#valaviya

The ground beneath their feet rumbled softly as somewhere in the mountain range a volcano or two stirred. A few pebbles rolled down the slope and past Valaviya's boots as she struggled somewhat to continue to climb at the same speed as the cart. The cart took up most of the rough path so those who were not lucky enough to be sitting in the cart had to climb their way up the mountain on the somewhat steep slope, burdened by boulders, moss and the occasional shifting rocks. The rumbling in the ground grew and faded during the day, showing no real pattern.

The earth rumbled violently again just as Valaviya had placed her foot amongst some smaller rocks. She lost her footing and slipped forwards, landing rather ungracefully on her front, face first into a small boulder in front of her.

"UWAH!" she exclaimed as she fell, shortly followed by a muffled groan into the stone.

Emerson who was following shortly behind her grabbed her elbow and helped her get back to her feet. She held her nose which had collided with the hard stone rather roughly. She felt the sudden flow and warmth in her nose as it began to bleed. Groaning in a somewhat distorted way she reached into her pocket and pulled out her handkerchief, holding it to her nose and pinching the bridge while she waited for the flow to stop. She fell behind slightly while she struggled to handle both her gushing nose and what seemed like the ever heavier backpack on her shoulders.

"What time is it?" Emerson groaned, bored already.

"About noon" replied Lysander knowingly, looking at the sky.

"Don't worry", he said with a glance back at the struggling Valaviya, "We've reached the smoother part of the range."

'Thank the gods' Valaviya thought to herself, breaths starting to get ragged behind her somewhat blood soaked mask.

A few minutes passed in silence between the party as they continued along the stone path. As they came across the beginning of a path that bordered a cliff, a strange unnatural fog suddenly appeared and clouded the area. As the fog settled around them the dry warmth of the volcanic mountain climate disappeared and was replaced by a depressing cold. The distant rumblings of the mountain range became unheard, all sounds aside from the party's footsteps and tired breathing seemed to disappear.

"hmm", Lem hummed aloud, "This happened last night."

"huh? What do you mean?" asked Onraas

"A strange fog appeared, just like this, the cold and everything. Then soon after a black knight on a black horse rode past the camp in a rush."

"A black knight on a black horse?", Lysander questioned, his brows furrowed in thought.

"Yep." Lem answered simply.

Valaviya watched Lysander's expression as it grew from thoughtful to worried as the hairs on the back of his neck rose slightly, fear glimmering behind his eyes.

"We had best move along a little faster now." Lysander said with a worried tone in his voice. His eyes darted around the fog that surrounded them.

And so the party picked up their pace as they walked along the path, Valaviya looked down into the abyss that lay at the bottom of the cliff to her right, occasionally glancing back at Lysander's increasingly sweaty face to her left.

"Guys", Lem called in a hushed voice, "he's here."

Looking over at Lem, Valaviya followed his line of sight to the ridges that sat above them to the left side of the path. There on one of the peaks jutted out from the rough curve of the cliff was a figure hidden in black full plate armour sitting menacingly on the back of a pure black horse, watching the party as they slowly approached.

Lysander pulled the cart over to the side of the road, in the shadow that the cliff face provided.

The party stared at the knight and the knight stared back through glowing blue eyes. The horse snorted menacingly and pawed at the ground with its armoured hooves.

No words passed through the party but they all sensed the change in the air and they all moved to prepare for the inevitable battle.

Lysander and Rachana took their place under the cart, hopefully protected from the action to come. Lem ran forwards to stand some feet in front of the rest of the party. Breathing in deeply, he lowered himself into a solid protective stance, his hands clenched and at the ready. Onraas scrambled in his pockets until he found a piece of ammunition and loaded his gun. Eyes focused on his target he aimed at the knight, ready to react to his movement. Valaviya took out one of her bomb catalysts from her pocket and tried her best to stand at the ready slightly in front of Onraas, however it was hard to stop her legs from shaking as she stared at the figure on the ridge.

Everyone was so focused on the knight as the horse reered and jumped off the cliff that nobody noticed Emerson running to the front.

"Don't worry! I got this!" She yelled to the party as she took stance in front of Lem, ready to face the horse and its rider as they were now barrelling towards them at a high speed.

"EMERSON NO!" Lem yelled at her, mentally face palming at her for ruining his plans.

The horse sprinted forward, head held low mist poured out of its nostrils as it snorted heavily. The knight adjusted the lance in his hand and made a wild swing at Emerson as the horse continued on its path. She raised her daggers in an attempt to block the swing but it was futile as the force of a mounted attack was too much for her.

"AAARG!" she screamed as she tumbled to the ground, a large gash opened on her chest. As she fell the horse kicked out at her and hit her cheek with its armoured hoof.

Lem didn't have time to look at her as his focus was completely drawn by the horse who continued to barrel down on him. He deepened his stance and took a deep breath and struck out at the horse's face as it reached him. His blow connected but the horse took little notice as it used its armoured head to bash him to the side.

As the horse passed Lem a loud BANG echoed around the mountain tops as Onraas fired his gun, but the bullet just whizzed past the knight's helmet. Onraas dived behind the cart and attempted to reload.

The horse continued to gallop, curving its course slightly to charge towards the terrified Valaviya. She screamed and closed her eyes as she threw a bomb at the charging figure. The vial smashed on the horse's head and its contents burst alight and splashed over the horse and its rider.

Valaviya opened her eyes just in time to receive the blow from the unfazed knight. The knight only managed to hit her side, but used their excessive strength to bash her to the side. She hit the ground roughly and rolled a few times before she managed to stop herself. Noticing that her legs were hanging over the edge of the cliff she shrieked and pushed herself away from the edge slightly.

Stopping suddenly the horse turned and began a charge again back towards Lem who had just regained his feet. Taking a deep breath and widening his stance even wider than before, Lem prepared himself for the second charge.

Just as the head of the horse was about to connect with him he exhaled and took a small step to the side. Pulling all of his strength into his fist he punched the horse in an exposed area under its jaw, a loud noise of exertion escaped his lips as his fist connected.

The horse shrieked in surprise, its head flung upwards and its front legs shook and then collapsed beneath itself. The back end of the horse flipped over its head and the knight was thrown from the saddle, landing ungracefully a few feet ahead creating a small impact in the earth.

Lem grinned at his achievement for a half second before returning his focus to the problem at hand.

Valaviya glanced at Onraas who was franticly working with his gun. It normally didn't take him this long to reload... Something must be wrong. She thought to herself, her worry growing. She couldn't see where Emerson was, all she could do was hope that she was somehow okay. She grunted as she pushed herself up, her wounds hurt pretty badly on one side but she tried to forget it as she downed a potion and grabbed another bomb. She felt the magic flow through her, down her arm and radiate from the bomb. Pulling back her arm, her eyes focused on the knight who was almost standing she threw the bomb with all her might. But just as she was about to let it loose from her grasp her side burned with pain causing her to flinch and drop the vial at her feet. Dropping to her knees she grabbed her burning side, silently thanking the gods she decided to drink her Targeted Bomb Admixture before throwing that bomb, else it would have exploded and sent her off the cliff.

Lem stood at the ready beside the knight who was now glaring down at him, having regained his feet. Using his lance the knight pushed past him and jumped up into the saddle of his horse who too had got to its feet. The horse stomped unhappily at Lem and the knight sent a glare in the direction of Valaviya before he dug his boots into the horse's flank and it took off down the road from the direction it had come.

Valaviya breathed heavily, still clutching at her side as she watched the knight disappear down the road. Lem dusted off his clothes as he made his way to his feet and looked around at his companions. Onraas was holding his finally loaded gun and looked somewhat disappointed that he wasn't about to shoot it again. Emerson sat leaning against the cliff wall next to the front of the cart, hidden somewhat by the horse. Lysander and Rachana climbed out from under the carriage and dusted themselves off, Lysander looking quite relieved to be rid of the knight and the mist.

"Emerson? A- are you okay?" Valaviya asked as she slowly made her way over to her.

"Not really" she replied, standing up. The gash on her chest was still bleeding and she held her arm across it in an attempt to stop the flow.

"Here, just... don't be startled" Valaviya said to her as she took out another bomb catalyst, this time in a bright red colour. It glowed for a second before detonating in Valaviya's hand and splashing over Emerson and herself.

Emerson removed her arm from the gash as it closed before her eyes and the blood dried up. The bruise on her face faded slightly and the swelling lessened. Valaviya released her side as the pain faded away and she sighed happily.

"Are we all okay?" she asked, turning to Lysander and the rest of the party.

"Somehow yes" Lem replied, scratching his head.

"I wonder why he left so suddenly" Onraas thought aloud, looking just as confused as Lem.

"I don't care" Emerson stated, "But, can we have a break for a few minutes here"

"Yes I think that might be a good idea" Lysander chimed in.

"Water!" exclaimed Emerson, leaving the party in the dust as she dashed forward, discarding her clothes as she ran.

Valaviya watched her run, mouth open in shock at her lack of caring about the three men who stood behind her. She turned her gaze away as Emerson's undergarments began to fall to the ground. She glanced at each of the males around her out of the corner of her eyes. Lem wasn't paying attention to her, he was more focused on the grassy area by the lake that would make a good campsite. Onraas watched her run and jump into the clear water, eyebrows raised in surprised interest. Lastly she glanced at Lysander. A full smirk played on his lips as he watched her with a wicked gleam in his eye, amusement clear on his face.

"Humff" Valaviya sighed angrily, shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her jumpsuit.

Her gaze fell down to the dirt path and she began to pick up the trail that Emerson had left behind her, grumbling to herself on the way.

Rachana slapped Lysander as they reached the bank of the lake and scolded him about being disgusting before stomping away angrily. For once, Valaviya knew how she felt and was in agreement.

"The water's fine!" Emerson shouted back to her friends on the shore, "come on in!".

"Oh no, I'm fine right here" Lysander replied, that same smirk on his lips as he watched her splash around.

"She's SIXTEEN!" Valaviya yelled at him with emphasis.

"That's still legal honey" he returned with a wink.

"Urgh" Valaviya sighed disgustedly and stomped away, hands once again shoved deeply into her pockets.

A little further down the bank of the lake Valaviya crouched down and took out a flask. Extracting a small amount of water from the lake, she examined it. Deciding that it appeared clean she pulled down her mask and tasted a drop on the tip of her tongue for good measure.

"Come on in Valaviya!" Emerson yelled to her.

Valaviya hastened to pull her mask over her face again before emptying the flask and returning it to her pouch.

"I, er, no thanks Emerson. I'm going to help Lem with the firewood" She replied awkwardly, getting up and walking in the direction that she saw Lem walk before.

Finding him was rather easy despite him being so short, there were plenty of small twigs around the forest floor that made enough noise to locate him quickly. She began making a bundle of reasonably sized branches for the fire, calming down slightly with their silent work together.

They returned to camp just as the sun was setting and a dark shadow began to grow at the base of the mountains, over their campsite.

"Welcome back my dear" Lysander welcomed, his smirk lighting up his lips again, "Lem" he added on the end as to not leave him out.

Valaviya ignored him, dropping her gaze as to not look at him. Dropping her findings in a pile with Lem's, she left him as he began to build their campfire. Walking past Lysander, still refusing to look at him, she grabbed her tent and assembled it in the circle.

Once the fire was burning calmly everyone began to get out their ration packs and prepare dinner. Downing a quick infusion, Valaviya willed her scales to disappear and for her skin tone to lighten slightly. After feeling the magical effects set in she grabbed her rations and returned to the group who she could hear laughing and telling stories already.

'Ten minutes' Valaviya reminded herself as she sat on one of the logs around the fire.

Lysander was deep in the telling of a tale about a copper dragon, an old friend of his. Valaviya rolled her eyes at his tales and carefully pulled down her mask, she didn't notice Lysander's gaze flicker to her face as she did this before quickly flicking back to Onraas who was focused on the tale. Finishing her dinner quickly, she pulled her mask over her lower face again and opened her book, waiting for the illusion magic to wear off.

"So" began Lysander after the conversation of dragons had died down. "What do you all think of our friends the Three Suns Watch?"

Valaviya peeked over her book, alerted by the mention of the organisation. She doubted that they needed her to voice her concerns about their members and their methods having the fact that most of them had been present for Joanas' confrontation back in Goldmarsh. She glanced at Ruban sitting on Lysander's shoulder preening her feathers, she had a feeling that Lysander had been there, though not in person.

"They're assholes" Emerson voiced loudly, "they were so mean to Valaviya"

"Yes, they were weren't they" Lysander said, leaning forwards looking towards Valaviya as she hid behind her book again.

"Well they keep order" Lem offered, not wanting to fully discredit the organisation.

"But what about how they treat say, Tieflings? They can't help their heritage" Lysander returned, glancing at Valaviya again as she shrunk even lower behind her book.

"That's true! They shouldn't be treated any differently" Emerson stated her opinion loudly again.

"Humans and other races have the same chance to be bad people" Oraas added, Lem nodding along.

Valaviya sighed quietly behind her book, guilt starting to work its way in again. 'Should she say something? They seem not to mind, but... what if that's just in theory... what if things changed even if it wasn't on the surface. Would it be safe? She couldn't take it if they turned against her'  She re-read the same line several times as her mind worked overtime, fears coming forefront. Sighing quietly she closed her book and placed it on her lap.

"Well, you all seem quite muddy, besides you my dear" Lysander started with a wink in Emerson's direction, "Are the rest of you going to bathe some time tonight?"

Valaviya examined her mud soaked jumpsuit, "n.. no ill be fine."

Lysander raised an eyebrow at her. "Well I for one and going to be going skinny dipping".

"You had better not on my watch" Valaviya retorted, her anger rising again at his smug attitude.

Lysander replied with a single wink and a grin.

"Urgh, I'm going for a walk" she said as she made her way to her feet, grabbing a few things from her tent and stomping away.

Lysander smirked at her receding figure, her annoyance clear in the way she walked. He nodded to Ruban and she took flight following after Valaviya, careful to stay hidden in the dense cover ahead.

She reached a small area of the lake that jutted out from the main body, the camp was hidden in the distance by thick trees and bushes. Valaviya looked around her carefully, listening intently for any sounds in the clear night. All she could hear was Emerson's voice back at the camp and the distant howling of a wolf.

'This seems enough' she thought to herself as she took her gloves off and rested them on a nearby rock. Her mask soon followed and she breathed in the fresh night air. She unzipped her jumpsuit carefully and stepped out of it, goosebumps rose on her skin as it was opened to the light breeze. Her tail brushed the ground as she stepped out of it, flicking slightly it disturbed a few rocks and they clanked as the rolled along. 'Why oh why did she have to have a tail? It brought her nothing but more clumsiness at the very rare times she had it out'

Sighing she crouched down and washed the mud out of her clothes. After removing the rest of her clothes she stepped carefully into the water, its warmth surprised her for a second before she remembered that they were at the base of a mountain range filled with volcanoes. She lay back and sighed contently, feeling the water wash all of the grime off her skin and out of the cracks between her scales.

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"What time is Valaviya on watch?" Lysander asked Lem, peering at the list that he was holding.

"She has the last shift" Lem answered simply, rolling up the parchment.

"Well damn, that's a bit too late for me"

Valaviya returned to the campsite, her towel bundled in her arms.

"Well then I'll be back in a while" Lysander said, a grin and a wink aimed at Valaviya as he took off his jacket, leaving it on the log.

"I'm going to bed" she announced, scowling at his amused expression.

"Sweet dreams" he wished her in a jesting way, tipping his hat in her direction.

Valaviya climbed in her tent and buttoned the door closed before removing her goggles and mask. She arranged her bedroll on the floor of the tent and snuggled into it. She grit her teeth and placed her hands over hear ears, trying to ignore the splash she heard outside.

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"Valaviya", Lem whispered, softly rustling the door of her tent, "it's your watch"

Valaviya sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before grabbing her mask and goggles and arranging them over her face.

"Alright, thanks Lem" she said to him as she opened the door to face him and the cold morning air.

Walking over to the extinguished fire pit she bade a polite "Good morning" to Rachana who was still sitting on the same log as she was last night, seemingly un-moved.

"Well, I'm going back to sleep", Lem announced before diving into his bedroll.

"oh, okay, goodnight" Valaviya replied.

The silence of the morning stretched on, broken occasionally by the soft call of a bird or woodland animal waking from slumber before the sun rose. Valaviya squirmed in her seat, her mind buzzing and urging her to speak her mind to the girl who sat opposite her.

'She's been up all night again...' she noted to herself, thinking about a few other details about the girl before her that she had discovered already on their journey.

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"Here, give me your arm and I'll take a look", Valaviya said calmly to the sobbing girl.

*sniffle* "o- okay" Rachana replied as she held her arm out.

'Hmm that's interesting' Valaviya thought as she examined the wound. It had broken the skin all the way down to the bone, or what should have been the bone. Instead, in its place was a structure of metal to simulate bone structure.

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"I'm 17" Valaviya answered shyly, trying to avoid the questioning stare that was pointed in her direction.

"And im 16!", Emerson announced.

"What about you Rachana?", Lem questioned.

"I'm 3 years old" she announced proudly, a somewhat smug smile on her lips.

Valaviya glanced over her book at the dumbfounded looks on her allies' faces, all except Lysander of course.

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She broke out of her thoughts and closed her book to look over at Rachana.

"So, um, Rachana?" she began, trying to find the best way possible to ask, "y- you're a- um... you're a homunculus aren't you?"

Rachana's eyes widened in surprise and she held her hand over her mouth in a gasp, "I, uh, I... How did you know?"

"Well, a few things actually. Your claws was the first thing that had me thinking, then when I examined your arm after the spider bit it and then when you told us your age. It- well, I've read about it before" Valaviya listed out on her fingers, carefully watching Rachana's expression.

She looked concerned, her brows furrowing in a worrying way that Valaviya was very familiar with.

"D-don't worry" Valaviya assured her, "I don't think the others know. Just, well, maybe be a little more careful about the things you let slip? it's just, um, somebody like yourself is a bit... uncommon and it may seem a little, um, different to people."

"Why did you ask? Why did you want to know?" She questioned back at her, defensively.

"I, well I'm an Alchemist. I, um... I've never met one such as yourself." Valaviya spoke somewhat slowly, choosing her words carefully as to not upset her. "you are, um... very good, your master must be very skilled" she added, trying to move the conversation past the awkwardness that seemed to upset Rachana.

Her face instantly brightened at the praise of her master, "Oh yes he is! He is truly a great, great man!"

"He is so wonderful! He's smart and brave and kind, he has wonderful long brown hair, his work is always amazing..."

Valaviya exhaled gladly at the change in her mood. She tried to listen to Rachana's ramblings, but there is only so much praise for someone that you can take. Especially someone who you have never met. Rachana's praise for her master reminded Valaviya of her school back home and her teacher Dr. J. Kyd. 'What would he think of the things she has done? She's learnt a lot since she came to the island of Moskos and done lots of new things'. She sighed as she opened her book and tried to dull the continued rambling of Rachana into the background. She had no idea. Jesper was always exceedingly hard to read, on top of her struggles to read anyone really.

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A few hours later the sun began to rise and its harsh rays reflected off the smooth surface of the water. Rachana had stopped speaking only a couple of minutes ago and Valaviya had just finished preparing her infusions and bomb catalysts for the day.

"Good morning everyone" Emerson yawned as she stumbled out of her tent.

Valaviya glanced over her book and nodded politely in reply.

Lem and Onraas woke a few minutes later, followed by Lysander a few minutes after them. They all stretched and bade good mornings before starting to pack up the campsite. Onraas tended to his tent and checked his pack. Lem meditated in the morning sun and Emerson roughly packed up her belongings. Valaviya packed up her tent with practiced ease and loaded her belongings on to the cart. She surveyed the campsite, looking for anything that she might have left and watching the rest of her party as they completed their morning rituals. Down by the lake Lysander was washing his face with the cool water. Watching him she was reminded of last night and his not-so-subtle pushing of her. Steeling herself with a deep breath she walked over to him.

"Morning" she greeted, hoping to sound casual enough.

"Mo-rning" he replied, extending the o.

Valaviya sighed and struggled to find the words, "I- I, um know what you're doing... but I can't do it, I just can't".

"You listened to them last night didn't you? They are decent people." He replied looking down at her seriously. His serious gaze alone was enough to startle her. "The longer you wait the worse it will be".

Valaviya buried her face in her arms and she crouched down by the water at his words. "I know, but- I- Uh- You don't... I just can't"

"Listen to me" he said, frowning down at her, "They are your friends and your party. They are good people. Surely you know that."

"I... yes..." She admitted, glancing at her reflection in the water.

"Then there is nothing to worry about" he said happily, a grin replacing the uncharacteristic seriousness on his face as he returned to the rest of the party and climbed aboard the carriage.

"Well then, shall we be off?" He asked.

Looking around, everyone nodded and got to their feet, taking position around the cart, Valaviya taking position walking beside Lysander as he drove.

The horse began to walk and the party kept pace easily. Valaviya's shoulders slumped a little more than usual this morning, her brows furrowed in thought as she felt the guilt and regret rising in her heart again.

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Author’s notes-

Jesper’s last name is written ‘Kyd’ but is pronounced more like ‘Kyde’

Valaviya is a bit off a different character for me to play as since alchemists are pretty different from my normal feral druid type and I’ve also built her character as one that is quite different from my own so its pretty fun roleplaying a character like that :) 

For those who aren't familiar with the world of D&D here is a bit of info about Tieflings:

Simultaneously more and less than mortal, tieflings are the offspring of humans and fiends. With otherworldly blood and traits to match, tieflings are often shunned and despised out of reactionary fear. Most tieflings never know their fiendish sire, as the coupling that produced their curse occurred generations earlier. The taint is long-lasting and persistent, often manifesting at birth or sometimes later in life, as a powerful, though often unwanted, boon. Despite their fiendish appearance and netherworld origins, tieflings have a human's capacity of choosing their fate, and while many embrace their dark heritage and side with fiendish powers, others reject their darker predilections. Though the power of their blood calls nearly every tiefling to fury, destruction, and wrath, even the spawn of a succubus can become a saint and the grandchild of a pit fiend an unsuspecting hero.