This was such a stupid idea. Being so close to camps filled with members of every guild in Charon, all coming together to look into the same strange occurrence. Studying the talking suit of armor fused with a tree. Ugh, what was he even doing here? He could be recognized by just about any member of the Fighter's Guild if he was spotted. There was so much risk and who knew if there'd even be any reward?

Xalmann thought this as he snuck through the trees, toward the clearing where the talking armor was. He just had one reason to come here, and he wasn't happy about it. His new arm, with the small fiery spirit inside, wanted to come here. Why? He had no clue. It just seemed drawn to this place. Maybe the arm made of vines and roots had something in common with the root and vine covered suit of armor. Maybe it just wanted to talk to the weirdo. It didn't matter. It was dangerous and stupid, and Xalmann was being dragged along with it only because he needed his arm to work, and it refused to if he didn't bring it here.

He looked around as he reached the edge of the clearing. It looked like he'd come at a good time, at least. There was almost no one here. Only one other figure stood near the suit of armor. It looked a bit familiar. Were they a member of the Fighter's Guild? No wait, it looked like-

Xalmann's eyes narrowed in irritation. Damnit, not this fucking guy.

SPOILER: Click to show

Guild: Fighter's Guild
Participants: Exactly Two
Location: Sunshade Glade
Post Requirements: 5 posts per person, 200 words per post

Reward:
+1 Renown - Anyone
+1 Mystical Archive ticket - Guild Member
+1 Towards Guild Quest requirements - Guild Member
Description: Since uncovering the Desolate Knight, floods of corrupted woodland Fae have been trying to breech the Glen and get to it. For some reason these spirits are drawn to it, and not in a positive way. Groups of Kingswood Spawn and Bogaboo are now pushing into the glen and attacking those to get in their way. The Fighter's guild is asking for help in fending off these creatures, but the battle is not easy. The combination of the two creatures are a deadly pair, mixing cunning trickery with violent savagery. Defeat two Kingswood Spawn and two Bogaboo who have grouped up before they can take the Knight.

Additional Information:
There is something off about these creatures, medium sized, blighted thorns grow off of their bodies and they seem to be fervent in getting to the Desolate knight. It appears as some unknown force is driving them. What could it be?

Admittedly, Perrath hasn’t paid as much attention to the goings-on of the world as he likely should be, especially as someone who seeks glory and recognition through his deeds. Flowers are just not his thing. He could care less about them and nature and the like. Still, he needs to be in the know, and seeing that the guilds have been particularly interested in this strange suit of armor in the woods, and if they’re interested, then he should be interested too.

So here he is, standing in front of the armor, looking over it studiously as if he knows anything about what he’s looking at or how to discern such information. Every attempt he’s made to communicate with the thing is met with garbled nonsense in a language Perrath doesn’t understand. It’s certainly full of mystery. Why wouldn’t the guilds be interested in this?

Hearing the rustle of brush, Perrath glances over his shoulder, ready for a fight or to give a reasonable enough explanation. To his surprise, he sees the red lizardfolk with as much disdain in his eyes that Perrath feels upon seeing him. Except there is something different. Scars on his chest and an arm made of brambles.

Perrath can’t help snorting in amusement.

Xalmann looked down to his exposed prosthetic arm. Fuck. He really hadn't wanted Perrath to see that he had lost a limb. Knowing him even as little as he did, he should have known he would get such a reaction from the arrogant dragon. Xalmann didn't even notice that Perrath had also seen the three marks across his chest, probably amused, assuming they were scars rather than an arcane mark.

Xalmann stepped out into the clearing and walked toward the suit of armor that had been his goal and Perrath. It was too late to pull his cloak around him to cover his arm, and doing so now would likely just amuse the Draconyhn even more, making him think Xalmann was embarrassed and trying to hide it. He wouldn't give Perrath such satisfaction.

At least there was one bit of relief here. He knew Perrath wasn't a member of the Fighter's Guild, or at least he wasn't when Xalmann had last been there before going on the run. Hopefully that was still true. It was one of the few things he could hold over Perrath's head. And it meant that Perrath hopefully shouldn't know Xalmann was a criminal, which no doubt, he would also take the opportunity to mock the Lizardman for.

Stopping a short distance away from Perrath, Xalmann stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He could feel the weight of his new axe at his hip, ready to magically move to his hand if Perrath tried anything more than an insult. He hadn't come here for a fight, but seeing as he was already a criminal, one murder would probably be okay.

Seeing Xalmann here comes as a surprise, and being that it’s been so long since the two of them ran into one another, Perrath ponders how exactly to greet the lizardfolk. Or not greet him. Choices, choices.

“It seems we’re equally surprised to see each other,” he says simply though, as always, Perrath’s voice drifts through the air in its typical arrogant tune. “Most of the people around are with the guilds, so you must be as well. I find it hard to believe you’re simply sating your curiosity.” With a shrug, Perrath looks back at the Knight, his own arms crossed and looking it over with interest. “This is a peculiar creature. I wonder… What do the guilds think is going on? Does it have something to do with the other phenomena happening around Charon?”

He looks over his shoulder briefly. “Not that I expect anything out of you. You’ve clearly seen better days.” While Perrath is incredibly curious what could have possibly happened to Xalmann for him to lose an arm, he doesn’t feel it necessary to stoop to asking him.

“Anyway, I’m uninterested in picking a fight with you today,” Perrath says. There are too many people in the area to draw that kind of attention.

Xalmann stayed silent. He had no obligation to tell Perrath he actually wasn't here on behalf of any guild, or his reason for being here. He also had no answers to any of his questions. He knew just as much as Perrath did about the strange knight, or maybe even less considering Perrath had been studying it before Xalmann had arrived. Xalmann knew nothing except that the spirit in his arm wanted to come visit it, and what that meant, he couldn't say even if he could put it into words.

The slight dig at his appearance was expected, though he thought it would be worse. Perrath wasn't prying into how he lost his arm. That wasn't what Xalmann had expected. Maybe the Draconyhn was a little different than the last time they had met. Or, he just had someplace else to be. Whatever. It suited Xalmann just fine if the bastard left without a fuss. That way he could see this weird knight in private and let Ash out unseen. Things could proceed surprisingly peacefully.

Of course things couldn't proceed peacefully. Xalmann's axe appeared in his hand as he turned toward the sound of rustling leaves. Something else was coming into the clearing with them. Was it someone from the guilds? That could be a problem.

Thankfully, it wasn't anyone from the guild camps that might recognize the red Lizardman and alert anyone to his presence. Not so thankfully, Xalmann did recognize what entered the clearing, and it wasn't alone.

He had fought one of these before and that experience had nearly killed him. To be fair, it was his partner at the time that had done the most damage to him and not the bogaboo, but it was still an unpleasant memory.

The creature ran out of the tree line, making a beeline directly for the rootbound knight, with Perrath directly in its path. Behind it, a second bogaboo also entered the clearing, but this one seemed more wary of the two it must not have been expecting to find here. It stopped and looked to each of them, considering its next move.

Perrath finds himself oddly disappointed that Xalmann doesn't offer any responses. Or barely even a sneer for that matter. Well, that's no fun. "Fine, I suppose I'll just ask what in the hells took your arm? Don't tell me it was a farming accident." A smarmy smirk crosses the dragon's snout, a taunt that hopes it struck a nerve with the lizardfolk warrior.

When Xalmann immediately has his ax in hand, Perrath grins more widely. That's more like it!

Except that's not like it at all because some mockery of life in the form of bones and branches bursts forth from the brush and is coming right for-- Oh, come on, why did it have to skip the giant red target?

A projection of Perrath manifests behind the charging bogagoo, and the paladin immediately swaps places with it.^[1] Smoky shadows trail behind him, and the bogaboo slams a clawed arm through the projection standing where he once stood.

"Well, well, I knew you were a creature without honor, but undead allies seems much unlike you, Zalmund." It's about this time that Perrath notices the second bogaboo. "Oh, three on one? How unsportsmanlike."

Fortunately(?) for Xalmann, the second bogaboo is a cautious bugger that decides to hang back because brambles of tree-like arms reach down from the canopy to try to snatch at each of the reptilian warriors below.

---

1. Spectral Shadow

Ah, yeah. There it was. Xalmann knew Perrath wouldn't be able to resist asking about the arm, especially in such a rude and insulting fashion. And Perrath should know that Xalmann wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a reply even if he did feel the urge to throw his axe directly at the Dracnynh's face. His axe had to have other priorities at the moment, unfortunately.

Xalmann's axe was at the ready to attack the bogaboo. He didn't know what the hell Perrath was talking about, being allied with the undead. Did he think these bogaboo were here to help him? Well, they'd probably make more trustworthy allies than the cowardly newt. Would that heavy armor make it more difficult to run away with his tail between his legs? He was already using his magic to flee from his opponent, as expected.

Before the more cautious of the two bogaboo made a move, which Xalmann was eyeing it, the Lizardman suddenly felt a woody pair of hands grab onto him and try to hoist him up into the trees. His eyes opened wide in surprise as he was lifted a foot off the ground. Almost on instinct, his entire body suddenly burst into flame and fell through the fingers, back onto the ground.

The creature about let out a piercing screech as its wooden, gnarled hands burned. Xalmann spun around and whipped his axe straight at it, but it pulled itself back up into the canopy above, avoiding his attack.

Over by Perrath, the bogaboo hardly reacted to its opponent suddenly being replaced as it went in on the false projection. Slash after slash rained down, passing through it. It took a few seconds before it finally realized this was a fake and that its attacks were accomplishing nothing. As soon as it did, it looked around and ran toward the first new target it could spot, which ended up being Xalmann.

The more cautious bogaboo was evidently also the one with all the brains between the pair. As the kingswood spawn above reached down for Perrath, the cautious bogaboo took the opportunity to pair up against one of the opponents and ran toward him with claws outstretched and ready to slash as wildly as its kin.

---

Full Elemental Manifestation- Fire

Perrath figured the lizardfolk wouldn’t grace him with a response about his arm, and just as Perrath starts to spew something about now being able to make up the most embarrassing way to lose a limb possible and project it onto Xalmann, they are under attack. Having swapped places with his specter, Perrath gets enough space to watch Xalmann suddenly burst into flame.

That’s new. Huh.

Things quickly delve into chaos, which includes Perrath finding amusement in the creatures seemingly ganging up on Xalmann… Only to let his own guard down. Wooden fingers hook into his cuirass and lift Perrath off his feet, and he struggles to grip his sword, aiming to cut himself free when the other Bogaboo rushes him and rakes him with its claws.^[1]

Perrath roars in frustration. He will not be made a fool of by some useless undead! Not in front of the red fool who shows him no respect! Magic starts to whirl around Perrath, and his form starts to darken to a pitch black as his shadow becomes a solid mass that wraps around him, growing and growing until Perrath is the size of a fully grown adult dragon.^[2] It forces the Kingswood Spawn to release him, its hands physically unable to grasp him any longer. He lets out a mighty roar and slams his claws into the ground, shaking the earth beneath him.

“WITHER, CREATURES!” he bellows, and the grass and trees around him start to lose their liveliness and color, crumbling at the smallest breeze and leaving an area of death and decay around the void-like dragon.^[3]

---

1. -1 HP Cuirass
2. Giant’s Belt [post 1/3]
3. Wither

The bogaboo racing toward Perrath skidded to a halt as its target suddenly became engulfed in shadows that took the form of a dragon. The vegetation around it withered and died, prompting the bogaboo to take a few more steps back, not wanting to be caught in such a magic. Instead, it turned and ran for the other reptile in the area, deciding this was now the easier target.

Huh, that was new.

Xalmann thought to himself as he saw Perrath's shadowy draconic form. He had never seen that before, but he wasn't going to be easily impressed. Perrath wasn't the only one who could transform into something draconic now.

Xalmann's fiery form became solid again, the flames smoothing back down into blazing red scales, though these scales were quickly becoming darker and darker in color. The Lizardman's arms and legs grew thicker as muscle expanded and his entire body grew larger and broader until he stood nearly eight feet tall. A pair of draconic horns grew from his head and a pair of wings sprouted from his back as his tail split down the middle to form a second one. His wooden arm transformed along with him, the charred wood being covered by a solid coating of leaves that mimicked the dragon scales covering the rest of his body, broken up by a scattering of orange glowing flowers.

The grass around Xalmann began to dry up and die as the air around him suddenly became swelteringly hot. Xalmann let out a held breath, a small cloud of ash coming out of his mouth and dissipating into the air. This was his second time transforming into this, and it had been much less painful than the first time. His scales had changed instead of falling out, and he hadn't felt as if his insides were burning. That was good. He was expecting to have to hide the pain  in front of Perrath.

The bogaboo running at Xalmann skidded to a halt again, now facing a second dragon. Directly above Xalmann, a screech of pain came from the kingswood spawn before it fell out of the tree canopy, batting out some small flames on it. It scurried away from Xalmann with a shriek, but before it could get very far, Xalmann's axe came down toward it, cutting one of its legs off.

Xalmann never appreciated before just how suited his axes were to chopping wood, but he had never fought a wooden enemy before.

The cautious bogaboo between the two dragons was feeling more and more like it had made a serious miscalculation.

---

Draconic Visage
Heat Cloak
Sweltering Aura

Perrath is a little too pissed at the undead trying to make him look like a fool to pay much mind to Xalmann’s own transformation at first. With vegetation dying around his feet, he feels the heat emanating from Xalmann and looks in the lizardfolk’s direction. One mighty scoff erupts from his throat. This is the best he can do to imitate the might of a dragon? To try to puff his chest out when in the presence of true dragonkind?

How embarrassing.

At least he’s being useful. Somewhat.

With the bogaboo between them and the other kingswood spawn lingering in the trees above, Perrath glowers down his snout at the Bogaboo. His form seems to swell, shadows creeping up from beneath him like tendrils of smoke reaching out to grasp at the enemies in his wake. Perrath’s eyes take on a bright purple light as they flash, and his mighty voice commands. “Cower beneath me!” A pulse of darkness flashes across the clearing, striking the Bogaboos and Kingswood Spawn and swirling around their heads.^[1] Their shrieks of terror seem to empower the dragon of shadow before them, almost bolstering him.

He slams a paw down on the fearful Bogaboo with talons made of pure dark energy slashing through its form and rending it asunder.^[2] It screams, and the other three creatures, in whatever physical state they’re in, attempt to flee the scene, though likely cannot without passing Xalmann and allowing him a final blow should he wish to take it.

---

1. Reincarnation of Fear
2. Death Swipe
Giant’s Belt [post 2/3]

Xalmann scoffed as Perrath shouted, demanding the creatures cower beneath him. What a blowhard. In Xalmann's tribe, anyone demanding others be afraid of them were the ones least likely to deserve such fear. If it had to be asked for, they didn't earn it. Perrath was no different. Xalmann's opinion of the prideful coward had to start digging into the mud to go any lower.

While he thought this to himself, he finished off the kingswood spawn on the ground in front of him, trying to crawl away with a missing leg. His axe chopped through the rotten wood like butter, leaving it charred on the edges as the heated metal burned and left a trail of smoke behind it which came down as a second axe to chop the spawn into another piece. After one swing, the creature stopped moving and started to burn.

Xalmann turned his attention to the bogaboo that had been keeping a distance from either of the dragons the whole fight, trying to decide which of them was the easier target and only finding there to be no easy targets here. It made a grave mistake while it was trying so hard to be cautious. It put itself right between both of its enemies.

As it ran toward Xalmann, attempting to flee the scene, it began to wither, the intense heat around Xalmann drying it out quickly. The other kingswood spawn fleeing from Perrath also felt the same as its limbs became visibly thinner, its body creaking more.

Xalmann raised his axe and decapitated one after the other with hardly any effort. He remembered struggling against a single bogaboo and wondered if he had really grown that much stronger since then. These two bogaboos and two kindspawn had been easy, even considering Perrath possibly helping a little.

He let out a breath, releasing a small cloud of soot, and turned to Perrath wordlessly. He wasn't here to fight bogaboos or kingswood spawn. He still needed to get close to the knight.

---

Dagon's Demise

Contrary to what Xalmann thinks, Perrath knows that the might of a true dragon should strike fear into the hearts of their enemies. Demanding it or not, it’s all just for show. It’s about the presentation (or just letting out one’s apparent rage at their situation). Regardless, the creatures are dealt with, dead or burning or both. Perrath lets out a low, rumbling growl, a mix of annoyance and content that the situation is resolved.

And then he turns his head to meet Xalmann’s gaze, purple glowing voids for eyes in his shadowy dragon form staring but not without judgment. Letting out a slow breath, black ichor exhales from the dragon’s mouth as he shrinks back down to his usual, humanoid size.^[1] He looks more annoyed than frazzled and slicks back his frills with a huff.

“This was more than I wanted to deal with by coming here,” he grumbles then raises his head for better, more regal posture. “The Knight is uninteresting, murmuring in some long forgotten language. Perhaps it deserves to be burned like the creatures so keen on getting to it. Enjoy your prodding.” And then he starts past Xalmann with the intent to leave. What a mess.

---

1. Ended Giant’s Belt effect

Xalmann kept his guard up as Perrath walked by, turning his head to keep watch of him over his shoulder. There was no way he would trust the conniving, cowardly dragon with his back turned. He kept an eye on him, but didn't make a move to attack. As much as he hated to agree with him, the fight they'd just had was also more than Xalmann had wanted to deal with. A fight with Perrath as his enemy was the same. Not what he was here for.

Xalmann's body shrank back down, the horns receding into his skull and the twin tails merging back into one. He felt a bit of discomfort with the pair of wings pulling themselves into his back and a slight itchiness as the thick draconian scales returned to the scaly lizard hide he was used to. As soon as his wooden arm finished shifting back to normal, the shoulder opened and Ash, the little fiery spirit, popped out and stuck his tongue out in the direction of the retreating Perrath, blowing a raspberry and making a rude gesture that Xalmann didn't remember teaching him.

Xalmann's normally emotionless face cracked into an almost imperceptible grin. As annoying as the fire spirit could be, the damn thing was the reason he was dragged here in the first place, he was at least a little happy to see it also dislike that black-scaled bastard.

"Let's get this over with before someone else shows up." Xalmann hissed in his native Lizardman tongue to the fire spirit as he walked toward the overgrown suit of armor at the center of the clearing.

Ash flew up to the strange knight excitedly and hovered in front of its face while it murmured something unintelligible. He listened and then floated up and patted the knight's helmet a few times before flying back to Xalmann and into the shoulder, the wood sealing shut behind him.

Xalmann looked at the wooden shoulder in shock. That was it? That was all they came here for? Some murmurs and some head pats? What- They had to fight bogaboos and kingswood spawn, avoid multiple camps of adventurers, trekk all the way-

Xalmann put a hand over his eyes and let out a hissing sigh, shaking his head. No, whatever. This was fine. At least he could leave. He walked off, back to the path he had used to get into the clearing. Now he just needed to sneak through the forest and not be seen by anyone again. He hoped this was worthwhile for the fire spirit at least, whatever it gained from all this.