Twill brought Sylvie around the mountain trying to find the easiest path up to the top, or rather the path that wouldn't break his precious cart into a thousand pieces. She huffed loudly, trying to push herself to keep the pace, her mane matted and blowing back and forth with the speed.

"Where do I go once I get around this part?" Twill asked Tara.

"We go all the way up."

Twill gulped and looked up to the peak of the mountain that towered above them, blocking out the sun almost entirely. The wind began to slow its harsh gusts to nothing more than an occasional inconsequential breeze, just enough to cool down the  early morning heat. The cart continued with ungodly sounds over every large oddly shaped rock, causing Tara to cringe.

"Just a bit further, Twill," Tara stated. She brushed back her hair behind her ears, pulled her cape up over her head and made herself comfortable against the board holding her up. She felt the wood bend with her, but instead of concern she ignored it, feeling the toll that the past few days had taken on her.

"Don't fall asleep she-beast!" Twill hollered, making Tara sit up right.

She yawned and turned her head to face the old man, barely able to hold his body upright,"my names Tara--you can knock it off with the she-beast nonsense if you value your life."

"Whatever ya say, she--," Tara narrowed her eyes and placed a hand near her hilt,"I mean, Tara," Twill muttered.

~*~

"Damien, I didn't see you at the hall for breakfast," James said, walking over to the man made barrel holding all the tools needed at the boneyard. Damien trailed behind him, kicking up the small layer of dirt surrounding the boneyard, until he kicked down too hard and stubbed his toe against the rocky floor beneath it.

"Ow!!!" He yelled. He raised his foot up and attempted to grab on to his toe which caused him to consistently bounce for a few seconds before losing his balance and landing on his back. He stared up into the clouds, watching them move slowly against the early morning sky.

"You can't even pout right, can you?" James laughed. He grabbed on to his small belly and chuckled at Damien who had still laid before him flat on his back and motionless. James reached down to help him up.

"Thanks," Damien brushed himself off, "so what do we do?"

     "We have until after the sun has entirely risen to sit around here, and if no one brings us any thing then that's it for the day."

     "So we sit around here for a couple hours and if there is no--body-- we're done for the day?" Damien looked confused.

     "Yup."

     "Well I suppose I could handle--"

     The sound of numerous footsteps slamming down in unison startled Damien. He spun around to look up at the side of the mountain where a narrow spiraling staircase made of metal looped around the entirety of the mountain. At least a dozen caped figures walked together, staying close without any hesitation in their destination.

"I never knew they had a staircase outside of the mountain," Damien remarked, still watching the women glide down gracefully.

"Yea, it's there for emergencies, but we never had any so the small squad uses it."

"The small squad?"

James went to the pail next to the tool barrel and filled a small cup with a ladle of water,"it's the small group that handles town wide issues together and then they're mainly used for intimation by the fortress."

"Do they need to intimidate anyone around here?" Damien asked.

James drank deeply from the small cup,"not really. It's only if they see something they don't normally see."

"Like what?"

"Like that," James pointed by the gate entrance and Damien turned to see a horse that looked close to fainting. He followed the reins to see--

"Twill!! Twill!!" Damien ran over to the gate as quickly as he could while James walked slowly behind him. The old man who appeared almost asleep raised his tired eyes to see a boy running at him in the distance.

"Damien?" He asked. He brought his wrinkled hands up to his face to rub the sleep that he began settling in the corner of his eyes. Damien stood before him, smiling at the familiar face.

"Damien! I thought ya were--" Twill stared at him, amazed.

     "Dead? I thought I was too, but here I am."

     Gwen and Erin stood up in the cart and pointed out Tomas to the small squad, who had now been fully covered in his own drool. The squad leader looked at Tomas, disgusted, before instructing two others to get him out. Both Gwen and Tara made their way around the cart next go Twill.

     "Hey Damien," Erin gave Damien a minuscule smile then quickly lowered her head, clearly bashful. She kicked her feet around, picking up dirt that floated in a small cloud down the mountain.

     "Erin," Damien bowed his head, trying to hide the reddening of his cheeks.

     Twill caught a glimpse of the exchange and rolled his eyes,"don't tell me ya fell for a she--"

     "Watch it!" Tara nudged an elbow at Twill before jumping off the seat and rubbing at her bottom.

     "Vile woman," Twill said to himself.

"What was that?" Tara snapped.

Twill cleared his throat and drew his attention back to Damien on the other side of him.

"That's what I thought," Tara removed her cape and placed it over an arm,"Gwen and Erin let's go."

~*~

Dia felt her eyes twitch at the loud banging of the small squad making their way past her balcony. She'd need to remember to mention something to the squad leader when she came across her next time.

"Rina!"

The girl ran into the room nearly tripping on the long cape wrapped around her.

"Yes ma'am?" Rina bowed her head and kept it there.

"Gwen is back so you can officially go be useless somewhere else. Get out of my sight!" Dia flailed her right hand in the air, the bangles clanking loudly against one another. Rina ran out, grateful that her temporary duty had finally ended.

Knock Knock Knock

"I thought I told you to get out of here!" Dia paced her sitting room, relishing in the sound her pricy shoes made against the marble floor beneath them.

"It's Gwen ma'am. We have what you sent us for," she yelled through the door.

"Come in!"

Gwen walked in first followed by Tara and Erin with two more small squad struggling to hold up the rotund man behind them.

"Should we put him on the bed ma'am?" One of the small squad holding onto Tomas asked, her voice strained.

     "Oh heavens no! Put him on the floor," Dia raised her nose into the air and pointed at the hard marble by her feet. The furies obliged and dropped the man to the floor, the impact vibrating through the feet of all those present in the room.

     "What else would you like ma'am?" Gwen asked.

     "Leave me with Mr. Hilder. I'll call when I need you."

     All five of the furies bowed their heads in unison before almost skipping out of Dia's room. Dia watched them leave one by one, followed by the slamming of the heavy wooden door before acknowledging the worse for wear man laying across her floor.

     "Oh, Mr. Hilder..we have a lot to discuss when you decide to wake up," Dia bent down to get a closer look at the man, then laughed with all the oxygen she could spare right into his ear.