Corum stood over the lifeless body before him, whispering a soft chant that seemed to echo in the silence of the shallow canyon. As his final words began to fade into the aether, the huddled form began to rise, regaining breath and life.

'My thanks, Corum...', Vianne managed after catching her breath. 'How are the others doing?'

'I would say they won't be going anywhere for a while...', Corum replied as he started his next resurrection chant.

The Tursins were more organised than expected and it soon became evident why the Elyseans had failed to deal with such a primitive tribe camped so close to Verteron. Their strength, skill, as well as swiftness with their blades would have put any veteran fighter to the test much less a group made of up of mostly recruits, and like the Maus in Asmodae, the Tursins had gathered most of their tribes within the arid wastelands between the Cantas Coast and Verteron Citadel and were now led by a chieftain known as Kraka. Guards and patrols were stationed everywhere within the garrison, with each camp led by a Captain, and where they lacked tactics or strategy in open combat, they made up with numbers and brute force.

'A minor setback... We'll have to be extra careful with the patrols next time around...', Duke Skul walked over to a dead Tursin Guard and yanked his heavy polearm from its head. 'Razid! Scout ahead... And I want our healers watching our backs as much as our healths from now on!'

'Considering that we're going up against veteran and elite warriors with trainee weapons and gear, I believe watching your backs and healths will be all we'll be capable of, My Lord!', Vianne answered while helping Quiz to her feet.

'Not funny, Vianne...', Lord Skul glared at the cleric.

'I wasn't joking, My Lord... It's one thing to underestimate the strength of the enemy, but worse to overestimate oneself!', Vianne replied with conviction, conscious of the five pairs of eyes now watching her. 'Still, I'll perform to the best of my capabilities as long as we plan a strategy for our next encounters.'

Few would dare speak up to a legion master in such manner without suffering the consequences, but Vianne's words held truth. The team consisted of mostly newly ascended recruits, and she was willing to risk any forthcoming rebukes from her leader rather than watch the horror of a complete wipe during this mission.

Razid's return broke the cold silence that now befell the party, 'My Lord, the valley ahead is crawling with Tursin guards and patrols... But there's a path branching off to the right just before that seems to lead to some sort of a camp!'

'Excellent! It looks like we're closer to our objective than expected!', Duke Skul moved to follow Razid.



The previous encounter seemed to have had an effect on the group as a whole as the two guards posted at the entrance to the camp were dispatched with ease; both Ryp and Xil bearing the brunt of the damage as Razid and Quiz snuck in from behind to execute the coup de grace. Meanwhile, a lone patrolling sentinel that had come to investigate the commotion was quickly stunned and disabled with a mighty blow from Duke Skul's polearm, rising only to be met by a flurry of blades.

The group was starting to work as a team, complementing each other's skills or lack of, while remaining alert to the hostile environment. Each kill was executed with speed and precision, leaving a trail of dead Tursins in their wake as the group of Hades legionnaires made their way to the center of the camp.

'Hush! I believe that's Combat Captain Tunkara up ahead...', the assassin known as Razid pointed to the western edge of the camp.

'Anyone has a plan on how to draw him away from the cam-...', Vianne's words were cut short as Xil ran round the side and called out, 'Oi, you there... Your mum's so fat that when she farted she shattered the Tower of Eternity!'

As Xil came running back with Tunkara hot on his heels, Vianne wondered out loud, 'Hmmm... I didn't know Tursins could understand our language...'

'Neither did I... Must be part of their Captain's training...', Quiz replied with a grin before disappearing into stealth.

'Take him down fast! There's enough dead bodies lying around behind us for even a blind shogu to trip over...', Skul charged forward, swinging his weapon in a wide arch and sending the Tursin captain crashing to the ground.

It took all of the two healers strength and power to keep the others on their feet as they circled Tunkara, jabbing and slashing with their blades at every opportunity. Such a manoeuvre seemed to confuse the Tursin captain as he spun around in circles, swinging wildly with his sword. It also seemed to enrage him as each strike of his blade or arm sent its target staggering back and in need of urgent healing.

This strange dance between daevas and Tursin lasted a mere couple of minutes but seemed an eternity for the men and women who stood tall as Captain Tunkara finally breathed his last, blood slowly seeping from the perfect cut across his throat.

'Mission accomplished!', Xil cheered, removing what remained of his helm and sending a spray of sweat and blood over his comrades.

'How did you manage to see what you were hitting, Xil?', Vianne stared at Xil in disbelief.

'What? This? It's got two eye slits... See here, and here... O look, Tunkara gave me a third eye slit too...', Xil laughed while pulling up the helm and inspecting the damage that it had sustained during the fight.

'No... I meant, how did you manage to see through all the blood and sweat caked around your eyes?', Vianne approached Xil while removing a small vial of salve from her pouch. 'Nevermind... Stand still! This won't hurt a bit...'

'That scar above your eye will take a while to heal, but it won't be noticeable after a week or so... How's your arm, Ryp?', Vianne moved towards the second Templar.

'Still hanging in there...', Ryp grinned. 'And there's no need to panic as I still have good use of the other!'

'By Aion, Ryp! The only thing holding your arm together is your armour!', Vianne uncorked a second vial of salve. 'Take a swig of this and swallow, don't spit...'

'I've taken care of the others, Vianne. A few scratches here and there, nothing major... Looks like our Templars weren't so lucky.', Corum winced at the two wounded warriors before him. 'Meat shields... What a job...'

'Could have been worse... You guys did great for folks that just recently earned your wings!', Vianne smiled at the two Templars while drawing a soft moan from Ryp as she tightened the straps on his chestpiece and shoulderguard.

'Hate to break up the party but it looks like we'll be having company soon.', Quiz pointed towards the valley below.

'Veteran scouts and sentinels... Our party is in no shape to deal with the likes of those at the moment. We'll need to rest up and recover our strength first. This way...', Lord Skul spread his wings and dove off the cliff, motioning his legionnaires to follow.



Aided by the hot air rising from below, the group of legionnaires glided across the arid lands, avoiding the pockets of Tursin patrols now frantically searching for the assassins of one of their captains. At 50 meters above ground, the height provided a magnificent view of the coastline as well as the sheer cliffs that protected Verteron Citadel, and with a soft sea breeze blowing in from the west, the recent battles against the Tursins seemed like a distant past...

'Anyone know where we're headed?', Quiz looked around in wonder.

'Probably the Cantas Coast Outpost as it's closer, but it looks like one of our Templars might have a different idea.', Razid replied as he watched Ryp continue on a spiralling dive down towards the ground, landing directly atop a couple of unsuspecting Tursin guards.

The remainder of the group were quick to react and dive to assist their fallen comrade, each assassin landing on a Tursin's back with their blades weaving silent death as the latter attempted to rise.

'My bad... Passed out midway through flight...', Ryp rose from where he had landed, rubbing his head gently.

'Lucky you had a padded landing pad...', Corum looked at the two dead Tursins nearby. 'Anyone know where we are?'

'We've landed in a Tursin camp, and it looks like we've been separated from Lord Skul.', Razid surveyed the small camp before them.

'Correction... Looks like we've landed in a Tursin camp with a very angry captain!', Quiz drew her daggers.

'Arcane Shaman Kumbacha!', Razid hissed as they turned to meet their new adversary.

On his own, the group would have stood a chance in taking the shaman captain down but alas, news of the assassination of Captain Tunkara had spread throughout the garrison and Kumbacha was now accompanied by his personal bodyguard.

'For Hades and the legion! Prepare to burn!', the legionnaires shouted as they charged forward in unison...