Luna nodded and stayed where she was as to not make him think she was here just because he was. Her heart was still going crazy and if he left it would hopefully go back to normal, "You're welcome. If you need anything else don't be afraid to ask."
“Okay,” he paused as he moved to get up. “Are you alright?” He looked at her closely. Oton had noted her previous ‘symptoms’, and wanted to make sure she was okay before he left.
"I, um, I'm fine," Luna hadn't been expecting him to ask her that. Or talk to her at all after he started to stand. She took a deep breath and tried to give him a smile, "Yes, I'm fine."
Although he appeared to tilt his head, the answer was acceptable and Oton moved away. “Well, I’ll be off on my own now, then. Thank you again,” he added, before going to leave the pub. While Oton had his suspicions, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to go straight out and ask the woman what she was. Perhaps she didn’t even know herself. It just seemed a bit blunt and maybe even rude of him to do so.
He moved out of the pub and began in the direction of the plants she had told him about.
Luna let out a deep breath as he left. The moment he did her body started to relax and her gaze trailed after him. What was he that caused her to react this way? Did he have some type of magical item that caused this? No, if that was the case other patrons of the bar would be reacting the same. A few moments passed before she stood up and left the pub as well. She still had errands to run and then needed to get home to help her father with dinner.
Oton soon came across the area she’d spoken of. It wasn’t far, not far at all. Or maybe Oton just walked fast. Could be either or.
He made sure he had the small vials with him. They weren’t very big vials at all, quite small rather. For each plant he found he put only a bit into the two vials he had on him. First was grass, the easiest to find. And then some moss, which he found on a rock shortly after. The flowers, he required to walk a bit farther for.
Once that was all collected for, he took out a much smaller vial than the others he had. Salamander Blood, strikingly similar to Dragon’s blood, oddly enough. He put only a drop in each vial before sealing them all up, putting them away for now. Those would come into use later.
Oton stood up again, and ‘breathed’ in. And out. He didn’t really breathe at all, frankly. Even just breathing now for him was very foreign, putting it simply. He pulled away from the area he was previously kneeling at and looked around, deciding to stay for a bit and think out his plans.
Luna finished running the errands in record time. She had a basket full of bread and a couple of fruits and vegetables. The funds she had just gotten earlier in the day were already diminished to only a piece or two. She would have to go out hunting again sooner than later, but now that there were people in town to finally kill the dragon, she wasn't all that worried. Though if they didn't do anything about the dragon in a timely manner, she might just go out and kill it herself. Most likely die horribly in the process, but at least she would have tried.
She made her way up the path from town to her and her father's little house north fo town. The same direction she had told that man from the pub he would find his plants. She half hoped she would run into him again, but at the same time, she didn't. Her feet traveled down the familiar path though she was more than aware in case anything tried to jump her. Namely Dire Wolves.
Oton had been leaning against one of the trees for some time now, occasionally checking the vials to see if anything had changed or not. Sooner or later though, the colours within the vials almost seemed to blend together into a much darker shade. Like a dark red, almost.
After a bit, Oton decided it was at a correct shade and took only one vial out. He momentarily lifted his helmet, but not to reveal a human face, but one of a skeleton instead. Parting his jaws slightly, he exhaled, as a chill came across the vial. He popped open the lid and held it still.
Oton gathered what energy he could. He would’ve winced if he could at the physical changes in the environment around him. Gathering energy for his magic meant having to take that energy from others, too. Be it plants or walking, breathing creatures. It wasn’t a big area affected, no, it was quite a small area affected by his ability. But anyone walking near here would surely notice how the plants and trees almost looked limp, like the life had been sucked from them.
Well, that was pretty much what had happened, after all.
Oton swirled his left hand in what seemed to be nonsensical motions, holding the vial in his other. But instead, the colour of the liquid within shifted into a dark grey instead of the previous red. After a few moments, which felt like the longest time, Oton put away the vial and tilted his helmet back down. He was unsure when the disguise would return, so for the time being, he would need to keep down low. And he was quite sure the usage of his abilities probably alerted some creatures..maybe even that dragon, but probably not enough to have it come looking.
Oton stood up straight again and walked away from the area as though nothing had happened. Just in case, he wished to get away from this area that he had..changed.
Luna felt a chill run through her as she passed the clearing. The plants there looked a little lifeless and she frowned in thought trying to figure out what could have done that. She stopped in her tracks and glanced around the clearing. Her eyes couldn’t see anything wrong though it felt wrong.
Luna didn’t see that man either. She figured he had gone back into town already. Giving the clearing one last glance, she continued on her way home. Though the unrest never really went away.
Oton paused for a moment as though he had noticed something. Which he had. That woman was nearby again. Though she seemed to be moving away from what he could tell, off to somewhere else. And that wasn’t really his business, after all.
Though he continued on his way, he slowed down in pace.
Luna arrived at her home and called out as she put the basket on the counter, “I’m back dad.”
Her father’s head popped out from wherever it had been. She knew the two of them weren’t related by blood. He had dark almost smokey skin while hers, well, wasn’t. That and her father had been upfront about it with her, “Oh good, I was worried you went and died.”
“I’m not dead yet,” Luna snorted finally getting a chance to relax after a semi stressful day.
Oton was walking for some time when he noticed the ground around him seemed to darken, as though covered by a shadow. Thinking, Oton stopped moving, though the shadow seemed to pass over.
He then saw it, from a distance.
Perhaps that was enough to alert it, then..
The dragon hadn’t seem to notice him yet, but it was soaring around quite a distance away from him. At the speeds the dragon could fly at, there was no way he could catch it, unless the dragon stopped or slowed down. It seemed to circle around, like a vulture. Oton ducked back towards the treeline, deciding to stay low and see if the dragon passed over or not. If it didn’t..
Well, he’d figure it out.
Luna continued on with her day helping her dad around the house though she kept the encounter with the stranger to herself. Her father could be… Overprotective when he wanted to be. No need for him to get worried over nothing. Her eyes wandered around checking outside. She was being cautious with the dragon around like she had been for the past few days. There had been no sign of the dragon near their little cottage, but that didn't mean it wouldn't come closer.
(Bump)
He stayed still, watching it to see what it was going to do. But when the dragon turned towards his direction, Oton ducked further into the trees and stayed down. The dragon was big, he’d noticed as it flew towards him. But it clearly wasn’t that old. At least, for a dragon. Only the same age as him - at least, him as a Lich. Which meant at least a few centuries if he had to guess.
The dragon dipped down, landing, but seemed to not notice him as it began to walk forwards. Towards Oton, again, and it stopped, right where Oton was hiding.
Could I take it? He observed the dragon, noting the several scars which lined its scaly neck. They seemed like they were from a long time ago.
And when the dragon huffed, giving a low growl, he wasn’t surprised as it spoke. Although, a bit surprised on what it said…
”Lich…” It hissed in a low voice, flicking out a tongue. Could it not smell him? The dragon stayed still for another few moments, before turning tail and walking a few feet away from the tree-line. When it was far enough, Oton peered out, and the dragon prepared to take off again, this time letting out a roar as it took to the air and flew off, presumably back to its hideout.
Oton took a moment or two before stepping out, but still staying in the trees. This may complicate things, if the dragon knew there was a Lich around. If the dragon knew that Oton was a Lich. Oton crossed his arms, leaning against the tree for the time being to think.
The shadow of a dragon swooped over Luna's home. It left as quickly as it came, but she still grabbed her bow and arrow anyway. Her father looked to where Luna was, "What are you doing?"
"I'm heading out," Luna responded continuing her way to the door. She shrugged and looked to her father, "Isn't that enough?"
"You're going out moments after the dragon flew over our house," her father responded and he shook his head, "I promised your parents that I would watch over you, but, well, you're all grown up now aren't you? Just be safe okay?"
"Understood, thanks for understanding Dad," Luna gave him a smile as she left the house. The dragon had flown over their house a few times, and she bet if she followed the shadow she might be able to find it's den. Her eyes spotted the shadow and trailed paces behind it, keeping her distance as to hopefully not catch the attention of the flying beast.
Oton knows that the dragon is probably going to chase after him whenever he next uses his magic. However small the signal is, or how large it is. He stands up and glances in direction of where the dragon flew off. It’s no longer visible by now, but..
Oton takes out the vial he mixed before. The one that he hadn’t used his magic on. He sips it, momentarily lifting the helmet, before feeling his senses heighten a bit more. He’s able to ‘see’ the direction the dragon went. Hopefully, tracking it will be easier now. He begins to pursue the dragon, hoping to catch up to it sooner or later.
The dragon continues to fly, off towards where the ground begins to grow rocky. It appears to have made a den on one of the large, rocky spires of the mountains. It’s relatively open and fairly easy to get up to. The dragon lands upon the spire.
Luna watched as the dragon landed upon the spire. She stayed hidden among the trees not venturing out onto the rocky plains that were the beginning of the rocky mountains. She looked to one of the larger trees and climbed up it with relative ease. It allowed her to have a better view of the dragon without having to leave the cover of the forest.
Her green cloak hood was now atop her head trying to shield as much of her body as she could. She pulled out her bow and drew an arrow, just in case things went south and she got spotted. Her goal at the moment was to track and see if she could spot a pattern of the grey dragon, to help the mercenaries out. She had never thought about doing this before because no one had ever come to help before. But now that the mercenaries were here, she felt the need to do what she could to help them out. Even if she ended up doing it anonymously.
It didn’t take long for Oton to eventually hit the rocks. He paused, seeing the dragon upon the spire, but it didn’t seem to notice him. In fact, it seemed as if it were staring into the air, almost focused on something else. Well, it didn’t matter too much to Oton. Oton’s focus was on that dragon.
He looked to see where he would go from here. He didn’t actually have anything on him for long distance stuff. Unless he used magic..though Oton would prefer to not do that right now. Unless he was forced.
Oton felt a familiar feeling. He’d had this disguise on for a while, this spell. But it could only hold on for so long. If there was anyone else around here, Oton would have to keep the helmet on, because he was pretty sure anyone seeing a skull instead of an actual head would probably have a weird reaction. Though..he didn’t see anyone around here right now…
He began making his way up to the spire, staying close to the shelter of some of the larger rocks in case the dragon suddenly looked down.
Luna felt a familiar chill and her heart speed up. She looked around where she was, but couldn't see anyone else around her. Especially the stranger from earlier that caused the exact same thing to happen to her. She shook her off retraining what focus she had on the dragon again. Its focus seemed to be somewhere. Hopefully not her though it was looking her general direction. She took a deep breath to calm herself silently assuring that she wasn't seen by the dragon.
Oton began the climb, which wasn’t really a climb at all. More of a steep walk, if anything. At this point there weren’t any really big rocks to hide, so he was more out in the open, hoping the dragon didn’t have good eyesight. The dragon seemed to lower its head.
At that point, Oton’s disguise spell dispersed a tiny bit more, apparently alerting the dragon, who suddenly flared out its wings, and took off, clearly put off by something else. Oton pressed against the rocks, looking out at the dragon, which swerved above the spire like a vulture. Currently, it didn’t see anyone, but Oton knew it wouldn’t be that long. He was close enough to the ground that he could get down quickly enough.
He began to go back to the ground while the dragon flew above.
Luna watched the dragon flare and went to drop down to the forest floor. The dragon taking off and now flying around the spire worried her. She softly dropped down after putting the arrow back in the quiver. She didn't know what caused the dragon to react as it did, but she figured it had something to do with the same chill she got. Her mind went through every possibility that she could think of to explain her symptoms and the sudden reaction of the dragon, yet she couldn't think of anything. At least anything reasonable.
The only possibility she had come up with was that there was a Lich nearby. But that was false because, one they didn't exist anymore, and two the only reason it lined up with her symptoms would be if she was partially an angel. Which she wasn't. The use of magic could be another one, however, it only explained the reaction of the dragon and not her physical ailments. Unless a spell of some sort had been placed on her, but why would it act up sometimes and not others? Then again, why was she assuming the two were connected? They probably weren't and Luna should stop thinking like they were.
Oton landed at the floor and almost immediately spotted movement just as his potion began to wear off. In that amount of time, the dragon swerved down and landing on the rocky clearing behind him, seeming to have spotted Oton, but only Oton.
Oton spun around as the dragon gave a growl, folding its wings in. The dragon studied him, taking a moment or two before it spoke, in a deep but loud and rumbling voice. ”I haven’t seen any of your kind in forever..I was wondering what I sensed earlier. Your scent..familiar, too.” It flicked out a tongue.
Oton stayed silent, taking out a silver sword.
Luna watched as the dragon landed and moved to see if she could get closer to him. Her chill only increased as the mercenary finally entered her view. She didn't know what he was doing here, but she figured he was as good as dead considering the dragon had spotted him. She quietly removed an arrow from her quiver when the dragon spoke. What did it mean 'his kind in forever'? Her hand hesitated, but she finished the movement holding the bow at the ready, though staying out of both their line of sights from where she was.
She was as sure as dead if she got spotted.
”Yes, I remember it now. Back when I was only the size of a horse, centuries ago. When the lands were almost constantly at war…dark times, for you maybe.” The dragon sniffed, keeping focus on Oton, who stayed alerted.
”I met you, only once, and that was to put you into your grave. But it seems you survived..somehow. Humans don’t live that long, however.”
Oton gripped the sword, moving to the side.
”I thought your kind was extinct. Seems I’m wrong…” The dragon paused, closing its eyes. It then resumed. ”Lich.” It hissed.
Oton didn’t see a point in making the first move right now. He did, however, see a point in gathering some of his energy. Indeed, what vegetation around him seemed to grey as the life from it was literally sucked away. He backed away, circling the dragon who kept a close eye on him, somewhat even closer now that he’d shown the ability to use magic.
Luna stepped back as she heard the dragon continue to speak. He was a Lich, an honest to god Lich. Her heart was racing which she contributed to fear rather than anything else. She kept away from the pair seeing the vegetation grow dead. Her ears were filled with the rush of blood as her heart pounded on. This all didn't seem real. She had to be deep in a dream.
She didn't know where to point her arrow, but she knew to stay away from the edge of the forest. She kept low as she moved away from the dying vegetation, just waiting to see what would happen next.
The dragon swayed its tail once, and only once, before Oton leapt forwards to attempt to slice at the dragon with his sword. Barely scraping its scales, Oton dove away again.
I really hate to retreat in a battle, but if things get too bad.. Oton glanced behind him, just as the dragon charged forwards, jumping into the air. Oton moved away just as the dragon hit the ground. The dragon stood up more from its attack, and hissed, staring at Oton. ”I do believe we have spectators,”
What? The other mercenaries? That was the only thing Oton could really think of right now. Oton lunged forwards again, swinging at the same spot. This time, he did a bit more damage. But it wasn’t enough. He dove away again just before the dragon snapped at him.
Luna watched the fight in both fascination and horror. She was fine with waiting to see if the, the Lich needed any help, but the dragon had spotted her. Her blood instantly ran cold and she moved from her position to get a better shot. Her movement was quick and short before she pulled the arrow to her cheek.
She took a deep breath in and out lining up and predicting the dragons movements before letting the arrow loose. It sailed through the air right towards where the dragons eye would be and so far her line of sight remained true. She hoped it would hit at the very least as she reached and pulled back another arrow ready to shoot again.
Preparing to move in again, Oton found himself audibly going ’oh’ as an arrow, seemingly from nowhere struck the dragon’s eye. The dragon, rearing back with a roar, immediately lifted a claw to its eye as it backed up. Oton sheathed his sword for the time behind, only muttering a few words. ”Lueth ji, lil' v'dre de' dosst sol ml'aen gos ulu uns'aa.” There was a blue glow emerging from his hands, which shot out towards the dragon’s face. The blue glow returned to him, before fading away.
The dragon snarled. ”I cannot see…” It flicked out its tongue. ”But I can hear you still..I..I can smell you..” It paused, glancing towards the trees. ”Both of you…”
Luna would have frozen in fear with those last words if she hadn’t already known the dragon knew where she was. She was surprised at the magic for but a moment, but took the opportunity with the dragon rearing back in pain to fire an arrow at it’s underbelly. The place it was obviously softest, though still covered in scales. It soared and it true prompting Luna to ready another arrow. She may not have magic, but her quiver was full and ready to be used.