Knight's Honor

Deep in a Labratory locted in North Africa, 3400 AD

It is often believed that time was the fourth dimension, and time itself is often unstable. Living in a timeline where magic and science co-existed side by side, a group of scientists tried to play God and the results were...unthinkable. A complex had been built deep underground, most of it's projects kept top secret from the world in which they were done.

Their latest experiment was to create a new human, a meta-human. The human dna would be fused with dna of a Black dragon. Yes, such a thing existed in other parts of the world, and the race of dragons stayed away from humans for the most part. The two DNAs were able to succesfully fuse together and create a meta-human. The meta-human was male and took upon new powers with the creation. Even the scientists were not sure of what his new powers would be, but they would be a sight to behold.

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Zion's first moment's of waking were to see fluid all around him. He was suspended in the middle of a tank in greenish fliud. A mask was over his face so that he was able to breathe in the strange substance. As he managed to focus more, he noticed several white faces peering at him. Images and knowledge flowed through his mind. Where did this come from? How did he know how to use weapons? He wasn't sure, but he didn't like where he was.

The fusion had an unexpected side-effect where his heart was turned dark. His mind was filled with anger and hate, hate for those around him. He growled for a moment as he tried to hit the glass with his fist, but the fluid only served to slow him down. He wanted out, needed out. This desire was enough to trigger his magic. A dark surge of energy exploded from him, shattering glass in all directions. Blood-curdling screams filled the air aschucks of glass sliced into the scitentists, leaving them fatally wounded.

A strange glowing object that was being studied by one of the scientists was struck by one of the pieces of glass. It's origins and exact purpose was unknown, but the hit was enough to activate it. Zion tilted his head as it began pulsating a soft white glow before he was suddenly hit by lightining, his vision going dark.

Zion had disappeared, thrown in a time vortex. He was soon dumped on the ground in a heap, in the middle of a forest. He laid on his back, completely nude. His body was well-toned and muscular, all six foot of him. His hair was a jet black, and his eyes were a deep black as well. He laid unconsious, completely unaware of his surroundings.

After a short while he began to wake up and sit up slowly. He frowned down at his nakedness and looked around for a few moments. He really need some sort of protection. It was a few moments, but he picked up the sounds of a fire crackling with his increased hearing, and could smell the smoke as well. Taking his time in sneaking towards the direction of the fire, he soon came upon a lone male sleeping beneath a tree.

Zion wondered why a fire was needed during the day before the chillness of the air hit his naked skin. He growled softly at the coolness before taking a closer look at the sleeping male. The guy seemed to be about the same build, so his outfit might work. Zion walked over to the guy bend reaching his hands down towards the man's neck. The sudden touch woke the man up, but all he could do was struggle beneath the iron grip. The man tried to pry Zion's hands away, but he was soon dead in a matter of seconds.

The dead corpse was quickly stripped and the Zion began to try the leather pants, tunic, and boots on. The items were a bit snug against his muscular build, but they would do for the time being. He pulled on the chainmail shirt the guy was wearing before kicking the body into the fire. It wouldn't do for him to be discovered just yet for killing. He chuckled and picked up the dead man's backpack and sword, strapping them on before begin a leisurely stroll through the forest.

Finally, the din had begun to die down.....

A lone woman stood upon the bloody hillock that had been the Knights of Reylind's last stand. Even now as her lavender tinted eyes scanned the field around her, her mind raced.....

A single bloody gauntlet raised in salute, only corpses and those soon to join them met her gaze. Even as one of Reylind's most favored of champions, she couldn't hope to heal them all.....

A stolid of a warrior as any male, Melinda had climbed the ranks of her paladin order......and now to come to this.....

With a strangled cry, she recognized the face of one of the nearby wounded all too well. The wind picking up and tossing her long, blonde hair, the silver plated warrioress raced down the hillside to a friend's aid. Throwing herself to her knees, Miranda's finely tuned senses already alerted her to the knight's slowing heartbeat, death rushing in to claim her.

"No, Sara....."

For what seemed a split second, she allowed herself the chance to gaze once more at her friend. The only other woman to have stood the trials and challenges of being a squire with her....endured the taunting.....the shapely brunette now lay dying, an orcish spear thrust between the seams of her armor to pierce what must have been a lung. Even as the stricken girl tried to speak, a soft pink froth slid unbidden from her lips....

"I-I was....careless. Ov-over extended myself...."

Tears filled Miranda's pale lavender eyes as quick glances told her of the extent of Sara's injuries. It would take no small healing.....just short of a miracle would be needed to stave off death this time.....

Without thinking of her of her own safety.....the paladin placed a heavily gauntleted hand on her sister's shapely breastplate, feeling not even the twinge of remorse for what she was about to do, even when Sara struggled to object.

"No! You *cough* can't! You don't know who else might be out there! Are we the only ones left? Is there someone else you can call here before you attempt this?! P-please *cough*, not for me....."

Already a soft amber hued glow began to form around her superior's gauntlet....strengthening quickly in both intensity, and in the relief it brought to the stricken paladin. The illumination held strong over the crushed battlefield for only a minute....before silently fading back into nothingness.

Looking down, Miranda smiled. It had hurt at first as her diety's power had first cleansed the wound before actually healing it. Sara's eyes had closed in what must have been agony for just a brief second....before smoothening gradually out once more, to a familiar look of serenity that the older paladin had seen only on her face when she was sleeping.

Easing slowly away from her old friend, Miranda struggled to rise. Only then did she feel the fatigue of her actions as her knees wobbled badly, her already tired quadriceps trembling from the exertion of her ascent. It was a good thing that the battle was over.

Silently saying a prayer for the dead and dying....she had done what she could, knowing full well that she could only save one of them. For now, she could just ease the pain of the ones that death had yet to claim....as well as search for survivors, if indeed any were to be found.....
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Zion strolled along through the forest, listening to the forest creatures. He was only a couple of hours old, and yet his mind was filled with the knowledge of things he didn't quite understand. He spent his time replaying the images of what happened at the leb. It didn't make any sense to him. What was his exact purpose? Why was he created? Where was he going to go from here?

These questions were soon pushed aside as the scent of blood began to fill his nostrils. His black eyes flared a deep red as he topped the crest of a hill and came upon the sight of the battlefield.

It looked to cover over thirty acres and not one sign of green showed. He inhaled the scent of blood, licking his lips. He had no idea why, but the scent was intoxicating. He grinned and began walking into the desolate area, pulling his sword out.

There were a few surviors, but those that he had found didn't last long. Their cries for help often ended in a gurgle as his sword plunged through them.

He was occupied by the killing when his attention was drawn by the glow of magic. It was coming from the edge of the carnage, a little over a hundred yards away. He wasn't sure, but the wind carried the scent of the female paladin towards him. HE grinned, urged on by some primal insticent just awaken in him.

After what had seemed ages, Miranda was finally done. A small, ragged group of peasant fighters had survived....as well as one more male member of her order. And yet through it all, she had the unmistakable feeling that she was being watched.....

A thick, stocky barrel of a man, it had come as no surprise to the elf that Byron had survived. Though the spear that had ruined his kneecap had probably ended the man's campaign career. Still, much could be learned from him in the way of training new knights.....IF she could get him back safely to their Order.

Even as Byron's eyes fluttered open, his blue eyes immediately darted back and forth, recognizing his savior in an instant. Ignoring the pain in his shattered leg, the burly veteran fairly blurted out his concerns.

"Did we win? Have the townsfolk been saved, Miranda? And for the love of Reylind....please tell me that more of us made it through this than just us?"

A nod, another nod, and a crestfallen look told the seasoned warrior what he needed to know. His silence was deafening. Reaching to his own leg, Miranda smiled softly as she recognized the glow of a healing spell. Even the greatest of clerics wouldn't have been able to fully heal that wound. She was glad however, to see some of the pain disappear from Byron's eyes.

"I have to hand it to you, you're tough for an elf. I thought the hillock was lost for sure, especially when the 3rd regiment fell."

A grimace of pain flashed across her delicate features, even as her mind drifted back to the battle. The brightly polished silver armor of her Knight's had been enough to deflect most of the arrows their enemies had rained upon them....but it had done little against the pikes their footmen had levelled at their advance. Only the most skilled of them had survived the resulting melee, and most of those fell to the shamans shortly afterward. Still....they had been HER regiment.....and HER responsibility......

Byron must have seen the pain in her lightly tinted eyes, speaking up quickly as if to distract her, if even for just a moment.

"It'll be nightfall soon enough. You and I will have to come up with a plan to get us all out of here. I can't say that I know these woods well, and there are probably still orcs out there. Kick Sara awake if you think she can help, and let's get to this."

Melinda nodded softly at the burly human's words, a grim look on her face as she turned once more to scan the battlefield.....

"Especially when there is still something out there, Byron. And I think it best at this point that we don't find out what it is....."

With a soft sigh and all the caution she could afford.....the paladin reached for Sara......
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He wanted to move closer towards the female, but he paused for a moment as another source of magic joined the first shortly afterwards. This made him cautious for a few seconds. However this didn't change his mind about investigating what was happening in the new world.

As new as it was to him, it had the odd feeling that he really hadn't gone anywhere, only to a different time. The area felt quite familiar to him, but he couldn't place it. He drew his sword for a moment as he smelt a new scent on the air, very close to him.

A shaman who had survived through the melee was hiding beneath some dead bodies when Zion passed him by. The robed figure pushed his way out of the pile, throwing a fireball at Zion. Zion barely managed to dodge the attack, the spell burning against his left forearm. He growled with pain as he spun around to face the young shaman.

"Wrong move boy."

Zion lifted his sword to the sky for a moment before it was engulfed in a sheath of darkness. He swung the sword downward, the blade of darkness slicing through the young man. The shaman let out a blood-curling scream for a moment before the top half of his body, from the waist up, slid backwards to the ground before the rest of the body followed suit.

The darkness disappeaered from the sword before he turned his attention back towards the direction of the small group of survivors. He grinned for a moment before making his way towards them.

Ultimately, it had been Sara who had first spotted the danger coming toward them. Sure....the brief flash of fire, and the thunderous roar of its flames as it consumed its victims was distracting enough. The screams and the moans of the dying and the damned alike silently dragged to oblivion as the dark silhouette on the horizon began to grow closer to their position.

The younger paladin already had her rapier drawn, a determined grimace on her face. Her friend had weakened herself considerably in order to keep her from dyin. As far as she was concerned, she owed Melinda.....and like most paladins, Sara WOULD act on that belief.

It wasn't until Byron directed her attention to the rapidly approaching newcomer that Miranda turned. Straightening out in a hurry, a small clamor of alarm went off in her head

.......

Zion sheathed his swordonly a few moments before he came within a few yards of the small group. He stopped a few feet from them, his black eyes studying them. He made no soud as he placed his hands behind his back, clasping them at the small of his back.

His face was emotionless now as he studied the two women and the man. Something about their manner of dress was telling him they were paladins, but that knowledge was of no help to him at this point. He hmmed softly as he began pacing back and forth in front of them, no saying a word. His manner and stance was akin to that of a predator stalking it's prey, waiting for the right moment to strike.

The man looked useless in a fight, favoring one of his legs. One of the females looked very weak, barely enough energy to stand. The second one was ready to attack with her sword. His mind began racing through the many ways to handle this before he finally decided how to best do this. He smiled for a moment as he stopped and faced them.

"I seem to be lost, would you mind helping me out?"

He pulled his hands out from behind him, showing them to be empty.

The creature that glided toward them was unlike any that Miranda had ever seen before....strangely human, and yet not. It was the man's aura that confused her most of all, as if she could almost smell the scent of fresh blood about him. And yet.....he HAD been in the midst of a battlefield. If she had enough of Reylind's favor about her to determine the man's intentions buried deep within his coal black eyes, she'd have surely used it. But as things were now, she was completely spent after the healing miracle she had performed on Sara mere moments earlier.

Fortunately, as the paladin looked over, she saw the look of extreme caution and distrust that she would have expected from her friend. Even now, two fingers caressed the back of the fine steel of her rapier as she raised and cocked her shoulder backward in a stance Miranda knew all too well, Sara's feet spreading wide and bending at the knee slightly. Should their visitor turn out to be less than an ally, he would find himself on the recieving end of a nearly unblockable thrusting technique handed down through millenia of Sara's family bloodlines. Secretly however, Miranda hoped it would not come to that.

"I seem to be lost, would you mind helping me out?"

Busy bracing Byron, Miranda nearly stumbled at the unexpected question. Glancing over at Sara, she saw her own look of surprise mirrored in the younger paladin's face, the tip of her rapier dipping ever so slightly.

Grunting harshly, thick fingers digging hard to grip her silver plate, Byron scowled at the newcomer.

"State your name, and your business. You've the smell of blood about you, sir. If you're cause is noble, we'll help you readily enough....at least....as much as is in our means to."

Miranda tossed her long blonde hair back over her shoulder, annoyed by its constant desire to blind her by draping itself awkwardly in her eyes. Fortunately, this action allowed her the chance to finally meet the man's gaze with a challenging one of her own, completing Byron's thought for him....

"Of course....if you're with the Horde, you'll find a most unwelcome reception here."

Zion raised an eyebrow for a moment as he studied Sara's stance for a moment. It was one he figured he would learn later. He shrugged softly at the questioning from the Miranda and the man.

"The smell of blood about me? What did you expected from walking through that place? I got the stuff on me."

That was partly true, but the only blood which seemed to be on him was actually on the sword he had picked up. The rest of him was strangely clean.

"As I said, I am lost. I really am not sure where this place is that I ended up. A little help would be nice...."

He chuckled darkly for a moment.

"Me with the horde? That bunch looked a little on the weak side if I could say so. No, I killed a few that were still trying to move out there."

He looked back at Miranda, meeting her gaze full on with his black eyes. They were quite shielded, betraying nothing of his true intentions. His eyes seemed to flash red for a moment, taking the shape of dragon's eyes before becoming human once more. It happened so fast that the woman would probably think it was just her imagination.

For a second, Miranda felt grateful. Byron had obviously had the good sense to use his god given powers to discern the strange man's nature....though what little he offered verbally was fairly confusing...

"The smell of blood about me? What did you expected from walking through that place? I got the stuff on me."

The least she could do was offer him an explanation after his being accused.

"What Byron meant was that you carry an aura of death about you, though if what you say is true, and you have just recently slain several of our enemies....this could explain what he sensed."

She could feel Byron stiffen slightly beneath her touch, his suspicion not quite allayed. Miranda couldn't help but wonder just what he had seen....

And just then, something about the stranger changed.....his.....eyes? For a split second, she could have sworn she saw a bright red starburst explode outward from the man's otherwise black eyes, the crimson split vividly by a reptilian pupil. She could feel her own eyes widen in shock and surprise as her slender frame crumpled to the ground, her very brain seizing up in a fiery migraine as an indescribable aura descended upon her.

For long moments, it was all she could do to keep her teeth from grinding themselves to dust within her inflamed skull as she rode out the pain....gentle fingers kneading her temples and cooing softly in comfort.....

Sara....

The younger human woman had instantly abandoned her aggressive stance to come to her friend's aid....the rapier sheathed in the blink of an eye, she had responded almost quick enough to have broken her fall, but not quite.....

"What's wrong, Miranda? What is it you sense?"

Something was wrong.....very wrong.....but even as the painful fog slowly began to lift, lavender eyes still blurry from tears not realized as shed until just now.....she couldn't quite pinpoint its cause.

Moaning softly, she vaguely heard Sara protest as she stumbled her way back to her feet...her voice holding just a hint of alarm as she spoke.

"Something is coming...I think.....something powerful. Perhaps a late arrival to the battle, but definately something we can't handle by ourselves. Especially not while the lives of these few survivors rest in our hands."

Again, she couldn't help but notice Byron stiffen beneath his scuffed and bloodied armor. This time it wasn't hard to interpret his body language...

"I'm not suggesting we run, Byron. I'm suggesting that we get our charges to a safer place before another battle endangers them unnecessarily."

As she turned back to the stranger, she paused for just a second before speaking, looking deep into his eyes once more.....as if searching for a brief, fleeting reassurance that what she had seen moments ago was just a vision sent by her god, not a reality......

"And you're lost you said? Very well then, we can show you your way. Though I daresay you may have need of that sword you carry before things get any safer for us."

The reaction that Miranda gave after seeing the change in his eyes wasn't quite what he expected, but it was interesting inded. He also kept an eye on Bryon, watching the way he was acting towards him. Getting rid of Bryon was first on his list before doing anything else. The thought of making the two women his was quite appealing to him, but the man would pose the most problem.

"Of course, I am prepared to do what is needed to survive. I am quite handy with the sword, I assure you."

The first sentence had a deep meaning behind it, but he doubted they would really pick up on it. He lifted his hand in a motion for them to start on to where every they were planning on going, leaving him to follow. There was nothing else in his eyes to tip her off to anything being wrong at all.

As they started off, Bryon being supported by Miranda, Zion kept a careful eye on the surroundings around them. He kept his hands at his sides, swingthem back and forth slowly. He used his time to explore the information in his head, amazed at the amount of magical knowledge in his head. It seemed to come from the dragonic in him and the rest of his knowledge freom his human part.

He grinned for a moment as he came upon a spell, and it seemed so very tempting. He licked his lips for a moment as he looked down the road, pretending to be interested on the horizon. Instead, he was watching the two women from the corner of his eyes as he began weaving and casting the spell silently.

The spell was a brief one, but very noticable. The feeling for the woman began as if a soft touch was pressing against the soft skin beneath their outfits. The sensation began along their abdomans, spliting off into two different directions. They could feel one touch sliding delicately over their full breasts, swirling against their nipples lightly. The second touch slid down between their legs over their soft pussy lips. The touch even went between, pressing against their clits with a pinch before the sensations disappeared, all in less than a couple of seconds.

Zion looked as if he didn't even notice anything was wrong, as if he was minding his own business.

The going had been slow....even after Miranda gathered several discarded scabbards from the multitude of dead on the battlefield, lashing them tightly together to provide some manner of crude support for Byron's ruined leg. And then they were finally off, picking their way through the corpses of orc and human alike as they meandered slowly in the direction of Emmeline, the frontier city they had been called out to defend from the crush of blackbloods that had threatened to engulf its normally pristine innocence.

Miranda's eyes widened suddenly....almost as if a single cool breeze had somehow found a chink in her seamless plate to chill her skin with a soft, cool touch, her perfectly flat belly shuddering slightly at the caress....

Almost instinctively, her hold on Byron grew tighter, the blonde paladin's willow thin body pressing firmly for just a second against the much larger man as the slight breeze seemed to split within her breastplate.....climbing high brush lightly across the surface of already hardening rose tipped nipples.....

Yet at the same time the strange current travelled lower....dipping into places where no man had ever touched her. Purity was demanded of Reylind's followers, and she had brooked no advance that would threaten that tenet, such was the faith of a paladin.....

So it came as no surprise that Byron looked a little concerned as the elf's head rested gently on his thick arm, needing her turn for support for what seemed like long minutes as both currents had their way with her young, toned body....touching gently like only a lover could.....and yet, how was she to know what that felt like?

A soft moan from Sara's direction hadn't been enough to make her open her eyes just yet, instead Miranda found herself biting her lower lip in a sudden defiant attempt to maintain some control over this.....even as she felt the strange sensation center around her very core.....pinching softly before fading into nothingness.....

It wasn't until she opened her eyes, that she realized just how much her breathing and heartrate had changed. Glancing up, she blushed furiously at Byron's curious look, releasing him to back away a step or two instantly. Sara had sunk to her knees, a look of wonder and alarm dancing across her face as her trembling thighs struggled to support her as she attempted to stand once more.

"There....may be strange magic afoot here yet.....remnants of the battle perhaps. I think we should leave as quickly as possible."

The reactions for the two women told him all he needed to know about the for the time being. Miranda seemed to be innocent about the ways, but yet there was a defiant streak within her. Yes, he would have fun breaking her spirit. Sara looked and acted as if she had enjoyed the little test very much. She had even given him a sweet moan for the reaction. She seemed like she would be a little easier to break, but he wasn't going to celebrate too soon.

The final factor in kicking off his plans was getting Bryon out of the picture. It would have to be sutle and mostly likely have to appear like an accident. Zion grinned inwardly as they continued the slow pace. His eyes moved from them to the forest and path, alert for any signs of danger approaching them.

Silently, Miranda strained beneath the weight of the larger man, never once complaining as she struggled to help Byron negotiate a path through the blackened and twisted corpses the battle had left behind.

More than once did she avert her sharp gaze, a lump in her throat forming as she turned away from all too recognizable faces......this was the hillock.....where her own company had fallen.

Sara had proven useful as a scout, several times guiding the unsteady trio of paladins away from potential dangers. It was their newest arrival that concerned Miranda the most however....

And so she had made a point to study him, every chiseled muscle that stretched his leathers tight around him. The man seemed to carry his weapon with an ease that spoke volumes of his knowledge of its use. And yet, he had resigned himself easily enough to guarding the few pathetic peasants that straggled with their grim entourage.

And yet.....how could she forget that vision.....the starburst deep within the man's eyes?

Secretly she hoped she was wrong, that the indescribable feeling of bloodlust and brutality that had descended upon her at that moment wasn't from him.....and yet.....

He felt her eyes upon him, studying his form. He either didn't seem to care or pretended not to notice. He smirked a little for a moment, knowing that her time would come and possibly her friend's as well. His body tensed for a moment, his sowrd drawn in a fluid movement as a twig snapped nearby. He waited for the source of the sound to reveal itself, a small rabbit hopping out from beneath a burned bush. How it had managed to come through this alive was a miracle, but Zion lowered his guard a little.

He looked towards the direction that Sara was in, guiding them carefully a few feet away. His eyes traveled over her form, taking her in carefully. After a few moments, he looked towards Miranda for a moment. His eyes seemed to study her intensely, almost as if he was undressing her mentally. He turned back towards their path, focusing on their surrondings once more.

"How far do we have to go?"

"How far do we have to go?"

Miranda sighed softly, turning sharply to avoid meeting his gaze as he asked the question. It wasn't enough to prevent a feeling of surety that he had seen her studying....

"Lyondale is roughly an hour away from here, though we'll have to cross a dense forest before we get there. Most of the town's militia were sadly inadequate to fight such a battle, so they begged aid from the Order of Reylind."

Lavender eyes singled out Sara's lithe form flitting through the maze of death that lay before them, occasionally causing more then one choking groan of agony to end abruptly at the point of her thin blade....

"Stay sharp, then. For its easy to spot a foe coming at us from a far field....its going to be entirely different once the battlefield has been crossed. I'd much rather make it to the Dale without an arrow protruding from my backside.

Her teeth gritted sharply as Byron stumbled, leaning heavily on Miranda for support. Silently, she had to remind herself that the pain he silently bore was much more than what she had to currently suffer.

And yet as long minutes each drew to a close, the wooded timber looming ever closer, the blond paladin couldn't help but mouth a silent prayer to Reylind to end their journey soon.......

He chuckled lightly for a moment as he did catch her look. He made no other sign as he listened for a moment. He tilted his head as he saw and heard Sara's work ahead of them.

"Is there any way to go quicker? Maybe a stray horse or two around here?"

He was also going to say that they should leave behind the injured man, but that would alarm their suspicions too much. He closed his eyes as he walked ahead of the two, very sure of his footing. He twirled his sword around in circles with his right hand as he pondered what to do.

He grinned softly for a moment, the man's life was going to end soon anyways. Perhaps he would help things along. After all, the medicine seemed pretty crude and the paladin's magic was waning. He opened his eyes once more as they moved closer to the forest, deciding on a plan.

There would be no pain for the man, and he really doubted the female paladin understood the body's structure like he did. All it would take was a fragment or two in the injured man's blood stream and he would be dead in a short while.

As they entered the forest, his hand stopped the swinging of his sword. He glanced around quickly, speaking softly.

"I smell fresh blood. Probably an ambush.."

He used the distraction to manipulate some shadows behind Miranda and Bryon. They crept up lightly along Bryon's leg, like the touch of death. They found their way into the wound, crushing more of the shattered bones. Soon the shadows had puntcured his main artery, sliding several bone fragments into Bryon's bloodstream to send them on their merry way.

"I smell fresh blood. Probably an ambush.."

Miranda tensed as the forest's edge loomed ever closer. Each minute seemed to drag on as the thick foliage slowly engulfed them in its midst. It would be difficult indeed to even draw her trusted sword while holding the large human at her side upright, but in a pinch, you'd better believe she was going to try.

Even as the thought flickered dangerously across her fevered brain, the big man shuddered stumbling suddenly as a very uncharacteristic moan of agony whispered past Byron's lips. Even as she bent down with him, lowering the much larger paladin to the ground in a vain attempt at comforting him, Miranda was alarmed at just how pale his normally ruddy skin color had become. Had he really lost that much blood?

Glancing down at the wound, her almond shaped eyes widened in alarm at the growing stain that even now soaked Byron's leathers.

"We were so careful! How did it start bleeding again?!"

Without a second thought, the willowy blond elf reached upward and back for a hidden buckle. Moments later a soft click could be heard to anyone in earshot as her thick golden breastplate loosened around her shoulders. With a smooth, practiced motion, Miranda tugged the unforgivingly stiff armor over her head. The simple cotton linens she wore for padding beneath did very little to hide her femininity, though the few snickers and whistles she did garner from the few peasant stragglers was silence with a deadly glare of lavender as she unsheathed her sword with a sudden fury bourne of shame.

Reaching for her own cloth tunic, Miranda ignored a sudden burst of anxious questions, Sara having obviously doubled back to see what the hold up was just as the blade cut home. Tearing a swath large enough to reveal a tight, well toned belly, she silenced her old friend with a single look of concern even as the other girl gasped at the unexpected action.

"He's bleeding again....and its much worse this time. If we're to have any hope of getting him to Lyonsdale, I'm going to have to apply a tourniquet. Keep a sharp eye out, Sara....our friend here says he suspects an ambush."

For just a moment, she almost let it go at that. But something was wrong. VERY wrong.

Glancing suspiciously over her shoulder at their new "friend", she made haste to tighten the cloth around Byron's leg. By now she was no longer surprised that the larger man had lost conciousness, not after all he'd been through....

"You smelled blood? Seems to me that you'd have to have a pretty damn good sense of smell to get anything other than smoke and burned flesh out of the air around here. And to connect that with ambush?"

Miranda's mind was moving a mile a minute, weary enough to not even notice her slip of language. Just who was this man?

Zion was silent, his attention on the forest around them, seeming oblivous to what the two ladies were doing to the wounded man. His voice was quiet as he responded to her for a moment.

"Let's just say I have a strong sense of smell, among other things.....speaking of ambush..."

He narrowed his eyes and suddenly turned to face her, spreading his arms wide. It seemed as if he was going to jump her, but he merely grunted. There was the sound of several small thunks as he turned back to face the other direction. Four arrows protruded from his shoulders, but didn't seem to bother him. He screamed in anger and disappeared in the direction of the arrows came from.

There were a few screams of pain in the night air before he soon return, blood splattered over his armor. He licked a little blod from his lips with a agrin. The arrows were still in his shoulders, but he didn't seem to care.

"We should be good for now."