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Liiah nodded, then waved her hand towards the rest of the group, gesturing for the rest of them to come forward. She glanced forwards, past the trampled sapling and deeper into the woods. Somewhere, a bird warbled, all alone in the canopy someplace. The gentle swaying of trees revealed and hid several glittering rays of sunlight as a mild wind passed through the forgotten woods.  "Then it seems very likely that somebody else has gone through the forest this way." She stood, reaching up towards the hilt of her sword for reassurance before finishing her thought. "The fae in these wilds would certainly be a little more mindful of where they stood, and so far the Skaven seem to be reliant on staying underground. My guess is that our woman went this way. Of course," She segued into another thought on a whim. "It could always be one of the people that were in our party prior, which I'm not discounting either. We should at the very least consider this our way forward, and attempt to find her as soon as we're able." She looked towards Gale and Hawk. "You two should bring up the rear; Bella follows behind me, and Filo can keep an eye ahead for us. Let's get going, before we stumble into any more rats, or get lost, or whatever other horrors this forest has in store for us."  

Perhaps he was braver than he seemed, or perhaps her words had simply riled him up. Whatever the case, the old woman hadn't been able to scare him off, and now she had a man coming at her with renewed vigor even as her own body sang dirges of pain from the effort she'd forced it through thus far. When she found her feet, it was with a sound between a grunt and a groan. More honorable to finish things the hard way, she supposed, but if the fight carried on much longer some part of her would end up giving out. Old age might be even more of a bitch than I am... She'd have to end this quickly. He came at her with a scythe- an uncommon choice, but she'd dealt with one who used a similar weapon in the past. He struck with the handle and she twisted aside, the blow grazing her slightly as she lunged towards him, moving closer so that the blade would pass well behind her if he swung his weapon about. The scythe could be nasty at mid-range, but in close quarters it became hard to use the blade, and the crone intended to take advantage of that. Her right hand clenched, thumb and three fingers curling into her palm, the middle finger extending straight upwards. One Finger Fist style, secret technique... She swung the staff held in her left hand, but that was merely a feint, a diversion from the right arm that swung out with vicious precision, the old woman's middle knuckle hurtling towards her opponent's chin from below. What had seemed like a rude gesture was in fact a deadly martial technique, insult and injury combined into a single devastating attack: F*ckuppercut!

The summer solstice is one of the most celebrated times of the year, a time where the people of Crystallo Stella celebrate the fertility of Mother Gaia. With the passing of  King Valerio, the people of Crystallo Stella have been anticipating the coronation of his daughter Aurora, and the promises of a new beginning for the hidden nation. With messengers dispatched across the world of Valucre, portals opened temporarily to the massive gate that leads into the Wicker Mountains. With the distortion of the portals popping up in the key lands of every nation in Valucre, the shimmer of them couldn’t be ignored by those who witnessed the messengers appearing through the rip in time and space. Each of those messengers delivered the invitations to each of the noble houses in the lands of Valucre, even invitations were dispatched to high role merchants and military personnel. With the promise of a new nation opening their borders to the outside world it gave way to new adventures and diplomacy missions, and of new citizens of the crystal nation. The guests who took the invitations to Crystallo Stella would follow the instructions to find the portal that became erected in their lands, stepping through the rip in time they would step through into a half moon of doors that lead to each of the different places the invitations were taken in Valucre. Turning back to those doorways they could see their worlds being reflected back to them like mirrors with their own reflections. The beauty in the magic that opened these doorways left a sense of awe, a tingle on the skin after emerging into the hall of doors. Waiting just outside the doorways to Valucre men and women dressed in purple and gold stitched uniforms awaited to direct the guests towards the ballroom. Each of the staff would take the invitations presented by those guests, leading them down the open hall towards the crystal ballroom.  Other servants take the the lead from there on, each bowing and swooping down with an arm out to reassure the new guests of Crystallo Stella that they’re to continue till they enter the largest crystal ballroom the nation of Crystallo Stella knows of. The mini tour towards the ballroom was breathtaking, a pure show of the dwarvin touch to the architecture of the castle and through the view of the hall over the city itself. The lighting of the hall itself was unique to the land with each orb carved of quartz crystal reflected the energy they absorbed as light, some were pink from the rose quartz and others darker from the smokey affect they often had.  Music could be heard throughout the hall as it leaked from the massive carved archway into the crystal ballroom, the sounds of the cello was so deep and entrancing as it was the lead of the song currently being played by the group who was so elegantly dressed in their gowns and tuxedos. It was obvious the nation didn't just house fae, but those who were lucky to grow up or discover this place for themselves. Although word of this mystic place was left to the wind, nothing but whispers were ever carried out as legends or stories told to children like fairy tales. As the guests walk through the doors into the ballroom they find a very open structure carved from the white stone of the mountain, the windows were made of a crystal like glass which made it easy for the lights to be reflected through them with the help of the prism style flooring.  At the far end of the room a throne of white marble set on top of a purple and gold runner, vines and calla lilies weaved in and out of each other around the arms of the throne. Beside the chair sat a table that held a crown of gold with red gems adorning each point, specially made for the new queen to take the throne. Standing beside the crown guards in armor stood at attention protecting the right of Aurora Aequliter-nebula, not only stationed at the throne guards took up positions around the room standing as still as the trees of the land. 

"Believe me I know...I've asked Kalmuli to come and take a look herself."Ingrid said as she moved over to collect Camille who was starting to paddle back over to her. Hopefully by the time he finished with swimming and playing, he would be ready for a nap and then for lunch. She cuddled him, praising his swimming skills and sat him in her arms. "I don't think he will...not unless we intervene now instead of later. Luis is a good boy...but whatever is trying to invade and possess him is going to find a way if it's not stopped now." Ingrid looked to Camille. She had the same worry for her own son...Her baby boy who's father was from a world unfamiliar and had a taste for violence. She didn't want him to become like that mad man. Not at all. She kissed the top of his curls while she thought on it. "You have more experience with this...I would appreciate another opinion."She said with a smile before it turned more credulous. "Yeaaaah...that does remind me. You owe me a story on the whole demon thing."

He glances to Ecks and then to the carriage before shrugging in response. “I could probably shoot it and disrupt its programming.” He immediately regrets the offer. “But, I’m not sure what else that’d break.” The obvious solution, in his mind, is to reprogram the wagon, or override the program, and just ride the thing until its power runs out. He didn’t have the mechanical know how, engineering background, or programming knowledge to be able to do any of that. But isn’t that what smart guys like Ecks are for? Why wasn’t Ecks offering that solution up? Maybe knowing something about spectral analysis, arcane biology, and preternatural chemistry doesn’t translate into magi-tech engineering skills? Rex chews his lower lip as he mulls over the problem. A minute, and then another pass, before he meanders over to the control panel and pops the top off. Pulling a pocket knife from his belt he pries a small crystal from its housing and then cuts a pneumatic line. The carriage starts to rock as the air pressure engaging the brakes bleeds out. “I think I lobotomized it.” He finally announces as he secures the knife and the crystal.