Lianna had come all the way from the other continent in order to search the rumored city of Srendnyimor for answers about her memories. It had been weeks, as she'd come by airship, since she had fallen through a portal into the strange land. She continued to have a distinct lack of memories of anything that happened before she had passed through that portal. After she had made it out of the Highlands she had sought out the large cities. There she had taken up random employment as a healer until she made enough to travel. She had found rumors of a city that held to no single culture. She thought that maybe if she could find help from all types of people at least one of them would be able to restore her memories.

She walked through the close buildings in the Wyllmochvar district since she spoke the same language as the people here. Her cream colored dress stood out in a world full of dark richly colored clothes. Not to mention the golden aura that surrounded her at all times. She made sure to keep her emotions neutral, lest her aura begin to change colors, as she searched to the closest apothecary shop for assistance.

She saw a wooden building among the tropical trees that had a sign of a vial on it. As she entered the distinct smell of many herbs mingling together assaulted her senses. There was an elderly man behind the counter arranging a few glass bottles. She was sure that what she needed was something more mystical than something in a potion bottle but it was worth inquiring here. 

"Sir, do you have anything that can help restore memories or know of anyone I can go to for help? I'm Lianna." she asked as she walked up to his counter. His eyes went over her strange dress and aura as she knew it would. With a sigh he adjusted his spectacles and addressed her.

"I may have something that will encourage lost memories to return in your sleep. I don't think that anyone else here has what you seek." the man said while looking down at his hands instead of at her eyes. Lianna could tell he was lying and she tried to keep her frustration down. So many men were too worried about making a coin instead of lending the aide she needed.

She was tired of chasing phantoms and feeling like her heart was broken but having no indication as to why she felt that way. Lianna knew that there was something missing and it made her feel dizzy all of the time. She had no memory of the life she had, maybe she had a husband or heaven forbid a family. What if she had left behind children?! She was a human and most likely there were people who were missing her even if she didn't remember. She would do whatever it took to at least get the memories back so she wouldn't feel so lost all the time. 

Falling… faster and faster… It would only be a matter of seconds before-
CRASH!
Illiyana woke with a start to a glass vial shattering on the flagstones of the shop. Usually, she wouldn't have woken to this. Her shift didn't start until much, much later, and Master Evalf always yelled at her that if she wasn't working in the shop during his free time, she was to be in her closet, hidden from the world. She would've liked to be asleep, but she was intrigued, for some odd reason.

Opening the door, she blinked to adjust her eyes from the dark dreariness of the cramped, cozy, closet to the rays of midsummer sunshine streaming through the shop's windows.

Peering about the shop, she saw Master Evalf lumbering away from the front counter, a task that would take at least several minutes-his great belly made those carrying children in them look like the bone-thin beggars in the alleys. He made his was to the corner of the store, where a clumsy child had wandered from his mother and knocked into a rack of aphrodisiacs. His mother was shrieking, causing a great commotion.

Then stood someone else-one that didn't have anything to do with the commotion. A young, fair girl stood where she must have been conversing with Master Evalf. As if under a spell, Illiyana moved towards her. The girl looked up, and-Wait, did her color just change? Illiyana thought to herself. Shaking her head, she brushed the thought away. She couldn't be…

"Can I help you with something?" Illiyana asked cheerfully.

Lianna heard a loud crash, interrupting her anger at the man trying to cheat her out of her coin. A small boy had gotten into some of the bottles and knocked them to the ground. His mother hovered over him, scolding and apologizing profusely to the shop owner. She hadn't realized there were other customers within the store. Shows how much attention she paid to others when she was busy wrapped up in her own thoughts. She put two hands on the counter and watched as the lumbering man went to take care of the commotion. A younger girl arrived out of the back room with long red hair and pale skin. To Lianna's surprise she had large feathery black wings sprouting from her back. Her eyebrows raised of their own accord and she didn't realize that the young girl had spoken to her. 

With a shake of her head Lianna focused on the woman instead of the wings, though she had never seen a human with wings before. At least as far as she could remember she hadn't seen anyone with wings. There was such a problem with being unable to access her memories, here she was robbed of her experiences gaping at a girl trying to help her. Lianna's Aura turned a mustard yellow as she pondered what would cause this person to have wings. 

"Yes, I'm looking for information on anything that could help me restore my lost memories. I fell through a portal and have no idea what my life was before then," she told the girl. "I heard rumors that somewhere in this city there may be a place that could assist me."

She looked at the Youth skeptically, would she know anything about what Lianna needed? It was unlikely that she would find it here in this dingy shop. The older man might have been her best bet, but she could tell by his body language that he was lying. Maybe this fresh face would be more willing to divulge information, that was if she had any to give. With a sigh she resigned to the girl and her aura turned back to its neutral golden tone. Lianna's fingers played with the chiffon on her dress idly. 

"I'm Lianna, by the way." she said as she stuck out her hand, trying to appear more confident. 

Looking at the outstretched hand, Illiyana folded her arms and took a moment to do a Soul-Deep Examination. The only memories this girl had were from hitting the ground after falling out of nowhere to now.

Something's off about her… she thought, pondering what that nagging feeling in her gut was trying to tell her that the young girl wouldn't.
She's not lying; she's to pure and innocent to even muster up a false thought. Putting her hand to her chin, thinking, she delved deeper.

To say this girl wore her heart upon her sleeve would be an under exaggeration. Her emotions, thoughts, worries-they entered the room at least a quarter hour before she. Wait….Wasn't her clothes a different color before…?

"I felt you were coming soon." Illiyana said. "Anyway, let me tell you something: Nobody in this town can be trusted." Noticing the bewilderment on the girl's face, she proceeded. 

"Long ago, a Demi-god founded this town, claiming that it would be only for the best of creatures. Then one day, he fell in love with a beautiful girl, whom he quickly married. The night they were married, though, he woke up in his bed, only to find that she had transformed it into a sacrificial altar. His family was slaughtered like cattle, and he was her sacrifice to an evil god of the demonic religion she practiced. His last words were a curse: 'If you do this, all of your descendants will be thrice as evil as you, rotten to the core, and tell nothing but lies. For this reason, they shall never stray from this town!'"

"No matter how desperate your situation, they won't help you. If they give you a bed, they intend to kidnap you. I can help you though. I was kidnapped and put into slavery, so I'm not one of them. But if I'm to help, I'll have to escape and then we'd have to be on the run. What do you say? You free me, you get your memory back, and we both get to have an awesome quest. You in?"

Lianna knew her aura became a dark red; she could feel her face flush in anger. Who would imprison a person and hold them to their will, she could think of no worse evil. Without hesitation, she went back over to the round-bellied man and stared him down letting her anger seethe into her aura. She glowed a fierce red before snarling at the man.

"You will release the girl!" she commanded. "I will buy her from you for whatever price you wish if that is your wish or else I will take this matter to Wyllmochvar. As this is an extension of its city I'm sure they would love to hear of your misdoings." Her hands balled up making a fist as before she reached into the pockets of her filmy dress and brought out a sack of gold. 

The large man before her stuck out his belly trying to intimidate her, but it wasn't happening. There was fear reflected in his eyes as he looked over the red glow that surrounded Lianna. As she was the only Aurai in existence there was no doubt the sight before he was new.  No one would know what powers she had or don't have so long as she saved face she may be able to release the girl without coming to blows.

Lianna walked back over to the younger woman and took her gently by the arm before dropping a bag of silver on the floor where she had been standing. She leads the girl to the door, leaving the man gaping after them, floundering for words. Without hesitation, Lianna took the girl out of the shop. "I am freeing you not because I need help, but because what was done to you was wrong," she said as she picked up the pace and turned down a side ally. They were out of site of the shop and there was no doubt that guards would come searching for them if the man didn't want what money she had left.

"If we can make it to the next section of the city the guards here will have no jurisdiction. Since there are little cities within this one they all have their juctice system," she puffed as she caught her breath. It wasn't every day you run away after stealing a person.

As she was dragged out of the store, she stumbled repeatedly over her own feet, or maybe it was just the cobblestone roads that she had set foot on roughly only three times. Stepping out of the building blinded her; the sunlight's rays penetrating her eyes. If she weren't almost being dragged, she couldn't have moved; the whole situation had left her in shock.

As she attempted to wrap her brain around something-anything- her kidnapper (savior?) said something about "…next section of the city… no jurisdiction… have their own justice system…"

She stopped abruptly, causing the girl- Liana, that's her name!- to nearly fly forward. and would have if she hadn't had such a grip on Illiyana's wrist.

"There's no way we'd make it!" Illiyana cried. When she only managed a confused look on Lianna's face, she hurriedly went on to explain. "Remember how I told you how this city's completely dishonest? What I didn't tell you about is the spies! They're everywhere! That little boy- when he knocked over those vials, his mother stuffed a few in her apron. This may sound stupid, but those bottles were labeled "Stomache Elixir". Those two were part of the Death Guild, and they're plotting to kill him because really, all that's in those bottles are poison!"
"The only way they could convince their leader that he should be killed is by providing actual evidence. And the animals in the pet shop are taught to repeat conversations they overhear, so there are no secrets here. They could be listening right now. The only way we'll make it out alive is if you follow me and trust me."

Gasping for breath, her tough-girl act completely gone, she grabbed a gaping Lianna's wrist and fled down a dark alley, and stopped when she reached an old abandoned house that hadn't been inhabited since the gods came into existence.

Lianna felt the girl stop abruptly and turned to look at her. Fear flooded those bright eyes, and she hesitated with her plan. Perhaps someone who lived her had better knowledge of the place. Lianna was a firm believer in trusting her instincts, and they screamed to let the other woman lead the way. As the situation was told to her in more detail, she knew it was right to trust the girl. They reversed their grips until the younger one was leading this time. Lianna watched as she was taken through side streets she hadn't known existed. They ducked through fences and behind boxes until they came to a large abandoned wooden house. The original color must have been brown, but it had faded away in the sun to a sickly gray. The walls looked anything but reliable, and she was pretty sure the roof had a few large holes in it. It was a place that only someone who lived here would know about. Despite Lianna's foreign amnesty perhaps the other girl was right, maybe hiding her would work until things settled down. At the very least she could learn a little about the person she had technically just bought. 

As the two of them caught their breath, Lianna looked over the frail girl. She was obviously underfed and had probably been beaten more often than not. Though the Aurai wasn't intimidating in looks, she was fearful that this enslaved girl might think she had bought her to be a slave again.

"Please, what is your name? I promise I will not stand for slavery, so the money I gave that man was towards your freedom, not captivity again. What is it that we are doing here? I'm so new to this city I don't know much about it." she confessed as she held a stitch in her side. Running through back alleys was hard work, and she wasn't accustomed to fleeing for her life or someone else's. Her aura was the gentle, warm golden color that was her neutral point. The shock of their flight having slowed she was tempted to burst out in laughter. 

This was the first time she had done something as audacious as to buy a slave from a man not selling one. She had practically stolen his goods and not let him have any say. Lianna was quiet and soft spoken, so the intimidating manner she had used was unfamiliar to herself. At least, she now knew she was capable of standing up to a man as large in girth as that one. Now that they were away she only needed to know the plan.

"What is your plan if we are to stay here in the Wyllmochvar district? Do you think that man would send assassins to kill his slave?" she asked, trying to get the girl talking about herself. If they were to be spending time together, they might as well know a little more about one another.

"Hold your tongue until we're safe!" Illiyana snapped. This woman seriously didn't realize the danger they were in. Despite her protests, Illiyana kept her lips firmly pursed shut.

Walking carefully, she ducked under the sunken doorway. "Step only where I step. This place is rigged to keep out trespassers, thugs, and wild animals."

Even though she had walked this path several times, she still made the ginger stepping that she did when she was first led through the same building long ago. They stepped into the one-roomed house, which contained a tattered and frayed sleeping roll, an abandoned hearth  which hadn't been touched in years, but still had fragments of charcoal in it, and a table.

Stepping onto the bed roll, she inched her way along the edges of the walls until she reached the table. Squatting, she blew on the dust that covered the floor, revealing the trapdoor underneath. Lifting it up, she said in a hoarse whisper, "The ladder's alright, just don't look down. It won't break, but whatever you do, don't take your eyes off of mine."