Elemental Gods (free to join!)

"I'm guessing both... Since he lost his entire army at the south and he's still weak to do something about it" said Jamie sighing "Anyway, Adalwulf said he wanted to talk to us once we leave the temple. He said it's important."

"Very well...", Kumo sighed, standing up and giving his fur a few shakes. "Lets go meet him." He started to turn toward the exit, but was inturrupted by a ghost-like figure. It was wearing a hood, and it's face was covered. His eyes widened, and his mouth was gapped.

"I am your father!", he screeched, his voice seeming to be full of pain and anger. He then vanished as quickly as he came.

"Wh-what's wrong?" I asked the wolf.

Kumo: -

"Kumo? Let's go" said Jamie. It seemed like she hadn't seen the ghost-or-whatever-that-was.

Tempo: -

"I...want...a voice..." mumbled the wolf. Tempo felt something draining him and he completly lost control over his body. He started singing against his own will of 'bonny Lynne'. Suddenly, he felt someone biting his neck and throwing him to the other side of the room. The wolf opened his eyes and he was back at the room where Laiko tested him.
"Are you crazy?!" screamed Laiko, looking at Tempo "What were you trying to do?! Talking with demons? You know how forbidden this is! I have teach you your whole life to never talk or make deals with demons, or you also skipped this obvious class? But nooo... You touched my book and listened a demon!" the Archbishop sighed and facepalmed "What am I going to do with you...?"

"R-right.", Kumo slowly nodded, dashing forward. He ran out of the temple and almost crashed into the mayor. "Sorry.", he nervously grinned. He gazed at him, astonished how less commanding and noble he looked as he stood there rigid with his fur plastered to his pelt.

"It's not a problem" said Adalwulf "Now please... Follow me. We have business to attend to"

Adalwulf guided the party to the top of the cliff where the knights were preparing before the battle against the undead, next to a windmill.
"How quiet the castle looks from here..." he snorted, staring at the castle "It seemed like there is no one inside it at all. But I have a plan" he turned to face Kumo "There is a secret passage within this windmill that enters in the castle. I have the key here with me"

"Really?" asked Anders, suspicious "And why you didn't entered in the castle in the first place?"
"I don't know what lies within the castle and I didn't told you because I thought you would enter in the castle and forget about our village. I'm sorry, but now we must..." he stopped and looked at the distance, to the bridge of the castle "Maker's breath..."

Kumo and his party looked at where Adalwulf was looking. They saw a lady wolf with a cream fur running towards the mayor. She was being followed by an armed guard. "Adalwulf! Thank Nagoku you yet lives!" said the wolf.
"Emma! How you... What happened?!" asked Adal.
"I do not have time to explain. I've slip away from the castle as soon as I saw the battle was over. And... I need you to come with me, Adal... Alone"

"Careful..." mumbled Morrigan "This sounds like a trap"

"What?" asked Emma and she looked at Kumo "I, uh... Who's this wolf, Adal?"
Jamie sighed "You remember me, lady Emma, don't you?"
"Jamie?" Emma snorted "Of all the... Why are you here?"

"They are Gargoyles, Emma. I own them my life" said Adalwulf.
"Pardon me, I would make a proper greeting, but... Considering the circustances(sp?)"
"Please, lady Emma, we had no idea someone was even alive inside the castle" said Jamie "We must have some answers."
"I know you want to know everything, but... I don't know what is safe to tell" Emma said nervously and and stared at Adalwulf "Adal, there's a terrible evil within the castle. The dead awaking and hunting the living. It want us to live, but still it continues... And I think... Connor has gone mad... He has seen so much death. You are his uncle Adal, you... You could reason with him. I don't know what else to do!"

"I'll help you.", Kumo stepped up, "With whatever I can. Plus Jamie is good at reasoning. She can help too, if she wants." He glanced over at the stump-tailed female.

"Wait a second" said Jamie, suspicious "I don't understand why Adal has to go alone."
"It's for Connor's sake!" said Emma "I promised him I would return quickly to the castle with his uncle."
"I don't understand what is this evil you're talking about" said Adalwulf.
"It's something the mage unleashed. Whatever it was, it's allowing me, Connor and Otto to live. The others were not so lucky... It killed so many!"
"Why do I have the feeling you're not telling us everything?" said Anders, now serious.
"I... I beg your pardon. That's a ratter accurate accusation" attacked Emma.
"Not if it's true" Anders codly snorted.
"An evil traps my husband and my son hostage" she said, almost crying "I came for help. What else you want from me? Adal, what if it thinks I betrayed it? It might kill Connor! Please! Must I beg?"

Adalwulf sighed and nodded "Alright. I'll go with you, but please, Emma, can you leave me for a moment to talk with the Gargoyles?"
"Bless you, Adal! Bless you! Please, be quick. I'll be waiting by the bridge"

When lady Emma was already far, Morrigan grumbled "What? You're going to the castle alone? That's suicide!"
"I don't know if we have any choice. I'll go inside the castle and try to distrach whatever this evil Emma is talking about." said Adal "I'll give you the key to the windmill. Otto is the priority, we need him alive. Anyone else, me, Emma, we're expendable"

Kumo muttered something under his breath and then spoke more clearly, "Lets go check out the castle." He took the key and stormed off into the windmill.

Kumo and his party went inside the windmill. But it was very classy, made of wood and full of hay on the floor. They spread, trying to find what seemed to be a secret entrance. "Hey, guys. Found it!" said Anders looking at an odd looking door on the floor. It had a celestial blue ball burried in the middle. Kumo took off the key and noticed it was actually a ring with a stone similar to the one in the door. Not knowing much how to insert the key, Kumo just made the stones touch each other and the door magically opened.

Inside the dungeon was filfhty with a horrible smell of flesh and blood and there were cages and prisons all over it. Some of the cages had skeletons and bodies in it. Most of the bodies were fresh... They were killed not too long ago.
"I remember when I was young..." muttered Jamie, looking at the cages "I locked myself inside of a cage once, the whole day. Ahhh... Good times"

The party explored a little more the dungeon, but they saw nothing only cages and more cages with bones and flesh.
"Ahhh!! Get out!" screamed a voice more deep inside the dungeon of stone. They quickly followed and saw three undead trying to open the grids of a prison.

Anders shot at one of the zombies with his bow and pierced the head with the arrow, but it did not kill it.

"Attack!!!", Kumo ordered, hurling himself at one. He took out the same rusty dagger, already covered in blood, and slashed the undead's head in half, making the skin split and fall in opposite directions. The monster let out a roar and fell on the ground, limp. He quickly took out the dagger and shoved it back into his bag.

Reccarn smashed the head of one of the zombies that were still alive on the floor.

"Hello...?" said a familiar voice "Is anyone there? K-Kumo?!" said the she-wolf inside. She was brown but covered in blood.
"Mimiko?" said Kumo, not believing it that she was there.
"I can't believe it! I ... I thought I would never see you again" she mumbled, but she was away from the grids of the prison.

"Me either.", Kumo mumbled, running up to the cage. He couldn't believe it. He was so happy, he could have cried about it. He took out his new sword and slashed the bars in half, creating an opening for her. He ran inside, giving her a big ol' bear hug.

Mimiko growled and headbutted Kumo. It was so strong that he flew to the other side of the cage.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!" Mimiko yelled, but her voice changed. Then she whimpered and hid her face with her paws "Oh, my spirits!" she cried "What's happening to me?!"

"She's a blood mage" said Morrigan helping Kumo "But... I've never seen such power in one so young"

Mimiko started breathing fast and she hid in the shadows of her prison "P-Please... Stay... Away!"

Kumo whimpered, lowering his head. "What's happened to you?", he mumbled, shuffling to the back of the group.

"No... No, no, no..." Mimiko whimpered "Please.... End... My... Suffering!" she said, some words were not her voice.
"She's... She's possessed!" said Morrigan "I can feel a demon inside her. Draining her"
"P-Please... Kill me... Now..." Mimiko whispered and she fell on the ground crying.

"Wait... So she's the mage lady Emma said!" Jamie pointed out "You're the one that caused all those deaths!"
"N-No... No... Connor... Did..." muttered Mimiko, but it seemed like it was a great sacrifice to say a word "Connor... Too.... Young..."
"What do you mean?" asked Jamie.
"Connor... Mage... Emma, told me... To... Train him and... Keep him as ... a secret... Poisoned... Otto, I have... Tyr... Sent me..." whimpered Mimiko. It seemed like something was suffocating her.

"You killed Otto? First you poison the trees, then you kill the only possible person other than Jamie to lead, and then I find out your on Tyr's side!??!?!?", Kumo yowled, his voice basically shaking the whole of the cage. "YOU..YOU... I HATE YOU!"

"Kill me...... Please....." mumbled Mimiko, crying. "She was... Tortured to do this. Not only that, there's a demon in her mind killing her slowly" said Morrigan.

"K-Kumo..." whimpered Mimiko "I... Did not... Kill Otto... Tyr told me... He was a ... Shadow Wolf... But he abbandon... Me..." she vomited blood on the floor "Nagoku... He is your... Your...." he tried to say, but she was being suffocated.

"What?", Kumo stepped forward, "Nagoku is my what?"

"Your... GrRRrRRRRRR!!" she growled and Anders pushed Kumo away "Careful, she may become hostile at any time" he whispered.

"K-Kumo... You may ... Hate me... But... You were always my... First and ... Best frie--..." Mimiko mumbled and she fell on the ground, montionless.

"She died" said Reccarn, coldly.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!", Kumo cried out, freeing himself of Ander's hold. He ran up to Mimiko's motionless body. He hung his head low, and his tail was down. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes in a full glare at his friends, "GET OUT! NOW!" He turned back to his first friend, and he burrowed his muzzle into her flank.

"Wait, Kumo! She may become an abomination! It's not safe!" said Morrigan, not moving from her place as well as the others.

"Oh well. I don't care. Now leave me.", Kumo growled softly, "Can't you guys leave me in peace to grieve a lost friend?!? Or do any of you care?!"

"Didn't you just said you hated her?!" said Anders, angry "She said that she poisoned Otto and she is the mage that lady Emma mencioned! She said that all those undead were her work! You also said that she poisoned the trees of Nagoku, and yet you still cry at her corpse? I don't understand you, Kumo..."

"I don't hate her.", Kumo lowered his gaze, "I hate the demon inside of her. She was like a sister to me. Maybe even more..." He looking into her eyes, which seemed to be full of pain and misery. He then forgot about all the wolves around him. It seemed that it was only him and her. "What happened to us, Mimiko...? What happened to chasing butterflies and learning about the great Lightning God....? I'm a Gargoyle, and you were blood mage..... is this what the world has come to....?" He shook his head, "I loved you, Mimiko. And I always will."