None of these substances truly had any proper use for Flame hence the buxom sorceress skimmed through a great deal of them without having any idea whatever purpose they might serve aside from the fact that Renee utilised them within her laboratory and depending on whichever meaning her scheming with Abdul entailed, she would either discover they served evil deeds all along or were meant for something else entirely. Certainly her father would explain everything once they freed him, but for the moment opposing the devious woman had been better than staying away, deeming her guilty until proven innocent.

"Oh?" However, even more surprising had been the fact that Spencer seemed to be familiar with these chemicals and pointed the formerly dismissed vial out to her once more. "Alright then." Naturally Flame didn't think too deeply into the matter for the sake of keeping their relationship healthy, at the same time allowing the bottle to vanish within her overcoat in order to be drawn upon some other time. Thankfully her own meddling with the other receptacle went by unnoticed.

Not that Nicodemus would react kindly to their curious find, particularly when the same element could be used against him and his angelic brethren, but her distrust in the Fae inarguably didn't reach that far.

"Right, the door." Flame recalled what he'd meant and steadily ventured back across the room, listening for anyone outside in the hall and once nobody appeared to be there a gentle hand timidly clasped the handle, cautiously opening his path into the corridor leading to all three chambers in the basement.

She figured that extracting the Boggle right then and there was his plan and allowed the unusual duo to pass before stepping back, quite certain that the potent scent of their newfound companion wouldn't alert the people one room over to her presence but rather that their precious pet had escaped. "I'll be waiting right here."

The innocence of a new borne babe, it was a rare find even though Spencer was not invested in alchemy it was as well known to him as the fabled Philosopher's Stone. Flame took it. If they found that Renee was on the level it could be returned easy enough, if no they could destroy it or use it.

Even the good guys tended to have Krptonight to use against Superman if he ever went on a rampage and she had to wonder if this was some sort of insurance against Nicodemus.

Spencer had not been intending to take the Boggle with him until he came back but it made little difference as the door was opened a bit wider and the invisible Spencer moved out with the Boggle swallowed up b the darkness.

This left Flame alone and while she heard someone leave the chamber next door and later return no one had checked the other rooms it had seemed, at least she had heard no commotion until a puddle of water slide beneath the door and Typhoon soon took shape from the puddle.

“Spencer is getting the Boggle away from here. If I am to understand correctly you two surmise the portal is in the room and you wish for Renee to knock off before checking it out. Spencer says that he has given you the key too.” Typhoon summed up matters rather quickly. “If so we wait I suppose, though I am probably the last person you would want to hang around with in a dark room I bet.”

Darkness enveloped Flame once her companions departed and left her alone to deal with that growing agitation, fear which didn't actually exist anywhere outside of her own mind when gazing into the shadows revealed even the slightest obscure outline, somehow interpreting it in horrendous ways. She regarded monsters where none existed and continuously averted her eyes, looking elsewhere only to feel as though the formerly observed figure crept up on the young woman, her every hair seemingly on edge as goosebumps spread along delicately silken skin and she spun around in order to check yet again.

Thankfully her attention was brought to the people leaving the other room, ultimately followed by another individual returning there though they likely hadn't found anything amiss given the lack of commotion outside. It was fortunate her presence remained undetected although the ardent pounding in her chest certainly didn't help matters any.

Now the puddle proved surprising indeed, but establishing the connection between her male companion and a puddle of water allowed for her troubled mind to calm, his appearance here soothing her senses at last. She briefly retrieved the key from her pockets to show it remained in her possession yet hadn't paid the fabricated scenario from his memories any further mind after reaching out to Abdul, not until Typhoon brought the matter back up.

"It certainly beats being alone." Flame spoke softly given the unknown entity next door before mulling things over in the back of her mind. She smiled faintly nevertheless, awakening the idea that her disdain for him had been lower than he might have expected, perhaps virtually non-existant. Crimson eyes lower themselves to the ground for a moment. "Of course I haven't forgotten about it, Typhoon. I mean .. Who really could?"

She inhaled deeply, collecting her thoughts. "What I recall from my experience in your memory really happened back in the day, but not to me personally and in the same way as the one whose place I took. It was a dream to me. It doesn't make the truth any less abominable, what you've done and I've sworn to keep secret, but I haven't actually seen you behave like that in person."

The dim sheen of her eyes flickered back to him. "I believe you've changed since then. I have no reason to fear you and although these images are fresh in my mind, I'm sure they'll vanish in time. I don't feel the need to bring them up for the sake of tormenting you. However .. I'm not sure how well you're still connected to what I've seen back then, but I'm hoping you'll never do anything of the sort ever again. It's just .. not right."

Did she fear the dark or was she dismissing what she had witnessed. While the actual event would have been twisted a bit from her own interactions with it his knowledge of what really happened back then had been infused in his mind and would forever be a burden that he could not erase.

He would not suppress the memory either, he wanted to be reminded about the matter …

“The actual event is probably more or less the same. Your mind could influence matters a little here, hence our drawing out of Abdul in the first place so anything involving him never occurred ...”

He fell silent for a moment and he gave the matter some thought as he still heard sounds from the other room indicating that they still had time.

“An urchin stole my money pouch once upon a time and I track the little girl down, caught her in an alley and after I had grabbed her I was distracted briefly when I heard the squeak of several rats. She bite me to get out of my grasp and ran off. I didn't think much of it, not until the night of the next full moon.

“I would black out, doing horrible things I was unaware of, hearing this report or that. The ironic thing was that I was helping search for this monster until I pieced it together. Fear caused me to take off where I found these bandits in the woods or rather they found me. They ran me threw, had been about to rob me and when they realized that I was not dead they soon discovered my nature.

“They were a pack of Were Rats, similar to Were Wolves but rats instead. They took me in upon discovery that I was one of their own. I had little control of the changes but threw them I learned how to communicate and summon the rats.” He shook his head. “Eventually I challenged for leadership, though on nights of my change I had no memories of what happened. I got locked in a rut, having to endure this curse when I went back to what I was going to do before being side tracked. The moon controls the tides they say. But can the tides influence the moon?

“I still am not sure but as I left the bandits to study elemental magic I found that the Water Element gave me a certain calmness, it gave me more control then I ever learned to the point where I can now control matters fully. Though nights of a full moon cause me to be a bit moody I do not have to change save for when I want to.

“In addition normal weapons no longer hurt me. Guess the secrets out in how I kept getting harmonicas. Even infernal rats are under my control if I wish. But I assure you, those days are gone. I have learned to live with my curse.”

No longer did Typhoon devote himself to these horrendous acts and that was good enough for the young sorceress to accept his past and his seemingly persistent control to suppress that bestial part of his. She knew what he'd done, at least one of the presumably great many crimes of his which had yet to be revealed, but change had occured in his life and he seemed to handle it fairly well.

However, had the two of them encountered each other out in the forest that night without any chance to build their relationship prior to uncovering his true nature, Flame likely would have turned him to ashes without hesitation. Flame despised killing the living and found herself susceptible to the difficulties of ending the life of someone she'd bonded with in some way, in his case their seemingly everlasting attempts to finally regain their freedom, but without such things he was little more than evil, committing atrocities as the head of his alleged pack, setting her up in the woods to be raped and exploited for the entire duration of her imprisonment which might very well end with her serving as little else outside of nourishment for the bandits.

She was glad she didn't have to for in the end Abdul incinerated them all, each and every one of them although with that in mind her father might expect some clarification in that regard once they met up unless he already pieced matters together on his own and held the same tolerance as his own daughter towards someone like Typhoon.

"Honestly, I never would have guessed how you managed to get those harmonicas myself. At least not until now." Sure, communicating with the rats made sense, but how and to what end he himself was related to such creatures, that was simply beyond the red head. "Thank you for indulging me." It wasn't quite the most appealing subject, but it must have taken a fair amount of will power to entrust her with that information and for that kind of trust Flame had to thank him.

"No one else will know." She assured him, listening to the faint noises in the other room while keeping her own voice down. "You don't have to worry about it."

Naturally joining up with the bandits who beat you into a bloody pulp and becoming a part of them, that portion seemed rather bizarre although living amongst his own kind might have helped the situation until he decided to venture off into the world without the rest, studying the calmer Element of Water throughout his studies. Crimson eyes slowly honed in on his once again. "What happened to the other bandits when you left? Are they still alive or were they taken care of?"

He had his reasons for joining the bandits. There was no where else to go as far as he could tell he would have been on the outs with the humans and while he found the creatures deplorable he realized that it was his best hope to learn control until he began thinking over his choice in elements … the moon controlled tides but by controlling the tides and understanding them did he not make it easier to control himself too>

“Oh, the bandits.” He paused for a moment then smiled. “I heard that an anonymous tip had the authorities locate one of their hidden camps. Further more they had been equipped with silver and magical weapons … the survivors were tried and hung. A Lycanthrope, Wererat, Werewolf, Were whatever, still needs to breath and hanging is still a viable way to kill them. To this day I wonder who sold them out.”

Had it been him? Another? Perhaps the ending of that statement had been to generate that question though they needed to be quiet then as there seemed to be stirring in the hall outside. The door next to them opened and closed and it sounded as if the others were heading upstairs now.

Typhoon had her wait for a long moment to ensure that they were truly gone before slipping out into the hall and into that vacated room with Flame. A simple light spell cast on a drawn dagger illuminated the region. He had to have gotten the blade from Nicodemus in transit or at the prison she guessed for it was the first time she had seen it. Sheathing that blade would conceal the light save for at the sheath itself where it could easily be covered.

In the room was a fully stocked lab, a bookcase and a single wooden door opposite the one they came through. “That's it there.” He pointed to the simple door. Getting the key from her it was a simple matter to unlock it and step on through to a land that looked bizarre to say the least. It could only be the Shadow of Nod. It was perpetual twilight there and there were doors all over the place. Closed doors, some in the sky, others on the ground.

There were just doors and door frames. Some had name plates on them, others did not. The door could be closed and from the other side only what they could see through the door existed. To the sides of it there was only the Shadow of Nod. It looked as if the door could be closed and locked from this side. Just to be certain Typhoon tested the key to make sure it fit the lock which it did before closing the door.

He scanned the ground, then brought his gaze to Flame. “I don't imagine that you know where to now.” It did not matter, he thought he saw the way though if she could make it easier all the better.

Their patience had been rewarded and while the question bubbling up in her mind with regards to the fall of the bandits and Typhoon's involvement in their trial might never be answered, the other room soon wound up vacated. She was eager to commence for reasons he had not known, perhaps due to the thought that Abdul was her mentor for many years rather than the position he actually held in her life, but his notion of caution held the fiery spirit at bay until he believed slipping through the corridor would be safe.

Unbeknownst to Flame he had acquired a dagger somehow, somewhere, possibly from Spencer unless the one he'd carried belonged to Nicodemus initially, or while she and the mayor set out to explore the town a little more intimately, either way the woman by his side had no grounds for complaints considering the light which begun emanating from the object once he placed a spell on it, a gift she was most thankful for.

It didn't truly matter right then and there anyway. She could think of quite a few ways as to how he'd gotten the blade and what he might do with it, but for the moment there were no mind numbing suspicions in her mind.

After exploring the third room, their path to Nod appeared to be laid out for them. It was a simple matter, unlocking the door and venturing onward into the somewhat darkened premises, lulled in everlasting twilight. Doors riddled the premises as was to be expected by the things her father stated about Nod, but in itself these planes looked rather bizarre, indeed.

Trace the steps, he said, therefore regarding the premises with care, the ground in particular, seemed to be the most sensible course of action. In recollection of his advice the red head sought out any sign of footsteps or the like, knowing fully well Renee had accompanied him here at least once. However, Flame surmised that the aforementioned portal revealed itself upon unlocking the door beyond which Abdul had been imprisoned hence her every concern resided with finding the correct path and tracking her father all the way to the end before drawing any further conclusions with regards to which dangers were meant to be avoided.

"I'm afraid not. I don't even know which door we're looking for exactly." Ruby red eyes lingered on Typhoon for a moment. "Have you seen anything?" Needless to say her knowledge of Nod was fairly limited yet whichever realm the Efreeti wound up in laid beyond one of these doors. At the very least they were in possession of a key which opened one of these locks, a slight relief in the grand scheme of things.

Perhaps she should have been more prudent and discussed matters with Whitney to a greater extent instead of indulging in other pleasantries, such as navigating through the Shadow of Nod, but it was too late to turn back now.

Nod was a Shadow where it would have been useless to try to use magic to track given the very nature of he place. There was too much residual energy here and it would have been easy to get confused though there were some Divinations that would have assisted the pair easily enough.

Unfortunately his Dvinations were the minor sort and through them he may have managed to discern a location though h e had other resources. He shook his head. “I don't but -”

He sat and removed his boots. “Here carry these. I like them.” Standing back up he gazed around the ground for a moment, his bones making audible popping sounds as she could see them popping in places. His clothes tore in others and he became a hybrid of a man and a rat.

“My senses are better like these,” he explained. They were the only two around so slipping into this form was more an option. He was fully aware of the stigma of being a Lycanthrope, in being hunted down. True, Were-rats were mostly evil but there were exceptions.

He inhaled the ground and looked with those beady eyes. It was old but the scent had been the only one and he lead her along the path that must have been taken.

“There!” He pointed at one of the doors after traveling with her for half an hour or so. “The tracks come in and out but the scent leads to that door.” Making sure he traveled to the door in his transformed nature before assuming his natural state.

A brief chant and he swiped his hands down his body, his clothes replaced by others in a Conjuration that was convenient for quick changes though his last outfit had been ruined. He took back his boots pulling them on.

“I'm assuming this portal is locked. If I check for magic it most definitely will radiate such. Let me check to see if it is trapped though.” Through magic if there were any auras of magic that shouldn't be there that should tip him off but a visual inspection worked best. After he did his thing he nodded. “OK, it's clean.”

"Why would I have to-" Mildly puzzled at the need to carry his boots the reason for his response became all the more apparant and Flame recoiled in recollection of these memory based events, visibly taken aback by the sudden change in appearance her travelling companion went through, shrinking back down with each and every vicious sound emanating from shifting bones. It was discomforting even though she knew Typhoon wouldn't lay his hands on her this time around, the cruel nature of the matter embedded within her mind.

Her breath had quickened, albeit slightly as the distance between them wound up closed once again, her acceptance towards him clearer now although her surprise had yet to wane. "Of course, I understand." She carried his boots nevertheless and soon tagged along, the scarlet haired sorceress always in his wake as to prevent her own scent from interfering with his work.

It had taken the two of them a fair while and quite a bit of distance before the bestial elementalist perked up and guided them to what he surmised to be the correct pathway, changing back to his human form whereupon getting dressed had been a simple matter for the man.

No traps. Flame regarded their objective and struggled to come up with any reason as to why Renee entrapped an Efreeti and couldn't be bothered conjuring even the simplest form of magical seal or barrier on the single path leading out of his confinement. Perhaps there simply was no need, Abdul was contained and couldn't get out from his side in weeks, maybe months before he discovered another exit of some kind, and until then she might have found a way to deal with him. Well, at the very least it made matters simpler for his saviors.

"I'm pleased to hear that .. Now to get it open." She figured Typhoon would know, the stolen key being the only item which came to mind and the last time she'd seen it her partner had used it to seal the door through which they had arrived. "I'm guessing Renee's key will unlock it? It might be enough to allow him passage to our side of the door and simply waiting here for another moment or two won't hurt anyone."

She forgot to mention her reasoning beforehand and cut in before he could respond. "Abdul cautioned against stepping through the portal ourselves. We should heed his advice." He hadn't explained why, presumably getting trapped there themselves wouldn't do their rescue any good although how her father would know that he could finally leave was beyond the charming vixen at the time.

It hurt shifting form but his regeneration of all but silver and magic healed him virtually instantly. Typhoon had lead them to the door and he had listened to Flame though he had pointed out one thing that in her excitement she probably missed.

“There is no lock, no key hole. It can't be locked unless through magic and yet Abdul said it was locked.” He pondered this matter. “And he did caution us about entering it too. With it closed though he cannot get out and I have detected no unusual magic from it …

“Dimensional magic, transportation though that is to be expected. Each of these doors leads into the dreams of someone somewhere. When someone passes on their door vanishes though when they wake their door usually vanishes when they do but I have seen no doors winking in and out as we traveled … I do have a theory though. Nod is a huge Shadow. Everyone's dreams can be accessed here once they sleep. Try opening the door.”

Typhoon waited, the door was unlocked and opened into a vast sea of flames. Screams could be heard from within, masculine, somewhere in the distance though as the door swung opened there was a humanoid figure standing there, flames harmlessly flicking over his crimson skin and a pair of horns crowned his head. His eyes were orange burning with the intensity of the flames themselves and though he was standing there on fire the flames did not harm his equipment. A huge scimitar had been at his side and his muscular body was covered in a yellow and orange robe.

His eyes swept to Flame as the door was opened and the giant of a creature (which was well over eight feet in height) approached. He was not threatening in his approach though, other than his huge size that altered, shrinking to a more reasonable six feet as he casual approached the door.

“Flame … I didn't not expect that you would be here as quick as you have, daughter -”

He had not seen Typhoon in his human form but had been curious … “The Elemental Master of Water. You have teamed up, oh yes, the Paraelementalists ...”

Abdul would exit and sigh with a shake of his head. “I gave up on my initial plan figuring that you would get here sooner and have been waiting … damn Renee though I should have seen it coming. You two have not have had any problems reaching here.”

With a mere nod the red head attempted opening the door and discovered that it swung open with relative ease, watching in awe as the fiery planes came into view.

Immediately Flame noted the emanating albeit distant screams in silence, swiftly discerning a masculine undertone from the distressed entity within, but standing amongst the cascade of blistering flames was not the owner of the faraway voice, rather the towering frame of a crimson skinned being whose appearance had been far more familiar. It felt strange, the mixture of accomplishment coupled with joy flaring up within her core yet the inevitable thought of how unusual their relationship had been hindered her own excitement slightly. She wasn't used to seeing him, not as frequently as their past might imply and viewing Abdul as her father rather than the creator proved challenging even now, but perhaps thinking along those lines was more human than accepting it straight away, especially after having to cope with suppressed memories.

It didn't go by unnoticed, however, what occured beyond the door they had opened. It had to belong to someone, right? A nightmare, perhaps, which the person experienced at the time? She couldn't say with utmost certainty and quite possibly it was neither of concern nor her place to ask any questions, not with the importance of their current mission.

Crimson eyes lingered on the approaching Efreeti as Abdul emerged from the chamber seemingly comprised solely of flames and the young sorceress smiled warmly in his presence as she backed away from the door slowly as to allow him to step out completely.

She froze up given the daughter remark and while Flame might be to blame for her father's carefree use of the term, she figured Typhoon most assuredly picked up on it. It would've been surprising if someone with his intellect would miss out on such simple details and with him in the know, trying to sweep things under the rug would be downright disrespectful.

A faint blush graced her features at the realisation most likely playing out in his head right now, briefly glancing to Typhoon, then back at Abdul. "I haven't actually told them we're family yet .. along with a few other things .. about me." She hoped he'd catch the hint, but it wouldn't matter in the long run. Nicodemus would find out soon enough although for the time being they needed him focused on their task of stopping the witch Tori. "I never quite found the right moment to let you know why I've been keen to rescue him while we were underway, but now you know that we're a little closer than student and teacher."

She gestured between the two. "Typhoon, meet Abdul, my father .. Father, Typhoon .." In truth Flame wanted to move past introductions which her urgency might indicate, but found that they were appropriate nevertheless. Perhaps the Water Elementalist wouldn't think too deeply into the matter, that perhaps Flame was little more than adopted and not a Living Construct. In his case half breeds simply weren't possible hence the former may be more likely whereas the latter might not even come to mind. "As soon as I heard you were trapped I asked to come here and the others seemed to agree that freeing you would be best. We came as quickly as we could."

It was quick enough, at the very least. She had questioned Renee's involvement considering that everyone was supposed to be allies in the City Within the City, but apparantly not everyone played by the rules. Flame begun sealing the door then, dismissing the screams for the moment yet keeping them in the back of her mind for later, all the while pondering as to how his imprisonment had transpired. "What happened between you and Renee, if you don't mind me asking? We've spoken to Whitney, but he could not explain why she would want you out of the way."

“Oh?” Abdul gazed between the two and he could see the cogs spinning in the back of Typhoon's mind. Clearly he was not thinking of the truth but more mundane elements that fit rather then things that were more fantasy at this stage.

Efreeti were great liars though they did so subtly with half truths and omissions rather than outright lies. Abdul was still an Efreeti though he may have been quite different then the usual ones. While Typhoon may have thought that Flame could be a half breed, a Janni, there were subtle differences between them and humans that an observant person could pick up upon and Typhoon figured he would be able to deal her origins if that had been the case.

But Abdul proved that he was a bit different then the others of his kind too. “Back in Sirocco a caravan was attacked by bandits. I saved it but the guards and travelers were killed by then. Only an infant remained and so I adopted her as my own.”


Abdul explained though he gazed towards the door with a bit of a chuckle as he rubbed at the back of his head. “That is a bit embarrassing … you didn't need to rush though I suppose given my choice of words could have been better.

“As an immortal being I do not measure the flow of time as you do Flame. Renee suspected there was another woman … and well she sealed me in there. The door only opens from this side and our goal was to lure the dreamer out. He was sort of necessary to our plans but his mind is gone even if we did manage to bring him back …

“He's been in a coma for years now, one of the greatest minds that went missing several decades ago had been discovered here. We do not know where his physical body is, just that he has been going through this nightmare for quite awhile, it changes, it's not always the flames but it is often the case as if fire had been a significant fear.

“Originally we were going to lead him out after finding from him where his body was so we could save him. Once taken from their it was surmised he would wake. When Renee shut me in the only real option for escape was an outside source or figuring out a way to wake him though I would be expelled here and we would have no idea where he was.”

“So, this was all about someone that was spurned?”

Abdul held up a finger as if calling for silence or emphasizing a point. “She thought she was taking a back seat to someone, I'll admit I was partially at fault here but I figured that she needed a few months to vent out her anger.” He shrugged casually as if that meant something to the situation.

“But enough on my problem, tell me about yours. How best can I help you.”

Doubts and concern for the well-being of her father had driven the red haired sorceress to believe Renee might wish to harm him and others amongst the City Within the City, all for the sake of preventing any potential emotional peril for Abdul had been the single link to her suppressed past thus far who found himself in immediate reach of the young woman. She was rash to act on behalf of these baseless allegations her own mind fabricated as they moved along, judgmental to the very last moment even when Flame should have looked further into the matter before deeming anyone a traitor. To make matters worse, she'd stolen a precious substance from her basement and emptied another vial entirely, the breath of an Efreeti which Abdul most likely provided on his own free will.

It did make Flame wonder, however, if her father was romantically involved with this woman or his take on the situation hinted at a more scientific ground for their little quarrel. It wasn't hard to believe that after Chloe he might have sought to establish another bond with another human being, a more or less stronger one, or that the two of them simply happened to relish each other's presence to that point, she wasn't going to dig through her father's past dealings in order to find out.

Now that roamed free once more, the three of them were getting down to business. "Of course. As you know I was captured by the witch Tori, alongside Typhoon and two others. I and the other Elementalists managed to escape Tori's clutches before she could use us to access the Blue Shrine, but we were unaware that we weren't her only means of accessing it at the time. She sought out the Forgotten Four as well and now we're trying to prevent them from becoming allies as to delay her progress in that regard even further."

"We were going to either take them captive, or .. strike them down in combat, whichever the outcome may be, but for the moment I suggest we better return to the others back on Brindel and settle on our next step. All we came here to do was release you from captivity and return to Nicodemus."

She briefly glanced toward the ground at the notion of killing them in some fashion. Demons were another matter entirely and while the Forgotten Four cheated with regards to their ability to draw upon their respective elemental serpents, they were living entities nevertheless. It might be hard to accept, but the truth of the matter had been that Tori could not be allowed to gain access to the Blue Shrine which was all that truly mattered.

Crimson eyes lay themselves unto Typhoon for a moment, wondering if there was anything else she had missed given that she and Abdul had spoken great lengths about their current objective when they were still infusing her mind with false memories. "I believe that would be best."

“Capture? A far riskier endeavor than killing them as each on their own is about as strong as two Elementalists, at least magically. Physically could be another matter. Though they are weaker in ways two. You Flame cannot use water based magic or cold, that is no surprise but take Bryne for instance. He is effectively barred from water and air given his affinity to magma which is the combining of Earth and Fire. So, their selection of spells happens to be very limited.

“Ideally get them in situations that take away or weaken their affinities or limit them to just one of them and predicting their likely attacks becomes a bit easier. Bryne for instance would be limited with fire based magic on a ship and thus you could load up on defensive spells against the likely Earth based spells he can use, which wouldn't be many out at sea. Very strong in most areas but extremely weak in others.”

Just a simple observation on his part. In pairs the Elementalists might best a Paraelemist and he could do it simply by virtue of being an immortal and learning different methods of doing things, usually sparked out of boredom but it lead to a great many discoveries.

“Nicodemus? The Fallen?” He was familiar with the Angel though both being immortals their paths had crossed before. He halted. He was free from that dream realm and in a Shadow again. He could easily get them back to where they were going if he knew the exact location.

“No, I have nothing to add. That sums it up nicely I think.”

“Tori … I heard stories that she had entrapped Nicodemus after his fall. She cannot be allowed access to the Blue Shrine but cannot do so without the four Elementalists or four Paraelementalists, not in a timely fashion at least. There are other means that involve lengthy rituals but she is mortal and thus impatient.

“Her minions in Goblins and Ogres that her sister supplies her with are weak; Nicodemus and the Efreeti her strongest supporters. Are there new enemies we need to be aware of? I'm sure that even getting a hold of one Paraelementalist would do the trick. They are all evil and each has a list of unmentionable deeds that they cannot atone for though no one will mourn the passing of one or even the capture. Death means Tori needs to wait for a successor to rise up which could take years or at least makes her come to you in a rescue attempt provided she learns of the location.

“But … there is something that maybe simpler here. Shall I share such insight now or should I wait until everyone is assembled. Nicodemus should have seen it though I'm sure he is too close to the situation to look at things objectively, that would be my guess."

It was definitely an oversight to dismiss the location factor in their equation, although Flame had to admit that altering either the site or overall circumstances with regards to their engagement seemed to exist solely beyond the feasible realm hence the young sorceress never truly considered anything along those lines. Naturally Roc and Spencer possessed the ability to traverse the Shadows, taking others along with them, but to lure Bryne or any of the Forgotten Four out of the safety of their elements or compell them to head someplace else where they didn't have the advantage, that appeared to be a near impossible task.

However, Abdul had proven himself correct in the notion that one or two captives or corpses might suffice for their undertaking. It rid the world of evil and lessened the risk of those opposing them whilst still preventing the witch from pressing on without further delay. Nicodemus simply needed time to recover and with enough time, their victory had beem almost guaranteed.

"Yes, Nicodemus the Fallen." She replied meekly, knowing fully well Abdul had lingered within her mind when they'd gotten back to Brindel several days back and Nicodemus happened to entice her to partake of another sexual liaison then and there.

But with that said, most of Tori's minions were ordinary creatures and with Nicodemus torn from her clutches, one of her strongest if not the most powerful of all had been taken away and placed as her enemy on the other side of the board. She shook her head a little when asked if there happened to be any more than that. "None that I'm aware of, but with the four of us and Nicodemus having vanished from Carrion at the same time, I imagine she might be a lot more wary of the future."

"We should return to the others and discuss our next move with them once we're all back together. I imagine they'd like to hear what our possibilities are for themselves." For once it wasn't solely an excuse to see Nicodemus up close again. Two Immortals simply fared better than one and if her beloved Angel lacked the ability to look at things objectively, bringing them together was for the better. It happened before, when she had to talk Nick out of rushing matters and opposing Tori too soon lest she might slip away yet again, all because after a century long imprisonment he sought to finally end that vile woman. Surely her father maintained a more emotionally distant albeit clear view of the situation at hand which would come in handy throughout the following days.