Above the skies, the bronze sheen of the Mayfly glistened in the rays of the sun as it sailed high above the cloud layer. From within, passengers were peering through the reinforced glass deck out into a breathtaking bird's eye view of the Baltil Mountains. Over a speaker, a polite voice projected into the commons. "Good afternoon passengers! We are currently flying above the Baltil Mountains, headed northeast towards Bakulaw Isle. Please return to your seats are we will soon be experiencing a brief period of turbulence." The airship began to wobble, as the winds began to push at it from the sides. Sitting down on a comfy seat in the passengers' rows she watched as the shutters that were pulled up to give them a view were closed. Gripping the ticket stub from boarding the craft, she was feeling butterflies in her stomach. It was her first time coming to Bakulaw, one of the last stations of the untamed wilds in the world. She had been assigned to assist the researchers at the fortifications from the Mage's College and check on how they were doing.

There were fantastical rumors of the place. Monsters only found in that island and no where else, vicious and aggressive flora and fauna adapted to extreme conditions such as those, ruins of a civilization long lost to time, and the infamous natives who ate people. Touching down at the docks, the Mayfly landed and passengers who were getting off left the ship from the lowered gangplank. Making a beeline for the fort, she checked in to let the higher-ups know of her arrival. "Myouga Ryou, reporting from Iria! I've been assigned to assist with the camp in any way I can!" The beleaguered man at the booth muttered listlessly. "Sign your name in the book here, and write it in print. You'll be reporting to Sir Vasco in the research wing." "Oh ok! So where's the research wing?" She asked. The man looked up at her over his half-moon spectacles with dreary eyes. "…It's over there, you can't miss it." Not exactly the most helpful or friendly response, but Myouga knew when to take a hint. "Oh…uh got it. Thanks!" She pulled out a wrapped pastry from her pocket and set it on the counter before running off.

After the briefing, she was given her duties. Scout out the western part of the beach and treeline for any hostiles and report back on what she found. Nothing big or exciting, but something to do nonetheless. She wasn't feeling up to scouting all by herself, so she went in the base-camp's tavern to find someone willing to tag along. Sure it wasn't the safest thing to do, but she would be paying. She set up a sign, scribbled in big letters and pinned it up waiting for anyone to take interest. Sitting in a corner where she could see people enter and leave, she rested her chin on her hands looking left and right.

The phoenix was no stranger to airships, being the main form of transportation to her guild back home. Sadly, this was the closest she had ever gotten to flight. Ever since she experienced an eclipse, she learned why she was locked out of her phoenix form, but still could not decipher why they abandoned her. At one point, Mirannda had been experimenting with making a set of wings of flame, but had yet to lower the magic output before she could test it in practical use.

Unfortunately, with her lack of magic, Mirannda felt a little out of sorts. She had nothing to depend on but her skill with a blade. If she was to be here for awhile, perhaps she'd better start by equipping herself with knowledge of the land. However, wasn't that what he had tasked her with? Was she doing this for him, or for herself and survival? So deep in thought was she that Mirannda missed everything, straight through the docking sequence.

"Ma'am? Ma'am! It's time to disembark." Mirannda blinked, thanked the woman and exited the airship. At the very least, perhaps she could find her magic here. The phoenix hoped that life threatening danger would be what she needed to kickstart it. It was her reason for coming here. Mother Flame had not abandoned her so completely that Oblivion can claim her. Mirannda started to explore this base camp she found, realizing it to be some sort of research expedition. Seemed much like the little camp built to house themselves as the guild worked to build Elyisum Order.

Deciding it was time for a drink, Mirannda spotted the tavern. As she approached, she noticed some people bickering over a crude sign. She smiled as she read it, and entered, apple red hair swaying to and fro as she sauntered confidently to the barkeep, eyes expertly roaming the room. There, in the corner, being blatantly obvious, was the person she wanted to talk to. Supplied with a warm glass of spiced wine, Mirannda made her way over to the girl. Was she apprehensive?

Tryingto decipher the look, Mirannda gave her a warm smile. "I hear you need a sword arm? Perhaps I can be of assistance." She sat down nonchalantly and took a sip of her wine. Not hot enough, but unfortunately she could not control that yet. "Let me assure you, not even death can stop me from performing my task." Such boldness, so confident in her statement, one would swear she absolutely meant it. And she did.

 "Man… my head hurts so bad after that giant fall…" I thought as I felt the pain from the fall earlier. I've only recently came to this world about 3 days ago through a portal that I fell through in the umbral depths of Daeluin, but somehow the pain is still there. The new world doesn't seem all too bad though, after all it seems rather similar to my home world. Not only that, but luckily they speak the same language as I. Thanks to that, I managed to get info on wear I could find an inn/tavern to stay at until I figure out what to do.

 I just finished doing my job in the tavern for the day to pay off what I might as well call my 'temporary living expenses'. As I walk out of the kitchen I take in a deep breath of the alcohol-filled air and sit down at one of the tables, after all it's not like I can do anything else for the time being. As I look around at the lot of drunken people I see a rather interesting woman sitting at a table with a sign saying something about "scouting" around or something. It peeked my interest so I got up, brushed myself off, and walked over there.

 "Well hello their!" I say with a big smile. "I see that you're looking for a partner to help you 'scout around some areas', do you think I could be of any help? It gets pretty boring just sitting around at this tavern all day." 

 I give a surprised look as I put out my hand and say: "Oh and I almost forgot hehe… My name's Captain, you can call me Cap for short, what's your name?" 

Myouga grinned when she saw a red-haired woman and a male drow answer her freshly-pinned post. It had read: 'Help Wanted: Need buddies for scouting, payment negotiable–thanks'. There was a smiley face crudely drawn below the writing, a far cry from the legible but slanted handwriting. It was terrible, like really really terrible. Even a child of five wouldn't had drawing skills this bad. "Oh yay, somebody actually responded! Whew, I thought I was done for. I didn't think anybody would even come to ask, but now I have two people!" She clapped her hands as she looked back and forth at the two. "…Ok! You're both hired! I need somebody to come with me down on the west side of the fort by the beach. I'm supposed to be on scouting duty, but with my size I'd probably get eaten as a snack so that's where you come in! You're good at stabbing things and running, right?"

The same silly smile was still on her face as she was describing a potential life-threatening situation and the red-haired woman gave the mage her sales pitch boasting her credibility. Myouga gave the woman an understanding nod as she quipped, "Ooh, that's perfect! I'm not good at covering a buddy and running away at the same time, and it'd be even harder if I have to lug you back to the nearest cleric if you kick the bucket. I mean…I probably can't even drag you if I tried." She gestured pointing out her small size.

To the drow, she cheerfully saluted him. "Hiya Captain! Hey, what are you captain of? Is it a ship? Or an airship? Or maybe a land ship? Don't see lots of drow around, but I guess everyone's gotta find work outside sometime." If they didn't know any better, they probably would've thought she was a little girl by her height and behavior. "I am the great and magnificent Myouga! But 'Myouga' is just fine. Nice to meet you!"

Childish. That was the term that came to mind. It wasn't some ploy, the young woman honestly looked younger than she likely was. Yet, she acted like a hyper teenager. Mirannda cocked an eyebrow, hiding her emotion behind another sip of her wine. Even the drow, with his chipper attitude, seemed at odds with what she knew to be normal.

This wasn't how she was accustomed to doing business deals. Usually, the client explains the mission, she asks further details if necessary, hatches out a rough plan before even accepting the job. Mirannda frowned at the question. She can't even meld into the shadows, what good would running do? Her best bet was to fight if it honestly came to that. "If I claim to be good at stabbing, and I.. don't run." If either of them were perceptive enough, they'd notice the slight hesitation, the addition of a miniscule amount of frustration leaking into her voice.

Still, then came Captain… Who even goes by that as a name? That word is a title, the one in charge of a band of fighters, whether it be guards for the monarchy, a ship, or some other organizations. Idly, Mirannda wondered what she had gotten herself into. "I'm Ja… Mirannda. You may call me Mirannda. When, Miss Myouga, would you like to set out? And Captain? What kind of fighter are you?" She asked of him, rather smugly. The wheels in her mind we're obviously turning as she imagined worse case scenario.

The young lady addressed the woman that had just sat down next to her first. The woman seemed rather upset by the team that she was just put with. Especially after she had given her whole 'I will finish my task even after death' thing. Either way, as long as she isn't a jerk to me, I'm fine. As the young lady went to address me, she seemed to be rather happy.

 As she asked what I was a captain of, I laughed a little. "Believe it or not, I'm not a captain of anything. That's just my name, but… I get that a lot so it's ok." I smile again and tell her about how I was one of the few drow looking to not just be pent up in some cave like everyone else and how I wanted to explore instead. As she told me her name I new that I was going to enjoy being with this person, after all, she did seem rather interesting. 

Once she finished talking to me, the other woman with the red hair turned to me and asked 'What kind of fighter' I am with this rather smug look on her face. "Well… I would like to consider myself a battle mage, although I've mostly only managed to learn support spells and no actual offensive spells so far. I'm hoping to learn stuff like that on my adventures. Either way, I'm rather good with fighting so you don't have to worry about me." I pull my dagger out and toss it in the air, then I proceed to catch from the air and jab it in the direction of the woman. I stop the blade only a few inches from her face and then put it back in its place.

"Haha.. I'm just messing with you, I wouldn't try to kill you or stab you without a reason. Man, you should've seen the look on your face" I chuckle with a grin on my face.

The woman was 'Mirannda' and the drow was 'Captain'. "Mirannda–that's a nice name! I'll call you Mira for short!" Pleased with her newly-hatched nickname for the red-haired woman, she turned to the other. "Oh I get it! So it's like people who name their kids 'Earl' or 'Fletcher' right? 'Cap' sounds good! I bet you'd be real popular with sailors, huh?" She gave a nudge and a wink as if implying an unspoken joke. Hearing him describe his abilities, she was very happy to hear that they had a diverse group. "This is great! We've covered all the bases–or at least the basics! Personally I'm not much of a 'support' type myself. I like going in with spells-a-blazing and full throttle! And if that doesn't work, I usually book it. Don't worry, I've got good aim!" She hastily added the last sentence, in an attempt to reassure them of her competence. 

With the introductions over, Myouga was ready to hit the road. When Mirannda asked when they were going to embark, she turned to her with a smile and said: "When? We're going right now! I was worried I'd have to leave empty-handed 'cause I was asking on such short notice, so you can imagine how relieved I was when you two volunteered! Hrm…I think I'm forgetting something. Oh, yeah! Advance payment!" She then shuffled around in her pockets, and pulled out a mirror. She then stuck her hand into the mirror, which swallowed it up instead of coming out the backside and she pulled out something wrapped in a piece of paper. Going over to Captain, she took his hand and placed the small paper parcel in his palm. When it was opened, it revealed a slightly-compressed sweet roll. She did the same to Mirannda.

"Neither of you are allergic to blueberries, right?" She asked hesitantly, likely just remembering after giving out the pastries. "If you are, don't be shy! I don't wanna get you sick on accident."

A battle mage with no offense, a cast happy childish mage, and a phoenix who has lost most of her capabilities magically. If this wasn't the beginning of a terrible joke, then the fates must he hatching up something distasteful. Mirannda did not seem phased by the nickname, in fact she found it somewhat pleasing.When Captain tossed his dagger in the air, emotion drained from her face as she watched him carefully. Only the windows to her soul betrayed her as they perceptably widened in response to the threat of a weapon in her face. While the thrust did take her by surprise, his body language told her the attack was not genuine. Nonetheless, after spending most of her life believing that she was mortal, that fear of death was still deeply seeded in her heart. It took her everything she had not to react negatively. Captain laughed, and Mirannda took a minute to compose herself by draining her wine."My dear sweet Captain. I would request you know your audience before trying that again. You almost found yourself at Oblivion's doorstep." Her voice was almost cheerful, her eyes were cold, promising him repercussions of the most painful nature should he dare again. Mirannda watched Myouga as she pulled out the most unusual mirror. While she was interested in what it could do, Mirannda quirked her eyebrow at the neatly wrapped something for each of them. This was advanced payment? A blueberry sweet roll, from the sounds of it. Depositing the food in her pack, Mirannda made an offer. "Look, if you want, I could teach you how to make contracts in the future." The payment of food had her worried of how they were going to get paid when the girl was back at the encampment safe and sound. As they exited the tavern, Mirannda dragged on her magic, causing her regular clothing to fade as her leather armor was revealed. It looked very elvish, yet more dark in its appearance than classic colors. Repair jobs have been made, and the whole thing replaced as needed. Even this set had battle scratches from all around, evidence that she has had plenty of experience. One deep gouge in her breastplate hinted at a fatal wound previously endured.While her emotions had shifted notably in the tavern, Mirannda seemed quite set in a more rigid mindset now, very serious and alert. Not knowing the terrain, as this was her first time, she allowed Myouga to tell her to adjust course as needed. If anything happened, some fatal attack launched, Mirannda wanted to be the one to take it, allow herself to absorb it and come back when the element of surprise is lost. She found a path leading to the beach and followed it west. Little things could be heard scurrying around farther inland with her heightened senses, her eyes looked at every shadow searching for an invisible threat.After some distance, Mirannda suddenly ceased movement, staring hard to her right. "Something doesn't feel right…" Were they being watched? The hairs on the back of her neck tickled as if someone had eyes on her.

 Once Mirannda regained her posture, she took on a very stern look and reminded me to never act as if I'm going to stab somebody if I don't know them. I didn't really think much of it until she had something about it. 

Yeah… she's right, I probably shouldn't ever do that again…. my bad hehe

That conversation ended as Myouga gave us nickname's and made a joke. She seemed rather cheerful about the adventure that we were about to go on, so that was good news at least. When she went to give us advanced payment she pulled out a mirror, and then she pulled sweet rolls from the mirror. When she handed it to me I wasn't even thinking about the fact that it wasn't money, heck I didn't even care, I was happy as can be. It smelled so delicious that I just wanted to almost swallow the thing whole, but sadly I had to show at SOME self restraint, so I ended up just putting it in my pocket it for now. I thanked Myouga for the sweet role on our way out on to the adventure.

 While we were walking, Mirannda's clothes faded away to show some pretty beaten up armor. The formation ended up being me in the back, Myouga in the middle, and Mirannda in the front. It seemed that she was determined to make sure our group leader was safe so I decided to do something similar and make sure that Myouga was in my sight at almost all times. After traveling a good amount, Mirannda suddenly stopped and darted her head to the right, saying that something wasn't right. I was immediately battle ready with my weapons drawn, bird in the air, and and my senses were honed in on the potential battle..

 Nice, maybe there'll actually be some action now… I thought in my head as I had a grin slowly creep across my face.

Myouga was humming to herself as they walked along, until Mirannda said she felt as if they were being watched. "Yeah we probably are. It's not a big surprise, with all the nasties crawling around this island. Did you know that even the explorers don't know everything that lives here? Whew–if I told you guys half of the stuff they'd found you'd probably make like a tree and 'leaf'!" She grinned, then frowned. "…Hm, that wasn't too good of a joke wasn't it? I gotta step up my game. Can't let myself lose my touch! Anyways, there's these weird things that look like long-necked lizards, wingless dragons, and bugs a thousand time bigger than they probably should be. Have you seen a centipede before? Now imagine if it was a big as a horse and three times as long!" She stretched her arms out as wide as they could go, in an attempt to convey the scale of size. 

While she was chattering away, an awful and terrifying screech was heard from the underbrush. Something was coming this way and it didn't sound like it was coming to say hello. "Uh-oh, that's not good. I really hope it's not one of the big ones–" The head of a large bipedal lizard burst from the trees, with cold reptilian eyes and rows of sharp teeth that made sharks look cute. Smelling the scent of prey, it snarled and charged from its cover–snapping a large branch in two with a single crush of its foot. "OH GOOOOODS IT'S THE BIG ONE!!" The arcanist screamed, taking evasive action. The monster thundering towards them had powerful hind legs and a tail as long as its body. The back was lined with bony protrusions and its head bore a bony crest over its eyes. The roar and screech it emitted was like a banshee-dragon from hell and it was out for blood. 

Everything else was fleeing, which told Myouga that she should too. Weird feathered lizards that ran on two legs, colorful reptiles with snake-like bodies with legs, and odd long-faced striped dogs were running from the terror lizard's path. The patterns of the lean, mean, meat-eating machine were quite exotic if you had the time to stop and admire. Nice dappled orange scales with hints of yellow and umber red accents showed it clearly did not need camouflage for survival. Unfortunately that very hide was filled to the brim with bloodlust and murderous intent, and wanted them inside its stomach. All things considered, it was three meters tall and about six meters long from head to tail. That frame was made of a hefty skeleton and several pounds of raw muscle.