Emrik III, Glorius King of Corpavale.

Emrik merely sighed and shook his head. "So be it, you may rest now." And with those words he quickly slashed down, trying to save the man from feeling pain.

By now, Lady Tia had relaxed on the back of Speedrain, seeing that Emrik couldn't possibly get hurt while Speedrain had the sorcerer in his mouth. She hadn't even flinched or blinked when Emrik slashed through man. A wave of strange drowsiness and fatigue washed over Lady Tia and clung to her. That's funny. I got enough sleep, I ate... What could possibly... Ah, I see now. The sorcerer's final act. I hadn't even noticed... But why... Her thoughts trailed off as she slumped forward on Speedrain's back in a faint.

"Hey, champ, you okay?" Emrik asked as he rushed towards Tia. "Huh, must have passed out." He said to himself, wondering what to do. "hey, Speedrain was it? think you could take her back to the palace or someplace safe? It's one thing to get in trouble willingly, and another to be in danger without a chance to defend yourself."

Speedrain wanted to take its companion to the palace to be looked at. He really did. But the uneasy feeling he was getting just wouldn't go away. I really should take Tia to get checked out, she's just not waking up no matter what I try. But she'd be angry if I took her to the infirmary and left the king by himself. That uneasy feeling is getting stronger. I'm staying here.

The dragon lies Lady Tia down at the base of the nearest tree and darts his eyes all around.

"So you're not going to, huh?" Emrik said, deciding to take a seat at the base of the tree. "Oh well, can't be helped I guess." He did nothing more but proceed to wipe the blood off his by rubbing it against the grass, all the while wishing he had something more amusing to do.

Speedrain nudges the pale person that is Lady Tia. No response whatsoever. A snap of a branch on the ground makes the dragon's head snap up. What was that?

A figure steps out of the shadow of the trees.

Emrik, hearing the snap, turned to the direction and saw some sort of figure. Despite this, he could not help himself from smiling. "And here we go..." He said softly, standing up and readying his sword. "And who might you be, if I may ask?"

Two rogue centaurs step into clear view. They both hold weapons of some sort. Speedrain looks at them with bitterness. They were working with the sorcerer. This was planned. He snaps his mouth at them and gets up to face them. Speedrain glances at Lady Tia, and then turns back to the centaurs.

They don't answer the king's question.

"Ha... Ha... Ha..." Emrik only laughed a threatening laugh and, plunging the Hell Breaker into the ground, rested on the hilt of his sword. "So what are you going to do? Rob me? Kill me? Either way, I'd suggest you turn back. Unless, of course, you want to end up like that sorceror." He said, smiling a smile that seemed equally as threatening as his laugh.

Speedrain shook his head. Why the sudden change in mood? The centaurs decided to charge at Emrik. They had speed, but they weren't as fast as the dragon. Speedrain stepped in front of them, blocking their way.

"Bah, stand aside Speedy, i think I can handle these two just fine..." He said, lifting up his sword and standing casually once again. "It's been a while since I've had a good challenge."

One of the centaurs has a longbow. He puts an arrow to the string, and sends it flying towards Emrik. The other centaur charges again at Emrik, his rapier ready to attack.

The king could only sigh at what he had seen. First he spun around, slashing the arrow in two pieces as he did so, and then he threw the Hell breaker with great precision at the charging centaur, leaving him without a scratch. Heh, and I thought this would be a challenge.

The feeling of unease was gone from Speedrain's system. Those were such weaklings... A bit of a disappointment. He went back to nudging the wan Lady Tia. Still no response. What's wrong with her?

"Hey, Speedy, go take care of the champ there. I'll go take care of that archer." He said, walking at a steady pace to recover his sword.

The dragon whimpers at Lady Tia's limp body, and then turns it's eyes toward Emrik. His eyes are watchful and wary. Speedrain wants to take Lady Tia and King Emrik back to the palace.

It took only a few minutes for the king to finish off his opponents, as well as to wipe off the blood from his sword. "Very well then, shall we get going?" he asked, turning to the dragon. "Or are you going to stay here?"

Speedrain snapped his mouth at Emrik in reply. He indicates that you should get Lady Tia on his back, and then get on yourself.

"Ah, very well then..." he said, walking over to Tia. After picking her up, he then proceeded to rest her on top of Speedrain, and then proceeded to get on himself. "Think we should head to the infirmary? Little missy here might be sick..."

"In any case, I'd suggest we get going... now." he said, the carefree side of him seeming to have been drained slowly out of him. "Or we could stop and enjoy the scenery, you're the dragon."

Speedrain couldn't tell if Emrik was joking with that last part. He flew off to the palace, headed for the infirmary balcony.

And here we go... he thought, looking at Tia. "You better not die on me, or any get any other crippling effect." He said softly. He always hated to see his friends in a bad condition.

Lady Tia wasn't sure if she was dead or dreaming. She didn't remember what had happened. In fact, she didn't remember anything at all. All she knew was that she felt light, and her body was transparent. Everything was covered in mist as far as her eyes could see. But something was wrong. She was floating, and she didn't have the tiniest clue what she was doing here. This place is freaky... Ugh! A jolt went through her transparent body. Wait. Gah! Another jolt. Her mind whirled through flashes of green and orange and yellow magic. ? Is that a... Dragon? It looks familiar. Ah yes... I was with King Emrik III in the Forest of Amskir. The sorcerer died, but what exactly did he do to me to make go to this misty dreamland? Except it wasn't so misty anymore. Lady Tia could see a clearing surrounded by trees. The Forest of Amskir.

By now, her dragon Speedrain was waiting for Emrik as he hauled a limp body onto the back of the dragon. Oh great Goddess, that's me! A burst of pain went through her mind. Speedrain was now flying off in the direction of the palace. Lady Tia followed them... Floating along. The dragon landed on the large balcony of the infirmary, where a bewildered Duchess Miracle opened the doors. The head healer looked at the limp body the king was riding with, and she panicked. Lady Tia looked at the body as well. I'm so pale. But how do I get back to my body...?

"Oh great Goddess, what happened?!?!" Duchess Miracle went about the infirmary in a panic, preparing a bed for Lady Tia to lie on. When she was done, she indicated to the king to put Lady Tia there. Duchess Miracle raised her hands so they hovered over the body, so she could do a scan. Her hands glowed with light purple magic, and the more she scanned, the more the frown on her face deepened. Oh my! This was caused by magic. There's not even a pulse on her! But my magic is telling me she isn't dead... This isn't going to be cured by a healing. I need to connect to the gods.