"Well, don't blame me when your hands melt away or you catch on fire."

Flux chuckles and opens up their book, deciding that here is as good a place as their previous location to read it.

"But!" Namura stopped the aetherborn from cracking open the book. The idea of her hands, her most vital tool, melting away was not a pleasant one. "If you could make me something better than this ring, the deal could still stand." She quirked one eyebrow up, inviting him to accept her proposition. 

Arial and Elto are solemn (though Elto always looks solemn), during the funeral rites. Passing by Lero, they both thank him for his kind words. Arial continues on towards the food, while Elto returns to the ship and begins gathering supplies they can take. As the feast goes on you notice that the sun begins to set, casting the forest into a strange light, as certain plants begin to glow with the lack of sun. The time the elves were suppose to come quickly arrives, and just as quickly disappears, as everyone enjoys the food and the strange lights. Pretty soon, an hour has passed since the due time the elves were supposed to arrive, as the entire forest has transfigured into a beautiful, yet dark, scenery, as different plants glow in strange, yet beautiful, colors.

"Namura," Lero moves quickly next to Namura, "I fear the worst."

He gazes ahead at the colors that dot the night-scape, "How dangerous is it for us to search for them in the dark?"  

"Unless you know what it is you want in more detail, I'm afraid I don't know if I can help you."

Flux suddenly realises that the Elves are late.

"It would seem that our aid is late. I wonder what happened to them?"

Before the ranger could think up a suitable gadget to ask Flux for, Namura found the pirate beside her. "Namura,"  his eyes darted around the landscape, and she could see that Lero was nervous. "I fear the worst. How dangerous is it for us to search for them in the dark?"

"Give me- just give me one minute," Namura breathed deeply, standing up from her seat. "One completely uninterrupted moment, alright?" The ranger didn't wait for a response, immediately turning around and walking to the water's edge. She sat down and began to meditate, using the magic of the forest to search for constructs.

"I think Fhestrynn was attacked," Namura whispered, grabbing Lero and pulling him away from the table. "I can see constructs, where they are and how many. There was a big clump of them right where I guessed Fhestrynn to be, which makes sense. But now... Lero, there's so few left. Only 35."

"We need to see it for ourselves. Can you take me there? Just to the outskirts to confirm." Any of the revelry that was seen during the dinner is gone, Lero is in focus mode on the situation and his complete focus is on the disaster that may be looming. "We don't have much time. If Fhestrynn has fallen, they'll be finding our location soon. If not, we may be able to help them."

Duncan was on his feet. Only 35! Looking at Namura, then to Lero and the rest of the companions. Closing his eyes he was reorienting his thoughts. His eyes shot opened, seeming harder than usual, "We need to move now." Not waiting for a reply from anyone he picked up his sword and began to make his way Northeast towards the elven settlement.

"I know exactly where it is, and I can get us there," Namura nodded solemnly. "But Lero, we can't go alone. Whatever attacked Fhestrynn... they took out so many thopters. I'm... I'm scared." The ranger found herself feeling suddenly very vulnerable and very exposed. 

Duncan apparently overheard their conversation, and burst to his feet. "Wait!" Namura commanded, her voice reverberating across the feast. "Listen, the elves haven't arrived yet, and I just found out some information that leads me to believe that they were under attack. I think we need to go and look into it, as many of us possible."

"Hmm... we should find out what happened, but - DUNCAN, WAIT A MOMENT! THINK BEFORE ACTING! WE NEED TO PLAN A LITTLE BEFORE GOING! I'll come along, and leave one of my servos here so we can communicate with those still here if the elves do turn up here, unless everyone is coming. Obviously Namura is coming, and Lero and Duncan evidently want to come as well. If any others want to come with us, you'll have to hurry up. There, planning done. Now you can go Duncan."

Flux puts their book away, in a waterproof case, and  walks to the shore of the island, and keeps walking until they are submerged up to their chest, at which point they start to swim. Their thopter, carrying one servo, flies directly above them. The other servo suddenly speaks in Flux's voice.

"If everyone is coming, could this servo be brought across in a waterproof case please? If some are staying behind, then don't bother, obviously."

Arial walks over to the group of Renegades, seeing themselves visibly excited about something. Sliding over, she adjusts the javelin on her back. "Is this about the elves being late, or how beautiful this forest is, night or day?"

Elto arrives soon afterwards, directly behind him. An aetherborn would sense extreme nervousness, as his greatsword is strapped to his back, and the plates on his body have been replaced with ones much sturdier. Nevertheless, he approaches the gathering group of people. "Why is Duncan running off to go cross the lake?" Arial turns, hearing his robotic voice, and squints at him. "Elto? What are you wearing, and what is strapped to your back?" "Captain, I...." "Oh. That's just your sword you keep on trying to hide from me." Elto's mechanical eyes no wide, as he stands there, motionless. How long has she known?

Lero nods to the Captain, "There seems to be trouble in Fhestrynn and we're heading out to investigate. I assume there'd be no problem with me joining them? At the very least we might be able to get a discount on the Aether." He looks out at Duncan as he swims across the lake, "Your orders?" 

She nods. "Orders are to go after Fhestrynn. Elves aren't known to be late. I also haven't seen action in awhile, and could use the excitement to get my legs stretched." She laughs, beginning some light stretches. "Namura." She flashes a grin. "You're the most feral one here, and you know the forest here, right? You take point, and get us there quickly and in one piece. For now, it seems we're all one crew, stuck in this hauntingly beautiful forest... together." 

Finishing her stretching, she readjusts the daggers at her sides, turning to Elto. "I need you to wait here, Elto. I'm giving you unofficial command of the ship and the crew here. Make sure they're alive when we return, okay?" She smiles, clasping him on the back. "You'll do fine."

This must be as close to a dream come true as lifecrafts can experience! Stuttering, he replies, "A... Aye, captain! I'll keep them safe!"

"Have fun Elto.  Stay out of my brandy though!" He glares at the lifecraft as he says this and turns to slosh through the water to the shore. "Not a single drop!"  

"Master Lero, you know alcohol has no eff..... Oh. This is what Arial is always telling me not to do." He goes motionless for a few seconds. "Uhh.... I'll drink it all? Yes! I'll drink it all, Master Lero!" The crew, finishing their meal, begins to clean up the dinner, as if ready to go down for the night. The forest continues to darken, casting everything into a low light, as the lake reflects the glowing colors of the forest.

It seemed that everyone was whipped into a frenzy at the thought of a potential attack. Duncan was already swimming away, but Namura was confident they could figure things out before he got too far. She didn't want him lost in the forest forever, but she would be able to find him effeciently. 

"Namura," the captain joined in the conversation. The ranger knew that the pirate wasn't exactly her biggest fan. "You're the most feral one here, and you know the forest here, right? You take point, and get us there quickly and in one piece. For now, it seems we're all one crew, stuck in this hauntingly beautiful forest... together." Namura decided to remind herself to ask someone if feral was a compliment later.

She couldn't help but be shocked, yet again, that these people would be following her. "It's only an hour away, I can get us there," Namura responded, already beginning to turn away from the firelight and toward the lake. "If you're coming, we're leaving now."

As Lero, Duncan, and Kraithee had already experienced, the elf was not a patient woman. She moved fast, and so she wasted little time before diving right back into the lake.

This time, there was no sun to warm her dark skin when she emerged from the cool water. "Duncan, wait!" She called out the Mystic, wringing her tunic dry. "You're not even going the right way!"

Namura waited for everyone to join her on the beach before giving out any instructions. "Here's all I know, earlier in the day, there were over 75 constructs right around Fhestrynn. Now, there's only about 35. Something must have wiped them out, and I'd bet my bow that same thing is what prevented the elves from meeting us," the elf spoke just barely loud enough for everyone to hear her. "It's an hour's journey to Fhestrynn if we make good time, which is what I intend to do. We need to be quiet, fast, and prepared." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and attempting to feel the pulse of the forest. "Let's go."

Flux runs along, thopter hovering above one shoulder, servo sitting on the other. Their mind is racing. Why would there be an attack on the elven city. While the elves were opposed to the Consulate, there had never been any conflict between the two in the past. Perhaps there was something on that Dhund operative that let her employer know she had fallen, and the Consulate had determined that the Renegades would be passing through Fhestrynn? Unlikely, but possible. In either case, they rummaged around in their satchel before pulling out a flask of a slightly green substance (actually just green water, and not alchemical acid). In an attempt to lighten the mood, they ran up beside Namura and tossed it to her.

"This one can melt stuff with great ease, and the glass is extremely breakable. Here, catch."

After swimming through the water Duncan had slowed just a bit. This time he would not let innocents die, he would not! Nothing but the thought of saving those people was in his mind, no planning, no waiming just movementioned and action.

"Duncan, wait!" Namura called out, "You're not even going the right way!"

Wrong way means time lost, time lost means innocent people dead.

As quickly as it had came, Duncan stopped in his tracks, turned around and made his way back to the group. Sometimes he had to go slow to move fast, this was one of those moments. He listened intently, but was on the move with the word, "Go."

Buama gives Elto a big grin and a wink before heading off after the others. She is not surprised the captain knew about his fine sword and armor. At least, they had managed to make it work more optimally the day before. Who knew what Elto might have to slice and dice with it? She chuckles as she easily swims through the water after the others. She is not breathless despite spending most of the time just below the surface.

She quickly pulls her thunder cannon from its waterproof bag and made sure it was loaded and primed as Namura got Duncan to stop running off in the wrong direction.

She hefts the weapon up with a grin. "If it's within 500 feet and I can see it, I hopefully can hit it hard. I know these slugs can knock things back if they hit. It's rather fun slamming some enemies around from afar and watching the chaos. It's gonna let the forest know I am here though once fired, so it might be a good idea I get setup where I can shoot and not be near any of you sneaky types." She laughs. "Hmm, Namura, once there and we still have element of surprise you might be able to point me to a good spot. I have no fear of heights."

"Hmm, Namura, once there and we still have element of surprise you might be able to point me to a good spot," Buama addressed her, already thinking ahead. While the two were not alike in many ways, the ranger respected her desire to plan ahead. "I have no fear of heights."

"In about 30 minutes, we'll cut off from the main road and go in as stealthily as possible," she began, walking down the path as she spoke. "I'd like the element of surprise on our side for as long as possible, so we'll hold off on your crazy death thing until the last second."

While not at a run, Namura set the pace at a brisk walk. She was on the lookout for any clues on the side of the trail, and while others were ooing and ahhing at the bioluminescent organisms that dotted the landscape, she saw every mushroom and tree as a clue.

"This one can melt stuff with great ease, and the glass is extremely breakable," Flux ran up beside her, holding up a small green vial. "Here, catch." Suddenly, the mystery dangerous liquid was flying towards her, and if aetherborns had mouths, Namura would have sworn this one was smiling.

To her credit, the elven woman did not scream. She did, however, spit out a string of curse words as she immediately dropped the hand-melting liquid onto the ground and jumped backwards. "You Tanar'ri'Jaless!" Namura exclaimed. "I haven't even broken anything yet."