of Fire. And Fire it was. It burned her right hand, seared as it came to life. She didn't have the spectacles on, but she felt the trembles, deep and rumbling, and the heat in the room seemed to escalate quickly, even as the dark aspect of fire branded her right wrist permanently with its mark, glowing as she was filled with the source's power. She clenched her teeth as she sucked in her breath, trying very hard not to cry out, closing her eyes. There would be another series of rumbles - ominous things that might indicate...something was -very- wrong. It was almost as if the volcano were trying to erupt.

Rheksas: Rheksas stumbled but refused to fall, and the same could be said for the furrkin, who had to support Allegra from losing her balance. The mercenary couldn’t understand what was going on, having no knowledge of volcanoes and the like, but Allegra understood implicitly what those rumbles meant, and she accepted it with the kind of grim resolve that only a leader who had only ever made the hard decisions could demonstrate. “Away,” she said to one of the hyena-men. “I knew this day would come. Tell them to initiate the plan and I will meet you once I am finished here.” She turned to Esylana, staggering a bit Rheksas’ way. “I dreamed of this,” she revealed. “But I did not think my nightmare would become prophecy. Do you hate us so, Esylana, that you would see us all condemned to a fiery, burning death?” Rheksas spun on Esylana, gripping his sword tight. “What is she talking about? Fiery what now?”

Esylana: She was on her knees, holding her head. Or her stomach. No, her head. No, it all hurt. What was that throbbing, pounding...she froze, hearing the woman speak, and clarity suddenly hit her. She was nauseous alright, but it wasn't from the overloading of power that sat in her, it was the realization that something had gone -very- wrong. What had happened? The volcano was going to erupt, she saw that now, but why was the enchantment...She looked at the pedestal, realizing what must have happened. This was the leyline of dark fire. It must have never fully flowed freely. The volcano was -supposed- to be erupting. But the enchantment holding it back all those years had stifled that free flow, and then the leylines were suddenly gone, the magic of the enchantment waning with each passing year, until it was finally at a breaking point. With the leyline coming back strong and pure, it must have broken the enchantment meant to hold back the power of Dark Fire, and now...she'd doomed them all. "I'm.....I'm so sorry," she whispered, her voice breaking as she paled. Not again...not again...

CrystalOnyx: -No, this was not going to be the end. Hildria took the axe from her back, her large four black wings appearing on her back once again. The pipes bursted from the pressure, bits of metal falling from the ceiling as well as rock. The rumbling of the volcano made the rubble fall in large chunks. Hildria flew up at an angle as she swung her large axe between the broken pipes. She hit hard as even more chunks of rock and dirt fell from the ceiling. It took more than three hard swings as she put all her strength into breaking the hard stone. Dirt and rocks fell onto her as she flapped her wings, blinking profusely as dust scratched her eyes. After what seemed like forever, her axe broke way to the light of the late afternoon sun. She had made her way through, pulling down boulders and large pieces of metal until a large hole was made in the ceiling. The gas and smoke from the chamber seeped out of the hole. The rumbling never stopped as the heat of the magma began to bubble up into the chamber. Replacing her axe onto her back, Hildria flew down and called out out to them.- "Quickly! We have to get out of here!" -She held an arm out to Esylana and looked over in Rheksas' direction.-

Rheksas: Rheksas backed away from the maimed woman, sheathing his sword as he made his way to the Valkyrie. His gaze never broke from Allegra’s. What was only a few seconds seemed much longer in his mind as Rheksas turned and scooped up Esylana and carried her over to Hildria, who apparently had some sort of idea. She couldn’t possibly lift both of them into the sky… could she? “Come now, Esylana,” he greeted with at thin smile, beginning to realize the danger they were putting themselves in. “Bird lady has a plan” Even as they gathered themselves up, Allegra Steel-Hag retreated from the room with the lone hyena-man, having every intention of rounding up who she could and evacuating. There was no way to save everyone, but enough people would be good for her. The end of days was coming, and the gods, she believed, would soon take their rightful place in the pantheon of Rembrant once more. This re-awakening of magic was the first step towards that, she fervently believed.

Esylana: Esylana was broken inside as she realized she had likely just killed an entire city, or even nation's worth of people. Rheksas' scooping her up didn't even seem to register to her, as she leaned in, unable to really do much than hold on. The runes on her body pinched and burned, and she fought nausea and headaches - but what she knew she'd eventually succumb to was her breaking heart. "I'm sorry," was all she could whisper again, tears now streaming down her face as another threatening rumble bucked the room violently - it was time to leave.

Rheksas: “The fuck!?” Rheksas squirmed as she airlifted them back to their rides. He stumbled over to his lizard, leaning on its side. “Do either of you know what’s happening? What’s all this rumbling about? What was this Allegra-bitch talking about? What did I get myself into with you lot?” For the first time in a long time, Rheksas seemed at a loss, his customary smirk disappearing. There was a desperate confusion to his face now, as natural disasters were not something he was so keen on being close to.

Esylana: It was chaos...there was rumbling, there was panic in the air, and people were screaming, mothers grabbing their children, guards attempting an orderly evacuation by foot out of the city, but it was a nightmare, a living nightmare. Esylana seemed shell-shocked, as he set her down, and she went over to her horse. They would need to also make a hasty retreat, and she at least had the presence of mind to climb on her horse. She knew neither of them understood, so she explained, trying not to crack to her own emotions. "The volcano...is erupting...the liquid fire in its hard will rise to the surface and slowly crawl across the land, consuming everything in its path...there might be more tremors, earthquakes...ash and fire falling from the sky...and a lot of death, before it stops." She started to ride, her eyes staring ahead as she held on. She was tired, sore, sick, and guilty. There was not going to be any celebrations of finding and fixing another leyline.

CrystalOnyx: -Hildria stood slowly as she wiped her face with her hand. She listened to Esylana's words as she shook her head lightly. Her eyes a bit red from the dirt in her eyes as she climbed onto her horse and began after Esylana. She clung to the horse as her wings slowly disappeared. She was exhausted, but she looked back at the city as it seemed to shake violently from the volcano.-

Rheksas: He took those words in stride as he climbed atop his raptor and rode alongside them, trying not to pass them up as he stole glances between the ladies. What were they supposed to do now? How were they meant to keep a low profile when… this was happening? He still didn’t understand the full breadth of destruction a volcano could reap, but even so, Rheksas knew they were in trouble from here on out. Could this world be saved? Did it deserve to be? “What… what do we do now?” he asked once they’d slowed to a brisk trot. He couldn’t bring himself to worry over a bunch of strangers, but something about what they’d done was nagging at him.

Esylana: "..." She was silent as she rode, the turmoil inside her was violent. They could continue on, but...what if more natural disasters were caused because of it? She couldn't take the idea of more people dying because of herself. And there it was. In that second, in that brief split second, she felt something she had not felt in a very long time. The urge to run. And so, she ran. She knew they'd follow, but for now. She just wanted to get away and feel the wind on her face, and feel...free. She urged the horse into a gallop, which wasn't hard, leading the way across the desert sands to the east, even as the magma brimmed over the top of the volcano, finally, and poured devestation down its sides, the screams of those who hadn't evacuated quickly enough starting to rise on the late afternoon air.

CrystalOnyx: -Hildria kept her speed with them as she shook her head.- "We need to find a place to rest, Esylana needs. . Time to think things over. ." -She had no idea what the woman was thinking at this point. They had just made a mountain of rock explode and it would devour the city below with multon rock. Lives would lost and Esylana was the one who had done it. She didn't blame her, she only worried for the woman's health.-

Rheksas: Rheksas looked over his shoulder, giving Devlin one last fleeting glance before putting it all behind him. “If that’s what you’re capable of, I think we need to take a good hard look at ourselves and see what truly separates us from this Empress. Rest if you must, Esylana – I’m not going anywhere just yet. But if word spreads that this was your doing, it’s going to hurt more than help.”