#tchlatga

“You're not serious,” Niles said, utterly disgusted, “After the fiasco that was the last mission?”

“It didn't go that bad, you guys mostly took care of it,” Corrin shrugged, “and we don't really have anyone to spare right now,”

“Then who heard the rumor about this supposed treasure?” Niles prompted.

“That would be me,” Nyx stepped out from behind Corrin, “Sadly I cannot accompany you either because I'm the only one in this army capable of scrying that far to keep an eye on you,”

“Could you not do it the other way around?” the archer pleaded,.

“Not a chance,” Nyx snubbed him.

“Do we even need the treasure? Don't you have the wealth of both royal families behind you?” Niles tried a different tactic.

“If only, but it seems the royal coffers were left behind,” Corrin chuckled sheepishly, “You'll do fine, you guys have all been training hard since then,”

“If you slink around like you usually do, then you should do just fine,” Nyx flipped her hair and left. Corrin followed her with a shrug and a weapons order he could fill out as he deemed fit.

“SO HOT!” Zola moaned.

“I should have left you behind,” Niles gritted his teeth.

“His lightning magic has proven useful before,” Yukimura tried, “Besides, Lord Corrin is the commander, we need to follow his orders no matter how questionable they might be,” This time the old man rode a mechanical lion loaded with extra ammunition. Niles had broken down and gone to Princess Elise to teach him how to wield a staff. He had made sure to bring a fully charged one that was currently hanging at his belt.

“I wonder what glittery bauble Nyx promised our fates crossed leader,” Izana wondered aloud.

“It better be something good, as much as I love a good, heated encounter, I would rather it in the bedroom, not in a blasted desert,” Niles stepped up on the crest of a dune and stopped.

Ahead was a ruin, or rather a scattering of runes. Nyx had assured them the treasure was found in the eastern most part, the side they would come in from. The group hoped it would be that easy, Zola doing so aloud and frequently. They approached the edge of the ruins.

“You three should stay here, keep a look out, I'll be in and out,” Niles turned quickly.

“Are you sure it is wise?” Yukimura questioned, “What if something should happen in there, how are we to know about it?”

“This is how I spent the former half of my life,” Niles snarled, “I know my way around and I assure you I'll avoid any traps or monsters better if I am alone,”

“Let him go, if he's not back in an hour we should just leave him for dead,” Zola sneered. His bravado didn't last long with an arrow pointed in his face.

“Maybe I should take you with me, you'd make a great trap hound,” Niles hissed.

“I can't sniff out traps,” Zola looked confused.

“I think he means he lets you go first so you'll find the traps by triggering them,” Izana pointed out, “I think I'd rather wait out here, I'm quite enjoying this sunshine, it's certainly been a while since I've last had a chance to sit back,”

“You won't be sitting back, you'll be keeping watch,” Niles dropped the draw of his bow and slipped the arrow back into its quiver.

He stepped away from the others when out of the corner of his eye he caught a movement. He grabbed an arrow out again, nocking it and drawing the bow.

“Show yourself,” He growled in that direction, “I only need one good eye to spot an enemy, and only one arrow to-”

The tip of his drawn arrow disappeared and a shadow took form before them.

“Tchlatga, I thought I told you to stay well hidden until I took them down,” The person in front of them grumbled to the shape that peeked out from a tilting pillar.

“Sorry Ren,” came a quiet, flat reply, the shape pulling out further, becoming another person with a cloak that looked eerily monster-like as it flapped in the wind.

“Take us out?” Niles spoke aloud, “Whatever would a lady need to do that for?”

“Says the man pointing an arrow at my chest,” the first shadow, a swordswoman had an even tone to her powerful voice.

“Fair enough,” Niles didn't let his draw down, “but you can hardly blame me when you pop out of nowhere darling,”

“You're all armed,” It was a statement, not a question.

“All I want is fifteen minutes in this ruin just here, no more,” Niles nodded towards the first entrance he could see.

“He warned me of thieves,” The woman sighed, “Tchlatga, would you raise the barrier?”

“No need for that, we'll leave!” Zola squealed, throwing himself back a few feet.

“It's what Ren wants,” the cloaked woman shrugged, a circle shining around her and then around them all, a barrier shining to life around them. Zola screamed and tried to dash out of the circle, but was met by a solid force.

“I must follow my orders,” the swordswoman lifted her sword.

“So do we, but I'd much rather deal with diplomacy than violence,” Yukimura stepped up atop his automaton.

“Your weapons betray your words,” the cloaked one seemed to raise her arms, but when they were aloft, they could see that it was merely her cloak floating over her head like claws. She began chanting in the background. The swords woman Ren came in for an attack, taking swings to disperse Niles and Yukimura. A glittering Dragon flew past, Izana twirling his dragon scroll and preparing to cast it again.

“I suppose a fight is unavoidable,” Yukimura grimaced, rearing up his automaton, “We shall not make it easy,” the statement was punctuated by a line of shuriken rapidly fired from the lion's mouth following Ren as she dashed towards them again. Niles shot a couple arrows towards Ren before changing his target and firing at Tchlatga, the quiet sorceress, still chanting her curse. The first seemed to bounce off her, the second went through, flying through her cloak, leaving a hole in the animated fabric. It didn't seem enough to distract the chant, but her words sped up a fraction.

Izana dodged a sword swipe and yelled, “Zola, the barrier isn't going to be gone, get up and help!”

“We're all going to die!” Zola blubbered, that is until Izana tackled him out of the way of Ren's sword.

“That is precisely how it will go if you don't pick up your tome,” Izana actually growled, “My funeral might be the biggest party of the century, but I highly doubt you will even get one,” his cheerful voice returned but was shot through with ice. It was enough to get Zola on his feet, his tome in his hand. As Ren continued her dance with Niles and Yukimura, Zola took it on himself to skirt around the barrier and set his sights on Tchlatga. He began his incantation, hoping hers was still yet longer so he could finish before her. Luck was not on his side for her voice dropped from her ears and suddenly he heard the cries of two of the others. He glanced over, continuing to utter the incantation, as he watched Yukimura's puppet stop in its tracks and Niles skid to a stop his bow flung away from him. Both men appeared to have their arms bound at their sides. Only the archer continued moving, running towards his lost weapon, Ren cutting him off and stalling him, landing a couple hits, wounding the archer.

Zola finished the spell and sent a bolt of lightning at both of the women. Ren grunted, but the shock of the hit paused her long enough for Niles to get past her. Tchlatga made no indication of being hit, until Izana's glittering dragon collided with her, sending her stumbling. Her spell broke along with her balance as Niles was able to grab his bow again and Yukimura's puppet sprung back to life as his arms were freed.

Spells flew alongside arrows and shuriken, while the sword flashed along to the chanting voice of its companion. Both sides had been wounded to some extent, the fatigue of the fight was settling among them.

Tchlatga began a chant, this one sounded much more rushed than the others, but despite her flat voice, her features betrayed her fury. The claws on her cloak looked sharper than before, despite the cloaks tattered appearance and her expression was one of anger, but Niles noticed a certain desperation in it.

“Target the swords woman now!” He called to his the others. Each of them turned their attacks to the swords woman. Before the sorceress had made shielding her companion her priority, but this time her angry spell didn't stop, the desperation in her features becoming more apparent. Ren tried her best to dodge the onslaught, but for every attack she managed to divert, another hit her from another angle. She took her sword and in a last ditch effort charged at Yukimura and drove her sword through him. He made a grunt thrusting his arm out in a motion that shot an arrow right into Ren's body in front of him. They both slumped to the ground together, Yukimura's automaton making a mighty clatter as it went completely limp beside its downed master.

Niles swore and dashed towards him, ordering the other two to switch targets. He pulled out the staff at his hip as he ran.

“Chaos curse,” came the chilling last words of the sorceress and suddenly Niles could not move. His eye found Zola and Izana in the same boat, stuck in mid cast. Izana looked ridiculous, caught in an elaborate dance-like twirl. Zola simply had his arm extended, but his hunched form was rather rat-like, a twisted smirk across his frozen face. Niles watched as the sorceress stumbled to her companion, a spell was uttered over her, likely something to keep her alive. Niles fought against the enchantment as hard as he could. Tchlatga fired a few of her basic curses at them, Niles feeling each one run through him with a shudder of pain. He could feel his energy failing, and after a couple more hits, he felt the paralysis lift and his body, unable to continue its trajectory, simply falling to the ground. No amount of movement could be drawn from his limbs, one last blast knocking him into blackness.

Zola saw the archer fall and instantly felt the paralysis lift and unbidden the spell he had just finished before he had been frozen in place hummed under his skin until he uttered it's name, firing it at the sorceress. His magic hadn't seemed very effective before, but weakened as she was, it didn't really matter anymore as she recoiled at the electricity hitting her. Izana stumbled out of his paralysis, then grabbed his scroll to re-start his spell.

He spun the scroll out in front of him, “And now, I rage!” throwing all of his flowery finesse out the window he thrust both hands forward sending the dragon spiraling quickly towards its target. It hit her squarely in the chest and the cloak behind her began to droop into a regular cloak.

Zola began chanting, wanting to land a final hit to knock her out for good, but before he could, Tchlatga yelled, “Return!” The two women shimmering before they vanished from sight, Zola's last effort crashing into the sand with a crack.

“What now?” Zola blinked.

“You can do whatever you want, I'm going to go make sure those two aren't dead,” Izana grumbled, clearly unsatisfied with the turn out, “All that power for nothing,” Zola caught as the diviner turned away, pulling out a staff that had been hiding within his voluminous robes, twirling it over each man. Yukimura simply groaned. Niles bolted up, warily looking around before deflating.

“Judging by the lack of bodies, I'd say they got away?” He asked Izana.

“Just barely, I put all my energy into one cast only for her to teleport out with her companion,” Izana glanced towards Yukimura, “You may want to use your staff on the old man, mine isn't strong enough for his wounds, and maybe a wave for me if you don't mind, I'm pooped,”

Niles gave him and incredulous look before simply pointing the staff his way, the glowing crystal the only indication it had done its work. Niles stepped over to Yukimura, pointing it in the same way, the crystal glowing brighter that before. Yukimura woke but didn't move.

“Save your energy old man, I'm going to go collect our prize and then we are leaving,” Niles said directly, none of the usual bite or sass in his voice. Neither Zola nor Izana stopped him as he entered the ruins, choosing instead to wait patiently in the sand with the downed mechanist. They found out quickly that Niles had not lied when he'd said to the women that he'd be in and out in fifteen minutes when he came out with a bow that sparkled brightly as it came out into the light.

“Seems this was a worthy endeavour after all,” Niles snorted, then dug something else out of his pouch, producing a knife that he tossed to Yukimura, and then a scroll and a tome to each of the casters.

“Interesting, a caltrops,” Yukimura nodded to the weapon, tucking it into his own pouch.

“A flighty bird spirit, how fitting,” Izana chuckled at his own expense.

“Moonlight?” Zola flipped the tome open, scrutinizing the book.

“Yes, now you can take care of yourself for once,” Niles snorted, “Your lucky I even bothered to pick it up for you,”

“Uh, yeah,” Zola cleared his throat at the casual display of disdain, “I suppose that's true.”

“So was the mission worth it?” a voice filled their heads, Nyx's smug tone betraying the probable smirk on her face.

“Worth getting nearly killed over?” Niles snapped, “Hardly,”

“Geez, excuse me for sending you on the easiest mission I could think of,” the roll of her eyes was clear as if she was right there.

“Again hardly,” Niles crossed his arms angerly.

“What our sharp edged companion means to say is that we were unprepared for the enemies that we found,” Yukimura spoke up, “did you not sense them?”

“Enemies, you mean the rats in that ruin, surely you don't mean the rats,” Nyx's confusion seemed genuine, “Well you guys did kind of vanish from my sight for a while,”

“Of course,” Zola groaned, “That barrier,” his insight earned a surprised look from the whole party.

“I suppose I did sense a brief spike in magical energy before you four vanished,” Nyx mused, “but then you all reappeared alive, so I figured you simply were underground getting the weapons.”

Izana spoke up, “Forgive me for saying, but the reckless impression of your scrying is rather unacceptable,”

“Then you do it, I'm sure your gods can curse you with that knowledge, or is dark magic taboo to your deities,” Nyx answered angerly before her voice was no more.

“That was informative,” Niles hummed, “You do dark magic don't you Zola?”

“I have touched it before,” Zola admitted hesitantly.

“Excellent, you can stain your soul and learn from that witch then, to make our jobs easier next time,” Niles clapped.

“Forget it, Even I won't stoop that low, at least she got to stay pretty for her trouble, I've seen sorcerers become wildly disfigured from such strong magic,” Zola waved his arms in denial, “I'm getting out of here,” Zola began walking away.

“I suppose we should leave before those two women make a reappearance,” Niles shrugged, following.