Location-the Valdt

Hadrix climbed into a large tree, hoping that it would hold his weight. He knew he should be guarding the palace from any intruders, but what better way than to ambush them. Besides, he could easily prank the others from up there. He twitched his maroon colored tail in anticipation and flashed his brilliant copper wings. He wasn't an overly large dragon, but he was a bit larger for a dragon of his kind, especially in weight due to his large quantity of muscle mass. For a dragon he was fit and lithe like a large scaly cat, but the tree was having difficulty holding his weight. His hazel eyes scanned the horizon, and he saw Ravenna approaching. He grinned and licked his chops, and then he pounced on the paraglisp with overzealous glee. She screamed in surprise and terror, yelping, "Please don't eat me!" She then saw his scales and said, "Oh, it's only you, Hadrix! Sheesh, what is your problem? You scared me half to death!"

"Thank you! I try very hard!" Hadrix replied, letting her go.

"Very funny! Now please go away. I have to grab something I forgot in the palace." Ravenna said, somewhat downtrodden.

Hadrix stepped in front of her and said, "You seem sad."

"It's none of your business! Just stop it, okay?" Ravenna replied angrily.

Hadrix rolled his eyes and climbed back into the tree and said, "Okay, but you're missing out on a really good prank!"

"Like what?" Ravenna said, instantly curious.

"I dunno. Hey, how about you find me some nice mud and an old pillow, and then meet me here. Then you will see!" Hadrix replied slyly.

"Um...okay. I will I guess. It's not like I have anything else to do." Ravenna said skeptically, secretly hoping his prank would help her give Xolt a little payback.

Later, Ravenna was back at the tree with the mud and the pillow. She said, "Hadrix, I'm here!"

"Good! Now for the prank, you need to dump the mud all over yourself." Hadrix replied with a little snicker.

"But I just got all cleaned up after pulling Thorryn out of another mud hole! Do I have to?" Ravenna said.

"Do you want to go through with the prank or not?" Hadrix said back.

"Fine! But this better be a really good one, or you'll be sorry." Ravenna replied, following his directions.

"It is a good one." Hadrix said, barely containing his laughter before saying, "Now, open the pillow with that pointy tail of yours and throw it up in the air."

Ravenna begrudgingly followed his instructions, sending a cascade of feathers into the air that stuck onto the mud. She then said, "Now...how is this a great prank?"

Hadrix burst out laughing, toppled out of the tree, and laughed some more. "Just look at yourself!" he chuckled, a diamond tear sliding out of his eye.

"So where is the prank in all this...oh..." Ravenna said, looking down at herself.

Hadrix kept laughing and stopped for a breath before saying, "Oh, by the way, your tail is untied!"

"I don't tie my tail...hey! Hadrix!" Ravenna said, when he laughed out, "Made you look! Oh, and by the way, there it a spider crawling on your back with a weird pattern on it. It looks like it says..."

Ravenna screamed and said, "Aaaaugh! Get it off! Get it off! Eeeek!"

"Here, let me just tell you what the pattern says. It says...it says..." Hadrix laughed

"It says WHAT?" Ravenna replied in fright.

Hadrix could barely catch a breath before he said, "It says Gullible! Haha! Just look at you!"

"Wait a minute...I don't feel any spi...HADRIX!" Ravenna replied angrily

"Oh you should have seen the look on your face! HILARIOUS! You're even easier to prank than my older sister! HA! What a riot!" Hadrix said.

"Hilarious. And by the way, just HOW exactly are you the Empress' brother?" Ravenna groaned

"Duh! We have the same parents!" Hadrix laughed, his tail whipping around wildly as he rolled around on the ground doubled over with laughter.

Ravenna tapped her foot and said, "Um, yeah, well still I can't see it. You're just so...Ugh!"

"Why thank you! I try!" Hadrix replied.

"Um... What is going on here?" Xolt asked as he approached the large crimson and copper dragon sprawled on the path. Hadrix took a deep breath and said, "You just missed the best prank in the history of now! You should've seen it! She...she! Hahaha! She did...THAT!"

Xolt looked over at Ravenna and a smile spread across his face. Then he chuckled a little, before bursting into laughter and tears.

"Oh Ravenna you are a riot!" Xolt laughed out as she crossed her arms.

"Very funny, furball!" Ravenna snapped, turning to walk away.

Meanwhile, a tall hooded figure wearing a large cloak slipped into the palace gate unnoticed. The figure slid through the entrance with a serpentine grace, fluid and determined. One of the many Wyverns guarding and tending to the palace saw the person and stood in their path.

"Hault! Who goes there?" The wyvern growled, flashing her venomous tail.

"I plead the code of the emerald dagger." the figure whispered.

"What is the password?" The Wyvern asked in alarm.

The figure was silent, and the Wyvern allowed them passage further into the palace, for the password is silence itself.

"I must speak with the Empress." The figure said quietly.

"She is not in today." The wyvern replied.

The figure was quiet for a moment, before they said, "When will she return? It's...it's about something very important."

"I apologize, but I cannot give you that information." The Wyvern said. The figure stood still for a moment before it said, "Is Shadowbrine here then? He is the only other one who would receive this information."

The wyvern shrank back at the mention of Shadowbrine, but she cautiously replied, "Follow me. I believe he is in the library."

The figure followed as told, and once they were alone in the room with Kaeoryn, they requested that they would be alone. The Wyvern left the room and said to herself, "This job gets more dangerous every day."

Once alone, the figure removed her cloak, letting her long glossy black snake tail fall to the floor. She was half naga and half minotaur, and a silver helix of flora. She looked Kaeoryn in the eye and said, "Lyrica has my father."

Kaeoryn stepped back as if stabbed through the heart before saying, "How can this be?"

"Her forces have taken Tanor Panal. The Sterling city is in ruins, and I am the sole survivor. Everyone she and her little friends didn't kill, they took them hostage, my father being one of them. I was hoping the Empress could send someone...something to stop them! They are spreading like a patch of thistles. I only escaped because he hid me before..."The girl said sadly.

Kaeoryn clenched his fists and said, "The Empress is not here to help you, Ivy. But we cannot let her pillage without opposition."

Ivy lifted her head and said, "She has a new weapon."

"That doesn't matter. I have faced dragons much more magically equipped than her and triumphed. And I know where her rampage may be headed next. If you can, send word to the cities and towns on the way to here to evacuate all civilians. Because the Empress isn't here, we need to take their lives into our own hands." Kaeoryn said.

"But how? We hardly have the weaponry required, and it takes months to prepare for battle! I appreciate your offer to help, but we need more than just a couple of ragtag silver helixes and good intentions. We need strategy, armor, weapons! Our Silver Helix abilities can only go so far." Ivy said skeptically.

"Apparently you don't know me as well as your father does. I am always prepared for a battle." Kaeoryn said, giving her a sly grin.

"As am I. My father taught me well, but Lyrica has a couple of Silver Helixes on her side. I am unsure what element their abilities are, but they are dangerous." Ivy replied.

"We have others with silver helix abilities among our ranks. We have enough manpower to at least cripple her forces and stall the advancement. Buying time is most likely the best we can do if the situation is as grim as you think it is. The longer we wait the farther she will advance." Kaeoryn stated, pounding his fist on a table nearby.

"Are they trained and prepared for a fight?" Ivy asked skeptically.

"The plan will work. Now if you excuse me, we have troops to rally." Kaeoryn growled. Ivy's serpent torso twitched with apprehension as she followed him outside.

Kaeoryn led her to the grove of trees in front of the palace where Hadrix was still doubled over with laughter from his mischievous antics.

"This is your mighty army?" Ivy said in shock.

Kaeoryn stomped his foot and shouted, "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?", causing Hadrix to stand up and grabbing the attention of Ravenna and Xolt.

"Aw, come on. It was just a harmless prank!" Hadrix said, trying to explain himself.

"And while you sit here doing all this childish nonsense, cities are falling. People are dying! Have you no heart?" Ivy said angrily.

"So?" Hadrix said, getting a couple of nasty glares from the others.

"The Sterling City Tanor Panal has fallen to Lyrica and her forces. I was there, and it is only a matter of time before the violence travels through the kingdom and right to our doorstep. So we might as well start fighting before there is no one left to fight on our side!" Ivy spat back.

"If you were there, then why aren't you dead?" Hadrix asked, trying to make a joke out of the chaos of war.

"How can you make jokes at a time like this? You MONSTER!" Ivy yelled, the roots of the very tree he had been sitting on earlier leaping from the ground and weaving their way around the mighty dragon's legs, like many wooded twisted serpents.Hadrix opened his mouth to release a jet of flame, but the woody vines crawled up his neck and wrapped around his jaws, forming a muzzle.

Hadrix struggled against the roots of the tree, but the more he fought against them the tighter they got.

"ENOUGH!" Kaeoryn yelled, and Ivy relaxed for a moment, the roots loosening their grip slightly.

"Why should I stop? He is insulting the very code of this land, dishonoring the Empress, and wasting valuable time playing silly jokes. How should he be allowed to live?" Ivy snapped in fury.

"And you are wasting your energy and your silver helix ability on him. Save it for the enemy." Kaeoryn warned.

Ivy took a deep breath and the roots of the tree slowly returned to the ground, releasing Hadrix. Xolt approached Ivy with concern and said, "What is wrong? What has happened to you to make you lose your adventurous spirit and playful nature?"

"She took my father!" Ivy shouted in rage, the grass around where she was standing suddenly rising towards the sky.

Xolt lowered his eyes, never having seen her this solemn or angry. The Ivy he knew loved a clash of swords or a riddle, and she was often quick on her tail and even quicker with her wits. She was also brave, and she would talk to anyone rich or poor, young or old. Sure, she had a mysterious streak, and her love of keeping others on their toes had often annoyed him as usually she had quite a few advantages on the field of battle. But here she was before them all, the gleam in her deep golden brown eyes all but vanished. She was the only person he ever knew who could figure out Khashmyr's annoying riddles within seconds, and her aim as an archer was as sure and deadly as the strike of a viper.

Ravenna suddenly spoke up, saying, "If Lyrica took your dad, then we have to get him back! There is no way we can just sit back and let her kill our friends and families! We'll show her!"

Ivy spun around and replied, "Ravenna? Is that you? What happened?"

"Hadrix happened, that's what." Ravenna said.

"Well, thanks for your emotional support in this." Ivy said. Over the last quest, Ivy and Ravenna had gotten to know each other and had become good friends.

"Sure thing. But before we go and y'know, storm the castle on Lyrica, could I go home and wash all this off?" Ravenna replied.

"Go ahead. We need time to make battle plans anyway. Ivy said back, before looking around at the others.

*****
The cave was dark, and meticulously clean despite the pool of blood on the floor. A small red flame flickered in the distance, casting an eerie glow on the stone walls. From the ceiling hung by his thick muscular arms by long black chains was a minotaur, bruised and bleeding. It was his blood that was seeping onto the floor, and his breathing was heavy and labored from a couple of broken ribs. He wished she had just killed him like many of the others, but instead she had set him up in this dark cell, visiting only to interrogate him, and if he was lucky, she would strike him with her tail, not wanting to stain her claws. The dragon who held him in this place was too vain to even tint her claws with the blood of her prey unless absolutely necessary. He doubted that she was even sane, with the way she would sit in a room down the hall and preen her scales over and over again, with the intent of keeping clean but the outcome of rubbing many patches raw and bleeding, making vulnerable soft spots on her thick impenetrable hide. He figured it was most likely an obsessive compulsive behavior, but it was not like he valued this dragon's health. Far from it. In fact like many inhabitants of the Valdt he wanted her dead. But that would be very challenging if the word about the place was that she had sold her existence to the Red Shadow and became a dracolitch and would live on even after her physical form was gone. It wasn't a natural process, and no dragon pure of heart would chose to do such a thing. It would be more logical if she had servants groom her scales, but she wouldn't let anybody touch her. After long periods of obsessive grooming, she would talk to herself quietly under her voice and then once in awhile let out a bout of maniacal laughter that reverberated around the cave and sounded like death itself, if death was a female dragon.

Lyrica paused for a moment in her preening, looking over at the jewel sitting on the shelf in the cave. It was not just any jewel, for it was the heart-stone of Leif, the Empress herself. Lyrica could not kill her nemesis until her heart stone grew dim, because Leif's heart stone was too strong to be shattered. Lyrica had ripped the glowing white jewel from Leif's own heart before changing her into a human and throwing her through the dimensional rift so that she could not return. And because a dragon's heart-stone contains the very essence of their soul, Leif would be losing more and more of herself each day being away from it, until she became fully human. Then Lyrica would shatter the weakened heart-stone, destroying everything left of the Empress. First Leif would lose her memories, and then she would lose her personality, bit by bit until she became a shell of nothing, and the thing that was Leif once before would be gone forever. This had been Lyrica's one mission since she was young, to kill Leif, and it was Lyrica's goal even before the other dragon became Empress. Even before the other dragon had any title or status in life, Lyrica had tried over and over again to snuff her out. She was a threat to all that Lyrica ever wanted, and her dream of her future was impossible with Leif still alive. For Leif was chosen by the Creator long before she even hatched to bring on a new era of peace and tranquility and equality upon the Valdt, and the diamond shaped golden scale on her forehead marked her as the chosen one. Lyrica knew that the chosen one, whoever it was, was a threat to her plans. She had worked for this since she was so young, and it was so close. The Valdt would soon be hers, and she could do with it what she pleased. And if Leif came back, well, Lyrica just didn't want to consider that possibility. Lyrica looked into the pool in the bottom of the chamber in the cave, gazing upon her reflection. She was a long and lithe dragon with lavender scales, amethyst purple wings, and penetrating deep red eyes that could easily give nightmares to anyone gazing into them. Nine fleshy trailings protruded from the back of her head like the crown on a queen, and her long neck was held proud and high. Lyrica was a stunning beauty of a dragon, but the beauty of her heart was far from the beauty of her outward appearance, and her heart-stone, if she even had one, would most likely be small, shriveled, and brown from years of her allegiance to the Red Shadow.

*****

It was night. War raged all around on the darkened battlefield, the palace itself being the last point of resistance against Lyrica and her forces of darkness. At the back of the enemy lines, Ivy could see the limp frame of a minotaur, her father, bound in chains. The sky flashed an eerie orange and red, the outline of the bastion of chaos herself weaving in and out, killing everything in sight. Ivy held the glistening spear in her hand, knowing this was her only chance to end the slaughter and the bloodshed. She could see the one chink in Lyrica's armor, just over her heart, as the dragon reared and snapped her bloody jaws.

"For justice!" Ivy said to herself, raising the spear glinting in the moonlight.

"For my people!" she said, adjusting the position of the deadly weapon. She saw Lyrica's eyes, glowing red like to moons high in the sky.

"For my father!" Ivy shouted, hurling the spear towards Lyrica's heart in a bitter rage. But somehow, the spear missed its mark, and Ivy felt herself falling, falling, falling, down into a deep dark empty void. And suddenly she jerked awake in a hot sweat, lit a candle, and looked around her room to make sure that there were no maniacal lavender dragons under her bed. She turned on a lamp to better see the room, and saw that somehow her spear had gotten lodged in a portrait of her father, straight in the middle of his forehead. She yelped in surprise, and then pulled the spear out of the wall and shrugged apologetically at the portrait. She knew she couldn't even hope to get back to sleep, and being alone in the room, she decided to sing. It was the only thing that comforted her and helped her channel her emotions in a way that wasn't violent or dangerous to herself or others. And her voice was as strong and true as her deadly aim. She decided to sing an old song passed down from her mother that went,

"Run away from the sorrows that are holding you down
run away from the castle that has captured your crown
run away from the waters that wish you to drown
if you can't fight the fire you can still hold your ground

Run away from the essence of every fear
run away from the trigger of every tear
run away from the pain that you held so dear
if you can't see tomorrow you can still be right here

Run away from the memories that painted your past
run away from the struggles if you wish to last
run away from the mold in which you were cast
if you can't move on slowly you can run away fast

Run away from the anthem of every song
run away from the trials you've faced for so long
run away from the voices of every throng
if you can't ring a bell you can bang on a gong

Run away from the sorrows that are holding you down
run away from the castle that has captured your crown
run away from the waters that wish you to drown
if you can't fight the fire you can still hold your ground"

She then sighed aloud and plopped backwards onto her bed. If only she could run away from all her troubles. There was no way she alone could defeat Lyrica, and even with the help of the others it would be next to impossible. They needed more fighters, yet for them to win, they would need to be fighting on Lyrica's level. Ivy pondered for a bit, before a thought came to her mind that gave her hope. After all, Lyrica wasn't the only low life who fought with less than fair tactics, and Ivy knew just where to find someone with the credentials needed. The convincing would be the hard part however. And she would most likely have to bring a healer of some sort just in case a fight broke out. The kind of person they needed on their side would have to be about as lovable as a basilisk with a bad tooth and as prickly as a cactus and as slippery as an eel. Quickly Ivy leaped from her bed and slithered silently down the halls of the palace before barging into the infirmary where Miraj was fast asleep. Ivy tore the covers off of the sleeping kitsune and eagerly whispered, "Wake up!"

Miraj slowly opened her eyes and yawned, saying, "Ivy? It's the middle of the night. What's wrong?"

"I need your help." Ivy whispered.

"Wha?...but it's so late, and I just got to sleep." Miraj groggily said.

"I need to go somewhere where injury is um...let's just say very likely, and I need you along just in case. Hurry! The place closes around sunrise." Ivy replied.

"Do we have to go now?" Miraj asked, slowly sitting up in her bed.

"I wouldn't be waking you up if we didn't have to leave now. Come on!" Ivy said, yanking Miraj out of bed and dragging her out of the room.

Miraj opened her mouth to protest but Ivy was too quick, racing through the halls, down multiple flights of stairs, out the door, through the gate, and outside of the palace walls. The two of them raced through alleys and corridors, going deeper and deeper into the darkest and most dangerous parts of the surrounding city, before Ivy finally stopped in front of a run down shack in the back of an alley that looked like it was once a wealthy and prosperous restaurant, but years of fighting and neglect had left it a soiled run down wreck. An unusually large rat scuttled across the ground in front of Miraj's feet, and she shrieked in surprise. Ivy shrugged, grabbed the rat by the tail, and bit off its head, blood streaming down her face. She didn't even chew, she just swallowed the head whole.

"What are you doing?" Miraj gasped in shock and horror as Ivy licked her lips.

"Um, I was hungry." Ivy replied with a nonchalant shrug, as if  grabbing rodents off the ground and biting their heads off was completely normal.

"That's disgusting! And to think of all the diseases that filthy creature was carrying, and then you just eat it alive and raw?" Miraj said.

Ivy looked at the rest of the rat, still twitching, before shoving the rest in her mouth like a rich pastry, slurping up the tail like a wet noodle.

Miraj tried not to throw up in her mouth as Ivy swallowed the rest of the rat whole, the fat lump of its body clearly visible protruding from her neck.

"I'm half naga, and rodents are just a part of my balanced breakfast." Ivy stated, licking blood off her fingers.

"You eat them RAW?" Miraj gasped aloud.

"Well, how else would I eat them? Cooked? Yeah right." Ivy retorted.

Miraj shook her head and said, "Yuck!...Well, what are we here for?"

"To recruit some more manpower." Ivy responded, before saying, "You know, if the rat bothered you, then you just might want to close your eyes when we walk inside."

"I'll keep that in mind." Miraj said nervously. Ivy nodded and slowly she opened the door to the shack, or what was left of it. Inside it was dark and eerie, cobwebs in every corner. At an old weathered desk sat a harpy, her stormy eyes locked on them with curiosity and a vulture like malice. Her face was almost human, yet in place of hair she was adorned with a crown of silvery blue feathers that tapered to a point. Her neck was thin, her jawline precise, and her arms lay crossed on the old desk in a carefree manner. The harpy's bosom was dressed in an ornate gold piece that showed off more than it covered up, but her feathers on her chest gave her a degree of modesty most other creatures would be unable to pull off. Miraj shrank back at the visage of the harpy, yet Ivy held her ground, knowing it was unsafe to let a harpy detect one's fear.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Miraj whispered to Ivy, causing the harpy to whip her head in her direction. Ivy nodded, when suddenly the harpy spoke, her voice chilled and raspy like the screech of an eagle.

"Are you lost, little fox?" The harpy said, her eyes focusing deep on Miraj with the intent to intimidate her.

Ivy promptly moved in front of Miraj and said, "We are here to recruit one or two of those in your ranks. Do any of your associates have time off to slay a dragon and win a war?"

The harpy smiled mischievously and said, "I'm sure someone has time. Of course, what are your specifications? Are there any skills in a mercenary you are looking for?"

"Mercenary? I thought we were just here to..." Miraj started in shock and terror.

"We need someone brave, someone dangerous, preferably someone who works for the thrill of the battle, who is experienced in less than fair tactics." Ivy said, pushing Miraj back.

"Alright. So, do you need a brute to go running in and take out your target, or someone with more behind the scenes methods?" The harpy questioned eagerly.

"One of each would be great. Oh, and we would prefer if it was someone willing to work for free." Ivy eagerly replied, as if she was casually ordering a meal with mashed potatoes on the side. The harpy stood up straight and said, "There are very few options with those qualifications who would be willing to work for free. And it isn't like they play nice. We get kids in here all the time who wish to have some odd governor or grand prosecutor out of the way, and let me tell you, it isn't pretty when it's over. Are you sure you want this? This isn't exactly your average five year old's surprise birthday clown organization you know. People die. Who is it you want dead so bad that you have to come all away here to the darkest place in the darkest alley?"

"It's Lyrica." Ivy stated, coming closer to the desk and locking eyes with the harpy. The harpy's eyes widened in shock and she said, "There are only two assassins who are either dumb enough or crazy enough to take on that job. And these two aren't exactly your circus act assassins, if you know what I mean."

"Great. Contact them both. I can't wait to meet them!" Ivy said with enthusiasm, holding her hand out to the harpy as if to shake on a deal.

The harpy refused the hand shake and said, "Follow me downstairs. Osdrith is likely to be getting drunk in the basement, but I cannot assure the whereabouts of the Kapybara. That one isn't one to stay in one place for very long."

"Great! Any special concerns about those two, or anything they need for accommodations?" Ivy asked in anticipation as the harpy led her and Miraj through a trapdoor into a pit of strange music and glowing moths in every color. The harpy replied with, "Osdrith is a madman. And a werewolf. And he loves nothing more that to slay a dragon. Previous empress tried to keep him locked up but he got out by gnawing through the chains, and then he went on a bit of a rampage. Ale is the only thing that keeps his killer instincts at bay, keeps away the wolf I suppose. If he isn't getting drunk or terrorizing the womenfolk, he is probably asleep somewhere. If he is, let the sleeping dog lie. It's an ugly sight, the carcass of the person who mistakenly awakes that one. During one of his fits he once smashed off the head of a sea serpent. His bite is worse than his bark, but if he barks he's sure to bite."

"Sounds like what we need. What about the other one, the cappy bear whatsit? Who's he?" Ivy replied.

The harpy gave Ivy a sharp glare and said, "It's the Kapybara, and she isn't one to mess with. She may be small, but I'll bet you that she has the head of the last brute to scoff at her size mounted on a wall. She alone is responsible for the drop in assassin's around this place. If the job don't kill, she will, I can tell you that. She's about as reasonable as a prickly pear cactus with poisonous fruit, literally, with all those spines in her fur. She usually takes out targets by shootin' a spine or two, and then it's about nighty night. Those spines just knock em' out cold like a stone, and then she drags them off and does who knows what wif' em'. All I know is many a time I've worked this joint, then she walks in and before I know I'm waking up on the floor and another assassin is missing. She is part Cavius, part cactus, part siren, and all bad news. If Osdrith don't kill you first, mark my words, she'll take you out and Osdrith with ya', and then you're another stuffed and mounted ornament on her wall..."

Suddenly, there was a dead silence about the place, and the Harpy's eyes grew wide with horror, and she barely managed to squeak out, "She's here!" before a light green guinea pig and porcupine like humanoid walked into the room, a pale blue split sword that was a bit too big for her strapped to her back. Her bronze colored eyes searched the room, before landing on Ivy and Miraj, Miraj cowering slightly behind her friend.

"It's good to see a little respect around here." The Kapybara said, rolling her neck and walking forward with poise and confidence, delicate like a flower, but deadly like a stonefish. Her voice was just like her personality, strong, swift, and yet angelic and hypnotic. She stopped before the harpy and Ivy and Miraj, looking up with interest.

"Any tasks for me yet? Oh, and Falkyn, I'll have my usual." the Kapybara said as if she owned the place. Ivy opened her mouth to speak, when the harpy spread her wing to its full length, covering up her face. The harpy shook her head,  but it was too late.

"What are you trying to hide?" The Kapybara asked cheerily, while all the people in the little underground club shrank back, some raising shields to protect themselves from the coming barrage of venomous spines. The harpy stepped back and moved away from Ivy and Miraj, without saying a word. Not satisfied with the harpy's response, the Kapybara said softly, "Come now, Falkyn. You don't want to make me angry, do you?"
"Excuse me, Kapybara, I came here to hire, and I was wondering if you would take the job." Ivy said, stepping defensively in front of Falkyn, the harpy. The Kapybara smiled and asked, "What are the details of the job?"

"We need a warrior to help us win a war and slay a dragon." Ivy stated. The Kapybara tilted her head and said, "I will consider your offer. However, I am not willing to tolerate competition. Do you understand?"

"We need as much manpower as we can get, so there will be no competition. Whoever is willing to fight is welcome to join our cause!" Ivy said, addressing all the mercenaries, bounty hunters, and other low lifes in the room.

The Kapybara chuckled and said, "So you want us to fight for you now?"

Ivy nodded vigorously.

" After the years of shame and mistreatment, being outcast in society, and tortured like prisoners of war? You are funny, little Viper." The Kapybara retorted with a little laugh.

"If you fight for the new Empress, you fight for the lost and the broken, the deformed and the helpless, the silver helix's and golden helix's alike. Don't you know about all this?" Ivy pleaded.

"No. If you didn't know, we've been hiding in this hole for the past few decades, thanks to that wonderful Empress Naegori the Swift. And what did that bring upon us?" The Kapybara replied with a smile, slowly approaching Ivy with methodical steps.

"There is a new Empress without a title. Her name is Leif, and her heart is true. She has brought upon us a time of peace, but now war rages at our doorstep and hundreds are dying because of Lyrica, her dreaded nemesis. You can all come out of hiding, and if we win this war you and your kin may once more see the light of day!" Ivy said triumphantly.

The Kapybara folded her arms and gave Ivy a chilling smile, making it seem as if all was well, when the Kapybara said, "You come down here to give some worms talk of sunshine, butterflies, and rainbows. Please, while you're at it, bring in a little baby kitten. I like little baby kittens. They are warm and soft and make that little purr noise. Everybody loves little baby kittens."

"Fine. then we will have to make do on our own." Ivy replied cooly. The Kapybara was somewhat surprised that Ivy had not shrunken back in fear when she gave her sarcastic monologue about rainbows and baby kittens, but she quickly regained her composure and said, "Don't pay me anything. I hate it when people trade money for the taking of a life."

"I thought you didn't want to take the job." Ivy slyly replied.

"I'm taking. And this Lyrica is going to die. And so is that annoying little innkeeper who forgets to make everything plants. I can't stand eating meat. It doesn't cope with my stomach. Make sure there are lots of baby kitties in my room so I can prepare for battle." The Kapybara growled, twirling around her sword.