Two fire breathing lizards are better than one... (Crono)

[Xphy]

Despite being very familiar with the region the Thunderblacks was easily Azaelie's least favorite place in Adela to visit. It brought back far too many memories from before your adopted mother had found her as a child; memories she really didn't want to think about. She just wanted to meet up with her partner for this assignment and get it out of the way as soon as possible.

The less time she had to spend here the better.

Once the village where she was supposed to meet up with the other soldier came into view she patted Zalyte's neck to get her attention. "Land over there by that pile of boulders. I don't want to cause too much of a commotion." In response the dragon simply gave an affirmative nod before beginning her descent, landing several feet from the edge of the village and lowering her neck to allow the knight dismount.

I still don't see why two dragons are necessary to deal with a simple group of bandits. Even one seems a bit excessive to me.

I'm sure the higher-ups have their reasons... Azaelie replied as she lowered herself and readjusted her armor to sit down comfortably atop one of the rocks. She could understand how the dragon felt. Either the higher-ups had no idea how to effectively use their troops or the group of bandits they were assigned to deal with were getting way too large to just ignore. Azaelie didn't particularly care what the case was though. She just wanted to take them down as quickly as possible, and the sooner this Lucius Carn guy showed up the sooner she could go home.

(OoC: Wow that was painful to write. If there are any problems with it just let me knw and I'll edit it.)

[Anonymous]

Lucius was laying on Tanith's back watching the sky slide by above him. It was much too peaceful considering what would soon be happening but it was one of the many things he signed up for when he joined the military. Truth be told, he was a little glad that they'd given him this assignment. It was a pleasant break from his normal duties.

Well it's not like you do much in the first place.

He grimaced and wished, for what seemed like the millionth time, that Tanith wouldn't listen in on his thoughts so much. At times it made things very embarrassing. Lucius rolled over and crawled up to Tanith's neck so he could gauge how close they were to the mountains. Bandits were something new to him and he was intensely curious as to what they were exactly. How much longer do you think it'll be before we're there? He was almost bouncing with excitement.

Patience. We'll be there soon. Lucius mentally sighed and crawled back down to her back to wait for landing.

True to her word, it was less than an hour later when Tanith's shadow passed over the village. She circled around the village a couple of times before lazily spiraling down to land near the other dragon and rider. Tanith bent down so Lucius could hop down to the ground easier and he stumbled a bit when he landed. He still wasn't quite used to wearing armor and it was obvious by his slightly awkward way of walking. He was glad that he had a two-handed sword instead of a one-handed one. A one-hander would probably try to get tangled up his legs and further complicate things. He could almost hear Tanith's silent laughter.

He shot her a glare before turning towards his companion. "Hello!" He called as he got closer. "You're Azaelie, right?" He was swinging his arm back and forth above his head, giving her a full-armed wave. There was a slightly curious feeling going through him as he approached her. Lucius couldn't quite place the feeling but it was...weird and made walking slightly more awkward. Maybe it was just anticipation. Maybe.

[Xphy]

When the large shadow passed overhead Azaelie shifted her gaze upwards to watch as the dragon and its rider descended. It was about time they showed up. Having to wait for people, even for short periods of time, had always irritated her and it was only made worst because of where she was.

Zalyte on the other hand hadn't bothered to look up right away. She hadn't needed to, having sensed their approach even before they came into sight by the changes in air pressure caused by the flapping of larger dragon's wings. She only craned her neck to give them a quick look over after they had already landed before lowering it again and turning away.

He's a big one ain't he?

The dragon's comment would fall on deaf ears. Azaelie knew better than to fall for one of Zalyte's lures. She merely rolled her eyes slightly before focusing back on the man. Judging from the way he was walking it was clear that he was already beginning to feel the effects of her presence. She would say nothing of it though. There wasn't anything she could really do about it, and he would get used to it... eventually.

When he asked if she was the person he was supposed to meet she used her spear to prop herself back to her feet and extended her hand out to him before replying. "Yes, I am Azaelie. And I am correct to assume you are Lucius then?"

She had to admit the man was indeed quite large, even by the standards of Adelan men. How capable he was a soldier, however, she couldn't tell. Size wasn't everything, and he didn't exactly seem comfortable in the armor. It didn't really matter though since the dragons would probably end up doing most of the work today anyway.

[Anonymous]

Lucius blinked at the woman's hand when she extended it. "Yes." There was a...feeling about this woman. She held herself as though she had been through hardship but, compared to the people he had met that admitted to having harder lives, she didn't act like them. His instincts also didn't take to kindly to him being around her. Lucius shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"So did anybody tell you where the bandits were?" Nobody had told him and it was a little frustrating. How were they suppose to find their target if they didn't know where it was? It would take far too long to try to find them by air, if they weren't already in the caves, and he had a hunch that the villagers wouldn't be too forthcoming to the two soldiers.

Probably something to do with the dragons.

[Xphy]

When Lucius had ask if she had been told where the bandits had set up camp Azaelie's lips curled into a frown. All she had been told was that they were somewhere near this particular village and that was it. Honestly she had hoped that he would've known where to find them. That didn't seem to be the case though.

"No, I wasn't told their exact location." She shrugged as she spoke, and planted her spear into the ground beside her. This was going to be a pain. She just wanted to go home, and with neither of them know where the people they were supposed to be dealing with were it didn't seem like that was going to happen anytime soon.

"We might have to ask someone in the village," she continued, looking backwards at Zalyte for a second before facing him againg. Even if the villagers didn't know exactly where the bandits were they could at least point them in the direction where most of the attacks had occurred. "That is...unless you have a better idea?"

[Anonymous]

Well. This was certainly going to make things a tad harder. How were they suppose to get rid of bandits when they didn't even know where they were? Maybe he could get Tanith to....

"No."

Lucius grimaced. It was bad enough that she read his mind at times but answering his questions before he asked! He mentally snorted at her. So using Tanith was out of the question. That just left going into the town and trying to ask the villagers. He wasn't really looking forward to that. Tanith just had to fly over the town and, most likely, scare the villagers half to death.

He sighed. "No. I don't know of any better ideas." This was turning into a very annoying mission. Hopefully things would get a more exciting later. "I don't suppose I need to tell you that you can't come with us." Tanith should know that but he wouldn't put it past her to do something mischievous. The dragon made a noise that Lucius could almost swear sounded like laughter. He shook his head and headed off towards the houses.

[Xphy]

Azaelie simply nodded, running her hand over her face as Lucius began walking toward the village. She really didn't want to spend extra time trying to find someone who could point them in the right direction, but what choice did they really have? They could've wasted hours scouring the Thunderblacks for the right place, even by air, and there still was no guarantee they would've found them.

With a sigh she turned back to face Zalyte folding her arms. "I guess you can stay here with his dragon for now. I'll call you if I need you." Going into town with 90 foot long dragon would only attract even more attention toward them, and with the affect she had on people they really didn't need it. She also didn't feel like waiting for Zalyte to change bodies, nor did she have any spare clothes for her to wear if she did.

Once the mental message had been sent she turned to follow Lucius, pulling her spear from the dirt and letting it rest on her shoulder as she walked. There wasn't anything particularly special about the place, but for some reason Azaelie felt as though something was off about it. Both of them were attracting quite a bit of attention as two soldiers walking into a village fully armored and carrying weapons would. There were even a few people them the usual giving lustful looks she was used to as her presence washed over them. But there was still something wrong here.

The villagers seemed a bit more uninhibited than they should have been. Sure her presence tended to embolden people, but these people seemed like they would almost assuredly act on their personal fantasies if given the opportunity. It was odd to say the least, and very discomforting.

Unconsciously she had walked a bit closer to Lucius as her eyes scanned the onlookers for someone who seemed a bit more approachable. Someone she wouldn't have to knock out for trying to touch where they shouldn't.

[Anonymous]

Lucius wasn't sure what he thought about the village. It, for all purposes, looked like a quiet, peaceful mountain village. Some of the villagers - actually, most that he saw - were giving the duo some pretty funny looks but it was understandable. Patrols probably didn't get out this far too often. There were a few that kept glancing to the sky, which made the large man  grimace slightly. Tanith had just had to show off, didn't she?

"A little intimidation can go a long way you know." The dragon's voice rang in his head, making his face darken more. "Yes, but we need information first and that can be hard to get when people are worried about dragons He felt a slight surge of innocence, hurt, and a trace of smugness. There was just no letting up from that dragon.

"We need to find an inn." Lucius said, half to himself. This close to the mountains, there should be at least a few miners or traders around to question. Some of the locals probably visited the inn too. It would probably take a day or two for questioning. He hoped that the money he'd been provided with would last long enough. As future money troubles ran through his head, the man's feet were content to take him wherever they so pleased and he soon found himself in front of just the building he was looking for.

It was a rather small inn - only two stories - and it didn't seem that active right now. It was quiet and a man lounged near the door, seemingly asleep. Definitely not the bustle he was expecting; perhaps it would be busy later. Lucius glanced at his companion before walking up to the sleeping man.

"Excuse me." He was answered with a few seconds of silence followed by a snore. Scratching his head, he turned to his companion. "So, I guess we go inside?"

[Xphy]

Try as she might Azaelie could not ignore the uneasy feeling she had about this place. She had always been conscious of herself and the influence she had on the people around her. Having grown up with the abilities she inherited she had had to be, and it wasn't unheard of for one or two people to have a strong reaction to her presence. However never before she seen so many people react this strongly.

There was definitely something off about this village, but she couldn't put her finger on what.

The fact that Lucius wanted them to go inside of an inn really didn't help matters either. She had never been fond of being in crowded places, having been groped on more than her fair of occasion, but they were on a mission though and she knew that they really could have used any information they could get. So she would just have to put up with it for now and hope that no one inside had a wandering hand. If they couldn't well...there would be problems for both her and them...

Mostly for them...

"Lead the way," she replied, motioning for the taller man to move through the door. "Hopefully someone in there knows something."