Death and destruction littered Orchidia. The demons had left, so no more terror would be unleashed upon the citizens, but the damage had already been done. Lives were lost. People were left both physically and mentally scarred... And all for what, sick pleasure? These were demons after all, but something didn't settle right with the elf. She refused to believe that it all laid in the nature of the abyssal entities. And yet, despite her trying to find some sort of method behind the madness, she was sure that most people would think otherwise and come to the very conclusion she wanted to refute.

Kerii walked through the streets of Orchidia deep in thought, one hand trying to stop the blood flow from the gash on her shoulder, and the other nervously twirling a strand of hair. She did so very rhythmically and became numb to the stimuli around her. A few children could be seen running, looking for their families. Others were crouched, praying to Illumin that their loved ones weren't one of the numerous corpses. Normally, she would have tried to help them. She wanted to, but her mind and body would just not comply. She was instinctively making her way towards the guild hall. She had not seen it since the demons had invaded, and was nervous to see how everyone fared. Lamias were strong, but they were far from invincible.

Eventually, the elf came upon a woman with green hair, seemingly healing people. This brought Kerii back to reality. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing that there was a mage helping out, but then let out a small gasp when she saw the woman's abdominal wound. If the woman's magic operated anything like Kerii's own, then she likely could not heal herself. Either that, or she was dangerously selfless. Such an injury could not be ignored though. "Hey!" she called out, jogging up to the green-haired woman. "I can help with that," she said, nodding to the arrow wound. She was prepared to aid in any way possible, but would rather at least have the woman's consent before immediately doing anything.

Event 23/30

Thankfully, the green-haired woman allowed Kerii to heal her, but only if she was allowed to heal her shoulder. "Alright," she replied, thankful that she would get help in return. When she first sustained the injury, she did not realize how deep it was. After all, when one was in the heat of battle, the adrenaline often masked the pain. Even after it wore off, she was so shocked by all the events that took place, that her judgement was clouded. Now that her brain had more time to process everything though, she realized that her injury was perhaps more serious than she originally thought. It was deep enough to require stitches, but outside of that seemed to be fine.

The other healer introduced herself as Jolyne, and wanted to know the Wood Elf's. "My name's Kerii," she said, taking the bean Jolyne procured. She popped it in her mouth and swallowed and immediately thereafter felt her wound heal. It was strange finally feeling the effects of a healing magic. Strange, but good. The surprise was evident on the Lamia's face for a brief moment before her expression then changed to concern as she looked at Jolyne's own wound. The arrow didn't seem to be embedded too deep, but it nonetheless looked extremely painful. "Thanks, but now it's your turn. Just hold still." She tried her best to remove the arrow as gently as possible. When she did so, she immediately pointed at the wound. Clove oil would splash against her abdomen, flawlessly healing the injury, not even leaving the hint of a scar.  "How does that feel?" Although the Wood Elf was confident in her enhanced healing abilities, she was still getting used to them, and just wanted to double check everything was fine.

Jolyne proceeded to ask what she was doing out in Orchidia after the attack, and inquired about her shoulder injury. "I could ask the same for you," Kerii said, referring to both questions Jolyne asked. "But I, well... I was originally going to check on Lamia Scale, but it looks as if people out here need a healer probably more than my guild mates." No Lamia went down without a fight. That much she could say. They were tough and their master expected rigorous training out of everyone. If it was just the goblin-like demons that made it to the guild hall, she was sure that they would be fine for the most part. "As for my shoulder though, it was just one of those lesser demons." The tone in her voice signified a mixture of disappointment and embarrassment. She should have been able to beat it, but it caught her off guard. Though all the carnage would have distracted anyone, Kerii still couldn't help but blame herself for it.

Event 24/30

Though Jolyne's now mended wound looked flawless, Kerii still gave a sigh of relief when the fellow healer said that it felt fine as well. After dishearteningly explaining that one of those pesky minor demons gave her such a bad gash, Jolyne surprisingly took the elf by the shoulder and gave her somewhat of a sentimental pep-talk. The green-haired woman was a bit formal, but Kerii appreciated her words. There truly was no shame in what had happened. Everyone was caught off guard by it, and yet, the Lamia still felt disappointed that she didn't perform better. Perhaps if she didn't take so much time off, she would have been better prepared for this sort of thing.

Despite still not feeling great about the whole ordeal, the Wood Elf smiled at the healer. "Thanks," she replied. Jolyne had also mentioned that they should check on the other Lamias and Kerii had to agree. "Yeah, let's go. I'm sure they handled the situation well, but I have no idea what kind of demons made it to the guild hall." Kerii started walking towards the guild, and as she did so, she had a few questions for Jolyne she wanted to ask. "So, what brought you to Orchidia in the first place?" It seemed that she was meeting quite a few mages in this town, more so than usual. Considering a rift happened to open up letting demons pour into her town though, it was a good thing so many were there.

Event 27/30

It seemed that Jolyne was in Orchidia because she was a Rune Knight. Somehow, they knew that something was going to happen in that town, though Jolyne did not receive any direct intel herself. "Hmm, interesting. Seems a little odd to keep you out of the loop, don't you think?" Kerii thought back to when she met Ren. He too, was a Rune Knight. She had inquired why he was in Orchidia as well, but he was rather quiet about it. He claimed that it was confidential, which she believed at the time, but now she was thinking that he really had no idea what his true mission was. He was likely just as clueless as Jolyne. Kerii had never been overly fond of the way the Magic Council operated. She didn't really like the hierarchical structure it had, as it obviously created information gaps such as this. Perhaps it was for the better, but Kerii would not like having less information than others within the same faction.

As the two walked down the streets, Jolyne said that she hoped no demons got to the hall. "Yeah... though there were a lot of demons running throughout here." Kerii was trying to look on the bright side of things, believing that the Lamias could hold their own, but she could not neglect being realistic. There would be some degree of carnage at the guild hall. She was sure of it.

The topic shifted from demons to acceptance. Particularly if Kerii liked it in Orchidia and if she felt accepted. "Of course," she said, a slight look of surprise coming across the elf's face. "Not many people have made me feel unwelcome, certainly not anyone in the guild, but what about yourself? As I recall, you said you weren't from here, correct?"

Bloop :3

It seemed that Kerii had struck a nerve when she mentioned how it was strange that Jolyne was not as informed as some of the higher-ups. The Rune Knight too, was frustrated about that fact, and she had every right to be. Though Jolyne described herself simply as a soldier, indicating that she was rather low in the ranks, she believed that she should know what was going on. If Kerii was in her position, she would want the same as well. It was unfair from a certain perspective, but alas, what could anyone do about it?

Jolyne was evidently from the country of Desierto. Most people were accepting of the foreigner, just as most people were excepting of Kerii, but the older generation tended to treat her as lesser. Frankly, Kerii could see the same trend with people she came across as well. Most racist comments she received (albeit as times changed, it didn't happen as often now) were from the elderly who had a tendency to stick to their traditional beliefs, no matter how absurd they were. Jolyne said that she was referred to as a 'savage,' but tried to prove them wrong with speaking eloquently in the Fiorian language, which she seemed rather proud of. This garnered a small smirk out of the Wood Elf. "That's one way to tackle the problem." Actually, that was quite witty of the Desierto woman. Most people tended to fight fire with fire, or avoided the situation all together. Instead, Jolyne showed no weakness and stood up to everyone else's level. It was an admirable trait, but not one Kerii would likely see herself reciprocating.

Her smile soon faltered as they grew closer to the guild hall. At this point, it was in sight, but was still quite a bit far away. "We're getting close. It's over there," Kerii said, pointing to the guild hall. From where they were, she could not tell the extent of the damage done to the building, but more importantly, the members within in. If it was anything like the area around them though, it would be a sore sight to behold.

Event 28/30

Kerii started walking towards the guild, the only thought in her mind being focused on what kind of damage it and the other Scales endured. She supposed that she was prepared for it... magically speaking. Her nature magic greatly increased in power within the span of a couple weeks, so she was more than capable of healing moderate injuries, and making severe wounds more manageable. If she was being honest, the same could not be said for the elf's frame of mind. Both the demonic incursion and Ëala were taking a rather large toll on her mind and emotions. As level-headed as she was, Kerii was not sure how she would react if the guild was far worse than she had expected. Jolyne seemed to be a very kind and understanding person, but the Lamia didn't want a stranger to potentially see her not acting like herself... however that would present.

Because of this, the healer paused in her tracks and bit her lip. She turned to face Jolyne and explained the situation as best as she could without revealing too many of her inner thoughts. "Thank you for offering to help, but I think I should go to the guild alone. I think me and the other healers of the guild will give plenty of help, and, well... It's kind of a personal matter," Kerii stammered, tones of melancholy lingering in her voice. Coming from a faction herself, Kerii hoped that Jolyne would understand, but even if she did, there was still a feeling of guilt on the Wood Elf's chest that she just couldn't seem to shake off. "At any rate, it was nice meeting you Jolyne. If you ever need help with anything, don't hesitate to ask." With that said, Kerii headed off towards the guild hall, praying to the Linea that things weren't as bad as she thought.

- Exit -