The Masked Guild // Private // Decayuss & Elizabeth

AND IT'S DARK ON A COLD DECEMBER,

This has gone way too far.

Watching as yet another group of Rune Knights returned from their mission on Clover Town, Elizabeth clicked with her tongue several times as a show of disapproval towards their fail to complete the mission and keep Clover safe. Folding her hands over her chest, the Shadow Assasin leaned against the Entrance to the Rune Knights headquarters, her entire body as per usual covered with the armor, her helmet on. Electric blue eyes following closely the movement of each injured Knight that returned to report their failure to the Generals, Lieutenants or whoever was in charge, disgust easily seen in her cold stare. How shameful, for so many Rune Knights to fail over and over again, to the point in which the citizens of Clover had posted up a Request, a cry for help that they hoped someone more capable would notice, a request which had ended up on the Rune Knights mission board as well.

Getting away from the door frame she had be leaning against, Elizabeth headed towards the Request board, shamelessly shoving everyone away, if they got in her path. Even if she threw people on the ground, she wouldn't turn to apologize, no. She wanted to get the job in order to avoid some of the weaker members, also known as, the useless ones, to lay their hands on the job and screw things up in Clover. Again. She wouldn't allow that, for they have been screwing up things for a week already, and it seemed pretty stupid for them to try again. It was time that they rested in the back seat, and watched how it's really done.

Elizabeth was not a fan of doing jobs, honestly. She would rather lay at home and sleep, sleep the entire day. But, it was also an undeniable fact, that she adored the thrill of fight, the feeling of being victorious among her enemies, to play with them before disposing of them. It was, for her at least, the best feeling, the greatest entertainment to exist on Earthland. And what was the only way with which she could manage to get to this entertainment, without getting involved in fights with mages of other Light guilds? Requests, sadly. With a blank expression on her face, which was hidden by her mask anyways, the Shadow Assassin turned on her heels, heading towards the exit, feeling people's eyes on her. It was something normal for people, mostly the newbies, to stare at her. Why? Well, mostly because nobody really walked around ninety-nine percent of the time wearing an armor, with a helmet always hiding their heads. Elizabeth was the black sheep in the pack of Rune Knights. Pretty literally, also, considering the appearance of her armor.

Getting to Clover was really no problem for the Shadow Assassin, who had her ways in convincing even the most reluctant chauffeur into getting her wherever she desired. Ways that mainly consisted in putting an extremely sharp blade against their neck. Illegal ways to get what she wanted; but extremely useful. In less than thirty minutes, the man had already taken her to Clover, trembling in fear, his body finally relaxing as she left the car, and walked away. Poor man. She had scared him a lot. Oh well, it was something she was required to do, if she wanted to get what she desired. Alright, let's get to this.

Clover seemed like a real battlefield, with destroyed buildings and injured man everywhere, healers attenting those who had the worst wounds, or at least, the worst visible ones, and others recollecting the bodies of those who had not survived today's attack. It was sad to see the city in such conditions, mainly considering that Elizabeth had lived in Clover, she had been a part of Blue Pegasus, and knew what a magnificent city Clover was. The only building that was still standing tall, intact, was the Guild Master hall, an improvised barricade with guards placed around it to guard it from the invasion of the Mysterious Guild, which had marked it as their objective. Not the Blue Pegasus Guild Hall, no, the Guild Master Hall. One of the most important locations in Fiore, that were related to the magic world.

Taking off her helmet, revealing her beautiful factions and her scarlet red hair, neatly tucked inside the armor so she could place her helmet on. Without hesitation, she walked towards the guards with a rather friendly expression, her grip on the helmet tight. Guns and other weapons pointed at her, she didn't even flinch as she approached them, waving her hands, still holding her helmet to prove she was unarmed. Which she wasn't, but nobody would notice, as her dearest Dual Blades were neatly hidden. Don't worry, I am here to help. Elizabeth Ginevra Silvershield at your service, I am willing to aid you in defeating the Masked Guild; and protecting Clover.

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AND IT'S DARK ON A COLD DECEMBER,

The guards were incredibly silent, that Elizabeth had figured out. They had kept watching over the horizon for the arrival of new enemies, ignoring Elizabeth completely after they returned their weapons to place. She guessed that, if they were not stabbing her (yet); they trusted her? They allowed her to be around them? She had acted like a little girl, doing all type of stupid things to get their attention, and they had yet to kick her out. It was hilarious to see a twenty-one years old girl, dressed in a black armor, to do things a teenager, or even a kiddo, would do. Simply hilarious.

But then, before she could continue with her attempts to drag the attention of the guards to her, a familiar voice caught her attention, causing her to stop with the idiotic things she was doing, curious as to who had called out to her; and why the voice seemed so awfully familiar to her. Following the guards' example and completely ignoring them, Elizabeth swiftly turned on her heels, curiosity obvious in her electric blue orbs. Waving to her and approaching her could be seen a tall, somewhat muscular man, his jet black hair messy, scarlet red eyes staring at her. A bright smile drew on Elizabeth's lips as she recognized who the owner of the figure that was yet so familiar to her: Deniel Decayuss Thornman. The man that she had met one fated night, and who had changed her views on herself forever. Thanks to him, she realized that she could keep having fun and being nice to people, without fearing to hurt them. He had taught her that everything could be controlled, by showing her that he controlled himself as an immense beast, thus proving to her that, if such a beast could be controlled, then the shadows that invaded her mind could be too. He had saved her from further falling into her own abyss of self-pity and sadness, and she would be eternally grateful to him for doing such thing. Approaching him slightly, the redhead smiled at Deniel, waving. Hey there, Deniel.

She looked at his hand, which he had held above, in the air, waiting for her to high five him, apparently. It was a shame that he had forgotten, apparently, how short the Rune Knight was, and him holding up his hand meant that she'd possibly have to jump in order to high five him back. This caused a small grimace of annoyance to occupy her beautiful factions for a second, before it disappeared, as quickly as it had arrived, while the redhead proceeded to jump, her small hand hitting his, a soft laugh escaping her lips. It was quite the weird sight; in the middle of the destruction and debris, a pair of friends had their happy re-encounter, disregarding the entire situation around them for a while. Oi, you meanie, making me jump to high-five you, although you see how short I am! She scolded him, barley holding her laughter. The entire situation was ridiculous.

A wink from him, Elizabeth chuckled slightly at his words, a clear reference to what they had done after he had helped her out. A mischievous smile drawing on her lips, she clicked with her tongue once, shaking her head, trying not to laugh. That's the first thing you ask a woman when you meet her again? Though, maybe I am, maybe... A wink as a response from the redhead Master of shadows, she laughed lightly. No, but seriously, I'm here to help out in Clover. Those fails from the Rune Knights... They are not very nice. They sent the newbies on such a request. I seriously wonder what the Generals were thinking, but oh well. And what are you doing here, Deniel?

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AND IT'S DARK ON A COLD DECEMBER,

Judging by his reactions, Deniel did not seem to know what exactly was the situation in Clover in this precise moment; nor what it had been in the past week. This confused Elizabeth slightly, as the news had been spread all around Fiore, and mages from all parts of the country came to try and help out with the situation, stop Clover from being destroyed, so she was rather amazed that the news had not arrived to Deniel's ears. But then again; he was a traveler, a wandered that possibly rarely stopped even to rest, so it was rather... unlikely for him to have heard about it. Oh well; like it mattered. He was in Clover now, so Elizabeth could easily tell him what had occurred in Clover while he was traveling. So you don't know what occurred in Clover while you were away? Elizabeth asked after he told her his purpose, his reason to come here, in Clover town: to rest from the traveling a bit, before following his path.

Not only the Rune Knights have been called to Clover, actually. Elizabeth remarked, her voice turning more serious, formal, as she analysed the destruction around her, buildings slightly destroyed, people injured. She hated the sight of destruction that Clover, such a magnificent city, had adapted, she couldn't stand seeing innocent people laying on the ground with injuries, some not so bad, others that, a few centimeters above or to the right, would have become fatal wounds. The simple sight was disgusting, infuriating. It reminded Elizabeth from the destruction she saw in her dreams, the one she would cause if she lost herself to the shadows. Something she could not permit. She did not want to follow Zed's path, she did not want to suffer like Zed did nor meet the same fate as him. She wanted a different future. But yes, you are correct. Quite a lot of things happened to Clover, and most of them were bad, sadly. Clover town has been suffering constant attacks from a "Masked Guild", that has targeted the Guildmaster Reunion hall, which the citizens and mages have done their best to protect. In order to reach the hall, and prove the citizens that they are not to be underestimated, nor are going to stop, the members of the Masked Guild have basically tried to demolish the city, until they are given access to the Hall. The reason as to why they want to get to it so badly is unclear; we, the Rune Knights, suspect that it is because they want some secret document or plans from it.

Shrugging, Elizabeth sighed, passing a hand through her scarlet red locks, electric blue eyes staring at Deniel as he turned around to face her once again, upon inspecting the sight of destruction before him. Him assisting her sounded... like a quite good idea. Elizabeth had foolishly taken the Request and decided to go on it alone, not realising that, if whole groups of Knights were defeated, then she alone would probably lose, even die in the meantime. But with Deniel.... She couldn't lose with him assisting her. She still remembered the immense magic power he had unleashed the night they had met. He was no weakling, she was sure of that. I wouldn't mind it at all if you assist me. Everything is better than a lone soldier in a war, anyways, so I'd be really, really thankful to you if you assist me in this request. Smiling slightly, Elizabeth looked back at the Guildmaster hall. We need to protect this, and the city, at any cost. We cannot lose.

Before she could say, or do, anything else, a yell could be heard in the distance. It was slightly high-pitched, like the yell of an infant, although it seemed that, instead of a yell of some sorts, it tried to be a battle scream, or something similar to that. Her ears picking up on the sound, Elizabeth turned around, wondering exactly what was the source of it, her eyes scanning her environment, until her eyes met with a small, yellow figure, quickly flying towards them. ELIZABETH SILVERSHIEEEEEEEEEELD! Oh boy. Oooh boy. Elizabeth could recognise that voice, that tone, anywhere. She sweat dropped, trying to avoid facepalming and suppressing the incredible desire she had to kick Zero away. She was pretty sure she had locked him at home, to avoid him tagging along with her and making her have to worry for his well-being in battle. But the horrid lightning beast was too intelligent. He had made his way out. Crouching mere seconds before Zero could hit her face, Elizabeth rose an eyebrow as he faceplanted against the ground, a small whine coming from his direction as he did so.

Man, I've got a really retarded lightning beast for a pet, don't I? Elizabeth sighed, turning around to help Zero up, petting his small, feline-like body. The lightning beast huffed, trying to bite Elizabeth, who, thankfully, was fast enough as to remove her finger and avoid having a really nasty bite on it. And an aggressive one, too.

Jumping on her shoulder, Zero cushioned his head on his paws, laying down, eyeing Deniel suspiciously. He was like that with strangers, ever since Elizabeth became who she was today, honestly. Shut up. You locked me in again in order to make me stay at home, you meanie. He hissed, shaking his head, causing Elizabeth to laugh lightly and ignore his comment as she turned to Deniel, whom she had forgotten for a second. Uh, sorry, this is my pet, Zero. She turned to Deniel, trying to hold her laughter; for the situation was entirely too ridiculous.

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AND IT'S DARK ON A COLD DECEMBER,

Elizabeth was pretty amazed by Deniel's companion, she had to admit that. The introduction of his pet/weapon/best friend was, in a few words, the complete opposite of the introduction of Zero. While the lightning beast had been introduced shortly, and because of the ridiculousness of the situation, in which he had literally tried to assault her, and had ended up faceplanting against the earth, in the possibly most ridiculous way possible. However; Deniel's companion, at first a long, black katana, had been held by its owner, progressively getting covered in darkness. Finally, the blade apparently shortened, becoming from the long sword it was; to being only several inches long, narrower than before, and, as strange as it sounded, it began moving, crawling all the way up to Deniel's shoulder, where it stopped. Slowly, yet progressively the black material that suspiciously reminded of shadows dissappeared, it revealed a rather small creature, the figure of which reminded of that of a serpent, its body pitch black, with only a pair of blood red eyes having a different coloration from everything else. Compared to Zero's introduction, Nidhogg's introduction was spectacular.

Interesting... I look forward to working with both of you. Same goes for you, right, Zero? Elizabeth said, a small smile on her lips as she turned for a second towards her own companion expecting its confirmation to her statement, although the only thing she earned from the Lightning beast was a nod. Oh well; it would suffice. The deep, echoing voice coming from the tiny serpent called Elizabeth's attention back to him, causing her electric blue eyes to look at Nidhogg with obvious curiosity in her irises. Such a deep voice coming from a small serpent. One shouldn't judge a book by its cover, a simple phrase had so much sense, it was correct. Elizabeth had judged Nidhogg way too fast, and now she had been surprised.

Deniel's question made her mind finally leave aside the entire pet issue, and concentrate on the issue at hand. Her free hand on her waist, Elizabeth looked around, trying her best to remember all the details from the reports about the assaults on Clover, including the time, location, and material and human losses. Although she seemed quite the meathead, only interested in combat and satisfying her blood thirst, Elizabeth was an extremely clever woman, and all those reports had been engraved into her head, despite the fact that she had read them two times at most. From what she recalled, a few hours prior to her arrival, there had been an attack on Clover, centered on the North side of the city, in an attempt of the Masked Guild to get to the Guildmaster hall through the north side, which, naturally, had resulted in many material losses, yet thankfully no human losses. Many had been injured, both resident and Rune Knights, normal mages, yet no lives were lost. The battle had ended in the, apparently, tactical retreat of the Masked Guild.

Pointing behind her, she sighed, preparing to repeat all the information that had just went through her head to Deniel, just to fill him in the current situation. From what I recall reading in the reports, the last attack produced in Clover was early in the morning today, at the North side of the Guildmaster Hall. The battle resulted in many injured warriors, no casualties, and great material loss, or, in other words, buildings and other similar getting destroyed. We should possibly check this out first; gather the most information we can about the Masked Guild, so that, in case we get attacked, we can have strategical advantage by knowing either their fighting style, magic, etc. Elizabeth said, her tone becoming formal once more, electric blue eyes serene and focused on the task at hand. Hoping that Deniel followed her, the Shadow Assassin turned on her heels, heading towards the North part, the image of destruction that she had been staring a few seconds before repeating at the north side, becoming more and more obvious as she approached, the marks of destruction still recent, some buildings on fire. Thankfully, most of the injured were treated, or taken to camps in order to receive the needed attention from healers. Placing her hand on the broken wall of a nearby building, Elizabeth looked around, wondering who exactly they could ask, where they could seek answers to their questions. It's pretty obvious that something has happened here not too long ago, right? Elizabeth muttered, her eyes scanning the environment with curiosity.

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AND IT'S DARK ON A COLD DECEMBER,

 

Elizabeth followed Deniel from building to building, placing her helmet back on her head once more so to free her occupied hand and be able to inspect everything, touch it. Considering that she was wearing metallic gauntlets, she wouldn't have to worry about screwing up evidence that could possibly serve in the investigation that would possibly take place, led by the Rune Knights, of course, to determine more causes to this attack, more factors, that would make the image even clearer. Broken drawers, wardrobes, pertinences smashed to pieces, houses destroyed. Everything pointed towards the conclusion that the people in the houses had been assaulted and robbed, and, judging by the overall appearance of all scanned places that resistance to the assault has taken place, yet it was unclear which side was victorious. However; by the overall battle outcome, Elizabeth could easily determine that the resident were the losing side.

All the way, while the duo inspected the scene, both Elizabeth and Deniel had remained silent, their respective companions following their example. However; after a few minutes of investigation, Deniel's voice got to Elizabeth's ears once more, making her turn to him and take off her helmet for a second. She still found it weird to wear the helmet around him, for some reason. I bet it was no random attack. These members of the Masked Guild... They are trying to make people doubt in the legal mages overall, as not only Rune Knights have answered the distress call in Clover. Blue Pegasus; Fairy Tail, all light guilds have tried to help out a bit, and were defeated. Elizabeth commented, placing her hand on a glass shard that had fallen from a broken window, leaving it back in its original place seconds after that. I guess we should go and gather information about how those individuals look like, their fighting style. It would be better for us to have this strategical advantage if we have to face them. Knowing their moves can be insanely useful in a fight, I suppose you have figured that out already. Elizabeth nodded in agreement, looking around in curiosity.

I'm guessing that there would be improvised hospitals installed everywhere for those that are injured and simply can't go to a hospital because no places are left. Perhaps we could ask them? Zero mentioned, turning to look at Elizabeth, and then, at Deniel. Although he looked incredibly stupid, with the entire faceplant situation, Zero was intelligent. Incredibly intelligent. Although often he seemed the most retarded of the retarded, Zero was much, much more intelligent than anyone here. Mainly because he was around a thousand years old too. That'd be a good place to start at. Mind flying over the city and looking for them? You're the only one who can fly without having to transform, so yeah. And just try not to set something on fire, please. For your own safety.

Oh boy, Zero had heard the phrase "For your own safety" being said by Elizabeth enough times, and in similar situations, to know instantly what it meant, and that he was in trouble. Basically, for Elizabeth, "For your own safety" secretly meant "Do something stupid and I'll remove your head from your neck". Shivering, Zero nodded and propelled himself up in the sky, leaving Deniel, Elizabeth and Nidhogg alone, waiting for him. The trio could do nothing else, but await for the return of the lightning beast and expect him to guide them to the nearest infirmary, so they could gather any information from it. Leaning against a building, Elizabeth sighed, making sure all her armory pieces were in the correct place, and in perfect conditions. Considering her dynamic way of fighting, she could not permit herself for any weapon or armor of her to fail during battle.

A few minutes later, Zero returned, landing on Elizabeth's shoulder gracefully. Pointing to the left of the current location of the group, to a small street, Zero nodded slightly, as a signal that the nearest infirmary was that way. All to the left, guys. The nearest one I found is there, and it seems pretty much full, so I guess someone could answer your questions.

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AND IT'S DARK ON A COLD DECEMBER,

Thankfully, the path to the infirmary wasn't too long, so Elizabeth and Deniel wouldn't lose too much crucial time, and, if an attack occurred while they were away from the Guildmaster hall, they could easily return to their starting location and help with the defense. The infirmary itself was no building, no. It was a big, improvised tent-like place, where the dozens of injured were located. Whines, screams and cries of suffering could be heard occassionally in the place, sending chills down Elizabeth's very spine, a grimace of horror occupying her face for a second, before she managed to control her emotions once more, and replace the terrified face with a plain blank one. There were so many people that had witnessed the horrors of the attacks that had happened merely a few hours ago, so many people to interrogate. Perhaps some knew things that others did not, perhaps some had seen some important characteristics of the individuals that stood behind the attacks that had been demolishing Clover all week long.

Yes... Separating seems as the wisest thing to do right now, considering how many people we have to interrogate. Elizabeth muttered in agreement, her eyes scanning through the victims, wondering which one was the least harmed or affected, who should she begin interrogating. Hey, I won't scare them off, I'm not that scary, bloody hell... Right? Elizabeth cursed, playfully, and softly punching Deniel's shoulder, careful not to do something to Nidhogg while it. With one last wave, the Shadow Assassin turned her back on Deniel and Nidhogg, taking the opposite path to that that Deniel had taken.

Electric blue eyes scanning the room, while trying to avoid all nurses and doctors and not stop them from doing her job, Elizabeth's curious eyes finally found a subject that caught their attention more than the others. In the corner of the place, alone, hugging her knees, could be seen a dark haired girl, refusing to speak to any of the nurses that tried to catch her attention, or even look up. Her clothing was ripped, that Elizabeth could clearly see, and a miserable cloth was thrown over her to hide what the ripped parts showed. As she approached her, Elizabeth progressively began noticing the series of scars and blues that the girl had on her arms, legs, and any other part of her body that was visible, alongside many bandaged areas. Exhaling slowly, Elizabeth tried to put on her friendliest smile, glancing at Zero, whose attention seemed to have been caught by the dark haired girl too. Hesitating, Elizabeth approached the girl, sitting next to her silently, hands hugging her knees.

Hello. The redhead greeted, her voice soft, nice. The dark haired girl, upon hearing a voice that was unknown to her, yet soft and charming, turned her head slightly to look at her, revealing almond grey eyes, reddened beyond recognition because of the crying. Staring at Elizabeth for a few seconds, she proceeded to return to her previous pose, and thus was no longer looking at the redhaired newcomer. Please, don't ignore me. I won't hurt you, nor will I try to convince you to take whatever medicine the nurses are trying to get you to take. I just want to talk to you.

Possibly Elizabeth's words took the dark haired girl by surprise. Astonished, the girl quickly lifted her head to look at Elizabeth, curiosity in her stormy grey orbs. Y-you want to speak with me? Don't you have anything else to do than to speak with someone like me? The girl asked, her voice low and hesitating. A friendly smile on Elizabeth's lips as she shook her head, she turned her body fully to the girl, in order to face her completely. Nope. I really need to speak with someone like you. Let me introduce myself. I am Elizabeth Ginevra Silvershield, a Rune Knight. Now, I know that the fails commited by the other Rune Knights sent here to help will make you judge me as yet another useless mage, but, I promise that I am not. I seek information to help me stop this madness.

The girl was hesitant for a second, as if she was unsure weather to trust the Rune Knight or not; after all, it was because of the many fails of the Rune Knights that this hell had continued for longer than it should have. After a few minutes of silence, the girl nodded and spoke at last. Okay then... I am Laura. What exactly do you want to know, Miss Silvershield?

Elizabeth couldn't believe her luck. She had thought that the girl, with her looks, would be a hard, depressed nut to crack, but she had gave in easily, and had decided to cooperate the good way. People like these were pleasant to see and know. Quickly running through the questions she had in mind, Elizabeth bit her lip slightly, before turning to Laura once more. Let me see... What exactly happened to you this morning, Laura? When were you attacked? In what circumstances? With what? What did your attackers look like? The Shadow Assassin was pretty conscious that she had just showered the girl with too many questions, and in a too small time span. But... She was too excited, too curious, she wanted to know everything, realize what had happened to the poor girl and who had caused it.

I... Well... I was at home, with my little sister and mother. They had just came from Crocus to visit me... We were having breakfast when the attack occurred, until a couple of men, or women, I don't even know what they are, broke inside our house and began beating us up. I managed to protect my sister and mother by taking in the most blows, but, well... You see how I look like. I am not entirely sure what I was attacked with, I was too scared to notice that. The people who attacked me... They wore black cloaks, and some wore silver masks, others, golden ones. I couldn't see their faces... I'm sorry. Laura almost broke into tears, causing Elizabeth to give her a small pat on the shoulder, a friendly smile on her lips.

It's okay, Laura, It's okay. Your information has enlightened me about some things... Elizabeth lied, getting up. The only actual relevant information she had gathered from this was that the members of the Masked Guild apparently wore cloaks and a mask, its coloration varying between gold and silver, possibly depending on the member's skill. It was few, but something regardless. And Laura was the first person she interrogated anyways, perhaps the next ones hid more valuable information that Elizabeth had to discover.

Or she hoped so, at least.

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AND IT'S DARK ON A COLD DECEMBER,

The information about the masks was rather important, as it would serve as a feature that Elizabeth could use to distinguish at least some of them from the crowd. Hands on her hips, holding her helmet with one, electric blue eyes scanned the entire place, searching for other individuals that caught the interest more than others. Someone that caused an impact right off the bat, that looked like someone capable of answering questions more directly, and with information much more useful and clear than the information that anyone else would give. Pursuing her lips, Elizabeth wondered for a second how well Deniel was doing, if he had gathered some important information, before the thought of him was thrown out of her head, as the sight of a man in particular caught her attention. He was very bandaged, most of his arms and torso covered by the white bandages, alongside his left eye, although the bandage over his eye was stained with blood, to differ from everything else. Shivering, Elizabeth realised what had happened to it. Behind the bandage, there, where normally should be an eye, was an empty, bloody socket. Sighing, a shiver running down her spine once more, Elizabeth turned towards him fully, walking towards him calmly, a blank expression on her face.

He apparently noticed her, her presence was clear to him, even the fact that she proceeded to sit next to him, but he didn't bother speaking to the Knight. Turning his face the other way, the man huffed, crossing his hands over his chest. Hey... Uh, could I speak to you?

A few seconds of silence went by slowly, until a silent, low "No" came out of the man's mouth, short and cutting, leaving it clear that he did not want to lead a normal conversation with the charming redhead. However; Elizabeth was stubborn. This man had caught her interest, she wanted to know what had happened with him, what led to the loss of his eye, had he fought, what happened. His hostility did not push her away, it only gave her more of a reason to try to speak with him. And she was very persistant; if she wanted to speak with him, then she would. I am Elizabeth, a Rune Knight, and I am here to help you. Elizabeth stated softly, awaiting any reaction of the man. He glanced at her with his good eye, hatred easily visible in his electric blue eyes. It was curious, how both of them had electric blue eyes, and reacted similarly. If Elizabeth was in his situation, she would have tried to stab someone at this point.

Like how the other Rune Knights tried to help? You guys are useless. It's not like I'm any better, though. His voice was blunt, harsh, and chilling cold. As soon as he finished his sentence, the man turned around, going back into "Ignore Elizabeth" Mode, something which annoyed the redhead. She was conscious that the fame of the Rune Knights was any good now, with all the fails, but, many legal mages had failed too. What had he meant with "I am not any better", though? I will help out, though. The Rune Knights made an error by sending the newbies here. I am no Newbie, I am not useless. Please, I just want to gather information so I can help out. Please collaborate.

The pleading tone of her voice surprised herself too. She had never thought she'd plead someone, she'd ask him to give her information like this. She was pitiful. Really pitiful. A shake of her head, she concentrated on the task, hoping that he had believed her words and would help her out. Slowly turning towards her, the man scanned her from head to toe, mistrust visible in his blue iris. After a few minutes, he nodded slightly, as a sign that he believed her. With that armor, and the mask, you look more like a Dark mage that came from Iceberg, honestly. He pointed out, sighing. A small smile drew on Elizabeth's lips. Yes, she was easy to mistake with a dark mage of Iceberg. But the outfit fit her and who she was. Oh well.

Thank you for believing me. Now... May I ask you what exactly happened to you? Who attacked you? Did they use weapon or magic? Was it one person, or many? Elizabeth spit out the questions fast yet again, disregarding that it may be a tad bit hard to follow. Thinking it through for a second, the man sighed and turned fully to Elizabeth, his electric blue eye focused on one of hers, or both, it was hard to say.

I am a Sabertooth mage that came to help out. I thought I could deal with them. But I failed. Five assaulted me while I was helping the guards defend the Reunion Hall, all of them used some sort of magic... I don't even remember. One took out my left eye, the others stabbed me and beat me to the groun. All wore cloaks and masks, silver, golden, etc. Masks, that's the important thing. Pitiful, am I not?

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AND IT'S DARK ON A COLD DECEMBER,

Elizabeth wanted to tell the poor man that he was not pitiful. He had fought, he had tried to defend Clover, losing was never pititful, it was always a possibility... But then she realised that she couldn't say it. Mainly because Elizabeth realised how she would have thought exactly the same thing if she had been in his situation. She was teh Master of Shadows, she had no right to lose. If she did, she was deemed as pitiful. Therefore, saying the opposite of what she thought deep down was rather stupid. Thanking the man, whose name she had yet to figure out, Elizabeth got up and walked away, hands over her chest. Still no relevant information. Had everyone only noticed their appearance?

Suddenly, however, a hand on her shoulder stopped her, causing her to quickly turn around, suspicion on her face. Behind her was the man with one eye, a determined expression on his face, anger obvious in his blue eye. I forgot to tell you. While I was laying on the ground, the pain of the loss of my eye killing me, I saw with my other eye how some of those filthy bastards were running out of the houses, their hands filled with some pretty valuable objects. Gold pendants, small statues, relics.

Elizabeth's eyes widened. This gave an entirely new turn to the situation. Gold pendants, statues, relics? Those were all things that had a very high price on the market, and if they were sold to the right person, one could easily get rich within no time. Then... Perhaps the attack on Clover this morning was simply to gather precious posessions that they could sell to someone and gather money. Lots of money. Clenching her fists, Elizabeth nodded shortly, flames visible in her electric blue eyes for a second. Thank you. This certainly makes quite a lot of things clear for me. Elizabeth bowed slightly, a small habit she had adopted upon becoming the Master of Shadows, for it was the way of showing respect within the Shadow Clan. It was only used when someone was really thankful; or respected the other person, usually their supperior, a lot.

Before she could continue her path though, the hand that was placed on her shoulder, it's grip tightened, causing Elizabeth's eyebrow to rise in curiosity. The man before her looked at the ground, his body shaking slightly, his fist clenched. And please... Make those bastards that took my eye pay. Without anything further, the man turned around and returned to his improvised bed, laying down, a medic quickly going to check on him before proceeding to make sure the other patients are more or less sane too. Or well, not sane; but at least safe, make sure their lives weren't in danger.

It was time Elizabeth returned to Deniel and shared the -albeit little- information she had about the Masked Guild, its members' appearance and the objective of today's attack. Her pace quick, yet silent and elegant, Elizabeth returned to the place where they had separated, looking for Deniel, until, she literally saw him before her. He had found her before she had found him, but it did not matter. At least they had reunited. The information Deniel had gathered was pretty similar to that Elizabeth had reunited, pretty much nothing new. She was convinced he knew about the appearance of the members of that pitiful guild, as it was something probably all of the attacked would had mentioned it. It was easy not to notice it. Yeah, I came to that conclusion too. I am pretty sure you know it already, but, apparently all of them wear cloaks, and a mask, the color of which varies. I suspect that the color varies depending on how strong said member of the guild is, or how high he is in the hierarchy of said guild. So far we have two types of mask, golden ones, and silver ones. Elizabeth pointed out, going through the important details that she had gathered, which, sadly, were not many. It's obvious we won't gather much more information from here, Liz. Not many seemed to have noticed anything beside the appearance and the fact that the members stole some precious objects.

A short nod came from Elizabeth as a response to the words of Zero. She trusted his words unconditionally; and realised how intelligent was. Thus, if he said something, there was a logical reason behind it. Besides; the redhead had arrived at the same conclusion anyways. Right. So what now, Deniel? Do we keep investigating outside, back in the houses, or should we go and look for another infirmary?

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... A magic user? Elizabeth's mind immediately shifted to thinking how much trouble that would be for the duo, if the members of said guild were magic users. Unless they were some weaklings, which, judging by the damage they had dealt on Clover in the week that had passed, they were not. Despite discovering that their enemies were possibly mages, and strong ones at that, too, hesitation and doubt were never seen in the serious electric blue eyes. Mainly because, despite realising that the enemies she was facing possibly exceeded her in terms of power, Elizabeth was sure that in the end, both she and Deniel would end up victorious.

In order to sense sheer Magic Power, one must have insanely sharp senses, that was crystal clear. Unhidden interest in her eyes, Elizabeth crossed her hands over her chest, wondering if Deniel would succeed in tracking down anything, anyone that isn't a Rune Knight, Legal Mage or normal citizen. He had proved to be capable of a plethora of things; convincing people that they are wrong, making them doubt even the ideals they defended most, he had proved that he was capable of controling the beast within him, he had proved to hide incredible power. Yet, would he be capable of this? Elizabeth did not dare to doubt it, for all she knew he could be. With curiosity in her eyes, Elizabeth watched Deniel as he closed his eyes and apparently concentrated, hands behind her back. Zero began saying something, but the redhaired mage flicked him on the forehead in order to make him shut up and keep quiet for a little while.

A few minutes after that, which went by slowly, in complete silence, Deniel's sudden words caused Elizabeth to look up surprise in her eyes. Without wasting a single second, she followed the black haired mage towards the magic source that he suspected belonged to a member of the Masked Guild. Slipping her helmet once more on her head, hands prepared to summon forth Illusion and Delusion, her beloved blades, from their hideout, attached to her dark armor, Elizabeth walked after Deniel, the duo and their respective pets passing through the silent streets of Clover. Most of the resident had left the city in fear and seeked hideout in other locations, the rest had hidden themselves well, barricaded inside their own homes. Finally, after walking for a few minutes, Deniel stopped right before a two-story red house, which gave the impression of being simple and innocent, definetly not the place where a dark mage would hide. Doors locked, and surrounded by a neat white fence, the house gave off the impression of being property of a normal citizen, without hesitation. But was it really. Awed by the statue of the dragon which stood before the house, Elizabeth shook her head for a second, sighing. Right. She nodded, taking off her helmet in order to reveal once more her beautiful face, a blank expression on it. Let's get to it, shall we?

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If he doesn't open the door the next time Deniel knocks, I'm sneaking in.

Waiting impatiently for the door to open at last and reveal the face of the owner of the house, Elizabeth leaned against the doorframe, hands crossed over her chest, eyes locked on the door that the duo awaited to open. Elizabeth seriously wondered if whoever was inside, member or not of the Masked Guild, would bother to open, given the situation at Clover. If he was a member of the Masked Guild, really, and did open, then Elizabeth would deem that guy either insanely stupid, or simply too confident for his own good. At the first knock, the door remained shut, much to Elizabeth's irritation. The exact same result at the second knock. Elizabeth noticed how Deniel himself was begining to get impatient, and she was more than ready to throw one of her infamous shadow clones inside the house and switch places with it, only in order to make progress. But before either of the duo could pass from the nice strategy to breaking the door down, a click was heard as the locks were slowly removed and the door slightly opened, in order to reveal a part of a human peeking behind it.

Finally.

As Deniel spoke, introducing both himself and the redhead, Elizabeth decided to keep her mouth shut for the while, and let him go ahead and interrogate the man. It was funny how she, with her looks, looked more like the good cop, and he, with his looks, resembled more the bad cop. Yet the roles were switched in this case, as, judging by the way Deniel spoke, he was going to be the good cop... Or so it seemed. Good day. Elizzabeth only greeted, her voice clear, loud, serene, after Deniel introduced her. The man looked like a normal, scared citizen, who had nothing to do with this whole issue. But Elizabeth trusted Deniel, and believed that the man before them had more to do with the Masked Guild than they anticipated.

As the man stepped away and let the duo of mages access his house, Elizabeth followed Deniel silently, her hand gripping her helmet tight, blue eyes scanning the scenery quietly. While Deniel would interrogate the man about his knowledge about the Masked Guild, Elizabeth should open up her eyes for anything suspicious that could prove the duo that Deniel was right, indeed, and that the man they were speaking to at the moment was related somehow to the Masked Guild. Goingh through a narrow hallway, that separated in three paths, leading to three different rooms, Elizabeth, Deniel and their host made their way towards the living room, elegantly decorated, with a fancy carpet adorning the floor, a coffee table in the middle of the room, surrounded by three couches, and a fireplace with shelves above, decorated with a plethora of objects, most of which surely costed a fortune. Listening to the conversation that took place before her, standing next to Deniel, silent, Elizabeth looked like the typical serious partner that appeared in the movies, and only spoke if the person the duo was dealing with got too annoying. Her blue eyes scanning through the room slowly, Elizabeth analyzed any detail she caught that she considered odd, and didn't take her eyes off of it, heck, she barely blinked, until she determined it was not that important. Meanwhile, the man they had went to interrogate swore that he knew nothing about the Masked Guild, something which made a small, too small to be noticed, smirk spread on Elizabeth's face.

Yeah, sure... I bet you know nothing. Not going to fall for this one, bro. The thought caused the smirk grow slightly on Elizabeth's face as she walked back, leaning against the doorframe, her eyes still scanning the room, the shelves containing nothing of her interest. An irritated sigh escaping her lips, Elizabeth felt a paw softly poke her neck, causing her to turn towards Zero, rising an eyebrow. I will act like I sneak away from you. Act like you follow me and use the clones to sneak in the other rooms and check them out. Zero whispered, Elizabeth recognising the language of Midi. She knew it, could speak it, and understood Zero, a smile appearing on his lips. Of course, he already had a plan in order to get things to work. The feline was insanely intelligent, without doubt. Nodding slighlty, the nod almost impossible to notice, Elizabeth looked back at Deniel, hoping he'd notice her plan, or at least not consider her a complete goof for what was about to happen. Quickly jumping off of her shoulder, Zero ran off towards the exit, his soft paws making no noise as he did so. Turning around bruskily, acting surprised, Elizabeth huffed. Oh my god, not again. Come back here, you retarded pet, don't make me chase you.

Heading after Zero, Elizabeth glanced back, quickly gathering the shadows and creating a clone right there, where the hallway separated in three paths that led to the three different rooms, the clone well hidden. Running out of the house, and on to the green grass, Elizabeth looked around, noticing Zero right next to her. Good idea, Zero. The lightning beast only nodded as an answer, laying down on the grass. Without wasting time, Elizabeth closed her eyes, feeling as the soft grass beneath her dissapeared, and was exchanged with the hard floor of the house once more. Opening her eyes, she looked around, noticing that she had teleported herself right in front of the second room, there, where she couldn't be seen. Careful not to make a sound, the Shadow Assasin sneaked into the room, slipping her helmet on in order to have her hands free. Just in case.

The second room was a kitchen, a rather fancy, clean one, with all types of food, dishes, etc, neatly slotted and everything in complete order. There was nothing that caught her eye, causing the redhead to sigh in annoyance. Quickly going out of the room, and moving on to the third one, Elizabeth hoped Deniel could buy her some more time, so she could investigate and find anything of interest, but she shouldn't relay on that. She didn't expect him to be capable of getting anything else from him, so asking the host the same questions over and over would make him suspect. The third room turned out to be a perfect bedroom. A big, king-sized bed could be found in the middle, with a beautiful, golden, shining cover on it, illuminated and shining because of the sun rays that fell on it through the majestic, enormous window... Wait, golden? Shining more than the cover, Elizabeth noticed an object laying in the middle of the bed. Approaching cauteously, she reached out to take it, gasping as she noticed that it was a golden mask. The golden mask of the members of the Masked Guild. Hissing, she quickly left it on its place, taking a few steps back. Bingo. You're mine now.

Without hesitation, she proceeded to concentrate, closing her eyes once more, Elizzabeth felt as the ground under her was switched back to the soft grass, a small gust of wind brushing past her. Opening her electric orbs, Elizabeth looked back inside, hoping Deniel would get out soon. Snapping her fingers, Elizabeth caused the clone, now inside the bedroom, to desintegrate, turn back into shadows. Watching her with curiosity, Zero rose an eyebrow. Well? He asked, jumping back on his master's shoulder. He's a member of the Masked Guild.

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Not long after Elizabeth herself sneaked out of the house, Deniel joined her, with their dearest subject closing the door behind them, obviously glad that the two mages were going away, without discovering anything. Or he thought that they had not found out anything. Poor man, he didn't even realise that the duo, or Elizabeth for now, knew more than he would want her to. Nodding at Deniel as a greeting, Elizabeth made him a sign for them to go, heading towards the white fence silently. She would not share with him the information she had gathered until they put a decent distance between themselves and the house. The shadow assassin was pretty sure that their beloved member of the Masked Guild was eavesdropping on them at this moment, somhow. Apparently, Deniel had thought of the same thing as Elizabeth, for he didn't ask her anything until they were away from the house. Far away.

Then, when the duo had put a safe distance between themselves and the house of the member of the Masked Guild, Deniel turned around to face Elizabeth, asking her what had she found out. Glancing back at the direction where the house was, the redhead stared at it for a second, as if she was checking if the place was safe, before turning to Deniel once more. You were right. He is a member of the Masked Guild. Elizabeth started explaining, her voice serious, yet soft, not cold, like it used to be before. Before she met Deniel and he proved her wrong about everything she believed in. I'm guessing you already figured that out; but the little scene me and Zero pulled was just to get me to sneak inside the other rooms, which I did. And guess what I found in one of them? A Golden mask, Deniel. J have the feeling that it is not a trophy of sorts, no, and you probably agree with me on that. The guy is a member of the Masked Guild.

Crossing her hands over her chest, Elizabeth leaned against a tree, her eyes focused on Deniel, curiosity in them. You didn't get anything out of him, right? I bet he's not as stupid as to say something about his own faction. The redhead asked, running a hand through her locks slowly, strategies of what to do from now on running through her head. Should they follow the man from before back to the base of the Masked Guild? Because if they received the name of a "Guild", they were an actual faction, and possibly had a headquarters, similar to any other guild that exists, be it dark, light, or even neutral. Should they go inside the Guildmaster hall and try to figure out what exactly the members of the Masked Guild wanted? There were so many things they could do, so many strategies, so many outcomes of different scenarios, and all of them were running through Elizabeth's head, some more reasonable than others.

Shaking her head slightly, she waited patiently for Deniel to explain to her whatever he had to explain to her, before she got away from the tree, still looking around, seeking members of the Masked Guild or someone suspicious behind any corner. What should we do now? Should we follow the guy from before to the Headquarters of the Masked Guild? Becuase, I can hide in the shadows and follow him pretty easily... Or should we go seek the reason as to why the Masked Guild wants to attack the Guildmaster Hall so badly? Up to you, I can adapt to any situation at ease. Yes, up to Deniel... Because if it was up to Elizabeth, she would have found the nearest abandoned house, the nearest standing bed, and would have went to sleep. She was that lazy. Gladly, she had never done it so far in a job. She managed to convince herself of the opposite before it was too late... Seconds before it was too late.

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Of course. All the fancy, valuable items in the living room were not objects acquired legally, Elizabeth should have realized it sooner. They were the items stolen from the citizens of Clover, or bought with the money acquired from the sell of the items stolen from the residents during the latest attack, or previous ones. Sighing, Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief. She wanted to give back the residents their valuable items, as possibly some were items that have been passed on by generations, or antiques that had costed a lot, or well, simply items who had costed the residents a lot.

The idea of tracking down the headquarters by following the member they had found earlier and beating everyone there sounded very, very appealing to Elizabeth. She wanted this issue to end as sooner as possible, so what better way to prevent more attacks and destruction, to prevent more injured, than to attack the guild members at their own base? Waving her hands slightly in order to make Illusion and Delusion appear, a smile on her lips as she thought of the bloodshed that would happen in that place once she foot in it, Elizabeth realized what she was doing, what was going on in her very own head, and shook her head, huffing. No. No more dark thoughts. Her mood seemed to darken a bit as the dark thoughts invaded her head, even if it was only for a second; however, her dark mood didn't last long, as as soon as "relax" was mentioned, Elizabeth looked at Deniel with unhidden happiness and interest, like a cat who heard the mention of food. Resting a bit seems like a good idea...

Following Deniel silently, with a smile on her face, Elizabeth looked around, yet keeping an eye out for any hidden perill behind the corner, for anything that could look even slightly suspicious. Entering the inn her dark-haired partner had made his way in seconds ago, Elizabeth looked around, surprised by the ruckus inside it. Men getting drinks, women serving them, the place most certainly looked like the typical inn, however Elizabeth had not expected to see a properly working one, considering the situation at hand in Clover. Perhaps the men that were drinking had came here to forget their fear through alcohol. Following Deniel to the bar counter, looking like a little girl, skipping over him with her hands behind her back and all, blades hidden, Elizabeth looked around, curiosity visible in her blue eyes. Had Deniel said that they'd be staying for two nights? Why so long? She didn't mind spending time with him; she enjoyed it a lot, to be honest. But, why that much time? Heading over to the room they had been assigned, Elizabeth awaited the door to be opened, her eyes scanning the room with curiosity. Beeeed. She laughed, faceplanting against one of the beds. Literally. Although she was the shadow assassin, Elizabeth was quite the goofball sometimes. And this only proved it. Sitting on the bed, recovering from her goofyness, which had caused Zero to stare at her and shake his head in disapproval, Elizabeth looked at Deniel with interest. I could have paid half for the two nights we are spending here, you know. You didn't have to pay it all. And besides; why are we staying two nights? Not like I mind, but I'm still curious.

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