Waterfall basin of Niska and Balerno

Jun made a sputtering sound as its skull was cracked. "Oi vey."

She scratched her head and turned to Riley. "Uh, even if I did have mind-reading magic, which I don't by the way, I would think the skull has to be intact. And for your information, my tribe once made allies with a civilization of friendly undead. They were very helpful during the Battle of Aaedan, and they were excellent cooks to boot... which was odd considering they didn't need eat themselves... Hmm."

She shrugged. "Jarkoopi, you got anything in your thousand-year-old bag of tricks?"

The dragon looked down on the split skull and the husk of a 'once human' skeleton. Pathetic.

"My 'bag of tricks' tells me we should fly the way they'd came." He replied to Jun.
The dragon looked over to Riley as he mentioned them splitting up.

“Or we can split up, wider search area. I think however we should stick close, we’ll all likely be safer with each others presences.”
He pivoted his scaly head between his two companions.
“Either is a good idea.”

Finally, he'd get do do this the easy way.
“Excellent.”
The dragon turned to move towards the beach, giving himself an easy clearing to takeoff from. He swiveled his head back to Jun to ensure she was ready as well. He would cast a spell that might take a while to arrive before he announced he was ready. He should’ve done this sooner.
“Litrix, ekess ve.”
Jarkoopi, Kepesk Altiui never got why Jun of the Celadine rode around on an oversized crow, he saw it unfitting for a mage of her skill, but it was not his choice.
“I am ready.”
He said as he looked over the lake, ready to throw himself into the skies’ embrace once again.

The dragon followed the giant crow, his wings dusting off the sandy beaches, pushing a wall of water vapor inland. Jun called back to him when the two of them got into the air. It was nicer up here than down there, he was almost lost in looking at his surroundings and listening to the beat of his wings when his name was called over the winds.
“That… Is a very likely possibility, however, I believe they kidnap the people for other reasons. That thing may have had different ideas on humans. He was supposed a once-human, yet he referred to you and Riley as animals. It’s likely whatever may have been in that body, may not have been human, or maybe they were just brainwashed. We won’t know for sure until we get this ‘Warden’ person and get to the bottom of this.”
Jarkoopi, Kepesk Altiui concluded his statement by looking down beneath them, also search for any buildings or remnants for any sort of civilization.

"My grandmother told me stories about necromancers. I've never fought one before, I mean, if that's what the warden is. Honestly, I'm a little excited." She continued to stretch Resonance out into the air, anxiously awaiting to give it a target.

Her excitement quickly evaporated when she saw the changes in the forest.

"What? What the hell?" She gasped in awe at the peculiar changes. She could sense that the forest wasn't dead or dying, something which would have downright offended her. But the change in aesthetics was nearly as disturbing. The perpetual rain in the dark horizon didn't help matters either.

"Weird... but on the plus side, I'll bet my dark magic will be a lot stronger here."

As the city became increasingly visible, Jun narrowed her eyes and withdrew her sword. "Ok, we may have a problem." She called back to Jarkoopi. "If the attacks came from a city, things just got a lot more complicated."

She squinted to try to get a better look at the city's finer details and was also on the lookout for any changes in the ambient magic as they approached.

Jun of the Celadine Jarkoopi, Kepesk Altiui


There wasn't anything happening out of the ordinary with the airborne pair that were soaring over the trees. The city, upon drawing near, was expansive and dark - enclosed in a towering wall of heavy stone and mortar, and dotted with a number of braziers and torches all along the length completely around. But it was clear the wall had seen very much in terms of construction and possible reconstruction, having been removed in pieces to allow for the city to grow without pressing tightly to the inner side of the barrier.

If the pair opted to risk flying near the wall or over the city, both would feel a growing magical presence that would be near choking in density and power once they were within the wall. Offensive? Hardly. But it would be clear that the place was just as magically inclined as many a nation off the island, and certainly more so than Erstonia.

One could see clearly from high above that the city became more elaborately built the further north and west one went - almost clear cut dividing lines that showed where the slums met the lower class areas and where that met the aristocratic areas. Dark, menacing buildings and towers punched to the grim skies in the eastern corner of the city, and there was a wide arena far to the southwestern side. A massive property with a proud manor sat to the northwest corner of the city - farthest from the wall's front gates in the complete opposite direction.

And to think, this was only half of the city while another part was beneath the very streets.

“Well, I suppose you could be right about wrecking things to get to the leader. I was taught by my elders that: ‘Tis always better to shoot another through the front, than to stab them in the back.’ So we don’t have to sneak around this place.” The dragon kept flying next to Jun, wondering for a moment.

“I figured you’d wield a sword like that. Mostly a blessing, but it could be considered a curse for others.”

The dragon had an idea.
“You don’t happen to have a royal dress to wear, do you?” He smiled, as he telepathically shared his idea.

Hmmmm, seems like a solid plan. And you’re sure you can control that? He referenced the seed she was holding up to him while they were mid-air.
Very well. Do you need to rehearse some sort of lines as practice? I’ve been doing this for hundreds of years, it’s pretty much in my blood by now.
Jarkoopi, Kepesk Altiui was now waiting on Jun of the Celadine, he was ready to grab her menacingly after he changed his scale color as soon as she gave the go ahead.