"Ngh!" Ashraeh grunted, as she laid eyes on the mysterious attacker. "Adeat!" the artifact formed in her hand, flitting around, here and there. "Unleash a torrent!" The water shot out without warning, pelting the man with geyser force power. "That should have stopped the attack." Ashraeh thought anxiously.

"You're very pretty," the man said nonchalantly, not even phased in the slightest by the body-punishing water current, "but now's not the time."

In the next instant, the man was leaning over Ashraeh, smiling at her with a debonair grin. "Nymphs of silva , Ego requiro vos inreto is inimicus. Vine Laqueus." Suddenly, vine's of all sizes shattered the ground, ensaring Ashraeh and covering her mouth.

"Oh, no!" she was in a tight situation. "I'm not skilled enough to do unincantated spells yet!"

"S-stop! Spiritual Protection!" Rose calls out her spirits, sending them bursting at Ashraeh, trying to bite off the vines. "Exploding Tarot Card!" Rose shouts, throwing it at the magician who trapped Ashraeh in those wicked vines. Running to the east, she slowly closes the distance between her and the man, as she expected, the man easily destroyed the tarot card... it exploded in mid air. 'But, how did he do it...?'

"Tri-Explosion Card!" She threw three cards, this time intending to inspect what he does. She saw a flicker of light go past her as she threw the cards, they explode right after she lets go of them. "Kyaaaaaa!" Rose screams sending herself flying backwards...

She forces herself up, wiping some blood off of her cheek. This blood wasn't from the explosion, "This man! There's small, but really sharp petals surrounding him! Watch out, Rie! Ashraeh!" Rose shouts over to them.

Rie was on the defensive due to her sword granting "Perfect Defense" but Perfect Defense was no good when you needed to go on the offence... Why is it always this sword? Rie wondered silently as she deflected attacks with perfect form. If this man had been a swordsman then she'd probablyhave won by now... But as things were she would have to improvise.
"Ego Noli manere in memoria Katayoku no Tenshi!" Rie called out, the single angellic wing sprouting from her left shoulder with a flurry of white feathers.
"Now then, lets get this on... Aku-Soku-Zan!" Rie held her blade in the familiar stance, pointed at the man, who looked rather surprised at her suddenly growing a wing but other than that nothing changed with him. With a burst of Ki charged speed she rammed the man head on, her sword grazing the side of him...

Aliidan continued with her exploration of the castle, using her staff to open doors that were locked or otherwise wouldn't open. After wandering around for a while she saw a single white feather floating down from above as well as sounds of battle. 'Aiyah! Battle?? And I can't help...' Aliidan though depressedly as she turned around only to find herself face to face with a Golem. Not the same kind as the one in those swamp ruins, a diffrent kind. "Ah! uhm... Hello?" Aliidan tried but the golem was still lifeless... "How depressing is this... I can't help my friends and all I have for company is this stupid Golem thingy and a white giant feather..." Aliidan sighed and sat down next to the golem with a thump as her butt hit the ground. What is it with her butt and wanting to hit the ground all the time?

The golem that was heading towards William quickly turned and merged through the door, heading towards Ashraeh, Rose, Rie and Jessica. However, before it made its way there, it came crashing down as the floor under it gave way and crashed in front of Aliidan. "Bzzt... destroy..." It malfunctions, bring up its arm and swinging it down at Aliidan.

The rocky giants movement was slow, but powerful. It could easily be avoided, but if hit, it'd cause major damage. William arrived in a completely open room with a beautiful, dazzling fountain radiating water as a woman sits elegantly looking at a few birds taking flight. "W-who are you...?" William asks the serene figure as it turns around with utter elegance.

The woman was dressed in a beautiful white kimono, matching her perfectly combed hair. "An enemy?!" William asks, equipping his lightning gauntlets with suspicion. Thrusting forward, the woman brings up her hand as if she was telling him to 'stop'.

"I am... a guardian of this place... please don't disrupt the peace." She mutters, continuing to feed a few more animals that had appeared from nowhere. William had met one of the guardians of the castle, but something was wrong... he could sense it, a faint trace of blood.

Jess couldn't make full sense of the scene she'd come across, but was determined to protect her friend. She remained ready to defend whoever the golem tried to attack next, creating Earth Armor for herself... Come to think of it that one girl somehow seemed familiar... Oh what was her name, that one with the crystal ball artifact... She couldn't remember. But Jess knew they'd somehow met before.

"Mm!" Ashraeh's screams were muffled by the the thick vine wrapped around her mouth. But Rose had sent her spirits to bite the plant away. They should have been finished by now!

"Think, Ashraeh, think! How do I get out of this situa-" Her frantic thoughts were interrupted by a vine clamping it's leaf on her nose, completely cutting off her oxygen supply. Her head felt light, and she began to sway back and forth. Blotches of black swarmed her vision as she drifted off to unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, the man had seen Rose's spirits, and had properly dealt with them.
"Phantom blade - an angel's demon cutting edge...". In one fell swoop, the spirits were cleaved in two, each half floating away from the other. Then he grabbed Ashraeh's incapacitated form and held his sword to her jugular.

"One false move, and she's done for. Drop your weapons." The mans demanded. At that moment, he decided he couldn't hold it in any longer. "Mmm~ Such lucious skin...I wonder what her blood tastes like...~"

Out went his tongue, slowly trailing her neck lengthwise. All the while, he was still focused intently on the other girls.

Aliidan stared in surprise as the massive arm of magic rock and metal came crashing down on her. Flipping out of the way she ended up in the room above, only to see Rie bleeding from a lot of wounds with her angellic wing (where did she get that anyway?) bent at an odd angle that looked very painful... and Rose, from her point she couldn't see Rose that clearly. What really did alarm her though was the fact that Ashraeh was being held by a creepy man and being slowly suffocated...
'Aiyah! This is BAD! What do I do?' Aliidan thought panicky but was forced out of the way as the Golem came hurtling upwards like a 5 ton gorilla, landing with a loud Thump on the floor between Aliidan and the man holding Ashraeh.
"BZZT! Priority Target CHANGED! THREAT EvaluATION DETERM-BZZZT- MALE MAGICIAN TO BE NEUTRA-BZZT-LIZED FIRST BZZT WARTIME PROTOCOLS IN EFFECT, CIVILIAN TARGETS TO BE SPARED!" the golem Bellowed before charging forwards and slamming a massive hand into the man holding Ashraeh, causing him to drop Ashraeh in shock and great pain. The Golem proceeded to wrap its massive (but surprisingly flexible) arms around the stunned man, slowly squeezing him to death with audible crackling of bones being crushed, there was absolutely no way for the man to retain his concentration with the golem squeezing him like that. Before long blood began seeping from his mouth and ears.
Through all this Aliidan stared in great fear. So Fast! If she had fought that thing now she would have Been destroyed for sure! Soon a very loud crunch could be heard from the man as he was squished like a tomato (or something like that).

"W-what? Is that an enemy...? But it saved us! E-everyone, stay back!" Rose could tell the oddness that had occurred, but it didn't seem to be a bad golem. The man was an obvious enemy holding a girl captive and using magic to injure Rose and the rest. She was unsure, but she couldn't help destroy it or anything, simply because her spirits were cleaved in half, meaning she's unable to summon them again for a few minutes.

"I-I think it's safe... If it wanted to kill us, it would have already done so..." Rose slumps onto the floor, relieved.

Rie tried to get up from the floor but found herself in far too great pain due to her wing (which, unless she was mistaken, was quite broken) and so she laid there on the floor, her sword in her left hand panting lightly from pain. (and all this without mentioning the other wounds on her body).
"I am inclined to agree with you Rose-san, if it wanted us dead now we would be... But it would seem that it was chasing Aliidan-san? ... Is Ashraeh okay? I can't move to see if she's inured..." Rie managed to get forth between pants of pain.
"Something... Tells me that the golem is one of the guardians of this place... This castle in the sky... This... Laputa..." Rie whispered the last part to herself, as if listening to something from a great distance away...

It took William awhile to notice the blood dripping from her arm. The animals didn't seem to mind, but William did, "W-who are you? A guardian? Then why is there blood on your arm!?" William retorts rudely, hoping for a decent answer. This girl was mysterious, she looked innocent, yet she let off a deadly vibe.

"I-I don't have time for this, I need to find my friend... Can I pass through?" William asks, wishing he could find Aliidan or Rickardo soon as they had both disappeared.

"...Watch out." She mutters, unsheathing her sword as she disappears and the animals scatter into their respective hiding place. Jumping off of the fountain water, sparks fly from her sword as she elegantly flies in the air, dazzling anyone who was watching. William couldn't perceive what she was fighting, but a faint blur could be seen.

"Eek!" The guardian screeches as chains were wrapped around her, followed by a massive explosion. The chain was wrapped in explosive charms, as another man appears from the explosion. He seemed like a high-class ninja. Staring at William's widely opened eyes, being stunned, William couldn't react as the ninja begins approaching him...

Jess looked at what was going on in confusion, not sure what to do but remaining on the defensive... "Lack of knowledge leaves one blind to the situation..." She muttered, realising from Williams face he was just as confused as she was.

(Jess, I'm in a different area than you guys).

Ashraeh fell to the ground on her hands and knees, gasping for precious air. Her eyes were wide with fright. For the umpteenth time, her life was in mortal danger. He breathing was ragged. and saliva poured from her mouth into the ground. She trembled and shuddered with total fear.
She held her mouth gently, she could still feel its muscular vice grip. She was truly afraid.

Aliidan was unsure of what to do next, the Guardian Golem seemed to have run out of Juice (heh) or something... So far it was just standing there, the gruesome squashed remains of the magician in its arms still...
"Aiyah... Where's will? Wasn't he with you?" Aliidan asked with a confused expression on her face.
"What do we do now? Rie is hurt badly and Ashraeh needs a little while to recover... Oh why am I so useless?" Aliidan said, pulling at her hair a little as she again sat down on the floor.

Rie tried again to flex her wing, only to gasp in pain as she did so.
"Yes -gasp- definately broken... It seems that I will need to rest until my wing has healed enough..." Rie said to herself as she manged to sit up again, most of her minor wounds had healed by themselves by now. "Meikyō Shisui..." Rie said quietly as the globes of water surrounded herself and her wounded allies and began to slowly heal the wounds. The Pain in Rie's wing lessened considerably as it healed a little with help from Rie's Ki energy.

William just looked blankly at the huge explosion that happened before him. It caused the whole first floor to shake rapidly, "W-watch out, lady!" William shouts over to her, rushing over to help her, only a glimpse of the man passing me as he appears right behind Will. William quickly followed with a shundo, avoiding a fatal blow, but there was a small cut across his back.

"Orbis flamma!" William shouts, as a orb of fire quickly stood between the two combatants. The spell was specially taught to William by his favourite teacher, Hathaway, he relied on it numerous times and knew that he's safe with the spell up, at least that's what he thought.

The man encircled William with amazing speed, the orb following easily, "Gear Shift 2." The man mutters, as his speed bursts amazingly, unmatched. The orb tried to continue following the man so it wouldn't let him near William, but it was too late. The orb was beaten and William earned a huge gash across his chest. "Eh...hehe.... Omne Flammans Flamma Purgatus, Domine Extinctionis et Signum Regenerationis, in Mea Manu Ens Inimicum Edat! Flagrantia Rubicans!!" William enchants sending a huge blaze at the man as he slashed William.

Rose stumbled across from the constant shaking. "Will must be up ahead... Rie can't move, should we split up...? There has to be more than one entrance to the top floor. Spiritual Protection, spirits... attack mode." She sends, breaking down the door to where William is. The fighting up ahead could be heard more clearly. Listening carefully, one was obviously in a more advantageous position.

"I'll stay behind... if Rie's attacked, my magic is more for defending instead of attacking..." Rose says, "But Ashraeh may speed up the healing process and Aliidan may destroy any enemies that come close to us... Argg! I'm so confused... We have to do something, alright?!" Rose thinks out some possible options, but nothing really came out clearly to her.

Ashraeh weakly got up, stumbling as she did. Her head was still light, but she recited the Cura spell.

"Tui Gratia Jovis Gratia Sit, Cura..." Water flowed out from Ashraeh's crystal and enveloped her allies in its healing properties.

Just then, the floor rumbled, and she feel to the ground again. Her head flew up and inspected the surrounding. "What's going on?!"

Aliidan got up from her place on the floor, determination shining in her eyes.
"I will go look for William, I'm not hurt in the slightest... And I think if you continue to treat Rie's wing she should quickly get better and be able to protect you... And... The Guardians seem to be on our side as well... Wish me luck." Aliidan said as she went through one of the doors at the far end of the corridor, staff held at the ready.

Rie, still hurt badly in her wing, waved after Aliidan before she again used her healing technique, healing a little more of her wounds.
(Sorry! Couldn't come up with anything interesting to write >.<;)

"Healing Tarot," Rose mutters placing a tarot card on Rie's wound gently. The tarot and wound both glow green as magical energy bubbles arise from the bubbles. That's a good indication it's working effectively. As Aliidan decides she will go herself, Rose had a bad feeling about this. "A-ah... We'll catch up soon. If you find Will, you can request him to summon us, as long as Rie's alright." Rose smiles, showing her artifact card. "He can contact us with this," She smiles.

That's until, she suddenly realizes that Aliidan hadn't obtained an artifact card, she turned into a fumbling heap, trying to hide it and have Aliidan ignore what Rose had just said.

William had to stop the flames before they hit the wall or gardens, it'd be even worse to injure the harmonious animals flourishing within this area. "Shundo,"[/color] William says, flash stepping out of the garden and into a hallway. The man as expected, quickly took pursuit. [b]"I've been in fights a lot worse than you think!!" William shouts, "Son Ta Rik. Molten magma attero ferrum parietis pro nos!" William shouts as magma forms around his hand. Using the power, he slams his fist into the ground, causing it to break up as the man loses his footing.

"Inferno Twist." William chants, placing his hand on the ground in front of him, as the man dashes after him, William putting up a fighting stance. As the man dashes at William, slamming his claws into Williams' gauntlets, William was sent skidding backwards and the trap activates. The man's engulfed in a twirling tower of destructive flames.

"Hyaaa!" The guardian lady from before, injured and battered appears out of no where, transforming William's flames into pure ice. The enemy was trapped completely in that frozen ice.

Aliidan stared at Rose's behaviour oddly, before the fact that Rose had a pactio card registered in her mind. Now, nobody would accuse Aliidan Hana of being the brightest star in a constelation but even she knew what a pactio was and what it (usually) meant.
"Aiyah! When did she get a pactio!?" Aliidan asked out loud. Oh great, now that was going to bother her for the rest of this expedition >.<; as Aliidan continued onwards down the hallway that she had found she didn't notice that she was being trailed.
(Oh noes, Rose has some explaining to do to Aliidan.)

Ashraeh stumbled to get up, ignoring the fleeting pain of the vines' grip on her throat.

"We should get to William as soon as possible!" Ashraeh confidently said, her face brimming with determination. "And thank you all for helping me." She turned to the golem, feeling weird about thanking a statue.