As Kerii walked by the buildings lining Orchidia's streets, she couldn't help but think back to the demonic incursion. She could tell many people were the same. When they walked, their faces showed a myriad of expressions. Some looked fearful, as if a rift could open up and more demons could pour in at any given moment. Some looked sad, likely mourning the losses of friends and family. Some were even expressionless, either being filled with mixed emotions or having been so traumatized by the event that they were thrust into this state of mind. Kerii, for one, was just thanking the Linea that she had not been seriously injured or killed, but she sadly could not say the same for others who suffered a much graver fate. It really was not fair. The people of Orchidia were innocent. Or at least, most were. Regardless though, nobody deserved to be slaughtered by demons just for the fun of it. Some people were so hideously disfigured from their flesh being torn apart by the demons' teeth and claws that their corpses were unrecognizable. Some people who were not killed received permanent injuries. A large number of the citizens were able to find shelter, so they were fine, but there was still a noticeable number of people who wore bandages on various limbs, and those were the ones who were out of the hospital.

While most of the blood had been cleaned up as best as possible, there were still some messy spots here and there. Certain places were stained with the crimson liquid though: a permanent reminder of the travesty that occurred. Kerii still could not wrap her head around why such a thing happened in the first place. Demons were demons. She would go with that, but even the devil still had to have a reason for wreaking havoc, right? And of all the towns, they chose Orchidia. It would be infinitely more impactful if the rift opened in Crocus, the Holy Capital... but perhaps the demons didn't get to choose where the rifts opened up. Maybe it was just up to chance, and Orchidia happened to draw the short straw. Kerii wish she knew the answer to all her questions. The other mages were likely asking the same things, but she figured very few people truly understood the entire situation. As intelligent as the elf was, she knew that she was not one of them. She could figure things through reason, logic, and science, but this demonic incursion was a mystery to her. How a rip of the space time fabric could even occur in the first place was still a question that bugged the mage. Magic was definitely involved. That went without saying, but the real question was who, or what, even had enough power to trigger such an event? Kerii had a sickening feeling that eventually they would know they answer, and when the residents of Earthland did... Well, they would surely be in for something that could only be described as ethereal. Something catastrophic. Something deadly...

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Kerii had to face the facts: she simply was not ready to deal with all these demonic happenings. Should another rift open and she coincidentally happens to be there though, she would be forced to take action. After all, how many healers were there in this world? In the elf's recollection, she only met one other. She was absolutely positive that there were others, but they were a rarity. There were far more mages who specialized in various forms of fighting, which was crucial as well, but looking back she realized that quite a few lacked a good healer. She always saw the same look of surprise grace their faces when she explained that her magic was concentrated on healing. Of course, the elf always tended to play it down. She did not brag and acted as if her healing was nothing special. In reality, it seemed to be stronger than most other forms of healing the elf witnessed. Again, Kerii was unsure as to why this was, but it seemed to be due to her connection with Ëala. Could there be other reasons people had naturally stronger healing abilities? Doubtlessly there were, but Kerii's unique case was attributed to the spirit that resided within herself.

She started out with something called "Ëala's Blessing," or at least that's what Carnil called it. In reality, it was more of a curse, but it evolved into something else that the spirit called "Biophilia." In the literal sense, it meant that living beings were naturally drawn towards flora and fauna alike. It was an instinctual connection, which was oddly fitting for an elf like Kerii, though she was uncertain she could say the same for most humans she encountered. The human population as a whole destroyed nature in order to construct their own buildings. They often neglected to appreciate the beauty life displayed, but what could anyone do about it? Things sadly would simply worsen over time.

As Kerii approached the Lamia Scale building, she braced herself for what she would become face to face with. Typically, the guild had a light atmosphere. People drank, ate, and socialized seemingly without a care in the world, but when Kerii opened the doors, it was different. Nearly everyone had a solemn face. The mood was somber and even the happiest of the guild mates hardly gave a smile. The guild hall was restored to how it originally was before the demonic incursion physically, but mentally and emotionally, everyone was still recovering. The elf glanced at the request board to see that it was full of papers, even more so than usual, but that was to be expected. Requests began to pile up as everyone was recovering from the disaster, but few of the Scales really had enough motivation to do even a small one. Kerii herself had only recently regained her motivation. She had done her part in healing the injured after the demonic incursion, so now it was time for the elf to resume her typical activities.

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Since very few people actually wanted to do requests, there were plenty to pick from. There were plenty of the menial tasks that just about any mage could accomplish, as per usual. Those always seemed to be in abundance, especially now that people needed extra help recovering from the demonic incursion. With the extent of the damage done though, Kerii was surprised there weren't more people requesting aid from the guild. Some may have felt like they had an obligation to do it themselves and play their part in the recovery considering it was mages and warriors who largely contributed in the decimation of all the demons who came through the rifts. Despite what the request board was showing and how much the Lamia helped both during and shortly after the incursion, she still wanted to help in some shape or form, but that would simply have to wait until someone asked for help... and offered a good amount of jewels in return. Kerii would never call herself greedy, but she somehow had to pay for rent, the damages incurred to her dorm, more clothes to replace the ones that were torn and blood-stained, and basic living necessities. Sadly, doing requests with little pay wouldn't cover it.

With the elf's focus on the higher paying ones, she eventually decided on one put out by someone named Jelies Sov. Or should she call him Captain Sov? He was the head guard of the noble family, though she did not know what sort of title someone like him would carry. Considering he put "Jelies Sov" on the request, the elf would refer to him as simply that unless he corrected her. What he should be called was a minor aspect of the quest though. The important part was that a strong outlaw had challenged him to a duel. If Jelies Sov won, he would willingly go into custody. If the outlaw won though, all charges were to be dropped. It did not seem like a fair bet. An outlaw was still an outlaw and Kerii had a sneaking suspicion that no matter the outcome, the delinquent would still face punishment for whatever crimes he committed. Regardless, Kerii would still go and help the noble family's head guard. She tore the request off the board and read that she had to meet Jelies Sov at the battle stage where the duel would be held. Obviously no citizens were to be harmed and there needed to be witnesses, so a stage did seem like the logical decision, but Kerii didn't see why a clearing in the town could not be sectioned off for the duration of the fight. Surely the head guard would not let the battle get so out of hand that anyone or anything would sustain damage, but that remained to be seen she supposed. If the guard thought that a stage was the ideal place to hold this duel, then so be it. Kerii wasn't there to nitpick at the decisions of Jelies. She was there to do his request.

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The elf stuffed the request paper in her pocket and started heading off towards the location specified. She knew Orchidia by heart so there was no need for her to keep checking the flyer as she so often did at other areas. As Kerii walked through the town, she did not pay much attention to the attitudes of the people around her. There was no need to get the Wood Elf's spirits down when she was on her way to help out a client. Instead, she decided to wonder about the request at hand. Jelies Sov was rather vague when he wrote the quest, so she had to wonder what exactly he wanted her to do.

Her first thought was that he wanted someone to fight alongside him, but that did not make much sense. This fight was supposed to be one on one, or at least that's what she assumed from the wording of the quest. Jelies Sov did mention that the outlaw was rather strong, so that possibility was not completely off the table, though two versus one seemed a little unfair, especially if Kerii was on Jelies Sov's side. The elf was not one to brag, but she was quite adept at healing. This was irrefutable. She learned a few new spells rather recently that seemed to be quite strong in fact -- stronger than the ones she possessed before then. Such spells would have been useful in the demonic incursion, but that was besides the point. They were the same spells she was able to heal life threatening injuries with. Though she did not perfectly heal one severe wound, it made it so that the wound would require significantly less medical attention. She could simply heal any damage that was dealt to Jelies Sov by the outlaw, so if Kerii was not injured by the criminal, then the head guard would be at a far greater advantage than the criminal... which honestly seemed more than a bit unfair, but so were all the crimes this powerful outlaw committed. But the elf was getting ahead of herself. She did not know what kind of task Jelies had in mind for her. For all she knew, she could just be there for crowd control. Would it be quite a large reward for such a simple task? Sure, but Kerii didn't know many people who would be complaining about that. She certainly wouldn't.

Kerii came into a part of the town where she saw the grand wooden stage. There was a single man near it, running his hand along its sanded edges. He wore a navy blue uniform with golden trimming. He had rather tan skin and slicked back, dark hair. A single scar ran across one of his eyes. Dressed in such an attire with a muscular build, Kerii's first impression was that he was quite capable of handling the situation on his own. Requesting the assistance of a mage seemed a little extra in her opinion. Perhaps it was just precautionary, but the elf would soon discover the answer.

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Kerii approached the man. "Jelies Sov?" she asked. The voice of the mage piqued the head guard's attention and turned to see the blonde-haired elf looking towards him. "Yes, and who might you be?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest. "My name is Kerii. I'm a mage from Lamia Scale. You said you wanted help with the outlaw, correct?" The Wood Elf asked, retrieving the crumpled request from her pocket and brandishing it for him to see. Jelies Sov nodded his head and motioned for Kerii to put the request away while he spoke. "Yes, yes. This outlaw is quite a powerful one, as I mentioned on the request. To be sure I win the duel, I want you to sabotage the stage." Kerii raised an eyebrow. "Sabotage the stage?" she repeated. She was not fond of a two versus one battle because it seemed like cheating. This didn't just 'seem' like cheating. It was cheating. There was no question about it. "Yes, I want you to set up little traps on the stage to ensure my victory. Not that it won't be achieved either way, but I just want to be completely sure that this felon doesn't walk away from this." Jelies Sov said this with such confidence that it might have fooled some people, but Kerii was beginning to become skeptical of his competence. "Surely a head guard like yourself would be more than capable of handling a common criminal though, don't you think?" the elf asked in a sarcastically innocent tone. She too, crossed her arms in a smug attitude. Jelies Sov narrowed his eyebrows, clearly noticing that Kerii was catching onto him, but he would not admit defeat. "As I said before, he is very strong. I'm strong too, and I don't think I will lose, but I can't risk him walking away like that, and having another person on my side would just be too unfair." His reasoning was weak, but he again said it with such confidence that it almost seemed true. Almost.

Kerii would just go with what the man said and nod her head in agreement. "Of course, I see," she replied, also feigning an honest reply. "Though I don't suppose I should do this in the broad daylight or make the traps too obvious. Should I do it at night and show you where they are before the fight?" Jelies Sov beamed at such a proposal. "That's pretty much what I wanted to say," he replied with a grin on his face. "The duel will take place at noon. Meet me an hour before then to show me everything, alright?" The Wood Elf gave an assertive nod in reply. "Will do." With that said, she departed and went to go occupy herself with some other task. It would be a while before darkness fell so she had quite a long time to do whatever she wanted to. She opted for stopping by her dorm to pick up a book and read at the local café while sipping on a hot cup of tea.

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The elf's afternoon was what most would consider relaxing, but the reality of it was far from true. Kerii tried to get lost in her book. She tried to calm her nerves by sipping on peppermint tea. She even tried to take a short nap before heading out to the café, but nothing could shake the bad feeling she got from taking this request. It was not inherently 'bad' what she was doing. She imagined that quite a few light mages would be fine with doing this job, but Kerii hated cheating. She was sure that she was one of the select few students in school who never cheated on an exam. Well, never on purpose. Kerii sometimes used to find her eyes accidentally falling across someone's paper as she looked at the wall clock, and whenever she did so she felt extremely guilty, especially if she ended up changing her answer because of it. Cheating just gave her a dirty feeling. The elf even suffered from second-hand embarrassment whenever she heard of someone in her school cheating on someone else. If one truly knew Kerii, they would know how uncomfortable something like this would make her and would thus be quite surprised to hear that she did this request, let alone did it solo on her own accord.

Morally, she felt bad, but legally she was not breaking any law. Once it became dark, she let out a small sigh. She returned the novel to the bookshelf in her dorm and headed back out to the stage. She scouted the area for a few minutes, double and even triple checking that there would be not witnesses to either tell the outlaw what was happening, or to see the Lamia Scale mage doing something most people would deem wrong. Seeing that the coast was clear, Kerii got to work with the stage.

She had a hammer and was able to gently pry a few nails up that the outlaw's shoes would likely get snagged on. She was also able to make a few boards curl slightly upwards. From certain angles, this would be hard to discern, especially while in the heat of battle. The goal was for the felon to trip, but he would certainly at least stumble. She set up a few more traps similar to those. When the job was done, her heart felt heavy with guilt and she got an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach, but what was done was done.

The next day, Kerii told Jelies Sov about the traps and pointed them out for him to see. He was quite pleased with her work, but would not reward her until he was victorious. Needless to say, that was exactly what happened. Each time the outlaw fell for one of her traps (and once or twice he quite literally did), she just felt worse and worse about the whole situation, but she highly doubted anyone in the audience saw them. They just laughed at the incompetence of the criminal, who was eventually defeated and apprehended. After the fight, Kerii was rewarded, and she left to go back to her home. She would have to find someway to feel better after that controversial request.

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