The gates of the new Mandala Legio Aurea had finally been completed. Edmund nodded in satisfaction and went inside towards the garden. There, Miranda nodded silently at the sorcerer, her multicolored eyes staring at the ground as to not make eye contact with him. The garden courtyard had cobblestone pathways and statues on either side of the main path, one depicting a knight and the other a demon.

By the gate, waiting for people to show up, was Caius, drinking liberally from his gourd, and a newcomer in white armor with a large blue and gold tunic over it. The middle aged knight had mousy grey hair, and was flipping through a book, leaving Caius the 'aware' one to gree the new pledges.

Gustav stands stoic at the gates, looking around the area very blankly. It seemed that these people were in the midst of making a new order of Knights. It was difficult to tell, however. Not all of the men here seemed... Knightly. Perhaps it was in their words if not their actions, but Gustav would not let that be. And thus, here he was. Providing an example through presence.

A droning noise echoed down from overhead as Dio piloted his vanship through the mountains towards the Legio Aurea building. He touched down in a long, unoccupied stretch and hopped out after the vanship had rolled to a stop. "This place took forever to find from the air. Good thing I had a map. Well, map is a strong word to describe it..."

Silas is panting by the time he gets within sight of the gate, looking around he notices a distinct lack of Zendra. And for that he is thankful. He takes a deep breath and trys his best to hide the fact that he was winded by the walk here. "The wildlife up this way is kind of intense." he mentions as he makes it to the actual gate. "So are the decorations.... It looks like an actual Guild hall."

Zendra approached the gates and joined the gathering group, once again finding hersef in the company of familiar faces. This time she was here by Caius' request. She nodded to him, then looked at the others remaining silent as usual.

Caius nodded. "Yeah. It's not exactly a tavern is it? It's going to be an interesting change of pace." The swordsman shrugged as he took another swig. As he noticed Zendra approaching, he pulled his mask back up over his nose and fastened his gourd back onto his belt. "Good to see familiar faces though."

"To damnation with familiarity!" A voice called from behind them. It was Sir Edgar, dressed in chainmail and a tabard rather than his full plate. A silver dagger and longsword were by his side. "If we're going to let a sorcerer into our midst and call him a leader WITHOUT birthright, then I'm not going to keep using that damned heavy armor. I put it up for display in there instead."

The knight bitterly glared at the spellcasters in the group as he walked past them straight inside the gates. Caius sighed. "Something tells me Edgar hasn't quite forgiven his brother yet."

Gustav remains his usual self. Horribly confused as to why people were arguing. The angry woman had shown up, which was nice as she was good at fighting. He didn't know about the man in that flying... thing though. It still set him on edge. And the chatty-man was here too. Gustav did not understand that one.

Dio looks around at the flat stretch of the garden that he landed in. "I guess this is big enough for a small runway. I'll measure it out and see if they can pave it over or something." He starts walking around the perimeter of the area, muttering numbers to himself.

"Wounds take time." Zendra said with a shrug to Caius, looking around. It was a good place. High up so easily defended. Overall she approved. "Where am I needed?" She asked, surely the man had not invited her up here simply to chat. She wouldn't object if he had wanted to, but she would prefer to be working while doing so.

Silas frowns, "The concept of someone being anti-sorcerer is actually kind of weird for me... It was considered a gift back where I'm from and with all the magic in this world you'd think everyone would be used to it.". Silas's attention trailed off while he waited for a response, the statues catching his attention.. He hadn't seen anything this pointlessly ornate since he left his guild hall back home... It was comforting.

"Almost there! Come on Coloumb!" Kimen exclaimed excidedly to the battle alchemist. Despite the climb up the mountain the child seemed less winded and more energetic. "You can meet Mr. Edmund! And I bet he would be interested in your battle alchemy!" The child turned around, ran back, grabbed his friend's arm and started pulling him along.

The middle-aged knight with his nose in the book looked up as Zendra asked the question. "I think Miranda was in the garden doing some yardwork. She would probably like the company. Knocking some sense into Edgar before he tries to impale his brother would also be appreciated." Caius shook his head at the man's response.

"Don't you think that's a bit of an extreme way to put it?" he asked. The knights response was a slight chuckle. Caius shook his head again. "I know Edmund needed some help with painting or something. Or tabastry. He wanted to have something up there to represent every member. I said that painting heralds on shields would be simpler, but, he's ornate."

Dio finishes pacing around the perimeter of the field and wanders over towards the gate. "Hey, excuse me Caius, can I have a moment? I wanna get your opinion on paving a section of the garden so I can land my vanship safely."

"Yardwork, knocking sense into Edgar, and painting can be done. I shall seek to do one of these, then." Zendra nodded, then turned and walked away. Of any of them she prefered the yardwork or sense knocking. They seemed the most needed. The first place she encountered however was the garden.

Silas moves into the grounds. It'd probably be good to explore the place a little. Walk the grounds.. At the very least he would be able to map out an alternate exit if that should be a thing he has to do later.

Coloumb groaned. "Give me a break Kimen. How do you have this much energy?" He stumbles the last few steps to the gate and wipes off his forehead with his hat. "Who are we meeting again?"

Caius was never comfortable in the air, and the idea of paving over a garden for a plane was not something that appealed to him. "How much will you need? It might be easier to make an airstrip nearby. This land isn't too good for farming, so it wouldn't be too difficult to find a nearby platue within walking distance."

Miranda's hands were covered in dirt as she pulled a flower out of a pot and put it in the ground. By her side were a few more potted decorative plants, waiting to be arranged and planted, some grass seed, and surprisingly enough a packet of tomato seeds. She worked silently as her eyes glanced at Zendra, expecting her to keep walking.

"Mr. Edmund! He is helping me learn magic at the moment! Oh wow, there are a lot of people here helping him." Kimen was a bit surprised by the amount of people here when she reached the gate. When she visited the man for lessons it only ever seemed to be him and Ariel. The child's face lit up with excitement, "Oh! Maybe you can meet Mr. Ariel too Mr. Coloumb! We gotta find Mr. Edmund first though since this is his big moving day."

"I suppose I can take a flight around the area and see if I can see any good spots." Dio nodded thoughtfully.

Gustav looks round as he hears a familiar voice. "Kimen? Was machst du hier?" Now the knight begins moving, stepping closer to the rambunctious child who constantly seemed to show up in odd places.

"Great. I climb up a mountain and kill all the hostile plant life in order to move boxes." Coloumb sighs. "You take me to interesting places, Kimen."

Zendra picked up a spade and knelt to the ground next to the girl, silently starting to dig a hole in the ground to help get the task done. She had never actually planted flowers. Most of her skills came from growing food so she didn't quite have the same sense for decoration nor did she think it was entirely practical however a task was a task.

Zendra picked up a spade and knelt to the ground next to the girl, silently starting to dig a hole in the ground to help get the task done. She had never actually planted flowers. Most of her skills came from growing food so she didn't quite have the same sense for decoration nor did she think it was entirely practical however a task was a task.

as Caius noticed Kimen approach, he immediately turned towards the other knight. "Monette, I'm going inside," he said, "Kids make me uncomfortable. Dio, Edmund and Miranda are young enough for me. I'm going to go check up on Edgar." Sir Monette nodded and closed his book.

Miranda gave a small as Zendra approached. She placed another flower in the hole that Zendra dug. "Hey, about the island..." she began to say quietly to herself, "I'm really sorry I wasn't much help. Did the witch ever say what Setebos was or how long she'd been there? Edmund has been quiet about it. It's kind of eerie."

Kimen giggled at Coloumb, then heard their name spoke and he turned around, finding someone else familiar on the premises that he had not counted on. "Sir Gustav? Hello!" Kimen waved to him cheerfully, "I didn't know you were Mr. Edmund's friend!" He turned to Coloumb, "That is Sir Gustav. He doesn't speak the common language of this world yet, but he is really nice."

Coloumb nods. "Uh huh, that must be tough." He holds out his hand to the hulking armored knight with a smile. "How's it going? You can understand a handshake, right?"

Dio leaves to go me scout out the area for potential nearby landing strips.

Gustav notes Kimen's companion, who was thankfully easily identifiable as a male. The green hair was... pretty strange, however. Regardless, Gustav gives the boy a nod. "Guten Tag, kleines." The extended hand was another odd thing. Gustav extends his hand as well, but several inches away from Coloumb's still.

"You did what needed. There is no need to be displeased or sorry." Zendra answered, starting another hole. The soil here was soft and dark. It would be good for the plants. "Setebos is the name of the monster she summoned. He lies dead at the bottom of the sea. I know not how long the witch was there."

Kimen dug a small cloth with ribbon out of her pocket, "Lucky I have extra." she said, unwrapping it to reveal a small stack of cookies, a couple of which she picked up and offered to Gustav. "I made some for Mr. Edmund using Coloumbs oven. But you can have some of mine, Sir Gustav!"

Coloumb blinks. "It's a handshake." He demonstrates by shaking his own hand. "Now you try it." He holds out his hand again.

Dio disappears into the void.
Gustav is torn between the boy doing odd things, and Kimen's offer of small, sweet smelling things. It almost looked like... crumbly bread? Abandoning the odd boy and his shaking hand, Gustav collects one, and examines it. "Interessant."

Coloumb sighs. "I'll try again some other time, I guess." He looks over at the cookies. "Can I get one of those? You used my oven, after all."

Miranda nodded as she clipped a few dead leaves and rotting stems off of another plant, preparing it for the hole Zendra was preparing. "Thanks," she said softly, "you're not used to talking with people, are you? You seem disconnected." Though she couldn't remember why, the idea of isolation seemed familiar to her.

A gust of wind blew past everyone as the translucent form of Ariel the wind spirit appeared in the center of the courtyard, holding a peice of paper neatly rolled up in his hand. Edmund opened the doors to the main hall to greet Ariel, who handed him the paper. "It's very minor. Mandala is refusing to cover any damages the hall sustains. We'll have to repair it ourselves." Edmund merely shrugged.

Kimen remains smiling as Gustav examines the snack, "Its a cookie." he said, then made the motion of eating one of the remaining cookies in the palm of his hand. "Eat." He then held out the remaining two to Coloumb as the boy asked, "Of course! There are some left over at the base though. Just save some for me, I haven't had any yet!"

Coloumb grabs one and takes a bite out of the cookie. "Of course. You can have the last one."

Gustav sets a hand on his helmet after watching Kimen. For a moment, he almost lifts the visor covering his face, but something seems to click with the Knight, and he hesitates. "Das ware nicht klug." Gustav lifts the cookie up to catch Kimen's eye, before placing it in a small leather bag tied to his waist. The bag's newness clashed horribly with the... Oldness of everything else the Knight seemed to own.

Zendra finished the hole then moved onto working on the next one, "I speak when I need to." she answered, as if that was all the explanation she needed on the matter. She continued to work silently.

"Oh, I guess you arent hungry then." Kimen said, watching as Gustav placed the cookie into a bag, "Well thats alright, you can eat it later!" He took the remaining one and took a bite, smiling the whole time. "Is that a new bag?" The child asked inbetween bites, pointing to it

Gustav seems to light up a bit as Kimen points to his bag. "Oh, meine Tasche? Ich bin zufrieden mit ihm. Ich bezahlte einen Mann vier Munzen fur diese."

Coloumb looks at Kimen while he takes a bite out of the cookie. "What is he saying?"

Miranda nodded silently, not wanting to speak further and upset Zendra, who didn't seem to be interested in talking. Monette, meanwhile, had a similar philosophy, in simply not talking and doing work. As he didn't see any others coming, Monette took out a peice of chalk and began slowly drawing symbols onto the wall by the gate.

Most of the words ended up lost on Kimen, "I don't really know." he admitted to Coloumb but the child smiled softly despite not understanding. "Its looks really nice!" Kimen finished off her cookie, then reached into another pocket and withdrew a bag similar to that which was pulled out before though this one was wrapped in a stripped yellow and white cloth tied with a matching ribbon, "Sir Gustav," She pointed to the bag, "We are looking for Mr. Edmund. Do you know where Mr. Edmund is?"

Gustav hummed for a moment. Edmund? That was the man that everyone seemed displeased with. Gustav looks around, and the points towards the hall itself. "Er konnte dort sein." The Knight didn't sound super certian, however.

Zendra continued to work in silence stopping occasionally to indicated the hole was ready for the next plant. She wasn't upset with the girl, and most certainly there had been much more talkative people the woman had encountered in her life.

Coloumb shrugs. "I dunno what he said, but he pointed at that building. Maybe he means he's in there?"

"Thank you, Sir Gustav." Kimen smiled brightly and tugged on Coloumbs sleeve, "We better get these to him. Enjoy your cookie!" And with that, the child took off in the direction the knight had indicated.

"Hey, wait up!" Coloumb ran after Kimen.

Gustav smiles to himself, standing up straight once more and surveying the area. If that child showed up more, this might not be as hard as he thought it would have been originally. After all, who could act in an un-knightly fashion around such a bright child?

Edmund turned his head as Kimen approached. "Hello, Kimen. I'm sorry for how hectic things have been. Building a guild hall in only a week takes some dedication." Ariel waved happily to Kimen as Edmund spoke. "Are you to be staying in the barracks or are you just here to visit? Caius's friend from Viorar claims that his wards are strong enough to keep this place relativally safe, but Truce is significantly better funded and manned."

"Hello, Mr. Edmund!" Kimen was caught off guard by Edmund's question and she nervously rubbed the back of her neck, "I wasnt aware that was an option, otherwise I would have considered it a bit more before coming. I'm just here for a visit and to give you a sort of house warming present!" Kimen presented the bundle of cookies to the man then nodded to the boy that was with her. "Oh! And this is my friend Mr. Coloumb!"

Coloumb waves. "Hi, I'm Coloumb. Are you Edmund?" He takes off his hat and wipes his forehead with it again.

"Earl Edmund of Gloucester, and leader of the Legio Aurea, as my father was before me," Edmund spoke proudly with a bow. He graciously took the cookies that Kimen presented as if it was a much more formal gesture. "Thank you very much, Kimen. I appreciate it."

"Well, it's nice to meet you! I don't know what all of that means, but it sounds uh... Fancy." Coloumb thinks for a moment. "Doesn't that mean golden... something? Also, why is that man transparent?"

"Mr. Coloumb lent me his oven to make them since Mr. Forte didn't have one." The child waved back to Ariel, "This is Ariel. He is really cool! We should invite him to our secret base one of these days." Kimen turned back to Edmund, "Can I really stay here? The only reason I have been staying in truce is so I would have an easier time finding you for lessons. And I am sure Mr. Forte would like to have his room back. I did tell him I was only going to stay with him until I found you but um... it turned out a bit longer than that."

Ariel did a loop de loop in the air as he is prone to do in times of excitement, such as the chance to introduce himself to others. "Indeed! Ariel the wind spirit! The skys, the winds, the rain are mine to command, and Master Edmund's to request." Ariel smiled widely at Coloumb.

Edmund nodded in agreement with the air spirit. "Yes, you are very useful Ariel, and we appreciate it. I know that some people here owe their lives to you." He turned his attention to Kimen. "You're free to stay with the rest of the knights. Miranda is here for protection," he motioned towards the young girl with Zendra as the two were arranging some vines for a trellis, "I'm sure she wouldn't mind sharing a bunk with you."

As they were talking, Monette could be seen letting a sick Mantango in through the gates. Monette had his book out in front of him, trying to decode some snakelike markings on the poor mantango but didn't seem to be having any luck. "Excuse me!" it called for attention through coughing, "Would you all be the witch hunters?"

"That's uh... wonderful. Nice to meet you Ariel." Coloumb smiles confusedly at the wind spirit, then looks outside at the matango. "What's that about a witch?"

"I'll talk to Mr. Forte as soon as I can then. Is Mr. Gustav also going to be staying here? I saw him outsi---" Kimen paused as a Mantango came in through the gates. The child frowned as he heard him coughing "Should I go get him some water?"

the matango continued to cough and sputter. "The priests... oh dear gods, the priests... the priests were hosting an event for Mana Holy Day, and out of nowhere there was this kid..." He wheezed and tried to catch his breath. The snakelike tattoo around him and disappeared. "He talked to his sword and acted all freaked out... he... he killed so many of us... something about becoming a demon..." The matango grabbed his head in pain. "When I ran away I felt really sick for some reason. I think... I think I heard a voice. You all were the closest ones here."

Zendra stopped her work and stood up, approaching the mantango with the spade she was using still in hand, "Where is he now?" She asked.

Kimen blinked then turned to Edmund, "I'll... Coloumb and I will go get the others! This guy just hurt a lot of people, he could be really dangerous."

Coloumb nods. "Yeah, let's go Kimen, We can't let this guy get away with that!"

"He's still there!" The Matango shouted, "At the nearby church, in the middle of town by the river! I... I don't know what to do! I just, you need to stop him!"

Edmund nodded. "We'll send out available knights immediately. If he's still there, we'll find them." As Edmund spoke, the matango began heaving uncomfortably. The eyes on Sir Monettes face widened. He had finally found out what runes those moving tattoo like markings were.

The middle aged knight turned towards the others and shouted a command in a firm voice that came naturally to him. "Miranda, Kimen, look away now, and go inside!" As they did so and began moving, the Matango writhed in pain, and the mycelium that made up his body began to tear apart as he exploded. Monette was right. The children didn't need to see such a gruesome fate.

Edmund shuddered and looked between Zendra and Monette. "Get everyone. We're leaving in ten minutes."