A Phoenix's Wrath

A commotion had been stirring within the guild's head quarters for quite some time. A mix of panic, anger, fear and confusion had filled the air, carried by the voices of those gathered in the dining hall. The situation was dire, one that would surely result in bloodshed in one way or another... Several hours before, one of the guild's younger members was found nailed to a wall with red marks from some kind of whip across her torso, legs, back and face. The ones who pulled her down was a group of two middle-aged men and another young lady who was only a couple years older than she was.

The girl was taken down and brought to the guild where she was taken to be treated. The healers of the guild assured her friends that she'd be fine with time, but there was a great deal of concern among the rest of the members gathered. They had debated over who would be telling the guild's leader, Zelya, who vowed to protect the guild when she took her office but, up till now, had never once had been tested on that vow. After great deliberation, it had come down to one of the older members volunteering to go. He told the group that there wasn't any point in hesitating. Zelya had stood up to the high king, she faced danger on every other mission and willingly entered The Scar whenever she pleased. She was expected to protect the guild, and she'd never given them a reason to doubt her resolve before. With that said, the man left the dining hall and went to see the guild leader in her room where she was reading over her many letters.

Half an hour later, the sound of heels tapping on the ground, echoing through the barren halls and through the large, closed doors of the dining hall. Members who were mumbling amongst each other had gone completely silent and begun looking at the doors with anticipation. The tapping got louder and luder as the source got closer and closer, each step increasing the amount of tension in the room. The door swung open with Zelya, wearing her standard attire, in the middle with a serious expression. Several members approached her, immediately trying to ask her what she was going to do, but ultimately were ignored. Zelya walked past them, causing the rest of the members to understand she wasn't going to speak to anyone she didn't want to. They moved aside wherever she walked, making a straight line to a table with two men and a girl who were hunched over, holding their heads low with troubled expressions.

Zelya stopped and rested one of her hands on the girl's head, causing the three of them to look up and lock their gazes on a pair of eyes that seemed to be the surface of a lake of lava. What used to be magenta was replaced by the flames of rage, which reassurred the three of them that Zelya would not be taking this lightly. Zelya spoke in a calm tone. "I want one of you to stay in the infirmary." The two men had told the younger of the three to stay behind but she had many issues with that. Zelya had left them to talk about the issue on their own, moving forward to take her place in front of the members gathered. "Today, an enemy has decided to harm one of our members. While she hasn't been here long and is far from earning her place among the elite, she's earned herself a family within our walls- far from her home in the Misty Village. She traveled, alone, for the chance to apply to be here and failed to use the most basic of spells. She trained for months while mostly living in the streets, too ashamed to go home; and, that dedication had been the reason she was allowed in. Even after gaining entry, she trained even harder so she could take that test again and pass it. She's shown this guild more dedication in a matter of months than some of you have shown in your entire lives. This guild will return that dedication in spades."

Zelya looked at Elyane, someone who wasn't a member of the guild at all but had found a home with friends within its walls. Of all the members, she had likely seen the girl practicing, reading countless books on controlling mana, and rehearsing various spells and incantations that she would never even need. "Elyane, come with us." she said.

The other three mages had all agreed on having the girl stay behind. She was a healer, as well as the only Wraith in their group. It was known that Zelya was also a wraith and had her own healing abilities, meaning that her coming along would be redundant. One of the men had a tracking ability that would be the key to finding the one, or ones who attacked their friend. The other one was a Cerberus class mage with thick, powerful armor. This would keep the team diverse, and Elyane was a source of comfort for Zelya, a reason for her to keep a level head. The one who had told her the news had already gotten a carriage with a pair of horses to pull it ready, and the two men already had their gear with them. Zelya was always ready for battle, and they'd wait as long as needed for Elyane to be ready to head out.

Zelya had known about Elyane's dislike for, and avoidance of all things coffee related. When the group's tank had grabbed a cup of it, it came to no surprise that the bard had no desire to be near it. Elyane respectfully stated that she'd be riding in the back of the carriage instead of the cabin, to which Zelya nodded and said "Very well, I'll update you on anything important when we stop." while the others were piling into the cabin.

Zelya entered the cabin with them so they could begin going over the details. The group's Banshee class member had quickly used his tracking magic to find the target was on some kind of island. His magic wasn't so clear as to directly show him the location, but rather, it used his other senses. He felt a cool breeze and smelled salt in the air. The sound of birds squawking reminded him of a specific kind of sea bird that was common among many islands, but never found in mainland Ozulon. The air tasted fresh, almost sweet as he breathed it in through his mouth. "The problem is that we're too far from it to get a better trace on him... or her... or it." he informed Zelya, adding "From our current location, the best I can say is somewhere to the south-west." shortly after.

Zelya folded one of her legs over the other and crossed her arms under her bust while thinking hard on what they would do to the person, or people who made an attack on her guild. While her primary reason for going after them was because the one attacked was someone she cared for, there was another matter. Attacking a guild as large as her's was also making a declaration, a challenge. If Zelya had failed to meet it, if she had waited a week or even a month, or tried to take a diplomatic approach to the situation, she would've been seen as a weak leader. There are great deals of evil mages and guilds of them, while normally quite small, could easily band together to lay waste to a guild if they thought they stood a chance. Solar Phoenix was a massive guild, easily the strongest one and had the backing of the Tartarosian army if they needed it; but, if every single evil mage in Ozulon had thought they had weak leadership and decided to attack all at once, the guild and her city would fall- quickly. Zelya's only hope was that the four of them would be enough, and they weren't dealing with an entire syndicate of bad guys.

During the trip, Zelya was completely silent since she didn't want to talk too much logistics with Elyane not there to hear anything. She didn't plan to have the girl do any fighting, but she at least wanted her to know the plan... and... she didn't have a plan yet. Their little joy ride ended half a day later, with the horses pulling at a much faster pace than they normally would. They arrived at Scarlet Waters Port where Zelya disembarked the carriage and immediately turned to Elyane. "We're gonna borrow a ship and head a bit closer to our target... or targets. If the divines are with us, it'll just be one, really weak enemy sitting on a rock." The other two had walked off to go tie up the horses, which is when Zelya had looked at Elyane with more intent. "Hey, Elly, I know you're not an official member of our guild; but, I value you and your opinion every bit as much as anyone else. I'm not entirely sure on how to deal with this, and I need to ask you... In your opinion, should we kill this person, or capture them and leave their fate in the High King's hands?"

If Elyane said she didn't want to give an answer, Zelya would tell her that she could respect that, and not press her further. If Elyane did give an opinion, even if it wasn't one of the options she had listed, Zelya would thank her and move into the port.

It was an unfortunate circumstance, but Zelya hadn't had time to order a private charter for this. The guild had a ship, but it was large, easy to spot, and hard to get moving with so few people. It was known by many, including the High King himself, that Scarlet Waters was home to several crime factions: Black Market Dealers, Drug and Arms runners, Illegal Trade Merchants, and Slaver Ships were among the most common. Zelya was in charge of the port, so the king never once intervened on how she operated, which seemed to be effective. The baddies in port were left alone so long as they didn't try and do any business within her town's borders, and no slaves were allowed to pass through- period. So any slaver ships were empty by the time the pulled in and weighed anchor, confirmed by the port's guard. The group's Banshee picked up his pace, walking up behind Zelya and saying "With all due respect, Miss Cisti... Exactly how are we getting out of port? We've not enough crew to sail." to which she replied "Like I said, we're gonna borrow a ship." Zelya had paused in front of a specific slaver's vessel and said "That one." to which the banshee said "Oh. That makes sense."

Zelya had quickly strode aboard the ship, walking up the gangplank and stopping in the middle of the main deck. Several of the crew had paused to let out a long whistle in acknowledgement of her feminine charm, something she was used to getting in this place. "Certainly been a while, miss. The boss already paid the tariff this month, if yer here for it." Zelya said "I need a fast, agile, and small vessel to carry out some business." It was then that a ragged looking man came out chortling and announcing "You'll be swimming to your destination, my dear!"

Zelya's expression changed to a more serious one and she began walking towards him, her voluptuous hips swaying elegantly in rhythm with her footsteps and her tail swaying gently behind her. "We follow your laws, but you have no authori- OOF!" his words were paused and cancelled when Zelya's fist collided with his face, knocking him back a bit. She stepped forward and smacked him before ramming her knee into his manly region, making everyone, including the Cerberus and Banshee, cringe when they heard the sound. She then spun and slammed him in the face with the top of her foot, sending him to the ground. Zelya stepped forward and pressed one of her boots to his chest, pinning him to the ground while looking down on him and saying "I'm not asking again." The captain looked up and said "If it's any consolation to your mood, my dear... You seem ten times sexier to me right now, and you were already very attractive to begin with." Zelya held her hand up and a large ball of fire appeared within her curled fingers, her orange hair and tail turned into bright flames. "I'll amend that to twenty. Men, prepare to set sail! The port's owner wishes to call a favor!" Zelya took her foot off the man and put her flames out, saying "I'm making you repay a favor. As I recall, you and your crew are wanted in every other port for a generous bounty." The captain replied "I like the way you do business, so forceful- you'd make a fair slaver, if you're ever in the market for employment."

Embers flickered off of Zelya's hair as she made her way back towards the two men, both of which were blinking in awe at how suddenly Zelya had changed from being gentle to violent while also trying to ignore something stiffening in their pants. Zelya turned and gestured for the small party to follow her while she was heading to the captain's quarters, saying "We'll be borrowing your room and navigational chart. If you have a problem with that, you can go eat a barnacle." The Cerberus of the group would lean closer to Elyane and ask in a hushed tone "Do you think all Kitsune were like that, or just her?"

Inside the captain's quarters, which was easily the largest room in the vessel other than the slave cells, Zelya had set the group's Banshee up at the captain's navigational chart. While setting up, the group's cerberus spoke up and said "S'cuse me, Miss Cisti. Seems our li'tl song bird done gone missin'." in his reasonably thick accent (Brittish). Zelya raised an eyebrow and looked behind her to see that Elyane truly wasn't there. "Small gal, don't think she'll get far 'fore some'un tries n' nab her, yeah?" the cerberus added in. Zelya replied with "She couldn't have gotten far. I'll help out here, you go find her and make sure she doesn't get into any trouble." The cerberus nodded and left the room to go in search of the undercover fae (who he didn't know was a fae).

Moving through the ship, he heard voices coming from one of the rooms and went to investigate. When he got in he saw Elyane and a man who was raising his hand to strike her with a whip. "You don't wanna do that." the Cerberus said in a strong, loud voice. The man froze and turned his head to glare at the armored one. "Miss Cisti's notorious for protectin' her guild like a pissed off bear. A scratch on her'll land ya six feet under, 'n that's if you're lucky." The man turned and said "This here bitch be a stow- GUH!" The slaver was cut off by the feeling of a large, heavy hammer being thrown and smashing him in the face. The Cerberus walked over and picked up his hammer to stow it back on one of the loops on his tasset. "Sorry 'bout that. Forgot to mention... not too keen on disrespec'in women. Best remember that for later, friend."

The cerberus looked around at the chains, dried blood, nail markings, and flies. "Best not to venture here. This 'ere's one of those places no being should be. Be better off with Miss Cisti." On the way back, he would ask Elyane "This your first time out at sea? You don't look like much an adventurin' sort, so, had to ask." If Elyane told him that she'd never been sailing before, the cerberus would say "Most ships ain't like this 'un. This 'ere ship's for stealin' things and escapin' the law. Crew don't care to take care of slaves, figure if they die, they're not worth nothin'. Bloody slavers, not worth a blade o' grass, if ya asked me." Getting to the door to the captain's quarters, the cerberus would pause and say "Less you want that fella torched alive, best to not tell Miss Cisti 'bout it. She's a bit more protective of you."

When the two entered the door, Zelya would be standing, leaning over the map while the banshee was casting a spell on it to keep a needle pointed in the direction they need to be heading. Zelya's ears would stand straight up and the pseudo kitsune would turn around with her tail flicking behind her. "You're back! Looks like you found Elyane, where was she?" she asked the Cerberus. "Found her rummaging 'round the lower decks." he replied. Zelya would cross her arms under her bust and puff her cheeks at Elyane before saying in a protective, elder sibling like tone "This is a ship full of cutthroats who capture people and sell them as slaves, harlots, and involuntary experimentation subjects. The only reason I haven't turned them in is because they keep all of that out of my port. You really shouldn't be roaming around, alone."

Finding Elyane had taken a couple hours, which was enough for them to get out of port and a fair distance out into sea, but was a longshot from being close to their target. The fact that the Banshee's spell was telling him the general direction, and not the actual location, meant that they were at least another day away from wherever they were heading. However, if it was only a day away, then the landmark would already be on the ship's navigational chart. Slavers went all over, far and wide in search of easily captured people to trade; so, if there was a nearby source of revenue, they would know. The direction they were heading in was barren, which meant that they were several days away.

Much to Zelya's luck, the captain had various board games in his room, and there were fishing rods that he was willing to let them use. Of course, he did offer to serve them the same food that his crew ate, but Zelya had refused and, in secret, advised the other three to do the same. "Each of us, myself especially, would be incredibly valuable for sale. The captain won't try anything while we're looking, but I won't trust him to do the same behind our backs." were her exact words. The Cerberus and Banshee had been with the guild long before Zelya, around a decade to be more precise. They were one of the ones who were distrustful of Zelya when she joined, but had found her to be dedicated to her job in the past couple years she was around. If she said to jump, they'd do it without question, since she probably had a good reason for telling them to. Of course, neither needed her order to avoid eating possibly poisoned food.

The meals for the few days they were sailing were consisting of fish and eggs. Zelya had been the one to go into the bowels of the ship, slip inot their chicken cages and 'borrow' the eggs. The Banshee, when not sleeping or keeping track of their target, had been fishing. The Cerberus was always the one to hang out in the kitchen and cook everything, and was a much better cook than the pyro fox lady. If Elyane had chosen to eat the same food as them, or decided not to, there would be no judgement. After those few days, they'd arrive at an island with a massive castle in the middle of it, and several miles of jungle between them and it.